Southwestern Uninn Record
Official Organ of the Southwestern Union Confers”
Vor. XXXIV
KEENE, TEXAS; deny 1.
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oh 0v89 | Adv entits
NUMBER 29
FROM time to time letters come to
my desk from our good people here
and there expressing the feeling that
too much is being said about money,
by our leaders, and not enough about
the salvation of souls. One letter
which I received recently expressed
this thought, and then followed with
the statement: “When they are really
converted, they won't have to be made
to pay their tithes and offerings.
When they get the love of God in their
hearts as it should be, it will be a
pleasure to do the Lord's will.... But
I say it is sad to think how much is
being said about money among the
Adventist people.”
I do not criticize this sister, and I
ara not surprised that some of our
people are led to feel that as leaders
we are stressing the money phase of
our work more than we should. Often
when I am writing articles for a pa-
per, or a letter, I shrink from the res-
ponsibility of dwelling so much on the
financial needs of our work, because
I know that we all are carrying loads
financially; but really it seems there
is nothing else to do if we are to
keep our work moving forward as it
should, than to constantly bring to
the attention of our people the great
needs, and urge them to support it
as loyally and liberally as possible.
Our General Conference brethren
are under the tremendous burden of
the great world-wide work which
costs millions of dollars a year to
carry on. They are compelled to lay
before us the needs, and to lay upon
us the burden to do our best to supply
these needs. They press these needs
down heavily upon the hearts of our
union conference brethren, and the
pressure finally reaches the local con-
ference, and we try to distribute it
upon the shoulders of our lay members
everywhere,
The cause does not belong to the
General Conference officers. It is the
Lord’s work and He has called every
member to loyally support it to the
best of his ability. So brethren and
sisters I hope that you will be pa-
tient with us as leaders even though
it does look at times as if we are
A ppeals for Money
saying a good deal about money. I
appreciate the loyalty of our dear peo-
ple and their faithfulness in paying
tithes and offerings. What would we
do were it not for the spirit of loyal-
ty and sacrifice that is found among
our people everywhere! Let us take
courage and remember that this work
will soon be finished when the strug-
gles and sacrifice of this life will be
over forever,
—— —
Even as I conclude this article, I
cannot refrain from calling attention
to the Mid-Summer offering which is
to be taken up Sabbath, July 20. Our
General Conference brethren hope
that every church will average fifty
cents a member. Shall we not do our
best to encourage our leaders while
they are bending every effort to carry
this message to the ends of the earth?
H. C. HARTWELL.
Shepherd’s Rod Ineffective
QUOTING from Volume 1, Number
10, of the Symbolic Code News Items,
the official bulletin of the Shepherd’s
Rod movement, as follows:
“We have recently witnessed a com-
pany of people in Waco, Texas, be-
come established in the present truth
after ten studies, and another com-
pany in Keene, Texas, become estab-
lished after only seven studies.”
The leaders in the Shepherd's Rod
movement admitted to me in my office
that they are teaching our people to
pay the tithe to them. But notwith-
standing the fact that they teach this,
and they claim that they have a com-
pany in Keene and in Waco, I thought
it would be of interest to our believers
to know that the church at Keene has
paid $231.93 more tithe for the first
five months of this year than they did
for the first five months of 1934, while
the church at Waco has paid $132.02
more in tithe for the first five
months of this year than last.
My opinion is that not many of our
people, after taking time for due re-
flection, will sever themselves from
this movement that God has so signal-
ly raised up and blessed until it is
going forth with the message in 504
languages around the world, to unite
with and throw their financial and
moral influence to an organization
which spends all its energies in find-
ing fault with the movement.
I have the kindliest feelings toward
those who, through friendships, may
have been misled into {feeling that
there is light in the Shepherd’s Rod
movement. But the movement itself
is but a repetition of the many apos-
‘work are short.
tasies that have sprung out from us,
and have eventually come to naught.
I trust our brethren will continue to
go forward on the platform that God
has raised up for this people, rather
than to get off with the critics to ex-
amine the underpinnings.
The days for the finishing of the
God is expecting His
church to go forward. May He con-
tinue to bless all of our churches with
the ability to increase their tithe and
offerings, that the work may quickly
be finished, and God’s people enjoy
their everlasting inheritance.
R. L. BENTON.
Do You Want a Preacher?
LIVING preachers are few and it
is not possible to answer all requests -
for efforts in 1935, but you can have
the message preached in your com-
munity by securing copies of Bible
Footlights and lending them to those
who are interested. In the Spirit of
prophecy we read, “Let us now, by
the wise use of periodicals and books,
preach the word with determined
energy.” Testimonies, Vol. 9. p. 62.
By lending or selling the silent
preacher you can bring people to a
decision and ‘stir up such a big inter-
est that it will be necessary for the
conference to send a preacher to bap-
tize the people. Order several copies
of Bible Footlights at 85 cents post-
paid, and get the work started at
once in your community.
Surely this is a means whereby God
can do a great work for your neigh-
bors. B. E. WAGNER