Millions of dollars are annually spent to convert the heathen across the sea. This is all right. I would not that a penny less were expended in this work. But my heart goes out in the deepest and most earnest longings for the children of my Seventh-day Adventist brethren and sisters.
During the last few weeks I have visited the homes of scores of our church-members. Many of these homes and their inmates stand vividly pictured before my mind as I write. So many poor little children, with a forsaken, uncared for, and unloved look upon their sad faces! Their parents are wrapped in the things of the world, or in the theories of the truth; but the brightening presence of Jesus dwells not in their homes, and the love which said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven,” is not manifested in their lives. As some of these scenes rise before me, I can scarcely restrain my tears.
But the saddest class of all are the youth. Many of these have not shown the interest they should in spiritual things. This has discouraged, and in some cases soured, the fathers and mothers toward their sons and daughters. Because these youth do not readily respond to religious influences, they are treated as if they were incorrigible heathen.
I can never forget one poor boy whom I met at his father’s home several years ago. I was standing in front of the house as he came from the field with his team. Utter despair and hopelessness were written upon every line of his countenance. “He has no interest in the faith,” one of his relatives remarked in a passive tone. I could not help but feel that nobody had any interest in him. I looked into his large gray eyes, and longed to draw him to me, and to the Master. But his heart seemed to be closed. Not that he was hardened; if he was to others, he never manifested it to me. He was shrinking; he was timid. Nobody but one sister thought that he would ever amount to anything. He himself had well-nigh come to believe that life was going to be a sad affair and a failure.
I felt that I must get him away from there. I must get him to school. I must place him amid different surroundings. I do not mean that his home was a bad one. It was far from that. But so far as he was concerned, it was a discouraged home. I can not, I do not, blame nor censure anyone. But I long to see this state of affairs changed.
A few years have rolled away since I first met this boy. He is now a devoted Christian, with an aim and purpose in life. I have watched him, and have noticed the change with joy. Instead of that sad, hopeless look, there is a bright gleam in his eye, and the very expression on his face betokens courage instead of despair.
I have known many similar cases. People do not mean it so, yet by many the youth are treated with absolute cruelty. They are not nursed and nourished as the younger members of the family of God. The words of God’s servant are not taken into account: “The youth are our hope in missionary labor.”
What can I say that will arouse hearts to breathe a prayer to God for sanctified wisdom that they may know how to labor aright for the young? Here is a sentence, published a few years ago, in a little book, “Testimonies on Education:” “To a great extent, children who are to receive an education in our schools will make far more advancement if separated from the family circle, where they have received an erroneous education. It may be necessary for some families to locate where they can board their children and save expense, but in many cases it would prove a hindrance rather than a blessing to their children.”
How sad this is; yet it is only too true. There are scores of youth in our churches who might become valuable workers if only some one would invest something in them to get them into one of our schools. A few years ago our schools were adopting worldly methods; but God said that they were prisoners of hope, and that they would come back again. Now, thank God, they have come back; and God is leading, God is guiding within their walls. The teachers stand ready, imbued with the Spirit of God, to meet and greet the youth.92
A larger proportion of the young men and women who attend our colleges than ever before are going forth as workers. Who will interest themselves in these youth?
P. T. MAGAN.
WHAT WE ARE, AND WHAT WE MUST BE.
By E. A. Sutherland
It must be clear to every careful observer that the church and its individual members are passing through a crisis that will soon settle the destiny of all concerned.
“I saw some who were not standing stiffly for present truth. Their knees were trembling, and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth, and the covering of Almighty God could not be drawn over them while they were thus trembling. Satan was trying his every art to hold them where they were until the sealing was past, until the covering was drawn over God’s people, and they left without a shelter from the burning wrath of God in the seven last plagues.”
“I saw some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, pleading with God. Their countenances were pale, and marked with deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle. Firmness and great earnestness were expressed in their countenances; large drops of perspiration fell from their foreheads. Now and then their faces would light up with the marks of God’s approbation, and again the same solemn, earnest, anxious look would settle upon them.”
“Evil angels crowded around, pressing darkness upon them, to shut out Jesus from their view, that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness that surrounded them, and thus they be led to distrust God and murmur against him. . . . Some I saw did not participate in this work of agonizing and pleading. They seemed indifferent and careless. They were not resisting the darkness around them, and it shut them in like a thick cloud. The angels of God left these, and went to the aid of the earnest, praying ones. I saw angels of God hasten to the assistance of all who were struggling with all their power to resist the evil angels, and trying to help themselves, by calling upon God with perseverance. But his angels left those who made no effort to help themselves, and I lost sight of them.”
“I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen, and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard, and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this is what will cause a shaking among God’s people. . . . The solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs has been lightly esteemed, if not entirely disregarded. This testimony must work deep repentance; all who truly receive it will obey it, and be purified.”
The foregoing words were given to us a number of years ago as a warning. Can we realize now that we are actually passing through the experiences here described? The cause of these conditions is summed up in the following statement: “I saw that the testimony of the True Witness has not been half heeded.” The True Witness has told us, “There is a stupor, a paralysis upon the people of God, which keeps us from understanding what is needed for this time. God’s people are on trial before the heavenly universe.”
The Lord is now sending Testimonies to the churches, which, if heeded, will bring about conditions thus described: “I heard a voice like many musical instruments all sounding in perfect strains, sweet and harmonious. It surpassed any music I had ever heard, seeming to be full of mercy, compassion, and elevating, holy joy. It thrilled through my whole being. . . . My attention was then turned to the company I had seen who were mightily shaken. I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying with agony of spirit. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers. . . . The number of this company had lessened. Some had been shaken out and left by the way. The careless and indifferent, who did not join with those who prized victory and salvation enough to persevere, plead, and agonize for it, did not obtain it, and they were left behind in darkness, and their places were immediately filled by others taking hold of the truth and coming into the ranks. . . .
“I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power; it had effect. Many had been bound, some wives by their husbands, some children by their parents. The honest who had been prevented from hearing the truth now eagerly laid hold upon it. All fear of their relatives was gone, and truth alone was exalted to them. They had been hungering and thirsting for truth; it was dearer and more precious than life. I asked what made this great change. An angel answered, ‘It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.’”
“The church of Christ has been organized on earth for missionary purposes.” “The Holy Spirit’s power will move upon the hearts when this dead, lifeless monotony is broken up, and many will begin to work in earnest who never before thought of being anything but idle spectators. A working church on earth is connected with the working church above.” “A working church in travail for souls will be a praying church, a believing church, and a receiving church.”
“Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice; but a change will come. The Christian world is now making moves which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence. God is now restraining the forces of evil that the last warning may be given to the world. Now is the time to work.”
E. A. SUTHERLAND.
GREECE
By H. A. Henderson
“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” I find much comfort in contemplating this text, as the work so far has seemed much like casting bread upon the waters. As I engage in the work of teaching, telling the news of salvation, and distributing what few tracts we have in the Greek language, and see the eagerness of the people to learn more of the love of Christ, I feel indeed that the harvest is ripe.
On every side is work to be done. A few weeks ago, when going to Syra to visit some interested persons of whom I had heard, I was landed very early in the morning. Hardly knowing what to do, I walked up to the public square. Soon a nice-looking man came by, and I asked him where I could find a room, and he kindly took me to a restaurant. I found him to be a professor from the university in Athens; and taking out my Greek Bible, I gave him a reading on the Sabbath question. He was much interested, and gladly received reading-matter. I have many such experiences.
