THE European General Conference held in London last May had not half finished its work when the delegates from America became thoroughly convinced that the great extent, the vast importance, and the pressing needs of that field ought to be set before our American brethren with greater emphasis than had ever been done. So, before the conference closed, all our movements were so planned that we might return to the States in time to attend the fall camp meetings, and tell our people about the European field.
We who have come back from that great field to tell what we heard and saw, have been so blessed in telling, and our people have been so blessed in hearing, and the European field is to be so blessed in receiving the hearty and generous contributions made by different conferences, that I have decided, in response to many earnest requests, to tell the facts to all the readers of the REVIEW.
When I landed in New York, Elder H. W. Cottrell, who had preceded me about ten days, was attending the Vermont camp meeting. Of his experience at that meeting he wrote as follows:—
At Vermont I presented the needs of the field in Europe, and it took hold of the people in a different way from anything I had ever seen presented. They wanted to help in that work, notwithstanding the fact that they are a very small body numerically, and weak financially. A wave went through the camp, leading them to select a worker, present him to the Mission Board, pay his traveling expenses to Great Britain, pay him permanent wages, and thus practically keep a worker in that field. This met the approval of all the people in the camp. Really the missionary spirit that took possession of them was marvelous.
After taking time for prayerful deliberation, Elder Wm. A. Westworth was selected for the British field, his traveling expenses to the field and his wages in the field to be met by the Vermont Conference. Brother Westworth and family sailed for England, October 22. Vermont’s contribution is one of its best public laborers, and not less than six hundred and seventy dollars. May God bless Vermont by raising up a good laborer to take Brother Westworth’s place, and by increasing the tithe of the conference.
On arriving in America I found that the Wisconsin camp meeting was just closing, and as I could not reach the ground, I telegraphed the president of the conference, asking if the conference could not do something for Scotland. This telegram was read to the people, and seven hundred dollars was raised in donations and pledges by those present. In addition to this, a resolution was passed authorizing the conference committee to appropriate as much of its funds to the European field during the coming year as they might think best. Wisconsin is already sending quite an amount of its tithe to needy fields abroad, and gives assurance of further help.
Soon after returning to America, I received a hearty invitation to attend the Iowa camp meeting. I greatly enjoyed the privilege of placing before the brethren the situation in Europe as we found it. It seemed to me that the interest in foreign fields manifested on this camp ground exceeded anything I had ever met before. Brother and Sister Wilbur were on the grounds, ready to leave for China, but the Mission Board was not prepared to advance the means to take them. This became known in one of the public meetings, and a request was made for $350 to pay their way. In a few minutes $1,000 was raised in cash and pledges. This was enough to pay their transportation and a year’s wages. Brother and Sister Wilbur were sent to the land in which their hearts had been centered for a long time. If all has gone well, they are now with Brother and Sister Anderson in Hongkong.
In addition to the preceding contribution, the conference voted to appropriate $2,000 of its tithe to the European field. It also voted to let seven of its workers go to that field. Three have already gone, and the conference has paid their traveling expenses to London. In addition to this, $300 was pledged—a part of which has been paid—for the establishment of medical treatment rooms in London. Thus, Iowa’s contribution during this meeting was $3,500 in money and at least five consecrated workers to foreign fields.
The next meeting I had the privilege of attending was in Nebraska. Here the interest in foreign mission fields rose to a high pitch. There were several hundred young people at this meeting who had come there from different States to enter Union College, which was to open immediately after the close of the meeting. I was granted the privilege of giving at least one talk each day on the European mission field. Before the second Sabbath of the meeting had arrived, the conference had voted to appropriate $2,350 of its tithe to the Scandinavian Union Conference, and $1,000 had been raised in gifts and pledges for the medical work in that field. Sabbath was a day of consecration to foreign missions. About 300 young men and women definitely and deliberately consecrated their lives to the service of God for all time in any part of the world to which the Lord might call them. Nearly 200 of these young people have forwarded their names and addresses to the Mission Board for use in their efforts to secure workers in response to the earnest calls that are continually coming in from the many fields.
Nebraska’s contribution at this meeting was $3,350 in money and four workers to foreign fields,—two to Great Britain, one to France, and one to Natal, South Africa.
