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Review and Herald, Vol. 85, No. 50.

LIFE AND HEALTH

Review and Herald

Dec 10, 1908

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 10, 1908

LIFE AND HEALTH

By Editor

In 1885 appeared Volume I, No. 1, of the Pacific Health Journal,—a 24-page bi-monthly, edited by Elder J. H. Waggoner. Volumes II and III were edited by a committee, of which no member was a physician. In 1888 the journal was issued as a monthly, and a physician acted as assistant editor from June of that year, until January, 1891, when a regular physician became editor, which plan is still followed. The present editor, Dr. G. H. Heald, began to write for the magazine about 1895, and has edited it since 1899.

Policy

The general policy of the journal in the early days was similar to that at the present time, although the common practises of the time called for a more vigorous protest against the use of drugs than is at present necessary. Doctors have learned the immense value of hygienic methods, and intelligent hygienists have learned not to disdain all internal remedies.
The circulation of the Pacific Health Journal fluctuated from 1,500 to 2,000. With the exception of one extraordinarily large edition of 10,000, the circulation had not passed 3,500 when it was removed from California to Washington, in July, 1904, and the name changed to—

Life and Health

The general field of its usefulness was to become national instead of local, and its policy was broadened. As in the early days, it continued to advocate the value of hygienic measures in preserving health. An article on the hygienic treatment of consumption, written by a layman, in the very first number of the magazine, would be accepted in most of its details by any advanced physician to-day. However, doctors at that time would not have received it, but with the advance of science the medical treatment of many diseases has radically changed, much less dependence being placed on drugs, and more on hygienic measures.

How It Grew

Realizing the importance of getting these principles of healthful living before as many persons as possible, the members of our churches were encouraged to take a few copies for distribution. About this time some began to sell them instead of giving them away, and in the course of a year about one hundred persons were ordering from five to twenty-five copies of each issue.
A few had demonstrated their ability to sell sufficient copies to warrant their ordering in larger quantities, and accordingly the number of agents increased, as well as the size of their orders, until the average circulation in 1907 was about 18,000 copies.
The greatly increased circulation which was brought about in the manner described, justified an increase in the size, from thirty-two to forty-eight pages. More illustrations were added, with the result that the average circulation during the past year has more than doubled, despite the fact that it was necessary to increase the subscription price to seventy-five cents a year. The retail price was increased to ten cents a copy when sold by agents.

Plans for 1909

In order to make room for important matter which it was felt should be given a place in a magazine proving itself so practical for the common people, it has been decided to increase the size to sixty-four pages. This additional space will afford opportunity for more and better articles by special contributors, as well as larger and better illustrations.
While those features which have most fully supplied the needs of LIFE AND HEALTH readers will be strengthened, new features will be added whenever they give promise of increasing the usefulness of the magazine. No effort will be spared to make the magazine helpful.
No definite arrangements for the details of the yearly schedule are made, in order that, month by month, that which is most timely, most useful, most in accordance with the last word of science, may be given.

Terms

While the regular subscription price will be raised after Jan. 1, 1909, to $1 a year, the publishers will receive, until that date, subscriptions at the old rate, whether from new or old subscribers, or for one, two, or more years. Agents will be pleased to know that the price for a single copy remains 10 cents; 5 to 25 copies, 5 cents a copy; 25 to 500 copies, 4 cents. Special terms on larger quantities. Subscribe now, and save from 25 cents to $1, according to the length of the subscription.

