Earlier text: OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIESDangers of Mediumship
By Joseph Harvey Waggoner
Modern Spiritualism.—No. 5.
As we approach this subject, we are aware that spiritualists will claim that we magnify the danger—that we view the subject from a wrong standpoint, and with eyes of prejudice. But we think we are able to successfully repel this charge. We have presented, and propose still to present, spiritualism from the standpoint of the spiritualists. We have not offered as evidence the testimony of their enemies, or of those not well acquainted, by observation and experience, with its workings. Let this fact be marked. We now propose to examine the subject of the dangers of mediumship or spirit control, and this altogether in the light of proofs presented by themselves. The following points are presented to us by spiritualistic data:— 1. The spirits control the mediums, acting, not only independent of, but against, their wills. 2. The spirits have all the evil dispositions, propensities, and desires of wicked, debased persons in this life. 3. These desires they had no means of gratifying until the recent discovery of mediumship. 4. Spirits do now gratify their desires by inducing such desires in the medium, causing them to indulge in evil practices, of the gratification of which the spirits partake. As some of the testimonies now offered bear upon more than one of these points, we shall not arrange the evidence under each head respectively, as that would involve the necessity of repeating them, and thus add to the length of our articles. Of the great influence and power of spirits over the mediums no one who has not examined the matter can have any idea. Dr. Gridley gives an account of an aged medium, of sixty years, living near him (in Southampton, Mass.), whose sufferings “in two months at the hands of evil spirits would fill a volume of 500 pages.” Very little of this ever becomes known outside of the “circles.” The following extract will give some idea of the above case:— “They forbade his eating to the very point of starvation. He was a perfect skeleton; they compelled him to walk day and night, with intermissions, to be sure, as their avowed object was to torment him as much and as long as possible. They swore by everything sacred and profane that they would knock his damned brains out, always accompanying their threat with blows on the forehead or temples, like that of a mallet in the hands of a powerful man; with this difference, however, the latter would have made him unconscious, while in full consciousness he now endured the indescribable agony of those heavy and oft-repeated blows; they declared they would skin him alive; that he must go to New York and be dissected by inches, all of which he fully believed. They declared they would bore holes into his brain, when he instantly felt the action suited to the word, as though a dozen augers were being turned at once into his very skull; this done they would fill his brain with bugs and worms to eat it out, when their gnawing would instantly commence. “These spirits would pinch and pound him, twitch him up and throw him down, yell and blaspheme, and use the most obscene language that mortal can conceive; they would declare that they were Christ in one breath and devils in the next; they would tie him head to foot for a long time together, in a most excruciating posture; declare they would wring his damned neck off because he doubted them or refused obedience.”—Astounding Facts from the Spirit World, pp. 253, 254. Judge Edmonds says that entire spirit control, or the “exclusion of the medium’s selfhood,—a suspension of his own will,” is very rare. See his Spir. Tracts, No. 4, p. 7. But this language proves that he believes that it does sometimes occur. An approach to it is given in his second Vol. on Spiritualism, Dr. Dexter being the medium. He says:— “It was altogether a very extraordinary manifestation. It was conducted throughout with unusual and indeed unknown violence. He took entire possession of the doctor, not merely of his arm, as others did, and the doctor said he felt an almost uncontrollable desire to strike me, and to commit acts of violence.”—Appendix A, vol. 2, p. 512. The following case was given in No. 13 of the Spiritual Telegraph:— “A lady who had joined the Methodist church, in Cleveland, only two weeks previous, was thrown into a magnetic, or, as our Western friends call it, a spiritualized condition, and called for music; and after she had danced fifteen or twenty minutes was suddenly released, and returned home, I presume none the worse for what she could not help.” Prof. Brittan thus speaks of Mr. Davis’ mediumship:— “During the delivery of ‘Nature’s Divine Revelations,’ Mr. Davis was profoundly entranced, and so far removed from the sphere of outward consciousness as to be temporarily absolved from the obligations of the earth-life. . . . Of course in his state of waking consciousness he was no more accountable for what had been uttered during the trance, than the reader is responsible for his dreams, or for unconsciously talking in his sleep.”