The following Appeal was approved by our church
leaders at an Autumn (now Annual) Council
meeting, printed in official church records, and then
published in tract format and distributed widely among our
denominational workers and members more than sixty years ago.
It is a message for you and me today. Please, my
fellow believer, please read it and take heed! It may mean the beginning
of a return to a better, more consecrated way of life Then cement that
change by a daily, prayerful study of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy
alone and with your loved ones.
We appeal to our workers, first of all, to
exalt the standard of righteousness, of truth, and of purity, of
Christian deportment in their lives. They can lead others to Christ only
as they know Christ as a living, transforming power in their own daily
experience. "Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord,"
is the divine injunction. Of His church Christ declares: "For their
sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the
truth."
The Apostle Paul exhorts the church leader:
"Be thou an example of the believers, in word,
in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."—1
Timothy 4:12.
Our church leaders should indeed be examples of
Christ to the church in every relationship of life.
EXAMPLES OF THE CHURCH
Let us specify some concrete ways in which this
should be done:
1. They should be examples in simple living, economy,
consecration, and sacrifice. Their homes should be models in the
community in which they live. They should have "children in
subjection with all gravity." In their lives and homes there should
be exemplified the principles of this gospel message.
2. Our workers should be examples in social
relationships. They should not give license by their presence, or in any
other manner, to attendance at the theater or movie, to commercialized
baseball or other professional sports, to the worldly part of pleasure
even though held in the homes of personal friends.
3. The preacher of the gospel has no part to act as a
politician. His mission is to all men. He should be free from class
prejudices, racial rivalries, national animosities. In the words of the
Scripture, "The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle
unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness, instructing those that
oppose themselves."
4. Our workers should teach and exemplify in their
lives and homes the principles of healthful living which has come to us
by divine revelation. This is an age of gluttony and excess in eating
and drinking. Disease abounds on every hand, and is increasing in form
and variety. We may expect divine preservation only as we cooperate with
God in obedience to the laws of health which He has ordained.
5. The church worker should be an example in Sabbath
observance. He should not employ its sacred hours in picnic excursions
or sight-seeing trips. He should limit Sabbath travel in his
conference work to the needs and exigencies of necessary requirements.
6. Our workers and their companions should be
examples to the flock in the matter of dress. Dignity, modesty, and
simplicity should be the guiding principles in the choice of attire.
EXAMPLES TO THE CHURCH
7. Christ’s true representatives will make careful
selection of that which comes over the radio and television. He will
find neither time nor pleasure in listening to the popular radio
comedians, nor in quoting the sayings of the characters depicted in the
comic section of the newspaper.
8. The relations governing the association of men and
women should be characterized by Christian reserve and dignity.
Particularly should a Christian worker be so discreet in his words and
deportment that no just reflection can be cast upon him or the
cause he represents. In both his life and teachings the worker should
exert positive upbuilding influence of purity and righteousness. He
should manifest a cheerfulness which never finds expression in levity
and cheapness, a seriousness which stops short of morbidness and
pessimism, a cordiality which never admits of familiarity, and purity of
speech which never descends to vulgarity. In the pulpit, in the home,
and social gatherings, he must ever bear in mind that he is Christ’s
representative, the ambassador of heaven to a dying world.
AN AGE OF WORLDLINESS
We are living in a age of overwhelming worldliness,
and in closer physical contact with it than ever before. The automobile,
the radio, and television have changed the whole atmosphere in which we
live, and have made it more difficult than at any former time to
maintain our separate and distinctive character. The automobile takes us
to, and the radio and television brings to us, much of everything that
is going on in the world. These modern inventions have created
temptations of an entirely new kind in our everyday living, and have
brought us into contact with influences which are the opposite of that
which is wholesome and uplifting. If we are not careful, the radio and
television will turn our homes into theaters and minstrel shows of a
cheap and sordid kind. We appeal for a far more discriminating use of
these modern developments, urging that we be conscientiously guided in
their use by the long established principles of the gospel. Let us not
do, nor hear, nor see, nor read, nor say, under any circumstances,
anything prohibited by the divine rule given us by the apostle:
"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things
are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if
there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these
things." —PhiIlipplans 4:8.
We appeal to our ministers, our workers, our people
everywhere, to keep their feet in the "old paths," and not to
remove the "ancient landmarks" of this message.
In cases where members of the church hold Bridge or
similar card parties in their homes, or frequent such gatherings in
other places, or have dances in their homes or attend them elsewhere, or
frequent shows in theaters or movie houses, we recommend that faithful
labor be put forth to reclaim such individuals from the errors of their
ways; but if this proves unsuccessful, that they be dismissed from
church membership.
