The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-02-05
BIG CROWD
HEARS SMITH
METHODIST CHURCH is FILLED
WITH INTERESTED AUDIENCE
WHEN EVANGELIST SPEAKS.

The gripping interest in the series
of revival meetings opened here Sun
day evening by Evangelist C. c.
Smith was again demonstrated last
evening when the evangelist had an
audience that filled the. auditorium
of the Methodist Episcopal church to
its capacity. AS announced yester-
day morning, the change to the Meth
odist church from the Elite hall for
last nights meeting was made neces-
sary because the hall had been en-
gagged for that date previous to it's
being secured by the committee in
charge of the arrangements for the
meetings. Last nights service. i'm
pressed one more than ever with Mr..
Smiths practice Of diversifying his
meeting programs. Nothing he has
done here has been twice the. same;
little surprises creep in and keep an
audience continually interested and
eliminates everything hat even hints
of dizziness. During the service last
night six men expressed a desire to
become christians and in talking with
these before his congregation Mr..
Smith showed that he was drawing
from his rich experience as a Y. NJ.
G.. A. rescue mission work. He
manipulated the service in such a
way that all Of those who expressed
this desire to live a better life were
spared embarrassment. The musical
program was the best that has been
heard last evening. Mr.. Klingler,
tenor %soloist, is gaining in popularity
with his audiences EACH time. he
sings and his rendition of "A Little
Bit of love- was especially fine last
night.
In addition to this there were two
duets by Messrs. Smith and Gilmore
and a special anthem by the choir.
After the reading of the scriptures by
Rev. H. II. Griffis and Rev. Mr.. Bond
and Rev. Mr.. BURNER had led the
audience in prayer, Evangelist smith
took up his sermon. 1t was an elo-
quent appeal to christian people for
a personal interest in the. religious
welfare of friends and %neighbors. 1t
was biblical and it was practical, well
illustrated by many incidents drawn
from the speakers experience in res
cue mission work.
The Sermon.
MT. SmlthS text was: mo man
hath sought after my soul" Psalms
l42:4. He said:
These are the words of David when
hiding from the relentless anger of
king Saul, who had determined to
take the life of David because Goo
had been bcstowing one favor after
another upon the shepherd boy. No
doubt David thought of the favors be-
slowed and contrasted them to his
condition now, and this, l am sure,
lead him to say, No one cares for
me- But David is not the only one
who has said or felt that no one cared
Tor nm. | heard q cOmmotion one
day under my window in Chicago,
and, looking down, discovered a
drunken man. About him was a crowd
or boys. sneering and jeering. and |
heard him say, TAX a good look at
me, I'm a drunken outcaSt, and no one
cares for me- | though Of David's
words. On another occasion in the
same city, an eX-prisoner told me he
mad been hunting work for six weeks,
but everybody seemed to know that
he had been behind the bars. He said:
l an at the point of starvation. Is
there nothing | can do to keep from
going back to the old life" And
again | thought of David's words.
On another occasion l went with a
Cody woman to see a poOr unfortu-
nate girl. and when she said, Yes, l
know Christ loves me, but if / should
ask to join a church, they would draw
their skirts about them and point the
flnger OF scorn.' l was compelled to
think of David's words, No one hath
sought after my soul, But it is not
the d~runkard. nor the prisoner. nor
the Door unfortunate alone. who Is
compelled to say Of us, You do not
care for my soul for often it is our
nelghbor, our companion, our loved
ones, and sometimes the members of
our households, who are obliged to
speak this awful condemnation of we,
who claim to be interested in Christ's
cause"
Mr.. Smith closed his searching ap-
peal by saying: IF you realize that
men out of Christ are lost, you would
care for souls more than you do, and
that that is the teaching of the Bible
there is no denying. l pray as earn
estly in my work that Christians may
be convicted for the unsaved, as I do
mat the non-Christians may realize
their lost condition.. 1t is a thing
needed.
IF you realized the great loss COM
ing to you. In eternity, you would care
FOR souls more than you do, and this
Is not selfish. for Christ urged that