The following will indicate the courageous attitude of the conference on questions of moral reform:
“Whereas, the use of tobacco is expensive, filthy, unnecessary, and, therefore, an evil, and,
“Whereas, it is especially unbecoming for ministers of the gospel to surrender to an acquired appetite, defile the body, the temple of the Holy Ghost, and thus, by example, encourage the young to do likewise; and,
“Whereas, this evil cannot be remedied so long as ministers freely and openly indulge in it, therefore,
“Resolved, 1. That from this time forward no person be granted license to preach by this Annual Conference who persists in the use of tobacco.
“Resolved, 2. That all licentiates who indulge this habit be required to give it up before taking upon themselves the vows of ordination.”
The significance of this action will be more fully appreciated when it is understood that West Virginia is a tobacco-producing States and that its use, in one form or another, is pretty general among the people. A report on temperance, which mercilessly arraigned the liquor traffic, and its political abetters, was also adopted. Here is a sentence or two from it: “Believing as we do that prohibition is both humane and holy, we can have no sympathy for a policy, or a Christianity that ignores it at the ballot-box.” Men who were willing to work for a pittance, which meant that they and their families were to go scantily fed, and half clothed, all for the sake of redeeming their native State, could not be expected to condone the offenses of the liquor dealer, or to have decent respect for those who did.
House Where the Bishop First Went to Housekeeping and Where His First Child Was Born, Grafton, W. Va.
The next two years were spent in Parkersburg. During the first we had a blessed revival which continued several weeks; in all, more than seventy joined the Church. But during the second year the work was hindered by circumstances beyond human control. A great sorrow came to our home. By degrees the shadows deepened, until the mother of my three children bade us a final adieu, and pushed out into the unseen. God pity and help the itinerant to whom such an experience comes! But my own mother, now of such precious memory, was ready to take the little ones, and to bestow upon them that wealth of care and love which never fails to enrich the life.