Good Resolutions | AdventAI

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 19, 1867

Good Resolutions.

A BROTHER from Allegan, Mich., recently showed us a copy of the following resolutions unanimously passed by that church at their last special meeting, whereupon we begged the privilege of giving them an insertion in the Review for the benefit of our readers at large.

Whereas, We hold the advancement of the cause of present truth to be paramount in importance to everything else, and

Whereas, This is rapid or slow, accordingly as those who are engaged in presenting it to the people are consistent or inconsistent in their lives, therefore

Resolved, First, That we will make an earnest, persistent, and prayerful effort to the end that our daily walk shall at all times and under all circumstances be characterized by that meekness in deportment, that patience and forbearance under difficulties and annoyances, that integrity in matters of deal, that sobriety, sincerity, and chastity in conversation, which are always essential qualities of the Christian character, but which are peculiarly so at the present time.

Second, That we have witnessed with regret a growing disposition on the part of some Seventh-day Adventists to adopt certain fashions, and indulge in practices which are emphatically condemned in the Testimonies, and against which we are, as a people, fully committed, both by our publications and the oft-repeated declarations of our preachers.

Third, That this conformity to the world and disregard of the opinions and usages of the church will inevitably, if persisted in, bring reproach upon the message.

Fourth, That we do, therefore, hold it to be the duty of all those who have been engaged in these innovations to desist therefrom, even though such a step should require a surrender of their individual opinions and preferences. For it were far better that this should be done than that they should continue in their present course, and thereby furnish the enemy with the much-coveted opportunity of representing the body as tolerating in their midst that which they have publicly and unqualifiedly denounced as being absurd and sinful.

Fifth, That in our opinion, prayer and conference meetings, both on the Sabbath and on week-day evenings, are essential helps to growth in grace. And that it is a duty which we owe to the Lord, to ourselves, and to the cause, to see to it that we are not prevented from attending them by obstacles which we have it in our power to remove.

Sixth, That as the perils of the last days thicken around us, and the attacks of the enemy upon the remnant become more fierce, frequent, and protracted than ever before, we can find security only in a corresponding increase of efforts on our part for higher attainments in godliness. And that, as a means for the accomplishment of this end, we, the church in Allegan, deem it advisable to hold two evening prayer-meetings a week instead of one as heretofore.