ITEMS FROM GENERAL CONFERENCE
MRS. E. G. WHITE: Every soul in every Conference, in every part of the Lord's vineyard, has the privilege of knowing the truth. But truth is not truth to those who do not practice it. Truth is truth to you only when you live it in the daily life, showing the world what those people must be who are at last saved. God help us to restrain our tongues. The voice is a precious talent, and it is to be used to a purpose. It is not lent to you that you may swear; but every one who gives way to an unholy temper might just as well swear. God help us to submit to Jesus Christ, and to have His power right here and now. The word of God is to be our guide. Have you given heed to the Word? The Testimonies are not by any means to take the place of the Word. They are to bring you to that neglected Word, that you may eat the words of Christ, that you may feed upon them, that by living faith you may be built up from that upon which you feed. If you live in obedience to Christ and His word, you are eating the leaves of the tree of life, which are for the healing of the nations. “As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.” You may be exalted to heaven as far as position is concerned, but position does not make the man. Do you obey the commandments of God? Are you one with God? Are you sanctified by the Spirit of God? Those who fill positions in the Conference must have the righteousness of Christ. This gives a man a power in his work. Many of you have been educating yourselves to talk with human beings instead of talking with God. You have built up barriers against the principles which should have been carried into every part of the Lord's vineyard. “Slow to speak, slow to wrath.” It only takes a word to fire up a man who has not made a practice of talking with God. This spirit is as contagious as the leprosy. One and another catch it, and thus dissension and strife and commotion are brought in. God is not in any of this work. Brethren, before we have finished, we shall know whether or not God is handling this Conference. God calls for a straight testimony to be given to those who claim to believe that we are living in the last days of this earth's history. A line of distinction must be drawn between those who serve God, and those who serve Him not. God calls upon His people to put away self-pleasing. When in body, soul, and spirit they will dedicate themselves to God, His power will be revealed in a remarkable manner. Here are men who are standing at the head of our various institutions, of the educational interests, and of the Conferences in different localities and in different States. All these are to stand as representative men, to have a voice in molding and fashioning the plans that shall be carried out. There are to be more than one or two or three men to consider the whole vast field. The work is great, and there is no one human mind that can plan for the work which needs to be done. I ask you what field where the people have never heard the truth, has been searched out and worked? Who has been preparing men to enter the field? And yet upon us rests the responsibility of fulfilling Christ's command, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” After Christ's baptism He preached the gospel to the cities that were round about. He was working and healing—the medical missionary work was bound up with the preaching of the gospel. I am so thankful for the medical missionary work, carried in gospel lines. It is to be taught, it is to be carried forward; for it is the very work that Christ did when on this earth. He was the greatest missionary the world ever saw. You may say, “Why not, then, take hold of the work, and heal the sick as Christ did?” I answer, You are not ready. Some have believed; some have been healed; but there are many who make themselves sick by intemperate eating or by indulging in other wrong habits. When they get sick, shall we pray for them to be raised up, that they may carry on the very same work again? There must be a reformation throughout our ranks; the people must reach a higher standard before we can expect the power of God to be manifested in a marked manner for the healing of the sick. We talk of the Holy Ghost; we preach of the Holy Ghost; but we need to understand better what the office of the Holy Ghost is. We need to understand that we must co-operate with God in every sense, or God can not co-operate with us. “We are laborers together with God.” Now I want to say, God has not put any kingly power in our ranks to control this or that branch of the work. The work has been greatly restricted by the efforts to control it in every line. Here is a vineyard presenting its barren places that have received no labor. And if one should start out to till these places in the name of the Lord, unless he should get the permission of the men in a little circle of authority, he would receive no help. God means that His workers shall have help. If a hundred should start out on a mission to destitute fields, crying unto God, He would open the way before them. Let us tell you, if your heart is in the work, and you have faith in God, you need not depend upon the sanction of any minister or any people: if you go right to work in the name of the Lord, in a humble way doing what you can to teach the truth, God will vindicate