THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 Claude E. Jones

 
 Q/~CtlU.
 
 MEMOIR 
 
 o? 
 
 REV. JOHN MOORE; 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM HIS CORRESPONDENCE, 
 
 AND OTHER WRITINGS. 
 
 JOHN G. ADAMS. 
 
 "Therebeof them, that hare left a name behind them, that their praises might be reported. . . . But theM wra 
 merciful men, whooe righteononeaa hath not been forgotten. . . . Their seed shall remain forerer, and their glory ihall 
 not be blotted out. Their bodies are buried in peaee ; but their name lireth foreTennore. The people will tell of 
 their wUdom, and the congregation will Bhow forth their praUe." Ercununoua 44 : 8, 10, 13, 14, 16. 
 
 " A food minister of Jeroi Christ." IT. 4: 6. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY A. TOMPKINS. 
 1856.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 
 
 A. TOMPKINS, 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 Stereotyped by 
 HOBART 4 ROBBIES, 
 England Type and Stereotype Foumierr, 
 BOSTON.
 
 X 
 
 < 
 
 Afc' 
 
 M E M O I R 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 
 TO 
 
 [ye Snrforsalisi Societies of folncjj pr. ^toor-e foas Castor; 
 
 TO THE DENOMISATION WHOSE NAME AND CAUSE HE LOVED AND HONORED j 
 
 AND TO THE COMMUNITY OF TBCE CHRISTIAN SOULS EVERYWHERE J 
 
 BY THEIB FRIESD AND FELLOW-SERVAHT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 5r*~ r^ *~*> r~ '" 
 SSS56
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IT was the advice of Dr. Arnold, to those who 
 sought his direction as to a course of reading, 
 "Read the lives of good men!" Biography, 
 representing a true Christian life, is one of the 
 best of offerings to mankind. It shows us what 
 the statement and proof of a theology, what 
 the best explanations of a religion in words, 
 never can the truth demonstrated in personal 
 disposition and action. Such a demonstration is 
 given us in the memoir which follows. 
 
 To most of the Universalist fraternity, espe 
 cially in New England, it is unnecessary to speak 
 the word of introduction or commendation in refer 
 ence to the faithful and honored minister of the 
 New Testament whose history is here recorded. 
 For more than thirty years he was one of the 
 most useful and highly-esteemed clergymen in the 
 denomination. The remembrances of his minis 
 try in Danvers, Lynn, and Lowell, Mass., Hart 
 ford, Conn., Troy, N. Y., Strafford, Vt., and 
 Lebanon, and Concord, N. EL, are full of pleas- 
 1*
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 ing interest to those who were his parishioners in 
 these places ; and his popularity as a true man 
 and useful citizen is fresh in the minds of multi 
 tudes out of the particular denominational frater 
 nity to which he belonged. 
 
 His sudden departure by death, in February 
 last (stricken down as he was in the maturity and 
 strength of his manhood, and in the midst of his 
 usefulness), the high estimation in which he was 
 held wherever known, his public and private 
 character as a true minister and noble man, and 
 the ample materials available for an interesting 
 and instructive" biography, are reasons enough for 
 the issuing of this volume. 
 
 The biographer had no thought, at the com 
 mencement of the year just gone, that before its 
 close he should be called to a work like this. But 
 how little do any of us know what duty is next 
 before us ; what new scene of life is suddenly to 
 open, in which we shall take some prominent or 
 humble part! Called as I have been by my own 
 inclinations to this work, and entering upon it 
 with the full approval of the family and special 
 friends, and of many of the ministering brethren 
 of Mr. Moore, I have sought to do what I could 
 to render the Memoir an acceptable offering to 
 the many who, since its announcement, have 
 awaited its coming. I have endeavored to repre 
 sent truthfully the man and the minister, as he 
 lived and acted with his fellow-men ; to permit 
 him, in all instances, where it has been practicable, 
 to speak for himself, in his own language, as re-
 
 PREFACE. VII 
 
 corded in his private diary, his epistolary corres 
 pondence, his sermons, or published communi 
 cations in religious journals. 
 
 Although the subject of this biography was 
 firmly attached to a particular denomination, his 
 sympathies were not confined there. He was a 
 Christian in the most generous and enlarged sense 
 of this term ; and the true Christian, whatever 
 his creed may be, will think so, if he will open 
 his heart to the teachings of this good man's life. 
 Rev. John Wesley, on reading the biography of 
 an English Unitarian, became so deeply impressed 
 with the character it revealed, that he published 
 the work himself, with a preface, in which he 
 says : "I was exceedingly struck at reading the 
 following life, having long settled it in my mind 
 that to entertain wrong notions of the Trinity was 
 inconsistent with real piety. But I cannot argue 
 against matter of fact. I dare not deny that Mr. 
 Firman was a pious man, although his notions of 
 the Trinity were quite erroneous." Thus will 
 the Christian spirit and life commend themselves 
 to the good consciences of all who would seek 
 the highest and best manifestations of the reli 
 gion of the Son of God ; and thus will the life 
 which these pages unfold bring its own welcome 
 to all readers of it "who love our Lord Jesus 
 Christ in sincerity." 
 
 The book has been prepared let me remark 
 amid the pressure of the many duties of a city 
 pastor's life. How it has been done, I can hardly 
 explain, any further than by saying, that I have
 
 VIII PREFACE. 
 
 thought and wrought in all the time I could spare 
 to this pursuit, and the result is what the reader 
 now has in hand. I bless God, not only for 
 health and strength through the work, but for 
 that inward spiritual inspiration and aid imparted 
 to me through communion with the true soul 
 whose ministries of heavenly grace I have en 
 deavored to record. 
 
 My thanks are due to the family of our brother 
 for their aid in the prosecution of this work, and 
 to the friends who have so readily given me ac 
 cess to his letters in their possession. They will 
 see, as they read, how their favors have contrib 
 uted to the value of the book. 
 
 With these statements, I commend this biog 
 raphy to the reader. He will find, as he con 
 sults it, that he is in company with one of the 
 pure, and true, and excellent, of the earth. May 
 he be so influenced by the character herein 
 delineated, as to feel the force of the poet's 
 words : 
 
 " Great souls are portions of eternity ; 
 
 Each drop of blood that e'er through true heart ran, 
 With holy message, ran for thee and me ; 
 
 For God's law, since the starry song began, 
 Hath been, and still forevermore shall be, 
 
 That every deed, to overlive Time's span, 
 Must goad the soul to be erect and free." 
 
 J. G. A.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 INTRODUCTION, 11 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 PARENTAGE, BIRTH, AND EARLY LIFE, 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 ENTERS THE MINISTRY, 26 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON, 31 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS, 53 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON, 86 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD, 120 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD, 177
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 . PAGB 
 MINISTRY IN THOY, 204 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 MINISTRY IN LOWELL, 219 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 MINISTRY IN LYNN, 236 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 MINISTRY IN STRAFFORD, 250 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD, 265 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 His DEATH, 301 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. TESTIMONIALS, . . . .311 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 TRIBUTE OF THE KEFORJI ASSOCIATION, 331 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 A WORD ABOUT THE MINISTRY, 335 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 TEACHINGS AND APPLICATIONS OF HIS FAITH, 338 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 BIOGRAPHER'S CONCLUDING REMARKS, 354 
 
 POETICAL TRIBUTE, 358
 
 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 " SHOW thyself a man." This was one of the special 
 directions of David to his son Solomon. Man is a 
 great term to be applied to any one, whether he be num 
 bered among the living or dead. To be a true man is 
 to be one of the noblest of existences. Parts, frag 
 ments of the mankind nature are there scattered over the 
 wide earth. They are in its high and low places. They 
 carry on the intercourse of nations ; take charge of the 
 world's interests ; command and obey, serve and are 
 served; they labor, hope, rejoice, suffer, live, and die. 
 Most of them do not answer to David's requisition of 
 Solomon ; do not manifest in themselves that true man 
 liness of which our nature is susceptible, and without 
 which in some good degree of development this nature 
 cannot most effectually bless the world. 
 
 And what constitutes a man? Not outward form, 
 good bodily proportions, physical health and activity;
 
 12 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 not excess of mental power in any ene direction; not 
 startling and commanding genius. These may all exist 
 where much of manliness is wanting. Nor is this great 
 virtue seen in an excess of what is called religious en- 
 gagedness and zeal. True manliness comes of a fair and 
 even balance of character ; of a good and clear mind ; 
 of a truthful and generous soul; of a spirit devoted, 
 according to the measure of ita powers, to the service 
 of God and to the welfare of his children. It is that 
 character whose leading peculiarities are, love of truth, 
 justice, humanity, reverence for God, humility, moral 
 courage, and independence, modified by that wisdom 
 which, in reproving all unrighteousness, would not for 
 get the love that "vaunteth not itself," but " beareth, 
 hopeth, endureth all things." Large-heartedness is, 
 perhaps, as comprehensive a term as can be used by 
 which to designate the true man. Such manliness was 
 there in him to the record of whose life we would devote 
 the following pages. 
 
 It is a great thing, also, to be a Christian minister : 
 one answering to the simple yet comprehensive descrip 
 tion of the apostle, " a good minister of Jesus Christ." 
 There are parts of ministers, as well as parts of men. 
 He is not always the best minister who has most theo 
 logical wisdom and strength, or scientific knowledge, or 
 eloquence of speech. Such a one may or may not answer 
 to this simple apostolic definition. To be a good min 
 ister is to be blest with such a character as is needful in 
 the various branches of the ministerial work. It is to
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 13 
 
 have not only clearness, force, or " excellency of speech," 
 but readiness to communicate socially with men ; power 
 to adapt itself to the different phases of human society ; 
 sympathy that can enter into the feelings of others ; a 
 sense of propriety such as shall forbid the evil accusa 
 tion, and commend itself even to friend or opponent, 
 in short, " to every man's conscience." It is to " be in 
 stant in season, out of season," in the work of truth and 
 righteousness ; a servant of all men ; a humble, devoted, 
 self-sacrificing, faithful " steward of the manifold grace of 
 God." Such a minister was the beloved brother to the 
 narration of whose inward and outward life we would 
 now attend. He was, emphatically, the good Minister 
 and the true Man. 
 
 " One thing I have learned by growing experience," 
 writes Dr. Channing, "how much more the happiness 
 and usefulness of life depend on a right balance of mind 
 than on remarkable gifts. I am lees and less a worshipper 
 of mere intellect." He was right iu this estimate. It 
 is a just one. It is not the intellectuality but the spirit 
 uality of men that will secure to them true life and sal 
 vation. Much of the intellectual power of mankind has 
 helped to dishonor and scourge the world, and not to 
 elevate and redeem it. Most of those called greatest 
 among men have not been the world's noblest heroes. If 
 we seek for these, we must look for such as have most 
 nearly lived according to that Teacher who has given us 
 his ideal of human heroism in this expressive direction: 
 " Whosoever will be greatest among you, let him be the 
 2
 
 14 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 servant of all." It is one peculiarity of his truth that 
 it reveals a heroism after which all men may justly 
 aspire, the least and most gifted, the frailest and 
 strongest who have their lot in this stern life, and need 
 a power above what earthliness can aiford to aid in an 
 swering this life's demands. It is the heroism of good 
 ness, a heroism witnessed in hinrwho not only taught 
 by heavenly authority, and " spake as never man spake/' 
 but who "went about doing good," and laid down his 
 life for the world ; a heroism that has shone in apostles, 
 martyrs, servants of God and his truth, in many an hour 
 of the world's history ; a heroism which rests not alto 
 gether with those whose names may be oftenest and most 
 loudly repeated by the world, but which rises in many a 
 pilgrim path and still retreat, where human hearts beat 
 in unison with heaven, and human hands are doing their 
 humblest duty in faith, and hope, and love. 
 
 While the world admires and celebrates the exploits 
 of its warriors, kings, emperors, its chief captains and 
 mighty men, it were well to inquire (because this is a 
 question yet to be answered, as the limited progress of 
 our race has not yet permitted to be), how far all these 
 have contributed to the moral advancement, the true 
 glory, of their race. We cannot count greatness of a 
 very high order where, when its merits are asked, a con 
 sideration like this is left out of sight. The world may 
 bow down before it, or sing hallelujahs in its praise, as it 
 has done, does now, and will do again. But in the 
 light of the Christian dispensation such homage must be
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 15 
 
 largely and specially qualified, to say the least. While, 
 under Christian teachings, we are directed to ' ' render 
 unto all their dues, tribute to "whom tribute, honor to 
 whom honor," yet if we wish to know and understand 
 the noblest heroism of which our nature is capable, we 
 may seek our audience of those who have appeared id 
 our world to turn men from error to truth, from sin to 
 holiness, hatred to love, unreconciliation to harmony with 
 God and heaven. It is a heroism which speaks through 
 Paul in this sublime direction : " For as many as are led 
 by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. What 
 shall we say, then ? Shall we continue in sin that grace 
 may about ? God forbid. How shall we that are dead 
 to sin live any longer therein?" A heroism to which 
 James refers when he says, ' ' Brethren, if any of you do 
 err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know 
 that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his 
 way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a mul 
 titude of sins." It is a heroism of which we hear in the 
 testimony of Pliny to the Emperor Trajan, in reference 
 to the early Christians : " They bound themselves by an 
 oath not to be guilty of any wickedness, never to falsify 
 their word, nor to deny a pledge committed to them when 
 called upon to return it." It is a heroism which, from 
 age to age, hath found utterance in human life ; which 
 has borne its ready and solemn testimony against human 
 wrong ; has strengthened the weak, opened the eyes of 
 the blind, raised up the fallen, sought out and brought 
 back the wandering from the ways of sin, awakened
 
 16 MEMOIK OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 strongest aspirations after the wisdom that is from above, 
 and inspired souls with holiest hopes of immortality. 
 Of such are the world's truest heroes, because " of such 
 are the kingdom of heaven." They "are the salt of 
 the earth," even while the earth knows not what influ 
 ence it is that keeps it from corruption. They are the 
 world's light ; the brighter and better the more dense 
 this world's darkness. They are the " wise," whose 
 counsels turn human hearts to righteousness, and of 
 whom it was anciently written, " They shall shine as the 
 brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever 
 and ever." In this good company of heaven's chosen 
 ones do we account him whose life-story now invites our 
 attention and contemplation.
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 PARENTAGE, BIRTH, AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 JOHN MOORE was born in Strafford, Vermont, Febru 
 ary 5, 1797. His parents were Joshua and Dorothy- 
 Moore. His father was born in Kittery, Maine, in 
 1767; his mother (Dorothy Moody), in Gilmanton, New 
 Hampshire, in 1770. Two sisters, older than himself, 
 died in early life. He was the eldest of six surviving 
 sons and one daughter. His father was a farmer, in 
 which occupation the son took part most of the time 
 from his boyhood to his thirtieth year. 
 
 The early education of Mr. Moore was obtained at the 
 district school, with the exception of what knowledge he 
 gained, in his eighteenth year, in a country store, and in 
 teaching school for the brief term of three months. In 
 his nineteenth year his father died, leaving his mother 
 with seven children. John being the eldest of them, it 
 devolved upon him to assist in settling the estate, as also 
 to take charge of the farm. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one, in February, 1818, he was 
 .2*
 
 18 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 married to Miss Mary Alger, daughter of Silas and 
 Elizabeth Alger, of Strafford. Two sons were added to 
 the family, the youngest of which, Jedediah Harris, died 
 at Lebanon, March 5, 1831. The eldest, John Harvey, 
 still living, is in the same ministry which his worthy 
 parent so long honored. 
 
 The early home influences of Mr. Moore were favor 
 able to the good development of his manliness. His 
 parents were very mindful of the physical rearing and 
 religious culture of their children. They sought to 
 instruct them in the holy principles of Christianity. 
 The father numbered himself with the Freewill Bap 
 tists, and took his children to the meetings of that sect ; 
 yet he was no small sectarian in his views. The tend 
 encies of his mind were to Universalism. The mother 
 was quite a decided believer in the doctrine of the recon 
 ciliation. The father of Mrs. Moore was also a Univer- 
 salist. 
 
 In the year 1818 there was a great religious excite 
 ment in Strafford and its neighborhood. It called the 
 attention of young Moore to the subject of a religious 
 life, and induced him to make a public profession of 
 religion, by receiving the rite of baptism at the hands 
 of Rev. Aaron Buzzell, of the Freewill Baptist church, 
 with the full understanding that the subject was a be 
 liever in the final holiness and happiness of all men. 
 For this had been the first doctrinal conviction he had 
 received ; a conviction affording him " all joy and peace,'' 
 and in which all that he saw in Christianity appeared in
 
 HIS EARLY LITE. 19 
 
 the highest degree attractive and glorious, worthy of 
 God, and indispensable to the truest life of his moral 
 offspring. He had, like others, passed through severe 
 exercises of mind on the subject of religion. He was 
 an honest inquirer after truth, a seeker of its light and 
 enjoyment. But his conflicts were never carried on 
 under the fear of infinite wrath and threatened endless 
 woe. His mind had its doubts, its darkness, and obscur 
 ity, and he, for a time, found not that rest and peace for 
 which he often longed. But there came an end of this 
 preliminary strife. His doubts were removed ; his dark 
 ness was dispersed by a clear perception of the Father 
 of lights ; his hopes for the future strengthened and con 
 firmed by seeing Jesus as "the resurrection and the 
 life," who " tasted death for every man." Such was his 
 early religious experience ; and from that we may date 
 his growth in divine knowledge and grace. Another * 
 has truly written of him: " John Moore never could have 
 believed any partial, narrow creed. His heart yearned 
 for all mankind, and he could easily believe that all were 
 embraced in the great purpose of the good Father's love. 
 What he believed upon this subject he believed with all 
 his soul ; and his faith afforded him inexpressible pleasure. 
 That pleasure he could not confine to his own heart. He 
 desired that others might share it with him. Accordingly 
 he chose the ministry of reconciliation as that sphere 
 which was most congenial with his desires, and in which 
 
 * Rev. C. H. Fay.
 
 20 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 he could most largely promote the welfare and happiness 
 of mankind." 
 
 Up to the time of the birth of Mr. Moore, Calvinism 
 had been the principal form of Christian faith in Ver 
 mont. But few Methodists or Arminians had been 
 known there. In 1803, at the time of the removal of 
 Rev. Hosea Ballou to Barnard, there were quite a num 
 ber of Universalist ministers in the state. Of these 
 we may mention the names of Rev. William Farwell, 
 Rev. Walter Ferris, Rev. C. G. Parsons, and Rev. Joab 
 Young. The last-named person was minister in Strafford 
 in the early days of Mr. Moore. He was an effective 
 and quite popular preacher, although in after life his 
 usefulness became somewhat impaired. In 1802 the 
 meeting of the General Convention of Universalists took 
 place in Strafford, at which meeting a committee* was 
 appointed to form a plan of faith and fellowship for the 
 
 * This committee consisted of George Richards, Hosea Ballou, Wal 
 ter Ferris, and Zephaniah Lathe. The Confession of Faith which they 
 reported, and which was adopted by the convention, is as follows : 
 
 " ART. 1. We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New 
 Testament contain a revelation of the character of God, and of the 
 duty, interest, and final destination, of mankind. 
 
 " ART. II. We believe that there is one God, whose nature is love, 
 revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of Grace, who 
 will finally restore the whole family of mankind to holiness and hap 
 piness. 
 
 " ART. III. We believe that holiness and true happiness are insep 
 arably connected ; and that believers ought to be careful to maintain 
 order, and practise good works ; for these things are good and profit 
 able unto men."
 
 HIS EARLY LIFE. 21 
 
 acceptance and union of the fraternity at large. In 
 the early part of Mr. Young's ministry the Universalists 
 erected a meeting-house in this place ; and since then 
 they have quite constantly maintained public worship. 
 
 During the busy agricultural pursuits of Mr. Moore 
 in his early manhood, he had very strong desires to 
 become a public advocate of the faith he cherished. 
 Circumstances, however, seemed to forbid this course. 
 His education was not what he would have it ; he was 
 involved in other business, which he felt that he could 
 not abandon at will ; and he dreaded to take any step 
 that would not be judicious, and prove righteously suc 
 cessful. No young man in the place stood higher in 
 character than he, enjoying as he did the confidence and 
 fellowship of all the various sects as a Christian, although 
 in their view he had embraced some wrong opinions in 
 theology. These, however, were not merely opinions 
 with him, but convictions, which constituted, in his 
 estimation, the exceeding riches of the kingdom of heaven. 
 They were to him, as he writes of them, "the bread of 
 life, on which he feasted by faith, and which gave him 
 increase of strength in the truth, and joy in contemplat 
 ing the destruction of all sin, and the salvation of all 
 sinners." He had true fellowship of heart for all sin 
 cere Christians, irrespective of their sectarian names, 
 and always did what he could to support the institutions 
 of Christianity. When preaching in conformity with 
 his own views could not be enjoyed, he was willing to
 
 22 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 contribute something for that which might come nearest 
 to it in his estimation. 
 
 The faith which it was now the great desire of his 
 soul to proclaim, and enforce, and honor, in his ministry, 
 we present in this full and excellent statement, which came 
 from his pen in after life. It is one of the most com 
 plete embodiments of the faith in words -that we have 
 ever seen. 
 
 " UNIVERSALISM ; what is it? what does it pro 
 pose ? to what does it tend ? These are questions of 
 importance, especially to all those who are desirous of 
 being satisfied in their own minds, by the exercise of 
 their own reason, as to the truth or falsity of any sys 
 tem claiming to be the truth of God. Universalism in 
 theory is the idea of an all-perfect God, who created the 
 universe for the display of his glory, and the good of all 
 that he created. It is the idea of a Mediator between 
 God and man, Jesus Christ, who, in his doctrine and 
 character, exhibited both the perfection of God and the 
 perfection of man. It is the idea of the Holy Spirit of 
 truth, which is sent forth to all the world, and, when 
 followed, guides men into all moral truth. Or, as the 
 apostle has it, ' There is one God, and one Mediator 
 between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who 
 gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due 
 time.' This is Universalism in theory. In practice, 
 Universalism is the loving of God supremely as our 
 Father, and the doing to all men in all things as we 
 would they should do unto us. It proposes to make all
 
 HIS EARLY LIFE. 23 
 
 who believe its doctrine, and carry that doctrine out in 
 practice, just what the honor and highest happiness of 
 man requires. It presents for human consideration truths 
 and purposes in regard to the character and will of God, 
 concerning the objects and certain result of the divine 
 government, to which all moral beings are amenable, 
 which are at once cheering and purifying, as it proposes 
 to bring all intelligences into a state of holiness and hap 
 piness in the kingdom of immortality. And hence its 
 tendency is to induce supreme love to God, as the Divine 
 Originator of that wonderful plan of grace manifested 
 and exemplified in his Son, and which, while it admits 
 of a just retribution to every sinner according to his 
 works, at the same time contemplates the final destruc 
 tion of all sin, and the salvation of all sinners. This, 
 and nothing short of this, is worthy of the God of 
 heaven. This, and nothing short of this, is according to 
 the doctrine of Jesus Christ. This, and nothing short 
 of this, meets and satisfies the desires begotten in the 
 soul by the Holy Spirit." 
 
 Before he entered the ministry, the Universalists in 
 Strafford resolved to hold meetings once in each month, 
 whether they had a stated ministry or not. They would 
 have a sermon read, and other services observed, depend 
 ing upon themselves and the God of all wisdom for 
 means to conduct their meeting. Mr. Moore began with 
 them to officiate as leader in the services, to good accept 
 ance, as we have reason to believe. This served to
 
 24 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 increase his desire to devote his whole time to the work 
 of the ministry. 
 
 We have said that his education was limited. It was 
 not what he would have had it when he thought of enter 
 ing the ministry. During his years of labor in manhood 
 he had not been able to devote himself closely to consulta 
 tion with books, although his few literary advantages had 
 been very well improved. With one book, however, he 
 was familiar; we mean the Bible. It had been "the 
 man of his counsel ; ' from his earliest years ; and it ever 
 remained such. He had found the plainest evidences, 
 the strongest confirmations, " line upon line," of his faith 
 there. It was usually the first adviser which he con 
 sulted. He sought its meaning according to his own 
 reading of it, and then looked, as he had occasion, for 
 what other commentators might have to say. This gave 
 him freshness in the Scriptures ; readiness in the use of 
 them. It was an accomplishment which made him strong 
 and successful in his ministerial work. Truly might it 
 be said of him that his faith and his ministry " were born, 
 not of the will of man, but of the word of God, that 
 liveth and abide th forever." 
 
 This intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures was a 
 peculiarity in the character of our ministry in those 
 days; and, we may confidently add, of our laity also. 
 Many of the latter, the fathers and mothers of our de 
 nomination in New England, were well versed in the 
 Book of books. They could quote chapter and verse 
 with all readiness, in proof of their faith. A " thus
 
 HIS EARLY LIFE. 25 
 
 saith the Lord" was to them of the highest conse 
 quence when they would vindicate this faith, or defend it 
 against the strong opposition it was so frequently called 
 to encounter. There were some such among the Univer- 
 salists in the neighborhood of Mr. Moore's residence, who 
 were aids to him in his inquiries after Christian truth. 
 3
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ENTERS THE MINISTRY. 
 
 THE subject "which, for a long time, had occupied the 
 thoughts of our friend the theme of his contemplations 
 by day, and of his dreams by night at last so absorbed 
 him that he resolved to enter the ministry. Others, less 
 qualified than himself, had entered it, and he had seen 
 evidences of the good they had accomplished. Besides, 
 he could "improve his gifts," not only by public speak 
 ing, but by study and discipline of mind. Why might 
 he not succeed ? He knew whom he believed ; he knew 
 the scriptural evidences of his faith, and the usual argu 
 ments by which it was supported. He knew human na 
 ture; was a man of the people: and could speak to 
 their understandings, because he had excellent common 
 sense, and to their hearts, because he had a large one 
 of his own. But he was distrustful of himself, and could 
 not venture, without great confidence, into the work. He 
 thought that, "if he could get folks to hear him," he 
 might venture to improve his opportunities for addressing
 
 ENTERS THE MINISTRY. 27 
 
 them ; and this, too, after he had resolved to enter the 
 ministry, and his time was all taken up in engagements 
 to preach! " The first time," writes Rev. Lemuel Willis, 
 " I met with him, was at the General Convention of Uni- 
 versalists of the New England States and others, holden 
 in Warner, N. H., September, 1822. I recollect he 
 arose in the midst of that body, and his manly and be 
 nignant personal appearance, and the earnest religious 
 spirit that characterized his address to the assembly of 
 ministers and delegates there convened, caused every one 
 present to be favorably impressed in relation to him, 
 young though he was, who appeared on that occasion not 
 as a clergyman, but as a delegate from the Universalist 
 society in Strafford, Vt., where he had been brought 
 up. This was two or three years before he entered 
 the ministry." 
 
 Rev. Thomas Whittemore also writes: " My first 
 meeting with him was at the General Convention in 
 Strafford, Vt., in 1824. He had not then commenced 
 preaching, though he had, doubtless, the desire, and 
 perhaps the intention, to devote his life to the Gospel 
 ministry. He was a young man of twenty-seven, and 
 was one of the committee appointed by the Universal- 
 ists of Strafford to see that all the delegates and vis 
 itors, old and young, male and female, Universalists, 
 half-Universalists, and anti-Universalists (for we had 
 some of all these classes at that convention), were well 
 taken care of, a business in which the young man took 
 much interest.
 
 28 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 y 
 
 " Shortly after this, we heard that he intended to 
 preach ; and those who knew him said, ' He will make a 
 useful man, whom all will love, and he will never dis 
 honor the cause.' The leading traits of his character 
 were humility, hope, a desire to do all men good, and a 
 love of social life." 
 
 In October, 1825, he applied to the Northern Associa 
 tion, then holding its annual session in Danville, Vt., 
 for a letter of fellowship as a candidate for the Chris 
 tian ministry, which was readily granted. And on 
 the first Sunday in December following he commenced 
 his ministry, under this new encouragement, in his 
 native town. 
 
 There are not a few interesting accounts given of the 
 first attempts at preaching made by those who afterwards 
 proved themselves to be eminent or very useful ministers. 
 Rev. Robert Hall, after naming the text of his first at 
 tempted discourse, proceeded to speak, said a few words, 
 and soon sat down, with the exclamation, " I 've lost all 
 my ideas ! " Rev. Hosea Ballou says of his second 
 attempt that it was a failure ; that he was greatly morti 
 fied, and thought for a time he would not engage in a 
 work for which he was not competent. Mr. Moore, we 
 believe, had but one serious trial of this kind. On his 
 way home, after having received his letter of fellow 
 ship at the Northern Association, he came to Barre, 
 where an evening lecture had been appointed, and was 
 unexpectedly called upon to do the principal discoursing 
 of the occasion. It was with some reluctance that he
 
 ENTERS THE MINISTRY. 29 
 
 complied, in consequence of the suddenness of the call. 
 He had a good audience, and conducted the services with 
 out embarrassment until he came to the sermon. After 
 naming his text, he proceeded to express his thoughts, 
 all the time feeling that the next sentence would exhaust 
 him bodily and mentally. He thus continued for about 
 twenty minutes, and at length closed, thankful for a re 
 lease from his embarrassment, and feeling that he had 
 made an utter failure. The hearers, however, did not 
 thus judge. They concluded that the preacher had given 
 them the actual meat of the Gospel. Returning with a 
 friend to his home for the night, the kind lady of the 
 house urged him to take some refreshment, remarking 
 somewhat emphatically, as the preacher then thought, 
 that after such an effort he must be fatigued ! These 
 words went heavily home to the preacher's heart, hearing, 
 as he thought he did in them, one of the severest of 
 comments upon his discourse. The speaker of them, 
 however, entertained no such intentions. She really 
 meant what she said ; for the preaching of the new min 
 ister had been very acceptable to her, as it had been to 
 others. 
 
 At the next annual session of the Northern Associa 
 tion, in Barre, in October, 1826, his ordination took place. 
 The services were as follows : Introductory Prayer, by 
 Rev. Nathaniel Wright, Jr., of Boston ; Sermon, by 
 Rev. J. Wallace, from Matt. 5 : 16, " Let your light 
 so shine before men, that they may see your good works, 
 and glorify your Father which is in heaven; " Ordina- 
 3*
 
 30 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 tion Prayer, by Rev. M. Coburn ; Delivery of Scriptures 
 and Charge, by Rev. K. Haven ; Fellowship, by Rev. J. 
 E. Palmer ; Benediction, by Rev. J. Wallace. The first 
 General Convention he ever attended as a preacher was 
 holden at Wells, Vt, in 1826, where he offered the 
 Introductory Prayer at the opening service. In 182T 
 he travelled to Saratoga Springs, N. Y., and attended 
 the meeting of the General Convention in that place, and 
 was made a member of the Committee on Fellowship and 
 Ordination. He continued during this time to preach 
 in Strafford and vicinity, having many calls for his ser 
 vices in his new vocation. He had begun the work in 
 earnest, and in the full conviction that " he who putteth 
 his hand to the plough and looketh back, is not fit for 
 the kingdom of God."
 
 CHAPTER ni. 
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 
 
 IN March, 1828, Mr. Moore moved to Lebanon, N. 
 H., in compliance with an earnest invitation from the 
 Universalist society in that place. Lebanon is south of 
 Hanover, on the Connecticut river, and one of the pleas- 
 antest towns in that region. The principal village is 
 situated on a plain at the head of the falls of Mascomy 
 river. It was in this village that Mr. Moore took up 
 his residence, and where he formed some of the strongest 
 friendships and passed some of the happiest years of 
 his life. Universalism had been known here for many 
 years. Several of the old preachers had visited the place 
 from time to time ; and in 1811 and 1819 the General 
 Convention had been held there. Before Mr. Moore's 
 connection with the society, Rev. David Pickering and 
 Rev. Lemuel Willis had been its ministers. They had 
 made good proof of their ministry, and were highly re 
 spected by the people in Lebanon. But no man was ever 
 more beloved in the town than their successor, Rev.
 
 32 MEMOIK OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 John Moore. And no home, probably, in after life, 
 ever seemed dearer to him than Lebanon. 
 
 His influence for good, as a true minister of the recon 
 ciliation, was felt not only in the place where he had 
 made his new home, but in many other places in that 
 region of New Hampshire and Vermont. He had one 
 of the most promising fields for religious culture ; and 
 well was he adapted to it. His engagements in Lebanon 
 were for half of the time. During the other half he 
 preached in Claremont, Newport, Hanover, Lyme, Pier- 
 mont, N. H., and in Strafford, and some other towns, in 
 Vermont. He was pastor and missionary ; and well 
 qualified in many respects did he prove himself for both 
 these kinds of ministerial work. He was everywhere a 
 representative and advocate of the cause he had espoused; 
 one, too, in whom every true friend of it could have confi 
 dence and just pride. Dignified, yet gentle and easy in 
 manner, plain and persuasive in his public speech, at home 
 alike with all classes of people, and in readiness to give 
 to every one that asked of him a reason of the Christian 
 hope he cherished, he could not fail of eliciting attention 
 and commanding respect wherever he appeared. Bigotry 
 could not long stand in his presence ; and many a con 
 scientious believer in a more limited faith, although re 
 garding his doctrine as somewhat heretical, could not 
 fail to admire the man. 
 
 This mode of ministerial life did much to prepare him 
 for the work of his succeeding years. It was said of Dr. 
 Baldwin, of the Baptist denomination, and for so long a
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 33 
 
 time minister in Boston, that he attributed much of the 
 usefulness of his ministry in after life to the discipline 
 gained in his earlier missionary days in very nearly the 
 same field occupied by Mr. Moore during his Lebanon 
 ministry.* Looking away from the rich intervales that 
 skirt the Connecticut river, the mountain ranges appear, 
 the green and fertile hills of Vermont in one direction, 
 and the more rugged ones of New Hampshire in the 
 other, with here and there in the smiling valleys the 
 bright-looking villages, with their church-spires pointing 
 heavenward, and between them on all sides the produc 
 tive farms of husbandmen who might be justly num 
 bered among the freest and happiest of the world's millions. 
 Such was the great missionary field into which our herald 
 of the everlasting Gospel was called, and in which he 
 made his calling honored and blest of the Lord. Some 
 times he would go into new places, where our Gospel had 
 not been publicly declared before ; where the prejudices 
 of the multitude were strong against it ; but where a few 
 listening ears and receptive hearts could be found in 
 readiness to hear the word, and a few more with them 
 who would listen just to learn what the preacher of the 
 new and strange doctrine had to say. Again he would 
 come where, -now and then, after long intervals, a day's 
 preaching of our faith was to be had in some school-room, 
 or hall, or, perchance, meeting-house, if by some legal 
 right our people could claim a share of time in one. On 
 such occasions he would make the most of his means for 
 
 * Dr. Baldwin was minister in Canaan, N. II.
 
 34 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 bringing before his audience the leading principles of 
 Christianity as he perceived them, and their practical 
 application to the characters and lives of mankind. In 
 addition to the edification thus imparted to believers, he 
 would often open to some inquiring mind the "new and 
 living way." Then, again, he would be called far_and 
 near to be present on funeral occasions ; and these would 
 often take him at least one day from his home ; it having 
 been in the past so customary in the country towns of 
 New England to hold funeral services in the early part 
 or middle of the day, and to expect a sermon from the 
 officiating clergyman. Many were the calls of this kind 
 upon the minister at Lebanon. And on such occasions 
 he would declare the beauty and excellency of the faith 
 he cherished to minds not accustomed to such messages, 
 and with an effect, too, Avhich lived and did its work long 
 after the occasion had passed. 
 
 The private journal kept by Mr. Moore during these 
 first years of his ministry we have been unable to obtain, 
 as it has passed out of sight in some way unknown to 
 the family. We are obliged, therefore, to depend on 
 accounts of his labors derived from other sources. In a 
 letter written by him to the editor of the Trumpet, and 
 published in that paper under date April 20, 1829, we 
 find the following account of his second visit to the valley 
 of Baker's river, about twenty miles east of Lebanon : 
 
 " Lebanon, N. H., April 2Qth, 1829. Brother 
 Whittemore : As any intelligence relative to the growth 
 of liberal principles in the community is gratefully re-
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 35 
 
 ceived by all liberal Christians, I hasten to give an 
 account of the rise and hitherto rapid growth of the 
 heart-cheering doctrine of God's impartial grace in Rum- 
 ney, N. H., hoping thereby to stimulate others : to go 
 and do likewise.' 
 
 " Your numerous readers will recollect a communica 
 tion some weeks since, signed K. 0., relating to the same 
 subject, in which they were informed that in April, 
 1828, Brother Josiah Gilman gave a lecture in Rum- 
 ney, which was the first sermon ever preached in that 
 town in which the salvation of all men was declared. 
 In June following, I spent one Sabbath with them, and 
 had three services, which were all the public preaching 
 of the kind they had enjoyed until the fourth Sabbath in 
 March last, when I visited them again ; and, to my great 
 satisfaction, I found that the seed had fallen on good 
 ground, the leaven had continued to operate until a re 
 spectable number were rejoicing in the evidences of our 
 faith, in hope of a happy immortality. Our brethren, 
 while I was with them, organized a society, consisting 
 of about forty members. It was truly encouraging to 
 see them come forward and unite for the purpose of sup 
 porting and extending liberal sentiments the aged, the 
 middle-aged, and the young. Two years since, and there 
 were but two or three who presumed to advocate the cause 
 of universal grace, in the whele town ; now they have a 
 very respectable society, composed of enlightened and 
 industrious citizens of all ages. There is one circum 
 stance I will mention which will show that our sentiments
 
 36 MEMOIE OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 need only be known to be received. An old gentleman, 
 by the name of Darling,* who for a great number of 
 years had been a professor of religion, and who had 
 adorned his profession, but who was among the number 
 of those Christians who think God is not so good as they 
 are, whose prayers are always at war with their faith, 
 and whose 'joy is not full,' was requested to read 
 Ballou's Notes on the Parables. He had never read 
 any writings nor heard any preaching of TJniversalists ; 
 but he consented to read the book ; and he tells me, 
 before he had read but a few pages, he discovered the 
 wonderful difference between the views of the author 
 and those entertained by Limitarians ; which induced 
 him to reexamine his Bible, comparing what he read 
 with the Scriptures, until he was brought to renounce 
 his former faith, and embrace one which is in accordance 
 with the benevolent desires of his heart. His new faith 
 gave "him so much joy that he began to declare it to his 
 neighbors, and, although it is but about two years since 
 
 * Mr. Daniel Darling was a well-known citizen of Rumney. He 
 lived at the centre of the town, and was one of the most scriptural 
 defenders of the great salvation we have ever known. He was formerly 
 a Freewill Baptist, and embraced Universalism after a diligent study 
 of the Bible. He was one of the most industrious of men ; yet he 
 could always find time to converse on religious topics. No matter 
 what talents were engaged with him in argument against our faith ; 
 "the Word of God," as he wielded it, was " quick and powerful " in 
 every strife. His spirit and life were daily exponents of his doctrine. 
 We need thousands of such missionaries of our faith in New England 
 at the present hour.
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 37 
 
 he embraced the truth as it is in Jesus, yet by his 
 preaching it to his brethren on all proper occasions, 
 many have been brought to the knowledge of it. 
 
 " When I was there in March last, our friends re 
 quested the use of the meeting-house which is occupied 
 by the Baptists ; but they were decidedly opposed to the 
 Universalists using the house, although they acknowledged 
 they had a right in it. So we repaired to the school- 
 house, where we held our meeting. The above-named 
 circumstance had been the cause of a town meeting, when 
 it was voted that each society should occupy the house 
 according to the number of freemen belonging to each 
 society ; which will probably give it to Universalists one 
 fourth of the time. I am informed there are many of 
 our faith in several of the towns in that section." 
 
 This was the beginning of a new order of things in 
 Rumney and vicinity. Societies afterwards sprang up 
 in the neighboring towns of Wentworth, Dorchester, 
 Warren, and Hebron. In June, 1833, the first ordina 
 tion of a minister of TJniversalism in that region took 
 place in Rumney. It was that of the writer of this 
 memoir, who passed the first few years of his ministry 
 in Rumney, and in a work, too, something like that 
 which he is now describing in the life of this departed 
 one. 
 
 The first time the writer ever saw Mr. Moore was on 
 
 the occasion of his preaching in Wentworth in the winter 
 
 of 1830. It was before I had entered the ministry, or 
 
 had determined when I should. I had come to reside 
 
 4
 
 38 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 for a time in that section of Grafton County, N. H., 
 and, as a recent convert to Universalism, had my regrets 
 that I had now moved so far away from such privileges 
 of hearing it preached as I had enjoyed in the southern 
 part of the state. It gave me pleasure, therefore, to go 
 to Wentworth on the Sabbath morning when the minister 
 from Lebanon was to officiate in the neat-looking new 
 church at the end of the village common. It was a clear 
 and mild day, for winter ; the sleighing was excellent, 
 and quite a large audience assembled from Wentworth 
 and the adjoining towns. I remember the scene as the 
 minister entered the door of the church in company with 
 the venerable Caleb Keith,* who took from beneath his 
 cloak his large family Bible (the one belonging to the 
 pulpit having, I think, been taken away), and handed it 
 to Mr. Moore, to be used by him during the services of 
 the occasion. I still retain in memory the solemn dignity 
 with which the book was presented, the countenance of 
 the worthy father seeming to say, "Here is our authority; 
 let it speak faithfully through you to us all ; " and the 
 modest acceptance of it on the part of the preacher, whose 
 
 * Mr. Keith was a native of Bridgewater, Mass. ; a descendant of 
 Rev. James Keith, the first settled minister of that ancient town. He 
 was a soldier in the revolutionary army, and afterwards lived in 
 Pelham and Enfield, Mass., and in Barnard, Vt., in which last place 
 he formed an intimate acquaintance with Rev. Hosea Ballou, which 
 continued while he lived. In 1804 he removed to Wentworth, where 
 he resided until his death in 1843, at the age of eighty-eight. He had 
 been much in public life, was universally esteemed, and was most 
 thoroughly devoted to " the faith of the Gospel."
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 89 
 
 manly bearing seemed to assure us that we should have 
 no trifling with its contents, but a faithful dispensation 
 of the living Word. And it was even so. The message 
 of the minister was in the directness and clearness of 
 truth itself. His text in the morning was Micah 7:8; 
 and in the afternoon, Acts 11 : 10. This last discourse, 
 on the vision of the sheet let down from heaven, was long 
 remembered by the hearers. 
 
 Thus passed the years of the first ministerial settle 
 ment of Mr. Moore in that ample northern field. Many 
 were his opportunities there to sow the good seed of the 
 kingdom ; and cheerfully did he give his strength of 
 body and spirit to this calling. In his own home-parish, 
 in the old church upon the green, and at other altars 
 away; in the pulpit, in the social circle, at the bed 
 side of the sick, or when in the presence of the dead he 
 administered the consolations of divine truth to the living, 
 he was the ready and devoted servant of that Master 
 who had called him to minister of his unsearchable riches 
 to a needy and dying world. A toil, indeed, was this ; and 
 there were trials in the toiling such as he who would be 
 a true minister of the everlasting Gospel only can know. 
 But there were many welcoming blessings for him. If 
 sometimes in rugged pastures, yet often in green fields 
 and by bright waters, was his pathway; and " beautiful 
 upon the mountains were the feet of him who published 
 peace, brought good tidings of good, proclaimed salvation, 
 and said unto Zion, Thy God reigneth ! " 
 
 In September, 1830, the Universalist General Conven-
 
 40 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOKE. 
 
 tion was held at Lebanon. The meeting was one of great 
 interest to all present. Kev. Hosea Ballou was chosen 
 Moderator, Rev. Thomas F. King Clerk, and Rev. 
 Thomas "VVhittemore Assistant Clerk of the convention. 
 Five discourses were preached during the meetings, to 
 crowded congregations. So great was the number present 
 on Thursday, the last day of the convention, that fears 
 were entertained as to the strength of the house ; and one 
 of the galleries was almost cleared during the last service, 
 as it was thought to be settling. The writer of the cir 
 cular of the convention, Rev. T. Whittemore, says : 
 "The brethren in Lebanon richly deserve our thanks 
 for the unnumbered kindnesses they bestowed, and for 
 the readiness with which they anticipated and supplied 
 all our wants." Among these, none took a deeper in 
 terest in the convention than the pastor of the Lebanon 
 society. It was an occasion full of highest satisfaction to 
 him. 
 
 In his epistolary correspondence, from the beginning 
 to the end of his ministry, the excellence of his religious 
 views was seldom left out of sight. His faith was one of 
 the new and good things about which he was always in 
 readiness to speak or to write. In a letter of date De- 
 cember 16th, 1831, to a newly-marrie'd pair, he says : 
 " My dear friends, how grateful ought we to be that the 
 views we , entertain of God, of religion, of futurity, are 
 such that we can have unlimited confidence in the power, 
 wisdom, and goodness, of Him who made and governs all 
 things. May we never leave this fountain of living
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 41 
 
 waters, for the turbid streams that flow from the system 
 of endless wrath, a system which leads so many to dis 
 trust the kindness of God, and causes them to drag out a 
 kind of half existence between hope and fear ! May 
 heaven preserve us from such calamity ! " 
 
 The nearness of Lebanon to Hanover in process of time 
 brought Mr. Moore to the last-named place. It was a 
 town where one of the most popular colleges of New Eng 
 land had long been established, and where the predomi 
 nating religious sentiments were mainly accordant with 
 the puritanism of New England. But little of Univer- 
 salism, or liberal Christianity in any form, had been known 
 there. An occasional discourse from some one of the 
 Abrahamic faith might have been delivered there ; but 
 the ears of the people were accustomed to hear but very 
 little of the Gospel of Reconciliation, which embraces the 
 world in its heavenly promises. There were a few 
 worthy friends of this doctrine in Hanover, who engaged 
 the services of Mr. Moore, at first in occasional lectures 
 there, and afterwards during the whole Sabbath, as the 
 preacher could find opportunity. In a letter to a friend, 
 of date June 1, 1831, he writes : " I expect to preach 
 in East Hanover next Sunday, perhaps to the great grief 
 of some who sincerely believe themselves to be God's 
 people, but who, it may be possible, as I think, have fol 
 lowed the example of their brethren, as related by the 
 prophet Jeremiah, 'My people have committed two 
 errors : they have forsaken me, the fountain of living 
 waters, and have hewn out to themselves broken cisterns 
 4*
 
 42 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 that can hold no water.' If any such should favor me 
 with their presence, may I be enabled to lead them in 
 green pastures, where flow the pure waters of salvation ! 
 Should I have the privilege of preaching the words of life 
 and peace to those who have been accustomed to drink 
 waters at less refreshing wells and pools, if I should 
 present to them the cup of divine truth and salvation, 
 would they dash it from them, exclaiming, ' Though such 
 draughts may make us happy now, it were better not to 
 indulge in them ; they will do to live by, but not to die 
 by ' ? human folly ! When will mankind learn the 
 nature of God, and his requirements? " The ministry of 
 Mr. Moore was acceptable to many minds in Hanover. 
 His testimony was a needed one there ; and it was heard 
 by those who were in readiness for it amid the many 
 counter testimonies around them. Some of the members 
 of the college were, during the first and second residences 
 of Mr. Moore in Lebanon, very constant attendants upon 
 his ministry. 
 
 Some time in November, 1831, Rev. Mr. Sprague, of 
 the Methodist connection, either invited or challenged any 
 minister of the Universalist denomination, who might be 
 so inclined, to preach with him at Topsham, Vt., on the 
 fourth Sabbath in that month. Rev. Warren Skinner, 
 of Cavendish, very readily accepted the invitation. Mr. 
 Sprague proposed preaching a sermon in the morning 
 against the doctrine of universal restoration, which might 
 be succeeded by a discourse from Mr. Skinner in the 
 afternoon, which would terminate the meeting.
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 43 
 
 When the time came, Mr. Skinner, in consequence of 
 severe illness, was unable to meet the appointment, and 
 requested Mr. Moore to take his place ; with which request 
 the latter was very willing and happy to comply. He 
 accordingly stood in the place of his brother, and after 
 wards made the following report of the meeting in the 
 Watchman, published at Woodstock, Vt. : 
 
 " Notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, every 
 part of the meeting-house was filled to overflowing. Per 
 sons attended from all of the adjoining towns, some from 
 Chelsea, Barre, and Piermont. Perfect order was pre 
 served throughout the meeting. 
 
 "Mr. Sprague took the following for a text: 1st Tim. 
 4 : 1, 2, ' Now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the 
 latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed 
 to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils ; speaking lies 
 in hypocrisy ; having their conscience seared with a hot 
 iron.' 
 
 "Mr. S. said he should treat the subject in the follow 
 ing order: first, notice the faith mentioned in the text; 
 and, second, show that a departure from the faith js 
 Universalism, the doctrine of devils. Mr. S. asserted 
 that endless misery in a future state, a general judgment 
 subsequent to the resurrection, and ' the existence of a 
 devil distinct from man, were prominent points in the 
 faith of the first Christians. He then proceeded to argue 
 the truth of his first proposition, from moral obligation ; 
 ' That God had imposed on man a law, the penalty of 
 which was an endless curse ; ' that mankind were under
 
 44 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 obligation to obey this law, for 'all belong to God;' that, as 
 this law had been violated, of course the sinner was liable 
 to experience its penalty, which, he said, was an endless 
 curse ; that salvation from this punishment in a future 
 state is proffered on certain conditions to be performed 
 in this ; that these conditions were faith and repentance ; 
 that all who were not thus prepared for heaven must be 
 endlessly miserable ; and as some died in sin, of course 
 they could not be saved, because there is no knowledge 
 in the grave, and no one ever repented in hell. Mr. S. 
 once knew a man die in a fit of drunkenness, who, as 
 he said, ' entered another world a drunkard.' 
 
 " To sustain his second proposition, Mr. S. quoted Acts 
 17: 31 ; John 5 : 28, 29 ; 2d Tim. 4 : 4 ; 1st Peter 4:5; 
 Heb. 9: 27; Matt. 25: 46; 2d Peter 3 : 10. In re 
 marking on these passages, he took the ground common 
 to all limitarians, and labored to make the hearer believe 
 that all the events mentioned in the aforesaid texts were 
 yet future ; and was careful to add the term all, in Heb. 
 9 : 27, to make it suit his purpose. Mr. S. then noticed 
 the criticisms of Universalists on the above texts, which 
 he said were ' false, and God knows it.' These texts 
 Mr. S. said he ' could not look in the face, when he was 
 a Uhiversalist.' To show the nature of the curse an 
 nexed to the law of God, Mr. S. presented before his 
 hearers ' the damned ghost ' of the rich man, mentioned 
 in the parable, Luke 16. 
 
 " In support of his third proposition, namely, the 
 existence of a devil distinct from man, Mr. S. quoted 1st
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 45 
 
 Peter 5:8. He was opposed to the doctrine of Univer- 
 salism, -which says every one shall be punished for all 
 his sins, because on this ground he could not see how 
 any could be saved. He seemed to think there could be 
 no salvation but a salvation from just punishment, or 
 the pains of a hell in a future world. 
 
 "Mr. S. then attempted to show that Universalism 
 is a departure from the Christian faith, and is the doctrine 
 of devils. To prove this, he in the first place said, ' I am 
 bold to say it ; ' next, that the devil preached Universal- 
 ism in the garden of Eden ; and, in the third place, that 
 Universalists deny the existence of a devil ! 
 
 "Mr. S. next mentioned some of the arguments which 
 he said were used by Universalists to support their doc 
 trine, drawn from the character of God ; that, as God is 
 infinite in goodness, wisdom, and power, of course he 
 would not punish endlessly. But he thought this argu 
 ment a very weak one indeed ; for, notwithstanding God 
 is good, and wise, and powerful, he suffers sin, and pun 
 ishes sinners, which 4ed Mr. S. to conclude sin and misery 
 would forever exist. Another argument which he noticed 
 was, that as God .knew from the beginning how man 
 would conduct, and what would be the result of his con 
 duct, his goodness would have prevented the creation of 
 any who- would so conduct as to be obnoxious to endless 
 misery. Mr. S. then went on to make the following 
 false and unjust statements, and to deal out the most 
 abuse that I ever heard from one man in so short a time. 
 He said TJniversalista did not draw their arguments from
 
 46 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 the Bible ; that they denied its being the word of God ; 
 that they set up reason as a God ; that they think, because 
 their feelings are opposed to punishment, therefore there 
 will be none ; that Universalism is a mask of infidelity ; 
 that where the doctrine is preached most, there is the 
 most sin ; that it says if men do not repent they will not 
 be punished ; that it is but a step from infidelity, because 
 Universalists use the same arguments that are used by 
 the infidel ; that Universalists do not believe that God 
 was manifest in the flesh ; that they deny the atonement ; 
 that they deny experimental religion ; that they deny the 
 spirit of God ; do not preach as did Christ and the apos 
 tles ; and, finally, that the preaching of Universalism does 
 not make men tremble. Mr. S. said, as he was acquainted 
 in several states, he knew the character of Universalists. 
 He represented them to be the most abandoned class of 
 men in the community ; that modern Universalists de 
 nied moral obligation ; and after thus ranting (for I can 
 not call it preaching) for two hours and a quarter, he 
 closed his performance by saying h now felt much re 
 lieved ; that his garments were clear from the blood of 
 Universalists; and in a very solemn manner told the 
 audience that he expected to meet them at the judgment, 
 in a future state, when he should have to account to 
 them how he had preached to them, and they how they 
 had heard. 
 
 ' ' In the afternoon I spoke in answer to the foregoing, 
 using as a motto, ' I also will show mine opinion,' Job 
 32 : 17. I commenced by saying, that the doctrine we
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 47 
 
 embraced forbids retaliation ; that the spirit of the senti 
 ments which we cherished enjoined it upon us not to 
 render railing for railing, but to render good for evil ; to 
 do unto others as we would that they should do unto us ; 
 that ' the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be 
 gentle toward all men, apt to teach ; ' and attempted to 
 show that the faith of the first Christians did not embrace 
 the horrid doctrine of endless woe ; that this is proved 
 both from the silence of the Scripture writers on the sub 
 ject of punishment after death, and the many positive 
 declarations relative to the ultimate happiness of all men. 
 I also attempted to show that the doctrine of a general 
 judgment subsequent to the resurrection is not a doctrine 
 of the Bible, inasmuch as all the Scripture writers, when 
 speaking of a resurrection from mortal to immortality, 
 are entirely silent as to a judgment after that change, 
 but in a positive manner declare ' then cometh the end ; ' 
 and as all judgment is committed unto the Son, and as 
 he is represented as delivering up the kingdom to the 
 Father, when the last enemy (death) is destroyed, { that 
 God may be all in all] it is ' our opinion ' that the doc 
 trine of a future judgment is unscriptural ; and after 
 showing that the passage quoted by Mr. S. to prove the 
 personality of a devil distinct from man referred to the 
 opposers for the first Christians, proceeded to show what 
 Universalism teaches relative to the certainty of punish 
 ment, its duration, its design, &c. ; also to answer the 
 objections raised by Mr. S. against the doctrine of 
 universal holiness and happiness; and to correct the
 
 48 MEMOIR OF' JOHN MOORE. 
 
 many false statements which Mr. S. made relative to the 
 views and conduct of the denomination to which we 
 belong." 
 
 In this interview Mr. Moore acquitted himself manfully. 
 His opponent was not in the best of temper ; while he 
 was, beside being specially gratified for such an oppor 
 tunity as was that day offered him to meet the reasonings 
 brought against his faith, by that " sword of the spirit 
 which is the word of God," and which he wielded with 
 good strength and skill. From a correspondence which 
 afterwards appeared in the Watchman between the two 
 ministers, it would seem that Mr. Sprague was unwilling 
 his sermon should be given in printed form to the public, 
 while Mr. Moore wished that both the discourses might 
 be. His concluding letter to Mr. S. is one wherein the 
 writer uses ''great plainness of speech," speech, how 
 ever, tempered with charity and moderation, and which 
 would be likely to make impressions favorable to Mr. 
 Moore and his cause upon the minds of all candid readers. 
 
 It was during this residence in Lebanon that Mr. 
 Moore and his companion were called to part with one 
 of the two children which had been given them. He 
 had ministered to other bereaved parents who sorrowed 
 that their children were not, and had commended them 
 to that love which gave its benedictions to the little ones, 
 and spoke of them as heirs of the heavenly kingdom. 
 He had now to look to that same source for consolation 
 and strength, as this sacred family tie is broken. He 
 must lay his loved one with the dead. He did so, in the
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 49 
 
 light of that hope which sees the victor of the earthly 
 vanquished by Him who said, "I am the resurrection 
 and the life." He did so, trusting in the perfect will of 
 Heaven, though then unconscious that, in obedience to 
 this' will, he would come, the first one of that little 
 family-band, to be laid by the side of the early departed. 
 
 In January, 1833, Mr. Moore visited Danvers, Mass., 
 by invitation of the committee of the Second Universalist 
 Society in that place. His pulpit services there, and his 
 visit otherwise, proving highly acceptable, he was solicited 
 to become the minister of the society, and he consented 
 to do so. How long the intention of a removal had been 
 in his mind we have not the means of knowing ; but this 
 new decision was made with the utmost conscientiousness 
 on the part of Mr. Moore. He had worked diligently while 
 in Lebanon, and had consumed much time in travelling 
 from place to place during the half of each year which 
 he devoted to his missionary labors. The supposition 
 that he might increase rather than diminish his useful 
 ness ; that he would in Danvers have constant employ 
 ment, with the advantage of more time for his studies at 
 home, as his calls abroad would be less ; and, also, the 
 consideration of a somewhat larger salary, which he felt 
 that he then needed, had doubtless the effect to induce 
 him to remove from a place which had become to him a 
 second and most endeared home. 
 
 This decision in favor of Danvers, however, was very 
 unsatisfactory to his friends in Lebanon. They were 
 hardly prepared for such an event. In a letter to a 
 5
 
 50 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 friend in Danvers, after his return from the visit to that 
 place, he writes: "I had a comfortable time getting 
 home, and found my family in good health ; but you can 
 have no conception of the fiery trial I have had to pass 
 through on account of what I did, or agreed to do, when 
 I was at your place. My friends say they did not think 
 that I should engage till after I had returned ; they are 
 really disappointed, and say I am not only going away 
 from home, but running away from the ' vineyard ' where 
 I ought to labor. If I had not positively engaged before 
 I had returned, they would have kept me here. I have 
 sometimes been fearful that I have acted too hastily, but 
 shall endeavor to fulfil the engagement on my part, and 
 have no doubt it will be promptly attended to on yours. 
 Had my friends here believed you would have relin 
 quished me, they would have sent an agent down imme 
 diately ; but they have now given it up. I have one 
 painful duty to perform, that of preaching the last dis 
 course." 
 
 In accordance with the decision here expressed, the 
 new step was taken by our minister. He had consulted 
 duty, and although with regrets which no words could 
 express, he parted with his beloved people in peace for 
 his new field of Christian exertion. His ministry in 
 Lebanon had been blest ; and never was there one of his 
 elsewhere in after life, where stronger attachments were 
 realized between pastor and people. As an illustration 
 of his influence while in Lebanon, we refer to a testimony 
 concerning him during his ministry there. It is from a
 
 FIRST MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 51 
 
 discourse by Rev. C. H. Fay, in Nashua, on the Sun 
 day after the death and burial of Mr. Moore : 
 
 " He was my pastor honored and beloved. A fre 
 quent visitor in my father's family, his presence was 
 always welcome. Shall I ever forget those pastoral visits, 
 or the Sabbaths which I spent under his ministrations ? 
 I have since wandered far from that village church. I 
 have sat in soft, rich pews, beneath the high domes of 
 costly sanctuaries. I have listened to the most celebrated 
 sacred orators of our land. I have heard the solemn 
 music roll from the pipes of the most noble organs, and 
 resound through the carved arches of the magnificent ca 
 thedral ; but no impressions were ever made upon my 
 soul more lasting or inspiring than those which I received 
 in that plain village church, when my beloved friend and 
 pastor led in prayer, or spoke his face beaming with 
 benignity of the goodness of God, and of the unsearch 
 able riches of Christ. Even now I seem to be there 
 
 ' A placid stillness reigns, 
 Until the man of God, worthy the name, 
 Opens the book, and reverently 
 The stated portion reads.' * 
 
 "The fervent prayer is offered. The hymn is read, and 
 the choir rises and sings. 
 
