Earlier text: Tracts That Will AnswerWashington (D. C.) Medical and Sanitarium Interests
By Arthur G. Daniells
As announced in a recent REVIEW, steps are now being taken to carry out the instruction that has been given with reference to carrying on denominational medical missionary work in Washington, D. C. In order that all our people may be fully acquainted with this instruction, the following statements from the Testimonies are herewith presented:— “If there is any place in the world that should have the full rays of present truth, it is Washington, the city that is the very heart of the nation. . . . God has looked with displeasure on the neglect that has been shown to this city.” “Since medical missionary work, when carried on as God has appointed, is indeed the helping hand of the third angel’s message, we should without delay take advantage of the favorable openings for beginning this work in the vicinity of Washington. If there is one place above another where a sanitarium should be established, and where gospel work should be done, it is in this city. We can not estimate how great an influence would have gone forth from Washington in favor of the truth had a sanitarium been established there twenty years ago. . . . Above all other places, the capital of our nation should now have an opportunity to hear the message for this time.”—Testimony, “Our Work at the Nation’s Capital,” dated July 17, 1903. “May God help us to develop plans so that our youth can become genuine medical missionaries. . . . We have before us the work of establishing a medical institution near Washington at once. No time is to be lost. Call for the best talent, and make arrangements for conducting a nurses’ training-school. All that can be done, should be done to make a deep impression in favor of the truth for this time. Place at the head of this institution one who can be trusted. Obtain facilities for giving treatment, and secure God-fearing youth as your helpers.”—Letter of instruction, dated Aug. 27, 1903. “The plans laid for the carrying forward of this work should be such as will bear the indorsement of heaven. In no case is this line of work to be made secondary. It is to be prominent in bringing the truth to the minds of the people. With great wisdom, establish a sanitarium in Washington. Establish the work upon a solid foundation. Let the building be neat and tasty, but not expensive. We can not afford to erect an expensive building. The Lord desires this building to be a representation of what he designs all his sanitariums to be. The Lord will work with his people, if they will work humbly with him.”—Testimony, “To the Leaders in Our Work,” dated Oct. 15, 1903. These quotations cover, I think, all the features of the instruction that has come to us regarding this particular branch of work. In Volume VII a great deal is said with reference to locating our sanitariums in rural places outside of the cities. With these facts before them, the committee appointed to find a suitable location for our headquarters in the East, selected a block of nearly fifty acres in Takoma Park, six miles north7 of the Capitol building. This ground is one mile from the Takoma Park post-office, the Baltimore and Ohio Railway station, and the terminus of the Washington and Takoma Park electric streetcar line. It was purchased for six thousand dollars. This selection was made by the following-named brethren: W. W. Prescott, H. W. Cottrell, W. C. White, I. H. Evans, O. O. Farnsworth, C. H. Jones, R. A. Underwood, S. N. Curtiss, J. S. Washburn, Lewis C. Sheafe, Dr. J. H. Neall, Dr. J. H. Howard, A. Kalstrom, W. M. Lewis, and A. G. Daniells. There was not an opposing vote when the final decision was made. As is usually the case with such large committees, some took more conservative views than others. During the Washington Council last October, the entire delegation visited Takoma Park, and gave the place we selected a careful inspection. The advantages and disadvantages were canvassed as fully as deemed consistent. The plans for the sanitarium and school were explained as fully as they had been grasped by those who had given them the closest study. Criticisms, suggestions, and counsel were solicited. After thorough discussion, the council heartily voted that one hundred thousand dollars should be raised for the purpose of opening a sanitarium, a school, and General Conference offices at Takoma Park, D. C.; that a corporation should be created to hold and manage the sanitarium, and that this corporation should be a non-dividend paying and a non-stock company. A constituency was also recommended, including the General and Atlantic Union Conference Committees, and the executive committees of various surrounding conferences, together with the board of management of local district work. Our brethren who attended that council will probably never know the full value of their hearty, broad, courageous attitude and addresses on this important question, when it came before the council. I do not remember ever having seen a more excellent manifestation of large-heartedness in my official connection with this work. While the presidents of local conferences were fully aware that a large measure of the responsibility