AT the last quarterly-meeting of the church in Oklahoma, O. T., three members were added by baptism.
THE twelfth session of the Oklahoma Conference will be held in connection with the camp-meeting at Oklahoma City, August 24 to September 3.
BROTHER D. U. HALE reports nine new Sabbath-keepers at Nacogdoches, Texas. Also that some brethren at Douglas are planning to build a new schoolhouse.
OUR sympathies are extended to Brother C. B. Rule, one of our Virginia ministers, who has been bereaved of his wife, a faithful and devoted helper in the work of the Lord, who fell asleep July 13, 1905.
A CHURCH of seventeen members has been organized at Waco, Texas, by brethren W. M. Cubley and W. W. Eastman. These brethren recently dedicated a new church building at Levi, in McLennan County.
THE addition of fifty to the membership in the East Prussian Conference, and seventy in the West German Conference, during the past quarter, is reported. In the other fields in Europe there had been additions.
IN the Review we notice the following departures to foreign fields: Brother J. W. Westphal and Sister Carrie Segebert for Argentina, South America; Brother D. C. Babcock and wife for the Gold Coast, Africa; and Brother J. J. Westrup, wife, and child for Honan, China.
AT Logan, Kansas, where S. W. Gamble, the noted Sunday agitator, had been making a great noise, Prof. A. T. Jones, of Battle Creek, Mich., recently preached two strong sermons to large audiences in the opera house. This presentation of the truth was well received by the people.
A LETTER from Brother B. J. Cady, of Society Islands, tells of the baptism of a Scandinavian brother in Raiatea. This man attended our first meeting in that island about fourteen years ago. Last June his two children were baptized at the time of the Eastern Polynesian Conference session. The seed of truth sometimes does not bear fruit till after many days.
BROTHER H. F. COURTER, formerly of California, but more recently of Georgia, writes encouragingly of his self-supporting work. At the last quarterly-meeting of the church at Atlanta he baptized two sisters, the Baptist church being used for the occasion. He usually attends the Baptist Sunday-school, and either teaches a class or reviews the lesson. His address is Decatur, Ga., R. F. D. No. 3.
AT the recent session of the South Dakota Conference, it was decided to support a laborer in some foreign field designated by the General Conference, and to pay $12 a week toward the support of a laborer in Korea. It was also recommended that every church and isolated Sabbath-keeper assume the responsibility of supplying every family in their community with a complete set of the new "Signs of the Times Leaflets." All of which is worthy of emulation by all conferences that have not done likewise.
WRITING from St. Elmo, Chattanooga, Tenn., Dr. O. C. Godmark says: "I am now out with a tent, having a splendid interest among the better classes here in St. Elmo, just at the foot of old Lookout Mountain. I started in with the tent entirely alone, with no help of any kind—not even a tent-master or organist or cook—which of course went pretty hard with me. However, things have changed around so that I have a good helper in the speaking and a good company of Bible-workers to assist in the visiting." He tells us that the SIGNS is indispensable.
THE "Third Annual Announcement of Lornedale Academy" is at hand in the form of a neat pamphlet of twelve pages and cover. This institution is located at Lorne Park, Ontario, Canada, having a land attachment of fifty acres. In addition to some industrial training, the educational advantages comprise a primary, an intermediate, and a preparatory course, together with a special course, music, etc. The first term of the third year will begin September 20 and continue thirteen weeks. For further information, address the principal, Prof. Eugene Leland, Lorne Park, Ont.
AT the recent session of South Dakota Conference the following officers were elected: President, C. A. Burman; vice-president, E. G. Hayes; secretary, N. M. Jorgensen; treasurer, George W. Miller; business and transportation agent, C. M. Clark; correspondent secretary, Leona Burman; educational secretary, J. W. Christian; Sabbath-school and health and temperance secretary, Hannah Peterson; recording secretary, G. W. Miller; assistant secretary and German secretary, F. R. Isaac; religious liberty secretary, E. G. Hayes. Conference Committee—C. A. Burman, E. G. Hayes, F. L. Perry, C. M. Clark, Wm. H. Twining, Conrad Reiswig, and Alfred Jenson.
