Earlier text: COVETOUSNESSResults of Open Communion.
By Editor
THE Baptist Union makes the statement that close communion has hindered the growth of the Seventh-day Baptist denomination. How it comes by its information on this subject we do not know. That it speaks what it supposes to be true we do not doubt, but we think it has been misinformed. The question as stated is one purely of fact and not of hypothesis. We can see how an ardent, open communionist might suppose that the practice of close communion might retard the growth of the Seventh-day Baptist denomination, but that is a different thing from saying that it does. But suppose the statement to be true, does that prove the practice of restricted communion contrary to Scripture? We think such a method of reasoning not only fallacious, but dangerous. A sound, though slow growth, is to be preferred to a rapid, unhealthy one, when the choice lies between these two. We know something of the power of the fascinating idea of a rapid growth; but when this comes to be stronger than our love of truth, it is more than unsafe, it is ruinous. Under these circumstances, we are liable to be overpowered with the temptation to “mix water with our wine,” and so to weaken our testimony against error, and in the same proportion, to weaken our testimony for the truth. According to our idea, the Freewill Baptists have, by adopting the practice of open communion, weakened their testimony against Pedobaptism. They are Baptists, but Baptists somewhat shorn of their strength. We think this the inevitable result of their position. That the great Pedobaptist world should largely be open communionists, is no wonder to us. The wonder is rather that they are not all of that way of thinking. So far as the question of commandments and ordinances is concerned, their practice is nearly the same. They differ somewhat in their doctrines and in their forms of church government, and this covers essentially the whole ground. Why, then, should they not hold common views on the communion question? There is no reason why they should not, and it seems to us that all this talk about the exercise of great charity, in their case, is a great boasting about a rather small matter. Why should not those who agree, or so nearly agree, commune together? But when we consider the case of Baptists and Seventh-day Baptists, entirely another view presents itself. These denominations are separated from others on the broad line of Scripture teachings concerning commandments and ordinances. They protest that the charge that they are separatists, through self-righteousness or want of charity, is false. They may indeed be mistaken in their views of duty, or in their views of themselves, but in so far as they see this question, they are compelled, on the ground of fidelity to their convictions of Bible teachings, to take the course they do. But our views differ from those held by the Baptist Union on the results of the practice of restricted communion by Seventh-day Baptists. In the past, several notable instances have occurred in which good brethren, believers in the Sabbath, but open communionists, have organized upon that plan; but in every instance these organizations, from the necessary workings of their incongruous combinations, came to an untimely end. Elements were brought together which could not harmonize in their work, although they heartily agreed in the practice of open communion. These organizations looked well on paper, and for a time they prospered, and their communion seasons afforded them special emotional relish, but they could not endure. Let Seventh-day Baptists adopt the practice of open communion, and their testimony for the fourth commandment would at once become weakened, and the duty of Sabbath observance, instead of occupying a front seat in the organization, would be compelled to go to the rear, and in the end would disappear, or would at least occupy the position of one tabooed. Such is the teaching of history, whose lessons we think should be heeded.—Sabbath Recorder. “Be Ye Steadfast, Unmovable.”
