Historical quotations and extracts from various writers which may assist the thoughtful student of the Scriptures.
Egypt in the Time of the Exodus
It was not to be expected that the general series of events related in the first fourteen chapters of Exodus should obtain any direct mention in the historical records of Egypt. As M. Chabas remarks, “Events of this kind were not entitled to be inscribed on the public monuments, where nothing was ever registered except successes and triumphs.”
The court historiographers would naturally refrain from all mention of the terrible plagues from which Egypt suffered during a whole year, as well as from any record of the disaster of the Red Sea; and the monarch would certainly not inscribe any account of them upon his edifices. Still there are points of the narrative which admit of comparison with the records of the time, and in which an agreement or disagreement with those records would almost of necessity show itself; and these it is proposed to consider in the remainder of this chapter. Such are (1) the employment of forced labor in Egypt at this period of its history, and the method12of its employment; (2) the inclusion or non-inclusion of the Hebrews among the forced laborers; (3) the construction at the period of “store-cities,” and the names of the cities; (4) the military organization of the time; (5) the untimely loss of a son by the king under whom the Exodus took place; and (6) the existence or non-existence of any indication in the records of such exhaustion and weakness as might be expected to follow the events related in Exodus.
The use of forced labor by the Egyptian monarchs of the time, especially by Seti I and Rameses II, is abundantly witnessed to by the monuments. The kings speak of it as a matter of course; the poets deplore it; the artists represent it. It was the custom of the Egyptians to subject prisoners of war to this life of forced labor. A tomb of the time of Thothmes III has furnished pictures which represent Asiatic captives making bricks; and working at buildings under the rod of taskmasters,—pictures which are a figured commentary on the verses of Exodus (1:11-14) which we have just cited. But under Rameses II the unprecedented development of architectural works rendered the fatigues to which such wretches were exposed far more overwhelming. Gangs of laborers were placed under the charge of an overseer armed with a stick which he applied freely to their naked backs and shoulders on the slightest provocation. A certain definite amount of task-work was required every day of each laborer. Some worked at brick-making, some at stone-cutting, some at dragging blocks from the quarries, some at erecting edifices. Food was provided by the government, and appears not to have been insufficient; but the hard work, and the exposure to the burning sun of Egypt, were exhausting in the extreme, and rendered their life a burden to those condemned to pass it in this sort of employ. . . .
The construction of “store-cities” at the required period has received recent illustrations of the most remarkable kind. The explorers employed by the “Egyptian Exploration Fund” have uncovered at Tel-el-Maskoutah, near Tel-el-Kebir, an ancient city, which the inscriptions found on the spot show to have been built, in part at any rate, by Rameses II, and which is of so peculiar a construction as to suggest at once to those engaged in the work the idea that it was built for a “store-city.” The town is altogether a square, enclosed by a brick wall twenty-two feet thick, and measuring six hundred and fifty feet along each side. The area contained within the wall is estimated at about ten acres. Nearly the whole of this space is occupied by solidly built square chambers, divided one from the other by brick walls from eight to ten feet thick, which are unpierced by window or door, or opening of any kind. About ten feet from the bottom, the walls show a row of recesses for beams, in some of which decayed wood still remains, indicating that the buildings were two-storied, having ing a lower room, which could only be entered by means of a trap-door, used probably as a storehouse, or magazine, and an upper one, in which the keeper of the store may have had his abode. Thus far the discovery is simply that of a “store-city,” built partly by Rameses II; but it further appears, from several short inscriptions, that the name of the city was Pa-Tum, or Pithom; and there is thus no reasonable doubt that one of the two cities built by the Israelites has been laid bare, and answers completely to the description given of it.
Of the twin city, Rameses, the remains have not yet been identified. We know, however, from the inscriptions, that it was in the immediate vicinity of Tanis, and that it was built perhaps in part by Seti I, but mainly by his son Rameses II [the Pharaoh of the Exodus].
