THERE was a time when Methodism was so unpopular as to draw upon itself the bitterest opposition of the mob. John Wesley had many experiences of deliverance by the manifest interposition of God in turning aside blows aimed at him with murderous intent, or in turning the hearts of violent men in his favor.
At Wednesbury, in England, John Wesley was attacked by a mob that gathered outside the house, shouting, “Bring out the minister!” The leader was invited in, and after a few words became as mild as a lamb. He went out and brought in two others, who were mad with rage, but in two minutes they were as mild as he. Then Wesley addressed the mob, and they cried out, “We will spill our blood in his defense.”
In the hands of a Walsall mob he was pulled and dragged about for hours. Amid the tumult he prayed aloud. The leader of the mob turned, and said, “Sir, I will spend my life for you. Follow me, and not one soul here shall touch a hair of your head.”
A heavy man repeatedly struck at his head with a large oak stick. Every time the blow was turned aside. One man raised his arm to strike, says the biographer, but suddenly dropped it, and stroked Wesley's head, saying, “What soft hair he has.” That wild night, the history says, the greatest profligate in the country carried Wesley through a river on his shoulders to escape the mob, the man later becoming a zealous Methodist.
Experiences while preaching from the pedestal of a monumental village cross at Bolton are thus related:—
One man was bawling at Wesley's ear, when a stone struck him on his cheek, and he was still. Another was forcing his way down to push the preacher off, when a missile struck him on the forehead, and his course was stayed. A third man got close to Wesley and stretched out his hand, when a sharp stone hit him smartly on the joints of his fingers, disabling him.
But with stones flying thus all about him, Wesley preached on unscathed.
In Ireland a mayor sent agents to disturb, and to create riot.
The rabble threw whatever came to hand, but nothing hit the preacher. He walked forward quietly, looked every man in the face, the rioters opening right and left as he passed along. When he reached his friend's house, a papist stood in the door to prevent his entrance. Just then one of the mob aimed a blow at Wesley, which knocked the papist down flat. He had nothing to do but step in.
One rioter, who was converted by what he saw of Wesley's bearing before the mob, was afterward asked what he thought of the preacher.
“Think of him?” he replied; “that he is a man of God; and that God was on his side, when so many of us could not kill one man.”
Not too often can we take to our hearts the lesson that God actually does things for those who depend upon his power in a time of crisis. He can paralyze the arm that is raised to strike. Greatest of all the deliverances, however, was that wrought by the grace that delivered Wesley's heart from fear and his spirit from resentment in those turbulent times. We need this lesson to-day. W. A. S.
The Danger of Universal War
By F. M. W.
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS are sometimes called alarmists because they see, in the conditions in the world around them, indications of the Lord's speedy return. They base their belief on the prophecies of the Word of God, which are meeting with a rapid and marked fulfilment to-day. Many of these conditions, however, are becoming so pronounced that men of the world, men possessing no knowledge of the prophecies for these last days, regard them with ominous forebodings.
Everywhere to-day, as men view the outlook on the political horizon, the wide-changing conditions in the natural world, the honeycombing of society by the forces of evil, and the undermining of the family relationship, together with the great moral declension and indifference which exist in the professed church, they are asking, What do these things mean? What will be the outcome of this great retrograde movement, which seems to affect the political, the social, and the moral world?
On the other hand there are those who seek to quiet these fears; and these voices, it must be confessed, come largely from the pulpit and the religious press. As voicing the concern which many are feeling at the present time, the remarks of Mr. John W. Foster, ex-secretary, of state, in a recent address at the commencement exercises of the Auburn Theological Seminary, are to the point:—
He stated that there never was a time in the history of mankind when there was so much danger of universal war. His principal reason in support of this alarming conclusion seems to be found in the fact that the European nations have about reached the limit of the burden they are able to bear in maintaining immense armaments, and are in danger of yielding to the temptation to fight out their differences with their neighbors before these burdens bring about complete exhaustion. Germany keeps constantly under arms about one million men, and has on a war footing four million, with the necessary preparation to put them in the field on short notice. France, Austria, Russia, and Italy maintain armies and navies on a scarcely less formidable basis. Russia is trying to reinstate herself in the position held before the Russo-Japanese war; and our own country, says Mr. Foster, since it has attained the position of a world power, has become inflated with the mania. He completes the picture with a glance at the other side of the globe. Japan has shown the world that every able-bodied male is a fighting man, ready to obey the mikado, and its large navy is still being increased. The Chinese minister to Germany has hastened home to assume the duty of putting China on a war footing. Mr. Foster expressed the opinion that we have reached a time in the world's affairs when intelligent men are ignoring the principles of right and justice, and are inclined to rest on brute force.
