COMMENTING on a recent lynching in Wyoming, which involved the murder of a sheriff by the mob, as well as the killing of two prisoners, the Cleveland Plain Dealer says:—
In short, no sooner is the curtain rung down on a bloody tragedy in Kentucky, or Delaware, or Illinois, than the stage is found set for a similar presentation elsewhere. Mob violence in one form or another is a continuous performance.
The Chicago Tribune remarks that “lynching is fast becoming a habit.” And when lynching becomes the habit of a people, law and order and just government cease to be the habit. Lynching does not belong to government at all, but to anarchy.
And the lynching habit, like other habits, is one that grows. At the first, only negroes were lynched, and that for only one crime, of which they were unquestionably guilty. Next negroes began to be lynched for various crimes. Next white men began to be victims of the lynching mob. Next, negroes were lynched who were not known to be guilty of the crime which had aroused the mob, but only suspected of it. And finally, negroes were lynched who were known not to be guilty; the bloodthirst of the mob, once aroused, demanded a victim, though it was one known to be innocent. This is the stage of development which this fast-growing “habit” has reached to-day.
A Longing for the Holy Spirit
EVERY conscious want is a prophecy of its supply. There is just now a widespread yearning for some more extensive and intensive working of God’s Holy Spirit than has been known since Pentecost. Wherever, in any part of the earth, the most devout believers are found, this longing is finding expression.—A. T. Pierson.
Though We Seem to Fail
“THOUGH WE SEEM TO FAIL, UTTERLY FAIL, it is our privilege to try again. Though the schooling of experience is bitter, it is better to endure the mortification of the completest defeat than to miss the knowledge of our resources which adversity alone can give. It is when we try and fail that we are most willing to go to Him who never failed or became discouraged.”
Missionaries Admitted to Khartum
THE policy inaugurated by Lord Kitchener at Khartum of rigorously excluding missionaries has been abandoned. Recently the Church Missionary Society obtained permission to open a school either at Khartum or Omdurman in which religious teaching is to be given. Children of parents who object to religious teaching are to be carefully excluded from the school.
The Debate Over Lynching
A recent sensation at the summer assembly at Chautauqua was a discussion of the crime of lynching, which was defended by John Temple Graves, of Atlanta, Dr. J. M. Buckley taking the opposing side. Mr. Graves contended that while lynching was a crime, it was a necessity, as being the only effective means of restraining the evil to which it was applied. His remarks were received with applause by his audience.
Hurricane Ravages the West Indies
Martinique, Porto Rico, Jamaica, and other islands of the West Indies were swept by a hurricane August 9, about fifty lives being lost and property damaged to the extent of $10,000,000 as a result. The ruin was especially great in the southeastern part of Jamaica, which was practically denuded of crops. Five steamships were driven ashore at Port Antonio, on the north coast of Jamaica, and only six houses in the city were left standing.
A Prayer of Trust
By Mrs. Henry Lucas
O LORD, I call on thee when sore dismayed,
And thou wilt hear my voice and lend me aid,
Nor shall I be of myriads afraid
For thou wilt ever be
The portion of my lot—thou savest me.
In troubled times thy mercy's plenteous store
Is full to overflowing evermore,
And when in straitness I my plaint outpour,
With words entreating thee,
Then with enlargement thou dost answer me.
Make known thy love to those that trust and pray,
To those who hold thy name their keep and stay,
Waiting for thy salvation day by day.
Yea, who, O Lord, but thee,
Shall make me glad? who else deliver me?
Do thou from heavenly heights my pain behold,
And lead me back unto thy sheltering fold,
That I may answer scorners as of old;
Yea, though my dwelling be
In darkest night, God is a light to me.
—From the Hebrew, translated by Mrs. Henry Lucas.
_A Worldwide Message_
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
God has a controversy with those of His people who have means bound up in homes and in land or in speculation. He calls upon them to put this means into circulation in His cause, that it may do its work of preparing the way for the coming of Christ. How heavy the weight of guilt resting on those who fail to do all in their power to extend the kingdom of God in our world!
We are living in the last days of this earth’s history, and to all who claim to believe the truth comes the call, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
Believers are not to colonize in any place. It is a sin in the sight of God for those who know the truth to settle down as has been done in Battle Creek, and then refuse to see that the time has come to change the base of operations, because there are other parts of the vineyard in need of help.
