One of the principal documents of the Restoration Movement was The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery. It announced the dissolving of this religious body (the Springfield Presbytery) and articulated a desire for all such bodies to “be dissolved, and sink into union with the Body of Christ at large.”
This document was signed by six men – the most well-known was Barton W. Stone. Two of the men – Richard M’Nemar and John Dunlavy – later departed from the faith to join the Shakers. In his memoirs, David Purviance – another one of the six who signed The Last Will and Testament – described their departure and the impact it had upon the church.
“They were not content to abide in the simplicity of the truth. They became fanatics, and were prepared for an overthrow — when the Shakers entered in among us and swept them off with others who were led into wild enthusiasm. The shock to the church was severe — but it terminated for good. It served as a warning to us to watch and pray, and cleave to the Lord and to his word. We heard the word of the Lord: ‘Is there no king in thee, is thy counselor perished?’ M’Nemar was gone, but Jesus Christ had not joined the Shakers. The bond of union and fellowship was dissolved between us and those who had received the Shaker testimony. They were moved from ‘the foundation of the apostles and prophets,’ and had received a new revelation — ‘another gospel.’ ‘They went out from us, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.’ We found their character delineated: 1st Tim. 4:1, ‘Some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils’” (The Biography of Elder David Purviance, p. 115).
