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The Review and Herald, Vol. 55, No. 5

WELL SAID
Earlier text: WHAT IS BETTER THAN RELIGION?

A GOOD WORD FOR THE REVIEW.

By E. R. Jones

BY ELD. E. R. JONES.
The Review in its enlarged form is very pleasing in appearance, and gives general satisfaction. It is each week filled with matter that is refreshing to the believer, and instructive to all its readers. No family of believers in present truth can afford to be without it a single week. If it fails to come to your home, with its precious burden of truth, bearing light and peace to your family, the loss will be almost irreparable. There are some who appreciate its worth, and feel that it is indeed dear to them. A sister who has lately embraced the truth says:—
“I wish to say in regard to the Review, that I think it is the best religious paper that I have ever seen. I like it much, and very much comfort and instruction does it bring to me. I look for its weekly visits as for a dear friend. I think it greatly improved of late. May the Lord bless the faithful workers who, week by week, toil to prepare it for us; and may he cause it to have a wide circulation, that it may bear the precious truths of his holy word to many, many hearts.”
I would that every family of Sabbath-keepers in the land felt in this way, and that the Review, week by week, might come to all their homes as a welcome messenger, with precious light from Heaven.

CAN WE AFFORD IT?

By Mrs. L. D. A. Stuttle

BY MRS. L. D. A. STUTTLE.
Can we afford, when we consider the rich reward that will be given to the overcomer, to barter it away for the fading joys of earth? When we consider that this fleeting life is as a vapor, do we feel that we can well afford to spend its precious moments in idleness? Oh! could we only bring ourselves to realize the shortness of life, compared with a never-ending eternity! God only requires of us a few years of patient toil,—a few months of willing, self-sacrificing labor, in return for an eternal weight of glory!
The finite imagination becomes bewildered in attempting to picture the beauties of the home which Jesus has gone to prepare for his people. The description John gives us of the New Jerusalem is enough to bewilder the imagination, and we become lost in attempting to realize a little of its glory. We may be poor now, and destitute, and needy; but by-and-by even the streets of our immortal home will be paved with gold. Those who in this world possess a few tiny pearls and diamonds are accounted rich; but in that city the heavy, massive gates are of solid pearl.
Can we afford to sell our birthright for a mess of pottage, as did Esau? Then let us seek earnestly to enter into that rest, lest any come short of it through neglect and carelessness.
Methinks the lonely Isle of Patmos must have seemed still more dreary after the ravished eye of the aged prophet had gazed on the beauties of the city of our God. And so it is with the Christian; when by faith he catches a glimpse of the realm of bliss, this darksome earth seems still more lone and dreary, and its fading joys allure him not. Oh, glorious “home of the blest!” May God give us energy and perseverance to work manfully for the Master now, that “by-and-by” we may share in its glories with all the redeemed, and unite with them in one grand song of deliverance and praise to Him who purchased for us with his own blood redemption and eternal life.

INFORMATION WANTED.

By Stephen Nelson Haskell

BY ELD. S. N. HASKELL.
In the REVIEW of Jan. 8, a plan was suggested by which, during the present quarter, thirteen thousand full-paying subscribers can be obtained for the REVIEW and Good Health. The plan there proposed, if carried out, will not only equalize this labor among our brethren in every part of the field, but prove an invaluable blessing to ministers and T. and M. officers, by giving them an experience in this important branch of the work. It will also be the means of educating others in the work of canvassing for our periodicals.
The value of this experience and the good that would thus be accomplished for our institutions and cause generally, cannot be overestimated. Sixty-five hundred full-paying subscribers for the REVIEW and an equal number for Good Health! Who can estimate the final result?
A faithful record of it all will be made in Heaven, and at the day of Judgment the result will be revealed.
What minister or T. and M. officer cannot, with proper effort, secure the number of subscribers suggested; viz., each minister, ten; each librarian, five; and each district-officer, ten, for both the REVIEW and Good Health? One brother, to my knowledge, has already obtained twenty subscribers for Good Health, and this among those not of our faith. The ministers who attended the T. and M. Institute held at Adam’s Center, N. Y., pledged themselves to furnish the proposed number of subscribers, and to do all in their power to inspire others in the same work. The T. and M. officers also took an active interest in this enterprise. We wish to learn from the ministers and T. and M. officers in different parts of the field how this work is progressing. We trust there are none that have not made a commencement. T. and M. officers should not only obtain subscribers through the members of their various societies, but by personal efforts. The best time for this work is rapidly passing, and those who go about it at once will have the best success.

