Meetings of the Adventists were held at this time in Beethoven Hall. My father, with his family, attended them quite regularly, for we greatly prized the privilege of hearing the doctrine of Christ’s personal and soon appearing upon earth. The period of the second advent was thought to be in the year 1843. The time seemed so short in which souls could be saved, that I resolved to do all that was in my power to lead sinners into the light of truth. But it seemed impossible for me, so young, and in feeble health, to do much in the great work.
There were three sisters of us at home, Sarah, who was several years the oldest, my twin sister Elizabeth, and myself. We talked the matter over among ourselves, and decided to earn what money we could and spend it in buying books and tracts to distribute gratuitously among the people. This was the best we could do, and we did this little gladly. I could earn only twenty-five cents a day, but my dress was plain, I spent nothing for needless ornaments, or ribbons for vain display appeared sinful in my eyes; so I had ever a little fund in store with which to purchase suitable books. These were placed in the hands of experienced persons to send abroad.
Every leaf of this printed matter seemed precious in my eyes, for they were as messages of light to the world, bidding them to prepare for the great event near at hand. Day after day I have sat in bed propped up with pillows, performing my allotted task with trembling fingers; how carefully would I lay aside the precious bits of silver taken in return, and which was to be expended in reading matter that might enlighten and arouse those who were in darkness. I had no temptation to lay out my earnings for my own personal gratification, for the salvation of souls was the burden of my mind, and my heart ached for those who flattered themselves they were living in security, while the message of warning was being given to the world. My constant thought was, What can I, a child, do to help on the work of God and save poor sinners from destruction.
One day I was listening to a conversation between my mother and a sister, in reference to a discourse which they had recently heard, to the effect that the soul had not natural immortality. Some of the minister’s proof texts were repeated. Among them I remember those impressed me very forcibly:
“The soul that sinneth it shall die.” “A living dog is better than a dead lion, for the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything.” “Which in his times he shall show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.” “To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life.” “Why,” said my mother, after quoting the foregoing passage, “should they seek for what they already have?”
I listened to these new ideas with an intense and painful interest. When alone with my mother, I inquired if she really believed that the soul was not immortal? Her reply was she feared we had been in error on that subject as well as upon some others.
“But mother,” said I, “Do you really believe that the soul sleeps in the grave until the resurrection? Do you think that the Christian, when he dies, does not go immediately to Heaven, nor the sinner to hell?”
She answered, “The Bible gives us no proof that there is an eternally burning hell. If there is such a place, it should be mentioned in the Sacred Book.”
“Why, mother!” cried I, in astonishment, “This is strange talk for you! If you believe this strange theory, do not let any one know of it, for I fear that sinners would gather security from this belief and never desire to seek the Lord.”
“If this is sound Bible truth,” she replied, “instead of preventing the salvation of sinners, it will be a means of winning them to Christ. If the love of God will not induce the rebel to yield, the terrors of an eternal hell will not drive him to repentance. Besides it does not seem a proper way to win souls to Jesus, by appealing to one of the lowest attributes of the mind, abject fear. The love of Jesus attracts, it will subdue the hardest heart.”
It was some months after this conversation before I heard of anything farther concerning this doctrine; but I had, during this time, thought much upon the subject. When I heard it preached I believed it to be the truth. From the time that light in regard to the sleep of the dead dawned upon my mind, the mystery that had enshrouded the resurrection vanished, and the great event itself assumed a new and sublime importance. My mind had often been disturbed by its efforts to reconcile the immediate reward or punishment of the dead, with the undoubted fact of a future resurrection and judgment. If the soul, at death, entered upon eternal happiness or misery, where was the need of a resurrection of the poor moldered body?
But this new and beautiful faith taught me the reason that inspired writers had dwelt so much upon the resurrection of the body, it was because the entire being was slumbering in the grave. I could now clearly perceive the fallacy of our former position on this question. The confusion and uselessness of a final Judgment, after the souls of the departed had already been judged once and appointed to their lot, was very apparent to me now. I saw that the hope of the bereaved was in looking forward to the glorious day when the Life-giver shall break the fetters of the tomb, and the righteous dead shall arise and leave their prison-house, to be clothed with glorious immortal life.
