p. 634 | The Missionary by William Clarence White

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 22, 1885

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 40.

The Missionary.

By William Clarence White

The Work in Europe.

BASLE, SWITZERLAND, September 18, 1885.

ELDER J. H. WAGGONER—Dear Brother: We have been about four weeks in England and Switzerland, and I will tell you something of our experience, and our impressions as to the work here. We were met at Liverpool by Elder Wilcox, editor of the Present Truth, Brother Drew, who has for two years been working there, and Brother O'Niel, of Southampton, who is assisting Brother Drew in the ship missionary work, and thus gaining an experience so that he may engage in the same work in London. The next day we went with Elder Wilcox to Great Grimsby. Here we met Brother and Sister Mason, of Woodland, Cal., and Elder Lane and wife, and Sister Thayer, formerly of Michigan.

Great Grimsby is a place of thirty thousand inhabitants. It is the greatest fishing port in England, and seems to be a strange place from which to issue our paper; nevertheless, there have been over nine thousand copies sent out monthly, and we know that they are moulding the opinions of many, and preparing the way for the living preachers. We were glad to learn that there are good openings for colporters to labor in all parts of England, and that there are quite a number who are entering this field, also that there are others who will engage in this work as soon as they are instructed how to work successfully. These colporters say that, in order to make their work a success, they ought to have some illustrated pamphlets and tracts, and that the paper should be issued oftener, and made of such a size that they can sell it for a penny (two cents), for this is the popular price of papers in England. If it should be decided to issue the paper semi-monthly, it would be much better for use in England and Australia.

Sabbath and Sunday we enjoyed good meetings with our people. There were about thirty-five present, including ten who came in from other places. Mother spoke to them twice each day. Friday evening she spoke to a small audience in Temperance Hall. It was a rainy evening. Sunday evening she addressed over a thousand in the town hall. Her subject was, "The Love of God." The people seemed deeply interested, and the sermon was reported, and published in the Grimsby News. We feel that our brethren have not yet done their best to present the truth in Grimsby. We believe that a large tent should be pitched here next summer, and a thorough effort made to warn the people of this place. We believe that in some parts of England tents can be as useful to our work as they are in America.

Tuesday evening mother spoke to the small company of Sabbath-keepers in Ulsby, and Wednesday evening to about four hundred persons in and around the tent at Risely. Here Elders Lane and Durland have been holding meetings in a tent for about eight weeks, and nine have begun to keep the Sabbath. Many others acknowledge the truths presented; but they have not the courage to obey their convictions, because it looks as though there would be no way to provide bread for their families if they kept the Sabbath. We have hope that many of these will sometime take their stand to obey the truth. The English people move cautiously. There are many now keeping the Sabbath who were convinced of its importance for months before they had courage to obey.

The next Sabbath and Sunday we spent with Elder Durland at Southampton. There were about fifty of our people assembled. Mother spoke to them Friday evening and twice Sabbath. Sunday morning she was sick. A hard cold, which had been brought on by the dampness of the climate, and the draughts of wind, which it is almost impossible to escape in the European cars, now culminated in hoarseness and fever. Elder Durland had hired a large hall and advertised extensively that she would speak Sunday evening, and he felt that if the people were disappointed it would hurt our influence very much.

All was done that could be, to relieve the hoarseness and break the fever, but apparently it had no effect. She could hardly speak a loud word. We spent much of the afternoon in prayer; and, trusting that the Lord would help her, as in times past, mother consented to go to the hall and try to speak. There were about six hundred assembled in the hall, and when she began, in a hoarse voice, to address them, two or three left the hall. But in less than five minutes her voice cleared, and she spoke an hour, with more force than at any other meeting in England. We knew that God had answered our prayers. The audience listened with breathless attention, and the sermon was published in the Hampshire Independent.

While here, we were led to reflect upon the necessity of a more general distribution of our papers and tracts. These people will not decide in a hurry to obey unpopular truth. They must have time to weigh the matter; therefore it is important to force the matter upon their attention at the earliest opportunity. We have never seen a place where there were so many good places for tract distributors as at the watering-places of England, and never a place where this manner of distributing the reading matter offered so many advantages. There are many who will investigate and accept a new doctrine, who, like Nicodemus, do not wish it known that they are departing from the accepted traditions. And these will take tracts from a distributer when they would not receive them from a colporter.

There is another way of presenting the truth to the people which is almost overlooked, and that is through articles in the daily and weekly papers, all over the country. In England we believe there is a way to present some of the practical truths and duties for these times through the secular papers. I believe we ought to have a score of young men and women training themselves to be reporters and newspaper correspondents, that they may engage in this work. We are doing a great work in establishing presses of our own; but why not use other people's presses too, especially as this can be done at almost no expense to ourselves?

The present truth will be presented to the people of Europe, all the difficulties notwithstanding, and every means available must be employed. There will be needed not only ministers and colporters, but those who can be teachers in the printing and canvassing work, and those who can do first-class work as reporters, correspondents, and editors. Are any of our young people fitting themselves for this work?

W. C. WHITE.