Earlier text: Religious Liberty AMMUNITIONLamps Without Oil
By Ellen G. White
The necessities of the times demand that most earnest efforts be put forth for the advancement of the third angel’s message. Evil angels are endeavoring by every ingenious method to counterwork the work of God. Heavenly agencies are laboring to make effective the message of light and truth. Yet at such a time a lack of consecration and faith is manifest among God’s people that is grieving the Holy Spirit. Many of our workers seem to be sleeping. To many the Bible is as a lamp without oil, because the knowledge of the Word is turned into channels of speculation that bring misunderstanding and confusion to minds. This has been done by some to such a degree as to give occasion for those who are watching us to make of none effect the message of truth. I am instructed to ask our leading men and ministers, Are you laborers together with God? or do you place your own interpretation upon the Word? It is the duty of every worker to ask himself the question, Whom am I serving? Beware, brethren, lest self be interwoven with your exposition of the Word. Beware lest you lead any soul to a misunderstanding of the Word. The Lord now calls for the truth to be presented in its simplicity, that all, even the most ignorant, may understand its requirements. The psalmist writes: “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.” Let the young men and women study these words, and encourage a spirit that will desire to heed the way of the Lord. David continues: “Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. . . . Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I will observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein I do delight. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Establish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.” Such prayers as this the Lord’s servants should be continually offering to him. This prayer reveals a consecration to God of heart and mind; it is the consecration that God is asking us to make. The Word of God brings plainly to view two classes of people, the wise and the foolish. Let those who profess to know the truth for these last days take heed that they be not found among the foolish, whose lamps are going out because they have failed to supply themselves with the holy oil, the spirit and grace of Christ. Through the agency of the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth, provision has been made that every soul may be abundantly supplied. Unless there is a connection with heavenly agencies, the strong, pure influence which should be exerted by every worker in the field will be lacking. They will be no more prepared to do the work which the Lord expects them to do than were the foolish virgins prepared to answer the call, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” The Holy Spirit will not be represented in their labors. They have the form of the truth; they have the lamp, but they have no oil in their vessels. The power of a godly example is lacking. There is no living experience to give power to the truth presented. If the influence of heavenly agencies is not combined with human effort, the word of truth presented will be ineffective. Great zeal may be manifested, but if the daily example is not a living, powerful influence for good, the zeal will be worthless. Unless the Spirit of God accompanies the worker to correct every unsanctified way, his work will be superficial and weak. Spiritual things, the apostle Paul declares, are spiritually discerned. “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the eyes of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” I am instructed to say to many professed believers, Unless you look upon your religious experience in an altogether different light than you have, you are going to meet with keen disappointment. The righteousness of Christ is revealed from faith to faith; that is, from your present faith to an increased understanding of that faith which works by love and purifies the soul. Those who endure trial for the truth’s sake, who make sacrifices to help those in need, do so because of the presence of the love of God in the soul. When men and women give themselves unreservedly to the exercise of unselfish works, it is because the grace of Christ is in the heart, molding the life to his example. But if the heart is destitute of the Spirit of God, if it does not possess the rich grace of God, there is no oil in the vessel with the lamp, there is no treasure in the earthen vessel. Those who are genuinely converted will not act like the worldling, but their experience will answer to the words of the apostle Paul when he declared: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” When Christ imparts to any the blessings of his grace, he lays the recipients under special obligation to place their capabilities and powers at the service of God. They are called so to relate themselves to the work of the Master, that they will reveal in all their actions that they are converted. In their reverence and homage for the character of Christ, they will reproduce that character in their own, thus testifying to the attributes of the Father. There is need that we study carefully8the evidence we give in our own lives that we are Christians. On the part of some, evidence has been given of an unchristian spirit. They have revealed that they need a reconversion if they would not be disappointed in the great day of final award. There are troublous times before us, when everything that can be shaken will be shaken. For this conflict with the powers of evil we are bidden to arm ourselves with all the armor of God, “above all,” the apostle exhorts, “taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” We have reason for great thankfulness that we have the perfect example of the life of Christ. As he did, so day by day we are to obey the word of the Lord. Let us cultivate a grateful spirit. Let us make sure work for eternity. The humility and benevolence of Christ’s life revealed in ours, is the testimony we give to the world that we are his disciples. Through a life of obedience and self-sacrifice we are to reveal the love of God for fallen man. Those who would have the life that measures with the life of God, must be workers in this life. They must watch unto prayer. They must not fail nor be discouraged. By faith they must work out their own salvation. By faith and complete submission to the will of God, they must become partakers of God’s love and doers of his will. This Book unfolds Jehovah's mind;
This Voice salutes in accents kind;
This Fountain has its source on high;
This Friend will all your need supply;
This Mine affords us boundless wealth;
This Good Physician gives us health;
This Sun renews and warms the soul;
This Sword both wounds and makes us whole;
This Letter shows our sins forgiven;
This Guide conducts us safe to heaven;
This Charter has been sealed with blood;
This Volume is the Word of God.