Editorial

By Editor

An Indivisible Righteousness

RIGHTEOUSNESS is the gift of God through Christ. By the acceptance of this gift we become partakers of the divine nature, and the divine character may be revealed in our flesh.
The righteous character of God was interpreted to the world in his Son, and the experience of Christ in the flesh testifies to the meaning of God’s righteousness as wrought out in a perfect human life.
The gift of righteousness to cover our sins is a gift of character, and the substitution of righteousness in place of sin is an exchange of nature rather than an exchange of deeds. The righteousness of Christ is not divided into ten specific parts, corresponding to the ten commandments; and forgiveness for the violation of any specific commandment does not come by substituting Christ’s keeping of that special commandment in the place of our violation of it. The righteousness of Christ is an indivisible character. No matter in what specific act sin may be revealed, it demands the righteousness of Christ as a whole to make satisfaction for it, and to render us faultless in the sight of God.
Thus it is the being of Christ rather than the doing of Christ which constitutes his righteousness, and the provision of the gospel is that we should receive Christ himself as our righteousness rather than any mere act of his.
It follows, from these considerations, that there is no such thing as a Sabbath-keeping righteousness, or a non-stealing righteousness, or a non-killing righteousness, or a non-coveting righteousness, to be received in certain quantities corresponding to the extent to which certain commandments have been violated; and we are not justified after breaking the fourth commandment, by the mere act of Christ in keeping the fourth commandment, and so of any other commandment; but rather we are made righteous, no matter what the specific character of the sin to be repented of may be, by the acceptance of the righteousness of Christ,—an indivisible righteousness,—a righteousness which is not the sum of certain specific right acts, but which is the very essence of the divine character,—that character which the Son shared with the Father before the world was, and which he has brought within the reach of sinful men by himself being made in the likeness of sinful flesh.
A proper understanding of these principles will save us from some incorrect reasoning and some false teaching concerning that great central truth of the gospel, the gift of righteousness for the forgiveness of sins.

“A Correction” Explained

By Editor

A FEW weeks ago there was printed on the last page of this paper a paragraph which appeared in The Missionary Review of the World, and which we here republish:—
The Battle Creek Sanitarium, with which this college [the American Medical Missionary College] under Dr. George D. Dowkontt is connected, has severed its connection with the Seventh-day Adventists, and Dr. Kellogg is no longer a member of that body. Last year four students were graduated, but already this year the college has begun with forty students, including Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, and others.
The publication of this item of news caused some inquiries as to what action had been taken to bring about the change spoken of, and led the medical superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium to prepare what was termed “A Correction.” From this article we quote:—
1. No action whatever has been taken by the sanitarium or others referred to. No such action is necessary. The Battle Creek Sanitarium always has been a private corporation, unsectarian and undenominational. . . . The management of the Battle Creek Sanitarium remains the same as it has been during many years past, and there has been no change either in its methods, its principles, or its policies. There have been many misrepresentations and misunderstandings in relation to this institution and its work, especially as regards its denominational connection. The institution has never been under the control of any sectarian board, committee, or body. It has always been managed by a board of trustees or directors, who are annually elected by the members. The membership consists of those who have contributed one hundred dollars or more to the funds of the institution, and have signed the Articles of Incorporation, and the assignees of the stockholders of the original stock company, for which the original institution was founded.
2. The American Medical Missionary College remains under the same management under which it has been conducted since its opening.
In view of these assertions, it seems advisable to make a brief statement of some facts bearing upon this whole question.
In the month of May, 1861, there was organized in the city of Battle Creek, Mich., a publishing association, a stock company, with shares of the value of ten dollars each. The original incorporators were James White, John N. Loughborough, Uriah Smith, John P. Kellogg, Cyrenius Smith, George W. Amadon, and William Hall. The stockholders of this corporation were the absolute owners of the property, and in the meetings of the stockholders each one was entitled to as many votes as he held shares of stock. The affairs of this corporation were managed by a board of trustees, elected annually by the stockholders.
In the year 1867 there was also organized in Battle Creek a corporation with the name Health Reform Institute. This was also a stock corporation, with shares of the value of twenty-five dollars each. The names of the incorporators were John P. Kellogg, Calvin Green, Jotham M. Aldrich, Albert Kellogg, Horatio S. Lay, John F. Byington, Uriah Smith, Orin B. Jones, Noah N. Lunt, and John N. Loughborough. The stockholders of this organization were the absolute owners of this property, and in the meetings of the association each stockholder had as many votes as he held shares of the stock. The affairs of this corporation were managed by a board of trustees, elected annually by the stockholders.
In the year 1874 there was also organized in Battle Creek an educationalsociety. This was also a stock corporation, with shares of the value of ten dollars each. The incorporators were George I. Butler, Harmon Lindsay, Ira Abbey, Uriah Smith, E. B. Gaskill, Orin B. Jones, and Horatio Lindsay. The ownership of the property of this association was absolutely vested in the stockholders, and in the meetings of the organization each stockholder was entitled to as many votes as he held shares of stock. The affairs of this corporation were managed by a board of trustees, elected annually by the stockholders.
It will thus be seen that these three corporations were organized upon practically the same basis. They were all three stock corporations. In each case, the stockholders were the absolute owners of the property. Each institution was always “managed by a board of trustees or directors,” elected annually by the stockholders. In neither case was there any legal tie between the corporation and any denomination or religious body. An examination of the list of the incorporators of each institution, however, will show that the men named were all well-known Seventh-day Adventists, and that the names of the same persons are found in different lists of incorporators, and in at least one case the same name appears in all three lists.
These institutions were brought into existence in order that three great lines of work in connection with this advent movement might be carried on to better advantage; namely, the publishing work, the health work, and the educational work. This was well understood throughout the denomination, and in course of time these institutions came to be looked upon by the members of the denomination as an integral part of the denominational work. They took stock in these several corporations simply for the purpose of advancing the interests which they represented, and each one was looked upon as a legally organized agency for the purpose of disseminating the principles and truths which formed the denominational platform.
When the management of either of these institutions adopted policies and pursued methods which were out of harmony with the purpose for which it was established, and which tended to separate it in any way from the specific work of the denomination, messages of reproof were given through the spirit of prophecy, designed to point out the wrong course, and to direct the management in harmony with the spirit and work of the denomination. The propriety of giving such instruction to the board of managers of each of these institutions was not questioned, although each one was in law “a private corporation,” and there was at least an outward profession of receiving, and acting upon them.
This in itself is a clear indication of the fact that although each one of these institutions was in a legal sense “a private corporation,” yet the trustees recognized such a relation to this denomination and its work as made it consistent that they should manage the institutions in harmony with, and in the general interests of, the whole body.
Further proof of the acknowledgment of such a relation in the case of two of the three institutions is shown by the fact that in harmony with instruction through the spirit of prophecy, and with the advice of the representatives of the denomination, the stockholders of the Battle Creek College released their claims upon their property, and permitted its transfer to another corporation. In the same way, and for the same reason, the stockholders of the publishing association relinquished their claims, permitted the property to pass into the hands of another corporation, and consented to the removal of the whole publishing work to another location.
About six years ago, when differences in religious belief and disagreement as to organization and methods of management arose between the representatives of the general body and the leaders in the medical work, the managers of the health institution apparently disregarded the messages of reproof and instruction which were sent to them, and adopted a policy which placed them out of harmony with the general body. The differences became greater, and the separation wider, until some of the former leaders in the medical work were disfellowshipped by the local church to which they belonged. No changes, however, were made in the articles of association or by-laws of the Battle Creek Sanitarium on account of this action, and none were necessary. It was legally possible for the managers of either of these three institutions to adopt a line of policy entirely out of harmony with the interests of the denomination, as they were all three, in the eyes of the law, private corporations, under the complete control of the stockholders and their trustees. The only tie that held them to the denomination was the personal loyalty of the owners and directors to the work of the denomination, and their desire to carry out the plans of the original incorporators and supporters of the institution. When this tie was broken, there would be no need of any change in the legal organization to enable the management to conduct it upon a new basis.
It is therefore technically true that “the Battle Creek Sanitarium always has been a private corporation.” The same is also true concerning the other institutions, but their managers recognized the spirit and intent of those who organized the work, and were loyal to them. When some of them found themselves out of harmony with the denominational belief and the denominational work, they did not attempt to control these corporations, or to make them serve their private ends.
The editor of the REVIEW was a member of the board of trustees of the International Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association (a corporation since defunct), of which the present medical superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium was the chairman and the controlling spirit, when the first action was taken looking toward establishing a medical college, and he well knows, as does every other one connected with the movement, that the original purpose was to establish an institution in which Seventh-day Adventist young people should be trained as workers in connection with the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. At the same time, however, the organization was so managed that no change in the articles of incorporation was necessary when the whole policy was changed, and the college became an institution for the training of workers of all denominations, who will be expected in their work to oppose the teachings of Seventh-day Adventists.
It will be of interest to our people in this connection to learn that the corporations formed at Washington, D. C., since the transfer of the denominational headquarters from Battle Creek, are organized upon an entirely different basis. Learning wisdom from some experiences in Battle Creek, those who had charge of the work here avoided all possibility of having these new institutions diverted from their legitimate work by their being private corporations, and they were therefore organized with a strictly denominational constituency. There are no stockholders, and no individual has any property rights in any of these institutions. There is no voting by proxy, and therefore no possibility of accumulating votes in order to control the management, and all the institutions are bound to the denomination by definite legal ties. This plan of organization will forbid the repetition of some unpleasant experiences of the past.
It will be a natural and plausible reply to the facts set forth in this article to say that the large majority of the members of the present constituency of the Battle Creek Sanitarium are Seventh-day Adventists, and that if the present management of the institution is out of harmony with their purposes, it is in their power to elect a board of trustees who will carry out their wishes.
It is therefore proper to state further that the present medical superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium has declared in substance in a publicmeeting, in the hearing of the editor of the REVIEW, that he could at any time take absolute control of the sanitarium, without making any change in the present articles of incorporation; and, further, it is well known that the present management of the institution has created such a situation that the members of the denomination have no desire to assert their control, and assume the present obligations and responsibility of management. Now that the institution is practically, as well as legally, “a private corporation,” and conducted apart from the denomination, there is no desire to interfere with its control, the only purpose being to prevent the young people of this denomination from being influenced by it in such a way that they will either become indifferent to the specific work of this denomination or will be in active opposition to it.
We believe that this statement of facts will throw some light upon the real situation, and will enable all those who are interested in the matter to understand clearly to what extent “A Correction” is a correct representation of the facts, and how it tells only one-half the truth, and is therefore misleading.