By Spurgeon
PERSEVERANCE is at once the crown and cross of service. It is very easy to preach for a little while, but I can assure you that preaching to a congregation year after year involves no little toil; yet we are bound to be steadfast in this ministry. A spurt, a leap, a bound—these are easy, but to press on continually is the difficulty. Have you taken a class in Sabbath-school? The novelty of it may carry them through a month or two; but, dear friend, be steadfast, and hold on year after year, for therein will lie your honor and success. If you should be discouraged because you meet with no present success, yet persevere, yea, endure to the end. If God has given you any work to do, it is yours to press forward in it, whether you prosper in it or not. The negro said, you remember, that if God bade him jump through a wall, whether he could go through it or not was no business of his. “Here I go,” says he, “right at it.” We may rest assured that the Lord never did command us to leap through a wall without causing it to give way, when our faith brought us to the test. We have to obey the precept, and leave the consequences. If God says, “Do it,” the command is both the warrant for our act and the security for our being aided with all necessary help. Noah preached for one hundred and twenty years, and when his time of warning ministry was over, where were his converts? He may have had a great many, but they were all dead and buried; and with the exception of himself and family, after one hundred and twenty years’ ministry, there remained not one that God would preserve alive; and into the ark he went, the grandest unsuccessful preacher that ever lived, faithful unto death, to be rewarded of God as much as if he had induced half the world to flee from the wrath to come. Let us, therefore, remain steadfast in doctrine, in attainment, and in labor. If ever there was a period in the Christian church when professors needed to be exhorted to be “steadfast, unmovable,” it is just now, for the foundation is removed and all things are out of course. Men remove the old landmarks, they break down the pillars of the house. All things reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and only He who keepeth the feet of the saints can preserve our uprightness. I see the tackling loosed and the mast unstrengthened, and the brave vessel of the church is in an evil case. Many have left their moorings and are drifting hither and thither, their helmsmen all amazed. No longer does the squadron of the Lord sail in order of battle, but the lines are broken and the vessel yields to tossings of winds and waves. Alas! that it should be so. Oh! where is He that trod the sea? the Pilot of the Galilean lake? I see him walking the waters, and he cries to us who still stand true to the Lord, the one faith, and the one baptism, “Be ye steadfast, unmovable.”—Spurgeon. Child of temptation, of sorrow, and sin,
Distracted without and tormented within;
Tossed on the billows of trouble and care;
Laden with burdens too heavy to bear;
Shrouded in darkness, living in fear;
The verge of some ruin ever so near;
Anguish unutterable filling the soul,
As over thy heart waves of deep trouble roll;
Hushed be thy murmuring, the Saviour will come
Soon with his angels to take his child home. OH! ye weary souls, come into Christ’s garden to-day and pluck a little “heart’s-ease.” Christ is the only rest and the only pardon for a perturbed spirit. Do you think your chance has almost come? You, men and women, who have been waiting, year after year, for some good opportunity in which to accept Christ, but have postponed it five, ten, twenty, thirty years, do you not feel as if now, your hour of deliverance, and pardon, and salvation, had come? Oh, man! what grudges, what grudge hast thou against thy poor soul, that thou wilt not let it be saved? I feel as if salvation must come this morning, in some of your hearts. Some years ago, a vessel struck on the rocks. They had only one life-boat. In that life-boat, the passengers and the crew were getting ashore. The vessel had foundered, and was sinking deeper and deeper, and that one boat could not take the passengers very swiftly. A little girl stood on the deck, waiting for her turn to get into the boat. The boat came and went, came and went, but her turn did not seem to come. After a while she could wait no longer, and she leaped on the taffrail, and then sprang into the sea, crying: “Save me next! Save me next!” Oh! how many have gone ashore into God’s mercy, and yet you are clinging to the wreck of sin. Others have accepted the pardon of Christ, but you are in peril. Why not, this morning, make a rush for your immortal rescue, crying until Jesus shall hear you, and Heaven and earth ring with the cry: “Save me next! Save me next!”—TALMAGE, in Christian at Work. REV. DR. HOPKINS, in referring to the success of the late Dr. Todd, of Pittsfield, Mass., says: “In 1827, he was married to Mary S. Brace, eldest child of Rev. Joab Brace, for fifty years minister of Newington, Ct. In relation to this, I will simply transcribe his own testimony, and I do it for the honor of the blessed institution which God has honored, and through which the world will become happy in proportion as men shall honor it. ‘And here’ he says, ‘I want to say emphatically, that, if ever I have accomplished anything, ever avoided mistakes, ever in any degree honored the Master, I greatly attribute it to an influence which men are not always prompt to acknowledge. In my home has been a life swallowed up in my success, willing to be unknown and out of sight, unwearied in giving encouragement and rousing to effort; prompt and cheerful in concealing my defects and in covering my deficiencies; kind to apologize for what cannot be approved; uncomplaining when worn down by heavy burdens such as few are called to bear; more than ready to be unselfish, and to wear out, that others might profit by my labors. I say it is there, in that life, I have found the source and cause of all I have done. Oh! wife of my youth! Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.’” Those Who Forsake the Law
“THEY that forsake the law praise the wicked; but such as keep the law contend with them.” Testimony No. 23 and Elder White's Address
By George I. Butler
Testimony No. 23, and Bro. White's Address.