The Kansas camp meeting was the next on my list. Although there were not so many young people here as in Nebraska, yet the interest manifested in missionary topics seemed to be equally as great as in Nebraska. As I presented the different features of the European field, and felt the warm, hearty response of the brethren and sisters present, I was deeply impressed with the fact that God has in this cause a faithful, loyal body of believers. Last year the Kansas Conference sent three of its best workers to South America, and has been helping to support them. When the needs of the European field were mirrored before them, they most heartily voted to appropriate $4,000 of their tithe to that field. They also voted to send three of their workers to Great Britain, and to raise $350 for their traveling expenses and support. Two earnest young men have already gone. The gift of Kansas on this occasion was two young men and $4,180.
From Kansas I went to the Northern California Conference. The State camp meeting was held at Fresno. It did not take long to discover that the missionary spirit was running high in this conference. During the past year, the president and the executive committee have been working toward the point of making a large contribution to the distant, needy fields, and the call for help was quickly responded to by a resolution of three parts:—
FIRST.—That $5,000 of the tithe in hand be appropriated to mission fields.
SECOND.—That 13 1-3 per cent of the tithe of the coming year be set apart for foreign missions. On the basis of last year’s receipts, this will amount to $4,800.
THIRD.—This item in the resolution provided that the conference pay the traveling expenses and wages of all the conference laborers that the Mission Board should see fit to place in foreign lands.
With this generous offer before us, we gave an invitation to all in the camp who felt impressed to offer themselves for service in “the regions beyond” to hand in their names. Thirty-seven responded. These were called together by the conference committee, and given an opportunity to state their convictions. After several days of careful deliberation, nineteen persons were selected from those who handed in their names, and were recommended to go abroad. These, with the wives of those who are married, will make a company of twenty-seven persons. Their traveling expenses will amount to $1,170, and the wages, as estimated, to about $5,729. The contribution of California to foreign fields7made at the Fresno meeting is $17,299 and nineteen consecrated workers. Nor is this all. When it was stated on the Camp ground that the North England Conference was in need of a new tent, steps were immediately taken to provide it by the raising of $200. Nor is this all. Over $100 was raised for the work in the Southern field.
This appears like a great contribution; but it is not the amount of money, nor the number of workers that makes it really great. California is perhaps as well able to make this offering as Vermont is to give one laborer and his expenses. But the gift of California was very great; for it was the gift of love. The brethren were more than pleased to see so large an amount of money set apart for countries they had never visited. The laborers were eager to part with old associates, and go to strange lands. Fathers and mothers who had cared for their children from infancy, and whose hearts were made glad as they looked upon their grown-up, consecrated sons and daughters, rejoiced to lay them upon the altar of service for perishing humanity in the uttermost parts of the earth. It was the beautiful spirit of devotion to the cause of God that made California’s contribution truly great.
Since returning from California, I have received a letter from Elder Flaiz, of Minnesota, who was one of the delegates to Europe, from which I take the liberty to make the following quotation:—
We have held two meetings in Minnesota,—one in the northern part and one in the southern part of the State. The attendance was not large, but we enjoyed much of the blessing of the Lord. Each meeting was made a missionary gathering. I spent five hours in talking on the demands of the fields in other regions during the northern meeting, and seven hours during the southern. In the northern meeting we secured $1,400, in cash and good pledges, besides some stock, the proceeds of which, when sold, were to be added to this fund. We secured about $800 in the South. On the Sabbath, instead of a special revival effort, we talked on missions, and then called on those who wished to consecrate themselves to the foreign fields, in case they were called by the Mission Board, to come forward. About thirty responded. Many of them needed a preparation. We then called on men of means to take an interest in some of these persons, and send them to school, that they might receive the needed training.
The total contribution made by the conferences in their camp meetings since our return from Europe amounts to $32,199 and twenty-nine regular laborers.
We believe that this marks an epoch in the history of the denomination. A new order of things has surely set in. For the first time in all our history, a conference has set apart a regular per cent of its tithe for the support of laborers in foreign lands. We believe that this is the right basis for the support of laborers in mission fields, and we have confidence that in the near future this plan will be adopted by the denomination. This will establish a basis of support for our missions that will be regular and certain, and lead to a more rapid extension of our work.
