The news & observer., 1905-12-01
BY EDWARD L. CONN.

Wilson, N. c., Nov. 30.-This has
been a day of spiritual and intellec-
tual feasts with the members of the
North Carolina Conference.
What is pronounced by the elder
ministers in the conference to have
been the grandest and most profound
sermon they ever heard, was the
Thanksgiving sermon delivered at the
Methodist church by Bishop Alpheus
w. Wilson. Resultant from 1t was
renewed inspiration, and the hearts
of hundreds were made happy. There
were other addresses also remarkable
Tor their power over the congrega-
tons. The conference fittingly OBJ
served Thanksgiving, and there was
marked solemnity throughout the
proceedings Of the entire day. Mem
orable will this be with both Wilson
and the preachers, for the liberal hos
pltalfty of the town as free as the
bright sunlit day was only equalled
by the broad reach of thankfulness in
the hearts of the ministers.
The conference reports today con-
tinued to indicate unprecedented pros
perity in every field OF activity in the
denomination and a healthful opti-
I1ISDl Tor the future.
The subject of DIR. John C. Kilgo's
address It's afternoon was the preach
er as a student. He said there must
be proper mental condition as we'll as
physical opportunity for one to study
The object of studying, he said, is to
get the knowledge of the truth as il
is in Christ Jesus.
you ministers as students Te
continued, ARE seeking the truth s
hot fos4 =
that faith so as to get the form
of a creed. You must construct
creed; you cannot get along withcu
1T, and L declare that undenomi...
tional issue is high handed skepticism
and loose morality. You cannot have
religion without creed, but if you de-
pend upon your creed, you will not
have religion. A far-sounding warn
ing to Christian people is France
without a creed and the Philippine
Islands with a creed; they go to each
extreme" :"
DR.. Kilgo's definition of creed was
that it is "the formula of the formal
statement of that amount of truth |
know or am trying TO know. There
Will come time when we shall cease
to live by symbols, but know the
truth by intuition and see things as
they are. The Bible teaches the
verse teaches that God is independ-
ent of any form. God does not bind
up truth in any creed. God has
given the world its only declaration of
independence; we shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free
The creeds are not perfect, we must
strive to amend them You enlarge
the creed if you enlarge the SOUL"
Sermon by DIR. Wilson.
Tonight the presiding Bishop, DR..
Wilson, preached the missionary SER
mon. Dr. Wilson has been mission
airy secretary and has twice personally
inspected the foreign mission fields of
the Methodist Church. He said
had set an example for the
nations and they had followed this
example, but when the issues come
out they will all be failures unless
the cross is made the centre of the
whole movement.
The only thing in the world, he said
is the realization of the eternal pur-
poses of God, which will prevail
against all the powers of earth and
hell. The trouble with evangelization
lies at home, not abroad. There was
no place where the cross was brought
to bear that the effort failed. With
all the advantages that this and other
nations have given to this civilization,
the missionary work will not be
benefited by them and the results will
not be permanent for good unless
Jesus Christ and Him crucified be the
ruth that is put into the souls of the
people. The loudest word that comes
10 earth today, he declared, is the ut
Lerance from the cross of Christ.
Heathenism, he said, is a monster:
nut monsters are made to be killed,
nd one touch of the sword of the
pirit that proceeds from the mouth
# God is sufficient to kill it That
he world is half heather, half mon
ter does not mean that the monster
$ stronger than Christ, but that men
re towards.
After the great sermon Of Bishop
Continued on Page Three.)