Earlier text: Lessons to Learn“AND all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” Isa. 54: 13. THE promise does not mean school work specifically; but it includes all educational effort. And it is a promise for this gathering time. “With great mercies will I gather thee,” is the word. And the command of this chapter to lengthen the cords and strengthen the stakes is for our time. The educational work is to prepare laborers by which to enlarge the place of our tents and stretch forth the curtains of our habitation, to take in all the world. FROM early times the believers were led to plan for educational work. But the first definite announcement of matured plans for a training-college appeared in the REVIEW of June 4, 1872. Elder G. I. Butler, then president of the General Conference, wrote:— We want a school to be controlled by our people, where influences of a moral character may be thrown around the pupils which will tend to preserve them from those influences which are so common, and injurious in the majority of the schools at the present day; and in this school we want a department in which those who would labor in the ministry, or in other public positions of usefulness, may receive that instruction which will qualify them for the duties of those positions.
THAT school described was the beginning of the old Battle Creek College. In the REVIEW of the next week, Elder James White announced the opening of the school, June 3, with twelve students, Prof. G. H. Bell in charge. Elder White’s words were a true forecast of the future:— This may seem to some like a small beginning. But a beginning, however small, is something; and it was expected that this would begin in a small and humble way, and come up to its true position by a steady and healthy growth. And we can never be discouraged at the smallness of any beginning, so long as we have the Saviour’s parable of the mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds, but finally becomes the greatest of all herbs.
As the mustard seed among plants, we expect this school will come up to occupy an important place among the agencies in operation for the advancement of the truth. Friends of the cause, you have now another institution to remember in your prayers. FROM the seed of that first effort for a training-college has grown up an educational system that now spreads through all the great lands, ministering every year to thousands of students, of many tongues and nations. Thank God for the schools that are helping to strengthen the stakes and lengthen the cords. “For the Edifying of the Body of Christ”
By William Ambrose Spicer
To edify is to build up. And all the gifts in the church — whether of apostles or prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, or helpers — are set of God “for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Eph. 4: 11, 12. No gift is independent of the others, and all, under God, are needed to build up and bind together the people of God “in the unity of the faith;” and as the believers hold together in that unity, the assurance is that they shall not be “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” They will grow up together into Christ the head. There is no gift from God provided for separating or tearing down, but only for edifying. We have now and then seen gifts perverted. Some one with the gift of an evangelist or teacher may, it is true, disparage other gifts divinely set in the body, and essential to unifying and building up the believers. And he may seek to do a work independent of the body. Again and again we have seen it tried, and have seen that this was not of God, and that the fruits of the Spirit were not in the work. The genuine gifts are always engaged in building up the body. “There is one body.” And as we grow, hold together and press together in the one body, we grow up into Christ, “from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying [building up] of itself in love.” Here is one illustration of this truth: The New Jersey Conference has just closed its largest and strongest annual session, at Newark. Three years and a half ago the Newark church was in sore trial. Many of them, then but new in the faith, had been led to declare independence of our organized work, and to start out on the path of separation. The Sabbath following it was my privilege to meet in a private home with a band of members of the church, mostly the older believers, who did not propose to be led out of this advent movement. Some from neighboring churches met with them to give them sympathy and encouragement. They reorganized, and lifted again the banner of truth. Very soon nearly all who had been led away found that they were being led toward darkness; that in separating from the body, they were losing touch with Christ, the head. And in the integrity of their souls they turned about and joined the ranks again. And the Newark church has truly been “edified,” built up. Their numbers have largely increased. The Lord’s Spirit is with them in peace and unity and power; and they are soon to build a house of worship in that populous industrial center. All hearts in the conference rejoiced with them at what the Lord had done for them. The truth builds up and unites for aggressive effort. One other case in