p. 15 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 34, No. 18. (4/29/1908)

Mutual Helpfulness in the Home

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

THERE are many examples of mutual helpfulness given us in the Bible. David must have been a very willing and helpful lad. What makes me think so? Because he faithfully kept his father's sheep. How many years this fell to the lot of the young man, we do not know; but we have never read of his undertaking to shirk the responsibility onto his older brothers; neither is anything said in the sacred Record about his being fretful, unhappy, or discontented. I wonder how long it would be before a youth of to-day would complain loudly and call for help, after having been left alone to the mercy of a lion and a bear.

But all this helpful but tedious drudgery, instead of spoiling the temper of the sweet singer of Israel, only fitted him the better to bear the grave responsibilities which came to him later. He was not to go unrewarded. The Lord saw in him the material for a wise and judicious ruler for His people.

Whenever we feel like bemoaning our lot, whenever we feel that we are fitted for great responsibilities and are not half appreciated, let us remember for our encouragement the fact that the inspired king of Israel began life as a humble shepherd, and that his brethren, over whom he was one day to rule, scorned and ill-treated him.

Joseph was another of those helpful characters. But O how his cruel brothers hated the lad! Still, tho he must have known of their ill feeling and jealousy, he did not offer a word of complaint when his father unthinkingly and unsuspectingly sent him on that never-to-be-forgotten errand. But, from being a willing and helpful child, he grew to be the trustworthy business manager of one of the great men of Egypt, and, finally, prime minister of the kingdom.

But, if we would have a more illustrious example still, we need only to visit in imagination the humble workshop of the Carpenter of Nazareth, who, even while the wonderful mystery of His divine mission was being constantly unfolded to Him in all its completeness and perfect beauty, went down with His parents to Nazareth, and was subject to them!

All these beautiful lives afford examples of helpfulness at home, which will be well for us as Christians to study and imitate.

But not only should we show ourselves helpful at home, but, unless we are utterly selfish, we should allow our generosity and kindly helpfulness to spread out and embrace others. The affairs of our own family should not prevent us from expressing our kindly sympathy toward others who may be in distress. It is so natural for us to place ourselves and our own selfish interests first. It is only occasionally that we find one so Christlike as to forget his own miseries while seeking to mitigate those of others.

"Well," protests Mrs. Lovepraise, "I don't propose to leave my own business at home, where my efforts are appreciated, to go out to minister to those who will not even thank one, if you wait on them all day."

But thank God, there are a few bright and shining lights in this selfish world, who so far imitate the example of their Master as never to ask whether those who need their help can be guaranteed to say "Thank you" for the favor done. When do we ever read of the Master's inquiring if a man or woman was "worthy," before He healed the sufferer? I wonder if every man, woman, and child in all those vast, hungry multitudes whom His bounty fed, were "worthy poor." Only once did He ask, mournfully, "Were there not ten healed? but where are the nine?" I tell you, if we all wait to find truly grateful objects of charity, we shall find them in no greater proportion than the Master did—one in ten.

The other day, a friend related to me a touching incident: A certain woman who had been a great sinner, profligate, and unfaithful to her marriage vow, was taken with a grievous malady, and came home to die. The wonderful kindness of her husband, whose heart and home opened to receive his erring wife, was only met with silence and bitter hatred. At last a Christian woman heard of the case, and determined to visit her. She came every day and faithfully ministered to her needs.

"Well," you say, "at least she must have shown her gratitude to this kind stranger." But she did not; and it was only because the true Christ-spirit was in the heart of this worthy woman that she still continued her kindly ministrations.

But at last there came a change. One morning as the poor invalid was receiving some benefit at the hands of her kind benefactress, she suddenly threw her arms around her neck, and burst into tears. "How can you be so kind to me," she sobbed, "when I have been so ungrateful and wicked? I have hated everybody," she continued, "because it seemed to me that no one really cared for me. But it must be God loves me, or you could not be so kind; for you are His child!"

The poor woman died shortly afterward, happy in the peace of forgiveness.

Such an experience as this is worth everything. But we are liable to become so absorbed in our own work and our own cares that we forget to be helpful to others. Of course we can not all do the same thing. We can not all be nurses or doctors. We are not all so situated that we can do for others what we would be glad to do. But we can all of us hold ourselves ready to do a kind deed and to speak a kind word to those in need of our love and sympathy. This we can do unselfishly and with no thought of reward or thanks, and remember when tempted to refuse our aid to those in need, simply because of their ingratitude, that "even Christ pleased not Himself."

Good Words for the Mother.

