St. Paul daily globe., 1891-10-23
THE YOUNG CHRISTIANS.
Doings of the State Convention at
Minneapolis.

M1nneaDOlIS.
The state convention of the Y. NJ. G.
A. took up business matters at yester-
days session. After devotional exercises
in the morning, led by 5. &. McCon-
oughy, secretary of the Duluth associa-
ton, the nominating committee re-
ported:
President William Hayes. of Winona; first
vice president, William Y. Chute of Min
neapolis; second vice president. George X.
Simpson, Faribault; third vice president. II.
V. Dugan, Minneapolis; secretary. S. ".
Douglass, Hamlinc; assistant; secretary, j. Il.
Morgan, st. Cloud.
The following committees were also
announced:
Business-Messrs. HILL Red Wing; Wade.
Winona; Fairchild. Duluth, Devotional
George c. Skies, state university; +. E. An
derson Owatonna; E. w. Martin. ST. Cloud.
Credentials. r. Montgomerie Window;
II. j. Lewis. Faribault; c. E. Burton, Marsh
field
The different associations submitted
reports, which were handed TO the sec
retary without reading. Duluth reports
membership of $50, but the aSsocia
ton has been handicapped by the tear
ing down of the old building and the
erection of new. The average attend
ance at Sunday meetings has been
eighty-four; strangers evening meet
ings, thirty-three; workers prayer
meetings, eleven. Thirty conversions
were reported, eight of whom have
united with churches.
State Secretary T. A. Hildreth, of
Minneapolis, addressed the convention
on its objects, and how deleg ates and
associations may be benefited. He con-
fessed that the Y. NJ. c. A. represents
only mparatively small number of
the young men of the state, and there
fore the association has an aIduous task
before it.
You have supposedly come here"
began Mr.. Hildreth, recognizing the
paramount Importance of the winning
of the young men of Minnesota and the
world for Christ. Your first purpose
here then should be not to get but to
give. Give of your own concentrated
wisdom, clarified by a practical and sue
ceSsful eXperience-vour own spiritual
thought made pregnant by communion
with the Son of God. Give of your own
activity, sanctified by the holiest pur-
pose. Determine, by the grace of God.
that some holy purpose sfall be accom-
plished in you, and that you will be
actuated by holy impulses and purposes.
From this convention should come forth
an impulse to definite evangeliStic
work. This must be born of prayer
much prayer-in response To which He
shall come. Let us teed OH Christ
in the word. We fail in obtaining the
highest and best when we fail in this,
and i'll order to get the best we must re-
ceive the ingrafted word with meek
ness. Let US lift our eyes and see the
vast fields before us. 1t has been
stated by one prominent in the work of
the university association that one of
the greatest needs here is to demon
Strate the evangelistic character of the
association work. This can only be
demonstrated by evangelistic zeal OH
the part of each individual delegate.
Whatever may be your spiritual power
and impulse in coming here you will be
the poorer and weaker il your coming
does not see renewal, an increase, a
deepening of that power. You fail to
comprehend the highest purpose of
this gathering if you do not communl-
cate your new ideas and exercise your
zeal or demonstrate your power to the
community, church or association that
sent you here.
The afternoon was devoted to routine
matters. First came an hour OF Bible
reading by John Ii. Elliott, the secre-
tary of the Minneapolis association.
This was supplemented by exemplifica-
rection of Henry E. Brown. The re-
maindcr of the afternoon was devoted
to the college Y. NJ. G. A. work. This
proved an interesting part of the day.
The First Congregational church was
well filled at last nights session. After
devotional exercises William Francis,
of Minneapolis, read an interesting
paper on 1.-The Possibilities of District
Work" He presented many of the
possible attainments of Y. M. &. A. dis
trict efforts sequentially. The develop
ment of the organization and
the church and the good that
system of cooperation with the
Christian Endeavor and Sunday schools
were dwelt upon, and also the poSsibiIi-
ties of raising funds for Y. Nj. c. A. eX-
pediencies. He urged the appointment
of district committees through whom
executive branch shall be conducted.
Such committees can interest young
men and thereby contribute largely to
the membership of the association, and
the essayiSt entered largely into detail
to point out i'll what ways the laberS
could be SyStematiZed. So as to effect
evangelical and home missionary work
through the agency of the districts he
thought it possible to train the young
possesses the money, which should be
forthcoming. Some young men claim
they have not the time to devote to the
work that this theory calls for, but if
they stopped to consider the opposing
influences they would readily make the
sacrifice. Mr.. Francis claimed that
fully 70 per cent of the young men in
Minnesota are going on year after year
without gospel influences.
Rev. Wallace ii. Butrick, st. PauPs
eloquent exponent Of the gospel. deliv-
cred the sermon. His topic, he ex-
planned was given him by the Y. M. G.
A. committee. He wanted that under
stood. because he would not have given
it such caption and he characterized
it as an eXtravagant theme. 1t was
won defous Sights of the World" AS
prelude he gave a Succinct definition of
the expression, and said that in
ancient times the world open' meant
the removal of cataract from the eye.
Hence he would paraphrase a quotation
from the Bible to read: uncover my
eyes that | may behold the wondrous
things in the Bible" Mr. Butrick took
his hearers back to Martin Luther's
time, and moralized upon his feelings
and impressions when tue Bible came
to his hands for the first time. 1t was
when lie was IN prison. he asked the
audience to place themselves i'll his
place for the time being.
''It would De impossible to sup
pose at this day that any
of you could be so situated
with Bible in your hands for the first
time" he said; "but suppose it! Can
you imagine what would be your feel
ings? You would discover its venerable
age-over two thousand years. You
would find studies of origins-find some
thing about the earth's beginning. If
you are geologist you would be sur
prised to note the exact harmony of Sc
quences with the modern teachings of
geology. You will find that the vege-
table preceded the animal, and the
animal preceded the man, and
so Oh. You would find that
comparative philology places man in
the same place. Yolf would find the