p. 540 | Review and Herald, Vol. 78, No. 34. (8/20/1901)

SYSTEM AND MANAGEMENT IN HOUSEWORK.

By Jessie L. Scovil

JESSIE L. SCOVIL.

(Selma, Ore.)

Success in any work depends, in large part, upon the skillful management of the details of that work. Why should not this be as true of housework as of any other work? Is it not also true that housekeeping — home-making — is one of the most important vocations to which one can be called?

I know of one home in which the parents are kind-hearted, God-fearing people, but there is one thing lacking in that home; the mother is a poor housekeeper. It is not that she does not work, for she does, or seems to. It is simply that she has no management. She does not plan her work.

When the elder daughter of this home was about seventeen years of age, she went to work in a restaurant, and nothing could induce her to go home to stay. After a time I heard that she was inclined to be a little wild, and later, still worse was said of her. Who will say that this girl’s “wildness,” perhaps ruin — was not due in a large measure to the uncongenial surroundings of her home?

A time for everything, and everything done as nearly as possible at that time, is a good rule to follow. Plan your week’s work before the week begins, and then follow your plans as nearly as possible. Look your work over carefully, see what you have to do, and divide it so that all the heavy work will not come in one or two days, and do not plan to do too much. If you can have very little spare time after heavy work, like washing, plan to do something easier and entirely different the rest of the day. Do the most important work first.

I have seen people wait until half-past eleven before they thought of dinner; and as dinner had to be served at twelve, one can imagine what a hurried, uncomfortable meal it was. Now they knew that they had to have dinner, and by a little forethought all the hurry, worry, and perhaps angry words, might have been avoided, and the work need not have been one bit harder.

Another good rule is, “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” These rules may seem simple, but the comfort of many a household is spoiled by their non-observance.

ANSWERED PRAYERS.

By Helen Swinger

HELEN SWINGER.

(Saranac Junction, N. Y.)*

Several weeks ago I sent to the Battle Creek church a request for prayers for two little children, that they might not be sent to a Catholic home of the friendless. Praise the Lord, they are still with me; and although there is danger that they may be taken away, I know that God hears prayer, and I still ask prayers in their behalf. My husband has not yet sold our home, but we are expecting to sell soon.

Another request was for a Catholic lady who was somewhat interested in the truth. Praise the Lord, she has given up Catholicism, and is trying to live out the precious truth. It would do you good to hear her talk of her freedom and happiness. Still she has to suffer persecution from her husband. He now intends to take her to their former home, and not allow her to have any Seventh-day Adventist reading-matter, or even a Bible. She does not know what to do without reading, and with no one to go to for instruction or advice. She is quite poorly in health, was never strong, and is unable to earn a living by work. Her husband professes great love for her, but the hearing of wicked oaths and foul talk is a trial she must endure. She says she cannot go back to Catholicism again, and requests prayer in her behalf.

We must expect persecution, but thanks be to God that time will not last many years. We can rejoice if we are accounted worthy to suffer for His name.

I thought it no more than right that you should know how mercifully our Heavenly Father had answered our and your prayers. I am one of the isolated ones. My constant preacher is the dear REVIEW AND HERALD, so rich in instruction and counsel.

THERE'S A BETTER LIFE BEYOND.

By Mrs. M. O. Page

MRS. M. O. PAGE.

Hope is singing, sweetly singing; Oh! what balm is in her song! To my heart God's message bringing, “There's a better life beyond!”

When my way is darkly shaded, Pressed in spirit, sad and lone, Hope doth sing her song, all laded With “the better life beyond.”

From the depth of strongest leadings, Life's tide beating loud and long, I shall ever hear her pleadings For “the better life beyond.”

White winged messenger of mercy, Ever sing thy heaven-born song, Cheer the world that's waiting, waiting, For “the better life beyond.”

BEING NEIGHBORLY.

I WONDER how many of the sisters think of the good they might do by being neighborly, and how much harm by being so selfishly engaged in their own affairs that they have no time for others. Perhaps the lesson I received might benefit some one else, as it did me.