A MULTIPLICITY of labors have hitherto prevented me from speaking in regard to this Testimony. But I shall not feel satisfied unless I say a few words in regard to it. Being one of those who firmly believe these Testimonies to be from God, I feel a great interest that they should be read by our people, and carefully considered. If it be granted that God is giving us light from Heaven in regard to the duties and dangers of the present hour, the importance of our considering it well cannot be overestimated. Here is where many of our people act, it seems to me, very inconsistently. They profess to believe the Lord is speaking to us as a people, and their actions show that they care very little about it. Such are self-condemned. This last warning from the Lord sets before us our peculiar dangers in the plainest light. These dangers I know exist among us. We are in the lukewarm state, brought to view in the Laodicean church of Rev. 3. While we should be the most zealous church existing on the earth, or that has existed for eighteen centuries, we are mostly asleep; and when we do receive a warning, either directly from the Lord, or from those whom the Lord has called to act as watchmen, we appear very much like a person in a dozy, stupid state. We make some efforts to arouse, only to sink down again, and close our eyes once more. How does our zeal compare with the apostolic church? They sold farms, and everything, for the purpose of helping forward the work of God. They made themselves poor for the sake of the cause. They sacrificed life itself, to spread the light of truth abroad. Where is the man who would think of selling off his forties, and eighties, to put into the cause of God now? Possibly there may be a few. But they are rare. Who would think of seeing his property going out of his hands now for such a cause, with the prospect of his being left a poor man, in this world's goods, when he could really trust in God for the blessings of life? Such a man would be called a hare-brained fanatic. And yet that was precisely what the early church did. Who now would think they could bear stripes, imprisonment, stoning, or crucifixion, as the early Christians were sure to receive? It never enters our minds that it would be possible. We who are ministers are very much in danger of feeling that the cause of God is greatly beholden to us if we labor for it merely as worldly men do for worldly objects. Can any man give a good reason why S. D. Adventists, with the faith they hold, should not be as zealous as the apostolic church? The latter had a lifetime before them in which to do their work. Time was to continue for many centuries. How different now! Shortly, the trump of God will sound, and probation will be closed. Our property will be destroyed, and ourselves with it, if our treasure is here. And it certainly will be here, unless we transfer it to the other world by noble acts of charity and sacrifice in God's cause before that day shall burst upon us. A world lying in wickedness awaits that grand consummation. Shall our efforts save them? Or shall our supine indifference leave them to ruin? Every consideration proves to a thoughtful mind that we should be as earnest as the apostles themselves. How far we come short of it. We are so apt to compare ourselves with fallen Babylon around us, and flatter ourselves we are pretty well off if doing as well or a little better than they, that we are in danger of being rejected as they are. A much better plan would be for us to compare ourselves with some church which we know God has accepted. Our coldness and apathy would then be apparent. This Testimony to the Church is just the thing we need at this hour. Shall we heed it? or shall we excuse ourselves, and flatter ourselves that, after all, we are not in much danger? One sentence in particular has struck my attention as most weighty. “Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime, and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God.” Page 40. This is a great crisis. Most people are asleep to it as much as they were in the days of John the Baptist. Now things are shaping to bring about results upon which the eternal destinies of millions will turn. This will be seen by all, by-and-by. But those who profess to be God's children should be able to see it now, and act wisely. If they will ponder this Testimony it will aid them greatly to come to right conclusions. We advise, we entreat, all to do so. With the Address of Bro. White in the latter part of this pamphlet, we are in the fullest sympathy. We are not ignorant of the fact that he has laid out before us an immense amount of work. Neither do we believe mere human agencies can ever accomplish it alone. And when we see the burdens piling up ahead of us, it is enough to appall the stoutest heart, if we look merely to human instrumentalities. But we believe God is in this work, and one poor, weak soul on the side of God, and his truth, is in the majority. If we can get humble and devoted enough to avail ourselves of his almighty strength, we need not fear the greatest burdens. We believe in a God who never forsakes those who really trust in him. And more than this, he loves to have us expect great blessings at his hand. He does not want us to think he can only give those common blessings which we might, perhaps, get along without. We believe God has a special work for these last days, and that work must go to “peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.” It is world-wide. These plans of Bro. White