Vigorous Advertising Was Done—Our Bamboo Tent Was an Attraction—Crowds Came to the Meetings—The Success That Resulted
By FRANCIS E. STAFFORD
Kading is the name of an old walled city in the southern part of the Kiangsu province, about thirty miles northwest of Shanghai. The city still bears the marks of the Taiping Rebellion, more than fifty years ago, some buildings razed at that time having never been rebuilt. As late as the summer of 1913, at the time of the last rebellion in the Yangtse Valley, Kading became the headquarters of the rebel army after they were driven out of Shanghai.
It is a quiet, peaceful little city of about 15,000 people, who appear to have more time than money. It not being on the main artery of travel, business is not as brisk here as in other places. Yet, geographically it is an important center, being a district city, where a mandarin is stationed who controls some fifteen or twenty towns and villages in the surrounding country. It is a city of homes; and moreover, a large per cent of the people are of the educated class. One man we know, who made his fortune in America, has now returned to China, and has settled down here in Kading to pass his remaining days on earth in peace and happiness.
THE QUIET CITY BECAME STIRRED
One day, the daily routine life of this stolid old city, which had been going around in certain prescribed circles since the days of Confucius, received such a shaking up as it had not experienced for many a day. A man suddenly appeared at the south gate, entered the city, and pasted up large green and yellow posters on the walls of all the prominent streets.
Immediately great crowds collected to see what it meant. These were no patent medicine “ads,” neither did they advertise cigarettes, or Standard Oil products, such as the people were used to seeing placarded on their walls. No; this was something new. And what could it mean? The posters said plainly, in big letters, that “the countries of this world will eventually become one country.”
Then there was a picture of the great European war, and a statement of the numbers of soldiers of each country involved, with other statistics; but the provoking part of it was that it ended without saying what country was going to win and become the one world-wide kingdom. It simply said that any one who wanted to know about this could come to a certain place on a certain date, when they would be told the particulars. As the place mentioned was near the center of town, just around the corner from the mandarin’s yamen, nearly every one who read the poster determined to go.
EXCITED ABOUT THE BAMBOO TENT
During the next two weeks, carpenters and bamboo workers could be seen daily engaged in erecting a mammoth bamboo tent, building seats, and setting up various paraphernalia. The men of the town left their work to come to see what was going on. The women, with babies in their arms, and youngsters of all ages following at their heels, camped on the premises for hours at a time, busy with their knitting, or making cloth shoes, while the children capered around on the grass, just as happy as any American boy is when a circus comes to town.
The day set for opening, dawned bright and clear; and during the forenoon, while some of the workers were putting the finishing touches on the tent, arranging the book display, and finishing up the decorations, the other half of the force, armed with red and gold invitations, went out upon the main streets and gave personal invitations to the people.
UNEXPECTED REINFORCEMENTS
Then came the surprise of the day, a feature which we had had no hand in planning, and which was appreciated all the more for that reason. About ten o’clock in the morning a boat came up the canal from Nanziang; and upon investigation, it proved to be our Nanziang “Young People’s Missionary Volunteers,” who came up at their own expense, bringing offerings of flowers, scrolls, and banners. They went through the city, singing hymns, distributing handbills, and inviting the people to the meetings. This is the more wonderful when we consider that the Nanziang work was only opened four months before, and these young people at that time were almost all in the darkness of heathenism.
REMARKABLE SUCCESS OF THE EFFORT
As accommodations were made for the seating of only four hundred people, the capacity of the tent was stretched to the very limit from the start. Many were turned away the first few days. After that, the place was comfortably full.
For three full weeks, three meetings a day were held; and it was plainly manifest, from the start, that the Holy Spirit was moving on the hearts of the people. “Prepare to meet thy God,” by keeping “the commandments and the faith of Jesus,” was the keynote of every meeting, and it struck home to many hearts.
BREAKING AWAY FROM HEATHENISM
Front door of Elder Stafford's bamboo tent at Kading. The picture was taken just before the meetings were opened.
