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THE KING’S BUSINESS ; THE EXTENSION DEPARTMENT
Geo. W . Hunter, Representative
D OES Bible Study work in prisons pay ? This- v-question has -been asked :ov-er and over again o f the writer as he has touched lives' of men in his work-in the Northern part o f the State. Let us see: In November, 1912, an invitation was given by the Chaplain, through the Warden o f San Quentin, to give a'series o f Bible study lessons to the inmates o f the prison. The series was |;iven and the work appar ently finished. About the' time thé series was closed, however, the Chaplain was. dropped, and through a brother who was at that time conducting the C. K. work, the :writer was invited to again take up tlje work, which he did, and for,nearly eight een months was privileged to *conduct (with the assistance o f the brother men tioned), the Chaplain’s -work until the appointment of a new Chaplain. Every Saturday afternoon for the past three years from sixty to two hundred men have, o f their own volition, vjsited the chapel -for the Bible study work. Satur day afternoon is the only week day the men have for recreation, but despite this,- these men have counted the Bible instruc tion o f more importance than play. Men’s hearts have been reached and definite transformation in their lives has, in many instances, been the result. Husbands and wives have been reconciled (sometimes after years o f estrangement) ; fathers and children have been united ; the prayers of
despairing mothers -have been answered, and-they have found sons indeed. The conservative attitude o f many o f the prison officials when Bible study for the men was first suggested, has jffianged materially since the work began. Where at first doubt was freely expressed as to the wisdom o f trying to do anything for the men along this line, the cordial Support o f the whole official family has resulted from the persistent week after, week work during these past three years. The work has been along-.constructive lines.- The fundamental doctrines o f the Bible have been taught, and the men encour aged to respond to the evidence plainly pre sented each week. The character o f the work in prisons must o f necessity be con structive, as the men, many o f them, know nothing Of the Bible or its message, and we endeavor to unveil thè Book’s message along lines that every man can grasp,-mag nifying the teaching that the laws o f righteous compensation are eternally at work, and that whether a man breaks the law o f gravitation, the law o f the land, the laws o f health, or the law o f God, the penalty must be paid, and that because o f His broken law, the only way o f approach to God is through Jesus. During the more than three years in which the work has been carried on, several thou sand men have heard the message o f life, and only eternity will reveal the results ' of the seed-sowing.
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