Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Dec 17, 1903
A Twelve-Ounce Bible
PEOPLE who do not care for their Bible to contain several hundred pages of extra matter, or “Helps,” besides the Scriptures, but have all this matter in their libraries, will appreciate a Bible that weighs only 12 ounces, but has type large enough to be read easily by any one with fair eyesight. To such people, the Bibles which we describe here will appeal. We show herewith a full-page specimen of the type, and the printed page is only 4½ by 6⅞ inches, and the thickness of the book is but ¾ of an inch.
If you need a Bible, and can read the type readily, and do not care for your Bible to contain anything but the Scriptures and maps, then no long argument is necessary to interest you in this one.
Now as to the price. This also will fit your purse, whether you are able to pay for only the cheapest binding, or whether you wish yours bound in sealskin.
Style NO.—Thin leather, divinity circuit (overlapping edges), linen lined, round corners, red under gold edges, $1.65.
Style NO1.—Better leather, divinity circuit, leather lined, silk sewed, round corners, red under gold edges, $2.50.
Style NO2.—Levant morocco, divinity circuit, calf lined to edge, silk sewed, round corners, red under gold edges, $4.25.
Style NO3.—Sealskin leather, but otherwise same as style NO2, $4.50. A beautiful book, and a remarkably low price for such a fine binding.
We can furnish any kind of Bible; so if these are not what you want, send us a description of the one desired, and state about what price you are willing to pay, and we can surely please you.
Any of the above Bibles sent postpaid at prices given. Address Review and Herald Publishing Assn., 222 N. Capitol St., Washington, D. C.
The American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible
MANY of the readers of this paper have availed themselves of the opportunity of securing one of these Bibles. We feel confident that many others will appreciate this American Edition when once they have it for study.
To those who do not know about it, we will say that it is the Revised Version of the Bible as approved by the American Committee on Revision, and it has but recently been published.
Of its value, the editor of The Signs of the Times says: “The most perfect translation of the Bible into English there is in the world.” The Northwestern Christian Advocate says: “There can be no doubt that in this version we are nearer the thought, and therefore the spirit, of the Master than in any version now existing in English.”
REFERENCE BIBLE, BOURGEOIS TYPE (same size of type as is used in this notice), American Standard Revised Version, with Scriptural references, topical headings, and marginal readings; size, 5¼ by 8 inches. Will be sent postpaid at the following prices:—
Style R.—Black cloth, red edges, $1.
Style R1.—Leather, limp, round corners, red under gold edges, $1.75.
Style R2.—Leather, with overlapping edges (divinity circuit style), leather lined to edge, round corners, red under gold edges, $2.75.
Style R3.—Same binding as R2, but printed on the famous India paper, thus making the Bible very thin and light, $4.
Style R4.—Same as R3, but bound in genuine levant morocco, calf lined, $7.
TEACHERS' EDITION. A Teachers' Edition of the American Standard Revised Bible has just been issued. It is printed in the same type as the above, and contains a concise Bible Dictionary of 118 pages, a new Combined Concordance of the Revised Version, 224 pages, besides Bible Atlas and 12 Maps. It is printed on India paper, and therefore only about 1¼ inches thick, weighs 1 pound and 9 ounces, and is furnished at the following prices:—
Style TR2.—Same binding as style R2, but on India paper, and with Teachers' Helps as described above, $5.25.
Style TR3.—Better leather binding than style TR2, $6.25.
Style TR4.—Levant morocco, divinity circuit, calf lined to edge, silk sewed, round corners, red under gold edges, $8.50.
WITHOUT REFERENCES. A new edition has just been issued in minion type (same size as used for obituaries in this paper, see page 23). It has no references, and is 4 by 6⅝ inches in size. We can furnish it as follows:—
Style R10.—Leather, limp, round corners, red under gold edges, $1.40.
Style R11.—Leather, divinity circuit, round corners, red under gold edges, $1.60.
AMERICAN STANDARD REVISED NEW TESTAMENT. In same size of type as style R10. It has no references, but is printed on a smaller page, the size being 3¼ by 4½ inches.
Style R6.—Leather, limp cover, round corners, red under gold edges, 55 cents.
Style R7.—Leather, divinity circuit, round corners, silk book mark, red under gold edges, 70 cents.
The Old, Old Story
By Editor
Editorial
“The Old, Old Story”
The gospel is the story of love, infinite and eternal love.
“O, ’twas love, ’twas wondrous love!
The love of God to me!
It brought my Saviour from above,
To die on Calvary.”
