General Conference Daily Bulletin, vol. 1
March 2, 1897
32ND SESSION. - LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, - VOL. 1. - NO. 13
General Conference Daily Bulletin,
PUBLISHED DAILY BY THE
GENERAL CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS.
Terms, 35 Cents for the Session. JACOB NORTH & CO., PRINTERS, LINCOLN, NEB. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.1
Health Principles. J. H. KELLOGG, M. D. (Continued from page 189.)
Answer. - I would recommend the use of nuts. Any stomach will digest almonds and peanuts if they are cooked in the way I have told you. You can make a beautiful soup of peanuts, a very rich and wholesome, extremely nutritious food. In a pound of peanuts there are about two and one-half pounds of beef, and peanuts are more nutritious than fat pork. Peanuts are highly nutritive, and not difficult to digest; pork is highly nutritious, but it is hard to digest. When it is said that pork will stick by the ribs, it is literally true, - it will stick by the ribs and not digest. Now when the stomach has proper food, it will be digested; and it will soon be emptied, because the food is so quickly digested. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.2
Question. - Should all nuts be cooked? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.3
Answer. - I think all nuts would be improved by cooking; that they are better by cooking. In nut butter the nuts are cooked. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.4
Question. - Are nuts better boiled than roasted? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.5
Answer. - I think they are more digestible. If you parboil peanuts, turn off the first water, and then cook them for a long time, you will find that they are much more digestible than when roasted. If they are simply roasted and eaten, there are little particles which will not be thoroughly masticated, and these will lie in the stomach undigested. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.6
Question. - Is there any danger of producing disease of the kidneys by eating nuts? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.7
Answer. - No, sir. There is not the slightest danger of any kind of kidney difficulty. God never put any poison in good foods. There is no harm in eating them. It is possible, of course, for a person to eat so much of any kind of food, that any difficulty which might arise might be mistaken for disease. The kidneys are a sort of safety-valve. If a person takes too much sugar, that sugar is found in the kidneys. That is one test for the liver. One method of testing the liver to find out whether it is absolutely sound or not, is to give a person three and a half ounces of glucose; and if he is able to dispose of it so that no sugar appears in kidney secretion, then it is evident that the liver is doing its work well. When a man has fever, the eating of sugar will cause sugar to appear, because the body has been overtaxed on account of the fever; so if he takes an excess of sugar, it will appear. And it is so also, if an excess of albumen be taken. For instance, some time ago a young man at the sanitarium, for an experiment, ate half a dozen eggs, and there appeared a large excess of albumen. He had taken more albumen than he could utilize. Now, if his kidneys had been examined at that time, it might have appeared as though he had Bright’s disease. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.8
If one prepares nuts in the form that I have told you, and if he should eat a great quantity of them, as he would be likely to do as they are so good, it would affect the kidneys, and some portions would escape as I said. But this is not an evidence that the kidneys are diseased; nor is it an evidence that they are not doing their duty. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.9
(Elder Lane) What would you say about buying peanuts from a stand, and eating them? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.10
It would be all right if one takes pains to chew them thoroughly. But I would not recommend eating peanuts out of the hand. It is better to eat them at the table. We are so likely to eat nuts and those things between meals. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.11
Question. - What about eating apples? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 193.12
Answer. - It is the same about eating apples. Eat everything that you eat at the table, and do not eat anything between meals; and when you do eat, do not think anything more about it. Just go about doing the Lord’s business. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.1
Bread should never have the slightest taint of sourness. It should be cooked until it is most thoroughly done. Thus all softness and stickiness will be avoided. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.2
For those who can use them, good vegetables, prepared in a healthful manner, are better than soft mushes or porridge. Fruits used with thoroughly cooked bread, two or three days old, which is more healthful than fresh bread, with slow and thorough mastication, will furnish all that the system requires. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.3
“As a man thinketh, so is he.” If the appetite is allowed to rule, then the mind will be brought under its control. When the stomach is educated to discard that which will prove only an injury to it, the simplest kinds of food will satisfy the hunger. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.4
It is not well to take a great variety of foods at one meal. When fruit and bread, together with a variety of other foods that do not agree, are crowded into the stomach at one meal, what can we expect but that a disturbance will be created? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.5
The mixing largely of white or brown flour bread with milk in the place of water, is not a healthful preparation. If the bread thus cooked is allowed to stand over and is then broken open, there will be frequently seen long strings like cobwebs; and this, in warm weather, soon causes fermentation to take place in the stomach. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.6
Suppose you take water and flour, and mix them up together; the mixture will rise. Why is it that you add the salt? It is added to keep back a certain kind of germ, and to let another kind of germ grow. You suppress one kind of a germ with the salt, and the germs that you wish to produce are those that produce carbonic acid gas. These germs will raise the bread; and when it is raised sufficiently, and you mix in more flour, and put it in the oven, it is baked, and the germs on the outside are killed; but the germs that have been growing there, and producing gas, are on the inside. Now, suppose the bread raised too long, it sours. Salt-rising bread, when it is allowed to raise a little too long, has a very bad odor; it has simply decayed. The germs have been allowed to carry their work a little too far. When you bake the bread, these germs are there still, and ready for work: and if the bread be taken into the stomach, they will set up that decaying process there, unless the bread has been baked enough to kill the germs. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.7
Question. - Is yeast bread better than salt-rising? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.8
Answer. - It is only another kind of yeast bread. Now these yeast germs will die after a time. If you do not attend to the bread at the right time, it will go back. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.9
This instruction, much of it, has been coming to us for the last thirty years. It was received before anybody knew the reasons for these things. But we now know the reasons. We can now walk by sight, if we are willing to walk at all. But we have to mix a little faith with it if we expect to get the good from it. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.10
“Milk should not be used in place of water in bread-making.” What is the reason for this? Why should we not use milk in the place of water in making bread? - Because it feeds those germs. Germs will not grow in water or fruit juice, but they will grow in milk or beef juice. There are millions of germs in ordinary milk. If milk is boiled, the germs are killed. Yet it is not a good food for the stomach, because it feeds the germs that are already there; and I think the time will come when we will not use milk at all. I never use a particle of it. Now, I am not saying that everybody should discard milk: but people that are bilious, and have coated tongue, and have bilious attacks, and have headache, and a dull, stupid feeling across the head after eating, - such people should discard milk absolutely, not only at meal time but all other times; they should discard it from bread, and from soups, and from everything. If you take milk at all, it is better to take a little cream; but it is better to discard it altogether if subject to such attacks. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.11
Question. - Can milk be improved by boiling? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.12
Answer. - Well, of course the germs may be killed, but there are germs in the stomach that are waiting for it, and it feeds them. Germs grow in milk, and the use of milk in the stomach encourages their growth there. As I have said, they will not grow in fruit juice. So when a person adopts the fruit diet instead of milk, the germs die, and the tongue becomes clean; and in three or four days the person who has a very bad coated tongue, if he lives on an absolute fruit diet, the coat will disappear. The germs will flee from the stomach, and the head will feel clear. If you boil the milk, you may kill the germs that are in the milk; but there are germs in the stomach that are just waiting for the milk. No scientific man can say that these things are foolishness, because he knows that what is stated here is true. The use of milk in the case of a typhoid fever patient is not to be allowed at all. But if you use milk at all, you may use buttermilk or kumyss. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 194.13
Milk should not be used in place of water in bread-making. All this is extra expense, and is not wholesome. The taste may be educated so that it will prefer bread prepared in this way, but the more simple it is made, the better it will satisfy the hunger, and the more natural will be the appetite to enjoy the plainest diet. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.1
Every housekeeper should feel it her duty to educate herself to make good, sweet bread, and in the most inexpensive manner; and the family should refuse to have upon the table bread that is heavy and sour; for it is injurious. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.2
Question. - Are eggs good as food? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.3
Answer. - Eggs are not the best of food. But they are not so likely to contain germs as are meat or milk. They are more wholesome than meat or milk. They are likely to overstimulate the body unless eaten very sparingly. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.4
Question. - Which is preferable, beef or milk? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.5
Answer. - That depends upon the individual. Persons who cannot eat milk are in the same situation as regards meat as a rule. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.6
Question. - Would butter have the same effect that milk or meat does? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.7
Answer. - No sir, I think it would be better, provided that it is sterilized butter. And yet it is a fact that butter is a very poor food. It does not digest in the stomach at all, because it is a free fat. The best form in which we can get fats in any considerable amount is in nuts. In the almond there is about fifty per cent. of fat, and almost the same amount in the peanut. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.8
Question. - Is the Brazil nut a good nut? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.9
Answer. - Yes, it is a good nut, but its flesh is so hard, like the coconut, that it is likely to be swallowed in chunks: and if it is not well masticated, it cannot be well digested. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.10
There are a large number of poor families who buy the common baker’s bread, which is often sour, and is not healthful for the stomach. In every line of cooking, the question that should be considered is, How shall the food be prepared in the most natural and inexpensive manner? And there should be a careful study that the fragments of food left over from the table be not wasted. Study how that in some way these fragments of food shall not be lost. This skill, economy and tact is a fortune. In the warmer part of the season prepare less food. Use more dry substances. There are many poor families who, although they have scarcely enough to eat, can often be enlightened as to why so many jots and titles are wasted. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.11
The meat diet is the serious question. Shall human beings subsist on the flesh of dead animals? The answer, from the light that God has given, is, No; decidedly no. Health reform institutions should educate on this question. Physicians who claim to understand the human organism ought not to encourage their patients to subsist on the flesh of dead animals. They should point out the increase of disease in the animal kingdom. The testimony of examiners is, that very few animals are free from disease, and that the practice of eating largely of meat is contracting diseases of all kinds, - cancers, tumors, scrofula, tuberculosis, and numbers of other like affections. If man would subsist upon the food which God has so abundantly provided, without having it first pass into the animal organism and become sinew and muscle, and then take it second-hand by eating of the corpse, his health would be much better insured. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.12
The ministers in our land should become intelligent upon health reform. They need to become acquainted with the science of physiology. They will be intelligent in regard to the laws that govern physical life, and their bearings upon the health of mind and soul. They will be able to speak correctly upon this subject. In their obedience to physical laws, they are to hold forth the word of life to the people, and lead up higher and still higher in the work of reform. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.13
We have to take the people where they are, and instruct them and lead them up higher and still higher in this work of reform; if we are going to be prepared for the time of trouble that is coming, and for the time when the Lord will say, “Here is the patience of the saints.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.14
The remainder of the testimony is as follows:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.15
“‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.’ ‘Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul: having your conversation honest among the Gentiles; that, whereas, they speak against you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.’ All who claim to be teachers should urge, both by precept and example, the necessity of abstaining from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.16
“What shall arouse those who claim to be walking in the light that is shining upon the people of God in these last days? A lethargy of unconscious sensualism through indulgence of perverted appetite, a constant submitting of soul and body and spirit to moral defilement, is upon the people. Under the marriage vow, which our Creator has instituted, appetite has been perverted and indulged. And these lustful appetites, with their destroying power, has been transmitted from parents to children, and so intensified that their names are recorded in the books of heaven as transgressors of God’s law. Upon their very countenances is imparted the sin of Sodom. And continuance in these sins will bring the sure and terrible results. They will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. They will receive the sentence, ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.’ GCDB March 2, 1897, page 195.17
