Bro. White; Your suggestions in regard to the propriety of holding a General Conference in Michigan as early as the last of May next or the first of June, meet our hearty approval. The reasons you advance in favor of holding the Conference at that time are satisfactory.
Those who have seen and realized the benefits of church and State organizations, cannot fail to see the necessity of a General Conference. If State Conferences149are necessary to promote unity of faith and action in the churches of the different States, will not a General Conference, to which the several State Conferences can report themselves, serve to unite and strengthen the entire church in the important work that is before us, and prove conducive to the prosperity of the cause generally. Our hearts beat in unison with the principles you advance on this point. We have felt deeply on this subject, and have not expected that the Lord would work mightily through the church in the East, until they adopt and carry out that order which is based on the Bible, good common sense, and sound reason.
We rejoice that we are about to see better days in the East; but we would not overlook the fact that the Lord works through his people, and that he uses means to carry out his purposes.
Brethren in the East, let us get out of the way, and let us no more grieve the hearts of those who would help us by their experience and judgment.
The work of the Lord will advance. Angels are at work, and the people are anxious to hear. The thing will proceed; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. Who will engage in the work? Shall we relieve God's servants by speaking freely on this subject? Shall we prepare to help by our means as well as by our words?
We are now holding meetings in Fairfield, Vt. We have given eight lectures, and quite a number are interested. Three or four have embraced the truth, and we hope that more will have grace and courage to receive the message.
D. T. Bourdeau,
A. C. Bourdeau,
Albert Stone.
General Conference.
THERE will be a General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists at Battle Creek, Michigan, to commence Wednesday, May 20, at 6 o'clock, P. M.
The objects of this meeting, for the general good of the cause of Bible truth and holiness everywhere, have been specified in the REVIEW.
The several conference committees in the different States are requested to send delegates, or letters at their discretion.
The brethren in those localities where there is no State Conference, can also be represented in this Conference by delegates or letters.
All delegates and letters must be sanctioned by some State Conference, or Conference committee, or—where there are no State Conferences,—some church, or meeting of scattered brethren.
JAMES WHITE, J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH, JOHN BYINGTON. Michigan Conference Committee.
Michigan State Conference.
A SPECIAL session of the Michigan and Northern Indiana State Conference will be held at Battle Creek, May 22d, at 9 o'clock, A. M.
It is desired that every church belonging to this Conference, and those who wish to unite with the Conference, will send delegates with letters, stating their appointment as delegates, the number, condition, wants, &c., of the churches to which they belong.
Ample provisions will be made for delegates and preachers. A general attendance of the friends of the cause from the region round about is solicited at the meetings of worship, Sabbath and first-day, who will receive all the attention that accommodations will permit.
CON. COM.
Meetings in Pennsylvania.
By J. L. Baker
BRO. WHITE: I have just returned from visiting the churches in Farmington, Clymer & Ulysses. Found the church in Farmington on the back ground. We had some good meetings with them. They have not been organized yet, which accounts for their low state. We hope Bro. Fuller will visit them soon. We had some good meetings in Clymer. Two started to serve the Lord. May the Lord help them to prove faithful. We stayed over Sabbath with our old friends in Ulysses. Failed of seeing Bro. Fuller as he was away holding meetings. Went from Ulysses to Chatham, a new place, where I gave four lectures. The people came in until the house was filled to overflowing. We found plenty of warm friends. Although some of the Methodists tried hard to stop the meetings, by putting a lock on the door, they that were for us were more than they that were against us. I am going back in three weeks to make another effort to get the truth before the people.
The Sabbath keepers in Penn., and in the western part of N. Y., will be greatly disappointed if you and Sr. White do not hold a conference with them the coming season.
J. L. BAKER.
Report from Bro. Hutchins.
By A. S. Hutchins
BRO. WHITE: Since my last I have spent one week in Peterborough. Our last meeting with the brethren and sisters and friends in this place, was a solemn and interesting season. Parents and children, those who have been long in the message, and those who have but recently embraced it, rejoiced and wept together.
