battlefield of singapore on our headquarter

8/10/2019 Battlefield of Singapore on Our Headquarter

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H. A. ROBERTS

A HYMN OF TRUST

God is our refuge and strength, a very

present help in trouble.

Therefore will not we fear, though the

earth be removed, and though the mountains

be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though the waters thereof roar and be

troubled, though the mountains shake with

the swelling thereof. Selah.

There is a river, the streams whereof shall

make glad the city of God, the holy place of

the tabernacles of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be

moved: God shall help her, and that right

early.

The heathen raged, the kingdoms were

moved: He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of

Jacob is bur refuge. Selah.

Come, behold the works of the Lord, what

desolations He hath made in the earth.

He maketh wars to cease unto the end of

the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth

the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot

in the fire.

Be still and know that I am God: I will be

exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted

in the earth.

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of

Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

. . .

Psalm 46 . . .

THE ADVENT

AB BAT H

R E V I E W

N D

H E R A L D

GENERAL CHURCH PAPER OF THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS

DEDICATEIVt0 THE PROCLAMATION OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL

Ifni

ni

bin 57

AMA PARK

WASHINGTON, D. C., U. S. A.

ECEMBER 28, 1944


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EDITORI L

T

HE apostle Paul was on his way to

Rome. He had appealed to the

decision of Caesar, and, accom-

panied by other prisoners, with a

guard of soldiers, was journeying by

boat to the Roman capital. A terrible

storm arose; the ship was tempest

tossed. For fourteen days it had been

driven about by the wind, the sailors

not knowing their location. Time and

again it seemed that all was lost ; hope

had well-nigh fled from every heart.

Finally so severe a crisis was reached

that even the experienced sailors

quailed before it. They prepared to let

down the boats that they might escape,

leaving the prisoners in the sinking

vessel ; but by the words of the apostle

they were prevented from taking this

step. To the centurion he said, "Ex-

cept these abide in the ship, ye cannot

be saved."

Only by co-operation and united ef-

Abide in the Ship

fort could they hope to weather the

storm and reach the shore at last.

Acting on Paul's counsel, the soldiers

cut the ropes holding the boats, thus

preventing the seamen from making

their escape. Inspired by the apostle's

faith and fortitude, through their

united efforts and the blessing of God,

all finally escaped to land from their

perilous situation.

On life's tempestuous sea it is neces-

sary for us, would we reach the shore

at last, to abide in the ship. Satan is

seeking to engulf us; the waves of evil

sweep in from every quarter. Our sky

is so overcast that it seems at times

that no star of hope pierces the gloom.

In darkness and almost in despair we

wage battle with the principles of evil,

but let us not cast away our confidence

nor forsake the work and truth of God.

Unlike the ship on which the apostle

Paul and his companions sailed, the old

ship Zion will safely make the harbor

at last. Her pilot and captain is the

Lord Jesus Christ; He knows every

dangerous reef and hidden shoal. At

times shipwreck may seem to threaten ;

it may seem that the work of God will

go to pieces, and we be left stranded

and shipwrecked; but an unseen Intel-

ligence is keeping watch over the des-

tinies of God's children. Not one

humble, trusting soul will be lost. Let

us be brave, courageous, and hopeful;

soon we shall be sheltered within the

harbor of eternal rest. Let us remain

in the ship, be true to God and to His

work, exemplify in our lives the prin-

ciples of His blessed gospel, and trust

Him to lead us safely through to the

end of the journey. We shall find that

we have not labored in vain, nor

trusted in vain. In the fullness of our

joy every hope will be realized.

F. M. W.

The Sacredness of Church Membership

I

S it possible that the sacredness of

church membership is not appreci-

ated as it should be? It often ap-

pears so. Too many members are lost

to the church merely because they do

not keep in active contact with the

church where their membership is re-

corded. As church boards go over the

list of names on the church books each

year, they find those whom they are

unable to trace and from whom they

have not heard for many months and

even years.

What should be done with such de-

linquent members? They have not

done any great sin, perhaps, for which

they should be disfellowshiped. They

have not lost faith in the principles

which they have professed to believe.

They have simply neglected to keep the

line of fellowship open, but for this

they must be put on the list of missing

members. If they are missing too

long, then they must be pronounced

dead to the church and their names

taken off the records.

It is with no feeling of gratitude

that a church must do this. It is al-

ways a painful process to take off

names and always a joyful one to add

them. The rule of the church regard-

ing missing members as found in the

Church Manual

and reiterated at the

recent Fall Council, reads as follows:

"It is a serious thing for a church

member to regard the obligations of

church membership so lightly that he

can absent himself for indefinite peri-

ods and make no report of his faith

and hope to the church. After an ab-

sence of two years, such a member

may be dropped from the rolls of the

church by a vote of the church, pro-

vided the church officers can certify

that they have faithfully endeavored

to locate and encourage the absent

member, but without success."

Seeking Out Missing Members

Two duties are implied in this regu-

lation of the church : One is the duty

of the member to maintain active con-

tact with the church where his mem-

bership is held. The other is the duty

of the church board to endeavor to lo-

cate the member and learn of his

Christian experience before the church

takes any action. A church board is

not justified in going through the

church record and recommending to

the church the disfellowshiping of all

those who have not been heard from

for two years. It may be difficult for

church leaders in small country

churches to know how they can reach

a missing member when no one else in

the church has a knowledge of the

whereabouts of such a member. If

this is the case, before the church

takes action it should get in touch with

the conference office and seek the

needed information.

In one instance, strange to say, cer-

tain members of a small church were

disfellowshiped because they had not

been heard from for a long period,

when they were in fact at the time

working faithfully in one of our insti-

tutions. While it may have been well

known in certain quarters where these

people were, yet the local church may

not have had any knowledge as to how

they might locate them. And it is

even possible in our growing work

that the local conference officials might

have no knowledge that certain people

are employed at some institutions in

our work. As the membership of the

church grows and large city and insti-

tutional churches are developed, it will

become easier for a member to be lost.

Thus the largest responsibility in

regard to continued church member-

ship rests upon the member himself.

He can offer no excuse for loss of mem -

bership status if he does not keep in

touch with his local church. No mat-

ter how well known he may think his

affairs and his location may be, there

is always a possibility of an uninten-

tional mistake being made if he does

not preserve some active contact with

his church.

An Active Membership

Perhaps too many feel that once a

member always a member. This may

be the situation in some churches, but

2

T LI IC

rt xff

_


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about the world advance that he

wanted to counsel with Mrs. White

about while he was attending meetings

on the Pacific Coast. He asked for an

interview. No, she could not give him

an appointment then. This city work

pressed so greatly upon her heart and

mind she could give attention only to

that. Then came a very plain message.

The next thing to be done on the part

of the president of the General Con-

ference was to take his Bible, go into

the city work himself, and preach from

the platform. No one before had read

that into those messages. But that

was the next step. And Elder Daniells

did it. He dropped the things of the

general work that seemed pressing

enough and went out for a time into

city evangelistic work.

One might say, "But what appre-

ciable effect on the whole problem could

one man's help achieve ?" However, as

he went out in obedience to counsel,

there was an effect, beyond what any

one person could do. The whole mat-

ter of the cities came into the center

of the spotlight, as it were, by this call

for the president to drop the general

work and lend a hand with the city

evangelists. It is of no use to try to

analyze it. But it was obedience to

the Spirit's call., It was a spark that

kindled a flame that rose higher and

higher, and that continued to burn

brighter after the elder had returned

to his work in regular General Confer-

ence affairs. It worked.

And at once the pressure of the mes-

sages upon him ceased, though the

appeals for -the cities gave no confer-

ence man any rest. "This great need

is kept before me night and day," she

told the 1909 General Conference.

(Bulletin,

p. 98 ;

Life Sketches,

p. 418.)

At that General Conference session

in Washington, Mrs. White called the

delegates from the European fields to-

gether and pressed the situation and

needs upon them most earnestly. She

had had representations of falling

buildings and scenes of destruction by

war with people scattered from the

cities in grief and terror. And she had

seen honest hearts waiting for the

message in the cities. "All through

the large cities God has honest souls

who are interested in what is truth."

Testimonies, Vol. IX, p. 98.

