Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-06-17

ing satisfied with fronalistic reiI-
| gion and outward activities and not
4 laying enough stress upon SPIRITUAL
life. We are too apt to turn our
eyes only to our. outward activities
| in missions and the erection of edu-
cational and charitable institutions.
But what about the spiritual life in
our own hears? What about the spN-
itual life in our own congregations?
Do we there experience spiritual
awakenings and a Hfe in sanctifica-
| ton?
Organize Congregations.
| Eve are more or less the children
of this generation and the children OF
| this generation delight in that which
makes an impression on the outward
| vision. We organize congregations
and societies and within these again
we organize branches. We put all OF
the energy of our youth and th)
strength Of our manhood to start these
things and keep them going and the
to look upon as evidenshrdlshrdlhrdt
fact that they are going we are apt
to look upon as evidences of the fruits
of the Kingdom of God. Much of this
is only shell. The shell is. indeed.
useful, but the value Of the shell cam
not be compared with the value Of the
KERNEL which should be found within
the shell.
1--WE must help one. another, breth-
rem, to bring forth the right kind or
fruit. This kind of, fruit is brought
forth only in soil which is ploWed py
the sorrow of repentance and moist
ened by the tears of penitence ana
warmed by the race from Golgotha-
| it must be brought forth by life fully
| consecreated to Gods wil-then only
| is the fruit genuine and Of the right
quality. Let us not be afraid to en-
| anime ourselves to see whether or
not both we as individuals and also
the congregations we are in charge of
can stand this acid test. 1t is better
to be purified than to be Destroyed.
It is better to be purged than to be
thrown away as wihered branches.
We pray that God may bless this
great convention in order that it may
act in accordance with His will.
Last Separate Meeting.
This may be the last convention
which this body will hold as a separ-
ate organization. For several years
there has beer a movement on foot
to unite the three Norwegian Luth'
eran bodies. An agreement has al
ready been reached in matters of doc
trine and one Of these bodies, the
Norwegian Synod which is the second
in size, at it's recent convention in
Minneapolis went step further and
instructed its church officials to take
the necessary legal steps for organic
union of the three bodies.
There seems to be no question in
the minds of the most prominent men
whoowi.! attend the Fargo convention
but what such action will be taken
here this week. Onepof the leading
officials in an interview said:
"This will probably be the last year
that the United Norwegian Lutheran
church ofsAmerica will meet as sep
arate organizations. 1t is probable
that at the convention to be held here
in Fargo set of resolutions will be
presented and adopted that will pave
the way for a consummatiOn of a
church union in 1917. It is probable
that committee or the board Of
trustees will be authorized to take
such legal steps as are necessary in
order that the union may be in &C
cordance with the laws of the state"
Doubts About Hauge's. \
There seems to be some doubt as
to whether or not the smallest Of the
three bodies, the Hauge Norwegian
Lutheran church, of America, will
take the final steps in order to enter
the union. This church body has al
ready accepted the joint formulas Of
doctrine accepted b. the other two
bodies, and the matter of formal
union has been referred to the con-.
gregaticr which have taken a vote on
the matter this year. The result Of
this vote will be announced at the
coming convention which will be held
in Red Wing, Mimi, this week. 1t is
rumored, however, that number of
the congregations in the Hauge Synod
! will not favor union this year. There
Nseems to be no question whatever
about the two large bodies uniting.
The Hauge Synod has only one
third as many congregations as the
United Norwegian church which will
convene in Fargo.
Pension Fund.
Another matter which will come be.
fore the large convention is the pen
sion fund of the clergy. Such fund
has already been established. The
widow of every pastor which belongs
to the fund and every super-anuated
pastor receives nearly $500 annually.
All beneficiaries receive like sums.
The actual amount received by each
beneficiary last year was $472.O3. 1t
is proposed to increase and improve
the fund so that each beneficiary will
receive at least $500 annually.
Business sessions will probably be
held every forenoon from to -
o'clock and every afternoon from 2
to 5 o'clock. Before the forenoon ses.