Home Again by James White

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 22, 1864

Home Again.

By James White

After an absence of eleven weeks we reached home the 11th inst. in excellent health and good spirits. Sabbath the 12th spoke to our people in this city. The 19th also spoke to a full house of our friends in the city, and a few miles round about. We are happy to report that the interest has not fallen off in our absence, and that our house is being so filled with the regular congregation as to make it necessary to build a larger place of worship. This we may not be able to accomplish at present.

Since we reached home we have been in a perfect whirl of business matters. Some domestic affairs were waiting, shivering at the approaching winter. A pile of letters called for replies. The Agent of the Cleveland Paper Company claimed our time at the office one half day. We arranged with him for $5000 worth of print paper, which amount, three years since, would have cost less than $3000. And we brought home in our Pass Book, business to the amount of $1000. These, with many other pressing matters, have occupied our entire time; and we cannot be called away from home duties for several weeks to come, unless something very urgent demands that we should. We felt that the telegram from our esteemed brother E. H. Root, of Wright, Mich., urging a visit to that place, at the request of two sick friends, had claims upon us; but as we were not acquainted with either of them, and knew not what they wanted of us, concluded that home duties had a stronger claim till we had more definite information from that place.

The health question is attracting great attention from our people, and the promised report of our visit at Dansville, N. Y., will appear as soon as we can get to it.

By request of the New York State Conference, and existing calls for it from all parts of the field, we design to present Systematic Benevolence before our people soon in a more definite form.

We also find that our views, and the steps we have taken relative to organization, are not understood by those who have not had a special interest with us, and that prejudice and misrepresentation, are keeping some at least from co-operating with us for want of a faithful statement of the facts in the case. Such a statement we hope soon to give.

We also want time to read up, and give some lectures to our people on the subject of health. Work increases upon our hands, and we design to be free from every unnecessary burden, so as to labor the most efficiently for the present, as well as the future good of our fellow-men. J. W.