Earlier text: The New Santa Catharina (South America) ConferenceThe Responsibility of Pew and Pulpit
By P. M. W.
We hear much, but none too much, of the great responsibility of the gospel minister. He occupies a holy office, and as a teacher of sacred things should call his followers to a high standard of thought and living. But while a great responsibility rests upon the one who stands as teacher in the pulpit, those who occupy the pews are not wholly exempt. The relationship between preacher and people is active and retroactive. While he influences them, they in turn exert a wide influence on his thought and ministry. The Scriptures emphasize the responsibility of the two classes. Repeatedly the people of God in past ages have set up teachers after their own hearts, and said to them, “Prophesy to us smooth things.” The apostle Paul tells us that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” It requires no far-seeing vision to recognize that this condition has been reached in Christendom to-day. Too many of those set for the defense of the gospel preach smooth things, and “my people love to have it so.” Says the Lutheran Witness, regarding this situation:— A pastor in Iowa calls our attention to an advertisement in a secular ‘paper which reads as follows: “WANTED.—Traveling man, religiously inclined, who spends Sundays in Des Moines, would like address of church in which he might hear a sermon and not a political discussion. Address, etc.” Such an advertisement is a sad commentary on the “sermons” that are delivered, Sunday after Sunday, from so-called Christian pulpits, the length and breadth of the land. Almost anything save the gospel of the forgiveness of sin in Christ Jesus is the burden of these discourses. The sad fact can not be ignored. But sadder still is the fact that while here and there a voice is heard in protest against this profanation of God’s institution for the proclamation of the Word, the hearers, in the great majority, ask for the kind of preaching which they get, and would be satisfied with nothing else. The preaching of the lodge chaplain, of the social and civic reformers, is far more to their liking than the preaching of the righteousness that comes through sincere repentance and faith in Christ Jesus. We have no apology to make for the preachers who are faithless to the trust reposed in them by their Lord. But we can not shut our eyes to the fact that if the pew did not support such preaching, the pulpits would soon be empty of all such misnamed gospel preachers. While as a people we do not believe Seventh-day Adventists are guilty of these faults, it is, nevertheless, well for us to profit by others’ experiences. Among us the preachers of the word should ever be true to their God-given trust, declaring faithfully the whole counsel of the Lord without fear or favor. As watchmen on the walls of Zion they should ever give the trumpet a certain sound, that the sinner may be warned, the faint-hearted encouraged, and the straying led to return to the fold. And those who listen, the lay members of the church, should loyally stand by and second the efforts of the faithful minister. This they can do, not by praise or flattery, but above all by living the principles of truth advocated. God has made us as a people the conservators of a great system of truth. May we be careful, whatever our position in the church, to preserve the truth in both faith and living, in all of its gospel purity and simplicity. In no other way can we expect to retain God’s blessing, and be led into greater fulness of spiritual power. P. M. W. Misplaced Credit
By C. M. S.
IN Gonzaga Hall, Washington, D. C., on May 2, Representative J. M. Graham, of Illinois, delivered an address before a Roman Catholic organization, making some statements in regard to Catholicism and liberty which are worthy of note in the interests of historical accuracy at least. In attempting to prove the Roman Catholic Church the grantor and custodian of liberty, he said:— Great Britain, although a monarchy, represents, beyond any doubt, the freest country in the civil sense. The great charter of liberties was won by Catholic England three hundred years before the advent of Reformation; it was wrung from King John by Catholic barons and the people, led by a Catholic archbishop, Stephen Langton. But to the mind of the one who knows what is the history of the case, the question at once arises: Why does the learned gentleman attribute this to the Catholic Church? If that was the act of the Catholic Church, it places Pope Innocent III in a very remarkable and embarrassing situation. It can not be that Mr. Graham has drawn his data from either Catholic or Protestant history. No Protestant historian gives the Roman Catholic Church credit for the Magna Charta, and Dr. J. J. I. von Döllinger, who was considered a good Catholic authority until 1870, in his famous book, “The Pope and the Council,” the second edition of which was published in 1869, overthrows completely Mr. Graham’s contention. He says:— Let us remember that the noble mother of European constitutions, the English Magna Charta, was visited with the severest anger of Pope Innocent III, who understood its importance well enough. He saw therein a contempt for the Apostolic See, a curtailing of royal prerogatives, and a disgrace to the English nation; he therefore pronounced it null and void, and excommunicated the English barons who obtained it.