OUR ministers are to go forth to proclaim the message of present truth to those who have not heard it. And our churches should not feel jealous and neglected if they do not receive ministerial labor. They should themselves take up the burden, and labor most earnestly for souls. Believers are to have root in themselves, striking firm root in Christ, that they may bear much fruit to his glory. As one man, they are to strive to attain one object,—the salvation of souls.
Let not church members wait for a verbal command to enter God’s service. They know their duty. Let them do it in humility and quietness. There are hundreds who should be at work, who need to be encouraged to make a beginning.
Let church members begin to work where they are. Everywhere there are souls who know not the truth. Humble men, willing to make sacrifices, to work as Christ worked, are needed. The Lord calls for self-sacrificing workers, who will labor quietly and unobtrusively, living so near to the Lord that they continually receive grace to impart. As they take up their work in earnestness and sincerity, asking the Lord to give them tact and skill, hearts will be reached by their efforts.
It is not God’s purpose that ministers should be left to do the greatest part of the work of sowing the seeds of truth. Men who are not called to the gospel ministry are to be encouraged to labor for the Master according to their several ability. Hundreds of men and women now idle could do acceptable service. By carrying the truth into the homes of their neighbors and friends, they could do a great work for the Master. God is no respecter of persons. He will use humble, devoted Christians who have the love of the truth in their hearts. Let such ones engage in service for him by doing house-to-house work. Sitting by the fireside, such men—if humble, discreet, and godly—can do more to meet the real needs of families than could a minister.
The Lord has a work for women, as well as for men. They may take their places in his work at this crisis, and he will work through them. If they are imbued with a sense of their duty, and labor under the influence of the Holy Spirit, they will have just the self-possession required for this time. The Saviour will reflect upon these self-sacrificing women the light of his countenance, and will give them a power that exceeds that of men. They can do in families a work that men cannot do, a work that reaches the inner life. They can come close to the hearts of those whom men cannot reach. Their labor is needed.
It is not meet for us, my sisters, to wait for greater opportunities or holier dispositions. We are inexcusable if we allow God-given talents to rust from inaction. Christ asks, “Why stand ye here all the day idle?” Let us consecrate all that we have and are to him, believing in his power to save, and having confidence that he will use us as instrumentalities to do his will and to glorify his name.
My brethren and sisters, do not pass by the little things to look for larger work. You might do successfully the small work, but fail utterly in attempting a larger work, and fall into discouragement. Take hold wherever you see that there is a work to be done. It is by doing with your might what your hands find to do, that you will develop talent and aptitude for large work. It is by slighting the daily opportunities, neglecting the little things, that so many become fruitless and withered.
There are many ways in which all may do personal service for God. Some can write a letter to a far-off friend, or send a paper to one who is inquiring for truth. Others can give counsel to those who are in difficulty. Those who know how to treat the sick can help in this way. Others who have the necessary qualifications can give Bible readings or conduct Bible classes.
The very simplest modes of work should be devised, and set in operation among the churches. If the members will unitedly accept such plans, and perseveringly carry them out, they will reap a rich reward; for their experience will grow brighter, their ability will increase, and through their efforts souls will be saved.
The Waste Places of the Earth
The waste places of the earth are to be cultivated. In humble dependence upon God, families are to go forth and settle in the unworked places of his vineyard. As the reward of their self-sacrifice in order to sow the seeds of truth, they will reap a rich harvest. As they visit family after family, giving Bible studies, opening the Scriptures to those in spiritual darkness, many hearts will be touched.
Consecrated men and women are needed to stand as fruit-bearing trees of righteousness in the desert places of the earth. In fields where the conditions are so objectionable and disheartening that many workers refuse to go to them, most remarkable changes for the better may be brought about by the efforts of self-sacrificing lay members. These humble workers will accomplish much, because they put forth patient, persevering effort, relying upon no human power, but upon God, who gives them his favor. The amount of good that these workers accomplish will never be known in this world.
