Excerpt from Manual of Forms for Baptism, Admission to the Communion, Administration of the Lord's Supper, Marriage and Funerals: Conformed to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Presbyterian Church

He wishes emphatically to acknowledge the valuable assist ance and encouragement rendered him in this compilation by the Rev. John C. Backus, D. D., of Baltimore, and the Rev. Arthur T. Pierson, D. D., of Detroit. To the latter especially he is indebted for criticisms and suggestions, for some of the very best material incorporated in these formularies, and for the entire Order, marked IV., for the admission of members to full communion, as alternative to Orders II. And III., for the separate admission of baptized members to full communion and for the baptism of adults.

Personally, he believes that as it is essential to maintain the church membership from the beginning of those who are bap tized in infancy, so it is important to make visible the fact that the admission to full communion of baptized members of the Church is an ordinance different in meaning and effect from the baptism of adults and their first admission from the world into a covenanted relation to God. As, however, many of his brethren think differently, provision is made for the practical exercise of both methods by Orders II. And III. Providing for the separate, and Order IV. Providing, as an alternative, for the simultaneous, admission of both classes of candidates to full communion.

It will be noted by those who use this Manual that the formulas intended for public use are printed in large type, and generally upon the right-hand pages, whilst the references to the Scriptures and the Standards of the Presbyterian Church are given in small type, upon the left-hand pages.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.