useful, holy day, which God especially has
reserved for Himself for the furtherance of His honor and the welfare of
our immortal souls." The appeal concludes: "Do you love your country?
Then sanctify the Sabbath. Do you love civic rest? Then sanctify the
Sabbath. Do you love your neighbors? Then sanctify the Sabbath. Do you
love your children? Then sanctify the Sabbath. Do you love your parents?
Then sanctify the Sabbath. Do you love your preachers, your Savior, and
your souls? Then sanctify the Sabbath. Do you desire to escape hell?
Then sanctify the Sabbath. Do you desire some day to celebrate the
eternal Sabbath with the saints and the perfected just before the throne
of God? Then sanctify the Sabbath here on earth, whereby you may be best
prepared for those blissful occupations." At the meeting of the Special
Conference in the school of Solomon's Church, Shenandoah County, 1809,
it was resolved that the admonition to be added to the minutes of this
year should take "special reference to the furtherance of the German
language and schools." The admonition, written by Paul Henkel and
Carpenter, complains that the ministers were not able to do their
mission-duty, partly because they were rich and unable to undergo the
hardships connected with traveling, partly because the congregations
supporting them refused to let them go. They admonish the congregations
to show their brotherly love in permitting their ministers to serve
their forsaken and needy brethren. Respecting the cultivation of the
German language, the admonition remarks, in part: "In the first place,
we know that the English language is not as easily understood as the
German. Even when the Germans are able to read and write it, they
understand very little of it aright. Their parents, themselves not
knowing the language, can hear their children read, and see them write,
but cannot show them where they err, nor correct them. And just as
little are they able to explain to them the contents of what they read;
for [even] the English understand very little of what they read in some
useful books, until they learn to understand it from their
dictionaries." "If parents were really concerned about training their
children for the general weal of the country, they would see to it that
their sons be taught the Christian religion in their mother-tongue as
well as be instructed in the English language to read, write, figure,
etc. Then they might become truly useful men for th