of raising the money for this enterprise would fall upon the conferences they represented, they deliberately and courageously urged the raising of one hundred thousand dollars in order to reach the standard placed before us by the Testimonies. Instead of trimming and shaving the estimates down to the lowest possible notch, they placed them much higher than I had dared to hope for, but not higher than necessary. This brought gratitude and courage to my heart, and it means success in our efforts to raise the money. Further statements will be made next week. A. G. DANIELLS. THE devil says, If you obey God, you can not live; and God says, You can not live if you disobey me. The question is, Which of the two shall we believe? But can we really have any question about it? “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world,” said Jesus, “that I should bear witness unto the truth.” What stronger testimony could be given of the value of truth? What can there be for which we should more earnestly and persistently seek? And when we have found the truth, what should we be more zealous for than to bear witness to it? To this end were we born, and for this cause came we into the world. “As He is, so are we in this world.” As mentioned in last week’s REVIEW, by Brother W. S. Bond in his report from Spain, a stringent Sunday law is about to be enacted and put in force by the Spanish government, or rather, a stringent “holy day” law; for in Spain all church days have equal recognition with Sunday. The measure provides for “the prohibition of work on the fiestas of precept [Sundays and other church days], without distinction of occupation, whether laborers in the cities or farmers, neither of sex, age, nor state of the laborers.” In the United States the Catholic Church gives the impression that she is too liberal to favor stringent Sunday legislation; but this action of Catholic Spain, where public thought and legislation are molded almost wholly as the papacy wills, shows how liberal Rome is in her real nature. When a popular sentiment shall be worked up for the support of religious legislation in this republic, Rome may be counted on to give her full support to such measures, well knowing that all such legislation must be either directly or indirectly in support of her own principles and institutions. The Passing of Darwinism
By L. A. S.
Is the famous Darwinian theory so highly exalted by modern “science” dying of old age? This question is justified by indications which are now to be seen in certain scientific quarters in Europe. In Germany, says the Literary Digest, there is among theologians an active discussion of the question whether the days of Darwinism are numbered. A recent article in a German periodical by “the veteran philosopher, Edward von Hartmann,” is entitled “The Passing of Darwinism.” This scientific authority passes judgment upon Darwinism not from a Biblical standpoint at all, but from that of the most modern science purely. He says:— In the sixties of the past century the opposition of the older group of savants to the Darwinian hypothesis was still supreme. In the seventies, the new idea began to gain ground rapidly in all cultured countries. In the eighties, Darwin’s influence was at its height, and exercised an almost absolute control over technical research. In the nineties, for the first time, a few timid expressions of doubt and opposition were heard, and these gradually swelled into a great chorus of voices, aiming at the overthrow of the Darwinian theory. In the first decade of the twentieth century it has become apparent that the days of Darwinism are numbered. Among its latest opponents are such savants as Eimer, Gustav Wolf, De Vries, Hoocke, von Wellstein, Fleischman, Reinke, and many others. “The tombstone inscription for Darwinism,” is this article by Hartmann, writes Professor Zoeckler, of Greifswald University, in a German magazine which recently published a collection of anti-Darwinian views from German naturalists. Edward Hoppe, “the Hamburg savant,” has published a recent brochure declaring that the theory of evolution is not reconcilable with the religious idea. And Professor Fleischman, of Erlangen, summed up a recent course of lectures on “The Darwinian Theory” with this conclusion:— The Darwinian theory of descent has not a single fact to confirm it in the realm of nature. It is not the result of scientific research, but purely the product of the imagination. What Professor Fleischman now says about Darwinism is exactly what Seventh-day Adventists have said all along, while nearly the whole religious world has committed itself to this evolutionary, antichristian theory. Now eminent scientists are repudiating this theory in strong terms, and religious teachers, unless they follow this example, may soon be left in a very ridiculous position. How much better it is to have simple faith in the Word of God, and so be kept from such egregious mistakes. L. A. S. England’s Education Act a Failure