Our nearest neighbor — we lived in the country — moved away, and a family from another State came to their place right away. I intended to visit these people soon after their arrival, but I expected to move soon, and was very busy sewing, so I put it off, always hoping for a more convenient season. Then I thought I was not going to continue their neighbor, so it would not matter if I did not call. But one day I chanced to hear that they had a little baby about two weeks old which was very ill. Feeling condemned, I put up my sewing, and called on them. But how uncomfortable I felt! How empty seemed all the excuses I tried to offer for not coming sooner; for I knew that if I had had true love in my heart, I could have gone before. The baby died the next day. I did all I could to help them in their time of trouble. The poor woman told me how she had longed for me to call on her, and how lonesome she had felt.

I thank God He taught me a lesson which I hope I may never forget.

Dear sisters, let us be as friendly and helpful to our neighbors as possible, not letting our own affairs keep us from doing our duty. It sometimes costs self-denial to put our own work by and visit our neighbors, but we do not know who may be lonely and longing for some one to come; if we go in Christ’s name, we may bring help and comfort to some troubled, lonely soul, and honor to our Master and the truth we profess to love. Let us be faithful in little things.

WHICH WAS THE TRUE GENTLEMAN?

By M. C. W.

M. C. W.

In the family I am going to tell you about, there was a King, a Queen, and a six-year-old Prince. You see they were members of a royal family.

One morning the Queen had been unusually busy. Prince had been working steadily all the time without a murmur.

Uncle, fifteen years of age, had made Prince a bow and arrow, and was very anxious to teach Prince how to use it, and Prince was equally anxious to be taught.

When the work was all finished, Prince said, “Now, Mama Queen, is there anything more for me to do?”

“No, Prince, unless I get time to wash the cooking dishes, then there would be those to wipe.”

“All right, you call me when you are ready.”

The little fellow went out to play. Peal after peal of laughter could be heard as Uncle patiently taught Prince how to use the bow.

About fifteen minutes afterward, the Queen called, “Prince, would you take this out for me?”

“Yes, Mama Queen.”

In he came, telling what fun he was having. When he brought the pan back, he said, “Dishes ready?”

“No, not yet.”

“Well, call me when they are.”

In a short time the dishes were ready. The Queen called, “Come, Prince, all ready now.”

“Yes, dearie.”

The bow and arrow were immediately put away. His little white apron put on, and the dishes were soon wiped. It was too late for any more play before dinner, but not a frown was seen on his little face.

Another morning, as the clothes were being washed, the Queen asked Uncle if he would wash the laundry floor, as she was not feeling very well.

“Certainly,” was the cheery response.

The clothes were carried to the line, the laundry ready to be cleaned. Where was Uncle?—Fixing his wheel.

When the clothes were nearly hung out, the Queen asked, “Aren’t you going to clean the laundry for me?”

“Yes, but it does not have to be done now, does it?”

“It does not have to be done, but we want to get the house cleaned and in order as early as possible.”

When it suited his convenience, he came in to clean the laundry.

Now, mothers, which was the true gentleman? Can you see any difference in the training of the two boys? Which was the better?

The Prince was an adopted child. The Queen had been told, many times, that if Prince had been her own child, she could not have been so firm with him.

Mothers, are we to yield our will to our children, or shall they yield to us? The Lord says, “They [the children] should not control you, but you them, not harshly, not overbearingly, but with a firmness and steadiness of purpose.” “There is but little stability or firmness of character, because the training and education of children from their cradle is superficial.”

The habits formed in youth will grow with the growth and strengthen with the strength, and will generally be the same in after-life, only continually growing stronger.

Faithfulness in Small Things

“THE most successful toilers are those who will cheerfully work to serve God in small things. Every human being is to work with his own individual thread,—weave it into the fabric that composes the web, and complete the pattern.”

ACTIVITY MEANS PURITY.

By L. A. S.

There can be no such thing as an inactive Christian. Christianity is only another name for activity in the service of God.

“God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” He is the fountain of life, and life means activity. The being that is full of life cannot keep still. The Christian who is full of God—and that means every genuine Christian—cannot be idle. God cannot be idle, and it is well for us that He cannot, for our very existence, and that of all creatures, depends upon the continual exercise of His power.

