Earlier text: HISTORY AND TRINE IMMERSIONWHEN Jesus, our pattern, was tempted of the devil, he met the suggestions of the enemy with the words of the Scriptures. At each proposition of Satan the Saviour referred him to that which "is written." This was at once his answer and his refuge. "The Scriptures," which he always honored, and which were with him and with his apostles after him, the sole resort to settle all questions, were the sacred writings of the Hebrews—the Old Testament. Many in this degenerate age have become "wise above what is written," and depreciate the Old Testament, if they do not quite hold it in contempt. In this they are very far from following the example of our divine Master. In the notable parable of the "rich man and Lazarus," he put into the mouth of Abraham these words: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them," with the further declaration that, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." These words of Jesus afford to us an important lesson of the high esteem in which we are to hold the Scriptures and of the use we are to make of them. The words of Moses and the prophets are better evidence, and more convincing, than would be the greatest miracle. Facts bear witness to the correctness of this estimate of the Saviour. He who rejects the word of God will not be convinced by any evidence. Jesus sent word to John that "the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." And it was after all this that the Pharisees and Sadducees came together asking of him a sign! As they were not satisfied with what he had done, we cannot imagine what sign would have been satisfactory to them. When the Sadducees questioned him concerning the resurrection of the dead, he referred them to "the Scriptures and the power of God." The Scriptures say the dead will be raised, and God is able to fulfill his word; and here he rested it. The Bible is its own best witness, and they who reject the "sure word of prophecy" will not be convinced by any amount of external evidences. Infidelity is more a matter of the heart than of the head. We have said, and we are firm in the belief, that the world is not wicked because of its ignorance of the truth, but it is ignorant because of its wickedness. "Light is sown for the upright." Thank God for a revelation which our consciousness approves; which reaches the heart as well as the mind; which guides the affections as well as the intellect. But Satan is crafty; he was intent upon gaining his point, and he also quoted Scripture. Determined not to be discomfited, he thought to meet the Son of God upon his own ground, and with his own weapons. But the Saviour was not even thus to be driven from his stronghold. Calmly and confidently as before he still appealed to the Scriptures to rebuke the tempter. In this dilemma the people of God often find themselves. Scripture met with Scripture! So the magicians of Egypt met miracle with miracle. And he of little faith in God often comes off second in such a contest. How shall this difficulty be met? Here also we find an important lesson. It is not merely in the use but in the right use of Scripture that we shall find strength and security. The Saviour quoted the Scriptures to vindicate the right and to honor God. Satan quoted the Scriptures to subvert the right and to accomplish his own selfish and wicked purposes. The Scriptures may be used to aid wickedness as well as to aid righteousness. We need to have our senses exercised to discern motives as well as actions. How may we know when the word of God is wrongly used, as in the case of Satan's quoting it? We must understand not only the words of the Scripture, but their proper application. A scripture misapplied is perverted. Read Psalm 91, from which the devil quoted, and you will find that it refers to the plagues, to the fu-575ture, and could not justly be applied to the Saviour or to his time. This is the great error of the present age. Many read the Bible; they learn its words, but they are not wise in its application. Past, present and future are all alike to them. They are as blind as were the Jews to "discern the signs of the times." As the Jews, they will not know the time of their visitation, unless they are more discriminating, and more unselfish, in their applications. We believe that all perversions of Scripture are founded in selfishness. Of this we may not always be conscious, but that proves nothing. "Who can understand his errors?" Who knows the deceptions of the human heart? Jer. 17:9. Gerrit Smith once remarked that, according to his observation, men seldom read the Bible to learn what they ought to do, though they profess to reverence it, and to receive it as "the man of their counsel;" but they first decide what they desire to do, and then search the Bible for proof that it is right. There is little doubt that this is quite true of many who use the Bible merely as a minister to their own selfishness. No amount of direct evidence can move such professors. They have just what they want—just what their own hearts devised, and therefore it must ever be highly acceptable to themselves. They may uphold their notions by only the merest inferences, yet the plainest declarations of holy writ cannot shake them. They may be moved by still stronger appeals to their selfishness, but by nothing else. That such conclusions seem unavoidable is to be regretted. We would that it were different; that the heart of man were not so deceitful; that man, in his fallen condition, were not so perverse. But it is so. We shall do injustice to ourselves as well as to the truth of God if we shut our eyes to the truth. In order that we may avoid the danger we must be aware of its existence. We must be convinced of our own weakness before we will seek for help and strength from above. We cannot examine ourselves too closely, nor study our motives too thoroughly, where a mistake may prove fatal. God has magnified his word above all his name; Ps. 138:2; and it is a fearful thing to pervert it. The Scriptures are a gift too precious to be lightly esteemed. If used aright they have a sanctifying and saving power; if abused they will prove a swift witness against us in the day of account. FEELING VS. GOD'S WORD.
