p. 16 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 3. (1/17/1911)

Earlier text: Shiloh: the Man of Sorrows

Contributions to Missions

By Editor

VERY little was contributed the first three months of the year through the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, therefore most of the following came during the last nine months. We thank God for what has been done; we wish it had been a hundredfold greater.

We have endeavored to emphasize two things: the enterprise or field most needy, and some smaller needy things for which general funds are not used by the mission board.

Of the first we know of no needier fields than China and India, and just now the importance of a printing plant for China stands first. Brother I. H. Evans, superintendent of the great Oriental mission field, under date of December 2, writes to us:

Ruins of the Dilkeesha Palace in Lucknow, noted as the place to which the British forces retreated after the evacuation of the Residency.

"I wish you could see the needs of our little printing plant. We are in rented Chinese houses of the third class, hot in summer, cold in winter. [He did not say, as he might have said, unwholesome, with unsanitary surroundings at all times.] Last winter, the whole season through, the wind howled through great gaping cracks, till oftentimes work had to be suspended on account of the cold."

The regular circulation of the Chinese Signs of the Times is over 10,000. For a special which they will issue they had over 30,000 orders a month and a half before the time of its issue. They have bought one cylinder press for which $1,100 was paid. They wanted to get a faster American press, but did not have the money. But their printing outfit needs more machinery, and they need a good cheap building in sanitary surroundings.

For these needs, which we can see with no vivid imagination, and feel intensely, we keep the Chinese Press Fund still open. How many of our readers want a part in it? We shall credit all donations monthly in the SIGNS OF THE TIMES. If the donors do not wish their names to appear, let them designate some other term, or initials, and we will list under that so that they will know the money has been received.

We close our India Library Fund, glad that Brother Enoch, who suggested it, can place books laden with Gospel truth in some of the great libraries of India.

We still hold open the Tokyo Church Fund. It is more than a mere local enterprise. It has to do with our work throughout Japan.

All the other great fields are always open, and we will forward funds as desired. Following is our list for the year:

Donations for November, 1910

	CHINA PRESS	TOKYO	INDIA
Previously reported	$597.57	$298.76	$120.07
Mrs. David Brock	1.00
Mrs. C. Abrams	1.00
J. P.	10.00		5.00
C. M. Platner	2.00
Fred H. Pettif	8.00		3.00
G.	1.00
Marguerite Myneer			3.07
Miss A. Walgren	.50
Clif. Jennings		1.00
Ethel Lowry			.60
Edna L. Walker			2.00
Mrs. W. C. Brose			.50
Mrs. B. S. Dimmick	1.00	1.00
Louis B. Honorez	2.00
Mrs. Mary R. Stanley	.50
Mrs. R. H. Gifford	1.25
Mrs. Una Cartwright (child's birthday offering)			.04
A. Carter	1.00
A. Sleigh	5.00
W. B. Thompson	5.00	3.00
J. P.	10.00	2.50
Mrs. E. Chaffee	6.00	3.00
M. C. W.		.50
Mrs. Lydia L. Mason	5.00
U.	42.40
Through Our Little Friend	.40	.10	36.88
	$700.62	$309.86	$171.16

INDIA LIBRARIES

Previously reported	$58.51
J. P.	2.50
W. B. Thompson	2.00
Mrs. E. Chaffee	1.00
	$64.01

SPAIN

J. W. Bagby | $8.12

Bibles.— Remember that we are headquarters for anything in the Bible line. We shall be pleased to send you our catalog of Bible selections on application. Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal.

Better and Stronger in Every Respect

By Editor

One of our conference presidents, unsolicited, wrote us as follows: "In looking over the Signs Monthly for January I was compelled to say that it is the best magazine that we publish."

These words of commendation are prized. More letters of this character are sure to be received; for beginning at once, we plan to furnish our readers and agents with a much "better and stronger" magazine. Improvement will be noticeable in the February number, which is now

Ready for Delivery

Some of the Articles

The Coming Conflict — A Latter-Day Tendency — The World's Unrest — The Inerrant Book — Colossal Cavern in Space Nebulosity.

Your mental food is not balanced unless you are a reader of the Signs Monthly. Why not subscribe now? You will receive good value for your dollar — the yearly subscription price.

We Want consecrated Christian people everywhere to sell this magazine. The selling price, 10 cents, provides a good margin of profit for the faithful worker. The magazine costs agents 5 cents per copy for 5 to 40 copies, and 4 cents per copy for 50 or more. Send orders through the Tract Society operating in your conference.