—Telegraph’s Answer to Mahan, pp. 8, 9. Of mediumship he further says:— “We may further add, in this connection, that the trance mediums for spirit intercourse are equally irresponsible. Many of them are totally unable to resist the powers which come to them from the invisible and unknown realms.”—Id. p. 10. This passive state of the mediums in all forms of manifestation has long been inculcated by the spirits. The following was published in 1852:— “Such is the physical and mental condition of minds that we intend to make a great change in them before we write what will be necessary. The writing will not be the commencement of our work, but will follow other manifestations as soon as will be expedient. . . . The writing will be executed with great rapidity, when mediums shall become wholly passive.”—Pilgrimage of T. Paine, p. 250. A well-known spiritualist writes:— “I have seen a medium gently magnetized and thrown into a trance in one minute, by the imperceptible influence of the spirits, in accordance with their own original proposition, reluctantly acceded to by the medium and her friends; during which, sometimes, she had visions of the spirit world; and at others become entirely non-cognizant of everything transpiring in either world. In the latter case, the spirits, as previously promised, made use of her organs of speech, unconsciously to herself.”—Ballou, quoted by Dr. Hare, p. 320. The following scene of the possession of a medium is described by Dr. Gridley, who offers the fullest proof of the truth of his statements:— “We have seen the medium evidently possessed by Irishmen and Dutchmen of the lowest grade—heard him repeat Joshua’s drunken prayers, exactly like the original—imitate his drunkenness in word and deed—try to repeat or rather act over his most brutal deeds (from which for decency’s sake, he was instantly restrained by extraordinary exertion and severe rebuke)—snap and grate his teeth most furiously, strike and swear, while his eyes flashed like the fires of an orthodox perdition. We have heard him hiss, and seen him writhe his body like the serpent when crawling, and dart out his tongue and play it exactly like that reptile. These exhibitions were intermingled with the most wrangling and horrible convulsions.”—Astounding Facts, p. 19. Much more to the same intent might be added, but this will not be dissented from. The power of spirits to control the mediums is very great; indeed it is unlimited, as these testimonies show. And we shall presently show how this power is used and abused. Closely connected with the foregoing are some of the following, given to show the disposition of the spirits. Says Dr. Randolph:— “Many of these denizens of the mid-regions of space are insane—in the higher sense all are so—and to them, lust and its gratifications, dram-drinking and mal-practice of all sorts, is a reality.”—Dealings with the Dead, p. 150. “Another admitted that he was drowned in consequence of getting dead-drunk. On being asked if he was happy, he answered, ‘Damned happy.’ Having evidently been a seaman, who had sailed under an officer who was present, he had preserved the usual fondness of sailors for tobacco and grog. This propensity he could not avoid displaying, notwithstanding his having passed death’s dread portal, and the obvious inutility of expressing to mortals his craving for these pernicious stimulants. Thus it appears that in the spirit world, one means of retribution for the indulgence of bad propensities in this life, is subjugation to their ungratified cravings.”—Dr. Hare, Spir. Sci. Dem., p. 137. In offering the testimony of Judge Edmonds, we refer to the evidence of the reality contained in the first extract. He describes a tall, vicious-looking woman, very dirty, hair gray, teeth gone, eyebrows heavy, and a snaky pair of eyes. She was beating a child of four or five years. He then says:— “I next observed a well-dressed female sitting by the wayside, apparently in great distress. She had been driven out of his dwelling by the man for whom she had sinned on earth—for whom she had retained, even in death, an insane attachment, and whose company she had sought as her only solace in the spheres.”—Vol. 2, p. 186. He directed her to a mountain where she might see a better country; and taking the child, she started. In a note, page 189, he says:— “Now in August, 1854, the spirits of the female and of that child have approached and spoken to me through a medium. She gave her name, and said she was a French woman, and lived in Paris during the reign of Louis Philippe. She spoke of her parents, of her husband, and of her brothers and sisters. She gave me some little account of the progress she had made, and said she had not yet attained the base of the mountain toward which she was traveling.” In the same connection, he gives the following ludicrous account of the freaks of a mischievous boy and of his punishment:— “On the opposite side of the way, I observed what seemed to be a full-grown boy, had caught a dog, had split open his tail, and put a stick in it, merely to enjoy the sport of seeing his sufferings. He then turned the dog loose, and stood enjoying the scene. The attention of the owner of the dog was drawn to his cries, and, discovering the cause, he beat the boy, who, being as cowardly as he was cruel, fled, but was pursued, and beaten, and kicked, far up the road.”