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:
“How truly does this journal contain my real and undisguised thoughts—I always write it according to the humour I am in, and if a stranger was to think it worth reading, how capricious—insolent & whimsical I must appear!—one moment flighty and half mad,—the next sad and melancholy. No matter! Its truth and simplicity are its sole recommendations.”
—Frances Burney (1752–1840)
“Unfortunately, many things have been omitted which should have been recorded in our journal; for though we made it a rule to set down all our experiences therein, yet such a resolution is very hard to keep, for the important experience rarely allows us to remember such obligations, and so indifferent things get recorded, while that is frequently neglected. It is not easy to write in a journal what interests us at any time, because to write it is not what interests us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)