General Conference Daily Bulletin, vol. 1
March 8, 1897
32ND SESSION. - LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, - VOL. 1. - NO. 17
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 8, 1897, page 289.1
The Work of God. J. H. KELLOGG, M. D. (Continued from page 286.)
With tears running down their cheeks they ask God to save them, - I tell you if you could see that appetite taken away from them just in an instant, this would give you faith in God that you never had before. It shows me what God can do for me if I let him. Now I have seen that thing done scores of times. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.2
A few weeks ago I read this Psalm, and I read on to this beautiful verse, the seventeenth:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.3
Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.4
A man is always foolish to go against God. He ought to know better than that; he cannot reject God willfully. Any man that violates any physical law or spiritual law, is foolish in doing so. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.5
Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.6
Yes, they get so sick that they lose all appetite for anything, and they lose all relish for life. They do not care whether they live or do not live. They would just as soon die as not. It is not a great wonder why so many persons commit suicide. They have exhausted all their resources, their souls abhor everything. They draw near to the gates of death. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.7
Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.8
Even if a man is a fool, and has been as wicked as he could possibly be, and is all consumed by his diseases and transgressions, and now he is just going into the jaws of death, - that man cries to the Lord in his trouble, and he saves him out of his distress. Well, if the Lord will save that man, won’t he save everybody? Is there any one without hope if the Lord will save this man? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.9
He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.10
Now see what a comforting thing that is to read: He sent his word, his Bible, and he heals their diseases even, and he delivers them from their destructions - these habits, these diseases, and these things that are eating them up, absolutely consuming them. The Lord pledges that he will deliver them from their destructions. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.11
I will relate a case to illustrate this. A man had the delirium tremens, and it was the third time he had had it. The boys found him on the street, and brought him to the mission, and in three days he was well, and was a converted man. He now regularly attends our prayer-meetings, and praises the Lord that he has delivered him. He was lying there in the bed, and the adjoining room was used for prayer-meeting. There was a partition between the two rooms, extending part way to the ceiling. The air seemed to him to be filled with indescribable monsters. He said he heard them praying over in the other room, and the thought came to him that maybe the Lord Jesus Christ would help him; and he looked up to him, and asked him to save him. He would see a great monster coming toward him, and he would just close his eyes, and say, “Lord Jesus, save me,” and he was determined that from that time forward he would serve God; and the Lord did save him. Well, now, that was a splendid man, a brilliant business man. He had in his pocket recommendations from the largest firm in Chicago, but he had just that one habit, drink, that laid him down; and there he was in the gutter, he could not help himself. The Lord delivered him from his destruction. We have among our company down there, a man who for years had been lying down in the gutter, a most horrible man; but that man got converted about six weeks ago, and we find that he is one of the best musicians in Chicago. He was for ten years the organist for the first Methodist Church, the largest church in Chicago. Now he helps us in the singing, and plays the organ, and helps the other men, and he goes into it with such enthusiasm. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 289.12
About a week ago I stopped in the mission in Chicago to see some of those poor boys, and encourage them. And I met there a man by the name of Mason. He will not object to my using his name. He was for a whole year the greatest trouble to us there that you could imagine. He used to make such a terrible racket and noise, and disturb the people; when he was drunk he would just turn the whole house topsy-turvey; and before he had been there five minutes, he would get to fighting with some one, and would have to be put out forcibly. He just made pandemonium generally. After putting him out a dozen or more times, we had a notice posted up on the desk, “Keep Mason Out;” so that any one who would be on duty at that place would know that he should keep Mason out. Now, this man about six weeks ago came in, and fell down on his knees, and confessed his sins, and the Lord actually saved him from his wickedness and his awful temper. And every night he stands up there in the mission, and tells what the Lord has done for him. Everybody there knows him; everybody knows that that man has been one of the most horrible drunkards on the streets of Chicago for the last four or five years. He has been the most horrible man around the whole city. And so when that man stands up there, and they see him dressed in a clean suit of clothes, and see his clear eyes, and combed hair, and hear him testify how his hard heart has been saved, they say, God can do something for him. Why, if God can save that man, I am sure he can help me; and so sometimes there is almost a stampede of men that want to be saved. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.1
Now, dear friends, you know how we wrap the cloak of righteousness round about us, and sit down in our churches, and attend Sabbath-schools, and sing songs and hymns, while the world outside are suffering, so many thousands of people are going down to eternal death and destruction, and living a life of sin and misery, just because we cannot come and talk with them. Have we not had a wrong conception of what the work of God is? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.2
I want to read a little more of this Psalm. It is so beautiful. Let us all read the next two verses, and let us all feel it in our hearts:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.3
He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.4
Is it not wonderful how the Lord works? Is it not wonderful, my friends, what God is willing to do for you and me? And God can do for you and me what he can do for those poor fellows away down at the very brink of death, down in the slime of the slums; and God can help all of them. Is it not wonderful? And we need these words just as much as they need them. And we need him in our hearts just as much as they need him; we need him there every day. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.5
And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.6
Now here are some very wonderful verses:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.7
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.8
The Lord is in the wind. You see the Lord is in all these things in nature. I understand that Mr. Ingersoll has found that there is no such thing as accidents. He is feeling after light. I saw a report of a lecture that he delivered in New York the other day, in which he said there are no accidents. But Mr. Ingersoll is trying not to believe in the orthodox God, who is supposed to support a hell fire somewhere, that is burning and roasting people all the time. If he could only see God as we see him, I believe he would believe him. The homage that he pays to nature is the homage that we pay to God, because what he sees in nature is beneficent. God is in the wind and the stormy seas. It is God in those storms. It is not an accident or an unforeseen or mere circumstance. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.9
They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.10
Now, that is a picture of a storm at sea. A few weeks ago, in a mission in Chicago, there were two or three hundred men gathered in, and I read that portion of the Psalm. Then I said: “Now, how many sailors are here?” Nine men held up their hands. “How many of you when you were in such trouble, when you thought you were going down immediately, - how many of you got down on your knees and prayed to God?” Six men held up their hands. “Well, the fact that you six men are here, is an evidence that God did save you, because in the next verse he says, ‘Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.’ Did God bring you out of your distresses? Have you any other thing you want to get away from? Do you want to get away from drink, tobacco, profanity, and your old life?” Twelve men held up their hands right away. “Well,” I said, “just come forward, and let us make a beginning right now.” We retired to an adjoining room, and had a prayer-meeting, and every single man talked. A sailor boy eighteen years old said, “Friends, I have been away nearly all my life on the deep sea, and I have never had a chance to know the working of God; but I am glad to find that God is willing to save me, and I am going to try to live a better life; I want to be a Christian.” A poor, ignorant boy, who had all his life been with wicked sailors, - what chance had he? He did not know anything about the works of God, and he was glad to get the gospel when it came to him. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 290.11
Well, now, the world is full of such people, There are people that do not know that this Psalm is in the Bible, and that God is so ready to help any man that is in trouble. We are always in trouble, my friends, and God is ready to help any man that is in trouble; he is ready to help every man in trouble. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.1
The Lord hears a little sparrow that is hungry, and he directs it to where it can find something to eat. The Saviour teaches us that he cares for even the flowers and the sparrows. The hairs of our head are numbered. He numbers the sands of the sea, and the stars of the sky, and certainly we ought to be willing to co-operate with that kind of God. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.2
Now I want to read a few things in reference to this kind of work that lies all about us, right around our homes. If we want to help somebody else, there are such grand opportunities for doing so. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.3
Let some one who has ability to devise ways whereby this talent may be utilized, lay out before these inactive ones the line of work they could do, and let them understand that this is expected from them, and many who are now unemployed will become true laborers. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.4
Now my whole purpose is to get before you this thought: That there is a work that everybody can do, and that everybody ought to be doing, - not simply in Chicago, but in every community, in every church everywhere. Where there is a child of God, this work ought to be going on. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.5
Let there be in every church, well organized companies of workers to labor in the vicinity of that church. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.6
Now, here is something that was given to us in 1893, just four years ago; and I know of some people who have been trying very hard to get that thing done, and to get these little companies organized in every church; but there seems to be somewhere a spirit or feeling that it is wrong to do it. I feel sure that if we do not take hold of this matter very soon, the Lord will raise up somebody else to do it. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.7
Put self behind you, and let Christ go before as your life and power. Let this work be entered into without delay, and the truth will be a leaven in the earth. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.8
Well now, if we should start this kind of work, what a leaven that would be. The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah tells us what would happen: the glory of God would go before us, and it would enlighten the earth. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.9
When such forces are set at work in all our churches, there will be a renovating, reforming, energizing power in the churches, because that members are doing the very work that God has given them to do. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.10
Now, brethren, here is some light that has come to us, and I want to ask, Have we heeded it? Have we done it, and taken hold of it? Have we organized these companies in every church? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.11
Look at Christ’s manner of working, and strive to labor as he did. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.12
Now, how did Christ work? Did he pick out the richest and most talented people? - Surely not. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.13
It was a terribly disagreeable job for me to go down into that slum district in Chicago. At first I kept my gloves on. I was afraid I would get inoculated with some of those germs, and I thought, I am a surgeon, and must keep my hands very clean. But I found that I could not keep my gloves on. (Of course I afterward thoroughly disinfect myself; I suppose that is necessary, and all right; but I do not think anything about gloves when I go there now.) I felt a physical repugnance against the persons with whom I came in contact; but I soon found out that some of those men who had been there had a better education than I had. Two years ago I found a man there who was as black as your boot; I do not think he had had a bath in several years. His hair was matted and he so alive with vermin that the place where he stood for a moment was all covered with living creatures. And we had to take everything off from him, and burn it up in the furnace, while he was taking his bath. When the man came out with another suit of clothes, you would not have recognized him. He was a fine looking man, a graduate of Harvard and Yale both, and had all the accomplishments of an educated gentleman. The only thing that had brought him to that place was drink. He was taught to drink at his father’s table. His father had sufficient power to control his appetite; the son inherited the appetite and he kept on drinking, and by and by drink got him into the gutter. I tell you, the fact was that when we took him in and cleaned him up, it touched his heart. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 291.14
About a year ago we opened the Custom House Mission in Chicago. It was a nest of criminals where we opened our mission, a veritable den of thieves. It was a dark, dirty, dismal hole, swarming with vermin; and if you would go in there you would see men looking sideways, watching for an opportunity to pick your pockets. We put up a sign, “No Smoking.” They did not pay any attention to that. They proposed to run that thing themselves. It was nothing in the world but the power of God that saved these men. I do not believe that to-day any of our workers could get into a safer place in Chicago than in that mission. You can see sitting there in the prayer-meeting seventy-five or eighty Christians, where a few months ago there were evil men. Forty or fifty Sabbath-keepers are among them. There are eighty men in that home that I believe have really found the Saviour. It is one of the happiest homes you could find, and one of the safest places to which you could go; and it is a transformation that the power of God has accomplished in these men. Everybody in Chicago knows it. The police used to be afraid of that place; whenever there was a criminal hiding, they would go there to look for him. Now it is not so. Every night we go to the police station and take two hundred, sometimes two hundred and forty men out of the station into our house. Our boys are right there, and their lives are in their hands; three or four hundred of those fellows, and only a handful of us - half a dozen or so. I tell you the power of God is there controlling those men, and they recognize it. This work demonstrates that the most wicked of men we can possibly find are not outside of the reach of the gospel. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 292.1
Now let me say that this is the kind of work that should be taken up by every church; a great work must be done in our churches. A great many do not understand how to get light themselves. I never had much faith in God until I went down to the Jerry McAuley Mission in New York City, and saw how the Lord could save drunkards. Why, I had striven with men for months, and then did not succeed. And here the Lord took the appetite away in an instant. If the Lord could do this for them, what could he do for me? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 292.2
Let us read on:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 292.3
Let there be in every church, well organized companies of workers to labor in the vicinity of that church.... By kindness to the poor, the sick, or the bereaved, we may obtain an influence over them, so that divine truth may find access to their hearts.... GCDB March 8, 1897, page 292.4
Have you looked after the fatherless and the widow? ... What have you done for the widows, the distressed, who call upon you to aid them in educating and training their children or grandchildren? ... have you turned them away with unfeeling, unsympathetic refusals? If so, may the Lord pity your future; for “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Can we be surprised that the Lord withholds his blessing, when his gifts are selfishly perverted and misapplied? ... GCDB March 8, 1897, page 292.5
There are youth in our churches who could be educated to do a work for the Master in visiting the sick, in running on errands of mercy. This work has not been done, because no attention has been given to the matter. Let the missionary meeting be turned to account in teaching the people how to do missionary work. Put work into their hands, and let not the youth be ignored, but let them come in to share in the labor and responsibility. Let them feel that they have a part to act in helping bless others. Even the little children should be taught to do some little errand of love and mercy for those less fortunate than ourselves.... He bids us to interest ourselves in every case of suffering or need that shall come to our knowledge.... Jesus says, “Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good.” The want and wretchedness in the world are constantly appealing to our compassion and sympathy.... Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. How many are there who claim to be followers of Christ, yet who do not follow him in truth. They do not manifest the sympathy and love of Christ by being merciful and compassionate. They do not make the widow’s heart sing for joy; they treat the fatherless with coldness, indifference, or contempt. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 292.6
This is a work of God in which everybody can have a part, and this really is the work, after all. All these other things are useful because they will help save a man, that is all. Now here is a direct work which everybody can undertake right at home. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 292.7
“I was a father to the poor; and the cause which I knew not I searched out.” This was an evidence that Job had the righteousness that was after Christ’s order.... Faith works by love and purifies the soul. Faith buds and blossoms and bears a harvest of precious fruit. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.1
This is the fruit that tells whether we have anything in the heart or not. Now, here is a very remarkable statement:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.2
How surprised and gladdened will be the hearts of the lowly among the nations, and among the heathen, to hear from the lips of the Saviour, “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink,” etc. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.3
That means somebody besides Seventh-day Adventists or civilized Christians. It means people away down low. These heathen, these lowly ones that have not had a chance to learn of Christianity, that don’t know the truth; if they are doing these duties, if they are engaging in this, Christ’s work, God recognizes that fact, and they will have their reward just the same; while some of those who have a great deal more light, and have not recognized it, will not have it. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.4
The voice of God is speaking to us in clear, distinct utterances. He would see the works of righteousness in our lives. Instead of pleasing ourselves, the Lord would have us to do deeds of mercy, manifest tender forethought to those who are pressed down with burdens, cramped with poverty, who are hungry and naked and destitute.... GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.5
If we fail in doing works of mercy, in manifesting true love and sympathy, in helping and blessing others, whatever else we may do, we shall fail of pleasing God. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.6
No matter what we are doing; we may preach, we may distribute literature, we may be engaged in any kind of labor; no matter what it is:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.7
But to those who regard every Christian duty, and manifest kindness and love to the sorrowing, the poor, the afflicted for Christ’s sake, the promises are rich and abundant. Isaiah 58:8-11. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.8
The Lord has laid upon us the duty of blessing others; but if we are doing it as a duty, it doesn’t amount to anything. If we have no close connection with him, we cannot do it. Here is a sentence which I wish to read:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.9
In the judgment every case will be decided by what was done, or what was not done in this life.... Jesus will say, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.10