“This is the final judgment. Let the senses of all be aroused: for many whose names now appear on the church books are not the children of God. In the books of heaven it is recorded of them, ‘Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.’ Let every church in our land arouse to the importance of studying the Word of God, and with much earnest prayer, not stand afar off, but ‘draw nigh to God.’ The promise is, ‘He will draw nigh to you.’ Then you may keep life in your souls, and obtain a sound experience. Then you will not be of that class of whom it is written, ‘And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.’ GCDB March 2, 1897, page 196.1
“Let the Lord Jesus come into your houses and into your hearts. Every talent entrusted to us is to be used and approved in accordance with the will of the Giver. Days, months, and years are added to our existence that we may improve our opportunities and advantages for working out our own individual salvation, and promoting the well-being of others by our unselfish life. Thus may we build up the kingdom of Christ, and make manifest the glory of God. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 196.2
“Human exertion, physical and intellectual ability, will be taxed to the utmost to keep the feet of the youth in the path where we can trace the footprints of Jesus. The young have not had all the attention that they should have had in order to develop their talents. The arrangements made in the missionary line of work are far in the rear. Councils have been corrupted, and board meetings have been conducted by inefficient members who felt not the necessity of having the constraining power of the Holy Spirit upon the youth, to help them to choose the illumination from above. The youth need sanctified example, an acknowledgment of Omnipotence in the grand work of becoming home and foreign missionaries. They need to behold in the cross of Christ the only true power to sustain the human agent in his continuous struggle against temptation, amid disappointments and reverses. How many of the General Conference have said, ‘Go,’ but have left many to make brick without straw, have given them no facilities or help. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 196.3
“The malarious, poisonous atmosphere which surrounds the souls of those who are dead in trespasses and sins, is causing us to become like the inhabitants of the Noachian world, who, because they chose to follow the imaginations of their own corrupt minds, and dishonor God by their wicked inventions, became corrupt in body and soul, and hated the God who made them. God sent them a message that they should not live, but should be destroyed because of their wicked works. And whole families to-day are in need of being terribly alarmed. They have been, and still are, corrupting their way before God. They are so steeped in licentiousness that they do not discern the difference between the pure affection given them of God, the attributes of human nature, and the destructive lusts which by indulgence and wicked inventions, make them as sinful as were those before the flood, and the inhabitants of Sodom. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 196.4
“In assuming human nature, that he might reach to the very depths of human woe and misery and lift man up, Christ has shown what estimate he places upon the human race. In this work everything was at stake. Satan claimed to be the lawful owner of the fallen race: and with what persistent effort did he seek to overthrow Christ through his subtilty! It was only by the most desperate conflict with the powers of Satan that Christ could accomplish his purpose of restoring the almost obliterated image of God in man, and place his own signature upon his forehead. It was a desperate battle; for Satan had so long worked in league with human intelligencies as to almost completely intercept every ray of light shining from the throne of God upon the human mind. The cross of Calvary alone could destroy the works of the devil. In that wondrous sacrifice all eyes were called to ‘behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ The love of Christ kindles in the heart of all who continue to behold him. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 196.5
“Satan’s ear caught the words spoken by John the Baptist, - ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world,’ - and he determined to unite all the power of his army, and of the human beings with himself, to accomplish the ruin of the race. He would commence with the appetite. He would bring his temptation to bear upon this point, and by a perverted appetite destroy the mental and physical force, and make man appear a revolting, polluted being before his Maker. And Satan has carried out his purpose. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 196.6
“All nature makes manifest the work of God. Man is fearfully and wonderfully made, and if man had obeyed the laws of Jehovah in his natural laws, the image of God would have been revealed in him. But by sinning against his own body; by indulging his natural appetite and disturbing the action of the human machinery; by the use of alcoholic drinks, narcotics, and the flesh of diseased animals, man has distorted and crippled the Lord’s divine arrangements. Nature does her best to expel the poisonous drug, tobacco, but frequently she is overborne. She gives up her struggle to expel the intruder, and the life is sacrificed in the conflict. Every pernicious drug placed in the human stomach, whether by prescription of physician, or by man himself doing violence to the human organism, injures the whole machinery. Every intemperate indulgence or lustful appetite is at war with natural instinct, and the healthful condition of every nerve and muscle and organ of the wonderful human machinery which through the Creator’s power possesses organic life. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 196.7
“Nature would do her work wisely and well if the human agent would, in his treatment of the body, co-operate with the divine purpose. But how Satan and his whole confederacy rejoice to see how easily his power of deception and art can persuade man to form an appetite for most unpleasant stimulants and narcotics. And then when nature has been overborne, enfeebled in all her working force, there is the drug medication to come from the physician, to kill the remaining vital force, and leave men miserable wrecks of suffering, of imbecility, of insanity, and of loathsome disease. God is hidden from the human observation by the hellish shadow of Satan. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 197.1
“In Luke 4:16-19, Christ announces his mission and work for the world: ‘And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath-day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Jesus himself became man’s ransom, his liberator from the oppressive power of Satan. ‘Ye are not your own,’ he says, ‘for ye are bought with a price.’ We are bought from a power whose slaves we were. And the price our ransom cost was the only begotten Son of God. His blood alone could ransom guilty man. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ GCDB March 2, 1897, page 197.2
“O, if every one could discern these matters as they have been presented to me, those who are so careless, so indifferent in regard to their character-building; those who plead for indulgence in a flesh-meat diet, would never open their lips in justification of an appetite for the flesh of dead animals. Such a diet contaminates the blood in the veins, and stimulates the lower animal passions. It enfeebles keen perception and vigor of thought to the understanding of God and the truth, and a knowledge of themselves. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 197.3
“Christ gave his life a ransom for many. Christ was to come under the cruel power of Satan. Satan hoped if he could once gain the supremacy he would overcome Christ. He had obtained mastery over the human family, and through disobedience to God’s holy law, had brought them under his jurisdiction. He unjustly claimed them as his own subjects. But Christ takes the prey from the enemy. Satan was to be overcome by the Son of Man. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 197.4
“Christ removed every obstruction that man might return to his allegiance to God. Christ became subject to suffering in behalf of man. And yet man, by his selfish indulgence, is willing to place himself in slippery places, and through unnatural appetite obliterate the moral image of God. Man, who has been endowed with physical, mental, and moral power, has placed himself where he is a weakling. Satan knows that he cannot overcome man unless he can control his will. He can do this by deceiving man so that he will co-operate with him in transgressing the laws of nature in eating and drinking, which is transgression of the law of God. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 197.5
Here is where the subject of intemperance grows into importance. Here is where Satan works to so confuse minds by a perverted appetite that man cannot discern sacred things from common. Cheap things are placed on a level with the sacred. Animalism is strengthened, the higher powers weakened. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 197.6
“God calls for reform in our churches. Satan is playing the game of life for every soul. He is seeking to brutify humanity whom God values. But when the appetite is held under the control of an intelligent, God-fearing mind, there will be a cultivation of pure, spiritual attributes. There will be a refusal to be led into a slavery that kills both physical, mental, and moral worth, and leaves the human agent, for whom Christ has paid so high a price, crippled, worthless, and tossed about with temptation. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 197.7
“Benumb not the faculties that God has given for wise improvement, by intemperate habits. Touch not, taste not, handle not spirituous liquors in any form. But intemperance does not stop there. There are manufactured appetites which the Author of our being has never created, and every departure from the simple natural laws which he has established in our being, is a departure from the law of God. This law embraces the treatment of the entire being. Every nerve and fiber and muscle of the body has been constructed by God, and so arranged as to minister happiness to the human agent. But man has sought out many inventions. He has treated the body as if its laws had no such thing as penalty, and in this sin against the body he has dishonored his Maker. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 197.8
Satan has carried out his plans in this respect. Man’s appetite has become perverted, his organs and powers enfeebled, crippled, and diseased. And these results which he has through his vicious temptations brought about, he uses to taunt God with. He presents before God the appearance of a human being which God has purchased as his property. And what an unsightly representation he is of his Maker. God is dishonored, because man has corrupted his ways before the Lord. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 197.9
“The Creator of man has arranged the living machinery of our bodies. Every function is wonderfully and wisely made. And God has pledged himself to keep this machinery in healthful action, if the human agent will obey his laws and co-operate with God. Every law governing the human machinery is to be considered just as truly divine in origin, in character and importance, as the work of God. Every careless, inattentive action, any abuse put upon the Lord’s wonderful mechanism, by disregarding his specified laws in the human habitation, is a violation of God’s law. We may behold and admire the work of God in the natural world, but the human habitation is the most wonderful. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 198.1
“From the first dawn of reason, the human mind should become intelligent in regard to the physical structure. Here Jehovah has given a specimen of himself; for man was made in the image of God. It is Satan’s determined work to destroy the image of God in man. He would make the intelligence of man, his highest, noblest gift, the most destructive agent, to pollute with sin everything he touches. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 198.2
“Not only the human, but the brute creation are made to suffer through Satan’s attributes brought out through the human agent. One human being becomes Satan’s co-partner to tempt, allure, and deceive his fellow-men to vicious practices. And the sure result is diseased bodies, because of the violation of the moral law. ‘Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.’ It is Satan’s determined purpose to deceive the human family to such an extent that he can bring them as a mass on his side to work with him in making man believe that the law of God is no longer obligatory upon the human race. Then he will find agencies which will multiply his efficiency in leading man to ignore the law of God. When they do this, then he rules them with a rod of iron. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 198.3
“The only definition of sin given in God’s Word, is transgression of the law. It is not excusable, and has no defense or justification. It will be the final and eternal condemnation of the originator of sin, and all the angels who united with him in the heavenly courts, who joined the confederacy of evil, identifying themselves with the great apostate. When the question comes, ‘Why have ye done thus?’ every tongue will be silent; the rebellious world will stand speechless before God. Of Satan, God has said, ‘Thou wast perfect in all thy ways from the day that thou wast created, until iniquity was found in thee.’ GCDB March 2, 1897, page 198.4
“Sin entered the world by the defection of one who stood at the head of the holy angels. What was it that wrought so great a change, transforming a royal, honored subject into an apostate? The answer is given, ‘Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty: thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.’ Had not the Lord made the covering cherub so beautiful, so closely resembling his own image; had not God awarded him special honor; had anything been left undone in the gift of beauty and power and honor, then Satan might have had some excuse. But God declares: ‘Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering.... Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so; thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned; therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 198.5
“‘Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.’ GCDB March 2, 1897, page 198.6
“Why, O why, cannot the world see where they are drifting, and the sure result! The Lord has wrought in sending the living preacher with the word of life. It is the Word of God to a people who through Satan’s devices know him not. When the Lord’s ministers in sincerity hold forth the word of life, there should be those connected with him to help him in his work. The sowing of the gospel seed will not be a success unless the seed is quickened into life by the dew of heaven. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 198.7
“Before one book of the New Testament was written, the Holy Spirit came upon the praying apostles, and the testimony of their enemies was, ‘Ye have filled all Jerusalem with your doctrine.’ GCDB March 2, 1897, page 198.8
“The teacher himself must be the living embodiment of truth. His self-denial and charity is his witness that he bears the message of heaven. He has himself eaten of the flesh and drank of the blood of the Son of God, and this is eternal life. Taught by the Spirit, he will not be satisfied with less than the salvation of souls.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 198.9
Fredrikshavn (Denmark) High School. 1
J. C. OTTOSEN.
J. C. OTTOSEN, representative of the High School in Fredrikshavn, Denmark, spoke briefly, in substance as follows:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 199.1
The beginning of the educational work of our denomination in Denmark was in a family school, which grew into a church school, and then gradually took wider scope until in 1893, at a Scandinavian Mission Council, held in Copenhagen, it was decided to locate and build a permanent institution in Fredrikshavn, near the northern extremity of Denmark, contiguous both to Sweden and Norway. The work was entered upon at once, and in less than a year the building was opened for school and dedicated. The sum of $21,000 was invested in the property, each of the countries contributing to the expense, and the General Conference putting in one dollar for every two that the local field supplied. Of the sum invested, however, only about $9,000 has been paid, leaving a debt on the institution, the interest on which amounts to $500 a year, and constitutes a heavy drain on its resources. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 199.2
The attendance this year is smaller than it has been at times in the past, being only thirty-four in the higher departments, and about an equal number in the preparatory grades. The students in the academic department pay at the rate of $9.50 per month for board, room, and tuition; but the most of our people in these countries find it extremely difficult to raise even this amount. Expenses have been cut down as much as possible, and different enterprises have been started to increase the income. A chicken farm is operated by the school, the products of which are sold to assist in the expenses. A store is also operated by the school, which brings in some profits. The school year has been reduced from ten to seven months, to save expenses and to enable the students to earn the money necessary to keep them in the school. One of the difficulties which we have had to combat is that our school is for two languages, thus increasing the expense. And our Swedish brethren find it difficult to induce their pupils to go out of their country to obtain an education. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 199.3
Brother Ottosen stated that there are several measures under contemplation that are calculated to increase the efficiency and success of the school. One is to introduce manual labor, and connect a farm with the school, which could be carried on successfully during the long vacation, and the winter months be devoted to study. It is also proposed to open bath rooms in the school during the summer months. The location is considered very favorable to such a project. It had also been thought that since there was difficulty in maintaining the Scandinavian branch in Union College, it might be well to save that expense by recommending that those desirous of obtaining an education in that tongue spend two years in the Fredrikshavn school. The difference in the cost of attendance would be about sufficient to pay the expense of transportation. And the advantage of studying a language on the ground where it is spoken, is apparent. He would also be in favor of recommending Scandinavian young people who desire to obtain a knowledge of the English, to attend school for that purpose in this country. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 199.4
They are desirous of adopting in the Scandinavian school the same changes that are to be introduced here, in order to bring their work more closely into harmony with the divine plan. An appeal was made to the Conference that Elder Waggoner be invited to visit the school from time to time, and spend more or less time with them. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 199.5
Our Ways and God’s Way. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH. (Monday Evening, Feb. 22, 1897.)
TEXT. - For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 199.6
In connection with this text let us read a few scriptures on this subject, and then present some Bible experiences. We will first read Proverbs 20:24:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 199.7
Man’s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 199.8
The first text states that man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, that the Lord is pondering all his goings; this one says a man’s goings are of the Lord. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 199.9
We have been hearing that the power of God is what we are using all the time whether we use it right or wrong, and all our goings are by the power of the Lord. We want our ways right, and if there is no possibility of understanding anything about it, we want to know that. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 199.10
O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. Jeremiah 10:23. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.1
What are we going to do - stand still, and not step at all? The Lord has provided help for us. The first text says that our ways are before the eyes of the Lord. Let us go to the sixteenth chapter of second Chronicles, seventh to ninth verses:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.2
And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host [a huge host; if you go back and read of them, you will find that there were a million of them], with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.3
If the king wanted to take the matter into his own hands, he could fight his own battles and see how it would come out. Our ways are not the ways of the Lord. We cannot guide our own steps, but he is looking out to show himself strong in our behalf. O, says one, that is for those who are perfect. It does not say those who are perfect, but “those whose hearts are perfect toward him.” It is those whose ways are perfect toward him, trusting right in God, and working for him. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.4
Now I want to read two or three more texts. Proverbs 3:5, 6:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.5
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.6
If our ways are ordered of the Lord, we cannot understand our own paths; surely there is a way out, if we will acknowledge him in all our ways. In our institute lessons, the first thing we are called upon to do is to acknowledge God. It is his power any how, whether we use it aright or not; if we get where we realize that our power is nothing and God’s power is everything, he will then guide our paths. One brother said to me the other day, he was glad I was so full of courage. I would like to know why we should not be with such testimonies as these. We have another text in Psalm 25:8, 9:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.7
Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach [good people?] sinners in the way. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.8
The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way... What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.9
I will read one text more on that point. Psalm 32:8, 9:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.10
I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.11
He wants to show himself strong toward us, and he will guide us with his eye. “Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.” But that man who will not be guided says: I will have my way; I think this is the way it should be done, and I want you brethren to go this way. Undertake to guide him, and he is like a bucking mule; he will not go at all; he has his plans, and you must go that way. But if you would be guided in the right way, keep your eye fixed upon God, and you will know which way he is working, and which way he is looking, and then you will know which way to go. He is going to teach us. I am not going to mark out any plans as to how he shall guide you. I know how he has guided some people, because he tells us. I know how he has promised to guide some people, but I cannot tell just how he will guide you, or just how he will speak to you. I do not know that he will speak to you in an audible voice; I know he has spoken to some people, though they did not hear an audible voice. I know that he has taught in just such a way that it was as clear as though he did speak. I know of one who was looking for light, and he awoke in the night, and sentences came to him so clearly that the first husband of the seventh chapter of Romans was the old man of sin, that he could but exclaim, “Glory to God!” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.12
I do not say that God will speak to every one of you in that way, but God has a way to guide. What is that we have been reading in the first chapter of Hebrews? “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets.” He had different ways of teaching the people, did he? - Yes. In James 1:5, we find: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God” (and may be he will get some light?) “and it shall be given him.” That is true. Do you believe it? - Yes, I do, with all my soul; and I never want to doubt it. Now, God did not always teach his people through visions in ancient times, when he wanted to instruct them. I call to mind one man; his name was Jacob. He had a stone for his pillow at one time, and when he was out there all alone in the wilderness, he saw a ladder extending all the way from heaven down to earth. And in his dream he saw angels of God going up and down that ladder. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 200.13
I read of another man by the name of Joseph, and he also had dreams. I never read that he had visions. And through these dreams God instructed him. And then I read about a king whose name was Pharaoh, and he had some wonderful dreams, and God gave the interpretation of them to Joseph. And I read of a man by the name of Nebuchadnezzar, and he had some dreams, and the sum total of them is not fulfilled yet; they show us what is going to take place in the last days. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.1
God promised that way of teaching people. Let me read an expression found in Job 33:14-17:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.2
For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.3
Sometimes dreams are given to instruct man of his duty, and sometimes they are given to hold man back from an evil purpose, you see. In Jeremiah 23:28, we see that false use has been made of dreams:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.4
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.5
We would not have much wheat unless we had the chaff to hold it a little while. The chaff holds the wheat until it gets to the point where it is ripe enough to drop it. And so the dream will help the man until he can get something more substantial. “He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully.” Look back to the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth verses:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.6
I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.7
What are they doing? - They are trying to take these dreams that they have had, and make them a rule for somebody else. That is not what is said in Job. God gave man dreams to hold him back from his purposes, and to instruct him in the way - a double purpose, you see. In the second chapter of Joel and the twenty-eighth verse is a prophecy of how the Lord is going to work through this dispensation. He commenced that work on the day of Pentecost, and it is to go clear down to the last day; and the last day surely includes our day. He is going to pour out his Spirit, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall see dreams. I suppose the Lord represents here that he will work on different classes. It is not necessarily the old men only who shall dream. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.8
You are all familiar with a statement found in Testimony, vol. 1, concerning something that took place in the winter of 1860-61. It is found on page 230. Speaking of the work of Satan, how he led many to lay aside reason and judgment, and to be governed by impressions, it says:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.9
The Lord requires his people to use their reason, and not to lay it aside for impressions. His work will be intelligible to all his people: his teaching will be such as will commend itself to the understanding of intelligent men. It is calculated to elevate the mind. God’s power is not manifested upon every occasion. Man’s necessity is God’s opportunity. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.10
So he expects that we will use our reason and judgment; and that we will have his Spirit, - as Paul said, “of a sound mind.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.11