AUTHORITATIVE voices are heard in England, declaring that the famous education act, which at its passage in 1902 precipitated such a struggle between the established church and the non-conformists, is a pronounced failure, and must soon be repealed. It is declared by its enemies, and admitted by some of its friends, that the system has proved “unworkable.” The people are tired of the disturbance it has created all over the country. According to the Saturday Review, the merits of the controversy will be overlooked in the general desire to put an end to the “pandemonium” created by the act. The ordinary citizen, it says, may for the sake of quiet “at any time throw his weight in favor of wholly secular education. . . . He will take no trouble to ascertain nicely the rights and wrongs of a dispute he abhors. His main object is to stop the noise of the disputants.” Persecution does not succeed well where its victims constitute so large a proportion of the population as do the non-conformists in England. It is where a vast majority imposes its religious dogmas by law upon a small minority that persecution does its deadliest work, and makes the darkest stain on the pages of human history. Satan’s Delusions
By S. N. Haskell
As the people of God near the eternal shore, the dangers increase. Satan, who once was an angel of light, the covering cherub at the right hand of God in the heavenly courts, has come down, “having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” He will work with “all power and signs and lying wonders.” That master mind, once the highest among the angels of God, has for six thousand years bent its energies for the destruction of souls, and he will bring all the depths of his satanic skill, all the subtility he has ever acquired, all the cruelty developed against the people of God, into the final conflict. That which hath been will be, except that the coming struggle will be marked with an intensity such as the world has never before witnessed. Satan will use the same policy, manifest the same spirit, and work for the same end, as in all preceding ages. No person will be safe from his workings unless he is a child of prophecy; unless his position and work bear all the marks of God’s prophetic Word.9 Concerning Christ, John bore record, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon him, the same is he that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” John 1:32-34. The chief evidence to John that Christ was the true Messiah was the fulfilment of prophecy. He had seen in vision that Christ would come to be baptized of him; he had felt the holy atmosphere of his presence. He had realized a purity of character he never before had seen in any man. He had heard confessions of dark crimes as people had come to be baptized of him, but he had never come in contact with a human being from whom emanated an influence so divine. All this was in harmony with what had been revealed to John concerning Christ’s baptism. He knew he was Christ, and he shrank from baptizing him on that occasion. “John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” No one could better judge, for John was filled with the Holy Ghost from his birth. Luke 1:15. And yet he did not know the Messiah until he saw what God had told him would be,—the Holy Spirit descending upon him and abiding. God’s special work in the last days is a work of prophecy. The Sabbath of the fourth commandment will be seen in the light of prophecy, as well as in the general teaching of the Scripture. But among the many voices that will arise, the many “isms” that will confront the people of God, he that looks for signs and wonders only will be led astray, and will one day plead, “Have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” Satan’s counterfeit will so nearly represent God’s peculiar work that nothing but a fulfilment of the Word in all particulars will be the lamp to guide the soul through the dark mazes of Satan. To trust in a human understanding of the Word will be an equal failure. But with proper appreciation of the Word, the prophecy which points out the people of God and their work, with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, will be a safe guide. God has marked the history of his people from paradise lost to paradise restored. In the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night he has gone before them. If they forget their history in prophecy, its connection with the past, the present, and the future, they will be deceived and overtaken by some snare of Satan. The characteristics of God’s people will not be now and then a glimmering light, but a line of prophecy will be fulfilled, connecting the past, present, and future. These are God’s strong reasons. “Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen: let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods.” Isa. 41:21-23. So the work of God in the last days will be a work outlined by the prophetic penman. It comes in as a golden link in the chain of prophecy. It fills a vacant place. It will bear every evidence of the divine Word of God—not simply a feature or two, which Satan will counterfeit. Let these principles be studied, and a people will be found who will keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. They will have a history in the past, and their present experience will stand connected with it. As the golden rays of the sun can be traced back to the sun itself, so the light which shone on their pathway in the beginning of the message will shine unto the end, increasing its sacred rays more and more until it ends in glory. Trust