 ' They chant their artless notes in simple guise ; 
 
 They tune their hearts, by far the noblest aim. 
 Perhaps Dundee's wild warbling measures rise,
 
 52 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 Or plaintive Martyrs worthy of the name, 
 Or noble Elgin beats the heavenward flame, 
 . The sweetest far of Scotia's holy lays.' 
 
 "And now ^he text is reverently read, and I listen to 
 the sermon. Its theme is the glorious Gospel of the 
 blessed God. The preacher seems inspired, not with 
 an unnatural rapture, nor with what the world calls 
 eloquence, but with his theme ; and truth divine seems 
 
 to 
 
 ' Come mended from his tongue.' 
 
 " The solemn benediction is pronounced. The service 
 ends, but its impression remains to be vividly recalled 
 here., where he last stood to proclaim the truth he loved, 
 after the lapse of a quarter of a century, and while the 
 winds of midwinter moan their first wild requiem around 
 his grave.* 
 
 " During his residence in Lebanon, he won the esteem 
 and respect of all. The robes of his ministerial office 
 received no stain, and many tears fell upon the floor of 
 the sanctuary when he pronounced his valedictory 
 sermon." 
 
 * This was said in the pulpit where Mr. Moore preached his last 
 sermon.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 % 
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 
 
 MR. MOORE commenced his residence in Danvers on 
 the 22d of February, 1833. This town is one of the 
 oldest in New England, and was formerly a portion of 
 Salem. One of its late historians says: "Danvers is 
 both city and country. The South Parish extends into 
 Salem, and is essentially one with Salem ; while further 
 north the scenery presents so rural an aspect, that the 
 stranger can scarcely fancy himself so near the cities and 
 the seas. Beholding the air of comfort and independence, 
 and witnessing the enterprise and business zeal for which 
 the town has become a proverb, and feeling the bosom 
 expand with the generous liberal spirit which surrounds 
 the community like an atmosphere, the beholder of to 
 day can scarcely realize that he stands where witches 
 were tried and executed, and bigotry, an ugly fiend, once 
 poisoned the air with his breath. Formerly distinguished 
 for intolerance, austerity, and gloom, the town is now 
 5*
 
 54 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 equally known for its enterprise, and the spirit of liber 
 ality which it breathes." * 
 
 That part called the South Parish, where Mr. Moore 
 was settled, has since been incorporated into a town 
 named Danvers. Other portions of the old town are 
 North Danvers and Danversport. The meeting-house 
 of the First Universalist Society is in the last-named 
 place. The society was organized in 1815. The house 
 which it now occupies was dedicated in June, 1833. The 
 Second Society, in the South Parish, of which Mr. Moore 
 was called to be pastor, was formed in March, 1832. 
 During this year a good and commodious house of worship 
 was erected, at a cost of four thousand dollars. This 
 house was dedicated January 10th, 1833. Mr. Moore 
 preached the dedication sermon. His text was Psalms 36 : 
 7, 8. "How excellent is thy loving-kindness, God! 
 therefore do the children of men put their trust under the 
 shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied 
 with the fatness of thy house, and thou shalt make them 
 to drink of the river of thy pleasures." After the open 
 ing of his discourse by a reference to the occasion, and a 
 clear statement of the religious wants of our nature, he 
 proceeded to speak of the Christian revelation as adapted 
 to the moral condition of man, a manifestation of 
 heaven's love through Christ, the enlightener of the 
 world. 
 
 Speaking of the similitude used by the Psalmist, "the 
 
 * History of Danvers, by Rev. J. W. Hanson.
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS.' 55 
 
 shadow of the Almighty's wings," he says : " This 
 figure is most admirably calculated to express that perfect 
 safety which all those enjoy who put their trust in God. 
 There they feel safe amidst all the storms of adversity, 
 affliction, and sorrow ; there, in the refreshing shadow of 
 the Almighty's wing, do they rest, enjoying the smiles 
 of his love, and feasting on the riches of his grace. And 
 we have the assurance of both scripture and experience, 
 that they who know the name of the Lord will put their 
 trust in him. Hence the importance of having a true 
 knowledge of the character of nature's God imparted to 
 the children of men, that they may be saved* from that 
 mental bondage under which thousands are groaning 
 through fear of God's wrath, which fear is the offspring 
 of ignorance, and which ignorance is perpetuated by the 
 unmerciful dogma of endless woe. 
 
 " It is not the exhibition of almighty power, nor of in 
 finite wisdom, which we see displayed in all parts of the 
 universe of God, which leads mankind to trust in him 
 whose kingdom ruleth over all, but a manifestation of the 
 excellency of his goodness ; it is his parental kindness as 
 proclaimed in the Gospel system, and proved true both by 
 nature and experience, which causes the Christian to con 
 fide in his love, and hope in his mercy. It is because he 
 sees that all the attributes of God harmonize with and 
 centre in love, that he is constrained to exclaim, ' Whom 
 have I in heaven but thee, and there is none on earth I 
 desire beside thee ! ' It is because he believes God c is 
 the Saviour of all men, especially of them that believe ; '
 
 56 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 and that he c will have all men to be saved and come to 
 the knowledge of the truth ; ' that i all who die in Adam 
 shall be made alive in Christ,' because he is permitted to 
 receive this glorious doctrine of salvation, so expressive 
 of divine and unchanging goodness, that he puts his trust 
 in the Most High ! " 
 
 His remarks on the satisfaction given to the soul by a 
 true Christian faith are worthy the consideration of 
 every mortal. 
 
 " In no instance when the sacred penmen have referred 
 to the provision almighty God has made to satisfy the 
 moral wants of mankind, do they represent it as scanty. 
 But they invariably use such figures as are calculated to 
 convey an idea of fulness, and of impartiality. When 
 Isaiah gave a description of a Gospel feast, it was in the 
 following glowing language : ' And in this mountain 
 shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of 
 fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full 
 of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined ; and he will 
 destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast 
 over all people, and the vail that is spread over all na 
 tions : he will swallow up death in victory ; and the Lord 
 God will wipe tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of 
 his people shall be taken away from off all the earth, for 
 the Lord hath spoken it.' Isa. 25 : 6 8. 
 
 " If it is possible to express an idea of fulness, of impar 
 tiality, then most certainly is it expressed in this scrip 
 ture, which is in perfect unison with the text and the 
 whole tenor of the Bible, as also with the character of
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 57 
 
 God as seen in that abundant provision provided for the 
 satisfaction of all the beings he has made. That intel 
 lectual feast to which we are all invited by all we see of 
 God in nature, by all we read of him in the oracles of 
 truth, is vastly superior to every other enjoyment ; for 
 whereas other pleasures may gratify us for a time, and 
 then become insipid, so as to lose in a great degree their 
 relish, the pleasures derived from feasting by contem 
 plation on the beauty, usefulness, and sublimity, of the 
 Creator's works, and that abundant satisfaction which is 
 enjoyed by faith in his promises, are as lasting as the 
 mind. These pleasures are always new ; they never lose 
 their power to charm, to instruct, to invigorate the mind, 
 to refine the feelings, to warm and elevate the affections, 
 and satisfy the soul. 
 
 " And when we turn our attention more particularly to 
 the consideration of the will and purpose of almighty 
 God concerning the final condition of all intelligences, 
 and learn from the declarations of Christ and the apostles 
 that our heavenly Father has destined all his children to 
 life immortal in the high and holy state beyond the con 
 fines of the grave ; when we receive as truth the blessed 
 doctrine of the immortal glorification of all mankind in 
 heaven, and thus enjoy an earnest of that eternal life 
 which is given in Christ, and brought to light by his 
 resurrection ; we realize, as far as it is possible in this im 
 perfect state, the truth of the text : ' They shall be 
 abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house,' or 
 with the doctrines of the Gospel. This is drinking of the
 
 58 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 river of God's pleasures. even of that 'river the 
 streams whereof make glad the city of God.' This is 
 feasting the mind on the bread of God, which came down 
 from heaven and giveth life to the world. This . is that 
 full satisfaction produced by a belief of the truth, and a 
 conformity in our lives and conduct to the principles of 
 the Gospel. 
 
 " And I may safely add, nothing less than such faith 
 can satisfy those native desires which all men possess, and 
 which in many have been renewed and called into action 
 in consequence of receiving by faith the doctrines of the 
 Christian religion. My friends, were any of you ever 
 ' abundantly satisfied ' in the contemplation that some of 
 the children of men, perhaps some of your dearest friends, 
 and possibly yourselves, were exposed to unspeakable 
 misery ' without relief and without end ' ? Did the be 
 lief of such a sentiment ever fill you with joy and peace, 
 and cause you to abound in hope ? 0, no ! The incul 
 cation of a sentiment so unlike the character of nature's 
 God, so contrary to the spirit and doctrine of Christ, so 
 inconsistent with the nature and tendency of the re 
 ligion of the New Testament, and so revolting to the 
 better feelings of the human heart, has not only deprived 
 vast multitudes of that satisfaction which a belief in the 
 true Gospel is calculated to impart, but has been the cause 
 of incalculable infelicity ; has spread darkness and despair 
 over the minds of thousands, who, if they had been fa 
 vored with a correct knowledge of the character and pur 
 poses of God, would have rejoiced in that abundant satis-
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 59 
 
 faction which is realized by all who have embraced the 
 truth as it is in Jesus. That system of doctrine which 
 was taught by Jesus Christ and his immediate followers 
 is evidently calculated not only to awaken and put in 
 exercise all the benevolent feelings of the human heart, 
 to warm and elevate the affections, but to afford that full 
 satisfaction to the ardent desires of the devoted heart, 
 which causes it to rejoice in view of the final accomplish 
 ment of all the purposes of God ; for these purposes com 
 prehend all the good for all mankind which the most 
 devout and philanthropic heart can possibly desire ; and 
 consequently those who receive the doctrines of Christian 
 ity as they are given us in the Scriptures of divine truth 
 are ' abundantly satisfied ' with the purposes of almighty 
 God as revealed in the Gospel of his grace ; and are 
 enabled, by contemplation, to feast the soul on the bread 
 of life, and ' drink of the river of God's pleasures.' ' 
 
 This dedication was during his visit to Danvers, and 
 just previous to the entrance upon his ministerial engage 
 ment with the society there. His location was a pleasant 
 one; his society were highly gratified that they had 
 secured his services ; he was very near by his Lebanon 
 predecessor and worthy friend, Rev. Lemuel Willis, of' 
 Salem ; and he had better facilities for pulpit exchanges 
 than he had formerly enjoyed. 
 
 He commenced his public ministerial services with his 
 new charge on the last Sabbath in February. His text 
 in the morning was 2d Timothy 2 : 24, 25. In his dis 
 course he spoke freely of the duty of a Christian minis-
 
 60 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 ter ; the spirit of the great Master which he should mani 
 fest in all his duties within and without his parish bound 
 aries, and the salutary effects of such a true life on his 
 own people. In the afternoon he discoursed from Romans 
 15 : 19, which led him to notice the blessing of the Gos 
 pel of Christ ; that it contemplates the ultimate holiness 
 and consequent happiness of our race, because, through 
 the Gospel, life and immortality are brought to light for all 
 who die in Adam. To the record of these discourses he 
 adds in his journal, " 0, may I ever heed the direction given 
 in the first, and be constantly sustained by hope which 
 is inspired by the second, of these passages of Holy Writ." 
 The expression of his feelings in relation to the people 
 he had so recently left, as we find it in a letter to one of 
 his most intimate Lebanon friends, shows us the heart 
 of the man. "I was conscious, at the time I left you, 
 of having acted right ; but to witness the united desire of 
 old and young that I should remain with them, made me 
 regret exceedingly that I had gone so far ; and nothing 
 but a sacred regard for my word made me willing to leave 
 that society. If I could have placed myself back where 
 I was before I engaged here, gladly would I have done 
 so. But it was for the best; at least, this is my belief. 
 I have already learned what I might never have known 
 had I remained in Lebanon. If, at the close of my en 
 gagements here, my friends wish me to return, and if 
 I can be as conveniently situated there as here, and 
 especially if the good of the cause which we love demands 
 it, I will go back. For I say, in the presence of high
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 61 
 
 Heaven, ' Let my right hand forget its cunning, and my 
 tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,' if I forget the 
 cause of the Gospel of that grace which bringeth salva 
 tion to all men !" He calculates his movements with a 
 constant eye, not to the "main chance]' as a shrewd 
 business man would perhaps say, but to the main 
 cause. That was more than other things to him. 
 Examples like this are not new, although not so plenty 
 as they might be. They are encouraged and honored 
 by a ministry which long ago said, "I count all things 
 but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
 Jesus my Lord." 
 
 In noting his public services for Sunday, March 24th, 
 he writes: "Both discourses to-day were practical, al 
 though the second was strongly seasoned with the heav 
 enly doctrine of the ultimate subjugation of all things to 
 Christ. I cannot well preach a sermon without having 
 this doctrine showing itself somewhere in it. For if I 
 exhort sinners to repent, I must introduce the goodness 
 of God as an inducement to repentance ; and this leads 
 directly to the purposes of his grace ; and these include 
 all the kindred and families of the earth. So I find my 
 self every way beset with the great truth of divine and 
 immeasurable love ! " 
 
 The installation of the pastor over his new charge 
 took place on Thursday, April 4th. The services were 
 as follows : Introductory Prayer, by Rev. J. C. Waldo ; 
 Reading of Scriptures, by Rev. L. S. Everett ; Sermon, 
 by Rev. Thomas Jones text, Isa. 21 : 10, 11 ; Install- 
 6
 
 62 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 ing Prayer, by Rev. B. B. Murray ; Charge, by Rev. 
 Hosea Ballou ; Fellowship, by Rev. L. S. Everett ; Ad 
 dress to the Society, by Rev. L. Willis ; Concluding 
 Prayer, by Rev. T. Jones. An original hymn, by Jona 
 than Shove, Esq., was sung. The service was one of 
 much interest, and was attended by a very full congre 
 gation. 
 
 Soon after, he writes to a friend: "I have lived 
 through an ' Installation ' here, as you have seen by the 
 paper; but I am about the same as before. While I 
 tarry here, I shall do all in my power, consistent with 
 reason, to promote the prosperity of that cause which 
 has for its object the true happiness of all mankind. I 
 did not commence preaching from anything like ' cash ' 
 considerations, but to answer my own convictions of duty; 
 and whenever I deviate from a course like this, I shall 
 not deserve the confidence of my friends. I do not 
 mean by this that I have no regard for the welfare pf 
 my family. I hope I may never prove myself a denier 
 of the faith, and worse than an infidel." In this letter 
 which is to one of his Lebanon brethren he ex 
 presses a hope that, notwithstanding his new settlement, 
 there is a prospect that he may yet return to his northern 
 home. This hope, with all others he may cherish, will 
 inspire him to work with Christian earnestness in the 
 field now before him. 
 
 On no subject was our brother more sensitive than on 
 what he considered the absurdities of a partialist theol 
 ogy. About this time he listened to a discourse from a
 
 MINISTRY IN BANTERS. 63 
 
 Baptist clergyman, the heads of which he noted down, 
 and the whole of which he pronounces " as heterogene 
 ous a mass of ideas as he ever heard." The preacher 
 contended, 1st, that God loved all the world, and that 
 this love induced him to send his Son to save it ; 2d, 
 the Son was God who sent him ; 3d, the object of the 
 atonement was the vindication of God's justice ; Christ 
 suffered all the punishment which was due to the sinner ; 
 thus magnifying the law ; 4th, by the suffering of Christ, 
 God can now forgive the believer ; 5th, God commands 
 all to believe ; 6th, God regards his own glory and the 
 highest good of all intelligences ; 7th, God's justice 
 will be magnified in the endless punishment of the sin 
 ner ; 8th, the saints will be happier than if they never 
 had sinned ; 9th, God might have left all to perish 
 eternally, as he did the fallen angels ; and he has done 
 the sinner no injustice by saving some. Such is the 
 theology ; the same in character with that to which great 
 numbers of professedly Christian people have given a part 
 of their attention for long years in the past ; a theology 
 which always, as in this instance, carries its own refuta 
 tion on its face, as feature after featurte of it is made to 
 appear, or when all the features are seen at once together 
 in their strange incongruity. "How partial," writes 
 Mr. Moore, " such a theory makes the Almighty; and, 
 then, how cruel in him to create beings, knowing that they 
 would be endlessly miserable ! This must be a doc 
 trine of man's invention." It is a more satisfactory 
 and glorious doctrine than this to which he alludes in
 
 64 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 another letter, a short time afterwards, to a friend, and 
 that friend a mother. " You speak of your absent daugh 
 ter with all the interest of a mother. May your fondest 
 hopes be realized in relation to her, and all your dear 
 children. I often think of your appearance ; how the 
 tear filled your eye when you were once about to carry 
 some food to your children, and I inquired if you were 
 going to feed them all, and asked why you did not lavish 
 all your blessings on a part, and let the others go ? But 
 a mother's love is godlike in its nature, impartial, con 
 stant, unchanging. You thank me for the allusion 
 I made to a particular sentiment (the divine goodness) 
 in your letter, and ' hope that sentiment will be more and 
 more engraven on your heart.' I hope so to. It is as 
 ' a place of broad rivers and streams ; ' as 'a covert from 
 the tempest, as an hiding-place from the wind, as rivers 
 of water in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great 
 rock in a weary land.' With the blessed doctrine of the 
 paternal government of God fixed in our minds, and in 
 fluencing our hearts, all is well." 
 
 Again, in writing to another, he compares Atheism 
 and Calvinism. "I consider the Atheist and the Cal- 
 vinistic believer in endless torments both very unfortu 
 nate. When I hear one declare that there is no God, 
 and the other that there is a God possessed of such a 
 character as the doctrine of endless suffering attributes 
 to him, I am at a loss where to bestow the most pity. I 
 think that in some things they are both as far from the 
 truth as it is possible for them to be."
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 65 
 
 The annual meeting of the Boston Association -was 
 held this year in Haverhill, Mass., on Wednesday, June 
 5th. Mr. Moore was present, and gave the charge at the 
 ordination of Rev. Abraham Norwood, and Rev. T. K. 
 Taylor. 
 
 It was in June of this year that the new Universalist 
 church belonging to the First Society in Danvers (New 
 Mills) was dedicated. Mr. Moore was expected to be 
 present, but was absent at the meeting of the State Con 
 vention, in "Warner, N. H. He had been appointed the 
 year previous to deliver the occasional discourse at this 
 session of the convention; which appointment he met 
 and answered to the satisfaction of the full congregation 
 that heard him. His text was 2 Cor. 2 : 14, " Now 
 thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph 
 in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowl 
 edge by us in every place." 
 
 After speaking of his removal from the state since his 
 appointment to the duty now devolving upon him, and 
 of the continued interest, notwithstanding the removal, 
 which Ije still felt for the prosperity of the Christian 
 cause in New Hampshire, he alludes to the past of his 
 own experience, and contrasts it with the view which now 
 cheers him. 
 
 "In this town I enjoyed, for the first time, the very 
 exquisite pleasure of attending the General Convention, in 
 1822. I will not attempt a description of my happiness 
 on that joyous occasion, as such an attempt would fail. 
 That was the commencement of my attending meetings of 
 6*
 
 66 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 this kind (and then not as a preacher), and I shall look 
 back to that time, and to those scenes, with uncommon 
 pleasure, 'while life and thought and being last.' 
 
 " The vast increase in the numbers of believers in the 
 doctrine of the ultimate holiness and consequent happi 
 ness of all mankind, since that period, as well as the in 
 crease of the number of public heralds of the cross, who 
 have gone forth to proclaim the glad tidings of the king 
 dom, and the very great facility of making known the all- 
 conquering doctrine of universal and efficient grace, in 
 consequence of the enlightened state of the public mind, 
 and the means of books and papers, are considerations 
 which cannot fail to cause the heart of every philanthro 
 pist to exult in the cheering prospect which opens before 
 us. and to say, with the apostle, ' Now thanks be unto 
 God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, who 
 maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every 
 place.' 
 
 "At the time above alluded to, there was no associa 
 tion in th isstate ; now there are three, which, united, 
 compose this body, now convened for the first time 
 since its organization : and, notwithstanding the number 
 of societies and clergymen who have publicly em 
 braced the Abrahamic faith is less in this than in 
 any other State in New England, in proportion to 
 its population, still, here are a greater number of 
 Universalists than were known on the globe forty years 
 since. I might give a more particular account of the 
 number of preachers and societies composing the order
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVEBS. 67 
 
 of Universalista ; but those who read our periodicals 
 are in possession of all the encouraging facts to which 
 I have alluded. Suffice it to say, that the seed which 
 was sown by the intrepid Murray and his coadjutors 
 along the shores of the Atlantic, although small, and much 
 despised by most of the rulers of the people then, was 
 precious in the sight of God, and, falling on congenial 
 soil, and being watered by the gentle showers of God's 
 grace, it took deep root, and has become a great tree, 
 yielding an abundance of healthful fruit, whose life-giving 
 qualities have recommended it to the favorable attention 
 of many in almost every town on the continent. Surely, 
 this is a source of sincere gratitude to Him who giveth 
 us all things richly to enjoy. He has made known his 
 saving health among the people. Now thousands boldly 
 espouse the glorious cause of God's impartial grace, which 
 will ultimately destroy all hatred ; and thousands more 
 secretly feast on the bread of life, and secretly rejoice in 
 view of the spread of the heavenly doctrine we love, and 
 which will continue to exert its healthful influences till 
 all shall enjoy its purifying hopes, and thus be saved 
 from sin and its consequences by obeying the require 
 ments of the Gospel." 
 
 Of the encouragements to hope for the increase of the 
 faith he so much loved, again he says : 
 
 " But while we are obliged by the nature of our system 
 of doctrine, and the present state of the religious world, 
 to remain a distinct people, there are many considerations 
 which afford us very great pleasure a pleasure which is
 
 68 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 peculiar to the real believer in the salvation of the whole 
 world by Jesus Christ. 
 
 " One of those considerations is, the tolerant spirit of 
 our government. If a few zealous partisans could have 
 had their wishes gratified, we should not only have been 
 disfranchised, but, in all probability, by this time prohib 
 ited from holding a religious meeting. But, instead of 
 the people being ready for such a state of things, these 
 sectarian civilians have been told, in language which 
 they will not soon forget, that 'all men are born free and 
 equal,' and may all enjoy their religious freedom in any 
 way they deem proper, always regarding the rights of 
 others, and for this liberty we would be grateful to 
 God, the giver of all good things. 
 
 " Another pleasure which the true Universalist enjoys, 
 and which affords him not a little comfort, is, that while 
 he is denied the fellowship of many who have embraced 
 a partial faith in a partial Saviour, his faith embraces the 
 ultimate salvation of a world ; he looks on all men as the 
 children of one Father, consequently as brethren, whose 
 final home is heaven ; and with a charity which never 
 faileth, and a hope sure and steadfast, he views the grand 
 purposes of Almighty God accomplished, and a sinful, 
 ignorant world saved from sin, brought to the knowledge 
 of the true character of God and the purposes of his 
 grace, and thus made happy in the enjoyment of that 
 exhaustless love which pervades the universe, and will at 
 length subdue all mankind by assimilating them to the 
 same spirit.
 
 MINISTKY IN DANVERS. 69 
 
 "Another consideration which affords us much pleasure 
 is the fact, which cannot long be overlooked by the most 
 superficial observer, that in an exact ratio as the world 
 has improved in knowledge and refinement, in proportion 
 as the human intellect has expanded in relation to the 
 subject of religious doctrine, partial systems have fallen 
 into disrepute, and the benevolent system of God's impar 
 tial and efficient grace has received the countenance of 
 many who have long been confined in a system far too 
 limited for the growth, and expansion, and consequent 
 enjoyment, of the mind." 
 
 In the latter part of August, and during the month of 
 September, Mr. Moore was ab'sent again, on a journey to 
 Vermont and New Hampshire. During this time he 
 attended the Vermont State Convention at Bethel, and 
 the General Convention at Strafford, his native town. 
 And just before his return home he assisted in the dedica 
 tion services of a new meeting-house erected by the Uni- 
 versalists and Freewill Baptists in Strafford. He preached 
 the second sermon on the day of the dedication. He was 
 away from home on this visit six weeks. 
 
 Not long after this, there took place, in the town 
 where he was settled, a spirited and somewhat notable theo 
 logical discussion, between Eev. Milton P. Braman, pastor 
 of the Congregationalist church in North Danvers, and 
 Rev. Thomas Whittemore, of ,Cambridgeport, editor of 
 the Trumpet and Universalist Magazine, published at 
 Boston. The talk preliminary to this formal debate had 
 been going on for some little time through the Trumpet
 
 70 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOHE. 
 
 and Boston Recorder. Mr. Brarnan probably deem 
 ing it his duty, in view of the somewhat wide-spread 
 manifestations of Universalism in Danvers had been 
 pleased to notice it publicly, in denunciations not of the 
 most charitable kind. This called out some plain strict 
 ures upon his course through the Trumpet. The editor 
 of that paper solicited Mr. Braman to give his arguments 
 against Universalism to the public ; but he refused to do 
 so. If he preferred not to publish his discourse against 
 Universalism in the Trumpet, the editor of that paper 
 offered to publish it in a pamphlet form, without any 
 expense to the author. In regard to an oral discussion, 
 which had been mentioned, Mr. Whittemore expressed 
 his readiness thus to meet the chief theological question 
 between the two persons, and engaged to be with Mr. 
 Braman in any meeting-house in the town where he lived, 
 and discuss the question whether the doctrine of endless 
 misery is revealed in the holy Scriptures. 
 
 Mr. Braman replied in a somewhat contemptuous tone, 
 and accepted the proposal for a discussion, desiring to 
 have two questions for consideration : 1st, as to future 
 punishment ; and, 2d, as to its duration. To this Mr. 
 Whittemore objected, preferring to have but one question, 
 that which he had already proposed, namely, Is the doc 
 trine of endless misery revealed in the Scriptures ? 
 Mr. Whittemore' s proposals were, that three moderators 
 be appointed, and that the discussion continue until 
 broken off by mutual consent. To this Mr. Braman con 
 sented, leaving it to Mr. Whittemore to appoint the day
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 71 
 
 and hour of the meeting. The time finally agreed upon 
 was Wednesday, November 6th, at nine o'clock A. M. 
 
 The meeting-house where the discussion was to be held 
 was about eighteen miles from Boston ; and it was early 
 and well filled on that day with people from many 
 churches and many homes, representing, in ministry and 
 laity, some of the most earnest " Orthodoxy" and " Uni- 
 versalism " in that section of the state. It was a good 
 day for one of the contending parties, as the result of the 
 discussion showed. The moderators chosen were, Rev. 
 A. W. McClure, of Maiden; Rev. Sebastian Streeter, of 
 Boston ; these two gentlemen making choice of a third, 
 Rev. E. T Taylor, the seamen's minister of Boston. The 
 rules of the debate were, in substance, as follows : The 
 question for discussion shall be, Is the doctrine of end 
 less misery revealed in the holy Scriptures? The 
 discussion shall commence at nine o'clock in the morn 
 ing, and continue until twelve ; to be resumed at two, and 
 continue until five. The discussion is to be commenced 
 by Mr. Braman, and the speakers are to follow each 
 other alternately. The parties shall observe the rules of 
 fair and honorable debate. 
 
 "After prayer by Mr. Taylor, the discussion was 
 opened by Mr. Braman. He spoke of the manner 
 in which the discussion originated, and proceeded to 
 establish, in a way most satisfactory to himself, 1st, the 
 doctrine of punishment in the future state ; and, 2d, 
 the endless duration of that punishment. To prove 
 the doctrine of future punishment, he relied principally
 
 72 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 on the 73d psalm, and on Matthew 11 : 22, 'It 
 shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of 
 judgment than for you ; ' and also on John 12 : 48, 
 ' He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath 
 one that judgeth him ; the word that I have spoken, the 
 same shall judge him at the last day.' To prove the 
 endless duration of punishment, he cited the parable of 
 the rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16 : 19 31 ; the pas 
 sage in 2d Thess. 1 : 7 9 ; and the parable of the 
 sheep and goats, Matt. 25 : 31 46. In his replies, 
 Mr. Whittemore endeavored to show that these passages 
 of Scripture had no just reference to the subject to 
 which Mr. Braman applied them ; that they were not 
 originally intended to have such a reference ; and the 
 true meaning of the passages was given, so far as time 
 would allow, and so far as it was necessary to show that 
 they afford no support to the doctrine of interminable 
 woe. In addition to this, it was shown, by a great variety 
 of testimony, that the sacred writers taught explicitly 
 the doctrine of the ultimate salvation of all men. If this 
 doctrine is revealed in the Scriptures, that of endless 
 misery cannot be. No small share of Mr. Braman's time 
 was occupied in endeavoring to resist the force of this 
 testimony." * 
 
 The defender of the theology of the old "standing 
 order" of New England, although a gentleman of excel 
 lent literary attainments, did not seem to be well at home 
 
 * Trumpet of Nov. 16, 1833.
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 73 
 
 on this occasion. He had met an advocate of Universal- 
 ism who had given that doctrine much more attention 
 than he ; and who better understood, not only the princi 
 pal Scripture arguments by which it was sustained, but 
 the admissions of opponents in its favor. Although for 
 the most part courteous in the debate, Mr. Braman once 
 had the misfortune to allude, in not the happiest manner, 
 to the bodily form of his antagonist, thereby raising a 
 laugh ; for which misdemeanor he was seriously reproved 
 by Mr. Whittemore, who reminded him that since he 
 (Mr. Braman) came there to establish a doctrine which, 
 if true, should cause sorrow rather than laughter, such 
 joking and merriment were exceedingly out of place. So 
 meagre were some of the replies of Mr. Braman, towards 
 the last of the discussion, to the arguments of his com 
 panion in debate, that the latter had little else to do than 
 to preach, with all earnestness and freedom, to the large 
 assembly, that Gospel which declares that " God was in 
 Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." 
 
 The services of the day were closed with prayer by 
 Rev. Mr. Taylor. Two reports of the discussion were 
 issued in pamphlet form : one by the friends of Mr. Bra 
 man, a very small and imperfect work ; the other by 
 Mr. Whittemore, which did far better justice to the 
 arguments on both sides of the important question con 
 sidered. The day was one long to be remembered by 
 those who listened to this conflict of opinions. Among 
 that number was Mr. Moore. It was to him, as to many 
 of his ministering brethren, and others of the same faith, 
 7
 
 74 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOKE. 
 
 an occasion of gladness. He thus speaks of it in a letter 
 of November 8th : 
 
 ' ' Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending the 
 discussion at North Danvers, on the question whether ' the 
 Scriptures reveal the doctrine of endless misery,' be 
 tween Mr. Whitteinore and Mr. Braman. The latter 
 gentleman is considered one of the ablest opponents of 
 our faith in Essex County. But brother Whittemore was 
 perfectly ' at home,' and the performance, I think, must 
 be regarded, by all candid people who heard it, as a com 
 plete triumph of the glorious doctrine of Universalism. A 
 multitude of all parties came out to hear. Mr. Whitte 
 more, besides answering the scriptural and other argu 
 ments of his opponent, had ample time to preach Univer 
 salism ; which time he improved to great advantage. 
 Each speaker spoke six times, thirty minutes at a time. 
 One thing gave me great pleasure, and that was, to see so 
 many ' orthodox ' clergymen, laymen, and sisters, who 
 had the privilege of hearing so much truth proclaimed ; 
 who, probably, were almost entirely ignorant of our doc 
 trine. The discussion must be the means of doing much 
 good. You will hear more about it." 
 
 The session of the Boston Association, for this year, 
 was held in November, in Gloucester. Mr. Moore at 
 tended it, and made the ordaining prayer at the setting 
 apart to the Gospel ministry Rev. R. S. Pope. This 
 meeting was one of great interest. It was in the place 
 where the first Universalist society in the United States 
 was formed ; where Rev. John Murray was ordained a
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 75 
 
 preacher of the everlasting Gospel ; and where his home 
 was for many years, until his removal to Boston. 
 
 As the year was closing, he mentions, in a letter to a 
 friend, the state of affairs in his parish, and his fondness 
 for preaching his faith. " Our society is in as prosperous 
 a condition as could be expected, and I continue to preach 
 in my homely way ; and my friends say I sometimes give 
 them a very good sermon. You know I could never 
 preach anything but undisguised Universalism. I was 
 born a Universalist, I should be glad to live one, and I 
 hope in God I shall die one. While I live, I am deter 
 mined to say as much as I can, with propriety, in favor 
 of our glorious faith ; for I know that it is the power of 
 God unto salvation to all who believe. The late discus 
 sion in this town must have had a good effect. Truth 
 never loses by candid examination." 
 
 At the close of this year of his life, his reflections are 
 recorded. They seem like the out-spoken thoughts of the 
 inner man. " On a view of the year now closing, I find 
 something for which to condemn myself, a lack of 
 gratitude to the Author of all good for the prosperous 
 circumstances which have attended us; health, plenty, 
 yea, countless blessings. May they be continued ! But 
 I have not been sufficiently studious during the past year, 
 nor sufficiently charitable towards my religious opponents, 
 nor sufficiently zealous in the propagation of what I con 
 ceive to be the truth of the Gospel. May God enable me 
 to make improvement!" 
 
 His lecture on the first Sabbath evening of the new
 
 76 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 year was from Micah 4 : 5. The object of it was to show 
 that, on the supposition that the doctrine of endless pun 
 ishment be true, TJniversalism, practically speaking, is 
 the safest here for men, inasmuch as it naturally pro 
 duces the best works, its teaching and practice being 
 love to God and love to man. In the month of Febru 
 ary he visited Vermont and New Hampshire again. He 
 attended an educational meeting at Norwich : the instal 
 lation of Rev. Jehiel Smith at Strafford, Vt. ; and 
 preached one Sabbath at Lebanon, and one at Hanover, 
 N. H. 
 
 We believe it was about this time that a somewhat sig 
 nal reproof was given by Mr. Moore, in a very quiet 
 way, to religious effrontery and partisan zeal. A story 
 had been circulated in some of the religious journals of 
 the day, that a clergyman in Pennsylvania had silenced 
 a Universalist minister, by rising in meeting and asking 
 him to read the verse next after his text. The text of 
 the Universalist was Mark 16 : 15, " Go ye into all the 
 world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." The 
 verse following, which he was asked to read, is, " He that 
 believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that be 
 lie veth not shall be damned." The source of the story 
 was sought, and the Universalist clergyman was found to 
 be Rev. Jacob Myers, of Petersburg, Va. It was ascer 
 tained, by strict inquiry, that the Universalist clergyman 
 was willing, not only to read the .verse, but to preach 
 from it ; which last-named privilege was not granted. 
 All the places in which he might have preached were
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 77 
 
 closed against him. Some time afterwards, however, he 
 went to the place where it was said he was silenced (Leb 
 anon, Pa.), and preached from the proposed passage to 
 a large and attentive audience. 
 
 The original story was in circulation for some time, 
 among many, too, who, perhaps, were never informed of 
 the sequel of it. It came to Danvers during Mr. Moore's 
 ministry there. Rev. Mr. Porter, of Gloucester, while 
 preaching in Danvers, related the first version of the 
 story, and insisted very soberly that the Universalist was 
 overthrown, by being requested to read the next verse. 
 Mr. Moore, who happened to be present at the time, after 
 hearing the story related, arose., in his calm and dignified 
 manner, and very courteously requested Mr. Porter to 
 read the next verse, " And these signs shall follow them 
 that believe : In my name shall they cast out devils ; 
 they shall speak with new tongues ; they shall take up 
 serpents ; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall 
 not hurt them ; and they shall lay hands on the sick, and 
 they shall recover." Mr. Porter evidently in a worse 
 position than the Universalist minister of whom he had 
 spoken declined a compliance with the request. His 
 frustration, moreover, spoiled the effect of the story. 
 
 The quiet humor in which our brother was wont to in 
 dulge would now and then manifest itself under the lit 
 tle trials to which human flesh and spirit must often sub 
 mit. In a passage in his journal, where he notes the 
 visitation of that scourge of all its victims, the toothache, 
 we find this vein of the imaginative and philosophical : 
 7*
 
 78 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 "Ill to-night; teeth-ache and head- ache continually! 
 
 - Sleep, ' tired nature's sweet restorer,' was not 
 
 permitted to afford me her aid except at short intervals 
 during the night. Severe Pain, a visitor with which Sleep 
 is seldom inclined to associate, prevented Sleep from re 
 maining with me but a few moments at a time. I could 
 seem to see the kind though timid dame, in the distance, 
 willing to afford me her soothing balm, as soon as I 
 would dismiss her mortal enemy, Pain. I did often say 
 to Pain, ' Begone ! This is a late hour, and I wish to 
 enjoy a quiet interview with my kind friend Sleep.' And 
 then Pain would promise to leave, and begin to make 
 signs of going ; but still lingered, like one who had no 
 particular abiding-place, but must be somewhere. And 
 when I would attempt to drive the unwelcome guest from 
 me, she would affect to reason with me, saying, ' How is 
 this ? I seldom call at your door, or venture to speak 
 to you ; and it is now a long time since I have prevented 
 your enjoyment of the company of your old friend 
 Sleep. Besides, I must be somewhere ; and wherever 
 I go, that timid Sleep avoids my company as much as 
 now.' Finally, Pain concluded her defence with what 
 she deemed an unanswerable fact, that she was empow 
 ered and entitled by the great law of nature to visit at 
 her pleasure all who live, and that she should continue 
 to enjoy this freedom, the remonstrances of Sleep, or any 
 of her friends, to the contrary notwithstanding. I then 
 tried to persuade Sleep to tarry through the night with 
 me, as usual, promising to devote my whole attention to
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 79 
 
 her, and leave Pain to her own reflections. But all to 
 no purpose. Then, I said, ' Is there no relief? ' ' As- ' 
 suredly,' answered Necessity, a shrewd old mother, whose 
 presence I had not before noticed. ' Turn all this to your 
 account, and so make yourself happy. Let Sleep remain 
 away, if she will. Depend on what I say : whenever 
 you oan persuade Pain to leave you (for driven she will 
 not be), Sleep will come as usual, and her kindness will 
 be sweeter for the absence. It is for the best that these 
 children of nature should occupy different apartments 
 in their father's house. They themselves have been so 
 long accustomed to oppose each other (apparently), that 
 they will not make much disturbance if the other mem 
 bers of the family are willing they should live as they 
 choose.' And this seemed to settle the point. Thus 
 passed the night." 
 
 One of the trials somehow unavoidably making up the 
 sum of the pastor's life is that arising from the sensitive 
 ness of certain parishioners in view of what they deem 
 'the negligence of the minister to call upon them. This, it 
 is true, may sometimes be the fault of the minister. It is 
 equally true, also, that in many instances the cause of com 
 plaint lies with the complainant himself. He does not con 
 sider, as he ought, the many calls and interruptions occur 
 ring in a pastor's life; nor the fact that it might be quite 
 as easy for him to make the pastor a friendly call, and ex 
 change thoughts with him on ministerial duties, as to cher 
 ish hardness against one who, if he have the soul of a true 
 minister, would by no means be guilty of slighting the
 
 80 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 least of the little ones of his flock. As an instance of 
 the sensitiveness to which we allude, we take a passage 
 or two from the private journal of our brother. " Just 
 heard of one who has left our meeting for another because 
 
 the minister has not called as often as he would like 
 
 to see him. How deeply such a one must love the 
 Christian cause ! How strange are some parts of this 
 ministerial life ! Is not the minister too often a slave to 
 the mere whims of the people ? He must not call on 
 one family more than on another : he must write good 
 sermons, visi^ the parish weekly, attend to all the sick, 
 and to the funerals, and his own company, and the wants 
 of his family ; become all things to all men, in this 
 sense ; be everywhere, say everything, do everything 
 wanted of him : and then, if he can please all, he will 
 escape the censure of the people ! But there is no do 
 ing this, and it is therefore in vain to try it. There are 
 some, too, who will not be suited. Let such, I say, find 
 fault, if they must. I shall do as nearly right as I can, 
 and rest there." A conclusion to which the minister is 
 often obliged to come; and where, if he shall come in the 
 spirit of a Christian, he will fold rest. 
 
 In the early autumn of this year, Mr. Moore journeyed 
 again into Vermont and New Hampshire. He attended 
 the State Convention at Barre, Vt. ; preached one Sab 
 bath at Strafford, one at Norwich, and one at Thetford, 
 Yt. ; one at Hanover, and one at Lebanon, N. H. His 
 old friends in the latter place claimed the fulfilment of a 
 promise he made them to return and settle there. He
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 81 
 
 was embarrassed by such solicitations, situated as he was 
 so very pleasantly with his present charge. And yet 
 he is inclined to the decision that, if he would maintain 
 consistency, he must fulfil the promise if the Lebanon 
 friends persist in demanding it. 
 
 After his return to Danvers, he took occasion to ask 
 of the society in Lebanon a relinquishment of their 
 claims upon him. But they were not thus inclined. 
 Their minister, who succeeded Mr. Moore (Rev. Mr. 
 Knapp), had left them ; they had the same hearts and 
 hands as ever for their former pastor ; the field of minis 
 terial labor was quite as ample as before for him ; and 
 he had, ever since he left them, signified his willingness 
 to return. He had not, indeed, fully reckoned upon the 
 attachments sure to be formed in his new location ; and 
 so this hard strife in spirit came. But the decision was 
 made : and Lebanon was to have her minister again. 
 
 The Boston Association was held in Acton, in Novem 
 ber. Mr. Moore attended it. At the time of this meet 
 ing the wife of the minister of the society (Mrs. Wright) 
 was very low in consumption. She was sustained- in 
 these, her last earthly hours, by the faith of the Gospel. 
 She had been educated in a faith which limits the grace 
 of God to a portion of the human race ; but in after 
 years she had obtained ampler views of the divine pater 
 nity and sovereignty ; had found these views the source 
 of a new spiritual life to her ; and now, as heart and 
 flesh failed, she was enabled to rejoice in the inward 
 strength which they imparted. During the- session of
 
 82 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 the Association she caused it to be mentioned to the 
 assembled congregation that her faith and hope were 
 strong and unwavering. In former years her kind mother 
 had expressed fears that her doctrine might not sustain 
 her in the dying hour. It was one of the last-expressed 
 wishes of the daughter that this parent might be present 
 to witness at this time her trust in the infinite Father. 
 Mr. Moore mentions in his journal a very rich spiritual 
 interview which it was his privilege to enjoy with the 
 dying believer. 
 
 On the 25th of December, the ministering brother who 
 succeeded Mr. Moore at Lebanon, and had now left that 
 place, was installed as pastor over the Universalist so 
 ciety at Danvers New Mills. The Right Hand of Fellow 
 ship was given by Mr. Moore, on the occasion. 
 
 The valedictory discourse to his people in Danvers 
 was delivered by Mr. Moore on the last Sabbath in De 
 cember. It was a regretful parting on both sides. " But 
 for his promise to return to Lebanon," writes one of his 
 Danvers parishioners, " he might have remained with U3 
 for years, if not for life ; for we were united in him, and 
 loved him. He was a man of peace ; and his neighbors, 
 though of opposite faith, could not help respecting him. 
 The Congregationalist minister, quite a rigid man in the 
 pulpit, was one of the kindest friends he had." This 
 was Rev. George Cowles, who, with his companion, was 
 lost on board the steamer "Home," some years afterwards. 
 Says Rev. J. W. Putnam, now of Danversport : "There 
 are few whose ministry will be remembered with a more
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 83 
 
 lively interest in this town than that of Mr. Moore. 
 Brief as the ministry was, his memory is cherished by all 
 who survive him. Not a word to detract from the uni 
 versal expression which accords to him the virtues of a 
 true Christian man, have I ever heard." 
 
 We closed our account of his first ministry in Lebanon 
 with a merited tribute to him, from one who received 
 some of his strongest and best early religious impres 
 sions under that ministry ; from one, too, who has him 
 self since entered upon the great work of a preacher of 
 the everlasting word. We have another testimony, in 
 reference to his ministry in Danvers, .from one who has 
 been for years past a faithful pastor in our churches.* 
 
 " It is now twenty- three years since I first saw and 
 heard our departed brother Moore. At that time (dur 
 ing his ministry in Danvers) I was living with a family 
 of professed Universalists, in an adjoining town. The 
 wife and mother one of earth's saints had been 
 suddenly called* to her final home, and Mr. Moore was 
 engaged to officiate at her funeral. I was then a boy 
 of fourteen ; but my religious prejudices were somewhat 
 strong, for I had been faithfully nurtured in the ' evan 
 gelical' doctrines of salvation, Westminster catechism 
 and all, and the name Universalist, so far as I had 
 been made acquainted with it, had been held up as an 
 indication of evil ; and I would often query with myself 
 how a family thus believing could show toward me, a 
 homeless and houseless stranger, so much forbearance 
 
 * Rev. C. H. Webster, of Lewiston Falls, Me.
 
 84 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 and kindness ; and the contrast was frequently drawn 
 between myself and other boys, who lived with good, 
 pious, and professedly religious families, of another faith ; 
 for, while they were so treated as to be made uneasy, 
 because uncomfortable, in their homes, I was rendered 
 contented and happy. 
 
 " It was not, therefore, with indifference that I learned 
 the intent of the husband, son, and daughters, to have a 
 Universalist minister attend the funeral. To me it was 
 something strange ; and so strange that I could not keep 
 the secret, but communicated it to the boys of the neigh 
 borhood. 
 
 " The hour of service came ; the large old-fashioned 
 farm-house sitting-room was filled with the mourning 
 family and friends, including the hired boy. A move 
 ment indicated that the minister had come. Soon a 
 noble-looking man stood in the midst of us. My seat 
 was very near and immediately in front of the minister ; 
 and my eyes were at once intently fixed upon him, for 
 he seemed to my young heart a perfect embodiment of 
 goodness and sympathy. Only the spirit of his remarks 
 are remembered ; but such was their effect, that since 
 then death has had no terror for me. He then prayed ; 
 and so deep was my interest, so great my veneration and 
 love for the man, so holy to me were his words, that 
 the very language of the first sentence of his prayer 
 has ever since been fresh in my memory. The services 
 closed, and Mr. Moore returned home. I had seen and 
 heard the Universalist minister, and not in vain; for
 
 MINISTRY IN DANVERS. 85 
 
 the expression of his countenance was mirrored upon my 
 heart, his words seemed still to echo in my ear, and the 
 man, and what he said, were made the frequent themes 
 of conversation with others. 
 
 " Such were my first impressions ; nor were they fleet 
 ing; for frequently, in the long, dreary night-watches 
 upon the stormy deep, did I think of that minister ; and 
 so great was my desire to hear him preach, though by no 
 means entertaining a favorable opinion of his doctrine, 
 that, when an opportunity occurred, I walked eight miles 
 to hear him ; but, somehow or other, I found myself in 
 the other parish, at Danvers, and Rev. Thomas Whitte- 
 more in the pulpit. That was my first attendance upon 
 Universalist preaching. 
 
 " Twelve years afterwards, he took me by the hand, 
 listened to my story, and, with the old look of love and f 
 goodness melting from his eye, said, ' Brother Webster, 
 / remember the steadfast gaze of that boy ; and I 
 welcome you to the work of the ministry ! ' Since then, 
 whenever it was my lot to meet with him, it seemed as 
 though he greeted me with peculiar interest ; and certain 
 it is, that among my brethren, all of whom have shown 
 me great kindness and many favors which will be ever 
 gratefully remembered, his was the smile that warmed 
 widest and deepest. 0, that my days might be like his, 
 and my labors as fruitful of good ! " 
 
 Blessed are such memories ; and blessed are those who 
 have caused them in their heavenly ministries of grace 
 and peace with men !
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 
 
 AND now we find the minister back again in his 
 northern home, in the midst of friends who receive 
 him with many welcomes, and from whom it seemed 
 that he and his family had been parted for a few days 
 only. His ministerial labors are principally confined to 
 Lebanon and Hanover ; although he has many calls for 
 his services elsewhere, which he answers, as he has op 
 portunity, from time to time. His private journal for 
 the years of his second ministry in Lebanon being lost, 
 we are unable to present so direct and methodical a 
 memoir for this time as is desirable ; and must be con 
 tent to obtain here and there, as we can, glimpses of the 
 man and his' surroundings, as these may be found through 
 his correspondence and other sources. In a letter from 
 Lebanon, published in the Trumpet of February 14, 
 1835, he thus writes of the friends he had just left in 
 Massachusetts, and of the prospects before him in the 
 old ministerial field which he has come to occupy again :
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 87 
 
 " BR. WHITTEMORE : In accordance with your request 
 when we last enjoyed the pleasure of each other's com 
 pany at your house, I now write you. We left Boston as 
 we intended, on ' New Year's day,' and, after a cold and un 
 pleasant ride, found ourselves in this place at two o'clock 
 p. M. the next day, where we were received by our old 
 and faithful friends with all that cordiality which is so 
 characteristic of true Universalists. The warm expres 
 sions of fraternal regard which were tendered us, together 
 with the exertions made to render us comfortable, soon 
 caused us to forget the fatigue of our journey. In one 
 week from the day we left you, we found ourselves pleas 
 antly settled down in our ' own hired house,' surrounded 
 with all the necessaries and most of the conveniences 
 of life ; in the enjoyment of health, both physically and 
 morally ; and, besides, we have what is the very essence 
 of a good life, namely, unshaken confidence in the truth of 
 the glorious doctrine of Universalism, and this is dearer 
 to our hearts than all the world beside. I have preached 
 in this town, and at Hanover, where you know I am 
 engaged one third of the time. Our meetings are well 
 attended at both places, by those who are already estab 
 lished in the doctrine we preach, or who have inquiring 
 minds. 
 
 " My field of labor is greatly extended, and of course 
 my duties are more arduous than when I was in Massa 
 chusetts ; and, besides, I am deprived of many privileges 
 I there enjoyed. But, as an offset, I shall probably do 
 much more in the dissemination of the truths of the
 
 88 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 Gospel, and thus be more useful in the cause in which we 
 are mutually engaged than I was at Danvers. I regret 
 ted extremely that I felt myself bound, by every principle 
 which renders the ministerial character what it should be 
 in point of integrity, to leave that pleasant part of our 
 Master's vineyard ; for my personal ease, my pecuniary 
 interest, and my future prospects, all combined to hold 
 me there. And, besides these inducements, we had formed 
 many very intimate and agreeable connections, both in 
 our society and out of it, with the clergy and laity of 
 our own and other denominations ; and the only unpleas 
 ant feelings that ever existed between myself or family 
 and the society to which I ministered were caused by 
 the separation ; a separation which was equally unwel 
 come to both parties, and which was caused by what may 
 have been deemed imprudent in me, in leaving a pledge 
 here that I would return, if circumstances should require 
 it. My sense of duty to my own character, to my con 
 science, and to the cause which I espoused because I loved 
 it more than wealth or ease, induced me to make the 
 sacrifice. And I beg leave, through the columns of your 
 paper, again to express to the society we have recently 
 left, our kind regards for all their attention, which we so 
 liberally shared, both in public and private, during our 
 pleasant stay with them. Our prayer is, that they may 
 soon find a ' pastor who shall feed them with knowledge 
 and with understanding, ' and in whose society they may 
 be happy. You will also permit me to say to our minis 
 tering brethren in your vicinity, with whom I had the
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 89 
 
 happiness of associating, that I feel greatly indebted to 
 them for the countenance they gave me. The cordiality 
 with which they received me into their families and their 
 pulpits will long be remembered. Brethren, may the 
 spirit of grace, and truth, and love, still bind us together 
 in 'the work of the Lord.' ' : 
 
 During the summer months of this year, the society 
 in Lebanon remodelled their house of worship. Mr. 
 Moore speaks of it in a letter to his friend, Rev. Mr. 
 Willis, of Salem. " Our cause is in a more prosperous 
 condition in this town and vicinity than at any former 
 period. Our friends here are now engaged in transform 
 ing our old church. They will have, in a few weeks, a 
 very convenient meeting-room in the upper story, finished 
 in a neat style, in slips elevated from the centre. There 
 will be sixty-eight, or more, large slips, besides a large 
 orchestra in front of the desk, so situated that the choir 
 when singing will face the audience, and when seated 
 the speaker. The basement story will be occupied for 
 town and other purposes." This alteration was completed 
 in August, when the house was reopened for religious 
 worship by dedicatory services. 
 
 It was in the winter and spring of 1835 that the reli 
 gious excitement caused by the preaching of Rev. Jedediah 
 Burchard took place in some of the principal towns in Ver 
 mont, and a few places in New Hampshire. Mr. B. was 
 one of the most extravagant of " revivalists ; " of fluent, 
 bold and strange speech, and manifesting at times no 
 ordinary power of eloquence. Whatever he was pleased 
 8*
 
 90 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 to deem heresy was handled by him without mercy, and 
 the one who held it not unfrequently consigned to eternal 
 perdition. It was surprising to many then, it is surpris 
 ing to many more now, that such a man should have 
 been permitted to make such moral havoc in the churches; 
 ministers, deacons, church-leaders, and church-members, 
 occupying highest social positions, all yielding their places 
 to him, and encouraging, by positive advice or silent 
 acquiescence, obedience to his dictation. Hanover, among 
 other places, was visited by this itinerant, and the insti 
 tution of learning there made in some measure subject 
 to his ministries ; its immediate directors, and not a few 
 of its students, giving countenance to his doings. Upon 
 Universalists, Unitarians, and sometimes upon other sects, 
 he was unqualifiedly severe. Mr. Moore took occasion 
 to hear him, enough, at least, to realize something of the 
 truth of the almost incredible reports which had reached 
 him of the speech and conduct of the man. In writing to 
 a friend, he declares him "the most blasphemous person 
 he ever heard in the person of a professed minister of 
 Jesus. I have heard him once ; that is all. I would not 
 degrade myself so much as to go a single rod to hear him 
 again. His performances are too outrageous to be coun 
 tenanced by any one having a true regard for Christianity. 
 And yet there are grave clergymen who will sit and 
 smile at his strange sayings, and even laugh to hear him 
 consign to ' eternal hell ' all, without exception, who do 
 not believe in the Trinity. He is doing us no harm, other 
 wise than he is bringing a reproach upon Christianity."
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 91 
 
 This special reign of religious fanaticism was not 
 countenanced by many of "orthodox" Congregational 
 ministers and churches in New England. There were some 
 very decided and strong voices against the proceedings of 
 this new and strange spiritual guide. Among these we 
 may cite the language of a writer in the Literary and 
 Theological Review, as one of the most expressive of 
 any which appeared at that time. 
 
 "It is no new thing in our world for buffoonery to 
 creep within the railings of the altar, and play his antic 
 tricks in the robe of religion. The matter of astonish 
 ment is, that the names of some whom we have been ac 
 customed to respect should be found on the back of the 
 note of which Mr. Burchard is signer and respondee. 
 Thousands have been ruined by having their names on 
 bad paper." 
 
 Again, in reference to colleges : 
 
 "In general, with respect to our smaller colleges, a 
 popular preacher may shake them to their foundation. If 
 Peter the Hermit should arise from the dead, he would 
 send them on a crusade. The recent history of our 
 country has afforded but too many examples of super 
 stition, which has been defined as that in which wise 
 men follow fools. We write this in sorrow, not in an 
 ger. In view of the mournful farcical scenes which have 
 been enacted, our pity suppresses our indignation." 
 
 And again: "Nothing is more certain, in religion, 
 than that the excessive kills the true ; just as the tree 
 that luxuriates in leaves and branches seldom bears fruit.
 
 92 MEMOIK OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 Where men see such fair appearances fail, they lose their 
 confidence in all pretensions to piety. A general distrust 
 seizes the public mind. The zealot becomes a hypocrite. 
 The revival ends in spurious excitement, and, for a mo 
 ment's triumph, the long season of reverse and reaction 
 comes. To use a comparison taken from King Pyrrhus, 
 we gain the battle, and are ruined in the war." 
 
 The judgment herein rendered is in agreement with 
 that view of the measures of " The Revivalist" taken by 
 our clear-sighted minister of Lebanon. He regarded 
 such extravagances as perversions of the right ways of 
 the Lord. It was his high privilege to hold and advocate 
 a religion which gave no countenance to such deceitful 
 workings of human passions ; that aimed to convert men, 
 not to a deity of repulsive and hateful character, by ex 
 travagant appeals to the fear that hath torment, but by 
 the instructions of reason, and the Revealed Word, to 
 that God who is love ; to that humanity which this love 
 would make one ; to that heavenliness which ministers to 
 the wants and afflictions of our nature, and keeps itself 
 unspotted from the world. 
 
 Since his profession of faith in Christianity, Mr. 
 Moore, had always taken a deep interest in Christian 
 ordinances, such as he believed to be profitable, and of 
 essential aid in the spiritual growth of believers. He 
 always regarded the ordinances as aids, not hindrances, to 
 the Christian life. Some of them had been made imped 
 iments in the way of many, by the erroneous opinions 
 held and taught in connection with them. Many had
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 93 
 
 been kept away from them through fear of encountering 
 undue responsibilities which had been attached to them, 
 and too many also from a low estimate of their utility. 
 Our brother took a more reasonable and scriptural view 
 of them. Ordinances to him were positive aids in the 
 formation of Christian character, and in the perfecting 
 of Christian life. He thus regarded the institution of the 
 Lord's Supper ; and always took a special interest in its 
 observance, wherever he was called to minister to the 
 spiritual wants of the people. 
 
 It was in May, 1835 (we well remember it), that a 
 meeting, previously agreed upon, was held at his house, 
 in Lebanon, to take into consideration the subject of 
 church organization and the Lord's Supper. The meet 
 ing consisted of ministers and laymen, and was well at 
 tended. The discussion of subjects coming before it was 
 characterized by frankness, candor, and harmony. In a 
 report of the conference, Mr. Moore says : 
 
 "We had the happiness to learn that there was a 
 nearer agreement upon disputable questions than was an 
 ticipated ; and, after suitable deliberation, the slight shades 
 of difference of opinion were dissipated, and we were of 
 one mitid, as well as of one heart, in regard to a subject 
 concerning which sincere Christians may entertain dif 
 ferent views, namely, the organization of churches for mu 
 tual edification, and the celebration of the Lord's Supper. 
 The members of the conference were unanimously of 
 the opinion of many of our lay-brethren, that the too 
 common practice of forming churches independent of
 
 94 MEMOIR OP JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 the societies to which they belong, and of requiring the 
 members thereof to subscribe to sectarian ' creeds,' and 
 to take upon themselves certain 'covenants,' which seem 
 to imply that they consider themselves much better and 
 holier than their brethren and sisters are, ' who do not 
 join the church' (as the saying is), is unscriptural and 
 unreasonable, and by no means calculated to answer the 
 valuable purposes for which the Christian ordinances 
 were designed." 
 
