In the enforced seclusion of a long sea voyage, he had plenty of time for thought and study on this important subject. The result of his searching investigation was the conclusion, reluctantly formed, that he was wrong and that the Baptists were right. Of course they held many fundamental doctrines in common with Christians of all other evangelical denominations; but there were two distinctive tenets, that faith should always precede baptism, and that baptism is immersion. He was convinced that in these views they had the Bible on their side. It was only after a great struggle that he yielded; for he had to break with all the traditions and associations of his ancestry and childhood. He pictured to himself the grief and disappointment of his Christian friends in America, especially of his venerable parents. He saw that he would be separated from those young students, the boon companions with whom he had originated this great scheme of American Foreign Missions. In their discussions, his wife always took the Pedobaptist side. He knew that he and she might find themselves without bread in a strange heathen land. For who could expect the American Board to sustain a Baptist missionary, even if he could, on his part, obey their instructions? He could have little hope that the Baptists of America, feeble, scattered, and despised, would be equal to the great undertaking of supporting an expensive mission in distant India. Ah, what long, anxious conversations must he and his wife have had together in their little cabin on the brig _Caravan_! The question may have arisen in his mind, Are these doctrines so important after all? Can I not cherish them in secret, and still remain identified with the religious body that I so much love and honor? No; because if individual faith is the prerequisite of baptism, what scriptural authority would he have for baptizing the unconscious infant? If baptism is a symbol, then of course the form is all-important. If faith must precede baptism, and if immersion is essential to baptism, then he had never been baptized at all. He knew that baptism had been expressly commanded by our blessed Lord, and that alone was sufficient to necessitate obedience. Prompt and straightforward obedience to Christ was the keynote of his life. His was too positive a character to try to effect a compromise between conviction and action. He had one of those great natures that can not afford to move along with the crowd. Traces of this intense inward conflict may be seen in the following extracts from Mrs. Judson’s letters: _To a Friend._ “_September 7, 1812._