Immutable Kingdom – Part 67

(“The North Woods” in Michigan)

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 67

By Scott A. Klaft

Moses E. Lard continued

After three years of toil, in the summer of 1856, Moses Lard and eighty four members erected a new meeting house five miles from Camden, Missouri on the road to Liberty. In the next year, Alexander Campbell exhibited the height of respect in which he held Lard’s abilities.

A Virginia Baptist preacher by the name of J. B. Jeter decided to write an examination of what he derogatorily called “Campbellism.” Campbell gave it some attention in his own publication, Millennial Harbinger, but he decided it deserved a more thorough exposé. He was too busy to take on the project himself, so he cordially asked Moses Lard to take up the task. The resulting work was published in the book Review of Campbellism Examined, in which, Lard absolutely embarrassed Jeter by the undeniable logic of his arguments and eloquence of thought. Jeter attempted a return volley by means of insults, personal attacks, and misrepresentations, but he never successfully answered.

There is very little record of a great number of the formal debates where Lard participated, but the one significant public discussion on record was in Brunswick, Missouri in 1860 with W.G. Caples, a presiding “Elder” of the Methodist Church. Compared with most debates, this one was very lengthy, beginning on a Monday, October 8, and ending on Thursday, October 18, with pauses on Saturday and Sunday where no debate was held. The probable reason this debate was so particularly significant was its size. The number of those assembled ranged from the low of fifteen hundred, to its high of three thousand. Many outstanding preachers were in attendance, many of whom we have already discussed, but it was John R. Howard who wrote a review of the debate. This paragraph gives us some insight to the spectacular abilities Moses Lard had developed:

“Such were the purity and chasteness of his language and diction, and his great earnestness, seeming ever to be properly impressed with his subject and with the importance of the great and solemn topics of the Christian religion, throwing his whole soul into what he was uttering, that he came nearer possessing the character of the real orator, the true Christian orator than almost any man I ever heard. His words generally fell from his lips, like coins from the mint, correctly struck and properly impressed by the organs of speech, and seemed to be ready for the press without any correcting or revision.”[1]

It is uncertain how long Lard had been developing a concept for a quarterly paper to be published, but he began to put his plans into motion that the first would be sent out in January 1860. The Christian Quarterly would be of sufficient size that it would take a significant number of subscribers to keep it going, and his hope of a starting-minimum of two thousand was not met. Disappointed but disinclined to give up, he continued to vie for subscribers. In 1863, he continued to write letters, but sadly, the war was on, and the mail service was limited at best, keeping him somewhat cut off from much of the brotherhood toward the east. At the close of 1866, he still only had fifteen hundred subscribers to the one-hundred-twelve page periodical – not enough to keep it in the presses.

There were many legitimate reasons why the paper eventually failed, but none of them had to do a lacking in quality, style, or conviction from its editor. There was national uncertainty about life in general at the conclusion of the Civil War, and people were more concerned about surviving the troubles than reading a quarterly religious periodical. His strictness against the use of mechanical instruments in worship, or preaching where they were used, as well as his seemingly indecisive stance on missionary societies seemed to put him in the minority too often, and in disfavor with too many. By 1868, he threw his abilities in with another paper running concurrently, the Apostolic Times, which also turned out to be unsuccessful.

Although he was not quite an old man, he had grown despondent, disappointed, and quite sickly from the strain of often having to stand alone for his convictions. His large, six foot-three inch, bony frame began to bend under the stress. This man of incredible ability was laid to rest in 1880.

(Next Week: J. W. McGarvey)

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[1] Howard, J. R.., Debate Between Lard and Caples; Gospel Advocate, Vol. VI, No. 11 (November 1860), p. 338

Immutable Kingdom – Part 66

(A natural stone arch on Mackinaw Island, Michigan)

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 66

By Scott A. Klaft

Moses E. Lard continued

His curiosity already piqued, someone placed in his hands a copy of the book, Gospel Restored by Walter Scott. Moses Lard devoured it. A few years later, Scott made a trip to Missouri, and Lard met him for the first time. He immediately threw his arms around Scott, exclaiming, “Brother Scott, you are the man who first taught me the gospel.”

Lard was immersed and preached his first sermon in Clay County. He was soon given preaching engagements in Richmond and Lexington, Missouri, all the while, practicing his trade as a tailor. It was in Lexington that he became acquainted with Jacob and Ruth Riffe, who had a daughter, Mary, who possessed his very sincere interest. The two were soon married; and, by 1845, the Lard family happily had two children.

