1907 Ms 79, 1907 The Temperance Work NP August 15, 1907 This manuscript is

published in entirety in LLM 236 - 239. (Extracts from printed testimonies and
from unpublished MSS., outlining work done thirty years ago, and in more recent
years; also, the work that should be done today.) Ms79-1907.1 Soon after my
husband and I returned from California to Michigan in the spring of 1877, we were
earnestly solicited to take part in a temperance mass - meeting, a very
praiseworthy effort in progress among the better portion of the citizens of Battle
Creek. This movement embraced the Battle Creek Reform Club, six hundred
strong, and the Women's Christian Temperance Union, two hundred and sixty
strong. God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible were familiar words with these
earnest workers. Much good had already been accomplished, and the activity of
the workers, the system by which they labored, and the spirit of their meetings
promised greater good in time to come. Ms79-1907.2 It was on the occasion of
the visit of Barnum's great menagerie to this city on the 28th of June, that the
ladies of the Women's Christian Temperance Union struck a telling blow for
temperance and reform by organizing an immense temperance restaurant to
accommodate the crowds of people who gathered in from the country to visit the
menagerie, thus preventing them from visiting the saloons and groggeries, where
they would be exposed to temptation. The mammoth tent, capable of holding five
thousand people, used by the Michigan Conference for camp - meeting purposes,
was tendered for the occasion. Beneath this immense canvas temple were
erected fifteen or twenty tables for the accommodation of guests. Ms79-1907.3
By invitation, the sanitarium set a large table in the center of the great pavilion,
bountifully supplied with delicious fruits, grains, and vegetables. This table
formed the chief attraction and was more largely patronized than any other.
Although it was more than thirty feet long, it became so crowded that it was
necessary to set another about two - thirds as long, which was also thronged.
Ms79-1907.4 By invitation of the Committee of Arrangements, Mayor Austin, W.
H. Skinner, cashier of the First National Bank, and C. C. Peavey, I spoke in the
mammoth tent, Sunday evening, July 1, upon the subject of Christian
Temperance. God helped me that evening; and although I spoke ninety minutes,
the crowd of fully five thousand persons listened in almost breathless silence. -
Testimonies for the Church 4:274, 275. Ms79-1907.5 ***** On Sunday, June 23,
1878, I spoke in the Methodist Church of Salem, Oregon, on the subject of
temperance. The attendance was unusually good, and I had freedom in treating
this, my favorite subject. I was requested to speak again in the same place on the
Sunday following the camp - meeting, but was prevented by hoarseness. On the
next Tuesday evening, however, I again spoke in this church. Many invitations
were tendered me to speak on temperance in various cities and towns of Oregon,
but the state of my health forbade my complying with these requests. -
Testimonies for the Church 4:290, 291. Ms79-1907.6 ***** Early in August, 1878,
we visited Boulder City, Colorado, and beheld with joy our canvas meetinghouse,
where Elder Cornell was holding a series of meetings. The tent had been loaned
to hold temperance meetings in, and, by special invitation, I spoke to a tent full of
attentive hearers. Though wearied by my journey, the Lord helped me to
successfully present before the people the necessity of practicing strict
temperance in all things. - Testimonies for the Church 4:297. Ms79-1907.7 *****
Monday morning, June 2, 1879, while in attendance at a camp - meeting held at
Nevada, Missouri, we assembled under the tent to attend the organization of a
temperance association. There was a fair representation of our people present.