As the Lord has presented these things before me, I have presented them to those for whom they were given. The stand that has been taken against God’s plain warning may make it very hard to move away from Battle Creek. But I give the warning that just as surely as men stand in the way of God’s providence, so surely will the rod of His providence fall again in Battle Creek.
Money is tied up in Battle Creek that is greatly needed in the Southern field and in other needy places. Many years have passed since the word of the Lord came to us, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.” Why is there such a determined refusal to obey this word? Clearly and distinctly are the directions given. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
The principles of truth were given by Christ, not to bless a few places only, as those who have lost their first love seem to think, but to bless every place. The world is to hear the message, and every year’s delay makes the work more intricate and dangerous.
The Lord will put new, vital force into His work as human agencies obey the command to go forth and proclaim the truth. A class will be reached whose senses are not blinded, and they will discern the signs of the times. They will be alarmed at the failure to obey the word of the Lord, and will establish the truth in many places. A work now left undone will be carried forward. He who declared that His truth would shine forever will proclaim this truth through faithful messengers, who will give the trumpet a certain sound. The truth will be criticized, and scorned, and derided; but the closer it is examined and tested, the brighter it will shine.
A REVIVAL OF THE OLD TRUTHS
The old truths, given us at the beginning, are to be heralded far and near. The lapse of time has not lessened their value. It is the constant effort of the enemy to remove these truths from their setting, and to put in their place spurious theories. But the Lord will raise up men of keen perception, who with clear vision will discern the intrigues of Satan, and will give these truths their proper place in the plan of God.
Christ came to implant in the minds of men the great truths of which few knew the value. The Jewish nation had discarded truth for tradition. Christ declared to them, “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaías prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
He spoke as one having authority, and not as the scribes, in a hesitating, uncertain manner. With calmness and power He proclaimed the living principles of truth, making them more forcible by His manner of presenting them. He could read and understand the policy of Satan, —his desire to cover truth with the rubbish of superstition and tradition. He rescued truth, and gave it to the world, clothed with more than its original glory and luster.
At this time there is need of men of sharp spiritual eyesight, who can discern truth from error. The first, second, and third angels’ messages are to be proclaimed with no faltering hesitancy, but with power from on high. We know in whom we have believed. We know that as we obey His word to us, He will give to our words power that will convict and convert souls.
TO EVERY MAN HIS WORK
Each one has been given his work. Let no one be anxious to investigate the work of another. To such ones Christ says, as He said to Peter, “What is that to thee? follow thou Me.”
“Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore He said, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. . . . And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
God’s servants are to labor in perfect harmony. Contention brings alienation and strife and discord. I am instructed that our churches have no need to spend their time in strife. When a spirit of contention struggles for the supremacy, call a halt, and make things right, else Christ will come quickly, and will remove your candlestick out of its place. Let an earnest work of repentance be done. Let the Spirit of God search through mind and heart, and cleanse away all that hinders the needed reformation. Until this is done, God can not bestow on us His power and grace. And while we are without His power and grace, men will stumble and fall, and will not know at what they stumble.
The love of Christ is the bond that is to unite believers heart to heart and mind to mind.
WHAT CHOICE SHALL WE MAKE?
The blood of Christ has been shed for the whole human family. None need be lost. Those who are lost will perish because they chose to forfeit an eternity of bliss for the satisfaction of having their own way. This was Satan’s choice, and to-day his work and his kingdom testify to the character of his choice. The crime and misery that fill our world, the horrible murders that are of daily occurrence, are the fruit of man’s submission to Satan’s principles.
My brethren, read the book of Revelation from beginning to end, and ask yourselves whether you might not better spend less time in strife and contention, and begin to think of how fast we are9approaching the last great crisis. Those who seek to make it appear that there is no special meaning attached to the judgments that the Lord is now sending upon the earth will soon be forced to understand that which now they do not choose to understand.
The time before Christ’s coming is short. We know not the exact measure of it, but God knows the hour of Christ’s coming. Soon the consequences of transgression will become to wrong-doers a living reality; for God’s judgments will fall upon a disobedient world. Before the minds of sinners will be brought vividly the realization that sin is the transgression of the law of God.
