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Review and Herald, Vol. 87, No. 30.

Denial
Earlier text: Home Training

Unity of the Body

Unity of the Body. — Both the Old and New Testaments show the church as one body in service, counselling together and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. To this end the apostle exhorted: “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” As association together in the local church meeting is a blessing in encouraging believers, and binding all together in the unity of the Spirit, so has the association of representatives from the church in annual conference been a blessing, serving to unite all together in the one work.
WHEN, however, the general workers in the later fifties began to plan for general meetings in various parts of the field, some evidently feared it an unwise move. In the REVIEW of JULY 21, 1859, Elder James White pointed out how much fruitage of gospel effort was being lost by lack of systematic planning together, and urged annual meetings of representatives of the churches in various parts, “as the truth spreads, and friends rally round the standard.” He added these wholesome words:— We are aware that these suggestions will not meet the minds of all. Brother Overcautious will be frightened, and will be ready to warn his brethren to be careful and not venture out too far; while Brother Confusion will cry out, “O, this looks just like Babylon! Following the fallen church!” Brother Do-little will say, “The cause is the Lord’s, and we had better leave it in his hands; he will take care of it.” “Amen,” say us, and a Love-this-world, Slothful, Selfish, and Stingy; “if God calls men to preach, let them go out and preach; he will take care entirely of them, and those who believe each their message;” while Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are ready to rebel against those who feel the weight of the cause, and who watch for souls as those who must give account, and raise the cry, “Ye take too much upon you.”
IN reply we would say that Brother Overcautious reminds us of the brakeman who supposed that all that was necessary to run a train of cars was to use the brake well. We would also suggest that he, and others of the same views and feelings, try to run a train by the use of brakes. Their success in standing still would, we think, teach them the necessity of having an engine, wood, fire, water, steam, as well as brakes.
BROTHER CONFUSION makes a most egregious blunder in calling system, which is in harmony with the Bible and good sense, Babylon. As Babylon signifies confusion, our erring brother has the very word stamped upon his own forehead. And we venture to say there is not another people under heaven more worthy of the brand of Babylon than those professing the advent faith who reject Bible order. Is it not high time that we as a people heartily embrace everything that is good and right in the churches? Is it not blind folly to start back at the idea of system, found everywhere in the Bible, simply because it is observed in the fallen churches?
TRUE, the Bible does not say in so many words that we should have yearly meetings; neither does it say that we should have a weekly paper, a steam printing-press, that we should publish books, build places of worship, and send out tents. Christ says, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill can not be hid,” “Let your light so shine before men,” etc. He does not enter into the particulars just how this shall be done. The living church of God is left to humbly move forward in this great work, praying for divine guidance, and acting upon the most efficient plans for its accomplishment.
Men of the world lay their plans wisely and well, combine their strength, and prosecute them vigorously. And should not the church, aided by the principles of the Word, and the influence of the Holy Spirit, act as wisely in their high and holy calling? “But,” says Brother Do-little, “Christ says that the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” Very true: but he does not say they should be. So far from it, that his words are a cutting rebuke on Brother Do-little, and all his careless, disorderly brethren. It will be seen that these men have wound themselves up in a kind of cobweb argument, and have lain down in an easy position: but we design to tear off the cobwebs, and stir them up to find their place in the church of Christ.
THERE are two extremes which should be shunned: one is for human wisdom alone to combine its feeble strength to carry on the work of God; the other is to leave with God what he has left with us, and sit down with the idea of waiting for special providences before moving. If such move at all, it is independently of the views and feelings of others, each individual constituting an independent church.
SOME may cry, “The Spirit! the Spirit!” and others, “The Word!” but our cry shall be, “The Word and the Spirit!” The Word presents the form of doctrine, and requires systematic, united action; and the Spirit sanctifies the judgment, gives vitality to the body, and efficiency to the work. It leads into all truth.

Which Standard?

By F. M. W.

