The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-03-01
STRANGE RELIGION
ON NUUANU Street


lorsl God forbid that anyone shoul,
think SO, - said the Rev. III. M. Turnc,
last night. Mr.. Turney is the evangel
list conducting series of meetings IL
the Peniel Mission on Nuuanu street
at which his converts profess to re
ceive the power of speaking in differ
ent languages and who roll about til,
floor in their exuberance, shouting ant
singing in manner that has anything
ever before seen in Honolulu ut /;
discount. Last night the mission wa,
crowded with the curious. anxious tt
see and hear the Los Angeles exhorter
but there were so many unsympathetit
persons in the audience that the chill
passed into the converts and they coulc
not be heated up to the efferveseinl
point. At least that is the explana
ton given by Mr.. Turney to re
porter.
1.-THE Lord won't put himself or
exhibition just to satisfy the curl
ous,' put in the wife of the leader
a sentiment which was approved OF
by the cluster of young men around who
have enrolled themselves in the faith
and who had crowded around to hear
the interview and gather the words OF
wisdom which their leader would scat
ter like pearls before the pachydermous
newspaper man.
Them Holy Rollers is just fanatics y
spoke up one of the converts. "Our
religion is just the Bible"
"That s. it,, said leader. "We just
preach the straight old hell-fire doc
trine. We believe the Bible, every
| - . 10 49,
why we just can t help but shout and
sing and dance for joy. Some people
think WEI crazy, but we don't care.
But we arn't any free love or poly
gamy or monks and nuns. We believe
in marriage in the way of the Bible
and we don't believe in any divorced
people marrying, either. We think
that one man ought to have one wife
and then stay put"
One of the peculiarities of the
"Saints," as the converts to the Apos
tolic faith call themselves, is to speak
in tongues and an example of this
was given during the meeting, the lead
er making violent harangue in some
language that was particularly rich in
gutturals. A Korean convert, who sat
beside the reporter, informed him that
this was Korean, but if it was the
speaker didn't know it.
"That tongue 1 was speaking is
Egyptian, Think he said. 81 talk
Hawaiian sometimes, and Spanish,
French, German and others. At least
that's what the ones who speak these
languages say they are. / know what
1 IN saying all right, but don't know
what tongue | am talking in. The
Lord has promised me that he will
give me the tongue of any country
am called to and / am going around
the world with that assurance. 1 ex-
pect to go to Korea first, and l expect
to the Japs in Japanese and so on
around the world. We don't talk in
tongues like the Mormons do. They
are just imitators and profess to talk
the languages talked on Mars and the
other planets and by the prehistoric
people. We talk the languages of this
earth and have the power of interpre-
tation also.''
~ talk in Chinese" said Mrs. Tur-
ney, who is prepossessing young wom-
an, many years the junior of her hus-
band. 81 talked in Chinese here the
other night. The Cinnamon who heard
me didn't understand, so l guess
must have been speaking in some of
the dialects used way back inland in
China.
The reporter guessed the same thing,
then asked the leader as to the mean,
ing of the words spoken during the
meeting as to the early coming of the
Day of Judgment.
1--WE Believe that Christ wiH return
to judge the world during the present
generation" said Mr.. Turney. But
that is beginning to be believed in all
the Christian churches. The Presby.
terrain, the Methodists, they all think
the same thing now, and We Saints
know 1t. Just as soon as We receive
the spirit we have knowledge of the
fact. Here, on Saturday night, the
very first thing one of our boys did
after his Pentecostal baptism was to
warn the people that the Day of Judg-
ment was at hand. All over the Uni
ted States our people are preaching
this. for although the faith only was
found nine months ago in Los Angeles
it has spread wonderfully. We have
no regular church organization, every
ohe VI opI pIdiiSllc5 DeliiS independents
and self-supporting. We take up no
and gather no tithes, but
depend on voluntary contributions al
together.
The exhorter then related several In
stances of miraculous cures which he
had witnessed, one of the women pres
ent assuring the reporter that she HAD |
been cured of consumption that very
afternoon. Another case, related by
Mrs. Turney, was that of man with
an improperly set leg bone, which
out Immediately after the
laying on of hands. In church pa.
per handed over by the evangelist Is
told of the power over the sick exerted
by handkerchiefs blessed in meeting.
For these cures the Saints accept nc
pay.
IF took dollar for anything OF
hat kind believe the Lord would take
ny power away at once" said Mr. Tur-
1ey and his converts nodded In chorus.
One of the signs of the times" fore,
telling the end of the world Is the
number of automobiles running around
he streets. These. according to Mr..
rurney, are the chariots that thu
prophet saw in the streets at the time
II the awakening OF the dead, as rela-
ed In the Revelations