Earlier text: ATMOSPHERESTHOUGHTS ON CONDUCTING TEACHERS’ MEETINGS.
By Evangeline Bell
Again and again we hear the remark made by Sabbath-school workers, “We would like to have teachers’ meetings, if we knew what to do; but we have never attended one, and have but little idea how one should be conducted.” It is a subject upon which much might be said and written, and then perhaps the question not be satisfactorily answered. Probably no definite course can be marked out, which it would always be best to follow. The manner of conducting such meetings must vary according to circumstances. More freedom is usually felt by all, where there is as little formality as may be consistent with the best use of the time. It should be a season of counsel between officers and teachers in regard to the best interests of the school; and the more easy and conversational the style, the more at home all will feel, and the more freedom there will be in expressing opinions. It seems proper to open such a meeting with singing and a short season of prayer. The superintendent may then introduce any plans he has in mind, either in regard to the general welfare of the school, or that of any particular class. Indeed, where the school is of ordinary size, he may have time to inquire of each teacher concerning his class, the interest and progress of its members, etc. If he does this in the right spirit, the teachers will usually be glad to present their difficulties, as well as their successes; and thus one may learn from the experience of others. Teachers should be given opportunity to ask questions, either in regard to their own classes, or upon any subject which may be of general interest to the meeting. One question will often call out another and another, until a real spirit of inquiry is awakened. If there is any question upon which all cannot agree, it may be well to refer it to the State officers or to some experienced worker. There is one way in which the time may always be pleasantly as well as profitably employed. This is in the recitation and discussion of the different lessons, either for the coming Sabbath, or those in review. The superintendent may have instructions to give, or the other officers and the teachers may have thoughts the mutual exchange of which will be profitable. Often some hard point in the lesson is not well understood by all, and explanation may be made by the superintendent or others upon whom he may call. It is of course better that the lesson be studied before coming to the meeting; but if this has not been done, some one may slowly and distinctly read the lesson, at least once, and then the questions may be asked. By this time all will have obtained some idea of the lesson, and are prepared to listen intelligently to any thoughts upon it. Any interesting fact from history, Bible dictionary, or other such source, having a direct bearing upon the lesson, may be brought to the meeting and presented for the benefit of all the teachers. Any description of Bible lands and places mentioned in the lesson, either by the superintendent or teachers, may also be interesting; and if there are suitable maps in the possession of the school, the places should be pointed out. Thus the teachers may have a much better preparation for meeting their classes than they otherwise would. The importance of doing all in their power to secure a regular attendance in their classes cannot be too strongly urged upon the teachers. Much may be done by visiting the pupils at their homes, and trying to interest them in the lessons. Names of those who should be members of the Sabbath-school, may be brought to the meeting; and those who are likely to have influence with them, may volunteer to visit and try to induce them to come to Sabbath-school. At such a meeting, if not held on the Sabbath, it is proper to present any business which should come before the teachers. Every officer and every teacher should feel that he has a part to do in making the meeting interesting. The whole burden of it should not be left upon the superintendent, while the teachers sit passive, expecting to be entertained. It is a teachers’ meeting, and every one should come there with a mind to work. For almost everything that needs to be done in a Sabbath-school there are patterns given in the Bible. The uniform lesson, singing, blackboard exercises, class teachings, and review methods are all there. Every plan of progress which a dozen men are claiming to have initiated is found marked out in the Bible. A good illustration of this truth is given by the Rev. W. H. Cobb, of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, in the following sketch of a recent exercise in his Sunday-school concert:— “‘Moses’ review lesson’ was the topic of our last Sunday-school concert. We are taking up the books of the Bible, one each month, and have reached Deuteronomy. Our plan is to crowd into an hour as full an outline of the book as time permits, illustrating it from all available sources. It occurred to me, while preparing for the last concert, that Moses is a model to all who find difficulty with ‘reviews.’” “1. He did not try to review too much. He had only three days to go over the work of forty years; but he did it judiciously, selecting the most important points. Some of us seem unable, in a half-hour, to get beyond the second or third of twelve half-hour lessons. “2. He spent little time on the narrative part. Religious truth was of far more consequence in his eyes than even so wonderful a story as that of Israel in the wilderness. The latter occupies only three chapters of his thirty-three, and seems to be reviewed for the sake of the ‘now therefore’ which begins the fourth chapter. “3. He had a definite plan of instruction. It is easy to trace it. The spirit of the law (chaps. 4–11); the letter of the law (chaps. 12–26); the sanctions of the law (chaps. 