To parents God has given the greatest and most blessed work ever given to human beings. He says, “Take this son, this daughter, train it for me; give it a character polished after the similitude of a palace, that it may shine in the courts of the Lord forever.” Few parents realize their responsibility and their privilege till it is almost too late to make the most of it.
“The world is full of snares for the feet of the young. Multitudes are attracted by a life of selfish and sensual pleasure. They cannot discern the hidden dangers, or the fearful ending of the path that seems to them the way of happiness. . . . Parents must remember that their children must encounter these temptations.”—Ministry of Healing.
The work of the parents, from the time a child is given them, is to prepare that child to pass safely and successfully through life, and be fitted to occupy the place that the Lord has planned for him in his kingdom. “Work as if working for your life to save the children from being drowned in the polluting, corrupting influences of the world.”—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. VI, page 199.
The mother of Moses understood something of the importance of the early training of her child. She knew that he was to be placed amid all the temptations—the pomp and pride—of a heathen court. But she knew that she had the blessed privilege of planting in his mind and heart the seeds of truth which would be a safeguard to him through all that Satan could bring against him. This is the privilege of every mother.
Probably nothing else has so great an influence in character building as the literature which we read. As a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he.” And833the thoughts are largely shaped by what we read. How carefully parents protect their children from poisons which would destroy the body; but many are thoughtlessly allowing poisons of the most deadly character to be taken into the mind.
An incident occurred some years ago which forcibly illustrates the influence of both good and bad reading. Two young men had read stories of the escapades of Jesse James till they were fired with a desire to follow in his footsteps. The result was that they committed a crime which lodged them in the penitentiary. While there, in some way, a copy of the book “Daniel and the Revelation” fell into their hands. One of the boys was converted by the reading of this book; and upon his release from prison, he went to Battle Creek to find Elder Uriah Smith, the author of the book, for the purpose of learning more perfectly the way of salvation. Thus the reading of a bad book sent him to prison, and the reading of a good book brought him to Christ.
Officers in charge of the juvenile courts have stated that the reading of cheap, trashy literature, as well as the moving-picture show (which is an evil of the same nature), is responsible for a great many of the cases that come before them. In a large number of the cases requiring discipline in our own schools, it is learned that the offenders are habitual story readers. But we need not spend much time in considering the effect of bad books, for probably no one doubts their pernicious influence.
There is another class which some one has called “water soup.” These books are not bad; in fact, many of them seem to point out a good moral, but they really amount to nothing. They contain no real food to nourish or strengthen the mind. Those who read them do so simply to pass away the time, thinking that they are receiving no harm because there is nothing bad about the books.
The habit of reading in that way is in itself pernicious because it weakens the mind; in other words, it makes a strainer of the mind, causing it to lose the power to retain and digest what is placed in it. Besides, the reading of such literature destroys the taste for anything solid and substantial. The brain becomes indolent and is satisfied with that which requires no mental effort.
Solomon said, “Of making many books there is no end.” These words are surely true in this age of the world. It is estimated that, throughout the world, the average daily output of books is two hundred. There was a time when book lovers found it hard to obtain anything to satisfy their hunger for reading, but that time is past. Now the problem is to choose from the mass that which is worth reading.
It is not enough to see that our children do not read that which is harmful. We must give them a taste for the good. Some children are allowed to grow up without ever forming the habit of reading anything. These miss one of the greatest means toward mental growth and culture, as well as a source of infinite pleasure all through life. One who loves good books need never be lonely, for he can have with him the best companions to be found. Unless a taste for reading is formed in youth, it is not likely to be gained in later years. An old man once said:—
“I have no love for books. I know I am to blame. When a boy of fifteen I gave up reading, and by habit I am left today without a desire to read the best books. A few years ago I might have had a good position, but my knowledge was so sparse they could not employ me. I made a grave mistake, and I hope, while young, you will not be so unwise as I was; for it is hard to change the habits of an old man. If I were to speak from my own experience, I should say: Begin early to cultivate a love for the best books,—books which have influenced men, manners, and matters. Even a few books will work wonders in a young person’s career.”