On the second night, the subject was “The One True God.” After showing that idol worship was worship of the devil, we asked all to arise who were willing to take their stand to serve the true God. The first few moments, it seemed as though no one were going to respond; but after an earnest silent prayer, and a few words of exhortation, two men stood up. Instantly the presence of the Holy Spirit flooded the tent, and men and women arose throughout the congregation, until more than fifty were standing. Ushers took the names and addresses of those who thus responded; and the next day, early in the morning, a visiting committee went out to find these people in their homes. This work was carried on daily, as we realize that it is what counts in the end. The preaching of the gospel sows the seed, and works upon the hearts of the people, to make them willing to receive; but the actual receiving of the Word, and becoming Christians, is largely the result of personal work with individuals.
SUCCESS OF THE STEREOPTICON
The meetings were brought to a close at the end of the third week, with a stereopticon lecture on “The Signs of the End.” We found a good place in a school not far from our chapel. Just inside the front gate was a large open space inclosed in a high wall, with a high gateway at the back. We hung our screen on this gateway, and put the machine back of the screen, out of sight; and by watching the screen, we were able to project the pictures through from the back. That left the front inclosure free for the people.
Tickets were distributed to all the inquirers, and to the prominent people of the city; and as soon as the place was filled, we shut the gates, and commenced the lecture. A great interest was manifested, and there is no doubt that this method of bringing the truth to the eye as well as the ear has a lasting effect upon the hearers.
HE WANTED THE TRUE SABBATH
The meetings are now continued in the building we have rented for a chapel, and an excellent interest has developed. The night meetings are crowded, and the Sabbath meetings are well attended. When the Sabbath question was presented, one man arose in the congregation, and said: “Now tell me, which day is it we ought to keep, Saturday or Sunday? I want to keep the true Sabbath, and worship God.” The Chinese originally had no names for the days of the week; but since the missionaries came to China, the people all call Sunday Worship Day. Monday is Worship Day One, and so on. This brings Saturday as the sixth day of the week, and many of the Chinese think it really is such; so we have no end of trouble in explaining which day is actually the seventh.
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
An incident should be mentioned in connection with the Kading meetings, which shows how the Lord is able to open ways before His workers. When we decided to begin work there, we went to look up locations, and were very fortunate in finding a suitable building for a chapel in a central location, at a reasonable rental. But desirable sites for pitching a tent were very scarce. In fact there was only one place that was really suitable; and the landlord informed us that under no circumstances would he rent the ground to us, as he was using it as a drying ground for dyed cloth.
We told him we would give him rent enough so he could afford to shut up his business for a month; but he said that the grass on the place was “very precious,” and after we had tramped it all down, he would have nothing left but muddy ground to dry his cloth on. We retired for counsel and prayer, and it seemed that we must have that place, so we went back. This time, a shopkeeper across the street came out and offered his13services as a middleman; and in a short time, we were writing up the contract for a month, at the nominal rent of $5.00.
THE POLICEMAN TRIED TO STOP US
The devil has more ways than one, however, of trying to stop God’s work; and he does not leave any stones unturned, in his efforts to get in our way. So while we were writing the contract, a policeman came running up, and holding up his hand, shouted at us: “Do not write that. Do not write that. You have to get permission first.” Fortunately our evangelist who was writing, coolly wrote on till the contract was finished and signed. Otherwise we never would have been able to get it signed at all.
a. Young people's society from Nanziang who went to Kading to help on the opening day of the meetings. The gateway and arch in the background are the front of a Confucian temple. b. Stone bridge outside the west gate at Kading. c. Brethren and sisters from Asiatic Division headquarters at Shanghai, who assisted at the opening of the meetings. The little house boat was the home and headquarters for Elder Stafford and company while the meeting was in progress.
We were then escorted to the chief of police, like criminals who had committed some terrible offense; and that official gave us a sound scolding for doing business in his city without first seeking permission of the mandarin.