IN the great so-called Christian church of to-day, mighty influences are at work. With the earnest thinking there is much to commend, as manifested in some of the great missionary movements looking toward the giving of the gospel to all the world in this generation. It is to be regretted, however, that other subtle and powerful influences are seeking to undermine faith in the inspiration of the Word of God, in the divine character of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in other great fundamentals of Christian faith.
God has children to-day in every church fold,—God-fearing men and women who, according to the best light they possess, are endeavoring to live for him, and to further the interests of his kingdom in the world; but with many, and we fear the great majority of those who profess his name, vital, practical Christianity is at a discount. They have adopted the standards of the world, and are living on the low level of worldly influences instead of seeking to attain the high and holy standard set for the church of God. No statistics are needed to show that the great Christian church is succumbing to the world. Ichabod is written over the door of many a sanctuary. Churches which once possessed simplicity of faith and practise have grown rich and populous, and with increasing numbers and popularity has come a wide departure from the simplicity and purity of Christian living.
To what extent have these influences, so mightily affecting the church at large, made an impression upon Seventh-day Adventists? Is this people to-day standing in the simplicity of earnest Christian living which characterized the pioneers in this message? These are indeed questions which we do well to consider. Have we brought into our experience worldly standards? Do we view sin to-day with a greater toleration and more favor than we did twenty-five years ago?
The standards of many professed Christians around us have changed with the times. We are told that this is a progressive age, and that we must keep pace with the progress of the world. This is indeed true, so far as all that constitutes true progress is concerned. We should seek to keep abreast of the times in the knowledge of all that is worthy of thought and study. But this does not involve changing the standard of moral conduct or Christian living.
The world around us is bent upon pleasure. Many professed Christians have partaken of this spirit. The apostle, speaking of the professed church of God in the last days, says that men shall be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” Have we been affected by this spirit? And do we to-day determine our relationship to the pleasures of the world by the world’s standard or by the standard of God’s Word?
The Word of God enjoins plainness and simplicity of dress. The world, on the other hand, has its standard; and the standard of the world has largely become the standard of the great professed church. Which standard is ours?
The Scriptures of truth clearly require a reverential regard to be paid to the Sabbath of the Lord. The world to-day makes of the Sunday sabbath a day of pleasure. This spirit is largely permeating the churches around us. Which standard do we follow in our Sabbath-keeping? Is the Sabbath observed by this church as conscientiously as of old? Do we use it in the spirit of true Sabbath observance? or has it degenerated with some of us into a day of physical relaxation, social converse, or seeking our own pleasure in the physical comforts of resting and eating?
Do we seek to make the Sabbath a day of holy joy to our families, or are our children left to pursue their fancies at pleasure? We have in this matter a duty which we can not lightly regard.
We might extend the list of comparisons; but those already given are sufficient to bring before us the principle involved. A vital question for us to consider is this: Is the Seventh-day Adventist Church succumbing to the influences which are so mightily operating in other churches, bringing about their spiritual demoralization? We know that with many, and we hope the large majority, this is not the case. But there are those who need to return to their first love. God has set this people as watchmen upon Zion’s wall. We must keep awake and alert to the evils which threaten on every side. We must stand in that spiritual condition where we shall recognize dangers, and give warning of their approach. We must not permit in our lives the light of truth to go out in darkness, or the banner of truth to trail in the dust. God’s standard must be our standard, and we must hold it erect, steadfast and unwavering in our Christian experience. This only is our salvation in these days of spiritual declension.
F. M. W.

Editorial

By Editor

Seeking God Together. — There is grace multiplied unto those who are united in the worship of God in truth. There is special blessing where even the two or three are gathered in Christ’s name. There is something divine in the fellowship of believers. That is why the enemy so often works to destroy unity in the church, and separate believers into independent fragments. Every believer needs the help and association of his brethren.

An Ominous Perplexity

By C. M. S.