I spoke on the proper observance of the Sabbath with freedom; after which sweet and cheering testimonies were given by the brethren and sisters. A number spoke who had never before spoken in our meetings. Several said they had kept two or three Sabbaths, and resolved by assisting grace to keep it hereafter. Others expressed themselves fully satisfied that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord. Nearly all who had not decided to keep it, arose requesting an interest in the prayers of God's people. May these dear friends all find grace and have moral courage sufficient, and faith in God, to obey him and live forever. Several want the Review, and will doubtless subscribe for it soon.
Brn. Huntley and Hastings have manifested a deep and increasing interest in these meetings, and with others intend to do what they can to keep the interest up, and to encourage the friends onward in the way of obedience.
Last Sabbath we spent with the brethren in Washington. They have a very interesting Sabbath-school there, and the brethren and sisters are striving together for the unity of the faith, and for victory.
A. S. HUTCHINS.
West Fairlee, Vt., March 24, 1863.
P. S. I would add that your suggestions for general conference early in the season meet the mind of every brother in N. H. so far as I know; also that I do not know of one in the State, who has an interest in the advancement of the cause of truth, that would not greatly rejoice if you and Sr. W. and other servants of the Lord from the West, could labor in the East, the coming season. They pledge themselves to do what they can to help sustain those whom the Lord may direct this way, both by their means and prayers.
A. S. H.
Who are Mormons?
By M. E. Cornell
Sometimes our opponents, failing in argument, for effect, raise the cry of "Mormonism." They cannot show that our views of spiritual gifts are unscriptural, or unreasonable, but because the Mormons professed to have those gifts, they think it a happy hit to excite prejudice against us, by calling us Mormons. But this charge loses all its force when we consider that faith in spiritual gifts is not peculiar to the Mormons. The most devoted and learned men of the Protestant sects have claimed the same thing both in theory and practice. [See work entitled "Miraculous Powers," published at Review Office.] The truth is, we do not believe with the Mormons on a single point that is peculiar to them. But if to agree with the Mormons on leading points of doctrine, makes a man worthy of their name, then verily the orthodox churches of the day are full of Mormons.
1. The Mormon Creed teaches the doctrine of the Trinity. "That Christ was the God, the Father of all things." Mormon Bible, Book of Mosiah, par. 5.
"Behold! I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son." Book of Esther, ch. i, par. 3.
"Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father? Yea, he is the very Eternal Father*." Book of Alma, ch. viii, par. 7.
2. They believe in an immaterial God. "It is truth, light, and love, that we worship and adore; these are the same in all worlds; and as these constitute God, He is the same in all worlds; wherever you find a fullness of wisdom, knowledge, truth, goodness, love and such like qualities, there you find God in all his glory, power, and majesty—therefore if you worship these adorable qualities you worship God." Mormon Seer pp. 24, 25.
Compare the above with Mr. H. W. Beecher in the Independent A. D. 1859. "A dim and shadowy effulgence arises from Christ, and that I am taught to call the Father. A yet more tenuous and invisible film of thought arises, and that is the Holy Spirit. But neither are to me aught tangible, restful, accessible."
That Christ is the very and eternal God, and that God is immaterial, without body, parts or passions, is the teaching of most of the church creeds.
3. They believe in rewards and punishments at death.
"Immortal spirit joined with the choir above at Benjamin's death." Book of Mosiah, ch. i, par. 8.
4. They believe the second death is endless torment.
"Then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death. * They cannot die seeing there is no more corruption." Alma, ch. ix, par. 2, 3.
"Lake of fire is endless torment." Book of Jacob ch. iv, p. 140.
5. The Mormons keep the Pagan, Sunday, so do Protestants in general. But why go farther? There is not a class of religious people in the world that differ with the Mormons in both theory and practice more widely than the Seventh-day Adventists. Those very men who charge us with "Mormonism," agree with the Mormons in ten points to our one. We conclude therefore that such persons have simply mistaken the parties, and raise a charge applicable to themselves alone, to create prejudice against another class to whom it does not apply.