Our evangelist again answered very wisely, and said he knew that his honor was a man of great affairs and very busy, and that therefore we had hesitated to trouble him in the slightest degree until we were sure that we were going to locate in the city. We had only that moment been able to rent a place; and knowing the customs of Chinese cities, we were in fact just preparing to call upon his honor when the policeman arrived, who had very kindly acted as our guide to his presence, etc., etc. So with a promise to call upon the mandarin at our earliest convenience, we were allowed to depart in peace.
As it was time for the launch to leave, we could not make the visit that day; and what was our surprise, upon returning to Shanghai, to receive a letter from the landlord, saying that he was not allowed to rent the place to us, and would be glad to return our money to us upon demand. As this letter came on Friday, we presented the matter at church Sabbath morning, and special prayer was offered that the Lord would move upon the heart of the mandarin to allow us to carry out our plans.
THE MANDARIN CAME TO OUR AID
When interviewed, the mandarin received us cordially, and issued a proclamation protecting us and our work; and we learned afterward that the chief of police who made the trouble had been removed from his office.
Praise the Lord, there is a God in heaven who still rules in the kingdoms of men. Yet this experience teaches us that as the end draws nearer, the way will become more difficult. Satan is growing angrier; and he will work with fiendish ingenuity to thwart the plans of God’s messengers to carry present truth to the souls in darkness whom Satan claims as his own.
Let us work while it is day; for “the night cometh, when no man can work.”
This is the day of China’s opportunity. The door is open to the gospel. The harvest is ripe, and waiting for reapers. This one province of Kiangsu has 30,000,000 waiting for the message — by comparison, a fourth of the population of the United States. Our present force of workers cannot reach more than 50,000 persons every year, probably not that many; but figuring at that rate, it would take six hundred years to give the message to this province. Surely we must have help. The Lord will cut the work short in righteousness, we know; but one way He will do this, is by moving upon the hearts of His people to give themselves to His service, to bring the gospel to these places. Man is God’s ordained messenger of the gospel, and angels will never take his place in this work. Who will answer now without hesitation, “Here I am, Lord; send me”?
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Gospel Stories
5 How Esther Read Her Bible
Health and Temperance
5 The Name
5 It Doesn’t Pay
Prophecy
5 Heralds of His Coming
5 Waymarks to the Holy City
The Law
2 What Is Done Away in Christ?
2 Perpetuity of the Law
2 Ceremonial and Moral Law Distinguished
Second Coming
5 We Would See Jesus
5 Signs of the End
Immortality
5 Is Man Immortal?
5 Tormented Forever and Ever
5 Rich Man and Lazarus
Sabbath Question
5 Sabbath to Sunday
2 Seal of God and Mark of the Beast
5 New Testament Sabbath
5 Who Changed the Sabbath?
5 Day of the Sabbath
5 Which Day and Why?
5 Sunday in a Nutshell
Miscellaneous
2 Justified by Faith
2 Spiritualism: Its Source and Character
2 Temporal Millennium
2 Bible Baptism
2 Topical Bible Studies
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MANIA FOR DIVORCES
By Mary Alice Hare Loper
Inconsiderate Marriages — How Men and Women Drift Apart — Selfishness and Self-Control
By MARY ALICE HARE LOPER, M. S.
When Mrs. Methuselah took upon herself the sacred vows of marriage, it was with no thought of a soon-coming separation secured through some divorce bureau in the primitive city of Enoch. That first city of which we have any record in Sacred Writ did not have any such business; and we are sure that Mrs. Methuselah did not part from her husband until death separated them, although sharing with him life's sunshine and shadows for the lengthened period of perhaps eight hundred years.
If some of the much-married persons of these latter days thought they would “have to be tied” to one individual for that length of time, they might hesitate more than they do before entering into the compact. To be sure, the marriage vows still include, “till death do us part”; but the world has become so corrupt that if death delays the parting, the vows are easily broken, and recourse to separation follows.