point may be mentioned: The first Sabbath of the week of prayer I met with the church in Buffalo, N. Y. The last time I had seen them previously, they were passing through trying agitation, due to the fact that the worker who had been in charge had adopted the theory of separation and independence, and led away some. In those days Newark and Buffalo were pointed to by certain opponents of our organized work as examples of the progress they were making. But a very different story is now told. As I joined the brethren in Buffalo in the blessed Sabbath service, in which the Lord was with them by his tender Spirit, I met some who had once been for the moment confused by the blowing winds of doctrine, but who had turned into the true way as soon as they saw whither they were being led. And how they rejoiced in the security and peace within the body! And the church has grown and prospered, and within the last year or two has purchased a church building of its own. All the way through to the end the enemy will attack this work. We shall have to meet his devisings from without and within. But as we know “the certainty of those things” wherein we have been instructed, we know that this advent movement is God’s work for these last days. Let every power and every gift be devoted to unifying and edifying; and “let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised).” Heb. 10: 23. W. A. S. The Warning Against Religious Persecution Is No False Alarm
There are rapidly developing in this country two parties—not specifically political nor affiliated with any existing political parties; and yet the work of each is certain to affect political conditions. Both these parties are religious, and claim to be basing their actions upon conscientious Christian motives and convictions. Both are purposeful and unyielding, and each is as much opposed to the purpose and work of the other as it is possible to conceive. The one party, which is far the stronger numerically, is seeking an entire transformation of the fundamental law of the nation, so that it shall deny to its citizens what it now guarantees them, and require of them what it now denies its right to require. That party stands opposed also to the principles enunciated in the Declaration of Independence concerning the equality of all men before the law and their indefeasible rights as men. The alteration which it proposes in our Constitution goes to the very root of the American principle of government. It opposes the government's attitude toward both civil and religious affairs, and in that opposition puts itself where stood the Tories of colonial days, and the religious element which struggled so hard to perpetuate in our national government a union of church and state. This party, which began to work to a definite end under a perfected organization in the year 1863, has now succeeded in rallying to its support a federation of religious organizations which covers the entire country, and claims to include more than eighteen million of the population of the United States, and to have under its influence not less than thirty-five million. This mighty combination claims also that in at least two of its objects the entire organization of the Roman Catholic Church will stand with it. If that claim be a valid one, there is represented in this movement not less than one half of the population of the United States. Such a marshaling of forces for a definite object, when that object is in such vital opposition to the very foundation of our government, ought to claim the most serious attention of every true American. It is not an obscure party, an obscure sect, nor a handful of ranting bigots, that is carrying this movement forward and comprising its constituency. The influence of its constituency and the strength of its numbers make its purpose more dangerous to our present frame of government than any movement that has ever arisen within the nation. The attack of the Confederacy was not an attack upon the fundamental principles of our government, but rather upon the extent of our government's jurisdiction. This movement attacks the most vital principles of the national life; it seeks to shatter the foundation-stones upon which the frame of government is erected, that upon the débris it may build a government founded upon different principles, carrying out, not the will of the people, but the purpose of a clerical confederation. In its purpose, religion and the state will be joined as were church and state in colonial days (and are at present in other lands), and the state will apply civil penalties to infractions of church discipline. The rulers will be churchmen, and the state will become the evangelizer of the people as in days of old, and by those oppressive means which were considered expedient then. The other party holds for the maintenance of the fundamental ideas of the government as incorporated into the Declaration of Independence and the national Constitution; that is to say, for the equality of men before the law, the right of majority rule in civil affairs, and the separation of the church from the functions of government. It holds that the maintenance of these principles is absolutely essential to the liberty of the individual, both civil and religious. Turning the Nation Backward
