The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-08-27
A RELIGIOUS INCIDENT.

is ths account of an act of penance
in a eiiarch in East Cleveden, Eng
land. A young member of the
church had been guilty of criminal
intimacy with a girl who is now in
Jail OF a criminal charge. The
Young man went to the chancel
before the whole congregation and
kneeling, offered the following con-
fesslon, which was read aloud:
I, Llewellyn Harlre, do acknowledge
to be guilty of most gresiOus sin, fol-
which do hereby ask the forgiveness o.
nv felloW-men, and OK the woman /
have wronged, and of Almighty God.
In proof of my repentance. promise to
carry out the penance laid upon me IN
the presence of this congregation.
The clergyman fixed as a pen
ance that the guilty man go to the
court and take his place by the side
of the prisoner at the bar. The
man promised to perform this act
of humiliation. The clergyman
then turned to the congregation and
asked: "Seeing that this man has
humbled himself in the house OF
God, and, provided he carries out
his promise, will you forgive him?
If SO, answer 4 will" The answer
indicated was unanimous. Again
the clergyman asked the congrega-
ton if they would all, $50 far as OPP
pOrtunity might permit, help this
man toward living better life, and
shield him from reproach III this
matter" The reply Of each again
was Il will" Turning to the young
man the priest said: God be with
thee, my son, and give the power of
true repentance, to live better life
from this time hencefOrth, AmenI
The Sun intimates that Mr.
Beecher might profit by reading the
account. Confession being good for
the soul, perhaps a practical, per-
sonal application of the incident
would be profitable to the Plymouth
pastor. But there is a broader sug-
gestiveness in the circumstance,
and one which hints at a cure for
the skepticism that is thinning
reIigious.eongregations and swelling
the mighty army of disbelieVers.
No honorable, honest person, what
ever might be his personal ideas and
beliefs, could attack the religion
that so filed that poor sinners heart
as to lead him to such humiliating
penance; and no one could say he
was not trying to be a follower OF
the meek and loWly Jesus. 1t might
be said he should not have sinned;
that the religion ought to have kept
him from wrong-dOing, when the
necessity for confession and humili-
alton would not have arisen. The
Savior did not sin, it is true, but
how many others of Gods children
have been pure always as he was ?
One of the principal objects of
Christ's mission was to lead men to
repentance; not the repentance that
means only the binding of others
eyes to the guilty mans own con-
science, but the repentance which
is humble, contrite, earnest
and 10 be followed by purer and
better life thereafter. This is the
true purpose of Christianity, and
among the greatest successes
achieved by it are such incidents
as th.t recorded, where loving faith
in the saving power of Jesus is
shown in hum bleness, and charity,
love and helpfulness are shown in
the Judgment upon the sinner,
which is followed by forgiveness
and the promise to sustain him in
leading better life. Too often, not
religion, but religionists, are the
worst enemies to the true Christ
ianity which teaches and COM
mends the Cleveden incident. In
too many instances repentance is
but theory, and forgiveness
myth. The sinnermay be humble
and contrite as was his Master, and
his determination to do right earn.
est and strong; but how many
members Of the ordinary coDgrega
ton would accept his confession al
genuine and after putting him t.
| penance, forgive him in this life
and extending to him the RICH
hand of fellowship, help him t,
walk uprightly before God ant
man? We fear no confession coult
restore him to the confidence of tn
majority OF Christian congregations
| and the effort would be to erusl
rather than elevate, to destroy in
stead Of save. Religious method
and fashions" are largely to blame
| for the skepticism so prevalent