THERE is an increasing prevalence of perplexity in the world to-day. All nations and all people are burdened with a weight of dread. It is an ominous condition, and it has a meaning.
The perplexity of the nations is given as one of the signs to Christ's followers that his coming is near at hand. It is to be a perplexity that is present in all the nations at the same time—a mutual perplexity, a dread which they share in common. The cause of the perplexity is not restricted to any one thing, to one nation's dread of another. This has been shown by the world-wide perplexity over the insidious growth and the deadly power of anarchy. The dread of it is greatest in those countries that inflict the most rigorous punishments upon its adherents. The dread of it and the perplexity regarding it are increased by the fact that its adherents are not known in those countries save to one another; and that it is possible for most dangerous anarchists to be servants, or apparent friends, in the households of statesmen, governors, kings, and emperors. The recent assassinations in Russia, Finland, India, and Egypt, and the attempts upon the lives of European rulers,—all serve to emphasize that dread and that perplexity.
Wars and rumors of wars, the apparent necessity for haste in preparing for defense, the discontent of the people under heavy, grinding taxation, the necessity for finding markets for the industrial products of overcrowded manufacturing centers,—all these have been perplexing the nations with an ever-increasing power and persistence. The perplexity which anarchy and the military burden are causing is but heaping up the load which the world has been carrying, adding to the general perplexity. This is in truth the age of perplexity; it is the age of distress of nations; it is the age of a universal dread of war; it is the age of violence; it is the age in which all these things are to culminate. That culmination comes with the second coming of Christ. Here are his own words in reference to these things and that event:—
“There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:25-27.
We are in the time here brought to view, as everything in the earth to-day bears witness, and the coming of the Just One draweth nigh. As we look upon the perplexity and distress of nations, let us remember that God has faithfully warned us what it all means, and what it portends. Then let us lay ourselves upon the altar of God, permitting him to take out of our hearts the anarchy that has separated between us and him, so that when the opening heavens shall reveal him,—as soon they will,—we can look up to him as a loving Heavenly Father, and fly to the shelter of his outstretched arms. That is the blessed privilege that is held out to-day to every son and daughter of Adam. To reject it is sorrow and death; to accept it is joy, and peace, and life everlasting. Let us make a wise choice. C. M. S.

A Message From the Sea

By W. A. S.

It may be a small matter in these days of universal postal facilities to lose a mail. In the early days of missions, means of communication were so infrequent at best that the missionary in a strange land was widely isolated from those holding the ropes at home.
John Thomas was a pioneer in the Friendly Islands. He had worked long in one of the Tonga islands, against all manner of opposition from the chief. Word came that the chief of an island in another part of the group was calling for a mission. Thomas sent word of this opening to the board in London, in order to receive assurance of further support in opening a new station in a new island. How he received the answer is told in an old volume, “The Missionary World:” —
Whilst waiting at Nukualofa, in a state of considerable anxiety and suspense in the month of January, 1830, an incident occurred which clearly shows the superintending providence of God in the affairs of the missionary enterprise. A small box was washed on shore, and brought to Mr. Turner by one of the natives. On being opened it was found to contain a letter from the missionary secretaries, giving the sanction of the committee for the extension of the mission in the Friendly Islands, and the appointment of a missionary to Haabai without further delay. The vessel by which this communication had been sent, a schooner from Sydney, had foundered at sea, and all on board were lost. It is said that neither vessel, nor crew, nor any of the goods with which she had been freighted were ever seen or heard of again. The package containing that letter alone, a messenger of mercy for a people waiting for the law of the Lord, guided by him whom wind and sea obey, escaped the general wreck, and was cast on shore at the right place and at the right time to relieve the minds of the anxious missionaries, and to enable them to go forward and enter the openings which appeared before them for the proclamation of the glorious gospel of the blessed God.
Many years have passed, and now we ourselves have a mission and school at Nukualofa. W. A. S.

Six-Month Missions Fund Report

Statement of the Ten-Cent-a-Week Offering to Missions for Six Months Ending June 30, 1910