M. E. CORNELL.
Reformations and Learned Men.
By D. M. Canright
(Concluded.)
IN 1505, Martin Luther entered a convent as a humble monk. He went there to find salvation. But he soon discovered that it was not to be obtained by observing the ceremonies of the church. After a long and severe struggle he found "Christ the hope of salvation." He learned that "the just shall live by faith" and not by worshiping popes, saints, relics, &c., &c.
Luther began to preach faith in Christ, the sufficiency of the Bible, &c. He attacked the indulgences which the pope sold to the people for money. These indulgences pretended to remit, without faith, repentance, or any other act on the part of the receiver, all the sins of the purchaser; and even gave license to kill, steal, or commit any wickedness, if they would only give their money. By preaching against this, Luther attacked the clergy's purses. The monks raised a cry of alarm against him. But it availed nothing. One error after another, he boldly exposed. At first the dignitaries of the church despised him as a poor monk not able to accomplish any thing. But God was with him. The sound of his voice soon reached Rome and made the throne of the "holy father" tremble. A "pope's bull" came thundering over the Alps, demanding the death of Luther and the punishment of all his followers.
Luther faltered not. He had the truth, and it made him strong. But it was by degrees he received it. After he opposed the corruptions of the church for many years, he still acknowledged the existence of purgatory. Had he died then, doubtless we should hear our Protestant divines as gravely contending for purgatory as they now do for the Sunday Sabbath. Luther was cited before the pope's legate. He went. His arguments from the Bible, they opposed by quotations from the "fathers;" weapons which modern Protestants so much love to use.
After Luther had overthrown their arguments, their only answer was "Recant, recant." This he would not do. The papists would have gladly put him to death, but he was furnished with an imperial safe-conduct which they dare not violate. He returned home in safety; yet as he says, it seemed as though the whole world was up in arms against the truth. The priests enraged to see their prey escape them, declared that whoever should kill Luther would do God's service. They called him a witch possessed of the Devil; accused him of violence and pride for condemning the opinions of others; "a reproach," says D'Aubigne, "to which those persons are generally exposed who have that strength of conviction which is produced by the word of God." To their accusations Luther replied: "If humility herself attempted anything now, those of a different opinion would exclaim, that she was proud. Why was Christ and all the martyrs put to death? Because they appeared proud despisers of the wisdom of the time in which they lived; and because they brought forward new truths without first having humbly consulted the oracles of the old opinion." But, as D'Aubigne says, the revolution of the 16th century was to be no more indebted for support, to the heads of the church, than that of the first century had been to the sanhedrim and the synagogue. The dignified priesthood was again, in the sixteenth century, opposed to Luther, the Reformation, and its ministers, as it had formerly been to Jesus Christ, the Gospel, and his apostles; and as it usually is in all periods to the truth.
Soon after this, Luther was cited before the Emperor Charles V., the greatest monarch of Europe. This was at the celebrated diet of Worms. "Thus all earthly powers, legates, princes, popes, and emperors, were put in motion against the humble friar of Erfurth." He met that august assembly as Peter & John did the sanhedrim, and bore witness to the truth—examples worthy of imitation.
Although he was in fact condemned, yet he came away triumphantly. The fury of the monks and the churchmen knew no bounds.
But, as is always the case, persecutions only served to spread the truth. From this time witnesses for God were raised up in all parts. Zwingle had done a great work in Switzerland, and had received the same opposition, from the heads of the church, that Luther had in Germany.
Rome now seized the torch as the most effectual argument against heretics. In Germany, Switzerland, & France, piles were fired on which the lovers of truth were martyred. Thus there are three parts to each reformation: 1. The popular church instructed by its ministers and leading men, reject those whom God has appointed to do his work; 2. It ridicules them as beneath its notice; 3. It persecutes them even unto death. This was so with Christ and his apostles, with Luther and his followers, and so it will ever be. When ungodly men cannot support their doctrine by arguments they will have recourse to force.
