of great feeling, or of anything of that kind: I simply consecrated all a
living sacrifice, and reckoned myself dead indeed unto sin and alive unto
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I met the conditions and believed that
the work was done.

Not until the tempter came, did I fully realize what God had done in
sanctifying me. That evening the devil tested me in such a way that had
there been any of the old Adam in me, it would have been stirred up; but,
thank God! the devil found nothing to work upon. God had removed that
depraved nature, the sin-principle inherited from the fall of Adam. As
there was nothing but God's glory in my soul, nothing but glory could
bubble up, no matter how severe the temptation. I felt so secure--just as
if I were out in mid-ocean upon a solid rock, the waves dashing all around
me, but powerless to disturb my security and the peace of my soul.

Soon after I was sanctified, I testified to my experience, in a Methodist
quarterly meeting. The presiding elder made fun of me: he said, "The
testimonies of those that claim to be sanctified, sound just like the tones
of an old cracked cow-bell. There was only one good testimony made this
evening; and that was by one who did not profess sanctification." My only
persecution at home came from a neighbor who made fun of my prayers. Her
oft-repeated expression was, "Pray like old Mary Cole." Later when her
grandchild lay dying, she called on me to pray four times within
twenty-four hours. After the child was dead, she said she was hurt because
I did not pray for the child's healing, because she was sure that if I had
done so the child would have lived.

A minister who came onto our circuit some time after this decided that
those who had the experience of sanctification should not testify to it. He
gave as his reason that he wanted to bring the people to a level in their