The human agent of the gift passed

away in 1915. But regardless of what

any of us may say in explanation or

what may be said by any unbeliever to

depreciate the work of that gift, those

messages borne to the brethren and

believers under the pressure laid upon

the agent in the gift, started a sub-

stantial work that still bears fruit in

the city centers of all the continents.

The living God used that gift. Why

did not Mrs. White settle down easily

in her old age and let the responsible

brethren do the appealing and the urg-

ing? She could not settle down and

be comfortable. This was the burden

laid upon her by the gift that she had

accepted as a girl, in 1844. She told

that General Conference delegation,

in 1909, the last session she ever at-

tended:

"Before leaving home I promised the

Lord that if He would spare my life,

and enable me to come to this Con-

ference, I would deliver the message

DECEMBER 28, 1944

He had repeatedly given me in behalf

of the cities, in which thousands upon

thousands are perishing without a

knowledge of the truth. As I have

borne this message to the people, the

blessing of God has rested on me

richly. And now, my brethren, I ap-

peal to you in the name of the Lord to

do your best, and to plan for the ad-

vancement of the work in God's ap-

pointed

way. Life Sketches,

p. 424.

The brethren accepted the burden.

One sees them working away at it to

this day in every union and local con-

ference. We see the results in the re-

ports of baptisms in city efforts, in the _

pictures of great audiences appearing

in our papers and in newspapers, and

in churches erected in the great cen-

ters, and we see it in the numerous

rented halls secured as meeting places.

The last statististical report shows

Greater New York now with fifty-six

churches. Some of these are outside

the city, in fringes of country that

naturally go with that conference. As

we look to the wrecked cities of Europe

and their inhabitants scattered hither

and yon, we thank God for these years

of more vigorous public evangelism,

and for the hearers that had the

blessed hope planted in their hearts to

hold them in times like these. The

last time I was in Europe, our meeting

places in Greater Berlin, if I remem-

ber correctly, were about twenty-six

in number.

Yes, we have seen the results of the

Lord's counsels and workings in a

special way in the city work in these

forty years, and we should continue to

give heed to them.

. A. S

The H istorical Background of Seventh-day A dventismPart 42

The L ast D ays of Miller ism

F

OR years the river of Millerism

* ad flowed on in ever-increasing

volume. It was no meandering

stream, listlessly spreading over flat

country for lack of sharply defined

banks. There was a sense of urgency,

of hastening toward a destination, that

gave velocity and a sharply defined

course to the river. Though there

were eddies and swirls and cross cur-

rents and even marshy spots along the

banks, these were mere incidentals.

The main course and character of the

stream were evident to all.

Now the river of Millerism expected

to be swallowed up in the ocean of

eternity on October 22Millerite

charts marked out no land beyond that

point.

nstead, the erstwhile fast-

moving stream poured out over an

arid, uncharted waste. The scorching

sun of disappointment beat down, and

the burning winds of ridicule swept

in from every side. The river sud-

denly lost its velocity. There was no

momentum to cut a clearly marked

channel in this new, parched land.

Sun and wind quickly began to play

havoc with this directionless body of

water, now spread thinly over a wide

area. While a central stream of what

had once been an impressive river was

more or less well defined, there were

many lesser streams, which often

ended in miniature dead seas, where

stagnation and evaporation soon did

their work. Indeed, no small part of

the once large river, when evaporated

under the scorching sun of disappoint-

ment, was finally returned to the

sources from whence it came, the other

rivers in the religious world.

Speaking Literally

To turn to literal language, the

Millerite movement was not consti-

tuted to meet the conditions that con-

fronted it after 1844. Miller had con-

sistently held before the movement

the ideal of an interchurch awakening

on the doctrine of the soon coming of

Christ. The various advent confer-

ences repeatedly declared that Miller-

ism did not seek to create another de-

nomination nor disturb the church re-

lationship of anyone. And even the

cry to come out of the churches, which

was finally sounded, did not have as

its purpose creating a new church, but

simply lifting men out of a hostile at-

mosphere in anticipation of the imme-

diate advent of Christ. Why should

the leaders build a close-knit organi-

zation They expected the perfect

order and organization of heaven to

shape their affairs in the immediate

future,

It is therefore no occasion for sur=

prise, nor any indictment of Millerism,

Published by the Seventh-day Adventists. Printed every Thursday by the Review and Herald Publishing Association, at Takoma Park, Wash-

ington 12. D. C., U. S. A. Entered as second-class matter August 14, 1908, at the post office at Washington. D. C., under the Act of Congress

of March 3, 1879. Vol. 121, No. 52. One year, $3.


5/16

DECEMBER 28, 1 9 4 4

that the movement so markedly sub-

sided after 1844. The history of re-

ligion is replete with illustrations of

an awakening on some phase of spir-

itual truth, followed, generally, by a

return to something less than wakeful-

ness on the part of Christendom. Gen-

erally, the flaming evangel who has

warmed and awakened hearts for the

little while has earned for himself the

commendation of a few and the con-

demnation of a multitude. Occasion-

ally he may have had the spiritual

astuteness to set up an organization to

preserve and promote the spiritual

convictions that he believed so im-

portant. In that event there is main-

tained in the Christian world a con-

tinuing light and an awakening note

on some particular truth that might

otherwise have been ignored or for-

gotten.

The Illustration of the Bicycle

But in the very nature of the case

Miller was debarred by the logic of his

own belief from planning anything

beyond 1844. Nor could he have great

reason to sense the need of the stabil-

izing value of an organized church

body. To borrow another simple illus-

tration: A bicycle, even though the

most unstable of conveyances, easily

keeps its course as long as it is in

motion. Indeed, the more rapid the

motion, the easier it is to maintain the

course. But let the forward motion

cease, or only markedly decrease, and

the rider finds himself more likely to

suffer disaster, or at least to wander off

the road, than to keep on the path he

had set for himself. And the likeli-

hood of disaster is not decreased by the

presence of more than one rider

Thus with Millerism. As long as it

was truly a movement, it tended to

hold all steadily to a course. But when

the sudden halt came in October, 1844,

the inevitable happened. There was

disaster for some as they, fell by the

way, and a turning into bypaths for

others. There were even collisions at

times. The very fact that a new move-

ment always draws in some who are

inherently unstable and others whose

chief quality is their ability to stand

alone, or travel alone, only increased

the spiritual traffic problem that con-

fronted Millerism as 1845 opened.

Saints Sometimes Act Unsaintly

This picture of human nature in re-

lation to a spiritual crisis may be dis-

couraging, but it is not new. The

history of church councils is none too

edifying, no matter what period of the

church is considered. There have been

occasions when bishops offered violence

to brother bishopseven in some of

the early centuries of the Christian

Era. Piety has frequently yielded to

prejudice, and saintly men have too

often acted in unsaintly fashion. There

is fiery, fervent Luther refusing even

to shake hands with Zwingli after

their debate on the Lord's supper.

And there are the fierce controversies

between the disciples of Calvin, no-

tably Presbyterians, who hold to pre-

destination, and the disciples of Ar-

minius, Methodists, for example, who

hold to the doctrine of the free will of

man. The controversies that have

raged in that area of theology prob-

ably found their most militant and

colorful expression in the blazing dec-

laration of one Arminian minister to

his Calvinistic brother minister, "Your

God is my devil." When the West-

minster divines in England hotly de-

bated theology as they sought to for-

mulate a creed, Cromwell appealed to

them, "I beseech you by the bowels of

Christ, bethink you that ye might be

mistaken."

all prove? Not that the great spiritual

problems that provoked the controver-

sies were not worthy of solemn study,

but simply that those who were study-

ing the problems were a strange mix-

ture of heaven and earth, with the

earthy part too often predominating.

They dealt with the treasure of spir-

itual truth, but they had this treasure

in earthen vessels, as the Holy Word

reminds us. Ever since apostolic days,

when Paul rebuked Peter to his face,

and engaged in hot debate with Barna-

bas, church leaders have too often re-

vealed how earthen is the vessel. And

the more sincerely and devoutly men

believe that they have the truth of

God, the greater is their temptation

to denounce all who oppose them.

Thus it was not strange that they

thought error should be rebuked

And why have we made this digres-

sion from the story of Millerism to

tell of the frailties of churchmen in

past ages? Simply that the reader

might see in proper perspective the

picture we are now to present. It is a

picture of strong-minded men seeking

each in his own way to find an expla-

nation for a staggering disappoint-

ment, and displaying too often a lack

of charity toward the explanation of-

fered by others.