A taste for good books, formed in early life, gives any person the foundation for a good education. Through reading we may have the benefit of the best thoughts of the best men and women of all ages; we may, while seated cozily at home, travel through all countries of the world, becoming acquainted with the history and customs of different nations; we may, through their biographies, become the intimate associates of the successful men and women who have made the world better by their lives. Thus the reader, instead of living within the narrow environments of his own little corner, is enabled to store up the information gained by a world-wide vision. He also is inspired with desire and courage to make his own life worth living.
Parents, is not such a foundation for the characters of our children worth any effort we can make? Their whole future will be affected by the habits formed during their early years spent in the home nest. What if many little things that we should like to do have to be left undone in order to find time to interest our children in good reading? Many things which we allow to take our time are of small importance compared with the desire “that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.” Ps. 144: 12. Shall we not feel well repaid when we see them turning away from the chaff and developing a real interest in wholesome, strengthening literature?
Soon the new Missionary Volunteer Reading Courses will commence. What a splendid opportunity this affords for beginning the habit of family reading! Young children are usually much more interested in what they read with their parents. Soon we shall have long evenings which can be made very pleasant and profitable by taking up the books of the Reading Courses. One member of the family can read aloud while others are working with their hands; thus all get the benefit without spending so much time.
Another helpful way is to assign certain pages to different members to read by themselves, and then when the family is assembled, each in order to tell the story of what he read. This is an excellent practise, as it helps the mind to retain what has been read, and also improves the language of the children.
Great efforts have been made by the Missionary Volunteer Department of the General Conference to choose the best books for these courses, those especially adapted to the children being given in the Junior Course, the Senior Course being for the young people. But all members of the family will find both courses most helpful and interesting.
Shall we not, as parents, give earnest heed to this matter, realizing what it means to our sons and daughters? Let us prepare now to give a happy answer to the question which all parents must meet, “Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?”
MRS. CARRIE R. MOON.
MATT. J. ALLEN
By Matt. J. Allen
Ontario
BRANTFORD.—July 10 we began our meetings at this place, with a large audience, having been successful in getting a good location for our tent on the principal street of the town. On Sunday, July 13, a terrible storm swept over the city, striking our tent, and tearing a large hole in it. But by eight o’clock the storm had ceased, and we had an audience of about three hundred.
A week ago Sunday night I presented the change of the Sabbath to a large audience, and the attendance since has increased. Some threats were made about burning our tent and driving us out of the city, but we paid no attention to them.
On Thursday, August 7, at 8:30 P. M., while the tent was full of people, the small tent used by the tent master was set on fire and completely destroyed in a few minutes, with all its contents. It was only a few feet from the large tent, but we succeeded in saving the latter. This created considerable excitement for a short time, but in fifteen minutes the people took their places in the tent and we went on with the meeting.
We have held meetings every evening since, with a large audience, and four or five have already begun to keep the Sabbath. We are of good courage, and believe the Lord will give us the victory. We ask our brethren to remember us in their prayers, as the dragon is determined to stop our work here.
MATT. J. ALLEN
News and Miscellany
Notes and clippings from the daily and weekly press
— The papers report the Panama Canal practically completed. The water in the Gatun Lake is now forty-eight feet deep, and it needs to be eighty-five before the canal can be opened. If the rains are as abundant as usual, the water will reach this level December 1.
— England, Germany, and France have declined to take part in the exposition at San Francisco in honor of the opening of the Panama Canal. There are too many expositions and the merchants of those countries say the advantages they receive do not at all compensate for the expense. It is thought the other European nations will make the same decision.
— Prof. John Milne recently died on the Isle of Wight, aged sixty-three years. He was the most eminent seismologist and was the designer of seismographs. For twenty years he was employed by the Japanese government and established a chain of nearly 1,000 earthquake-recording stations. He was the author of several valuable scientific books.
— Beginning in June and shifting its destructiveness over a great part of the territory of the Middle West, a drought, a cloudless sky, and a burning sun has wrought steadily during the last two months for the increase of the “high cost of living.” It probably has diminished the corn crop by about 600,000,000 bushels, seriously affected the other grain and the hay crop to a point making a feed famine a possibility, and caused a great money loss to the farmers in the territory where it has held its sway.
