General Conference Departmental Resume by C. M. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 29, 1913

General Conference Departmental Resume

By C. M. S.

THAT this denomination is making an earnest attempt to fulfil the commission given to it is evidenced by the many tongues in which the message is now being made known to the world. The publishers' display of books and pamphlets in the large room assigned to the Publishing Department at this General Conference is concrete evidence of that fact. In seventy-one different languages the truths held by this people are now being published.

The first meeting of the Publishing Department at this session of the General Conference was held on May 15, with representatives present from the Review and Herald Publishing Association, the Pacific Press Publishing Association, the Southern Publishing Association, and from the publishing houses in England, Australia, Germany, China, Japan, the Latin Union, Mexico, South America, Scandinavia, and Finland.

At this meeting the secretary of the Publishing Department made brief reference to the first meeting of the department's representatives, which was held in Battle Creek, Mich., twenty-three years ago. At that time nothing whatever had been done in the book work outside of the United States. In that year six agents who were sent to England to begin the book work there were able to sell but little over seventeen dollars' worth of books in one hundred forty hours. From this very unpromising beginning the publishing work has gone on in the regions beyond, until a very large proportion of the publishing done by this denomination is done in other languages than that in which this message started. What would we have thought twenty years ago if it had been announced that the truths of the third angel's message were being printed in Iceland? But such is the case now. The printing-press is busy, even under the arctic circle, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and the soon coming of our Lord.

At the second meeting of the Publishing Department considerable attention was given to the important part borne by the publishing work in the proclamation of the message. The wonderful progress of this department of the work was dwelt upon by Brethren C. H. Jones and J. N. Loughborough. It was estimated that one third of those who have accepted this message have done so as a result of reading our literature.

The first meeting of the Educational Department was a very interesting one, and was calculated to set a new pace for the denomination in the matter of educating and training our youth for a part in the proclamation of the gospel message committed to us. There had been improvement all along the line. The past four years had shown striking growth both in the number of schools and in the number in attendance at the schools. State schools had grown more rapidly than they could be manned or equipped, and church-schools had sprung up rapidly. The secretary of the department urged the necessity of having the work done in all our schools thorough in all intellectual essentials and true to the principles of Christian education.

The first meeting of the Missionary Volunteer Department was a call to devotion and consecration on the part of all who hold positions of responsibility in connection with this branch of the work, that the influence thus set and the work thus accomplished by these consecrated lives may be blessed of God in the salvation of the young and in the preparation of other workers to carry on the same great undertaking. The testimonies borne by the many secretaries present indicated that they sensed the importance of heeding the counsel given by those in charge of the meeting.

At the second meeting of the department Elder A. G. Daniells gave a stirring address upon "The place of the Missionary Volunteer Movement in Our Denominational Work." He indicated the purpose of that department to be the conservation of the thousands of our young people, saving them to the work, that they may become forceful factors in its completion. Personal work for others was set forth by Elder Meade MacGuire as the supreme qualification for leadership in this work. The necessity of such a department in our work can hardly be overestimated. One of the most valuable assets of the denomination is its young people, reared, for the most part, in Sabbath-keeping homes, and made familiar, through the Sabbath-schools, with the fundamental principles of the message. To save these thousands to the work and fit them to carry it on is one of the most important undertakings of the denomination.

In the meetings being held by the Medical Department much emphasis is laid upon the spiritual side of the work and the opportunities offered for personal soul-saving endeavor. Dr. Ruble emphasized the necessity of a real spiritual awakening among our medical men, and urged the importance of having the work of the medical secretary so arranged that he can give his entire time to that line of work, Elder W. J. Stone urged the necessity of co-operation on the part of all our workers if the medical branch of our work is to accomplish what God

(Concluded from page 15) designs it should. Our message is delayed, said he, so long as there is a lack of interest in any phase of the work. There must be a combination of medical and evangelical work. This was manifested in the life and work of Christ, and must be manifested also in his followers who are giving this message.

The meetings being held by the Sabbath School Department are intensely interesting. In the place where these meetings are being held is an interesting exhibit, consisting of maps of the various States and countries, with a star to indicate the location of each Sabbath-school. A chart makes prominent the growth in our Sabbath-school donations to foreign missions from the first $700, given previous to 1887, to the $228,000 given last year. Forty-eight State Sabbath-school secretaries are in attendance, and each of them brings words of encouragement concerning the progress of the work in the field he represents.

If the world needed a striking example of unity in diversity, it has it in the wonderful unity and harmony prevailing among the many departments of this work, all of which are putting forth their utmost endeavors for the success of the work as a whole, each contributing its portion, and God pouring out his blessing upon them all.

C. M. S.