California Republican Cornelius Cole, reflecting on U.S. President Abraham Lincoln‘s frequent use of humor, relates the following story told by Lincoln, a former Baptist:
“That in early times there were only three churches in Springfield, the Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist, all orthodox, when suddenly there came along a smart young Universalist minister and began to preach with a view to establish a church of his own. This alarmed the orthodox preachers, and they consulted together to see what should be done about it. Their conclusion was to take turns and preach the intruder down. It fell to the lot of the Presbyterian dominie to preach the first sermon, and he began by reminding his hearers how happily they were getting along in Springfield, spiritually and otherwise, ‘And now,’ he said, ‘there comes among us a stranger, to establish a church on the belief that all men are to be saved, but my brethren let us hope for better things.’”
Source: Memoirs of Cornelius Cole (link); the actual date of this Lincoln story is unknown