But, with all its persecutions, Rome was not able to keep down the truth. It spread from town to town, and from kingdom to kingdom, until old Rome had to conclude a treaty of peace with it.
So in spite of priests, popes or emperors, Protestantism was established; God's word was honored; and the Lord glorified. But, after a time, this church also became popular. Wicked men were admitted into it; and it began to lose its life, growing worse and worse to the present time. What a church, or churches, now! Their members have become like the world, so that there is no difference between them. They are characterized by pride and hypocrisy. They decry works, and profess a great deal of faith, but have none. The ministers preach smooth things, crying, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace. They do not preach from the Bible, but go to the fathers, to philosophy, to politics, to every thing but the word of God. It is according to the proverb: There are three parts to a popular sermon: first, the minister takes his text, second, he leaves it, and third, he never returns to it.
So far as my observation goes, I have found this to be the case. They turn away the ears of the people from hearing the truth, and turn them unto fables. 2 Tim. iv. A man becoming interested in the truth goes to the preacher and asks his opinion of it. The minister tells him it is all a humbug; that he must keep away from those heretics; that the fathers never believed or taught any such thing, &c. If obliged to confront the Bible, they will spiritualize it all away, and thus they as effectually deprive the people of the Scriptures as the priests did in Luther's time. They profess what the world profess, teach what it teaches, and live as it lives. Behold their costly churches, rivaling those of popish pride! and which virtually shut out the poor; for if they go, it is only to be laughed at by their rich neighbors. Besides, they cannot attend unless they buy a pew. Listen to a sermon in one of these churches, and what do you hear? The gospel? Christ? Repentance? No; only as they are all mingled with fables. The preacher ascends the pulpit, and sees his congregation composed of the most gay and worldly. They are the ones that pay him. If he preaches against their sins, his fat salary is gone. This will not do. So he carefully walks all around them, and talks about the wicked Jews, or the good times coming.
When a minister is to be hired, the question is, not whether he is a godly man, but, "Is he smart?" A minister measures himself by the salary he gets, not the sinners he converts.
Meeting a deacon, I asked him how his son-in-law, who was a minister, was prospering. "O first rate," said he, "he gets three hundred dollars and two donations a year!"
The conversion of sinners seems to have nothing to150do with the success of a minister now-a-days. It is no uncommon thing to see preachers engaged in trade and speculation with all the eagerness of worldlings.
“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life.” 2 Tim. ii, 4. They have more sagacity in foreseeing the rise and fall in the value of money, stocks, &c., than they have in understanding the signs of the times as predicted by the prophets. They profess to be watchmen on the walls of Zion; but ask them, “Watchmen, what of the night?” and you will find them as described in Isa. lvi, 11. They know not whether peace or the sword is coming; they are asleep and blinded by the love of the world. Indeed, Christianity has sunk so low that professors have become a by-word and a laughingstock to the world. Talk to a man about becoming a Christian, and he will ask you if you want him to become a hypocrite! This speaks volumes for the churches. It shows that they have become an effectual instrument in the hands of the Devil to keep souls out of the kingdom of heaven.
These corruptions are apparent to every one. Infidels laugh at it; the honest ones mourn over it; and the preachers try to smooth it over. Who shall reform these abuses? Popular ministers? It would be something new under the sun if they did; for such a thing has never yet been seen. Still the people look to them for a reformation. But the reformation of the nineteenth century will be no more indebted for support to the priesthood, than that of the first was to the sanhedrim, or that of the sixteenth to the pope. The clergy were opposed to the truth then, and they are opposed to it now. To justify themselves, when they see others doing what they ought to have done, they will oppose it. A reformation must be wrought by them, or not wrought at all. But as well might the sinner wash away his own sins, or the leopard change his spots, as a corrupt church attempt to reform itself.
Speaking of the power which God communicates to his servants, when he is about to do some great work for the church, D'Aubigne says, “Not often, indeed, in the world's history, has such a power been exerted; it was displayed however in the infancy of Christianity; at the period of the reformation it was exhibited again; and it shall be witnessed once more in the latter days.”
