POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
303 
deliberation. We felt that our proceedings would influ¬ 
ence the views and conduct, not only of those by whom 
we were surrounded, but perhaps of future generations. 
A foundation was now to be laid on which, so far as order 
and discipline were concerned, the superstructure of the 
Christian church in that island was to rise in every suc¬ 
ceeding age, and by which it would certainly be affected 
in many important respects. Anxious therefore to begin 
aright, we sought, and trust we received. Divine guidance, 
endeavouring to regulate our proceedings altogether by 
the directions of the sacred volume. It was, however, 
difficult to divest ourselves entirely of those views of 
the subject which we had imbibed from the writings 
of men. 
A Christian church we considered to be a society of 
faithful and holy men, voluntarily associated for the 
purposes of public worship, mutual edification, the parti¬ 
cipation of the Lord's supper, and the propagation of 
Christianity : the Lord Jesus Christ was regarded as its 
spiritual head; and only such as had given themselves 
unto the Redeemer, and were spiritually united to him, 
members. These were our general views. In Eng¬ 
land we had belonged to different denominations, and 
however adapted the peculiarities in discipline, of 
those communions might appear to the circumstances 
of British Christians, we did not deem it expedient to 
take any one altogether for our model. It appeared 
to all more desirable, in the existing state of the people, 
to divest the churches we might be honoured of God 
to plant among the Gentiles, of every thing compli¬ 
cated or artificial, that they might be established in the 
purest simplicity of form, and, as far as possible, accord¬ 
ing to the directions of revelation. Had any been perti- 
