Vol. 36 �
December, 1949 �
No. 12 • 
Keep the Message on the Air! 
By H. M. S. Richards 
See we now prophetic wonders 
Fast unroll before our eyes. 
Streamlined marvels skim the oceans, 
Speed the earth, and race the skies. 
Knowledge everywhere increases— 
Multitudes run to and fro; 
Science probes from sun to atom, 
With a restless urge to KNOW. 
Statesmen plan and plead and tremble— 
Nations vanish in a day! 
War and change and crime and rumor, 
News from near and far away. 
Faded now the dream of progress 
From the far-gone days of peace— 
Electronic science hastens 
As atomic fears increase. 
Men now whisper o'er the mountains, 
Sing and laugh across the seas; 
Speak like thunder to the millions 
From the far Antipodes. 
Microphones and tubes and fuses— 
Radio's slim fingers touch 
Into life and power and passion, 
And the wise will use it much. 
Use it much, because the business 
Of our King requireth haste! 
Onward with the speed of lightning 
Not an hour have we to waste! 
Tongues of flame on waves of ether 
Send the gospel everywhere. 
Cometh soon the joy and triumph— 
KEEP THE MESSAGE ON THE AIR! 
2 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
Facing the World's Crisis 
The present world situation is without 
precedent in the history of the human race. 
Men are groping about in a fog of un-
certainty, stunned as they see the inter-
national situation deteriorating rapidly 'and 
nations everywhere planning for and ex-
pecting another world war. After two 
world cataclysms with the terrible memories 
of the tramp of marching men on their 
way to distant shores where millions laid 
down their lives for a cause that has utterly 
failed to bring the expected peace, still 
men plan greater armies, more deadly 
weapons, and more destructive bombs in 
their silent determination to win world 
power and dominion for their political 
cult or way of life. 
As a result, there is hanging over the 
world today a pall of smoke, obscuring the 
light of hope, and arousing a fear in the 
hearts of men that the very structure of 
our civilization is tottering and doomed 
should war come again. Nobody among the 
statesmen knows what will be the outcome. 
The peoples of the world are gripped with 
an intense fear as they contemplate the 
unthinkable results of a world war with 
atom bombs and super flying fortresses 
that can carry death and untold destruction 
to every corner of the globe. There can be 
no neutrality or safe areas in the next 
world war. 
If the present international situation 
cannot somehow be changed and the nations 
get together with a desire for, and a de-
termination to obtain, a lasting peace, then 
there can be but one result: there will 
again be heard the call to arms; men will 
again march forth to engage in the most 
destructive war of all time; great cities will 
be laid in the dust by single bombs with 
such power to devastate as men have never 
dreamed of. Hiroshima will be but a 
shadow of the mass destructive power of 
bombs now held in reserve for the coming 
conflict. 
Can civilization survive another world 
war? Will our liberties be preserved or 
possibly lost in an all-out conflict between 
world-contending forces that are now draw-
ing up their lines and sparring for power 
in every corner' of the globe? Thinking 
men everywhere realize that the civilization 
and the freedom we have known cannot 
and will not survive another world cata-
clysm. It will not be alone a war between 
nations. It will be a world conflict between 
ideologies in which the proponents on the 
one side expect and are planning for a 
world revolution into which every nation 
will be thrust by sinister forces within as 
soon as open hostilities break out. Even the 
democratic free nations of earth will thus 
be thrown into internal turmoil and eco-
nomic chaos by these enemies within their 
borders which even now are allied with 
the opponents of freedom and democracy. 
As we contemplate the present world 
situation, we ask, What can its meaning be 
to Seventh-day Adventists? Surely these 
days of uncertainty and universal fear 
carry a message pregnant with meaning to 
God's people as we see all around us the 
fast-fulfilling signs of the times that de-
clare with trumpet tones that the coming of 
the Lord is near. 
We can test assured that the Lord, from 
the distant past, has seen our time and 
given repeated warnings through the proph-
ets of these days. Through these messages 
He is calling His people to "blow the 
trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in 
My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants 
of the land tremble: for the day of the 
Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." 
Joel 2:1. 
These days and present world condi-
tions have been described accurately in both 
the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy. We 
are not in darkness concerning these times. 
Neither should the spirit of fear possess 
us. But rather we should have a spirit of 
confidence and consecration, searching our 
hearts diligently that we may face the time 
of trouble ahead with pure hearts and clean 
hands. Putting our trust in the Lord we 
should move forward to accomplish this 
assigned task of warning the world that 
"the great day of the Lord is near, it is 
near, and hasteth greatly," and only those 
who heed the counsel to "seek ye the 
Lord, . . . seek righteousness, seek meek-
ness, . . shall be hid in the day of the 
Lord's anger." Zephaniah 1:14; 2:3. 
Training of Local Church 
Leaders 
GEORGE E. VANDEMAN 
It will be a great source of satisfaction to 
our church officers and laymen to know 
that the Bible teachers and administrators 
in each of our junior and senior colleges are 
attempting in every practical way to de-
velop well-trained and informed church 
officers in the young men and the young 
women who are privileged to attend these 
institutions. Every young person, as well as 
older believer, is called to Christian service. 
A few of these give evidence that the Lord 
is setting them aside to give their full time 
and talents to the gospel ministry, whether 
it be in preaching, teaching, colporteur 
work, the medical ministry, or in some 
other phase of the organized activity. This 
does not indicate, however, that there is not 
a large place for service in the church for 
the many men and women who are privi-
leged to attend our schools. We believe that 
these institutions should be training centers 
to build the principles of true Christian 
experience and strong mental worth into 
the lives of prospective church officers. 
Our increasing membership and ever-
expanding work brings equally increasing 
demands upon the leadership of the local 
church. We believe that such responsibility 
demands study and preparation to meet the 
many complex problems that arise when a 
group of people fellowship together in a 
church organization. In the colleges then are 
pastoral training classes, Bible survey clas-
ses, and Bible doctrines classes in which 
the principles of church organization are 
instilled in the lives of our young people. 
Speech and English classes tend to develop 
a well-rounded public personality, the arts 
o public address, and the ability to lead 
en and women, as well as the many gen-
eral background courses which give valu-
able support for whatever lifework a man 
may choose. 
The Church Manual is carefully stud-
ied in advanced ministerial training classes, 
and problems of church procedure and 
church discipline are discussed so as to 
give the student a practical background in 
meeting these problems. 
On the Sabbath day plans are laid to 
utilize the young people in practical church 
help. The Sabbath school and young people's 
society in the college organization are usu-
ally manned by the young people in school, 
but in addition to the home base Sabbath 
school, plans are laid for active participa-
tion in the church work of many near-by 
churches. I am thinking of one particular 
college where twenty-eight churches are 
served either weekly, bi-monthly, or 
monthly, as the local church desires. In this 
(Please turn to page 36) 
Vol. 36, No. 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
3 
Private Institutions Can 
Contribute to the Cause" 
BY F. D. NicHOL 
As I look at you folk this morning I 
am reminded of an incident in the life of 
Joseph Bates. During the great advent 
awakening, he and a companion were 
traveling on the eastern shore of Maryland. 
A man came rushing up all out of breath 
and accosted them with this question: "Are 
you the Millerite preachers?" When they 
answered, "Yes," he pantingly blurted out, 
"You look just like other people." He had 
expected to see some strange, weird-looking 
creatures, because so many wild stories had 
been told about these Millerites. 
This is the first time I have ever had a 
look at the whole group of those who are 
leading out in self-supporting institutions, 
and I must say you look just like the rest 
of us. 
I like to think that everyone who names 
the name of Seventh-day Adventist, and 
who loves his God in sincerity, can make 
a contribution to the cause of God. And 
the more definitely our endeavors are organ-
ized, whether as individuals or as groups, 
the more real that service can be. I remem-
ber something that I read one time about 
the Roman Catholic Church. It said that 
part of the sagacity and astuteness of the 
Roman Catholic Church, part of the reason 
for its power, expansion, and vitality, is 
found in the fact that it always has room 
somewhere within the broad circle of its 
organization for everybody, no matter how 
diverse the ideas, personalities, or concep-
tions of how to advance the cause of the 
Church. There are endless orders within the 
Catholic Church, some of them having very 
few members, and some of them having a 
great many members. Somehow it is large 
enough and supple enough to incorporate 
all of them and all of their diverse energies, 
provided always they give their allegiance 
to the head of the Church who lives in 
Rome. 
Now we can think of this advent move-
ment in a similar way. To the degree that 
it is able to find a place within the move-
ment for all those who loyally seek, in one 
way or another, to advance the cause, to 
that extent the movement will be strong 
*Talk at the annual meeting of the As-
sociation of Self-Supporting Institutions, 
Takoma Park, D. C. 
and will grow and never lack for vitality. 
I have often thought that one of the 
reasons why God made the universe very 
large is to give a lot of elbow room for 
great individualists. I have never believed 
that the Lord intended us all to be cut on 
one pattern. I think it would be bad, very 
bad. I am glad that the United States is 
large and that there is room here for all 
of us. There are only about 223,000 Advent-
ists in these vast United States. God help 
us if we think we have compassed every-
thing and that there is no more room for 
people to expand and to spread out on 
every side. 
You are on your own. I think it is a 
fine thing to be so at times. I have been 
within the organization all my life, and, 
God willing, I hope to dedicate the remain-
ing years of my life to working within that 
very definite circle. But I say there is a 
place for people to be on their own, in 
the proper sense of that word. And yet 
there is always that balance to be main-
tained between being on one's own and 
being independent. And the finding of that 
beautiful balance, it seems to me, is one 
of the prime reasons for the coming to-
gether of such a group as this. As I see 
it, the creation of an association is the 
crystallizing of a consciousness on the 
part of a group of individualists—I use 
the term in the healthy, right sense of the 
word—that there is something to be 
gained by co-ordinated endeavor, by a 
thinking together, a working together, a 
tying in of effort with what we generally 
describe as the organized work If we can 
have a unity in diversity, then I think we 
!Please turn to page 35) 
The Challenge and 
the Answer 
[In this column each month we will pre-
sent valuable quotations or interesting facts 
that our pastors, church elders, and lay 
workers will find useful in their sermons 
or talks. Clip them out for your notebook.' 
Why Gamble? 
Why gamble in a cheap way when you 
can gamble in noble souls? Race-track stuff 
is childish and petty; the world waits for 
men who still will hazard their lives, day 
by day or in early death, for the sake of 
Christ. You have seen the colored squares 
on the counter of a game of chance in a 
county fair. The world is your counter. 
Your soul is the coin. What shall a man 
give in exchange for his soul? Now, on 
what color—Pilate or Jesus? You say that 
you have tried it and have learned that the 
Christian life does not pay off? It depends on 
what is meant by "pay off." You will have 
zest that no other venture can give you: 
that is rather better than some money-itch. 
The log of Columbus read, night after 
night: "And this day we sailed on." . . 
"And this day we sailed on." . . "And 
this day we sailed on." There was still 
no sight of land. But you live in America. 
The man who sails by faith in Christ will 
reach his celestial country. Or will he? 
You can prove it only in the venture. 
High religion is "betting your life" there's 
a Christlike God.—George Arthur Buttrick 
in Current Religious Thought, April, 1949. 
Religious Publications Banned 
in Czechoslovakia 
Bratislava, Czechoslovakia—Strict control 
over the publication of religious and 
theological works is being exercised by 
the communist-dominated government of 
Czechoslovakia. It is rumored here that 
soon only books related to the order of 
worship for church services will be allowed 
to be published. Even catechisms and Sun-
day-school materials will be forbidden. 
A committee, one member of which 
must be from the security police, has been 
established to pass upon all works intended 
for publication by Church publishing 
houses. This committee is also re-examining 
books previously published, and those con-
sidered "undesirable" are being destroyed. 
(Please turn to page 36) 
4 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
[In this column, from month to month, 
we will present studies that will form sug-
gestions for prayer-meeting talks.] 
The Christian and His Bible 
BY LOUISE C. KLEUSER 
"The Bible is our rule of faith and 
doctrine. There is nothing more calculated 
to energize the mind and strengthen the 
intellect than the study of the Word of 
God. No other book is so potent to elevate 
the thoughts or give vigor to the faculties, 
as the broad, ennobling truths of the Bible. 
If God's Word were studied as it should be, 
men would have a breadth of mind, a 
nobility of character, and a stability of 
purpose that are rarely seen in these times." 
-Gospel Workers, p. 249. 
THE BIBLE IN THE DAILY LIFE. Educa-
tion, pp. 124, 125; Great Controversy, 
pp. 593, 594. 
I. Kept through His Word. Psalm 119: 
9-11; Education, p. 190. 
2. Plan of the ages revealed in Bible. 
Isaiah 46:9, 10. 
3. Learning life of surrender from Bible. 
Romans 12:9-21; Patriarchs and 
Prophets, p. 460. 
4. Word must convert daily. Psalm 119: 
30, 32; Education, p. 172. 
5. Its promises our comfort. 2 Peter 1:4; 
1 Peter 4:12-14; Education, p. 126. 
6. How to study God's Word: 
a. Study daily. Acts 17:11. 
b. Prayer and Bible study. Psalm 119: 
18; Desire of Ages, p. 390. 
c. Search diligently. Isaiah 34:16; 
Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 157. 
d. Witness for Bible truth. Acts 5:32, 
42; Isaiah 43:10; Testimonies, 
Vol. 5, p. 706. 
PERFECTION AND REWARD. 
1. Bible purifies the life. Psalm 119:9. 
2. God's truth sanctifies. John 17:17. 
3. Challenges obedience to the Word. 
1 Peter 1:22. 
4. Living its precepts brings reward. 
Psalm 19:11; Joshua 1:8. 
Building Faith for 
Overcoming 
BY LOUISE C. KLEUSER 
POWER TO OVERCOME PROVIDED. 
Steps to Christ, p. 21, pocket edition. 
1. "I can ... through Christ." Philippians 
4:13. 
2. I cannot overcome without Christ. 
John 15:5. 
3. "All power is given unto Me in 
heaven and in earth." Matthew 28:18. 
4. No temptation is too great. 1 Co-
rinthians 10:13. 
STEPS TOWARD VICTORY. Steps to 
Christ, pp. 49-51. 
1. Claim victory by faith. 1 John 5:4. 
2. Pray earnestly for help and confess 
sin. John 16:23; James 5:16. 
3. Flee from evil habit. 1 Corinthians 
10:14. 
4. Plant a good habit for every evil one. 
Romans 12:21. 
5. Fix eyes on Jesus. Hebrews 12:1, 2. 
6. Resist "unto blood." Hebrews 12:4. 
7. Cause devil to flee. James 4:7, 8. 
8. "Whom resist stedfast in the faith." 
1 Peter 5:9. 
GOD'S SPECIAL HELP FOR OVER-
COMING. 
1. The conscience will be quickened. 
Steps to Christ, p. 24. 
2. Get a vision of Calvary. Steps to 
Christ, p. 31. 
3. "He will . . . work in you." Steps to 
Christ, pp. 47, 48. 
4. -"God supplies the fact." Steps to 
Christ, p. 51. 
5. Ministering angels are present. Steps 
to Christ, p. 53. 
6. His tender pleading entreats the sin-
ner. Steps to Christ, p. 54. 
7. His power is granted. Steps to Christ, 
p. 93. 
8. He draws near with mercy and for-
giveness. Steps to Christ, p. 55. 
9. Satan cannot overcome us. Steps to 
Christ, p. 99. 
Mother Put It Off 
"Mother," began dad, straightening up 
from tying his shoestrings, "don't you think 
we ought to invite our new neighbors down-
stairs to go to church with us?" 
Mother gathered up her comb and pins, 
and shrank within herself. 
"We hardly know them," she protested in 
a small voice. "Can't we wait and ask them 
some other time?" 
So dad dropped the subject, and went to 
the hall closet for his top coat. 
"Ready?" he called to the two children, 
dressing in their rooms. "I'll go down and 
get the car out." 
He passed Mrs. Lane in the lower hall, 
tipped his hat, and smiled politely. 
Every week he patiently suggested that 
they include the Lanes as they went to 
church, until finally mother was ashamed 
and gave her consent. 
"We'd like to have you go to church 
with us," she invited, right after breakfast. 
"I'm sorry," returned Mrs. Lane. "1 have 
been waiting for you to ask me ever since 
you moved upstairs, but now you see it is 
impossible." She stepped back and gestured 
toward the packing boxes set against the 
wall. "We are getting ready to move away, 
so it is too late." 
-EDNA ATKIN PEPPER. 
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EDITOR �
 
MANAGING EDITOR 
Associate Editors 
Theodore L. Oswald 
E. E. Roenfelt 
Assistant Editors 
Grace Fields 
Arabella Moore Williams 
PUBLISHED monthly by the SOUTHERN PUBLISH-
ING ASSOCIATION, 2119 Twenty-Fourth Avenue, 
North, Nashville 8, Tennessee. Entered as second-
class matter March 26, 1948, at the post office 
in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A., under Act of 
Congress of March 3, 1879. 
ARE YOU MOVING? 
You should notify us in advance of any change 
of address, as the post office will not forward your 
papers to you even if you leave a forwarding ad-
dress. Your compliance in this matter will save 
delay and expense. 
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JAMES 1. ROBISON 
STANLEY C. HARRIS 
Eldine W. Dunbar 
G. M. Mathews 
Marjorie W. Marsh 
Mary L. Scott 
Vol. 36, No 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE 
NOTES TO OFFICERS 
What's Coming in January? 
SENIOR TOPICS 
Build Your Society. 
The Scriptures a Safeguard. 
Is There Oil in Your Lamp? 
Twentieth Century Reverence. 
JUNIOR TOPICS 
1950 Take-off. 
Let's Tune In, 
Oil in Your Lamp. 
Walk Softly. 
1949 M.V. Officers— 
Prepare for New Year 
Take inventory. 
Seek to complete all unfinished business 
and projects. 
Give your successor all information re-
garding any unfinished work. 
Complete records and reports. 
File records and reports to the society, 
send to the conference M.V. secretary those 
which belong to him, and give to any 
other person those which belong to him. 
Prepare the society for the new year. 
Assure the incoming officers of your 
hearty co-operation--and then co-operate! 
Give of your inspiration and experience 
through the regular membership duties in 
the society, in missionary bands, and other 
avenues of service. 
Read again the Bible story of Elijah 
and Elisha. 
With God at Dawn 
With God at Dawn is the theme of the 
new 1950 MORNING WATCH booklet and 
the accompanying book of quotations from 
the Spirit of prophecy prepared by Mrs. 
E. W. Dunbar. We feel that the daily 
morning meditations which have been 
chosen for this year will be especially 
helpful. Have you laid plans— 
To give the MORNING WATCH booklet 
to your society members? 
To distribute it by Sunshine Bands? 
To distribute it by Prayer and Personal 
Workers' Bands? And SYF Bands? 
To supply hospital and waiting rooms? 
To place it in hotels beside the Gideon 
Bible? 
To suggest its use to Sunday-school 
superintendents for their members? 
To mention it to leaders of other youth 
organizations? 
To urge your members to use • it as a 
holiday greeting card? 
The commentary, With God at Dawn, 
will also prove an excellent holiday gift 
suggestion, as well as a "must" for your 
own personal devotion enrichment. 
Your Holiday Gift List 
This year we suggest that you urge your 
M.V. Society members to give Missionary 
Volunteer gifts this holiday season. Why 
not remember that brother, sister, cousin, 
friend with one of the following M.V. 
Reading Course books—or even with a 
whole course? 
SENIOR COURSE: 
Sky Pilot of the North, by Fern Royer 
Owens. 
Ann of Ava, by Ethel Daniels Hubbard. 
Through My Binoculars, by 0. C. Dur- 
ham. 
Christ's Last Legion, by Arthur W. 
Spalding. 
Days of Destiny, by J. A. McMillan. 
JUNIOR COURSE: 
Tommy Goes to Africa, by Oliver and 
Fredonia Jacques. 
The Mountain Buck, by Mabel E. Cason. 
The Mighty Prince, Bible Pageant Series, 
by M. L. Neff. 
Really Truly Stories, Book IV, by Gwen-
dolen Hayden. 
PRIMARY COURSE: 
Raja, by Elsie Lewis Rawson. 
Tarnish, by Osa Johnson. 
Gay, The Shetland Sheepdog, by Margaret 
S. Johnson. 
The Children's Hour, Book V, by Arthur 
S. Maxwell. 
As YOU GO ON YOUR WAY 
Your life must touch a million lives in 
some way ere you go 
From this old world of struggle to the lands 
you do not know. 
So this the wish we'll always wish, the 
prayer we'll always pray: 
Let your life help the other lives it touches 
by the way. 
—AUTHOR UNKNOWN. 
Leadership Hints 
PRAYING LEADERS 
For a Missionary Volunteer leader to 
have the strength of purpose and the tone 
of leadership in his life which will win 
souls and influence young men and young 
women heavenward, it is necessary that 
he find his strength where Jesus did. He 
should be able to go apart from the multi-
tude and come back refreshed after having 
drunk deeply at the fountain of spiritual 
strength. It is necessary, too, that the wise 
Missionary Volunteer leader plan special 
seasons of prayer for the officers of the 
society. Following are a few hints for a 
successful officers' prayer band: 
1. Meetings should be held regularly and 
not too far apart. 
2. Choose a place where there will be 
no disrupting elements from outside. Quiet-
ness is necessary when we unite to seek an 
audience with our heavenly Father. 
3. Avoid formalism. Prayer bands always 
present this difficulty. 
4. Remember that the minutes fly and 
the prayer-band time is brief. 
5. Know what you are going to say and 
say it; then stop. Don't preach. 
6. Give the members of the band, your 
fellow officers, an opportunity to present 
their problems and burdens. 
7. Encourage everyone to take part in 
prayer and in the discussion. 
8. Encourage each to make a prayer list 
of his own, not too long, and to work for, 
and pray with, the individuals. 
9. Get all to pledge themselves under 
God to get in touch with the unconverted 
young people and to win them for Christ. 
10. The aim should be to make possible 
in the heart of every officer an intense 
passion and an earnest zeal for the winning 
of souls. 
Where the Old Man Used 
to Kneel 
I heard a story of two young men who were 
very wicked; yet their father was an earnest, 
consecrated Christian. He held family prayers 
every night, kneeling down by a little table 
that stood in a corner by the hearthstone; but 
the two young men did not care to bow with 
their father at that little old table. Finally the 
father died. He had prayed for his sons many 
times, and sometimes with tears in his eyes 
he had talked with them about their Saviour, 
but they did not care to hear him. 
Time went on, and in afteryears they de-
cided, as they had gained in property, to re-
move the old house and build a larger one. 
They were both carpenters; so they undertook 
the job themselves. They took off the roof 
and the sides of the house. Then they began 
taking up the floor, plank by plank. When 
they got near the old hearthstone, one of them 
6 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
stopped and looked at his brother. "Here's 
where father used to kneel and pray; there's 
where the little table stood, and the Bible was 
always on it," he said. 
"Yes," his brother responded; "it seems to 
me that I can see the print of father's knees 
on that old plank now!" 
"I can't take up that plank; you take it up." 
"No, I can't; I wish you would." 
They looked into each other's eyes. The 
voice of their father seemed to speak to them, 
and the Spirit of God vitalized the voice, and 
right there where the old man had prayed a 
thousand times, the boys prayed that day, and 
asked the old, old question, "What must I 
do to be saved?" And the Spirit of God came 
down and revealed Jesus to their hearts; and 
before that plank was ever taken up, they 
gave their hearts to God.—Selected. 
—SYF— 
WHILE .TRAVELING: 
While you are traveling on pleasure or 
for business, carry tracts with you. Leave 
them in your hotel room or tourist camp. 
The next traveler following you may be 
attracted to our colorful tracts and may be-
come deeply interested in Bible truth. 
LOANING BOOKS: 
To safeguard the gospel seed that may 
become lost in infertile places, such as 
dusty shelves and dark corners, and not 
returned to you or passed on to others, 
some societies are furnishing printed 
gummed labels to be used in Crisis books 
before they are loaned to friends or neigh-
bors. The following is imprinted on these 
gummed labels: �
• 
The purpose of lending this book 
is to stimulate a greater interest in the 
study of the Bible, to arouse a keener 
desire to know the will of God as re-
vealed in His Word, and to encourage 
the reader to prepare for the soon com-
ing of Jesus. When you have finished 
reading it, please return to: 
Name �
 
Address �
 
This simple device impresses the readers 
with the necessity of finishing the book 
within a few weeks, and also encourages 
the return of the book. 
STORY HOUR: 
In the Middle West, fifty gospel teams, 
intent on starting a children's story hour, 
recently visited the homes in a certain 
neighborhood. This survey, using appealing 
literature, resulted in the establishment of 
the Story Hour with one hundred boys and 
girls eager to attend the first Sunday after-
noon feature. 
A guide, as he was conducting his party 
under Niagara Falls, explained, "We've 
never lost a man, but we'd have lost many 
if we had not followed the custom of join-
ing hands." 
(Please turn to page 13) 
December 3 
WHAT IT TAKES TO 
MAKE AN S.D.A. 
BY GEORGE K VANDEMAN 
ORDER OF SERVICE 
DEVOTIONS AND FEATURES 
SONG: "For the Beauty of the Earth," No. 
22 in Church Hymnal. 
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 12. 
PRAYER. 
SYF REPORTS. 
SECRETARY'S REPORT. 
OFFERTORY. 
DISCUSSION 
What It Takes to Make an S.D.A. 
INTRODUCTION, by leader. 
SYMPOSIUM: 
"The Commandments of 
God." 
TALK: "The Spirit of Prophecy." 
CONCLUSION. 
CLOSING 
DISCUSSION OF FUTURE SYF PLANS. 
SONG: "My Maker and My King," No. 71. 
BENEDICTION. 
Introduction 
In last month's Share-Your-Faith pro-
gram we discussed how to lead a friend 
to Christ. Just imagine how miserable an 
individual would be with only an under-
standing of our doctrines and without a 
living relationship with the Lord Jesus 
Christ. If he does not have within him the 
confidence to know that his sins are for-
given and that Jesus loves him beyond all 
telling, how much good will the doctrines 
do him? There is a saving power in the 
truth we love, but we all recognize that 
outward form will not stand the test of 
the judgment. From the bottom of the 
heart a man should first of all say this: 
"I felt His love, 
The strongest love that mortal 
ever felt. 
Oh, how it drew my soul above 
And made my hard heart melt. 
My burden at His feet I laid, 
And knew the joy of heaven, 
As in my willing ear He said 
That blessed word, 'Forgiven.' - 
Is there anything more wonderful in all 
the world than the comfort and satis-
faction of knowing that your sins are for-
given and that Christ is an ever-present 
friend? After this stage is reached you can 
safely proceed in leading a soul to Christ 
and into the church. 
What It Takes to Make 
an S.D.A. 
Why do we call ourselves Seventh-day 
Adventists? Why not Christian, Church of 
God, Presbyterian, or Methodist? All these 
are great names, and behind them has been 
a glorious history. In spite of the fact that 
today in the popular churches we find a 
letting down of the standards and a compro-
mise with the world, no one should be 
ashamed of the title "Methodist." God 
blessed in a mighty revival under that 
name during its early days. The Wesleys 
were so methodical in their devotion and 
missionary work that they were derisively 
called "Methodists." 
