Earlier text: WHY ARE YOU NOT SAVED?THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT:
By W. H. L.
Or the Sunday, the Sabbath, the Change, and the Restitution.
Where, then, shall we turn for relief? There is one, and but one, more chance. Acknowledging that the law, as originally given, will not answer the purpose, and that its amendment cannot be made out with sufficient clearness to warrant the taking of a stand upon it, we turn, for the last time, to examine a position quite generally advanced; namely, that of Sunday observance inaugurated, justified, and enforced, by the resurrection and example of Christ. Is it true, then, that such is the fact? Have we at last found relief from all our difficulties in the life and career of no less a personage than the divine Son of God? Let us see. The point of the argument is briefly this: Our Lord—by rising from the dead, and by his practice of meeting with his disciples on that day—both introduced, and made obligatory upon his followers the necessity of distinguishing between the first and the remaining days of the week, as we would between the sacred and the profane. Now, if this be a case which can be clearly made out, then we are immediately relieved in one particular; that is, we have found authority for the observance of the Sunday. But how is it as it regards the seventh day? This, we have seen, was commanded by God the Father. The obligation of that command is still recognized. Now, consequently, if Christ the Son, has, upon his own authority, introduced another day immediately following the seventh, and clothed it with divine honors, is it a necessary inference that the former is therefore set aside? To our mind, this is far from being so. If God has a law for the observance of a given day, and Christ has furnished us with an example for that of another also, then the necessary conclusion is, that the first must be kept out of respect for God the Father, and the last through reverence to Christ the Son. Three facts, therefore, must be clearly made out, or our situation is indeed one of perplexity. First, it must be shown, authoritatively, that the resurrection effected the change which is urged, and that the practice of Christ was what it is claimed to have been. Second, that that practice was designed to be exemplary; in other words, that what he did in these particulars was of a nature such that we are required to imitate it. Third, it must also be shown that he not only sanctified the first, but, also, that he secularized the seventh day of the week. But can this be done? Let us see. First, then, we will consider the matter of the resurrection. Now, that it was an event of surpassing glory, and one ever to be held in grateful remembrance, there is no room for dispute among Christians. But shall we, therefore, decide that it must of necessity be commemorated by a day of rest? This would be assuming a great deal. It seems to us that it would be better, far better, to leave decisions of such importance as this entirely with the Holy Spirit. Protestants, at least, warned by the example of Roman Catholics, should avoid the danger of attempting to administer in the matter of designating holy days; since, manifestly, this is alone the province of God. Hence, we inquire, Has the Holy Ghost ever said that the resurrection of Christ imparted a holy character to the day upon which it occurred? The answer must, undeniably, be in the negative. No such declaration is found in the Holy Word. Nor is this all; even from the stand-point of human reason, every analogy is against it. It were fitting that when God had closed the work of creation, and ceased to labor, he should appoint a day in commemoration of that rest. The propriety of such a course, all can see. But, on the contrary, is it not equally manifest that to have remained inactive—on that glorious morning, when the Son of God had burst the bands of death, and the news was flying through all parts of the great city of Jerusalem, “Jesus has risen to life again”—would have been a condition of things wholly out of the question? Both the enemies and the friends of Christ—the one class stimulated by hate, and the other released by the mighty power of God from the overwhelming gloom and crushing despondency of three terrible days—were, by the very necessities of the case, moved to action by an energy which would cause them to overleap every barrier and to break away from every restraint. Everything, everywhere, animated by the new aspect which affairs had suddenly assumed, demanded immediate, ceaseless, and untiring activity. And such it had. From the early morning, until far into the hours of the succeeding night, scribe and Pharisee, priest and Levite, believer and unbeliever, were hearing, gathering, and distributing, all that could be learned of this most mysterious event. We say, consequently, that so far is it from being true that the day of the resurrection is one which should be hallowed, either exactly or substantially as that of the decalogue, the very opposite is the fact; and, if it were to be celebrated at all, every consideration of fitness demands that it should be done by excessive