THE ROBERT E. COWAN COLLECTION rRKSKNTED TO THK UNIVERSITY OF CRLIFORNIH »Y C. p. HUNTINGTON dUNE, 18Q7. Recession ^o 7^%^0 Class No.^^tjuyL.^ ciSJj Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding'from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/americanfirstfruOOIeavrich fox 7^ 15^ Wj .Ji^l, « '-C .». [^KCOJ^D, '/IND Ef^MKQED, EDITION] ■m plHST-FHtllTS -BEING A- BPief I^ecofd of Eight lV|onfcp' /}/F/M 5Mi/f G Missions IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA CONDUCTED BY THE i Reif.JoliiiAlexJowi6^Mr§.Dowle FROM MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, WITH AN APPENDIX COXTAINING 5u/o /Addresses 09 Diuipi^ |leali9(^ DELIVERED BEFORE THE Congregational Ministers' Club op San Frangisqo. tl ■♦■ ' "^ftg^ ♦• [^KCOND, ^ND ENL^il^QED, EDITION] RcnBHiCRfi ^ -BEING A- BpiBf HecoFd of Eight Honfcp' Divine Heeling Missions IN THE STATE- OF CALIFOE.HIA CONDUCTED BY THE Reif.Joliii Alex. Bowie ^ Mrs. Dowie FROM MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, WITH AN APPENDIX CONTAINING r 5u/o |^ddre55e5 oi) Diuip^ |^eali9(^ DEUVERED BEFORE THE COHaREGATIOHAL MlKISTERS' CLUB OF SaH FraBOISGO. ■ -J^f^— PUBWSHED AT "LEAVES OF HEAI^ING " OFFICE, 320 Sansome Street, SAN FRANCISCO. 1889. INTRODUCTION. -^s^^— yszjo With joyous songs and grateful hearts, the people of God in ancient days obeyed His command, "Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, . . . the FIRST-FRUITS of thy labors which thou hast sown in the field." (Ex- odus 21 : 29 ; 23 : 16. ) We, therefore, giving all the praise to our God and'- Father, who has, by the Holy Spirit, so gloriously blessed our first eight months work for His dear Son in this land, send forth these *' First-Fruits " of our labors in America in the cause of Christ our Lord, especially in the ministry of Divine Healing. We do this on the eve of going forth again for a second and longer period of service to our Lord on this Pacific Coast. We begin, on Lord's Day, April 28th, a mission in the city of Los Angeles, Southern California, and, God willing, we shall visit other cities in that portion of this State, and proceed' from thence to Oregon, Washington and British Colum- bia, where we intend to conduct missions until the Fall, in which labors we ask the prayers and sympathies of all our Christian readers. The following pages are, for the most part, simply extracts from our short- hand writer's reports of the words of testimony uttered by those who have been healed through faith in Jesus, as given by themselves before a multitude of wit- nesses in the Praise and Testimony Meetings which have been held at the close of each of our missions, ten of which have been conducted by us in this State. Concerning the genuineness of these statements there can be no righteous dispute, but we deeply regret (although we cannot be surprised) that we have been under the necessity of defending the truthfulness of these witnesses against the false and maliciouai attacks, not of the world, but of some who profess to be ministers within the Church of God. **No strange thing has happened to us" in our be- ing compelled to discharge this painful duty, but it is hone the less to be regretted, although we trust such conduct will never be repeated. One 'good result is that it has given us an opportunity, and laid upon us the necessity, of again and again bringing forward these witnesses, who, before hundreds and even thousands of per- sons, have reaffirmed their testimony without challenge. In this matter, re- membering the words of the great apostle, we say to our Christian friends, "Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable [margin, Gr. "absurd "] and wicked men, for all men have not faith. " 2 Thessalonians 3 : 2. In only two, or possibly three, cases do we know of any of the witnesses whose testimonies arc herein reported having gone back to former conditions, and the cause of their declension in every case is to be found in a return to sin, largely through evil and ungodly surroundings which the persons concerned have yielded to instead of overcoming through the grace of God In this connection, we de- sire to remind all who read, that what is received through faith in Jesus may be lost through unbelief and other sins. Our Lord's warning in John 5 : 14 suffi- ciently proves this assertion. He said to one whom he had healed, " Behold, thou art made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. " We have added to this new and enlarged edition of * * First-Fruits " two ad- dresses which we delivered before the Congregational Ministers' Club of San Francisco. These contain brief, and necessarily incomplete, outlines of our doc- trinal teaching, which forms by far the /greatest portion of our ministry; but we think it well to add these pages, since there is a widespread desire that we should publish our teaching. We reserve, however, the full publication of that in book form until we have opportunity to write our intended work on the whole subject, which we trust will be during next Fall and Winter. Mean- while, we shall publish articles on various aspects of Divine Healing truth in our monthly magazine. Our constant experience is that Teaching is of the first im- portance; Our Lord's example in His earthly ministry, as shown in Matt, 4 : 23 and 9 : 35, makes this clear. There we see that Jesus went about, firstly Teaching, secondarily Preaching, and thirdly Healing, and, so far as He enables us, we follow in his footsteps. The greater part of our work is Teaching. Preach- ing is simply the proclamation of the results of the Teaching, and the Healing always follows where the truth is fully received. 3 We have been led to establish in this country our little magazine entitled "Leaves of Healing," which we established last June in New Zealand on our way to this country. We have transplanted it to this coast, and the first num- ber of the new issue will iSe ready early next month, God willing. In connection with this matter, we have established an office at 320 Sansome Street, San Francisco, where subscriptions will be received ($l.oo per annum) for this monthly magazine, and where copies of various pamphlets which we have written on this subject can be obtained. "We are asking our Lord to enable us to print with our own press, as soon as possible, our various publications, and we trust soon to be in a position to supply tracts and Divine Healing Literature to those who desire it throughout this coast. One important outcome of this work has been the formation, in San Francisco, on Lord's Day, Nov. 11th, of the American Divine Healing Association, of which I have accepted the office of President ^ro tern. Three Branches have now been formed in the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose respectively, numbering about seven hundred members, which are steadily growing and maintaining most inter- esting weekly meetings, and conducting a widespread visitation. It is our inten- tion, at the close of our missions, to establish Branches of this Association in each of the places that we are led of God to visit. In answer to many inquiries, we desire to inform Christian readers who are interested that we pui-pose, if the Lord permit, leaving this coast next spring. Proceeding eastward, we trust to hold missions in a number of central positions in the United States. Thereafter, we intend to visit Canada and Great Britain and Ireland. But we can fix no program, for our absolute duty is to follow God's plan, and we simply make these announcements in answer to many inquiries. At the same time, we shall be glad to communicate with friends in many of the centers of population in this and other countries, and help by correspondence, and otherwise, in the extension of this beautiful gospel and ministry of Divine Healing. All who desire to communicate with us will please addresss their letters to the office of " Leaves of Healing," 320 Sansome Street, San Francisco, from whence they will be forwarded to us should we not be in that city. We desire to record our gratitude to God that He is raising up able and de- voted servants and handmaidens, to whom we shall be able to leave this work next year with perfect confidence. Already, the presidents and officers of the variou Branches of the Association are justifying our choice, and hundreds of the members are engaging much more actively than before in the work of God in connection with their various churches, besides promoting this work. Our ministry is to the whole "Household of Faith," irrespective of all sects or parties. We know only Christ, and desire to preach only His atoning sacrifice, and to declare the blessings which flow therefrom. From the Covenant of Jehovah - Kophi, in Ex. 15 : 23-26, and throughout the whole Shining Way of the Promises of God in all the Scriptures, we see the stars of Divine Love forming in the Heavens above us the beautiful covenant name, **I am the Lord that healeth thee, " and the Stripes of that universal banner seem to become more glorious every day, as we see more fully the meaning of the prophetic words, "With His Stripes we are Healed. " Beneath the Banner of the Cross we march on to certain ultimate Triumph, and, although the way may sometimas be drear, and the foe we know is ever near, yet we can follow, calm and fearless, if we are guided by His hand. So we send forth this little book on its way, prajdng that our "American First-Fruits " may be sweet to the taste of many sick and weary Pilgrims Zion- ward, leading them to see in Jesus the Tree of Life whose fruits are always ready for their need, and whose words are * * Leaves of Healing for the nations, " which are now groaning beneath the oppression of Satan and Sin and Disease and Death and Hell, but which, through the " Saving Health " the Gospel brings, shall yet be brought, though dark days lie between, to see in Christ their Saviour, their Healer, and their all. Asking once more for the prayers of every brother and sister in Christ who reads these lines, that we may in all things be led of the Spirit of God, and sus- tained amidst the toils and trials of this most blessed ministry, we are Your brother and sister in Jesus, John Alex. Dowie, Jeanie Dowie. Borden, Fresno Co., Cal, April 21, 1889. American First- Fruits, -BEING A- Brlef Record of Nearly Eight Montis' Divine Healing Missions IN THE STATED OK CAIvIKORKIA, CONDUCTED BY THE Rev. John Alex. Dowie | Mrs. Dowie^ [Extract from Record of our Travels and Missions in August number of ** Leaves of Healing," pp. 63-67.] On the morning of Saturday, 16tli of June, the seats of ^ the corridor in the hotel near my room were crowded with persons desiring intervievv's with me. Amongst these was an aged woman from Sacramento, who came in leaning upon a crutch, and in great pain. She wao accompanied by her daughter. After a few words of prayer I found she was a most interesting character. She was a tall, gaunt-visaged, weird-looking person, abrupt in manner, without imagina- tion, conscious of her ignorance, and doubtful of her standing in Christ. She presented a most peculiar study as the conversation proceeded. She said, '* Doctor " (most persons hero call me doctor), ** I am a hard case, very poor, and very ignorant. My husband read about you yesterday in Sacramento, the capital of this State, about 100 miles distant from this city. He said, 'That is the old-time religion, or else it is all a lie; go down and see if the doctor is what they say he is, and if he is. You Will Come Back Cured.' I stared at him in astonishment. But he was very pressing, and said, * Go ! ' So I have come." ' * But are you a Christian ? " I said. " I don't know," she said; " I want to know; I do not believe in saying I am, unless I am sure. " And then in a few minutes she burst out, " O Doctor I want to be sure of salvation; you do not know how ignorant I am; I can't read or write; I don't know a B from a bull's foot; I am jpoor tvhite trash; do you know what that means ? " I said, " Y-es, you were born in the South, were you not? " She said, ** Y«s, they talk of slaves — black slaves — but I have been a white slave all my life, aud I am a slave now as regards work. They sent me out when I was only four years old to gather sticks in the woods; I was beaten, half starved and cruelly treated by a drunken step-father; I grew up ignorant; I do not know how to talk even now to such a geatleman as you 5 oh ! tell me how I can be sure of salvation." 5 I was deeply moved, for she was speaking with a natural, or perhaps I should say a supernatural, eloquence that was irresistible. I gladly responded to her cry, and it was not long before I had the joy of seeing her led into a simple trust in Ciirist as her Saviour; the Holy Spirit had already wrought in her conviction of sia, and a fervent love for Christ the Righteous, and she was ready to yield her hedrt to him. I realized that Satan was condemned, and she was set free. She looked at me with tears in her stony face, and when I said, '* Now will you just trust Jesus as your healer? " she again replied, "Show me how." I said, " If Jesus were to enter this room now and to present himself to you, would you ask him to heal you, believing that he would ? " " Oh, yes. Doctor," she said, *' and I believe he would.*' "Then," I replied, *' he is present." She looked around. I said, " Invisibly present, for he has said, * Lo, I am with you alway.' If that is true he is here now in spirit and in power." *' Doctor," she said, " I believe he is. " "Without another word I kuelt at her feet, and asked her to put the diseased foot in my hand. She did so. I took off her slipper, and, holding the foot in my hand, I prayed that God would use me by the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name, and for his sake, in her healing. When I had finished praying, I looked up and saw that she was softly crying. I think my attitude at her feet had deeply touched her; but she was looking upward lost in reverent prayer. I rose and said, ** In Jesus' name, rise and walk ! " She looked for the crutch, which I had placed beyond her reach. I repeated the words, **In Jesus' name, rise and walk ! " She arose, and walked several times across the room. I Said. "You Are Healed!" She could not speak for emotion, which she tried hard to restrain, but at last gave way, and falling on Mrs. Dowie's neck, kissed her warmly, and also embraced her daughter, whom she had told me she had not kissed for many years. It was a very affecting scene. The daughter was a backslider, but ere she left the room she was restored to God. As they were going away, I said to the old lady, " You have left something which belongs to you. " She said, "What?" I said, " Your crutch." " Oh," she said, " I don't need it any more; I am healed." I said, " What do you intend to do with it then ? " holding it in my hand. She said, "O Doctor, if you would like to take it, I will leave it with you." I said, " Very well; put it in the comer." And in the corner it remains, in the room where this is now being written. In two days, on Monday, the 19th of June, she came back rejoicing, saying she had walked about quite well. She told me that she had not for two and a half years rested upon that foot without a crutch, and that for ten months she thought she had not slept one " solid hour." I asked her how she slept now, and she said, '* like a baby." And then she told me she was going home. I said, ** What are you going to do when you get home ? " " I will tell all," she said. " that Jesus Saved and Healed Even Me." This incident I have thus narrated in detail, because it is the first case of divine healing which I have been permitted to witness, and to be instrumental in, on this great continent. I could not have desired a better. Ignorant, almost with- out hope, she was one of those common people who, in the days of Jesus' earthly ministry, heard him gladly, and received him fully, not only as their Saviour, but as their Healer. I pray that she may be the representative of multitudes who shall thus, like the poor of old, have this gospel preached unto them, and who shall receive all its saving, cleansing, healing, and uplifting power. But let me give Another Illustration of This Work. Applying to a very opposite class of American society. This to me is also in- tensely interesting, and I pray it may be profitable to you. 6 On the forenoon of Wednesday, 20th of June, there was a knock at the door of the room in which I am now sittmg, and a visitor was announced by the at- tendant, a tall, finely-proportioned, elegantly-dressed lady, who at a glance I could see was one accustomed to move in what is called " society." Bowing very respectfully, she said, with her voice trembling with emotion, " Doctor, will you grant me a conversation ? " Holding the keys of her room in her hand, she slowly extended it and said, '* I also am a guest in this hotel." Having introduced her to Mrs. Dowie, she sat down and told us her story. It was one which I can never forget. She said, as nearly as I can recollect her words, '* Doctor, I have come, although I knew it not, from New York to see you." I asked her to explain.. She said: "Six weeks ago I was, as I have been for many years, a worldly, frivolous, vain lady in society, neither worse nor better than my mother before me, and like many in my own station of life about me. It haa pleased God (I would not have used his name six weeks ago) to give to myself and husband much wealth; but we never used it except for to gratify ourselves and to entertain people like ourselves. I used to go to church occasionally, sometimes quite frequently; but it was a part of society duty, of society life. I never re- member realizing God's presence once in any part of the worship, or in any of the many discourses I heard. But six weeks ago I was reading a new book, to which my attention had been directed. I am fond of reading and of discussing in society the literature of the day. It was just because it was a book being talked about that I read it. It was Prof. Henry Drummond's * * Natural Law in the Spiritual World. " I was deeply impressed, not so much with his reasoning, which I dis- puted, but by one thought which fastened itself upon my mind: I felt myself standing upon the verge of earth and time looking away out into an eternity, and I had no hope. I felt intensely miserable: I felt I wanted to know God, for I was without hope, and I was without God, in the world. But I told no one my thoughts, not even my husband. I was ashamed to let anyone know that I felt that I was a sinner. We were about to start (my husband and I) for Europe, for Paris, where my only son is being educated, to spend the summer on the continent. But I felt I could not go in the condition I was. So I said to my husband, ' * Let me go West before we leave for Europe." Hesaid, "Whereto?" Isaid, "Idon't know, I think I will go to San Francisco." He asked, "Why? " I would not tell him. But he agreed, and as we have friends, many friends, society friends, ^^ she added, " in this city, he thought it possible I might spend a good time here, and so I came a fortnight ago. A few days here with my friends only made me more miserable, for I could see that many of them were as heartily sick of the world as I was. So I left San Francisco and went down to the Hotel Del Monte at Monterey " (this hotel, one of the wonders of this continent, I visited when at Pacific Grove; it is a fashionable resort, at all seasons, of wealthy people), " there I found no relief; I wandered about the beautiful gardens, and walked along the seashore, but nature had no balm for my sickness. One day I lifted up quite casually, as I thought, a San Francisco newspaper; I "Was Startled with the Title Of a paragraph on which my eyes fell, ' Healing by Faith.' I read it, and imme- diately the desire to see you became intense; I could not get rid of it, and after several days I determined to come up to the city and stop at this hotel and find an opportunity of seeing you. Two days have passed away, and until now I have not had the courage to make my request. " That is all," she said, " except that I am so weary, not yet forty years old, and worn out. I have worked harder in society, in pleasure seeking and pleasure giving, than any Washerwoman Ever Worked at Her Tub- Oh! what must I do?" Mrs. Dowie and I were both deeply moved. I told her how glad I was to see and hear her, and how thankful to God for the opportunity of telling her what she must do to be saved. I pointed out to her that the book she had read kad been written by a true Christian man, that notwithstanding many differed from his way of putting some of his arguments, all who knew him admitted that his book was written in a reverent spirit, with a sincere desire to glorify God, and to bring blessing to man. I remarked that he had written the book praying that God, the Holy Ghost, would use it; and that it was most pleasant for me, as it would be for him, to know that God had used it, in convincing her of sin and of the emptiness and vanity of her life. I then said, '* But conviction is not conversion, and before you are converted you must also be convinced of the righteousness of Christ. " I read to her the words contained in John 16 :7-ll. She saw she had an "Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. " I then led her to see that He "Would Undertake Her Case, and we united in prayer before our Father's throne, where she gave herself to him, and rose believing that she was justified, pardoned, blessed. She rejoiced, and very calmly, but very firmly, vowed that her whole life should be reversed; that her time, her talents, and her wealth, should be consecrated to God. She said, '* In some matters it will be a hard fight, but I see and feel that I cannot return to the old life." After further conversation I wrote a letter to the Rev. A. B. Simpson, of Madison Avenue Tabernacle, New York, introducing her to his kind notice and care; and she left us saying she would return the next day to her home in that city. We believe that she received not only pardon, but healing, for she left us saying that she had experienced both. These two cases so widely difitrent in character, will give our kind friends an idea of how the mission in this country opened. [Extract from September number of "Leaves of Healing," po. 82-99.1 San Francisco Mission and Its Closing Scenes. It will be remembered that this Mission was conducted in the Young Men's Christian Association Hall, Sutter Street. The meetings in the afternoon grew steadily in numbers and in power, and a very large proportion of those attending were business men who left their offices and banks after ihree o'clock, to listen to the *' Healing-room Addresses." Our closing afternoon meetings were large, and at last completely filled the hall, many sitting on the steps to the galleries. The evening lectures were from the first attended by audiences which filled the building, and at last crowded it out. One of the morning papers of the city observed that "even standing room was at a premium." From the very first meeting we had after-meetings, attended on each occasion by many hundreds of persons, and it was our delight to see large numbers seeking openly at these meetings the Lord as their Saviour. More than one hundred and fifty persons thus T'rofessed to have found salvation in these meetings through faith in Je^us. The work of Divine Healing went steadily on almost from the first, but during the last five days of the mission there were many striking miracles of healing, and numbers thronged us seeking the Lord for healing, swelling into hundreds. It is oiir intense regret that in every mission we cannot see individuall}- all those who desire to see us, but we feel it only makes us more earnest in making our message clear and plain, so that the people having received the teaching, may thus directly seek Jesus as their healer. We long for the day when multitudes will be healed without human touch. But when this work is in its infancy it seems to be with many an absolute necessity that they shaU have the human helper, and we pray that God may send forth many qualified laborers into his great harvest- fields, for truly we see every day the fields are " white unto the harvest." The large numbers of Christians who professed to receive blessing during this mission greatly cheered us, and a very striking feature also was the numerous requests for prayer which came to us from every part of the city and State, and from all parts of America. These numbered many hundreds, and in not a few cases there were very dirtct answers. But time would fail us to attempt any detailed account of our long series of over sixty meetings and after-meetings during that mission. It would be wrong. r-..*^ 8 however, for us to omit to mention the special meetings for men, which at the re- quest of the Young Men's Christian Association we conducted for four successive Lord's days. The crowded rows of earnest faces will never be forgotten by us, and the large numbers of men who found Christ as Saviour in these meetings make us deeply grateful to him who has thus condescended to use us so graciously. The hearty co-operation of Mr. Henry McCoy, the Secretary, Mr. Johnson, the Assistant Secretary, the members of the Reception Committee, and large numbers of young men of the Association, was also most gratifying; and we owe it to them, and to God, to record our high appreciation of their constant kindness. Our janitor, "John," by his hearty good nature and unceasing devotion won the love of many hearts, and at our closing meeting a reference to his kindness elicited a burst of applause. So it will be seen there were many things favorable to a successful mission. Yet there were not a few things unfavorable. The doctrine was little known and it was discredited by many who confounded it with Mind Healing, or Christian Science (modified forms of Spiritualism), which have invaded America and done much evil. We had also to contend with the apathy of many, and the antipathy of some, of the ministers of the gospel. We were very freely discussed (and the discussions were reported) at ministerial associations. .On various public occa- sions reference was made to ourselves, and sermons preached in many churches on the subject of our mission. But it may also be stated that a number of ministers openly avowed itheir adhesion to our teaching, and some of then openly assisted us on our platform and in the after-meetings; while others expressed their sympathies by their frequent presence and by kind letters. I had also the privilege of preaching for my friend and brother, the Rev. M. Gibson, D. T>. , in the First United Presbyterian Church, and also in the beautiful Mariners' Church, the good pastor of which aided us throughout the mission. We were unable to avail ourselves of the invitation to preach for other brethren owing to the pressure of work in our mission. Among the ministers who most effectually helped us, I would desire to men- tion gratefully the names of the Revs. N. W. Lane, M. D., and F. W. Clapp, Congregationalists; Rev. Mr. Arnold, Free Church; Rev. Mr. Sterrett, Metho- dist Episcopal, and others. The first-mentioned brother, Dr. Lane, minister and medical doctor, who was unable to be present at our closing meeting, sent us a kind letter expressing himself as follows: "You have my hearty appreciation of your labors of love for the Master and precious souls since you came among us, and I assure you I am in full sympathy with your presentation of a complete and full gospel for spirit, soul and body, which you so faithfully and successfully preach. "I pray for you both daily in family worship, making mention by name of yourself and dear wife, and shall continue to do so. " When I return I wish to take part in the Pacific Coast Divine Healing As- sociation, ariS go forward to see the wonderful works of God manifested ia the salvation of precious souls, their consecration, and the healing of the diseased. God bless you both greatly." The Association to which Dr. Lane refers will, we trust, be formed during our second mission in San Francisco, which will be held in a month or two, and it is a great joy to us that such men as he and our beloved Brother Arnold, and others, will take a leading part, with many devoted men and women, in the establishment of such an organization. We ask our friends everywhere to pray that we may be divinely guided in this portion of the work; for good organization promotes progress and insures success. It was also pleasing during this mission to have the open testimony of sev- eral Christian medical men, in good practice, who attended our meetings and asked us to pray for their own friends and relatives. There were also representatives, in intelligent teachers and prominent mem- bers and office-bearers, of many, if not all, of the evangelical churches of the city m constant attendance, and the appreciative letters which we have received would fill a respectable little volume. The Closing Praise and Testimony Meeting. This was held on the evening of Monday, July 9. The building was crowded to its utmost capacity long before the meeting opened, and every inch of standing room was occupied; one of the morning papers says, ** Many hundreds of persons could not obtain admission." A song service preceded our entrance upon the platform, conducted by our kind friend, Mr. Chamberlain. We were engaged during that time in meeting with those who desired to testify, in the parlors of the Association, and it was with difficulty that we could thread our way to the platform, with the twenty or thirty persons who desired to speak. The audience saog in fine style, '* We are marching to Zion," and we !elt as we heard them sing, it was an inestimable joy to be permitted to help those who on their Zionward way were groaning in pain, groping in blindness, and oppressed by the devil with countless diseases. We felt it was a recompense for our con- tinuous and exhausting labor to see this great multitude of faces lit up with en- thusiasm and expectancy, and looking around upon the blind who had received their sight, the lame who now had received power to walk, and the many forms of sickness which had been healed; we felt that we had indeed been privileged to be the bearers of "Leaves of Healing " from the "Tree of Life." After giving the glory to God, I presented the petitions for prayer which had been received since the previous meeting. Amongst these was one which was so beautifully answered that we cannot forbear giving it in detail, ere we proceed with the ac- count of the meeting. I quote from a verbatim report of the proceedings now in my hands, written by Mr. G. H. Hawes, of 320 Sansome Street, San Francisco, a highly efficient stenographer and type- writer, who assists me to overtake my very extensive correspondence, and to report in full these meetings and special lectures. The petition to which I have referred reads thus: "Please pray earnestly for a dear Christian lady who is dying; not expected to live until to-morrow morning. She is suffering agony, great and intense pain; oh! pray that she may be delivered from pain now — this moment, and that she may find in Jesus her deliverer." Our prayer in presenting this petition, as reported by Mr. Hawes, reads as fol- lows: '*Lord, we thank thee for genuine requests, and if this sister is herself a partaker in this petition, we have no doubt as to the answer. We lay it be- fore thy throne now in the presence of all thy people. We plead that the disease may be removed . It is not thy will that thy children should die in agony and pain; it is thy will that when we have served thee and our generation 'according to the will of God,' that we should fall 'asleep in Jesus;' that we should mean- while obtain pardon from our sin, and that we should be saved from the power of sin and disease and death and hell, and all the power of the enemy. If it be thy will to give our sister sleep, we murmur not, but we say Remove the Pain, Remove the Disease, And we know we are saying it in accordance with thy will, and if she is co-oper- ■qting with us in faith, then the answer has come to that silent room, and now thou art saying, 'Peace, be still.'" The following morning I received a beautiful letter from the lady who sent the petition. Miss Laura V. Stone, 807 Leavenworth St., S. F., from which we quote the following words: — " I wish to thank God for the instantaneous answer to prayer last night for the dear Christian lady who seemed at death's door. You remember that you prayed that she might be relieved from pain, and find Jesus as her healer and de- liverer. The first part of the prayer was fully answered last night, as she passed a comfortable night without pain, and is much better this afternoon, although very weak. I have just come from her bedside, from which she sends you a message of thanks, and asks your continued prayers. She has been sick many, many years, a great sufferer, was unable to move hand or foot, not even her head from the pillow, and when moved by others the pain was most severe. "Please thank God for what he did last night, and continue to pray that she may be kept free from all pain, and that her healing shall be perfected. Oh, how I long for this, that Jesus Christ may be glorified in that household, which is one of faith and prayer. Pray for me also. God bless you and keep you and your dear family, is the prayer of your sister in Christ. " 10 Still quoting from Mr. Hawea' report, we find that in opening the meeting we said iu prayer: "And now. Lord, we commend this meeting to thee. Bless this great company; bless those who are here as thy witnesses to thy saving, healing and cleansing power; some were great sinners; they feel themselves very un- worthy; they are saved, they are healed; we give thee glory. Some, O Lord, are not as perfectly healed as we would desire to see; perfect their consecration and perfect their healing. And now we Give thee all the Praise. We have DONE NOTHING, thou hast done it all. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Let good go forth from this meeting through this beautiful city and State; yea, wilt thou bless all throughout this broad and beautiful laud, and may multitudes hearing that thou art healing know 'That the healing of thy seamless dress Is by their beds of pain,' That they may know also, who are walking this world bowed down with suffering, that they •May touch thee in life's throng and press. And be made whole again,' Even midst the streets of the cities. We ask it for Jesus' sake. Amen." We then sang, "She only touched the hem of thy garment," and after the reading of Scripture by Mrs. Dowie, we made the announcements concerning our future missions, and recorded our thanks publicly to Mr. McCoy, the Secretary, and the members of the Association. The testimony meeting was then proceeded with. We first of all again gave God the glory and repeated our declaration that "we never healed anybody, that we never expected to heal anyone, that we never attempted to heal anyone, and that our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Healer and Sanctifier, had by the Holy Spirit wrought the work." We again de- fined our position with reference to Mind Cure, Mental Healing, Christian Science, and Spiritualism, declaring that with these things "we had not one thought in common, or one single desire to co-operate." The first testimony was one that created intense interest and made a profound impression; it was that of The Restoration to Sight of a Little Boy who had been Born BUnd. Quoting again from the verbatim report, we find that we said the following words: "Here is the little boy" (presenting him to the audience, a bright, in- telligent little fellow, whose opened eyes were looking around in every direction with keen interest upon the meeting). He is a fatherless little boy. Is it not written of our God, 'Heis the father of the fatherless ? " This little fellow at- tended the meetings; he was blind. Dr. Barcon said he was blind from birth. I did not know he was here; he sat and listened to the word and received it. The good doctor had operated upon his eyes three years ago; he had done the best he could; he is a kind man and had taken a great deal of interest in the lad» The little fellow listened earnestly to the teaching, and heard me say to the people. Yon Mnst be Saved First. Then he told us that he heard us say in the after meeting, " Those who want to find salvation, stand up!" He said, " What does it mean, mother?" And she said, "As near as I can tell you, Georgie, it means that you are to give yourself wholly to Christ." He said, "That is just what I will do." And he did it. So the next day he came into the meeting rejoicing in Christ. It was July the Ith, your great fire- work's day; my attention had been drawn to him, and I E remised to see him that afternoon. When he came into the healing room with is mother (who is now present) we said after prayer, "Now, Georgie, are you sure that you are saved ? " "Yes, sir," he replied, "lam." "When were you saved?" " Yesterday, " he said. "How were you saved ?" "Well," he said, "I had been trying to trust Jesus all my life, and yesterday 1 did it, sir." 11 "Well, that is all right. Now do you expect Jesus to give you sight ? " He said, * ' I am sure he will, sir. *' I laid my hands upon him and we prayed. When he opened his eyes, the^ little boy who had been blind from birth could see. Here is the result: the boy is now looking upon you with the power to see. Let me read the written testi- mony that his mother has placed in my hands to be read to this meeting, and she will afterwards herself rise and confirm the words: — "My little boy Georgie was afflicted from birth with blindness. Three years ago an operation was performed by Dr. Barcon of this city. The boy was able to distinguish day from night, and sometimes bright colors, red and blue. For ten years he has been unable to walk, until now, without being led by the hand, when outside the house. He never saw an object, so far as we know, dur- during these ten years, not a single object to know what it was. Jesus has now, through Mr. Dowie's agency, restored his sight almost entirely; he can now walk alone, see houses, chimneys, and small objects very readily. He can also see print of large size, and it can be read by him; something I never expected to see him do. My little boy is bright and happy now, and gives God all the glory. Praise his name forever. " "I was also," adds the writer, Mrs. Lula Ritchville, of 1241 Mission Street, San Francisco, "instantly cured of internal hemorrhage of some weeks' standing without any laying on of hands, at the first meeting I attended. " This letter having been read, we turned to the boy and said: — "Now, Georgie, let us see you." (The boy was sitting on the platform be- hind us, and rose and came forward.) "What have you got to tell the people, dear?" "I don't know, sir." "Were you blind?" ** Yes, sir, I was blind." "Can you see?" "I can see very good." " Who gave you sight ? " "Jesus." "Well, now I do not know how to talk to the boy," continued Mr. Dowie, "he is only beginning to understand objects. Come now, when do you say it was you got your sight ? " "July the 4th, sir." (This is Independence Day in America, and fireworks in the public streets and everywhere are continually going off.) " Bid you see the fireworks ? " "Yes, sir." " Were they very beautiful ? " " Yea, sir." (Spoken very emphatically.) Mr. Bowie said: "His mother told me that evening that he said to her, 'Don't you think, mother, God will forgive me if I don't go down to the meeting to- night; I do want to see these fireworks; they do look beautiful. ' " We showed him in the presence of the audience our watch, which he was able to distinguish at a distance, telling the people which side was turned to him, the open face or the back. We took a bouquet of flowers from the hands of one in the audience and asked him to point out the various colors; he described their colors without hesitation, distinguishing each color, and even shades of color. ' We showed him a little pair of peculiarly constructed folding nail scissors, which we use, which he at once recognized, and other objects, amongst which were coins, which he told us the value of. The last one that we held up was a silver dollar, and we said, "If you guess right you shall have it." He did so, and got it. We told the people also of how on the afternoon of that day in our rooms at the Palace Hotel we sent him upon a voyage of discovery, and how he went to every part of the rooms, and looked at unfamiliar objects, and made very remarkable observations concerning them. Amongst these was a certain round cylindrical black object, and he said, "Oh, ain't that a funny box." I told him to lift the box and put it on his head. He did so and found it was my silk hat, which com- pletely covered his face. Mrs. Ritchville, the mother of the boy, then gave personal testimony. She 12 said: ** He waa about a year old when I discovered he was totally blind, although the doctors all said he was born blind. He has been very busy learning the names of things, and is learning by feeling and sight together; he feels and sees and then distinguishes objects, and after he has seen an article he knows what it is. He has to learn to see. " When I was coming here to-night on the horse-cars, it was the first time he ever saw a horse. He amused the ladies and gentlemen in the car talking about it. He said, * Mamma, the horse's tail is made of hair, I thought it was like a dog's tail. And look, mamma, he has a moustache on his head. ' " At this point the people laughed almost uutd they cried, and we closed that testimony, saying that it had often amused us to note the peculiar observations of those who had just received their sight. For instance, I had asked Georgie to say what the color of my hair was on top of my head, and he said, *' You have none, you are bald." We believe Elisha was bald-headed, and so we are, at least in that particular, like one of the prophets. We have sometimes been mocked for this baldness; but we have never found it to be an infirmity. Those who re- proved the ancient prophet at Bethel (2 Kings 2 :23, 24) found that mocking a man of God was a serious matter; and there are still "she-bears " about, and " he-bears " also, for that matter. A Little Girl 12 Years of Age Healed of Ulcerated Legs. This was the next case presented, and from this difficulty she had suffered for six years. She walked up and down perfectly free, and her mother added ier testimony. Instantly Healed after Twenty-six Years on Crutches. The third case which testified was one of great interest; it was that of Mrs. doffin, of 54 Shipley Street, S. F. , who had been healed after twenty-six years on -crutches, during which time she had suffered great and almost constant pain. We will quote an account of this case from Mr. Hawes' verbatim report: — **Mr. Dowie introduced to the meeting Mr. Charles D. Coffin, saying: * This brother is present to testify on behalf of his wife who has been healed by the Lord during this mission. She came into my room on her crutches with Mrs. Dowie. I found her an earnest, consistent Christian, a member of the First United Presbyterian Church of this city, and she received from the Lord an in- stantaneous and perfect healing. Her written testimony is in my hands, but I "will ask her husband to speak and tell the story more fully.' Turning to Mr. Coffin, Mr. Dowie said, * How many years was she on crutches ? ' He replied, 'All her life.' Mr. Dowie continued: ' I may say the moment she was healed I was going to let her out at the side door; I do not believe in creating much excite- ment when people are healed. I said, 'Go home and thank God, and come to the testimony meeting.' She said, *My husband is in the meeting, let me go and see him, ' and she burst out into this hall; running on both legs. She made a rush for him, and they had a good kiss in public. But 'he is of age,' let him speak for himself. " Mr. Coffin said: "I cannot express to you how sorry I feel that my wife is not here to-night; We waited till close on to 8 o'clock to see if the baby would not be well enough so we could make the venture, and then I thought of her coming alone, but she had not been around much in the city. She was very anx- ious to come and tell how she had been healed. I know she will be waiting for me to come home and tell all about the meeting. "She came here and listened to the Rev. Mr. Dowie teaching this beautiful doctrine, and day by day she grew in faith and believed his teaching fully, as be- ing that of the word of God. She had seven open wounda on her limbs, and moving about on crutches kept up such an irritation, that at all times there was a suppuration. We had to attend to her morning and evening, if not oftener. We fixed her up 4th of July morning and came here to the afternoon meeting, and she went into the room with Mr. and Mrs. Dowie. She received a perfect healing, after Mr. Dowie prayed and laid hands on her in the name of the Lord. The ^rst I knew of it was when she came running up to me, to my astonishment. 13 with both arms extended, and she said, 'O Charley! Charley!' and kissed me. She came as quickly towards me as I could go myself towards her with my two sound limbs. And when we left this hall she walked readily downstairs to the cars, and walked from the cars to our house; she goes up and downstairs and does everything, and we have been very happy. She told me to-day she had been up on Market St. (one of the principal streets for shops in the city), and she took the baby with her. She had to carry it some way, and the baby probably weighs twenty-five pounds or more. She said she got along finely. ••We give God all the glory. We are so glad Brother Dowie came here; glad we heard him, and that through the teaching she has received faith to be healed, and I think she is permanently healed. When she was three years old she went to school with her oldest lister, and when leaving school she kind of hesitated on the top of the stairs, and the teacher gave her a slight push, and she fell headlong to the foot of the stairs, and she has sutfered ever since and has had to use crutches. That was twenty-six years ago; she is now 29." Mr. Dowie said: "Twenty-six years 07i crf^^cAes, and the Lord healed her in less than twenty-six seconds of time. [Hearty applause by the audience.] We will praise God for that." (•' Amen," was heard from all parts of the hall.) A Sufferer for Twenty-eight Years- The fourth case was that of Miss Amy F. Wilcox, of 211 Oak Street, San Francisco. She had been saved and healed in the same hour. She had lost faith in God, and had passed through many dreadful experiences. We quote again, from the verbatim report: — Mr. Dowie said: *' At one of our meetings when the call was made for sinners to seek salvation, this young woman (who then came forward) rose up on her crutches and came right up here to the platform. She sought salvation. There are many persons who saw her that afternoon — all who saw this girl sit here seek- ing salvation (for she could not kneel) and who saw her afterwards rise and walk without her crutches, will you please stand up ? " (A number of persons stood up.) Mr. Dowie continued: ** I see about twenty witnesses. She came up and she sought salvation; she found it. She sought healing; she found it through faith in Jesus. I never touched her; she laid down her crutches and she walked back to her seat without them, and she has been walking ever since. For twenty- eight years her limbs were diseased; for three years she had not been oflF her crutches once to go on the street, and but a little time in the house, but she could not walk for ten months past. This is in many respects a most peculiar case, and there are many things concerning it of which we cannot speak publicly." Miss Wilcox then came forward and corroborated Mr. Dowie's testimony, and said, •* I have never been on crutches since I laid them down here; I carried them home in my hand and left them standing behind the door, and I will give them to anyone who has not found faith in Jesus, that sweet faith in Jesus which enabled me to rest in him as my healer. Thank God, I have found him. I have suflfered much; he has delivered me from great perils; it was a terrible battle, but God has won it for me and the victory is glorious." (**Amen" from all parts of the audience. ) "How long have you been walking," asked Mr. Dowie. "Eight days, and I feel perfectly well; healed of all my diseases." Instantaneous Healing without Human Touch. The fifth case was that of Mrs. E. Barnes, of 303 Octavia St., S. F. It was a case of healing without human touch, instantaneous, perfect, and, so far as man can see, permanent. Mrs. Barnes said: — "I would like to say to the people that I came in here simply out of curiosity. I was deeply interested in this little once-blind boy, and although I had never seen him, I heard of him, and I being a mother, and when young was blind myself for many months, I always feel interested in anyone who is blind. I had heard of this child's faith in Jesus, and felt sure he was going to get his sight when he came here. He was the burden of my prayer as I bowed down here in the meeting. I did not think of myself, but I was praying to Jesus, believing that 14 he was the healer. After the meeting was over (it was very late) I had to go from here to Market St. to catch a car, and I found myself running; I stopped with surprise and found that I had been healed. I had an ulcerated leg for six months and had not been able to walk three blocks. 1 did not know where to put my foot for pain, and when I found myself running to catch that car I was astonished and said, * Where is the pain ? ' I put my foot down again and I found no pain whatever. The next day I walked about all day long and felt no difficulty. " I felt it was my duty to return thanks to God, and to encourage this gentleman in his work, and also that others may have faith in Christ. I claim that Christ healed me, and he has healed me perfectly. He will heal anybody else who put their trust in him. I feel that I am a new woman, for I am healed all through." Mr. Dowie said: ** This is a case of healing without human touch; I did not know she was healed, and you cannot attribute that to Magnetism, Mind Heal- ing, Christian Science or Mesmerism. Is her husband here ? " "Yes," replied a voice from the gallery. Mr. Dowie: "Is that all right? What have you got to say about your wife's healing? " " Only that she is quite cured, sir. And I would like also to state that while in East Boston we employed four of the best doctors and they attended my wife for six months, and were perfectly useless. We had the homeopathists, the allo- pathists and all the pathists, but your doctoring has done the business." Mr. Dowie: "Hallelujah! I believe in my Doctor. He is your Doctor; he is my Doctor; he is the Doctor of all his people." " Now at this point," said Mr. Dowie, "I will ask a question. How many here believe that Jesus Christ is the healer ? How many have received the doctrine which we have been teaching, and believe it to-night? Stand up. " Nearly the whole audience seemed to stand to their feet, and they sang the Doxology, ** Praise God from whom all blessings flow," with great earnestness. Mr. Dowie said, "Thank God for that. Now there is another question: How^ many of you who have been through this mission are not yet convinced? Please hold up your hands." After looking all around the audience Mr. Dowie said: "I reckon I will have to get a magnifying glass to see you." Some person cried out, ** One." " Well, the Lord bless him," responded Mr. Dowie, "it takes a good deal to convince that brother; he has the courage, though, of his opinion." Healing of Mental Derangement. The sixth case was that of Mrs. Laura M. Foster, of 1331 Union Street, San Prancisco. Her name was at first withheld, but since then she has agreed it should be given; she rose up and confirmed the written testimony which she placed in our hands. It is in its details a very interesting case of healing, because it is the cure of a mental derangement. In her letter she says : — "I write to tell you that through your instrumentality in these beautiful mission meetings I have received Christ; that he dwells in my heart by faith; I am saved. I have also to thank the Lord for the healing of a mental ailment. An eminent physician of this city, Dr. De Vecchi, said it was due to purely me- chanical action: that which should have been thrown off from the system by natural channels was suppressed, which overcharged the blood-vessels of the brain, and caused irritation; my nature seemed to be changed; I doubted my friends and thought they were persecuting me, especially my nearest and dearest one, a most devoted and self-sacrificing sister. Life became a burden to her. My health was broken down, and I think she could not have endured much longer. A kind friend called our attention to these meetings, and after the very first my sister said she noticed in me signs of mental healing; the second day she tells me it was placed beyond a doubt. Our home from being a most unhappy one became the abode of joy and peace. My heart is unutterably full of thanks- giving, and my love and gratitude to God and to you cannot be expressed in words." Mr. Dowie said : "Will the sister just rise for a moment wherever she is and oonfirm her letter ? " 15 A very sweet-faced lady of about 40 years of age rose up and added a few words in a gentle tone of voice, saying, "That is all true, and I thank God for hia great goodness. " Healing of Rupture without Human Touch. The next case was that of a young man by the name of Mr. Jackson, who was healed of a serious rupture without human touch. He said: '* I am very glad to testify on this occasion that I received healing through Mr. Dowie's min- istry. I met him down at Monterey and told him of my case; he invited me to go to the meetings. I came two weeks ago and listened to him. I immediately believed the Doctor's teaching, and went to my room in prayer, and pretty soon I had so much confidence that I threw off my truss. I went along until the next Monday, when I had great pain for a short time; but I left it with the Great Physician; I had full confidence in his power, and willingness, and since that time I have felt no trouble at all, and I have not had on my truss for two weeks. " I wish to return my thanks to l)r. Dowie and his lovely wife [Mr. Dowie exclaimed, "That is true'."], that 1 have found in Jesus Christ not only my Saviour, but my Physician and Healer, and to him I shall give all the glory. In the future it will be my highest endeavor to serve him faithfully, and to fulfill his will." Salvation and Healing of a Well-Known Notary. The next case was that of a very interesting one of a gentleman who pro- fessed to be healed only that afternoon. Quoting once more from the verbatim report, we find these words : — Mr. Dowie said : " Now, friends, there is a case here to-night which I would not have asked to testify, but the gentleman came up himself to the pri- vate room where we were holding a little meeting before this, and wished to do so. The case is not as perfect as some of the others, but is deeply interesting. Mr. J. E. Brown is a Notary Public in this city, and he has been attending the mission continuously, walking in and out of this hall upon hia crutches, which he had used for six years. He was not saved; he listened earnestly, and not a meeting has passed but what we have seen him in that corner listening eagerly to the word of the living God. I did not lay hands upon him until to-day, and now you will all see he is walking about without his crutches, although very feeble in his legs. I do not say he is altogether just as perfect as I should like to see him, but I rejoice greatly for many reasons in his blessing." Mr. Brown then came forward, walking, and in answer to a call from some of his friends walked to and fro on the platform. The audience was much ex- cited, and applauded earnestly, for Mr. Brown is well known in San Francisco. He said: "Well, dear friends, Christian ladies and gentlemen, through the inter- position of a warm and dear friend of mine I was induced just a fortnight ago to enter the portals of this hall . Shame upon me, I have to confess that I have grown up from childhood in this State and have not attended a meeting of the Young Men's Christian Association. I had not been a stranger to the divine teaching, for my father and mother (now in Heaven) and all the rest of my family, axe of the household of faith. But thank God my mother's prayers are answered. I was the wayward one ; in fact, my father's fortune was my misfortune, and there are numbers within the sound of my voice who know I was a pretty hard case. There was a general invitation extended here for persons to come up and be saved and seek the salvation of their souls. I ventured up here ["Thank God," from the audience], and I went down there and prayed earnestly to God for salva- tion and to escape from the thraldom of sin, and I arose convinced that I had been forgiven. ["Hallelujah! " from Mr. Dowie.] I consecrated myself to God, and I pledged myself on my knees that my subsequent life should be devoted to him and to doing good. I had said nothing about healing; I was following the pro- gram of the reverend gentleman's teaching. I think it is teaching, preaching and then healing. ["That is it," from Mr. Dowie.] I kept still; I asked God to give me strength, strength in my limbs, strength in my knees, and when I felt myself prepared for it I asked the Doctor — excuse me, sir, for calling you Doctor. {Mr. Dowie replied, " Never mind ! they all do it."] I asked him if he would lay hands on me and bless me. w "Now a few words in reference to my affliction. I was attacked with paralysis in 1882. Within the last three years I have been unable to walk without the aid of crutches, and consequently was totally unfit for the active duties of life. I gathered strength here with the spiritual comfort and conso- lation. A leading physician of this city long since pronounced my case hopeless. One very eminent physician told me, after making a diagnosis, that to take off the left leg would save the right; that was the only hope I had. It did finally affect the right leg. Since that time I have consulted physicians without help. Then I investigated Christian science, and went through that. I got the whole twelve lectures for $20, but I did not get cured. You get the whole business in twelve lectures, and you look wise and say nothing; that is about the program. That is a little digression, however. I asked the Doctor, I mean the Rev, Mr. Dowie, to lay hands upon me and bless me. I first waited upon God to ask him to prepare me for so great a favor. I made an effort to-day, and I went into his little room; he laid hands upon me after prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus, and I immediately walked about without the aid of my crutches. I have walked up here to this platform and about this building without them, and not only have I more strength in my limba, but I have received in all my body and in all my spirit great comfort. May God bless the reverend gentleman and his dear wife. ["Amen," from the audience.] May God crown their efforts with fullness and success. " Healing of Spinal Complaint of Ten Years. We again quote from the verbatim report: Mr. Dowie said: "I have one little case here, a very sweet case, a dear young lassie named May Jackson, from Sausalito. She had a spinal complaint for ten years. She had been treated by the doctors in a first-class surgical institute in San Francisco. She writes: — " * For ten years I have suffered from curvature of the spine, caused by lifting. On Lord's day, June 26, I heard Mr. Dowie for the first time. I had never thought before of Jesus as my healer. The first time I heard him I felt sure that Jesus was the healer, and that he would strengthen my spine. I am con- vinced that if I had perfect faith I would have been perfectly healed, but now as it is I feel constrained to say that I am almost so, and that my spine is very strong, and that there is very little of the deformity left, and each day that little is passing away. I thank God with all my heart for his wonderful healing through Mr. Dowie. I shall go forth on my mission to China, not only with the blessed gospel that Jesus is the Saviour, but that he is also the Healer of China's millions. Thank you, dear Mr. Dowie, for your great help to me.'" This young lady stood up and confirmed her written testimony, saying: **I thank God with all my heart for his great goodness, and Mr. Dowie for helping me to believe in him as my healer." Mr. Dowie said: ** If you would just study that sweet brevity, you would be a better preacher than I am. " Many Healings of Diseases of Women. A number of ladies who had been healed of internal troubles which could not be detailed, then rose upon the platform, and in various parts of the building, who testified to their healing. One lady came forward and said: " I would like to say a word or two." Healed of Hemorrhage of the Stomach. " I came here from Michigan, a year ago to seek my health in California; I was in very poor health. I saw in one of the San Francisco papers a notice of this meeting here, and I cut it out, and although it was my intention to come to this city during the summer, I hastened my visit so as to get here to these meetings; I came from the mountains a week sooner than I expected to come; I did not get here until three days after it commenced. I thank God I heard the Doctor, I had suffered fourteen years off and on, and I thought it was God's hand afflicting me to draw me nearer to Christ, but I have given that up in these meetings, and con- 17 sedrated my body entirely to him. I think I shall never take medicine again. I thank God for it; that he brought me from Michigan to this State. Last Friday I entered the healing room. I got the evidence before that, that I would be healed. I said I did not want more than seven minutes. Dr. Dowie laid his hands on my head and the glory came, not only to my body, but to my soul and spirit. I feel to rejoice and I give God all the glory. The hemorrhage has en- tirely ceased. " A Mind-Healer Restored to God. We then read a letter from a lady who had been led astray through investi- gating metaphysical science. She had left her church and Sabbath-school, and all the rest, seeking that as a better way. She sent in a petition early in the meeting, and she found restoration to God, spirit, soul, and body, and wants to warn others of the misery of going into this ridiculous, stupid Christian science, falsely so called. We then asked her if this was so, and Mrs. Willett, of J 521 Pine Street, San Francisco, rose up and confirmed what we had stated, adding earnest words concerning it, thanking God for her restoration from her back- slidden condition. Fifty Witnesses to Divine Healing- Before calling upon the last brother to testify, we rapidly glanced through a number of written testimonials to healing which had reached us that day, more than thirty in number, but said as the hour was very late we would read no more, and we would only ask all present who had been healed through faith in Jesus during this mission to rise. In response over fifty persons rose. In answer to another request many more rose who had been healed through faith at other times. Many "Witnesses to Salvation and Blessing. A large number of those who had been saved during the mission, then stood up, in response to our invitation. Many of them were very interesting and striking cases. In answer to another invitation to all Christians who had received spirit- ual blessing and help in the mission, more than six hundred persons stood to their feet. We read a letter from Rev. Dr. Lane, which we have referred to, and thanked a number of the ministerial brethren present, especially the Rev. Mr. Arnold, for their help in connection with the after meetings. A brother minister then rose and testified to his healing, and after this Mrs. Dowie delivered the closing address. Again we quote from the verbatim report. Mrs. Dowie' s Closing Remarks. ** Mrs. Dowie said: 'lam sure we are all very much gratified to hear the testimonies. The Lord always sends somebody to testify of His healing power at the close of a mission. We have never seen a mission yet, even though that mission had been held only for a few da3'^s, but we have seen the healing. We always see the Lord's work as healer everywhere and at all times. '* I remember when we began this mission and we told you about these wonderful things, such as those about people rising up in the meetings and telling us they were healed while they were sitting there, that some of you looked in- credulous, some of you almost doubted what we were saying. But you have come here night after night, and you have seen the things we talked about; you have seen the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, and the deaf hear, and those who have been healed of dreadful diseases of every description. "We might have seen more blessing than we have seen if the people had been more faithful; but it has been a new teaching to many of you. Still I think as far as we can see, the results have been very gratifying. I am very thankful to God indeed for what he has done. We look upon this as just the beginning, and not as the end; that this teaching will go throughout these wide lands upon this great continent. Wherever we go we will carry it with us; we will teach the Lord Jesus is the same yesterday, to-day and forever; that He is with us at the present time, and that He heals all those who come to liim in simple faith and love. Oh! it is 2 18 a beautiful thought to see how Jesus teaches us, that as a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his care, we know that our bodies are cared for by him, and that by his Holy Spirit he will heal and keep us and fill us with his power, I do long for the time when his people will teach it in all the lands; when little children will nos be taken to the doctors and given drugs; and when they will be brought to the great Healer for all their sicknesses and diseases. Our Lord Jesus when in the flesh went about healing the sick and casting out devils, and all who believe in him received healing from him. As that dear brother said this evening, it is the teaching that is wanted; Mr. Bowie lays great stress upon this; we spend the greater portion of our time in all these missions in teaching. Jesus went about teaching and preaching, and tlien came the healing to those who be- lieved in him. In this mission the people have listened to the teaching and have received it. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," and then they have been healed and blessed. We have not heard of all the blessing that has been received here; many who were healed have returned to their homes ia various parts of this State. We could not expect to hear all in one night. Mr. Dowie has been unable to read one-half of the testimonies. But God has greatly blessed his people, and he will carry the glorious tidings forward that Jesus is our Saviour from diseases as well as from sin. Oh, rejoice in his goodness and power! We do not lake any credit or glory to ourselves; if we did that we would not have received the bless- ing; of ourselves we feel empty and powerless, but when we consecrate ourselves to him the power comes, and his Holy Spirit manifests itself upon the hearts of the people, and wherever this teaching goes his Spirit instructs the people, and he answers confirming our words by signs and wonders and mighty works. We then rose and said, "Now do not go away without giving God the glory in the beautiful Doxology. It is not * Praise God from whom all sickness flows,' but let us stand and sing 'Praise God from whom all blessings flow.'" The benediction was then pronounced, and the mission closed. [Extract from " Leaves of Healing " for October, 1888, pp. 105-118.] Record of the Mission in Oakland. On the evening of Friday, 13th July, we met in the parlors of the Young Men's Christian Association on Broadway nearly two hundred and fifty repre- sentatives of evangelical churches in and around Oakland. The meeting over- flowed the parlors of the Association into the larger hall, and there we spent a very enjoyable evening. Twenty thousand programs and tracts announcing the mission were placed in the hands of friends for distribution, and there was a very general expression of confidence that, notwithstanding many difficulties in our way, the mission would be abundantly successful; and it was. It was also proved that the difficulties had been by no means exaggerated, for in no place and at no time have we ever been assailed with more desperate falsehoods, misrep- resentations and pure (or rather, impure) inventions of the press. There was also very considerable opposition on the part of the pulpit, and many sermons were preached at us by brethren who, it is very generally believed, now regret their utterances, for the most part. Still the opposition was steadily beaten down and the mission grew daily in power, until when it closed there was but on a opinion even upon the part of our fiercest opponents, namely, that we had con- quered. But we know well who conquered; it was Him to whom we have ever given the glory, and who has promised us the victory. To Him be all the praise, from whom is all power. We are more determined than ever to press forward wherever He directs us. " Where my Captain bids me go, ' Tis not mine to murmur * No;' He that gives the sword and shield Chooseth too the battle-field. "Every battle I shall win, Triumph over every sin. ' What,' you say, 'a victor be?' Nay! not 1, but Christ in me." 19 On the afternoon and evening of Monday, July 16, we Opened the Mission in the First Presbyterian Church, AVhere we continued it until Monday, July 30. The church is one of the largest and handsomest in the city, and with its spacious galleries and broad ground floor, it seats comfortably one thousand three hundred persons. The afternoon audiences grew steadily until the ground floor was fairly filled, and on the evening of our closing meeting every part of the building was seated. It would be impossible to give in detail the many incidents which render this mission memorable. From the very first it was apparent that one portion of the Oakland press was determined to pervert our words and bring us into contempt with its readers. Tne Oakland Evening Tribune smuggled one of its representatives without invitation into our private preliminary gathering of friends on the Fri- day evening previous to the beginning of the mission. On the following evening, we were astonished to see what purported to be a report of the proceedings- which we had especially asked of all present should be considered as purely 'pri- vate^ thft meeting having been convened by private circulars only. In the re- Ziovi ot my speech I was made to say numbers of most absurd statements concern, »ng my private life, and amongst other things I was said to have made an open confesion that for "twenty-six years I had been a victim to the filthy vice of to- bacco smoking;" and also that I had once opposed Roman Catholicism, but I had learned better and didn't do it now. I complained of these misrepresentations to the reporter representing that journal, and he assured me then and on two subsequent occasions, that his report had been garbled and altered in the office. At last I saw that this paper was making no mistakes concerning me, but that it was deliberately lying on purpose, and I said so publicly, at the same time declaring my intention of taking no further notice either of it or of any other newspaper attacks upon me, from whatever source proceeding. This policy we have pursued undeviatingly nntil this present moment so far as our public writing is concerned, and so far as my public speaking, also. As in all our Missions, we first of all presented Christ as Saviour, and we had the joy of seeing numbers saved almost daily, and on one occasion no less than seventy persons under deep conviction rose from their seats, and came up to the platform at the after meeting seeking for blessing. There are many touching stories con- nected with these saved and restored ones in our missions already, which if told would fill a fair sized volume, but we cannot enter into details, for which neither our time nor these pages are sufficient; and, therefore, we shall hasten now, as in our previous letter, to The Closing Praise and Testimony Meeting, Which, as will be remembered, was held on the evening of Monday, July 30, when the spacious church was filled with an eager, earnest throng, who listened with intense feeling and deepening earnestness to the testimonies which came from the loving hearts of those who had "touched the hem of Christ's garment" and been healed. The same gentleman who reported verbatim the San Franciscan closing meeting, Mr. G. H. Hawes, again reported this meeting. Before the public testimonies were given we had a most interesting meeting with those who were about to witness to Christ's power to heal, and when they •entered the building with us we met a sea of upturned faces, and we felt indeed that grace was needed to those who were about to speak for the first time before such an audience. After the preliminaries and an address from our- selves, we first of all read a number of testimonies from those who had been liealed without human touch. Thirty Years' Infirmity Healed without Human Touch. Mrs. Parthena Balkam, of West Berkeley, wrote, saying, "I was blessed on last Thursday; my hip is altogether healed. Please pray for me that I be kept. The swelling of my limbs and ankles has almost gone; my hip is altogether healed. My troubles have lasted for many years* my feet and ankles for thirty years have pained me all the time, and my hip trouble is of many years' standing. My 20 husband, whom you prayed for, is better, and is