By Editor

PERHAPS we ought to say good words for the good mother; but the following utterances from President Roosevelt at the recent Mothers' Congress in Washington, D. C., are worthy of consideration by both men and women:

“The mother is the one supreme asset of national life; she is more important by far than the successful statesman or business man or artist or scientist.

“I abhor and condemn the man who is brutal, thoughtless, careless, selfish, with women, and especially with the women of his own household. The birth pangs make all men the debtors of all women. The man is a poor creature who does not realize the infinite difficulty of the woman's task, who does not realize what is done by her who bears and rears the children; she who can not even be sure, until the children are well-grown, that any night will come which she can have entirely to herself to sleep in.

“I abhor and condemn the man who fails to recognize all his obligations to the woman who does her duty. But the woman who shirks her duty as a wife and mother is just

as heartily to be condemned. We despise her as we despise and condemn the soldier who flinches in battle.”

Be Careful of Your Criticisms.

A WRITER says, "A few years ago I heard a sermon from a young man just beginning to preach. Had it been delivered in a classroom for criticism, it would have been severely handled. But it was a Gospel sermon, having the throb of real life in it; and it touched, among others, the heart of a bright girl of fifteen. After service I met her parents at the church door, and walked home with the three members of the family. We had gone only a little way, when the father remarked that he thought that young fellow should go back to the farm, if he could not preach better than that. Thereupon the daughter felt ashamed at being wrought up by such an inferior discourse and so banished the seriousness from her mind. She is now about twenty, fond of trashy novels and worldly amusements. Had that father, instead of looking at the sermon from the standpoint of a critic, judged of it from the standpoint of his daughter's need of Christ, and followed her serious impressions with serious words and importunate prayers of his own, he might to-day have been able to look back over six years spent by her in loving and serving the Lord."—Selected.

Testimonies for the Church. By Mrs. E. G. White. Bound in eight volumes, of from 300 to 770 pages each, each volume containing a complete index of subjects. Volume 1 contains a brief sketch of the early life and Christian experience of the writer of the Testimonies, together with Testimonies Nos. 1 to 14. Volume 2 contains Testimonies Nos. 15 to 20. Volume 3 contains Testimonies Nos. 21 to 25. Volume 4 contains Testimonies Nos. 26 to 30. Volume 5 contains Testimonies Nos. 31 to 33. Volume 6 contains Testimony No. 34. Volume 7 contains Testimony No. 35, price, 75 cents. Volume 8 contains Testimony No. 36, price, 75 cents. Bound in cloth, per volume, $1.00; Full set, eight volumes, cloth, $7.50. Volumes 1 to 6 are obtainable in limp leather, with round corners, per volume, $1.50. Volumes 7 and 8 are also bound in limp leather, price each, $1.25.

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Education.—The object of true education and how it may be realized by the youth, the parent, the teacher, the writer, the tiller of the soil, and the business man, is the great theme of this book.

Its first chapter is devoted to First Principles; following that are illustrations taken from the history of Israel. Master Teacher, Nature Teaching, the Bible as an Educator, Physical Culture, Character Building, the Under Teacher, and the Higher Course, are titles of other chapters. 321 pages. Cloth, $1.25. Address this office.

Garden Neighbors, My

By L. A. Reed

Garden Neighbors, My.—By L. A. Reed. A new nature-study book just fresh from the press. All will be interested in the true story of the sparrows who learned to imitate the bluebirds, of the cat that went wild, of the cowbird that imposed on a sparrow, and all the others in this instructive and entertaining book. It contains 256 pages with over fifty illustrations, several of them colored. Bound in cloth, $1.00. Address this office.

Uncle Ben's Cobblestones.

By Editor

Familiar talks with boys and girls about the common articles of everyday use, such as air, water, sunshine, fire, smoke, glass, coal, salt, paper, matches, etc.

Uncle Ben has a very pleasing way of telling about the origin and use of these various things. There is a ray of sunshine streaming throuout the whole book, and yet it does not touch the fickle so prevalent in books for children.

The purpose of the book, aside from the useful information given, seems to be soul-culture, for we observe on every page a moral fragrance that will impress young minds in the right way. Uncle Ben tells about more than one hundred different things in all, and intersperses with happy thoughts that bring good cheer to young and old. 221 pages, price, $1.00. Address this office.

True Education Reader Series.

