battlefield of singapore on our headquarter
TRANSCRIPT
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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."
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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
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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.
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THE FAMILY FIRESIDE
Conducted by Nora Machlan Buckman
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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
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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
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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.