Earlier text: The Ostrogoths and the VisigothsEncyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
THE letter from Pope Leo XIII., "Concerning the Christian Constitution of States," addressed "To All the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World," has been the subject of considerable comment by both the secular and the religious press. So far as we have seen, it has met with quite general commendation. The New York Observer is an honorable exception to those who, like the Independent, think it is "an excellent and sensible pastoral." We have delayed making any comments upon it until we could read it as published by authority. We now propose to notice a few points in it, simply to show that the Catholic Church is the same in every particular that it was four hundred years ago, and that people may see with what insidiousness it is making its way in the world. The first thing that attracts the attention is the following statement in the introduction:— "The Church looks essentially, and from the very nature of her being, to the salvation of souls and the winning for them of happiness in Heaven; nevertheless, she also secures even in this world advantages so many and so great that she could not do more, even if she had been founded primarily and specially to secure prosperity in this life which is worked out upon earth. In truth, wherever the Church has set her foot, she has at once changed the aspect of affairs, colored the manners of the people as with new virtues and a refinement unknown before—as many people as have accepted this have been distinguished for their gentleness, their justice, and the glory of their deeds." The above sentences seem a little involved, but the idea is very clearly expressed, compared with the greater portion of the letter. If we have been correctly informed, Leo XIII. is a close student of the Fathers; and it would seem that he has been an apt student, for his composition very closely resembles the dry platitudes and circumlocution which abound in the "Fathers" of the Catholic Church. The above paragraph, however, is clear enough to convince any who will think, that it is groundless assumption. In proof of its falsity, one has only to think of the natives of Mexico, Central America, Spain, and Italy. These countries have been under Catholic rule for centuries, and may be taken as representative instances of the refining and civilizing influence of the Roman Catholic Church. If the statement of the pope be true, those countries ought to lead the world in everything. On the contrary, however, they are at the bottom of the list. Of some of them it may be said that they have even deteriorated under papal influence. The Italian Government, since Victor Emmanuel rescued it from papal oppression, has taken a leading position, although not much can yet be said for the great mass of poor, deluded Italians themselves. But this only makes more prominent the evils of Catholic rule. It is true that many Catholics have been distinguished, but not as a consequence of their Catholicism. The truth is, as appears further on in the letter, the Catholic Church adapts itself to the people. Among civilized people it has all the learning known to the schools; but it is content to leave savage races where it finds them, provided they will acknowledge its power. The following paragraph sounds very well, and, taken by itself, would not be very objectionable:— "As it is not lawful for anybody to neglect his duties towards God, and as it is the first duty to embrace, in mind and in conduct, religion—not such as each may choose, but such as God commands—in the same manner States cannot, without a crime, act as though God did not exist, or cast off the care of religion as alien to them or useless, or out of several kinds of religion adopt indifferently which they please; but they are absolutely bound, in the worship of the Deity, to adopt that use and manner in which God himself has shown that he wills to be adored. Therefore among the rulers the name of God must be holy; but it must be reckoned among the first of their duties to favor religion, protect it, and cover it with the authority of the laws, and not7to institute or decree anything which is incompatible with its security." Whether there is anything wrong in this statement or not depends upon the source from whence it proceeds, as will hereafter be seen. When the pope speaks of religion, he means the Catholic Church alone. The following paragraph explains the above, and shows what he desires when he says that rulers must cover religion with the authority of the laws. It is entitled, "What the Church has Done for Civilization":— "There was once a time when the philosophy of the gospel governed States; then it was that the power and divine virtue of Christian wisdom had penetrated into the laws, institutions, and manners of the people—indeed, into all the ranks and relations of the State; when the religion instituted by Jesus Christ, firmly established in that degree of dignity which was befitting, flourished everywhere, in the favor of rulers and under the due protection of magistrates; when the priesthood and the Government