Our family were all interested in the doctrine of the Lord’s soon coming. My father had long been considered one of the pillars of the Methodist church where he lived, and the whole family had been active members, but we made no secret of our new belief, although we did not urge it upon others on inappropriate occasions, or manifest any antagonism toward our church. However, the Methodist minister made us a special visit, and took the occasion to inform us that our faith and Methodism could not agree. He did not inquire our reasons for believing as we did, nor make any reference to the Bible in order to convince us of our error; but he stated that we had adopted a new and strange belief that the Methodist church could not accept.
My father replied that he must be mistaken in calling this a new and strange doctrine, that Christ himself had preached his second advent to his disciples. He had said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also.”
When he was taken up to Heaven before their eyes and a cloud received him out of their sight, as his faithful followers stood gazing after their vanishing Lord, “Behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? this same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven.”
“And,” said my father, warming with his subject, “the inspired Paul wrote a letter to encourage his brethren in Thessalonica, saying, ‘And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.’ ‘For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.’”
“This is high authority for our faith. Jesus and his apostles dwell upon the event of the second advent with joy and triumph; and the holy angels proclaim that Christ who has ascended up into Heaven shall come again. This is our offense, believing the word of Jesus and his disciples. This is a very old doctrine, and bears no taint of heresy.”
The minister did not attempt to refer to a single text that would prove us in error, but excused himself on the plea of a want of time. He advised us to quietly withdraw from the church and avoid the publicity of a trial. We were aware that others of our brethren were meeting with similar treatment, for a like cause, and we did not wish it understood that we were ashamed to acknowledge our faith, or were unable to sustain it by Scripture; so my parents insisted that they should be acquainted with the reason for this request.
The only answer to this was an evasive declaration that we had walked contrary to the rules of the church, and the best course would be to voluntarily withdraw from it to save a trial. We answered that we preferred a regular trial, and demanded to know what sin was charged to us, as we were conscious of no wrong in looking for and loving the appearing of the Saviour.
Not long after, we were notified to be present at a meeting to be held in the vestry of the church. There were but few present. The influence of my father and his family was such that our opposers had no desire to present our cases before a large number of the congregation. The single charge preferred was that we had walked contrary to their rules. Upon our asking what rules we had violated, it was stated, after a little hesitation, that we had attended other meetings and had neglected to meet regularly with our class. We stated that a portion of the family had been in the country for some time past, that none who remained in the city had been absent from class-meeting more than a few weeks, and they were morally compelled to remain away because the testimonies they bore met with such marked disapprobation. If the hope of their Saviour’s soon coming was mentioned, a feeling of displeasure was109manifested against them, and they were conscious of arousing a bitter spirit of antagonism. We also reminded them that certain persons who had not attended class-meeting for a year were yet held in good standing.
It was asked if we would confess that we had departed from their rules, and if we would also agree to conform to them in future. We answered that we dared not yield our faith nor deny the sacred truth of God; that we could not forego the hope of the soon coming of our Redeemer; that after the manner which they called heresy we must continue to worship the Lord. My father in his defense received the blessing of God, and we all left the vestry with free spirits and happy in the consciousness of right and the approving smile of Jesus. We felt the assurance that God was on our side, and he was stronger than all that were against us.
The next Sunday, at the commencement of love-feast, Elder B. read off our names, seven in number, as discontinued from the church. He stated that we were not expelled on account of any wrong or immoral conduct, that we were of unblemished character and enviable reputation; but we had been guilty of walking contrary to the rules of the Methodist church. He also declared that a door was now open and all who were guilty of a similar breach of the rules, would be dealt with in like manner.
At this time there were many in the church who waited for the appearing of the Saviour, and this implied threat was made for the purpose of frightening them into subjection. In some cases this policy brought about the desired result, and the favor of God was sold for a place in the Methodist church. Many believed, but dared not confess their faith lest they should be turned out of the synagogue. But some left soon afterward and joined the company of those who were looking for the Saviour.