— On Wednesday, August 13, Governor William Sulzer of New York was impeached by the State assembly on the charge of using campaign funds in speculation. Lieut.-Gov. Martin H. Glynn has been declared the lawful chief executive, by the attorney-general, pending the outcome of impeachment proceedings against Governor Sulzer, who still holds control of the executive offices in the Capitol at Albany and transacts official business. This situation has been aptly styled a “double-barreled government.”
— Early on the morning of August 17, Harry K. Thaw, slayer of Stanford White, escaped from the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminal Insane in a high-power automobile. Within an hour after his dash for liberty he had crossed the line dividing the States of New York and Connecticut and headed for Canada, where he was arrested August 19, in a small village. The authorities are of the opinion that extradition is impossible, and that Thaw’s freedom is assured, unless he is held for insanity in another State, and committed to some asylum there.
— The Interstate Commerce Commission has made a sweeping and radical order covering the business of the express companies of the country. The order establishes classifications and rates which, it is alleged by the companies, will render their business unprofitable. In some directions the rates will be lower than those established for the parcel-post. The Interstate Commerce Commission has made a painstaking and thorough investigation of the business, and it is probably safe to assume that it would not adopt a policy which would be destructive or confiscatory. The rates are to go into effect this fall, and are to be tried for two years, unless it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the commission that they are unfair.
Missionary Volunteer Department
By M. E. Kern; Matilda Erickson
M. E. KERN General Secretary
MATILDA ERICKSON N. Am. Div. Secretary
Education Afield
By W. E. H.
On the fourteenth of July, I left Washington for College View, Nebr., to hold a four-day council with the educational superintendents and union secretaries of the Central and Northern Union Conferences. This first council of its kind was held in pursuance of the desire of the Department of Education to come into fuller and more intimate touch with the work in the field; in harmony also with a recommendation passed at the recent General Conference that the department define more fully the duties of superintendents and secretaries. To serve these two purposes, a series of such councils is being held in the stronger unions, the second also having been held in the Lake Union on this trip.
One deep and lasting impression was made on my mind in these two councils,—that in the face of trying and at times all but insuperable difficulties in promoting educational reform, our brave superintendents and secretaries are standing courageously at their posts and gaining victories that promise much for the future education of our children and youth. At the College View council there were present six superintendents and two secretaries; at Berrien Springs, seven superintendents and one secretary. The frankness with which these men and women told of their experiences, and the eagerness with which they sought wise means of improving their work, assured progress in developing the efficiency of our church-schools and academies in those unions the coming year. An excellent spirit of cooperation with the general department was manifested in all the discussions.
A few recommendations of general interest adopted by these three unions are given here, that our churches may be in touch with them and assist in carrying them out:—
1. That in churches where there is an academy, the church-school operate separately from the academy, under the same supervision by the educational superintendent as other church-schools; and that where it is necessary to hold the church-school in academy quarters, the principal have general supervision of such discipline as may affect the welfare of the academy.
2. That our local conferences consider the advisability of making the educational superintendent a member of the academy board.
3. That our academies send monthly reports to the parents or guardians of each pupil.834
One purpose in recommendation two is to bring the superintendent into closer touch with the work of the academy for the help it will be in working for the academy’s interests in the field, and in shaping the church-school pupil’s work for entrance to the academy, to the end that fewer pupils may stop work on completing the elementary course. The purpose of recommendation three is to cultivate closer relations between the academy and the home, a relation indispensable to the welfare of both.
A committee on church-school library made the following report:—
1. A list of books to begin with: “Early Writings,” “Story of Daniel,” “Seer of Patmos,” “Acts of the Apostles,” Youth’s Instructor, Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, and selections from the Junior Volunteer list on missions, travel, biography, manners and customs, history, geography, natural science, and occupations, these selections to be reported later.
2. Suggestive ways of getting means to start a library: (a) Suitable programs, charging a small admission fee or taking up a collection; (b) making and selling small articles; (c) taking a special church collection for the purpose; (d) asking for donations of suitable books, to be first examined by the teacher.
3. Securing five subscriptions to the educational journal for a globe offered by that magazine.
Union College
President Griggs, with his board and faculty, is laying plans for a strong school the coming year. Professor Benson will remain at the head of the history department, carrying at least three classes. Mrs. Rowell returns after a year’s furlough to resume her work at the head of the English department. Professors Morrison and Wood continue as heads of the mathematics and science departments, respectively. Prof. H. C. Lacey, recently from Stanborough Park College, England, will be at the head of the Bible department after spending six weeks at the Bible teachers’ summer institute in Takoma Park, D. C. Miss Peck is revising and improving her plans for the normal department.
