p. 37 | GEN. CONF. COM

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 19, 1870

GEN. CONF. COM

Camp-Meetings.

THE importance of our camp-meetings can hardly be estimated. They afford a good opportunity for our people to have their minds refreshed with present truth, and present duty, and to consecrate themselves anew to the work. Also, at these meetings we can set forth many of the reasons of our faith and hope to thousands who have not heard, or if they have, do not feel the force of them.

And we wish here to call the attention of our people to one important duty. It is this: To help those out to our camp-meetings who are of moral worth, and in whom there are grounds to hope that the influence of such meetings would lead them to embrace the important truths for this time. Such persons should be invited to attend our camp-meetings. They should be encouraged, and even urged, to a proper extent, to attend them. Some may need assistance in getting to the ground, and in being cared for on the ground. We should have more tents, and more room for this class. We would be glad to see candid first-day Adventists, preachers, and people, and others of the various denominations, out to our camp-meetings. Let those brethren who can provide for such at camp-meetings, extend invitations to those they know are candid, and then let them take care of them.

But it should be distinctly understood that a camp-meeting is not a proper place for religious controversy. All religious bodies have a right to control this matter. Cheerfully we accord to others what we claim ourselves. But there are almost always those at such large gatherings, who delight in collecting around them knots of listeners, to whom they can talk out their views and feelings in opposition to the sentiments held by the people who sustain the meeting. But no Christian gentleman will take such liberties. And no such disorderly and unchristian conduct will be allowed at our camp-meetings. And we ask the hearty co-operation of all our people on this point, in that on no account they suffer themselves to be drawn into any controversial conversation with any one.

We design to freely give the reasons of our faith and hope in sermons from the stand, in which, however severe we may be regarded upon what we believe to be the popular errors of our times, we shall endeavor to treat all who hold those errors with Christian courtesy. We shall endeavor to treat all who attend our meetings, however much they differ with us in doctrine, with Christian kindness, and do all in our power to entertain them hospitably, so far as they may need, to make them comfortable while with us.

But it must be understood that Seventh-day Adventists claim the right to control their own meetings. And if any who attend them regard our rules as an abridgment of their liberty, we will give them perfect freedom at any time to leave us to the enjoyment of peace.

The great objects of our meetings are: 1. To set forth the reasons of our faith and hope. 2. To lead all our people to consecrate themselves to God, and to the interests of his cause. 3. To convince honest men and women of the truths of the word, and to lead them to seek Christ as the sinner's only hope of salvation. And as controversy and confusion would retard the accomplishment of these great and good objects, no pains will be spared to defeat the work of Satan in this direction, and to secure harmony and good order.