The greatest lesson in life is the lesson of implicit trust in God. It is an easy matter to say that we trust our all-wise Father; but to make this trust a reality is quite another thing. We know that God is true and faithful, and that he weighs every burden before it is allowed to rest upon one of his children; but in times of affliction, when dark clouds overhang the sky, and it seems that the load will crush us if its weight be not quickly lifted, the Christian should seize the opportunity for making religion a reality. Then is the time for him to exercise faith in God, and show his courage by bravely bearing the given task, be it ever so hard.
“Every pilot can steer his ship in calms, but he performs the skilful part who manages it in storms.” It is in the hour of severe trial that we are to show our Heavenly Father our belief in his declaration that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” We can not always see them work, but God can; and so we rest in him, knowing that he who holds the helm must know the course. Thus we journey on in his strength, sweetening the bitter cup with patience; and though the way be ever so dark and thorny, looking forward to the time when God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things will have passed away.
But before we reach that time, we must pass through the waters of trial and affliction to wean us from this world. Only thus can we be made to see the littleness of this life with its pleasures, which are but for a moment, and the vastness of eternity, with its pleasures untold, which shall never pass away.
Many times it takes years of intense suffering to teach frail humanity some lessons which must be learned before the Master can use as he wishes the one he died to save. Why, then, blame the loving Father, who sends the sunshine with the rain? One is as essential as the other for spiritual growth.
It may be that our most cherished plan does not meet his approval; and so, to turn us and have our feet travel in the right path, he must allow the storm that we may appreciate the calm, and see clearly the hand that firmly yet so tenderly leads us in the way wherein we can work more successfully for him.
We need to grasp and claim his promises, and rely wholly and completely upon them. They are sure. No matter how dark the way, if you are sure you are in the right path, don’t give up, but persevere; and success shall be yours in the end. Remember that Jesus knows all about our struggles; “he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.” Cast “all your care upon him; for he careth for you,” remembering also his promise, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Boulder, Colo.
Surrender
By MILO D. WARFLE
MILO D. WARFLE
O HEART of mine! be still;
Thy God is guiding thee;
Press on and do his will,
And thine the victory.
O heart of mine! be brave;
Thy Saviour leads the way.
He died thy soul to save,
He’ll keep thee day by day.
O heart of mine! be strong;
Thy labor shall be sweet;
He’ll come for thee erelong;
Thou shalt thy Saviour meet.
O heart of mine! be true;
Be ever for the right;
He will thy soul imbue
With spirit for the fight.
O heart of mine! fear not;
Thy Master’s way is best;
He’ll choose thine earthly lot,
And fix thy time of rest.
Boulder, Colo.
The Patent-Medicine Habit
By G. H. HEALD, M. D.
G. H. HEALD, M. D.
AFTER publishing an article showing the folly of attempting self-treatment by means of patent medicines, and giving some particularly glaring examples of patent-medicine fraud, the writer has received inquiries as to whether certain patent medicines were “good to take;” and he would like to answer, once for all, that the man who attempts self-treatment has in himself a combination of credulous patient and ignorant doctor.
Even admitting that the medicine is made on some prescription used by a successful physician (which is not usually the case), it must be remembered that a progressive physician does not give one prescription indiscriminately to all his patients, even when they are apparently suffering from the same disease. The successful physician first ascertains the exact nature of his patient’s disorder, considers the patient’s temperament, idiosyncrasies, etc., and writes a prescription to fit the case.
The self-treating patient thinks, after reading the symptoms on the patent-medicine label, that he knows just what is the matter with him—and that is where he makes his mistake. An intelligent physician, if seriously ill, does not attempt to treat himself, but goes to another physician, because he knows his judgment is likely to be faulty in his own case. If the physician can not trust to self-treatment, much less can one who has not made a special study of the human body.
Many are persuaded to use these nostrums because they have a vague idea that anything in a bottle must possess some mystic virtue, and that, somehow, it will probably do them some good. The pretty and cunningly-worded labels help out wonderfully. If the “medicine” happens to be a whisky dope, the patient will “feel better” after each dose, and so will fall easily into the “bracer” habit, which is little different from the whisky habit.