—Edmonds, Vol. 2, p. 182. If any man had tried to get up a burlesque on spiritualism, he could not have exceeded the above. Only to think of a spirit boy splitting a spirit dog’s tail and putting a stick in it for spiritual enjoyment! Surely, he needed the “gravity of a Judge” to be able to record this. However, with all its ludicrousness it is good proof on the point in question. The following is as disgusting as the last is ridiculous:— “At the door of one of the hovels, that stood a little back from the road, I saw a female who seemed to be about twenty-six years old. She was round and full in appearance—was a dark brunette with painted cheeks. Her whole appearance, garb, and manner were meretricious, and she had taken up her position there to entice some one to enter her dwelling. At length a man in passing turned aside, under the influence of passions which had marked his earthly career, and with her entered the house. I saw they were both influenced by the same passions, but were incapable of gratifying them. The woman became furious. She raved wildly, and in her insensate rage she dashed the things around her to pieces. The man enjoyed her anger, and she raged at him for laughing at her. She seized a chair, and aimed a blow at him. He evaded it, and with his fist knocked her down. He struck her in the neck just below her chin, and when she fell he gnashed his teeth in his rage, and stamped with his feet on her breast. He kicked her in the side several times, and rushed from the house.”—Edmonds, Vol. 2, p. 182. The above are but samples, and not the most horrible of the scenes in the spirit land, described by Judge Edmonds. Dr. Randolph records the following experience of a spirit:— “As I gazed out upon the surrounding glories of my new world, I could not forbear or repress a desire, if possible, to take one glance at those who yet dwelt in infamy, although disembodied. . . . Suffice it that I beheld scenes of lust, insanity, debauchery, and all vileness, sufficiently dreadful to appall the stoutest heart of any sane one who dwells in the same awful phantasies, insanities, and evils.”—Dealings with the Dead, pp. 143, 4. Dr. Hare and Judge Edmonds said the vicious spirits had no means of gratifying their passions; but these statements have large limitations; for the Judge gives numerous instances wherein the desire of mischief, revenge, &c., were gratified, even in the spheres. And all spiritual authorities agree that spirit intercourse is a recent discovery, and is progressive in its manifestations. On this point the following is copied from Mr. Matteson’s work:— “After the writing of the spirit Hebrew in Mr. Fowler’s room, B. Franklin is made to say: ‘My dear friends, I am happy to announce to you that the project which has engaged our attention for some years has been in part accomplished.’—Telegraph, No. 22. In Mr. Boynton’s ‘Unfoldings,’ John Wesley is made to say, ‘Never was more joy in the spirit world when it was made known that a mode of communication was opened to mankind. Such a gathering to hear the joyful news—such rejoicing was never known in the spheres.’ p. 10. So in one of Judge Edmonds’ ‘Visions.’ Shekinah, vol. i, p. 268, the Judge describes the inhabitants of the spheres as ‘rejoicing that a communication had at length been opened between the inhabitants of earth and the spirit land. . . . They set up one glad shout which rang through all space, and pointed to Dr. Franklin as him to whose practical and enlarged philosophy they were indebted for perfecting the discovery.’”—Spirit Rapping Unveiled, pp. 143, 144. Hudson Tuttle, a very popular spiritualistic writer, says:— “A few years since the discovery of the method by which these pages are written, have elapsed. During the first years of its growth but few demonstrations were made, and those of a disconnected character.”—Life in the Spheres, p. 62. Again, after describing a circle, and a spirit acting on the medium, &c., he says:— “The members of that circle went to their homes wiser and better than they came. Their spirit friends departed wiser, too, rejoicing that the long-sought method of communication had been discovered, and that the earth received by its means a new impetus by the influx of higher light.”—Id. p. 66. OH! WHEN SHALL I MEET THEE?
Oh! when shall I meet thee, my Saviour,
And gaze on thy glorious face,
And dwell evermore in thy favor,
Enclasped in thy tender embrace?
In patience, yet longing, we linger,
I know thou art thinking of me,
And I wait for the word that shall bring me
On wings of the morning to thee. I pine for the city of beauty,
Where trouble and sorrow shall cease,
Where joy and rejoicing forever
Shall gladden the gardens of peace.