holding on by faith alone for hia restoration. I am seventy-five, and my husband is about the same age. I vraa made well without any human touch." Mrs. Heath rose and said that she knew this lady, and knew her condition, and was able to testify that she had been most miraculously healed. She was also able to testify that she was in the meeting with her when she received the healing. Instantaneous Healing of Long-Standing Lameness without Human Touch. "We then read a letter from Mrs. J. J. Cook, wife of the proprietor of the Stoneman House, in the world-famous Yo Semite Valley, in which she thanked God for the blessings which she had received through our teachings in San Fran- cisco, and wanted also to thank God on behalf of her sister. She said: " I went into my room and in earnest prayer to God I asked him to take the trouble from her. She had been a long time lame and in much pain. Befpre I could go down- stairs word came for me to go to her, telling me that suddenly she had been enabled to walk without lameness, and could stand erect. She had been bowed down from suffering for a long time. I went with joy and told her to give the glory to God. She wept for joy; the now continues walking with no lameness. I hear from her often, and she is as well as when she left me. " We then pointed out in this case that the healing had been given without any intervention on our part, and we had never seen nor known this lady's sister, who had thus been so miraculously healed. Healing of Many Years' Affliction without Human Touch. Mr. A. T. Farish, 1380 Ninth Ave., E. Oakland, writes :— *' I want to thank you. When holding your meetings in San Francisco I was not able to attend, as I am now seventy-eight years of age. I have been a member of the Presbyterian Church for forty years. I attended your meeting in Oakland for teaching, and I praise the Lord, and I want now to give him all the glory that the prayers that were offered have been answered, and that now I am healed of all my diseases; and I now ask your prayers and those of other Chris- tians that my healing may be kept perfect." This dear old Christian gentleman then continued to tell us of his eight chil- dren, twenty-five grandchildren and two great grandchildren; all of whom he asked us to pray for. He mourns that one of his grandchildren smokes, and asks us to especially beseech the Lord that he may have power to give it up. After these cases, we read the written testimonies of persons then present who were desirous of publicly witnessing for Christ, and, after such readings, they stood up and added certain words of confirmation. The first of these was that of one who had been Instantaneously Healed of Severe Sprains of Both Ankles and of a Severely Injured Arm. Mrs. H. P. Penniman, of Piedmont Ave., Oakland, wrote: "Nine months ago I fell and badly hurt my arm, making me nearly helpless. Five weeks ago 1 fell again and sprained both my ankles. I suffered the pain and inconvenience, known to those who have suffered likewise. Dr. Dowie prayed with me last Thursday morning. Having long been a believer in divine healing and a student of its principles as revealed in God's word, I only needed my faith, not my knowl- edge, to be increased. God gave me that, upon expression of which, after prayer. Dr. Dowie bade me in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the power of the Spirit, to walk, which I did naturally and at once. It was in a moment, I may say. In a few minutes I put on my boots, and within one hour was on my way to this church. At the same moment my left arm was also healed. I give this testimony in obedience to the command, "Go and tell what great things the Lord has done for thee." ("Glory to God ! " from the audience. ) We explained a little more fully the case of this sister, who is a highly culti- 21 vated and widely known Christian lady, and sister of Mrs. Capt. Gove, to whom reference has been already made. We had accepted ai invitation to breakfast ■with Capt. Gove and his family on the previous Thursday morning, and found tJiat Mrs. Penniman was in a very helpless aid painful condition. She had been compelled for some time to creep about her room on her hands and knees, and was unable even to use crutches, as she could not bear to have her feet touch the ground, from the extreme pain. We said to her, " Jesus is speaking to you now, speaking through my lips as his servant, and he is asking you a question, * Wilt thou be made vhole i ' " She said afterwards in this building, on the same after- noon as that on which she was htaled, that when we put that question to her she lost sight of us, and took it as a direct question from the L^rd himself. We noticed her lips move; her eyes were shut, and at last we heard her say, "Yes, Lord," as if slie was speaking to the Lord himself. We said to her, "Give me your feet." She said, "Take them, Lord, take them ! " We immediately took her feet in our hands, in Jesus' name. They were much swollen, and we laid hands upon them, beseeching the Lord that she might at once be healed. In less time than it takes us to tell you she was able to walk; she walked upstairs in a few minutes, dressed lierself, put on her boots, presided at the lunch table, walked upstairs, came down again, dressed for the meeting, walked out with us to the carriage, i'lto which she stepped without any assistance, and drove with us to the church, where she testified to her healing before several hundreds of per- sons at the afternoon meeting. As it had been well known by large numbers of persons that this lady had expressed a deep interest in our mission, and was quite unable to attend the meetings on account of her serious injuries, it created a vety widespread interest, and even a sensation, and was an instantaneous and per- fect healing of a very marked character. Almost Instantaneous Healing of a Little G-irl's Injured Eye. Julia Mills, a sweet little child about ten years old, placed her written testi- mony in our hands as follows: — "I was hit in the eye by a rock which a boy threw with a sling-shot. I had been totally blind, but the Lord made them some better, although I was not at all well, for I could not bear my glasses off in the light, and my sight was very bad. But last Saturday I came into the Children's Meeting and you invited me with other children that were seeking healing into the parlor, and laid hands upon me, and God has healed my eyes. " • Some of her friends who were present testified that the eyes were very much injured and are perfectly restored. We have seen this little girl as late as Octo- ber 20, and her eyes were perfectly well and her sight quite clear. Restoration of One Who Suffered with Imperfect Eyesight for Many Years. John Ashworth, 160 Broadway, Oakland, wrote: "Through your teaching I have found my Saviour for all eternity, and I have found my Saviour is also my Healer. For fourteen years I wore glasses; have had very weak eyes, and in fact so weak that I was almost blind; nobody was able to do anything, and my eye- sight these last few years gradually grew worse. I came to the meeting and on the afternoon of July 18 I asked you to pray for me; I received a blessing that afterjoon, for I rested in Jesus that very day for salvation, and day by day my ey 3S have been getting stronger. I can read my Testament without any glasses; I feel stronger and happier in my mind, and new life, in fact, has come to me. I give all the praise to God. In conclusion, 1 pray God that I may have more faith in Jesus. This is the only letter in my life that I have written with my natural eyes. The Lord increase my faith, and he "shall have all the parise." The letter referred to is an exceedingly good, well-M'^ritten letter; every word in it is well formed and apparently easily written. Since then we received, at San Jose, another letter from this young man, telling us that his healing had re- mained, and that he was doing everything without glasses. The young man him- self stood up in the meeting and added to his written testimony these words: " It is the first time in my life that I have stood up in a church to speak, bat what I have to say is that I glorify God." 22 Instantaneous Healing of Heart Disease without Human Touch. Mrs. S. Ransome, No. 9 Fourteenth St., Oakland, wrote:" I desire to tes- tify to you, and to the Lord, tTiat without a touch from your hand I am healed of palpitation and of heart disease, which I have had a long time. On Tuesday after your prayers for the many petitions, I thought I must cry out for I had such a strange sensation at my heart, as if my heart "v^s turning over in me, and all at once it seemed as if it had stopped. Then I knew that Jesus had healed me, for I came home better than I have done for a long time. I now give thanks to my blessed Jesus for his loving-kindness to me. I am willing to testify for him." We said with reference to this case, " We did not know of this healing until she brought us this letter. We will ask the lady if she is present to rise and con- firm her testimony." She at once rose and did so, saying : "I am the lady, and can truly say that I have been a long time suffering from heart disease ; it was very troublesome; in walking up a flight of stairs or a block I was so fatigued 1 wouldn't know what to do. I got worse. I came in last week and sat in a seat over there. While the gentleman was praying I prayed to God that if my heart was not right, it might be put right, for I knew there was something wrong about it ; it troubled me a great deal at times, and I could not sleep. All at once I felt a sensation as if my heart was moved and turned into its place, and I thought I must cry out for help, but all at once it stopped. I gave God the glory, for Mr. Bowie never put his hands on me. I walked home at 11 o'clock and never slept better. I praise the Lord for his goodness towards me. I hav^e been healed ever since." Restoration of Healing of One Who Had Been Totally Deaf in Right Ear for Eight Years. Mr. A. F. Rudens, 11 Telegraph Place, San Francisco, said: "Christian friends, I desire to be a witness for Christ; I feel to glorify him; he has been my Saviour for three years. I have also known him to be my Healer for one year. But I have been deaf in my right ear for a little over eight years. I have tried doctors, different kinds of doctors ; I tried four doctors to open my ear, but all in vain. On the 10th of July, by the mercy of God, I was led to Brother Dowie's rooms at the Palace Hotel, and there he prayed for me and laid his hands on me, and there I got hearing in the right ear for the first time that I can remember for eight years; I could close my left ear and hear quite good, and I can do so now. ("Thank God! "from many in the audience.) Healing of Hip Disease of Ten Years' Standing. Miss Josie Colienour, 1663 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, v/rote : "I want to testify to the praise of our Lord Jesus for my healing. I have had hip disease ever since I was seven years old; at times the suffering was very great. On July 19 I went to Mr. i)owie ; he laid hands upon me, and since then I have had no pain, and I can use my limb." This young lady, who is seventeen years of age, rose and said : "I wish to say that every word of that is true, and I do realize that I am perfectly healed. I give God all the glory. " Confirmation of Previous Testimony. Miss Wilcox, who testified in the San Francisco Mission, desired to witness for Christ again in this mission. She said: " I suffered for twenty-eight years with my ankle, and thirteen years with internal trouble ; I am testifying for Christ that he is not only my healer, but my Saviour also. I have been four years disabled, for one year most of the time in bed, three years the 30th of this month on crutches. On the 2d of July I received healing. I have been for tliir- teen years afflicted with internal diseases which were very painful, very great, dis- abling me for work or household duties of any kind. I give God all the glory, I am healed, and I feel better to-day than ever I felt in my life ; I can't remember when I ever felt as I do to-day.'' 23 We remarked that this girl had been seen by many in San Francisco at the moment of her healing. She came right up to the platform on her two crutches, and in pain and grief she sought mercy from God. She could not kneel; she put down her crutches on the platform and wept and cried before God. But presently the power of God came upon her; she not only found salvation, but to her astonishment she was put on her feet, and walked back to her seat, leaving her crutches upon the platform. She says she has been well ever since. Hea 1 ing of Epilepsy of Many Ye ars ' Standing. We said : *' We feel it unwise for certain reasons to give the name and ad- dress of the lady a portion of whose testimony we shall now read. It is wrtten in an exceedingly beautiful hand, but, for sufficient reasons, we cannot read it in detail. Many here will remember that this lady one day went into an epileptic fit at one or our afternoon meetings ; how many of you saw that ? " (Many hands were raised.) " It was the case of the lady to whom we now refer. The Lord used us on that occasion, and the next moment, as you know, she was able to walk about; the Lord delivered her ; her mind was failing, but is now per- fectly restored ; there is every evidence that she is fully healed, and she has re- turned to her home in the country. She says : "I pray continually for wisdom to conduct myself rightly and to have only a pure heart and influence. Last night I was specially blessed in prayer ; the Holy Spirit was poured in fullness into my soul ; I communed with God ; God is very near ; I feel his presence ever with me. I was moved to pray that all who were praying for me may be blessed in their own soul by seeing the answers to their prayers for me, and my heart thrills as I remember the promise spoken in Prov. 10 : 22. ' The blessing of the Lord it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it.' If there is no sorrow, of course there is no sickness. This morning my pastor asked me if I was healed, and I replied in confidencs inspired of God, *Yes, I am healed.' Praise the Lord for his mighty work. " The mother of this young lady also wrote a beautiful letter thanking us for our part in her daughter's healing. Confirmation of Previous Healing. Mr. Jackson, of San Francisco, who was healed of rupture in that Mission, again witnessed to his continued healing, and a great impression was produced upon the audience by its thrilling recital, and many exclamations of "Glory to God I " and " Amen !" were heard on every side. The young man spoke with eloquence and force, and is likely to become a Christian minister. Another Confirmation of Previous Healing. Miss Laura M. Foster, who was healed of mental ailment in the San Fran- cisco Mission, again confirmed her testimony, adding many touching details. Her friends who were present also confirmed her statements. She spoke with much beauty of expression, and is perfectly restored after long mental darkness. Healing of a Minister from Dyspepsia of Eight Years', and of His Wife after Seven Years' Sickness- The Rev. Mr. Green, a pastor in Oakland, spoke as follows : " I want to say to the glory of God that I have been healed through Jesus a week ago last Tuesday afternoon. I came here into the meeting and I heard Brother Dowie say that Christ was not only able but willing to heal. I always knew he was able, but it always seemed as if he was not willing to heal me. I had been a sufferer from dijspepsia for about eight years, and I grew worse and worse. The last three years I could hardly fill my appointments. Five weeks ago I got very bad, so I could hardly preach. Three weeks ago I called to see a doctor in San Francisco, and after he examined me he said it was not so much dyspepsia as consumption, and my case was a very severe one. He prescribed some medicine; I used that for a week and grew worse ; I went to see the doctor again and he thought I was very bad, and that I had better give up preacliing. After I attended the meeting here 24 T went home, entered my room, and kneeled down before God, and said: "O Lord, I know that thou art able to heal me, thou art willing to heal me now. " I put my whole trust at that moment in Jesus, and there and then I was healed and I stand here in perfect health to night. I give all the glory to Jesus. ("Amen ! " and " Thank God ! " from the audience.) Let me say also that Mrs. Green, my wife, has been sickly for seven years. We have been having a good many doctors, and it seemed as if they could not do very much good ; the last physician we had told her she had not better take much more medicine. She attended the meeting here and last Saturday afternoon when she came home she exclaimed to me, 'Praise God, I am healed ; Jesus has healed me.' She is in the meeting to-night and she wanted me to testify for her and to give all the glory to Jesus." ("Amen ! " and " Thank God ! " from many.) Interruption by an Epileptic, "Who "Was Instantly Delivered. At this point the meeting was suddenly interrupted by an epileptic who screamed out. We gave out the hymn, " Wonderful Words of Life, " and hurried from the platform to the possessed one, who was struggling in a fearful fit, and was instantly delivered. In a letter which we received at San Jose from Rev. Mr. Coplin, we find that after her deliverance, and on that same evening, she tvas converted, and continues healed. At this point the He v. H. L. Harris stepped up with a petition for prayer on his own behalf, which was at once offered. Healing of Internal Maladies of Fifteen Years' Standing. Mrs. R. A. Scott, of Springfield, Massachusetts, rose and testified that she had been healed, through our instrumentality, of troubles of a very serious char- acter which had afflicted her for more than fifteen years. This is a case which we cannot attempt to give in detail. Healing of Eczema from Birth in a Little Boy- Mrs. Stacy, 717 Eighteenth St., Oakland, said: "I give God the glory for what he has done through his Son, Jesus Christ, for our little boy, Charles I). Stacy, who had eczema from infancy. I have tried everything in the way of washes and ointment, but have never been able to remove it from his head. Brother Dowie prayed for him nearly two weeks ago and laid hands on him in the early part of the meeting. He also had a rash on his hands and all over his body, and that went away after laying on of hands. I feel to praise the Lord." Healing of Five Years' Internal Troubles. Mrs. Margarita Johnson, 1038 Twenty-fourth St., Oakland, next testified: "I thank (Jod for having healed me. I have been sick for five years,, and have seen ten doctors. For three months lately my back ached very bad and troubled me very much ; I could hardly sleep ; I grew worse and worse ; the doctor gave me some medicine, I grew worse still and I went to see him again ; he gave me another medicine and I grew worse, I was not able to raise my hand to my head. I came here to listen to the speaking of Divine Healing. Mr. Dowie said the Lord did not want us to be sick, but he would rather have us be well. He laid his hands upon me and I felt a great deal better. But after a few days I got wrong and worse again. So I went to the Lord again and I got right, and I asked Him to heal me, and he has healed me, and I feel better to-night than I ever did. I give God the glory." Healing of Chronic Catarrh of Fifteen Years, and of Inter- nal Disease. Mrs. Smith, of Fruit Yale, near Oakland, rose and said; "I want to give glory to God for what he has done for me. I have had chronic catarrh in my head for over fifteen years. Mr. Dowie laid hands upon me and I felt a clear- ness in my head I had not felt for a long time. I expected the Saviour to heal me 25 and he did so. I had also an internal disease ; the doctor said he could not do anything for me ; medicine would do me no good ; could only give me something to relieve my sutFerings. Now I praise Jesus I feel I am perfectly well. I give the glory to God ; he has wonderfully blessed me ; he is not only the Saviour of the soul, but the Healer of the body. " Instantaneous Healing of Lameness of Many Years' Standing. Mrs. A. Billings, 734 Market St., Oakland, testified : "Glory to God I am healed. I have been sick for many years, and sick in bed lately for three or four months ; then I was walking around a little with a cane. I believed that Jesus was able and williig to heal me, and he has. I was healed this afternoon when Mr. Dowie laid hands upon me among the 122 whom he laid hands upon to-day. I left my cane at home. Glory to God ; I am quite well." This lady testified in a clear, loudi ringing, triumphant voice, and was, as she says, one of a large nuniber upon whom we had laid hands at one time that afternoon. When she had finished an aged gentleman walked up quickly to the front from the audience and said: " I came up here in company with my wife ; i was sick for several years, and I, too, was healed at the same moment as my wife." At This Point There "Was G-reat Excitement Throughout the vast audience. The old gentleman said there was a minister present who knew them, and he openly applied to him to confirm his testimony. The Rev. Mr. Coriander rose and confirmed the facts as they had stated them. These persona are well-known residents of Oakland, and their testi- mony, and appearance in confirmation of it, created most apparent excitement amongst the audience. After a verse of "All hail the power of Jesus' name" the meeting was calmed, and the testimonies proceeded. * Healing of Rheumatic Fever. Mrs. A. J. Leveritz, Chase St., San Francisco, said: **I just want to say to the glory of God that during this mission I have received great blessing from God physically and spiritually. I heard Mr. Dowie one afternoca last week. I was aching from the top of my head to the soles of my feet ; I went into his room ; I had rheumatic fever. He laid his hands on me and immediately the fever left me. Glory to Jesus. I can recommend this blessed Healer; oh ! how precious is his name." Healing of a Little Boy from Eczema- Oscar William Warner, of Mission St., San Francisco, was presented by his guardian, who testified, as the little boy did himself, that he was healed of eczema. We said to him, " But, dear, have you given your heart fully to Jesus ? " "Yes sir," he said. "When?" "The 8th day of July," said the little boy, and the remark was received with hallelujahs from the audience. Healing of a Long-Continued Internal Trouble. Mrs. Bradford, 23d St, Lynn, East Oakland, testified at some length of her healing, but we are unable to find time to report her testimony. Mrs. S. C. Fisher gave similar testimony, but as the hour was late there was not time to read it. Many Witnesses. At this stage of the meeting we asked all who had received healing during the mission to stand to thcjir feet. A large number did so, and thirty-one were counted close to the platform ; but it was impossible to count all correctly. A number who were saved during the mission also stood up afterwards. About seven hundred persons who had received spiritual blessing also stood up and thanked God for it. Then the usual request was made that ^ 'all those who in this meeting have believed the doctrine which we have been teaching" in Oak- land, that "Jesus is a present healer, please stand to your feet !" Almost the whole audience did so, and sang the Doxology with great fervor. The meeting closed at a very late hour with a very eloquent and touching little address from Mrs. Dowie. [Extracts from letter to " Leaves of Healing " for November, 1888.] Record of the Mission in San Jose. On the evening of Friday, the third of August, we met in the parlors of the First Methodist Episcopal Church several hundreds of Christians who had been privately convened by circular. The Kev. F. F. Jewell, D. D., presided and introduced us. The hearty reception we then received, convinced us that the Lord would abundantly bless our labors in that place, and so it proved. On the following Lord's day evening, August 6, the mission was opened. The spacious and convenient church was crowded in every part, large numbers of persons standing throughout the whole service, and many were unable to obtain an entrance into the building. Oar after meeting upon that occasion resulted in the open conversion of a number of persons, and we were delighted to hear the following day that the infidel husband of a lady, who had been instrumental largely in opening the way for us, had been conv^erted in his own house, and that his conversion was followed immediately by that of every unconverted member of his family. The afternoon meetings in the beautiful church parlors, nearly as extensive as the church itself, grew from day to day in power and in numbers until they overflowed the accommodation, and also the extra sittings and contiguous rooms, and the space around our feet on the platform. We never experienced a more blessed sense of the power and presence of the Spirit in any of our Missions than in these afternoon meetings. The evening audiences steadily grew, filling the church from the beginning, and on many occasions crowding it to its utmost capacity, and occasionally beyond. Conversions were of daily occurrence, a number of backsliders were reclaimed, and we have the joy of knowing that many believers were greatly revived. The meetings were attended by many of the pastors and officers of churches in the city, and by quite a number of doctors. A number of the Professors and Students of the University of the Pacific Were almost constant attendants. Rev. J. N. Martin, Ph. D., professor of ancient languages in the University, was a specially earnest seeker, and we found in him a very valued friend, whose approval of our discourses (to nearly all of which he listened) was very precious. The Work of Divine Healing ~ After the first few days proceeded steadily, and some of the cases created wide- spread interest. We laid hands upon more than 250 persons, and believe that a large proportion of these were blessed, a number were healed without any human touch. But beyond all healing, the deep spiritual blessing which the people received was the most marked feature of the mission, our teaching being greatly owned of G-od, and for all the results we do heartily give Him all the glory. It would be quite impossible to attempt to give details of all, but we shall now pre- sent, as in our former letters, an epitome of the verbatim report of the Closing Praise and Testimony Meeting, Held on Monday evening, August 20, when the building was crowded to its utmost capacity. This report was prepared by Mr. G. H. Hawes, as in former missions in California. The opening prayer by the Rev. Br. Jewell was very beautiful and touching, and as it is in type-writing now before us, we feel led to give it a place in this record. This prayer was especially realized by myself, for reasons which will afterwards appear. 21 ''Father in Heaven, accept the gratitude, the thanksgiving of our hearts, of hundreds of hearts, before thee to-night, that in thy gracious providence thou didst direct our brother and sister to this place to conduct this Mission, to in» struct this people, and to lead them gently on in the enjoyment and in the reali- zation of the great privileges that open before thy people in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we ask thee to accept the gratitude of our hearts for the spiritual quickening that has come to so many, for the deep spiritual interest that has pervaded all these services, for the deepening autt quickening of t he kingdom of God within the hearts of thy children. ^ We thankthee, Father, for this dispensation of thy grace, for the visit of the Day-spring from on high; we bless thee that the Sun of Righteousness has arisen with healing in his wings, and we have realized the overshadowing presence of the Holy Ghost through these series of meetings. We bless thee, our heavenly Father, and pray that this spirit may continue, may this anointing abide, and may the spiritual tides grow deeper and stronger and increase in volume and in power until hundreds more shall realize the great salvation and rejoice in the fullness of thy love. "We thank thee, our heavenly Father, that thou hast in answer to prayer and in response to the touch of faith on the part of so many, enabled thy church to realize not only that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sin, but even that the voice divine is heard, 'liise, take up thy bed and walk.' And we bless thee that so many have exercised the faith through the encouraging voice of thy servant and hand-maiden and the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, and have been enabled to know that tliou art the healer of their bodies. O blessed Lord, we thank thee for the pains that have been removed, for the pains that have been rebuked, and for the feeling that has been experienced and real- ized to thy people here. O Lord we thank thee for what has been accomplished; for the great increase of faith in the hearts of thy children ; we bless thee for the skepticism that has been removed; we bless thee for the Spirit that has fallen upon those who were inclined to question and doubt and cavil, and so many that began with questionings, but have been enabled to see the hand of the Lord and- rejoice that thou wast in the midst of thy people. Blessed be thy name. "And now we come to the last night of this mission, the last interview of these gracious services, and we look up to thee and thank thee for thy presence through the days and the weeks of the past, and we realize thy presence now. Blessed be thy name, the Lord is in his holy temple to-night, thy presence does overshadow us. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost we adore and praise thee that thou art here to- night in the plenitude of thy mercy and grace. Oh! to-night in this room gathered here may there be many who shall reach forth and grasp the arm divine, realizing the healing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Now blessed Lord we pray that thou wilt be with our sister and brother as they shall go from us; O Lord direct all their steps, select for them their places of labor, attend them wherever they go, and oh! do thou grant to bring to thy great name glory by continuing to work through them for the release of those who are in bonds, and for the glory and good of the gospel. We ask it in the name of Jesus, our Redeemer. Amen." We then delivered a brief address concerning the blessings which had at- tended the meetings, and the arrangements which were being made to continue the work. We took the opportunity of recording our gratitude to our beloved friend and brother, the Rev. Dr. Jewell, who had aided us throughout the mission in an eminently wise and judicious manner, speaking of us and writing concerning us in the columns of the Christian press kind words, for which we can find no adequate expressions of thankfulness. We also recorded our appreciation of the kindness of many pastors and officers of churches who had sympathized with and helped us, eminent amongst those being the Rev. C. N. Alflerbach, who presides over the German Methodist Episcopal Churches of this State. At this stage we were about to refer to the numerous testimonies in writing which we held in our hands, and had just uttered the words, "Now the first testi- mony that we will take," when the Rev. Dr. Jewell rose before the sentence was finished, and said: — f OP THS X I uNTVTr-RQTTV » 28 ** Beloved friends, I wish to say a word before Dr. Dowie begins to read; I want to observe the order that our brother has heretofore observed, and insisted upon observing, all the way through. I assume that these testimoniss that he holds in his hand refer to cases of bodily healing; I assume that that is true; 1 want to put the spiritual before it, so as to observe the order that_our brother has insisted we should observe. ** I want to bear testimony first of all to the great spiritual good that has come to me and to my people through this mission. I think we are all agreed in saying that the Spiritual Life of the Church has been Quickened, And that the spiritual tides have been deepened and broadened; that we are nearer the Lord, that we know the Lord better, we know him better than we did when our brother came to us. '* I am very grateful that my people have shared this precious privilege, these gracious opportunities; have been identified with this mission; we are one in these things, and we are thankful for these blessings, for it prepares us the better to do the divine will. **I am glad we understand the Bible better than we did when Brother and Sister Dowie came; I am glad we understand the gospel better; I am glad it ministers more to us than it did when they came; I am glad that the great vol- ume of truth has seemed to enlarge and broaden until really there has been Grandeur, Beauty, and G-lory Added to this Blessed Gospel Of our Lord Jesus Christ; new departments of the gospel have opened themselves to us; you have opened new pastures upon which we are enabled to feed; you have introduced new visions of love and mercy that are really so refreshing and sweet to us, that we shall claim the privilege of feeding upon them when you are gone, to the glory of God, in Jesus Christ our Lord. " We are thankful for all of this; for the great spiritual good that has^come to our people. The gospel has been vindicated, and we are enabled to stand here to-day and say that the Bible as it has been expounded by our brother is more than ever, more than ever, the representative of the full-orbed complete gospel, blessed be God, saving spirit, soul and body. *• We are trusting to-night that this good work begun here shall continue. AVe are trusting a little more than this; that God in his gracious providence will direct our brother and sister to our midst again after a little, that they may come back to us and see and realize by contact with us and communion with us, that their labor has not been in vain in the Lord." This eloquent tribute from this eminent minister, who has labored long and well amongst the churches of his denomination in America (numerically the larg- est in this land) very deeply afi"ected us, and made a deep impression upon the people. We then referred to the fact that over eighty persons have professed to find peace in Christ during the mission, and a number of these stood up. We then called for testimonies to healing through faith in Jesus. Instantaneous Healing of Fifteen Years' Rheumatic Gout. Miss Emma Hudson, of Peterboro, Canada, handed us the following written testimony, which we read: — " I rejoice in having the privilege to testify for Jesus this evening; he is my Saviour, my Healer, my Sanctifier; I give him all the glory. Fifteen long, long, weary years, I have sufi'ered with rheumatism; I was treated by the most skill- ful doctors; then going from place to place where we would hear of noted doctors. The same answer from all: *No help — nervous, chronic rheumatism of the worst kind. Also, rheumatic gout; every drop of my blood poisoned; bones turning to chalk; may break at the least move; my joints twisted out one after another." That was my condition. I have been so sore, from head to foot, that it was agony to be touched — sometimes half an hour getting into bed. I dare not let anyone help me; and for several years I was too sore and weak to use crutches, even. 29 I had one eaxthly hope left; change of climate nyght restore me. I had to walb long for strength enough, even, to take the journey to California. My dear brother in Peterboro carried me into the bus, into the cars, tears stealing down his cheek, expecting that I would die on the road from Canada to California. This beautiful climate failed to restore me; my earthly hope was gone. I did not let my loved ones know (my dear brother is now with me) that day after day I was sinking; they had sorrow enough about me. If Jesus would only take me home, it would be better for them not to know of my suflFering. All hope was gone But I was at rest, for I loved my Saviour, and I knew I should go to him. And when I thus got to the end of myself the dear Saviour sent Dr. Dowie and Mrs, Dowie to teach us these beautiful words, these wonderful words of life. I saw they were hiding behind Jesus; I saw they were presenting Jesus; I saw it it was Jesus' words they were speaking. Step by step their teaching led me on until I could say, * I will be made whole.' They prayed for me; God answered that prayer. I felt, when Mr. Dowie laid hands upon me in Jesus' name, that I had touched Jesus; I was every whit made whole that very moment. Glory be to Jesus. (*Amen,' from the audience.) I feel I will want to sing through eternity, 'Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.' I thank God that dear Mr. and Mrs. Dowie ever came to San Jose, and I thank dear Dr. and Mrs. Dowie that they were willing to be used of God for my restoration. My heart is sad at the parting to-night; I