Prophetic words! now being fulfilled, for that time has come. God has heard the cry of his faithful ones, and has set his hand to the work. He has raised up humble men to correct the mighty of the earth, men who are pointing us to God's word, to his broken and neglected law, to the awful judgments that are coming on a guilty world. This has commenced, as all other reformations have, by calling men to repentance, directing them to Jesus, and away from the traditions of men.
Again, the voice of the priesthood is raised against it because it condemns them. But shall we reject it because they do, because it is unpopular, because the great and the learned oppose it? It is the lot of the truth to be condemned by the great, the learned, and the popular. “It is their part to persecute the truth, as every age has witnessed.”
Shall we reject it because its advocates are few? Says Luther, “Moses was alone when the Israelites were led out of Egypt; Elijah was alone in the time of king Ahab; Ezekiel was alone at Babylon. God has never chosen for his prophet either the high priest or any other person of exalted rank; he has generally chosen men of a mean and low condition—in the instance of Amos, even a simple shepherd. The saints of every age have been called to rebuke the great of this world—kings and princes, priests and scholars—and to fulfill their office at the peril of their lives.”
“I say that they have the more reason to fear, because I am alone and they are many. Of this I am sure, that the word of God is with me, and that it is not with them.”
So it is now; they have custom, tradition, and popular favor on their side. On our side we have the word of God. They accuse us, as the priests did Luther, of bringing forward new doctrine, and very confidently ask how it is that all Christians have been so long in error? Let Luther answer me: “I affirm that the doctrines of Christianity have been lost sight of by those whose special duty it was to preserve them—by the learned, by bishops. I doubt not indeed that the truth has still found an abode in some hearts, were it only with infants in the cradle. Poor husbandmen and simple children, in these days, understand more of Jesus Christ than the Pope, the bishops, or the doctors.”
This is just as true now as it was three centuries ago. Religion is to be found not with preachers, bishops, doctors of divinity, but with the poor and the humble.
We are scoffed at because we are few in number, and accused of creating a disturbance in society. Says the reformer, “Do not the Scriptures clearly show that the majority has always been on the side of falsehood, and the minority only on the side of truth? It is the fate of truth to occasion an outcry.”
Amen. Let it make a disturbance. The people are asleep; nothing else will awake them. The Devil is at work, and shall we keep silence? God's word is laid aside, and his holy law is trampled in the dust. The great day of the Lord is at hand. God's wrath is about to be poured upon Babylon, and its watchmen are asleep! The devil is binding the inhabitants fast in his chains and they know it not! The time has come for the true watchmen to “cry aloud and spare not.” The people have been lulled to sleep by mild language. Something else is required to arouse them. The man freezing to death, says, “Let me alone; I am doing well enough.” But let him alone and he will perish. We must handle him roughly, and incur his anger, before he will awake; but then he will thank us for our perseverance. “Too much imprudence displeases men; but too much prudence is displeasing to God.” “It is impossible to make a stand for the gospel without creating some disturbance and offense.”
Every age has its error, and every man his bias. Do you claim, dear reader, that the churches of this age are free from all errors, and that you have no prejudice? Stop and consider. Is it not just possible that you may be wrong? that you may be condemning God's truth? Look at the example of all past ages and see how the multitude has always been wrong, and has rejected the truth, and persecuted God's “little flock.” You say if you had lived then, you would not have done as those wicked men did; but how is it now? Are you not doing just as they did then, viz., going with the multitude? The Pharisees said, “If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets;” and yet those very men crucified the Son of God. You think just as they did; and is there not danger that you may commit a like error?
O, may God help you to consider these things, and open your eyes to see your true position. Do as did those noble Bereans, who “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
May the Lord enable us, dear brethren and sisters, to feel the solemnity of the truth we profess, and the times in which we live, that we may “sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the land,” till God shall save his people from the corruptions of this apostate generation.
D. M. Canright.
Coldwater, Mich.
The Gathering Call.