The Facts Are the Appeal

By William Ambrose Spicer

On Sabbath, December 19, the annual offering for missions will be taken. No mere collection will meet the situation that presses upon this people.
The facts are the appeal. They call in trumpet tone for an earnest, prayerful dedication of means to the missionary cause. The fields look to this offering as the signal for the order of battle during the next year. Here are a few of the messages that come to us, taken from letters lying this morning on the table of the Mission Board room:—
From Peru, South America: “The Lord is opening doors for us. We do not have to look for an interest. There are more calls for help than we can even hope to fill. The thing that perplexes us most is that our health and strength are not sufficient for that which ought to be done.”—Elder F. L. Perry.
From the South American Union: “We are making so many calls that I suppose you hardly know what to do, and what is the first thing to be done. I see places for so many faithful men and women in these fields that are so important and in such urgent need of being filled, that my heart rather despairs of ever seeing the help supplied, especially when our calls can be responded to only so very slowly. Yet the Lord has the men, and they will come sometime.”—Elder J. W. Westphal.
From the Pemba Mission, Africa, above the Zambesia: “You know I must have help. Do not wait until after the General Conference. I beg you, I entreat you, do not do that. Send them along at once, at once, at once. It is true they could not come up here till next April, but have them on this side of the Atlantic, studying the language and people, and getting acclimated.”—Elder W. H. Anderson.
So the calls come in. There is not a great field but must needs talk of the crying necessity for more help. The annual offering is the time when the whole people together respond to the calls. Workers must go, and money must be found to send them. It is a matter of the gravest concern to every believer in this message that we shall plan and pray to secure the largest offering ever made. W. A. S.

The Rise and Fall of Religious Liberty in America

By C. M. S.

