Earlier text: THE SABBATH OF THE LORDThe Next General Conference
By Arthur G. Daniells
As the time for holding the next session of the General Conference approaches, inquiries are being made concerning various matters relating to it. That all our people may be informed regarding the general arrangements for this meeting, we shall give as full statements as consistent through the columns of the REVIEW. About a year ago we began to solicit suggestions as to the place in which the next session of our General Conference should be held. Only one place has been named, and that has been Washington, D. C. Conference officers, department committees, ministers, and our people everywhere are united in this selection. No argument has been made in behalf of Washington as the place; none has been needed, for no other place has been mentioned. It is the spontaneous choice of all who have taken interest enough in the matter to offer a suggestion. This question was considered at the College View council last fall, and it was voted “that the next session of the General Conference be appointed to be held at Washington, D. C., May 11-30, 1905.” The time appointed for the conference to convene is near. Foreign delegates are beginning to leave their fields. Committees, to whom have been referred the various features of preparation, are at work. From now, until the conference closes, the interests of this important meeting will receive a great deal of attention. According to the provisions of the General Conference constitution for representation, our entire field will be entitled to about two hundred delegates. It is hardly probable that all the fields will be fully represented, although it is understood that there will be a more general attendance than we had at the Oakland (Cal.) conference two years ago. All the North American union conferences have elected full delegations. All the foreign union conferences have elected delegates, but not a full number. The General Conference Committee has called to the conference the superintendents of the leading mission fields in all parts of the world. Among those who are coming from abroad, are Elder G. A. Irwin, from Australasia; Elder L. R. Conradi, from the General European field; Elders O. A. Olsen and E. E. Andross, Brother W. C. Sisley, and Elder and Mrs. E. W. Farnsworth, from Great Britain; Elder P. A. Hansen and Dr. J. C. Ottosen, from Scandinavia; Prof. and Mrs. Wilkinson, from the Latin Union Mission field; Elder W. S. Hyatt, from South Africa; Elder W. H. Wakeham, from Egypt, representing the Oriental Mission field; Elder J. L. Shaw, from India; Elder J. N. Anderson, from China; Elder F. W. Field, from Japan; Elder E. H. Gates, from Polynesia; Elder J. W. Westphal and others, from South America; Elder A. J. Haysmer, from the West Indies; Elder George M. Brown, from Mexico. A number of these brethren will be accompanied by co-workers in the fields from which they come. Thus it will be seen that we shall have representatives from all parts of the world. In selecting the delegations, efforts have been made to have the various departments of our work fairly represented. This will bring together ministers from both the home and foreign fields, and a number of the leading men connected with our Publishing, Educational, and Medical Departments. Of course the Sabbath-school work, Religious Liberty work, and Young People’s work will be represented by the officers in charge of these departments. In addition to the regular delegates, we have reason to believe that there will be quite an attendance of our brethren and sisters from different parts of the country. While we have not been active in soliciting such attendance, we have received many inquiries from our brethren and sisters who earnestly desire to attend this conference. One reason given is that they are expecting that this will be one of the best meetings ever held by our people. Our brethren and sisters all over the world believe with all their hearts that the Lord has placed the headquarters of his work at Washington, and many have a conviction that he will greatly bless his people in the coming conference. Thousands have cheerfully contributed of their means for the establishment of the work in Washington. Many of these have a desire to visit the place, and prefer to do so during the conference. We do not wish to urge any one to7 attend the conference, nor do we feel free to discourage our brethren from doing so who feel impressed to come, and are able to meet the expense. We who are located at the headquarters believe, with our brethren, that God has placed us here. We also believe that the coming conference will be a good one; we look for large blessings from the Lord. We do not wish to prevent any one from sharing in these blessings who ought to be here. We are expecting, therefore, that quite a number who have not been selected as delegates will attend a portion, if not the whole, of the conference. The question of entertainment is a rather perplexing one to the committee. The conditions in Washington are quite different from those where the General Conference sessions have been held for many years. We have been here but a short