| Show NEW RELIGIOUS SECT IN AFRICA SOME soun time last spring or early in the summer among the many visitors to this city was a man named Groen woude a native of holland who claimed to have constant communication with and revelation from god and that his mission s 4 was to travel and preach through the world and gather gainer the elect to south africa he represented that he had then been traveling several years and had merely called here on his journey round the world the tie tle man was apparently patently ly earnest and fervent and the impression made upon those to whom he was introduced during his short stay in this city was that if a deluded he was an honest man the new york herald berald of the uit contains a long article from the cape town south africa standard of the of last august wholly devoted to the doings of a new religious sect of which Groene woude is the founder located in or near cape town the account is anything but flattering but its information is admitted to be from one a swiss who had acosta sized from this new faith and the experience peri ence of the latter day saints from the organization of their church in 1830 until the present time has convinced them that apostates are not at all particular what they say and that it is next to impossible for them to tell the truth this south african sect may be guilty of every folly and excess as bribed to ao it but something far more reliable in the way of evidence than the testimony of an apostate would be necessary to convince the people of utah that such is the case the standard says that the founder of the new faith falth groen woude came out from holland as a married the daughter of a dutch editor sixteen years his senior became missionary of the dutch reformed Ee formed church became dissatisfied seceded and became an apostle to the heathen had himself and wife re baptized and at last became a sect founder revelator and prophet the sect is generally styled anabal fists but they call cali themselves children of jesus none can join the party says this man without surrendering all they possess to the heads of the community Groen woude the prophet his wife the prophetess and two apostles formerly rich merchants who have been induced to embrace the faith the progress of the community under such circumstances so far as an increase in numbers is concerned is very slow nud aud at the time the stand ards article was manufactured its entire strength was only a trifle over fifty they live according to the communistic idea and all their affairs even to the number and quality of their meals are directed by revelation the method of obtaining the latter as described by being of the most ridiculous character it is as follows Groen woude sitting at the table would suddenly close his eyes hysterically rap the floor with his heels and this would be the signal for two of the brother prophets to lay him on his back then while kicking and groaning he would lave bave have a pencil and paper handed to him on which he would write what he asserted was a coni cona muni cation catlon from on high they profess to work ork no more after aften the manner of the world and to take no thought about what they shall eat or drink or wherewithal they shall be clothed also that the female portion of their community bear and bring forth children without pain and that the curse of eve has been so far removed from them that they are no longer servants to their husbands some of the discipline of the church according to the testimony of this apostate is indecent in the highest degree the process of killing the flesh consists of exposing the persons of tho those i se go going ng through throng h the operation in a state of c complete om p let iet e n nudity u city before all the others no NID tit title titie le or re relationship la tion ship Is acknowledged but that of brother and sister father and mother being entirely ignored polygamy is practised practiced among them in consequence of their inattention to worldly matters prosperity is by no means great and the food of he the members is of a poor quality these an and dother other details equally ridiculous are furnished by but they are so entirely in opposition to common sense and decency that it is hard to believe that any community ot 0 respectable white folks which they are arc said to be could act so much like fools and the whole narrative leads one inevitably evit ably to the conclusion that the informant of the standard apostate I like ilke I 1 ke is s thoroughly unreliable and is a skunk by nature as well as by name |