—“The Pope and the Council” (2d edition), pages 22, 23. Is it possible that Mr. Graham would have us consider the act of the excommunicated barons as the authoritative act of the Catholic Church? If so, what becomes of the papal bull of Innocent III, condemning those same barons, excommunicating them in fact, and declaring null and void the charter which they “wrung” from King John? They can not both stand as the authoritative act, attitude, and policy of the Catholic Church. More than that, Innocent III not only condemned and excommunicated the barons, who “wrung” the charter from King John, but he absolved King John from adherence to the charter after it had been “wrung” from him. Now this historic fact places in a real dilemma any one who would make such an assertion as that of Mr. Graham. He can choose which horn of it he will, but it is impossible to choose both at once. If the Catholic barons represented the Catholic Church in wringing the charter from King John, what becomes of Pope Innocent III? If Pope Innocent III represented the Catholic Church in that matter, how can the Catholic Church claim any credit for the Magna Charta? It is certainly beyond question that Innocent III, and not the English Catholic barons, represented the true attitude of the Catholic Church, inasmuch as a similar attitude was taken by the church toward other national constitutions. For example, a successor of Innocent III has stigmatized the Austrian Constitution as an “unspeakable abomination.” And Leo XII, in 1824, wrote Louis XVIII, of France, objecting strongly to the French Constitution, pointing out what he considered its evil features, and urging him to expunge those articles of the charter which savored of liberalism. A similar attitude was assumed toward the Belgian Constitution in 1832, when Gregory XVI issued his famous encyclical, which pronounces freedom of conscience an “insane folly,” and “freedom of the press a pestiferous error, which can not be sufficiently detested.” Says Döllinger: “The Belgian Catholics have never been able to meet the reproach of being necessarily enemies to a constitution condemned as wicked by the Pope.”—“Pope and the Council,” page 25. The same writer (page 26), concerning the attitude of Catholics toward the United States Constitution, says:— In the United States, Catholics can not form a political party. There, too, as an American bishop has assured us, their situation is most unfavorable as regards political influence and admission to office, because it is always cast in their teeth by Protestants that they find their principles in papal pronouncements, and can not therefore honestly accept the common liberties and obligations of a free state, but always cherish an arrière pensée that if ever they become strong enough, they will upset the Constitution. We have no desire to take away from any one any glory that might be due him for any advance this world has ever made; but certain it is that in the matter of the credit for the Magna Charta, Mr. Graham puts the credit where it does not belong, and does not correctly represent to the world the real attitude of the Catholic Church toward constitutions and charters that speak the will of the people. The Responsibility of Church-Membership
By F. M. W.
IN the union existing between the church and each individual member, there is comprised a double responsibility: first, the responsibility of the church to aid and encourage the member in every possible way; second, the responsibility of the member to build up and strengthen the church. It is of this latter relationship we wish to speak particularly. The responsibility of the individual member is twofold: first, in the general assistance which he shall render the church as a body, by representing its principles in his life, by sustaining its various departments, agencies, and ministries, and by contributing to its support; second, his responsibility to the individual units of the church body. This is by far the greater responsibility, and the one which will prove the real test of his faithfulness. His responsibility here consists in affording, so far as lies within his power, the same assistance and encouragement to every one of his church associates as he hopes to receive from them. In other words, it means the exercise of the spirit of earnest missionary13 labor in the church itself. As our church work is organized and carried forward, this labor on the part of the individual members finds ample opportunity, and becomes a genuine necessity. But few of our churches have settled pastors, who can devote to the church work their undivided time and energy. The elders of our churches are, for the most part, busy men, and dependent upon their labor for a livelihood; hence they have no more time or opportunity, as a rule, for spiritual work in the church than has every other member. They must, therefore, have the assistance of all their brethren in maintaining in the church that working spirit of missionary and Christian activity which insures its health and vitality; and if each member of the church will feel that he must