Woodland, Cal by John Norton Loughborough

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jun 24, 1875

Woodland, Cal.

By John Norton Loughborough

Our quarterly meeting in Woodland which has just closed has been an occasion of interest, although attended with some trial. The good Spirit of the Lord was with us during the entire meeting, especially was this the case on Sabbath afternoon as we met to attend to the ordinances of the Lord's house. I spoke to the people four times with an increase of freedom each time. Two meetings were held in which there was a full examination and explanation of some personal trials that had arisen among some of the members. These were all settled, confessions and satisfactory explanations being made. Even in these meetings all was calm and dispassionate, and free from a spirit of wrangling which is very liable to come in where personal difficulties are examined.

The business of the Missionary Society showed that a few of the members had been active during the quarter. Only a small portion of the missionary membership reported. We hope there will be an improvement in this respect next time, and that each member will keep a minute of their T. and M. work on their pass books, so as to be prepared to make their reports on receiving their blanks at the end of the quarter.

There is a matter which I mentioned in the report of my last visit here of which I should say more now. Several of our members and prominent brethren, seeing a deficiency in the singing in the Woodland church, and knowing that there were several sisters here fully competent to play on an instrument, and thus provide a leader and regulator in their singing, advised the church to purchase a plain organ in order that the difficulty might be remedied, and that harmony and melody might exist in this important part of the worship of God—singing.

Three brethren took the position that to use an organ—ever so plain—in the worship of God, was a species of idolatry. They contended that it was no harm to have an organ at home, or to play on it, and even to play church music upon it, but to use the organ in playing the same tunes in the worship of God was a sin. All could not see it in that light.

We contended that expensive organs got up simply for show and strife, and the popular choir, opera style of singing, was a sin, but we could see no wrong in a plain organ, introduced for the sole object of being a help in the worship of God. If we did not find a text that said, put an organ in your churches, we know that Paul said to Timothy "set in order the things that are wanting." And if the circumstances are such that an organ can be introduced, as in this case, to supply a deficiency, we thought it "in order" to get it. The circumstances in many of our churches are such that they have competent leaders, and good singing without an organ, or they have no competent member to play the organ if they had one. Not so here.

In the Woodland church I see no desire to trample on the feelings or consciences of any who might be conscientiously opposed to the organ. A vote was accordingly passed requesting all such to attend the meetings and enjoy their privileges with the church, which we hope they may be free to do. I go from this place free in the Lord, praying God to bless all the members of the Woodland church, and to bring them out of this their first great trial nearer to him, and better prepared for the Master's service.

J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.