“Mister, do you lend money here?” asked an earnest young voice at the office door.
The lawyer turned away from his desk, confronted a clear-eyed, poorly dressed lad of twelve years, and studied him keenly for a minute. “Sometimes we do—on good security,” he said.
The little fellow explained that he had a chance “to buy out a boy that’s cryin’ papers.” He had half the money required, but he needed to borrow the other fifteen cents.
“What security can you offer?” asked the lawyer.
The boy’s brown hand sought his pocket, and drew out a paper, carefully folded in a bit of calico. It was a cheaply printed pledge against the use of intoxicating liquor and tobacco.
As respectfully as if it had been the deed to a farm, the lawyer examined it, accepted it, and handed over the required sum.
A friend who had watched the transaction with silent amusement, laughed as the young borrower departed.
“You think that I knew nothing about him,” smiled the lawyer. “I know that he came manfully, in what he supposed to be a business way, and tried to negotiate a loan, instead of begging the12money. I know that he has been under good influences, or he would not have signed that pledge; and that he does not hold it lightly, or he would not have cared for it so carefully. I agree, with him that the one who keeps himself from such things has a character to offer as a security.”—Christian Observer.
Before It Is Too Late
By Ida Goldsmith Morris
If you've a gray-haired mother
In the old home far away,
Sit down and write the letter
You put off day by day.
Don't wait until her tired steps
Reach heaven's pearly gate,
But show her that you think of her
Before it is too late.
If you've a tender message,
Or a loving word to say,
Don't wait till you forget it,
But whisper it to-day.
Who knows what bitter memories
May haunt you if you wait—
So make your loved ones happy
Before it is too late.
We live but in the present,
The future is unknown—
To-morrow is a mystery,
To-day is all our own.
The chance that fortune lends to us
May vanish while we wait,
To spend your life's rich treasure
Before it is too late.
The tender words unspoken,
The letters never sent,
The long-forgotten messages,
The wealth of love unspent,—
For these some hearts are breaking,
For these some loved ones wait,
So show them that you care for them
Before it is too late.
— Ida Goldsmith Morris.
The Physical Development of Children
By Cecil Buscall
ALL means of physical development for young children should for the most part take the form of play and games arranged in such a way as to favor a good position of the body and correct breathing—no chest-cramping movements. Children take naturally to games; the greater part of their lives is spent in this way; through them they develop. The more abandon a child puts in a game, the more good it is doing him. When a child tires easily and loses interest in running and games, wishes to sit still and keep quiet, you may conclude there is something wrong. For the ordinary healthy child who naturally takes to games and outdoor play, the gymnasium is not necessary, but the pale, thin, flat-chested child is the one who needs an interest kindled in him for games and exercises, and encouragement in outdoor sports. Parents can do a great deal in this way for their children.
It is a mistake to muffle a child up in a bundle of garments, and keep him indoors because the temperature is a few degrees below freezing. A child’s circulation is generally considerably better than an adult’s; and if a child is constantly catching cold, it is usually through overfeeding and poor blood, or through breathing over and over the impure air of a room. Have the clothing distributed evenly over the body. How many times does one see little tots muffled up to the ears, and a numerous ripple of skirts, but with thin stockings and shoes to protect the lower part of their bodies. Children need freedom of movement, and they invent numerous games themselves, which tend to their development, and form a constant outlet for stored-up energy. This should not be repressed, but rather encouraged.
It is as well, however, to guide this wonderful energy of children into the right channels. If a child thinks he is being watched, he will not do anything at all; but without any apparent watching, by a few suggestions here and there and occasionally entering into the “fun,” parents can guide and greatly help the physical development of their children.
Children take quickly to running and jumping movements, which increase the amount of oxygen, renewing the blood and building up tissue. All exercise should be taken where the air is pure, and the less clothing needed the better. The healthy child will progress more quickly in his studies than the sickly one; his brain is better nourished, and will also be more controllable. There is little fear of children overdoing; when they become tired, they will rest without being told to do so. The effect of games is general; in any exercise given for more special effect, the more of abandon and the play spirit introduced, without detracting from the exercise, the greater the benefit derived from it.