you. If the work had not been so restricted by an impediment here, and an impediment there, and on the other side an impediment, it would have gone forward in its majesty. It would have gone in weakness at first; but the God of heaven lives. In every age those men who were a power in gospel work were the men who studied the Bible, and applied it to the issues of their time. They studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Wyclif put the whole Bible before the people; but between his time and that of Luther, the Reformers were students of Daniel and the Revelation. And the man to-day who studies Daniel and the Revelation, and gives this knowledge to the world, stands out just as clearly as a reformer, and his work will stand forever. As the closing hymn was announced Thursday evening, there was much confusion caused by many getting up and going out. Then the following word was spoken, which is good for all places where God is worshiped: “There is another word that I must say. Please all wait to hear it: One of the first fruits of that brooding Spirit is reverence for the house of God, and for the service of God that is conducted in His name and by His word. Therefore let us each one be sure to establish such a local self-government as shall keep each one in his seat and place until the services are completely closed, and the benediction pronounced. “And if each one shall find established in himself such a degree of local self-government as shall enable him reverently to bow his head, and say, Amen, after the benediction shall have been pronounced, it will be only so much the better.” A. F. Harrison: One thing has burdened my mind. I have thought and prayed over it more than over any other one thing. It is this: Just as soon as an individual is born into this world, upon whom rests the responsibility of training and educating that child? Every one here would say that it rests upon the father and mother. Then when an individual is born into this truth, who should train him? Does his training not devolve upon the one who brought him into the truth? Our churches are living out the education they have received. The churches everywhere are, every one of them, living up to the instruction they have received. And who educated them?—We ourselves, brethren, have educated them. I feel deeply over this subject. I want to speak to you of another thought that has been pressing itself upon my mind also; and it is this: We have overlooked a certain class of people that are in our ranks to-day. If they were pressed into service, they would solve the problem of our publishing houses everywhere. I wish to read a few selections from first-page articles of the REVIEW AND HERALD, some of them dated as long ago as 1895: “The work of God is retarded by criminal unbelief in His power to use the common people.” Every one should receive that in his heart to-day. Now let me read another expression: “No one who desires to labor for the Master is to be refused a place in this work if he is a true follower of Christ. But let no one feel that because he is not educated, he can not be expected to take a part in the work of God.” I well remember when the message of truth came to me, fifteen years ago in March. While I had no education whatever, there immediately arose in my heart a burden to carry this message to those in darkness. I expressed that desire to my wife, being too timid myself to express it to the minister; and so she carried it to him. With a long-drawn face, he said: “Sister Harrison, it takes an educated man to become a canvasser or a colporteur.” When she brought that news to me, I sank into a slough of despondency, and remained in that condition for twelve months. So I went back to my farming, perfectly discouraged. But thank God for a church elder whose heart burned for this message! It took weeks and months under his prompting, before I could rise to the courage of thinking that I would sell our literature. But, praise the Lord, I found that I could sell one book. I felt so good over that that I have never stopped selling books from that day to this. I thank God for a humble part in this work. As I said before, our churches everywhere are living out the instruction you have given them, whether you believe it or not. God wants His Spirit to take hold of our hearts, so that we shall wake up, not only to this line of work, but to all the different kinds of work that God has for His people to do. W. H. Thurston (Brazil): I want to tell you a little incident that took place: Brother Stauffer began work in a section that I had been through. Three of the brethren went there, and held meetings about two or three weeks, raised up a company, organized a church, got everything in good condition, and started away. When they were taking their departure, they were overtaken by a mob, armed with clubs and sticks, who surrounded them, and demanded them to give an account of themselves, for coming there and teaching a false doctrine, etc. They had not spoken many words before one of the men stepped up behind Brother Stauffer, and with a club struck him over the ear. He fell to the ground, apparently dead. The brethren rolled him in a blanket, and carried him to the house of a friend. After reaching the house, he rallied, and they treated him the best they could. He recovered somewhat, but