CONFERENCES ANNUAL OFFERING FIRST-DAY OFFERING MIDSUMMER OFFERING MISSIONS SABBATH-SCHOOL OFFERING HARVEST INGATHERING TOTALS
Atlantic Union Conference
Central New England $760.69 $471.04 .... $154.03 1006.82 726.25 3119.83
Northern New England 231.49 188.26 .... 24.18 333.08 224.10 1001.11
Southern New England 388.34 353.79 .... 31.38 349.62 553.52 1676.65
Maine 197.32 44.61 .... 15.21 209.38 116.11 582.63
New York 362.05 27.99 .... 228.33 535.82 598.57 1752.76
Greater New York 1228.98 48.81 .... 693.98 1096.11 1078.95 4146.83
Western New York 493.37 50.29 .... 208.18 644.24 494.78 1890.86
Totals 3662.24 1184.79 1.00 1355.29 4175.07 3792.28 14170.67
CONFERENCES ANNUAL OFFERING FIRST-DAY OFFERING MIDSUMMER OFFERING MISSIONS SABBATH-SCHOOL OFFERING HARVEST INGATHERING TOTALS
Central Union Conference
Colorado 654.27 219.70 5.00 2960.46 1172.11 505.86 5517.40
West Colorado 152.62 119.89 .... 868.61 311.65 234.71 1687.48
Kansas 1516.36 345.56 .... 4036.22 1991.77 932.84 8822.75
Nebraska 488.99 98.68 .... 3487.78 1318.25 489.71 5883.41
North Missouri 450.45 83.13 2.30 171.72 221.96 210.37 1139.93
Southern Missouri 299.05 64.05 5.53 296.11 494.62 345.21 1504.57
Wyoming 244.28 35.59 .... 223.52 265.06 125.55 894.00
Totals 3806.02 966.60 12.83 12044.42 5775.42 2844.25 25449.54
CONFERENCES ANNUAL OFFERING FIRST-DAY OFFERING MIDSUMMER OFFERING MISSIONS SABBATH-SCHOOL OFFERING HARVEST INGATHERING TOTALS
Columbia Union Conference
Chesapeake 177.88 116.85 .... 67.98 296.24 188.99 874.94
District of Columbia 827.79 7.15 55.15 298.64 584.11 318.23 2091.07
Eastern Pennsylvania 625.59 411.97 2.00 26.79 853.73 1204.41 3124.49
West Pennsylvania 239.77 156.62 3.25 50.85 569.46 509.89 1529.84
New Jersey 397.90 110.60 .... 107.94 578.20 1331.78 2526.42
Ohio 952.00 467.09 .... 712.77 1483.25 1244.80 4859.91
Virginia 99.71 38.25 .... 215.72 162.73 222.14 738.55
West Virginia 44.77 24.10 .... 22.42 104.75 81.53 277.57
Totals 3365.41 1332.63 60.40 1503.11 4632.47 5101.77 15995.79
CONFERENCES ANNUAL OFFERING FIRST-DAY OFFERING MIDSUMMER OFFERING MISSIONS SABBATH-SCHOOL OFFERING HARVEST INGATHERING TOTALS
Southern Union Conference
Southern Union mission 9.06 13.72 1.57 18.97 105.99 27.00 176.31
Alabama 35.30 52.52 .... 2.79 91.53 117.41 299.35
Kentucky 42.72 11.79 .... 4.44 71.46 206.19 336.60
Louisiana .... 185.74 .... 50.00 125.29 152.55 513.58
Mississippi 3.73 20.01 .... 27.60 69.07 28.56 148.97
Tennessee River 179.40 50.08 .... 39.36 218.71 192.30 679.85
Totals 270.21 333.86 1.57 143.16 681.85 724.01 2154.66
CONFERENCES ANNUAL OFFERING FIRST-DAY OFFERING MIDSUMMER OFFERING MISSIONS SABBATH-SCHOOL OFFERING HARVEST INGATHERING TOTALS
Lake Union Conference
East Michigan $412.68 $87.96 .... $414.63 $710.54 $341.53 $1967.34
North Michigan 162.76 43.89 .... 141.60 284.06 343.51 975.82
West Michigan 238.72 261.83 93.51 1130.43 1171.15 489.25 3384.89
Indiana 250.69 397.28 .... 91.60 608.60 544.17 1892.34
Northern Illinois 184.90 53.95 .... 160.90 576.69 298.66 1275.10
Southern Illinois .... .... .... 287.98 285.00 139.61 712.59
Wisconsin 1000.00 .... 52.42 1115.09 861.37 500.00 3528.88
Totals 2249.75 844.91 145.93 3342.23 4497.41 2656.73 13736.96
| Northern Union Conference | | | | | | | | | Iowa | 1529.47 | 478.52 | .... | 793.12 | 1664.36 | 1584.17 | 6049.64 | | Minnesota | .... | .... | .... | 1471.19 | 1032.98 | 922.56 | 3426.73 | | South Dakota | 768.04 | 86.92 | .... | 705.19 | 1004.68 | 541.13 | 3105.96 | | North Dakota | 700.00 | 32.20 | .... | 3154.32 | 400.00 | 338.05 | 4624.57 | | Totals | 2997.51 | 597.64 | .... | 6123.82 | 4102.02 | 3385.91 | 17206.90 |