look forward to the meeting up yonder. "The Bible to me is a new book; Jesus is more precious to my soul. I long for everyone here to-night who has not touched Jesus as their Saviour and their Healer, to touch him now. He is waiting; he is willing; just trust him now, and he will save you; he will help you; he will cleanse you; he will keep you." After we had read these touching words we asked the sister to stand up and show herself to the people, and add a few words. Holding her crutches in our hands, we said: — "Thtse are your crutches, are they not?" referring to a pair of crutches standing by the pulpit. *• Yes, sir." *• They belong to me, don't they ? " *' I bequeathe them to you gladly." I then asked her to tell the people how she came to the meeting that after- noon, and received the healing. She said: — " I came to the meeting that afternoon feeling very helpless, and I felt there was no hope for me only in Christ; I felt Jesus did want to heal me, and the mo- ment Mr. Dowie laid hands upon me prayer was answered; I was at once set free, and walked away without my crutches, which I have done ever since. That night I could not sleep, I did not care to sleep, I was so full of joy; and for two or three nights I could only praise. I feel the witness within that the Lord has done the work and I have been healed. I have had to commence like a child and learn to walk, but I am walking without any help, and I am going to trust him to the end." The audience immediately upon the close of this testimony broke out singing "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," A Spiritualist Converted and Blessed. Mrs. E. Moran, of San Jose, wrote as follows : " I rejoice, dear sir, to tell you that God has through you removed the empty ark of Spiritualism from my deceived heart and brain. It is of the devil. And now, dear sir, Christ has spoken the word of power to me, and I am his altogether. Healing of a Severe Cough of Twenty-five Years' Standing. Mr. N. K. Potter said, " I wish to testify to the fact that I am through Christ healed of a severe cough of twenty-five years' standing during this mission and through your agency. " Healing of Two Aged Negroes- Mr. Randolph Cooper and his wife, Mrs. Ann Cooper, two happy -looking aged Africans, testified to their healing of many complaints, and added to their written testimony some very touching words. These testimonies created great interest, and the audience at once broke forth with, " All hail the power of Jesus' name," which rang joyously out from every portion of the crowded building. Healing and Blessing to a Family. Mrs. John T. Bell, in a beautiful little written testimony, said: "I wish to testify to bodily healing and spiritual blessing for myself and children. We rest in confidence that the keeping power of Christ will preserve us from sickness from this time on." Mrs. Bell rose and confirmed her written testimony. This was followed by another letter from Mrs. Jennie C. Panton, a lady who had been exceedingly helpful in arranging and carrying out the mission. She testified to the " inspiration and comfort received from the patient, loving teach- ings of the mission. Through them I am now able to say in confidence that I am quietly trusting God to do everything for me. " Mrs. H. V. Stever, sister of the foregoing, also a helper, testified to blessing received. Mrs. M. E. H. Baird, one of the first and most efficient of our helpers, has also sent us a letter .containing most beautiful testimony to the blessing received by herself, her husband, and family. Healing of a Lady of Many Years' Troubles, "Who "Was Sent by Her Doctor from Her Sick-bed to the Mission. Mrs. Mary J. Walker testified in great detail to her healing. She said: " Dr. Hunmer kept telling me about you and your work, and how he believed in Christ's healing. But I was in bed; I did not think of coming to you. Friday morning he came in and said that a neighbor of ours was coming; then after he left an- other neighbor came in and told me about the wonderful healings which were go- ing on in this church. After she left I thought I would like to go, as I was suf- fering very much. I had only sat up a little at times and had not left my sick- room. I arose and came to the church, and that afternoon I was relieved at once, through your instrumentality in prayer by the laying on of hands, through faith in Christ, from all my complaints." I Had Come out of My Bed to G-et This Healing, and "Went Home Well." This lady's troubles were many and serious, but the details cannot be given. Healing of Heart and Spinal Diseases of Thirty Years' Stand- ing, and of a Tumor of Seven or Eight Years in the Stomach, Supposed to Be Cancerous. Great interest attached to this case, for the poor sufierer had been so mar- velously blessed. He was one of two patients concerning the healing of whom Dr. Bishop had already testified in one of our meetings. Mr. C. N. Lathwesen, who was then supposed to be dying, wrote to me under date of July 31 from Pacific Grove, saying, " Dear man of God, I implore your prayers in the name of Jesus for my healing. I have been sick for thirty years. I am now day by day look- ing for the Master to remove me to the mansions above; but if it can be his will I would like to be restored for God's glory, and to testify to his power to save to the uttermost. Nearly everyone in San Jose knows me in my aiflictions." This touching petition was handed to iis at the opening of our mission by the poor sufi^erer's wife, who had come up for this purpose from Pacific Grove, some forty miles distant. She waited day by day upon the Lord with us in prayer, and at last returned to the Grove and told her husband that she did not believe he would be healed unless he came up to attend the meetings and received the teaching. Although he was in a dying condition, and enduring great agony, he was so impressed with his wife's earnestness that he made the effort, was brought up to San Jose and brought into the meeting in a most pitiable condition. Owing to the nature of the spinal disease from which he suffered, he had no 31 control over the movements of his limbs, which jerked out in all directions, and added to the excruciating pain from which he suffered in his stomach and heart. But during the first meeting he attended, the power of the Holy Spirit came upon him. He received the tsaching fully, and that afternoon was instanta- neously and perfectly restored to health, and remains to this moment a healed man. He spoke from the platform, in broken English, the following words: — "Dear friends, I wonder that I am here; but I praise God, the Almighty, that through his power and through faith in Jesus Christ now I am a well man. [•'Bless the Lord," from Dr. Jewell.] I suffered for thirty years — thirty long years; I don't know if Job suffered more. [" Not so long, by any means," said Mr. Dowie.] I have many good physicians; many times I wring my hands in thirty years and say, 'Lord, take me away! oh, take me away!' but he didn't. But if I prayed, 'Lord help me with a little more faith, with a little more pa- tience, with a little more grace and trust,' the Ljrd was so willing to hear. "Last Friday, a week ago, the mercy cam 3 in such healing power, but I forget something 1 was going to say. For seven or eight years I suffered with a hard cancer in the stomach, and a long time, a heart disease trouble, and from the crown of mine head to my feet there was not an inch that did not pain me; not one inch except my poor hands, and I thank God, the almighty One, he left me them poor hands, because I have to make my living with them. [Mr. Lathweson is a ' tailor by trade. ] Now I am a well man. Praise God in the highest! Through faith in our beloved, sweet Jesus, I am a well man. The cancer is dropped, the heart disease is gone, the pain is gone; where it has gone to I don't care; it has gone! it has gone! I lay in the hardest convulsions with the heart disease, and I struggle in every direction, and mine poor family sometimes sheds tears. I love my family from the bottom of my heart; they see me suffer, but I could not help it. "I never see my wife so thankful iti all my life as just this last ten days. I say for my own self, ^Praise God ! ' I thank God in Heaven that he sent this dear brother and sister here, and through their meetings and loving-kindness they lead me. I am healed ! and something more, my dear brother, I am a little more patient since I been well; I reach'out my hand and say, Almighty Father, help me that I live in faith all my life, a:id live a devoted Christian all my life. That is what I ask." ("Bless God," from the audience). We then said, "I think we will have that happy wife talk, for she went down to the borders of the grave and brought him up — was that it ? " She replied, "Pretty near it." She then came upon the stand, and said: "My dear sisters and brethren, we live a long time in this city and you all know lis, and you know my husband; then you know me; 1 was with him. I thought I never could leave him alone on account of his sickness. Thirty-six years ago I married him, in November, and so long as I been married I never saw him well. Before I was converted, I pray sometimes every day and night — and often didn't sleep two hours — and pray God to open a way. And the Lord was gracious and sent this minister. Dr. Jewell, and he talk and preach, and I had a love for the Methodist Church since; and he was converted to the Methodist Church and have an opportunity to testify, go to the church and have the prayer-meeting; what we didn't have in our Lutheran Church. But this last year I see more in the Bible, and the Lord opened another way. I told my husband, 'Could you not take the faith to be healed ? ' 'Well,' he say, 'mother I have to suffer God's will.' And everybody tells me pretty near, that he will have a crown in Heaven if he suffers. I tell you its very easy to say, but anybody got a sick man in their family suffer- ing day and night, its another thing. I know what I suffered with him; could not sleep the whole night, and the next morning sick, and the whole day sick, and he pray God to take him away and give him rest, or to send somebody that he would be healed. But the Lord waited till now — oh! my dear sister and brother, the Lord waited till just now. "Eleven years ago he went East and wanted to die there, and said if he die there then I could come back to California, and if he die there I should fetch his corpse back. And I said, 'Father, I won't do that; if you can die here, you can die in California; I like beter you will die in California. ' And I have to cheer him up all the time the best I know how; 1 believe he would be lying in the grave if I 32 didn't cheer him all the time. I often tell him when we came to Minnesota, now go die, die if you can; but he couldn't do it; he have to wait, he have to come back to California, and he have to testify here that the Lord have power on this earth to heal. [Cries of * Amen. '] lean testify here that he had got the cancer and the heart disease, and that he is healed. Praise the Lord for such a healing power." (This lady was rather a stout woman, with a frank, hopeful, cheerful man- ner, witty in her manner of talking, and carried the feelings of the audience with her all the time of her speaking. All sitting upon the platform rose and shook her hand heartily as she was about to take her seat. ) Instantaneous Healing of Three Years' Rheumatic Gout- Mrs. Vandegrift, of the Willows, near San Jose, desired us to testify on her behalf concerning her healing. She had been brought in by her husband in a carriage, and then he lifted her on to the crutches (which were showed to the audience), and after the address we saw her, laid hands upon her in prayer in Jesus' name, and every bone in her body was instantly set free. She testified publicly on two occasions, and had said to us on the previous Saturday, "lam perfectly free, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, from the rheumatic pain." She stood and talked to Dr. Bishop and others for about twenty minutes after she was healed, and although she did not feel she could face the large audience in the church, she desired that glory to God should be given in her behalf. Pubhc Testimony of a Doctor to the Healing of Two of His Patients. We then asked Dr. A. B. Bishop, who sat near to us, to speak as the Lord might lead him concerning the two previous cases, with both of which he was per- fectly conversant, having been the physician in attendance upon them. We quote the following from the verbatim report: — Dr. Bishop, a tall, intelligent, tine-looking gentleman, with a very benevo- lent countenance, rose in the gallery, and in a very impressive manner said: "Brother Dowie, it will be more to my credit to give testimony about some patients I have cured; but for the credit of the gospel and for the honor of Christ I will say that I knew these two patients, and these two persons have been healed, and they were great sufiFerers. *' I was called to see Sister Vandegrift about two years ago; 1 paid her a few visits, perhaps covering ten days or two weeks, and she improved vinder my treat- ment and went to the mountains; after that I had nothing more to do with her; I think she had no more medical services. She considered her case incurable, and silently suffered on. I have seen her since. I know, before her cure, her joints were swollen; her hands were almost unusable. I saw her after she was cured, and she said, * See, doctor, how I can open and shut my hands as you can yourself ? ' As Dr. Dowie said, she stood in the vestibule of the church fifteen or twenty minutes without any support, without leaning against the wall, even. **I met Brother Lathwesen first about five years ago, when I moved here. I was not called to treat him, because he considered his case beyond the reach of any human agency. I was not called until about two years ago, and when I was I found him suffering great pain; had trouble with the spine and spinal cord, and had convulsive movements in the arms and limbs. I treated him with electricity, to relieve the pain. I knew he was a great sufferer. I did not ex- amine the cancer very closely, but I know he had heart disease of a very bad type. I have examined him since he says he was cured, and he acts like a well man. ** I like to give this testimony because it gives honor to Christ. I believe, as they state, they were healed instantly, and I think we all must admit that Christ has power on earth not only to forgive sins, but to heal the body." We then, after thanking the Doctor for his testimony, asked Mr. Lathwesen to give us further particulars concerning the tumor, and who had diagnosed it as. cancerous ? 33 Mr. Lathwesen answered, "Dr. Nichols, of Eocliester, and our neighbor, a druggist, both pronounced it cancer. I was in great misery and suffering. Dr. Nichols said it was cancer. Since that time I never asked any more doctors about it, because I knew it my own self. Now all that lump is entirely gone away and I feel empty there." After Mr. Lathwesen finished. Dr. Bishop said he had noticed the tumor, but did not diagnose it, and that it was a very difficult thing indeed to diagnose correctly; but as far as human investigation was concerned there was every probability that it was a cancer. Many Witnesses- At this stage of the meeting we made the same request of the great audience present which we have made at the close of every mission, namely, that every- one in the meeting who was convinced that Jesus had power on earth to heal dis- ease, and that he was the healer of his people, should stand to their feet. The response was immediate; it seemed as if the whole audience instantly stood up, and with great feeling sang the Doxology. We asked all who had received spiritual blessing to stand up, and nearly all did so. We then asked if there was any person who was not convinced that Christ was the healer, to hold up their hand. Only one hand was held up. Healing of Internal Diseases of "Women We then took the opportunity of mentioning that there were a very large nun>ber of healings in this as in all other missions concerning which we could not enter into detail, a class which are more numerous in our missions than any oth- ers; diseases from which ladies suffer nameless tortures. I then asked all who had been healed to stand, and a very large number did so. The testimony meet- ing still continued. InstantaneoTis Healing of an Abscess in the Side, of Many Months' Standing. A young man named Mr. Hoffman, from Santa Barbara, who had been saved and healed in the mission, then briefly testified to his healing, lie said: "I have been suffering for a long time with an abscess in the side. I came here a little over two months ago and have been doctoring ever since without any relief, until Dr. Dowie opened his mission. With difficulty I attended the meetings for a little while, but I was so sick that I was unable to continue to attend. I gave to my mother a petition for prayer, which she handed Mr. Dowie, but still I did not get the blessing. She then asked him, at my request, to come and see me, for I felt I was sinking. He did so, and after prayer he laid his hands upon me and immediately all pain departed; I was able to use my leg with perfect freedom, which I could not use before without great pain, and I attended the meetings at once, and have attended ever since without any pain. The abscess has all gone away and I feel perfectly healed." (Dr. Jewell exclaimed, ** Bless the Lord.") We then referred to the fact that he had been publicly baptized the previous Lord's day, and was a candidate for fellowship in one of the churches of the city. This young man's case created great interest, and he seemed in perfect health. Healing of Paralysis. The Rev. Mr. Hazen, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, then testified to the blessing that he had received through the teaching in the mission without human touch. He said that ten years ago he had been stricken with paralysis ; he had been healed for seven years. Then he gradually failed and had to give up work. He came home last Friday still feeling symptons of paralysis about him, " but hearing of these meetings and of the wonderful cures Jesus waa doing here, I began to think whether it was God's will that I should suffer from this disease any longer. I came to hear Dr. Dowie, and I will simply say his words gave me great encouragement; and I will say in addition to that which Dr. Jewell has already better said, that the Bible is a new hook to me. 34 "I believed in bodily healing before I came, but I never dared to teach, hardly to tell of it, to intimate friends, that God had healed me once or more. But glory be to his name, I have now been able to put my trust in Jesus for a perfect cure, and now I feel such a power and influence going all through my body as well as, my soul, as I have not felt for years. So far as I can realize there are no symp- tons remaining of this paralysis. I am trusting Jesus for a perfect cure; I am re- solved that all my powers of body, soul and spirit shall be given to him. I know he has healed me." This minister's testimony created a deep impression upon the meeting. It was entirely unexpected by us, for we had never spoken to the brother, and had not known of the blessing he had received. Healing of Rupture of Eight Years' Standing without Human Touch. Mr. Herrick, of San Jose, said: " For over eight years I have been an in- valid, brought on from overwork in the hot climate of Arizona; nervous prostra- tion set in, a severe rupture took place, and I was unable to v/ork; my mind was nearly dethroned, and I was disqualified from doing business. I came to this city of San Jose last October. * 'During the meetings of last week I said to a friend, ' People are being healed down there to the church, and if they can be healed I know 1 can be if I trust the Lord.' On Wednesday afternoon I pressed my way forward amid the crowd at the close of the meeting to take Dr. Dowie by the hand. He was trying to get the people to sit down, but we all wanted to speak to him. I said to him, * I came here to be healed.' 'Sit down!' says he. I sat down." ( We explained to the people that we did not mean to be rude to the brother, but that at the close of our addresses people thronged us in such numbers that we could not get to the work at all until they sat down.) Mr. Herrick continued: •' It don't matter; you were quite right; thank the Lord I did as you told me, I sat down. In a few moments 1 felt that something ought to be done. I reasoned in this way: What is the doctor doing here? Does the doctor do the work, or is it the blessed Saviour? He had taught us it was the Saviour. I said, That is true, it is the Saviour, it is the work of Jesus, and I will take the Saviour at his word. The moment I said, ' It is the Saviour, and that I would take him at his word,' I felt an electric shock go all through my physical system, and where the most disease lay the shock seemed tl)e greatest. I went into one of the side rooms where thirty or forty persons were waiting for the doctor. He came in presently and remained a few minutes, and his dear wife called him out. I sat there while person after person went into his room to see him, and I left without seeing him, but with the con- viction that I was perfectly cured. "I did not tell my wife that night, but I went to the Lord Jesus and thanked him. I pulled off the truss that had given me so much unhappiness, and laid it down, and I said in my mind, ' Lie there forever. ' And the medicine I had been taking to help me along, I said to it, ' You remain there. ' In the morning I got up happy in the Lord; said nothing to my wife that day, which was Thursday. I came on Thursday night, and a brother spoke to me, a very intelligent gentleman, and said, * What do you think of all this ? ' 'I will tell you what I think: I believe in it,' I said. I then told him, what I have since told everyone, how I had been perfectly healed. " The point I want to make is this: W^hile Dr. Dowie is here instructing us how to get healed, let us remember it is not the doctor, but it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the healer. When the doctor leaves us the healing may go on — perhaps not so well, but it can go on, and if we trust the Lord Jesus it will go on. Thank God, friends, I think this is the happiest day I ever spent in my life. Not only is my body healed, but my spirit is quickened, and I know more of the Bible to-night than ever I did before." Healing of an Injury of Sixteen Years' Standing. A gentleman who did not give his name told of his healing four years pre- viously. He had been injured in his side by raking heavy grain oj6f a reaper, and at a meeting conducted by Brother Newton he had received instantaneous healing. 35 Partial Healing of Many Years' Deafness- Mrs. Martin, wife of Professor Martin, of the University of the Pacific, said that she thought she could not let the meeting close without testifying. She had attended the meetings, and followed our teaching closely, and fully received the doctrine. She had been a sufferer for forty -four years from deafness, and now, "through the ministry of Dr. Dowie," she said, " I have been very much relieved. I have hesitated," she added, "about testifying to-night, because I am not absolutely perfect in my hearing; but I am so much better, and believe so strongly that I will be healed, I feel my faith will reach up to it, that I felt that I ought to testify. I w^ant you all to pray for me. [Dr. Jewell, "The Lord bless her."] The enemy," she continued, "in view of my not being per- fectly healed, will try to make me weak in my faith, but I intend to believe in the grace of God for what has been done for me, and it is very mnch. I feel to ^ve God the praise." Healing of Six Years* Chronic Diarrhea. Mrs. Baker said: " Last winter, through the ministry of Rev. Mr. Irvine,. at Pacific Grove, I was led to ask him in a cottage meeting to anoint me, which, he did, and I have been healed ever since." Testimony of a Minister. The Rev. Mr. Lawson, minister of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, San Jose, very feelingly testified to the blessing he had received through our teaching. He said: " The Bible seems to me to be a new book. Since I heard these teach- ings in these meetings I understand it as I never understood it before, and Jesus Christ seems to me to-night more really a personal Saviour than ever he has done before. I thank God for the spiritual good I have received in this meeting. I feel more able now to go forth and preach than ever before. " Mrs. Dowie's Closing Address. After this impressive little testimony Mrs. Dowie delivered a brief farewell address, which made a deep impression upon the assembly. An Invitation to Return to San Jose. Dr. Jewell then rose and said: "Permit me, Doctor, to say a few words. I just -want to ask as many as would like to unite in inviting Brother and Sister Dowie, if the Lord in his providence should open the way for them to come to us again, to rise and stand upon their feet." The entire congregation rose en masse and the choir immediately commenced to sing sweetly and beautifully, "God Be with You 'till We Meet Again." Dr. Jewell continued: "I wanted to say a word also suggested by my dear wife to- night, and it seemed so sweet to me; it was this: that she had never been able to appreciate before the wonderful scenes that are given in the New Testament when the suflferers tried to press up to Jesus; she never could fully appreciate and understand it as she had witliin these few days. And when they were gathering around and pressing up it seemed to her, and it seemed to me, just as though we saw the scenes of more than 1,800 years ago when sufferers came and sought to press up to Jesus; and as they pressed around our brother we have seen him try to hide behind the blessed Jesus and to make them see that Jesus was their healer, not himself. Blessed be God for these precious memories. And now, will Dr. Dowie come again? " We then rose and thanked our friends and the meeting for their kindness. It made our heart very full to see the gratitude and love which gathered round us, and we promised, God willing, to return to San Jose at the close of the next San Francisco Mission, which will be, probably, about the middle of November. After a very touching prayer by Dr. Jewell, we pronounced the bened^tixMi and the testimony meatmg closed. Two Days' Visitation of the Bedridden. The two following days, Tuesday and Wednesday, twenty -first and twenty- second of August, were taken up in visiting many bedridden patients in and around San Jose, a number of whom think they received healing. A Personal Experience. And now speaking in my ow^n proper person, and dropping for the time. our missionary and editorial "we," I desire to record with profound gratitude to my Lord, an incident which, although it is known to a few, has not become public property. I may head it Instantaneous Healing of My Dislocated Shoulder. My readers will scarcely be prepared for my telling them that during the whole of the three hours of the foregoing testimony meeting, I conducted the ex- ercises with my left arm torn from its shoulder socket, although the fact was un- known to a single person in the building. The accident, if such 1 may call it, for it was in consequence of the sin of another, occurred within three-quarters of an hour of our beginning the meeting. It was a quarter past seven before I left with Mrs. Dowie the parlors of the church to return to my hotel for slight refresh- ment and the arranging of certain x^apers. As I came quickly out of the door I slipped upon the hard asphalt pavement on the skin of a piece of fruit, and fell with a tremendous crash upon my left shoulder. I arose at once, but not without difiBculty, and found my left arm was hanging powerless by my side. " It seems almost as if it were broken, " I said. Dr. Holmes, who was standing by (who with Br. Hervey and another, and the two doctors already mentioned, make a quintette of believing doctors in San Jose), came up to me and said, " 0, doctor, have you broken your arm ? " I at once replied, "No, it cannot be, for God's word has said, ' He keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken. ' " A little crowd had gathered around us, from which I hurried away, asking them to go back and pray that I might be able to conduct the meeting. Accompanied by Elder Cad- . man, of the Presbyterian Church, East Oakland, and Mrs. Bowie, I proceeded to the St. James' Hotel in great agony. I asked the Lord if it was a sprain to heal me; if by any possibility it could be a broken bone, to restore it. But the answer did not seem to come. Pastor Afflerbach and others visited me immediately and praj^ed for me very tenderly. I asked them all to go back to the church and pray for me there in a private room. I then appealed to G od that I should not be put to shame, nor dishonor the name of the Lord, by my inability to conduct the meeting. I immediately got power to move my arm from the elbow to the finger tips, and returned to the church convinced that the injury was a disloca- tion at the shoulder. But there was no time to have that set right, for the church was crowded with eager, expectant people, and the rumor had got abroad that I was injured and would not be able to proceed. I went into Dr. Jewell's study and told him I had been injured, but said nothing as to the nature of it. After prayer we at once entered the building and conducted the meeting. While it was proceeding I felt that the bone was not only out of its place, but that it had slipped back and was pressing hard against my side, with every slight movement of my arm or body. But I re- ceived in answer to my unspoken prayer such continuous streams of heavenly power that although I cannot sa}' I was at all times without pain, yet I was so completely lifted above all sense of pain that I neither manifested it nor felt it, for the most part, during these long hours. But immediately the meeting had closed I turned to my friend, Dr. Bishop, and said, "Doctor, come in half an hour to my rooms, at the St. James*, and pull my left arm into its socket. " I think he thought I was joking, almost, at first, and I know from what he after- wards said that he was sure I was mistaken: for it was impossible, he thought, for anyone to be in such a condition and do what I had been enabled by the Lord to do. It was still half an hour after the meeting before I could get away from the kindly throng who gathered around us, and it was more than an hour later before Dr. Bishop got to my rooms, through no fault of his own, because he 37 was waiting m another portion of the- hotel, and was told I had not returned. Therefore it was a quarter to twelve when Dr. Bishop entered my room. My arm had then been out of the socket for four hours and a half. Dr. Jewell, Elder Cadman, Pastor Afflerbach, and Mr. G. H. Hawes, our stenographer, were all present, with Mrs. Dowie. I then for the first time had my coat removed, and Mrs. Dowie retired into the next room. When my clothing was all removed from the upper part of my body it was found, just as I had believed, that the arm was out of its socket, and of course the ligaments were ruptured, and ex- travasation of blood must have followed. The doctor looked very grave, but I asked him to proceed to business, and I lay upon the floor, asking the friends to pray. The doctor placed his stockinged foot against my side, and with one fentle, strong pull the arm slipped beautifully into its socket with a loud snap, neither felt, nor by any sound expressed, any pain: for while that act was per formed I felt as perfectly free as if no such thing was being done. With a hearty ** Thank God," I sprang to my feet. "But you must be suffering great pain still," said Dr. Bishop. I said, *' No. I thank you for the friendly act, but now the Lord will do all the rest; I am perfectly healed." He said, *' You must be suffering pain ? " I said, lifting my arm over my head, and putting it to the farthest extremity upon my back, " No, there is no pain," and then grasping my friend's hands with my left hand, I showed them that all the power was in my arm. After a few minutes' prayer and happy talk, we separated. I ate a hearty supper, retired to*Jest and slept soundly, leaning my head for a good portion of the night upon the injured shotilder. The next morning I dressed myself freely and easily, and found there was no inflammation nor injury of any kind. Dr., Bishop called during the day with a patient of his whom he desired me to pray for, and found that I was free from pain. I visited many persons that day, and dined with a number of friends, and the following day continued my visits, and from that time till now have never been inconvenienced by the injury for a moment. This little incident, though not publicly narrated, has become widely known, and I humbly hope has helped to strengthen the faith of many. I only narrate it here that I may give all the glory to God, who for Jesus' sake by his Holy Spirit so mightily upheld me, and so graciously restored me. Gladly can I add my testimony to the truth of his word, " I am the Lord that healeth thee;" and to the declaration concerning his servants, *' He keepeth all their bones not one of them is broken. " After the Mission. We have received since the close of the mission a number of testimonies to healing, for which we cannot now find space, and many letters concerning the healed which are deeply interesting. We will content ourselves by giving one of these testimonies, and referring to one or two of these letters. Healing of Ten Years' Broken Muscle of the Right Knee, Mrs. H. A. Pryce, of 58 vSanta Clara St., San Jose, writes: ** I wish to add my testimony to others for the divine healing received through the Kev. John Alexander Dowie. I believe it was on the 3rd day of the mission that I was healed. About ten years ago I met with an accident which broke the muscles of my right knee, causing me much suffering ever since. In addition to this four years ago I was afilicted with sciatic rheumatism, for which I had no relief at all until I visited the meetings, and entered the healing room of the Rev. Dr. Dowie and wife. I went in trusting in Jesus to heal me, and in about ten minutes from the time I entered that room I was entirely relieved from all my pain. I could walk as well as I could before being hurt, ten years ago. For this I feel very thankful the Lord, and also to Dr. Dowie and his wife. " Confirmation of Healings. Dr. Jewell in a recent letter speaks in very kind tarms concerning the bless- ing which has followed our mission. He speaks of their testimony meetings being 38 times of great refreshing, and says, " Many speak the most pleasant and apprecia- tive words of your presence and work here. We shall expect a great blessing when you return to us. We found Mrs. Vandegrift out-of-doors when we called last Friday; she is free and gaining strength; her faith is strong and her heart is glad. Brother Lathwesen has gone to Pacific Grove, a well and happy man. My own heart is wonderfully drawn towards the blessed work in which you are en- gaged, and I feel at times that I must qualify by study and communion with God for a better knowledge and understanding of this department of the gospel. " The following words are also quoted from Dr. Jewell's report in the ChriaUan Advocate, the organ of the Methodist Episcopal Church on this coast, in its issue of August 29. San Jose. "The mission for divine healing, held in the First Methodist Episcopal Church, by Kev. J. A. Dowie, assisted by his estimable wife, has been a great blessing to our people. The Holy Spirit has been wonderfully and sweetly present in all the services, and hundreds are rejoicing to have had this time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. The afternoon meetings have continued from half past two until five and six o'clock, and the evening services from a quarter to eight until half past ten and eleven o'clock, and even then the people would seem reluctant to leave the place where Christ, the great *' world-magnet," was so exalted. We . realized as never before the attractiveness of a "whole and perfect Saviour," and came to understand how the people .needed to be " sent away " from Jesus when in his public ministry in Galilee. There have been several clear conversions and a general and signal deepening of the channels of spiritual life and power. The word of God has become clearer and its teachings dearer to scores and hundreds of believersi Several pastors and preachers, together with very many of the most thoughtful and deeply pious of our church members, have been in regular attend- ance, and have seemed unwilling to miss a single service. Oh, with what holy delight hare these waiting throngs lingered and drank of the fountains to which they have been directed by these servants of the Most High (rod I Besides the great spiritual benefits realized, there have