Testimony for the Church — No. 27

Epistle Number Two.

I was shown, January 3, 1875, that there was a great work to be done for those who profess to believe the truth in California, before God can work for them. Many are flattering themselves that they are right with God, when they have not the principles of the truth in their hearts. Thus class can only be brought into working order by seeking, with diligent, persevering earnestness, to heed the counsel of the True Witness. They are in a cold, formal, backslidden state. These are addressed by the True Witness: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten; be zealous, therefore, and repent.” T27 126.1

Bro. C——, God has claims upon you to which you do not respond. Your spiritual strength and growth in grace will be proportionate to the labor of love and good works which you do cheerfully for your Saviour who has withheld nothing, not even his own life, that he might save you. You have the injunction of the apostle, “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” It is not enough to merely profess faith in the commandments of God; you must be a doer of the work. You are a transgressor of his law, You do not love God with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, neither do you live in obedience to the last six commandments, and love your neighbor as yourself. You love yourself more than God, and more than your neighbor. Keeping the commandments of God requires more of us than you are willing to perform. God requires of you good works, self-denial, self-sacrifice, and devotion to the good of others, that souls, through your instrumentality, may be brought to the truth. T27 126.2

Our good works alone will not save any of us, but we cannot be saved without good works. And after we have done all that we can do, in the name and strength of Jesus we are to say, “We are unprofitable servants.” We are not to think we have made great sacrifices and should receive great reward for our feeble services. T27 127.1

Self-righteousness and carnal security have closed you about as with bands of iron. You need to be zealous and repent. You have been unfortunate in sympathizing with the disaffected, whose course has been in opposition to the work the Lord was doing through his servants upon this coast. The wrong men had your sympathy. Because your heart was not right with God you did not receive the light he sent to you. You set up your stubborn will to resist the reproof which the Lord gave to you in love. You knew these things were true, but tried to close your eyes to the true state of your case. Whether you heed the voice of reproof and warning God has sent to you or not; whether you reform, or retain your defects of character, you will one day realize what you have lost by placing yourself in a defiant position, warring in spirit against the servants of God. Your bitterness of feeling towards Eld. L—— is astonishing. He has endured, and sacrificed, and toiled on this coast to do the work of God. But in your blindness, while unconsecrated in heart and life, you have ventured to handle the servant of God, in connection with S—— and B——, in a cruel manner. “Touch not mine anointed^*,” saith God, “and do my prophets no harm.” It is not a small matter for you to array yourself as you have done, against men whom God has sent with light and truth for the people. Beware how your influence turns souls from the truth which God has sent his servants to declare, for a heavy woe hangs over you. T27 127.2

Satan has been using you as his agent to insinuate doubts, and to reiterate insinuations and misrepresentations which have originated in an unsanctified heart which God would have cleansed from its pollution. But you refused to be instructed; refused correction; rejected reproof and followed your own will and way. Souls are defiled by this root of bitterness, and are, through these questioning, murmuring ones, placed where the testimony of reproof which God sends will not reach them. The blood of these souls will be chargeable to you and to the spirits with whom you are in harmony. God has given us, as his servants, our work. He has given us a message to bear to his people. For thirty years we have been receiving the words of God and speaking them to his people. T27 128.1

We have trembled at the responsibility which we have accepted with much prayer and meditation. We have stood as God's ambassadors, beseeching souls in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God. We have warned of danger as God has presented before us the perils of his people. Our work has been given us of God. What then will be the condition of those who refuse to hear the words which God has sent them, because they cross their track or reprove their wrongs? If you are thoroughly convinced that God has not spoken by us, why not act in accordance with your faith and have no more to do with a people who are under so great a deception as this people are? If you have been moving according to the dictates of the Spirit of God, you are right and we are wrong. God is either teaching his church, reproving their wrongs and strengthening their faith, or he is not. This work is of God, or it is not. God does nothing in partnership with Satan. My work, for the past thirty years, bears the stamp of God or the stamp of the enemy. There is no half-way work in the matter. The Testimonies are of the Spirit of God, or of the devil. You are, in arraying yourself against the servants of God, either doing a work for God, or for the devil. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” What stamp does your work bear? It will pay to look critically at the result of your course. T27 129.1

It is not a new thing for a man to be deluded by the arch deceiver and array himself against God. Consider your course critically before you venture to go any further in the path you are traveling. The Jews were self-deceived. They rejected the teachings of Christ; because he exposed the secrets of their hearts and reproved their sins. They would not come to the light, fearing their deeds would be reproved. They chose darkness rather than light. “This is the condemnation,” said Christ, “that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” The Jews pursued their course of rejecting Christ until, in their self-deceived, deluded state, they thought in crucifying him they were doing God service. This was the result of their refusing light. You are in danger of a similar deception. It will be profitable for your soul, Bro. C——, to consider where the path which you are now traveling will end. God can do without you, but you cannot afford to do without God. He does not compel any man to believe. He sets light before men, and Satan presents his darkness. While the deceiver is constantly crying, Light is here; Truth is here, Jesus is saying, I am the truth; I have the words of eternal life. If any man follow me he shall not walk in darkness. God gives to us all evidence sufficient to balance our faith on the side of truth. If we surrender to God we will choose the light and reject the darkness. If we desire to maintain the independence of the natural heart and refuse the correction of God, we will, as did the Jews, stubbornly carry out our purposes and our ideas in the face of the plainest evidence, and will be in danger of as great deception as came upon them, and may go to as great lengths in our blind infatuation as they did, and yet flatter ourselves that we are doing work for God. T27 130.1

