*Atlantic Union Conference*
Central New England ............ $ 2,772.18
Greater New York .......... 1,501.31
Maine ..................... 852.89
New York ................. 2,326.50
Southern New England ..... 1,210.50
Vermont .................. 1,344.74
Western New York ........ 2,071.09
Total ..................... 12,079.21
Canadian Union Conference
Maritime .................. 317.43
Quebec .................... 167.44
Ontario ................... 805.18
Newfoundland .............. 20.15
Total ..................... 1,310.20
Central Union Conference
Colorado .................. 4,518.19
Kansas .................... 3,698.05
Missouri .................. 1,965.12
Nebraska ................ 5,819.18
Wyoming ................. 808.00
Total ..................... 16,808.54
*Columbia Union Conference*
Chesapeake ................ 624.53
Eastern Pennsylvania .... 2,548.91
New Jersey .............. 1,202.45
Ohio .................... 6,301.43
Virginia ................. 1,034.77
West Pennsylvania ....... 1,969.46
West Virginia ........... 558.86
Total ..................... 14,240.41
*District of Columbia*
Washington Churches ...... 1,384.54
Lake Union Conference
East Michigan ............. 3,155.46
Indiana .................. 5,243.02
North Michigan ............ 1,705.22
Northern Illinois ........ 2,913.36
Southern Illinois .......... 1,425.71
West Michigan ............ 8,733.70
Wisconsin .................. 5,044.25
Total ..................... 28,220.72
North Pacific Union Conference
Montana ................... 691.64
Upper Columbia ........... 3,036.43
Western Washington ....... 3,308.13
Idaho ..................... 1,019.40
Western Oregon ............ 2,955.15
Hawaii .................... 21.05
Alaska .................... 20.00
Total ..................... 11,051.80
Northern Union Conference
Iowa ...................... 7,444.63
Minnesota ................ 5,728.28
South Dakota ............. 2,664.47
North Dakota ............. 2,134.93
Conference not specified ... 73.82
Total ..................... 18,046.13
Pacific Union Conference
Southern California ....... 3,582.10
Arizona .................. 466.79
California-Nevada ........ 10,249.03
Utah ..................... 440.58
Total ..................... 14,738.50
*Southern Union Conference*
Conference not specified ... 97.41
South Carolina ........... 266.09
Alabama ................... 613.14
Tennessee River .......... 1,405.31
Florida .................. 951.48
North Carolina ........... 954.70
Cumberland ................ 1,347.32
Louisiana ................. 572.54
Mississippi ................ 413.08
Georgia .................. 457.97
Total ..................... 7,079.04
Southwestern Union Conference
Not specified .............. 22.82
Arkansas ................... 894.63
Oklahoma ................... 3,924.79
Texas ...................... 2,488.90
Total ..................... 7,331.14
Western Canadian Union ConferenceAlberta .................. 1,211.30
British Columbia ........... 222.00
Manitoba ................... 336.55
Saskatchewan Mission Field . 59.60
Total ..................... 1,829.45
Unknown
Unknown .................... 161.70
ForeignAlgeria .................. 13.33
Australia .................. 178.71
Bermuda .................... 36.00
China ...................... 165.60
South Africa ............... 439.02
Jamaica .................... 66.01
Yukon Territory ............ 20.00
England .................... 278.61
West Africa .............. 50.00
Mexico ..................... 65.97
Costa Rica ................. 6.25
India ...................... 187.50
South America .............. 76.43
Switzerland ................ 9.69
Panama ..................... 27.11
Nicaragua .................. 9.00
Central American Mission .. 26.00
Trinidad ................... 28.60
Norway ..................... 25.00
Japan ...................... 12.50
Hayti ...................... 5.00
Egypt .................... 51.55
Palestine .................. 2.00
Tobago, W. I. .............. 1.22
Cuba ....................... 8.00
Hungary .................... 3.00
Tahiti ..................... 14.88
France ..................... 6.80
Philippine Islands ........ 1.00
Samoa ...................... 8.00
Barbados ................... 5.00
Portugal ................... 1.00
Straits Settlements ....... 10.08
Pitcairn Island ............ 20.00
New Zealand ................ 1.52
Fiji ....................... 4.87
St. Kitts .................. 7.51
Ireland .................... 1.21
Russia ..................... 5.00
Denmark .................... 14.59
Total ..................... 1,893.65
Grand Total ................ $136,175.03
I. H. EVANS, Treasurer.
A National Evil
BRITISH publicists are renewing their assertions that the British race is rapidly deteriorating, and are giving warning that the days of the British empire will soon be numbered unless something is done to restore the old-time strength, hardiness, and virility. Investigations have been made to get at the cause of this physical degeneracy, and the investigators are laying the blame upon the present-day rush to the cities. Sixty-seven per cent of the population of England is found in the cities, and the last census showed an increase of fifteen per cent in the migration to the cities over the previous ten years. Poisonous air of overcrowded cities, evil associations, the increase of liquor drinking among women, these are contributory causes of the all-to-evident deterioration in size and strength. But these are not conditions that are found in Britain alone. The same tendency is manifested on this side of the Atlantic. The Washington Post says, editorially:—
