THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

plishments and problems there, etc.]. . . . Quietly and without complaint they prayed for their enemies in accordance with the will of God, who helped them out of all difficulties. The evil done them by those who denounced them before the government was repaid with good, heaping coals of fire on their heads, thus bringing them to repentance. Not infrequently such an accuser would come to the leaders of the church by night, ask for forgiveness and express the heartfelt wish to be received into the fellowship of the Mennonite brethren. Such a request had to be declined for the moment ; but in the end and upon an upright confession, a written certification was sent to the home church in Holland, confirming their godly life, where, after having been instructed in the articles of faith, the church would hear their testimony and receive them into the membership of the Mennonite Church. Through the addition of such Polish 36 and German converts, a gradual but inconspicuous increase was recorded. Our fathers put forth every effort to provide physical sustenance according to God’s commands; for this they were blessed. Similarly, but with even greater diligence, they nourished their souls with the bread of life. God the Father and the Son dwelt in their midst, fillin g their homes with heavenly peace. "Besides the instruction provided by the church, fathers and mothers taught the Bible to their children, especially on Sundays, holidays and during the long winter nights. Frivolity, the smoking of Documentary Supplement 111 tobacco and the drinking of brandy by the youth they considered very serious sins. While the sons and daughters of our forefathers could all read and write, the education of the children of the rural population of the other faiths lagged far behind. According to the custom of the time, they sang songs of thanksgiving to the loveliest of melodies at their morning and evening devotions. Their worship services were very solemn; instead of using organ music, as the state churches did, the Mennonites would sing so sublimely that all hearts would soften to the blessed joy in Christ and even the angels in heaven would join in praising and honoring God our Savior Jesus Christ. The songbooks of the time had notes above each song; it was only later, when the notes were omitted in the newer revised hymnals, that the singing in our churches deteriorated into the present-day disharmony. To the extent to which the harmonious singing in our churches was lost, to the same extent our fathers lost their holy way of life in true love to God and His holy Word. [Should one not draw the opposite conclusion: that the beautiful singing disappeared with the growing indifference?]. In those early times so blessed of God, the servants of the church expounded the Word of God to the attentive hearers in such an animated and solemn manner that the Spirit of God dwelt among them, guiding them, to the glory of God, in