Earlier text: A Few Reasons for Observing the SabbathOne of the hardest things in the ministry of the word of God, is to bring it home to the conscience of the individual. And in speaking to a large assembly of people, those portions of truth which are adapted to one particular class are almost sure to be appropriated by another, while those for whom the admonitions are especially intended pass them by without consideration. If we preach against covetousness, and enjoin liberality, old deacon Hunks, who sits in the corner, wraps himself up in his long robe and says to himself, “Well, that doesn’t mean me, I’m sure;” while the next day, perhaps, we shall find that some dear, earnest, generous soul, who has been for years habitually casting all her living into the treasury of the Lord, is aroused and alarmed by the thought of being covetous, and so proceeds at once to make some fresh sacrifice for the sake of benefiting others around her, who, perhaps, are better able to aid her than she is to assist them. If we rebuke levity and vanity; instead of our words’ reaching the hearts of the gay and high-headed and light-hearted, they fall with chilling weight upon the tender conscience of some poor soul, whose smile on emerging from regions of darkness is fresh and fragrant as a May-flower creeping out from among departing snows, but who is now chilled and discouraged, and sinks back again into despondency and gloom. If we rebuke worldly and excessive care for the things of time and sense, the thrifty worldling at whom we aim our shaft passes it unnoticed, while his neighbor, who is shiftless and thriftless, and who was never busy enough to earn an honest living for himself and his family, picks up our words and uses them to excuse himself in continued idleness and indifference, under pretense of trusting in the Lord. There seems to be only one way of meeting this universal tendency of fallen nature to evade and disregard the divine precepts, and that is by direct personal appeal to the parties concerned. David would have listened approvingly to any number of homilies treating of justice, mercy, purity, morality, and the fear of God, and gone away neither better nor worse for the instruction which he received; but when the prophet Nathan laid hold upon his conscience with the grip of honest faithfulness, and said to him, “Thou art the man!” he quailed before the servant of God, and reverently accepted the message which he brought. “I taught you publicly and from house to house,” said the apostle; his method of labor was “warning every man, and entreating every man,” that he might present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. It is difficult to remedy personal faults by public exhortations. Sometimes we may attain our end, but often it will be much more easily accomplished by direct, personal endeavor. We need to take men by the hand, to speak to them face to face, kindly but faithfully pointing out their errors, showing them their wrongs, and entreating them to turn from every false way. We may fear rebuff, but usually our fears are vain, and if our reproofs are disregarded, there is still some satisfaction. The man of God who rose from his bed to reprove a blasphemer, and only received in return scoffs and taunts, when asked what he got for his pains, answered, “A soft pillow.” And when in the fear of God, and in the spirit and love of Christ we have done our duty to persons who are going astray, we win for ourselves a quiet heart, a soft pillow, a conscience void of offense toward God or man. But often the seed that is sown in these private conversations becomes fruitful beyond all our expectations; since it does not depend upon our own power or standing to give force to what we say. The child may sow seed which shall bud and blossom and bring forth plenteous fruit. A little hand may place in the soil the seed which shall spring up and reach gigantic stature, and live when we are dead. Thus the word which we speak with trembling may be made powerful by the blessing of the Lord, and our prayers may be answered and our tears rewarded by the turning of sinners from the error of their ways, and the joy that is in Heaven when they come home to God.—The Wayside. Over the roofs of the pioneers
Gathers the moss of a hundred years;
On man and his works has passed the change
Which needs must be in a century's range.
The land lies open and warm in the sun,
Anvils clamor and mill-wheels run—
Flocks on the hillsides, herds on the plain,
The wilderness gladdened with fruit and grain. But the living faith of the settlers old
A dead profession their children hold;
To the lust of office and greed of trade
A stepping-stone is the altar made. The church, to place and power the door,
Rebukes the sin of the world no more,
Nor sees its Lord in the homeless poor.
Everywhere is the grasping hand,
And eager adding of land to land;
And earth which seemed to the fathers meant
But as a pilgrim's wayside tent—
A nightly shelter to fold away
When the Lord should call at the break of day—
Solid and steadfast seems to be,
And Time has forgotten Eternity. CAMP-MEETING IN WISCONSIN.
