On June 21, 1776, John Adams wrote: "Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand."
In July of 1800, the congregation planned another camp meeting at the Gaspar River. Surpassing their expectations, 8,000 people arrived, some from over 100 miles away: "The power of God seemed to shake the whole assembly. Towards the close of the sermon, the cries of the distressed arose almost as loud as his voice.
After the congregation was dismissed the solemnity increased, till the greater part of the multitude seemed engaged in the most solemn manner ..
Describing the Muslim slave trade as "a monster brooding over Africa,"Livingstone once walked 120 miles near Lake Nyasa without seeing a single human being, as Arab slave traders had so depopulated the area.
Edwards wrote in Narrative of the Surprising Word of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls, 1737: "The Spirit of God began extraordinarily to ... work amongst us ... Suddenly, one after another ... were ... savingly converted ... in a very remarkable manner ... A young woman, who had been one of the greatest company-keepers in the whole town ... gave an account ... that God had given her a new heart, truly broken and sanctified ... God made it, I suppose, the greatest occasion of awakening to others ... News of it seemed to be almost like a flash of lighting upon the hearts of young people all over the town."
