Near the end of his book, Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve, Amos S. Hayden lamented the fact that there were not more records from the previous generations from which his generation could learn. He wondered if future generations would have an even harder time finding the writings and history of their predecessors.
“In these pages, personal knowledge and gathered data have, in part, supplied this lack. But this source of information is, with the passing generation, rapidly going down to the dumb grave; the silent receptacle of all things human.
“The scribe was a man of high authority among the Jews, a little vain, and a sweep of his robe somewhat too ample. The horn of oil made the nation jubilant when it was emptied in the consecration of a priest or a king. But the horn of ink has made many nations joyful by its recitals of their deeds, and its transmissions of their jubilees.
“Oh, that Scott had kept a diary! that our earlier men had written as well as talked! Thanks to Baxter, whose skill and zeal have evoked from the tomb of the mighty, a history distinguished both for its beauty and its truth. Of what infinite embarrassment would he have been relieved by contemporaneous records!“The historic muse prepared his reed to sing the illustrious deeds of the panoplied pioneers, not in verse, but in plain and humble prose. Yet the prose should fall little below the powers of the loftiest muses, to record in fitting terms the grand anthem of their heroism and their triumph. Shall the next generation find this one as barren of records as we find the past?” (Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve, p. 310-311).
Are we writing and recording the teachings, wisdom, experiences, and history of our generation for the benefit of those who come after us? Will future generations say of us, “Oh, that they had written as well as talked!”
What are we preserving for future generations? Verbal teaching is, and always will be, important in training those who will come after us (2 Timothy 2:2). But writing is important for this as well. Peter wrote so that when he was gone, his instructions would be preserved (2 Peter 1:12-15), and we still have his writings today.
We may not think that our place in history among brethren is significant, and therefore unworthy of being preserved. But it could be that future generations will say otherwise. Perhaps we need to be writing more things down. They may prove to be useful after we are gone.