T. AND M. INSTITUTE QUESTIONS.

Question. Is it necessary to take any formal expression in receiving members into the tract society?
Answer. No, unless they are persons who are not in good standing in any church of S. D. Adventists, or those whose cases are considered questionable. In that case they should get a recommend from some church. See Art. IV. (Membership) in Constitution.
Q. Who should take charge of missionary meetings?
A. The highest tract society officer present.
Q. Do the librarians do the business at the district meetings, as the directors do at the State meetings, or should the business be done by the members present?
A. By the members present.
Q. When a company is organized as a tract society, are they then members of the general society in the State where they reside?
A. They are. By adopting the Constitution they become members belonging to the district which includes the territory where they reside.
Q. What becomes of the membership fees and donations? Do they go to the district, State, or church? Also, where does the church get means to procure tracts from the districts?
A. The money raised by each church goes into the district fund, and this goes into the State society fund. Each church is entitled to draw tracts to the amount of the membership fees and donations it has thus contributed.
Q. If a person lives in one district, and is connected with a church in another, where should he pay his donations and receive his tracts?
A. He should pay his donations to, and receive his tracts from, the church society to which he belongs.
Q. Should a preacher draw his tracts from the church to which he belongs when he is laboring in connection with other churches in other parts of the State?
A. Ministers should deal directly with the State secretary.
Q. Two or three individuals have accepted the truth by reading, in a State where there is no T. and M. society, and have sent their fees, wishing tracts, etc. How shall they be supplied? and to whom shall they report?
A. They should be supplied by, and report to, the society which thus receives their fees and donations.
Q. Shall we drop the names of those who are disfellowshiped, from the T. and M. record?
A. That is generally expected.
Q. Shall we allow individuals to draw tracts, distribute annuals, or canvass for our periodicals, after they are dropped from the society?
A. A man that is not fit to belong to the church, is not fit to correctly represent our people; and if he does not belong to the society, he is not entitled to draw tracts. But if such a person can do any good, who should forbid him?
Q. In canvassing, is it best to argue any point with a man whom you are soliciting for a subscription?
A. It is not. See Special Instruction to Canvassers.
Q. I am a librarian, and have an order for Signs to be sent to Mr. A., whose subscription has expired, and who is in haste for his paper. If I send the order to the district secretary, and he forwards it to the State secretary, who sends it to the Signs Office, much time will elapse before Mr. A. will receive his paper. He will perhaps become anxious about the matter, and insinuate that something is wrong about the affair. Is there no way by which time can be saved? Cannot I send directly to the State secretary? If so, when should I report to the district secretary? immediately, or at the end of the quarter?
A. (1.) Mr. A. should not wait until the Signs subscription expires before he orders its renewal, as the date of the expiration of his subscription is on each paper. (2.) See explanation under the loss of time, Constitution T. and M. S., p. 23.
Q. If a person joins a church T. and M. society where they have a club of Signs, and afterward joins at another place, where they do not have such a club, can he draw the Signs from the church to which he first belonged?
A. Being a tract society member does not entitle an individual to draw Signs from a V. M. society unless he becomes connected with a V. M. S.; but if he is paying a certain sum into a V. M. society, he can have that number of Signs transferred to him where he then lives.
Q. Is the district secretary also treasurer and librarian, and is he to keep a supply of books on hand to supply the church librarians in his district? or does he order them from the State secretary direct to the several societies in his district?
A. See Constitution of the T. and M. Society—District Secretary.
Q. Can a society be organized in the absence of a State officer or director?
A. It is the business of each director, or some T. and M. officer, to be present when any society is organized. Ministers should also be prepared to organize.
Q. Is a person entitled to draw pamphlets and bound books by virtue of his membership?
A. No; pamphlets and bound books should always be paid for by each member at the regular retail price.

KENTUCKY TRACT SOCIETY.