27–33). Thus the bare precepts are flanked on either side by inspiring appeals to the moral consciousness of Israel, and to their instinctive hopes and fears. “4. He clustered all the lessons about a central thought. It would often be practicable and useful for us to hang our review teachings upon the very same nail that Moses fastened on this occasion; namely, the Creator exalted, and the creature humbled. There is scarcely a chapter of Deuteronomy where this is not brought out with distinctness. “5. He combined the warmest expressions of God’s love with the strongest threats of his wrath. Such oft-repeated and wonderful words of tenderness, as ‘The Lord loved thee,’ ‘The Lord chose thee,’ ‘The Lord had delight in thy fathers,’ mingle with the terrible curses which culminate in chap. 28. Let us, who have the gospel, pour out freely before our classes its treasures of grace, lest the very lawgiver of Sinai put us to shame; and on the other hand, let us not assume to be weaker than Moses, and withhold the terror of the Lord; for the New Testament echoes that word of Deuteronomy, ‘God is a consuming fire.’” BIBLE students will be interested in any information relative to the “revised” edition of the Bible which has been so long promised. We are glad to learn that the word “hell” is to be dropped; and though the words to be substituted do not, perhaps, convey a very intelligible meaning to many minds, yet we hope the change will provoke inquiry, and lead some to abandon old-fashioned errors concerning the duration of future punishment. The Christian at Work gives the following item concerning this new work:— As we have announced before, the American and English committees hope to be able to publish the revised New Testament some time before the close of the present year, and the Old Testament at a date two or three years later. As is well known, the English Committee send over portions of their translations for correction and criticism by the American Committee, and the American Committee do the same to the English Committee. No translation is allowed which is not accepted by two-thirds of both Committees, voting separately. Meanwhile Dr. Angus, the eminent Baptist minister and Principal of Regent's Park Baptist College, prepares the public to expect certain particular changes. For instance, the word “prevent” is to be turned into “go before,” though the most popular of collects has kept its old meaning all e. “Damned” is to be invariably changed to “condemned.” “Hell” is likely to be rendered either Gehenna or Hades. “Repent” is to be replaced by a stronger word meaning “turn about and do right,” and “religion” in one place is to be changed into “worship.” A Fashionable Congregation's Taste in Music
—The Congregationalist tells a story of a member of a fashionable up-town congregation in New York City, who called at a music store, and inquired, “Have you the notes of a piece called the ‘Song of Solomon?’,” saying, “Our pastor referred to it yesterday morning as an exquisite gem, and my wife would like to learn to play it.” Lord Derby on Popular Education and Moral Improvement
—Lord Derby keeps fully abreast of the spirit of the age in his estimation of the value of everything connected with popular education. In a recent speech at Liverpool he said: “Intellectual activity is in itself a moral safeguard. It kills vicious tastes just as in the bodily life a healthy appetite for food keeps out the morbid craving for drink. Therefore it is to the spread of school boards and of all that goes with them that I look for moral and social as well as intellectual improvement.” An Unfading and Eternal Eden Within the Loving Heart
—A loving heart incloses within itself an unfading and eternal Eden. In a recent number of a leading religious journal, we find the following beautiful little story by Louise J. Kirkwood, which may afford Sabbath-school teachers and others a hint as to one method of doing missionary work:— A Sabbath-school teacher was out looking up an absent scholar. With neatly clad feet she was picking her way over the muddy crossing. Just before her was a young girl, carrying a pail of water. A blast of wind swept around the corner, and snatching her shawl from her shoulders, held it fluttering behind her. She set down her pail at the curbstone, to wrap it again about her. The lady behind her reached out her hand and laid it over her shoulder, saying, kindly, “Wait a moment, and I will find you a pin.” As the search went on, in a free, pleasant way she said, “As I came on behind you, just now, something made me think of a woman who went to draw water from a well, nearly two thousand years ago, and found something very precious there.” The pin was found, and the kid-covered hands were put out to gather together the edges of the faded shawl. The pale face of the girl was lifted in amazement to the lovely countenance so near her own, but the kind voice went on: “I have a beautiful card at home with the picture and the story upon it. Will you tell me where you live and let me bring it to you when I come this way next week?” “Yes, miss,” said the girl, in a timid voice, giving her name and number. “Very well; I shall not forget you, but will certainly bring it to you the next time I come.” The girl carried the water into the house, with a flush upon her cheek and a flutter of joy in her heart. There was but little in her hard life to make it bright or pleasant, but this thoughtful act and kind word and promise of the lady seemed to create a little rill of joy, which flowed through her heart and made the week until the promise was fulfilled quite unlike the ordinary weeks of her life. Nor did the week end it, for her wonder at what the story might be, proved a good preparation of heart to receive it. Like the woman of Samaria, she, too, longed to draw water from this wonderful well; and the lady, in lessons of kind and patient instruction, at length led her to the “fountain open for sin and uncleanness.” How rich was the harvest of her “little deeds of kindness, her little words of love!” Did she think when she scattered these tiny seeds that she should reap pearls so soon? We do not think she even thought of a harvest; her heart was so full of loving kindness that it could but express itself thus. If the heart be full of love, the lips will be ready with loving words, the hand with kind deeds and generous gifts, which are fitting exponents of the Christian at work. GOD IS LOVE.