 The report concludes : "To obviate these difficulties, 
 and others which might be named, the brethren compos 
 ing the conference agreed upon the subsequent ' form 
 of sound words,' drawn up by Br. John Moore, as the 
 basis upon which to recommend the organization of 
 churches in this region, in which the ordinances of our 
 holy religion may be observed agreeably to apostolic 
 usage, and, as we hope, not create any divisions or ex 
 cite any unpleasant feelings among the worthy members 
 of Universalist societies, namely : 
 
 " ' We, the undersigned, believing our individual and 
 mutual edification and growth in grace may be improved, 
 the apostolic examples observed, and the cause of truth 
 and happiness promoted, by the organization of a church 
 in connection with the - Universalist Society of 
 
 , do hereby enter into such connection, and adopt 
 
 the New Testament as the rule of our faith and prac 
 tice. We will, therefore, invite to our communion all 
 Christians, and receive into our fellowship any person 
 desirous of leading a Christian life."
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 95 
 
 Such was the result of that friendly conference. What 
 ever may be thought of "the form of words" recom 
 mended as the result of that day's deliberation, it would 
 be edifying to all the churches, could they enter upon the 
 observance of any of the ordinances in a spirit akin to 
 that which pervaded this social interview. We feel, at 
 this hour, as we write of it, that it was good for us that 
 we were there. Among that number in conference, none 
 took greater pleasure in the object of the meeting than 
 he who had opened for it his ever-welcomed home. 
 
 Among the letters of the minister during these days, 
 there is one written to his son, who was then a student 
 at Norwich, Yt. It is so full of a parent's anxiety and 
 tenderness, and yet so simply and quietly spoken, that 
 we cannot resist the inclination to give it a place here. 
 We commend it to the youthful reader who may take an 
 interest in this narration. It is the earnest word of a true 
 guardian spirit, who would have the young man saved 
 from a false life, from the corruptions of the world, and 
 established in truth and purity. 
 
 " DEAR SON : While employed in the garden to-day, 
 I have been thinking of you. I have never given you 
 much urgent counsel relative to your conduct, not be 
 cause I have been indifferent to the subject, but because 
 you have generally been with us, and have uniformly 
 conducted with propriety. But, as you are now somewhat 
 by yourself, and as you are in that stage of life when 
 the allurements of vice are most powerful, you will per-
 
 96 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 roit me, in the spirit of paternal love, to suggest a few 
 things for your good. 
 
 " And, first, it will give me pleasure to know that you 
 spend your Sundays either at church or in your room. 
 I am not averse to your walking out either morning or 
 evening ; but do not be seen in the fields or streets in 
 time of public service. Pay a reasonable deference to 
 the day. Honor yourself and your father's calling by 
 so doing. Let not the day pass without reading some 
 portion of the New Testament. 
 
 " Do not engage in any business which you would be 
 unwilling the world should know. Let your own sense 
 of right and love of virtue govern your actions. 
 
 " Never descend to low and vulgar conversation. Avoid 
 profanity, and the company of those who practise it. I 
 know not that you ever permit yourself this ungentle- 
 manly indulgence. It will be a joy to me to know that 
 you do not. 
 
 " Be honest in all things. In your deportment be 
 cheerful, and yet reserved. 
 
 " I write this, as I have said, not because of any im 
 propriety in your conduct, but because ' an ounce of 
 prevention is worth a pound of cure.' 
 
 "If we are so highly gratified in knowing that you 
 sustain such a character as we believe you now possess, 
 should you make new acquirements by a strict observance 
 of the principles of the Gospel, it will add greatly to our 
 happiness, and amply reward us for all our care and
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 97 
 
 anxiety for you. Kemember that the world will expect 
 of you according to the advantages you have enjoyed." 
 
 In June, 1836, Mr. Moore entered into copartnership 
 with Rev. B. H. Fuller, in editing and publishing 
 the Universalist Watchman at Lebanon, to which 
 place the publication office of the paper had been removed 
 from Woodstock, Vt. This arrangement, however, did 
 not long continue. Mr. Moore sold out his pecuniary 
 interest in the paper, and it was taken to Montpelier, 
 Vt., where it has ever since been published. It is now 
 the Repository, edited by Rev. Eli Ballou. Mr. 
 Moore continued as associate editor of the paper for some 
 time after its removal from Lebanon. 
 
 On the 23d of November Rev. J. G. Adams was in 
 stalled as pastor of the Universalist society in Claremont, 
 N. H. Mr. Moore preached the sermon and offered the 
 installing prayer on the occasion. The other services 
 were conducted by Rev. A. L. Balch, Rev. Warren 
 Skinner, Rev. W. S. Ballou, and Rev. D. Ackley. 
 
 In the Watchman for December 3d of this year 
 he speaks of a new society which he thought might be 
 useful, the constitution of which he had seen, and which 
 he deemed worthy of attention and approval. " The con 
 stitution," he says, " is very liberal, giving all persons 
 of both sexes admission. The object of the society is, 
 ' while seeing others' faults, to know and correct our 
 own.' It is called ' The Self-Examination Society.' No 
 officers are to be elected ; no money raised ; no public 
 9
 
 98 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 meetings held ; but ' every member shall meet himself 
 alone once every day, and listen to the lectures of his 
 own conscience. Things are to be called by their right 
 names ; no aristocratic spirit is to be tolerated ; moral 
 worth is to be the basis of good society, and none are to 
 be disrespected on account of any useful occupation.' 
 We think it one of the best of proposals we have seen, 
 and have concluded to join." 
 
 It was some time in this year that a circumstance took 
 place which was afterwards related in a religious periodi 
 cal, and which, for its true appeal to all paternal hearts, 
 is worthy of record here. 
 
 " I attended the funeral services of a child, which 
 were performed by a Methodist minister. The child was 
 an only son, beautiful and promising, at least, so in the 
 estimation of its parents and their two remaining daugh 
 ters, who were about entering their teens, all of whom 
 were highly delighted with the name and company of a 
 son and brother. But, in an hour when they least ex 
 pected it, sickness and death came, and the angel of God 
 removed the spirit to its divine Author, and all that was 
 left them was the beautiful and lovely form, rendered 
 more beautiful by the work of the destroyer, and the fact 
 that they could gaze with melancholy pleasure on it but 
 a few hours more. 
 
 ' ' The parents were Methodists, and of course were 
 not, by their creed, denied the full and blessed consola 
 tion of regarding their lovely boy as in the arms of the 
 blessed Saviour of the world, whose words of love to
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 99 
 
 children now came home to their hearts with a meaning, 
 and beauty, and glory, which they had never realized 
 before, and of which the minister made a good use in his 
 discourse. It was with no little satisfaction that I per 
 ceived that mourning group hanging upon the words of 
 comfort as they fell from the lips of their spiritual teacher, 
 while he led them to the fountain of ' everlasting consola 
 tion and good hope through grace,' in regard to the con 
 dition of the dear departed one. For, according to their 
 faith, and the doctrine then declared by the preacher, 
 who, so far as the condition of the departed child was 
 concerned, was indeed a 'minister of peace,' no doubts 
 were by them entertained of the happy destiny of the 
 loved one, as it had died before it had passed ' the line 
 of accountability,' and would, therefore, be saved by the 
 grace of God ; or, in the language of the preacher, ' by 
 the atoning merit of the blood of Christ.' 
 
 " But, while listening to those remarks which were so 
 consoling to the bereaved spirit in reference to the de 
 parted one, my mind would dwell on the creed of that 
 minister, and those parents, in regard to their living chil 
 dren. ^ Would that same Father in heaven who had 
 given them life, and that Saviour who had blessed chil 
 dren, continue to be merciful and gracious to those who 
 are permitted to ' pass the line of accountability ' ? Or 
 does the grace of God abandon such to their own ways, 
 while it secures the happy destiny of all who die this 
 side of that line ? There were two daughters, both of 
 whom were accountable, neither of whom had ' experi-
 
 100 MEMQIE OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 enced a saving change of heart,' both exposed to death; 
 and if they should die as they were, would their destiny 
 be a happy or a miserable one ? These were questions 
 which forced themselves upon my mind, and which, in the 
 light of the creed of those parents, must have startled 
 them. But, happily for them there, they did not remem 
 ber the danger in which their creed placed their living 
 children ; they were happy in contemplating the safety 
 and happiness of the departed. I had no desire to divert 
 their minds from that holy trust they seemed to repose 
 in God, under the melancholy providence which they 
 were called to experience. And yet I was desirous of 
 having those, and all parents, brought to enjoy the same 
 hope and trust in God, in regard to the destiny of all their 
 children, as in respect to those who die in infancy. 
 
 " The present view of the subject of the destiny of 
 children is a vast improvement on the past, when it was 
 held and taught that many who died, even in infancy, 
 would be doomed to endless suffering. There may be a 
 few who still hold on to that most horrid dogma ; and a 
 larger class, probably, who regard baptized infants only 
 as safe from the pains of endless misery ; but nearly all 
 Christendom hope for the ' salvation of all infants,' while 
 many fear in regard to the future welfare of those who, 
 having 'passed the line of accountability,' die out of the 
 pale of the visible church. 
 
 " According to this view, where is the parent that can 
 desire that children should survive that period ? And is 
 it so, that God has suspended the eternal weal or woe of
 
 SECOND MINISTKY IN LEBANON. 101 
 
 his children on ' life's feeble strings ' ? Does he take 
 some to himself before that period, lest, if allowed to live 
 longer, they might be lost ? And does he spare others, 
 that they MAY run the infinite risk ? Does he know, 
 when he spares the life of a child beyond that point of 
 time, that it will be lost ? If so, is it a mercy to the 
 child to be thus spared ? These are a few of the many 
 queries and thoughts which present themselves to the 
 mind as it dwells on the destiny of our race. And those 
 parents whose religious creed tells them that all who die 
 in infancy are sure of a happy endless life, and that all 
 who survive that period are in imminent danger of end 
 less suffering, can hardly be expected to thank God for 
 sparing the lives of their offspring till they grow to ma 
 turity. Do such parents ever realize at what a tremen 
 dous risk human life is prolonged ? Do they enjoy the 
 society of their children, when reflecting upon that end 
 less hell which their faith tells them those children are 
 every moment in danger of being doomed to endure? 
 No, they cannot. And all that keeps such believers 
 from constant anguish of spirit, in view of such danger, 
 is the fact that they do not believe that themselves, or any 
 of their dear friends, will be thus doomed. This hope for 
 their friends saves them from despair. It is happy for 
 the world that it is so ; that all have enough of hope 
 in the mercy of God for themselves and their friends, to 
 save them from the legitimate influence of full faith in 
 any of the creeds of partialism. But that strange selfish 
 ness and Phariseeism which are evinced by many pro- 
 9*
 
 102 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 fessors of the benevolent religion of Christ, and -which 
 deny to others the grace of God on which they must de 
 pend, are a disgrace to the Christian name and profession, 
 and should be rebuked by all -who can speak a word or 
 wield a pen in favor of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus 
 our Lord. 
 
 " Let parents all learn that God is indeed the FATHER, 
 the UNIVERSAL FATHER, and they will trust and obey 
 him with their whole hearts. The sentiment, thus taught, 
 will favorably affect their whole household." 
 
 In June, 1837, the New Hampshire Convention of 
 Universalists held its annual session at Lebanon. It 
 was one of the most agreeable and profitable meetings 
 the fraternity had ever enjoyed in the state. Five dis 
 courses were preached. A conference meeting was held 
 on Wednesday evening, and the celebration of the Lord's 
 Supper attended to on Thursday. The sermons and ex 
 hortations were soundly doctrinal and practical, and the 
 services all deeply devotional. The only regret mani 
 fested was, that the meeting closed so soon. The words 
 of the Psalm were then and there in all their force ap 
 preciated, "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for 
 brethren to dwell together in unity ! " The closing 
 addresses were by Rev. Russell Streeter, in which 
 references were made to the discourses during the con 
 vention, in a manner which we have never since known 
 equalled on a similar occasion by any speaker. His al 
 lusion to the youthful Hanscom, then giving evidence, in 
 declining health, that his brief but faithful ministry on
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 103 
 
 earth might soon end, was touching in the extreme. No 
 dry eye was there, and no heart that was not full and 
 overflowing. The circular was written by the beloved 
 Hanscom. A part of it we would preserve in these 
 pages : 
 
 " The business of our council was conducted in the 
 utmost harmony and order. The rankling of envy, the 
 voice of discord, and the spirit of angry disputation, 
 found no abiding place in our midst ; for the Gospel 
 was there, filling every heart with its holy and sanctify 
 ing influence. We met in peace, we dwelt together in 
 unity, we parted in love. And the exercises of the sanc 
 tuary ! We must speak of them ; but what shall we 
 say ? It would require the pen of an angel to describe 
 their lofty and devout character, and the rapturous joy 
 which they inspired. The smiles of heaven's love rested 
 upon us without measure. All nature seemed to bend 
 in silent adoration without while within the heart was 
 made glad by the song of praise, the voice of prayer, 
 and the message of salvation. The eager look, the 
 moistened eye, and the gladdening smile, told that to 
 every believer it was good to be there. The same sacred 
 awe and filial reverence seemed to pervade the audience 
 that must have thrilled the bosom of Elijah when the 
 ' still small voice ' whispered that God was present. The 
 morning services of the last day were concluded with the 
 celebration of the Lord's Supper ; at which time from 
 one to two hundred believers surrounded the table of the 
 Redeemer, to commemorate his sufferings and death. It
 
 104 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 was a most hallowed scene. "We hail this service as the 
 dawn of a new era in the history of our cause. It is 
 giving the sanction of one of our most popular bodies to 
 a rite which every Christian must hold sacred ; present 
 ing as it does a standing proof of the divine authenticity 
 of our holy religion. It will send abroad an impression 
 among our wide-spread fraternity, which cannot but ex 
 ert a highly salutary influence upon the cause of primi 
 tive Christianity. We most ardently hope that the 
 example which our convention has presented, and the 
 measures which it has taken upon this subject, may serve 
 to call the attention of the brotherhood generally to those 
 things which tend to promote the truth, to exalt man, and 
 to glorify God." 
 
 To this meeting Mr. Moore gave the welcome of the 
 spirit, and his kind and constant attention. His people, 
 too, were equally solicitous with him for the comfort of 
 those who attended it. 
 
 At the meeting of the Cheshire County Association, 
 in Westmoreland, N. H., in September of the same year, 
 Mr. Moore was present, and preached the concluding 
 discourse to a large and attentive audience. The same 
 month he attended the Connecticut River Association, 
 at Newport. The new meeting-house erected by the 
 Universalists in this place was dedicated on the morning 
 of the first day of the association. Mr. Moore preached 
 in the afternoon of the first day, and gave the closing 
 address on the last day of the meeting. He was also 
 present at the meeting of the Grafton Association, in Or-
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 105 
 
 ford, N. H.j on the first Wednesday in October of the 
 same year. 
 
 During the year 1838 he is steadily and constantly 
 engaged in the work which, above all others, is nearest 
 his heart. In a letter to a friend he writes : " While I 
 remain here, or anywhere this side heaven, I will try 
 to be useful in my calling. I would not exchange my 
 profession for an earthly throne. No! I love the Gospel; 
 I love to preach it ; and, above all, I love to see the 
 people receive it in the love of it, and practise it accord 
 ingly." He is not discouraged because of the unpopu 
 larity of this whole Gospel which he has espoused ; aor 
 because of the greatness of the work before him. Be 
 lieving that it is for " Paul to plant, and for Apollos to 
 water, but that God giveth the increase," he has faith 
 that this promised increase will appear to other eyes, if 
 not to those who sow the seed ; that " the little one shall 
 become a thousand, the strong one a great nation ; " that 
 the leaven of truth by the mysterious heavenly power 
 shall operate, until this whole humanity is leavened. 
 
 He was gratified this year by an accession to the min 
 istry in his own place, that of Mr. H. M. Nichols, who 
 had for some time been a very popular teacher of the 
 Lebanon Academy. Mr. N. was afterwards minister 
 of the Universalist society in West Haverhill, Mass. 
 He was ordained there in August, 1840, and was pastor 
 of the society until the time of his death, which took 
 place September 16, 1842. He was one of the truly 
 worthy and beloved. His life verified the inscription
 
 106 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 afterwards placed by his friends upon his grave-stone, 
 "He walked with God." 
 
 In the early part of this year, he records with deep 
 sorrow, in his journal, the departure by death of two 
 highly-esteemed friends* in advanced life, with whom he 
 had been on terms of happiest fraternal intercourse for 
 many years. He takes pleasure in the reflection that 
 they were firm and devoted friends of that great truth 
 which he so much prized, and in whose hopes for time 
 and for eternity they had so often together rejoiced. 
 
 His ministry in Hanover had been productive of much 
 religious inquiry, and of new accessions to the company 
 of those there who believed in God as the loving Father 
 of all men. Some members of other churches became 
 avowed and happy advocates of Universalism. Xo word 
 of complaint could be brought against them, only that 
 their faith had become enlarged. The churches with 
 which they were connected could not conscientiously pre 
 fer such charges against them as would justify excommu 
 nication ; and in one instance it was proposed by the 
 church that the converts to the new faith should by 
 their own act formally withdraw from the fellowship of 
 the brethren with whom they had hitherto been united 
 in Christian covenant. This course called forth from 
 Mr. Moore some very plain yet candid strictures, which 
 were given to the public through one of our denomina 
 tional journals. 
 
 * Hon. Elijah Miller, of Hanover, and Jabez Huntington, Esq., of 
 Lebanon.
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 107 
 
 On his birth-day completing his forty-first year, he 
 remarks : "I am more and more confirmed in the opinion 
 that ' it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps ; ' 
 but that there is a mysterious hand that guides and im 
 perceptibly controls all creatures and events in mercy. I 
 would renewedly dedicate myself and all my powers to 
 him." 
 
 Two deaths of near kindred, a mother and brother, 
 took place within two weeks of each other, in the spring 
 time of this year. It was one of the hardest of trials for 
 the son and brother to pass through these scenes, in his 
 nearness to the sick, and his watchful care of them. 
 But, 
 
 " sustained and soothed 
 
 By an unfaltering trust " 
 
 in one whose mercy and strength are adequate to the 
 wants of all his creatures, the departed and surviving 
 ones were blest. The preacher is led to pray that he 
 may not be left in darkness through these scenes, dark 
 ness such as a limited or weak faith brings upon the 
 soul, but that the cheering smiles of the Father may 
 give him new life. And his prayer is answered. 
 
 His discourse on Fast-day of this year was a peculiar 
 one. It was an extempore effort, his text being this ex 
 tract from the governor's " proclamation : " " That we 
 may obtain forgiveness of our sins, and a happy issue 
 from all our afflictions." The ground of the discourse 
 was, that sin is an infringement of any pf God's laws ;
 
 108 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOKE. 
 
 that the only way by -which to obtain forgiveness is to 
 cease to violate these laws ; and that thus deliverance 
 from afflictions will be effected. " Let the wicked forsake 
 his ways, and the unrighteous man his deeds ; and let 
 them turn unto the Lord, who will have mercy, and to 
 our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Affliction is 
 the doom of transgressors of individuals, communities, 
 nations. While truth declares, " Great peace have they 
 who love (obey) God's law, and nothing shall offend 
 them," universal blessing shall come to man only through 
 universal obedience. 
 
 In the beginning of this year we find him giving his 
 epistolary congratulations to a young friend * who had 
 gone out from the fold in Lebanon, and had now given 
 indications that he himself was to become a shepherd of 
 others, to lead them into the way of truth and righteous 
 ness. The letter of the pastor to his young friend is 
 replete with judicious counsel and Christian love. " Strive 
 to be a good and useful minister," he says, " and then 
 you will be a great one." 
 
 As a sample of certain theological expositions to which 
 the people within the limits of Mr. Moore's field of labor 
 were often subject, he mentions one instance, that of a 
 minister of the Methodist fraternity, at the funeral of a 
 friend and neighbor, which Mr. Moore attended. The 
 preacher's text was Luke 20 : " They that shall be ac 
 counted worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection 
 
 * C. H. Fay.
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 109 
 
 of the dead," etc. The preacher predicated the worthi 
 ness on works ; then on faith ; then on grace. And, in 
 attempting to show that some were not and would not be 
 found worthy, he said the law required all to love God 
 supremely, and one another as themselves ; that this law 
 would not in the least abate its demands upon us. And 
 then he said (truly) that Christ came to ^fulfil this law, 
 and would do it ; which, in effect, proves that all will 
 love God supremely, and their neighbors as themselves ; 
 which state of mind, as the preacher had at first stated, 
 constitutes the worthiness of which the text speaks. ' ' So, ' ' 
 said Mr. Moore, "he run on to the very rock of Univer- 
 salism, which he seemed so very desirous of avoiding. If 
 the doctrine of universal and effectual salvation by grace 
 be not true, what will become of all the sects ? " 
 
 Some time in May, he was called to Sharon, Vt, to 
 attend the funeral of an aged lady there. At the close 
 of the services, held in the Congregationalist meeting 
 house, while Mr. Moore was addressing the audience, 
 he remarked that they were all the objects of God's love; 
 that he knew no difference, as he loved all his works. 
 The Congregationalist clergyman, being present, said, in 
 a low voice, but loud enough to be heard by all, " It is 
 false ! " Mr. Moore gave no special attention to the 
 remark, otherwise than to repeat in substance what he 
 had previously said. Many of his own people were deeply 
 mortified at the inconsiderate and uncivil conduct of their 
 minister. "The Lord forgive him," was the expressed 
 wish of our brother, "and, in due time, open his eyes to 
 10
 
 110 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 the light of eternal truth, and his heart to the enjoyment 
 of God's impartial love." 
 
 In the summer and autumn of this year Mr. Moore at 
 tended the Green Mountain Association, at Hartland, Vt. ; 
 the New Hampshire Convention, at Walpole, N. H. ; 
 journeyed to Saratoga and Schenectady ; visited Danvers, 
 and attended the U. S. Convention at Maiden and Boston, 
 Mass., and the removal, at that time, of the remains of 
 Rev. John Murray to Mt. Auburn. He was present at 
 the Grafton Association, in Wentworth, N. H. ; and 
 preached the sermon on the dedication of the new Uni- 
 versalist meeting-house at St. Johnsbury, Vt. He also 
 attended a conference at Newport, N. H., and another 
 at Hartford, Vt. He took much interest, this year, in 
 behalf of the proposed Asylum for the Insane in New 
 Hampshire, and presented the claims of such an insti 
 tution upon the people of that state in a very earnest 
 discourse to his congregation. 
 
 In January, 1839, Mr. Moore was present at the ded 
 ication of the Universalist meeting-house in Nashua, 
 N. H. He preached in this place on the succeeding Sun 
 day, and soon afterward received an invitation to become 
 minister of the society there, but was not then ready to 
 accept it. While absent from home, he visited Massa 
 chusetts, attended the Middlesex Conference at Stoneham, 
 and preached there. 
 
 He writes on his birth-day, this year : "I have suc 
 ceeded in my ministerial course beyond my most san 
 guine expectations ; for which I thank God, my Father.
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. Ill 
 
 I would at this period dedicate my powers anew to the 
 great cause of his truth ; and may He guide me in the 
 path of duty. What is before me for the year to come, 
 should life be prolonged, I am not anxious to know ; be 
 lieving that he who controls all things will bring that 
 to pass which is best fpr me and all concerned. My 
 prayer is, that I may be preserved in the good and right 
 way, trusting in Divine Grace. Thy will, God, be 
 done ! " In this month (February) he attended a con 
 ference at Claremont, N. H., and the installation of the 
 Rev. J. Nichols as pastor of the society there. He gave 
 the Charge to the pastor, and the Address to the Society, 
 and preached twice during the conference. In the same 
 month, too, he preached, by invitation, two Sundays in 
 Woonsocket, R. I. 
 
 In June he attended the New Hampshire Convention, 
 at Nashua, and in August the Vermont Convention, at 
 Bethel. At the last-named meeting he preached the 
 concluding discourse. 
 
 In September he journeyed by chaise, with his com 
 panion, across New Hampshire to Portland, Me., to 
 attend the United States Convention in that city. He 
 had been appointed to deliver the occasional discourse ; 
 and ably and faithfully was this duty performed by him. 
 His text was, the word of the Lord to Joshua " There 
 remaineth yet very much land to be possessed." * The 
 condition and duty of the religious fraternity to which he 
 belonged, were the chief themes of the cliscourse. He 
 
 * Joshua 13 : 1.
 
 112 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 congratulated the denomination on its past success, in the 
 face of such obstacles as it had been called to meet. 
 "Standing as we do," said he, "on the lofty eminence 
 to which God, by the power of his truth and grace, has 
 brought us, with what inexpressible joy and gratitude do 
 we review the past ! some of you by your own recol 
 lections ; others of us. by the light of history ; or now 
 and then by listening with intense interest to the wonders 
 and struggles of those days, as the story is related to us 
 by the trembling voice and tearful eye of some venerable 
 patriarch, who has been permitted on earth to witness the 
 luxuriant growth of that ' least of all seeds,' till it has 
 become a great tree, spreading its branches as from the 
 centre to the circumference, whose refreshing shade and 
 life-giving fruit is being more eagerly and generally 
 sought than at any former period and which will aiford 
 enough for all, as its roots are constantly watered by the 
 river of God, which is full of water. 
 
 ****** 
 "When we converse with the fathers in our Israel 
 (but few of whom are now left), they inform us that 
 their most sanguine anticipations have been more than 
 realized ; that they have lived to see their posterity pos 
 sess vastly more of ' that land flowing with milk and 
 honey ' than they imagined would be their happy lot on 
 earth ; they tell us how the mighty sons of Anak, in the 
 form of religious error, have been slain by the sword of 
 the spirit ; that the Goliahs of superstition and bigotry, 
 who defied the truth of the living God, have fallen before
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 113 
 
 the noiseless march of those who were clad in the simple 
 habiliments of unadorned truth and love ; till many of 
 the traditions of the fathers, which confined the blessings 
 of Gospel salvation to a few of our race, and many of the 
 middle walls of partition, which . kept separate those who 
 should occupy one fold, because they belong to one shep 
 herd, have been swept away by the diffusion of that truth 
 which maketh free indeed." 
 
 He then notices the means used in the past for the 
 furtherance of the truth, an exhibition and practical 
 application of it; mentions the auxiliaries now at our 
 disposal for this same work ; the need of vigilance in our 
 course, specially a greater caution in reference to the 
 admission of candidates into the ministry; and, finally, 
 constant attention and devotedness to that spiritual cul 
 ture so essential to the true growth of all Christians. It 
 is in our holy faith that the highest incentives to true 
 spiritual life are seen. The conclusion of the discourse 
 is as follows : 
 
 " Such is the hold which the truth, in regard to the 
 nature, wants, and destiny, of universal man, already has 
 on the public mind, that its progress can no more be 
 prevented, than a mighty river can be stayed in its course 
 to the ocean. In noting the state of the religious world, 
 and judging of the progress of liberal and truly Gospel 
 or Christian sentiments by the tenacity with which the 
 different sects hold their respective names, we shall be 
 deceived as to the real state of the case. The leaven of 
 the Gospel has been doing its silent, though efficient 
 10*
 
 114 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 work, forming, as it does, an under current, which is 
 steadily bearing the Christian world onward to the broad 
 expanse of waters, even to ' a place of broad rivers and 
 streams ; ' and this gently-swelling tide of religious and 
 intellectual affairs must. continue to rail on, till all shall 
 reach the ocean of boundless love, and party names be 
 lost in that spirit which will enable every knee reverently 
 to bow to that worthy name which is above every name, 
 and induce every tongue joyfully to confess that Jesus 
 Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 
 
 " Brethren, while there remaineth a single rood of 
 land to be possessed, or a human soul under the influ 
 ence of the tyrannizing spirit of error, while there is to be 
 seen in the vineyard of our Lord and Master a single 
 ' plant which his heavenly Father hath not planted,' 
 may we go forth in the almightiness of that truth which 
 will destroy all error, and in the spirit of that grace 
 which shall superabound sin, to the work of evangelizing 
 the world. And that we may be successful in the dis 
 semination of Gospel truth, to the destruction of false 
 doctrines and sin, may we study to have our whole souls 
 more and more imbued with the spirit of the doctrine 
 which we preach, that its practical influences may shine 
 forth in our whole deportment ; that others, seeing our 
 good works, as well as hearing us ' speak the words which 
 become sound doctrine,' may be induced to glorify Him 
 who is God over all, and forever blessed. May no root 
 of bitterness be allowed to spring up among us, and turn 
 us aside from the work of our calling ; but may we let
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 115 
 
 brotherly love continue, that the pleasure of the Lord may 
 continue to prosper in our hands, and each revolving 
 year show that the light of science, and the spirit of the 
 Gospel, are causing the race of man to extend their pos 
 sessions, and to cultivate the soil of human nature, that 
 fruit in abundance may be produced, to the glory of 
 God, and to the honor and happiness of man. And may 
 ' God cause us always to triumph in Christ, making 
 manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place,' 
 and finally give us, and all for whomsoever Jesus tasted 
 death, endless life in heaven. AMEN." 
 
 Towards the close of this year, the last one of the 
 five for which he had engaged as pastor in Lebanon, 
 Mr. Moore had concluded to seek a new field of ministerial 
 labor. This resolve had not been made without much 
 deliberation. The terms on which he had expressed a 
 willingness to remain in his place not being met with 
 that ease and readiness which he deemed necessary to a 
 hearty and effectual cooperation of minister and people, 
 he felt at liberty to consult conscience as to a change of 
 place. He did not wish to ask of any people more than 
 they could conveniently and cheerfully bestow. His 
 motives in all his ministerial changes were always liberal 
 and pure. They were in this instance. 
 
 In October of this year he attended the Grafton As 
 sociation, at Hanover. The meeting was a spirited one. 
 It was held in a large hall. The Congregational church 
 had been asked for, but could not be obtained for the 
 meeting, although Universalists were proprietors in the
 
 116 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 house. Six sermons were preached on the occasion. 
 Some days afterwards, Mr. Moore learned that certain 
 remarks made by him had given offence to some of the 
 Hanover people. The statement most objectionable was, 
 that in less than half a century to come our successors 
 would, in all probability, be as astonished that the dogma 
 of endless punishment was ever held by their fathers, 
 even as we are now that our ancestors were serious be 
 lievers in the witchcraft delusion. A strong word, then, 
 to speak on that ground, where the influence of one of 
 the principal literary institutions in the land was given 
 to the support of this doctrine. But the time is nearer 
 now than it was then, when upon that very ground, as 
 well as elsewhere, this theological error will lose its hold 
 upon the public mind. Since that utterance in Hanover, 
 less than twenty years ago, what changes have been 
 going on in our churches and theological seminaries and 
 colleges ! what indications of the progress of religious 
 thought of higher views of the Divine administration 
 of man, his work, and destiny ! Of this fact we have the 
 acknowledgment, as in the language of Dr. Pond, of the 
 Theological Seminary at Bangor : " Though the evan 
 gelical churches of our country are not Unitarians, 
 S \yedenborgians, or Universalists, though they retain in 
 their creeds most of the great and fundamental doctrines 
 of the Gospel, still, the perverse explanations which er- 
 rorists are accustomed to put upon many parts of the Bible 
 have become so common of late, our moral atmosphere 
 has become so impregnated with them, that a degree of
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 117 
 
 scepticism has been introduced -which goes to turn the 
 edge and blunt the point of that instrument, which in 
 the hand of the Spirit is quick and powerful, but without 
 which he never operates. It has come to that, that when 
 the doctrines of Divine sovereignty, of total depravity, 
 of the consequent necessity of regeneration, of a general 
 judgment, and of the endless punishment of the wicked, 
 are plainly preached, and the most positive language of 
 Scripture is quoted in proof of them, there are not a few 
 in our congregations who are ready to say, ' All this may 
 be so, or may not be so; there are different opinions in 
 regard to these points ; these passages of Scripture are 
 variously interpreted; and who can tell how much or 
 how little is to be depended on ? " 
 
 We cannot regard the change here mentioned with that 
 regret which might have been in the mind of the writer 
 of this acknowledgment. We are sorry for the scepticism 
 which error helps to form, but have no fears that, amid all 
 the transitions through which the church passes, God's 
 truth will be lost. That will abide. So our preacher 
 believed, when he uttered the prediction at Hanover. 
 
 On the 31st of this month Mr. Moore preached the 
 sermon at the dedication of the new Universalist meeting 
 house in Sutton, N. H. In November he journeyed into 
 Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, preach 
 ing at Marblehead two Sundays, and at Hartford one. 
 Sunday, December 1st, he notes as the fourteenth anni 
 versary of his ministerial life. " During all these years 
 I have been able to preach on the return of each Sunday ;
 
 118 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 and novr I feel the same desire to promote the Christian 
 cause which first led me forth from the peaceful and 
 happy employment of the husbandman, to the more per 
 plexing duties of public life. I have never for a moment 
 regretted that I made the change. May that same love 
 of truth, and desire for its promotion, which then inspired 
 me with zeal, still glow in my heart ! " 
 
 An invitation had been extended to him from Hartford, 
 Conn., to remove to that city, and take charge of the 
 Universalist society there. He concluded to accept the 
 proposal, and made his preparations accordingly. In 
 consequence of this decision, he gave answers to one or 
 two other societies * that had invited him to take up his 
 abode with them. He closed his engagements with the 
 society in Hanover on the second, and in Lebanon on the 
 fourth Sunday in December. Of the last day in Lebanon 
 he says: " I found that my attachment to the society 
 was greater than I had supposed. May the God of all 
 grace build them up in the most holy faith, and finally 
 bring us all where partings are no more ! " He had 
 preached in Lebanon most of the time since November, 
 1826. 
 
 A minister in Illinois, Rev. A. Pingree, in a public 
 communication after the death of Mr. Moore, thus speaks 
 in reference to his Lebanon ministry : 
 
 "I still retain, and probably always shall, the deep 
 and agreeable impression made in my heart when first I 
 heard him preach, in Hingham, Mass. It was there I 
 
 * Woonsocket, R. I., and Marblehead, Mass.
 
 SECOND MINISTRY IN LEBANON. 119 
 
 first saw him. It was there I first formed with him a 
 personal acquaintance. But his endearment to me has 
 heen increased from the fact that his earliest labors in 
 the administration of the Gospel were in Lebanon, N. 
 H., only eight miles from Plainfield, my native place; 
 but more especially for the durable effect, favorable to 
 Universalism, produced by his life and preaching upon 
 the hearts of my parents, as particularly described by 
 them. Every sentence and sermon uttered by him in 
 defence of the doctrine of God's impartial grace went to 
 them, like almighty hammer applied to a wedge, entering 
 deeper and deeper at every blow, cleaving asunder their 
 hearts, hitherto hard-bound by another creed, but tender, 
 hoping, and forgiving, notwithstanding. In 1838 they 
 emigrated from New Hampshire to this place. But they 
 are not here. They have gone to the world of spirits. 
 I deeply mourn their loss. But I highly rejoice at the 
 certainty that they died in the faith of a full salvation. 
 Doubtless Mr. Moore, by the help of God, did much 
 towards bringing about this happy result."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 
 
 THE first preaching of distinctive Universalism in 
 Hartford was in 1796, by Rev. Elhanan Winchester, who 
 finished his earthly course here in April, the next year. 
 After this, until 1821, there was no settled ministry 
 of this faith in the place. Then, Rev. Richard Carrique 
 became the minister of a society here, during whose 
 pastorate a meeting-house was erected, in 1824. At the 
 time of its dedication, Rev. John Bisbee was installed pas 
 tor of the society. He continued here about three years, 
 and was succeeded, in 1827, by Rev. Menzies Rayner; 
 and he, in 1832, by Rev. M. H. Smith, whose ministry 
 closed in 1835 ; after which the society was destitute of a 
 pastor for nearly a year. In April, 1836, Rev. Asher 
 Moore commenced his ministry with the society, and con 
 tinued it until the spring of 1839. 
 
 The ministry of Mr. Moore (the subject of this memoir) 
 commenced the last Sunday in December, 1839. The 
 society of which he had come to take the charge was
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 121 
 
 large in numbers, and able to give a good support to their 
 minister. They had seen some vicissitudes in the past, 
 although they had been favored generally with a faithful 
 ministry. A little time previous to the coming of Mr. 
 Moore, reports had been circulated by certain over-zealous 
 ones, whose prejudices against Universalism led them at 
 times to be somewhat unscrupulous as to the character of 
 their testimony against it, that the affairs of the society 
 were very low ; that they had been obliged to send away 
 their minister because of their inability to support him, 
 and that their meeting-house had been sold to pay their 
 debts. This last-named report arose from the fact that 
 in an advertisement in one of the city papers it was inti 
 mated that the pews in the Universalist church were to be 
 sold at auction. The sale took place. The pews were 
 sold to the highest bidder, for one year from the first day 
 of January, 1840. The increased interest in the society 
 at the time caused the pews to rent for several hundred 
 dollars more than they had brought for many years. 
 
 Mr. Moore arrived with his family in Hartford on 
 Tuesday, December 24th. The next day being Christ 
 mas, he was called to preach in the evening in his church, 
 which had been very tastefully decorated with evergreen 
 for the occasion, and where he met a very large assem 
 blage from Hartford and from neighboring towns. Fifty 
 or sixty from the Universalist society in Middletown came, 
 accompanied by their pastor. The preacher discoursed 
 from that very appropriate Christmas text, the words of 
 the angels to the shepherds : " Behold, I bring you glad 
 11
 
 122 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people." The 
 occasion was one of much interest to all present. A 
 gifted lady of the society wrote at the time : 
 
 " Our good neighbors, the Catholics and Episcopalians, 
 have, from time immemorial, monopolized the privilege of 
 adorning their churches for the celebration of Christmas ; 
 but we believe they have not an inalienable right to the 
 aforesaid privilege, and, though they may accuse us of 
 having 'copied from them,' we can say that we improved 
 upon the original, and that we should never allow a false 
 pride to prevent our imitating the good we see in oth 
 ers. Having the sanction of Holy Writ, as well as their 
 example, it was accordingly agreed that our own church 
 should be decorated, and appropriate services performed 
 on the anniversary of our Saviour's birth ; and the 
 manner in which it was done reflects much credit on the 
 taste which directed the plan, and the skill which carried 
 it into execution. The appearance of the whole was very 
 beautiful when the house was brilliantly lighted and the 
 doors thrown open on Christmas evening. Tasteful 
 wreaths entwined the pillars and extended along the front 
 of the galleries, which were ornamented with stars of 
 green and gold; letters neatly wrought with pine ex 
 tended round the whole, on one side forming the sen 
 tence, ' Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy, 
 which shall be to all people ; ' and on the other, the 
 strain which angels sang, ' Glory to God in the highest ; on 
 earth peace and good-will to men ; ' and the golden star 
 of Bethlehem glittered on the front of the pulpit. A
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 123 
 
 dense crowd listened, with profound and silent attention, 
 to the soul-thrilling music, the fervent prayer, and excel 
 lent discourse ; and we trust that many went away from 
 that joyful meeting saying it was good and pleasant to 
 have been there. 
 
 "My heart responds to the sentiment of a favorite 
 writer, who says : ' I approve of set times and seasons of 
 more than ordinary acts of devotion, for breaking in on 
 that habituated routine of life and thought, which is so 
 apt to reduce our existence to a kind of instinct, or even 
 sometimes, and with some minds, to a state very little 
 superior to mere machinery.' And by whom should 
 Christmas be kept and remembered joyfully, if not by 
 those professing a faith in the world's salvation ? Surely, 
 we of all others should commemorate the birth of Him 
 who brought life and immortality to light ; who taught 
 a world, which had never heard of heaven, that after the 
 dark sleep of death they might hope for a blessed awak 
 ening ; and, instead of the white-robed priest, the pomp 
 of sacrifice, and the strife of armies, established the sim 
 ple rites of Christianity, the religion of peace and love." 
 
 On Sunday, the 29th, Mr. Moore addressed his people 
 in the morning from Job 36 : 11, " If they obey and 
 serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and 
 their years in pleasures." In the afternoon, from Acts 
 10: 29, "I ask, therefore, for what intent ye have 
 sent for me." The private journal contains a few very 
 appropriate reflections upon the close of the year, the 
 changes which time makes with men, and the kindness of
 
 124 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 that Providence which hath its care over all. On Sunday 
 evening, January 5th, he commenced in his church a 
 series of discourses on the Lord's Prayer, which were 
 well received by the hearers. On Sunday evening, 26th, 
 he delivered the annual address before the Universalist 
 Female Relief Society. He listened to an institute lec 
 ture, about this time, by Rev. Mr. Burgess, Episcopalian, 
 on the ' ' Genealogy of Nations and the Unity of the 
 Human Race," which he says "embraced the principles 
 of Universalism." He bears the same testimony respect 
 ing a lecture which he heard, soon afterwards, from Mr. 
 Bancroft, the American historian. 
 
 He writes, this winter, to a young friend intending to 
 enter the ministry : "I hope you will permit no obstacle 
 to turn you aside from the holy calling in which you have 
 engaged. Let your whole mind be awake to the great 
 subject of the Gospel. Cultivate its spirit. 'Preach the 
 word ' whenever and wherever a door shall be opened. 
 And if you do not see any door already open, just go for 
 ward in any place where there is a probability that good 
 may be done, and open a door yourself. Others have 
 sowed where we have reaped. Let us go forth scattering 
 the precious seeds of Gospel truth, and we shall return 
 rejoicing, bringing our sheaves with us." To another, 
 also, respecting his choice of business or calling for life, 
 he writes : "I trust you will be guided by wisdom in 
 this thing. Do not worry about getting rich in a mo 
 ment. Industry and economy are requisite to health 
 and happiness during all our lives. Embrace every
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 125 
 
 opportunity to instruct yourself in all that can add to - 
 your honor and comfort in, life. Take broad and generous 
 views of the world and its human representatives ; and, 
 above all, keep ' a conscience void of offence toward God 
 and men ; ' and you will be, in the best sense of the 
 word, independent." 
 
 Soon after his coming to Hartford, Mr. Moore became 
 engaged as one of the editors of the Universalist, a 
 weekly quarto religious paper, published simultaneously 
 at Middletown and Hartford. He was inclined to this 
 step that he might add his influence through this printed 
 sheet to his other efforts in behalf of Christian truth in 
 Connecticut. His introductory editorial article appears 
 in the number of that paper of March 21st. The con 
 clusion of the article is characteristic of the writer. "To 
 the editorial fraternity, I can embrace all I would now 
 say in that comprehensive sentence, ' Let brotherly love 
 continue ; ' to believers in the great salvation, I would 
 repeat the words of our Divine Master, ' Let your light 
 so shine before men, that they, seeing your good works, 
 shall be led to glorify your Father which is in heaven ;' 
 to opponents, I say, ' Come, now, and let us reason to 
 gether ; ' to unbelievers, and those who seem to ask 
 whether there is any good in the Gospel of Christ, my 
 answer is, ' Come and see ! ' : Of his society he at this 
 time writes, that " they appear to be gradually arousing 
 from their slumbers, not in consequence of any unusual 
 excitement or special exertions, but by the natural influence 
 of the ordinary services of public religious worship. We 
 11*
 
 126 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 concluded, last Sunday evening, a series of discourses on 
 the Lord's Prayer, which, have been listened to by very 
 respectable audiences, who appeared, by their profound 
 attention, to take deep interest in the exposition of the 
 several points of religious doctrine embodied in that short 
 prayer." One of his editorial articles, in the number of 
 the paper of which we have just spoken, is on the sub 
 ject of temperance, a topic very widely and freely 
 discussed in Hartford at that time, and on which our 
 faithful minister was ready to declare himself on all 
 proper occasions. On the 23d of this month he at 
 tended the county temperance meeting at Poquonock, 
 and delivered the chief address there, speaking about an 
 hour and forty minutes to a very attentive audience. 
 
 In the Universalist of April 5th he commences a 
 series of editorial articles addressed to the Universalists 
 in Connecticut. He first speaks of the excellency of the 
 faith they profess ; of its reasonableness, its scriptural 
 evidences, its adaptability to human nature, and its vin 
 dication of the character of God ; he states, with great 
 plainness, what he considers some of the hindrances to its 
 progress, and among these a want of true zeal on the 
 part of those who profess it. He speaks of the excuses 
 which some offer for not doing more for the cause, and of 
 the need such ones have of that wisdom which shall 
 lead them to see the good which the zeal of even a few 
 earnest Christian souls may accomplish. It is the duty, 
 he argues, of all sincere believers in Universalism, if 
 there be only a single family of them in any place, to do
 
 MINISTRY IN HAKTFORD. 127 
 
 whatever they can in the avowal and maintenance of 
 their faith, by books, periodicals, and conversation ; and 
 occasionally by preaching, too, if only a few can be called 
 together to hear the message of truth in some private 
 room. By such influences large and flourishing socie 
 ties have sprung up, results of the well-directed eiforts 
 of a single man. To the objection that, if this course 
 were taken to any considerable extent, it would be the 
 means of breaking up all societies, as there is such a di 
 versity of mind in reference to religious doctrines, he 
 remarks : " This objection supposes that the same reason 
 exists for this course of procedure, by all the different 
 classes of the partialist sects, as by Universalists ; which is 
 by no means the case. The preaching of most or all of 
 these other sects is so nearly in agreement with each 
 other, especially as it regards the final results of God's 
 government over mortal beings, that, in our opinion, it 
 evinces much folly to maintain two or more partialist 
 societies where the people can all be accommodated in 
 one. But not so with the Universalist. There is a broad 
 distinction between his views of the results of the Divine 
 administration and those of his partialist friends ; a 
 difference which admits not of a reconciliation ; a differ 
 ence compared with which all the differences between 
 the many partialist sects dwindle to nothing." He 
 speaks earnestly of the duty of parents in bestowing the 
 right attention to the religious culture of their children ; 
 of , the right motives in forming and seeking to maintain 
 societies ; of the importance of system in doing the work
 
 128 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 of the society ; and of the need, above all things, of the 
 exhibition of the holy spirit of the true faith on the part 
 of its professors. 
 
 Following these articles, there appeared "A Word to 
 Ministers," urging upon them a true and steady devotion 
 to the great interests of the Gospel. 
 
 Sunday, May 10th, seemed to have been a day of 
 much enjoyment with him. His record of it in his journal 
 ends with a most expressive allusion to the wish of the 
 Psalmist. " Sunday is the happiest day in the week 
 with me. I enjoy the public worship of God more 
 than any other service or work in which I engage. 
 I would dwell forever in the house of the Lord." In 
 a letter to friend, about this time, he writes : " This is one 
 of nature's loveliest scenes. The air is pure, the sky 
 cloudless, the grass forward as it was with you last year 
 at the first of June ; the foliage is nearly full, and the 
 apple-trees are in bloom. If I had opened my eyes for 
 the first time on such a world as this, and, after taking a 
 broad survey of its beauties, had met a tall figure, in 
 shape of a man, clad in black, with a lengthened visage, 
 and a scowl upon his brow, who had discoursed wildly on 
 ' hell and deep damnation,' I should have considered him 
 an anomaly in the creation a discordant note in the 
 harmony of the universe ! To what object could he 
 point me as an illustration of his unnatural and libellous 
 doctrine? But enough of this." The next Sunday is 
 mentioned as one of the happiest of his life, although 
 full of labor to him. He preached two long sermons,
 
 MINISTRY IN HABTFORD. 129 
 
 attended the Bible-class and Sabbath-school, rode ten 
 miles and preached again, and returned the same evening, 
 much fatigued. 
 
 A few days afterwards, intelligence of the death of 
 Rev. Savillion W. Fuller, of Philadelphia, reached him. 
 Mr. R had been one of the most faithful of ministers for 
 eleven years previous to his departure from his earthly 
 work, and died in the triumphs of faith. He was, at the 
 time of his decease, pastor of the JCallowhill-street Uni- 
 versalist church, in Philadelphia. This event is made 
 the occasion of a devout prayer of our brother that he may 
 be faithful in his ministerial calling, so that, when sum 
 moned from it, he may be permitted to feel that his work 
 has been well done. 
 
 On the 24th of this month he preached in Bolton, on 
 exchange with Rev. W. A. Stickney ; and, in the record 
 he makes of the day's service, takes much pleasure in 
 speaking of the efforts of one faithful man in that place, 
 who, " having become a convert to the truth in Christ, 
 by prayerful study of the Scriptures, unaided by any 
 teacher, save that spirit which agrees with the word, and 
 which leadeth into all truth, went forward in his work, 
 made a meeting-house of his own dwelling, employed a 
 preacher of the Abrahamic faith to dispense occasionally 
 the word, invited his neighbors to come and hear for 
 themselves what could be said in favor of the salvation 
 of all mankind by the grace of God; was blest in 
 seeing his own family, as well as others, brought to 
 rejoice in the impartial favor of heaven's King." On
 
 130 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 the 27th and 28th of this month, he attended the meet 
 ing of the Southern Association, at Stratford, Ct. He 
 preached twice during the meetings. 
 
 His reflections, about this time, on the past history of 
 religious intolerance in Connecticut, are worthy of con 
 sideration. They will answer, in some measure, to all 
 the New England and to not a few other states : 
 
 " It appears almost incredible to those who have never 
 known the want of religious liberty, that it is but a little 
 more than twenty years, since the people of this state 
 were allowed to worship God according to the dictates of 
 their own consciences, and in the enjoyment of equal 
 rights ; and when we read of the fact, or hear the living 
 histories of the past relate what has fallen under their 
 own observation, and what they themselves have experi 
 enced, of the influence of religious intolerance ; when the 
 last cow was sold 'by authority,' to pay for the preach 
 ing of a doctrine which the delinquent did not believe, 
 and which, therefore, he could not conscientiously sup 
 port ; when a man was liable to be shut up within the 
 gloomy walls of a prison, if he refused to pay for the 
 preaching of a doctrine which contends that God will 
 imprison eternally those who are heretical in faith ; we 
 can hardly bring ourselves to believe that such horrid 
 acts were performed by the authority of the state, in our 
 own far-famed New England ; and that, too, for the 
 glory of God, and the good of souls.' Such tales of deep 
 disgrace seem better suited to some barbarous age, than 
 to civilized life, and the genius of Christianity ; and we
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 131 
 
 seem to be induced, instinctively, to refer it all to the 
 ' dark ages.' Would to God we could -wipe the deep dis 
 grace from the otherwise fair pages of American history; 
 but there the blot must remain, and it may be well often 
 to recur to those times, for the purpose of being reminded 
 of the fact, that we may profit by the errors of the past. 
 
 "We enjoyed the pleasure and profit of an hour's 
 conversation, a few days since, with one of the fathers of 
 religious toleration, as well as of Universalism, in this 
 
 state (Judge S ), who remarked, with an emotion 
 
 which none but those who have been deprived of religious 
 liberty can realize, that ' it was the proudest day of his 
 life ' when the article in our constitution securing to all 
 citizens religious freedom was adopted an event which 
 was unexpected even by its friends. 
 
 "That article was adopted by a majority of about 
 twenty ; and such has been the improvement in the public 
 mind, on this subject, that we may safely predict that if 
 a convention of delegates should now assemble, by the 
 direction of the people, to decide . upon the question of 
 ' religious toleration,' there would not be found even 
 twenty who would go against it ; if. indeed, there would 
 be a solitary individual who would vote against perfect 
 religious liberty. 
 
 ' ' There may be those, in every town in the state, who 
 would have us return to the times and practices of 
 which we have spoken ; but, happily for the honor of 
 man. such would not be elected to represent the town. 
 
 " We venerate the men whose bosoms were fired by the
 
 132 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 love of equal rights ; we reverence the spirit of liberty 
 which God has implanted in the constitution of man, and 
 we rejoice in the power and benevolence of the Gospel, 
 which contemplates the equal happiness of the whole race 
 of Adam." 
 
 He notices, in one of the numbers of the Universalist, 
 about this time, a tract of some little notoriety, entitled 
 " The Swearer's Prayer," in which examination, while he 
 deals justly with the folly and sin of profaneness, he con 
 demns in strongest terms that pernicious theology which 
 has led men to pronounce curses and imprecations upon 
 their fellow-men, and to call, in desperateness, on God to 
 doom them to eternal woe. "As no one," he writes, 
 "is capable of hating himself, so no one possessed of a 
 sane mind can call upon God to make him eternally 
 miserable. But man is capable of hating his fellow-man, 
 and may, as he often does, under this spirit of hatred and 
 revenge, call upon God to damn to all eternity his ene 
 my. Now, the question is, Will our Heavenly Father 
 answer such a prayer ? Do not let us evade the question. 
 Will he, who has commanded us to pray for those who 
 despitefully use us, answer a prayer which is the effect 
 of the spirit of hatred and revenge, a prayer which 
 breathes forth the very reverse of love and good-will ? " 
 He remarks, also : " We long for the time to come when 
 man shall no longer curse his fellow-man ; but we do not 
 expect to see that day, so long as those who stand before 
 the people in the character of religious teachers are in 
 the habit of preaching the doctrine of endless woe."
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 133 
 
 One evening this summer, he tells us, he attended re 
 ligious services at one of the Congregational churches in 
 the city of his residence, where he was disposed to query 
 with himself whether he was most entertained, amused, 
 or astonished. We give his own statement : 
 
 " The speaker, Rev. Mr. Sprague, commented, as his 
 custom had been on such occasions, on a portion of the 
 Scriptures. This evening the portion which came in 
 course was Acts 2 : 32 and 37 verses, inclusive. 
 
 " We were highly entertained with what appeared to be 
 the easy, natural, and scriptural explanation given of this 
 portion of the chapter. And what amused us was, to 
 observe the difference between the plain and positive 
 doctrine of the Bible, when understood according to the 
 obvious meaning of the writers of that book, and the 
 mystifications, additions, and contradictions, which are used 
 for the purpose of maintaining a system which is not 
 plainly stated by any scripture writer. 
 
 " The speaker said there were three dispensations of God 
 to mankind. First, the dispensation of God the Father ; 
 second, the dispensation of God the Son ; and, third, the 
 dispensation of God the Holy Ghost. But what amused 
 us more particularly was the caution which he felt it 
 necessary to give his hearers, lest they should consider 
 the fact which he had stated, namely, that God would 
 subdue all Christ's enemies, as favoring the doctrine of 
 universal salvation. But the speaker said that, although 
 'God would make Christ's enemies his footstool,' the 
 meaning of which was, that God would subdue and sub- 
 12
 
 134 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 ject all things to Christ, yet it was not necessary to 
 put the Universalist comment upon the passage, and con 
 clude that all thus subdued would be happy ; for there 
 were more ways than one to subdue the sinner; that 
 many would be subdued in this life by the grace of God, 
 and would be made the willing subjects of Christ's king 
 dom ; but there would be many also who would not be 
 thus subdued, but who would nevertheless be subjected 
 by the power of God in the future existence ; but such 
 would not be happy, as they would be rebellious. We 
 could not blame the man very much for this commentary 
 on his explanation, which did savor not a little of Univer- 
 salism ; and, had he left his explanation without the com 
 mentary, cautioning his hearers against the doctrine of 
 Universalism, they might have fallen into the same 
 opinion of St. Paul, as declared in 1 Cor. 15 : 28, ' And 
 when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the 
 Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things 
 under him, that God may be all in all.' We much pre 
 fer Paul's comment on the doctrine of the subjection of 
 Christ's enemies to our neighbor Sprague's ; and it will 
 need the caution of the orthodox clergy to keep their 
 hearers from supposing, if God subdues all Christ's ene 
 mies, and if they are subject to Christ, as he is subject to 
 the Father, that God may be all in all, as Paul clearly 
 teaches that the so much despised doctrine of Univer 
 salism is the doctrine of the Bible. 
 
 "Our astonishment, on that occasion, was caused by the 
 calmness and certainty with which the speaker discoursed
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 135 
 
 to the sinners present of theii condition in the future 
 world, where their misery ' would be like piercing their 
 flesh with some sharp instrument, so as to produce the 
 most acute pain ; ' and the perfect composure and uncon 
 cern with which they received the intelligence ! Not a 
 muscle was moved ! not an eye was moistened ! not a 
 sigh was heard ! but all seemed as unconcerned as though 
 the speaker had told them that to-morrow's dawn would 
 find them all in the possession of their usual health ! " 
 
 An acknowledgment of the advantage of Universalism 
 over opposing doctrines, made by a Baptist clergyman of 
 Southington, Ct., is noted by Mr. Moore, about this time. 
 
 " He acknowledged that the difference between Univer 
 salism and Partialism is this, namely: the first says, 
 God's plan of salvation contemplates the reconciliation of 
 all mankind ; the second, that it contemplates the salva 
 tion of a part of the human race ; also, that we had the 
 advantage, as our system is in agreement with the love 
 of God ; but he thought it difficult to reconcile it with 
 the Scriptures. It is reconcilable, inasmuch as there are 
 no passages which contradict it." This " advantage " of 
 the great doctrine of the Reconciliation is a reality which 
 comes to many minds who are not quite as ready to ac 
 knowledge it as was the minister here mentioned. Of 
 all evidences of it, however, none are clearer or stronger 
 than those given in positive affirmations respecting God's 
 character, and "his great and precious promises" of 
 spiritual good for our race. 
 
 In August of this year the Connecticut State Conven-
 
 136 MEMOIK OP JOHN MOORE. 
 
 tion met at Norwich. Mr. Moore, in company with other 
 friends, attended, and received a very cordial welcome 
 from the members of the society there. They were more 
 over delighted with the place itself, "one of the most 
 romantic in the world," as Mr. Moore afterwards wrote 
 of it. Another of the company writes: "This place is 
 one of the most charming spots of earth. Every moment 
 was improved. We visited the tunnel which, at an im 
 mense cost, has been excavated through a solid rock, for 
 the passage of the railroad, and were delighted with this 
 curiosity. On the afternoon of Thursday a numerous 
 company visited the falls, and the grave of Uncas, the 
 venerated chief who manifested an unyielding friendship 
 for the whites in their days of trial and danger. And 
 the friends conducted their guests to the ' high places,' 
 from wjrich the scenery round about appears to great 
 advantage." The meetings of the convention during 
 these two days are described as having been of deep 
 interest to those who attended them. 
 
 To an intimate friend who had just been deprived of 
 the earthly presence of his companion, he writes, about 
 this time : 
 
 " It must afford you much comfort to reflect upon the 
 fact that you conversed together with so much freedom 
 on the subject of her death. I believe we might render 
 death less appalling, and add much to the joys of life, by 
 conversing more freely and frequently on the subject, and 
 regarding death, as it really is, a friend and not the 
 enemy of man, because it is in the purpose of God
 
 MINISTEY IN HAKTFOKD. 137 
 
 destroyed. The fact that we cannot always live together 
 here, if viewed in its proper light, would enable us to 
 enjoy each other's society and all the blessings of life to a 
 far greater extent." 
 