It is a matter of no mean importance, this turning back of a nation upon its own track, especially when the bulk of its population has so long considered that the freedom and prosperity of its citizens have been the fruit of the seeds our forefathers planted in the eighteenth century. We have held forth to the world what Roger Williams called “a livelie experiment,” and under that experiment has grown up a giant youth among the nations. The experiment has succeeded; but upon the very heels of its success comes this move to undo all that has been done, to forsake the watchword of our most earnest endeavor, to extinguish the beacon our fathers lighted, and drive our ship of state back again into that fog-bank of despair from which we began to emerge in 1776. The germ of this movement, which began to manifest itself as a living entity in 1863, was and still is known as the National Reform Association, with headquarters at Pittsburg, Pa. From the time of its origin until the present it has demanded an amendment to the preamble of the Constitution, which would completely metamorphose that memorable instrument, and a bill is now before Congress to bring that about. It has demanded that all the Christian laws, rules, and usages of the government be put upon an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land. It has demanded that the government define the religion that may be practised here, and “lay its hand on any religion” that does not conform to the specifications of the government. It has demanded that the government be taken out of the hands of the people, and be put into the hands of what would be a clerical oligarchy, which will give to the people not what the people wish, but what they wish the people to have. It has demanded that the money of the people, raised by general taxation, shall be used for a purpose which only a portion of the people approve of, the support of the teachers of religion,—a proposition which was earnestly pressed upon the founders of this nation, but was rejected by them with well-deserved emphasis. Not a Government by Majorities
When the régime proposed by this rapidly growing party shall have been adopted, we shall not then have a government of, by, and for the people, but a government of some of the people, by some of the people, for the rest of the people. Said the general superintendent of the National Reform Association at the public institute held at Winona Lake, Ind., in August, 1910:— This association proposes that there shall be a recognition made in our nation's fundamental law that the law of God, as revealed by Jesus Christ, and not the will of the majority of the people, is the supreme law of the land. That strikes a wicked blow at that which is most fundamental in our frame of government. In that purpose, this is no longer to be a republic, but an ecclesiastical oligarchy, or a theocratic form in which the preachers are to be the successors of the prophets, directing governors and presidents as the prophets of old directed the kings of Israel. The leaders of that organization have anticipated that result, as is indicated by the following, and are ready to have the mantle of prophecy placed upon their shoulders:— The fact that civil government controls the education of our children, the vital question of marriage and divorce, and even the lives of the citizens, demands that it be placed under divine law, and that God's spokesmen shall utter his will. The prophets understood better than the kings the fundamental law of the land, and kings were compelled to consult them.—Rev. J. M. Wylie, Vice-president of the National Reform Association. What is this but the advocacy of a return to the ancient theocratic system of government, or to the conditions that obtained under the régime of the Papacy during the Dark Ages, and of the Puritan theocracy in colonial days, and14 to the methods which both employed? The priests of medievalism and the preachers of colonial days told the state what was “the will of God,” and the subservient state enforced their interpretation of that divine will. It mattered not what cruelty it entailed, it was “God's will,” and they were his (?) agents; and they made him responsible for all they did. They, too, held that the state must “be placed under divine law,” and they attempted to place it there; and through their attempt to do that, there was created not a paradise but a purgatory. Those ancient clerical pilots of the ship of state also declared that “God's spokesmen shall utter his will.” They were his spokesmen; they uttered his will (or professed to); and then they placed themselves on the throne of vengeance to execute God's wrath upon all whom they judged to be disobedient to him or under the frown of his displeasure. “God's spokesmen shall utter his will,” say the National Reformers, and they who are federating together to compel from legislatures the legislation they desire are standing upon the same platform. Will they “utter his will” without attempting to put it into execution? “It is up to us,” declared the superintendent of the National Reform Association (Dr. J. S. Martin), “to say what the religion of this country shall be.” How can that proposition be carried out, except by the nation establishing some form of religion