There is no modern method of teaching the gospel which can take the place of the simple telling of “the old, old story of Jesus and his love” by one who has really experienced that love in his own heart.
“’Tis known on earth and heaven too,
’Tis sweet to me because ’tis true;
The ‘old, old story’ is ever new;
Tell me more about Jesus.”
There are no words in the Bible more wonderful than those which tell of the love of God to us. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us!” “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us.” “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.”
“Wondrous words, how rich in blessing!
Deeper than th’ unfathomed sea,
Broader than its world of waters,
Boundless, infinite, and free.
Higher than the heavens above
Is thine everlasting love.”
The experience of the gospel is found in the fellowship of this wondrous love. It is the Lord’s purpose for us that we “may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.” In the assurance of that love we may rest with confidence. In the light of that love we may walk with certainty even in the midst of darkness. In the joy of that love we may rejoice in the midst of trial.
“Thou, blessed Son of God,
Hast bought me with thy blood,
Jesus, my Lord!
O, how great is thy love,
All other loves above,
Love that I daily prove,
Jesus, my Lord!”
“Quit You Like Men”
If there ever was a time when the people of God needed to be on the alert, quick to discern the devices of the enemy, and whole hearted in the service of the divine Leader, it is now. We have reached the closing years of the great controversy, and the prince of this world will now put forth his mightiest efforts to ensnare the unwary, and to carry them down to destruction in the impending overthrow of Satan and his hosts. There are definite plans and an intelligent organization of forces on the part of the great rebel leader, and the Captain of the Lord’s host desires to have his people organized in one united company for the final conflict. Did you notice the following paragraph in the article by Sister White in the REVIEW of November 26? “But the church must still fight against seen and unseen foes. Satanic agencies in human form are on the ground. Men have confederated to oppose the Lord of hosts. These confederacies will continue until Christ shall leave his place of intercession before the mercy seat, and shall put on the garments of vengeance. Satanic agencies are in every city, busily organizing into parties those opposed to the law of God. Professed saints and avowed unbelievers take their stand with these parties. This is no time for the people of God to be weaklings. We can not afford to be off our guard for one moment.” There will be no excuse for any one who is found asleep at such a time as this, when such stirring warnings have been given. Over and over again the Lord is calling upon every believer to be fully awake to the meaning of present events, to put on the whole armor of God that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, and to fight the good fight of faith. There need be no weaklings when it is the privilege of each one to be “strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” With great force come the words of exhortation to us now: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”
“A Very Present Help”
How many of God’s saints have been comforted in times of distress by remembering and resting upon the blessed assurances which inspiration has put into the mouth of the psalmist: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. . . . The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” This is a world of trouble. Sickness and death, distress and anguish, are on every hand. Determined rebellion against God and a more decided refusal to walk in his ways are increasing the trouble in the earth. It often happens that the wicked by their unrighteous course bring trouble upon those who are loyal to God and his truth. But in all these experiences those whoare acquainted with God have “a very present help in trouble.” “But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” The Lord has undertaken our case, and has pledged himself as our mighty Helper. “Let us trust fully, humbly, unselfishly in God. We are his little children, and thus he deals with us. When we draw near to him, he mercifully preserves us from the assaults of the enemy. Never will he betray one who trusts in him as a child trusts its parents. He sees the humble, trusting souls drawing near to him, and in pity and love he draws near to them, and lifts up for them a standard against the enemy.” “O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.” “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.”
“God is the refuge of his saints
When storms of sharp distress invade:
Ere we can offer our complaints,
Behold him present with his aid.”
The Coming of the Seed
The Promises to Abraham
One generation followed another after the birth of Seth, but still the promised Seed did not appear. Meanwhile wickedness increased until “Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. . . . And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.” Then came the flood in which all the inhabitants of the world perished, with the exception of Noah and his immediate family.
Among the descendants of Noah, after the world had been destroyed by water, there were those who soon turned away from the service of God, and became idolaters. “After the dispersion from Babel, idolatry became well-nigh universal, and the Lord finally left the hardened transgressors to follow their evil ways, while he chose Abraham, of the line of Shem, and made him the keeper of his law for future generations. Abraham had grown up in the midst of superstition and heathenism. Even his father’s household, by whom the knowledge of God had been preserved, were yielding to the seductive influences around them, and they ‘served other gods’ than Jehovah. But the true faith was not to become extinct. God has ever preserved a remnant to serve him. Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, in unbroken line, had persevered from age to age the precious revealings of his will. The son of Terah became the inheritor of the holy trust. Idolatry invited him on every side, but in vain. Faithful among the faithless, uncorrupted by the prevailing apostasy, he steadfastly adhered to the worship of the one true God.”
