Earlier text: Live Day by DayCriticisms of the Sabbath-School Lessons Examined
By W. A. Colcord
The Criticisms on the Present Sabbath-School Lessons Examined in the Light of the Spirit of Prophecy
The other day the writer received, in a Battle Creek Sanitarium envelope, a copy of a thirty-seven-page leaflet, written by A. T. Jones, containing some criticisms of the present senior Sabbath-school lessons. The writer of these criticisms makes some very serious charges, and draws conclusions which, if true, are most sad and startling. Not only does he claim that the lessons themselves are “fundamentally wrong and destructive of the very foundations,” but by issuing them he asserts that “the Seventh-day Adventist ‘denomination’ has swung entirely away from the true Seventh-day Adventist ground, as well as from the true Christian ground,” and now stands committed “to sheer legalism.” We do not by any means claim that these Sabbath-school lessons are perfect, or above criticism, or that they could not have been improved. Should it be proved by the Word of God and the writings of the spirit of prophecy that error is taught in them, we should gladly reject and condemn the error; but we are not ready to admit that the writer of the leaflet under review has, as yet, furnished any such proof of the terrible and destructive error he claims is contained in them. Strong and decided issue is taken in these criticisms with the point brought out in the first lessons, drawn from Gen. 2: 17, that Adam’s life was conditioned upon obedience; that the arrangement with him was, “Obey and live, or disobey and die;” and by a line of reasoning, and the introduction and misuse of certain quotations from the writings of the spirit of prophecy, the attempt is made to prove that this is altogether erroneous, contrary to the tenor and teachings of the spirit of prophecy, “fundamentally wrong, and destructive of the very foundation of the universe of the God of love and liberty.” It is put thus:— But worse than all this even: such a conception [as the one alleged to be set forth in the lessons] presents to us God as being one who did not have enough confidence in his own goodness or the merit of his own truth or the worth of his own grace, to lead him to trust to this to win their free confidence and loving obedience; but to secure it, must put them under bonds of a legal system of bargain and “compact,” of “condition” and proviso! But if the writer of these criticisms desired to examine and test these lessons by the spirit of prophecy in a fair and candid way, why did he not quote what the spirit of prophecy says directly on this very passage of scripture,7 Gen. 2: 17? Here is what “Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 60, says in commenting upon this verse:— The warning given to our first parents—“In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”—did not imply that they were to die on the very day when they partook of the forbidden fruit. But on that day the irrevocable sentence would be pronounced. Immortality was promised them on condition of obedience; by transgression they would forfeit eternal life. That very day they would be doomed to death. This, the reader will notice, teaches exactly what the Sabbath-school lessons teach. Moreover, these lessons say that the life not only of man, but of angels, depends upon the same condition; and this, likewise, is abundantly proved by the writings of the spirit of prophecy. Note carefully the following:— Like the angels, the dwellers in Eden had been placed upon probation; their happy estate could be retained only on condition of fidelity to the Creator’s law. They could obey and live, or disobey and perish. God had made them the recipients of rich blessings; but should they disregard his will, he who spared not the angels that sinned, could not spare them; transgression would forfeit his gifts, and bring upon them misery and ruin.—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” p. 53. God placed man under law, as an indispensable condition of his very existence.—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 49. They had many questions to ask relative to many things which they could but indistinctly comprehend. The angels graciously and lovingly gave them the information they desired. They also gave them the sad history of Satan’s rebellion and fall. They then distinctly informed them that the tree of knowledge was placed in the garden to be a pledge of their obedience and love to God; that the high and happy estate of the holy angels was to be retained upon condition of obedience; that they were similarly situated; that they could obey the law of God and be inexpressibly happy, or disobey, and lose their high estate, and be plunged into hopeless despair.