We have already been admonished that the camp-meeting season is drawing near, and preparations should be begun in time so that all may attend who can possibly do so. Much pains have been taken to select a location which is accessible from different parts of the State, and grounds are secured, which seem to be excellent for beauty and convenience. It is hoped that our people will avail themselves of this opportunity and make this the largest meeting of Sabbath-keepers ever held in the State. For two years we have had two camp-meetings in our Conference, each accommodating different portions of the State, and many of the church and private tents could be used at both so that we could get along with fewer tents than when we have but one meeting. Therefore let all who can do so provide themselves with tents. Church tents are very good, but family tents are doubtless better. Instructions have been given through the REVIEW for making duck tents; or they can be bought of Wm. Armstrong, Chicago, and of others. They should be ordered in season. Good and cheap tents can be made of the best sheeting, which is by many estimated better than duck tents. We will give some instructions for making one 10x15, 9 ft. high, 3 ft. 8 in. walls. Different sizes can be made with the same proportions. Cut five strips of cloth twenty-three feet long. Sew them together with two seams by lapping the edges one-half inch. This forms the roof and walls of the tent. Hem the ends one inch wide. Three feet and eight inches from the ends make a strong tuck two inches wide. In the edge of these tucks insert an eyelet hole in each seam for the ropes. Perhaps the most difficult part is to make the ends of the tent of the proper slant. This can be done by drawing a plan of the same size as the end of the tent upon the floor or some even surface, and cutting the cloth by it. A fly roof should be made by cutting five strips of cloth seventeen feet long and sewing them together. Hem two inches, and work eyelet holes in the ends of each seam. This is put on over the tent and raised a few inches above the tent at the eaves. A tent made in this way will be cool in hot weather and dry in rain. One of this size will accommodate six or eight persons, and will take about eighty yards of sheeting which can be had for eight or nine cents per yard. We want to see one hundred tents on our camp-ground. WHERE TO BEG AND PROSPER.
Two beggars met one day, and thus they talked as they rested on the roadside: “Ours is but a poor trade, I am getting very tired of it,” said one. “Are you? Well, it is not so with me. I find it a prosperous business, and like it better every day,” said the other. “Strange enough, that,” was the answer. “There are so many things against us. First of all, one dares not go to the same persons too often.” “That is not my experience,” said the other. “I find that the oftener I go, the more readily I am heard.” “You don’t say so!” exclaimed his companion. “I get turned away with, ‘Saucy Fellow!’ or some such name, and am told to take myself elsewhere. As to money or bread, I may knock pretty often before I get sight of it.” “Now I can truly say,” said his companion, “that if I don’t get what I ask for, I have something better instead of it.” “A lucky fellow you are, and in these times, too, when people shake their heads and declare they have need to go begging themselves.” “Ah! that I am never told. I go where riches abound, and where there is enough, and more than enough, for all that ask.” “If I put on a doleful face they call me hypocrite; if I put on a merry air, they say I am not in want; there is no knowing how to succeed with them.” “When I am in trouble, I get pity; when I am full of praise and joy, I get a more abundant blessing.” “Wonderful! wonderful! They grow tired of my story, I find, before they have half heard it, and suspect it is false, without caring much for me, even if it were true.” “How contrary my case! I cannot tell my sorrows and wants too often. I am told to come with every one of them, and, strange to say, so deep is the interest in my behalf, that what I have to tell is better known where I beg than I know it myself.” “Why, what house do you beg at?” asked the astonished beggar. “At the gate of Heaven,” said his companion. “Where do you beg?” “Oh! I beg of the world,” said he. “Then no wonder you are tired of your trade. Come and try my gate. If you make your stand at that, you will never be disappointed, never get an angry or unkind word, and never, never, be turned empty away.”—Sel. 1. Let every one contribute something. A mite is acceptable to the Lord. 2. Lay aside every week something for the Lord. 4. Give as the Lord has prospered you. 5. Give to those who are in need. 6. Give cheerfully. “God loveth a cheerful giver.” 7. Give freely. “Freely ye have received,” etc. 8. Give, remembering your accountability as stewards of the Lord. 9. It is a test of your love to Christ and to his cause. 10. It is the way to prosper. “Give and it shall be given to you. 11. Remember the Golden Rule: “As ye would that others should do to you, do ye even so to them;” and the proverb, “There is that scattereth and yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty.”—Religious Intelligencer. A curate who adopted a monotonous whine in his prayers, on being remonstrated with by his diocesan, pleaded that such a tone was proper to acts of supplication, because beggars always assumed a whine when they asked for alms. The bishop replied:— “Yes; but when they do, I always know that they are impostors, and give nothing.” HOME TO THE RESCUE.
By C. W. S.