were united by concord and a friendly interchange of offices. And the State composed in that fashion produced, in the opinion of all, more excellent fruits, the memory of which still flourishes, and will flourish, attested by innumerable monuments which can neither be destroyed nor obscured by any art of the adversary. If Christian Europe subdued barbarous peoples, and transferred them from a savage to a civilized state, from superstition to the truth; if she victoriously repelled the invasions of the Mohammedans; if civilization retained the chief power, and accustomed herself to afford others a leader and mistress in everything that adorns humanity; if she has granted to the peoples true and manifold liberty; if she has most established many institutions for the solace of wretchedness, beyond controversy it is greatly due to religion, under whose auspices such great undertakings were commenced and with whose aid they were perfected. Truly the same excellent state of things would have continued if the agreement of the two powers had continued, and greater things might rightfully have been expected if there had been obedience to the authority, the sway, the counsels of the church, characterized by greater faithfulness and perseverance," etc. Who cannot see that this is a longing look backward to the time when the pope ruled kings, and when with a word he released subjects from their allegiance to their rightful rulers? The time when the pope forced an emperor of Germany to stand for three days in the snow, awaiting the papal pleasure; when a legate of the pope used as a foot-ball the crown of a king of England; when designing men waxed rich off from the superstitions and vices of the ignorant, by selling them pretended indulgences; when the pope had such control of the people's consciences that he could keep them in so great a state of degradation that even the ignorant rabble whom he made to be priests, were far above them; the time when thousands of priests had never seen a copy of the Bible, and when, as a consequence, the pure principles of the gospel had almost ceased to be recognized in the world, so that the very name of priest was almost a synonym for libertine; when the few who dared refuse obedience to the vile men who presumed to stand in the place of Christ, were proscribed and hunted from the earth with the most diabolical tortures which demons in human shape could invent; and when the pope publicly gave thanks to God for the massacre of sixty thousand Huguenots, whose only offense was that they believed the Bible:—these are the times for which Leo XIII. longs. These are some of the "excellent fruits" of the union of the Church and the State. And the pope truly says that "greater things might rightfully have been expected," "if the agreement of the two powers had continued." Let the so-called "National Reform Party" make a note of this. That the above state of things is what the pope desires, is shown by his reference to the Reformation as "that dreadful and deplorable zeal for revolution which was aroused in the sixteenth century, after the Christian religion had been thrown into confusion." And in spite of all this, there are professed Protestants who think that the letter is "an excellent and sensible pastoral." Sensible it may be, from the Catholic standpoint, but we deny its excellence from any standpoint whatever. Following up the above statements, the pope says of the Reformation and its results:— "And since the people is said to contain in itself the fountain of all rights and of all power, it will follow that the State deems itself bound by no kind of duty towards God; that no religion should be publicly professed; nor ought there to be any inquiry [by the State] which of many is alone true; nor ought one to be preferred to the rest; nor ought one to be specially favored [by the State], but to each equal rights ought to be assigned with the sole end that the social order incurs no injury from them." The above needs no special comment here. We merely ask the reader to compare it with some of the extracts which follow, and which show that the Roman Catholic Church holds that no other form of religion ought to be tolerated in the State. In the following, the pope shows still more plainly the design of the Roman Church:— "These foundations of the State being admitted, which at this time are in such general favor, it easily appears into how unfavorable a position the church is driven. For when the conduct of affairs is in accordance with the doctrines of this kind, to the Catholic name is assigned an equal position with, or even an inferior position to, that of alien societies in the State; no regard is paid to ecclesiastical laws; and the Church which, by the command and mandate of Jesus Christ, ought to teach all nations, finds itself forbidden in any way to interfere in the instructions of the people." The "Church" finds itself forbidden "to interfere" in the instructions of the people. That is, the Catholic Church has to be content with the same privileges that are granted to other religious bodies. This is truly an "unfavorable position" for a church that has been accustomed