Fulton Confession of Faith/Preface

Many of our brethren have desired for years that a general or national meeting be held for the purpose of uniting our people everywhere in doctrine and practice; others have feared that this end could not be attained in this way, and so hesitated to encourage the move.

Every lover of our people has been grieved and deeply distressed to see our dear old Baptists torn into factions in so many places. With an earnest desire to see union and harmony prevail among us everywhere, by request of the Fulton Church, we met on November 14, 1900, and continued four days in session with the Fulton Church in Fulton, Ky.

The prayers for union among us and for God's blessings upon our efforts could be read on the faces of all present, and as the weighty matters mentioned in this Confession of Faith were read and reread tears filled many eyes. There was a feeling among all present that God's blessings would rest on our efforts. Not one present showed any desire to domineer over the rest.

In the committee rooms the brethren showed the utmost possible regard for each other's feelings, and every measure was approved by unanimous vote.

The London Baptist Confession of Faith was approved by a unanimous vote of the meeting. In view of the fact that this instrument was written more than two hundred years ago and that our language naturally undergoes some change in so long a time, it was deemed prudent to add some explanations to those sections that seemed ambiguous.

The whole Confession, with the explanatory notes, was approved by a unanimous vote, and we now offer the whole in this form to our dear brethren everywhere, with the fervent prayer to Almighty God that it may be received and approved by our suffering Zion with the same unanimity and tender love with which it has been approved in this meeting, and that our feeble efforts may result in establishing union and fellowship among us everywhere, and that we may go to our homes from this place with a renewed energy in laboring for peace and union among all our people, and to this end we beg all our people everywhere to unite with us in prayer to the Lord God Almighty to remember us with a blessing, that our eyes may see days of increased gladness and the sweetest union among our people.

Signed in behalf of the whole assembly.

James H. Oliphant, Moderator;
Will M. Strickland, Clerk