Where eyes that are dimmed with their weeping
Shall kindle with luster divine,
And earth-faded forms re-created
With love’s wondrous beauty shall shine. Oh! when shall these glad eyes behold thee,
This voice swell the jubilant song,
These weary feet fleet as the angels,
Move on with the garlanded throng—
Move on in harmonious measure,
With harp and with psalm to adore,
And crown thee, O lovely Redeemer,
Our glorious king evermore! —Sel. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.” Died, near Lapeer, Mich., Sabbath, July 25, 1874, sister Jane Higley, of asthmatic consumption, aged 67. Sister Higley had been for many years an honored member of the S. D. Adventist church at Lapeer. She has left as a legacy to the church the remembrance of a “well-ordered life and godly conversation.” Coming to this State about forty years ago, she knew something of early pioneer life. The grace that comes with the gospel of Christ were her support in every trial. She loved the present truth, and some of her children are rejoicing in the same hope. By her request I spoke at the funeral from Ps. 17:15, last clause of the verse. A multitude of relatives and friends were gathered who mourn their loss, but not without hope. She sleeps by the side of her husband, who died nearly ten years before. Blessed sleep! D. H. Lamson. Died, in Nashville, Tenn., of consumption of the bowels, my beloved wife Clevie, aged 24 years, 11 months and 12 days. She leaves a husband and aged parents to mourn her loss; but we sorrow not as those having no hope; for she died in the blessed hope of a part in the first resurrection, knowing that she would come again from the land of the enemy. Tuscola Co. papers please copy. Samuel D. Heady. Died at Brockport, N. Y., Aug. 20, 1874, of typhoid fever, Willy M. Prentiss, the only child of W. B., and E. M. Prentiss, aged seventeen years and eight months. He was a young man of great promise, and beloved by all who knew him. His sickness was of only two weeks’ duration, but was very severe, as brain fever for a time was united with typhoid. Funeral services Aug. 22. We have laid down this dear young man to sleep in the silent grave in the hope of meeting him ere long in the resurrection of the just. J. N. Andrews. Died, near Nashville, Mo., July 22, 1874, of dysentery and whooping cough, John W., youngest son of Enoch and Margaret Potts, aged two years, three months, and fifteen days. We laid him away to rest for a little while until Jesus, the life-giver, shall appear, and the children “come again from the land of the enemy.” Joseph G. Wood. Died, near Palermo, July 26, 1874, Frankie, infant son of T. H. and D. E. Wakeman, aged eleven weeks and two days. We hope to meet him at the first resurrection. T. H. & D. E. Wakeman. Died, in Chesaning, Mich., of scrofula, July 6, 1874, sister Rosaltha McCormick, aged 31 years. Some eight years ago, while her dear mother was departing this life, and herself very near it, she gave her heart to the Lord, and was faithful to her promise until death. We believe she rests in hope. D. W. Milk. The second annual session of the Conference of S. D. Adventists of Indiana will be held in connection with the camp-meeting to be held at Rail's Grove, four and one-half miles west of Kokomo, Howard Co., Ind., Sept. 24-29, 1874. Ind. Conf. Com. The annual meeting of the N. Y. and Pa. T. & M. Society will be held in connection with the camp-meeting at Kirkville, Sept. 10-14, 1874. P. Z. Kinne, Pres. The Ohio T. & M. Society will hold its next annual session in connection with the camp-meeting. The district directors will hold their district quarterly meetings that reports may be sent to the secretary in time for this meeting. O. Mears. T. & M. Meeting, Dist. No. 2, of Ind., Sept. 12, 13, 1874, at the Mason Schoolhouse. Wm. Covert, Director. The next quarterly meeting of the Wis. T. and M. Society will be held at Lodi, Columbia Co., Oct. 3, 4. We hope that all the Directors will be prompt and active in reference to the quarterly meetings in their several districts. These meetings should be held two or three weeks previous to the general meeting, so that the reports of these meetings can be sent to the State Secretary, Mattie A. Babcock, Monroe, Wis. This is necessary so that we can have a proper report at the general meeting. Let us be at work, dear brethren, and let us strive to make this meeting one of blessing and profit. Would like much to see Bro. Haskell at this meeting. O. A. Olsen, Pres. The next quarterly meeting of the T. & M. Society of Dist. No. 1, Wis., will be held at Little Prairie, Wis., Sept. 26 and 27. Hope for a good representation. Elder Matteson expects to be present. A. Olsen, Director. Quarterly Meetings in Minnesota.