seem to be in harmony with such a work. Of course, it will cost us some effort and some money to carry them out. But does any one suppose this cause is going to accomplish the work the Lord has said it should, without these? Did not the first proclamation of the gospel cost these? Has not his truth in every age? If we have not a faith that embraces these means, our faith amounts to very little. It is in just such things as these that the character of our faith is determined. For one, I have made up my mind to labor in this work, while I labor at all, in harmony with such plans as those which I believe God has put into the mind and heart of his servant to bring out before his people. We never shall accomplish anything till we labor with some definite object in view. God will bless us in proportion to the amount of the intelligent faith which we possess. Murmurers and grumblers will, of course, have much to say. Our feelings toward them should be of pity and sorrow that they have no more wisdom, and that they are standing in danger of eternal ruin. But all the grumblers in the world cannot stop God's work if the true believers will move forward, trusting in the Arm which is mighty to save all who really rely upon God and live up to the truths of his word. The willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land. I mean to be one of them, poor and weak as I am. Let us take up the good, rallying cry, “Courage in the Lord,” and move on to final victory. Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Oct. 24, 1873. To the Directors of the Tract and Missionary Societies.
By Stephen N. Haskell
I HAVE been repeatedly requested to write for the REVIEW the duties of the directors. Their general duties are in the revised constitution of the Tract and Missionary Societies, which every director should have. But in addition to that, I will say a few words. It devolves upon each director to see that the object of the society is carried out in his district, in looking after the poor, guarding against extremes in the labor, as well as to see that every member is doing something, &c., &c. Especially should they see that every member has an interest in every department of this work. I am not what is called a “woman’s-rights man,” yet I do believe that in the cause of Christ women should have a freedom of conscience and act in harmony with it; for “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Children should be so educated that their influence can be felt in the cause of God. No director can discharge his duty before God unless he understands the condition and wants of each member in his district. Let each director realize the importance of his work and he will not rest satisfied until each individual, man, woman, and child, will manifest a lively interest in every department of the cause of God. It will require time and much patient labor, and when means are called for and burdens are to be borne, he should be an example to others. This spirit of sacrificing labor should be encouraged in the hearts of all; and unless he drinks largely of it himself, how can he impart it to others? It is impossible. Now is the time to work. God’s providence is far in advance of us, and many of us are drying up. We have become like a spring whose waters fail—no spiritual life to impart to others, but are spiritual dwarfs. I see no reason why farmers or mechanics who have made life a success in gaining a competency, and in gaining the confidence of the community in which they live, cannot, with the same diligence and zeal, become successful in laboring in the cause of God. And if their large farms keep them at home, then sell off a “40” or so, and reduce their cares so they can apply themselves to the fulfillment of those duties which devolve upon them. If the cause in which we are engaged means anything, it means everything; and to dabble with it at our fingers’ ends, thinking perhaps it is so and perhaps it is not so—look out first for ourselves and then give a little of our surplus time and means for the cause—is solemn mockery. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” is the command of our divine Lord and Master. God, by his Spirit and providence, is loudly calling for action. Shall we arouse and shake off this lukewarmness? or settle in a certain round of duty, and never get out of our old ruts, but become like the denominations around us? Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is to do something. James 1:27. But we should never forget that efforts put forth in our own strength, or with a selfish motive, will ever prove fruitless. It is God that gives the increase. It is “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” “For by strength shall no man prevail.” But God giveth grace to the humble, and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. There is danger of this work being taken hold of with a kind of legal spirit, not realizing our dependence upon God. We must have the spirit and power of this work in us if we would inspire it in others. With our hearts warm with the love of God, other hearts will become electrified and be aglow with the same spirit. It is expected that each director will see that all pledges are collected in his district, and that he take the responsibility of forwarding them to their destination. If they belong to the T. and M. Society, such as tract fund, widows and orphans’ fund, &c., he should, once a quarter, forward it to the State Treasurer of the T. and M. Society. If it be our school pledges, and