ATLANTIC " Lift up your eyes, and took on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." VOL. I � souTir LANCASTER, MASS., OCTOBER I, 1902 � No. 38 THY WILL BE DONE. TII Y will be done'. In devious way The hurrying stream of life may run; Yet still our grateful hearts shall say, Thy will be done! Thy will be done ! If o'er us shine A gladdening and a prosperous sun, This prayer will make it more divine— Thy will be done! Thy will be done ! Though shrouded o'er Our path with gloom, one comfort--one Is ours—to breathe, while we adore, Thy will be done! —Bawcring. - THE IMPORTANCE OF OBEDIENCE. OBEDIENCE or disobedience decides every man's destiny. Those who obey God are counted worthy to share his throne, while those who disobey will be forever lost. But sin has weak- ened our powers of obedience, and in our own strength we can never obey God. Knowing this, God sent Jesus to our world to live his law. Only the mind that is trained to obedience to God can do justice to his divine claims, and God gave Christ up to humiliation and suffering, to be af- flicted with all the temptations where- t with humanity is afflicted, that in his strength we might be enabled to keep his law. It was for the recovery of man that Christ came into the world, and it is to the will of man that he appeals. The knowledge of God through Jesus Christ brings every thought into obedience to his will. The heart that was defiled by disobe- dience to God's requirements, and which in its fall dragged down the faculties of the whole being, is renewed by this knowledge. All may study with profit the expe- rience of the first Adam in contrast with that of the second Adam. The first Adam possessed beautiful Eden, a gift from God to the beings he had created. The sinless pair were very happy in their possession ; for noth- ing that was needed to sustain them, or to please the senses, was withheld. Only one test was made,--they were not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil ; and death was the penalty of the trans- gression of this command. But Satan came to them, and told them that if they ate of the forbidden fruit, they would immediately become as gods, knowing good and evil. God wished them to know only good. Will they listen to the strange voice, which charges God with selfishness and injustice for making such an ar- rangement ? Will they disobey God by listening to the insinuations of the enemy, because addressed to them in flattering words ? Can it be that they will do this terrible thing ? They did do it. Adam fell from his loyalty because he did not obey the " Thou shalt not " of God's word; and by his sin the flood-gates of woe were opened upon our world. If faithful to God's requirements, he would have had perfect descendants, as pure and uncorrupted as he him- self was when he came from the hand of God. As father of the human race, he could have imparted the pure higher education, which he himself had received direct from. God. But by his disobedience he spoiled God's plan for himself and for his posterity. After Adam had sinned, the only means of salvation for the human race was for the Son of the infinite God to give his life that they might have an- other trial of obedience. What love the Father manifested in behalf of man, erring and disobedient though he was ! He " so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God was in the world, represented by Christ. Christ, the second Adam, came to a world polluted and marred, to live a life of perfect obedience. The race, weakened in moral power, was unable to cope with Satan, who ruled his subjects with cruel authority. Christ came to stand on the field of battle in warfare against all the satanic forces. By representing in his life the char- 410 (z) � ATLANTIC UNION OLEANE.I2 acter of God, he sought to win man back to his allegiance. Clad in the vestments of humanity, the Son of God came down to the level of those he wished to save. In him was no guile or sinfulness ; he was ever pure and undefiled ; yet he took upon him our sinful nature. Clothing his divinity with humanity, that he might associate with fallen humanity, he sought to regain for man that which, by disobedience, Adam had lost for himself and for the world. In his own character he displayed to the world the character of God. He pleased not himself, but went about doing good. His whole history, for more than thirty years, was one of pure, disinterested benevolence. By his words, his influence, and his example, he made men feel that it was possible for them to return to their loyalty and be reinstated in God's favor. He led them to see that if they repented, if their charac- ters were transformed after the divine similitude, they would win immortality. Can we wonder that men were astonished at his teaching? " He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." The teach- ing of the scribes and Pharisees was a continuous repetition of fables and childish traditions. � Their opinions and ceremonies rested on ancient maxims and rabbinical sayings which were frivolous and worthless. With what astonishment did the people listen to the words that fell from the lips of the divine Teacher! Christ did not dwell on weak, insipid sayings and theories of men. As one pos- sessing the highest authority, he ad- dressed his hearers, presenting before them momentous subjects ; and his appeals carried conviction to their hearts. The opinion of all, expressed by many who were not able to keep silent, was, " Never man spake like this Man." God desires that the beings made in his image shall render obedience to him. He is " not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." For this he gave his only begotten Son to this world, that in his strength men might have power to obey. He has "blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ : according as he bath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." In order that sinners may hear the message of sal- vation, he calls upon those who claim to be his servants to cooperate with the heavenly intelligences in carrying forward his work. He has plainly stated the way in which the ministry of his word is to be sustained. Each one is to act his part. No one is excused from cheerfully doing his part to keep the treasury of God supplied with means. These offerings are to be used in his work, drawn from the treasury as the cause demands, to extend his work in regions beyond. God waits to see if we, who have been purchased by the life of the Son of God, through whom all our tem- poral blessings flow, will render obe- dience to him in this matter. Shall we disobey God by withholding from him our tithes and offerings ? Other souls, as precious in his sight as we are, must have the light of truth brought to them. Then shall we not follow the example of our Saviour, and work to save others ? MRS. E. G. WHITE. WHAT OTHERS SAY OF US. UNDER the heading, " Signs of Last Days," the Boston Sunday Journal, of September 29, contains the following : " Lincoln, Neb.,Sept. 27.