ABSTRACT
I want to write a little of my experience from my childhood When I was a child I was taught there was a heaven and a hell when I said anything I knew was wicked I was afraid I should go to hell but I grew up in pride and worldly vanities until I was near 20 years old though often fearing remorse of conscience about this time I was under great trial of mind & believed I was in the broad road to destruction I looked for some denomination that I could join myself too I thought it would make me feel some better I searched and tryd to find what I thought the Babtest to be the best I could find when I come to search it out I found they lived in sin as well as I & I never joined any I livd upon my own conviction for as much as four or five years in the year 1781 I heard of a strange people which had come to {illeg.} Harvard pretendg some profession but were a very wicked people very bad stories told about them. I said I did not want to go see them a little more than 2 months after I said so it come to my mind I would go and to see and hear for my self further more I went and when I saw them I was astonished that such good folks was to have such stories told about them. when they were assembled for meeting they was very solem indeed and appear,d to have great fear of god when they sung their singing was very melodious it seemed to me as if it sounded into Heaven. when Elder James Whittaker
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spoke I never heard no man speak as he did. his gospel was the same as Christ’s sermon on the mount he spoke with great power and very affecting when they come to go into the dance it seems to me they were worshiping god indeed I thought they lookd like the angels in heaven I could not compare them to any thing else when they came out of Meeting they were very solem. One time mother spoke to me and said come out from that old man of sin and be like an angel and serve god. Elder William
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says It is your lust that makes you affraid Elder Whittaker says take up your cross and follow Christ in the regeneration Elder Calvin
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said confess your sense turn out your works of darkness / and come to the light and find everlasting happyness 109When there was an opportunity for me to confess I confessd all my sins to one of god’s witnesses I was thankful for the privilege to confess them all one by one I felt greatly releast from the burden of sin
