The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-10-11
PORTRAYS REAL
MARTYRS LIFE
Rev. P. A. Simpkin breaches
About James Chalmers,
South Sea Missionary.
DEv0URED BY CANNIBALS
sTEVENsoN's FRIEND FALLS VIC
TIM TO NATIVES HE HELPED.

The sermon at Phillips Congregational
church last night was devoted to the
review of the life OF one among Chris
t1anity's great modern apostles, James
Chalmers of New Guinea. The Rev
p. A. Simpkin presented his life as one
affording in its conservation and use of
commonplace equipment a lesson for the
average man of the power of PERSONAL
ty surrendered to a Christly enthusiasm.
In the course of his sermon the Rev.
Mr.. Simpkin said:
Chalmers was born into narrow cir
cumstanees. His father was a stone
mason. The home life was simple, the
privileges of education were limited
and yet out of his limited equipment
and an endowment including small ele-
ment Of brilliance Chalmers passed to
the doing of a great work in his pic
turesque life.
AT IL he expressed his purpose to be
a missionary. At Is he was the town
limb" the leader of it's mischief. At
Is he was won to Christ. At % he sailed
for the south seas to give ten years at
Parotonga, in the Cook group, and the
balance of his earthly service TO the
degraded head-hunters and cannibals
of Papua.
"The admiration of Robert Louis Ste
Yenson for Chalmers is notable, He
saw him at work in the jUngles almost
under the equator. amid Papuan degra-
dations almost unbelievable, and as he
saw how Chalmers was winning his
fight against vice and iniquity and ig-
norance. he wrote and said: My advice
to the men who "deblaterate" against
missions is to come down and see
Chalmers at work
Won Without Talent,
IL -
work and life is that faith and devotion
made brilliantly successful the work
and service of a commonplace equip
ment. Few finer results of missionary
work are evident than those brought
under his care. His faith and enthu-
siasm found an immediacy of result
rather unusual. The fact that canni-
balism became extinct in the district of
his first PapUan field within three years
of the beginning of his work is remark
able.
s"What Livingstone did in Africa
Chalmers tried to do for Papua, and
that Chalmers builded well is evidenced
by the rapid development of Christian
work since his death. In a singular de-
gree his lofty character and SWEET spirit
affected men and Won their loyalty. The
Scotch sagacity and courage were of
immense value in his work, and Chalm-
EtS rather GuJONtu LlEt udllu-lU-ildIlNi
and rough-and-tumble contests that be
came necessary once and again in
dealing with turbulent cannibals His
administrative ability practically paved
the way for the establishment of the
British prOtectOrate over New Guinea,
for Chalmers. by his influence and the
confidence he possessed at the hands
of the natives, made possible the con-
summation of the steps looking to the
Against terrific Encouragement he
toiled for many years buOyed by an
unquestiOning faith and a consuming
zeal, a Enthusiastically devoted mis-
siOnary. When at last the end came,
I'm 1901, it startled the world by the hor-
ror. On Goaribari island, whittier he
had gone TO extend the field of his la
bors for the Master, in the dubu of
Dopima into which he was decOyed by
the natives. he was martyred and his
body devOured by the cannibals. His
life story is worthy remembrance, as his
death was a true coronation, for his
missionary service established a work
of immense value in one of the darkest
corners of the earth
Morning Sermon.
At the morning service the Rev. Mr.
Simpkin preached upon the Christian
HIltSNItOQ-
Among other things, Mr.. Simpkin
said: No name ever on the lips of men
has been so potent in its spell after
that of God, as that of the priest.
Under the name and pTerOgative Of
II, all the range of nature. from the
basest evil to the nOblest good, has been
represented in the aims and character
of il, Long before kings sWayed scep-
tiers, priests dominated society with
message and spell.
THE present time has some sUrvivals
of the old claims of the priest-but time
withers and custom STATES them apace
The primitive meaning of priest was of
one who prophesied or fOretOld, as a
soothsayer. This was the Arabic sense
But it has another meaning-that of
mediation. interpOsitiOn. The modern
Hebraists defined its original sense as
being one who officlated with God in
behalf of others
Surely in Judaism the priest wOs
dominant Kings were humble before
him He was SacordotaIist and nroDhpt