54 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
Although we did not experience that difficulty 
which, from the peculiar circumstances of the 
Mission and the people, had attended the first 
administration of baptism, we regarded it as a 
matter requiring grave and prayerful deliberation. 
We felt that our proceedings would influence the 
views and conduct, not only of those by whom we 
were surrounded, but perhaps of future gene¬ 
rations. A foundation was now to be laid, on 
which, so far as order and discipline were con¬ 
cerned, the superstructure of the Christian church 
in that island was to rise in every succeeding 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 proceed¬ 
ings altogether by the directions of the sacred 
volume. It was, however, difficult to divest our¬ 
selves 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 participation of the Lord’s supper, and the pro¬ 
pagation 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 England we had be¬ 
longed 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 ap¬ 
peared to all more desirable, in the existing state 
of the people, to divest the churches we might be 