And now, having given a brief account of the responses made by the conferences visited, I will, in future numbers of the REVIEW, place before its readers some of the open doors and Macedonian calls in distant lands.
POLITICIANS in Utah are stirred by the entrance into the political arena of a high official of the Mormon church—“Apostle” Reed Smoot, who is a candidate for election to the United States Senate. It is believed that he has the support of his church in his efforts to gain this high office in the national government.
The arguments advanced by those favoring his candidacy are such as are often heard in defense of Protestant or Catholic church officials or religious bodies seeking for political power. It is declared that there is no harm nor danger in it. One Utah senator being a non-Mormon, it is argued that the Mormon element ought to be represented by the other senator. By the same logic the adherents of each of the various churches in the United States ought to be represented, each class by its particular leader, in the national legislature. This would be representation not as citizens of the State and nation, but as church members, and would be entirely contrary to republican principles of government. A non-Mormon senator represents the Mormon citizens of his State as fully as would a Mormon senator. There can be no reason for urging the election of a Mormon to the senate, to represent the Mormon element, save the claim that Mormons ought to be represented in the senate as Mormons, which would mean nothing else than the union of church and state.
The position of those who oppose “Apostle” Smoot’s election is stated by Judge C. C. Goodwin, and is a clear and correct presentation of the evil which the former’s election to the senate would involve. He says:—
The teachings of the Latter-day Saints are well known in Washington, the particular teaching that the Mormon creed covers a claim that the Mormon church is not only a celestial kingdom, but a kingdom of God on earth; that its claim is not only a right to religious but to temporal rule—a something higher than, and altogether independent of, the government of the United States.
And if Apostle Smoot is elected, every one in Washington, as well as in Utah, will know that it was because the chiefs of the church willed it to be, or at least permitted it, and that will be a notice to the senators in Washington that a man is about to come to them claiming equal privileges with them, who, even after he had taken the oath of office, would, were a command of his chiefs here in Salt Lake to run counter to a command of the president of the United States, that command confirmed by congress, and its legality affirmed by the supreme court of the republic,—this man would, as higher authority than all three branches of the government combined, obey the first presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A Mormon apostle is set aside in a priestly office in the secrecy of the temple. The world knows nothing of the obligations he takes upon himself, but we all know that by the claims of the creed he is in the most solemn form sealed in citizenship to a temporal government, not that of the United States. It means a union of church and state, with the state the lesser factor.
And what is said here of the Mormon church applies equally to the papal church, which likewise claims to speak with the highest authority on earth, both in spiritual and in temporal matters. If the Mormon church alone were seeking political power in this nation, the danger which threatens it from a union of church and state would be vastly less than it is. L. A. S.
Note and Comment
THE annual convention of the national association of Spiritualists was held recently in Boston, Mass. Speaking of the occasion, the New York Sun says that while Christian science and the “new thought” have of late years been more prominent in the public eye, the devotees of Spiritualism remain “as full as ever of hope and enthusiasm.” “This national association,” says the Sun, “was incorporated in 1893, and it lays claim to having six hundred and seventy local and subsidiary associations included in it, they being scattered through this country and Canada, and containing ‘a bona fide membership of two hundred and fifty thousand,’ besides whom, its president asserts, that there are a million and a half of people ‘interested in Spiritualism.’”
The tendency of Spiritualists to-day, the Sun observes, is toward a church organization, this being indicated at the convention by speeches calling for a centralized system of ordination, a properly authenticated ministry to perform valid marriages, and ritual forms for marriage, burial, and other ceremonial services.
The prevalence of Spiritualism cannot be measured by figures pertaining to the outward organization. In its very nature Spiritualism is a religion of darkness and occult forces, and may constitute the essence of that which in name and organization seems wholly distinct from it. There is no doubt that Spiritualism, in the various forms of communication with the occult realm now known and practiced, is increasingly prevalent in the world.