The safest procedure for every one is to depend on hygienic measures, and leave alone all stuff intended to enrich the charlatan. If the illness does not yield readily to hygienic measures, it is far better to consult some honorable physician than to trust one’s self to self-medication with phosphates, iron, or any patent or proprietary medicine whatever, no matter how smoothly the literature is written up. The safest place for all patent-medicine samples is your ash-barrel.
Takoma Park, D. C.
Benefits of Walking
THE average man does not walk enough. Most every man should walk from five to ten miles a day outdoors, besides outdoor and indoor exercise of other kinds. Never ride when you can take time to walk. Walking is the exercise that you should take the most of from youth to old age.
To do the most good, walking must not be taken by fits and starts, but in regular daily periods, say somewhat after this style. After breakfast walk an hour or so toward your office, store, or shop. After lunch walk for thirty minutes on the sunny side of the street when possible. After supper walk an hour or two before bedtime. If you follow this easy and simple rule, you will have walked from five to ten miles, or more, according to your speed, in the best and largest and healthiest of all gymnasiums—the great outdoors.
One vital rule you must obey in walking—stop short of fatigue. If you do not follow this rule, walking will do you more harm than good. Don't be guided in the length of your walks by what some other seasoned or unseasoned walker may do; be guided only by your own feeling. Gradually lengthen your walks week by week as the walking muscles gain in strength. Your daily walks should better fit you to take up your work or pleasure with greater zeal. Fairly fast walking in the outdoor air is nature's own hygienic stimulant to fit you again to take up the duties of life, and better to perform them.
Thoroughly to enjoy your walks you must dress loosely, especially around the neck and chest and waist. Wear easy-fitting, medium thick-soled and low-heeled shoes. Have two pairs of shoes; wear one pair one day and the other the next; this will ease your feet, and your shoes will last longer. Keep the mouth shut and carry the chest high; lean the body a little forward, bend the knees a little, take an easy and not too long stride, and move smoothly along on your way. A perfect walk is a sort of glide; it is a joy to do, and a pleasure to see.
Don't dress too warmly or heavily, as this will hinder the free play of your arms, body, and legs. The more you are outdoors moving around moderately fast, the less liable will you be to catch cold; for your system is stronger to resist anything that might work it ill.
The man who lives outdoors is generally healthier and longer lived than one who lives indoors.—Selected.
Home-Made Nuttolene
By ADDIE S. BOWEN
ADDIE S. BOWEN
3 cups raw nut meal
1 cup corn-starch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pulverized and sifted sage
1 teaspoon grated onion
1 cup cold water
3 cups boiling water
Moisten the corn-starch with the cold water, add the boiling water, stirring constantly. Add the nut meal and seasonings. Mix thoroughly, strain into tin cans or pails with tightly fitting covers, leaving an inch or more space; otherwise the covers will be pushed off as the food swells while cooking. Put the cans, tightly covered, in a large kettle or wash-boiler, and boil six hours. Care must be used to have something under and around the cans, to keep them in place.
Nice nut meal is made by putting the raw meal dry into cans or pails, and cooking same as the other preparation. This, with hot water and a little salt, simmered a while, makes a butter good with vegetables and bread. It is excellent to enrich and season soups, and for sandwiches, in custards, and cake.
To make raw nut meal, blanch raw Spanish shelled peanuts, or guber peas, as Southerners call them, by placing in a moderate oven on tins, to dry the skins. Care must be taken not to roast them. When the skins are brittle, put into a cloth (salt or sugar sacks will do) and beat from side to side as you stand in a doorway, or knead as bread, to break up the skins, turn from one dish to another, in the wind, or rub around in a colander, till the skins are off. Grind the blanched nuts with a nut-mill, set loose enough to leave the ground nuts in the granular form, not in a paste. A food chopper can be used instead of a regular nut-mill.
The foregoing suggestions have been thoroughly tried, and have proved very satisfactory for home use.
Buffalo, N. Y.
Honan, China
By J. J. WESTRUP
J. J. WESTRUP
“There is a special power in the presentation of the truth at the present time; but how long will it continue?—Only a little while. If there was ever a crisis, it is now.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 16.
