# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1918_S42 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) . the number of the elect. God who has called and justified us will also. glorify us, as the words of Paul shov: “Whom He called, them He also justi- fied; and whom He justified, them He also glori- fied? (Rom. 8,80). And this fact, of which we are so firmly persuaded, viz., that God will glorify us in the future as He has called and justified us in the past, should, in turn, convince us that He has from eternity predestinated us; for “whom He did predestinate, them He also called,” etc. So this teaching tends to encourage and assure us of our final salvation. It should, however, not make us carnally secure. We should not rely on God’s election in a carnal way. Let us never forget that one of the ends for which God chose His own is that they should lead a Christian life. Therefore we should see to it that we follow after sanctification, lest we deceive our own selves, have no faitli, and be not Christ's sheep, God’s elect. Peter reminds us that we should make our calling and election sure by giving diligence to good things (2 Pet. 1, 10). Tn this way Christians should draw the richest comfort and an assurance of salvation, as well as the most necessary warning and admonition, from the blessed doctrine of predestination. : H. OsterHvs. Luther Conference. at New Orleans. Luther Conference met in annual session in Mount Zion Church May 9 to 12. After devo- tion, in the first session, Chairman Meibohm de- livered an address to the brethren on “The Time and the Times.” ‘The roll-call showed that two of the members were absent; but the next day all the brethren laboring in the Louisiana field were present. By the way, Rev. Berger, who has been recuperating from his recent illness at his home in Mansura, La., passed through New Orleans on his way back to his field in Alabama, and stopped over to attend one of the sessions. He is in much better health, we are _ - glad to say. nee [ : . By unanimous yote the same officers were re- elected. They are: Prof. H. Meibohm, Chairman; _ eacher E. R: Vix, Vice-chairman; Teacher A. Ber- _ ger, Secretary. It was with much pleasure that we received as a member of Conference the Rev. Th. " Schliepsiek, the new pastor of Mount Zion. Pastor _. Schliepsiek has been with us only a short time, but _ the God-given zeal and enthusiasm with which he is working at Mount Zion is being commented on The Lutheran Pioneer. In the first morning session ‘Teacher Berger read a eatechization on the Bible-story of “Stephen the Martyr.” ‘This was a good paper, and it was dis- cussed with much interest and profit. ‘Teacher Ber- ger brought out something about taking the “long route.’ which, I suppose, we who were there will not soon forget. ‘The paper was concluded in the afternoon. The next morning Teacher D. Meibohm de- livered a catechization on “The Holy Ghost — His Person and Work.” ‘Teacher Meibohm is a veteran catechist, and when he reads a catechization, there * is not much more for us “youngsters” to do than to bite, chew, and digest. Enough said. The afternoon session on May 10th was a long one. It was devoted principally to business. Much was said on patriotism. This being our last closed session, we naturally spoke of the war and our duty to be loyal to the Stars and Stripes. As an expres- sion of the loyalty of Luther Conference, the fol- lowing resolutions were drawn up and ordered to be spread upon the minutes : — “\VWirerEAS, This our country is engaged in a world-struggle for democracy and liberty; and “\Waerras, The President in behalf of our be- loved country has called upon all loyal citizens to assist him to the fullest extent of their means and — abilities to carry on this war for democracy and ‘freedom, and to bring it to a successful termina- tion; therefore be it “Resolved, That the undersigned Conference through its President and Secretary pledge to our Government its heartiest and fullest support; and to this end be it furthermore “Resolved, That we encourage our people to buy Liberty Bonds, War Savings Stamps, and Thrift Stamps to the limit of their financial resources; and be it also “Resolved, That we support the coming Second Red Cross War Fund drive to the fullest extent of our ability. “Te LUTHER CONFERENCE OF THE Kv. Lura. _CoLorED Mission or. LOUISIANA.” Open sessions were held on the nights of May 9th and 10th. Let me say right here that these open meetings were a great improvement in attendance over those of the past. Chairman Meibohm pre- sided. Pastor G. M. Kramer and the undersigned read papers. The former’s subject was historical, treating of “Phe Gradual Transition of the Church from the Spiritual to the Temporal.” It was rather deep for an open meeting, but with the clear ex-