1916 souvenir notes - bible students' conventions

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pokaneWashington
eptember
18
8/20/2019 1916 Souvenir Notes - Bible Students' Conventions
JUST WORD
Thi s Souvenir of the Seat t le Convent~on s issued with the
thoug ht of sat is fying a t nominal cost th e desire of t he hun-
dreds who attended.
The universal expression of th e fr iends a s they left was,
If only had capacity to retain half of the good things th a t
heard. While th e proceedings a s herein published come f a r
sh ort of recording all th at w as said and done, yet sufficient h a s
been secured which, we tr us t , wil l no t only help to re fresh t h e
mind s of al l , bu t wil l s t im ulate to renewed zeal and activity
those who read.
Those who took stenographic note s were unable to g et
them a s complete a s they desired because of unfavorable posi-
t ion a s to the speaker, ye t they succeeded in ge t t ing the
thoug ht in each instance, ~f no t
all
the words.
Altogether i t wil l be a constant reminder of t he most re-
markable I . B.
convention ever held in t he North west ,
a n d i s a foretas te of w ha t wil l be furnished by Bro. Jones of
Chicago in his general r epo rt of the va riou s conventions of
the year.
BLOCK
SEATTLE
nf isf i r i r la if t Jreirs
I am satisfied with Jesus,
But the question comes to me,
As I ponder on His goodness,
Is He satisfied with me?
CHORUS
I am satisfied with Jesus,
Am I kind in word and action?
Am I all I ought to be?
Am I always His defender;
Do I tell the blessed story
Of the Christ on Calvary?
How he left His home in glory;
Grant me, Lord, Thy rich favor,
To be more and more like Thee,
Till
CHORUS
Till He s satisfied with me;
Till I shall reflect His likeness
And He s satisfied with me.
A S
B Y
B R O B U N D Y S AT S E P T
1 6
INTRODU TION
The Se attle Ecclesia ha s been congratu lating itself on the
success of th e four-day convention, September 14th to 17th.
and feels repaid fo r every effort pu t forth, in view of the many
congratulations from all quarters, and from th e Pilgrim
brothers, and also from Pastor Russell himself, and because
of th e opportunity afforded us of meeting most of th e members
of pract ica lly every ecclesia in th e Pacific Northwest-of look-
ing into their smiling faces, and hearing t heir testimonies a s
to the goodness of our Heavenly Father.
The attendance was even larger than anticipated, though
th e hopes of th e Se attl e friends had been raised high ts letters
of inquiry were received from the var ious ecclesias. On th e
first day nearly eight hundred were present, and on Saturday
and Sunday, when our pastor w as with us, i t is stated th at
more than a thousand were in attendance.
I t was remarkable in many ways. One of t he Pilgrim
brothers, who ha s attended nearly a ll conventions of an y note,
dtated th at he had never been present a t one where everything
moved with such clocklike precision, and where the interest
was s o manifest from beginning to end.
Provision for th e comfort of a ll and fo r every possible con-
tingency had been made in advance, and there seemed to be
no occasion or opportunity for complaint.
The central location of the hall made sleeping and eating
ar rang em en ts unusual-dozens of moderate-priced hotels, cafe-
teria s and re sta uran ts within a few blocks.
The arrangement for the baptismal service was unique.
All ef fo rt s to secure the use of a place within walking dis-
tance (Bible House suggestion) had failed. The two or three
natatoriums had refused for business reasons and the
Y M.
because the churches from whom they ge t their Aain
support were out of harmony with us, and they did not care
to encourage by lending assistance. Bu t the Lord s work
doesn t stop because of th e unfriendly ac ts of Christian ?)
people. The Tivoli Theatre. which had been secured fo r e ie ht
days for presenting the photo drama each evening, was Got
being used during the day time. So th e committee in charge
had a l arg e tank made and placed on the stage , so curtained
and concealed a s to make i t appear a pe rmanent fixture. And
when the hour f or th e baptismal service arrived everything
was in readiness, in a place which could not have been more
suitable or convenient--only four blocks f rom th e convention
hall.
The attendance a t the photo d ram a wa s highly satisfac-
tory-many being turned away a t first, and the house com-
for tab ly filled the la st fou r evenings. A goodly number of
cards were handed in and th e follow-up Work has indicated
th a t many have been benefitted a s a resu lt of th e pictures.
I t i s estimated th at 4,500 attended the public lecture by
Pas tor Russell a t the Arena.
I
THURSDA
Y
SEPT.
14th---FELL0
B.
Paciflc Northwest opened exactly on time-at 9 o'clock a m.
Thursday, September
1 4
Commercial Club, with about 800 in at tendance, and with
Bro. C. E. Heard, of Vancouver,
B.
C., a s chairman.
Th e singing wa s led by Bro. Donald Abernethy, of Tacoma.
A
sho rt Prayer, Pra ise and Testimony Meeting was led
by Bro. W. A. Baker, of Portland.
Testimonies were heard from Vancouver, Victoria, Prince
Rupert, New Westminster, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, Los
Angeles, Texas and the nearby classes, and from a brother
who had no permanent abiding place-yet.
F
W.
Bert, pas t presiden t of the S eattle Com mercial Club,
exte nde d a word of greeting. He said:
Friends: On behalf of our organization, an d thr ou gh
o u r organization, on behalf of t he city,
I desire to extend to
you the cordial hand of greeting . Th e Commercial Club st an ds
fo r al l th at which is best in th e development and uplift ing of
the city from it s various standpoints. We ar e very glad in-
deed when th e Rose Show comes to us and a sk s fo r our accom-
modation. W e a re glad when the commercial associatio ns
come to us, and feel they have a right to expect our accom-
modation. We ar e glad to hav e an organization like this, and
therefore we sincerely hope that you will feel you are wel-
come in the Commercial Club, and again I greet you.
Th e ad dr es s of welcome wa s given by Bro.
F
Seattle, who said:
We know th at our Saviour said: 'I t i s more blessed to
give th an t o receive, ' and therefore it i s for each of u s a s
God's children t o realize t ha t a s we a r e the recipients of h is
mercy, i t is for us to man ifest this spirit-it is what i t is
given to us for. The world knows noth ing of God's characte r
really, except t h a t which they see reflected in God's children.