By James White
The declaration, “God is love,” is twice given in First John, fourth chapter, where the beloved disciple labors to impress the Christian church with the importance of love. He says, “He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.” Verse 8. “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him.” Verse 16. As evidence of the matchless love of God to fallen man, the apostle appeals to the fact that God had given his Son to save all who would believe in him. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Verse 10. And from this standpoint he appeals to the church in these forcible words, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” The mind and heart of the beloved John were imbued with the spirit of love, kindness, and affection. He was one of the favored three who were with Christ on the mount of transfiguration. They not only beheld his glory upon the mount, but sympathized with him in the garden of Gethsemane. At the last supper, the beloved disciple rested his head upon the bosom of Christ and felt the throbbing of his great heart of love. The love of Jesus and John was reciprocal. John is spoken of as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He had been with Christ, and had felt in his own loving heart the power of that love which Christ had bestowed upon him. Were he living in our time, when ministers and men are ever talking of the love of Christ, and seldom speak of the love of God, we might expect that the absorbing theme of John would be the matchless love of Jesus. But we go back to the first century, about sixty years after the ascension, and we hear the disciple whom Jesus loved exclaiming, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1 John 3:1. Hammond, the sensationalist, in his revival meetings in San Francisco and Oakland, California, represented God as a cruel tyrant, seeking to destroy the sinner; and in contrast, represented the Son of God as a being of benevolence and love laboring to wrench the sinner from the hands of his Father. To illustrate, he said:— “Mary had a little lamb. Mary loved her pet lamb, and the lamb followed her wherever she went. But when the lamb was grown to be a sheep, and Mary’s father had forgotten her tender love for her lamb, he sold it to the cruel butcher. This well-nigh broke the tender heart of Mary; and a benevolent gentleman purchased the lamb, saved it from the cruel butcher’s knife, and gave it back to Mary.” In Mr. Hammond’s application, the sinner is represented by the lamb; God, by the cruel butcher; and Christ is represented by the gentleman, who, in love and benevolence, purchased the lamb from the butcher. Mr. Hammond fairly represents thousands of popular clergymen of our day, who contrast the old covenant with the new, God with Christ, and make the Jewish and Christian dispensations antagonistical. These gentlemen do not seem to understand the relation the gospel of Christ sustains to the old moral code. These, too, they make antagonistical,—the gospel opposed to the law, and superseding it. Their difficulty arises from not clearly comprehending the mission and work of Christ at his first advent. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments speak of Christ, not as a lawgiver, but as a prophet, or teacher of the will of his Father. Moses speaks of Christ in these words:— “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.” “And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” Deut. 18:15, 17, 18. To this agrees the prophetic statement of the psalmist relative to the mission of Christ. “Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” Ps. 40:7, 8. The mission of Christ was not to set aside the moral law, and supersede his Father by introducing the gospel in its stead; but to magnify the law, and honor its divine Author. “The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” Isa. 42:21. The direct statements of the Son of God himself relative to his mission and work touching this subject, are decisive. In his first published sermon, his memorable sermon upon the mount, his inaugural sermon, in which he set forth the principles that were to govern his church, and the dangers to which his people would be exposed, he says:— “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” Matt. 5:17–20. Christ, before the assembled Jews in the temple, announces: “My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me.” John 7:16. “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” John 8:28. “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.” John 12:49, 50. On the occasion of the last supper, Jesus began to gently inform his disciples that he would soon leave them and go to his Father. They began to be exceedingly sorrowful. His presence was the joy of their confiding hearts; his absence, their grief. He would comfort them: “Let not your heart be troubled,” said he, “ye believe in God, believe also in me.” John 14:1. He continues:— “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” John 14:7–11. The Trinitarian understands that the words of our Lord to Philip prove that Jesus Christ is “the very