share with the church elder in this labor, more can be accomplished than for the elder to be so situated that he could devote his entire time to the work, and thus relieve others. To one really desiring to find such opportunities for labor, a multitude of ways might be suggested. He can call upon his brethren who are sick; he can visit the poor and the needy, and assist them in their distress; he can maintain the spirit of watchfulness for those who are discouraged or cast down. Particular attention should be given to strangers, to those who have recently united with the church, or who have recently moved into the community. A friendly call, and a hand-clasp of welcome at the church service, will do much to place them in harmony with their new environment. Among the younger members of the flock will also be afforded a rich field for personal effort. Those who live at a distance, and are obliged to absent themselves from church services, may be reached by correspondence. There needs to be in all of our churches more of this spirit of personal labor one for the other. There needs to be a coming together, a breaking down of the cold formality which exists. In some of our larger congregations, many of the members are acquainted only with those within the narrow circle of their personal friendship, and scores attend church services from Sabbath to Sabbath without finding an opportunity to become acquainted with many of their brethren and sisters in the same church. Let us unitedly seek to break down these barriers, to banish from our hearts all coldness and indifference, and labor to enter into closer fellowship and spiritual communion. This spirit will possess holding power, and the genial warmth and Christian fellowship will cause back-sliders to return, will revive the drooping spirits, and come back into our own hearts with tenfold gladness and blessing. Let each individual member of the church count the church-membership as a parish, and every one of his brethren the blood-bought heritage of Christ, for whom he should labor, and whom he should seek to serve. In the possession of this spirit, our churches will give to the world the evidence that God is indeed with us. F. M. W. A RUGGED Christian experience is inseparable from a diligent study of the Bible. The present lamentable lack of consecration to the teaching of the Word of God had its origin in a neglect of the book itself. At a Bible class in a town of the Middle West, a woman with almost three quarters of a century of Christian experience, gave this wholesome suggestion:— God has never promised to give us something for nothing, or to make us wise concerning his truth without some effort on our part to apprehend it. A passive receptivity best suits our lazy natures, but it would prove just as profitless here as in any other field, material or mental. We all admit that it is impossible to gain a knowledge of any subject without study, and, in fact, close, hard, persistent study is exacted from one who would become even moderately proficient in any serious branch of learning. But what student would approach any subject, even the least important, in the idle, slipshod, half-hearted way in which much of our so-called Bible study is undertaken? And surely no other subject is more important than God speaking to us through his Word. The world's reformers have been men and women with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, and the need of the hour is a return to the old paths, bowing the will in submission to the authority of God's Word. When this is done, practical results will follow. The predigested element enters altogether too largely into our experience. J. Q. National Reform and Soul Liberty
THAT the National Reform Association is still actively opposed to the fundamental principles of this government is clearly declared in the current issue of the Christian Statesman by the editor of that journal. He says:— While Christian sentiment permeates in great degree our national life, and many Christian features exist in our government, the feeling is also more or14 less widely spread that religion must be divorced from politics, and that a man's practical attitude toward the Christian faith ought not to be taken into account when he is being considered for public office. In our proper objection to a union of church and state we have gone too far toward the other extreme of secularism, or godlessness, in political life. Our secular Constitution is the great teacher and bulwark of such belief. Why should not the feeling be “widely spread” that a man's attitude toward religious matters is strictly an affair of his own, and that his qualification for public office should not depend upon his religious affiliations when the fundamental law of the land explicitly declares such to be the case, and the constitutions of the States make similar declarations? It would be a peculiar situation if such a sentiment did not exist. Says the Constitution of the United States, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”—Art. VI, last clause. This is one of the fundamental rights of the people, and is legitimately incorporated among the fundamental principles of our government into the fundamental law of the land. It belongs there, and no “Christian