In spite of the fact that many good people 
call themselves "Christians," or "Church of 
God," we believe these to be the family 
names for all God's children. Our loyal 
pioneers wisely thought that we ought to 
choose a name that was significant of the 
great doctrines we hold. 
We sometimes feel like the little boy 
who, when asked what denomination he 
belonged to, said, "I don't want to be boast-
ful, sir, but I am a Seventh-day Adventist." 
Mingled feelings of pride and true humility 
surge through our hearts when we think 
of the message we bear, and every true 
possessor of it ought to know how to share 
that message intelligently. To be a Seventh-
day Adventist is to be different from the 
majority of people, and these days one 
needs to have a mighty good reason for 
being different. Every young person is 
called to share his faith in the simple, 
ordinary ways that meet all of us daily. 
However, this week we want to discover 
how rewarding it is and what a thrill we 
receive when we do the complete job of 
introducing friends to the full message. 
There is one Bible verse which contains 
a wealth of meaning, and without which 
we would have no reason to exist as a 
people. Revelation 12 describes the true 
church from John's day down to ours, and 
in the last verse he gives us a blueprint of 
what the true church will be like in the 
last days. Since we are all convinced that 
we are living in the last days, we ought then 
to be able to discover these earmarks among 
our people or else be forced to the conclu-
sion that this is not the true church. (Read 
Revelation 12:17.) 
On the surface this verse appears difficult 
to understand, but when we remember that 
Revelation is a symbolic book, we discover 
five symbols in this verse which need to be 
interpreted. The dragon, the woman, the 
remnant, the commandments of God, and 
the testimony of Jesus, Breaking it down 
simply, we find the verse reading: And 
Satan (dragon, Revelation 12:9) was 
angry (wroth) with the church (woman, 
Vol. 36, No. 12 
Jeremiah 6:2; Isaiah 51:16) and went to 
make war with the last end (remnant) of 
her seed which keep the commandments of 
God and have the Spirit of prophecy 
(testimony of Jesus, Revelation 19:10). 
It is not difficult to understand the Bible 
when we follow the Scripture plan of un-
locking the meaning of these various terms. 
God clothed His message in symbols to 
protect the truth during the Dark Ages 
when the enemies of God would have de-
stroyed it. But how clear, how simple, how 
easily understood it is when we follow the 
above plan which God Himself has given! 
(Read Isaiah 28:10-13.) In just so many 
words God says that in the last days Satan 
is going to be angry with the people of 
God for two reasons: (1) They are keeping 
all the commandments of God; (2) they 
have something special—the gift of proph-
ecy. It takes these two earmarks to make 
a Seventh-day Adventist. 
The Commandments of God 
There are six commandments that are 
generally disregarded by popular Christians 
today, and it is God's plan that we help 
people to discover what they are and to 
obey them in His strength. Notice as we 
discuss them one by one that God never 
takes anything away from us that is good 
for us. 
In these six commandments we find 
described a way of life which alone can 
bring true happiness. Of course, here we 
get into trouble if the individual with 
whom we are working has not been truly 
converted, as discussed in last month's pro-
gram. But when the heart has been made 
new again, it is anxious to fit into God's 
plan. Here are the six disregarded com-
mandments in flashlight pictures: 
THE TRUE SABBATH 
There are two hundred ninety-seven 
words in the Ten Commandments. Divide 
it right in half and you will find that the 
very middle word is the word "is"—"The 
seventh day is the Sabbath." God knew 
that we would forget, so as kindly and 
tactfully as He knew how, He placed a 
little sign at the beginning of the command-
ment which guards the sacredness of the 
day. Many times we have seen the word 
"Please" neatly placed on a beautiful lawn. 
The owner need not say more. How much 
more complimentary and effective is such 
a sign than a brisk "Keep Off." Just so, 
God placed at the beginning of the fourth 
commandment the kindly word "Remem-
ber." 
Taking just three simple Bible texts, 
for instance, one has sufficient proof, at 
least to open up the subject, which would 
convince any honest heart that is seeking 
after truth. 
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." 
Revelation 1:10. 
"The Son of man is Lord even of the 
Sabbath day." Matthew 12:8. 
"The seventh day is the Sabbath." Exo-
dus 20:10. 
These three texts simply say that (1) 
God has a day, (2) that day is the Sabbath, 
and (3) the seventh day is the Sabbath. 
Although people have tried to get around 
these texts until they have worked up a 
sweat, we must remember that we are not 
interested in getting around any one of 
the Bible texts, for God has written them. 
Then when we discover that it was the 
Lord Jesus Christ who was the active agent 
in creation (Ephesians 3:9) when He gave 
us the Sabbath, we see that it can be nothing 
more or less than the Christian Sabbath, 
the true Lord's day. 
Back in 1944, during the heart of the 
war years we were riding an Eastern train 
and stepped into the dining car for a bite 
to eat. We did not have as much food in 
those days. The menu could be printed on 
one side of the sheet. But while we were 
waiting for the food to be served, we 
noticed on the back side of the menu 
folder a lovely engraving of the Stars and 
Stripes. Seventh-day Adventists everywhere 
are good citizens of the country in which 
they live, and as an American, my heart 
naturally stirred with enthusiasm for my 
country as I looked at the Stars and Stripes. 
Imagine my surprise when, engraved just 
beneath this picture of the waving flag, 
the following words, "Just a piece of 
cloth," caught my eye. Naturally, I was 
interested to read on, and this is what I 
read: "That is all it is—just a piece of 
cloth. You can count the threads in it, for 
it is no different from any other piece of 
cloth. But then a little breeze comes along 
and it stirs and comes to life and flutters 
and snaps in the wind, all red and white 
and blue. And then you realize that no 
other piece of cloth could be just like it. 
Yes, it is just a piece of cloth until we 
breathe life into it, until we make it stand 
for everything we believe in, and refuse 
to live without it." 
Fellow young people, the Sabbath is 
just an ordinary day, with twenty-four hours 
in it, and it is no different from any other 
day until it stirs and comes to life as the 
symbol of everything we believe in, and 
then refuse to live without it. Unfolded 
in the life of a Christian we immediately 
realize that no other day could be just like 
it. God said it was the sign, or symbol or 
flag, of our loyalty to God (sanctification, 
Ezekiel 20:12). 
TITHING 
Every Bible student fully recognizes that 
in Old Testament times the church was 
supported by tithe. God has blessed people 
who have been faithful in their tithing 
ever since the days of Adam and Eve. 
There is no reason why God's people today 
cannot receive some of the blessing as well. 
In 1 Corinthians 9:13, 14 we find that 
the Old Testament plan of tithing was 
transferred to the New. In fact, the only 
thing Jesus ever commended in the lives 
of the Pharisees was that they paid tithe. 
(Matthew 23:23.) 
Imagine the confusion in our govern-
ment if we should follow the plan of hit-
or-miss free-will offerings to support it. 
Suppose the tax collectors would pass the 
hat and urge the people, on the basis of 
patriotism, to give liberally for the support 
of their country. Just how long would any 
country retain the respect of other countries? 
That country would be bankrupt within a 
week Why then should we think that the 
church of God should be supported without 
a regular plan of systematic giving? God 
has commanded the tithe, and with that 
command He shares unlimited blessings. 
God gave the Sabbath to test us; He gave 
 
tithing so that we can test Him. 
HEALTHFUL LIVING 
Perhaps one of the most sensible features 
of our message is the instruction given for 
the care of our bodies. Did you know that 
more than five million people in North 
America are interested in healthful living 
to the extent of laying harmful things aside, 
and I am very sure that the majority of 
these are not following this plan solely 
through interest in the hereafter. Is it not 
common sense to have good health here and 
now? Any virile young person who wants 
to excell in the job to which he has set 
his hand, will be thrilled with the challenge 
that our message of healthful living pre-
sents. Do not share this beautiful phase of 
our message in a defensive, negative, de-
featist manner. The more we study it, the 
more consistently we live it, the more 
sensible and sane it becomes. (1 Corin-
thians 10:31; 3:16, 17; 3 John 2.) 
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
7 
8 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
APPROPRIATE APPAREL 
Living as we are in a world of rebellion 
against God and increasing sin and utter 
abandon in the ways of self-indulgence 
and vanity and pride, some of the require-
ments of God may at first appear rather 
peculiar. Carefully studying the Bible ref-
erences regarding this phase of our message, 
and understanding fully the origin of many 
of the practices of today, any clear-minded 
young person can see where we are headed 
and the influence of certain trends which 
eventually will cause a black-out in his 
experience. 
When we cite such verses as 1 Peter 
3:1-5, 1 Timothy 2:9, and Jeremiah 4:30, 
the thought immediately arises, But haven't 
times changed? Yes, times have changed, 
but these verses have not changed; human 
nature has not changed; and God has not 
changed. The Lord still recognizes that 
this one element of pride is the dangerous 
element that he wishes to remove before 
His return. No matter how much God loves 
us, He simply could not admit us into the 
kingdom with any trace of selfish pride, 
when He expelled one of the archangels 
for the same thing. 
The armies of the nations, in a deter-
mined effort to bring about concerted action 
and self-forgetfulness in the masses, in an 
attempt to reach a desired goal, will put 
every man and woman in a conservative 
uniform. Although God does not require 
a uniform today, we are in the army of 
God, with very serious business to do. 
We are to be the happiest Christians alive, 
yet thoughtful care to keep our attire in 
harmony with our profession will shield 
many of us from dangers we little dream 
lurk in our pathway. 
Again may I say, please do not share 
this phase of our message in a negative, 
defensive way. God desires His people to 
be clean, to be neat, to be appropriately 
yet modestly dressed. 
PROPER RECREATION NEEDED 
One of the most fascinating temptations 
which the enemy of souls has been able 
to exert is to light the lights and play the 
music so sensationally as to actually be a 
trap for Christians. God desires that every 
one of His children have a good time. There 
is an early church legend about the apostle 
John which says that one day while he 
was playfully handling a flock of doves 
and talking to them as he would to human 
friends, a hunter came by and protested 
that one so saintly as the apostle John 
should not be wasting his moments on 
such a useless pastime. John then asked 
the hunter why he carried his bow with 
loosened strings. "That it will retain its 
strength," the hunter replied. 
"Ah, then," replied John, "if a stick 
of wood needs to unbend occasionally to 
retain its usefulness, why then do you 
think it strange that a servant of God 
should sometimes relax to keep fit for 
service?" 
Yes, it is absolutely essential that our 
natures be well rounded and that the ten-
sions be let down in wholesome recreative 
activity, but every one of our Missionary 
Volunteers recognizes full well the danger in 
store from unlimited and carelessly chosen 
amusements. There are problems to meet 
these days which demand much of the 
grace of God. Prayerfully think through 
the following scriptures and we feel sure 
that God will guide in the proper choice 
of outlets. When we see youth who are 
investigating the message lay aside their 
unsafe former activities, we need no further 
proof that God is still working miracles. 
(Isaiah 62:10-12; 1 John 2:14-17; 2 Co-
rinthians 6:15-18; Philippians 4:8; 1 Peter 
2 : 11. ) 
ORDINANCE OP HUMILITY 
And last but not least of these six 
commandments commonly disobeyed is the 
ordinance concerning feet washing. Why 
is it necessary? we ask today. Simply this, 
it is a little baptism. It renews one's 
baptismal vows. Entering upon this service, 
made beautiful by the Spirit behind it, and 
recognizing that it refreshes those bap-
tismal vows, surely no one would absent 
himself on that day. Soul winners find very 
little difficulty in men and women accepting 
this beautiful rite. 
The Spirit of Prophecy 
Program after program might be written 
concerning this special blessing to God's 
people. In leading men and women to a 
clear understanding of what it means to 
become a Seventh-day Adventist, this other 
phase of the twofold requirement in Rev-
elation 12:17 should be made clear. God 
points out that the church waiting for the 
coming of the Lord is to possess this gift. 
The very fact that Jesus repeatedly warned 
us against false prophets in the last days 
is ample indication that there was to be 
a true prophet. 
Have you ever seen a thirteen-dollar 
counterfeit bill? No? Why not? Simply 
because there are no thirteen-dollar genuine 
bills made. People do not take the trouble 
to counterfeit that which is not genuine. 
Just so, there could be no false prophets in 
the last days unless there was a true 
prophet. The life and works of Ellen G. 
White amply testify that God has chosen 
an instrument which will command the 
respect of any mind or any soul in what-
ever climate or continent. 
Some months ago we were looking at 
the giant telescope on Mt. Wilson in Cali-
fornia. As that great lens was focused upon 
the heavens, none of us had any idea that 
its penetrating power would bring any new 
stars into existence. We all knew, however, 
that it would reveal more clearly the ones 
that were already there. Just so, whereas 
the writings of the Spirit of prophecy bring 
no new doctrines into existence, they reveal 
more clearly the ones that are already there. 
We have found nothing more helpful in 
establishing men and women in this won-
derful message than a clear Bible reason 
for believing in the gift of prophecy. And 
as the story of the gift has been unfolded, 
men eagerly grasp the significance of the 
help and counsel and inspiration this gift 
has been to the church. 
Conclusion 
Naturally there are other features aside 
from the commandments of God and the 
Spirit of prophecy. These are the core of 
truth, but men need to understand about 
their, future in life and in death. They need 
to understand the obligations of church 
membership. The denomination has pre-
pared interestingly written and strikingly 
illustrated Bible lessons covering each of 
these truths. Every young person will want 
to thoroughly acquaint himself with the 
reasons for his faith. Then there will be 
no embarrassment, but the satisfaction of 
knowing that you have had some part in 
establishing a friend in the faith that will 
bring true happiness here and an eternally 
happy home in the hereafter. 
May God bless you in this business of 
sharing the most wonderful thing in the . 
whole world—the last warning message to 
those who are in the darkness of error. 
* * * 
December 10 
GOOD BOOKS FOR 
GOOD GIFTS 
BY VILLA HOUGHTON 
ORDER OF SERVICE 
SONG SERVICE. 
SOCIETY FEATURHS. 
SYF BAND REPORTS. 
SCRIPTURE READING. 
OPENING HYMN: "Praise God, From 
Whom All Blessings Flow," No. 683 
in Church Hymnal. 
PRAYER. 
DIALOGUE AND PORTRAYAL OF M.V. 
READING COURSE BOOKS: "Good Books 
for Good Gifts." 
SPECIAL MUSIC: (called for within the 
dialogue). 
OFFERTORY: (within the dialogue). 
CLOSING HYMN: "Praise Him! Praise 
Him!" No. 645. 
BENEDICTION. 
Vol: 36, No. 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
9 
Notes to Leaders 
Since it is nearing the 
holiday season, and books 
are such worth-while gifts 
for our families and friends, 
it would be interesting to 
arrange the setting and dec-
orate your platform for this 
program in true holiday fashion. The pro-
gram introduces the 1950 M.V. Reading 
Courses. 
We would suggest that on the left side 
of the platform you set up an evergreen 
tree. Mrs. E. G. White says that an ever-
green tree placed in the church is not a 
sin, for it may be made a great blessing. 
Beside the tree, or in front of it, place a 
table with chairs around it. Place boxes and 
cans of food and fruit on the table; and on 
the floor near by arrange some small empty 
baskets, Also on the table have the sets of 
new M.V. Reading Course books. The 
complete list of the 1950 M.V.• Reading 
Course books is on page 5. You will want 
to obtain all of these for your M. V. Society 
library. 
Mrs. E. G. White wrote: "While urging 
upon all the duty of first bringing their 
offerings to God, I would not wholly con-
demn the practice of making Christmas 
and New Year's gifts to our friends. It is 
right to bestow upon one another tokens of 
love and remembrance if we do not in 
this forget God, our best Friend. We should 
make our gifts such as will prove a real 
benefit to the receiver. I would recommend 
such books as will be an aid in under-
standing the Word of God, or that will 
increase our love for its precepts. Provide 
something to be read during these long 
winter evenings."—Review and Herald, De-
cember 26, 1882. 
On the right side of the, 
platform make a large,imi-
tation book, about the height 
of a door, with a cover that 
will open and close. If you can 
make several covers, similar 
to the original ones on the 
books, these can all be at-
tached on the large cover so that they can 
be taken off one at a time. This would be 
very good. However, if you cannot make 
these covers, one cover with the words, 
"M.V. Reading Course Books for 1950," 
would be sufficient. 
The idea of the large 
cover that opens and closes 
is that when the family is 
filling boxes and baskets and 
including books in them, 
they will be talking about 
each book, and at that time 
the large imitation book will 
open and some of the characters will walk 
out on the platform and tell interesting 
scenes or experiences from the book. Then 
the characters will go back into the book 
again. If your society is not large enough so 
that several people can take part in produc-
ing portions of each book, one person could 
represent each book and step out between 
the cover and the body of the book and tell 
an interesting event in that book to stimu-
late interest in it. 
The family in our dialogue would consist 
of Mother, Daddy, Gary (a boy about 
twelve), and Barbara (a girl about eight). 
The characters used in telling about the 
books would depend upon what sections 
of the books you use. We have written a 
sample dialogue that could be used. At 
the time the books are being introduced or 
the story portrayed, the family should all 
sit perfectly still as though this is what they 
are thinking and reading in 
the book. 
Be sure to hand out the 
M.V. Reading Course books 
to those who are going to 
participate in telling the 
stories far enough ahead of 
time so that they will be 
able to pick out the interesting scenes they 
would like to describe. 
Good Books for Good Gifts 
SETTING: As described in the "Notes 
to Leaders." 
CHARACTERS: A family—Mother, Daddy, 
and two children (Gary, a boy of twelve; 
and Barbara, a girl of eight); and the 
characters necessary for the interviews or 
portrayals of the experiences from the M.V. 
Reading Course books. 
ACTION: To begin the program, the 
family walk onto the platform and take 
their places around the table, ready to fill 
the baskets. Be sure that no one has his 
back to the audience. They should sit in 
a semicircle facing the audience and each 
other. 
* * * 
DADDY: Well, everything is ready to 
make up the baskets for the poor families 
at the edge of town, and also to get our 
offerings ready to give to Jesus. (They take 
their places around the table and are seated.) 
MOTHER: Jesus has been so good to us. 
Before' we start fixing the baskets, let's 
sing, 'Praise God, From Whom All Bless-
ings Flow." 
CONGREGATION AND FAMILY: (All stand 
and sing the hymn.) 
PRAYER IS OFFERED BY THE FATHER. 
(Then all are seated again,) 
GARY: Whose basket are we going to 
fix first? I think it's so much fun giving 
these good things to poor boys and girls. 
MOTHER: Well, I know of a poor 
family. There is a little boy just about your 
age, Barbara. Shall we fix their basket 
first? 
BARBARA: Oh, yes! Let's do! And I'd 
like to give the little boy this book, too. 
DADDY: Which book is that? (Daddy 
takes the book.) Raja/ Well, let's see what 
it's about. 
(As the family sit quietly looking at the 
book, the large book on the other side of 
the platform opens, and a person or persons 
come out to tell some interesting portions of 
the book. Then they go back in the book 
again, and the conversation continues.) 
MOTHER: That will surely make a nice 
gift for the boy. 
(They finish filling the basket and set 
it aside. Then they pick up another empty 
basket.) 
GARY: Mother, there's a boy who comes 
by here every day selling papers. His daddy 
is too sick to work, and he has some little 
brothers and sisters. I think it would be 
nice to give them a basket. I can find out 
where they live. 
DADDY: Surely, son. We'll fix them a 
basket. You find out tomorrow where they 
live so we can take it to their home. 
GARY: Steve will really be surprised. 
(As they start filling the basket, Gary picks 
up a book.) Here's a book I think Steve 
would like to read. It's The Mountain Buck. 
It's a story about a fawn who was lost in 
a forest, and a boy and girl raise the little 
pet deer. I liked this story a lot. 
BARBARA: Mother, here's another book 
that looks interesting. What is it about? 
MOTHER: Maybe we can put it in this 
basket, too. This one is entitled, Tommy 
Goes to Africa. Let's look at it. 
(This book is then depicted or described 
by folks who come out of the covers of the 
large book.) 
DADDY: One of the young fellows from 
my office was hurt just recently in an 
accident and will be laid up for a while. 
I've been talking with him at noon about 
the Bible. I think this book, Days of 
Destiny, would be an excellent one to give 
him. (Begins wrapping the gift.) It presents 
the Bible truths in such an interesting way. 
MOTHER: The new couple in our church 
are very much interested in foreign missions. 
I think this book, Ann of Ava, would 
appeal to both of them. 
GARY: What mission land is it about, 
Mother? I like mission stories, too. Tell 
us about it. 
(As Mother starts opening the book, the 
large cover opens and a section of the 
book is given.) 
BARBARA: Would you like to hear the 
new record that Daddy brought me today? 
The name of it is �
 (Fill in name 
of special music.) 
MOTHER: Yes, put it on, Barbara. 
GARY: I didn't know you had a new 
record. Let's hear it. 
SPECIAL MUSIC. (As Barbara is pre-
tending to put on ,the record, have those 
giving the special music quietly stand be-
side piano and -sing or play, If you are not 
able to have any special music, an appro-
priate recording of a hymn, could be used.) 
DADDY: Mother and I have names of 
a few families that we got from the Men's 
Missionary Society and the Dorcas. I think 
we had better fill their baskets now. (Looks 
at list.) Here's one family where there are 
two boys—one fourteen, and the other five.. 
MOTHER: I enjoy so much doing things 
for others. You know Jesus always worked 
for others, and when we do the same, it 
makes us happier. 
BARBARA: Oh, let me pick out a book 
this time. 
'v
. 
41 
10 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE 
MOTHER: Yes, you may pick one out; 
and Gary, you may pick out another if 
you wish. 
BARBARA: Here's Uncle Arthur's book! 
Can we put it in, Mother? 
MOTHER: The Children's Hour has 
splendid stories. I wish every boy and girl 
could have that book. 
(For the Junior meeting, tell at least one 
story from this book.) 
GARY: Here's another good book for 
Juniors—one of the Bible Pageant Series. 
DADDY: I think this makes a fine Christ-
mas basket for this family. Let's fix up 
another now. Here's the name of a young 
couple. They have no children, but evidently 
they are in need of food. 
MOTHER: Oh, I must be sure to call 
on them and see if I can do anything else 
for them. Let's put in a couple of books 
for them also. 
BARBARA: What's this book about, Gary? 
GARY: Sky Pilot of the North. Wait till 
I open it and see. 
(Part of this book is then portrayed to 
the audience, or the characters are inter-
viewed as they open the cover of the large 
book and step out.) 
DADDY: It is splendid reading material. 
So inspiring. I think that finishes that 
basket. 
MOTHER: Where is the slip of paper 
with the names? Oh, here it is, Let's see. 
What is the next one? This is the last 
name on our list. My, this is a large family 
—seven children. Better get a big basket 
this time. 
GARY: They will need lots of food and 
lots of books, too. I hope we have enough 
for them all. 
BARBARA: Here's a good story about a 
lion cub named Tarnish. And this is 
another good one, Gay, the Shetland Sheep-
dog. Look at this one, Daddy. Don't you 
think they will like it? 
(As Daddy opens the book, the cover on 
the large book opens and part of the book 
is narrated.) 
DADDY: The older children will enjoy 
reading Arthur W. Spalding's book, Christ's 
Last Legion. Shall we put it in? (The 
other members of the family agree.) 
GARY: And here is one more—Really 
Truly Stories. They wouldn't want to miss 
these. Let me show you this book. 
(The cover to the large book opens and 
the book characters decided upon step out 
and tell their story.) 
DADDY: Now that we have finished 
filling the baskets and giving to others, 
let us show Jesus that, as we remember 
others at this season of the year, we also 
remember Him. And let us show our love 
to Jesus by bringing Him our gifts and 
offerings. (Turning to audience.) Won't 
you join us as we give our offerings at 
this time? 
OFFERTORY. (The ushers receive the 
offering as usual. "Daddy" offers prayer.) 
MOTHER: Let us all sing "Praise Him! 
Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!" 
BENEDICTION BY "DADDY"—the leader 
for the evening. 
* * * 
December 24 
ON KEEPING CHRISTMAS 
BY MARION SEITZ-SIMMONS 
ORDER OF SERVICE 
DEVOTIONS AND FEATURES 
SONG SERVICE OF CHRISTMAS CAROLS. 
OPENING SONG: "0 Come, All Ye Faith- 
ful," No. 105 in Church Hymnal. 
PRAYER. 
DISCUSSION 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE LEADER. 
READING: "Keeping Christmas." 
STORY: "The Carol of the Ages." 
SONG BY CONGREGATION: "Joy to the 
World," No. 189. 
READING: "A Father's Gift to His Son." 
CLOSING 
SONG: "As With Gladness Men of Old," 
No. 112. 
BRINGING OF OFFERINGS AND GIFTS. 
CONSECRATION PRAYER. 
Notes to Leaders 
Several weeks before time for this pro-
gram ask the youth to plan to bring a 
special offering to this meeting. If a tree 
has been provided, let all come forward 
while the special song is being sung and 
place their offering on and about the tree. 
Gifts for the poor and needy may be dis-
tributed the following day. Make announce-
ments and have the secretary's report before 
the singing of the carols at the opening of 
the service. At the close make an appeal 
to the youth to give Christ their hearts. 
Introductory Remarks 
The holiday season, as we often hear it 
called, is here again. I think we can all 
agree with the one who wrote, "I have al- 
December, 1949 
ways thought of Christmas as a good time; 
a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; 
a time when men and women seem to open 
their hearts freely—and so I say, God bless 
it!" There are many practices connected 
with Christmas that we can follow. The 
practice of giving gifts is certainly good 
if the spirit- behind it is one of unselfishness. 
But in all our giving we sometimes forget 
the One we love the best, Jesus Christ. 
We as Seventh-day Adventists know, or 
should know, that at Christmas we are not 
celebrating the birth of Christ. Neither the 
Bible nor history gives us the exact date 
of His birth. Yet why should Christ be 
forgotten as we make our Christmas gifts? 
Let us during this holiday season turn our 
thoughts to Him who is the perfect Gift. 
Keeping Christmas 
"There is a better thing than the ob-
servance of Christmas Day, and that is, 
keeping Christmas. 
"Are you willing to forget what you 
have done for other people, and to re-
member what other people have done for 
you; to ignore what the world owes you, 
and to think what you owe the world; to 
put your rights in the background, and 
your duties in the middle distance, and your 
chances to do a little more than your duty 
in the foreground; to see that your fellow 
men are just as real as you are, and try to 
look behind their faces to their hearts, 
hungry for joy; to own that probably the 
only good reason for your existence is not 
what you are going to get out of life, but 
what you are going to give to life; to close 
your book of complaints against the manage-
ment of the universe, and look around you 
for a place where you can sow a few seeds 
of happiness. . . . Are you willing to do 
these things even for a day? Then you can 
keep Christmas. 