been several instances of bodily heal- ing by faith in Jesus in answer to prayer. Amid tears and glad testimonies, the great congregation last evening, as the mission closed, by a rising vote invited these Heaven-commissioned and sweet-spirited evangelists to return and hold an- other mission in our church. " F. F. Jewell. [Extracts from letter to "Lsaves of Healing" for Jauuary 1889, concerning Mission in Sacramento.] This Mission was held from Monday, September 17, to Tuesday, October 2, in the Congregational Church. It was the least successful of all our Missions, so far .as outward results were concerned; but there were fruits even there. "This people's heart is waxed gross " is perhaps the best description which could be given to the spiritual con- dition of that city, where sloth and sin produce a moral stupor and indifference to eternal things. . Our closing Praise and Testimony Meeting was held on the evening of Tues- day, October 2. We did not have this meeting reported by our short-hand writer, as we did in other Missions, so that the testimonies we now quote are from our own notes, and from the letters of the healed. Testimony of a Doctor. Sacramento, Cal., October 2, 1888. Dear Brother Dowie: I esteexn it a privilege to testify that I have re- ceived great benefit from your administration of the Word, viz. : Christ will not send the Comforter fully into our being until the temple is purified. He has been knocking at the door of my heart for many years, and for many years I have been trying to keep the commandments, and forgot that He said, ' ' Without Me ye can do nothing." I can testify to the peace and the joy in the Holy Ghost, and also the great physical relief which I have received through your instrumentality, and I believe 89 if I continue in Him, He will heal all my diseases. I now wish to do His will, in His own way, and I earnestly desire the best gift. Remember me in your prayers. Yours in Jesus, G. DART. To these written lines Dr. Dart added some very earnest words, and thanked God for our visit to Sacramento. Healing of Twenty-four Years' Infirmities. Mrs. N. A. Little, 208 Tenth Street, SacraxMento, wrote as follows: " Rev. J. A. Dowie: With profound gratitude to God and His Son Jesus Christ, I write to thank Him and to rejoice that He has sent you as His agent to help us to understand more fully His own power and willingness to heal dis- eases of the body, at this day, as well as when He was in the flesh on earth. I praise His Holy Name. I want to tell how much good your prayers and your beloved wife's have done for my daughter, Mary E. Little. We had the best doctors for her. All was in vain. But whefi you came to this city, I saw God's way of healing, and when you came to my house and laid your hands upon my daughter, God heard your prayer, and I do bless His holy name she has been free from her infirmity ever since. Her mind is now clear and she is free from pain. It must be Jesus and Him only who has done this mighty work for her. Many have been blessed by your coming to this city. I am yours in Christ." Testimony of a Lady Physician, Who Accepts Christ as Healer. Dr. (Miss) L. J. Kellogg, Seventh and I Streets, a much-esteemed Christian practitioner, spoke with much gratitude of blessing received during the Mission, and that from thence she took Christ as her Doctor. This lady, with a few oth- ers, was specially helpful to us in the work, and is now devoting much of her time to evangelistic efforts. The First of Oiir First-Fmits. Mrs. Elizabeth Browne, III 7 Fourth Street, who had been healed in the Palace Hotel on June 16 last, testified to her continued healing, and her words were confirmed by her husband and daughter, Mrs. Chambers. But as her testi- mony will be given in detail with many others in the report of our Testimony Meeting of October 28, we do not quote it here. Mrs. Browne looked well and strong. Healed Through the Agency of Dorothea Trudel. Mrs. Maria Reaser, V Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Streets, gave a very interesting description of her healing at Mannedorf, Switzerland, through the holy and great woman whose fame has filled the world, Dorothea TrudeU, Mrs. Reaser says she used to remember her praying: "Dear Heavenly Father, I desire and demand of Thee all the souls that are led into my house; for I know that thou art able to save them and bring them to thy glory." Healed Through Pastor Blumhardt's Agency. Mrs. M. A. Dutschke testified to having received healing through the good pastor Blumhardt, who was so largely used in Germany a few years ago; and said that she used to hear him say often, "Jesus is Conqueror." Heahng of Lupus (Cancer) and Heart Disease. Mrs. N. Hudson, 1408 J Street, testified of her healing, through the laying on of our hands, of these diseases. She says in a written testimony that the lupus had troubled her for nine years, and that she was under four doctors; but none of them could do her any good. She says it is now well; and also her heart trouble is gone. '* Thanks be to God." We have seen this lady recently in our meetings in the Grand Opera House, while on a visit to San Francisco, and she declares herself perfectly healed, and looks quite well. 40 Twenty Persons Healed "Witness Thereto. Upon our call for all who had been healed to rise, twenty persons did so and a number professed to have been saved. All Present Believe the Doctrine That Christ is Healer. After a number of persons had testified to their healing, I called upon all present to say if they had received the doctrine that we had been teaching, and all present did so. Then we closed the Mission, grateful for the blessing we had received, and surrounded by a crowd of sympathetic friends, giving God all the glory. Extracts from a Report of a Praise and Testimony Meeting, Held by Rev. John Alex. Dowie and "Wife at the G-rand Opera House, San Francisco, Lord's Day Evening, October 28, 1888. [This meeting was held at the beginning of the third week of a month's Mis- sion, and will be followed by the usual closing Praise and Testimony Meeting on Lord's day, November 11, when many others who have been healed through faith in Jesus will witness for him. There were about one thousand two hundred per- sons present, and the meeting lasted from 7:45 to 11: 15 p. m,, and was followed by an after-meeting, which was attended by some hundreds. A number of per- sons sought and found salvation, amongst them a man of above forty years old, who knelt and prayed for the first time in his life. Up to the date of writing these lines (November 7) 147 persons have openly sought salvation in the Mission, and many have been healed. — j. a. d,] Keported by G. H. Hawes, 320 Sansome Street, San Francisco. The meeting was opened by the hearty singing of hymn 162 from "Gospel Hymns," — **My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness." Mrs. Dowio then read the 67th Psalm. "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause hisace to shine upoa us." Mr. Dowie then offered prayer, presenting requests from many that were sick. Dr. Dowie said : — Beloved Friends: I desire to say that to-night we have many testimo- nies, some of which have only just reached me since I came upon the platform some of them in writing and some are present here to speak for themselves, and as the number is so very great, it would not be wise in me to take up much time. My Secretary has handed me a list of those who have given in their names as being prepared to testify, and there are thirty on this platform, besides others in the audience- With the single exception of one person who is now present, I have not personally invited a single person to testify; their testimony is per- fectly voluntary, and they have come forward of their own accord, and they are fully responsible before God and man for their own testimonies. I would like to say a very few words in introducing the Testimony Meeting. I cannot to-night speak as I would fain do concerning the work generally, but I want to say this firbt of all: This Mission is a mission of healing through faith in Jesus Christ alone. There is not one person either here in this audience or any- where else in this country, or in the wide world, whom I luave healed. I have never healed anybody; 1 never have attempted to heal anybody, and there isnot one here to 'night to testify to my healint; power. There is some misunderstand- ing concerning this matter. It does not exist in the hearts of those who haye attended our ministry, but in the minds of those who have not been present at all. I want to say most distinctly and clearly at the very beginning, that those who are healed are here to confess Christ as their Healer. I have been used in- strumentally in teaching, in preaching, and as the instrument of the healing; but the teaching is not mine ; it is the teaching of the Teacher of teachers. The 41 preaching is not mine, but it is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The healing is not mine any more than the salvation which has attended this ministry; the healing is the healing of the Lord Jesus Christ. Make no mistake about it ; whatever you may have read, or thought, or imagined, or seen written, there is no living being in the world who has ever heard me say I have healed ; there is not a line from my pen — and I have written many thousands of lines in my time, many of which have been widely printed — which would warrant anyone in making such an accusation. Christ is the Healer and Hif alone. I am here upon a Mission. lam just on my way — although I am tarrying long at the Golden Gate— through your great continent, and I hope to pass through Canada and England, and by and by to return to my old home in Aus- tralia. Then I hope again, after a short tarrying, to go farther away to the East, if the Lord permits, and back again around through the West. If the Lord will, I give Him gladly the next ten years of my life to carry His Gospel of Healing to every place I can reach. Now you understand I am not here to establish a sect or a church organiza- tion, but to minister to the whole "Household of Faith " without reference to denomination. 1 don't know Baptists, I do not know Presbyterians, I do not know Episcopalians — I do not know you by these names; I know you by one name, by the Name that is above every name, the name of Christ, our Lord. I thank God that I am enabled to minister without any fear, without any doubt, in this beautiful work. I thank God, too, it is without money and without price. I am trusting God for everything connected with this work, and what we have received we freely give, as we have freely received. I think perhaps it would be well first of all before asking anyone to speak regarding healing through human touch, to give you some illustrations from th6 testimonies I hold in my hand of — Healing without Any Human Touch, In direct answer to prayer during this present Mission. If we were to attempt to give you anything like a full account of such cases of direct answer to prayer oflfered upon our platform for those whom we never saw, and some of whom we have never seen ^o this day, it would take all the night. I will give you some of those I have in my hand. Healing of a Ten- Year-Old Boy from Blood Poisoning, etc. On October 17, I received and pressHted to the Lord in prayer the following petition : — "Dear Sir: Having been myself cured most wonderfully at one of your meetings last July through faith in Jesus, without any human touch; and being sure that God does hear and does answer prayer, will you ask the Christians to^ day to pray for a dear boy aged ten years, who has blood poisoning and a very bad eye. The little fellow is a great sufferer. His parents are believers, but I fear not as fully resting in Christ as I could wish. I believe Christ can do with him as he did with the Centurion's sick servant — heal him without bringing him here to the meeting, which it is difficult to do. Please pray for him, for earthly physicians can do him no good. I am yours, ' 'A Believer in the Great Healer. " This was an anonymous petition. Exactly a week later I received another letter, thanking G od for the answer, in which she said that she had waited, so that there might be plenty of time to test the healing before writing me. She is here to-night. Her name is Mrs. Barnes, 513 Hayes Street, City. Her note reads as follows: — " Dear Sir: You will remember that prayer was asked last Wednesday, October 17, for a boy aged ten years who had blood poisoning, and such trouble with his eyes that he had to be kept in a dark room and was so sick that he was unable to walk about. To-day the little boy is perfectly well ; he can see with- out even a shade over his eyes. His face is all well and clean, and he is able to run around better than he has done for a long time. I feel sure Christ has fully 42 answered prayer. Three other doctors did him no good; I never saw such a wonderful change in any cliild in a week in my life. He is my own grandchild. Yours very respectfully." It is signed by Mrs. Barnes, I will just ask the sis- ter to verify that testimony. Mrs. Barnes, wlio was sitting upon the platform, immediately arose and said, *' That is perfectly true, every word." Instantaneous Healing of a Baby in Answer to Prayer. The next case of direct answer to prayer which I select, is one written from 1123 Greenwich Street, City, dated the 27th of October — that is, yesterday. "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dowie: Will you praise the I-ord with me for the complete restoration of a dear child for whom you prayed in the meeting of the 17th of this month? The child was very sick; she seemed to us to be dying. She could not support any food whatever. At the same hour, the same moment^ almost, that you were praying in the Opera House she was healed in my own home; and, without changing any food, she supports everything she could not support before. Every day she grows brighter. I have not written my thanks before, because I Wanted to prove to some of your unbelieving Varers that the child is healed and completely and thoroughly restored. As for jr>vself, I do not need the proof, for I know what the Lord doeth, he doeth perfectly. He did it in answer to your prayer. Praise ye the Lord, the Lord who rs Jehovah, the Healer of His people. Yours in the Lord, J. L. Boillot-Steck. " If the sister is here, will she stand up. The lady arose from the platform, and said, "That is perfectly so. " Immediate Restoration of a Dying Lady in Answer to Prayer Only. Mr. Dowie continued: I have another testimony from Oakland, A lady was supposed to be dying during this Mission, and the Lord healed her thor-. oughly in answer to prayer. This is her own writing. She lives on Twenty- fourth Street, between Adeline and Market Streets, Oakland. This testimony was handed me to-night, and is dated yesterday, October 27. "To the glory of our Lord Jesus will I give my testimony that by faith in Jesus and prayer, I have been restored to health. About three weeks ago I took Vc-ry, very sick, and my friends did not believe that I would recover. I thought I was dying. We prayed, and we asked you to pray, and the Lord heard our prayers. On the very night you were praying for me in the Opera House I was healed of my sickness, and I am now well, and I wish to thank God and give Him all the glory now and forever. Your sister in Christ, "Annie Soderstrand." All those who know this lady, and know of her healing, will kindly stand up. (Seven rose to their feet. Mr. Dowie thanked them, and said he was in- formed that tlie lady was a member of the Swedish Baptist Church. Oakland.) Mr. Dowie said: I do not know that it would be well forme to continue this line of testimony. I have a number of others in my hands, but while there are so many living witnesses, I think I will put aside the letters, and just ask some of the living witnesses to speak. I scarcely know where to begin. I am sur- rounded by those whom the Lord has blest, and I feel so thankful. I think I shall begin by asking a stranger in your city to speak first. There are some in your city now who have come from quite a distance to this meeting and been blessed, and there is one brother whose testimony I am intensely interested in. Not that I count one healing more wonderful in some respects than another, because we are very poor judges of that; but this case has caused a great deal of interest in San Jose. It Is the Case of Brother C. H. Lathweson. I hold now in my hand a report of the praise and testimony meeting held at San Jose on August 20, after our two weeks' Mission. The meeting was held in the First Methodist Episcopal Church, of which the Rev. Dr. Jewell is 43 pastor, Dr. Jewell being present, and nearly as large an audience as there is here. Among those who spoke that evening I called upon my friend and brother, Dr. Bishop, an eminent doctor in San Jose He testified to the healing of two of his patients. One of these is with us to-night. He said that this brother who is here was beyond all question healed; that his case was known to a large number of persons present, and I am quoting what Dr. Bishop said from the short- hand writer's report, taken by my friend G. H. Hawes, 320 Sansome Street, who is reporting this meeting. This document which I hold in my hand is a very beautiful type-written report of that meeting. He gives me here Dr. Bishop's words, and the doctor says he is delighted to be able to testify for the honor of Christ; that he knows these two patients, and that they were great sufferers, and that they have been healed. After mentioning another case, which is not present to-night, and which I shall not refer to, he says he met Brother Lathweson first about five years ago, when he moved to San Jose. Dr. Bishop was not at first called in to treat him, because his case was considered to be beyond the reach of any human agency; but about two years ago he was called in and found him suffering the most agonizing pain He had trouble of the spine and spinal cord, and had convulsive movements continuously in all his limbs; he was a great suf- ferer; he did not examine the cancer very closely, but he knew he had heart disease of a very bad type. He says that Lathweson acts like a perfectly well man. He says he likes to give this testimony because it is to the honor of Christ. He fur- ther says: "I believe these persons were healed instantly, as they state, and I think we must all admit Christ has power on earth not only to forgive sins, but to heal the body. " Our Brother Lathweson has been a member of the Church of God for many years He was a sufferer for thirty years from spinal injury, from heart disease, and from a cancer that was diagnosed by Dr Nichols, of Rochester, a number of years ago, as cancer of the stomach. He suffered continuous agony. He will tell you himself how the Lord instantly healed him. 1 will just call upon him to tell you the story in his own way. You will kindly remember he is a German, and not accustomed to addressing a large audience. You will get the testimony from him and all here in a simple way, showing just how they felt about it, and what the Lord did for them, and how they were previously. I will ask him to put it in his own words. Dear Mr. Lathweson, will you now step forward and tell us what the Lord did for you, and how He had mercy upon you. Come, my brother. Mr. Lathweson's Story- Mr. Lathweson then stepped forward and spoke as follows. The reporter noticed a marked improvement in his appearance since he saw him testify in the closing meeting of the San Jose Mission. "My Dear Brethren and Sisters: If you are very quiet I try to speak so loud as possible, so as to make everybody understand what I mean and what I say. First of all I got to say, 'What a friend we got in Jesus; what a friend we got in Jesus.' Oh, my friends, this good Friend in Heaven, my Father in Heaven, through Jesus Christ, he was the best Friend I ever know in mine suf- fering in mine last thirty years. I suffered as I never saw anybody in the world suffer, and I never like to see anybody suffer that way. God forbid that mine eyes ever see such a thing. In mine suffering I beg God many, many times — hundred times, 'O Lord, take me away, if possible; I can't stand it 1 don't see any good work of me. I don't know what I am doing in this world. I don't see any good work of mine hands. Lord, take me away.' God shake his head,, and don't answer me. He don't take me away; but that was not all. I see that He was not pleased to take me away out of this world; I has to pray another story : * Lord, if possible, give me patience, patience, patience, and peace and a quiet life,' Then my Father was so quick to drop down all the patience I need, and all I want. " And now them thirty years is gone. Thank God in Heaven, them thirty years is finished. Thank God in Heaven he give me so much grace and patience, and that it is now finished. Thank God through Jesus Christ that this my dear brother [the speaker here turned to Mr. Dowie, who had fervently exclaimed. 44 *' Praise the Lord;" and with tears streaming from his eyes, lovingly embraced him The audience was deeply moved as they looked upon the pathetic scene] Ood fetch him to San Jose, to lead me on — with his dear wife — lead me on, and tell me the good story that Jesus Christ just now is able to forgive sins and to heal all diseases. That is the story satisfy me, and I came just as I was, and I go and throw myself in the arms of Jesus, and say, ' Lord take me.' And my Jesus was waiting — oh, how anxious he was waiting ! and mine heart was ready to receive It; and so he came down so low to his little one that he healed the body. And that was not allj he healed mine soul wonderfully, as it was never, never healed before — mine poor soul. I never enjoyed such a rest, such a peace, such a religion. "What shall I say ? [The speaker turned inquiringly to Mr. Dowie. Mr. Dowie said, *' Tell about being at Pacific Grove."] " My M'ife came down to San Jose from Pacific Grove. I went there to get a little rest in Pacific Grove, but I didn't get any rest; I get worser and wowser. So my wife had a little business, and came back to San Jose, and in that time I grown so worse and so bad and so low that my neighbors was afraid 1 would drop away any minute; and they was going to watch me. My wife was away two or three nights, and they was going to watch me in the night. I say, *No, no, just go home; I got a good watchman in heaven; he take care of me.' My trust was al- ways fully in God in mine greatest agony. " My dear wife came the next day, and she was so sad. She say, *Aint you going to be healed ? " I don't know what to say. Then I broke down and say, ' Oh, mother stop, stop now; I can't hear any more. I go to San Jose to-morrow, and if I got only one leg I got to go. ' I went the next morning and my wife was afraid I would drop on the cars; she watches me every minute; every minute she watch me so particular; she thought I drop down in the car We came to San Jose, and the same evening — oh, my dear brother [grasping Mr. Dowie affection- ately by the hand] that evening between five and six o'clock, as I said a little while ago, the dear Saviour came down and met me — ^met this poor feller, and healed body and soul. " Mr. Dowie asked, "How long did it take to heal you ? " ** I was ready and Jesus was waiting, audit take only, I suppose, that much," (striking his hands together). Mr. Dowie said, "Did you feel it?" "In that time it seems to me as if it comes in here and roll down; (illustrated by placing his hands upon the upper part of his body and slowly moving them down- ward.) There was a hard cancer, liver disease, heart disease, and spine disease — God knows how much more — I don't like to tell the others. I pray always in my greatest agony, ' Lord, keep these poor hands, ' because I have to work for mine living; 'Keep mine common sense, that I do my work right.' The Lord was so willing, he keep these poor hands and keep common sense, and so I keep working. That is all of this old body that was well — those poor hands and the brain. "Now I am here. Now I am here. I know I am healed, and God knows it, and the angels know it; the angels is glad in Heaven; they had a great struggle with me, for when I walk I sink down. " Mr, Dowie said, "Show us how you can walk now." " I walk like a young man. [He walked easily up and down the stage, and a tremendous applause burst forth from the large audience.] 1 feel like walking, and I am pleased to walk and my legs don't ache." " Where is the cancer?" asked Mr. Dowie. * * I have not asked the dear Lord in Heaven where He left it, but it's gone — 1 don't know where it's gone to. " Mr. Dowie then said: ''That healing occurred over two months ago, on Friday, August 10. I should like his dear wife to testify, she had a great hand in his healing. She brought him up to San Jose from Pacific Grove. Dr. Jewell said to me, * One of my people is dying at Pacific Grove.' I received a petition to pray for him. It was for this brother. I got it through his wife, and then I said, and others said, ' You had better bring him here;' but some said, ' He will die on, the way.' I replied, 'Never fear, the Lord will keep him.' As he says, he thought he was going to die on the way; but the Lord kept him. I should like his dear wife to speak for herself; but she can speak well for both. The Lord 45 bless her. Come, dear Mrs. Lathweson, yoii tell us what the Lord did; I know you can, and we would like to have you do it. These friends have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for about fifteen years." Mrs. Lathweson's Story. She then stepped forward and said: '* I can testify that I know that GocT has power to heal, and that he heals mine ears; that I was deaf — pretty near deaf. I have to set on the front seat to hear what the preacher preaches, and what I would not understand, I have to ask my husband what Dr. Jewell was speaking about. So I thank the Lord for what 1 received mine own self through the preaching, through Brother Dowie. I thought if that is true as he explains it, that we can just grasp it, I thought I want my share. So I received my share. Praise the Lord for that. *' So I talk of my husband's case. I know he was a sufferer for thirty years. When he first began to suffer he was not converted, and he was such a sufferer that I was praying hard for him. I was afraid if he goes on, the pain and suf- fering would overcome him, because if one has no religion in their heart they have no power to overcome such a sickness. I lay the whole thing before the Lord and say, 'If thou wilt.' I always say, ^ Jf thou wilt.' Brother Dowie says not to say '(/"the Lord wilt,' so I leave the * if ' out of my prayer now. He got converted, and then he could ask God to help him to bear the burden. But I have to see him suffering year after year. He lay on his bed and groan all night long, and I don't sleep. It is not so easy to have a husband, or a wife, that is sick all the time. I keep up the spirit; I never let him know I was sad. I say, 'Father, you see better times; don't be discouraged.' He could hardly stand the pain, and he have to work. I say, * Father, Job, he was a man like we are, and he was once poor, and God know he was suffering. Every things was taken away from him, and that was the case mit us. We was twice stripped of everytings, and that was making it so much harder for mine husband, we was so poor. 1 say, * Father, the Lord knows best, and we see better times. ' "We came from Minnesota to San Jose, and the people say he was so ill, so sickly, he would die on the road. But I trust the Lord would keep him, and I thought he might be restored, and that he might help me to raise the children. I pray the Lord to heal my husband; but he don't; there was a lack. And when we come to Galifornia I thought the Lord will restore him now. I thought he would get well; but he never did. He got worse and worse, until this summer, as he said, when we went to Pacific Grove. I said, * Father, there is a better time coming.' He say, * Yes, a better time to my poor suffering body.' I says, * You don't need to work; you have a better time.' * Mother,' he says, * let me be, let me die, and don't tell me it is going to be better. ' ** I came from Pacific Grove to San Jose for that little business, and I hear that Brother Dowie was there; and they ask me if I would not go and have my husband healed. I sat a few minutes and said, ' I never heard of Brother Dowie that he heals anybody.' They say, *No, he don't, but Jesus Christ heals them.' I says, *I go and see if he is a messenger sent from God.' And I go ,to the church, and hear Brother Dowie preach; and sometimes I cry and sometimes I rejoice in the meeting, and I thought if my husband was sitting there he would just take it in, and he would be healed. So I sent him a letter; but he not come. People tell him that is not so; that it is all bosh; that we got no man any more preaches a gospel that the body could be healed through Jesus Christ. I say, ' I know better.' I send for my husband again, and then he don't come. They tell him he shall stay ther^, and don't spend the money and have the trouble. Then I thought I go mine own self and get him; and so I went. [A hearty applause from the audience.] I thought I would tease him a little. I say, 'Father, why didn't you come?' *0 mother,' he says, *I couldn't, I couldn't.' 'Yes you could; the Lord would help you.' I said, * Do you enjoy to suffer ? The Lord would heal you if you go. ' He say, * Mother, don't say that; you know better.' But I thought I would have a little tease; iDut then I see he was so ill, that I was right away still. At five o'clock the next morning he got out of bed, and he say, * Mother, we going to San Jose,' I says, * I know you are going to be healed.' He says, ' I know it, too.' I tell him we have to 46 sacrifice; we have to do somethings. If I would not go back, or went home, then we wouldn't be here. I tell you, sisters and brothers, had me and my husband not believed, we never would be healed; and I believe he would have been in his grave. Everybody tell me he couldn't live that way any more, he jerking and twisting and turning so, and shaking and suffering so much. I praise the Lord we got such a Saviour that comes down on this earth and heal the body. What a blessing I receive in my soul, you don't know. I feel some- times I should go out and tell all the sick people, 'Go to the Iiord and be healed.' Oh, I feel so happy in my heart. Pray the Lord that we be faithful to Him." As this ^ood old soul, the quiet martyr and hero of over a quarter of a century pf pam, took her seat, the audience, which had been listening with the keenest sympathy and attention, made the building ring with a tremendous applause, as though each one present were eager to give expression to their feelings. Are the Healings Permanent? The First Case in America After More Than Four Months. Mr. Dowie said: " The lirst case of healing in which I was used in this country is a very interesting one. I arrived on the Pacific mail steamship, Mariposa^ with my beloved wife and children on the 9th of June. On the 16th of June, seven days after I arrived here — I had a great many visitors at my rooms at the Palace Hotel — this lady came in. I am sorry I have not got my American collection of crutches here to-night; I intended to have them; they are in the cellar of my friend, Mr. Craig; but we shall have them here this day fortnight, when we will have another Testimony Meeting. This dear sister, Mrs. Brown, came in upon a crutch with a daughter, who is now by her side on this platform. She had been waiting a long time in the corridor. I was about to go away, thinking I should like to get some lunch, for it was very far on in the day. I did not need to ask why she came; I could see she was suffering, in every line of her face. We said a few words to her. I have an account of the case in my little magazine, "Leaves of Healing," published in August last. I asked her if she was a child of God. She said she was not sure. We went into the matter, and she gave her heart wholly to the Lord. I asked her to give her foot to the Lord. Drs. Lane, Parkinson, and Ewing, of Sacramento, had all said that her left foot must be operated upon, and there was danger that it would have to be taken off; that a part of the ankle bone must be taken out. It was what they call a * bone felon, ' and the disease was in the ankle. She had suffered for two years, and at the advanced age of sixty-eight years , she felt she would rather die than have the operation. She heard of our coming; she read the account of the Chronicle's interview with me, and she said, " That man is either a great fraud or a man of God," Her husband said, "I believe the latter." She came down from Sacramento; she told me her case; she found the Lord in my room as her Saviour. Then I laid hands upon her foot, and she was just instantly and perfectly healed. That was June 16, and it is now October 28. That was the first case in which I was used in this country, and she is here from Sacramento to-night, to tell the story for herself. Come, dear sister, tell us all about it. It is something to face so many hundreds of people, I know, but the Lord will help and bless you." Mrs. Brown, who looked in splendid health, said : — "I was sick with rheumatism about seven years, and then about a year and one-half ago I was taken with a dreadful pain in that hip ; at first it run down to the foot, to the heel. I suffered that way for some three or four months — I could not say positively how long it was; the suffering was great. I sent for Dr. Lane, and he came. In the first place, he made inquiries about my foot, — what was the matter with it, and looked at it, and pronounced it a bone felon. Then he wanted to know if I had money to pay him — that was the next thing — to at- tend to it. I told him I had not. Now, this is Dr. Lane of Sacramento. * Well, ' ne says, 'that is a year's job, and you have no money to pay me; now go to the hospital ; that is the place for you.' I naturally thanked him, and said, ' Well, I will see about it; maybe I will go.' He said, *I will send the city doctor around to see you*' I thanked him, and he did so. When he came he looked at my foot 47 and said, ' I think that is a bone felon on your heel. The best you can do is to fo to the hospital; that is the place for you. ' I thanked him and said, 'AH right; will see; maybe I will go there.' Then I sent for Dr. Ewing, and ho came and examined my foot, and he says, 'Well, it is a bone felon; your foot is all ulcer- ated; the heel bone is decaying. The best thing you can do is to have an opera- tion performed.' I said, I am not able, in the first place, to have an operation performed.' He said, 'Never mind that; I will perform the operation.' Well, I did not say I would not have it done. He went away and he came back in a few days without my sending for him. He offered to perform the operation again. That was Monday; and he said on the Wednesday following he would come around and bring some physicians along with him, and would perform the operation for nothing; ' for,' he said, 'I like to see the blood flow.' Well, that disgusted me. I said, ' We will see on Wednesday how it will be , ' So, on Wednes- day he came, without my sending for him. I told him that I had finally con- cluded that I could not stand the operation, and did not think I was able to go through with it ; that I would rather die with my foot in that fix than to die and have it operated upon; that I knew it would kill me — knew I could not stand it. He insisted, but I told him that I did not want it done. "A few days after that, I think it was, we read in the Chronicle that Brother Dowie was here. I said to my husband, 'Well, I am going down to-morrow morning.' He said at first, * I don't see what you are going for.' I said, * Well, I am going to see the doctor ; if there is anything in it, I would like to have the benefit from him, or, from the Lord Jesus Christ through him.' He says, 'You have no faith; you don't belong to no church; so 1 don't see hardly any sense in your going. ' " 'Well,' I said 'I am going to-morrow morning.' " He says, 'How can you go ? You can't walk only with a crutch, and how are you going to get into the hack or on to the train ?' "I said, ' You will help me, and the hackman will help me, and I think I can find somebody down there, and with your help I can get on the train.' " So the next morning I got up at 4 o'clock, and it took me till half past five to stand well enough to dress myself, and I had to have help to dress. I got into a hack, and I came down here, and I went to see Brother Dowie at the Palace Hotel; but I didn't think I was any Christian; don't think I am much of one yet — that is honest; I think I lack a great deal of being a thorough Christian at any rate. He prayed for me. Thank the great God that I was sent to him. I feel grateful to my God and to Jesus Christ our Lord that I was sent to him; and I was healed in — I could not say how quick — after he prayed for me. Him and his dear wife prayed for me, sinner as I was, and I was healed — well, in an in- stant. He told me to get up and walk, and I walked right off, and I can walk now, and I am pretty old — not so very pretty, but old. (She walked easily across the stage, and the audience cheered with great enthusiasm.) From that day to this I have never felt any pain like that I had before, nor any pain in that foot, and it is quite well; it is very well. On Christmas day at 3 o'clock in the morning I will be sixty-nine years of age." Mr. Dowie said: " Didn't you give your heart to Jesus ? Didn't you tell me you had given your heart to Jesus before I prayed for your healing?" She replied "Yes, I did it." " Then it is done," said Mr. Dowie. The lady then added to her previous testimony, as follows: — "I have a word more to say. Since that I have cooked for nine persons steady; got up at five o'clock every morning, done the washing for nine beds and all the cooking and the work of the house. I am well and healthy so far as I know. " (A hearty applause all over the house. ) Mr. Dowie said: "That is the first case of healing in this country, and it remains perfect to this day. We have heard talk about Divine healings not standing; there is the first. If they do not stand, it is not because there is any failure in God's work of healing: the failure is in the person healed. Let our aged sister's story be a lesson to some who ' think themselves to be something, when they are nothing. ' She had no opinion of herself, and, therefore, the Lord liealed, and the Lord keeps her." 48 The Little Boy Who Was Bhnd from Birth. "I have a little boy here who had been blind from birth, and he got his sight on July 4. There is a very widespread and false rumor that he is as blind as he was before, and I am going to show him to you here to-night. I would like to say a word about the case. "I want the boy that was blind to be seen, and to give you a few words about himself. Now, there are numbers of cases of healing which do not seem to be just as perfect as one would like to see; and let me say here, there is a general impression that divine healing of necessity must be immediately perfect and per- manent. That is not the case. Even our Lord Jesus Christ himself had some healings that were gradual. A man at Bethsaida was blind; the Lord laid his hands upon him, and he saw men as trees walking. His vision was imperfect. The word says that * after that ' the Lord met him again * and He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up; and he was restored and saw every man clearly.' Now, 'after that' in Scripture may mean not only an hour or a day or a month, but it may cover years. Now, it does not say how long it was 'after that' first laying on of hands that our Lord met the man again; but it does not matter if it was a day or an hour or a week. It established the principle that even through our Lord's own hands there may be an imperfect healing, not because He heals imperfectly, but because the faith of the recipient is imperfect. The word of our Lord is, * As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. ' Take, for instance, the two testimonies which we have just listened to. Mr. Lath- weson believes in an instantaneous and permanent healing; Mrs. Brown does the same, and they both receive according to their faith. This little boy, a fatherless little boy, without previous tuition, and his dear mother having a hard fight to get a living, comes and receives an immediate but an imperfect healing. I did not understand why he did not receive perfect restoration of sight, but his mother told me the reason afterwards. She said when she took the boy to me she prayed that the restoration of his sight might be gradual. She got what she asked for. I have not seen the little fellow for some months until yesterday, having been away from San Francisco on ^Mission. It was publicly stated that this little boy had lost what he had received from the Lord, and, therefore, I asked his mother to bring him here to night. "Our sister and the boy testified on the evening of July 9, at our first Testi- mony Meeting, in the Y. M. C. A. hall of this city, that this little boy had been blind from birth. These are her v/ords: (Mr. Dowie reads from the short-hand report of that meeting.) 