patriot” or true patriot of any other class can consistently set himself against the principle or the document in which it is found. But the National Reform Association, though claiming to be composed of “Christian patriots,” has done both. It desires a religious test as a qualification for office, as plainly stated in the foregoing quotation, and it desires an amendment to the Constitution which will make it possible to establish such a test. With the Constitution amended as they wish it, the organization hopes to see the legislation of the country placed upon a basis very different from that on which it rests to-day. So intimated the Rev. J. S. Martin, general superintendent of the organization, at the hearing before the sub-judiciary committee at Washington on April 11. They design that the remodeled Constitution shall be the key to the interpretation of the country's laws; and the organization's attitude toward the last clause of Article VI of the Constitution above quoted should be warning enough of the medieval and early colonial conditions to which they wish the nation to return. Stifling Conscience Unchristian “Has it come to be a Christian thing to stifle conscience, and bid farewell to convictions?” This is the question which the Western Recorder (Baptist) asks in response to a proposition that in a certain New England town the Congregational and Baptist churches combine, making one organization. It then adds:— Such conduct is in keeping with “a thing,” but please omit the designation Christian. . . . Convictions, deep religious convictions, well-grounded and abiding, are sadly needed to-day. Where these are found, there will be no disposition to barter away the truth for the sake of religious sentiment. We honor the man, whether Baptist or Seventh-day Adventist, who will stand for his conception of truth and his conviction of duty. True, one may change his view-point of truth, he may become better enlightened regarding views held in the past, the advancing light of God may require the taking of additional steps; but for one to surrender his religious convictions at any stage of his Christian experience shows that, with him, religion is a matter of mere sentiment, and not one of abiding principle. Let us hold fast to the truth as we see it in Christ Jesus, ready to walk in every ray of advancing light, but firm to our convictions of duty, to enlightened conscience, and to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. Motive for Sabbath Observance
By C. E. H.
The Washington Herald of May 9 reports an agreement among eleven firms, comprising the Wholesale Fish Commission of Washington, in which “they pledge themselves not to receive consignments or sell fish on Sunday.” When men of their own free will decide to refrain from conducting business on a certain day of the week, surely no one can have cause to question their right to do so. Such a move is in harmony with both their civil and religious rights. But when men unite to force their views regarding a day of rest upon all others, irrespective of belief, then men may legitimately protest. For seventeen years efforts had been put forth by certain ministers and merchants to secure the suspension of fish selling on Sunday. Until the present time, however, this effort has been a failure, because “if all the firms did not agree to close on Sunday, no one or no groups of firms could close, as those firms which remained open would eventually obtain all the wholesale commission traffic of the city.” It was not, then, because of a true desire on the part of the merchants to observe a religious rest day that caused them to enter the combine. When men are convinced of the binding obligation of any divine requirement and intend to obey it, they will do so even at the expense of a loss of worldly prosperity. This is the true motive for Sabbath observance. C. E. H. New York City
By O. O. Bernstein
DURING the past three years we have labored in Philadelphia, in which time, with the blessing of God and the co-operation of our helpers, we have seen many dear souls led to the Lord and into the light of the third angel’s message. We are glad to report fifty faithful Sabbath-keepers as the result of our last summer’s tent effort and the follow-up work. During the year 1909 about three thousand dollars was paid in tithe and offerings by our First Church in Philadelphia. One thousand dollars was also raised to reduce the mortgage on the church property. At the annual winter meeting of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference in 1908-09, a resolution was passed that the conference would assist the First Church to the amount of one thousand dollars. When this materializes, the church’s indebtedness will have been reduced to five thousand dollars, and a great burden thus lifted from the congregation. On April 15 we came to New York City to connect with work of greater aggressiveness. A new quarter-pole tent, with a seating capacity of one thousand, has been ordered for our summer’s work. Besides some soloists, we have secured the Nicola orchestra of South Lancaster, Mass., to render musical help. The Greater New York Conference is also providing plenty of good help in a corps of experienced Bible workers. The outlook is encouraging. The Lord is going before us, and we have reason to believe that he will give us a harvest of souls. For this we shall pray and labor. Our address is 2429 Southern Boulevard, New York City. Japan