And Christ makes every man his brother. Every man Christ will acknowledge. These lowly, these lowest of the lowly - if Christ will acknowledge one of them as his brother, should we be ashamed to acknowledge him as our brother, to try to help him? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.11
Our characters may become fragrant with good works, for by practice the living principles of righteousness will pass into the character, and unfold in beauty and purity of life. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.12
Now there is such a beautiful principle. I wish that every one in this house could commit that sentence to memory. It is not altogether by reading the Bible, listening to sermons, attending Sabbath-school; it isn’t all by praying even, that our characters are going to become fragrant with good works. Why? - For by practicing the living principles of righteousness they will pass into the character. It is by practice, and repeatedly doing it, that by and by the character becomes changed. That is the way we become Christlike - by doing what Christ did; by and by our characters, by constant repetition of those acts, our very brains, bodies, are changed, and we become Christlike. And that is the way we become Christian, and the only way we can become Christlike - by actual practice in doing Christ’s work. If we want to get good characters, if we want our characters to be improved, if we want to unfold in beauty and purity of life, the thing we should do is to go and help somebody. It isn’t simply prayer; that is all necessary, but we must help others to help ourselves, and this is what will lead us to the Source of help. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.13
We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. This command is not that we shall simply love those who think and believe exactly as we do. Christ illustrated the meaning of the commandment by the parable of the good Samaritan. But how strangely these precious words are neglected, and how frequently men oppress their fellow-men and lift up their souls unto vanity.... GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.14
It would be well if every church would read in its assemblies from the Old Testament the lessons which Christ gave to the people.... GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.15
The lessons he had taught to Israel in the Old Testament he repeated in the New Testament. He enjoined upon them the exercise of mercy, compassion, and love toward all with whom they came in contact.... GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.16
“When thou cuttest down thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.” ... GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.17
If Israel had carried out the will of God that had been made known unto them, the blessed promise to the pure in heart would have rested upon them. They would have seen God, and by beholding him would have become like him in character. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.18
That same opportunity is offered to us; and if we don’t embrace it, we will be left in the same situation as they were. We must improve. I fear we are becoming satisfied; we say, We are God’s people, and we are going through, any how, somehow; so we will just keep up with the mass, and, as they are going through, we are bound to do the same. Now, my dear friends, there will come a shaking time, and there will then be a tremendous sifting, and the Lord only knows who will be sifted out at that time. Here this light comes year after year, but you and I do not heed half of it. We just pass by it, it goes right over our heads, and we don’t listen to it. My friends, it means something. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 293.19
A person once asked a little girl, “Where is your father?” The little child replied, “You will find my father where somebody is ill, or wounded, or suffering. He is a physician. You won’t find him here, but go where somebody is sick, wounded, or suffering, and there you will find my father.” Friends, if you want to find Jesus, there is the place where you will find him, - where there is somebody who is suffering, cast down, degraded. If you go down where they are, and help them up, just as Christ did when he was here, there you will find Jesus Christ. If you don’t think so, try it. That is true, my friends; I know it is true. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 294.1
Now just a word here:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 294.2
To leave the suffering neighbor unrelieved, is a breach of the law of God. God brought the priest along that way in order that with his own eyes he might see a case that needed mercy and help; but the priest though holding a high office, whose work it was to bestow mercy and to do good, passed by on the other side. His character was exhibited in its true nature before the angels of God. For a pretense he could make long prayers. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 294.3
All heaven - God, Christ, angels. Now I want to ask you, my friends, has all heaven been watching you and me any time; have we had an opportunity of relieving some distressed one, and did we go by on the other side? What did God, heaven, the angels, say about it? It is a serious thing, my friends. We may try to think that we may put this thing behind our backs, that we can pass over it, cover it up; that this is all a sort of sentimental way of expressing our religion; but when we have God’s Word we find it written here in plain - I believe I can say in flaming characters. That is the real essence of Christianity; and if there is any work that God has in this earth anywhere, it is the cause of poor, suffering humanity, the cause of poor, suffering men. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 294.4
I will read one more thought on this, and then I will leave the subject with you. Here is an article that you will find in the Sabbath School Worker of January, 1896:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 294.5
Those who take hold of Christian help work, who consecrate themselves to God, will find that he will be a present help to them in every hour of need. I know that the Lord will use those who will submit themselves to him, and through the power of the Holy Spirit they will be enabled to do the work that needs to be done. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 294.6
Visiting the sick, comforting the poor and the sorrowful for Christ’s sake, will bring to the workers the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and even the countenance will express the peace that dwells in the soul. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 294.7
Now, my friends, if you want to get a blessing, there is where you can get it. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 294.8
Mission Work in Mexico. 1
D. T. JONES.
(Tuesday Evening, March 2, 1897.)
I AM glad for the opportunity I have of speaking before the Conference in regard to a matter that has been weighing heavily on my mind for almost three years, - a matter concerning which I have desired to speak to the brethren while in the United States, that they may consider it. If I understand it correctly, the one great object that ought to be in the mind of every Seventh-day Adventist is to advance the cause of God, - to spread abroad the truths of God’s cause for these last days; it is to become in one way or another, ambassadors for Christ, representatives of him, to go forth and represent Christ and his truth to all nations and peoples of the world. It may not be necessary that we should all be preachers, or that we should have official positions in connection with the General Conference or any local Conference or mission field. But whether we should have these official positions or not, we have the inestimable privilege of representing the truth of God to the world. And I am not so sure but there are fields in the world where the truth can be taught more effectually and more successfully by the lives of Christian men and women, than by preaching from the pulpit. And what I will say this afternoon will be said with special reference to the field in which I have been laboring, and the interests of which I have been studying for more than three years. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 294.9
In order to understand the real bearings of the suggestions that I am going to make, it will be necessary to understand to some extent the conditions that exist in that field. You all know something of the history of Mexico, - something of its past as well as its present history. But I want to say a few words in reference to this history, that your minds may be refreshed in regard to it. Mexico was conquered by Spain in the first part of the sixteenth century, and the Spaniards brought their religion with them. They brought their priests; they carried their images with them, they carried their crosses; and wherever they gained a victory, they set up a cross. They presented the image of the virgin Mary, and taught the people to worship after that fashion. And if they were not teachable, then they compelled them to worship. So that within a few years after New Spain was conquered by the Spaniards, the Catholic religion was the prevailing religion of the country. And it remained so without any disturbance for three hundred years. Spain appointed her viceroys and rulers of the civil government, and she sent her priests and bishops and archbishops as the ecclesiastical rulers of the country; and there is every evidence from their standpoint that they ruled well. Not a Protestant was permitted to enter the country if he made his Protestantism prominent, or said anything about religion or anything against the established religion of the State. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 294.10
But in the beginning of the nineteenth century, or about three hundred years after the country had been conquered and came under Spanish rule, came the period of revolutions in all the Spanish colonies. In 1821 Mexico declared her independence, and with that came the period of revolutions. It had a period of more than half a century of constant revolutions and counter-revolutions. But at the end of that time, a few men who had become acquainted with Mexico and with her needs, saw the source of her revolutions. They saw that it lay in the priesthood - the ecclesiastics of the country. So they passed laws of reform, abolishing all church orders, and confiscating all church property except that which was actually used for worship, and restricted the rights and privileges of the clergy. Of course that brought the greatest revolution of the half century; but the patriots conquered, and they carried the laws of reform into effect. And so Mexico has had twenty years under home rule, and she has a government which is among the best governments of the world. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 295.1
Under this new form of government there is no religion. Protestants are not only permitted to enter the country, but they are encouraged to do so. They protect them when they come in, and they are doing, as the officials say, a great work in assisting the rulers to liberate Mexico from the tyranny of the church. The president and the governors of the States recognize this, and just as far as it is possible for them to do so they encourage Americans and other foreigners to come in. And they offer encouragement to those that will come, especially people that will come in colonies, and settle in the country. In some cases where large colonies have been established, they have given them lands. In other cases the lands have been bought cheap, but they have exempted them from taxation for a period of years; and in all cases where colonies are established they allow them to bring in all their agricultural implements and household goods, etc., without duty. And so the way is open and the invitation is out for people to come to Mexico and settle there, and educate the citizens of Mexico, and help those who have the interests of Mexico at heart, to revolutionize the sentiments of the people, and put the country on a newer and better basis than that on which it has been in the past. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 295.2
Any one going to Mexico will soon recognize the fact that the country is not only centuries, but thousands of years behind the times. You can pass through the country on the railroad, and you will see men plowing with just the same plow as you will find represented in your family Bible pictures, - a straight wooden stick, sometimes with an iron point at the end, and sometimes without the iron point. And in other ways the country is just as far behind the present conditions of modern countries of the world as we can imagine. No one need go there expecting to find all the conveniences that they find in the United States, or in many other countries. But, on the other hand, you will find some advantages. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 295.3
Now, in regard to the customs of the people: The masses of the people in Mexico are ignorant. During the reign of Spain, and, in fact, up to the time the laws of reform went into effect, there was no system of public education in Mexico, and nine-tenths, or perhaps more, of the people were in entire ignorance; they could not read or write, and knew nothing at all about anything outside of their own neighborhood, except what the priests told them; and what the priests told them they thought themselves duty-bound to believe, and they did believe. But with the revolution that has come and the changes that have taken place, the government has established public schools, - a system of public schools which is yet in its infancy; for these schools lack a great deal of being up to even ordinary public schools in this country. But the government is doing all it can to educate the people, and in the cities they have public night schools, kept up at the expense of the State, for the education of those who cannot attend the day school. These schools are for adults who have to work during the day. They have teachers employed, and have rooms lighted with electric lights, and books furnished, and everything to encourage men who have to work from sun-up in the morning until dark at night to make a living for themselves and their families, and who can go there and study for a few hours in the evening, and get the advantages of the rudiments of an education; and a great many are availing themselves of this opportunity to get an education. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 295.4
Now it will not be difficult for you to see from what I have stated that the minds of the people, the common people, are filled with prejudices. They have been under the dominion of the priests, they have taken what the priests have said as truth. They tell them that Protestants do not believe in God, that they do not believe in Jesus Christ, that they do not believe in heaven, that they do not believe in hell. I had one man ask me, after repeating over what the Protestants do not believe, what they did believe. He did not see what was left for them to believe in. Well, I told him what Protestants believed in, and he said, “That looks reasonable, that is all right.” Now, said he, “Do they believe in the virgin Mary?” “Yes,” I said, “they believe in the virgin Mary too. We believe that Mary was the mother of Jesus, and that she was an excellent woman, and that she was designed of God for that purpose, to be the mother of Christ. We do not believe in worshiping the virgin Mary, because the Bible nowhere teaches that. We respect her as the mother of Christ, as a good woman, and we honor her as far as the Bible tells us to honor good people, but we do not worship her.” “Well,” he said, “that looks reasonable.” I had a conversation with another man on this line, and had occasion to ask him if he could read. He said he could not. I asked him if his children could read. He said; No, they are growing up just like burros. I told him that Protestants believed in teaching their children to read; they believed in letting them have an opportunity to know just what God has taught. I told him that God had given us the Bible, which was inspired by him, and was a letter from him to us, and that we have the right to use this, to study it for ourselves. He said, I wish I could do that. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 296.1
The people in the cities are really harder to reach than those in the country, because there are more priests in the cities, and they keep closer watch over the people; and when they see one go to a Protestant’s house, or see a Protestant go into his house, they will spot him at once, and will send their priests, and if the man is engaged anywhere they will give him notice that if he has anything to do with those Protestants he will lose his job. A Methodist minister told me of difficulty he had. He had started out to hold district meetings in different places. They have houses there containing twenty or thirty rooms, and eight or ten families live in the same house; and he would start out to hold meetings, visiting around with each family. He went around and held a few meetings, and in a few days those people would get notice to leave the house. They would be put right out of the house, and they did that every time; and so he said he could not continue his meetings because it threw the people out of their homes, and they had difficulty in finding a place to live, and so the plan would not work that way. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 296.2
Now I wish to speak of the plan that has suggested itself to me. It is this: If there are those among our people who are living here in different places that have a burden to do missionary work, and to go to a foreign country on a missionary basis, and are willing to sacrifice some of the ease and comforts of this life, are willing to go to a foreign field, leave their native land and kindred, they can find a most excellent field for labor in Mexico. But persons who do this must leave their intense patriotism for the United States behind. They should be patriotic for the country they represent, and that only. We are embassadors of Jesus Christ. We represent the kingdom of heaven. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 296.3
Now if families will go into that country, and will establish themselves for doing business, and doing business in a business-like manner, in a Christian way living out the religion of Jesus Christ before these people, it will do more in a great many ways to establish Christianity, and confute the accusations of the priests, - it will do more than that same number of ministers and missionaries could do. Half a dozen families could go into Mexico, buy a tract of land somewhere, and by and by perhaps establish a little village. They could go into agricultural work, raise sugar cane, rice, corn, wheat, and fruits of all kinds, and they could employ these people, who would come and live around the villages. Then a school for the children of these people could be started, and a night school for the instruction of the adults. They could be taught to read, and a reading-room with tracts, papers, and books could be established, and here the people could come for religious meetings, prayer-meeting, and Sabbath-school. I believe this would do more for the evangelization of the people than the same number of ministers and missionaries would be able to do. These poor people live in the most horrible manner. A great many of them have four poles put up, and some cross poles, and some weeds woven in to form the walls of their houses. The houses are covered with leaves or grass. There are no beds; there is no table; there are no chairs; they have not the slightest comforts. When night comes, they have their serappa, a blanket in which they roll themselves up, and lie down in it until morning, when they arise, and go through the ordinary routine of life. This is followed up until the end. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 296.4
These people can be taught to build their own houses; they can be taught to use the ax and the hammer, and can make beds and tables and benches, can make houses that would be considered luxuries among them. Timber is quite plentiful in most parts of the country; at least, there is no lack of timber for all such purposes as that. They could also teach them how to cook their food, how to clothe themselves, and how to keep themselves clean; they could teach them in a hundred ways that would elevate them immensely above their present condition, and could employ them as laborers and educate them. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 297.1
Now, whenever they begin to do that, they would become a mark for everybody to look at, - not only to be seen by those passing, but it would go all over the country; and it is astonishing to see how reports travel in that country, where the people do not have books or newspapers. They talk about what they see or hear, and anything like that would spread and become known all over the country; and it would not be long until some of the priests would get hold of it, and would get some people away; and they would then get some others to come in, and pretty soon they would have the pick of the country. You would have people of some stability, people that would want to elevate themselves; and that would give an opportunity to work for a good class, and bring them to a knowledge of the gospel; and they could be given a training, be infused with the missionary spirit, and be sent out to other parts of the country. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 297.2
Land can be secured at all prices. It can be bought in the interior very cheap. Land can be secured there anywhere from fifty cents per acre to ten dollars per acre. It would be almost impossible for one family to go out in the country and establish themselves, and remain there. There are opportunities for single families to go and settle near cities. I have in mind such opportunities now. There is one such opportunity at Irapuata. It is said that ripe strawberries can be purchased there every day in the year; and a man could go there and engage in raising fruit, and make a living for himself and family. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 297.3
Studies in the Book of Hebrews. - No. 16. E. J. WAGGONER. (Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 28, 1897.)