Signs of the Times, Mountain View, Cal.

IN THREE DAYS

SAN FRANCISCO

Overland Limited

TAKES YOU

To Chicago

ACROSS GREAT SALT LAKE

AND

HIGH SIERRA BY DAYLIGHT

Luxurious High-class Equipment

Electric Lighted Throughout

Pullman Drawing-room

Stateroom

Vestibuled Sleeping-cars

Careful and Attentive Dining

Service

Parlor Observation-car with

Library and Cafe

Ladies' Reading-room

Gentlemen's Smoking-room

Daily News Bulletins

Southern Pacific

The Desire of Ages

By Editor

We have in our possession a few copies of the original wide-margin edition of that grand book by Mrs. E. G. White, "The Desire of Ages," which we offer while they last, as follows:

Cloth, gilt edge, $4.25 — our price $2.25. Library, marble edge, $5.00 — our price $2.75.

These prices are post-paid. A better book gift could not be made than one of these "Desire of Ages." Address, Pacific Press Publishing Assn., 1109 E. 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri.

Loyalty or Knowledge.

It is sometimes asked, "If the Seventh-day Sabbath is important, if it is a requirement of God, what will become of the devoted men and women who have not observed the Sabbath in past generations, but rather have observed Sunday, a spurious sabbath, in its stead?" The question is not difficult if we will but remember that the foundation principle in character in God's government on the part of His subjects is loyalty rather than knowledge. God does not say to the Sardis church — imperfect in both knowledge and devoted service — Remember "what thou hast received," but, Remember "how thou hast received." Rev. 3:3. The how is more important than the what. Mere "knowledge puffeth up." The devil is a learned divine. But "love buildeth up." It is more important that a man should be lovingly loyal, tho ignorant, than to possess great knowledge and external form and still not be devotedly loyal. The truly honest, patriotic citizen may pass in good faith a counterfeit bill, and die none the wiser for it. He is considered none the less a good citizen. But his loyalty, when he is apprised of the fact — and evidence of the spuriousness of a bill — will lead him promptly to discard the bill, even tho it be a total loss. So it is regarding God's truth. The man who in his heart "doeth the truth," even tho in error in knowledge, "cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." John 3:21. Meeting every seen or known duty is the surest evidence of a loyal soul. Many souls who have unwittingly transgressed God's law in the past were loyal, and the will was accepted as the deed. They were right in the how if not in the what.

Dances of Death.

So Paris and other great cities are dancing mad; beautiful women with new dances, dances in shameless abandon, which a few years ago would not have been tolerated, are in evidence. One old theater goer, referring to a class of dances which are delighting Paris, speaks thus of the emotions awakened by them: "It is a degenerating emotion, too, and so it is said this fever of dancing that has seized hold of Paris is causing it to degenerate faster than anything else." They are literally dances of death, death to morality and soul purity.

The California Weekly Suspends Publication

By Editor

"The California Weekly," an excellent and clean newspaper by the way, has been forced to suspend because of "inability to secure living advertising patronage in San Francisco and vicinity." We are sorry; there are several papers whose demise to the advantage of the community might have made room for it to live. The effort to make a clean, strong paper is not lost. Editor Pillsbury will have this satisfaction.

Sugar Trust Prosecution

And now the Government will vigorously prosecute the crooked Sugar Trust, since the courts have declared that it is not debarred from this by statutory limitations.

Worthless Leather.

The wearers find it, without trouble. Dr. Wiley, Government expert, says that leather to a great extent is "loaded" with glucose and other substances. He has laid the fraud, with samples, before Congress. Sole-leather is more likely to be loaded, and when wet becomes worthless.

The Missionary Calendar

By Editor

"The Missionary Calendar" for 1911, issued by Mr. A. W. Roffe, 274 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Canada, has come to hand. It is an inspiration on missions. Its 13 pages, 10x14 inches, are filled with mission facts, sentiments, statistics, one for every day in the year, illuminated with half-tone illustrations of mission scenes. It is neatly corded for hanging in office, home, or church, a prompter to unselfish deed all the year through. Price 35 cents; three for $1.00.

Out-of-Print Books Available

By Editor

We have frequent opportunity to secure for students of Bible and history some excellent works now out of print, or editions out of print, such as "Hales's Chronology," "Boothroyd's Bible," etc. We can give no price, as they must be found by us in second-hand bookstores. We are not soliciting customers; but if we can serve any of our readers at mere nominal prices, we shall be glad so to do. We carry no stock, and the one ordering must take the risk. This we have done for ourselves in hundreds of cases, and are satisfied.