 In September he visited his native town, Strafford, Vt. 
 He preached here one Sabbath, and on the next to his 
 friends in Lebanon. While in New Hampshire he at 
 tended the Grafton Association, at Bath. On Sunday, 
 December 6th, he preached to his people in Hartford 
 from the text chosen by him for his first discourse when 
 he entered the ministry : " As ye go, preach, saying, The 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. 10 : 7. As this 
 day completed fifteen years of his ministry, he took occa 
 sion to contrast the state of the religious cause he advo 
 cated now, with its advocacy and reception when he first 
 went forth in its behalf. The agreeable change gave him 
 great joy. He writes, in a letter to a friend : "I have 
 not lost a single Sunday during fifteen years, by reason 
 of sickness. I have never for a single moment regretted 
 that I left the peaceable and honorable occupation of an 
 agriculturalist for the more laborious calling in which I am 
 engaged. I have never been troubled at all with doubts 
 of the truth of the doctrine I have preached. Deeply do 
 I regret that I have not lived more constantly in the 
 spirit of our faith. But I bless God that he has kept 
 me, thus far, from bringing reproach upon this faith, and 
 enabled me to do anything for the instruction and happi 
 ness of my brethren. May I be permitted to ' finish my 
 course ' with God's approval, and ' with joy.' ' 
 12*
 
 138 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 In an article published this month in the Universalist, 
 entitled " Stormy Sundays," Mr. Moore gives not only a 
 statement of his own experience, but some very profitable 
 thoughts on those days of special interest with many 
 ministers, although of less account for religious purposes 
 with many who ought to be their hearers : 
 
 " How well it makes one feel, when the Sunday is so 
 stormy that he fears, as he leaves his own fireside to go 
 forth to the labors of the day, that he may be under the 
 necessity of delivering his message to the walls of the 
 church, instead of speaking to living, breathing, thinking 
 beings, whose minds are prepared to feast on the bread 
 of God which giveth life to the world how happily dis 
 appointed is he to find himself surrounded \vith the sub 
 stantial members of his society, whose presence shows 
 that they think more of the interest of their society, 
 the encouragement of the minister, and the example 
 they set, than of their own individual ease and personal 
 comfort ! 
 
 "And, then, instead of having a few members of the 
 choir present, and those unable to sing well, on account 
 of the absence of those who ' take the lead,' to have a full 
 choir, full of the spirit of melody and song, and who are 
 happy in pouring forth the high praises of God, is calcu 
 lated to make the leader of the devotions of the sanctuary 
 feel that he is indeed within the house of God, and near 
 the gate of heaven. 
 
 ' ' Under such circumstances, a minister would be likely 
 to give better sermons, or at least to deliver them to bet-
 
 . MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 139 
 
 ter acceptance, than if the circumstances were reversed ; 
 which would cause him to fear that the ardor of his 
 friends was liable to be cooled off by a little snow or rain, 
 and that they did not possess strength of religious prin 
 ciple sufficient to induce them to go against the wind. 
 We are acquainted with a minister, who is so much 
 affected by the conduct of his parishioners in these re 
 spects, that when they exhibit a commendable zeal in the 
 cause of truth, and appear to regard the prosperity of 
 their society as they should, he is almost another man in 
 appearance from what he is when matters and things are 
 as they should not be ; so that an intimate acquaintance 
 might judge very correctly of the state of his society by 
 his appearance and conversation. 
 
 " The first Sunday in December, 1840, what a day ! 
 We know not how it was with others on that day, but we 
 went forth to the labors thereof not with the most buoy 
 ant and spirit-stirring feelings ; but when we entered a 
 comfortable church, and listened to the songs of Zion as 
 they were chanted by a full orchestra, the spirit of devo 
 tion was kindled in the soul, leading the mind up to 
 the great fountain of eternal light and love. Much has 
 been written and said for the purpose of getting the 
 people out to church in stormy weather ; and sometimes 
 what is said, and the manner of saying it, borders so 
 closely on scolding, that we have sometimes believed it 
 has done more "harm than good. It is useless, however, 
 to attempt to disguise the fact, that a minister feels a 
 little disturbed if his parishioners manifest more zeal and
 
 140 MEMOIR OP JOHN MOOKE. 
 
 courage in getting out to a party than to church ; but, 
 then, scolding them will never cure the evil ; people have 
 to a very great extent, in this country, imbibed the idea 
 that they are their own masters ; and, therefore, have a 
 right to do as they please, even if in so doing they happen 
 to offend their minister. And it is entirely useless to 
 attempt to change their minds in this respect. All that 
 can be done, and all that need be done, is to induce them 
 to please to do right. Would it be right to expose one's 
 health in order to attend church ? Would it be wrong to 
 make that as an excuse for not attending church which 
 we should feel ashamed to offer as an excuse for not visit 
 ing a friend as expected ? 
 
 " It is an old adage, ' where there is a will there is a 
 way.' In order to enjoy and be profited by religious 
 services in the sanctuary of the Lord, we must feel some 
 what as the ancient prophet of Israel, ' I was glad when 
 they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord.' 
 When this feeling prevails, the people will not stay away 
 from church for trifles. It is said that some ministers 
 always preach the best on stormy Sundays." 
 
 His reflections at the close of this year are character 
 istic of the man, and of his devotedness to his calling. 
 He writes in his journal : ' ' Thus endeth the year. What 
 good have I done ? What mistakes have I made ? 
 Wherein have I gained or lost ? How have I employed 
 the blessings or borne the afflictions of the past year ? I 
 would learn wisdom by what I suffer through mistake, or 
 indolence, or extravagance. I am, in feeling, at peace
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 141 
 
 with the world. May a kind Providence keep me in the 
 way of peace all the days of my life ! Amen." 
 
 Early in January, 1841, Mr. Moore preached in Suf- 
 field, Ct., where our faith had not been much heard or 
 known ; and the impressions he made there seem to have 
 been favorable. During this month a very heavy freshet 
 came upon the Connecticut river, the most severe that 
 had been known since 1801. Many families in Hartford, 
 as in other river towns, were made sufferers by the event. 
 Mr. Moore preached a discourse to his people on the sub 
 ject, with a view to obtain relief for some of the sufferers 
 in Hartford. He expressed at the time great satisfaction 
 at the result of the call upon his own people, as in the 
 thought of what others were disposed to do in behalf of 
 their needy neighbors. "God be praised," he writes, "for 
 human sympathy and brotherly love." 
 
 It was about the commencement of this year that cer 
 tain "revival" operations, not of the most commendable 
 character, were commenced in Hartford, principally under 
 the direction of Rev. Jacob Knapp, an eccentric itinerant, 
 whose strange works had been made manifest in other 
 parts of New England, and who seems to have been 
 somehow permitted, by that Providence whose wonderful 
 working can bring good out of evil, to run to death, for 
 a season, that fanaticism which had before persisted in 
 such measures for religious reformation as were carried 
 on in New England, New York, and some other states, 
 by Rev. Mr. Burchard and others. Without the fasci 
 nations which at times characterized Mr. Burchard's
 
 142 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 eloquence, Mr. Knapp had other qualifications which 
 rendered him quite acceptable to a certain class of hearers, 
 who are ready to be taken captive through boldness, self- 
 assurance, profusion of anecdote, coarse wit, and hardest 
 abuse of all which the speaker might deem heresy. Such 
 were some of the instrumentalities which Mr. K. was 
 able to use in his work at Hartford. His operations 
 began in the South Baptist Church in that city, that 
 church then being without a pastor. The revivalist 
 labored with much zeal for weeks, and the excitement 
 extended to other sects in the city, some of them engag 
 ing the services of their ministers from abroad to aid 
 them. 
 
 Some of the discourses of Mr. Knapp were directed 
 against Universalism ; and very bitter and extravagant 
 discourses they were. The reports of them, as they lay 
 before us in the columns of the papers of that time, are 
 too utterly reckless and abominable to be transferred to 
 these pages. Mr. Moore attended one of the evening 
 meetings, in which his faith, according to the boasting 
 announcement of the revivalist, was to be refuted. The 
 preacher of the doomed doctrine made a request to be 
 heard, but was denied any such privilege. He wished to 
 make an appointment, but that was denied him, also. 
 He was prayed for in a manner specially personal, but 
 was not allowed to pray audibly himself, or to speak in 
 any wise, and for the reason that " Universalists are not 
 Christians " ! 
 
 On the evening of the last Sunday in January, Mr.
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 143 
 
 Moore replied, in his own church, to this public attack on 
 that doctrine which it was his delight to profess and 
 defend. 
 
 The church was filled in every part, and the most 
 profound attention was given to the testimony of him who 
 stood forth on that occasion inexpressibly happy that he 
 could so truthfully and triumphantly vindicate the Gospel 
 " that bringeth salvation to all men." The sermon was 
 afterwards printed in pamphlet form.* It is a plain, 
 straightforward vindication of Christian truth against 
 the lowest and most desperate kind of abuse. It was not 
 delivered, as the author states, because of any proof 
 adduced against the doctrine of God's impartial and effi 
 cient grace by the preacher to which it is a reply ; neither 
 because that preacher was entitled to any different treat 
 ment from any other inconsiderate or rash reviler ; but 
 chiefly because he was employed and sustained by many 
 of the leading men of the Baptist denomination in this 
 city, who were, therefore, considered responsible for his 
 calumnies.^ 
 
 One extract from the discourse will serve to give the 
 reader the character of it all. It is the notice of an 
 oft-repeated objection to Universalism. 
 
 " I now come to notice the most prominent objection 
 
 * It is entitled, " A Discourse, delivered in the Universalist Church, 
 Hartford, Conn., Sunday evening, January 31, 1811, in reply to a 
 public attack recently made on Universalism and the character of 
 Universalists, in the South Baptist Church in this city. By John Moore, 
 pastor. Hartford : Printed by John B. Eldredge, 1841."
 
 144 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 to the truth of Universalism which was brought forward, 
 namely, that it ' makes the hearts of the righteous sad, 
 whom God has not made sad, and strengthens the hands 
 of the wicked, that they should not return, by promising 
 them life,' or saying 'ye shall not surely die.' This 
 objection is brought against our views by all our oppo 
 nents, and, therefore, deserves our candid attention : for, if 
 the doctrine we hold and preach does make the heart of 
 the righteous sad, and strengthen the hands of the wicked 
 in sin, why, then it ought to be abandoned by all people. 
 But is this the fact in the case ? Let us carefully ex 
 amine this question. It has two parts. First, it is con 
 tended that ' the doctrine of Universalism makes the 
 hearts of the righteous sad.' What is this doctrine that 
 is so saddening to the hearts of the righteous ? It is 
 this : that it is the will of God that all men should be 
 saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth ; that the 
 sin of the world shall be taken away, and all for whom 
 Jesus died shall be made immortal and happy, being made 
 holy by the grace of God. Now. is this doctrine calcu 
 lated to make a righteous heart sad ? Does not every 
 righteous heart desire the holiness and happiness of all 
 men ? And would an assurance that their desires shall 
 be granted make the heart sad? Was the heart of 
 righteous old Simeon sad, when, by faith in the mission 
 of Jesus, he exclaimed, as in an ecstasy of joy, ' Now, 
 Lord, let me depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen 
 thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face 
 of all people ; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 145 
 
 glory of thy people Israel ' ? Was the heart of Stephen 
 sad, when, full of the Holy Ghost, he prayed for his mur 
 derers, saying, ' Lord, lay not this sin to their charge ' ? 
 "Was Peter made sad, when God taught him to call no 
 man common or unclean ? or when he declared, on the 
 day of Pentecost, ' the promise is unto you, and to your 
 children, and unto all that are afar off, even as many as 
 the Lord our God shall call ' ? Think you that the heart 
 of St. Paul was sad, when he told the brethren at Phil- 
 ippi that unto the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to 
 the glory of God the Father ? Or John, when he testified 
 that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the 
 world ? It is very clearly seen that none but the heart 
 of the se//"-righteous, or misanthrope, can be made sad 
 by the doctrine of the universal holiness and happiness 
 of man. There is joy in heaven over the repentance of 
 one sinner and can that joy be full while there are 
 impenitent sinners whose repentance would add to that 
 joy ? But, if this doctrine makes the righteous heart sad, 
 would that sadness be removed by a belief in the senti 
 ment of endless misery ? This cannot be. We see, then, 
 that a belief in Universalism does not make the heart of 
 the righteous sad. 
 
 " The other part of the charge is, that Universalism 
 c strengthens the hands of the wicked, that he should not 
 return, by promising him life.' Is this true of the doc 
 trine in question ? Is it not a fact that our opposers 
 object to our doctrine, because we preach the utter impos- 
 13
 
 146 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 sibility of the sinner's escaping a just retribution ? Is 
 it not also a fact, that we promise to the wicked, on the 
 veracity of the word of God, death instead of life ' in his 
 sins ' ? Does not Universalism teach, on the authority 
 of Paul, that the wages of sin is death ; and do we not 
 contend, and that in agreement with the declaration of 
 Jehovah, that all sinners shall surely receive these wages ? 
 Why, then, are we accused of strengthening the hands of 
 the wicked ? Will it be said that this death is endless 
 misery ; and that by denying it we sadden the hearts of 
 the righteous, and prevent the wicked from returning 
 from his evil way? Well, let the objector have it his 
 own way : ' the wages of sin is endless misery,' and these 
 wages all sinners must receive. All have sinned, which 
 involves all in endless suffering. c But if they repent,' 
 continues the objector, ' they shall be saved.' Then some 
 sinners will not experience the penalty of the law. But 
 the Bible doctrine is, ' the soul that sinneth it shall die.' 
 To this sentiment we readily subscribe ; it is a prominent 
 feature of our preaching, and so prominent that we are 
 accused of ' setting aside the mercy of God.' But Uni 
 versalism teaches that the mercy of God is displayed in 
 saving men from deserving punishment, and not from 
 the demands of his justice. Mercy and justice, in the 
 Deity, perfectly harmonize." 
 
 In addition to the public attacks made on his faith, 
 Mr. Moore, about this time, received the special atten 
 tions of some of the most zealous in these revival oper 
 ations. He received a letter, the writer of which besought
 
 MINISTRY IN HAKTFORD. 147 
 
 him "for Christ's sake to let the Baptists convert him," 
 and was informed that certain ones were praying to this 
 end one whole night; after which he writes, " I know of 
 no change in feeling or of views in consequence thereof." 
 He was visited by the writer of the letter just named, who, 
 in company with a new convert of like faith, was very 
 desirous of having Mr. Moore see that he was leading 
 souls to ruin under his ministry, because he did not 
 preach eternal punishment. He writes, " One of them 
 was so abusive (Mr. Cook, a minister), that I thought 
 it best to use plain talk with him, and to rebuke him 
 sharply." 
 
 Under date January 29th, he writes to his son on the 
 choice of a profession : " There is no calling without 
 its perplexities. Any one is good, if it is duly honored ; 
 and it will be measurably honored if we love it, and find 
 that we can adapt ourselves to it. 
 
 " The mercantile life is not one of independence. It 
 requires one to be almost a slave to the whims and dis 
 honesty of the times. Aside from my own, I should 
 prefer the farmer's or mechanic's life. Much as I should 
 be pleased to have you go into the ministry, I would not 
 advise you to this course, unless you can bring your 
 mind to love it better than any other calling. 
 
 "To be a successful and happy minister, one must 
 have as much philanthropy as a merchant has love of 
 money, or a statesman love of fame ; and then, with ordi 
 nary talents, there will be no great trouble. One must
 
 148 MEMOIE OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 also be content to labor on any part of the building where 
 he may be useful. 
 
 " If you have strong love for the Gospel, and would 
 be useful to the world by engaging in its defence and 
 promulgation, if you feel that God has given you a talent 
 which you can properly improve to this end, you need 
 not hesitate. ' A man's gifts shall make way for him.' 
 You can have all needed human means to prepare you 
 for the work. As to your becoming a 'popular' preacher, 
 this is the smallest item in the account, if you have the 
 truth in you, and can speak it understandingly, freely, 
 fervently." 
 
 On his birth-day completing his forty-fourth year, he 
 writes: "And is it so? I am flying on the wings of 
 time, I trust, to my heavenly home. May God enable 
 me to do more for the year to come, in his cause, than I 
 have ever done in any previous year." 
 
 This year Mr. Moore preached the occasional sermon 
 at the Hartford Association, which met at Berlin, Conn., 
 on the 28th and 29th of April. His text was 1 Cor. 
 16 : 13, " Quit you like men." 
 
 Some time in this same month (April), Mr. Moore 
 lectured twice in West Hartford, of which efforts he 
 writes : "I have never spoken to more attentive hearers 
 anywhere. On the first evening. Rev. Mr. Wood, pastor 
 of the only society in the place, was present, and after 
 my discourse made some remarks, and offered the last 
 prayer, all in the right spirit. The late Dr. Perkins 
 was pastor of this church and society for more than sixty
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 149 
 
 years ; and he succeeded, while he lived, in keeping all 
 heretics out of his parish. His prayer, I am told, uni 
 formly was, that ' the roving Methodists and plunging 
 Baptists ' might come to naught, or be no more. But, 
 since he has gone, these ' rovers ' and ' plungers ' have 
 invaded the territorial limits of the doctor's parish, and 
 obtained more or less converts, although I believe neither 
 of them hold meetings there on the Sabbath. Even the 
 present pastor holds what was by the doctor regarded as 
 rank heresy, that ' it is a glorious truth that Jesus Christ 
 gave himself a ransom for all ; that he tasted death for 
 every man ; ' and that ' all may be saved,' which was 
 the great heresy of the Methodists. It is not certain 
 what will be orthodoxy in years to come ; but it is very 
 certain that it will not be more unreasonable than it has 
 been. We are going onward." 
 
 In his journal for June, he mentions a conversation 
 with a student of Washington College, in which was 
 verified the ignorance of some of the learned, among the 
 opposers f Universalism, in respect to this faith. The 
 student stated that President Totten, of that institution, 
 told him that " Universalists held that all men deserve 
 endless punishment, but that Christ will save from it." 
 Not quite so strange an utterance as that of the question 
 which we have been assured a somewhat distinguished 
 New England divine once proposed to a Universalist 
 clergyman, " Whether the denomination to which he be 
 longed believed in a future life beyond the grave ? " If 
 pardon is needed anywhere, it is in instances like these. 
 13*
 
 150 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 In the one involving the president and student of "Wash 
 ington College, strict justice was done by Mr. Moore, in 
 the interview already mentioned. 
 
 In August Mr. Moore attended the Connecticut State 
 Convention, held in Middletown, on which occasion he 
 preached two sermons ; the last on the ordination of Rev. 
 S. B. Britton. He also took part, during this meeting, 
 in the installation of Rev. Merritt Sanford as pastor of 
 the Universalist society in Middletown. Mr. Moore gave 
 the Right Hand of Fellowship to the pastor elect. As 
 he closes the account of his last week in August, the 
 enumeration of his various duties through the week, such 
 as sermonizing, writing of letters and editorial, attend 
 ance at weddings, funerals, Masonic and Odd Fellows' 
 Lodges, temperance meeting, and school exhibition, 
 together with domestic calls', brings before us a very 
 striking representation of a working pastor's life. In 
 September he visited Philadelphia, preaching two Sundays 
 in that city, and returned home, attending the United 
 States Convention in New York on his way. The fol 
 lowing letter was written during this journey, to a friend 
 in Hartford : 
 
 "Philadelphia, September 11, 1841. In agree 
 ment with my promise, I now write you from the ' City 
 of Brotherly Love.' I left Hartford on the 3d instant, 
 at half-past five o'clock p. M., for New Haven ; and 
 before eight o'clock found myself on board the ' New 
 Haven,' a large and excellent boat, which runs between 
 New Haven and New York twice in twenty-four hours,
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 151 
 
 called the 'citizens line.' This boat leaves New 
 Haven at ten o'clock p. M. I had taken a good berth 
 and a ' sweet nap,' before she left the wharf; and knew 
 but little, except that I was in a world of noise, occa 
 sioned by the working of the engine, till near six o'clock 
 next morning, when I came to my usual senses at ' Peck 
 Slip,' N. Y. though we landed there at four. I was 
 immediately taken to the North river, and took passage 
 for this place, in the morning six o'clock line. Came 
 on to Amboy, then by railroad across New Jersey to 
 Camden, opposite Philadelphia ; crossed the Delaware in 
 the boat connected with the New York line, and was ' set 
 down ' at 86 Callowhill-street at half-past one o'clock 
 P. M. ; making about fourteen hours' travel from Hartford 
 to Philadelphia, a distance of something like two hundred 
 and forty miles. 
 
 " Sunday, September 5th, I preached in the Callowhill- 
 street Church in the morning, and at the Lombard-street 
 Church in the evening, to good and very attentive audi 
 ences. I found myself surrounded by warm-hearted and 
 generous friends, who, although strangers to my person, 
 appeared to be very familiar with my faith. 
 
 " The friends with whom I have here associated for the 
 past few days have been untiring in their attention, 
 and have given me many pleasant rides in and about this 
 beautiful city. I have with them visited nearly all the 
 important places, and have been most highly delighted 
 with what has been shown me, with the exception of the 
 unpleasant sensations experienced when visiting the prison.
 
 152 MEMOIR OF JOHN MJDOKE. 
 
 Our visit to Fair Mount,' to 'Laurel Hill,' the view of 
 ' Girard College,' rides up and down along the beautiful 
 banks of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers ; a view of 
 the well-cultivated farms, the splendid mansions, and the 
 abundant productions of the earth ; the extensive and 
 well-furnished markets ; the neatness and regularity of 
 the streets, together with the good order which so gen 
 erally prevails, has given me a very favorable impression 
 in regard to the place and its inhabitants. 
 
 "To-morrow I am to preach, morning and evening, at the 
 Callowh ill-street Church ; in the afternoon, at Kensing 
 ton. The three churches in this city are in a very flourish 
 ing condition ; and it is confidently believed, by the friends 
 of our holy cause here, that with the proper exertions, a 
 good society might be raised in the west part of the city. 
 May the time soon come ! The opposition to Universalism 
 here is great, but not so great as the truth against which 
 it rages in vain. The three resident ministers here, with 
 the power of truth and a commendable zeal, are a host 
 which error with all its votaries eannot vanquish. I am 
 to leave this city on Monday morning, in company with 
 other ministers, for Heightstown, N. J., where we are to 
 hold a meeting on Monday evening, on our way to the 
 United States Convention." 
 
 His reflections and resolutions upon the next new year, 
 1842, are good and practical. " May the wisdom of 
 God guide me in the duties and labors of this new year. 
 May I be energetic in every good word and work. May 
 I copy the example of my Divine Master, that in all
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 153 
 
 things I may glorify my Creator and changeless Friend ! " 
 His resolutions are, " 1, that I will rise early ; 2, that 
 I will not run into debt ; resolutions which, adopted 
 and persisted in, have aided in securing health, prosperity, 
 and peace, to many a home. The new year opened to 
 our brother as one of much work for him. In addition 
 to his ordinary pulpit duties, he was called in various 
 directions to address the people on the subject of tem 
 perance. He frequently spoke at much length and in 
 great earnestness on this topic, and always to the accept 
 ance of his audiences. 
 
 In a letter to his son, of date January 26th of this 
 year, he speaks in the following strain on the doctrine of 
 human progression : "I have given a lecture on human 
 destiny, which made some stir. I took the ground that 
 this destiny is indefinite progress in intellectual strength 
 and moral goodness, or ; continued approximation to the 
 Divine perfection ; which means that human destiny is 
 no more fixed at death than at birth. There never can 
 come a period when our destiny will be fixed. Indefinite 
 progress is the law of our minds. Then, as death does 
 not affect the mind, and there is a difference in the con 
 dition of the enlightened and unenlightened this side of 
 the line, death, there must of necessity be a difference the 
 other side. How, then, do you make all happy? Answer: 
 By enlightening the minds of all ; the same as persons 
 are made happy here. Give them a knowledge of the 
 truth. 
 
 " It is said that both classes of minds will be brought
 
 154 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 into a perfect state ? But a perfect state of what ? Of 
 knowledge ? There knowledge must be imparted, and 
 that by the exercise of the mind. Then the mind that 
 has been thus exercised till it has acquired strength is 
 in a different condition, when it enters the future, from 
 the one which is weak from inaction. Take two persons, 
 the one intelligent, the other ignorant. Let them be 
 placed in a state of being free from all temptation to sin, 
 let them be surrounded by the same influences, and is 
 there no difference in the condition ? And what is this 
 difference ? and what the cause of it ? Surely, the intel 
 lectual and moral training of the one, and the neglect of 
 it in the other," 
 
 In the month of February Mr. Moore had the oppor 
 tunity of listening to a discourse by Rev. Dr. Hawes, of 
 Hartford. The doctor had taken occasion to speak of 
 what he deemed the errors of Millerism, then finding an 
 unusual advocacy in that city. The preacher's text was 
 Deut. 29 : 29, " Secret things belong to the Lord our 
 God ; but those things which are revealed belong to us and 
 to our children forever." He repudiated the idea that 
 the world would come to an end in 1843, and considered 
 the fright into which this apprehension would run some 
 minds, subversive of the true work of religion in the 
 heart. Mr. Moore, who agreed with him in the main 
 respecting Millerism, speaks very plainly, through the 
 columns of the Universalist, of other portions of the 
 doctor's discourse. 
 
 " In speaking of the things which God had revealed to
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 155 
 
 us, and which things, according to the text, 'belong to 
 us and to our children forever,' the doctor said, ' The 
 revelation of God to man is plain, accompanied with a 
 "thus saith the Lord," not taught by inference, and 
 is purely practical.' Now, this is a most reasonable 
 statement; for revelation is to make known is the 
 disclosure of truth to mankind by the Deity, to acquaint 
 mankind with truths of which they were ignorant. And, 
 of course, if God has made a revelation of those things 
 an understanding or knowledge of which is important 
 to our welfare, we should naturally expect that it would 
 be ' plain ,' accompanied by a 'thus saith the Lord,' 
 and ' not taught by inference.' And, furthermore, it is 
 most reasonable to believe that those truths which God 
 has revealed to mankind, and which therefore ' belong 
 unto us and to our children,' are ' practical' truths. All 
 this is very well just what we might expect from a 
 logician. But, while I was pleased with this statement 
 of the doctor's in regard to the plainness, the positive- 
 ness, and the practicability, of the truths of Divine 
 Revelation, I could not well refrain from indulging in 
 the following queries, namely : Where in all the Bible is 
 it ' plainly ' revealed, and clearly and ' not by inference ' 
 taught, and accompanied by a ' thus saith the Lord,' that 
 there is to be a judgment subsequent to the immortal 
 resurrection, when the then future condition of all man 
 kind will be irrevocably fixed, -some in happiness ancl 
 some in misery, world without end ? When at the same 
 time the doctor said that ' Christ mi^ht come to us as
 
 156 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 individuals before morning, and fix our condition in 
 heaven or in hell ! ' What possible necessity can there 
 be for such judgment, when the condition of each indi 
 vidual \vill be fixed in heaven or hell at death ; and 
 especially when it is taught by the doctor that there is 
 no possible release from hell, but that all who go there 
 and all do go either there or to heaven at death will 
 eternally remain in that state ! If the doctor was a 
 Catholic, there might be some reasonableness in the doc 
 trine of a judgment after the resurrection ; but even 
 then the inquiry where in the Bible is that sentiment 
 plainly, and not by inference, taught, would remain un 
 answered. 
 
 " Again, where in the Bible is it plainly and posi 
 tively taught that ' God purposed to save but a part of 
 our race ; that he purposed who and how many should 
 be saved, and that those who are saved will be saved 
 according to his purpose ' ? And how could the world 
 of mankind, who were 'dead in sin,' be in danger of being 
 lost eternally, when ' God had purposed to save a part ' 
 of the world ? And then, again, if Christ came, as the 
 doctor said, and as the Saviour himself said, ' to seek 
 and save that which was lost,' what shall prevent him 
 from the accomplishment of the work of his mission? 
 
 " Furthermore, if the revelation of God to man, or if 
 ' the things ' which he has revealed to us, are ' purely 
 practical,' it is unquestionably our duty to practise upon 
 those truths to carry out in practical life the principles 
 and to exhibit the spirit of ' the things ' or the truths
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 157 
 
 which God has revealed. But what would be said of the 
 man, especially of the Christian father, who should at 
 tempt, in the government of his family, to practise upon 
 the doctrine of ' endless punishment ' ? Who, when hig 
 sons might have disobeyed his laws a given number of 
 times, or if they should remain obstinate and rebellious 
 against his government till they had arrived at a certain 
 age, should not only withdraw from them all his parental 
 protection, but should fix them in a state of indescribable 
 torture, where they could not love and obey him, but 
 while they should live would continually receive the 
 most severe punishment from him who possessed the 
 power ; and this, not because they had injured him, but 
 because they had injured themselves by transgressing his 
 laws, which laws were made for their good ! I repeat, 
 what would be thought and said of a father, who should 
 thus treat his sons; especially if it were known that 
 this father, having the complete control of these sons, who 
 were dependent on him for their education, had not 
 1 purposed ' that they should obey him, and therefore had 
 not given them the necessary education to induce in them 
 filial love and obedience ? Such conduct would outrage 
 all parental kindness, and would not long be suffered in 
 a civilized community; and yet, this is but a mere 
 shadow of the practical tendency of the doctrine of the 
 endless misery of those whom God has not purposed to 
 save. What father has a heart to practise upon the 
 spirit and principles of partialism ? Where in the Bible 
 is the doctrine of endless misery plainly, and not by 
 14
 
 158 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 inference, and accompanied by a ' thus saith the Lord,' 
 taught?" 
 
 Next follows a somewhat close review, for a brief one, 
 of the "new school" and "old school" views in New 
 England theology: 
 
 " In order to perceive the difference between two 
 things, it is well to view them side by side. I shall 
 therefore present the old doctrine of election, and with 
 it the new, as I learned it from Dr. Hawes' own lips ; 
 just stating, by the way, that the old doctrine had become 
 so obnoxious to the better feelings and the enlightened 
 reason of the great mass of New England Calvinists, that 
 they could not receive any longer as the truth of God 
 the sentiment that the Almighty made some of the 
 human race for endless punishment, this was too revolt 
 ing to their benevolence, and also to their sense of justice, 
 and so the ' new school ' theory was adopted. How 
 much the new differs, in reality, from the old, let the 
 reader judge. Here follows the ' old school ' doctrine : 
 ' By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, 
 some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting 
 life, and others foreordained to everlasting death. These 
 angels and men thus predestinated and foreordained are 
 particularly and unchangeably designed, and their num 
 ber is so certain and definite that it cannot be either 
 increased or diminished.' ISaybrook Platform, chap. 
 III., sec. 3 and 4. Adopted September 9th, 1708. To 
 this view of the subject many have seriously objected ; 
 and it is believed by the great mass of Congregational
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 159 
 
 Christians that their clergy of the ' new school ' have 
 repudiated the old doctrine of ' Particular Election and 
 Reprobation,' and they generally speak of it with ab 
 horrence. But what sentiment have their clergy substi 
 tuted in its place ? Here it follows : ' God has purposed 
 to save but a part of mankind (or the world) ; he pur 
 posed how many and who should be saved ; he purposed 
 to save those who are saved, and all who are saved are 
 saved according to his purpose : but he has not revealed 
 who nor how many will be saved ; all are invited, and all 
 who come to Christ will be saved.' Dr. Halves' Lec 
 ture, Hartford, February 13, 1842. 
 
 " Here, reader, you have, side by side, the 'old and the 
 new school' doctrine, touching the purpose of God in 
 regard to the salvation proclaimed to the world by the 
 Gospel. And what is the difference ? Let me here give 
 the two sentiments in a condensed form. The 'old' 
 says that the number whom God predestinated to salva 
 tion is so certain and definite, that it cannot be either 
 increased or diminished. The ' new ' says, God purposed 
 how many and who should be saved ; and all who are 
 saved will be saved according to that. purpose. There 
 is a difference in the phraseology, to be sure ; but is there 
 any difference, in reality, in the sentiment ? Is there any 
 essential difference between God's purposing to save a 
 definite number of his creatures, and his predestinating 
 a definite number of his creatures to salvation ? Just 
 none at all. Dr. Buck says, the ' decrees of God are 
 his settled purposes, whereby he foreordains whatsoever
 
 160 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 comes to pass.' Then God foreordained ' how many and 
 who should be saved.' 
 
 "There is, however, this difference between the 'old 
 and new school men ' in regard to the subject of God's 
 economy of grace, as they hold it to be revealed in his 
 word, namely : the former say that God foreordains some 
 (those who are not designed for salvation) to everlasting 
 death ; while the latter either say nothing of this class, 
 or else say that they may come to Christ, and be saved, 
 if they will. And this is all the difference which appears 
 to my mind, as I contrast the two sentiments as found in 
 the books of the old school party and as given by Dr. H. 
 who, as before remarked, will unquestionably be con 
 sidered good authority. The view of the subject given 
 by Dr. Hawes is the only consistent view which can be 
 entertained by a partialist. No one, it would seem, can 
 doubt, that the Deity, in the salvation of the world, had 
 a definite object in view ; and all the means which he 
 employs in the grand work of human salvation are un 
 questionably directed to the accomplishment of that 
 object, and are sure of success. So that all who are 
 saved will be saved according to the purpose of God ; 
 and if there are any who are finally lost, it is most clear 
 that God did not purpose to save such; unless we take 
 ground that the Deity either had no purpose in regard to 
 the matter, or that man has power to defeat the purpose 
 of the Almighty ! 
 
 " But the thinking mind must have perceived the 
 unreasonableness of the position, that although God has
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 161 
 
 purposed to save ' but a part ' of our race, that he has 
 purposed how many and who they are that are to be 
 saved, and that his purpose will be accomplished, and 
 those who are saved will be saved according to that pur 
 pose ; yet all are invited to come to Christ, with the 
 assurance that all who come will be saved. Query : 
 Can those whom God has not purposed to save so come 
 to Christ as to be saved ? If not, where is the propriety 
 of the invitation ? If some, whom God has not purposed 
 to save, can so come to Christ as to be saved, where is 
 the strength of the purpose ? The fact is, God has not 
 invited those to come to Christ whom he did not purpose 
 to save ; and, as he has invited all, we may safely con 
 clude that he purposed to save all." 
 
 In June he attended the Massachusetts Convention of 
 Universalists, at Springfield, and preached during the 
 meeting. He also attended the session of the Quinnebaug 
 Association, at Stafford, where he delivered one sermon, 
 and an address on temperance. It was on the first 
 Sunday in. this month that he had the pleasure of listen 
 ing, in his own desk in Hartford, to the first discourse 
 of his son, Rev. John Harvey Moore, a candidate then 
 for that sacred office, in which he has since proved him 
 self a faithful and useful co-worker with his honored 
 parent, and with many others who have been mutual 
 partakers of the trials and joys of the ministry of 
 reconciliation. 
 
 It was some time in this month, as he states, that he 
 had the pleasure of listening to the plea of a well-educated 
 14*
 
 162 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 African, before a public audience, in behalf of his race : 
 " The first man," he writes, " that I ever heard ask assist 
 ance in behalf of the heathen, who did not suppose them 
 to be in danger of endless suffering hereafter, which is 
 usually urged as a reason why we should contribute to 
 save them. Surely this is something new." On the 
 Fourth of July he went by invitation to Warehouse 
 Point, and gave an oration. A large number were in 
 attendance. Twelve hundred sat down to the collation. 
 It was a celebration of the "glorious anniversary" on 
 temperance principles; the " ardent spirits," on the occa 
 sion, being of a different character from such as the ine 
 briating glass could impart. From what we have read 
 of the written oration, we judge that it must have been a 
 fervent and effective one. It breathes the spirit of a true 
 freeman ; of an American, with a heart justly and purely 
 exultant in view of his country's past history and present 
 position among the nations, and with broadest and most 
 comprehensive ideas of the essentials of this nation's pros 
 perity. It closes with an admirable comparison of the 
 emotions of our revolutionary fathers when conscious of 
 their escape from kingly tyranny and the enjoyment of 
 political freedom ; and those of the favored ones, who, in 
 the later " Washingtonian " revolution, had been deliv 
 ered from the reign and thraldom of intemperance, and 
 made the recipients of a new life, and an unspeakable 
 
 joy- 
 In August the Connecticut Convention of Universalists 
 
 held its annual session in Hartford. Seventeen ministers
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 163 
 
 were present, and the meetings for two days were well 
 attended, although the weather was unfavorable. From 
 the published reports of the meeting, we judge that it 
 must have been one of much interest. In October he 
 went, in company with his companion, on a visit to the 
 north. While absent from home, he thus writes to his 
 co-editor of the Universalist, Rev. M. Sanford : 
 
 "Montpelier, Vt., Oct. 14, 1842. Br. Sanford: 
 Having arrived safely at the capital of the Green 
 Mountain State, I snatch a moment from my busily 
 occupied time, to give you a short sketch of my wan 
 derings. After attending the funeral of E. Alderman, 
 Esq., of Granby, on Thursday, the 29th of Septem 
 ber, I was conveyed by a friend to Westfield, where 
 I took the cars for Springfield, and next morning for 
 Boston. There I met many of ' the brethren,' and in 
 the evening had the pleasure of attending Br. Streeter's 
 vestry meeting. On the following morning I took the 
 cars for Concord, N. H., and from thence by stage to 
 Lebanon, where I arrived the same evening. The next 
 day I had the pleasure of standing in my old and famil 
 iar place, and of addressing the people of God, who 
 assembled to hear the word. And then came the greet 
 ings, and the smiles and the tears, the calls and the 
 visits, with all classes and ages, from the guileless youth 
 to the pilgrim of ninety years, the healthful and the gay, 
 and the sick and the disconsolate. After this came a 
 grand temperance meeting, where I had the unspeakable 
 pleasure of addressing a large multitude in my own way,
 
 164 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 after having listened to an excellent address by Mr. 
 Marsh, of-Roxbury, Mass. 
 
 "The society in Lebanon, now destitute of a minister, 
 is in a good condition, with that exception. The congre 
 gation was large, attentive, and devout, somewhat 
 changed within the last two years, but has increased in 
 numbers, and will undoubtedly soon settle a minister 
 after their own hearts, one who shall ' feed them with 
 knowledge and understanding.' 
 
 " I next came to Strafford, Vt., my native place ; and, 
 after preaching three times on Sunday, and visiting my 
 relatives and friends till Thursday morning, took the 
 stage for this place, where I arrived, in good health and 
 .spirits, on one of the most pleasant days I ever enjoyed. 
 It being ' Election Day,' I saw a multitude of -people, 
 with many of whom I had had the pleasure of an acquaint 
 ance. I am to go out to Plainfield, to give a lecture, 
 this evening ; and, after preaching in this village on Sun 
 day, shall turn my face towards my own happy home, 
 where I hope to arrive on Friday, the 20th inst. 
 
 "The cause of Universalism is steadily gaining in the 
 minds of the people, in this part of our beloved land. I 
 am now in the office of our excellent brother and co- 
 laborer in the cause of truth and human happiness, Rev. 
 Eli Ballou, editor and publisher of the Unwerscdlst 
 Watchman., where I am surrounded with brethren of 
 like precious faith. I hope you will look well to our 
 little sheet till I return, when I will endeavor to do my 
 part of the work."
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 165 
 
 He was absent twenty days, during which time he 
 preached twelve sermons, besides attending weddings and 
 funerals, and making many calls. On his return, he 
 takes occasion to speak again of some of the impressions 
 of his journey. In a published article he mentions 
 some of the signs of improvement which cheered him 
 wherever he went, and also of the unpleasant sensations 
 which he experienced in witnessing the workings of the 
 "Miller" delusion, then quite prevalent in many parts 
 of New England. 
 
 " We were highly gratified to observe the great prog 
 ress which temperance and Universalism have made, and 
 are making, in those portions of New England through 
 which we passed. There is ' very much land to be pos 
 sessed ' yet, in these respects, but the work of improve 
 ment is going on. The people, as a general thing, in 
 those sections of the country where we visited, are happy. 
 Some of them, of course, find fault with ' the times ; ' 
 but, with an abundance of everything necessary to the 
 support of both man and beast, no one ought to complain. 
 Such a time of plenty has seldom been known. But 
 there is always something to disturb the peace of more 
 or less of mankind, even in times of plenty and of present 
 enjoyment. Many at this time, in all parts of the coun 
 try, are filled with the most tormenting fears on account 
 of the silly statements made by the believers in the Miller 
 delusion. And the uncommon fruitful season with which 
 Heaven has blessed us is, by many, taken as one of the 
 proofs that the world is soon to be destroyed. Such per-
 
 166 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 sons will have many positive signs of the coming of that 
 dread event. If the crops had been nearly or quite all 
 destroyed, that, of course, would have been claimed as 
 evidence of the end of the world. A dry time is a sign, 
 a wet season is a sign of the coming of the same event. 
 If uninterrupted health is enjoyed for a long time, in the 
 estimation of some it betokens some awful calamity ; and 
 if some malignant disease sweeps over the land, prostrat 
 ing the robust and the gay, it is a sure sign of something 
 worse ; all of which evinces a want of that strength of 
 mind, and that confidence in the wisdom, and goodness, 
 and power, of the Divine Ruler of all worlds and beings, 
 and the merciful Disposer of all events, which is so essen 
 tial to present peace and happiness. 
 
 " Our Saviour taught mankind to enjoy the present, 
 and not to be so anxious about the concerns of the future 
 as to render them unhappy now ; from which instruction 
 we may be assured that the best preparation for the 
 future is, so to live as to enjoy the present. Cultivate 
 such views of God and his government as are best calcu 
 lated to induce filial love to him, cheerful obedience to 
 his laws, and resignation to his will, which is the basis 
 of human happiness. Let us all strive to feel as did the 
 Psalmist when he said, ' The Lord shall preserve thy 
 going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and 
 even forevermore.' ' 
 
 It was soon after his return from this journey that he 
 received an invitation from his friends in Lebanon to
 
 MINISTKY IN HARTFORD. 167 
 
 become again their pastor. But he did not see it con 
 sistent with his duty to accede to their wishes. 
 
 In November of this year he preached in the state- 
 prison to the convicts. His subject was, The Govern 
 ment of God: 1, as Paternal; 2, as Universal; 3, as 
 Perfect; 4, as Merciful. He 'seems to have enjoyed 
 this interview with those erring ones of the race, afford 
 ing him, as it did, an opportunity of leading their minds 
 to the contemplation of that character which even they 
 were called upon to imitate, and in which they might 
 find attractions to purity and uprightness of life. 
 
 He designed also to impress upon the minds of the 
 prisoners the fact that the punishment which they en 
 dured was not designed to be retaliatory ; that their good, 
 as well as the safety of society, is the object of the laws, 
 requiring the obedience of all, and the punishing of those 
 who transgress them ; that if the public could feel assured 
 that they had reformed, that there was no danger of a 
 repetition of crime by them, their prison-doors would be 
 at once thrown open, and they be restored to light and 
 liberty. In a notice of this visit to the prison, published 
 in the Universalist, he takes occasion to speak thus 
 wisely respecting the just treatment of criminals while in 
 prison, and the compassion which should follow them 
 when they have served out their time there, and are 
 turned out upon the world : 
 
 "The perfect neatness and order which is here ob 
 served, the attention which is paid to the health and 
 morals of the convicts, reflect honor on the state, and on
 
 168 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 the officers of the institution, and show a wonderful im 
 provement in this important department of our govern 
 ment. But we ought not to stop here. There is yet 
 room for improvement. The only difference in the pun 
 ishment required by our present regulations, between 
 those who are committed for capital offences and such as 
 in a fit of intoxication may have stolen a horse, or by 
 the influence of some old sinner have been led to join in 
 the breaking open a shop for the purpose of taking there 
 from some trifling article, consists simply in the time of 
 service. There is, if we have been correctly informed, 
 no other difference in regard to the degrees of punish 
 ment there inflicted. Might not some improvement be 
 made in this respect ? Might not a system of classifica 
 tion be successfully adopted, for the purpose of propor 
 tioning the punishment to the magnitude of the offence, 
 as well as for the purpose of encouraging reformation ? 
 "When a convict has served his term of imprisonment 
 faithfully, and perhaps has earned the state considerably 
 more than his expenses, ought he to be turned out into 
 the cold world poorly clad, with a few shillings in his 
 pocket?" 
 
 Some time in this month he assisted in the formation 
 of a Home Missionary Society, of which he was made 
 treasurer. He had a very strong desire that this enter 
 prise should grow and become a permanent one among 
 the Universalists of Connecticut, and of all our states. 
 He writes of it : 
 
 "We do not expect to revolutionize this part of the
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 169 
 
 world in a moment ; neither do we expect that the glorious 
 truth of the final holiness and consequent happiness of 
 ' all who die in Adam ' will be brought home to the un 
 derstanding and the heart, independent of the use of the 
 appointed means. And, although the means at our com 
 mand are small, and although the employment of them 
 may bring upon us the labor and reproach which attend 
 ed the apostles, ' because they trusted in the living God 
 who is the Saviour of all men,' yet we cannot feel jus 
 tified only as we use the means in our power to promote 
 what we believe to be the cause of God's truth and man's 
 happiness. We feel very confident that there are means 
 within our borders, which, if called forth by the united 
 action of our friends, would do vastly more for the ad 
 vancement of the cause of Gospel truth than has hitherto 
 been done. There has been a great lack of concert in 
 this Avork, as well as lack of action, too much despising 
 of the day of small things, too little zeal and engaged- 
 ness in the work. And to remove these, and similar 
 evils, is the object of those who have put their hands to 
 this work." 
 
 On the evening of December 25th of this year he de 
 livered a Christmas discourse in his church, which was 
 afterwards published in the Universalist. His text was 
 Isaiah 9 : 7, " Of the increase of his government and 
 peace there shall be no end." After a very clear state 
 ment of the ancient predictions concerning the Messiah, 
 his character and office, and of his actual appearing in 
 Jesus Christ, he speaks of the kingdom which he came 
 15
 
 170 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 to establish upon the earth. " Christ always comes in 
 his kingdom. His empire is mind all minds, the -whole 
 human creation. It is not with confusion and bloody 
 strife : in the terrors of the tempest, in the upheaving 
 earthquake, nor in the thunders of Sinai : but in the ' still 
 small voice ' of love and mercy speaking to the conscience 
 and heart ; calling the sinner away from his sins ; impart 
 ing to all who will listen needed instruction, inward 
 strength to resist temptation, and enabling them to over 
 come evil with good. Its coming, too, is as the light of 
 day. The adaptation of light to the organs of vision, its 
 revealing, attractive, diffusive, and universal genius, is 
 strikingly illustrative of the nature and coming of the 
 everlasting kingdom of the Messiah. As light is adapted 
 to the organs of vision in all creatures possessing these 
 organs, so the light of that glorious truth which came by 
 Jesus Christ is adapted to man's moral nature every 
 where." 
 
 Of the principles of this kingdom he says : 
 "Again, let it be remembered that the coming of the 
 kingdom of Christ was, and is, and will continue to be, 
 the coming of the principles of righteousness, and peace, 
 and joy ; for such is the kingdom of God. When we 
 take into consideration the condition of our race, scattered 
 over the face of the globe, we see at once the folly of 
 the idea of the personal coming of Christ in his kingdom ; 
 but, if we adopt the rational view of the subject, we can 
 see how that kingdom can come in all parts of the world 
 at one and the same time, as the light of truth and the
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 171 
 
 influence of love may shine upon the minds and affect the 
 hearts of such as are on the opposite side of the globe at 
 the same time. Also, that those who may occupy the 
 same room, or even the same seat, may be very differently 
 .affected, as they may receive or reject the Saviour. Only 
 keep in view the fact that mind is the empire of Jesus, 
 and that individual minds may be very differently affected 
 while the outward condition is the same ; also, that where 
 righteousness and peace and joy reign there reigns 
 Christ, and all seeming difficulty or doubt in regard to 
 the coming of Christ, and the nature of his kingdom, will 
 vanish." 
 
 Also, of the similitudes setting forth this kingdom, he 
 remarks : 
 
 " The kingdom of Christ is represented, as is supposed 
 by the prophet, under the similitude of a stone cut out 
 without hands, becoming a great mountain, and filling 
 the whole earth. And when Jesus himself spake of the 
 progress of the kingdom of heaven, he compared it to a 
 grain of mustard-seed, which is small indeed, but which 
 at length produces a tree, in whose spreading branches 
 the fowls of the air might rest. 
 
 "And again, to the operation of leaven on the meal, 
 which, in its diffusive, silent, and universal effects, is em 
 blematic of the progress of the kingdom of ' righteousness, 
 peace, and joy,' in the human mind. In the progress of 
 society, from a state of ignorance, barbarism, and idolatry, 
 up to the present state of knowledge, civilization, and 
 the true worship of God, may be traced the progress of
 
 172 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 the kingdom of Christ. Every degree in the progress 
 of civilization and refinement of manners prepares the 
 iray for the coming of the kingdom of Christ, the im 
 provement in morals and religion, and consequent happi 
 ness. All of the benevolent enterprises of this age, and 
 all past ages ; every philanthropic pulsation that beats in 
 the great human heart, or individual hearts ; every in 
 creased emotion of kindness in the bosom of man toward 
 his fellow-man; and every additional desire which is 
 experienced by any of the children of men to possess 
 more and more of the spirit of Christ, is an evidence of 
 the progress of the kingdom of our Divine Lord and 
 Master." 
 
 And, once more, of the final triumph of his kingdom : 
 " The triumph of Christ's kingdom will be complete, 
 when he shall have put down all rule, authority, and 
 power, which is opposed to the spirit and principles of his 
 government, that { God may be all in all.' This blessed 
 state of things is contemplated in the mission of Christ. 
 To save the world from sin. as we have seen, was the 
 glorious object of his mission, the accomplishment of 
 which will secure his final triumph. All of those 
 promises, predictions, and declarations of scripture, which 
 relate to the nature, object, progress, and triumph, of 
 the kingdom of Christ, go to confirm the mind in the 
 belief of that all-glorious and most desirable sentiment, 
 of the final destruction of all sin. the redemption and 
 immortal glorification of all mankind in heaven. This 
 all-sustaining sentiment is perfectly consistent with the
 
 MINISTRY IN HAETFOBD. 173 
 
 nature of the Gospel kingdom, ^and the figures by which 
 its power 'and progress is illustrated by the inspired 
 writers. It is a kingdom of light, which shows its power 
 to dispel all darkness ; it is a kingdom of righteousness, 
 which shows its power to triumph over its opposite ; it is 
 a kingdom of truth and grace, which is incontestable proof 
 that it will beat in pieces and destroy all error and sin ; 
 it is a kingdom of good- will to men, which proves that it 
 will overcome all evil ; it is a kingdom of peace, 'and-will 
 consequently subdue all discord and strife ; it is a king 
 dom of joy, which is destined to cause sorrow and sighing 
 to flee away ; finally, it is an immortal kingdom, and, as 
 all other kingdoms, and principles, and powers, save the 
 kingdom of God and the principles which emanate from 
 him, are wanting in the principle of immortality, and are 
 essentially mortal, we have the strongest possible assur 
 ance of the final and glorious triumph of the kingdom of 
 Christ, and that ' of the increase of his government and 
 peace there shall be no end.' ' 
 
 At the close of this year he makes allusion again to 
 the effects of the "second advent" excitement in Con 
 necticut and elsewhere ; the history of which is only a 
 repetition, with certain variations suited to the times, of 
 what has been realized in other years, and by other mor 
 tals who have grounded their faith in the sudden and 
 near advent, on the erroneous supposition that Christ has 
 never made his second manifestation, according to his own 
 declarations, as they are so plainly given in the Gospel. 
 15*
 
 174 MEMOIK OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 The excitements which have, from time to time, during 
 the last fifteen years, been raised and kept alive, founded 
 on the apprehension of a speedy personal coming of 
 Christ to our world, and the destruction of the present 
 order of material things in it, have a cause ; and this 
 cause is not confined to such as are distinctively termed 
 in these days "second adventists." It exists quite as 
 much with other Christian sects, who have held, in sub 
 stance, the same general doctrine respecting Christ's per 
 sonal coming, and that, perhaps, at no far-distant day. 
 Until different views prevail, views more consistent with 
 the New Testament teachings, the second advent doctrine, 
 as we hear of it repeatedly in these days, will have its new 
 advocates ; and new years, and months, and days, will be 
 appointed for the advent, as old appointments are seen to 
 fail. On the eagerness with which some other Christians 
 beside "Millerites" appropriated this delusion to subserve 
 some of their sectarian interests, Mr. Moore writes, in a 
 latter to a friend : " We have had a great excitement on 
 what is called religion. But I fear that the true religion 
 is wanting in much of it. There are those who have not 
 a particle of faith in the Miller delusion, who yet, because 
 they can frighten weak-minded men and women, and 
 little children, will wink at the folly, saying, ' It is best 
 to be prepared ; ' as though, if the world is to remain, no 
 matter how satanic the people act ! " Again he says, in 
 an editorial article on this subject : " There is a single fact 
 which would go far in my mind against the idea that Mr. 
 Miller knows anything more about the fulfilment of the
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 175 
 
 prophecies than others, even on the supposition that they 
 relate to such a destruction as ' he claims that they do ; 
 which, by the way, is very questionable, to say the least. 
 It has always been as important that each individual and 
 generation of our race should have known the precise 
 year of their death, as that any one generation should 
 have that knowledge, that they might have been induced 
 thereby ' to prepare for eternity,' which is the professed 
 object of those who advocate Millerism. The fact to 
 which I referred is this, namely, God has not seen fit to 
 reveal to mankind the particular year or day of their 
 death, notwithstanding the salutary influence such reve 
 lation might, according to present assertions, have had in 
 saving them from future endless ruin. If, therefore, the 
 world is to end in 1843, or any subsequent period, we 
 have no evidence for believing that any one has been 'let 
 into the secret ' as to the precise time ; neither is it at 
 all certain that the scriptures used by Mr. Miller and 
 others, to support their visionary theory, have any sort 
 of reference to the subjects to which they apply them. 
 
 " The better way is, for people to attend to the con 
 cerns of to-day, of the present ; ' do justly, love mercy, 
 and walk humbly ; ' 'lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all 
 godliness and honesty ; ' give heed to the internal coming 
 and kingdom of Christ, and not be in a worry about the 
 ' end of the world,' or about the day or manner of our 
 death. And this not through fear of burning, freezing, 
 or drowning, if we do not observe these rules, but from a
 
 176 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOKE. 
 
 sense of duty to our God, to ourselves, and neighbors." 
 Sensible advice, indeed. 
 
 As the theory of Mr. Miller, and others like it still 
 advocated, tend to show the absurdity of the old ideas 
 concerning the personal coming of Christ, as it is only 
 the setting on fire of materials which the Christian world 
 had long had on hand, it cannot be otherwise than 
 that out of its evil good should come. It will open many 
 eyes to search for the true doctrine of the coming and 
 reign of Christ with man. That the delusion is some 
 what fatal to the opinions of the popular church on this 
 subject, has been unhesitatingly declared. "This style 
 of interpretation," says the New York Evangelist, "we 
 assert, tends fearfully to Universalism. This tendency 
 we are prepared to prove." An encouraging concession, 
 notwithstanding the fears of the writer.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MINISTRY IN HAKTFORD. 
 
 THE third year (1843) of the ministry of our brother 
 in Hartford began on the Sabbath day. The subject of 
 his discourse in the morning was drawn from the words 
 of the Psalmist, "We spend our years as a tale that is 
 told." In the afternoon the communion service was 
 observed, and in the evening he lectured on the judgment 
 of Christ. He writes in his journal : " This has been a 
 happy day. God be praised for his goodness. May I be 
 guided by his spirit through the year." 
 
 Some time in January of this year he received an invi 
 tation from the Universalist society in Concord, N. H., 
 to visit and officiate for them as a candidate for settle 
 ment ; but he declined. In February one of his Sunday 
 evening lectures was a reply to certain statements made 
 by Dr. Hawes, of Hartford, and others, against Unita 
 rians and Universalists. In March he enjoyed the 
 annual visit of the members of his society, and of the 
 children of the society and congregation, at his house.
 
 178 MEMOIK OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 He thus speaks of it : " Such visits are very gratifying 
 and useful ; as by them the members of a congregation 
 are made acquainted with each other, their social nature 
 is cultivated, and the heart of the minister is encouraged, 
 as he is assured of the interest which his parishioners feel 
 in his welfare. And such a visit as that of the children 
 is seldom enjoyed. So many miniature men and women 
 together their artless appearance, their guileless chit 
 chat, their frolicsome and innocent glee, their excellent 
 behavior, and their apparent happiness could not fail to 
 awaken the most pleasant emotions in the minds of all 
 who love this interesting portion of the great Shepherd 
 of the flock." 
 
 In May he was quite interested in a course of lectures 
 given in his church, by Rev. D. West, on the Evidences 
 of Christianity. He speaks of the lectures in high terms. 
 It was in this month that he gave an evening lecture on 
 the subject of capital punishment. Much to his satisfac 
 tion, most of the members of the state legislature were 
 present. 
 
 In answer to a question not unfrequently starting up 
 for new thought and solution, "Does crime increase? " 
 he has the following observations in the Universalist of 
 June 10th : 
 
 " Does crime increase ? This question is answered in 
 the affirmative by those who take the position that the 
 morals of the people are growing more and more corrupt. 
 If such is the fact, we should be alarmed, and set our 
 selves immediately to work in order to discover the cause
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 179 
 
 of it. Those who take this view of the subject more than 
 intimate that this increase of crime and laxity of morals 
 of which they complain, is the result of the lenient meas 
 ures and laws which have been enacted and adopted by 
 the law-making power. They contend that the more 
 severe the laws, and the more rigorously they are exe 
 cuted, the more moral the people will be. 
 
 " That there has been a very great change in the laws 
 from severity to mercy, within the last half-century, 
 none will dispute ; and if crime and immorality have 
 increased during that time, it may be well to inquire 
 whether the law-making power has not been mistaken in 
 regard to the influence of lenient measures for the sup 
 pression of crime. But the position taken should be 
 established by reference to the facts in the- case, before 
 we take any retrograde steps in legislation. 
 
 "Is it, then, true that crime and all sorts of immor 
 ality are on the increase ? Does vice preponderate over 
 virtue ? Is there more dishonesty and fraud than honesty 
 and sincerity in the world ? In short, is there more evil 
 than good ? The superficial thinker will say that these 
 questions, painful as is the fact, must be answered in the 
 affirmative. But those who look beneath the surface of 
 things, those who think deeply on the subject, and take 
 into consideration all the facts in the case, will come to 
 a very different conclusion. Several things should be 
 taken into consideration in making up our minds on this 
 subject. The difference in the population between the 
 present time and fifty years since. Then, the great
 
 180 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 amount of crime committed by foreigners, who, coming 
 from countries where the laws were severe, and they kept 
 in ignorance, have felt for the time that they were at 
 liberty here to do as they pleased. Then, again, the fact - 
 that the press seizes upon every crime that is committed, 
 and, painting it in the most glowing colors, and giving it 
 to the world, runs it through a hundred papers, when 
 fifty years hence it would have been seen in but one ; the 
 facilities of communication, by which the whole country 
 live, as it were, in the same neighborhood ; these, and other 
 circumstances, cause many to err exceedingly in view of 
 the supposed increase of crime. Crime is noisy : obe 
 dience to the laws, quiet The transgressions of men are 
 published to the world, while the many acts of obedience 
 are not noticed. 
 
 " Take a single city or a village as an example. If 
 any vicious act is performed, even the most trivial, if it 
 is contrary only to the rules of decorum, and not criminal 
 in the eyes of the law, the whole populace are forthwith 
 informed of it, and it becomes a 'town's talk.' But a 
 thousand acts of civility and kindness are performed in 
 the same city, and no flaming newspaper paragraph is 
 written ; nothing is said by any one about those acts. 
 And why ? Because they are the common every-day 
 occurrences. We pass a man on some narrow walk, and 
 he does not insult us ; and do we stop the first friend we 
 meet to relate to him the fact ? We sleep quietly through 
 the night, undisturbed by the noise of the burglar ; and 
 do we report the feet to the editor of the morning paper,
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 181 
 
 that the whole city may know it ? No. The virtues of 
 mankind are not published to the world, while every 
 crime and sin that is committed, if at all uncommon, is 
 published as on the wings of the wind. 
 