The powers from beneath are working with intensity of effort. Soon will come the time when God will discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. Soon will come the time of which John writes: “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Day by day we are deciding whether the future will bring to us eternal life or eternal death. Only by a union with Christ, whose property we are by creation and by redemption, can we win eternal life. He gave His life as a propitiation for man’s sin, but His sacrifice avails only for those who accept Him as their Saviour. Only to those who become one with Him can the words be applied, “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy.”
In the message to the church at Sardis two parties are presented—those who have a name to live, but are dead; and those who are striving to overcome. Study this message, found in the third chapter of Revelation. “These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die; for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” Who are meant by those that are ready to die? and what has made them thus? The explanation is given, “I have not found thy works perfect before God.” “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.”
To the church of the present day this message is sent. I call upon our church members to read the whole of the third chapter of Revelation, and to make an application of it. The message to the church of the Laodiceans applies especially to the people of God to-day. It is a message to professing Christians who have become so much like the world that no difference can be seen.
“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
Christ came to this world as the great medical missionary. When His example is followed, medical missionary work will be carried forward on a much higher plane than it is at the present time. God calls for a reconversion among gospel teachers, and especially among physicians and other medical missionary workers, that Christ may not be misrepresented and put to shame. The cleansing must begin in the heart and mind, and flow forth in the actions. The characters of our medical missionary workers need to be refined and ennobled. This result can be brought about only as these workers are made partakers of the divine image, escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust.
My brethren and sisters, study your Bibles. Eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God. Receive into your hearts the words of life, that they may refine and purify and ennoble the whole being. Do not stop with half-way measures. It is too late in the day for this. You can not serve God and mammon.
Lessons from the Book of Daniel
Lessons from the Book of Daniel
THE prophecy of Daniel was to be sealed until the time of the end. In the time of the end it is to be made known. But even then it can be understood by only those who are true to God. The wicked shall not understand, but the wise shall understand. Only those who have passed through a certain experience can ever understand the prophecies of Daniel, but all who will be saved will have an understanding of this book. Christ himself, in speaking of the end of time, referred His followers to the book of Daniel.
Daniel's experience as related in the tenth chapter is explained by Isaiah's experience. See Isaiah 6. He was touched by a coal from off the altar. It signified that he had been given a message. Daniel represents God's people living in the last days. Their lips are to be touched, and they are to speak forth the message with power. There may not be many who carry this message, but God is independent of numbers. In the days of Daniel, he warned the whole world through four individuals. Daniel and his companions represent those who, in the present generation, will thus be touched by the coal from off the altar.
God has a place for every man to work. Our great anxiety should be, not, How shall I get into that place? but, How can I get the truth in my soul? When the message has been received, the messenger will easily find the place that God would have him occupy. Let us remember the man who, in David's time, ran without a message. He had nothing to say. Let us get the message, and then run with it.
None of Self, and All of Thee
“DAY by day his tender mercy,
Healing, helping, full and free,
Brought me lower, while I whispered,
‘Less of self, and more of thee.’
“Higher than the highest heavens,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, thy love at last has conquered;
None of self, and all of thee!”
What One Chinese Woman Learned in America
MADAM WU, wife of the Chinese minister recently recalled to China, went back with unbound feet. Her residence in this country so convinced her of the superiority of natural feet that she willingly endured the pain necessary to regain their normal shape. The toes that had been pressed back to the heels, and kept tightly bandaged all the time, were gradually allowed to assume the natural position, until finally the bandages were removed entirely, and she could walk with ease. She said, in speaking of her feet:
“My feet are quite big now. But I do not care, for I am not in sympathy with the little-foot practice in my country. It is unnatural, and deprives a woman of so much that is beautiful and useful in life.”
She also said:
“There are many American customs which I like and shall introduce in China. The Chinese women are eager to take their places in life along with the women of other nations, and I hope it will not be long before they will be given a reasonable amount of freedom.”—Missionary Review of the World.
General Meetings in Brazil
By J. W. Westphal
J. W. WESTPHAL
I LEFT my home in Argentina, March 26, to attend a series of general meetings, or conferences, in Brazil. The field is too large, the churches too scattering, the means of travel too slow, and the expense too great to expect a general attendance at any one meeting; and this is the first real attempt to reach all our people with such meetings. We felt the need of such a place to reach them that they might unite with us in discussing, laying, and carrying out plans to bring the message to the millions of Brazil, and, as far as we have held the meetings, we believe the results have justified the effort.