demonstrations of outward and uncontrolled joy, rather than by quietude and restraint. Passing now to the other branches of the subject, we inquire, finally, What was there in the example of Christ and the apostles which in any way affects the question? If they are to be quoted at all upon this subject, it is but reasonable that their history should be examined with reference, both to the seventh and the first day. For, if precedent, and not positive, enactment is to be the rule by which our faith is to be decided, in a point of this significance, it is at least presumable that the historic transactions, by which this question is to be determined, will be ample in number, and of a nature to meet and explain all the phases of the subject. That is, the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles—covering, as their history does, a period of about thirty years—will afford numerous and conclusive evidences that both Christ and the apostles did actually dishonor the old and invest with peculiar dignity and authority the new Sabbath. First, we inquire then, Is there in all the New Testament the record of a single instance in which Jesus or his followers transacted, upon the seventh day of the week, matters incompatible with the notion of its original and continued sanctity? The answer is, of necessity, in the negative. The most careful and protracted search has failed to produce a single case in which the son of Joseph and Mary departed in this particular from the usages of his nation, or in which his immediate representatives, during the period of their canonical history, failed to follow, in the most scrupulous manner, the example of Him of whom it is said, that, “as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up for to read.” (Luke 4:16.) Nor is this all; it is a remarkable fact, and one well calculated to stagger the investigator at the very threshold of his researches into the data for the modern view, that, whereas, the Sabbath is mentioned fifty-six times in the New Testament, it is in every instance, save one (where it refers to the annual sabbaths of the Jews), applied to the last day of the week. So far, therefore, as the negative argument is concerned—which was based upon the presumption that the claims of the old day were constructively annulled by the appointment of a new one—its force is entirely broken by the record, which, as we have seen, instead of proving such an abolition, is rather suggestive of the perpetuity of the old order of things. Hence, we turn to the positive side of the subject. How do we know that Christ ever designed that his example should produce in our minds the conviction that he had withdrawn his regard from the day of his Father’s rest, and placed it upon that of his own resurrection? Did he, in laying the foundation for the new institution—as in the case of the Lord’s Supper—inaugurate the same by his own action, and then say to his disciples, As oft as ye do this, do it in remembrance of me? Did he ever explain to any individual that his especial object in meeting with his followers, on the evenings of the first and second Sundays (?) after his return from the dead, was designed to inspire in the minds of future believers the conviction that those hours, from that time forward, had been consecrated to a religious use? If so, the record is very imperfect, in that it failed to hand down to us a most significant fact. I say significant, because, without such a declaration, the minds of common men, such as made up the rank and file of the immediate followers of Christ, were hardly competent to the subtle task of drawing, unaided, such nice distinctions. How natural, how easy, by a single word to have put all doubt at rest, and to have given to future ages a foundation, broad and deep, upon which to ground the argument for the change. But this, as we have already seen, was not done! and after the lapse of eighteen hundred years, men—in the stress of a situation which renders it necessary that they should obtain divine sanction, in order to the perpetuity of a favored institution—are wringing the changes of an endless variety of conjectures drawn from transactions, which, in the record itself, were mentioned as possessing no peculiar characteristics, which should in any way affect the mere time upon which they occurred. Let us, therefore, with a proper sense of the modesty with which we should ever enter upon the task of deciding upon the institutions of the church, when there is no divine precept for the guidance of our judgment, examine for ourselves. As we do this, it will be well, also, to bear in mind the fact that our prejudices will be very likely to lie entirely upon the side of lifelong practice and traditionary inheritance. In fact, nearly every consideration, political, financial, and social, will be found, if not guarded with the strictest care, wooing us to a decision which—though it might dishonor God, and do violence to the principles of a clear, natural logic—would exempt us, individually, from personal sacrifice and pecuniary loss.—W. H. L., in Christian Statesman. Observations on the Present State of the World in Connection with Prophecy.
