Untitled article by Henry Nicola

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Third-day, March 3, 1868

FromReview and Herald, Vol. XXXI, No. 12

MEETING AT IOWA CITY.

By Henry Nicola

THE Iowa City church is small, the members very much scattered, and their situation such that we have considered it almost imprudent to undertake to have a Monthly Meeting there. But as the majority of the members are so situated that they scarcely ever get away from home to meeting, thus being deprived of all our good Quarterly and Monthly Meetings, we thought for their sakes we would appoint a Monthly Meeting there, and only those of us go who could cheerfully take care of ourselves. They took it as a great treat to have a meeting there, and did all in their power to provide for those that came in to the meeting. By the help of Bro. Hildreth of the Lisbon church, who is living in the city at this time, ample arrangements were made for teams, and all that came to the meeting.

At the beginning of the Sabbath, nearly all the members of the City church, and a goodly number from Pilot Grove and Washington, together with Bro. Doreas from Tipton, and Bro. Morton from Fairview, convened at the house of Bro. Hildreth and enjoyed a good prayer-meeting season. Here we were led to contemplate the goodness of God in giving us the truth, and the power the truth has to keep us in the love of God and the fellowship of the saints, thus bringing us together from different parts to mingle together in the worship of the true God, and uniting our hearts closer in the bonds of Christian love and affection. But this is not all that the truth is to do for us. It is to have a sanctifying influence upon all our hearts, and all our acts. Our daily walk and conversation must accord with the solemn truth we profess.

The entire time during these meetings, which closed with a meeting on the evening after the Sabbath, was all taken up with fervent prayers and earnest exhortations and testimonies from brethren and sisters, thus all bearing some humble part in the worship.

The principal burden in the meeting was that we might have a better knowledge of our own hearts, and that we might fully realize that we are the ones that are neither cold nor hot, and that we are the ones that are in danger of being spewed out of the mouth of the Lord, and that we are the ones that need the gold, the white raiment, and the eyesalve, that we may see.

It is one thing to receive this scripture as applying to the present stage of the church in which we live, and another thing to fully realize that we are the very ones that are lukewarm; and that the true Witness calls upon us now to repent.

Near the close of this good meeting some heartfelt testimonies were given in, and some of those who had been well nigh discouraged, renewed their covenant and took new courage. Many expressed good desires. This is good as far as it goes; but if we stop at good desires, we never shall get through to that heavenly land. We must act, we must work. While Christ, and good angels, and all Heaven, are interested in our salvation, shall we not be interested for ourselves? HENRY NICOLA. Pilot Grove, Iowa.