could not get up, could not walk, and249did not have his right mind, really; so they went on, and left him in the care of friends. About three weeks later, the officers came there, and wanted him to appear before the court, to answer for what he had been doing. He said he could not walk. They dragged him out of bed; but when they found that he could not walk, but fell to the floor, they put him back in bed, but with the promise that he would appear before the court as soon as he was able. As soon as he could, he took his small satchel and Bible, and presented himself before the court. They began questioning him; and he answered every question right from the Bible, reading to them the word of God. The man who struck Brother Stauffer confessed, and was converted; but during this examination, another man arose and bore a false testimony to what Brother Stauffer was saying; and right then and there, that man's tongue was paralyzed, and he has never spoken from that day to this. That is another experience that shows us that God will stand by His people, and will vindicate His truth. [Voices: Amen! Praise the Lord!] A brother and two helpers went into the northern part of a small state where there was a little interest, and a few accepted the truth. Some of the people became vexed over the matter. A mob seized the brother and his helpers, gave them a thrashing, and struck him several times with a knife, so that the blood ran from his body; then dragged him off, and put him in jail. Afterward the brethren were sent away with the understanding that if they ever returned to that district, they would be killed. The brother soon got well, and that very thing spread the truth more than he could have done if he had stayed there all the time he was home getting well. Brother Spies, in one of his trips, was called to a halt, and surrounded by men armed with clubs, who asked him to give an account of himself. He talked with them a little while, and laughed with them his sociable, good-natured laugh; and they finally made up their minds that they had nothing against him, and let him go. He went on his way rejoicing, and kept on preaching the truth. It has been hard to get a laborer to come and help us. Our hearts were pained when the response came to our pleas, from the Foreign Mission Board, saying, We do not want to come. Brethren, why is that? Why should that be so? Why should any Seventh-day Adventist, when he is called, or when he is asked, to go to a foreign field, say that he does not want to go? I admit that there is a possibility of our not being in calling distance; but I hope and pray that the time has come when every Seventh-day Adventist will not only get in calling distance, but will forever remain there. God is calling for His people to spread out over the world, and give the message to the people. So I hope and pray that from this Conference we shall go forth with greater power, with greater missionary spirit, and greater desire and zeal for the salvation of souls, than ever before. I wish to relate some experiences. They are rich to us, and I believe they will be of interest to you. Although I am not in the habit of relating incidents regarding myself, I must speak of one, simply to show you how God works, and what blessings we receive when we walk out in His fear. For some time my wife and I felt that the Lord wanted us to go elsewhere to labor. We talked it over together, and when we came here to the Conference Bible School about eight years ago, we resolved that if the Lord wanted us to labor elsewhere, we would simply say, “Here we are, Lord; send us.” Before the school had closed, one of the brethren asked us if we wanted to go abroad. We told him we had no plans, no desire, any further than what God had for us. Whatever was God's will was our pleasure. Before the school closed, we were called before the Foreign Mission Board, and asked if we would go to Brazil to open the tract society, and start the depository. We told them, “Yes, if it is the will of the Lord.” We made it a subject of prayer, and asked the Lord to guide us. It seemed that we should go, and so we planned to do so. Arrangements were all made. We felt that it was the will of the Lord that we should go. A few days before we were ready to start, my wife was taken sick. I took her to the Sanitarium, and after a little treatment she appeared some better. But the time was hastening on for us to go. Our tickets were bought, everything arranged, the baggage all ready; and the day before we were to start, my wife had a hemorrhage. “Well,” said one of the brethren, “you are not going now, are you?” I said, “Yes, for anything I know of, we are going.” While on the way to the train, one of our good brethren, an official here, called me one side, and took the privilege to give me a little advice. “Now, Brother Thurston,” he said, “they may think it is time to begin work in Brazil; but I do not think so. If you want to go there and start a depository and a tract society on your own responsibility, all right; but I do not think the time has come to do so. If the undertaking proves a success, then we will father it.” I said, “All right; we are going.” He said, “All right,” turned around, and went back. I was about half-way to the depot, to get on the train. The train was coming. Another brother met me in the depot, who