A NATIVE CANVASSER.
NDABAMBI is a native young man with Brother Chaney at the Basuto Mission. Brother Chaney recently sent him to Harismith to sell some native literature. Ndabambi wrote a report of his experiences for the South African Missionary, which gives the following English translation:
"Here is a report of my first attempt to sell books. I began to go among the people with the books, and some bought, but others laughed and said, 'What sort of books are these that are coming around to be sold?' Then I began to show what the book was like inside, and when they saw what the book was, one man bought a book. Some who at first made sport of me became interested in the book, and later they asked the price, and when I told them 3/6, they began to buy.
"There was a man (Zulu) at the house where we stayed, with whom I slept. He soon noticed that I kept the Sabbath, and said, 'Why do you not work to-day?' I replied, 'This is God's Sabbath, and He tells us not to work on the Sabbath day.' He inquired, 'Is not Sunday the Sabbath?' I said, 'It is not,' and showed him the law of God in Exodus 20, and also told him to read Matt. 28:1. At first he could not understand, but later he said, 'I see! the Sabbath is the day before the first day of the week.'
Then he went to his minister, who could not deny that the seventh day was the Sabbath. Then he began to tell his friends about the Sabbath, and said he was going home soon and would tell all the people of his kraal what he had learned.
"God blessed me in selling Zulu and Sesuto books, and I thank Him who taught me, and gave me strength for the work, and kept me from fearing the people. When the people spoke in an insulting manner to me, I kept silent. I thank God for His blessing which was with me in this my first attempt to sell books, and trust He will bless in future attempts. I hope God will bless those who bought the books, and that in studying them they may find light and the love of Jesus in the books, and that they may know Jesus as their Saviour from sin.
"I sold about thirty-eight Zulu 'Christ Our Saviour,' and about twenty Sesuto books and tracts. I am, NDABAMBI."
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LATE, clean copies of Signs, Review, Watchman, Little Friend, Bible Training School, Life Boat, Instructor, Good Health, Life and Health, and tracts. Address M. W. Delhorbe, Pullman, Mich.
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THE NORTHWESTERN LINE RUSSIA-JAPAN ATLAS.
Send ten cents in stamps to R. R. Ritchie, No. 617 Market Street, San Francisco, for Russo-Japanese War Atlas, issued by the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, three fine colored maps each 14x20, bound in convenient form for reference. The Eastern Situation shown in detail with tables showing relative military and naval strength and financial resources of Russia and Japan.
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Abiding Spirit
ABIDING SPIRIT.—By the late Mrs. S. M. I. Henry. The object of this book is to show the necessity of having the help of the Holy Spirit in the performance of the common and every-day duties of life. Plain, cloth . . . . . . . . . . 40c.
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EDUCATION IN THE HOME. NO. 13.
By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle
BY MRS. L. D. AVERY-STUTTLE.
"YES, papa, I borrowed it yesterday; Emma said she could lend it a few days, because she has learned her lesson for next Sunday. I will go and fetch it; I left it upstairs;" and away the little girl hurried after the catechism.
"A catechism! of all things!" mused Mrs. Wilber, "I wonder what Mr. Hartman wants of a Catholic catechism."
Presently Beth returned, holding in her hands a copy of "The Catholic Christian Instructed." "Now, friends," began Brother Hartman, "having found in the prophetic Word of God that there will surely arise a certain power which should wear out the saints of the Most High and tamper with His law, and having found that they,—the times and the law,—would be given into the hand of this power for a certain period, we look about us to see if there has arisen any power which has persecuted God's saints and sought to change His law. Walter Grey, you are somewhat of a student of history, I believe; do you remember of ever reading from any reliable historian that there has ever arisen a persecuting power which persecuted and hunted Christ's Church until thousands upon thousands were slain?"
"I presume you refer to the bloody persecution of the Church by the Roman power," replied the lad.