At this time the words of the prophet were exceedingly precious: “Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.”
Our Message.
By John H. Waggoner
The third angel’s message is present truth. By this the Advent people have been led to take their position on the commandments of God. It has given great light on those commandments. While the pious of all ages have taken a strong stand in favor of the moral law of God, the ten commandments, it has been reserved for the reformation under the third angel’s message to more clearly develop the light upon the sacredness and spirituality of this law. And especially has it been the work of this message to clear away the errors which have befogged and ensnared so many in this age, by which the distinction is so often denied between the moral and the typical or ceremonial law. The glorious truth of the sanctuary and its cleansing, so graciously opened to this people, has done much to aid in the demonstration of this distinction, and to lead the minds of the people to reverence that holy law which is the center of all revelation, and which in “the Ark of the Testament,” was the strength and glory of God’s favored people.
It is to be much regretted that the ideas of the majority of the professors of religion are so vague in regard to what is meant by “the commandments of God.” The term is to them as intangible and shadowy as is their hope of our future inheritance. It is this mystifying and spiritualizing the Word of God in the church which makes it so difficult to reach the world with the plain truths of the Bible. “The commandments of God” with most have no special reference, and with many no reference at all, to those moral and eternal precepts which God spoke with his own voice; very often the term is referred to the counsel and precepts of the Saviour in the gospel, notwithstanding the New Testament enjoins the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Both are to be kept by the remnant against whom war will be made in the last days.
As a people, we recognize this distinction. And we affirm that they who truly keep the commandments of God, keep all of them; that he who breaks one of them “is guilty of all,” because it takes them all to constitute the perfect law of God. Here is the difference between developing a character as a law-breaker and a law-keeper. We do not need to break all the precepts of the law to be law-breakers, we are convicted of sin if we break one of them. But this very fact shows that we do need to keep them all to be law-keepers. Disobedience to one will bring condemnation in the Judgment; obedience to all is necessary to our acceptance with God in that day. “The commandments of God” embrace more than three-fourths or nine-tenths of his commandments. The apostle says, “This is the love of God that we keep his commandments;” and the Saviour says, “all the law” hangs on love. Here we have a foundation strong and sure, and so definite and tangible that no trusting soul need be mistaken.
But it has often struck our mind that there is nearly as much indefiniteness and uncertainty with us in regard to “the faith of Jesus” as there is with the generality of professors in regard to “the commandments of God.” We do not say that it is more so with us than with others; but it should not be so with us at all, as these two together constitute the burden of our message. If the distinction we claim means anything, if the expression, “the commandments of God,” embraces all his commandments, must not “the faith of Jesus” just as certainly embrace all the counsel and precepts of Jesus in distinction from the commandments of the Father? If we are right in affirming that they do not keep the commandments of God who reject or neglect the fourth of his commandments, are we not equally right in affirming that they do not keep the faith of Jesus who reject or neglect some of the plain teachings of the Son of God!
We believe in the law, and in the Sabbath of that law. We do not believe that any one can claim the protection offered in the third angel’s message who does not keep that law, and all of that law. We think that they who claim to be living in obedience to God while they reject one precept of his law, are laboring under a terrible deception, and the great day of God’s wrath will prove their blindness and their folly. May God pity them, and open their eyes, and lead them to full obedience before it is too late.
But how, then, can the conclusion be avoided that they who neglect some of the plainest teachings of the Saviour are not keeping the faith of Jesus? And if so they are not truly in the third angel’s message. We know that faith without works is dead, and therefore, to profess the faith of Jesus without keeping the commandments of God, is but vain worship. Matt. 7: 21–23; 15: 3–9. But we affirm also that works without faith is lifeless, spiritless formality, and were we to keep all the commandments of God, that would prove of no avail if we did not likewise keep the faith of Jesus—yes, all the faith of Jesus. We are certain that no one can show any defect in this reasoning.