In his talk before the council the martyr Stephen thus spoke of the experience of Abraham: “The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee.” And then were made unto him those promises which are recorded in Gen. 12: 2, 3: “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
In response to this call Abraham went forth out of his own country, and came into the land of Canaan, and there “Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land.” It should be noticed that in this first promise of the land it was declared that it would be given to the seed of Abraham. In the later statements of the promise Abraham is specifically included in it. Thus after the separation from Lot the Lord said unto him, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.” And likewise after the birth of Ishmael, in making the promise of a son whose name should be called Isaac, the Lord said, “I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.”
The promise to give the land to his seed while he was yet childless was in itself a promise of the seed, and really emphasized the fact that the seed was the principal thing in the promise. This is clearly the thought which Stephen had in mind when he said, “And he promised that he would give it to him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.”
That the promises to Abraham had especially in view the gift of the Son of God in the flesh and the coming of the Seed, is plainly shown by the interpretation of these promises as given by the Holy Spirit through the apostles. Thus Peter in preaching to the people after the resurrection said, “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” These statements point out that the blessing which was to come upon Abraham and his seed was the blessing of being rescued from sin through the sending of the Son of God in the flesh, the true Seed, to turn away the people from their sins. So also the apostle Paul writes: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. . . . And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Nothing could be clearer than that in the promises to Abraham God was renewing his original promise of the coming of the Seed, while at the same time he was opening up to the mind of man something further of what was included in his own mind in that original promise. All this was done that “we might have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil.” This is the “blessed hope” of the coming of the Seed, and this hope is soon to be fully realized. Let us lay hold of this hope, accept the provision for cleansing from sin, and thus be prepared for the fulness of all the promised blessings.
A Man of Peace
By W. A. S.
The plague was raging in the camp. Balaam's craftiness had accomplished what open opposition had failed to effect, and Israel was cursed. Then rose up Phinehas and thrust a spear through wickedness in their midst, and the plague was stayed.
It doubtless seemed to those who knew not the cause of the pestilence nor the nature of the plague that Phinehas was harsh and stern. Very likely it was the hardest task he had ever had set before him. It requires more moral courage and grace to stand against the course of one's friends than to stand with them. But that spear-thrust was the kindest deed done in Israel that day, when thousands were writhing in their death-agony. And God then and there set his seal upon Phinehas as a man of peace.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous with my zeal [margin] among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace . . . even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God. Num. 25: 10-13.
Repeatedly that spear-thrust through wickedness is referred to in after scriptures. The psalmist says:—
Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations forevermore. Ps. 106: 30, 31.
Malachi was given these words for the guidance of the priests:—
Ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, . . . he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. Mal 2: 4-6.
The principles of peace are not abstract propositions to be admired while evil principles are left to war against the truth. When the crisis comes, and evil is thrust through and held up to the light, there are ever many who do not understand, who are ready to raise the cry, Peace, peace, when there is no peace, save in standing against wickedness. We in this latter-day camp of Israel need this lesson. More dangerous even than the act of spreading the germs of an awful plague are the suggestions that would persuade the people that there is no danger5that the germs are harmless and even kindly; that the one who raises the warning cry is overwrought, or has some personal animus to serve.
It is to be a battle and a march until we reach the heavenly land. The enemy would delight to take the field as leading a peaceful campaign, while representing the efforts to withstand evil as being born of a disposition to break the peace. His greatest move in the rebellion in heaven was when he persuaded the host of angels under his power that he was for peace, and that efforts to unmask the deception were but persecution. We are wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against the very powers of darkness. The one weapon that suffices is the sword of the Spirit. It may be wielded in the name of peace, for the Prince of Peace is the leader of the hosts of God on earth. W. A. S.
Brief Prophecies Concerning the Last Generation
The following are some of the prophetic utterances which apply to the last generation:—
The Days of Noah and Lot
“As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Luke 17: 26-30. We read that in the time of Noah “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. . . . The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” Gen. 6: 5, 11. The record of the wickedness of Sodom is given in the nineteenth chapter of Genesis. “In Sodom there was mirth and revelry, feasting and drunkenness. The vilest and most brutal passions were unrestrained. The people openly defied God and his law, and delighted in deeds of violence. Though they had before them the example of the antediluvian world, and knew how the wrath of God had been manifested in their destruction, yet they followed in the same course of wickedness.” Thinking men and women can but be impressed with the fact that violence and crime of all kinds fill the land. Some who have been slow to acknowledge it are beginning to speak in no uncertain tones of the terrible manifestations of evil which are making up the world’s daily record. A sober and unprejudiced view of the condition of the world to-day, especially in the large cities, will warrant the conclusion that the days of Noah and of Lot are upon us again. This is the last generation.