One Millerite leader in Boston, writ-

ing to Miller early in 1845, opened his

letter thus :

"I will just inform you that I am

still in the land of the living ; and

though tried am not destroyed; though

disappointed, am endeavoring to be

patient; though in the midst of 'con-

fusion worse confounded,' am striving

to keep my head cool and my heart

warm. But oh, how difficult, in this

stormy latitude of time, amidst the

flatteries, frowns and sophistry of the

church, our friends and the world, to-

gether with one's inward temptations,

to maintain a perfect equilibrium of

mind I do not wonder that the Sav-

iour closed all His discourses on tho

end of time with the injunction to

especially watch and pray. He fore-

saw that the, circumstances of this

time would abundantly demand it.

"Our brethren this way are catching

at every conceivable hypothesis to rec-

oncile the movement of the tenth [day

of the seventh month, that is, October

22]. . . .

"But supremely ridiculous, painful

and dangerous, as is this state of

things among ourselves, it is not as

much so as the ranks of our opponents

present. Who can think of the endless

diversity of opinion among them on

the prophecies and atonement, free

will, baptism, conversion, and every

Bible truth; and not say in view of his

temptations to leave this [advent]

cause: 'To whom shall we go?'...

"Oh, I sigh for home. Home; sweet,

sweet home. But, patience, my soul."

Manuscript letter from I. E. Jones,

Feb. 15, 1845.

. D. N.

What Does It Prove?

Thus the record might be embar-

rassingly enlarged. And what does it

D w e ll D e e p

(Jeremiah 49:8, 30)

B Y P E A R L W A G G O N E R H O WA R D

DW E L L deep, 0 soul of mine

Seek shelterlasting, sure,

Provided by a hand divine

For all who would endure.

The tempest comes apace;

The winds already blow.

None unprotected by God's grace

Henceforth can safety know.

God's judgment's in the land

Earth's skies are overcast;

Oh, seek the shelter of His hand

Until the wrath be past

Dwell deep within His Word,

Dig deepwith careful speed;

The nations are with fury stirred,

And great, oh, great thy need

The depth is wondrous, vast,

Of God's sure promises;

Still stronger than the strongest blast

God's great storm shelter is.

No mind can comprehend

The depth of love divine;

And yet, probation's hour will end;

What hope will then be thine?

O soul, no longer wait;

Arouse thee from thy sleep

Seek peace, seek safety ere too late,

And in Gods love dwell deep


6/16

GENERAL ARTICLES

a

S

TRANGE how the very mention

of a name will bring to mind

flashes of memory of the bearer

of that name. Whether or not the ac-

quaintance has been personal does not

matter. A name associates itself in-

delibly with events and circumstances.

So, when one encounters the name of

Uriah Smith, for half a century a

household word in Seventh-day Ad-

ventist ranks, memories come flashing

one after another.

A truly remarkable man was Uriah

Smith. In any environment he would

have towered above his fellows, for

he was the type that towers. In the

history of our church he is one of the

giants.

Not much is known of Uriah Smith's

early life, save that he grew up in

West Wilton, New Hampshire. As in

another Life, the childhood years are

hidden until he reached the age of

twelve, which was a momentous year

in a long, eventful life. The lad Uriah

that year passed through the disap-

pointment. His mother, a godly

woman, was a devout believer in the

expected coming of Christ on October

22, 1844. As the day approached, the

boy must have watched the calendar

with awe.

After the disappointment Uriah

Smith lost touch with the message and

devoted himself earnestly to securing

the highest education possible. As

they came into young manhood and

womanhood, he and his sister Annie,

to whom he was devoted, took an aca-

demic course, and a career in literary

and artistic lines, in which both were

talented, seemed to loom ahead for

them.

But God was watching over that

brother and sister.

In 1851, through a remarkable

dream which space does not permit

retelling here, Annie Smith came to

the decision of throwing her young

life into the spread of the message,

and soon after entered the REVIEW

office, then at Saratoga Springs, New

York.

This was solely an editorial office, as

the believers possessed no printing

press, but in April of 1852 James

White secured a building in Rochester,

New York, and through the liberality

of the believers purchased a Washing-

ton hand press and set up a printing

establishmentour original printing

officein the White home.

That spring young Uriah Smith

U riah Sm ith

B y ST E L L A P A R K E R P E T E R S O N

Uriah Smith

graduated from Exeter Academy, at

Exeter, New Hampshire. Shortly

thereafter, in August of 1852, in re-

sponse to a burden shared by Elder

and Mrs. White, a paper for youth

The Youth's Instructorcame from

the pioneer printing press. Its only

illustration was a woodcut by Uriah

Smith. Either he offered his services,

or his sister or someone at the Review

office requested him to make it. He

whittled it out by hand, and must have

had many a serious thought as he cut

out that symbolic tree with the fruits

of the Spirit.

A G reat Decision

In the fall he entered upon public

school teaching and, probably through

the influence of his sister, attended a

conference of Adventist believers at

Washington, New Hampshire, strong-

hold of early Adventism. Here twenty-

year-old Uriah heard explained, for

the first time, the reason for the disap-

pointment. Also he heard the Sabbath

truth presented. Here he undoubtedly

became acquainted with William

Farnsworth, first Sabbathkeeping Ad-

ventist in all the world, and the Farns-

worth boys. He may have been enter-

tained in the Farnsworth home, where

the conversation would have been

thought-provoking. Certain it is that

the experiences of those few days

turned the current of young Uriah's

life. His faith in the advent was re-

vived. Upon returning home he gave

diligent study to the truths he had

heard presented. The body of Ad-

ventist doctrine then comprised much

more than he had known as a child.

For three months he studied, strug-

gling over the problem of acceptance.

He was ambitious to become a success

in the world; yet he knew that if he

became an Adventist he must throw

himself, with all his energy and talent,

into that movement. He could not

become a halfhearted Adventist; if

he went into it, he would go in with

all there was of him.

On December 1 his father, Samuel

Smith, passed away. To the young

man, seeking to stabilize his life by

a decision, this experience must have

come as a great blow. His sister, tal-

ented in writing verse, wrote touching

lines of their loss. Undoubtedly his

mother's and his sister's influence and

prayers at this time of family sorrow

had their effect, for in early December

Uriah Smith kept his first Sabbath

and set the current of his life in the

advent movement. When he accepted

the Adventist doctrines and channeled

his efforts and influence into the great

second advent movement he did not

dream that that decision would make

of him a world figure. No young per-

son ever does dream of the extent to

which God can use a consecrated life.

Strength of intellect, force of char-

acter, eminent position were to come to

Uriah Smith; yet through it all he was

to remain a humble, self-effacing serv-

ant of God.

As often happens, great tests follow

great decisions. The Lord faced three

great tests after His baptism. Uriah

Smith, too, faced a great test.

In January of 1853 there came to

this talented brother and sister a flat-

tering offer to join the faculty of a

new academy at Mount Vernon, New

Hampshire, for $1,000 a year and

their board on a three-year contract.

In those days that was a very fine offer.

Soon, placed alongside that offer was

another.

On March 17, 1853, the first literary

production of Uriah Smith appeared in

the paper he was later to edit for many

years. It was a lengthy poem entitled

"The Warning Voice of Prophecy" and

ran in the REVIEW until August 11.

Elder White immediately recognized

the literary ability of the young man

and suggested that he join his sister in

working for the REVIEW. Elder White

could offer him no definite salary

could offer him nothing save that his

bread and water would be always sure.

The young man faced his decision.

On the one handworldly ambition,

the attractive offer; on the other

hand, service for God, sacrifice. Uriah

Smith chose to enter the REVIEW. And,

having rejected worldly prospects and

chosen to serve God, he found that

God provided a better thing for him.


7/16

DECEMBER 28, 1944

On May 3, 1853, at twenty-one years

of age, Uriah Smith began fifty years

of service at the REVIEW. Side by side

with his sister he threw his youthful

vigor into the spread of the message

through the printed page. He was a

valuable worker; in a very short time

he had mastered many of the printing

skills, and his ingenuity helped the

office through many a crisis. He often

devised and made improvements upon

the simple equipment. He became al-

most as indispensable as the Washing-

ton hand press

He loved the work. Early and late

he and his sister toiled, helping the

others to get out the message. For

some time after he entered the REVIEW

he received but little more than his

room and boardand the board was

meager ; often the workers went to

bed hungry. But no one complained;

all were eager to put every penny

which came in back into the printing

of more papers,

more

papers. Through

such sacrifices was the work of the

early days of the message established.