By A. S. Hutchins
Many who would be shocked at the thought of holding in higher estimation their own feelings than the word of God do, nevertheless, in matters of religious faith and practice, often act more from the impulses of their own heart, than from the teachings of the Scriptures. Were man left to the influence and power of his fallen nature to work out his salvation, we may easily determine, from Romans 1:21-32, as to the character he would form and the destiny he would meet. In love to the world, and to secure the salvation of the penitent, God has revealed his will and established a public ministry to proclaim and bear it to the nations, tongues, and kings of the earth. Shall we honor and acknowledge the Author of this priceless Revelation by receiving it as the man of our counsel, and the unerring rule of our faith? Shall not its divine instructions be heard above the voice of the people? Shall they not mould our religious sentiments and turn our feet into the “narrow” way of life, rather than trust to early education and tread the “broad” way of death? Shall not tradition with all its alluring errors bow before the word of inspiration, and by it be hewn in pieces as was Agag by the sword of Samuel? Let the church of God awake from her slumbers and cry, The Bible, the Bible. Let her come forth from the wilderness, “leaning upon her beloved,” with her voice raised for Bible religion, Bible life, Bible hope, and strong confidence ultimately of Bible felicity. Let her awake in vindication of the law of the Lord, in defence of the down-trodden Sabbath, the rest-day of the Creator, blessed and sanctified, and given to man before sin had marred the Creator’s work. - Says David, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” In behalf of the Scriptures the apostle bears the following testimony: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Doctrine is the first thing specified for which the Scripture is said to be profitable. Amid the confusion of creeds and sentiments of religious bodies at the present time, we cannot look too closely to the word of God, or by it too thoroughly test our religious faith. False sentiments may please and charm us, but they cannot convert the soul, nor secure to us eternal life. Said Christ, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” And again he prays in behalf of his disciples, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” And it is a painful reflection that the apostle looked forward to the time when men would not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts should heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they should turn away their ears from the truth, and should be turned unto fables. Says one man, Our business now is to convert the world, and if it shall prove that our theology is incorrect, we will settle that question when we get to Heaven. But I incline strongly to the opinion that Heaven will not prove the place to settle theological debates. “For instruction in righteousness,” Paul affirms the Scripture is also “profitable.” As Christians we need “reproof,” “correction” and “instruction.” For these we are directed to the Scriptures. Not a word is said about taking our feelings as a sure guide. What apology, then, shall be offered for those who have been soundly convinced from the Scriptures of their obligation to hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, been blest in acknowledging the claims of this ancient institution, and in keeping it unto the Lord, and yet, all at once, have a conviction come over them of the sacredness of the first day, so much as to lead them to sacrifice reason and judgment and the plain teachings of the Bible, and turn from the Sabbath of the Lord to the first day? How will men and women, whose minds have been enlightened on this question to that extent they know the Bible enjoins no weekly Sabbath but the seventh day, meet the Judge and stand before him with no excuse for not obeying the commandment only that some dying friend had warned them never to leave the church of their early choice? And how will ministers meet the record of their lives, who have taught men to honor and keep as the Sabbath another day than God’s chosen rest-day, while they see the Bible contains no commandment to sustain them, and declare they want no command, and are satisfied without Scripture enjoining the observance of it? A heavy responsibility rests upon the minister of the gospel. Oh, that it might be realized! The voice of the Master is, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.” Of the false prophets he says, “If they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” Jer. 23:22. PETER'S LADDER—HOW TO CLIMB IT.
By A. C. Bourdeau
PETER'S ladder, which sets forth true sanctification as being a progressive work, is composed of eight rounds: "Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity." 2 Peter 1:5–7. There are seven steps from faith to charity. The convert has first a deep sorrow for his sins; or "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." From this point, the work is onward and upward till the top round is reached. But sanctification is a work which is not accomplished in a moment; neither should it take long years of anxious toil to attain the most excellent grace, charity, or love. In music the diatonic scale consists of eight sounds with seven intervals called steps, of which two are small and five are large. The scale is likened to a "ladder," and it is but carrying out the figure to apply the term "step" to the parts of it. In going up the scale from one to eight, the eighth tone is the octave of the first; and in ascending from this point the same tones in the scale are gone over, yet they range an octave higher, and so on. Thus it is, in a certain sense, in going up the ladder of Christian sanctification. In adding to faith virtue, and the rest of the Christian graces, when the eighth round, charity, is reached, it is, as it were, the octave of the first, it is operative, or working faith—faith that works by love and purifies the heart. This kind of faith is needed in the earliest stages of Christian experience. At this point the child of God finds himself on a higher plane of action. He realizes that he must hold fast whereunto he has attained. And as he continues to ascend, in perfecting the work that he has begun, he steps onto the same rounds in the ladder, yet they range higher. In this way, we may truly sing as we go:—
"We are climbing, climbing, climbing up Zion's hill." LENGTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
By Mark Twain
MARK TWAIN mourns over the diminished length of the Mississippi in this strain: Therefore, the Mississippi between Cairo and New Orleans, was 1,215 miles 176 years ago. It was 1,180 after the cut-off of 1722. It was 1,040 after the American bend cut-off, some years ago. It has lost sixty-seven miles since. Consequently, its length is only 973 miles at present. Now, if I wanted to be one of those ponderous scientific people, and to prove what had occurred in the long past by what had occurred in a given time in the recent past, or what will occur in the far future by what has occurred in late years, what an opportunity is here! Geology never had such a chance, nor such exact data to argue from! Nor development of species, either. Glacial epochs are great things, but they are vague—vague. Please observe:— In the space of 176 years the Lower Mississippi has shortened itself 242 miles. That is an average of a trifle over one mile and a third per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind or idiotic, can see in the Old Oolitic Silurian period, just 1,000,000 years ago last November, the Lower Mississippi river was upward of 1,300,000 miles long, and struck out over the Gulf of Mexico like a fishing-rod. And by the same token any person can see that 742 years from now the Mississippi will be only a mile and a quarter long, and Cairo and New Orleans will have joined their streets together, and be plodding comfortably along under a single mayor and a mutual board of aldermen. There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.—Christian at Work. WANTED—A GOOD CONSCIENCE.
THERE is no article so rare, none for which the market price is so high, as a good conscience; nothing for which, in others, men are willing to pay such good wages. We all want carpenters that will put no green timbers and no sappy boards in our houses, masons who will mix no mortar with ill-slacked lime, farmers who will put no thistles and no stone in the center of their baled hay, market men who will not put the ripe fruit at the top and the green fruit at the bottom, lawyers who are not liars, shopmen who guarantee nothing that they do not know, authors who never forget to put quotation marks where they belong, ministers who preach their own earnest and hearty thoughts.—Lyman Abbott. The Advance of Religious Liberty
THE London Times, speaking editorially of the advance in England of religious liberty, says: “Two centuries ago Nonconformists could not meet for public worship. They could only meet in holes and corners, in back parlors and hay-lofts, on the sly and as law-breakers. Only a century ago upon the least suspicion of a private ‘mass house’—a public one was out of the question—constables were set on, suspected Papists hunted down the street to find shelter where they could. Half a century ago a Dissenter would only be in Parliament on sufferance, and a Papist not at all, on any terms.” Now it is stated that Dean Stanley is in favor of permitting Nonconformists, under certain restrictions, to use parish churches for their own religious services at hours which would not interfere with any regular services. He has ascertained that it would not be illegal to do this, and he has tried it already in Westminster Abbey. It is said that clergymen in this country have received circulars from a London dealer in second-hand sermons, who offers them in manuscript form for 25 cents each, or $20 a hundred; also a line of still cheaper ones, at ten cents each, warranted orthodox, with "a pleasantness, yet an awful solemnity about them." Should there not be a double duty on such importations? A World Without a Sabbath
A world without a Sabbath would be like a man without a smile, like a summer without flowers, and like a homestead without a garden. The Home Circle.
By T. S. Arthur
MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE.
A NEW YEAR'S STORY—BY T. S. ARTHUR. "I WONDER what I shall get for a New Year's gift?" said Ellen Grant, on the day before New Year's. "I'll tell you what I'd like to have," said little Mary. "I'd like to have one of the biggest wax dolls that could be found. As big as a real baby, and a great deal bigger, too. Wouldn't you, sister?" "No; but I'd like to have—let me see what I would like to have;" and Ellen sat and thought for a few moments. "Yes, I'd like to have a shawl just like Aunt Mary's." "And I'd like to have a pony," spoke up Harry. "Oh! I wish father would buy me a pony for a New Year's gift." Thus the children talked, first wishing for one thing, and then for another, while Aunt Prudence sat knitting and listening to what they said. At last, little bright-eyed Mary, the merry pet of the house, came, and leaning her arms on the knees of Aunt Prudence, looked up into her face, and said:— "What are you going to give me for a New Year's gift, Aunt Prudence?" "A kiss, dear," replied Aunt Prudence. "Won't that do?" "I want something besides a kiss. I get kisses every day." "Oh, yes, and what are you going to give me?" spoke up Ellen. "And me, Aunty?" said Harry. "Wait until to-morrow, and we'll see. But I don't hear anything about what you are going to give, only about what you expect to receive. Now, ain't that a little selfish? I am sure you might make somebody a present of something, and then be made to feel how true the words are, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. What do you say, children? You've got a good many shillings in your money-boxes, and can make New Year's presents as well as anybody else." "Sure enough!" exclaimed Ellen, "so we can. I never thought of that. I have got two dollars in my money-box. What shall I buy? Mother shall have a present, and so shall father." "Can't you think of somebody," replied the aunt, "to whom you might make a New Year's present that would be useful? There are a great many people who have not the comforts of life, much less its luxuries. There are hundreds of poor children who never think of toys, and for whom New Year's day comes and goes without bringing a present of any kind." Not far from where Mr. Grant, the father of these children, resided, lived a poor man named Barker, who from sickness, had not been able to do any work for many months. He had four children. The two oldest, William and Jane, were only ten and twelve years of age; and Hetty and Philip were much younger. Since her father's sickness, Jane had got herself a place in a family to look after some children, for which she received a dollar a week. This, with about two dollars a week which the mother earned by sewing, was all the family had to live upon. New Year's day came with a sober face to the inmates of poor Mr. Barker's comfortless home. The children looked for no presents, for even a full supply of nourishing food was lacking, and their clothing was now worn almost into tatters. For breakfast they had some milk and water and a dish of fried potatoes. Hunger made these sweet to the taste, and they ate with a keen relish. After the table was cleared away, and the room swept up, Mrs. Barker sat down at her sewing—there was no holiday for her—and Mr. Barker took a book, as he lay on his bed, and gave each of the children a lesson. "I wish they would let Jane come home today," he said, after he had given the lessons. "It is New Year's, and they might give the poor child a few hours' holiday." As he finished speaking, the door opened, and Jane came in. The smiles that half awoke upon the father's lips died away as he saw that tears were in the eyes and glistened upon the cheeks of his child. "Jane, dear," said he, tenderly, "what is the matter?" as the child came hastily across the room, the moment she closed the door, and, sinking down upon a chair by the bed, hid her face among the clothes and sobbed. Mrs. Barker threw aside her work, and came and laid her hand gently on the neck of her daughter, repeating what the father had said, with yet a more earnest and tender expression: "Jane, dear, what is the matter?" But it was some time before Jane could find voice to express her grief. At last, putting her hand in her pocket, she took out a dollar, her last week's wages, and, handing it to her mother, said in broken accents:— "They've sent me home, mother!" "Why, dear?" asked Mrs. Barker. "Because my clothes are so poor, and my shoes are all worn out so, they say I'm not fit to be seen in a decent body's house." And the child wept and sobbed again. Poor Mr. Barker caught his breath several times, like a person who strives to conceal the emotion that nearly overmasters him; and Mrs. Barker, unable to contain her feelings, laid her head down upon Jane's shoulder to hide her tears. At last Mrs. Barker, feeling that such weakness on her part was not right, raised herself up and said, with a voice as steady as she could command: "Don't take it so to heart, Jane. We will buy you a pair of shoes with this dollar, and I will alter you one of my old frocks to-day, so that you can go back to-morrow looking quite smart." "But you need the