Pine Island, Sept. 12, 13.
Greenwood Prairie, “ 19, 20.
Maiden Rock, Wis., “ 26, 27.
Providence permitting, I will be present. Stephen Pierce. Quarterly Meetings in Minnesota.
West Union, Sept. 12, 13.
Osakis, “ 19, 20.
Chisago, “ 26, 27.
River Falls, Wis., Oct. 3, 4.
Harrison Grant. Quarterly meeting at Poy Sippi, Wis., Sept. 12 & 13. This will also be the quarterly meeting for District No. 11. Would like to meet all the scattered Sabbath-keepers in the vicinity of these meetings. Also at Raymond Sept. 19 and 20. Would like to meet the brethren from Racine at this meeting. With Dist. No. 1, Sept. 26 and 27, where the Director may appoint. O. A. Olsen. Quarterly meeting of the Ohio T. & M. Society, Dist. No. 2, at Bellville, Sept. 5 and 6. All members should report. W. T. Carson, Dir. Monthly meeting of the Jackson church will be held at Bro. H. H. Branhall’s, in Springport, Mich., Sabbath, Sept. 5. E. P. Giles. Quarterly meeting of the Wis. T. & M. Society, Dist. No. 8, at Mackford, Wis., in connection with our quarterly meeting, Sept. 26 and 27. We hope that all members of the society will send their reports to the secretary in time for the meeting. Rufus Baker, Director. Quarterly meeting of the churches of Allegan Co., Mich., Sept. 5, 1874, at Leighton. We invite all interested in the tract and missionary cause to be present. J. S. Day, Clerk. Quarterly meeting of the Ohio T. & M. Society, District No. 3, at North Bloomfield, Sept. 5 and 6. All the members please report. C. H. Wolcott, Director. Quarterly meeting of the Wisconsin T. & M. Society, Dist. No. 9, at Hundred Mile Grove church, Sept. 19 and 20, all the members are requested to report. N. M. Jordan, Director. Quarterly meeting of the T. & M. Society for Dist. No. 5 of the Missouri and Kansas Conference, at Mound school-house, Douglass Co., Kan., Sept. 26 and 27, 1874. We earnestly desire the presence of Bro. J. H. Rogers, and a large attendance of the friends. Geo. Kennedy, Director. The Right Kind of Recognition.
THERE is point in the following paragraph respecting those who are seeking to secure a more direct recognition of God in the Constitution of the United States. How much good will it do the people of the United States to recognize God, if their characters are such, otherwise, that he cannot recognize them? We clip the paragraph from a recent exchange:— “A small number of pious people are much concerned to secure a recognition of God in the constitution. As the very date of that instrument is such a recognition, the Bay City, Mich., Tribune inquires if their time would not be more profitably spent in securing God’s recognition of our government by making our laws as perfect as possible. It can make very little difference to the Almighty whether he is recognized by the United States or not; but it may be a matter of some importance to the government of the United States whether it be recognized by God or not.” And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand Services in Chicago, every Sabbath (seventh day), at 269 West Erie St. All Sabbath-keepers spending a Sabbath in Chicago are invited to attend. This meeting will be held at Kirkville, Sept. 10–14, on the ground formerly occupied. Trains that stop at Kirkville arrive as follows: From the west, 7:40 A. M., 2:45 P. M., and 5:25 P. M. From the east, 10:15 A. M., 12:45 P. M., and 5:00 P. M. Trains will meet all trains as usual. Arrangements have been made with the Syracuse Northern and R. W. & O. R. Rs., by which those coming over these roads, and calling for camp-meeting tickets, will receive free return passes. Be sure to call for “camp-meeting tickets.” Straw and provisions will be furnished on the ground. We earnestly hope to see all at this meeting who have an interest in this great truth, and who possibly can attend, with as many friends and neighbors as can be induced to come. The time of the meeting has been postponed for the purpose of giving all who wish to attend a more favorable opportunity. We trust that it will be improved by all. Let all, as far as possible, be on the ground by Wednesday evening, making no other calculation than to remain until the meeting closes, Tuesday morning. If there are any who have not ordered tents, who wish for them, they should send their orders immediately to B. L. Whitney, Kirkville, N. Y. The N. Y. and Pa. Conference will hold its next annual session in connection with the camp-meeting at Kirkville, N. Y., Sept. 10–14, 1874. Systematic Benevolence should be re-arranged and delegates appointed for the Conference in season so that they may all be on the ground the first day of the meeting. There should be a special effort made to have each church in the Conference represented either by delegate or letter, as the Conference records will probably be revised and churches standing on the records and failing to report at this meeting may be dropped. We hope to see a general attendance at this meeting in accordance with the suggestions of Bro. Butler. Let not home cares unnecessarily detain any. Make a sacrifice, if need be, to be present, and then expect to meet the Lord there. P. Z. KINNE, } N. Y.
