Evening journal., 1900-03-16
RAISED HERFRONTHEDEAD
Explanation Of An Alleged
Wonderful Miracle, g.
SANDFORDTOHlS CRITICS


ter Having Died She Was Brought
TO Life by the Chief Of the Holy
Ghost and Us Society.
II the testimony of all the one hun
dred and fifty inmates of the temple
is to be believed, the Rev. Dr. Frank
Sandford. Chief of the Holy Ghost
and Us School, and leader of the
worlds evangelization movement, with
its headquarters at Shiloh, Me-, has
raised from the dead Miss Olive A.
Mills, who has been for some time a
dweller of the temple.
People in his section who have been
watching the progress Of affairs on
the Durham sand hill are at loss to
understand how this latest manifesto
tion at Shiloh shall be characterized.
The scattered population about is
composed of hard-headed Yankee
farmers. The events of the last four
or five years on the hill are almost too
much for their creduality and yet in
the next breath after expressing
doubts as to some things they will tell
the listener that they have found Mr..
Sandford and his disciples the best
citizens the town has had. They pay
their bills promptly; they feed the
hungry. All are welcome at the tenn
pie. The persons who dwell there
devote themselves to a life based up
on all the precepts of the Bible to the
letter.
In seven years Sandford has built
the great temple without passing the
contribution box, has erected a chill
dren's building near by-a structure
of stone-and has completed and
quite fully equipped $4,000
brick building that is called "Bethes-
da," and which is used as a hospital
for the healing Of persons by the pow
or of God.
In this building of Bethesda was
wrought the alleged miracle that has
attracted such wide attention. When
q bare outline Of the story had been
published in the local papers. and ha(
made the rounds of the press the mail
for Shiloh (tha temple has postoifice
Of its own) increased TO hundreds Of
letters daily. People all over the Unit
ed States have been asking for addi-
tional facts and seeking corroboration.
Miss Mills has made the following
written statement:
Il had been i'll for several days at
Shil but was not very much wor-
ried at first. Then | grew worse. The
elders at Shiloh prayed for me, but in
spite of their appeals, / know passed
out of this life. | knew when my jaw
dropped. It was death. Then for a
time | was in darkness. II seemed tp
me as though ! was cropping abou
somewhere and somehow, trying "a
find exit from some place in which
/ was imprisoned. Then 1t seemed
that 1 rose gradually out of and above
4 2ny body. The Il in me rose. | don't
have any idea what this second sell
looked like I never thought Of that
part simply understood that rose
above what I realized was the body in
which had dwelt. l could look down
upon it. l could see the people gath
cred around it as it lay on the bed.
Then Mr.. Sanford came in and
looked at me and knelt. OH was sc
afraid that he would pray loudly
Voices were something awful to me-
felt knew just what all we're thinking
about. didn't need words. He
prayed in a whisper. That brought
quiet. Then it seemed to me that
was content to drift away. Some
force impelled me away from the room
and those friends. It seemed that
went through a valley of darkness, or
passing through dark tunnel. | fel
rather than saw that there was light
a great radiance-at the other end
Slowly I drew forward into that light
And as the light cleaned brighter anG
brighter my joy grew more and NOR
profound. knew that l was approach
ing the Kingdom o. God Almighty.
was afraid Just a moment-there II
the dark then l got out of the fea
into the great, wonderful peace of Coz
that / shall never forget. l know
went almost to heaven. | know
know that, for the joy touched m,
spirit As you approach a yineyari
you scent the fragrance of the grape
before you get where they are. Wei
/ was near enough to heaven for tn
fragrance of it to touch my spirit.
was beautiful!
"Then. from away back somewhere
came thinly and family the words, Il
the name of Jesus Of Nazareth, Oliv
Mills, come back
And again l was over the body froI
which I had departed. The peopl
were gathered about. It seemed to m
that this poor, sunken casket Of fes
was some old, soiled discarded ga
ment I rebelled at putting 1t o
again. But I knew that there wa
good reason for this command ths
had been laid upon me. After whs
l had experienced / was in no moo
to Withstand the commands of Got
So went back into my body.
In the section round about Shilo
there are all sorts of expressions. Th
clergymen of Lewiston and AubuT
preached sermons on the matter, fC
It has excited much religious intereI
in these two cities. These clergyme
have been interviewed. All of the
state their conviction that Mr.. San
ford is sincere, but misguided. Whe
the expression of these opinions WI
laid before Mr.. Sandford he said:
These men. though honest in the
intent. do not believe that God ca
Go this. They practically say s
Therefore. it will never fall with
their experience TO witness such MAI
festation of the power Of the Ho
Ghost. For IL God should answ
doubt with success He would be pI
ting q premium on unbelief, and pra
tically dethroning faith. They who