By J. B. Forrest; Mary L. Williams

The State quarterly meeting of this society was held with the Elizabethtown church, Jan. 18, 1880. Meeting opened with prayer by Bro. Forrest. M. L. Williams was appointed Secretary pro tem.
Reports of labor for the quarter were read, after which encouraging remarks were made by Bro. Osborn. The Chair was authorized to select a President and Vice-president; and J. B. Forrest was chosen President, and Green Branstetter Vice-president.
Remarks were made by Bro. Osborn and Forrest, calling attention to Bro. Haskell’s article on the great necessity that each family should be supplied with all of Sr. White’s works. They also urged that our brethren throughout the State should arouse to greater earnestness and zeal in the missionary work, and that the officers of the tract society should see that these recommendations are faithfully carried out.
Adjourned sine die. J. B. FORREST, Pres. MARY L. WILLIAMS, Sec. pro tem.

Ohio T. and M. Institute.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

Our Institute has now been in session one week. About sixty are present from abroad, which, with the church here, gives us a large class. Though the roads are as bad as they well can be, yet we have a full attendance every day. The Corsica church have done all in their power to entertain us, and to make the meeting a success. Whenever we have preaching, the outside attendance is large.
Besides the regular work of the Institute, we have a class in music, one in parliamentary practice, and one in elocution. We find these very entertaining as well as profitable. In fact, all are highly pleased with the Institute. We now believe it will be the most profitable meeting ever held in our State. We feel certain that from this time our T. and M. work will be carried on with new zeal and energy.
Bro. Whitney is especially adapted to this work. He understands it well, and has a pleasant manner of teaching others.
We continue our Institute two Sabbaths yet.
Jan. 22. D. M. CANRIGHT.

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION ANSWERED.

By Stephen N. Haskell

BY ELD. S. N. HASKELL.
In Review No. 2, present volume, the statement that we have five hundred and ninety-nine T. and M. librarians was indirectly made, from each of whom five subscribers for the REVIEW and as many for Good Health were called for; but from the General T. and M. Directory, which is supposed to contain the names of all T. and M. officers, it appears that there are not that number of church tract societies. This discrepancy gives rise to a query as to how this number of subscribers shall be made up.
The above mentioned estimate was made from the number of churches reported in the last General Conference summary, upon the supposition that a tract society had been organized in each church. Wherever this is not the case, it is the fault of the minister who organized the church; therefore, we propose, (1.) That every minister who has, within a year, organized a church or churches and neglected to form tract societies in the same, be responsible for the number of subscribers which would have been required of the librarians in these church societies had they been organized, in addition to the number assigned to him as a minister; (2.) That each director who has neglected to visit such churches within the limits of his district, and organize societies in the same, also be responsible for subscribers, upon the same principle. This will give us more than the thirteen thousand subscribers called for.

SPECIAL MENTION.

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN PENNSYLVANIA.

Our readers have already been made acquainted with the case of Danl. C. Waldo, a Seventh-day Baptist of Pennsylvania, who has been subjected to persecution for working on the first day of the week, under the old Sunday law of that State, enacted in 1794. The case has been before the Supreme Court, and a decision has been rendered against Bro. Waldo. As our readers will be interested in a full statement of the case, we give the following letter from Horatio Gates Jones, as it appeared in the Sabbath Recorder of Jan. 22, 1880, with the comments of the Editor thereon:—

DANIEL C. WALDO VS. THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA.

DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT.