Sending Missionaries Abroad
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
BEFORE his ascension, Jesus told his disciples not to depart from Jerusalem till they had received the promise of the Father. “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence,” he declared. “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
The day of Pentecost came. Great additions were made to the church. In one day five thousand were converted. The disciples began to think that they had a work to do in Jerusalem, in shielding the members of the church from the snares of the enemy. They did not realize that strength to resist temptation is best gained by active service. They did not educate the new church members to become workers together with God in carrying the gospel to those who had not heard it. Instead, they were in danger of being satisfied with what had been accomplished. To scatter his representatives abroad, where they could work for others, the Lord permitted persecution to come upon his church. Stephen and several others died for their faith; then the members of the church were scattered; and the gospel was proclaimed with power “in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
In every age since the first advent of Christ, the gospel commission has impelled men and women to go to the ends of the earth as missionaries for God. We thank the Lord that during this camp meeting several of our workers have given themselves to go as missionaries to different countries outside our land. My brethren, we bid you God-speed. Our prayers shall follow you wherever you go. How glad we are to send men and means to other countries!
Years ago I little realized that I should spend many years of service as a pioneer missionary in distant lands. But when the call came to go to Europe, I responded. Afterward, when asked to go to Australia, I went, notwithstanding I was over sixty years of age. Nine years I worked in that field. My heart is filled with the missionary spirit, and although nearly seventy-five years old, I feel such a desire to see souls saved that should the Lord call me to the work, I would go to the ends of the earth to bring to men and women a knowledge of the truth for this time.
To these our friends who expect soon to go from us to other lands, I wish to say: Remember that you can break down the severest opposition by taking a personal interest in the people whom you meet. Christ took a personal interest in men and women while he lived on this earth. Wherever he went, he was a medical missionary. We are to go about doing good, even as he did. We are instructed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the sorrowing.
The sisters can do much to reach the heart and make it tender. Wherever you are, my sisters, work in simplicity. If you are in a home where there are children, show an interest in them. Let them see that you love them. If one is sick, offer to give him treatment; help the careworn, anxious mother to relieve her suffering child.
Some of you expect to go abroad as canvassers. Sometimes you may wish to canvass a man whose time is fully occupied. You may have to put off your canvass, and it may be possible that you can join him in his work, and talk with him then. The sermon which you thus preach by your helpfulness will be in harmony with the sermon which you preach with your tongue; and the two, together, will have a power that words alone could never have.
When staying at the homes of the people, share the burdens of the household. Be thoughtful enough to keep the water bucket filled. Help the tired father do the chores. Take an interest in the children. Be considerate. Work in humility, and the Lord will work with you.
My brethren and sisters who are under appointment as missionaries, I greatly desire that your hearts shall be filled with Christlike pity, love, compassion
As I bid you farewell and return to my home, do not think that I shall soon forget you. We will offer our petitions to God in your behalf, pleading with him to open the way before you. He will hear our prayers; he has promised to hear us. And he is just as ready to answer your prayers for strength and wisdom to do your work. He has said that he is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him than parents are to give good gifts to their children. Wherever you go, pray to him in the morning, at noon, and at night. Pray in faith, without wavering.
Church Members Called to Work
Some of the members of our churches may feel that we are sending away too many conference laborers, and that the work in the home field cannot be done by the few who remain. But this is not the proper view to take of this matter. Those in the employ of the conference are not the only ones who should work for souls. Let the church members go to work. Let them communicate to others the knowledge they have received. In many churches in California the members have heard discourse after discourse, and yet they do not seem to have a large measure of the Holy Spirit. While I was in Australia, many of them sent letters to me across the broad Pacific, inquiring why they did not receive more power from above, and requesting me to pray for them. They did not seem to comprehend the reality of the Saviour’s promise, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” They did not seem to realize that they could gain spiritual strength by imparting to their neighbors and friends the light they had received. They had not learned of the blessing that comes to us from telling our fellow beings enslaved by appetite, of that divine power which will enable them to overcome the desire for every harmful indulgence.
Let those who teach the truth, teach in simplicity. Let them not try to drive the truth home with a vim that will arouse antagonism. Let the voice express sympathy and tenderness. Christ’s voice was full of pathos. By persevering effort we can cultivate the voice, ridding it of all harshness. Let us ask in faith for a converted voice, a converted tongue, and for Christlike sympathy and tenderness, that we may win souls to the truth we teach.