Last May, Union College graduated twenty students in the college course, the largest class of its kind in the history of our denominational schools, and has another large class in prospect for next year. The summer school, in session while I was there, had about seventy students enrolled, largely church-school teachers. For the first time the work was conducted, under the leadership of Prof. M. B. Van Kirk, the union secretary, on such a basis that teachers without full normal training could obtain definite credits on the normal course, thus making it possible, by a few summers’ work, to obtain a normal diploma without any break in their teaching.
Oak Park Academy
This academy is ideally located for a Christian school, at Nevada, Iowa, the geographical center of the State. The building is new, substantially built, and well arranged. After very arduous work in establishing this school on the principles of Christian education, Professor Lamson is taking a furlough from school work, and Prof. S. M. Butler, for five years president of Mount Vernon College, assumes the principalship. Prof. S. A. Smith is doing most efficient work in building up the agricultural industries of the academy, both educationally and financially.
Broadview Swedish Seminary
I was more than gratified to see how substantial a beginning has been made in this school. On calling for Principal Nord by telephone, I was informed that he was “out in the field at work.” So also were some of his teachers and students. Two men were working on a brick addition to the main dormitory, which, when completed, will provide for all the ladies, the dining service, and a commodious chapel. The farm of seventy-eight acres is well and profitably cultivated, and the premises and buildings are a model of neatness, order, and cleanliness. The seminary is situated about thirteen miles from Chicago, with rapid trolley connections, making it possible to carry on missionary work in the city in connection with the school work. Chicago has a larger Swedish population than any other city in the world, except Stockholm. The past year the enrolment of the seminary was double that of the first of its three years of work. This school deserves the prayers and financial support of God’s people.
Emmanuel Missionary College
Here I found the summer school just closing its session, with an enrolment of one hundred and ten, a large increase over any attendance the last five or more years. One feature that contributed to the strength of this school is the fact that out of the total number in attendance only fifty had not been in school there before. This is a gratifying sequel to the regular college enrolment last year of two hundred and twenty-nine, more than double the attendance of six years ago, and fifty more than the previous year. Numbers would not count for so much were it not for the fact that this school is keeping close to the principles of Christian education enunciated in the spirit of prophecy, and is graduating students whose first and highest ambition is to have a part in denominational work. President Graf told me that their balance-sheet shows a net gain on operating expenses of over five thousand dollars, after allowing depreciation of all kinds, and that the farm made a substantial gain this year, after charging it with all student labor. All the five academies of Lake Union are cooperating harmoniously with the college on a ten-grade basis, and the college does not receive ninth- and tenth-grade students except local residents.
After close confinement in an office for several years, this trip afield has opened my eyes to the substantial advancement of our school work in the territory visited, church-schools and all, and to the wonderful possibilities that lie immediately before us if we take our stand squarely upon the principles of true education specially committed to us.
W. E. H.
Educational Department
J. L. SHAW — General Secretary
W. E. HOWELL — N. Am. Div. Asst. Secretary
Scope and Work of the General Conference Publishing Department
By Arthur G. Daniells
I AM very much interested in this department, and rejoice to see it moving forward, making steady progress.
Suitable Literature
First of all, the scope and work of this department means providing suitable literature for the world, for all sorts and conditions of men. This is the first step. It is of no use to train canvassers unless we have something for them to put out; it is of no use to hammer away at a system of salesmanship and distribution unless we have something to distribute; it is useless to establish a printing-house and install machinery without something to print; so one of the chief duties of the Publishing Department is to be active in providing up-to-date literature for all the people of the world. We have people in different circumstances and conditions, from the educated in countries of advanced civilization to the poor, illiterate people in Africa, who know nothing about education, the poor of China and India. These people must have literature adapted to them, so written that their simple minds can grasp its teaching, and find it a source of inspiration and encouragement and instruction; and, of course, in the civilized countries there must be literature for the educated and advanced that will command their attention and thought, that will appeal to the very best thinkers. So our department must always be on the lookout, must always remember that we are expanding, enlarging our borders, constantly coming in contact with new people, new tribes, and we must endeavor to provide the sort of books and pamphlets and tracts of various kinds to meet their needs.