By S. Elmer
As we realize the solemn time in which we live, and the duties devolving upon us in order that we may be ready to be offered without spot and blameless, we truly feel that there is need of continual watchfulness and perseverance, relying wholly upon the Lord that we may be kept in the narrow way, the way in which our blessed Saviour and his followers walked. We look back to the ascension of our Lord. There we behold a little band firm in the truth. How becoming their zeal! how fervent their desires! what oneness of sentiment! how pure their principles! what undying love for their Master characterized the followers of the meek and lowly Jesus Would it were so at the present time.
But there has been a falling away. As we follow the church down through the dark ages, the time when the papal power bore rule, we discover one great cause of the apostasy. Then was he revealed who set at defiance God's holy law, he who made kingdoms to fear and kings to tremble; and in exalting himself above the Most High, he strove to tear the seal from that law that God in his infinite love gave to man. He changed the decalogue (see Dan. vii, 25), trampled the true Sabbath under his feet, and, instead, instituted the pagan Sunday.
But the time has fully come when the breach must be repaired. The Lord is jealous of his holy law. He will magnify and make it honorable. His children have been like lost sheep wandering upon the mountains in a dark and cloudy day; but the Lord has promised to gather them, and the gathering call is now sounding in the message of the third angel, which brings to light the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
It is reasonable to suppose that, as the scattering of God's people was occasioned by neglecting to obey all the commandments and the requirements of the gospel, the gathering would consist in due obedience to the same. Much is learned by the dealings of God with his ancient people. If they disobeyed, the curse followed them. They were forsaken by the Lord, driven before their enemies. Thus they were scattered and destroyed; but when they sought him with all their heart, and turned their feet into the way of his commandments, he was entreated of them, and they were delivered from their enemies. This is the means by which they were gathered.
It is generally admitted that nine of the commandments are binding; but, say they, the fourth commandment is not binding now because the Saviour said nothing about it. Now we will make a comparison: A certain king makes a law. It is sealed. He gives his word that his law never shall be altered. In process of time he gives all power into the hands of his Son. The Prince knows the law his Father made is unalterable; for so the record shows: and to still further confirm it, he adds (for he always acts in unison with the will of his Father), Think not that I am come to destroy the law. He also declares that one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all is fulfilled. Now as there is no document ever found to show that this law is, or was, altered, of course no one has reason to suppose it will ever be changed.
Thus it is with the law of God. His word declares that all his commandments stand fast for ever and ever. Alas! how much misery has been brought upon mankind in consequence of disobeying the just commands of God. How many desolate families has it made! How many lonely and disconsolate hearts might now have been rejoicing, were it not for this!
And now I would say to those who are still trampling the law of God beneath their feet, Make haste to turn your feet into the way of his testimonies; heed the gathering call; for soon, very soon, it will be too late. Come then while mercy lingers. Come while the Saviour pleads, while angels beckon, while the servants of God are entreating. Come ere the storm which is already gathering breaks with redoubled fury. Oh seek a shelter! Make the Lord your refuge, and thus be saved from the doom of the ungodly. O come, ye weary and disconsolate, oppressed with care, who sigh in vain for that rest which is denied you here. The day of deliverance is near. Soon the pearly gates will open and bid the faithful enter, where they will ever be secure in the city of their God.
S. ELMER.
Parleying with the Enemy.
By J. Clarke
HAD our first mother, Eve, only refused to parley with the enemy, what a world of trouble would have been avoided.
Had she just said to herself, I'll be sure who this plausible creature is, that is persuading me; I'm rather doubtful about it, and then hastened to Adam for advice, all would have been well for us.
Then, O what would this world have been! Not a cloud of sorrow, or pain. But no! she must parley, and listen, and believe the ingenious, artful lie. Little did she think of the far-reaching consequences.
So now, the Eves and Adams of this age, are exposed to the same artful foe; only he is a thousand times more artful now; a thousand times more151malicious.
Eve parleyed with her first foe. This was her first step. Dear young reader, this is the snare for you now: if he can only hold a parley with you, it will be all he wants: he is sure.
