WESLEY 557 he undertook a mission to the colony of Geor- gia, one of his chief objects being the con- version of the Indians. Accompanied by his brother Charles and two Oxford associates, he embarked in October. During the voyage he made the acquaintance of some Moravian missionaries, whose doctrines and composure in the midst of threatened death exerted a powerful influence on him. The rigid eccle- siastical discipline which he attempted to en- force was highly distasteful to many of the colonists, and Wesley was involved in a suit for defamation, which however was never brought to an issue. He returned to England in February, 1738, and immediately sought the society of the Moravians. He began dili- gently to examine their teachings, and received valuable aid from Peter Bohler, one of the missionaries then on their way from Herrn- hut to Georgia. On the evening of May 24, 1738, he went to a meeting of the Moravian society in Aldersgate street, London, where was read Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Komans. Of the effect Wesley says: "I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust Christ, Christ alone, for salvation ; and an as- surance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." This is his own ac- count of his conversion, the vivid recollection of which he retained during all his life, and to which he often referred with the utmost confidence and triumphant joy. Three weeks afterward he visited Herrnhut, the centre of Moravian operations, where he listened to Christian David, had earnest conversations with Zinzendorf, and was confirmed in some of his religious opinions. He returned to Eng- land in September, and from this time forward was moved by an unconquerable zeal to declare a free salvation to all men through simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Till December he preached constantly in the churches of Lon- don and vicinity, and in the prisons and alms- houses. His sermons were not generally well received within the establishment, and there seemed little sympathy with his earnestness. On Whitefield's return to England in Decem- ber of this year he found the churches closed against him. This led him to engage in open- air preaching at Bristol. In May, 1739, Wes- ley joined him there and began to preach to immense multitudes. After Whitefield had gone into Wales, Wesley, for the sake of more thorough instruction, began to gather the con- verts into " bands," and appoint times and places for prayer and counsel. On May 12 he laid in Bristol the corner stone of the first Methodist chapel, control of which, contrary to his own purpose, became vested in himself, as did that of all the other Wesleyan chapels built during his lifetime. In November he opened the foundery chapel in Moorfields, London, and this became the headquarters of the Methodist movement. Here was organized the first "society," consisting of eight or ten persons, " who came to Wesley and desired him to spend some time with them in prayer, and advise them how to flee from the wrath to come." From London as a centre he made long and frequent journeys, usually on horse- back, preaching generally twice a day, and often four times on Sunday. During the year 1739 he began a series of publications for the exposi- tion of his views, for the encouragement and instruction of the " societies," and for the de- fence of his course against his opponents. The doctrinal differences between himself and the Moravians had become more and more serious, and resulted in his formal and solemn sepa- ration from them in July, 1740. About the same time, also, Wesley published a sermon on "Free Grace," in which he strenuously op- posed the doctrine of election and predestina- tion. Whitefield while in America had em- braced the Augustinian doctrine ; and he had requested Wesley to refrain from the publi- cation of his sermon, for the sake of the peace of the societies. The effects of it were the temporary alienation of Whitefield and Wesley, and the organization of the Lady Huntingdon Methodists and the Calvinistic Methodists in Wales. From this time there were two dis- tinct movements : the Calvinistic, led on by George Whitefield, and the Arminian, by John Wesley. Wesley's work was now greatly en- larged. In spite of much opposition and ridi- cule, it became necessary to provide for the increasing evangelical labor, and for the more careful oversight and nurture of such as had been formed into "bands." In 1742 he first employed a lay ministry, although lay preach- ing had been practised several years by Cen- nick, Humphreys, and Nelson. His journeys were soon extended into Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. He seldom travelled less than 40 miles a day, generally on horseback ; and for 50 years, it is said, there was not an instance of detention on account of the severity of the weather. He form'ed societies, employed lay preachers, appointed class leaders, devised a most effective system of church finance, wrote and published books and tracts, and established schools. In the neglected mining and manu- facturing districts were witnessed the most wonderful effects of his preaching. The mi- ners of Cornwall came together in thousands, and thousands were converted and reformed from the lowest vices. The first Methodist conference was assembled in the foundery chapel on June 25, 1744. Besides the two Wesleys, there were present four ordained ministers of the church of England and four lay preachers. It is evident that the design of Wesley up to this time was simply to effect a religious revival within the church of Eng- land, and save the neglected multitudes. Du- ring the year 1744 most bitter persecutions were suffered by the Methodists, especially in Staffordshire ; and frequent attacks were made upon Wesley through the journals and by pam- phlets. Under these circumstances he pub-