 " Of the fifty thousand husbands and wives in this 
 state who live quietly and happily together in that most 
 endearing connection, not a word is published concerning 
 it. But if one case occurs where serious difficulty is 
 experienced, the whole state is apprised of the fact. It 
 is questionable whether the present practice of giving 
 publicity to all the immoralities and crimes which stain 
 the page of human history, conduces to the improvement 
 of society. We very much doubt the utility of the prac 
 tice. Especially do we deprecate the practice, which pre 
 vails to no little extent, of exaggerating such accounts, 
 as many editors have done, for the sake of ' telling a 
 smart story.' If it were the practice to publish accounts 
 of good deeds as much as of bad ones, taany would 
 change their opinion in regard to the increase of crime." 
 
 He expressed a very strong interest, about this time, 
 in a new family prayer-book which had made its appear 
 ance from the press.* He sought diligently to make his 
 own people acquainted with it "Its utility," he writes, 
 " can hardly be doubted by any one whose mind can rise 
 above the prejudices of education. We hope it will find 
 its way into each family of Universalists, at least, and be 
 
 * Family Worship ; containing Reflections and Prayers for Domestic 
 Devotion. By Rev. Otis A. Skinner. Boston ; published by A. Tomp- 
 kins and B. B. Mussey. 
 
 16
 
 182 MEMOIE OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 the means of improving the hearts of all who may read 
 6r hear it read." Another affirmation, this, of his desire 
 to have the social blessings of our faith enjoyed : to have 
 in our families and homes the domestic altar, consecrated 
 to the daily worship-service of the Father of all. 
 
 In July he preached in Bloomfield a message such as 
 the people of that town had never heard before. It was 
 a message in full : that message with which the angels 
 came for "all people." It was received with much joy. 
 On the twelfth of August he left home for Philadelphia. 
 On his return he attended the Connecticut Convention of 
 Universalists, at Danbury. In consequence of heavy 
 rains on days preceding the convention, there was not a 
 large representation, by delegates, of societies from a dis 
 tance. The public services, however, were well attended; 
 and the meeting, as a whole, was one of more than usual 
 interest. 
 
 Of this visit to Philadelphia he writes : " We enjoyed 
 the pleasure of spending the second and third Sundays 
 in August in Philadelphia, on exchange with brother 
 T. D. Cook, pastor of the Callowhill-street Church. No 
 one can visit that beautiful city, especially if they have 
 the good fortune, like us, to have many warm-hearted 
 friends there, without enjoying a rich treat. There is so 
 much in that city and the surrounding country to interest 
 the visitor, and such a generous spirit exhibited by its cit 
 izens towards the stranger, that one cannot fail of feeling 
 at home in their midst, and of enjoying life most fully. 
 
 " In addition to what we had seen on a previous visit
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 183 
 
 there two years since, bj the kindness of a friend, and the 
 politeness of the officers of the government, we were ad 
 mitted to the Eastern Penitentiary, the House of Refuge, 
 and the Alms-house. From what we saw and heard, 
 and from reflection upon the subject, we have no hesita 
 tion in giving the Eastern Penitentiary the preference 
 over all other prisons of which we have any knowledge, 
 as to the mode of punishment. There can hardly be a 
 doubt, as it appears to us, that ' solitary confinement' 
 exerts a more salutary influence on the morals of the 
 prisoner than the course pursued in other prisons. 
 Many startle at .the idea of ' solitary confinement,' as 
 though the prisoner was confined in a narrow, dark cell, 
 where he sees no one, has no exercise, is not spoken to, 
 speaks to no one, has no books, and is poorly fed. But 
 when it is known that in that prison each cell is suffi 
 ciently large for a work-shop and sleeping-room, well 
 lighted and ventilated, with pure water always at hand, 
 with a yard as large as the cell in the open air, where 
 exercise is allowed each day ; that the food is far more 
 desirable than that of very many "of the inhabitants in 
 our cities; that the prisoners see and converse with 
 the physician, warden, and keepers; that the moral 
 instructor visits each prisoner when he pleases, to con 
 verse with and instruct him ; 'that the Bible is placed in 
 each cell ; a circulating library is kept for the use of the 
 prisoners ; that they hear preaching frequently from the 
 different clergymen of the city ; and, besides doing the 
 task set them, an active man may easily earn twenty
 
 184 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 dollars a year by over- work, which is his when he leaves ; 
 when all these things are taken into the account, the 
 idea of such ' solitary confinement ' is not so dreadful.. 
 And it is a question which is deserving of serious consid 
 eration, whether one year's confinement, on this plan, so 
 far as regards the legitimate objects of punishment, would 
 not do more good than three years on the other plan. 
 
 ' : The House of Refuge is a very large establishment 
 for juvenile offenders, conducted somewhat on the princi 
 ple of our state-prison, with the addition of a school, 
 and as much liberty within the walls as is judged con 
 sistent with the object, which is the reformation of its 
 inmates. 
 
 "The Alms-house is on the west side of the Schuyl- 
 kill, and is built on a magnificent scale capable of 
 accommodating nearly three thousand persons, all at the 
 expense of the county and city of Philadelphia. Every 
 thing in each of these institutions presents an appearance 
 of neatness, and as much humanity as could be expected." 
 
 Since the death of Mr. Moore. Rev. James Gallager, 
 ofMeriden, Ct, has penned the following reminiscences 
 of the man, and of a ride in company with him to the 
 convention at Danbury : 
 
 ' ' I shall never forget my first acquaintance with him ; 
 it was in August, 1843. The State Convention of Con 
 necticut was to hold its session at Danbury. Br. Moore, 
 Br. L. B. Mason, and myself, being in New York on a 
 visit, concluded to attend the convention. Arriving at 
 Bridgeport in the steamer, a cold, heavy rain set in, and
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 185 
 
 the only conveyance to Danbury was by what might be 
 called a Jersey wagon and two horses. The wagon had 
 at one time boasted a set of curtains, but at this time 
 only the remnants were hanging in strips from the top, 
 just sufficient to enable the rain very conveniently to run 
 down them upon the passengers, wetting us completely 
 through. But there was no other alternative; go we 
 must in that conveyance and that heavy rain, or not go 
 at all. We mounted the wagon, and during that long, 
 wet ride, the horses going about four or five miles an 
 hour, Br. Moore poured forth a fund of anecdote and 
 humor, so perfectly natural to him ; took it so good-na 
 turedly and philosophically himself, inspiring us with the 
 same feeling and spirit; drew so many hearty laughs 
 from the whole company (one or two strangers being 
 with us), that we almost forgot the hydraulic process we 
 were undergoing. Those strips of curtains hanging at one 
 side, with the rain pouring from them upon us, together 
 with the whole appearance of the wagon, company, 
 etc., afforded such subjects for merriment, that we con 
 cluded that it was much pleasanter and more poetic than 
 riding in railroad-cars, whirling with lightning speed 
 through the country, unable to see or enjoy the beauties 
 of the way. Old dame Nature was getting a good duck 
 ing, and we could see the process. In fact, we all con 
 cluded that we had not had, for a long time, such a pleas 
 ant ride ; we richly enjoyed it. To Br. Moore we were, 
 in a very great measure, indebted for the pleasantness of 
 that ride ; to his Christian philosophy, his good-nature, 
 -16*
 
 186 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 his disposition not to fret or worry, but to take things 
 easily, and make the sun shine within, though it might 
 storm without. Such was his general character, I be 
 lieve. Yet no man was more prudent, more becoming, 
 more serious in his manner, on all proper occasions. 
 These things added force to his preaching, while his 
 whole life was an example to the believers, and his min 
 istry a blessing." 
 
 The return of Mr. Moore to his home, at the conclu 
 sion of this journey, was marked by a demonstration 
 among the most welcome and delighting of any that he 
 could have imagined. His interest in the Sabbath-school, 
 and in all the "little ones" of his flocks, we have had 
 occasion to notice in other pages of this memoir. He 
 loved his Hartford children, and was dearly loved by 
 them. And so, during his absence this season, the pupils 
 of his Sabbath-school determined upon receiving him, on 
 his return, with some expression of affectionate regard. 
 They resolved to meet at the church on the day of his 
 return, each bringing a gift of flowers. They met as 
 agreed upon, and four large and very rich bouquets were 
 prepared by the young ladies of the Bible-class and some 
 of the teachers, from flowers brought by the children. 
 The members of the school having arranged themselves 
 in order in the middle aisle of the church, the pastor was 
 introduced by the superintendent, and received by one 
 of the scholars, Miss Jane Squires, with the following 
 address, written for the occasion by Miss Mary Ann 
 Dodd:
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 187 
 
 THE WELCOME HOME. 
 
 To the sailor on the stormy main, 
 And the traveller o'er the desert plain ; 
 To all who turn on a homeward track, 
 Sweet ia the thought of a welcome back. 
 
 And the hearts at home impatient burn 
 For the coming hour of a friend's return : 
 And smiles of love, and words of joy, 
 Shall sweetly that golden hour employ. 
 
 Pastor and Friend, though short thy stay 
 From home and thy little flock away, 
 We joy that those parting days are o'er, 
 That we look on thy pleasant face once more. 
 
 Our hearts are glad, and we bring thee flowers 
 Culled in the waving summer hours : 
 Each fragrant leaf hath a fairy tone, 
 Breathing to thee a welcome home! 
 
 The flowers must lose the rich hues they show, 
 But our love for thee will brighter grow ; 
 They may droop and die with to-morrow's sun, 
 But our love for thee shall still live on. 
 
 For our youthful group the coming years 
 Will bring meeting smiles and parting tears, 
 Till we pass away to a fairer shore, 
 To be met and welcomed here no more. 
 
 And when one by one our little band 
 Shall all be called to that happy land, 
 We shall meet thee where sweet odors rise 
 From the fadeless flowers of Paradise.
 
 188 MEMOIK OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 It was not in the heart of the pastor to receive with 
 mere formality such a tribute as this. The abundance 
 of that heart found utterance from warm .lips, and the 
 response to the welcome was worthy the man and the 
 minister. The school then joined in singing an appro 
 priate hymn, and all passed out, each scholar taking the 
 pastor by the hand, and presenting him with flowers. 
 They then formed in procession, the pastor and superin 
 tendent at the head, and proceeded to the wharf, where 
 they were received on board the steamer Phoenix, and 
 conveyed to Weathersfield. Here they were met by Mr. 
 Pillsbury, the warden, and Mr. Kellog, chaplain of the 
 prison, who showed them kind attentions. Having vis 
 ited the prison throughout, and joined in the devotional 
 evening service, they reembarked, and returned to their 
 homes. 
 
 Such a return, after absence, as this, might well be 
 compared with many a triumphal entry of the ruler and 
 conqueror from the sanguinary field, where not only 
 lives by thousands had been sacrificed, but hearts of sur 
 vivors wounded and Crushed, their helpers taken away, 
 their earthly hopes cut off. Here, at this meeting, were 
 no such sad reflections. A conqueror, indeed, returns to 
 his people ; a ruler and holder of their hearts' affections, 
 where he reigns by love ; one who has taught them the 
 way of righteousness, and led them in the paths of peace. 
 What a greeting ! And from the children, too ! Was 
 not such a welcome of the Master from the little ones in 
 the temple among the most holy and blest of any given us
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 189 
 
 in his history ? The children ! Give us places in their 
 hearts, an interest in their blessings, always. What an 
 inimitable conception is that of the poor crazed poet (as 
 he was deemed), Macdonald Clark : " Bury me near the 
 children. Four things, I am sure, there will be in 
 heaven : music, pure air, flowers, and plenty of little 
 children." "Whoso is wise" will realize the value of 
 these thoughts about the little ones, and something of 
 the real greatness of being a leader among them. 
 
 During this year Mr. Moore was very frequently 
 called upon to deliver addresses on temperance, and none 
 were readier to answer the calls than he. His labors in 
 this direction -were quite as many as his other duties 
 would allow. This was one great principle of Chris 
 tianity, and he would do what he could to promote its 
 growth. He had, however, a whole counsel of the All- 
 wise and gracious Father to make known. " I am set 
 for the defence of the Gospel," was one of his life-texts, 
 and his words and deeds preached many an impressive 
 and useful sermon from it. It was in the autumn of this 
 year that he took occasion to notice, in his discourses and 
 through the press, the anxiety evinced by other sects 
 because of the increased attention given to Universalism 
 in many parts of Connecticut ; an anxiety which led to 
 many very hard and abusive sayings against this faith and 
 those who maintained it. He very sensibly felt for those 
 conscientious believers in places where they had not much 
 strength in numbers, and were on this account more 
 liable to persecution for their faith. Gladly would he
 
 190 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 have visited and given them encouragement ; but duties 
 to others forbade this gratification. He gives all such, 
 however, excellent counsel, as will be seen by what fol 
 lows, from one of his editorial articles. 
 
 After noticing certain recent "attacks on Universal- 
 ism," he concludes thus : 
 
 " There is, after all, very much good resulting from 
 the course pursued by those who reject our faith ; 
 although they do not intend to bring about all the results 
 that are seen. If they mean it for evil against Univer- 
 salism, God turns it to a good account, by suffering them 
 to denounce and misrepresent it and its advocates, which 
 calls new attention to the whole great thame. We hope 
 our friends in the vicinity where these attacks are made, 
 will exhibit the true spirit of the Gospel, and ' put on, as 
 the elect of God, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness 
 of mind, meekness, long-suffering.' and never descend to 
 the use of low and mean language used by men whose 
 words should not be repeated, and will not be by those 
 who heed the exhortation of the apostle, ' Let no corrupt 
 communication proceed out of your mouth.' Sometimes, 
 it is true, we may be justified in shooting ' folly as it 
 flies ; ' and it may be that we are justified in ridiculing 
 the nonsense of the world, or of showing our disappro 
 bation of what is foolish and low in terms of severity ; 
 but it is the part of wisdom never to shoot unless there 
 is something worth aiming at ; and, in ridiculing the 
 ridiculous, not to become ridiculous ; nor, in opposing the 
 vulgar, to run into vulgarity. There is a way by which
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 191 
 
 to ' rebuke sharply ' without descending to the level of 
 that which we condemn. And may all who claim to be 
 Universalists show, by their words and actions, that their 
 religion does not allow them to descend to the use of 
 debasing language, .or to sinful deeds." 
 
 He took occasion, also, about this time, to speak and 
 write freely in reference to the subject of church organ 
 ization. He desired that Universalists would not only 
 agree to the propriety of such organization, but that they 
 manifest their faith by works. He writes : " That such 
 an organization, on Gospel principles, is useful and im 
 portant, no one, it would seem, can dispute. Why, then, 
 do our friends who are so circumstanced as to warrant 
 the measure delay action on the subject ? Why not do 
 that which will increase their individual and associated 
 strength ? Is it said by many that ' we are few in num 
 bers and weak in means, for the support of the regular 
 ministration of the word ' ? This may be true ; but is 
 it any reason why those few should not enjoy the priv 
 ilege and profit of such an association, and that the 
 means they do possess should remain unemployed ? We 
 would not so reason on any other subject. We should 
 not expect our numbers would increase and our means 
 multiply by inaction. Nor would it be reasonable .to 
 say, that because there are but few scholars in a district, 
 and the means of education are limited, therefore these 
 few must be deprived of the advantages of education." 
 
 On the last Sabbath of this year he discoursed to his 
 people in the morning on the history of Universalism,
 
 192 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 and in the afternoon on the history of the society of 
 which he was then pastor. 
 
 It was at the close of this year, also, that he relin 
 quished his work as editor of the Universalist, as also 
 his pecuniary interest in the paper. It was first issued 
 at Middletown, by Rev. L. S. Everett ; and on his leav 
 ing the state it passed into the hands of Mr. Moore, who 
 was assisted editorially by Rev. R. 0. Williams and 
 Rev. M. Sanford. It was now to be united with the 
 Trumpet, by mutual arrangement between the propri 
 etors of both journals. Mr. Moore had become convinced 
 that no man should attempt to be at the same time the 
 pastor of a religious society and the publisher of a weekly 
 paper. Could the Connecticut journal have been con 
 tinued, it would have been very gratifying to Mr. Moore ; 
 but he desired to be free from the care and anxiety which 
 the business concerns of such a publication would impose 
 upon him. In surrendering the charge of the paper, 
 he said : 
 
 "In closing my labors as conductor of this religious 
 journal, I desire that my brethren who are engaged in 
 conducting the press in behalf of the great central truth 
 of Christianity, the final holiness and happiness of all 
 mankind, will accept the assurance of my gratitude for 
 the courtesy and Christian kindness which they have 
 uniformly exhibited towards me, as we have labored in 
 the Master's vineyard in that capacity: and that they 
 will receive, in the same spirit in which it is offered, the 
 exhortation to contend manfully, and in the spirit of our
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 193 
 
 Master, for the upbuilding of the cause of practical 
 Christianity in the world ; to avoid personal strife and 
 contention about those trifling things and sentiments, or 
 giving publicity to repartee which may appear well 
 enough in a private circle, but which appear bad enough 
 when published to the world, especially in a religious 
 journal; knowing that they occupy an important and a 
 responsible station, the influence of which is great, for 
 good or for evil. 
 
 11 To the patrons of the Universalist I would express 
 my acknowledgments for your countenance and support, 
 in assisting me and my coadjutors in disseminating what 
 we conceive to be the truth of God, and the promotion of 
 the cause of Christian progress, in which we have not 
 labored in vain. I shall take my leave of none of you, 
 as I intend to commune with you often, through the col 
 umns of the Trumpet ; and I will hope that very few 
 of you will take your leave of me. The greatest bar 
 gain a man makes is the paying for and reading a well- 
 conducted religious newspaper." 
 
 At the commencement of the new year, 1844, he 
 speaks in terms of encouragement of the society with 
 which he was connected. He prays for its inward as 
 well as outward prosperity ; and records with much grat 
 ification an addition to the church made on the day of 
 the communion service. He looked for prosperity 
 where it would most surely be found, in the religious 
 inclination and consecration of souls to the Christian 
 
 service. 
 
 17
 
 194 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 His birth-days are almost always religiously mentioned 
 in his diary. This year he writes : ' ' Forty-seven ! can 
 it be possible ? It is even so. Should I live another 
 year, may I do more in the cause of Christ than in any 
 former year. To this end may the wisdom and love of 
 God guide me." In a letter to a friend, bearing date 
 March 12th, he thus writes respecting the doctrine of the 
 unity of the human race : 
 
 " My present views are, that God has so connected the 
 race of man that it must rise or fall together. If one 
 member suffers or is degraded, the race must, more or 
 less, according to their knowledge of it, suffer and feel 
 degraded ; as one is exalted or honored, all who know it 
 partake by sympathy of the same. I love this sentiment 
 more and more, as I dwell upon it ; and particularly its 
 practical influence. Once fix this idea in the mind, and 
 what will it not do in inducing obedience to the golden 
 rule? 
 
 ' ' Paul had it right. ' All things are yours ; whether 
 Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, 
 or things present, or things to come ; all are yours ; and 
 ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's.' What a glorious 
 passage ! How full of hope, and confidence, and joy ! " 
 
 On the 23d of May, his son, Rev. John Harvey 
 Moore, was ordained to the work of the ministry at 
 Warren, Mass., where he had accepted an invitation to a 
 pastorate. The father was present, and offered the Ordain 
 ing Prayer. It was a day of inexpressible pleasure to 
 him. " The words of that prayer," says one who heard
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 195 
 
 it, "I do not remember, but the prayer itself made an 
 impression which will keep it in memory while I live. 
 A more appropriate or affecting petition on such an occa 
 sion I never heard." He had more than once said, that 
 if he had ten sons he should be glad to see them all de 
 voted to the work of the Gospel ministry. In June, after 
 attending the Hartford Association of Universalists, at 
 North Granby, he visited Troy, Saratoga, Schenectady, 
 and other places ; spending one Sabbath on his way from 
 home, and another on his return, in New York city. In 
 July he attended the dedication of the Unitarian church 
 in Southington. He writes of the occasion : " Dr. 
 Brazer, of Salem, Mass., gave the sermon. Subject, 
 the ' New Birth ; ' treated chiefly by opposing the ' ortho 
 dox' notions of it. In the afternoon, Mr. Farley, of 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., preached the sermon. Subject, ' Faith 
 in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, the only Chris 
 tian creed.' It was treated after the same manner as the 
 preceding discourse. There were three Universalist min 
 isters present, who, notwithstanding the profession of the 
 leading Unitarians in the place, and of the order gene 
 rally, that they are desirous of a union with Universalists, 
 particularly where both parties are weak, were not 
 noticed at all." In August he records a lamentable cir 
 cumstance of the death of three boys, by drowning, in 
 the Connecticut river. They were in for the purpose of 
 bathing. The youngest went in first, waded off an offset ; 
 the next, a brother, went to his rescue, and sunk in like 
 manner ; when the eldest followed for the same purpose,
 
 196 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 and met the same fate. The water was deeper than they 
 had supposed it to be. They were members of the Hart 
 ford Universalist Sabbath-school. His discourse on the 
 funeral occasion was an appropriate and deeply affecting 
 one, from 2d Kings, 4th chapter "It is well." Fifteen 
 hundred persons were present. The last of this month 
 he attended the State Convention at Norwich, a meetincr 
 
 ' O 
 
 of much interest to him. 
 
 During the remainder of the year he was very busily 
 engaged in his vocation with his own people, and in lec 
 turing in places abroad. He regards the year, at its 
 close, as one of unusual interest, and thus expresses 
 himself in view of its providential relations to him : 
 " For all the blessings conferred upon me this year, now 
 so nearly closed, let me be sincerely thankful to Him 
 from whom all good cometh. May my true thoughts of 
 them lead me to confide in the God of heaven constantly, 
 and to practise upon the principles of the Gospel. And 
 in all the future may his wisdom guide and his mercy 
 keep me in the path of duty. Amen." 
 
 On New Year's day, 1845, the children of his Sabbath- 
 school visited him, by invitation, at his own home. The 
 interview was a mutually happy one; and a "home" 
 season indeed it proved to be to the pastor, and to the 
 tender lambs of his flock. 
 
 A little accident occurring about this time, which 
 proved to be of his own carelessness, he remarks in his 
 journal : " Bad luck ! Worst of all, had nobody to scold.
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 197 
 
 Was myself wholly to blame. If we should treat others 
 in their mistakes as we do ourselves when we are care 
 less, how differently should we behave ! We shall thus 
 treat them when we love them as ourselves." 
 
 On the 14th of January of this year he attended the 
 dedication of the new Universalist church in Canterbury, 
 Conn., and preached the sermon on the occasion. In 
 April he was present at the dedication of the new Uni 
 versalist church in Springfield, Mass., and took part in 
 the services. In the month of June he spent two Sun 
 days in Troy, N. Y. In July, one Sunday in Troy, and 
 one in Albany ; also in Lynn two Sundays, taking occa 
 sion, while in the neighborhood of the last-named place, 
 to visit his old friends in Danvers, by whom he was very 
 cordially received. Some time during this month he 
 expresses, in a letter to a friend, his unwaning devotion 
 to the Christian ministry. "lam pledged," he writes, 
 " to the cause of Universalism, and shall preach it so 
 long as I have strength, and continue to believe it true." 
 
 During this month he speaks of the state of the 
 society of which he was pastor, as follows : 
 
 " Our society in this place is moving on in its steady 
 course. The regular congregation is respectable, both 
 in numbers and zeal for the promotion of the interests of 
 the society. There has been for the last four and a half 
 years a gradual increase in the interest manifested in 
 the church, Sunday-school, and all that appertains to the 
 permanency of the cause of truth, as held by Oniver- 
 salists of the city." 
 17*
 
 198 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 There had been some talk of the erection of a Uni 
 tarian church in Hartford. How Mr. Moore regarded 
 this contemplated event may be learned from the follow 
 ing expression of his feelings. It is a breathing of the 
 true spirit : 
 
 "Rumor says we are to have in this city, what most 
 strangers are surprised to learn we have not a Uni 
 tarian church. We really hope the time is not far distant 
 when there will be another church in this city in which 
 shall be proclaimed the strict unity, the impartial and 
 unending goodness of God, the equal Father and change 
 less friend of the whole human race ; in which the doctrine 
 of the vicarious atonement by Christ, total depravity of 
 man by nature, the infinity of sin, and endless punishment 
 for the sins of this life, shall be discarded as unscriptural, 
 unreasonable, and as making no part of Christianity ; 
 and where all may enjoy the privilege of the members of 
 Christ's church, irrespective of their peculiar views, if 
 they evince a disposition to cherish the spirit of Christ. 
 * * * * * * 
 
 '' Although we would prefer that the people should 
 embrace the whole truth, yet it is well that they should 
 embrace and defend the first principles of the system of 
 Christianity, as these may lead into all truth. It is 
 better to follow out these principles to their legitimate 
 results. We would say to all. of whatever name or party, 
 be true to the light given you : let not the consideration 
 of popularity, or of policy, deter you from doing your 
 duty faithfully ; maintain what you believe to be truth,
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 199 
 
 always holding your mind open to the reception of more 
 light, and you shall possess what is of far more conse 
 quence than all the world beside a conscience void of 
 offence." 
 
 At the close of this summer he received an urgent 
 invitation to become the pastor of the Universalist society 
 in Troy, N. Y. At the same time he had calls, also, 
 from Lebanon, his old home, and from Winchester, N. H. 
 In September he visited in the States of New York, Ver 
 mont, and New Hampshire ; his desk at Hartford being 
 supplied, during his absence, by candidates for settle 
 ment. He concluded to accept the invitation from Troy ; 
 his ministerial connection there to begin on the first 
 Sunday in October. 
 
 During this year, thus far, he had made an industrious 
 use of his time in Hartford and vicinity. In addition to 
 his weekly callings in the society, he was frequently 
 engaged in lectures and addresses to lodges and other 
 fraternities with which he was connected. He lectured 
 much on temperance, and quite a number of times on the 
 subject of capital punishment. He was prompt and 
 faithful ; " instant in season, out of season." 
 
 Why, on the whole, he determined to leave Hartford, 
 we are not prepared to say. He took the step/ doubtless, 
 as a matter of duty, perhaps to himself, feeling that 
 another change would, in some respects, lighten for a 
 while his pastoral cares and labors ; a consideration which 
 it is not right, always, for pastors to take altogether 
 upon themselves. Societies might not lose anything by
 
 200 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 sometimes seeking on their part to lessen the duties of 
 the minister, thus practically heeding the apostolic in 
 junction, " Bear ye one another's burdens." But our 
 brother had concluded to take a new field of labor, not 
 without a strong consciousness of having left his impres 
 sion for good in that wherein he had been employed for 
 nearly the last six years of his life. 
 
 His valedictory discourses in Hartford were delivered 
 on the last Sunday in September. The morning dis 
 course was from Acts 20 : 27, " I have not shunned 
 to declare unto you all the counsel of God: " a" text 
 most truly expressive of the faithfulness of the minister 
 thus using it. The text in the afternoon was, Philip- 
 pians 4 : 8, 9, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things 
 are true ; whatsoever things are just : whatsoever things 
 are pure ; whatsoever things are lovely : whatsoever 
 things are of good report ; if there be any virtue, 
 and if there be any praise, think on these things. 
 Those things which ye have both learned, and received, 
 and heard, and seen in me, do ; and the God of 
 peace shall be with you." His parting advice to the 
 people, in both discourses, was sound, faithful, and 
 affectionate. He left them in peace with all ; and his 
 ministry in Hartford, we have reason to believe, will long 
 be remembered as one of the most earnest and truthful 
 which they ever knew. It was a ministry that left its 
 impression for years after his departure from that city ; 
 and which awakens, at this hour, tenderest recollections 
 in many a mind. As an expression of the esteem in which
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 201 
 
 he was held, we give place to the following tribute, by 
 Mr. John R. Pease, which appeared originally in the 
 Hartford Times. 
 
 LINES 
 
 ADDRESSED TO REV. JOHN MOORE ON HIS LEAVING HARTFORD FOR 
 TROT. 
 
 The wind goes by with hollow moan, 
 
 And whispers me, " Your friend is gone,! " 
 
 I see no more that noble form, 
 
 Nor feel thy hand's heart-pressure warm ; 
 
 I see no more that beaming smile, 
 
 All bright with hope and void of guile ; 
 
 I hear no more that joyous tone 
 
 My heart is sad, and feels alone ! 
 
 Thy wide, expansive, generous soul, 
 Viewed man, thy brother, as a whole ; 
 Was to no sect or creed confined, 
 But fraught with love to all mankind. 
 How skilled to teach with precepts rare ! 
 Whose lips e'er breathed a purer prayer? 
 No more that voice, in accents clear, 
 Shall fall like music on the ear. 
 
 Within the social circle bright, 
 How beamed thy heart with floods of light, 
 - And made the cup of joy o'erflow, 
 Dispersed the gathering clouds of woe ! 
 How flowed thy mind with generous zeal 
 For private good and public weal ; 
 How bland thy tones and accents free, 
 . With " little children, come to me " ! 
 
 They '11 miss thee when they gather when 
 That rescued band of temperance men
 
 202 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 Shall want their guide and champion bold, 
 To bring the wanderer to the fold. 
 Thine was a heart whose glowing flame 
 Felt for all suffering, sin, and shame. 
 They '11 miss thy voice to cheer them on, 
 And mourn a friend and brother gone. 
 
 Not they alone, but that bright band 
 Who seek to renovate the land, 
 And, blending mercy in their code, 
 To purge the law of human blood. 
 Thine was a mind with scope and power 
 To see beyond the transient hour 
 To dare for truth the bigot's rage, 
 And struggle for a brighter age. 
 
 In homes that now seem sad and lone ; 
 In halls where rang thy thrilling tone ; 
 In fanes where hushed the noisy strife ; 
 And in the broad highway of life ; 
 Or bowers of joy, or beds of pain ; 
 They ne'er shall see thy like again : 
 Or grave, or gay, thine was the art 
 At once to charm and mend the heart. 
 
 Blessings, where'er our friend may be ! 
 The herald of glad tidings free ; 
 Beneath whatever skies thou 'It roam, 
 Where fate or fortune make thy home, 
 Wear still that heart, a spotless vest, 
 And love emblazoned on thy crest ; 
 Be truth's bright sword still thine to wield, 
 The victor of the bloodless field. 
 
 I see no more that noble form, 
 * Nor feel thy hand's heart-pressure warm ; 
 I see no more that beaming smile, 
 All bright with hope and void of guile ;
 
 MINISTRY IN HARTFORD. 203 
 
 I hear no more that joyous tone 
 My heart is sad, and feels alone ! 
 Words are but vain our grief to tell 
 My friend and pastor, FARE THEE WELL ! 
 
 " Our pastor, Mr. Moore," writes one of his friends in 
 that city, " was well known here, in and out of his 
 society, and wherever known respected. He was quite 
 popular ; was much engaged in the temperance cause, 
 in educational matters, and in everything which he con 
 sidered truly reformatory. No minister of his faith has 
 been more respected here as a man and a citizen ; and 
 many who had never heard him speak from the pulpit, 
 were sorry to lose him from the city. His noble form, 
 and benevolently beaming countenance, the mirror of a 
 kindly and cheerful heart, commanded everywhere admi 
 ration and deference. Of his merits as a preacher others 
 can speak more to the purpose than myself ; but I know 
 that his unaffected, heart-felt eloquence, his truthful, 
 earnest words, could not have been without effect upon 
 many a heart."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 MINISTRY IN TROY. 
 
 THE ministry of Mr. Moore in Troy was a brief one. 
 It was none the less faithful, however, because of this. 
 It is the fate of the pastor to reap where other men have 
 sown. Sometimes it is a joy, and sometimes a grievance, 
 to enter into the labors of predecessors. A pastor is not 
 responsible for what may have preceded him in the min 
 istry, if he has not been a partaker in the work. He is 
 responsible for what he does, or undertakes to do. It has 
 been the lot of some of our pastors to enter upon their 
 work in a society with the unfavorable effects of a pre 
 vious pastoral administration fully before them. The 
 field has been one of hard theological warfare ; a ground 
 of contention with other sects and their opinions, not of 
 the most courteous and loving kind ; ground where a kind 
 of doctrinal cannonading has called around a multitude to 
 witness it, many of whom Avould be in no particular mood 
 for cultivating peace, and studying the best methods 
 of Christian fraternizing and culture, after such pulpit
 
 MINISTRY IN TROY. 205 
 
 thundering had ceased. There had been such a ministry 
 at Troy. Congregations, full congregations, had not 
 unfrequently been called under it. But congregations 
 are not societies nor churches. After this inordinate 
 swelling the collapse took place ; and it was in this last- 
 named condition that Mr. Moore found the society when 
 he came to Troy. There were true and faithful friends 
 in it, who were hoping for a revival of the spirit and 
 truth of the Lord ; and they sought to cheer the heart 
 and stay the hand of their new pastor. Mr. Moore was 
 aware of this state of things. He knew that his field of 
 labor was not one of the most inviting; but he was not by 
 this consideration prevented from entering it. A knowl 
 edge of his fitness to aid in the true growth of a society 
 had been the chief inducement of the friends in Troy to 
 seek his services. " Here has been a tearing down of 
 error," he writes to a friend, "but, unhappily for the 
 cause of truth, that has been beaten down also." Of 
 Troy he says, in his correspondence : "There is much 
 more business done here than in Hartford ; about double 
 the number of inhabitants ; full of enterprise, full of 
 Orthodoxy and Nothingarianism, with a small share of 
 Universalism." 
 
 He commenced his ministry in Troy on the first Sab 
 bath in October. His discourse in the morning was from 
 the text in Ephesians 6: 12 20, " For we wrestle 
 not against flesh and blood," etc. His subject of dis 
 course in the afternoon was the mutual and peculiar 
 duties of pastor and people. He would, in his ministry 
 18
 
 206 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 with this people, enter into a contention, not against any 
 of the rights, privileges, or interests, of men ; not against 
 anything good that any class or sect may have ; but he 
 would oppose what he believed to be error and sin, and 
 hinder, if possible, their blighting effects upon the indi 
 vidual and upon society. He would preach the truth, 
 and beseech men to arm themselves with it, that they 
 might maintain a good and effective warfare against these 
 enemies of our nature. He would have the people aid 
 their minister in his work : putting on the same weapons 
 with which he should be armed,' and which are stated by 
 the apostle, namely, the girdle of truth, the breastplate 
 of righteousness, the sandals of peace, the shield of faith, 
 the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, which is 
 the Word of God. Among the particulars to be observed 
 by the members of a society in reference to their minis 
 ter and each other, he mentions, a readiness to sacrifice 
 individual views and trivial preferences for the general 
 welfare : a feeling of individual influence and responsi 
 bility ; personal attention to strangers ; familiarity be 
 tween pastor and people. Under this last head he speaks 
 in the utmost frankness. " Do not, I beseech you, fear 
 nor neglect to speak to me of everything which you 
 deem important to the interests of the society, and the 
 truth it would here build up and honor. Speak to me 
 of my own character, if you will, if you think that 
 amiss in any respect. You are interested in my charac 
 ter, as I am in yours. The character of a society is 
 judged by that of its minister, and the character of a
 
 MINISTRY IN TROT. 207 
 
 minister by his society, on the part of those who may be 
 but partially acquainted with each." However long or 
 short his tarrying here, he is desirous of proving himself 
 faithful to the great work of the Gospel. He speaks 
 very emphatically in his journal of "the arduous and 
 delightful duties of a minister of Christ." The work and 
 the joy these were always ingredients in the cup of his 
 ministerial life. 
 
 About the time of his first coming here, the society in 
 Albany being destitute of a pastor, he preached once 
 each Sabbath with them. He gave them, for some time, 
 a morning service. During the first month of his settle 
 ment in Troy, he visited Clinton, the seat of the Liberal 
 Institute : attended the New York Association there, and 
 preached on the occasion. On the way to the meeting, 
 while in a packet-boat upon the Erie Canal, there was a 
 passenger on board whose profanity was exceedingly an 
 noying to many of the company, but whose appearance 
 seemed to forbid the approach of any one to him for the 
 purpose of lessening the grievance. Mr. Moore at length 
 succeeded, by a few quiet and dignified words, in imposing 
 a most salutary restraint upon his speech, so that the 
 company heard no more swearing from him during the 
 remainder of the passage. 
 
 On the 7th of November his installation took place. 
 Sermon, on the occasion, by Rev. W. S. Balch, of New 
 York city. 
 
 Soon after his settlement here, he writes thus to Rev.
 
 208 MEMOIK OF JOHN MOOKE. 
 
 Eli Ballou, editor of the Watchman and Repository, 
 published at Montpelier, Vt. : 
 
 " Troy, N. Y, November, 1845. Your faithful 
 Watchman greets me regularly each -week, as it has 
 done from the time you took charge of it : though since I 
 came to Troy it does not reach me until the middle of the 
 week after date, owing to the fact that it comes here via 
 Hartford, Conn., where it found me for nearly six years, 
 and where it now goes, probably from the force of habit. 
 When you think of it, just start it on a different track, so 
 that its tidings may be known and enjoyed while they are 
 yet new, and you will much oblige your old reader. 
 
 '' I am becoming quite settled in my new location. I 
 find many New England people here, not a few of whom 
 are from Vermont, some of whom knew me in that blessed 
 state ; which makes me feel as though I was very near 
 you ; and this will, in fact, be the case when the railroad 
 is built from Saratoga to Whitehall, and from Burlington 
 to Montpelier. Then we shall indeed be neighbors, and 
 shall be able to enjoy more frequently, and with less 
 fatigue, the pleasure and profit of social personal inter 
 course. Shall we not reap in some way an advantage in 
 the promulgation and defenpe of Universalism, by the 
 improved mode of travelling? I hope we may. We 
 realized something of the kind at our late U. S. Conven 
 tion. What a gathering was that ! What a vast amount 
 of moral force was there brought together ! What a 
 blessed and cheering influence went out from thence ! 
 Long, very long, will the influence of that meeting be
 
 MINISTRY IN TROY. ; 209 
 
 enjoyed, by not only those who were present, but in a 
 good degree by all who read or hear the same. 
 
 " I have not been here a sufficient length of time yet to 
 learn much in regard to the state of our cause in the 
 region round about, though I suspect it is not very flat 
 tering, except in a few places within the vicinity of the 
 ' Hudson River Association.' I learn that our friends 
 have a very good house of worship nearly completed at 
 Glen's Falls, which is to be dedicated in a few weeks. 
 The society at Albany is at present destitute of a settled 
 pastor, though the friends there are in hopes soon to be 
 supplied in that respect. Albany is an important position 
 in our religious world; though not so much so, perhaps, 
 as it would be if the legislature meeting there was, like 
 yours, composed of one member from each town in the 
 state, beside the senate and other officers, and seekers for 
 office. What a pity it is we have not a good church in 
 your village ! But we must wait patiently, in hopes that 
 when the people have assisted all others, and tried to live 
 on chaff long enough, they will learn their duty to them 
 selves, to their children, to the cause of truth, and be 
 disposed to do it. 
 
 ' ' I see that your legislature have commuted the pun 
 ishment of Clifford. That is right in one sense, but it 
 may not be expedient in another. I rejoice that when 
 the responsibility of taking the life of a fellow-being rests 
 upon an individual, or a body of men, they hesitate; 
 they are ready to adopt every means by which to avoid 
 such responsibility. But it may be doubted whether it is
 
 210 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 expedient thus to tamper with the laws of the state. 
 Would it not become the patriotic and enlightened sons 
 of that noble little state far better to repeal that law at 
 once, than to keep it on their books and yet refuse to exe 
 cute it? If the unfortunate Clifford ought not to be 
 executed, who should thus suffer ? I would away with a 
 law which should not be executed ; and, as the surest 
 means by which to get rid of it, I would have it rigidly 
 executed while it remains in force. 
 
 " It seems to me that many of the states imitate many 
 of our Christian preachers. The former have the death 
 penalty attached to their laws, but seldom inflict it ; the 
 latter are great sticklers for the eternal death penalty, but 
 are becoming more and more cautious about preaching it 
 in its awful deformity. I like the course Gov. Wright 
 has adopted in this matter. ' Execute the laws,' I am 
 told, is his motto ; if these are not good, make them as 
 they should be. So I like the old-fashioned out-and-out 
 preaching of endless misery, in all its naked, startling, 
 and dreadful aspect, by those who hold it in their creed. 
 If it is true that some were made for hell, and some for 
 heaven, say so. Or, if all who die sinners must eternally 
 remain such, so preach it ; the more plainly and forcibly 
 the better, as the sooner will the people be disgusted with 
 it, and by universal consent abolish it from their creed. 
 
 ' ' The friends of the abolition of capital punishment 
 should keep the subject before the people till they think 
 rightly on it." 
 
 This year the ministers of the Universalist denomina-
 
 MINISTRY IN TEOY. 211 
 
 tion presented to the public a protest against American 
 slavery. It was issued in accordance with the expressed 
 will of a mass meeting of the fraternity, held in Boston 
 the day after the session of the General Convention in 
 September. A committee of five was appointed " to pre 
 pare a solemn, earnest, and plain protest against Ameri 
 can slavery ; and, when prepared, to present it to every 
 Universalist clergyman in the United States for his sig 
 nature, respectfully requesting those who are not willing 
 to sign it to give a reason for refusing ; and when it has 
 been fully circulated, and they have waited a reasonable 
 time for answers, they shall publish the protest and sig 
 natures, with the reasons offered by those who do not 
 sign it." This committee consisted of clergymen, 
 namely : Henry Bacon, Sebastian Streeter, Sylvanus 
 Cobb, Lucius R. Paige, Edwin H. Chapin. Among the 
 reasons offered why this protest was issued, were the fol 
 lowing: " Because slavery denies \he eternal distinction 
 between a man and property, ranking a human being with 
 a material thing ; does not award to the laborer the fruits 
 of his toil in any higher sense than to the cattle ; tram 
 mels the intellectual powers, and prevents their expansion ; 
 checks the development of the moral nature of the slave ; 
 involves a practical denial of his religious nature ; pre 
 sents an insurmountable barrier to the propagation of the 
 great truth of the universal brotherhood, and thereby 
 most effectually prevents the progress of true Christian 
 ity." The protest concludes by saying: "American 
 slavery is a system of wrongs, from its first principle to
 
 212 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 its crowning assumption ; and in its train of evils are 
 found all the iniquities that have eaten out the life of 
 communities and nations. It legalizes sins that are 
 abhorrent to the simplest moral sense ; and in the increas 
 ing intelligence and philanthropy of the present age, it 
 becomes more and more a stigma on our national name, 
 a curse to our country's prosperity, and a giant moral 
 evil, that must be overthrown, or it will overthrow us by 
 the retributive justice of Him who has declared the truth : 
 ' Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach 
 to any people.' ' 
 
 This protest was signed by three hundred and four 
 Universalist clergymen, whose names were given to the 
 public in the denominational journals, together with an 
 epitome of the reasons offered by those who thought it not 
 their duty to affix their names, so far as those reasons 
 were made known to the committee. The protest re 
 ceived the hearty approval of Mr. Moore. He took great 
 pleasure in placing his name to it. The questions involved 
 in it he regarded as of vital importance to the Christian 
 cause ; as properly coming within the line of direct minis 
 terial action ; as affecting all churches in our land, and 
 demanding of them the testimony of truth as to the con 
 tinuance or the ending of the evil of human bondage with 
 us as a nation. That Gospel which taught him, in his 
 first text, "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of 
 heaven is at hand," taught him also that he who was its 
 advocate was bound to give heed to the words heard in 
 the synagogue at Nazareth quoted with new authority,
 
 MINISTRY IN TROY. 213 
 
 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath 
 appointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor ; he hath 
 sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance 
 to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set 
 at liberty them that are bruised." 
 
 The dealing of Christianity with the principal evils 
 in human society constituted one of its ehief excellences, 
 to the mind of our brother. Universalism was, to him, 
 a religion of practical action ; not a mere system of words, 
 a theological dissertation. It meant what it said ; it did 
 what it professed to ask. It was this conviction wjiich led 
 him to take so deep an interest in the promotion of the 
 cause of temperance. He saw its intimate connection 
 with the welfare of men their temporal and spiritual 
 welfare. He felt the meaning of those scripture teach 
 ings which exhort to sobriety and purity, and declare 
 that " no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God." 
 Having heard, soon after his removal to Troy, that some 
 one of his congregation in Hartford had expressed a wish 
 that his successor in that place, whoever he might be, 
 would not engage in the temperance cause so earnestly as 
 he had done, he writes to a friend : " Very well ; I can 
 not recall what is past, and I rejoice that I have no dis 
 position to recall a single effort made by me in Hartford 
 in behalf of temperance. I never neglected my own 
 meetings for that purpose, without consulting the com 
 mittee ; and my worst wish about the society is, that its 
 next pastor may do more for the poor and unfortunate, 
 be more faithful in warning the intemperate of their
 
 214 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 danger, be more ready to visit the sick, do more for the 
 society at home, and better maintain its honor abroad, 
 than did this one of whom it is said, in effect, that ' he did 
 more for the temperance cause than for Universalism.' 
 As though Universalism could flourish amid the fumes 
 of alcohol ! But I forgive all." The remark which 
 called forth this answer was the expressed opinion of 
 only one person, and might not have had all the meaning 
 which appears upon the face of it. But it was the occa 
 sion of these truthful words from the truthful minister 
 and man. 
 
 At the close of this year he writes : ' ' What a change 
 has taken, place with us during the past year ! the 
 breaking up of old, and the forming of new connections ; 
 a change not anticipated when the year began. It is 
 my desire to be useful in the work of the Gospel ; to go 
 where there seems to be an open door, trusting in the 
 providence of God to indicate to me the path of duty ; 
 intending so to conduct as to maintain a good reputation, 
 and the approval of my heavenly Father, to whom I now 
 render thanks for all his past mercies, for the guidance 
 of his Holy Spirit, by which I have been kept in the way 
 of honor and peace." 
 
 His thoughts on his next birth-day, too, seem like an 
 emanation from a true and devout soul. " God be 
 praised for all that he has enabled me to believe of his 
 power, wisdom, and love ; for all that faith enables me 
 to anticipate for myself and my race. May he forgive 
 my follies and sins ; and grant me wisdom and grace to
 
 MINISTRY IN TROY. 215 
 
 do his will, that whether I remain in the flesh to hehold 
 another anniversary of my birth, or not, I may possess a 
 conscience void of offence towards God and men ; and 
 when called to die, may I go as cheerfully as if my 
 earthly father called me to the most desirable and happy 
 condition." In the same month (February, 1846) he 
 attended the Hudson River Association, at Glen's Falls, 
 N. Y. The services of the dedication of the new Uni- 
 versalist church there took place on the first day of the 
 meeting, Mr. Moore preaching the dedication sermon. 
 
 In a letter written to his son about this time, he takes 
 occasion to speak of a discourse heard by him, preached 
 by Rev. John Pierpont, then pastor of the Unitarian 
 society in Troy. For this distinguished man Mr. Moore 
 had the highest regard, and they were on the most ami 
 cable terms in respect to some of the principal reformatory 
 movements of the day. But if there was any one thing 
 on which Mr. Moore was peculiarly sensitive, it was the 
 indefmiteness of some Unitarian writers and preachers on 
 the subject of the future destiny of our race. To him, 
 the doctrine of the resurrection of all who die in Adam 
 to a spiritual life in Christ was one of the chief items of 
 instruction in the Christian revelation, worthy to be 
 designated as the great doctrine of the Gospel. It was 
 an instruction beyond what nature distinctly and un 
 equivocally gave. He was surprised, therefore, to hear, 
 from one usually so logical and clear on other subjects, 
 such a statement as that of which he writes, as to the 
 comparative language of nature and revelation on human
 
 216 MEMOIR OP JOHN MOORE. 
 
 destiny : " Yesterday I went to hear Mr. Pierpont, and 
 heard something new. His subject was, 'the Gospel 
 adapted to affliction.' He attempted to show that it 
 afforded hope in reference to the departed good, infants, 
 etc., and then inquired in reference to the departed vicious. 
 He took a strong case of sinfulness and degradation, and 
 asked, ' Is there no hope for such ? Yes, there is hope, 
 even in their case, feeble though it may be, that God will 
 in the future put them under a course of discipline, which, 
 in a long series of ages, may lead them to repentance and 
 acceptance. This hope is given. I do not say the Gospel 
 gives it, but nature does.' This is verbatim from the 
 preacher ; and is surely a definite remark. But what a 
 reflection, it seems to me, against the Gospel! Nature 
 gives us hope for the sinner, which the Gospel does not ! 
 Whom did Christ come to save ? Must I suppose that, 
 if the doctrine of the Divine Paternity was peculiarly ours, 
 as is that of the final salvation of the race, our Unitarian 
 brethren would be unwilling to own that that doctrine 
 was taught in the Gospel, though nature might declare 
 it ? " Why, on these two important subjects, the in 
 structions of nature should be superior to those of reve 
 lation, he was unable to perceive. 
 
 During the winter he had delivered a series of lectures 
 on the Lord's Prayer. They were well attended, and 
 seem to have given good satisfaction to the hearers. In 
 May he attended the State Convention at Newark, 
 N. Y., and was chosen moderator of that body. In June 
 he went to Lowell, Mass., where he preached on the
 
 MINISTRY IN TROY. 217 
 
 Sabbath, and then passed on to Portsmouth, N.H., where 
 he delivered an address before a Masonic assembly. 
 
 Mr. Moore had not been long in Troy before it seemed 
 evident to him that his ministry there would not answer 
 his expectations. He was willing to do his utmost for 
 his people, and for the cause ; but discouragements 
 appeared in his way, and he could not content himself 
 with the thought that he must continue to feel these dis 
 couragements for a long time to come. No fault was 
 found with his ministry, for which he needed to care. 
 He had good and true friends in his people, as he always 
 had everywhere ; and gladly would his society have re 
 tained him as their minister. But the idea of a removal 
 back to New England had peculiar attractions for him, 
 and the more so under present circumstances. He ac 
 cordingly accepted an invitation to take charge of the 
 new Third Universalist Society in Lowell, Mass. His 
 people learned his determination with regret, but yielded 
 to his wishes, and granted him a release from his engage 
 ments with them. 
 
 He accepted the invitation to Lowell in July ; but did 
 not commence his ministry there until the latter part of 
 September. In that month the United States Conven 
 tion held its annual session in Troy. At the request of 
 the society there, Mr. Moore took charge of the arrange 
 ments for the ministers and delegates who were to visit 
 the city on this occasion. The session was a very agree 
 able one. 
 
 Of his ministry in Troy one of the members of the 
 19
 
 218 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 society there has lately written us: "Mr. Moore was 
 invited here with great unanimity, and labored with us 
 to the entire satisfaction of all. His influence as a 
 moralist, a Christian, a practical Universalist, extended 
 beyond the limits of our society. Of the many good 
 men, who have, from time to time, been settled with us, 
 no one, by his good qualities of heart and mind, ever 
 secured a larger share of esteem from all classes in the 
 community, or took a deeper hold upon the affections of 
 our society, than he ; and no one ever left us more re 
 gretted ; I might add, what you may justly infer, that 
 the standard of piety and religion must be elevated under 
 such a ministry, which indeed, in this instance, was 
 strictly true."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MINISTEY IN LOWELL. 
 
 THE connection of Mr. Moore with the society in 
 Lowell commenced on the third Sabbath in September, 
 1846. He says of it, in writing to a friend : " It is 
 really strange that I should leave Troy so soon. But I 
 have had but little to do about it, except to be controlled 
 by Providence. It seems like a dream ; but I hope I 
 shall not awake to any great calamity." 
 
 He did not ; yet the field into which he had now come 
 was not such a one as he deserved to have. There were 
 two substantial Universalist societies in Lowell, having 
 able and faithful pastors Rev. E. Gr. Brooks, and Rev. 
 A. A. Miner. The formation of the third society, some 
 time before the coming of Mr. Moore to the city, was an 
 experiment ; an experiment, however, which might have 
 proved truly successful, had its basis been a different one. 
 Although there were honest and devoted friends of the 
 true Gospel among the number who entered into this new 
 movement, the majority were governed by views some-
 
 220 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 what different from those who had been instrumental in 
 giving life and stability to the other societies. The first 
 pastor of the new society, Rev. H. G. Smith, entertained 
 opinions respecting Christianity very much at variance 
 with most of the Universalist fraternity. He was one 
 of the few who had taken ground among them similar to 
 that of Rev. Theodore Parker among the Unitarians. 
 His preaching caused much excitement at the time of his 
 first coming to Lowell, and he had large congregations. 
 But his popularity was short-lived. The questions in 
 volved in this new phase of liberal Christianity which, 
 mainly through the influence of Mr. Parker, had become 
 somewhat prevalent in certain Unitarian, and a very few 
 Universalist pulpits were brought directly up for con 
 sideration at a special session of one of the principal 
 associations in Massachusetts, the next year ; of which 
 we shall have occasion to speak more particularly, here 
 after. 
 
 It was in the midst of an agitation caused by the 
 ministry of Mr. Smith, who had favored and advocated 
 this new form of Christianity, that Mr. Moore entered 
 upon his ministerial work in Lowell. He hoped to do 
 good there. So far as he could then see, there were 
 signs of encouragement for him. It seemed that a new 
 and full society might grow up in the new church. He 
 hoped to give such expositions of Christian truth as would 
 lead the minds of his people aright, and send out from 
 their worship-place a good report of that cause which he 
 had always so near his heart. " It seems to me of more
 
 MINISTRY IN LOWELL. 221 
 
 importance," he writes, " that the right influence should 
 be exerted here, than in any other place within my 
 knowledge. That population which is so constantly 
 ebbing and flowing here reaches very far over the face 
 of our country ; hence the importance that those who 
 are instructed in Universalism here should receive it as 
 it is." 
 
 The first number of the Gospel Fountain, a weekly 
 religious journal, was issued at Lowell in April of this 
 year. Rev. William Bell was its editor and proprietor. 
 He was an old friend of Mf . Moore ; and the appearance 
 of the paper drew from the latter a very warm congratu 
 latory epistle, which appeared in the fourth number of 
 the Fountain. Soon after his removal to Lowell, Mr. 
 Moore became an associate editor with Mr. Bell ; and 
 during a brief editorial period he truly honored his 
 oflice, in the sensible and timely articles that came from 
 * his pen. As some of them are equally valuable at the 
 present hour as when he first gave them to the public, 
 they have been thought entitled to^a place in this work. 
 After the issue of the twelfth number of the Fountain 
 the paper passed into the hands of Rev. S. Cobb, editor 
 and publisher of the Christian Freeman, of Boston, and 
 was united with that paper. 
 
 The editor of the Fountain says of the first Sabbath 
 pastoral services of Mr. Moore in Lowell : " It was indeed 
 a good beginning. The discourses especially that one 
 of the afternoon were very appropriate, and were well 
 received by the congregation. The preacher is well 
 19*
 
 222 MEMOIK OP JOHN MOORE. 
 
 known in the Universalist fraternity as a good man and 
 a good minister ; and although our brethren of the Troy 
 society will lose the pulpit services of a worthy pastor, 
 we trust their loss will be gain to the cause in Lowell." 
 
 In his editorial salutatory Mr. Moore says to his 
 readers: "All that I can do for the promotion of the 
 cause of truth in the vicinity where I dwell, and in the 
 world, has been and shall be most cheerfully performed. 
 I would not labor merely for myself, but would feel that 
 I am so connected with my race that to do any of the 
 family of man a service is both a duty and a pleasure ; 
 that my destiny is linked with theirs ; that when they rise 
 in moral strength and glory, I rise with them, and when 
 they sink in degradation, I also am drawn down. There 
 fore would I do for others as I would have them do for 
 me. I ask of all who may read anything from my pen 
 to receive it as coming from a pure motive, a friendly 
 heart." 
 
 Soon after the beginning of his ministry here he com 
 menced a series of sermons to young men, which were 
 attended and received with much favor by large audiences. 
 A very serious accident befell him about this time. In 
 coming out of the First Universalist Church in the even 
 ing, he walked off the stairs, it being very dark, and fell 
 eight or ten feet, his head foremost. He. was very severely 
 but not dangerously injured. 
 
 After his attendance at the dedication of the High- 
 street Congregational Church in Lowell, he thus speaks 
 of the occasion : " The services seem to us very credit-
 
 MINISTRY IN LOWELL. 223 
 
 able to those who took part in them, as well as satisfac 
 tory to those who heard. The sermon, by the pastor, 
 Rev. Mr. Atkinson, was a scriptural discourse, plainly 
 preached, and listened to with marked attention. We 
 were much pleased to notice the very great change which 
 is apparent in the style of preaching now, as compared 
 with that of the same denomination twenty or even ten 
 years since. With the exception of a few denominational 
 phrases, we could endorse the sentiments of the sermon." 
 
 A letter of consolation to a bereaved ministering broth 
 er,* about this time, has much of his heart in it. An 
 amiable wife, affectionate mother, and faithful friend, had 
 departed. He had long known her excellent character, 
 and enjoyed her friendship, and that of her surviving 
 companion. Sacred is the tribute he pays to her virtue, 
 and wise and good the exhortation to his brother that he, 
 in this hour of bereavement, consult the riches of that 
 faith in the God of all grace, which he has so often been 
 permitted to dispense to others. 
 
 His remarks on the settlement of Father Jones with 
 the Gloucester society (the first Universalist society 
 organized in the United States) contain some thoughts 
 on the subject of a permanent ministry, which will bear 
 examination. The remarks were occasioned by the then 
 recent decease of that venerable minister of Christ. 
 
 "After Father Jones became too old and feeble to per 
 form the duties of the pastoral office, he still received 
 
 * Rev. L. Willis.
 
 224 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 from the society a comfortable support, notwithstanding 
 several of its members had left, in consequence of some 
 division among them a few years since. The old parent 
 society, true to their faith, continued to the last to fulfil 
 its promise to the faithful and beloved pastor. 
 
 " It is too often the case with the members of a society, 
 that they seem to forget their aged servants. Perhaps 
 one reason is that most of the members are young, and 
 of course have not become so fully attached to the old 
 minister as were their fathers and mothers. But, happily 
 for Father Jones, God spared him a goodly number of 
 those who helped to settle him, and who, knowing his 
 worth, and feeling.it not only a duty, but a privilege, to 
 see his wants supplied, gladly stood by him to the last 
 hour of his life. Their conduct is commendable ; their 
 reward great and satisfactory. 
 
 "There are few, if any, other instances in our denom 
 ination, where a minister has been settled for life ; which 
 renders the case under consideration somewhat more 
 interesting, perhaps, than if our clergy were generally so 
 settled. Whether that is the best mode to adopt, may 
 admit of a question ; and, still, there are some things in 
 favor of it. Such a plan could not have been adopted 
 by us as a people heretofore, owing to the scarcity of 
 preachers ; and even now there are but few sections of 
 our country where it could be adopted with propriety, 
 owing to the same deficiency. But, where it is practi 
 cable, the old Congregational fashion, of taking a min 
 ister as we take a wife, ' for better or for worse,' is not a
 
 MINISTRY IN LOWELL. 225 
 
 bad one. Such a course will undoubtedly become more 
 and more common with our denomination, as it shall 
 become more fully supplied with ministers. There are 
 some societies, even now, which would be glad to settle 
 for life certain ministers ; and there may be ministers 
 who would accept such an offer, if it came from the right 
 quarter, and, withal, accompanied with proper stipulations. 
 And, really, a society that should enter into such an 
 engagement with a good man and good minister would 
 not need the pity of anybody. If it should be satisfied 
 with the man of its choice, as it would most likely be 
 before closing the arrangement, it would not live in con 
 stant fear lest some rival society should entice him away ; 
 and he would not be apprehensive that a majority might 
 vote against him at the next annual meeting because he 
 had preached one or two exceptionable sermons, or had vis 
 ited too much or too little. And, then, there is something 
 so sacred in the friendship which a minister generally 
 forms with his people, that it seems almost sinful to dis 
 solve the connection which produced it. If we were to 
 go back and live our ministerial life over again, we would 
 abide by the first settlement, if we could, as the best 
 course for minister and people." There are considera 
 tions here which have brought the shadows over many 
 a minister's pathway, and hindered many a noble spirit, 
 who would have honored the ministry, from entering it at 
 all. Think of it, ye who would have the ministry 
 increased, and made strong and permanent. 
 
