Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-11-25
BAPTIZED BY FIRE.
A Religious Sect That Brands Con-
verts With Hot Iron.

Religious Sect That Brands Con-
verts With a Hot Iron.
Kansas missionaries Of the queer
sect known as the Fire Baptized asso-
citation, keep up their work in Frank
lin county, and a furore in religious
circles has been stirred up by them in
certain districts, says the Chambers.
burg, Pa, correspondent of the Phil
adelphia Record. These people do not
believe in the baptism by water, but
in the later method-by fre-as set
forth by ST. Paul in the Acts OF tho
Apostles. This they regard as per-
sonal privilege granted only to those
who join their association.
They also believe that one man
should not have more of earthly pos
sessions than another, but that all
should share in common. In fact,
they go little further than this ana
take the thirty-second verse OF the
fourth chapter of the Acts literally
and say that their possessions are nct
their own, but are given to them oy
a divine being merely Temporarily
They are seceders from the RIVER
Brethren denomination, and during
the first few weeks of their stay mere
the missionaries concentrated tnelt
attacks almost entirely upon tha'
church. Recently, however, they nave
turned their guns upon all rellgious
sects, and declare at their pupilc
meetings that their faith is the only
one which guarantees absolute sasEtS
in the life to come.
The Fire Baptized have located IL
Lehman's Grove, about six miles 1roh
this place. They hold two meetings
day-one in the afternoon and anothei
in the evening. On account OF lhe
novelty of the affair they attract large
audiences, but their converts nave
been very few. One of these is Amos
Musser, one of the most promlnem
farmers in that section of the county
The evangelists have been making
their home with him. There are now
about a dozen here from Kansas.
Musser was baptized last Sunday,
red-hot iron being used to brand nm
on the back So earnest is he In ms
belief that while attempting to ny
from loft in his barn he fell to the
floor, sustaining, however, but slight
injuries. He has also disposed of
large herd of hogs, believing the as
sertion of the evangelist that hogs are
unclean 4 few days ago he was
willed a farm, but he declined to ac~
cent il on account of neither said any
of them that aught OF that which ne
possessed was his own." Musser, how
ever, has not given an equal share ih
the magnificent farm upon which he
resides TO his brother evangclists.
The evangelists profess to be able to-
cure disease, and tell their hearers
that anything can be accomplished by
faith. but this doctrine was given
terrific shock a few evenings ago,
when one of the number, to demon
strate their power, prayed that "a
neighbor would bring them supply
of buttermilll at once, which did not
come. All sorts of attempts are mace
TO prove their omnipotence, but, ike
the buttermilk, the things asked Tor
have failed to materialize.
As the camp is established in close
proximity to the Air Hill Brethren
church, their opposition to that par
ticular denomination is made more
apparent, The converts so far OBJ
tained are former members of the Riv-
or Brethren church. That the latter
body is determined TO present hos
tile front to the seceders is shown by
the expulsion Of number OF the
members of the mother church who
greeted the seceders with the holy
kiss. There is tacit understanding
that the members of the old denomi-
nation are to have nothing to do with
the new sect. For this olfense several
members of Bishop Martin w. Over
holtzer's church were deprived ut
their membership.
Were not the River Brethren an eN-
ceedingly law-abiding people it is
questionable if the seceders would
progress very far with their work.
Should they continue their TRADES
against other denominations trouble
will likely follow, for already there is
talk of driving them from the COM
munity in which they are located.