— Selected. Our Beginners
By KATHERINE B. HALE
It is September again. Among the pupils who present themselves at the school door this September morning, we find many little strangers—beginners we call them. Here they are, ready to begin—what? “Good morning, little children dear!
How pleasant ’tis to see you here!
With faces bright and hands so white,
A very welcome, happy sight.”
As we welcome these little ones into our schoolroom, a responsibility becomes ours, dear teachers,—a responsibility than which there is none greater brought within school doors. Whence come these little folks? Why are they here? Let us hope that they come from homes where parents have studied and practised faithfully the instruction given by the Teacher who loved little children, and thought it worth while to give to them his tenderest love and consideration. Let us hope that in the period of home education preceding the introduction into school life, there has been laid that foundation which Christian parents are privileged to lay. And now, as we accept a share in the responsibility of these parents, we must not forget that our work is foundation work too. It is possible to broaden and strengthen all previous work, and thus make lasting every impression already received for good. A wonderful privilege, then, is this work. Already have these little people been introduced to at least one of our Father’s great lesson-books—his creation. Doubtless, too, they have learned that there is another book,—one containing printed symbols,—his revelation. It is a letter from our Father to all his people,—a book sent to the fathers, the mothers, and to all the children in the great, wide world. These two great books are God’s lesson-books for children. With some of the sweet and fascinating stories we will hope they have already become familiar; and now they have reached the time when they are eager to read for themselves more of the Father’s lessons. Not only are they anxious to read from the pages of nature’s great outdoor book, but they are anxious to read from the printed pages of such books as may be presented to children of proper school age. How proud is the child of his first new book, his very own! There are pictures on nearly every page, and how eager he is to know “what the stories say.” On a certain page he sees a little boy all ready for bed. The boy stands by a candle, and the candle is burning. I wonder what the little boy is saying? On another page are pretty pansies. What does the book say about the pansies? Here is a little girl watering her flowers, and the sentences below tell what the little girl thinks about as she works among her plants. Here is a picture of beautiful angels. Did you ever hear of that man to whom the angels appeared one lonely night? This is such an interesting story! Now (we explain) we are going to be able to read all these stories. Are you not glad of that? Before this school year is past, you will probably be able to read every one. I wonder if you can find the page upon which are pictured flying blackbirds, and at the bottom of which is a row of five happy children? They are singing, and the story that the song tells is a story that I shall write upon the board for you to-day. Let us now put away our books, and sing together this song, which I think will help us always to remember our very first Bible memory verse (Ps. 106: 1):— “Praise him! praise him! little children, praise him!
God is good! God is good!
Praise him! praise him! little children, praise him!
God is good! God is good!”