Bro. C——, you will not long stand where you now are. The path you have started upon is diverging from the true path, and separating you from the people whom God is testing, in order to purify them for the final victory. You will either come into union with this body, and labor earnestly to answer the prayer of Christ, or you will become more and more unbelieving. You will question point after point of the established faith of the body; become more self-willed in your opinion; grow darker and darker in regard to the work of God for this time, until you set light for darkness, and darkness for light. T27 131.1

Satan has great power to entangle souls by confusing the minds of those who do not cherish the light and privileges which Providence sends them. Minds which are submitted to Satan's control are led continually from the light of truth into error and darkness. If you give Satan the least advantage, he will claim more, and will watch the outposts to make the most of any circumstance to advantage his cause and ruin your soul. T27 132.1

You are, brother and sister C——, neither of you in a safe position. You despise reproof. Had smooth words been spoken to you, rather than words of reproof; had you been praised and flattered, you would now occupy a very different position from what you do, in regard to your belief in the Testimonies. There are those who will, in these last days, cry, “Speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.” But this is not my work, God has set me as a reprover of his people; and as he has laid upon me the heavy burden, just as surely will he make them to whom this message is given responsible for the manner in which they treat it. God will not be trifled with, and they who despise his work will receive according to their works. I have not chosen this unpleasant labor for myself. It is not a work which will bring to me the favor or praise of men. It is a work which but few will appreciate. But they who seek to make my labor doubly hard by their misrepresentations, jealous suspicions, and unbelief, thus creating prejudice in the minds of others against the testimonies God has given me, and limiting my work, have the matter to settle with God, while I shall go forward as Providence and my brethren may open the way before me. I shall do what I can in the name and strength of my Redeemer. I shall warn, and counsel, and reprove, and encourage, as the Spirit of God dictates, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear. My duty is not to please myself, but to do the will of my Heavenly Father, who has given me my work. T27 132.2

Christ warned his disciples, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Here is a test. Bro. C——, this you can apply if you will. You need not go in uncertainty and doubt. Satan is at hand to suggest a variety of doubts, but if you will open your eyes in faith you will find sufficient evidence for belief. But God will never remove from any man all causes for doubts. Those who love to dwell in the atmosphere of doubt and questioning unbelief can have the unenviable privilege. God gives sufficient evidence for the candid mind to believe. He who turns from the weight of evidence because there are a few things which he cannot make plain to his finite understanding, will be left in the cold, chilling atmosphere of unbelief and questioning doubts, and will make shipwreck of faith. Bro. C——, you have seemed to consider it a virtue to be on the side of the doubting rather than on the side of the believing. Jesus never praised unbelief; never commended doubts. He gave to his nation evidences of his Messiahship in the miracles he wrought, but there were those who considered it a virtue to doubt, and who would reason these evidences away, and find something in every good work to question and censure. T27 133.1

The centurion who desired Christ to come and heal his servant felt unworthy to have Jesus come under his roof, but his faith was so strong in the power of Christ that he entreated him to just say the word and the work would be done. “When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of Heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.” T27 134.1

Here Jesus exalted faith in contrast with doubt. He showed that the children of Israel would stumble because of their unbelief, which would lead to the rejection of great light, and would result in their condemnation and overthrow. T27 135.1

Thomas declared he would not believe unless he put his finger into the prints of the nails, and thrust his hand into the side of his Lord. Christ gave him the evidence he desired, and then reproved his unbelief. “Because thou hast seen me thou hast believed; blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed.” T27 135.2

In this age of darkness and error, men who profess to be followers of Christ seem to think they are at liberty to receive or reject the servants of the Lord at pleasure, and that they will not be called to account for thus doing. Unbelief and darkness lead them to this. Their sensibilities are blunted by their unbelief. They violate their consciences and become untrue to their own convictions, and weaken themselves in moral power. They view others in the same light with themselves. T27 135.3

When Christ sent out the twelve he commanded them, “And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide until ye go thence. And when ye come into a house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgment, than for that city.” They were warned to beware of men, for they should be delivered up to the councils and scourged in the synagogues. Men's hearts are no softer today than when Christ was upon the earth. They will do all that is in their power to aid the great adversary in making it as hard as possible for the servants of Christ, just as the people did with Christ when he was upon the earth. They will scourge with the tongue of slander and falsehood. They will criticise, and turn against the servant of God the very efforts he is leading them to make. T27 135.4