Even for the child who is naturally strong and inherits a strong constitution, it is as well to give some guidance to his sports and means of physical development. As soon as school begins, the child often acquires bad habits of sitting and standing,—round shoulders, drooping head, or curvature of the spine. If these are not corrected, they develop into serious deformities, which may take years to overcome in later life. It is well to examine children occasionally at this age. Let them stand in an upright position, arms at sides and heels together. Notice if there is any difference in the height of the shoulders or hips. If there is, this should be attended to at once; as the sooner a curvature of the spine is attended to, the quicker and better the results. The thin, weakly child should have constant attention given to his physical development. With the right means taken, there is no reason why all weakness should not be overcome; the flat, contracted chest raised and broadened, the thin neck rounded, the drooping head held erect, and health, strength, and beauty of form be attained.—Cecil Buscall.
Sensitiveness or Selfishness?
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox
LONG ago some one suggested an important truth in remarking that sensitiveness was only one form of aggressive self-love—or words to that effect. Yet we often hear people refer to their own “sensitive natures” as if they were speaking of a great virtue.
There is, of course, a sensitiveness which means a refined appreciation of the beautiful things in life. To be stirred by the charms of nature, to respond to the vibrations of sunlight, and winds, and songs of birds, to feel the intensity of the full moon’s rays, to hear the wonderful message of the Silence, and to be conscious of the companionship of Space—this—this is to be “sensitive” in the best sense.
But the majority of people who use that word attach an entirely different meaning to it. The very weakest and silliest forms of self-conceit and selfishness are called “sensitiveness,” as well as the most wearing and ignoble phase of jealousy.
I have seen a young woman who was all life and mirth and sociability, transformed into a sullen, silent monument of “sensitiveness” by the advent of other young women into her circle—others who were kind, agreeable, and companionable, but for whom she felt a selfish and jealous resentment because they interfered with her supremacy.
She did not for one instant acknowledge the unpleasant truth to herself. She believed she was really giving the right of way to others, and proving her own “sensitiveness” by keeping in the background. On the contrary, she made herself painfully conspicuous by her altered demeanor and her silence, and destroyed the comfort of all who came near her.
I have seen a “sensitive” husband render home unbearable because his wife enjoyed the visit of a relative or a school-girl companion. And I have seen a wife equally “sensitive” because her husband was courteous to other women or to his own family.
No husband who is thoughtless or negligent of his wife’s feelings and happiness, and no tactless, indifferent wife, need quote these remarks to justify unkind conduct. There are men and women who forget that love between husband and wife should be like the flame in some holy temple, which is never allowed to go out. There are men who bestow all their courtesy on the outside world, and women who bestow all their affection on their relatives, leaving the husband lonely and neglected. It is natural that the partners of such men and women should be really “sensitive” to their sorrows; but the fact remains that most of the sensitiveness we hear about comes from self-love, selfishness, jealousy, and a tendency to petty tyranny.
It is amazing and amusing to think of the number of people in the world who are miracles of selfishness, yet who really believe themselves to possess most unselfish natures. Unselfishness does not consist in merely doing one’s duty in a material way toward a loved one; it consists in being reasonable, considerate, and unselfish as well.
I have seen a mother work like a servant for her children, and deny herself physical comforts to give them luxuries, yet at the same time mar their pleasure and humiliate their pride by her jealousy of their friends, and the continual obtrusiveness of what she called “sensitive nature.” This is not the unselfishness which makes home life beautiful. It is the sensitiveness that means self-love.—Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
Our Needs Commending Us
Dr. Barnardo, of London, the great philanthropist, tells of a little boy coming to him on a bitter cold day in the midst of winter. His clothes were ragged, and what he had were scanty at the best. He applied for admission to one of the “homes.” “Have you any friends to speak for you?” said Dr. Barnardo. “No, I ain’t got no friends,” said the child, “but if these ’ere clothes won’t speak for me, nothin’ else will.” It is in some such spirit that we should come before God. Our needs, our very sins, speak for us, or would speak if we were but conscious of them. When we see ourselves in all our abject want, and then remember who God is, we shall begin to realize how unnecessary is the supposed mediation of any priest. After all, it is our needs rather than our deeds, our wants rather than our virtues, that appeal to the heart of God and God in Christ. That is a true prayer which says, in the language of Charlotte Elliott’s hymn, “Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind.” —Selected.
Productions of Fiji
By J. E. Fulton
J. E. FULTON
ALL the ordinary productions of the tropical climes flourish in the Fiji Group. Among the larger trees are the well-known cocoanut, the breadfruit, and the ivi-nut tree; several varieties of palm; and a species of pine called dakua, much the same as the kauri of New Zealand. There are a number of varieties of bananas, several varieties of the breadfruit, and perhaps three or four of the cocoanut. The value of the annual product of these two trees is very great; they furnish the natives food, and from them is obtained materials for their habitations.