and proscribing all others? And what is that but the Papacy over again, under a different management? And if they can say what religion shall be the religion of the nation, they can also say what branch of that religion shall be established as the religion of the nation. Said the same speaker: “If the state accepts the religion of Jesus Christ as its religion, and seeks to be governed by the will of God, you can safely trust that state [not to persecute]. . . . I am not afraid of persecution or infringement upon the rights of individual citizens under a Christian administration.” He admitted, however, that “the state would have to be the interpreter of the law of God as it applies to men, and it might make mistakes.” That admission is fatal. It shows conclusively that their program contemplates in reality a union of church and state; for only when church and state are united does the church ever set itself up as the interpreter of the law of God as it applies to men. There is no evading the conclusion that with the state interpreting the law of God as it applies to men, there is a union of church and state. And that such a theocracy “might make mistakes” brands it at once as a false theocracy; because God does not make mistakes. The doctor declared that such a state would be “most considerate of the rights of the individual.” But no state with an established church has ever shown a clean record in the matter of consideration for the religious rights of men. Find a state that is legally joined to religion, and you find a state that is utterly unable to look with impartial eyes upon all its subjects in matters of conscience. This unfair treatment of men has been characteristic of every nation of the world that has made an alliance with any religion in the world; and the better the religion, the more that mésalliance has crushed the consciences and seared the souls of men; for the nearer true the religion which the state attempts to make a part of its political machinery, the stronger the hold which it obtains upon the consciences of individuals, and the more cruel becomes the work of the state in enforcing its religious requirements. No religion in the world, when united with any governing power in the world, is a safe custodian for the consciences of men. In so far as religion and political power are united, religion becomes to that extent drunken with a power not of heaven, and politics parades in a garb of hypocrisy. Each trespasses upon the rights of the other, and both trespass upon the rights of the individual. This is the invariable teaching and the inerasable record of history. C. M. S. In Other Tongues
By William Ambrose Spicer
We are thankful to see the strengthening of the effort to reach the peoples of other tongues than the English in the great centers of population in America. We hear cheering reports to this effect from many parts. At the annual meeting of the New Jersey Conference, which closed last week, it was stated that work was being done in that conference in nine languages. Of the last five churches organized, four were foreign, and one was English. Crossing the river to the Brooklyn side, for a brief visit to the Greater New York city mission foreign training-school, I found Elder H. R. Johnson leading a serious and earnest class of men and women in Bible study. Here was a young man from Rumania, a sister from Hungary, and another from Italy; the German, Slavic, Norwegian, Danish, and, I think, Bohemian languages were also represented. The General Conference Foreign Department is working in connection with the local conferences to foster this growing work. The leaven is being planted in the great mass. It is encouraging to see that fruit appears wherever work is taken up in a new tongue. It is not something being merely talked about, but a movement under way—this revival of work for foreign peoples in the New World. It commands our prayers and sympathetic co-operation. The development shows that it is not by waiting to make a big effort, but by putting forth just the effort within reach, that the successful beginnings are made. True to Our Calling
By F. M. W.
EVERY age has witnessed crises and important epochs in the church of God. In every age God has raised up men and women to meet certain exigencies, and to stand for the right in crises when great principles were involved. In the carrying forward of his work in the earth, Providence has never been surprised by the unforeseen. He has had his men and agencies in training, oftentimes years before, to meet the questions which would arise at a particular time. As God’s great clock of time has marked off the centuries, and prophetic prediction has reached the time of fulfilment, there have come into existence the means and the agencies for meeting the special requirements of God’s great plan. When the full time had come to deliver his people from Egypt, Moses, who had been in training amid the mountains of Midian for forty years, was called to that work. When Moses lay down upon Mount Nebo, and surrendered his Heaven-appointed task, Joshua was prepared to go on with the work so well begun. When Elijah was caught up to heaven, his mantle fell upon Elisha, who had been prepared to act as counselor of Israel. When God would give the gospel to the