such like, he can, if he choose, forward it direct to the Office, but report the same to the secretary of the Society. If subscribers are obtained for our periodicals, the director can send the names direct to the Office for the individuals and retain the money and pay it into the treasury, but should at once send to the secretary of the T. and M. Society the name and address of each, and they at the Office will forward to the secretary a statement of the business; and if any mistakes occur, they will be at once detected and rectified by the secretary. This will save any loss of money and many misunderstandings, which frequently occur. No Tract and Missionary Society should think of running an account at the Office over three months. Each quarter, all bills should be paid and books balanced. A cash capital should ever be on hand sufficiently large to (1) keep a sufficient quantity of publications to supply each member of the society; (2) to supply libraries with our bound books, periodicals to ministers of other denominations, tracts and pamphlets to such ministers, reading rooms, or any other such enterprise as the board of directors may deem expedient. And such questions should always be decided by the board of directors present at any general quarterly meeting, and not left to any one director, as all the funds become the property of the society, and the interests of the entire Conference should be considered. Each director should see that his district stands in the condition above described financially. This money should be raised by free donations. All tracts and pamphlets should be ordered by the directors, through the president. I cannot see how any T. and M. Society can successfully operate unless there are twice as many dollars for a capital for purposes above stated as there are individual members in the Society. Michigan T. and M. Society has 1500 members; they therefore should have $3,000 capital, and so all others. And this we expect will be done. God is blessing every Seventh-day Adventist Conference that is taking hold of this work systematically, sacrificingly, and energetically. This is too apparent to leave any room to doubt the utility of these Societies. May God give the true burden of his work, unite our hearts and efforts by his Holy Spirit and truth, and speed on the time when the church will arise, “fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.” Have we a Message?
By R. F. Cottrell
THE word of God being reliable, at some time the last warning to mankind, the message of the “third angel,” Rev. 14:9, will be proclaimed. It will be a final test; the salvation or condemnation of those who hear it will depend upon its reception or rejection. The fulfillment of other prophecies and promised signs shows conclusively that we have reached the last days, even the very time when this message of warning is due and should be expected. At the present time, just where this message has become due, a proclamation is being made which is held, by those proclaiming it, to be the genuine message—the fulfillment in fact of that which was promised eighteen hundred years ago in prophecy. This work has been gradually rising to the knowledge of the people for some twenty-five years. This movement is the genuine fulfillment of that which was promised, or it is utterly false and delusive, and is deserving of nothing from the people but opposition, exposure, and condemnation. It should be heartily received and cherished as a Heaven-sent message, or rejected and condemned as a most subtle delusion of Satan. It should not be dallied with—partly encouraged165partly opposed, and chiefly rejected. There is no reasonable ground of neutrality. It is either true or false. It is either from Heaven, or of men prompted and led by the devil. It professes to be the message promised of God in his sacred word; it is therefore deserving of a hearty reception, or a bold and decisive rejection by all who venerate the word of God. Twenty-two years ago, when this movement was in its infancy, the writer of this, after eight months’ careful and prayerful study of the prophecies, and observing the manner of their fulfillment hitherto in the providence of God, came to the deliberate conclusion that the time had come and that the genuine message had appeared. From this decision, I have seen no reason to swerve. I accept the message as from Heaven, and not of men. And I hope that should my faith in it ever fail, I will have sense enough left to renounce and denounce it as decidedly. We are either preaching a stupendous lie in the name of the Lord, or God has in his providence sent the promised message and committed to us a most solemn and fearful dispensation of the gospel, even the closing message of probation. The reasons for our faith in the present movement as the fulfillment of the promised message, may be briefly stated as follows:— - Those great consecutive lines of descriptive prophecy, contained in Dan. 2 and 7, and Rev. 12 and 13, which describe the four great kingdoms of the world, Babylon, Persia, Grecia, and Rome, including the papacy, its rise, its work, its duration, its deadly wound, and decay, or the consummation of its civil power, show, by their fulfillment, that we have reached the last days of the world’s history, since the only events yet unfulfilled in the history of these powers is the dashing in pieces of the nations in the battle of the great day, and the destruction of the papal power by the brightness of Christ’s second coming. Dan. 7:26; 2 Thess. 2:8.