Great changes are certainly taking place in China. If there were any who foresaw that the China of to-day would arise out of the confusion of 1900, they were few and far-sighted. Yet after seven years, we call the time before 1900 “the past,” and we are living in China, not wholly reformed as yet, but differing in its spirit and prospects from the China before the year of martyrdoms. “So it is that the missionary of to-day stands at a different point, and has need of a different policy, than the missionary who came before 1900. We were trained in the ancient classics, and China is turning away from them. We studied the models of Chinese style; and the new learning is introducing a new literary style, and in some points altering the very language. We accustomed ourselves to Chinese manners, and even to Chinese costume; and young China too often forgets the one and discards the other.”
These words give a faint idea of what young China is reaching out for. O, that in their great thirst for knowledge, their minds might be directed to “the Author and Finisher of our faith!” As you read some good inspiring book at home, how often you say, “What a precious book! My friend must read it too. But in China we have no such books, except a small tract on the Sabbath question, to put into the hands of these poor souls. According to the truth we have received above others, we are debtors to impart the same to them. We have no time to lose. The end is near. O, may none of our brethren fall as a prey into the hands of the wily enemy. How brethren with thousands of dollars in their possession can really “love his appearing,” and still continue to disregard the call for means to carry on work in the needy fields, is more than I am able to understand. There is a blessedness in spending and being spent to carry this glorious message to all nations, thus hastening the coming of Jesus. Dear brethren, we need means to translate and print this Spirit-filled literature, and then missionaries enough to establish at least one or two central stations in each province to spread this all-important message among China’s four hundred millions of people.
Now it is comparatively easy to give the truth to this nation, but things are taking place that will make it very hard to give the message to them not long in the future. “Everything will be placed to obstruct the way of the Lord’s messengers so that they will not be able to do that which it is possible for them to do now. We must look our work fairly in the face, and advance as fast as possible in aggressive warfare.”
In a late number of the Fortnightly Review there appeared an article entitled “Asia Contra Mundum” (Asia Against the World). The writer notes the signs of such a movement at the present time, and the causes which are arousing a sense of continental unity and common interests among the peoples of India, China, and Japan, and outlines very clearly how this movement is being forced on by the discrimination against the peoples of Asia which is everywhere taking place in those parts of the world inhabited by the white races.” Foreigners from the white races are, as a rule, very unwelcome guests even now, but when Asia takes her position against the world, the feeling will be almost unbearable.
Another still more important movement is arising to hinder the message more than anything else. This relates to “the image of the beast.” Bishop Greaves, in the Chinese Recorder, speaking of what the church hopes to accomplish in China, says: “The formation of a sort of glorious federation of Protestant churches is the way to real unity, which would include Protestant and Catholic alike.” When such a unity is realized, it will be harder to give the truth to this people than we now imagine.
“The home missionary work will be further advanced in every way when a more liberal, self-denying, self-sacrificing spirit is manifested for the prosperity of foreign missions: for the prosperity of the home work depends largely, under God, upon the reflex influence of the evangelical work done in countries afar off. It is in working actively to supply the necessities of the cause of God, that we bring our souls in touch with the Source of all power.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 27. We should no more think of comparing ourselves with the other denominations than John the Baptist thought of comparing himself with the priests and Levites of his day. The self-sacrificing spirit of John the Baptist is needed in these last days to take men into the highways of this soon-to-be-doomed world, crying mightily, Prepare to meet thy God! The hour of his judgment is come! The spirit of prophecy points out that “scarcely a thousandth part of the work is being done that ought to be done in missionary fields.” This being so, it calls loudly for confession and heart-searching. In the ancient worship, God’s people were called upon to afflict their souls and confess their sins on the day of atonement. Now is the great day of atonement. Let us not become careless. Whoever desires to “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth,” must now in this time be willing to unfurl the banner of the cross in the very strongholds of the enemy. “Whoever will save his life shall lose it.”
