The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1872-07-18

OellVefeQ before new ofhfOH IOuSSg NOs
231, !. o. o. F., on Monday evening,
July list. A. D. 1872, by the Rev. Thos.
3. Kemp, B. D., Rectsr of st. James
Church, Oskaloosa, Iowa, and publish
ed by Request.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AND BRETH-
rem OF THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD
FELLOWS There are moments In the life
time of each and every ore of us, when we
are wont to wish that the positions assign
ed US, and their corresponding duties, had
been given to others thanourselves.
This is pre- eminently the desire of my
heart at this time | couldhave hoped that
the task devolving on me, should have ial
len to those better qualified to unfold to
this highly Intelligent audience, some OF
the principles which govern our Order,
and at the same time to contribute some
what in the removal OF that strong preju-
dice which exists in the minds of many of
the uninitiated, against our Order on &C.
connt OF its being what is commonly called
a secret society. But as the lot has fallen
upon one OF the least among his brothers,
l will offer no further apology but ask
your attention to few Important facts, in
connection with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, the three strong links of
which are denominated Friendship, Love,
and Truth; which are supported by the
three holy Il had almost said Heavenly sis
ters) Faith, Hope and Charity.
Odd Fellows 1Shas been assaulted by bit
s sien ,Ues eRe met t ana no 9Ia
cause it b &c Mahasl ssF such protest is
Ioye sf IL re' tr,1s which ihel
of true aversion to unfrank mess.
1t is love of the secretly I've that is al
ways jealous OF inc ACTS it does not
m"n is most eScite 'nS n aoqd.Sl'y "i
hidden treasure. WJSsiiave no respect for
that opposition To Odd Fellowship, which
rests chiefly on the grounds ot its secrets
The known character of the men concern.
ed, is sufficient guarantee for the tencts OF
"a society, though it should not condescend
to let every inquisitive person into its
movements Do those who oppose the
Order Oh this ground, realize the extreme
absurdity OF their position | am CHART.
able enough to concede that they do not
Is not every family circle secret society,
into whose privacy il would be mean to
pry and though its smallness takes away
the danger 10 the timid. | cannot see that
such should make its secrecy any more OF
less criminal. Indeed, till man is ready
to wear his heart upon his sleeve for DAVIS
to peck at, | do not see how he can reason
ably object to the privacy of his neighbor,
or the secrecy which the members OF so
ciety mutually agree TO observe. Some
say that ii Odd Fellowship be good, it will
not shun'the light /; but so thought not
One who said Let not thy left hand
know what thy right hand 'cth." So
thinks not God, who wOrketh in secret fol-
ever, and who requireth US to worship
Him in secret, that He may reward us
openly. And who that is student OF Holy
Bible Book Divine, but must see in almost
every incident there recorded, the foot
prints of (what by some well meaning, sin.
,cere but deluded men Is called) this dread
monster. Where, ask, would the cap
tive children ofIsrael have been, had they
have known what the Almighty Father OF
the Universe only communicated to their
Deliverer What would have been the
feelings OF Sarah had she known what the
mission of Abraham was when he went
out to offer up her son Isaac? What would
the feelings of Saul of Tarsus have been,
when on his way to Damascus on his mis-
sion of persecution. had he have known
when he set out from Jerusalem, what
should befall him by the way, had any o.
his brethren dared to insnuate that before
reaching his destination, he world go over
Ito what he then supposed to be) the enc
my's side and still it came to pass. VIVA,
would have been the course pursued by the
kinsmen of our blessed Lord when they
cried, Cruelty Him, cruelty Him, and pu
Him to DEATH" had they have seen Of
known what the result of that death woult
eliminate in {? And what becomes of thu
Injunction of that same Savior already
quoted, when He says, "Let not thy lief
hand know what thy right hand doeth p
And again, "Ali things are delivered un
to me of my Father, and no man knowetl
the Son blu. the Father |; neither knowett
any man the Father, save The Son, and ht
| to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.
What is proposed TO be done with JohI
| the Baptist, or the disciple whom Jesu
| loved, ST. John the Evangelist? Does any
one doubt that the one was the forerunne
of Christ and the other His beloved Apos
| tie and martyr. in will, but not in deed
| In will, inasmuch as he yielded to the boil
| ing cauldron of Patmos but not in deed
| because God, in the exetcise of his secre
| counsel, carried lllm.. through unframed
| What Is to be done with Him who is cs.Gie,
the voice OF one crying in the wilderness
"Prepare We the way OF the Lord and h
| to whom His Lord, when albsat to expire
committed His mother saying, Woman
behold thy son son behold thy mother.
What repeat is proposed 10 be don
with these holy men, who were both mem
bers OF secret societies. Nay, go furthe
and ask, what do tkfse wiseacres of tn
| nineteenth century propose to do with tn
whole college of Apostles, who with thei
incarnate Savior went often apart fo
prayer and meditation withdrew fror
the multitude, Gas the original has it). l
appears to me, my dear friends, aud breth
rem fraternally, that the sainted Watt
must have been engaged in some such cor
temptation as this, when he pedned thos
beautiful lines:
God moves In q mysterious way,
His wonders tofperiorm
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
If secrecy be proof of evil, then for tn
morality of society, it is high time tina
every family should live in glass houses
that every apartment Of heart, soul, bod
and tenement should front the street. tina
thought. aspirations and the body, shout,
alike be clothed in trsansparencies, sine
the climate will not admit of compler
nudity.
But even then it villa be necessary tina
God should so modify our fleshor our Wis
ion, that the clay should be c. ystal, or a.
eyes be gifted with perpetual clairvoy
ance, or there would be. secret societies al
ter all. b
This is an extravaganza analogy, to b
sure but till the opposite is borne to a
great en- extreme, we are not wisely pro
testing against it. If "a society do no
choose to show us the general principle
Of Its government, see mo reason why W,