"Are you willing to stoop down and 
consider the needs and the desires of little 
children; to remember the weakness and 
loneliness of people who are growing old; 
to stop asking how much your friends love 
you, and ask yourself whether you love 
them enough; to bear in mind the things 
that other people have to bear in their 
hearts; to try to understand what those Who 
live in the same house with you really 
want, without waiting for them to tell 
you; to trim your lamp so that it will give 
more light and less smoke, and carry it 
in front so that your shadow will fall 
behind you; to make a grave for your ugly 
thoughts and a garden for your kindly 
feelings, with the gate open. . . . Are you 
willing to do these things even for a day? 
Then you can keep Christmas. 
"Are you willing to believe that love 
is the strongest thing in the world—
stronger than hate, stronger than evil, 
stronger than death—and that the blessed 
life which began at Bethlehem nineteen 
hundred years ago is the image and bright- 
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
11 
Vol. 36, No, 12 
ness of the Eternal Love? Then you can 
keep Christmas. 
"And if you keep it for a day, why not 
always? 
"But you can never keep it alone." 
—HENRY VAN DYKE. 
The Carol of the Ages 
The familiar and well-loved carol, "Joy 
to the World," deserves, more than any 
other song of Christmas heritage, to be 
called "the carol of the ages." The beauty 
and strength of its confident music as well 
as the joyous words truly give it universal 
Christmas appeal. 
About eighteen hundred years before 
the birth of Christ, an ancient Hebrew gave 
expression to one of the Liturgical Psalms, 
this Psalm having been used in temple 
worship and ancient religious feasts. 
Seventeen hundred nineteen years after 
the birth of Christ, Isaac Watts, an English 
hymn writer, gave us the words we now 
sing. They are from both the ancient 
Jewish worship and the Christian worship 
of today. 
The music is taken from different parts 
of "The Messiah," written by George Han-
del, a German musician. Many parts of 
both are identical, with the exception that 
they are written in a different key. 
In 1830, an American, Lowell Mason, 
took the phrases from "The Messiah" and 
the joyous words of Isaac Watts and welded 
them together. Thus the carol of the ages 
was almost three thousand years in the 
making and is a carol of four nationalities 
—ancient Hebrew, English, German, and 
American. 
And it is a message for the ages—
"Let earth receive her king." 
"Let every heart prepare Him room." 
"No more let sins and sorrow grow." 
"The Lord is come." 
—From Christmas Ideals, Vol. 4. 
Copyrighted and used by permission, 
Ideals Publishing Co., Milwaukee, Wis. 
A Father's Gift to His Son 
Traveling on a railroad train recently, 
a prosperous businessman said to E. 
Mitchell Hodges, the well-known writer, 
"Would you like to know what I'm going to 
give my boy for Christmas?" 
Hodges said, "Yes," and thought what a 
costly present that father could easily afford 
to give to his boy. The gentleman pulled 
out his purse arid took from it a piece of 
paper which he handed to Hodges. On the 
paper was written: 
"To my dear son: I give you one hour 
of each week day and two hours of my 
Sundays, to be yours, to be used as you 
want them without interference of any 
kind whatsoever." 
Hodges silently reflected: "I wonder how 
that boy will feel and what he will think 
when on Christmas morning he reads that 
slip of paper. If he is just an average boy, 
he will be very much dissatisfied. If he is 
an unusual boy, he will realize that his 
father has given him something that he 
can never repay." 
"Tell me," said Hodges, "how did you 
happen to hit upon the idea of giving 
such an extraordinary present?" 
The gentleman said: "The other day a 
young fellow, whom I had not seen since 
he was a child about my boy's age, came 
into my office to 'make a touch.' His face 
and bearing carried the telltale marks of 
idleness and dissipation. He was simply a 
human derelict. 'Robert!' I exclaimed in 
amazement, 'to see you like this!—and you 
with such a father!'" 
"'Well, I've often heard that dad was a 
fine man,' the boy answered. 'All his friends 
have told me so. I never knew him. He was 
so much occupied with his business and his 
clubs that I only saw him occasionally at 
meals. I never really knew him.'" 
"That made me 'think furiously,' as the 
French say, and believe me, from now on 
I'm going to see to it that my boy has a 
chance to know me." 
December 31 
THE VOICE OF PROPHECY 
OPERATION DOORBELL 
BY D. V. POND 
ORDER OF SERVICE 
SONG: "There Is a Place of Quiet Rest," 
No. 681 in Church Hymnal. 
PRAYER. 
ANNOUNCEMENTS. 
SECRETARY'S REPORT. 
SYF REPORTS. 
SIMULATED VOICE OF PROPHECY BROAD- 
CAST: "The Voice of Prophecy Operation 
Doorbell." 
POEM: "Keep the Message on the Air." 
(See page 1.) 
OFFERING. 
CLOSING SONG: No. 182, " 'Tis Almost 
Time for the Lord to Come." 
BENEDICTION. 
Attention, M.V. Leaders 
The last program of 1949 will give us 
an opportunity to enlarge the listening 
audience of the Voice of Prophecy. This 
agency is greatly blessed of God, and our 
Missionary Volunteers will eagerly enter 
into this plan. 
About November 15 the conference will 
send you the script for the live broadcast of 
January 1, 1950. This is to be used for the 
M.V. Society meeting, with the platform set 
to resemble a broadcasting studio. This is 
the program broadcast nine years ago, Janu-
ary 4, 1942, at the time of the first coast-
to-coast network release. 
It would be most effective if individuals 
who had accepted the truth through the 
Voice of Prophecy or who had completed 
the Bible Correspondence Course could be 
present and interviewed during the program. 
The material printed in the GAZETTE is 
merely to instruct and supplement, and 
should be used with discretion. 
This "Operation Doorbell" is quite fa-
miliar in most sections by now. What an 
impact upon our communities, if, during 
this last Sabbath afternoon of 1949, 15,000 
Missionary Volunteers could ring doorbells 
and make inquiry about the reception of the 
Voice of Prophecy broadcast! Let's enter 
into it. Follow the instruction of the GA-
ZETTE. Have this visiting before the pro-
gram, if possible, so there might be oppor-
tunity to relate experiences. 
The Voice of Prophecy has been most 
wholehearted in supporting our Share-Your-
Faith Youth Congresses, and this is an 
opportunity for all of us to say, "Thank 
you," and join in a world-wide effort that is 
preaching Christ to the millions. 
If the supply of radio logs or enrollment 
cards which has been sent to you is inade-
quate for your needs, please write directly to 
D. V. Pond, The Voice of Prophecy, Box 55, 
Los Angeles 53, California, stating the 
number of additional pieces of materials you 
desire. �
—EDITOR. 
Notes 
Sunday, January 1, 1950, will be a mo-
mentous day for the Voice of Prophecy be-
cause it will mark the beginning of its ninth 
year of national broadcasting. 
On January 4, the first Sunday in 1942, 
one month after Pearl Harbor, the Voice of 
Prophecy opened its first national broadcast 
with the greeting, "Hello, America!" The 
messages following that greeting have never 
ceased going out over the air waves every 
Sunday. But today it is not, "Hello, Amer-
ica)", but, "Hello, World!" 
The stability and rapid growth of the 
Voice of Prophecy during the few short 
years since 1942, reaching out to all conti-
nents of earth, have been a marvel to many. 
Its program is now being heard every Sun-
day on two great networks, the Mutual 
Broadcasting System and the American 
Broadcasting Company. It is carried on 
nearly 700 stations, some of them among 
the most powerful in the world, such as 
Radio Luxembourg's powerful 200,000-watt 
station which covers all Europe and Western 
Asia, and Monte Carlo's 125,000-watt sta-
tion Ivhich benefits all Southern Europe. 
The Plan 
One of the greatest concerted actions ever 
made by the united Missionary Volunteer 
Societies of North America is planned for 
the last week end of 1949. The Voice of 
Prophecy is suggesting that each M.V. So-
ciety produce a simulated broadcast of a 
regular Sunday-morning program of the 
Voice of Prophecy, as nearly like the 
original as possible, this program to be 
"broadcast" during the M.V. meeting on the 
last week end of 1949. 
12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
The complete radio pro-
gram continuity is being 
mailed to your local con-
ference office from the 
Voice of Prophecy, and 
will, in turn, be mailed 
to each local society by 
your conference M.V. De-
partment. This continuity 
is identical to the one that Elder H. M. S. 
Richards, Voice of Prophecy speaker, and 
the radio group will actually use on Sun-
day morning, January 1, 1950, in broad-
casting over the two great networks, the 
Mutual System and the American Broad-
casting Company. And this is the very 
program that was given on the original 
coast-to-coast broadcast on its first Sunday, 
January 4, 1942. 
Then, regardless of whether your M.V. 
program is conducted on Friday night or 
Sabbath afternoon, the Voice of Prophecy 
heartily recommends that "Operation Door-
bell" be put into effect by your society, 
inviting the adults to take part along with 
the youth. 
HERE IS "OPERATION DOORBELL"— 
* Any number of teams of two persons go 
to the doors of homes in territory assigned 
to them by the M.V. leader or M. V. exec-
utive committee. 
* The very first remark could be the ques-
tion, "Do you listen to the Voice of 
Prophecy radio program on Sundays over 
station �
?" (Give the local station 
call letters.) 
* Whatever the answer, the interview may 
be continued by stating that your call has 
been made in the interest of the inter-
nationally known Voice of Prophecy 
radio program. As the majority of people 
have heard our program at one time or 
another, it is easy to break the ice by 
connecting your visit with a well-known 
national religious broadcast. 
* From there on it is a simple matter to go 
into a pleasant discussion of the need for 
Bible study in the home, and then present 
an enrollment card or a sample lesson of 
the Voice of Prophecy Bible Correspond-
ence Course, and invite the person to 
enroll. 
* Explain carefully that there is no obliga-
tion now or at any time in the future. 
* Explain that other Bible lovers have made 
this free offer possible. 
* Urge each home to listen to the Voice of 
Prophecy nationwide broadcast the fol-
lowing morning—the beginning of the 
Voice of Prophecy's ninth year of na-
tional broadcasting. 
* Ask the family or the person you have 
met for the privilege of offering prayer 
in their home before you leave. 
* "Operation Doorbell" should be planned 
to take not more than an hour or two, 
with everyone returning to the church to 
relate his interesting experiences. 
One of our union Missionary Volunteer 
secretaries has recently written the following 
to the Voice of Prophecy: 
"We have always asked the young people 
to keep a record of: (1) The number of 
homes visited; (2) the number who listen 
to the Voice of Prophecy; and (3) the 
number of homes in which they had prayer. 
These figures have been recorded when the 
young people return to the church. The 
amazing thing to me is that, on the average, 
over 50 per cent of the homes we contact 
are already listening to the Voice of Proph-
ecy. Even in Catholic New Orleans, where 
each one of the seven homes I called on 
personally were Roman Catholics, six of 
them were listeners to the Voice of Proph-
ecy. 
"When we suggest the Voice of Prophecy 
Bible Correspondence Course, the people 
are more than willing to sign up for it. 
To the few who hesitate, we suggest that 
we shall be glad to leave an enrollment 
blank for them to look over, and by drop-
ping it in the mail they can be enrolled 
in the course. 
"Three weeks ago last Sabbath one young 
man in Texarkana preferred to go to the 
depot to contact people who were waiting 
for trains. He talked to fifty people during 
the hour and found that forty-eight of them 
were listeners to the Voice of Prophecy. 
"Then the real spur to continue activity 
along this line comes immediately after 
this hour of 'Operation Doorbell.' Everyone 
comes back to the church and reports the ex-
periences he had as he met the people in 
their homes. Many folk go alone, but hus-
bands and wives sometimes go together. 
Medical doctors, dentists, nurses, teachers, 
day laborers, students, and farmers have all 
helped in this project and all get an equally 
big thrill out of it. 
"We are now working on the idea of 
expanding this activity by having one group 
visit the local hospitals while the others 
are calling on homes. We feel that the right 
approach to the person who is ill will result 
in his enrolling in the Voice of Prophecy 
Bible Course." 
Voice of Prophecy Highlights 
To PASS ON TO YOUR SOCIETY 
* There are 100 Christian workers on the 
Voice of Prophecy staff in the Los Angeles 
office alone. 
* More than 10,000 letters are received 
weekly from 'radioland; sometimes as 
many as 4,000 letters in one day. 
* 2,200 Bible lessons ate received for cor-
rection every day. 
* 4,400 letters are mailed daily. 
* 132,500 pieces of mail are sent out each 
month, involving a postage bill of 
$4,500. 
*Over 90,000 copies of the Voice of 
Prophecy News are sent out monthly to 
all contributors. 
* 15,000 books-for-the-month are mailed 
on request each month. 
* Over 40,000,000 pages of Christian liter-
ature are mailed out annually. 
* More than one million Voice of Prophecy 
radio logs are distributed each year. 
* Reaching scores of nations. 
* Preaching Christ to multiplied millions. 
* Heard in Central and South America. 
*The Voice of Prophecy broadcast is now 
heard in the English, Spanish, Portuguese, 
French, German, Italian, Danish, and 
Chinese languages. 
* Those who cannot hear may read, for the 
Voice of Prophecy Bible Correspondence 
Courses are now translated into more than 
twenty languages and dialects, among 
them, English, Spanish, Portuguese, 
French, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, 
Norwegian, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, 
Korean, Malayan, Arabic—and now, 
Russian! Bible lessons are available also 
in Braille for the blind. Over 40,000 
active Voice of Prophecy students are now 
enrolled in the Los Angeles office alone. 
* Thousands of Juniors are learning to love 
and understand the Bible in their youth. 
Many hundreds of young married couples 
are establishing their homes on the prin-
ciples learned from the Voice of Prophecy 
Bible Correspondence lessons. There are 
75,000 Voice of Prophecy Bible Course 
graduates, and tens of thousands of these 
have come to acknowledge Christ as their 
Saviour. They now understand better 
His love and sacrifice, and that He is 
soon coming back to this earth for them. 
Many of these are adding their prayers to 
yours and mine for the advancement of 
the gospel of Christ, and are regularly 
supporting God's work with their means. 
They are joining hand to hand with us 
in spreading His glorious truths, and are 
walking in the steps of their Master. 
Message From 
H. M. S. Richards 
VOICE OF PROPHECY SPEAKER 
"What better way could be found to 
Share-Your-Faith than by uniting with the 
Voice of Prophecy in this excellent new 
plan—'Operation Doorbell'? What better 
plan can you, as a Missionary Volunteer, 
find to get into active, loving service that 
will not only be thrilling to you but will 
Vol. 36, No. 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
13 
bring many more to listen to the weekly 
broadcasts and to study the Voice of Proph-
ecy Bible Correspondence lessons which are 
bringing thousands into this message? 
"Here is your best and last opportunity 
of 1949 to co-operate with the Voice of 
Prophecy radio program, one of God's 
grandest methods of reaching the millions 
with His final message." 
NOTES TO OFFICERS 
(Continued from page 6) 
Stories of Hymns 
"LET THE LOWER LIGHTS 
BE BURNING" 
(No. 79 in M.V. Songs) 
The words of this hymn were suggested 
to Mr. P. P. Bliss on hearing the following 
incident: 
On a dark, stormy night, when the waves 
rolled like mountains and not a star was to 
be seen, a ship neared the Cleveland harbor. 
"Are you sure this is Cleveland?" asked 
the captain, seeing only one light from the 
lighthouse. 
"Quite sure, sir," replied the pilot. 
"Where are the lower lights?" 
"Gone out, sir." 
"Can you make the harbor?" 
"We must or perish, sir!" 
With a strong hand and a brave heart, the 
old pilot turned the wheel. But alas, in the 
darkness he missed the channel, and with a 
crash upon the rocks the boat was shivered, 
and many lives were lost. 
The Master will take care of the light-
house. We must keep the lower lights burn-
ing. 
This song has been of help and encour-
agement to many persons as the young 
people's singing bands have carried this mes-
sage in song. 
"SOFTLY AND TENDERLY JESUS 
IS CALLING" 
(No. 563 in Church Hymnal) 
An accident occurred to the engine of a 
train that ran through the mountains of 
Tennessee, and the passengers were delayed 
at a little village hotel while the damage was 
being repaired. A young lady and a man 
among the passengers were shown into the 
little dismal parlor, in one corner of which 
stood an old-fashioned piano badly out of 
tune. The only other occupant of the room 
was an old woman, who was evidently a 
boarder there. Outside it was dark and 
rainy, but this did not seem to interfere with 
the comfort of a group of loafers who 
smoked under the parlor window. To pass 
away the time, the young woman sat down 
at the piano, and, after playing a waltz or 
two, struck into "Old Hundred." At this, the 
old woman came over to the piano and 
spoke. 
"I was thinking, my dear," she said hesi-
tatingly, "that if you could sing a little mite, 
just some old hymn or something, it would 
seem real good. Who knows but it would 
help the poor boys out there! They're most 
likely away from their homes and their 
mothers, and it's not probable they hear 
much good music—the Lord's music, you 
know." 
After some hesitation the young woman 
consented, and together she and her com-
panion sang hymn after hymn; the old 
woman listened with evident delight. The 
men outside laid down their pipes, and all 
conversation stopped, that they might hear 
better. By and by the young woman sang 
alone: 
"Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, 
Calling for you and for me; 
At the heart's portal He's waiting and 
watching, 
Watching for you and for me. 
"Come home, come home! 
Ye who are weary, come home; 
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, 
Calling, 0 sinner, come home!" 
As the last sweet strain died away, one 
young man on the outside, with a face better 
than most of those about him, stealthily 
brushed away a tear. Just then the message 
came that the train was ready, and the sing-
ers went on their way. Several years later this 
same man who had sung stood in a little 
group of men who were listening to the 
words of an evangelist and gospel singer, 
who had just been singing to an audience 
the words of this very song. When he [the 
evangelist) had finished, he turned to the 
group and said, "I remember well the first 
time I heard that hymn. It was in a little 
hotel in the montains of Tennessee, where I 
had been squandering my substance, a real 
prodigal son. There came one afternoon a 
little company of people who were delayed 
by an accident to the train, and one or two 
of them began to sing around the piano. The 
woman's voice I shall never forget. She sang 
one of my mother's old hymns, and then this 
one, 'Come Home.' Wherever I went the 
next few days, I seemed to hear that voice 
saying, 'Come Home'—and the end of it 
was, I came." 
"Not the end, sir," said the astonished 
gentleman. And then he told him his part 
of the story, and how the white-haired old 
woman had prompted the singing, and how 
she had thought that it might do some of 
the boys on the outside good. 
—Sit/is H. PAINE. 
It was in a town in Japan. The hour of 
the evening meeting had come, but the 
organist, a native Christian, had not ap-
peared. He was usually so punctual that the 
missionary became-anxious, but he could not 
wait; so the meeting began without him. 
The missionary gave out the hymn, "Softly 
and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling." As they were 
singing it, the organist came in. After the 
hymn was sung, he asked to be allowed to 
speak. He said: "This afternoon I walked 
up the mountainside to the edge of the vol-
cano and looked down into the steaming 
depths of it. I went over the edge, where I 
thought the ground was firm, but it was not 
firm, and I began to slide down, down the 
steep sides of the volcano toward the smoke 
and fire below. I cried, but there was none 
to hear. At last I caught a piece of rock, and 
stopped. I tried to climb up, but the earth 
always gave way, and I slid down again. 
I cried, but no one heard, for everyone is 
afraid of the evil spirits there, and few pass 
that way. At last, after a long while, when 
I had almost lost hope, and while I was 
singing this very hymn, 'Softly and Ten-
derly Jesus Is Calling,' I heard a shout. It 
was Wong, a charcoal burner, who was go-
ing home from the woods. At first he 
thought it was a demon in the volcano, but 
then he realized that what was being sung 
was a Jesus hymn; so he looked and found 
ma He got help and ropes, and here I am. 
This is now my favorite hymn. It saved my 
life." 
More SYF News 
One Missionary Volunteer Society has 
been able to broadcast its Friday night 
Missionary Volunteer meeting direct from 
the church. This program has been adapted 
to interest the youth of the community 
and to bring cheer and hope to invalids, 
shut-ins, and aged. After the singspiration 
and prayer the audience enjoyed an interest-
ing program which varied from week to 
week. Besides the panel discussion on some 
vital Bible theme, followed by an appeal 
to the heart, the young people presented 
devotional thoughts, poetry, Bible quizzes, 
and letters from the radio mail bag. One 
feature in connection with this youth pro-
gram was their announcement of a special 
piece of free literature that would be sent 
to each one who requested it. For the best 
letter of the week coming from some shut-
in, the young people promised to deliver 
a potted plant and a souvenir booklet 
Through this broadcast thousands of people 
have received literature. Addressing is done 
at the close of the broadcast each week. 
Many have enrolled in the Bible Corre-
spondence Course, contacts have been made 
with shut-ins, and many youth have at-
tended the M.V. meetings. The adventurous 
spirit of missionary service is in that society, 
and the youth are enjoying their crusade 
for others. 
—SYF— 
A number of our doctors and dentists 
are maintaining racks in their waiting 
rooms. From one dentist's rack 3,666 pieces 
of literature were taken during the past 
year. 
14 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
December 3 
CAN I? 
BY J. F. KNIPSCHILD, JR. 
ORDER OF SERVICE 
CHORUSES: (Use those containing "eye" 
or "I'). 
OPENING SONG: "I Would Be True," No. 
58 in M.V . Songs. 
PRAYER. 
SECRETARY'S REPORT. 
OFFERING. 
SYF REPORTS, 
JUNIOR LAW: Repeated together. 
LEADER'S INTRODUCTION. 
SCRIPTURE: (Given by several Juniors). 
DIALOGUE: "What Are My Standards?" 
MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM. 
POEM: "One Year to Live." 
CHALK TALK: "The Best Word for Juniors 
Today." 
CLOSING SONG: "Steady and True," No. 64. 
BENEDICTION. 
Leader's Introduction 
Today we want to think a bit about one 
law that is, I believe, the heart of our 
Junior Law. It is, "Keep a level eye." 
What does it mean to "keep a level eye"? 
(Have general discussion for several min-
utes.) Yes, it means the combination of a 
number of things. If we observe and follow 
the other seven rules of our law that we've 
learned, they will help us to obey this one. 
If we obey this one rule, we cannot help 
but show our friends that we are following 
the others; so here is one key to a happy and 
successful life we should constantly think 
about. 
Let us turn the wording around and see 
what we get-"I keep level!" You have 
heard of the kind of instrument a carpenter 
uses to see if what he is building is even 
or "on the square," haven't you? It is 
called a level. Is it necessary to one who 
builds homes? Most definitely. So it is 
that God has given us "levels," or rules, 
in His Word that will help to build our 
lives into the temples He desires to dwell in. 
Such temples will remain steadfast and 
true through all kinds of weather. One 
time God said through David in Psalm 32: 
8, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in 
the way which thou shalt go: I will guide 
thee with Mine eye." In other words God 
says, "Do you want to keep a level eye 
-knowing what to say or do, and how to 
act on any occasion along the road of life? 
Let me teach you and guide you by my 
level eye!" Jesus is the only One we can 
follow safely. Is He your one and only 
Pilot, right now? 
Instead of a regular scripture reading 
we are going to have several Juniors 
briefly tell us several stories of people in 
the Bible who with God's help kept a level 
eye. At the dose of each story see if you 
can tell the name of the character and in 
what way he kept a level eye. 
(Suggestions: By previous arrangement, 
have the Juniors ready to tell the story 
suggested about the character without re-
vealing the name. At the close of each story, 
let the Junior telling the story ask the 
audience for the name; then the Junior 
leader ask the audience for the specific 
trait exemplified in the life of this char-
acter that helped it to keep a level eye. 
Enlarge on each trait as you see fit.) 
1. Joseph-Genesis 37:13-28; 39:1-6. 
HONESTY. 
2. Barnabas-Acts 4:36; 9:27; 13;2-13; 
15:36-40; 2 Timothy 4:11. PATIENCE. 
3. Moses-Exodus 1-3; Hebrews 11: 
23-26. DETERMINATION. 
4. David-1 Samuel 26. RESPECT. 
5. Caleb-Numbers 13-14:9. CONFI-
DENCE. 
6. Hannah-1 Samuel 1. KEPT HER 
WORD. 
7. Job-Job 1; 2:7; 23:12. SACRIFICE. 
8. Ebed-melech-Jeremiah 38, 39. LOY-
ALTY. 
9. Vashti-Esther I. PURITY. 
10. Abraham-Genesis 12:1-4; 14:1-20; 
Hebrews 11:8-10. OBEDIENCE. 
What Are My Standards? 
LEADER: We all have friends in our 
neighborhood who belong to the world-
wide Scout organization. Their standards 
are high, and the nation honors them for 
keeping them so. What is the Scout Law 
",Ankh helps a Scout to "keep a level eve"? 
(The Scout Law to be given by two Juniors, 
one to recite the first sentence of each rule 
and the other to recite the explanation.) 
SCOUT LAW 
1. A 
SCOUT 
IS TRUSTWORTHY. A 
scout's honor is to be trusted. If he were 
to violate his honor by telling a lie, or 
by cheating, or by not doing exactly a 
given task, when trusted on his honor, he 
may be directed to hand over his scout 
badge. 
2. A SCOUT IS LOYAL. He is loyal to 
all to whom loyalty is due-his scout leader, 
his home, his parents, and country. 
3. A SCOUT Is HELPFUL. He must be 
prepared at any time to save life, help 
injured persons, and share the home duties. 
He must do at least one "good turn" to 
somebody every day. 
4. A SCOUT IS FRIENDLY, He is a 
friend to all and a brother to every other 
scout. 
5. A SCOUT Is COURTEOUS, He is polite 
to all, especially to women, children, old 
People, and the weak and helpless. He must 
not take pay for being helpful or courteous. 
6. A SCOUT Is KIND. He is a friend 
to animals. He will not kill or hurt any 
living creature needlessly, 
 
but will strive 
to save and protect all harmless life. 
7. A SCOUT Is OBEDIENT. He obeys 
his parents, scoutmaster, patrol leader, and 
all other duly constituted authorities. 
8. A SCOUT IS CHEERFUL. He smiles 
whenever he can. His obedience to orders 
is prompt and cheery. He never shirks or 
grumbles at hardships. 
9. A SCOUT IS THRIFTY. He must 
not wantonly destroy property. He works 
faithfully, wastes nothing, and makes the 
best use of his opportunities. He saves his 
money so that he may pay his own way, be 
generous to those in need, and helpful to 
worthy objects. He may work for pay, but 
must not receive tips for courtesies or 
"good turns." 
10. A SCOUT Is BRAVE. He has the 
courage to face danger in spite of fear, and 
has to stand up for the right against the 
coaxings of friends or the jeers or threats 
of enemies, and defeat does not down him. 
11. A SCOUT IS CLEAN. He keeps 
clean in body and thought, stands for clean 
speech, clean sport, clean habits, and travels 
with a clean crowd. 
12. A SCOUT IS REVERENT. He is 
reverent toward God. He is faithful in his 
religious duties, and respects the conviction 
of others in matters of custom and religion. 
-Scout Manual. 
LEADER: Isn't this a helpful set of rules? 
Should our standard be any lower? No, 
indeed! And it is not. The Scout organiza-
tion is basically a training for better citizens 
in this world; but we, as well as wanting to 
be the best citizens here on earth, are also 
planning for citizenship above. There are, 
therefore, other things which Junior M.V.'s 
must add to this code of laws in order to 
prepare for citizenship in heaven. The best 
Christmas gift we could give to Jesus is 
ourselves. Let us enthusiastically be faithful 
in our Bible reading, Morning Watch, 
progressive classwork, and in sharing our 
faith. 