It lends additional interest to the discovery of Pithom that the city is found to be built almost entirely of brick. It was in brick-making that the Israelites are said in the book of Exodus (1:7-19) to have been principally employed. They are also said to have been occupied to some extent “in mortar” (1:14); and the bricks of the store-chambers of Pithom are “laid with mortar in regular tiers.” They made their bricks “with straw” until no straw was given them, when they were reduced to straits (5:7-19). It is in accordance with this part of the narrative, and sheds some additional light upon it, to find that the bricks of the Pithom chambers, while generally containing a certain amount of straw, are in some instances destitute of it.
The military organization of the Egyptians at the time of the Exodus is represented as very complete. The king is able almost at a moment’s warning, to take the field with a force of six hundred picked chariots, and numerous others of a more ordinary description, together with a considerable body of footmen. It does not appear that he has any cavalry, for the word translated “horsemen” in our version probably designates the riders in the chariots. Each squadron of thirty chariots is apparently under the command of a “captain” (14:7). The entire force, large as it is, is ready to take the field in a few days; for otherwise the Israelites would have got beyond the Egyptian border before Pharaoh could have overtaken them. It acts promptly and bravely, and only suffers disaster through circumstances of an abnormal and indeed miraculous character. Now it appears by the Egyptian monuments that the military system was brought to its highest perfection by Seti I and Rameses II. It is certain that, in their time, the army was most carefully organized, divided into brigades, and maintained in a state of constant preparation. The chariot force was regarded as of very much the highest importance, and amounted according to the lowest computation to several thousands. It is doubtful whether any cavalry was employed, none appearing on the monuments, and the word so translated by many writers being regarded by others as the proper designation of the troops who fought in chariots. Infantry, however, in large, well-disciplined bodies, always attended and supported the chariot force. Under Menephthah the system of his father and grandfather was still maintained, though no longer in full vigor. He required a fortnight to collect sufficient troops to meet the Libyan invasion. He had then, however, to meet an army of trained soldiers, and had no need to hasten, since he occupied a strong position. Under the circumstances of the Exodus, it was necessary to be more prompt, and sufficient to collect a much smaller army. This he appears to have been able to do at the end of a few days.
It was scarcely to be expected that the Egyptian records would present any evidence on the subject of Menephthah’s loss of a son by an untimely death. Curiously, however, it does happen that a monument at present in the Berlin Museum contains a proof of his having suffered such a loss. There is no description of the circumstances, but a mere indication of the bare fact. The confirmation thus lent to the Scriptural narrative is slight; but it has a value in a cause where the entire force of the evidence consists in its being cumulative.
Three results would naturally follow on the occurrence of such circumstances as those recorded in Exodus. Egypt would be for a time weakened in a military point of view, and her glory, as a conquering power, would suffer temporary eclipse. The royal authority would be shaken, and encouragement afforded to the pretensions of any rival claimants to the throne. The loss of six hundred thousand laborers would bring to an end the period of the construction of great works, or, at the least, greatly check their rapid multiplication. Now this is exactly what all historians of Egypt agree to have been the general condition of things in Egypt in the later years of Menephthah and the period immediately following. Military expeditions cease until the time of Rameses III, a space of nearly forty years. The later years of Menephthah are disturbed by the rise of a pretender, Ammon-mes, who disputes the throne with his son, and according to Manetho, occupies it for five years. Seti II, or Seti-Menephthah, has then a short reign; but another claimant is brought forward by a high official, and established in his place. Soon afterward complete anarchy sets in, and continues for several years, till a certain Setnekht is made king by the priests, and tranquillity once more restored. The construction of monuments during this period almost entirely ceases; and when Rameses III shows the desire to emulate the architectural glories of former kings, he is compelled to work on a much smaller scale, and to content himself with the erection of comparatively few edifices.—“Egypt and Babylon,” by Canon Rawlinson, London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1885, pages 278-287.