WE will pass along in the reading of the book of Hebrews, and find perhaps as we do so, further ground for this statement, “I will put my trust in him.” We have already considered the first part of the third chapter. We can briefly cover the remainder. The thought in the first chapter is the faithfulness of Christ, and we by steadfast faith being made a part of his house:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 297.4
Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their hearts; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) GCDB March 8, 1897, page 297.5
You will notice here we have verses seven to eleven in parentheses, so that it reads, “Wherefore take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” Moses was faithful in the house of God, but the others were unfaithful; they proved the Lord, they tempted him, they tried him, and saw his works for forty years, and yet they did not learn his ways. That was long enough for anybody to learn God’s ways. How do we learn the ways of any person? - By seeing what he does. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 297.6
They saw the Lord’s works for forty years, and yet they did not know his ways. That seems wonderful, does it not? Well, I have known people who have seen the ways and works of God for twice forty years, and yet they did not know his ways. It is a very common thing for people to see the works of God and yet not know his ways. The Lord has been showing his works to the people all the time. One of the things that seems so difficult, even right here among us, for the people to believe is that the Lord’s ways can be learned by looking at his works. If you cannot know him that way, how can you know him? And yet people will see the works of God before their eyes everywhere day after day, for forty years, and sometimes twice forty years, and never know the Lord’s ways. Let us learn the Lord’s ways. In his Word he says, My ways are not your ways; and yet we will get together and try to make ourselves believe that our way of doing a thing is the Lord’s way. Did you ever think of it? is there not a field of thought in this, that in the Lord’s works we are to learn his ways, his ways of working? That is, as we look out and see the works of the Lord everywhere, is there anything in that for us to learn as workers together with him? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 298.1
The Lord is very quiet in his work. Some of the most mighty works of the Lord are done in the most quiet and unnoticeable way. He does not always rend rocks and make the earth quake when he does a thing. He can do that when he wishes to. And yet the Lord can do just as mighty works without anybody feeling any tremor whatever. Take it in the springtime, when the whole earth is in motion by the coming-up plants. There is a power infinitely beyond measurement and beyond conception, the Lord himself working, and yet all is still and quiet. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 298.2
What was the result of the children of Israel seeing the works of God and yet not learning his ways? What followed as a consequence? - They did not enter into the rest. “So I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest.” Is the Lord arbitrary in any of his ways? - No. How do his laws originate? - They are his life. Does the Lord sit down and devise laws, and say, “This is what I will impose upon the people? This will be a good thing for them, and I will impose it upon them, and if they don’t do it I will cut them off?” - No. The Lord is life, and his life is law. His life is always the same, and it can never be any different from what it is. God’s law is as it is, just because he is, and he cannot be other than he is. Whosoever therefore, rejects his life, must as a necessary consequence have death. It cannot be otherwise. It is so because it is so. It is not arbitrary punishment put upon man, but there is nothing else that can be done. If a man will not have life, he must have death. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 298.3
What is the thing these people would have had, if they had in the works of God learned his ways? - They would have had rest. But since they would not learn his ways as they saw his works, the Lord says, You cannot have rest. They could not enter into his rest. It was an impossibility. “Wherefore take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily, while it is called To-day.” To-day is the only time given us. Yesterday does not exist, and there is no such day as to-morrow. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 298.4
When we come to what we designate to-morrow, it is to-day. The only time there is in the whole world is to-day. Whatever the day of the week, it is to-day always, to-day. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 298.5
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To-day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; while it is said, To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Not that he would not let them; but they could not. We read on:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 298.6
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should come short of it. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 298.7
Whose rest had they the opportunity of entering into, and would not? - God’s. What was preached to us? - The gospel. What gospel? - The same as unto them. It is no new gospel. There is no room for talk about their having had no chance to hear the gospel. They had it first, and rejected it, and now the gospel is preached unto us as it was unto them; we have just as good a chance as they. When it was preached to them, why did it not profit them? “Not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” It was not joined by faith to them that heard. For who enter into the rest? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 298.8
(Voices) We who believe. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.1
We; when do we enter into rest? - When we believe. Into whose rest do we enter? - God’s rest. The reason why they did not enter in, is because rest comes by faith. They did not believe; therefore they could never rest. But we who believe do enter into rest. What is the proof that believers do enter into God’s rest? - The proof here given is, that God swore that the unbelievers should not enter in. That is the negative side of the oath. It is simply the reverse of the oath to Abraham, that he and his seed should enter into rest. In the fifteenth chapter of Genesis we have the promise, and in the twenty-second chapter we have the promise, confirmed by the oath, that the seed of Abraham should have rest from all their enemies. This oath was because of Abraham’s faith. So the oath has a double aspect. They who believe enter into rest, and they who do not believe cannot enter into God’s rest. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.2
They could not enter into rest, “although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” The statement is that they could not enter into God’s rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Here we find a seeming change of subjects from rest to works. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.3
(A voice) I would like to know what is the meaning of that word, “rest.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.4
Rest simply means rest; I do not know of any other meaning for the word. I think we all know by experience something of the meaning of rest, even if it be only by the desire for it. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.5
(A voice) But I am not a preacher. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.6
Well, you do not have to be a preacher in order to believe. We who believe enter into the rest. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.7
(A voice) The question in my mind is, Does it refer to the thousand years’ rest? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.8
It is God’s rest, and that is not merely for a thousand years, but for eternity. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.9
The works were finished from the foundation of the world. When the works were finished, what followed? - Rest. If a man has a work to do, and he finishes it, what must necessarily follow? - Rest. He can do nothing else. Man does not finish his work. Therefore, he finds no rest in his own work. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.10
Elder Frederickson. - Is this the same rest as where it says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.11
Whose rest are we talking about? - The Lord’s. Who says, Come unto me, and I will give you rest? - The Lord. Then it must be the same rest. When you come to one of these fundamental principles, believe it. Make it your own by faith, and cling to it, and believe it forever; then you can go through the Bible, and faith will lighten it up, all the time. We cannot fight or argue our way into an understanding of the Word of God; but just as the sun melts the ice, so we believe our way into an understanding of the Bible. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.12
God calls us to rest on the assurance that the rest is prepared, because the work is finished. When work is all done, and well done, then rest must follow, because there is nothing else to do. If there is more to do, then the work is not finished. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.13
We are taken back to the first chapter of Genesis, to see whether or not we believe what we cry out so much against the evolutionists for not believing - the simple story of creation. The first step in the proof that the rest is ready is that the works are finished. What is the evidence of it? - For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise: And God did rest on the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, they shall not enter into my rest. Who is it that speaks? - God. What is he talking about? - His rest. When did he rest? - When his works were finished. On what day did he rest? - The seventh day. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. Sabbath means rest, so the Sabbath-day is the Lord’s rest. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.14
Take the fourth and fifth verses together:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.15
For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.16
They cannot rest. They cannot keep the Sabbath day. Is not that what is said? They cannot rest because of unbelief. We which believe do enter into rest, because the works were finished, and therefore the works prepared, from the foundation of the world. God rested the seventh day from all his works. That is what he said of the seventh day in one place; in another place he said of it, “They shall not enter into his rest.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 299.17
Closing up the record of the work which God did during creation week in the first chapter of Genesis, - God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 300.1
God was pleased with it. He did not see where he could make it any better. It was perfect. Whatsoever God does is done forever. Nothing can be added to it, nothing taken from it. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 300.2
Now we are going to get rest. We are going to get the rest of the Lord. But the rest must necessarily be preceded by works - works of what character, what kind? - Works that are perfect, finished and complete. Take the scripture that we have here, “We which believe do enter into rest,” and compare it with what the Saviour said in the sixth chapter of John, in answer to the Pharisees’ question, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” Did he say, If you want to work the works of God, do some works? Did he say, If you will believe, you can do the works of God? - Oh, no. He said, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” God has never told anybody to do his works, because God knows enough to know that nobody else can do his work. It is only men who put themselves in the place of God that say, “We can do anything that the Lord can do; we can do work, and do it just as good as God can do it; we can be justified by works; we can do works that will stand by the side of God’s work, and he can’t tell the difference.” God knows enough to know that there is no other being in the universe that can do his works, and he does not ask us to do them. But “this is the work of God; that ye believe in him whom he hath sent.” Now, is there any contradiction in these texts, namely, “This is the work of God, that ye believe;” and “We which believe do enter into rest?” - No. Why? - Because the work is done; and when you get the work of God, you get the work that is finished, and therefore you have rest. Therefore by believing we get rest in the perfect, the finished, work of God. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 300.3
Let us notice the text referred to a moment ago:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 300.4
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 300.5
Find rest in meekness and lowliness, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Therefore that which worries us, and tires us, is this pride of life that makes us think that we can and must do everything ourselves. But we can’t do it, and that is why it tires us. Suppose we have a piece of work given us to do, and we have labored at it faithfully, and then when we have finished it, we find a botched job. Can you ever get any satisfaction out of it? Do you ever get any rest from it? - No; you do not rest over it, because you are held to do that work, and you can’t rest at night because you think, Now I have to do that work over again. And when you do it over again, even then it is not good. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 300.6
Who is there that wholly finishes and completes all his daily round of work. Who is it that finishes it perfectly, so that he can look back upon it in perfect satisfaction, and take absolute rest and enjoyment in looking at it. Is there anybody? - No. We can’t get it done. The best work we can do, there is something that is wrong about it, something that is a failure, something that is incomplete; and that is what tires us. Don’t you know that it is a simple fact that it is not the work that men do, so much as the work that they cannot do, that tires them? It is the work they try to do and fail to accomplish that tires them. Not only do we not get our work all done, but we don’t do it perfectly even as far as we go, and that is what tires us out. You know there are thousands and thousands of men that say, just ordinary work given to men, ordinary men’s work, I can’t finish it; do the best I can, I can’t finish it. But when they talk about God’s work, O, they can do that well enough. Is not there something unreasonable about that? They acknowledge that they cannot do their own work as it ought to be done, but they feel fully competent to do God’s work. But what are God’s works? - His work is what he does, and everything that he does is right, and therefore righteousness. It is very common for people to think that they can do right; but righteousness is God’s work, and the man who can’t do his own work, must not suppose that he can do God’s work. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 300.7
We are heavy laden with sin, and that which wearies us is our vain attempt to work out righteousness. So long as we keep at that work, our work must be incomplete; and so of course we don’t find rest. Who is there that has not said, “Now, if I had that to do over again -?” and then follows a list of improvements that he would make. A man makes a machine, and it is no sooner done than he begins to see where he can improve on it the next time. But the first time that God did his work, it was just as good as it was possible to be done. He could not see anything incomplete about it. It was all right. He did not wish that he could do it over again. It was all done, and well done; therefore the only thing that could follow was rest. How had God done his work in the first place? - By his Word. “He spake, and it was.” And he could rest in confidence in his own Word. He had confidence that the Word which created could uphold, so he rested, and took satisfaction in looking at the work he had done. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 300.8
The Lord made man also just as good as he knew how to make him, and we read in Genesis 2:15,- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 301.1
And the Lord took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 301.2
If we had a strictly literal rendering of that, it would be, “He caused him to rest in the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep.” God gave man work to do in Eden, so that work is no part of the curse. It was work upon the land, too. That is the only kind of work God gave to man. He put him in the garden of Eden to work, but he caused him to rest there. The whole world was given man, but the garden of Eden was the place which was his home. He caused him to rest there, to dress it, and to keep it. Now mark, he didn’t have to make the garden. God made it, and man had only to keep. When we see how he came to lose it, we can see how he was to keep it. His sin was unbelief. He didn’t believe God, therefore he lost the perfect work of God. How, then, could he have kept it? Just by belief. “This is the work of God, that ye believe.” So long as he believed, so long he would keep the garden and have it for his own: so long would he have the perfect work of God, so long he would have rest in that garden. No matter how much he worked, if he worked from morning till night, he never got tired. That is the beauty of God’s work. Because the work was all finished, it was all perfect and complete, therefore in keeping that work he did not get tired. Here was a work finished and given to him, and all he had to do was to rest in it and keep it as it was. His very work was rest. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 301.3
Now, in the second chapter of Ephesians we have a word about salvation. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 301.4
For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 301.5
Not of whose works? - Not our works. Why? - “Lest any man should boast.” But it is of works, nevertheless. “For we are his workmanship.” So it is works after all. But whose works? - God’s works. But there is no chance for God to boast over God. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” That was the case with Adam when God made him. He was created in Christ Jesus for good works. Who made them? - God. And he made them for the purpose that he might walk in them and enjoy them. Now, the gospel is to bring us back, is that we may have that rest in the finished and perfect works of God. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 301.6