At the time, education was costly. With his responsibilities of a wife and children to support, to think of going to school seemed out of the question. Nevertheless, at Richmond, Lard had become good friends with General Alexander W. Doniphan, one of Missouri’s most prominent citizens and a devoted Christian. The General encouraged Lard to make the sacrifice and begin schooling at Bethany College (founded by Alexander Campbell). On March 4, 1845, he determined to enroll.

The structure of the school proved advantageous to Lard because he discovered that the students “are not restricted to a fixed routine of classes requiring attendance at College a certain number of years, without regard to age or proficiency.” The more mature minds could make rapid progress without being held longer because of class orientation; and, therefore, a man could enter the College later in life; and, by determination and proper application of his efforts, he could complete the requirements in much less time. Lard turned a four-year course into three. While holding down a job in physical labor, he graduated as valedictorian of his class.

From the tremendous depths of his heart, Lard wrote to Alexander Campbell, expressing his gratitude for all that had been done for him:

“Four years and four months ago, strange, homeless, penniless, and untaught, I landed a stranger at Bethany College. It was my fixed purpose, though encumbered with the responsibilities of a family, to qualify myself for more extended and enlightened usefulness. This object, the first and nearest to my heart, I wanted the means to accomplish.”

He continues in reference to the letter sent to him by Alexander Campbell that finally brought him to the school:

“For which, and for the disinterested and cordial manner in which you have so often aided me when want bore heavy on me, I owe you the gratitude which I have no power to express.”

For a man of his communicative skill, that was saying a great deal. He continued:

“To my friends and brethren in Christ, W. K. Pendleton and J. O. Ewing, I am under the strongest obligations. Friends, they proved themselves to be when I needed friends. They have untied their purse-strings and tendered me their gentlemanly aid at times and in ways of which I cannot think without the tear of grateful remembrance starting in my eye.”

Between 1848 and 1850, he moved his family back to Missouri, changing locations several times, but in the meantime, developing his skills as a preacher. Like all young preachers, he made several blunders and received many criticisms. Jacob Warrinner was the older preacher who proved a true friend; with a pat on the shoulder and a word of encouragement: “Go on, my son, you have done well, be thoughtful and persevere; and when I am gone, you will be a man.”

Nearly all preachers owe some portion of their success to the encouragement, whether great or small, from some older preacher. No one had farther to go in development than Lard. Yet, he trudged his course by the encouragement of the Lord as well as others who saw the potential that lay within him for greatness, coupled with the adamant determination of his own spirit.

(Continued next week)

Immutable Kingdom – Part 65

(Lake Superior coastline near Marquette, Michigan)

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 65

By Scott A. Klaft

Moses E. Lard continued

Despite his somewhat morose and frustrated countenance, Moses Lard had many noble qualities for which those who knew him best admired him greatly. There was a sense of loyalty within his character that seemed indefatigable and limitless. One historian wrote concerning his fidelity:

“Woe to the man that assailed one of his friends! Woe to that man who proved a traitor to the truth of God! Lard seemed to be able to dip his pen into the fires of hell and belch out anathemas that would melt the whole field before him.”[1]

Lard was a natural debater. He loved a heated discussion, and the hotter it grew the more he enjoyed it. As long as truth was on his side, he feared no foe nor winced from any weariness. There were, however, prerequisites for acceptable conduct; from his own pen: “But two conditions are essential to make controversy lovely: Let the end sought be truth, and the Spirit shown be Christian.”

It was the eloquence with which Lard preached the Gospel that solidified him in the memory of the brotherhood. He was, in this respect, much like Walter Scott, given to deeply felt emotions on either end of the spectrum. There were times when Lard could not meet such lofty expectations, but when conditions compelled him, he could “pour forth a stream of eloquence that would sweep an audience away.”[2] Once, when he had finished a particularly eloquent discourse, he suddenly called for the assembly to stand and sing, but not a sound was made. It took several minutes for the tremendous swell of emotion to subside enough that the people could find their voice.

The account of the life of Moses E. Lard is particularly interesting, and worthy of our giving it some special attention. Born in Shelbyville, Tennessee on October 29, 1818, his Scotch parents moved toward the west in 1829, settling in Missouri because of the plentiful game. They were quite poor, and when his father soon died of smallpox, the six children, with no means of support, proved to be too much for his grieving mother. At a very early age, Moses and his brother had to leave home to find their own way. Lard later recounted the scene and it would be a travesty to abbreviate it:

“As my brother and myself stood beneath the little cabin eaves, just ready to take leave of the only objects on earth dear to us, and thus close the saddest scene of our lives, my mother said: ‘My dear boys, I have nothing to give you but my blessing and these two little books.’ Her soul was breaking and could say no more. She drew from her bosom two small testaments; and as her tears were streaming, and lips quivering, she screamed as if it were her last, and placed them in our hands. We all said good-bye, and that family was forever broken on earth… To that little book and the memory of that scene my future life owes its shaping. I never neglected the one, thank Heaven, nor forgot the other.”[3]