You will pardon reference to an occurrence about that time, with which I was connected: I had appointments to go to Wisconsin and throughout the west, where I had been laboring the summer before. Brother James White had appointments in the State of New York, to attend their State conference, and then come back to Ohio and Central Michigan. Brother White came in one day, and said he: “I don’t know; there is something about these appointments that I can’t understand. My mind is greatly exercised. Let us have a praying season over it.” And so we knelt and prayed, and while we were praying the mind of each was turned completely around. We changed appointments; and he had an opportunity to meet in the west the fanaticism mentioned there in the testimony, with which I had never had any experience. He was collecting money to erect the first brick office building, and that money was placed in three different banks in Battle Creek. He began to feel uneasy about the deposit, and prayed to the Lord about it, and the Lord gave him a dream. He dreamed that he saw the most prominent banker selling second-hand shoes, and he said it came to him in a moment when he awoke, Those banks are going down, and I must get the money out of them. When he came home he took every dollar ($2,600) out of the banks, a few hours before every one of them failed. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 201.12
There was a noted Spiritualist in Battle Creek at that time, who used to tell Brother White how the spirits guided him in all his business affairs. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 202.1
The citizens were building a school-house in the city of Battle Creek, No. 3 school building, on Cass St., and this man was the one that had charge of the money, and he too had $2,600 in those banks. Brother White went on a trip east, and after his return he met the Spiritualist, who said: “Mr. White, the banks have failed.” Elder White said, “Did you have your money deposited in them?” - “Yes,” said he; “I had the money there, and I have lost the whole of it. Did you lose anything?” - “Not a cent. The God that I serve gave me a dream, and I drew the money out.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 202.2
In the winter of 1867-68 I was laboring in Allegan County, Mich. My mind was burdened as to where my work should be the next summer, and as I would pray my mind was led away off southwest. I kept on praying to know what that meant; then I would dream of taking a ship in New York, and riding down to the Isthmus, and then taking another ship, and going to California, and there holding tent meetings; and I dreamed of what the people said to me, and what the brother said that was laboring with me. Said I, “That can’t mean that I am to go to California. I am never to go off there.” I suppose that winter I took that trip around across the Isthmus to California at least twenty times, in my dreams. I would have the dream, and I would tell the people that I had a kind of a curious dream the night before, - that I was going on a ship, then going on land, and then taking a ship again. When in the General Conference in May, 1868, we came to the point of distributing labor, I will tell you how we did it. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 202.3
The Conference began on Thursday, and closed the following Monday. The first thing in connection with the distribution of labor was to ask our brethren for the special needs of the field. Then we were to pray and seek God to know where he wanted the ministers to labor. When the calls were brought up, the laborers were to tell those fields they had a burden for. At that Conference calls were made from Wisconsin, and from several other parts of the country, and finally Brother M. G. Kellogg made a very strong plea for some one to go over the Rocky Mountains, to California. The people seemed amazed, for California then was away off, almost out of the world. One brother remarked that Elder Loughborough had been in New England for some time, and he would want to go back. I had no burden to go there, but Elder J. N. Andrews had, and the Lord was in that burden, for he had the greatest success, and raised up several churches. Others found their places; all were supplied, except Brother D. T. Bourdeau and myself, and there was nothing for us to choose except California. Brother Bourdeau arose and said that he had been dreaming about California all winter. He said he came to this Conference prepared to go anywhere that the Lord might direct. He had sold his horse and buggy, and everything he had except what he had in his trunk and in his pocket. Brother White had said that he would not have Brother Loughborough go to California alone; but when he found out that we both were burdened to go to that field, he said: “Pray over the matter for ten days,” which we did, and at the expiration of the time we all had clear light to go to California. When we reached San Francisco, we tried to find a place for our tent; but the only place we could find was one owned by a Jew, who wanted forty dollars a month for it. We could not begin there; so we began to pray for light, and it came. The Lord’s leading there is set forth in “Rise and Progress.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 202.4
Now, I narrate these things, not to set you all to dreaming, or thinking that you will dream out your duty, but to show that the Lord does sometimes give us instruction in this way. Last winter I had some peculiar exercises of mind, I will not say simply feelings that are contrary to reason, but I was exercised in regard to my field of labor. I had a field here, a district assigned to me, a district in which I was working; still I wanted wisdom about it. Night after night I would dream of being in Scandinavia, of being with Brother Johnson, of attending camp-meeting; and I would get up in the morning and tell my dream, but I would say, O, that does not mean anything; I am not going over there. Well, I had been requested to write a book, one that could be translated into foreign languages; and I thought that was the way I was going over there. But I dreamed of attending camp-meeting, and the first one I attended, I went to the place, and found that instead of its being held in tents, it was in a building. I said, “Where are your tents?” “O, we have not pitched any tents,” they replied. “We have a hall down town, a good, commodious hall, in a central place; and we are going to have meetings there.” “But where is your lodging house?” - “O, it is off here in this direction a little way, and a very good place.” Well, I told my dream, but I thought it simply meant that I was to do the very best I could in writing the book. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 202.5
I dreamed of attending a second camp-meeting, but on going to the place I found that this was not a camp-meeting; and I said to the brethren, “I thought there was going to be a camp-meeting; where is your camp?” They said, “We could not get a place for a camp.” We went into the meeting-house, and found that it was of boards up and down, instead of the usual way. I told this dream to my folks, and I said, “I must write this book carefully.” Well, I dreamed of going to a third meeting, and as we were on the way, I got into a boat, and the boat went up a channel, a very narrow channel, and we twisted around in that channel, which was just about as broad as this room, and finally came out into a wider body of water, and then went right over the land about twenty feet, and came into another lake, and then we went into a grove, and then on to the church where our meeting was held. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 203.1
“Well, I went to the council meeting last spring, and I wondered what was going to be said about the different fields. They began to make arrangements, and there was not a word said about Brother Loughborough’s going to Scandinavia, and I said to myself, I will write that book just as well as I can. But after a time, along came a letter from Brother Olsen, saying, “We want you to go to Scandinavia. Will you do it? Brother Johnson wants you to come over there. He thinks they need your testimony.” “And,” said Elder Olsen, “we have sent out word to the other members of the General Conference Committee. Now, will you go? What are your impressions about it?” And I sat down and wrote Brother Olsen about the situation, and told him about my dreams, and what I thought they meant. I said, “If the Lord is in it, I am willing to go.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 203.2
Well, the camp-meetings were advertised to be held at Eskilstuna, Sweden; Fredriksstad, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark. When we came to Eskilstuna, and I began to look around to see where might be the camp, I could not see it anywhere. A brother met us, and we said, “Where is the camp?” He replied, “We have no camp.” “Well,” I remarked, “it was in the advertisement that way.” Said he, “Yes, but we have no camp.” There it was, just as it was told me in my dream. And I asked, “Where is the stopping place?” and I found it was in the same direction as it had appeared in my dream. “And where are the brethren?” They said, “They are lodging in houses all around here.” Well, I had not thought much of the dream, but when I got in the meeting hall there was the congregation, and it looked just as natural as though I had seen it before. And I said, “Brother Johnson, this is all right.” He replied, “I was very certain that the Lord wanted you over here, for I could not keep from thinking that way.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 203.3
When we came to Fredriksstad, I said, “Where is the tent?” They replied, “We could not find any place for it.” I asked, “Where is the meeting-house?” And when we got over there we found the boards running up and down on the outside; and coming in, we found it to be the same on the inside. Upon inquiry, I found that the house was made of logs, and so when they made it over, they simply boarded it up and down over the logs. So we found it just as indicated in my dream. I said, “Have you some tents here?” “Yes,” they replied; and sure enough just there among the rocks were twelve tents, which we could reach only by crowding through a narrow space, not wider than this aisle. “Why have you not more room?” I asked. - “This is all the room we have.” “Well,” said I, “that is as I dreamed. It is coming out true thus far.” But I said, “I do not know how the other will come out. It cannot be that I will ride in a boat over ground into another lake.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 203.4
While at Fredricksstad came a letter from Brother Ottosen, who is here with us, who said that he was going to have an outing, and go to a nice grove up to Lingby, and he wanted Brethren Waggoner and Johnson and myself to go with him. He said he was going to ride on an amphibious boat, a peculiar kind of boat that rides on land and water too. When my wife heard of the first and second meetings, she said to the family where she was staying, that the next time they heard from me, I would tell them that I rode on land and water too; and the next time I wrote to her I sent her a picture of the boat on which we made just such a trip in water and over a strip of land some twenty rods wide, and some twenty feet high, the day before the meeting opened in Copenhagen, Denmark. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 203.5
I have not time to tell you all the particulars of our trip in the Scandinavian field, and my experience there, but if ever I had the witness that God was with me, it has been in Scandinavia and those foreign fields; although I had to talk through nine different interpreters, and to people in sixteen different languages; sometimes to two interpreters at once. The Spirit and blessing of God were with me at every step of the way. God blessed the effort, and I believe it was in the providence of God that I should go there. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 204.1
Now, he may not teach us all by dreams, but God will teach us. He is willing to teach us. His eye is upon our pathway, and he ponders all our goings; and our ways are in his hands, and he will guide us if we will fear him, if we will put our trust in him. Let us believe that God has a care for his work and people. I believe with all my heart, and I pray over it more and more; and it seems to me that if we each, individually, as ministers and laborers, seek for our duty, God will give us light as to duty, some way, - he will guide you and me. I know that in some cases it has been thought that some committee must decide everything. Now you may be disappointed if you think some committee is going to say to you, Go here, or Go there. Seek God for yourselves, and he will help you; and that will help the committee in deciding where you should go. He does not say that the ways of the committee are in his hands, and he will guide them. But the ways of those that fear him he will especially guide. And he is going to guide more and more in the Conference as we seek to carry out the instruction that has been given us. As we seek to yield our way to him, he will answer our prayers and guide our feet. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 204.2