—“Great Controversy,” Vol. I, page 33. These quotations, we repeat, teach exactly what the Sabbath-school lessons teach. But the author of these criticisms denies the truth here stated, and declares that such an arrangement would be a covenant of “legality” and “bondage.” He says:— They knew no such thing as “Obey and Live;” much less did they know any such thing as a bargain, a “compact,” or any hard-and-fast “condition” upon which “only” they could have life. The conclusion which he draws is expressed in these words:— Therefore, the simple and plain fact, and the plain Scripture truth, is that Adam and angels began their existence with life; and that this life was, by the gift of the grace of God, in creating them living souls; and was not, in any sense, under, nor was it by virtue of, any compact or bargain or condition or anything of the kind. Let the reader compare these statements with the foregoing quotations from the spirit of prophecy. Once more, we quote the following clear and decisive statement upon the “condition of eternal life,” as made in “Steps to Christ,” page 77:— The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,—just what it was in paradise before the fall of our first parents,—perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized. Why did not the writer of these published criticisms give these quotations, and expend some logic upon them? These are found in the very books from which he made the quotations he gave, and they certainly bear upon the question at issue as plainly and directly as anything he quoted. The reason is apparent,—they would have upheld in very words the teaching of these lessons, and completely forestalled, upset, and disproved any such criticisms or conclusions as he made or came to respecting them. The covenant or arrangement upon which Adam and Eve began their life, as set forth in these lessons, it is claimed, was a covenant “without Christ.” But this is not a necessary conclusion at all. In the condition of life, as laid down in Gen. 2: 17, there is nothing said about Christ or faith; but shall we conclude that there was no Christ and no faith then? Was there no one and no means that could have kept Adam from falling? In the terms of the new covenant, as recorded in Jer. 31: 31-34, there is not a word said about Christ or faith; but shall we conclude that there is, therefore, no Christ and no faith in the new covenant? Such deductions, however, would be just as logical and just as fair and consistent as those drawn by the author of these criticisms upon the Sabbath-school lessons. Because everything is not always stated which is involved or implied in a note, question, or answer, shall we conclude that it must necessarily therefore be denied or ruled out, and that we have a right to draw any conclusions which this sort of logic would warrant? Any one who will allow himself to indulge in such a method of reasoning as this can come to about any conclusion he desires, and can involve the Word of God itself in contradictions and inconsistencies. In Sister White’s article in the last number of the REVIEW, the following statements are made:— “The law is God’s standard, from which there must be no swerving. . . It makes a great difference to men whether they receive or reject the precepts of Jehovah.” “Obedience to God’s law is the condition of salvation.” Pursuing the method of argument employed in these criticisms upon the Sabbath-school lessons, one might take these statements and declare that the writer of them had abandoned repentance, faith in Christ, and baptism, as essentials to salvation, and set forth “a system of legalism only.” But after all had been said, the words of Christ, as recorded in Holy Writ, would still stand: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” The logic employed in these criticisms would “entangle” the Lord himself in his talk, and make him out a mere legalist, and a teacher of a covenant of “legality” and “bondage.” It is unjustifiable to say that these lessons set forth the new or everlasting covenant as a covenant “without Christ,” as may be proved by any one who will take the trouble to read them. See note 2, at the top of page 9; notes 5 and 6, on page 11; notes 2 and 3, on page 13; the note on page 14, etc., etc., of the Lesson Quarterly. These teach the very opposite of such an idea, as does the entire series of lessons when taken as a whole. Gen. 2: 17; Gen. 3: 22-24; and Rom. 5: 18, 19, are sufficient to show that life is conditioned upon obedience. When we accept Christ as our substitute, we are then choosing the way of obedience as truly as Adam would have chosen it had he never sinned. The last scripture referred to plainly states that we are made righteous by the “obedience” of Christ, and that life is secured to us by his righteousness, or obedience; so that, whether the question of life is considered from the original condition laid down to Adam, or from the provision offered after the fall, in either case, the condition is based upon man’s choosing the way of God, which is the way of obedience. Much more might be said, but this is sufficient to show that these criticisms are clearly a misrepresentation of both the spirit of prophecy and the Sabbath-school lessons. We are sorry to say that we can not regard this effort as an honest, earnest, or sincere endeavor to “edify the body of Christ,” and “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” but rather an effort to tear down and destroy. Would that it were otherwise. Becoming as Little Children
“He called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 18: 2, 3. One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollar Fund
By I. H. Evans
For Special Work at Home and Abroad Received on the $150,000 Fund
up to Sept. 3, 1907 Atlantic Union Conference Central New England .......... $2,635.61
Chesapeake .................... 480.29
Eastern Pennsylvania .......... 1,793.50
Greater New York .............. 462.07
Maine .......................... 563.78
New Jersey ..................... 552.63
New York ....................... 1,626.50
Southern New England ........... 1,138.50
Vermont ........................ 922.83
Virginia ....................... 468.58
West Pennsylvania .............. 1,371.84
West Virginia .................. 336.64
Western New York ............... 1,306.67
Total .......................... 13,659.44 Canadian Union Conference Maritime ........................ 317.43