and eternal God,” and that in this sense the Father and Son are one. This oneness between the Father and the Son is illustrated in the last agonizing prayer of Jesus for his disciples. He prays for them in these words: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.” John 17:21. When it can be proved that the object of the prayer of the Son of God was, that the disciples might be one body with twelve heads, then it can be shown that we have a Deity which has one body and three heads. “Great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Tim. 3:16. And we have never been able to see how the inexplicable doctrine of the trinity relieved that which Paul declares to be a mystery. Those who had been with Christ, heard his words of wisdom, and had witnessed his miracles, had not seen the invisible Father who had sent his Son, the very being to whom the Son prayed; but in Christ they had seen the mind, will, and love of the Father, which Christ had come to exhibit among the children of men. God is love. In love he created man. Said the Father to the Son, Let us make man in our image. In creation, the love of both the Father and the Son appears the same. Life is a great blessing. The dying sons and daughters of Adam cling to life as God’s greatest gift. Suppose this globe were a ball of purest gold, and that it were offered to the most wretched specimen of humanity, as the purchase of one year of his miserable existence, he would turn from it, exclaiming, Let me live. And when all was lost in the fall, and man was plunged in hopeless ruin by the representatives of the race, the love of both the Father and the Son was manifested in the remedy through Jesus Christ. What matchless, paternal yearning must have moved the great heart of the Eternal as he beheld a ruined race, made in his own image, and looked upon his dear, beloved Son, who alone could constitute an atoning sacrifice adequate to the transgression of the divine law. And what yearnings must have heaved the bosom of the divine Son, as he contemplated the scene before him—his separation from the Father, his agony in bearing the sins of the whole world, and the disgrace of the cross, that he might remove from those who would believe on him, the disgrace of the fall. Here we see love and agony united in both the Father and the Son. No human mind can grasp it, and no language can tell the story. It is infinitely high, and glorious beyond our conception. So grand, so high, so glorious, that the beloved John could do no more than to point to it, and exclaim: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God.” By the divine law is the knowledge of sin, and in Jesus Christ the repenting sinner may find the remedy for his transgressions. The Holy Spirit is given as a comforter to the believing and confiding, and as a reprover of the very sins which are written against the sinner in the ledger of Heaven. If the sinner rejects the terms of salvation which are so easy to him, and spurns the plan which has been provided at immense cost,—if he tramples under his feet not only the law of God, but the blood of the covenant shed to redeem him from the transgressions of that law, what will our loving God do with him? Will he take him, reeking in his sins up to a holy Heaven to mingle with angels, and the good and holy of all ages, there to look into the face of an insulted God, and the face of a despised and rejected Redeemer? Heaven to him would be the veriest hell. Under an overwhelming sense of the oppression of the holiness of the scene, of which he had never had a foretaste, and which he had never learned to enjoy, he would call for the very gate of Heaven to be opened, to let him out into his natural element, among congenial spirits in transgression, and hatred of the spirit of holiness. Again we inquire, What will the God of love do with the sinner? Will he consign him to an eternity of agony in the flames of an orthodox hell? Let the beloved John answer, “God is love.” What, then, will169 he do with him? Let the psalmist answer, “Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.” Ps. 37:10. If the place of all sinners, after diligently considering it, shall not be, what disposition will be made of them? God in love will let them cease to be. In the language of the prophet, “They shall be as though they had not been.” Obad. verse 16. When redemption shall be completed, and the earth shall be cleansed from sin and sinners, all the holy intelligences of a clean universe will respond, “God is love.” J. W. We showed last week that believers in the “Age-to-Come” doctrine make a mistake of one whole dispensation in the kingdom and the king. It is God who subdues the enemies of Christ; and it is while Christ is seated upon the throne with his Father in this present dispensation, that God performs this work of subjugation, not during the thousand years that succeed the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. The next great fallacy of this doctrine is the idea that probation continues after Christ has come the second time. We understand probation to be the opportunity given to every