A Test of Loyalty
By W. G. KNEELAND
1. WHAT PORTION OF TIME HAS GOD RESERVED TO HIMSELF? Ans. “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” 2. HOW IS THE SABBATH DAY TO BE OBSERVED? Ans. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” 3. WHAT PORTION OF OUR EARNINGS HAS GOD RESERVED FOR HIMSELF? Ans. “And all of the tithe of the Lord, whether of the seed of the land, or the fruit of the tree, it is the Lord’s.” Lev. 27: 30. 4. HOW IS THE TITHE TO BE REGARDED? Ans. “It is holy unto the Lord.” “And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth is holy unto the Lord.” Lev. 27: 30-32. NOTE.—One seventh of our time and one tenth of our income are holy unto the Lord. Sabbath-breaking and a refusal to pay an honest tithe are sins of the same character. Faithfulness in Sabbath-keeping honors Christ as Creator and Redeemer. Faithfulness in tithe-paying honors Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. Gen. 14: 18-20. 5. IF WE KEEP BACK A PART OF OUR EARNINGS FOR FOOD AND CLOTHES, AND ONLY PAY TITHE ON THE BALANCE THAT IS LEFT, IS WHAT WE GIVE AN HONEST TITHE? Ans. Jacob asked the Lord for “bread to eat and raiment to put on,” and then promised, “Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” Gen. 28: 20-22. 6. IS IT NECESSARY TO PAY TITHE ON WHAT WE RAISE IN OUR FIELDS AND GARDENS AS WELL AS ON THE MONEY WE EARN? Ans. “The children of Israel brought in abundance the first-fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.” 2 Chron. 31: 5. “Not only does the Lord claim the tithe as his own, but he tells us how it should be reserved for him. He says, ‘Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first-fruits of all thine increase.’ This does not teach that we are to spend our means on ourselves, and bring to the Lord the remnant, even though it should be otherwise an honest tithe. Let God’s portion be first set apart.”—Special Testimony. 7. WHAT WAS THE SIN OF ACHAN? Ans. He took a part of the holy or devoted things, reserved for God’s treasury, for himself. Joshua 7: 1; 13: 20, 21. 8. WHY WERE ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA PUNISHED? Ans. For pretending to give to God what they were in reality keeping for themselves. Acts 5: 1-10. NOTE.—From this we can see that it is very dangerous for us to take either the holy Sabbath or the holy tithe to use for ourselves. We should not claim to be tithe-payers if we are not honest with God. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,” and then the promise, “I will pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it,” will be fulfilled to you. Mal. 3: 3-10. “In using my reserve fund to gratify your own desire, you have robbed souls of the light which I made provision they should receive. You have had opportunity to show loyalty to me, but you have not done so; for you have stolen my reserve fund.”—Special Testimony. Spanish Town, Jamaica, W. I. Statistical Report of Seventh-day Adventist Conferences, Missions, and Institutions
By H. E. Rogers
For the Year Ending December 31, 1907 H. E. Rogers, Statistical Secretary. The statistical report for 1907 is shown herewith. This report presents great reason for gratitude for the progress made during the year. Preceding its publication many weeks were spent in corresponding with the secretaries of the fields represented, securing accurate data, and this is the reason for the delay in its issue. Unfortunately the time of publishing such reports must always be determined by the delinquency of the secretaries who are the most indifferent in furnishing the returns desired; in the present instance the manifestation of such disposition has been sufficiently demonstrated. This report is presented under three tables, as follows: First, the statistics of conferences and missions, arranged by departments, grouped by union conferences, and showing also, for the first time, several new items or lines of work; second, a comprehensive table giving information regarding our denominational institutions, under three divisions; namely, educational institutions, publishing houses, and sanitariums; and third, the leading features of our statistical reports from 1863 to 1907, inclusive. While accuracy in every detail has been sought, yet it would be unwise to claim that all of the items in these tables are correct. Hundreds of officials must be importuned, some of them many times, for reports, and upon their failure to furnish accurate data, the information which seems most reliable must be used. The compiler of these tables would highly regret the appearance of any discrepancies herein, but such may have occurred because of the range covered by the report, and the failure to secure all the data desired. The report this year shows less gain in membership in the United States than has actually been made, for the reason that many churches have been revising their records. Future reports should more nearly show the net results of each year's work. For the benefit of those who may wish in this connection a brief history of the denomination, there follows a short sketch giving some of the leading facts, as well as mention of a few of the prominent points of doctrine and polity. In addition, a general summary showing results attained during recent years, as well as a summary for the year 1907, will serve to elucidate the main features of the work of the denomination in a clearer manner than would the figures contained in the tables alone. This sketch and summary should prove of interest to those who may wish to study this work from such a view-point. The history of Seventh-day Adventists may be said to begin in the years 1845 and 1846, when a few believers in the nearness of the second coming of Christ began also to observe the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath. This was just following the great awakening on the subject of the second advent, which commanded the attention of multitudes in Europe and America in the years 1831 to 1844. An English writer of that time, Mourant Brock, a clergyman of the Church of England, described the extent of this movement in these words:— “It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the near return