None of our churches need be barren and unfruitful. But some of our brethren and sisters are in danger of starving to death spiritually even when they are constantly hearing the truth presented by our ministers; for they neglect to impart that which they receive. God requires every one of his stewards to use the talent intrusted to him. He bestows rich gifts upon us in order that we may bestow them freely upon others. He keeps the heart flooded with the light of his presence, in order that we may reveal Christ to our fellow men. How can those who fold their hands in ease, content to do nothing, expect God to continue to supply their necessities? The members of all our churches should9labor as those who must give an account.
Brethren and sisters, when these workers go to their fields of labor across the seas, will you close up the ranks in the home conference? Will you put on the Christian armor? “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Will you stand firm for the truth, even though your church may not often be visited by a minister? I ask you, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, to put on “the whole armor of God;” and be sure to wear the gospel shoes. Do not neglect to put them on. They will enable you to tread tremblingly, softly, in approaching the souls that you desire to lead to the Saviour.
“Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace,” you will be prepared to walk from house to house, carrying the truth to the people. Sometimes you will find it very trying to do work of this kind; but if you go forth in faith, the Lord will go before you, and his light will shine upon your pathway. As you enter the homes of your neighbors to sell or to give away our literature, and in humility to teach them the truth, you will be accompanied by the light of heaven. Learn to sing the simplest of songs. These will help you in house-to-house labor, and hearts will be touched by the influence of the Holy Spirit. Christ was often heard singing hymns of praise; and yet I have heard persons say, “Christ never smiled.” How mistaken their ideas in regard to the Saviour! There was joy in his heart. We learn from the Word that there is joy among the heavenly angels over one repentant sinner, and that the Lord himself rejoices over his church with singing.
The Blessedness of Laboring for Others
What a privilege it is to labor for the conversion of souls! Our calling is high. We may enjoy the companionship of the heavenly angels. We may not discern their forms, but by faith we may know that they are with us. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Brethren, sisters, God invites us to unite with the angels in their ministry. Thus every one of us may become his helping hand. To fit us to do this work, he will strengthen our minds as verily as he strengthened the mind of Daniel. As we give to those in darkness the truths that have enlightened us, God will enable us to understand these truths still better. He will give us apt words to speak, communicating to us through the angel standing by our side. Let us pray for the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Let us seek for living power from above, that we may indeed be laborers together with God.
May the blessing of God rest upon every one in this congregation. The presence of God is here. His angels are in the midst of us. And the evil angels also are here. Let us close the windows of the soul earthward, and open them heavenward. Let us not allow earthly things to take possession of the mind, but let us keep it open to receive the communications that the heavenly angels are ready to give to us.
May the Lord bless and strengthen you who are under appointment to go to other lands. We may never meet again in this life, but I pray that we may meet in that glad day when the gates of the city of God shall swing back on their glittering hinges, and the nations that have kept the truth shall enter in, there to hear Christ saying, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” Then with all the redeemed we shall cast our crowns at his feet, crying, Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain!
As we recognize among the ransomed ones some whom we were instrumental in saving, gladness unspeakable will fill our hearts. Touching our harps, we shall fill all heaven with rich music. O what songs of praise for redeeming love will resound through the heavenly courts!
While living this probationary life, shall we not encourage one another to be steadfast? Shall we not impart a knowledge of the truth for this time to those in our very neighborhoods who have not heard it? Shall we not, by our prayers and by our means, support those who are sent to other lands to proclaim this truth? Shall we not practice self-denial on every point, that we may have more to give for missionary work abroad? Shall we not keep before us and in our homes a contribution box in which to place offerings for missions?
Let us teach our children to deny self in order to help sustain the Lord’s work. Let us tell them that God, in giving his Son, gave all heaven to save not only us, but those who as yet have not so much as heard of him. Let us tell them how, in order to redeem mankind, Christ laid aside his kingly crown and royal robe, left his high command in the heavenly courts, and came to this world to live a life of poverty and hardship, a life of toil and suffering, and to die a death of shame. Shall he have died in vain for us? Shall he have died in vain for those whom by self-sacrifice we could save?