Self-Supporting Missionaries
Self-supporting missionaries are often very successful. Beginning in a small, humble way, their work enlarges under the guidance of the Spirit of God. Let two or more persons start out together in evangelistic work. They may not receive any particular encouragement from those at the head of the work that they will get financial support; nevertheless, let them go forward, praying, singing, teaching, and living the truth. They may take up the work of canvassing, and in this way introduce the truth into many families. As they move forward in their work, they gain a blessed experience. They are humbled by a sense of their poverty and helplessness, but the Lord manifestly goes before them. Among the wealthy and the poor they find favor and help. They come close in friendship to those for whom they work, the one imparting the treasures of the word, the other imparting temporal sustenance. And both are blessed. Even the poverty of the people is a means of finding access to them. As these devoted missionaries pass on their way, they are helped in many ways by those to whom they bring spiritual food. Providence opens the way for them to go to isolated places, and if they bear the message God gives them, their efforts are crowned with success. Many will be brought to a knowledge of the truth, who, but for these humble teachers, would never have been won to Christ.
What more can I say than I have said to impress upon our churches the realization of the eternal loss they are suffering in not putting to use in God’s service the ability that he has given them? If the members of our churches would but put their powers to use in well-directed efforts, following well-matured plans, they would do a hundredfold more for Christ than they are now doing. If they went forth with earnest prayer, with meekness and lowliness of heart, seeking personally to impart to others the knowledge of salvation, the message might reach the inhabitants of the earth.
God calls for workers to enter the whitening harvest field. Shall we wait because the treasury is exhausted, because there is scarcely enough to sustain the workers now in the field? Go forth8in faith, and God will be with you. The promise is, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Nothing is so successful as success. Let this be secured, and the work will move forward. New fields will be opened. Many souls will be won to the truth. What is needed is increased faith in God.
As humble, God-fearing men and women consecrate themselves to the Lord, he will accept them and work through them. As they place themselves in right relation to him, light from the throne above will shine upon them, making them channels of blessing to others. All that they accomplish may not now be seen, but they are sowing seed that will yield fruit unto eternal life.
Our Daily Bread
By Susan Marr Spalding
“GIVE us this day our daily bread.”
This was the simple prayer we said
In childhood, at the mother's knee,
Like birds that clamor to be fed,
In their soft nests, no doubt nor dread
For all to-morrow's needs had we.
Now to our hearts, with care o’ergrown,
A deep and thrilling undertone
Rings clear through all that Jesus said.
The sweet old words we used to speak
Still hold whatever good we seek—
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
O Thou, who never yet hath ceased
To shed thy bounty o’er the least
Of all thy creatures, far and wide,
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
So shall we with thy love be fed,
And in thy fullness, satisfied.
— Susan Marr Spalding, in Congregationalist.
Camp Meetings
By A. R. Sandborn
A. R. SANDBORN
In the days of Israel the Lord’s people came together three times a year to worship God. This was his plan; and as long as his people followed the plan he gave them, it was a means of unifying them; for when they met from all Palestine, coming from their different surroundings and experiences, and mingling together, it was a source of comfort and encouragement to them to learn how God had worked for each. The Lord also met them there in an especial manner. “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Cor. 10:11; Rom. 15:4.
The Lord has told us that “the camp meeting is one of the most important agencies in our work. It is one of the most effective methods of arresting the attention of the people, and reaching all classes with the gospel invitation.” See “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 31. This being so, what should be our attitude to the camp meeting? or rather, What would God have us do? The time is near when our Lord is coming to take his faithful children home. We are admonished, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Heb. 10:24, 25. “It is important that the members of our churches should attend our camp meetings. The enemies of truth are many; and because our numbers are few, we should present as strong a front as possible. Individually, you need the benefits of the meeting, and God calls upon you to number one in the ranks of truth. Some will say, ‘It is expensive to travel, and it would be better for us to save the money, and give it for the advancement of the work where it is so much needed.’ Do not reason in this way. God calls upon you to take your place among the rank and file of his people. Strengthen the meeting all you possibly can by being present with you, your families. . . . Brethren and sisters, it would be far better for you to let your business suffer than to neglect the opportunity of hearing the message God has for you. Make no excuse that will keep you from gaining every spiritual advantage possible.”—Vol. VI, pages 38, 39.