"Certainly, I do; well, we find by a study of Dan. 7:25, that it was the very power that wore out the saints of the Most High that should also tamper with the holy law of the Almighty. Now, we boldly affirm this to have been the Papacy; and if—"
"But," smiled Mrs. Jones, "Suppose they deny this charge—it's a pretty serious one, you know—ought we not to give them the benefit of the doubt, Mr. Hartman?"
For reply, Brother Hartman rapidly turned the leaves of the catechism which Beth had borrowed, until he had found the place he had in mind.
"But, instead of denying these charges," said he, "they not only admit them, but are proud and bold in testifying that the Church of Rome is responsible for the change in God's law; and that she actually boasts of her power to do this very thing. This little book is a work I have been anxious to see for a long time, knowing that it contains the confession and boast of the Catholic Church. But it has never fallen into my hands until just the other day."
All this time, Mrs. Wilber sat earnestly watching the speaker, and curiously regarding the little brown covered book.
"Come, father," smiled Elsie, "please don't keep us in suspense any longer; we are all anxious to hear the testimony of the book."
"Very well, I will read from page 252, chapter 23:
"Question: What are the days which the Church commands to be kept holy?—Answer: First, the Sunday, or the Lord's day, which we observe by apostolic tradition, instead of the Sabbath. . . .
"Question: What warrant have you for keeping the Sunday, preferable to the ancient Sabbath, which was the Saturday?—Answer: We have for it the authority of the Catholic Church and apostolic tradition.
"Question: Does the Scripture anywhere command the Sunday to be kept for the Sabbath? Answer: The Scripture commands us to hear the Church; . . . but the Scripture does not in particular mention this change of the Sabbath."
"Well, wife," interrupted Mr. Wilber, "it rather strikes me, now, that this is pretty clear testimony. These people seem to acknowledge without hesitation or shame, that they are the guilty parties."
"Yes," said John, "I believe that in almost any court of justice such testimony would be admitted. If a sum of money had been stolen, and some one pointed out the thief, and then this thief readily pleaded guilty, and displayed the stolen property, no one would think of doubting who the culprit was,—would they, Josie, do you think?"
"Why, John! you're quite a lawyer. I'd no idea, you could argue so well," smiled Josie.
"I think John would make a better preacher than he would lawyer," declared Walter Grey. John blushed a little, while Mrs. Wilber said earnestly:
"Just let me see that little book,—I can hardly believe my ears,—let me see if my own eyes will tell the same story;" and Mrs. Wilber reached for the little volume which had created such interest.
"Why! here is more on the subject,—dear me! shall I read it? shall I? I'm afraid I'm very foolish to be so agitated; indeed, I almost find myself wishing I had not attended these readings at all;—then I would have known nothing about it, and so quite escaped any responsibility."
"But, my friend," said dear grandma, quietly, "you will remember that the Lord especially speaks of a class of people who are destroyed for lack of knowledge. It would be a pity to be among them, don't you think so?"
"O my," exclaimed Billy Black, shuffling his feet uneasily, "I ain't got much knowledge,—I don't want to be destroyed,—s'pose I will be, Mr. Hartman?"
"Certainly not," responded Mrs. Wilber quickly, while her kindly motherly eyes filled with tears, "certainly not, you poor boy. But of course one must understand how one feels. But O, just hear this!" she continued, still fixing her eyes intently upon the little book. "I am more surprised than I can express! shall I read, Mr. Hartman?"
"Certainly," replied Brother and Sister Hartman in chorus.
"Well, I'll just continue where you left off, on page 252;" and Mrs. Wilber read in a clear, tho somewhat tremulous voice:
"St. John speaks of the Lord's day (Rev. 1:10), but he does not tell us what day of the week this was, much less does he tell us that this day was to take the place of the Sabbath ordained in the commandments. St. Luke also speaks of the disciples meeting together to break bread, on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7), and St. Paul (1 Cor. 16:2) orders that on the first day of the week, the Corinthians should lay by in store what they designed to bestow in charity; . . . but neither the one nor the other tells us that this first day of the week was to be henceforward the day of worship and the Christian Sabbath. So that, truly, the best authority we have for this, is the testimony and ordinance of the Church."