By Cunningham
THE extraordinary aspect of the present times cannot but arrest the attention and excite the awe of all thinking persons, whether they believe in the Scriptures or not. But it is he only that takes heed to the sure word of prophecy as a lamp shining in a dark place, who is enabled to see light in the midst of darkness, to behold undismayed the convulsions which agitate the nations of the earth, and, possessing his mind in perfect peace, to rejoice in the near prospect of a better and brighter day, when the “earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord;” and the Lord shall arise upon Zion, and his glory shall be seen upon her. The events of the period in which we live call upon us to sit loose to temporal things, and to remember that the fashion of this world passeth away. We have, indeed, no warrant in the Scriptures to neglect the duties of our secular callings; on the contrary, we are commanded to be diligent in all lawful business, and God has, in various instances, marked with his peculiar approbation the industrious performance of worldly duties. When he first appeared to his servant Moses at Mount Horeb, Moses was occupied in tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. When the nativity of Christ was announced by an angel from Heaven, he was sent to shepherds who kept watch over their flocks by night in the plains of Bethlehem. The true secret of Christianity is to attend diligently to all the duties of life; yet to do it not in the spirit of the world, but with the temper and feelings of those who are habitually impressed with the great realities of eternity—to do all to God, and not to man. Possessed of such views, the true servant of Christ, amidst the whirlwinds of divine wrath which go forth to destroy the wicked, shall be enabled to lift his head above the storm and to stand unmoved. He must, indeed, expect to partake of suffering, in common with the world in which he lives, until that happy hour when he shall be called on to meet his returning Lord and Saviour above the clouds. In waiting for that glorious event, “his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.” He rejoices that “there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.” We may infer from the present state and prospects of the world, connected with the declarations of prophecy, that there is no safety, either for individuals or communities, but in repentance and faith in the Son of God. It is, however, in an especial manner, to the great and noble, the counsellors of princes, and princes themselves, that the calamities of the times, and the awful judgments of God, address themselves, as with a voice of thunder. Nor does this voice sound with less loudness or importunity in the ears of the bishops and ministers of the Protestant churches. No human establishments are now safe; we are surrounded with the ruins of thrones and kingdoms which have crumbled into dust. Where is the earthly throne under which we may now take shelter, and say, Here are peace and safety. The repentance which Christianity requires is not merely an outward reformation. The gospel of Jesus Christ calls upon us to feel and acknowledge that we are sinners. In this respect it tells us, that all men, from the prince upon the throne to the meanest of the people, are upon a level. None are exempt from the corruption of a fallen nature, or the pollution of many actual transgressions. The prince, therefore, and the peasant, the noble and the plebeian, are equally called upon to acknowledge that corruption, and to confess these transgressions, to amend their ways, and to believe in the Son of God, who came down from Heaven to save us from our sins by the sacrifice of himself upon the cross. It seems evident that the dashing to pieces of the nations, like the vessels of a potter, which is mentioned in the second Psalm, is at hand. That Psalm, though it is quoted in the Acts of the Apostles, in the way of accommodation, as relating to the opposition made to the kingdom of Christ in the days of our Lord’s personal ministry, does yet properly refer to the events of the last times, which immediately precede the establishment of the kingdom of Christ. The solemn and affectionate counsel which is addressed in the above Psalm to the kings and rulers of nations, belongs, therefore, in an especial manner, to the present period, “Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth; serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”—Cunningham on the Apocalypse. He that beneath thy shadow hides, And there Most High, unmoved abides, Thy saving grace shall see; There safe from harm may sit and sing: “My Refuge, Fortress, God and King! I trust alone in thee.” He'll save thee from the fowler's snare, From noisome plagues, from tainted air, And thou shalt dwell at ease— Beneath his wings shalt find repose, And shield from all thy raging foes, And every dire disease. No midnight fears shall break thy rest, No noonday plagues thy path infest, Nor aught thy peace disturb; No poisoned barb, no treacherous dart, Shall pierce thy fond, confiding heart, For he thy foes will curb. Though at thy side a thousand lie, At thy right hand ten thousand die, Unharmed thou still shalt be; When God, upon the sinner's path, Shall