This Week’s Paper by James White

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 28, 1877

This Week’s Paper.

By James White

Our readers will enjoy their precious paper this week. The board is spread with luxuries. The paper is full of living interest from the first page to the last.

Safeguards for Students, on the first page, will be regarded very stringent by those who are loose in their ideas and habits. We pity such, and are determined to help them. The article is right.

Read thoughtfully D. T. Taylor on The Unclean Spirits, and as you take in the sweeping power, and withering influence of modern necromancy, you may thank God that you have been shielded from Spiritualism by the truth relative to the nature and destiny of man.

The progress department shows faith, hope, activity, and the blessing of God. We have about fifty portable meeting-houses in the field on this continent. At all these cotton churches the people are invited to free seats to hear the word of God relative to duty here, and the reward hereafter. If only one church of thirty should be raised up by each tent company, that means alone would bring in a membership of fifteen hundred in the short tent season. God bless these pilgrim workers, and help them to cheerfully endure privation and toil.

And what shall we say of the two camp-meeting reports? Well, read them. Wisconsin is moving forward gloriously. When she was troubled with jealousy and murmuring in one of her ministers, she was as weak as Missouri. A division of territory freed that Conference at the expense of Illinois, and since that time Wisconsin has been taking the lead in the west. Poor Illinois suffered for awhile, but is rising in the absence of the one who has long suffered from chronic jealousy and grumbling.

God bless Eld. Butler in Missouri. That Conference needs help, and Eld. Butler can help the brethren there if they will be helped. But in all such cases the people have not clear views of their own needs. They have their own views of the way they should be helped. And if you try to help them in some other way, they lose confidence in you. God pity the minister that has to labor under such circumstances. Such a people have thorough lessons to learn in one of two ways; either by being left without help until they fully learn their own weakness, or by being patiently, and earnestly, and faithfully taught. Eld. Butler may do the latter. God bless him. Our policy would be the former.

The discussion at Rome on the fifth page is a triumphant affair. And let it be borne in mind that this was in connection with a revival two-days’ meeting of our people in that place. What an amount of work Eld. Canright is doing! He is too sharp and thorough for our good people in Missouri. Well, the field is large enough for all. Eld. C. is wanted in twenty places at the same time from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And he agrees with us that all our ministers should labor where they can do the most good. Some people get the idea that they must reform the minister; but we have enjoyed the opinion for thirty years that it was the minister’s work to reform the people.

Eld. Matteson is safely landed in the field of his future labors, as will be seen by his report under the caption, Crossing the Atlantic. What a paper we have this week! How blessed to be identified with the cause of truth. As the numerous readers of the Review shall trace the living lines of this week’s good paper, may their hearts grow warm, and their whole being be led out to show their love for the work and cause of God by their labors and their free-will offerings. J. W.