to enforce its dogmas by the sword, the rack, and the stake. "Concerning the reasons for the separation of Church and State, the same pontiff [Gregory XVI.] speaks thus: 'Nor can we hope happier results either for religion or the Government, from the wishes of those who are eagerly desirous that the Church should be separated from the State, and the mutual good understanding of the sovereign secular power and the sacerdotal authority be broken up. It is evident that these lovers of most shameless liberty dread that concord which has always been fortunate and wholesome, both for sacred and civil interests.' To like effect Pius IX., an opportunity offered, noted many false opinions, which had begun to be of great strength, and afterwards ordered them to be collected together, in order that in so great a conflict of errors, Catholics might have something which, without stumbling, they might follow." To a careless reader the above statement might seem to be very innocent; but it can easily be shown that it indorses all the intolerance which ever disgraced the papacy in the Dark Ages. Read again the reference to Pius IX., and the "false opinions" which he noted and caused to be collected. This refers to the "Syllabus of Errors" which was put forth by Pius IX. This "Syllabus" is a collection of about eighty statements, all of which are declared to be grievous errors. We have space for only a few of these "errors." Number 21 is as follows:— "The Church has not the power of defining dogmatically that the religion of the Catholic Church is the only true religion." Remember that the Catholic Church holds just the opposite of this "error." According to this, none but Roman Catholics have any religion at all. The 23d "error" which the pope unqualifiedly condemns, is that,— "The Roman pontiffs and ecumenical councils have exceeded the limits of their power, have usurped the rights of princes, and have even committed errors in defining matters of faith and morals." On no ground can it be held that Roman pontiffs have not usurped the rights of princes, except on the ground that princes have no rights which popes are bound to recognize; and this is just what the Roman Church holds. And right here we might note that the papacy finds a parallel in the self-styled "National Reform Association," which, according to its organ, the Christian Statesman, holds that "the State and its sphere exists for the sake of, and to serve the interests of, the Church." Human nature has not changed a particle in the last three or four hundred years, and every principle of reasoning justifies the statement that such sentiments as the above, whether held by popes or by professed Protestants, will work out the same results in the nineteenth century that they did in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. "Errors" number 24 and 27 are as follows:— "The Church has not the power of availing herself of force, or any direct or indirect temporal power."
"The ministers of the Church and the Roman pontiff, ought to be absolutely excluded from all charge and dominion over temporal affairs." Of course these are errors, if it is true that Roman pontiffs have never exceeded their jurisdiction, nor usurped the rights of princes; and this is what Leo XIII. reiterates in his "excellent and sensible pastoral." And the "National Reform Association," and all who favor it, cannot consistently deny the pope's claim. One more quotation from the "Syllabus of Errors" must suffice to show that Leo XIII. holds exactly the same views that were held by his predecessor, Pius IX., and by the amiable Leo X., who placed Luther under ban, and caused the Christians of his time to be slaughtered. Numbers 77 and 78 of the "errors" noted by Pius IX. are the following:— "In the present day it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion shall be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other modes of worship."
"Whence it has been wisely provided by law, in some countries called Catholic, that persons coming to reside therein shall enjoy the public exercise of their own worship." Which means that Leo XIII., in common with Pius IX. and all the popes who ever reigned, holds that the Roman Catholic religion ought to be held as the only religion of the State, "to the exclusion of all other modes of worship," and that persons coming to reside in countries called Catholic, ought not to be allowed to enjoy the public exercise of their own worship. Let those who will, applaud such sentiments; we will not. E. J. W.
(Concluded next week.) Responsibility in God’s Work
By Editor
THE great Jehovah from his shining throne above has sent forth a message to call out a people and make them ready for the coming of his Son. He has noted it in his prophetic word. His power is pledged to sustain it, and cause it to accomplish that whereunto it is sent. But that does not release us from responsibility and action in the matter. We are not to argue that because God's word is sure, and will certainly be fulfilled, we can therefore settle down in inactivity and ease, and feel no responsibility in the work. The Immortality of the Soul Subversive of Truth
By A. T. J.
The Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul Subversive of the Truth.—No. 5.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23. "Sin entered into the world, and death by sin," and "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." But when man had sinned, and thus brought himself under the doom of death, then Christ, the only begotten Son of God, presented himself, and was accepted of God, in man's behalf. God had before pronounced the penalty of death against transgression. And Adam would have died the day he sinned, had not the Son of God interceded in his behalf, and presented himself in satisfaction of the demands of the broken law of God. But by the love of Christ and the mercy of God, man was given a second probation, a second opportunity to attain to righteousness. Only for the mediation of Christ, the race of man would have ceased the day that Adam sinned. Only for Christ there never would have lived a man after Adam. So that every man who has ever lived, or who shall ever live, from the sin of Adam to the end of the world, owes that life to the fact that Christ, the Son of God, offered himself when Adam sinned. This is shown in the words of Christ, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have8 it more abundantly." John 10:10. Christ offering himself in behalf of Adam, is the only means by which men have life at all,—"I am come that they might have life." But this life is only temporal. It is only extended as an opportunity for man to approve himself worthy of eternal life, that he may show himself worthy of having life more abundantly; for as Christ said, he is come that they might have life, "and that they might have it more abundantly." The way in which men use the life which is already given, will decide whether they shall have life more abundantly, or whether they shall have life at all. The man who shows himself abusive of the trust of God, and ungrateful for his favor shown in granting this life, only shows himself unworthy of that which he already has, and much less can he be intrusted "more abundantly" with anything pertaining to life. In this view is contained the very basic principle of the lesson inculcated in the parable of the unjust steward, "He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous riches, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" Luke 16:10-12. And also in the lesson of the parable of the talents: "Unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." Matt. 25:29. If men will turn to purposes of iniquity, and transgression, and sin, a life which is committed to them for a time, how can the Lord commit to them this gift for eternity? If this life, which is not their own, they will devote simply as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin, to rebellion, and unfaithfulness to Him who giveth it, how shall he give to such immortal life—a life, which, being not subject to cessation, may properly be called their own? To do so would be only to subvert his own authority and the principles of his government. Such a thing he will never do. But such as devote this life to the honor of Him who giveth it, and to righteousness before Him, to them will be given life "more abundantly," even eternal life, in which to honor and glorify Him; while from all who do not so, shall be taken away even that which they have. "Of a truth . . . God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." Acts 10:34, 35. The righteousness which is acceptable with God is the righteousness "which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:22, 23. "HE became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Heb. 5:9. And "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. Christ's coming to this world was not in vain. He came for a purpose, and that purpose is that those who will believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life; and as surely as those who believe in him shall have eternal life, just so surely those who do not believe in him shall perish. If not, if those who do not believe in him do not perish, then this record which he has given cannot be true. If, by virtue of the immortality of the soul, those who do not believe in Christ live as long as those who do, then where is there any point in these scriptures? We know full well the meaning that is put upon the word "perish" by those who believe in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul; that is, that it means eternal life in misery. But no such idea is contained in the Scripture. Eternal life is the heritage of those who believe in Christ, and of those alone. Nor will language allow any such meaning to be put upon the word "perish." That word is defined thus: "To be destroyed; to go to destruction; to pass away; to come to nothing; to be blotted from existence; to die; to lose life." This is Webster's definition of perish, and every part of it can be duplicated time and again from the Scriptures. But no single particle of this definition can be true if the soul be immortal. In Psalm 37:10 we read: "For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." Again, in Isaiah 41:11, 12 we read a promise of what the Lord will do with those who contend with the "seed of Abraham," "the friend of God:" "Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee; they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of naught." But to the meek, to those who learn of Christ, it is promised: "But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." "The seed of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." Ps. 37:11, 28, 29. All is summed up by the Lord Jesus in one sentence, as follows: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life." John 3:36. And again: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." John 6:53. If these scriptures, from the first of this article to the last, do not show that future life is obtained only in Christ, then it would be impossible for the Lord himself to put words together that would show such a thing. If the Lord wanted to tell men that without believing in Christ they could have no life; that without believing in him they should perish; if he wanted to tell them that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, how would it be possible to tell them so more plainly than he has already told, in the words quoted? Yet in defiance of these plain, positive scriptures, and in direct subversion of them, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, which gives to all men immortal life irrespective of Christ, is held by the majority of professed Christians as a veritable article of Christian faith. Why is it that men will not believe the record that God has given on this subject? Why is it that they will not believe that future life is given alone through Christ? It is no light thing to disbelieve this. Many seem to think, and will even so express themselves, that it makes no difference particularly whether this be believed or not. But it does make a difference. We state it as the simple truth, that to not believe that eternal life for man is in Christ alone, is one of the greatest insults that can be offered to the God of Heaven. Please read carefully the following scripture, and see whether we have stated more than the exact truth:— "He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:10-12. Here is the plain statement that to believe not a certain "record" is to make God a liar. That record is just as plainly stated to be, that the eternal life that is given us "is in the Son" of God; and that "He that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Now the doctrine of the immortality of the soul causes men to not believe that record. They who believe the doctrine of the immortality of the soul do not believe that they who have not the Son of God have not life. Therefore the doctrine of the immortality of the soul "hath made God a liar," because it causes men to "believe not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God HATH NOT LIFE." Therefore we say that to not believe that future life is given us in Christ alone, is to insult the God of Heaven by making him "a liar." It does make a difference how we believe on this question; for when God is made a liar, he ceases to be Jehovah, he ceases to be God. Nor is that all; for when the Lord is thus removed from his throne, Satan is put into his place. See here: In the event of man's sinning,— GOD SAID,
"Thou shalt surely die."
SATAN SAID,
"Ye shall not surely die." Which of these told the truth? It is impossible for both to be true. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul teaches that the devil told the truth. For that doctrine teaches that there is no death. And if there be no death, then every man has life independent of belief in Christ, which, as we have read from the Word, makes God a liar. Therefore the doctrine of the immortality of the soul sets God aside as a liar, and exalts Satan as the one who tells the truth, and as the one who is to be believed. Here we close our investigation of this subject for the present. We believe we have made good our promise to show that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the truth of God. We have proved by logical deduction from sound Scripture premises, that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead; that it is subversive of the doctrine of the coming of the Lord; that it is subversive of the doctrine of the Judgment; that it is subversive of the mission of Christ; that it supplants Christ in the honor of opening the way from this world to another, and bestows that honor upon Satan; and finally that it puts God aside as a liar, and exalts Satan to his place as the one who tells the truth. The logical summary of all this is contained in one word—SPIRITUALISM. The immortality of the soul is the foundation of Spiritualism; and through the already prevalent belief of that doctrine, Spiritualism will yet lead the world to the active acceptance of every point which we have charged. Therefore we pray all to flee this thing, and believe "the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." A. T. J. The Third Angel’s Message.