“Perilous Times”
The religious experience of many church-members in the last generation is thus described: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” 2 Tim. 3: 1-5. The decay of personal piety is a cause of alarm to those who are laboring for the establishment of Christ’s kingdom. In too many cases Christianity has become a mere profession without the power to save men from their evil ways. The standard of morality seems to have been lowered under the pressure of the times. Men connected with the church and prominent in the world’s affairs lead the way in disregarding Christian principles in business, robbing the people by “high financiering,” and seeking by many questionable ways to satisfy the ever-increasing desire for wealth. The influence of these leaders reaches far and wide. Many who have held positions of trust in the church yield to the prevailing temptations, or are overcome by their own evil passions and commit some outbreaking crime, bringing disgrace upon themselves and the church. This is the picture of the religion of many in the last generation.
Departing From the Faith
The character of much of the religious teaching of the last generation is also the subject of a prophecy: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” 1 Tim. 4: 1. Satan introduced sin into this world by suggesting a wrong conception of God and his character, and this has been his plan for making sin to abound. He inspires men with his own ideas of God, and then persuades them that these ideas are from the Bible. Thus seducing spirits teach the doctrines of devils. Much that is taught under the name of religion to-day has its origin with the enemy of righteousness, rather than with the Author of Christianity. This is a characteristic of the last generation.
The Rich and the Poor
Inspiration furnishes a most wonderful description of the present conditions in the industrial world: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. . . . Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. . . . Establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5: 1-8. The piling up of wealth at the expense of the wage-earning class, and the luxurious life of the rich are here declared to be characteristics of “the last days.” Many of the economic conditions which prevail at the present time, and the problems which are seeking solution in the terrible strife between labor and capital, grow out of the situation described in this quotation from the Scripture. It is another view of the picture of the last generation, and this generation answers to the picture.
Our Offering This Year
By Arthur G. Daniells
In order to answer the pressing calls that come to us from the world for the light God has given us, we should have a week-of-prayer offering this year of $50,000. This is the estimate made by the officers of the General Conference Committee, who have given the matter very careful study. This call from the dark places of the earth is an appeal to every believer in this message. It should make a deep impression. It should move us to do something. It should result in a $50,000 offering to our missions on Sabbath, December 19. Such an offering is possible. One dollar from each church-member would make more than that sum. Who dares to say that this denomination can not do it?
But if it is done, there must be some large giving by some. If no one gives more than a dollar, the offering will fall far short of $50,000; for many will fail to give anything. The situation appeals earnestly to every Seventh-day Adventist. It appeals to every minister of this cause, to arouse and join in the call for to-day help. It appeals to every conference committee to send their conference a rousing call for large giving. It appeals to all the officers of all our churches to take this matter to heart, and place the meaning, the interests, and the needs of missions clearly before all their members. It appeals to the officers and leaders of all departments of our organizations and of our Young People's Societies6to swell this call for help to a loud, universal call. And then it appeals to every believer to give, and give until he feels it, and knows he is giving.
Then $50,000 will be given to our missions, Sabbath, December 19. Then relief will come. Then there will be rejoicing in all lands. Then the laborers who have not had their wages in some of the Southern States for months can be paid. Then these laborers can pay their rents, and get their wives and children needed clothing. Then our colored school at Huntsville, Ala., can receive the help it has sorely needed for months, and for which it is still patiently waiting. Then, too, after relieving the urgent needs of our missions, some slight response can be made to earnest calls for enlargement.
Brethren and sisters, for the sake of the perishing, for the sake of the whole suffering creation groaning for deliverance, for the sake of Jesus our Redeemer, who now shares all the grief and pain of this suffering world, we must be in earnest about this matter.
A. G. DANIELLS.
Are We Smoking Too Much?
The evening Star of this city raises the query, “Are we Smoking Too Much?” It then gives figures concerning the consumption of tobacco in the United States during 1892, which answer the query. It says:—
The tobacco bill of the American people has grown to an enormous size. The people of the country use more tobacco and snuff every year. While the men spend more money on tobacco, the women are doing a larger business with snuff than ever before.