Is there no warning here for the United States? If the British degeneracy is caused by the flocking of the people into the cities, will not Americans be affected injuriously in the same way in due time? The tendency to herd in cities is very marked in this country. It may have its individual merits, but in its effect upon the whole people this tendency is demoralizing in several ways. . . . It is a condition that is getting worse. In good times it was bad, but in bad times like the present it becomes a menace. Both in its immediate effects and in its effect upon the stamina of the people, the rush to the cities is a national evil.
Our people have heard this warning from other sources in the past before the result of the tendency was so apparent. Surely, we have no business now in the cities unless we are engaged in giving God’s last warning to those who dwell there. The iniquities of Sodom and Gomorrah are duplicated in every large city in the world, and even the smaller cities and the larger towns in very many instances have shown themselves apt students and ready imitators of the evil practises of the great cities. Men of the world see the danger and cry out against it, but are powerless to sweep back the tide.
Behold the Man!
By FRANK LESLIE BENNETT
FRANK LESLIE BENNETT
One has his evil passions traced;
The other's visage is passion free:
Barabbas, low-browed, evil-faced;
Christ's face is purity.
Before, the crowd as lions roar,
Yet there he stands, his piercing eyes
Serenely blue as summer skies;
Above, the Roman eagles soar.
Though heathen, hated in the land,
In sad and solemn strife for right
Let Pilate preach one sermon grand,
His eyes lit up with sudden light.
His subject stands; all see his face,
Behold his mien, his features scan;
Then Pilate cries to all the race:
“Behold the man! Behold the man!”
Warrensburg, N. Y.
“Stablished in the Faith”
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
A MESSAGE from the Lord has been given me for the churches that claim to believe the truth for these days. I am bidden to say to you, Study carefully the parable of the talents. This parable, spoken by the lips of the greatest of teachers, was given us as an object-lesson.
The light of present truth is a precious talent lent to God’s people by him who is truth. It is not to be hoarded, but constantly imparted. The Lord desires that his professed people shall themselves profit by the truths received. It is given, first, for their own development—of heart, and mind, and affections; then for the help and enlightenment of those in the darkness of unbelief.
In this age the Lord is sending his servants with no ordinary message, but with special truths that must come before believers of every rank and tongue. Many of our church-members have never studied fully into the more sure word of prophecy, and do not understand the facts that have made us what we are. All should bring into exercise the powers of the intellect, that they may clearly understand the different phases of present truth, and especially the subjects of prophecy which were opened to us when the message of Christ’s soon coming was first heralded.
We are living in a time when, the Word of God declares, Satan will come down with great power, to work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish. He will work with such subtilty and power that, if it were possible, he would deceive the very elect. God’s professed people need to heed the danger signals, and ever be on the watch.
A great danger threatens us in the influence of some who have not followed on step by step to know the Lord. False doctrines have come into our ranks in some places, doctrines that are creating a careless neglect to keep the way of the Lord. There are among us men who in the past God has used to his name’s glory, but who are now being ensnared by Satan’s deceptions. Many who once prized the truth, because they have refused to heed the instruction God has sent, have become independent and full of self-justification. These men are not to be entrusted as guides for us or for our youth.
“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.”
The Jews flattered themselves that in spite of departure from him, the Lord would protect from injury their temple and those who worshiped in it. They put their trust in outward advantages, and overlooked the necessity of purity of character, which alone God could bless. “Trust ye not in lying words,” the prophet declared, “saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; if ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt; then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever.”
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Put your burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices: but this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. And they harkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: yet they harkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.”
When men’s hearts are softened and subdued by the working of the Holy Spirit, they will give heed to counsel; but when they turn away from the admonitions of the Lord, their hearts gradually become hardened until all their religious service is tainted with self. When men thus turn away from reproofs and warnings because they do not want to hear or receive truth that condemns their course of action, the Lord leaves them to be led by other influences. Because they refuse the truth, he allows them to accept falsehoods which become snares to their own destruction. They are given over to blindness of eyes and hardness of heart.