time. Instead of grouping together in one large church, we have established four churches in different parts of the city. Our Sabbath-keepers are scattered over a large area. As it is thought best to have the conference located at Takoma Park, the meetings will be held from five to eight miles from the majority of our Sabbath-keeping families. This will make it necessary for us to make special arrangements to care for those who come to the conference. We shall use our school buildings, fit up family tents, and rent a limited number of rooms. All this will mean an expense that has not attended our conference sessions heretofore. We wish that we might entertain all who come at little or no expense to them; but our conditions make it absolutely impossible to do this. We must, therefore, ask all our delegates and visitors to carefully study existing conditions, and make the very best they can of the situation. We can all see that under the present circumstances the expense to every one attending this conference will be greater than on former occasions. We must make up our minds to this, and prepare for it. The committee to which has been assigned the various features of preparation, has given the question of expense in entertainment most careful, exhaustive study. They are doing all they can to make the expense light, and yet not cheapen our plans too much, nor create a heavy loss in operating expenses. The plan of holding our conference in camp will be a new feature in Washington. Many organizations hold their annual meetings at the nation’s capital. Some of these meetings are attended by a very large number of delegates from different parts of the country. These organizations hire some large hall for their meetings, and the delegates take care of themselves at hotels and boarding-houses. Thus the meetings are held in the heart of the city, and the delegates spend their time in the noise and bustle of congested centers, and devote a great deal of time to pleasure-seeking. All this involves very heavy expense, but it is the popular way of doing. We shall have our conference held in a quiet suburb with rural surroundings. Our delegates and visitors will be grouped together near our place of meeting. While, of course, it will be proper for all who come to visit the most important places of interest in the city, our first and greatest concern will be to make the conference a great blessing to the cause for which it is held. From the standpoint of expense, our plans will be in striking contrast with the plans of other organizations and societies. But while we must study economy, we must be careful not to go to extremes in this direction. We must not give the impression that we are a poverty-stricken people who can scarcely get enough to eat. We must have our camp neat, orderly, and attractive; we must plan our boarding arrangements so that we shall have good food at regular periods. We shall be together three weeks, and shall be required to apply ourselves very earnestly from early morning until late at night. We can not afford to eat cold lunches in our rooms at irregular periods. The saving in expense will be small compared with the loss we shall sustain in intellectual clearness and physical vigor. If we make the conference what it should be in this city, we must take hold of every detail with determination and enthusiasm. We must count on sacrifice: it is either this, or to fall back on our old plans of holding our conferences in some center where we can have a large building in which to meet, and secure partial entertainment from our brethren and sisters. We are now committed to a new departure. The weather is likely to be very pleasant during the latter part of May. Our camp will be located in the midst of a forest. The trees will be in good foliage; the atmosphere will be fresh and invigorating. We shall have good opportunities for retirement to the groves for seasons of communion with God. With these and other favorable conditions, the coming conference should be one of the best we have ever held. Bible Reading in Public Schools
By Editor
“MAKE it the first morning business of your life to understand some portion of the Bible clearly, and your daily business to obey it in all you do understand.” WE quite agree with the Kansas supreme court on one point of the following decision recently made by that body, sustaining the practise of Bible reading and prayer in the public schools:— A public school teacher who, for the purpose of quieting the pupils and preparing them for their regular studies, repeats the Lord's prayer and the twenty-third Psalm, as a morning exercise, without comment or remarks, in which none of the pupils are required to participate, is not conducting a form of religious worship, or teaching sectarian or religious doctrines. [Italics ours.] We agree that such an exercise, for the purpose specified, could not properly be called religious worship. This judicial pronouncement well illustrates the natural incapacity of courts or departments of the civil government to deal with matters of religion. The cause of Christianity was never advanced by court decisions. France Abolishes Church-State Concordat
By L. A. S.