Union College. 1
E. B. MILLER.
IN reporting the work of Union College, I shall have time only to read some extracts from a report which was recently made to the educational secretary. Having been connected with the school so short a time, I shall probably not be able to make the report as complete as might be desired, especially on those points which require comparison with the work of former years. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 204.3
At the opening of this school year, there were one hundred and forty students enrolled. Since that time one hundred and twenty more have entered, making the whole number two hundred and sixty. Of those there are about seventy living in the College Home. I cannot compare these numbers with what they have been in former years, at the same time of the year, as I do not have the statistics at hand; but compared with the full attendance of the previous years, it is as follows: 1892, 301; 1893, 607; 1894, 552; 1895, 483; 1896, 312; Jan. 1, 1897, 260. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 204.4
These figures show that since 1893 there has been a gradual decrease in attendance until the last year or two, during which time there has been a rapid decrease, until now we do not have half the number that there was in 1893. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 204.5
The general character of the pupils that are enrolled this year, I think will compare favorably with those of the other schools of our denomination. There are, of course, those with us who have had defective home-training. With these we have had to counsel and labor. As yet we have found none who have refused to listen to our admonitions. And we are glad to report that up to the present time, there have been none dismissed from school or publicly reprimanded. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 204.6
The attainments of the students so far as their general education is concerned, is fair. Quite a number have entered this year who are of foreign birth. These, besides doing work in their own tongue, enter classes in the English departments, a large per cent. of them in the lower classes. Many of the English students who enter are either able to begin the regular courses, or take up study in the last years of the preparatory work. Some have entered who will finish the higher courses in two or three years. There is a class of younger persons, most of whom are living in the College, who are doing eighth or ninth grade work. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 204.7
Some change has been made this year both in the curriculum of study and in the plan of work. In the courses of study a new one has been introduced, called the special course. It is a course of two years, designed especially for adult persons who can attend College but a short time. It includes studies in the Bible, English language, history, physiology and hygiene, and lectures on church and Sabbath-school work, etc. Perhaps the most radical change has been made in introducing the Scriptures as a fourth study into all the years of the classical and scientific courses, both preparatory and regular. In the old courses the Bible was made an optional study for two or three years. Now it is required every year, unless the student objects to its study, when other work is supplied in its place. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 204.8
Other studies, such as history of missions, pedagogy, practical rhetoric, New Testament Greek, and three terms of physiology and hygiene in place of one term, have been added to the courses. All these changes seem to be well liked by both faculty and students. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 205.1
There has not been very much done as yet by the College in the line of manual training. Two subjects have been introduced, however, with considerable success and comparatively little expense. One is work in healthful cookery. About thirty-five are receiving instruction in this branch, and are doing practical work. The other subject is bath-room treatment, in which about ninety are receiving a course of instruction. Rooms have been fitted up in which practical lessons are given. More than half the school receive instruction every week in these two subjects alone. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 205.2
Other work in manual training ought to be provided, and probably will be in the near future. The manual training that has been carried on has been given wholly as an educational work, and not as a trade that will bring present remuneration to the student. The school, however, has been able to furnish some remunerative employment, such as janitor work, coal-hauling, farm work, etc., and has helped to obtain work for students in private families, sanitarium, and bakery. The whole number of students helped in these ways to pay the whole or part of their expenses is about sixty. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 205.3
The present outlook from the financial standpoint is not as encouraging as it might be. A report made by the business manager in the month of December, when we had 216 pupils enrolled, shows the monthly receipts to be $1,472, and the monthly expenses $1,882. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 205.4
The two largest items of expense are teachers’ and helpers’ salaries and fuel. These expenses would not be materially increased if we had two or three times as many students. With one or two extra teachers, we could as easily teach five hundred pupils as we now teach two hundred and fifty. In order to keep up the grade of work of the school, we are now carrying a large number of classes with but very few in each class. These, you see, with a larger number of pupils, would simply fill up without making any more classes. We ought to have, and will have, I believe, a larger attendance if we conduct the work in the way that God would have it done. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 205.5
The religious interests of the school is a part of the work we have tried to keep prominent before us. The general interest taken in Bible study and Christian work has been quite good. Up to the present time many have had a good religious experience, and are having a daily Christian growth. We feel our need of more of the outpouring of the Spirit of God upon us, that the school may be converted through and through. Our Sabbath-school and preaching services are held in connection with the church. Prayer and social meetings and missionary meetings are held weekly. Besides these, there are weekly meetings held of foreign mission and mission bands. The students take an active part in these, and are much interested in missionary study and Christian work. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 205.6
You ask if I have any suggestions concerning the educational work. A few come to my mind which I shall not have time to dwell upon at length. I will mention them, however, by way of calling your attention to them. I believe that much time is wasted in our schools by the study of unimportant topics in many of the branches taught; and besides the unimportant topics, there are others that are dwelt upon at too great length. Too much of the work required is a kind of mental gymnastics, in which the search after truth and its underlying principles is too often forgotten. The mind of the student is kept dwelling upon multiplied examples and formulas, repeated analysis, names and locations of unimportant places, wars and lives of self-exalted heroes, and doctrines of infidels, to the exclusion of the study of what is true, and pure, and beautiful, and of good report. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 205.7
Would it not be well if a committee of our educators could be appointed to carefully consider the curriculum of study in our schools, and cast out those things that are false and unimportant. There are many subjects full of truth, now crowded out, that may easily take their place. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 205.8
Another suggestion is, that something be done to start a good magazine devoted to the subject of education. Our schools are to be different from the world’s schools. God has given us as a people what we believe to be advanced light on the subject of education. Should there not, then, be some medium by which our schools may be directed and molded, and through which the light that is given may be sent forth to the world. The magazine might not be all that would be desired at first, but with the right man at its head, it would, I believe, soon become a strong factor in our educational work. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 206.1
Keene (Texas) Industrial Academy. C. B. HUGHES
ON page 249 of the last General Conference BULLETIN is found the following recommendation:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 206.2
That arrangements be made by the General Conference Committee with the Texas Conference to take charge of the school recently established in that State, provided terms of transfer satisfactory to the General Conference Association can be arranged; that a board of managers be elected by the General Conference; that sufficient means be invested to put the school on a good, strong basis; that such a course of study be introduced as will be in the fullest harmony with the instruction given, and the principles laid down in the “Spirit of Prophecy” upon the subject of education; and that the plan of manual labor for students be further developed and carried out. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 206.3
This was unanimously adopted; and it was arranged that the General Conference Association should pay the Texas Conference one thousand dollars, and receive in return a deed of the Texas school property, which consisted of one hundred and forty-two and one-half acres of land; one two-story frame building, 48 x 48 ft., a three-story frame building, 32 x 64 ft., with attic and brick basement, capable of rooming and boarding about sixty students; a well 750 ft. deep, which supplies an abundance of pure soft water; also an orchard. Since that time the Texas brethren, wholly unaided by the General Conference, have erected a broom factory, 16 x 32 ft.; added fifteen acres of first-class land to the farm; and erected a school building, 50 x 78 ft., three-stories high besides basement and attic. This building contains a chapel, with a seating capacity of two hundred and fifty, nine recitation rooms, a library and offices, besides basement and attic. Oklahoma and Arkansas have contributed toward the last mentioned building. The building is not finished on the inside, but is being used. The Texas brethren have sufficient resources so that their total indebtedness unprovided for is less than one thousand dollars. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 206.4
The total amount invested in personal property and real estate is over $15,000. Of this amount the General Conference has furnished about $2,500; but $1,000 of this amount was paid to the Texas Conference, to replace that amount of tithe which they had invested in the school. Oklahoma and Arkansas have contributed about $500. This leaves about $12,000 as provided by Texas. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 206.5
The school being situated in Texas, the greater part of the burden has fallen upon that conference; and it must be evident to all that the effort required on the part of a small conference to carry forward so successfully such an enterprise as this, would be largely at the expense of other interests; so you will not be surprised when I tell you that the constant demand for means to meet the obligations of the school has resulted in retarding to a large extent the work of the conference in spreading the message throughout this great State. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 206.6
This is not good policy, but I presume the fault lies with us in being entirely too meek in making our wants known; for you plainly told us two years ago that you would “invest sufficient means to put the school on a good, strong basis;” and as we have not been very persistent in our demands for help, you have doubtless concluded that we did not need much. We confess our fault; and we are so glad that we do not have to appeal to you to help us as others have done, but that you have already, of your own free will, graciously promised to do more for us than we would have dared to ask. The way is open, brethren. We are perfectly willing that you should do every thing you promised to do. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 206.7
While much has been accomplished, much remains to be done. Neither of our large buildings is finished. We have no apparatus for the school room. We very much need some more books for our library. And surely an industrial school ought to have a barn. It is unfortunate that we have not been able to plant more trees and vines. Had this been done at the beginning, they would now furnish much employment and a handsome profit to the school. In fact, in the great struggle to maintain our credit in erecting buildings, the industrial plan has been sadly neglected. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 206.8
As I have thought the matter over, I have concluded that one reason why we have failed in connecting labor with our schools is, that we devote so much of our time and means to big buildings and their furnishings that there is not enough left to make the other a success, and so we conclude that the plan is a failure; when the truth is, that man is a failure, and not God’s plan. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 207.1
I have noticed that when a farmer builds a fine, large house, and furnishes it according to the demands of society, and then builds a miserable shed for his horses, allows his cows to find shelter from winter’s blasts in fence corners, and is so remarkably busy that he is always behind in his farming operations, you are sure to find that the only thing which grows successfully on his farm is a mortgage. Let the plan be reversed - a small house be built, a large barn, and earnest efforts be put forth, and that man succeeds; and he does not always live in a small house, either. There may be a lesson for us in these experiences. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 207.2
We furnish students three hours’ work each day. Some young men earn half their expenses, others not so much. We charge fifteen dollars per month, and then deduct the amount earned. When a young lady works her allotted time, she pays us $11.40 per month; or if paid semi-annually in advance, $10.40. We have enough housework fully to employ the young ladies, as the young men find all their employment out of doors except some of the heavier housework. The work of the young men consists in farming, gardening, wood-chopping, and broom-making. Work is not furnished to those who live out of the Home. The delightful climate enables the student to work out of doors nearly the entire time during the winter. It is garden-planting time now. Some of our garden was planted last week. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 207.3
Does it pay? you ask. We would be able to pay our teachers in full if we had not in our more prosperous days invested from our tuition fund about a thousand dollars in farm improvements, implements, stock, and building. Had it not been for crop failure this past year we would still have been able to do this in addition to paying our teachers. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 207.4
Our enrollment the past year in the Academy was eighty-eight; at the present time it is eighty-seven. There would have been a large increase this year if crops had been good. The enrollment in the primary school last year was about one hundred; this year it is about thirty. Having a public school this year for the first time, makes the difference in enrollment. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 207.5
Those announced in our calendar as teachers in the preparatory school were afterward employed to teach the public school, and our superintendent is almost wholly occupied in other work; so that our present force consists of six teachers, matron, and cook. Dr. A. W. Herr teaches physiology. He is employed by the sanitarium which is being established at Keene, which will give students opportunity to make practical preparation for medical missionary work. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 207.6
The Lord greatly blessed us during the week of prayer, and while we have not seen all we had hoped for in the weeks following, yet there is a good spirit in the school, and many of the students are consecrated to the Master’s service. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 207.7
The health of the school has been good during the past two years. Since the founding of the school we have not had a serious case of illness in the Home. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 207.8
We are very grateful to our brethren for the interest they have manifested in our school. We have been told many times that our school is anxiously watched by the entire denomination. But it requires something more than sympathy and interest to make such an enterprise succeed. Our people have been interested in such things for many years, and yet little has been accomplished. The following words in regard to our school from our district superintendent’s report, although spoken two years ago, are just as applicable now: “The opportunities are so favorable for conducting an industrial school after the most improved methods, that it would seem to be negligence on the part of the denomination if proper encouragement were not given to make the school thoroughly representative in this particular.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 207.9