This train of reflection has often passed through our mind, and we have often thought that our people would have to be aroused to the importance of this subject. How this would be accomplished we had no idea, but we rested under this conviction that God, who, in his own time, and by the instruments of his own choice, had brought out the light on the commandments of God, would, in the proper time, and by those whom he chose, bring to the attention of the remnant the importance of waking up to the full truth of our message—to keeping all the faith of Jesus, as well as all the commandments of God. Without this the time of trouble will reveal to us that we have neither lot nor part in the third angel’s message.
We believe that the light is now breaking on our pathway; that the key note has been struck which will lead to a great and glorious work in this respect. We have no words of our own to offer on the subject. We invite every one who has any love for the present truth, who hopes to be shielded in the coming day of wrath, to read with care and with a prayerful spirit the “Earnest Appeal from the General Conference Committee relative to the Dangers and Duties of our Times.” This is published in pamphlet form, and, together with the Appeal for the Fast Day, is sent out from the Office of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES. Every believer in the present truth should have these. We do not say that these appeals cover all the ground; other light may yet be given on this truth. But we give it as our most earnest conviction that this is the opening to our view of great light, which, if carefully and judiciously acted upon, will give an impetus to this work, such as we have long prayed for, and which will cause every faithful heart to rejoice. We say, judiciously acted upon, for hasty, impulsive, imprudent movements are greatly to be deprecated in such a work as this.
God himself has led in this work, and he will yet lead us if we follow the light he gives us. He has wrought by his own means, and we are thankful for the assurance that he has not deserted his people, but is still impressing the minds of his chosen instruments to give “meat in due season” to the “little flock.” Let us all humble ourselves before the Lord, and heed his counsel, that our Father, in his good pleasure, may give us the kingdom.
J. H. WAGGONER.
The Origin of the Races.
By John Norton Loughborough
THE following question has been handed to me with a request that I answer it through the SIGNS OF THE TIMES. “How can the Bible doctrine that all mankind descended from Adam be true, when we see so many varieties and colors of men?” Mr. Horne in his Introduction to the Bible, says: “Difference in color does not invalidate the narrative of Moses, for it has been ascertained that the influence of climate, and the local circumstances of air, water, food, customs, &c., are sufficient to account for the dissimilarity which is discovered in the appearance of different nations. If dogs, taken to the frigid zone, grow shaggy; and if sheep, transported to the torrid zone, exchange their wool for hair, why may not the human species gradually partake of the influence of climate, as experience shows that it does?”
M. De Pages, in his travels around the world, during the years 1767–1771, speaking of his passage over the Great Desert, says: “The tribes which frequent the middle of the desert have locks somewhat crisped, extremely fine, and approaching the wooly hair of the negro. My own, during the short period of my travels in those regions, became more dry and delicate than usual, and, receiving little nourishment, from a checked perspiration, showed a disposition to assume the same frizzled and wooly appearance. An entire failure of moisture, and the excessive heat of climate by which it was occasioned, seemed to be the principal causes of these symptoms. My blood was becoming extremely dry, and my complexion at length differed little from that of a Hindoo or Arab.”—Dr. Eveleigh’s Bampton Lectures, pp. 272, 276.
Count Buffon, an eminent naturalist, an infidel, says: “Man, though white in Europe, black in Africa, yellow in Asia, and red in America, is still the same animal, tinged only with the color of the climate. Where the heat is excessive, as in Guinea and Senegal, the people are perfectly black; where less excessive, as in Abyssinia, the people are less black; where it is more temperate, as in Barbary and Arabia, they are brown; and where mild, as in Europe and lesser Asia, they are fair.”
Mr. Horne says: “In further corroboration of the influence of climate on the human complexion, we may remark, that there is a colony of Jews who have been settled at Cochin on the Malabar coast, from a very remote period, of which they have lost the memory. Though originally a fair people from Palestine, and from their customs preserving themselves unmixed, they are now become as black as the other Malabarians, who are scarcely a shade lighter than the negroes of Guinea, Benin, or Angola. At Ceylon, also, the Portuguese, who settled there only a few centuries ago, are become blacker than the natives, and the Portuguese who settled near the Mundingoes, about three hundred years since, differ so little from them as to be called negroes, which they resent as a high indignity.”