AN APPEAL TO THE CHURCH
Moved by a sense of solemn responsibility as leaders
of God’s remnant people, we, the representatives of conferences,
mission fields, and institutions, believe it to be our duty to bring to
the attention of the members of our church throughout the world, this
statement and appeal. We view, with feelings of deepest uneasiness, the
appearance among us of growing worldliness and a laxity in the
observance of denominational standards. This laxity, permitted to spread
and widely prevail, will obstruct and defeat the fulfillment of our
divinely given commission.
This Advent movement, which is bearing the final
message of the gospel to all the world, is of God. Its doctrines, its
organization, its standards of life and conduct, have all come from God.
He brought this movement into being at His own appointed time. It has
been led by divine guidance from the beginning, and is doing His
appointed work in the world.
As with God’s people through the ages, so His
people today are to be separate from the world. Of Israel it is said,
"The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the
nations." While His people must remain in the world in order to
carry God’s message to the world, they are not to be of the world. We
are bidden by the apostle, "Come out from among them, and be ye
separate.. and touch not the unclean thing." We are admonished to
"love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world."
Knowing that this matter of separation from the world
and the abandonment of worldly practices and pleasures is fundamental in
the belief of Seventh-day Adventists, we are naturally alarmed when we
observe and hear of the inroads that worldliness is making in the
church, This is particularly obvious in centers where large numbers of
our people are gathered together. We believe we are called upon to lift
our voices in solemn warning, not merely that these tendencies may be
checked, but that a decided program of much-needed reformation may be
entered upon, to overcome altogether these worldly drifts and tendencies
in the church. We are impelled to cry out, "0 Israel, prepare to
meet thy God."
It would hardly seem necessary to remind our people that
the use of beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages, as well as tobacco
in any form, is a test of church fellowship among Seventh-day
Adventists. Those who have been led of Satan to indulge in the use of
these defilements of flesh and spirit, and persist in their use after
faithful warning, should be disfellowshipped from the church. The good
name of the church of Christ should not be brought into ill repute by
permitting any user of liquor or tobacco to remain in its membership.
STANDARDS OF CHRISTIAN
LIVING
The committee, appointed at the beginning of the
Council to give study to worldly trends in the church and to bring in a
series of recommendations on denominational standards, presented a
report.
AN APPEAL TO CONFERENCE, INSTITUTIONAL, AND LOCAL CHURCH
LEADERS
To the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
throughout the world, the delegates assembled in the autumn Council, at
Louisville, Kentucky, address this appeal:
This is the crisis hour of the world. It is an hour
of peril and danger to the church of Christ. Satan has come down in
great wrath, knowing that his time is short, and seeking by every means
in his power to lead men away from God. Seductive influences are at work
in every phase of human life and experience. The stable, conservative
standards which have governed men’s thinking in the past are being set
aside. These influences have affected, in large measure, the nominal
Christian church. More and more she is joining affinity with the world,
and the line of demarcation is being fast obliterated.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church must meet the impact
of these untoward and unholy influences. Heaven has committed to this
church a definite message of reform. This message is to go. not alone to
the godless world who never knew Christ. but to the great professed
Christian church as well. The remnant church is commissioned, by High
Heaven, to erect, in the midst of the prevailing iniquity of this
degenerate age, a standard of truth and righteousness, of purity and
Christian conduct.
In this work of reform the first and greatest
responsibility rests upon the leadership of this movement. This
leadership includes the ministry, our conference and institutional
leaders, our church elders and their associate officers, and also the
wives of these various classes of workers.
We have confidence in the leadership of the remnant
church. In large measure and for the most part, the leadership is
composed of earnest, godly men and women who sense the high and solemn
responsibilities of their positions. Some. we regret to say, fail to
sense the sacred character of their work and the responsibility which
attaches to true leadership.
SAFEGUARDING THE CHURCH
Exemplifying these principles in his own life, the
gospel worker, whether in conference or institutional employ, or as an
officer in the local church, will use his influence, in both public and
private, to banish from the church membership the unholy practices which
are seeking entrance. By personal work when needed, and by appeal from
the pulpit, he will seek to hold back the flood tide of worldliness,
which is seeking to engulf the church. If necessary he will lead the
church in taking disciplinary measures as have been clearly emphasized
by the pen of divine revelation. God has set our church leaders as
watchmen upon the walls of Zion. When they see danger threatening the
church they are to sound the alarm. When they see individual members of
the church imperiled, they are to make earnest efforts for their
salvation. Lovingly, tactfully, earnestly, fearlessly, they are to warn
the wicked to break from their sins and to find deliverance in Christ as
their Saviour.