I call upon our churches to heed the warnings that have been coming to us for years. Let us remember that God lives and reigns, and let this thought lead us to walk humbly and trustingly before him. Our chief study should be how we can best glorify God. The servant of God whose life and character reflect most of the likeness of Christ is the one who will bring to God the greatest honor.
My brethren and sisters, keep your lamps trimmed and burning. If you will cling steadfastly to a “Thus saith the Lord,” you will learn the science of true education. Those teachings and questions that arise that have not for their authority a “Thus saith the Lord,” let them be unrepeated by you. We need, dear people of God, a modest simplicity, and a great increase of faith. We need to have the soul-temple cleansed, that the Holy Spirit may come in and take up his abode with us. We are to stand forth in the world to the praise of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
There comes to our people at this time the exhortation and warning: “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
The Light-Keeper's Cry
By M. B. VAN KIRK
M. B. VAN KIRK
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? harken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Isa. 55: 1, 2.
“Ho, . . . ye!”—the call of Christ through the prophet Isaiah—a voice heralded through the ages to every human soul. Why this startling cry? There are rocks ahead; shoals on the right hand and on the left. Men, God's creatures, are making continual shipwreck9of life on these rocks and shoals. In his intense anxiety to save these helpless mariners, God sends his Son with the Light-bearer's call, “Ho, ye! ho, ye! ho, ye!”—yes, you!
“Every one that thirsteth.” This message is to you. There is a Living Water which satisfieth. Come to this fountain and drink, drink long and deep. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” John 7: 37-39.
Only the Spirit of God can satisfy the famished mariner. “Come ye to the waters.” This living water, this cleansing stream, is poured freely. Wealth can not purchase it. Personal influence can not buy it. It is offered without money and without price. O weary, sin-sick soul, this precious gift is for you, weak, degraded man or woman, whose soul cries for help. This living message sent directly from the throne of God, comes to you, also, who feel yourselves above the common plane of humanity. Whether clothed in rags or in costly array, sin needs the same remedy. The call is urgent. “Come ye, buy, and eat.”
He who answers this call receives both water and bread. “I am the living bread.” “I am the bread of life.” God's gift, Christ heralded through the ages, is still offered to man. “For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. . . . The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
“Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?” The bread from God—the living bread—is not sold. Its value is of infinite worth. It cost untold agony. It is the free gift of the Father. Do not think to obtain it by human power or by purchase. Accept, then, the proffered invitation. You who are sinking in sin's dark waters, look up, heed the call. Follow the light. Breakers may threaten, the angry waves may still lash the waters into fury; but the Pilot, who never lost a ship, knows every rock and shoal. He has tested the power of the mighty billows, and is able to guide the storm-tossed voyager into a peaceful haven.
“Harken diligently unto me. . . . Let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Let your life be nourished by this living bread. God would fit man to delight in him. Can you longer withhold your allegiance to the Captain of the Lord's host? Can you longer refuse the proffered gift? “My Spirit shall not always strive with man.” Behold the whirlpool! See the rocks! Look at the wrecks slowly beaten into pieces, or sucked into the maelstrom. There is only one hope: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy [the redemption of man] that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb. 12: 2. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Rev. 3: 21. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Graysville, Tenn.
The Rejected Ordinance
By WM. A. WESTWORTH
WM. A. WESTWORTH
How many times ignorance of God's plans for us, and of the lessons that he would teach us, robs us of the greatest blessings, and causes us to lay aside or to esteem lightly the plans that he has, in his love, marked out for us.
The ordinance of feet washing as established by the Master, and recorded in the thirteenth chapter of John, is a forceful illustration of the above. Rejected by the large majority of professed believers in the Christ life and teachings, and misunderstood by almost all, it is, nevertheless, one of the most blessed of all the rites of the Christian church, and to him who knows “these things” it is indeed a means to make him “happy.” John 13:17.
Many who are anxious to follow their Lord in all the way that he has marked out for his children, take part in this ceremony, solely because they desire to follow the admonition given by the Master when he said, “Ye also ought to wash one another’s feet,” but without understanding why he thus spoke; others see in it but little more than an act of humility; and how many times do we hear it said that the Master has given this as a rite whereby his children may show their humility. Continually it is represented as an example set by the Lord to evidence the Christian grace of self-abasement.
But methinks it far from the intent of the Saviour to institute any rite which would give his children merely a chance to parade whatever graces they might, through his goodness, develop, or to sound abroad their goodness. While he did say that he left us “an example” that we “should do” as he did, it was not to flaunt our graces, but to accomplish that same purpose which he accomplished when he girded himself and washed his disciples’ feet. The reason why so many miss the real depth of the lesson, is simply because they fail to consider just what he says. Let us briefly examine the text.
