# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1899_S40
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

40 Proceedings of the 24th General, or

...their writing to build up the Lutheran Zion throughout the world and to
present it in its heavenly beauty as the true city of God on earth, and
therefore also to put down whatever rises up against it. Just as we are
blessed beyond overflowing with our faculty compared to many other such
institutions, so through it we are also made a blessing far beyond the
bounds of our own time and our own Synod. One may well say that since the
great and blessed age of Luther, the voice of truth in word and writing has
not been heard so purely and so far-resoundingly, in both world languages,
German and English; false doctrine, gross and subtle, has never been so
powerfully put down; and never — not even in Luther's own time — could life
and practice, finally, in the life of the congregation and in the
governance of the church, be seen to agree so fully with Holy Scripture and
its principles as here among us in this great land of freedom. It is this
theological institution from which these streams of blessing have flowed
from the beginning, under its great founder, Dr. Walther, and which still
flow on undiminished, by God's grace, through his successors, pouring out
not only in this land but far beyond its borders, into the old German
fatherland, indeed to the ends of the earth. And there are signs enough
that the Synod's blessed work proceeding from this institution may show
itself, in the second half-century of its existence, on a still greater
scale and in a still wider scope. Yes, the faithful God has made his word
come true: 'I will bless you, and you shall be a blessing,' and will make
it come true still further — of that we are certain in faith, for his grace
will keep us faithful and thankful, as he has already promised us.

"The enrollment of the institution likewise shows a blessed growth, not
only in numbers but also — and this, of course, matters far more — in the
Christian spirit and mind that governs our students. Their number was 182
in 1897, 192 in 1898, and 187 in 1899. In 1896, 38 students took their
examination for the preaching office; in 1897, 51; and in 1898, 60 — that
is, 149 students in the three years. And perhaps the growth would have been
even greater had the mistaken notion not spread that there was already a
surplus of candidates for teaching and preaching positions. This is by no
means the case, and to this day not a single candidate has been left over.
The state of health among the students was quite good. Yet the Lord, who
has power over death and life, called two away to eternal rest before they
entered the work of his vineyard. The diligence and conduct of the students
is satisfactory, for which we heartily thank God. The influence and the
splendid example of the godliness of their faithful professors, daily
contact with God's Word, and the brotherly correction which the students
faithfully practice among themselves, bear rich blessing. In these three
years, with so large a number living in such close quarters, nothing of...