We tr u st you hav e come here today having asked our Heavenly
Fa the r to enable you to im part a rich blessing on each pne
w it h whom we come in contac t. Cant. 2:4 we read: H e
Souvenir Seattle onvention
brought me t o the banqueting house , and h is banner over me
wa s Love.' I t i s fo r us to le t love be manifes ted in our every
action. Dear friends, we welcome you her e today in the name
of our Heavenly Fa th er and Je su s our Saviour, and th e Asso-
ciate d Bible Stud en ts of Seattle.
In response Chairman C. E Hear d spoke a s follows:
One of th e surprises of my l ife wa s when we received th e
program for the Seatt le Convention and I found myself
marked down a s chairman. I do not known who to blame for
i t ; if I did, the re would be som eth ing doing. Well, I appre-
cia te th is wrivileee of bein a c hai rm an of th is convention very,
very much, yet I feel there were so many oth ers th at could
hav e been chosen, who were f a r ahead of me.
I
feel totally
unwo rthy of th is magnificent privilege to s tan d before you a s
chairman for these four days; nevertheless we understand
th a t i t i s our Heavenly Fat her wlzo is ru l ing th is , and t ha t h e
can bring good out of everything, and we hope, dear friends,
th at h e will br in g good ou t of this. W e believe he can. I t
ma y be th at he can bring good out of i t because he can do a
little polishing. I will do my level best along that line.
Jesus said to his disciples a t one t ime af te r he had been
in very strenuous work, recognizing the fact that he Yeeded
a res t : Come, y e yourse lves ap ar t and re s t awhi le . W e
believe th at the re ar e t imes when we need to come apart . W e
believe there are times when we need
a
l i t t le extra food.
Wh en we ge t t ired of our bil l of f ar e a t home we go to restau-
rants-not th at our wives ar e lazy, bu t we wa nt a change.
W e feel th at th e t ime ha s come when we need a l i t t le swecial
spir i tu al food. Dea r Bro. Acheson w as giving u s a welcome-
we do no t need that-we jus t put him up here fo r fun. W e
a r e al w ay s welcome everywhere-it 's th e Lor d's table. Seven
years ago la s t month I came the f irs t t ime fo r my sp ir i tua l
food to a Sea ttle convention.
I t
se em s like old times. If you
were to hear of som e of t he thing s t ha t have taken place t o
open doors to people to enable them to come to this conven-
tion, you would realize God had been gove rning it. One
br ot he r could n't ge t excused fr om hi s work-too busy-so
th e Lo rd pu t a carbuncle on hi s wrist. And he's here today.
Our Heavenly Fa th er ha s been dem onstra t ing more than ever
before th e possibilities of prayer. Some of the frie nds hav e
told u s recent ly th a t they ar e only now beginning to thor-
oughly appreciate and indulge in the blessed privilege of
pra ye r to the full extent . Many prayers have been offered fo r
th e success of t hi s convenfion. Th e bible sa y s 'Knock and i t
sha ll be opened unto you. Surely th e Heavenly F at he r in-
tends to pour ou t blessings upon us.
We of Vancouver s tar ted our convention on the boat a t
10 o'clock yes terd ay morning. W e had fifty when we start ed
from Vancouver and had 100 here.
W e coul? not he lp ta lk ing
ab ou t t h e Ma nna Text-the 133rd Ps alm . Behold how good
and how pleasant i t i s f or bre thren to dwel l together in uni ty .'
I t is l ike the precious ointment upon the head, t h a t ran down
upon the beard, even earon 's beard, that went clown to the
ski r ts of his garments. Ther e can be no fr ict ion when there
is plenty of oil. Rro. Van Amburgh m ade the statem ent th at
the re w as only one of a ll the conven tions th at he could remem-
ber t h a t the re had not been one single complaint placed in th e
Bure au of Complaints al l throug h the convention. T ha t i s
beautiful. I
wa s thinking, when coming down, th at surely we
could be able to s a y the sam e af te r Sunday evening is over,
that not one single complaint has been lodged in the Bureau
of Complaints during the whole fo ur days. If we have perfect
love, one to another, and th e determination t o keep things a s
they are,
then we ar e going to have a glorious t ime. We feel
th a t we shou ld wa tch to see th a t no th ing c reeps in t o m a r
peace and fellowship.
There's a way we have of telling whether a guest appre-
ciates the invitat ion we give him to come and dine with
us---
it 's a pa te nt way-but I 'll give i t to you, free.
Wh e n he s i t s
down an d e at s heartily-not nibbles-we know he enj oys
3
Thi s is t he way we ar e going to demonstra te our apprec ia t ion
of th e invi ta t ion f rom the Seat t le c lass .
The Bethel Hymn for the day-No.
139-was sung.
The Manna text and comment was read by Bro. Chandler ,
of Por tlan d, the vow by Bro. Roberts, of Victoria. th e morn-
in g resolve by Bro. Bubolz, of Ca lgary .
Th is par t of the serv ice was c losed with prayer by Pi lgr im
Rro. R.
0
Hadley.
Chairman Heard read the poem, Sweet H armo ny a t Last ,
which w as followed by a s ho rt prais e meeting.
The program indicated that Bro.
J F
Rutherford would
deliver a discourse on Christian Fellowship, bu t he being
unavoidably absent, Pilgrim Bro. Walter Rundy appeared in
his s tead, and spoke, in substance, a s follows:
CRRISTIAW
FELLOWSHIP
Following conventions come seasons of test ing s and tr ia ls .