A BILL for the abolition of the concordat, under which there has been a close union in France between church (the Roman Catholic Church) and state during the last century, is now before the French Chamber of Deputies, and all appearances indicate that it will be quickly passed without material modification of its present form. The bill provides, among other things, that no church shall be recognized or supported by the state, and that the exercise of all forms of religious worship is free, subject to the restrictions necessary for the interests of public order. It prohibits the holding of political meetings in places used for religious service. It forbids religious coercion in any form, imposing a fine or imprisonment or both upon any one who by personal violence or menace, or threat of loss of employment, or exposure to public contempt, shall attempt to force an individual either to exercise or abstain from any act of worship, or to contribute or abstain from contributing to the expenses of religion. This provision also specifically applies to the celebration of religious festivities, the observance of certain days of repose, the opening or closing of shops and factories, or cessation or continuance of work. Religious associations are not to receive in any form whatsoever subventions from the state departments or communes. A pension is provided, however, for ministers of the churches hitherto supported by the state. Assemblies for religious worship must be authorized by the state. All church property arising from donations by the state is to revert to the state, and all other church property is to go to the legal representatives of the disestablished sects, at the expiration of one year from the time the concordat ceases to exist. L. A. S. I FEAR no more the coming years
What they may bring;
Days will be sunless, night bereft of
stars:
Mayhap the brightest blossoms of the
spring
Shall first be bound with winter’s icy
bars.
But still beyond the cloud is always
light:
The stars are in the sky all night,
And deepest snows are they which
hide the bright
Green heart of spring. Not all of life is dreamed away
In summer skies.
Time holds a loss, a loneliness for me:
But hope is strong, and faith dare not
be weak,
And love abides, the greatest of the
three. Enough if sweet to-morrow will repay
The disappointment of to-day:
Light follows dark: sun, rain, seas
ebb away
Again to rise. And if the rugged road of life
Doth wind around
The mountainside where heavy clouds
hang low,
And, as I climb, the pilgrim staff be
changed
Into the cross, still onward would I go!
The peaks of only highest mountains
rise
Above the clouds of bluest skies,
And round the heaviest cross is hung
the prize,
The brightest crown. San Diego County, California
By Ellen G. White
San Diego County, California
From Los Angeles we went to San Diego, and spent three weeks, from November 7 to 28, at the Paradise Valley Sanitarium. There are nearly three hundred Sabbath-keepers in San Diego County, settled mostly in San Diego, National City, Escondido, and San Pasqual. A general meeting was appointed to be held in the San Diego church, November 12 and 13. The brethren responded cheerfully, and the commodious meeting-house was well filled. Elders Santee, Healey, and Burden came down from Los Angeles County to take part with us and Elder F. I. Richardson in the general meeting, and to counsel about the work of our new sanitarium. It had been announced that I would speak on Sabbath morning, but I was unable to fill my appointment. While traveling I had caught a severe cold, and could only whisper. Sunday afternoon was pleasant, and I attempted to speak. With great difficulty I spoke for about twenty minutes. Then Elder Healey gave a stirring discourse to the large audience that had assembled. On Monday the attention of our brethren was given to the affairs of the Paradise Valley Sanitarium. They looked over the land and the buildings, and saw the improvements that were being made. All were surprised to find that so much had been done during the summer in preparing the building for occupancy, and with thankful hearts they entered into counsel concerning future plans and work. A Review of Our Experiences
During the spring of 1902 the attention of several of our brethren was called to the Paradise Valley Sanitarium building, which was erected for a sanitarium by Mrs. Mary L. Potts about twenty years ago. After being used for a few months, it lay idle for many years, and was then offered for sale at twenty thousand dollars, with encouragement that it might be purchased for fifteen thousand dollars cash. In September, 1902, after the Los Angeles camp-meeting, we spent a week in San Diego, and visited several places that were offered us for sanitarium work. In the building offered us by Mrs. Potts, it seemed to me we found about all that we could ask. Here was a well-constructed, three-story building of fifty rooms, with broad verandas, standing upon a pleasant rise of ground, and overlooking a beautiful valley. Many of the rooms are large and airy, and there is a stationary marble wash-bowl in most of the bedrooms. Besides the main building, there is a good stable, and also a six-room cottage, which can be fitted up for helpers. The property is conveniently located, being less than seven miles from San Diego, and about a mile from the National City post-office. There are twenty acres of land. About one half of this had once been planted to fruit-trees, but during the long drought that this country has suffered, all the trees died except the ornamental trees and shrubbery around the buildings, and about seventy olive-trees on the terraces. When we learned that the owners of this property had become so discouraged on account of the many years of drought that they