By J. N. Herboltzheimer
KOBE.—Since the closing of the sanitarium, I have been stationed here in Kobe. The Lord has been good to us, and blessed our labors. Last October Elders F. W. Field and H. Kuniya held a series of meetings in Kobe. During these meetings the subject of the spirit of prophecy was forcibly presented, Brother Field using the15 book, “The Great Second Advent Movement.” A man who had been connected with the Salvation Army work for eleven years was present during all these meetings. He became interested through what he heard about the spirit of prophecy. One day while passing a second-hand store, he stopped to look at some books, and, to his joy, found an old copy of “The Great Second Advent Movement.” Being able to read and understand English, he at once bought it, read it through, and the following Sabbath attended our meeting. After service he related his experience, and expressed his desire to unite with us. He was baptized, and is now a faithful member. How this book came to be in this second-hand store is a mystery to us all, but we can praise God for the different means he uses in bringing people to the knowledge of his precious truth. Brother Noma visited an isolated sister a few weeks ago, and found that she had worked up quite an interest in her neighborhood by canvassing for the New-year’s number of Owari no Fukuin. She invited in her neighbors, and also called on a Baptist minister in the town. This man told Brother Noma that he never saw such faith as this sister manifested. There she was, all alone in her belief, and yet not afraid to go out and tell others about it. There is a good opening for a canvasser and Bible worker in this district. We are thankful for the encouraging reports that come from different parts of the field. Our united prayer is for one hundred new believers this year — just double the number baptized last year. If we expect great things of God, and work with the strength he gives us, he will give us great things. A general effort is being made in Hiroshima at present, and the reports are very encouraging. “I Make All Things New”
By Worthie Harris Holden
“Not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Nor e’en remembered,—the toil and the cross;
Exiled the heartaches, the pain, and the loss;
Sorrow and sighing are banished for aye,—
Lost in the radiant, effulgent day. Naught can molest thee nor cause thee to fear,
Never will sadness evoke e’en a tear;
Dwelling forever in glorious light,
How couldst thou think of the gloom and the night? Visions of glory as earnest are given,
Granting a glimpse of the beauties of heaven;
Through the bright portal the Saviour I see
Fitting a place and a mansion for thee;
Forth from the throne flows the river of life,—
Why dost thou brood o’er earth-trials or strife? Only as pilgrims we dwell here below,
Shod with our sandals, impatient to go,
Leaving behind but the tinsel and tin,
Bound for the burning, and tarnished by sin:
Girded we wait, with our staff in our hand,—
Wait for the call to Immanuel’s land. HAGERSTOWN, SMITHBURG, AND CRYSTAL FALLS.—In company with Elder B. G. Wilkinson and Prof. W. E. Howell, I attended a general meeting of the churches in Hagerstown, Smithburg, and Crystal Falls, Md., Sabbath and Sunday, April 30 and May 1. The work in this field for several months has been under the direction of Elder L. E. Sufficool. The Lord has blessed his efforts in more fully organizing the work in that field, and in bringing souls into the truth of the third angel's message. At the time we visited there, twenty-two persons followed their Lord in baptism. It was indeed encouraging to see how eagerly the truth was received by those at this meeting, and their willingness to do their part in raising the $300,000 Fund. It was most encouraging to see the large number of young people in these churches. When a call was made for them to seek a preparation for service in the work of God, nearly all responded. We shall be disappointed if Mount Vernon (Ohio) College does not have a goodly number of recruits from these churches next fall. During this visit I called to mind the time, more than ten years ago, when I had supervision of the work in the Chesapeake Conference, and when Elders J. F. Jones and W. A. Westworth were presenting the message in this field for the first time. Later Elder J. F. Piper labored here with success. We know of no more promising field than this in which to win souls to Christ. A spirit of thrift and industry prevails in this locality, which does not exist in any other section of Maryland. There are hundreds of fine fruit farms, and extensive peach orchards. We should continue to remember the work in this important field in our prayers, that many others may accept the precious truth. K. C. RUSSELL. Faithfulness in Troubled Times