The United Presbyterian of May 19, from which the foregoing quotation is made, in the contemplation of this situation as portrayed by Mr. Foster, finds solace in the fact that while there is great preparation for war, at the same time there is a world-wide interest in the maintenance of peace. It says:—
There is another side to this question. If it is true that the world has never known such extensive preparation for war, has never seen weapons so deadly, or armies and navies so carefully equipped or organized so effectively, it is also true that there has never been so wide an interest in the maintenance of peace, or so great a willingness on the part of the nations to hold international conferences, and establish international machinery for the maintenance of peace. If in the present state of civilization war seems inevitable, that condition is growing constantly more intolerable to the conscience of mankind.
But even while the Presbyterian draws some comfort from the quickened public conscience which it thinks has been created, it nevertheless feels some concern over the situation; for it asks:—
Conscience will ultimately control, but will it be before or after a world-wide war?
The conditions pointed out by Mr. Foster were prophesied long ago by the prophet Joel. He says: “Proclaim ye12this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.” We learn from the verses following that this call to the nations to prepare for war comes in the closing days of earth's history; and that the end thereof will be the great battle of Armageddon, which will be followed by the coming of the Lord, and the destruction of the wicked nations. That we are rapidly nearing this time, does not require a student of prophecy to recognize to-day.
But the Word of God also clearly indicates that when this time should be reached, when the nations should be actively engaged in this work of preparing for the struggle for supremacy, there would be sounding in the world the cry of peace and safety. Says the prophet Isaiah, speaking of this same time in the history of the world: “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
This peace-and-safety cry is heard on every hand to-day. The signs which God has hung out on every side to warn the world of its impending doom are discounted, and that oftentimes by the professed students of his Word and ministers of the gospel. The doctrine of the world's conversion has been proclaimed far and near. Employing the logic that the best way to maintain the peace of the world is to increase the armaments of the nations, the multitudes have allowed themselves to be deceived after the carnal desires of their own hearts by the siren song of security. But neither the platitudes of the popular pulpit nor the peace deliberations at The Hague will prevent the nations from plunging into the vortex of universal conflict, as unerringly pointed out in the Word of God.
Says the apostle Paul, speaking of this time: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them; . . . and they shall not escape.” But addressing the church of God, those who regard the times and the seasons, he says: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief,”
Let us be awake to the times in which we live, and be swift to sound the warning cry, that our fellows may escape the destruction that is coming upon the earth, and be able to stand before the Son of man at his coming. When he shall come, and his glorious reign shall be established over the nations of men, then it is that conscience will bear sway, and the scepter of peace rule over heart and life. For that glad time let us live and labor. F. M. W.
Thank God
By C. M. S.
God emptied heaven of its richest treasure to make us happy subjects of his realm. Our Saviour, in order that he might know and feel our sorrows, became a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Because we dwell in flesh that is mortal, corruptible, temptable, having in it the accumulated tendencies of centuries of sin, “he also himself likewise took part of the same.” In other words, he “himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases.” Matt. 8:17. And this is equivalent to saying that he became one of us. In fact, the Inspired Word makes that very statement: “Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest.” And here is the reason for it stated again: “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” Heb. 2:14-18. Wonderful provision! Wonderful fairness! Wonderful justice! Wonderful love! All this was done for our good—not that we might have no occasion to accuse him, but that nothing might be left undone in the work of saving men. He has done all this and more.
It is not possible for us to go through life without feeling the infirmities of the flesh in some degree; and there are many, very many, whose pain-racked bodies are a continual testimony to them of the weaknesses, frailties, and infirmities of the flesh, till they wonder if God still lives and cares. But God tells us that “we have not an high priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are.” And again, “In all their affliction he was afflicted.” If we are children of God, there is no sorrow or pain which we are called to bear but Christ has felt it and bears it with us. He is the kindest physician that ever ministered to the woes and ills of humanity. He feels our infirmities, and bears our diseases. Never doubt it again; but thank him that he does know and feel and care.