How many cigars would you imagine were smoked in this country during 1902?—Nearly 7,000,000,000, says the Star. This is 679,437,000 more than were smoked only the year before. Besides this, 3,254,883,000 cigarettes were consumed, which is an increase of 357,213,000 over the number used in 1901. And all this does not even approximately represent the total consumption of tobacco in the United States in one year, since it makes no account of the “plug” and snuff uses of the weed. The Star further says:—
The increase of leaf tobacco in ten years has been enormous. In 1893 the total number of pounds of leaf tobacco used in the production of tobacco, snuff, cigars, and cigarettes was 312,907,679. In 1902 the total was 427,553,964 pounds. . . .
The production of tobacco by the principal States [in 1902] was as follows: Missouri, 84,332,641 pounds; North Carolina, 52,209,593 pounds; Kentucky, 39,406,680 pounds; Virginia, 31,602,779 pounds; Ohio, 25,437,840 pounds; New Jersey, 21,229,084 pounds.
There were 26,423 cigar and 517 cigarette factories in operation. Virginia manufactured 460,702,354 cigars, using 4,096,602 pounds of tobacco. North Carolina makes comparatively few cigars, putting most of her manufacture into plug and other tobaccos.
New Jersey produced more snuff than any other State, the total being 5,583,323 pounds, nearly one third of all that was used.
“Do we smoke too much?” What can be done with a world so addicted to7smoking, but bring it to an end in smoke? “The wicked shall perish, . . . into smoke shall they consume away.” Ps. 37: 20.
Note and Comment
By Editor
THE tendency to elevate national holidays to the level of things regarded as sacred, which has been apparent for some years, appears in a reference by The Northwestern Christian Advocate to Thanksgiving-day football games. The editor says, “It is to be hoped that last week witnessed the end” of such games. “Such use of the day set apart for national Thanksgiving to God and of family reunions is regarded by many as desecration,” he adds, “and a decided opposition is being created.” He quotes the Rev. F. W. Gunsalus as saying in his Thanksgiving sermon that “many look forward to this day because on it they intend to attend the college football game, when instead they should be in church.” A further objection given by The Advocate is that “thoughtlessly and unintentionally such games are an insult to the president of the United States, at whose request the day is set apart for thanksgiving, and to the churches and people who undertake to comply with that request.” It is not clear to us how a failure to comply with the president’s request to attend church on Thanksgiving day, or even to indulge in a football game, can constitute an insult to the president, especially when the president himself does not go to the Thanksgiving services, as we are informed was the case last Thanksgiving. The tendency to invest the chief executive with religious authority, making it his prerogative to direct the people in the matter of paying their obligations to God, and holding it an insult to him not to worship according to his directions, is a tendency strangely at variance with the spirit of republican government, and suggestive of ancient Rome with its pontifex maximus. Such incidents are straws showing the direction of the wind.
A Plea for Our Missions
By Arthur G. Daniells
THE missionary enterprises of this denomination are an index of our standing. They reveal the spiritual life and vitality of the believers. They record the progress of the message. They give the surest evidence of the nearness of the end; for not until this message of the coming King has been preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations can the end come. In view of these facts, what must be our attitude toward our missions? Can we be uninformed regarding them, indifferent to them, or fail to support them except at great loss both to ourselves and to those around us who need salvation?
The purpose of this plea for our missions is to sound a trumpet call to the whole denomination to turn their attention to this problem. Think of our missions. Read the reports that come from them. Pray for their prosperity. Study their conditions and needs. Give steadily and liberally for their support. O, if all our ministers and church officers would become fired with a true and consistent zeal in behalf of our missions, what a change would come over the denomination! Let no one fear this would mean the neglect and ruin of the home work. Through the spirit of prophecy the Lord has said:—
The home-missionary work will be further advanced in every way when a more liberal, self-denying, self-sacrificing spirit is manifested for the prosperity of foreign missions; for the prosperity of the home work depends largely, under God, upon the reflex influence of the evangelical work done in countries afar off. It is in working actively to supply the necessities of the cause of God that we bring our souls in touch with the Source of all power.—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 27.
Brethren, this inspired statement must be acted upon. It enunciates a most important truth. And it is confirmed by the experience of all missionaries, ministers, and churches in all ages who have taken the course indicated. O, may the Spirit of the Master attend this appeal for missions, that it may establish a wider and better acquaintance with them, awaken a larger and deeper sympathy for them, and lead to far greater zeal in carrying forward their interests.