dollar, mother, in the family," replied Jane, looking up and drying her tears. "It won't do for me to spend it all for a pair of shoes." "You must have shoes, you know, my child. These you have are all worn out. We can't expect people to keep you if you have not decent clothes. So we will buy the shoes, and trust that Providence will help us get along. If we use the dollar in the family this week, you can not earn us anything next week, nor, perhaps, at all; but if we buy the shoes, and you go back, you will bring us home a dollar next week, and so on week after week. It is, therefore, best for us that you should have the shoes. Don't you think so?" And Mrs. Barker turned to her husband. "I do certainly," he replied. And so it was determined that the shoes should be bought, and that Jane should see about the house and cook their frugal dinner, while the mother altered one of her old frocks to fit her. The old dress was brought down from a closet up-stairs, turned over and over by Mrs. Barker, and examined in every part, before she put the scissors into it. It was very thin in many places and worn clear through in others. "It isn't worth the labor of making over," she at length said, letting it fall in her lap. "I am sure it won't hold together two weeks." Just as she said this, some one knocked at the door, and William ran and opened it. A colored man stepped in and putting down a large basket on the floor, said:— "I was told to leave this here," and he turned and went out before any one could ask him a question. "What does this mean?" asked Mr. Barker, raising himself from the bed. "There must be some mistake." "We will soon see," replied his wife, laying aside her work and taking hold of the basket, which proved to be heavy. It was covered with a newspaper, which, on removal, showed a package neatly done up, marked, "New Year's gift for Jane." "Jane, to whom it was handed, hurriedly broke the string, and out fell a pair of strong leather shoes, very little worn, two pairs of stockings,—but there was still something else in the package, which, upon examination, proved to be a handsome calico frock. While Jane was examining the contents of her package, the mother was going deeper into the basket. The next things taken out were a pair of India rubber shoes, a package of sugar, one of tea, another of coffee, and another containing six or seven pounds of rice, each marked, "A New Year's gift for Mrs. Barker." Then there was a very good jacket and a pair of trowsers for William, and shoes and stockings for Philip and Hetty; and last, a paper of sweet Malaga grapes, marked, "For Mr. Barker," and as much New Year's cake as could be crowded into the basket between the other things. Surprised, bewildered, yet happy even to tears, was that poor family on that long remembered New Year's morning. "Where are they all from, mother?" asked Mr. Barker, as soon as he could speak, after the excitement of the first surprise was over. "Heaven only knows," replied Mrs. Barker. "They are sent from above." "And to God we are thankful, said the sick man, lifting his eyes upward. "He that feedeth the ravens will not suffer us to want." "I know where they come from!" exclaimed Jane, breaking in upon her father's expression of thankfulness, and holding up the frock she had received at the moment she stood so much in need of one. "This is Ellen Grant's dress; I remember it very well. She wore it the day I went there, a few weeks ago." "And this is Harry Grant's jacket," said Willie. "Are you sure?" asked Mrs. Barker. "Oh, yes. I know it right well. I've seen him wear it many a time." "Bless the children!" ejaculated Mr. Barker, whose mind had a strong suspicion of the truth. "If it is their presents—if they have remembered us in their happiness—may Heaven reward them a hundred fold." Jane tried on her frock and shoes, and they fitted her as well as if they had been made for her. She staid at home a couple of hours and then went back to her place, looking so much smarter than when she went away, that the lady said: "You should have worn those clothes before." "But I didn't have them," replied Jane. "Where then did they come from?" asked the lady. Thus questioned, Jane related, in the most artless yet touching manner, the distress of her father and mother when she went home; and then told of the timely relief that came from friends unknown. We cannot stop to tell of all the beautiful presents that Ellen Grant, and Mary, and Harry received on New Year's day. Papa and mamma had not forgotten them. Nor had papa and mamma been forgotten by the children, who, under the direction of Aunt Prudence, had laid out all the money in their money-boxes in order to buy presents; and in bestowing them they did indeed prove it to be true that "it is more blessed to give than to receive." Evening had come—the evening of New Year's day—and all the children were in the parlor with papa, mamma, and Aunt Prudence, when a servant brought in a note directed to Mr. and Mrs. Grant. On breaking the seal, Mr Grant read aloud:— "To MR. AND MRS. GRANT.