| North Pacific Union Conference | | | | | | | | | Alaska | .... | 1.35 | .... | .... | 13.44 | 24.00 | 38.79 | | Montana | 300.06 | 327.36 | .... | 367.56 | 409.12 | 335.07 | 1739.17 | | Upper Columbia | 1632.68 | 392.03 | 9.00 | 1573.25 | 2016.14 | 946.46 | 6569.56 | | Western Washington | 805.27 | 394.06 | .... | 1170.14 | 1173.66 | 963.86 | 4506.99 | | Western Oregon | 1203.03 | 151.70 | .... | 1874.05 | 1360.78 | 779.32 | 5368.88 | | South Idaho | 382.11 | 55.01 | .... | 86.85 | 518.51 | 171.15 | 1213.63 | | Totals | 4323.15 | 1321.51 | 9.00 | 5071.85 | 5491.65 | 3219.86 | 19437.02 |
| Pacific Union Conference | | | | | | | | | Arizona | 201.46 | .... | 1.50 | 99.06 | 202.31 | 88.71 | 593.04 | | California | 3546.03 | .... | .... | 2402.26 | 3490.65 | 2327.52 | 11766.46 | | Southern California | 2434.25 | .... | .... | 1641.06 | 1501.91 | 1601.28 | 7178.50 | | Utah | 50.35 | .... | .... | 23.85 | 109.80 | 176.48 | 360.48 | | Totals | 6232.09 | .... | 1.50 | 4166.23 | 5304.67 | 4193.99 | 19898.48 |
| Southeastern Union Conference | | | | | | | | | Bahama mission | 9.40 | .... | .... | .... | 8.55 | .... | 17.95 | | Cumberland | 439.48 | 5.20 | .... | 424.82 | 317.59 | 134.38 | 1321.47 | | Florida | 236.35 | 57.27 | .... | 215.55 | 519.79 | 116.28 | 1145.22 | | Georgia | 52.07 | 48.62 | .... | 167.39 | 315.74 | 81.85 | 665.67 | | North Carolina | 131.14 | 29.00 | .... | 200.10 | 120.79 | 135.09 | 616.12 | | South Carolina | 44.37 | 23.20 | .... | 4.44 | 119.67 | 84.92 | 276.60 | | Totals | 912.81 | 163.29 | .... | 1012.30 | 1402.11 | 552.52 | 4043.03 |
| Canadian Union Conference | | | | | | | | | Maritime | 138.26 | 55.29 | .... | 8.17 | 146.13 | 217.62 | 565.47 | | Newfoundland | 168.80 | 5.59 | .... | 25.00 | 30.40 | 53.39 | 283.18 | | Ontario | 357.92 | 321.22 | .... | 412.28 | 484.27 | 615.66 | 2191.35 | | Quebec | 91.30 | 19.15 | 8.00 | 7.70 | 114.65 | 206.13 | 446.93 | | Totals | 756.28 | 401.25 | 8.00 | 453.15 | 775.45 | 1092.80 | 3486.93 |
| Southwestern Union Conference | | | | | | | | | Southwestern Union Mis. . | .... | 2.00 | .... | 5.45 | 21.07 | .... | 28.52 | | Arkansas | 70.46 | 14.48 | .... | 55.51 | 116.75 | 136.58 | 393.78 | | Oklahoma | 967.96 | 53.06 | 8.00 | 847.68 | 1648.18 | 657.91 | 4182.79 | | New Mexico | 142.20 | 10.71 | .... | 110.83 | 192.28 | 233.05 | 689.07 | | Texas | 454.52 | 107.25 | .... | 171.81 | 818.74 | 585.80 | 2138.12 | | West Texas | 44.03 | .... | .... | .... | 114.34 | 81.20 | 239.57 | | South Texas | 3.00 | 1.88 | .... | 311.45 | 77.83 | .50 | 394.66 | | Totals | 1682.17 | 189.38 | 8.00 | 1502.73 | 2989.19 | 1695.04 | 8066.51 |
| Western Canadian Union Conference | | | | | | | | | Alberta | 188.05 | 6.25 | .... | 170.80 | 510.20 | 286.85 | 1162.15 | | British Columbia | 118.15 | 1.65 | .... | 969.28 | 251.23 | 168.35 | 1508.66 | | Manitoba | 97.39 | .... | .... | 101.80 | 188.67 | 47.15 | 435.01 | | Saskatchewan | 111.90 | .... | .... | 693.80 | 210.76 | 94.75 | 1111.21 | | Totals | 515.49 | 7.90 | .... | 1935.68 | 1160.86 | 597.10 | 4217.03 |
| Miscellaneous | | | | | | | | | Canal Zone | .... | .... | .... | .... | .... | 33.10 | 33.10 | | Miscellaneous | 10.00 | .... | .... | 1205.14 | .... | 21.55 | 1236.69 | | Bermuda Mission | 11.08 | .... | .... | 6.59 | 34.95 | 11.71 | 64.33 | | Mexico | .... | .... | .... | .... | .... | 6.00 | 6.00 | | Corn Islands | .... | .... | .... | 14.25 | .... | .... | 14.25 | | Geneva Tract Society | .... | .... | .... | 9.70 | .... | .... | 9.70 | | India | 164.45 | .... | .... | 9.50 | 324.87 | 6.00 | 504.82 | | England | .... | .... | .... | .... | .... | 32.87 | 32.87 | | West Indian Union | .... | .... | 2.50 | 9.00 | .... | 17.13 | 28.63 | | South Africa | .... | .... | .... | 100.00 | .... | .... | 100.00 | | West Australia | .... | .... | .... | 48.70 | .... | .... | 48.70 | | Totals | 185.53 | .... | 2.50 | 1402.88 | 359.82 | 128.36 | 2079.09 | | Grand totals | $30958.66 | $7343.76 | $250.73 | $40056.85 | $41347.99 | $29984.62 | $149942.61 |