Quebec ........................... 63.64
Ontario .......................... 682.31
Total .......................... 1,063.38 Colorado ........................ 1,219.08
Iowa ............................. 3,930.12
Kansas ........................... 2,445.89
Missouri ......................... 1,278.64
Nebraska ......................... 5,379.82
Wyoming .......................... 740.94
Total .......................... 14,994.49 Washington churches ............. 1,323.09 East Michigan .................... 1,824.77
Indiana .......................... 5,152.07
North Michigan ................... 421.57
Northern Illinois ................ 2,378.74
Ohio ............................. 4,002.50
Southern Illinois ................ 767.08
West Michigan .................... 3,577.34
Wisconsin ........................ 2,620.19
Total .......................... 20,744.26 North Pacific Union Conference Conference not specified ........ 362.96
British Columbia ................ 112.80
Montana .......................... 292.05
Upper Columbia .................. 1,722.87
Western Washington .............. 1,160.26
Idaho ............................ 854.90
Western Oregon .................. 1,420.47
Total .......................... 5,926.31 Northern Union Conference Alberta .......................... 156.10
Manitoba ......................... 239.70
Saskatchewan Mission Field ...... 34.85
Minnesota ........................ 5,119.95
South Dakota ..................... 2,645.47
North Dakota ..................... 1,768.66
Conference not specified ........ 73.82
Total .......................... 10,038.55 Arizona .......................... 236.99
California-Nevada ............... 6,028.92
Southern California .............. 649.03
Utah ............................. 327.43
Total .......................... 7,242.37 Southern Union Conference South Carolina ................... 135.69
Alabama .......................... 264.05
Tennessee River .................. 723.55
Florida .......................... 551.77
North Carolina ................... 455.50
Kentucky .......................... 30.36
Cumberland ....................... 732.74
Louisiana ........................ 390.61
Mississippi ...................... 252.76
Georgia ........................... 357.89
Total .......................... 3,894.92 Southwestern Union Conference Not specified .................... 20.18
Arkansas .......................... 373.86
Oklahoma .......................... 1,857.23
Texas ............................. 1,198.91
Total .......................... 3,450.18 Unknown .......................... 153.20 Algeria .......................... 13.33
Australia ........................ 163.84
Bermuda .......................... 35.00
China ............................ 31.60
South Africa ..................... 228.16
Jamaica .......................... 13.41
Yukon Territory .................. 10.00
England .......................... 256.32
West Africa ...................... 14.06
Mexico ........................... 2.00
Costa Rica ....................... 6.25
India ............................ 18.88
South America .................... 30.95
Switzerland ...................... 9.69
Panama ........................... 19.00
Nicaragua ........................ 4.00
Central American Mission ........ 26.00
Trinidad ......................... .34
Norway ........................... 25.00
Japan ............................ 12.50
Hayti ............................ 5.00
Egypt ............................ 51.55
Palestine ......................... 2.00
Tobago, W. I. .................... 1.22
Cuba ............................. 8.00
Total .......................... 988.10 Grand Total ...................... $83,478.20 All remittances should be made to the treasurer of the State conference wherein the remitter resides. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then remittance should be made to I. H. Evans, Treasurer, Takoma Park, Washington, D. C., and not to the Review and Herald Publishing Association. The Free Religious Association and Sunday Laws
The National Tribune, speaking editorially upon the purpose of the “Free Religious Association,” says:— For many years the Free Religious Association has been trying to get the State laws prohibiting the performance of common labor on the sabbath before the Supreme Court of the United States for adjudication. The association claims with much vehemence that these laws are fetters upon conscience, and in the nature of the establishment of state religions. The editor cites the Tennessee persecutions, the decision of the State Supreme Court affirming the decision of the lower court, and the arrest and fining of Alfred Bergefeldt, of Tacoma, Wash., for Sunday labor after observing the true Sabbath, and the decision of the Supreme Court of that State affirming the decision of the lower court. The editor draws the following conclusion:— The State has full power for any reason that may seem sufficient to prohibit all common labor upon any given day. There need be no question of religion enter into this. Reasons of a sanitary or economic nature, or even those relating to public order, are all that are necessary, and we are confident that the Supreme Court of the United States will so decide. The confidence of the editor is probably well founded—not necessarily upon the justice of the matter at all; but the Supreme Court, having decided that “this is a Christian nation,” has opened the way for defining the religion of the people. This does not seem to strike the editor of the National Tribune as a serious matter; but