Brethren and sisters, will you to-day pledge yourselves before God to pray for these workers who have been chosen to go to other lands? Will you pledge yourselves not only to pray for them, but to sustain them with your tithes and offerings? Will you pledge yourselves to practice strict self-denial in order that you may have more to give for the advancement of the work in the “regions beyond”? We feel moved by the Spirit of God to ask you to pledge yourselves before him to lay by something weekly for the support of our missionaries. God will help and bless you in doing this. Give those who are under appointment to go abroad evidence that you will sustain them by your prayers and by your means. Let those who willingly, freely, gladly make these pledges before God to-day, signify it by rising to their feet. [Nearly the whole congregation—about one thousand—arose.]
Thank the Lord! As these missionaries go to their new fields, they will have an assurance that their brethren and sisters in this conference will be faithful in doing their part at home. The time may come when some of those who remain will go to distant fields. We expect to see the Lord taking men from the plow, and sending them out to proclaim the truth. We expect to see children bearing a message that their parents cannot bear. Let us all stand ready to respond to God’s call to duty, whatever the sacrifice.
Holy Scripture:
By Richard Wilton
I HAVE a garden fair,
With heavenly breezes fanned,
And every morning finds me there—
It is the Lord’s command—
To gather fruits and blossoms sweet
Before the dusty world I meet.
I have a faithful Friend,
Accustomed to advise,
With whom each morn some time I spend,
That I may be made wise
To find and keep the only way
Which issues in eternal day.
I have an armory bright,
With shield and helm hung round,
Where, duly as the morning light,
The Spirit’s sword is found,
With which to overcome the foe
Who harasses the way I go.
I have a mirror keen
Which shows me all I am;
But lo! behind me there is seen
One like a dying Lamb;
And, as I view his imaged face,
My sins are lost in shining grace.
O, send thy Spirit, Lord,
To make me wholly thine,
That I may love thy blessed word,
And feel its power divine;
And walk on calmly in its light
Till faith is turned to glorious sight!
—Richard Wilton.
The Voice of God in the Forest
“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.” Luke 1: 80.
“The word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” Luke 3: 2, 3.
Forth from the forest came the prophet, the greatest ever born of woman, full of the word and Spirit of God, to cause kings to tremble with his message, and to speak to the hearts of the children of Judea, and comfort them with the tidings of divine mercy and pardon. To him came men of all classes,—the rulers, the soldiers, the men of business,—asking advice and counsel; and to each one he spoke the word that was needed. The simple were taught, the humble were comforted, and thousands were converted.
“The groves were God’s first temples.
Ere man learned
To hew the shaft and lay the architrave,
And spread the roof above them,—ere he framed
The lofty vault, to gather and roll back
The sound of anthems; in the darkling wood,
Amidst the cool and silence, he knelt down,
And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks
And supplication.”
In the grand temple,—the forest,—“Fit shrine for humble worshiper to hold / Communion with his Maker,”—10whose solitude God filled, John learned “the wisdom that is from above,”—wisdom far higher than that to be learned in any school taught by man. There he learned man’s relationship with all created things, and that “all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field,” and that though the grass withereth and the flower fadeth, “the word of our God shall stand forever.” This was the burden of the message that was to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord.
Then to the forest let us turn our steps, or at least our thoughts, that we may learn to recognize the Word that dwells there; for even now may we see our lesson plainly written. The budding trees in springtime, and the rich green leaves that deck their branches, remind us that God spake, and it was, and show us the very tones of his voice in varied tints and innumerable forms; but no less legibly is the word written in the falling leaves; for—
“The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness;
The Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord . . .
strippeth the forests bare;
And in his temple everything saith,
Glory.”
It is God’s voice that causes the leaves to fall as well as to spring forth; and autumn tints and fading leaves, no less than the springtime buds and blossoms, proclaim the glory of God, which is revealed that all flesh may see it together.
You say that you have always regarded the fading leaf as the result of the curse, and the evidence of its continuance. So it is; but Christ has paid the price of redemption from the curse, “being made a curse for us,” and has thus made even the curse itself to proclaim to us the glory of the cross. The wisdom, the love, and the life of God are revealed in the falling leaves of autumn.
