Letters
Dear Uncle Zeke, Sattidy week I was over to the feed store when who do you suppose I run into? Old Lukey Habersham, the Baptist church preacher. You remember old Lukey, he's the feller who likes to be called "Reverund." Seems funny callin him that, him bein as puny as he is, nothin special about him to be feered of.
Well, we'uns got to talkin about baptism, and the necessity of it and all. He got off about how it weren't necessary to be baptized to be saved. I whipped out my Testament, always carry one, and showed him about ten or eleven scriptures to ponder over, ever one of which showed baptism is a necessary thing. Then I come right out with it and asked him if a man could be saved, read what the Bible says about baptism, refuse to be baptized and still go to Heaven. He admitted that baptism was necessary under them circumstances, all right.
I backed him up agin the wall, with him saying it were necessary and all, yet him not a teachin baptism. It was then he come up with a real humdinger. This is really what he said, "Shore, baptism is necessary, it just aint no necessity." Now if that don't beat all. I chewed on that a while. Never have figgered out exactly what he meant.
Maybe you can help me with that one. Just think, that old boy's preachin for that big old church down by the river, and him makin such foolish statements.
I'll be over to the auction at Hog Holler next Monday. That's just a short piece from you'uns. Why don't you come over and we'll jaw a spell.
Yours truly, Your faithful nephew Delmar