Earlier text: Jesus and the Widow of NainThe Pope on Church and State
WHILE Protestants generally see in the movement for the separation of church and state in France a praiseworthy step toward religious liberty, and a promise of better things for both the church and the state, the pope in an encyclical officially condemns this action in severe terms. “A Christian state always does wrong,” he says, “in separating from the church.” The true doctrine, both Scriptural and American, was expressed by James Madison in these words: “Religion is essentially distinct from civil government, and exempt from its cognizance; . . . a connection between them is injurious to both.” The real Roman Catholic position on the question of the separation of church and state may be seen from the following extract from the pope’s encyclical:— Wherefore, remembering our apostolic commission, and conscious of our imperative obligation to defend against all attack and to maintain in absolute integrity the sacred and inviolable rights of the church, in virtue of the supreme authority conferred upon it by God, we for reasons above stated, do hereby convict and condemn the law passed in France for the separation of church and state. We do denounce it as deeply revolting in the sight of God, whom it officially denies by taking the position that the republic recognizes no religion. We convict and condemn it as violating the rights of man, and the public principle of fidelity to treaties; as contrary to the divine constitution of the church and the rights essential to its liberty; as subversive of justice and as trampling in the dust the rights of property acquired by the church through many titles and in virtue of the Concordat. We convict and condemn it as highly insulting to the dignity of the Apostolic See, to our person, to the whole episcopate, to the clergy and Catholic people of France. Attacking the Citadel
By L. A. S.
IN two points of doctrine Seventh-day Adventists are distinguished from every other religious body in the world. One is the doctrine of the heavenly sanctuary, through which light came to the disappointed advent believers after the ending of the period of twenty-three hundred days, and around which they rallied and became a new denominational body. The other is the belief in the spirit of prophecy, by which from the first the policy of the denomination has been molded and its work directed. These two fundamental doctrines are now the special objects of attack by the enemy of this advent movement. To obscure and to weaken the confidence of this people in these special points of belief, has been the particular purpose aimed at by an influence that has been exerted upon this denomination for the past two or three years. There is more danger that those weak or careless in the faith will surrender one of these two doctrines, than that they will yield on any of the others. This is where the pressure is being most brought to bear upon all members of this body at this time. The adversary understands the location of the citadel of our position. He realizes the importance of these two doctrines; would that all Seventh-day Adventists had as clear a view of the matter as he has! When either of these doctrines is surrendered by an individual, he at once crosses the separating line which had distinguished him from members of other religious bodies. He is no longer distinguished from members of all other bodies in belief or in action. He has dropped out of the line of march of the advent people. He may still hold to the Sabbath truth, in a way; but there are those who have long held this truth, and yet are doing nothing to stir the world. He may also hold to the doctrine of the advent, but he will make no more progress than have those who have long held this doctrine apart from the other vital truths which go with it. The Sabbath truth and the advent truth belong together, and to separate them is like separating faith and works. And their relation to the work of God in the earth to-day is revealed in the subject of the heavenly sanctuary. It is these three great truths together, combined in one system of belief, that are stirring the world at this time. Let us strengthen the position at which the special attack of the enemy is now directed. L. A. S. Baptist Protest Against Unsound Teaching
By Editor
SOME protests are being made by the Baptist papers against the unsound teaching found in the ‘books recently written by Professor Foster, of the University of Chicago, and Professor Clarke, of Colgate University, Baptist institutions. The editor of one of these papers, the Western Recorder, tells why he feels called upon to enter a protest, and we think he gives a good reason. We quote one paragraph as follows:— When Dr. Foster and Dr. Clarke (though the latter is not so far wrong as the former) attack the foundations of the faith, it is due to the denomination that they know the sort of teaching that is furnished at the institution where these men teach. Young men from all parts of the land, and especially young ministers, are enticed to the University of Chicago and to Colgate University. Warning should therefore be given of the sort of teaching to which these young men will be subjected; and they ought to be warned away from the danger. Then, too, it is of the utmost importance that the churches be warned against calling men who have studied at these institutions, and whose minds and hearts have been poisoned by the destructive notions. It is true that some students may go through courses of study at Chicago without imbibing Fosterism and at Colgate without imbibing Clarkism, but the presumption is that young men who have been trained by such professors, are more or less tainted with false views. Our churches can not be too careful. . . . So long as our young men are appealed to to attend Chicago and Colgate, especially our young preachers, it is of vital moment that the churches know the sort of teaching dispensed there. The editor of the Recorder is right, and we entertain the same views concerning the situation which confronts us in our own denomination. THE Massachusetts Supreme Court has decided that gathering cranberries on Sunday is a violation of the statute prohibiting any manner of labor, business, or work, except works of necessity and charity, on the Lord’s day. The court declares that it is the purpose of the law “to secure the observance of the Lord’s day in accordance with the views of our ancestors,” and that changes of views or customs since that time are not to be considered in interpreting the law. Thus in Massachusetts a law is upheld as constitutional whose acknowledged purpose is to enforce a religious observance. In France, they are reversing the experience of a century by separating church and state; in America, they are reversing the experience of a century by uniting them. Happy France! Unhappy America! MRS. M. A. LOPER
By Mrs. M. A. Loper
“Come Ye Yourselves Apart . . . and Rest Awhile” God says to us sometimes, “My child, come thou
Apart and rest awhile, and be with me.
