Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-03-30
Ids sfaqoafa.
&c., 49,, For the Standard
ANNUAL REPORT 81 eoLpoRrAGE IN

iDeen one Ot INCREASING lnIcreSt anu encouragement
TO- me-, GODS hand seemed to open my way at al
lmost every step as to give success. Confidence,
love- and cooperation in behalf of this cause, have
greatly increased within the last twelve months.
During the year, in ~ counties was ,enabied to
make 1922 visits to 1890 hmiiesS conversed on re-
ligion or prayed with 1907; of which 206 said they
did not attend preaching once IN three six and
twelve months, and many families had not heard a
sermon in several years The reasons for this state
of things have IShnd to be var{ous-distance to
church. prejudice to the nearest denomination, ignc-
rance Of the duty affection, love of dstilleries greg
shops and places amusement which are resorted to
on the Sabbath by parents and children Recently
| visited, talked and prayed with 81 persons in
poor, ignorant neighborhood, and eEiy had heard
sermon in one, two and five yeafs, In another
neghborhood of families they did not 60 tc church,
as general rule but once year; their nearest
church is about miles
also found 227 families destitute Of all religious
books, 66 of when, had no Bible The reasons for
this destution are the difficulty in their getting
iigous books owing to the scarcity and distance to
them, inability to purchase especially at high trade
prices Indifference to reading because of ignorance
prejudice, bigotry, superstition and fatalism fast
ened upon the minds of hundreds that they are to
do nothing. The fatalism was recently exhibited
by the earnest expression of an aged man to me,
who said 81 would continue to read tracts but they
make me have such thoughts and feelings as | fear
will cause to seek religion before the Lords
good time to give it to me. Our minister breaches
to to watch against tracts for they written so
as to make cry and feel badly."l After word of
explanation that tracts were the best sermons of pi
Gus ministers, and facts showing Gods providence,
written out and printed that thousands could read
them, and thus have Gods plain truth, that we are
all great sinners and Jesus is great Saviour so i'm
press minds, under the Spirits influence, as 10
lead us to trust that Saviour and nothing else-he
then took some tracts and seems to be seriously
cerned about his soul. Not long since was forced
to wait several hours at a Railroad depot in dark
section where no Coporteur has been. visited
the families around, and family of several chill
dren was so exceedingly ignorant that they ."knew
nothing in books and cared nothing for books" as
they expressed themselves l showed the pictures
in the Child's Paper" and some tracts with which
the children were delighted, and these the first
printed truths in that house. there prayed the
first prayer the children ever heard engaged the
services of good man to teach that family, and at
that depot we deposited good lot of the 10000
pages of books given by the Am TT. Society few
months ago for the Railroad depots and Asylums in
N. C. At another depot met man who told me
he lived six miles from there and the nearest church
to him was about . miles, where there was preach
ing once month which he and his neighbors could
rarely attend They had no religious books except
the Bible, which had been given them by the Amer
lean Tract Society several years ago, and they did
not know what sort of religious books to get
When | told him he could borrow some from this
depot he was rejoiced The restitution and dark
ness of such sections can be reached only by going
to every family with good, cheap, and beautiful
books, and heart full of the love of God for souls
{ More than 500 families said they never had
ligious visit and prayer at their houses before.
think there two principal reasons for this
First the time has now come when almost every
Minister Of every denomination has Just what he can
Go, after preaching to visit the members of his
charge, and in frequent instances, such the cir
cumstances, that he cannot visit his own members
leaving him comparatively no time to go in the re-
gions beyond to visit and pray with ungodly fami-
lies, who certainly should be kindly reached at their
homes, that the gospel may be preached to every
creature Second because large majority of the
laity neglect the daily reading Of the Bible and
prayer in their own families, consequently, compar
atiyely few prepared or willing to talk reli-
gion and pray with their neighbors. prominent
minister having the charge of several hundred men,
bers scattered over whole county, recently told me
that there was but one Of them who prayed in pub
lic In another county, among all the dcnomina-
tons, it was found that only %, out of 1000 fami-
lies, had family worship. In view of such facts
which fear are true, or less, in most of our
counties, how can every family have religious
VISIT and the preaching the word be accomplished
everywhere and to every creature, the sick, the
poor, the ignorant and wicked, whether they be at
our doors or at distance in the swamps and noun
tans The first and greatest instrumentality is,
the Icing Ministry, preaching and acting out Gods
saving truth. And second erery christaan old and
young who should seek the Holy Spirits influence
in properly understanding that truth, believing it
and practcing it at his and her home, so that par
ents. children, servants and neighbors may sec the
fruits daily resulting from Christ dwelling in the
soul. As there are, comparatively, so few having
this degree of living active pety at their homes to
aid the ministry in extending it to other homes
where ungodliness regns and spreads itself by the
increasing facilities of this age Gods gracious pro-
violence is seen in raising up and strengthening the
Colporteur system under the Am. TT. Soc since
1872, to be kind of John the Baptist and Aaron
and Hur helper to the living ministry in carrying
the gospel truths they preach and write out in
tracts and books, by the christian Colporteur
to the homes of thousands who could not, and hun
dreds who would not, go to hear them preach these
truths from their pulpits Thus, by:his rapid, eff
cent and economical systematic average cost of il
being about II cents to the mily-we may render
important aid to the ministry in having religious
conversation and prayer in every family whether
cody or ungodly, where we see the parents and
children just as they are, without the disguise 50
frequent when met from home, talk socially and
plainly to them as to their minds and souls, hear
Inem taiK 10 us OF their dlhculteS and wants. then
we can adapt our talk, books and prayer to Their
needs After such visits we hear of christians being
aroused to the performance of family worship, and
other duties in the family relations in the neighbor
hood, in better attending church, in more literally
supporting the gospel at home and in sending i
abroad to the destitute. We also hear of the con
version of parents children and servants, and tn,
swearer, sabbath breaker and drunkard reformed L.
In all this change and religion in the family we SCI
the importance of ministers and pious persons
preaching the word through the press, seeing tina
God has opened and prepared this enlarged MORN.
channel Colportage, through which His truths a
preached and printed, may be conveyed to ever,
family and creature, however inaccessible they ma,
be. In the mosuntans of this State l witnessed tn
effect Of Bishop McIlvaines preaching in families
never saw, through his tract on Spiritual Declen
sion, left by Coporteur with lukewarm christian
whom its truths aroused to duty and he loaned it
others At least five family affairs erected, praye
meeting and n sahhafh cchool o~,nn;,od -.