Samuel Wesley Sr. examined the writings of Thomas à Kempis on the mortification of the flesh and concluded that "mortification is still an indispensable Christian duty." His son, John Wesley, the evangelical Christian progenitor of the Methodist Church continued "to hold à Kempis in high regard". As such, he likewise wrote that "efforts to manifest true faith would be 'quickened' by self mortification and entire obedience". Moreover, he "spoke approvingly of 'voluntary instances of mortification' in his journals". Methodist circuit riders were known for practicing the spiritual discipline of mortifying the flesh as they "arose well before dawn for solitary prayer; they remained on their knees without food or drink or physical comforts sometimes for hours on end". John Cennick, the first Methodist itinerant preacher, prayed nine times a day, fasted and "fancying dry bread too great an indulgence for so great a sinner as himself, he began to feed on potatoes, acorns, crabs, and grass". The Methodist evangelist John Wesley Childs was known for "limiting what he would eat" and choosing "to walk beside his horse rather than to ride in order to demonstrate his willingness to suffer for his calling and to try to heighten his religious experience through subjecting himself to trials." The "Wesleyan Methodist Magazine" in 1813 published a statement written by Matthew Henry for Christian believers: