Pennsylvania Church Meetings and Quarterly Report by John Lindsey; S. A. H. Lindsey

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 11, 1871

Pennsylvania Church Meetings and Quarterly Report

By John Lindsey; S. A. H. Lindsey

Pennsylvania.

OUR last report closed Nov. 13, 1870. Nov. 14, we commenced meetings at Hornby, N. Y. Held fifteen meetings. Two young persons embraced Christ and his truth by means of this effort, who promise to be valuable members of the church. They wish to be baptized, and we wait with anxiety for the messenger of Christ to come and administer the sacred ordinance.

Sabbath, Dec. 3, attended monthly meeting with the Allegany church.

Dec. 5, held one meeting upon Voorhees Hill. Here we enjoyed excellent liberty. While we spoke from 2 Cor. 4:5, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake,” the Spirit of the Lord seemed to rest upon the congregation, and strong prejudices melted away like the snow before the warm rays of the sun.

Dec. 17 and 18, attended quarterly meeting with the Ulysses church. This was a season long to be remembered by all who were favored with the privilege of attending it. The blessing of God rested upon us all. An Adventist preacher who advocates the no-Sabbath doctrine, became deeply affected while we celebrated the ordinances of the Lord’s house. We cherish a strong hope that he will soon lay aside his opposition by embracing God’s truth.

Dec. 24, we decided to hold a series of meetings in the vicinity of this church. Perhaps we could not have selected a place where the tide of popular prejudice had reached so high a point as it had here. We had continued our meetings for one week when there was an effort to start a protracted meeting in an adjoining district, evidently for the purpose of drawing away our congregation. Their young people became so unmanageable that they were obliged to lock up some of them the second evening, and the third evening they had an audience of three, and closed. Then came a sort of “rush” to our meetings. But by the power of God they were held in check. Thus we continued till the evening of Jan. 4. Upon this occasion there were present a large number of young persons who appeared restless, yet they did not make any disturbance. At the close of our meeting we were politely informed by the school director that we could have the house no longer, as there was such an immoderate amount of tobacco used and spit upon the floor. This was annoying to teachers and scholars, etc. All this we assented to, giving him to understand at the same time that the Seventh-day Adventists did not use the filthy weed, and that we would be ashamed to thus defile the house of divine worship.

We suspected that this was not the real reason why he wished to close the house against us, and, sure enough, he arose presently, and remarked that he had known families who had been rendered homeless by this doctrine. Here we have it! It is “this doctrine” that is despised and rejected of men. It holds a reputation similar to its divine Author. Him they hated without a cause. John 15:25. The world hated him because he testified of it, that the works thereof were evil. John 7:7. He spoke unto them as “never man spake,” verse 46; he spoke words of truth, John 8:40, 45; gracious words, Luke 4:22; words of life, John 6:63, 68; words of admonition and warning, John 8:21-24, words of encouragement, Matt. 11:28-30. Just so the present truth speaks to us in these last days, and yet the unbelieving world are putting forth every effort to quench its life-giving power. Thank God, it is an imperishable principle that cannot die.

“Truth crushed to earth shall rise again, Th’ eternal years of God are hers.”

JOHN LINDSEY. S. A. H. LINDSEY.

Ulysses, Pa.