This fine series of School Readers now covers the work of primary and intermediate schools in grades one to seven inclusive. No reasonable expense has been spared in order to make these readers in every way superior to the best text-books heretofore obtainable. A competent corps of educators has been working on this series for several years and while, Books Four and Six are still in preparation, the work in corresponding grades is easily covered by the other numbers. The complete series comprises the following:

Book One, 204 pages, 14-point type, profusely illustrated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ .75 Book Two, 256 pages, 14-point type, many illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Book Three, 304 pages, 12-point type, fully illustrated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 Book Four, in preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Book Five, 353 pages, 10- and 12-point type, illustrated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.00 Book Six, in preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Book Seven, 392 pages, 10-point type, illustrated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.00

These readers are of uniform size, printed on fine, smooth paper, and illustrated by a large number of expensive engravings prepared especially for these books. All are substantially bound in beautiful sage-green cloth with green ink stamp. (Books One and Two, red and green.)

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Smith’s Commentary on Daniel and Revelation

By Uriah Smith

Daniel and the Revelation.—Revised edition.

By U. Smith. A history of the rise and fall of nations, being an exposition, verse by verse, of the important prophecies of Daniel and John, comparing Scripture predictions with historical facts. It follows in the track of no other commentary; but, guided by the obvious rule that the Bible should be its own interpreter, it aims to arrive at the exact meaning of the sacred writers in harmony with the great plan of redemption as presented throut the Scriptures. The author has devoted over thirty years to the study of the Bible, and believes that the prophecies of Daniel and John were written for our admonition, and that the subjects they unfold are the coming themes for the religious world, destined to engage the attention of all thoughtful minds. Over 900 pages, with illustrations, beautifully bound. Cloth, marbled edges, $2.75. Address this office.

The LORD'S DAY

A Brief but Comprehensive Treatise covering the History and Doctrine of the Sabbath and Sunday Controversy from Creation to the Present. Truth supported by Scripture, Historical fact, and Argument. A Multum in Parvo on the Sabbath Question. Illustrated; 128 pp; price, 10 cents post-paid.

The LORD'S DAY

The Test of the Ages

PACIFIC PRESS Mountain View, Cal.

DATE OF EXPIRATION.

By Editor

THE Signs wrapper bears date of last issue due on your subscription. Unless renewed in advance, paper stops with expiration date.

If herewith is an order-blank, you will know you have overlooked sending renewal. You will not wish to miss a single issue. Back numbers often can not be furnished.

Bible-Readings for the Home Circle.

By Editor

This book comprises 162 readings for public and private study, and answers nearly 3,000 questions on religious topics—practical, historical, and prophetical. It contains 600 octavo pages, printed on a superior quality of tinted paper, embellished with 57 full-page engravings and 170 ornamental headings, together with 10 full-page Scriptural and prophetic diagrams, 3 colored plates, and other attractive features. The bindings are elegant and substantial, the styles and prices being as follows: Cloth, gilt side title, marbled edges, $2.75; library, marbled edges, $3.75; full leather, marbled edges, $4.75. Cheap edition, 400 pages, solid type, no illustrations or colored plates, no poetry, thin paper, brown cloth, plain edges, $1.25. Address this office.

Church-School Manual for Parents and Teachers.

By Editor

THIS book is now ready. It furnishes ample instruction from the Spirit of Prophecy and from our leading educators concerning the principles of Christian education. The proceedings of the General Conference Educational Convention, held at College View, Neb., June 29 to July 10, 1906,—probably the most important educational meeting in the history of our denomination,—are outlined quite fully. The "Manual" gives exhaustive outlines of courses of study, including not only the common branches, but manual training as well, with suggestions on materials and where to procure them; also chapters on Drills, Daily Program, Text-Books, School Organization and Management. The paragraphs on discipline and the chapter on the Home School alone are well worth the price of the book to parents of children under school age.

Contains about 400 pages, well bound in cloth. Price, 50 cents, post-paid. Address your tract society, or the Pacific Press Publishing Co., Mountain View, Cal.

S. S. Supplies

By Editor

S. S. Supplies.—We still have a good supply of S. S. Record books at 35 cents, for schools of 20 to 90 members; class records at 10 cents; S. S. Quarterlies at five cents each. If you need a Bible, send for our "Select List of Bibles." Address, Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal.

Beautiful Imported Bible Mottoes

All have flowers with silver letters and a cord to hang them upon the wall. Special for 60 days. All sent by mail as follows: 5 for 50 cents; 12, $1.00; 25, $1.75; 50, $3.00; 100, $5.00. More you buy, the less they are. Address,

HAMPTON ART COMPANY Lock Box 257                                 Hampton, Iowa

Cold

Cold.—By G. H. Heald, M.D. A treatise on the causes, prevention, and cure of colds. White leatherette binding. 58 pages, 25c.