If Israel of old had seen in the meetings appointed by God the blessing for them, they never would have gone into idolatry; and “if the children of Israel needed the benefits of these holy convocations in their time, how much more do we need them in these last days of peril and conflict! And if the people of the world then needed the light which God had committed to his church, how much more do they need it now!”
We are told to seek first the kingdom of heaven, and are assured that all other necessary things will be added unto us. We have before us the word of God concerning our camp meetings. Their importance to us in these times of conflict is plainly set forth. Are we going to heed the call of God, and come up to the feast of good things that he has for his people at these gatherings? or are we going to let the world come in between God and us, and willingly feed upon its husks until we starve to death?
Our dear Father in heaven has given us many rich blessings in the past, but these are nothing compared with what he is waiting to give us.
Brethren and sisters, the latter rain is due, and are we ready to step in and be refreshed by its copious showers? If so, let us be willing to give up the things of this world, that we may be prepared for the fierce conflict that is just upon us.
The Lost Tribes of Israel
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
E. J. WAGGONER.
(Concluded)
THAT the ten tribes were no more lost after the close of the Babylonian captivity than they were before, is as plain from the Scriptures as that the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were not lost. How does anybody know that these two tribes were not lost, that is, lost to sight?—By the simple fact that we find reference to them after the captivity; individuals belonging to those tribes are mentioned by name. In the same way we know that the other tribes existed as distinct tribes after the captivity, just as before.
Not all the people of Israel were carried away to Babylon; the poorest and least prominent were left in their own land. But the majority of all the tribes were taken away, and so in the royal proclamation at the close of the seventy years, the permission to return was universal, as follows:— “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (he is the God), which is in Jerusalem.” Ezra 1:1-3.
The permission to return was unlimited, but not all of any tribe took advantage of it. All the tribes, however, were represented; but those that remained were not thereby necessarily lost. A family cannot be said to be “lost” because they live in a foreign country. Later on, Artaxerxes in his commission to Ezra wrote: “I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.” Ezra 7:13.
Immediately following the proclamation of Cyrus we read, “Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.” Ezra 1:5. We know that the services of the sanctuary were re-established, and none but Levites could be employed in them; and in Ezra 3:10-12 we read that when the foundation of the temple was laid, “they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals to praise the Lord.” Even after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, we read of Barnabas, “a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus.” Acts 4:36.
In Luke 2:36-38 we read of “Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser,” who recognized the infant Jesus as the Lord, “and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
Here we see representatives of two of the ten tribes that are supposed to have mysteriously disappeared, expressly mentioned by name as dwelling in Jerusalem. It is most certain that a thing cannot be lost when you know exactly where it is.
The other tribes are not specified, but in Ezra 2:70 we read, “So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.”
When the apostle Paul was on trial for his life, before King Agrippa, he said, “Now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come.” Acts 26:6, 7. Here we find that the twelve tribes were in existence in the days of the apostle Paul, and were looking forward in hope to the fulfillment of the promise which God made to the fathers.
Again: the apostle James addressed his epistle “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.” James 1:1.
We have here sufficient evidence that9no one tribe of Israel was ever lost more than another. All tribal distinctions are now lost, and no Jew can tell to which of the twelve tribes he belongs; and so in that sense, not merely ten, but all of the tribes are now lost, although all the twelve tribes are represented in the Jewish people scattered over the earth. God, however, keeps the list, and in the world to come will put every person in his proper place; for the city for which Abraham looked, the capital of the inheritance promised to him and his seed, the New Jerusalem, has twelve gates, and on the gates are “the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.” Rev. 21:12.