When God had his work all finished and complete, what did he do? - He rested from all his works. But that rest, that work, was the new earth. God’s rest, then, pertains to the new earth. The Sabbath on which God rested was the Sabbath of the new earth, of Eden, - Eden rest. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 301.7
We will take all the verses in Hebrews 4 in order presently, but we have not time to-day. So we pass to the ninth verse. Just that simple statement, “There remaineth a rest.” Many read it as though it said there will come a rest to the people of God. But what does the word “remain” mean? - Something that is left; something that still exists from a previous time. When the rest was given to man, the whole earth was new. There was no curse upon it. Now sin has come, and the earth has become old, and is cursed; but nevertheless there remains a rest to the people of God. That rest comes from Eden. Eden has never had any curse upon it. Man’s sin brought curse upon the earth, but drove him out of Eden. There is one spot pertaining to the earth which was never touched by the curse. Eden is now in heaven, the paradise of God, where God’s throne is; and Christ himself is there, the man Christ Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned as man with glory and honor, and set over the works of God’s hand in Eden: and he is the one who says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 301.8
The rest in Eden was Sabbath rest. The Sabbath is a bit of Eden that remains to us until Eden is restored again; and he who keeps the Sabbath as God keeps it, as God gave it to be kept, has the rest that the Lord Jesus Christ has in heaven. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 301.9
But how can one keep it? - By faith. Because rest means work finished, and the work is God’s work. God himself finished it. Then we could not do it if we should try. So there are two reasons why we could not do the work: in the first place, only God can do God’s work; and in the second place, it is already done, so when you get there you do not find anything to do. It is done already. Now when God rested from it, what presumption for man to try to do it! Therefore the thing being finished, we get it by faith. Now he says to some, You cannot enter into my rest, because they do not believe and cease from their own works by taking his. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 301.10
(Voices) How, then, are we to be workers together with God? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 302.1
By resting in him. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 302.2
(Another voice) That verse referred to in Matthew says, Come unto me all ye that labor, and I will give you rest; and the next verse says, Take my yoke upon you. Does that mean work? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 302.3
Yes; certainly. But he says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” What is his burden? - He carries the whole world. But he carries it easily. Now he says, Learn of Me. If you carry the burden, what does it do? - It galls your shoulders, and makes you tired and irritable and fretful. He says, Do not do that way. Learn of me. He works, but it does not worry him. Now who is going to complain about work if it does not worry him - work that you can do and not get tired doing? Who is going to complain about it? It is a pleasure to do that. There is solid enjoyment in it. There is large satisfaction, and that is what the Lord wants us to have. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 302.4
We have been talking about the message for a long time, and when we speak of the third angel’s message, then everybody thinks about the Sabbath. But a little while ago we read that justification by faith was the message, and many people have thought that if we preached justification by faith, we could say nothing about the Lord’s coming or the Sabbath. Why, brethren, we want to learn the message. Let us see how many here have heard people say when you preach the Sabbath, “Yes, but you know that we are not justified by works.” Have you not all heard that? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 302.5
(Voices) Yes. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 302.6
And they thought that proved that we should not keep the Sabbath, not realizing that there is a great difference between rest and works. The Sabbath is rest, not a work. Sabbath-keeping is not justification by works, but justification by rest - by rest in the finished work of God in Christ. The Sabbath is rest. It is God’s rest. It is perfect rest. It is rest that justifies because it is rest that brings perfect works, God’s works. Our works are good for nothing. We cannot do anything. “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” “We are his workmanship.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 302.7
Somebody says, “Well, I don’t believe it is necessary for me to keep the Sabbath. The Lord says to such an one, You cannot keep it, for only those who believe enter into rest. Mark this, brethren, the Sabbath is such a glorious thing that when people see it, they delight in it; and we do the Lord an injustice, and the people an injustice, when we present it in such a way that they think that it is a burden, a task. It is not something the Lord has imposed upon people, but a benefit that he has conferred on them. What man is there in all this world that complains because he is obliged to rest? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 302.8
Then, instead of its being a hard thing, especially for the laboring class, to keep the Sabbath, it is a blessing for them. It is the laboring man’s friend. It is rest. It is the thing that will bring him out of all his difficulties quicker than any political party or any labor party ever dreamed of helping him out of them. And this is the reason why Seventh-day Adventists of all people in the world, have absolutely nothing to do with any political party in existence. Their platforms are quack remedies, and God does not want us to deal in them. He wants us to deal in that which is true. Political parties claim to be the friend of the working men; they claim that they will make better times, that they will make it easier for the people. That is what they are all working for. Now the Lord comes in with his gospel, which promises us all rest; which promises every man his own garden spot, and not only his own garden spot, but every man the inheritance of the whole earth, and all men an inheritance in the whole world in such a way that there will be no question about property rights, but every man will have free inheritance and absolute rest, a wealth without limit. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 302.9
Rest, rest in labor, better than any labor party ever thought possible; for the best thing we can think of is to shorten the hours of labor, so that man can have more time for rest. But God promises to give a man rest all the time he is working. That is better. And this we can be absolutely sure will be brought about in a much shorter time than any politician ever dreamed that his schemes could be brought to completion. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 302.10
Who is there that, knowing such a thing, will be such a fool as to spend his time over that which promises him nothing. Why should we waste our time on something which at the best is nothing but a quack remedy, when we have something that will solve every difficulty under heaven? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.1
Now mark, Sabbath-keeping is rest, God’s rest, because his work is finished, completed. What kind of works are God’s works? - Perfect works. And how do we get these works? - By faith. So Sabbath-keeping means faith. It means righteousness by faith. Then that is the message. Righteousness by faith is the message. There are lots of people who believe in righteousness by faith in Christ, but who do not see anything about the Sabbath. Now what we have to show them is that Sabbath-keeping means the perfection of God’s work, and therefore the perfection of rest in him by faith. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.2
Now take the finished work. What does the cross of Christ do for men? - “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” So in the cross of Christ we see a new creation. That is what the cross does. The preaching of Christ is to them that perish, foolishness, but to those who are saved it is the power of God. Where do we see the power of God manifested. - In the creation, in the things he has made. So the power of Christ is the power of creation, creative power. Now the perfect work of God, this new creation, was lost by sin. Sabbath-keeping commemorates God’s works, not as we see them now, but God’s perfect work. But the curse came and destroyed them. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse, being made a curse for us” in the suffering of death. On the cross Christ redeems us from the curse by bringing to us the works without the curse, the perfect work of God. Therefore when Christ was nailed upon the cross, what were the last words he uttered? - “It is finished.” What? - The new creation. It is all complete. So coming to the cross we have the perfection of God’s new creation in Christ. But the Sabbath is a commemoration of the new creation. Therefore the Sabbath is the sign of the perfect rest, nay, it is the very rest itself, which God gives us in Christ. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.3
Just one more text that we can read to-day before we close. In the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.4
If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.5
What does Eden mean? - Delight, pleasure. The Sabbath comes from Eden, and is a part of Eden, and therefore it is a delight. In it we get the very same delightful rest that God had in the beginning in looking at his own perfect work. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.6
We have only begun to study the Sabbath to-day. To-morrow, if the Lord will, we shall see further into the details of what Sabbath-keeping means, what it is, and then we can understand better what our work as Seventh-day Adventists, what the work of the Lord is, what the message is. But I think anybody here can see that the third angel’s message is righteousness by faith; for the Sabbath is righteousness by faith; for by it a man comes into God’s works, and those works are perfect. Therefore he gets rest by faith. But the man who does not believe the Lord, cannot get rest. Is it then possible for a man to keep the Sabbath and not believe the Lord implicitly? - No, sir. He stops work on the last day of the week, and that is all that can be said of him. If he does not believe God, then he cannot keep the Sabbath. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.7
Now just one thing more to show this clearly. He who does not believe the Lord, what does he say about God? - He has made him a liar. Of course, not absolutely, actually, a liar, for God cannot lie. But the man who says that God is a liar, is himself a liar. Now, will the man who is a liar make a very good Sabbath-keeper? There is no other way to keep the Sabbath, except to believe the Lord. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.8
Sabbath-School Conventions - Their Importance - How to Conduct Them. M. H. BROWN. (Monday Evening, March 1, 1897.) GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.9
AMONG the essentials of success in holding a Sabbath-school convention are the following:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.10
1. Carefully laid plans at an early date. This would include the selection of topics, and persons to discuss them, and should be done long enough before the convention so that those who are to take part will have ample time to make preparation. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 303.11
2. A carefully arranged program covering the time of the convention. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.1
3. The blessing of God upon the work, and upon those who attend. This should be earnestly sought, especially by those who have a prominent part in the program. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.2
A Sabbath-school convention should not usually last more than three or four days, and it should be packed full of the most interesting and instructive matter possible, so that those who attend will have an intellectual and spiritual feast. To secure this desirable result, live subjects should be selected for discussion, and brief papers should be prepared on them by persons previously appointed. The papers prepared for such a convention should be short enough so that they can be read in ten minutes. There is then opportunity for questions, and for discussion of the subject by others. This contributes to the interest and results in developing thought, and in increasing the benefits of the convention. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.3
Local conditions would have to determine the number of meetings to be held daily, and also their length. The time, however, should be economized closely, so as to make the most of the occasion. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.4
In assigning topics to different ones, great care and discrimination should be used. The aim should be to assign the topics to persons who would handle them intelligently, and in an interesting manner, and to distribute the work among as many persons as would be able to do it reasonably well. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.5
The leading topics to be discussed should be noted in the program, and at least one copy of the program should be sent to each superintendent whose school would be expected to be represented. He should be requested to read the program to his school, and cordially invite a general attendance, not only of officers and teachers, but of all who can be induced to attend, who would be profited thereby. The program should be prepared as soon as it is decided upon, and then printed, or copies multiplied in some way, and circulated where they will do the most good in securing the attendance desired. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.6
Free discussion should be encouraged by those in charge of a convention, and a question box promotes this desirable result. It should be made ready beforehand, and attention called to it at the first meeting. It should be located where it will be accessible to all. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.7
Care should be taken to select for answering questions, persons who are well informed on the questions assigned to them. Liberty should also be given for any one to supplement the answer given to a question with further remarks, or if not answered satisfactorily, to state in what respect. The great object should be to become more intelligent in the work; and free discussion, if carried on in the right spirit, and with right motives, will surely result in much good to the work and workers. It might be a good plan to have the questions read in some meeting previous to the one in which they will be answered. That would give all an opportunity to be thinking about the questions, and it might prove very helpful in eliciting light, developing thought, and increasing the interest. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.8
The program should be arranged with great care. It should provide for a variety of exercises, so the interest may not only be fully maintained, but so it will increase until the close. It may include such items as the following for the first meeting:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.9
1. Opening hymn, and brief, appropriate remarks by the chairman setting forth the object and plan of the convention. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.10
2. An earnest season of prayer, invoking the divine blessing on the convention and its work. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.11
3. A good gospel song. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.12
4. A topic suitable for the first meeting, followed by its discussion, covering perhaps thirty or forty minutes. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.13
5. A short concert exercise, or responsive Scripture reading. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.14
6. A map or blackboard exercise, illustrating how they may be used to good advantage in the Sabbath-school. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.15
7. Distribution of programs, unless the program for the next meeting has already been placed upon the blackboard. The question box should also be brought prominently to the attention of the convention, and any necessary information given for the benefit of those in attendance. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.16
8. Closing hymn. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.17
The program for the following meeting may be varied to suit the circumstances. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.18
A very good feature of a convention is what may be called a “promise meeting.” Dr. J. H. Vincent, in speaking of this in his work entitled, “The Modern Sunday School,” says,:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 304.19
This is a suggestion of that successful evangelist, D. L. Moody, of Chicago. I saw him conduct such a meeting at the California State Sunday-school Convention in 1871. Any one was permitted to rise and repeat or read one of the “exceeding great and precious promises” of Scripture. An expository or experimental sentence was allowed, but no long speeches. As passage after passage of the pure Word dropped from living lips upon the ears of that vast assembly, it seemed as though a “shower of diamonds” was falling from the open heavens. Our institutes cannot have too much of God’s Word in them, nor can they err by introducing warm personal religious experience to illustrate and enforce that Word. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.1
In conclusion, we would emphasize the importance of counseling and seeking the Lord together during the convention, by those who have the responsibility of its management. A time should be set apart for this purpose. We would also recommend that those in charge suggest to those in attendance the importance of using the golden moments between the meetings of the convention in such a way as to make the occasion one of profit and blessing to all. By so doing, the memories associated with the convention and its social privileges will be pleasant and hallowed. And thus they should be. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.2
Righteousness by Faith. I. D. VAN HORN. (Sunday Evening, Feb. 28, 1897.)