GOD UNITED THEM
Adam and Eve were united in marriage by God Himself, but He showed no partiality in so uniting them. He included in His great scheme for human happiness the privilege of uniting every couple entering the marriage relation through all the ages to come, with no provision made for divorce. After man fell, it was evident that mistakes would be made by every human being; but the great Creator did not lessen the sacredness or the lifelong permanency of the marriage vows.
The twentieth century, after nearly six thousand years of retrogression, sees a mighty change in the world's love affairs. There seem to be many hate affairs, and very many affairs of mere toleration. Men and women have become so fickle-minded that they tire of each other just as children do, and manifest little more common sense in showing it.
There are many women to-day who would not appreciate a husband as faultless as good angelic Enoch, who was taken to heaven because he “walked with God.” There are men who would not properly prize such enduring love as Mrs. Methuselah doubtless possessed—it would last too long. They would want a change, you know. “Eight hundred years of the same companionship—how did either of them ever stand it!”
“WHAT GOD HATH JOINED”
Through the twilight of time steals this holy whisper, which has echoed down through the ages: “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” These solemn words are accepted as part of many a wedding ceremony to-day in which God really has no part, not having been consulted by those entering this most sacred relationship, although it is freighted with the greatest responsibility which men and women are capable of assuming. Therefore we need not wonder that many soon tire of the partnership; that ere long, in counting up the debits and credits at the close of each day, love brings no dividends, while amid the shadows there is found no comfort in the sweet assurance, “At evening time it shall be light.”
HOW THEY DRIFT APART
Courtship and marriage have become much like a swell in music, the climax of love being reached at the marriage altar, when it begins to wane, and finally it is lost in the discordant notes that gradually creep into the music of everyday life.
John used to tell Mary frankly that he loved her, and Mary believed him. Mary used to sing love songs to John, and John believed she meant every word for him. John used to take Mary for a ride occasionally, and Mary enjoyed it, believing it to be an additional evidence of John's fidelity. Mary used to take pains to please John in the little things of life, and John believed implicitly in her sincerity. But, alas, all this is changed now! The cares of life have come in, John is not perfect, and Mary really has faults and failings. John does not talk love any more, and Mary does not sing any more love songs. As for taking pleasure rides, John is entirely too busy for recreation; and Mary has dropped many of the little courtesies that used to make John happy. The days of courtship are ended, the days of love are sadly on the wane. How little it takes to bring in discord now! What trivial things cause harsh words and impatient actions! The sun of happiness has almost set, while shadows of disappointment gather over the canopy of life. It is high time for John and Mary to call a halt, and take their bearings; for surely they have wandered far from the path of mutual joy. Amid the hurry and bustle of this strenuous age, how easy for two thus to drift entirely apart, for such slight causes as once they would not even have noticed!
BETTER BEFORE MARRIAGE THAN AFTER
It is far better to part before marriage than afterward. It has not been many years—we can well remember the time—when it was considered a disgrace to become divorced. It was then very safe to inquire after the health and prosperity of members of a family after long years of separation. But what a change! “My wife and I do not live together any more,” or, “My husband and I are separated,” are such familiar facts now! It surely would have shocked a whole community in those days, if their cherished weekly newspaper had appeared with this series of headings: “Births, Marriages, Deaths, and Divorces.” But people now are so accustomed to this routine of mere “news,” that they are not shocked, even though it appears daily.
The following newspaper clipping shows the drift of the times as foretold in 2 Tim. 3: 1-13:
“2,000,000 DIVORCES IN LAST 33 YEARS
“San Francisco, December 5.—Two million divorces have been granted in the United States in the last fifty-three years, according to Dr. Francis Miner Moody, executive secretary of an international congress on marriage and divorce, which is to meet in convention in 1915, who spoke to-day before the California Commission on Marriage and Divorce.
“There are only 18,000,000 married women in this country who could be divorced,” said Dr. Moody. “Yet 110,000 divorces have been granted this year, a greater number than ever before. More than 1,400,000 children have been needlessly deprived of one or both parents by the divorce court. The result has been an increase in the attendance of reform schools, orphanages, or similar institutions at the rate of 33 to 100 per cent.”