The Presbyterian has an article headed, as quoted by the Statesman, “A Sabbath-keeping Revival in France,” in which it is stated that one M. de Cissey, a layman and a Romanist, is “preaching to crowded houses in various parts of the Republic, urging a reform in Sabbath-keeping, arguing for the Scriptural sanctity of the day [meaning Sunday] and its observance.” The writer says, “France has no Sabbath in the true sense of the word. The ‘Sunday’ is the hebdomadal holiday, the stated or extraordinary election day, the public fete day, the day for military reviews, inaugurations, imposing parades, and all other grand demonstrations on the part of the government, and on the part of private people a day of work or amusement, as humor or advantage may prompt.” This manner of treating Sunday, if not marked with all the pious reverence for that day that the papacy has claimed for it, is at least but the natural result of her teachings upon its origin and claims to sanctity. Let us see. The Catholic Church claims that the first-day Sabbath is a Catholic institution. In a work entitled, Catholic Christian Instructed, pp. 209–211, we read as follows:— “Ques. What warrant have you for keeping the Sunday, preferable to the ancient Sabbath, which was the Saturday?” “Ans. We have for it the authority of the Catholic Church, and apostolic tradition.” “Q. Does the Scripture anywhere command the Sunday to be kept for the Sabbath?” “A. The Scripture commands us to hear the church (Matt. 18:17; Luke 10:16), and to hold fast the traditions of the apostles. 2 Thess. 2:15. But the Scriptures do not in particular mention this change of the Sabbath. John speaks of the Lord’s day (Rev. 1:10); but he does not tell us what day of the week this was, much less does he tell us that this day was to take the place of the Sabbath ordained in the commandments. Luke also speaks of the disciples’ meeting together to break bread on the first day of the week. Acts 20:7. And Paul (1 Cor. 16:2) orders that on the first day of the week the Corinthians should lay by in store what they designed to bestow in charity on the faithful in Judea; but neither the one nor the other tells us that the first day of the week was to be henceforth the day of worship and the Christian Sabbath; so that truly the best authority we have for this is the testimony and ordinance of the church. And, therefore, those who pretend to be so religious of the Sunday, whilst they take no notice of other festivals ordained by the same church authority, show that they act by humor, and not by reason and religion; since Sundays and holy days all stand upon the same foundation, viz., the ordinance of the church.” It will be seen by the above that Sunday is classed with the “festivals” ordained by the Catholic Church. The same is found in all their standard works upon the subject. In Abridgment of Christian Doctrine, we find the following testimony:— “Ques. How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?” “Ans. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church.” “A. Because by keeping Sunday they acknowledge the church’s power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin; and by not keeping the rest by her commanded, they again deny, in fact, the same power.” It being clear that Sunday is regarded by the Catholic Church as simply a festival or holy day of that church, it is proper next to inquire, “What are the days which that church commands to be kept holy?” The answer to this question, we quote from the Catholic Christian Instructed:— “Ans. 1. The Sunday, or our Lord’s day, which we observe by apostolic tradition, instead of the Sabbath. 2. The feasts of our Lord’s Nativity, or Christmas day; his circumcision, or New Year’s day; the Epiphany, or twelfth day; Easter-day, or the day of our Lord’s resurrection, with the Monday following; the day of our Lord’s ascension; Whit-Sunday, or the day of the coming of the Holy Ghost, with the Monday following; Trinity Sunday; Corpus Christi, or the feasts of the blessed sacrament. 3. We keep the days of the Annunciation, and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 4. We observe the feasts of All-saints; of St. John Baptist; of the holy apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul. 5. In this kingdom we keep the feasts of St. Patrick, our principal patron.” Having now an idea of the holidays of the Catholic Church, Sunday heading the list, it is easy to see why Catholics in general treat the day as they do, not regarding it as a day to be kept in any sense as the holy, sanctified Sabbath of the fourth commandment was ordered to be observed, but simply keeping it as a holiday. But the writer in the Presbyterian says that Romanists are beginning to see that this lax observance of Sunday has an irreligious tendency. He says, “This open profanity, this desecration of the holy day of God, and even destruction of the faintest form of its sanctity, have proved an offense even to those who have a devout horror of Puritanism. Conscientious Romanists have seen that a dishonored Sabbath means the decay of religion, the demoralization of the people, the disturbance of the foundations of social order, purity, and peace. Monsieur de Cissey is at once the evidence and the advocate of this healthful reaction. Even though very slight, and though it come from the bosom of Rome, necessarily wearing a Roman coloring, we hail the movement with pleasure, and wish it God speed. . . .” “M. de Cissey appears before his hearers in dress coat and white cravat, and with easy address, good-humored manner, and pleasant tones, lively anecdotes, and withal with deep earnestness and sincere conviction, pleads for the revival of a Sabbath in France. . . . The new cathedral at Digne has been opened to him, and the impression made upon the audience that filled the house was profound. . . . We trust that our hearty Presbyterian benison will in no wise neutralize the benediction which the Roman Pontiff is said to have given the new crusade. Moreover, we venture to commend the case of this lay preacher to the consideration of such of our Roman Catholic friends as have been exercised over the apostolic authority and ecclesiastical propriety of Mr. Moody’s