New Year's by Editor

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Dec 19, 1878

New Year's.

By Editor

HUMILIATION, FASTING, CONFESSION OF SINS, AND PRAYER.

We, the committee of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, appoint January 1, 1879, as a day of humiliation, confession of sins, fasting, and prayer. We have abundant cause, as a people, to humble ourselves before God in view of his manifest forbearance, love, and great goodness toward us.

Notwithstanding our unfaithfulness, he has, for his truth's sake, prospered our institutions, and also our more general work in the advancement and growth of the cause in a good degree. While we have cause for devout gratitude that our Lord still loves us and sends from heaven warnings and rebukes, we see cause for confession of our sins before him, humiliation and prayer for pardon for the past, and grace to help in time to come. "The Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither is his ear heavy that he cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." Isa. 59:1, 2. Seventh-day Adventists throughout the length and breadth of the land are requested to assemble at their usual places of worship January 1, 1879, at 10:30 A. M., for the special worship of God. At 1:30 P. M. of that day let there be a business meeting.

One of the duties of that meeting day will be the consideration of heavy debts upon the houses of worship at both Oakland, Cal., and Battle Creek, Mich., and the plans to lift them, set forth in the supplement which accompanies this week's issue of the SIGNS. May God look down upon our efforts to return to him, and may his Spirit impress all with a deep sense of their duty to act their part in lifting the debt from these two houses of worship, and thus "Hold the Fort."

Gen. Conf. Com.