Activity means purity. How forcibly nature speaks to us upon this point! Behold that rushing stream coming down from the hillside. Contrast it with yon stagnant pond in the valley, its surface covered with scum and slime. From which of the two would you prefer to take a drink?

The writer will never forget a stream near which he camped one summer in northern Michigan,—a stream noted as the home of that fastidious fish, the brook trout. Rapid River it was called, and it was rightly named. Clear as crystal, cool as ice, and pure as the sparkling dew, it came rushing through the forest, tumbling over fallen trees that lay thickly across its path, with a swiftness that nothing could impede. It was full of decaying logs, but it received no taint. Refuse thrown into it was either hurried swiftly away or held innocuous in its icy depths. To pollute that stream was impossible, so long as its fountain head remained pure. To drink from it was a pleasure, whether thirsty or not. It was a veritable fountain of life. And the secret of it all was its intense activity.

And that stream—and every other like it—is a fit symbol of the true Christian. Continually receiving pure spiritual life from the fountain head,—God,—he is continually passing it on to those beyond him. He does nothing to retard the flow of the life-giving current. He is a channel, and not a mere receptacle. No sediment can accumulate in a channel; it is continually washed clean by the ceaseless tide flowing through it.

Heaven is a place of activity. The inhabitants of heaven do not idly sit or stand about, waiting for something to occur. They are all channels of the ceaseless activity of God. No glimpse of heaven to seer and prophet given ever revealed a scene of idleness. The four “living creatures” about the throne of God “rest not day and night,” crying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” The prophet Ezekiel saw living creatures about the throne in heaven which “ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.” Eze. 1:14. Such is the activity of the Omnipotent, so far as it can be realized by human comprehension.

Stagnation in the Christian life, as in everything else, means death. It is an invariable law that the body of water which has an inlet but no outlet, gathers saltness and bitterness. There are many salty, bitter characters among people professing to be Christians. The matter with them is they have no outlet for the blessings of God. An outlet is just as important as an inlet.

Activity, activity! This is the watchword for every one who values purity of character. Get to work; do something. Open up; make an outlet equal to the size of your inlet. Become a channel. The very day that you shake off your inertia and become active for the Lord, you will find the sediment of self in your character being washed away, and continued activity will make the purification complete.

L. A. S.

THE MANY MANSIONS.

By Editor

“In my Father’s house are many mansions.” In our Lord’s parting words to His disciples, before His final ascension to the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high, He set before them a picture based on promise, experience, and prophecy; taking in the whole scope of the plan of redemption, and giving them a glimpse of the glad destiny of those who love and serve the Lord. It is in the often-quoted and familiar language of John 14: 1–3: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

In all this declaration, there is no element lacking to make assurance doubly sure. It begins with the basis upon which must rest all religious experience—belief in God. “Ye believe in God.” But “without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Heb. 11: 6. Our relation to God, as here revealed, would lead us to expect that if we were basing unwarranted hopes upon His promises, He would undeceive us in this respect. But our hope of immortality through Him is uncontradicted by Him. “If it were not so, I would have told you.”

The place to which our Lord points us, He calls His “Father’s house;” and Paul says that “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Then when Christ returns to take us to himself, to be with Him where He is, we, too, are in our Father’s house. It is our paternal home.

It is a place that Christ prepares for us: “I go to prepare a place for you.” To do this, it was necessary for Him to go away from this earth. But the more immediate purpose of His absence was that He might send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. Thus He said to them: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” John 16: 7.

It was the purpose of God in redemption to renew us after the divine likeness, to build up again that image, which, in our first parents, had been ruined. This was to be the especial work of the Holy Spirit; and our Lord taught His disciples, again and again, that this could not be done without His being taken from them, and going to the Father.

The ascension was, moreover, necessary for the manifestation of Christ’s sovereignty. No manifestation of majesty here upon earth could ever have been equivalent to the resumption by Christ of the glory that He had with the Father before the world was.