Have we felt the pangs of hunger? He has felt them as we never did. Have we dwelt in poverty, and been spurned by the well-to-do and great of earth? Remember that our Lord Jesus Christ, “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” So poor did he become, that he had “not where to lay his head.” But he became poor voluntarily and for a purpose; not that he might ultimately gather greater riches to himself, but that he might make us joint-heirs with himself in the riches of heaven and in the earth made new.
It is a truly wonderful thing to be taken into this everlasting partnership. If you are not yet a partner in that firm, know that the way has been opened whereby you may become one. Then step into the opened way. He has done his part to bring it about. Thank him that he has, and then go and do yours.
If you are a tiller of the soil, remember that as year by year you have planted the seed, God has watered that seed with his rain and warmed it with his sunshine. You sowed, and he multiplied the seed; you planted, and he heaped up, in your cellars and granaries, the increase that fed and clothed you, kept a roof over your head, and a pleasant couch under that roof. You sowed one, and God made it thirty; you planted one, and God made it fifty; you purchased sheep and cattle, and God gave you food for them, and they increased to your account. You labored in sun and rain and cold to provide for your children; but God alone could make any good come out of all you did. He crowned your efforts with success, filled your plowed land with waving grain, and your fruit-trees with their bounty. There ought to be enough in this to make every tiller of the soil glad to acknowledge God’s goodness and love, and return him thanks for the bounties he has bestowed upon man.
But these are the temporal things. What of the great beyond? Without the knowledge of God, we are hopeless. He has set before us the hope of an eternal inheritance in an everlasting kingdom. We were sold under sin; he has redeemed us by his own blood. We were full of sin; he has promised to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity. Sin had burned itself into our very bones; but “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Friends have forsaken us; but he declares, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” We have been through sorrow, affliction, strife, and turmoil; but Christ’s promise is, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.” We are in constant need of help; he has filled his Book with unfailing promises of help for us in every time of trial. And when that great day of days shall come, he will take us under the wings of his protection, and hide us from everything that could do us harm.
What thanks are due him! All we13have that is justly in our keeping came from him; and all that Christ is heir to he has promised we shall share with him. When we have truly thanked him for all his great and marvelous gifts to us, we shall only have begun to understand how much there is to thank him for. Learn to thank God. C. M. S.
Note and Comment
The Dangers of Church Federation
SPEAKING of the dangers of church federation, particularly as set forth some time ago in an article in the Christian Herald, E. L. Wesson points out, in the Western Recorder (Baptist), some of the dangers which this proposed union presents to his mind:—
The old Baptist cry, “Absolute religious liberty for all,” is the cry of my soul. I would not stop the most blatant infidel from his blasphemy by force. What I ask for myself I grant to all others; it is God’s to avenge.
Instead of the much-vaunted “federation,” we need that broadness of mind and religion which will concede that all others have equal honesty and sincerity with ourselves, and almost as much intelligence. With such a spirit, we would listen to each other and learn; but as it is with most of us, a kind of self-entertained infallibility, and consequent prejudice against all other views than our own, close our ears to all expositions contrary to our belief. Especially is this true of all who know nothing of the grace of God in regeneration; for all such follow a creed instead of Christ.
That quotation in the Christian Herald, as the words of a Presbyterian preacher, makes me dread the more the consequences of the federation of the Protestant churches. Better far opposing denominationalism, with religious liberty for all alike, than “federation,” with dominating control.
Threatened With Loss of Constituency
LAST month the McGrath bill, legalizing Sunday baseball, caused much discussion in the New York Legislature, and passed the Assembly by a margin of one vote. One speaker, Assemblyman Perkins, led the opposition, declaring the bill artfully designed, and an entering wedge to destroy the sanctity of the American sabbath. Trembling with excitement, he pointed his finger at the Speaker, and said: “I fear you will regret, personally and politically, the step you are taking. I fear you will hear from your constituents.” The Speaker, Mr. Wadsworth, surrendering the chair, made a lengthy speech in favor of the bill, and in answer to the remarks of Mr. Perkins. Among other things, he said, in reply to the charge that he would be called to account by his constituency:—
I am no coward in the matter of my constituency. If they do not like my vote on this question, they may not send me back, nor may they elevate me to any other office; but that does not cause me to shrink from my duty as regards this bill. I believe that the old days of Puritan laws have passed away. I believe that the Sundays when we drew down our blinds, and darkened our houses, and sat in sackcloth and ashes, thank God, have gone.
