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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 24, 1902

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 79, No. 25.

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New York

By G. S. Honeywell

NEWBURGH.—Thirty-two years ago I first saw the light of present truth. Since that time I have made it the chief purpose of my life to get this precious light before others. My first efforts were in canvassing for health literature, of which the amount was very limited, the Health Reformer, now the Good Health, being the principal publication. Tracts bearing on religious topics were also used freely, and the blessing of the Lord rested upon the work. As a result, souls were converted to our message.
At that time we did not have our present excellent system of support for canvassers, and I was obliged to engage in other business to support my evangelical efforts. Had the leadings of the Spirit of God been followed, those influences which prevented me from devoting all my time to the spread of the gospel would have been shunned. However, for the last eighteen years my time has been given almost wholly to this work. The canvasser, the colporteur, the Bible worker, and the medical missionary are combined in one. Though no rule can be laid down to regulate every case, yet in my experience I have not been able to neglect any of these lines of work. Our Saviour's words were, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” If we make God's glory our all-absorbing motive, the Spirit of God will be ours to lead us aright.
Newburgh, N. Y., was, until recently, my home. This city of twenty-five thousand inhabitants is situated on the Hudson River, fifty-five miles from New York City. No section of the United States is cursed with dead formalism more than the Hudson River Valley. Newburgh was once stirred by the truth to its foundations, but at a critical time the work was left, and the cause consequently suffered.
Other efforts have since been attempted, but without the success that has attended the sale of the Signs of the Times and our smaller books and tracts. An agency, which might be termed the “pulpit of the press,” and which has been very efficient, is the use of the columns of the daily papers, presenting topical articles on present truth. The results of this means of proclaiming our message cannot be too highly estimated. I have also prepared papers covering important Bible subjects, and, securing the attention of ministers and prominent men, read the discussions for their severest criticisms. I fortify my position so strongly with the Word of God that the truth is apparent, and the listeners move with thoughtful discretion.
The advantage of this kind of work is that those who hear the arguments presented are found in a passive state of mind. Questions are easily called out which can be answered from a Biblical standpoint, an effective blow at popular errors being struck. One paper, “Who Was Cain's Wife? or The Book of Genesis under X-Rays,” was kindly received, although there were discussed many of the popular errors in the subjects of the birthright and blessing of the firstborn son, the priesthood of Christ, God's supreme, universal, and perpetual right to the rulership of men in religious matters, and his disapproval of the infringements of religious liberty. Business men, lawyers, editors, and members of the wealthier class have been reached by personal effort, placing in their hands The Sentinel of Christian Liberty, with marked articles on some vital question. Through this agency they become acquainted with the truth in as brief and pointed a manner as possible.
Many are favorably impressed with the truth. Some have been converted, and have become intelligent, liberal, active Seventh-day Adventists. In cases where mothers and wives first receive the truth, they are instructed to use every lawful means to make their home pleasant for the remainder of the family. Here religion begins and prevails.
In the REVIEW of July 21, 1896, is a statement which should arouse every Adventist to activity in some branch of the Lord's work: “Every truly converted soul will be intensely desirous to bring others from the darkness of error into the marvelous light of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The great outpouring of the Spirit of God, which lightens the whole earth with his glory, will not come until we have an enlightened people, who know by experience what it means to be laborers together with God. When we have entire, whole-hearted consecration to the service of Christ, God will recognize the fact by an outpouring of his Spirit without measure; but this will not be while the largest portion of the church are not laborers together with God.” The Lord designed to lead thousands of our people into this experience through the sale of “Christ's Object Lessons.” Are we, like the discipleson the day of Pentecost, “with one accord”? Are we waiting for “the promise of the Father” in God's appointed way? G. S. HONEYWELL.