Fatalities Among Aviators in 1910

Of the twenty-two aviators killed in 1910, John B. Moissant and Arch Hoxsey were the last, both of whom met their death on the last day of the year. On December 26 Hoxsey raised the world's record for high flying to 11,474 feet. On his fatal flight he was on a downward glide when his biplane was overturned and he fell a distance of 225 feet.

A few days before Ralph Johnson met his death at Denver he predicted the death of Moissant and Hoxsey in saying, “Unless Lesseps quits, it will get him, and it will get Moissant and Grahame-White and little Hoxsey and Latham and me — all of us — sooner or later.”

As Parmelee saw Hoxsey meet his doom at Los Angeles, he said: “There goes another. It won’t be long before it gets all of us. We ourselves do not realize the chances we take. Even if a warping wire were to break we would fall like a stone. When a man gets into this business he knows what he is up against, and must be ready to take the final chance.”

Uncertain Witness.

By Editor

It is bad enough to have two contradictory witnesses on one side of a cause; but it is worse when one witness contradicts himself. And yet both these cases are frequent among the witnesses for the traditions of men against the Word of God. For instance, before us lies an article written against the seventh-day Sabbath, and in favor of Sunday observance. The writer first argues that it makes no "difference in the good received by us, whether the day chosen was the first one of the week or some other day;" that because the days of the year "will not divide into even weeks," "it would not be possible to keep a certain day each week, year after year, as a Sabbath, which would correspond with all previous years;" and that "the observance of this commandment [is] impossible" because "our earth is round"!

In the same article a little further on the writer says: "But putting all this aside, it is very important that we keep what we call the first day of the week as our sabbath, because everywhere among all Christian nations it is the day so set apart, and laws are made for its protection." That is to say, God's commandment can not be kept, was not designed to be kept, He did not mean what He said; but the definite day of man's choosing can be kept, and the laws of men should be obeyed! Truly it may be said of such teaching that it is too uncertain to follow. Better the Word of God. "What is the chaff to the wheat?"

Answering Objections to the Sabbath

By Editor

On page nine are answered some of the common objections against the Sabbath and its observance. How good it is to know that these objections can be met in the strength of Christ. He gave God's law and Sabbath; He observed the Sabbath. He died to save us from our transgressions of the law; He lives that we may count it all joy to observe it. "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." What good company we have! What a mighty example! What a good Leader!

Missions Contributions

By Editor

We call attention to our Missions Contributions on page 15. The total amount for the year contributed through the SIGNS OF THE TIMES for foreign missions is as follows:

China Press Fund $700.62 Tokyo Church Fund 309.86 India Mission 171.16 India Libraries 64.01 Miscellaneous 11.12 ____________________ Total $1,256.77

We said that while we thanked God for this, we wished it had been one hundred times as much. That would have been $125,677. But the open doors in China and India, and their great needs, demanded much more. One soul saved is worth it all.

Christian Citizenship Conference

By Editor

Read our Christian Citizenship Conference article on page 10. Consider the principles involved. Good men led by wrong principles will inevitably come to wrong conclusions.

California Legislators and Sunday Laws

May the legislators of California stand for justice, integrity, truth, liberty, and equality. They will then say, as they have by substantial majorities said before, that religious legislation in the shape of Sunday laws should have no place in human enactment; that all such legislation is unconstitutional, un-American, un-Christian.

California Campaign Against Sunday Laws

There is an active campaign now going on in California for and against Sunday laws. Why should they be asked for? Any man or woman in California can keep Sunday as devoutly as he or she will, with none to molest or make afraid. No one has a right to disturb religious worship on any day. Why then a civil law? Is it because a sacred law is wanting? Why seek to compel some souls to seem to keep the day who do not believe in its sacredness? This is neither republican equality nor Gospel liberty.

Making the New Year Truly Happy

How many "Happy New Years" have been offered to almost every one of us; and yet how often has the greeting scarce died away, before gloom has come. There is one way, only one way, to make the year truly happy with a growing, developing, expanding happiness — forget self in your service for others. Then the service rendered your enemy will prove a joy. You can not do this in your own strength; but you can do it in the strength of Christ Jesus. The true heart of self-denial will be filled with His fragrant, healing presence.