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Religious Liberty Notes

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Oct 25, 1906

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 83, No. 43.

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Religious Liberty Notes

By K. C. Russell

AT the recent session of the Colorado Conference, Elder F. M. Wilcox, of Boulder, Colo., was elected religious liberty secretary of the Colorado Conference.
Elder C. P. Bollman, who has had much experience in the religious liberty work, has been elected the religious liberty secretary of the Tennessee River Conference.
A lively interest was manifested in the religious liberty work at the recent session of the Greater New York Conference. Brother Amos Mitchell was chosen as the secretary of this department in that conference.
An enthusiastic meeting of the Lord's Day Alliance is reported to have been held in Paris, Ontario, October 12, at which the speaker of the evening boasted of their recent victory in securing a Sunday law in Canada without any exemption clause for seventh-day observers. In speaking of the opposition to their recent Sunday bill, the speaker said: “The Seventh-day Adventist people, numbering in all Canada only about two thousand, put up a very hard and bold fight.” Again he said, “The Lord's Day Alliance controls Canada.” He further stated that France and the Argentine republic have just secured Sunday laws, that China, by an edict from the emperor, has adopted Sunday as a day of rest for the empire, and that Japan, about thirty years ago, by an edict directed all the better classes to rest on Sunday, and now a move is on foot to provide that all the people of Japan should rest on Sunday. In the face of the almost world-wide movement for Sunday legislation one can but exclaim in the language of John on the isle of Patmos, “And all the world wondered after the beast.”
At a joint meeting of the Eastern and Western New York Conferences, the following preamble and resolution was passed concerning the religious liberty work for those conferences: “Whereas, The religious liberty work has always been a highly important branch of our denominational work, and,—Whereas, Church federation of both Protestant and Catholic societies is rapidly making long strides toward the ultimate goal of religious intolerance and bitter persecution for those who ‘keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus,’ and,—Whereas, The Testimonies have plainly warned us of a coming crisis such as the world has never before seen, that we have a gigantic work to do in defense of our inalienable rights, that we have no time to lose, therefore,—Resolved, That we shall unitedly take hold to lift the religious liberty work to a higher plane, that we shall give encouragement to the brethren engaged in this particular line of work, that we shall extend to them substantial, material aid, and take real and earnest steps to, in every possible way, enlarge and extend the borders and power of this work, and that immediate and intelligent action be taken in this joint conference to secure these desirable ends.”
The Workers' Bulletin (Iowa) of September 25, contains the following concerning the proposed Sunday legislation and the next general assembly: “It will be remembered that an effort was made last winter to influence the State to legislate in favor of Sunday by prohibiting Sunday theaters and baseball; but, while it seemed that the bill would become law, for some reason it failed to pass. However, the sentiment in favor of such legislation was not killed, and a similar effort will be made this winter. At the recent session of the Methodist conference held in Des Moines, a recommendation was passed commending the action of the Des Moines ministerial union in its efforts in behalf of the bill, and a committee was appointed ‘to lobby for the bill at the next general assembly.’ These things are straws; and when the wind begins to blow, we should be ready for the storm. Let us now pray God to give us wisdom and tact for the duties that will devolve upon us this fall and winter. And while we pray, let us study and do all we can to prepare ourselves. God will especially help those who help themselves.”
K. C. RUSSELL.