Testimony for the Church — No. 15

Epistle Number Eight

Bro. ——: From what was shown me, there is a great work to be accomplished for you before you can be accepted in the sight of God. Self is too prominent. You possess a hasty, passionate temper, and are arbitrary and overbearing in your family. Sister —— is slack and untidy in her house. She has not the elements of order and neatness in her organization. She can improve in these things. Bro. ——, you censure your wife; are dictatorial, and do not have that love you should. She dreads your oppressive spirit, but does not do that which she might on her part to correct her wrong habits, which make home distasteful and disagreeable. T15 71.2

Bro. ——, you have not taken a judicious course with your family. Your children do not love you. They possess hatred more than love. Your wife does not love you. You do not take a course to be loved. You are an extremist. You are severe, exacting, arbitrary, to your children. You talk the truth to them, but do not carry its principles into your everyday life. You are not patient, forbearing, forgiving. You have so long indulged your own spirit, you fly into a passion if provoked, that it looks exceedingly doubtful whether you will make efforts sufficient to meet the mind of Christ. You do not possess power of endurance, forbearance, gentleness and love. These Christian graces must be possessed by you before you can be truly a Christian. You reserve your encouraging words, your kindly acts, for those who are not entitled to them as much as your own wife and children. Cultivate kind words, pleasant looks, praise and approbation for your own family, for this will affect your happiness materially. Never let censure or fretful words escape your lips. Subdue this desire to rule, and to place your iron heel where you can. You possess a most disagreeable spirit, a close spirit; To some you are selfish and stingy, to others whom you wish to have think highly of you, you would sacrifice anything, even the very things your own family needs. You are liberal in these cases that you may receive praise of men, and to have them esteem you. If by your good acts toward those you choose to be liberal to.[ ] you could purchase Heaven by a great sacrifice, you would certainly obtain it. You do not value being put to the greatest inconvenience to advantage others, if in so doing you could exalt yourself. In these things you tithe mint and rue, while you neglect the weightier matters, justice and the love of God. You are not just in your family. You have a work to do there. Make your wife comfortable and happy first, then consider the condition of your children. Provide them with comfortable clothing and convenient food. Then if you can, without limiting your wife and children, help those who most need help, and bestow your favors where they will be appreciated, it will be praise-worthy for you to be liberal. But your first and most sacred duty is to your family. They should not be robbed for others to be favored. Let your benevolence, your liberalities be seen in your own family. Give them tangible proofs of your affection, interest, care and love. This has much to do with your happiness. Cease finding fault, and scolding your wife, for this only makes it much harder for you, and makes a hell for her. T15 71.3

Angels of God will not abide in your family until there is a different order of things. It is not your means that is wanted. Yet you have thought that if reproved it was your means the church wanted. You are deceived here. You have been too liberal with your means, for the very reason you have thought this was to obtain for you salvation, and buy you a position in the church. No, indeed! it is you that is wanted, not the little means you possess. If you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind, and be converted, deal truly with your own soul. It is all that the church require. You have deceived yourself. He that seemeth to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, that man's religion is vain. Use your family in a manner that Heaven can approve, and so that peace may be in your dwelling. There needs to be everything done for your family. Your children have had your bad example before them, you have blamed, censured, and manifested a passionate spirit at home, while you would, at the same time, address the throne of grace, attend meeting, and bear testimony in favor of the truth. These exhibitions have led your children to despise you and the truth you profess. They have no confidence in your Christianity. They believe you to be a hypocrite, and you are a sadly deceived man. You cannot enter Heaven without a thorough change, any more than Simon Magus, who thought that the Holy Ghost could be bought with money. Your family have seen your overreaching spirit, and your taking advantage, your penurious spirit manifested to those with whom you sometimes deal, and they despise you for it, yet they will too surely follow in your footsteps of wrong doing. You are not what you should be in your deal. It is difficult for you to deal justly and to love mercy. You have dishonored the cause of God by your life. You have contended for the truth, but not in a right spirit. You have hindered souls from embracing the truth who otherwise would have done so. They have excused themselves by taking advantage of the errors and wrongs of professed Sabbath-keepers, and saying, they are no better than I; they will lie, cheat, tell large stories, exaggerate, get angry, and boastingly talk of their own praise; such a religion as this I do not want. Thus the unconsecrated lives of these short-coming Sabbath-keepers, make them stumbling-blocks to sinners. T15 72.1

The work now before you, is to commence in your family. You have tried hard to outwardly improve; but the work has been too much on the surface, an outside work, and not a work of the heart. Set your heart in order, humble yourself before God, entreat and implore his grace to help you. Do not, like the hypocritical Pharisees, do things to make you appear devotional and righteous to the eyes of others. Break your hearts before God and know that it is impossible for you to deceive the holy angels. Your words, your acts, are all open to the inspection of holy angels. Your motives and the intents and purposes of your heart stand revealed to their gaze. The most secret things are not hid from them. Oh, then why not rend your hearts, and be not over-anxious to make your brethren think you are right when you are not. Be circumspect in your family. You are watching to see others’ wrongs, but do this no more. The work you have now to do is to overcome your own wrongs, battle with your strong internal foes. Deal justly with the widow and fatherless, throw not over your acts the flimsy covering of deception, to those whom you greatly wish would think you right, while your motives and acts will not bear that construction you would have put upon them. T15 73.1

Cease all contention, and try to be a peacemaker. Love not in word, but in deed and in truth. Your works are to bear the inspection of the Judgment. Will you deal truly with your own soul? Do not deceive yourself. Oh, remember God is not mocked. Those who possess everlasting life will have all they can do to set their houses in order. They must commence at their own hearts and follow up the work until victories, earnest victories, are gained. Self must die, and Christ must live in you, and be in you a well of water springing up into everlasting life. You now have precious hours of probation granted you to form a character even in your advanced age. You now have a period allotted you in which to redeem the time. You cannot put away your errors and wrongs in your own strength, for they have been increasing upon you for years, because you have not seen them in their hideousness, and in the strength of God resolutely put them away. You must lay hold by living faith on an arm that is mighty to save. Humble your poor, proud, self-righteous heart before God; get low, very low, all broken in your sinfulness at his feet. Devote yourself to the work of preparation. Rest not until you can say truly, My Redeemer liveth, and because he lives I shall live also. T15 74.1

If you lose Heaven you lose everything; if you gain Heaven you gain everything. Don't make a mistake in this matter, I implore you. Eternal interests are here involved. Be thorough. May the God of all grace so enlighten your understanding that you may discern eternal things, that by the light of truth, your own errors, which are many, may be discovered to you just as they are, that you may make the necessary effort to put them away, and in the place of this evil, bitter fruit may be found fruit which is precious unto eternal life. By their fruit ye shall know them. Every tree is known by its fruit. What kind of fruit, from henceforth, shall be found upon this tree. The fruit you bear will determine whether you are a good tree, or one that Christ shall say of to his angel, “Cut it down, for why cumbereth it the ground.” T15 75.1

E. G. W.

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