The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-26

to political corruption that may ever
have been apprehended in our church.
Should the time ever come when a
majority requisite in the church should
vote against the office Of the presiding
elder the results of that would so soon
be apparent that forgiveness would be
hard to find upon earth. Without this
our economy is gone; our peculiar
power is lost, and our church will sink
to the level of other denominations
without the possibility of drawing from
any source above ourselves, as they
do, for the Volunteers and Salvation
Army do not indicate any such posi-
bllity for Methodism. The discipline
and its rules will stand the test of the
future. When Bovine and Nudge ar
gued this as only great men can argue
1T the fact stood out very plain that
While one was philosopher and argued
as a philosopher, from the ideal stand
point, so far above actual humanity
that there never can be any hope of
SUCH attainment, he also argued with
out one particle of real practical logic;
the other. however, argued from the
basis of facts as found right here and
at present in this real world, and from
this to conclusions that ali the meta
physical ideality under heaven can
never move one iota. 1t would be ex-
ceedingly interesting and beneficial for
us to go over this ground, but want
OF time excludes tnat. IT.
Not only will the restrictive rules in
the discipline stand, but that greatest
of all constitutions will last with not
very many changes as long as the rock
ribbed mountains shall endure, or while
the church shall last. The great law
yer in Brooklyn who declared that the
discipline of the M. E. church is the
broadest, the soundest and the most
enduring of all law books in the Chris
tian world, had read and studied it
carefully enough to know what he was
saying.
1t was thought some time ago that
the class meetings were rapidly going
to the rear, never again to appear, but
look to-day at conventions gotten up
especially for the purpose of building
up the class meeting, and no less
parsonage than Buckley declares that
the era of the class meeting is just
coming in. I have not time to argue
the fact that not only have we more
class meetings than ever before, for
what are these E. L. evening meetings
in the church but class meetings for
the rising generation, and what does it
mean that this same idea is permeating
nearly all the other denominations?
Will the next generation see the old
fashioned class meeting under new
names, really existing in all denomina-
tons? 1t seems that such is the trend
are more in the form and practice of
class meetings than ever before, and
it is hard to-day to find a member of
the church who has been there for any
length of time who has not testified at
some time. during his life 1t was
thought that great danger existed of
our local preachers work going out of
existence, as well as the class leader,
but this, too. is doomed to disappoint-
ment, for not only have we class lead
ers' conventions for the states and for
the nation to some extent. and con-
ventions for local preachers. as well
as literature especially for these, but
the very demands for these things and
the foundation upon which such de-
mands rest, precludes the idea that
class leaders and local preachers shall
be less in number and influence in the
future than they are now. / wish there
were time to argue about the indica-
lions for the coming day in Methodism
as there are given by the deaconess
movement, forcing the very same thing
upon other denominations already.
There is a demand for this as well as
an earnestness to walk in this path
way. l believe that the university
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