NOTHING ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT LABOR.
By F. M. T. Simonson
[The following essay was read before the Illinois Tract and Missionary Society at its last annual session, held in connection with the camp-meeting at Clinton, Ill., and by request was furnished for publication in the REVIEW.] This is an age of quick thought, immediate resolution, rapidly followed by execution, all aiming to produce immediate results. We are wont to look only at success in any enterprise, without taking into consideration the expenditure of physical and mental labor to gain the desired end. We ascribe the favorable termination of an undertaking to some peculiarity of fortune, which is bestowed, unsought, on some, while it is withheld, for some unaccountable reason, from others equally worthy, as far as principle is concerned; but a close observation and intimate knowledge of the mode of obtaining a great good will disclose the fact that success is not the result of chance; it is the remuneration or compensation for an equivalent, and that equivalent is hard labor. Might we not have had another Michael Angelo, in substance if not in name, if some one endowed with like artistic gifts had possessed also his indomitable energy? We are told that he studied anatomy twelve years; that some of his figures were begun as a skeleton, and muscles were laid on, one little bundle of fibers after another, until his extremely faithful labor was rewarded by a perfect model. Art lovers gaze upon his productions in statuary and painting, and ascribe them to his genius, which would have been as nothing without persevering labor. Instances of like tenor might be multiplied at will; but we take only a limited interest in those objects which we believe are soon to perish. We profess to be engaged as auxiliaries, not as prime movers, in the work of seeking the salvation of our fellow-beings. To the prime movers, the ministers, we have no suggestions to offer; but to the tract and missionary workers we would address a few words. It has been proved, by actual experiment, that lay members may be successful as messengers. The extent of country over which the third angel's message has traveled, since the beginning of systematic tract work, has surprised even those who first suggested the measures taken. The number of attentive hearers, of interested readers, is increasing in a ratio agreeable to contemplate. Facts and statistics concerning the rise and progress of the Illinois Tract and Missionary Society not being accessible, a retrospective view of labor, in detail, cannot be taken; and as for the result of the past six years' labors, who can estimate it in figures? Can any one demonstrate the extent of the influence this side the Judgment? We record quarterly the number of pages distributed, the visits made, etc.; but the tears, the prayers for and pleadings with our judgment-bound fellow-creatures are noted only by the recording angel. A number of efforts being made, lines of influence start out, ramify, intersect, and finally become a network. While we congratulate ourselves on the good accomplished, let us not lose sight of the successes which might have followed, had we bestowed more labor, or had we performed the remaining nineteen-twentieths of the work we might have done. Are we not, in many instances, so overcome by the Laodicean lethargy, that we turn our backs upon our faith, and the fact that the angel of God is now holding the winds to allow the message to go forward, well nigh fades from memory? At one period, Napoleon left his letters unopened for thirty days, and on examining them at the expiration of that time, he found that, by waiting, many needed no answer. Not a good way for tract and missionary workers. There is a mutual obligation between officers and members to be prompt. Slow-moving officers lessen the efficiency of members, and dilatory members weaken the power of a willing officer. Do we believe what we profess? Are we positive we shall have plenty of time in which to work? For what were the rapid mode of transit, cheap fare, wonderful mail privileges at such low figures, fine inventions in printing presses which are worked at such a low price, telegraph, telephone, etc., reserved until this particular age? Any one slightly versed in prophecy can readily tell. They are to facilitate the spread of this last message. With such a convenient highway open before us to nations, peoples, tongues, and kings, what excuse have we for not rising to the work, as never before? Let us not contemplate past endeavors; but from this hour, bend to the work till Illinois shall encourage sister Societies by her example of devotion. F. M. T. SIMONSON.