B. L. WHITNEY, } Conf.
S. N. WALSWORTH, } Com. This meeting will be held on the farm of Mahlon Meeker, two and a half miles north of Bowling Green and five miles east of Tontogany, Sept. 17–21. Tontogany is on the D. & M. R. R. twenty miles south-west of Toledo. All persons coming by R. R. will stop off at Tontogany, where teams will meet all trains to convey passengers and their baggage to the camp-ground and back to the train free. The committee will see that the grounds are fitted in a proper manner. Provision and horse feed will be furnished on the grounds at a reasonable price. Straw for bedding will be furnished free. We hope our brethren and sisters will all make an earnest effort to come to this meeting and to work for God, for yourselves, and for others. May the blessing of God attend these our yearly gatherings. Come, dear friends, and bring your children and friends with you. Be on the ground with your tents up on Wednesday, prepared to stay until the close of the meeting. We extend a hearty invitation to Bro. and sister White to meet with us in our camp-meeting. OHIO CAMP-MEETING COMMITTEE. The Ohio Conference will hold its next annual session in connection with the camp-meeting near Bowling Green, commencing Sept. 17, 1874. Let the church officers make their reports in season. We hope the friends of the cause will make a special effort to attend this meeting, to be on the ground with their delegates when the meeting commences, and stay to its close, prepared to work for the Lord that we may obtain his blessing. O. MEARS, } Ohio
WM. CHINNOCK, } Conf.
E. C. PENN, } Com. This meeting will be held at Rail’s Grove, four and one-half miles west of Kokomo, Howard Co., Ind., Sept. 24–28. Trains will be at Kokomo to convey to the camp-ground those who come by railroad the 23d and 24th. We hope to see the largest gathering of Sabbath-keepers at this meeting that ever convened in Indiana. It is desirable that all furnish tents that can do so, but for the benefit of those who cannot, ample tent-room will be provided. This is a young Conference and but few keeping the Sabbath in the State. It will be very encouraging to all, and especially those who labor with and for us, to see a general attendance. Let those who desire to pitch tents be on the ground and have their tents erected as early as the 23d. Let each church appoint in season a delegate to the State Conference and each S. B. treasurer see that all S. B. is paid up to August 1. All friends and those interested in the cause of the third angel’s message should be encouraged to attend this meeting. We hope to be favored with the labors of Bro. and sister White. Let us all come to this meeting praying the Lord to bless and prosper his cause in our midst. A BLUE cross on the margin of your paper signifies that your subscription will expire in two weeks, and that an earnest invitation is extended to you to renew at once. Annexed to each receipt in the following list, is the Volume and Number of the REVIEW & HERALD to which the money received pays—which should correspond with the Numbers on the Papers. If money for the paper is not in due time acknowledged, immediate notice of the omission should then be given. $2.00 EACH. P Vosburg 43-1, H G Washburn 46-8, Chas Lowell 46-4, Jabez Medley 46-10, Irving Whitford 46-11, C F Eaton 