The General Tract Organization.
By S. N. Haskell
At the extra sessions of the General Conference held at Battle Creek, Nov. 12th and 13th, 1876, it was voted to revive the above-named Society, with Sister M. Chapman as treasurer. By virtue of his office the President appointed Sister Chapman as Secretary also. The necessity of a General Tract Organization was felt for years. The Society was therefore organized at the session of the General Conference in 1874, but a pressure of other matters and unavoidable circumstances prevented the organization from receiving that attention which it deserved. There are companies of Sabbath-keepers in different sections of this country, also in Europe and other parts of the world, that are not organized with any conference of Seventh-day Adventists. When they learn of our Association they are anxious to co-operate with us in the missionary work. There are also many individuals who have embraced our doctrines, and are observing the Sabbath of the Lord, yet have never met others of like faith, excepting perhaps members of their own families who believe with them. Words of sympathy and counsel from those experienced in the faith are of great encouragement and assistance to these isolated ones struggling on alone. One object of this organization is to reach such companies and individuals as we have mentioned, and to link their interests with the cause of God in a special manner. Proper reading matter, and all other practicable assistance should be furnished them to build them up in the most holy faith. Again, if it is necessary to have organized State Conferences, in which the various churches are united, and if it is best to unite the different State Conferences in a General Conference to secure a unanimity of action throughout the entire body, and a concentration of its strength, then it is equally necessary that all our Tract Societies should unite in one general organization that will sustain the same relation to the various Tract Societies that the General Conference sustains to the different State Conferences. We are a one people, a unit in faith; no rending schism breaks our ranks. The union of sentiment existing among those who are keeping the commandments of God, in different parts of the world, separated as they are from one another by distance and national customs and caste, is truly wonderful. This remarkable union can only be attributed to the fact that God is the Author of those truths which have characterized our people for more than a quarter of a century. There are companies now in Spain, France, Italy, Prussia, Holland, Austria, and certain parts of Africa and Asia who have embraced the views held by the Seventh-day Adventists of America, and, in a number of instances, they have done so without knowing at the time that there were others of like faith in the world. Having learned of our existence as a church, they extend their arms to us for sympathy and help. They are greatly encouraged when they learn the extent of our work, and read the periodicals and publications which disseminate our precious truths. Hundreds of dollars have been expended by some of our conferences in sending our publications to different parts of the world. It is reasonable then, and, in fact, it has become a necessity that there should be a General Conference Tract Organization, sustained by the various Conference Tract Societies for the purpose of extending the light and truth which they have so bountifully received, to those who have less privileges, but are looking and longing for the appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We bid these recruits a hearty welcome to our ranks. We invite them to participate in the joys and sorrows common to those who are waiting for the coming of the Son of man. No caste of nation or class should be a barrier between those whose hearts rejoice in the present truth. All who revere God's holy law can meet upon this one platform—the “commandments of God and the faith of Jesus,” and then wait for the revelation of Him who is the joy of their hearts. But this tract and missionary work should be reduced to a complete and thorough system in order to accomplish the greatest possible good. Separate Societies acting in a limited manner can do little compared with what they might do if joined in an organized body with proper officers operating on a wide and extended plan. It can be readily seen that there is no place more fitting for the head-quarters of this organization than the great center of our work, where its chief publishing houses are located. To this place our publications direct the mind of the inquirer after truth. And there is no individual so fitting to be the President of such a society as the President of the General Conference. There is no one more suitable to be the secretary of this Society than some one connected with the publishing work at Battle Creek, Michigan. It is with such officers that the General Tract Organization is revived, and friends of the cause are invited to correspond with the Secretary of the General Society, Mrs. M. J. Chapman, Battle Creek, Mich., or with its President, Eld. James White, Oakland, California. In the absence of a General Tract and Missionary Organization many companies in this country have joined the New England Tract Society because their attention was first called to the truth by the efforts of members of that Conference, and these companies have received publications from that Conference. Now their names will be forwarded to the General Secretary, to be enrolled in the General Society, their donations will be sent to the Treasurer of that body, and all business pertaining to the missionary work in connection with such companies will be promptly attended to by the officers of the General Tract and Missionary Society. This arrangement does not include scattered individual members of regular organized churches amenable to their respective conferences. These individuals retain their memberships and labor as heretofore. But all who have become interested in the present truth and wish to obtain our publications, or any party, not belonging to any Conference organization of S. D. Adventists, but desirous of transacting business with us in connection with the tract and missionary work, are invited to communicate with the proper officers of the General Tract Society. This plan will in no wise prevent individual members of Tract Societies from laboring as heretofore to call the attention of thinking minds, by correspondence or otherwise, to the solemn truths we advocate. Scores are to-day observing the Sabbath as the result of such labor, and still greater results might be accomplished in this direction if the importance of the work was fully realized by those who are at liberty to engage in it. Our field is the world, and God's providence leads the way far in advance of us and bids us follow. We long to see the time when there will be a hearty co-operation of every company of Seventh-day Adventists on the globe. The New England Conference has to some extent, although under great disadvantages, tried for a few years past to systematically prosecute the tract and missionary work. For this purpose they organized a vigilant Society, and have since seen the blessed fruit of their labor. This Association has had a fund for missionary purposes, and hundreds of dollars have been expended in the cause. Now from its scanty treasury the Society donates $50.00 to the General Fund and invites its sister Tract Societies to appropriate of their means as God has given them the ability. We hope before the next session of the General Tract and Missionary Society that we shall receive a definite report from co-operating societies and individuals in different parts of the world, and we sincerely invite the various Tract Societies to unite in sustaining this organization. S. N. HASKELL.