So let us be strengthened an d prepared f or wha tever m ay fol-
low. Ther e ar e one or two things part icu larly th at were in-
terest in g in the Los Angeles Convention. One w as in regard
to an unu sual opportunity fo r presentation of t he Tr ut h given
to our Pas tor l as t Fr iday in one of the Chr is t ian Churches in
Los Angeles. The Pa sto r of th e Pa rk Avenue Christ ian Church
had taken hold of the Tr uth an d for the mat ter of several
months had been carefu l ly present ing th e t ru t h . When i t came
t ime fo r h im to take h i s vaca t ion he sen t fo r a dea r bro the r
to fill his pulpit. Th is pasto r who has been presenting th e
Tr uth induced Bro. Russ ell to go down la st Fri da y nigh t to
speak to the congregation. I had t he privilege of bein g pres-
ent. Th e church w as well filled-very fe w of th e st ud en ts
were there,
mostly mem bers of the church, and i t would hav e
done so ur hea r ts good to hea r the Pas tor . At the c lme of th e
service you would almo st have thoug ht i t wa s a love feast , to
see the m embers of the congregation sha king hands with
S o u v e n i r S e a t t l e o n v en t io n
Pa sto r Russell . The indications ar e th at the majority of th e
congregation are in such harmony w ith th e Tr uth tha t i t wil l
become a congreg ation of Rible studen ts.
At the time of thi s convention we think our he ar ts go out
to th e ones who a re isolated-to tho se in Honolulu-for th e
Lord h as blessed the effor t pu t f or th there.
We had an experience in Honolulu las t summer. When we
came back there af ter a vacation Bro. Fox said: We ar e
having our Sunday nigh t meetings during the sum mer in the
Christia n Church. I was su rp ris ed and I soonY'ound out t h a t
the Lord had been dir ec t~ ng t . The pastor of th e Christ ian
Church had gone to the coast and had placed in charge of the
Sund ay nig ht mee ting a mem ber by the name of Schneider.
Th e first Su nday nig ht Bro. Schneider called on Bro. Pox to
lead and he selected Wh at the Scriptu res Say About Hell for
his subject . The result was t ha t they invited u s to come
again, which we did. And Bible st ud y unde r the leaclership
of a Bible stude nt continued f or several Sunday nigh ts, until
one Sunday evening Mr. Schneider, the member who had been
left in charge, announced: I am sor ry th at we will not have
an y m ore Bible stud ies in our church, a s our pasto r comes
home this week.
My te xt fo r Christian Fellowship is found in 1 s t Cor.
1:9
God is fait hfu l, by whom ye were called unto the fellow-
ship with his son Je su s Christ our Lord.
Th e keyn ote of th is convention migh t well be the first
three words of thi s text. God is faithf ul. We know th at.
and we profess to believe it , bu t we a re afraid we do not live
it . Tf we become discou raged , i t
s
because we do not remem-
ber tha t God is fai thful . I t is because we fai l to realize th at
i t is God who is to complete the work. I t is our Heavenly
Father 's providence that h as arranged fo r such fellowship a s
this. No m at te r w ha t trials, wh at difficulties come int o our
lives and hearts if we can be imbued with this spirit, Chat
faithfulness can be realized in our lives until we can hear.
Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joq
of thy Lord. You cannot lose fa ith in yourself, a s you hav e
no business to have fa it h in yourself in the first place.
I t
is
w hat God will do in us. Tf we become sad because of o ur
weaknesses, just sit down fo r a fe w moments and think of th r
loving and tender way in which th e Lord ha s led us. Think
of the past , and realize th at just a s surely a s he has been
with you up to the present time, he will be with you to the
end. I will never leave thee nor forsa ke thee. God is f ~ i t h -
f u l by whom we were called to fellow ship wi th hi s son.
Consider wh at you tho ug ht w as fellowsh ip before you came to
the H arv es t Tru th. You review for a moment w ha t fellow-
ship you had with your frien ds and associates, and com pare
i t with th e fellowship we have here. I t is wonderful the heart
fellowship that God's people are enjoying.
I n tMn king of fellowship there ar e many illustrations. We
thin k of one from th e viewpoint of €he un ity the re is in an
army.
If you see a well drilled arm y ther e is one thiqg t ha t
will impres s you a t once. If they ar e thoroughly drilled you
think of them a s a n army and not a s individuals. The only
individual tha t you can possibly single ou t is one th at was pot
sufficiently drilled-that clid no t keep st ep wi th th e re st . U p
Souvenir Seat tle onvention
to t he t ime of th e Lord 's coming to ear th , there were no
Christians. Th e Je w s did not hav e fellowship. Abraham did
not have fel lowship . H e was th e only one cal led a t tha t t ime;
a lso in the case of Isaa c and Jacob. I t w as when Jesus began
to sugg est t o hi s disciples the thoug ht of fel lowship with him
In hi s suffelings-as th e apostl e says, being made conforma-
ble to his death.' '
There i s noth ing in t he world
tha t wi l l b r ing two hea r t s
so close together a s a mutu al danger. I f they ar e threa tened
with death, how much they work together.
By sacrifice even
unt o death, we know we a re going down even unt o death
which should uni te us. Some one say s, Don't you think th a t
Chri st ians in general have fel lowship? ' Yes, they have; bu t
am inc lined to th ink t ha t they endure fe l lowship ra th er than
enjoy it . I t was wonderful fe llowship th a t wa s enjoyed by th e
ea rly Church. think th at the experience of the Bible s tu -
de nts i s more like the experience of t he e arly Church than
of th e oth er churches. Th ere were some who were severely
tr ied in t he Chri st ian Age, bu t they did not see God's plan
an d purpose a s we see i t . The churches begin to look more
to what they hope to do than what they hope to be.
Oh, to be nothing, nothing. T ha t i s wh at the hy m n
says . Once a young man went to th e universi ty and h is
fa th e r s$d. Well, son, wh at did the y teach you first? H e
replied:
They tau gh t nle th at did not know anything. W e
can accomplish nothing, except i t can be done by the gra ce
of God throug h J es us Christ .
t
i s by fo rge t t ing sel f and
think ing of the Lord t ha t we really enjoy the blessings and
opportun;ties of fellowship.
I n England i f someone should learn tha t the Crown Pr ince
of E ngland wished to see him, and would gra nt him an inter -
view, he would n ot th ink of ha vin g real fellow ship wi th him.
H e would be on a diffe ren t plane. Th ink of t he Crown Pri nce
of t he Universe, Ki ng of Kin gs and Lord of Lords, calling us
by th e grace of God to fel lowing with him, th e Crown Prlnce.