Translations
We must not only secure this literature, but it must be put into the language of the people. Perhaps the author of this kind of literature that may be adapted would not be able to put it into the language of the people; and yet I suppose that the men and women who live among the people and associate with them are best able to provide the literature, and, of course, in that case can provide it in the language spoken by the people. But at any rate, the work of translation comes into the scope of the General Conference Publishing Department.19The secretaries, Brother Palmer and Brother Town, together with the publishing men, the managers of our various publishing houses, have all the way along made that a part of their study. The General Conference Publishing Department cannot be indifferent in the matter of translations; and if they do not lead out, they must keep abreast of those in these institutions who are endeavoring to get the literature and books into the languages of the people as fast as we get them together in our missionary endeavors. This requires the securing of writers. Not every one who can use the pen can edit. There must be an editorial instinct, I think, just as much as a teaching instinct. It is a talent, a gift from God that flows out of the individual. When a man has a talent for business, whatever he touches falls into line; he knows how to round up things. The man who has not that talent makes a mess of things, and they melt away from him; he cannot get on. There is a great difference, as we all know.
Some little time ago I was in a camp-meeting where two young women were teaching the children. One of the teachers, who seemed to be well equipped educationally, whose language was proper and prim, was trying to teach the little fellows; but her teaching instinct was poor. The children were wriggling around, and she spent half the time in pressing them to be quiet and look at her. They did not appreciate what she said, so did not heed it. The other teacher stepped up, and it was not two minutes until every eye was riveted on her, and the children watched her as she moved about, following her with open-mouthed interest until she finished. She had the teaching ability. So it is in writing. Some write laboriously, get things out in good and proper shape, but what they write is not interesting. I think our General Conference Publishing Department should watch the development of writing ability, and we should encourage and foster this. I have done that a few times, and it paid. There is one man now in our work, doing general writing, whom I picked out from reading his articles in the REVIEW. They were so direct, so entertaining, so clear, that I concluded he was the sort of man we wanted for certain things, and he is proving good all the time. We can watch and lay hold of writing talent in that way, so that what we provide for the people in magazines, and papers, and books will be of the best.
Printing
Another thing follows, and that is the printing,—this great system of printing-houses. Our department does not have a printing-house of its own,—we do not want any,—and yet we have a great many of them. They are all ours. I am glad that the department manages to keep in direct touch with most of them. A good sympathetic relationship is maintained, and there is cooperation. There must be cooperation. No publishing house in the cause of Seventh-day Adventism can exist but for advancing this work and getting out the literature for this cause. I am glad our publishing houses have seen the importance of putting away all commercial work and all that relates to the world, that they are devoting their facilities and powers to the production of our own literature. Our General Conference Publishing Department is in sympathy with this, and we are always anxious to see our publishing houses prosper. I take great pleasure in reading these balance-sheets, and seeing how the brethren are coming on, and the way they are digging out of the pit, and our department is anxious to cooperate with the publishing houses until they are entirely free of debt. So the scope of our work does relate closely to the management and the work of every publishing house. That gives us the understanding that a brother who is working conscientiously in a publishing house is a messenger of God in this great movement, just the same as the preacher in the field; and I put no difference between the minister and the manager of a publishing house, and the other people in the work, so far as the character of the work is concerned before God. One is an instrument in his hands just the same as the other. So you people in the publishing houses, tied up with machines, working with the business and commercial affairs, compare with the ministry, and you have the prayers and the best wishes and the cooperation of the General Conference Publishing Department and the General Conference Committee as well.
