1 76 HISTORY OF THE [book iiu 
1 . That they could not compel a man, who had, 
before his conversion, taken more than one wife, 
to put away one or "more of them, without her or 
their consent. 
2 . Rut yet, that they could not appoint such a 
man to be a helper or servant in the church; and, 
3 . That a man who believeth in Christ, if he 
marry, should take only one wife in marriage, and 
that he is bound to keep himself only to that wo¬ 
man, till death parts them. 
The instances that a man has three wives are 
few; all mistresses must of course be put away 
without exception; besides this, the missionaries 
lose no opportunity of inculcating into the minds of 
the married people, how to walK in this state 
conformable to the rules laid down in holy writ, 
and every'deviation from them is severely censured. 
If any baptized man leaves his wile, and takes ano¬ 
ther, and takes one or more wives besides the first, 
or in case he has had two, and one dies and he 
should marry another, he is excluded the fellowship 
of the church. Neither can the brethren admit of 
the heathenish customs in courting a wife, but they 
expect, that in case a believer wish to marry, he 
do all things in a decent and Christian manner: it is 
of course expected, that all baptized parents edu¬ 
cate their children in the tear of the Lord, shewing 
them a good example. If bv a sale of negroes by 