were offering it for twelve thousand dollars, I said to our brethren, “I believe that the Lord has kept this place for us, and that he will open the way for us to secure it. I never saw a building offered for sale that was better adapted for sanitarium work. If this place were fixed up, it would look just like places that have been shown me by the Lord.” A year before, light had been given me that our people in southern California must watch for opportunities to purchase such properties, and it seemed plain to me and to those who were with me that the opportunity of securing this place was a fulfilment of the encouragement given us, and published in the “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VII, in the following words:— “As soon as possible sanitariums are to be established in different places in southern California. Let a beginning be made in several places. If possible, let land be purchased on which buildings are already erected. Then, as the prosperity of the work demands, let appropriate enlargement be made. . . . In southern California there are many properties for sale on which buildings suitable for sanitarium work are already erected. Some of these properties should be purchased, and medical missionary work be carried forward on sensible, rational lines. Several small sanitariums are to be established in southern California, for the benefit of the multitudes drawn there in the hope of finding health. Instruction has been given me that now is our opportunity to reach the invalids flocking to the health resorts of southern California.” In December we learned that this place could be purchased for eleven thousand dollars, and I encouraged Dr. Whitelock to take steps to secure it. But our leading brethren in the Southern California Conference were not ready to co-operate in the matter, and nothing was done. In the summer of 1903 the property was offered to us for eight thousand dollars, and again we found that our brethren were not in a position to act. The drought continued, and the owners of this property were very much discouraged. In January, 1904, Dr. Whitelock wrote me that the mortgages could be bought for six thousand dollars, and perhaps less. Again I advised our brethren connected with the medical work in southern California to secure the place. But I learned that they were not prepared to act. Then I laid the matter before Sister Gotzian, and she consented to join me in securing the place. Then we telegraphed an offer of four thousand dollars for the mortgages. Two days later a telegram was returned accepting the offer. Meanwhile a letter from other parties in San Diego was on its way to New York, offering six thousand dollars for the mortgages. Shortly after we had secured the place, Elder and Mrs. J. F. Ballenger joined us in raising the amount to be paid for the property. Having secured the place, we needed a manager, and we found one ready for the work. Brother E. R. Palmer and his wife, who had spent the winter in Arizona, were in San Diego. Brother Palmer’s bronchial trouble, which had brought him West, was being overcome, and they were willing to take charge of the work of fitting up the sanitarium building for use. At first Brother Palmer had to work moderately and with great caution. His health would not admit of violent exertion, and our funds would not admit of hiring much help. He began the work cautiously, and the way opened for advance.9 When we visited the place in November last, we found that much had been done during the summer. The building had been thoroughly repaired, inside and out, and painted outside. It had been fitted up with electric lights, and about one third of the rooms were furnished. By taking advantage of several sales of furniture by wealthy families leaving the country, first-class furniture had been secured at very low prices. Our great anxiety about the place was the matter of an ample supply of water. Years ago, when the valley was prosperous, it depended upon the water of the mountain streams stored up by great dams, but as the result of the many years of drought, there was no water in the reservoirs to supply our needs. Some of our neighbors in the valley had good wells, but our place was a little to one side. The great question was, Can we get plenty of water by digging? The well-diggers had gone down eighty feet, and found a little water, but they wanted much more. O how much depended upon our finding plenty of good, pure water! With an abundance of water our work could go forward, but without it, what should we do? From the beginning, I had felt the assurance that the Lord would open the way for our work to advance; but who could tell when and how? Our people were deeply desirous of seeing the sanitarium make a success, and as we met them, the question was, “Have you found water?” While this important question was pending, Professor E. S. Ballenger and my son went to San Pasqual and Escondido to present to our people the encouragements that had attended the enterprise thus far, and the plan of organization that had been prepared, and to ask for their help. All were glad to share the burden of making this sanitarium, as far as possible, a San Diego County enterprise, and they gave freely according to their ability. About fifteen hundred dollars was subscribed, and half of this was brought back for immediate use. The very day of the return of Professor Ballenger and my son, with the evidence of the hearty, practical support of the people, the workers in the well struck a fine stream of good, pure water. The next morning Brother Palmer came up early to tell me that there was fourteen feet of water in the well. The water is soft and pure, and we are greatly rejoiced to know that there is an abundant supply. This well is a treasure more