p. 88 | REPORT FROM THE IOWA TENT

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 28, 1868

REPORT FROM THE IOWA TENT.

By George I. Butler; Merritt E. Cornell

At the time of our last report, our meetings in this place had fairly commenced. They have continued till the present time, and still the interest is good. Our congregations have ranged from four hundred to one thousand since we have been here. Every person admits there has never been such a stir, upon any subject, in this community since its first settlement. In every house, almost, and in all the stores of the place, the first book to be seen is the Bible. Many people who have scarcely ever looked at their Bibles before, have been studying them much of late. And men who have not been seen to attend meeting for years, have come out, night after night, after working hard all day in the hay or harvest field; indeed, they have come night after night, four and five miles, getting home and to their rest not before midnight. All must see that this shows some interest, in this extremely hot weather, and when business is so driving.

The clergy of the place have mostly acted as the Jews did anciently, when they saw the interest awakened by the preaching of the apostles—they were filled with “envy” and jealousy. It has been noticed by many citizens, that while the ministers have been praying a long time for something to come along to awaken an interest in religion in the place, as soon as the interest was seen, they seemed to be offended at it, and began immediately to act in public and private against us. But our congregations have been large in spite of all they could do against us, while in some cases they have had hardly enough for a meeting. A large circus came here, and it was said by the citizens that it did not pay expenses into a hundred dollars, while our congregation was not perceptibly decreased.

The Sabbath question made a great stir, and the ministers knowing no other way to hold the people, sent invitation after invitation to Mr. Evans, a prominent Methodist champion, of Washington, to come to their relief. He has the reputation of being as well qualified to uphold their side of the question as any Methodist minister in the State. Last week he came in, and the discussion was entered upon at once. He takes Mr. Akers’ position of two changes of the Sabbath, one at the coming out of Egypt, and the other at the resurrection, but he did not bring out the great array of figures which Aker uses, but kept to the Bible. He held that the creation week was composed of long, indefinite periods, and quoted 2 Pet. iii, 4–8, to prove it; that the thousand-year day referred to the days of creation; not that the creation days were just one thousand years long, but indefinite. He held that the Creator’s rest only consisted of the fact that he had finished the work of creation the day before, and that

it had no reference to instituting a rest for man. He tried to make it appear that the day on which God rested was man’s first-day; so that if the Creator’s rest had anything to do with a future Sabbath for man, it was the first day of man’s week; so that he should keep the first day of the week; and that all the Gentiles had kept that day, while the seventh-day Sabbath was made exclusively for the Jews. The fourth commandment, of course, could be stretched to cover any day of the week.

In his proof for the first change of the Sabbath from what he called the true seventh day back to the sixth, it was rather amusing to see the haste with which he quoted a list of scriptures, merely giving the chapter and verse, without reading one of them, and with such haste that a person could hardly follow him and write them down, while if a person should examine them separately he would find himself utterly unable to see their application to the point in question.

Of course all the old arguments for first-day observance were enlarged upon and made the most of. In this report it would not be profitable to take them all up. The whole attempt seemed like an effort to tear up the foundations of the Sabbatic institution, throw much dust and fog, and in the meantime, in the confusion and uproar, make it appear that the “venerable day of the sun” was entitled to the place so long occupied by the Sabbath of the Lord. And if clever pettifogging, strong assertions, and repeated denials of the most direct proof from the other side, would answer, he would have made out a case. As it was he did not succeed, nor could he blind the minds of the mass of the audience. Several of the strongest reasons adduced by Bro. Cornell he did not attempt to answer. For instance, such as this: The reasons upon which the Sabbatic institution is based—the fact that God rested upon the seventh day, blessed and hallowed the day because he did rest upon it, and because of these facts commands us to keep it. While these reasons remain, the institution founded upon them must necessarily remain also; and as these reasons can never apply to any other day but that one on which the Creator’s rest occurred, therefore the Sabbath can never be changed to another day. Although Mr. Evans’ attention was called to these arguments repeatedly, yet he did not see fit to notice them.

We believe the result of the discussion has been good for the cause here. We have not heard of a single person who was favorable to the Sabbath of the Lord, being turned away, while we have heard of a dozen who have become convinced by it that we have the truth; and many remark that while Mr. Evans, at the outset, promised to leave them their old Sabbath, he has failed to do it.

The day following the discussion, Bro. Cornell gave a discourse on the Mark and Seal, and at the close called for a vote of all those who thought we had proved our position on the Sabbath question, from the Bible, to arise. Some three or four hundred arose, while there were many on the outside who could not vote. When the vote in favor of the first day was called for, two rose up. Then he called for a vote of all those who were determined to keep it, to arise. Some over fifty rose up. We think there are nearly seventy-five who have already expressed a determination to keep the Sabbath of the Lord, while many more are convinced, but are fearing the cross. What the final result will be, we cannot tell, but we expect, by the help of the Lord, to see a company of Sabbath-keepers in Brighton. Most of the labor has fallen upon Bro. Cornell, and owing to the extremely warm weather, he is much worn. We hope for the prayers of God’s people, that He may prosper our enterprise, and that much good may result from our labors. We expect to remain here several weeks yet.

GEO. I. BUTLER, M. E. CORNELL. Brighton, Iowa, July 14, 1868.