Gentiles, the apostle Paul became the chosen instrument for this purpose. When the blood of the martyrs called to God for vengeance, he raised up the humble monk of Wittenberg to tear away the mask of blindness and superstition, and in the light of the glorious Reformation reveal the hideousness of the papal system. Coming to a later period, we find William Miller and his collaborators arising in God’s time, and proclaiming, “The hour of his judgment is come;” and in the fuller development of this message, God has a people to-day who have arisen in his order, and are doing the work that prophecy predicted would be done in the closing days of earth’s history. It is for us to sense the importance of this Heaven-appointed work. It is for us to take diligent heed that our relationship to it and our part in it are of the15 character to warrant the approval of Heaven. Anciently, in the days of the Medo-Persian kingdom, Haman, that wicked enemy of the people of God, sought by one fell blow to accomplish their destruction. By plot and conniving he secured the unwitting sanction of the king to his unholy purpose. Esther, the Jewish maiden, was queen of the empire. An appeal was made that she use her influence with the king for the abrogation of Haman’s wicked decree. To her it was said, “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Jonah, John the Baptist, Luther, and men in every age of the church, have “come to the kingdom” for just such a time and for just such an occasion as their age of the world’s history presented. They were called to do a specific work. That work in God’s order had to be accomplished. The very integrity of the cause of truth was at stake. The honor of God was involved. Some one must become his messenger. If those whom he called refused to act their part, then they must be turned aside, and others set to do the work which must be done. It was so in the days of Esther. God had exalted her to the throne because he foresaw a great crisis coming in the history of his people. He saw that she had qualifications and ability which, by his blessing, would bring deliverance. But if, dazzled or appalled by the glory of the Persian court, or corrupted by its evil influences, she had refused the task appointed her of Heaven, then God would have raised up a deliverer from another quarter. The lesson is for us. Are we to-day true to the trust committed to us as a people? Are we giving the trumpet a certain sound. Amid the confused babel of voices sounding on every side, amid the confusion and error which fill the minds of men, are we sounding forth notes so clear and distinct that they will reach the ears of those who desire to know God and truth, and attract their attention to the message for this time? Has this message lost its power in our hearts and lives? Are we departing from its simplicity? Have the influences of the world corrupted our faith? Has the darkness around us obscured our vision so that we see less clearly, and realize less sensibly, the sacredness of our call and the importance of the mission committed to us? These are solemn questions, which every believer would do well to consider for himself. If this church to-day does not call men to higher and holier living than the great churches of the world, it is not meeting the purpose of God. If the holy truth we profess does not make of us better men and women than those around us who have less light, then we are indeed to be pitied, and great will be our condemnation unless there comes a change in our experience. We can not compromise with error, and hold aloft the banner of truth. We can not partake of the spirit of the world, and maintain our friendship with God. We can not be actuated by worldly purposes and motives, and follow worldly plans of pleasure and fashion and business scheming, and at the same time have our hopes centered in heaven. The situation means one of two things to every soul,—it means, on the one hand, allowing this message to leak out of our hearts, and settling down in our experience to worldly standards and worldly ideals; or it means a complete renunciation of evil, worldly principles, and a consecration to God of every hope which we have in this world and in the world to come. A line of separation must be drawn by every heart. God has a people in this world to-day. With all our hearts we thank him for their loyalty and faithfulness, for the surrender scores have made to give their lives a living sacrifice for the promulgation of this truth. God’s cause will triumph in the end. His people will triumph; but Seventh-day Adventists will not be saved in a denomination’s sense. There are scores of men and women belonging to our church who, unless they change their lives, will never be numbered with the redeemed. The call of God is to them. The message has come to them, in order that they may be light-bearers. They are called “to the kingdom” for such a time as this. They are asked to stand in the breach, and hold erect the banner of truth against the flood-tide of evil which is sweeping over the world. Will they heed the call of the Master? Will every reader of these words consecrate himself to-day anew to the service of his King, determining that, regardless of what others may do, regardless of the influences of evil