How to Meet Criticism
When a man is tempted to let loose his worst side, it is a good time to put forth his best. Nothing stirs up ugly blood quicker, in most of us, than to be sharply criticized, or denounced, or opposed when we know we are right. Yet that is the time of all times when we need to give evidence that the attack is unjust,—and a show of temper is not good evidence. There is a better way to meet criticism. Mr. Gordon shows how Christ met it, when he writes: “Opposition and criticism are apt to stir us to strike back with the same sort of thing. With him [Jesus] they seemed only to call out the good still more, and to make it clearer and stronger. Opposition of every sort seemed to be spelled opportunity by him. So he taught us what we can do, and should do.” Suppose we try this the next time our blood is boiling from an unjust attack. It is terribly disconcerting to the critic.—Sunday School Times.
God’s Anvil
By Julius Sturm
PAIN’S furnace-heat within me quivers,
God’s breath upon the flame doth blow,
And all my heart in anguish shivers
And trembles at the fiery glow.
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And in his hottest fire hold still.
He comes, and lays my heart, all heated,
On the hard anvil, minded so
Into his own fair shape to beat it
With his great hammer, blow on blow!
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And at his heaviest blows hold still.
Why should I murmur? for the sorrow
Thus only longer-lived would be;
Its end may come, and will, to-morrow,
When God has done his work in me.
So I say, trusting, “As God will!”
And, trusting to the end, hold still.
He kindles for my profit purely
Affliction’s glowing, fiery brand;
And all his heaviest blows are surely
Inflicted by a Master-hand.
So I say, praying, “As God will!”
And hope in him, and suffer still!
— Julius Sturm.
The Girl in School
By Mrs. Mary Wood-Allen, M. D.
To the majority of parents, education means book learning. The etymology of the word shows us that its primary meaning is to “lead out.” Unfortunately, school education is principally a matter of pouring in instead of leading out. It is necessary that the girl’s training should be in some degree devoted to the development of her physical being; for the body is in truth the instrument through which the real personality must express itself. If the instrument be defective, the expression must be hindered. In order, therefore, that the girl shall have a good bodily instrument, it is important that she shall not be cramped or hindered in physical development by being sent to school too early. If she could have ideal home training, it would be better not to put her to the study of books before she is nine or ten years of age. This, however, would necessitate much wisdom on the part of parents, or the securing of home teachers who understand how to “lead out” the natural capabilities of the child.
Before confining the eyes to the study of the printed page, they should be trained to observation of natural objects. The girl can be not only instructed but interested in the acquiring of knowledge. She can be taught form through observing the cloud shapes, trees, leaves, in fact, all visible objects; and through these same objects she can be taught to judge of size and relative position. She can be trained to judge of distances, or measurements, so that she will say so many “inches” instead of “about so long,” or so many “rods” instead of “as far as from here to there.” She can learn of fabrics, their material, and where and how they are made. There is a world of material things which can be made to teach her many facts of practical value. Then, too, she can be taught expression through the hand. As one writer says, “We have five senses through which we receive impressions; but only two methods of expression, the tongue and the hand.” There is no more valuable method of education, leading out the capabilities of the individual, than manual training.
The little girl should not be put to the use of the needle at first; for both eyes and muscles must first learn the larger things before being brought to skill in finer and more minute work. As a very little child, she may be taught the use of the dust-cloth, or wield the small broom; she may be taught the use of the saw and hammer and nails, until she disproves the accepted theory that her finger-nails are the only ones she can be sure of hitting with the hammer. She can learn order and system very early in life, and to assist in the household duties. The three-year-old can place the knives and forks on the table, and put away the napkins after a meal. She can learn to keep her own playthings in order, to pick up pieces of paper from the carpet, or arrange the chairs when they are in disorder. As she grows older, she can learn much of chemistry in the kitchen by observation or by actual experiments; she can study botany by gardening; zoology by observation of the domestic animals. There is no more fascinating study than that of birds. She can learn to distinguish them by their song as well as by coloring.
The world will become a much more interesting place if the child is made familiarly acquainted with the trees. An aquarium can make her acquainted with small water-animals; and a home-made terrarium may be a fascinating means of window study of various little living creatures. She can learn much of history through studies that are told her. She can enter school at ten years of age a well-educated girl, yet having no practical acquaintance with books, though she ought to be able to read. As she has already gained so much practical knowledge, she will be better able to understand the relation between book learning and life itself.