Circulation
Now we have provided the literature from the author, the translator, and the printing-house; and when we have taken that into account, then comes the work of getting it into circulation, placing it in the hands of our people in a way to impress them and lead them to join us in this work. The first thing is to create an interest and a conviction and a consecration in the minds and hearts of our people. That means that this department shall lead along the lines of interesting them in this publishing work, causing them to look on the book work differently than they naturally would. When you go to a bookstore, you see and handle a great many books you don't care for; but when you go into a second-hand bookstore, or any bookstore, or a public library, and see one of our books there, you feel a thrill, your eyes brighten, there is something about that book that is different from any other book in that place. I travel a great deal, and when I see one of our books in a public library, there comes a feeling like that of meeting an old friend. We have had created in our minds an interest in our books that we have not had in other books, and that is the work we must set ourselves about in others. If we had not worked at this, we should never have put out the many books that we have. But we must keep at it as the children grow up and as others come into the truth; we must all the time be creating this interest in these books, be giving men and women the conviction that they ought to do something to circulate and distribute them.
I might relate instances in which young men in New Zealand accepted the truth. I interested them and convinced them that this is God's message to the world, that this is his movement in the world, and that men and women who know this message ought to give themselves to the work of teaching it to others. They asked what they could do, and the first thing I did was to show them one of our larger books and tell them what we did with our books in this country, and also about the canvassing work.
Finally I got a dozen young men in one church to consecrate their lives to the canvassing work, and when I went to another town I took the twelve with me as a body-guard, and what a glorious time we had! Some of the young men in another church joined us, and we had a good company of canvassers. Now we must study all the time and work to the point of making this impression on the young men and women who enter our work through our tent efforts, our Bible readings, etc. As our children grow up and these new ones come in, we must endeavor to interest them in this work; it helps to bind them to the message. Not many canvassers backslide and go to the world; most of them stick to the message and to the work.
But we must do more than provide the “arousement.” As a colored preacher said when he took his text for his sermon: “The text is here, clear before you; the logic you do not need; but you do need the arousement, so I shall go about the arousement directly.” We need the text and a logical conclusion all along. That means the providing of a system of endeavor,—a system of circulation; a system to work to, built on good, rational, solid, honest principles to be adhered to the world over; and if there is anything in this department in which I do rejoice, it is the fact that it is founded on a really good system, good common sense, businesslike, and honest. It inculcates honor in a man; he doesn't have to run around a corner and hide; he can do his work and be honest and true and open. When the system is provided, there must be all the careful work of training people to work to the system, teaching them what it is, and to work to it continually, because there is always danger of drifting. This department stands for continuous, untiring effort in turning new recruits to this system, and encouraging the old ones to stand by it.
One other thing I want to mention, and that is the follow-up work. When we have all this other work provided and launched, we can never take our hands off. We have to follow it up, and stick to it and hang on all the time. Our secretary must constantly send out impulses throughout the field, and these must be caught up by the next men under him, and these men must send them on to the field agents, and these field agents must send them on to the churches, and get them before the people, and in this way we shall keep up our ranks, fill the places of the fallen and departed, for whatever reason, and even multiply our forces.
Home Missionary Work
And there is still one more thing: Foster home missionary work. Our General Conference Publishing Department should stand for more than the selling of subscription books and papers and magazines; we should endeavor to put the rank and file of our people into the field of activity, into the circulation of our literature, getting out thousands and millions of pages of our papers and tracts, doing house-to-house work, and telling present truth to their neighbors. What a great work sixty or seventy thousand people could do if they were endeavoring to put tracts and papers into the hands of their neighbors and friends! My brethren, the department stands for this. A. G. DANIELLS.
An Error
By W. E. H.
By a slip of the pen, the writer was made to say last week in the talk on education that “four out of five of our children and youth of school age are yet in the secular schools.” I rejoice to say that that statement is not correct. It should have read “for every five of our children and youth of school age in our denominational schools, there are yet four in the secular schools.” To put it in an easier form to keep in mind, we may say nearly half of our children are still being educated for the world—not directly to help save the world. That is bad enough when we think of the salvation of our children and youth and of the needs of our growing work.
W. E. H.
Publishing Department
By N. Z. Town; W. W. Eastman
N. Z. TOWN General Secretary
W. W. EASTMAN N. Am. Div. Secretary
The Fall Opening of the Nashville Agricultural and Normal Institute
The tenth annual opening of the Nashville Agricultural and Normal Institute comes on Oct. 15, 1913. The training offered by the institute is intended to be of a character that will prepare in an efficient and speedy manner those who desire to become self-supporting missionaries in the South. A school of this character has been recognized by our General Conference as necessary. They have expressed themselves concerning this institution and those in need of a preparation such as it is giving, in the following language:—
“We further recommend, That our stronger conferences search out and encourage suitable persons to undertake this self-supporting work, and the workers thus selected be encouraged to pursue a course of instruction at the Nashville Agricultural and Normal Institute.”