- The signs in the sun, moon, and stars, which were predicted by Christ himself as the tokens that his coming is near, even at the door, have been fulfilled.
- The 2300 days of Dan. 8:14, which were to reach to the cleansing of the sanctuary, which is in fact that part of the judgment which precedes the second advent—the blotting out of the sins of all the saved—have already terminated.
- The state of the nations, their preparations for war, the prevailing wickedness in the world, and the absence of the power of godliness with those who still maintain the form, perfectly answers the description of the last days, as given in all the Scriptures.
- The three messages of Rev. 14:6–12, have all been announced in the given order; and the effect of the third and last of these proclamations has been to turn many thousands from following the traditions of men, brought in by the great apostasy, to the command of God, which has so long been made void by this tradition.
In addition to the above reasons for our faith in the genuineness of these messages, we believe they are genuine, because, 1. The word of God cannot be broken—the prophecies are sure to have their fulfillment. 2. God’s providence is not only pledged to the fulfillment of his word, but also to guard it from a false fulfillment. The time for these messages to be given is evidently come, the third and last is now in order. But if the time is come, the message is in the world; and if it is already in the world, it is no other than this proclamation now being given which claims to be the third angel’s message. Therefore, unless we deny God’s word and providence, we are shut up to the conclusion that the last message of probation is actually here—that this is the genuine work of God. The prophecies in general prove that we are in the last days; therefore it is time to expect the last warning promised in the word of God. The best additional evidence is that the message is actually being proclaimed. It is perfectly safe to believe and trust in the fulfillment of prophecy. But if its fulfillment were not guided and guarded by Providence, there could be no safety in trusting, and doubt and unbelief would be wise and virtuous, instead of sinful, as they actually are. The fulfillment of the closing message, so long foretold by the Spirit of God, must be a special object of divine care. And as our God is a God of order, he must make choice of some to lead in its fulfillment. It is as much a matter of special providence as the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage, in fulfillment of a promise made long before; and as God saw best to call out and constitute leaders for that work, so would he for this. Without order and rule among the people of God, nothing could save them from the confusion that Satan would foist in among them, and amid the confusion of discordant voices the greater number would soon have their faces toward Egypt. But during the twenty-two years of my experience and observation in this cause, there have been many cases of persons professedly embracing the message, whose conduct is convincing to me that their heads are not sound, or their hearts not right. While professing to prize very highly the truth, they have despised God’s chosen instrumentality through which they received it. They have battled more valiantly against our leaders than they have against sin. They have acted as if they thought that the greatest obstacles in the way of the advancement of the cause were the very persons that, by God’s providence, had done the most for its advancement hitherto. If these chosen servants could be removed out of the way, they have fancied that the cause would prosper greatly. Like Absalom, they have thought, “Oh! that I were made a judge in the land;” things would then go right. And though those that have taken this course have fallen away, one after another, giving up the distinguishing features of our faith, and many of them turning to fight against the commandments of God, yet others come in who cannot be satisfied till they have tried the same experiment for themselves. To me, this is marvelous. Am I insane? or are they? Either God has sent the message, or he has not. If he has not, why pretend to believe that he has? and if he has, why say to receive it, and still fight against it? Our work being a special work of the Lord, is the special object of Satanic hatred; and the most effectual way to hinder the progress of the work, is to destroy confidence in those who lead. Hence the special warfare against them. And when they are compelled, for the information of those who sincerely desire to know the truth, to make a statement of facts concerning their own labors in the cause, some one of the Diotrephesian family is ready to exclaim, Egotism! and engage in efforts to set them aside. When those whom God has chosen to lead in his work depart from him, he himself will set them aside and put others in their places. It did not devolve upon David to depose Saul, though God had anointed him to be his successor. God had made Saul king; it was for him alone to remove him. “And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king.” Acts 13:22. While Saul was hunting David to take his life, more than once he was put into David’s power, but he would not slay him. He waited the Lord’s time. Said he, “The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against the Lord’s anointed.” Now I am not aware that our leaders have committed any thing worthy of death or of bonds, or that they desire to take the life of any one. If they have departed from God, and therefore ought to be removed, God will remove them in his own time and way. God forbid that I should lift my hand against them. God has again and again preserved their lives in a remarkable manner. May they yet live to see the hosts of God pass over Jordan dry shod! Have we a message, even the last message? It calls us to unity—unity of faith, of spirit, and of effort, to enlighten and save men. If we walk in the light which God has graciously given, this will be the effect. Let us press together, and press forward in an unbroken phalanx, and the victory shall be ours, a victory that shall be celebrated on the sea of glass. Rev. 15. May God grant that the reader and the writer may share in the grand triumph. The General Conference.