rather a thing so necessary that the flimsiest of reasons for the imprisonment of Sabbath-keepers—“reasons of a sanitary or economic nature”—can be lightly set before the public as sufficient justification. In ancient heathen times, when a great building was erected, they must have a human victim under its corner-stone. It is very appropriate, therefore, that in the national establishment of the Sunday institution (of heathen origin) in the United States, it should have victims upon which to set its corner-stone. Its antichristian character is shown in the fact that in every locality where the Sunday institution has been enforced by law, its first, and generally its only victims have been Christian men who have conscientiously observed the Sabbath of the Lord. It has always been characteristic of heathen religions to seek state recognition and legal enforcement. The demands of Sunday advocates in this regard stamp the institution at once with the nature of its origin—antichristian; and the course of the States and of the United States in upholding the institution at the expense of the religious rights of the people is setting before the world an example of medievalism. The sorrowful part of it is that so many of the people “love to have it so.” Finishing Their Allotment
THE following conferences or districts have finished their allotments in the matter of the $150,000 fund. It will be a joyous day for the rank and file of our people when the last field has sent in the last dollar of its apportionment—not because they have eased their shoulders of a burden, but because a large undertaking which means much to the advancement of this message has been accomplished. The fields that have finished their apportionment are these:— District of Columbia, Arizona, Nebraska, Southern New England, Egypt, Indiana, Utah, Ohio, Virginia, West Michigan, Wisconsin, Oklahoma. The Merced Camp-Meeting
By Ellen G. White
AFTER the service in the Los Angeles church, we went out to Glendale Sanitarium, six miles from Los Angeles. There I rested until Wednesday night, May 22, when we took the cars for Merced, where the camp-meeting for the California-Nevada Conference was to be held. Our train left Los Angeles at 11:30 P. M. I was very weary, but unable to sleep much during the night. We arrived at Merced a little after noon the following day, and found our brethren very busy preparing the camp for the meetings, which were to begin that evening. This camp-meeting was the first effort put forth by our people in that city. Before the camp-meeting there were only two families in Merced who were keeping the Sabbath, and one of these lived some miles out of the city. Camp-Meetings as Missionary Efforts
The church of Christ is organized for missionary purposes. Our camp-meetings are among the most important agencies in our work for fulfilling these purposes. Through them we may reach many with the gospel message. Our camp-meetings ought to be planned with a view to warning the world, and converting souls to the truth. The holding of camp-meetings in such places as Merced is in harmony with the following instruction in “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 33:— “If our camp-meetings are conducted as they should be, they will indeed be a light in the world. They should be held in the large cities and towns where the message of truth has not been proclaimed. And they should continue for two or three weeks.” “It may sometimes be advisable to hold a camp-meeting for several successive seasons in the same place; but as a rule the place of meeting should be changed from year to year. Instead of having mammoth camp-meetings in a few localities, more good would be done by having smaller meetings in many places. Thus the work will be constantly extending into new fields.” “Just as soon as the standard of truth is lifted in one locality, and it is safe to leave the new converts, we must plan to enter other new fields. Our camp-meetings are a power, and when held in a place where the community can be stirred, they will have far greater power than when, for the convenience of our own people they are located where, because of previous meetings and the rejection of truth, the public interest is deadened.” The importance of our camp-meetings as a strong missionary effort is by many not fully realized. Some who profess to believe the truth look upon it as a loss of time and money to assemble once a year to worship God. They place their worldly interests before God’s requirements. Many remain away from camp-meeting because to attend would require a small sacrifice of time and means. So small an offering they begrudge to Him who has blessed them in basket and store! We should make more of our camp-meetings. For these gatherings we should secure all the ministerial talent that can be spared from other lines of labor. Let the laborers do personal work with the people. Let them meet the brethren and sisters in little companies for seasons of prayer. Even if the outward circumstances seemingly make it difficult to hold the attention of the people, their interest must not be allowed to flag. To maintain an interest we may find it necessary to work very hard; but we should remember that God has entrusted us with a message that we must bear to the people. Shortly before attending the Merced camp-meeting, in the night season I seemed to be in a meeting where the truth was being presented in clear lines. Many souls were convinced, and they were pleading for the grace of Christ to be revealed in them. Those who had accepted the message were praying for