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BAPTISM

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 4, 1878

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 52, No. 2.

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BAPTISM

By James White

SABBATH AFTERNOON, JUNE 29, 1878,
We had the pleasure of burying four precious souls by baptism in the Kalamazoo River, at Battle Creek. A large audience gathered at the riverside, where we have probably, during the last thirty years, baptized more than one thousand persons. Not that the Battle Creek church numbers that, but as our General Conference in times past has almost always been held here, and as at such annual meetings there are more or less to be baptized, and as the brethren have usually given us the pleasure of being administrator, we think we have not stated the number too high. Solemn indeed was the occasion, as we could look back to the period of our strength in middle age, when we have baptized so many in this river. It has sometimes been our privilege to unite with fellow-laborers when the number was very large. Of those we will mention Eld. Andrews, now in the Old World, Eld. Loughborough in California, and our beloved brother, Eld. Butler. We rejoiced in God; and although time and disease had made their mark upon us, yet we had strength to go into the water once more and to baptize these four with the greatest ease.
At the revival meetings, held at Battle Creek by Eld. Canright last spring, in which so many took their stand upon the Lord's side, little Addie Walling, daughter of Mrs. White's niece, one of the little girls who have for several years been under our care, found a place, and gave her heart to the Lord, and requested baptism; but before the baptism took place she declined, stating that she would wait till Uncle White should return. And when this item of touching news was communicated to us by letter, we felt that God would give us strength to return and comply with the request of the child. For this we prayed daily for a period of nearly two months. God has heard our prayers, and the prayers of his people, and on this good Sabbath little Addie and three others, grown to manhood and womanhood, have been planted in the likeness of Christ's death. God grant that they may follow the Lord faithfully until the Master shall appear and the reward be given.
JAMES WHITE.