work.” Passing over the fact that the writer of the above has ignorantly or otherwise called this Romish festive day “the holy day of God,” we cannot help noticing his anxiety to have Catholics and Protestants join hands in this effort to put a false Sabbath in a respectable attitude before the world. This move on the part of the Catholics may prove a powerful auxiliary to the “Amendment” party of this country, whose chief end is to put this same institution of the Catholic Church “on an undeniable, legal basis in the fundamental law of the land.” These moves are no surprise to us. For more than twenty years, Seventh-day Adventists have been showing from the prophetic word that Sunday-keeping would yet be established in this country by law; and we look upon the agencies that are at work in this direction as simply fulfilling the prophecy of Rev. 13:14,—“saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” But a very remarkable circumstance of this move in France remains to be considered, and that is this: It arises after our people have succeeded in awakening a great and increasing interest in that country upon the subject of the true Sabbath of the Lord. It is a self-evident fact that a counterfeit is never made until after the genuine appears. Now, whenever it has appeared to the adversary that he could more successfully hinder the work of God, and destroy souls, by introducing a counterfeit religion, than by direct warfare against the truth, the counterfeit has been devised and presented; and a large number have always been ready to take it at par. Moses was sent to work miracles before Pharaoh, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and immediately the sorcerers, ancient spiritualists, imitated those miracles. But their power was limited; they could go so far and no farther. The first advent of the Messiah took place as was foretold. Satan blinded the eyes of the majority of the professed people of God so that they did not know him; and since that time, he has presented a long list of false Christs, counterfeits, who have led millions to destruction. When the appointed time came, the messages of Rev. 14 began to be sounded; and the people that John foresaw would at that time be keeping the commandments of God, and would have the testimony of Jesus, began to appear upon the stage of action. See Rev. 14:12; 12:17; 19:10. The spirit of prophecy was first manifested among S. D. Adventists in 1844. Not long, however, was the genuine allowed to be exercised alone. The counterfeit made its appearance four years after in the Fox family, near Rochester, N. Y., in the form of modern spiritualism; and so thoroughly had the theological track—the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul—been laid for this engine of the devil to run upon that it made rapid progress, and now numbers its votaries by millions. The great reform upon the observance of the true Sabbath, foretold in Isa. 8:16; 56:1, 2, 3; 58:12, 13, was commenced by the S. D. Adventists in 1844. At first, the work was carried on under difficulties, and moved very slowly; but it has been firmly advancing with increasing rapidity until the present. For several years, the enemy confined his plans to direct attacks; but this not promising to be a method so successful as was desired, he soon brought into requisition his skill in counterfeiting. He saw that if men could be made to conceive a greater fondness for the false Sabbath, already in vogue, if they could be made to take a patriotic view of the national benefits to be derived from giving Sunday an honorable name and legal protection, under the impression that by this the name of God would be honored and his authority acknowledged in the great Constitution of our government, a basis would be laid for a building of large proportions. Alas! that the people might know what god they honor when they lift up the institution of Sunday-keeping. The God that made heaven and earth never authorized it, never sanctified it, never blessed it. He sanctified another day, the seventh day of the week, his own holy rest-day; and when he commanded man to do his own work upon the other six days, he forbade forever that man should set apart any one of those working days to be regarded regularly as a sacred day of rest. The god that is honored by religiously observing any one of these days is the individual or power that authorizes such observance; and when the time shall come when the law of the land shall demand that people reverence the first-day Sabbath, then it will appear whether we will worship God or another. This national revival of the Sunday Sabbath first took form in a convention at Xenia, O., in Feb., 1863, composed of eleven different religious denominations. The association here formed was at first called a “Religious Council.” It was soon after known as the “National Association to Secure the Religious Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.” Its meetings have been frequent, and its popularity is increasing. It is supported by senators, members of the high courts, doctors of divinity, presidents of colleges and universities, editors, and men of high standing and great influence. And now that the long-obscured light of the fourth commandment is piercing the moral darkness of France, where the papacy has long been a power, and the down-trodden Sabbath of the Lord is being made known to the people of that country, a Catholic layman, with the benediction of the Roman Pontiff, flies to the rescue of the Catholic Sabbath, and “conscientious Romanists” begin to see “that a dishonored Sabbath [Sunday] means the decay of religion.” Thus the raising of the ensign of truth is again followed by the unfurling of the banner of error. As the third angel’s message is borne from land to land, and yet is one united voice, so may we not expect a union of churches that arise to oppose it—a union, the chief object of which is to contend for the only disputed doctrine upon which they can seem to agree,—that of the observance of the first-day Sabbath? We think there are indications of this, when Rome takes the sword, and Protestantism, to cheer her on, sends her “benison” across the Atlantic. C. W. S. HOW SHALL WE ACCOMPLISH IT?