The last two texts suggest another fact, namely, that God’s reckoning of the tribes is not after man’s reckoning. “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7); and “he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; . . . but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart.” Rom. 2:28, 29. All those who are saved will “enter in through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14), but each of those gates has the name on it of one of the twelve tribes, showing that the saved compose the twelve tribes of Israel. This is evident also from the fact that “Israel” means an overcomer. The epistle of James is addressed to the twelve tribes, yet there is not a Christian who does not know that its instruction and promises are for him.
And this brings us to the fact that in reality all the tribes are lost, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:23. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:6. Therefore when the Lord Jesus came, he said, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” At the very moment when he was about to confer a blessing on a poor, despised Canaanitish woman, a descendant of those heathen who inhabited the land before the days of Joshua, he declared, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matt. 15:24.
Here at last we have located the lost tribes of Israel. Not ten only, but all the tribes are lost, so completely lost that the only hope of their salvation is in the death and resurrection of Christ. In this condition we find ourselves, and therefore we can read with delight, as pertaining to us, the promises concerning the gathering of Israel. Whoever acknowledges himself lost, and depends wholly on Jesus for salvation, will surely be saved, and will be numbered among the twelve tribes.
The Tabernacle
OUR Sunday-school lesson this week on this subject is broadly comprehensive and intensely spiritual. There should be read in connection with it Ex. 25:1 to 31:11. It involves the study of the continual worship of God and the eternal plan of salvation. These it is impossible to gather in one week's lesson. Let us get from the wonderful field a lesson of true worship, applicable to the soul in all ages.
1. The word “tabernacle” means “dwelling place.” “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Ex. 25:8. It was in obedience to this that the tabernacle and all its belongings were brought into existence. It was an earthly object lesson of Christ Jesus, who was God manifest in the flesh. I Tim. 3:16. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled] among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. “And they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us.” Matt. 1:23.
But Christ is not complete without his church. He is the head, the church is the body, his representative in the earth as long as he dwells in her, “the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” Eph. 1:23; 2:20-22; 5:25-32. “Even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” But this is on the condition that they are separate from the world.
But as the church is made up of like units in character, so each individual member becomes a tabernacle of God. “Know ye not that your body is a temple [sanctuary] of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own.” I Cor. 6:19. “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live; and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me.” Gal. 2:20. How practically important, then, is the study of the tabernacle and its service.
2. God's worship must have a standard. That standard can be nothing less than his own character. This was represented in the ancient tabernacle—even as in the one on high (Rev. 11:19)—by the holy law of God, the ten commandments, within the ark in the most holy place, and over which dwelt the constant token of God's presence, the glorious shekinah. All the worship centered there. All the ministry was focused upon that one spot. That law pointed out sin. I John 3:4. All the service for the removal of sins had respect to the unchangeable law of God.
Of course there was no life in the mere materials of the tabernacle. There was no power in the mere words of the law engraved on stones. But it meant to every true spiritual worshiper of God that that law must be written in the heart as living, molding, vital principles of action. Such was its relation to Jesus Christ. “Thy law is within my heart,” “I have kept my Father's commandments,” are his own words. So God writes his law, always by their consent, in the hearts of his children. Heb. 8:10. The redeemed will be those who “know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law.” Isa. 51:6, 7.
3. In this service there is ever mercy from God to the sinner. Mercy is one of the great things of God's law. It was because God's character is what it is, because in Christ's heart was that law, that God gave his Son, that the Son “gave himself.” John 3:16; Titus 2:14. So though judgment and justice condemn the repentant sinner, mercy, as in the type, glorieth over judgment. And God's everlasting mercy will not fail. “He delighteth in mercy.” We will lose it only when we consider it of no worth. It cannot cover known sin. It is of the law itself.
4. In brief, all the furniture of the tabernacle had reference to the true temple of God. The candlestick was the light bearer. So God says to his people, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” But that the light may burn and shine, it must be kept trimmed, and fed with the holy oil. Fed from the hidden Source, the child of God must shine for all. The table of presence-bread well represents the Word of God, upon which the child of God must feed continually. The altar of incense represents the grace of Christ in consecration, the Spirit of God making effectual prayers and service. The altar of burnt offering represents a whole-hearted service; the laver, a pure life; the court, separation from the world.