'My little boy, Georgie, has been afflicted from birth with blindness. Three years ago an operation was performed by Dr. Barcon, of this city, and he was able to relieve his sight to that extent that he could distin- guish day from night, and bright colors — I think red and black. For ten years he was unable to walk without being led. He never saw an object, so far as we know, during these ten years — not a single object — to know what it was.' " 'Since attending this Mission, Jesus has restored his sight almost entirely. He can now walk alone, see houses, chimneys, and small objects very readily. He can also see print of large size, and it can be read by him — something I never expected to see him do. My little boy is bright and happy now, and gives God all the glory. Praise his name forever. ' " *I was,' also adds the writer, Mrs. Lula Ritchville, 1241 Mission Street, * instantly cured of internal hemorrhage of some weeks' standing without any laying on of hands, at the first meeting I attended. ' Mr. Dowie said: "Now, Georgie, come along; I want to show you to the people again. N ow, stand by the light. Now, here is the little boy who was blind from birth. This bunch of flowers I hold in my hand he has never seen before, and I will ask him to pick out the colors. Georgie, did Jesus give you your sight? "Yes sir," replied the boy. When? "July 4th." You bad never seen an object in your life, had you, to know what it was? "No." He could just see darkness and light; tell if somebody passed in front of him; OF TH* XJNIVEHSITY he had to be led about by the hand. Did you ever see the color of a flower previous to July 4, Georgie? "No." I want you to tell all these colors, every one of them; put your hand upon them, 80 that the people can see that you touch the colors. (Pointing to the colors, the boy said, and correctly) "There is a sort of reddish white; there is white; another white." Find me a very bright red. "There is blue, and there is bright red." Find me some green. •* There is green. " Yes. " Tliere is another white." He has named and touched all the colors. The Lord has given the boy sight. (Applause.) Now, wicked persons have said this boy is blind. He does not know what 1 am going to show him. What is that? (holding up a knife in front of the boy). " Oh, it is a knife." What is that? (holding up a watch). 'A watch." Which side? " The back." (Clapping of hands all over the audience.) You can read big letters, can't you? "Yes, sir; some." Did Jesus save you? " Yes, sir." And did you give your heart to him? "Yes, sir." And can you see just as well as you did July 4th? ♦* Yes sir." He picks out all the big letters. It is a peculiar fact that this boy's sight is not better than when he lirst received it; but he is in an asylum amongst the blind, and I do not wonder. It is not right that those who can see should be amongst the blind; and I hope God will open up the way for this dear mother, and provide some other way. Turning to the mother, Mr. Dowie said: " This boy was born blind?" " Yes, sir.'' Does he see the same as he did when he first got his sight? "Yes, sir." Do you, j'ourself, retain your healing? ' * I certainly do. I never have lost my healing, nor has my son. I do not believe that God is such a God as to go back on His word. May God be glorified." " There are quite a number of persons who have said that boy is just as blind as he was. I do not know his antecedents ; his mother says he was blind from his birth. His neighbors say so, and everybody who knows him says so. All of those present who saw this boy when he was blind, please rise. [Mr. Dowie counted twelve, and some one on the platform said there were persons in the gal- lery who were overlooked.] Supposing that this boy had not been blind, I would not be to blame because people said he was blind. But he was blind; he could not distinguish anyone or anything; the Lord gave him his sight, and I want you to pray that the Lord will perfect it speedily. [Amens from the audience.] We shall now take Another Case That Was Healed in the First San Fran- ciscan Mission, Because it is important that we should gi^e some testimony from those who have been standing a little while. Among those who testified in the first Testimony Meeting was Miss Wilcox. She was ill for many years. She came to the Y. M. C. A. Hall on her cratches; she received the word; she laid down her crutches and prayed, and she walked away healed and saved. " 4 50 Miss Wilcox Confirms Her Testimony. Miss Wilcox said: "I give God all the glory. I am healed through and by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he has cleansed me from all sin. I was sick with this last trouble that was in my ankles four years and four months; two years, eleven months and four days I was on crutches. And a little over a year, part of the time, I was not able to be on crutches; I was in bed. On the second day of July last, I instantly received strength to walk, at the Y. M. C. A. Hall. I had not worn a shoe, to amount to anything, for three years last January; and I talked nine blocks without a shoe on my foot, and carried my crutches in my hand immediately after I was healed. Praise the Lord! There was so much swelling in my foot on the morning of the 2d of July that I could not even put a slipper on; the next morning, the 3d of July, I put on my shoes, and have been wearing them ever since; and I have been praising God day by day." "How long had you been ill, altogether? " inquired Mr. Dowie. " Twenty-eight years." " How long on crutches? ^' " Two years, eleven months and four days." " Where are the crutches ? " "At 312 California Street: Mr. Craig's office. Twenty-four years ago I was given up by the doctors in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas, and here in San Francisco. The first doctor I went to hear was Dr. Douglass ; he said nothing but amputation would do, and he would not take my case, because I would not have it amputated. I was under the treatment of Doctor Morse for four and one- half months. He said at first it could be healed, and then he said it would have to be amputated. But when he was ready I was not ready, and I said I would be healed." Mr. Dowie said: "Show us how you can walk now." (Miss Wilcox ran lightly across the front of the large stage, and the audience vigorously applauded.) A Easiness Man's Testimony to the Healing of His Family. *' I will now ask a gentleman who is manager of a leading Insurance Company, a personal friend, standing high in this city among commercial men, and who will carry the weight that belongs to his sterling character and social station. I will ask our brother, Mr. Hugh Craig, of 312 California Street, San Francisco, to step forward and give us his testimony. " Mr. Craig rose in the audience, and spoke as follows: — " Before I speak about healing in my own family, I will say that Mr. Dowie brought tf» me from New Zealand letters from my father and mother. My father is seventy years of age, and my mother sixty-eight, and they are Christians of many years' standing in the city of Auckland. The letters toid me of the good work he had done in New Zealand and Australia. On his arrival my family were away; when they returned he was carrying on his Mission in Oakland. On the first afternoon that we were able to attend, Mrs. Craig was so unwell from an aflfection of the spine, and from which she had suflFered for twenty-six years, she could only sit for half an hour, and then I had to take her home. On the next Sunday after- noon, we had Mr. Dowie at our house. On the previous Tuesday one of my little girls, when climbing a tree, slipped and caught her arm in a crotch of the tree and hung there a sufiicient time to make considerable noise, and until we could run out to her assistance. It injured her shoulder, audit kept getting worse from this Tuesday until this Sunday afternoon. After the usual exercises before the chil- dren go to bed (we had been reading the eighth chapter of John), Mr. Dowie thought it was a little hard for the little folks, and said we would have another little lesson for them especially. He read, * Sufi'er little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven,' and explained the story, saying he thought these little children were sick, and had been brought to Jesus for healing, as well as for other blessing. Then he asked Jessie if she thought Jesus could heal her little sister's shoulder. She had been going around with her left arm hanging down, and not able to go out with the other children." . " * Yes,' she replied; she thought He was. "He said to another child, *' ' What do you think?' " 61 •' She said she thought Jesus would heal her shoulder. •' Mr. Dowie then prayed, saying about half a dozen words, asking the Lord ^esus to manifest his povver; and he just touched her with his finger, and told her to hold out her hand. She held her hand out ; the pain was gone instantly, and from tliat moment she was perfectly healed. This was my first opportunity for seeing anything of Divine Healing. I was astounded. Mrs. Craig and I talked this tiling over after we went to bed,, and we had occasion afterward to see a good deal of Mr. Dowie. Mr. Dowie prayed for, and laid hands upon, my wife, and the spinal trouble that Mrs. Craig had for twenty -six years at once departed, and is now entirely gone. She had also an affection of the vocal cords, for which she was treated by Dr. O'Toole. She suffered so much that sometimes she had to sit up all night; she lost her voice entix'ely, and was not able to sing for something like ten years. Now she sings morning, nooii, and night, and that trouble has gone. It was removed by the Lord at the same time as the spinal injury. All this occurred nearly three months ago. The healing of the spine and vocal cords has remained, and Mrs. Craig is here and able to speak for herself." (Tremen- dous applause all through the building.) Mrs. Craig then rose in her seat and said (being in the audience and speaking low, the reporter heard only a few words): — "I am very thankful indeed for what the Lord has done for me. I have suffered a great deal of pain. I was af!iicted with the troubles my husband has mentioned. Now they are entirely gone, and I am very well and comfortable. It used to trouble me to lie on my left side, but now I can do so as well as upon my right." (Another hearty applause.) A Doctor's Testimony to His Healing. Now I will have a medical doctor testify, our dear Brother C. F. Ldine, of Tulare City, who sought the Lord for healing. Dr. Lane said: "Friends, I have not words this evening to express the gratitude I have to my heavenly Father for what I enjoy this moment. I give Him all the glory for what he has done for me. I have been a Christian man for a great many years, and I have suffered a very severe affliction of my head, and general breaking down of my constitution for the last three or four years. I have been so afflicted with my head that I have not been able to exercise my brain. If I entered into a conversation my thoughts would go away so that at times I could not connect the subject. I had been praying the Lord to use me in the ministry as well as in the practice of medicine. But I have hardly been -able to practice medicine or to preach, only occasionally, for three or four years. "I say it to my shame that I have been skeptical in regard to healing by iaith, as it is called. I have tried Christian science, and I have tried all the remedies for the restoration of my health. I came here to the city last winter, and went to Dr. McLane, and other physicians, to help me in this matter. All failed. This spring I thought I would go to the mountains. I laid in a stock of medicines and started for the mountains with my daughter. I grew worse all the time. We came back to Woodbridge and stopped over there at a friend's house, on our way back to the city. My daughter was taken down with a very severe affliction, and we thought she was going to die, and I scarcely got through myself. I stayed there. A dear brother came in one day, and he told me about Brother Dowie at Sacramento, and he gave me a pamphlet which he got from there, to read. Well, I thought to myself, I have heard so much about faith healing and Christian science that I don't believe there is much in it. I did not seem to have any faith; but when I heard Brother Dowie was from Australia, out of curiosity I thought I would go and hear him. I did not believe any 'good could come out of Nazareth,' because I left Australia to educate my family in America on account of the wickedness of the people. So I went to hear him, and it was the hearing that enabled me to lay hold of faith in Jesus Christ for the healing of my body. I have heard a great deal about divine healing, heard a great deal of teaching about divine healing, but I have been taught, * Lord, thy will be done. " So I went along suffering and suffering, and saying, 'Lord, if it is thy will, heal my body.' I tell you, dear Christians, it <5ame to the point with me that I almost rebelled against God, I suffered so much 52 burning pain in my head. I almost came to the point that God had caused me to suffer. Bnt I heard Brother Dowie, and I have not words to express the joy of my soul. I heard the beautitul teaching. It was just like living in a new world. Brother Dowie showed me it was not my Father's will that I should suffer; that it was His will that I should be whole; that I should have strength and health of body. And just from the teaching and listening to Brother Dowie I saw a new light in the Scriptures that I never saw before. And I went home and told my dear daughter and wife that it was not the Lord's will that we should suffer; it is the work of the devil. Well, I just commenced right then and quit the medicine, and I trusted the Lord, and to some extent I was better, but I did not get right. But I realized that the healing process was going on in my system. I then came here and listened to Brother Dowie in these meetings. Last Sabbath evening I was at Lodi, and I had to sit way back in the far end of the church and listen to the preacher, and I could not bear to hear the sound of the preacher's voice, much as I wished it otherwise. But, Brother Dowie, now I can pray and sing, and my head seems as light and beautiful and comfortable, and I am filled with joy and peace; I never felt so in my life. Oh, it is faith in our Heavenly Father, it is faith in the efl&cacy of the blood of Jesus Christ who hath atoned for our sins and sicknesses, and it is His will which has wrought the work. I believe that God's children shall be well and have healthy bodies. I am resting in Jesus from mo- ment to moment; I am getting better acquainted with Jesus every moment; when I lie down to-night I shall realize He is present with me. I say, 'Lord, I. trust in thee to heal me perfectly.' I was not healed immediately — not perfectly when Brother Dowie prayed with me in the Palace Hotel, but 1 am getting bet- ter all the time; I am better this evening than I was yesterday. I have confi- dence in my Heavenly Father that I am going to have perfect health, and a sounder body than I have ever had, because I am going to trust and glorify him every moment. The Lord bless you all. " Mr. Dowie remarked, "The brother looks all right; he does not look as he did at Sacramento. Perhaps Miss Lane, his daughter, would like to testify." Testimony of a Doctor's Daughter, Miss Lane immediately responded, and in a very pleasant manner spoke as follows: — ** It gives me great pleasure to speak a word for Jesus to-night, One month ago I never thought I could stand before a congregation again; I thought I should never be able to speak again in this world. For a number of years I have been an invalid; I have been very delicate. For the last three years I have suf- fered very much from nervous exhaustion, which means that the whole body is sick from head to foot. Of late I have suffered very much from heart disease, and at times it has seemed as if death was very near. "A few months ago we started for Oakland to attend a camp-meeting, and to also go to a cooler climate, as I seemed to be failing very rapidly. We came as far as Woodbridge, and the excitement of just meeting with my friends was too great for me, and I was taken down with severe heart trouble, and it seemed as if I must die; it seemed as if I could not live until morning; indeed, from one moment to the next it was thought I could not live; and I believe that it was only by the power of God through* the prayers of my dear ones [tJvey ivouldnH give me up), that I was raised from that bed of suffering and from going down to the grave just in the bloom of youth, when I might work for Jesus. I am so thank- ful that the Lord has raised me up. " Papa has told you that he went to Sacramento to hear Bro. Dowie and to learn something more particularly of the Divine Healing. They prayed for me there and I felt very much better, very much indeed. I laid aside medicines, and I just told the Lord if he did not heal me I would die; I did not want any more medicine. ' ' I might say that Brother Dowie has been charged with being a magnetic healer, and heals by the laying on of hands and magnetism. I wish to say that my case is a direct disproof of that false charge. In this city last winter I took treatment of one or two magnetic physicians, I think as good as ever have been 63 on this coast, and I am very thankful to them; the last one I had worked for me very hard indeed, and he spent much time over me, and much thought; he did all he could to raise me up. I shall never forget that physician, and never cease to pray for him. There was another physician, of the Eclectic school, who tried with all his power to help me, but all failed. And I just asked the Lord to give me strength to come up to these meetings. So Jesus gave me strength to come and receive the teaching, and last Sunday I made up my mind that it was the will of Ood to heal me. Brother Dowie prayed with me on Monday, and I at once re- At this point a lady asked the privilege of speaking, and spoke of her heal- ing in such a manner as led Mr. Dowie to inquire if she was not a believer in so- 117 called Christian Science. She replied that she was. Mr. Dowie firmly forbade any testimony from that standpoint, saying tiiat Christian Science was neither scientific nor Christian; that it denied the divinity of Christ, denied the existence of sickness and sin, denied the Atoning Sacrifice, denied the personality of the Holy Spirit, and was antichristian. Believers' Baptism and Divine Healing. A lady asked the privilege of giving a short testimony, and said: "Twenty- five years ago I was lying at the point of death. For four years I had been an invalid. One night as I lay resting the Lord spoke to me and said that if I would be baptized I would be strong for the work. I did not know just what that meant. I had been a Christian eight years but had not been baptized with water. So the next Sabbath I went forward at the command of my Master and was baptized, and I went down into the water sick, trembling, lifeless almo.st, and 1 came forth well by the power of God, and for the last seventeen years I have been in the Mission field at as hard labor and as much of it, I suppose, as any gentleman engaged in missionary work. Blessed be God for His power, and for His keeping power. I am so glad to-night to know that the Lord is my per- fect healer. I have no other physician. " Singing of Doxology. Mr. Dowie then offered the following Prayer. *' Father in Heaven, bless the meeting that is just closing; bless the testimony that has been given to the power and the willingness of Thy dear Son to heal all diseases. We bless Thee for the blind that have received their sight, for the lame that have walked, for the deaf that have heard, and for the cancers and the diseases that have been perfectly cleansed. i ** We thank Thee, Lord, that these are but a few of a great many, and that the witnesses now to Thy power to heal are rising up in all parts of the country. '* Give us, dear Lord, in the resumption of the Mission, greater blessings than we have ever had in this Mission. Grant that Thy servants who have received this truth may be enabled to show by their grateful lives that they are nearer to Thee than ever before, and more earnest in the salvation of their fellow-men, more and more determined to glorify Thee in their spirits, souls, and bodies, which are Thine. "Hear us, Lord, and forgive anything that has been said amiss. In Thy great compassion look upon those who are being led astray by Modern Spiritual- ism and Christian Science falsely so-called, and these many forms of error that are contrary to the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord of grace, to withstand evil in every form, and to maintain the standard of simple faith in a living Saviour. *' And now. Lord, accept our gratitude, and help us to carry these beautiful Leaves of Healing to many sin-sick nations. We pray Thee that we may be spared to do this. I ask Thee, dear Lord, for myself, for my beloved wife, for my Secre- tary, and for my dear little children, the little pilgrim band who are carrying this Mission from land to land. Raise up many to help; and may the Branches of the American Divine Healing Association in this State be Bands of earnest Christians, helpful to all portions of the Church of the living God. " Again we pray that Thou wilt bless us each individually; keep us veiy close to Thee, and may we ever be faithful in following only Thee. We ask it for Jesus' sake. Amen. " Mr. Dowie then pronounced the Benediction, and the meeting closed. Extracts from a Verbatim Report of a Praise and Testi- mony Meeting Held by Rev. J. A- Dowie and Wife in Hamilton Church, Oakland, Cal., Monday Evening, Feb- ruary 18, 1889. (Reported by G. H. Hawes, 320 Sansome Street, San Francisco.) [The large platform was crowded to its utmost capacity by those prepared to testify, and scores besides were seated iu front and on each side. The building was quite filled with a large and intelligent audience.] 118 Prayer. "May the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts be accept- able in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer." HyTXLn 162. , " My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness." Mr. Dowie then delivered a short address with reference to the work and the future arrangements for Missions. In the course of his remarks he said: " We have placed before the Lord in our meetings to-day a very large number of peti- tions for prayer — I think about fifty petitions, from various parts of the world; some have come from Switzerland, some from Sweden, some from Australia and New Zealand, and from all parts of the continent. Our average number of letters is over one thousand per month, and apart from any meetings or other work, the attention demanded by this vast correspondence taxes every power the Lord has given us. " I would give public thanks to my God that for Jesus Christ, our Saviour's sake, He has given us the help of the Holy Spirit in these series of meetings, which for eight months we have conducted in this State. "Although we shall meet with the friends on one or two public "occasions, this is the last Mission we shall have for several months. We have it under con- sideration whether we shall stay the remainder of the year upon this coast. It is the desire of a very large number of friends that we should. I would like to-night to commit that matter to God, that I may get sound judgment; I want to do what God wants me to, for " Whilst place we seek or place we shun, The heart finds happiness in none; But with my God to gniide the way, •Tis equal joy to go or stay." " I just feel like that about it. It is very pleasant to stay on this coast; but there are invitations to hold Missions throughout the Middle and Eastern and Northern and Southern States of your country, and from Canada, from Great Britain, and they are beginning to ask from Australia, ' When are you coming back here? ' And so we have these invitations. I thank God for these fields. We havQ calls from Asia and Africa, and from all countries in Europe, and we do feel that the Lord is linking us with His saints who are holding up this Banner and Seeking for the Light, in all parts of the world. I mention this at the very beginning to-night, for I want to beseech God to give us wisdom, even while en- gaged in this work, that we may be able to come to some right conclusion in the course of a week as to whether we shall stay for a year longer on this coast or not." After Mr. Dowie had read the petitions and offered prayer for each, his prayer was closed in these words: — "And now we ask Thee to bless us in this closing night of the Mission. Grant that Thy Holy Spirit's Power may rest upon all who are here, and that great grace may attend every word spoken in Thy name; we ask it for Jesus'j sake." Mrs. Dowie then read the 67th Psalm: ** God be merciful unto us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us." Concerning Finances. After making announcements for meetings of the Association, etc., Mr. Dowie spoke a few words; he said: "I would like to say now that the free-will offerings which will now be taken up, are in the nature of thank-offerings, and in case anybody thinks we are making a great deal of money out of this matter, I want to say that no charges have been made of any kind; that no person who has ever been healed has been asTced to give a single cent of money; that the poor have been treated just as kindly and as lovingly and as patiently as the rich; there has been no dif- 119 ference, but as a matter of fact, it is the poor comparatively who have argely been blessed. Thank God there are some who have been blessed who are in other circumstances. I would like to say here that I have borne the entire responsibil- ity of these Missions since I came to this country, with the solitary exception of the Mission held in the Grand Opera House, which M'as undertaken by friends. The expense is not inconsiderable. I cast the whole matter on the Lord, and the Lord sustains and provides for me. He has done it already spiritually and in many ways. I only wish I could spend ten thousand lives upon the work; I give him all I have, spirit, soul, and body, and time and talent. We work night and day, and this gospel is without money and without price in the fullest sense of the word. [" Amen " from the audience.] '* I just say that because these free-will offerings are to cover the expenses of the Mission. Remember, it is not for my sake, but for the work's sake; and for the work's sake it ought to be fuller and richer and freer than it has been. I am talking for Christ. The Lord will bless, and, I have no doubt, perfectly take care of his work. I think it is due to myself that I should make this statement." Tbe hymn, "Jesus, lover of my soul," was then sung, and a collection taken up. One Hundred and Sixty-Three "Witnesses Stand Up Prepared to Testify to Their Healing. Mr. Dowie said: "Now, beloved friends, I would like before we ask any- body to witness with their lips, that everyone who has been healed through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, will just please rise to their feet, and I will count them. "There are 163 persons. [Exclamations of "Praise the Lord," and " Amen. "] " I would like very much that every word of testimony be directly given and in the simplest language, and that no one shall give any glory to me, but that all glory shall be given to Him from whom all power has come — to our Lord Jesus Christ." Healing of Cancer in the Tongue. Mrs. King, an elderly lady, said: "It is a privilege to-night to testify for Jesus and Him only. This is a large congregation, much larger than I have ever testified before. I praise God He is with me to-night. He has given me a new tongue and a new song in my mouth to sing praises unto Jesus; and I am the daughter of a millionaire to-night, and that is the great King up there. Oh, praise his name ! " For five years I had a cancer on the side of my tongue, and I had four doc- tors: Dr. Darrin, in the city, on Stockton Street; Dr. Miller out in the Mission, San Francisco, on Valencia Street; Dr. Domin and Dr. Sienna. The more 1 doc- tered the weaker and the worse I grew. " When Dr. Dowie came here, under his doctrine I received Jesus for my healer, and He has healed both soul and body. Praise the Lord. There is glory in my soul. The Scriptures tell us to testify to God, or worse may befall us. I am going to testify while I have the use of this prattling tongue for the glory and honor of my God and Saviour. He is a wonderful physician; He is my keeper and He is my physician. Not another drop of medicine shall touch my lips. I give Him all the honor and glory to-night." Mr. Dowie said: " There were two large holes in her tongue, and the disease was entirely beyond all human power to heal. I have examined her tongue my- self, and it is perfectly healed. One tonsil was cut away because of the disease." Instantaneous Healing of a Lady "Who Came on Crutches. Mr. Dowie said: ** These crutches [holding them in his hand] belonged to Mrs. Hierlihy, of 2110 Alameda Avenue, Alameda. Her husband is the proprietor of a large planing mill, corner First Street and Broadway, Oakland, and therefore is W3ll known to many in your city. She has been here all day since 11a. m., and until a late hour tins afternoon. She found it necessary to return home, and asked her friend, Mrs. Wixom, of 1778 Eighth Street, to testify for her. " I may say that as far as I know the case she has been on these crutches for some time, and been ill for twenty years, off and on, and been in bed and unable 120 to be about for several months. It is comparatively recently that she has been able to get upon these crutches. She was healed instantly and perfectly, and can go about freely without crutches. "We received' the following petition for prayer from Mrs. Hierlihy, to which her healing is a direct answer. '"Alameda, Cal., Feb. 12, 1889. " ' Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dowie: I want you to pray for me. I have been very sick for five months with a fever. I cannot stand up, nor walk a step without the aid of crutches. I regret very much that I could not attend your meetings. I have suffered for many years with a painful knee, which has quite crippled me in the last four years. Do pray that 1 may be healed, God is my Father, Christ is my Saviour. Yours sincerely, Mrs. N. J. Hierlihy.' "Mrs. Wixom knows more about the case than I do. I believe she is your old friend ? " "Yes, sir." " You know these crutches ? " •*I did not know them, but I saw her leave them." •* You know who they belonged to ? " " To Mrs. Hierlihy. She is an intimate friend of mine, and she has been very ill for some time. She has had, amongst other troubles, a very bad knee; it was swollen so badly that she was crippled and could not walk upon it. Re- cently she had a very severe illness that confined her to her bed for several Weeks, and her life was despaired of. "She heard of Brother Dowie's meetings, and was very anxious to come. But she said it seemed as if the adversary kept her from going, until this past week, when the way was opened, and she was brought in a buggy. She came in on crutches and with the assistance of several persons, and could scarcely get here, she was so feeble. She was healed instantly, left her crutches and walked out to the buggy, and got into it alone without any assistance. She came here again to-day, and her husband told me she ran away from him, got out of the buggy, and came in herself, when he didn t know it. " She wished me to testify for her to-night. She was obliged to go home. I am very glad to say she has taken Jesus for her physician, and she is greatly blessed in spirit, which is better than all. Praise His name." Mr. Dowie asked, "You believe she is free from her disease in every way?" "Yea, sir. She was sitting on the front seat during the meeting, and she rose up and walked, and I said to some friends, ' Look at her; she used to limp so badly, and now see how nicely she walks.' " i am sure she has been ill for several years — I don't know how many." Mr. Dowie said: "We give God the glory in this case. The sister has been daily testifying by her presence here, and staid till late this afternoon, but had occasion to go home." Confirmation by Annie Burkmann of Her Restoration to Sight after Fourteen and a Half Years' Blindness in Her Left Ey-e. Mr. Dowie said: " At our last Testimony Meeting here, on February 4, I said that some very wicked and very false statements had been published in the pa- pers of your city, regarding the cases of those healed in the first Oakland Mission. I referred especially to a statement published in the Oakland Evening Evquirer, that a number of the persons who were alleged to have been healed through faith in Jesus had only a mythical existence, or their testimonies were false. We proved the falsehood of the charge on that occasion, and silenced the Enquirer. We shall still further prove its wickedness this evening. Now, let all those upon this platform and in the audience who were healed in the first Oakland Mission please stand," Fifteen persons stood, and amongst them Miss Annie Burkmann. Pointing to the young lady, Mr. Dowie said: " Miss Annie Burkmann's case was specially attacked. This dear girl's case is mentioned on pages 55 and 56, in the little Eamph'et entitled 'American First-Fruits,' and a Baptist minister named Fleenor as dared to say it is untrue. My stenographer sitting here to-night, Mr. G. H. 121 Hawes, of 320 Sansome Street, San Francisco, took down all the testimonies ex- actly as they appear iu the * 'American First-Fruits, " and he is a professional stenog- rapher. He reports here to-night in a professional capacity. He reports contin- ually in courts of justice, commissions, and in all kinds of important positions, and Mr. Fleenor dared to say that these testimonies were false. Amongst those he said were false is the testimony of this dear girl. We intend this evening to go fully and publicly into this and other disputed cases, and show once more that the little pamphlet states the simple truth. Miss Burkmann, where do you live now ? ^' ♦' 813 Peralta Street, Oakland. " " This lady is sixteen and one-half years old, and was blind in the left eye for fourteen and a half years.