Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-12-07
\ NEW EsM.
of West Tennessee-A New Pro.
phet has Arisen and Va
mOOsed.

of West Tennessee-A New Pro
Dhet has Arisen and Va
mOOsed.
Huntington indicator: Several months
past we have heard rumors to the effect
that strange and entirely new religion was
being practiced IN the vicinity of Lone Elm,
Henderson county. In order to get bottom
facts We took steps to obtain the following
reliable statements. Our information was
obtained from Mr.. Ransom L. Jones, of Lone
Elm, and corroborated By many OF the best
citizens of that county: About the jhirtieth
of April, 1878, man calling himself Robert
Edge made his appearance in Lexington,
Henderson county, Tennessee. and repre-
sented himself as a preacher. He endeav-
ored to unite himself with the Missionary
Baptist church. Failing in this he
tried to identify himself with the old
Biptists, but they, after considering
his claims, pronounced him unworthy oil tel
lowship. He then tried to affiliate with the
Masonic fraternity, but was In like manner
repulsad. Then he began to preach in the
town OF Lexington. After delivering two or
three discourses to very respectable audienc s,
he informed his hearers that he could not
preach as he desired unless he had congrega-
tons composed entirely of males, as ladies
were too modest to listen to true gospel ser
| mon expounded after his order. At this
juncture the cold shoulder was turned toward
INN by the good citiz2ns Of this town, and
seeing that he had driven the people from
him, and lost his Influence, he shook the dust
of Lexington from his feet, and hied him
! away to the rural districts of the county in
search of those upon whom he could more
easily impose. He inquired of a leading
citizen of the twentieth district for the most
Ignorant settlement In the county, and was
laconically informed that he was then 10
the midst of what he deslred-d dense
ignorance; whereupon he pitched his tent
and proceeded to pcomuigate the
tenets of his lustful and pernicious
faith. His fret discourses were we'll received
and much applauded by several of the most
prominent citizens of the district, and it was
evident that he was destined to reap boun-
tiful harvest from the seed he was sowing
He was a man of fine, though unassuming
appearance, gifted by nature with remarkable
powers of eloqueace, and evidently possessed
of good education. He began a system Of
preaching and practice that surpassed any
thing known since the palmy days of Brig
ham Young, conhning his labo.s chiefly to
the section of country lying between Berkett's
and Haley's creeks, where he had many
proselytes, some of whom are practIcing ard
preaching now after the manner # this mod
ern Messiah. HIS services were commenced
after the usual manner, with singing and
prayer. He would preach from several texts
and read good deal of scripture in each SER
mon. The passage upon which his doctrine
was foundeds was as follows: Add to your
faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to
knowledge temperance, and to temperance pa
tierce, and to patience goodness, and to god
illness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly
kindness charity. He taught that his religion
was composed OF seven distinct ingredients,
based on the foregoing graces, and that hav-
ing taken all the degrees 1t was Impossible
for his decples to sin, no matter what they
did, In administering the first degree he ex-
tended to the applicant the right hand OF
fellowship and whispered in hi. ear what he
was pleased to term the Secret Of the Lord
and which was not to be revealed under pen
atty OF death. A man could go no iurthsr
or was unable to take the second degree
without woman applicant, as il v=as neces-
sary to add to his faith virtue. This was
done By requiring the candidates, male and
female, to share the same bed for one night
The married men IL taking this degree had
to exchange wives. Edge divided his prose-
lytes INTO classes, with an old one
in each class-always q woman-wbich
he took unto himself. This he called
Bringing from under the civil law
and seemed to De the all-absorbipr
feature of his doctrine. He taught by this
process the women became the common
property of the church. No man had his
own wife, and no wife her own husband.
They knew no difference, aad consequently
could do no harm, aad was done Ia order t.
destroy the passion of the sexes After all
had become vIrtuous, they were prepared for
the second degree-kn0wlsdge. Fortitu5e
and endurance were required in this second
step, and it was necessary that they should
fast three days and nights. All the oaudi-
dates repaired to the place OF worship, and
neither ate, drank NOE slept during the time,
lest they should be tempted. On the Lass
day OF the fast they were required 10 strip
themselves, men and women, and lay in The
otc,- hon nd ~ kl,v.,
times. This was supposed TO purify and brig
them out fully from under the law. Elgp, IN
this process, told his converts ne personated
Moses, and commanded them to lay aside raj
ment for they stood on holy ground. After the
second degree they were supposed to be II
full possession of the spirit, and not capable
of sin, and could add the other Virsues, tenn
perance, patience, ETC., which completed the
seven degrees. lie told them that they must
do all this III Orde to attain state of sin!ess
perfection; and, after the administration of
the above degrees, he impaired the Holy
Ghost to them by the laying on of hands,
which qualified them for the Lord t. areaeh
aud work through; that they ala nothing of
themselves, bat were idereiy instruments of
The Eorj, and IN no wise responsible for their
acts. Edge told his disciples that he GsceDd-
ed from the skies IN a meteor few weeks
before he made his appearance to
them, and thai ~ gould carry them to The
place where he fell, and show them his
tracks leaving the sacred apot. He claimed
that his spirit in him had been preaching
eighteen hundred years; that he was a priest
after the order Of MelchisedeCh; was Christ
manifest in the flesh; had been beheaded:
had risen from the dead and was mind
reader, and would tell the members OF the
church that he could see .;tt,e devils on Their
heads and making sport of him, when thew
would not take front seats. He seemed 10
have acquired great power over the simple
minded OF both sexes. ana could lead them
into anything ne desired. When he syore
them to secrecy, he laid his hands On iheir
heads, and even those dissenting from his
teaching, and had denounced him, claim
that peculiar thrill Of electricity shook their
frames. The secret that be whispered in
their ears, according to cur Information from
dissenters, was not the same to all, and
always amounted to vulgar and lewd advice.
According to his theory the h be, 10 an ordi-
nary man. was wholly ipIcomprrehensibIe,
and oniy members Of his church, by
of the secret of The Lord
could fully understand it. He cor
tended that Egypt meant darkness, and that
Pharaoh was the ruler of darkness, and that
the world of to-day is Egypt. aud the devil is
the Red Sea was peop!ed, and that the chill
dren of Israel passed safely through It's in
habitauts; but thai PharoSh aud his hosts
were overwhelmed by the multitude, that
Qoah's wife was the ark spoken of Ia the
bible, and that the deliverauee of the eight
persons were the eight children which She |
gave birth to; that Lots wife, described as
pillar of salt, meant that she was harlot, |
and that he thought there were great many
pillars OF salt in his congregations. Those !
who join his church are require; 90 abstain |
from all participation IN the evil government, !
ana are not allowed to vote or go to l2w with |
each other. We have been furnished the |
names of some eighteen persons who axe |
now in full fellowship with the church and |
doctrines of this modern saint, together WITH !
some fourteen Others who have descended |
from and repudiated the hellish teachings. |
Among the former is one Judge Reed a man /
who was at one time regarded os one of the !
leading representative mon of Henderson !
county. He is now actirg ii TIE capacity OF I
an evangel Of the Edge sect, aud, we are IN |
for1ned, conducts regular service in the name !
OF what he Is TleaseJ to call his savior. |
The sense of deceney and good order of the |
respectable people in the vi~inity OF Edges |
work at last became SO outraged at the lewd |