The Ten-Cent-a-Week Fund

By William T. Knox

THERE appears in this week's REVIEW the report of the receipts from the ten-cent-a-week fund for the first six months of the present year. This report gives all donations belonging to this fund from every local conference, as they have been reported to the General Conference treasurer by the various union conferences, and shows a total of $149,942.61. Of this amount, only $58,462.04 has been received during the last quarter. This is a very heavy shrinkage from the receipts of the first quarter of the year, the shortage in donations being found in almost every conference.
What this shortage during the past three months has meant to the General Conference, may be partially realized when we remember that instead of $58,462 to sustain the work, we have needed $100,000. It has meant that during each of these three months we have been obliged to cut our remittances to our brethren in foreign fields, and in some cases they have been wholly omitted. This has brought disappointment and inconvenience, to say the least, and in some instances a serious loss to the work in general.
It is hoped that temporary relief from this situation will be found when the midsummer offering has been received in our office; but conditions will still call for the continued and constant liberality of all toward our missions, on account of the greatly increased needs of the work, and the prospect that some sections of the American field from which we have always drawn a considerable portion of our funds will be seriously affected this year by drought, thus crippling our brethren in these sections in their ability to contribute to the General Conference treasury.
The object in placing this report before the readers of the REVIEW AND HERALD, is to give them all the information possible concerning the General Conference treasury, and that our people in each conference may know just what is being accomplished by their field toward supporting our missionaries, and how nearly they are meeting their obligation on the ten-cent-a-week plan. Where there are local conferences which, for any reason, have been tardy in sending forward their mission funds, we trust they will put forth earnest efforts to come to our relief by hastening forward their contributions.
W. T. KNOX.

The Bread of Life

By C. M. S.

