Tract and Missionary Work.
By James White
THE strength of our cause is the union of its friends. Our organization is simple, yet complete. Our General Conference is a powerful means of union and strength. Our State Conferences, properly managed under the supervision of General Conference, cast a powerful influence in molding the prosperity and destiny of our churches. And our publishing interests are one. If these branches of the great cause can be sustained by faithful managers, and liberal supporters, the cause will move on with strength. But the Tract and Missionary Societies, having a well organized plan to call into the field of labor all the responsible members of all our churches, if properly and vigilantly executed, is destined to be a wonderful power in the prosecution of the work. 1. It brings the members of all our churches directly into the Lord’s great vineyard, where every one can find something to do. And this is just what they all need for their own personal advancement, and spiritual strength. Labor will make the weak strong in the Lord. Are any feeling a degree of discouragement, let them go to work for those who are weaker than themselves, and in lifting them out, they will find that they are lifting themselves up. Our people may wait and wait for the invigorating influence of the “latter rain” to make them strong, until they lose what little strength they now have. Their only possible hope of becoming strong, and worthy to act a part in the closing struggle, is to cherish a love of labor, and become real workers in the Master’s cause. 2. While the members of our churches are bearing the cross in personal labor with those who need help, and cherishing a love for this kind of work, and becoming personally benefited, they are doing a great work for others in the circulation of tracts, in religious conversation, and prayer with the candid. Here are some of the heaviest crosses for many of our people to take up, in which they will find the greatest blessings. Our publications, especially our tracts, are adapted to this work, are ably and well written, and are offered on terms which are exceedingly easy. And our periodicals are improving, and becoming worthy to be circulated anywhere. And now the important thing is to start this Tract and Missionary machinery right in every place, and to select cautious, devoted, and yet earnest men to push the work ahead. We recommend that Elds. Butler and Haskell superintend this work, so far as possible, in all parts of the wide field. They can separately hold a two days’ meeting each week, on Sabbath and first day, preach to the churches, and to the people, and superintend several business sessions in the interests of the Tract and Missionary Society, during the same two days’ meeting, or the same week. The appointments for Ohio, given in REVIEW No. 18, look too much like the custom many are inclined to run into, of two, three, or more, spending their time to do the work of one. And from personal acquaintance, we do not hesitate to say that the men whose names appear with that appointment, are not all of them, to say the least, safe men to do so important a work. We appeal to the President of our General Conference upon this subject. Ohio has suffered, not only for the want of good ministerial help, but from that kind of labor that has scattered and discouraged. And we cannot advise Bro. Mears to leave the State, and move to Battle Creek, until Bro. Butler shall labor several weeks in the State, feeding the flock, and setting the Tract and Missionary Society in motion, or until he sends Eld. Canright, or Eld. E. B. Lane, or Eld. Van Horn, or some other sound man to the State to attend to this work. Bro. Butler and Haskell are wanted, more or less, in every State in the Union, especially in all our Conferences, to take the general oversight of the Tract and Missionary work, and the cause generally. The President of our General Conference has just the gift, and just the spirit of labor, that all our Conferences, and all our churches, must have, before they can really prosper. With these two men in the field, Bro. Haskell laboring more locally, and Bro. Butler canvassing the entire field, and both working in harmony with the presidents of our several State Tract and Missionary Societies, our other men can at once enter new fields. We are alarmed for our ministers, especially for those who recently received licenses to preach, as we see them herding together to hold little meetings with our churches, and then giving wordy, lengthy reports in REVIEW, of no real interest. Five lines from them, stating in humble terms that they were in some new field, and that men and women by tens and scores were embracing the truth of God, would do the readers of the REVIEW a thousand times more good than to read their long reports about nothing in particular. We have noticed, in the REVIEW, the movements of things in several of the States, and feel that we can keep silent no longer. In an issue for September, we see appointment for Memphis, Mich., by H. S. Gurney, who states, “Brn. Lamson and Kenyon are expected.” In the same paper, is appointment for Brn. Gurney and Jones at Allegan, Mich. Now, if it be right that these licentiates visit our churches at all, they should visit our small, isolated, feeble churches, and labor to build them up, and add to their numbers, instead of visiting our old, large, and strong churches. If this had been done before the annual meeting of the Michigan Conference, instead of visiting Wright, and other strong churches, Bro. Smith might not have had the disagreeable task of reporting so many churches who failed to report to the Conference. But there is work in new fields, and in laboring to build up the weak places in our Conference, and we are grieved to see a disposition to dodge it. We have noticed about the same in Wisconsin. Young men are invited, and urged to meet here and there, go long distances to meet with churches, and their reports show that they are really doing nothing. One thing is to run and race from place to place, and report through our paper much that says really nothing after all; and quite another thing is to go right into the work, as Eld. Sanborn did in the days of his simplicity and humility, and raise up church after church, and organize them, and put them in good running order. If our young men will take hold of the work at the right place, and search their own hearts, and plead with God for help, until they know that God is with them, he will then go with them into the harvest, and make them strong and successful. They have no business with the churches until they have brought out alone, and built up as much as one good church, at least. They will find this no small task, and they will need just this work to give them experience and balance for the ministry. And there are ministers among us, who have labored almost from the commencement of the work, who, although they may have been sometimes successful in bringing people to acknowledge the present truth, have failed to build up the churches anywhere; but have often succeeded in creating confusion by fitful, rash movements, and have discouraged and scattered the dear saints wherever they have labored in our churches. Now we enter our most solemn protest against these men having anything further to do with existing churches until they go into new fields, convert men and women to the word of God, organize churches, and build them up, and present them to our Conferences in a prosperous condition. Let the General Conference Committee take these matters in hand, and see that our treasuries are not drained by men who accomplish really nothing, and by so doing discourage the people, and break down Systematic Benevolence. More soon. JAMES WHITE. Woodland, Cal., Oct. 25, 1872.