Earlier text: UNIVERSALISM“They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever.” Ps. 125:1, 2. Thine be a life of trust in God,
Ever in him confide,
Submissively beneath the rod
Bow, and with him abide. Gently his hand will lead thee on
From grace to higher grace,
And when thy life-work here is done,
He’ll greet thee face to face. Oh! ’twill be sweet in the glad morn
Of that eternal day,
When the last note the world to warn
Dies on the ear away, If Jesus, friend of all the meek,
Beholds thee seated low
Among the ones to whom he’ll speak
Words of the sweetest flow: “Come up, ye victors in the strife,
Partake of life’s fair tree;
Its fruit renews the springs of life
Throughout eternity. “Thou hast given up all for me,
The world and e’en thine own;
I’ll own thy name, and thou shalt be
With me upon my throne.” And for the joy before him set
Christ died, and now he’ll give
Life, full and free,—eternity,
To all who wish to live. Ay, live; no sickness, pain, or death
Ever shall thee annoy;
Oh, taste and feast, as his word saith,
The fullness of his joy! Father, to thee I trust my all,
Thy love for me how great!
Oh, keep me that I may not fall,
And mourn outside the gate. Around I see the darkness fall,
Help me to walk with thee,
And know and heed thy every call,
Until from danger free,— Free to behold thy glory bright,
Free to partake thy joy,
And in redemption’s song unite,
Where pleasures never cloy. NEW YORK.
By A. H. Hall; A. P. Bump
Middle Grove, Saratoga Co.—There are a few here who are holding on to the truth. They have meetings every Sabbath. They seemed to be encouraged by our meetings, and resolved to take hold of the work with renewed energy. A leader was appointed. Obtained one subscriber for the REVIEW. Olin, Jones Co.—From the 20th to the 25th of February I was at Olin. There is a good interest in the community here, and they gave us a favorable hearing. Most of the believers are young in the faith; but they manifest a commendable zeal in the work. The preaching was mostly of a practical nature, and was well received. Some of the brethren took “Spirit of Prophecy,” and all were supplied with Testimony No. 29. The preliminary steps were taken at this meeting for the erection of a meeting-house. A building committee was appointed, and $300 was pledged in a few moments. It is expected that others will help liberally. On the whole, I think the church was encouraged by my visit. Several of the brethren subscribed for Good Health, and more should have done so. Our brethren who do not have this valuable journal do not realize what a feast of good things they lose. I most heartily recommend it to all our people. It contains just the information we all need, and that we should put to practical use. E. W. FARNSWORTH. Plum Grove, Butler Co.—I gave six discourses near the above place, last November. A deep interest was manifested, but I was called away to attend the General Conference. Meetings were resumed Jan. 15. The congregations were large and attentive. Fifteen or more commenced the observance of the Sabbath. A Sabbath-school was organized, and ten copies of the Instructor subscribed for. I think there will be a sufficient number of earnest Christian commandment-keepers here to maintain Sabbath meetings, but some need to realize the importance of a thorough conversion to God. May the Lord help them to go forward. Receiving a message that my wife was sick, I was forced to return home and leave the work here unfinished. I hope to visit them again immediately after our T. and M. Institute. Labor among the Churches.—Since Jan. 30 we have visited the following-named churches: Oswego, Harrisonville, Peru, and Bloomfield. At Oswego some advancement was made, though we did not see so much accomplished as we desired. A local health and temperance club was organized, numbering thirteen members. There is a good Sabbath-school here, under the supervision of Father Santee. At Harrisonville, some difficulties existed. They were adjusted, however, and harmony was restored. The cloud was lifted, and the meetings closed with victory in the Lord. The ordinances were celebrated. The membership at Peru has been reduced, by removals, to five. The preaching here was of a practical character. A deep spirit of searching of heart, and of earnest wrestling with God, was especially manifested toward the close of the meetings. I had looked forward to the meeting at Bloomfield with prayerful anxiety. This church has been disbanded, but re-organization has been effected. We labored to bring about a spirit of full confession to God and to one another, and endeavored to have each seek a connection with Heaven, and a deeper experience in the things of God. The word spoken was blessed to the good of those who heard, and favorable results were accomplished. We shall be disappointed if this church does not make real progress in the future. Three members were added to this company. They have a very interesting Sabbath-school, numbering about thirty-five, under the supervision of Sister C. Morrow. A local health and temperance club was organized, consisting of twelve members. Wilson Station.