The Deacon of Dobbinsville | Page 7

almost an unreadable hand. The evangelist
opened the letter. It ran thus:
Dobbinsville, ----, Aug. 29----
My dear Evangelist brother:
i am saved and sanctified praise God O how i rejoice in this wonderful
salvashun i was a member of Mt. Olivet church fer 27 yrs. but i never
knowed what it was to be saved from sin this summer i was herdin
cattle down in the hills about 30 mi. from here and a most wonderful
thing happened. To preachers came along and told me that Christ could
save and sanctify me i fought them at first but God would not let me
rest until i gave him my heart, then he sanctified me holy o how i
rejoice my wife and oldest son is also saved now but say bruther how
the people of my own church persecute me they say I am crazy and that
a man cant be saved from sin in this life o if i had only found this
salvashun when i was a young man but now i am middle aged but by
god's grace i aim to do all i can to save my neighbors, i see in the
holiness paper that you are a evangelist and that you go about preachin
this wonderful salvashun so i want to now if you will come down here
and preach to the people we can't get Mt. Olivet church but we can
build a brush arber. i am sending you $20. this part of the money i
urned herdin cattle for deacon gramps i promised the Lord when he
saved me that i would give him part of this money so here it is so i
hope you can cum your brother saved sanctified and happy
Jake Benton
CHAPTER V
As I have said before, Deacon Gramps sat on his plow handles at the
close of an August day. He fairly rejoiced when he saw Deacon Brown
and Deacon Jones coming toward him.
"Good evening, Brother Gramps," shouted Jones and Brown
simultaneously.

"Good evening, my good brethering," responded Gramps, "I am so glad
to see you. I have a great burden on my mind and I was just planning to
go to your house, Brother Brown, as soon as I had unharnessed my
team and eaten supper."
Brown and Jones looked at Gramps with an expectant gaze, and
continued silent. Gramps went on, "It's high time we was doin'
somethin' to protect our church. I have been a deacon in this church fer
many a year, but to my mind this is the most dangerous time Mount
Olivet has ever seen."
Brown and Jones nodded a candid assent to what was being said.
Gramps continued, "For many years our church has been the strongest
church in this county and everybody has counted it an honor to belong
to this church, but you know, brethering, ever since our pastor died last
spring, and we have been without a pastor we have been gettin' weaker
and weaker. And since old Jake Benton has gone crazy over this new
religion of hisen he is trien to get everybody else to go crazy. You
brethering knows how I sent him down in the hills this summer to mind
cattle. Well he seemed to kinder git overbalanced in his mind down
there and he's found a new religion. You know how he testified in
meetin' tother night. He said he was saved from sin and he said he was
sanctified, and whole lot of other stuff like that. And I believe he said,
didn't he, that he was just as good as Jesus Christ and gettin' better ever'
day, or something like that."
"Yes, something like that," added Brown.
"Yes," said Jones, "I was there myself and heard him. I have always
thought Jake Benton was a pretty good man; but when a feller gets so
good as all that, then he's too good for this world. You know the Bible
says there's nobody good but God."
"Yes, I've heard the best preachers that was ever pastor of Mount Olivet
Church and they all say we sin a thousand times every day," remarked
Gramps.
Jones spoke next: "I knew a bunch of them holiness people back in

South Caroliner where I come from. They was the most outrageous
bunch of people I ever saw. Why, they claimed that they couldn't sin,
and that they was just as good as Jesus Christ and that nobody would
get to heaven but them. I'll tell you brethering we must not let them get
the start here. If they do, Mount Olivet Church is ruined. They tear
down churches just as fast as they come to 'em. Old Jake Benton ought
to be run out of the country or else sent to the asylum. He