We are staying in the plain this year with our Chinese brethren, and by God’s blessing are able to hold meetings and carry on all our work even through the great heat. Recently I visited our Shang-tsai station thirty-five miles south of us. The road was flooded in many places, but we managed to get through. On Sabbath the chapel was full of believers and inquirers. We held three meetings. I preached about the new earth and some wept for joy. Yesterday (July 25) as the brethren came to meeting, their clothes were soaked with perspiration, it being 122° F. in the sun. We are earnestly praying the Lord to keep us well through this heat. At present we are well; have not felt better since we arrived in China. “The just shall live by faith.” Thank God we are learning more and more to trust him for each day. Surrounded on every hand by swarms of heathen, who at any time may be aroused to fury by the enemy of souls, we rest in God, and are ready to sacrifice all, and even to be sacrificed, whenever it pleases the Lord. We daily find sweet rest in such never-failing assurances as John 10:28, 29.
A Visit to Spain
By S. JESPERSSON
S. JESPERSSON
On our way to America we improved the opportunity to visit some places we had not seen before, and where, so far as I know, the message had never before been introduced. As we could not have direct boat from Algiers to New York,14we had to go by way of Gibraltar. This last-named place is considered the strongest fortress in the world, and has long been said to be strong enough to resist the most determined attack of the strongest army in the world. Indeed, it seems to be fortified in every way possible. I was told that there are no less than 1908 cannons in its various batteries. One cannon is added every year, their number thus corresponding to the number of the year.
It is not my intention to describe the place, but I will say that Gibraltar is a good example of what can be done for an old, filthy, and uncivilized town. The streets, though extremely narrow, as in most ancient towns, are very clean and well kept in every respect. The English soldiers, who are seen everywhere, as well as the policemen, are polite and courteous, and we felt quite at home there during our seven-days' waiting for the steamer to take us across the ocean. We distributed a good many copies of the Watchman and other papers containing the message for this time, and our prayers went up to God that he may soon send workers there, and make it also a stronghold for his truth.
Morocco being just two hours distant, we also visited Tangier. What a contrast between this place and Gibraltar, in regard to cleanliness and civilization! But, on the other hand, this place, too, has no representative of the third angel's message.
Having been several years in the eastern countries, we were not surprised at the appearance of such an Arabic, or rather, Moor-and-Morocco town, as Tangier. It very strongly reminded us of Jerusalem and Jaffa and our experience in the Holy Land. The only thing we could do during our brief stay was to distribute a few French and Spanish papers. But we feel thankful to God for this privilege of sowing some seeds of truth in this country where our standard has not yet been planted.
Tangier is the most European town in Morocco, and will no doubt be the first place to be entered by a Seventh-day Adventist missionary. It is now quiet, and a worker could begin labor at any time without danger. A young worker who knows French and perhaps some of the other leading languages, could, I believe, be sent there at once, provided he be imbued with a real missionary spirit, and not with the desire simply to see the country.
I write to emphasize the Saviour's statement that the harvest is great. What a blessed thing it would be to have a mission station in Gibraltar! This is a subject for our English brethren to consider, and only workers who are English subjects should be sent there. And then not only Tangier, but the whole Moroccan empire—when is it to be entered and worked?
As a missionary to north Africa, I take the liberty to speak of and for that part of the world-wide field. In Egypt we have a few workers. Next comes Tripoli, where there is not a single representative of the message. The whole protectorate of Tunis has not one worker. Algeria has just a beginning; and the whole of Morocco, as stated before, has had only a visit by the way.
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF GIBRALTAR FORTRESS
Let us not begin to think that the work is done as long as we have whole countries and empires unentered; but let us send more, give more, work more, and pray more, until we can truthfully say that the message has been preached to every nation and kindred and tongue and people.
As I walked up the streets of Algeciras, I thought, When will our dear brethren in Spain be able to come to this place to bring its inhabitants the message of true peace and joy?
The harvest is indeed great, and the laborers are few. Let us, therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers into his harvest. The work is overwhelming, and if we were to look only to ourselves, we would say that it is impossible for us to do the work that is to be done in the short time we have left; but in looking to God, we say, with Caleb: “Let us go up at once and possess it [the land]; for we are well able to overcome it.”