on every side, he will stand for God, and in these days of apostasy be a witness for truth and righteousness? The Lord will help the men and women who make this holy resolve, wherever in life their lot may be cast; whether under the most favored conditions, or as isolated Sabbath-keepers they are compelled to stand alone. Such will not be left to succumb to the influences of evil. A mighty arm will be reached out to save them, and God’s strong hand will clasp theirs with a strength that can not be broken. God calls this people to-day to higher ground, to a brighter hope, to holier living, to that place where he can pour upon them his Holy Spirit of power, by which this work will be speedily finished in the earth. Shall we heed his call? shall we meet his expectation? ALL the time the work of shortening distances is going forward in the world. The old idea of a railway from Europe to India seems coming forward. A representative of an international band of promoters said recently in London:— The capital required for the undertaking is very much less than has been stated. The length of the line to be built to connect the existing Russian and Indian lines is only sixteen hundred miles. . . . As to the possible success of the enterprise from the purely financial standpoint, it is hoped that, given the possibility of taking passengers and mails from London to Bombay in eight days six hours, at the very moderate estimated speed of twenty-eight miles an hour, or with a speed of thirty-three miles in exactly seven days, and with a daily service, the transit traffic would be developed from its very first days. While commercial interests are linking up the world by steel rails for the benefit of trade, we think of all these developments in relation to the problem of world evangelization. OUR brethren in the mission fields rejoice at the move to work the great cities in the home lands; but while greater effort is being put forth for these centers, they are endeavoring to attack some of their own great city problems. Elder F. A. Allum, superintendent of the North Central China Mission, writes of their work:— We are now located in the city of Hankow, which is geographically and commercially the center of China. It is said that there are over two million people in the three towns that go to make up the commercial city of Hankow. We have already rented a chapel here, and have commenced active work for the people. We are holding meetings daily for the heathen, and holding Bible readings daily with those interested. Already some have decided for the truth. We trust that you will remember us in your prayers as we take up work in this great heathen city. The Barbers' Union of California has had presented in the California legislature a bill which forbids any barber to shave a customer on Sunday. For the first infraction of the proposed law, a fine of five dollars or a term of imprisonment, or both, may be levied upon the offender. For the second offense a fine of from ten dollars to fifty dollars is provided, or a term of imprisonment, or both. Among the Church-Schools in Texas
By Mrs. G. F. Watson
OCTOBER 26 we left our home in KEENE to visit the church-schools and Missionary Volunteer societies at Lone Star and Douglass. At Lone Star we found Brother D. E. McNeil with twenty-two pupils in a small schoolhouse surrounded by many trees. The children, both at school and around the fireplace in the evening, pored over the beautiful stories found in our denominational school-books as if thirsting for true knowledge. November 2, with Brother Crul and his wife, we rode twelve miles to the Douglass school. The discomforts of the sandy road were forgotten in the delights of the shade and autumn colorings of the trees. We found the schoolhouse in a tiny clearing, where the faithful teacher, Miss Ellen Lambeth, had taught practical manual training at recesses and noons, interesting the boys in sawing down trees and splitting them up for stove wood, the girls meanwhile industriously sweeping and dusting the schoolhouse and tidying the playground. There were twenty-five boys and girls in attendance here, three of whom were from families not of our faith. At each place we sold a few copies of the “Church School Manual” and of “Fifty Missionary Stories.” Quite a number of copies of the Morning Watch Calendar were sold, also several of the first books for the Reading Course of 1911. We were glad to find a working Missionary Volunteer society at both places. We are looking forward to definite results from the prayer band. Why not? In Matt. 18:19 is a definite promise where two are agreed in prayer. Each of these societies gladly set apart a certain Sabbath of each month to contribute to the fund for equipping a carpenter’s shop and dress-making-rooms for the academy at KEENE. The warm-hearted cordiality of these dear brethren and sisters makes us long to visit them again. Foreigners' Union Convention
By Ole Andres Olsen
THIS convention was held in the Swedish chapel at 213 Oak Street, Chicago, Ill., Dec. 27, 1910, to Jan. 4, 1911. Each department—German, Swedish, and Danish-Norwegian—held separate meetings in the afternoon, and public meetings were conducted in the several foreign churches in the city evenings, with the exception of Friday evening.