As we come to the close of this year, 
let us earnestly pray God that our J.M.V. 
Society will be the best ever during the 
new year. 
Mathematical Problem 
(Pass a sheet with this problem on it 
to each Junior. Be sure to enuthisize the 
importance of bringing their Bibles and 
pencils to this program.) 
( ) Take the number of eyes "of them 
both." Genesis 3:7. 
( �
) Add the number of eyes that "were 
dim." Genesis 27:1. 
) Add the number of eyes which 
"are open." Numbers 24:3. 
( ) Add the number of "the apple of 
his eye." Deuteronomy 32:10. 
) Subtract the number of eyes "the 
Lord opened:' 2 Kings 6:17. 
-( ) Subtract the number of the eyes 
"of the Lord." Psalm 34:15. 
-( 
Vol. 36, No. 12 
) Subtract the number of the eyes 
"of the Lord." 2 Chronicles 16:9. 
) Add the number of eyes in the wise 
man's "head." Ecclesiastes 2:14. 
) Add the number of eyes which 
"shall see the King." Isaiah 33:17. 
) Subtract the number of eyes which 
"offend thee." Matthew 5:29. 
) Subtract the number of eyes "to be 
cast into hell." Mark 9:47. 
) Subtract the number of eyes 
anointed by Jesus. John 9:6. 
�
Answer: The number of eyes a per-
son has with which to serve Jesus. 
—The Temple Builder's Puzzle Book, 
Helen A. Maxfield, Zondervan Publish-
ing House, Grand Rapids, Mich. Re-
printed by permission. 
The Best Word for Juniors 
Today 
SUGGESTION: The following makes an 
excellent chalk talk. Do not put the whole 
diagram on the board at once. First, ask the 
Juniors if they can guess what the best 
word for them is? Finally ask the Juniors 
to find Mark 13:37—the first one to find 
the verse, read. Now put down the word 
WATCH as described here. Then com-
mence to ask, "What do you think we 
should watch beginning with the letter 
'W'?" Then ask the first Junior who finds 
Psalm 19:14 to read the verse. Following 
the reading of the verse place the text next 
to the word "Words." Continue this process 
down through the key word—WATCH. It 
would be well to illustrate each point with 
a very brief illustration or story. Close this 
last part of the program with a special ap-
peal, following which it would be well to 
have a special consecration prayer. Suggest 
that each Junior write this line in the back 
of his Bible. 
Mark 13:37 
w—ords �
Psalm 19:14. 
A—ctions �
1 Samuel 2:3. 
T—houghts �
Proverbs 23:7. 
C—ompanions Psalm 119:63. 
H—earts �
1 Samuel 16:7. 
If we keep this "best word" in mind 
from this time on, then we will be able to 
"Keep a Level Eye." I want to be ready 
when Jesus comes, don't you? What shall 
we do then? W-A-T-C-H. That is the best 
way to "Keep a Level Eye." 
One Year to Live 
If I had but one year to live; 
One year to help; one year to give; 
One year to love; one year to bless; 
One year of better things to stress; 
One year to sing; one year to smile; 
To brighten earth a little while; 
One year to sing my Maker's praise; 
One year to fill with work my days; 
One year to strive for a reward 
When I should stand before my Lord, 
I think that I would spend each day, 
In just the very self-same way 
That I do now. For from afar 
The call may come to cross the bar 
At any time, and I must be 
Prepared to meet eternity. 
So if I had a year to live, 
Or just one day in which to give 
A pleasant smile, a helping hand, 
A mind that tries to understand 
A fellow creature when in need, 
'Tis one with me—I take no heed; 
But try to live each day He sends 
To serve my gracious Master's ends. 
—MARY DAVIS REED, in Quests 
and Conquests, by Dean C. Dut- 
ton, Life Service Publishing Co, 
Guthrie, Okla. 
• 
* 
December 10 
GOOD BOOKS FOR 
GOOD GIFTS 
BY VILLA HOUGHTON 
Notes to Superintendents 
Read the "Notes to Leaders" and the pro-
gram for the Senior Missionary Volunteer 
Society meeting for this date, pages 8-10. 
The same type of dialogue can be adapted 
for the J.M.V. Society meeting. We would 
suggest, however, that you just mention the 
Senior M.V. Reading Course books, and 
describe portions of the Junior and the 
Primary books only. You can take one chap-
ter or story out of several of these books 
and have the boys and girls take part in 
reproducing interesting scenes. 
The Man Next Door 
Jesus died to bring salvation 
For the rich and for the poor; 
Men of every tribe and nation— 
He includes the man next door. 
Millions are in heathen darkness, 
And with pleading hearts implore 
For the gospel of salvation— 
What about the man next door? 
"Go into all the world," said Jesus, 
"Tell them of My mighty power; 
Bring your sheaves from every nation— 
Bring with you the man next door." 
When we stand before our Saviour 
On that glad eternal shore, 
Heaven's glory will be brighter 
If we've brought the man next door. 
—Author Unknown. 
December 17 
CHECK AND DOUBLE 
CHECK 
BY H. R. NELSON 
ORDER OF SERVICE - 
SONG: "Can He Count on You?" No. 49 
in M.V. Songs. 
SCRIPTURE: Luke 18:18-23. 
PRAYER. 
OFFERING. 
LEADER'S REMARKS. 
STORY: "For Others." 
TALK: "Almost Is Not Enough." 
EXERCISE: "Check Yourself." 
SONG: "Stand Up for Jesus," No. 61. 
Note to Superintendents 
The purpose of this meeting is to have 
the Juniors consider their past experiences 
with the idea in mind to do better in the 
year to come. The stories give experiences 
taken from the lives of Juniors during 1949. 
These are actual experiences and should so 
be related. The exercise should be given in 
such a way as not to embarrass any Junior 
—make it a personal check. You will notice 
it covers the points of the Junior Law. Thus 
emphasis can be put on the importance of 
-faithfully keeping the Junior Law. 
For Others 
One of the counselors at Junior Camp 
was seated where he could hear the conver-
sation between two brothers. The boys were 
attending camp and the older boy was ques-
tioning his younger brother about his spend-
ing money. 
"Jack, how much do you have left in 
your envelope," asked the older boy. 
"Not very much. Yesterday I bought one 
of those pennants and that little poor boy 
was standing 'near by." He pointed to the 
little fellow who was seated on the other 
side of the lodge. 
"What happened?" asked Bill. 
"Well, this boy is really poor, as you can 
see by his clothes. He didn't have any money 
and he looked so longingly at my pennant. 
So I bought one and gave it to him." 
The counselor who was listening knew 
the poor boy and his circumstances. He also 
knew that Jack did not have very much, 
that his mother was a widow with several 
children and that three of the boys were at 
the camp. They really did not have any-
thing to give away. The counselor was inter-
ested, so he stepped over to the boys. 
"I heard what you told your brother," 
said Mr. Brown, as he looked at the little 
fellow. "That was a very fine thing for you 
to do. I want to repay you for your unselfish 
spirit: Here is a dollar for you." 
M 'he handed the dollar bill to Jack, he 
saw that the boy did not want' to take it. 
"But I want you to have it," insisted the 
counselor. 
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
15 
16 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
After hesitating a moment, Jack took the 
money. He looked across the lodge and saw 
the poor boy. Like a flash he started for 
him. 
"Here, wait a minute," called Mr. Brown, 
as he jumped to his feet and grabbed Jack 
by the arm, "Where are you going now?" 
he questioned. 
"I am going to give this money to that 
poor boy over there," Jack replied. 
Mr. Brown's heart was touched as he 
looked into the earnest eyes of the boy. 
"Now listen, Jack, that money is for you. 
I want you to have it all for yourself. I will 
give something to the poor boy also, but I 
want you to keep what I have given to you." 
Jack did not seem to want the money, but 
finally kept it, and Mr. Brown walked away. 
True to his promise, Jack did not give the 
money to the poor boy. But the next day 
he went to Mr. Brown and said, "Please, 
Mr. Brown, take this dollar bill back. I 
don't want to keep it. It really doesn't belong 
to me. I don't want to be paid for doing 
something good for someone else." 
Mr. Brown saw the earnest appeal in the 
eyes of the boy and reluctantly accepted the 
dollar bill. At the same time he realized' 
that he was looking at a boy who had the 
true spirit of Christ—a true Missionary 
Volunteer who would, no doubt, some day 
be a great worker for God. 
. 
�
�
How is it with you boys and girls? Do 
you have the unselfish spirit that was mani-
fested by Jack? As you look back over the 
past year, have you lived an unselfish life? 
Have you done good deeds because you 
wanted to do them or because someone paid 
you for doing them? Did you help someone 
whom you knew could never repay you for 
your kindness? Is the love of Jesus expressed 
in the things you do and say each day? Have 
you been faithful in keeping the Junior 
Law by doing your honest part? Now is the 
time to check and see how you have done 
and to make improvements in your way of 
living. 
Almost Is Not Enough 
It was the last night at Junior Camp. One 
hundred fifty-three boys and their counselors 
gathered around the campfire. Yes, this was 
the night! Those who had worked hard 
during the camp would receive their honors 
this night. 
After a rousing song service the boys 
settled down in great anticipation as the 
program continued. 
First, there was an Investiture service. 
As those who had been invested knelt 
around the campfire during the consecra-
tion prayer, heaven seemed very near. No 
doubt angels were near, writing down that 
consecration prayer and taking note of the 
boys in the circle. 
All eyes were on the camp director as he 
announced the names of those who had 
earned vocational honors during the camp. 
They came for honors in leathercraft, metal-
craft, wood carving, wood handicraft, birds, 
ferns, amphibians, reptiles, trees, insects, 
and the swimming honors, including junior 
and senior lifesaving. It was a happy band 
of Juniors that marched around to receive 
their honor tokens from the instructors, Ir 
seemed like an almost endless line. 
At last the tokens had been handed out. 
Was this the end of the program? Oh, no! 
Every boy sat at rigid attention as the camp 
director started to speak about the outstand-
ing work of some of the Junior boys. He 
was soon to announce the names of the boys 
who had been awarded the highest honors 
given by the camp. It seemed that even the 
whippoorwill stopped to listen. Slowly each 
name was read and the boys marched to the 
front. There they stood—eight fine-looking 
boys. The director commended them for 
the admirable record they had made in camp, 
for their excellent spirit, for their co-opera-
tion in the camp activities, and for their 
leadership among the boys. The honor 
tokens were presented, then a mighty ap-
plause broke forth showing that every 
camper present gave hearty approval. 
After the evening song and prayer the 
boys found their way back to the cabins, 
happy for the many good experiences at 
camp. Soon the silence whistle blew and all 
was quiet. The lights were out—that is, in 
all but one cabin. 
The counselors waited, but the lights re-
mained on. After a while they went over to 
this cabin to see what was wrong. As they 
walked into the cabin, they found the boys 
dressed, some sitting on their beds, others 
lying on their beds. 
What was it all about? What were they 
going to do? When questioned by the coun-
selors, they explained that they were going 
to stay up all night. They were not going to 
do anything bad, just stay up all night. 
Sitting on one bed, fully dressed, was one 
of the boys chosen as an Honor Camper, 
one of the honor badges in his possession. 
After a brief conversation with the coun-
selors the boys undressed and went to bed 
without further trouble. 
The next morning everyone, was busy 
packing or carrying suitcases or boxes to the 
line in front of the lodge. While the boys 
were bringing down their things, the staff 
had a special meeting. The decision was 
made. 
Flag ceremonies followed, then the boys 
marched to the dining room for breakfast—
that is, all but one whole division. As this 
division stood at attention, the camp director 
made a few remarks about the cabin that had 
planned to stay up all night. There was per-
fect silence as one of the boys stepped out of 
line, marched to the director and gave back 
the honor token he had received the night 
before. 
Yes, he had it—would have taken it 
home with him—but for one careless act. 
So near the end of camp, yet he lost it. 
How is it with you boys and girls? It is 
almost the end of the year. Are you going 
to be careless and lose all the blessings of 
the year? Life is like that, too. At the very 
end you can lose eternal life by becoming 
careless. Better check—yes, double check—
to be sure that you are not losing out now, 
Jesus is coming soon and we want to be 
ready. Let us all make sure that we are so 
living that we will be ready when He comes. 
Check Yourself 
(NOTE: The following questions may be 
Placed on the blackboard. Have the Juniors 
read them out loud but answer to them-
selves. After all the questions have been 
read, ask the Juniors to think about their 
score. Do they feel satisfied? Follow with 
Prayer by the Junior superintendent or by 
some of the Juniors.) 
LEADER: It is a good thing to examine 
ourselves, to check ourselves to see how 
we are measuring up to the goal set before 
us. We are not to give the answer out loud 
—say it to ourselves. God always knows the 
answer to each question. If we can answer 
yes to all the questions, we are doing well 
and developing the true character. If we 
have to say no to any of the questions, it is 
time to think seriously—to check ourselves 
carefully every day. Do not tell anyone else 
your score. 
1. Whenever I am asked to take part in 
the Junior meetings, I do so. 
2.. I have tried to read something from 
the Bible every day. 
3. I try to follow the habit of praying at 
least twice a day—morning and evening. 
4. I try to be obedient to my parents and 
my teachers every day. 
5. I have tried to keep a level eye at all 
times. 
6. I try to share my faith regularly so 
that I will have something to report. 
7. I have tried to do my honest part each 
day. 
8. I try to be reverent in the house of 
God and at the Junior meetings. 
9. I have tried to care for my body ac-
cording to the rules of healthful living. 
10. I have tried to be cheerful at all 
times. 
Vol. 36, No. 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS GAZETTE �
17 
4maierat Tenirtance Socie4 
PROGRAM 
Sabbath, December 10 
OPENING SONG: "Sound the Battle Cry," 
No. 499 in Church Hymnal. 
RESPONSIVE READING: "Temperance," p. 
608 in Church Hymnal. 
PRAYER. 
SPECIAL MUSIC, or "Standing by a Purpose 
True," No. 497. 
SERMON: Sermon or symposium on "Mak-
ing Our Influence Felt." The circulation 
of Listen on a national scale. 
OFFERTORY: The offering this year is to 
help place Listen in 1,000,000 American 
homes. Let's make it the largest offering 
ever made by Seventh-day Adventists 
for the.cause of temperance. 
CLOSING SONG: "Rescue the Perishing," 
No. 623. 
BENEDICTION. 
Special Instructions to Pastors, 
Church Elders, and Temper-
ance Secretaries 
BY W. A. SCHARFFENBERG 
Executive Secretary, American Temperance 
Society 
Sabbath, December 10, 1949, has been 
designated, by action of the General Con-
ference Committee, as Temperance Day. 
We trust that the matter appearing in 
this issue of the CHURCH OFFICERS' GA-
ZETTE, as well as the additional matter that 
has been mailed to each pastor, church 
elder, and church temperance secretary, will 
serve as source material for the special 
Temperance Day program scheduled for 
that day. 
The offering to be taken up in connection 
with the Temperance Day program will 
be used this year for the circulation of 
Listen on a national scale. Listen is recog-
nized as the outstanding temperance journal 
in the country. It should be sent to every 
official, school superintendent, principal, 
teacher, clergyman, physician, law-enforce-
ment officer, and librarian in the country. 
Twenty-five per cent of the funds raised 
may be retained by the local church and 
used in sending Listen to influential people 
in its immediate community. Twenty-five 
per cent of the offering will be retained 
by the local conference and used for the 
circulation of Listen throughout the con-
ference, and 50 per cent of the offering 
will be forwarded to the General Conference 
for the circulation of Listen throughout 
the nation. 
Under the special Listen Sponsorship 
Plan you can send Listen subscriptions to 
ten different addresses for only five dollars. 
The names and addresses of all sponsored 
subscriptions should be sent to the Book 
and Bible House of your conference. Such 
lists are not to include the names of Seventh-
day Adventists. All Seventh-day Adventists 
should be urged to sign the pledge and 
become active members of the American 
Temperance Society. Listen serves as the 
voice of the American Temperance Society, 
and is sent out gratis to all members of 
the Society. (Sabbath, December 10, is not, 
Rallying Our Forces 
BY J. L. MCELHANY 
President, American Temperance Society 
It would be impossible for me to over-
emphasize the very great importance of 
rallying all our people to a vigorous re-
sponse to the appeal set forth in this 
program. Our own young people are in 
danger. They are surrounded on every hand 
by the most vicious and seductive influences. 
The use of alcohol as a beverage is ad-
vertised in the most attractive manner. 
Many of our young people are not old 
enough to recall the utterly vicious ways 
of the liquor traffic. We must do all we 
can to fortify them in their own personal 
experience against this monstrous evil. 
We need to rally our own forces to 
carry the banner of temperance to the 
world. 
We know that you will gladly co-op-
erate in the effort to effectively present 
this program on Sabbath, December 10, and 
that you will use every opportunity possible 
to assist in this good work. We want you 
to know your efforts are appreciated. 
Scriptural Admonitions 
"Woe unto them that are mighty to 
drink wine, and men of strength to mingle 
strong drink." Isaiah 5:22. 
"Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor 
drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and 
makest him drunken also." Habakkuk 2:15. 
"Woe to him that buildeth a town with 
blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!" 
Habakkuk 2:12. 
"Shall the throne of iniquity have fellow-
ship with thee, which frameth mischief 
by a law?" Psalm 94:20. 
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is 
raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby 
is not wise." Proverbs 20:1. 
however, to be used in launching the pledge-
signing campaign and membership drive, 
but rather for the taking up of a straight 
offering for the circulation of listen on a 
national scale.) Special blanks on which 
to report the sponsorship subscriptions to 
Listen will be mailed to each church. Please 
use these forms in reporting these sub-
scriptions to the Book and Bible House. 
"How important it is that God's messen-
gers shall call the attention of statesmen, 
of editors, of thinking men everywhere, to 
the deep significance of the drunkenness 
and the violence now filling the land with 
desolation and death! As faithful cola-
borers with God, we must bear a clear, 
decided testimony on the temperance ques-
tion. . . . Now is our golden opportunity 
to co-operate with heavenly intelligences 
in enlightening the understanding of those 
who are studying the meaning of the rapid 
increase of crime and disaster."—Review 
and Herald, Oct. 25, 1906. 
If $250,000 could be raised for the 
temperance cause this year, Listen could be 
sent to 500,000 influential statesmen, 
judges, physicians, editors, and citizens in 
the country. What an influence that would 
have on thinking men and women every-
where! 
If your church membership stands at 
seventy-five, plan to raise seventy-five dol-
lars on Sabbath, December 10, 1949, for 
the cause of Christian temperance. Let us 
make it a dollar day and do all in our 
power to combat the evils of intemperance. 
Pertinent Statements From 
the Spirit of Prophecy on 
the Temperance Issue 
A DIABOLICAL SCHEME ORIGINATED BY 
SATAN 
"Satan gathered the fallen angels to-
gether to devise some way of doing the most 
possible evil to the human family. One 
proposition after another was made, till 
finally Satan himself thought of a plan. 
He would take the fruit of the vine, also 
wheat, and other things given by God as 
food, and would convert them into poisons, 
which would ruin man's physical, mental, 
and moral powers, and so overcome the 
senses that Satan should have full control. 
Under the influence of liquor, men would 
be led to commit crimes of all kinds. 
Through perverted appetite the world would 
be made corrupt. By leading men to drink 
alcohol, Satan would cause them to descend 
lower and lower in the scale."—Review and 
Herald, April 16, 1901. 
18 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
TenTeitance .Mary P4Ortain 
THE GREATEST CRIMINAL PRODUCER 
"Houses of prostitution, dens of vice, 
criminal courts, prisons, almshouses, insane 
asylums, hospitals, all are, to a great degree, 
filled as a result of the liquor-seller's work. 
Like the mystic Babylon of the Apocalypse, 
he is dealing in 'slaves, and souls of men.' 
Behind the liquor-seller stands the mighty 
destroyer of souls, and every art which 
earth or hell can devise is employed to 
draw human beings under his power. In 
the city and the country, on the railway 
trains, on the great steamers, in places of 
business, in the halls of pleasure, in the 
medical dispensary, even in the church, 
on the sacred communion table, his traps 
are set. Nothing is left undone to create 
and to foster the desire for intoxicants. 
On almost every corner stands the public 
house, with its brilliant lights, its welcome 
and good cheer, inviting the working man, 
the wealthy idler, and the unsuspecting 
youth. 
"In private lunch-rooms and fashionable 
resorts, ladies are supplied with popular 
drinks, under some pleasing name, that 
are really intoxicants. For the sick and the 
exhausted, there are the widely advertised 
'bitters,' consisting largely of alcohol. 
"To create the liquor appetite in little 
children, alcohol is introduced into con-
fectionery. Such confectionery is sold in 
the shops. And by the gift of these candies 
the liquor-seller entices children into his 
resorts. 
"Day by day, month by month, year by 
year, the work goes on. Fathers and hus-
bands and brothers, the stay and hope and 
pride of the nation, are steadily passing into 
the liquor-dealer's haunts, to be sent back 
wrecked and ruined. 
"More terrible still, the curse is striking 
the very heart of the home. More and mote, 
women are forming the liquor habit. In 
many a household, little children, even in 
the innocence and helplessness of babyhood, 
are in daily peril through the neglect, the 
abuse, the vileness of drunken mothers. 
Sons and daughters are growing up under 
the shadow of this terrible evil. What 
outlook for their future but that they will 
sink even lower than their parents?"—Min-
istry of Healing, pp. 338, 339. 
OUR DUTY IN OPPOSING THE LIQUOR 
TRAFFIC 
"How can Christian men and women 
tolerate this evil? . �
. There is a cause ' 
for the moral paralysis upon society. Our 
laws sustain an evil which is sapping their 
very foundations. Many deplore the wrongs 
which they know exist, but consider them- 
selves free from all responsibility in the 
matter. This cannot be. Every individual 
exerts an influence in society. In our favored 
land, every voter has some voice in 
determining what laws shall control the 
nation. Should not that influence and that 
vote be cast on the side of temperance and 
virtue? . . . 
"We may call upon the friends of the 
temperance cause to rally to the conflict, 
and seek to press back the tide of evil that 
is demoralizing the world; but of what 
avail are all our efforts while liquor-selling 
is sustained by law? Must the curse of 
intemperance forever rest like a blight 
upon our land? Must it every year sweep 
like a devouring fire over thousands of 
happy homes?"—Review and Herald, Nov. 
8, 1881. 
AN ARMY TO BE FORMED 
"Let an army be formed to stop the 
sale of the drugged liquors that are making 
men mad. Let the danger from the liquor 
traffic be made plain, and a public senti-
ment be cleated that shall demand its 
prohibition. Let the . . . voice of the 
nation demand of its lawmakers that a 
stop be put to this infamous traffic."—Min-
istry of Healing," p. 346. 
OUR MOTTO 
"We talk of the results, tremble at the 
results, and wonder what we can do with 
the terrible results, while too often we 
tolerate and even sanction the cause. The 
advocates of temperance fail to do their 
whole duty unless they exert their influence 
by precept and example—by voice and pen 
and vote—in favor of prohibition and total 
abstinence. We need not expect that God 
will work a miracle to bring about this 
reform, and thus remove the necessity for 
our exertion. We ourselves must grapple 
with this giant foe, our motto, No com-
promise and no cessation of our efforts till 
the victory is gained. . . ."—Review and 
Herald, Nov. 8, 1881. 
A Murderer's Testimony 
BY L. A. WINO 
A tramp once asked for a free drink in 
a saloon. The request was granted; and, as 
he was in the act of drinking the proffered 
beverage, one of the men present exclaimed, 
"Stop, make us a speech, it's a poor liquor 
that doesn't loosen a man's tongue." 
The tramp hastily swallowed the drink; 
and, as the rich liquor coursed through his 
blood, he straightened himself and stood be-
fore them with a grace and dignity that all 
his rags and dirt could not obscure. "Gentle-
men," he said, "as I look at you and myself 
it seems to me that I look upon the picture 
of my lost manhood. This bloated face was 
once as young and handsome as yours. 
'This shambling figure once walked as 
proudly as yours—a man in the world of 
men. I, too, once had a home, and friends, 
and position. 
"I had a wife as beautiful as an artist's 
dream; but I dropped the priceless pearl of 
her honor and respect in the winecup and, 
Cleopatra-like, saw it dissolve and quaffed 
it down in the brimming draught. I had 
children as sweet and lovely as the flowers 
of spring, and saw them fade and die under 
the blighting curse of a drunken father. 
I had a home where love lit the flame upon 
the altar and ministered before it; but I 
put out the holy fire, and darkness and 
desolation reigned in its stead. 
"I had aspirations and ambitions that 
soared as high as the morning star, but 
I broke and bruised their beautiful wings 
and, at last, strangled them that I might 
be tormented with their cries no more. 
Today I am a husband without a wife, 
a father without a child, a tramp with no 
home to call his own, a man in whom 
every good impulse is dead, and all swal-
lowed up in the maelstrom of drink." 
The tramp ceased speaking; the glass fell 
from his nerveless fingers and shivered into 
a thousand fragments on the floor. The 
swinging doors pushed open and shut 
again; and when the little group about the 
bar looked up, the tramp was gone. 
This scene is being re-enacted daily 
throughout the world. What a price to 
pay for the things they want! 
The Voice of Experience 
BY J. A. BUCKWALTER, Associate Secretary 
of the American Temperance Society 
Riding the night patrol in Los Angeles 
one night, we turned a street corner; and 
one of the police officers pointed to a man 
walking along the sidewalk and said, 
"There goes a 'wino.' [A 'wino' is a man 
who has become a chronic alcoholic as the 
result of drinking wine.) I am going to 
pick him up so you can question him." 
As the patrol car pulled up to the curb, 
one of the officers opened the rear door 
and stepped out. The "wino" looked toward 
the car, then walked over and sat down 
just like he expected to do that about every 
other day of his life. Probably it was the 
most comfortable seat he had had since the 
last time he had sat in an automobile of a 
similar nature. 
After the police had questioned him, 
one of the officers said, "Now, this is Mr. 
McDougal [meaning me); and I want you 
Vol. 36, No. 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
19 
Sale—piece-oil-deft 10, 1949 
o answer any questions that he asks you." 
I will give you a portion of our con-
versa don. 
"My friend," I asked, "how many jobs 
have you had in the past three or four 
years?" 
"Oh, about forty," he replied. His voice 
was dead and metallic. There was no 
vitality or note of hope. 
"How long since you had the last job?" 
was my next question. 
"Over a week." 
"How long did you keep it?" 
"About a week." 
"What's the matter? Couldn't you go 
back Monday morning?" 
In reply he shook his head in the negative. 
My next question followed quickly. "Are 
you married?" 
This time he responded by nodding his 
head. 
"Where is your wife?" 
"I don't know." 
"Do you have a family?" 
"A boy." 
"And where is your boy?" 
"I don't know." 
I wish you could have looked into the 
face of that man as he started out into the 
streets with a look- of utter misery and 
abject hopelessness. 