Elder Butler spoke and confessed that he had not been as forward in the
temperance reform as he should have been. He stated that he had always been
strictly a temperance man, discarding the use of liquor, tea, and coffee, but he had
not signed the pledge being circulated among our people. But he was now
convinced that in not doing so he was hindering others who ought to sign it. He
then placed his name under Col. Hunter's; my husband placed his name beneath
Brother Butler's, I wrote mine next, and Brother Farnsworth's followed. Thus the
work was well started. Ms79-1907.8 My husband continued to talk while the
pledge was circulating. Some hesitated, thinking that the platform was too broad
in including tea and coffee; but finally their names were given, pledging
themselves to total abstinence. Ms79-1907.9 Brother Hunter, who was then called
upon to speak, responded by giving a very impressive testimony as to how the
truth found him and what it had done for him. He stated that he had drank liquor
enough to float a ship, and that now he wanted to accept the whole truth, reform
and all. He had given up liquor and tobacco, and this morning he had drank his
last cup of coffee. He believed the testimonies were of God, and he wished to be
led by the will of God expressed in them. Ms79-1907.10 As the result of the
meeting, one hundred and thirty - two names were signed to the teetotal pledge,
and a decided victory was gained in behalf of temperance. - The Review and
Herald, June 12, 1879 Ms79-1907.11 ***** In our public meetings in Australia, we
took special pains to present clearly the fundamental principles of temperance
reform. Generally, when I spoke to the people on Sunday, my theme was health
and temperance. During some of the camp - meetings, daily instruction was given
on this subject. In several places, the interest aroused over our position on the
use of stimulants and narcotics led the friends of temperance to attend our
meetings and learn more of the various doctrines of our faith. Ms79-1907.12
During a series of meetings held late in the year 1899, at Maitland, New South
Wales, I was requested by the president of the Maitland branch of the Women's
Christian Temperance Union to speak to them one evening. She said that they
would be very glad to hear me, even if I should speak for only ten minutes. I asked
her if the ten minutes that she proposed for me to speak was all the time that was
allowed, because sometimes the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and I had more
than a ten minutes' talk to give. "Oh," she said, "your people told me that you did
not speak in the evening, and I specified ten minutes as the time, thinking that I
would not get you at all if I made it longer. The longer you can speak to us, the
more thankful we shall be." Ms79-1907.13 I asked Mrs. Winter, the president, if it
was her custom to read a portion of Scripture at the opening of the meeting. She
said that it was. I then asked for the privilege of praying, which was gladly
granted. I spoke with freedom to them for an hour. Some of the women present
that night afterward attended the meetings in the tent. - Mss. Ms79-1907.14 *****
In our work, more attention should be given to the temperance reform. Every duty
that calls for reform involves repentance, faith, and obedience. It means the
uplifting of the soul to a new and nobler life. Thus every true reform has its place
in the work of the third angel's message. Especially does the temperance reform
demand our attention and support. At our camp - meetings, we should call
attention to this work and make it a living issue. We should present to the people
the principles of true temperance and call for signers to the temperance pledge.
Careful attention should be given to those who are enslaved by evil habits. We
must lead them to the cross of Christ. Ms79-1907.15 Our camp - meetings should
have the labors of medical men. These should be men of wisdom and sound
judgment, men who respect the ministry of the Word and who are not victims of
unbelief. These men are the guardians of the health of the people, and they are to
be recognized and respected. They should give instruction to the people in regard
to the dangers of intemperance. This evil must be more boldly met in the future
than it has been in the past. Ministers and doctors should set forth the evils of
intemperance. Both should work in the gospel with power to condemn sin and
exalt righteousness. Those ministers or doctors who do not make personal
appeals to the people are remiss in their duty. They fail of doing the work which
God has appointed them. Ms79-1907.16 In other churches there are Christians
who are standing in defense of the principles of temperance. We should seek to
come near to these workers and make a way for them to stand shoulder to
shoulder with us. We should call upon great and good men to second our efforts
to save that which is lost. Ms79-1907.17 If the work of temperance were carried
forward by us as it was begun thirty years ago; if at our camp - meetings we
presented before the people the evils of intemperance in eating and drinking, and
especially the evil of liquor - drinking; if these things were presented in connection
with the evidences of Christ's soon coming, there would be a shaking among the
people. If we showed a zeal in proportion to the importance of the truths we are
handling, we might be instrumental in rescuing hundreds, yea thousands, from
ruin. Ms79-1907.18 Only eternity will reveal what has been accomplished by this
kind of ministry - how many souls, sick with doubt, and tired of worldliness and
unrest, have been brought to the Great Physician, who longs to save to the
uttermost all who come unto Him. Christ is a risen Saviour, and there is healing in
His wings. - Testimonies for the Church 5:110, 111. Ms79-1907.19