"Hm—m! if that isn't a most astonishing admission, then I don't know!" interrupted Mr. Wilber.
"But wait until I'm through," protested his wife; "just hear this;" and she read rapidly:
"And therefore those who pretend to be such religious observers of the Sunday, whilst they take no notice of other festivals ordained by the same church authority, show that they act by humor, and not by reason and religion; since Sundays and holidays all stand upon the same foundation, viz., the ordinance of the Church."
Mrs. Wilber ceased reading; handed the book to Brother Hartman, buried her face in her hands, and seemed lost in thought.
A TALE OF HALF-HOURS.
By Susan Coolidge
"MOLLY, what have you been doing?"
"Nothing, mama."
"What do you mean by nothing? I left you sitting by this window half an hour ago. Where have you been since then?"
"Nowhere, mama. I was watching the kitten."
"Watching the kitten for half an hour! O Molly! And you promised to help me this morning."
Molly Lester was naturally an indolent child. The blood did not dance in her veins as a child's blood should; she felt no quick impulses toward action and movement. But none of us are sent into the world to do only the things we feel like doing; and the fact that we have naturally a bias against what is right or dutiful, is but a reason for fighting hard and steadily, and making ourselves do the duty.
Molly was not fighting with her indolence. She made faint resolutions to do so once in a while; but when the moment came for the effort she was too apt to indulge herself, "just this once," or to reflect that "only twenty minutes more" or "only half an hour" could make no difference, unmindful of the fact that life is made up of minutes and half hours, and that to waste them means to waste life.
There was another girl in the house who was exactly the opposite of Molly. Her name was Lucy. She was Molly's cousin, and about the same age. Her father and mother had died within a few weeks of each other, and Molly's father had taken her home to live with him, and be a sister to Molly, who had none of her own. The boys—there were three—had not been at all glad to have Lucy come. "Girls are no fun," they said; "they are always staying about in bedrooms, and saying they don't want to do anything; and one is enough in a house anyhow."
The boys judged all girls by Molly, but they soon found that Lucy was of a different sort. She didn't "stay in bedrooms;" she liked to go rowing, to walk in the woods, and ride on the haycart, as much as the boys themselves; and, tho she was always busy, she could generally take time to mend gloves, cover balls, and be useful and obliging.
The girls were too unlike in character to understand each other very well, or to grow intimate. Lucy had been carefully trained by an energetic mother, who believed in "system," and Molly's dawdling ways were always irritating to her. Molly seldom began any new piece of work, and never finished what she began. Lucy had been taught that she must finish.
Before she went to sleep each night, Lucy had pretty much decided in her own mind what she meant to do with every hour of the next day. So much time for this, so much for that, each following each in regular sequence. And tho a space was always left for "fun," Lucy knew in advance what she meant the fun to be.
Molly, on the contrary, began her days with no idea whatever as to how she should employ them, except the unconscious resolve not to do any more than she must. She was always late to breakfast; and while Lucy helped her aunt wash the breakfast-cups, Molly sat at the table idly balancing a spoon over the edge of hers. Too often she went upstairs and lay on her bed half asleep, when she should have been waking herself up with fresh air.15"Molly, come and have a good swing," Lucy would cry; "Molly, the boys want us to go to the Duck Brook after buttercups." But "I don't want to, I'm tired," would be Molly's answer. She was not really tired, and she knew in her heart that, if she chose, she could perfectly well jump up and go.
Every now and then she roused, as indolent people do, with a sort of wonder at the result of Lucy's industry.
"I can't think how you find time to do so many things," she would say; "I should like a sofa cover like yours for my room, but I never could make such a big thing."
"O, yes! you could. You could do it in odd minutes, and never know that it took any time at all," declared Lucy. "There's all that bit after breakfast, when you are waiting for Miss Allen—"
"Only three-quarters of an hour."
"I know—because you are almost always late. But, Molly, you can do lots in three-quarters of an hour."
"Nonsense! I should just get out my things, and then have to stop."