--The Sev- enth-day Adventists again are stir- ring parts of the West by their proph- ecy that the end of the world is close at hand. Their beliefs are now being spread in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, where many big meetings have been held in the past month. A two weeks' camp-meeting has just come to an end in this city. " The membership of the sect is now about 75,000, principally in the West, although missionary work has been pushed for a score of years elsewhere The centers of the propaganda now are this city and Battle Creek, Mich. " in 1874 Europe was invaded, and a great deal of the Scandinavian and Norwegian emigration to this region came as a result of these missionary efforts. In 1885 a church was estab- lished in Australia. Publications in thirty-seven different languages are now circulated, among them some of the dialects of the South Pacific. " The Adventists do not fix any definite date for the end of the world. They base their prediction upon the prophecy of Daniel, in which it was said that in 2300 days the sanctuary would be cleansed. A day means a year, they say, and the 23011 years ended in 1844, the year set by Miller for the end of the world. " The mistake of the Adventist of 1844 pertained to the nature of the event then to occur and not to the time, they say. What took place then, they believe, was the beginning of the day of judgment. When that is over, the world will end. " The Adventists say the approach of the end of the world is indicated by the signs of the times, as pointed out in the Scriptures. The movement for universal arbitration, they say, is fulfilment of the prophecy of Micah that in the last days many people shall say let the Lord judge and nations shall not war with each other. " Joel says that while they shall talk peace they shall prepare for war, and the Adventists point to the great standing armies and the war talk of the day as confirmation. "In the fifth chapter of James it is predicted that in the last days the rich will be heaping up treasures and the poor crying because their hire is kept back. Every trust, they say, is a sign of the coming King, and every strike -4 ATLANTIC UNION GLEANER � (3) 41 I the posting of a notice that the end is near. "Matthew says the social world will be in the last days- as in Noah's day, and the innumerable crimes of *the day are quoted as confirmation. Timothy tells of the sins of the relig- ious world, and the Adventist preach- ers dwell upon the theater-going„ I, dancing, card playing, and rich dress- ing of the church members as proof of this condition. " The Adventists all dress plainly„ eschewing gold, jewels and rich attire, and are generally model citizens." SPEND YOUR TIME WELL. SPEND your time in nothing which you know must be repented of. Spend it in nothing on which you might not pray for the blessing of God. Spend it in nothing which you could not re- view with a quiet conscience on your dying bed. Spend it in nothing which you might not safely and properly be found doing if death should surprise you in the act.—Seleded. A LITTLE boy, whose vocabulary included only one kind of berries, went into the garden with a girl sev- eral years his senior, and gathered some raspberries for their evening lunch. They seated themselves on the .steps to enjoy the fruit, and he suggested that she should say grace. When she declined, the little four- year-old said, " 0 Lord, these straw- berries are good. Amen." It oc- curred to us that older people, who thank God for the bounties of his providence, and then complain of the quality of the food provided, might learn a lesson in saying grace from this little one. " HAvo o food and raiment, let us be therewith content." " I wo-A, bless thee," " and thou shalt be a blessing." MEDICAL MISSIONARY OLD-TIME METHODS. " A WORKING church is a living church. We are built up as living stones, and every stone is to emit light."---" Testimoniesfor the Church," Vol. VI, page 435• If we are Christians indeed, we will be alive to the interests of the cause of God, and will work in some way to spread abroad the light that has done us so much good. .Years ago our people everywhere engaged in the distribution of small tracts and pamphlets. One method of doing this work was by what was known as " the envelope plan." � Envelopes large enough to receive two or three small tracts were used. The worker would select his territory, and would prepare as many envelopes as he could use in a given time, using some- thing mild in character with which to begin the work, and going from house to house would leave said en- velopes, asking the people to read the tracts, and in a few days (say a week), he would call again. On the second visit he would carry envelope No. 2, with tracts upon other sub- jects, etc. This work was followed up week after week, until the people would either decide in favor of the truth or reject it. As a result of this work, individuals r e a d themselves into the truth. On the second or third visit some would perhaps refuse to accept more reading matter. They would be dropped and other families be taken up, and thus the work was kept going, the worker following up the interest with the interested ones. The writer once knew a farmer in a Western State who adopted some such plan as this, and would take a half day each week to go out among his neighbors leaving tracts and