I HAVE selected a text in the third chapter of Revelation, and the fifth verse:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.3
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.4
This text is connected with the angel’s description of the Sardis state of the church. The seven churches represent seven periods of the history of the church in the Christian dispensation. The Sardis state of the church began with the Reformation under Martin Luther, and it reaches down in the line of years to the falling of the stars in 1833. It is speaking of what is yet to come even after this date in the expression, blotting out the sins or names that are in the book of life. The question is, Are we living in the time when the names of God’s people are being called, and when the Saviour is either confessing them, or rejecting them. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.5
“He that overcometh.” There is no individual in this world that can overcome sin, and yet in our social meetings, hardly one passes by without some individual saying, I want to overcome all my sins. Sin is a past act of life; and that act is a transgression of God’s law, and can only be removed by pardon. The individual that has sinned, if it has been a secret sin, should go into the closet and confess it to God; if it has been a sin against a brother or sister in the church, he should go to that one and confess it; if it is a public sin, then it should be confessed in public. So then, only by confession and pardon can an individual get rid of sin, and that must be through the mediation of Jesus Christ, and the offering of his blood to wash that sin away. Another thing: We can never overcome by human effort the natural traits of our character, the natural disposition in us. That cannot be done without divine power connected without human effort. The will of the individual is to be submitted to the will of God, and the Lord working in that person he can gain victories over bad habits and imperfections of character. The Lord says in John 16:33:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.6
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.7
The Saviour overcame the world. He did not overcome sin, for he had no sin. I read again this expression in Luke 11:21:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.8
When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.9
The strong man armed is Satan; his palace is the world; his goods, the whole human family; and the stronger than he is the Son of God. He came upon Satan at his first advent, and overcame him in the wilderness of temptation, overcame him all along the pathway of his public life, overcame him in his victory over death. In this triumph over Satan he took from him all his armor wherein he trusted; and now the way is open for the believer in Jesus Christ to obtain that high state of Christian perfection that will insure eternal life. The plan of salvation is settled forever. The Son of God is victorious, and he will triumph. Array yourself on the side of Christ, and stand firm, and you will be saved. Step on Satan’s side, and you are lost, eternally lost, because he is lost, and he has a lost cause. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.10
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.11
If I should ask you individually what the white raiment was, every one of you would express himself correctly. You would probably refer to Revelation 19:8. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 305.12
It is not the literal linen that is represented, but it is a right character; it is more than human righteousness, for human righteousness is as filthy rags. It is divine righteousness, hence the righteousness of Jesus Christ; and we partake of that by faith in the Son of God. Hence you notice, The same shall be clothed with white raiment, the same shall be clothed with the righteousness of God. Hence every one can see that when the time comes for the examination of the book of life, you and I will be acquitted, because our raiment being made white by the blood of the Lamb, it will be decided in our favor, and we have everlasting life. So you see there is great importance attaching to the idea of our putting on the white raiment. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.1
Do you know that since the meeting at Minneapolis, the sending forth of the message to put on the righteousness of Christ has been going on? Do you know that like a wave of light it has gone to our people everywhere? Well, have you bought it yet? Has eight years of time gone by, and yet you have not made the purchase? O my dear friends, you have not much longer to wait if you have not yet made the purchase. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.2
I wish to impress it upon you that this message has been going now for eight years, and that the Lord has been saying all this time, Purchase the white raiment. What do you find in the Laodicean message? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.3
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.4
The time is here for the purchase of the white raiment. We are right in the time, and the Lord is telling every soul to buy it; and therefore the necessity of obtaining it. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.5
I wish now to call your attention to the fourth chapter of Romans for a few moments. My subject to-night is not to tell you what the righteousness of Christ is; but by an illustration I wish to show what the righteousness of Christ will do for you and for me if we get it. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.6
Suppose an individual lives twenty-five years of his life a sinner without hope in God, without a Saviour, without the pardon of sin; suppose that he is converted at that point, and then goes on living a Christian life; you would all say that the last part of his life was white, his character was pure, because he had been converted, and was brought to the point of righteousness. But I wish to show you that the righteousness of Christ is to make that man righteous backward from his conversion as well as righteous forward. Notice that in the fourth chapter of Romans the apostle quotes from David, who says:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.7
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Romans 4:7. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.8
That individual’s sins are all pardoned, and he is covered with the righteousness of Christ, and then he lives righteous the rest of his life, so that the man is righteous all the way from his birth to the end of his probation. That is what the righteousness of Christ will do, and that is the position that God’s people will stand in who are living upon the earth when the Saviour shall confess their names before the Father, and before his angels. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.9
I read another text on this subject of righteousness, found in Matthew 5:19, 20:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.10
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.11
Now, I suppose we understand “the kingdom of heaven” there to mean the kingdom of grace. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall have but little of the favor of God. Whosoever shall do and teach them shall have much of the favor of God. “But I say unto you, Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into favor with God.” If your righteousness is only a human righteousness like theirs, you do not stand in God’s favor. Your own righteousness will not be taken as valid in the judgment, when the Saviour confesses your name; and should you stand there in your own righteousness, the Saviour would have to be silent when your name is called. It will be a terrible thing for an individual to come up to that day when his name is called, and he unprepared, having and trusting in his own righteousness. Then let each individual search and see; let each become familiar and acquainted with his own condition, that he may be prepared to stand when the Saviour shall call his name. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 306.12
Now we come again to the text: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment” - clothed in the righteousness of Christ. You have seen what that is to do for each individual. “And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” You all have read the text in Daniel 7:9, 10: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, ... thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 307.1
When did the judgment sit? The announcement has been made to the world - have you heard it? even the year and the definite day of the year - have you heard it? The giving of the first angel’s message, “The hour of his judgment is come” - have you heard it? Peter says in 1 Peter 4:17:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 307.2
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 307.3
Then the first thing done in the judgment is the examination of God’s people, for the judgment begins with them. We say to you that the judgment hour began on the twenty-second day of October, 1844. Elder J. N. Andrews, before his death, was heard to say many times, “It is with much solemnity I came up to this anniversary day of the passing of the time.” He spoke of it as an important day in connection with the great Advent movement in the world. Reckoning the time from that day to the present, we find that last October, 1896, the twenty-second day, we were fifty-two years this side of the sitting of judgment. Our Saviour has been in the midst of that great company of angels around the throne, confessing the names of all the holy people of God from Abel all the way down through the ages, who have fallen in death. He has come almost, if not quite, to the time the living are to pass through their examination, which must be before he leaves the mercy seat. When the name is mentioned, the Son of God must do an office work as our High Priest, for us individually, if we pass the test. O, how solemn the time in which we are living! How necessary for close searching of heart, how needful it is for much time to be spent in prayer; how needful it is that every sin should be confessed, and that “pardoned” shall be written opposite every sin committed! GCDB March 8, 1897, page 307.4
“I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.” The book of life is being examined; and that you may see something more about this, I read in the twenty-second chapter of Matthew. There are three calls in this chapter, to the marriage of the king’s son. I want you to pay particular attention to verses eleven and twelve:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 307.5
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 307.6
The king is the Father, for he makes the marriage for his son, and his son is the Lord Jesus Christ. The guests to the marriage of the Lamb are the whole of God’s people from righteous Abel clear to the last one that shall turn to him. “And when the king came in to see the guests,” - how to see them? - To look at their characters, to see whether they are prepared and ready for the solemn assembly of God’s people to the marriage supper of the Lamb. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 307.7
My brethren and sisters, have you studied the Bible sufficiently to know that some whose names are in the book of life have not proved faithful, and therefore have not on the wedding garment? Have you studied the Bible sufficiently to know that it is possible for an individual to turn to God, find his favor, have his name written in the book of life, and then apostatize and go away? You all believe that doctrine. You readily see that every name is brought up for consideration, and that individual who has stopped in his Christian life and gone back again to the world, when his name is called Jesus cannot confess it before his Father and the angels. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 307.8
Get the picture in your mind, - that the angels are round about the throne, a great multitude, ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; and all those angels are to hear the voice of the Son of God pleading for an individual that his name may be retained; or they will hear the sentence which God will speak, Cast him into outer darkness. We wish to bring your mind to the point, so you will see it more fully. When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man which had not on a wedding garment, and he said unto him, How camest thou in hither, not having on a wedding garment? And he was speechless. He had nothing to say. No excuse will be offered for sin. No excuse can then be offered that will cancel a single sin; and therefore individuals should make no excuse now for their bad acts of life. No, not a single excuse should be rendered, for in doing so you simply express your unbelief, and unbelief itself is a sin. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 307.9
We call your attention again to the thought that in the judgment of God’s people, you have found, by study, that angels have a special part to act. Angels are “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” Hebrews 1:14. Each individual Christian has an angel attending him, and is placing his life record in a book. Possibly there are as many books as there are individuals, and when the name is called that angel that walked by your side and was with you will open the book and show the record with the sins all pardoned. Then Jesus will take up the name and say, My Father, my blood for that man, my blood for that man, my blood for him; and when Jesus thus confesses his name his sins are blotted out, and his name is kept in the book of life. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 307.10
Now perhaps you may think this is mere fancy. But I have in my possession a copy of “Early Writings,” and you are all acquainted with this, and I read a short extract from this to-night:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 308.1
I saw four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and were on their way to accomplish it. Jesus was clothed with priestly garments. He gazed in pity on the remnant, then raised his hands upward, and with a voice of deep pity cried, “My blood, Father, my blood, my blood, my blood.” Then I saw an exceeding bright light come from God, who sat upon the great white throne, and was shed all about Jesus. Then I saw an angel with a commission from Jesus, swiftly flying to the four angels who had a work to do on earth, and crying with a loud voice, Hold! Hold! Hold! Hold! until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 308.2
The strife of war is held back, the anger of nations is held in check. We see over in Europe everything all ready to touch the match which would set the whole country in commotion. We see in our own country things coming to a climax, and here is the poor remnant of the Lord’s people, unfitted, unprepared. O, we are not ready, because we have not made the purchase of the righteousness of Christ. Why delay, brethren and sisters? Shall we wait longer, shall we stay away from the Saviour now in this time of peril and danger? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 308.3
O, may God pity us still, as he says; may he show his pity, and, as the Saviour raises his hand before the Father, and presents his own blood for us, may we place ourselves in the Saviour’s hands, and his blood will wash us clean. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 308.4
Listen to the words of the Saviour when he was here on earth. Matthew 10:32, 33:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 308.5
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 308.6
How do you confess Christ before men? - By standing loyal to God before your fellow men, wherever you are; being loyal to God’s commandments, and true to the principles and ordinances of the gospel, true to its support; and being loyal to health reform as the right arm of the third angel’s message. And we read in another text, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Be sure they do not see any bad works, any work of mischief. “That they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” So it is by our works that we confess Christ, not our works independent of God, no, nor what we can do by our own human effort; for that would be of no value. For, if I could by my own works cancel one sin, then if the Lord would permit me to live long enough I might cancel every sin, and thus become my own saviour. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 308.7
We are to have the Son of God dwelling within, and he has never violated the Father’s law. Therefore you cannot say to him, Stay at home and let me go to this party, this theatre, this show, or indulge in this or that worldly pleasure, for then he would have to separate from us. He never went to such places when he was here upon earth, and as he is our example in all such things, by such a course you would deny the Son of God. Be careful, then, that your works conform to his holy will, that you may confess him before men from day to day. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 308.8
O the thought, the terrible thought of despair that would come to my soul if the Father should deny me when my name is called! O, the terrible anguish than would come upon me, if he should deny me at that time! I say in my heart, and in my soul, Let me stand true to God, if the whole world forsake me; let me stand in communion with the divine will, if the whole world goes against me. Let me have the favor of God, and I have the favor of Jesus Christ and the favor of ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of angels; and so I stand in the majority with the sweet blessings and Spirit of God to lift me up, and hold me up in the midst of peril. The pathway of humility is the pathway of safety. No individual can walk the pathway to everlasting life unless he humbles himself at the feet of Christ, and lets the Lord lift him up; then it is that you get victory and triumph. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 308.9
Only a few more words are needed upon this important question. He says, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed with the righteousness of Christ; I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before the Father and before his angels. Keep in mind the idea that it is now fifty-two years this side of the day when the blotting out of sin began; and we are right in the period when we may expect it will come upon the living almost any day. The righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith is the loud cry of the third angel’s message; and it may be possible that the judgment has already begun on the living. But if it is begun, eight years have gone by since that movement started, and who are they whose names have been called? We do not know. When will your name be called; when will mine be called? O, the Saviour has said, Watch, watch, lest that day come upon you as a thief. Watch! That is the watchword at this time - Watch and pray; draw nigh unto God, and he will draw nigh unto you; and you will have his love and blessing to lift you up. We behold the Father and the Son engaged in the last work that is to be done before the Saviour shall put on his kingly robes, and come forth to gather his people unto himself. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 308.10
Let us awake to this one thought, that connection with God and his cause now is worth more than all the gold and silver in this world. Remember that if you do not get any pay for your labor here, you will get the reward of eternal life in the world to come. Remember that if you should suffer death because of your faith, when the One in whom you trust shall speak, you will spring from the dust into eternal life. Remember that we are trusting in one who is almighty to save. Remember that our God is a true friend; and Jesus Christ a kind, loving Saviour. He throws out his arms of love to take us all into his favor. We are to yield to his will, to yield all, everything, to be used in his service. Then finally we shall be gathered with the ransomed throng, and taken to the sea of glass, and shall enter into the holy city, and sit down to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and to enjoy eternally the blessings and joys of the world to come. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 309.1
Christian Help Work. J. H. KELLOGG, M. D. (Wednesday Afternoon, March 3, 1897.)