Count Buffon, cited above, says, in concluding his investigation of this subject, “From every circumstance proof may be obtained that mankind are not composed of species essentially different from each other; that, on the contrary, there was originally but one individual species of men, which after being multiplied and diffused over the whole surface of the earth, underwent various changes from the influence of climate, from the difference of food and mode of living, from epidemical disorders, as also from the intermixture varied ad infinitum, of individuals more or less resembling each other; that these alterations were at first less considerable, and confined to individuals; that afterward, from the continued action of the above causes becoming more general, more sensible, and more fixed, they formed varieties of the species, and that these varieties have been and still are perpetuated from generation to generation, in the same manner as certain disorders and certain diseases pass from parents to their children.”—Buffon’s Nat. Hist., vol. i, p. 291.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
Confidences Invite Disclosure
The more earnestly you exhort your confident to secrecy, the more likely he is to tell.
The Imagination.
By Jos. CLARKE
THE imagination is said to be that power of the mind which “forms ideas of things, communicated to it by the outward organs of sense.”
Thus you may never have seen the falls of Niagara, but they have been described to you, and you can see with your mental vision a picture of this tremendous cataract, and you fancy that you almost hear the confusion and din, and awful roaring of this great waterfall; or you hear of a railroad accident, and you at once bring to your mind an image of the dire event; you see the train, as its weight crushes the frail timbers of the bridge over which it had almost passed, and as it tumbles, with all its freight of human life, into the abyss of waters below, you hear the cries, and see the helpless, doomed passengers, as they sink in the waters far from human aid.
Without the imagination, reason and judgment could not exist. Each power of the mind is dependent upon the other for its harmonious action; but it is when these powers become evil, or become subject to evil influences, that they produce mischief.
Now, it is said in Genesis 6:5 that the imagination of man's heart was only evil continually. It appears from this that the imagination of the heart was the inlet, or door, by which evil was communicated to the mind of man. If it was so in the days of Noah, it is not less so now. The imagination is first influenced, and soon the reason and will are led captive, while the conscience is lulled by the opiates of sin.
It was not intended by the Creator that the imagination should have control of the mind; but that the reason, and the judgment, and the will, should stand up and control the imagination and prevent the wild and lawless exercise of this faculty.
Habits become rooted by indulgence; and often the victim of evil imaginations becomes insane in pursuit of its beloved pictures; reason is laid aside, and the judgment is put in the background, and our hospitals and asylums are not the only places where such examples are to be found.
Robert Dale Owen, in his retreat, is a melancholy example of a diseased imagination, which had fallen in the meshes of Satan, and had ceased to be controlled by the law of God. That law is a noble gift to man. It has the wonderful art of producing harmony in the mind of man.
The imagination must be brought into subjection to the will, and the will must be enlightened by the reasoning powers, and directed by the judgment, which must be sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.
Age does not cure this malady unless religion accompanies the lapse of time: “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life,” says the wise man. That is, control the thoughts and wanderings of the mind, bring it all into order and purity of thought, let all its travels be on good and wise and laudable employments and errands.
The man, the woman, the youth, the child who does this, has business for a lifetime; but it is a business that pays as it goes. It brings sweetness of temper and clearness of mind. It brings sound sleep, temperate passions, and healthy appetites. It holds old friends, and wins new ones. It lessens the wear and tear of every-day life, and brings happiness and peace to the social circle. It is the lawless imagination which feeds the fires of jealousy and envy; but when the imagination is subjected to the impartial law of God, it is robbed of its poison and becomes a strong and useful servant to the reason.
If, then, the imagination is the great mirror, in which holy conceptions are reflected and conveyed to the mind, how careful should we be to keep it clean and pure, so that the Spirit of God may not be grieved away from us.
