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ica in 1923-24, and to the Far East in 1925. Meade MacGuire, associate secretary, recently spent a year or more in the Far East and a summer in Europe. H. T. Elliott, elected associate secretary in 1922, visited the European societies in the summer of 1925.

The growth of the organization in Europe since the Great War has been very encouraging. At the Zurich General Conference Council, held in 1920, there were daily consultations with the union secretaries. Following that meeting, J. F. Simon, of Kansas, was sent to Europe to serve as assistant Missionary Volunteer secretary for the division, and L. L. Caviness went over to serve as secretary for the Latin Union. Professor Simon has thus far devoted his time largely to Germany, where we have within the Adventist ranks more than 8,000 young people. In the Latin Union the work has made encouraging progress, the societies increasing from four to twenty-seven, and the membership from 73 to 507. In the Scandinavian Union, where Steen Rasmussen took charge of the young people's work in 1920, reading courses have been started in five languages, institutes have been held, a Missionary Volunteer Day observed, goals set and reached, and aggressive work done all along the line.

In the Far East the work is progressing steadily under the leadership of S. L. Frost. In South America, under the guidance of C. P. Crager, the Missionary Volunteers are also making advancement. The young Indians of Peru, who cannot report in writing, hold up their fingers as the various items are read off to indicate what they have done. In Africa, too, there have been many encouraging developments, and the natives show. real enthusiasm for the various volunteer activities.

The work of the organization as a whole may well be summed up in the following combined report of its various branches and societies for the year 1924:

Young people converted

Persons taking the Reading Courses

Standard of Attainment certificates issued

Members who have read the Bible through during the year

Reporting members

Mission offerings

4,465

11,254

1,584

4,572

22,107

$164,033.50

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MRS. E. G. WHITE SPEAKING IN THE BATTLE CREEK TABERNACLE, AT THE GENERAL CONFERENCE SESSION, 1901

Seated on restrum. left to right: H H. N Haskell, Dr. David I'mulsion. J. 7124

1. Rogers, L. A. Hoopes, B F. Stureman, P. T. Magan, G. A. Irwin, N. II Lane, W. White, N. Loughborough The old men on the stairs are from the James White Memorin! Home.

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Architect's drawing of the new building replacing the one destroyed by fire,

Jan. 7, 1922.

CHAPTER XXXIX

Recent Departmental Activities

A NUMBER of the more important developments of the work in America in the last few years have been in connection with the various departments and bureaus which have their center at the denominational headquarters in Washington, D. C. Some of these agencies have been treated in earlier chapters as fully as space will permit; others only in their beginning stages. The present chapter will be devoted to later developments of those which have already had some mention, and to a brief statement concerning the general character of others of more recent origin.

The Home Missionary Department

In a previous chapter we considered the home missionary activities of the denomination carried on in connection with the International Tract Society. Closely connected as that organization was from the first with the publishing houses, and with the local tract depositories, the society for a time, in the middle

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nineties, did some publishing of its own, chiefly of tracts and pamphlets. At the Ceneral Conference of 1897 the headquarters of the society were moved to New York City, where it ceased to print, and returned to its original work - the distribution of soul-winning literature.

After the General Conference of 1901, at which the work of the denomination as a whole was carefully considered, and important changes in organization effected, the International Tract Society ceased to function. With the new impulse given to foreign missions at that Conference, the denomination soon came to have representatives of its own in all the leading countries of the world, and the work of distributing our publications in such lands could be done to best advantage by these missionaries.

Meanwhile the home missionary work, especially the circulation of tracts and papers, was fostered by the General Conference Publishing Department, operating through the several publishing houses, and conference tract societies. D. W. Reavis and A. J. S. Bourdeau at different times were connected with the General Conference Publishing Department, in the interests of this line of work.

But as the work of the denomination grew in magnitude and in complexity, the need was felt of a more definite organization of the lay members of the denomination for missionary endeavor. Action was accordingly taken at the General Conference of 1913, placing the promotion of home missionary work on a departmental footing. Miss Edith M. Graham, who had been a successful worker in Australia, was appointed general secretary of the Home Missionary Department for the world field, and F. W. Paap was associated with her, and asked to give special attention to the work in America.

The plan adopted involved not only the selection of a home missionary secretary for each union and local conference, but the thorough organization of the work in each church.

In carrying out this plan there were developed a comprehensive reporting system, a Home Missionary Manual, a series of "Lessons for Church Missionary Institutes," and materials for monthly programs in the several churches.

The development of these plans speedily resulted in a large increase in the volume of home missionary work, not only in America, but throughout the world. There were encouraging gains in almost every line of missionary activity, especially in periodical sales and Harvest Ingathering receipts. And the growth has been healthy and continuous.

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In July, 1918, the department suffered a great loss in the death of Miss Graham. She had a special gift for securing widespread co-operation. " God's people are willing workers,' she used to say; "all they need is training in service, and encouragement."

Following the death of Miss Graham and the resignation of F. W. Paap, which occurred a few months later, the direction of the Home Missionary Department passed into the hands of C. V. Leach as secretary and H. K. Christman, assistant. Under their leadership progress in missionary conventions and institutes was especially marked.

In 1921 J. Adams Stevens was called from his work as home missionary secretary of the Pacific Union Conference to the secretaryship of the General Department, and he, with his associate secretaries, has continued the good work begun, leading the men and women comprising the church membership of the denomination into ever-widening fields of service.

Two of the newer important lines of missionary endeavor under the immediate charge of this organization are (1) The Harvest Ingathering for Missions, and (2) the Big Week literature effort. While every Seventh-day Adventist has a distinctive duty in connection with each of these campaigns, the responsibility rests with the Home Missionary Department to organize and rally the lay members in the local churches, and lead out in this plan for raising additional funds for the support of foreign missions.

Largely as a result of the loyal co-operation the lay members have given to the annual Harvest Ingathering campaign, it has been possible to place in the mission treasury during the last eleven years since the establishment of the Home Missionary Department, about four million dollars, solicited in the main from non-Adventists, and representing an important addition to the regular funds raised within the denomination. Moreover, during the last five years, since the birth of the Big Week effort, large sums for immediate investment in establishing and equipping printing plants in mission fields, have been gathered in, and great good has resulted.

The Religious Liberty Department

The Religious Liberty Department is an outgrowth of the general plans adopted at the General Conference of 1901. In earlier years the efforts of the denomination to educate the people upon the true principles of separation of church and state, had taken the form of an organization known as the Religious

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