Address this office.

Rumselling and Men.

By Editor

THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES has naught against a single man who is selling alcoholic beverages. Let that be understood once for all. They are men,—sinners like all the rest of us by nature,—but men redeemed by the blood of Christ, and to whom as to all others is offered the free gift of salvation to eternal life. We would not discriminate between the “wo” which God pronounces upon the man who gives his neighbor drink, and the “wo” against those who “join house to house, that lay field to field,” or the “wo” uttered by the purest lips earth ever knew against the scribes and pharisees and hypocrites, who neither enter the kingdom of heaven, nor suffer others to enter; who tithe mint and anise and cummin, but leave undone judgment and mercy and faith and the love of God; who cleanse the outside of the cup and the platter, and leave the inside full of all uncleanness; who like whited sepulchers appear beautiful outwardly, but are within full of all uncleanness. The meaning and relative weight of each “wo” we will leave to God. We would that rumseller and hypocrite should turn to God with all the heart. But—and here we stand forever—we

are opposed to rum and its curse. We wish that its manufacture and sale were forever prohibited. We believe it would be better for all people, the rumseller included. He would find some other business which paid better, and gave more rest of conscience. But we believe that all laws prohibiting the liquor traffic should be just laws. Of this we shall have more to say hereafter.

A Mixture of Good and Evil.

It has been the aim of the devil throughout the ages to vitiate the good by mixing it with evil; to make men see that they could get the good only by connecting with it the evil; or to induce another class to compromise in some respects that they might win in others. But inevitably the evil vitiates the good. It does not take much arsenic to poison a great deal of milk. A little carbonic acid gas will vitiate the atmosphere of a large room, and render it unfit for breathing. The prohibition of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors, if rightly and justly effected, is ever an untold blessing. But some of the prohibitionists are connecting with the movement religious legislation, one of the greatest evils this world has ever known. All legislation in behalf of Sunday is evil, however honest are the men behind it, and the devil would be delighted to see it connected with all beneficial and proper legislation.

Contained in This Issue.

By Editor

| | Page |

| :--- | :--- |

| With Our Inquirers | | |

| Questions Nos. 2481 to 2488 | 2 |

| General | | |

| Christ the Teacher and Healer | 3 |

| A Root of Evil | 4 |

| The Law before Sinai | 4 |

| Were the Christians of Past Centuries Sealed without the Sabbath? | 5 |

| That They May Be One in Us | 6 |

| The Grand, Divine, Eternal Judgment | 7 |

| The Dead | 7 |

| Editorial | | |

| How Does Christianity Affect You? | 8 |

| Studies in Romans | 8 |

| Strike! Fellow Workers, Strike! | 9 |

| Our Bible Band | 9 |

| The Outlook | | |

| Making Men Very Cheap | 10 |

| Prohibition and Sunday Laws | 10 |

| Graft Investigations | 11 |

| Missions | | |

| Experiences in China | 12 |

| The Home | | |

| Mutual Helpfulness in the Home | 14 |

| Good Words for the Mother | 14 |

| Be Careful of Your Criticisms | 15 |

| Poetry | | |

| Springtime | 1 |

| Christ's Universal Reign | 4 |

| Greater Things | 5 |

| He Knows Best | 7 |

| Comfort and Rest | 14 |

God’s Law and Civil Enactments

If ministers of Jesus Christ would preach the binding claims of God's law, the certainty of God's judgment, there would be less need of their lobbying in state legislatures for civil enactments.

Moral Reform Begins Within

All true moral reform must begin in the heart and mind. It can not be legislated into men or nations, nor can law help one whit in effecting such reform. It is a hard lesson for politicians to learn.

Brazil’s Battleships Offered for Sale

Brazil is having two powerful battle-ships built at the present time in Great Britain. But since starting on their construction, Brazil has come to realize that the building of the ships is only the commencement of the expense. The money required to keep them in commission will be such a heavy drain that the vessels are being offered for sale. The British Admiralty is considering the purchasing of them so that they may not fall into the hands of any other naval power.

Our "Naval" Number.

By Editor

The SIGNS OF THE TIMES of May 13 is to be a "Naval" number with illuminated cover.

On the first page there will be a portrait of Rear-Admiral Evans, commander of the fleet, in full dress uniform, surrounded by an emblematical border.

On the last page of the cover there will be a large half-tone engraving of the entire battle-ship fleet, with the flag-ship "Connecticut" in the center.

The cover will be printed in marine-green ink, and will present a very attractive appearance.