Uriah Smith stands as one of the

pioneers of our early printing office.

In spite of inadequate equipment, the

workers in that office contrived to get

out an eighty-page booklet by J. N.

Andrews. When the printing was

done, Elder White called a "bee" of the

Rochester believers, men and women,

to assist with the work. They folded

and stitched and put paper covers on

the book, after which, incredible

though it seems in these days of ma-

chinery, Uriah Smith trimmed the

edges with his

pocketknife

and a

straightedge.

Elder White soon recognized in this

youth a valuable helper in editorial

work, and laid much of that work upon

his young

shoulders when he and Mrs.

White were away on their travels.

In 1854 Annie went home, stricken

down with dread "consumption" from

her hard work and economies. Slowly

she wasted away until July 26, 1855,

when she breathed her last, leaving a

memorial of beautiful and appealing

songs. The passing of his sister was

a deep sorrow to 'Uriah; he buried his

grief in his work, and devoted himself

more than ever to the spread of the

message they loved.

Resident Editor of the "Review"

In 1855 the REVIEW was moved to

Battle Creek, and Uriah Smith's name

appeared in the first issueDecember

4, for the first time as an editor

"Resident Editor." From that time

forward he took a leading part in shap-

ing the policies of the REVIEW, and his

life was inseparably linked with the

progress of the church paper, to

which he devoted his entire adult life.

As resident editor, he carried the en-

tire responsibility for the paper when

the other editors were away on their

travels. Later he became associate

editor, then editor-in-chief.

On June 7, 1857, he married Harriet

M. Stevens, whose sister, Angeline,

had married J. N. Andrews the autumn

before. Thus the two men were bound

with even closer ties than those of fel-

lowship in the work.

By 1858, in addition to his editorial

work, he was secretary-treasurer of

the printing office, and in charge of

the mailing list, personally directing,

by hand,

each week, the list of nearly

three thousand papers In 1860 a

hand-mailing machine was purchased,

but he was the operator.

Then came the momentous year of

1863, when, from the earnest, prayer-

ful deliberations of twenty men from

seven States emerged "The General

Conference of Seventh-day Advent-

ists," with John Byington the first

president, and Uriah Smith the first

secretary. Though his work on the

REVIEW was a full-time job, he con-

sented to assume this added heavy re-

sponsibility. The secretary's report

of that historic meeting is still pre-

served in the General Conference

vaults. In Uriah Smith's faultless

hand the report resembles a formal

document printed in script. Meticu-

lously he recorded in detail for the

church the various motions, and

sketched the discussions. The REVIEW

of May 26, 1863, contains a detailed

article by him on the organization of

the General Conference, a report full

of interest to us today, eighty years

after it was written. As a recorder

of events in the development of the

organization of this movement, the

church owes a debt to Uriah Smith.

As General Conference secretary,

Uriah Smith played a leading part in

organizing the various phases of our

denominational work; his voice was

often the determining factor in a new

step taken. He was one of the great

builders of our wonderful organiza-

tion.

He served five intermittent terms,

totaling a secretarial tenure of twenty

years, longer than any tenure of the

fifteen men who have served the

church in that capacity. However,

W. A. Spicer served the longest

con-

tinuous

tenurenineteen years.

Until 1863 Uriah Smith confined

himself largely to editorial work, but

following his selection as secretary,

and at the insistence of Elder and Mrs.

White, he began to exercise his gift

in public speaking. Thereafter, in

these two fields of ministry he towered

as a power in our church and wielded

a tremendous influence throughout our

ranks. In 1866 he was ordained to the

ministry. In the late sixties, through

the urging of Mrs. White, who desired

that his personal spiritual help might

extend over a wider area than Battle

Creek, he began to travel, attending

conferences and camp meetings, and

making trips abroad.

But always his first interest was the

REVIEW. In an appraisal of, his work,

L. W. Graham says, "The person above

all others . . . who did more than any

other man to develop a strong church

paper, was Uriah Smith." Associated

with him at various times as editor

were the best writers of the denomina-

tion; James White, J. N. Andrews,

J. H. Waggoner, A. T. Jones, L. A.

Smith, G. C. Tenney, W. W. Prescott,

W. A. Spicer. The influence of Uriah

Smith upon our church paper has

reached far beyond his own lifetime,

for the impress of his personality, and

of his high literary standards, has

unquestionably had much to do with

maintaining the literary excellence for

which each editor who has followed

him has striven. To date every editor

of the REVIEW has known him person-

ally. The present editor, F. M. Wil-

cox, recalls, "It was my privilege to

set type on the REVIEW for two years

while Brother Smith was editor. At

times when the typeroom boys were

locking up the paper to send to the

press, Brother Smith would come and

stand by the stone and tell us of early

experiences in his life and work."

In Battle Creek Elder Smith saw the

REVIEW grow from a humble printing

plant housed in a small two-story

building, with all the work done by

hand, to a great printing establish-

ment employing more than two hun-

dred fifty workers, and printing in

languages other than English, upon

the best equipment of the day for type-

setting, printing, folding, bookbind-

ing, electrotyping, photographing, en-

graving, mailing, shipping, etc. He

would stand by the presses as great

printed sheets came through the mas-

sive machines; he would stand in the

mailing room and watch the papers

come pouring through the addressing-

machine; he would watch the mail

sacks placed upon trucks to be taken

to the post office. "The message is

going " he would say with a smile of

satisfactionbut it was a humble

smile.

Uriah Smith was the first Bible

teacher of our first collegeBattle

Creek College. When the word was

circulated that Uriah Smith would

teach Bible in the new college, parents

immediately felt confidence in the new

project. If Uriah Smith was, from

his vast fund of Biblical knowledge, to

open the Scriptures to the youth of the

church; if there was indeed oppor-

tunity for their children to sit at the

feet of that man of God, they would

send their sons and daughters to

Battle Creek College. During the

many years that he served Battle

Creek College as Bible instructor, hun-

dreds of young men and women came

under the inspiration of his personal

influence and teaching.

Book Author

In the early days Elder White sug-

gested to Uriah Smith that he write

some thoughts on the books of Daniel

and Revelation for the REVIEW, and

I I


8/16

when they were completed revise them

and publish them in a book. Elder

Smith complied, and over a long period

these "thoughts" appeared from time

to time. Some of the studies were

first presented in the Battle Creek

Sabbath school, and in his college B ible

lectures. Such a demand arose for

the "thoughts" on the two great pro-

phetic books that he set to work upon

the monumental task. The material in

his writings and lectures had been

prepared between 9 P. M. and 2 A. M.

at night, after the completion of his

full day's labor. Now he pursued the

same plan in amplifying that material

to form a book. While all the houses

in the neighborhood were dark, the

Smith light burned on. And when the

manuscript was completed he gave to

it the title which Elder White had used

in the original suggestion, Thoughts

on Daniel and the Revelation.

Interested in People

Uriah Smith was a man full of origil

nal ideas, and with balanced judgment

to put those ideas to work, a valuable

combination. And he was interested,

genuinely interested, in people; they

felt it, and were drawn to him.

While he was attending a camp

meeting in Vermont in 1884, a young

man came to him and confided that

for some time he had felt an impres-

sion that he should be in the Lord's

work. He was at the time engaged in

publishing a newspaper, and it was

prospering, but he could not get away

from the thought that his talents

should be expended in Gods work, not

the world's work. Upon inquiry Elder

Smith learned that this young man

was a graduate of Dartmouth, that he

had had experience in teaching, as well

as in editing and managing a city

newspaper. Elder Smith counseled

him to hold fast to his convictions, to

pray for an opening to enter the work,

and in the meantime to make use of

opportunities to witness for God in the

work he was in.

Time passed. Then the young man

received a letter from the president

of the General Conference, G. I. But-

ler, asking him to meet him at a camp

meeting. He went and was met by

Elder Butler, Uriah Smith, secretary

of the General Conference, and A. R.

Henry, treasurer.

