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Rev. John Hargrove |
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John Hargrove was born in Ireland in 1750 and came to Baltimore in 1769. On November 28th, 1776, he married his first wife Hannah England, and soon afterwards became a Methodist. He was ordained as a preacher and later became a deacon in the Methodist Church. Hargrove was first introduced to Swedenborg through a sermon delivered by Rev. James J. Wilmer of the Protestant Episcopal Church on the subject of the Trinity. He began reading Swedenborg’s works with the intention of refuting them. However, in time Hargrove himself came to accept the teachings of the New Church. On June 5th, 1798, John Hargrove formally withdrew from the Methodist Church. This act caused great financial hardship for his family; he had been teaching in a Methodist academy and accordingly lost his position. Mrs. Hargrove is credited with having stood beside him in this difficult decision. The following conversation is said to have taken place: “Mrs. Hargrove asked him, ‘Do you conscientiously believe that the new doctrines are true?’ He answered emphatically in the affirmative; ‘Then give up every thing for the truth,’ said she. ‘My dear wife,’ he replied, ‘if I do that, you and our children may starve.’ ‘No;’ she rejoined, ‘the Lord will provide; I and the children will trust in Him’”
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| President Thomas Jefferson and Rev. John Hargrove | ||
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From: Thomas Jefferson, President of the United StatesTo: The Rev. John Hargrove, Minister of the New ChurchBaltimore, Washington, 11th March, 1801
Sir, I beg leave to return you my thanks, and through you, to the Acting Committee of the New Jerusalem Church, in the city of Baltimore, for your friendly congratulations. I deplore with you the present sanguinary and turbulent state of things in the Eastern world, and look forward to the restoration of peace, and progress of information, for the promotion of genuine charity, liberality, and brotherly kindness towards those who differ from us in opinion. The Philanthropy which breathes through the several expressions of your letter is a pledge that you will endeavour to diffuse the sentiments of benevolence among our fellow-men, and to inculcate the important truth, that they promote their own happiness by nourishing kind and friendly dispositions towards others. Commending your endeavours to the Being, in whose hands we are, I beg you to accept assurances of my perfect consideration and respect.
* * * * * * * Rev. John Hargrove Delivers New Church Sermon before Jefferson and Congress John Hargrove (1750-1839) was one of the first New Church ministers ordained in America, and his ministerial career included several remarkable events. On December 26th, 1802, at the invitation of President Thomas Jefferson, he delivered a sermon On the Leading Doctrines of the New Jerusalem to the President and members of Congress. Two years later in 1804 he delivered another sermon in Washington on Christmas day—On the Second Coming of Christ, and On the Last Judgment — this time before both Houses of Congress. His 1804 sermon is currently part of the Library of Congress exhibit, ”Religion and the Founding of the American Republic.“
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