 The ordination of Rev. A. R. Abbott took place in the
 
 226 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 Second Church in Lowell, on the evening of the llth 
 of October. Mr. Moore was chairman of the ordaining 
 
 O 
 
 council. The part assigned him in the other services 
 was the Delivery of the Scriptures and Charge. Of this 
 part we can give no better presentation here than in the 
 language of the candidate himself who was that evening 
 consecrated to the work of the Christian ministry : "The 
 particular form of words in which he addressed me has 
 wholly passed from my mind; but the spirit of that 
 charge remains with me, and will, I trust, to my dying 
 hour. It was such a charge as none but the great and 
 gentle of heart could give. It was not ornamented with 
 the glittering tinsel of oratory ; there was no attempt at 
 brilliancy or display. It was paternal, earnest, Chris 
 tian ; an upgushing from the tender deep of a soul disci 
 plined to an eminent practical judgment, and sanctified 
 by the true spirit of the Gospel. I shall never forget the 
 dews of feeling that filled his eyes, and the slight quiver 
 ing of his clear and manly voice, as he pressed the holy 
 book to my embrace, and urged me, as a Christian min 
 ister of the great Reconciliation, to take that as my au 
 thority and guide. I think he had written out his 
 charge, but I am quite sure he did not follow his manu 
 script. Indeed, I do not see how he. or any one else, 
 could have written out such a charge as that was." 
 
 In October he attended the Merrimack River Associa 
 tion, in Amherst, N. H.. and preached a discourse during 
 the meeting : and in November he was present at the 
 annual session of the Boston Association, in Maiden,
 
 MINISTRY IN LOWELL. 227 
 
 where he preached also. Sunday, December 6th, he 
 writes : " Twenty-one years ago this day, I commenced 
 my ministerial labors as a public servant of God and 
 the people. And I here record the abundant mercy of 
 the Father to me in the preservation of life and health, 
 and in making me successful, by the power of his truth 
 and grace, beyond my highest expectations. I have been 
 able to preach each Sunday, with a single exception. 
 This day I used the same text, and presented the same 
 doctrinal views and practical requirements, that I did 
 twenty-one years since, on the day when I commenced 
 my ministerial labors. Grave a temperance address at 
 the City Hall, in the evening ; a host present. Thus 
 end the labors of my twenty-first ministerial birth-day." 
 In February, 1847, he enters upon his fiftieth year. 
 His birth-day thoughts are thus expressed in his journal : 
 " Is it possible that I have lived fifty years ? So say the 
 records. Well, I thank God for all the blessings that 
 have crowned my life, and pray that I may never enjoy 
 less, if it so please Him who is the author of all good. 
 May divine wisdom guide, divine power sustain, divine 
 grace cheer and bless me still, that I may do the will of 
 the Father while I live ; and when I die may I have the 
 assurance, as now, of God's unchangeable and unending 
 love." Soon after this, we find him communicating the 
 word of Christian sympathy and consolation to a dear 
 friend who had been called to part with one of the most 
 amiable of husbands, by death. The departed one had 
 also been on terms of closest and kindliest intimacy with
 
 228 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 the minister ; and he himself feels as a mourner, while 
 he would impart strength and hope to one far more 
 severely stricken than he. 
 
 "Lowell, February 13^, 1847. Dear Sister and 
 Friend : Your brother called this evening, and brought 
 us the very, unexpected and sad intelligence of the death 
 of your dear husband and our beloved brother and friend. 
 Can it be so ? Shall we no more meet him on earth ? 
 I cannot realize it. 
 
 "I am told that you were sick at the same time he 
 was, and saw him but once after he was confined. 
 Doubly distressing, under such circumstances, must the 
 event have been. Thankful am I that I can direct you 
 to the Fountain of consolation and peace. I pray you, 
 let the religion of your Saviour have its direct influences 
 now upon your heart, that you may be sustained under 
 this greatest of your trials. Trust implicitly in that 
 Friend who has hitherto sustained you, and who hath 
 promised to befriend all his children. Few of our race 
 in the connubial state enjoy so much in each other's 
 society as you and your husband have since your earthly 
 interests were united. And now that he is taken from 
 you in person, may you be enabled to commune in spirit 
 with him. Much of heaven is there to be enjoyed even 
 here on earth, by faith in the spiritual presence of de 
 parted friends. They live in the spirit world ; not in 
 some far-off region from us, but they may be ministering 
 angels of mercy to us while we remain on these shores 
 of mortality. And when we shall have finished our days
 
 MINISTRY IN LOWELL. 229 
 
 here, we shall join them in that spiritual state revealed 
 in the Gospel as the destiny of all who die in Adam. 
 Could my companion and I bear a part of the burden of 
 grief laid upon you, 0, how gladly would we do it ! but 
 we can only offer you our kindly sympathies. There is 
 one above whose love is infinite ; and to Him you will 
 not appeal in vain." 
 
 In this same month a meeting was called in Boston to 
 take into consideration the propriety of forming a State 
 Home Missionary Society. He was chosen chairman of 
 the meeting, and manifested a lively interest in this move 
 ment, and spoke with much fervor in behalf of it. The 
 meeting was a spirited and harmonious one, and resulted 
 in the formation of a state society, which afterwards 
 became incorporated by an act of the legislature. 
 
 In a letter to a friend during this chief winter month 
 of New England, there is so much of the true philosophy 
 simply and easily expressed, that we have no hesitancy 
 in giving it to the reader. It was evidently written in 
 the midst of such a scene as the author of "The Sea 
 sons" * had in mind, when 
 
 " The snows arise ; and foul and fierce 
 
 All winter drives along the darkened air ; " 
 
 and when, in the night-time, our letter-writer could say, 
 with the same poetic dreamer : 
 
 " Now, while the drowsy world lies lost in sleep, 
 Let me associate with the serious Night, 
 
 * Thomson. 
 
 20
 
 230 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 And Contemplation, her sedate compeer ; 
 Let me shake off the intrusive cares of day, 
 And lay the meddling senses all aside." 
 
 "February 22d, 1847. We are now enjoying a 
 real old-fashioned New England snow-storm. It came 
 all day yesterday, and continued to-day, and yet holds 
 on, as if determined that we shall have a winter here, 
 after all. I have had a long nap on the sofa this even 
 ing ; Mrs. M. has retired, and I am now as wakeful as I 
 wish to be. How you are, or where you are, I do not 
 know ; but presume you are somewhere in a comfortable 
 corner while the storm rages without ; and so I shall 
 write on just as though I were conversing with you in 
 our ' own hired house.' 
 
 " ' What a wonderful thing,' as our friend G K 
 
 would say, is a house ! Here we are, as comfortable as 
 though it was June, notwithstanding the severity of the 
 storm without ; and, but for the idea that some poor 
 body is suffering by it, I should love to hear the winds 
 rushing past, and the snow drifting against the windows. 
 As it is, I will enjoy it a little ; because my worrying 
 about the poor on sea or land will not help them to 
 night. So I will say to the winds, ' Blow on, so long as 
 ye pass me so harmlessly.' Now, if we could always re 
 tire within our own sanctum sanctorum when the storms 
 of passion, ill-will, envy, or any evil, rage ; or, when the 
 night of death seems to approach us, if we could then and 
 always, by faith, enter that ' house not made with hands,' 
 how well would it be for us ! And can we not do so ?
 
 MINISTRY IN LOWELL. 231 
 
 We account it the utmost stupidity in a mortal to forget 
 to 'go in when it storms.' And yet, how many are 
 there who do so, morally who remain without till they 
 are driven in only by exhaustion ! Then, perchance, they 
 think, how foolish to have remained without so long ! " 
 
 How full of truth is this thought of man's forgetfulness 
 of the Author of all good ! How little does he realize 
 his need of the sheltering wing of Omnipotence, until the 
 hardest of calamity is upon him ! How few have " the 
 soul's calm sunshine " in the midst of that moral win 
 ter through which all mortal life must pass ! How few 
 realize thp full meaning of that ancient declaration, "He 
 that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall 
 abide under the shadow of the Almighty ; " a shadow, 
 indeed, where the light, though subdued, is not obscured ; 
 but where the trusting heart sees Him "in whose presence 
 is fulness of joy," and with whom "is no darkness at all." 
 
 Some time in April he listened to a discourse in the 
 City Hall, by Rev. William H. Charming, on the " Des 
 tiny of Man on Earth," which he pronounced an eloquent 
 and excellent effort. He remarks upon it: "He com 
 pletely overthrew the whole foundation of the doctrine of 
 endless woe ; showing most clearly that man is a being 
 of growth, destined to perfection, like everything else in 
 the creation of God to perfection in reference to his 
 whole nature ; that the earth is the general theatre for 
 the development of all his powers which are particularly 
 adapted to this world. This he illustrated by universal 
 analogy ; by man's power over the vegetable, animal, and
 
 232 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 elemental kingdoms. His idea of Eden and the ' fall of 
 man,' as it has been called, was, that Eden was the state of 
 infancy, when the first pair reposed in perfect innocence 
 and peace there, as the infant does on the maternal 
 hreast ; that the change was necessary to the develop 
 ment of man's powers; as he was destined to subdue and 
 govern the earth and its productions, he must have expe 
 rience, as must the child before he can be a man." 
 These statements were very welcome to him who thus 
 makes record of them. They were confirmations of that 
 excellent faith which he had long believed himself com 
 missioned to declare to his fellow-men. 
 
 In June Mr. Moore was called to visit East Thomas- 
 ton, Me., and address a meeting of Masonic lodges in 
 that place. He complied with the invitation, and met 
 with a warm welcome from the fraternity in Maine. The 
 meeting was held in nature's own temple, there being no 
 church in the place that could contain the assembled 
 multitude. " Whether they came to hear me," he writes, 
 ^'or on account of another John,* we may not know 
 certainly ; but the company was a great one, of all ages, 
 sizes, and ranks. The dinner was an ample 'down 
 caster,' enough for seven times the number that ate : and 
 the tables were nearly filled. Thus, in forty-two hours 
 I travelled three hundred and seventy-five miles : eleven 
 hours in Thomaston; seventeen in a comfortable berth, 
 ( rocked in the cradle of the deep ; ' and the other fourteen 
 
 * It iras St John's Day.
 
 MINISTRY IN LOWELL. 233 
 
 in gazing at ( the manifold works of God,' not the least 
 of which is the sea, ( wherein go the ships.' To-day I 
 am modi exhausted. Speaking in the open air, with the 
 wind in my face, was hard work. Bat I went through 
 with it" One of the sentiments offered at this festival 
 was the following : " The Orator of the Day : A worthy 
 representative from the city of spindles. The web he 
 has this day woven, in the illustration of the spirit and 
 principles of our order, shows him to be ' a workman that 
 needeth not to be ashamed. 7 ?: 
 
 Speaking in his correspondence, about this time, of a 
 ministering brother, he humorously remarks : " We 
 
 did not see Br. M on his return. Poor man ! He 
 
 must have had a hard time of it Hope he is not sick 
 from his excessive labors of body and mind for the last 
 two weeks ! We poor ministers (I mean poor in purse) 
 have our trials, don't we? But what would the world 
 do without us? And what should we do without the 
 world? Mutually dependent are we." 
 
 By the month of June, this year, it began to be evi 
 dent to the mind of the pastor that the society with 
 which he was connected would not be able to Timintai^ 
 themselves in the work they had undertaken. The 
 debt which had been incurred in the erection of the 
 church was more than could be met and conveniently 
 managed by the society ; and added to this was die fact 
 that so great a diversity of opinion existed in the con 
 gregation, as to imdri it altogether improbable that 
 they could, for any length of time, unitedly agree in 
 20*
 
 234 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 the maintenance of a ministry of so judiciously conser- 
 ative, steady, and sound a kind, as that of Mr. Moore. 
 Had there been, from the beginning, a different ministry 
 with that people, such a ministry as the First and 
 Second societies in that city had enjoyed, a far differ 
 ent and more agreeable work -would have been before 
 him ; a third and noble society might have grown up 
 there. But the first ministry decided the question of 
 its life or death, its dishonor or glory. The new min 
 ister could not be long satisfied in the midst of such 
 conflicting elements, without the prospect of realizing 
 something like a peaceable fusion of them into one 
 motive and action in behalf of the cause of truth. With 
 these considerations weighing heavily upon him, he was 
 induced to ask his release as pastor of the society. 
 And this was granted him ; granted him, too, on the 
 most friendly terms. 
 
 On the fourth of July, this year, Mr. Moore, by invi 
 tation, delivered an oration before the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows, in Lowell, under whose direction a cele 
 bration of the day had been planned, and which was 
 carried out by them in a manner worthy the day, and 
 highly creditable to the fraternity. The oration of Mr. 
 Moore was fervent and patriotic; abounding in good 
 sense, and in profitable suggestions, as well as in national 
 self-compliment and praise. It elicited strongest proofs 
 of approbation from those who heard it. 
 
 About the time of his resignation in Lowell, he sig 
 nified his acceptance of an invitation from the Second
 
 MINISTRY IN LOWELL. 235 
 
 Universalist Society in Lynn, to become their pastor. 
 The Lord seeth not as man seeth. To human apprehen 
 sion it seemed as though that congregation in Lowell 
 ought to have had clearer perceptions of truth and duty, 
 and strength of moral purpose sufficient to have retained 
 such a friend for their leader and guide, as he would 
 have been to them. But the laws of the Infinite One 
 do not change; and the history of this society, under 
 the working of them, was but a new evidence of the 
 old truth, a truth applying to associations as to the 
 individual: " Be not deceived ; God is not mocked; for 
 whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MINISTRY IN LYNN. 
 
 THE ministry of Mr. Moore in Lynn commenced on 
 the second Sabbath in August, 1847. His discourses to 
 his new people on that day were upon the objects of his 
 intended labors with them, the means he should employ 
 in the prosecution of these labors, and the duties of the 
 society in cooperation with its pastor. He writes in his 
 journal of this day : " May the blessing of God rest on 
 the connection, and prosper the labors of both pastor and 
 people to the upbuilding of the cause of truth and love." 
 
 The character of Lynn was a peculiar one. A brother 
 in the ministry had thus spoken of it, not long before 
 Mr. Moore became one of its citizens : "I find a very 
 different state of things here from that in Connecticut. 
 There, there was too much conservatism ; here, there is 
 too much radicalism." It was one of the towns in New 
 England where many opinions, especially on reformatory 
 subjects, were represented ; where all shades of religious 
 peculiarities were seen, from the most bigoted Puritanism,
 
 MINISTRY IN LYNN. 237 
 
 to the hardest anti-churchism of which the come-outers 
 could boast. Our pastor knew his duty in the midst of 
 all these sects and anti-sects, and he proceeded to do it. 
 The Gospel which he brought with him did not change 
 by transportation. It kept its own, especially in his 
 ministry, and inspired him to faithfulness in the promul 
 gation of it, whatever strange fires might be burning 
 around him. His word and work here, as elsewhere, 
 answered to the apostolic declaration : " For I determined 
 to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him 
 crucified." 
 
 The First Society in Lynn had been established for 
 years. It was now under the pastoral care of Kev. 
 Merritt Sanford, formerly a neighbor of Mr. Moore, he 
 having been settled in Middletown at the time of the 
 ministry of Mr. Moore in Hartford, Conn. The second 
 society, of which Mr. Moore was pastor, was newly born. 
 It had a few years before been of the Christian connection, 
 and was now made up of materials needing to be united 
 and compacted together for the work of Christian truth. 
 The minister was ready to give himself to this work with 
 his people. His installation took place on Sabbath even 
 ing, October 3d. The Discourse on the occasion was by 
 Rev. A. A. Miner, of Lowell ; the Installing Prayer, by 
 Eev. D. K. Lee, of Salem ; Fellowship, by Rev. M. San- 
 ford ; Address to the Society, by Rev. E. Fisher, of 
 Salem; Concluding Prayer, by Rev. J. H. Moore, of 
 Warren. 
 
 As early as November 1st, after his settlement, he
 
 238 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 humorously writes, in a letter to a friend at Lebanon, 
 N. H. : " You see by the date of this that we are in the 
 well-known ' shoe town ' where ' Molly Pitcher ' used to 
 tell fortunes, and where we may expect to have our for 
 tunes told, if we do not leave here before ' Dame Fortune ' 
 shall make our acquaintance. Speaking of leaving, reminds 
 me of having lived, or rather 'stayed,' in Lowell, some 
 time since. You see the letter L seems to have a charm 
 for us, especially when it is used to spell the name of a 
 town. But it seems strange that a body of my dimen 
 sions should have made three removes within the short 
 space of two years. It is even so, however ; and who 
 will deny that I belong to the ' movement party ' ? 
 * * * * * * 
 
 " We find ourselves in a neat little cottage, just large 
 enough for us, with as many rooms as we really need, 
 and a cellar so dry that we use it for a wood-house. We 
 have also a garden, filled with choice fruit-trees in a 
 bearing state. All for ninety dollars a year. The min 
 ister's salary, seven hundred dollars. No getting rich 
 very fast in ' filthy lucre ; ' but we are ' well to live ' in 
 faith, and hope, and charity, and reconciliation, which, 
 on the whole, insures us much happiness. Would you 
 believe it ? Or, do you ask how can it be ? We answer, 
 come and see. We will tell you how to live on a small 
 income, and grow rich, and be happy. It is easily done 
 when you have learned the secret." 
 
 In the same letter he takes occasion to speak of the 
 death of Col. Ransom, of the United States army, who
 
 MINISTRY IN LYNN. ' 239 
 
 was killed at the storming of Chepultepec, on the eighth 
 of September. He was a personal and highly-esteemed 
 friend of Mr. Moore, and a gentleman of very noble 
 character. He had formerly been connected with the 
 Military School at Norwich, Vt, under the supervision 
 of Capt. Alden Partridge. His thoughts upon this death, 
 and upon the war which occasioned it, are given in 
 another part of this volume. 
 
 The annual session of the Boston Association of Uni- 
 versalists was held in Lynn, on the first Wednesday and 
 Thursday in November of this year. The occasional 
 sermon was preached by Rev. T. D. Cook, of South 
 Boston. Sermons were also delivered by Rev. Hosea 
 Ballou and Rev. E. H. Cbapin. The session, with one 
 or two exceptions, was an agreeable one. The subject 
 of Christian Fellowship came up for consideration; a 
 subject involving the rationalistic theology, which had 
 already manifested itself to some extent in a few societies 
 within the limits of the association. A more ample con 
 sideration of this question was proposed, at a subsequent 
 session of the association, in December, at Cambridge- 
 port. 
 
 In a letter to his son about this time, he has another 
 word about the philosophy of life. "I think I have 
 learned how to be happy. Would you be led into the 
 secret ? Here it is. Make the best of everything. We 
 can do this. No matter how many strange or perverse 
 ones there may be. Only be a man ; gather up your 
 strength, and say to your nerves, ' Be still.' Open your
 
 240- MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 eyes, and see Divine Providence, and all things working 
 out the accomplishment of his will and our good." 
 
 The special meeting of the Boston Association, already 
 mentioned, took place in the meeting-house of the Uni- 
 versalist society in Cambridgeport, on Wednesday, De 
 cember 1st. It was opened with prayer by Mr. Moore. 
 There were forty-two clerical and fifty-one lay delegates 
 present. The resolution, the substance of which was 
 discussed through the day, was finally passed in ,the fol 
 lowing form : 
 
 V Resolved, That this Association express its solemn 
 conviction that, in order for one to be regarded as a 
 Christian minister with respect to Faith, he must believe 
 in the Bible account of the life, teachings, miracles, 
 death, and resurrection, of the Lord Jesus Christ." The 
 resolution prevailed by a majority of sixty-one. The 
 discussion was an able one, and may be regarded as one 
 of the signal vindications, by Universalists, of the New 
 Testament evidences of Christianity. 
 
 On the return of his birth-day, in February, 1848, we 
 find this record in his journal : " Here comes my birth 
 day again, making me, in spite of my remonstrances, 
 fifty-one years old. Shall I live to see fifty-two ? None 
 but God can answer. I will not be anxious about the 
 time of my death, nor the circumstances attending it. 
 I have no doubt that it will come just in the right time, 
 and under just the right circumstances ; for God doeth all 
 things well. My greatest anxiety shall be to do my
 
 MINISTRY IN LYNN. 241 
 
 duty while I live. May heavenly wisdom guide me in 
 all things." 
 
 On Sunday, February 9th, Mr. Moore preached a dis 
 course to his people on the then recent death of Hon. 
 John Quincy Adams, in Washington. His tribute to the 
 memory of this excellent statesman was truthful and im 
 pressive, and the lessons which he drew from the charac 
 ter and life of the departed, sound and practical. 
 
 Some time in the month of March we find him writing 
 to a friend in reference to the revolution which had just 
 broken out in France. He felt, as did many other 
 Americans, when this new demonstration took place, that 
 it was more hopeful than the subsequent working of 
 events has proved it to have been. "What shalf we 
 think of the revolution in France ? Must it not be the 
 Lord's doings? Not lords temporal. What a change 
 has come over the spirit of that people ! God grant 
 them wisdom to maintain and establish their principles, 
 ' Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, 3 a blessed trio ! If 
 France shall establish and maintain a government based 
 on these principles, as set forth by Lamartine, within 
 fifty years there will be seen the beaming of the last 
 crown in Europe. The people will at length have their 
 rights. God speed the day ! " These indications, in 
 which our brother rejoiced, were unmistakable ones, 
 although the good shadowed forth in them may yet be 
 afar oif. 
 
 In a letter to a highly -esteemed friend, now some 
 what advanced in life, and with whom he long held cor- 
 21
 
 242 MEMOIR OP JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 respondence,* he writes, under date May 10, 1848 : "You 
 speak of your age, sixty-nine. Let me think ; I shall 
 be there, if I live eighteen years. How rapidly time 
 flies ! Well, let it pass. Our lives are long enough if 
 well spent, and quite long enough if not. What must be 
 the feelings of one who is ' without God and without hope 
 in the world,' where age and infirmities are taking the 
 place of youth and strength ? I think, if there is any 
 one condition more distressing than any other, it is that 
 of the aged man or woman who has made a god of any 
 of the things of this world ; who has spent the early 
 and meridian days of life in luxury and sin, without hav 
 ing become acquainted with God and his grace ; and, 
 when too old to engage in the active duties of life, has 
 nothing which will sustain and cheer the mind in view 
 of death. And such is the condition of many. I pity 
 them. They do not perceive their mistake till it is too 
 late in life to make the necessary arrangements for a 
 happy old age ; and hence their last days are not their 
 best, but are spent in useless and unreasonable complaints 
 against providence, when the proper training of the mind 
 in earlier life would have enabled them to have died in 
 peace, and full of hope in God." 
 
 In the latter part of June Mr. Moore visited Hartford. 
 He preached two Sabbaths to his former charge, and 
 during this absence from home, beside his private calls, 
 he visited several lodges of Odd Fellows, one Masonic 
 
 * Jabez A. Douglass, Esq., Hanover, N. H.
 
 MINISTRY IN LYNN. 243 
 
 lodge, a ladies' temperance levee, and a Masonic celebra 
 tion at New Britain, at which place he made a very 
 acceptable speech. He also delivered a public address at 
 the dedication of the new Odd Fellows' hall in East 
 Hartford. On the evening of the second Sabbath during 
 his visit in Hartford, he addressed the Washington Tem 
 perance Society in that city. 
 
 On the Fourth of July he joined in a temperance cel 
 ebration by the people of Lynn. There was a public 
 procession, and services in the First Methodist church, 
 where addresses were made by several clergymen of the 
 place, himself among the number. 
 
 The ordination of Rev. B. F. Bowles as pastor of the 
 Second Universalist Society in Salem took place on 
 Wednesday, July 12th. Mr. Moore was moderator of 
 the ordaining council, and took part in the public services 
 of the occasion. On Sunday, the 23d, he was present at 
 the ordination of Rev. Darwin Mott as pastor of the 
 First Society in Lynn ; and, for some days before the month 
 closed, was employed as one of a committee to whom was 
 referred a case of ministerial discipline, a case in which 
 he evinced, in a peculiar manner, his clearness of percep 
 tion, hi strict sense of justice, his firmness and devoted- 
 ness to truth and to duty. 
 
 In one of his friendly letters, about this time, he writes : 
 "I have just been out to attend the funeral of a little 
 child whose father is an intemperate man, and who has 
 left a home of but few attractions. To-morrow I am to 
 attend the funeral of a little boy, who was one of the
 
 244 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 most lovely children I ever saw, and whose parents are 
 among the most respectable of the place. Here we have 
 both extremes of society. To-day, a few poor neighbors 
 came in ; to-morrow, many of the more wealthy and ap 
 parently virtuous will be there to sympathize with the 
 family. Now, the causes of the difference in the condition 
 of these two families, living in the same street, may be 
 traced to circumstances over which neither had any con 
 trol ; and yet how differently are they regarded by the 
 world ! I have been led, innocently, to ask, Which of 
 the two families would have received most of the sympa 
 thy of our Saviour ? If there had been any difference, 
 would it not have been rather in favor of the poor one ? 
 So his Gospel would seem to teach. And yet how differ 
 ently from this do most Christian people see ! " 
 
 A correspondence was held, about this time, between 
 Mr. Moore and the committee of the Canton-street Uni- 
 versalist society, in Boston, as to the probability of his 
 acceptance of an invitation to become their pastor. In 
 the mean time he had been in consultation with the com 
 mittee of his society as to the prospect of their sustaining 
 him. After a very friendly and fair consideration of 
 the matter, it was decided that he would continue in 
 Lynn. 
 
 An article from the pen of Mr. Moore, entitled " Con 
 fidence in the Ministry," appeared about this time in the 
 Trumpet. It was a just vindication of the ministry 
 against the aspersions sometimes cast upon it by the rash 
 and inconsiderate ; and is a truthful exhibition of his own
 
 MINISTRY IN LYNN. 245 
 
 views of ministerial sincerity, dignity, and responsibility. 
 After stating three reasons why the immoralities of the 
 clergy appear so great, namely, the prominent position 
 they occupy, the expectation that they will always give 
 good examples in themselves to others, and the compara 
 tive infrequency of manifest vice in the ministerial char 
 acter, he says : 
 
 " When a clergyman makes a false step, the world 
 knows it. And, as the people look for examples from 
 the minister, if he fails in one thing, they regard him as 
 having failed in all things ; and when one clergyman 
 falls, all are suspected by some people, and the word goes 
 round, ' I have lost my confidence in the ministry.' And 
 so the whole profession suffers in the public estimation by 
 the sins of one. No matter who that one is ; no matter 
 to which of the denominations he belongs ; no matter how 
 seldom such an event occurs ; all who are regarded as 
 clergymen suffer more or less by that one defection. It 
 must be so from the influence of the social law ; and I 
 would not find fault with that law, nor with its penalty. 
 It is according to the arrangement of infinite wisdom, 
 that, if one member be degraded, all suffer on account of 
 that degradation ; if one be honored, all are elevated by 
 that honor. Nor would I murmur at the fact that min 
 isters are required to be 'examples to the flock,' and 
 therefore that they must occupy conspicuous and respons 
 ible stations ; but I would remonstrate against that un 
 reasonableness exhibited by some persons, who throw 
 away, as useless and blameworthy, a whole class, because 
 21*
 
 246 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 some of its members are corrupt, weak, or unstable. 
 Christ's ministry was just as important after as before 
 the treachery of Judas. The other disciples were not at 
 fault because Judas betrayed his Master. No more 
 should the true and devoted ministers of Christ now be 
 condemned, because, occasionally, some one of their num 
 ber betrays his weakness of moral principle by a departure 
 from a truly Christian course ; unless they winked at his 
 sin ; in which case they would become partakers of it, and 
 be justly condemned. Nor should any one suffer their 
 confidence in the ministry to be greatly disturbed, because 
 of the obliquity of a few, who, in an evil hour, it may be, 
 were overcome by temptation, and induced to take one 
 wrong step, and then, perhaps, were too short-sighted to 
 perceive the result, and continued on in that course, in 
 the delusive hope of being able to regain the path of vir 
 tue, without having it known that they had ever forsaken 
 it." 
 
 In October he journeyed to Vermont ; preached two 
 Sabbaths in Strafford, Vt, and one in Lebanon, N. H. 
 He was solicited by his friends in Lebanon to return and 
 make his home again with them. But he did not deem 
 it his duty so to do. In November he was present at the 
 annual session of the Boston Association in Lowell. On 
 the evening of the 15th of December he delivered an 
 address before the Daughters of Temperance in Kittery, 
 Me. 
 
 During the winter he labored assiduously with his 
 people. The meetings on the Sabbath were usually well
 
 MDTISTBY DT LYMf. 247 
 
 attended. A remissness in the payments of their does on 
 the part of the society, however, occasioned him not a 
 little anxiety. 
 
 In a letter to a friend in Hartford, dated March 12, 
 1849, he writes : "I often seem to see myself in your 
 streets, going in familiarly to your pleasant families, join 
 ing your social circles, attending your weddings, meeting 
 the children in the Sabbath-school exercises, ' preaching 
 the word,' encouraging the Washingtonians, standing by 
 the bed of sickness and death, and speaking words of 
 comfort to the mourner. These are the varied duties 
 which devolve on the pastor ; and where they have been 
 duly performed and appreciated, attachments have been 
 formed lasting as mortal memory." He adds: "What 
 is to be my future condition in regard to location, is 
 known only to the Infinite Mind. I have been twice in 
 vited away from here ; to Boston and to Lebanon. I am 
 now importuned to return to Strafford, Yt, our native 
 town, where I commenced my ministerial career, and 
 where rest the mortal remains of all four of our parents. 
 But I cannot say what will be the result Hitherto, I 
 have had but little to do in my movements. Providence 
 has ' led or driven 3 me, and I believe 'only where I best 
 and safest might abide.' : In the same communication 
 he speaks of the interest awakened by the theological 
 position taken by Dr. Bushnell, of Hartford. " What a 
 stir has this man made ! Xow, his views on many points, 
 as expressed in his book,* are precisely such as we have 
 
 Views of Christian Nurture.
 
 248 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 entertained and endeavored to promulgate for years. But 
 he comes out with them as something new, and his op- 
 posers think him heretical. Take one point, 'that of 
 ' Christian culture,' or the training of the young mind 
 into the life of Christianity, without any marvellous or 
 supernatural change. You and I have entertained these 
 views from early life. And so of other sentiments advo 
 cated by the doctor." 
 
 It was in the spring-time of this year that Rev. Merritt 
 Sanford departed this life. He had just made engage 
 ments with the Universalist society in Warren, Mass., to 
 become its pastor, and while preparing to remove thither 
 was taken ill. He went to Warren, not thinking his 
 illness would continue long, where he became worse, and 
 sunk rapidly. He died on the 22d of April. His death 
 was a loss to the denomination and to the Christian pub 
 lic. He was a faithful pastor, a hard student, a good 
 scholar, an earnest and true preacher, and one of the 
 noblest of men. His former parishioners in Lynn, on 
 hearing of his death, passed some very expressive resolu 
 tions in honor of him. 
 
 Mr. Moore was invited to go to Warren and attend 
 the funeral. The services took place on the morning of 
 Saturday, the 28th. On the afternoon of the same day 
 he was called to the funeral of the little child of his son, 
 it having died since he had reached the place. On the next 
 Sabbath Mr. Moore preached the funeral discourse of his 
 brother in the ministry to a deeply-affected audience. 
 
 Another "movement" is now contemplated by our
 
 MINISTRY IN LYNN. 249 
 
 minister, not without serious inquiries respecting his 
 duty. He accepts the call of his friends in Straiford, 
 Vt. ; and on the first Sabbath in May delivered his con 
 cluding discourse to his people, from that excellent bene 
 diction of the apostle : " The grace of our Lord Jesua 
 Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy 
 Ghost, be with you all, Amen." He had found some of 
 the worthiest of friends in this society ; and is still remem 
 bered there with deep esteem and affection. The pecuni 
 ary prosperity of the society has been greater since the 
 time of his settlement there. 
 
 Speaking of his connection with our ministers and peo 
 ple in the vicinity of Lynn, Rev. J. W. Putnam, of Dan-- 
 vers, has written: "Before me are the records of an 
 association known as the ' Essex Ministerial Circle.' 
 While his name frequently occurs, first in his well-known 
 autograph among the original signatures to the constitu 
 tion, and again as the second essayist of the circle, I am 
 reminded of the habitual cheerfulness with which he met 
 us at all times. His countenance, always one of the 
 happiest exponents of Christian peace and good- will, we 
 were accustomed to hail as a benediction upon the meet 
 ing. I have no recollection of him as a critic. His sug 
 gestions touching any fault of reasoning, or any blemish 
 of expression, were the spontaneous radiations of a heart 
 that could not wound more than the sunlight, that falls 
 with a spirit scarcely more beneficent. His removal from 
 the limits of the circle, of which he had been an esteemed 
 and active member, was an occasion of universal regret."
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MINISTRY IN STRAFFORD. 
 
 OUR brother found a warm welcome in his native town. 
 More than twenty years had passed away since he went 
 out from it to proclaim to his fellow-men the l ' unsearch 
 able riches of Christ." Many changes during this time 
 had taken place. Aged ones had gone to their long 
 homes, youth had grown to maturity, and a new gener 
 ation had started into being. The town itself, however, 
 was the same old place of his earlier days ; for changes 
 had not gone on as they are wont to be seen in the new 
 towns and cities which have, within the time of one gen 
 eration past, arisen in various parts of New England. A 
 home here was still a home in the country ; and hither 
 our preacher came from that city at whose feet the waters 
 of the ocean murmur, into this interior of the Green 
 Mountain State, where the free airs of the hills breathe 
 the freshness of forest and field, and the sun in his daily 
 coursing looks down upon a rural life of health, and 
 peace, and freedom. It was in this home, in the midst
 
 MINISTRY IN STRAFFORD. 251 
 
 of old and familiar scenes, that the minister was to find 
 new inspiration to his work of love, and new enjoyment 
 in the prosecution of it. 
 
 In a letter, written soon after he became fixed in his 
 new home, to his friend, Rev. Thomas Whittemore, of 
 Boston, he gives this account of himself, and of his minis 
 terial prospects : 
 
 " We arrived at our native town before tea-time, the 
 same day we left Boston ; which was a somewhat quicker 
 passage than you had the first time you came this way, 
 September, 1824, to attend the ' General Convention.' 
 That, you know, was the first time we met about a 
 year before I commenced my ministerial career. What 
 a glorious time we enjoyed ! You preached on that 
 occasion, and said (from Paul, as a text), "Though I 
 preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for neces 
 sity is laid upon me ; yea, woe is unto me if I preach not 
 the Gospel,' and I thought it an excellent sermon. In 
 fact, in those days, all the sermons were regarded as 
 excellent not because they were better than what we 
 now have, perhaps, but then we had so few preachers, 
 and opportunities for hearing the Gospel preached in its 
 purity were so rare, that to hear a discourse, even from 
 a beginner, was indeed a feast. Then, we gave a young 
 preacher credit for what he might become by study and 
 perseverance in his holy calling, as well as for the native 
 talent he possessed instead of demanding, as too many 
 do now, the wisdom of years from the young and inex 
 perienced.
 
 252 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 " Well, I preach now, two Sabbaths in each month, in 
 that same old-fashioned church, on that beautiful hillock, 
 now adorned with maple-trees. The pews, you know, are 
 square ; so that, if any prefer to sit back to the speaker, 
 they can do so. The pulpit, you recollect, is eight 
 square, elevated quite as much above the people, on the 
 lower floor, as any man could desire to be, if he had 
 any thought of benefiting them, OK of enjoying the 
 blessings of social life. The entrance to the pulpit is so 
 narrow as to remind one, every time he enters it, of the 
 ' strait gate ' of which we read ; and, to put the finishing 
 touch to the whole, there is the beautiful ' sounding- 
 board,' alias ' canopy,' suspended from the ceiling by an 
 ornamented iron rod, at the end of which is the repre 
 sentation of a hand grasping a staple attached to the 
 1 hand,' and thus holding it about twelve inches above the 
 head of the occupant of the said pulpit, if he be a tall 
 man. This ancient invention prevents the speaker's words 
 from rising, I suppose, before the people can get a clue 
 to their meaning. 
 
 ******** 
 
 " I have preached one Sunday in Montpelier, and 
 attended the meeting of the Central Association, at 
 Barre. Next Sunday I am to preach in Danville, the 
 shire town of Caledonia county, and go on to attend 
 the meeting of the Northern Association, at Burke. I 
 have a good horse ^>nd carriage, and at this season of the 
 year one can hardly be unhappy in riding through this 
 fertile and thriving state; which, being the eldest
 
 MINISTRY IN STRAFFORD. 253 
 
 daughter of the ' Old Thirteen,' who is the mother of 
 them all, is, without doubt, quite as independent in pecu 
 niary matters, and as liberal in her civil and religious 
 institutions, as any of her sisters. The spirit of Seventy- 
 six was breathed into her when she became a living state, 
 and she evinces the strength and permanency of early 
 impressions." 
 
 From a letter written to his son about this time, we 
 find that he had been troubled with some internal bodily 
 affection, which -we have no doubt afterwards became 
 more deeply seated, and finally terminated his life. We 
 subjoin a portion of the letter to which-we refer : 
 
 "We are in good health; your mother is highly 
 pleased with the atmosphere of the hills. I think she 
 will enjoy life very well this summer ; and I shall do 
 well enough anywhere; though she thinks I breathe 
 
 more freely here than when at Lynn. Dr. S 
 
 thinks my disease is an old one ; and yet the ' faculty ' 
 have been and still are at a loss as to the cause of it. 
 They suppose it to be an obstruction in the circulation 
 about the heart and lungs ; and when, as in walking, 
 especially up hill, the circulation is quickened, the pain 
 is produced ; but whether by a nervous, chronic, or 
 spasmodic affection, is uncertain. In some cases of 
 death, a post-mortem examination has shown no signs of 
 disease ; in which instances the affection was spasmodic. 
 I am quite free from any trouble of the kind now, though 
 I have walked to the upper village, going off 1 half a mile 
 up hill, to see the sick." 
 22
 
 254 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 Among his visits made about this time to the sick, we 
 notice one, in his journal, to an aged friend of the Free 
 will Baptist church, who seemed to receive much satis 
 faction from the interview. He felt that he was near his 
 earthly end. He remarked to Mr. Moore: "My faith 
 is the same that it was twenty years ago ; but I find that 
 the older I grow, the more charitable I become." He 
 desired that Mr. Moore should take his place in the 
 pulpit with the minister who was to preach his funeral 
 sermon, whether he was invited by others or not ; as he 
 wished to have it distinctly understood that he fellow- 
 shiped all Christians, irrespective of name. 
 
 In June Mr. Moore preached the sermon at the dedi 
 cation of the new Union meeting-house in Orange ; and 
 in July attended the Northern Association, in Burke, 
 Vt. On the 2d of October he preached the sermon at 
 the installation of Rev. J. W. Ford, in Springfield, Vt. 
 
 In his journal, about this time, he mentions an inter 
 view with a family upon which a large share of the 
 afflictive seems to have fallen, and from whose adversities 
 he draws one of the right conclusions. Many a misan 
 thropic mood has been broken up by the Christian con 
 templation of these darker scenes in the lives of others, 
 when we had supposed our own trials, for the time being, 
 the darkest of all. " Called on a sick woman. She 
 will die of a cancer. Her mother, over eighty, lives in 
 the same house with two sons, one deranged, and the 
 other drunk half of the time. The woman has a poor, 
 shiftless husband. A daughter of fourteen takes care of
 
 MINISTRY IN STRAFFORD. 255 
 
 her step-mother. A good place this to cure the 
 'blues.'" 
 
 It was in the beginning of autumn this year that he 
 had a brief illness, dysentery and fever, one of the 
 most severe he had ever experienced. He writes to hia 
 son : " Yesterday morning the weather changed to a fine 
 autumn atmosphere ; very favorable, I presume, to my 
 complaint. But I need not be disappointed if it takes 
 me all the autumn to regain my wonted vigor. My flesh 
 has wasted fast, and my strength is but weakness." His 
 physicians and friends deemed him in a very critical con 
 dition. They afterwards believed he had been saved from 
 cholera, and probably from the grave, by being in the 
 country. He afterwards wrote to a friend : "It was my 
 first, and if it is God's will I am satisfied to call it my 
 last sickness. Still, I learned much by the affliction." 
 
 Wherever Mr. Moore had his home, he held much 
 epistolary correspondence with those who were members 
 of societies of which he had been, pastor. Among the 
 letters thus written by him, not a few were of a consol 
 atory nature, called forth by the departure of some dear 
 friend to the spirit-land. Under date of November 4th, 
 of this autumn, we find a letter addressed to a young 
 friend whose husband had suddenly died, away from 
 home : , 
 
 " My afflicted Sister : Last evening I received a 
 
 note from Br. V , giving us the very unexpected and 
 
 grievous intelligence of the death of your dear husband, 
 and our much-loved friend and brother. Never have we
 
 256 MEMOIE OP JOHN MOORE. 
 
 been more distressed by any similar intelligence. Fre 
 quently, of late, have we spoken of your cheerfulness 
 when we saw you, of the pleasantness of your situation, 
 of your preparation to receive the returning husband, the 
 joyful meeting you must have, and to hear the sad 
 news of his death ! It was like having the cup of bliss, 
 as we were about to taste it, by sympathy, with you, 
 dashed away from our lips ! The thought is heart-rend 
 ing ; and were it not for the great conviction that God's 
 providences are all ordered in mercy, that He knows what 
 is best for us, and always does it, we should sink in des 
 pair. To Him, who ' seeth the end from the beginning,' 
 and ordereth all things ' after the counsel of his own will,' 
 may we be enabled to look. You have been sustained 
 under a similar affliction ; you will be sustained under 
 this. 
 
 " I seem to hear you say, ' Could he but have lived to 
 return and receive the parting blessing of his nearest 
 friends, it would have afforded us such comfort ! ' True, 
 indeed ; but Infinite Wisdom knew best, and it becometh - 
 us to bow with filial reverence and holy trust to the will 
 of Him who ' doeth all things well.' Your dear husband, 
 though separated from us by death, no doubt anticipated 
 meeting us all in heaven. He doubtless knew how 
 readily you all would have flown to his aid, had it been 
 in your power ; and that thought must have cheered him 
 in his decline. He also unquestionably found divine 
 support in his holy faith as the time of his departure drew 
 near. Let us, then, be comforted concerning him."
 
 MINISTRY IN STRAFFOED. 257 
 
 In no subject will the truly sensitive and faithful min 
 ister of the Gospel feel a deeper interest than that which 
 concerns the religious growth of his people. He knows 
 that they need this growth ; that a mere knowledge of 
 Christian doctrine, the holding of religious opinions, will 
 not make them true and living Christians, practical " fol 
 lowers of God as dear children." An angel may indeed 
 be near them ; but they are not careful to give him enter 
 tainment according to the apostolic direction.* The 
 angel remains a stranger. Their Christianity is chiefly 
 theory; their Universalism, the persuasion that ultimately, 
 in the future, God will save all men. This is their ideal. 
 What Christianity can and should do with men now, is 
 to them a thought which causes no stirring emotion, no 
 high aim, no strife for a true and noble life in Christ 
 Jesus. This is poor entertainment indeed for this angel 
 of the New Covenant ; such a neglect of his claims as will 
 cause the want and leanness of those who thus slight him 
 to appear. Perhaps no minister of the true Gospel ever 
 had stronger convictions on this subject than he of whom 
 we now write. In a communication to' a friend, dated 
 December 26th, he takes occasion to speak of certain in 
 fluences that had proved a hindrance to the work of truth 
 in the minds of some of the people within the field of his 
 pastoral and missionary labors, and to express his views 
 quite plainly in respect to that practical enforcement of 
 the word so needful in the ministry, that he who minis- 
 
 * Heb. 13 : 2. 
 
 22*
 
 258 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 ters may " both save himself and them that hear him." 
 " It seems that in some instances people have had too 
 much of mere opposition to orthodoxy in its various forms, 
 and not enough of inclination to be spiritually benefited 
 by religious service. Then, if particular sins are con 
 demned, it is too hard ! Then, again, if the preacher 
 succeeds in beginning to make any favorable impression 
 in his pulpit enforcements, it may all evaporate before 
 another meeting especially where the intervals are two 
 weeks or more. Wesley said, when speaking in favor of 
 frequent stated meetings, that in a certain place he had 
 commenced quite a good work among the people several 
 were converted ; but he was obliged to be absent two 
 weeks, 'and when I returned,' said he, 'where do you 
 think I found those converts ? pitching quoits ! ' Pity 
 that was not the worst act of professors of religion ! True, 
 it is somewhat hard for a man to pay for having his faults 
 pointed out, and that in public. But there is no other 
 right course for the preacher than to show up sin and 
 wrong in their actual deformity. He must do this, if he 
 would be faithful." 
 
 In the month of December Mr. Moore visited Boston 
 and vicinity, and preached in Dorchester, Mass., two 
 Sabbaths, at the request of the Home Missionary Society. 
 His reflections at the close of the year are thus recorded : 
 " God be praised for his mercy to us during all the past ! 
 And now that we are, ' if the Lord will,' to enter upon a 
 new year on the morrow, may the same mercy be con 
 tinued, according to the Father's will. May this will be
 
 MINISTRY IN STRAFFOKD. 259 
 
 done concerning us, and all the families of the earth. 
 May it be our study to be useful in our calling, exerting 
 such an influence as shall be salutary among the people. 
 The Lord save us from evil, and to his name be the praise. 
 Amen." 
 
 A new work on the Coming of Christ, from the pen of 
 Professor Crosby, of Dartmouth College, was attracting 
 some attention among Universalists and others, about this 
 time. It was a book evincing sound scholarship, and 
 much Christian liberality and candor, on the part of its 
 author. Mr. Moore thus speaks of the subject discussed 
 in it, in a letter to a friend : 
 
 " By the way, have you seen Professor Crosby's book? 
 If so, what do you think of it? My opinion is that in 
 the main he is correct. I have entertained similar views, 
 especially on the second coming of Christ, from the first 
 year of my ministry. Some years ago 3 brother Warren 
 Skinner published his ' Essays ' on that subject, taking 
 the same ground that Mr. Crosby has taken, particularly 
 on the second coming. The professor is right in this, 
 namely, that ' we never read in the Bible of the third 
 coming,' &c. My opinion is, that the coming of Christ 
 in his kingdom commenced in that age of the world, or 
 'end of the age,' and is to continue to come in all time, 
 to the complete accomplishment of the purpose of God in 
 regard to the salvation of the world. And I am inclined 
 to the belief that the resurrection is all a spiritual work ; 
 that those who are believers in the true Gospel are now 
 raised by faith, or quickened, or begotten by faith to hope
 
 260 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 in that immortal state brought to light in the Gospel. I 
 am not clear that Christ or Paul taught what some call 
 ' a literal resurrection.' They taught the great fact of 
 the future blessedness of man. and the resurrection of 
 Christ. Paul refers to this resurrection as the proof and 
 pledge of the immortality. I most fully believe that all 
 who die in Adam will be made alive in Christ. Those 
 who now believe in that truth are, by faith, thus made 
 alive, or quickened, while the unbeliever is dead. But 
 the believer has not attained to immortal life in Christ. 
 He only enjoys the hope of it. The blessing in its ful 
 ness is reserved for him in heaven. Most people are too 
 gross in their views of this matter. They do not rise 
 above the figures employed by Scripture writers, to the 
 thing signified ; but hold on to the figure as though that 
 were the reality, somewhat as did the Jews." 
 
 He writes again upon his birth-day : "I am fifty- 
 three years of age ; and every year grows shorter ! Dur 
 ing the past summer and autumn I have experienced the 
 first severe sickness of my life. But, through the good 
 ness of Him in whose hand our breath is, and whose are 
 all our ways, I was restored to my usual health. And 
 for what have I been spared while others have died ? 
 Doubtless that I may do good in this mortal state. It 
 cannot be that I was blessed with this life, or that it is 
 perpetuated, solely for my own individual good. I could 
 not enjoy life alone ; therefore I ought to contribute ' as 
 much as in me is ' to the good of those with whom the 
 Creator has connected me. May his wisdom guide, his
 
 MINISTRY IN STRAFFOBD. 261 
 
 power and love sustain me in my future course, that I 
 may finish that course with joy, and glorify his holy 
 name." 
 
 His thoughts in reference to the importance of Chris 
 tian doctrine, in connection with the Christian life, are 
 very clearly expressed in a letter to his son : 
 
 " March 2, 1850. I see you are following the fashion, 
 in giving 'a series of discourses.' Well, do not be wise 
 above what is written, but try to get at the meaning of 
 the Word. You know I have always regarded it of very 
 great importance that the human mind should possess the 
 truth ; or, that we should believe the truth, as the means 
 of a truly Christian life. I never have doubted the util 
 ity of this life ; but I have desired to have people under 
 stand the reason of their hope the basis of a Christian 
 life. I like the position taken by Mr. Gannett on this 
 point. The Unitarians begin to see that a man cannot 
 stand on nothing ; in other words, they perceive the neces 
 sity of having some positive doctrinal basis. There is, 
 or is not, positive truth. To learn this truth, and to prac 
 tise it, in its positiveness and simplicity, and to enforce 
 its practical influences by every possible means, is the 
 great duty of the Christian minister. The Unitarian 
 idea (now, I hope, becoming obsolete), on the one hand, 
 ' No matter about the faith if the life is right,' and that 
 of the more prominent churches, on the other, ' No matter 
 about the life if the faith is right,' like all extremes, have 
 been productive of evil; the latter leading to persecution 
 for heresy, and the former opening wide the door of seep-
 
 262 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOKE. 
 
 ticism. The medium is the true line. Faith is the 
 foundation of hope and of good works. Without faith 
 it is impossible to please God.' There are doctrinal 
 points clearly stated in the New Testament ; such as the 
 divine paternity ; human unity or brotherhood ; the divine 
 administration, rewarding, punishing, &c. ; the object of 
 the divine government, its absoluteness, and human free 
 dom; a sinless and glorious immortality. These, with 
 their ramifications, compose my creed. They all grow 
 out of the divine paternity." 
 
 His Lebanon friends were still' soliciting him to come 
 and be their minister again. He promised to consult 
 with them before concluding to change his place. He 
 soon afterwards informed them of an invitation received 
 by him from the Universalist society in Concord, N. H., 
 to become the pastor there, with which invitation he was 
 induced to comply. The call was a very cordial and 
 earnest one, and the position such as would enable him 
 to exert a wider influence for the truth than it was pos 
 sible for him to do in his present station. His short 
 ministry in Strafford had been a pleasant one, and it was 
 with deep regret that the friends there learned his pur 
 pose to leave them. But they knew he had consulted 
 conscience and duty, and the pastoral connection termi 
 nated in mutual feeling as kindly as it had begun. 
 
 The beginning of the month of May was spent in prep 
 aration to remove to Concord. Before commencing his 
 ministry there, he visited his son in South Reading, 
 Mass., and spent " anniversary week " in Boston. He
 
 MINISTRY IN STRAFFORD. 263 
 
 was present at the annual Universalist festival, which took 
 place, this year, on Thursday, May 31st, in Winthrop 
 Hall, on Tremont Row. William H. Richardson, Jr., of 
 Maiden, Mass., was president of the occasion. Very 
 timely and effective addresses were made, and none more 
 so than a short one from Mr. Moore. We regret that 
 this meagre outline is all that we have been able to obtain 
 of it: 
 
 " Rev. John Moore, of Concord, was then called on to 
 respond for New Hampshire. He said, as the hour was 
 late, and many of the friends were moving from the hall, 
 he would speak but a few minutes. It had been remarked 
 by one brother that ' he would not stand here to glorify 
 Universalism,' but he was willing to stand here and let 
 Universalism glorify him, and rejoiced that it was des 
 tined to glorify humanity. He thanked God that in our 
 views of Christianity we find all the incentives to duty, 
 all the means, and all the directions necessary to the suc 
 cessful prosecution of every true reform. He remarked 
 that New Hampshire was well represented here by her 
 native sons ; four of whom he observed sat together, on 
 the opposite side of the hall, namely, fathers Ballou and 
 Streeter, and brothers Adams and Miner. After paying 
 them a well-deserved compliment for their steadfastness 
 in the faith, their wisdom, prudence, zeal, and indomita 
 ble perseverance, he referred our younger preachers to them 
 as examples worthy of all imitation ; and concluded by a 
 brief reference to the character of the men of New Hamp 
 shire as evinced in their movements in the war of the
 
 264 MEMOIR OP JOHN MOORE. 
 
 Revolution ; and, if we will use the sword of the spirit, 
 the word of God, in the cause of Christian truth and hu 
 man happiness, as effectively as they did the sword of 
 steel in the cause of political truth and civil liberty, and 
 have an eye as single to the glory of God, and follow as 
 fearlessly the Captain of our salvation, as they did to the 
 glory of civil redemption, and as they followed their 
 leaders in that mighty struggle on which rested the smile 
 of God's approbation, we may be assured of abundant 
 success."
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 
 
 WE have already spoken of the importance of Concord 
 as a ministerial station. It is the capital of the state, and 
 most conveniently so from its central location. An active 
 and faithful minister of Universalism in this place is sit 
 uated so as to do much out of the limits of his society for 
 the promotion of his faith. He is enabled to speak to 
 many strangers from all parts of the state who are called 
 hither during the year ; and to go out as a missionary 
 into the surrounding country. Mr. Moore was well 
 qualified for this station, and he honored it in his dili 
 gence and zeal. Welcomed by his own people, he soon 
 gained the attention and respect of others. Among the 
 members of the clerical profession in the place, no one, 
 perhaps, was more highly esteemed than he. It was a 
 special pleasure to him to commence his residence in Con 
 cord in the family of one of his much-loved Lebanon 
 friends, Mr. J. P. Fay. He subsequently purchased 
 and occupied a dwelling-house on Green-street. 
 23
 
 266 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 TJniversalism had been preached in Concord, from time 
 to time, for many years. Frequently, during the session 
 of the legislature, some of its members would secure the 
 services of Mr. Ballou. of Boston, for a Sabbath, in this 
 place ; and, occasionally, other preachers would visit it. 
 In 1884 a society was formed here, and public religious 
 services on each alternate Sabbath were sustained. A 
 weekly religious journal, entitled The Star in the East 
 and New Hampshire Universalist, was issued here by 
 Messrs. Adams and Kimball, and edited by the writer of 
 this memoir, who also officiated as minister of the society 
 a part of the time, until the autumn of 1836. The min 
 isters after this were, Rev. E. Dow, in 1842 ; Rev. J. F. 
 Witherell, from February, 1843, to July of the same 
 year; Rev. TV. H. Ryder, from September, 1843, to 
 September, 1845. Afterwards Rev. T. Barren was the 
 minister during four years. He was succeeded by Mr. 
 Moore. A meeting-house was erected in 1842 on the 
 corner of School and State streets, where the new house 
 now stands. The one first built not being sufficiently 
 large, it was sold to a Baptist society, and removed to 
 another part of the city. The TJniversalist society was 
 reorganized on its present basis in 1842. Mr. Moore 
 commenced his public ministry on the first Sabbath in 
 June, 1850. 
 
 On the 19th of the same month he attended the New 
 Hampshire Convention of Universalists, at Nashua, and 
 was chosen moderator of that body. During the session 
 of the council, intelligence was received of the sudden
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 267 
 
 death of the wife of Rev. C. H. Fay, of New York city. 
 She suddenly disappeared from her husband and friends, 
 during a passage in a steamer through Long Island Sound. 
 It was supposed that in excessive mental depression she 
 had thrown herself into the water, where she was after 
 wards found. This account was received in sadness by 
 the members of the council, to most of whom the bereaved 
 husband and his companion were known. A resolution 
 was passed in the convention directing Mr. Moore to for 
 ward, in the name of its members, a letter of condolence 
 to the afflicted brother ; with which request he complied. 
 The letter is before us as we write ; and is a generous 
 outpouring of warm and soothing sympathy into a be 
 reaved and sorrow- stricken heart. 
 
 In October Mr. Moore attended the Merrimack River 
 Association, at Warner, N. H., and preached twice dur 
 ing the meeting. He also delivered a highly acceptable 
 address on temperance in the Unitarian church in Con 
 cord. In November he was called to Strafford to attend 
 the funeral of Mrs. Harris, wife of Hon. Jedediah Harris, 
 of that place. She was a daughter of Rev. Joab Young, 
 the former Universalist minister in Strafford, and was 
 one of the worthiest and most liberal supporters of the 
 religion she professed. Her companion, equally devoted 
 with her to the Christian cause, has since followed her. 
 Their house was always one of the "minister's homes" 
 of that region. 
 
 The first Sabbath in December was the anniversary 
 of his entrance into the ministry. He had been a
 
 268 MEMOIB OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 preacher of the Gospel twenty-five years. He took for 
 the morning service this day his first text, Matt. 10 : 7, 
 " As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at 
 hand." In his discourse he compared the past with the 
 present prospects of the cause nearest his heart ; dwelt 
 somewhat upon the three elements of the Christian king 
 dom, righteousness, peace, and joy; the great object 
 in enforcing its principles ; the character and aims of its 
 subjects ; and assured his hearers, in conclusion, that he 
 saw the same reasons for ministerial zeal and devotion 
 now as when he first went forth with the message of truth 
 and grace to his fellow-men. 
 
 Under date December 20th, in a letter to a friend, he 
 says of his ministerial life in Concord: "We are pros 
 pering in society affairs, I believe. Our meetings are 
 full, though the house is small for us. Last Sunday I 
 exchanged with the chaplain of our state-prison, Rev. Mr. 
 Smith (Methodist). Our people liked him much, and I 
 believe his people liked me. I have exchanged twice 
 with Rev. Mr. Woodbury (Unitarian), and have proposed 
 an exchange with Rev. Mr. Hewes, of the Methodist 
 church. We are to have a peace meeting at our church 
 on- Wednesday evening next; services to consist of 
 prayers, addresses, and singing." On the 27th of this 
 month he delivered an address at a Masonic celebration in 
 Newport, N. H. 
 
 On the evening of New Year's day (1851) the society 
 in full numbers made a visit to the pastor in his own 
 home, where they found a warm welcome. The tables
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 269 
 
 were bountifully and tastefully spread, and the social in 
 terviews very fully and freely enjoyed. The next day 
 the members of the Sabbath-school had a similar gather 
 ing and welcome at the same place. 
 