Says the Master to each one of His watchmen,
"Son of Man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;
therefore, hear the word of My mouth, and give them warning from Me.
When I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not
warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save
his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity:
but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if
thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his
wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity but thou has delivered thy
soul." Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet. and
show My people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their
sins."
Where faithful, loving labor is put forth to reclaim
the erring, disciplinary measures, by the church, will not be so often
indicated. The conditions of many in the remnant church today demand a
revival and a reformation. A new depth of consecration and baptism of
divine power is needed to finish the work. Our leaders should be the
foremost in seeking for this divine infilling. Faithfully and
uncompromisingly should they uphold the right and deny the wrong. In
this hour of crisis they should prove true and loyal to the message for
this time. God will recognize their heroic endeavor and their unswerving
integrity.
May the blessing of God rest upon our leaders. Theirs
is a great responsibility; theirs also is a great privilege. No service
is so sweet and satisfying as labor for those for whom Christ gave His
precious blood. Such labor should constitute a passion, not a profession
or a merely formal service. Its prompting impulse will be love for
souls, and not love of salary.
The resources of Heaven are promised to Christ’s
ambassadors. The Holy Spirit is given as a guide and counselor. Surely
we are without excuse if we fail in prosecuting faithfully,
courageously, and hopefully our high and holy calling. Soon we shall
reap if we faint not. Then we shall thrill with the unutterable joy of
seeing saved, in the everlasting kingdom, those for whom we have
labored. With Christ the Lord we shall see the travail of our souls and
shall be satisfied. May God make us true and loyal till that glad day.
UPHOLDING THE STANDARDS IN OUR SCHOOLS
Recognizing that our schools are a most vital part of
our organized work, and have done and are doing a great and good work in
helping our young people to a clearer vision of their God-given
opportunities and responsibilities, and are veritable havens of refuge
for the youth, where every effort is being made to stem the tide of
corruption and sin that is threatening to engulf the world, We hereby
wish to express our thankfulness to God for these schools and for the
help they have been in upholding high and right standards for the young
people of this denomination. Realizing, however, that we must ever be on
the watch lest the enemy overtake us unaware, We recommend, That
institutional boards and faculties study anew the principles governing
the conduct of our institutions as revealed in the Bible and in the
Spirit of Prophecy.
We further recommend, That joint meetings of the
board and faculty members be held at stated times for such general
study, and also for the study of the particular problems and their
application to definite situations in their situation.
We recommend, That all student organizations in our
institutions be properly sponsored by some member of the faculty
appointed by the administration and responsible for it.
We further recommend, That regular meetings of
sponsors be held for the study of proper functions, duties, and
responsibilities of sponsors, to the end that all activities of the
institution may conform to proper standards approved by God and the
church.
We recommend, That in every institution where student
or student-faculty associations exist, the board of trustees take these
associations under review and advisement and lay down principles that
shall govern such associations and pass upon their constitutions and
bylaws.
We further recommend, That the trustees shall hold
the president of the faculty or such committee as may be designated to a
strict accounting for the conduct of the aforesaid associations and all
their activities.
We recommend, That organizations for athletic
contests be not permitted in our institutions.
A PLAIN PEOPLE
Our church members have, from the beginning, been a
plain people. Our standards call for discarding of jewelry, especially
those articles mentioned in the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy,
such as rings, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces; the avoidance of
extravagance and immodesty in dress; a discriminating selection of
proper foods and drinks for the maintenance of health; and an entire
conformity to the will of God in all Christian conduct and deportment.
We appeal for a greater loyalty to these important and divinely given
standards.
We are cognizant of influences which have brought
into our services of worship elements that lower our standards and
injure our work. We ask our churches to give greater attention to good
order, proper decorum, and reverence, while they set themselves against
all excessive formalism and ritualism, including choir processionals and
recessionals in the conduct of our Sabbath services. There is an
apparent endeavor, in some instances, to bring the spirit of
entertainment into the church and evangelistic meetings. This should be
guarded against, and the Bible given its rightful place as the center of
all our services and programs. Dramatization and acting should have no
place among us, pageants and playlets should be avoided, and save in the
case of some dignified representation to make real what our missionaries
are facing in mission lands, makeup and costuming should not be
countenanced. Let us hold to the plain and simple, and discard the
elaborate, the exaggerated, the gaudy and showy.
These principles of simplicity should also govern
graduating exercises in our schools, as well as weddings in our
churches. Let us not seek after the spectacular and theatrical, but keep
to the simplicity, the meekness, the plainness, which have characterized
this movement from the beginning.