Beware of the first step! Be much in prayer, and watchfulness, and reading, and meditation. I need not say to you what book is the best. Be much with the wise and good and the devoted; and may there be for you many good advisers, who will care for you as the shepherd careth for his lambs. Then be sure you abide by their counsel.
J. CLARKE.
LETTERS.
By Jacob Ayers
"Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one to another."
From Bro. Ayers.
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: As it is frequently said in the letters published in the Review, that they are edifying and encouraging, having felt them to be so myself, I have deemed it my reasonable duty to try, though unworthy, to add a little to the profitable influence thus exerted. If we humbly and faithfully endeavor to carry out the apostle's injunction to exhort one another and so much the more as we see the day approaching, we shall have the consolation of having tried, at least, to do something for the benefit of our Master's disciples, and as he has told us, that not even a cup of water given to a disciple for his sake shall lose its reward, let us all be encouraged to make a more vigorous effort to do each other all the good we can by our strengthening and hope-inspiring epistles, so that there may be no lack of material for publication.
I was never more thoroughly convicted of the truthfulness of the third angel's message, and the vast importance of being completely sanctified by it, in order to be prepared for the solemn scenes but a little in advance of us. Yet what a strong and fearful evidence there is of the deep and awful degeneracy of our tendencies and impulses, that, notwithstanding these convictions, there is so little realization of them. O let us be deeply humbled in view of this state of things, and led to strive more earnestly to enter in at the strait gate, remembering the solemn warning of our Saviour, that "many will seek to enter in but shall not be able." Dear brethren and sisters, let us ever keep in view the fact that we are actually engaged in running a race for life, even eternal life, and that very much depends upon how we run. In view of this, the apostle says, "So run that ye may obtain." Again, "Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race which is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith."
Truly, the Lord has been very good to me, though so unworthy; graciously giving me at different times some evidence that his holy Spirit has not forsaken me, though I have so often neglected his gentle wooings and admonitions. O how long-suffering is our kind heavenly Father. May his goodness lead us to unfeigned repentance of all our crooked and wrong ways, so that we may enjoy the forgiving mercy of God through Christ. It seems to me that we are living amid the perils of the last days, when it is very needful to cry earnestly to the Lord for help; to not be led into temptation in reference to the unnatural war now scourging our country, and the coming draft which it appears probably will soon be made. The Lord is certainly able to deliver his people in every time of trouble, and has given abundant assurance of his willingness to do so, whenever they seek to him with all the heart. Let us then arise, and exercise vigorous and unwavering faith, and deliverance will surely come in the Lord's own good time and way. O what reason we have to be thankful for a throne of grace unto which we can fly and obtain help in time of need. My heart is stirred with gratitude as I write. May the Lord help me to be very humble so that I may ever enjoy this precious privilege.
Yours striving to be an overcomer.
JACOB AYERS.
Willamsburg, N. Y.
MARSHALL EDSON
By Marshall Edson
From Bro. Edson.
BRO. WHITE : It rejoices my heart to hear of the prosperity of the cause in the West; that the work of the Lord is still moving onward, and honest souls are brought into the knowledge of the truth. I feel that the cause is one, east, west, north, and south. I should be glad for one to have Bro. and sister White, and some of the other preaching brethren come this way the coming season.
Brethren in the East, let the Macedonian cry go out to the preaching brethren, Come over and help us. I feel, brethren and sisters, that it is high time that we were more awake in the cause of God. It is a good cause to be engaged in. Have we not unconverted friends and neighbors and children? Then let us take hold of the good work in earnest. The third angel's message is moving onward, and will soon go with a loud cry.
I feel thankful for what the Lord is doing in these last days; that he is leading out a people and fitting them for translation. I want to be among the little few who will be ready to meet Jesus when he comes. I want some humble place among God's children. I mean by the grace of God to strive to overcome, that when He who is our life shall appear, I may appear with him in glory.
My prayer is that the Lord would revive his work here in the East, and that the good work may move on, till we all come into the unity of the faith.
Your brother, striving to overcome.