The Burned Bible
The Bible Society Record reports the following incident from Bitlis, Turkey:—
“A priest from a certain village bought a Bible in the ancient language, practically a dead language, but still the language of worship. Another man, learning of what the priest had done, went to the shop, and bought a New Testament in the vernacular. The priest, very much displeased, seized the Testament, and threw it into the fire, exclaiming, ‘Have you, also, become a Prot?’ This conduct of the priest excited some feeling among the villagers, and many said, ‘The priest should give a goat in payment for the book he has burned.’ The man said he did not wish a goat; he wanted his New Testament. He even refused to accept money. And so one of the neighbors settled the difficulty by seizing the priest’s goat, and selling it for a dollar. Then he went to the city, found the colporteur, and bought another copy of the book, which he carried back in triumph, and gave it to the man whose book had been burned.”
Hunan, China
By W. C. HANKINS
W. C. HANKINS
Sabbath morning, April 11, found quite a little company of foreign Sabbath-keepers assembled in the home of Brother and Sister P. J. Laird at Chang-sha, Hunan, China. The company consisted of Elder J. N. Anderson, Dr. A. C. Selmon, Elder and Mrs. R. F. Cottrell, Miss Pauline Schilberg, Brother and Sister Laird, and the writer.
At the appointed hour all assembled in the room that had been set apart to serve as a chapel. There were about twenty native inquirers present at this service. Brother Laird first preached in Mandarin, after which Elder Anderson talked a few moments, Brother Laird acting as interpreter, as the Cantonese language, which Brother Anderson speaks, is almost as unintelligible to the ordinary Hunanese, as is English. Dr. Selmon also talked a few moments, and then the meeting was closed with prayer and song. The service was nearly two hours in length, but the Chinese brethren paid good attention throughout.
In the afternoon Brother Cottrell spoke to us foreigners concerning the promises of God, and his words were as meat in due season to all. It seemed good to hear an old-fashioned sermon once more. It is seldom that the workers in China get such a treat. A Bible study together is about as near as we generally get to anything of the kind.
Chang-sha is a very fine Chinese city, and we feel sure that the Lord has some honest souls there. We hope that you will, with us, remember our brethren there in your prayers.
Sabbath, April 18, Elder Anderson, Dr. Selmon, and the writer spent the day with Elder and Mrs. J. J. Westrup and their little boy, Joseph, at their station in Shang-tsai, Honan. In the morning one of the native evangelists from Siang-cheng, Honan, who was with our party, spoke to the people, after which the writer gave a short address, Brother Westrup acting as interpreter. In the afternoon Elder Anderson spoke, and Dr. Selmon interpreted for him.
In the morning there were about thirty men assembled in the men's chapel, and about twenty women in the room set apart for their use. In the afternoon the men and women all met in the same chapel to hear Brother Anderson.
The work at Shang-tsai seems to be moving forward. A number have been baptized, while there are about fifty who regularly attend the Sabbath services. Elder Westrup also reported quite a good interest in a city some thirty-five miles north of Shang-tsai. And, while every such interest does not necessarily mean the opening of a permanent work in that section, yet it does mean that the truth has penetrated to that place, and that the people of that locality have been given the opportunity to accept or reject this “gospel of the kingdom” which has been “preached for a witness” in that place. And then, too, in some of these places the seeds of truth fall in fertile soil, and, springing up, bear fruit.15
We found Brother and Sister Westrup of good courage in the Lord, and we were very glad indeed for the good visit we were permitted to have with them, both at Shang-tsai, and, later, for a few hours, at another place farther north.
While we did not have time to stay over the Sabbath at Siang-cheng, where the Drs. Selmon and Brother and Sister Allum have been located, yet we had the pleasure of meeting with the native workers and their wives, and speaking to them concerning the great truths that have made us all brethren.
Sabbath, April 25, Elder Anderson, Dr. Selmon, Brother Allum, and the writer spent in a Chinese inn in Cheo-Chia-K’Ou. It was not a very pleasant place to spend the Sabbath, but Brother Anderson gave a good Bible study, and we felt the presence of the Lord with us.
Dr. Selmon and Brother Allum have secured very commodious quarters at Cheo-Chia-K’Ou and will, from now on, make it their headquarters. This city is much easier of access from the railroad than the other stations in Honan, being connected with a railroad station by a river, and this same river has a number of cities located on its banks, which will be comparatively easy to work from that place.