of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice of warning raised, but also in America, India, and on the continent of Europe. . . . In America, about three hundred ministers of the Word are thus preaching ‘the gospel of the kingdom,’ while in this country, about seven hundred of the Church of England are raising the same cry.” William Miller, of Low Hampton, N. Y., and Josiah Litch and J. V. Himes, of Boston, Mass., were leaders in the movement in America. They looked for the coming of Christ in 1844. This hope was based on the fact that the 2300 days (literal years) of Daniel’s prophecy (Dan. 8:13, 14), dating from the commandment to restore Jerusalem (Dan. 9:25), in the year 457 B.C., expired in 1844. “Then,” said the angel to Daniel, “shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” This cleansing of the sanctuary, they supposed, meant the cleansing of the earth by fire at the coming of Christ. After the passing of the time, in 1844, many believers in the advent doctrine gave up the hope of Christ’s soon coming, and others set new times. There were some, however, who reviewed the facts of history and prophecy, and who were confirmed in the belief that no mistake had been made in the date of the fulfilment of the 2300-year period of Daniel’s prophecy in 1844. They were convinced also that the advent movement, rising spontaneously in many lands, was of God. As they investigated, they found that the mistake of the Adventists had been in the event, and not in the time; that the sanctuary to be cleansed was not this earth, but the sanctuary in heaven, where Christ ministered as high priest; that this work of cleansing, according to the Levitical type, was the final work of atonement, the beginning of the preliminary judgment in heaven, which is to precede the coming of Christ, as described in the judgment scene of Dan. 7:9, 10, showing an investigative judgment sitting in heaven while events are still taking place on earth. As they studied the subject of the sanctuary and the judgment, they found the law of God, the ten commandments, to be the standard of that judgment, the same code which, written by the finger of God, was placed in the ark in the earthly sanctuary, the type of the heavenly. The fourth precept of this law, they found, commanded the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath. They found nothing in scripture commanding or authorizing the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day. From the representation of the final work of the gospel, in Rev. 14:6-14, beginning with the proclamation: “The hour of his judgment is come” (in 1844), they understood that a movement was now called for, to carry to every nation and tongue a warning against following tradition, and calling men to the platform of “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus;” that when this final message had been carried to all the world, Christ would come to reap the harvest of the earth. Thus in 1845 and 1846 a few persons in New England, formerly First-day Adventists, began to keep the seventh day, and to preach the doctrines which have built up the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, though this name was not formally adopted until October, 1860, at a conference held in Battle Creek, Mich., being the name chosen as expressive of the two prominent features of their faith and practise; namely, the observance of the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, and a belief in the personal, visible return of the Lord as near at hand. Respecting the last-named event, however, this branch of Adventists have never set time. Their belief is that the event is “near, even at the door,” but that the day and hour have not been revealed. Three persons prominently connected with the movement which resulted in the organization of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination were Joseph Bates, James White, and Mrs. E. G. White, all of whom were, as early as 1846, observers of the seventh-day Sabbath. In 1849 their first paper appeared at Middletown, Conn. In 1855 they transferred their headquarters from Rochester, N. Y., to Battle Creek, Mich., where it remained until 1903, when it was removed to Washington, D. C., where the general headquarters is at present. By 1863 their work had grown so as to require the organization of a General Conference, which was accordingly perfected at Battle Creek, Mich., on the twenty-first of May. At that time their membership (located principally in the eastern and central parts of the United States), approximated 3,500 members, organized into 125 churches, with thirty ministers, and six local or State conferences. At the close of 1907 there were 94,048 communicants, 2,504 churches, 1,106 ordained and licensed ministers, ninety-three organized local conferences (fifty-three being in the United States), and 129 mission stations in all the world (two being in the United States). For the purposes of this sketch, no distinction is made between organized conferences and mission fields in countries outside the United States. In most cases a mission field includes several stations. The Seventh-day Adventist denomination has gained in membership about ten per cent each year; in other words, every ten years its membership throughout the world has doubled from the time of its organization in 1863. In 1873 there were 5,875 members; in 1883, 17,436; in 1893, 37,404; in 1903, 77,554; in 1907, 94,048. In 1855 their first denominational publishing house was erected in Battle Creek, Mich., from which a few books, pamphlets, and tracts, as well as two small papers, were issued, in English. At the close of 1907 they had established, in sixteen countries, twenty-three publishing houses, issuing about 1,200 books, pamphlets, and tracts (having a total of over 100,000 pages) in fifty-four of the leading languages of the world; and 109 journals in twenty-four languages, having a total of 1,300 pages,10and a combined annual subscription price of $52.16. The assets of these publishing houses were $978,894.14; and the value of the denominational literature sold during 1907 was $1,055,565.62. In addition there were over thirty printing offices doing printing work for local