While all the laborers in foreign tongues could not be present, we are glad to report an attendance of sixty-seven representative workers from twenty States and from Canada. As this was the first meeting of this character ever held in this country, it was a question in the minds of many as to whether it would be a success, and prove beneficial to the work. Now that the convention is past, we are glad to report that it was a real success from every point of view, and we have reason to believe that it will give a decided forward impetus to the work of the message among the foreign nationalities in this country. The convention took vigorous hold of many important questions relating especially to the work among the foreigners. Different ones had been requested to prepare papers on important subjects, such as, “The Object of Our Schools: Their Place and Relation to the Work at Home and Abroad;” “Courses of Study;” “Spiritual Interest and Discipline;” “Industries to Be Developed and Fostered;” “How to Secure Students,” etc. Then followed papers on other subjects, such as, “The Need of Efficiency in the Ministry;” “Instruction Needed by Our Churches, and What a Minister’s Visit to a Church Should Accomplish;” “Foreign Nationalities in This Country: Their Numbers, Condition, and Needs;” and “Reporting: Its True Use and Importance.” The question of “Our Relation to the International Publishing Association and the Circulation of Literature,” was the subject of another paper. These subjects will give the reader some idea of the question studied by the convention. The spiritual interest was the strong feature of the meeting. The morning devotional services were well attended, and these, with the very practical Bible studies that were conducted every day, brought a serious and earnest spirit into the convention, and led us to reach out after higher and more advanced experiences in divine grace. I have seldom witnessed a better interest than was manifested throughout this entire meeting. The meeting was greatly favored by the presence and labors of Elder A. G. Daniells. The Bible studies he conducted and the instruction he imparted were most timely and well suited to the occasion. In our planning for the meeting we had made special arrangements to have the Friday evening meeting for all the workers. The feeling prevailed that we must reach higher ground in our spiritual life, and that we must come into a position where greater efficiency and power could characterize our labors for the saving of the lost. This meeting opened at 6 P. M. Elder Daniells presented some practical instruction, and then the time was given to the workers. Earnest prayers were offered, confessions of sin, neglect, and carelessness were made, and a spirit of reconsecration came in that means earnest work in the future. This meeting continued for nearly five hours, and its experience and blessing will long remain as a precious memory by all who were present. This was indeed a good beginning to a good Sabbath for our German, Swedish, and Danish-Norwegian churches in Chicago. For Sunday afternoon, New-year’s day, we had prepared a special program. A general mass-meeting of the members of our various foreign churches in the city was held in the German church. A goodly number of our American brethren also met with us, so the church was well filled. In this service Elder Daniells led out with an interesting and instructive presentation of the work in the world-wide mission field, which began so small, and yet has accomplished so much in a comparatively short time. This presentation was a source of real inspiration to all present. Elder G. F. Haffner then presented the development of the message among the Germans in this country and in Europe; Elder S. Mortenson, the work among the Swedes; Elder A. Boettcher, of New York, the work among Italians, Russians, Bohemians, Hungarians, and others; and Elder L. H. Christian related incidents of progress among the Danish-Norwegians. This meeting was a profitable occasion, and gave both ministers and lay brethren a broader idea of the work of the message, and also a deeper conviction that while the work of the last warning message is fast hastening to its close, much yet remains to be done. Still, with the special blessing of God coming with pentecostal power, that which remains can be quickly finished. An interesting matter came up in connection with our studying the needs in the East, especially among the many nationalities in Greater New York and Jersey City. It was felt by the workers there that a tent under the control of the Foreign Department would be a great help in the development of the work. The convention then passed a recommendation that a tent 30 x 50 feet be purchased, and the money be raised by the workers present. In a few minutes, cash and pledges were taken to the amount of one hundred sixty dollars, and this was given as a thank-offering in acknowledgment of the blessings that the Lord had granted us during this convention. Another recommendation of special interest was passed, as follows:— “Resolved, That we raise a mission and literature fund of two thousand dollars for the production and circulation of suitable literature, and that the General Conference be requested to appropriate one half this sum, and that the other half be raised by the North American Foreign Department, as follows: Germans, $450; Swedes, $100; Danish-Norwegians, $450.” It will be seen that the members of the convention showed real and tangible interest in the work of extending the knowledge of the truth to other nationalities besides their own. Our convention closed the afternoon of January 4 with a blessed praise service. Many testified that the convention had been a great blessing to them, and that it would mark the beginning of a new era in their Christian experiences and also in their labors as ministers. We are sure this will be so if we all carry into effect daily the new resolutions made. We must take time to pray, to read our Bibles, and to study and heed the instruction the Lord has given through the spirit of prophecy.17 We greatly appreciated the presence of Elder Daniells. Not only was his instruction most timely and helpful, but it was of importance that he should have an opportunity to become better acquainted with the work, the field, the conditions existing, and the laborers engaged in, and connected with, this department of the great General Conference field. This convention gave him an excellent opportunity, and will be a blessing both to him and to the work. It would have been well if more of our leading men could have had a like opportunity. The fact is that much more is at stake in this work for the foreign population in this country than most of us appreciate. May God help us all to fully awake to the needs of our time and to the work the Lord has given us to perform.