John 13:3: “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet,” etc.
Notice that because he called to mind, or “knew,” a certain thing, he began to do another certain thing. The knowledge prompted the action. “He was come from God, and went to God;” but for what purpose? Luke 19:10 tells us that “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost”—not in their sins, but from their sins. “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” He came for the distinct purpose of cleansing men from sin; and ere he could return to the Father, he desired to leave with his children an evidence which they could themselves perpetuate, which would show that they appreciated for just what purpose he did come from the Father. Bear in mind the cause, which the Word gives, why he rose from supper and began to wash the disciples’ feet. It is vital. Then, in due time, he came to Peter. The question is asked, “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?” What means this? Could not Peter see his Master doing this very thing? Was there really a question as to the nature of the act to be performed? Did Peter want to know if his feet were to be washed, or is the real intent of his query rather, “Lord, why do you wash my feet?” Surely the latter. This is evidenced by the reply vouchsafed by the Lord: “What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.” Certainly Peter could see that outward act, but that there was an inner meaning is plain from the Saviour’s response. Again, Peter saw humility in the act, for he exclaimed, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” He to whom it had shortly before been revealed of heaven that this was indeed the Christ, the Son of the living God, could not see the Master in the position of the servant, doing that which should have been done by any of the disciples who was lowly enough of heart to serve his fellows. He would not brook such debasing of his Lord. But the Lord had said that Peter did not know what was in the ordinance, and inasmuch as it is plainly evident that he did see humility therein, it is also positive that there is more, far more, for us to learn in this rite than the lesson of our Lord’s humility.
Then comes the explanation, showing what is really in the rite. “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me”—a double negative, and therefore with the power and meaning of an affirmative. If I wash thee, thou hast a part with me.
Peter understands, and exclaims, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” The washing of any physical defilement can not give a man part with the Lord; and realizing this, the forward disciple grasps at the light held out to him—this washing was O, so much more! it was that cleansing which gives men communion with the Redeemer—the washing from sin—the very thing the Saviour came from the Father to accomplish. In his joy at the new light, he cries out for full washing, and with quick perception seems to recall the ceremony recorded in Leviticus 8, where the blood of the lamb of consecration was to touch the10head and hands and feet, a full work.
The Lord replies, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” Plain it is to the dullest that a physical washing of the feet will not cleanse the rest of the body and make a man clean every whit, and therefore we can come to no other conclusion than that this washing signifies a higher cleansing, that same cleansing which unites us again with our Lord after our “sins have separated” us from our God.
And how forcefully the Master emphasizes the real intent of the ordinance in its true inwardness: “For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, ye are not all clean.” Verily there is no other conclusion than that this rite symbolizes a washing from sin. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them,” and why? Will the mere following of the outer ceremony because we simply desire to do something that Jesus did, make us really happy? But if we realize that this washing is a heaven-given rite to tell us that we are “clean every whit,” washed by the blood of the Lamb; if it ever recalls to us that he came from God to cleanse his children, and that the Master himself washed away the sins, truly then we have a reason to be “happy.” And while there is without question a blessing in following the Master and serving in his stead, we remember that the primary blessing is to him who is washed and cleansed, and not first in importance to him who does the washing.
But the objection comes that if this is really the intent of the rite, it overlaps the ceremony of immersion. Not at all! Baptism is indeed for the remission of sins; it is for the washing away of the old life of sin; it is indeed the burial of the old man; but it is also a symbol of the washing away of that accumulation of sin committed prior to our taking on the vows of the Christ-life. But how many have not sinned since they took upon themselves the service of the Master? How many can look back quarter by quarter and see no fault, no waywardness, no stain of self? Shall we then go on thus stained and unwashed, or shall we be rebaptized, whenever the Spirit reveals to us a stain of iniquity? No, it is not necessary thus ever to be washed in the waters of baptism, for “he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” As the first immersion was for the remission of the sins that were past, the life of waywardness, so now, quarter by quarter, or whenever the opportunity is given, we can be cleansed of all the impurities that are upon us since last we were washed.
Then to us the rite of feet washing becomes, not as it is to many, a mere formalism, but a real joy; not merely the acquiescence to a rule of the church, but an evidence of the love of our Lord in keeping his children clean. Each time the opportunity is afforded, the same sense of relief that came when, through the waters of baptism, we were conscious of that inner spiritual work of saving from sin, so now we see, in the service of the brother who ministers in place of the Master, a ridding of those weaknesses and sins which so often worry us, and which are ever used by the arch-enemy to discourage the believer in his struggle for supremacy over sin.