had an inkling of this, and said to me, “I would not go a step.” I said: “We are going. We believe the Lord has called us to this field, and we believe He will care for us, and that He will help us all the way along; and we are going.” The train came in, and we started. And my wife kept getting better all the way. I did not start out on a salary. I was sent to Brazil as a self-supporting missionary. I did not speak German, and did not know a word of Portuguese. And with a little handful of American people in Brazil, you can well know that I could not support myself selling books in English. We did not know a word of Portuguese when we got off the boat in Rio de Janeiro. We stood on the street corner by the docks about an hour, and the Brazilian porters would come up to us, talk as fast as they could, with all the gestures they could get into their talk; but I would say, “Thank you; but I do not know anything you have said.” Finally, one took hold of my arm, and made signs to me, “Come here, come with me,” talking to me in Portuguese. He took hold of my arm, and pulled me along. He put my baggage together, and motioned that he would tie our packages all up, and put them on his head, and for us to follow him, and he would take us somewhere. I said, “All right; go ahead! it is better than staying here.” So he did, and motioned to us to come on, and we followed him. He took us a short distance to the street-car. I had an address with me, but no one knew where to find the place; but he thought he could put me on the street-car, as he knew it went in that direction. Brother Stauffer was to meet me in Rio de Janeiro; but when I got there, he was in a colony about a thousand miles away, and I did not see him until three or four months later. We stayed on the corner about two hours. We could not get on the street-car, as the cars were so crowded at that time of day. When the porter saw the situation, he put our things on his head again, and away he went, tramping through the streets—some of them such as would almost scare a man to go into. They look like some of the narrow alleys in New York and Chicago. But we followed him, and he finally brought us to a place where we felt quite at home. It was a sailors' mission home; and as we went in, my wife saw a motto which read, “The Lord Will Provide.” The porter was as greatly pleased as we were, and rejoiced that he had brought us to somebody to whom we could speak. We went into the mission, and the missionary was happy to see us. But he told us that it was no place for us there. He said he would take us to an English boarding-house, a good place, a little ways from there. So after a short visit, he sent us to this English boarding-house, where we stayed two weeks. Then we found rooms, and began housekeeping on a very small scale. I began work the best I could. Everything was very high, and it was not long before our money was all gone. I did sell one or two books, but traveling through the great city to find here and there an Englishman was rather slow work. The time came when we had nothing to eat in the house, and no money. I do not think I have ever told that before, and I tell it now to show how God will work for those who put their trust in Him. So the next morning I told my wife I would go to the post-office to see if there was anything there. There was nothing. On my way back I met the missionary of the sailors' home (this was Sunday morning), and he invited me to come over to the mission and speak that night. I told him I should be pleased to do so, and went home. That evening I spoke to the sailors on the love of God, and our dependence upon Him; but I made no reference whatever to our condition. At the close of the services, a man came to the desk, and said, “See here, come to my room,” and turned squarely around and started off. He was a missionary who had a room in the mission building. I followed him to his room, and he said, “Here is a little money. I want you to take it and use it until I call for it,” and he handed me a little sack of money—about seven or eight dollars. “Well,” I said, “I did not ask you for money.” “I know it,” he replied; “but every day I am gathering this in, and it is in my way. I want you to take this and use it; you may need it.” Then I told him we did need it, and thanked him for it. I told him we were out of money, and had nothing to eat, and it was just what we did need. We had a very enjoyable little season there, and my wife and I went home and thanked the Lord. From time to time, as I met this man on the street, he would hand me from five to twenty dollars, and say, “Here, take this; I have no use for it; I do not need it; take it and use it; you may need it. Keep it until I call for it.” It ran up to something like one hundred or one hundred and fifty dollars; and when I sent the money to this man, he said, “I never did such a thing before in my life as to hand money out, and not have a scratch of the pen to show for it; but,” he said, “I know how it came; God told me to give you that money because you needed it.” [Voices: Amen! Amen!] Well, we thanked God for this experience, and took courage. I believe God permitted us to go through these experiences to try our faith, to see how persevering we were, and to teach us to go forward, trusting Him implicitly at all times, and in all things.