Report from Iowa by George I. Butler

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 27, 1870

Report from Iowa.

By George I. Butler

Our meetings in Des Moines closed last Monday night and we have packed up our tent and laid it by for this year. Our meeting in Des Moines, so far as creating a great or general interest was concerned, was a failure. I confess myself disappointed in regard to the interest we should see manifested there to hear the truth. It is but justice to Bro. Canright for me to say that the entire responsibility of going there falls on me, as it was rather against his judgment that we went, though he was willing to make the trial. From certain reasons that presented themselves to my mind, I judged it best to go there, and I cheerfully bear all the responsibility in the premises. From the first, things seemed to work against our interest. The weather was very wet for the first two weeks; indeed, it rained nearly every day, so that it was damp and unpleasant in the tent. We did not give a full course of lectures, thinking the interest would not warrant it. Yet we trust some good was done. Seven, at least, commenced to keep the Sabbath. We sold thirty dollars' worth of books, and got about a dozen new subscribers for the REVIEW. There were a few scattered Sabbath-keepers before in this community, hardly known to each other. These, with those who have recently commenced, will make a little company of a dozen or so, who can have Sabbath meetings, and thus form a nucleus around whom others can gather. We trust the seeds of truth scattered here may not be lost.

Eld. Shortridge, formerly acting with us, lives in this vicinity, and has preached on the Sabbath question, and some others, in the past, and a number have commenced keeping the Sabbath under his labors. He has of late adopted the age-to-come view, and the restoration and final salvation of all men, thus following in the steps of Elds. Brinkerhoof and Snook. It remains to be seen whether he will give up the Sabbath entirely, as they have done. Some of his former friends do not follow him, and of course will naturally be drawn toward us. Some of them, we think, will act with us henceforth. Our meetings only held a little over two weeks in this place.

Our tent meetings have thus closed for this season. I think we have great reason for encouragement, though we have not accomplished as much as we should have been glad to see; yet we have done something in every place we have been. We have seen between sixty and seventy commence keeping the Sabbath of the Lord. We have obtained nearly sixty new subscribers for the REVIEW, and sold upwards of one hundred and fifty dollars' worth of our books. For this degree of success, we thank the Lord, and feel like still trying to bring souls to the knowledge of the truth. Our labors this summer have been in new fields where the present truth has never been preached before, and our expenses have thus been quite high. Bro. Canright and I have come to this place to bring our labors here to a completion. We expect to hold meetings here a week or two.

We desire the prayers of God's people for our success in the work of the Lord. GEO. I. BUTLER. Winterset, Iowa, Sept. 20, 1870.