By Rev. William L. Curtis
WITH hearts submissive to Thy will,
When wishes are denied,
Teach us, O Lord, to trust thee still,
Whate'er betide. Thou dost the hungry sparrows feed
And ravens when they cry,
And every living creature's need
Dost satisfy. When scanty hoard and failing cruse
We view with troubled eye,
Still food convenient for our use
Thou dost supply. Then for to-morrow and its needs
May we not anxious be,
But where thy hand in wisdom leads,
Still follow thee. And daily praise thee for thy grace,
And for thy constant care,
Until we see thee face to face
Thy joy to share. — Rev. William L. Curtis, in The Advance. Evidences of Discipleship
By Ellen G. White
He who is converted to the truth, through faith made a partaker of the divine nature, is set apart to do the work of him who gave his life for the life of the world. The converted man is not a sluggard, but an earnest, faithful worker. He is one of Christ’s chosen instrumentalities for the saving of others. He is filled with the same spirit of service that inspired the Saviour. He is a laborer together with God. He has the same earnestness, the same fervor, that led Christ to work so untiringly for the perishing. He is made a partaker of Christ’s sufferings and of his great love, and he becomes a part of his working force for the saving of sinners. Those in whose hearts the love of Christ abides will use every power they have in doing the work that Christ did. Every one who has received the message of Christ’s love has a work to do. Upon every Christian rests the responsibility of reflecting the light of heaven to those in darkness. Each follower of the Saviour is to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation through grace. No one is to fail of living the truth that he has received. The words of the Christian are to be carefully chosen. His deportment is to be above reproach. It is the revealing of the goodness of Christ’s character that has so decided an influence on all with whom he is brought in contact. The Lord is our Captain, our Leader. We are to bear his banner, and wear the armor that he provides. We are to strive to win his enemies to be his friends. Not till he lays his armor at the feet of the Redeemer is the Christian to relax his watchful, prayerful efforts. “We are laborers together with God.” Ever remember that all your capabilities, all your possessions, are the Lord’s, to be used and improved in his service. Remember that all the means you have is given you by God. Use it to glorify his name. Use it wisely and economically, because it is a sacred trust. I ask those who have been entrusted with the Lord’s money to labor unselfishly for the Master. Do not tie up your money in estates and banks, when there is such need that it be put into circulation to advance the Lord’s work. Remember that your money is yours only in trust. Give the light to others by giving of your means to send workers into new fields. Thus you will hasten the coming of Christ. He who is truly converted will feel it a privilege to give of his means to send the truth into the dark places of the earth. God asks, Why are not memorials for me established in the cities? What answer can we return? The neglected work in our cities testifies to the lack of Christlike energy among believers. Let all awake to the need of establishing Christian missions in the cities. Let God’s workers enter the doors that he has opened for them. Believers need to arouse and do much more than they are now doing in lines of Christian effort. Christ’s commission is, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Let God’s people show that they believe these words. Fulfilling the Saviour’s commission, they are to be a working power through all time. Have we light? Let it shine forth to those in darkness. Tell the Saviour that you are doing his bidding, and then believe that he will fulfil the word, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end.” Of the disciples we read, “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” Our work is plainly outlined by the work of Christ and the work of his disciples after his resurrection and ascension. We are not at liberty to sit with folded hands, waiting for some one to lead us to fields of labor and set us at work. Those who have a knowledge of the truth are to go forth in the name of the Lord, believing every word that Christ has spoken, and looking to him for grace and strength. As, like the disciples, you go from place to place, telling the story of the Saviour’s love, you will make friends, and will see the fruit of your labor. All true, humble, loving, faithful workers will be sustained and strengthened by power from on high. They will win their way to the hearts of the people as they follow Christ’s example. The sick will be ministered to, the afflicted prayed for. There will be heard the voice of singing and the voice of prayer. The Scriptures will be opened to testify of truth. And with signs following, the Lord will confirm the word spoken. This class of work has gone out of fashion. Let it be once more brought into practise. The fields are white all ready to harvest. The Lord desires many more to go out into the harvest field. He will be with those who study his Word and obey his commands. He will impart to them his grace. Go forth in the name of Christ, remembering that he is your companion, that every prayer, every word, every song, is heard by him. The message of the soon coming of the Lord with power and great glory will bring conviction to many hearts. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” The Message Unchanged