It is quite important that the life of the young schoolgirl be so arranged that she will secure plenty of sleep. This necessitates early going to bed, and precludes all hurtful dissipation. It is questionable whether any girl should do any night studying before she is quite well developed physically. This, of course, will mean that she is not pushed and crowded according to the regular machinery of the school, bearing in mind always that the physical health is the foundation of all power of accomplishment. The health of the schoolgirl should be closely watched, and if at any time it seems to be declining, she should be removed from school. But the anxious mother, and probably the girl herself, will say that would mean falling behind her classes. This is probably true; but the grades are not the eternal verities, and the passing of an examination is not always an essential to good scholarship. If we could instil into the mind of the girl the desire to know, instead of an ambition to be promoted, we would do her the best service. It is usually the nervous girl who is very ambitious, and she needs to be held back rather than crowded forward.
As personal experience is always more satisfactory than mere theory, I may be pardoned here for relating my own method of dealing with my daughter. When she was about thirteen, I noticed that she was very much concerned for fear she would not pass an examination in Latin. She conjugated Latin verbs during meals, and talked them over in her sleep, until I said I thought it was not worth while to kill a living girl for a dead language, and that she should stop the Latin unless she could take it without nervous strain. I assured her that I cared nothing about examinations; all I asked of her was to learn her lessons each day; and that if she failed in the examination, I should not be in the least distressed. Feeling thus mentally relieved, she kept on with her Latin, learning the lessons daily without mental strain, and of course passed her examination satisfactorily. I made it a point every spring, when I saw her begin to manifest languor or irritability, to take her out of school for the rest of the year. She never went through an entire school year until her senior year in high school; still she did not fall behind her classes, and one year she was advanced three months ahead of her class. From fourteen to fifteen she was entirely out of school, occupied with household duties suited to her health and strength, and the result of this careful supervision was that when she entered college, she was in good health, able to take her full college work, and do the necessary night study. I believe this would be true of the majority of girls of the ambitious, nervous type.
The main thing in the education of every young girl is to remember that book learning is only a small part of education; that without physical health book learning is of very little value, and that a desire for knowledge will insure a better education with less school training than a mere ambition to pass examinations in order to “get through.”—Mrs. Mary Wood-Allen, M. D.
Meeting of the European Division of the General Conference Committee
By L. R. CONRADI
L. R. CONRADI
After having had the audits for the German-Russian Union Conference in Leipzig, for the Latin Union in Gland, and for the Scandinavian Union at Skodsborg, the following members of the General Conference Committee met in Hamburg, March 2-5: Elder E. E. Andross and Brother W. C. Sisley, of England; Elder J. T. Boettcher, of Russia; and Elder L. P. Tieche, of Switzerland; by invitation, Elder H. F. Schuberth, the vice-president of the German Union; Elder J. C. Raft, representative from Scandinavia; and W. Ising, the German Union secretary (under appointment for the Levant). The vice-president, the secretary, and the treasurer for Europe were also present.
We are indeed grateful to report that during 1907 there were 2,752 additions and a net gain of 1,566, bringing the membership of Europe up from 13,768 at the beginning, to 15,334 at the close of the year. While we do not see all that we would like, yet we are thankful to God that there is a steady increase throughout the field. Our institutions show more or less gain.
After the committee had done the auditing, the European summer meetings were appointed, and arrangements were made for exchange of labor among the General Conference men in Europe at these gatherings.
There were several transfers advised in Europe, among our laborers, as follows:—
1. Brother C. Reifschneider, a German-Russian who has been laboring in Austria-Hungary for nearly four and one-half years to gain a better experience in lecturing, and who speaks the Russian, and desired to return to his former field, was asked to settle at Omsk, Siberia, as early in the spring as he can conveniently do so. This great field will have a much-needed worker supplied by the arrival of Brother Reifschneider; for there are in Siberia about two hundred Sabbath-keepers. Elder O. Schwenecke, who is now laboring in the Saxon Conference, will be expected to take Brother Reifschneider’s place in Hungary.
