At this time they still lived in families, and encouraged, or at any
rate did not discourage, marriage. Among the members who married between
1805 and 1807 was John Rapp, the founder's son, and the father of Miss
Gertrude Rapp, who still lives at Economy; and there is no doubt that
the elder Rapp performed the marriage ceremony. During the year 1807,
however, a deep religious fervor pervaded the society; and a remarkable
result of this "revival of religion" was the determination of most of
the members to conform themselves more closely in several ways to what
they believed to be the spirit and commands of Jesus. Among other
matters, they were persuaded in their own minds that it was best to
cease to live in the married state. I have been assured by older members
of the society, who have, as they say, often heard the whole of this
period described by those who were actors in it, that this determination
to refrain from marriage and from married life originated among the
younger members; and that, though "Father Rapp" was not averse to this
growth of asceticism, he did not eagerly encourage it, but warned his
people not to act rashly in so serious and difficult a matter, but to
proceed with great caution, and determine nothing without careful
counsel together.
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