PHILADELPHIA, PA., JAN. 16, 1880.
To the Editor of the Sabbath Recorder.
I have just heard from Hon. H. L. Richmond, counsel for Bro. Daniel C. Waldo, that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has recently decided at Pittsburg against Mr. Waldo. Mr. Richmond maintained in a very strong and lucid argument that the Act of 1794 was unconstitutional, and it does seem to me that candid, open-minded men who heard his reasons should have been convinced that his position was impregnable. But our Judges appeared to regard the question as a very old one, and therefore scarcely worthy of consideration or examination by them at the present time. Had it only come up for the first time, the Court seemed to think, “it certainly would deserve very serious consideration!” What a strange mode of reasoning is this! Because an old custom has been persisted in for scores of years, no matter how preposterous it may be, it is not worthy of consideration! One might think that our Judges have been taking a Rip Van Winkle nap, as they do not appear to know that the principles of the gospel of our blessed Master are teaching us that bigotry is not religion, that prejudice is not wisdom. But let me give you what is taken from a Pittsburg paper, as the opinion of the Court, in the case of Daniel C. Waldo, appellant, vs. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Court says:—
“The able and learned counsel for the appellant has presented to us a very eloquent and exhaustive argument against the unconstitutionality of the Act of April 22, 1794, known as the Sunday Law. Were it a new question, it certainly would deserve very serious consideration. It must now certainly be considered as finally settled, and is not open for argument. Wolf vs. Commonwealth, 3, Sergeant and Rawle, p. 45, was decided in 1816, more than sixty years ago. It was again mooted in Specht vs. Commonwealth, 8 Barr, p. 312, in 1848, and the constitutionality of the act, after a very elaborate argument, was affirmed. There are some questions in regard to which we may say sit alia pax, let us have peace. Order affirmed.”
The above decision was made at Philadelphia, Jan. 5, 1880. With all due regard to the majesty of the Bench, I beg leave to say that the Judges have wholly misunderstood the animus of those of us who are contending for religious liberty when they assert that this question is finally settled, and is not even open for argument. Finally settled! Not open for argument! What! shall the free people of Pennsylvania, who are suffering for conscience’ sake, be told by seven men whom they have requested to act as Judges of the Supreme Court, that the great question of religious liberty is not open for argument? Thank Heaven that there is no power to prevent free discussion; that the people still have voices, which can be heard through the Legislature; and that there are living in the State founded by William Penn many thousands of good, honest, upright men “who have not bowed the knee to Baal,” and who have vowed a solemn vow never to cease their attacks on the unrighteous Sunday Law of 1794 until justice is granted.
As I intimated to many friends, the decision of the Court did not astonish me, but I confess that the sentiment of the decision did surprise me.
But let not my worthy friends give up in despair. Let not Mr. Waldo yield an iota of his principles. His name will long be remembered when that of his persecutor is forgotten—as it is even now. If our lives are spared until 1881, we must renew our attack along the whole front of the battle ground, and I hope we shall rout our enemies and scatter them to the four winds. The band of twenty-two Senators who stood by me in 1879, form a group which is placed in the hall of my country house, and I see their faces every day, and am thereby reminded that a great duty still remains for me to perform, and with God’s help I hope to accomplish it.
Trusting that Mr. Waldo and Eld. Joel Greene, that staunch defender of the truth, and you, Mr. Editor, may live to behold your rights secured, I remain as ever, Your friend, HORATIO GATES JONES.

COMMENTS BY THE RECORDER.

In reference to the foregoing letter, the editor of the Recorder says:—
We scarcely need call attention to the letter of Senator Jones in this week’s Recorder, because whatever he writes attracts attention; but the information contained in this letter is of so grave a character that our people will be deeply moved by it. The fact that in the person of Bro. Waldo the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has deliberately decided that those who in obedience to the fourth commandment of the decalogue, having rested on the seventh day, work on the first, are outlaws and nuisances according to the Constitution and laws of that State, is startling, and should bring every man of us who is either directly or indirectly menaced, to his feet.