—We began meetings here Sunday, Feb. 22. We have the use of a good school-house, and it has been well filled every evening. There seems to be considerable interest. The people invite us to their homes. Pray for us that we may move with wisdom. Debello.—From Dec. 30, 1879, to Jan. 10, 1880, I was at Kickapoo Center. Some difficulties in the church were satisfactorily settled. Two united with the church. Jan. 11-15, we held meetings with the brethren at Liberty Pole. Jan. 16-21, held meetings at different places with the brethren of the Victory church. At one place there appeared to be some outside interest, which I desire to follow up as soon as possible. The brethren of this church are so widely scattered that they cannot all meet on the Sabbath, although they have meetings and Sabbath-school most of the time at three different places. Jan. 22, I again came to Liberty Pole, and on the 27th went to Avalanche to spend some time with that church. Two united with the church, one of whom had formerly been a slave. He has learned to read, and is now quite familiar with the Bible. In fact, he can repeat more verses from the Bible than many Christians who have all their lives been able to read. He found it quite difficult to give up tobacco, but, by the help of God, hopes to overcome this vile habit. I left the brethren much encouraged. I came to Debello Feb. 20, and was agreeably surprised to find that the brethren here had built a small church. The majority of them are poor, and hence it was quite an undertaking to build a house of worship. An intelligent man, formerly a skeptic, has recently embraced present truth, and he now knows from experience that there is a reality in religion. His wife was also a skeptic, but some time since she renounced infidelity, and was baptized. Our meetings were well attended, and the Lord seemed near to bless. Prejudice, which had been very strong here, is giving way. Last evening I spoke on the law and gospel, in a Dunkard church at Valton, about two miles from Debello. At the close of the meeting, a Quaker arose and said that he indorsed every point, and that what I had said was Bible truth. This Friend offered us the use of the Quaker church. A year ago, we could not have obtained a church at Valton; now two are freely offered us. Norwalk.—Since my return from the Institute at Corsica, I have labored with the scattered Sabbath-keepers in this vicinity. I have visited nearly all the members of the Norwalk church, and find them firm in the truth; have also held eight meetings, with fair attendance and good interest. The truth is finding its way to the hearts of many, and several will keep all of the commandments. I obtained eleven subscribers to our periodicals, and sold a good number of books and tracts. Sunday evening, Feb. 29, we held a temperance meeting at East Norwalk. Twenty-nine signed the pledge, only three of whom are Sabbath-keepers. Mesopotamia, March 2.—Since the Institute in Ohio, I have visited all the Sabbath-keepers in Windsor, Huntsburg, Bloomfield, Orwell, Wayne, and Williamsfield. Each family has the REVIEW, or soon will have it, also Testimony No. 29. We held meetings in most of the above places with profit. Some have given up the truth or have become greatly discouraged within the past few months. Brethren, let us be Bible Christians, live the truth in our families, be channels of light to the world, by example and by our means supporting the cause of the third angel’s message. At Williamsfield, we were invited, both afternoon and evening, to speak to Eld. Miller’s congregation in the Congregational church. The Lord gave freedom, and many gathered around us as inquirers anxious to learn more of the truth. SHALL WE BE BENEFITED?
By A. S. Hutchins
As believers in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, will the close, searching truths, the counsels, warnings, and reproofs of Testimony No. 29 benefit us? As a whole, each one of us may regard it as a personal testimony to us, if it is no more definite. It is Heaven-given, and should be thus recognized. But the question of the profit to be derived from this work is not suspended upon reading it, nor upon acknowledging the genuineness of its contents, nor upon the formation of good resolutions as we read it; it hangs upon a more practical course of action than this,—it is to act in harmony with the counsel given. Have we sins to confess? Are there wrongs in deed, word, or thought to be adjusted? These should be attended to. The record of past life may not be clean. Self and selfishness, like monsters, may have arisen, and swayed the judgment and controlled the feelings and action. God is moving us to get right; and without much watchfulness and prayer, the golden opportunity will pass, the Holy Spirit will be grieved, and we shall be left to our own darkness and hardness of heart. T. AND M. LIFE-MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATES.
