p. 24 | Review and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 16. (3/30/1916)

The Bible

“THIS Book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, and the destiny of the righteous and the wicked. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are as true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be right, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be open at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It invokes the highest responsibility, rewards the greatest labor, and condemns all who trifle with its holy contents.”

NOTICES AND APPOINTMENTS

Camp Meetings

COLUMBIA UNION CONFERENCE

Virginia ............... June 1 to 11 Chesapeake ............. June 8 to 18 West Pennsylvania ...... June 22 to July 2 Eastern Pennsylvania ... June 29 to July 9 New Jersey .............. July 27 to Aug. 6 Ohio .................... Aug. 17 to 27 West Virginia ........... Aug. 30 to Sept. 8

NORTHERN UNION CONFERENCE

Iowa, Nevada ............ May 25 to June 5 Minnesota, Anoka ........ June 1 to 11 South Dakota, Watertown .. June 8 to 18 North Dakota ............ June 15 to 25

Obituaries

STAMP.— Lydia Stamp was born in Barbados in 1868, and died in La Ceiba, Spanish Honduras, Central America, Feb. 20, 1916. She became a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church through the efforts of Elder A. J. Haysmer. It was her delight to minister to those who were sick or afflicted, and she was well known throughout the island. One son is left to mourn. ISAAC BAKER.

JENSEN.— J. B. Jensen was born in Green Bay, Wis., Dec. 3, 1864, and died at his home, near Cazenovia, Wis., Feb. 9, 1916. He was united in marriage with Miss Effie Rhinehart June 14, 1904. At the age of fourteen he became a member of the De Bello church in Yuba, Wis., and for many years served as church clerk and treasurer. His wife, five children, a mother, and four sisters are left to mourn. A. W. JUDSON.

MURRAY.— Julia H., infant daughter of John and Fannie Murray, died Feb. 18, 1916, aged 4 months and 14 days. The writer spoke words of comfort to the sorrowing parents and friends. GUSTAVUS P. RODGERS.

HITE.— Ernest Hite recently died in the city of Baltimore, Md., after an illness of more than two years. He accepted present truth during the summer of 1914, as the result of a tent effort, and remained faithful to the end. GUSTAVUS P. RODGERS.

SAMPLEY.— Died in Baum, Okla., Feb. 4, 1916, Exira Sampley, aged 27 years. She accepted present truth about five years ago, and remained faithful to the end of life. Their loss is mourned by a husband, three little children, and other relatives. Funeral services were conducted by Pastor Pittman, of the Methodist Church. N. CLAUSEN.

SCOTT.— James Austin Scott was born in New Haven, Ohio, Feb. 10, 1848, and died Jan. 27, 1916. In 1870 he was united in marriage with Jane Atherton, who, with a son and a daughter, and several brothers and sisters, is left to mourn. Brother Scott accepted present truth and united with the Hamilton (Ohio) Seventh-day Adventist church in 1910. J. J. MARIETTA.

GILLILAND.— Rachel Stanfill was born in Campbell County, Tennessee, June 23, 1851. She was married to W. D. Gilliland in 1874. In 1891 she became convinced of the truth of the third angel’s message, and united with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Her death occurred Jan. 30, 1916, and the funeral was held in a little prairie schoolhouse near Las Animas, Colo. Her husband and ten children survive. H. A. VANDEMAN.

LINTON.— Adeline Johnson was born in Alabama, March 21, 1848. She was married to J. N. Linton in 1867, and they accepted present truth about twenty-eight years ago, in Mississippi. They moved to Keene, Tex., the year the academy was established. Sister Linton fell asleep in the blessed hope Feb. 13, 1916. To the sorrowing sons and daughters and many friends the writer spoke words of comfort from John 11:35. E. W. CAREY.

MILLER.— Edna Sena Taylor was born in Gresham, Nebr., Nov. 26, 1890. When she was five years old her parents moved to Colorado, and later to Leighton, Mo. There she was married to T. H. Miller in 1911. They made their home in Pittsburg, Kans., where she died Feb. 13, 1916. She was a devout Christian, and while anxious to live and rear her little daughter, was resigned to the will of God. Her husband and child, together with her parents, are left to mourn. J. L. BAILARD.

Are You Interested in Temperance?

By Editor

ARE you a parent or guardian? Have you a child in whom you are interested, anywhere from three to fifteen years of age? Do you want that child to grow up to be a clean, temperate man or woman? Do you know that however carefully he may be guarded and shielded, some day he may be subjected to temptation to smoke or drink, and that he may yield?