I do not believe that we emerged from those darkened rooms where we conned over our Bibles any better or purer men on Monday because of the fact that we sat in solitude on Sunday. I do not believe that the man who hid himself away from his fellow men on Sunday was any better than the man who walked out for healthful, honest, and decent recreation on Sunday.
I am a churchgoer, and I am a church contributor. I am a believer and a firm believer in God, and I believe in a definite religion; but I should not permit my minister or my priest to do my thinking for me, and to write a letter to this legislature, and tell me about Sunday baseball. I do not think he knows anything about it. I think he is as little qualified to tell me about Sunday baseball as I am to tell him about his theology.
While we might not be able to agree with all the positions taken by the Speaker of the New York Assembly, as reported in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, it is refreshing at least to see legislators hold the courage of their convictions, and vote their honest sentiments upon measures of public interest, without fear of being called to account, or losing their political office. It is such men as these in legislative halls who hold in check many evil measures. It is men who place truth and their own convictions of duty before the loss of political patronage, who are stemming some of the great currents of evil which are seeking to overwhelm the world. May God lead the honest-hearted into the fulness of light and truth.
Questionable Advertising
It is entirely proper for the Christian worker to bring his work before the public whom he expects to reach, but as his calling is of God, high and holy in character, so his methods should be befitting his profession. When we see ministers of the gospel descend to sensational catchpenny methods of bringing their ministry before the public, their work is at once lowered in the estimation of serious, sober-minded people. E. Braddock, in the Western Recorder of March 31, makes these excellent comments upon this questionable method of religious advertising:—
To-day from platform and press some misguided ministers are advocating the methods of the press agent of a theatrical company, or a new patent food. Resort is made to “eye-catching phrases” in advertising Sunday sermons; brass band parades before the services with torches; coffee and sandwiches as a postlude; hired professional singers and secular orators on secular topics. Here are a few such catchpenny phrases advertising Sunday sermons in a metropolitan paper: “The Fall Frosts,” “The Chelsea Fire,” “Cure for the Blues,” “Old-Fashioned Spring Fever,” and always the ubiquitous reminder of the “special singing.” The mind of the public is drawn and directed14only to those things which the lusts crave and hunger for, and it appears as if the minister’s sole ambition was to discover some means of satisfying the passion for excitement with things that do excite. Is this the minister’s mission?—Nay, it is his duty to seize this inordinate passion as one of the manifestations of sin, and treat it with the Word of God. He is to remember that men shall be lovers of self more than lovers of God. The crowd that is attracted by catchpenny methods will have to be held by catchpenny sermons, and that minister will evolve into a performing monkey, and his church into a circus.
Sensational methods accomplish but little for the cause of Christ. The gospel preached in faith and simplicity is the one means by which souls may be truly converted.
In Holy Conversation and Godliness
“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God?” 2 Peter 3:11, 12.
The Old-Time Missionary Spirit
By F. M. W.
IT is indeed gratifying to see indications of a revival of the old-time missionary spirit in our churches. The value of some of the old-time methods of doing missionary work can not be overestimated. One plan has been particularly fruitful of excellent results,—the one so much in vogue some years ago of our churches taking clubs of missionary papers, sending them out to interested persons, and following up the work with missionary correspondence. By this means thousands of substantial men and women were brought to a knowledge of the truth. These have helped to form the very backbone of this great, last-day movement.
This field of missionary operation can be made as effective now as in days gone by, and it is in the power of every Seventh-day Adventist to do missionary work in this way. We heartily commend this plan to our brethren and sisters. Secure a club of one of our missionary papers, the Signs of the Times or the Watchman. Send these papers out from week to week to persons whose names may be secured. Accompany the first copies sent by a short letter of introduction, asking the person to read the journal; follow this by later letters of inquiry. You will be surprised at the interest which will be awakened in many hearts; you will be cheered by the letters which you write, and by those which you receive.
