Meetings in Ferndale

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jul 12, 1883

Meetings in Ferndale

Ferndale, California.

Our meetings have now held over two weeks with attendance of from fifty to one hundred and seventy-five. There is evidently a deep interest, especially on the part of several who have never been in the habit of attending church. A very bitter spirit of opposition is secretly manifested by some who profess better things. The Methodist camp-meeting, within three-fourths of a mile of the tent, opened last night to continue two or three weeks. Our meetings will go on just the same as before.

The spirit of prejudice roused against the truth last winter is being gradually broken. Many are hungry for Bible truth and express themselves as well pleased with the light thus far presented.

[Since the above was in type, we have received the following.]

HUMBOLDT CO., JULY 1.—This is the fourth week of our meeting in Ferndale. We have presented the subjects of the advent, nature of man, life only through Christ, nature and tendency of Spiritualism, and the principles of conversion. The attendance and interest are good, and have been all the while, in spite of the Methodist camp-meeting held within three-fourths of a mile of our tent for the last ten days.

Spiritualism has gained a strong footing in this community, as also all over the county. We felt the special help of the Lord in showing from the Scriptures that it was a Satanic delusion and a sign of the last days. By request, we furnished a synopsis of this discourse for the Ferndale Enterprise.

We had learned that there were several in the churches here who were full believers in Spiritualism; but you can imagine our surprise when we heard the Presiding Elder, a week later, deliver a discourse on the camp-ground, in which he gravely informed the audience, while speaking of the transfiguration, that Moses had been dead 1,500 years, and that Elias had been dead 900 years (See 2 Kings 2:11), and that their presence there was proof of a separate spirit existence after death. He further informed the people that it was one of the old prophets who appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos (Rev. 22:9). The Spiritualists might feel grateful to this man for coming to their rescue, had he not made such a fatal blunder about Elias. We shall review this discourse Wednesday night.

Of course some will stick to their bitter prejudices, but we hope our brethren and sisters will continue to send the SIGNS to this county, and not slack their efforts for some months to come. There are souls here who hunger for the word of God. Our courage is good, and we labor in hope.

G. D. BALLOU, N. C. MCCLURE.