5. The anointing of the priests—and all God's children are priests (1 Peter 2:9)—represents consecration to his service.
In Jesus Christ is all this fullness. In him all our needs may be met, all our defects supplied. Let God, dear reader, make of you his tabernacle.—Signs of the Times.
I Never Knew
I NEVER knew, before, the world
So beautiful could be
As I have found it since I learned
All care to cast on Thee;
The scales have fallen from mine eyes,
And now the light I see.
I never knew how very dear
My fellow men could be,
Until I learned to help them with
A ready sympathy;
Their inner lives have made me know
A broader charity.
I never knew how little things
As greater ones could be,
When sanctified by love from One
Who doth each effort see;
But now a daily round of care
May win a victory.
I never knew; and still, dear Lord,
As through a glass I see,
And perfect light can only come
When I shall dwell with thee;
When, in thy likeness, I awake,
For all eternity.
— Living Church.
Hearing God Before He Hears Us
By H. L. Hastings
WE need not expect the Lord to hear us when we pray, unless we are willing to hear him when he speaks. If we listen to his words, he will listen to ours. If we turn a deaf ear to his instructions, how can we expect that he will listen to our petitions? — H. L. Hastings.
Central European Conference
By J. Curdy
J. CURDY
JULY 1-6 the yearly meeting of the Central European Conference was held in the city of Geneva.
The general attendance of our people was good, and the outside attendance was perhaps the largest ever had in our general meetings. A great interest was manifested, and it is now being followed up by a number of workers.
Besides the local conference officers, the following leading brethren were present, who helped considerably in the plans of the conference:— From America: Brethren Daniells, Cottrell, Flaiz, Nelson, Shultz, and Palmer. From Germany: Brethren Conradi and Oblaender; while Brother Sisley, of the British field, rendered timely counsel.
THE VILLAGE OF TORRE PELLICE
Our experience in the past having shown the impossibility of managing satisfactorily the work in such a vast field from one center, it was deemed best to divide the territory of the Central European Conference into one conference and three missionary fields. The division was effected as follows:—
The French part of Switzerland is to be henceforth the French-Swiss Conference; but in order to obviate legal difficulties, it keeps its present name until the property held by it in Pieterlen is disposed of.
France, with the French-speaking part of Belgium, having a population of over forty million souls, is to be known as the French missionary field. A large city of France is to be selected as a center for missionary operations in this field, and a school for the training of workers is to be established there.
France has already been provided with a number of workers who are ready to undertake missionary operations with new energy. As there are already churches organized in this country, this missionary field was organized somewhat as a conference.
It was not possible to do the same with Italy and Spain. Italy has only a membership of forty, and no worker who is able to speak the Italian language fluently. All that could be done for those fields was to recommend that they be organized as separate missionary fields as soon as circumstances permit.
The officers of the French-Swiss Conference , legally the Central European Conference, are:— President, B. G. Wilkinson; L. P. Tieche; P. Schild; A. Guenin; J. Robert; Treasurer, Librairie Polyglotte, Basel; Secretary, A. Guyot; General Canvassing Agent, Tell Nussbaum; Assistant General Canvassing Agent, H. Provin; Sabbath-school Secretary, Ulysse Augsbourger, Renan, Berne; Missionary Secretary, Melina Evard, Clos Brochet 15, Neuchâtel; Auditor, L. P. Tieche.
The officers for the French mission field are:— Superintendent, J. Curdy, Torre Pellice, Italy; J. P. Badaut; G. Roth; A. Jacquard; L. Roumajon; Secretary, Jeanne Bourquin.
The Mission Board is requested to select a strong man to take the supervision of the work in the Italian mission field, and organize it as soon as possible on the same basis as it is organized in France. As Brother Curdy, who has been in charge of the work in this field for the past two years, is to leave for France in the beginning of October, Brother Bénézet, a young Bible worker, will be the only laborer left in this field until help is provided from America.