Thou art too busy, hast too many cares,
To learn the lessons that I have for thee.” Sometimes affliction’s hand upon us falls,
That we may heed the invitation given;
’Tis then we lay aside our cares and toils,
And turn our straying thoughts to God and heaven. But how unjust to use the loaf of time
In service of, not Christ, but self and sin,
And when it seems life’s end is drawing near,
To give the last remaining crumb to him. ’Tis best to serve God faithfully each hour,
To learn his lessons, and his goodness tell
To others in the paths of sin. Then come
What will, if life or death, all will be well. Search the Scriptures
By Ellen G. White
I HAVE a decided message from the Lord for the people who claim to believe the truth for this time. I can but present before them their danger. There are many who, though members of the church, are unconverted, having lost their first love. God will not accept any excuse for backsliding, for continuing in a cold, lifeless condition spiritually. Christ has given every encouragement for his disciples to grow in grace. “Come unto me,” he says, “all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” If you remain servants of sin, the result of the consequence will rest upon you; for you have had light. We are not to turn from the One mighty in counsel to ask guidance of men. Let those who are inclined to do this read and receive the Bible as the word of God to them. The Bible is the voice of God to his people. As we study the living oracles, we are to remember that God is speaking to his people out of his Word. We are to make this Word the man of our counsel. “Search the Scriptures,” Christ said; “for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” If we realized the importance of searching the Scriptures, how much more diligently we would study them! With awe we would take up the inspired Word, and with earnest desire search its pages, beginning a new life of genuine experience in the things of God. The Scriptures would be read and studied as the sure evidence of God’s will concerning us. The Bible is to be studied with special interest; for it contains the most valuable information that finite beings can have, pointing out the way in which we are to prepare for the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven, putting away sin, and putting on the white robes of character that will give us entrance into the mansions that Christ told his disciples he was going to prepare for them. “If I go” away, he said, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” If we do not receive the Word of God as food for the soul, we shall miss the greatest treasure that has been prepared for men and women; for the Word is a message to each and every soul. Christ declares that those who make its truths a part of their lives are eating his flesh and drinking his blood. If obeyed, it gives spiritual life and strength. The pure, spiritual current that enters the life in a living experience is eternal life to the receiver. God’s Word is our light. It is Christ’s message to his heritage, who have been bought with the price of his blood. It was written for our guidance, and if we make this Word our counselor, we shall never walk in strange paths. Our words, whether we are in the home or associating with those outside the home, will be kind, affectionate, and pure. If we study the Word, and make it a part of our lives, we shall have a wholesome experience, which will always speak forth the truth. We shall search our hearts diligently, comparing our daily speech and tenor of life with the Word, that we may make no mistake. With the example of Christ Jesus before us, none need make a failure of the life-work. In our daily experience, we shall be safe in criticizing ourselves in the light of the great moral standard of righteousness which never changes. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul,” and when we bring our lives into harmony with the life of Christ, it will be seen that we are eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God. The spiritual life is built up from the food given to the mind; and if we eat the food provided in the Word of God, spiritual and mental health will be the result. Eternal interests are involved in this matter. From a diligent study and faithful practise of the principles of the Word of God, we shall obtain the highest of all education. The Word must not be neglected for other interests. No other food can build up the spiritual life. My brethren and sisters, do not depend upon minister or physician to create your experience for you. The Word of God is to be your counselor. I am deeply in earnest, because this instruction, in most forcible words, has been given me to give to our church-members. We are each deciding our eternal destiny, and it rests wholly with us whether we shall gain eternal life. Shall we live the lessons given in the Word of God, Christ’s great lesson book? It is the grandest, and yet the most simply arranged and easily understood study book ever provided for human beings. It is the only book that will prepare men and women for the life that measures with the life of God. Christ is the only judge of the fitness of human beings to receive eternal life. The gates of the holy city will open to those who are humble, meek, lowly followers of his, those who learn in his school, and receive from him the eternal life insurance policy, forming characters after the divine similitude. One night I was standing before a congregation, calling their attention to the way to obtain the life insurance policy by living upon the plan of addition. Read the first chapter of