valuable than gold or silver or precious stones. The workers at the sanitarium are all cheerful and hard working. Every morning and evening they have a season of worship. For a day or two after reaching there, I met with them, and enjoyed the privilege very much. The blessing of the Lord rested upon us, and I was very sorry when sickness prevented me from attending regularly. When shall we open the place for patients? was a question often discussed. Several were impatiently waiting to enter, but how could we admit them while the house was being repainted inside, and while the large kitchen range was being set up? One morning a lady came unannounced, and insisted upon staying. Others came before we were ready, and patients continued to come till there were twenty, and our workers were kept so busy that there has been no time as yet for a formal opening. One evening, just before we left, a four-horse team drawing a large, heavy wagon, drove in, bringing gifts to the sanitarium from San Pasqual. In the load there were potatoes, squash, canned fruit, and two beautiful Jersey cows. During the last three nights of my stay at this institution, much instruction was given me regarding the sanitariums which for years have been greatly needed, and which should long ago have been equipped and set in working order. Medical missionary work is to be to the third angel’s message as the right hand to the body. Our sanitariums are one great means of doing medical missionary work. They are to reach the people in their need. The workers connected with our sanitariums are to be sympathetic, kind, and straightforward in their dealings with one another and with the patients. Their words and deeds are to be noble and upright. They are ever to receive from Christ light and grace and love to impart to those in darkness. By their efforts the sick, the sinful, the prodigals, who have left the Father’s house, are to be encouraged to return. God’s word to these workers is, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” “Fear not, neither be discouraged; for I am thy God.” Christ’s Ambassadors
By R. A. Underwood
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” 2 Cor. 5: 20. Christ’s commission is: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matt. 28: 18-20. “Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.” “The laborer is worthy of his hire.” Luke 10: 3, 7. “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” 1 Tim. 4: 15, 16. These scriptures show that the work of the gospel minister demands his whole time and energies to be given to preaching, teaching, and laboring for souls. An ambassador is a minister of first rank employed by a government to represent it and manage its interests at the court, or seat, of some foreign power. Such minister, or ambassador, looks to the appointing power that sent him, for his support. We should not therefore expect Christ to set apart men to preach the gospel, and leave them and their families to the mercy and charities of a cold, indifferent world. No; Christ could not do this; but in harmony with every principle of right dealing, he must provide for the support of the laborers whom he sends forth into the great harvest-field. Is it possible that this perfect Being has never provided a system by which his own servants should have their reasonable wants supplied, but be left to the tender mercies of others upon whom God has laid no burden of duty? This class of servants devote their lives to God’s cause, renounce the honors of wealth and the world, leave home and every association dear to mankind—and all for the Lord’s sake. Touching upon this principle, the apostle Paul, in 1 Cor. 9: 7-10, says: “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written.” These questions answer themselves. Who ever heard of a nation’s sending an army to fight an enemy, and not providing for its wants? Is Christ less righteous than a wicked, cruel nation?—O, no! He provides that the laboring ox shall be generously cared for. Then will he not see that his faithful ministers are supported? Some have thought that they paid the ministers when they paid their tithe. In this they are greatly mistaken; for Christ commissions and sends forth his laborers. He also pays them through his own agents from the tithes and offerings devoted to that purpose by himself. Notice the language: “And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.” “Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave-offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe.” Num. 18: 21, 26. “And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one10 to his field. Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries.” Neh. 13: 10-12. So we see that Christ has wisely reserved of all the income received by man—from the cultivation of the soil, from the fruit of the trees, from the minerals of the earth, from the flocks and herds, from the resource of man’s physical and mental powers, and from all sources whatsoever—one tenth, as an ever-living acknowledgment (1) that Christ is the rightful owner of this world by virtue of the infinite price he paid for man on Calvary; (2) that Christ is man’s personal redeemer, and proprietor of all the goods entrusted to his care; (3) that, though man failed to respect God’s right of property in Eden, through the mercy of God man is given a second trial, and through the gospel of Jesus Christ he may enter his lost paradise again, tried and purified; (4) that Christ’s chosen ambassadors are to be supported by the tithe thus set apart by Christ as “holy unto the Lord;” and by thus co-operating with God, man becomes a colaborer with Jesus Christ in the redemption of a lost world. Who shall not say, “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel”? “Amen!” “Is It I?”