A general organization was perfected to supervise the work in the various parts of the field. This is to prepare the way for a union of the Latin conferences as soon as such conferences can be organized in the different parts of the field. This Union Latin Mission Board was formed as follows:— Superintendent, B. G. Wilkinson; J. Curdy; Superintendent of the Italian field; Superintendent of the Spanish field; Tell Nussbaum; Dr. P. A. De Forest; L. P. Tieche; Secretary, Jeanne Bourquin; Treasurer, Librairie Polyglotte.
Special attention was given to the French paper, Les Signes des Temps. In order to make it a paper suited to the needs of both the French and the Swiss field, it was decided to have two or three pages, according to circumstances, devoted to local matters concerning France printed only in the French edition, and that this be replaced by local Swiss matter for the Swiss edition.
Brother J. Vuilleumier was chosen as responsible editor, and B. G. Wilkinson and J. Curdy as corresponding editors.
This paper is expected to be used freely as a pioneer journal, hence it is to have a wide circulation in both France and Switzerland.
It is not expected that France, with its one hundred Sabbath keepers for a population of over forty million souls, and Italy, with forty Sabbath keepers for a population of thirty-five million souls, will be self-supporting from the first. The French-Swiss Conference alone is expected to be entirely self-supporting. It has even pledged itself to support two workers in the French mission field for the present year.
The funds for the support of the work in the various mission fields are to come from the following sources: (a) the tithe of all tithes from local conferences; (b) the Sabbath-school offerings, annual offerings, and all general offerings; (c) all tithes of missionary fields; (d) appropriations made by the Mission Board through the medium of the European General Conference.
As a matter of education, those various mission fields are to pay their tithe to the European General Conference.
The present force of workers for this large field is rather small. It is composed of the five following ordained ministers:— B. G. Wilkinson, Weiherweg 48, Basel, Switzerland; J. Curdy, Torre Pellice, Italy; L. P. Tieche, Rue Jean Charles 1, Geneva, Switzerland; J. Vuilleumier, Onnens, Vaud, Switzerland; G. Roth, Nimes, France; also five licentiates: Tell Nussbaum, Crêt 20, Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland; J. P. Badaut, 39 Avenue de Romans, Valence, France; H. Provin, Rue de l’Ecluse 16, Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Chas. Augsbourger, Valleyres Sous Rances, Vaud, Switzerland; D. Lecoultre, Valleyres Sous Rances, Vaud, Switzerland; and the11three following Bible workers: P. Badaut, Rue Hans 13, Jumet, Belgium; L. Bénézet, Torre Pellice, Italy; A. Guyot, Rue Jean Charles 1, Geneva, Switzerland.
The various boards are contemplating increasing their force of workers. Several names have already been considered; but up to the present, the preceding names are the only ones acted upon. Laborers as well as means are expected from America.
Our people in this field are awakening to a sense of the necessity of educating their children and youth for usefulness in the cause. Up to the present, but little has been done in this direction.
A three months’ course held in Geneva last spring by Brother B. G. Wilkinson has already given very satisfactory results, but we must have something more permanent in the future.
The plan for France is to have a school that can be moved at any time from city to city. We expect to have it in rented quarters. The students are expected to earn part of their way by actual work, and also to devote about half of their time to study.
The necessary funds to start this work are to be drawn from the proceeds of the assets of the Basel house. Those funds are to be divided as follows:— Sixty per cent is to go to the Latin field, and forty per cent to the German Union Conferences. Of the sixty per cent assigned to the Latin field, fifteen per cent is apportioned to the French-Swiss Conference, and forty-five per cent to the Latin mission field.
All the deliberations were characterized by a spirit of harmony and thankfulness to God. To our brethren from America we extend our hearty thanks for their timely help in this hour of need. We all returned to our respective fields in the hope of a triumphant experience in our blessed Saviour, who is so soon to come.