By S. N. Haskell
THESE certificates are now completed, and are in the hands of the Secretary of the General T. and M. Society. A sufficient number to supply all who have become life-members of this society, will soon be sent to the secretaries of the various State societies. A few, bearing the signatures of the President and Secretary of the General Tract Society, will also be sent to the President of each174 State society, to supply those who may be induced to become life-members. These certificates will be filled out with the names of members by the officers to whom they are sent. All ministers and tract-society officers are authorized and requested to act as agents to secure life-memberships and donations for this society. The business can be done through the various tract societies, provided proper care is taken to state whether money is received for memberships or on donations, and to give the post-office address of members and donors. The General Tract Society will gladly accept of donations of $100, or of sums greater or less than that, according to the ability of the donor, from any who are able and may wish to make such donations. New York, New England, and California are already quite well represented by life-memberships in this society; we hope to be able to say the same of each Conference tract society before the close of 1880. Many scattered brethren and sisters in different parts of the country have become life-members. England and Switzerland are also represented in this manner. Should any who have become life-members by the payment of ten dollars, fail to receive certificates in due time, they should notify the Secretary, Miss M. L. Huntley, Battle Creek, Mich., giving their post-office address. We hope for an accession of not less than one thousand life-members during the coming year. All who have seen the certificate pronounce it a well-executed lithograph, worthy, when framed, of a place in any parlor. If it be asked, What will be done with the funds raised by this society? we answer, They will be used to send publications to different parts of the earth where there are no tract societies organized. Already over fifteen hundred dollars' worth of publications have thus been distributed to different nations in Europe, the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, Liberia, the Diamond-fields of Africa, and Egypt, the birthplace of Moses. Reading matter has also been placed on hundreds of vessels, not for the use of the crew alone, but to be left at the different ports visited by these vessels. In our own country, large numbers of periodicals have been sent South. We do not know of a civilized nation on the globe where our publications, in some form, have not been sent. During the present year we want to place a fifteen-dollar library on board of not less than five hundred steamers leaving different ports in this country. Passengers, who are on the water from five to fifteen days, will thus have an opportunity to give these books a careful reading; present truth will be brought before tens of thousands of people in a single season, and through our publications, the message will be proclaimed on the land and on the sea. If what we believe is the truth, and if it is to reach the utmost bounds of civilization, then we should put forth such efforts as characterize no other people. May God fit us for the work, and give us courage and zeal to perform the same. ILLINOIS
By J. F. Ballenger; E. O. Hammond
Compromise, Champaign Co., Feb. 24.—The Lord is working for the people here. Last Sunday evening twelve signified their decision to keep the commandments of God. All of them are among the most intelligent and respectable people in the community. Others are trembling in the balance, and we believe will decide for the truth. The voice of prayer now ascends from the family altar in homes where it has never before been heard. We hope, by the blessing of God, to organize a company here who will be looking for our Lord when he shall appear. J. F. BALLENGER.
E. O. HAMMOND. Missouri Meetings Near Kirksville and Roberts School-House
By H. Wren
Kirksville, March 1.—I have for the present closed the meetings at Roberts school-house, fifteen miles northeast of Kirksville. Twenty here have signed the covenant, and there are a few others who say they will, sooner or later. I obtained eight subscribers for the REVIEW, and three for Good Health. I begin meetings before long at a place five miles northeast of Roberts school-house, by request of some there. I held a meeting there three years ago. Hope to see a good work done. There are at Roberts school-house seven or eight waiting to be baptized. One whole family, I believe, will be baptized at the same time. Hope Eld. G. I. Butler will visit them before he leaves the State. MINNESOTA
By J. Fulton; H. Grant
Labor among the Churches.—We spent two weeks with the church at Grove Lake, one of the strongest churches in this Conference. The T. and M. and Sabbath-school work received attention, and a temperance club was organized. On Sunday evening about two hundred came out, and the closest attention was given to the word spoken. We left these brethren much encouraged. We next visited the church at Calhoun Lake. The church here had had but little labor, and were far behind in the work. The Manannah church have, for the past year, met with these brethren. It was thought best to unite them into one company to be known as the Irving church. A tract society was organized, also a vigilant society; and a good supply of periodicals was ordered for use. A Sabbath-school was re-organized, and a temperance club was formed. We were pleased to see these brethren take hold of all parts of the work so cheerfully. Quite an outside interest was manifested, especially in the temperance work. As the semi-annual meeting of the T. and M. society to be held at Hutchinson, Feb. 7, 8, was to commence in two weeks, we decided to spend the intervening time with this church. This time was principally devoted to seeking the Lord. Through the faithful labors of the elder and deacon, this church has grown to be the largest in our Conference. At this meeting an additional elder and deacon were chosen and set apart to their respective offices in the usual manner. The Sabbath-school is in a prosperous condition. On Sunday morning, the business for which the meeting was called was taken up. Important steps were taken, and measures were adopted which, if carried out, will advance the cause of present truth in Minnesota. Those who did not attend this meeting, especially all who are actively engaged in the T. and M. work, met with a loss. At this meeting $150 worth of books was sold. THE T. AND M. CERTIFICATE.