"We want you to be president of

Battle Creek College," said the three

men.

W. W. Prescott gasped. How far

beyond anything he had imagined was

God answering his prayers 1 His de-

sire to be in the Lords workthis call.

Uriah Smith had been God's agent;

he had not forgotten that young man

in Vermont. When the need arose he

was ready with a suggestion. His

judgment in selecting that young man

brought into denominational work a

man who, in his turn, also became a

great apostle of the church. W. W.

Prescott always regarded Uriah Smith

as his spiritual father.

In 1894 Elder Smith crossed the

Atlantic and attended general meet-

ings in Europe. This trip took him

and his wife also to India. At Karachi

they had accommodations at the

Y.W.C.A., and Elder Smith heard

some of the guests talking of a woman

who had "gone mad on religion." He

asked who and where the woman was

and searched her out. She was ill, but

he told her, "I have a book that I want

to give you. I am the author of it. It

is packed in the bottom of my trunk

at the wharf. . . . However, I'll . . . get

it out and send it to you."

The next day the woman received

Uriah Smith's book, and later accepted

the message. Wherever he went Uriah

Smith was a missionary.

While in Syria he contracted a fever

and suffered a resultant weakness

through the rest of his life.

Uriah Smith loved people. He liked

to stop on the streets and inquire after

the health of those whom he met; he

liked to put his hand on a boy's shoul-

der and inquire into his interests and

activities; he liked to pass through the

spacious workrooms of the great insti-

tution which he had helped to build,

and pause to chat with the workers.

It was these contacts with the rank

and file of the denomination which

made his writings so practical. He

kept his hand upon the denomination's

pulse, and when he sensed symptoms

developing, trends which might prove

disastrous to the individual or the

work, with boldness he uttered warn-

ings.

Yet he was a modest, unassuming

man, "so much so that when among

his brethren in meeting, he chose to sit

in an unobserved part of the gather-

ing."

An Indefatigable Worker

To Uriah Smith the church owes an

unending debt. We have had no man

among us of more varied aptitudes,

more loyal spirit, more enduring effort.

His first and foremost contribution

to the denomination is the work of his

gifted penhis editorial work on the

R E VIE W , his writing of

Daniel and the

Revelation, The Marvel of Nations,

and a number of other books. He was,

indeed, in Elder Corliss' designation,

our "prophetic pathfinder."

From the time the General Confer-

ence was organized he served on the

Executive Committee, much of the

time as secretary of the General Con-

ference; he was the denomination's

first college Bible instructor; he held

Bible institutes not only in America

but in foreign lands, giving doctrinal

instruction in clear presentation which

people did not forget; he was always

at Sabbath school, much of the time as

superintendent, often as music leader,

always as a loyal listener.

To the hymnody of our church

DECEMBER 28, 1944

he contributed the well-known "0

Brother, Be Faithful," epitomizing

the burden of his own pen and pulpit

ministry.

He kept alive the spirit of the early

days. Because he himself had experi-

enced the stirring days of the judg-

ment-hour message, he often wrote and

preached about it. He did not want

the foundations of our church struc-

ture to be forgotten.

His interest in foreign missions

never waned, from the day he bade his

brother-in-law, J. N. Andrews, fare-

well as he set out on the pioneer mis-

sion venture of our church. When

Uriah Smith's books were translated

into foreign languages, he devoted all

royalties from the translations to

foreign mission advance.

He was an indefatigable worker and

was devoted to the work to the very

day, almost the hour, of his sudden

death, when, on his way to the office

with editorial material, he was smitten

down by a paralytic stroke. The burn-

ing of the Review office on December

30, 1902, a heartbreaking experience

to Uriah Smith, may have precipitated

the stroke of Friday, March 6, 1903.

Prostrate, he was taken to his home,

where he passed away two hours later.

All Battle Creek, all the denomina-

tion, mourned the passing of a true

prince in Israel. As did his Lord, he

rested over the Sabbath day. The

funeral was one of the largest Battle

Creek has known. The entire force

of employees of the R E VIE W , with other

friends, walked in procession from the

home to the Tabernacle, accompany-

ing the family, and sat in a reserved

section. A. G. Daniells, president of

the General Conference, read the life

sketch, and W. W. Prescott, editorial

associate on the R E VIE W staff, preached

the sermon.

To Adventists everywhere it seemed

hard to realize that there would be no

more vigorous, kindly editorials with

the familiar signature, "U. S."

Memorial services were held at the

General Conference at Oakland, Cali-

fornia, three weeks later, with tributes

by his associates of many years. Read-

ing through those eulogies of his inti-

mates, the stature of Uriah Smith

looms.

Perhaps in no better way may this

far-from-full account of Uriah Smith's

long, useful life be closed than by re-

peating words penned in one of his

last messages to the church, a typical

triumphant, faith-filled Uriah Smith

utterance, which seems indeed written

for

our day:

God has weapons to match all those

of the powers of darkness.

"CHRIST'S death proves Gods great

love for man. It is our pledge of sal-

vation. To remove the cross from the

Christian would be like blotting the

sun from the sky. The cross brings

us near to God, reconciling us to Him."


9/16

These Buildings

of the Malayan Seminary, in

Singapore,

Are Now in Ruins

>

.

IN MISSION LANDS

iZ

B

EHOLD, these shall come from

far : and, lo, these. from the north

and from the west; and these

from the land of Sinim." Isa. 49:12.

When God's people are gathered into

His kingdom, they come from all quar-

ters of the earth to be with Christ.

The people of China are mentioned in

this scripture as being faithful repre-

sentatives whom Christ will claim as

His own.

It is now more than fifty years since

the first Adventist representative be-

gan work in the Far East and China.

It was a small beginning, but the work

has grown as the years have come and

gone. We have sent many hundreds

of missionaries to China and the Far

East. Complete data is not available

as to the amount of money we have

spent in these lands, but a conservative

estimate is $20,000,000. Schools, pub-

lishing houses, churches, and medical

institutions have been established.

At the beginning of the war the de-

nomination had invested about $2,700,-

000 in these enterprises. During the

early days building costs in China

were very low. It will take from three

to eight times more to re-establish

these buildings today than they origi-

nally cost. The majority of our for-

eign missionaries in the Far East have

been returned to the homeland because

of war conditions. There are at pres-

ent about forty working in the unoccu-

pied portions of China. One hundred

are interned in China and the Far

East or their work is very greatly

limited.

The work of God in the countries of

the Far East has been greatly hin-

dered and in some places has been com-

pletely destroyed. Schools are in ruins

or seriously damaged. Churches have

been bombed and demolished. Medical

institutions have been laid waste or

destroyed by invading armies. The

equipment in our publishing houses

has been wrecked or removed. Many

of the mission homes of our foreign

workers have been destroyed.

We have only incomplete informa-

tion in regard to our losses, at the

present writing, except in a few cases,

so it is impossible to give a complete

Statement of the destruction that has

come to our denomination within

China and the Far East. We know,

however, that our beautiful and well-

equipped college located near Nanking,

China, having had an enrollment of

nearly 600, has been completely de-

One Million Dollars

By W. E. NELSON

Treasurer, General Conference

stroyed. Not one brick of that entire

institution is left, the faculty is scat-

tered, and some lives have been lost.

We can form some idea of what it will

cost to re-establish a college of that

size by making comparison with one

of our colleges in North America. The

investment in buildings alone would

amount to more than $350,000, and the

equipment about $75,000; and the cost

of providing a new staff of workers

for an institution of that size would

also represent a large sum of money.

In order to carry on the work of

God, it is imperative that we have

educational institutions. In Ghina and

other countries of the Far East, where

the standards in education among the

better classes of people are very high,

an institution comparable to a college

must be provided.

Wherever the advent message is es-

tablished, preparing literature is al-

ways a large factor in our work. We

have been informed that the entire

equipment in our Shanghai publishing

house has either been removed or de-

stroyed, and the buildings have been

occupied by the invading armies. The

same is true of our publishing houses

in Manila and Singapore. To re-es-

tablish these 'three major publishing

houses will require several hundred

thousand dollars.

Our division headquarters at Sing-

apore were completely destroyed at

the time of the occupation by the

Japanese, and a major battle was

fought over the grounds on which our

division headquarters were located.