Second Peter. I now call upon all who desire to obtain the eternal life insurance policy to take the Word of God as their guide. Let them not listen to the words of men who are not studying the Word with the determined purpose of carrying out the principles of the teaching of Christ, but who have come to suppose that they can be a law to themselves. If those who suppose this continue to carry on the same kind of character building that they have carried on, they will at last find themselves outside the gates of the city, with that company who think that they can take the city, and hold it as their property, though they have no right to it. They are disqualified by disobedience for being received into the kingdom of God as loyal citizens. Let all who shall read these words, all to whose notice they shall come, remember that they are truth,—a solemn, earnest warning. I know that in the hearts of our people there is a large work to be done. O how grateful I should be if I could see a deep, thorough work accomplished in the hearts of all! Purification of soul is needed. Let us begin at once to take out of our hearts the root of bitterness. Let us consider the time in which we are living, the nearness of the end, and the work that God expects us to do. Keep Your Face Toward the Future
To be successful in life's race, we must keep our faces toward the future. Everything good is set before the Christian, nothing but his sins behind him. He who tries to walk or run with face turned backward is very likely to encounter trouble. Work for All
By E. J. HARVEY
There is much work to be done in all parts of the great harvest-field. The laborers are few indeed when we compare the number with the vast multitudes who have not yet heard that Jesus is coming soon in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory to gather his people home. Every wind of doctrine is blowing to-day. Many all around us are being deceived. Some there are who say that it makes no difference what we believe so long as we live right. Fatal delusion! Shall not we, holding the banner of precious present truth, lift it higher and still higher, that all those with whom we come in contact may know that 'here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus'? Was there ever a more important time in this wicked world's history than the time in which we are living? The Sabbath of the fourth commandment, the holy day which God made in the beginning, at the end of the creation week, is being trodden under foot by millions of souls who profess to be followers of the meek and lowly Nazarene. Shall we sit idly by and hold our peace day and night, while souls are perishing for the very bread of life and the water of life which have been given freely to us that we might obey our Lord's command to freely give it to all? 'Whosoever will' is to-day sounding forth the invitation. Who will help proclaim it? The end is very near. Probation will soon close. God, who in the beginning spoke and it was, commanded and it stood fast, has said that 'there shall be delay no longer.' His word can not fail. Think of his almighty power in so wonderfully creating all things by only speaking the word, and then remember that the same One who did this is the One who said, 'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.' Matt. 28: 18-20. In chapter 24, verses 4-14, are found these words of our divine Master concerning the condition of the nations of this world just before his second advent, and showing our need, as his faithful representatives, of patience and perseverance: 'And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.' In verses 45-47 we read: 'Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.' Again, in Mark 13: 34: 'For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.' Then there is work for me. Every man, every woman and child, who knows that Jesus is soon coming, can make it known to others in some way. When he shall appear, and we shall be like him and see him as he is, how glad we shall be that we gave our hearts to him that we might be used in his service wherever and however he might direct by his all-wise providence. Then he shall smile, and our hearts shall be enraptured because we have heard and read, and by voice and pen and printed page, by giving of the means with which he has entrusted us, and by earnest prayer, made known to others his glorious message. Let us sell the books, then, large and small, which contain the present truth, and sell and loan and give away papers and tracts, and subscribe for the REVIEW if we have not done so, and get others to subscribe. Perilous Times
By John S. Wightman
Referring directly to “the last days,” the very chiefest of the apostles declares that “perilous times” must come. While cumulative prophetic evidence abounds on every hand that we have reached the dramatic closing scenes of earth’s history, yet there is no more striking fulfilment of prophetic utterances than the universal prevalence of sin and crime, which a thousand and one voices unite in declaring to be of amazing magnitude. And the observer of current events must realize that we shall soon enter, if we have not already entered, upon the times like those of the days of Noah, when “violence” was abroad in the land, and men’s hearts were altogether evil. That evil day of which the prophet Daniel writes shall “be a time of trouble” such as has never been seen,—there are perilous times, days fraught with dangers, varied and extensive, in all the walks of life and in a thousand different ways; not alone from disaster on land and sea, by fire and flood, cyclone and earthquake, but from