LETTER TO THE BRETHREN AT DANVERS, MASS.
By Albert Stone
[DEAR REVIEW: The following letter was written by my father, with the request that I read it to the brethren at Danvers, which I did at our excellent meeting with them last Sabbath, April 6. It was written after his seventy-sixth birthday. He has been a preacher fifty-two years, and forty years an Adventist. C. W. S.] To the Seventh-day Adventist church of Danvers, Mass., Christian Salutation. DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: Having no personal acquaintance with you, you may think it strange that I write you this epistle. But though a stranger, I feel interested in those important subjects of divine truth to which I learn your attention has lately been called, and in which you have taken a commendable interest. Having had some knowledge of those truths, and they having greatly enriched my experience in the past, I thought it would not be amiss to congratulate you on the happy decision you have made in accepting those Heaven-born truths that relate to the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and which are so needful to be known in order to a preparation to meet him in peace. These things have been a subject of study and source of joy to my poor heart for more than forty years, and I greatly rejoice when I hear of any stepping into this light from Heaven. Especially is my heart made glad to hear of the good work in Danvers and vicinity, because so goodly a number have taken hold of the truth. To thoughtful, candid minds, this subject needs only to be presented from a Bible standpoint, to insure their lasting and favorable regard. What a privilege to see the light, and step out on the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus! How blessed is the conscious approval of the Holy Spirit as we move in the path of obedience! Oh, the third angel's message of Revelation 14 is the most wonderful thing in the world! It has reposed quietly in the bosom of Holy Writ for 1800 years. Now it is called forth from its long repose, because it is due, by command and promise, to the last generation of men. Joel 2:1; Matt. 24:14. Dear brethren, I trust you have no fear to venture all upon the Bible message of the coming of the Lord. This, with the predicted reform to precede it, is the great subject demanding thought and action at this time. The Bible, and the whole Bible, lends its support to the truth, that the Lord is soon coming. The trumpet is sounding; the alarm has gone forth; the Spirit of God is preparing hearts everywhere to receive the message; the servants of God are feeling more and more the importance and dignity of the message; the battle of truth against error is fully inaugurated, and victory will soon be won, and the people of God will be redeemed. Glorious victory! Eternity will be short enough to utter all God's praise. This is the final gathering of the flock of God, this is the voice of the true Shepherd, and all his true-hearted people will know his voice and obey his call. In conclusion I would say, though I reside at a distance from you, among the Green Mountains of Northern Vermont, yet in spirit have I been with you in your good meetings, and you have been remembered in my prayers, with earnest pleadings and many tears. And still my prayer is, that by faith you may follow Jesus into the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary, and that he may shed on you a large share of the light that emanates, in these last days, from that sacred apartment. It is our privilege to have light, more than those who have gone before us, on the law of God, the sanctuary, the kingdom of God, the inheritance of the saints, the nature of man, the destiny of the wicked, and the faith of Jesus. The circumstances of the remnant are and will be peculiar; therefore much light is and will be given to those who feel their need, and seek for it. Finally, brethren, farewell. May God bless and keep you unto his heavenly kingdom.