The first meeting was held in the house of Brother Braak, near New Hamburg, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. On account of heavy rains and high water I did not reach there until one-half the meeting had passed, and for the same reason this attendance was not as large as it otherwise would have been. About fifty were in attendance. Two were baptized. As it takes from two to four weeks' hard riding by mule over a lonely and difficult road to reach the Brusque school, and going by water is attended with the loss of much time and heavy expense, the matter of starting a workers' training school in this State received much consideration. The brethren were all deeply interested in the subject, and assure their hearty support of such an enterprise. The first steps were taken toward securing suitable property with buildings, by which, if successful, such a school will be well served, and it will be nearly if not entirely free from debt. Pledges and donations were made, one brother giving a colony (about 160 acres) of land. Plans of work and how to meet the deficit on our Portuguese paper were made, and First-day offerings and kindred subjects were discussed, in all of which the brethren were deeply interested, and took an active part. Five members of the conference committee were present, including Elder F. W. Spies, from the State of Santa Catharina. The meeting was held April 3-11.
Our next meeting was at Linie Torris, in the southern part of Santa Catharina, April 18-25. It took a full seven days' ride by mule to reach there. As we were delayed one day because during the night one of our mules had broken loose and strayed from us, and the Sabbath also intervened, we did not reach the place of meeting until three days later. However, the brethren were still gathered anxiously awaiting our arrival. About one hundred were present.
This meeting began under peculiar circumstances. The enemy had been working hard to destroy the work. A minister, by winning ways, plausible teaching, and misrepresentation, and especially by appealing to the naturally covetous heart, had succeeded in influencing nearly all. They were only waiting to see what this meeting would bring before making their final decision. Several of the brethren had left us, and had become our bitter enemies. Several times it seemed as though the opposition would break up our meetings. But the Lord was present to help, and in return only kindness was manifested. Before the meeting closed, a full and complete victory was gained. Never were our brethren stronger in the faith, filled with courage and determination to push the battle to the gates, than when we left them. In the last business meeting, and without any solicitations, the brethren in their poverty came with their offerings for the work, thus giving testimony in the presence of the opposition that they did not consider themselves burdened with heavy taxation. With the exception of the school matter the same questions were considered as at the Rio Grande meeting. On the day of our departure six precious souls were baptized by the elder.
The meetings were held in the first Seventh-day Adventist Church building erected in South America. There are others that have been erected as school buildings, and are used for meeting purposes. The building is a creditable one, but is not yet entirely complete.
As we found our luggage too heavy for our pack animals, and all were becoming weak with their work, we found it necessary to secure more. A brother kindly let me have one in the place of mine. Sister Spies also joined us here, so that our party of five (Elders Graf, Spies, two brethren, and the writer) was increased to six. Another seven days' ride brought us to Brusque, where we remained but two days. Three days more and we were at Joinville, the place of our next meeting, which was held May 2-9.
Brother John Lipke, the principal of the Brusque Mission School, and also a member of the conference committee, accompanied us to this place. But few besides the Joinville church members were present. However, the meeting was an excellent one. As in the other places, all were deeply interested in the progress of the message, and in the consideration of plans of work, and in the raising of means to support it they took an active part. In this as in the other meetings a good-sized club of the Arauto da Verdade were taken to carry on a campaign among the Brazilians. Besides, the missionary acre plan was adopted to meet the deficit on this excellent paper. Two, a husband and wife (trained nurses from Germany), were baptized. Several meetings held in one neighborhood revealed a good outside interest.
After considering the Brusque school matter it seemed necessary for financial and other reasons to secure more land for its benefit. At present they have but little land, and it is poor, so that it does not afford the school what it needs and might have. A place close by, of good land and excellent advantages of water power for a mill, etc., is offered the school at a very low price; and it was decided, if possible, to secure it. At this meeting a campaign for “Christ's Object Lessons” was started, with which, for the most part, the cost must be met. The proceeds from the books sold in the States of Santa Catharina and Parana will go toward this enterprise, while that from the rest of Brazil will go toward the Rio Grande school. Our brethren are thankful for such a plan, and are willing to do all they can to make it a success. The Brusque school, under Brother Lipke's management, is doing a good work, and it will greatly appreciate this assistance.