Last Sunday I visited an evangelist who was preaching in a neighboring village. He greeted me kindly, and together we went out into the street. Soon we were surrounded with about four hundred people, who listened eagerly while the brother spoke to them from the word of God. After the meeting I was invited to come and assist him the next evening in a meeting in a small hall. On my arrival at the place of meeting, I found the room full of people, but my friend had not come. So, going to his rooms, I found him in trouble, as the police, instigated by the chief priest, had ordered him not to preach again. After prayer together, we decided to go down and hold a song service, as we had a few of our gospel hymns translated into the Greek language. Before long the people were singing, with us, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” After a few minutes the policemen came in, and ordered the lights out, and the meeting to be disbanded immediately. Of course it had to be done, but it was evident that the sympathy of the people was with us. We thanked God for the victory.
As yet we are at liberty to do personal work, and stand ready to do just as the Lord leads. I am told that there is perfect freedom of speech in Crete. I hope that the time is not far distant when we shall have a worker there. There is an excellent opportunity for mission work in Athens.
My attention has been called to another line of work: each year there are many thousand English-speaking persons passing through Greece. These all lodge at a few hotels. Arrangements will be made to have the Signs of the Times placed on the reading tables in these hotels. Not long ago I noticed a copy of the Signs, which I had left on the reading table a few weeks before, literally worn out with reading; and the proprietor told me that he would be pleased to have the paper on the table each week. The results of this work may only be known in the kingdom of heaven.
I am of good courage, and already have evidences of fruits from my labors. Brethren, pray for this needy field.
H. A. HENDERSON.
Nauplia, Greece.
NEW BRUNSWICK, NOVA SCOTIA, AND NEWFOUNDLAND.
By H. J. Farman
I came to St. John, New Brunswick, Nov. 16, 1899, remaining till the 27th. During this time I held meetings in the evenings, both publicly and from house to house, visiting and conversing with the people during the day. In all this work the Spirit of the Lord came near to both hearer and teacher. Several persons testified to having gained new experiences in divine life. The message, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost,” was to them “meat in due season.” Never was I more thankful for having the privilege of being a laborer together with God than here. The last call to the supper is being given, and soon Jesus will come to take to himself his own.
At this time I sold $14.05 worth of books, and received by mail five subscriptions for the Missionary Magazine.
Returning from the District Conference, December 14, I spent four days more with the church in St. John, which were days of additional blessings.
At this time I took four subscriptions for the Missionary Magazine, and received by letter five more. I secured also three subscriptions to the Berean Library, and six subscriptions for the REVIEW. I felt sorry to leave those with whom I had shared so much of the blessing of God.
I was glad to visit for a few hours the believers in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, who had not had a93visit from one of our ministers for eighteen months. I found them strong in the Lord, and of good courage. They take the REVIEW and the Signs of the Times, and study the Reading Circle lessons weekly; and by these helps they receive strength.
Leaving New Glasgow, December 19, at 1 P. M., I reached the Gut of Canso at 7 P. M., crossing it by steamer; then, taking train through Cape Breton Island, reached North Sydney about eleven o’clock, where I took the steamer “Bruce,” and, crossing Cabot Strait, reached Port aux Basques about 7:30 A. M., December 20. From there we crossed the Island of Newfoundland by rail, a distance of five hundred and forty-eight miles, reaching St. John’s, Newfoundland, at 2:30 P. M., December 21, having traveled a distance of about one thousand four hundred and thirty-three miles from South Lancaster, Mass., in about four days and eight hours. At St. John’s I was greeted by Brethren Johnston and Baird, who escorted me to the home of Sister Anna Pippy, whose husband, Joseph Pippy, and family made me welcome.
All the brethren and sisters were pleased to meet me; and I never enjoyed a week of seeking God more than I did this one. All seem to be willing to take hold and work with a commendable spirit. I find plenty to do, which makes me happy; and when my family arrive, I shall feel as much at home as in the United States. There is an abundance of work here, which calls for consecrated laborers. Pray that the Lord may send forth more laborers into the ripened fields.
Offerings to foreign missions already secured, $77.45. Two renewals for the REVIEW have been taken. The people have a mind to work. Praise the Lord.