46-7, Joseph Eggleston 46-7, A W Everts 46-7, J Countryman 46-7, N I Mosley 46-12, Titus Tyrel 46-6, M H Wheeler 46-1, Wm R Carpenter 46-12, Dr G L Holiday 45-7, J Philo 46-1, Wm A Arthur 46-2, D H Stockman 46-1, F Carin 47-1, Mrs Geo Partlow 46-12, Elx Wesner 46-10, John Goodwin 46-10, John Pearse 46-10, J H Ocker 46-1, Edward Witter 46-1, John Leland 46-9, Mrs S C Boardman 46-10, R. W. Page 46-1. $1.00 Each. L W Marlin 45-9, Mary E Terry 45-1, J W Beardslee 45-10, Edmond Town 45-11, Mrs J Lapoint 45-8, Sarah Tinkham 46-10, H Howe 45-10, J R Miller 45-1, Silas Bawker 46-10, S M Ross 45-9, Wesley White 46-10, Robert Kirkham 45-6, Wm Larabee 46-10, Mrs Julia Stephenson 46-10, W P Longmate 46-13, Dr Wm Goltry 46-10, Harriet N Lombard 45-10, Frankie Patten 45-10, Frances Lawson 45-12, S M Fuller 45-14, Mrs M F Vedder 46-10, Cyrus Cornish 46-10, J S Francisco 46-10, Mrs C P Cunningham 46-10, F K Milligan 45-10, L H Densmore 45-11, Mrs D Chamberlin 45-10, W R Belcher 46-10, W W Lockwood 45-4, Nancy Hiller 45-10, Mary A Todd 45-10, Sarah J Hunt 45-7, Edward D Decker 46-10, Robert Sawyer 45-6, Emily Shirley 45-20, Lewis Hackett 45-7, Martha Staples 45-10, John W Pickard 46-4, Wm Hawk 45-9, Ruth Nichols 46-10, Mrs J Sharkey 46-10, Augusta Stevens 46-10, Mrs Pauline Southworth 46-10, Francis Overton 46-10, Sarah A Daniels 45-10, S H Peck 45-1, Richard Bailey 45-10, Abigail H Sweet 46-10, Joseph Peatfield 46-10, M J Davis 46-10, John Brown 46-10, Mary Hillard 45-1, Ann Wilson 46-13, Wm Morrill 46-10, C Nelson 45-13, Nancy Gibbs 45-8, Eleanor Eaton 45-9, Reuben Keck 45-1, Mrs R P Haggett 46-10. Mrs Mary Buel 50c 45-9, Mrs Parma Raymond 50c 46-1, Ira L Raymond 50c 45-10, Mrs B F Chamberlain 50c 45-10, Mrs Nancy Bagg 50c 45-10, C F Worthen $1.25 45-10, Mrs James Rynd $4.50 48-14, Mrs N Richards 45-10, Sarepta Gould 50c 45-10, J D Shepardson 50c 45-10, A Moore 50c 45-10, Wm Berry 50c 45-10, Wm Judd 50c 45-10, Harriet Fletcher 50c 45-10, C W Felts 50c 45-10, Joseph Morrison 75c 45-10, John R Beach 50c 45-9, Nancy A Vice 50c 45-10, H Beecher 10.00 54-13, Martin Johnson 50c 45-10, Samuel Fulton 50c 44-23, A Burnham 50c 45-9, S E Welch 50c 45-9, Jonathan Park 6.00 48-9, H B Wetherell 50c 44-24, Benj H Grimes 2.20 47-10, Mrs H Coon 50c 45-10, Chas M Rhyder 50c 45-7, C S Martindale 50c 44-22. C F Worthen 25c, W S Jackson 60c, Geo Rowe $1.00, Geo Bray 1.00, Mary J Bray 40c, John Burton 35c, Jacob Holdnead 30c, Daniel Call 50c, Mrs N Dennison 27c, Albert L Ordeau 75c, John McCarty 50c, Miss E P Rust 40c, Benjamin Armstrong 80c, Mrs Lizzie Taylor 25c, Geo A Shultz 2.00, Alfred King 25c, Philip Teutoch 20c, G W Colcord 5.17, Mr Bugson 35c, Mrs James Rynd 50c, R A Hart 3.00, N S Raymond 1.00, John Jones 4.25, Francis Carlin 1.00, G Osborn 10c, Mary A Robinson 1.00, Ella Briggs 15c, Miss S S Belding 50c, Miss Ella Smith 30c, E J Chalfant 25c, Mrs Vina Bolles 1.00, Alpheus Thomas 50c, D T Bourdeau 1.43, J B E Young 50c, Sarah W Herrig 20c, O P Baker 25c, Mrs S M Fuller 25c, Wm Evans 25c, Mrs H E Pass 25c. P Strong, Sarinac, Ionia Co., Mich., $9.00, O S N Haskell, So. Lancaster, Mass., $6.50, J N Ayers, Farnville, Linn Co., Kansas, care of Kincaid & Bro., Mound City, Kansas, 11.36, C N Ford, Washington, Washington Co., Iowa, 10.00. John Mears, Tontogany, O., $55.63. Shares in the S. D. A. P. Association.