Jos. CLARKE.
The Sabbath in Palestine.
“Not any of the nations, whether Jew or Arab, name the days of the week, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, &c.; nor do they call the first day of the week Lord’s day, nor do they ever give to the seventh day the name Saturday.”
“Never do they count the day from midnight to midnight, but always from sundown to sundown. The seventh day is known throughout Arabdom by yom es-sabt—or day of the Sabbath. Neither the word seven nor any other name is given by the Arabs to the Sabbath day. It is always the Sabbath; and the reason for it, they say, is, that this has been its name from the beginning.”
True Religion.
By Ellen G. White
TRUE religion is ever distinctly seen in our words and deportment and in every act of life. Religion should never be divorced from business with the followers of Christ. They should go hand in hand, and God's commandments should be strictly regarded in all the details of worldly matters. The knowledge that we are children of God should give a high tone of character even to the every-day duties of life, making us not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit. Such a religion as this bears the scrutiny of a critical world with a grand consciousness of integrity.
Every worker in the cause should consider himself as God's steward, and should do his work with exactness and faithful vigilance. The constant inquiry should be, "Is this in accordance with the will of God? Will this please my Redeemer?" Bible religion elevates the reason until Christ is blended with all the thoughts. Every action, every word and every moment of our lives should bear the impress of our holy faith. The end of all things is at hand and we have no time to be idle or to live in pleasure, at cross-purposes with God.
The Lord will not be trifled with. Those who neglect his mercies and blessings in this day of opportunities will bring impenetrable darkness upon themselves, and be candidates for the wrath of God. Sodom and Gomorrah were visited with the curse of the Almighty, for their sins and iniquities. There are those in our day who have equally abused the mercies of God and slighted his warnings. It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment, than for those who bear the name of Christ yet dishonor him by living unconsecrated lives. This class are laying up for themselves a fearful retribution, when God in his wrath shall visit them with his judgments.
Sinners who have not had the light and privileges of the glorious gospel will be in a more favorable position before God, in their ignorance, than those who have been unfaithful while in close connection with his work, professing to love and serve him. The tears of Christ upon the mount came from an anguished, breaking heart because of his unrequited love and the ingratitude of his chosen people. He had labored untiringly to save them from the fate that they seemed determined to bring upon themselves. But they refused his mercy, and knew not the time of their visitation. Their day of privilege was ending, yet they were so blinded by sin that they knew it not.
Jesus looked down, through the centuries, even to the close of time, and, taking in the cases of all who had and would repay his love and admonitions with selfishness and neglect, addressed to them those solemn words declaring that they knew not the time of their visitation. The Jews were gathering over them the dark clouds of retribution, and many to-day, in like manner, are drawing upon themselves the wrath of God, because of opportunities unheeded, the counsels and love of Jesus scorned, and his servants despised and hated for speaking the truth.
Religion has no saving power if the characters of those professing it do not correspond with their profession. God has graciously given great light to his people in these last days, but Satan has his work to accomplish and he brings his power to bear strongest where God is especially at work. He seizes men who are selfish and unconsecrated, and makes of them sentinels to watch the faithful servants of God, and question their words, their actions and their motives, to find fault and murmur at their reproofs and warnings. Through them he creates suspicion and jealousy and seeks to weaken the courage of the faithful, to please the unsanctified and turn to naught the labors of God's servants. E. G. W.
Our Life Cross.
LIFE hath many heavy burdens,
Life hath many weary cares,
But we will not faint nor falter,
Though the shadow of despair
May at times hang darkly ’round us,
And we cannot see the way,
Still we’ll hope and trust the promise
Of a better, brighter day.
Though the way seem long and dreary,
Never murmur, never fear,
There is One who, never weary,
Watcheth o’er his children here;
One who will our weak hearts strengthen,
If in faith we trust his love;
Who will kindly, gently lead us
Safely to his home above.