Pray for us here, that many souls may be converted to God, and the Third Angel’s Message triumph gloriously. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Elder C. H. Giles and his wife.
H. J. FARMAN.
PERU
By G. H. Baber
LIMA.—The effort at Huara, in the saltpeter district of Tarapaca, was closed the 23d of October. Four persons were baptized in a large iron tank filled with salt water, there being no streams of fresh water near. This company numbers nine now, and all seem to be of good courage. Since leaving Iquique, word has come that there are several more who desire baptism at that place. At the close of the meetings there, I gave the brethren this text: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10. I am glad to learn that they have been working in harmony with the text. The 25th I embarked at Pisagua for Callao, Peru.
I am now in Lima, where the beast seems a more lively quantity than in the capital city of Chile. I found Brother Escobar firm in the faith, and quietly working as a self-supporting missionary, with some prospects of an increased following. However, the national church power has recently received encouragement by the election of President Romaña, and the priests are improving the occasion to crowd out the Protestants. October 21 the mayor of Lima called the attention of his officials to a law of the city, passed in 1896, requiring the closing of all factories, stores, or other establishments of business on religious feast days, and also prohibiting all personal work on Sundays, except such work as may be authorized by the municipality by special license.
For some time the country has been in a revolution, headed by Dr. Durand; but revolutions in Peru are too common to attract much attention. The caldron of discontent is boiling here, as everywhere else.
Last night I held a meeting behind closed doors and windows, according to law; but notwithstanding, the sons of the beast raged in the street and around the door like wounded animals of prey. When we opened the doors and windows, after the services were over, they came to the doors and windows, and howled out their insults and threats. One liquor seller across the street declared that he could not endure such a scandal as a Protestant meeting so near his family. Probably he is afraid they will hear a word of truth, and thus be led to depreciate him and his vile business.
With the favor of God, I shall continue here several days. G. H. BABER.
NEWS AND NOTES
For Week Ending February 3, 1900.
— The British Foreign Bible Society prints five tons of Bibles every day.
— It is reported that Russia will lend Corea $5,000,000 immediately, Corea having applied unsuccessfully to Japan for a loan.
— The British have 113,868 men, 19,784 horses, 85 machine guns, and 242 field guns in South Africa, and 17,309 men at sea.
— Honolulu, Hawaii, is now isolated, on account of the bubonic plague. Steamers refuse to call. There have been thirty-nine deaths from the plague, including a white woman.
— The British advance toward Ladysmith has been checked by the Boer capture of Spion Kop. The British have recrossed the Tugela River, in retreat; and the fall of Ladysmith is now imminent, as provisions are short.
— All the bridges on the Natal railway, the Laing’s Nek tunnel, and the bridges on the Orange Free State line have been undermined by the Boers, so that they can be destroyed at a moment’s notice, if retreat becomes necessary.
— The British casualties at Spion Kop amounted to forty per cent of the force engaged. This, it is said, “is greater than any British force ever suffered, except possibly at Albuera, Spain, in 1811.” The London Daily Chronicle estimates the loss at over 2,000 men. The Boer losses at Spion Kop were 53 men killed and 120 wounded.
— In his attempts to stamp out socialism in his empire, the emperor of Germany has declared that no man who holds a government position should be a member of the Social Democratic party. Also the most active socialists among railroad employees will be discharged at once, and, if the lesson proves unavailing, further discharges will follow.
— Seventy-five thousand Russian soldiers have left Tiflis, Transcaucasia, for Baku. They will cross at once to Krasnovodsk, whence they will proceed to Koushka, the frontier station on the border of Afghanistan. They will soon advance to a place even nearer to Herat, the occupation of which town now depends only on events in Afghanistan and on the movements of British troops in India.