"Well, there's the time after your music practise, and—"
"I can't begin to get to work in little bits of time like those," declared Molly. "And I am always tired after practising, and don't feel like doing anything."
So it went on year after year. "I wish I had things like Lucy," Molly would say; or, when an injured feeling came over her, "I wish the boys didn't like Lucy better than me. It isn't fair, for I'm their own sister, and she is only a cousin."
And now the two girls are grown up, and are women. I went to the Lester's home the other day. Jim, the oldest boy, is soon to be married. He came in while I was there. He spoke to us all, but he sat down near Lucy, and had a long, low-voiced talk with her about the little home he is furnishing. It struck me curiously, and I couldn't help looking at Molly, who sat by the window with her hands folded, and took little part in the conversation.
Mrs. Lester has grown older of late years, and looks rather feeble. When the clock struck twelve, I saw Lucy get up, and lay down her work—a table-cover which she was embroidering for Jim's bride. She went out, and presently returned with a glass of milk and a biscuit. "Aunty must have her lunch," she said. Again I glanced at Molly, and wondered that she should leave this daughterly office to Lucy.
Ned, the second son, came in after that. He was in trouble with a difficult sum in algebra, and he took his book to Lucy, who again laid down her work to help him. Mr. Lester put his head into the room, and called out, "Lucy, will you come here a moment?" Next I saw her having a whispered conference with the maid.
After dinner, I went upstairs to get my bonnet, which had been left in Molly's room. She was lying on her bed, half asleep, and I couldn't help giving her a little hint as to what I had been thinking of.
"I know it," she answered plaintively. "They always did prefer Lucy; they don't care at all for me."
I tied my bonnet on silently; when I turned from the glass, Molly was fast asleep!
Now, girls, which would you rather be like—Molly or Lucy?—Susan Coolidge.
WAIT A WEE.
By Ida Hibbard
[Ida Hibbard, in the Iowa Deaconess.]
WAIT a wee, and do not weary,
Clouds will pass away,
God is watching o'er us ever,
He will send a brighter day.
Patience have, and never falter
In thy faith; God knoweth best;
Bear the cross He sends thee bravely,
Leaving in His hands the rest.
Never river, howe'er weary,
But winds to the sea;
Never night so dark and dreary,
But the morn broke cheerily.
Behind dark clouds the sun is shining,
For the river waits the sea,
After darkness comes the sunshine,
If we only "wait a wee."
LESSON 8.—AUGUST 20.—JEHOIAKIM BURNS THE WORD OF GOD
The Sabbath-school lessons have been discontinued. The Lesson Quarterly may be obtained, containing three months' lessons and notes, for five cents. Address, Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal. The Sunday-school lessons will continue.
INTERNATIONAL SERIES THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON 8.—AUGUST 20.—JEHOIAKIM BURNS THE WORD OF GOD.
(21) "So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll; and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes that stood beside the king. (22) Now the king was sitting in the winter-house in the ninth month; and there was a fire in the brazier burning before him. (23) And it came to pass, when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, that the king cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. (24) And they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. (25) Moreover Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll; but he would not hear them. (26) And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Jehovah hid them.
(27) Then the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, (28) Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned. (29) And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah thou shalt say, Thus saith Jehovah: Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? (30) Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. (31) And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, but they harkened not. (32) Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and there were added besides unto them many like words."
Golden Text.—"Amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God." Jer. 26: 13.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What did King Jehoiakim desire to have brought to him? What did Jehudi do, after bringing in the roll? Verse 21. Note 1. (2) What time of year was it? What provision was made for the comfort of the company? Verse 22. (3) As a few leaves of the roll were read, what did the king do? How much of the roll was treated in this manner? Verse 23. Note 2. (4) How were the king and his companions affected by the reading? Verse 24. Note 3. (5) Was there any protest against the king's action? Verse 25. Note 4. (6) What did the king command concerning Jeremiah and his scribe? Why were they not arrested? Verse 26. Note 5. (7) After this event, what word came to Jeremiah? Verse 27. (8) What was the prophet directed to do? Verse 28. (9) What was to be especially said concerning Jehoiakim? Verse 29. (10) What was to be the consequence of the king's rash act? Verse 30. Note 6. (11) What was the judgment pronounced against the king's seed and the people in general? Verse 31. Note 7. (12) What did Jeremiah and Baruch then do? Did they merely copy what had been written in the first roll? Verse 32.