multitudinous crimes and iniquities perpetrated by wicked men. Who can have read the astounding revelations resulting from the trial of Berthe Claiche in the criminal court of New York City, and not feel a nameless dread and apprehension of what may yet be expected from crime and criminals? The city and the nation may well pause in the mad rush for wealth and honor, and earnestly inquire, What next? A leading New York paper, referring to the trial and its incidents, says: “Police-protected vice has grown to proportions never dreamed of in the days of the Lexow investigation.” Guardians of the peace, liberally paid and sworn to uphold the majesty of the law, are found with hands reeking in vice and crime! Just two blood-stained dollars weekly yielded to officers of the law, shielded the disreputable denizen of10the tenderloin from the law, secured immunity from arrest, and the privilege to pursue a nefarious calling! Nor is crime confined to the tenderloin district and the shades of night, for in a single month several cases are reported of bold bandits holding up and robbing women in the crowded streets of the metropolis in broad daylight, one robbery occurring in the very shadow of the splendid fifteen-million-dollar Waldorf-Astoria, and the robbers made good their escape! “Twelve-Year-Old Girls as Shoplifters” is a recent head-line of an article that informs of the arrest of an organized band of shoplifters, young girls of ten and twelve years of age. “Forty-eight Families Ask Permit to Shoot” is the heading of another, relating how a whole neighborhood is alarmed over many burglaries and murderous assaults of daily occurrence, and desire legal permission to arm for protection. Two bold daylight murders in stores, an armed sanguinary death battle upon the streets of “Chinatown,” and the morning police courts crowded with a motley gathering of smaller offenders—all this in New York City, of which it may be said none is better guarded and policed. And now even the police come under public suspicion and official arraignment! It is no wonder that a New York daily paper refers to the condition as “a carnival of crime.” And conditions in New York do not differ from conditions in all the other large cities of America. An “epidemic of crime” seems to hold universal sway; and the noose, the electric chair, and the prison seem powerless to deter the law-breaker. For according to the state prison commission of New York State, the state prisons “are fuller than ever before.” Nor does crime confine itself alone to the utterly vicious and depraved, but “in full evening dress” stalks abroad in counting-house and stately palace, in state-house and banking institution, alike; as theft, masquerading under the polite title of “graft,” it invades well-nigh every precinct of human life imaginable. Graft, graft, graft is everywhere, and graft, too, brings “perilous times” in the financial and business world; for property and money are not safe while in the kingdom of graft. A Minnesota newspaper has estimated that the loss sustained by the federal government in 1904 alone was five hundred million dollars, as the result of criminal graft in the appropriation of the public lands. Five hundred million dollars—enough to build the Panama Canal—stolen and lost in one single year! A legislative committee in Ohio unearths the startling fact that many banks bribe those in possession of state and county funds to deposit with them, and it was revealed that one bank had paid as high as twenty thousand dollars in one year to a single individual, in gratuities of this kind, to secure large deposits of the people’s funds without interest! Dishonesty in the great life insurance companies upon an amazing and tremendous scale, is now simply a matter of record. Referring to the resignation of Stuyvesant Fish as trustee of the Mutual Life, with the methods of which concern he was entirely dissatisfied, and the attempt of Railway Magnate Harriman to punish him by ousting him from the directorate of the Illinois Central, the Chicago Tribune facetiously remarks, “Mr. Fish has committed the unpardonable offense of being an honest man.” Surely, in view of these events, “judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not enter.” Eugene Hale tells the august Senate that “there is a general staff conspiracy in the United States Army,” and David Graham Phillips fairly caps the climax in “The Treason of the Senate,” a “long, unbroken story of treachery, privilege, and plunder” upon the part of many of the nation’s law-makers—and all for millions of graft! To substantiate that these are “perilous times,” take, for instance, some recent newspaper head-lines: “Riots in Springfield; Troops Shot Down; Houses Fired by Mob;” “Miners Murder and Pillage in Wyoming;” “Millions of Graft Shared by British Army Officers;” “Perjury Gross in the Patrick Case;” “Train Wrecked and the Express Car Plundered;” “Stole One Hundred Thousand Dollars and Coolly Walked Away;” “Dark Days for Russia Under M. Witte’s Regime;” “Tramps Wreck the Fast Montreal Express;” etc., etc. The public press is literally gorged with the revelations of mountains of corruption, bribery, and evil. Every daily newspaper of itself is a remarkable chapter of accidents, capitalistic oppression, labor riots and misdeeds, crime, greed, immorality, and graft. The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle says: “A combination of official and business graft has been brought to light, which is illustrative of the extent to which the responsible life of this country is honeycombed with dishonest principles and methods.” What a dark and