FRIENDS, I do not feel qualified to instruct you. I am sure there are others here who are better qualified to occupy your time, and to instruct you, than I am. But the brethren desired that there should be presented before you some of the special instruction which we have been receiving at the sanitarium from time to time upon the subject of health reform, and its important relations to the various branches of the work, especially to us as individuals. Now I will read first a statement here from a testimony received in 1893. It is dated Auckland, New Zealand, Feb. 19, 1893. These words apply to everybody, and not alone to those at the sanitarium:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 309.2
Guilt rests upon us as a people who have had much light, because we have not appreciated the importance of the light given upon health reform. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 309.3
It is a very interesting fact that the Lord began giving us this light thirty years ago. Just before I came to the Conference I had a talk with Dr. Lay, and he told me of how he heard the first instruction about health reform away back in 1860, and especially in 1863. While he was riding in a carriage with brother and sister White, she related what had been presented to her upon the subject of health reform, and laid out the principles which have stood the test of all these years - a whole generation. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 309.4
I am sure, as Dr. Riley said to me this morning, that it is impossible for any man who has not made a special study of medicine to appreciate the wonderful character of the instruction that has been received in these writings. It is wonderful, brethren, when you look back over the writings that were given us thirty years ago, and then perhaps the next day pick up a scientific journal and find some new discovery that the microscope has made, or that has been brought to light in the chemical laboratory, - I say, it is perfectly wonderful how correctly they agree in fact. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 309.5
Now in the preface to “Christian Temperance” you will find a statement which I presume not very many of you have read. There is no name signed to the preface, but I wrote it. But if you will read it, you will find a statement to the effect that every single statement with reference to healthful living, and the general principles that underlie the subject, have been verified by scientific discovery. I sometimes see some of our brethren appear to be a little shaky on the testimonies; they do not know whether these things come from the Lord or not; but to those I invariably say that if you will study the subject of health reform from the testimonies, and then from the light of scientific discovery, - compare it with what science teaches at the present time, - you will be amazed; you will see what a flood of light was given us thirty years ago. There is, however, a more amazing thing than that, and it is that this light which was given to us at that time, confirmed as it is by scientific discovery, - I say the most amazing thing of all is that we as a people have turned our backs upon this, and have not accepted it, and believed in it as we should. I want to repeat it that there is not a single principle in relation to the healthful development of our bodies and minds that is advocated in these writings from Sister White, which I am not prepared to demonstrate conclusively from scientific evidence. I have said that a great many times before; some of the brethren have heard me say it as I have gone around and attended the camp-meetings. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 309.6
(A voice) Fifteen years ago. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.1
Yes, that is right; I made that statement fifteen years ago. There is no evidence so powerful that can be deduced in support of these writings and the source from which they come, as the fact that the writings thirty years ago are fully substantiated by the scientific discoveries of to-day. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.2
I will read these lines again:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.3
Guilt rests upon us as a people who have had much light, because we have not appreciated or improved the light given upon health reform. Through misunderstanding and perverted ideas many souls are deceived. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.4
Now, brethren, these are sound words:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.5
Those who teach the truth to others, and who should be shepherds to the flock, will be held accountable for their willing ignorance and disregard of Nature’s laws. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.6
Brethren, I do not want you to think that I regard myself better than you are. I am not. We are all sinners, and I am perhaps the greatest sinner of all. I have had my attention called to this subject of health reform. I was brought up in it. I set the type for the first book on Christian temperance more than thirty years ago. Brother Lane and I set up type for that book. So it is no credit to me that I am a health reformer. It is my business. This is what I was hired to do. But some are here spoken of as being willingly ignorant. Has not that time come when we should not be willingly ignorant any longer? when we should begin to inform ourselves on these points? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.7
This is not a matter to be trifled with, to be passed off with a jest. As we approach the close of this earth’s history, selfishness and violence and crime prevail as in the days of Noah, when the Old World perished in the waters of the flood. As Bible believers, we need to take our position for righteousness and truth. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.8
That means righteousness and truth. Not a little righteousness and a little truth, but all the right doing, all the truth we can learn or take hold of. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.9
What power there is in these principles. I read another sentence: “If we would elevate the moral standard in any country where we may be called to go, we must begin by correcting their physical habits.” We are talking about sending missionaries into all parts of the world, and the very thing to begin with, we do not know very much about. We do not know how to give the primary lessons unless we study health reform. If we are ignorant of these principles, there is not a single person here prepared to go to any country to work. “If we would elevate the moral standard in any country,” - United States, Africa, Mexico, or any other country, I don’t care where, - “if we would elevate the moral standard in any country, where we may be called to go, we must begin by correcting their physical habits.” Now, my brethren, I expect that is a very astounding statement to some of you, but there it is. I have not said it; the Lord has said it. The only way to reform people in any country on the face of the globe, is by correcting their physical habits. Does this mean that health reform must come trailing along five, ten, or fifteen years behind, and the ministers should say, After I have this people converted, and they are able to bear it, I will introduce health reform? “If we would elevate the moral standard in any country where we may be called to go, we must begin by correcting their physical habits.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.10
Now I would not need to read another word; if I should stop right there, I have read enough for all of us to think about for a long time, because there are tremendous principles that are wrapped up in these few sentences. They are the principles that are involved in the very foundation of your work; they are the principles involved in the very foundation of the missionary work, in the very foundation of your tent work, in the very foundation of your Bible work, in the very foundation of every line of work that you are undertaking, for the advancement of the cause, - for every single line of work. These principles belong right there, every one of them. Now is not that true? How is it, brethren? You profess to believe the Testimonies, and you bring them up here on various questions, and Brother Jones here has been showing you how to apply them and how to use them. Now, Brother Jones, I will ask you, Am I overstating these principles on this subject? You are authority on this subject. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 310.11
A. T. Jones. - No, Doctor, I am not authority on the Testimonies. All I can do is to just believe what they say, and that is all we can know about it. Just what they say is so. What they say is true. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.1
I do not want anything more than that. I am glad to hear Brother Jones say that, that he believes that what they say is true. Now is there anybody here that does not believe them, that is willing to say he does not believe that that principle is a sound one? If this is true, it is almost revolutionary. It seems that you must go to work at the other end. It means so in a great many cases. Some here can tell you that they have tried this, and they have found it worked very well. Perhaps Professor Sutherland can tell you his experience at Walla Walla. I know what experiences he has had out there, as he has written me regarding them, and I presume he could tell you that he put these things right to the front, and they helped him. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.2
Professor E. A. Sutherland. - Yes, we have found that they have worked very successfully. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.3
I presume that there are some ministers who could tell you that they have put these principles right to the front in their work, and that they have found that they prepare the way for other principles to come in. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.4
We have been talking about this thing for years and years. The brethren have heard me talk about health reform being an entering wedge. And I have felt myself, sometimes, that I was very much in the position of a wedge with a maul working on the end of it and the log squeezing hard on both sides of it. Now, I have not said a word about it for the last ten years, because I thought the brethren did not believe it; for if they did, they would practice the principles. Now, why not try it? I don’t want to bear down hard upon the brethren and present this thing any stronger than it is. I simply read you what it says. It is right for every one to receive it as his conscience dictates that he should receive it, as his own conscience and heart tell him to, and then act upon it just as his own conscience and heart tell him he ought to act upon it. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.5
Here is the principle. Now then, you have heard it, and you receive it, and if I have helped you to get it, then I have done my duty. When I received this; it came to me in a letter, and I was so anxious that the brethren should get it that I had it printed in this little tract. Sister White told me years ago that I was at liberty to use anything received from her to advance this line of work, and I took pains to underscore these lines so that the brethren would all see it. And I sent them around as far as I could scatter them. Well, there it is. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.6
Here are some other things that I would like to call your attention to. Here is a sentence, brethren, which I suppose the Lord means for each one of us: “The Lord does not give light on health reform that it may be disregarded by those who are in positions of influence and authority. The Lord means what he says.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.7
Now, I have read a sentence here that you all agree comes from the Lord. Now I will read another sentence here:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.8
“The Lord means what he says.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.9
You have heard what it says. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.10
“And he is honored in what he says.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.11
Then some of you say, “I don’t see how he can do that here.” We have the promise the Lord will be honored in our doing it. We do not have to worry about that, but simply take hold of it and do it and see what will happen. You will find the Lord will be honored and not dishonored. Now just a few sentences more:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.12
The ministers in our country should become intelligent on health reform. They ought to become acquainted with the science of physiology. None can understand the subject thoroughly unless they understand something about physiology, and this is a subject which everybody ought to understand. It has not received the attention in our schools that it ought to have received. The philosopher remarked years ago that the deepest study of mankind is man. How much we neglect this study. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.13
“Then they will be intelligent in regard to the laws that govern physical life.” So you see that we can find these same principles in physiology. We do not have to depend simply upon the authority of these writings here, but you have these principles in physiology; and they are all there. I told you a little while ago I could present scientific authority for every single principle. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.14
“Thus they will become intelligent in regard to the laws that govern the physical health, and their bearing upon the health of mind and soul.” Now, here is a thought that shows why these principles are so important; why it is necessary for reformers of physical health and habit to go before the spiritual elevation of the people. It is because there is an important relation between the two, the physical habits and the health of the mind and soul, so if you are going to work for the mind and soul, you must first correct the physical habits. You must work for the man so that he can comprehend the relation of these things. “They will then be able to speak correctly upon this subject.” Now you see it is no use for a brother to get up here and say, I have tried this for a long time, unless he has studied physiology. Unless he has, he is not prepared to speak correctly. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 311.15
Here is a beautiful thought: “In their obedience to physical laws, they are to hold forth the word of life to the people, and to lead up higher and still higher in the work of reform.” So you see the picture put before us is, that we are to begin the physical reform, and to lead up higher and still higher; but the word of life is to be held forth by those who are appreciating these principles, and who live up to them, and who thus are living examples of the good results to be attained by the appreciation and practice of these principles. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 312.1
The lethargy of unconscious sensualism through indulgence of perverted appetite; the constant submitting of the soul and body and spirit to moral defilement, is upon the people. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 312.2
That is the reason that you want to begin with the principles of physical habits. I am sure it would surprise you if you would go and see the anxiety of the people to receive instruction on these questions. The world is getting anxious to receive this very light that we have been hiding under a bushel. We are overcrowded with requests from various societies, associations, and clubs, to come and deliver lectures on these principles. Suppose we come up at once on these principles of reform, so that the world will see this people standing up with purity of blood and in conformity with the laws of health. What a mighty influence and power it would have, and what a tremendous enlightenment there would be in every community, if each individual would walk out upon these principles! How many people we might help to enlighten, if every Seventh-day Adventist were a genuine reformer! How many people would be converted in one year! We have twelve sanitariums, and every one is an educational institution. I suppose you have spent several hours here every day for two or three weeks, on the subject of education. But I do not know how much you have spent on the subject of health. Our colleges have four or five hundred students yearly, but in our sanitariums we have four or five thousand. They remain there from two, three, or six months to a year, and then go away. And they are not little boys and girls; not young men and women from farms in the country districts; they are judges, lawyers, senators, governors of States, persons of wealth and of prominence from all parts of the country. Go to St. Helena; to Boulder, where we have so recently started, and you will find hundreds of people in each of these institutions. I suppose that in Boulder there will be two or three thousand people with them the next year, to be educated in these principles. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 312.3
But if all our people were really working on this same line, what a mighty light would shine out from them. I suppose it may seem strange to some of you when you give the W. C. T. U. a hit, that they do not strike back. I will tell you why it is. They have learned to love these health principles, and they regard the sanitarium in Battle Creek as their home. They have adopted our health principles. They have established a health department. Some years ago one of their leading lecturers came to Battle Creek, and became so interested that she wanted to appoint Mrs. Kellogg president. They have accepted our health principles bodily, and are advocating them right along. Miss Francis Willard is a thorough-going health reformer; she practices it, and teaches it everywhere. She says that if we would think the great thoughts of God, we must live simply; high thinking does not go with high living; these are her sentiments. There are really more health reformers among the W. C. T. U. than among the Seventh-day Adventists, not in proportion, but in number; for they number nearly a million altogether, and a large number of them take hold and work together. And they are so grateful for the health reform that they have received from Seventh-day Adventists, that you may go on persecuting them, but they will not fight back. I tell you, brethren, I am ashamed when I see our brethren getting out and thrusting people who are doing the same work that we are trying to do. To be sure they are seriously mistaken on some things, but they are honest, and they are doing the very work we are neglecting. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 312.4
A word more on some specific points, and I am through; for instance, upon the subject of meat-eating: Many of our brethren and sisters say, “I could be a health reformer, but I find it hard to give up the use of meat.” I want to read you a sentence or two here on one or two points, which have been taken from writings which have been received since this Conference was in session, and dated Jan. 11, 1897:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 312.5
God calls for reform in our churches. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.1
Here is a sentence that will astonish you beyond measure, if you have not read it before, and especially if you have not been giving the subject proper attention:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.2
Every departure from the simple, natural laws which he has established in our being is a departure from the law of God. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.3
Brother Jones, that is idolatry, is it not? GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.4
A. T. Jones. - Yes; it is. That is what we had last night. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.5
That is the reason why I heard your sermon last night. Brother Jones told you that the first little step, or departure, from God was idolatry. Only one step from God is idolatry. Whenever a person gets so far departed from God that he does not recognize the Creator, such a person is an idolater. These departures tend to benumb our faculties, so we cannot appreciate God. Here is a sentence that is the most remarkable of all:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.6
Every law governing the human machinery is to be considered just as truly divine in origin, in character, and in importance, as the Word of God. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.7
Perhaps some of you are almost shocked at that. Why, it is because God is in us. He is trying to work out through us the best ends and purposes for us, and the laws that he has made are necessary for the best physical expression of the divinity that is in us, and consequently if we violate these laws, we are dishonoring God, and violating his law. And this can be done just as well through the stomach as through the brain. We cannot draw a distinction and say, This is the law of God, and this is the law of nature. There is no such a distinction. The only definition of sin that we have in the Bible is that it is the transgression of the law. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.8