We believe it will be helpful in all our religious
services to use only religious music. Place should not be given to
secular songs, to music that is cheap and degrading. Music that is not
religious, especially of the operatic sort, should not be introduced
into our services even as preludes, offertories, postludes, or
instrumental solo and ensemble numbers. There is a wealth of uplifting
religious music which we would urge our
churches to use, to the exclusion of the worldly. We
also appeal to our people to make more use of the deeply spiritual and
impressive hymns of the church which have grown out of a rich experience
in the things of God, and less use of the lighter songs. We commend the
practice of selecting hymns which combine the majestic music with
sublime truth.
MORAL AND SANCTIFIED STANDARDS
We are compelled to recognize that the prevailing and
increasing laxity in social standards all about us has had some effect
among us. Things are lightly smiled at in the world about us today which
a few years ago would have justly received public condemnation. Among
us, however, there should be no laxity in social and moral relationships
that give rise to suspicion and evil surmising. and all appearance of
evil are not to be considered as of trifling consequences among those
who profess to be followers of God and representatives of Jesus Christ.
Divorce is no light and trifling matter. A person who
has passed through divorce proceedings has had a regrettable and
unfortunate experience which will always leave a scar. If there should
be any adequate reason for question about the Biblical cause for such
divorce or about guilt regarding the individual, such person should not
be looked to for leadership in our churches.
We deplore the sad abandonment of the family altar in
any Adventist home. Nothing is so conducive to wholesome family life and
consistent religious experience, as the old-fashioned and entirely
Scriptural practice of daily family worship. We urgently appeal for its
revival in every Seventh-day Adventist home where it has been permitted
to lapse, and its faithful maintenance among all our members.
SABBATH OBSERVANCE
Whereas the Sabbath is not only a sign of God’s
love to man, but also a sign of man’s loyalty to God, and that in true
Sabbath observance is evidenced our fidelity to our Creator, our
fellowship with our Redeemer, therefore be it resolved:
1. That we earnestly heed the admonition of the Word
of God to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," not
doing our own work, nor finding our own pleasure on God’s holy day.
2. That we dedicate the Sabbath to the worship of God
and the uplift of our fellowmen:
a. Faithfully attending the Sabbath school, the
worship hour, and other divine services.
b. Gathering our children into the family pew, thus
encouraging reverence for the house of God, the place of prayer.
c. Spending the other hours of the Sabbath in
visiting the sick and the afflicted, teaching the Word of God,
distributing our truth-filled literature, or otherwise ministering to
sin-sick humanity.
d. Teaching our children the wonders of God’s
universe and His creative power by often "walking with them in the
fields and groves," studying with them the lesson book of nature,
and telling them of God’s wondrous love, thus leading them to consider
the Sabbath a blessing rather than a burden.
3. That we pledge ourselves to renewed consecration
in the observance of God’s holy day by:
a. Sacredly guarding the beginning and the ending of
the Sabbath, especially having preparations fully made before the
setting of the sun as the Sabbath approaches.
b. Welcoming the blessed day by worship around the
family altar, and again at the setting of the sun at the close of the
Sabbath, rededicating ourselves and our children to the Lord.
c. Putting aside all secular papers, and refraining
from the use of the radio except for proper religious programs.
d. Refraining from unnecessary automobilejourneys and
pleasure trips.
e. Not engaging in idle conversation, nor in
‘thinking our own thoughts. nor in speaking our own words,’
4. That great carefulness be exercised in the manner
of raising money and disposing of literature during our Sabbath
services, so that we ever keep the spiritual purpose of the Sabbath
before our churches.
5, That we consecrate ourselves and our children to
God, seeking to enter into His glorious rest, of which the Sabbath is a
type, thus giving to the world a testimony to the truth of the Sabbath
in the lives of those who hollow it.
We deplore any tendency to laxity in the observance
of the Sabbath on the part of any of our people. The purchase of
gasoline to operate cars, purchase of newspapers, purchase of food
supplies, the holding of business conversations, the reading of
newspapers or of anything worldly, pleasure riding, social visiting, and
idle and worldly conversation should all be excluded from this day.
These sacred hours belong to God. They are to be used for Him. Our own
pleasures, our own words, our own business, our own thoughts should find
no place in our observance of God’s day. (Isaiah 55:13). Radios and
television should be turned off during all sacred time, unless it be for
use in listening to a religious service or program. Greet the Sabbath
with prayer and song. Close it with prayer and praise. Keep worldly
reading, worldly music, worldly activities, worldly conversation out of
this day. Make a distinction between the holy and profane, the precious
and the vile, the clean and the unclean, the sacred and the common. In
such observance God’s sacred Sabbath blessing of acceptance, of rest,
and of peace may be confidently expected.