The certificates for life-membership in the General Tract and Missionary Society are now ready. The design of the certificate is comprehensive, beautifully lithographed on a tinted ground, and covering a space of 17 by 21 inches. The central portion is a bird’s-eye view of the greater portion of the western and eastern hemispheres, showing North America, the northern portion of South America, part of Australia, Europe, Western Asia, and Africa. In the upper left-hand corner is a looped and pendent scroll, bearing the mottoes: “A voice said unto me, Write;” “Blessed are they that sow beside all waters.” Inside the scroll is the motto: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Isa. 55:11. In the upper right-hand corner is a similar scroll bearing the mottoes: “And they wrote letters.” “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” Inside this scroll is the motto: “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Between these two scrolls, midway, a flying angel is represented in a halo of light, with this motto above, “The earth was lightened with his glory;” and beneath, the reference, “Rev. 18.” Beneath this and around the upper outline of the earth, is the motto, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” From the angel, rays of light are descending to the different places of the earth where the voice of the message has already been heard, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Africa; and the localities are designated by references to the bottom of the drawing, where in scrolls on either side, the names are given, as the Publishing House, College, Sanitarium, Dime Tabernacle, at Battle Creek, Publishing houses at Oakland Cal., Basle, Switzerland, Christiana, Norway, etc. In the lower part is this impressive device: Between an altar on which the fire is blazing to consume the sacrifice, and a plow against which leans a yoke waiting to receive the heavy strain of labor, stands an ox, and over all the significant motto, “Ready for either;” showing that the Christian must be ready either to give himself to be consumed as a sacrifice, or to put his neck to the yoke, and toil on still longer in the vineyard. Around this device is the reading of the Certificate: “This certifies that — is a life-member of the Seventh-day Adventist General Tract and Missionary Society;” followed by date and signatures of the President and Secretary. Neatly framed, this makes a handsome ornament for any room, but better than all it shows that the one possessing it has so far taken an interest in this great work, which is indeed beginning to lighten the earth with its glory, as to become a life-member of the General Tract and Missionary Society by paying ten dollars into its treasury. We hope many of these Certificates will be called for, to grace the homes of our people, and witness to their interest in this cause, all over our land. —The United States has 98,000 salaried government officers. —A Bonapartist deputy has been elected in one of the departments of France. —A scheme to assassinate the Sultan of Turkey has recently been frustrated. —The old historical State House near Sing Sing, N. Y., was recently burned down. —During 1879, Bishop Hare, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, confirmed 130 Indians. —Dispatches from Omaha state that an extraordinary tide of emigration westward has set in. —The total reduction of the public debt during the past eight months is over $32,000,000. —Philadelphia has 81 libraries, and 80 per cent of the books drawn from them are novels or stories. —The citizens of Eastern Oregon and Washington are trying to improve that treeless region by a general planting of trees. —The Iowa Legislature has passed a bill making the manufacture of oleomargarine punishable by fine and imprisonment. —The Alps have again been pierced. The St. Gothard Tunnel, over 8 miles long, the longest in the world, is completed. —At Ashton-under-Tyne, England, 10,000 cotton-weavers have stopped work, demanding an advance of 5 per cent in their wages. —Germany contemplates cutting a channel large enough to admit of the passage of vessels of war from the Baltic Sea to the German Ocean. —A movement is on foot to protect the Niagara Falls from further desecration, and to secure land on each side of the Falls for an international park. —The life of the Marquis of Anglesey was insured in various companies to the amount of $3,700,000, the largest insurance ever effected on any one life. —A fire-damp explosion occurred at Scranton, Pa., on the 5th inst. One man was killed, and eight are still in the mine, supposed to be killed by foul air. —The mint report shows the total coinage of the country for the month of February to be $8,169,969, of which amount $2,300,400 was standard silver dollars. —France has promised to send one of her finest regiments and a fleet of war vessels to take part in the forthcoming centennial celebration of the surrender of Yorktown. —The Emperor William has sent a letter to the Czar, congratulating him on his recent escape from assassination. The letter bears the counter signature of Prince Bismarck. —The Globe asserts that France has entered into