* She had disease in both eyes. She has had her sight restored. Mr, Fleenor dared to say that testimony was false, a lie, in effect, and that her sight wa.s not restored. I took the pains to ask Mrs. Pereau, Mr. Svenson, Mr. Wilson and others to go down to the editor of the Enquirer with this girl and show him her eyes. He examined her eyes and said that she could see perfectly. He took the addresses of tjhe persons who came with her and her own testimony, and said he would put the matter straight the next morning, and he has never said a word about it. [Laughter.] Now that is fairness on the part of the local press publishing falsehoods, and then saying they will tell the truth, and, by failing to do so, telling another falsehood. They rob God of His glory. I convicted them publicly a fortnight ago in this hall, but they still remain impenitent, and still spread false statements congeming these cases. Is that so. Brother Svenson ? " •* Yes, sir." •* The editor said he would ' straighten that out ' ? " *• Yes, sir. We are all witness to that, besides Annie Burkmann herself." ** I want you to see we are not complaining of the persistent falsehoods of the local press without a great deal of reason, and we will never allow it to lie with impunity. [Cries of "Amen."] I care not a single farthing for all that the press can do or say. God is in this work, and He is stronger than all the force of a corrupt newspaper press." [Fervent ** Amens."] " Whereas I Was Blind, Now I See." Miss Burkmann then said: "To-night is just four months ago since I first could tell the time on a little watch, and now I can read medium print perfectly well, which I never did before. I give all the glory to Him who did it." Mr. Dowie held the face of his watch before her and asked her to tell the time, saying the watch had stopped. She said, ** Twenty-five minutes past eight. " This she did with the eye that had been blind, covering the other completely. He then asked her, "That was the eye that was perfectly blind for fourteen and one-half years ? " "Yes, sir." ** And now is the disease out of both your eyes ? " " Yes, sir, they are perfectly wall." ** And they were diseased all your life ? " " Yes, sir, except one and a half years. " "Who gets the glory?" "God." " Thank God. That will do. " Her Brotlier Testifies: "What She Has Told You Is True." Mr. Svenson said Miss Burkmann's brother and sister were present, and asked Mr. Dowie to have them stand up. Mr. Dowie did so, saying, ' ' We will have this matter out with the editor. I like an open fight with God's enemies. Jesus is Conqueror." The brother and sister came to the platform from the audience, and turning first to the brother, Mr. Dowie said: "Are you the brother of this girl ? " " Yes, sir." " How long was she blind ? * 122 ''Well, I could not tell you. I kmow she was blind from her childhood." ** And you know she sees ? '* "I know she sees." ** What is your name ? ** **Gus Burkmann " ** Where do you live ? '* **813PeraltaSt.' *' Tell all you know about your sister's case." ** Well, I can't tell anything more than what she has said. Whai she has told you is true.'' Her Sister Says : '*A11 that Annie. Has Said Is True.'* Mr. Dowie then turned to the sister and asked: ** What is your name ? " "Christine Burkmann." Where do you live ? " ** 1428 New Broadway. All that Annie has said is true. I know she was blind in her left eye since she was one year and a half old, and now it is all gone; the Lord has given her her sight. I remember when she got the trouble, because 1 had her in my arms. Now she can see and her eyes were pretty bad." [Cries of " Hallelujah " and "Glory to God."] Her Swedish Friends Confirm the Testimony. Mr. Svenson, of 761 Peralta Street, Oakland, who knows Annie Burkmann well, said: ** Remember that in this case she is old enough to speak for herself; she knows what God has done for her, and that is all we need to hear. But now her brother and sister testify also to the truth of her own statement, and if any- one is not satisfied with that testimony, we can't help it. If you cannot believe now from what you have heard in this case we cannot convince any man at all. " Mr. Dowie said: " Thanks be to God." Mr. Svenson continued: " She knows that she has been blind and now sees." Confirmation of •'First-Fruits" Reports. Mrs. Pereau, of West Berkeley, said she confirmed her testimony given in ** American First-Fruits. " Miss Johnson confirmed her testimony given at the Praise and Testimony Meeting held two weeks previous. Mrs. Leveritz confirmed her testimony as recorded in "American First- Fruits." Mrs. Stacy confirmed her testimony regarding the healing of her son as given in "American First-Fruits." Mrs. Ransome confirmed her testimony as given in "American First-Fruits.'* John Ashworth's Case. Mr. Bowie then said: "There was a little mistake made in 'First-Fruits.' The address of Mr. Ashworth is given at 160 Broadway, and Mr. Fleenor said, that would be out in the water; there was no 160 Broadway. Any candid, honestlj disposed man could have seen that was a mistake of the printers, bnt not so Mr. Fleenor. He and other ministers, I grieve to say, made merry over the mythical John Ashworth, whose home was under the water, and Mr. Fleenor and his friends made merry in public. It was 860 Broadway where this young man lived. He is now absent in the country, where I know not, and I cannot produce him here; but we have his written testimony, and there are scores now present who heard him deliver it last August." [Although we did not know where to find John Ashworth, God did, and in answer to our prayer, and through the columns, as will be seen, of a friendly little weekly newspaper, John Ashworth came to light within three weeks of the meeting. The following letter from him speaks for itself, both as to his healing, its permanence, and the spiritual results of the Lord's work. Surely it is our 123 Lord Himself who thus enables us to put His enemies to shame. Alas! that they should be those who profess to be of His own Household.] "Riverside, Cal., March 8th, 1889. ** Dear Mr. Dowie : I have the pleasure of writing. to you again. Recently, someone sent me two papers from ^Oakland. They were published in San Fran- cisco, and called The San Francisco Vindicator. Who sent them I do not know, but I read them over and was pleased. They gave accounts of another Mis- sion you have lately had in Oakland, and of its success. But, as usual, I read how you had been attacked by the Oakland papers. Nevertheless, that does not alter my faith in your good work. My faith is twenty-fold stronger than on July 18th, 1888, on which date I was healed, and I am enjoying the same excellent and perfect eye-sight to-day. Spectacles, after fourteen years' wearing, have been entirely abandoned. To my mind, since then (July, '88), I have had new life given to me. Somehow I have a peace that never entered my mind before. I do not have to meet trials and temptations in the same way that I had to meet them before this wonderful blessing came. Temptations and trials are now only pleasures to me. " What I once loved, I now hate, and what I once did hate I now love. Somehow I have a spirit that gives me more understanding of the Bible. These last six months I have learned more of the Bible than in all my short life put to- gether. Where I was once weak in all details of life I am twenty- fold stronger. Life is a pleasure to me now. Words of expression cannot give my gratification to Christ, and my whole heart and soul are glad. I feel like St . Paul, — I have to say, * Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? ' I have prayed for you and your missionary work continually, and wondered many a time where you were. May the Lord bless you and Mrs. Dowie in your work. Believe me, "Yours sincerely, John Ash worth." Healing of Many Years' Dyspepsia. Mrs. Newton, 1269 Cypress Street, Oakland, said: ** I am perfectly healed of many years' suffering from dyspepsia. I bless the Lord for it. I took Him at His word." (Mrs. Newton spoke so low it was difficult for the reporter to hear her, but he understood her to say that she had been healed of neuralgia before Mr, Ddwie came. ) Healing of Ten Years' Heart Disease. A lady rose on the platform and gave her name as Mrs. T. E. Sprinkle, 1365 Peralta Street, Oakland. Mr. Dowie did not seem at first to know much about the case, and said: '* I really do not remember what many are healed of, even although used in the cases. I have seen so many hundreds of persons healed that I do not recall the cases until I have looked at them for a few moments." Mrs. Sprinkle then said: **I suflfered with heart disease. I' feel to thank the Lord that I am perfectly healed, spirit, soul and body. Two doctors treated me for heart disease, — Dr. Darrin, in San Francisco, and Dr. Grissell. Now I am perfectly healed." Mr. Dowie asked Mrs. Sprinkle how many years she had the difficulty, and she answered, "Ten." Confirmation of Healings After Eight Months. Mr. Dowie asked those who were healed in the first San Franciscan Mission to please stand. A large number did so; and as this was the last Testimony Meet- ing likely to be held in the immediate neighborhood of San Francisco for some time, Mr. Dowie deemed it profitable to show the permanence of these Divine Healings by giving a few of those mentioned in '* First-Fruits " an opportunity of again witnessing for Jesus. Mrs. Ritohville said she confirmed the testimony regarding her own healing and sight restored to her boy, who had been born blind, as given in ' ' American First- Fruits, " pages 10 to 12 and 48 and 49, most emphatically. She added that r'er boy's sight was improving all the time. [Cries of '* Bless the Lord."] 124 Mr. Edwards testified that he was healed without human touch in the first Mission. Miss Foster said: ** I confirm my previous testimony (recorded in * First- Fruits,' pages 14 and 15). I was wonderfully healed on the first day of the first Mission in San Francisco.." Mrs. Edward Leach said, upon being asked if she confirmed her previous testimony (recorded in "First-Fruits," pages 57 and 58), " Indeed I do. The Lord keeps me all the time." Mrs. Chambers was asked if her mother was continuing in perfect health (re- ferring to Mrs. Brown, who was healed of a bone felon. ) She replied that her mother remained well, and was in Sacramento. This healing is recorded on pages 4 and 5, page 39, and pages 46 and 47 of " First-Fruits. " Dr. Dowiesaid regarding this case: "This was the first case healed through us in this country. She has repeated her testimony frequently. She was in- curably ill at Sacramento; she came down to San Francisco, with great difl&culty, on a crutch, and was saved and then healed instantly. Her daughter was re- stored to God at the same time, and she now wants to confirm her mother's testi- mony. [Turning to Mrs. Chambers] That is all^true ? " ** Yes, sir. She had a bone felon in the ankle, and it is entirely healed. She says that it is her best foot. She would have been glad to have been here to- night, but it was inconvenient for her to make the trip down here. She wanted me to testify for her. " Healed After Twenty-Eight Years' Suffering. Mr. Do wie then referred to the case of Miss Wilcox, as follows: "On the 2d of July last this sister, after twenty-eight years' suff"ering, at the hall of the Y. M. C. A., was instantly restored to God, and left her crutches, which we have in our possession to this day." Miss Wilcox said: *' I confirm my testimony, which is in 'American First- Fruits,' (Recorded on pages 13, 23 and 50.) It is all true. My present address is 426 Fulton Street, I can be found there if anyone wishes to call upon me." Mr, Dowie said: '* Let us see how you walk." [Miss Wilcox, looking strong and vigorous, walked with no difficulty whatever, causing a great degree of inter- est in the congregation, and there were many fervent exclamations.] Miss Wilcox continued: " For four years and four months I was afflicted with this last trouble. But the disease was of twenty-eight years' standing, which caused the ulceration of the ankle. It broke out in difi'erent places. When I was twelve years I had hip disease, which caused one leg to be shorter than the other; but after I had received strength to walk, and had been walking two weeks, the short leg became longer than the other, and, as near as I can remem- ber, on the 26th of September last it came in its place the same as the other.'* A Leading Lawyer Says, "The Evidence Is Enough to Convince Any Court." Mr. Dowie then said: " All who saw this lady come up on her crutches, lay them down and rise up and walk, please stand. This was a public healing. [A number stood up.] Nineteen witnesses. Is that enough, Mr. Galpin ? You are a lawyer." Mr. Galpin, a lawyer of excellent standing of San Francisco, immediately responded from the audience, "Yes, sir; enough to convince any court." Mr. Dowiesaid: "Now you see the Law confirms this Gospel. I have a good lawyer ©n the subject." [Laughter,] Remarkable Healing of a Yonng Lady's Arm. " I want some of the cases now that have been healed in this Mission. Miss Nettie Johnson, 1331 Union Street, San Francisco, will speak first. I will first of all ask her to show you her arm." [Miss Johnson exposed her forearm, showing on the under side a scar three or iour inches long and half an inch wide, red, and plainly visible to the audience.] 125 She said: "I was in Memphis, Tenn., a year ago the 13th of this month, and a piece of woodwork fell on my arm and broke it. I did not leave the place until hot weather commenced, and the bone decayed. I went to Br. Taylor, on Geary Street, and he said I would never have the use of my arm from my elbow up — that I could never turn it. He took me to a skeleton, and showed me just exactly how I would be aflfected. I had it operated on, and sure enough after it had healed pretty well I could not tuni it at all. He said I would have to give up my music. " I came here to Mr. Dowie, and he laid hands upon my arm, and instantly I tried that movement and I had it. [Exclamations of "Bless the Lord."] It has given me no pain, and I have practiced on an average five hours a day on the piano ever since." [Great enthusiasm in the audience, and fervent exclamations.] Mr. Dowie asked: "Have you now fully given your heart to the Lord ?'' "Yes, indeed." " How long did it take for the Lord to heal you of that which the doctors said would be a life-long infirmity ? " "About half a second. About four inches of the bone had been taken out. The nerves that run into two of the fingers were cut, and when I tried to use those two fingers I had no control of them at all; now I have a perfect control of them. " Healing of an Internal Cancer. Mrs. Boillot, 1123 Greenwich Street, San Francisco, who had testified in previous Missions, repeated the story of her healing, andmlso that of her baby, in an eloquent manner, which deeply impressed the large audience. This case is given fully at page 42 and pages 64, 65. A False Shepherd, or a True Shepherd? How the Lord Settled the Question. Mrs. Boillot said: "My baby was very sick at the beginning of the Mission in the Grand Opera House, and I would not go to any doctor. I prayed for the baby, but that time it seemed the prayer would not be answered. I heard that Mr. Dowie was preaching, but some of the Christians with whom I was in fellow- ship told me that he was a 'false shepherd,' and that the sheep ought not to follow the voice of a stranger. So I kept away. But the Lord called me all the time, * Go to Mr. Dowie with the case. Go to Mr. Dowie with the case.' And I struggled with the Lord for many a day. The child got M^orse and worse, and three days and three nights it did nothing but cry and scream all the time, and no food would agree with it. Prayer did not amount to anything, and all the time I heard, * Go to Mr. Dowie with the case. ' At last I yielded to the Lord. " Mr. Dowie asked, " Didn't you think I was a very bad man? ' She replied, " I don't feel worthy to tell the truth about it. " I sent in a petition for prayer at the Grand Opera House on the 17th of October last, asking you to pray for my baby, and saying I would pray at eight o'clock. I knew the time you were praying, for I saw a change in the face of that child. I said to the little girl, * They have been praying for you, and I have been praying for you, and now you go to sleep.' The baby wanted to cry as usual, and I said, ' Now you go to sleep, for the prayer must be an- swered.' And the baby fell asleep, and it slept until eight o'clock the next day. The next day I gave her just the same food that never would agree with her, and her stomach supported it beautifully. The child was changed, the food was not changed, and it has been well ever since. • * I saw that Mr. Dowie was the servant of God. I am not worthy to stand up to-night, and I must say, if he likes it or not, he is the servant of the God most high, and the Lord has given us great grace in bringing him over here. I have received such a blessing in my soul, through the Divine Healing doctrine. I can say that I trust the Lord, and I can never express my thankfulness and grateful- ness. I hope Mr. Dowie will forgive me that I ever thought he was a false shep- herd; but I have seen he was not a false shepherd. The Lord led me through deep waters to see it, and I give Him the glory." 126 Mr. Dowie: "Ezekiel 34:4, aud the words of our Lord in the ninth and tenth chapters of John, show clearly that one striking characteristic of ' the false shepherds' is that they oppose the ministry of Divine Healing. Of course we fully forgive our sister. It was at no time her willful sin that she thought evil of us. She was deceived by professing Christians, who will have to give an account to God for their sinful conduct, in making and spreading falsehoods concerning the work of the Lord in which we are engaged. " A. Lady Teacher Confirms Her Testimony. MissPereau, of 1212 Seventh Street, and of the Cole Public School, Oakland, with much earnestness and clearness said: " I deem it oue of the greatest privileges that I have ever enjoyed in my life to be one of the number who stand before you to-night to glorify Jesus not ouly as my Saviour, but as my Healer, for He not only saves us from sin, but He redeems our mortal bodies according to His own promise. *' I was a great sufferer for fourteen months or more from an affection of the stomach — a nervous affection I think it was. I would not attempt to give it a name, because the different doctors I consulted gave it different names, and like- wise treated it differently. Dr. Hill, of this city, called it nervous prostration of the lining of the stomach, brought on from overwork. Whatever it may be called, I know that I suffered very intensely from it, and for fourteen months 1 was unable to digest or retain anything on my stomach whatever, with the ex- ception of a small amount of bread and milk, and the bread had to be very stale, and the milk with very little cream on it, or it would make me ver}"^ sick. "I know there are many people that think a little stomach disorder don't amount to much; but if you had suffered as much as I have, you would think differ- ently. But to let you know just exactly how bad it was, I will say that I could not take anything that had any saccharine matter in it, or anything greasy. On one occasion, when Dr. Hill treated me, he gave me those little pellets made of sugar and water, medicated, and the amount of sugar those little pellets con- tained made me deathly sick, and he had to give me medicine in liquid form. A short time before I was healed I accidentally, in eating a little piece of dry bread, got hold of a little scrap of butter, which I did not notice on the bread, and which, if I had known, I would not have eaten the bread. I suffered three days intensely from the effects of that small amount of butter; I don't thiiik there was more than you could spread over a nickel. [For foreign readers let us ex- plain: "A nickel" is a 5-cent piece, about the size of an English sixpence] I was perfectly prostrate, and I could not raise my hand to my head, broke out in a cold perspiration, and had to lie down, and the effects did not wear off for three days. This will give you some idea of the bad condition of my stomach. ** It is three weeks ago to-day that I accepted Jesus as my Saviour right here in this building. I had never given myself up entirely before that day to be- come a thorough Christian. On the following Thursday I accepted Jesus as my Healer. Dr. Dowie laid hands upon me here in this building and prayed. He ■^laid hands on more than sixty others on the same occasion. He just touched me — no rubbing — and took his hand away instantly. He afterwards told me to eat a good, hearty meal in the name of the Lord. I felt considerable apprehen- sion when I heard that; but he was going to dine at the house of my brother with me that evening, and I felt that I must do it, because I knew he would see me. I just prayed that I would be healed, if I had not been already — of course I could not tell, because I had not eaten anything — for I wanted to be healed before I sat down at the table, because I knew he would make me eat. So we sat down to the table, and the Doctor had me served to everything that was on the table, and the food was very rich. The Doctor said, ' You eat now. ' [Laughter.] I ate a large piece of turkey, and you know that turkey is the hardest meat there is to digest, next to pork anyway. I might say here that the last meat I had eaten before that was some beef-steak. My mother took a very nice piece of beef and scraped it, taking just the fine meat, and put it between two or three slices of bread, and made a little sandwich and heated it all through, without a particle of grease about it. I ate that, and it made me very, very 127 sick. I saw then that I could not eat any more meat; I did not attempt it either after that. I could not eat oysters, or soft-boiled eggs, or any of those things that are considered a light diet. Besides turkey I ate potato, rich gravy, all the butter I wanted on my bread, dressing on the turkey, drank coffee, and wound i;p with peaches and cream, cake, with a thick frosting of sugar on it (before tliat I could not have eaten a particle of sugar), and an orange. But better than that, I have gone right on eating. I know there are a great many who think that I might have eaten at the time, l^ecause the Doctor was beside me and in- spired me with faith and courage; but the blessing continues all the time, so that idea will not stand. The next morning the Doctor took breakfast at the house, and he saw me eat fried eggs and drink coffee. The other morning I ate a large piece of fried salmon. Now I can eat everything." Mr. Dowie said: " I think on account of your illness you had to retire tem- porarily from your position ? " " Yes, sir," she replied, "at the beginning of the present school term I asked far and obtained a leave of absence for sixty days; I thought if I was better at the end of that time I would go back, but it looked very doubtful. That time has not yet expired; I will go back when it hats expired, well and strong, which I did not expect when I took the leave of absence." Mr. Dowie exclaimed, "Thanks to God; I am very glad." [This young lady has returned to her duties as teacher, full of strength and hope, and is now an active Christian worker.] Healing of Eighteen Years' Infirmities and of Thirty-Four Years' Total Deafness in the Left Ear. "Xow that is a very late case; now we will have one that is older. " [Mr. Dowie called on Mrs. Gerold, of 823 Dolores Street, San Francisco. She rose from a back seat of the crowded rows of persons on the platform, all prepared to testify to their healing. Mr, Dowie asked her to step to the front. She said: — ] "1 am very thankful to be able to come out and let the people have a look at me. I was sick for eighteen years when I went to the Doctor. When I told him about my disease he asked me if I was fully converted, and if I was willing to take Jesus as my healer. On that very day I did both. I think it was the Saturday before Christmas, and it was the happiest Christmas I had on earth. I was instantly healed. I attended only three meetings when Mr. Dowie laid his hands upon my back. My husband and my children used to help me get off from my chair; they had to lift me up. When I was in the street-cars I used to be very much embarrassed, and they would say, 'Madam, can I assist you to rise ? ' I had a great deal of pain. I had spinal trouble and was often unable to lift my foot from the ground. When I went upstairs my children would lift up one foot and placQ it on the stair, and then lift up the other, and I used to get upstairs in that fashion. Since 1 was healed I have remained perfectly well. I have no pain in my back or anywhere else. "I had been deaf in my left ear ever since I was three years old; never heard anything in that ear. Mr. Dowie asked me on the evening when I first testified at the Central Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, if that was my address on a card I had given him. I was sitting below him in front of the platform, and he spoke in a low tone into my left ear, and although I had a big piece of cotton in my ear I heard what he said in that ear, and 1 had never heard anything with it since I was th'ee years old, when it was made deaf by scarlet fever. 1 am now thirty-seven years old. "I give all the glory to God, because if He hadn't healed me, I would not have been healed, although it was accomplished through Mr. Dowie's agency. " Mr. Dowie said: "That healing of the deafness of thirty-four years is a very interesting matter." HeaUng of Twenty-Four Years' Spinal Injury and Ten Years' Affection of "Vocal Cords. "I will ask Mr. Hugh Craig, of Piedmont and of .SI 2 California Street, San Francisco, to say a few words concerning the healing of his family, and to confirm 128 the testimony he has already given publicly. ["First-Fruits," pages 50 and 51. J Mr. Craig is the President of the newly formed Oakland Branch of the Ameri- can Divine Healing Association. His testimony may be of special value in Oak- land, now that he is occupying so important a position in connection with this work." Mr. Craig stepped up to the front from the body of the church, and said: "I wish to indorse the testimony of Mrs. Craig and myself, which you will find stated at length in 'American First-Fruits. ' "We got acquainted with Mr. Dowie and his family upon his first arrival here, but we were very shy and very chary about taking to ourselves the doctrine, and only after hearing him repeatedly in the First Presbyterian Church did we see the truth at all clearly. Upon the first occasion that I took Mrs. Craig she was not able to stay at the meeting, and I had to take her home in about an hour. Her afi'ection of the spine had been so bad for some twenty -four years that she could not sit for any length of time. After a visit from Mr. Dowie at our house, and prayer and laying on of hands, Mrs. Craig's affection of the spine was perfectly healed. "She had another affection of the vocal cords from which she had suffered ten years. For this trouble she had been under treatment of Dr. Liliencrantz, of Oakland, and Dr. O'Toole, She has been entirely healed of this trouble. She has been well of both these affections since July last. Mrs. Craig is here. We are well known to many people in Oakland and in San Francisco. We give the glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. We appreciate the visit and the teachings of Mr. Dowie, which have been a great blessing to my family. " A Local Doctor Accepts Divine Healing. "I have now the pleasure of mentioning two sisters; one of them is the wife of a beloved Christian doctor of medicine in this city; and it is a great joy to me that Dr. G. S. Smith is a member of the Council of the Oakland Divine Heal- ing Association. He has now fully accepted this doctrine of healing through faith in Jesus. I believe that is so, doctor?" Dr. Smith replied, "Yes, sir." "I have had the joy of being instrumental in the healing of dear Mrs. Smith and her sister, Mrs. Bancroft. Dr. Smith lives at the corner of Adeline and Tenth Streets, Oakland. Healing of the Doctor's "Wife. Mrs. Smith said: "I may say that for the last ten years I have never been what one might call a well woman. I am naturally active, and I have gone about when really I was not able to. My husband knows better than anyone else, perhaps, what I suffered. I suffered a great deal more than I ever said any- thing about. About three months ago I was very ill, and I was five weeks on my back, unable to be up. "I have known Jesus for twenty years as Saviour, but not as Healer. It is a blessed thing to know He is the Healer of His people, and that He ahvays will be. I have never felt so well as I do to-night, and I expected to be under the doctor's care for six or eight months more, I have been so for twelve months past; and for two years at a time I have not been out of the doctor's hands, you might say, although I am a doctor's wife. I have had the best of care and the best of treatment. I have had the consultations of the best doctors of San Francisco, and yet I never was well. But now I do not expect to be sick any more. I thank God that in my spirit, soul, and body I feel refreshed and blessed. I am very glad to be able to testify to the help I have received. I shall trust the Lord to keep me, and will trust Him as my healer for the rest of my life." Healing of the Doctor's Sister. Mrs. Bancroft, Dr. Smith's sister, then spoke as follows: "The Lord has blessed me in body, and He blesses me in soul and spirit. I have known the Lord for thirty-three years as Saviour, but I have never known Hijn before as my Di- vine Healer. I have suffered for three years from internal gout of a very dan- 129 gerous character; I have been several times at the very gates of death within the last two years in California. I believe that the Lord has healed me. "The other day 1 was at the meeting here and I had a very severe attack of this pain ; it was after Brother Dowie had laid hands upon me in the name of the Lord. But Satan, to try me, had sent me, in this meeting, a very severe attack of pain. I went to Brother Dowie and told him about it; he took my hand and pronounced a benediction in the name of the Lord, and the pain went away im- mediately. I look to the Lord for the future as my Healer. ' •'I want to tell you, also, that I did not want to be healed; it was greatly against my will. I looked upon disease, and especially of my disease, as a sort of means to get to Heaven by. I never wanted to live long since I have been a Christian; I never wanted to be an old woman; I never wanted to see my dear ones taken from me one after the other and I be left behind. I looked upon my disease as a sort of balloon to carry me to Heaven; and 1 was mad when I heard about Brother Dowie; I didn't like Brother Dowie, because I did not want to think that he could be instrumental in healing me. But after the Lord showed me how He was willing to heal me, and how I could be healed, I thought I ought to be healed, and He made me willing to be healed; and so He has healed me. Now I am willing to live ["Thank God"], willing to live for Jesus; I hope to live for Jesus and to work for Jesus with the strength He has given me, and trust Him to keep me. And I want to die for Jesus if it is necessary." ["Thank God," "Glory to God," from the audience.] Mr. Dowie said: " I may say that our sister, Mrs. Bancroft, and Dr. Smith, are the son and daughter of that very eminent man of God, the Rev. George Sidney Smith, D. D., F. T. C. D., late of Dublin, Ireland. I have great joy to think God has used me to other members also of that family. I am so glad this work is going all over the world in so many ways, and these testimonies will give joy to many hearts in the beautiful Emerald Isle, a land which God will yet most richly bless, and which we hope to visit, for many there are desirous of hearing this doctrine from our lips. " Saved and Healed. A lady giving her name as Mrs. Wallace, Todd St., Lorin, said: "I have been saved, and I have been healed of a severe kidney trouble." Saved, Healed, and "Working for Jesus: Mrs. Rodenbeck, of Alameda, said: "I want to praise the Lord for what He has done for me. I was a great sinner, but I am rejoiced to testify for Him to- night. I have been on crutches; I had a lame instep for thirteen years, so that I could not walk. Praise God, He has strengthened that and I have the full use of my instep. I am going to testify for Him whenever I can. He has given me strength, and I am going to work for Him. He has saved me and healed me, and I have work to do, for my family is not saved." Mr. Dowie asked: "All who saw this sister come in, and saw her leave her crutches behind, rise." Quite a number did so. Two Little Boys Tell of Their Healing. ft. little boy rose on the platform, and in a clear and earnest voice said: "I was sick and the Lord healed me. " Mr. Dowie asked him what his name was, and he said, "Albert Peterson," and that he lived on Oak Street, Alameda. Another boy rose and said the Lord had healed him. This was the son of Mrs. Pereau, West Berkeley. Restoration of Voice. J ane Bray, of 787^ Stevenson Street, San Francisco, said her voice had been restored, and also been healed of another trouble, the nam* of which the reporter did not catch. 