—For your generous kindness to us this day, our hearts are full of gratitude. Your presents came in a moment of great need, when we knew not which way to turn, and fully supplied that need. Jane was sent home from her place this morning because her shoes were worn out, and her clothes not decent for her to be seen in a respectable family. The frock and shoes just fit her, and she went back with a light heart. Comfortable shoes and warm stockings were needed by the children above all things. You have supplied them, and may Heaven reward you a hundred and a hundred fold. Forgive this expression of our gratitude; but I felt that I could not sleep to-night without letting you know the real good you had done, and the warmth of our thankfulness. MARY BARKER." "What does all this mean?" asked Mr. Grant. "Do you understand it, mother?" "Not a word of it," replied Mrs. Grant, with a look of surprise. "There is some mistake. We are receiving thanks for benefits conferred by others. It is good to remember the poor; but we have forgotten them this day. That touching letter of Mrs. Barker's rebukes me deeply." "Why, what's the matter, Ellen? and Harry? and Mary? What ails you, children?" asked Mr. Grant, looking from face to face of the little ones, and being unable to comprehend the expression that rested upon each. "Let me explain," said Aunt Prudence. And she told how the children had spent their money in buying things, for a New Year's present to the family of poor Mr. Barker, and how they had sent clothing, also, that she had picked out from such as they had outgrown or thrown aside. But how Mrs. Barker knew where they came from was more than she could tell. "And my children have done this!" said Mr. Grant, with much emotion, drawing them to his side, and pressing his lips tightly upon their pure young foreheads. "How happy they have made me! And they, too, are happy—happier in thus giving than they ever were in receiving." VACAVILLE AND FAIRFIELD, CAL
DECEMBER 14, we went to Vacaville, where we spent one week holding meetings and visiting the brethren. A goodly number of them signed the tithing pledge. The V. M. Society organized some years ago was revived, new officers elected, and a club of thirty-three Signs taken. Some members of this church were disaffected because credentials were not given to Eld. B. A. Stephens at the last session of the California Conference; but upon an explanation of the case, a vote was unanimously passed, endorsing the course of the Conference in his case. It was his duty to have attended the Conference and had his case investigated then, instead of waiting until it was over, and then trying to array churches against the Conference of which they are a part. Why will our brethren allow their sympathies to be aroused in favor of wrong, and decide upon a case when they know only one side of it, and thus be led into trial? We found the temperance cause here being agitated by quite an interesting American Health and Temperance Club. The citizens are also waking up to the work, and called a meeting to decide upon the best measures to advance the cause. We presented our organization to them, and the leading temperance men of the place voted to unite with us in this work. We left the church in quite good condition, and pray for the blessing of God upon them. We spent two days in Fairfield, and found a few keeping the Sabbath, and others interested from the labors of brethren Briggs and Howard. M. C. ISRAEL.
W. M. HEALEY. VIGILANT MISSIONARY WORK IN CALIFORNIA.
DURING the past year the interest in this branch of the work has been steadily increasing in California. There are nearly a thousand Signs taken in California by individuals and organized societies, in clubs. Besides these, a good number of other publications are used. Some of the most interesting cases have been developed by remailing these papers, and correspondence. One member by some means obtained the name of a lady in England, to whom he sent several papers followed by a letter. The lady proved to be quite a missionary worker herself, having at one time in her youth traveled with Dr. Adam Clarke. In her second letter, after expressing many thanks for the papers and tracts sent her, and stating that she believes with us upon the subject of the advent, she says:— “Well, I have been inquiring in regard to the Sabbath question. I gave the Sabbath tracts to several ministers and asked what they had to say against it. They asked if you were Jews. I answered, No. They could say nothing against the Sabbath, only that ‘Our Sabbath is working well.’ That is all I could get even from my own minister, a Methodist. I believe you are right. I can find no place in the Scriptures where the Sabbath was changed. Your letter has made me search the word of God more thoroughly.” In another letter the same writer says: “I went to a lady friend of mine with two of your tracts. She asked me if I never saw before that the Jewish Sabbath was the real Sabbath. She belongs to a Baptist church, and has told them in a Bible class that we keep the wrong day. I wonder at myself to think that for fifty years I have read my Bible daily, and never before got light on that part of the Scriptures. I belong to the Methodist church, but have been baptized. I am now reading Dr. Adam Clarke’s Bible. Not long before he died, when I was quite young, I traveled with him. He visited the Shetland Islands, which is my native land, built chapels, and sent out missionaries. He was a sample man. I never was proud after being with him. It was a wonder that he did not see that the seventh day was the Sabbath; but greater light has since been given. Methodist missionaries then taught that we should keep the commandments, but I never saw that the Sabbath should be kept on the seventh day of the week until you wrote.” Reading matter is still being sent to this lady, and she in turn loans it to her neighbors and friends, and so the leaven is working. Not only are the organized societies actively engaged in this work, but scattered Sabbath-keepers are taking hold, as the following from one of the lone ones will show:— “Our T. and M. work is prospering slowly, but I think surely. It is doing a work in our own hearts, and teaching us the necessity of having clean lives if we would be carriers of the Lord’s vessels. My little girls are thoroughly interested in the work. They send out five papers each week, with a tract in each, and after four weeks they write a letter to each one. These letters receive great care, and all our prayers follow them. They have received four letters during the past quarter, and obtained two subscribers for the Signs. In God’s strength we are going forward, and even if our measure holds only a gill, we will fill it for the Lord. “Our home Sabbath-school has started with new life on the new lessons. They are so interesting and instructive. My Bible class held on Sundays, is prospering. We have a very regular attendance of nearly all the young people in the neighborhood. One lady a backslider, has been much interested for some time, and several, who rarely attend church or any such gatherings, are my constant pupils. Oh, how I pray I may be able to gather some to shine in the Kingdom.” Temperance.
By J. W. Gardner
OAKLAND HEALTH AND TEMPERANCE CLUB.
This Club met according to appointment, December 9, 1880. The meeting was opened by a song entitled, "Keep Me," followed with prayer by W. N. Glenn, after which the song, "Peace be Still," was rendered by a quintette of well trained voices. After the reading of the Secretary's report of the last meeting, the President, Bro. C. H. Jones, made some remarks pertinent to the work of Health and Temperance Clubs, showing wherein they differ from other organizations of a similar nature. We do not depreciate by any means the work of other societies; but while wishing them God-speed, and all possible good, we cannot but feel that they do not reach the root of the matter. We believe that true temperance is the moderate use of those things that are good, and the total abstinence of all that is bad. And herein, we go farther than other societies. We do not believe in supplementing one evil with a lesser. We would that we might see the rumsellers' frightful and accursed traffic overthrown, but we do not want to see his place re-occupied by the tobacco shop. We have three degrees of pledges, so that those in the depths of intemperance, not feeling sufficient strength to spring with one bound from the darkness, may be brought, step by step, to a firm footing. In signing the Anti-Whisky Pledge, such take the first step upward, after which, when sufficient strength has been gained, the second step is taken in signing the Anti-Rum and Tobacco Pledge. It then takes but a comparatively short time to enable them to step out entirely by signing the Teetotal Pledge, which prohibits the use of tea and coffee, as well as rum, tobacco, opium, etc. Following these remarks, came the song, "Banner Bearers," after which an essay, entitled, "Afterward," was impressively rendered by Mrs. E. J. Waggoner. Then came the "Song of the Fountain," followed by a short address by Bro. Aldrich, vividly portraying a touching scene in the life of a drunkard. The pledges were passed, and seven signed the Teetotal, four the Anti-Rum and Tobacco, and one the Anti-Whisky. The usual committees were then appointed, and the meeting closed with the song entitled, "Temperance Work." This meeting was considered, by all who attended, as one of the most successful ever held by our Club. Much interest was manifested, and warmth of feeling expressed. God grant that the good resolutions there made may be lasting. A Smoking School for Boys
The New York Witness tells of a church in Brooklyn whereof the minister smokes, the superintendent smokes, and the sexton smokes. Of course, then, it is a sort of smoking school for boys. That church is under a cloud. As to being prepared for defeat, I certainly am not. Any man who is prepared for defeat would be half defeated before he commenced. I hope for success, shall do all in my power to secure it, and trust to God for the rest. Think Truly, Speak Truly, Live Truly
THINK truly, and thy thought
Shall some soul's famine feed;
Speak truly, and each word of thine
Shall be a fruitful seed;
Live truly, and thy life shall be
A grand and noble creed.