South Lancaster (Mass.) Academy. 1
J. H. HAUGHEY.
THE fifteenth year of South Lancaster Academy had an enrollment at the opening of the second term, Jan. 20, 1897, of one hundred and thirty-seven, - twenty in the primary, fifteen in the intermediate, and one hundred and two in the preparatory and academic departments. The enrollment for the year 1895-6 was one hundred and thirty-five. During the summer vacation a stronger effort than usual was put forth in the interests of education in the District, the principal being in attendance at several of the camp-meetings, and teachers being sent out into the New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Atlantic Conferences. One noticeable result is a better class of students. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 207.10
The new dormitory, which was in course of construction at the last session of the General Conference, was ready for occupancy at the opening of the fall term, 1895, and was dedicated September 10 of that year. Since that time all who room and board in the institution have been accommodated in this Home. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 208.1
In the spring of 1895 the calendar was rewritten, and a number of changes made in the courses of study, chief among which were the addition of more Bible, more history, and more physiology. This necessitated the lengthening of the courses one year. The two courses, scientific and classical, are included under what is known as the Biblical-Academic department, and the work is so arranged that every student may take Bible as one of his four studies from the time he enters the lowest grade until he completes the work. In Greek, the Biblical text is substituted for the classics. Experience has proved all these changes to be for the better. The demand arising for the lengthening of the course in English Bible was supplied by securing the services of a teacher exclusively for this department. With three or four exceptions, every student has entered one of the Bible classes the present year. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 208.2
With the beginning of the fall term of 1895, an intermediate department was opened. This was for the purpose of separating the younger pupils from those of more mature minds. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 208.3
A Bible school of six weeks’ duration was held, beginning with Jan. 1, 1896. Those in attendance were not included in the enrollment for that year. The general canvassing agent, F. L. Mead, held an institute near the close of the last school year, for the benefit of the students in the school, and as a result from twenty to twenty-five entered the canvassing field during the summer. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 208.4
The greatest apparent need of the institution at present is some means whereby worthy young persons may be enabled to meet their expenses, either in whole or in part, by some kind of manual labor. As it is, the Academy assists only about half a dozen students in this way. A gymnasium has just been completed, where students may obtain healthful exercise; but experience has shown that the most valuable of all physical exercise is that which comes from sober, diligent, practical labor. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 208.5
This is the fourth year since the institution has exclusively adopted the vegetarian diet. There has been no sickness worthy of notice during this time. Two cooking classes have been formed each year, in which the underlying principles of healthful cookery have been taught, and put into practical use. The financial situation is such that no further assistance is needed than the attendance of students, provided that the number be not less than two hundred. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 208.6
Connected with the institution is the South Lancaster Church and Academy Missionary Society, which holds weekly meetings in the Academy chapel, and aside from sending out a large amount of reading-matter, executes a program on topics of a missionary or other religious character. This is a most excellent substitute for the literary drill usually attempted in literary societies. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 208.7
The past term for both spiritual and intellectual advancement has been one of the best, if not the best, in the history of the institution. Many times the Lord’s presence has been witnessed in a marked manner, and on one occasion he was pleased to come in and take the school into his own hands, and give us a day’s work in heart-culture. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 208.8
The future outlook for South Lancaster Academy is most encouraging; for it is evident that the Lord is in the work; that he is its true Head. As never before, both teachers and students realize the importance of making him and his word first in everything, - first in the calendar, first in the chapel talks, first in the class rooms, and first in their lives. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 208.9
Studies in the Book of Hebrews. - No. 10. E. J. WAGGONER. (Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 28, 1897.)
WE have come to the closing verses of the second chapter of Hebrews; there is where we have read to:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 208.10
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.1
What for? - That he might destroy him that had the power of death. And do what? - Deliver. Deliver whom? - Those who were all their lifetime subject to bondage. And what was their bondage? - Fear; they were frightened, terrorized. Who is it that has the power of death? - Satan. How does he go about? - As a roaring lion. There is something fearful, something terrorizing, about a lion’s roar. So he terrorizes and holds people in bondage by his roaring. What brings death? - Sin. How does sin bring death? Does it pick it up and carry it along as something apart from itself? “Lust, when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is full grown, bringeth forth death.” So sin carries death in itself, for sin is death. It is fear that brings men to bondage. Christ died that he might deliver from what? - From fear of death. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.2
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.3
What is the particular thing we shall consider about him? - He is faithful. He suffered, being tempted, but he was faithful to him that appointed him. We are to consider him on that account. It is the same thought that is expressed in the twelfth chapter, where it says:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.4
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.5
Consider him, lest ye be weary and faint in your minds. Now, if we had to consider Christ simply as he was eighteen hundred years ago when he was tempted and did not yield, but was faithful, - if it were simply to look at his example, and try to imitate it, would we not become weary and faint? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.6
How can you be like him? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.7
(A voice) “By beholding we become changed.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.8
Of what was he made partaker? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.9
(A voice) Flesh and blood. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.10
To what was he like? - His brethren in all things. And where is he still? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.11
(A voice) In our flesh. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.12
“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” When did the Word cease to be made flesh? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.13
(A voice) He was made so; and whatsoever God does shall be forever. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.14
Very well. The Word was made flesh, and suffered. We have one perfect instance of it in the flesh, without any failure, simply to show what it is possible for God to do in flesh. Now we read that he suffered, being tempted. There is a verse that comes to my mind, 1 Peter 4:1:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.15
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.16
How can we arm ourselves with the same mind? The Word tells us: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Just let it be so. There is one of the let-it-be’s, one of God’s creative words. Where do you find that word first? - First chapter of Genesis. “Let there be light.” “Let the waters be gathered together.” “Let the earth bring forth grass.” “Let the waters bring forth abundantly.” And what invariably followed? - “And it was so.” So when we have the Word of the Lord, “Let this mind be in you,” what will be the result if we receive it as God’s Word? - It will be so. I say, Lord, amen, even so, let it be; and it is so. That is not simply a form of speech. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.17
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.18
We might feel like saying about this as the Jews once did to Christ’s words: “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” Who can hear it? “He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” Of course that depends on a person’s mind as to whether that is a desirable position or not. I can speak for myself that I know a good deal about the time as a matter of fact, when I did not regard that as desirable at all in ceasing from sin. Afterward I did not want to sin very much, but just a little. That seemed all right; I thought that was desirable; it was pleasing to me. I did not want to be a very bad sinner - in fact, I did not want to be called a sinner at all; but I did not want to cease from sin. Now, that is my public confession. I do not know whether any of you would duplicate it or not. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.19
(Voices) I can. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.20
Now here is a way by which if any one thinks more than that is desirable, that may be obtained; and if he does not think it is desirable, of course he will never obtain it. Christ hath suffered, being tempted, and is able to succor them that are tempted. Whoever arms himself with the same mind, by letting it be in him, and desires to be freed from sin so greatly that he is willing to endure suffering in the flesh in the struggle, may cease from sin. Christ suffered for us in the flesh being tempted. That is to say, his resistance of sin was so real, so powerful, the sin that was presented to him to resist was so strong, that it drew on the very fibres of his body, his very existence. How did he resist? - By faith. He struggled, - there was that which caused him suffering in the flesh because of the sin in the flesh. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 209.21
Now let us read Isaiah 40:1, 2: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord.” Here is a message of comfort. We have referred to this chapter several times before, and we have found that its special application is now, because it contains the message that is to prepare the way of the Lord when he shall come with his reward. So to us apply the words, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem,” literally, “speak to the heart of Jerusalem,” that is, so that they will understand, “and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” What has she received double? - Mercy; because when the Lord pardons sins, gives grace to pardon, he does not measure it to fit the exact size and need. No, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” There is more than enough. “Return unto your God, and he will abundantly pardon;” as the margin has it, “multiply to pardon.” “Cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished.” Here is something that is to be told to the people - Your warfare is accomplished. Does that mean that men may now sit down and have an easy time? - Oh, no; far from it; it means action. It means the taking of the victory that has been gained. Christ has accomplished the warfare; therefore what are you to do? - Rejoice in it. How can you rejoice in it? - By faith. Well, what is meant by that - by having victory in him? We get victory because his victory is our victory. His victory is our victory, because he gained it for us, and we get the benefit of it by allowing him to dwell in us in his fullness. The enemy is just as powerless against Christ in us, as he was against Christ eighteen hundred years ago. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 210.1
Christ has gained the victory, - complete, perfect, absolute. He did no sin. He did not know sin in the sense of doing it; but he knew it in the power of it. Christ knows the power of sin better than anybody in this house, because he resisted to the utmost, and we have not. Now when one sets out to resist sin to the utmost, he will know the power of sin as he never knew it before, because if he lets himself be swept along, he will never know the power at all; but when he sets out to resist sin to the utmost extent, he will know the full power of it. Christ knows the power; he has gained the victory, complete, spoiled principalities and powers, and taken the weapons from the enemy. If we are in bondage, then, what are we in bondage to? - Sin. What is it that puts us in bondage? - Fear. There is no need of it, because liberty has been proclaimed, and when the Lord proclaims liberty, there is liberty. The Lord stands and cries to the captives, “Liberty.” Now when the Lord cries, Liberty, there is liberty. But to how many has he proclaimed liberty? - To all that are bound. Christ has brought liberty, absolute freedom. Men were in bondage to sin; Christ has brought absolute freedom from sin to every individual in the world; and he has taken the one who had the power of sin, the author of sin, the originator of sin, and spoiled him, made a show of him; so that he had no power at all in Christ’s hand. With Christ how much power has Satan? - None at all. His power is gone. In any contest with Christ he has no power at all. He is helpless. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 210.2
Here is a contest, here is a battle; two armies drawn up; here is one army well armed; that is, they have access to the best armor, their magazines are full, they are well equipped, and everything is perfect. The other army has nothing, and they are cowed, defeated. What would you think of this well-equipped army to let itself be taken captive by the other? It would be very foolish. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 210.3
The message is that the warfare in every particular has been accomplished, has been fought, and won, absolutely. That is a thing for us to believe. Now if we believe that all the time, who is going to be foolish enough to be defeated? For do you suppose - is it possible that any man, believing and knowing that a foe with whom he had to contend was completely defeated, would be taken captive by him? - He could not. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 210.4
Now arm yourself with the same mind. The devil has learned perfectly Christ’s power. He has contested that, he knows it. He knows perfectly well that he cannot affect him in the slightest particular. Then when it is demonstrated to the devil’s satisfaction that we are armed with Christ’s mind, that we have encased ourselves in him, he will know that he can do nothing with us. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 210.5
