Lucretia Mott
1793-1880 19th century
The inward light recognised in every human being, with no exception and no precondition.
Who was Lucretia Mott?
A Nantucket Quaker, a schoolteacher outraged at being paid half what her male colleagues earned, mother of six, she was recognised as a minister at twenty-eight. She kept slave-made goods out of her house, opened it to fugitives, and in 1848 called the first women's rights convention. She preached without notes, out of the silence, when the word came to her.
In their own words
Christianity will not have performed its office in the earth until its professors have learned to respect the rights and privileges of conscience, by a toleration without limit, a faith without contention.
We must appeal to the teachings of the divine spirit that exists in every human breast.
Your silent meetings, your plain attire, your peculiar language, are they the rightful tests of your sound faith, your pure worship. No more than that of any other denomination.