pa- per's, and in a very short time he had seventeen interested families w h o were glad of his weekly visits. The writer came into the truth by reading matter furnished him by a Seventh- day Adventist neighbor. Brethren, I believe we had better return to some of our old-time meth- ods of working. If you have not the envelopes, take a package of tracts and go out among your neighbors. Meet them with the sunshine of heaven in your face, the love cf God beaming forth in every word and act, and ask them to read what you give them. Do not allow yourself to be in any way drawn into an argument upon any point of faith, but let the printed page do this. If argument is necessary, the printed page can do this work much better than we can, for the printed worker never becomes excited or wrought up, but produces his argument in a very quiet way, and will avoid giving offense. If you meet any one who asks you for information, then give him all the light you can upon the subject. The consecrated workers will have wisdom given them from the Lord, and angels of God will go with them to assist them. Every Seventh-day Adventist should be a consecrated worker for God. Perhaps not every one will go out with tracts, but every one will work in some way if they reach heaven at last. May the Lord help us as a people to arise and shine forth before the world in good works. J. W. WATT. TO THE WORK. THE above title seemed to be the spirit with which the good people of Maine went home from the camp- meeting. But to carry out the letter of this spirit, something definite must be planned by each one. The " Object Lessons " work is the general work that we are morally pledged to do, but of course we all want some part in the different lines. The envelope plan inaugurated last winter should be 4 1" (4) � ATLANTIC UNION GLEANER carried forward with renewed vigor this fall and winter. From now until Christmas -will be the most favorable time to sell books. Our regular canvassers we want in the subscription-book work, but the rank -and file of the people should be engaged in the sale of " Object Les- sons." � • There are thousands of people in Maine who will soon be thinking about Christmas presents. Let us take time by the forelock, and give everybody a chance to get " Christ's Object Lessons " for their friends. In a united effort our quota might be disposed of by Christmas time. Since June we have made a good record, and now we are on the last half. We were told that this work would bring unity. Did we not- see this Spirit. manifested upon our camp 6o-round? Now a work that will bring such blessed results can not be an irksome task. Let us arouse to our privilege, and before the new year comes in proclaim the jubilee song. May reports begin to pour into the office of results achieved, victories won. P. F. BicKryita.r,. AN EARNEST PLEA. DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS OF VERMONT : I ask you in the name and love of Jesus my Saviour, What is the reason that each one of you does not buy your quota of " Object Lessons '' ? If you wanted something of this world for your self-gratification that cost only $7.50, there is not one of you in a hundred but that would have it. I beg-each one of you to raise the seven dollars and fifty cents to pay for six copies of the book. If you can not sell them, loan them, or give them, to your neighbors. Get them into the homes where the Lord can use them. I knew an old man over eighty-two years old, • who is poor, and has only his hands to help himself with. He bought the six books and paid the money for them. He gave a copy to each of his children, and sold and loaned the others. Think of what God has clone for you in the past, and what he is now asking you to do for hint and his cause. Do not wait any longer. God wants his people to have a ready and willing mind to cooperate with him in this work of getting his schools free from debt. I am old and deaf, but God can use me to dispose of these books and to loan and give away hundreds of pages of other literature. The Lord is good to me. I will glory n his holy name evermore. C. HALE. " My tongue also shall talk of Thy righteousness all the clay long." "-hi FIELD WEST VIRGINIA CAMP-MEETING. THE West Virginia cunp-meeting was held at Parkersburg, September 11—'21. The weather was excellent except that the evenings were rather cool. Tire camp was located on the electric line about one mile from the city. The conference is numerically small, but a good representation was present. The attendance from the city was good. Besides the ministers of the local conference, there were present either all or a portion of the time, W. A. Spicer, E. E. Franke, R. A. Underwood, S. I I. Lane, Frederick Griggs, S. N. Curtiss and the writer. The medical work was represented by two late graduates from Battle Creek. A good work was done for all the peo- ple and many were spiritually revived. Several young people gave themselves to the Lord. The conference is practically out of debt, as it now owes only about two hundred dollars on the old tract society debt. •Eight hundred and fif- teen dollars were received in cash and pledges in the interests of the con- ference work. We devoted one meet- ing to the interests of the book, " Christ's Object Lessons," and sold five hundred and four books to private individuals, which completes the con- ference quota. Brother Spicer and the writer were called to Washington, 1). C., several days before the close of the meeting, hence the interest developed later, will be reported by others. Elder S. M. Cobb was again elected president of the conference. All enter again upon the work with renewed courage. II. W. COTTRELL. So. LanCaSkr,111aSS., Sej5i. 25, 1902. NEW YORK HARBOR. I HAVE spent only one day on the harbor since Brother Place was here. I was taken , with the grip, and my wife also. I worked over her two hours 'Friday evening before she could speak. Then I came clown and we have had a hospital here. • They kept me in a menthol pack for twenty-four hours, changing it twice in that time. 'To-day I am much better, and am sit- ting up. My wife is getting along. well. On. Sunday evening we had a full house among the colored people with o a