BLESSED be that bread of life that satisfies the hunger of the soul. Mankind has eaten to the full of the “bread of affliction,” and struggled from the cradle to the grave for the bread of temporal sustenance; but now, out of the largeness of the abundance of the mercy of God comes the free gift of the bread of eternal life, which, if any man eat, “he shall live forever.” We were shackled to sin; Christ has burst the shackles for us, and set us free. We were bound by transgression to the prison-house of the dead; but Christ is risen, and holds the keys of the grave, and will set at liberty every soul that has put his trust in him. We have eaten of the fruit of our labor, that could not give us life; he has given us in its place the life of God, that makes eternity ours, and will permit our feet to tread this earth when sin has been consumed. All this has come—has come to us—through Him who is the bread of life.
C. M. S.

God So Loved the World

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

A Day in Honolulu

By I. H. Evans

IN company with Elder F. H. DeVinney and wife, Dr. Kawasaka, and Brother Miyaka, we reached the beautiful city of Honolulu five days and nineteen hours after leaving San Francisco for the Orient. The trip was a pleasant one; while some of the party suffered much from seasickness, one could hardly expect a calmer sea than we had all the way.
Elder DeVinney is to take the supervision of the work in Japan, thus relieving Brother F. W. Field, who has been superintendent for eight years, so he can give his time to the educational work. Brother Field is much beloved in Japan by all the workers, both foreign and native. He has labored untiringly to establish the work in the “land of the rising sun.” Now the necessity for a training-school has become imperative, and none can be found better adapted to conduct such a school for the Japanese than Brother Field. He desires to take up this work, and the workers in Japan wish him to have charge of the training-school.
Dr. Kawasaka is a regularly graduated physician from Japan. The Japanese Mission Committee as well as the home Mission Board recommended that he spend a year in one of our sanitariums in the States, studying hydrotherapy, hygiene, and other rational remedies used by our people in their sanitarium work. The doctor is now returning to his native land, having been in the States since the time of the last General Conference. Brother Miyaka is a fully qualified nurse, having been graduated from Loma Linda. He expects to connect with our sanitarium work under the direction of the Japanese Mission Committee.
We were more than glad when we sighted Honolulu; for we knew it meant a day of rest and quiet at the pleasant home of Elder C. D. M. Williams and wife, who have charge of the work in the Hawaiian Islands. We were received with a hearty welcome, which these workers always give to our missionaries passing to and from the Orient. We found them in fairly good health, and with an excellent interest in the city of Honolulu. The day before we arrived, five persons were received into the church by baptism. A few weeks before, three others had joined the church, while there are five more who will soon be baptized.
Brother and Sister Williams say they now have the best interest in the city that they have had since they began work in this island field some five years ago. Their hearts are full of praise to God for what he is doing for them. They report the church as united, with a larger membership and more Sabbath-keepers than ever before.
With nine islands, and with nine different languages these two workers certainly need the prayers of the believers in the home land, that the Lord will preserve them in health, and make them a rich blessing to the work in that field.
In company with Elder Williams I called on several of the believers. Among others was Sister Healy, now in her eighty-fourth year. She has long been one of the faithful believers in Honolulu. Her first inquiry, after the usual greeting, was: “Well, how is the work going? Do you not think we are near the end? Do you not see the signs fulfilling that point to the coming of the Lord? I am daily praying my Saviour will come quickly.” After a season of prayer, we parted, and her last words were: “When we meet again, it will be up yonder, where there will be no more partings.” As I departed, I thought of the worn and aged pilgrims among us, who have long been journeying homeward to the promised Canaan, and who have given all their earthly possessions for the advancement of the message. I saw them watching, praying for the soon coming of Him for whom they have waited these many years. Their eyes are upon the signs of his coming, and they hail with joy of heart every indication that his coming is near. They certainly are “pilgrims and strangers” here below. They have no earthly entanglements; long years ago they set their house in order to meet the Lord when he should come. This hope has cheered them all these years, and now they are truly waiting, looking for his appearing in glory.
While our stay was short, our hearts were cheered to meet these faithful workers who are giving their lives for the advancement of the message. We felt we had been in the home of those who truly love the Lord and his work, and our spirits were refreshed.
At 5 P. M. anchor was lifted, and we bade one another good-by, and were soon again far out on the great deep. Our next stop will be beautiful Japan.
I. H. EVANS.
Continue reading: Our Mission Fields and the Foreign Mission Seminary