I do not mean to say that the devil will go away, and never come back again, because he has had so much experience with human kind that he knows that if he finds them on their guard one time, the next time he will very likely find them off. Because here is the way with us: when we have gained one victory, we get so elated over it that we begin to spend all our time thinking about it, and then we lose the next one. We think, “Now I am getting pretty good. I have learned how to do it; now I can gain victories all the time; I am all right.” But are we good? - No; it is not I who gained the victory, but Christ. We have no right to take credit to ourselves. No man can ever in his Christian experience say that he is better than he once was; but he can acknowledge Christ’s presence and power in him, and give to him the glory. Suppose I gain a victory, it is Christ who did it; it was not I. I could not do it; but the thing is done. Because the work is all of God, no man can boast. We are not to keep looking back to see how much progress we have made, but keep looking forward and upward to see how much greater things God has to show us. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 211.1
Now, about arming ourselves with the same mind. “Let this mind be in you.” That is, let Christ himself be in you; let Christ dwell in you. On these words, “Comfort ye,” turn to the fourteenth chapter of John, sixteenth and eighteenth verses: “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter.” Now that word Comforter is from the very same Greek word that is used in 1 John 2:1: “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father.” That word “advocate” is identical with this word “Comforter.” So that verse should read, “If any man sin, we have a Comforter with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Now returning to the passage in John: “And he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” Christ says: I will not leave you orphans: I will come to you. Now, when does he mean that he will come? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 211.2
Elder A. F. Ballenger: “When spoken, when did it mean?” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 211.3
Well, we can answer that. It meant the same thing to those who heard it that it does to us. The same thing that was spoken to them is spoken to us, for the Word is a living Word. Now when will Christ come, when does he come, and how does he come to us according to this promise? - By the Spirit. Christ’s promise to send the Holy Spirit was his proof of the statement that he would not leave us lone orphans, but would come to us. The Spirit, then, is Christ’s representative on earth, and Christ comes and dwells in us by the Spirit. So he says, he shall take of mine, and show them to you. We are well provided with comfort. We have a Comforter with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; that assures an open communication at the end of the line; and we have also “another Comforter” with us, to abide with us forever, so that the communication is open all along the line. “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” The Spirit dwelling in us brings Christ himself to dwell in us; and he in whom Christ dwells by the Spirit, is armed with the same mind that Christ was, is he not? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 211.4
Question:- These two Comforters agree, do they not? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 211.5
Of course they do. It is all the same comfort; for it is by the other Comforter that Christ dwells in us. Do you believe it? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 211.6
(A voice) Yes, it is so. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 211.7
How do you know it is so? The world cannot receive him, but you know him. How do you know him? - “He dwelleth in you, and shall be in you.” When Christ is made in us righteousness, what is that righteousness? - Absence from sin; “what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?” Then Christ is made unto us freedom from sin; are we willing to accept him as that? But this is not all. He is made unto us wisdom. What fellowship has wisdom with ignorance? “In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God. Then how can a man, if he believes the Lord, and believes that this is all for us, - how can we (it is a practical thing for us here as delegates) - how can we go on in the dark as to what we ought to do, any more than we can go on living in sin? Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith, so that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. That is a good deal. Then why should we not allow God to manifest himself in us for all that he desires to do with us? Remember that we are not able to say anything as of ourselves, but “our sufficiency is of God.” While a man holds himself to this, there is no danger at all. There is no danger in truth. There is no danger in accepting the truth. There never was a man in this world who was fanatical because he believed the Bible. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 211.8
We have the promise of wisdom. Not only is Christ our righteousness, but our wisdom. What, then, is the use of our coming together and guessing about things? What is the use of a company of delegates coming together, and using their own human judgment, and then calling their conclusions the will of the Lord? Brethren, there is no need of a single mistake being made in this Conference. There is no need of a single thing being done from first to last that will ever have to be taken back. But I am afraid there will be; for there has never yet been a Conference among us where there was nothing done that had to be taken back. As I have been absent and have read the Conference reports in the BULLETIN, and seen that this one was to go here, and that one to go there, and then in the next number seen the recommendations reversed, and then when the Conference was over, and we received the Review, and would find that some of the recommendations were rescinded and others changed, I have wondered what was the use of wasting so much time in making the first decisions. There never has been a time in our history when mistakes have not been made; but that is no reason why we should go on at haphazard. “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.” That would save much time in our councils. Whoever talks in this Conference, recommending any plan, ought first to be so well acquainted with God that he knows his will in that particular, and then the brethren will recognize it as such, and there will be no discussion over it. And thus, when we act, we may know that it is just the thing that God would have us do. Now when there is a possibility of knowing just exactly what the Lord would have done, what fearful responsibility rests upon the man that goes ahead and does not know. If we say that we don’t know how to speak as the oracles of God, he tells us that he will pour out his Spirit upon us, and make known his words unto us. What, then, is the thing for us to do, brethren? GCDB March 2, 1897, page 212.1
Eighth Meeting of the Conference
THE Conference met pursuant to adjournment at 5 P. M. Feb. 28, A. J. Breed in the chair. R. S. Donnell led the assembly in prayer. After the minutes had been read and approved, the Chair announced that the special business of the meeting was the consideration of the partial report of the Committee on Plans and Resolutions submitted on Friday and revised. The Chair suggested that to save time remarks be made in the form of suggestions rather than questions. The report was then read by the chairman of the committee, H. P. Holser, as follows:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 212.2
Your Committee on Plans and Resolutions would respectfully substitute the following, in place of its previous partial report:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 212.3
In consideration of the rapid extension and varied character of the work of the General Conference, we acknowledge the inconsistency which has been so clearly pointed out to us, of centering so many responsibilities at Battle Creek, and having so many matters of a varied character, and relating to the work in widely different localities, submitted for consideration to a few men who largely compose our General Conference committees and boards. We also see that it is not wise to choose one man to preside over the varied interests and extensive territory of the General Conference. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 212.4
Therefore we propose that there shall be a division of responsibility, a division of territory, and a change in the manner of working of committees and boards, which shall be the inauguration of a thorough reformation. Wherefore, we recommend, - GCDB March 2, 1897, page 212.5
1. That the presidency of the General Conference Association, the presidency of the Mission Board, and the presidency of the General Conference work in North America, be placed on three different men, instead of placing them upon one man as heretofore. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 212.6
2. That, after committing the care of the foreign missions, the foreign mission territory, and isolated conferences to the watchcare of the Mission Board, the General Conference territory be divided into three grand divisions; namely, (a) the Australasian Union Conference, (b) the European Union Conference, (c) the General Conference territory in North America. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 212.7
3. That the territory now embraced in District No. 8 be organized into a European Union Conference, which shall hold biennial sessions alternating with the General Conference sessions. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 212.8
4. That a mission board of nine members, with headquarters and incorporation in some Atlantic State, be elected to take charge of all mission funds of the denomination, and all mission fields not included in the three grand divisions mentioned in sec. 2. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 212.9
5. That the presidents of the General Conference and the Union Conferences, the president of the Mission Board, the district superintendents, and the president of the General Conference Association, be elected at the biennial sessions of the General Conference. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.1
6. That, inasmuch as tract society and Sabbath-school work constitute important parts of Conference work, they be considered as belonging to, and a part of, the same; and instead of being carried on as at present through separate organizations, secretaries and treasurers be chosen by State and Union Conferences to promote the interests in these lines. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.2
7. That, in recognition of the example of the apostles as recorded in the sixth chapter of the Acts, business men be chosen to attend to the business interests of the work, leaving the ministers free to engage in the ministry of the word. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.3
8. That the election of a Book Committee be discontinued. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.4
It was moved by W. B. White to adopt the report by the separate consideration of each item. M. C. Wilcox suggested that action be taken on each item. O. A. Olsen explained that in view of necessary alterations of the constitution in case the recommendations prevailed, it would be better simply to consider the report, leaving the adoption to a subsequent time. W. D. Curtis inquired whether it would be consistent for the Conference to adopt measures that would conflict with the existing constitution. W. C. White thought it would be better to adopt right measures, and then fit the constitution to the situation. The motion to adopt by consideration of each item prevailed. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.5
In the consideration of No. 1, W. M. Healey moved to strike out the words, “instead of placing them upon one man as heretofore.” - Carried. It was queried whether the three conferences would be co-ordinate, or whether the president of the General Conference would still be considered as chief. It was replied that the purpose was that the president of the American Conference would be senior to the others. The case of Daniel (Daniel 6:2) was cited as a precedent: “And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.6
A. T. Jones referred to 1 Chronicles 11 and after a brief examination of that history expressed his conviction that the Lord was guiding in this matter according to his own plan. R. A. Underwood referred to the perplexity of the committees and the burden he had carried in the matter, and then related how the plan recommended had been presented to the minds of several members; and he took this as an evidence that the Lord had given light. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.7
On sec. 4, W. W. Prescott said that while he believed in the principle of distributing the responsibilities, he thought that care should be taken not to carry away from Battle Creek those interests that were too closely identified with the center to be removed without detriment to the work. As the training of workers was largely carried on there, and news and information naturally centered there, he apprehended that a board located in the East would be at a disadvantage in not being in close contact with the center of the work. F. M. Wilcox spoke to the same effect. It was replied that it was not contemplated to separate the board entirely from Battle Creek. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.8
F. M. Wilcox offered as an amendment to sec. 6, that all reference to Sabbath-school work be stricken out. S. H. Lane thought that in view of the importance of the tract and missionary work, the office of the president of that society should be perpetuated, and that it should, with that of president of the Foreign Mission Board and of the General Conference Association, form the second three. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.9
Many questions cute and curious, wise and otherwise, were put and answered, the meeting continuing until seven o’clock, when E. B. Miller moved that this Conference approve of the general plan of the report up to sec. 5, and that this report be referred back to the committee for further revision and arranging. The motion prevailed, and the meeting adjourned. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.10
Meeting of the Stockholders of the S. D. A. Publishing Association
THE above-named meeting was called by the president of the Association, W. C. Sisley, at 9 o’clock, Monday morning, March 1. The Chair ascertained the number of stockholders and proxy holders present by a show of hands. It was distinctly stated this meeting was only preliminary to the legal meetings to be held in Battle Creek. Under the circumstances it seemed best to obtain the counsel and wishes of the stockholders present, rather than to leave all these decisions to be made by the smaller meeting. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.11
The meeting was opened by singing, and prayer was offered by C. H. Jones. The reading of the minutes of the previous meeting was waived. The chairman took up the financial report, making observations of totals, and answering questions of members. The statement of loss and gain on the different periodicals was dwelt upon at some length, the following items being elicited: Loss for the year on the Instructor, was $669; Sendebud, $75; Vaktare, $1,479; Hausfreund, $270; Holland paper, $1,356. Gain on the Review, $5,459. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 213.12
It was moved and supported that the chairman be authorized to name committees who would make to the legal meeting suggestions in reference to directors and future plans. The Chair stated that he preferred that the meeting would elect these committees. The motion prevailed. The committees were subsequently announced, as follows:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.1
