IS IT PRACTICABLE? by S. N. Haskell

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · June 3, 1880

FromThe Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 55, No. 23

IS IT PRACTICABLE?

By S. N. Haskell

BY ELD. S. N. HASKELL.

FACTS AND FIGURES.

A question has arisen of late in reference to the advisability of having vigilant missionary societies where there are local tract societies. It is recommended by some that a committee be appointed in each church to look after the Signs, and that there be no organized society. The original plan has been to have such a committee appointed only in those churches which were so small that no regular meetings could be held; but where five, six, or more could attend to have an organization effected, and regular meetings appointed, so that the business could be conducted properly and without confusion. We do not propose to here give all the arguments that might be given in favor of such organizations, but simply to call the attention of the friends of the cause to a few facts. The advantages of having such societies, and the proper manner of organizing and conducting them, are set forth in the back part of the “Constitution of the Tract and Missionary Society,” which can be obtained at either the REVIEW or Signs Office for ten cents.

To show the utility of the vigilant missionary work, we will take three of the best disciplined V. M. societies in the country; viz., Battle Creek, Mich.; South Lancaster, Mass.; and Oakland, Cal. These three societies take one thousand copies of the twelve-page Signs weekly, and could they pay for them they would make use of another thousand. Six thousand copies of the paper are sent out each week from the Signs Office to clubs, and one-sixth of this entire number is taken by these three societies. Then, again, we might select about four other V. M. societies which take one thousand copies more. So we see that one-third of all the Signs sent out to clubs are used by seven successful vigilant missionary societies. Why is this?

There are more than a hundred of our churches which could do as much or more than the societies above named. To be sure, Battle Creek and Oakland may have some advantages over other churches, being connected with the publishing work. But neither of them does an amount of work nor takes a number of papers as large in proportion to its means and numbers as does St. Helena, Cal., or South Lancaster, Mass.

It may be said that those States which do so much vigilant missionary work make the remailing of the Signs their principal work. If this were so, it would only show that they were taking the most successful method of spreading the truth. But by an examination of statements made in REVIEW No. 17, present volume, it will appear that New England ranked third in business with the REVIEW Office on other periodicals during the last three months, while in numbers it ranks only sixth in the scale.

Take another view of the matter. Michigan takes sixteen hundred copies of the Signs. Of these the Battle Creek V. M. Society takes five hundred, besides seven hundred and seventy-five other periodicals for missionary purposes. Again, as we look over the Signs list we find that the States which have the best disciplined V. M. societies, take the lead in the work of remailing the Signs and in general missionary work. These are Michigan, California, and New England; Minnesota, which has of late been organizing V. M. societies, ranks next. Some other societies have distributed more tracts, but not in proportion to their members. This shows the utility of regularly organized vigilant societies. Nearly all the other States have appointed V. M. committees instead of forming societies.

We are more and more convinced that as a people we are not more than half awake to the importance of distributing reading matter, especially the Signs of the Times. If God’s providence has given us a pioneer sheet, what is it for? If these few churches with their disciplined societies can send out two or three thousand copies of the Signs weekly, what ought our hundreds of churches to do in this respect? There should be ten copies of the Signs taken in clubs where there is only one now. With a proper effort on the part of ministers and tract officers, we might, within six months time, print an edition of fifty thousand instead of ten thousand. There are hundreds of neighborhoods, towns, and cities where the truth has never entered, and if we wait for the living preacher, we might wait till the Judgment is over. We want colporters and agents to sell our publications. Yes; we want ten thousand copies of our pioneer sheet to fall like the leaves of autumn in the many dark corners of the earth where there are as precious souls as any on the face of the earth.