man to secure the future life and the kingdom of God through the means which God has provided whereby mankind may become reconciled to him. This probation can continue, or these offers of mercy can be made, only while there is a mediator between God and man. Christ is our only mediator; and according to the teachings of the Scriptures, he finishes all his work of this nature before he takes his position as king upon his own throne. He has provided but one offering for sin,—his own precious blood. And as that sacrifice is not to be repeated, so he offers no salvation to any outside of the ministry connected therewith. Paul, in Heb. 10:12, says, “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.” According to this scripture, he continues this work as priest, or mediator, until all his enemies are subdued unto him by the Father. Why, then, should probation continue after this event? The work of Christ in relation to man is presented to us in three divisions: 1. As prophet; 2. As priest; 3. As king. And these different offices must not be confounded together. While acting as prophet, or teacher, here upon the earth, he was not fulfilling the office of priest; while acting as priest, as he is at the present time, he is not fulfilling the office of king in his own name; and when he takes the position of king, his work as priest, with all its offers of mercy and salvation, is forever past. But the objector will say, “Does not his priesthood ever continue; for is he not a priest forever, after the order of Melchisedec?” We answer that the word forever must somewhere be limited, or it would prove that his priesthood would never end, and that probation would continue to all eternity. But no one will claim this; and as our “Age-to-Come” friends would limit it to a thousand years after his coming, we can just as well limit it to the period of his coming. He is indeed a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec; that is, just as long as any ministration of a priest in behalf of sinful man is to be performed, the word “forever” covering that period and no more. But the objector will say further, “Is he not a king at the present time, and is he not also priest, showing that the two offices of priest and king can be performed together?” We answer that it is only while Christ is king upon his Father’s throne that he acts as priest; he does not act as priest upon his own throne. In Rev. 3:21 Christ declares that he is now with the Father upon his throne; but in the future, in the same verse, he promises to the overcomer a seat with him upon his own throne, showing that he has not yet taken his own throne, but is now reigning on the throne of his Father. Zech. 6:12, 13 describes this present position of Christ as priest-king: “And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the BRANCH [this is undoubtedly Christ]; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord; even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his [the Father’s] throne; and he [Christ] shall be a priest upon his [the Father’s] throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” But how long does he occupy this position? Only until his foes be made his footstool, according to Ps. 110:1; and then he takes his own throne at his second coming and kingdom. The work of Christ as priest must continue till all men have either rejected or accepted of his work; and the Scriptures plainly teach that this decision is made before his coming. As we have said, Christ performs his work as priest once for all. This is plainly taught in the book of Hebrews in reference to his work in the sanctuary. Only once does he make an offering; only during one period does he perform the part of priest and mediator; one round of service only does he perform in the heavenly sanctuary. Then the sanctuary is cleansed, his work as priest forever ends, and the cases of all are decided. The conclusion of this work is described in Heb. 10:17, 18: “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” These features, then, we find essential to a period of probation: 1. A priest to minister before God in behalf of man; 2. An offering with which to make an atonement for sin; 3. A sanctuary in which to perform this ministration. But Christ acts as priest only until he takes his own throne; and he offers his blood for sin only during this dispensation according to Heb. 10:12, 13; Ps. 110:1; and the ministration of the sanctuary is accomplished, never to be resumed, before his second coming; for Daniel said that at the end of the 2300 days the sanctuary should be cleansed, and Rev. 15:8 shows us that the ministration therein is finished when the seven last plagues begin to be poured out. In accordance with this, we find that just before Christ comes this irrevocable sentence goes forth, forever deciding every case according as the character of the individual has been good or bad: Rev. 22:11: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” And when is this? Just before the coming of Christ; for he immediately adds, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be.” SHE SLEEPS IN JESUS.
