Worth Your Attention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 20, 1910

Worth Your Attention

THE following from Brother N. M. Jorgensen, with reference to events occurring at Grand Forks, N. D., is well worth reading:—

“A twenty-five-year-old Sunday law, which has always been a dead letter, has lately been revived by the preachers and good church people of Grand Forks, who thought they were called to help the Lord to ‘defend the Sabbath.’ Delegates visited the mayor several times, so he finally ordered the chief of police to take the names of all violators and give them to the city attorney for prosecution. The attorney was absent from the city at the time, but on his return one hundred fifty names were handed to him. The ‘good’ (?) work went on until I heard that two hundred seventy names had been handed in.

“Our president called my attention to it, and I visited the attorney and had a study with him on both Sabbath-keeping and Sunday enforcement. He, being a liberty-loving man, saw the truth, and said, emphatically, ‘I am not going to put the whole city in jail.’ He was then directed to draw up a law that could be enforced on all alike. In so doing he first introduced a proposition to repeal the old law. This stirred the devout church people and the preachers, who joined in sending petitions to the city council asking it not to repeal the law. I was promised a hearing, but certain ones had heard that ‘an Advent was going to show from the Bible what was right,’ and I was barred out.

“The next day I prepared a paper, visited the council clerk, asked for a hearing at the next meeting, and my request was granted. I then visited one of the councilmen and gave him the paper to read. He had not read two minutes before he reached out his hand, saying, ‘I am glad to find a man who sees this as I see it.’

“December 6 was set for the next hearing, and just before the meeting I again visited the clerk, who promised to notify me when the proper time came. When the time came, the clerk leaned over to the mayor and whispered something. The mayor then said: ‘I understand that here is a certain Rev. Jorgensen who would like to address the council. Mr. Jorgensen, you are allowed to speak.’ I then stepped out on the floor with the remark: ‘I am profoundly grateful for this privilege of addressing your honorable council. The thoughts I have in mind I have written down so as not to repeat anything.’ I then read the article I had prepared. At first it was rather oppressive and heavy to read, but I sent a prayer up to Him whose cause I was defending. I had read only a few sentences when the sentiment turned completely, and it became easy to read. I read very slowly—at times pausing slightly—emphasizing the different thoughts, and it seemed to have an effect on the entire council, for at the conclusion they were fairly wild with enthusiasm, clapping their hands and stamping the floor. And after the meeting they nearly all tried to be first to shake hands with me, expressing their appreciation, saying: ‘Your article just met my mind,’ or, ‘You amply defended the truth,’ or, ‘This man belongs to my church,’ ‘Mine, too.’ The mayor said he hoped I would get the paper printed, and so did others, as they wanted to read it to their families, so I had one thousand copies printed and circulated in the business part of the city.

“This was also translated and put into a Norwegian paper which has a circulation of fourteen thousand copies. We are indeed thankful for such an opportunity to present this part of the message.”