Another great necessity for the removal of our Lord from this world was that He might perform His efficient and merciful office as high priest for us in the heavenly tabernacle. And, further, His ascension has become to us the token of the entire acceptance of the Saviour’s sacrificial work for mankind, in our nature. Our thoughts and affections should therefore be directed to the place whither He has gone before. “If we really love our Saviour, and His glorified humanity is to us the spring of our joy and the center of our interests, though the world may catch our fleeting thoughts and our less earnest attentions, He will have our most serious determinations, and our deepest affections. The world may be our tabernacle; but the place where He is will be our home.”

Our Lord makes mention of the amplitude of our future abiding place: “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” How many?—Let us learn from other comparisons. In Heb. 2: 10 we read: “For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” “Many sons.” “Many mansions.”

As many mansions as there are sons to fill them. The promise to Abraham was that he should be the father of many nations. How many?—Every nation, kindred, tongue, and people; for out of all these the children of Abraham are to be gathered at last. “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3: 29.

How many mansions?—Enough to accommodate all these children of Abraham; and it was meet that the patriarch should be favored with a view of this place. So the apostle says that, on the strength of the promise, he “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb. 11: 10. In verse 16 of the same chapter we read further, respecting the ancient worthies: “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city.” And the apostle exclaims, in Heb. 13: 14: “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” What is this continuing city, which they seek?—None other than that city, spoken of before, which is founded and built by God,—the city which hath many mansions, and is the Father’s house,—a city “prepared” for those who are seeking a better country, even a heavenly. “I go,” said Christ, “to prepare a place for you.” What place does He go to prepare?—It can be only this heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, the presence of which so changes the feelings of God toward His people, that He is “not ashamed” to call them brethren, for this very reason that He “hath prepared for them a city.”

John gives us a more definite view of this marvelous city, in Revelation 21. He mentions the foundations, which well might have arrested the gaze of Abraham, as they are composed of superimposed layers of most precious stones, filling the whole area inclosed within the broad outlines of the foundation itself; while on the line of the promenade that marks the limit of the city proper, in emerald beauty rises the jasper wall. And all within—the golden, polished streets; the dazzling façades; the columned porches; the gateways, minarets, and towers; all lighted with the glory of God, which shames into utter invisibility the most vivid, blinding beams of the moonday sun—present a scene of incomprehensible glory, the conception of which, as Paul well says, has never entered into the heart of man, and any description of which would be essayed in vain by any human tongue. 1 Cor. 2: 9. This is the Father’s house which is prepared for them that love Him, to take them to which our Lord will, by and by, return, that where He is, there they may be also.

“A tent or a cottage, why should I care? They’re building a palace for me over there; Though exiled from home, yet still I may sing, All glory to God; I’m a child of the King.”

In John’s description, the angel had a golden reed with which to take the dimensions of the city. The length of the city was equal to the breadth; and the measurement he reported was 12,000 furlongs. This being the entire circumference of the city, according to the ancient custom of measuring places, we have a length of 3,000 furlongs for each of the four sides. There being eight furlongs to the mile, we have 375 miles for each of the four sides of the city. This gives an area of 140,625 square miles, within the walls of the city.

Now, for the sake of easy comparison, let us take one of the rectangular States of the Union, as, for instance, Wyoming, which is 360 miles long by 270 miles wide. This would give about 97,200 square miles as the superficial area of the State; but the New Jerusalem is so much larger that it would take in the entire State of Wyoming, bodily, and still

have 43,425 square miles to spare. But perhaps the illustration would be a little more forcible, to take the better-known State of Iowa, which is 300 miles long, east and west, and 220 wide. Here we have an area of 66,000 square miles, which would not take up all the space in the New Jerusalem, into 74,625 square miles. Truly, here is space enough for the “many mansions” of the Father’s house.

It is to be inferred that these mansions were not ready for occupancy at the time of Christ’s ascension; for His language pertains to the future: “I go,” He said, “to prepare a place for you.” It can not therefore be that any of the great bodies of the stellar worlds constitute the “Father’s house” of this scripture, or any of the mansions to which Christ refers; for these starry worlds were all finished away back in the beginning. “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” Gen. 2: 1. They cannot therefore be the place which Christ went away to prepare, when He said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” And His work since He ascended has not been that of creating new planets.

