The Position of Zion's Advocate

In the Mt. Carmel church trial this testimony and evidence was presented:

"Dr. Purifoy published in Zion’s Advocate in 1879 and here are his exact words taken from it. I can produce the original. Here are his exact words: “I firmly believe that it is the duty of every gospel minister to preach repentance and remission of sins, in the name of Jesus, to all the unregenerate with whom he comes in contact in his pulpit ministrations. As he does this in the name of Jesus, realizing the utter inability of the sinner to repent until the grace of repentance is given him from on high, he has an assurance from the scriptures, that God’s word will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish that whereunto he sends it, and prosper in the thing he pleases. Thus the gospel ministry is instrumental in God’s hands, through Jesus, in raising dead sinners to newness of life---spiritual life---just as the apostles were instruments in His hands in casting out devils, healing the sick, and raising the dead.”

There were four Hardshell periodicals in existence in the 1830s, the Signs of the Times, The Christian Doctrinal Advocate and Spiritual Monitor, The Primitive Baptist, and the Old Baptist Banner. Each of these taught the Gospel means position. Zion's Advocate was a leading periodical begun in 1852 and taught the Gospel means position until it was taken over by the anti means side in the 1890s, after the death of Elder John Clark. The above citation shows what the position of the paper was during the time of Elder Clark's editorship.