Th e call fo r u s is to become mem bers of h is Bride Elect .
wonder
if
we really apprec iate th at a s we should?-to be
really called to be a member of C hr ist 's Bride.
When we f i rs t
heard i t , i t w as so marvelous t ha t i t seemed alm ost impossible .
Then , by fa i th , we grasped the fac t tha t i t was true. Le t us
no t forge t to praise and thank God fo r such
a
call a s this .
I n Revelat ion the Apos tle s ta t e s how i t i s b rough t to t he
attenti on of the feet members. Jo hn repres ents th e feet mem-
bers. I t i s only th e las t ones l iv inp. who rea l ly aaar ec ia te i t.
The High C all ing of th e Church and Resti tut io n of th e
world were not brought to our at tention t i l l 1881. t w a s
wonderfully portrayed in l~ oo d fo r thin kin g Christians, --
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 copies were circulated to all p a rt s of th e world.
t
i s
l ikened to a s teel magnet. W e mu st watch our hear ts to see
th a t they a re not so influenced by the world th a t the drawing
influence would be lost. God forbid t h a t we should lose th e
drawing influence of his Holy Spirit , and by God's grace, lay
as ide every th ing th a t would draw u s f ro m the Lord.
Eph.
5:11
Have no fellowship w ith works of darkness.
We can not have fel lowship with doctr ines th a t a r e not in har-
mony with th e Light of Truth . Supposing there a re those who
1
onvention
onjoy the Lig ht of the present T ru th, who hav e been asso-
viated w ith th e Lord 's people, an d who have turn ed aga ins t
them, can we have fel lowship wi th th em ? No, not a s new
crea tures . Can we have fe l lowship with them a s Chr is t ians?
No.
We must be secure in
ou r appreciation of t h e ransom.
It
is only
throu gh the shedding of his blood and t he application
of th at t h a t anyone can have the blessing of eterna l l ife .
Th a t was b rough t home t o me in Hono lu lu abou t t en yea rs
ago. w as l iving in one of tFe houses there, and the lady
who had charge of the house w a s a Theosophist . She sa w
there were t rac ts in the room, and she came to me one day
and sa id : I feel I could no t a rgu e and d iscuss wi th you a long
the se lines. bu t t he leader of the Society would like to talk to
you, and I have invited her to meet you.
I will never foregt
the experience I had in meet ing with the woman. She w a s
a n elderly lady, an d one of th e f irs t things she said was:
There w as a t im e when I had all confidence in the Bible.
a n d I believed j us t a s thoroughly a s you in th e sacrif ice, bu t
I do not believe these things any longer. I said: My dear
f r iend . do vou real lv tel l me th a t vou do not re co ~ ni ze
he
bible a s infallible a s a guide-you do no t recognize-that th e
Lord J r su s died fo r you? ON no. she said. L ines of
wrogression and evolution differ. I sa id : I am sorry arid
i
a m obl ieed t o tel l vou th a t I have not a minute more to
spa re, because if you gav e no confidence in t he bible and J es us
Ch rist a s your Saviour, you hav e no confidence irk th e t hin gs
th a t a r e near es t and deares t to Ine, and I could not waste
God's t ime in ta lking to you. She w as satisfied th at hers
w as the best , and we could no t dishonour Gorl's nam e an d
have any fe llowship with works of darkness . W e mu st have
s v m ~ a t h v or them.
On one occasion, one who h a s seen th e blessings of t h e
Tr ut h to a considerable exten t and go t s ide-tracked, came to
me, and in mentioning some things I said: If you ar e satis-
fied tha t the Bible Stude nts ar e wrong af te r havin g investi-
gated an d once enjoyed these things, then I refuse to d iscuss
scriptu ral thing s with you. Read the sixt h volume over
again . I t i s because they have not read i t th a t they have
drif ted away.
I
hav e been tr yi ng to read a11 th e volumes
once a year. I read them t he f i rs t th in g in the morning and
I find i t a gr ea t help.
I w as asked to speak on a sub ject one
day, and I sa t down to s tud y with the b ib le , but I could not
th ink of the subjec t th a t I wanted to speak about. I said:
I believe I know the t rouble ; I have not read my twelve
pages today. Those twelve pages treated on th e very thi ng
wanted to speak about the next day . Th e bes t way to have
fellowship with the Lord's people would be to read a few
pages of the Script ure Studies every day.
We mu st ~ a r t i c i u a t e n thc s in-offer ing. and suffering in
Ch rist i s p ar t 'of t h b S'Q-offering.
Stand src urc on the ransom and apprec ia te the fe l lowship
of th e Lords' vrowle. and hav e an avwreriation of t h e f a c t
th a t God ha s wonderfu lly chosen a serv ant to d ispense the
m ea t in due season to the Household of Fa ith. How wonder-
fully God ha s used and blessed th is s erv an t and w e know
hour W P a r r all loolzing forwart7 to seeing him. Ev ery t im e
Souverzir Seattle onuentiotz
see him, he looks a l i t t le whiter-a l i t t le paler and worn out
in the f lesh. H is he art sho ws thoroughly more and more th e
love of the Lord. How we rejoice in helping hi m to ca rry o ut
the instructions God has given him.
H av e no fello wsh ip w ith unrighte ousn ess. 2nd Cor. 6:14.
H av e no fellowship wi th falle n angels. 1 st Cor. 1@:20.
W e real ize in tak ing t he vow th a t i t would he lp us to
hav e no sy mp athy with sp ir i ti sm.
For your fel lowship in th e gospel from the f irs t day unti l
now. Phil. l:5
I n thin kin g of t h e first convention
I
attended,
I
did not
know anyth ing about the dear f r iends up to th a t t ime. I went
to this convention, and I
suppose the Episcopalian Church wa s
sticking out al l over me.
