p. 16 | South Dakota Camp-Meeting by R. D. Quinn

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 22, 1911

South Dakota Camp-Meeting

By R. D. Quinn

THIS meeting was held in Redfield, May 30 to June 6. The camp was located in the fair-grounds, just in the outskirts of the city. It was also near our new academy farm and the school building. Redfield has been selected for the headquarters of our work in South Dakota. The tract society, conference office, and school will all be established there.

The regular annual conference was held in connection with the camp-meeting, and the business passed off very harmoniously. Elder C. M. Babcock was unanimously elected president for another year. Considerable money was raised on the new school building, which is now being erected, and which, when completed, will probably cost forty thousand dollars. One hundred twenty acres of valuable land was given by the citizens to the school.

The last few days of the meeting were devoted almost entirely to the spiritual interests of the people. A meeting for ministers and workers was held each morning at eight o'clock. This helped greatly in carrying a strong spiritual influence into the rest of the meetings of the day. The preaching was plain and practical. A definite message was borne, and the people responded readily to the call for entire surrender to God.

There were a number of revival services

during the course of the meetings. It was thought best to begin in the early part of the meeting, and conduct consecration services each day. This was done, and excellent results followed. There were remarkable answers to prayer on several occasions. High winds prevailed, and many of the tents were blown down. Finally the big tent had to be lowered in order to save it, and the wind was so high that it was impossible to raise it again. At this juncture the ministers and workers in the early meeting took the matter to God in prayer, and asked him to hold the elements in check, in order that the work of soul-saving might go on without interruption. This was done two mornings in succession, and the wind began to subside even while prayer was being offered. On both days there was a great calm, and a beautiful day followed. Men familiar with Dakota winds said that this was surely the hand of God.

On the Sabbath the order of the meetings was reversed, the whole forenoon being given to the spiritual interests of the people, and the Sabbath-school being held in the afternoon. The meeting began at 9:30, and lasted until 1 P. M. Many were converted, backsliders were reclaimed, and a large number of young people just the age to enter our training-schools gave themselves to God. Fully two hundred fifty came forward in the English meeting. It was a day long to be remembered in South Dakota. On the following day forty-eight were baptized.

Excellent meetings were also in progress in the Scandinavian and German tents. The laborers present outside the conference were Elders M. N. Campbell, Lewis Christian, H. R. Johnson, and H. Shultz, also Profs. G. W. Caviness, Frederick Griggs, and P. T. Magan, besides heads of departments in the union conference, and the writer. God greatly blessed the labors of these workers, and we all felt much encouraged with the results of the meeting.

R. D. QUINN.