Humanly speaking, it looks like a big proposition to carry this message throughout the length and breadth of China in this generation, but we are persuaded that our Leader is well able to accomplish it, and that he will supply both the men and the means, while all we need to do is to follow where he leads.
May God grant that not only the workers in the fields, but all the children of God, whether at home or abroad, may so consecrate their lives to God that he may be able to use them to finish the work and finish it quickly.
Kulangsu, Amoy, China.
Port Antonio, Jamaica
By A. E. SPELD.
In presenting this report we feel to render thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father for the measure of success with which he has blessed our efforts. During the week of prayer our brethren and sisters reconsecrated themselves to the Lord and his work, and since then the blessing of God has been with us in the work. As a result of two months' labor between Fairy Hill and Sherwood Forest, we now have ten rejoicing in present truth, also one from Boston has joined us. The latter has come into the truth as a result of Elder J. A. Strickland's visit.
These brethren and sisters are suffering persecution. One young sister about eighteen years of age was turned out of her home, and her clothing thrown after her. The husband of another sister threatens to kill her if she does not give up the Sabbath. Those who labor in this part of the field can recognize in all this the spirit which inspired the papacy to put to death the thousands who did not agree with it in matters of religion.
Work has been done here by prominent workers without direct results, and the people boast of their stability. Some have said to the writer that he need not worry, since no one is going to join the Adventists up this way. However, this assertion has not proved true. Truly we can say that the Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.
A. E. SPELD.
The Nebraska Camp-Meeting
By G. B. Thompson
The annual camp-meeting of the Nebraska Conference was held at Hastings, August 27 to September 7. The camp was a large one, located on a beautiful plat of ground known as Hartwell Park. This park adjoins the conference headquarters, and the grounds of the new twenty-five-thousand-dollar sanitarium which is nearing completion. The grounds, electric light, and water were all donated free by the city. The work of establishing the conference headquarters in the city has been conducted in such a way as to win the confidence of the city officials and the best class of the citizens. Many of these attended the evening services, and listened to the stirring themes of the message presented by different speakers.
Contrary to the custom for several years, the annual conference was held in connection with the camp-meeting. The delegates were called a few days before the meeting, and the plans perfected were later laid before the entire conference for their counsel. An effort was made to transact only such business as should properly come before such a meeting. In this way the spiritual interests of the meeting were not hindered, and a large number were present to take part in the consideration of conference matters.
The attendance of our own people was very good, much better, I understand, than for several years. An excellent spirit seemed to characterize the meeting throughout. A number of revival efforts were held, backsliders renewed their covenant with God, and a number of the youth as well as others gave their hearts to the Lord, and enlisted in his service.
The last day of the meeting forty-seven willing candidates were baptized in a lake in the park. Five had been previously baptized, making fifty-two who received the rite during the meeting.
No effort was made during the meeting to raise money for local enterprises. What was done in the line of raising money was for fields outside of the conference. One entire day was set apart for the consideration of the foreign work. A stirring talk by Elder G. A. Irwin, on the needs of Africa, was followed by other sermons on mission themes. The collection taken in cash and pledges amounted to $4,957.38. Besides this, the conference at the business meeting in the morning, voted five thousand dollars surplus tithe to missions. Also, on the previous day, in response to an appeal for the Oakwood Industrial School, about twenty-three hundred dollars was raised in cash and pledges. This, with a Sabbath-school collection of about one hundred forty-seven dollars, and some thirty-five dollars given for the work for the deaf and dumb, made a total of about twelve thousand four hundred dollars raised for work outside of their own conference. This was a very encouraging and liberal offering. A deep interest was manifested by all present in the growth and development of our work in the regions beyond.
Besides the conference laborers, Elders G. A. Irwin, E. T. Russell, H. Shultz, L. H. Christian, S. Mortensen, Charles Thompson, Luther Warren, and the writer were present during some part of the meeting. Elder A. T. Robinson was unanimously re-elected president for the coming term.
Considered as a whole, the meeting was an excellent one, and tended to inspire confidence in the message. All returned to their homes with renewed determination to be more faithful in the Master's service, and finally share in the glorious reward of the overcomers.