Yes, this is the condition of affairs to-day; but little consideration511is given to it. The divorce mania grows worse and worse; and the number of thoughtless and improper marriages, followed by infidelity to the marriage vows, is frightfully on the increase.
MARRIAGE CEREMONY WORKS NO MIRACLES
The marriage ceremony does not change one's nature, any more than does joining the church. People after marriage are usually just what they were when the ceremony was performed. If men and women would only take note of displeasing characteristics before marriage as they do after, they would make fewer unpleasant discoveries later, and would expect less in the way of human perfection. They would exercise more good judgment in the choice of a life companion; and as a result, fewer women would “go home to mother,” and fewer men would seek enjoyment elsewhere than at home.
“Ask, and it shall be given you,” means that when one really desires divine guidance, he may have it. And no one can afford to take the marriage relation without the assurance of the approval of Heaven. No one can afford to become a life companion who is not willing to sacrifice selfishness for the sake of mutual happiness.
SELFISHNESS AND SELF-CONTROL
Divine love “shall cover the multitude of sins.” Genuine love in the heart will seek to suppress dissensions, repair injuries, overlook mistakes, and pour oil on the rusting wheels of domestic machinery. Selfishness causes one to lose his self-control, and to treat harshly those who are bound by the closest earthly ties. “The little foxes” are the ones that “spoil the vines.” The sand grains of cold criticism often cause the wheels of domestic machinery to grate and jar, and finally to stop altogether.
Leave selfishness entirely out of the home, and happiness will reign supreme. Such a home is truly “a little heaven on earth to go to heaven in,”—just what every home should be.
WHY DID YOU WED?
By Mary Alice Hare Loper
By MARY ALICE HARE LOPER, M. S.
Why did you wed? The question comes to those
Who have at some time bowed at Hymen's shrine
In search of selfish happiness or gain,
But failed most sadly in the vain attempt.
Some wed for fame who long have now deplored
The glittering bauble which was but a snare,
A treacherous trap to catch unwary souls.
Some wed for wealth, in hope of finding thus
True happiness; and some in jest
Have uttered holy vows which meant no more
Than the rehearsing of an idle tale.
Some wed for title — most ignoble thought! —
Who later on were wrecked upon the sea
Of life, and drifted far apart. And some,
To escape the odium heaped on maidenhood,
To gain a home, perchance, or to secure
Relief from daily toil, made promises
That could not last where love itself was not.
Some, when mere children, scorning the advice
Of loving friends and parents most sincere,
Took sacred vows most thoughtlessly, to them
Empty romance, all soon to be forgot.
Some wear the mask of marriage for the sake
Of business, or pecuniary gain,
Who, tiring of the lifelong partnership,
Think to dissolve, and thus be free once more.
While many kiss the grave of buried hopes,
Not one with selfish aims finds happiness.
Frail barks are wrecked, and strewn along the shores
Of time are scattered many precious links
Of family circles — woeful sight!
But hark!
“We wed for love,” an aged couple said,
“For pure and simple, true, old-fashioned love.
More sacred grow the ties each passing year,
Which since the sunny days of youth have bound
Our hearts together. Neither wealth nor fame
Are ours, but we tread the path of peace,
Of mutual joy, which leads us both to heaven.”
Life Sketches of Ellen G. White
In the first 245 pages of this forthcoming book, Mrs. White gives a brief story of her childhood days, her conversion, and her early Christian life, and thrilling experiences in connection with the great second advent movement of 1840-1844. She tells, in a vivid way, the sorrows and joys of her youthful ministry in the years that followed the disappointment which came to those in the 1844 movement.
Following that is the narrative of her more extended travels and labors in connection with her husband, Elder James White, up to his death in 1881.
From that time, the relation of her life story is taken up by C. C. Crisler, who, with the assistance of W. C. White and D. E. Robinson, has completed the sketch, which includes an account of her last sickness, and the funeral services held in California and Michigan.
The book will contain about 500 pages, and will be ready in about two weeks.
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