Selection from the Life of William Dewsbury

by: William Dewsbury

Though he spent the greater part of his adult life in chains for the gospel, William Dewsbury (1621-1688) was an eminent leader in the early Society of Friends whose role in the formation and oversight of the Society was comparable to that of George Fox. This short excerpt from his writings, taken from the 1689 publication of his complete works, begins with an account of his own long and distressing pursuit of the true knowledge of God, and ends with a compassionate call to “every man and woman, under whatever name or denomination,” to “deal justly with your own hearts, and see what you have truly witnessed of your death with Christ by the powerful Word of truth which enlightens the conscience, and condemns sin in the flesh.”