By E. J. Harvey
IN Matt. 14:14-21 and John 6:5-12 we read the intensely interesting account of the feeding of many thousands of people with the few loaves and fishes supplied by a little lad. Truly it was wonderful how so many thousands of hungry men, women, and children could be fed, and still twelve basketfuls be gathered up of the fragments of the five barley loaves and two small fishes. What a lesson we have in this miracle! Jesus commanded his disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” Surely it is sinful to waste any food, even the fragments of plain food, to say nothing of the extravagant outlay on the part of many for luxuries and dainties. Shall we not follow Daniel’s example, resolving in our hearts, by God’s grace to carry out that purpose not to defile ourselves? “Dare to be a Daniel.” Now is the time for us to “abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;” for we are pilgrims and strangers in this world. Think, too, of the millions of starving men, women, and children who might be fed if we would deny ourselves, and would make every effort in our power to supply their need even for plain food. We are living in the last days, of which our Saviour said, “As it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Pride, fulness of bread, abundance of idleness, and neglect of the poor and needy, brought destruction. They were, as people are now, “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.” God bids us awake. What I desire especially to call the attention of our people to at this time is a matter of still greater importance. It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Are we withholding the word of God from our fellow men? In the Pacific Union Recorder of Sept. 29, 1904, are these words from the spirit of prophecy: “The message of Revelation 14 is the message that we are to bear to the world. It is the bread of life for these last days. Millions of human beings are perishing in ignorance and iniquity. But, many of those to whom God has committed the stores of life look upon these souls with indifference. Many forget that to them has been entrusted the bread of life for those starving for salvation.” The paper containing the words that I have just quoted had been thrown away, and I found it afterward. How many times we see papers that contain the message for this time, even the bread of life for perishing souls, torn and thrown away, wasted wantonly. Let me appeal to my dear brethren and sisters who love the truth for these last days, and the souls who are to be warned, and some of them saved, by reading and obeying the very message contained in our periodicals: O, do not waste these precious leaves, but rather, if you can not find time to experience the joy of handing them out with a pleasant word, to those within your reach, send them, post-paid, to those who are calling for them through the REVIEW, and share in the joy of seeing souls thus saved in the kingdom. The Sabbath and Man
By Cyrus Simmons
“The Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. It was good for man, or God would not have made it for him. “Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” Ex. 31:13. The Sabbath was made for man, and enjoined to be kept in order to preserve a knowledge of God in the world. If the Sabbath had always been kept, it is safe to say that an infidel, an atheist, or a heathen would never have been known. A knowledge of God is essential to salvation. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3. The importance of keeping the Sabbath needs no further demonstration. The Lord speaks in prophecy of a day power that would arise that would “think” to change his law. Dan. 7:25. The papacy admits that it has changed the law of God by substituting the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, and it claims that it has the power to do so, declaring at the same time that no authority for the change can be found in the Bible. Since the observance of the Sabbath is a means by which we know God, and to know God is to have eternal life, should we not be exceedingly mindful that we are keeping the very day of God’s appointment? If we keep a day that has been set apart by man, that nowhere in the sacred pages receives divine recognition as the Sabbath, are we not commandment-breakers, and in a position to lose eternal life? The question may naturally be propounded, “How do we know that we know God?” For our edification it is answered: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” 1 John 2:3. Can we keep the commandments acceptably to God by observing nine of them and breaking the Sabbath, or by keeping Sunday for the Sabbath? That none may be deceived on this point the Lord thus speaks: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10. What language can be stronger and plainer than the following: “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4. There