Matthew 24:46

A story is related, which has to do with the Second Coming of our blessed Lord and the general dissemination of this precious truth. At last it reached the workers in the South as they worked in the cotton fields. Said one of the old brethren, What’s the use of us picking cotton if the Lord is coming back? And scores of others agreed. The cotton pickers stopped their work, and the cotton wasted in the fields. Everybody else was busy attending conferences and camp meetings, singing the praises of God, and looking for His return.

The following winter was one of great need and privation because their crops had been so woefully neglected.