BRO. SMITH: As we all agree in commencing the Sabbath at sunset, I wish with your permission to ask Bro. J. N. Andrews through the Review, How shall we determine definitely when it is sunset? Shall we decide by clocks and watches, or (if fair weather) by watching the setting sun? In a cloudy evening, can it be sunset when it is so light that one can read or write from fifteen to twenty-five minutes, with ease, at a window? These questions do not arise in my mind because brethren and sisters commence the Sabbath too early, but because I fear some close it too early. I sometimes find Sabbath-keepers in the same neighborhood, who consider the Sabbath past from twenty to thirty minutes earlier than others do. It seems to me there should be union on this point, and that while some think that the Sabbath does not close till quite near dusk, others should not think there is near one hour after its close before dark. Yours in love of the truth.
A. S. HUTCHINS. REPLY. The above questions may be properly answered by each Sabbath-keeper. The difficulty exists, not in the subject, but in ourselves. If the fear of God is before us as it should be we shall have no difficulty in refraining from all worldly business until we are sure that the Sabbath is really past. Alas, that a spirit of carelessness should have come over the commandment-keepers. God claims the Sabbath as his; let us see that when we render to God the things that are his, we do not rob him in the offering. Let the close of the Sabbath be our season of evening family worship. We shall find it an excellent preparation for the commencement of worldly business, and a wholesome restraint against carelessness in closing the Sabbath.
J. N. A.