pour the fury of his wrath, It shall not reach to thee. Thy refuge is the Lord, Most High; To him in every trouble fly, To him thy sorrows tell: No evil then thyself shall harm, Nor every plague thy house alarm: Securely thou shalt dwell. He'll give his angels charge to keep Thy trusting soul, awake, asleep, In all thy ways, secure; Their gentle hands shall bear thee on, Till all thy fears and foes are gone, And make thy footing sure. The roaring lion thou shalt tread Beneath thy feet, nor shalt thou dread The serpent's deadly fangs; “Since thou hast set thy heart on me, I,” saith the Lord, “will set thee free From all thy grievous pangs. “Thy prayer I'll hear, thy wants supply, Be with thee when distress is nigh, And all thy fears control; With length of days thy life I'll crown, And shower thy choicest blessings down, To fill thy longing soul.” Old Clothes Hold Sacrifice and Devotion
SNEER not at old clothes. They are often made holy by long sacrifices, by careful folding away, that they may last until the dear ones are provided for. If many an old coat could speak, what tales it would tell of the noble heart beating underneath! A Lady's Pocket Picked After Refusing Charity
A LADY who refused to give, after hearing a charity sermon, had her pocket picked as she was leaving church. On making the discovery, she said: “The parson could not find the way to my pocket, but the devil did.” Maintaining Silence About Ourselves in Conversation
ONE of the most important rules of the science of manners is to maintain an almost absolute silence in regard to ourselves. Difficulty Refines Character and Strengthens the Mind
DIFFICULTY excites the mind to the dignity which sustains and finally conquers misfortune, and the ordeal refines while it chastens. What we See in the Review.
By James White
1. We have seen in the REVIEW AND HERALD the excellent articles from the pen of the editor on the immortality question. They are excellent, and should, when completed, appear in book form, a condensed edition on comparatively thin paper, in paper cover, and a complete edition on thick paper, in bound volume. A large edition for wide circulation is wanted. 2. We have been very much interested in the progress department, and we hope that each one of our preaching brethren in all parts of the field will contribute to it as often as once in two weeks. Our young, wordy preachers, especially when they have nothing of interest to say, should use the precious space of the progress department very sparingly. Nothing can be more out of place than for a licensed stripling to occupy nearly a column of this department in stating how “I went,” or “we saw” and “I spoke,” and “we felt,” and “we hope some were,” or: “will be benefited by our labors.” We recommend that those who have anything to report, say it in few and becoming words, taking as little space as possible to express the important ideas they have on hand. If they have nothing of importance to say, only that their name appear in print, we hope they will not write for the REVIEW. Or, if they do, the editor will spare the feelings of the very large portion of his readers who are anxious that every line of the REVIEW should contain some precious thought, new if possible, or words of consolation and strength. The brethren in California would not give a three-cent postage stamp to read reports from Wisconsin, Michigan, or any other of the States, from young men who have held a license merely, only a few months, giving the particulars of where they went, when they started, how they felt by the way, when they reached the place, how many times they spoke, what they hoped as the result, when they left that place, and when they reached home—especially, if they have no real good and cheering result to report. Now, if the President of the General Conference, the editor of the REVIEW, father Bates, if living, or others of the pioneers of the cause, who really have something to say, and know how to say it in few words, and then quit, should give some of the above particulars, their position might make it very proper, and very necessary. But in the name of reason and religion, we plead that the progress department be spared from the wordy, wishy-washy, shallow matter with which it is sometimes threatened. As it is, by ministers of other denominations, the REVIEW is said to be one of the ablest and best religious journals in our country. It should excel all others. May God, by his Holy Spirit, fire the mind and the heart of the editor, and the minds and the hearts of all the contributors, with intelligent zeal to make the REVIEW what it should be. It is the only preacher which thousands of precious souls have. It must be right. It must be the very best. It must be truly able, sound, interesting, stirring, convicting, comforting, and go everywhere to meet the wants of the thousands who are hungering and thirsting for the pure bread and water of salvation. If there is a want of original matter of the best sort, select the most precious things from religious papers. Or, go back and gather from the writings of Luther, Whitfield, Wesley, Miller, and a host of others who wrote with the fire of reformation ever burning upon the altar of their hearts. Let the REVIEW ever blaze with the light and fire of truth, and light and burn its way through the moral darkness of this time to thousands of honest minds. 