A E Burrill $10.00, Lovina Fuller 30.00. Naomia L Balinger 75c, Joseph Morrison $5.00, J P Rathbun 5.00, Maud Sisley 5.00, Lucinda Wilkinson 1.00, E J B 2.00, N S West & wife (thank-offering) 8.50, Alpha Waters 1.00, Lovina Fuller 5.00. Michigan Conference Fund.
Convis $30.00, St. Charles $5.00, Vassar 50.00. Church Receipts on Account.
III T & M Society per A J Douglass $24.00, R A Hart 3.60, Jesse Hiestand 20.00, Chas L Boyd 20c, Robert Sawyer 1.00. Michigan T. & M. Society.
Elmer Hill $2.50, Dist. No. 5 $78.70. Second Michigan Camp-Meeting.
THIS meeting will be held in Lapeer, Lapeer Co., Oct. 1-5. This will be an occasion especially favorable to religious improvement, as all the time can be devoted to religious meetings, there being no business sessions to be held in connection with it. As was said last week, let there be a general rally to this meeting. THE last number of The Signs of the Times informs us that the California Camp-meeting will be held at Yountville, Napa Co., Cal., on the Napa and Calistoga R. R., on the same ground occupied by the meeting last year, commencing Oct. 1, 1874, at 2 P. M., and continuing to the morning of the 12th. The California Conference, and California State Missionary Society, will hold their annual sessions in connection with this meeting. Michigan Conference Churches Received and Disbanded
Ten new churches and unorganized bodies of believers were received into the Michigan Conference, or under its watchcare, at its last meeting, and three were disbanded on account of removals and otherwise, and dropped from the records. Several licenses were granted by the committee on licenses after the session of the Mich. Conference closed. As it now stands, sixteen ordained ministers receive credentials from this Conference, and twelve receive licenses. The text-books used at present in our school are the following: The Bible, Sill’s English Grammar, Colburn’s Arithmetics, Felter’s Intermediate Arithmetics, Sanders’ Union Readers, Guyot’s Geographies, Robinson’s Algebra, Hutchinson’s Physiology, Gray’s Botany, Quackenbos’ Philosophy, Mayhew’s Book-Keeping, A. B. Wright’s Orthography, Hart’s Rhetoric, Harkness’ Latin and Greek Grammar, Otto’s French Grammar, Comfort’s German Grammar, Broden’s Swedish Grammar, and Spencerian Penmanship. The present term commenced Aug. 24, with one hundred scholars. The N. Y. Times of Dec. 17, 1873, presented statistics of the Adventist denomination, showing their increase of membership, church organizations, edifices, &c. We presume that under the name Adventist, all classes of Adventists were intended to be included; for the public are not usually very close in their discrimination in such matters. If this is so, we can judge somewhat of the accuracy of those statistics, inasmuch as the total number of church organizations is put down by the Times at 225, while the Seventh-day Adventists alone have 289. The Sufferings of Christ.
By Editor
A NEW edition of the tract on this subject has just been issued. It is enlarged to 32 pages, the matter that has been added being of the most important and impressive nature. We consider the tract greatly improved by the enlargement; and those who were acquainted with the preceding edition will understand that this is saying a great deal. No better tract can be used for general circulation. Price, postpaid, $4.00 per hundred. Free Instruction for Deaf and Blind Children in Michigan
All deaf mutes or blind children in the State of Michigan, between the ages of ten and twenty years, who are of a sound mind, have good bodily health, and good moral character, are entitled to eight years of instruction in the “Michigan Institution for the education of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind,” without charge for board or tuition. This institution is located at Flint, Genesee Co., Mich. For particulars address A. L. Aldrich, Acting Commissioner, Flint, Mich. Post-Office Addresses Wanted.
By Editor
WILL the following persons please send in to this Office their P. O. address: Margaret Dickenson, M. Randall, S. K. Ross, H. Hulbert, Josiah Fisher, Henry Brown, E. M. Crandall.