We say this is a startling announcement. Is it so, that in the “Keystone” State of this boasted land of religious and civil freedom, a man is doomed to fine and imprisonment for obedience to the plainly written law of God? Who is this Bro. Waldo? and what has he done? He is an intelligent, quiet, industrious Christian man. No man in the community is more honored for sterling worth than he. He is a loved member of a Christian church, and has been for many years. In his Christian profession he solemnly promised to take the Holy Scriptures as the guide of his life. In reading this precious book, he learned that the Creator made the world in six days, and that on the seventh he rested; that because in it he had rested, he blessed and set it apart from the other days as a day of rest; and that Jehovah, when he wrote the immortal decalogue with his own finger on tables of stone, put in the midst of them the command to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” and then said, “The seventh day is the Sabbath.” Reading this, he could not, as an informed and conscientious man, refuse to keep the day commanded. He also saw that this day was sacredly regarded by the ancient people of God; that it was honored by Christ, and was everywhere called in the New Testament “the Sabbath.” Under these circumstances, what could this Bro. Waldo do but keep the day commanded by God to be observed?
But you say, Let him also, in obedience to the law of the State, rest on the first day. To this there are serious objections, some of which we will notice.
1. God, the author of time, and the maker of Bro. Waldo, gave him the right, and made it his duty, to work on the first day. He has as clear a right to work on this day as he has to work on the next day, or as he has to live. This right he has, not simply as one given by nature, but as one specially guaranteed to him by the word of God, and with this right the State cannot meddle. It is as clearly guaranteed to him as is his life, and the State has no more right to take from him the former than it has to take from him the latter.
We are not opposed to civil government, but believe it authorized by God; but it has its bounds, and beyond this it cannot go. If it be insisted that it has a divine right to enforce the observance of the Sabbath by civil enactments, then we say that it follows that these enactments must be in the interest of the divinely-appointed Sabbath. To say that God has given the civil government authority to supplant his own institution is a contradiction so bald that every one should see it. To say that God has given the State the right to require the observance of the first day of the week, is to assert that for which there is no proof in the Scriptures.
If it be said it is pleasanter for society to observe the same day, we heartily subscribe to the statement, and ask, Who shall appoint the day to be observed? To this but one answer can be given, and that is, God must appoint it. We wholly deny this right to the State. We do not deny but the State may name certain days as holidays, and recommend their observance as such, but these are not Sabbaths, nor can the State compel men to cease from work upon them.
2. It is the height of injustice to compel a man to rest from his business upon the first day of the week, who has already, for conscience’ sake, rested upon the seventh day. Would those who observe the first day be willing to be compelled to rest upon the seventh day also? We are not advocating the right to disturb worshiping assemblies on the first or any other day of the week. Take the case of Bro. Waldo. He was far away from any worshiping assembly, attending quietly to his own lawful business, having first rested on the Sabbath day, according to the commandment. Now, what right had the State to interfere with him? Not any. This is an offensive exercise of power. It is an exercise of might in disregard of right. The State is as much bound by the law of right as is the individual. We hold the State of Pennsylvania to have outraged the rights of an unoffending citizen, and that it is in duty bound to restore that which it has taken away. If it be said that Mr. Waldo violated one of its laws, we answer, It had no business with this law.