Brethren, there is much that I might read to you about, but I will only read these one or two statements, and then sit down:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.9
Men are taking sides according to their choice; those that are feeding on the Word of God will show this by their practice. They are on the Lord’s side, seeking by precept and example to reform the world. All that have refused to be taught of God hold to the traditions of men; they at last pass over on the side of the enemy against God and are written antichrist. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.10
The people of God - all that refuse to be taught of God, hearing what God has been teaching us - they “hold to traditions of men; they at last pass over on the side of the enemy against God and are written, antichrist. The people of God who understand our position in this world’s history are, with ears open and hearts softened, and subdued, pressing together in unity, one with Jesus Christ. Those who will not practice the lessons of Christ, but keep themselves in hand to mold themselves, find in antichrist the center of their union. While the two parties stand in collision, the Lord will appear and shine before his ancients gloriously. He will set up a kingdom that shall stand forever.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.11
A. T. Jones then made a few remarks, and read the following matter, found on pages 40-42 of “Special Testimony to Ministers and Workers,” No. 7:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.12
The Lord has given his people a message in regard to health reform. This light has been shining upon their pathway for thirty years; and the Lord cannot sustain his servants in a course which will counteract it. He is displeased when his servants act in opposition to the message upon this point, which he has given them to give to others. Can he be pleased when half the workers laboring in a place, teach that the principles of health reform are as closely allied with the third angel’s message as the arm is to the body, while their co-workers by their practice, teach the principles that are entirely opposite? This is regarded as a sin in the sight of God, and is one reason why he could not give greater success to the work in——. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.13
My brother, you must no longer demerit the messengers and the message God has sent you in regard to the principles of healthful living. Testimony after testimony has been given which should have brought about great reforms; but at home and abroad your life has been a decided witness against the warnings which the Lord has sent; and nothing brings such discouragement upon the Lord’s watchman, as to be connected with those who have mental capacity, and who understand the reasons of our faith, but by precept and example manifest indifference to moral obligations. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.14
The light which God has sent on health reform cannot be trifled with, without injury to those who attempt it; and no man can hope to succeed in the work of God, while by precept and example he eats in opposition to the light which God has sent. The voice of duty is the voice of God, - an in-born, heaven-sent guide, - and the Lord will not be trifled with on these subjects. He who disregards the light which God has given in regard to the preservation of health, revolts against his own good, and refuses to obey the one who is working for his best good. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.15
It is the duty of every Christian to follow that course of action which the Lord has designated as right for his servants. He is ever to remember that God and eternity are before him, and he should not disregard his spiritual and physical health, even though tempted by wife, children, or relatives to do so. “If the Lord be God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.” GCDB March 8, 1897, page 313.16
The principles of health reform, right or wrong, which are adopted by him who gives the word of God to others, will have a molding influence upon his work, and upon those with whom he labors. If his principles are wrong, he can and will misrepresent the truth to others; if he accepts the truth which appeals to the reason rather than to perverted appetite, his influence for the right will be decided. The truth will be in his heart as a well of water springing up into everlasting life. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 314.1
God’s instruction is not Yea and Nay, but Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus; and his workers are called upon to remember that they cannot drift along with unsettled principles which are warped and distorted by impulse, without misrepresenting the truth which they profess, and doing a lasting injury to their own souls. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 314.2
That is good. It is solemn instruction for us. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 314.3
A Remarkable Meeting
THE thirty-second General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists will pass into the denominational history as the most remarkable meeting of its kind ever held amongst our people. There are several circumstances that combine to render it so. On account of the peculiar situation of affairs, especially on account of our need of a closer relation to God, the source of all power and wisdom, it was felt that this Conference must mark an epoch in our work. It was tacitly understood that changes of some kind would take place, and that an effort would be made to lift the cause out of the rut into which it had fallen and which was year by year becoming deeper. Not a few of the members have expressed on the floor the anxiety they have felt for months in regard to the meeting and its outcome. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 314.4
No sooner had the meeting convened, and, in fact, for some weeks before the meeting, testimonies of striking force, aimed, as it would seem, at wrongs that existed at the very heart of our organization, had been coming in quick succession; and, as these were read before the Conference, a profound impression was created, and the impression was fully received that nothing short of a new conversion, of a radical change of attitude and spirit, would remedy the existing defects. Then arose the question of what our proper attitude should be. If our past course has been in the wrong direction, what shall our future course be? Shall we tear down that which has been built up at expense and cost, or shall we proceed with what we have? But whichever course might be chosen, it was felt that, above all, a new spirit must come in. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 314.5
These were some of the impressions which rested upon the minds of the delegates; and while uncertainty and perplexity have, in a large measure, prevailed in our councils, and while a sense of our past errors has, in some measure, produced confusion of judgment, this state of things did not prove fatal to the interests of the meeting, as it might have done from the human standpoint. On the other hand, there was a readiness upon the part of each to receive and appropriate to himself the reproofs and admonitions of the Spirit of God. Every one felt that, in order to make an application of these things, it was not necessary to look beyond himself. This caused a drawing together. There probably never has been a meeting in which so many deep and earnest prayers have been offered, in which there has been more heart-searching and humiliation of soul, or in which more of brotherly love and unity prevailed than at the present. This has brought the blessing of God very near, and at times its melting influence has come into our midst in great power. Sympathy for one another has been marked, and personal reflections have been absent to an equal degree. It is true that all have not seen alike. There has been, perhaps, too much discussion; at times we have been swift to speak and slow to hear. But in the end, the Spirit of the Lord has come in and sealed the decisions with his approbation. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 314.6
The real benefits of this meeting will appear in our after history. The recollection of our experiences in College View will remain with us a long time. The light which has shone upon our pathway will, we trust, increase unto the perfect day. If we walk in the light, carefully and prayerfully studying and carrying out the principles which have been brought out, they will result in such a transformation of our work as will bring in the blessing and power of God. We have, perchance, become too firmly fixed in our ways to be transformed at once; but we trust that the steps which have been taken at this Conference will not need to be retraced; but that they will prove the beginning of a better way, and with more perfect progress in the divine life for the individual and for the denomination. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 314.7
Third Meeting of the Sabbath-school Association
THE International Sabbath-school Association met for its third meeting at nine o’clock in the morning of March 5. C. H. Jones in the chair. F. M. Wilcox offered prayer. The report of the Recording Secretary was presented by M. H. Brown, as follows:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.1
REPORT OF RECORDING SECRETARY
(For two Years Ending Dec. 31, 1896.) GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.2
It will be a matter of interest to our people to know of the growth of our Sabbath-school work, the amount of money contributed by them, the amount donated to various enterprises, and the time when the donations were made. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.3
The following table shows the membership, total contributions, and the amount donated to missions each year during the last ten years:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.4
| Year. | Membership. | Contributions. | Donations to Missions. |
| 1887 | 23,700 | $16,751 83 | $10,615 72 |
| 1888 | 25,375 | 18,485 77 | 10,755 34 |
| 1889 | 28,900 | 22,541 24 | 11,767 95 |
| 1890 | 32,000 | 28,642 75 | 17,707 39 |
| 1891 | 33,400 | 29,435 05 | 16,750 94 |
| 1892 | 35,300 | 37,592 27 | 23,618 77 |
| 1893 | 40,100 | 37,936 11 | 24,162 50 |
| 1894 | 49,626 | 39,562 42 | 20,850 05 |
| 1895 | 50,266 | 37,336 35 | 19,809 76 |
| 1896 | 52,045 | 40,242 00 | 23,762 85 |
| Total, | $308,525 79 | $179,801 27 |
The following figures show the amount of donations to each mission field, and the time when they were given:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.5
| South Africa, four quarters 1887 | $10,615 72 |
| London, four quarters 1888 | 10,755 34 |
| Missionary ship “Pitcairn,” first quarter 1889, and first two quarters 1890 | 12,035 22 |
| “Pitcairn” running expenses; first two quarters 1891 | 7,338 33 |
| Russian field, second quarter 1889 | 2,783 48 |
| Hamburg Mission, last two quarters 1889 | 6,377 97 |
| South American Mission, last two quarters 1890 | 8,278 67 |
| European Mission, last two quarters 1891 | 9,412 61 |
| Haskel Home, first quarter 1892 | 7,079 94 |
| West Indies and Polynesia, second quarter 1892 | 5,364 04 |
| Mexico and Central America, last two quarters 1892 | 11,174 79 |
| India, first two quarters 1893 | 11,999 66 |
| Hamburg, last two quarters 1893 | 12,162 84 |
| Africa, first two quarters 1894 | 10,736 94 |
| Japan, last two quarters 1894 | 10,113 11 |
| Zambesia, first two quarters 1895 | 9,132 32 |
| China, and missionary boat for Caribbean Sea, last two quarters 1895 | 10,677 44 |
| Southern field, first two quarters 1896 | 11,574 04 |
| India, last two quarters 1896 | 12,188 81 |
| Total | $179,801 27 |
We would call attention to the following interesting features of these statistics:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.6
1. The membership of our schools has more than doubled during the last ten years. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.7
2. The total contributions have also more than doubled during the same period. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.8
3. The donations to missions are now just about twice as much as they were ten years ago. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.9
4. The largest amount donated for missions during any one quarter was for the Haskell Home, the first quarter of 1892. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.10
5. The smallest amount was for the Russian field during the second quarter of 1889. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.11
6. The Sabbath-schools have contributed over $300,000 during the last ten years, of which amount about $180,000 have been donated to missions, or sixty per cent. of the total. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.12
7. By striking an average of the membership, during the ten years we find it to be 37,000 per year. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.13
8. The yearly average amount donated to missions is $18,000, or about fifty cents per member, each year. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.14
To summarize more concisely, we would say that we have aided the following fields, with the sums indicated:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.15
| Africa | $30,484 98 |
| London | 10,755 34 |
| Pitcairn | 19,373 55 |
| Hamburg | 18,540 81 |
| India | 24,188 47 |
| Mexico and Central America | 11,174 79 |
| China | 10,677 44 |
| Japan | 10,113 11 |
| Southern Field | 11,574 04 |
| European Mission | 9,412 61 |
| South America | 8,278 67 |
| Haskell Home | 7,079 94 |
| West Indies and Polynesia | 5,364 04 |
| Russia | 2,783 48 |
| Total, | $179,801 27 |
The above report being adopted, the report of the Auditing Committee was submitted:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.16
Your committee appointed to audit the books of the International Sabbath-school Association beg to submit, that we have examined said books, comparing the entries made therein with the vouchers, and we find them to be in harmony. Also, we find the ledger to be in balance, and we hereby certify that, to our best knowledge and belief, the books have been correctly kept. Signed, T. A. KILGORE, WATSON ZIEGLER, JOHN I. GIBSON. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 315.17
The nominating committee through its secretary, E. A. Sutherland, rendered its report, which with slight alterations was adopted, as follows: President, C. H. Jones; Vice-President, A. E. Place; Secretary and Treasurer, M. H. Brown; Executive Committee, C. H. Jones, A. E. Place, M. H. Brown, M. C. Wilcox, L. Flora Plummer, E. S. Ballenger, E. J. Hibbard, W. N. Glenn, G. W. Reaser. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.1
The Committee on Plans and Resolutions submitted its report, and the meeting adjourned to 2:30 P. M. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.2
Sabbath-school Association
INTERNATIONAL Sabbath-school Association held its fourth meeting at three P. M., March 5. The entire time of the meeting was taken up in the consideration of the report of the Committee on Plans and Resolutions, which was as follows:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.3
Your committee on plans would respectfully submit the following recommendations:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.4
1. That our schools report and forward donations made by them for the Haskell Home, with tithe of the same, through the regular channels, the same as the Sabbath-school donations for other enterprises. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.5
2. That more space in the Sabbath School Worker be devoted to “Improved Methods of Teaching,” “Use of the Blackboard,” “The General Review,” “Teachers’ Meetings,” “Personal Labor with Pupils,” “Development of the Missionary Spirit,” etc. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.6
3. That persons who have had experience in these features of the Sabbath-school work consider seriously whether they do not have a responsibility to furnish matter for the Worker on these topics for the benefit of its readers. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.7
4. That a greater effort be made to interest the youth and children in the regular church service, by adapting the instruction and exercises to their needs. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.8
5. That our Sabbath-schools make a special study of the Saviour’s method of teaching by use of objects, and that the officers of this Association and the State associations render all the help they can in this line of work. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.9
6. That the present uniformity of lesson subjects in all grades be continued while we study the book of Acts during the year beginning July 1, 1897. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.10
7. That a series of lessons in the Old Testament Scriptures be provided for the primary and intermediate grades, and published in the Little Friend, said lessons to follow those on the Book of Acts. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.11
Each section received due consideration, and the last two elicited no small amount of discussion. By vote, they were laid on the table, and the rest of the recommendations were adopted without amendment. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.12
Publishing Association
THE third meeting of the S. D. A. Publishing Association was called at 9 o’clock Sunday morning. There being no business except to hear the report of the committee suggesting nominations, this report was presented by the chairman of the committee, A. J. Breed; but as it is subject to revision at the legal meeting, its publication will be deferred to the next number of the BULLETIN. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.13
Educational Society
THE third meeting of the S. D. A. Educational Society was called at 9:45 Sunday morning, and the consideration of the Committee on Plans, printed on page 287 of the BULLETIN, was taken up. It was shown that the report as published had been by misunderstanding in some measure substituted for the one actually presented by the committee. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.14
It was therefore voted to strike out sec. 4 of the printed report, and to incorporate it with the following, which was that submitted by the committee, and to adopt the whole thus amended:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.15
The committee appointed to recommend more specific plans for the work of Battle Creek College, in harmony with the general policy adopted at the last meeting of the College Board, present the following report:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.16
We recommend, 1. That besides the course of study now offered in the nine grades of the Preparatory Department, there be three years of additional preparatory work (largely elective, in counsel with the instructors) from the following general lines: English Language, Science, History, Bible, Mathematics, Manual Training, Latin (Biblical and Medical), Greek, (Biblical), German, Hebrew, etc. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.17
2. That the Teachers’ Course be one year, and the Evangelistic Course two years in length. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.18
3. That the aim be to give a thorough course for practical work as evangelistic missionaries, missionary teachers, and in other lines of missionary labor. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.19
4. That these plans be regarded as only suggestive of the policy which the Board would like to have followed in the College, and that such instructors as are thought to be in harmony with them, be asked to prepare more definite plans, including the arrangement of the courses and term program in such a way that all the work to be offered by the College be provided for in the schedule of work. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.20
5. That this plan be so arranged that the younger students could carry on a thorough course of study during such a time as their instructors might deem it advisable for them to remain in school, the definite aim being to prepare them for practical usefulness; and that older students be encouraged to enter more directly upon the training courses which shall be conducted in such a way that they may be pursued even by those who have not completed the regular preparatory courses. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 316.21
Religious Liberty Association
THE International Religious Liberty Association held its final meeting on Friday afternoon, at 4:30. The business consisted of the election of officers for the ensuing term. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.1
The nominating committee, through its chairman, A. E. Place, submitted the following report:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.2