On the first page of the paper, inside the cover, there will be a cartoon by Mr. Maybell, our New York artist, entitled

"CONSECRATED SERVICE."

Here is presented a large figure of a soldier leaving behind the attractions of the world and pressing on to victory.

The whole paper—sixteen pages and cover—will be filled with live articles on the great themes of the Gospel, written with a view not only to interest the reader, but to save souls. Here are some of the subjects:

GOD'S CALL TO SERVICE.

THE HEAVENLY INVITATION.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

THE LAW OF GOD.

BIBLE-READING ON THE REWARD OF THE FAITHFUL.

THE OUTLOOK DEPARTMENT, specially illustrated. Here we will give the statistics of the navies of the world, their wonderful growth within the last few years, what all this means, etc.

Many will purchase this number just for the statistics it contains; others, for its beautiful engravings; others still for its soul-stirring truths for this time by which it is hoped that souls may be won to Christ.

Altogether it will be one of the most interesting, attractive, and important numbers we have ever issued.

PRICE OF THIS "NAVAL" NUMBER Single copies .....................10 cents 25 to 100 copies ................3 cents 100 copies and over ..........2½ cents

Five or more copies mailed direct from this office to individual names and addresses furnished, four cents per copy.

Regular subscription price, one year, 52 numbers, $1.50.

Address SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Mountain View, Cal.

Neither Knowledge nor History.

Two things of chief value in a cyclopedia are comprehensiveness and accuracy. And accuracy should be manifest in small things as in great. What has led to these observations is both a lack and a false statement in that in many respects excellent work, Lossing's "Cyclopedia of United States History," published by Harper Brothers. While mentioning some small sects which have left no stamp upon our history, except in some locality, it makes no mention of the Adventist bodies, the influence of which has been as wide as the nation. While mentioning William Miller, with more or less inaccurate statements as regards his work, it says that "he had between 30,000 and 40,000 followers, who called themselves 'The Church of the Latter-day Saints.'" It is known by every one well informed that this is the name adopted by the Mormons, and that the "Miller movement" was in no way connected with the Mormon movement. A historian guilty of such mistakes may well be doubted. The various Adventist bodies sprang from this so-called (yet worldwide) "Miller movement;" but none of them ever called themselves "Millerites." A true historian ought to have a standard in his own conscience which would prevent him from making such a mistake as that, a blunder so easy of correction. The worth of a cyclopedia is generally better tested by its accuracy in little things than in great.

Some Pumpkins

"Some Pumpkins."—The Agricultural Department of the Federal Government raised in one of its experimental stations in North Carolina pumpkins weighing thirty-five pounds each, of which the department officials offered to distribute some of the seeds in this section of the country. The letter containing the offer considers these thirty-five pounders large pumpkins. In reply the San Jose Chamber of Commerce sends photographs of two specimens of the California product, weighed in the presence of Judge Brooks, and tipping the scales at respectively 262 and 264 pounds.

The Spirit of Christ, Not Civil Law

If men but knew Jesus Christ, they would not be troubled about the necessity of law for this and law for that. There would never be a demand for a Sunday law. There would never be an English law to guide or guard in the ritual of the English church. There would be a power in the lives of His followers which would restrain evil without law, and compel respect for God and religion without statutory enactment. The church of Jesus Christ does not need more civil law, but more of the Spirit of Christ.

Railroad Compensation for Fire Losses

The Northern Pacific Railroad Company, voluntarily, without pressure of law, notified the residents of Big Timber, Mont., the town which was almost totally consumed by fire a few weeks ago, that the railway company would pay fifty cents on a dollar for all fire losses. The fire was started by a spark from a locomotive. This was an honorable thing to do.

Union in Truth

Cooperation, union, is essential to success. Therefore the devil wishes to federate the world. Union is no less essential among God's people, but life union can not be purchased by compromise of right or truth. Before Jesus prayed for oneness among His disciples, He prayed that they might be sanctified in the truth. See John 17:16-23.

Publication and Bible Quotation Notices

By Editor

We send no papers from this office to individuals without pay in advance. When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the SIGNS are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon to pay for them. Please read the papers you may receive, and hand them to your friends to read.

Our authority is the Bible, the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. When the Common ("King James" or "Authorized") Version, or the American Standard Revised Version is used, quotations will not be designated in reference. Any Bible quotation in this paper, therefore, differing from the Common Version, unless otherwise indicated, will be almost invariably from the American Standard edition of the Revised Bible, copyright 1901, by Thomas Nelson & Sons.