2. It was unanimously voted to invite Brother W. Ising to go to Syria, and to ordain him. On the evening of March 4, the chapel in Hamburg was well filled; and after an address by Elder Andross, and some remarks by Brother Raft, Brother Ising was ordained to the ministry, the writer delivering the charge. Elder Ising has done efficient service as German Union Secretary for several years. Both he and his wife speak German, English, and French, so that in this respect they fit into that cosmopolitan field, and they were glad to accept the call. Since Brother H. Krum’s return to America, Syria has been without ordained help. Just a few days ago, we received the sad news of the sudden death of Brother Glenk, the ordained local elder of our Jaffa-Jerusalem church. Brother and Sister Ising planned to leave by the end of March, that they might reach Beirut before the hot season sets in. While it means quite a sacrifice for the German Union to let them go, yet we are glad we can supply this great need in Syria. There are now four German nurses in that field, and they will naturally be glad to welcome workers who can talk with them in their native language. There are also a number of German colonists in Palestine.
3. As Brother Gregorius, who has been in charge of our Jerusalem “Health Home,” desires a furlough on account of the ill health of his wife, it was voted that Brother L. Krug, a German nurse, join Brother Ising, to relieve Brother Gregorius.
4. It was voted that Sister E. Fenner, who has thus far been successfully acting as treasurer for Russia, go to Riga to take charge of the Russian Union and field treasuries.
5. Sister S. Bojanus, who has been teaching in the Russian department at Friedensau was asked to go to Riga, to act as Russian Union secretary.
As, beginning with Jan. 1, 1908, all the union conferences in Europe were to turn over to the General Conference European subtreasury at Hamburg a tithe of their regular income from their tithe, and all their offerings to missions, quite a change has been necessary in the financial arrangements of Europe. We find that the deficits for all the missions operated from Europe (including the Asiatic and African missions, in which the European union conferences are at work), would be about $37,700 a year; and of this sum Europe itself would raise $27,700, so that it would call for only $10,000 from America on appropriations for 1908, instead of $18,000 as heretofore.
When we take into consideration the Levant field and the African missions that the European brethren are directing, we find that to-day Europe, with over four hundred millions of people is really self-supporting, and is sending men and means into Asia and Africa. As a committee, we feel thankful to God for this evidence of his blessing, and also for the opportunity we have had to counsel together. We hope that future sessions of the committee may be held at least twice a year.
The membership of Europe is only about one fifth of what it is in the United States; but we have four hundred evangelical workers in Europe, about twenty in Africa, and as many in Asia. If we remember that the whole field under European supervision includes five hundred millions of people, or one third of the world’s population, it must be seen that it would be well for the workers here to meet together more often and exchange ideas, and counsel about the best methods of operation.
At this last meeting the Spirit of God certainly was present. Perfect harmony prevailed in all our deliberations, and the various laborers go out to their respective fields full of faith and courage, hoping that the year 1908 may show greater advancement to the cause of God throughout our whole field than any previous year.
Hamburg, Germany.
Bolivia
BROTHER E. W. THOMANN is now the only laborer in Bolivia. While engaged in his work there, he at the same time edits the Señales de los Tiempos, a monthly Spanish paper published in Valparaiso, Chile. This paper is widely circulated in all the Spanish-speaking fields in South America, and is even used by the workers in the West Indies and other places. Of his work he writes:—
“I have been laboring here now half a year, and little fruit can be seen yet; but I am anxious to sow the precious gospel seed in all this country. Brother Pereira is not here. He is back in Chile, and I am not sure if he will come again, so I am the only laborer in this country. But I am not discouraged. I am having good success in the canvassing work. During one month here in Oruro I took two hundred seventy-six subscriptions for the Señales, and sold over eight hundred copies besides, also twenty-five dollars’ worth of books and tracts. I have had no meetings, and have done very little writing, because after canvassing during the day the mind as well as the body is weary. But now I am again devoting a little more time to writing. I go every morning early to the station, to sell books and tracts and papers, and after returning I go to my writing.15
“I am desiring that at the union meeting in Argentina I may get a good colporteur to work with books here. I can hardly count myself for more than half a worker for Bolivia, because much of my time has gone to the Señales. Many times I desire to be three men, because I see that many things I can do only partially. Yet I am thankful to the Lord that he uses me in his work. I console myself with the thought that if I do my best, the Lord will do the rest, and so I see the paper prospering, despite my unfitness. I do my best to fill the paper with present truth, so that every number may be a light-bearer. I know that by so doing, the work in Bolivia will suffer a little in other lines; but I hope and pray that the Lord will send some good help, so that all things may be done right. I desire that the prayers of our people everywhere may ascend for Bolivia, that the Lord may protect his work and bless it.