 His reflections on his birth-day this year bear evidence 
 of a peculiar seriousness : " I am now fifty-four; and I 
 here again make record of that divine goodness which has 
 followed me all my days. How great is the debt of love 
 and gratitude which I owe to God ! And the more I am 
 thankful, the more do I have to be thankful for ; so that 
 the debt is every day increasing. Now, what shall befall 
 me in the year to come, or whether indeed I shall live 
 another year, is known only to my Father in heaven. 
 Nor will I be anxious about the future. My anxiety 
 shall be to do my duty faithfully while I live on earth, 
 trusting in God for all I may need, in the firm convic 
 tion that ' the Judge of all the earth will do right.' ' 
 
 In a letter to a friend in Hartford, about this time, he 
 says of certain "manifestations," of which Mr. A. J. 
 Davis (then in Hartford) was the chief expositor : " There 
 is, indeed, something inexplicable just now in his^ doings, 
 and in the doings of others like him. But, as you very 
 justly remark, old views and practices and speculations 
 are now and then revived come up in new forms ; and 
 many people think they were never known before. How 
 often, since the Christian era, has Millerism, in its various 
 phases, been presented to the eager multitude of credu 
 lous persons, and always supposed to be new. Last Sun 
 day I preached from the words, ' The prophet that hath a 
 23*
 
 270 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 dream, let him tell a dream, but he that hath my word 
 let him speak my word faithfully ; what is the chaff to 
 the wheat, saith the Lord.' There is a great deal of 
 chaff in our world. Perhaps this makes the wheat ap 
 pear more precious." In the same letter he indulges in 
 a very generous and pleasing strain in reference to the 
 diversities of gifts in the ministry. ' ' There must be a 
 variety in the ministry. We should not condemn each 
 other because we are not all made alike, nor speak 
 slightly of those who are differently constituted from 
 us ; most of all should we not throw a single impedi 
 ment in the way of those who seem to be in advance of 
 us ; but rather rejoice that Christ is preached acceptably 
 and profitably to the people, even if not in our peculiar 
 style. I love to think of the apostle's words : ' Whether 
 Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or 
 death, or things present, or things to come; all are 
 yours ; and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is God's.' ' : 
 
 During a part of "anniversary- week," in May, we 
 find him in Boston, attending the meetings there, and 
 again making glad by his voice the hearts of his brethren 
 at the annual "Festival," which was held this year in 
 Washington Hall, Milk-street. Hon. Israel Washburn, 
 Jr., a newly-elected member of Congress from Maine, 
 presided ; who, after an opening speech which stirred all 
 hearts present, gave the following sentiment in honor of 
 the next state, geographically speaking, to his own. 
 
 "New Hampshire: Pure as the winds that sweep 
 her towering hills, and stir the surface of her silver
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 271 
 
 lakes and streams, be the breathings of that truth through 
 all her borders which shall make healthful and free the 
 hearts of her children in the cause of Christian Reform." 
 
 " The chairman remarked that, though the rocks of 
 New Hampshire are bleak and barren, her Moors are 
 bland and genial. 
 
 "Rev. John Moore, of Concord, N. H., responded. He 
 said it was usual, in numbering the states, to commence 
 with Maine and go down, and it was known that light 
 came from the East ; and we rejoice that she has given 
 to Congress a man [Mr. Washburn] who, we have seen 
 here to-day, will not hide his light under a bushel. For 
 the allusion to my own state, I will say, I hope the pure 
 atmosphere spoken of in the sentiment may be but the 
 emblem of that Gospel grace that is awakening there to 
 shed its purifying influence over us, and that it may 
 extend and widen until it shall embrace the whole Union. 
 
 "The moors of New'Hampshire the natural moors, 
 I mean are fertile. Those who have settled there are 
 what they are, and are doing what they can for the ben 
 efit of their race. The preachers of New Hampshire 
 have spread themselves over the Union, and it is to be 
 hoped they will not prove any worse than the political 
 lights that have done the same. The speaker spoke of 
 the blessings of this reunion, and hoped that many such 
 might be enjoyed." 
 
 This, again, is but an apology for a report of the 
 speech ; but it is all of it we have been able to call up 
 from the past. The speech itself was one of the happiest
 
 272 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 efforts of the speaker, and was remembered with pleas 
 ure, and spoken of in highest terms of approval by the 
 company to whom it was addressed. 
 
 The N. H. State Convention was held this year in 
 Enfield, in June. Mr. Moore was moderator of the 
 meeting, and preached the occasional sermon. In Au 
 gust he visited Strafford, Vt. and vicinity, and preached 
 one Sabbath in Bath, N. H. He .received a very urgent 
 request to attend the State Convention in Hartford, Ct, 
 but declined on the ground of duty, believing that his 
 presence would be more needed at the Grafton Associa 
 tion, in "VVarren, N H. ; which last-named meeting he 
 accordingly attended. In the month of September he 
 visited Strafford again, and here met all his brothers and 
 their sister a meeting such as they had not for many 
 years enjoyed. He had the pleasure of preaching to this 
 family band on the next Sabbath after their assembling, 
 in their native town. This morfth he attended, also, the 
 United States Convention, held in Boston, one of the 
 largest denominational gatherings that had ever taken 
 place. Some time in December, he delivered the first of 
 the "Rumford Lectures," in Concord. 
 
 Our pastor had not only a strong attachment to home 
 and home scenes, but was quite domestic in his habits. 
 He was usually in readiness for anything like house-job 
 bing, furniture-repairing, making alterations, or "put 
 ting things to rights." After a day's work of this kind, 
 he writes : " This business I like. I have the taste, or, 
 phrenologically, the bumps for it." He was an aid at
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCOED. 273 
 
 home in every sense, and never a hindrance. Although 
 the indulgence of this propensity on his part was some 
 times judged by others, more fastidious than himself, to be 
 a little derogatory to ministerial dignity, we are inclined 
 to believe that such judgment never gave him any unea 
 siness. A friend, in a strain of pleasantry, says : " Some 
 people, in one of the societies where he was settled, were 
 unpleasantly affected by the fact of his assisting in 
 hanging out and taking in clothes on washing-days ! 
 Well, that certainly is an amiable trait of character in 
 a minister, not to make a 'blue Monday,' but, when the 
 ' blue ' is all in the clothes, to lessen the horrors of 
 washing-day by taking to the lines. He surely gave ' line 
 on line ' of practical demonstration that he was useful at 
 home, and at least a yard of illustrations of his hu 
 mility." He writes in his diary, under date of Decem 
 ber 27th, of this year: " To-day I am nurse, cook, er 
 rand-boy, wood-sawyer, husband, minister, etc. etc." 
 And he was "at home" in all these capacities. We 
 scarcely need add that his home was one of the happiest, 
 always. He was blest with a companion eminently 
 qualified to be a helpmeet to him, and to whose pru 
 dence, economy, and faithfulness, he attributed much of 
 the enjoyment and success of his life. 
 
 At the close of the year he writes : " The good and 
 the evil of 1851 are finished, although not the results of 
 them. May a merciful God accept the right and forgive 
 the wrong in me ! The past has been one of our happiest 
 years, for which let us be devoutly thankful to God.
 
 274 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 May a rigid self-examination enable me to see my errors 
 and reform them ; to perceive the right and pursue it. 
 Into thy hands, heavenly Father, would we renewedly 
 resign our all for time and eternity." 
 
 The new year opened to him propitiously. On the 
 15th of January he attended the dedication of the new 
 Union meeting-house in West Fairlee, Vt. There was 
 a great gathering of people on the occasion. Two ser 
 mons were delivered ; one by Rev. D. Smith (Freewill 
 Baptist), and the other by Mr. Moore, both during one 
 service. The prayer of dedication was offered by Rev. 
 Eli Ballou (Universalist). On the 23d he attended the 
 Common School County Convention, at Chichester, and 
 took an active part in the meeting. 
 
 " In looking over the past," he writes on his birth-day, 
 li I am overwhelmed with a sense of God's mercy in the 
 preservation of my life, my health, my reason ; in the 
 rich manifestations of his grace and truth ; in preserving 
 me from great sins ; forgiving those I have committed ; 
 granting me favor with the people ; supplying my temporal 
 wants ; giving me the blessed hope of the Gospel. May 
 the sense of filial gratitude which now fills my whole 
 soul be accepted of Him who is the Giver of all good. 
 If this shall be my last year of earthly labor, may I be 
 faithful ! " On the 24th of this month (February) he 
 attended a mass temperance convention at Meredith 
 Bridge, and spoke an hour. 
 
 Rev. H. B. Soule was Mr. Moore's successor in Hart 
 ford, Ct. At the close of a brief ministry in that place,
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 275 
 
 he removed to Granby. On his way to Lyons, N. Y., he 
 was taken ill, and died in the last-named place. He left 
 a large family. Mr. Moore was deeply affected by this 
 event. He writes*, in one of his letters to a friend in 
 
 Hartford : "How did you find Mrs. S and her little 
 
 ones ? I have thought and still think very much of her 
 great affliction. But I am comforted by the fact that 
 she is so well provided for. What a noble act is that of 
 the society in Granby, and in Boston, but especially that 
 in Granby, as the members of it must have made a 
 greater sacrifice than those in Boston, because of the 
 difference in numbers and wealth. I do think that act 
 of our Granby friends, all things considered, one of the 
 noblest of truly Christian benevolence on record. God 
 bless them in their work of love ! " In another epistle 
 to a ministering brother, who had sent him a printed copy 
 of a funeral sermon, he writes : "I thank you much for 
 that sermon. I like its doctrine, its spirit, its gospelness, 
 if I may coin a word. How much gloom and misery 
 might the world be saved from, if the people could 
 receive such views of death and the future ! As it is, 
 with many, this life is robbed of more than half its pleas 
 ures through fear of death, which, as you justly observe, 
 is one of the arrangements of Providence, and therefore 
 should be regarded as one of the links of that great chain 
 of events which is to draw all mankind up to God and to 
 glory. I try to make my friends see and feel this while 
 in health and prosperity." 
 
 The New Hampshire State Convention met in June
 
 276 MEMOIR OP JOHN MOORE. 
 
 this year at Claremont. Mr. Moore attended it, and on 
 his way delivered, by request, a lecture on temperance 
 at Newport. He preached the first discourse at the con 
 vention. On the 17th of the same month he was present 
 at a dedication in Springfield, N. H., of which he gives 
 the following account in a letter to the editor of the 
 Trumpet : 
 
 "BR. WHITTEMORE: Permit me to give a short ac 
 count of a visit to Springfield, N. H., on the 17th inst. 
 I had been invited to attend a Union dedication, or the 
 dedication of a Union meeting-house in this place, which 
 proved to be a Union dedication, so far as I could judge 
 by the spirit there manifested. The meeting occurred on 
 the last day of our convention at Claremont, which would 
 not have been the case, if our friends in Springfield 
 had known sooner of the meeting of the convention. 
 
 "It was with great reluctance that I left the conven 
 tion on Wednesday, at six p. M., for I perceived, or 
 thought I did, that the session would be a joyous and 
 profitable one ; but I had the consolation of leaving it in 
 good hands, and of acting from a sense of duty. I 
 arrived at Springfield, after spending the night at New 
 port, with my old and excellent friends, brother E. Wy- 
 man and family, just in season for the morning services, 
 which were performed by five different clergymen, and a 
 very large and well-disciplined choir, under the charge 
 of Mr. Hodgdon, of this town, which added much to the 
 devotion of the occasion. The morning sermon was given 
 by Rev. Professor D. Noyes, of Dartmouth College. It
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 277 
 
 was listened to with perfect attention, notwithstanding 
 the crowd. The object of the sermon was to answer the 
 objection brought by some against Christianity, namely, 
 its cost. This he did most effectually, by showing the 
 difference between ' the cost of supporting the kingdom 
 of Christ and the kingdom of Satan.' And by the 
 abundance of statistical information which he presented, 
 he must have convinced all present that, in every sense 
 of the word, it is vastly more economical to serve Christ 
 than it is to serve Satan ; and in regard to morality, re 
 ligion, civilization, and human progress, the difference 
 cannot be computed. My discourse in the afternoon was 
 designed to show the importance and utility of public 
 Christian worship; which followed that given in the 
 morning quite appropriately, and was listened to with 
 perfect attention and great patience. 
 
 "That day, to Springfield, was a season of refreshing 
 from the presence of the Lord, in more senses than one. 
 The people seemed to be of one heart and one mind ; and 
 just after the commencement of the afternoon services, 
 the earth began to drink in the most delightfully refresh 
 ing rain that you can imagine ; which put a new and 
 smiling face upon that ' hill country,' and which was re 
 flected by the smiling faces of the worshippers." 
 
 On the 5th of July Mr. Moore delivered a temperance 
 address in Norwich, Vt. In his diary about this time 
 he speaks thus of the biography of Rev. Stephen R. 
 Smith, by Rev. Dr. Sawyer, which he had just been 
 reading : "1 have never read the life of any man that so 
 24
 
 278 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 captivated me. I have never seen so much of the son, 
 and brother, and husband, and father, and man, and min 
 ister, and friend, and Christian, in one person, as I per 
 ceive in that noble specimen of humanity. Few men 
 have lived who evinced such a rare combination of all 
 that goes to make up the perfect man. May this excel 
 lent book be profitably read by thousands." He also 
 writes in reference to his own increasing love of his pro 
 fession : " May the blessing of God follow my exertions 
 here. If I cannot do good to this people, may circum 
 stances transpire which shall remove me to another field 
 of labor. Never, in the whole course of my ministry, of 
 more than twenty-six years, have I felt a stronger desire 
 to do something for the good of mankind. May God 
 kindly direct me, and glorify himself in my work ! " 
 
 In a communication to the Trumpet, date August 
 7th, he writes of a visit to Bristol. N. H., as follows : 
 
 " On the last Sunday in July my friends in Concord 
 allowed me leave of absence, and by invitation I visited 
 Bristol, for the purpose of preaching there ' the glorious 
 Gospel of the blessed God.' The day was very pleasant, 
 the atmosphere delightfully clear and cool ; and at the 
 usual hour for the morning service I repaired to the new 
 town-house, which answers every purpose of a church ; 
 where I met a goodly number of friends from that and 
 the adjoining towns ; among whom was a good choir, 
 whose services added much to our devotional feelings, 
 preparing us to worship God in spirit and in truth, both 
 morning and afternoon. At five o'clock p. M. I gave a
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 279 
 
 lecture on temperance, in the same place, to a very full 
 and attentive audience ; the several clergymen of the vil 
 lage being present, two of whom assisted in the devotional 
 services. 
 
 " Seldom have I enjoyed a Sabbath's labors more high 
 ly ; my mind was carried back to the days of my early min 
 istry, when I occasionally preached in different parts of 
 that (Graf ton) county, when the believers in the com 
 mon salvation used to ride some twenty miles to hear the 
 word ; and when the time of the minister was almost 
 wholly occupied, from morning till late in the evening,. in 
 conversation on the things of the kingdom ; and I almost 
 desired to live those happy days over again. There are 
 more or less Universalists in all the towns in this state ; 
 but in many of them they are like sheep without a shep 
 herd, and are scattered. 
 
 " Bristol is a most romantic village, at the terminus of 
 a branch of the Northern Railroad, thirty miles north of 
 Concord, surrounded by Bridgewater, Hebron, Alexan 
 dria, New Hampton, and Hill. In most or all of these 
 towns there are leading men who favor our sentiments, 
 and not a few who are, and have long been, firm believ 
 ers in the great salvation ; but, like many others in this 
 state, are so scattered, as to render it inconvenient to come 
 together, and they have meetings of their own liking but 
 seldom. 
 
 "I perceive that the Grafton Association is to meet, 
 September 1st and 2d, at Thornton, in Grafton county, a 
 short distance from Plymouth, and on the direct route to
 
 280 MEMOIK OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 the White Mountains ; and in behalf of our people there 
 I would invite any and all of our friends who may be 
 journeying in that section to attend that meeting. Our 
 brethren in Thornton will be most happy in entertaining 
 all who may visit them. Let us go up and assist them 
 on that anniversary occasion. We may not only serve 
 our friends there, but receive great good." 
 
 In August he was called to Hartford, Ct., to attend 
 the funeral of Mrs. Maria T. Skinner, wife of Rev. 
 Joseph 0. Skinner. Mrs. Skinner had been a member 
 of the Sabbath-school, at Hartford ; had been baptized 
 and received into the church there while Mr. Moore was 
 pastor ; and the marriage had been solemnized by him in 
 that city some years before. The faithful minister thus 
 expresses himself, some time afterwards, in a letter to the 
 bereaved husband, to whom, in earlier days, he had 
 preached the first Universalist sermon which that hus 
 band heard : 
 
 " MY DEAR BROTHER : Yours of the 18th inst. came 
 to hand this morning. I had not heard from you, except 
 that you returned to Vermont, since I left you so sud 
 denly in Hartford. I came home safely, and found my 
 family in usual health. You speak of your loneliness, 
 which is as we should expect. Mrs. Moore this moment 
 remarked that you must feel lost without Maria, as she 
 was so much company for you. But you can bring back, 
 by the mysterious power of memory, those happy hours 
 you have passed together, and live them over again, in 
 spirit ; which will beguile the tediousness of the present,
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 281 
 
 and which will serve to make you more spiritually minded. 
 This you unquestionably do. I am glad to perceive in 
 the tone of your letter that calm resignation to the will 
 of God, which naught save faith in his boundless good 
 ness can give. ****** 
 
 " The providence which has, as in a moment, blasted all 
 your earthly hopes, is dark and trying. But that it is 
 merciful, as well as just, I have not a doubt. Yes, 
 brother Skinner, that event was ordered in mercy, both 
 to you and the dear departed ones. Never doubt it. 
 You do not. The smile of joy shall yet fill the eyes that 
 have so often wept tears of sorrow. What is before us 
 we know not, nor should we be anxious to know. Let 
 us strive to make the most of the present, by ' working 
 while it is day,' that we may not only enjoy the present 
 approbation of God, but have the holy satisfaction of re 
 flecting that we have not lived in vain. To do good in 
 the world should be our great object. The older I grow, 
 the more do I think of this great duty DO GOOD. I 
 never possessed so great a desire to do some good in the 
 world as now. May heavenly wisdom guide us ! 
 
 "My sympathy? Yes, you have it, and that of my 
 companion too. When you sent for me, though I was 
 absent, neither she nor my son thought of anything else 
 but that I must go ; and when I returned, and it was un 
 certain whether I could get there in season, they both 
 said, 'Go.' Brother Skinner, I sometimes wonder why 
 it is that my friends think so much of me and my poor 
 services. But so it is. Still, I am not conscious of 
 24*
 
 282 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 doing anything more than they have a right to expect, 
 and sometimes feel that my strength is very weakness 
 itself. God is good, nevertheless." 
 
 His interest in one of the societies of which he had been 
 pastor, and his just views of the duty of a religious 
 society to cooperate with their minister, are thus ex 
 pressed in a letter to a member of that society, date 
 August 19, 1852 : 
 
 " I have no doubt that you will be pleased with brother 
 
 T . He is zealous and true-hearted, and will do all 
 
 he can for the prosperity of your society. But I do hope 
 the people will not depend too much on him, or on any 
 thing else, for permanent prosperity, save their own en 
 deavors to carry out the principles of our faith, and the 
 blessing of God. I hope you will try to have our friends 
 realize the position in which this movement places them, 
 the amount of devotedness which is required at their 
 hands. All eyes will be turned upon them ; high expect 
 ation raised all around. And if this project fails, it will 
 be bad for the society, for the cause of truth, and for 
 those engaged as its public defenders. You must not 
 fail. 
 
 "A splendid church, a talented and eloquent minister, 
 a good choir, and high salaries, all sound very encourag 
 ingly, and no doubt do much towards making a full con 
 gregation. But, as you observe, these are not all the 
 necessaries required in the permanent upbuilding of a 
 good religious society. The people must have a mind 
 to work."
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 288 
 
 The Grafton Association held its annual session in 
 Thornton, on the 2d of September. Mr. Moore had 
 invited other ministers to attend. He was present, and 
 preached, on the occasion, a long discourse to a deeply- 
 interested audience. He also attended the United States 
 Convention, which held its meeting this year in the city 
 of New York. In October he attended an association in 
 Dunbarton, N. H. He received, about this time, an 
 urgent invitation to engage as a state missionary in Con 
 necticut, but declined, and recommended to the attention 
 of those who invited him Rev. Abraham Norwood, who 
 was subsequently engaged, and the success of whose min 
 istry has since evidenced the wisdom of the recommend 
 ation. 
 
 During this year Mr. Moore preached, on the Sabbath, 
 in Salisbury, Washington, Weare, and other places in 
 New Hampshire; and was probably as diligent and 
 effective in his ministry as in any former year of it. He 
 writes in his diary, on the last day of the year : 
 
 "How eventful has been the year closing with this 
 day ! Several leading men have been removed by death ; 
 Rev. Hosea Ballou, one of the greatest of theological 
 reformers that have appeared since the apostolic age; 
 Hon. Henry Clay, and Hon. Daniel Webster, both men 
 of vast powers and influence ; the former at his death a 
 member of the American Senate, and the latter Secretary 
 of State of the United States ; men whose places can 
 not be filled, especially the first and last named. Mr. 
 Webster possessed the most powerful intellect of the age.
 
 284 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 " Thus we close this year under a grateful sense of 
 the divine goodness, and our high obligations to God for 
 life and all its favors ; and enter upon a new year full of 
 trust in Him who has hitherto heen our help." 
 
 On the first Sabbath in January Mr. Moore took for 
 the subject of his morning discourse, The Worth of the 
 Bible. The occasion of the topic at that time was the 
 presentation of a new and elegant Bible to the society, to 
 be used in the pulpit. His text was, " Search the Scrip 
 tures : for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they 
 are they which testify of me. 1 '' John 5 : 89. The dis 
 course is a clear and manly vindication of the Scriptures, 
 showing their worth in their historical, literary, and 
 moral aspects, and especially in their revelation of immor 
 tality for man. We give a passage or two from the 
 introductory remarks : 
 
 " If a friend should present us with the record of the 
 will of some benefactor, who had bequeathed to us a life- 
 estate of such an amount as would secure to us all the 
 comforts and conveniences which our circumstances might 
 demand ; which record was the proof to us of the benevo 
 lent disposition of the donor, as also of his ability to per 
 form the promise ; we should regard it as a present of 
 great value, indeed. And we should be delighted in 
 reading that record again and again. Especially if we 
 were ever in doubt in regard to the supply which we 
 might feel that we needed, should we recur to the record 
 and search it. 
 
 " Or, if we were travelling in a strange country, and
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 285 
 
 some one should put into our hand a guide-book, in which 
 was delineated, as on a map, the most agreeable path, ia 
 which we might find all that our best good required ; 
 which also pointed out all the dangers of the way, giving 
 particular and plain directions, by observing which we 
 could feel assured of freedom from any dangers ; should 
 we not regard the gift as a favor ? And should we not 
 often consult its directions ? Need I press so plain a 
 question ? Now, the Bible is a record of the will and 
 purpose of God our Father respecting our duty and des 
 tiny, giving us the assurance of his divine protection in 
 all the journey of human life, and even through the 
 valley of the shadow of death, so that we may fear no 
 evil." 
 
 On the 2d of February he went to North Enfield, to 
 attend the dedication of a new meeting-house there, and 
 preached the sermon on the occasion. On Wednesday, 
 March 5th, he preached three discourses in Barnstead, 
 and afterwards spent a Sabbath in a similar service in 
 that place. 
 
 The month of May finds him again in Boston, at the 
 anniversary meetings. We hear of him again, too, at 
 the festival in Faneuil Hall. It was a large meeting, and 
 one of the best held in the city during that great week. 
 Mr. Charles F. Eaton, of Boston, presided. A senti 
 ment complimentary to New Hampshire having been 
 given, Mr. Moore arose and said : 
 
 "The last speaker (Mr. Willis) being a New Hamp 
 shire man, it was scarcely time to hear from that state
 
 286 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 again. There was one word in the sentiment which had 
 been offered that moved his heart more than any other, 
 it was the word universally. ' When a boy, I could 
 not read that word without a thrill of joy ; and now that 
 I have become a man, in stature at least [weight, two 
 hundred and forty pounds], I have not put away that 
 childish thing.' The speaker thus went playfully on. 
 He spoke of the eternal hills of New Hampshire, and com 
 pared them to the everlasting promise of God. 
 
 ' Engraved as in eternal brass, 
 
 The gracious promise shines ; 
 Nor shall the hand of time erase 
 Those everlasting lines.' 
 
 He referred to the sentiment of Dr. Benjamin Rush, in 
 his letter to Elhanan Winchester, written in November, 
 1791. 
 
 "Mr. Moore concluded by saying that Universalism 
 put into our hearts the principle of universal freedom, 
 universal love. Christians used to be willing to wait for 
 these things until they entered the eternal world. For 
 his part, he panted for universal freedom now, universal 
 love now, he could not wait, now, NOW is the ac 
 cepted time, NOW is the day of salvation. He 
 closed with great power, and was followed with great 
 applause." 
 
 Such is the small report from the papers of the day of 
 a great and strong speech. 
 
 Some thoughts expressed to his son, about this time,
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 287 
 
 in reference to a change of place which the son had con 
 templated, are characteristic of the man and the parent : 
 " If, after duly weighing the subject all around, you feel 
 moved to go, and can do so honorably, then go ; but not 
 otherwise. I had rather you would die than do a dishon 
 orable act. You need not be .so anxious about a living, 
 as about living right. May God guide you in all 
 things ! " 
 
 On the morning of June llth, while bathing, Mr. 
 Moore was attacked with paralysis in his right arm, 
 which rendered it perfectly powerless, slightly affecting 
 his right side. It was the first shock of the kind he had 
 ever experienced, and caused some serious apprehension 
 on the part of himself and family as to what it might 
 indicate. In a few days the trouble subsided. But so 
 strong was the impression made upon Mr. Moore, that he 
 could not deem his duty done without some word in ref 
 erence to the event, addressed to his friends. Accord 
 ingly, we find in the Trumpet of June 25th the follow 
 ing epistle from his hand : 
 
 FRIENDLY EPISTLE. 
 
 " BR. WHITTEMORE: By your permission I would, 
 through the medium of the Trumpet, say a word to my 
 friends and brethren scattered abroad throughout our 
 beloved country. I am moved to this course by the 
 attack of paralysis which I experienced on the llth inst., 
 from which I have not yet wholly recovered. My hope 
 is that in a few weeks, at furthest, I shall be myself
 
 288 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 again, though my friends, many of them, think me in a 
 somewhat critical condition. "Whether I shall recover or 
 not, God knoweth ; and let his will be done. 
 
 " My words must be few, as the excitement of address 
 ing this letter to my old friends may not be for my 
 physical good. 
 
 "1. To my ministering brethren. Dear Brothers in 
 Christ : We are mutually engaged in a most gloriously 
 important mission ; a work demanding all the powers 
 which we can bring to bear upon and further the blessed 
 work of proclaiming, illustrating, enforcing, both by pre 
 cept and example, the ' glorious Gospel of the blessed 
 God.' And now, in all kindness and love, let me exhort 
 you all, old and young, to ' magnify your office ; do the 
 work of evangelists ; make full proof of your ministry.' 
 Let the BIBLE be the man of your counsel, Jesus Christ 
 your great exemplar, and the spirit of truth and love 
 your all-sufficient support and your exceeding reward ; 
 that every day may witness the devotedness of your 
 labors, bringing to your hearts the approbation of our 
 heavenly Father. 
 
 "2. To societies, and brethren scattered abroad without 
 organization : Brethren, on you it depends, in a great 
 measure, whether the cause of Universalism flourishes, to 
 the glory of God and the happiness and moral progress 
 of the world, or not. On you it depends, under God, in 
 a great measure, whether our ministers are zealous, de 
 voted servants of Christ, or whether they are prosy, 
 disheartened, and selfish. Do not, I beseech you, think
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 289 
 
 that your minister alone, though he speak the words of 
 truth ever so eloquently, can build you up in the knowl 
 edge and enjoyment of Gospel truth, without your zeal 
 ous cooperation. Men's preaching will not do it. The 
 Gospel must be exemplified in the life, before its beauty 
 and divine loveliness will be seen and appreciated by the 
 world. Therefore, if you would be happy, and contrib 
 ute to the welfare of your friends and the world, and 
 glorify your Maker and Preserver, be practical TJniver- 
 salists. Do not make your minister selfish, by being so 
 yourselves. Give him a good example in this regard, 
 and, if you have not made a great mistake in the man of 
 your choice, he will follow it 
 
 " And you, brethren, who are not enjoying the benefits 
 of society or church organization, study to know and 
 then be prompt to do your duty ; give your influence to 
 the cause of truth ; despise not the day of small things. 
 You can each do something to advance the cause of Uni- 
 versalism, even if you are alone in your faith. You 
 can even then live the doctrine ; you can talk it to others, 
 and, if they doubt its truth, you can, in time, show them 
 its good effects in your conduct, which will at length con 
 vince them of your truthfulness. Further, you can take, 
 and read, and lend to others, a good periodical support 
 ing our views, which will be a good substitute for the 
 living preacher ; and you can always have the word and 
 the spirit of God's truth and grace, which are weapons 
 of defence and conquest, all-powerful when rightly used. 
 25
 
 290 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 But remember, they must be used, not occasionally, 
 merely, but constantly. 
 
 " And now, dear friends and brethren, one and all, 
 among whom I have been preaching the word, and who 
 may read this short epistle : I seem to see you in your 
 families, and in your various relations in life, all striving 
 for happiness ; and, if this is my last word to you on 
 earth, all I can say, or desire to say, is comprehended in 
 the following : Trust in God ; hope in his mercy ; 
 obey his laws ; and, through the Gospel of Christ, 
 look forward to a glorious immortality for yourselves 
 and your race. Amen. JOHN MOORE." 
 
 On the fourth Sunday in May he delivered a discourse 
 on " Recent Railroad and Steamboat Disasters," from 
 Proverbs 27: 1, "Boast not of to-morrow : for thou 
 knowest not what a day may bring forth." The dreadful 
 destruction of human life at Norwalk, Ct., and on one of 
 the western railroads, and also the burning of a steamer 
 on one of the western rivers, called forth the discourse. 
 It was a timely and an eminently practical one, and was 
 well received by the hearers. 
 
 In August Mr. Moore visited and preached in Brad 
 ford, Vt., and North Haverhill, N. H. His record at 
 the last of the month reads : " Visited Strafford and 
 Northfield, Vt. ; attended Convention at N. ; preached 
 fourth Sunday in S. : visited Lebanon and Enfield ; 
 preached one Sunday in September at Springfield, Vt. 
 Monday evening, lectured at Canaan, on temperance.
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 291 
 
 Attended an association at North Enfield, thence home. 
 A pleasant journey." He preached one Sabbath of this 
 month in Pittsfield, N?H., and also journeyed to Con 
 necticut and New York city, visiting the "World's 
 Fair " in the latter place. 
 
 Of his health and prospects he writes in a letter to a 
 friend, dated October 25th: "Whether I am to break 
 down now, just in the prime of life, and in the beginning 
 of my most substantial and profitable experience, I do 
 not know. I think not. Still, I may be mistaken. I 
 do not desire to know beforehand what I am to experi 
 ence. I sometimes think it would be more pleasant 
 te be free from the care of a society ; but, after all, care 
 is a favor and at present it is probably best for me to 
 hold on as I am. I must preach while I am able, of 
 course. How could I live without preaching 1 But I 
 know I ought to be prudent ; and intend to be, surely ! 
 Whoever knew a man that intended to be imprudent 1 " 
 
 On the last Sabbath in January Mr. Moore preached 
 in Plymouth, N. H. On the coming of his birth-day 
 again, we find him indulging in thoughts such as had 
 often before visited him, and to which he gave the warm 
 est welcome : " Fifty-seven years since I commenced my 
 mortal life. For the last twenty-eight years, and a little 
 more, I have endeavored to preach the Gospel of the uni 
 versal grace of God ; and hitherto the Lord hath helped 
 me, for which may I ever be grateful ! Father in 
 heaven ! Still direct and uphold thy frail, dependent
 
 292 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 child, that the powers which thou hast given him may be 
 consecrated to thy service ! ' ' 
 
 In May he went to Boston to*attend the meeting of 
 the New England Universalist Reform Association, and 
 the annual festival; but, soon after reaching the city, 
 received a telegraphic despatch, asking his attendance of 
 the funeral of a friend in Vermont, with which request 
 he felt it his duty to comply. 
 
 " Anniversary week/' in Boston, this year, was one 
 of intense excitement, chiefly on account of the trial and 
 rendition of the slave Anthony Burns. Never before 
 was the anti-slavery sentiment of New England more 
 thoroughly aroused. It pervaded all the meetings of 
 that eventful season, and awakened voices in many New 
 England pulpits on Sabbaths following. Mr. Moore 
 shared in the general feeling. On the third Sabbath in 
 June we find him preaching a discourse to his people on 
 the " Characteristics of the true Reformer/' His text 
 was Matt. 10 : 16, " Be ye therefore wise as serpents, 
 and harmless as doves." The discourse was plain, 
 strong, and judicious. The speaker showed the reform 
 atory tendencies of Christianity ; that the Gospel of the 
 grace of God proposes to remove all that is wrong, 1st, 
 in the individual heart and life ; 2d, in the family ; 3d, 
 in the church, embracing all who recognize Christ as 
 their pattern ; 4th, from the state, from the smallest 
 body to the largest, both in making and administering 
 laws. While there is any wrong or evil in any of these 
 departments of human society, to any extent, every fol-
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 293 
 
 lower of the great Reformer every one to whom the 
 word of the Gospel comes is bound, by the great and 
 irrepealable law of God and humanity, to throw the 
 weight of his influence into the work of reformation. 
 Every one is, in some sort, responsible for any evil that 
 may exist in the world, if he refuses or neglects to do 
 what is required of him, by the great law of humanity, 
 to remove that evil. This responsibility is graduated 
 according to the position occupied by the individual, and 
 the ability given him. Nor can this responsibility 
 be thrown off or avoided by any human laws. It must 
 be met, and faithfully discharged, if we would enjoy the 
 approbation of God, and of a manly and Christian heart. 
 The speaker showed the beauty and justness of the direc 
 tions here given as to the way in which the work of 
 reformation should go on in the wisdom of the serpent, 
 and in the harmlessness of the dove. He spoke of the 
 rashness of some reformers, and of the firmness and faith 
 fulness needful with all. 
 
 To the question, Should our law-makers contravene 
 God's law by their enactment, what must we do? he 
 replies : " Obey God rather than man." Resist the law 
 of the land ! is it asked ? No, not forcibly, but pas 
 sively ; submit to human authority, according to the 
 laws of the country where you dwell, so far as a good 
 conscience will justify you ; but beyond that you need 
 not go willingly. Submit to the penalty of the law, 
 rather than transgress the law of God. In the conclu 
 sion of the discourse, he remarks : "Any movement, not 
 25*
 
 294 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 based on moral right, ought not to succeed. This is the 
 reason why Universalism must prevail. Every senti 
 ment opposed to it is morally wrong. As Universalism 
 prevails, that Christianity which consists in loving 
 God supremely, and our fellow-men as ourselves, 
 wrong must die out for want of sustenance." 
 
 In a letter to his son, not long afterwards, he says : 
 " I will not be a political partisan ; but / will preach 
 against sin and the devil, whether in high places or low ; 
 and if I make any difference, I will spare the weak and 
 ignorant, rather than others. I will not encourage a mob 
 spirit, nor forcible resistance to the laws of the land ; nor 
 will I disobey the law of God, for the sake of obeying 
 the laws even of Congress, or any other legislative body. 
 I will be ho?iest, and do what I can to induce others to 
 be so ; advising them to be true to their own convictions 
 of right and duty, irrespective of party, or any other con 
 sideration. But I would be wise and harmless." 
 
 During the summer months Mr. Moore preached one 
 Sabbath in "Ware, one in Wentworth, and another in 
 Bristol, N. H. In August he visited Strafford, his 
 native place, and there preached on the Sabbath, and 
 afterwards made a number of calls on old acquaintances 
 and friends. He visited Rev. Aaron Buzzell, then in his 
 ninetieth year, but quite feeble. He visited the graves 
 of his parents, and writes : " I there prayed that God 
 would preserve me in the path of duty and truth, until 
 he shall call me to meet the departed ones in glory." 
 
 We find in his journal kept this autumn frequent
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 295 
 
 records of brief and expressive prayers. They breathe 
 the spirit of confidence in heaven, resignation to the di 
 vine will, of patience, fortitude, living zeal, and large love. 
 
 In a letter to his friend and brother, Rev. W. S. Balch, 
 of New York city, he takes occasion to speak freely of 
 the life of the minister, and also of the interest he takes 
 in the success of a college and theological seminary, 
 under the fostering care of the denomination to which he 
 belonged : 
 
 "Concord, N. H., Nov. 25, 1854. I have, my dear 
 brother, just concluded the reading of your anniversary 
 sermon on the ' Preacher's Reward.' It is so good, so 
 truthful, so in agreement with my own ideas, experience, 
 and hopes, that I want to give you my warm right hand ; 
 but, as I cannot do that, literally, allow me to offer you 
 my warmest gratitude. for that production. * * 
 
 " The reward the ' pay ' for a minister's services ; 
 what is it? 0, how blind are most people on this 
 subject !***** 
 
 " I see that you are in a fair way to succeed in the 
 opening of a theological school. Success to the enter 
 prise. I will state to you my views respecting the col 
 lege and a theological institution. We have in New Eng 
 land and the Middle States colleges enough, and perhaps 
 liberal enough for all literary and scientific purposes. 
 If our people had put their hands to the work of estab 
 lishing a theological seminary on a permanent basis, 
 more efficient aid would have been given to our ministry 
 and cause! But we have a college, and shall have a
 
 296 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 theological school too, I have no doubt ; and I pray that 
 they may both be strong and effective." 
 
 The new year opened auspiciously, and found him 
 with improving health, still eagerly engaged in his pro 
 fessional duties. The recorded prayer tells us where his 
 first thoughts were. " Before going out to attend to the 
 duties of life, and while just about to enter upon the 
 labors of a new year," he seeks that guidance by which 
 the erring are led aright, and that power through which 
 weakness itself is made strong. It was the prayer of 
 living faith ; and its gracious answerings came. 
 
 Mr. Moore had never in his life sought political dis 
 tinction, nor taken any active partisan interest in the 
 political strifes of his time. His interest in the Christian 
 ministry was above all other interests ; his love for that, 
 above all other loves. His first text contained his great 
 life-direction, always : " As ye go, preach, saying, The 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand." Whatever of this king 
 dom he could see in the political movements of the times, 
 that he rejoiced in ; and whenever he had occasion to 
 speak of what of this kingdom he thought the politics of 
 his own country or other countries needed for their good, 
 he was free to declare his sentiments'. With political 
 parties, as such, however, he was never anxious to 
 mingle and act. He had his own ideas of political right, 
 and often expressed them very frankly to his friends in 
 letter and conversation. Writing to a friend in April, 
 1854. he says : " You know I never was much of a polit 
 ical man. But a few weeks or months since. I found
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 297 
 
 myself on the following ' platform,' for how can a man 
 of my bulk stand without a platform on which to place 
 my feet ? I do not know as you will approve of it, but 
 it was present with me as I was writing to a friend ; so 
 I will state it to you. ' I will go for any just measures 
 that will serve to keep rum out of free men, and slavery 
 out of free territory.' J; 
 
 An event now took place which served to bring Mr. 
 Moore very prominently before the people of New Hamp 
 shire. On the evening of January 16th, after he had 
 retired, he was waited upon by a committee, informing 
 him that at the convention of the American party, held 
 that day in Manchester, he had been nominated as can 
 didate for Governor of the State. He was solicited to go 
 with them to Manchester on the following morning, and 
 formally accept the nomination. As he had sought no 
 such honor at the hands of his friends, he was in much 
 doubt as to the acceptance of it ; but at length concluded 
 to accede to their wishes. It was subsequently discovered 
 that he was ineligible to the office, as he had not, accord 
 ing to the constitution, resided in the state seven years 
 next preceding the election. 
 
 His account of the nomination, and his feelings re 
 specting it, are thus given in a letter to his son. The 
 letter contains also the principal details of five days' ex 
 perience, showing us how full his life was at this time of 
 his professional work. 
 
 " Concord, January 23, 1855. Dear Son: Yours 
 of Friday was received last evening, on my return from
 
 298 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 Vermont. Let me give you a chapter in the history of 
 my life for five days. 
 
 " Last Tuesday evening, at half-past ten o'clock, I 
 was awaked from a sound sleep by a committee of four 
 gentlemen from the state convention then in session at 
 Manchester for the nomination of state officers, inform 
 ing me that I was elected candidate for the office of 
 Governor at the next election, and desiring my presence 
 before that body at eight o'clock next morning. I con 
 cluded to go, and next morning stood up before about 
 seven hundred delegates from all parties and all parts of 
 the state, and signified my acceptance of the nomination. 
 The most interest I had expressed in regard to the mat 
 ter was, to say, on Friday evening before, in a mass meet 
 ing, that I ' should like to see a return of the time when 
 the office should seek the man, and not the man the 
 office ; ' not dreaming that / should be sought so soon ! 
 But you have probably seen that, after the adjournment 
 of the convention, it was discovered that I was ineligible 
 to the office, not having resided in the state seven years 
 next preceding the election. I am told that were it not 
 for this, my election by a large majority would have been 
 certain. / am perfectly resigned, as you may suppose, 
 but for the trouble to my friends of holding another con 
 vention. I had engaged to be at Piermont and lecture 
 on temperance, Wednesday evening. So I took the cars 
 for that place. Next day returned to Enfield, and at 
 tended the ordination of brother Bliss. Friday, in one 
 of the hardest of snow-storms, I was taken to Hanover to
 
 MINISTRY IN CONCORD. 299 
 
 attend the funeral of Mr. J. Ward, Jr. ; and that night 
 was sent for to attend the funeral of a child of Mr. 
 Morrill, in Strafford. I "went, and, considering it doubt 
 ful whether, on account of the late storm, I could reach 
 home Saturday night, concluded to tarry over the Sab 
 bath in S. Preached Sabbath evening. The next morn 
 ing it rained in torrents till noon. I rode in an open 
 stage to the depot, and arrived home at four p. M., yester 
 day. I telegraphed, so that there was no service in our 
 church Sunday. Thus in five days I endured all that 
 travel and exertion ; speaking in public as much as I 
 should have done in eight long church services, beside 
 the necessary and unavoidable private talk exclusive, 
 too, of the Manchester speech, which was short. And 
 here I am in good health, for me. If I had known all 
 this beforehand, I should have quailed before it. 
 
 "As to the effect which the nomination may have on 
 some friends, I do not know ; nor am I anxious about it, 
 for myself. I am free ; but shall keep out of politics 
 and office until I am called for, which I hope will never 
 be ; nevertheless, I will do what, on the whole, appears 
 to be my duty." In speaking of his nomination, the 
 editor of the Trumpet sa"id of him : " Had his life been 
 spared, and had he been eligible, and been elected, he 
 would have made a noble officer. Not only .would his 
 grand and dignified appearance have recommended him 
 to public favor, but he would have administered the gov 
 ernment in the fear of the Lord. Justice would have 
 been his polar star ; mercy, his leading passion ; and
 
 300 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 piety his strong foundation. He would have based hia 
 life on the precept in Micah 6 : 8." 
 
 A correspondent of the Christian Freeman, Rev. 
 Gr. H. Emerson, immediately after the nomination "wrote : 
 "The news is altogether too good to be true. Judging 
 from the past, from the kind of men that have too often 
 been elected to high offices, it is difficult to believe that 
 such a man as John Moore, a man whose strict integ 
 rity is utterly incapable of receiving one stain of corrup 
 tion, who would not equivocate in the smallest degree, 
 not even for the office of President of the United States, 
 who, in all things, as far as fallible humanity can well 
 be, is the model man ; that such a man is proposed for 
 a State Governor in these degenerate days, is, we repeat, 
 difficult to believe. 
 
 "It is said, by those in the secret, that there can be 
 but little doubt of his election. For the sake of New 
 Hampshire, for the sake of having one glorious oasis 
 in the political desert, we hope it may so prove. As a 
 political partisan we have not a word to say of him ; but 
 as a man he is the very one that Diogenes with his 
 lamp was looking for. 
 
 " P. S. Since the above was in print, our fears that the 
 news was too good to be true have been realized. Mr. 
 Moore was nominated, but the constitution, requiring 
 seven years' residence, disqualifies him from holding office. 
 We are sorry for New Hampshire."
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HIS DEATH. 
 
 THE private journal of Mr. Moore ends with Satur 
 day, February 3d. The record is there made of an en 
 gagement to deliver a public address in Barnstead, on 
 the first of March. We have already alluded to the fact 
 that he had been troubled for years with what seemed to 
 be an affection of the heart. He would experience, at 
 times, an indescribable pain in the chest, especially when 
 going up stairs, or up hill, or walking against the wind. 
 Some of the physicians in Boston pronounced the disorder 
 angina pectoris, the result of an organic disease of the 
 heart, or of the arteries lying near that organ. Because 
 of his liability to be thus affected, his family had become 
 someAvhat anxious about him, and, only a few days before 
 the time of his last record in the journal, we find the 
 notice of a caution given him, in a letter from his son, 
 against over-taxing his mind and body ; which the father 
 considers very timely admonition, and blesses his son 
 for it. 
 
 26
 
 302 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 He had agreed to exchange pulpit services on Sunday, 
 February 4th, with Rev. C. H. Fay, of Nashua. Before 
 leaving his home, he complained of ill-feeling. He, 
 however, departed, as usual, to fulfil his engagement 
 with the ministering brother, who had grown up in early 
 life under his pastoral care, and with whom he had lived, 
 in later days, on terms of closest Christian intimacy. As 
 a living man, he had done his last work in that home ; 
 and no one could pass out of an earthly mansion, to enter 
 upon its enjoyments no more, with a purer conscience or 
 firmer trust than he. 
 
 The next day, Sabbath, was spent by him in Nashua. 
 He conducted the services in the church with his accus 
 tomed ease and earnestness, although, at times, through the 
 day and evening, he was subject to the unpleasant sensa 
 tions such as had troubled him the day before. He tarried 
 Sunday night with the family of Mr. Gillis, and on Mon 
 day morning took the cars to return home. Arriving at the 
 depot in Concord, he was met by his friend, the minister 
 with whom he had exchanged. After a short conversation, 
 they separated, agreeing to meet again at his house, to 
 enjoy a social interview for a few hours. He passed up 
 School-street, exchanging salutations, as usual, with his 
 fellow-citizens, and when near the church, where, during 
 the five years past he had officiated, he was seen to falter, 
 sink upon his knees, and fall. This was a few minutes 
 before eleven o'clock. On the arrival of the first person 
 who could reach him, it was found that life had departed. 
 He must have died instantly, and without previous in-
 
 HIS DEATH. 303 
 
 tense pain, as but a few moments before he had spoken 
 with his usual freedom and cheerfulness. He was con 
 veyed immediately, by neighbors and friends, to his home. 
 The tidings of this afflictive event were quickly abroad. 
 " I learned," says the Rev. Mr. Fay, " the sad news, 
 while on my way to his residence to fulfil my engagement. 
 My wife, who preceded me a few moments, entered his 
 home soon after his body had been borne thither. She 
 was ignorant of the sadness which filled that home, until 
 she stepped upon its threshold. Shall I attempt to de 
 scribe the emotions which shook my frame when I first 
 heard the awful tidings ? or, when I looked upon that 
 noble form, cold in death, which I had seen but a few 
 moments before warm with affectionate life? No; I 
 should fail in such an attempt. But others, many 
 others, shared in these painful emotions. Friends, kind 
 and true, the members of his society, his neighbors, cit 
 izens of Concord, of all sects, hurried to that house of 
 grief, to express their sympathy and proffer their aid. 
 All was done that regard for a faithful pastor, and respect 
 for a noble and esteemed neighbor and citizen, could 
 accomplish." He died upon his birth-day, having com 
 pleted fifty-eight years of his earthly pilgrimage. The 
 completeness of the years of his life was in unison with 
 that of his character as a true man, a faithful servant 
 of his God and of his race. He had finished the work 
 given him to do. " Seldom," says one of the secular pa 
 pers of Concord, " has any event made a sadder or deeper 
 impression inour community. Mr. Moore had resided
 
 304 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 in this city about five years, during which his urbane 
 manners, Christian deportment, and sympathy for every 
 good cause, had gained him many warm friends, and left 
 him no enemies. He was beloved by his own society, 
 and respected by all. A whole community mourn his 
 departure from among them." 
 
 The funeral services took place in the First Baptist 
 Church, the largest house of worship in the city, the use 
 of which was kindly granted his numerous friends. The 
 church was thronged, and although the day was one of 
 the most severely cold of the season (the thermometer 
 being twenty degrees below zero), hundreds of persons 
 were unable to gain admittance to the house. Prayer was 
 offered at the dwelling-house, before the corpse was re 
 moved, by Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, of Boston, when the pro 
 cession moved to the church. The services there were as 
 follows : Voluntary, by the choir ; Beading of Scriptures, 
 and Prayer, by Rev. C. H. Fay ; Hymn, selected ; Ser 
 mon, by Rev. Sylvanus Cobb ; Hymn, original, by Rev. 
 C. H. Fay: 
 
 God will indulge the tears we weep, , 
 For He our hearts has smitten deep ; 
 A noble soul from earth has fled, 
 A manly form lies cold and dead. 
 
 With anguished hearts we gather here, 
 Low bending round this solemn bier ; 
 We mourn a faithful Pastor's loss, 
 A dauntless Soldier of the Cross.
 
 HIS DEATH. 305 
 
 Death found him in the battle van, 
 Brave striving for the weal of man ; 
 With armor strong, and burnished bright, 
 A noted warrior midst the fight. 
 
 He fell at Duty's sacred stand ; 
 The Spirit's sword was in his hand, 
 Sandals of peace upon his feet, 
 And righteousness his breastplate meet. 
 
 His warfare now is o'er : and rest 
 Awaits him with the pure and blest. 
 For Sin, the foe, was never known, 
 Nor Error, round God's shining throne. 
 
 Great Shepherd, take him to Thy side, 
 He loved the race for which Thou died ; 
 And when our mortal years are told, 
 bear us to the same safe fold ! 
 
 The sermon was able, appropriate, earnest, and abound 
 ing in Christian consolation. The preacher's text was.: 
 " But even the very hairs of your head are all num 
 bered." Luke 12 : 7. After discoursing upon the pater 
 nal providence, general and particular, which upholds all 
 things, grants to mortals its unfailing supplies, and gives 
 assurance that under the divine government good will be 
 triumphant, and all souls share in the blessings of its 
 reign, the speaker says : 
 
 " The train of thought which I have thus presented to 
 the great congregation is that which was suggested to 
 my own mind by the occasion which has called us 
 together here to-day. On Monday evening last, as I was 
 about closing the editorial labors of the day, I received 
 26*
 
 306 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 the mournful tidings, by brief telegraphic announcement 
 of the sudden death of brother John Moore. I wrote a 
 brief announcement of the same for my journal, which 
 was about going to press, and was wending my way home 
 in melancholy musing. I was met by an express mes 
 senger, with a request from the family and friends of the 
 deceased that I should be present here to-day, to offer 
 consolation to the bereaved. I went to my home, and, 
 sitting in retirement, oppressed in spirit, my laboring 
 heart exclaimed, ' Who is sufficient for these things ? ' 
 Bearing in sympathy the wants of the afflicted, I went to 
 the word of inspiration for relief, and opened to the 
 teaching of the Master, which saith of the care of our 
 Father in heaven, ' The very hairs of your head are all 
 numbered.' I saw in this utterance an embodiment of 
 the whole grand system of Christian trust, and my soul 
 entered into rest. And I desired to be obedient to the 
 apostolic injunction, that l we should comfort them who 
 are in any trouble, with the same consolation wherewith 
 we ourselves are comforted of God.' ' 
 
 After recurring to some of the main events in the his 
 tory of the deceased, he observes ; 
 
 " Thus has retired from his earthly mission (and that 
 not all of earth) a man whom we all loved and revered. 
 If his already developed spiritual person is now observing 
 me, he would not that I should say he was faultless. 
 Yet I feel that I speak the heart sentiment of all who knew 
 him well, when I say that a more perfect man, under 
 Jesus, never lived upon the earth. Full of truth and
 
 HIS DEATH. 307 
 
 reverence for God, and love for men ; strong, zealous for 
 the advancement of truth and goodness ; sincere, candid, 
 beneficent, forbearing, faithful; free from all little 
 envies, loving to see all work and all prosper ; his moral 
 abode was the munition of rocks, his light went forth as 
 the morning, and the glory of the Lord was his rearward ; 
 his life was a well-spring of water, whose waters fail 
 not. We, the whole religious body to which he belonged, 
 deeply mourn his loss. And yet he is not lost to us. 
 He is ours, and we are his. He yet speaketh. We will 
 cherish his memory, as an example to the Christian min 
 istry and to the Christian church." 
 
 At the close of the customary funeral service, the re 
 mains were consigned, by Rev. C. H. Fay, to the care of 
 the Masonic fraternity present. The solemn service of 
 this fraternity was then performed, as were also the brief 
 burial rites of the Odd Fellows. The services were 
 closed with prayer by Rev. Mr. Kelley, of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. 
 
 Mr. Moore, at the time of his decease, was Master of 
 the Blazing Star Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, 
 and member of the White Mountain Lodge, I. 0. of 0. 
 F. Of the funeral occasion, the Rev. Mr. Fay afterwards 
 said, in a discourse to his people : " As I surveyed the 
 multitude which thronged the capacious church, of all 
 sects and parties, I felt that the ' noble sleeper ' resting 
 on his bier before the altar had accomplished a great 
 work. He had wrought upon human hearts. His work 
 was in immortal souls, and will last long after the great
 
 308 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 material achievements of our age are forgotten. He has 
 bequeathed a richer legacy to mankind than the rich can 
 bestow. Childhood and manhood mingled tears around 
 his bier, in testimony of their love for one who had made 
 them better, and whose influence would affect them for 
 good when the cold, coffined form had turned to ashes." 
 
 The editor of the Morning Chronicle, published at 
 Portsmouth, N. H., who was present on the occasion, 
 writes: " The deceased was a man of ample mould and 
 majestic proportions in person as well as mind ; and was 
 hahjted in his coffin exactly as in the pulpit, in a full 
 suit of black. In this manner, with the coffin-lid re 
 moved, appearing almost lifelike, he was viewed by the 
 Sabbath scholars and teachers, congregation and Free 
 masons ; the latter being in large numbers, and deposit 
 ing their emblematic evergreens. This silent, solemn 
 show was by no means unimpressive ; and at its close 
 the earthly remains of a noble man were borne away 
 towards their lowly resting-place." This resting-place 
 was in Lebanon, N. H., by the side of the ashes of a 
 dear son, who died during the first residence of the family 
 in that town, a selection which he had made long 
 before his death. 
 
 The society in Concord of which Mr. Moore was pas 
 tor unanimously expressed their respect and esteem for 
 the departed, and their sympathy for his bereaved 
 family : 
 
 u Whereas, it has pleased the Almighty Dispenser of
 
 HIS DEATH. 309: 
 
 events to suddenly remove the Pastor of this Church and 
 Society, Rev. John Moore, therefore, 
 
 " Resolved, That, although we deeply mourn the loss of 
 our beloved pastor, yet we have strong faith that Al 
 mighty God doeth all things well ; and, while we cherish 
 his memory, may we imitate his virtues, enjoy his strong 
 faith, and leave as bright an example behind us. 
 
 " Resolved, That this society and congregation sym 
 pathize with the widow of our late pastor, Rev. John 
 Moore, in her sudden bereavement and irreparable loss ; 
 and unitedly pray that she may be sustained in this, and 
 all other trials, by that God in whom we all trust. 
 
 " Resolved, That the First Baptist Society in Con 
 cord, in opening their house for the funeral services of 
 our late pastor, thereby proving that they sympathized 
 with us in our bereavement, are entitled to our united 
 and heartfelt thanks. 
 
 " Resolved, That the thanks of this society be ten 
 dered to the friends at Lebanon for their kindness to the 
 committee of this society on the occasion of the funeral 
 of our late pastor. 
 
 " Resolved, That the foregoing be placed upon the 
 records of this society, "and copies sent to the family of 
 the deceased, to the First Baptist Society, and to the 
 friends at Lebanon. J. B. SMART, Clerk." 
 
 Discourses in memory of him were delivered in various 
 churches where his name had long been held in high 
 esteem.
 
 310 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 The following epitaph, prepared by Mr. Moore some 
 time previous to his decease, is upon the monument at 
 Lebanon : 
 
 JOHN MOORE, 
 
 PBEACHEB OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL: 
 
 Born in Strafford, Vt., Feb. 5, 1797 ; 
 Died in Concord, N. H., Feb. 5, 1855 ; 
 
 AGED 58. 
 
 " As in Adam all die, 
 Even o in Christ shall all be made alive."
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. TESTIMO 
 NIALS. 
 
 Now that we have recorded the departure of the wor 
 thy man and minister whose memoir is given in the pre 
 ceding pages, it is a privilege which we would wisely 
 improve, to speak of him as he was when in the body, and 
 "about his Father's business " with his fellow-men; to 
 dwell somewhat more specially upon his character than 
 we have during the narrative portion of this work, that 
 we may the more clearly see how really and impressively 
 he is living on still, for the guidance and blessing of 
 others in his Christian words and deeds. 
 
 In person Mr. Moore was very nearly what might be 
 termed "a model man." His form was ample and 
 finely proportioned, and there was a natural dignity in 
 his appearance which made him notable wherever seen or 
 known. His face was an indicator of his soul, beauty, 
 truthfulness, firmness, goodness, Christian nobility, had 
 each set its seal there.
 
 312 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 He had a clear and strong intellect ; was a plain and 
 sound reasoner, and gained the confidence of his fellow- 
 men by his excellent "common sense." He had, more 
 over, a large and generous heart, by which he was made 
 an effectual preacher to their affections. He caused them 
 to feel that which was to him a matter of most absorbing 
 interest. His social qualities, also, were remarkable. 
 He was living for others as well as for himself, always ; 
 and could ever respond to the pathetic question of the 
 poet: 
 
 "0, who would inhabit 
 This bleak world alone? " 
 
 He felt that he was kindred to others ; that he could not 
 do without them, nor they without him, while God had 
 any good in either for mutual communication. 
 
 As a public advocate of Christianity Mr. Moore earned 
 a noble reputation. He went into the ministry to answer 
 a true call, as it seemed to him, that of God and his 
 everlasting word. His ministry was one of the heart and 
 soul. His pulpit work was done in great plainness, and 
 usually with great propriety of speech. If he was not 
 one of the most brilliant, he was one of the soundest and 
 most agreeable speakers of the day. His manner was 
 easy and graceful; his voice, rich, full, and melodious. 
 "His very appearance," as another has said, "put him 
 in sympathy, at the outset, with whatever was good and 
 generous in his auditors ; and he won them over to his 
 views as well through their affections as through their
 
 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 313 
 
 intellect." In the beginning of his ministry he preached 
 much extempore, and all through his life practised this 
 method more or less speaking from brief notes. Yet 
 many of his sermons were written out, and, although well 
 delivered, tended in some measure to lessen his freedom 
 in the utterance of them. He would, however, frequently 
 depart from the track which the pen had marked out, 
 and, in the fresh excitement of the occasion, make his 
 discourse much longer than he had intended in the begin 
 ning. 
 
 He was admirably "at home" in the pulpit, and was 
 well calculated by his presence and sympathy to make 
 others so. He could be self-possessed under circum 
 stances that might embarrass others. We remember an 
 instance in illustration of this. It was at a conference in 
 Dorchester, N. H. The meeting was quite well attended, 
 although in the midst of winter ; and mothers who could 
 not leave their little ones at home brought them to 
 the meeting. During service-time one of the children 
 gave some demonstrations of a strong voice, which quite 
 annoyed the speaker, a young man ; so that, after 
 enduring the opposition voice a while, he stopped short, 
 and expressed his desire that the child-speaker might 
 somehow be still. Mr. Moore arose behind him in 
 the pulpit, and very pleasantly said : " Speak on, 
 brother, with all your heart, and pay no attention to the 
 child. It cannot be taken away now, and you will have 
 a hearing; depend on that!" The preacher continued 
 27
 
 314 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 with more composure, and soon had the talking all to 
 himself. 
 
