Justin+S.+-+RFC+-+SP10

I, John Humphrey Noyes, believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is attainable on Earth. My goal is to create a Utopia that will be an example for the rest of the world to follow. By following all of Christ’s teachings about God’s reign, it is possible to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. After I became a Minister, I created my first Utopia in Putney, Vermont. Unfortunately, I was kicked out because of my group’s radical sexual practices. After that, I moved to Oneida, New York where I set up the Community of the Oneida Perfectionists. My community and I believed that we had a covenant with God and that we were supposed to be an example of righteousness for the rest of the world to see. My community had a doctrine that was to be followed. This doctrine stated all of the laws and ideals that we follow so as to become a community of the “best” individuals. My Utopia lasted for about 30 to 40 years and I was quite successful in my venture to accomplish peace and righteousness on earth. When my Utopia disbanded due to the decreasing commitment towards complex marriage, it became a joint stock company. Some of our methods were slightly extreme, such as complex marriage (every man and every woman were married to each other. They could engage in sexual intercourse, but could not be attached to each other) and turned people away from our cause. There were however those who did believe in what I proposed and became a follower of my ideals. I attended Andover and Yale ad became a Minister. Many of the most prominent ministers during the Awakening came from here. After I became a minister, I studied tremendously and had an emotional breakdown. Due to this period in my life, I decided that the perfection God demanded was not only attainable, but could be accomplished by an inner sense of salvation. It is my belief that heaven is achievable on earth. To achieve this heaven, my followers and I would follow Christ’s teachings on what the reign of God would be like. If the government saw fit to give me their support, it would go a long way to promoting my cause. If the President would agree with my ideals, then many more people would follow his beliefs and it would be possible to create a world in which everyone worked towards the greater good of the community. Charles Finney helped me when I was young to go through a religious revival. At first I wasn’t moved much by his preaching’s, but later, when after I suffered a feverish cold, I started to think about death and decided to humble myself to God. This changed my entire life and sparked the interest in me of becoming a minister. Abigail Merwin was first and most faithful follower but left me to marry another man. This was what drove me over the edge and sent me into a complete mental and emotional breakdown. Fortunately, this breakdown caused me to view everything differently and convinced me that I was God’s agent on earth.  __**Sources:**__ Kathleen M., Hogan. "John Humphrey Noyes and the Oneida Perfectionists." //American Studies @ The University of Virginia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2010. . Hillebrand, Randall. "The Oneida Community - New York History Net." //New York History Net - A project of the Institute for New York State Studies//. New York History Net, 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 24 Feb. 2010. .
 * John Humphrey Noyes **
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