G. B. Thompson.
The Iowa Camp-Meeting
By R. A. Underwood
THIS meeting was held about one mile from the center of the town of Nevada in a beautiful grove on the grounds purchased for the new sanitarium. The meeting continued from August 27 to September 6. The local papers of the city gave excellent and liberal reports of the meeting. The citizens of Nevada should have given our people fifteen thousand dollars to assist in the erection of the sanitarium plant, which is to cost not less than fifty thousand dollars. The town has also expended a considerable amount of money in building a road to the sanitarium grounds. It is one of the most beautiful sites for a sanitarium that I have seen in the West. Our brethren16hope to have the sanitarium built and in full operation before another camp-meeting season.
Nearly one thousand persons were encamped. A little over twelve thousand dollars was raised in cash and pledges for the erection of the new sanitarium building. They have already in cash and pledges and other resources forty-seven thousand dollars with which to erect the sanitarium; but will need to secure from three thousand dollars to five thousand dollars more. This can easily be done by the conference, as not one half of the conference membership was present at the camp-meeting. The contribution for foreign missions amounted to $3,385. Aside from this, eleven hundred dollars was donated for the Scandinavian work in New York City and for the circulation of literature in that language. About three hundred dollars was given to the State tent fund, and the Sabbath-school donations were one hundred forty-six dollars.
The conference turned over to the General Conference two thousand dollars from its surplus tithe to be used in advancing the work in more needy fields. This appropriation would have been much larger had there not been appropriations made by their committee to support laborers in many fields during the past year, thus cutting down their surplus tithe to a little over twenty-five hundred dollars all told.
The workers present to assist in the meeting, aside from the laborers in the conference, were Elders A. G. Daniells, G. F. Haffner, L. H. Christian, S. Mortenson, M. L. Andreasen, Prof. P. T. Magan, and a number of the members of the Northern Union Conference Executive Committee, who held a business session in connection with the camp-meeting. All these brethren labored more or less in the interest of the success of the meeting. Elder Daniells was with us only two days. Professor Magan remained during the entire meeting, and his labors were much appreciated.
The first Sunday afternoon there was a temperance rally, in which the ministers from the city occupied most of the time. There was also a temperance lecture given by a traveling temperance worker the last Saturday evening of the meeting. Two sermons were preached on the Sabbath question, which led some to decide to observe the Sabbath, and others became deeply interested. One of the most interesting meetings was one held at half past five on Sabbath morning, when Brethren J. T. Spriggs, O. M. Kittle, R. E. Burke, E. Rosenwold, A. F. Ferguson, J. W. Dorcas, and W. J. Johnson were ordained. Elder M. N. Campbell was elected president of the conference.
Forty-seven persons were baptized during the meeting. The most encouraging meeting was one held on the closing Sabbath, conducted in the form of a consecration service, which led many to dedicate themselves to definite work in the cause. From this company there will be some to enter nearly every branch of the work.
The Missionary Volunteers' work was conducted by F. J. Wilbur and Prof. J. G. Lamson, with others to assist. There is a large number of young people in Iowa, and a goodly number of these have consecrated their lives and services to the cause of Christ in a way they had not heretofore. The brethren return to their homes feeling of good courage, and hope to see the work greatly prospered the coming year.
I trust that God will greatly increase not only the efficiency of the corps of laborers, but will add to the number of believers in this conference during the coming year.
R. A. UNDERWOOD.
The New Testament as a Missionary
WHEN William Carey went to India more than a hundred years ago, he translated the New Testament into Bengali. It was a very imperfect translation, but it went on its way in the power of God. Seventeen years after, when the mission extended to the old capital of Decca, there were found several villages of Hindu-born peasants who had given up idol-worship, were renowned for their truthfulness, and, as searching for a true teacher come from God, called themselves Satya-gurus. They traced their new faith to a much-worn book kept in a wooden box in one of their villages. None could say whence it had come; all they knew was that they had possessed it for many years. It was Carey’s first Bengali version of the New Testament. In the wide and elastic bounds of Hinduism, and even amid fanatical Mussulmans beyond the frontier, the Bible, dimly understood without a teacher, has led to Puritan sects like this.—Dr. George Smith’s “Life of William Carey”