“My health is generally good, and I am of good courage in the work. My wife and baby came last week from Cochabamba, because there was danger in waiting longer, as the heavy rains make the rivers deep and dangerous to pass, and this condition will continue for several months. Both arrived well, but weary. They had to ride seventy-eight miles on muleback, and in a coach fifty-four miles. But after a day’s rest, they felt all right again.
“A few days ago there passed through here three young men, who, in the interests of the New York Herald, are walking from Buenos Ayres to New York. They suffered considerably here in Bolivia, on account of the people thinking they were Protestant missionaries. In one place the people assaulted them, and would very likely have killed the leader, if the other two could not have brought the police to the place quickly. In another village the priest, drunk as he was, told them, by signs and words, that he would cause their throats to be cut that night. When one hears of such things, he can do no less than thank the Lord for his protection. Really, I sometimes think that if it were not for the prayers of our people, I would not be living. The Lord hears prayers, and protects his children. During the six months that I have been in this country, I have not seen danger. The other time I was here, in one single day three times the people wanted to kill me.
“I see that the last days are at hand, and that Satan is trying to hinder the work; but I see also that the Lord is with his people, and that his message must go to all the world, before our Saviour can return.”
Cochabamba, Bolivia.
The North Caribbean Mission
By B. E. Connerly
B. E. CONNERLY
It was my privilege to attend the meeting of the West Indian Union Conference Committee held at Trinidad, B. W. I., and at this time the name of the Porto Rico mission was changed to the North Caribbean mission. Its field was also enlarged by the addition of Santo Domingo, seventy miles across the Mona Channel to the west, and the Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas, forty miles to the east.
On my way to the conference I visited Curacao, a possession of Holland, off the north coast of Venezuela. This is a most interesting little place, which appears at first only like a large rock rising out of the sea. It has no timber and very little vegetation; still it supports a population of nearly thirty-five thousand, principally through its foreign traffic, it being an entirely free port. A very small portion of the inhabitants are Hollanders, though a stranger would easily know them to be the dominating class; for the architecture of the city is purely Holland. Dutch is the language of the court; but as many Spanish and French reside on the island, the language spoken commonly is peculiar to the place, somewhat resembling patois. The island has a fine port, and being free is noted for the sale of dry-goods and clothing. All steamers stop here for from four to six hours, giving time for passengers to make purchases. A number of families of rich Hebrew merchants are located here, and they have erected a synagogue.
Our work has not been started in Curacao yet, but I believe that the people are ready to hear the advent message. I was permitted to do some work with our Spanish paper; and as I worked among the people, I found myself longing to see the message given to them. I wish somebody could be sent to Curacao at once.
I considered it a privilege indeed to visit among our churches in Trinidad and Barbados. These brethren are for the most part poor, but they love the message, and I was impressed with the reverence they expressed for the house of God. As I worked among them, I rejoiced in the conviction that from among them God will surely raise up some strong workers for this precious cause.
Our union conference is now taking an active interest in the Spanish work. Of the seventeen million population of our union, thirteen million are Spanish, and of the thirteen countries there are but five or six which have representatives of the advent message; but I feel sure that another year will see a great change in our Spanish work. In the North Caribbean mission are but four paid workers. Elders Walleker and Matthews are located in the Virgin Islands, and they work among both the English and the Danish people. They have a gasoline boat with which they travel among the islands. This year they are building a school for St. Thomas, and are purchasing a tent in which to hold meetings in the different islands.
