p. 388 | Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 25. (6/19/1900)

SOWING FOR PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL HEALTH

By David Paulson; W. S. Sadler

David Paulson & W. S. Sadler

THE STARCH FAMILY.

Starch is by far the most abundant of any of the food elements; and the more we study it, the more interesting it becomes; while the less we study it, the more misery we are likely to derive from its use. No other food element comes to us in so many different forms and conditions. The entire starch family is called carbohydrates.

ORIGIN OF STARCH IN THE PLANT WORLD.

Starch enters largely into the composition of nearly all plants. As we study the food elements as they are found in the natural products of the earth, we find them stored away by the hand of nature as carefully as a kind mother would arrange the food in a lunch basket for her child. Starch is the first food element that is acted upon in the digestive process (cooked starch is acted upon by the saliva); and so it is the first food substance that is made in the plant. Under the influence of sunlight, the plant absorbs carbon dioxide,—the poisonous gas exhaled by man and animals,—which is present in the air, together with moisture from the earth, and then combines these two substances in such a way as to build up starch. During this process oxygen is gradually being liberated, or given off, by the plant, thus actually purifying the surrounding atmosphere. It was formerly supposed that in its breathing the plant never gave out carbon dioxide, as animals do, but that it always gave off oxygen. This, however, is a mistake. The plant breathes just the same as all other living things,—by taking in oxygen, and giving out carbon dioxide. At night, when the plant is deprived of the stimulating influence of the sunlight, and the formation of starch practically ceases, it can very readily be demonstrated that the respiration of plants does not differ essentially from that of man and the lower animals. See “Verworn,” pages 158, 174.

At first sight, it seems to be a remarkable thing that, while the plant utilizes some of that small per cent of the air which is made up of carbon dioxide, it makes no use whatever of the almost eighty per cent of nitrogen, which is also found in the air; since nitrogen is an element essential to the production of proteids, another food substance made by the plant. Yet the plant makes absolutely no use of this nitrogen in the air, but secures, entirely from the soil, the nitrogen it uses in building the proteids. This is readily explained by the fact that the nitrogen in the air fulfills a very useful purpose, while the carbon dioxide contaminates the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a waste product that is constantly being thrown out from the lungs of the whole animal kingdom, as well as arising from various sources of fermentation. The plant gathers up this poison from the atmosphere, and out of it manufactures a wholesome and essential food element—starch. It likewise takes certain waste products in the earth, which are more or less the result of decay and decomposition, and from these it constructs the proteid portions of our food,—the gluten of wheat, etc. For these reasons the intelligent farmer plants trees in the ill-smelling marsh, to purify the soil; and the trained nurse places flowers in the sick-room, to assist in purifying the air.

SPIRITUAL LESSON FROM STARCH-MAKING IN THE PLANT.

We have just learned that plants manufacture only starch while in the sunshine. In the night the plant actually begins to consume the starch it has previously made. Just so with man’s spiritual nature. We develop Christian character only when we are being shone upon by the Sun of righteousness; only while we are “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” Heb. 12:2. Christ is “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9. Let man remove himself from the influence of that divine light, or obscure heaven’s sunshine in the soul, and immediately the process of transforming into Christian character the various substances found in the soil and atmosphere of his surroundings is brought to a standstill; for during periods of spiritual darkness and moral depression, man, like the plant, actually consumes, or loses, much of the Christlike character that he has previously acquired through the influence of the rays of the Sun of righteousness as they shone upon his soul. By periods of spiritual darkness, etc., we do not refer to trials and tribulations, but to doubts and despair. How important, then, that we should “walk in the light, as he is in the light.” 1 John 1:7. We should be “children of light.” Eph. 5:8. We should walk, eat, live, and move in the light, even in the light of his countenance. Let us pray, with the psalmist: “Make thy face to shine upon thy servant.” Ps. 31:16.

TWO GREAT CLASSES OF CARBOHYDRATES, OR SOLUBLE AND INSOLUBLE STARCH.

We may first divide the starch family into two great classes: First, the permanent, or insoluble, form; and second, the soluble form. The insoluble forms are represented by starch and cellulose. Cellulose is commonly known as “woody matter,” the bran of wheat being an example. The soluble forms are sugar and dextrin. Dextrin is partially digested starch. The sweetness of well-toasted bread is due to the presence of dextrin. Starch is found most abundantly in the grains; in fact, the great bulk of all grains and seeds is composed of starch. If the carbohydrates were deposited in the seeds and grains in the soluble form,—sugar or dextrin,—they could not be kept very long, and thus the perpetuation of their kind would be imperiled. For this and other reasons, we find the carbohydrates stored away in all ripe grain, in the permanent and insoluble form of starch.

CELLULOSE.

Cellulose is an insoluble member of the starch family. Wood is only cellulose; in fact,

it is possible to take a wooden plank and subject it to such a chemical process as to convert it into a form of sugar. In many of the trees the sap, while it is being carried up through the trunk of the tree to form the leaves and branches, is in the “sugar stage.” Thus we see how closely related are the different members of the starch family, which, at first sight, bear no resemblance whatever to one another. The covering of all the grains and seeds is largely composed of cellulose and a form of glass. Nature seems to “can up” these small food particles in glass, the same as we can our fruit. Human beings have little or no power to digest cellulose, although the lower animals possess the power to digest it to a large extent. A cow can eat dried-up grass, and make sweet milk from it.

DEXTRIN.

Dextrin is a soluble member of the starch family. We have an example of dextrin in starch that is toasted until it is thoroughly browned. The characteristic sweetness of the brown crust of zwieback (twice baked bread) is due to this form of sugar. The presence of dextrin is indicated by the “brownness” of toasted bread.

SUGAR.

Sugar is another soluble member of the starch family. We have examples of sugar in ripe fruit, and in the sap of the maple tree. In the winter the starch of the tree is stored up in its roots. In the spring, nature begins to digest this starch—to turn it into sugar; and then, in the form of sap,—sugar,—it is carried up through the tree to be deposited in the leaves, bark, and branches, in the form of cellulose. Just as nature digests the starch in the roots of the tree before sending it up in the sap to the branches, so the starch that enters the human system must likewise be digested before it can be used in the body. Our blood fulfills the same function for us that the sap does for the tree. Nature digests the starch in the roots of the tree, so that by the sap it can readily be transported to the very tree-tops. For the same reason, nature digests the starch in the human system, so that by the blood it can be readily carried to every part of the body where it will be needed in the work of tissue repair, and for the purposes of heat and energy. Another illustration of sugar in the sap is found in sorghum. The farmer cuts down the sorghum plant at just the right time, presses out the juice, evaporates the excess of water, and converts the residue into either sirup or sugar.

SPIRITUAL LESSON FROM THE SAP.

The word of God that liveth and abideth forever is an infinite principle. Finite beings are unable to grasp, or to comprehend, the infinite Word, as it comes direct from the eternal Father; and so “the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14), that it might dwell among us, and that we might be able to understand it. In Christ, the Word of life is presented to us in such a form that we can both recognize and utilize it. As the starch in the roots of the tree is converted into sugar, only to be elevated to the branches, there to be converted into cellulose, which is but starch in another form; just so the Word of God, that infinite principle, is presented to us in the life of Christ—the life of a MAN. In Christ we are able to recognize the divine Word—to appropriate it. And thus the Word of life, having passed through Christ, “the true vine,” may now be manifested in us, the living branches. The life of God is made flesh in Christ; and Christ being formed within us, the hope of glory, we are enabled to live the divine life before the world.

Just as the starch in the roots of the tree, and the cellulose in the branches, are one and the same substance,—members of the same family,—only in different forms; so the life that the Christian lives is the same life that Christ lived, although it may not so appear to the world; for it is written of our life that it “is hid with Christ, in God,” and “the world knoweth us not because it knew him not.” Col. 3:3; 1 John 3:1. And Paul wrote: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.” Gal. 2:20.

In the living principles brought to our view in the life and character of Christ, we have the divine character so presented to us that the human mind can grasp it, living faith can appropriate it. And just as the maple tree takes the starch converted into sugar in the sap, and converts it into cellulose, spreading it out in beautiful foliage, in which the birds may alight, and sing, and build their nests; so it is the Christian’s privilege to take the life of God that has been made flesh in Christ, and live it,—spread it out before the world in the beautiful foliage of Christian character. “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” Jer. 17:8.

The trees in the garden of Eden bore their fruit every month; and so the Christian is bearing fruit continually. When we cease to yield fruit, it is evidence to the sinner who may chance to come our way, that it is useless to expect spiritual help from us. If our trials, troubles, or difficulties interfere with our fruit-bearing, they will also interfere with our ability to help and strengthen our fellow men. Our influence should be the same at home, abroad, everywhere. Tap the maple tree at any point you choose, and it will yield the sweetened water. And it should be so with Christians: they shall be “called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” Isa. 61:3. The believer’s connection with Christ should ever be full and complete: at home, at church, in the shop, or in the field, there should always go out from his life that fragrant influence that will cause all who come in contact with him to hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Copyrighted, 1900, by David Paulson and W. S. Sadler.

HEART

The King's Messenger.

God gives a new heart, a heart to know him, a heart that returns unto him. A new heart and a new spirit are the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Without this new heart it is impossible to serve him. Our resolutions, our efforts, our consecrations and dedications, are of no avail without the new heart indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who causes us to walk in his commandments to do them, and makes us to walk in newness of life, and to run with alacrity and delight in the way of the Lord.

This heart life is not the growth of the head; it is not born of the intellect; it is the gift of God by the way of faith in the Lord Jesus. It is an entirely new creation. All things are new—a new birth, born of the Spirit, the stony heart displaced, a heart of flesh put in, making a new man in Christ Jesus—not outward reformation, but inward regeneration—not to know things, but to know God.

This kind of heart is God given; it is a new nature; all the old is revolutionized by the new. We receive this new heart at justification. Pardon and peace are its initials. Plans and purposes are entirely altered. Receiving a new experience, we become a new witness; we begin a new life. Then the heart becomes the throne room—the seat of power—the abiding of his presence. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

We can believe only with our heart. Head faith does not meet the need. It is with the heart man believes. The mistake we make is transferring the seat of power to the head. We think more than we love; we reason more than we believe; we speculate more than we practice. We have opinions of the head that are set forth in doctrines and dogmas and creeds: they make us learned, but not loving; they are of us, not of him.

Wise heads would displace loving hearts, and dub them fanatical, and fear to relinquish control and let the Holy Ghost rule. After heart belief comes heart love. We love with all our heart. This comes through the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The supply is full, if we will only receive—full hearts properly filled, filled full of the Holy Ghost. Self must abdicate; self must be displaced, must be removed; not by us, for we are not able, but by him: he is all-powerful.

“THE RECORD WHICH GOD GAVE OF HIS SON.”

By W. H. Granger

W. H. GRANGER.

(Akron, Ohio.)

“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” 1 John 5:10.

From this text it will be clearly seen that God gave a certain record of his Son. To disbelieve this record is to make God a liar. This would be a great sin; hence it is important that we understand and believe the record which God gave of his Son. Now read it: “And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life [eternal life]; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life [eternal life].”

Now notice the record. “God hath given to us eternal life.” Notice where that life is. “And this life is in his Son.” Who has that life?—“He that hath the Son hath life [eternal life]; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life [eternal life].” This eternal life which God hath given to us is inseparable from his Son. It is in his Son. And in order for God to give us that life, he had to give us his Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Hence, he who rejects Jesus Christ rejects the “gift of God,” which “is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And on the other hand, he who accepts Christ accepts the gift of God, which is eternal life.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.” Now since this eternal life is in God’s Son; and since it must be received by faith; and whereas those who do not receive God’s Son do not receive the gift of God, which is eternal life, it is the truth of God, because God has said it, that no man has eternal life in himself. The only hope of eternal life which man has is in accepting the eternal life which God has given to us in his Son. It is therefore conclusive that the man who does not accept Jesus Christ will utterly perish.

Now if you believe the record that God gave of his Son, you can not believe that man has natural immortality; for this doctrine leads to the belief that man will spend an eternal life either in bliss or in torment. It leads to the belief that man has eternal life in spite of God; and that God lied when he said that he gave man eternal life in his Son, and that no man would see eternal life who rejected his Son. This doctrine of the natural immortality of man not only makes God a liar, but it robs Jesus Christ of the glory and honor of bringing life and immortality to light through the gospel. And any doctrine which does all that is an antichristian doctrine.

Consider again the record which God gave of his Son, that “in him is life,” and that God has given to us who believe, this life which is in his Son, which is eternal life. This life is in Christ. And since Christ is in heaven at the right hand of God, it is clear that the eternal life which God has given to every believer is there also: and so it is written: “Your life [which God gave you] is hid with Christ in God.” Therefore “whosoever liveth and believeth in me,” said Jesus, “shall never die.” Therefore if you believe in Jesus, the life which God gives you, the life which becomes yours when you believe, is as eternal as is God himself. It is hid with Christ in God.

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift, and the blessed hope of a soon-coming Saviour, “who will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in welldoing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life.”

Is this your hope? Have you accepted God’s gift? Have you the witness in yourself that God has given to you eternal life? Do you know that if this earthly life were to fail, you have eternal life in heaven, hid with Christ in God? Do you believe that if it were not for the gift of God, which is eternal life, you would utterly perish? If you do, then you believe the record that God gave of his Son. You believe that there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved from perishing. “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, . . . to him be glory and dominion forever.”

Western Recorder on Easter as a Roman Practice

SPEAKING of Easter, the Western Recorder well says: “This heathen celebration was adopted by the corrupt Roman Church when they ‘converted’ the Saxons. The Reformers threw off this Easter observance, along with many other unscriptural practices of the papists; and now, behold! many Protestants, and even Baptists, are taking up again these ‘rags of Rome,’ and decorating themselves with them. It is not a wholesome sign. Those Reformers knew what they were about, and to take up these discarded practices is a distinct letting down of the spiritual tone of our people.”

THE TRUE DIET FOR MAN.

By W. S. Boone

W. S. BOONE.

(Logan, Ohio.)

It is written, “God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” Eccl. 7:29. Perhaps no other invention has contributed so much toward destroying that original uprightness in man, as has his departure from the primitive diet which God gave to him in the beginning. “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat [food].” Gen. 1:29.

Here we learn from the word of God that the diet which he gave to the representatives of our race, Adam and Eve, consisted exclusively of the various grains, fruits, and nuts. These contain every element of nutrition required by the human body; and besides this, there is no element of disease or death in them.

If Adam and Eve and their posterity had conformed to the instructions given by the Lord in regard to diet, in Gen. 1:29; 2:16, 17, disease and death would never have entered this world; the instructions were disregarded, and for nearly six thousand years the human family has paid but little attention to what the Lord said in Gen. 1:29.

We have departed so far from the Lord’s instructions in reference to what is good and fit to eat; and have substituted or added so many things that are not fit to eat, and which the Lord has told us not to eat; that it can be truthfully said all over the world to-day, as was said by the sons of the prophets to Elisha of old: “O thou man of God, there is death in the pot.”

It was not designed of God from the beginning that the flesh of animals should form any part of the diet of man. This is proved by the revelation of his will upon the subject of diet, as given in Gen. 1:29, and quoted above. The observance of these requirements of God in regard to diet were frustrated, or hindered, for a short time, immediately after the flood.

The earth was broken up by the flood, and was covered with water for nearly a year. By this the grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables were destroyed; so that when Noah and his family came out of the ark, it became necessary for God to supply them with a temporary diet until the fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetables should grow again upon the earth. It was then that the Lord said: “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat [food] for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it.” Gen. 9:3–5.

Here we learn that the life is in the blood, and that the blood of our lives is required for the lives of the animals whose flesh we eat. The principle revealed to Noah, in the words quoted, is that there is an element of disease and death in flesh food which shortens the lives of those who eat it.

The average length of a man’s life at the time permission was given to eat flesh food was nearly a thousand years. For four thousand years or more he has been losing his hold upon life, by this process of yielding his life for the lives of the animals, birds, and fishes eaten, until he is nearly bankrupt of life, dying at an average age of about thirty-three years.

We should stop our flesh-eating, and return to the healthful, life-giving diet of grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, which our loving Father has bountifully provided.

HOME-MAKING A VOCATION.

By Caroline Abbot Stanley

Caroline Abbot Stanley, in Good Housekeeping.

Is HOME-MAKING a vocation, or is it only an avocation? Should a woman enter upon it as a man enters a profession, or may she properly look upon it as subordinate to the greater concerns of life? Are there any greater concerns for her? Let us see.

A man and a woman, drawn together by that subtle attraction we call love, plight to each other their troth, “for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; till death do part.” It is a solemn vow, fraught with momentous consequences; for upon its faithful keeping depends the perpetuity of the home, and upon the home depends the nation. Fidelity to the marriage vow is its corner stone. Let it be wanting, and “they labor in vain that build the house.” Add to it love, mutual forbearance, and common sense, and the building rises foursquare on a solid foundation.

Now at the very outset of their home-building our young couple are confronted by a serious question. They are both wage-earners. Shall both continue to be so?

It costs a woman more than most men realize to lay down a good salary, and become dependent upon her husband for every dollar she spends. If she has never known the joy of independent self-support, she will find it comparatively easy; but if she has had the handling of her own money, and the unquestioned right to spend it as she chooses, it is idle to say that she will not miss it and often long for it. This, indeed, is one of the strongest arguments against young women so generally entering business life. The occupation in itself may not unfit her for wifehood, but the long continuance in it unfits her in a measure for the financial dependence which accompanies wifehood.

And why need she be dependent? it is urged. She has her own business. Why should she give it up? She earns perhaps as much as the young husband does. They are just starting in life, and need money. How much more they will have if they both work! Of course she can not do much housekeeping if she is engaged in other business, but she can hire it done, or they can board. These are some of the arguments that entice them—or rather her; for it is rarely the case that a man is willing for his new wife to continue outside work, and we do not usually think much of him when he is.

Shall both continue to be wage-earners? That is the pressing question to be settled before they can determine what their home is to be. Perhaps it can be answered better by a consideration of what the organization of a home means than in any other way.

Organization in general is the bringing together of interdependent parts, each having a special function, office, or relation, into one organic whole, which shall accomplish, with the least possible friction and the greatest possible efficiency, the object of its existence. Interdependent parts! Special office! This would seem to preclude all discussion as to preeminence of parts or uniformity of function. They are brought together because they are unlike,—because they are to accomplish different ends. If the constituent parts were all similar, there could be no organization; if all had the same office, the object of organization would be defeated.

It was this, undoubtedly, that Paul had in mind when he said to the Corinthians, respecting the organization of the Christian church:—

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ [the body of Christ—the organized church]. . . . If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? . . . And if they were all one member, where were the body?”

Apply this principle to the organization of the home. There we have brought together the interdependent parts—man with his strength of body and soul to battle with the world, and his will to do it, and woman with her no less God-given power to put inspiration into his work, and to make a place of rest and refreshing for him when the day’s conflict is over—a place so sweet and sacred that the thought of it shall be a constant incentive to further effort. It is his special office to be the bread-winner; it is hers to be the home-maker. But, to paraphrase St. Paul, if both are wage-earners, where were the home?

It is the province of organization to lay stress upon specialization, subdivision of labor, unity of purpose, and harmonious working.

There can be no doubt that men and women were designed for specialized work. It is proclaimed by their physical constitutions and the bent of their affections. It is emphasized whenever the little mother gathers her babies to her loving breast, and casts about for a playhouse

site, while her more aggressive brother mounts his stick horse, and, gun in hand, goes forth to conquer. Every true woman has an instinct toward home-making. It is possible for her to stifle this, to go on making money or doing work outside the home until this natural feeling, from being so long held in abeyance, is superseded in time by another. But it by no means follows that this is a desirable state of things.

The world’s best work is done by wise subdivision of labor. No man can do all things well. A part of woman’s work is laid on her by an unalterable decree. This can never be changed by universal suffrage nor legislative enactment. Since this is true, is it not both wise and just that she should be relieved from the added strain of laboring for daily bread?