NOTES.
1. The event which forms the basis of the present lesson occurred about sixteen years after those mentioned in the lesson of last week. King Jehoiakim was the son of King Josiah, but he was a very different kind of man. "He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God." See 2 Chron. 36: 1-8. When Josiah was confronted with the law of God, the book having been found in the temple, he immediately set about carrying out its requirements. The roll which Jehoiakim ordered Jehudi to bring before him contained matter which the Lord had told Jeremiah to write out. Jeremiah obeyed the command of the Lord, and had read the matter to the people. Read the first part of the lesson chapter. Then it was brought to the attention of the king, and he ordered it to be brought in, and read to him.
2. This disposition of the message of the Lord, especially designed to cause the backslidden people to return to Him and be forgiven, shows a great departure from the course pursued by Josiah.
3. The apostasy of the king and his princes is emphasized by their stupidity in supposing that a message from the God of Israel could be destroyed by fire. The very history which the book contained was the evidence that God's Word could not be made void. Of this word Christ says, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 6:63. And Peter, quoting from Isaiah, says: "All flesh is as grass. . . . The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but the word of the Lord endureth forever." 1 Peter 1:24, 25. Cutting in pieces the vessel's chart will not remove the rocks and shoals therein marked for the guidance of the mariner.
4. The king's contempt for the warning message, sent in mercy to him and his people, was not because of his ignorance. He was faithfully entreated by some of the princes not to be so rash; but he was so much under the influence of the king of Egypt, who had made him king, that his heart was completely hardened, and his "conscience seared with a hot iron" (1 Tim. 4:2). So is every one who persistently rejects the overtures of the merciful God of Israel.
5. We are not told how the Lord hid the prophet and his faithful scribe, but His arm is not shortened by lack of ways and means.
6. Because Jehoiakim rejected the Word of the Lord, the Lord rejected him, just as Saul was cut off for a like reason. The reign of his house was to end with himself. His son Jehoiachin did attempt to reign, but in three months the king of Babylon dethroned him, and put Jehoiakim's brother in place of his son. See 2 Kings 24. The details of how Jehoiakim's body was left to decay without burial are not given, but it is probable that he was killed in battle. Jehoiachin could hardly be said to rule in Judah while he did nominally reign, for the land was occupied by the army of Nebuchadnezzar, and Jerusalem was in a state of siege.
7. Rejecting the Word of God by denying its authenticity, or by denying such portions as do not harmonize with the science and theology of "learned" men, is just as blasphemous as Jehoiakim's cutting it to pieces with a knife, and the effect is far more disastrous, in that its influence is far more extensive. Another way of cutting the Word is to accept those portions that are pleasing to us, or may answer some special purpose, and ignoring such portions as cross our preconceived ideas or reprove our course of conduct. Let it be always remembered that it will meet us in the judgment, however we may treat it here. Christ has made the perpetuity of the Word of God very emphatic: "Man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," Matt. 4:4. "It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." Luke 16:17.
The Test of Total Abstinence
A MODERATE drinker became very angry with a friend who argued that safety was only to be found in total abstinence. "What, sir," said he, "do you think that I have lost control over myself?"
"I do not know," was the reply; "but let us put it to the proof. For the next six months do not touch a drop." The proposal was accepted. He kept to his promise, and at the close of a month he said to his friend, with tears in his eyes: "I believe you have saved me from a drunkard's grave. I never knew before that I was in any sense a slave to drink, but during the last month I have fought the fiercest battle of my life. Had the test been tried later on it might have been too late. I mean to keep the pledge for life."—Selected.
