The Missouri Camp-Meeting
By R. C. Porter
THE annual conference of Seventh-day Adventists convened at Columbia, Mo., August 11, continuing until the twenty-first. Columbia is a beautiful city of between five and six thousand inhabitants. The State University and some denominational colleges are located in this city, making this an important educational center. A series of tent-meetings had preceded the camp-meeting, and had aroused a good interest and brought a number into the truth. The camp was located in a beautiful grove in the fair ground. The attendance from the city was large during the meetings, and the plain truth spoken was well received. Elders E. W. Farnsworth, E. T. Russell, I. H. Evans, W. H. Anderson, H. Shultz, J. Lipke, Smith Sharp, Prof. C. C. Lewis and wife, and M. E. Kern, Dr. Colloran, and Sister Vaughn, together with the conference laborers, shared in the labor of the meetings. Twelve thousand and seventy-four dollars tithe was received during the year, and the money received from all other sources was between17twelve and thirteen thousand dollars. Four hundred and fifty dollars in cash and pledges was raised for the Washington work, besides fifteen hundred dollars pledged subject to the sale of property, and two acres of corn. One hundred and twenty-five dollars was raised for the colored work in the South, seventy dollars for the educational work in Brazil, and fifty-seven dollars for foreign missionary work. The State was divided into five districts, and a minister placed in charge of each district. The canvassing work received much attention, and interesting meetings were held with church officers, looking toward educating them for a missionary campaign the coming fall and winter. The keynote of this campaign was that each member of the church labor to bring at least one into the truth during the year. If this were done, and it is not a great undertaking, if all would do their best, our numbers would be doubled during the year, and many more of our laborers could be spared for the foreign fields. Brother H. E. Meyer was ordained to the work of the ministry, and three churches were received into the conference. The report showed that sixteen thousand dollars’ worth of books had been sold during the last two years. Four hundred dollars’ worth more were sold during the camp-meeting. Seventeen persons were baptized, and a strong desire was manifested by the young people to attend Union College and prepare for labor in the cause of God. R. C. Porter, H. M. Stewart, H. K. Willis, W. S. Cruzan, and James Cochran were elected as the conference committee. Two ministers were offered to the General Conference for a year, to be supported by the Missouri Conference. The keynote of the message borne was that “time is short,” and our work must be done quickly. All hearts seemed to respond to this cheering message, and all returned to their homes determined to enter with renewed vigor the work of giving the message to the world.