 Mr. Moore was a doctrinal and practical preacher. 
 Although somewhat given to expository preaching, his 
 treatment of those who held religious opinions opposite 
 to his own was in all Christian courtesy and kindness. 
 He had no disposition to say the hardest, but rather the 
 most truthful things of the errorist's opinions, and at the 
 same time in the most charitable spirit towards the error- 
 ist himself. His discourses, always good, and usually 
 regarded as highly acceptable, were sometimes pervaded 
 with great power. "I have heard John Moore," said 
 one of our wisest and best ministers, ' ' when I thought I 
 had never heard any man excel him ; when his soul was 
 filled with the inspiration of truth, and of the occasion 
 which called him to speak it, and the thoughts and words 
 that came from him were like the rushing torrent, bearing 
 all before them." , 
 
 As a Christian missionary he was one of the most ac 
 ceptable and useful. He knew human nature, and could 
 well and easily adapt himself to all phases of it which a 
 Christian missionary must meet. His advocacy of his 
 faith in new places, where it was not much known, was 
 always in its favor. If those who heard his message 
 could not receive it at once, they had good evidence of 
 the honesty and ability and candor of the preacher. His 
 occasional ministry in the vicinity of the societies with 
 whom he was settled, especially in many parts of Ver 
 mont and New Hampshire, accomplished great good for
 
 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 315 
 
 the Christian cause. Indeed, in these two states his name 
 is closely identified with the history of Universalism there 
 for the last twenty years. 
 
 As a pastor he was one of the most acceptable and 
 beloved of any in the denomination, and we might add, 
 in any Christian society. Easy and agreeable in manner, 
 and perfectly accessible to every one, he was a welcome 
 visitor always amongst his people. They loved to behold 
 his genial countenance ; to listen to the words of kindly 
 greeting, good cheer, or of friendly counsel and consol 
 atory aid, coming from his lips ; and not from his lips 
 only, but welling up from his full heart. How many 
 families, how many souls, remember him, not only as the 
 worthy minister, but as the cheerful, sympathetic friend ! 
 How many as, in thinking of his social intercourse with 
 them in the past, they mourn his departure can say, 
 as David so tenderly said of his beloved Jonathan, " I am 
 distressed for thee, my brother ; very pleasant hast thou 
 been unto me." 
 
 "I knew him well and loved him much," writes one 
 to whom he had been a pastor in other days. " He was a 
 friend as well as a pastor in our family ; and my father, 
 and my dear mother, who went before him to ' the better 
 land,' held him in high esteem. We were neighbors, 
 and accustomed to seeing him every day at his own house 
 or ours. Many a pleasant season did I pass with him in 
 his neat and orderly dwelling, where all his friends were 
 kindly received and hospitably entertained. Well do I 
 remember the welcome smile, the friendly grasp of the
 
 316 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 hand, the genial humor, the ready sympathy, and social 
 enjoyment, always to be found in his society. He was a 
 delightful companion, a true friend, a good pastor, a good 
 man. What more can I say of him ? What else could I 
 add to this heartfelt testimony of his worth ? " * 
 
 He was eminently a man of the people ; and the Chris 
 tian pastor who is not, is out of his place. An anecdote, 
 illustrative of this trait in his character, is told of a col 
 ored man, a servant in one of the families at whose home 
 Mr. Moore was a frequent visitor, and where he was on 
 easy and familiar terms with all the inmates. A dialogue 
 ensued between the colored man and another of the fam 
 ily, as to the relative merits of two ministers, Mr. 
 
 Moore and Mr. . The servant-man was asked his 
 
 opinion of them. "Both good men very good men, 
 both," was his answer. "But which do you think the 
 best ? ' ' was the next question proposed. ' ' Like them 
 both both very good men, excellent men," replied he. 
 " But have n't you a choice? " persisted the questioner; 
 "which of the two do you like best in everything?" 
 " Well well," said the servant, " if I make any pref- 
 rence, I say Mr. Moore seem always rather most like 
 our folks ! " That was it. He was at home in all 
 places where the just callings of life brought him. He 
 was " our folks" with the humble or exalted, the rich or 
 poor, the renowned or obscure. To be "our folks" in 
 this wise .is no small trouble to some persons, even those 
 
 * Miss M. A. Dodd.
 
 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 317 
 
 of the highest attainments in other respects. It was one 
 of the easiest of things with Mr. Moore. Equally at 
 home with all in his pastoral intercourse, he never failed, 
 in his habitual freedom, to leave a favorable impression 
 of himself, as one who had honored his calling, upon the 
 minds of the people. 
 
 He had a deeply religious spirit. His inner life was 
 his best life. It was the fountain from which hia life 
 with the world flowed; and the stream was pervaded with 
 the richness of the spring. Ingenuous as was his reli 
 giousness, the world did not see the most of it. The say 
 ing of Francis Quarles he could well appreciate : "I am 
 to God; I only seem to man." He knew much of the 
 best meaning of the Psalmist's words : " My soul, wait 
 thou only upon God ; for my expectation is from Him. He 
 only is my rock and my salvation ; " and of that promise 
 of the Christian Master. " If a man love me he will keep 
 my word ; and my Father will love him, and we will 
 come unto him, and make our abode with him." His 
 inner experience was like that to which John Howe ex 
 horts : ' ' Let us more study the exercising ourselves to 
 godliness, and take heed of turning the religion of our 
 closets into spiritless, uncomfortable formalities. Their 
 hearts shall live that seek God." It was this life of the 
 heart which he sought and found. The kingdom within 
 was to him of the first consequence, and that was greater 
 than all else. It made him sincere, fervent, and strong, 
 in his communications to others. It gave him constant 
 growth in spirituality. It confirmed him in faith and 
 27*
 
 318 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOOEE. 
 
 hope, and rooted and grounded him in Christian love. 
 It rendered him a safe preacher and counsellor, a reliable 
 guide in his own sect. It sanctified him in a charity 
 such as knew well how to respond to Wesley's saying : 
 " I ask not, therefore, of him with whom I would unite 
 in love, Are you of my church ? of my congregation ? 
 Do you receive the same form of church government and 
 allow the same church officers with me ? Do you join in 
 the same prayer wherein I worship God ? receive the 
 supper of the Lord in the same posture and manner as I 
 do ? agree with me in the administration of baptism ? 
 Nay, I ask not of you (as clear as I am in my own mind) 
 whether you allow baptism and the Lord's Supper at all. 
 Let all these things stand by ; we will talk of them, if 
 need be, at a more convenient season. My only question 
 at present is, Is thy heart right as my heart is with 
 thy heart ? If it be, give me thy hand." 
 
 Those nearest him, and who best knew him, can testify 
 to this principle and habit of his life. The pages of his 
 private journal are beautified with his simple and com 
 prehensive praises and prayers. His birth and marriage 
 days, the beginning and ending of weeks and years, are 
 consecrated by heavenly communings. His life was filled 
 with great occasions, because all occasions of true life 
 were great to him ; great from their relations, not to the 
 earthly and transient only, but to the heavenly and eter 
 nal. "He was the best-tempered man," writes another, 
 "that we ever knew. We never saw him angry, we 
 never saw him dispirited. Always cheerful, always
 
 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 319 
 
 tranquil, Sundays and other days, at home and abroad ; 
 with a heart full of gentleness and love, his presence was 
 everywhere a sunshine and a blessing." 
 
 He had firmness that could endure much trial, and yet 
 tenderness like that of the child. His sense of right, of 
 justice, no special pleadings in an opposite -direction 
 could for a moment affect. We remember an occasion 
 when, after a case of very afflictive trial and judgment in 
 council, an attempt was made, by a few compassionate 
 friends, to admit to fellowship again the offending brother. 
 The members of the assembly before whom this request 
 came were for some time engaged in a discussion of the 
 subject, when, at last, wearied with the waste of words, 
 and seeing the end of the matter from the beginning, he 
 arose and asked the attention of his brethren for a short 
 time. His speech, of twenty minutes or more, was so 
 accurate in its statements of the whole case, so candid, 
 so clear, and so completely overwhelming, that it ended 
 all further debate on the subject. The appeal for the 
 renewal of fellowship ceased. 
 
 In all his reproofs of what he deemed sinful and wrong 
 he was one of the most faithful of men. There was no 
 harshness in his admonitions or corrections, but a firm 
 ness, conscientiousness, and evident adherence to duty, 
 that would be quite likely to find its way home to those 
 for whom his words were intended. 
 
 " When," says a popular writer, "you call any one a 
 man of substance, tell me what his soul weighs. What 
 is his force of character, by his large culture, affection,
 
 320 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 or energy ? How much has he of the great elements of 
 humanity? Noble qualities of soul are the most sub 
 stantial possessions. In the assize of heaven our per 
 sonal property is estimated as our real estate." By this 
 rule, Mr. Moore would have stood a safe trial. He had 
 great qualities of soul ; to use Sir Philip Sidney's de 
 scription of another, "high-erected thought, seated in a 
 heart of courtesy." Blest 
 
 in a general honest thought 
 
 And common good to all, 
 
 His life was gentle ; and the elements 
 
 So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up 
 
 And say to all the world, This was a MAN ! " 
 
 His true greatness and life were in this manhood. No 
 station in which he moved could add to that ; but that 
 made him what he was, in all stations. His fellow-citi 
 zens sought to confer upon him the highest office in their 
 political power to bestow. The office could have brought 
 no additional honor to him ; he would have brought 
 honor to that. 
 
 Having thus freely given our own views of the man and 
 the minister, we take pleasure in presenting the opinions 
 of others who knew him well, who honored his charac 
 ter, and whose testimonies are the common property of 
 the friends of the departed brother, and of the Christian 
 public. 
 
 Rev. William S. Balch, pastor of the Bleecker-street 
 Universalist church in New York city, who was an inti-
 
 321 
 
 mate friend of Mr. Moore through his whole ministry, 
 thus writes : 
 
 " To say that brother Moore was a good MAN, modest, 
 truthful, earnest, reliable, of stout and pure heart, 
 always active unto every good word and work, is but to 
 repeat what everybody has said of him who knew him 
 well. His words and his works never left any other 
 impression, 
 
 " But of him as a minister I have a word to say. In 
 his professional character he did not rise into the high 
 rank of public estimation as a speaker to which some of 
 his brethren have attained. I do not think he ever as 
 pired to 'it; for he ever esteemed the good above the 
 great. It was not an element of his character to heed 
 blindly the goadings of ambition, except to excel in posi 
 tive goodness ; and his sermons usually partook of that 
 predominant quality of his nature. I have often heard 
 him say that he thought every sermon should set forth 
 some truth, or breathe some sentiment, which would tend 
 to make men better and happier, whether the careless 
 admired it or not. 
 
 "But as a preacher a speaker, merely he was 
 by many, if not by current popular opinion, underrated. 
 He was a clear, distinct, and comprehensive reasoner; 
 not, perhaps, so profound in logic, nor so polished in 
 rhetoric, as some amongst us ; but whatever he said was 
 well said ; and, for excellent spirit and tone of expression, 
 none ever excelled him. His sermons were always inter 
 esting, instructive, and profitable. Nobody ever left the
 
 322 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 church when he officiated without a better heart and 
 brighter hopes, edified and comforted by what he said. 
 And, after all, is not that the true work of the Christian 
 ministry ? There was a seriousness, an earnestness, an 
 unction, in all he said, that inspired confidence, and gave 
 an abiding force to all his public labors. 
 
 "And, then, his whole life, at home and abroad, in public 
 and in private, was a witness of the purity of his heart, 
 and the deep sincerity of all his labors. Everywhere he 
 breathed the spirit of Christian beneficence ; and vice, and 
 envy, and pride, and unkindness, stood rebuked in his pres 
 ence. Everybody believed him an honest man, and a true 
 Christian, however deep he might be in theological error. 
 He was a man of broad charity, and, though always 
 calm and easy, he was active in applying its sublime 
 principles to the necessities of mankind. He was not a 
 lazy preacher, but always ready to do his part in what 
 ever needed to be done. And he was a plain, out-spoken 
 man, never afraid to tell another of his faults, or to lend 
 a hand to sustain and defend an injured brother from the 
 malice of envious and wicked men. In short, we can 
 boast of few in our ministry who are. or were, his equals, 
 as a good Christian and faithful preacher ; and no denom 
 ination has his superior." 
 
 Another clear and faithful statement of the character 
 of our brother is thus given by Rev. Moses Ballou, of 
 Hartford, Ct. : 
 
 " I am pleased that you are preparing a memoir of our 
 late excellent brother, Rev. John Moore. Few knew him
 
 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 323 
 
 better, or can more fully appreciate the peculiarities of 
 his character, than yourself. You ask for my opinion of 
 him, and I will try to give it in a few words. I think 
 that my personal acquaintance with him commenced 
 about twenty-one years ago. From that period, until 
 the time of his death, I enjoyed his intimate friendship, 
 and cherished for him a deep and warm regard. His 
 more prominent traits, as he was presented to my mind, 
 were : 
 
 "1. An eminently devout spirit. The whole tone 
 and complexion of his life were religious. His reverent 
 feelings were not made up for an occasion, nor did he 
 have to resort to some spiritual gymnastics to infuse a 
 warmth into his devotions. His fervor was easy and 
 natural ; and, although not boisterous, yet it never lacked 
 vitality. He was made for a minister of the Gospel. 
 No one could be long with him and fail to see this. 
 And I believe that more of his thoughts were given to 
 God and to religion than is common even among our 
 best men. His soul seemed to have been baptized into 
 the spirit of his Master, and to feel as did the apostle 
 when he said, ' Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel.' 
 Embracing, as he did, in early life, a view of Christian 
 ity which fully accorded with his reason and the best 
 impulses of his heart, his naturally devout feelings were 
 quickened, and his zeal endowed with a uniform life and 
 activity. 
 
 " 2. An unwavering faith. Perhaps the bent of his 
 mind was not sufficiently speculative to suggest doubts
 
 324 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 readily ; and perhaps he might have had his troubles from 
 this source, and kept them to himself. At any rate, I 
 cannot recall an instance now in which he ever referred 
 to anything of this kind ; and certainly his uniform serene 
 cheerfulness 'and buoyant hopefulness, even in circum 
 stances of great trial, show a deep ,and abiding faith in 
 God, and in his good government. A quaint but 
 favorite expression which he used sometimes, when things 
 did not appear to go right, was, ' Well, there is as 
 much down-hill as up-hill in the path of life, besides 
 all the level ground? 
 
 " 3. He loved the doctrine he preached. The cause 
 of Universalism was very dear to his heart. It not only 
 answered to his own benevolent feelings, but he believed 
 that it had great moral power. He regarded it, indeed, 
 as the world's last hope. He was, in the best sense of 
 the term, a sectarian ; just as every good man must be. 
 But he was no bigot. He was no hater of other sects. 
 He seldom used language about them which was tinged 
 with severity. No ; he loved them all, heartily, though 
 he loved his own still better. He was not even what is 
 generally termed a doctrinal preacher, though no one 
 could hear him, at any time, and question his distinctive 
 faith. 
 
 " 4. He had a high sense of the responsibilities 
 and duties of the ministerial office. Constituted and 
 trained as he was, he could not regard it as a business 
 occupation merely. It was the highest post of duty. It 
 had a sacred character in his eyes. And though he was
 
 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 325 
 
 brimming full of social feeling and cheerful humor, gush 
 ing out with it on every proper occasion, still he never 
 seemed to forget the dignity of his office, or the im 
 portance of keeping it unsullied. His sensitiveness was 
 so great in this respect, that nothing pained him more 
 than to see any of his ministering brethren reckless in 
 their language or deportment, or in any way degrading 
 their ministerial character. About the only instances in 
 which I can remember that he gave way to feelings of 
 indignation, were those of this kind. He was foremost in 
 enforcing a wholesome discipline, and the. first to forgive 
 and plead for an erring brother, on the slightest mani 
 festation of penitence. He had a great, warm heart, 
 with an active conscience, and a high sense of duty. 
 
 " As a preacher, he was not brilliant, or very popular 
 with the masses; but he was more than this he was a 
 good and profitable man in that position, making all who 
 heard him better and happier for it. There was so little 
 said for effect, so little made up, or put on, and so much 
 that was sincere, ardent, and truthful, uttered in a kind 
 and winning spirit, that I think his labors accomplished 
 more for Christ than those of many others, who have far 
 more captivating talents. He was deeply beloved by his 
 ministering brethren. He was always a favorite with 
 them, and I do not know of one who did not regard him 
 with esteem and affection. Such trust was reposed in 
 him, that it was a common saying among them that the 
 cause of truth was safe in any place where he was settled. 
 Indeed, it might perhaps be said as truly of him as of 
 28
 
 326 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 any one, that he never made an enemy, and never lost a 
 friend." 
 
 On the Sabbath succeeding the death of Mr. Moore, a 
 discourse on the event was delivered in the Warren-street 
 Universalist church, in Boston, by the pastor, Rev. Otis 
 A. Skinner. The text was the language of Paul in view 
 of the near event of his own death: "For I am now 
 ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at 
 hand." We present these extracts from the discourse : 
 
 " The life of such a man is the most eloquent com 
 mentary upon religion, its love, its kindness, its purity, 
 that can be given. He was the model after which his 
 people could copy. He was not one who stood as a mere 
 guide-post to direct the way. And amply did he find 
 his reward in his goodness. There are those who pass 
 for good men, and who doubtless are good, that never 
 have friends. They repulse all with whom they come in 
 contact. If they have integrity, it shows itself chiefly in 
 a dogged obstinacy, which expends itself in warring with 
 those who differ from them. If they have benevolence, 
 it is of that sour, morose character which chills those 
 who are its recipients, and clouds their minds with dismal 
 forebodings. If they have sociability, it is of that sharp, 
 angular character which loves to cut the hearts it en 
 twines with itself, and creates more uneasiness than pleas 
 ure. There are some good men that you cannot love. 
 You do not doubt their honesty, their desire to be useful, 
 their benevolence of purpose ; but still there is nothing in 
 them attractive. Our brother was not in the cast of this
 
 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 327 
 
 stamp. He was generous, open, frank, cordial, kind, and 
 took delight in making all happy. Hence he had friends, 
 strong, cordial, devoted friends. And the idea of leaving 
 the world, therefore, was not connected with the thought 
 that it had gone roughly with him, that it had yielded 
 him no enjoyment, and that to resign it was to resign 
 that which had never done him good or ministered to his 
 pleasure. Not only had he had friends, but also a success 
 ful ministry. When he entered the field of ministerial 
 labor there was only one society in his state able to have 
 constant preaching, and only some ten or twelve in all New 
 England. What a change did he live to witness ! He 
 had seen the wilderness bud and blossom ; had seen hun 
 dreds of societies come forth to life. And yet the thought 
 that death was at hand did not make him melancholy. 
 And now the question arises, Why did it not ? Never 
 were his labors more blessed ; never did he stand fairer 
 before the world. Although no politician, though he 
 loved the ministry, and gave his whole heart to it, he 
 had just been selected, by a large portion of the citizens 
 of his state, as a candidate for the office of Governor ; and 
 selected, too, with a degree of unanimity and under cir 
 cumstances as favorable as could have been desired. And, 
 though obliged to decline the nomination, because he had 
 not been long enough a resident of the state since his 
 return to it, it was thought that no man in the state 
 would have received a larger vote than he. How was it, 
 then, that he could have been so cheerful, so composed,
 
 328 MEMOIE OF JOHN MOOKE. 
 
 so happy, when he felt, under such circumstances, that 
 death was standing at his very door ? I answer : 
 
 " 1. He had entire confidence in God. But few 
 really know what such confidence is. They have what 
 they call confidence, but it is only a half-way trust, a trust 
 that will serve them in the day of health and prosperity, 
 or that will even serve them under slight pressures of 
 evil ; but when the sky grows all dark, when the sun is 
 perfectly veiled, and every star is extinguished, and no 
 ray of light is seen, then they give way to despair, the 
 waters of grief overflow them. Very different was the 
 trust of the prophet when he said, ' Although the fig-tree 
 shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the 
 labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no 
 meat ; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there 
 shall be no herd in the stalls ; yet I will rejoice in the 
 Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation ; ' different 
 that of David, saying, ' Clouds and darkness are round 
 about him ; righteousness and judgment are the habita 
 tion of his throne.' True trust takes hold on God when 
 there is nothing else to yield support; it has an eye 
 which looks beyond present trial. And such was hia 
 trust. 
 
 " 2. He had submission. Submission is generally a 
 feeling that is produced gradually, by sickness, wasting 
 strength, and keen suffering. After we have been for 
 months stricken with disease, and feel how frail we are, 
 then may we realize submission to the will of Him who 
 holdeth all mortal life in his hand. " This submission does
 
 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 329 
 
 not so surely hold us when the pulse bounds with health, 
 and we feel most of life's present blessing. It was a 
 virtue of our brother, however, at all times. He was 
 reconciled to the divine purpose ; was willing his heavenly 
 Father should have his own way with him ; could say, 
 ' If the Lord will I live or die. Let him do as seemeth 
 good in his sight.' 
 
 "3. He had hope in another life. He felt assured 
 that, when he passed the boundaries of time, he would 
 have opened to him the gates of the celestial city, the city 
 that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 
 This was the doctrine he had preached, and to him it was 
 a reality. He knew the boundless love, the eternal 
 mercy, the changeless goodness, of the Father ; and he 
 could say with Paul, ' I am persuaded that neither death 
 nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
 things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, 
 nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from 
 the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' 
 
 " These, then, are the reasons why he was not troubled 
 by the knowledge that he could live only a little while, 
 and that death was constantly near. 0, brethren, what 
 a blessing is there in a view like this ! May the hopes 
 and joys which it reveals be ours ! " 
 
 The following, from a letter to the writer of this 
 memoir, from Rev. I. D. Williamson, D.D., speaks for 
 itself: 
 
 "For a full quarter century I knew brother Moore, 
 and loved him as a brother indeed. He took me by the 
 28*
 
 330 MEMOIB OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 hand and encouraged me in my earliest efforts in the 
 ministry ; and from that day onward to the day of hia 
 departure, I had no warmer or better friend. His soul 
 was full of the love of God and man, and his influence 
 was always for the good and the true. His very look 
 was a benediction ; and I have more than once heard it 
 said of him that there was scarcely any necessity that he 
 should preach at all. He had only to stand up in the 
 pulpit and look around upon the people, and they would 
 go away feeling that they had received a blessing, and 
 that they had caught something of the spirit of a good 
 man and true. His preaching was characterized with 
 the unction of the Holy Spirit, and few heard him without 
 feeling that they were made stronger and better men. 
 Greater preachers we may have had amongst us, but 
 none better, no, not one." 
 
 During the preparation of this memoir, there came 
 into the hands of the writer a publication from the west, 
 containing a controversial article, from one evidently not 
 in heart-fellowship with the faith of Mr. Moore, who, at 
 the same time, offered this apparently spontaneous tribute 
 to him : 
 
 "Were the writer to select one, from among all the 
 Christian ministers he has known of all denominations, 
 whom he would pronounce the most complete Christian 
 gentleman, his mind would fall upon Rev. John Moore, 
 whose nomination as candidate for Governor of New 
 Hampshire, and whose sudden death soon ensuing that 
 nomination, are familiar to the country. The writer had 
 known and noticed him for years."
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 TRIBUTE OF THE REFORM ASSOCIATION. 
 
 MR. MOORE, at the time of his decease, was one of 
 the Vice-Preaidents of the Universalist General Reform 
 Association. At the annual meeting of this body, on the 
 last Wednesday in May, 1855, at the Universalist church 
 in School-street, Boston, the following resolution was 
 offered by Rev. J. G. Adams, and during the meeting 
 unanimously adopted : 
 
 Whereas, it hath pleased the All-wise Disposer of 
 events to remove from this earthly life, during the past 
 year, our faithful and much-esteemed brother, one of the 
 Vice-Presidents of this Association, Rev. JOHN MOORE, 
 of New Hampshire, 
 
 Resolved, That while we would be resigned to that 
 Supreme will, in obedience to which he has left his home 
 and field of duty here, we would ever hold in remem 
 brance his true manliness of character, his devotedness to 
 the great principles of the Gospel, his faithful labors as a 
 Christian minister and pastor, as a prudent, consistent,
 
 332 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 fearless reformer; and friend and servant of all men ; and 
 while we sympathize with his bereaved family, and real 
 ize the loss occasioned by his death, to our own denomi 
 nation and to the Christian fraternity, we would express 
 our united desire that we may be incited by his example 
 to that life of faith which is the greatest of all argu 
 ments that Christianity is . from God, and its power 
 adequate to the enlightenment and salvation of mankind. 
 
 Among the remarks of members of the association, on 
 the passage of this resolution, we have room only for the 
 following, from an address of Rev. Massena Goodrich, 
 of Waltham, Mass. : 
 
 "It is a fact, Mr. President, worthy of mention in 
 this association, that brother Moore was a genuine 
 reformer. His was no fiery zeal, which sought to revo 
 lutionize public sentiment in a day, and chafed with fury 
 because its wishes were not gratified ; nor was his a blind 
 conservatism, which looked on abuses as hallowed, pro 
 vided they were old. He was one who could labor, and 
 yet wait. He felt, what I trust you and I feel, Mr. 
 President, that Christianity has a part to play in all the 
 varied affairs of life ; that, while it aims to sanctify the 
 entire man, it wars against every institution which would 
 crush or brutalize humanity. He remembered that the 
 Gospel bids us sympathize with the degraded and 
 enslaved, as bearing in mind that they too are our 
 brethren. Without rashness, but without cowardice, 
 he rebuked sin wherever he saw it, whether in high 
 places or in low.
 
 TRIBUTE OF THE REFORM ASSOCIATION. 333 
 
 " I met our departed brother a few months before his 
 decease, and listened with delight to a gleeful account 
 that he gave of a lecture he had received from a minis 
 tering brother. Brother Moore had affixed his name to 
 the clerical protest sent on to Congress against the 
 Kansas- Nebraska act. The clergyman of whom he 
 spoke was amazed at brother Moore's indiscretion. ' How 
 came you, brother Moore, to sign such a document ? ' 
 ' Did you entertain any doubt, my brother,' was the 
 frank reply, ' that I would sign it ? " How came I to 
 sign if? " I did so, sir, because it is a feet that Con 
 gress, in repealing the Missouri Compromise, and open 
 ing a new region to slavery, insulted the North, and 
 sinned against humanity, and against God ! ' Such 
 was the sturdiness, such the integrity, such the man 
 liness, of our departed brother. In deference to his con 
 victions of duty, he snapped party ties and associations, 
 as though they were but reeds. 
 
 " But, Mr. President, he has gone. In the long conflict 
 with the giant evils that darken our land, and, scowl on 
 every Christian who would dispute their supremacy, in 
 that conflict which lies before us and our successors, the 
 wisdom, the strong good sense, the stern courage, the 
 genial sympathy, of brother Moore, would have aided us 
 materially. But Heaven has decreed otherwise. Our 
 honored friend has been summoned hence, and we are left 
 to toil, how much longer, we know not. An admonition 
 comes to us from this afflictive event, bidding us work
 
 334 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 while the day lasts, since the night cometh, when no man 
 can work.' 
 
 ' ' Mr. President, it was my lot to preach in the pulpit 
 of our departed brother on the Sunday following his de 
 cease. And, as I gazed on the sad countenances of his 
 congregation, and into those tearful eyes, I could not 
 help uttering a thought, which I shall repeat here. Had 
 John Moore devoted his energies to the acquisition of 
 material wealth, greedy heirs might have gathered round 
 his coffin, ready to wrangle about his property. Had he 
 been a mere politician, hungry aspirants for office might 
 have crowded round his bier, in affected grief at his 
 departure, thankful, perhaps, in heart, that one who 
 stood between them and preferment was removed. But, 
 because he has been something nobler than these, a 
 devout Christian, a faithful philanthropist, an honest 
 man, an entire denomination mourns, and thousands out 
 side the limits of his sect lament. God grant that the 
 lesson may not be lost on us ! "
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A WORD ABOUT THE MINISTRY. 
 
 IN the ministerial life of our brother a subject pre 
 sents itself which we cannot discuss, but only mention, 
 in connection with this memoir. For one of his years 
 and acknowledged ability, he had, perhaps, an unusual 
 number of settlements in the ministry. Some of these 
 were very agreeable to him ; others were not, in all 
 respects ; although in every place where he was set 
 tled his ministry is well spoken of. His work has been 
 the more highly regarded, as it has been the more con 
 templated since its termination. This comes of the char 
 acter of the man and the minister. His whole heart was 
 in his work. His course in the ministry was usually 
 cheerful and hopeful. He would not leave his vocation, 
 of his own accord, for any other that might invite him. 
 Yet he was not insensible to the trials of the minister. 
 At times, he keenly realized them ; trials such as the 
 minister often bears alone, without making them a sub 
 ject of free speech with his people. We refer, not to
 
 336 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 trials which come to the minister of his own incompe- 
 tency for duty, or neglect of it (for which we would be 
 the last to offer an apology), but to such as arise mainly 
 from inconsiderateness on the part of those who employ 
 him. One is, the expectation of too much duty of a 
 minister, from want of knowledge of the many and vari 
 ous calls upon him ; another, the inadequacy of ministe 
 rial support ; and another, the transient nature of minis 
 terial settlements, by which the minister is made to feel 
 that, after his best endeavors with his people, the con 
 nection may be suddenly broken off. from causes which a 
 stronger religious interest on their part might have pre 
 vented. 
 
 These, and other embarrassments in the way 'of a min 
 ister's true life, we are thankful to know, have been, 
 within a few years past, the subject of much thoughtful 
 consideration with ministers and people. They are evils 
 appealing alike to all Christian sects; evils that have 
 brought into life and circulation such works as our 
 "Sunny Sides," "Shady Sides," "Parish Sides," 
 "Peep at Number Five," "The Rector of St. Bar- 
 dolph's," and the "Records of Bubbleton Parish ;" works 
 which have found multitudes of readers, and which are 
 still on a message of truth with the Christian public. 
 
 That there was a gracious Providence directing him in 
 alKhis ways, through all the trials and changes here be 
 setting him, Mr. Moore conscientiously and rejoicingly 
 believed. In this light he made the best of all griev 
 ances allotted to him. He kept right on his way, never
 
 A WORD ABOUT THE MINISTRY. 337 
 
 weary of spirit in well-doing. And it may be that this 
 same providential hand which so directed him has 
 intended also, through his experiences, to open other eyea 
 to some of the things which rendered his ministry less 
 effective than it might have been. If it shall teach any one 
 society this lesson, namely, When they have a minister 
 as unexceptionable every way as he was, to keep him, if 
 possible ; to rally around him ; to understand his trials, 
 and endeavor to lighten them ; to work with him by every 
 righteous means for the advancement of the Christian 
 cause ; it shall not have given these experiences to the 
 world in vain. That such a lesson is to be more gen 
 erally heeded than it has been in many instances in the 
 past, if we would make increase of numbers and of true 
 power as a denomination, seems as evident to us as that 
 the fruit will be according to the nature of the tree that 
 bears it. 
 
 29
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 HIS FAITH; ITS TEACHINGS AND APPLICATIONS.- 
 
 WE are not able to bring within the compass of this 
 volume such extracts from the writings of our brother, 
 illustrative of his faith, as we desired ; and must, there 
 fore, be content with presenting, in as concise a form as 
 may be practicable, what further we have to say respect 
 ing this faith, its teachings and applications. 
 
 His views of Christian doctrine always come to us in 
 " the form of sound words." lie takes pleasure in the 
 textual or philosophical exposition of his faith ; in pointing 
 out its practical bearings ; in advocating by its light the 
 maintenance of Christian ordinances ; in vindicating in its 
 holy name the sincere and earnest efforts of all persons, 
 sects, and parties, to lessen human wrong, correct human 
 abuses, and reform corrupt habits and institutions. His 
 faith is based on the Divine Paternity. He says : 
 
 "How few, even among professed believers in the 
 doctrine of Jesus Christ, are in the possession of that 
 faith in the Parental character and disposition of the
 
 HIS FAITH. 339 
 
 immutable Jehovah, which is implied in their Christian 
 profession ; and which is so necessary to confidence in, 
 and reconciliation to, the government of Him whose 
 kingdom ruleth over all. Do those parents who fear that 
 God will finally banish their children from his presence, 
 and consign them to endless torments, evince much con 
 fidence in the Divine Paternity ? Do they, in the ex 
 pression of their fears on this subject, evince much faith 
 in the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, when he in 
 formed mankind that our Father in heaven was infinitely 
 more kind to man than earthly parents are to their 
 children ? 
 
 " How ready are the kind father and the affectionate 
 mother to bestow blessings on their offspring, to anticipate 
 their wants, to relieve to the extent of their power their 
 distresses, to grant their requests if consistent with the 
 good of the family ; and when they chastise them how 
 benevolent is their object ; and even if their children are 
 disobedient, and unmindful of their own good, and stray 
 far from the path of honor and happiness, with what in 
 tense anxiety do the parents look for their return ; and 
 how ready to do all in their power to effect a reformation ! 
 And yet, these very parents perhaps are so much under 
 the influence of a false creed, that they, by their fears 
 in regard to what God will do to their children, or suffer 
 to be done, impute to him a character and disposition 
 which they themselves would blush to own, and which 
 would disgrace the veriest tyrant that ever existed ! How 
 much more confidence such parents have in their own
 
 340 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 goodness than in the goodness of God, who declares that 
 his tender mercies are over all his works, and that he is 
 without variableness or shadow of turning ! And yet, 
 these persons are called believers ! What do they believe 
 concerning the will of God relative to the salvation of 
 man? Do they believe that St. Paul was in earnest 
 when he said of God that he ' will have all men to be 
 saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth,' and 
 that ' he worketh all things after the counsel of his own 
 will.' 
 
 "If so, why express so much distrust of the accom 
 plishment of this will, why so fearful of the result of 
 God's government over moral beings ? Ah ! the fear 
 and distrust which are in so many ways expressed, with 
 respect to the disposition which God our Father will 
 make of his offspring, show most clearly that too many, 
 even of professed Christians, have paid but little atten 
 tion to the teaching of the Saviour ; that they entertain 
 contracted views of the character of the Father of us 
 all, and have but a weak faith in his promises ; and have 
 need to pray, ' Lord, I believe ; help thou our unbelief.' " 
 
 This faith he read in the Scriptures, for which he had 
 a profound reverence. He received them as a record of 
 successive revelations made by God to his children, the 
 last and greatest one being that of Jesus Christ. His 
 reverence for these records was not superstitious, but 
 rational and consistent. He regarded the evidences of 
 the divine communications in the Bible as irresistible, 
 would men but open their minds and hearts to them. In
 
 HIS FAITH. 341 
 
 a communication entitled " Search the Scriptures," he 
 urges upon all classes, and upon those in the different 
 stages of life's progress, the duty of making this revela 
 tion of heavenly truth their frequent and devout study. 
 
 " The Bible is the Christian's text-book, and, there 
 fore, it should be his earnest endeavor to make himself 
 more and more acquainted with its contents, that he may 
 not only be able to give a reason of the views he enter 
 tains, and the grounds of the hope which he cherishes, 
 but that he may also be enabled, by a thorough knowledge 
 of its holy doctrines and divine precepts, to derive from 
 the source of all light and goodness, whose character and 
 purposes are therein revealed, all the comfort, peace, and 
 reconciliation to the government of God, which the hap 
 piness of man requires, and which is found in rich abun 
 dance in obedience to the principles and precepts therein 
 inculcated. The Bible is emphatically ' the book of 
 books ; ' and all who have so read it, and so reflected on 
 its contents as to perceive to some considerable extent 
 its beauty, its grandeur, and its simplicity, will thus 
 regard it. And those persons who neglect the reading 
 of the Scriptures, or who read without understanding 
 what they read, are depriving themselves of much mental 
 and moral enjoyment. The Bible is adapted to all ages, 
 ranks, and conditions in life. It imparts wisdom to the 
 ruler; shows the subject the propriety of obedience; it 
 administers reproof and warnings of punishment to the 
 vicious, and affords encouragement to the virtuous ; it 
 teaches parents and children, partners and kindred, their 
 29*
 
 342 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 duty to themselves and each other ; it enjoins on each 
 and all universal good-will ; it comes to all as the faith 
 ful record of our Father's will, in which is secured the 
 rich and all-desirable legacy of immortality, honor, and 
 glory, to be conferred on the whole family of man." 
 
 His confidence in the agreement of his faith with the 
 dictates of enlightened reason that it commended 
 itself to the best intellectual and moral perceptions of 
 our nature is well set forth in a short article published 
 as an editorial in the Universalist. It is entitled " I 
 Thought." 
 
 " I once inquired of a man who had been blind from 
 early infancy, and who had embraced the glorious doc 
 trine of the Restitution, what led him to become a 
 Universalist. His answer was, ' / thought? I was 
 highly pleased with the laconic reply, as it is a full and 
 clear explanation of the reason why men are led to 
 embrace that truth which makes the mind free and the 
 soul happy. In proportion as men think and reason on 
 the subject of human destiny, taking the universally- 
 acknowledged character of God as the basis of their 
 thoughts, they will be led to doubt the truth of partial- 
 ism. And if they continue their thoughts, and withal 
 possess independence of mind, they will at length come 
 to embrace the heavenly doctrine of the salvation of the 
 world by Jesus Christ. This is probably the reason 
 why it has been deemed unsafe to reason upon religious 
 doctrine; why human reason has been denounced as 
 dangerous. But thinking and reasoning on the character
 
 HIS FAITH. 343 
 
 and purposes of God can be dangerous only to error, and 
 unsafe only to the creeds of men. 
 
 " The literally blind are not the only persons who are 
 in the dark. There is a blindness under the influence 
 of which thousands are laboring in regard to the charac 
 ter and will of God, which is a thousand times more 
 dreadful than to be shut out from the light of the glori 
 ous sun, especially if, while literally blind, the light and 
 the glory of the moral world beams upon the mind, 
 making it light in the Lord. The Gospel, as taught by 
 Jesus Christ and his apostles, is the only system faith 
 in which can give peace and rest and joy to all hearts." 
 
 He loved his faith, because with him it was no mere 
 abstraction, but the power and the wisdom of God in the 
 present and future salvation of man ; not a speculation, 
 but a fact ; not a word, but a life. He could not have 
 been satisfied with a " faith without works ; " with a 
 Universalism whose chief topic of thought and discussion 
 was, that all men would somehow be saved hereafter, 
 while this assurance was attended with negligence of 
 spiritual culture and discipline and improvement here. 
 His faith was higher, deeper, broader, than this. It was 
 a faith which gave man more work to do than all other 
 faiths, work such as man is capable of accomplishing. 
 It had life in it, to awaken dead souls to the service of 
 truth and the love of righteousness. It was a faith 
 shining brightest in its works, in love to God and love 
 to man, love of purity, justice, holiness. It not only 
 preached to him, and made him preach to others, " God
 
 344 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the 
 knowledge of the truth," but, in equally earnest and 
 wakeful zeal, " Now is the accepted time ; behold now 
 is the day of salvation." 
 
 Of the different kinds of professed friends of the great 
 Christian faith, he says : 
 
 " What a palpable difference there is between the real, 
 sentimental Universalist, who knows what he believes 
 and why he believes it, who is ready to show his faith 
 by his works, and the professed friend of the holy cause 
 of God's impartial and changeless love to the world, 
 who has no definite views of the doctrine he would be 
 understood to favor, and whose conduct proves that he 
 has no real love for it ! What he calls faith in the Gospel 
 as held by Universalists, is only a rejection of partialisrn ; 
 and what he calls love for the cause of truth, is only 
 hatred of what he thinks is erroneous. 
 
 " Now, the difference between these two persons is 
 great indeed; in their feelings in regard to the cause 
 of truth, and in their influence on their associates. 
 The man or the woman who is really a believer in the 
 glorious doctrine of universal salvation, not only enjoys 
 much happiness in that belief, but is anxious also that 
 others should be brought to participate in the same rich 
 feast of the spirit. But those who have no living faith 
 in the system are of course deprived of any real enjoyment 
 in this respect, consequently feel no particular desire that 
 others should embrace the sentiment. And why should 
 they ? They know nothing, comparatively, of the pleas-
 
 HIS FAITH. 345 
 
 ure of a strong and enduring faith in the promises of 
 God as given us in the Gospel, and therefore have no 
 desire that others should believe especially for the 
 benefit of the believer ; they may desire that others 
 should join their party for party purposes. 
 
 " This latter class are dead weights to the cause, while 
 the former are as ' lively stones ' in the spiritual temple 
 of the Most High. The influence of the one is great 
 and good, and does much to recommend the truth to the 
 consideration of others ; that of the other is the reverse, 
 and does much to bring the doctrine professed into dis 
 repute with those who judge of the goodness of a system 
 by the conduct of its professed adherents. 0, how desir 
 able that all who profess to be Universalists should 
 adorn that profession ! Then would their light shine 
 before men, and great good would be the result. 0, for 
 more of the real spirit of the doctrine of the Gospel ! 
 May a merciful God send out his light and his truth to 
 lead us ! " 
 
 He took great interest in what have been called Chris 
 tian Ordinances. We believe he deemed water baptism 
 to have been the primitive mode of administering that 
 rite. He was ever a consistent advocate of the Church 
 institution, and of the observance of the Lord's Supper. 
 Some of his severest trials of mind were realized, at times, 
 in consequence of the lack of interest in this institution 
 .on the part of those whose sincerity and engagedness 
 otherwise in the faith he had no reason to doubt. 
 
 Mr. Moore was one of the firmest of Protestants.
 
 346 MEMOIK OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 His faith made him so. This was to him the best 
 embodiment of Protestantism that the world had seen. 
 It teaches and claims the right of private judgment 
 respecting religious truth, the free reading of the Scrip 
 tures by the people, the education of the masses. It 
 repudiates errors of doctrine held in common by Prot 
 estants and Romanists, especially the dogma of endless 
 punishment, which has served to keep men apart rather 
 than to make them more and more "one in Christ 
 Jesus." It views God as a Common Parent, and insti 
 tutes and encourages a priesthood through which a true 
 spiritual culture and elevation may be the blessing of 
 all. Its tendency is contrary to Romanism as evinced 
 in the history of the last three centuries to produce the 
 best forms of human government among the nations ; 
 the tyrannies and other Avrongs now prevailing in many 
 of them having life and growth from principles at vari 
 ance with the ' ' Gospel that bringeth salvation to all 
 men." It would secure socially, politically, spiritually, 
 " the greatest good of the greatest number." 
 
 Although during the last year of his life the question 
 of the relative claims of Protestantism and Catholicism 
 had been more warmly and widely discussed in this 
 country than at any previous time in its history, and 
 although the political party by whose will Mr. Moore 
 received his nomination for chief magistrate of the state 
 had made this question the one of main importance in 
 their creed, he had no new interest to gain or to pretend 
 in reference to the question. He had always regarded
 
 HIS FAITH. 347 
 
 the spirit of Catholicism as most generally developed 
 in human history hostile to the social, political, and 
 religious progress of mankind, and Protestantism as 
 favorable to these blessings. He had charity for Catho 
 lics, toleration for them to the last degree ; but 
 nothing but dislike for the dominant spirit of the church, 
 the assumptions of the priesthood, the theological errors 
 and illiberal tendencies of Romanism. He differed from 
 the members of the Catholic church, as he differed from 
 many Protestants, in doctrine ; and still more from them 
 because of their hostility to the free reading and interpret 
 ation of the Scriptures to RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. When 
 he thought he saAV that invaded or held in light esteem 
 by Catholic or Protestant, he was ready to vindicate and 
 maintain it everywhere and always. 
 
 His views of Christianity, in its application to some of 
 the reformatory .questions and movements of the times, 
 should also be mentioned here. He had all confidence 
 in Christian Truth, and lively interest in following it 
 out, and applying it; applying it, too, not chiefly to 
 sins and errors of past times, and people of other days, 
 but to wrongs and "fruitful works of darkness" that 
 are near us in the present, afflicting and demeaning our 
 race. Another has properly written of him : " In all 
 questions of reform he was on the side of progress ; yet 
 not blind to established interests, nor discourteous to 
 opinions that differed from his own. With all of this, he 
 was firm in his convictions, fearless in their expression, 
 and ardent in whatever cause he espoused. By this
 
 348 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 union of strength with gentleness, enthusiasm with can 
 dor, he disarmed the enmity of opponents, and won from 
 men of all classes and beliefs the homage of respect and 
 esteem." * 
 
 The Gospel which our brother was called to promul 
 gate was one of peace. Its teaching was peace ; it would 
 finally abolish all warrings and wicked conflicts among 
 men. In a letter to a friend, during his residence in 
 Lynn, after he had heard of the death of Colonel Ran 
 som, at the storming of Chepultepec, he writes : 
 
 " 0, the war ! What will come of it ? Col. Ransom 
 killed ! I fear it was not the best way, to send our army 
 into Mexico. Is it not too late in the day for the most 
 enlightened nation on earth to engage in such a war ? Is 
 it asked, What would- you do ? Shall we not maintain 
 our rights, and sustain the national honor ? Yes ; but 
 all this might have been done in a much cheaper and 
 better way. Our army might have defended our frontier 
 very easily, and the difficulties have been adjusted quite 
 as honorably as now ; and we should have saved much 
 life and treasure ; for there is not much honor now in 
 killing even an enemy. The only bright spot I can see, 
 in all this darkness, is, the probability that civilization 
 may be advanced in that region by the war, as it has 
 been in other ages and countries. But I cannot bear the 
 idea of fighting and killing ! Why, what can compen 
 sate for the death of Ransom ? If it were necessary to 
 
 * Rev. S. P. Skinner.
 
 HIS FAITH. 349 
 
 sacrifice life to settle some great principle, as in our rev 
 olution, then I could be reconciled to the loss of^good 
 and true men. But in this case I do not see such a 
 necessity." * 
 
 The temperance movement found a consistent and 
 untiring advocate in Mr. Moore. He was a ' total absti 
 nent" from principle; a believer in the reformation of 
 the inebriate, and in all righteous attempts to restrain, by 
 law, the sale of intoxicating drinks. 
 
 11 1 well remember," writes a citizen of Hartford, 
 "when the cause of temperance seemed to be in a lan 
 guishing condition in this vicinity, and but few were to 
 be found who labored with much zeal, and good hearts 
 were ready to despond. The president of the principal 
 temperance society called on Mr. Moore, and inquired 
 what, under the circumstances, could be done. He re 
 plied, ' Be not discouraged. While I have the ability to 
 do anything for the cause, call upon me, and you will 
 find me ready to do my share of duty in behalf of it. 
 Renew your efforts, and we will try to excite a fresh in 
 terest, and may hope to be successful.' The work was 
 taken hold of with new life, and a blessing attended it. 
 The president of this society afterwards informed me that 
 no individual had rendered so much aid to the cause in 
 this time of need as Mr. Moore ; and that to no one were 
 
 * In his early days, Mr. Moore had been somewhat distinguished as 
 a military man. During some of the first years of his ministry, 
 appointments that " Colonel Moore " would preach were not unfre- 
 quently given in places where he was known. 
 
 30
 
 350 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 they under so great obligations as to him. Many unfor 
 tunate individuals, who had fallen into the vice of 
 inebriety, loved and venerated him as the instrument in 
 producing their reformation/' 
 
 As a believer in Christianity, Mr. Moore considered it 
 his duty to bear his testimony against human slavery, 
 and especially against that form of it existing in some of 
 the states of our great national confederacy. His faith 
 always represented to him the worth of the individual 
 man in God's sight ; the estimate put upon him by the 
 infinite Father ; the work which Christ came to do, not 
 in the enslavement of any, but in the spiritual care and 
 culture of even the weakest of all. On ground like this, 
 he could oppose human slavery, and advocate that free 
 dom which is the right of the race ; because it 'makes 
 God on the side of freedom, and his government 
 pledged to bring all oppression to an end. 
 
 In a communication to a friend, in February, 1851, he 
 writes : 
 
 " Slavery ! What a misnomer in our American 
 vocabulary ! How it makes our faces redden, and our 
 ears tingle, when we hear of those who, having fled for 
 refuge to lay hold on the pleasures of freedom among our 
 native hills and valleys, are obliged to hasten on to the 
 tender mercies of a monarchical government, in order to 
 preserve that freedom ! If the consideration of any sub 
 ject moves my soul to utter indignation, it is that of 
 slavery. It is, indeed, ' the sum of all villanies.' And 
 when I think that God is just, in the language of Mr.
 
 HIS FAITH. 351 
 
 Jefferson, ' I tremble for my country.' But what can 
 be done ? Ah ! that is, indeed, the question. I am in 
 favor of the colonization plan. That has already done 
 what three of the most powerful nations have failed to do, 
 in regard to the suppression of the slave-trade. If the 
 whole coast of Africa could be colonized, that abominable 
 traffic would be at an end there, and civilization and 
 Christianity would gradually find their way into the 
 heart of that dark quarter of our globe. Then, if the 
 South would fix upon a plan of gradual emancipation, 
 even if it should require a whole century to carry it out, 
 and would treat the blacks as Christians should treat the 
 poor, the ignorant, and weak, the world would be satis 
 fied ; only let there be the prospect of a final deliv 
 erance. If something of this kind is not done, we may 
 be sure that the subject will continue to be agitated, till 
 some awful calamity will ensue ; especially if the South 
 continues to send here for fugitives from ungodly op 
 pression. 
 
 " I pray Heaven that our glorious Union may be pre 
 served ; and I believe it will be. But one thing is cer 
 tain, our government cannot always remain, if we aban 
 don the principles of moral right." 
 
 Another reformatory question in which Mr. Moore took 
 strong interest was that of the abolition of the gallows ; 
 the removing of the death penalty from our statute-books. 
 He believed the gallows to be a relic of barbarism, having 
 no sanction in the heavenly law, and no apology for 
 existence where true Christianity has the making of human
 
 352 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 law. In his opinions on this subject he is in company 
 with some of the wisest and strongest of men, such as Sir 
 Edward Coke, Canning, Brougham, Lafayette, Dr. 
 Southwood Smith, and many others, in Europe ; and of 
 Franklin, Rush, Livingston, Rantoul, Woodbury, and a 
 great company more, in our own land. He knew that the 
 reform needed would not be soon brought to pass, but had 
 no doubt of its ultimate success. Towards this desirable 
 end he was willing to contribute as means and opportu 
 nity were afforded him. 
 
 He had much sympathy, also, for all just attempts to 
 minister good to the prisoner, the guilty and doomed by 
 human law ; such as are often outcasts only from that 
 human society whose frowns may have tended more to 
 harden than to reform them. While he had no dispo 
 sition to shield the guilty from any just punishment, he 
 would have the hand of mercy in all punishment, that it 
 might be not only a terror to evil doers, but an instru 
 mentality in the reformation of the offender. In a letter 
 to Rev. Charles Spear, editor of the Prisoner's 
 Friend, the only periodical of the kind in the world, 
 we believe, he writes: 
 
 " Take courage, my brother ; the cause you love so 
 well must triumph ; for it is the cause of God and of 
 humanity. The world will yet come to see that it is 
 cheaper to prevent than to punish crime ; and then will 
 it be seen that it is more benevolent also." 
 
 He was ever the consistent and active friend of 
 education. He did what he could to promote this cause
 
 HIS FAITH. 353 
 
 wherever his lot was cast. By voice and pen was his 
 influence to this end exerted. He was deeply interested 
 in the common schools, the literary institutions, the col 
 leges, of our country. He had early and special anxious- 
 ness for the establishment and support of institutions of 
 learning in connection with the Universalist denomina 
 tion. His efforts at one time in behalf of the Norwich 
 University, his exertions to build up the academy at 
 Lebanon, and his ready and earnest advocacy of the new 
 college at Somerville, are bright and unmistakable evi 
 dences of this anxiousness. 
 30*
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 WE have thus before us, as truthfully as we have 
 been able to make the presentation, the noble MAN of 
 this brief history. If his fame be not as far-reaching as 
 that of many of the world's heroes, it is none the less 
 honorable in the estimation of those who best knew him, 
 and who had best judgment as to the higher qualities of 
 our nature ; none the less precious in the sight of Him 
 whose holy representative to man long since said, " He 
 who would be greatest among you, let him be your ser 
 vant." His manliness shows itself wherever he lives, 
 and speaks, and acts. A minister of love on earth, he 
 had his citizenship in heaven, and never seemed forgetful 
 of the allegiance he owed in that higher realm. Though 
 busy in the cares and strifes which must needs be a part 
 of man's portion here, he failed not to throw himself 
 upon his inner spiritual resources, and to find there 
 strength for his soul's wants. Loving the world's good, 
 everything of it which he was permitted to enjoy,
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 355 
 
 he was watchful of its evil, seeking to "keep himself 
 unspotted," and to win other souls to "all godliness and 
 virtue." In the midst of human deceptions, a more 
 guileless spirit has seldom appeared. He was what he 
 seemed to be. What he said for truth and duty were 
 words of the heart as well of the lips ; and so strong does 
 he seem, so fixed in his adherence to the right, that we 
 can hardly imagine the circumstance under which he 
 would have swerved from his integrity. There is a Ger 
 man legend of a man who had resisted all the temptations 
 earth could offer. The demon opened to his gaze the 
 marvels under the earth ; trees effulgent with diamond 
 fruits, pillars of gold and precious stones, fountains of 
 water of a million hues, and over all a delicious music 
 instead of air. The tempter succeeded. Envy and ex 
 travagant desire were created in the breast that had been 
 calm before. If any mortal could have come out of such 
 a trial without yielding to the tempter, tfois man of Chris 
 tian honor and principle would have done so. His faith 
 in God answered to the description in the Psalm : "They 
 that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, that cannot 
 be removed, but abideth forever." 
 
 His WORK, too, how steady, constant, and sure, is that ! 
 It was a work in answer to the inclinations of his early 
 manhood, and of all his subsequent life. His "one idea" 
 was to be a true Christian minister ; to preach the Gospel 
 of the heavenly kingdom ; to declare its " unsearchable 
 riches" toman; his one theme through all his service 
 was, "Jesus Christ and him crucified." And'this made
 
 356 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 his ministerial life, through its many changes, so uniform, 
 consistent, acceptable. He had no distracting side issues 
 in the midst of his ministerial disputes ; no large worldli- 
 ness to claim an undue share of his time and attention. 
 He aspired to no higher dignity than that of a humble 
 servant of all men in the capacity of a disciple and min 
 ister of the great Head of humanity himself. To his last 
 hour, this one pursuit was his chief joy. And how it 
 makes his life speak to us now, after he has passed on ! 
 To what a good reckoning of the use of his powers does 
 it bring us ; to what a glorious summing up of the man 
 and his doings ! 
 
 In a work entitled " Passages from the History of a 
 Wasted Life," the author, in speaking of his own past 
 course in the ways of error, has this striking similitude : 
 
 " Like some bright host with untried powers, 
 
 Bright, marching in the morning sun, 
 Started, TO-D AT, with all its hours, 
 
 Prepared a bright career to run ; 
 Like that lost army, madly strewing 
 
 The battle-field ere day is done ; 
 From all that field's dumb death and ruin, 
 
 But one voice heard, and that a dying one." 
 
 As this, our servant of God and man, started in his 
 course with the promise of a successful day, so did he 
 continue unto that day's luminous close. His testimony 
 is not a dying but a living one. His life was indeed a 
 day of battle ; but on the field of his contention there are 
 evidences of the truest heroism men can know ; self-pas-
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 357 
 
 sion and will subdued, deadly outward evils assailed and 
 overcome, powers of wrong and falsehood trampled down, 
 Satan discomfited ; and there may be heard above it, in 
 honor of the soul who there fought "the good fight of 
 faith," chantings of a heavenly welcome, angel-anthems 
 of victory ! 
 
 We have in this life, too, the RELIGION of the man 
 who lived it. And what a religion was that! What 
 clear and commendable statements of it, what repeated 
 illustrations of its beauty and power, what vindications 
 of its excellence, what pleadings in its behalf, are wit 
 nessed in his own words ; and, then, what a living embod 
 iment of it in the advocate himself ! Could a> religion 
 that wrought such a life spring from any other than a 
 heavenly source ? Is there want of vitality, is there 
 lacking the Holy Spirit, in it ? Reader, these are ques 
 tions to you. Art thou a professor of the faith which 
 this life represents ? And is there with thee readiness of 
 soul to acknowledge the full teaching of' this faith ? Is 
 the faith with thee a form of words ? an array of theologi 
 cal opinions ? or a life-power, manifesting itself in regen 
 erating the man, and taking his holiest sympathies where- 
 ever this faith may apply to any wrong that serves to 
 keep the world ajar, and alienated from its God ? Con 
 sider. Or, hast thou fervently blessed the Great Father 
 for this teaching of a faithful one, and seen in his true 
 course new confirmations of a religion which has been to 
 thee the bread and the water of life ? Take new strength 
 from the testimony which this heavenly witness has given
 
 358 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 thee ! Or, once more, is the religion affirmed and exem 
 plified in this memoir, a new one to thee, needing still to 
 be interpreted, that thou mayst the more clearly know 
 of the doctrine, whether it be of God or of men? 
 Hearken diligently to its pretensions, and ask thyself, 
 as in the presence of the Omniscient One, what revela 
 tion better adapted to our nature could be given us. 
 " Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he 
 loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our 
 sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love 
 one another." Man's highest good in God his heavenly 
 Father ; Love's paternity ; Love's fraternal sympathy ; 
 Love's constant service ; Love's subduing and redeem 
 ing power over sin ; Love's perpetual adoration !
 
 POETICAL TRIBUTE. 359 
 
 POETICAL TRIBUTE. 
 
 REV. JOHN MOORE. 
 
 BY MKS. M. A. LIVEEMORE. 
 " And he was not, for God took him." 
 
 NOT slowly down the steep of life, 
 With weary, halting, faltering tread, 
 
 Not slowly, numbed by torpid age, 
 Made he the journey to the dead. 
 
 For him no nights of pain were stored, 
 That eat the life, like rust, away ; 
 
 No restless couch, no darkened room, 
 Turning the night-time into day. 
 
 For him pale sickness waited not, 
 
 His feet through death's dark vale to lead, 
 Cleaving each day its deeper shade, 
 
 Seeing each day life's shores recede. 
 
 But in his manhood's vigorous prime, 
 While men laid honors at his feet, 
 
 While wrestling with the toils of life, 
 And strong with love his great heart beat ; 
 
 While warm his lips with holy fire, 
 While thrilled his accents on the air, 
 
 His last words uttered for the truth, 
 And hushed his pleading voice of prayer ; 
 
 E'enjis he hasted to his home, 
 
 An angel met him on the way ; 
 " The Lord hath need of thee," he said, 
 
 And oped the gate of heaven straightway.
 
 360 MEMOIR OF JOHN MOORE. 
 
 Prone in the arms of death he fell 
 This men behtld, and nothing more ; 
 
 0, Faith, anoint our eyes to see 
 The angels that his soul upbore ! 
 
 One moment through the busy mart 
 He pressed his way, amid its throngs ; 
 
 The next and earth for him was not ; 
 He stood in heaven, and joined its songs. 
 
 Within his home a dear one sat, 
 To ope for him the ready door ; 
 
 To ope for her a heavenly home, 
 He turned aside, and went before. 
 
 Be done with tears ! why should we weep 
 When God calls home his children so ? 
 
 Be done with tears ! for soon will come 
 The angel beckoning us to go.
 
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