sanctification through the truth, that they might be enabled to reveal it in all its beauty to others. There were others present who were persuaded that the message being presented was the truth of God, but they were not prepared to yield to its claims. I saw that the Holy Spirit was moving upon their hearts. Then a voice was heard, “Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep.” I heard voices saying, “I want the endowment of the grace of God. Christ has given his life for me, and I will give my life for him. I want to have his efficiency, that I may reveal his grace to others.” Other scenes passed before me. I saw converts being baptized, and as they went forward in this solemn ordinance, their faces shone with the assurance of the love and approval of God. I have hoped that this representation given me might be fulfilled as the result of the meetings at Merced, and that many souls would take their position as loyal subjects of God, obeying his commandments, and grasping the promise of complete forgiveness. I felt a heavy burden, that the laborers at the meeting might do all in their power to clear the King’s highway, and to become purified channels of God’s grace. I spoke in the large tent Sabbath forenoon, and my soul was drawn out with an intense longing for the power of God to be bestowed upon the congregation. I spoke of the self-denial and self-sacrifice of our Saviour, that we might have an opportunity to win a life that measures with the life of God. I felt impressed to call for a humbling of soul and an earnest effort to remove everything from the life that would hinder the free working of the Spirit of God, that our brethren and sisters might go back to their homes with an experience far in advance of what they had had heretofore. We need to search well our own hearts, that we may not be found among the commandment-breakers. We need more prayer, more of earnest seeking of the Lord. The camp-ground is a favorable place to carry forward this work. We may come to God, knowing that he hears and answers the sincere petitions of his people. If we will come to God with the simplicity of children, asking him for what we need, and at the same time manifest a willingness to make any sacrifice for him, he will answer the prayer of humble faith. Many of us need yet to learn what it really means to sacrifice for the truth. Self has grown to such proportions that we are unable to realize our duty, in view of the world that must be warned of God’s impending judgments. God will not accept the web until every thread of selfishness is withdrawn. It is because of the manifestation of selfishness that the labor of some results in few if any conversions, and the salvation of our God is not revealed as it should be. We are all, ministers and people, in danger of coming short. Many are far from where they should be. Self is striving for the mastery, and the heart naturally craves self-indulgence. We must lay aside our own natural temperaments, and our perverted ideas. We are to stand before the world as representatives of Christ in his self-denial. Let the church become united in Christ Jesus in working for purity and perfection of character. There needs to be a practical daily sanctification of the spirit.10 Before one is prepared for Christ’s coming there must be seen in the life the fruits of the Spirit. There must be a self-discipline, a wrestling with God for victory till the victory is gained. Then will ascend a shout of praise to God. Unless those who are supposed to have in their possession large gifts maintain unwearied diligence, they will, because of self-confidence and self-righteousness, become careless and move unguardedly. Forgetting their need of continuing instant in prayer, they will lightly regard their moral responsibilities. Those who do not continually sanctify their souls through the grace that Christ is ever ready to supply, will be on losing ground. The time has come when we must seek for the power of the Holy Spirit, a power that shall give force to the warnings that are to be given to the world. Souls are thirsting for the living waters of life, and to us the Lord has entrusted the sacred work of opening to them the Scriptures in clear, distinct, positive testimony. The words we speak are to be an evidence that the Holy Spirit is speaking through us as his messengers. God will speak to our souls as we labor for him. Angels of God will ever surround his humble, consecrated workman. When the laborers for God consecrate their services unreservedly to their Master, and by drawing very near to him, learn how to draw near to the people, he will manifest his grace through them, and hearts will be softened and subdued under its influence. It is the privilege of the laborers so to represent the truth in their words and deportment, that their lives will be a power to convince unbelievers of the truths they are teaching. When the workers come into the place where God can work through them, they will understand the words of Christ, “I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” Christ has given ample evidence of his love for the human race. He gave his precious life that men and women might be redeemed from the power of Satan. I beseech my brethren, as the ambassadors of Christ, to labor earnestly for the salvation of souls. Leave no means untried that will bring the truth before the people, that they may become cleansed in heart and refined in character. Teach the repenting ones to come in faith to the One who has given his life for all mankind. Labor for them until they come to the