; but when the quarter is up, he has
perhaps other expenses, and I do not know, whether he pays his money
grudgingly, and of necessity, or cheerfully; but God loveth a cheerful
giver. Nay, I knew it to be a fact, that sometimes it had not been
convenient to individuals to pay the money, when it had been asked for by
the brethren who collected it. 3. Though the Lord had been pleased to give
me grace to be faithful, so that I had been enabled not to keep back the
truth, when He had shown it to me; still I felt that the pew-rents were a
snare to the servant of Christ. It was a temptation to me, at least for a
few minutes, at the time when the Lord had stirred me up to pray and
search the Word respecting the ordinance of baptism, because L30. of my
salary was at stake, if I should be baptized.

For these reasons I stated to the brethren, at the end of October, 1830,
that I should for the future give up having any regular salary. After I
had given my reasons for doing so, I read Philippians iv., and told the
saints, that if they still had a desire to do something towards my
support, by voluntary gifts, I had no objection to receive them, though
ever so small, either in money or provisions. A few days after it appeared
to me, that there was a better way still; for if I received personally
every single gift, offered in money, both my own time and that of the
donors would be much taken up; and in this way also the poor might,
through temptation, be kept from offering their pence, a privilege of
which they ought not to be deprived; and some also might in this way give
more than if it were not known who was the giver; so that it would still
be doubtful whether the gifts were given grudgingly or cheerfully. For
these reasons especially, there was a box put up in the chapel, over which
was written, that whoever had a desire to do something towards my support,
might put his offering into the box.

At the same time it appeared to me right, that henceforth I should ask no
man, not even my beloved brethren and sisters, to help me, as I had done a
few times according to their own request, as my expenses, on account of
traveling much in the Lord's service, were too great to be met by my usual
income. For unconsciously I had thus again been led, in some measure, to
trust in an arm of flesh; going to man, instead of going to the Lord at
once. To come to this conclusion before God, required more grace than to
give up my salary.

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