— Senator William E. Goebel, democratic contestant for the governorship of Kentucky, was shot at Frankfort, Ky., January 30, as he was walking through the Capitol grounds, in broad daylight. State troops have been called out. The assassin, who shot from the Capitol building, has disappeared. Latest dispatches say that, “propped up in bed, Mr. Goebel took the oath of office,” January 31, and “immediately signed a proclamation disbanding the militia gathered” by republican Governor Taylor’s orders. Thus Kentucky now has two governors, each claiming the full powers of office. Excitement runs high, and President McKinley may have to send federal troops to preserve the peace.
— Latest dispatches state that “Russia’s preparations for war are all taken. In Siberia, as close to the frontier of British India as is possible, 250,000 men are now assembled. The Russian squadrons at Port Arthur and in the Persian Gulf are being increased daily. A dispatch from St. Petersburg, credited to a diplomatic source, says that, on rush orders from Paris, the troops in the local French garrisons are being concentrated on the frontier. Among diplomats at the capital, it is declared that the opinion prevails that the international situation as regards Germany and France in their relations with Great Britain, is more dangerous than appears on the surface, and that existing differences may yet lead to war.” And thus the “peace movement” progresses.
— A special dispatch to the Chicago Inter Ocean says that “the Filipino clergy gave a reception this afternoon (January 23) to Archbishop Chapelle, the apostolic delegate, which resulted in a disgraceful demonstration. Five hundred of the most prominent citizens and their families attended the reception.” The function attracted a crowd of 2,000 persons. Archbishop Nozaleda, and many of the representatives of foreign powers, also attended the reception. The lady principal of the municipal school was also one of the guests, and during the proceedings she “started to read a petition praying for the withdrawal of the friars from the islands, but Archbishop Chapelle stopped her, saying that that question would be regulated by the pope, General Otis, and himself. The statement caused the crowd to hiss him, and there were many cries of ‘Out with the friars!’ ‘Down with Nozaleda!’ and ‘No friars in any capacity!’ When General Otis appeared, he was greeted with loud and prolonged cheering, though some of the crowd in the street hissed him.” “When Archbishop Nozaleda entered his carriage to return to his home, the crowd, which had been considerably augmented, hissed him again and again.”14
— The Austrian cabinet resigned January 22.
— The street cars in Troy, N. Y., are tied up on account of striking motormen.
— On account of frequent thaws, the Rhine district of Germany is in danger of a flood.
— The Dean of Westminster has offered a grave in the Abbey, for the remains of John Ruskin.
— The death-rate from the bubonic plague in Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, is a dozen persons a day.
— Danish farmers have sent to the Princess of Wales 12,000 boxes of choice butter for the soldiers in South Africa.
— Five hundred men belonging to the battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, now in the Transvaal, are said to be stanch teetotalers.
— The Virginia House of Delegates has passed the “Jim Crow” Car bill, a measure requiring separate cars for colored persons on railways.
— Ten thousand persons starve to death each year in Greater New York, while nearly $400,000 a day passes over the saloon counters of that city.
— A delegation from New York City has called on President McKinley, inviting him to attend the ecumenical conference of foreign missions, to be held in that city in April.
— The public prosecutor of Paris, France, has demanded the dissolution of the Assumptionist Fathers, contending that the existence of the order is a menace to the social system of France.
— In this country there are from 100,000 to 150,000 regular users of opium, including from six to ten per cent of all medical men. From thirty to sixty per cent of the insanity is due to this habit.
— A train-load of beef, 750,000 pounds, has been purchased in Chicago, by agents of the Transvaal army. The packers refuse to deliver beyond New York, because of recent seizures by British war-vessels.
— A dispatch says that John Alexander Dowie, the alleged great healer, has suffered a stroke of paralysis, and that his recovery is considered doubtful. The fact of his illness is being studiously withheld from his adherents.
— The President of the United States, through Secretary of State Hay, “has sustained the decision of the United States Board on Geographical Names in regard to the spelling of the new island possession in the West Indies. It is to be spelled Puerto Rico.”