We are informed, and we believe re-

liably, that several of our academies

in the Far East and China have been

completely destroyed. We know that

our medical institutions have been

taken over by the invading armies.

At this time we are unable to say what

conditions will be after the Japanese

are forced out, but we know that

where they have been, they have fol-

lowed the "scorched-earth" policy.

As a denomination we believe in the

great commission, that this gospel of

the kingdom must be preached in all

the world for a witness unto all na-

tions. We must stand ready to repair

and build up the work of God in all the

world. Never have God's people faced

a greater task of reconstruction.

All should begin now to plan for a

large offering on February 3, 1945.

The call is for $1,000,000. To reach

this objective, we must plan to do big

things for God.

Welfare Work in Old

Mexico

By C. E. MOON

B

ENEFICENCIA : This word in

Spanish simply means "charity,"

and is commonly understood to

mean to give away money, food, or

clothing. This is generally done as an

act of religion, or it may be simply the

result of a desire to help some poor

person or perhaps to relieve oneself

of the presence of some vociferous beg-

gar who comes to one's door.

Much of the money in Spanish-

speaking countries, and also in others,

is used by the beggars for vices, or in

a careless way; it costs them little

effort to obtain it, and thus they usu-

ally spend it to no good purpose. There

are, no doubt, many real sufferers

who should receive help, but others


10/16

Packages Filled and Ready for the Hundreds

Needy in Monterrey, Mexico

of the Poor and

Filling the Packages for the Poor

are professional beggars and do not

desire any change for the better. The

great problem is how to help those who

re worthy and not help those who are

preying on society for a livelihood.

We began in a very humble way in

Monterrey, Mexico, to work for the

poor and needy, through Dorcas so-

cieties, cooking schools, classes in home

nursing, clinics, and welfare work.

We have tried to perfect an organi-

zation that would help people to help

themselves. We visit the ones who ask

for help and try to determine the best

way to administer this help, which con-

sists of food, clothing, work, medical

assistance, and the visits of nurses to

the homes of the people.

We find the Mexican people eager

to better themselves along any line of

study. We have helped conduct several

nurses' training classes, bringing in

selected members from the different

missions to take a

short course, so as to

prepare workers to go

out and help others.

This has worked out

in a most wonderful

way.

Ready to Help

One of our student

nurses, Vicente Rodri-

guez, who is at pres-

ent a mission super-

intendent, recently

had a very interesting

experience during a

cyclone that struck

the state of Chiapas

and southern Mexico. He was travel-

ing on a train to Arriaga, a town in the

State of Chiapas, when the cyclone

swept down on the train with drench-

ing rains that soon impeded progress

and washed out a bridge over which

they had just passed. They were left

in a small town by the name of Mapas-

tepee, which had only two small hotels.

The rain, instead of ceasing, increased

in intensity, and when the conductor of

the train told the passengers that they

could not move forward, they were

greatly alarmed as they would have no

chance of escape for many days. Since

everyone was seeking a place of cover,

our brother went to a small hotel and

was placed in a room reeking with

dampness, as the roof leaked badly.

There was a sick patient in the same

room, suffering with malaria.

Brother Rodriguez tried to send a

telegram, but the lines were down and

there was no service. He tried to fix a

place dry enough on the bed, but it too

was soaked with rain ; so he got his

things together and covered them with

his oiled coat. Then he took his med-

ical kit and began helping the sick

people and praying for them. Among

the refugees were two engineers, one

lawyer, the chief of the health depart-

ment of the state, salesmen, and Amer-

ican tourists, who had traveled from

Guatemala. Many were sick from fe-

vers, dysentery, and other ailments.

Our brother began to give injections,

administer pills, and give water treat-

ments to the sick, with prayer for

their relief.

This soon attracted the attention of

the health officer, who had no confi-

dence in this work, especially when

he found that Brother Rodriguez was

an Adventist. However, when he in-

vestigated and found the people get-

ting well, he changed his attitude and

became friendly toward our brother.

He greatly appreciated the work he

was doing and later introduced him to

the judge who is brother of the gov-

ernor, and then to the mayor of the

town.

"I was all day," writes our brother,

"helping those sick ones, and even some

of the soldiers who were guarding our

train came for relief."

One night the river came up and

threatened the town, so that the people

took the patron saint of the town out

into the streets to pray to it for relief.

This brother writes, "I was glad that

I could pray to the God of heaven and

know that He hears prayer." He scat-

tered much literature and lent his

Bible to interested ones. Soon the peo-

ple had forgotten about the saint and

were remarking what a wonderful

work the Adventists were doing. See-

ing all this the chief of the health de-

partment said to others, "This little

doctor is a real missionary; he does

not play cards nor drink liquor or even

coffee. I am going to

help him in his wort

in all parts of the

state." After ten days

they were able to get

out of this place by

traveling many miles

and fording a river

with water up to their

waists. This gives

one an idea of what

the medical mission-

ary work is doing. It

is a real beneficencia,

and an uplifting influ-

ence in these darkened

regions.

Our medical work

DECEMBER 28, 1944

in Monterrey is well established, with

Dr. Raymundo Garza in charge and

with the help of several nurses treat-

ing as many as 10,000 patients a year.

Welfare Center

Now our plan for welfare work is to

combine all our efforts. Our sisters

have their office as a welfare center.

We are planning as soon as funds are

available to tear down the old building,

and build a larger structure for our

beneficencia work. This building will

have a model kitchen for cooking

demonstrations and a classroom for

the home nursing classes, with tables

and other equipment.

As this building will be the center

of our work, we shall have a place to

store clothing and food to be given out

to the poor as it is needed.

A few days ago we had a visit from

Doctor Gonzalez of the state hospital.

After looking through the office, clinic,

and churchall very nicely builthe

also saw the

beneficencia in this old

wooden building. Speaking to our

group of union workers, he said, "I am

impressed with your system of welfare

work more than with anything else ;

this is what our people need."

Thus we see that the government

officials are impressed even when we do

only a small work for the poor, espe-

cially as we help people to help them-

selves.

We have definite instruction in re-

gard to helping those who do not wish

to work: "When we give to the poor,

we should consider, 'Am I encouraging

prodigality? Am I helping or injuring

them?' No man who can earn his own

livelihood has a right to depend on

others." We should thus try to pro-

vide work for the needy.

Let us remember the words of the

Saviour, "For I was an hungered, and

ye gave Me meat : I was thirsty, and ye

gave Me drink: I was a stranger,

and ye took Me in: naked, and ye

clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited

Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto

Me. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto

one of the least of these My brethren,

ye have done it unto Me." Matt.

25 :35, 36.


11/16

THE FAMILY FIRESIDE

Conducted by Nora Machlan Buckman

0

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0

0

0

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Lydia Moore was reared in the country, but

the family had moved to Philadelphia after the

death of the father. Her mother opened a

bakery shop and all the children helped as

they could. Lydia and her brother attended

some meetings, and Lydia continued to go, and

accepted the Sabbath. The Lord worked it out

for her to do the housework in the big house

instead of helping in the bakery, so her Sab-

baths were free.

Part III

W

HILE I am glad, Lydia," her

mother had remarked the

next morning, "that you are

trying to be a Christian, I don't see

why you want to be such an odd one

and choose such a crazy belief."

They were sitting at the breakfast

table. Kathleen was caring for the

bakery. From the big sunny kitchen

they could hear the slam of the front

door and the rattle of paper when

Kathleen wrapped up buns, bread, or

rolls.

Lydia was still pale and shaken from

the scene of the evening before. Her

sister was loud in her jeering and

laughter at Lydia's "new religion," as

she called it. Her mother had argued

with her for hours, each determined

to convince the other. Both of them

were equally stubborn. They had to

call a trucefor the hour had grown

late. Both of them knew that the work

of the morrow would call for their

freshened strength. Before going to

bed, Lydia had read more from the

writings of the apostle Paul. Evan-

gelist Martin had awakened her in-

terest in him. She read of another

Lydia, a seller of purple who had been

converted by Paul in the ancient city

of Philippi. She too was Lydia. She

too had been converted to Jesus, the

same Christ who led Paul all his won-

derful life_ That other Lydia sold

purple, the richest and most beautiful

color ever made by man, a color

thought of in connection with gold and

ermine and pearls and fine linena

royal thingpurple, associated with

emperors, kings, and princesand

then a sweet resolve came into Lydia's

loving heart. She too would deal in

precious things like that other Lydia

things that pertained to the kingdom.