MARSHALL EDSON
Ashfield, Mass.
Joy Cometh To-morrow.
By M. E. Darling
WHAT though afflictions and trials assail us?
What though with darkness our path be o'erspread?
What though our hopes of the future should fail us?
Still we'll look forward for bright things ahead.
For ever we know that temptation and sorrow
Are ordered by Him who doth all things control;
Still trusting, confiding, we'll hope for the morrow,
Though to-day the wild surges around us may roll.
Afflictions are sent by our Father to try us,
But with them will always be strength to endure;
Bright guardian angels are hovering nigh us,
They whisper, "Go forward—the victory's sure."
M. E. Darling.
E. P. BUTLER
By E. P. Butler
From Bro. Butler.
Bro. White: I have for a long time neglected to contribute anything to the columns of the Review, and very little for its publication. There have been various reasons, which I might assign, for this long silence. But the principal one has been a consciousness of my being unable to communicate anything that would enlighten or encourage any one to "stand fast." For some time previous to my leaving Vermont, I concluded that the Lord did not require much labor of me in spreading the third angel's message. I strove to learn the will of God in this matter.
I could not teach the coming of the Lord as very near; for I did not think it was nearer than six or eight years; and such has been the darkness and trials of my mind, that I have not till quite recently thought the event nearer than six or eight years; and in two or three instances where I have been called upon to show my position, I have feared that my answers have done injury. I have felt willing to remain silent. When I came to Iowa, a dark and discouraging influence weighed down my spirits. I saw, or thought I saw, the cause sinking, and I was sinking with it. This was in 1856.
The vision of sister White at a general conference in Stowe, Vt., had a great effect upon me. I supposed that it applied to the (then) present time, and if it did, I despaired of ever knowing when we were in the light. But as the light of the Laodicean message shone upon my mind, the darkness of the vision has been cleared away, and now it is one of the clearest evidences to my mind that God is leading a people, and warning them of the dangers that encompass their pathway. I do not wonder that any person having a clear view of the awful offensive state before God into which the church would fall in the course of three or four years, should writhe in agony for its safety.
I trust Bro. Cornell was sent here according to the will of the Lord. His lectures were calculated to dispel darkness, and cheer us on in the light. I regret that my mind was so enveloped in darkness that I could render him no service in his labor. I was completely bound; nevertheless, I trust his labors have been particularly blessed to me. I see in a clearer sense the value of that teaching which comes by the Spirit of prophecy. I see the coming the Lord years nearer than before he came. I see how applicable the Laodicean message is to me. It seems surprising to me that the stupidity and indifference that has rested upon me for six years, has not alarmed me more than it has; but I trust that I now feel grateful to God for his great mercy and continued kindness to me. I strive to heed the counsel of the true Witness, and am determined, by the help of God, not to cease my efforts till I have that love to God and man that the Spirit of the Gospel requires.
E. P. BUTLER
Waukon, Iowa.
A Solitary Believer Encouraged
Sister A. G. Pixley writes from Ypsilanti, Mich.: I am still trying to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. I am alone, and sympathize with the scattered ones. How much I desire to hear the precious truth of the gospel. I am hungry for the pure word of life. I am much encouraged by reading the testimonies of those of like precious faith in the Review. I find a daily warfare, and sometimes am almost discouraged, but I cannot give up so long as I see the crown ahead.
Trials and Fear of Man
TROUBLES frequently meet us in the way of duty; they are designed to try our constancy, courage, and sincerity: think not, I am wrong, because tried; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.
FEAR God if you would rise above the fear of man.
OBITUARY.
By S. M. Swan
DIED, in Orwell, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, March 24, 1863, of congestion of the brain, after a distressing illness of two weeks, Rufus N. Chaffee, aged 33 years.
He leaves a wife and three children. We would ask an interest in the prayers of the brethren and sisters in behalf of our afflicted sister, who, though in feeble health, feels to trust in Him who has said, "Leave thy fatherless children and I will preserve them alive, and let thy widows trust in me." S. M. SWAN.