I
did no t unders tand wha t i t was
going to be. All tho se who hav e been associated with t h e
Church of England know i t is ve ry much l ike the Roman
Catholic. W e hav e images, also. I met th e Lord 's people a t
thc convention, and s aw th e spi r i t of love and harmo ny there,
and by and by a bro ther came up and sa t beside me. Pr e t ty
soon Pas tor Russe l l came a lso and s a t there . There was qui te
a number who did not know him then and they had not seen
a photograph of him, so th is brother said to Brother Russell :
Do you thin k Ero the r Ru sse ll will be here today? H e re-
plied, I expect him, brother.
I
remember one thing I sa id a t the t ime to those dea r
f r iends : I am glad th a t where I get the pure a i r of the
W hite Mountains , the Tr ut h ha s reached i t a lso. Fo r s ix
m o n th s I wa s th e only one in the Wh ite Mounta ins in New
Hampsh ire who knew th e Tru th . I came and consecrated and
testified. A t fir st
I
could not think of get t in g up on my feet
to tes t i fy , bu t now I wa nt to do i t a l l the t ime.
Ph il. 2:1. Fellow ship of th e Spirit.
The Apostle say s, Although I have all knowledge and
have not love, i t profi te th me nothing. I t is only in propor-
t ion th a t love is in our hear ts t ha t we have the sp i r i t of the
Tru th .
Love fo r God. Love f o r the principles of Righteousness ,
and love fo r the brethren. Even though something creeps up
in enmity, love them a s new crea tures . Remember th a t th e
rc,be of Ch rist 's righteousness i s covering us. The great est
enemy is our own f lesh and we have to cruc ify tha t . W e
should be chari table towards others .
1s t John, 1:3. Fellowship with C hrist .
1 st Joh n, 1:7. Fellowsh ip wi th one another.
Someth ing happened in California-a test th at a bro the r
an d sis t er had, l iving in the valley. The Lord sa w fit to
bring an affl ic t ion upon them. E ar ly in the Spring, a severe
storm came. and some trees blew down and the house was
impaired. I t cost a grea t deal to repair i t . Bu t these people
took that with patience. A sho rt t ime af ter , their old horse
died and they took that patiently. il l i t t l e a f te r tha t , they
bough t a Ford, and they took tha t patiently . About three
weeks af te r tha t , the i r house burned to the ground, and
everything, even thei r money and th eir clothes, were lost.
They said, The devil had som ething to do with t ha t , and we
a r e going to put up another house . Ru t the par t icu lar les-
son was th is : There w as a bro ther l ivinq
in
2 Souvenir Seattle onvention
house was very large, but who had never o ff e r4 his home f or
meetings , but a s soon a s th at house
y?s
burned to the
ground, he said, My house is open now. T ha t was w ha t
the Lord wanted. The Lord knew th at the people were str on g
rnough to bear all this, but he wanted to bring more fellow-
ship into the heart and mind of the one who had not con-
secrated.
Eph.
3:s
The fellowship of th e mystery.
In order to appreciate th is properly, we want to sa y cer-
tain thin gs we m us t remember and not forget. We need to
remember, It is not by might, nor by power, bu t bv mv
spirit , saith the Lord. W hate ver is accomplished in' vouk
life, any fellowship and suffering, is by his s pir it perm eating
your life. I told you, my brother, that we have to flght
against the world,
the flesh, and the atmosphere (evil spirits ,
instead of the adv ersar y). We mu st forge t completely the
things th at a re behind and reach forward unto the things
tha t a re before, forget t ing the worr ies tha t d is turb o w peace
of mind
I
had charge of th e Mailing Dep artmen t, and when th ey wkre
mailing the Tabernacle Shadows.
I
made some mistake. I went to Bro. Russell and said I was
sorry f o r w ha t I had done and wanted t o ask forgiveness.
He went on to show how a little care would have helped, but
he said, I
will forgive you. He went away af te r tha t fo r
a short trip, and he came back two weeks later.
I
was in
his room again and felt constrained to say, I feel very sorry,
Bro. Russe ll, fo r wh at happened a littl e while ago. H e said.
What was that? I said.,, It was
a
blunder in the mailing
of the Tab erna cle Shadows. He replied, Didn't you tell me
about that a few weeks ago, and asked my forgiveness?
I said, Yes. Well, he replied , I a m asham ed of you,
Bro. Bundy, that you should mention it again.
Forget and go forward with his grace, that we may be
faithful unto death.
m. the meeting was called to order by Rro.
Fleetwood, of Tacoma, who led a pra ise and testimoziy meet ing
for forty minutes.
The friends were favored by a solo by Bro. Bundy,
Savior, Thy Dying Love.
Then cam e the symposium on Christian Unity, by seven
brothers, with Eph.
4 : I 6
The sister who took these notes was handicapped by
being so situated in the hall th at sh e could no t hea r distinctly.
An etfort was made to get the references and follow the
though t. She was compelled to leave before Bro. Hadley
spoke on Our God.
ONE BODYw-BEO. ZINK .
Eph. 4:4, There i s one body and one sp iri t even a s ye
are called in one hope of your calling.
1s t Cor. 6:15, Know y e no t t ha t your bodies a r e the
members of Christ.
1s t Cor. 1:13, For by one spirit ar e we all baptized in to
one body.
27 vr.:, Now ye a re the body of C hri st and mem bers in
particular.
he found in the pit.
He washed her and made her clean, and
therefore St. Pau l sa ys if God s et s every member in the body
God must know each member now in the Church on the earth.
If we are fai th fu l God will take us from thi s position and
place u s in the temple when we shall shine forth.
1st Cor. 12:13-14, For the body is not one mem ber bu t
many.
Those who ar e baptized into Ch rist a re meek-we allow
Christ to abide in us.
45th Psa., Thy God ha th an ointed thee wi th th e oil of
gladness above thy fellows.
Afte r John wa s baptized he w as filled with th e Holy
Spirit.
There will be no division of mem bers. I f one member
suffers all the members suffer.
Col. 1:18. Christ was the firstborn from the dead.
Eph. 4:13, Till we al l come in th e unity of th e fait?, an d
of th e knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfec t man.
Ac ts 17:31, He will judge th e world in righ teou sness by
that man whom he hath ordained.