Brother and Sister Moulton are alone in Santo Domingo. He is selling books and working for the paper El Centinela. All his reports are full of courage. He says he expects to see a good harvest from this field.
For all of these interests we earnestly ask the prayers of God's people, and especially for Porto Rico, where the work moves so slowly and so hard.
Mayaguez, Porto Rico.
Tamil Sabbath-Keepers
In a letter Elder J. L. Shaw, in speaking of his recent visit among the Tamil Sabbath-keepers, says: “They are very careful about their observance of the Sabbath. No cooking is done upon that day, and no fire is built except in case of illness. These people seem to be very warm-hearted and earnest. I enjoyed my visit among them. They were glad to have us come to their houses, and each wished us to eat some food in his house. One morning we went out and visited three different families, all of whom insisted that we should eat something; and though we tried to explain that we had already eaten our breakfast, they insisted, and for fear that we should injure their feelings, we partook of three breakfasts. Happily, however, we survived, and were none the worse for it. You would have been interested in the large number of children and young people whom we saw in the homes of these people. What a blessing they may be to the work if educated and trained for service. The great desire of the Sabbath-keepers is that we should place a missionary among them to take the oversight of their school work and teach them the truth. They offered us two acres of land upon which to build. We take this as an indication that they wish us to come. It seems an opportune time to enter among them.”
East Michigan Conference
By G. B. Thompson
The annual session of the East Michigan Conference was held at Flint, April 6-9. This conference was preceded by a four-days’ convention of church officers. Quite a number of the elders and other officers were present from the various churches, and a most profitable time was spent in studying the various phases of church work. Those who attended declared themselves greatly benefited by the instruction given, and expressed a determination to return to their homes to be real leaders, and to feed the flock of God better than in the past. It was regretted by all that every church officer in the conference was not present to share in the blessings of the convention; and similar meetings will doubtless be arranged for in other parts of the conference. I am sure that nothing can be done which will more effectually build up our work in all lines than to instruct our church officers thoroughly concerning the duties and responsibilities which they assume when they accept an office in the church.
The conference was well represented by delegates from the churches. In addition to the conference laborers present, Elder A. Moon, president of the Lake Union Conference, Brother J. B. Blossey and the writer were present to assist in both the convention and the conference. It was a good conference. Unity and a deep missionary spirit characterized the session throughout. In addition to arranging for aggressive work at home, plans were laid to assist the work in other places. The conference voted to give all their surplus tithe to missions, to share several of their laborers with the foreign fields, and pay their salaries, also to continue the salary of Elder F. G. Lane in the West Indies for another year.
A recommendation was passed favoring the plan of our Sabbath-schools’ sending all their donations to missions. It was also voted to send a tent company to the South and to support them for one year. The plan of raising a sum equal to ten cents a week per capita was enthusiastically endorsed by all. If the plan is set in operation in every church by the officers, this amount will be easily raised.
The reports rendered by the various departments of the conference indicated growth. The tithe for the past year was $22,956.47. This averaged $12.41 for each member, and showed an increase over the previous year of $3,577.33. The total Sabbath-school contributions for the year amounted to $1,359.76. Of this sum $922.52 was given to missions.
The report of Prof. R. B. Thurber, the principal of the Adelphian Academy, was encouraging. A number of students are attending who are doing excellent work, and fitting themselves for a place in the cause.
Plans were laid to advance the book and periodical work the coming year. A field missionary agent and a field mission secretary were elected to labor in the interest of these departments, and doubtless the coming year will show substantial growth in the sale of our literature in the conference.
The last day of the meeting brethren Delmer P. Wood and E. R. Lauda were ordained to the sacred work of the ministry. The Spirit of the Lord was present to witness to this step.
We feel sure this meeting will do much to develop and strengthen the work in the conference. Let all pray that the Spirit of God which was present to help in planning, may continue with the work during the year, and make effective the excellent plans laid.