# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1877_S10
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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more, so that a city may have temporal peace and comfort, why should one not much rather also spend as much on the needy poor youth, so that one might keep a capable man or two as schoolmasters? So let this be the first reason, all you dear lords and friends, that should move you to withstand the devil in this, as the most harmful secret enemy."

We here in America experience what a victory the devil has won by taking the parish schools [*Gemeindeſchulen*] away from the American churches, so that the public schools have now taken their place. The churches, however, have not noticed the loss at all, not even the Lutherans, who ought to have known that they must not let their children grow up like the heathen, to be converted later perhaps at a camp meeting, but that their children are baptized Christian children who are to be brought up with God's Word.

Luther continues: "The second [reason] is this, that, as St. Paul says in 2 Cor. 6:1, we should not receive the grace of God in vain and should not neglect the blessed time. For God Almighty has truly visited us Germans graciously and set up a truly golden year. We now have the finest, best-learned young fellows and men, adorned with languages and every art, who could do such good if one were willing to use them to teach the young people. Now that God has so richly blessed us and given us a multitude of such people, who can teach and bring up the young people well, truly, it is necessary that we do not throw the grace of God to the wind and do not let him knock in vain. He stands at the door; well for us if we open to him. He greets us; blessed is he who answers him. If we miss it, so that he passes by, who will bring him back? . . ." And now comes the truly classic passage: "Dear Germans, buy, while the market is at the door; gather in, while the sun shines and the weather is good; use God's grace and Word while it is there. For you should know this: God's Word and grace is like a passing rain shower, which does not return where it has once been. It was among the Jews, but gone is gone; now they have nothing. Paul brought it to Greece: gone is gone there too; now they have the Turk. Rome and the Latin lands also had it: gone is gone; now they have the pope. And you Germans need not think that you will have it forever; for ingratitude and contempt will not let it remain. Therefore seize it and hold it, whoever can seize and hold: idle hands must have a bad year."

We should let this be said to us, for we live in a golden time. Nobody hinders us from establishing truly Lutheran parish schools. Therefore we should make good use of the opportunity. To make us truly willing for this, the spread of the cited reformatory writings of Luther could serve especially well, which also here in Ame-