There is nothing so helpful to Christian life as active missionary labor for others, and the personal touch in missionary work is the most valuable and effective means of labor. We may give our money to missionary causes, we may assist others in the work they do, and all this is well and good, but it never can take the place of the quickening power of personal labor for those around us. Try this plan of work if you are not already engaged in a more effective plan, and see what blessings it will bring into your life.
F. M. W.
Honan, China
By F. A. Allum
CHEO CHIA K'O.—Our hearts have been greatly cheered by the arrival of the new recruits. We are also thankful that Elder W. A. Westworth is with us to lead the work in China. We shall do our best to help him extend the work and the triumphs of the cross in this field of darkness. The meeting just closed is the best we have yet held, and the plans laid will mean much for the advancement and strengthening of our work in this place.
We are planning to open Szechuen to the message early this year. Dr. A. G. Larson and wife and Elder F. M. Roberts and wife are under appointment to that field. The committee thought that as Dr. A. C. Selmon was to leave Honan, it would be well for me to return to Honan for two months to help in the work.
It is planned for Dr. Larson and myself to make our first trip some time in May. We shall leave our wives at Mokanshan until we have rented a suitable place to live. As we shall not get a start until May, we shall have to pass the summer in Szechuen; for it is unsafe to travel during the summer months in that province, owing to the great heat. As soon as summer is over, we plan to return as far as I-chang, a town four hundred miles above Hankow, in the province of Hupeh. Brother Roberts will then escort our wives as far as I-chang; for thus far there are foreign steamers.
The distance from Shanghai to I-chang is one thousand English miles, and seven or eight days are required to make the journey. From I-chang to Chung-king is a distance of three hundred miles. As Chung-king is the largest city in Szechuen, having a population of over six hundred thousand, we purpose to begin our work there. As far as I can learn, nearly every mission that has work in Szechuen has made its beginning in Chung-king.
The journey from I-chang to Chung-king, which is made in native boats, is very tedious, and often attended with grave danger on account of treacherous rapids in the river. It usually takes from twenty to thirty days to cover the three hundred miles between these towns—a longer time than to come from Australia to Shanghai. Our wives will not leave Shanghai until some time in September; for we feel that it is not well to risk their health by taking them out there until we have made some provision for them, and until the summer is over. Such are some of the seeming sacrifices in pioneer work in mission fields; but I do not feel that, in the Lord's work, one can call even these experiences sacrifices. The glad day will soon come when this message will be finished in triumph. The thing for us to be anxious about is whether we shall triumph with it. If we do, we shall receive what is laid up for us, which will more than compensate for all the experiences through which we now pass.
God has much people in Szechuen, and I ask you to remember us before the throne of grace as we begin this forward march on territory that has never heard one word of God's last message of warning and salvation.
F. A. ALLUM.
The Vitality of the Ministry
ONE remark made by Dr. John McNaughter in a recent address to the graduating class of the Allegheny Theological Seminary, is worthy of special emphasis. He says:—
God knows better than we that the vitality of the ministry hinges upon the vitality of the minister’s personal religion.
· Forgetting this great truth, the ministry of the great Christian church to-day has become in very many instances weak and powerless. The preaching of the gospel with too many has become a matter of theory only. Failure to experience the power of a changed life makes the preacher powerless to act the part of a minister of righteousness to those to whom he preaches. When one can go to the unsaved, and tell them that God will forgive their sins because he has forgiven his sins, that God will bring to their hearts joy, even as his own heart experiences the joy of believing,—then his message will be fraught with power. It is this kind of preaching that the world needs to-day.
Waning Membership
THE English Methodists, according to the Christian, London, have experienced a loss of considerably over two thousand members during the last church year. The loss for the last four years amounted to nearly ten thousand. The Christian affords no explanation of this loss in membership, but hints that failure in adhering to old doctrines and methods has had much to do with it. According to the United Presbyterian, the Christian offers this suggestion:—
Unhappily, too, the apathy of which we hear so much nowadays is by no means confined to the pew and to the man in the street; and the fact is being widely ignored that the men who have boldly proclaimed, in season and out of season, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the need of repentance before God, and of faith in the finished work of the living Christ, have always been instrumental in leading souls from death into life.