By George B. Thompson
WITH God the past and the future are alike outspread. From ancient times he has foreseen every step, and made provision for every circumstance which will arise in the mysterious drama being enacted in the earth. The destiny of nations is with God; he holds the program of events in his own hands. Ever in the past when his judgments were to be visited upon the inhabitants of the earth to stay them in their impious and heaven-daring schemes, warnings have been sent through human agents to prepare them for the terrible ordeal, that they might be rescued from the coming destruction. These warnings have always come exactly on time to meet the emergencies and needs of the hour,—not a day late,—neither have they because of unbelief been drawn out beyond certain limits. The warnings of the past were always adapted to the circumstances of the times in which they were given, and accomplished their work on time. The message Noah preached was heaven-born, correct in every detail as first given, and just as God wanted it given to warn the world of the coming flood. He knew how long it would take to accomplish the work, and gave a message that would be timely and up to date till the flood came. Imagine this solemn proclamation given to Noah being changed, set in the background after a time, and a new theology thought to be more advanced and progressive brought to the front! and as the closing years of the generation that was to witness this terrible overthrow from the hand of the Almighty were being ticked off, but little being said about the deluge, lest prejudice be aroused and the work hindered! Some may have arisen after a time and departed from the old pillars of the message given to Noah in the beginning, asserting that what had been preached for fourscore or fivescore years was hardly the message now, and to adhere to these truths was narrow; that we must be more progressive, and not make a “hitching-post” of these truths, which were good enough in their time, but go on into greater light. But Noah was unmovable, as firm as a rock. He adhered to the old landmarks of his message, and entered the ark at last. The closing-event on the program of events will be no exception. When the strongholds of kings are to be demolished, and the arrows of his indignation is to strike down his foes, and desolation and ruin such as no mortal mind can picture is to take place, the Lord will announce the startling event. The message will begin on time, close on time, and from the beginning be given in the exact setting necessary to warn the world. It will never be changed, and the woe of God is upon any effort to move a block or stir a pin. The nearer we come to the closing scenes of earth’s history, the more clear and distinct will ring out the cry from consecrated souls, “Behold, he cometh with clouds.” But there must be a reaching out for the fundamental pillars of the message which have stood from the beginning; for the enemy has been plotting their overthrow. How thankful we should be that connected with this message is a gift which can unmask before us the schemes of Satan and his generals. It is the same now as in the days of Elisha. 2 Kings 6:8-12. We read the following from the pen of Sister White in the REVIEW of Nov. 19, 1903:— “Satan has laid his plans to undermine our faith in the history of the cause and work of God. I am deeply in earnest as I write this. Satan is working with men in prominent positions to sweep away the foundations of our faith. Shall we allow this to be done, brethren?” Every loyal heart will respond, “No; this shall not be done.” Many years ago this same warning was written out for our admonition:— “Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God’s people from the present truth, and to cause them to waver. I saw a covering that God was drawing over his people to protect them in the time of trouble; and every soul that was decided on the truth, and was pure in heart, was to be covered with the covering of the Almighty. Satan knew this, and was at work in mighty power to keep the minds of as many as he possibly could wavering and unsettled on the truth.”—Early Writings, page 35. The covering here spoken of we are told in Isa. 30:1 is the Holy Spirit. Then that which will bring the Holy Spirit in its fulness and power to this denomination is purity of heart and an unwavering allegiance to the message. “I saw some who were not standing stiffly for present truth. Their knees were trembling, and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth, and the covering of Almighty God could not be drawn over them while they were thus trembling.”—Id., page 36. If there was ever a time when God’s people should be diligently searching the Word for light that the clear outlines of the message may be readily perceived, that time is now. If we fail to do this, our feet will surely slide. The Gospel Aimed at Sin