Do you appreciate that even though your child may, as far as you know, have absolutely no inherited tendencies along these lines, he may still yield to temptation?

Are you willing to spend time and money to help educate him to love the true and beautiful and to loathe that which is filthy and evil?

If you have no boy or girl who needs such instruction, are you willing to help some other boy or girl?

It is not necessary for us to delineate the evil and startling effects of intemperance. Enough has already been said on this subject for older people and for the young people. It is the children for whom we are now pleading.

Two years ago we printed a Temperance number of Our Little Friend. It was our first effort, but it met with a good degree of success. Fifty-five thousand copies were printed, and after these were exhausted; more than two thousand orders were turned away.

This year we are printing another Temperance number of Our Little Friend. It will contain sixteen pages and have a colored cover, and the contents will be entirely devoted to the subject of temperance.

Now you may say that we already have the Temperance Instructor, and expect soon to have the Temperance Signs of the Times weekly, and we do not need a Temperance Little Friend. But please remember that Our Little Friend has a field all its own.

The children are sure to be interested in and enthusiastic over some of the same things that the parents and teachers are interested in and enthusiastic over, and in this Temperance number we aim to give them something to work for, which they will be able to comprehend.

It is not necessary to study the counterfeit in order to know the genuine, but by studying the genuine we shall know the counterfeit. It is not necessary to know all about all the evil in the world in order not to be corrupted by it. So our plan in this Temperance number of Our Little Friend has been not to impress on the tender minds and hearts of our children many of the evils and hideous effects of intemperance, but to present to them some of its dangers, and portray before them the beauty and the strength of temperance.

Even the older people will enjoy reading such articles as “Danger Signals,” by Mrs. George Rine; “The Story of the Corpies” (blood corpuscles), by Mrs. Vesta J. Farnsworth; “Fire Water and the Alaskan Indians,” by Earle Albert Rowell; “The Temperance Parade in Los Angeles, and Dandy, “the Temperance Horse,” by Lolita Leadsworth; an interesting article by Dr. Belle Wood-Comstock; and various other entertaining articles the titles and authors of which will be announced later.

If we want our children to grow up right, we must lay the foundation right. If our State is dry, and our nation should go dry, we want to keep it dry; and it is those who are now children who will prove a strong factor in doing this.

Remember, too, that however much we, as publishers of our children’s paper, may endeavor to do to educate and train the children, we must have your cooperation to make our work a success. What will you do to help us to help your children.

When our last number was issued, a subscription was taken up among the business men in one town to place one copy of Our Little Friend in the hands of every child in the public schools, and even intemperate fathers were interested and subscribed to the fund.

Will you help to save the children? This number will sell for five cents a copy, or ten copies for twenty-five cents.

EDITOR OUR LITTLE FRIEND.

The May “Watchman”

If you were to learn that Elders I. H. Evans and C. B. Haynes, Dr. P. T. Magan, and Prof. F. W. Field were to visit your city, accompanied by Brother L. A. Smith and a number of leading Watchman contributors, would you pay a dime to hear all these persons lecture, each on a different subject? Would you not invite a large number of your friends to come out and hear them? Would you not widely advertise the meeting throughout your community? Without doubt you would be willing to pay many times ten cents to hear these persons lecture. But in the May Watchman you get articles from their pens for only ten cents. You can hand this number of the Watchman to your friends, and they will receive the same information for the same amount.

By taking five or more, you can secure them for five cents a copy; if you take as many as fifty or more, at four cents a copy. Sell or distribute them in your community, and your neighbors will receive articles on the greatest variety of subjects that has ever appeared in one issue of the Watchman. Articles appear in this number dealing with the European war, current happenings, the crucifixion of Christ, the Sabbath, religious liberty, the resurrection, pagan Rome, papal Rome, etc. Surely a magazine dealing with all these different subjects from writers who have given them careful and prayerful study is just the journal to place in the hands of those whom you would like to see interested in the truth. You know the Watchman has a characteristic way all its own of winning people to the truth, and you can depend upon it. Order a few copies of the May number and give it a trial. Watch for results.

District of Columbia Conference Corporation

By R. E. Harter; R. C. Taylor

The seventh annual session of the District of Columbia Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists will convene in Memorial Church, corner Twelfth and M Streets, Washington, D. C., at 10 A. M., Monday, April 10, 1916, to elect officers for the ensuing year, and to transact such other business as may properly come before the association.

R. E. HARTER, President. R. C. TAYLOR, Secretary.

Requests for Prayer

“PRAY that I may be healed of a skin disease which physicians cannot seem to help,” writes a Nebraska sister.