I had tried to appeal to him with the 
thought that there was a spiritual power 
that could salvage his life- and home; and 
I talked to him about possible medical 
attention, but there was no response. That 
night I looked into the face of a man 
from whom all hope had fled-and that 
man was younger than I am. 
Alcohol had wrecked his life, blasted 
his career, broken his own heart and the 
hearts of his loved ones. He felt himself 
a hopeless victim of a tyranny which he 
had no power to break. 
It does something to your own heart to 
look into the face of another human being 
whose life has known such stark tragedy. 
It makes one feel that he must hit this 
evil and hit it hard. 
The consumption of alcoholic beverages 
is one of the greatest enemies of the ad-
vancement of the third angel's message. 
Satan has never invented a stronger weapon 
to gain control of human thinking and lead 
the youth astray. The call of the Spirit of 
prophecy is for Adventist people every-
where to arouse to action and do all in 
their power to rescue thousands from ruin. 
Truly, the honor of God, and the stability 
of our nation, and the future of our youth 
depend upon our response to this appeal. 
"BEER BELONGS" 
I saw a liquor ad one day 
Deceive the madding throng. 
It showed a home—the modern way— 
And said that "Beer Belongs." 
It showed the sweetest family scene, 
With children singing songs; 
The mother kept the home so clean. 
The ad said, "Beer Belongs." 
But when I saw that liquor ad 
My heart defied such wrongs, 
For I recalled my drunken dad 
Who thought that "Beer Belongs." 
And I recalled my mother's tears, 
Soul-seared with iron tongs, 
The family fortunes plagued with fears, 
Because—well—"Beer Belongs." 
OW Beer belongs where sin is rife, 
The heart of crime and wrongs, 
Behind the scene in family strife, 
In jail—yes, "Beer Belongs." 
-ADLAI A. ESTER. 
On Smoking 
The following news item appeared in 
the September 17, 1949, issue of the News 
and Observer, published in Raleigh, North 
Carolina: 
SMOKING ROOMS 
"Establishment of smoking rooms for stu-
dents of Creedmoor High School, the first 
in Granville County schools, was disclosed 
today by Principal A. Woodrow Taylor. 
"Taylor said the rooms are open at recess 
and the noon hour, one each for boys and 
girls for use of those who have filed with 
school authorities written request from 
parent or guardian for use of the smoking 
rooms. Sixteen students have filed the re-
quired request, Taylor said." 
On September 20, 1949, the following 
editorial appeared in the same paper: 
STUPID HABIT 
"In Creedmoor the principal of the high 
school, perhaps bowing to the inevitable, 
is setting up smoking rooms for the boys 
and girls in the school. This may be sound 
school administration. It may be simple 
good sense in fire prevention in a school, 
if the high school children are going to 
smoke, to make them smoke more safely 
in supervised smoking rooms set up with 
the consent and at the request of their 
parents. All the same, even in a tobacco 
state, this whole business may be recognized 
as an event in the acquisition by the young 
of what is probably the most stunt-1 habit 
on earth—and one of the most destructive 
ones. 
"This editorial is written by a man who 
has been smoking since he was of high-
school age and will continue to smoke 
probably with some unsuccessful efforts to 
stop as long as he breathes. It is written by 
a man who, like all the rest of us in this 
area, has the base of his living and income 
in tobacco culture. But it is also written 
by a man who knows from personal ex-
perience that smoking is an expensive, 
dirty, injurious habit which as time goes 
on furnishes relatively little pleasure except 
as a surcease from the habit pangs of not 
smoking. 
"There are certainly worse habits that 
the young can acquire. Nobody ever beats 
his wife or mistreats his children as a 
result of smoking. Our highways are not 
made dangerous by people under the in-
fluence of tobacco. But the certain fact is 
that people who do smoke chain themselves 
for life to a habit which costs them much 
in health and money. 
"Maybe to the young smoking seems a 
sign of maturity. Probably no arguments 
are going to stop the young who want to 
smoke. Perhaps parents and principals are 
doing the best they can when they recognize 
and regulate the situation. Still and yet, 
and all the same, somebody even in a 
tobacco state ought to say to the young 
every now and then that all smoking is 
stupidity and that not smoking at all is 
probably the best sign of mature good 
sense in young and old alike." 
The following comment, which appeared 
in the same paper under date of September 
4, 1949, will also be of interest to our 
believers: 
NON-SMOKING SENATORS 
"Several days ago the publicity depart-
ment of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Com-
pany sent out a picture of Senator Hoey 
being presented a carton of Cavalier ciga-
rettes, the new Reynolds brand, by a Cava-
lier-costumed gentleman in Washington. 
Writing about the picture in The Chapel 
Hill Weekly, Louis Graves says he has not 
heard whether Senator Graham received a 
carton of cigarettes or not, but that he, like 
Hoey, would give them away because both 
are nonsmokers. Mr. Graves goes on to 
say, 'I'll bet there is not another state in 
the Union both of whose senators are non-
smokers; and these two nonsmoking sena-
tors represent the state which leads all 
others in both tobacco growing and tobacco 
manufacturing. What a frightful blow it 
would be to the stare's whole financial 
structure if other people did not give any 
more support to North Carolina's chief 
20 
�
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE 
branch of agriculture and chief industry 
than our two Senators do!' And in this day 
when nonsmokers are something of a rarity, 
Mr. Graves thinks it is worth mentioning 
that he also is among the scorners of the 
weed along with Attorney General Harry 
McMullan. Both quit years ago." 
LISTEN Testimonials 
From all walks of life and from all parts 
of the country come letters of appreciation 
for Listen. Here are a few of the many 
testimonials that have come to our desk: 
From a Police Magistrate: 
"The publication is the best on the alco-
holic menace I have read; and that is a 
broad statement, for I have read and written 
on the subject for many years."—D. E. 
CONE. 
Prom a News Correspondent: 
"Having worked on the staff of several 
weekly publications, daily papers, maga-
zines, etc., maybe I'm a bit more critical 
than other readers. But this first issue of 
your new pamphlet certainly seems with-
out fault. 
"Your photography is excellent, and the 
articles are thundering in that they are short 
and to the point. 
"Much success to you in this new under-
taking, and please let nothing stop such 
worth-while articles as are found in your 
'Journal of Better Living.' "—MRS. M. C. 
MIDRIFF. 
Prom a Famous Song Leader: 
"My sincere congratulations to yob folks 
on your new magazine, Listen. It is certainly 
one of the most attractive and interesting 
of all magazines of this character."—HOMER 
RODEHEAVER. 
From a College President's Secretary: 
"As I opened the president's mail this 
morning and glanced through the magazine 
Listen, my first reaction was, 'Now we are 
getting somewhere.' Here, at last, was the 
kind of enlightened, intelligent temperance 
action that is so sorely needed: not the 
torch-bearing, saloon-storming women of 
the turn of the century, bringing only 
ridicule on themselves and their cause; not 
the sanctimonious moral tirades that only 
those of the same ideas would listen to. 
No, here at last were cold, hard facts, 
presented in graphic and interesting form 
in an attractive setting, that will catch the 
eye of all sorts of people and will surely 
shock some of them into coming to their 
senses about the drinking problem—which, 
being the curse of America today, is also 
the curse of the world."—MRS. GLADYS 
R. BUELER. 
Prom "International Journal of Religious 
Education": 
"Congratulations on the first issue of 
your magazine, Listen! It is a beautiful 
periodical, and very well edited. I hope it 
will soon reach a wide public.. . . We will 
want to list Listen among the recommended 
materials for parents and leaders of religious 
education."—LILLIAN WILLIAMS. 
Prom a Temperance Leader: 
"Congratulations on the first number of 
Listen. It is the most attractive, interesting, 
and informative temperance magazine that 
has yet appeared. The selection and the 
arrangement of articles are most effective, 
and the illustrations are superb."—O. G. 
CHRISTGAU. 
Prom The Allied Church League of Halifin 
County, North Carolina: 
"When I received your July issue of 
Listen yesterday morning, I found it so 
attractive in appearance and so fascinating 
LIST EN 
By J. L. MCELHANY 
President, General Conference of S.D.A. 
I think Listen is the finest piece of litera-
ture that has ever been brought out in the 
cause of temperance. I urge you to do your 
utmost to give it the widest possible circu-
lation—in our churches and out of our 
churches, anywhere and everywhere—all the 
time doing your utmost to bring to the 
attention of the people everywhere the 
message this magazine contains. It is a 
magazine of which we can well be proud 
and which we can carry to men of high 
and low degree everywhere, and lay it 
before them as an exemplification of the 
great principles of temperance for which 
we as a church stand. 
and informing in content that I immediately 
dropped all my plans for the day—some of 
which were of some importance—and did 
not resume until after I had read every page. 
"This magazine is like a messenger sent 
from heaven. It will be received with glad-
ness by its friends and with fear and 
trembling by its foes. 
"I think every church member and every 
public-spirited citizen should be a regular 
reader of this grand temperance magazine. 
I hope to find time to try to get several 
hundred subscriptions for you."—J. M. 
SEAVER. 
From a Board of Temperance Chairman: 
"At out first Board of Temperance meet-
ing after our annual conference at Lake-
side, we passed a motion to put Listen 
on the library table of every high school in 
the bounds of our conference and to secure 
as many subscriptions as possible besides. 
We set up a special committee to carry 
out that project."—REV. ROTHROCK. 
Prom Pennsylvania ,TemPerance League: 
"We commend the Seventh-day Advent-
ists for the publication, Listen, which is 
generally conceded to be the best such 
December, 1949 
Not by My Vote 
Men will have strong drink, and men will 
sell liquor, but 
NOT BY MY VOTE 
Saloons may go on like the brook, for-
ever, and men may die by the thousands 
in them, but 
NOT BY MY VOTE 
Truth may be wrecked and character dis-
mantled, homes may be destroyed and 
women and children beggared, but 
NOT BY MY VOTE 
Children may be caught in the saloon's 
snare, the victims of alcohol may fill our 
jails, almshouses, and insane asylums, but 
NOT BY MY VOTE 
The saloon may impoverish and degrade 
the people, producing idleness, disease, and 
pauperism. It may breed anarchy and 
crime, but 
NOT BY MY VOTE 
The government may license the drink 
traffic and for a consideration take "a re-
ward against the innocent" and bargain 
away the public health and the public 
morals, but 
NOT BY MY VOTE 
The liquor traffic may corrupt the social 
and political life of the nation; it may 
worm its way into all business and even 
into the sacred precincts of the home and 
the church, but 
NOT BY MY VOTE 
The bells may toll the death knell of a 
human being slain by Rum every five 
minutes of the day, but 
NOT BY MY VOTE 
publication presented to the public. It has 
good material presented in an attractive 
way—color and picture—and is designed 
to make a popular appeal. Evidently this 
is a venture on the part of the Adventists 
and one into which they are putting large 
sums of money. It appears to be a program 
that should be supported by the whole 
church—an interdenominational program." 
—L. L. OWENS. 
Conquering and to Conquer 
BY C. S. LONGACRE 
Associate Secretary of the American 
Temperance Society 
We came; we saw; we conquered; and 
the enemy is ours. Thank the good Lord 
for the victory! 
The day before the election was a day 
of prayer and fasting. No "dry" meeting in 
Oklahoma was held without prayer and 
the invocation of God's blessing upon the 
"dry" cause. 
No "wet" meeting was ever opened with 
prayer, for they knew that if they did pray, 
they would have to offer a prayer similar 
to the one John Wesley said when he was 
asked to pronounce the blessing upon a 
roasted pig set before him on the dining 
table. He prayed: "God, if Thou canst 
bless what Thou didst curse, then bless 
this pig." 
Vol. 36, No. 12 
December 24 
THE SPIRIT OF 
CHRISTMAS 
By ADELE DORLAND 
ORDER OF SERVICE 
CHRISTMAS CAROLS: (Use one for opening 
song). 
LEADER'S INTRODUCTION. 
SCRIPTURE: "The Spirit of Christmas." 
PRAYER. 
OFFERING. 
SECRETARY'S REPORT. 
SToki: "How a Lonesome Christmas Turned 
Into a Merry One." 
STORY: "A Truck for Joey." 
LEADER'S REMARKS. 
DIALOGUE: "What Shall We Do?" 
DISCUSSION OF CHRISTMAS PLANS. 
CLOSING SONG. 
BENEDICTION. 
Leader's Introduction 
The Christmas season is a joyous time 
filled with gaiety and laughter. It is a time 
of year when people are happy just to be 
alive. The very atmosphere is filled with 
what we call the spirit of Christmas. Some-
times in thinking of the good things that 
come with Christmas—the gifts we are 
going to receive, the Christmas party, the 
dinner we can hardly wait to eat—we forget 
the real spirit of Christmas. Today let us 
find out from God's Word what is meant 
by the spirit of Christmas. 
The Spirit of Christmas 
(This it to be recited by seven Junior 
boys. Each on" might have a card with the 
word that he is telling about lettered on it.) 
FIRST JUNIOR: The spirit of Christmas 
means humility. "And being found in 
fashion as a man, He humbled Himself." 
Philippians 2:8. 
SECOND JUNIOR: The spirit of Christ-
mas means unselfishness. "He that spared 
not His own Son, but delivered Him up 
for us all, how shall He not with Him also 
freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32. 
THIRD JUNIOR: The spirit of Christmas 
means service. "But made Himself of no 
reputation, and took upon Him the form of 
a servant." Philippians 2:7. 
FOURTH JUNIOR: The spirit of Christ-
mas means sacrifice. "But God commendeth 
His love toward us, in that, while we were 
yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8. 
FIFTH JUNIOR: The spirit of Christmas 
means perfect obedience to God. Christ said, 
"Not My will, but Thine, be done." Luke 
22:42. 
SIXTH JUNIOR: The spirit of Christmas 
means forgiving as Christ forgave. "Then 
said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they 
know not what they do." Luke 23:34. 
SEVENTH JUNIOR: But, beyond all, the 
spirit of Christmas is love. "For God so 
loved the world, that He gave His only- 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
Him should not perish, but have everlasting 
life." John 3:16. 
LEADER: We shall miss the true spirit of 
Christmas this year unless we can follow 
Christ's example in these ways. Let us ask 
the Lord Jesus right now to fill us with 
the true Christmas spirit. 
How a Lonesome Christmas 
Turned Into a Merry One 
"I wish we didn't live in Peru, mother," 
Helen complained one day shortly before 
Christmas. "There is no snow; and there will 
be no Christmas tree or popcorn balls or 
stockings to hang up, or anything. I wish 
I could be in the States and have a good 
time on Christmas like the other children." 
You see, Helen's parents are missionaries 
down in Peru, but they have not forgotten 
all the good times Christmas had brought 
them in the States when they were children, 
so they sympathized with their little daugh-
ter. 
"But, just think, dearie," said mother, as 
she drew her little girl to her, "think of the 
thousands of poor little Peruvian children 
who have never even heard of Christmas 
presents and who have hardly enough rice 
and bread to eat each day. What would you 
think of trying to make some of them happy 
this Christmas?" 
Helen thbught that a very happy idea. 
"Oh, I'd like to, mother! But how can I 
without money to buy things?" she in-
quired. 
"We might make something pretty that 
would not cost much," answered her mother, 
"and perhaps you could give them some of 
your toys, dear. For whom will they be?" 
"For my little friend Josefina!" said Helen 
excitedly. "She is such a nice little girl, 
but she has no toys, and her three little 
brothers don't have any either. And their 
new little baby sister—let's give her some-
thing, too." She fairly jumped up and down 
with glee. "And please let me take the 
things over Christmas morning and surprise 
them—in my nice basket." 
Mother agreed, and they set to work that 
very day to make a scrapbook for Josefina. 
Helen first cut out the pictures she found in 
magazines and then neatly pasted them on 
some heavy, glossy paper which she had 
cut into sheets and tied together with ribbon 
in the form of a book. The work took 
several days; but she sang as she worked, and 
at last the pretty gift was finished, just the 
day before Christmas. 
Then they went to town and bought a 
box of colored crayons for Armando, the 
oldest boy; a large colored ball for the next 
one, Lorenzo; a doll for the two-year-old; 
and a rattle for the new black-eyed baby 
who had come very near to being a Christ-
mas present herself. Besides, there were 
some extra toys, cookies, apples, oranges, 
and other goodies to help fill the basket. 
Early Christmas morning found Helen 
dressing hurriedly. What fun it would be 
to see the children open their eyes as they 
got a peep at the presents! She could hardly 
wait. 
. After breakfast she and her mother 
started off with the precious basket. In 
front of the little mud hut they stood and 
clapped their hands—that is the custom 
in Peru—to let the people know of their 
arrival. The children came running out 
to greet the early visitors, wondering what 
it all meant. And what could be in that fat-
looking basket? 
After inquiring about the health of all 
the family and admiring the tiny baby for a 
few moments, Helen could wait no longer. 
"We have come to wish you a Merry Christ-
mas, and we hope you will like the sur-
prise basket," she said, placing it on the 
table in front of the mother as she spoke. 
One by one the things were taken out and 
given to the children, and I think no one 
was happier than Helen herself as she 
watched the smiles and heard the expressions 
of delight while they examined their pres-
ents. 
As they walked home, Helen said, "Oh, 
mother, I believe this is the merriest Christ-
mas I ever had!" 
—INEZ HOILAND-STEVENS. 
A Truck for Joey 
Tim jingled the money in his pocket. 
Five dollars seemed a fortune! He had 
shoveled mountains of snow and run dozens 
of errands to earn it. And now he was on his 
way to buy two things at Graham's Gift 
Shop. One was the alabaster box his mother 
had admired early in October. The other 
was a leather catcher's mitt for himself, 
"Hi, TimMy!" The boy turned to see his 
cousin Ann running toward him. "May 
I go shopping with you?" she called. 
"Mother's too busy to take me." 
"Sure, come along." Tim was glad to 
have someone to share his plans. 
Ann wanted to choose her gift first, so 
Tim went with her to the variety store. 
They had to push their way through the 
crowd. "Let's look at the toys while we're 
here," Ann suggested. 
A group of eager children stood in front 
of the toy counter. One mother was holding 
up her small boy so he could see over the 
heads of the others. "Look, truck!" The child 
clapped his hands with glee when he saw a 
large wooden truck big enough for him to 
ride on. "I want truck," he pleaded. 
"No, Joey, it costs too much," the boy's 
mother told him gently. "Let's go look at 
the mittens. You need a new pair if 
you're to play outside this winter." As she 
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
21 
22 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
carried Joey away, Tim noticed how shabby 
her clothes were and how tired she looked. 
"You stay here a minute," Tim told Ann 
suddenly. He started after the mother and 
her small boy. Joey was still begging for the 
truck when Tim caught up with them. 
"Would you like for me to watch your 
boy while you shop?" Tim offered. "You 
must be tired of carrying him." 
"I am," the mother replied. "He's so lively 
I'm afraid he might get lost if I let go of 
him." 
"I can take him back to see the toys. I'll 
watch him." 
The mother readily consented and set 
Joey on the floor. As she raised up and 
hurried away, a letter fell from her pocket. 
Tim picked it up to return it to her when 
she returned. 
Ann and Tim had fun showing the toys 
to Joey. "He always wants to come back to 
the truck," Ann laughed. "I hope he gets 
one for Christmas." 
When Joey's mother returned, they told 
her how much her son liked the big truck. 
"I noticed that, too," she smiled, "but 
he'll have to wait another year. His father 
has been sick all fall and it takes most of 
what I earn to keep this young man fed!" 
Tim remembered the letter and the 
woman seemed pleased to get it back. 
"Thanks for helping me out," she told the 
cousins, "and a Merry Christmas!" 
Tim and Ann watched until Joey and his 
mother had disappeared. "I wish we could 
give Joey a Christmas present," Ann said 
slowly. "But we don't even know where he 
lives." 
"I know," Tim told her. "The address 
was on the letter I picked up. Mrs. Joseph 
Gray, 220 Walnut Street." 
Tim was fingering the money in his 
pocket. The truck cost two dollars. He 
could buy it instead of the mitt. "I'm going 
to get the truck," he decided. �
ask Mr. 
Graham to save the mitt until I can earn 
more money and buy it, too." 
Tim found it hard to wait for Christmas 
morning. When the day came, he watched 
breathlessly as his mother opened the gift 
from him. "How lovely!" she exclaimed 
when she saw the alabaster box. Tim forgot 
to wish that he had a mitt. 
After breakfast Ann and Tim started for 
Joey's house. Ann carried a bundle of warm 
clothes her young brother had outgrown. 
Tim's package contained the truck and some 
candy and nuts. Quietly they placed their 
gifts on the Grays' front porch and Tim 
knocked at the door. Then he and Ann ran 
and hid at the side of the house. 
The door opened and Mrs. Gray's voice 
called, "Come here, Joey! Santa brought 
you some gifts after all!" The little boy's 
happy shout told the cousins when he 
reached the porch. 
"My truck!" he cried, and Tim and Ann 
knew that the paper was torn from the 
biggest package. 
As they started home Tim felt warm and 
happy inside. He wondered if the Wise 
Men had felt like that after presenting their 
gifts to the Christ child so long ago in 
Bethlehem. 
—BERTHA GAGOS, in The Christian 
Advocate. (Reprinted by permission.) 
Leader's Remarks 
As Junior Missionary Volunteers we want 
to show the true spirit of Christmas to others 
this year. Every Seventh-day Adventist young 
person knows, or at least should know, that 
we are not celebrating Christ's birthday on 
December 25, for He was not born on that 
day. Yet the spirit of giving at Christmas 
certainly can be associated with Christ, for 
He was the greatest Gift God gave to man. 
The practice of giving gifts is not wrong, 
but we might learn a lesson from the way 
the wise men brought their gifts. Remem-
ber, they did not bring their gifts to Joseph, 
or to Mary, or to the innkeeper, but rather 
to Jesus. We, too, can bring our gifts to 
Jesus, for He said, "Inasmuch as ye have 
done it unto one of the least of these my 
brethren, ye have done it unto Me." 
Sometimes we feel that because we do 
not have a lot of money and cannot buy 
beautiful and expensive gifts for people, we 
cannot bring Christmas cheer to anyone. 
However, it does not take a lot of money to 
give something. Listen while some of our 
girls discuss what can be done. 
Morning Prayer 
Be with me, Lord, as here I pray, 
And keep me by Thy side today. 
Please make me gentle, pure, and 
true, 
And kind in all I say and do, 
Honest in every word and deed, 
And quick to help when others need. 
Amen! 
—AUTHOR UNKNOWN. 
What Shall We Do? 
FIRST GIRL: 
What shall we do to make Christmas Day 
The happiest of the year 
For someone who may need our love, 
And a thought of kindly cheer? 
SECOND GIRL: 
I'm making some scrapbooks, the prettiest I 
can, 
To take to the hospital here, 
For the sick little children who else might 
find 
Their Christmas day most drear. 
THIRD GIRL: 
I'm going to make some candy—my best— 
And tie it in wrappings gay, 
And take it to an old lady near by 
Who'll be all alone that day. 
FOURTH GIRL: 
I've nothing to give, but I'm going that day 
To play with a little lame boy, 
And read him a book while his mother rests; 
I hope 'twill give them both joy. 
FIFTH GIRL: 
Let's give a surprise to the shut-ins we know, 
And go in the early morn, 
And sing 'neath their windows our sweetest 
songs 
About when the dear Christ was born. 
SIXTH GIRL: 
Oh, this is the way I'm sure we can have 
The very happiest day; 
To think of others, to give love and cheer, 
Will bring us joy alway. 
Note to Superintendents 
After the dialogue conduct a service in 
which the Juniors tell what they plan to do 
on Christmas or during the Christmas season 
to bring cheer to someone. Encourage each 
one to make a Christmas list of things they 
can do when they go home. 
"The Holy Spirit loves to address the 
youth, and to discover to them the treasures 
and beauties of God's word. The promises 
spoken by the great Teacher will captivate 
the senses and animate the soul with a 
spiritual power that is divine. There will 
grow in the fruitful mind a familiarity with 
divine things that will be as a barricade 
against temptation."—Christ's Object Les-
sons, p. 132. 
Everything can be done better than it 
is being done. If we have an expert, we fire 
him. We don't want men who know it all. 
We want men who see so much they haven't 
done that they haven't time to think about 
how good or efficient they are—HENRY 
FORD. 
The work that centuries might have done 
must crowd the hour of setting sun!—
CLARA THWAITES. 
Counting time is not so important as 
making time count.—JAMES J. WALKER. 
Vol. 36, No. 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
23 
Forward to New Victories in 1950 
"There Remaineth Yet Very 
Much Land to Be Possessed" 
Text: Joshua 13:1. 
I. Reviewing the victories and progress 
of the past. 
II. Facing the unfinished task of the 
future. 
I. Reviewing the Achievements of the Past. 
The first twelve chapters of Joshua give 
us a thrilling recital of the triumphs of 
God's people in the conquest of the Prom-
ised Land. Great progress had been made, 
all within the life span of one man, Joshua. 
But now Joshua was "old and stricken in 
years." It was, therefore, the sunset hour 
of this great 'man of God; and in that 
closing bit of time God expected him to 
finish the work he had so nobly begun. 
In this glorious bit of sacred history we 
see a fitting and striking parallel to the 
work of God and the people of God today. 
Within the life span of human beings 
still living, the great second advent move-
ment has marched around the world in the 
most thrilling conquest of all time. But 
now it is the sunset hour, and we hear 
again the voice of the Lord saying in 
thunder tones, "There remaineth yet very 
much land to be possessed." In this sunset 
hour we must face the sunset task. 
Our danger today is the same danger that 
ensnared Israel. They settled down to enjoy 
the fruits of their victories. They lost the 
aggressive spirit. They were rocked to sleep 
in the cradle of carnal security. They ceased 
to march forward "conquering, and to 
conquer." They forgot the military strategy 
and advantages of offensive warfare. They 
became "settled on their lees." 
We like to recount the wonderful prog-
ress in this great second advent movement. 
We rejoice as we see the lengthening chain 
of sanitariums, hospitals, and clinics en-
circling the globe. We are thankful as we 
see the growth of our educational institu-
tions fulfilling the divine blueprint for the 
modern schools of the prophets. We glory 
in the story of missionary advance into 
nearly every land on earth. We are en-
thralled by the miracles of transforming 
power. 
We are stirred also by the revival of the 
great Dorcas Welfare program that is ful- 
Missionary Program for 
Sabbath, December 3 
By ADLAI ESTER 
OPENING HYMN: "Hark! the Voice of 
Jesus Calling," No. 447 in Church 
Hymnal. 
SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 10:1, 2; Phi-
lippians 3:13, 14. 
PRAYER. 
ANNOUNCEMENTS. 
SPECIAL MUSIC OR HYMN: "Far and Near 
the Fields Are' Teeming," No. 448. 
BIBLE STUDY: "There Remaineth Yet Very 
Much Land to Be Possessed." 
RECITATION: "Faces at the Window." 
HYMN: "Work, for the Night Is Coming," 
No. 446. 
