Z. N. Morrell (1803-1883), a Tennessee and Texas Baptist preacher, was an acquaintance and admirer of General Sam Houston (1793-1863), and mentions Houston quite a bit in his autobiography Flowers and Fruits from the Wilderness. He wrote this regarding Houston’s baptism (p. 342).
“During this year, the ‘Hero of San Jacinto’ appeared upon the field again; not to drive the Mexicans and Indians from the soil of his adopted State, but to enroll his name among the believers in Christ and lend his influence in extending the conquests of religion. In November, 1854, he presented himself as a candidate for baptism to the church at Independence, and after a few simple statements as to the change God had wrought in his heart, he was approved by the church as a proper subject for baptism. On the nineteenth day of the same month, he was buried in baptism by Elder R. C. Burleson, the pastor of the church. It was his delight afterwards to attend our general meetings, whenever his official duties would permit, and give the benefit of his counsel to his brethren in the mission and educational enterprises of the denomination. His speech on one occasion before the Baptist State Convention on the Indian mission was one of the masterly efforts of his life, and did ample justice to his reputation as an orator.
“He remained a consistent member of the church until his death, in the town of Huntsville, on the twenty-sixth of July, 1863. It was my privilege to visit him a few days previous to his death. Calmly and deliberately he spoke of the passage he was about to take across the river, and expressed the strongest confidence in Christ. Thus General Sam. Houston passed away, whose memory so many of us love to cherish.”
Many years ago I had the privilege of visiting the place in the pasture where Houston was supposed to have been baptized (although at the time I went, there was not a pool of water there in the creek large enough to baptize someone).
No comments:
Post a Comment