An aged sister in Indiana earnestly asks prayer that she may be healed of injuries received from a fall, and that her children may be won to the Lord.

Publications Wanted

The persons named below desire late, clean copies of our publications, sent postpaid, for use in missionary work. In sending publications care should be exercised to select only such as are free from soil and disfigurement. We have been credibly informed that some who oppose this movement and the truths which it represents answer these requests for literature, and are sending to our brethren and sisters in various parts of the country tracts and papers representing their opposition. Our workers should be careful not to confound this literature with our denominational publications, and thus unwittingly become agents in sending out matter not printed in the interests of the cause of truth.

J. H. Downes, Y. M. C. A., Cornhill, London, E. C., England.

Mrs. Alice Goodman, R. F. D. 4, Lawrenceburg, Tenn. Papers and tracts.

H. B. Swartwood, R. F. D. 1, Van Etten, N. Y. Watchman, Liberty, Temperance Instructor, and Present Truth Series.

A. O. Burrill, 1708 Maple St., Vancouver, British Columbia. Signs (weekly and monthly), Watchman, Instructor, Little Friend, Life and Health.

Edward S. Quinn, 7 Denwood Ave., Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. Signs (weekly and monthly), and Watchman; also names of interested persons for use in missionary correspondence band.

This Gospel of the Kingdom

In Matt. 24:14 we are told that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

The responsibility of hastening or delaying the coming of Christ rests upon the church; for we are told by the servant of the Lord that the church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world.

From the earliest times it has been God’s purpose that the entire church should be instructed and trained to do service for him. To this end “he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ.”

“If every church member were a living missionary, the gospel would speedily be proclaimed in all countries, to all peoples, nations, and tongues.”

The Church an Agent

“Christ’s church on earth is to be an agent for him. Its members are to be devoted to the work to which God has appointed them, taking their places according to God’s order, and doing the work he has assigned them. The tidings of every successful effort on their part to dispel the darkness and to diffuse the light and knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent, are borne upward. The act is presented before all the heavenly intelligences, and thrills through all the principalities and powers, enlisting the sympathy of all heavenly beings. . . .

“Every man, according to his several ability, has been given his work. You are to occupy a place as a laborer together with God, and as his agent you are to gather other agencies and unite them with those already in the work, that the instrumentalities for winning souls to look to Christ may be as many as possible.

“Angels of God are soliciting you to work in fellowship with them, doing the will of God on earth as verily and unitedly and devotedly as they do the work appointed them in heaven and earth. These angels are surveying the ground occupied by the individual members of the church. They see the advantage gained by Satan when men and women neglect their God-appointed work. They see this work neglected or done in a bungling manner by those who claim to be Christ’s, and they sorrow over souls that are lost in consequence of this neglect. They cannot take your place or discharge your duty. Could they do this, they would do it gladly, for they know that your eternal welfare depends upon the use you make of your intrusted talents, your intellect, your reason. They cannot do your work, but they stand ready to cooperate with human agencies as they work to draw souls to Jesus Christ, striving to recover them through the infinite gift made for their redemption.

“It is the duty of every one who claims to believe on Jesus Christ to become a worker for God. Entire consecration and unity are demanded in the work which must be done to bring greater results. I inquire, How can any one be silent when he knows what the Lord Jesus expects from every human being? I implore you that name the name of Christ to no longer be selfishly and wickedly indifferent to your duty.”

The Church to Give the Message

This great reformatory movement with which we are privileged to be connected will never be completed, the full realization of our hopes can never be entered into, “until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work, and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers. . . .

“In every church there is talent which, with the right kind of labor, might be developed to become a great help in this work. That which is needed now for the upbuilding of our churches is the nice work of wise laborers to discern and develop talent in the church,—talent that can be educated for the Master’s use. There should be a well-organized plan for the employment of workers to go into all our churches, large and small, to instruct the members how to labor for the upbuilding of the church,— and also for unbelievers. It is training, education, that is needed. Those who labor in visiting the churches should give the brethren and sisters instruction in practical methods of doing missionary work.”

“The strength of an army is measured largely by the efficiency of the men in the ranks. A wise general instructs his officers to train every soldier for active service. He seeks to develop the highest efficiency on the part of all. If he were to depend on his officers alone, he could never expect to conduct a successful campaign. He counts on loyal and untiring service from every man in his army. The responsibility rests largely upon the men in the ranks.

