Trials and Triumphs - Huntington University

182 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS
treadeth out the corn.' " 24
Milton Wright, in a Telescope editorial,
"Support of the Ministry," (March 21, 1877) said that this is a subject
that requires line on line, precept on precept.
It has been taught, but surely not learned. Certainly it is not well practiced. . . .
Some think riches would hurt ministers. They might, but the danger is far off to
most of them. ... [A minister's] people would have him follow the example
of Jesus, who was poor. Not all would follow him as he follows Christ in this
regard.
It was a duty of members of the church, according to the Discipline,
to willingly and freely contribute to the support of the ministry, as the
Lord had prospered them. Each class had a steward who was to seek
pledges from members and then collect quarterly or oftener. This
officer was accountable to the quarterly conference. Bishop Weaver
went so far as to say that church members who did not give as God had
prospered them should be excommunicated. 25 Far from such discipline
were Mr. and Mrs. Singleton Buxton, who hosted a big meeting,
boarding and lodging all who came for the two or three days. William
Whetsel "always provided as carefully for his church dues as he did for
his taxes" and never allowed the salary of the preacher to go unpaid. 26
It is difficult for twentieth-century North Americans to identify with
the plight of nineteenth-century "worn-out" or superannuated ministers,
or disabled ones, for whom only a token effort was made in the
name of the Benevolent Fund and the Preachers' Aid Society. These
organizations were to give direct aid and to provide loans. At its
beginning the Benevolent Fund was a church-wide plan, but it was not
successful. Part of the reason was that money for it was to come from
proceeds of the printing establishment over and above contingent
expenses. But if the young printing establishment had such profits,
they were needed to maintain and develop the establishment. The
General Conference of 1853 advised each annual conference to adopt
the best means to care for superannuated or disabled ministers or their
widows and children. Unfortunately, the annual conference plans that
were inaugurated were not much more successful than the church-wide
plan.
Annual Conference—Frontier Style
Traveling to an annual conference session, like traveling a circuit,
was sometimes accomplished with pleasure and ease if the weather,
roads, horse, and rider were all quite fit. To add to the pleasure, a