At the next house we were again refused shelter and food. I asked for permission to sit under the porch until the rain stopped.
"No," said the man, "if you were not Mormons I would gladly entertain you, but as you are Mormons I dare not permit you to stop around me."
This made twenty-one houses that we had called at and asked for lodging, and at each place we had been refused, simply because we were Mormons.
About midnight my partner grew very sick of his contract to do the begging and resolved to die before he would ask for aid from such people again. I told him I would have both food and lodging at the next place we stopped. He said it was useless to make the attempt, and I confess that the numerous refusals we had met with were calculated to dishearten many a person; but I had faith in God. I had never yet gone to Him in a humble and penitent manner without receiving strength to support me, nor had He ever sent me empty-handed from Him. My trust was in God, and I advanced to the next house, confident that I would not ask in vain.
As we approached the house we discovered that the negroes were having a dance. I asked where their master was; they pointed out the house to me. We walked to the house and up on the porch. The door was standing open; a candle was burning, and near the fire a woman was sitting holding a sick child on her lap. The man was also sitting near the fire. Our footsteps attracted their attention; our appearance was not inviting as we stood there wet, muddy, and tired. I spoke in a loud voice, saying:
"Sir, I beseech you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to entertain us as servants of the living God. We are ministers of the gospel, we travel without purse or scrip; we preach without hire, and are now without money; we are wet, weary, and hungry; we want refreshment, rest, and shelter."
The man sprang to his feet, but did not say a word. His wife said:
"Tell them to come in."
"We will do you no harm; we are friends, not enemies," I said.
We were invited in. Servants were called, a good fire was made and a warm supper placed before us. After eating we were shown to a good bed. We slept until near ten o'clock in the morning. When we did awaken our clothes were clean and dry, and breakfast was ready and waiting for us. In fact, we were as well treated as it was possible to ask.
This family had lately come from the State of Virginia, intending to try that climate for a year, and then, if they liked it, purchase land and stay there permanently. After breakfast the gentleman said:
"You had a severe time of it among the Christians yesterday and last night. As you are ministers, sent out to convert sinners, you cannot do better than to preach to these Christians, and seek to convert them."
He offered to send word all over the settlement and notify the people, if we would stay and preach that night. We accepted his offer, and remained, thus securing the rest that we so much needed, thanking God for still remembering and caring for us, His servants.
Agreeably to arrangements, we preached in the Methodist meeting- house to a very attentive audience upon the first principles of the gospel. We alluded to the treatment of Christ and His followers by the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious sects of those days, and said that we preached the same gospel, and fared but little better. This meeting-house had been built conjointly by Methodists and Universalists. Members from both persuasions were present. Our neighbor who had fed and cared for us leaned to the latter faith.