And now we are washed,—clean, the Master says,—fit, through his love, to partake of the new life—his body and his blood. Passing strange how men can eat of that bread and drink of that cup with bodies all polluted with sin! But here is an ordinance established for all the church to follow, which brings us into a condition fit to receive the precious emblems. How entirely out of harmony with the divine plan then for men to celebrate the Lord’s supper without first enjoying the way that God marked out as a fit preparation for that solemn act. It seems almost sacrilege to eat and drink, with lives all polluted by contact with the elements of sin.
“Ye also ought to wash one another’s feet”—not to parade our righteousness, but that every child of heaven may be clean, pure, spotless, ready for the reception of the life divine. Christ’s humility is all the humility there is in it. The sacrifice he made, the self-abnegation he practised, the love he manifested,—these are what we should endeavor to show as we kneel before our brother. By these things we are made clean. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”
Hartford, Conn.
Lessons from Past Experiences
By GEO. O. STATES
— No. 25
GEO. O. STATES
As the light came to us on the health reform, and our people were in danger of making hasty moves and laying aside a meat diet without putting something else in its place, the Lord gave counsel on the very points where some were in danger of going to extremes. “We advise you to change your habits of living; but while you do this, we caution you to move understandingly. I am acquainted with families who have changed from a meat diet to one that is impoverished. There should not be many kinds at any one meal, but all meals should not be composed of the same kinds of food without variation. Food should be prepared with simplicity, yet with a nicety which will invite the appetite. You should keep grease out of your food. Will the people who are preparing to become holy, pure, refined, that they may be introduced into the society of heavenly angels, continue to take the life of God’s creatures and subsist on their flesh and enjoy it as a luxury? From what the Lord has shown me, this order of things will be changed, and God’s peculiar people will exercise temperance in all things. . . . Light has shone upon the pathway in which the people of God are traveling, yet all do not walk in the light and follow as fast as the providence of God marks out and opens the way before them. Until they do this, they will be in darkness. If God has spoken to his people, he designs that they shall hear and obey his voice.”
It hardly seems possible that this counsel was given forty years ago. If the health reform was important at that time, it certainly must be now when we are so much nearer the coming of Christ. In this same Testimony we were told that “fine flour bread can not impart to the system the nourishment But that you will find in unbolted wheat bread. The common use of bolted wheat can not keep the system in a healthy condition.”
In the early days of the message people were ridiculed who would eat unbolted wheat bread. When it was first introduced they used to call us bran-bread eaters. Now it is hard to go where you can not find Graham flour. All along the way as our people have been in danger of departing from the light, the Lord has sent us counsel; and those who have heeded this counsel are the ones who have advanced in the message.
In the REVIEW of May 27, 1902, we were told that “health reform is to do among our people a work which it has not yet done. There are those who ought to be awake to the danger of meat eating, who are still eating the flesh of animals, thus endangering the physical, mental, and spiritual health. Many who are now only half converted on the question of meat eating will go from God’s people to walk no more with them. . . . Ministers should be strictly temperate in their eating and drinking, lest they make crooked paths for their feet, turning the lame—those weak in the faith—out of the way. If while proclaiming the most solemn and important message God has ever given, men war against the truth by indulging wrong habits of eating and drinking, they take all the force from the message they bear. . . . The failure to follow sound principles has marred the history of God’s people. There has been a continual backsliding in health reform, and as a result God is dishonored by a great lack of spirituality. Barriers have been erected which would never have been seen had God’s people walked in the light.”
For years I have noticed that our people have not been as strict in living out the health reform as they were in the early days, and I am sure it has been brought about by neglect on the part of the ministry in teaching health reform. During the past year I have visited some of our churches, and have found that part of the ministers in laboring in our churches are very neglectful in teaching the principles of health reform, or even in living to up to them.
In the early days of the health reform movement our ministers were united on this question, and one minister11did not visit a church and teach us that the principles of health reform are as closely allied to the third angel’s message as the right arm is to the body, and another, by his practise, teach the opposite. I was much pleased to notice in a late REVIEW a suggestion that the time has come for holding health schools at our camp-meetings and public gatherings. Twelve years ago we were told that “the light which God has given upon health reform can not be trifled with without injury to those who attempt it; and no man can hope to succeed in the work of God while, by precept and example, he acts in opposition to the light which God has sent.”
I believe as our people unitedly start health schools, we shall see an improvement in our ranks upon this matter, and that this will be one thing that will prepare us for the loud cry of the message.