LETTER FROM CONSTANTINOPLE.

The following interesting letter from the Vallejo, Cal., Chronicle, is written by a man of education, who is a close observer of European affairs:—
CONSTANTINOPLE, Nov. 28, 1879.
Under ordinary circumstances it is not probable that the politics of Constantinople would possess any very great interest for the readers of your paper at Vallejo, but events are transpiring here which would seem likely to lead, ere long, to complications which will have a world-wide interest; for sooner or later Turkey must become again the battle-field of races and religions. It is here that the first collision between the East and the West must culminate,—a collision to which the Turko-Russian war was a mere prelude. For no one here is so sanguine as to imagine that the Eastern question was settled at the Congress of Berlin, or that the treaty, which was its result, was more than a temporary expedient to patch up the question for the time, and afford the powers chiefly interested in its solution opportunities for fresh combinations. Russia was exhausted; England was not ready; Germany was afraid of socialism; France was afraid of Germany; Austria was isolated, and all desired to postpone the evil hour; for all regard the possibilities of the future with apprehension and dismay, and yet all feel that a crash is inevitable, and that it behooves each to prepare for it. So England takes Cypress and Afghanistan. Russia meets her by advancing her legions into Central Asia, Germany and Austria strengthen themselves by a mutual alliance, and France husbands her resources, and strains every nerve to increase her power for defense, and offense, if need be.
Meantime Turkey, the theater upon which the great drama is to be played, is rapidly crumbling to pieces. Her exchequer is thinned to its uttermost para, so that a week ago there was actually not enough money in the palace to pay the butcher's bill, and that worthy, tired of remaining longer out of pocket, refused the daily supply of meat, and the Sultan thus received a most indisputable testimony to the poverty of his resources. To-day we hear that the garrison of Gallipoli is without rations, and on the point of mutiny. Officers in the army have been arrested for trying to earn an honest penny by acting as posters in the street in full uniform, and justify their conduct by the fact that their wives and children are literally starving. The clerks in the public offices are dependent for their subsistence almost entirely upon bribes, and the final catastrophe cannot be postponed much longer. The country is, in fact, on the verge of revolution. A wide-spread feeling of discontent exists throughout the army and the navy, neither of which service has received any pay for nearly two years. The peasantry, Moslem and Christian alike, are tired of being squeezed for taxes, which are no sooner paid than more are called for, while the sums received by the treasury are at once appropriated by its numerous and voracious creditors. Bankers are getting tired of advancing loans; for already every source of revenue is pledged and hypothecated, and no more security is to be found.
Meantime, the Sultan has come under solemn engagements to reform his administration, but there is no money with which to inaugurate such reforms. There is one active insurrection going on in Kurdistan, which the government is powerless to repress. The whole of Armenia is a prey to brigandage and violence, which renders existence there almost insupportable. In Europe a border warfare is perpetually going on upon the Greek frontier. The Albanians have formed a league for their independence, and only remain quiet because the Turkish government refrains from exercising its authority, and allows the people to be as lawless as they please. The foreign consuls at Prizrend, the chief town in Albania, have for weeks past been prisoners in their own houses, and are unable even to venture into the streets, having been threatened with assassination should they dare to do so. In all parts of the empire the elements of disturbance are seething, and when the explosion comes, the foreign powers will be compelled to interpose. Then will come the struggle for the fragments. Servia, Bulgaria and Montenegro already threaten to form a league, in defiance of the Treaty of Berlin, to resist the advance of Austria. Austria will push forward for Salonica and the Aegean, possibly for Constantinople itself. Albania and Eastern Roumania will make a strike for their independence; Greece will overflow its borders into Thessaly and Epirus, where it will find itself in collision with Albania. The Slavs, the Greeks, and the Latins, all antagonistic, will struggle for the supremacy, while the Moslems will find themselves opposed to all three, and driven to a war of desperation for existence. Thus the whole of Turkey in Europe will be turned into a battle-field, on which it is impossible now to predict how the opposing parties will range themselves, or what will be the result.
One thing alone seems certain, and that is that the Moslem rule in Europe will terminate. In Asiatic Turkey matters will not be much better. Prussia, geographically barred from interference in the affairs of European Turkey, and politically unable to meet the combinations formed by the Treaty of Berlin against her there, will direct her attention to resist the advance of England in Asia Minor, and endeavor to occupy Syria and Palestine, thereby securing a seaport on the Mediterranean and threatening Egypt and the highway to India. England will meet it by the expedition of troops to Cypress and by the creation of an army composed of the warlike population of Syria and Asia Minor organized under British officers. It is probable, too, that France, finding her interests in Syria threatened, will ally herself with England in this region, or she may seek to obtain guarantees for them from Russia by peaceable means, on condition of her abstaining from the quarrel. The future battle-field between England and Russia will be the plains and highlands of Syria, and all things tend to show that the day of the conflict cannot be very remote.
It is probable that Germany will take advantage of the moment when Russia has her hands full in the East to obtain possession of the German provinces on the Baltic, which still remain outside of German unity, and upon which Prince Bismarck has long cast covetous eyes. We are now in the lull before the storm. The traveler arriving here, and finding in Constantinople the quintessence of all that is dull, dirty, monotonous, and disagreeable, can with difficulty realize that it may before long become the center of the ponderous struggle which is destined to shake the Old World to its foundation.

NEW YORK.

Robbins Hall, Jan. 20.—I have given eighteen discourses, and at one evening meeting the teacher, Miss Wilsey, read from the Sabbath Poem. As the result, six are keeping the commandments. To God be all the praise. D. BALL.
Edwards (Bellville,) St. Lawrence Co., Jan. 21.—I am again holding meetings here. During my absence at the Institute, the Methodist minister from Russell has been keeping up the interest. The first night he took the fourth commandment for his text, and presented Fuller's Sabbath theory. The second night, he attempted to show that the Sabbath was first given at the Exodus; that the moral law was the old covenant which was abolished; that it was never binding on any but the Jews; and, finally, that the example of Christ with regard to the Sabbath is of no force, as he lived under the old covenant. To cap the climax of his absurdities, he did not try to establish the sanctity of Sunday; but, as the people say, “left them without any Sunday.” CHAS. C. LEWIS.

NORTHERN EUROPE.