Say not thus, “My lot is hardest;”
That thou hast a double share;
Thou mayest never know the burdens,
Frailer ones than thou must bear;
But wherever duty calls us,
With a firm and fearless heart
Let us labor, striving ever
For the nobler, better part.
Secret of a Happy Home.
WE were in company the other day, with a gentleman, apparently fifty or sixty years of age, who used in substance the following language:—
Were I to live my life over again, I should make it a point to do a kindness to a fellow-being whenever I had the opportunity. I regret very much that my habit has been so different, and that I have indulged feelings so unlike those which would lead to such a course of life.
It has been too much my way to let others take care of themselves, while I took care of myself. If some little trespass was committed on my rights, or if I suffered some slight inconvenience from the thoughtlessness or selfishness of others, I was greatly annoyed, and sometimes used harsh, reproachful language toward the offender.
I am now satisfied that my own happiness was greatly impaired by this course, and that my conduct and example contributed to the irritation and unhappiness of others.
“It was but the other day,” continued the gentleman, “that I was passing along the street, and a coachman was attempting to draw a light carriage into a coach-house. He tried once or twice without success, and just as I came up the carriage occupied the whole sidewalk, and prevented my passing. The fellow looked as if it ought not to be exactly so, and there was something like a faint apology in his smile. It was on my tongue to say, ‘In with your wagon, man! and don’t let it stand here blocking up the passage.’ But an influence prevailed. I went to the rear of the carriage, and said, ‘Now, try again, my good fellow!’ while, with the end of my umbrella, I gave a little push, and in the carriage went, and out came the pleasant ‘Thank ye, sir; much obliged.’ I would not have taken a twenty-dollar bank note for the streak of sunshine that this one little act of kindness threw over the rest of my walk, to say nothing of the lighting up of the coachman’s countenance.”
“And when I look back upon my intercourse with my fellow-men all the way along, I can confidently say, that I never did a kindness to any human being, without being happier for it. So that, if I were governed by mere selfish motives, and wished to live the happiest life I could, I would just simply obey the Bible precepts, to do good to all men as I had the opportunity.”
This was said with an air of sincerity and deep conviction, which we cannot give to our report of it. And does the experience of the youngest of our readers confirm or contradict the statement? Is there a boy or girl among all of them who can say: “I did a kind act once to my brother or my sister, or playmate, and was afterward sorry for it—I should have been happier if it had been an unkind one?” It is very likely that a kind act has been ill requited, perhaps misconstrued—but if it was performed with proper feelings, it is as certain to produce happiness as sunshine is to produce warmth.
We counsel our friends, then, to seize every opportunity of contributing to the good of others. Sometimes a smile will do it. Oftener a kind word, a look of sympathy, or an acknowledgment of obligation. Sometimes a little help to a burdened shoulder, or a heavy wheel, will be in place. Sometimes a word or two of good counsel, a seasonable and gentle admonition, and at others, a suggestion of advantage to be gained and a little interest to secure it, will be received with lasting gratitude. And thus every instance of kindness done, whether acknowledged or not, opens up a little well-spring of happiness in the doer’s own breast, the flow of which may be made permanent habit.—Sabbath Recorder.
Plan for Reading the Bible Through in a Year.
“During January, read Genesis and Exodus.
During February, read to the 10th of Deuteronomy.
During March, read to the 15th of 1st Samuel.
During April, read to the 15th of 2nd Kings.
During May, read to the 5th of Nehemiah.
During June, read to the 100th Psalm.
During July, read to the 50th of Isaiah.
During August, read to the 20th of Ezekiel.
During September, read to the end of the Old Testament.
During October, read to the end of Luke.
During November, read to the end of 1st Corinthians.
During December, read to the end of the New Testament.
About sixty-five to seventy-five pages per month, or about two pages for every week-day, and four for every Sabbath.
The above plan is offered by one who has regularly adhered to it for thirty-one successive years as a daily devotional exercise, and feeling that it is the ‘Bread of Life,’ he is afraid now to discontinue it. Reader, if you have no better plan, paste a copy of this on the inner cover of your Bible, and try it.”