The problem of missions is by no means a dry, uninteresting, dismal problem. To the Christian, the history of Christian missions is the most interesting and valuable part of human history. The miracles of missions of both ancient and modern times are calculated to fill the hearts of God’s people with boldness and zeal for the prosecution of missionary enterprises. The records of our own missions are filled with the most encouraging experiences.
The third angel’s message is to be proclaimed with a loud voice to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” To those who receive that message, Christ says, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” This command calls for a decision on the part of Seventh-day Adventists. Have we made it? Is obedience to that command a fundamental part of our program as a denomination? Do we all fully understand that we are to enlarge our missionary enterprises until every tribe of people on earth is reached, and the whole world is lightened with the light of this message?
A. G. DANIELLS.
Mormon Political Control in the West
THE Northwestern Christian Advocate says that the most serious of the sensational results of the recent political elections is the overwhelming defeat of the Republican candidate for mayor in Salt Lake City. This city has been of late years a Republican stronghold, and this sudden and complete reversal of political sentiment can mean nothing else than that the Mormon Church is directing the vote of its adherents in that State. “The gentiles declare,” says the Advocate, quoting the Salt Lake correspondent of the New York Sun, “that the Mormon Church has built up one of the strongest and most powerful political machines in the world;” and this machine, we are told, not only “controls all Utah elections, electing Democratic or Republican tickets at will,” but is planning “to hold the balance of power in the United States Senate by electing senators from Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon.” The failure of the efforts of non-Mormons to prevent the Mormon Church from securing political control in these States, says the Advocate, “should open the eyes of the American people to the peril which menaces these States and the nation.” The party which holds the “balance of power” in the national legislature is often able thereby to dictate terms to the government.
The Advocate says that Senator-elect Smoot, of Utah, should be debarred from Congress because he, in common with other representatives of the Mormon hierarchy, has taken an oath inconsistent with allegiance to the United States, and places the authority of the church above that of the government. This oath is known as the “endowment oath,” and requires the one taking it to swear that he will avenge the blood of the Mormon “prophets” against the government of the United States, and teach the same obligation to his children; also that he will uphold the institution of polygamy. Such an oath is of course wholly contrary to the requirements of citizenship in the United States.
The Mormon Church, however, is not the only church, nor the strongest numerically of any church, the hierarchy of which constitutes a secret-oath-bound organization. The papal hierarchy own an allegiance to their head in Rome which acknowledges that head to be the highest authority, both spiritual and political, on earth. The papacy is a union of church and state, an organization diametrically opposed in character to a republic, and is working to bend every other government to a conformity with itself. In its palmy days it dictated to kings and emperors, and it assumes the same authority to-day, boasting of its unchangeable character. In the German Reichstag the papal party, known as the “Center” party, has long held the “balance of power,” and by it the pope brought Bismarck to terms, and has made bargains with Emperor William through which the papacy is fast regaining power in the country of Martin Luther. What the Mormon Church is seeking to do here, the papacy has done there. There is indeed no church that can be trusted to keep out of politics save that which comprises the true followers of Him who declared, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
What Can Be Done to Stop It?
A PERTINENT question is propounded by the Rev. Morgan Dix, rector of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, New York City. The question is, “What can be done to stop it?” Some things that greatly need to be stopped, but for which no apparent remedy is in sight, are enumerated by him thus:—
Tell me, if you can, what can be done to stop men from beating down values and making properties worthless on which multitudes of people of modest fortunes have invested all they have. Tell me what can be done to stop strikers from their violent acts, by which they prevent honest men from working, because they do not wish to join their unions. What can be done to stop the demagogues, who are everlastingly at their work of stirring up the poor against the rich, and fomenting contests between labor and capital, as if the one were the natural enemy of the other? What can be done to stop extravagance, display, and show, and make very rich people economical and modest in dress and conduct, and saving, in order to give abundantly where gifts would help the community? What can be done to stop fellows from running after each new light, and taking up each new gospel? What can be done to stop married people from putting away each other, as soon as they get tired of each other, and adding to the sin of unfaithfulness the further sin of rushing into the arms of the partners of their guilt?
Men are talking about these things and deploring them, and hoping that they will in some way right themselves, but no one is showing any way within the limits of human power or wisdom in which these evils are to be remedied; “yet,” to quote the words of a prominent Methodist journal, “no one who thinks it over from a Christian standpoint can doubt that if they are not stopped, the harvest will be frightful beyond telling.” We are in the time of the harvest,—the harvest of the gospel, and the harvest of the world; and the latter will indeed be a frightful harvest. The only thing in which there is light and hope is the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. “Preach the word.”