His Journal
On September 4, 1771, at the age of 26, Francis Asbury began his journey to Philadelphia from the port of Pill near Bristol. “It cost him much to leave home and kindred, as is witnessed by his affectionate letters and sacrificial remittances home: but the call of God was not to be denied”. Before he left, he wrote a letter to his family. “I wonder sometimes how anyone will sit to hear me, but the Lord covers my weakness with his power….I trust you will be easy and more quiet. As for me, I know what I am called to. It is to give up all, and to have my hands and heart in the work, yea, the nearest and dearest friends….Let others condemn me as being without natural affection, disobedient to parents, or say what they please….I love my parents and friends, but I love my God better and his service….And tho’ I have given up all, I do not repent, for I have found all”. On this voyage he began a journal. “In his journal he pours out the feelings and impulses of the moment, but often without giving a clue to either the offender or the offense”. He became seasick for the first week but had recovered. He was “poor in material things, but rich in the spiritual atmosphere created and maintained by his mother”. He also spent a lot of time studying and reading the bible and books written by Wesley. On September 22, he preached to the ship’s company. Again, on September 29, he preached. On October 6, he preached to the ship’s company on deck. And finally, on October 27, he landed at his destination in Philadelphia.
Asbury kept a journal assiduously; on December 8, 1812, he crossed the Broad River into York County, South Carolina and came to the home of David Leech, Esq. He states in his journal that Leech offered him a Bible and a bottle of brandy; he wrote, "I took one." His journal also contains some references to opinions of ministers who disagreed with the Methodist leadership, such as Rev. Charles Hopkins of Powhatan County, Virginia who had rejected the Methodist ideals several years before.
His journal also frequently mentioned Thomas S. Hinde who was the son of Dr. Thomas Hinde and founder of the city of Mount Carmel, Illinois.
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Famous quotes containing the word journal:
“What the Journal posits is not the tragic question, the Madman’s question: “Who am I?”, but the comic question, the Bewildered Man’s question: “Am I?” A comic—a comedian, that’s what the Journal keeper is.”
—Roland Barthes (1915–1980)
“The Journal is not essentially a confession, a story about oneself. It is a Memorial. What does the writer have to remember? Himself, who he is when he is not writing, when he is living his daily life, when he alive and real, and not dying and without truth.”
—Maurice Blanchot (b. 1907)