— British war-ships will escort the mule transports from New Orleans to South Africa, it being rumored that American sympathizers with the Boers will make an attempt to sink the transports on their way across the Atlantic, to prevent the mules from reaching the British army.
— An English gentleman who has resided in Constantinople for twenty years, and who employs a large number of men, says: “If I wish a reliable watchman, or a boatman to row me down the Golden Horn to my house at Pera, I employ a Turk in preference to a Christian, because of the Turk’s being sober.”
— United States pension officials say that the percentage of applications for pensions on account of the Spanish war, is greater than it was in consequence of the War of the Rebellion, though the recent war was a short one, and comparatively few troops were engaged, with no large battles, nor great losses of life.
— In pronouncing sentence on two boys for assaulting and reviling a Hebrew peddler, Judge Phelan, of Detroit, Mich., stated that “the practice of hounding, insulting, and calling names to a class of citizens, simply because they happen to be of foreign birth, must stop, if persons guilty of it have to be put in the house of correction. A man is entitled to go along the streets of Detroit without being called a Mick, a Dutchman, a Polack, or a Jew. He has a right to be respected as long as he is not interfering with any one nor violating the laws.”
— The present struggle in the Transvaal has served to discover the bitter feeling of French-Canadians against England. An English-Canadian writer, discussing the question in last week’s Outlook, says, among other things: “When the first Transvaal contingent left Toronto, a half-holiday was proclaimed. Every window that overlooked the main streets of the city was occupied, and the sidewalks were crowded with excited, enthusiastic citizens, who cheered again and again as the soldiers passed through the streets.” On the other hand, “in the city of Montreal a few dejected stragglers marched to the railway station amid dead silence; scarce fifty persons turned out to see them off.” The writer then quotes the following editorial in a recent issue of the Semaine Religieuse as a sample of French-Canadian sentiment at the present time: “Lift up your eyes, French-Canadians, for the day of your redemption is at hand. You were beaten and conquered by England, ever hated and oppressed by the race unfriendly to you. You shall at length see the star of liberty rise for you, and your rights respected by those who have so long violated them. This revenge will be the more complete if the United States is involved in the same punishment with England; and if the English race be stricken both in Europe and in America by the justice of God and man, its people will be less overbearing and insolent toward the rest of the world, and will leave at last to the French race the right to develop freely their country of Canada.”
DISTRICT 5.
By R. M. Kilgore
PHOENIX AND FLAGSTAFF, ARIZ.—A little more than a year had passed since I last visited the church at Phoenix. I was comforted and encouraged to know that they were presenting a united front to the enemy, and were all working harmoniously. The week of prayer proved a great blessing to all of them. Darkness and discord gave place to light, love, and peace. It was a joy to labor among them, and the instruction given was heartily received and appreciated, which rendered the yoke easy, and the burden light. The work usually connected with the quarterly meeting was attended to, and new officers were added on account of the increase of the membership during the year. Elder J. E. Evans, who has the confidence of all the church, was elected pastor, for the present. He enjoys his work there, and the climate is remarkably adapted to his physical needs. His health is greatly improved.
The change from the tent we occupied last year, to the commodious brick meeting-house, though in an unfinished condition, was an additional source of comfort and pleasure to us all. The brethren there are doing all they can to clear away the small debt that remains on the building. This, with their efforts to keep the church school running, is a heavy tax upon their finances.
The school is prospering under the direction of Sister Neilson, supported by the parents and trustees. All are united in their efforts to make it a success. Without the full and hearty co-operation of all concerned, and the maintenance of the proper discipline, our church schools will fall far short of fulfilling their mission.
On examination of the records, and an inquiry into the spiritual condition of the members, present and absent, it was decided to withdraw the hand of Christian fellowship from several persons whom those present had never seen, and from whom no response had ever been received, though repeated efforts on the part of the officers of the church had been made to ascertain their standing and whereabouts. It also became the painful duty of the church to sever its connection with some who had yielded to the influence of the world, and after being faithfully labored with, still persisted in the evil course. No good can come to the church, the individual, or the world, by retaining in fellowship those who stubbornly continue in breaking the Sabbath, attending dances, and engaging in other questionable acts. They can not be saved by such toleration, but the standard that God has given is dragged in the dust when the proper Scriptural discipline is not maintained and enforced.