By Geo. I. Butler
As the appointment for the Conference last week may to some seem hurried and out of season, it may be proper to say a word in regard to it, explanatory of our action. There are several reasons which seem to make an early appointment necessary. There has been considerable said in the REVIEW in regard to Bro. J. N. Andrews’ going to Switzerland this season to look after the wants of the cause there, to attend to the extension of missionary operations in Europe, and to qualify himself by an understanding of the French and German tongues to aid in the preparation of works in those languages. This should properly come before our General Conference, that they may decide whether it be advisable or not. The matter of our Denominational School must be considered immediately. Our brethren have taken hold liberally in the work of pledging their means for the purpose of establishing it. And a legal society for the holding of property, and to decide upon a site for buildings, should be organized at once. It should no longer be left in the hands of an overburdened General Conference Committee, whose time is largely taken up in other matters. Upwards of $50,000 have been pledged, and our brethren, everywhere, should be made to feel that these school matters are placed upon a strictly legal basis, and proper officers should be selected to manage them. The interests of our Tract and Missionary Societies should also be considered. Shall we have a general organization to manage this whole thing—something after the pattern of our General Conference? Do we need a paper to be connected with this enterprise? And how may we best accomplish the objects we have in view in this T. and M. Work? And further, we especially need to consider those questions to which Bro. White has called the attention of our people relative to placing the cause upon a broader basis by enlarging our institutions, establishing branches of them upon the Pacific coast, and looking after these interests generally. What can be done to make the cause more efficient around our institutions at Battle Creek? and in short, how can we best forward the great work in which we are engaged? Missionary work, everywhere, demands our attention, especially among the different nationalities in our own land. The friends of the cause will see that there are momentous questions to be considered. We hope our State Conferences will be represented by men of judgment and discretion, who have the cause of God at heart. We do most earnestly desire the presence of Bro. and Sr. White at this meeting. We hope it will be consistent with their health and views of duty to come and aid us by their counsels. We greatly fear that the great objects of the meeting will not be secured without their presence. Battle Creek, Mich., Nov. 2, 1873. To the Members of the Vermont T. & M. Society.
By Charles P. Whitford
In the providence of God, the last warning message this world will ever hear has been committed to our care. How sacred the trust! How great the responsibility that rests upon us! As God has given us great light, he now requires that we send it out to others, that they with us may be prepared to escape the things which are coming upon the earth, and finally to stand with all the redeemed on Mount Zion. The Publishing Association now make us the very liberal offer of sending the REVIEW to our friends and all whom we think would be interested, six months for fifty cents. Shall we not avail ourselves of this golden opportunity? I feel that it is important that immediate action be taken in this matter. Time is short. What we do must be done quickly. If we do not arouse from our slumbering condition, we shall certainly be spued out of the mouth of the faithful and True Witness. Let us awake out of sleep, consecrate ourselves to God, and thus be prepared to engage heartily in the closing work of the third angel. Brethren and sisters, this is the work of God, and it will not stop in its present state of development, but will go on until the world are thoroughly warned. May the Lord help us to have a proper view of the magnitude of this work. Now, it is earnestly desired that all will take hold of this work and move it forward to the glory of God. Hand in your names and money to the librarian of the church of which you are a member, who will forward the names to the State Secretary, and he will see that they are properly credited. Let our reports for this and the next quarter show that we have a real, living interest in this matter, and when the Master shall come, may we hear it said unto us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”