The Great Salvation at Work

The plan adopted by the committee in charge of the distribution of the literature of the Truth at the Congress of Religions of the World's Fair has proven to be quite successful. It was a concentration of the power put into their hands. Had they made a distribution of general literature the same results could not have been expected, for there would have been nothing definite before the people. It would have been a fragment from here and a fragment from there in the hands of one here and another there and our efforts would have been to no particular point, and our detached items of truth would not have distinguished us from other bodies who have parts of the Truth but hold them not as a system having the "power of God unto salvation."

In concentrating the forces at their disposal in the distribution of one book, briefly and yet comprehensively setting forth the first principles of the one faith, the committee got the attention of the people; and when the book was read the reader knew where it came from and what "Christadelphians believe and teach in all the World." Of course it had two effects—it aroused wrath in some and created hearts of gratitude in others. That the book was doing its work soon became manifest when it was being distributed at the Congress of Religions; for the "clericals" looked like thunder clouds, while among the 'laity" many wanted “another of those little books, ‘The Great Salvation.'" We are still often hearing of the effects of the little book, either from copies 'distributed at the Congress or others' that have since been given out in various parts by the brethren. We have only a few left out of twenty thousand copies that have been printed, and we are now printing a new lot that will make a total of twenty-one thousand five hundred.

Not only may we rejoice at the work that "The Great Salvation" is doing of itself, but its advertisement of ''Christendom Astray" brings that book before the attention of the people; and from it a more complete exposition of the Truth is had by many who otherwise may never have heard of it.

A brother who gave, among other works, a copy of "The Great Salvation" to a person he happened to meet, has just received a letter from which we extract the following:

DEARK FRIEND: "I received the tracts and the books you kindly sent me. I have not read them all, but I have read through 'The Great Salvation,' by T. Williams, of Chicago. I think it is the best and most truthful work on the Scriptures I ever read; and the Scriptures are so clearly explained. I intend to send for another copy; also a copy of 'Christendom Astray.' I have heard of the latter, but did not know before where I could get it. I feel so thankful to you that I cannot express myself. The day I read 'The Great Salvation' the Church of England clergyman called to see my son. He asked me if I was well enough would I go to his church and partake of the bread and wine I answered, No, sir … I did not believe in the communion of living saints with dead ones, nor that the dead know more than the living. I asked him how that theory looked along-side of this: 'The dead know not anything;' 'There is no device, nor wisdom, nor knowledge in the grave, whither thou goest?' Then I told him that no such words as 'immortal soul' are found in the Bible, and that their burial service said that immortality will be put on at the resurrection, pointing out that Paul says we must seek for immortality. I am striving for the faith of the gospel which Christ and the apostles preached, and which Abraham and all the Old Testament; saints believed in and died in, and hope that I might yet 'sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God, which Christ will set up at His appearing. Again I thank you.' Yours, ———.

The Christadelphian Advocate. April 1895, pg 90.