By Dudley Marvin Canright
There are several evils which I know to prevail quite generally among our churches, but especially in New York. I refer to the celebration of the ordinances, attention to absent church members, backsliding persons, and to the regular payment of s. B. The church at Roosevelt, N. Y., had not celebrated the ordinances for eight years! It is a shame to say it, but that is the truth. I know of other churches who have not had the ordinances for five years, some for three years, and many not for a year. In fact, there are scores of persons who have been in the truth and members in our churches for years, and yet have never attended the ordinances once, or even seen them celebrated. Now this is not only a shame, but it is worse, a sin against God. It is despising the ordinances of his house. If these ordinances were of no account and no consequence, then they never would have been given to the church. Whatever the Lord commands is important, and it is of some consequence that we respect it, and practice it. In the Old Testament they had their regular sacrifices. Could a man, then, enjoy the favor and blessing of God while continually despising these, paying no attention to them? No. Instead of these sacrifices, which then pointed forward109 to Christ, we now have the ordinances, which point back to Christ, viz., the Lord’s supper and baptism. Paul says, “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” 1 Cor. 11: 26. This is a very solemn and affectionate ordinance. It is to call up the remembrance of the terrible sufferings and death of our divine Lord. It is to remind us of our continual dependence upon him. But, says one, “The reason we do not have the ordinances is because we are not prepared for them: we have some trials in our church, and we want them settled first;” and so they wait from one quarter to another, and from one year to another, and finally never have them at all. Now I believe that one object for celebrating the Lord’s supper is to cure these difficulties, or better still, avoid them. The apostle thus states how very solemn this ordinance is: “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” 1 Cor. 11:27, 29. Well, says a brother or sister, that is a very solemn test, I do not want to take unworthily and be condemned. Exactly; and that is just what this ordinance is for,—to rein us up frequently to this solemn nearness to Christ and view of ourselves, so that we shall correct our wrongs, repent of our sins, and draw near to God. Hence Paul says: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” Verse 28. That is it; before partaking of the Lord’s supper, every one should solemnly and searchingly examine himself with prayer and supplication. If he will do this, any existing wrongs will be discovered, and then they will be corrected. Suppose it is understood that the church will celebrate the ordinances regularly on such a Sabbath. What effect will it have? Just what the Lord designed. Every person will feel as that day draws near that he must prepare for it; he must get his heart right. If there are any divisions among brethren, an effort must be made to settle them up. If there are vows to the Lord unfulfilled, they must be attended to. Hence, it will have the effect to rein up the whole church to self-examination, and preparation to commune with the Lord. It is the very thing to prevent trials, or to secure their correction if they have occurred. Hence the ordinances should not be postponed on this account. Another thing I observe by examining the church records. There is frequently a great slackness in attending to the business of the church. For instance, I find names on the clerk’s book of this church, Adams Center, which have been here for six or eight years, or even more; yet these persons have moved away, and have never written to the church, nor been written to. Other names stand on the book as members in good standing, where they left the truth years in the past. This thing is entirely out of order. It is the duty of every person to report to his church once in three months, either personally or by letter. And it is the duty of the clerk and officers of the church to see that it is done. But unless there is a regular time appointed to attend to this, it never will be done. And then every person, as far as possible, should form the habit of paying his s. B. regularly every three months. It seems to me that these are very important matters. How shall we remedy these things? I think a plan can be adopted which will regulate these matters very much, and greatly relieve the difficulty. That is this: Let the church have a meeting for the express purpose of attending to all these things, the first Sunday in every third month, commencing with January at the beginning of the year,—on the first Sunday in January, first Sunday in April, first Sunday in July, first Sunday in October; that is once a quarter. Let it be understood that without any fail, on these days there will be a meeting of the church for the express purpose of celebrating the ordinances, looking over the list of the church, attending to any difficulty, receiving in members, paying up pledges, etc. Before this meeting assembles, the clerk, deacons, and elder of the church, should come together, take the church record, and read over the names belonging to the church. As the names are read, let any inquiry that is necessary be made with regard to them. If they live near the church, are they living