Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-02-09
BEECHER AS A PREACHER.


! Dr. Minot j. Savage, pastor Of a New
York church, the other day told his
congregation that the late Henry Ward
Beecher sometimes preached In q
trance" and that he delivered his
best sermons In such a state. DR., Saw.
age said
| AN intimate friend Of Mr.. Bcecher
told me one day that Mr.. Beocher told
hin II was no uncommon thing for him
TO preach In a trance. lie did not say
| that he always did, but that II was an
| experience that was not unknown 20
| him. lie would rise and begin 10 speak.
| when there would be a sudden rush of
| blood 10 the head and he would lose
| consciousness, and those were the days
| when he preached his most wonderful
| sermons
He would come to himself to find the
| people leaning on the rail I'm front OF
| him absorbed and intent with listening,
! and when some one would ask him what
| he meant by saying n special thing he
| would have To- wait for a report OF
| the sermon TO learn what II was. He
reports this as an actual experience.
The New York minister told this story
to illustrate his subject, Inspiration,
but he evidently forgot that the ma
jonty OF people at present do not be-
lleye in inspiration. II so, he Is rudely
reminded Of that fact by the ridlcuIe
his little story has elected, A writer
in the New York Press, for instance,
says;
81 always had notion that some
thing was wrong with Henry Ward
Beecher, and am grateful to the Rev.
Dr. Minot J. Savage for explaining that
he preached In a trance. This also
VIII enllghten the stenographers who
used to find the ablest Of pulpit orators
impossible to anticipate. His next word,
or phrase. was the unexpected, and no
knight Of the pot-hooks dared SHOVE
ahead Of him. lie was the despair OF
every disciple OF Sir Isaac Pitman
Twenty years ago the leading news
papers gave great deal OF Monday
space to Beecher, and his sermons were
devoured by all classes OF people. In
these degenerate days II Il preacher
gets q quarter Of a column he Is lucky
In the New York Mail and Express
the following paragraphs occur
AS Beecher himself was given as the
authority of this statement, II would be
interesting 10 know II he left any clew |
M To whether, when he read the reports |
Of the sermons thus uttered by inspira- |
ton he found them any the less char |
acteristlcally Beechery than his 0rdi- |
nary delyerances. The problem In |
connection with them must have been |
this II II was not Beecher himself who |
preached In those unconscious moments |
why was II that his people discovered |
nothing In the least unlike him In the |
inspired sermons? His personal flavor |
his special character We're 80 marked |
that any departure from them must |
have been observed Instantly, And /. |
Beecher was simply inspired with him
self as It WERE why did he need to go
into trance?
"a somewhat celebrated Unitarian, |
DR.. II. Bernard Carpenter, used to
preach In Boston opposite the 'Splrltu-
NJ Temple'-a big hall devoted TO sup
posed nspiratlonal utterances, DR.
Carpenter was one day asked how his |
church was getting along under his
ministry Well he answered, fairly |
well, think, considering the competi-
ton | have over the way Last sun
day Whitfield talked there In the morn
ing and Bcechor IN the afternoon Luth-
or comes In and breaches once IN q
while, and | understand they have 81
Paul announced for next Sunday. II Is
little hard to run opposition to that
llstl'
However, It was remarked that Dr.
Carpenters sermons seemed to be much
better worth printing than those OF
Luther and Paul, as uttered at IN
Spiritual Temple We are Inclined TO
think that the best inspiration Beecher
ever had was that Of his own stirring
spirit
our age is materiallstlc. II would
he best suited. could It be proved that
there never was, nor can be, divine in
SEPARATION. But why should not n
Becchor at times have hcon under spe-
cial divine influence? And II be, why
not others with a special mission on
earth?