“And so it is in the army of Prince Immanuel. Our General, who has never lost a battle, expects willing, faithful service from every one who has enlisted under his banner in the closing controversy now waging between the forces for good and the hosts of evil. He expects all, laymen as well as ministers, to take part. All who have enlisted as his soldiers are to render faithful service as ministers, with a keen sense of the responsibility resting upon them individually.”

Drone Destroyers — Through Providing Work

“As I am a new convert, I am quite ignorant; but through your Present Truth Series God has given me a work to do that I otherwise could not do; for I have a family, and my first duty is to them. I send out the Extras through the mail, and am getting many encouraging answers. In this way I am able to present the truth in many homes where I know there are Bible students who are uninformed as to the real truths. But for these little papers I should be almost a drone; but with them, at their low cost, it does not seem that any Seventh-day Adventist has a reasonable excuse for not being an active agent for the Master.”

The Present Truth Series in Florida

“OUR church officers met this evening and authorized me to order 1,000 P. T. S. No. 3. It has been desired to have them here for work next Sunday. The St. Petersburg band plays in the park each Sunday afternoon, and a large number of people from the Northern States and Canada are around listening to the music. During the intermission I pass out our literature. They seem to appreciate it very much. We seldom find any of it left. We see them reading it on the porches and verandas and on the streets. The good it does makes for us friends over a widely scattered area of North America, and we believe it will awaken conscience and give conviction upon present truth.”

“Many do not wait to receive it, but ask for it. Scores of men have come to us asking for the papers. Today a lady in a wheel chair remarked, ‘Is that an Adventist publication? I like to read it. Please may I have one?’ Another lady in a wheel chair some twenty feet away also asked if she might have one. We could use many thousands of these papers if we were able to secure them. Great opportunities are open to us through this means.”

The 1916 Year Book

IT CONTAINS a complete directory of the General Conference and all its departments, of the four division conferences, of the union conferences, and of every local conference and mission, with the name and address of every officer and laborer connected therewith.

IT LISTS the names of all educational institutions, with the names of boards of management, and the studies taught by each member of the faculty.

IT GIVES the members of all managing boards of publishing houses, the editors, the papers issued, their subscription price, size, frequency of publication, and other data.

IT PRESENTS a list of all sanitariums, treatment rooms, food factories, cafés, etc., with physicians, the members of all managing boards, and other officers.

IT ILLUSTRATES the growth of the denomination since its organization in 1863, by statistical tables, more complete than ever before, representing all departments of work; it also states by conferences the number of churches and their membership, as shown by the last published statistical report.

IT MAKES a survey of the field for the past year, prepared for this work by those in charge of the fields, in which many indications of progress are given.

IT INDICATES the location of churches in many of the larger cities in the North American Division.

IN FACT, the Year Book contains information respecting every laborer connected with this cause, indicating the line of work in which he is engaged, and his address; every institution under denominational control, and for easy reference a separate list for each union conference; and the growth of every department is represented statistically.

THE YEAR BOOK is therefore an indispensable compendium of information respecting this cause. No officer or other laborer can afford to be without it. With the many, many changes that have recently been made in organizations, the Year Book is more necessary now than ever before.

AND THE PRICE — Simply cut in two for your benefit. Now only twenty-five cents. Money lost on every copy, but the benefit comes back in other ways. Order your copy before the limited edition has been sold.

Order from your tract society.

How to Circulate a Church Paper

DR. J. T. PECK, who later in life became one of the most distinguished bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, related in the Western Advocate how, when a pastor, he worked to increase the circulation of the church paper among the members of his congregation. His methods might well be copied by our workers in the circulation of our church paper. Dr. Peck says:—

“Took Paper in Pulpit”

“1. I took the paper into the pulpit. I opened it wide and showed it to the people. I expatiated upon its beauties, its benefits, its departments, its necessities to any member who would be an intelligent Methodist and know the current history of his church. I warmed with my theme and exhorted. I appealed to their loyalty; I excoriated the disloyalty that dropped the church papers and took outside papers, especially if they were cheap. . . . I swept the whole keyboard of incentives to take the paper. Then when the iron had been made hot by striking, I struck to weld it by taking subscriptions on the spot. I got all I could on Sunday as a religious work. I used blank cards often in the pews.”

“Took Paper to Prayer Meeting”

“2. I followed up this bombardment from the pulpit by a renewed attack at a closer range in the prayer meeting. I repeated this effort in the prayer meeting at intervals. I always gained some at the close of a warm prayer meeting.”