conferences and missions. In 1866 they erected a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Mich., for the rational treatment of disease, and the dissemination of principles of temperance and healthful living. At the close of 1907 they had sixty-three well-equipped sanitariums in different parts of the world, employing 1,596 persons specially trained in these lines. The assets of these institutions were $2,344,283.65. Six of the journals previously referred to were devoted exclusively to the subject of health and temperance. In addition to the institutions just named there were more than thirty treatment-rooms, where the principles of hydrotherapy are applied. In 1872 their first denominational missionary training-school was opened in Battle Creek, Mich. At the close of 1907 they had an educational graded system (requiring sixteen years’ work), comprising, in all countries, thirteen colleges, thirty-two academies, twenty-two intermediate schools, 458 church-schools, with assets of $1,348,332.91, and employing 921 teachers, and having a total enrolment of 13,462. In 1874 Seventh-day Adventists sent their first missionary from the United States to a foreign country. At the close of 1907 there was, outside the United States, organized work in progress in seventy-eight countries, with 127 foreign mission stations established, 692 churches organized, and 29,533 members. These mission stations are distributed as follows: In Europe, including Iceland, 30; in Africa, including British West Africa, Nyassaland, German East Africa, Rhodesia, and Basutoland, 26; in Australia and Pacific Islands, 21; in China (in the provinces of Honan, Hunan, Amoy, and Kiangsu), 12; in Canada, Alaska, and Mexico, 10; in South America, 8; in India, including Burma, 8; in the West Indies, 8; in Japan and Korea, 4; total, 127. Seventh-day Adventists have no formal or written creed, but take the Bible as their rule of faith and practise. The chief points of their belief, upon which there is entire unanimity throughout the body, are as follows:—That the law of God is the divine standard of righteousness, binding upon all men; that Christ, taking on him the nature of the seed of Abraham, lived our example, died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, and is now the only mediator for us in the heavenly sanctuary, where, through the merits of his shed blood, he ministers pardon and forgiveness of sins to all who come to God through him; that the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath; that the personal, visible coming of Christ is near at hand, and is to precede the millennium; that immersion is the proper form of baptism; that man is not by nature immortal, but receives eternal life only by faith in Christ; that the state to which man is reduced by death is one of unconsciousness; that the investigative judgment now in progress in heaven decides the eternal destiny of all men; that at the coming of Christ the living righteous will be translated, and the righteous dead resurrected, and taken to heaven, where they will remain during the millennium, during which the punishment of the wicked is determined, and that at its close Christ, with his people, returns to this earth, the wicked are resurrected, and Satan, the originator of all sin, and his followers meet their final destruction; that the earth is then to be made the fit abode of the people of God throughout the ceaseless ages, where the righteous shall evermore dwell, and sin never again mar the universe of God. The use of intoxicants or tobacco in any form is made a test of church fellowship; “higher criticism” finds no place in their ranks; they advocate the complete separation of church and state, and oppose all religious legislation; the payment of the tithe, or one tenth of the income, supplemented by offerings, is the accepted method for the support of gospel work. From the local church upward the form of organization may be stated as follows: The local church-members elect annually one or more elders, also one or more deacons and deaconesses, to look after the interests of the church locally. The churches in a State form a State or local conference, holding annual sessions, with delegates from the churches on the basis of one for every fifteen members. These delegates elect the officers of the State conference and the managing boards of all the institutions within the conference. A group of five or six State conferences compose a union conference, which holds sessions biennially, with delegates from State conferences on the basis of one for every 200 members. The presidents of State conferences are ex officio members of the executive committees of union conferences. All the union conferences in the world compose the General Conference, which holds sessions quadrennially, the unions being represented by one delegate for every 1,000 members. The presidents of union conferences are ex officio members of the executive committee of the General Conference, now numbering thirty-five members. Thus there is formed a bond which unites completely all parts of the organization, and secures unity of interest and action. Instead of there being independent organizations within the denomination for carrying on the varied lines of work, departments have been organized, which extend from the General Conference to the local church, having charge and direction of these activities, and tending further to solidify the organization and simplify effort. These departments are the publishing, medical, educational, religious liberty, Sabbath-school, Young People’s Missionary Volunteer, etc. The work of the first three is treated elsewhere. The Sabbath-school Department has a fostering interest over the Sabbath-school work of the denomination, which work was begun in 1855, and has continually developed, until in 1907 there were 3,573 organized Sabbath-schools, having a membership of 84,744, with several journals devoted to these interests. The Missionary Volunteer Department, organized in 1907, continuing the work in behalf of young people which had been in progress during recent years, is designed to foster educational and missionary work among the young people of the denomination, and