place where they will say, “I will no longer dishonor God by transgression of his law. I will be obedient to all his commandments. I give my life to him who gave his life for me. By obedience to the will of God I will reveal that I am transformed by his grace.” At the close of my discourse on Sabbath in the tent at Merced, I asked those who desired to seek the Lord with full determination of purpose to come forward. To this appeal there was an earnest response on the part of many. Some gave themselves to the Lord for the first time, and some who had backslidden renewed their consecration to God. Prayer was offered for these, and another meeting appointed especially for them, that they might unite in seeking the Lord. Sunday afternoon I spoke again in the large tent. There was a good attendance from the outside public. The next day, at noon, we took the cars for St. Helena, and reached our home in the evening. After the strain of my six weeks’ traveling and speaking, I was glad for an opportunity to rest for a time before I should attend the camp-meeting in St. Helena. I do not regret having made this journey; for the Lord has given strength to bear testimony to his people in every place I visited. I am grateful to God for his blessing which attended me. I have sometimes been weak, and have suffered physically, but I was not compelled to leave any appointment unfilled, and whenever I stood before the people, I felt the power of the Spirit imparted to me. I praise the Lord that even in my old age, I am still able to do something in the work of the Lord. The Advent
By L. D. SANTEE
EARNEST his ministers will work and pray,
For love of Jesus counting all things loss,
While hosts of darkness slowly fall away
Before the lifted cross. And still the “Holy One,” with power divine,
Pleads with the guilty to accept his grace;
In marts of home or in far-distant climes
His footsteps we may trace. And in his own good time he’ll come again,
And earth shall blossom like a garden fair;
To bring reward, to banish death and pain,
The Saviour comes in air. Hail, coming King, descending through the sky,
At thy dread word, the trembling earth shall burn;
Unnumbered hosts believe thy advent nigh,
And long for thy return. The Call of the Hour
By I. H. Evans
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS are engaged in a stupendous work. No other people even claim that the call of God has come to them to give the threefold message of Revelation 14. No other denomination thinks it has a specific message for all the world which must be given “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” This great work to be done so speedily makes every true Seventh-day Adventist an active missionary. He feels that the “call of God” has come to him to give this message to the world. Other people may have their prejudices against different nationalities. Not so those believers who have heard the world-wide, Macedonian cry, “Come over and help us.” That cry for help rings in the ears of Seventh-day Adventists like the voice of God. It is their call to service. To those who hear this voice speaking to them there is no choice in fields of labor, nor is there prejudice against any people. The Chinese, the Japanese, the East Indian, and the African, are all “one in Christ Jesus.” All mankind is to be the recipient of the grace of God. That there is a great work to be done for the African race all admit. Nor is all this missionary endeavor to be bestowed on those who live in far-away Africa. In our own country we have not less than eight million colored people who are in need of the third angel’s message. The work already bestowed upon this people gives evidence of the fruitfulness of the soul-harvest to be reaped by those who labor. In some of the Southern States the believers in the third angel’s message who are colored, outnumber the white believers. These people pay their tithes and offerings, and are as faithful in their spiritual duties as are any people. The work among this people has been made difficult by social conditions over which the believers in the message have no control. But the Lord has given us hundreds of sincere, honest souls from among this people, who are loyal and true to the work of God. Last year we took a donation for the work among that people. We were disappointed that the amount was so small. The October offering aggregated in 1905 over twelve thousand dollars, while in 1906 it dropped to about five thousand dollars. This year we certainly need to make it ten thousand dollars. The work has been hindered by a lack of funds, and now we have an opportunity to make a liberal donation to this good work. The donation will be apportioned on the following basis:—
Atlantic Union Conference ...... 10%
Southwestern Union Conference .. 20%
Southern Union Conference ...... 70% The Southern Union Conference then divides its portion as follows:—
Huntsville school ........................ 40%
Southern Missionary Society ..... 30%
North Carolina ......................... 5%
South Carolina ......................... 5%
Georgia .................................. 5%
Alabama ................................. 5%
Mississippi .............................. 5%
Louisiana ................................ 5% The date for this offering is Sabbath, October 5. All ought to plan definitely for their offering. We believe the great need in this part of the Lord’s work in our own home land is “the call of the hour.” Surely the need is great, the call imperative, and God’s people must respond. We truly hope for a liberal donation on this occasion.