“Took Paper on Pastoral Calls”

“3. I next put a clean copy of the paper in my pocket and started out on my pastoral visitation each afternoon. By this means I had made a list of all who ought to take the paper, but had not subscribed. With this list and the paper in my pocket, I began sharpshooting at close range. I went to the house, the store, the shop, the factory. I pulled out my paper and my list. I submitted the question. Most surrendered at once when thus individually appealed to. The few that hesitated I stayed with till they saw ‘a great light’ and subscribed. Only here and there an obtuse or stingy soul escaped.”

“Took up Subscriptions for Paper”

“4. There were always a few poor people who could not afford to take the paper. On Christmas or New Year’s I would state this fact to the public congregation, and ask the well-to-do to send a Christmas or New Year gift to these poor, that would come every week in the year. This always met with quick response.”

“Took Paper to Converts”

“5. At the close of the revival each year I appealed to all new converts to take a church paper.”

“This is my ‘experience.’ It fills me with joy to recall it. It was a good work for Christ.”

Twenty-Five Students Give Their Hearts

At the close of the week of prayer at the Solusi Mission, South Africa, twenty-five students, mostly young men, gave their hearts to the Lord. There is now a baptismal class of thirty at the mission, under instruction by Pastor W. C. Walston.

Brother Spicer Visits Cuba

BROTHER W. A. SPICER, after making a tour of the churches in Jamaica, in company with Brother and Sister Boger, took passage early in March for Santiago, Cuba. Brother J. J. Ireland accompanied him, having audited the West Indian Union Conference and publishing house books in Jamaica.

Progress in the Philippines

A LETTER just received from Brother L. V. Finster brings the good word that last year there were two hundred thirty-five persons baptized into the message in the Philippines. Some of these converts were first fruits from two newly entered pagan tribes—the Tinguianes and Igorots. As a further evidence of progress, he says their book sales amounted to $12,-678.

South American Union Conference Organized

WORD from the brethren in South America tells of good meetings they were having. The workers from the South American Union were assembled at Buenos Aires the first part of February, and a workers' institute was in progress. At this meeting the South American Division Conference was organized. The name of the South American Union Conference was changed to Austral Union Conference, “austral” in Spanish meaning south. The brethren expected to go on to Chile, then to Peru, for general meetings. Brother Town will return to the States after the early May meeting in Peru, Brother Prescott returning to Argentina to attend a session of the South American Division Conference Committee.

Petitions in Congress

PETITIONS against legislation abridging the freedom of the press, and against bills making Sunday a day of rest in the District of Columbia, are beginning to pour in to Congress. Petitions of the first class are coming in from many persons who are not Seventh-day Adventists; but all petitions of the latter class are without doubt from our own people. The memorial of the Religious Liberty Association was presented March 9, and printed in the Congressional Record. The same day two other protests were presented to the Senate, and one to the House. On subsequent days protests came in as follows: One to the House, March 10; one to the Senate, two to the House, March 11; one to the House, March 13; three to the Senate, two to the House, March 14; two to the Senate, one to the House, March 15; four to the House, March 16; two to the Senate, three to the House, March 17; two to the Senate, one to the House, March 18; two to the Senate, three to the House, March 20; one to the House, March 21. This is the opportunity for us to warn our Congressmen against Sunday legislation. Let the good work with petitions go forward rapidly.

A Sunday Night Meeting in Pittsburgh

By L. A. Hansen

It was a privilege to attend the meeting held in the Pitt Theater, Pittsburgh, Sunday night, March 19. The occasion was impressive, especially from the standpoint of our work and its progress. The audience was the largest the building had ever held, according to the statement of those in charge of it. It was estimated that three thousand people were in attendance, every available space, including aisles, stairs, and landings being utilized; and the doorkeepers said that five hundred persons or more were turned away.

It was a new thing to me to see people refused admittance to one of our meetings. The deep interest shown by the large audience seemed remarkable. More than one thousand names and addresses were handed in at this and the previous Sunday night meeting by those who wanted the lecture in printed form. Among these were the names of several ministers, many well-known business men, and quite a number of people from out of town. The collection amounted to more than $130 each night.

Many prayers had been offered for the speaker, Elder A. G. Daniels, that God would enable him to present the message with power. The subject of Armageddon was given in a clear, forceful manner, followed by an earnest appeal to his hearers to live the life of godliness.

To one acquainted with what has been told us regarding the way in which our truth is to go to many people, especially in our large cities, this meeting seemed like the beginning of a new and great work. As we hear of calls for similar meetings in a number of other large cities, we can but recognize that we have entered upon a new era. What it means to us all in its call to arise to the occasion, is a matter for sober thought.

L. A. HANSEN.

Continue reading: Opening Among the Gujarati People