IN these days of growing worldliness and spiritual declension, men and women of living faith are demanded. There needs to be a revival of the old-time simplicity; of humble, childlike, trusting confidence in God and in his Word. This is the time for the exercise of real Christian heroism and loyalty by the soldiers of Christ. Faithfulness to-day will meet its reward in eternity. SOONAN.— We arrived here safely on Tuesday evening, April 5. At the Seoul station, Sister May Scott and Brethren Harold A. Oberg and R. C. Wangerin met us, and we went at once up to the house where Elder C. L. Butterfield lives. They have a very pleasant place just outside the city wall. We stayed there one week, as Elder Butterfield wished to visit with us, and also to have us look at some of the places where we might obtain land for the mission headquarters. We had a very pleasant time there, but were glad when the last stage of our journey was over, and we arrived at Soonan. The people here knew when we were coming, so the whole school and other interested ones were at the train to meet us. At the station, about a mile from the school, we found the students, all boys and men, lined up on the platform in two ranks. At a signal, they all took off their hats, and bowed. I then spoke to each one, and shook hands all around. Then they marched home in fine order. We like their appearance very much. Their word of greeting is Pyona hacia, meaning, “Peace dwell with you.” They call us Lee Moksa, and Lee Moksa puin. There are three teachers, one of whom speaks English quite well. After supper the whole school came over to Dr. Riley Russell’s to give us a little reception; there were about thirty-five, including a few boys and girls not in the school. I spoke a few minutes through an interpreter, and they applauded with their hands. Then they wanted Mrs. Lee to speak, which she did. The teachers then expressed their joy that we had come, and told how they had been waiting for us. Two boys sang a duet of a Korean school song, to Korean music, the school joining in the chorus. We liked it so much that we asked them to sing another, and they responded by singing a hymn. A Korean boy has picked up some knowledge of music, and has been trying to teach the others to sing, and they do pretty well. After a word of prayer, one of the teachers gave the boys some instruction on how to use their vacation, which was to begin the next day, and last for five days. They had waited three days before beginning it, that they might be here when we came. They took a large quantity of tracts to distribute on their way home. After bowing to us, and saying, “Pyona hacia,” they went home. Miss Scott had arranged for us to occupy the house that Elder Butterfield built in Soonan, so we began at once to get settled. This home is in a fine location overlooking the valley. The Dutch East Indies
By R. W. Munson
SOEKABOEMI, JAVA.—The Lord has gone before us, and we have made a good start in this charming mountain station. We are two thousand feet above sea-level, in a cool, salubrious climate. It is a very pretty place, where one can live almost indefinitely without needing a change to a colder climate. We have found several old acquaintances here, whom we knew in Sumatra ten years ago. Several Baba Chinamen, who were my pupils in the Anglo-Chinese school in Singapore fifteen years ago, have a large printing establishment here. They were glad to see us, and to know that we were here to live. Already my daughter is visiting the sisters of these young men, and teaching them the gospel. We found here also a retired government servant, whose wife and four children are Adventists, having accepted the truth in Holland, through the labors of Elder R. G. Klingbeil. The two sons are now at Friedensau, preparing for missionary work here in the Indies, and the two daughters are at Watford, England, taking Bible studies, and expecting to engage in the work somewhere in Java. We are trying the plan of getting out a series of tracts, seven in number, beginning with the story of creation and closing with Christ's second advent. These are to be printed in five or six languages spoken here in the Indies, including the Chinese. The great problem is how to circulate them. The original plan was to get them all ready before beginning to sell, and then send out companies of youth under the direction of one European worker, and sell the tracts at a price that would yield a profit. The difficulty that presents itself is that we have no Christian youth, and we do not think it wise to send out any others to do such work. God must give them converted hearts before we can use them as colporteurs. The literature problem is a very difficult one. However, no difficulty can hinder the onward progress of the message. We are of good courage in the Lord, and feel, as did Caleb at Kadesh-Barnea, that “we are well able” to go up and possess the land, not in our strength or wisdom, but in the name of Israel's God. It is evident that we must expect strenuous opposition on the part of the Dutch missionaries. One of them called on us, to find out what we proposed to do. We treated him courteously and kindly, but also at the same time let him understand that we have a work to do in Java. They seem to think that they own this land, and that no other missionaries, particularly no English or American missionaries, have any business here. They have no idea that people can be converted by hearing the gospel, but think the natives must be taken in childhood, and educated into Christianity. Ship Mission Work in San Francisco