She would deal in the royal things of

God. And then she had gone to bed to

sleep sweetly and dreamlessly through

the long spring night.

She had risen fresh and inspired to

meet her perplexed loved ones at break-

fast.

Her mother's pleasant, fat face was

sober as she looked at her younger

daughter. Lydia realized with sinking

heart that her mother was resolved to

overrule her beliefs that day and to try

to undo all that she had learned. Only

that morning she had read again from

Paul. Somehow that sage old apostle

intrigued her greatly. "For I am per-

suaded, that neither death, nor life,

nor angels, nor principalities, nor pow-

ers, nor things present, nor things to

come, nor height, nor depth, nor any

other creature, shall be able to separate

me from the love of God, which is in

Christ Jesus our Lord." Lydia made a

like resolve; her soft red lips grew

firm with determination.

There on the corner of the table she

saw a fat letter, addressed to her old

Quaker grandmother far up in the

woods of northern Pennsylvania. She

fairly trembled when she saw it. She

knew then what her mother was up to.

She was appealing to her grim, hard-

headed old mother to straighten her

daughter out. Her heart ached for

her mother.

"Lydia," her mother said patiently,

when the girl began to pick up the

cups and plates after breakfast was

over, "I want you to get your clothes

packed. I am going to send you up to

mother's to spend a few weeks. You

are to start a week from today if that

is all right with mother."

She said nothing to her daughter

about her purpose in so sending her.

But Lydia knew why. She knew that

her mother hoped she would give up

her belief in the newly found truth if

she Was taken away from the evan-

gelistic meetings. She felt sad, for

she knew that instead of forgetting,

she would be strengthened. Neither

life nor death, nor principalities nor

powers would separate her from the

love of God.

That morning she hastened with her

work. The great house was made im-

maculate by her skillful fingers. Never

had she worked faster and harder. She

must get all through so that after lunch

she could go to Evangelist Martin's and

tell him the turn her affairs had taken.

So her escalloped potatoes, baked in

the brown baking dish, were crusty

and brown and ready to eat at high

noon. She made muffins and boiled

some eggs and shelled and put them

in with a freshly opened can of tiny

pickled beets. The eggs turned as

red as the beets, and it made an invit-

ing dish for the luncheon table. Dur-

ing Kathleen's regime she had drawn

upon the foods from the bakery for

luncheon and had set the table in her

characteristic slap-dash fashion. Who

was hungry for baked beans after serv-

ing them to someone else all morning?

or raisin cookies or cottage cheese?

Therefore, Lydia's meal was doubly in-

viting because it contained the element

of surprise and was daintily and neatly

served.

"I do declare, Lydia," her mother

said as she collapsed into her chair,

"I never saw anything that looked so

good. Did you put onions in these

potatoes? Good. And pickled eggs,

a favorite of mine." She interrupted

herself to stoop over pantingly and re-

move her great sprawling oxfords.

"My feet ache like the toothache," she

complained, not bitterly, but more to

impart some casual information.

It did not take Lydia a half hour to

set the kitchen in perfect order after

the noon meal. Every crumb was care-

fully swept up and consigned to the

great cookstove that Lydia kept pol-

ished and immaculate. The dishes

were washed and put carefully away in

the large cupboard that Lydia had

spent hours in setting in order. Then

she straightened the curtains, put a

potted begonia in the middle of the

table, and the room was done.

The Martins lived in an apartment

on the second floor of a pleasant little

row of brick store buildings about a

twenty-minute walk from Lydia's

home. She was very happy and very

beautiful when she got there. Her


12/16

cheeks were flushed and her lips were

red from the exercise. Her tan hat

and trim tan suit made her look very

sweet indeed when she was admitted to

the Martin parlor.

The young minister and his wife

soon saw that Lydia's people were

going to leave no stone unturned to

draw her from her new allegiance.

Their kind hearts were troubled for the

girl. She saw it in their eyes.

"Oh, you need not worry " she had

exclaimed, laughing at their sober

faces. "I may be new in this message,

but I have weighed it and have proved

it beyond every doubt to my own satis-

faction. I know it is the truth. And

when I have convinced myself in this

way, I am just as stubborn as mother

or grandma too for that matter. But

what I want is some booksyou surely

.have someso that I can read on the

train and be able to talk intelligently

when I get up there. There is no use

in my going if I can't speak up and

defend myself. I want to know Daniel

2 and Daniel 7 well enough to tell it

with at least a semblance of authority.

I want grandma to know this."

Pastor Martin's face cleared in re-

lief. "I declare, young lady, you are

going after this in the right way." He

arose, went to his supply, and returned

with a stack of books. Lydia looked at

some of the titles interestedlyHer-

alds

of the Morning, Daniel and the

Revelation, Our Paradise Home, Mat-

thew Twenty-Four.

"Are these for sale, Pastor ?" in-

quired Lydia. "I want to buy them so

I can use themreally use them, you

see."

So Lydia bought the books and car-

ried them home in an old-fashioned

telescope suitcase that Mrs. Martin

gave her. That night she began to

study as she had never studied before

in her life. She had the Daniel part

of

Daniel and the Revelation

read

through by the end of the week and a

tiny fat notebook full of neat, cramped

notes. Lydia was determined to know

"whereof she spoke."

So the next Monday, Lydia, with her

valise and telescope suitcase, was

sent north to unlearn the ways of the

kingdom. It was her first missionary

journey. Like Paul of old, she set out

toward her Ephesus, her Antioch, her

Philippi, with a prayer on her lips, a

song in her heart, and armed with the

sword of the Spirit.

For a while Lydia curiously watched

the landscape as it whirled by, for she

had not traveled much, and it was a

great novelty to her. Lush pastures

with' cattle knee-deep in grass, big,

trim farmhouses, brown roads, and

trickling brooks interested her for a

time, but then, realizing that she must

prepare her "purple"her royal wares

of the kingdomshe unstrapped the

funny little telescope and drew out

Matthew Twenty-Four,

a thin little

blue book, and began to read. Oh, it is

wonderful, it is precious, she thought

as she read; how truly and surely the

Lord has even put His finger on the

very generation that will see Him

come It thrilled Lydia immeasurably

to know that she was living in that

"grand and awful time." History had

truly been pouring into the very mold

of prophecy. Oh that God would give

her fluency and wisdom and knowledge

to present this wonderful truth to

those who were going to question it.

And Lydia, the seller of twentieth-cen-

tury "purple of the kingdom," prayed

to the God of that other Lydia for the

diplomacy, the wisdom, and the sales-

manship that she knew she would

sorely need.

The spring day had been warm and

bright. Lydia had been so absorbed

in her reading that before she realized

it, she was very hungry. She laid the

book face down on the seat opposite

her and got out the lunch her mother

had prepared for her. It was put up

neatly and tastefully in a small card-

board box. There was a small bag of

cookies, crunchy with nuts and rich

with raisins. Her mother had peeled

an orange and wrapped it in wax

paper. There were egg sandwiches

made of mashed hard-boiled

eggs,

and

delicious lettuce-and-cottage-cheese

sandwiches.

Almost before she knew it, the

WORDS

Words are things of little "cost,

Quickly spoken, quickly lost;

We forget them, but they stand,

Witnesses at God's right hand,

And their testimony bear

For us or against us there.

Oh, how often

ours have been

Idle

words and words of sin

Words of anger, scorn, and pride,

Or desire our faults to hide;

Envious tales, or strife unkind,

Leaving bitter thoughts behind.

T

HERE was a lull in the noise and clatter as

our bus stopped for the red light. We were

on our way to the downtown section of a

Southern town to do a little shopping. We had

not paid much attention to the other occupants

until we heard a colored man behind us talking

quite loudly to the woman next to him. It was

evident that he was trying to impress her with

his education and general knowledge, and also

evident that he had had something a little

stronger than water to loosen his tongue. We

heard him say, "'Good mo'nin' Good mo'nin' '

DECEMBER 28, 1944

brakeman called out the name of the

tiny town where her grandmother re-

sided, and she was scrambling off

with her valise and the old telescope

of books.

(To be continued)

A Mother's Prayer

BY ETTA CRAIG

UNCLE SAM'S

boys are winging by,

Going off to war.

