Meetings in Dallas, What the Texas Papers Say of Them.
The Dallas Herald, in an article headed, “The Grove Meetings,” speaks of the meetings recently held there by Eld. Canright as follows:— “Eld. Canright arrived as expected Friday evening, in time to fill his appointment at 8 P. M. He spoke to a small congregation for one hour on the evidences of the soon coming of Christ. He spoke again next morning at 10:30 o’clock on the rise and progress of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. The speaker stated that the work of this body commenced in a very humble manner in 1845, and had slowly gained ground till they now numbered upwards of five hundred churches in America and Europe, with something over twenty thousand members.” “He also spoke of the missionary and publishing work among this people, stating that it had grown in a very remarkable manner. He said that in 1847 they commenced publishing a very small weekly paper in Rochester, New York, calling it The Present Truth; but its patronage was small, and they carried all the mail matter to the post-office in a carpet-bag. In 1861 the Office was removed to Battle Creek, Michigan, and a publishing company organized. He stated further that at the present time they were publishing two weekly papers and four monthlies, and were publishing tracts, papers, and books in the Danish, Swedish, French, German, and Spanish languages, and that instead of a carpet-bag full of mail matter per week they were now sending out three hundred bushels weekly.” “In the afternoon he spoke upon baptism, church organization, etc. After he got through, a goodly number expressed a desire for baptism, and this morning at 9 o’clock the ordinance will be administered by the Elder at Long Lake.” “He will address the people this morning at 10:30 o’clock, and again at 3 and 5 P. M. He goes from here to Alabama, where one hundred have recently embraced the peculiar views of this people.” The Daily Commercial adds:— “The recent meetings of Eld. D. M. Canright in the cause of the Seventh-day Adventist people were of a very encouraging character. The Elder worked very hard while here, day and night, having only a limited time to stay, and very much to do. He organized and established a church here of about thirty members, had the ordinance of baptism on two occasions at Long Lake, baptizing some seventeen new converts to the faith, celebrated the ordinances of the Lord’s house, organized a tract and missionary society of thirty-two members, which made donations of over $100 for the purchase of books and tracts to distribute among the people.” “Their plan of supporting their cause is entirely different from all other denominations. They have what they are pleased to call Systematic Benevolence, each member pledging to pay weekly as the Lord prospers him, thus entirely obviating the necessity of public collections, which are so obnoxious to people generally. Nearly $300 were pledged in a few minutes. A church clerk was elected and a deacon ordained, and it was decided to keep their hall on Swiss Avenue, East Dallas, just east of the Union depot, as the place for holding their Sabbath, or Saturday, meetings and Bible-class, commencing at 10:30 A. M. every Saturday morning. The public were cordially invited to attend for the investigation of the Bible.”