The “Christian Nation” Decision

The great growth in power and influence of that element which is seeking to turn this nation back to religious tyranny was pointed out last week. It was shown that from one organization in 1864, working to that end, the number had grown to four in 1888. Besides these there are numerous subsidiary organizations working toward the accomplishment of the same purpose. It is but natural to suppose that with this great growth in numbers, in power, and in influence, we should begin to see the effects of the national reform propaganda upon the legislation of the country, and upon the legislators themselves in their attitude toward church-and-state problems. And we do see that effect at the present time. Not only do we see it in legislation and legislators, but we see it in the interpretations of law, both State and national.
If the acquisition of numbers and influence has been instrumental in accomplishing much, the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the case of “The Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of the Church of the Holy Trinity vs. the United States,” has opened the door for the accomplishment of much more. The decision was rendered Feb. 29, 1892, and was prepared and read by Mr. Justice Brewer. In the argument giving the reason for the decision which was to follow, Justice Brewer declared that “this is a Christian nation,” basing that dictum largely upon the declared purposes of those who sent out the exploring and colonizing expeditions, and upon certain expressions in the constitutions of the several States of the United States. It will not be out of harmony with the plan of these articles to consider, briefly, Justice Brewer’s reasons for such a pronouncement concerning this country.
In showing that it was not the intent of the lawmakers to prohibit an American church from contracting with a foreign minister for his services as pastor, the justice says:—
This is a religious people. This is historically true. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour there is a single voice making this affirmation.
For this to be true, even in name only, it would be necessary that every inhabitant of the country be at least a professed Christian; but not only is this not the case, but not even a majority of the people make such profession. That is not gold which is half copper or three-fourths silver; neither is that nation Christian or religious which is half outside the pale of the organized church, or three-fourths infidel at heart. And even if Justice Brewer’s statement, as quoted above, were strictly true, so long as this nation remains true to the principles upon which it was founded, this still would not be a Christian nation; for the separation of church and state makes it impossible that the nation should be designated by the name of any religion. And this does not preclude the idea, either, of Christianity being the dominant faith in the country, at the same time, even to the extent that every heart has been converted to God, and believed in and accepted Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of the race. It could be a nation of Christians, and yet not be a Christian nation. The Christian nation must have Christ as its king in temporal or civil affairs as well as in “spiritual concernments;” and our Lord has plainly declared, “My kingdom is not of this world.” The Christian nation is Christ’s nation, and that will not come until after he has broken all others “with a rod of iron,” scattered their fragments to the four winds, and burned the residue in the purifying fires of the last great day.
Because there was a religious idea in the minds of those who sent out exploring parties and companies of immigrants, we are not forced to the conclusion that the new nation must be a Christian nation, any more than we are compelled to conclude that because those who financed the first expedition were monarchs, and thus imbued with the monarchical idea, the nation to be brought forth upon this continent must be a monarchy. If this nation must be a Christian nation because of the religious idea in the minds of those who sent out the exploring and colonizing expeditions, we have a right to ask, “Of what brand of Christianity shall it be?” Ferdinand and Isabella, who commissioned Columbus, and who “hoped that by God’s assistance some of the continents and islands in the ocean will be discovered,” were ardent Catholics. Episcopal Elizabeth, “by the grace of God, of England, Fraunce, and Ireland, queene, defender of the faith,” particularly specified in hergrant to Sir Walter Raleigh that in making laws for the colony “they be not against the true Christian faith nowe professed in the Church of England.”
As it was impossible that both purposes should be carried out in the making of this nation,—that is, that it should be both Roman Catholic and Episcopal at the same time,—the argument of Justice Brewer falls by its own weight. If the purpose of European monarchs is to be woven into great governing facts for the present time, then this is not a republic, but a monarchy, and is still ruled by despots across the sea, for all that was in their purpose.
In referring to the same grant made to Sir Walter Raleigh, Justice Brewer says:—
In language more or less emphatic, is the establishment of the Christian religion declared to be one of the purposes of the grant.
But what has this nation to do with the “establishment of the Christian religion,” especially since the adoption of the First Amendment to the Constitution? That amendment reads:—
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
If the religious purpose of European sovereigns concerning America makes this a Christian nation, then their purpose to establish the Christian religion here does so establish that religion as the religion of this nation. But neither is true. The religious purpose of a dead European sovereign is far from sufficient to make this a Christian nation, and the national Constitution specifically prohibits the enactment of any federal statute establishing any religion. It is the Constitution of the country, and not the obsolete purpose of a foreign ruler, that determines the character of the nation. While a large portion of the people are religiously inclined, and while the majority have some sort of respect for religion in the abstract, it is not true that the people as a people are religious, or that the nation as a nation is Christian. The prohibition against the establishment of any religion by law in this country precludes the possibility of correctly designating this nation as a Christian nation.
In further effort to prove this a Christian nation, Justice Brewer refers to the religious-test oath of Delaware found in the constitution of 1776, Article 22:—
I, A. B., do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed forevermore; and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.
Under that constitution no citizen, however well qualified, could hold “any office or place of trust” unless he would take the above oath; and Justice Brewer uses that as one of the proofs that this is a Christian nation. It would have been but just to the State of Delaware for Justice Brewer to have stated that in her constitution of 1792 Delaware repudiated that provision in these words:
No religious test shall be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, under this State.—Constitution of 1792, Article I, Section 2.
Delaware repeats the repudiation of that principle in her constitution of 1831, Article I, Section 2. If her organic utterance of 1776 helped to make this a Christian nation, what shall be said of her organic utterances of 1792 and 1831? Whatever the former proved, the latter disproved. It is therefore a fact, which must be patent to all, that neither the organic utterances of individual States nor the declared purpose of foreign sovereigns have anything to do in determining the character of the nation as it exists to-day. The nation must be judged by its own organic utterances; and these are to the effect that church and state are separate, religious tests abolished, no religion established, and the nation not in any sense “founded on the Christian religion.” Nevertheless Justice Brewer declared:—
These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations in the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.
The effect of this declaration (concurred in by the other members of the Supreme court by virtue of their concurrence in the decision to which it led up) was immediately apparent. Within two months from the date of that Supreme Court decision, the president of the American Sabbath Union appeared before committees of the Senate and the House, and demanded the closing of the Columbian Exposition on Sunday “because this is a Christian nation,” quoting the argument of Justice Brewer to prove his contention, and citing his dictum upon that point to show the necessity of closing the exposition gates on Sunday. Thus the first use to which that dictum was put was to commit the nation to a course of religious legislation subversive of the fundamental principles of the government.
The influence of this dictum, and the result of the advantage taken of it by ecclesiastical politicians, will be considered in another article. C. M. S.