dismal picture indeed! The midnight hour of our country! Not only low-browed thugs and thieves and libertines operating everywhere, but the very life, the responsible life, of the whole country honeycombed with dishonesty! “A time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation”—such the venerable prophet declares shall be the end of it all. The crisis draws on apace. Senator Dolliver, in his speech on the Railway Rate bill, dramatically exclaimed: “I tell you that there is a storm brewing!” Not only “perilous times” because of giant criminality, but human life is everywhere imperiled from increasing accidents and from physical disturbances of the earth. Note some recent head-lines: “Hawaii Hurricane Swept;” “Dynamite Explodes and Wrecks an Express Train;” “Steamship ‘Valencia’ Wrecked, and Nearly All Her Passengers Lost;” “Ten thousand Homes Swept Away by a Tidal Wave, Society Islands;” “Meridian, Miss., Almost Destroyed by a Tornado;” “Fearful Mine Explosion in West Virginia;” “A Department Store Collapses, and One Hundred Lives Lost;” “Theater Destroyed by Fire; Six Hundred Burned;” “One Thousand Ships Wrecked in 1905;” “Twelve Hundred Killed in French Mine Disaster;” etc., etc. Well may we inquire, “What do these things mean?” And is there no remedy? Can the people have no hope? With men “waxing worse and worse,” and “deceivers” and “workers of iniquity” multiplying, is there any escape? All these questions may be answered from the unerring Scriptures. These things mean that the coming of the Lord is near. Jesus of Nazareth is coming again, coming in all the power and the grandeur of heaven to reap “the harvest of the earth,” and the “harvest is the end of the world,” the end of the age of sin and iniquity, the abolition of the dark night of infamy and shame, and the ushering in of “a reign of righteousness” for those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and made “their calling and election sure.” Reader, the “perilous times” are here, the last days have come, iniquity abounds, creation groans under the weight of countless woes, men’s hearts are “failing them for fear” of those things yet to come upon the earth; overtowering pyramids of dishonesty, cancerous masses of bribery and deceit; fearful malfeasance in official life, the love of many waxing cold, volcanoes of social impurity and degradation, a veritable reign of lawlessness—“as it was in the days of Noah”! Still there is hope for the individual—for you! Jesus Christ is the remedy for sin. He can cleanse, revivify, and make pure. To the waiting saints he directs the cheering words, “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.” Soon, soon, the righteous shall be delivered. He shall come whose right it is to reign. Beyond the dark clouds of “perilous times” there is the silver lining of eternal peace—of eternal happiness. “Can ye not discern the signs of the times?” *A Black Cloud Arising***
By Lewis Kingsley
It has been often said that the nineteenth century has been an age of light and advancement; but now in the morning of the twentieth century we see a power at work to interfere with the God-given rights of earth’s inhabitants. Satan is busy in his work of deceiving; and when we come to consider this fair land of undimmed gospel light, with free speech and a free press, we find that Satan is on the alert, opposing the free and true principles of the gospel of Christ; and the saddest of all is that Satan is working successfully through those called the people of God. Very soon, through the medium of the combined churches, and others, he will remove the old land-marks set up by the fathers of this nation, and established in our national Constitution, granting to all the right to worship God according to the dictates of the individual conscience. But alas! that which once was light has become darkness, and how great that darkness! Those of the world who will worship the beast and his image will enjoy their citizenship, and be honored by the devil and his motley crowd, but God’s true people will not be permitted to keep his commandments according to his divine command, without incurring the wrath of God’s enemies, and suffering such persecutions as history shows were inflicted upon the people of God in the Dark Ages. Praise God for his Word, which tells us how to obtain a preparation to stand true to our God amid it all. Thousands will see their mistake when it is too late, that they have helped to turn this great nation back into the darkness of the days of Huss and Wycliffe, who died as martyrs of Jesus; but God lives, and will deliver his true people; he will not permit them to suffer more than is needful to fit them for the society of heaven. O, let not fear take the place of trust! God shall supply all our need. War Breaks Up Mission Station
WAR has broken up the English Universities' Mission station at Masasi in German East Africa. On the twenty-seventh of August, two Roman Catholic priests brought to Masasi news that a band of warriors had destroyed their station not far off. The English missionaries—six men and four women—lost not a moment. They stole away, avoiding the “rebels” by a circuitous route, and struck out for the coast, about one hundred miles away. Canon Porter, one of the missionaries, was ill, and was carried all the way by two devoted native Christians. The journey was safely made, and at last accounts the German authorities were sending troops to the scene of disorder. Mpangile, a station of the Berlin Missionary Society far west of Masasi, has also been attacked. “A COMMONPLACE life,” we say and we sigh,
But why should we sigh as we say?