Already over two hundred workers have left the school to engage in self-supporting missionary work. Students attending the institute have not only the advantages of an equipped training-school, but also the training of a sanitarium and the experiences gained from a large farm, managed wholly in the interest of those desiring to solve problems of Southern agriculture. The entire plant is directed by one management, with the object of giving its students such a training that they will be equipped to carry the gospel to this needy field, and when the proper time comes, to fill openings as successful missionaries in foreign countries.
Individuals who have a limited education, but desire to be quickly prepared for a useful place in this field, will receive special attention from the faculty.
The right kind of students can earn, if they wish, the most of their school expenses. Only those who are of mature age and of developed character are invited to enter the class of 1913. Those who are interested should correspond at once with E. A. Sutherland, Madison, Tenn.21
Diary for 1914
To those of our people who are accustomed to keeping a diary, we wish to say that the General Conference is preparing a diary for 1914, which, aside from the diary portion, will contain about twenty-four pages of condensed information regarding the beginning and growth of the work of Seventh-day Adventists in its different departments. The booklet is now being prepared, in order that we may have it in good time.
Concerning the edition of 1913, the editor of the Signs of the Times said: “It is a valuable little volume, much more so than many of the vest-pocket diaries which are published. For instance, it has a reminder index of two pages, covering every month and every day in the year. It takes up the work of the denomination under evangelical work, work in non-Protestant and heathen lands, Publishing, Sabbath School, Medical, Educational, and Missionary Volunteer Departments, with the progress which each of these departments has made from its beginning to the present time. It has a table of weights and measures, interest, antidotes for poison, help in case of accidents, and eighteen pages for cash-account. Pages for notes, bills receivable and payable, summaries of sales for various months, order record, pages for memorandum, addresses, various data, blank for every day in the year, and calendars for 1912, 1913, and 1914. It is an excellent little pocket companion, and it would seem as if every worker ought to have it.”
The 1914 edition will contain all these good things, giving the calendars for 1913, 1914, and 1915. The price will be twenty-five cents. Order through your tract society.
Northern Illinois Medical Missionary and Sanitarium Association
By G. E. Langdon; W. C. Foreman
The eighth annual session of the Northern Illinois Medical Missionary and Sanitarium Association will be held in connection with the annual camp-meeting to be held in Allen Park, Ottawa, Ill., Aug. 28 to Sept. 8, 1913, for the election of three trustees to serve for three years, and for the transaction of any other business that may properly come before the association. The first meeting will be called at 10:30 A. M., September 3. Accredited delegates to the Northern Illinois Conference are delegates to this association meeting.
G. E. LANGDON, President;
W. C. FOREMAN, Secretary.
Chesapeake Conference Association
By R. T. Baer; W. T. Durst
THE Chesapeake Conference Association of Seventh-day Adventists, a body corporate under the laws of the State of Delaware, will hold its annual meeting in connection with the camp-meeting at Chestertown, Md., Sept. 18-28, 1913. The first meeting will be held on Monday, September 22, at 11 A. M., for the purpose of electing officers, and transacting such other business as may properly come before the meeting.
R. T. BAER, President;
W. T. DURST, Secretary.
Indiana Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association
By E. A. Bristol; F. A. Loop
NOTICE is hereby given that at the meeting of the annual conference of Seventh-day Adventists of Indiana, to be held at Hartford City, Ind., Sept. 4-14, 1913, three persons will be chosen to serve for two years as members of the board of directors of the Indiana Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association.
E. A. BRISTOL, President;
F. A. LOOP, Secretary.
Western Colorado Conference Association
By E. A. Curtis; J. A. Neilsen
THE Seventh-day Adventist Association of Western Colorado will hold its fifth annual meeting in connection with the annual conference and camp-meeting, at Grand Junction, Colo., at 9 A. M., Sept. 11, 1913. This meeting is called for the election of officers, and the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the association.
E. A. Curtis, President;
J. A. Neilsen, Secretary.