THE CHURCH OF THE PURE GOSPEL. The Lutheran Church receives the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the only rule and standard of religious teaching. The Roman Catholic Church accepts the tradition of the Church as of equal authority with the Holy Scriptures. The Lutheran Church teaches the great central doctrine of the Gospel, that we are saved by _faith alone_ without works. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that we are justified by faith _and works_. The Lutheran Church abides by the teachings of Scripture even when she cannot understand them. The other Protestant Churches explain away and reject some teachings of Scripture because they cannot understand them. HER NAME. The name Lutheran was first given to our Church by her enemies. But she accepted it, because she believes the doctrines which Luther taught. The name which she chose for herself is Evangelical (true to the Gospel). She is now known by both names taken together, Evangelical Lutheran. WHERE FOUND. The Lutheran Church is found in nearly all parts of the world, especially in Germany, Scandinavia, and the United States. In 1905 she numbered over 73 million baptized members, or practically as many as all the other Protestant Churches taken together. In the United States she has almost two million confirmed members (statistics for 1906), and ranks third in size among the Protestant Churches of the country. IN AMERICA. The Lutheran Church in North America comprises the following general bodies: The General Synod, organized in 1821; the General Council, organized in 1867; the Synodical Conference, organized in 1872; the United Synod South, organized in 1886. To these general bodies there belong various synods. There are also a number of Independent Synods which are not connected with any general body. Synods are often subdivided into Conferences. HER WORK. The Lutheran Church, like the Church in general, is to make disciples (Christians) of men. She is all the more bound to do her work, because she is the Church of the Pure Gospel. Her work is done in local congregations, in Home Missions, Foreign Missions, Inner Missions, and in maintaining the necessary institutions of learning (colleges, seminaries, etc.) and of mercy (orphanages, asylums, hospitals). DUTIES OF HER MEMBERS. It is the duty of her members to lead a Christian life, to be loyal to their own Church, and to co-operate heartily in all her local and general work, for the glory of God and the salvation of immortal souls.