The commonplace sun in the commonplace sky
Makes up the commonplace day. The moon and the stars are commonplace things,
And the flower that blooms, and the bird that sings;
And dark were the world, and sad our lot,
If the flowers should fail, and the sun shine not—
And God, who studies each separate soul,
Out of commonplace lives makes his beautiful whole. — Home and Century Magazine. How to Teach Children to Be Quiet in Church
By Mrs. S. N. Haskell
There are few things more annoying than to try to speak to a company where some child is making a noise and bringing in confusion. Some parents will sit apparently unconscious of surroundings while their child is making noise enough to rob half the people in the room of any benefit of the discourse. About fifteen years ago I was connected with a church where a good brother and sister had a family of five or six children that were proverbial for their disorderly conduct in church. The parents wished to be gone from home for several months, and engaged a good sister to stay in the house and look after the family during their absence. The first Sabbath after the parents went away, we were all surprised to see all the children quiet during service, with the sister in charge of them. We supposed that they felt strange at first, and thought of course that they would be noisy next Sabbath; but no, to the surprise of every one, Sabbath after Sabbath passed, and those children that had been such a trial to us all continued to be models of propriety during service. My curiosity was aroused; I went to the sister and asked her how she managed to keep all those active children quiet during service. “O,” she replied, “from the first we required them to be quiet during morning and evening worship, at home. Children that are kept quiet during family worship at home will be quiet in church.” She had brought up a family of children of her own, and knew what she was talking about. Since that time I have visited in many homes, and met with many companies; and I have found that the good sister’s rule always holds true. I once knew a man and his wife who had one child. They said it was nervous, and nearly every Sabbath one of the parents or grandparents stayed at home with the child. They were all earnest Christians, and I never knew the secret of the child’s nervousness in church, until I chanced to meet one morning with the family around the family altar. While the Word of God was being read, no attention was paid to the child; it was playing and making as much noise as it liked. When we knelt to pray, the grandfather led in prayer; and while he was praying, the little child climbed upon his back, and sprang up and down, making believe that he was a hobby-horse. When we rose from prayer, instead of reproving the child, both the parents and grandparents laughed heartily at what they thought the child’s cuteness. I did not wonder that the child had little respect for the worship of the Lord in his house, when it was encouraged in showing such disrespect for the worship of God at the family altar. I remember in one family where I often called there was an especially active child; he never seemed quiet for one minute during the day, and yet on the Sabbath during service he was always quiet. I was invited to spend a few days with the family, and as we gathered around the family altar, I discovered the secret of the active child’s quietness in church. When the family assembled for worship, a footstool was placed by the mother’s chair, and the little man seated upon it. As an older child distributed the Bibles to the older members of the family, a book (not a Bible) was given to the smallest child. He took the book and quietly amused himself with it; occasionally he would start from the footstool, but the mother’s hand, laid firmly upon him, soon quieted him. One morning he did not heed her gentle admonition, and insisted upon moving about. The mother quietly took him from the room, and settled the question with him alone; and when they returned, he was well content to sit quietly. He was taught that reading the Bible was God talking to us, and praying was talking to the Lord, and that it was disrespectful to God to be noisy during worship. I have never found children troublesome in church that were required to respect the daily worship of God at the family altar. “Children that are kept quiet during family worship at home will be quiet in church.”