negotiations with England and the United States with a view to bringing about a cessation of the hostilities between Peru and Chili. —A Texan inventor has received a patent on a movable frame covered with awning, which can be wheeled along the rows of a cotton-field, and thus protect the cotton-pickers from the burning sun. —A railway train from Andalusia, bound for the Spanish capital, carrying a government treasure box guarded by five gendarmes, was recently stopped by 15 brigands. On being fired upon, they fled. —During the month of February, the national debt was reduced over $5,500,000, and over $6,000,000 was paid out on account of pensions. The total revenues during the month were very nearly $1,000,000 a day. —The King of the Hawaiian Islands, who has hitherto lived in a number of wooden cottages, surrounded by a high wall, is soon to have a palace, the Hawaiian Legislature having appropriated $50,000 for that purpose. —An Austrian Jew has been raised to the rank of Pasha and Assistant Secretary of State in Egypt. It is said that this is the first time since the days of Joseph that an Israelite has reached so high a position in Egypt. —On a recent Sunday, a German theater in New York City was compelled to stop a play which had been widely announced, and to see which an audience of 2,500 persons had assembled. Another Sunday triumph. —The Austrian Diet has just voted $75,000 to defray the expenses of the visit of the Empress to Ireland, whither she went chiefly to enjoy the exciting pleasure of fox-hunting. And the national debt of Austria is $2,005,150,000. —The Speaker of the House of Representatives has a salary of $10,000 a year, with no perquisites. The Speaker of the British House of Commons has $20,000 a year, with perquisites to make his salary, all told, about $40,000. —There is a rumor that Prince Bismarck is anxious to retire from the Chancellorship provisionally for three or four months, and if the affairs of the German Empire are conducted more satisfactorily, he will then retire altogether. —The present British Parliament is to be dissolved this year, and a new Parliament is to be elected. This election will decide whether or not Beaconsfield’s “policy” is to continue to rule the nation. Two important elections have already been held, which have resulted in Tory (Beaconsfield) majorities. —An elegant white marble tablet, representing a Grecian temple, and surrounded by a black marble border, is to be placed in the First Reformed church of Kingston, N. Y. It is to be erected to the memory of A. B. Hasbrouck, ex-President of Rutgers College, and will be the finest mural tablet in this country outside of Trinity Church. —Rev. Edward Cowley, of New York City, has been tried for neglect and abuse of a child committed to his care as manager of the Shepherd’s Fold, and has been sentenced to one year in the penitentiary, and to pay a fine of $250. Cowley was at one time chaplain of the penitentiary in which he is now confined. —The report of the Episcopal Church in Maine for the past year shows that there has been an actual loss in membership. The whole number of communicants reported in 1878 was 2,115; in 1879 the whole number is 2,107. In four years the gain has been less than one hundred, the whole number reported in 1875 being 2,014. —At the close of business hours, last Friday, March 5, there was in the vaults of the Treasury, in round numbers, $37,000,000 in standard silver dollars, $21,000,000 in subsidiary silver coin, and $146,000,000 in gold. At the New York Assay Office $45,000,000 worth of gold awaits transportation to the mint at Philadelphia. —Senator Morgan has proposed a constitutional amendment declaring the Indians to be citizens, and subject, in common with all other citizens, to the jurisdiction of the civil authorities. This amendment would make an end of the so-called tribal relations and the treaty business, and wind up the present Indian Bureau and the system which it administers. —The storm of Friday evening, March 5, was very severe in some parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. In some places it became a cyclone. In its track, houses were demolished, trees and fences were blown down, and in some cases cars were blown from the track. At Cleveland one man was fatally injured, at Toledo two policemen were killed, and in several towns people were seriously injured. —At a recent meeting in Boston Music Hall, Bishop McNamara, the leader of the Independent Catholic movement in this country, reminded the Irish that Pope Adrian II. was the author of the miseries of Ireland, as he consigned its soil and its church to Henry II. of England. “As to the Irish in America,” he said, “if they ever want to be free, let them cut loose from the Italian priesthood, take the Holy Scriptures for their spiritual guide, and obey politically only the Constitution of the United States.” This movement is gaining in strength and numbers. —The cost of the proposed canal from sea to sea across the Isthmus of Panama, according to M. Lesseps’s estimate, will be $120,000,000. He proposes that the bonds be taken equally in America and in Europe, the head-quarters of the enterprise to be