p. 124 | Our School by James White

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 21, 1875

Our School.

By James White

The Battle Creek College is worthy of the support of all our people, and the patronage of those who wish to prepare their minds by study for lives of usefulness. Our people from the Atlantic to the Pacific should prayerfully consider the matter of sending their children to our school where they may be under the influence of the present truth, rather than to send them to schools where there are influences to lead them away from God and his truth.

We are sad that at any former period there has been a want of moral power in some to maintain that discipline at the seat of our school that would give our people confidence to send their sons and their daughters to our school. But we feel very confident that those who may have failed somewhat in past time are now fully aroused to the importance of thorough work. And there are men at the head of our institutions at Battle Creek who will not yield to those influences which are ever manifested in lowering the standard of morals and religion.

But we have taken up our pen to say that something should be done immediately for a hundred young men among us whose minds are being exercised on the subject of preaching. Some of these are nearly or quite destitute of means, and are hesitating, and losing time for want of proper encouragement and a little help. A young Dane of promise in San Francisco, who expects at no far-distant day to go to Denmark to teach the word of God, asked our opinion of his going to our school at Battle Creek. We at once replied, Go, and we will help you.

What we mean by this is, that this young man who gives himself to the Lord, as one of his missionaries to the world, should at least be helped to the amount of his board and tuition at our school one year. And if others do not feel it a duty to assist, we will cheerfully do it alone. If this brother meets the matters of fare to Michigan, books, and clothing, he will do well. A fund should be immediately raised to assist first-class young men to prepare for the ministry who need help.

The several State Conference committees should take this matter in hand. We recommend that they immediately correspond with Prof. S. Brownsberger, Eld. Uriah Smith, and Dr. J. H. Kellogg, all of Battle Creek, Mich., on this subject. All cases should be referred to these brethren, and their decision obtained before giving encouragement of help. It is only the clearest cases, where full sanction could be given by our Conferences, that should be encouraged. But while we should be on our guard against impositions, we should be exceedingly earnest to secure all clear cases.

Let a fund be raised at once to help worthy young men who need help. We give $100 for this object, and invite all to help. Help is wanted now. If our people could realize the importance of immediate action on such matters they would feel very unhappy in holding their means from the Lord’s cause, and means would flow rapidly into the treasury.

Pledges on our school should be paid as soon as possible, and a fund of $10,000 should be raised to furnish our school with apparatus, seats for one hundred more students, and to help those young men who should pass through a brief course of study, and hasten to the last work of gathering souls from the “highways and hedges.”

God bless our school, and may our good college building be crowded at the winter term.

J. W.