here that God had sent me here to fight the doctrine of holiness. I
still hold to my mission. I have stood four-square against that doctrine
and all its advocates, and I still stand. I have used every means to put
it down. But strange as it seems, this heresy appears to have grown fat
upon our opposition, and the more we have fought the more it has
flourished. Even at this very hour not a mile from here, in the
schoolhouse, there is a group of people five times as large as this
audience worshipping the Lord in what they call the "beauty of
holiness." They have for a preacher, as you know, old man Benton, who
twenty years ago was cast out of this church for teaching crooked
doctrine. He has had no preparation whatever for ministerial work, but
in some way he has been able to keep his bunch together for nearly
twenty years; and now since he is an old man, it seems that they still
persist in following him.

"In the early days of my pastorate here my strongest supporter and
co-laborer was Deacon Gramps. This name will sound familiar to some of
the older members. Gramps owned the beautiful farm just to the west of
this Church. A good many years ago through some play, fair or foul,
Gramps was charged with a criminal act and was convicted and sent to the
penitentiary, where three years ago he died. His wife went to St. Louis
to live with her son, and departed this life shortly after moving there.
You are all more or less familiar with the Gramps story, so I shall
leave it, as it is not at all a pleasant topic to discuss.

"It may be of interest to some of you to know just how the doctrine of
holiness ever got started in this community. Well, this old man Benton
whom you all know as the leader of the holiness movement used to be a
member of this church. For many years he lived a consistent Christian
life in this church, so they tell me. About twenty years ago he spent a