By T. E. Bowen
Much of the preaching in these days is of little profit, for the simple reason that no one gets hit with the gospel. It sometimes appears that the representative of God purposely sets his target either above or to one side of his congregation, so that no one present could possibly get hurt. While the Word of God teaches us to guard carefully the feelings and rights of others, yet when it comes to dealing with sin, no tame messages are in place. God, by his Spirit, so speaks to individual hearts under the plain gospel message that the hearer is led to ask himself, “Is it I?” When Nathan went to the king and pointed out through a parable his great sin, he did not leave David to query very long as to who was meant. He closed the message with, “Thou art the man.” It is sin God is after. He wants his messengers to deal telling blows against sin, not individuals. But the Spirit of God always applies it to the hearer. He knows how to apply the keen edge of truth so that not a tissue untainted by sin shall be cut out of the heart. It divides at the right place. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. 4:12. If people attend church with any other motive than to have their sins revealed to their own view a little more vividly than before; if the messenger of God goes to speak anything else than the word of the Lord,—that word which is of such power, containing both life and death, and which is given for the purpose of condemning sin in the flesh,—then all will have assembled in vain. They will not return benefited, better prepared to grapple with temptation, neither can they truthfully say that God indeed was in the place. Men and women do not need to be flattered. God is very sparing of his praises for frail humanity. But he loves sinners. Christ gave himself to die, that he might destroy sin, and save the sinner. This beautiful distinction the servant of Christ ever should keep before him, and his own soul will be watered as he fearlessly condemns sin, and at the same time tenderly loves the sinner. Occasionally by chance a target might be hit in shooting at random, but usually people aim at whatever they design to shoot. The devil does not enjoy himself when sin is attacked by the servant of Christ. However, he can take his usual nap in church, so long as everything else is talked of except the sins of the people. God says, Show my people their sins, and spare not,—spare sin not. The gospel is the power of God manifested against sin. Nothing can destroy sin but the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore the need of the world, lying in sin and wickedness, is the pure gospel. Shall it have it? A. E. LEMON, M. D
By A. E. Lemon
“STRAIT is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life.” If Satan sees that he can not get us to turn to the left, he will be just as much pleased if we turn the other way. The Lord has been giving this people light upon the subject of diet reform for many years, and at length that light has been largely accepted. But if the enemy of souls can induce us to make a wrong use of that light, he will have accomplished his sinister purpose as surely as if he had led us to reject the light altogether. Health reform is temperance,—nothing more; nothing less. And temperance, or health reform, whichever we may choose to call it, is one of the fruits of the Spirit; or in other words, one of the results of conversion. It is the old, settled plan of the arch-deceiver to exalt the creature, and cheat the Creator of his glory. And in order to do this he is constantly laying plans whereby to get men to try to save themselves by some effort of their own. Now if he can get us to look at health reform not simply as one of the fruits of a godly life, but as a cause of godliness, and as a means of grace by which we can prepare ourselves for translation, he will have accomplished the double design of leading us to make a wrong use of the light of health reform, and to depend more or less on our own efforts for salvation. Who can deny that many have come to believe that by maintaining a rigid “Edenic diet” we shall be enabled to go through the seven last plagues untouched by the pestilence that walketh in darkness, and the destruction that wasteth at noonday? Is that not salvation by works? But let God tell us how he expects us to escape the plagues: “It shall not come nigh thee . . . because thou hast made the Lord . . . thy habitation.” Ps. 91: 5-9. And is it not “through the Spirit” rather than by works that we become the “habitation of God”? Eph. 2: 22. Some believe that we may, by obedience to natural laws, rise above the physical degeneration caused by the errors of our ancestors, and live in defiance of the diseases of the present day. Devoted, faithful brethren lie beneath the sod in distant lands, silent witnesses against this assumption, to say nothing of the long list of deaths from consumption, cancer, and even Bright’s disease in our weekly obituary reports. Disease is the result of sin, of generations of transgression against God’s