9 130 Restoration of Sight and Hearing to One Born Blind and Deaf in Left Eye and Ear. Miss Ada Aspengren, of Sutter Street, Oakland, then stepped forward, and said: "I am very thankful to the Lord that He healed me, and for what He has done for me. He blesses me, spirit, soul, and body. ^'I was born blind in my left eye, and tvas deaf in my left ear. I can see now well, and hear well too. There is something else, I didn't tell Brother Dowie about; that was something I had in my breast for about two years. It gave me a cough, and it was worse in the morning. That is all gone; the Lord took it away. I ask Him to, and He tojok it. I leave all the sickness with Him, and He is willing to take it.'' Those who knew this lady were asked to stand up, and Mr. Svenson, Mr. "Wilson, Annie Burkmann, Mr. Sparman, Mrs. Smith, Mr. Cadman, and several others stood up. Healing of Nine Years' Spinal Disease. Mrs. Wilcox, 23G Kearny Street, San Francisco, said : " I am very glad to testify to what the Lord has done for me. I was healed in the Central Presby- terian Church in San Francisco. I had had spinal disease and internal diseases which kept me very much of an invalid. For nine years I had worn a brace — a spinal brace — and could not go without it, and finally I was enabled to take it off in the strength of Jesus, and I have not put it on again, and don't intend to, God being my helper. I am trusting in Him. I thank Him. I have been brought very much nearer to Him than ever before. I have had such a blessing spiritually, and He has done so much for us in our family. " Healing of a Daughter. Mrs. Wilcox continued, ** I am living with my daughter and she was not able to go to that mission in the Central Presbyterian Church, as we could not both leave home at the same time. I told her of this beautiful teaching, and she took it to herself, and before she attended any of the meetings she got considera- ble of a blessing. She had catarrh for a great many years, and it was very seri- ous, and scrofula showed itself at times in different ways. It was very serious. She has taken the Lord as her healer, and she is improving very much; she is almost entirely healed. The last week she had a swelling in the upper part of her eye-lid on the inside, and there was a bunch as large as the end of your finger. She had great confidence that through faith and prayer it would be taken en- tirely away, and we prayed earnestly for it. The swelling gathered and then discharged terribly; but I want to tell you that she has not had one bit of pain in that eye, although it was shut from the swelling. You would think to look at it that it was a very painful thing. She came over here on Friday and Mr. Dowie laid his hands on it and prayed, and the next day it began discharging, and I never saw anything discharge so. But it has been perfectly wonderful that every of bit pain has gone out of it and she has been able to sleep, and able to go on with her work. She could not see out of that eye. It is really wonderful what this teaching will do in the family. Our Little Children Have Been Made So Happy About It. "If they get hurt they just ask Jesus to take it away, and immediately it is done. They have been sick with fevers, very high fevers, and they have been cured of colds. We give all the glory to God. I wish that everybody could take Jesus as their Healer. I am so sorry that we cannot convince all of our Chris- tian friends that Jesus is just as willing to take all our diseases as our sins." Healing of Many Years' Dyspepsia, Mrs. Martenet, of Twenty-eighth Street between Mission and Howard, San Francisco, said: " I never had the courage to testify before, I had nervous dys- pepsia for many years. I can say that I have been healed entirely. I have also 131 had a number of accidents lately to me, which I have been healed of in- stantly by prayer. I was healed in the Grand Opera House Mission by laying on of hands. I thank God I am able to testify to-night. " Healing of Rheumatisin, Inflammation of Eyes, and Pneumonia, Mrs. Rudens, 11 Telegraph Place, San Francisco, rose in the audience and said: '* I cannot go away without testifying what the Lord has done for me. I got healed first in July; I had a stiff rheumatic arm, and 1 could not straighten it out, and I had awful pain. "In the last two or three weeks I had a very bad cold and inflammation of my eyes. A week ago I came over here and Mr. Dowie laid hands on me, and the same night the swelling left my eyes, and my eyes got quite well. Last week I had pneumonia and I thought I would die; I was very bad. I went to Bro. Holmes' meeting on Market Street, and they prayed for\ne there, and there was such a power there; and when I went home the pain all left me, and I have had no pain since. I jDraise the Lord." ^ Healing of an African Young Lady. At this point a bright, intelligent, young colored lady rose in front of the audience and said she had been healed that day, and that her name and address was Miss Gertie Smith, 1013 Seventh Street, Oakland. Mr. Dowie said : "I laid hands apon a large number that were healed to- day. I do not call at these neetings for the more recent testimonies as a rule; I like to place on record those that have stood for a while. But this lady has come forward of her own accord, and I am very glad to have her testify. She is one of over one hundred and fifty persons on whom I laid hands during this day for healing. We have had all-day meetings, and have not left the building since 11 A. M." Miss Smith said: *' I have been sick ever since a child eleven years of age, and I have doctored a great deal and with many doctors, not only in this city but in other places. I have found no one to help me only Jesus, and I found Him to- day. It has been difficult for me to walk for the past three or four days; but to-day I came here and I found Jesus, and He healed me soul and body, and I went home and buttoned up my shoes, which I have not done for three days. I feel that I am a new person. I have no pain whatever, and I have given my spirit, soul and body to Jesus." [" Thanks be to God," from Mr. Dowie.] Mr. Dowie said: "She had internal troubles; it was a very severe case. Dr. Lane has just informed me she was converted with more than twenty others at the close of our meeting here this morning. And now I will ask that brother, who has been assisting us largely in our Salvation after meetings during several months to say a few words. He is the President of the San Francisco Branch of the American Divine Healing Association, and is well known and highly esteemed amongst us." Another Doctor's Testimony. The Rev. C. T. Lane, M. D., said: " I was just thinking that the time will surely come by and by when the people of Oakland will not be unbelievers in Divine Healing. ** I scarcely know where to begin. I am not going to say very much. You who have known me for the last three months, know that it is pretty good testi- mony just to look at me. About three months ago I would have had to sit at the further end of the building to listen to Brother Dowie, for I could not bear the sound of his voice if I was near him when preaching. To listen near a preacher would affect my head and my heart, and I would be very nervous. Now I have been here all day since this morning about 1 1 o'clock in this meeting right along, and I am stronger and feel more vigorous to-night than when I came this morning. I think that is pretty good testimony. "I have not words, dear friends, to express the thankfulness of my heart to 132 God for what He has done for me. It is marvelous what the Lord Jesus hath done, and what I have seen Him do through the agency of Brother Dowie. The lame have walked that came in on their crutches; the blind have seen, and all kinds of diseases have been healed. The Name of Jesus has been preached, and I have realized that there is a power in that Name which I never knew before. Jesus Christ seems to be nearer to me now than any time in my experience since I gave my heart to God when I was sixteen years of age. / 1 realize He is present all the time to save, to heal and to keep. He keeps me every moment. *' I am expecting we will see greater work done in Oakland when this un- belief passes away. And it is passing away. The people are beginning to realize that Jesus Christ is the healer of His people. I realize it in my heart, and I thank my Heavenly Father that I ever listened to Brother Dowie, and that the Lord sent him to this Coast. I have not words to express the joy of my soul, ['* Thank the Lord," from Mr. Dowie.] "Not only has He- healed myself, but my dear daughter. Our home is a house of rejoicing. A few months ago it was a home of sorrow, and of pain and grief, but now we rejoice all the day long, having Jesus with us as our healer. " Saved and Healed of Paralysis and Concussion of the Spine and Brain in a Remarkable Manner withoiit Human Touch. A gentleman arose from his seat in the audience and came to the platform. He was a middle-aged man, and appeared to be in excellent physical condition. He first gave his name and address as F. W. Wetmore, 565 Eleventh St., Oak- land. He is a member of an old and prominent family in Oakland. He said: ** About three months ago while in Bakersfield I was working on a scaffold, and it broke down with me and I was hurt. I had paralysis, and con- cussion of the spine and brain — so Dr. Adams, of Oakland, tells me. I suffered everything. Of course everybody knows a person who has an injured spine has something pretty serious. For three weeks I never shut my eyes; I could not sleep. They telegraphed for my father to come down there and get me. I was at Visalia at the time when they telegraphed for him. He brought me home and Dr. Adams came to the house to attend to me. He cupped me several time?, but my flesh was dead; I had no feeling at all; he would cup me and I never would feel it; could not tell from the feeling when he did it. After that I began to have a little life, and to feel it. ** When this Mission was first started I came to the meetings with my wife, and it was about all I could do to get here; I suffered so much the first meeting I attended that I was unable to hear what Mr. Dowie was preaching. The next night my wife thought I had better come again. I did so, and did not feel so bad and was able to hear what was said. I attended the Mission regularly every night. My wife was taken suddenly sick here three weeks ago to-night, and Mr. and Mrs. Dowie went into another room with her and prayed for her, and she was healed instantly, and I came right out and gave myself to God. I was converted that night. [** Thanks be to God," from Mr. Dowie.] •'Two weeks ago last Thursday night I began to lose my pain. I had never been free from pain, but from the night I was converted my pains began to grow less and less all the time. But two weeks ago last Thursday night I was in my room and we were ready for bed and we were praying, and I got right up and told my wife that I was cured. I will tell you how I knew I was cured: I felt the pain gradually leave my body, and I felt so light and so good, and I told my wife I felt just as if I wanted to go right through the house and shout for joy. "I give God the credit. But I want to say that if it had not been for Mr. Dowie I never would have been cured. There are a number of people who think these things are done by human magnetism. I will state that Mr. Dowie never laid his hands upon me, except to shake hands. I asked him to pray for me in the open meetings, and he did so. TTie day before I was healed I could not lift twenty-five pounds off the lloor, but now I think I could stand a pretty good tussle with any of you. I could not lift my foot upon a chair like that [easily placing his foot upon the seat of a chair] without taking hold of it and lifting it 133 Tip. I am now strong and hearty. Last Saturday I worked half a aay, and all day to-day. I went ont to Temescal and laid the foundation for a little cottage there. While the laborer was getting ready, I just took his hod and filled it up with bricks a number of times and carried it around and dumped it where I was going to work. I think that will prove that my back is all right. " Mr. Dowie: "Thank God. That is a good testimony with which to close onr long series of Missions during the past eight months. "We lay it and all the others, with adoring love and gratitude, at Jesus' feet, saying, 'Thine, Lord, is theKingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever, Amen ! ' Let us sing with all our hearts thegrand Doxology to our Triune God." The audience then sang with great fervor: — "Praise God from whom all blessings flow Traise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." Mr. Dowie then offered the following: Prayer. "Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for the mercies of this beautiful day; for Thy condescension and love in using our words, in using our hands, and also in showing that Thou dost heal without any human touch. "And now for many dear ones who have been healed we pray, and for the multitude that know Thee not as their Healer. We pray also for those who have been blessed and are being perfected. May Thy Mighty, Holy Spirit bring them out perfectly, and may they more and more be filled with Thy love. May they manifest Thy glory aJad live for Thee. ' 'May these testimonies, which we humbly lay before Thee now in the name of Jesus, all glorify Thee. We have no glory in this matter, excepting to glory in the Lord. "And now dismiss us with Thy blessing, and use us in the way that Thou seest best. Lead us right on in this work, and establish it trhough the wide world, for Jesus' sake. Benediction. "And now, beloved, abstain from all appearance of evil; and the very God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly. And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preser^^ed entire without blame unto the coming of our Lord -lesus Christ. Faithful isile that calleth you, who also will do it. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit abide in you, bless vou, keep you, and all the Israel of God everywhere forever. Amen." TALKS WITH MINISTERS ON DIVINE HEALING. TWO ADDRESSES, DELIVERED BY THE REV. JOHN ALEXANDER DOWIE, AND MRS. DOWIE, B INVITATION OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CLUB, AT THEIR MEETING, HELD IN THE PARLORS OF THE Y. M. C. A., SAN FRANCISCO, MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1888. [reported by G. H. HAWES, 320 SANSOME STREET.] The parlors were crowded with an attentive and earnest audience, principally consisting of ministers and officers of Congregrtional Churches in and around San Francisco. The Rev. J. A. Cruzan presided, and after preliminary business had been disposed of he introduced theRev. J. A. Dowie and Mrs. Dowie. Mr. Dowie spoke as follows: — "Beloved Friends: I am glad of this opportunity to speak to you. If I were to place before you the text most in my mind, it would be the words con- tained in the eighth chapter of Matthew, sixteenth and seventeenth verses: ' When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils; and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." y^ DIVINE healing not "mind healing" nor "christian science." " I am glad this subject has been placed before you in the two words, 'Di- vine Healing.' I have nothing in common with what is called Mind Healing, nor that * opposition of science falsely so called, ' called Christian Science, and I do not like the term, Faith Healing. ' We are saved by grace through faith and not of ourselves ; it is the gift of God! We are kept by thn power of God through faith.' While faith is a very precious grace, yet it is only the medium of the communication of God's infinite love and power, and we must never put it in the place of God Himself. Therefore I am glad the subject is expressed in the words Divine Healing, or ' Healing through Faith in Jesus;' not healing BY faith, but THROUGH faith; through faith in Jesus, by the power of God. As this doc- trine is presented by us in our teaching it covers a large field; and however di- versely it may be put, and however variously it may be illustrated, it, after all, comes to two points. TWO cardinal doctrines. ^^ First — That/ Jesus, the Christ, is the same yesterday, to-day and forev^cr,' and being so, He is unchanged in power and in will. If His words, ' Lo, I a-n with you alway, even unto the end of the world;' are true, and they are, then He is as much present in power and in spirit to-day as when He stood in the flesh upon the earth. This being so, we have ever presented in our teaching that He is able, that He is willing, that He is present, and that He is longing to heal His people as in the days of His flesh. ^'Second — That Disease, like Sin, is God's enemy, and the devil's work, and can never be God's will. Peter said in the household of the Centurion Cornelius, Acts 10:38: ' God anointed Jesus Christ with the Holy Ghost and with power; who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him. Nineteen centuries ago 'all manner of sickness and disease' was ^WriVERSITY healed by Jesus, and as 'all' whom He healed ' were oppressed of the devil,' it follows logically that all sickness and disease is still the devil's work. When Jesus heals He is not undoing the work of the Father, but the work of Satan. The will of God is to heal now, as it was nineteen centuries ago, all who believe. Now in teaching these two points CHRIST IS THE HBALER, SATAN IS THE DEFILER, We are accustomed at some considerable length to put them before the eyes and the minds of the people as efiFectively as we can. We do this with the aid of diagrams. Here is one which we call * The Two Chains. ' GOOD EVIL g Jesus Salvation Healing () Life Q Heaven (_) Satan Sin 1 Disease Death 2 Hell d) '* The Chain of Good begins with Jesus — from all eternity the eternal Logus, who was God, and in the beginning with God; the ' Lamb of God slain from be- fore the foundation of the world'. Then follow what He hath given to His people, Salvation, Health, Life, Heaven. "Then the Chain of Evil is Satan, Sin, Disease, Death, Hell. Jesus and Satan are opposed; salvation and sin opposed; health and disease opposed; life and death opposed; heaven and hell opposed. The point is, Has Christ delivered us from ' all the power' of the enemy? We teach that He has, and, therefore, that salvation extends to the body, and that His ' saving health' is a Gospel of Salvation and Healing which must be proclaimed ' among all nations.' Therefore we teach 'the redemption of the body;' (Romans 8 : 23) and that the * Life also of Jesus should be made manifest in our mortal Jlesh.' 2 Cor. 4:11. We make the bold assertion of the Apostle Paul, namely, * If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quic ?en your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.' Romans 8: 11. This ' redemption of the body' was never taught by Jesus as something belonging to the hereafter. He taught that this was to be the continuous work of the » Holy Spirit in all the ages. How plain are His words, * He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow Rivers of Living Water.' The Rivers were to flow from the Bodies of Believers, and they did. The Bodies were to be Fountains of Divine Life; for it is written, 'This spake He of the Holy Spirit which they that believe on Him should receive ; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was n^t yet glorified.' See John 7:37-39, But the Holy Ghost having been given, the Body becomes the Temple of the Holy Ghost and the Temple of God is to be clean. So that redemption extends not only to the spirit Ttrevjua, and the soul if.wxV ^"^ ^° *^^® body, (joajaa'^ Christ's redeeming wor'ic extends to the entire being, spirit, soul and body. Therefore, Divine Healing, the restoration by the Holy Spirit, through faith in Jesus, so long as we 'abide in Him,' is provided for us through all our earthly pil- grimage. When our pilgrimage ends, though we may be old and worn, we shall 'lie down in peace and sleep,' and neither Satan, nor sin, nor disease, nor death, nor hell, shall have any dominion over us, if we let Christ set us free. "Now in presenting these truths it seems to us that we are STANDING UPON THE ROCK OF ETERNAL POWER. We have no teacliing outside of the word of God in this matter. We do not present our theories. This ministry is continonsly the ministry of the Word orf Lite. We hold fast to Jesus' words: 'It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh proflteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.' We believe that 'Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted,' not because God afflicts them with foul disease. There ara many such to-day whose ' soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.' But we also believe, as God's word teaches us, that when ' they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, He saveth them out of their distresses. ' We do not believe that He does this by pills and potions and plasters, but 'He sendeth [Revised Version] His word, and heai.eth them, and delivereth them from their destructions [or pits].' See Psalms 107:17-20. These are four wonderful verses. "And so the whole Mission is FIRST OP ALL A TEACHING MISSION; and the whole ministry, as we are enabled to present it, is based entirely upon the word of God. We therefore present that word as fully as we can, always remembering that this was the way in which Christ carried out His great earthly Mission. He did three things: He taught. He preached. He healed. Matthew 4: 28 and Matthew 9:35 have exactly the same phraseology: 'Jesus went about all the cities and villages, Teaching in their synagogues, and Preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and Healing every sickness and every disease among the people. ' Teaching came first, Preaching next, and Healing last. That is the divine order in which it was ever put, and the Kingdom of God can only be extended by that ThieefoLl Ministry. Alas, that preaching should be considered the beginning and end of the Christian ministry in these days! A true minister should not only be ii divinely ordained preacher, but a divine teacher and healer, as in the church of the first century. "We have found in connection with this, that as the beautiful Gospel of Divine Healing is placed after Salvation, we have A BLESSED OPPORTUNITY OF PRESSING CHRIST's SALVATION upon the people who come to listen. We tell them that they must not attempt to • touch the hem of His garment, ' and that they cannot get into contact with Him at all for physical healing until they have spiritually owned Him as their Lord and their God. We remind our readers that it is written, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul , and forget not all His benefits, who/orgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.' Psalm 103 : 2 and 3. ''Forgiveness first, and Healing second. Jesus put it in the same manner: 'Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee,' preceded, 'Arise, take up thy bed and go unto thine house.' Matthew 9:1-7. The leper must first be a true worshiper at Jesus' feet, ere he can find in Him a merciful healer. Matthew 8:2- 4. So wa have taught that God requires saving faith on the part of those who oome to seek Him for healing. There must first be a surrender of the spirit, and a reception of Christ as the Saviour from sin, and that is the sine qua non; a c >ndi- tioii without which we cannot ask the Lord acceptably for healing. We have iiothing whatever ta do with those who will not first receive Christ as their S •' iour. Divine Healing is the Children's Bread, and it cannot be given to those wlio are willfully Children of the Devil, for these cannot exercise faith. We find in connection with this teaching that this is a very strong position. We show them the Beautiful Gate of Divine Healing; but we point them to Jesus, who has said, *I AM THE Door of the Sheep.' John 10:7. No goat can enter, much less any devouring wolf. Before they can reach the inner door of Healing, they must piss through the outer door of Salvation. They must receive Christ the Saviour ere they can partake of His blessing as Healer. We repeat it over and over again, DIVINE HEALING IS THE CHILDREN S BREAD and it cannot be given to dogs. The Canaanitish woman must get beyond the recognition of Jesus as the son of David. She must see in Him the God of Israel. When she xvorships Him, and throws herself at his feet, with the cry, 'Lord, help me ! ' then He can say, 'O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt.' Matthew 15:21-28. The Unitarians' creed, which denies Christ's power and Godhead, can never lead men to Salvation or to Healing. We teach that, in all the healings recorded in Scripture, where faith is not ex- pressed it is always implied. Spiritual perception must come first; for ^without faith it is ivipossible to please God: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.' Hebrews 11:6. How can one exercise a spiritual power, such as faith is, unless that person found that faith in Him who is its Author ? "Presenting that, we find too that Divine Healing points to A STILL MORE BEAUTIFUL THING,— HOLINESS OF LIFE. The thirty-fifth chapter of Isaiah presents first Salvation in Christ: *He will come and save you.' Healing comes next: 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; than shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall be- come a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water,' etc. Then Holiness follows: for the beautiful Redemption song continues; 'And an Highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called THE WAY OF HOLINESS J tlie unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.' How blessed are those who walk therein: for this then there is , THE WAY OF LIFE; the time of the singing of birds ha» comer 'And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs' (not with meanings), 'and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. ' " We do not strain the prophecy by applying it thus, for our Lord Himself applied it so in His answer to John the Baptist (Matthew 11:4 and 5), and it is a glorious presentation of the good time when the whole being of the redeemed is perfected in Christ; and there is no perfection out of him. "A great deal more might be said about this; but let me emphasize, that un- less these points are first understood there is no progress; the way must be clear. By faith, the sinner must see Jesus as the Saviour. Perceptive Faith must be followed by J?eceptive Faith; for it is written, ' As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God' (John 1 : 12). And receptive faith must be followed by a Retentive Faith, a faith that holds fast to Christ. That is followed by Active Faith; a true Christian must work for Christ. Active Faith must be followed by Passive Faith, the highest, and yet the lowliest form — a strong Christian calmly rests in the Lord. It is not in our seeing, our re- ceiving, our holding fast, or our working, that Power lies; Power comes to him who is fully resting in the Lord. From that center all the rest proceed. Having taught these things you will see what the effect is; the eflfect is that we call upon the Church of God to live a higher life. We inquire at once, and firmly, from Christians who seek healing, ARE YOU DEFILING YOUR BODY ? If yoii deHl? the body by any nicotine poison, by the filthy vice of smoking or chewing tobacco, then you sin against God and your own soul. You sow nicotine 5 and reap cancer; you sow nicotine and you reap paralysis; you sow poison in the tiesh, and you reap corruption. That is in exact accordance with the law of Sin and Death. For disease is the offspring of Father Satan and Mother Sin, just as much as Death. Let the words ring out in the ears of the Church of God — ' Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth that [exactly that same thing, not something else] shall lie also reap; for he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.' (Galatians 6 : 7, 8.) I talk plainly in this ministry, and affirm that the defilement willfully by a Christian of his body is sin, just as stealing or lying is sin; for it is written, * Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? If ami man [be he minister, officer or church member] defile the Temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the Temple of God is holy, which Temple are ye? ' (1 Cor. 3 : 16, 17.) No one can mistake God's word in this matter who has aji honest mind. The human body of the belierer is God's temple. It is written, * What ? Know ye not that your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are riot your otmi ? ' We are the Lord's purchased j)ossession, and when He bought us, He did not only buy our Spirits, but He paid the price for the redemption of our souls and bodies too. Hence the apostle says, * Ye are bought with a price [and, oh, what a price Jesus paid I ] therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, ^vhich are God\'i.' (See 1 Corinthians 6 : 19, 20.) To dis- grace God by defiling His temple is clearly to sin. • To pollute the body with alcohol is sin, for it defiles and poisons the brain and all the body, and opens the door of God's Temple to many unclean devils. And so with every form of defile- ment. Novel readers are, for the most part, * filthy dreamers who defile the flesh ' (Jude 8); and the pernicious poison of fictitious literaturs of every kind ex- cites the sensual desires of multitudes who pollute themselves continually. ' Ab- stain from all appearance [or every form] of Evil ' (1 Thess. 5 : 22), is the absolute command of God, and every Christian must, by God's grace, obey it fully. Therefore, we have MOTIVE POWER IK TEACHING THIS DOCTRINE, which comes with great force to those who are sick, causing them to quit sin. They have to give up all secret as well as open sins. Excesses, also, in the con- jugal relation, excesses in the exercise of any lawful power that God has given, must be abstai'jed from. There must be a holding in subjection of the whole be- ing. The body must be made the servant, and nerer once the master. [Amens.] Thus many are led to give up sin under the power of the teaching of the word of God in this ministry of Divine Healing, who otherwise would not do so. " But, beloved friends, the Teaching comes first, as we have said — the elim- ination of truth from error. The minds of the people must first be delivered from the terrible thought that God can ever be the defiler of His people, and the glo- rious revelation must be made clear and plain that the hand of Christ is ever the hand of the Healer. WE HAVE TO MEET AND ANSWER OBJECTIONS, of course, and Old Testament difficulties are brought to bear especially upon this matter. We are confronted with the words of Job, which a good many people forget are not the words of God. The Book of Job is an inspired record of events in which God and Satan and men took part. The words of Job are not always the message of God. When Job said, 'Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my fridnds, for the hand of God hath touched me ' (Job 19 :21), it wns not an inspired word, for the voice of God, reproving Job, rang out from the whirlwind, 'Who is this that darkeneth counsel by word without kno wedge?' (Job 38:2). And Job had to confess that he had spoken things that hi ought not to have spoken; uttered things he ought not to have uttered, that he had used words without divine wisdom; that he had sinned. He said, ' Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth ' (Jjob 40: 4). Again he said, *I have uttered that I understood not; things too wonder- ful for me, which I knew not; . . . wherefore I abhor myself. 6 and reperit in dmt and ashes* (Job 42:1-4). It was then that the hand of the Healer was manifested; for God healed Job, and delivered • him also fiom the false accusations of his three friends who did not see that this was not the hand of God. They thought it was the hand of God, and Job was in the same position. But God revealed that drama which we see now, which Job did not see at the time and did not understand (and sometimes we do not), that while he permits the existence of sin and suffering, and other forms of evil, he never can be the author of evil. Therefore when Job said, * What ? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?' Job was not sinning with his lips willfully, but he was sinning in his mind ignorantly, and he was speaking that which was not right. It is written, * Let no man say when he is tempted, / am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither terapteth he any man.' See James 1: 13-16. Stealing is evil, disease is evil; and when Job said, ' The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord,' Job was wrong. He did not sin willfully, nor charge God foolishly inten- tionally; but God proved to him that he had charged him wrongfully. Let us have the whole truth; the Lord gave, it is true; but it is equally positive that Satan took away; and poor Job ignorantly blessed God for what he afterward saw was Satan's work. You surely do not make God the author of the stealing of Job's sheep and camels and oxen and asses? You surely do not make God the author of the sin of Job's children, who in their sinful gluttony, drunkenness, and impenitence were in Satan's power and perished. The family was a sinful one, so sinful that Job daily offered sacrifice for them; ^For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed [the Revised Version reads renounced] God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.' See Job 1 :4 and 5. They were a continuous sorrow to him, and had a foolish mother. He knew they were evil; they perished in their sin; for they despised their godly father. We say. then, what God's word says, that it was the hand of Satan that * smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.' Job 2:7. It was not the hand of the Lord; and we should discern that while there is the divine permission, there is not the commission. PERMISSION AND COMMISSION ARE POLES ASUNDER, and must never be confounded. I would like to say a word just here, namely, that a great deal of error arises from confounding thesa two things. God per- mitted the Jews to blaspheme his own Son; permitted Judas Iscariot to betray him; permitted Satan to ente • his heart and make him a thief, a betrayer, and a liar. But for anyone to say God committed these crimes would be to make God the author of perjury, of stealing, of brutality and blasphemy. Christ submitted; God, the eternal Father, permitted; but it was the temporary triumph of the Evil One; for Jesus himself said at that awful time to those servants of Satan who arrested him at Gethsemane, 'This is your hour, and the power of darkness.' Luke 22: 53. He never once said it was the hand of God. There is a graet deal of error in our hymnology. For instance, a well-known hymn says: — " ' Jehovah lifted up His rod, O Christ, it fell on thee; Thou wast sore stricken of God, There's not one stroke for me.' That is based upon a misinterpretation of the Scriptures, A person once said to me that it was written in the word, 'He was stricken of God and afflicted.' I sakl, 'That is not true.' He said, 'That is what it says.' I said, 'It does not, and if you look at the word, you have seriously misquoted. In Isa. 53:4 it is written, 'Surely He hath borne our griefs [in the Revised Version instead of griefs the margin reads sicknes-'^es] and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem HIM STRICKEN, Smitten of God and afflicted.' We Jews, we, the people of God, said, 'Now, there you are on the cross; didn't we tell you that you were a blas- phemer, and would come to a bati end ? ' And they reviled Him, derided Him, mocked Him, and wagged their head - and said, 'You are stricken of God, and afflicted of God, you are a bad man.' Oh, it is a bitter shame that the Church of God should take this false accusation as a truth, and fashion it into a hymn. It is not true. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our in- iquities;' but let us never forget what Peter said on the day of Pentecost to those who put him to death, * Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore- knowledge of God, ye have taken, and By wicked hands have crucified and slain.' Acts 2: 23. The hands which committed that crime were 'wicked hands f' doing the devil's bidding. Christ with the Father agreed in the Divine Counsel, ana with clear foreknowledge, to let Satan triumph for that bitter, awful hour; but it was that He might thereby provide for us salvation and healing, and every blessing we need, by that precious, atoning Sacrifice. The glorious words, there- fore, follow, Isa. 53: 5, 'The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes wb are healed. ' " You may say that further on the prophecy says, verse 10, * Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him.' I read these words, *to permit Him to be bruised v' and for many good and suflBcient reasons I cannot enter into the matter now and here, but we have entered into it very largely in our teaching. There has been a good deal of difiference of opinion amongst eminent scholars upon this subject. I hold that all through the Old Testament there is a mistranslation of the per- missive into the causative. If what Peter says, namely, that He was crucified *by the hands of wicked men,' be true, then his crucifixion could not be the Father's action in any sense, although it was his permission. But the awful guilt of that diabolical crime rests upon the Jews, for ili was their sinful action, and Satan's work, of whom they were the blind slaves, through the * envy ' of their deceitful rulers. *' And so, throughout the whole of the Old Testament, I venture to say you can only rightly understand many passages by altering the causative into the permissive. For instance, 'Shall there be evil in the city aiid the Lord hath not done it ? ' Amos 3 : 6. Will any of you say that God creates, is the doer of, every iniquity in San Francisco? Again, * I make peace, and create evil.' Isa. 45 : 7. Ii God creates evil, then where is our responsibility, should we fall into sin ? Again, * The Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of the prophets. ' 1 Kings 22 : 23. Does God put a lying spirit in the mouth of the prophet ? Then he would be a father of lies, like the devil; and I want to see where the respon sibility is, if we are led astray by a false revelation. Change the verb from causing to permitting, and the difficulties in these and hundreds of passages in the Old Testament vanish in a moment, and God justified from one of the foulest charges brought by infidelity, namely, that He is the author of innumerable crimes. He permits the existence of evil, but permission is not commission. On the contrary, does He not say, Isa. 5 :20, * Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for s weet> and sweet for bitter ? ' The New Testament is abundantly clear upon the na