ONE SPIRIT -BEO. 'MkPHEESON.
am sure, fr iends, tha t we will al l agree t ha t the one
Spirit refe rs to the oneness of mind. When you were in the
denominational churches they did not have the Divine Pla n
of the Ages. I t did not have any well defined unders tanding
about the Spirit of God, and we could not dwell in the one
Spirit . That unity might prevail along tha t l ine i t i s abso-
lutely essential first to recognize th at the Lord i s usin g a
serv ant to dispense the me at in due season. We ar e al l
united in the fa ith of the Ransom. We mu st have absolute
faith and clear understanding of the Church's participation
in the sin offering..
Col. 2:18, L& no man beguile you of your rew ard in a
volu ntary hum ility and worshiping of angels, intru ding into
those things whlch he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his
fleshlv mind.
~ u m b l e , u t present ing o ther doc tr ines.
am free to say am following Pas tor Russell, a s do
not thing can catch up to him.
Stronp with the one mind,
one spiri t for the faith of the
Gospel.
ONE #OPEJ'---BEO.
Our theme this afternoon i s an importan t one.
Hopa is
essential if we mu st make our calling and election sure.
4
This hope i s a n a t ta inment .
W e believe wha t is a necessary
m a t t e r i s
a
carefu l s tudy of God's word. I t is a necessary
matter in the development of this one hope.
Romans
15:4 For whatsoever things were writ ten afore-
t ime were wri t ten for our learn ing tha t we through pat ience
and com fort of th e scr iptu res mig ht ha ve hope.
Psa .
119:49
which thou ha st caused m e to hope.
God's wo rd i s the fou ndat ion of o ur hope.
ONE
YATES.
You have jus t had ca lled to your a t ten t ion th a t there i s
one body. Th e body is animated by th e one spi rit and they
a r e al l called in the one hope of th eir calling. If we al l
come under t ha t one Lord, th at one spir i t , tha t one hope, w
recognize th at the Heavenly Fat he r ha s placed Him over al l
things , th e Church which is his body W e realize tha t the
same hope which actua ted ou r Head mus t be th e same hope
th at wi ll ac tua t e the body members. W e mu st a l l be in uni ty
and fellowship together in th a t one body. We recognize how
diff icult i t is t o dissect these different topics w ithout trespas s-
ing on th e following one. W e clearly recognize th at there
m u st be only one Lo rd, one hope. TVe recogniz e t h a t God
ha s placed t he members in the body a s i t h as pleased him,
and t he y come under th at one head, not a division of Clergy
and Lai ty .
Ye ar e al l bre thren an d one is your mast er , even Christ.
We realize that this body can only be governed by the one
Head, Jes us Chr is t .
The world ha s no use for the Bible . I t says, With al l
th y gett ing, get understanding, bu t the people say, With al l
thy gett ing , ge t rich. We ar e counted fools. The world ha s
no use fo r
When in th e Methodist Church , a t the
Testimony meeting they said, la id m y card playing, my
dancing and all my bad hab its on the al t ar of sacrifice. No
one has a r ight to
these things and God would not want that
stench-that i s only gett ing yourself c lean. I t i s the legit i-
mate things which you have a r ig ht to , tha t you mus t give
up. You mu st fill up th e sufferings of Christ th at he lef t
behind. Our sufferin gs a re counted a s the suffe rings of the
Head because he feels th e pain. I n case of Saul, the pain
w as fel t in Heaven as Saul w as nersecuting the body.
Brp. Russell was asked th e secret of his happiness H e
i s one of th e happinest men alive. When travelling on th e
tra in B ro Hersey sa w Bro. R usse l l w as sound asleep a lmost
a t once.
Bro. Hersey dozed around for about an hour and he
said in the morning, Bro. Russell, how i s 1t you go to sleep
so quickly? H e said, It is because
I
I
sa id , Jus t th ink of a l l the le t te rs you ge t and
all the troubles and qu?,stions, and yet you say you have not
a th ing on your mind Bro. Russ ell said
I
take all my
troubles to the Lord, to the Head, and ~ k a v e h em th ere ,
I
do not load them on my back and bring them aw ay again.
We a r e beheaded and have no head, bu t Chri st is th e bead.
Your t ri al s a re special and peculiar to you, because you
recognize God a s fittin g you fo r a special place in t h a t body.
When these tr i a ls come, take them to th e Lord and let him
bear them.
ONE FAITHn-BEO. E.
He re is a bunch of grapes.
They a r e very close together
but they do not hur t each o ther . There wa s a t ime when
those grapes were fa r apar t .
If you had seen thi s bunch two
mo nth s ago, you would not ha ve seen a clu ste r like that,
bu t a s each one received the nu tr ime nt, each grew a l i t t le
a n d th e n th ey g rew c lo ser a nd c lo se r t og ethe r, j u ~ t s t h e
Lord intends his people to do. When we came into the T ru th
we had none of th e fr ui ts or t he gr aces .of the spir i t ,
bu t a s soon a s any one of these grapes became a grape i t
wa s in the c luster . The most ex traordinary th in g about i t i s,
that while they al l belong to the cluster , and every one is
a
member of t hi s cluster, yet no t one of these is joined to an -
other grape. How did they get th e development? Ever y one
is a t tached to a s t em and the s tem is jo ined to th e vine .
When we come to consider i t , i t i s th e same am ongst th e
Christ ians. Chris t is the head of t he body, the Church; He
i s the beginning, the firstborn from the dead th at in al l things
he mi ght hav e pre-eminence. Ch rist th e vine-the Ch rist ian s
a
clu ste r of grapes.
Col. 2:19 And not holding the head from which all the
body by joints a nd bands having nourishment ministered and
knit together, increaseth with the increase
rf
God. W e
wa nt to consider fai th in relat ionship to Christ ian fel low-
ship. W e have a l l thought how love draw s u s closer and
closer together. Fa i t h is a very v i ta l ma t ter in th is way.
Wh en we were first begotten of t he Holy S pir it when we be-
came new creatures, w e came int o t hi s , c luster of grapes.
