CHOOSING DEACONS IN CUBA.
According to Rev. A. J. Diaz, the Cuban apostle, what queer saints they must have down in that island! He says: "The people are of a peculiarly jealous nature. If one of them is selected to perform a duty, they think he is in better favor than the rest, and are accordingly much hurt. This was the difficulty which confronted me when I found it necessary for me to select the seven deacons to aid in carrying on the church. I studied the problem over for some time, and at last hit upon a plan which I thought would work satisfactorily. One evening, at the close of the services, I announced that the next Sunday we would select the deacons, and that the sermon would be on the duties of the deacons. That Sunday every member was present, and the church was crowded. "I told them that it was the duty of the deacons, when they were notified of a case of smallpox, to go immediately and attend to it; the same if it were a case of cholera, or in any epidemic, they must be the first to be present and offer aid and the last to come away; that they were to have their Testaments with them always, and were to make a conversion whenever the opportunity presented itself. After presenting the case in as serious a light as possible, I requested those who felt courageous enough to assume the responsibilities of the position to stand up. I knew it would be useless to attempt to make any selections, so I said to them, 'Go ahead; you are all deacons.' Now they all carry their New Testaments around with them, and tell, whenever they have a chance, of the religion of Christ. Thus you see we have a whole congregation of workers."
—Missionary Review.