By J. G. Matteson

The mission in these parts is onward. Many doors are open for the proclamation of the last message. I give an extract from some reports for Tidernes Tegn. Bro. Tockzelius writes from Storfors, Sweden:—
“Dear brethren in Christiana: My visit with you was very encouraging and profitable to me, and I am also thankful for the instructions in Tidernes Tegn. I am still a preacher in the service of the Ansgar-society. When I returned from Norway, complaints were made by the Missionary Board. They said, that I had imbibed Advent doctrines, and that they were very dangerous. They warned me to desist from such views if I wished to remain with them. I was brought before a council, and the consequence was, that they unanimously retained me as a preacher. One of the leaders defended me, and insisted that the Advent doctrine was not so dangerous.”
“Since that time I have tried to present the present truth, which has become very dear to me, both in preaching and conversation. This has caused much stir, and not a little opposition. Many search the truth, and some love it. A minister by the name of Erikson has received the truth, and preaches it. I have listened to him several times, and rejoice to hear him boldly proclaim the faith. The Sabbath question weighs heavily on many minds.”
“Religious liberty in Sweden is much limited; but some of the most prominent men in our country intend to bring an appeal before the Legislature to change the law in this respect. Pray for us, dear brethren, that the Lord may help us. Do not forget this.”
This brother was baptized here last summer. Bro. A. Björk writes from Amot, Sweden:—
“I must tell you, dear brother, that the Lord has gained five souls for his holy Sabbath in this place, and we have hope of more. I have sometimes preached the truth, and have scattered many tracts since I was with you in Christiana, and quite a stir has been caused. They say that Matteson has led me astray; but many of these opposers have returned, after having read the tracts, and acknowledged that we preach the word of God, and teach the right way.”
“The Lord has done much for us. Johansen, a colporter, has been reading our books, and now he reads our tracts in the congregation in the place of preaching.”
Bro. L. G. Olsen found some Sabbath-keepers in Uppland, and many were interested in the truth. He preached three times in the Baptist meeting-house, and found an open door for the gospel. Some wanted baptism. He is now trying to labor for the spread of the truth about Söderhamn.
Bro. K. Brorson has preached in nine or ten places since last report. The meetings are well attended. Some have embraced the truth. The brethren in Dronninglund are of good courage, and labor diligently to spread the truth. Bro. Kristensen, the leader of their church, has helped him. He preaches also, as his time permits. Bro. B. is thankful to God for health and grace to proclaim the truth.
In Christiana and vicinity the cause is onward. The Sabbath question is the most interesting theme in Norway. Tract workers and colporters can sell Sabbath tracts the best. A Sunday movement is on foot in Norway, very much like that in America. When the Sabbath was proclaimed, it started the Sunday friends. A Sunday-society was formed, which tries, as far as possible, to enforce Sunday-keeping by law. Their missionary and head-leader held a series of meetings aimed against the doctrines of S. D. Adventists, and then he went to the principal cities, from one end of Norway to the other, to labor for Sunday, and to inform the people that a man had come from America who wanted people to keep the seventh day; that he caused much stir, but his influence was dangerous and should be avoided.
This same missionary attended the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance in Switzerland, and labored zealously for Sunday. Then he came back, and lectured about this in the Lutheran mission-house, which is next to our meeting-house. We hope some of the old friends of the Sabbath in Switzerland will soon do what they can for the Sabbath of the Lord. These movements are of the greatest interest in the light of prophecy, and we do not forget to call the attention of our friends in Northern Europe to these matters.
This week, the last in the year 1879, has been full of work. Thursday and Friday I preached six sermons. The friends brought a Christmas-offering of about $32.00. (I preach at present in two halls in different places.) Sabbath I preached one sermon, and in the evening lectured to the Good Templars, by request. We had an interesting Sabbath-school Sabbath afternoon. Sunday I gave three discourses, and we held a Sunday-school. This school has lately been started, and counts seventy-three members. It promises to be useful. Monday was full of business and writing. One thousand signatures of tracts were printed. The paper must be printed on one side Tuesday. Monday evening the singers were drilled. Tuesday evening we had a social gathering for the Sabbath and Sunday school. Two hundred and twenty-five persons were present. I spoke to them on the present condition of the cause. We had some interesting exercises with the Sabbath-school. Between four hundred and five hundred hearers attend the meetings regularly every Sunday evening. The truth is gaining ground steadily. Tuesday I finished writing copy for the paper. To-day, the last day in the old year, we have read proof, have twenty letters and other things to write, accounts to make up, tracts to mail, and the paper is coming off the press nicely,—1,250 copies.
We read the reports of the General Conference with deep interest. Our hearts are with our brethren in America in this blessed work. My general health is better than it has been for many years. Thank God for his goodness.
Dec. 31, 1879. J. G. Matteson.
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