We are glad to believe that the vast majority of our
people are true to the great standards of this cause, and do not permit
the violations which have been mentioned to manifest themselves in their
lives and in their homes. We appreciate their loyalty. We admonish them
to hold fast to their faithfulness. It is for the sake of correcting
this laxity on the part of some and elevating the spiritual life of all,
that we send out this statement and appeal. Abuses that go uncorrected
and the lowering of standards that go unrebuked are oftentimes looked
upon as endorsement of laxity. The time has come when the leadership of
this cause should speak with a firm voice. This we have endeavored to
do. At the same time we speak in love. We appeal to all those who have
permitted these failures to appear in their experience, to turn their
backs now upon the world, to abandon its practices and pleasures, and
wholeheartedly live up to the standards of the faith which God has
committed to this people.
—An Appealfrom the General Conference. from ‘Denomination
Standards"—A reprint of Actions from the Minutes of the
Autumn Council of the General Conference Committee held at Louisville,
Kentucky, October 1935.
Authorized to be reprinted by the Autumn Council held
at Battle Creek, Michigan, October 1938.
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.
August 4, 1939
We have the preceding appeal in mimeographed format,
from a very old copy. However from an entirely different source, we
secured page one (only) of a second appeal from the General Conference,
on its own letterhead. —Both appeals to uphold our historic standards
carry the same date: August 4, 1939.
It is very likely that we have here a single appeaL
The preceding portion is probably the main part, and the paragraphs,
reprinted below and again on the next page, probably constituted the
first page of the introduction.
Here is this introductory portion:
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Takoma Park, Washington D.C.
August 4, 1939
To our Ministers, Conference and Institutional
Workers and Believers Generally.
Greetings:
The officers of the General Conference take this
opportunity of addressing you upon a matter of great importance. We are
living in a time of great spiritual and moral crisis. Of these times
Jesus prophecied thus:
"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it
be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they
married wives, they were given into marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark, and the Flood came, and destroyed them all.
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day Lot
went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and
destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man
is revealed." (Luke 17:26-30).
Jesus illustrated His point by drawing a parallel
between the days of Noah and Lot and the
last days just previous to His coming. The moral
conditions of those evil times were deplorable in the extreme. Just as
Jesus predicted, we have come again intojust such times. The world today
is like another Sodom. The sins and loathsome practices of the
antediluvians again prevail in the world. On every hand salacious
exhibitions, insinuating and impure theatrical plays and motion
pictures, low-class radio programs, so-called beauty contests vulgarly
portraying the nudity of young women, mixed bathing in indecent
costumes, and a flood of vile literature, all contribute to the breaking
down of moral restraints and standards. These evils threaten even the
life and spiritual well-being of the church. We know that the great body
of our workers and believers are godly men and women of moral integrity.
But some who have stood as shepherds of the flock have fallen before the
temptations of these perilous times. We desire to sound a solemn warning
against the intrusion of these evils into the church. We call upon the
ministry and all our workers and members to turn away from every
practice and association that tends toward laxity and indulgence. We
exhort every worker and church member to keep himself free from moral
contamination and from all tendencies in that direction, and shun a
careless, world-loving easy manner of life that invites temptations and
leads to wrong doings.
We call upon all our workers and members in this
cause, both men and women, to conform to the highest standards of
rectitude and moral conduct, and to avoid all unbecoming and improper
relationships. Let it be known, everywhere, that this denomination will
not tolerate or,..
We have a photographic reprint of this August 4, 1939
appeal from the General Conference. The condition is so poor as to be
almost unreadable.
"Unless we live Christ’s life of obedience, our profession is
worthless."—Review, August 2, 1906.
"There is a call for a higher standard to be met, a holier, more
determined, self-sacrificing effort to be put forth in the Lord’s
work."—Fundamentals of Christian Education, 306.
"Our only safety is to stand as God’s peculiar people. We must
not yield one inch to the customs and fashions of this degenerate age,
but stand in moral independence, making no compromise with its corrupt
and idolatrous practices.
"It will require courage and independence to
rise above the religious standard of the Christian world. they do not
follow the Saviour’s example of self-denial; they make no sacrffice;
they are constantly seeking to evade the cross which Christ declares to
be the token of discipleship."—5 Testimonies, 78.
"God’s Word is our standard."—5 Testimonies,
133.
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