3. We see by the REVIEW that there is a general interest in the several States, in regard to the work of the Tract and Missionary Societies. The present is just the season of the year for our people to take hold of it everywhere. We confess that we have been greatly disappointed in the receipts in the REVIEW of stock taken in our institutions, especially in the Health Institute, and the Hygienic Book Fund, and we must here recommend the work entitled, An Appeal to the Working Men and Women in the Ranks of Seventh-day Adventists. Get the work, friends. Price, post-paid, 25 cents. The officers of our Tract and Missionary Societies, should read the book, circulate the book, and labor to carry out the worthy plans set forth in that book. All our people who have hitherto excused themselves, should now come up and take stock in these noble institutions and enterprises. Let there be equality in bearing the burdens of the way. 4. We read with interest the faithful statements of Eld. Butler in reference to the church, school, &c., at Battle Creek, and rejoice to know that the Lord has hold of this matter. And we have been astonished above measure that the calls for men to move to Battle Creek, and the statements in relation to what is wanted at headquarters, have not moved the members of that church to do something in the matter. Men are not called to Battle Creek because there is a want of men in that large church. And they are men, too, who have real ability, if it could be called out, and sanctified to the work which has so long suffered for want of their interest and care. Some have been held, and nearly ruined, by unconsecrated companions. Others suffer themselves to be so far engrossed in business that they have no time to spend for the general good of the cause. And there are some of the finest young men in that church, who could come up and bear burdens; but the spirit of inaction, so prevalent in that church, has seemed to bind them hand and foot, and some of them are forming relations in life which promise to blight their future usefulness. And yet, no one in that church seems to feel responsibility in these matters. And during the several years that the call has been made for help in Battle Creek, that church, instead of arousing to duty, has been falling into a condition to be less, and still less qualified to cherish and build up existing institutions at Battle Creek. This lethargy under the circumstances, and apparent willingness for others to come in and do the very work which they have neglected to do, and which they will have to give an account for not doing, forms the strongest evidence possible that the members of that church are utterly disqualified to be located around our institutions. To illustrate the blindness of that people as to the real wants of the cause at Battle Creek, and the little care and the great selfishness that exists, we mention the case of one, who, when the subject of exchanging Sabbath keepers in Battle Creek for a few reliable families was first urged, rashly exchanged property with a family in Ohio, without counseling with the proper persons, bringing a family to Battle Creek he very well knew could not be of any help to the cause in Battle Creek. If this brother had fully received the true testimony setting forth the failures of the church to sustain and stand by those who were exerting themselves to build up our institutions, and the cause generally, and had taken hold of the work, he was just the man that was wanted at Battle Creek. But instead of this, he left his post, in the inglorious manner above stated; and we are not a little surprised to see him accepting very important and responsible positions in another State Conference. If he is the man to bear responsibilities, why should he leave Battle Creek, and that Conference have to appoint others to come to Battle Creek. We wish it distinctly understood that the call for men to come to Battle Creek is not because there are none in that large church who can bear the burdens. It is because they will not take hold of the work in a proper manner, as illustrated in the case above mentioned. In that church are mechanics and business men of real ability. It is true that they constitute but a small proportion of the church, and these feel that they must give their time to their business, to support their families. But how will these men and their families feel when they awake from their stupor and lack of faith to find twenty families in their midst, some of them at great sacrifices, to do the work they refused to do? It seems to us that such an event would mark a terrible era in their religious life. What would their prospects be in pursuing the Christian life, and what could, in such an event, sustain their hope and faith of hearing, at the end of the Christian journey, the Master saying, “Well done?” And what will be the loss to the cause in the different States for twenty of our best families to tear away from their churches and Conferences at home, and come to Battle Creek, to do the very work the active business men of that church have neglected, and have been dying for want of the healthful