The message of Christ's coming in this generation is meeting a response in the hearts of our brethren. Many seem ready to respond to the call to action. With our brethren in other parts of the world, they are willing to deny self that they may have means for the carrying forward of the glad news of Jesus' soon coming. Although the times are exceedingly hard, and, in some places, it is almost impossible to secure money at all, yet they are manifesting an exemplary liberality in supporting the work.
Three and a half days more have brought us to Curityba, the capital of Parana, where we are now in the midst of an interesting meeting.
Curityba, Parana, Brazil, So. America.
The Norway Conference
By Guy Dail
GUY DAIL
This meeting was held in Christiania, Norway, June 16-21; fifty-four delegates were there, to represent fifteen churches; the churches in Trondhjem, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Tromsø, Sandnes, and Arendal (which were so far distant that few, if any, of their members were able to attend the conference) telegraphed their greetings, quoting some appropriate Scripture text.
God is granting his people valuable experiences all over the world, and each country has interesting features. Norway is no exception. In this field Satan, too, is at work as in other lands, and the past year there has been strong, determined opposition to the truth. However, this has only served to increase the interest, and night after night hundreds have come to listen, who were compelled to go away, because the hall would not accommodate them. Articles against us in the newspapers have seemed to do no harm. It is a fact that God is creating among many honest-hearted a desire for truth that will not be suppressed. If we as a11people were only ready, God would use us mightily; if we do not get ready, his work will be done without our co-operation. As we see these things, we cry to God to accept our repentance for sin, and fill us with his Spirit. Events are coming to pass in rapid succession, and the situation in our own denomination, and in the popular churches of the day, and in the world, all proclaim more loudly than words possibly can proclaim it, that the day of the Lord hasteth greatly. In Norway, one minister, in writing against the truth, presented flimsy arguments that were completely answerable by the writings of one of his brethren who lived and wrote in support of correct Gospel principles many years ago. This has offered us a great advantage, as, by contrasting the two positions, it has been possible to show how the purity of the Gospel is being repudiated by popular teachers of the day.
In the denominational organ of another religious body, appeared a series of articles entitled, “Ten Hard Nuts for Seventh-day Adventists to Crack.” In the ninth proposition the writer plainly asked: “How can we explain Christ’s transgression of the divine law, unless we acknowledge that He abolished the law—which, in fact, He did?” At one place our minister reviewed these theses. In his audience was a preacher who belonged to the church represented by the writer of the articles under discussion; and that preacher stated that he could not agree with the positions taken in the “Ten Hard Nuts for Seventh-day Adventists to Crack.” In the course of the meeting, this preacher was asked what, in his opinion, would be the future lot of those who keep the seventh-day Sabbath. He replied: “Laws will be enacted that will prohibit Sabbath-keepers from buying or selling, and, finally, the government will decree that the people shall have the right to kill Sabbath-observers.” This shows that at least some of those who are opposing the third angel’s message begin to realize something of the future prospects of that little body of worshippers who are determined to face death rather than yield their obedience to the law of God.
In reporting the Norway Conference two years ago, mention was made of the wonderful manner in which, from the study of the Scriptures, alone, a fisherman living in the northern part of the country, at Vandve, on the island of Helgeland, became convinced of the message, and so faithfully labored with his neighbors that a number of them were also ready for baptism when the president of the conference visited them. There is now a church of twenty-six members in this hamlet of humble fisher folk, and their church elder (he who had brought to them the glad tidings of a soon-coming Saviour) was present. He is a large, whole-hearted man, with ruddy, sunburnt cheeks, and simple, unaffected manners, whose general bearing reveals a character such as one would expect in a disciple of the Master, who had learned to trust God in the daily experiences of life.
When this company were baptized, they were in debt, but now these debts have been paid; for, strange as it might seem to some, while there was poor fishing in general, this faithful band of believers was richly blessed in temporal things. They were, as is the case with the average fisherman, poor. Indeed, a few felt that they were too poor to pay the Lord’s tithe. One brother who had accepted and begun to practice the tithing system, told his elder that he really thought he could not afford to pay a tenth to God. The elder told him that God could not bless him in that. However, the brother determined to try it, anyhow. He withheld what was God’s. He went fishing, but had little success. He kept on fishing, but his condition became worse and worse. He was reduced to very distressing circumstances. At length, he was on the water one day, and a storm came up, and his boat was upset, and everything the poor man had in it was lost—but the brother himself escaped with his life. He had made a fair test of the matter, and told the church elder, who had watched for the outcome of it all with an anxious solicitude, that he would now try paying an honest tithe. He was kindly invited to take God at his word, and assured that he would enjoy His blessing. After thus dedicating to God his own, the brother went fishing again, and caught a whole boat load of fish, and, since then, he, like the others, has been enjoying prosperity. He paid his tithe as he vowed to do, and is now out of debt. When God’s promises are complied with, we need not fear but that He will do just what He says He will.