A FIJIAN FRUIT DEALER
Besides the ordinary preparations of the breadfruit, the natives scrape off the rind, pack it in earthen jars, or bury it in pits, where it ferments, and forms a mass similar in appearance to cheese. This is called mandrai, a word used to designate bread. Another kind of mandrai is made out of bananas in much the same manner. The natives say that this bread will keep for years. We would not doubt their word upon this point. Who ever heard of a bad egg spoiling?
Of edible roots there is a great number. The ones best known are the taro, yam, kawai, and sweet potato. There is a great abundance of wild roots in the mountains, which are used in times of scarcity. We have often heard the natives remark that the wild yams were planted by the Lord.
The climate is such that almost all kinds of vegetation common to the tropics are encouraged. Rains are common, especially along the mountain ranges, and these showers are driven by the winds over the valleys, upon which they discharge their refreshing tribute. Some of the mountains are four or five thousand feet high. Here the climate is much cooler. Some of the government officials have summer residences in the mountains. Unlike Hawaii, the very summits are covered with a dense growth of trees and shrubs. Numerous streams and rivulets have their rise in these mountains, and winding down through the ravines like threads of silver between the banks of foliage, finally mingle their crystal with the deep-green sea.
Once, these forests were filled with shouts from cruel warriors, and the air polluted with the smoke of human sacrifices. Now, many have turned from darkness to light, and instead of the cry of the savage is heard the song of praise to God.
An Interesting Baptism
By E. H. Gates
E. H. GATES
On my arrival at Singapore after my visit to Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, I received a letter from Brother J. N. Anderson, from Hongkong, China, telling me that a young man, a soldier in the British army who had learned the truth of Brother LaRue, had been transferred to Singapore, and asking me to look him up. I at once went to Fort Canning, and without difficulty found him. He had for some time desired baptism; but as Brother Anderson had not arrived from America at the time of his leaving Hongkong, he had not had the privilege.
Being a total stranger to me, I invited him to my boarding house, in order to become better acquainted with him. I soon became satisfied that he was an earnest Christian, and told him that I saw nothing in the way of his being buried with Christ.
March 9 Brother Munson, the young man, and myself took a carriage, and drove out into the country a few miles to a quiet place on the beach. After preparing to enter the water, we sat down under a cocoanut tree and read from the Bible, and talked with the brother of the important step he was taking, after which Elder Munson offered a fervent prayer for God’s blessing on what we were about to do. Then I led the brother down into the water, and buried him beneath the waves of the China Sea.
No person was present to witness the scene except one Malay, who happened to be near; but I am sure that God’s angels were near with their gentle presence. The blessing we received was worth more than all the wealth of Asia.
On one side of us, and at but a little distance, was the British fort where this brother had for several years trained for service as a soldier of the queen, while on the other side, a mile or two away, was the large United States man-of-war “Brooklyn,” which had just come into port. But we enjoyed the peace which comes from doing the will of God.
Cooranbong, Australia.
Educational Work in the German Union Conference
By Louis R. Conradi
L. R. CONRADI
For the development of a field nothing is of more importance than the education of faithful, energetic, devoted, and successful workers. To-day there is really a greater lack of true workers than there is of means. From all sides comes the Macedonian cry for laborers to come over and “help us,” and none can be provided. The better one understands the language and customs of the people among whom he labors, the more successful will be his ministry. All other things being equal, a native will have far greater advantages than a person from abroad could have. It requires months and even years for one of another nationality to become acquainted with the situation, the language, and the customs of the people; and, in general, our brethren from America are unable to get along as cheaply as could a native worker.
From the very beginning of our work in the German Union Conference, we felt the urgent necessity of training native talent. Sixteen years ago we had in this large field, with its nearly two hundred and sixty million inhabitants, only one ordained minister, and one or two other laborers. In the very beginning, Sister White urged us to do our utmost to educate workers here. We took hold of every available element, and tried to develop what we could get. Every year we had institutes of14from four to eight weeks’ duration, in connection with our efforts in the cities; and thus a number of workers were educated. But with the increase of our work, and the development of a larger constituency, there seemed to be a growing sentiment in favor of a school which should be permanently and favorably located. If the United States, with seventy-five millions, should have church schools in almost every church, and a dozen academies and colleges, certainly our needs in a field three times as large should be three times greater.