By James White
A BRIEF obituary of Jennie R. Richards is given in this week’s issue. Her remarkable experience and her godly life, demand more than a brief notice of her last sickness, death, and funeral services. Not less than eight years before her decease, Jennie R. Trembley, afterward Richards, handed us the following statement:— “Having had some experience as a spirit medium, it is a privilege to me to write a few words concerning it. I had been a writing medium about two years, as nearly as I can recollect, when a copy of the first edition of the work, entitled ‘The Signs of the Times,’ fell into my hands. I began to read it with earnestness, as I was anxious to know more about this spirit with which I had been so familiar. “I did not read far before I came to some things which conflicted with what the spirit had taught me. So I called for the spirit to come, that I might ask some questions; but it did not come. This surprised me, because I did not usually have to wait; but the moment I requested its presence, it came, and signified a willingness to converse with me. “But when I laid the book down, and left it, the spirit came without bidding, and told me I must not read another page of that book; if I did, I would be left to fall into darkness. I tried many times to secure its presence while holding the book, but failed every time. I experimented with other books; but this alone had that effect. “After giving the book a careful reading, and examining the texts of Scripture referred to, I resolved to have nothing more to do with spiritualism; but to give it up was not an easy matter. The spirit promised me if I would not forsake it, I should have all the power I could desire. I should have command of the different languages, and be able to speak them fluently; I should have an understanding of the sciences, without study; I might be a spirit physician, a lecturer,—in short, perhaps it is all summed up in one sentence found in Gen. 3:5: ‘Ye shall be as gods.’ “It was a long time before I succeeded in ridding myself of its powerful influence; but to-day, thanks to a kind Heavenly Father, I am free from this terrible delusion, spiritualism. JENNIE R. TREMBLEY.” Some twelve years since, Jennie R. Tremblay came to the Health Institute at Battle Creek, an invalid. After recovering her health, she filled an important position in this office, as compositor and proof-reader, and in 1871 was editor of the Youth’s Instructor. In 1873 she received a medical diploma from the Hygeio-Therapeutic College, conducted by Dr. R. T. Trall. July 20, 1874, she gave her hand in marriage to Dr. D. B. Richards. By invitation, she returned to this office December last, and after laboring a few weeks, as compositor, copyist, and proof-reader, was taken suddenly and violently sick from cold, which resulted in typhoid pneumonia. During the last days of her illness, we visited her several times and enjoyed precious seasons of prayer. She sleeps in Jesus. Her work is done, and well finished. Blessed are the dead “which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, they rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.” ANOTHER PRECIOUS SABBATH.
By Uriah Smith
The good work in the church at Battle Creek, noticed in previous numbers of the REVIEW, still continues. Sabbath, March 6, was perhaps as triumphant a day as ever occurred in their experience. A meeting was held at the commencement of the Sabbath, so largely attended that the auditorium of the Tabernacle was well filled. After a powerful exhortation from Bro. White, and testimonies from many others, a call was made for sinners and backsliders to turn to the Lord. About as many responded as on the Sabbath before, between seventy-five and a hundred pressing forward to the front seats. A disposition to seek the Lord earnestly was manifested by many of these. One, a prominent student at the College, by hearty confession of past backsliding, and by asking forgiveness of teachers and students of the College, pastor and members of the church, and finally of the Lord, for past errors and wrong influence exerted, put himself on the side of the right in a manner to greatly affect and rejoice all hearts. Sabbath forenoon, after a full Sabbath-school of usual interest, Bro. White spoke on the subject of conversion, describing, first, the “faith of credence” which the sinner must possess to lead him to believe that there is a God who will reward virtue and punish vice, and that he has given a law of ten commandments as our rule of life; secondly, the office which this law performs in the work of conversion by slaying the sinner, as in Rom. 7:7-12; thirdly, faith in Christ as the Saviour; and fourthly, the work of the Holy Spirit in changing the heart, or producing within us the right disposition and spiritual mind of the Christian. The subject was presented with great clearness and freedom. Besides the usual congregation, there was a large attendance from without. Immediately following this meeting nine were buried in baptism in the waters of the Kalamazoo, Elds. White and Colcord acting as administrators. The meeting in the afternoon was a repetition of the one the evening before. About twenty-five more came forward for prayers. Among these were two other students who had long been upon the background, and had wandered so far into the dark that their feet had well-nigh slipped, and for whom great anxiety and solicitude had been felt. They now, with emotions almost too strong for utterance, and with hearty confessions, turned their feet once more toward their Father’s house, testifying that they had long enough tried the barren wastes of backsliding from God, and found nothing to satisfy. The stand they now take so intelligently and sincerely, we have confidence to believe they will maintain. The influence for good which they can now exert in the College will be very great. One of the Office hands, and others, also witnessed a good confession in regard to their determinations for the future. May they have strength to carry out their resolutions. At this meeting eight united with the church, six by letter and two on a former confession of faith and baptism. These with the nine baptized at the conclusion of the forenoon service, made a total of seventeen who united with the church. We ask the readers of the REVIEW to pray that God may still bless the labors of Bro. White in our midst, and that the good work may continue.