BENEDICTION. 
filling Isaiah 58. The marvelous relief 
program has been brought before the eyes 
of the entire world. Dorcas is on the march 
around the world. Our hearts rejoice to see 
the response of our great army of youth to 
the Share-Your-Faith movement. "With 
such an army of workers as our youth, 
rightly trained, might furnish, how soon 
the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-
coming Saviour might be carried to the 
whole world!"—Education, p. 271. 
How our hearts leap for joy when we 
see how "the wealth of the Gentiles" is 
flowing into the work of God in harmony 
with the divine prophecy. A recent gift of 
over $2,000,000 from one individual should 
make us realize how easily God can give 
us favor before the world until the work 
is done. 
We give grateful thanks to God as we 
see how the publishing work has prospered. 
God designed that "the canvassing work 
is to be revived, and that it is to be carried 
forward with increasing success"—Colgor-
tear Evangelist, p. 35. Scores of well-
equipped publishing houses are located at 
strategic places all around the world. Has 
sacred history ever been able to record 
more thrilling stories of hazard, hardship, 
heroism, and adventure than those written 
by our faithful army of colporteur evange-
lists in every land? 
Further, in the materialistic world we 
have shared with others the joy of the 
brilliant conquest of space; and from horse-
back, ox carts, and canoes we have leaped 
in one generation into streamlined trains, 
automobiles, and floating palaces on sea 
and flying fortresses and pleasure ships of 
the air. We like to recount the amazing 
conquest of time and the development of 
the telegraph, telephone, and radio. The 
breath-taking attacks on the power hidden 
in the atom, our conquest of mechanics 
and dynamics, and the wizardry of electricity 
present chapters in the triumphs of the 
century which stagger the imagination of 
men. 
Shall we be content to rejoice in all these 
achievements in the physical and the spirit-
ual worlds, and settle down on our lees? 
Shall we thank God for all these victories 
and many others too numerous to mention, 
and forget that God still speaks? He says 
today as of yore AtThere remaineth yet very 
much land to be possessed." In this sunset 
hour we must face the sunset task. 
II. Facing the Unfinished Task of the Future. 
What is the unfinished task we face? In 
the language of our text it is not "some" 
land, or even "much land,- but "very much 
land to be possessed." What are some of these 
unconquered areas that challenge the church 
of God today? They are parts of two 
worlds—the world within and the world 
without. 
1. The World Within. There is a great 
work yet to be done in the hearts of God's 
people. "Those who come up to every 
point, and stand every test, and overcome, 
be the price what it may, have heeded the 
counsel of the True Witness, and they will 
receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for 
translation."—Testimonies, Vol. 1, pp. 187, 
188. 
24 
Every one knows the plague of his own 
heart. Each one knows the bane of his 
experience. Some must conquer their fears; 
others their doubts; others their impatient 
spirit, their temper, their tongues. Others 
find a great temptation in fashion; or love 
of the world. Some feel the overwhelming 
power of the love of money, the love of 
praise, or the love of power. But there must 
be no room for these things, for "Christ 
is everything and everywhere." Colossians 
3:11, Moffatt. There are still others who 
must attack and overcome their indifference 
to and neglect of the work of God. A 
heavy condemnation rests upon those who 
neglect the work of the Lord. "Curse ye 
Mere); said the angel of the Lord, curse 
ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because 
they came not to , the help of the Lord, 
to the help of the Lord against the mighty." 
Judges 5:23. All the sins of commission or 
the sins of omission must be summarily 
dealt with. How many Christians have cried 
out: "They made me the keeper of the 
vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I 
not kept." Song of Solomon 1:6. Each one 
of us has a garden within the heart to keep 
beautiful and fruitful for Jesus; but we 
must get rid of "the foxes, the little foxes, 
that spoil the vines." Song of Solomon 2:15. 
2. The World Without. When we have 
developed a beautiful garden within our 
hearts, we must not forget that there are 
other vineyards in which we have been 
given responsibility. There is, first, the 
home in which we live—our little garden 
of Eden; second, the church where we 
have our membership—"for the vineyard 
of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel" 
(Isaiah 5:7); and third, the whole wide 
world in which we live, for "the field is 
the world" (Matthew 13:38). When we 
view the vast amount of work that needs to 
be done in these vineyards, we are led to 
exclaim in the words of ,pus text: "There 
remaineth yet very much land to be 
possessed." 
Let us come a little closer to our supreme 
task of evangelism. Let us see the millions 
of faces that crowd into view. We see them 
through our windows—the windows of our 
homes, the windows of our churches, the 
windows of our offices. They are every-
where. They are waiting. Many of them are 
on the verge of the kingdom, waiting to 
be gathered in. "All over the world men 
and women are looking wistfully to heaven. 
Prayers and tears and inquiries go up from 
souls longing for light, for grace, for the 
Holy Spirit. Many are on the verge of the 
kingdom, waiting only to be gathered in." 
—Acts of the Apostles, p. 109. 
In view of these waiting millions, how 
can we be content to sit in church or at 
home and merely pray for them or only 
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE 
give money to help them. Soul winning 
cannot be done alone by purse, but by 
person; not by proxy, but by proximity. 
Come close to the people. "We are not to 
hover over the ninety and nine, but to go 
forth to save the lost, hunting them up in 
wilderness of the large cities and towns." 
—Testimonies to Ministers, p. 232. 
In our house-to-house visitation crusade 
—Operation Doorbell—we find home 
after home where prayer has never been 
heard before. We find families that have 
never had a Bible. We find many, oh, so 
many, troubled souls, sorrowing hearts, 
unhappy people who need the spiritual 
ministration of Christians who know and 
love God. How often we have arisen from 
prayer to see the tears flowing down the 
cheeks of people we had never met until 
just a few moments before when they 
answered the doorbell. Our own hearts have 
melted as they have taken our hands and 
told us what that prayer had meant to them. 
How many homes there are remaining 
yet to be possessed! How many families 
are there in your community that have 
never been visited? Do you say, "Let them 
come to church and heat the message"? 
But that is not the answer. "We are not 
to wait for souls to come to us; we must 
seek them out where they are. . . . There 
are multitudes who will never be reached 
by the gospel unless it is carried to them." 
—Christ's Object Lessons, p. 229. 
This house-to-house visitation program 
is the divine program given us of God. 
In fact, it was the divine pattern of work 
left to us by the Master. Why has it 
taken us so long to find this out? Note 
these statements which are crystal clear: 
"Our Saviour went from house to house, 
healing the sick, comforting the mourners, 
soothing the afflicted, speaking peace to 
the disconsolate. He took the little children 
in His arms and blessed them and spoke 
words of hope and comfort to the weary 
mothers. With unfailing tenderness and 
gentleness, He met every form of human 
woe."—Gospel Workers, p. 188. 
There is no ambiguity about that state-
ment. "Our Saviour went from house to 
house, . . . comforting, . . . soothing, . . . 
speaking peace." Now note this corollary 
utterance: "Christ's method alone will give 
true success in reaching the people. The 
Saviour mingled with men as one who 
desired their good. He showed His sympathy 
for them, ministered to their needs, and 
won their confidence."—Ministry of Heal-
ing, p. 143. 
From these statements we are assured 
that this house-to-house visitation is a 
vital part of the divine blueprint of personal 
evangelism. Paul, as well as Jesus, followed 
this pattern. At Ephesus he visited the 
December, 1949 
homes of the people. In fact, he affirmed 
that not one person could say he had not 
been warned. "Remember, that by the space 
of three years I ceased not to warn everyone 
night and day with tears. . . . And have 
taught you publicly, and from house to 
house. . . I am pure from the blood of 
all men." Acts 20:31, 20, 26. 
The next great movement in our de-
nomination is a mighty laymen's move-
ment, a return to the pristine splendor of 
the early church with victory within and 
without, going forth, "conquering, and to 
conquer." (Revelation 6:2.) It is our only 
hope for a finished work. "The work of God 
in this earth can never be finished until the 
men and women comprising our church 
membership rally to the work, and unite 
their efforts with those of ministers and 
church officers."—Gospel Workers, p. 352. 
It is the sunset hour; we must face the 
sunset task. Let us respond to the ringing 
summons of God to His people as He 
says: "There remaineth yet very much land 
to be possessed." 
Wisdom is knowing what to do; 
Skill is knowing how to do it; 
Virtue is doing it. 
Faces at the Window 
When we sit in the comfort of home's fire-
side, 
And we bask in the blessings which God 
has supplied, 
Through the merits of Christ the crucified, 
Our hearts are glad. 
But please look through the window and 
see out there 
All the faces of millions pass by in despair; 
Can we still be content to say only a prayer 
For those so sad? 
When we sit in the ease of an office chair, 
Mid the blessings of peace and the freedom 
we share, 
And the joys of a land with which none 
can compare— 
"Land of the Brave"— 
Oh, look out through the window and see 
anew, 
Many millions of faces that crowd into 
view, 
And then ask yourself seriously, What can 
we do 
Their souls to save? 
When we sit in our church in our com- 
fortable pews, 
And we thrill with the glories of God's 
"Good News," 
Let's remember the nations with no chance 
to choose 
God's message to man. 
Please look out through the window and 
see, I pray, 
All these millions of sheep who have gone 
astray— 
Oh, my brethren, let's hasten and find them 
today, 
For this is God's plan. 
-ADLAI ESTEB, 
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
25 
Vol. 36, No. 12 
God Brings Them In 
Fourteen years ago one of the Cole 
sisters of Kentucky quit going to church 
because of a dream she had. In the dream 
she was in a great forest. All the trees 
in that forest were dead with the exception 
of one or two, and on these appeared 
strange lights. The Lord impressed her 
that these represented His true church. She 
inquired of the Lord where she could find 
His church, and at the time she was in-
formed that she would be told at a future 
date. Subsequent to her dream, she and 
her family moved to Cincinnati. 
Sometime in February, 1948, this sister 
began reading her Bible, and thought it 
might be well for her to memorize portions 
of it. She began with the Ten Command-
ments. When she came to the fourth com-
mandment, she discovered that the seventh, 
not the first, day of the week was the 
Sabbath. She immediately called on her 
sister and told her of finding that Saturday, 
the seventh day, was the Sabbath. She and 
her sister decided they would begin keep-
ing Saturday, which they did, feeling that 
they were the only persons in all of Cin-
cinnati who were keeping God's true Sab-
bath. 
Shortly after they began keeping the 
Sabbath, this sister, whose name is Mrs. 
Roach, had another dream in which she 
was told by the Lord to join His church. 
She told the Lord she had searched for 
His church but could not find it. Shortly 
after this second dream she went to see 
a third sister who was taking Bible studies 
from two ministers from God's Bible 
School. As she entered the home, she 
found these men were there. Apparently 
they knew that she was keeping the Sabbath, 
because one said to her, "Are you the 
woman who keeps Saturday for the Sab-
bath?" 
She replied, "Yes, I am. I keep Saturday 
because the fourth commandment says the 
seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy 
God," 
They tried in many ways to convince 
her that the law had been nailed to the 
cross, but she was a sufficiently good Bible 
student to show them that the seventh-day 
Sabbath was still in force. These ministers 
reported back to their school, and three 
ministers came to the Roach home to 
convince her that the seventh-day Sabbath 
had been nailed to the cross, and to invite 
her to attend their college. After consider- 
able discussion she told them she could 
not attend any church that did not keep 
all the commandments of God, including 
the seventh-day Sabbath. 
About the time Mrs. Roach was having 
this discussion with these ministers, the 
pastor of the local Seventh-day Adventist 
Church, E. H. Schneider, was forced into 
a discussion with a minister of the Church 
of Christ. One of the attendants at this 
church was the mail carrier for the district 
in which Mrs. Roach lived. He had talked 
with Mrs. Roach and had told her there 
was a church in town that kept the seventh-
day Sabbath. One day, while delivering 
mail to her, he brought her a newspaper in 
which appeared an advertisement telling 
of evangelistic meetings being carried on 
at the Cincinnati Seventh-day Adventist 
Church on Sunday nights. 
Mrs. Roach read this ad, then went to 
the Lord in prayer. She asked the Lord 
that it might be revealed to her if this 
was His church. That very night she had 
a third dream in which she found herself 
being directed of the Lord to the Seventh-
day Adventist Church in Cincinnati. As 
she came to this church, she saw that a 
large stone had been used as a stepping-
stone into the church. She was amazed at 
this stone, and drew near to examine it. 
As she came near, she noticed that a pair 
of slippers had been cut out of the rock. 
These slippers seemed to be like her bed-
room slippers, and just about the right 
size. As she drew closer to examine them, 
her feet slipped into them. They fit per-
fectly. They seemed firm and solid, and 
the Lord seemed to say to her, "This is 
the solid Rock upon which My church is 
built, and this is My church." 
As she stood with her feet comfortably 
fitted into these slippers, she looked into 
the church. The church seemed to her to 
be made of pure gold, the most beautiful 
church she had ever seen, and the Lord 
seemed to say to her, "Yes, this is My 
church." 
Upon awakening the next morning, she 
called her sister, told her of the dream, and 
asked her sister to accompany her to this 
evangelistic meeting that very night. Her 
sister invited her young married son, and 
he came with these two sisters. 
The topic that night presented by Elder 
Schneider was "The Return of Jesus." As 
they listened to this sermon, Mrs. Roach 
knew she was in God's church, and this 
was the church she was to join. At the 
close of the service, as Elder Schneider 
was shaking hands with the people, she 
and her sister and nephew requested bap-
tism, although this was the first time they 
had ever been in the Seventh-day Adventist 
Church. They were invited to join the 
baptismal class, but they wanted to be 
baptized immediately. 
"But how do you know this is the true 
church?" Elder Schneider asked. 
"Oh, I know this is Christ's Church," 
Mrs. Roach replied, "and we want to be 
baptized and received into this church." 
"But there are many things you have to 
learn before baptism," suggested the pastor. 
"We are willing to accept anything that 
you teach, because we know you are teaching 
the Bible and nothing but the Bible, and 
the Lord has revealed to us that this is 
His church." 
She asked Elder Schneider to visit her 
so that she could tell him how she knew 
this was God's remnant church. He came, 
and she told of her dreams, and of her 
desire to be baptized into the church. 
After a series of Bible studies and con-
tinued attendance at Sunday-night meetings 
and also at church services on the Sabbath, 
Sister Roach, together with her sister, Mrs. 
Furrow, another sister, Mrs. Sparks, and 
a nephew, were all baptized. There are 
seven sisters in the family, and Sister Roach 
reports that in the not-far-distant future 
she believes every one of them will accept 
the third angel's message. 
We, of the Walnut Hills Church, re-
joice that God is calling the honest in 
heart to embrace His last warning message 
to a dying world. 
—E. H. SCHNEIDER. 
Village Nursing in Alaska 
"The medical work is the right arm of 
the message." I longed to see just how much 
of an entering wedge it would prove to be. 
Mr. Emery and I first noticed the close 
relation between the physical and spiritual 
needs during the three summers we engaged 
in the colporteur ministry among the natives 
of Alaska. As we traveled from village to 
village, the people would somehow find out 
that a nurse was among them and would 
say, "Oh, you the nurse? My baby sick. 
You help me?" It often seemed that they 
had a village delegate that would take me 
to each door of those who were ill. Usually 
it was the door of each cabin. Many of 
the babies die from such diseases as whoop-
ing cough and pneumonia. You should not 
wonder at this, for a small one-room cabin 
housed a large family and was so filthy 
and lacking in pure, fresh air that I would 
leave one foot in the door so I could put 
26 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE 
my nose to the crack and take a real 
breath now and then. 
Every home in every village of Alaska, 
except Nome and the Aleutian Islands, 
had been visited by our colporteur ministry. 
As each home was entered, a new coal 
was added to the already burning desire 
to more fully bring the third angel's 
message to these souls. Up to this time there 
had been no full-time native worker. Elder 
Wood, superintendent of the Alaska Mis-
sion, deeply burdened for these people, 
called us to come. It was with a full heart 
and a knowledge of a people greatly in 
need of physical and spiritual help that 
my husband and I climbed the ladder to 
the rain-drenched dock of a village of two 
hundred fifty inhabitants, with native and 
white population about equal. Scarcely had 
we finished carting our baggage over the 
hill to our new hdme when the commis-
sioner invited us to attend the town council 
called especially to appoint me as the town 
nurse. We assured them that we were there 
to aid each need, physical or spiritual. 
One of our greatest privileges was to 
lend physical aid to a very aged Indian 
man. He did not know how old he was. 
His arms shook continuously, and he be-
lieved that another native of a near-by 
village had bewitched him. This caused 
him much pain mentally. He lived alone on 
the beach in a stuffy, damp, cold house, 
eating only what the community set by 
his bedside. On Sabbath our little company 
would take him food and then sing, pray, 
and read to him. The odor of his room was 
so offensive that the commissioner had to 
leave the room three times because of 
severe attacks of nausea while inquiring 
after his needs. During the cold winter 
months he became so ill he could not get 
out of bed. It was clearly seen that in this 
accumulation of filth and helplessness he 
would not live long. The Lord burdened our 
hearts to share our home with him. The 
coal dust had caked on his body for several 
years, so it took many daily medicated 
baths to remove dirt and odor. He was 
shaved, given a haircut, and three-quarter-
inch toenails were removed with a hack 
saw. Meals were served him regularly. 
How he changed as Mr. Emery studied the 
Bible with him! He believed the Sabbath 
truth and rejoiced in singing hymns of 
praise. He is now receiving hospitaliza-
tion. As he was placed in the plane to go 
to the hospital, he said, "I never wanted 
to fly in that big bird. I rather row my 
canoe over." Our last visit found him 
happy and firmly trusting in Jesus. 
The medical missionary work is ever 
onward and God is continually opening 
up hearts to receive the light of truth by 
the right arm of His message. 
—MRS. S. H. EMERY. 
Training the Laity 
In discussing the subject, "Training the 
Laity;' it might be well to consider four 
main points. First, reasons for training the 
laity; second, branches of service in which 
the laity should be trained; third, persons 
responsible for the training; and fourth, 
results to be expected from such training, 
The reason for the existence of the Home 
Missionary Department is synonymous with 
the one for training the laity. "The work 
of God in this earth can never be finished 
until the men and women comprising our 
church-membership rally to the work, and 
unite their efforts with those of ministers 
and church officers."—Testimonies, Vol. 9, 
p 117. 
Divine commands from our Saviour sup-
ply another reason why lay members should 
be trained. "Go ye into all the world, and 
preach the gospel to every creature. . . . 
Lay hands on the sick, and they shall re-
cover?' Mark 16:15, 18. "Go ye therefore, 
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe 
all things whatsoever I have commanded 
you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even 
unto the end of the world." Matthew 28:19, 
20. We are told that "the commission given 
to the disciples is given also to us. Today, 
as then, a crucified and risen Saviour is to 
be uplifted before those who are without 
God and without hope in the world. . . 
From door to door His servants are to 
proclaim the message of salvation."—Gospel 
Workers, p. 29. 
There are many shut-ins who need a 
pleasant visit, many orphans who need the 
human touch to let them know someone 
cares, lonely prisoners who need to know 
of the love of Jesus, many who have learned 
of the Advent message through the Bible 
Correspondence School or literature left by 
colporteurs, who will never receive the at-
tention they need unless the laymen give 
it. Because the need is so urgent and so 
great, the laity should be trained. 
There are many branches of service in 
which the laymen can be of use. "Every 
church should be a training school for 
Christian workers. Its members should be 
taught [I] how to give Bible readings, 
[2] how to conduct and teach Sabbath-
school classes, [3] how best to help the 
poor and to care for the sick, [4] how to 
work for the unconverted."—Ministry of 
Healing, p. 149. "There are ways in which 
all may do personal service for God. Some 
December, 1949 
can write a letter to a far-off friend, or 
send a paper to one who is inquiring for 
truth. Others can give counsel to those who 
are in difficulty. Those who know how to 
treat the sick can help in this line. Others 
who have the necessary qualifications can 
give Bible readings or conduct Bible 
classes."—Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 433. 
Dorcas members can do a marvelous job 
of administering to the needs of the un-
fortunate of the neighborhood and to war-
torn countries overseas. Those already 
trained in the making of garments and 
preparing nutritious meals should give of 
their time and talent to help others to 
learn, that they, too, may be of service to 
the poor and unfortunate. 
Bands should be formed, with able 
leaders taking the initiative. These bands 
should be small, so that leaders can as-
certain the ability of each member and 
utilize his efforts. We are told that the 
training course for the laymen should be 
exceedingly simple, in order to meet the 
needs of all classes, and must include in its 
scope the necessary instruction covering 
every phase of the evangelistic work of the 
local church. The course that may be given 
with good results in the churches is out-
lined as follows: 
1. Church officers' training—duties and 
responsibilities. 
2. Laymen's Bible work—instruction in 
giving simple Bible Studies. 
3. Medical missionary and Christian help 
work. 
4. Circulation of the printed page in 
personal service. 
5. Home-foreign work—methods of 
evangelism among foreigners in this coun-
try. 
6. Dorcas work—instruction in making 
clothes for needy, quilts, etc. 
To whom is delegated the task of train-
ing the laity for service? This task must be 
undertaken by the missionary committee of 
the church, which is composed of members 
of the church board. "The mobilization of 
our lay membership for the finishing of the 
work and the completion of the missionary 
organization of our churches calls for a force 
of officers who will bear the responsibilities 
of missionary leadership."—Laymen's Mis-
sionary Movement, p. 84. 
The officers themselves must first be 
trained and given opportunity to become 
familiar with their duties. This can be ac-
complished by church officers' institutes 
which may be held over week ends for 
Vol. 36, No. 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
27 
certain districts in the conference, by ten-
day institutes, or by reserving a certain hour 
each day of camp meeting which will be 
devoted especially to the needs of the 
church officers. This training is of vital im-
portance. As the conference Home Mission-
ary secretary travels from church to church, 
he has an excellent opportunity to call to-
gether the missionary officers and encourage 
and instruct them as to what is expected 
of them after he leaves the field. "A trained 
leadership in our churches will help to give 
life and vitality to the movement and make 
possible the accomplishment of greater re-
sults in the work which must be done. 
These officers form an important link be-
tween church members and the conference 
administration, and their position is of no 
minor importance in the successful opera-
tion of the plans for training the laity."—
Ibid. 
What are the goals to be expected from 
a trained group of laymen? "When this 
ideal standard has been attained, there will 
come from our churches hundreds and 
thousands of well-trained, efficient workers, 
who will be able to participate successfully 
in the advancement of the message. In 
connection with this part of the program, 
we may look for a great church extension 
movement, which will result in whole fami-
lies launching out into unentered fields to 
establish little centers of influence. . . . 
When every faithful member of the rem-
nant church is winning at least one soul 
for Christ each year of his Christian profes-
sion, we shall see the dawn of the triumph 
day."—Id., p. 85. 
We really want Jesus to come soon, but 
we must remember that this cannot be ac-
complished until "the men and women 
comprising our church membership rally 
to the work." And before they can rally 
to the work, the laity must be trained to do 
a good and efficient job. 
—J. H. WAGNER. 
Entering New Territory 
"This gospel of the kingdom shall be 
preached in all the world for a witness 
unto all nations; and then shall the end 
come." Matthew 24:14. The fact that the 
end has not yet come is our most conclusive 
evidence that the gospel of the kingdom has 
not yet been preached in all the places 
that God intends it shall be proclaimed. 
All such places, then, constitute new 
territory. It may be the unconverted neigh-
bor next door or in the same block as 
we live. It could be our home town or 
city. It might be the surrounding country-
side, neighboring city, or a whole county 
in which no Adventist lives. 
How to reach such individuals or places 
with the last warning message is the one 
big problem facing the church. It con- 
stitutes our commission and our task. It 
should be the one central objective of our 
lives around which all our plans and 
purposes revolve. The methods of entering 
new territory may vary a bit in accordance 
with just what we consider new territory. 
As we most commonly think of that term, 
it applies to some city or fairly large 
community within the boundaries of which 
there is no living representative of the 
third angel's message. It is hard to believe 
that there are any such communities or 
cities where no one would accept the truth 
if it were presented in the right manner. 
The problem then resolves itself into 
one of how to make contact with the in-
dividuals within the boundaries of the given 
territory and then how best to present the 
message to them. The problem becomes 
more complicated when we realize that all 
individuals do not have the same interest 
in spiritual things, nor do all respond to any 
one plan or method in the same manner. 
The varying hereditary and environmental 
background of the individuals is bound to 
make this true. Therefore, it can be said 
at the outset, there is no one universal 
method of opening or entering new terri-
tory. One method may prove more effective 
in one section and some other method in 
another section. 
Those seeking to fulfill the gospel com-
mission of, "Go ye into all the world," 
mist. therefore, be familiar with various 
methods and must adapt their program to 
the particular type of people with whom 
they wish to work. 
Those who make a success in the field 
of salesmanship try to know something 
about their prospective customer before 
Leadership 
A leader loves the people with whom he 
works. 
A leader acquaints himself with his people. 
A leader believes in the cause he is fostering. 
A leader is sincere, unassuming, never 
pompous. 
A leader is full of courage and zeal. 
A leader is enthusiastic and glowing. 
A leader turns cold water into steam, and 
does things. 
A leader anticipates the needs, and works to 
get them supplied. 
A leader encourages others to take part. 
A leader shares responsibility, training new 
leadership. 
A leader gives others the praise and the 
glory. 
A leader keeps up to date, forges ahead. 
A leader relies on power from above to 
guide him in his work. 
A leader spends much time in prayer. 
they make any attempt to sell him their 
commodity or product. Although we must 
not lower the gospel to a commercial level, 
yet some of the same principles that apply 
in salesmanship surely apply in presenting 
the gospel. Salesmen try to learn as much 
as they can about their customer—his back-
ground, interests, hobbies, prejudices, and 
needs. This is termed the pre-approach. 
It helps them to make a favorable impres-
sion in their approach, create an interest, 
develop a desire, and finally consummate a 
sale. In getting a person to accept the 
truth we must cause the other person's 
mind to go through the same process as it 
goes through in the making of a sale. We 
must create a desire and a final acceptance 
of the Lord Jesus and His way of life for 
mankind. 
Having learned something about the 
prospective customer, the salesman begins 
where the other man's interests lie. If 
the man is a farmer with a prize-winning 
dairy herd, he may begin talking about 
dairy herds. From this he proceeds to other 
things that they both agree upon and which 
will give pleasant conversation. Then he 
begins talking about his product and how 
it will serve his customer's needs. By this 
procedure he creates a favorable attitude 
and finally convinces his customer of his 
need of the product, and the customer 
makes the purchase. 
Surely the gospel worker will want to 
be as tactful as the commercial salesman. 
Therefore, some knowledge of the indi-
vidual or community to be contacted is 
of extreme importance and value. We 
would not wish to approach an atheist in 
the same manner as a Catholic, or a 
Catholic in the same manner as a Protestant. 
Also there would be a difference in our 
approach to a group of farmers as compared 
with a group of factory workers or school-
teachers. When we think of a community 
or deal with a group, we are generally 
faced with a mixed background on the 
part of the individuals, so we should adapt 
our procedure with a thought for the 
majority. 
