# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1850_S139
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 139 —

7. On the question, "How far should the exhortation to the people to
come to Holy Communion be extended?" the conference answered
that the preacher, following Luther's exhortation in the preface to the Small Catechism,
should indeed stress the benefit of using it and the harm of despising the
venerable Sacrament, but must not set a time and
hour for it, and so must not make a law out of it.

8. "What must the preacher pay particular attention to in his daily conduct,
so that he may keep an unblemished conscience?" Giving particular
consideration to the preacher's conduct in dealing with others, the
conference reached the conviction that the preacher, while carefully
avoiding anything affected, should cultivate a manner that is serious rather
than too familiar. In dealing with unbelievers, the conference
advised its members to be more careful of denying the faith through silence
than of being too afraid of giving offense by confessing the
faith.

9. The question put to the conference, "Should one observe days of
penance and prayer recommended by non-Lutheran, indeed evidently godless,
presidents, governors, and other secular officials?"
it answered with Yes!, insofar as that recommendation is to be regarded as secular
and not as a divine command; one is also bound, for love of one's
neighbor's sake, to observe them.

10. "To what extent can and should a Lutheran preacher concern himself with
promoting the American Bible Society, which consists of members of all
sects, if he himself wishes to enjoy benefits from it?"
The conference held that, given the present state of need in this country,
by which it is impossible for our Church to see to the publication of
Bibles and Testaments itself, one may indeed, with a good conscience, purchase for
oneself the Bibles and Testaments published by the Bible
Society as articles of trade, at least so long as one has no good reason to fear
that this unionist society deliberately corrupts the text of the
Bible in order to advance its errors; yet one should in no way
approach the Bible Society, for instance as an agent, so as not to give
the false impression of approving its unionist orientation.

11. On the last day of the conference, in the morning, Pastor
Keyl then, at the commission of the Synod's president, conducted an examination of
the candidate for the pastoral office, Mr. Weyel, with which the
conference declared itself satisfied.

12. The conference then took up the following two questions:
a. "How does John's baptism relate to Christian baptism?" to which
Pastor Keyl expressed his conviction that John's baptism
was only an outward sign and foreshadowing of Christ's baptism, and that therefore all
who had been baptized by John still had to receive
Christ's baptism, Acts 19. For this claim Pastor Keyl cites a passage
from Luther's works of the year 1520. b. "What can be said for and against
the self-communion of pastors?" The conference's opinion is
that as much can be said for as against it, and it was noted that
Luther, in his later writings, was more against it than for it.

The Synod's Declaration on the foregoing minutes:

on 1. It is regrettable that it has, unfortunately, still occurred in some of our
congregations up to now that children of other confessions are
either not admitted to the school at all, or only reluctantly; it is indeed
our duty to follow the command of the Lord Jesus: "Feed my lambs" and
"let the little children come unto me," etc.; a congregation which