Our brethren in this field began to subscribe money for the enterprise, and two years and a half ago we opened our industrial school at Friedensau. In accordance with the instruction given through the spirit of prophecy, this school was established in the country, being located in the midst of a large forest, a mile from any other settlement. Six miles distant is Burg, a city of twenty-five thousand inhabitants, our nearest trading place. This town may be reached by a narrow-gauge road a mile and a half south of us, or by another narrow-gauge road three miles to the north. It is on the main line between Berlin and Magdeburg. Berlin, together with its suburbs, with a population of three million, is eighty miles north of Friedensau, while Magdeburg, a city of two hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants, is about sixteen miles south of us.
DWELLING FOR PHYSICIANS AND NURSES
The farm contains ninety acres of land, all of which is under cultivation. In addition to the original farm buildings, there was a modest flour mill, run by a small stream that generates from nine to twelve horse-power throughout the year. The farm, with all the livestock, was purchased for twelve thousand five hundred dollars, and we have since planted a large orchard and a garden, which supplies us with good food, and furnishes the proper kind of employment for our students.
As there was quite a demand for a health-food factory, the erection of that, at a cost of ten thousand dollars, was the first new enterprise we entered upon. This factory not only turns out good health foods, but it also furnishes work to a number of the students. We are glad to report that our health-food business is constantly growing. As evidence of this fact we may mention that the products of our factory are sent not simply to various parts of Germany, but to Russia, Denmark, Egypt, and even Jerusalem.
As we had only a common farmhouse for the accommodation of our students in the beginning, some of them had to sleep under the tiles of the roof, with the snow drifting through in the dead of winter. But they cheerfully endured this, as they were eager to obtain an education.
However, as soon as possible, we provided temporary barracks for them. Within a year the attendance increased to twenty-five. Later on, we plan to use these barracks for workshops. These quarters are very inconvenient, as there is simply room enough for the beds and trunks, while the students must hang up their clothes over the beds the best way they can. Such conditions are certainly not the most favorable for the education of workers who are to go forth as representatives of the third angel’s message.
The year following we erected our sanitarium at a cost of thirteen thousand dollars. It was ready for occupancy in July, 1901. This not only affords a place where the sick and suffering may receive scientific treatment through the employment of the simple agencies of nature, but it has also proved a valuable adjunct in the training of workers. Eighteen nurses and medical missionaries have availed themselves of the opportunities offered, and some of these have been able to receive state diplomas as regularly recognized nurses. Although the sanitarium is now but one year old, yet it is already exerting a growing and helpful influence in this field. At present the institution is full, every room being taken, and we believe that the outlook for the future is encouraging and hopeful.
The possession of Friedensau also made it possible for us to hold our first annual camp meeting in Friedensau, and all our brethren were enthusiastic over the results that accompanied the effort, and were highly pleased with the place itself. Crowds of people from the surrounding country visit the grounds, and the press favorably mentions what is taking place here, being especially careful to notice the improvements we are making from time to time.
Owing to the fact that we are not near any town or village, it has been found necessary to provide a dwelling for the accommodation of our teachers, and the physician, and the manager; so last winter a brick building was supplied at a cost of six thousand dollars. This brings in a good rental, and at the same time makes it possible for these brethren to be near the patients and students.
At the European General Conference held in Friedensau last year, all our brethren expressed themselves in favor of the erection of a much-needed dormitory for the students; and as the proceeds from “Christ’s Object Lessons” sold by the German people in America and Europe had been kindly voted to help us in our school enterprise, last winter the board decided to proceed with the erection of such a building in the early spring, which should accommodate from forty to fifty students, and cost about twelve thousand dollars. The illustration will give a good idea of the partially finished dormitory, which is so arranged that other additions can easily be made as soon as the means at our disposal warrant such a step. For the present, the commodious dining room will be used as a school and recitation room. The sanitarium, the dwelling, and the dormitory were absolutely needed, and they are occupied as rapidly as finished. Especially now, during the institute and conference, when there are so many people on the ground, are we pleased that the dormitory is under roof, and will furnish sleeping quarters for so large a number of our brethren. These plain yet neat and comfortable buildings, together with our present school building, our barracks, mill, farm, nut-food factory, etc., represent a total investment of fifty-five thousand dollars, nineteen thousand dollars of which has already been raised by our brethren in the German field. They have also subscribed one thousand dollars on the material fund for “Christ’s Object Lessons.”