On Nominations: A. J. Breed, G. A. Irwin, A. T. Jones. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.2
On Plans: G. C. Tenney, S. H. Lane, M. C. Wilcox. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.3
After a brief discussion of various minor points, the meeting adjourned. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.4
MEETING OF S. D. A. EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY
An advisory meeting of the above Society was called at 9:10 A. M., March 1, by the president of the Board, W. C. Sisley. J. N. Loughborough led the meeting in prayer. A show of hands revealed the presence of quite a number of stockholders. The Chair stated that it was customary to receive at this point the report of the president of the faculty. It was voted to have the address printed, to save the time necessary for its reading. The report of the Treasurer not being in hand, no financial statement could be made to the meeting. But according to the estimate furnished by the business agent, the present year would show a deficit of $3,000; and it would be incumbent upon the stockholders to provide for this. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.5
The Chair being authorized to announce committees similar to those appointed in the Publishing Association meeting, named the following:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.6
On Nominations: W. C. White, H. P. Holser, R. A. Underwood. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.7
On Plans: I. H. Evans, A. O. Burrill, E. A. Sutherland. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.8
It was decided to have similar meetings on Thursday morning at the same hour. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.9
Ninth Meeting of the Conference
THE ninth meeting of the Conference was called at 10:20 A. M., March 1, 1897, the president, O. A. Olsen in the chair. The chairman stated that the meeting had been called a few minutes earlier than the regular time, in order that time might be given to prayer. It was apparent to all that we have special need of divine blessing and guidance. W. W. Prescott, O. A. Olsen, and R. M. Kilgore led the assembly in prayer. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.10
The minutes of the previous meeting being read, were approved. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.11
The Chair stated that the report under consideration in the previous meeting having been referred back to the committee, there was no question before the Conference. The committee said that their revised report was in the hands of the printers, and would not be ready for some minutes. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.12
The Committee on Education submitted through its chairman, W. W. Prescott, the following partial report:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.13
1. That the attention of our school boards and faculties be again called to the true principles of education as presented in the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy, with the urgent request that such changes be made in the plans for instruction and training and the methods of teaching as are necessary in order that our educational institutions may be conducted in harmony with these principles; the one great purpose being to prepare efficient workers for the different lines of Christian effort. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.14
2. That, in harmony with the above recommendation, the necessity of a thorough training in the so-called common branches of study be emphasized, that better and suitable opportunities be afforded for obtaining a practical business training, and for uniting labor and study in our schools, and also for manual training and the study of the natural sciences. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.15
3. That such study be given to these principles by the instructors in our schools as will enable them to embody in the next annual announcements definite plans for the application of these principles in actual school work. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.16
4. That the general plans adopted at the last session of the General Conference in regard to the publication of a monthly educational journal, be carried into effect as early as possible. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.17
It was moved and supported that the Conference consider and adopt the report by item. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.18
Upon recommendation 1, W. W. Prescott spoke at length, and a report of his remarks will probably be given separately. J. H. Haughey spoke briefly in support of the point. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.19
On the second section, W. T. Bland spoke in favor of emphasizing the necessity of studying the common branches. J. I. Gibson thought from his observation that the simple studies were the uncommon branches, and thought they should become more common. G. W. Caviness said that the thought had been expressed that students should, after spending a time in study, have an opportunity to put what they have learned into practice. In his experience he had followed his studies with practical work in all grades of education. He regarded it as a shame that colleges should send out students who cannot properly read, write, and spell. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 214.20
Recommendation three was passed without comment. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.1
In reference to section 4, the question was raised as to the time when the plan would be carried out. There was none, though it should be done as soon as practicable. It was stated in reference to former plans that they were in substance as follows: That the journal be a thirty-two-page monthly, of the size of the Medical Missionary. That its publication be omitted in August and September; the price to be fifty cents per year, or to be sent free to all subscribers of the Review who have paid two dollars per year. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.2
At the suggestion of J. H. Kellogg, the last clause of section 2, as it appears, was added by the committee. The report was then adopted. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.3
The Committee on Plans and Resolutions then presented its re-revised report as follows:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.4
Your Committee on Plans and Resolutions would respectfully substitute the following, in place of its previous partial report:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.5
In consideration of the rapid extension and varied character of the work of the General Conference, we acknowledge the inconsistency which has been so clearly pointed out to us, of centering so many responsibilities at Battle Creek, and having so many matters of a varied character, and relating to the work in widely different localities, submitted for consideration to a few men who largely compose our General Conference committees and boards. We also see that it is not wise to choose one man to preside over the varied interests and extensive territory of the General Conference. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.6
Therefore we propose that there shall be a division of responsibility, a division of territory, and a change in the manner of working of committees and boards, which shall be the inauguration of a thorough reformation. Wherefore, we recommend:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.7
1. That the presidency of the General Conference Association, the presidency of the Mission Board, and the presidency of the General Conference work in North America, be placed on three different men. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.8
2. That the General Conference territory be divided into three grand divisions; viz., (a) the United States and British North America, (b) Europe, (c) Australasia; the remaining territory to be under the watchcare of the Mission Board. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.9
3. That a Mission Board of nine members, with headquarters and incorporation in some Atlantic State, be elected to take charge of all mission funds, and all mission fields not included in the three grand divisions mentioned in sec. 2. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.10
4. That Union Conferences be organized in Europe and America as soon as deemed advisable, and that these Union Conferences hold biennial sessions, alternating with the General Conference. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.11
5. That the Executive Committee chosen by the General Conference shall consist of thirteen members, composed of the presidents of the General Conference, the Union Conferences, the superintendents of the six General Conference districts in the United States, the president of the Mission Board, and three other persons, the president of the General Conference being the chairman of this committee. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.12
6. That, in recognition of the example of the apostles as recorded in the sixth chapter of the Acts, business men be chosen to attend to the business interests of the work, leaving the ministers more free to engage in the ministry of the word. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.13
7. That the election of a Book Committee be discontinued. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.14
Recommendation 1 passed without comment. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.15
Upon recommendation 2 there were a few unimportant questions relating to the division of territory, etc., which were answered to the satisfaction of the meeting. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.16
On section 3, S. H. Lane in extended remarks spoke in favor of locating the work of the Mission Board in Chicago. W. W. Prescott moved that the words “headquarters and incorporation in some Atlantic State,” be stricken out, and the following added to the section: “The location of this Board to be left to the General Conference Committee and the Mission Board.” S. H. Lane seconded the amendment. Prof. Prescott spoke of the importance of giving more time to the consideration of the location of this work. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.17
W. C. White spoke several times in defense of the original recommendation, giving at some length the history of the development of the Foreign Mission Board, and outlined what to his mind the secretary work of the Board should be. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.18
The discussion was participated in by different members, and pending the discussion the Conference adjourned to the call of the Chair. The Chairman announced that the next meeting of the Conference would be held at 5 o’clock, the following afternoon. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.19
The Religious Liberty Association was given the evening in the place of the regular discourse. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 215.20
Mrs. A. S. Steele’s Address
IN the early part of the meetings Mrs. A. S. Steele, who is with us, occupied an evening in giving a most interesting account of her work in the South in behalf of the colored people, especially of orphans. We have not intended to let that meeting pass without extended notice, but have not been able to secure a proper report of Mrs. Steele’s remarks. At this late date we refer to it as one of the most interesting features of the occasion, and we have had many requests for a published report of the address. But we shall not now be able to do this, much to our regret. An outline would run as follows:- GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.1
Mrs. Steele’s husband was an officer in the civil war, and died soon after the war, of disease contracted in the service. In a providential way, and much against her natural feelings, Mrs. Steele’s mind was drawn out in sympathy to the poor ex-slaves. Under the direction of the Congregational Board she went to South Carolina, and established several schools for them, and then returned for a period to her home in Massachusetts. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.2
Returning to the South, she found the way closed to go to her former field, and so went to Chattanooga, where, unaided by any society, she has succeeded, as she fully believes, in the providence of God, in establishing a large orphanage for poor colored outcasts, and other needy children, and there she has assumed a mother’s part to the motherless. The institution has been burned out and rebuilt, and now is carrying on its noble work on quite an extensive scale. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.3
The story of the struggles of this devoted lady, who, without wealth or any human dependence, has accomplished such a work, is not less than astonishing except in the light of faith in God on whom alone she depends. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.4
THE strong pleas made for the International Tract and Missionary and Sabbath-school Association organizations seem to have saved them from absorption if we may judge by the re-revised report of the committee on plans. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.5
THE telescope purchased for Union College by the astronomy class of 1895, is used each pleasant evening and morning to contribute to the entertainment of visitors. The instrument is a fine one, with a four-inch object glass. Professor Cady gives much time and pains in directing the examination of the heavenly bodies. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.6
ONE of the noticeable features of the Conference is the absence of criticism. This is a good indication. It shows that the Spirit of God is working. Sometimes we hear a critic make the remark concerning a sermon or some other talk: “He threshed over a good deal of straw for a very little wheat.” GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.7
ON account of the difficulty attending the getting out of a paper on Sunday morning, involving night work at a long distance from home, it has not been considered practicable to do so. We have regretted this, but saw no way to bring it about otherwise. The consequence is that the full number of issues at first anticipated will not be reached. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.8
THE usual pressure on the closing days of our general gatherings begins to be felt on the present occasion. Two meetings of the Conference are held daily, and, sad to say, the hour set apart for devotional services - for prayer and experiences - is often encroached upon. On Monday evening the usual sermon was displaced by the third meeting of the International Religious Liberty Association. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.9
CALIFORNIA
If You Are Going There, GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.10
by all means inquire about the Burlington Route Personally Conducted Excursions to San Francisco and Los Angeles, which leave Chicago every Wednesday, with a Pullman Palace Tourist Car through to destination. The route is via Denver, the Denver & Rio Grande Ry. (Scenic Line) and Salt Lake City. The Cars are fitted with carpets, upholstered seats, mattresses, pillows, blankets, bed linen, berth curtains, toilet rooms, heat and light, and, in fact, all the conveniences of a standard Pullman Palace car; they lack only some of the expensive finish of the Pullmans run on the limited express-trains, while the cost per berth is only about one third of the price. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.11
Write for full particulars to T. A. GRADY, Excursion Manager, C. B. & Q. R. R., 211 Clark street, Chicago, Ill. GCDB March 2, 1897, page 216.12