By Chas. W. Peter
In “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IX, we are admonished to distribute literature judiciously upon ships as well as on trains, etc. The great city of San Francisco affords a wonderful opportunity to carry out this instruction. Her water-front tells the story of many seas, and her wharves moor argosies from every port of the maritime world. A large number of vessels of those I have visited during the past five years have been wrecked, and many lives have been lost. Other fine, new ships have taken their places, and ply between this port and home and foreign coasts. I am endeavoring to supply these vessels with literature on present truth, placing it in cabins, reading-racks, state-rooms, and using it in personal work. Thousands of soldiers and marines can be reached in this way during the year. There is a constant stream of young men from all over the nation in service on the battle-ships and in the island possessions. These young men are cosmopolitan in the extreme. Some crews of vessels carry representatives of as many as twelve nationalities, sometimes even more. To reach these men, it is necessary to have literature in various languages. I need tons of English literature to carry on the work in this large harbor. To secure this I suggest that churches, missionary societies, and young people’s societies subscribe for clubs of papers sent to me from the publishing houses. By the spirit of prophecy we are counseled to work these large cities while we have opportunity. Do you, who can not be here personally, desire to have a part in this work? If so, you can ship literature, freight prepaid, to my address (mark “Melrose”); or, as suggested, order clubs of papers sent to me from the publishing houses. I take orders for books, such as “Heralds of the Morning,” “The Story of Daniel,” and “Coming King” (Spanish). During one noon hour lately I16 took orders for five copies of “Heralds of the Morning,” and another noon I obtained orders for four copies of the “Coming King” in Spanish. These will be delivered when the steamers return. All profits of literature sold in this way are used in forwarding this work. In addition to this ship work I supply fourteen reading-racks in stations scattered over the large city of Oakland. This reading-rack service is wielding an influence for good that eternity alone will reveal. In closing, I would ask you to pray for the success of this work, that the literature will accomplish that for which it is prepared, the salvation of souls. My address is 1454 Fortieth Ave., East Oakland, Cal. CHAS. W. PETER. AT Sparta, Wis., two have taken their stand for the truth, and await baptism. SIX persons have recently accepted the truth at Algona, Iowa, and have been baptized. AT the last quarterly meeting held in the Lancaster (Pa.) church, one adult was baptized. ON Sunday, April 24, Elder N. T. Sutton baptized seven precious souls at Hutchinson, Kan. ELDER J. H. WHEELER reports two new converts at Aberdeen, S. D. SEVEN new members have been added to the church at Rossburg, Ohio. AT Davenport, Iowa, three persons were recently baptized, and taken into church membership. THE rites of baptism were recently performed at Eldorado Springs, Mo., when two were baptized. ELDER S. T. HARE reports three baptisms and one addition to the church at Brigham City, Utah, recently. IN the West Denver (Colo.) church Elder H. M. J. Richards lately administered the ordinance of baptism to two candidates. SISTER BATES, of Alexandria, Mo., reports two new Sabbath-keepers as the result of personal missionary work at that place. BAPTISMAL services were held in the First Church of Springfield, Ill., on Sabbath, April 2. Four were baptized and united with the church. A REPORT comes from Elder J. W. Watt, Ford City, Pa., that three persons have taken a stand to keep the Sabbath at this place recently. ON Sunday, April 24, Brother E. L. Maxwell baptized ten adults at Dodson, La., as a result of meetings held by Brother J. E. Hanson. UNDER date of April 24, Elder C. A. Hansen writes that nine students from the Otsego Academy, Otsego, Mich., had been recently baptized. BROTHER G. W. AMADON reports that on Sabbath, April 16, fourteen persons were baptized at Battle Creek, Mich., Elder J. M. Wilbur, pastor of the church, officiating. THROUGH the efforts of Brother E. B. Hopkins fifteen were added to the church at Edgewood, Tex., and twelve were baptized. He also baptized five at Cedar Grove, Tex. THE work at St. Paul, Minn., presents an encouraging aspect. Several have accepted the truth, and are awaiting baptism, while others are considering taking this step. THIRTEEN have united with the church at Wellington, Kan., since the young people’s convention held at that place March 12; and on Sabbath, April 2, eleven of these were baptized. As a result of the labor of Elders W. R. Foggin and W. L. Adkins at Little Birch, W. Va., about twenty persons are keeping the Sabbath. A movement is now on foot looking toward the building of a church. ELDER W. H. SMITH reports the baptism of eighteen persons recently at Newark, N. J., making in all forty-four baptized in Newark within the last ten months. On Sabbath, April 16, also, fifteen were received into the church.