In 1835, at the age of seventeen, Lard could not yet read nor write, but he had taken up the trade of a tailor. Determined to learn to write, he used the local advertising to develop his understanding of letters and became what we might term a ‘self-educated man’. With a vague and imperfect knowledge of religion, Lard had opportunity in his youth to hear the pleas of denominationalism, urging sinners to get an “experience.” From these, he walked away in disgust. With the irksome feeling that there was nothing to religion, he inevitably turned to infidelity.

In time, however, he began to hear of certain preachers calling for those who believed in God to return to the ancient order of things. This, naturally, sparked a note of curiosity within Lard that would eventually open his eyes to the truth.

(Continued next week)

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[1] West, Earl Irvin; Search for the Ancient Order Vol. I, The; (Germantown; TN; Religious Book Service, 1990) page 289

[2] Ibid.

[3] Moore, W. T.; Living Pulpit of the Christian Church, The (Cincinnati, OH: R.W. Carroll & Co., 1868), p. 229

Immutable Kingdom – Part 64

(Picture Deleted out of respect to the request of the photographer)

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 64

By Scott A. Klaft

“Raccoon’s” Sermon Conclusion

The character and integrity of “Raccoon” John Smith was such that his conviction in the truth was valued much higher than earthly wealth. He knew money, position, and prestige could never afford the luxuries of the freedom and liberty he held so close to his heart by the knowledge and love of the truth. It is the truth of the gospel, handed down from the mind of God Himself. This, he was determined, he would proclaim to the end of his days.

At the age of eighty-four, his mind was as sharp as ever when he went to spend the winter with his daughter and son-in-law in the city of Mexico, Missouri, nearing the fall of 1867. It was an unusually cold Lord’s Day in February when he commented to his daughter that he had never seen such cold. Against her wishes, however, he walked from her home to the church building that he may worship and preach the last sermon he ever presented. His aged frame shivered from the cold in the walk home that afternoon.

Upon arrival, he had a cup of hot tea, a meal, and went to his room to nap. He would have gone to the worship services again that night except for the family’s insistence that he stay home. This time he complied; but, by the next morning, he was suffering from inflammation, and he would continue to deteriorate while lying in bed for the next three weeks. On February 25, 1868, Smith sent word to his friend, the editor of the Christian Pioneer: “Tell Bro. Wright, ‘I am better and most home’”. Three days later, at 8:30 P.M., John Smith passed on to his reward.

Greatly lamented by many friends, the body was shipped back to Lexington, Kentucky where Smith had already arranged for burial. Few, if any, have ever exemplified more than John Smith the thought (which has become somewhat cliché in these more modern times) that you preach a greater sermon by the way you live than by the words you speak. In his case, the two were so intermingled as to leave one unable to make a distinction.

Moses E. Lard

A man of nervous temperament and extreme moods, Moses E. Lard was a difficult man to capture on the printed page; and, for this reason, few biographers have been able to encompass his personality. Blood circulating vigorously, his face always seemed aglow; his mind worked rapidly; his feelings were always intense; and, after a period of great mental exertion, he would often slip into a period of deep despondency. He was often melancholy and would brood for days over matters in which no one could help.

To ignore the worrying side of Lard would be, perhaps, more charitable to his memory, but it would be simultaneously untruthful, leaving the lesson of his life incomplete. Moving from one mood to the other, Lard would often reflect upon his past, finding hard times there as well. He found himself losing faith in humanity. His restless intellect drew him into searching things he could not possibly understand. Subjects like the mystery of the future, or life after death brought him to a great deal of speculation (for which, he received one of the very few just criticisms given to him by his friends).

It was not within Lard to do anything that would conflict with his conscience. He found it impossible to cooperate with the brethren who used the mechanical instruments in their worship. Accepting a position with a certain Bible school (which was connected at the time to a man in whom the brethren had little confidence) put Lard out of sympathy with the brotherhood abroad. Lard lacked opportunity, however, to give an explanation. The disfavored man was scheduled to leave his position at the school, but Lard was obligated not to tell anyone.

His family’s constant illness also contributed to his sorrow, draining his energy, and bringing his own health down. He moved about in silence, rarely in contact with the brotherhood; all the while, studying the mysteries of life and death. Yet, there was another side of Moses Lard, for which many lauded him, knowing the greatness of the man within him.

(To be continued next week)