He Died for Me
By Clarence Santee
CLARENCE SANTEE
(Music, No. 667, “Hymns and Tunes.”)
WHY do I look to heaven for aid
When tempted, tried, or when afraid?
Why burns my heart at His one name
Who once to die, from heaven came?
CHORUS:
He came to earth, and drank for me
The poison cup, died on the tree;
And with my heart my all shall be
His, his alone who died for me.
'Twas not the life that others live,
'Twas not the gift that others give,
But such a life divine I see,
That bore reproach and died for me.
My heart is softened when I think
My bitter cup he stooped to drink,
That God in love the potion gave,
My poor, unthankful soul to save.
I'll mourn not, then, what once was dear,
But count it joy to suffer here;
My life, my goods, my all, shall be
A gift to him who died for me.
I now can bow at Marah's brink
The bitter draft with him to drink,
And share with joy earth's scorn and woe
For his dear sake who loved me so.
LAST CHORUS:
Then when he comes and calls for me,
No poison cup, no cursed tree!
In joy and peace my home shall be
With him who came and died for me.
Keene, Tex.
Korea
By W. R. Smith
WONSAN.—We are well and enjoying our work. About thirty adults have begun to keep the Sabbath. Not all of these have a perfect knowledge of the truth as yet; but when they covenant to keep the Sabbath and the other commandments, we look upon it as the turning-point, and trust by God’s grace to stay by them until they know the truth. Some among this company already have a fair knowledge of it; altogether, they are an intelligent class of Koreans, and learn readily.
It has now been almost five months since we have seen one of our American brethren. Once in a while we feel a little lonely to see some one, but we feel quite at home among the Koreans.
W. R. SMITH.
_The Washington Foreign Mission Seminary_
By P. G.
THE Washington Foreign Mission Seminary closed the third year of its work on Sabbath, May 21. The exercises of the day consisted of a sermon by Elder I. H. Evans in the morning, and a program in the evening. Elder Evans based his discourse upon Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” His remarks concerning the marvelous work of Jesus Christ, in comparison with that of other great reformers of earth’s history, were very forcible, and highly applicable to the audience, composed largely of the students of the Seminary.
The program of the evening was rendered by members of the board, the faculty, and the students. The addresses bore very directly upon the mission and work of the Seminary. The recitations and the musical features of the program were seasonable and well rendered. The Seminary has no graduating class this year; but seven young men and women, who are under appointment for foreign lands,—three for India, two for America, and two for Mexico,—were presented as partial fruits of the year’s work work. The president of the school, Prof. J. L. Shaw, made some very fitting remarks concerning the work of the school, and this class as an illustration of its ideal.
Three years ago, at the Gland Council, the General Conference Committee was overwhelmed with the great demand for workers for the Orient, Africa, and the islands of the sea. The minds of the brethren were directed to our schools as the natural source to which to look for these workers, and quite extended consideration was given to the direct relation of our schools to mission fields.
It was recognized that our training-schools are called upon to give to the youth regular, graded courses of instruction, as many young men and women enter them with little or no fixed purpose for gospel work, and the majority who do have definite plans for a life-work need careful, technical instruction. But it was also recognized that there are continually coming into the message many men and women, who, while perhaps not needing the regular graded courses of instruction which our training-schools are required to give, could, through the aid of especially adapted courses of instruction, be qualified in a short time for valuable service in mission lands.
As these matters were discussed, it became very clear that it would be of inestimable value to our mission enterprises to have a school whose special work would be the giving of courses of instruction preparing directly for mission service. It was seen to be impossible for all our training-schools to obtain the necessary help and equipment for the giving of such courses, so that this school would not devote its first energies to the giving of a technical, graded course, but to the special mission lines. This would make it possible for students having graduated from our union conference training-schools to receive additional instruction at this school, which would qualify them for foreign mission service, if such were the work of their choice.
It was apparent to the council that such a school would be most valuable if located at the Mission Board headquarters; for this arrangement would give the students and the members of the Mission Board an opportunity to become acquainted with one another. It often occurs that persons who have an honest desire to do service in mission lands are not, because of conditions of health, or for other reasons, best qualified for labor in the fields of their particular choice. This acquaintance between the Mission Board and these candidates would enable the board to direct them to a proper field of labor, either in the home land or in a distant land, where the conditions would be well adapted to their qualifications. Accordingly, the Washington Training College, which was at that time carrying on courses of study in general harmony with those of our other schools, had its work so changed as to undertake these special lines of mission preparation.
