a denomination of Christians which is said to have arisen in the interior of the United States in 1802, who reject all creeds and confessions. They hold that there is but one person in the Godhead, and that the Father reveals himself in the personality of the Anointed. They deny eternal punishment, and believe in the annihilation of the wicked. They baptize only adults, and that in a peculiar manner. The persons to be baptized walk down into the water in procession, attended by the congregation, and accompanied with vocal and instrumental music. The ordinance is then administered in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They devote their children to God, not by baptism, but by dedicating them in prayer, and placing them under the guardianship of the church members.