Th e Heavenlv Fat her . vou will notice in our exaeriences led
us to recognize tha t
J&US
Chris t i s the head o? the church .
Our fa i t h took hold of th is ma tte r , then, realizing the won-
derful charac ter of God. I n his wisdom we knew tha t his
arrangement w i th the Church wa s the very bes t t ha t could
he made. Wh en we came to see Christ ' s suprem e love fo r
the Church, i t s trengthened our fai th , that nothing could hag-
Den to u s a s a bodv. wi tho ut o ur dear Lord's nermission. an d
we a re bound to the Lord each one of us, dy fa i th .
~ a c h
one of us a re s tr ivin g to hold t he head, but som etimes the
Lord will brinp us to a s ta nd like this . We will come face
to face with a- ma tte r of principle, then we will come to th e
decision in th is ma tt er and we will hold t he Head.
We
a r e
going to s tand fo r righteousness, no ma t ter wh at i t cos ts ,
and pe rhaps the Heaven ly Fa the r makes us th ink tha t we a re
alone in th is mat ter , however we f ind something rubbing us
on th e arm-there is ano the r bro the r ju st alongside us.
We
as k, How did you come thrre ? I am holding the head.
I
am going to hold for righteousness, even th<ugh 1 a m
alone, he said. We then agree together a s members of the
body of Christ, if w e sta nd tog eth er and hold t he Head. Theone fa it h comes in a s we recoenize t he wisdom of God's
arrangement in p lac ing the membrrs in the Body a s he has
W h ~ nwe recognize that everything that happens to us,
whether it be personal, or w hether it be a s a n Ecclesia,
it
behind it the loving wisdom and foresight of Jesus Christ.
ON33 BAPT1SXU -BEO. BUNDY.
I
am
go ing home. No, I am no t sick. Bro. Van Am burgh said,
Well, have you received bad news? No. Well, why
must you return? ' I am just ful l,
I
have got a l l tha t I can
possibly carry, and I m us t go home. Rro. Van Amburgh
said, Oh sta y, you will stretch. Th is applies to those he re
today.
I t is a str an ge thing, before we came to realize the Truth,
God's plan and purposes, all ou r va rio us discussions were no t
along the line of the scriptures, and we did not preach what
the real scriptu re of Baptism was. The picture is not the
though t of being baptized with the water. I t wa s more of a
discussion a s to the symbol whereby we mig ht g et into the
Church. We are not considering that . Th at is not th e
thought, but i t is fh e thought of gettin g into t he church, being
baptized into Christ. The Apostle says, As many a s have
been baptized into Christ hav e pu t on Christ, and th e scrip-
tures a llude to i t a s
a
into Christ.
think i t becomes more beautiful a s we under-
stand it , and i t becomes still more beautiful a s we partici-
pat e in th e symbol. Each one who claims the privilege of
God's favor, of water immersion, his heart becomes open stilI
more to apprec iate th e symbol. On one occasion, a s a brother
symbolized his consecration, some one said. Oh. mv bro ther .
I
see the step you have taken. Th at is not
the thought. Water baptism is not simply a step th at
we
hav e taken, water baptism symbolizes a s te p we ar e takinp.
Our water baptism is not a m omentary work of o urs ; i t
is of life and death. I t symbolizes a work th a t is not com-
pleted, bu t m ust continue. T ha t we migh t apprec iate this ,
let us notice the symbol. When our Lord came to Jordan
he placed himself in the hands of John, to be baptized,-;
picture tha t he surrendered himself. Joh n immersed him
right down and covered him, representing three and one-half
ye ars of experience. H e le t him down un til he wa s covered.
representing the su rrend er of his will even unto death and
th e carry ing ou t of h is sacrifice. I t was the going down even
unto death and the r aising again to newness of life, begotten
to the heavenly nature, and that new life began which con-
tinued, and culminated in t he glorious blessing of th e res ur-
rection. The consecration covenant of sacrifice ca rrie s u s
down, then we are begotten to new ness of life. If we were
lying prostra te we could no t see any object clearly, bu t a s
we would begin to ris e up, we could se e the object a l itt le
more dist inctly . By and by when we are r a i s a to ful l
st at ur e, we see the object com paratively clear. Our baptism
i s int o Christ being made members of h is body. This does
not come thro ugh w ater baptism, it comes through the sur-
render of ou r will by th e word of Tr uth .
In Texas.
I went down to a l i t t le town and
I
learned on
th in Sunday there was to he an immersion se rv ice in t h ~
7
river. I t was swollen and very dangerous, so much so th at
a gr ea t many buildings had been sw ept awa y and floating
timber w as coming down. There were five to be immersed.
said, Brother, do you think i t is safe? H e said, We
have been waiting for months for this service and we do not
wan t to be disappointed. W e all went to the wa ter and
there was one a t one side and a t the other, both holding
on, so that we would not be swept away.
immersed him
and when brought him out from the water , th at water was
so muddy that he was smeared all over his face and clothes,
and af te r we talked about the ma tter, said th at certainly
wa s acceptable a s a sym bol of your re al consecration, th8
water a t th at t ime was so muddy i t appeared to me like the
muddy wat ers of Babylon. Th e Lord said to th e disciples,
Are ye willing to be baptized with the baptism a m bap-
tised with? and they said Yes, Lord, we a re willing. When
the Lord presented himself a t Jordan, he not only consecrated
himself, but in God's plan and purpose he consecrated all of
us, and he has been carrying out his own consecration ever
since. Then h e sacrifices stil l through us. Our wills m us t
be fully submerged into Him.
Be sure our he arts are obedient
to Him, so that he may continue the work in us, until the
last member shall have participated in the Lord's baptism.
We are baptized, so that we may bless all the families of the
earth.
Eph.
4:6
One God, and Fat her of all, who i s above all,
and through all, and in you all.
Psa. 83:18
That men may know that thou whose name
alone is JEHOVAH, a r t the m ost high over all the earth.
God i t a spirit, from ever lastin g to everlasting.
Se lf-e xis ting one-uncreated, im mortal one. All other
things had
a
beginning.