law. Ex. 15: 26. If we expect to obtain physical salvation by our own works of obedience, are we not in that thing right where the Pharisees were in Christ’s time, and where the church was in the time of Luther, denying the fundamental truth of justification by faith? When we, as believers, obey the light of health reform as given in the Testimonies, because we delight in God and love to do his will, because our temperate manner of living will keep our minds in harmony with the infinitely greater truth of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and because our obedience to this light will prevent us from suffering the direct result of indulgence, that is one thing; but if we expect by such obedience to obtain redemption from the effects of the sins of our forefathers, and to accomplish the preparation necessary for translation, that is another thing altogether. God did not give us health reform to take the place of Christ, that we by it should accomplish our own redemption, either physically or spiritually. Let us be health reformers because temperance is one of the fruits of the Spirit, an evidence of faith; and let Jesus Christ be our Redeemer and our temple builder. The Simple Desire
By Washington Gladden
O MASTER, let me walk with thee,
In lowly paths of service free;
Tell me thy secret, help me bear
The strain of toil, the fret of care. Help me the slow of heart to move
By some clear, winning word of love;
Teach me the wayward feet to stay
And guide them in the homeward way. Teach me thy patience, still with thee
In closer, dearer company,
In work that keeps the faith sweet and strong,
In trust that triumphs over wrong, In hope that sends a shining ray
Far down the future’s broadening way;
In peace, that only thou canst give;
With thee, O Master, let me live. MANY a backslider never slid very far forward. Everything in the world but the human heart obeys God. A man can do more business if his head is cleared by prayer every morning. Many think it is the Bible that says: “Do as the Romans do.” A purpose in the head and not in the heart does not last long. “Policy” was not in the dictionary that Daniel studied. A man can not live for God in any age or country without enemies. Many people seek an experience instead of Christ. Many join the church who never joined Christ.—D. L. Moody. The Fellowship of the Wilderness
It was not the wisdom of the Egyptians, but the fellowship of the Arabian wilderness that made Moses the leader of God's people. The voice of God is clearer where there is no babble of tongues to confuse it. “Countrified”
By James Buckham
Do they call you “countrified”?
Let it be your joy and pride,
You, who love the birds and bees,
And the whispers of the trees!
Trust me, friend of flowers and grass,
Little brown-faced lad or lass,
Naught in all the world beside
Equals being “countrified.” Up of mornings when the light
Reddens on the mountain height;
Hearing how the bird-throats swell
With the joy they can not tell;
Conscious that the morning sings
Like a harp with unseen strings,
Over which the breezes glide;
This is being “countrified.” Roaming far, on summer days,
Or when autumn woodlands blaze;
Learning how to catch and tell
Nature’s precious secrets well;
Filled with sunshine, heart and face,
Or, where branches interlace,
Dappled like the shy trout’s side;
This is being “countrified.” What though little fit to pose
In the city’s ways and clothes?
There is vastly more to love
In the brown of nature’s glove.
Health and happiness and tan
Are best fashions for a man;
All who near to God abide
Are, in some way, “countrified.” The Influence of the Home
By Anna L. Colcord
THE family is the first institution God made in this world. It antedates even the Sabbath. It is therefore of primary importance. The influence which the family exerts in the world is greater than many realize. It is the foundation of society, the church, and the nation. If the families are right, society will be right, the church will be right, and the nation will be right. The laws of nations themselves are but the reflex of the training of nurseries. The condition of the church is largely determined by the home training of the children. Society is governed according to the individual training of our sons and daughters. “Men are only boys grown tall,
Hearts don’t change much after all.”
Therefore one of the most practical ways to work for society, the church, and the nation, is to work for the family. Many who are preaching the message for this time seem to overlook the fact that this message is to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,” — terms which indicate the family relationship. To give little or no attention to the family, the home, and home influences, therefore, is to overlook important relationships, and to neglect an essential part of our work. In view of the far-reaching influence of the home, it is not strange that the enemy is doing his utmost to ruin homes and break family ties. This is one of his most effectual means of bringing the world to a state of lawlessness and confusion. As the work of the gospel is to counterwork the work of Satan, it will seek to unite and strengthen family ties, and make the home what God designed it should be.