To most people the falling leaves bear only a message of death, as if they would say, “So must ye also fade and die;” and this is correct to a degree; but we ought to learn that it is life—the active life of God—that causes the leaves to fall, as well as to spring forth. They die, but in dying they secure the continuation of life to the tree that bore them. Let us read a passage from one who knows the trees well, even though he may not know the voice that speaks through them:—
“It certainly appears strange that the leaf-fall should be sometimes connected with the approach of cold and sometimes with that of hot weather. And yet this is the fact. Heat and cold are only the indirect causes; the primary cause of the fall of the leaf is the danger threatened to the plant by the continuance of transpiration when either heat or cold is excessive. The danger of transpiration during continued dryness of soil and air scarcely requires much explanation. The conditions may be summed up in a few words: the throwing off of the transpiring surfaces when the drought commences, and the temporary stoppage of the sap-current—that is, the so-called ‘summer sleep’—furnish one of the best protective measures in plants surrounded by air against excessive transpiration and withering. “It is more difficult to explain the connection between the fall of the leaf and the commencement of the cold period. . . . In regions which annually pass through a long period of cold, the leaves of the plants are as liable to be dried up by the cooling of the soil round their roots when winter approaches, as are the trees in the catingas of Brazil when the hot dry season commences. They also denude themselves of their leafy raiment as these do, since otherwise they would be unable to make good the water exhaled by the leaves. When the temperature of the air sinks below zero, frost ensues, and the water in the plant stiffens into ice; this hastens the fall of the leaf, but it was already partially accomplished before the frost set in; and where the leaves still cling to the branches, preparations are already made for their detachment, which is brought about by the limitation of transpiration. “It must not be concluded from this that plants foresee the approach of winter, and that the preparations for the fall of the leaves result from such an intelligent foresight. . . . The ultimate cause of this instinctively adaptive periodicity is certainly not yet explained; it is as mysterious as those life processes and phenomena which regularly recur at certain periods, which are perhaps hastened or retarded by favorable or unfavorable external conditions, but cannot be stopped by them, and which the plant carries out, or endeavors to carry out, without immediate external stimulus.”—Kerner’s “Natural History of Plants.”
Ah, but the mystery is revealed in the great Index to God’s Book,—the Bible,—where we are told that the voice of the Lord strippeth the forests bare. It is true enough that the tree does not foresee the approach of winter, but God does, and he is eyes and reason for it. God would preserve life, and as the fall of the leaves is necessary for the tree’s protection against the chill of winter, he speaks to them, and, obedient to his voice, they yield up their lives into his hands. It is in the silence of the forest that one can best hear the voice of God.
And what of the leaves which careless feet trample into the ground?—He who marks the fall of the sparrow, and numbers the hairs of our heads, keeps watch of every leaf that in falling does his commandment, hearkening to the voice of his word. Into his hands they commit the life that he gave them, and it is not lost. They protect the young shoots, and enrich the soil around the roots of the old tree, contributing to the next year’s growth, and are reproduced in the leaves of succeeding summers. And thus in the yearly round of service in God’s great temple are we taught the lesson that death is swallowed up in eternal life.—Present Truth.
Missionary Effort in Ancient Times
ALL the Old Testament history and prophecy show that God was working through the chosen seed of Abraham to save the world. He was trying to induce them to fulfill their mission; namely, to carry the gospel of the kingdom to the whole world. When they would not do it, but instead of converting the heathen, became perverted by them, God made the truth known through the kings of the Gentiles. Read especially the second, third, fourth, and sixth chapters of Daniel. See how Jonah was sent against his will to the city of Nineveh. Read the direct appeals, warnings, and threatenings to the different nations by name, in the writings of the prophets. And, finally, read the words of God to Jeremiah: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jer. 1:5. The word “nations” is the same as Gentiles, or heathen. So hundreds of years before the advent of Christ, the Gentiles had a prophet specially ordained for them, just as afterward they had an apostle. He dealt as well by them before the crucifixion as afterward; but the most of the people whom he called would not go. Why did God choose Abraham? — Because when God called, Abraham obeyed. He calls all, but those who will not hear the call cannot be used. Why did he work through Israel for so long? — Because, headstrong as they were, they were the only people near enough to him for him to work through.— Selected.