To the Officers of the Wis. T. & M. Society.
By E. R. Gillett
Dear Brethren: Our good meeting at Hundred Mile Grove has closed. Those of you that were not present missed a blessing. You needed this meeting; it was called for your benefit, and for the benefit of your districts. It is to be regretted that so few of your number were present. Questions of much importance were to be considered, and plans were to be devised for the more efficient working of the Tract Societies. There should have been at least a dozen directors present. We are entering upon the most favorable time of the year for missionary labor. The long winter evenings are upon us. The busy season is past. The husbandman has gathered in the precious fruit of his toil for the past summer, and now has time to read and think. We ought all to have been ready to enter upon missionary work at once. We needed to be warmed up into new life and zeal. You will see by the report of this meeting that Bro. Olsen is called from the work at Green Bay to rouse up the missionary laborers, and get them into working order. This was made necessary because this meeting was not attended as it should have been. Dear brethren, the tract and missionary enterprise is the right arm of this work. Oh! that you had been at this meeting, and learned what our publications are doing. People are embracing this truth by the score by reading our publications, and are calling for the living preacher to come and give the light to their neighbors. Could I relate the many touching appeals for help that were made at this meeting, you would say with me, “I will arouse. I will do all I can to spread this precious light.” We are living in a most important period of this world's history—near the close of time. God has given us a most solemn message to bear to the people—a message of life or death! How are we giving it? Are we doing all we can to let our light shine? Time is closing, and we are indifferent. We do not realize the magnitude of the work. Surely we are living in the Laodicean period of the church, and we are neither cold nor hot. Oh! that we might arouse to action. We are running fearful risks. God will have a zealous people. The lukewarm he will reject. Shall we be spued out of his mouth? Will he remove our candlestick? Oh, terrible thought! We have but little time to spare. The message is closing. Would we be in it at its close? then we must arouse. Work is needed. The world is to be warned. Who will do it? By the grace of God, I will do what I can. It is of no use to plead “one talent.” God has said, Use what I have given—occupy till I come. We can all do something. We cannot all preach, but we can all give a tract. We can all be ambassadors for Jesus. There is work for all. I thank God for the tract and missionary plan. We cannot undo the past, but we can do better in future. Let us go to work at once. Let us not wait until Bro. Olsen comes into our midst before we act, but let us commence now. It may be that if we fully arouse he can yet be spared this labor, and be left free to prosecute the work in new fields, where souls are in perishing need of help. Shall we labor to this end? I hope we shall. E. R. GILLETT.