It is easy to see that there could not be unity of purpose nor always harmonious working if both husband and wife are bread-winners. Hours would clash; interests would conflict. A man who is working to support his family has a right to a good dinner, well cooked and promptly served, to a comfortable, well-kept home in which to rest when the day’s work is done. He has a right, too, to the undivided interest of his wife in what concerns them both. How can she give either at its best if her duties call her into office or store? These are prosaic things. But the woman who fails her husband at this point will have domestic trouble, and ought to. This is the part that he can not do; it is the part that she is specially fitted for, and has promised to do. She can not safely neglect it.

“No man can serve two masters.” Wifehood, with all it entails, is a vocation. One who enters it disqualifies herself for business life. Nay, for her henceforth the business of life is in the home. Let her bring to its conduct all the energy, the thought, the devotion she would give to any other calling. Let her dignify it. Let her, like St. Paul, magnify her office, not by endlessly retailing her trials with man-servant and maid, but by opening her eyes to its possibilities for influencing the life of her husband, her children, and the world. Then will it become to her a vocation.

MY SCHOOLROOM.

By Katherine Lee Bates

I HAVE closed my books and hidden my slate And thrown my satchel across the gate; My school is out for a season of rest, And now for the schoolroom I love the best.

My schoolroom lies on the meadow wide, Where under the clover the sunbeams hide, Where the long vines cling to the mossy bars, And the daisies twinkle like fallen stars;

Where clusters of buttercups gild the scene, Like showers of gold-dust thrown over the green, And the wind’s flying footsteps are traced as they pass, By the dance of the sorrel and the dip of the grass.

My lessons are written in clouds and trees, And no one whispers, except the breeze, Who sometimes blows, from a secret place, A stray, sweet blossom against my face.

My school-bell rings in the rippling stream, Which hides itself, like a schoolboy’s dream, Under the shadow and out of sight, But laughing still for its own delight.

My schoolmates there are the birds and bees, And the saucy squirrel, more dull than these; For he only learns, in all the weeks, How many chestnuts will fill his cheeks.

My teacher is patient, and never yet A lesson of hers did I once forget; For wonderful lore do her lips impart, And all her lessons are learned by heart.

O, come! O, come, or we shall be late, And autumn will fasten the golden gate.

— Katherine Lee Bates, in Southern Churchman.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SISTERS.

Observance of noontide hour of prayer.

Correspondence work: isolated and for encouragement.

Organizing of mission Sabbath-schools.

Young people's clubs.

Starting work for ignorant foreigners in cities,— teaching to read English language, and weaving in the Bible.

Reading racks in depots.

Circulating library,— to make use of and add to.

Send in names and addresses of blind persons, with proper information, that we may put them in the hands of Brother Wilson, so that he can correspond with them, and thus increase the circulation of his paper for the blind.

Send in names and addresses of any who need homes, or who would like to work as housekeepers. Also names of any who need such help. Woman's work to be a bureau through which to help in this way.

Special requests for prayer are remembered in a definite manner. Continue to send them in.

Bible-reading work.

Loaning of packages of assorted tracts.

Districting of city,— each taking so much territory, visiting each home, and thus finding out the needs, and doing the work indicated. This will make woman's meetings necessary, and will fill them with life.

The woman's work is being carried on in the German and Scandinavian languages, and sisters of those nationalities should come in touch with the foreign secretaries: Mrs. Marie Beermann, German Secretary, Santa Rosa, Cal.; Mrs. Mary B. Hansen, Scandinavian Secretary, Box 67, Ruthven, Iowa.

Any queries concerning any part of our work at large will receive prompt attention if sent to the office; and all the information will be given that is possible.

This woman's work is to bind us all together, making us sharers in one another's experiences. It is a chain, of which each one of our sisters should be a link,— a chain to which links should continually be added.

Advise all to send for and read “A Special Call to Our Women” and “A Woman-Ministry.” Speak also of “What and How to Answer,” and the study cards.

Explain the effort just started for young people.

JUNE STUDY OF THE FIELD: PART V.

Review.

(Text-book, June Magazine.)