STUDENTS' DORMITORY
Perhaps we might say a few words about that book and what we are attempting to do with it. Unfortunately,15the plates for the publication of the German edition in Europe, did not arrive until near Christmas time last winter, and so the best season for selling the work was in the past before we were able to get it into the hands of our people. Our brethren here do not have that liberty to sell such a book that our brethren in the United States have. Government licenses are needed, and to secure these requires an outlay of from three to fifteen dollars. A canvasser must be twenty-five years old, and be able to produce police certificates showing that his behavior for the last three or four years has been good. Our canvassers can freely sell “Christ’s Object Lessons,” and quite a number of them have taken the matter in hand, and are gladly and freely giving some of their time to the work; and our people in general have shown a willingness to do what they can. We are not discouraged on account of the difficulties in our way. Since January 1 two thousand copies have been disposed of, and we hope that during the camp meeting which we are just beginning, we can make a general rally for the fall campaign, and be able to dispose of ten thousand copies of the work in the near future. Our publishing house has decided to bear the expense that may be incurred in packing and shipping, so that whatever the book brings in, will flow into the school fund without any discount whatever.
In taking a general view of the work in this field up to the present time, it will be observed that our people in Germany have not only (with comparatively little help from without) planted these various institutions, but they have developed a large missionary field outside of the borders of Germany proper, in Holland, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the Balkan States. From all these countries they have received young people to educate, and have raised several thousand dollars toward an educational fund for the help of needy students; and at the present time we are planning to provide workers for the German and Dutch colonies in Africa, Asia, and Australasia, as well as to send thither some of our means. Many of our students are poor, but they are intelligent. Those coming from Russia must pay as much as ten dollars a year for their passports, in addition to heavy traveling expenses en route to the school. Sometimes we have been obliged not only to carry the student after his arrival, but also to pay his car fare to the school. The industrial plan has enabled us to give the student enough to do to at least keep him in school; but that plan had to be developed, and the proper facilities had to be supplied. At present there are forty students in attendance from all parts of the German Union Conference territory, and some have had to be refused because of lack of room.
Instead of helping these poorer countries, Germany might have used this money to build up its own institutions; but we believe that God blesses the liberal giver, and we have confidence that our American brethren, when they learn the true situation, will do their utmost to see that at least ten thousand copies of “Christ’s Object Lessons” in the German are sold in their territory, and thus ten thousand dollars be furnished the school here. We have counted on that from the very beginning, planning to raise another ten thousand dollars on this side of the water. Shall we be disappointed? The other day we were made glad by receiving the first installment of two thousand five hundred dollars from America, which, with the proceeds of the books sold here, will meet the first payment on the new building. But dare we hope for three other installments as large as this?
The money we desire is not to pay a debt, but it is to assist in providing suitable buildings and facilities for the school. We know of no school in America, or anywhere else, that was begun in any more humble quarters than was the Friedensau institution, and we question if any of our sister institutions has a greater field to provide for, or has turned out a larger proportion of workers than has Friedensau, even though its facilities be meager. We say this in the fear of God. Some of our leading brethren from America, who have visited the institution, and looked over its books, can substantiate the facts we have just presented. God has so blessed the work in the German field that within the past sixteen years four thousand souls have been gathered into the truth, while, to-day, about one thousand a year are being added to our membership. About sixty missionary workers have been developed here, besides two hundred canvassers and nearly a score of nurses.
Our workers in the German Union Conference greatly rejoiced when they learned that at the last General Conference it was decided by the brethren in America to come to the aid of the Friedensau school, by disposing of a number of “Christ’s Object Lessons,” and to-day they are ready to join hands in carrying forward this good work, and, amid greater difficulties and more sacrifices, sell an equal number of this book; and they are confident that their American brethren will not disappoint them. As the cry is, Forward and onward, they, too, will put their shoulder to the wheel, and the blessing of the Lord will be theirs as they give themselves more fully to service.
Hamburg, Germany.
Scripture Circulation by the British and Foreign Bible Society
If the one hundred and seventy-five million copies of the Scriptures published by the British and Foreign Bible Society during the last century were collected into one stupendous pyramid, these books would rise higher than the top of the cross of St. Paul’s Cathedral, with a base of one hundred feet in length and twenty-seven feet wide, around which fifty missionaries could scarcely clasp hands.
General Mission Notes
“THE one calling not overcrowded is the missionary’s.”
“INTEREST in missions is only interest in Christ. Let the man be afraid who feels no interest in missions, that his supposed interest in Christ is unreal and vain.”
THE American Tract Society, at its seventy-fifth annual meeting recently held, was able to report additions to its list of publications not only in English, but in German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, Dutch, Bohemian, Chinese, Dakota, Greek, and Zulu. It receives appeals for its literature from all parts of the world.