President, Allen Moon; Vice-president, A. T. Jones; Secretary and Treasurer, A. F. Ballenger. Executive Board: Allen Moon, A. T. Jones, A. F. Ballenger, R. A. Underwood, D. W. Reavis, A. O. Tait, S. H. Lane, W. S. Hyatt, M. C. Wilcox. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.3
It was voted to authorize the Executive Committee to employ assistant secretaries, if it should be deemed necessary. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.4
Association adjournment, sine die. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.5
Closing Part of the Fifteenth Meeting. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.6
OUR report of this most interesting meeting was cut off at the point where it was decided that H. P. Holser remain in the European field. The name of A. G. Daniells for president of the Australasian was taken up and adopted. The nominations for superintendents of districts coming up, the question of the expediency of electing these officers since the division of the General Conference adopted at the present session, was raised by W. C. White, and discussed till the close of the meeting at six o’clock. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.7
Sixteenth Meeting of the Conference
THE Conference convened at 10:30, March 5. O. A. Olsen presided. H. P. Holser led in prayer. The Chair took the occasion to say that he felt very grateful for the manifest presence of the Spirit of God in our midst at our last meeting in a degree he had never witnessed at any similar meeting he had ever attended. And yet there were slight manifestations of a spirit that was not of God. He asked the members to bear in mind that there was a wide difference between moving from a deep conviction of duty under impressions from above, and being moved by personal feelings and impulses. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.8
The consideration of the report of the nominating committee was stated to be in order. R. A. Underwood, chairman, stated that the committee desired to suggest a few changes for reasons that the individuals interested had proposed. The election proceeded in a spirit of unity with but few questions or suggestions. In response to a motion to place the name of W. C. White on the Executive Committee, Elder White spoke at length, stating reasons why he thought he should be excused, and placing before the meeting the nature of the work that is being done by his mother, and his relation to it. His mother needs his help in her increasing age and her many labors. N. W. Allee was chosen as superintendent of District 2, in the place of O. A. Olsen, transferred to Europe. The names of J. H. Morrison and N. W. Kauble were transposed. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.9
The persons elected were in harmony with the nominations published on pages 287 and 288 with the following changes: President of the European Conference, O. A. Olsen; Superintendent of General Conference District No. 2, N. W. Allee; District No. 3, J. H. Morrison; District No. 4, N. W. Kauble. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.10
Executive Committee: G. A. Irwin, O. A. Olsen, A. G. Daniells, R. A. Underwood, N. W. Allee, N. W. Kauble, J. H. Morrison, R. M. Kilgore, A. J. Breed, I. H. Evans, A. T. Jones, and one member to be chosen later. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.11
The election of the Foreign Mission Board was postponed until the nominating committee could propose a name for chairman of the Board, H. P. Holser being otherwise located. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.12
The suggested nomination of members of the General Conference Association was next considered, and was adopted with the amendment, of substituting for S. M. Jacobs the name of N. W. Allee; the name of Watson Ziegler was deferred to the meeting in Battle Creek, as it is not now known whether Brother Ziegler will be able to act in this capacity. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.13
The Committee on Finance submitted a report, after which the Conference adjourned to evening after the Sabbath at 7 o’clock. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.14
Eighteenth Meeting of the Conference
THE seventeenth meeting was called as per adjournment at 7 o’clock P. M., March 6, but as no business was prepared, the meeting gave way to a meeting of the Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 317.15
The eighteenth meeting convened at 10:30 A. M., March 7. Prayer was offered by W. W. Prescott. It was voted finally to adjourn in time to allow the delegates to take their trains as early as 2 P. M. on Monday. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.1
The Committee on Nominations presented a supplementary report. The report of the Committee on Credentials and Licenses was also presented. The regular order of unfinished business was taken up. The motion pending that the name of W. S. Hyatt be substituted for that of H. P. Holser on the Conference Executive Committee was laid on the table. The report of the Committee on Finance was read as follows:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.2
Your Committee on Financial Management would respectfully submit the following report:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.3
Whereas, We have been admonished by the Spirit of Prophecy that if our people would receive and act upon the instruction found in the third chapter of Malachi, in reference to tithes and offerings, there would be no lack of funds in the treasury; therefore we recommend, - GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.4
1. That our ministers and workers be urged to pay special attention to this question by giving the needed instruction to our churches, and brethren and sisters generally, as they have opportunity. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.5
2. That the officers of our churches visit each member of the church regularly not less than once each quarter, to see that they are not remiss in paying tithes and offerings, and to labor for the spiritual interests of all. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.6
3. In view of the urgent demands for money to send the gospel to “the regions beyond,” and as a means of enlisting the sympathy, co-operation, and interest of the entire family in missionary work, we recommend that farmers set aside a portion of their farms each year for missionary purposes, the entire proceeds of such portion to be dedicated to foreign mission work, and sent to the treasurer of the Foreign Mission Board through the proper channels. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.7
Whereas, There is a general feeling of uncertainty in the financial world; and, - GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.8
Whereas, Our leading institutions offer a safe place of deposit; therefore we recommend, - GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.9
4. (a) That when our conferences have the means on hand, they keep their laborers paid up as close as consistent; and, - GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.10
(b) That all surplus funds in the Conference treasury be deposited in one of our leading institutions, instead of depositing with a bank or any outside institution. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.11
Whereas, Serious complications have arisen, and in some cases money has been lost to the cause on account of careless or incompetent book-keeping; therefore we recommend, - GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.12
5. That careful and competent book-keepers be employed in our larger institutions and tract, depositories, and that before men enter upon the duties of business agents, or take charge of any line of work involving the handling of means, they be required to pass a satisfactory examination as to their fitness for the work in the lines above referred to. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.13
6. That as soon as practicable and necessary, there be formed in each American General Conference District, and the Australasian Union Conference, a local organization for the purpose of holding property, and that the property held by the General Conference Association in each of these districts be turned over to these new corporations, except in District No. 3, where the General Conference Association shall constitute the local organization for the purpose of holding property. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.14
In view of the great need of the schools in the South for immediate funds with which to construct necessary buildings, we recommend, - GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.15
7. (a) That the sum of $5,000 be appropriated to the Oakwood Industrial Schools; and, - GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.16
(b) That the sum of $3,000 be appropriated to Graysville Academy; and, - GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.17
(c) That the sum of $3,000 be appropriated to the Keene, Texas, Academy. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.18
| G. A. Irwin, | ] | |
| N. W. Kauble, | ] | |
| C. H. Jones, | ] | |
| J. H. Morrison, | ] | Committee. |
| N. P. Nelson, | ] | |
| J. E. Jayne, | ] | |
| C. Santee. | ] |
Under motion to adopt this report, it was proposed to strike out sec. 2. This was amended by a motion to strike out the first two sections on the ground that since God has plainly laid before us our duties, it is not consistent for this body further to legislate upon it. On the other hand, it was held that the action was simply suggestive, and acknowledged our acceptance of God’s Word. It was thought by many that the recommendation should come from some other committee than that on finance. The question was discussed by C. Santee, J. E. Jayne, H. Nicola, E. J. Waggoner, J. H. Kellogg, W. C. White, A. F. Ballenger, and others. The motion was changed to a motion to refer the paragraphs to the Committee on Resolutions. - Carried. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.19
Section 3 was, after brief discussion, referred back to the committee. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.20
The succeeding sections to No. 6 were adopted without discussion. On the recommendation relating to the Oakwood School, G. A. Irwin spoke at some length, giving extracts from testimonies relating to the work for colored people. The sum asked for would be used for plain, needed buildings. The school is full to overflowing, and many who desire to come cannot be received. The school needs a large barn. One to farm successfully needs to store his grain. A dormitory is also needed. The speaker wished the Conference could hear the hearty amens that are expressed by the colored people as they hear of the work we propose to do. Brother J. E. White reports a very great interest in his work on the Yazoo River. The chairman also spoke in behalf of the recommendation. He believed that the providence of God had directed those who located the Oakwood School to the right spot. He related how the matter had been made a matter of prayer by a Christian neighbor and his wife. Others spoke to the recommendation, which was adopted. The remaining recommendations were adopted. On motion of J. H. Kellogg the following was added to the report, and adopted:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 318.21
(d) That $10,000 be appropriated for starting isolated schools in the South. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.1
The report of the Nominating Committee was taken up and adopted, as follows:- GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.2
Remaining members of General Conference Executive Committee: H. P. Holser, Allen Moon. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.3
Corresponding Secretary, L. A. Hoopes. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.4
Mission Board: Chairman, Allen Moon; Recording Secretary and Treasurer, W. H. Edwards; Corresponding Secretary, F. M. Wilcox. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.5
Executive Committee: Allen Moon, W. H. Edwards, F. M. Wilcox, G. A. Irwin, C. H. Jones, with four other members to be chosen by the General Conference Committee and the members of the Mission Board elected at this Conference. Appointment of additional secretaries to be left with the Conference Committee and the Board. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.6
Trustees of Boulder Sanitarium: I. H. Evans, W. H. Riley, J. H. Kellogg, E. H. Gates, N. W. Kauble, Watson Ziegler, President of Colorado Conference. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.7
Ten Electors for the Medical and Benevolent Association: A. B. Olsen, W. H. Riley, D. H. Kress, H. F. Rand, C. H. Jones, David Paulson, W. C. White, W. H. Edwards, L. McCoy, J. S. Comins. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.8
Committee on Transportation: C. H. Jones, A. G. Adams, T. A. Kilgore, B. R. Nordyke, R. S. Donnell, A. W. Rothwell, C. McReynolds, E. A. Merrell, Geo. E. Henton, President Minnesota Conference, International Tract Society, Ltd, London, England. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.9
Labor Bureau: W. C. Sisley, A. O. Tait. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.10
Board of Managers of Union College: N. W. Kauble, J. Sutherland, President of Minnesota Conference W. S. Hyatt, Clarence Santee, W. A. Hennig, President of Nebraska Conference. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.11
Board of Managers of Walla Walla College: R. S. Donnell, Wm. Healey, T. H. Starbuck, E. A. Sutherland, T. L. Ragsdale, G. A. Nichols, Frank Peabody. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.12
Trustees of Keene Industrial School: R. M. Kilgore, C. McReynolds, President of Oklahoma Conference, Principal of the School, W. S. Greer, T. T. Stevenson, B. F. Woods. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.13
Board of Managers of Graysville Academy: N. W. Allee, W. T. Bland, E. R. Gillett. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.14
Board of Managers of Oakwood Industrial School: N. W. Allee, S. M. Jacobs, H. S. Shaw. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.15
That these last two boards, together with the presidents of the Florida and Tennessee River Conferences act as board of education for District No. 2. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.16
Action on the Trustees of Boulder Sanitarium was deferred. The nomination of Transportation Committee was referred back to the Nominating Committee. With the exceptions noted, the report was then adopted, and the Conference adjourned to 3:30 P. M. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.17
The remainder of the proceedings will appear in the next Quarterly Bulletin. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.18
Sabbath Services
THE last Sabbath of the Conference was in many respects a most remarkable day. That which made it so was the presence of the power and blessing of God in unusual measure. There was nothing unusual in the form of services. There was no special effort made to create any extraordinary impressions. All felt that the occasion was one of peculiar interest and solemnity; but there was throughout the day a calm and quiet spirit. The discourse on the eve of the Sabbath was by A. T. Jones on the theme of Coming out of Egyptian Bondage. “Out of Egypt have I called my Son.” This declaration was applied as a general principle, and was traced through the Scriptures with clearness, the Holy Spirit witnessing to the truths with power. On the following morning the Sabbath-schools were well attended, and characterized with much interest. The forenoon discourse was by Elder Waggoner, on the subject of Witnesses for God. The basic scripture was Acts 1:4-8; the essential words, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me.” In reference to the Judgment it was shown that not only have we a case pending there, but that God is on trial also. He has placed the vindication of his character in the hands of his children. Isaiah forty-three was brought out, in which the Lord appoints his children his witnesses. The fact that God has, as it were, risked his reputation or character in our hands, and that we are in our lives to bear witness to his goodness and justice, was dwelt upon at some length. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.19
No outline of the discourse can give any idea of the spirit that came upon the meeting as the speaker proceeded. No appeal was made to the feelings of the audience, but at the close of the sermon many were in tears, and after the dismissal the people lingered weeping in silent and inexpressible gratitude and awe at the wonderful grace of God. It was not an occasion for words, for no words could give expression to the deep feelings of the heart. Never have we seen such a manifestation of the subduing power of the Holy Spirit. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 319.20
In the afternoon the time of the usual testimony meeting was used by Dr. Kellogg in speaking of the Christian Help Work and its relation to the cause of Christ. His personal relations to the work were also alluded to in a touching manner, and the meeting was a most profitable one. In other places the usual social meetings were held, and were of great help and comfort to the people. A report of the sermons alluded to will appear in the next number of the Quarterly Bulletin. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 320.1
An interesting meeting of the Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association was held in the evening, a report of which will also appear later. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 320.2
Explanatory
WHEN we took in the situation after arriving on the ground, it was apparent that cause for disappointment might arise with those who from what the BULLETIN has done at the last two or three Conferences, would be led to expect more than could be done here. And these things were anticipated by an apology. But in spite of that a few mild complaints have reached us. One cause has been that so little business has been reported. To those who have been here the reason of this is obvious. The BULLETIN does not make up business proceedings. Less business has been transacted than at any previous meeting for years; and this is saying nothing against the meeting either. Another cause is that reports of sermons have been incomplete. Nearly every discourse or address has been given, except that in a very few instances, perhaps three or four, the speakers preferred to withhold them. They have not been given verbatim it is true, but in nearly every instance the writer or speaker has revised his own manuscript, and with verbal changes only they have been thus printed. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 320.3
On the other hand, many commendations of the BULLETIN have been received. The fairness of its reports has been recognized by nearly all. The neatness of its appearance has been approved, and the precious matter it contained has been appreciated. It has been utterly impracticable to make the paper as large and full as in the previous years, for in this case the Review Office was not just across the road. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 320.4
Subscribe for the Quarterly
THIS is the last number of the DAILY BULLETIN for the thirty-second session of the General Conference. While for reasons that have already been referred to, we have found it impracticable to publish more than five days a week, we have been able to print 320 pages of matter, which is equal to twenty numbers of sixteen pages each. There remains considerable matter yet to be published, which includes the last day’s proceedings, as it was not possible to close the Conference quite as early as was contemplated. There are also the legal meetings to be held in Battle Creek on the 10th. All this will appear in the next number of the QUARTERLY BULLETIN, to be issued as soon as possible. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 320.5
This will be sent to all subscribers of the QUARTERLY and DAILY BULLETIN. The opportunity is extended to all who have paid thirty-five cents for the DAILY, to send an additional fifteen cents to the International Tract Society, Battle Creek, Mich., and receive the BULLETIN for the next two years, or till another Conference. We suppose that there are very few who will not desire to do this. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 320.6
Remember the offer. Send stamps if not convenient to send cash or money order. Address International Tract Society, Battle Creek, Mich. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 320.7
ONE of the features of this Conference that should not be passed without notice is the unvarying kindness and disposition to oblige manifested by the various railway companies whose lines run into Lincoln, and their representatives. Personally we made the trip from Chicago to Lincoln via Kansas City, over the famous “Burlington Route.” The equipment of the great thoroughfares managed by this company is unsurpassed, and the smoothness of their lines, the politeness of their agents and employees, render traveling a pleasant pasttime instead of tedious experience. A large number of the Eastern delegates are returning by this road to Chicago, under the personal direction of City Agent Bonnell. GCDB March 8, 1897, page 320.8