Our lesson this week is a review of the last quarter’s work. Written answers to these questions will not be required, but a careful review of what we have studied during the quarter will be valuable in crystallizing the information gained, so that we may have it at hand for future use. These questions may also be used as the basis of an interesting exercise for the missionary meeting, by assigning each question to a different person for a two- or three-minute talk.

(June 24-30.)

What events in the history of China seem to have prepared that country for the entrance of the gospel?
Describe the different divisions of Chinese society, and suggest lines of missionary work that, in your estimation, might be successfully established among them.
Relate the events that led to the establishment of the independence of Mexico.
Mention some developments in that country of marked interest to the student of prophecy.
What can you say of the religion of Mexico?
What points in the Mohammedan faith might lead its adherents to consider the gospel?
Relate some of the evidences of progress mentioned in the island fields we have studied.
Why is the Russian Empire especially important as a mission field?
What can we do to advance the work in the fields considered during the quarter?

HOW AND WHAT TO WRITE.

By Carolyn Wandell Bunce

SELLING one's thoughts for money Is all that literature means, When one examines some novels With which the bookstand teems. The wildest, impossible stories, Replete with improbable lies, Are dressed in the gaudiest covers, To attract the public eyes.

Should not our thoughts be noble, In all things we would write, Sticking to truth, not turning loose Imagination's flight? Our books are character builders, So we are taught to believe; On brain and pen much more depends Than the lucre we receive.

The youthful mind is receptive, As absorbent as a sponge; An impress made has often laid Foundation for life's plunge. Oh ye who write light novels, The novels of the day, Write strong and pure, what will endure, Not just to make them pay! — Carolyn Wandell Bunce.

God Is the Owner of the Whole Man

“God is the owner of the whole man.”

Bible Readings with Families.

By Mrs. S. N. Haskell

MRS. S. N. HASKELL.

The plan of holding Bible readings was a heaven-born idea. There are many, both men and women, who can engage in this branch of missionary labor. . . . God will not permit this precious work for him to go unrewarded. He will crown with success every humble effort made in his name.—“Gospel Workers,” page 339.

In visiting your neighbors it is easy to turn the conversation from the news of the day to the subject of the second coming of Christ. Most of the thrilling events that are occurring in the world are signs of the coming of the Saviour. Many of our friends and neighbors recognize this, and would be glad to know what the Bible teaches on the subject of the second advent.

Below is a simple series of texts that contains some suggestive thoughts, which may be of use if you wish to hold Bible readings with your neighbors. These texts should be studied until they are familiar; and you should make the thoughts your own before you attempt to give them to others. There are many thoughts given in the texts, but space will not permit more than one LEADING thought to be given after each text.

John 14: 1–3: The promise, “I will come again.”

Acts 1: 9–11: He will come in person, not as a spirit.

Rev. 1: 7: “Every eye shall see him.”

Matt. 24: 30: Comes in the clouds, with great glory.

Luke 9: 26: Threefold glory: Father’s, Son’s, and angels’.

Matt. 17: 1, 2; Acts 26: 13: Christ’s glory above the brightness of the noonday sun.

Ex. 24: 16, 17: The Lord’s glory like devouring fire.

Eze. 1: 28: The glory of the Lord like the rainbow. To the wicked it will appear dreadful; to the righteous, glorious.

Matt. 28: 1–3: The glory of one angel.

Matt. 25: 31: All the angels will come.

Rev. 5: 11: The numbers of the angels. The whole heavens will be filled with the glorious host.

Matt. 28: 4: Effect of the glory of ONLY ONE ANGEL.

Matt. 28: 5: Righteous hidden not to fear.

2 Thess. 2: 8: Effect of the glory upon all the wicked.

Jer. 25: 30–33: Wicked dead upon the earth.

1 Thess. 4: 16, 17: Righteous taken to meet the Lord.

1 Cor. 15: 51–53: Changed before they are taken.

Phil. 3: 20, 21: Given glorious bodies like Christ’s.

Matt. 13: 43: Shine as the sun in the kingdom.

Rom. 8: 18: Sufferings not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us—in our own bodies.

Continue reading: THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE: WHAT IS IT?