voices (standard:Inspirational stories, 1131 words)
Author: stanley mcqueen kentucky backwoods writer	Added: May 30 2009	Views/Reads: 2858/1	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
this story has a good moral point , that many men have listen to voices that are not alwways the voice of God

Some would say that Uncle Arvin Bishop is the most religious man in
Muddy Fork county,  him and aunt Sally attend the little goose rock 
chapel church house that is pastured by the Good Rev Smallwood,  the 
flock of Goose rock is small about twenty folks attend the small 
mountain church, my paw and mammy are members of the church , and they 
insist that I go along on all the meeting that is held there last week 
sermon was on the coming of the lord, and Rev Smallwood preached that 
the lord was coming back in  three months to get the saints, he was a 
powerful speaker for sure, and he told the flock to not plant corn this 
spring because there was not going to be any use in it because the lord 
sent  him a token that he was coming back to get ever saint at little 
goose, Paw and Mammy never paid him much mind, and paw said no man ever 
can knows when the lord is coming back not even the good Rev Smallwood, 
unlike paw most of the saints took the preacher word for it that the 
lord was sure enough coming in the fall and taking all the goose rocks 
saints to heaven Paw went on and planted the early spring corn crop, 
but mammy brother Arvin never he sold him mules and corn wagon and told 
pappy that he was wasting his fool time planting a corn with the lord 
coming back in early fall season' Paw tried to convince his brother in 
law Ervin that he best  not pay no mind to Rev Smallwood preaching 
about knowing when the lord will return, because the bible says no man 
knows the hour of day that the lord will return to get all the saints, 
Ervin insisted that preacher Smallwood got a token from the lord up on 
Willard peak while he was praying up there last Sunday,  pastor 
Smallwood  told all the saints of little goose to meet him a certain 
Sunday on point called Willard peak and that would be the place the 
lord would swoop down and gather all the little goose saints up and 
take them all to heaven, it all sounded awful good, to me knowing if  
lord took us all to that big heaven of him, that I would never have to 
help paw plow this old hard rocky corn ground , and gather corn  in the 
fall again,  surely heaven offered more than this old timberland could 
offer a man, Paw told Ervin that he was going to plant his corn crop 
just in case Rev Smallwood was wrong, and he was not taking a chance on 
starving to death on the word of a little short bald headed preacher, 
fourteen of the flock never planted their spring corn crops,  some like 
Ervin turned their cattle and hogs lose to run about as they pleased in 
the ridges because the lord was coming and they needed no cattle or 
hogs to tend up yonder in heaven, Paw declared that folks was crazy for 
doing such things on the word of  Rev Smallwood, two month passed and 
the saints who had let their cattle and hogs lose were living the next  
month on the can food they had in stock from the last growing season, 
That day the lord was suppose to come finely and ever saint had meet on 
Willard peak to greet the lord on his return , paw and Maw and I went 
along just in case paw was wrong and the lord did come to gather his 
saints , we got there almost the first that fall sunny morning, and Rev 
Smallwood lead this flock in prayer , his prayer was this, Lord I have 
brought all your saints here on Willard point so you can gather us like 
we do the corn crop in the fall season,, we are going to set down 
before this big stump and make a circle and  hold hands so you can get 
us all at one big swoop, he thanked the lord for the token of his 
coming at this very place  that all the saint was now standing  where 
he got the token from the lord that he was to gather us all on this 
point for our departure , he closed his payer , and told the saints at 
high noon we be gone from Willard's peak, folks were anxious and very 
excited all the children of the saints never paid this much mind they 
were wanting to run about and play , and the Rev warn them to stay 
close to their  folks so they would not be left behind at the lord 
swooping, i It come high noon and noting happen everyone was asking Rev 
Smallwood could he have heard the lord wrong and got the wrong time and 
date, Rev looked worried and troubled and kept watching his pocket 
watch and checking the time, sweat come on his brow and he was fearing 
what the people might do or think of him If the lord did not show up to 
get them like he has sure promised them, It come one o clock and then 
two o clock and then three o clock and the folks grew restless and was 
all troubled at heart, three o clock come and still no swooping had 
happen , all the saint was still here around the big stump that the Rev 
had us all gathered around, Paw rose up and asked Rev Smallwood if he 
could say some words to the people, and  pastor Smallwood told paw to 
say speak , Paw said “ now folks it seems our pastor has made a bad 
call and now you all know that he is a good man , but even the best of 
men listen sometimes to the wrong voices , I can read a little and I 
read in the good book that no man knows the hour or the day the lord 
will come again to gather the saints that are alive on earth at his 
return, I bid you to forgive our pastor for his error , and let us all 
go down off this peak and gather all the cattle and the hogs that you 
all loosen,  and work our fields till the lord does decides to  come 
and get us, 

Folks listen to paw make his talk and it seem reasonable to forgive the
good Rev Smallwood, because he was a good man of the lord , and had 
just like paw said “ listen to his own voice instead of the lord voice, 
the moral of this story is this never listen to no other voice but that 
of God holy word... 


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