But does it not read, “In my Father’s house are many mansions,” and that God “hath prepared” for them a city, as if the work was then already done?—Yes; but students of Scripture well know that the past or present tenses are often put for the future, according to the law to which appeal is often legitimately made, to adjust the different tenses of Scripture to accord with the facts in the case. Rom. 4: 17 explains: “God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” So the sacred writer, over seven hundred years before Christ appeared at His first advent in this world, made this declaration: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,” etc., because that thing was sure to be. And Christ said that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living; and still He said that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they were all then dead. But it was all right, because they were sure to live again. And though Paul wrote of the ancient worthies, that God “hath prepared for them a city,” it is evident that it was prepared only in determination and purpose; for he writes again, saying: “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come;” and this city which they looked forward to, which was to come, is and was only that city which he said that God “hath prepared.” God speaks of some things which are not, as if they were, because they are so sure to be. In like manner John says that the beast and the false prophet were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. This has not yet taken place, but it is spoken in the past tense, because the time certainly is coming when it will be so.

Another objection to the view that the starry worlds constitute the “Father’s house,” in which are the “many mansions,” is that in that case, our own little world would be one of them; and then it would follow that we are already in the Father’s house, and that, so far, the prophecy has been fulfilled unto us—a depressing thought which would be too heavy to bear.

The most direct, simple, literal, and consistent application seems to be that the holy city, the New Jerusalem, is the Father’s house; that its innumerable apartments, or dwelling-places, are the many mansions which are being fitted for the saints; that these mansions were not in readiness when Christ ascended, but He went to prepare them, as He said; and when this is done, He will come again, and take His people to the place made ready.

“He is fitting up my mansion, which eternally shall stand; For my stay shall not be transient in that holy, happy land.”

And all this is as yet unseen to mortal eyes. The glass through which we view it is the word of God; and the light in which it is seen is the light of faith. It is not a question of science or of astronomy, grand as that is, but wholly a matter of faith. “The things which are not seen are eternal.” But, sad thought! all will not attain to that which is intended for them. Christ has died and opened the way to eternal bliss for all; but how many, by unbelief and perversity of life, will cause it to be that, in their cases, His death has been in vain. So there are mansions being fitted up for certain ones who will never occupy them. Crowns are being designed for certain ones, which they will never wear; palm branches are intended for certain ones who will never wave them in the triumph of the great day. What a miscarriage that will be! Alas that man has power thus to frustrate the beneficent and eternity-spanning designs of Heaven in his behalf! “He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth,” says, “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Rev. 3: 11.

EDITOR.

TEXAS CAMP-MEETING.

By Arthur G. Daniells

As it was necessary for me to leave the Texas camp-meeting before its close, I cannot report the entire meeting; but there are some features of the meeting that I am pleased to place before the readers of the REVIEW.

The Location.—One of the most important questions relating to the State camp-meeting is its location, for upon this, to a large extent, depends the success of the meeting. The primary object of the State camp-meeting is to make known to our fellow men the glorious truths God has given to us. In order to accomplish this purpose, we must succeed in getting the public to attend our meetings, and our success in this will depend very much upon the location of the camp-ground.

It must be in a town of sufficient size to furnish a large attendance. It must be in a town that is ready for the meeting—one that will be impressed by such an occasion. As a rule, it should be a town in which a camp-meeting has not been held previously, at least for some time. Then the camp-ground itself must be in a suitable place in the town. It must be easy of access. It must be close to the people, so they can get to the ground without much expense or labor. People will not walk a long distance, to an out-of-the-way place to attend religious meetings which are no more popular than ours.

The camp-meetings this year have not done for the public what we had fondly hoped they would. They have not drawn the masses, nor created the interest they should in order to be followed by a rousing, successful series of meetings. There may be a number of reasons for this; but from observation and inquiry, I am sure that one great reason is because of the unfavorable location of the camp-ground. Much has been lost this year by this mistake. May the Lord pardon us, and save us from repeating it another year.