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More help at the Vegetarian Cafe, San Francisco, Cal.: 1 Cashier; 4 strong young ladies to wait on tables; 1 middle-aged woman to wash silverware and glasses; 2 good men to prepare vegetables and wash dishes. Steady work, good wages to the right people.
Write at once to E. G. Fulton,
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For Rent
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Sanitarium, Cal.
Tithing and the Second Tithe
By Editor
A Seventh Is Not One Tithe or Two Tithes.
A person writes us from San Francisco about the first and second tithe. He says that he earns $10.00 a week. A tithe of that would be $1.00; a second tithe would be 90 cents. This is correct. But he believes because God requires the seventh part of our time that the 10 ought to be divided by 7. The quotient would be $1.43, or practically that. He thinks the tithe then would be $1.00 and the second tithe 43 cents.
Of course if that is correct logic and mathematics, it would work elsewhere. If our correspondent should get $14.00 a week and he should divide it by 7 he would get as a quotient $2.00. According to his method above, his first tithe would be 60 cents more than a tenth, and he would have no second tithe at all. There are who see no scripture for a second tithe; but if one believes it duty, let him pay it honestly. Above all things be faithful in that which is clearly taught, the payment of the one tithe. Let nothing excuse that; you owe it to God. As to the second, follow your best light.
OUR FORTHCOMING SPECIALS.
By Editor
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES is set for the purpose of giving the last Gospel message of Revelation 14 to the world. And it gives it week by week, number by number. Yet that message is so broad, so comprehensive, that it is impossible to scarcely more than touch it in one issue. In fact, it takes an entire volume of the paper to develop that great message at all adequately.
Yet there are many who wish it presented in its various phases briefly. To do this, we propose to issue, beginning with the first week in October, four "Special Message" numbers, as follows:
The Sure Word of Prophecy and Christ's Coming.
The Sanctuary, The Gospel in Type and Antitype.
The Law, the Gospel, and the Sabbath,—"The Whole Duty of Man."
The Church Triumphant.
The above titles express only a part of that which each number will contain. Here is a suggestive list of the main articles so far as developed:
III. THE LAW, THE GOSPEL, AND THE SABBATH,—"THE WHOLE DUTY OF MAN."
The Eternal Law, The Everlasting Gospel.
The Bible Sabbath.
The First Day of the Week.
The Broken Hedge, Sabbath Changed in the Church.
Babylon—Its Character.
Principles of Babylon in Succeeding Ages.
The Reformation and America.
Encroachments on Freedom—Beast, Image, Mark.
Great Field of Prophecy.
Signs in the Earth.
IV. THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT.
A Spirit-Filled Church.
Requisite Conditions to.
Spiritual Gifts.
The Apostasy.
The Great Center of Sanctuary Service.
The Seal of God—Sabbath Restored.
God's Last Great Protest.
A Church Restored, and Triumphant.
Besides these our Home department will be full of precious instruction. There will be Bible-Readings, poems, music, if there is room, many illustrations. Each number will have a specially-prepared front-page cover-design, attractive and appropriate to that issue.
This series ought to have a circulation, at the least calculation, of half a million. More about it in the future.
Hypnotism to Reform Offenders
By Editor
A Denver judge proposes using hypnotism to reform offenders. See what the SIGNS OF THE TIMES has to say of this plan next week.
The Sabbath-School Worker
By Editor
"The Sabbath-School Worker" comes to us filled with good things. Mrs. L. Flora Plummer is now its editor, and we are sure the journal will prosper under her skilful and vigorous management. We wish the helpful little monthly unbounded success.
Sonoma County Camp-Meeting
By Editor
Sonoma County Camp-meeting.—According to latest advices the much-changed Sonoma County Camp-meeting has finally been settled. It will be held in Cloverdale; fine grounds have been obtained. The date is August 17 to 27.
Sabbath-School Children of India
The Sabbath-school children of India work very hard that they may have a pice to give to the Lord on the Sabbath. A pice is worth about one-half cent, not much in this country, but in that land it represents about one-tenth of a laborer's day wages, what ten to twenty cents would mean in this country. They appreciate the blessing of the Gospel; do we?