At Flagstaff I found the workers, Elder George O. States and Sister W. L. Iles, busy at their work. The new meeting-house was being completed, preparatory to its dedication; and the parsonage, on the same lot, was being finished. This affords comfortable living-rooms, without paying the high rents demanded in the Western towns and cities.
January 14 the dedicatory services were held. The house was filled with the citizens, many of whom had contributed liberally to the fund for its erection. The sermon was delivered by the writer; Elder States offered the prayer; Rev. W. W. Brunk, pastor of the M. E. church, read appropriate Scripture lessons; Rev. George Logie led in the opening prayer; and a quartet from the M. E. choir rendered appropriate songs.
It is worthy of notice that all the bills on both the houses are paid, thus leaving no debt hanging over them. The brethren have worked hard amid much opposition and discouragement.
The Lord has wrought through them, and has given them some good souls. Though few in number, it was thought necessary, under the circumstances, to organize, and my labors pertained mostly to the preparation for that. My efforts were not in vain. I found the brethren ready to receive the straight testimony. The standard of life for the followers of Christ was none too high for them. God will bless those who adhere closely to the requirements of his word, and insist on all coming up to the principles he has laid for us. We can not make any compromises, and meet the mind of the great Head of the church. Our work is to “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
A church with twelve members was organized, four joining by letter. Four persons were baptized by Elder States in the baptistery of the church, the others considering their former baptism valid. Several others are deeply interested, and are in full sympathy with the Third Angel’s Message, but are not prepared to take the steps incumbent upon members in full fellowship. We trust they may soon be found standing upon the Rock, fully united, and walking with those who willingly “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.”
Brother States was elected elder for the present. A good brother from one of our large churches in the East, could fill a most needy field at Flagstaff. The climate is excellent for the lungs and throat, the altitude being high and dry. Those contemplating moving are requested to correspond with Elder George O. States, Flagstaff, Ariz.
R. M. KILGORE.
ONTARIO
By F. D. Starr
Since our general meeting at St. Thomas, which was an occasion of much encouragement and spiritual profit to our workers, I have held meetings with the churches at London, Chatham, Albuna, Selton, and Toronto. At most of these places the quarterly meeting, with the celebration of the ordinances and the annual election of officers, took place. While the weather prevented some from being present, yet these meetings, as well as the opportunities of the week of prayer, were seasons of much benefit to all. Elder Dryer was with me a part of the time. I held one meeting with the friends at Leamington, in the house of Brother Horning. A good interest was manifested by the neighbors who attended the meeting, and the indications are that this would be a good place for labor. We are looking forward with much interest to our canvassers’ institute at Ingersoll, February 7 to March 7.
F. D. STARR.
MISSOURI
By D. E. Scoles
CEDARVILLE.—Last October I connected with the work in this State. I have held two series of meetings in the country here, with the result that over twenty persons have accepted the Sabbath, the most of whom are growing up into Christ. We have had to contend with such difficulties as tobacco, coffee, and swine’s flesh: but the Lord is able to give us the victory over all the lusts of the flesh; and many persons are claiming his power to cleanse from “all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.”
I have taken three orders for the REVIEW, one for the Signs, and sold some of the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. To the Lord be all the praise.
D. E. SCOLES.
A CHILD'S PRAYER.
By W. Vincent
A CHILD three years old went to Jesus in prayer for a sick mother, who had suffered for five months. The child returned to her mother, saying, “Jesus loves me. Jesus will take away all your pain.” And Jesus did restore that mother to health. Thank God for his love, his great mercy, and his healing power. To-day Jesus says, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” W. VINCENT.