The Texas camp-meeting was wisely located. It was placed where we could consistently expect the people to attend, and we were not disappointed. They flocked to the camp-ground from all parts of the town, far beyond all expectations. The first night the large pavilion was nearly full. The second night it was packed. The third night there seemed to be nearly as many outside the tent as could be seated inside. Between two hundred and three hundred chairs were brought onto the ground, and placed outside the tent. The campers brought all their seats to the large tent, and yet many had to stand. Sunday night, the fourth evening of the meeting, the attendance was wonderful. It was all that could be asked; for it was all that could well be reached by the voice of the speaker. As I looked over that sea of upturned faces, with eyes riveted on the preacher, and ears catching with deepest interest the words of truth that were being spoken, I asked, “What occasion is so glorious, what privilege so much to be coveted, as this?” But this is just the privilege God will give His people everywhere as soon as we so fully surrender to Him that we shall continually pray, “Thy will, O God, be done.”

The Texas camp-meeting was held in the town of Cleburne, and the camp-ground was within a few blocks of the courthouse, which stands in the very center of the business portion of the town. Cleburne is a thriving place of about thirteen thousand inhabitants. It is located on the main line of the Santa Fé Railway. Two branch lines of the same company run from Cleburne, one to the northeast, and the other to the northwest. It is the principal railway station and commercial town for Keene Academy, which is five miles distant in the country.

This is the first camp-meeting we have held in Cleburne. Tent-meetings have been held in the town by different laborers during the last twenty years, but none have been attended with very great visible results. But it has been a time of seed-sowing, and the camp-meeting has proved to be the means of arresting the attention of hundreds, many of whom never attended the tent-meetings.

Having secured for the camp a clean, grassy piece of ground close to the people, the committee put forth the most earnest efforts to interest the public in the meetings. They devoted one entire number of their Conference paper to camp-meeting matter, and endeavored to have a copy placed in every house in town. These were carried to the people by Conference workers, who gave a personal invitation as they handed out the printed announcement. In addition to this, full announcements were printed in the daily papers.

The camp was made as clean and orderly as possible under the circumstances. It was splendidly lighted with electricity, and supplied with an abundance of good water. The dining arrangements were under the supervision of a sanitarium-trained cook, who provided a most excellent camp-meeting menu. This sort of help is an unspeakable blessing on a camp-ground.

Owing to the drought, it was feared by some that the attendance of our people would be smaller than in past years; but in this we were happily disappointed. They came in by trains and teams from all parts of the State, until there were present a very large proportion of the membership of the Conference. When the brethren had done all they could by the help of the Lord to make the meeting what it should be, they could consistently pray the Lord to send the people to the camp to be blessed. Their prayers were answered by the excellent outside attendance, as stated above.

As but little of the Conference business had been done when I left the meeting, this part of the report will be supplied by others. From the first, all the speakers enjoyed great liberty. They were conscious of a hearty response from the congregation. The general laborers in attendance were Elder A. T. Jones, the Drs. Paulson, Brethren McReynolds and Spicer, and the writer. Dr. Paulson and his wife not only gave timely and deeply interesting instruction regarding health principles, but rendered valuable service in revival work, especially for the young.

It is the earnest desire on the part of our brethren in Texas that the interest awakened by this camp-meeting will result in the establishment of a good church in Cleburne. The camp-meeting will be followed with a series of tent-meetings under the management of a large company of workers. Will not the readers of this report pray for the salvation of souls in Cleburne? A. G. DANIELLS.

The Minister’s Summer Vacation

The Rev. M. J. Savage excuses the minister's summer vacation on the ground of necessity, thus:—

“Once in seven days comes the great absorbing effort of the week for them. In seven days again, in seven days again, again, again, again, until you have no idea what a relief it is for a few weeks, at any rate, to get away and forget that such a thing as Sunday exists.”

When preachers preach a kind of gospel that makes even themselves tired, we can hardly wonder at a lack of interest on the part of those whom they address. But a thing that has power in it is always interesting; and the old gospel is “the power of God unto salvation.”

THE LAKE UNION CONFERENCE COUNCIL,

By Arthur G. Daniells; W. H. Edwards

Abstract of Minutes.

THIS council was called for the purpose of more fully organizing the Lake Union Conference, and laying plans for advancing the cause in this part of the field.