mental and spiritual exercise which it would give? In the final summing up, all this loss will be set to the account of those who have failed to do their duty, and who have brought about the existing state of things at headquarters. If nothing is done by the Battle Creek church to meet the pressing wants of the cause at headquarters, as many as twenty families should remove to Battle Creek, to form a strong influence for the right in the Publishing Association, the Health Institute, and the Denominational School, and also to be able to stand against the influence of an unfaithful church. Bro. Butler’s statement in REVIEW for October 15, of his visit to the Battle Creek school, of Bro. Smith’s first Biblical lecture, &c., has stirred our soul to the very depths. There might165 just as well be three hundred students at Battle Creek as fifty. Bro. Smith might as well have one hundred in his class as twenty. We know of no branch of the great cause that is suffering a tithe as much as the proper education of young men and young women, to teach the present truth. No language can express the loss the cause is sustaining. No amount of wealth can estimate it. And this loss will be chargeable to the neglect of the Battle Creek church. If they had followed the light, they might now be in condition to throw a good influence around such a school. When that church can care for the dear orphans we have tried to save, and have brought in their midst, then we can hope they will have a good influence over two or three hundred students. When the Battle Creek church so far understand their past failures in not standing for God, his truth, and his servants, so as to understandingly reform, and brings forth proper fruits of reform, then fifty thousand dollars can be raised in ninety days to erect proper school buildings in the city of Battle Creek, and in six months from that happy day for that church, two hundred students, one hundred of them for the theological class, can be in attendance. It is for that church to now say whether such a school shall be immediately established in their midst—whether others shall be compelled to leave important positions in the several Conferences to move to Battle Creek, to do the work God demands at their hands. We are as willing to serve the cause at head-quarters as at any other point. And it is in the power of that church to prepare the way for us, and make the battle ground at head-quarters a free and happy place to employ to the best advantage our little remaining strength. That church can, by vigilant action, avert the terrible results that must follow unfaithfulness in the most sacred trust ever in the hands of men and women. Woodland, Cal., Oct. 25, 1872. Tract and Missionary Work.
By James White
THE strength of our cause is the union of its friends. Our organization is simple, yet complete. Our General Conference is a powerful means of union and strength. Our State Conferences, properly managed under the supervision of General Conference, cast a powerful influence in molding the prosperity and destiny of our churches. And our publishing interests are one. If these branches of the great cause can be sustained by faithful managers, and liberal supporters, the cause will move on with strength. But the Tract and Missionary Societies, having a well organized plan to call into the field of labor all the responsible members of all our churches, if properly and vigilantly executed, is destined to be a wonderful power in the prosecution of the work. 1. It brings the members of all our churches directly into the Lord’s great vineyard, where every one can find something to do. And this is just what they all need for their own personal advancement, and spiritual strength. Labor will make the weak strong in the Lord. Are any feeling a degree of discouragement, let them go to work for those who are weaker than themselves, and in lifting them out, they will find that they are lifting themselves up. Our people may wait and wait for the invigorating influence of the “latter rain” to make them strong, until they lose what little strength they now have. Their only possible hope of becoming strong, and worthy to act a part in the closing struggle, is to cherish a love of labor, and become real workers in the Master’s cause. 2. While the members of our churches are bearing the cross in personal labor with those who need help, and cherishing a love for this kind of work, and becoming personally benefited, they are doing a great work for others in the circulation of tracts, in religious conversation, and prayer with the candid. Here are some of the heaviest crosses for many of our people to take up, in which they will find the greatest blessings. Our publications, especially our tracts, are adapted to this work, are ably and well written, and are offered on terms which are exceedingly easy. And our periodicals are improving, and becoming worthy to be circulated anywhere. And now the important thing is to start this Tract and Missionary machinery right in every place, and to select cautious, devoted, and yet earnest men to push the work ahead. We recommend that Elds. Butler and Haskell superintend this work, so far as possible, in all parts of the wide field. They can separately hold a two