By Uriah Smith
No work can be entered upon with that enthusiasm and zeal necessary to carry it through to a successful termination, unless those engaged in it have confidence in its success, and approve of the time, the ways, and the means of its prosecution. We would briefly call attention to the extent of the work of the Third Angel’s Message and what is required to fulfill it. The commission under which this special work is prosecuted was given to John in these words: “Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” Rev. 10:11. It would be difficult to put any construction upon this language which would show any limit to the work brought to view. Again, in the prophecy where this message is specifically mentioned as the third and last in the series of closing messages, it is said: “And the third angel followed them,” referring to the two preceding. Looking back to the first message, the record states that it was to go “to every nation and kindred and tongue and people,” and it was to be proclaimed with a loud voice. The third follows this, and is also proclaimed with a loud voice. It will be seen at once that this message cannot be limited to any9 smaller proportions than the first. It follows it How far? To a quarter or a half of the nations and kindreds and tongues and peoples, or to the whole of them? Should it leave any of them out, in so far it would not follow the first; but the prophecy says it follows it. The same conclusions are necessarily drawn from what is said respecting the power with which these messages are proclaimed. The first is uttered “with a loud voice.” The same is said of the third. What constitutes the loud voice? Not simply the power with which it is attended in a limited locality, but the wide extent of its proclamation in connection with the power which everywhere attends it. If its extent is any less, or its power is in any respect weaker, it is not proclaimed with as loud a voice as the first. But the prophecy puts it in this respect on an equality with the first. We have reached the generation in which all is to be fulfilled. We see the work that is to be done. In view of it all, can any one say that too much has been undertaken, or that too much is in contemplation? Have we opened our few missions any too soon? Have we started a few printing offices before they should have been started? Ought we to have put off to a later day our tract and missionary, city mission, and colporter work? What faithlessness, what folly it would be to do less! We are none too soon. We are not doing too much. More must be done. More can be done. And when we have gone to the extent of our ability, God will multiply the fruits of our efforts, and multiply our reward. The millions of earth can be speedily warned; the message can go with power and lighten the world with its glory; the work can be cut short in righteousness, and the faithful laborers enter into their reward. U. S. Missionary Work.
By William Ings
The tract and missionary society is the strong right arm of the Third Angel's Message. Elder Butler once made the statement that we could better dispense with the ministry than with this society. If the cause depended wholly on the ministry, only a few would ever hear the truth for this time; but with the help of the press, and a well-drilled force of missionary workers, every city, village, and hamlet can be reached. Much work has already been done in circulating papers and tracts and in visiting from house to house, and much more could have been done had we been better prepared to do the work. Our work is a very important one, and we need skill and tact to perform it aright. It is no small matter to deal with the souls of men, and so Christ charges us to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." One little mistake may cause the ruin of a person who might have been saved had a different course been taken. When life is at stake, how careful we are to employ the most skillful physician; and shall we not be more careful when eternal interests are involved?10 In order to be prepared for the work of saving our fellow-men, we must have a fitting up for the work. This we can gain by determined effort on our part, with the help of the Lord. We need an unbounded love for the truth, a love that will cause us to act in reaching out for others. Then, again, we must have a knowledge of the Scriptures, and be ready always to give an answer with meekness and fear to every man that asks us a reason of our hope. We can gain this knowledge by paying heed to the admonition of our Saviour, to "search the Scriptures." The instruction given by Paul to Timothy is also good for us: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim. 2:15. We must have direct help from Heaven; for Christ says: "Without me, ye can do nothing;" "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7. We need faith in our work, and also that simple trust that will take God at his word. For "without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Heb. 11:6. This is the kind of faith that moved Abraham to obey God. He believed the instruction given him, and moved out in obedience; and so it must be with us. Our Saviour is bidding us labor in his vineyard. He has a work for each one of us to do; the plea that we have but one talent will not excuse us; but we are expected to improve our talent, and thus add to our usefulness and become efficient workers. Time is short, and we have no time to idle away. Many are going to ruin all around us, and we must do what we can to save them. I know some will say, "How can I work? I do not know how. If some one will teach me, I will gladly do all in my power to spread the truth." This lesson can be learned from a careful and prayerful study of the Testimonies. These instructions are given from Heaven, to teach us just how to approach the people. From them we can also learn many lessons essential to our salvation. Let us give more earnest heed to this excellent instruction, which, if studied, will fit us for the work the Lord would have us do. In another article, I propose to give some hints how the work should be done, as I am desirous of seeing every person in our Conference who professes to believe in the near coming of our Saviour, actively engaged in the Master's work. For all want it said of them, when the work is ended, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Matt. 25:21. WM. INGS.