During the year, the Norway Conference has reduced its debt about 1,000 kroner (3.70 kroner make one dollar), and the conference has a debt of only about 900 kroner. The tithe for the last three conference years has been: 1901, 12,335 kroner; 1902, 13,586 kroner; 1903, 13,714.82 kroner; gifts, 1901, 1,552.50 kroner; 1902, 1,304.46 kroner; 1903, 2,199.63. During the twelve months ending December 31, 1902, 75 had been baptized, and 45 received by vote, making the total membership of Norway 679; last quarter’s report shows 707 members. One new church was received into the conference at this meeting—the church at Sandnas, numbering 13.
The business sessions of the conference were lively, and the committees reported promptly, and there was present a pleasing spirit of unity of purpose and action, so that the business was out of the way by Thursday.
At the suggestion of the Committee on Resolutions, it was voted to thank God for His blessing in the work in Norway during the past year; to thank Brother O. P. Norderhus for offering his services to the Conference for two years, as a self-supporting missionary; to express to the South Dakota Conference heart-felt appreciation for volunteering to support one laborer to accompany Brother Norderhus (who expects to labor chiefly in the rural districts); to do what can be done to increase the circulation of Evangeliets Sendebud among our own people, as well as solicit subscriptions from those not of our faith; to have the Sabbath-school officers chosen by the church; to ask that there be held a Scandinavian union meeting next year; to thank Brother Sherrig for the help he has been to the canvassing work in Norway, as he now devotes his time fully to Denmark; to raise a fund for the purpose of assisting in conducting a training-school for workers, especially church-school teachers, by contributing toward this purpose an average of ten ore a week per capita; and to express the sentiments of the brethren concerning the financial help they have received from the Hamburg publishing house.
The Conference Committee chosen is as follows: President, O. A. Johnson; other members, H. M. Hansen, O. P. Norderhus, A. C. Christensen, O. J. Olsen, H. L. Halvorsen, B. Jensen. Secretary, C. B. Jensen; Treasurer, A. C. Christensen; Auditor, J. Falk; Sabbath-school and Missionary Secretary, Johanne Christensen; General Canvassing Agent, H. L. Henriksen. Norwegian Philanthropic Society officers: President, O. J. Olsen; other members, O. J. Johnson, Jno. Lorntz, Johanne Christensen, C. B. Jensen, H. J. Hansen, H. L. Halvorsen.
Ministerial credentials were granted O. A. Johnson, H. M. Hansen, N. P. Nelsen, O. P. Norderhus, O. J. Olsen, A. Sevaldsen; missionary credentials, Edward Iversen, Johanne Bjorcklund, Julia Lycke, Oskar Andersen.
The spirit of self-sacrifice shown by our Norwegian people is commendable. They have many reasons for encouragement, and in many respects a promising field. Finances are close, but distressing times are often most favorable for the proclamation of the truth. The outlook is very hopeful.
In closing, we would say that the help of Brethren Irwin, Conradi, and Paulson was blessed of God to the good of the people. Each found plenty of opportunity to speak words of encouragement, hope, and good cheer, and these messages were received with thankfulness and eagerness. God is working in Norway, and he will still work with greater power.
Nyhyttan, Sweden.
Mahar’s Water Conviction Reversed
LAST May a Mahar in India was charged with having corrupted the water of a public spring in Jamkhed, near Ahmednagar. The stream was used by high caste people for drinking purposes, and the offense of the Mahar consisted in having drawn water from it, although for this he used an iron bucket, which is a clean vessel. The second-class magistrate convicted the Mahar, and fined him eight rupees. But the district magistrate of Ahmednagar thought the conviction unjustifiable, as the water of the spring was in no way rendered unclean or impure for drinking purposes, and he referred the matter to the Bombay High Court. On July 17 the High Court reversed the sentence, and directed the fine to be repaid.