Prof. H. R. Salisbury, who for a number of years had been president of the British Union Training-school, and who was at the Gland Council under appointment to the Levant mission field, and en route thither, was turned from this work of his choice to undertake the establishment and conduct of this proposed school. The three-years’ history of the school has abundantly demonstrated the wisdom of this undertaking. Including the seven students before spoken of, who are now under appointment16over forty missionaries have in these three years gone forth from this institution to lands of heathen darkness.
While, as we say, the excellent work of the school since its establishment has witnessed to the wisdom of the decision of the Gland Council, yet it is seriously to be questioned whether this number of missionaries might not have been greatly increased if the presidents and faculties of our advanced schools had sought a closer co-operation with the Seminary. Such a school is the natural gateway into the heathen lands, and every training-school should feel that the Seminary is a part of its own undertaking; for it is impossible for our other advanced schools to maintain the required courses of study necessary to fit in a proper manner those who are to do service in mission lands.
Why, then, should we not unite most heartily in building up an institution to do very strong and efficient work in these special lines of mission education? The educators in our advanced schools must recognize that there is a danger, in our enthusiasm for the upbuilding of our several schools, that we unwisely encourage persons to remain in our schools who might better be in attendance at the Seminary, thus hastening on their way to the foreign fields.
This upbuilding work does not rest alone upon the teachers. Our conference presidents and the ministry should continually search for men and women who need the advantages which the Seminary offers, to prepare them for foreign work. Let us unite earnestly, as educators and gospel workers, to fill this good school with just the class of students that it was established to receive. If we do this, we shall not lose sight of the ideal set forth in its establishment, nor shall we compel it to take on lines of work competing with our other schools. Surely there is a need and a field for the Washington Foreign Mission Seminary. Let us all unite in helping it properly to occupy that field.
P. G.
Delaware
By K. C. Russell
WILMINGTON.— Sabbath, May 7, I spent with the church at Wilmington, Del. It had been some time since I had visited this church, and there were many new faces in the congregation, of those who have been added to the company in recent years. One thing that greatly encouraged me was to see a number of those whom I knew years ago still loyal and earnest in their service to God. This is as it should be; for there is power in God’s Word to keep those who will obey it ever earnest and happy in his service. The Lord says of such: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” We must remember, however, that while some will be true and loyal, others will prove unfaithful to their high calling. This unfortunate condition will always exist until the great adversary of souls has been subdued.
Three services were held with the church during my visit — Friday evening and Sabbath morning and afternoon. The meetings were all well attended. On Sabbath morning the Lord came very near, and a large number requested prayers for victory over sins that had been holding them in bondage. When an appeal was made for those to rise who proposed to be faithful in their service to God by the payment of tithe and the performance of every other Christian duty from that time forward, nearly every one present arose to his feet. We shall hope and pray that all may be true to the sacred vows thus assumed.
Sabbath afternoon I spoke on the spirit of prophecy and church organization. Opportunity was given to ask questions on these topics, and many improved the same. An effort has been made of late to undermine the faith of this church concerning these questions. The Lord helped in unveiling the sophistry and deception that lie at the foundation of the efforts of those who are seeking to tear down the precious work of God. We hope that those in this church who have been sympathizing in any way with this spirit of apostasy will assert their liberty in Christ, and not become a prey to the enemy of God’s truth.
K. C. RUSSELL.
Field Notes
THREE young sisters were baptized at Baker Mountain, N. C., April 30, by Elder D. T. Shireman.
As a result of the labors of Elder A. E. Sanderson, two persons have accepted the truth at Somerville, Mass.
NINE students of the Otsego Academy, Otsego, Mich., were baptized by Elder C. A. Hansen on Sabbath, April 23.
A FEW weeks ago eleven adults were baptized by Elder R. E. Harter. All united with the newly organized church at Covington, Pa.
ELDER H. J. FARMAN reports the organization at South Hero, Vt., of a Sabbath-school of eight members, two of whom are new Sabbath-keepers.