is no escape from this statement. All ten of the precepts of the decalogue are obligatory, including the seventh-day Sabbath of the Lord thy God. Wonderful light is illuminating the world, revealing that a true knowledge of God, and eternal life, are inseparable from the observance of the true Sabbath. HAVE you time to sit and read the newspaper for an hour or more every day, but no time to read your Bible? Have you time to attend the concert hall, the ballroom or lecture, but no time to attend the missionary meeting or the house of prayer? Have you time to talk about all the news of the day, both home and foreign, but no time to speak of Christ or his love to your fellow men? Have you time to wash and scrub, to make your house clean, but no time to pray that God may make your heart clean? Have you time to spend days, and weeks, and months, and years in a business that will soon end, but no time to give to the business of salvation that will never end? Have you time to think and plan for the preparation of daily food, but no time to give to the question of heavenly manna? Have you a whole life energy to devote to the service of self and the world, but no time to spend in the service of God? “Choose you this day whom ye will serve!”—Selected. In the Looking-Glass
By Priscilla Leonard
THIS world is like a looking-glass,
And if you want to see
People frown at you as you pass,
And use you slightingly;
If you want quarrels, snubs, and foes,
Put on a fretful face—
Scowl at the world—you'll find it shows
The very same grimace. The world is like a looking-glass,
And if you wish to be
On pleasant terms with all who pass,
Smile on them pleasantly;
Be helpful, generous, and true,
And very soon you'll find
Each face reflected back to you
An image bright and kind. — Priscilla Leonard, in the Churchman. How to Improve Your Personality
By R. J. BRYANT
How can I best improve my appearance, and yet not become foppish or dudish? How can I meet people who are better educated than I am? How can I bring the truth to such persons? These and many other questions are constantly recurring to every good Seventh-day Adventist. And who can say they are not very important questions? If we endeavor to obtain a hearing from some prominent and influential person, the first thing he looks at is our general appearance; the second, the way in which we address him and introduce the object of our call. If you wish to call on a lady or gentleman, and be used as one, you must have the appearance of a lady or gentleman, as this is all others have to judge you by at first. If you wish to create an interest in the minds of those upon whom you call, you must have the faculty that will enable you to do so. But how may we cultivate this faculty? And how may we improve our personal appearance? These are the questions that now come before us. “I am too poor to have a neat appearance,” is an excuse that no business man or woman will accept nowadays; for there is no man or woman, no boy or girl, too poor to be neat and clean. To have a clean face and hands, with well-combed hair; a clean collar and tie, with the tie in its proper place; clothes well brushed and pressed; polished shoes; and a special liking and use of the bath tub,—it will all cost so little that no one can make the cost of it an excuse for not having an attractive personality. And no man or woman, boy or girl, of good appearance will dare risk losing prestige by attempting to go among the people without first seeing that their personal appearance is immaculate. No greater opportunity is offered to any one to cultivate a neat and attractive personal appearance, along with a spirit of love, kindness, and refinement, than that of soliciting for our denominational books. The meeting and conversing with people in all walks of life; the study of how to please and persuade; the business transactions in a kind and Christlike way, together with the opportunity to travel, will endow one with a power that will be felt wherever one goes. Is your life's aim the ministry, the medical work, the Bible work, the school work, or something else that will require a great deal of personality wherever you go? If so, spend a year or two canvassing. It will do you more good than a college course, and, combined with the college course, will give you the start in life for which you are looking. Do you want to do good all your life? Do you want to take a part in spreading this gospel of the kingdom to all the world in this generation? Do you want to do all this in a way that will improve your personal appearance and manners, besides fitting you for more good in this world and preparing you for the next? Then enter the canvassing work; study it as a science; make it a life-work and aim. It will do as much as all else, if not more, to fit and prepare you for that beautiful home in the earth made new.