After this preliminary study of those 
with whom we expect to work, there are 
different ways of proceeding to make con-
tacts. It may be by systematic distribution 
of literature, an invitation to enroll in a 
Bible correspondence course, an invitation 
to attend a series of public evangelistic 
meetings, or one of several other initial 
approaches, such as a thorough covering of 
the territory by our colporteurs to discover 
possible interests. One very good way for 
our lay people to discover those having an 
interest in spiritual things is to enter into 
the annual Bible reading program sponsored 
by the American Bible Society. To make 
23 
house-to-house calls in this program is 
something we can all endorse, and since 
the American Bible Society is nondenomi-
national, we avoid prejudice in this initial 
contact. 
By whatever method we proceed, we 
must keep in mind, first, to use such litera-
ture or present such topics as are generally 
accepted so as to gain and hold the confi-
dence of those we contact. In the end, 
reaching people through personal contact 
is the most effective, and our program 
should look forward to such contacts. Here 
again we must gain the confidence of the 
individuals. If they have confidence in us, 
they will all the more likely have confidence 
in what we present. Contacts gained through 
a literature distribution program may lead 
to personal Bible studies or attendance at 
a series of public meetings. Sooner or later 
you are going to be talking on subjects 
upon which you do not agree. This presents 
a real test to our adroitness. We must 
remember that the other person's mind may 
be traveling in the opposite direction to 
ours. You never saw a freight train brake-
man board a moving train by running in 
the opposite direction. No, he travels in the 
same direction as the train so as to board 
it with as little jar as possible. We should 
remember to emphasize and to bring out 
points on which we agree in order to avoid 
the jar of disagreement as much as possible. 
Then there are two or three other points 
well worth our remembering. One man 
has said that the more arguments he won, 
the more friends he lost. In other words, 
no one enjoys being beaten in an argument. 
So do not make your approach in an 
argumentative manner, but rather in an 
exposition or teaching manner. Avoid rid-
iculing anyone. You may be talking to a 
person who does not care any more for the 
person or religion being ridiculed than you 
do, but he will not respect you for stooping 
to ridicule. He may assume that if you 
ridicule someone else while talking to him, 
you will also ridicule him while talking 
to someone else. Such thoughts will not 
build confidence in you or the things you 
are presenting. Be honest and sincere. Such 
qualities are always appreciated and ad-
mired. A great deal might be said about 
what such characteristics include. Although 
our approach must be tactful, it must not 
be deceitful. The evangelist, when advertis-
ing to draw a crowd, must not permit such 
advertising to be misleading. If we resort 
to such practices, it will cause people to 
lose confidence and to put us in the class 
of tricksters. We might mention other 
things, and all apply to individual ap-
proaches as well as to public approaches 
before large audiences. 
We must ever be alert for opportunities 
to present present truth in new places, but 
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE 
let us do so with proper care and thought. 
Let us learn as much as possible about those 
to whom we wish to present the third 
angel's message so that we can approach 
them with tact, winning their confidence 
and interest. Let a program of appropriate 
literature distribution be inaugurated, make 
personal contacts, follow with enrollments 
in the Bible correspondence course, the 
lending library program, personal Bible 
studies, group Bible classes, or a public 
evangelistic effort, depending on developing 
The Possibilities in Literature 
Ministry 
A church member was impressed one 
Sabbath afternoon to take some of our 
message-filled papers to her neighbors. She 
found a lady who immediately manifested 
an interest; next, the husband and three 
daughters became interested. Then the hus-
band of the married daughter began taking 
studies, and the young men who were 
keeping company with the other two 
daughters were gathered in. But that was 
not all, for the mother of one of the young 
men, his sister, and her husband also 
accepted the message. No less than eleven 
persons were won as a direct result of 
this first contact. Is that all? Oh, no! All 
five men found their way into different 
spheres of God's work—a missionary, a 
college teacher, an evangelist, a health 
food worker, and the fifth is in hospital 
work. Eternity alone will tell the total result 
of her faithfulness. 
What can literature distribution do for 
the church? It can change apathy and 
disinterest into rewarding activity. 
By visiting the territories surrounding the 
church systematically with the printed page, 
and urging every able-bodied person into 
service, there will follow a revival, not 
only outside the church, but inside as well. 
The midweek prayer meeting will take 
on a different aspect, there will be ex-
periences to relate, testimonies to be given. 
The needs of the neighborhood will be 
known, and the Dorcas Society will be 
called into greater service. 
As the recipients of the literature ask 
questions, the distributors begin to realize 
their need of a better acquaintance with the 
Scriptures. Thus a "Light Bearers" class 
is called for and lay evangelism is born. 
Soon the church is on fire for God. 
"Church members, awake to the impor-
tance of the circulation of our literature, 
and devote more time to this work. Place 
in the homes of the people papers, tracts, 
December, 1949 
opportunities and available resources and 
help. 
In the words of the Master, "Be ye there-
fore wise as serpents, and harmless as 
doves," Matthew 10:16. This calls for 
study and careful planning, not a blunder-
ing program. In closing, Paul's counsel to 
Timothy may be very appropriate: "Shun 
profane and vain babblings: for they will 
increase unto more ungodliness." 2 Tim-
othy 2:16. 
and books that will preach the gospel in 
its several lines. There is no time to be 
lost"—Southern Watchman, November 20, 
1902. 
"Being Dead Yet Speaketh" 
"A plaintive, compelling echo comes to 
us from a land from which freedom and 
liberty have already flown. Forbidden to 
work, persecuted, afflicted, but aflame with 
the love of Christ, Elder H. J. Loebsack, 
our veteran Russian leader, who now sleeps 
in Jesus, said at his last meeting with the 
late Elder L. H. Christian: 'Tell our people 
in America, with all your might print and 
circulate books; print and circulate more 
books; print and circulate more and yet 
still more books.' What a plea from the 
depths of experience! Perhaps he saw and 
understood, with a clearness not yet realized 
by us, that when human voices are stilled 
by law and edict, literature secreted in 
countless homes will carry the cause on. 
"The circulation of literature is the most 
economical *ay of announcing the message 
of God for today; it is the most rapid way 
of doing it; it is the most extensive way of 
doing it. It can be carried on more ex-
tensively than any other phase of work 
because we can draw so many thousands 
and tens of thousands of people into it. 
It is the least controversial way of doing it. 
People cannot argue with the message-
filled literature. They can read it. They 
may get angry and throw it down, but it 
does not get angry or heated, and does not 
say anything out of place, or that is dis-
respectful or discourteous. It gives the same 
beautiful message all the time. Heralding 
the word with literature and heralding it 
on the platform—it is all giving the gospel 
to the world. 
"There has never been a time when the 
press has had more to do in molding the 
opinions of men than it has today. Every-
thing of importance is printed, and it is 
by this means that the people expect to 
become acquainted with the affairs of the 
world. The judgment, the coming of the 
Weekly Church Missionary Sera 
Readings for December 3,10,17, one 24 prepared by Adlai Esteb 
VoL 36, No. 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
29 
Lord, the resurrection of the righteous, 
and the destruction of the wicked are 
events of the deepest interest to all who 
have ever lived. Our work is to warn all 
nations, and tongues, and peoples of these 
things which are right upon us. How are 
we going to do it? Will not the press 
be the real agent? . . . As I look over the 
world, and see the thousands who have never 
heard one word about this truth, many of 
whom would purchase and read our pub-
lications, and be saved by the truths they 
contain if someone would only take them 
to them, I wonder if the Lord will save 
those who might do such a work, but 
remain idle."—Elder A. G. Daniells, "Lit-
erature Evangelism," by W. P. Cooper, 
Evangelistic Council, San Francisco, May 22-
June 5, 1941. 
How many church members there are 
who feel the desire to be about the Master's 
business, yet, because of lack of eloquence, 
they feel like Moses, and cry, "I am slow 
of speech and slow of tongue"! To such 
a one the Lord has provided a mouth 
speaking with the most persuasive elo- 
December 3 
My Responsibility Toward 
the Unfinished Task 
"It is a. wonderful privilege to be able 
to understand the will of God as revealed 
in the sure word of prophecy. This places 
on us a heavy responsibility."—Testimonies, 
Vol. 9, p. 19. What is this heavy responsi-
bility? 
We know that the work of God will be 
done on the earth, for Paul wrote that the 
Lord would "finish the work, and cut it 
short in righteousness: because a short 
work will the Lord make upon the earth." 
Romans 9:28. Furthermore John the reve-
lator saw the people of God standing on the 
sea of glass singing the song of Moses and 
the Lamb, the song of victory. But how will 
it be done? 
The answer to these two important ques-
tions should be of supreme interest to every 
follower of Jesus. What is the answer? 
What is this heavy responsibility toward the 
unfinished task? And how will the work 
be finished? 
"In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists 
have been set in the world as watchmen and 
light-bearers. To them has been entrusted 
the last warning for a perishing world. 
quence and with a tongue that is silent to 
abuse, voicing its opinions only when 
asked, yet speaking in such convincing 
terms that the honest in heart cannot fail 
to acknowledge the truths presented. 
This gifted speaker is tireless and obliv-
ious to time and space; therefore, to those 
who may be confined to beds of sickness 
or the cripple's chair, the printed page 
will go where you cannot go; further-
more, it will witness when the reader is 
ready to listen. "In enlightening and con-
firming souls in the truth, the publica-
tions will do a far greater work than can be 
accomplished by the ministry of the word 
alone. The silent messengers that are placed 
in the homes of the people . . . will 
strengthen the gospel ministry in every way; 
for the Holy Spirit will impress minds as 
they read the [tracts, papers] books, just as 
He impresses the minds of those who listen 
to the preaching of the word. The same min-
istry of angels attends the [tracts, papers] 
books that contain the truth as attends the 
work of the ministry.""—Testimonies, Vol. 6, 
pp. 315, 316. �
—H. A. L. FREEMAN, 
On them is shining wonderful light from 
the Word of God. They have been given a 
work of the most solemn import,—the 
proclamation of the first, second, and third 
angels' messages. There is no other work 
of so great importance. They are to allow 
nothing else to absorb their attention." 
—lbid. 
When every church member recognizes 
his debt to God as Paul did, we will see 
a marvelous transformation—a "revival and 
reformation" in the church. How many are 
there who consider "no other work" of so 
great importance? Remember, we are to 
"allow nothing else" to absorb our attention. 
We have a message from God to give 
to the world. This is our divinely appointed 
task. It is our business to do it and the 
devil's business to hinder us if he can. 
Someone has said, "All we get from 
heaven, we owe to earth." Surely light 
from above is for the path below. When 
God has been good enough to give us 
light, we must let it shine. It is a wonderful 
privilege, but also a heavy responsibility. 
If I have strength 
I owe the world the service of the strong. 
If music, then I owe the world a song. 
If I have that which will illume sin's dark- 
est night, 
Then help me pay my debt with living 
light. 
December 10 
Dedication of My Talents 
to the Task 
I have been profoundly impressed by 
this wonderful statement found in the 
Testimonies. "God will do the work if we 
will furnish Him the instruments."—Vol. 
9, p. 107. 
It is a thrilling thought, a cheering 
thought, that God can do the work and 
that God will do the work if we will 
furnish Him the instruments. Then the 
essential thing—the most urgent thing—
for us to do is to dedicate our hands to 
God to do His work, to dedicate our feet 
to Him to run His errands, and, in deed 
and in truth, to dedicate our entire lives 
to Him. 
That is what God is waiting for. We 
read: "The great outpouring of the Spirit 
Of God, which lightens the whole earth 
with His glory, will not come until we 
have an enlightened people, that know by 
experience what it means to be laborers 
together with God. When we have entire, 
wholehearted consecration to the service of 
Christ, God will recognize the fact by an 
outpouring of His Spirit without measure; 
but this will not be while the largest por-
tion of the church are not laborers together 
with God."—Christian Service, p. 253. 
Do you want to see a finished work? 
Then dedicate your talents to the task. 
Do you want to win souls for Christ's 
coming kingdom? Then dedicate your tal-
ents to the finishing of His work of salva-
tion on earth. 
Really, how much do you care about the 
lost souls all around us? Christianity is 
the sensitizing of the soul. It is the spirit 
that cares. Ask yourself this supreme ques-
tion: How much do I care? Press it home 
to your heart. 
The old year is drawing to a close. How 
much have you cared about the work of 
God this year? How much have you done? 
In this last month of the old year will you 
try to redeem the time? Are you getting 
ready for greater conquests for Christ during 
the New Year just ahead? 
I heard the Old Year talking, and he seemed 
to say to me, 
"I'm what mankind has made me, not what 
I hoped to be. 
I did not bring the failures; my ways were 
bright and new. 
I was the time allotted—the work was 
man's to do. 
"I am what men have made me, not what 
I hoped to be. 
And so shall be the New Year which soon 
shall follow me." 
Our days are good or evil, as each one serves 
and strives— 
Years are but the records on which men 
write their lives. 
30 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
December 17 
The Line Shall Not Break 
Where I Stand 
"If Christians were to act in concert; 
moving forward as one, under the direction 
of one Power, for the accomplishment of 
one purpose, they would move the world." 
—Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 221. 
In order for the church to move forward 
"as one" with such amazing power as 
that, it will be necessary for everyone to 
do his duty faithfully. The line must not 
break anywhere. A chain is no stronger 
than its weakest link. Is that true of the 
church? What a thought to contemplate! 
Is the church no stronger than its weakest 
member? How is it with you? Can you 
say today, "The line shall not break where 
I stand"? 
If we had the burden for a lost world 
that Jesus possessed, there would be no 
weak places in the line of evangelism. We 
must ask God to send down spiritual fires 
from heaven and warm our hearts to the 
commandment, "Love thy neighbor as thy-
self." Real religion makes us think of 
others. Indeed, Christianity is the sensi-
tizing of the soul. Jesus makes you care. 
Have you ever read this statement? 
"Among God's people today there is a 
fearful lack of the sympathy that should 
be felt for souls unsaved."—/d., Vol. 7, 
p. 13. 
How do you feel toward those who seem 
to disregard the truth? Deep down in your 
heart do you feel sympathy toward them 
as victims of the enemy of happiness and 
good? 
How much do you care? If we care 
enough, we will carry on a more aggressive 
soul-winning campaign than anything we 
have yet seen. If we cared enough, we 
would be kinder. "If we would humble 
ourselves before God, and be kind and 
courteous and tender-hearted and pitiful, 
there would be one hundred conversions to 
the truth where now there is only one." 
—Id., Vol. 9, p. 189. 
If the "line" never breaks, we will not 
see any of our neighbors in that awful 
hour just ahead, pointing a finger at us 
and saying, "Why didn't you tell us?" 
It depends on whether or not "the line 
breaks where you stand." 
Here is a vision given to the servant of 
the Lord: "In the visions of the night a 
very impressive scene passed before me. 
I saw an immense ball of fire among some 
beautiful mansions, causing their instant 
destruction. I heard someone say, 'We knew 
that the judgments of God were coming 
upon the earth, but we did not know that 
they would come so soon.' Others, with 
agonized voices, said, 'You knew! Why 
then did you not tell us? We did not 
know!' "—Id., Vol. 9, p. 28. 
May that dreadful experience never hap-
pen to us. It won't if we can be true to 
this motto: "The line shall not break 
where I stand." Let each one say, "I will 
do my part." 
December 24 
My Missionary Plans 
for 11950 
As we contemplate the new year just 
before us, and begin to plan for our 
missionary endeavors, let us try to con-
sider how God looks upon the work to 
be done. It is possible for us to discover 
some of the plans of the Lord, for we 
have been given some definite statements 
which reveal to us what the mind of the 
Lord is regarding the work to be done. 
First, God is calling us to do a larger 
work. Notice this clear-cut statement taken 
from the pen of inspiration: "God in His 
providence is calling His people out from 
their limited sphere of action, to enter upon 
greater enterprises."—Testimonies, Vol. 3, 
p. 405. What are some of these "greater 
enterprises"? For primary consideration I 
would suggest that every church enter upon 
a great house-to-house visitation program. 
We sometimes refer to it as "Operation 
Doorbell." This is definitely included in 
the divine blueprint for missionary work, 
for we read: "Wherever a church is estab-
lished, all the members should engage 
actively in missionary work. They should 
visit every family in the neighborhood, and 
know their spiritual condition."—M, Vol. 
6, p. 296. 
In this house-to-house visitation program, 
we mean more than just leaving a tract at 
the door. We mean getting into the homes 
and praying with the people. We are to 
"know their spiritual condition." We cannot 
do that at the front door. We must get 
inside and actually visit with the people. 
We must get acquainted with them, sympa-
thize with them when they tell their 
troubles. Many are sick. We should suggest 
praying for them. We can tell stories to 
the children. We must show the people 
That we love them. This was Christ's 
method. "Our Saviour went from house 
to house, healing the sick, comforting the 
mourners, soothing the afflicted, speaking 
peace to the disconsolate. He took the 
little children in His arms and blessed 
them and spoke words of hope and com-
fort to the weary mothers."—Gospel Work-
ers, p. 188. Again, "Christ's method alone 
will give true success in reaching the 
people."—Ministry of Healing, p. 143. 
The second important thing for us to 
consider involves the organization and 
training of the "army of the Lord." Since 
God is definitely calling us to leave our 
"limited sphere of action" and "to enter 
upon greater enterprises," then we will 
need to see our churches organized much 
better than they have ever been in the 
past. Here is the divine call—a ringing 
summons from God concerning this very 
thing: "Time is short, and our forces must 
be organized to do a larger work."—Testi-
monies, Vol. 9, p. 27. 
A few months ago one church accepted 
this challenge. The pastor, who was looking 
for new ideas in evangelism, attended the 
Laymen's Evangelistic Institute held in his 
conference. He and the delegates from his 
church went home determined to follow 
the blueprint. He organized his church. 
He, with his helpers, selected 200 active 
church members who promised they would 
work their territory faithfully. They were 
assigned definite districts. Each one was 
given ten homes to visit, which meant 
that the 200 members visited 2,000 homes 
each week. Not only did they distribute their 
series of twelve tracts for the twelve weeks, 
but they had many precious experiences 
praying with the people. These experiences 
were related at the weekly prayer meetings. 
The prayer-meeting attendance has doubled. 
At the end of the twelve weeks of visit-
ing, an announcement was left at each 
home, and a personal invitation was given 
to attend a series of meetings on Bible 
prophecy to be held in the Seventh-day 
Adventist Church. As a result, 400 or 500 
non-Adventists crowded into the church 
each night of the meetings. The church 
was filled—the downstairs and also the 
balcony. There are more than 100 now 
keeping the Sabbath and attending church 
regularly. Of these, fifty-five have already 
been baptized as the first fruits of this 
great co-operative effort of evangelism in 
which the church was "organized to do a 
large work." The pastor is thankful to the 
Lord and is confident that this is but the 
beginning of greater things. 
In every church let us make our mission-
ary plans large for the coming year. 
December 31 
Join the Temperance Cause 
If you had four barrels of whisky in 
your cellar and had just accepted this 
message, what would you do? Would you 
sell it, give it away, or destroy it? That 
was the problem confronting one of our 
recent converts. 
The wife suggested they sell it. Someone 
offered them $100 a barrel for it. They 
began to pray about the matter, asking the 
Lord to guide them. The more they thought 
about it, the more they were convinced 
(Please turn to page 34) 
Vol. 36, No. 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
31 
THE FOUR WALLS OF HOME 
"That our sons may be as plants 
grown up in their youth; that our 
daughters may be as comer stones, 
polished after the similitude of 
a palace." Psalm 144:12. 
Notes to Leaders 
Every Home and School Association that 
is looking for an inspiring yet practical 
program should present this one prepared 
by Madge Haines Morrill who gives us 
the following suggestions for making it 
a success: 
"Between the sections of the program, 
special numbers may be given, such as 
recitations of poems by children; special 
musical numbers, either vocal or instru-
mental; speaking choir numbers; or choral 
music. 
"If the speaker wishes to emphasize the 
point of the cup full of honey, he may 
wish to hold a cup in his hand during the 
times this point is brought to attention. 
"Along the four walls of the room, there 
may be placed the four types of exhibits 
that are discussed in the program: art, 
music, literature, and recreation. There may 
be pictures of famous artists, drawings by 
local children, scrapbooks of pictures, etc. 
The music table may have different types 
of books on music, record albums, some 
simple instruments, and other material re-
lated to music. The table for literature 
should have some well-known collections 
of poems, poetry scrapbooks, books for 
children, Moulton's Modern Reader's Bible 
—or other books that give the poetry of 
the Bible in its poetic form. This table 
may also have pictures of some of the 
favorite poets, such as Tennyson, Long-
fellow, etc. The table on recreation may 
have nature games, educational card games, 
travel folders, suggestions for indoor and 
outdoor games, and, of course, hobbies. 
"At the conclusion of the program ushers 
may pass out mimeographed copies of the 
self-test, 'Is Your Home a Home?' and 
each one who wishes may fill in the test, 
and grade his own paper. If the audience 
wishes, they may pass back slips of paper 
on which each individual score has been 
placed (without the name); and these 
may be tallied on a blackboard so each 
person may see how he has rated in relation 
to the others in the group. (Some Home 
and School gatherings have found this part 
of the program to be the most fun of all.) 
Sometimes the mimeographed tests are 
passed out as the people come in to the 
program, but are not filled in until after 
the program has been presented." 
-ARABELLA MOORE WILLIAMS. 
Is Your Home a Home? 
Are You Providing an Adequate Environ-
ment for Your Child? 
A home is more than four walls and a 
roof. Sometimes a home is less than four 
walls and a roof. The pioneer mothers 
made homes in their covered wagons, and 
many mothers today make homes in trailers, 
in tents, and in tenement rooms. A home 
is more than a house. A home is an en-
vironment. A home is where bodies grow 
and live, and where minds are developed 
and characters perfected. �
0 
But often we homemakers are so busy 
feeding and clothing and nursing the mem-
bers of our family that we give little time 
to the emotional development of our chil-
dren. We take time to provide adequately 
for the physical needs of oar family, but 
we need to take time also to provide for 
a rich environment that will help to mold 
characters. 
A mother holds an empty cup in her 
hand. She says, "This empty cup is like 
the life of my child. I want to fill it with 
honey and not with vinegar." 
Will that mother then pour the cup half 
full of honey and hope that no one will 
come and pour vinegar into it? 
No, the mother pours the cup full of 
honey, and then she knows there will be 
no room for vinegar. The mother says, "I 
will fill my child's life full of the good and 
wholesome, and of the uplifting things of 
life. Then there will be no room for those 
things that are trivial and ugly—there will 
be no room for the vinegar of life." 
Parents may choose which they shall use 
to fill the lives of their children: honey, 
or vinegar—good or bad. All depends on 
the environment or atmosphere created by 
the home. 
In speaking of the influence of environ-
ment upon children, Luther Burbank, the 
great authority in plant development, said, 
"All animal life is sensitive to environ-
ment but of all living things the child is 
the most sensitive. Every possible influence 
will leave its impress upon the child. It 
is the most susceptible thing in the world 
to influence." 
Home environment is recognized as an 
agency that helps to mold a child into 
either a normal, useful adult, or into an 
abnormal, maladjusted human being who 
may become a ward of the state. 
Parents may make the life of their 
child rich and significant by using all the 
resources at their command. Art, music, 
literature, recreation—these are the rudi-
ments of a well-balanced life, and they 
need to be woven into every home environ-
ment. 
Art, music, literature, and recreation may 
be likened to the honey the mother used 
to fill the cup. They are within reach of 
every home, whether it be rich or poor, 
learned or unlearned. Parents may use 
these four ingredients to provide a rich 
environment for their children. 
Of course, a home must be built upon 
a solid foundation. Love is the solid founda-
tion that will hold the house together even 
32 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
though storms and conflicts arise: love of 
God, love of country, and love of every 
member in the home. 
Then, on top of this solid foundation, 
a home may build four beautiful walls; 
these walls may be made up of the finer 
things of life. Let us divide them into the 
four groups already mentioned: art, music, 
literature, recreation. 
Art 
An old Persian proverb says, "If I had 
but two loaves of bread, I would sell one 
and buy a hyacinth, for hyacinths can feed 
the soul." 
John Muir, the nature lover, once said, 
"Man must have beauty as well as bread." 
Beauty is necessary in a home. It is 
second only to proper body development 
because it helps to provide correct emotional 
development. Beauty and the finer things 
of life tend to stabilize and control the 
emotional life of a child. 
Do children respond to beauty? Have 
you ever seen a little child reach out a 
chubby hand toward a flower and lisp, 
"Pretty, pretty." There seems to be an 
inborn instinct in children to love flowers. 
Flowers are beautiful, they are colorful, 
they are fragrant. A child turns to them 
as naturally as the sunflower does to the 
sun. 
Some homes have hired gardeners who 
tend spacious, formal gardens. Other homes 
have but a few tin cans of "potted flowers" 
on a window ledge. Yet each home is 
bringing to its children a love of beauty 
as seen in leaf and bud and flower. 
Every home has the need of some grow-
ing thing. A potted plant may shed its 
beauty; a lone rosebush growing by the 
door may give its sweet perfume. God 
made growing things for man to enjoy, 
and growing things may teach lessons of 
dependence as one waters and tends the 
plants. As the plant depends on the hand 
of its owner for life and nourishment, 
so man depends upon his Maker for life. 
Children enjoy helping mother as she 
arranges a bowl of cut flowers. Sometimes 
the children are given the opportunity to 
arrange the flowers themselves, and mother 
will often be happily surprised at the 
artistic ability of her children as they care-
fully place the flowers in a vase. True, the 
arrangement may not follow the rules, but 
many times it is more natural and more 
pleasing to the eye than the type of bouquet 
mother learned to arrange at some flower 
club lecture. And even when baby sister 
toddles in with her hands full of petals and 
begs, "Me make pretty," mother may place 
a shallow bowl of water on the table. 
Sister's arrangement of petals floating on 
the water may make the loveliest bouquet 
of all. 
Pictures hung on the walls of the home 
are like windows that look into far places. 
They give the children in that home a broad 
view of life; they help to mold the char-
acter; they develop a love of the beautiful. 
The homemaker may take a check of the 
pictures in her home. Are they the kind 
that will be helpful to her child? Some 
homemakers like to change the pictures 
with the seasons; others change pictures oc-
casionally. One needs to enjoy the pictures 
in his home, and sometimes when a picture 
has been on the wall too long, it becomes 
a forgotten picture. A new one hung in 
its place might add interest to the room. 
Betty and little John, my neighbor's 
children, often came to my house for a 
"visit." Their first reaction when coming 
into the room was to go from one wall to 
the other, pointing to the various pictures. 
"See, pretty picture, see," little John kept 
pointing and talking to his sister. 
I wondered why they would be attracted 
to the pictures more than to other things 
in the home; but one day I visited their 
home. The walls were bare. The room 
seemed lonesome without pictures. Then 
I knew the reason for the children's taking 
such an interest in the pictures on my 
walls. 
Some homes are picture conscious. 
Mothers and children collect pictures, mak-
ing scrapbooks or picture files. They go to 
visit museums, or art galleries where the 
best pieces of art may be studied and 
enjoyed. 
Some homes encourage their children to 
create pictures of their own. Mother pro-
vides a pin-up board where her children 
may display the pictures they have colored 
or have drawn themselves. To give the 
child the opportunity to do creative work 
is one of the best forms of emotional 
release that a home may use. 
