Lewis James Heatwole

“ The history of the Mennonite Church is the story of an imperfect attempt to give first place to God and His will, to accept His revelation and precept in its entirety regardless of the cost. Human imperfections will cling to human endeavor, but God and His Word never failed. ”

“ At the time of Menno Simon's conversion the Church in Holland was numerically weak, though the Swiss Brethren had numerous congregations in Switzerland, France, South Germany, Tyrol and Moravia. A bitter wave of persecution had swept over these churches and the principal leaders of the Swiss Brethren had suffered a martyr's death, but the attempt to destroy the Church proved a failure. ”

“ For a number of years a severe persecution of these followers of the Lord prevailed and many were put to death for their faith, but in no country did the persecution of the Mennonites continue so long as in Switzerland. The last martyr was Elder (bishop) Hans Landis, the most prominent minister of the Swiss Brethren in that period, who was beheaded in Zurich, 1614. The persecution, however, continued until well into the eighteenth century. Nowhere else did the Church show such vitality. Many fled from Switzerland to South Germany, France, Holland, and America. ”