# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1882_S47
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 47 —

the doctrine." Hence Pastor Muus too ought to retract such accusations. — Neither is it true what Pastor Rasmussen said a while ago, that we had said: all opponents had written against us from carnal motives, and all who are against us are godless. We have rather always testified that among our opponents there are various personalities. Schmidt is the originator of this false doctrine and of this controversy. The glory he has and may keep. The others have the false doctrine from him; they have it not from the dogmaticians, least of all from the symbolical books. There we have always testified: among them there are still honest people who have let themselves be led astray. We have called no one a godless man, except when he lied.

And it is now quite ridiculous when Pastor Muus says: the Missouri Synod had agitated in its own congregations. Such a speech one prefers not to characterize at all, because one cannot characterize it properly without insult. If the Synod agitates in its own congregations, then every pastor agitates every Sunday in his congregation. A synod is there precisely to come to the help of its congregations against false doctrine and spirits, and we must rather accuse ourselves that we have not done that diligently enough. A synod is a union of congregations that wish to assist one another in the Kingdom of God. It is not there to forge laws for the congregations; for then it would not be worth existing. The organs of a right synod are first of all all the pastors, then visitors and presidents. These have the holy duty to hasten to one another's help and to save what can be saved. If a synod did not do that, God's wrath would have to overtake it. How strange are the grounds that are brought forward against us here! But so it is: a bad cause can have no good grounds. We do not mean by this that it lay in the disposition of Pastor Muus; but his eyes are evidently held, so that he cannot recognize how wrongly he stands.

Truly! said a member of the Conference, I could not die blessed if I were to retract my doctrine; for it is founded on God's Word. I now stand with one foot in the grave, but I will with this my doctrine appear with confidence before my Lord Jesus Christ's judgment seat and say with Luther to Christ: If I am misled, then Thy Word has misled me. Then He will say to me: It is well, only come here, you did right in holding fast to my Word. And then the dear brethren may also consider this: Since this controversy arose I have been hated by thousands who loved me before, and no abusive word is bad enough to be found that has not been hurled at me. That I am willing to go into the grave with this disgrace and bear it with confidence, can that have carnal motives?