THE country of Ecuador, which has for decades been closed against Protestantism, is now a country where religious liberty is enjoyed. Notwithstanding the fact that the Catholic faith largely predominates, the colporteur and missionary work and the sale of Bibles are going forward. As yet no worker has gone into this field to carry the third angel’s message.
HINDU women are the most uncompromising enemies of the Christian missions. Though they are the slaves of their husbands in many things, yet they are the guardians of the household gods, and determine the religion of the family. Many a convert in India has been forced back to his old religion by his wife and his mother, his grandmother and his mother-in-law.
THE heathen religions teach that prayer, to be acceptable, must be accompanied with a gift. The Buddhist never goes to the temple without an offering, which is generally made before the prayers are repeated. If he receives that for which he asks, he makes a thank offering besides. How many thank offerings are we owing to-day? This is a lesson which the heathen may teach us.
IN India all burdens are carried on men’s heads and backs. At intervals along their roads large stones are set, called “rest stones,” for the sole purpose of furnishing a rest for these burdens. With this explanation, one may easily understand the beauty of a metaphor used recently by a native Hindu Christian who said, “Christ is all my hope, Christ is my rest stone.”
DIFFICULTIES continually occur in Moslem countries which hinder the circulation of the Bible. One of the Bible agents writes that the Turkish authorities in the Mosul district had seized his books and money, and that licenses for colporteurs were being withheld in and around Bagdad, also that at Bushire, on the Persian Gulf, the authorities had refused to allow cases of the Scriptures to enter Persia.
Come, Lord Jesus
By Josiah Conder
HASTEN, Lord, the promised hour;
Come in glory, come in power;
Still thy foes are unsubdued;
Nature sighs to be renewed.
Time has nearly reached its sum;
All things wait for thee to come;
Jesus, whom all worlds adore,
Come, and reign for evermore.
— Josiah Conder.
Book Work and School Growth in Argentina
By N. Z. Town
Argentina
BUENOS AYRES.— We are doing what we can to get the book work started. Most of our prospective canvassers are still in school, so we have only a small force at present, but we are making a beginning. I recently spent a week canvassing with a brother in the province of Santa Fé. Our route lay among Italian colonists who had settled in that region only last year, so they felt rather poor. But the Lord gave us a fair degree of success.
The outlook for the work in this field was never more encouraging, notwithstanding the failure of crops, and consequent hard times. Our school has the largest attendance it has ever had, and more are expected soon. There are at least eight young people in the school who are preparing to enter the work. Most of these, if not all, will canvass. The medical work is also being blessed of the Lord.
As we are now right in the time of wheat sowing, we have proposed to the brethren that they put in a crop for the Lord, to help in starting a medical institution in this field. About one hundred and thirty acres of wheat and flax have been promised toward this.
Dr. Habenicht has the Spanish language sufficiently to be able to take his examinations. N. Z. TOWN.
Indiana Meetings and Children's Confessions of Faith
By Wm. Covert
Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS.—It was my privilege, August 1 and 2, to hold three meetings in our church at Indianapolis. It seemed much like being at home again, to meet old friends in the place where I had labored so much in the past. I thought of many services when sinners had heeded the invitation to accept Jesus as their Saviour. Why not make another call? was the question in my mind on the Sabbath day. Perhaps there are persons here who wish to identify themselves with the blessed Son. Other hearts were filled with the same theme, and a mother came and told me that some children just entering their teens wished to confess Jesus that day. I had known these children when they were infants carried to that church in their baby carriages, and it did seem a lovely service for me to receive their confession in behalf of my Saviour on the Sabbath day.
The occasion afforded an excellent opportunity to speak about bringing up the children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. If the fathers and mothers in Israel would heed the admonition given to the ancient people concerning the children, most glorious things would soon be accomplished. On that occasion three children made a hearty and intelligent confession of Jesus as their personal Saviour, and arrangements were made for Elder Hankins to baptize them the next day. Also one mother, who had previously been baptized, came forward with her daughter, and united with the church.
In every place where the ministers work, it should be with them a leading part to teach sinners how to be saved. No other labor is so blessed as this, except it be that of feeding the lambs, and teaching them to drink at the living fountain. The fountain of life is free, and abundant in its flow. Prevail upon the thirsty souls to come and receive the satisfying portion. Whosoever will may come. Tell the people so; for they want to know it, and the Redeemer wants them to know it.