So long a s an y were in harm ony w ith God, they were
the sons
The first presentation of the Photo Drama was given ill
the evening a t the Tivoli Theatre . The house wa s packed,
and several hundred turned away.
The meeting was called to order a t 9 o'clock.
A
half-hour
Praise and Testimony meeting was led by Bro. Young, of Vic-
toria. The subject wa s
I.
H. S., and many speculated a s to
wh at i t might mean. Some said, In His Strength, In His
Steps,
I
Ha ve Seen. and finally concluded i t was, I Have
Suffered.
The Manna, the Vow and Morning Resolve were read and
pra yer w as offered by Bro. Baker, of Tacoma.
Discourses by Bro. Yates and Bro. Heard followed, on
When H e Sh all Apaear We Shall Be Like Him.
The first half. by Bro. Yates, wa s in sub stance a s follows:
WR EN H E SHAL L APPEAE. -BEO. YATES.
Now, dear frien ds, the sp ir it of th e Lord 1s prevailing
amongst us all. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my
Fat her 's house ar e many mansions.
We realize we must look
for a personal coming. We ar e tau gh t th at when the Lord
did come, th a t would be the end of al l hope. If they were
not saved then, they would not be. We can sum up the
nominal chu rche s in three words, Bliss or Blister. We
realize that He would become known to the world, known
only to a few, and we also realize that the Lord was present
for nearly twp years before his presence was known.
The Harvest work could not commence until the harvest
of the grain. You know when a far m er is going to cu t his
grain and g ets the binder ready, th at is not harvest work-
th at is preparatory work, bu t when he cu ts the grain, he ha s
star ted to do har ve st work. In 1874, he came a s a sp iritu al
being, but did not reveal his presence until
1876, and then not
until 1878 did he do an v ha rves t work a t all. He then raised
the sleeping sain ts and -t ha t will continue un til th e spring of
1918. Th is work i s going on, and when H e returned, those
th a t were alive could not precede those which were asleea .
so tha t i t was necessary fo? the sleeping sain ts to be raise&
and then they were changed in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye.
Todav is Transformation Dav. and the Lord has left us
here in order th at the re might bk a transformation in us, in
order that we may have
a
place in the Kingdom. This is a
grad ual work--it i s not t he work of a moment.
Rom. 12:l.
beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of
God, th a t ye present your bodies a liv ing sacrifice. Be ye
tran sfo rm ed by th e renewing of your mincl. Th is should ca ll
Souven ir Sea t t l e onven tion
fo rth in your h ea rts and minds a desire to offer your body
a
livi ng sacrifice. Being justified by faith , we pa ss fro m death
unto life. Then the Heavenly Fa th er can recognize us. W hy
doesn't he say, Presen t your will an d presen t your mind?
Your will mu st die: an d your na tu ra l mind God cannot see.
Rom. 8:7 The carnal mind is a t enm ity agai nst God.
Pres ent you r body, a s the new mind mu st have
a
body in which
to develop. There is a difference between the will and th e
mind.
In
9 2
the article in th e W atch Tower reads: The will
governs the mind and the mind actu ate s the body. The will
must die,
bu t th e old mind' will alwa ys remain with you, and
you must reform this.
Illustration: He likened the mind to the members of the
sena te, and the will to the speaker. The new speaker is the
Bible. The Apostle tells us th at th is new will we have taken
m us t perform th is trans form ing work in us. Psychologically
there i s th e begetting and the quickening and the birth. Be
no t conformed to this world, bu t be ye transform ed. Renew-
in g means Making over of you r mind.
The human brain is
capable of very high development. The higher org an s a re
not quite developed, and the lower ones are abnormally de-
veloped. The higher the organ, the gre ate r the control. The
gr ay m at te r is draw n away-that is why we look so happy.
You can only be governed by God's will. The bible is th e
on ly revela'tion of Goci's will in th e world. You m us t br in g
t h a t body more an d more into subjection w ith th e new mind.
All of th e Lord's children find their a ns w er in th e bible. Tha t
is why you love less the former things you loved.
I t i s no t so
hard for you to give up.
You have learned more about c h a ~
acter. You have more love in your heart. Th e whole thin g
bear s upon your transforming, renewing your mind. Tha t is
wh at you have got this body for. I t is lef t us here to de-
velop th is new mind in. The Lord ha s permitted us to st ay
here so th a t we can develop the new mind. When th is new
mind is fu ll y developed you ge t your bodies. Trans forme d is
the sam e Greek word th a t we ge t ou r English word Meta-
morphose from a s used in the case of caterpi llars being
transformed into butterflies.
used to go out and gather
these old caterpillars, pu t them in a gla ss jar and watch them
gra du ally change into butterflies, the new creature. Th is but-
terfly is developing, bu t you cann ot see th e wings yet. TVe
ar e developing the higher organs of the brain. I t is neces-
sary that we learn to be more loving, kind, gentle and sympa-
thet ic. You never can sym path ize with people unless you
su ffe r the same way. Before
got present truth . did not
know what headache was in my life, b ut since have studied
have got several headaches. The Lord does not wan t us to
have all su fferin g and no joy. The Lord gives us some suf-
fe ri ng an d then some joyful experiences. We are changed
from g lory into glory. If we got all the glory, we fe ar we
would die. The more glimpses of glory you get, the more
tr ia ls you get , a s the Lord wants to perfect you, and he h as
made th e way hard for you. He h as made the way so hard
th at a s many a s get the prize will have shown determina-
tion to win it. If you have offered yourself in consecration
to th e Lord and then you keep looking steadfa stly a t the
2
Souvenir Seattle onvent on
prize which is so wonderful, you w ill become determined t o
get it . I t is a l i felong work, but if we are going to shar e
with the Lord, we m us t be changed. There is a grea t work
fo r us to do. The old man of the flesh requ ires a lot of effort
to pu t aside the old thoughts. I have found out th at
I
have
a wicked old goa t to deal with. We have go t al l we can do t o
deal with the portion th at dwells under our hat. Th is is what
i t means to trans form from the old condition to the new. You
hav e a couple of photographs. The A

1916 souvenir notes - bible students' conventions

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