out the truth? Do they attend meeting? If not, why not? What is their condition? Have they been visited? Has an effort been made to help them? If they are absent, have they been heard from? Have they been written to? and what is their condition? Are there any that should be received into the church? Let them be looked up and invited to come in. Are there any trials in the church to be seen to? Then let the clerk make a list of all these matters that should be attended to, and read it before the church at the meeting. This will tend to keep all church matters straightened up. Then the s. B. treasurer should be there with his book, and call the attention of the brethren to their pledges, and what is due; and, as far as possible, all should pay them up. After these matters are attended to, then the church is prepared to celebrate the ordinances, and do it with the blessing of God. The brethren at Roosevelt heartily indorsed this plan, and unanimously voted to carry it out. Adams Center did the same thing. Shall we not adopt it throughout this State? Why not? What objection is there to it? Would it not remedy many of these evils? To me it would be an interesting thought to know that on such a day all the churches in our Conference were assembled in their places of worship, attending to these matters, and celebrating the Lord’s supper. I believe God would bless such a course. TRACT AND MISSIONARY WORK.
By James White
WHEN the Tract and Missionary work was first introduced among our people, we felt it necessary to labor through our prints to bring the brethren all up to the work, for a strong pull, and a long pull, altogether. We had succeeded wonderfully in raising means to carry forward the several branches of the work by stating the wants of the cause to our people through the REVIEW, and we had no doubt of success in raising funds for the Tract and Missionary work through the same means. Others viewed the matter in a different light. One good brother said he must speak to the brethren assembled in order to move them to take hold of this work. He has proved himself able to do this. But in order for him to serve the cause fully in the wide field, according to his plan, it would be necessary for him to be in fifty places at the same time. He could occupy but a small portion of the field, hence but few of our people have as yet taken hold of the work as the few have who have had his personal labors. And some fields are now suffering from shameful re-action where verbal appeals have been made for means, and matters have been carried pretty strongly in that line. When clear, plain, straightforward statements through our prints will not move our ministers, the elders of our churches, the T. and M. officers, and the brethren generally, then we shall cease to hope for the success of the T. and M. cause. Our brethren in California, New England, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin are doing something to circulate the SIGNS. Other States, in consequence of little or no action in past time, or from want of action at all, are doing next to nothing. This is the natural result of not taking hold of this work in the right way. We must be able to reach all our people on this subject through our prints, before we can have a strong pull, and a long pull, and all pull together. We are surprised at inquiries whether the added one-third to the regular s. B. income should be used to pay for packages of the SIGNS, on the installment plan, to be used in missionary work. The plan of adding the one-third to s. B. was introduced to take the place of calling for donations which are never made on an equality. To reach an equitable position, and also to secure sufficient funds, the system was instituted. And the plan of paying in installments was to encourage all churches to send for packages at once, and pay for them as they should collect the added one-third, month by month. The added one-third is to be used in the T. and M. work, especially for the circulation of the SIGNS and the REFORMER. Those Conferences whose churches are not coming up to this plan will find themselves destitute of means to carry forward this work. But this work will not long move so heavily. Care must be taken to select men for executive committees in our Conferences, who have sufficient breadth of calculation and energy to do their duty. The action of the General Conference, last fall, on this matter of equality in raising means for the support of the cause was right. The matter must be pushed forward in a liberal and proper manner in all our Conferences and churches, and should be cheerfully carried out by all our scattered brethren and sisters. Oh! for a strong pull, a long pull, and all pull together. Much will be accomplished on the plan of equality in 1877. Ten times as much will be done in 1878. If the added one-third is not all used in the T. and M. work in 1877, let it be carefully preserved for a grand campaign in 1878. Eld. Haskell says that the T. and M. Societies will send abroad 25,000 copies of the SIGNS in 1878. Meantime, during the remainder of 1877, let all our churches and scattered brethren take packages of the SIGNS. Should any, at the end of three months, find that they have more copies on their hands than they can well use, or than they can well pay for, they can have the number reduced. Let all do their duty in 1877. Let none over-act, so as to fall back in the work. Let all get ready, and be ready for a strong, united effort. J. W.