Art may be found at the windows of the 
home. Even if only a small portion of the 
sky can be seen from the window, mother 
may take a few moments to enjoy and to 
teach her children to enjoy the lovely 
colors of sunset and sunrise. A supper that 
has cooled while the family admired the 
sunset may be more appetizing for the 
uplift of a few minutes spent in contempla-
tion of the colors used by the Master Artist. 
Music 
"The fact that one hospital bed out of 
every two is occupied by a mental patient 
suggests the need of protecting young 
minds from wrong pressures." (Quotation 
taken from a pamphlet, Radio in Home, 
School, and Community, published by the 
National Congress of Parents and Teachers. 
See page 3.) Music may be a wrong pressure, 
or it may be a good one. Music may help 
to make a child grow healthfully and 
normally, or it may help to cause a warped 
life. 
Mother wants to fill her cup with honey, 
not with vinegar. She wants to fill her 
child's life with the right kind of music, 
and then there will be no room or inclina-
tion to use the wrong type of music. 
Once, on a sightseeing trip in Chicago, 
we were ushered by guides into the audience 
theater of a radio station, but we failed to 
inquire as to the type of program that was 
to be presented. The doors were closed and 
the program was under way before we 
realized the kind of "music" that was to 
be given. We were glad that the program 
was a short one. 
During the half hour that we were there, 
we saw a group of young people in the 
audience go wild under the influence of 
fiendish music. At no other time had we 
ever witnessed such contortions, such giddy 
gyrations, and such unhumanlike actions. 
The throbbing of the drums, the blaring of 
horns, and the convulsive dancing of the 
young people in the aisles seemed almost 
a duplicate of the devil dances of Africa 
that we had seen in moving pictures, 
except that the costumes and the color of 
the participants were different. We could 
only imagine the result of such music on 
the lives of those young people, and we 
could better realize why there are so many 
reports of crimes by the youth of our nation. 
But the next afternoon in Chicago we 
witnessed a different type of radio program. 
We were ushered into the visitor's gallery 
of the radio station at The Moody Bible 
Institute, and there we saw young people 
playing sweet strings and we heard them 
singing beautiful gospel hymns. How dif-
ferent these young people looked—no gaudy 
make-up was on their faces! Their counte-
nances were bright with the inner peace and 
hope that comes from a Christian life. 
Later that same evening we heard a 
thousand young people in the chapel of 
the Institute blend their voices in holy 
songs at their vesper service. We heard them 
speak of their desire to evangelize the 
world; we could see the peace of Christ 
written on their faces. They would go 
out into the world, not to drink and dance 
and commit crimes; but rather, they would 
go out to love and to restore. 
Music is like fire—it can destroy or it 
can be of service. We need to show our 
children the right use of music; then they 
will be able to make their own decisions 
for the right. If a child has been brought 
up to enjoy the high-class type of music, 
the other kind will be more likely to be 
repulsive to him. 
Let us take inventory of our own home. 
Is it providing enough of the right kind 
of music? Do we help our children to 
Vol. 36, No. 12 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
33 
evaluate and choose the right kind of 
radio programs? Do we have musical instru-
ments in the home, and are we encouraging 
our children to play them? Do we sing 
with our families? Do we have collections 
of good songs?' Do we take our children 
to concerts and musical programs that 
will be beneficial to them? There is danger, 
perhaps, in our great desire to shun evil, 
that we fill the cup only half full of honey. 
We need to fill it to the brim if we wish 
to have no room for the bitter of life. 
Literature 
Man was created above the animals and 
was given the power to think. 
"Every human being, created in the 
image of God, is endowed with a power 
akin to that of the Creator,—individu-
ality, power to think and to do. . . . It 
is the work of true education to develop 
this power; to train the youth to be thinkers, 
and not mere reflectors of other men's 
thought."—Education, page 17. 
Books can be a medium for thinking. It 
has been said, "A man is himself, plus the 
books he reads." Young minds grow and 
expand with the books they read. 
But, like music, reading is a habit that 
needs to be cultivated, else the wrong kind 
of reading may come in to fill up the half-
empty cup. Let a young child know and 
feel the influence of good books, and when 
he is older, the cheap ones will seem trivial 
and distasteful to him. 
Parents need to be wise. They need to 
keep the cup full all the way to the 
top. Schoolbooks and a few church papers 
may not be enough to establish a right 
taste in a child's mind. Nor is it quantity 
that counts, It is the quality of the books, 
the subjects chosen, the presentation and 
general make-up of books that count. 
Also, it is the parent participation that 
helps to mold the right choice. If mother 
and father read and enjoy a book, if they 
talk about it and show their enjoyment, 
the influence is contagious. John and Mary, 
too, will realize there is joy in reading, 
and in reading of the right kind. �
. 
Books are so cheap today. Even some of 
the ten-cent variety are desirable. Yet, 
I have seen parents bring home bubble 
gum from the dime store, when they might 
have given their child a worth-while book 
for the same price as the bubble gum. 
Parents may take a check of their library. 
Is it up to date? Do your books cover a 
wide variety of subject matter? Do you 
subscribe to magazines that contain current 
events, or character-building material, or 
natural science? 
Do your children have books of their 
very own? Children need books to own 
and to love. They need to grow up with 
books for friends. They need a change of 
books to suit the growth of their mentality. 
Mother changes the hemline in Mary's 
dress as she grows up; and mother needs 
to change the mental diet in accordance 
with the new growth of her child. 
Some families have developed the li-
brary habit. They go to the public library 
and choose books that are helpful as well 
as entertaining. They consult the librarian 
for books of the type they wish to use. 
The library habit is a good one to develop, 
but it must be guided so the child will 
understand and make the right choices. 
Do you and your children have the 
reference habit? "Mommie, what is the 
name of that bird? What kind is it?" 
But mother may not know. Then comes the 
fun of turning the pages of a bird book 
until the right bird is found; there is fun 
in discovering the world around us, and 
this is available through the knowledge 
found in guide books on nature. Own them, 
and borrow them; use them, and discuss 
them. Children love to make discoveries, and 
every day can hold its treasure. Snowflakes, 
bits of moss, a red autumn leaf, the blue 
of a robin's egg—these may lead on and on 
into richer, fuller lives when books are con-
sulted and enjoyed. 
Does your family have a reading circle? 
Every family takes time to eat and to sleep, 
and every family needs to take time to grow 
mentally. Nothing is so helpful as family 
reading. It is a treasure that should never 
he left buried, even though it may cost 
time and effort. 
Children need to grow up with beautiful 
memories. They need memories of evenings 
spent listening to the voice of father and 
mother reading stories and poems. Children 
who have such memories to grow on are 
rich and increased with mental wealth. 
Rhythm plays an important role in the 
development of a child. He needs the 
rhythm of a mother's rocking chair, the 
rhythm of a mother's lullaby, and later he 
needs the rhythm of poetic forms. There 
is something about the nature of a child 
that makes him crave these things. We as 
parents should be wise and give our children 
full measure of these treasures that may 
be had without cost. 
Psychologists tell us that poetry is valu-
able because it may serve as an emotional 
release, and that it is necessary for the 
full development of the child. 
Those of us who had mothers who gave 
us the rhythms and lovely ear patterns of 
poems cherish these memories as we would 
precious jewels, Mother's poems about the 
blue clouds, her poems about the red apple 
trees, her poems about the little birdie who 
hopped upon the window sill, her poems 
about the lovely stars at night—who can 
value the worth of these? 
At first we lisped them with her; then 
later we came to know them all by heart. 
We dug out poetry books from the library 
shelves and we begged her to read the 
same poems over and over. We never tired 
of them; they were like music that pleased 
our ears. We grew up with a joy for life. 
The world about us was filled with wonder-
ful things; life was full and significant. 
Every home needs poems: poems for 
Thanksgiving Day; poems for other special 
days; poems of love; poems of heroic deeds; 
and poems of religion that help to stretch 
one's soul. 
The poems of the Bible are among the 
most beautiful to be found in the literature 
of any nation. Don't be frugal with Bible 
poems. 
No home needs to be so poor that it 
cannot have its treasury of poetry. Even 
if one cannot afford to buy expensive 
bindings of poem books, he can make 
scrapbooks of poems that he finds in the 
library or in the books of his friends. 
A most interesting hobby is the making 
of scrapbooks of poetry, illustrated with 
cutout pictures, or with illustrations drawn 
by the children themselves. Sometimes chil-
dren will voluntarily create poetry of their 
own. This tendency should be fostered and 
encouraged. Scrapbooks of one's own poems, 
and illustrated by one's own pictures, make 
a most fascinating collection. Such books 
can be of more value than high-priced 
anthologies of poetry. 
When a child's life is filled with "honey" 
of this type, there is no room left for the 
vulgar and sordid things of the world. It is 
the God-given privilege of every parent 
thus to fill his child's life. 
Recreation 
We have made three walls to our home; 
now we are ready to make the fourth and 
last wall. Recreation may be that wall. 
Recreation may serve as the golden cord 
that ties a home together. Through a com-
mon interest of planning for leisure a 
family may find true comradeship. When 
parents take time to play with their chil-
dren, they are taking time to bind their 
children to them as no other method could 
do. 
Fathers and mothers go walking with their 
children; they look for birds and flowers 
and trees. They talk about the parts of a 
flower, they recite a poem about a roadside 
flower, the children hunt for other flowers 
and make wonderful discoveries. 
The children come home with their 
cheeks pink from the fresh air and the 
exercise; they come home with their hearts 
full to overflowing with love and a com-
radeship that only home can give them. 
Travel adventures ate rich experiences. 
If father's car does not drive too fast, there 
15 
16 
17__ 
18__ 
I9__ 
Questionnaire to 
'Us Your Home a Home?" 
Directions: 
points. 
Grade Points 
5 Excellent 
4 Good 
3 Fair 
2 Weak 
Total Score 
80-100 Excellent 
60-79 Good 
40-59 Fair 
20-39 Weak 
Grade each question by 
Place the grade points in front of each 
question according to your estimate of how 
nearly your home meets the answer. Add 
the total score to find your rating. 
ART 
1 _ Do you have pictures on the walls of 
your home, and do you change them 
occasionally? 
2 _Do you have a picture file or scrap-
book? Are you helping your children 
to be picture conscious? 
3 __ Do you make flower arrangements or 
artistic displays in your home? Do 
you have a pin-up board or an art 
corner where your children may place 
pictures they have cut out or drawn? 
4 __ Do you have potted plants in your 
home? Is your yard landscaped, with 
a lawn, flowers, shrubs, or trees? 
5 __Do you take time to enjoy and to 
teach your children to appreciate the 
symphony of sunset and sunrise colors? 
Music 
6 __Do you have a radio or a phonograph 
or both? And does your family listen 20 _ 
to symphonies and to the better class 
of music? 
34 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE 
__Do you have a piano, organ, or other 
musical instruments in your home? 
__Are your children encouraged "to 
play" music, or are they given music 
lessons? 
__Do you have books or collections of 
good songs and do you and your 
children frequently spend time sing-
ing from them? 
__When location and occasion permit, 
do you take your family to musical 
concerts and programs? 
LITERATURE 
__Do the books in your home cover a 
wide range of subject matter, and do 
your children have books of their 
very own? 
__Do you have books of poetry, and 
do you encourage your children to 
make poetry scrapbooks, or files of 
poetry? Are you on "speaking terms 
with such poets as these: Longfellow, 
Whittier, Tennyson? 
__Do you subscribe to magazines that 
contain current events, character-build-
ing and educational material, and 
child-interest subjects? 
Do you have a dictionary larger than 
pocket size, and an encyclopedia set 
or general reference books for your 
children's use? Do you help your 
children to cultivate the habit of 
research, training them to hunt for 
answers to their own questions? 
Do you as a family have a reading 
circle? And do you sometimes tell 
your children stories, including such 
subjects as history, nature, Bible, bi-
ography? 
RECREATION 
_ Realizing that parent-child comrade-
ship needs to be encouraged, do you 
take time to play with your children 
or to go on outings with them? 
_Do you have recreational gatherings 
for your children, providing games of 
either mental or physical development, 
and do you give them opportunity to 
participate in community activities? 
__Do you make trips with your children, 
taking time to observe the beauties of 
nature, and to point out the geo-
graphical features, the historical back-
ground, and the economic products of 
the sections through which you pass? 
__Do you point out to your children 
interesting things about birds, flowers, 
shells, stars, trees, minerals, and other 
nature subjects, helping them to 
identify special members in each 
group, by the use of guidebooks on the 
various subjects? 
_ Does each child in your family have a 
hobby? (Pets may be included as a 
hobby.) 
December, 1949 
Join the Temperance Cause 
(Continued from page 30) 
that if whisky was not good for Adventists, 
it was not good for anyone else, and they 
were finally impressed with the fact that 
they ought to destroy it. When they came 
to this conclusion, the new convert in-
vited his father to go down in the cellar 
with him. 
He took an ax and smashed the first 
barrel. As the whisky spilled over the 
floor and into the drain, the fumes almost 
overcame them. The next-door neighbors 
smelled the liquor and for a moment 
thought it was their own whisky. When 
they learned what their neighbors were 
doing, they thought they had gone crazy, 
but the father and son continued to destroy 
the remaining barrels. 
The father of this new convert was also 
in possession of some whisky. Later he 
also accepted the truth, and when he did, 
he followed the example of his son in 
destroying his whisky. 
Today these men are rejoicing in the 
message, and have become active crusaders 
for the temperance cause, having distributed 
over 5,000 pieces of temperance literature 
in their local community. If each member 
of the church would make his influence 
felt for the cause of Christian temperance 
as these men are doing, Seventh-day Ad-
ventists would soon be recognized as the 
leading temperance advocates in this land. 
We are appealing to all our lay members 
at this time to give their wholehearted 
support to the program which is being 
launched by the American Temperance 
Society. Not only do we need your moral en-
dorsement, but also your financial support. 
Let each member of the church: 
1. Take the total abstinence pledge. 
2. Become active members of the Ameri-
can Temperance Society, and remit the 
annual membership fee. 
3. Contribute liberally to the various 
projects sponsored by the American Temper. 
ance Society. 
4. Sponsor ten subscriptions to Listen 
(at a cost of $5.00), for your neighbors 
and friends. 
5. Become a qualified voter and take an 
active part in every local option campaign. 
"Years ago we regarded the spread of 
temperance principles one of our most 
important duties. It should be so today." 
—Ellen G. White. 
"From the light that God has given me, 
every member among us should sign the 
pledge and be connected with the temper-
ance association."—Ellen G. White. 
—W. A. SCHARFFENBERG. 
is time for points of interest along the way: �
7__ 
historical backgrounds, products of the rich 
soil, enjoyment of the beauty of seascapes 
and mountain scenery. 
Pets at home have their contribution to 
make to the well-rounded life of a child. 
They give him something to love that is 
all his own; they help to develop responsi-
bility and care for something dependent 
upon the child's own hand. 
Hobbies are a treasure house all their 
own. Parents may share their joys and enthu-
siasms with their children. The list of hob- 
bies is numberless, and the benefits may be �
11_ 
numberless, too. Every home needs hobbies 
as much as it needs groceries from the 
corner store. 
If we build our home with four strong, 
beautiful walls—art, music, literature, and 
recreation—we may expect our homes to 
stand even when storms may try to blast 
them. These are the walls we may use to 
give our children a full, rich life. They 
are the walls that will help our children 
to grow in a way that is right. 
Here is a check sheet that you may wish 
to fill in and grade; you may use it as an 
inventory when you ask yourself the ques-
tion, Is my home a home? 
12__ 
13_ 
14 
lft_ 
ft_ 
9__ 
35 
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE 
Private Institutions 
(Continued from page 3) 
will be meeting the goal and the objectives 
of our self-supporting work. 
I think of your group as a halfway 
station between the individual church mem-
ber who gives loyal service of time, effort, 
and resources, and the composite organized 
entity known as the General Conference, 
union conferences, and local conferences. 
An individual can make a very real con-
tribution. In fact, no one has ever measured 
the potentialities that reside in a lone 
individual who has a conviction, a vision, 
audacity, and a determination for God. 
We see it all the while in the sacrifice in 
time and money that is made by an indi-
vidual here or there. Great contributions 
are made by the ideas of individuals. The 
Ingathering was an idea of a lone individ-
ual. It grew and grew. 
Even more so can a group of good loyal 
Adventist individuals make a tremendous 
contribution. You are halfway stations. I 
use that word in the most honorable sense 
of the word. We do not want the individual 
to be confused with the composite body. 
Each must be in his place, rightly related 
one to the other. As I see it, a group of 
individuals bound together in some way, 
legally and by a commonness of purpose, 
can make a large contribution to the organ-
ized work, even though, as it were, they 
are on their own. 
As I look back on the history of the 
Christian church nineteen hundred years 
ago, it seems to me that the people then 
were reaching out on all sides everywhere. 
And the purpose of the organized group 
at Jerusalem was to give some general 
sense of direction, to co-ordinate efforts, 
as it were, and to encourage the people and 
to cheer them on in their battle to break 
down the walls of heathenism and idolatry. 
I am glad you have this Association. I 
see in it great possibilities. Let us keep a 
beautiful balance between the initiative and 
the sparkling quality that reside in in-
dividual conviction and thought, and the 
unified endeavor that is crystallized in your 
Association, and its relationship to the 
General Conference. 
* * * 
From the Azores, Mission Director 
Manuel Lourinho writes that the work is 
going forward in this group of islands, On 
the island of Flores, one of this archipelago, 
six persons have been baptized, and a 
considerable number of others are interested. 
On the island of Pico an interest has also 
been manifested, and soon the first baptisms 
will take place. The little chapel now in 
process of construction will soon be finished. 
Beating Swords Into 
Plowshares 
Just across the Lunga River from Hender-
son Field on Guadalcanal is the Betikama 
Missionary School, our training unit for the 
Solomon Islands. Around Henderson Field 
is Camp Guar!, the American base camp for 
this area. Recently we were privileged to 
have a visit from the camp chaplain, who 
was accompanied by a visiting chaplain. 
As they stood on our front veranda and 
looked out over the school compound, the 
visiting chaplain remarked, "This is surely 
beating swords into plowshares." You see, 
nearly all the buildings erected thus far 
have been from surplus materials bought 
from the American Army. 
The first sod was turned for the Betikama 
Missionary School during the first week in 
December, 1947. Since that time thirteen 
buildings have been erected, and the four-
teenth and fifteenth are in process of erec-
tion now. Five of the eight dormitories 
planned are completed. These buildings 
are of Quonset hut material and very 
suitable for the purpose. Our resources of 
this material are exhausted, but we hope 
to be able to procure some more soon. 
Our school building has not been started 
yet, due to lack of material, and up to the 
present time school has been conducted 
in one of the Quonset hut dormitories. 
But that has grown too small, for our 
Sabbath-school membership now stands 
at 114, and our school enrollment at eighty-
eight. A building which will later serve as 
a workshop is nearing completion, and this 
will be used temporarily for a schoolhouse. 
Talking about Sabbath-school member-
ship reminds me that we have over one 
hundred mouths to feed, for all our mem-
bers are resident in the compound. During 
the fifteen months since building began, 
acres of gardens have been planted and 
have produced well. The school farm is 
the admiration of all who pass by. The 
smooth-running institution as it stands to-
day is a testimony to the solid work put in 
by Brother Thrift before he moved on to 
larger responsibilities. All are awaiting the 
arrival of the new headmaster, Brother R. 
Richter. The spirit of the place is excellent, 
and we are looking forward to many 
teachers stepping out from its doors to 
answer the ever-increasing number of calls 
from the Coral Sea Union. Please, do not 
forget Betikama. 
-LESTER LOCK. 
Sarawak Mission Meeting 
Sarawak, formerly the land of the white 
Rajah, has now become a British Colony. 
We have a well-organized mission in this 
state in Borneo, and how pleased I was to 
attend the General Mission Meeting held 
in Kuching, April 15-20, 1949! Hardly 
had I arrived and eaten lunch when Brother 
Fox said that he had arranged for L. C. 
Wilcox and me to visit the Ayer Manis 
School for Dyaks. This school is located in 
a beautiful spot thirty-seven miles from 
Kuching. Dyak students and believers were 
awaiting our arrival at the school. In the 
special service which followed our arrival, 
I was deeply impressed with the splendid 
way in which these young people sang the 
gospel hymns. All the songs are memorized 
by our believers who have never attended 
a school. In fact, there is no literature what-
soever in the Dyak language. 
It was our privilege to visit a new church 
several miles from Ayer Manis. We now 
have over eighty members in that place, 
and the Dyak Chief of the village has 
indicated his desire to be a Christian. We 
visited the Chief in his "quarters" in the 
long Dyak house. Dyak families do not live 
in separate family homes, but the whole 
village, numbering several hundred, all live 
together in the "long house." These houses 
are built largely of bamboo and are erected 
on stilts eight or ten feet above the ground. 
The main entrance is by a notched log—
sometimes a bit difficult for a foreigner 
to climb. 
The mission meeting held at Kuching was 
well attended. Our sermons were translated 
into four languages and dialects, as follows: 
Malayan, Land Dyak, Sea Dyak, and Chi-
nese. Each district leader gave a thrilling 
report of how the Lord had opened the way 
for the preaching of the advent message. 
In spite of local opposition, the workers 
pledged themselves to enter eighteen new 
villages this year among the Land and Sea 
Dyaks. Under the enthusiastic leadership 
of L. E. A. Fox, we have every reason to 
believe this objective will be fully realized. 
—R. S. WATTS. 
VoL 36, No. 12 
36 �
THE CHURCH OFFICERS' GAZETTE �
December, 1949 
A Taste of Better Things 
to Come 
The leper work at Malamulo has recently 
received a special gift from overseas of a 
small shipment of Diasone, the new Ameri-
can drug for the treatment of leprosy. 
There have been wonderful reports con-
cerning this new drug. It has been used 
at some of our other leper centers recently. 
We are happy to have some of it to treat 
a few of the 300 lepers at Malamulo. Un-
fortunately the supply is only enough to 
treat five of the patients. The medicine can 
be given by mouth, and so does not cause 
the many sore places from injections that 
we are used to seeing as a result of the 
present type of treatment. However, it does 
require much laboratory work in checking 
the blood count each week. We have had 
a gift of laboratory equipment for this 
work from a doctor overseas. 
Of course it has been very hard to select 
the five patients. All the lepers want the 
treatment, for they have heard about it 
for some time. It is quite expensive, run-
ning about £10 for one patient for one 
year; so until we have more funds available, 
we will not be able to give all the patients 
this medicine. Just a taste—that is all we 
have at the present time. 
On the other hand, we do hope to give 
them all a Christian experience at this 
center that will be a taste of heaven. We 
know they all want new medicine, but we 
hope to get them all to hunger and thirst 
for the new life. The patients hope to be 
cleansed of the leprosy, and we want them 
to be cured; but we also want them to be 
cleansed of their sins. 
—M. F. FOWLER, M.D. 
Suffering for the Faith 
Elder J. L. Brown, who was formerly 
the president of the Central American 
Union Mission, tells the following story: 
During the Honduras Mission annual 
session in 1947, a former priestess was 
baptized. Upon returning to her home she 
found that the news of her baptism had 
preceded her, and that the people were 
awaiting her arrival and that of the other 
Adventist delegates who accompanied her. 
Some of the citizens of her home town 
became intoxicated and tried to force the 
session delegation to drink strong native 
whisky with them. In fact they threatened 
them with their revolvers and stoned some 
of the believers. They cast some out of the 
houses which they had rented, and the 
trouble continued for some time. 
However, a later communication from 
Cuyamel, the home of this former priestess, 
states that every one of the believers is 
of good courage. They are calling for an 
evangelist to start a series of meetings in 
Special Days and Offerings 
December 3 
Home Missionary Day 
Topic: My Responsibility Toward 
the Unfinished Task 
December 10 
Second Sabbath Mission Offering 
December 31 
Thirteenth Sabbath Mission 
Offering 
South American Division 
that place, for they believe that many of 
their former enemies will attend our meet-
ings and eventually accept the message of 
truth. 
The same letter which tells of the courage 
of our believers also states that one man 
paid $100 to get musicians and dancers 
to start a mob in front of our church while 
meetings were being carried on, hoping 
in this way to break up the meetings. A 
translation of a few lines from this letter 
reads as follows: 
"The people are very much excited, and 
are trying to chase us out of this village. 
They have stoned us and insulted us, not 
once, but many times. They have also used 
ugly and insulting words during the hours 
when we have been holding our meetings." 
However, none of these dear believers are 
discouraged; all are determined to press 
forward. 
May we all be as courageous as they 
are! Let us pray for them that they may 
be faithful, and let us also pray for our-
selves, that when we face similar trials and 
persecution we shall be as faithful as 
they, and as loyal to our convictions as were 
the martyrs of olden times. 
Religious Publications Banned 
(Continued from page 3) 
Early this year all youth publications 
issued by the Church were suspended by 
the government, ostensibly because of paper 
shortage. When the church paper committee 
met with representatives of the government 
and asked permission to publish at least 
one paper for youth, the spokesman for 
the government declared, "About youth 
papers there cannot be any discussion. No 
young people's societies are allowed and 
no Church periodical for young people." 
—From a Release of the News Bureau of 
the National Lutheran Council, New York, 
Erik W. Modean, Editor, in Current Re-
ligious Thought, April, 1949. 
First Fruits From the 
Gilberts 
Thirty miles north of the equator, near 
the 174th longitude, lies the island of 
Abemama, headquarters of our mission in 
this new and interesting field. On this 
island, which is some thirty miles long 
and which encircles a beautiful lagoon in 
the shape of a "C," live about one thousand 
people who spend their time fishing, cut-
ting copra, and talking of the latest news, 
which, here on Abemama, is the progress 
of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission on the 
island. 
Already we have two Sabbath schools 
operating, and on January 29 of this year 
these schools combined at Takabaru for 
services. There were approximately seventy 
people present. The church service dealt 
with the new birth and baptism, for on 
this particular Sabbath there was to be a 
baptism. About three o'clock, had you been 
here, you would have seen a truckload of 
happy folk, others on bicycles or afoot, all 
headed for the boat pool, where the ship 
"Fetu Ao" lay peacefully at anchor. There 
were more than one hundred present as 
five candidates were led down into the 
waters of the lagoon. One has passed the 
allotted span of life and although not able 
vigorously to defend his new faith, yet, as 
he remarked to an old friend in the course 
of conversation, "This one thing I do know 
—Jesus is coming soon and I want to be 
ready." What a wonderful hope to each 
one of us is this! 
-JOHN HOWSE. 
Training Church Leaders 
(Continued from page 2) 
particular school the students are requested 
to report to the Bible Department the way in 
which the congregation was served. They 
have found it desirable to leave one or two 
young men to help a particular church 
throughout a school year, or even longer, 
and in many cases these have been elected 
to leading offices in the church and actively 
participate in the board meetings and in 
the general program of the church. 
We believe this to be a most desirable 
procedure because these young men and 
young women, while in training, will place 
their theory into actual practice during the 
time when they can receive help and counsel 
from the brethren who have been chosen 
to train them. 
We thought it would be an encouraging 
note to share with our local church leaders 
that a definite training program is under 
way, and that it is our intention to make it 
increasingly practical.