The Week of Prayer

By Arthur G. Daniells

The week of prayer for 1908 is upon us. Never have we had greater reason for devoting a week to thanksgiving and supplication to our Father in heaven than at this time. The Lord has been very gracious to his people during the year just closing.
The year 1908 will go into history as a panic year in America, and a revolutionary year in many parts of the world. But amid political and commercial upheavals, God’s people and cause have enjoyed a large measure of blessing and prosperity. The statistical reports now coming in from all parts of our world-wide field show the greatest progress in all features of our work that has been recorded for years.
The manifestation of such love and care and power should lead every one connected with the cause of the third angel’s message to take an active part in this week of praise and prayer. While we should not forget the goodness of the Lord during the past year, we should send up earnest, united prayer for the continuance of these blessings. From a human view-point, the outlook is alarming. Complications of a most serious character are taking place in all parts of the world. The Lord alone can control affairs so that his cause can prosper. But we know from his Word, and from what we have witnessed, that he can do this. And earnest, united, unceasing prayer should be made by God’s people for the triumph of his cause.
With such praying there should be a full consecration of all we are and all we have to him for service. The cause of God must have the time, the service, and the means of his people. It would be folly to pray for the advancement of this work, and refuse to give it our service and our means. All should be laid upon the altar for the Lord to use as he sees best. With such a consecration, we may confidently look for great progress.
This week of prayer should be accompanied by a large offering. One of the greatest, most pressing needs of the cause at this hour is more money. The doors to all lands are open to us. A few of our consecrated workers have entered them. They have found such great fields for service that they are sending back to the home land the most pressing appeals for more laborers. Many consecrated workers stand ready to go to their aid, but the money is lacking to take them. The gap between the small band of overworked missionaries in the field and the large band of volunteers ready to go to their aid is a pitiful sight. It should cease to exist. The strong, efficient workers ready to go should not be held back longer.
But that gap can not be closed without funds. One object of the Thanksgiving-Ingathering has been to help close this gap. We praise God for the response that is being made to this call. And now our own people should come forward with the largest week-of-prayer offering we have ever made. Were we to let this offering drop, the Ingathering from Thanksgiving week would not be to the cause what we have planned. We appeal to our people not to makesuch a serious and grievous mistake as to let the week-of-prayer offering fail. Let ministers and church officers give this due attention. Let the brethren and sisters who have been prospered step to the front and lift. It would be a defenseless mistake for our people to fail to join in swelling the donations to missions for 1908 to the highest point ever reached in the history of our cause.
Let us all take this to heart, and pray and give during this week of prayer as we have never done before.
A. G. DANIELLS.

Seeking to Conquer Death

AMONG the latest manifestations of the desire to secure eternal life apart from faith in Christ is the organization of a “Live Forever Club.” The founder of this movement explains it thus:—
We do not offer any “isms,” creeds, or beliefs, unless our belief in nature herself can be classed as an “ism” or a belief. We, of course, find the basic principle of our idea in the proposition that mind controls matter. From this point we work forward along purely practical lines. We do not banish drugs, medicine, nor the surgeon’s knife as a tenet of our plan. Some of us—in fact, most of us—believe these unnecessary, but we accord absolute individuality of action, freedom of idea and plan, to our members. We believe that a healthy mind, directed along healthy channels, leads to a healthy body. Death, old age, disease, are all the concomitants of unhealthful conditions. We believe in the molecular theory in its fullest sense, and we believe that the mind is the creator of the molecules of the body. If the mind—the brain—be healthy, it will create healthy molecules, and healthy molecules mean healthy tissues, vigorous blood, and no wasting of vitality.
This teaching, of course, repudiates the whole experience of sin and the fall, and death as a result of sin, and is self-salvation in its baldest form.
Continue reading: Another Dred-Scott Decision