'Twas only yesterday, dear God,

They were playing 'round our door.

But the little toy days are over now.

The boys have grown to men.

Leaving many an aching heart

As we live those days again.

The little red scooter on the porch

Is replaced by an Army jeep;

The BB gun under the pillow,

By a gun on the briny deep.

Dear God, watch over these fighting

men

Wherever duties lead.

Please hasten the hour of victory

And bring them home, we plead.

What kinda talk is dat? People say 'good

mo'nin',' even when it's rainin'."

Others around us began to listen interestedly.

"Yo' know," he said, "wo'ds is pretty impoh-

tant. Yo' gotta know a lot of 'em. Ah think ah

knows a lot of 'em till ah goes to church and

sometimes the preachah says some I don' know."

He continued, "Ah knows a lot of big words.

But ah tells yo' the place yo' really gotta know

yo' wo'ds is when yo' goes t' co't."

Up to this point the conversation had been

decidedly one-sided. But the woman hastily

interposed his remarks with an indignant, "I ain'

nevah been to co't."

I think the man divined that he was not

making the desired impression, and said no more.

We chuckled to ourselves over the incident,

but nevertheless the colored man really spoke a

bit of wisdom which most of us do not consider

often enough. The words we speak will have a

tremendous influence upon our standing when we

reach the heavenly court. Of course there is no

phrase or group of words which we may repeat

as a password and thereby gain an entrance to

heaven, but we can be sure that the way we have

used our words here will help to decide upon

which side of the ledger our names will finally

be registered. The Bible tells us, "By thy

words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words

thou shalt be condemned." You can see that

it does matter how we use them.

Grant us, Lord, from day to day,

Strength to watch and strength to pray;

May our lips, from sin set free,

Love to speak and sing of Thee.

Till in heaven we learn to raise

Hymns of everlasting praise.

Author Unknown.

N. B.

LIFE S PATTERNS


13/16

WOFLD WDE F IELD

MO

Our Boys in New

G u i n e a

1

T has been suggested that we give

you a brief account of how w e spend

our Sabbaths up here in this part of

New Guinea. Until recently the

Australian Seventh-day Adventist boys

were meeting each Sabbath in a little

clearing in the jungle. Each week

the songs of Zion would resound to the

accompaniment of the music of the

birds. Later the numbers decreased

until, instead of an attendance of

twenty-three, there were but two.

Then the decision was made to worship

with our American brethren in this

district.

About this time our Australian

Protestant chaplain, feeling some con-

cern over our welfare, offered us the

use of his chapel "in case," he said, "it

doesn't suit you to meet with the

American boys." Well, his fears never

materialized, and we have proved once

again that Seventh-day Adventists are

one large family the world around.

Come with us on a visit to our Sab-

bath school and church services on a

recent Sabbath. About 9:30 A. N i. a

few of us arrived at the large Ameri-

can churchkindly lent to us each

Sabbathand with one of our boys

at the organ, a bright song service was

enjoyed by all. By ten o'clock the

numbers had increased to twenty-six

American and Australian boys, happy,

smiling, and glad to meet once again

with others of like faith in this third

angel's message. Some come a dis-

tance of about twenty-five miles each

way to meet with us.

Then our Sabbath school opened

under the able leadership of Glen

Schaeffer, of Takoma Park, who heart-

ily welcomed us to the worship of

God. The school is run on regular

lines, and the missionary exercise was

given by Keith Simms, of North Syd-

ney. Afterward the review was con-

ducted by Alec Collister, of Blackburn,

Victoria, and the lesson was interest-

ingly taught by Len Lee, of Melbourne.

An offering of 2.17.1 was received for

the work of God: Then the school was

brought to a close by singing and

prayer.

For a considerable time we had felt

a deep desire to observe the ordinances

of the Lord's house, as it had been

many months since we had had the

opportunity to do so. So wine was

procured from a local padre, and the

bread was baked by one of our mem-

bers. After an earnest and prayerful

discussion we decided that although

there was no elder present, rather than

miss the opportunity of partaking of

the ordinances, we would invite one

of our Victorian boys, who is an or-

dained deacon, to officiate.

A talk had been prepared dealing

with the great second advent, and this

was delivered prior to the ordinances.

Special stress was laid on the need for

preparedness on our part, in view of

the nearness of the coming of Jesus.

Following this study our brother in-

vited all to partake of the Lord's sup-

per. John 19:1-18 was read and dis-

cussed. This brought to our minds

once again the closing scenes in the

great drama of the cross. Then fol-

lowed the usual ordinance serviceall

partaking of the bread and wine. Each

of us felt the nearness of the Spirit

of God and rejoiced anew in the sweet

fellowship of this blessed hope. The

singing of the hymn "What a Friend

We Have in Jesus," followed by the

benediction, brought to a close a very

happy and profitable meeting.

Until recently we have had a local

chaplain to take our services, but we

have now decided to take them our-

selves, as we feel that the time is spent

more profitably in a simple study of

the Word of God as we believe it than'

to listen to the fluent discourse of some

university-trained minister who com-

bines the theories of modernistic un-

belief with the plain truths of the

B ible.

We have usually finished our serv-

ices by twelve noon, and then we go

our several wayssome back to their

units, but most of us to the beach,

where we pool the food we have

brought with us, and for at least once

each week we can enjoy a good vege-

tarian meal. Tinned vegetables, fruit,

fruit juices, besides biscuits, choco-

late, barley sugar, etc., make up a

meal appreciated by all.

The afternoon is pleasantly and

profitably spent as we discuss topics of

common interest to all. Usually we

have a discussion on one of the pillars

of our faith, and we present argu-

ments both for and against them, in

order that we may have a firm grip on

the truths we hold so dear.

Thus we come to the end of the Sab-

bath, and we take our departure

back to our week's work, to fill to the

best of our ability the place God has

chosen for us. And as we go we place

on record our gratefulness to God for

His guiding and guarding power in

our lives, and our determination to

ever "press toward the mark for the

prize of the high calling of God in

Christ Jesus."

Following are lists of some of the

boys who have been meeting with us

recently. Of course we have a roving

congregation, and boys are constantly

coming and going.

American

Marion DonivonSalem, Oregon

Wilbur ZaparaWilliston, North Dakota

Peter KishCity Temple, New York City

Gordon GouldWashington

Clarence A. DodgeOregon

Ralph KennedyWest Newark, Ohio

Ivan SykesBattle Creek, Michigan

Marion WoodruffTremonton, Utah

Glen W SchaefferWashington Sanitarium

Church

Bill JohnsonPortland, Oregon

Russell BehnettCleveland, Ohio

Ray DriveCalifornia

Paul SpindlerBrooklyn, New York

Australian

G. M HughesQueensland

K.

G. RobinsonThornleigh, New South

Wales

L.

HarrisonConcord, New South Wales

E. SladeBlackburn, Victoria

Keith SimmsNorth Sydney, New South

Wales

Charles DonovanEast Prahran, Victoria

A. F. SummerscalesRingwood, Victoria

Len G. LeeMelbourne, Victoria

David MaywaldSouth Australia

WilliamG. HaysAuburn, New South

Wales

H. H. SmithMelbourne, Victoria

Alec A. CollisterBlackburn, Victoria

Ernest DuffyKellyville, New South Wales

Bob McIntyre--Ashfield, New South Wales

Howard BurnettWahroonga, New South

Wales

Reg FowlerFootscray, Victoria

Rodney FowlerFootscray

Ernest FrenchNorth Sydney

Ian WellingConcord, New South Wales

John R. MartinWarburton, Victoria

L. J. SemfelComet, Queensland

JOHN MARTIN.

Coopershop University

N the early days of our movement

we had but one college, that in

Battle Creek. And even this insti-

tution was struggling against poverty

and weakness to maintain an existence.

There were no academies and no church

schools to which our children could

go for an education apart from the

influence of worldly schools. It was

at this time that in old Washington,

New Hampshire, the birthplace of this

advent movement, the little company

of believers felt the need of a school

in which the Bible could be taught as

the foundation for a Christian educa-

tion.

The services of an Adventist young

Woman were secured, at a very small

salary, to teach such a school. The

coopershop of C. K. Farnsworth was

nicely fitted up as a schoolroom.

battlefield of singapore on our headquarter

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