will doubtless become one of the leading factors in the training and preparation of young people for active service both in home and foreign fields. At the close of 1907 there were 461 local societies, and 8,933 members, only church-members being eligible to membership in the society. The total funds contributed for the year were $11,122.60. Finding, in 1901, that the General Conference, which had previously had general supervision of the work throughout the world, could not successfully carry forward all the enterprises in hand, union conferences were organized, departments created, and responsibilities distributed to them, the General Conference since then having direct supervision of missionary operations in unorganized territory—mainly in heathen lands—and acting only in an advisory capacity in fields where union and local organizations have been effected. Associations for the holding of property belonging to the denomination have been formed in nearly every country in which operations are carried forward. The officers of these associations are in most cases the officers of the conferences over which their jurisdiction extends, and the constituent members are generally the delegates composing the conference in its sessions. The association in a State usually holds in trust all the property for the local churches, while associations formed for union conferences hold property of a more general character. At the close of 1907 there were eighty local conference associations, twelve union conference associations, and three associations operating for the General Conference, making ninety-five legal associations organized in harmony with the laws of the various States and countries in which the denomination is working. The material facilities employed at the time this work was organized in 1863 did not exceed, it is estimated, $25,000, a per capita of $7.15. At the close of 1907, there was invested in 153 institutions, as shown by Table No. 2, $4,549,923.94; there were 1,172 church edifices, having a seating capacity of 180,576 persons, and valued at $1,331,330.85; an additional investment of $121,586.76 in church-school equipment, and an investment of $1,278,803.74 in general organizations of various kinds, tract societies, etc., making a grand total investment of $7,281,645.29, a per capita of $77.42. These figures are recorded not in any spirit of boasting, but only to indicate what has been accomplished thus far, through the blessing of God, to prepare facilities for the more rapid and extensive proclamation of the gospel message. The following summary gives separately for the United States and all other countries combined, the leading facts regarding membership, funds (including the entire amount of funds raised under the three general heads of tithes,—devoted to the support of ministers,—offerings for foreign mission work, and offerings for various lines of home mission work), and laborers at the close of 1907:—There were in the United States 64,515 members, who paid, during 1907,11$790,095.56 tithes (a per capita of $12.25); $211,643.65 foreign mission offerings; and $310,823.60 for home missions, a per capita of $8.08. Total funds raised in the United States, $1,312,562.81, a per capita of $20.34. In this territory there were 2,106 evangelistic laborers, which number, as related to the membership in the United States, is as 1 to 30, or related to the entire membership, as 1 to 44. The gain in membership in this territory for ten years was 34.52 per cent. There were outside the United States at the close of 1907, 29,533 members, who paid in tithes during the year $274,657.87, a per capita of $9.30; and offerings for foreign missions, $52,679.51, and home missions, $64,817.93, a per capita of $3.98. Total funds raised outside the United States, $392,154.31, a per capita of $13.28. In territory outside the United States there were 1,481 evangelistic laborers, which number as related to the membership outside the United States is as 1 to 19, or related to the entire membership, as 1 to 63. The gain in membership in this territory for ten years was 248.35 per cent. The total funds of the denomination in all the world contributed for evangelistic work during 1907 was $1,704,718.12, a per capita for the entire membership (94,048) of $18.13. The entire number of evangelistic laborers in the world, 3,587, as related to the entire membership, is as 1 to 26. The grand total tithes and foreign mission offerings from 1863 to 1907 approximate fourteen million dollars. In addition there were, in 1907, the following laborers in institutional lines: Teachers in denominational colleges and academies, 415; teachers in church-schools, 506; employed in the preparation of denominational literature, 466; employed in sanitarium and other philanthropic work, 1,596; making a total of 2,983 laborers in denominational institutions; or a grand total of 6,570 evangelistic and institutional laborers, which number as related to the entire membership, stands as 1 to 14. The gain in membership in all the world from 1897 to 1907 was 66.64 per cent, while the gain for the ten years preceding was 118.40 per cent. Reasons for the rapid growth of this work are not hard to understand in the light of the foregoing figures, indicating that every fourteenth member is engaged in continuous, active service to advance this special message, and that for the support of these laborers and this work there is contributed annually a sum equal to $18.13 for every communicant in the entire world. The greatest reason for growth, however, is that the blessing of the Lord has attended this work from its very small, humble beginning a little over sixty years ago. Were it not for this, human efforts would avail but little, and the movement would, ere this, have come to naught. But the One who has guided the movement thus far, will certainly erelong bring it to a glorious consummation. This is the hope which cheers the hearts of all believers in this message the world over, brightens their labor, leads them to consecrate their means, and devote their lives to the finishing of this blessed message of the soon-coming Saviour. Washington, D. C., U. S. A.,
August 14, 1908.