days’ meeting each week, on Sabbath and first day, preach to the churches, and to the people, and superintend several business sessions in the interests of the Tract and Missionary Society, during the same two days’ meeting, or the same week. The appointments for Ohio, given in REVIEW No. 18, look too much like the custom many are inclined to run into, of two, three, or more, spending their time to do the work of one. And from personal acquaintance, we do not hesitate to say that the men whose names appear with that appointment, are not all of them, to say the least, safe men to do so important a work. We appeal to the President of our General Conference upon this subject. Ohio has suffered, not only for the want of good ministerial help, but from that kind of labor that has scattered and discouraged. And we cannot advise Bro. Mears to leave the State, and move to Battle Creek, until Bro. Butler shall labor several weeks in the State, feeding the flock, and setting the Tract and Missionary Society in motion, or until he sends Eld. Canright, or Eld. E. B. Lane, or Eld. Van Horn, or some other sound man to the State to attend to this work. Bro. Butler and Haskell are wanted, more or less, in every State in the Union, especially in all our Conferences, to take the general oversight of the Tract and Missionary work, and the cause generally. The President of our General Conference has just the gift, and just the spirit of labor, that all our Conferences, and all our churches, must have, before they can really prosper. With these two men in the field, Bro. Haskell laboring more locally, and Bro. Butler canvassing the entire field, and both working in harmony with the presidents of our several State Tract and Missionary Societies, our other men can at once enter new fields. We are alarmed for our ministers, especially for those who recently received licenses to preach, as we see them herding together to hold little meetings with our churches, and then giving wordy, lengthy reports in REVIEW, of no real interest. Five lines from them, stating in humble terms that they were in some new field, and that men and women by tens and scores were embracing the truth of God, would do the readers of the REVIEW a thousand times more good than to read their long reports about nothing in particular. We have noticed, in the REVIEW, the movements of things in several of the States, and feel that we can keep silent no longer. In an issue for September, we see appointment for Memphis, Mich., by H. S. Gurney, who states, “Brn. Lamson and Kenyon are expected.” In the same paper, is appointment for Brn. Gurney and Jones at Allegan, Mich. Now, if it be right that these licentiates visit our churches at all, they should visit our small, isolated, feeble churches, and labor to build them up, and add to their numbers, instead of visiting our old, large, and strong churches. If this had been done before the annual meeting of the Michigan Conference, instead of visiting Wright, and other strong churches, Bro. Smith might not have had the disagreeable task of reporting so many churches who failed to report to the Conference. But there is work in new fields, and in laboring to build up the weak places in our Conference, and we are grieved to see a disposition to dodge it. We have noticed about the same in Wisconsin. Young men are invited, and urged to meet here and there, go long distances to meet with churches, and their reports show that they are really doing nothing. One thing is to run and race from place to place, and report through our paper much that says really nothing after all; and quite another thing is to go right into the work, as Eld. Sanborn did in the days of his simplicity and humility, and raise up church after church, and organize them, and put them in good running order. If our young men will take hold of the work at the right place, and search their own hearts, and plead with God for help, until they know that God is with them, he will then go with them into the harvest, and make them strong and successful. They have no business with the churches until they have brought out alone, and built up as much as one good church, at least. They will find this no small task, and they will need just this work to give them experience and balance for the ministry. And there are ministers among us, who have labored almost from the commencement of the work, who, although they may have been sometimes successful in bringing people to acknowledge the present truth, have failed to build up the churches anywhere; but have often succeeded in creating confusion by fitful, rash movements, and have discouraged and scattered the dear saints wherever they have labored in our churches. Now we enter our most solemn protest against these men having anything further to do with existing churches until they go into new fields, convert men and women to the word of God, organize churches, and build them up, and present them to our Conferences in a prosperous condition. Let the General Conference Committee take these matters in hand, and see that our treasuries are not drained by men who accomplish really nothing, and by so doing discourage the people, and break down Systematic Benevolence. More soon. JAMES WHITE. Woodland, Cal., Oct. 25, 1872.