in Paris. As yet, but little has been subscribed to this undertaking. The canal, being essentially a foreign enterprise, would of necessity draw after it foreign protection; and hence it is thought that the project will prove an infraction of the Monroe doctrine, that no foreign power shall be permitted to obtain a foothold on this continent. —General Melikoff, Chief of the new Supreme Executive Commission, is now the target for Nihilistic pistol-practice. On the 3d of March he was fired upon; but, as usual, the assassin missed his aim, and Melikoff is unhurt. But summary justice was meted out to the criminal. On Thursday, the 4th, he was tried by a court-martial, and on the next day he was executed in the presence of an immense concourse of people. Seven men in the crowd were arrested for saying that though this attempt had proved a failure, another one would succeed. The city is placarded with threats against Melikoff’s life. —Russian architects promise that the magnificent temple in Moscow will be completed next August. It was begun in 1833 to commemorate the expulsion of the French army under Napoleon I. The height of the dome is 369 feet. The building is in the form of a Greek cross, is gorgeously decorated, and will cost about $15,000,000. About 925 pounds of gold have been used in the gilding. The church contains several columns of jasper, each of which cost $13,000. The famous cathedral of St. Isaac’s at St. Petersburg, consecrated in 1858, was begun in 1819, and cost $22,500,000. —Messrs. Dun, Barlow & Co., of the Mercantile Agency, have issued their quarterly report of failures to January 1, completing the year 1879. The whole number for the quarter in all the United States is 1,838, comparing with 1,800 for the same quarter in 1878, and 2,397 in 1877. The number for the whole year is 6,658, with liabilities of $98,149,000, comparing with 10,478 in 1878, with liabilities of $234,338,000. This is a most encouraging result. The liabilities involved in 1879 are barely 42 per cent of the enormous total in the previous year, which nearly wound up the calamities following the great panic. We say nearly, because we have no doubt that very many of the 6,000 and odd cases in 1879 could be directly, and many others indirectly, traced to old involvements; and so we shall very confidently expect to see such cases greatly diminished through the quarterly reports to come in 1880.—Mercantile Review. MISSIONARY WORK.
By Alice K. Hersum
The life of Christ well illustrates missionary labor. Those who have the spirit of Christ will have the missionary spirit, and will love to do all they can to help those around them. One marked peculiarity of Christ was his self-denial and benevolence. He came not to seek his own; he went about doing good. If we have an opportunity of doing something in his cause, how eagerly should we seize it, and how earnestly should we labor to be co-workers with him. In order to be happy, we must seek to possess that character which Christ exhibited. He left the riches and glory of Heaven, and became poor that we might be made rich. He went from place to place, a homeless wanderer. He was acquainted with sorrow and grief, and was more destitute than the birds of the air and the foxes of the desert; for he had not where to lay his head. With his example before us, we sometimes murmur when called upon to give up a little of our earthly treasure for his sake, or to labor in the work of saving souls for whom he gave his precious life. Oh, what ingratitude! When we appreciate the blessings of redemption, we shall feel that we can joyfully afford to make any and every sacrifice for the love of Christ. Every sacrifice made for his dear sake enriches the giver, and every suffering and privation endured for him, increases our final joy in Heaven. Oh, may the Lord help us to realize more fully the times in which we live, and to be more earnest in our efforts in the missionary work. Laying Down Our Glass for the Brethren
By W. M. Taylor
—If Christ laid down his life for us, is it too much for us to lay down our glass for the brethren?— W. M. Taylor, D. D. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.” Rev. 14:13. RICHARDS.—Died at Battle Creek, Mich., Jan. 26, 1880, of typhoid pneumonia, Sister Jennie R. Richards, aged 39 years. Funeral services conducted by the writer. JAMES WHITE. KENT.—Died very suddenly in Candia, N. H., Dec. 15, 1879, Bro. Samuel N. Kent, aged 79 years and 10 months. Bro. Kent kept the Sabbath about six years, and was a firm believer in the third angel’s message. He lived a consistent and godly life, and we believe he will have a part in the first resurrection. A. W. SMITH. THOMAS.—Sister Jane A. Thomas died at Walton, Sauk Co., Wis., Dec. 23, 1879, of inflammation of the brain. Sister Thomas was born Aug. 21, 1834, at Troy, Geauga Co., Ohio, and was consequently 45 years old at the time of her death. She was converted in 1848. In the summer of 1878, she embraced the views held by S. D. Adventists, and she has since observed God’s holy Sabbath. She left a husband and three children, besides many relatives and friends, to mourn her loss. Remarks from Rev. 21:4. O. A. JOHNSON.