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Well, it would not be too long—it was
actually less than a year’s time—when he, along with
four of his associates, would come to the realization that forming
another association, forming another Presbytery, was
not the answer to the problem. And so, they
would write and issue in June of 1804 what is called the Last
Will and Testament of Springfield Presbytery. When they
issued that, then that was, in effect, the end of any kind of
association with the Presbyterian Church by Stone.
[Below is a copy of the Last Will and Testament of
Springfield Presbytery:]
Last Will and Testament
of Springfield Presbytery
For where a
testament is, there must of necessity be the death of the testator;
for a testament is of force after men are dead, otherwise it is of
no strength at all, while the testator liveth. Thou fool, that
which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. Verily, verily, I
say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground, and die,
it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Whose voice then shook the earth; but now he hath promised saying,
yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this
word, yet once more, signifies the removing of those things that
are shaken as of things that are made, that those things which can
not be shaken may remain.--Scripture
The Presbytery of Springfield sitting at Cane Ridge, in the
county of Bourbon, being, through a gracious Providence, in more
than ordinary bodily health, growing in strength and size daily;
and in perfect soundness and composure of mind; but knowing that it
is appointed for all delegated bodies once to die; and considering
that the life of every such body is very uncertain, do make and
ordain this our last Will and Testament, in manner and form
following, viz.:
Imprimis. We will, that this body die, be
dissolved, and sink into union with the Body of Christ at large;
for there is but one body, and one Spirit, even as we are called in
one hope of our calling.
Item. We will that our name of distinction,
with its Reverend title, be forgotten, that there be but one Lord
over God's heritage, and his name one.
Item. We will, that our power of making laws
for the government of the church, and executing them by delegated
authority, forever cease; that the people may have free course to
the Bible, and adopt the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus.
Item. We will, that candidates for the Gospel
ministry henceforth study the Holy Scriptures with fervent prayer,
and obtain license from God to preach the simple Gospel, with the
Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, without any mixture of
philosophy, vain deceit, traditions of men, or the rudiments of the
world. And let none henceforth take this honor to himself, but he
that is called of God, as was Aaron.
Item. We will, that the church of Christ resume
her native right of internal government,--try her candidates for
the ministry, as to their soundness in the faith, acquaintance with
experimental religion, gravity and aptness to teach; and admit no
other proof of their authority but Christ speaking in them. We
will, that the church of Christ look up to the Lord of the harvest
to send forth laborers into his harvest; and that she resume her
primitive right of trying those who say they are apostles, and are
not.
Item. We will, that each particular church, as
a body, actuated by the same spirit, choose her own preacher, and
support him by a free-will offering, without a written call or
subscription--admit members--remove offenses; and never henceforth
delegate her right of government to any man or set of men
whatever.
Item. We will, that the people henceforth take
the Bible as the only sure guide to heaven; and as many as are
offended with other books, which stand in competition with it, may
cast them into the fire if they choose; for it is better to enter
into life having one book, than having many to be cast into
hell.
Item. We will, that preachers and people
cultivate a spirit of mutual forbearance; pray more and dispute
less; and while they behold the signs of the times, look up, and
confidently expect that redemption draweth nigh.
Item. We will, that our weak brethren, who may
have been wishing to make the Presbytery of Springfield their king,
and wot not what is now become of it, betake themselves to the Rock
of Ages, and follow Jesus for the future.
Item. We will, the Synod of Kentucky examine
every member who may be suspected of having departed from the
Confession of Faith, and suspend every such suspected heretic
immediately, in order that the oppressed may go free, and taste the
sweets of Gospel liberty.
Item. We will, that Ja--- -----, the author of
two letters lately published in Lexington, be encouraged in his
zeal to destroy partyism. We will, moreover, that our past conduct
be examined into by all who may have correct information; but let
foreigners beware of speaking evil of things which they know
not.
Item. Finally we will, that all our sister
bodies read their Bibles carefully, that they may see their fate
there determined, and prepare for death before it is too late.
Springfield Presbytery, June 28th, 1804
Robert Marshall,
John Dunlavy,
Richard M'Nemar,--Witnesses.
B. W. Stone,
John Thompson,
David Purviance,
This text was
created by Greg Harness (harness@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu) in 1994 for
the Stone-Campbell list and has been placed in the public domain.
You may freely distribute, copy or print this text.
Jim McMillan (mcmillan@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu) has formatted the text
in HTML for WWW browsing.
Well, at a subsequent meeting that these men
would have together, they all agreed that they would, in effect, do
away with all of the sectarian names and titles, all of the
trappings, of the denomination, and they would refer to things in
Bible ways. Namely, they would call themselves
“Christians.” As they began to organize churches,
they insisted not only that these churches refer to themselves as
Christians, and not adopt sectarian titles, and so on, but also
that each church be independent.
Now, it would be a period of time before they
would accept and begin to teach the Scriptural form and purpose of
baptism. I’ve mentioned before that unlike what some
folks think, none of these men, whether it’s Barton W. Stone
or the Campbells, none of these men woke up one morning and had it
all together. This was a process that they
were going through, a process that saw them first sever
connections, sever ties, with a denomination, but then a process of
study, of investigation, in come
cases maybe even of trial and error, in developing
and arriving at the Truth of God’s Word. And so, it
wouldn’t be until, actually, 1807, when one of the
four—it was not Stone—a man named Robert Marshall, who
was one of the original five, would convince the others of the
Scriptural mode of baptism being immersion, and
that baptism was for the remission of sins.
So, in June of 1807, Barton Stone and the other four were
immersed. They would not, for a number of years, make this a
test of fellowship.
Well, all of this is taking place in the area of
Kentucky, of Southern Ohio. Simultaneously, there are some
others who are doing similar work. I’m referring
specifically to Thomas and Alexander Campbell. It would not
be until the year 1824 when Barton Stone and the Campbells would
actually meet. At that first meeting, they were really quite
astonished, as they compared their views, to see how similar their
thinking had become. And then, on April 24th,
1831, the two groups—the effort that was being led by the
Campbells and the effort that was being led by Barton W.
Stone—would actually merge their efforts together to restore
New Testament Christianity.
Barton Stone is well-known for having edited a
paper, the Christian Messenger, for a number of
years. He died on November 9, 1844, in Hannibal, Missouri,
where his daughter and son-in-law were living. He was
initially interred in Hannibal, Missouri, but he would later be
moved to Cane Ridge, Kentucky. In recent years, there has
been a monument erected there to honor Barton W. Stone.
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