There were present nearly all the members of the committee, and several of the officers of the State Conferences, giving an attendance of about twenty-five. The work in hand received the earnest, continuous attention of the brethren. Brotherly love and Christian unity prevailed in all the deliberations.

The following is a brief outline of the proceedings of the council:—

RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED.

1. That I. H. Evans be elected a member of the Conference Committee in the place of W. C. Sisley, who has gone to England.

2. That the resignation of E. P. Boggs, as canvassing agent, be accepted, and that F. L. Moody be elected to fill the vacancy.

3. That the State Conferences be advised to so change the article in their constitutions relating to delegates as to make all members of churches in the Conference, present at any meeting of the Conference, members of the Conference in session for the transaction of business.

4. That W. D. Curtis, R. T. Dowsett, and D. E. Lindsey be appointed a committee on blanks and blank books for use in churches, Sabbath-schools, and tract societies; also blanks for State Conference reports to the Union Conference; and that sufficient time be given them to perfect their work.

5. We recommend that in each State Conference the Sabbath-school and tract society be departments of the Conference.

6. That all missionary money received by the treasurers of the State Conferences be sent direct to the Missionary Treasurer of the General Conference, without passing through the office of the Lake Union Conference.

7. That the State Conferences pay the salaries and travelling expenses of Sabbath-school and church-school secretaries from the tithe fund.

8. We suggest to the State Conferences that they may retain enough of the Sabbath-school donations to meet the incidental expenses of the department, and that the remainder be sent to the Mission Board.

9. We recommend to the State Conferences the granting of missionary credentials to accredited church-school teachers.

10. We recommend that at the opening session of each State Conference fifteen or more persons, representing as far as possible all parts of the Conference and all phases of the work, be chosen by the Conference to act as an advisory council while the Conference is in session, and to appoint the standing committees which shall report directly to the Conference.

11. We recommend the purchase of a tent forty by sixty feet, for use in the Lake Union Conference.

12. That Elder F. D. Starr, of Ontario, be invited to labor in the Michigan Conference.

13. That the first session of the Lake Union Conference be held in the city of Indianapolis, Ind., in the month of May, 1902.

14. That we recommend Prof. F. W. Field to the Mission Board for Japan.

15. That Prof. H. R. Salisbury be requested to act as Field Secretary of the Sabbath-school and Educational department of the Lake Union Conference, and that he spend as much time in the field as his duties in connection with the Emmanuel Missionary College will allow.

16. That the State Sabbath-school Secretary report in duplicate to the Lake Union and the General Conference Sabbath-school Secretaries.

17. That we favor holding canvassers' institutes and conventions at the seasons of the year that will least interfere with the canvassing interests.

18. That our true and tried canvassers be granted a paper of recognition from the Conferences as canvassing evangelists.

19. That Elder W. H. Thurston be elected Vice-President and Business Agent of the Lake Union Conference.

20. That R. B. Craig make Wisconsin his field of labor.

21. That E. S. Butz be appointed State Canvassing Agent of Illinois.

22. That, beginning with the month of October or November and on to February, the Conferences place as many of their laborers as possible in the field for the sale of “Christ's Object Lessons.”

23. That the Lake Union Conference supply a French laborer for Ontario, the same to be supported by the Union Conference.

24. That the Medical Board be requested to supply a doctor to take the place of Professor Field in the Mt. Vernon Academy, to receive his support from the academy.

25. That Prof. E. A. Sutherland be paid by the Lake Union Conference for the present, and until other arrangements may be made.

26. That the State Conference officers send the funds designed for the Lake Union Conference to the Treasurer of the same, beginning with July 1, 1901.

27. That church schools cover, ordinarily, six years of work, and that industrial schools cover four years of work; but that in special cases, in either church or industrial schools, more advanced work may be done, if, in the judgment of the managers and faculty, it appears that such should be the case.

28. That suitable persons be chosen to formulate a typical course of study for the use of church-school teachers, and that the same be published by the Lake Union Conference.

A. G. DANIELLS, Chairman.

W. H. EDWARDS, Sec.

Continue reading: REPORT OF THE LAKE UNION CONFERENCE COUNCIL