They will, with their evil surmisings, see fraud and dishonesty where all is right, and where perfect integrity exists. They lay selfish motives to the charge of God's servants when he himself is leading them, and when they would give even their own lives if God required, and if by so doing they could advance his cause. They who have done the least and made the least investment in the cause of truth, are the most forward to express their unbelief in the integrity of the servants of God who are placed in a position to bear financial responsibilities in the great work. They who have confidence in the work of God are willing to venture something for its advancement; and their spiritual prosperity will be in proportion to their works of faith. T27 136.1

God's Word is our standard, but how few follow it. Our religion will be of but little worth to our fellow-men if it is only theoretical and not practical. The influence of the world and of selfishness is carried about by many who profess to be following the Bible. They are like a cloud chilling the atmosphere in which others move. Bro. C——, it will be an up-hill work for you to cultivate pure, unselfish love, and disinterested benevolence. You have not much experience in yielding your opinions and ideas, and in sometimes giving up your own judgment, and being guided by the counsel of others. Bro. and sister C——, you both need to have less of self and more of the grace of God. You both need to acquire a habit of self-government, that your thoughts may be brought into subjection to the Spirit of Christ. It is the grace of God that you need in order that your thoughts may be disciplined to flow in the right channel, that the words you utter may be right words, and that your passions and appetites may be subject to the control of reason, and the tongue be bridled against levity and unhallowed censure and fault-finding. “If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” The greatest triumph given to us by the religion of Christ is control over ourselves. Our natural propensities must be controlled or we can never overcome as Christ overcame. T27 137.1

There are those among the professed followers of Christ who are spiritual dyspeptics. They are self-made invalids. Their spiritual debility is the direct result of their own short-comings. They do not obey the laws of God and carry out the principles of his commandments. They are indolent in the cause and work of God, doing nothing. But when they think they see something with which they can find fault, then they are active and zealous. A Christian who does not work cannot be healthy. Spiritual disease is the result of neglected duty. In order for a man's faith to be strong, he must be much with God in secret prayer. How can a man's benevolence be a blessing to him if he never exercises it? How can we ask God to help in the conversion of souls unless we are doing all in our power to bring them to the knowledge of the truth? You have brought upon yourself a debility which has made you useless to yourself and to the church, and the remedy is repentance, confession, and reform. You need moral power and the real nourishment of the grace of God. Nothing will give sinew and bone to your piety like working to advance the cause you profess to love, instead of binding it. There is but one genuine cure for spiritual laziness, and that is, work; working for souls who need your help. Instead of strengthening souls you have been discouraging and weakening the hearts and hands of those who would see the cause of God advance. T27 138.1

God has given you abilities which you can use to good account if you will, or you can abuse to your injury and to the injury of others. You have not realized the claims that God has upon you. T27 139.1

It should be ever borne in mind that we are living in this world to form characters for the next. And all our associations with our fellow-mortals should be with reference to their eternal interest, and to our own. But if these interviews are devoted only to pleasure and to our own selfish gratification; if we are light and trifling; if we indulge in wrong acts, we are not co-workers with God, but are decidedly working against him. The precious lives God has given us are not to be moulded by unbelieving relatives in order to please the carnal mind, but to be spent in a manner which God can approve. T27 139.2

If Bro. B—— enjoyed the love of God, he would be a channel of light. He has too little moral power, with strong tendencies to unbelief. He is pitied by the heavenly angels, for he is surrounded with darkness. His ears hear words of unbelief and darkness almost continually. He has doubts and questionings constantly thrown before him. The tongue is a world of iniquity. “The tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” If Bro. B—— would cling to God more firmly, and feel that he would preserve his integrity before God even if it cost his natural life, he would receive strength from above. If he allows the darkness and unbelief that surrounds him, and the doubts and questioning and much talk, to affect his faith, he will soon be all darkness and doubt and unbelief, and will have no light or strength in the truth. T27 139.3

He need not think that, by seeking to compromise with his friends, who are embittered against our faith, he will make it easier for himself. If he stands forth with one purpose to obey God at any cost, he will have help and strength. God loves and pities Bro. B——. He knows every perplexity, every discouragement, every bitter speech. He is acquainted with it all. If he will lay aside his unbelief and stand in God unmoved, his faith will strengthen by exercise. “Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” T27 140.1

I saw Brn. B—— and C—— in special danger of losing eternal life. They did not see that they were standing directly in the way of the advancement of the work of God in ——. T27 140.2

When the tent-meeting was held in S—— the first time we were upon this coast, hundreds were convicted of the truth; but God knew the material of which that church was composed. If souls came out into the truth there were none to nourish and cherish them, and to lead them along to an elevated life. S—— was a man of an envious, fault-finding, jealous spirit. Unless he could be first he would not do anything. He esteemed himself far higher than God esteemed him. A man of his temperament will not, long at a time, be in agreement with any one, for it is his element to contend and array himself in opposition to anything that does not suit his ideas. The Lord left him to take his own course and to manifest what manner of spirit he was of. The very same spirit he carried out in his family he brought into the church and sought to carry it out there. His bitterness, and cruel speeches against the servants of God, are written in the book. He will meet them again. “He went out from us because he was not of us.” And in no case should the church encourage him to unite with them again, for with the spirit he now has he would quarrel even with the angels of God. He would wish to rule and dictate the work of the angels. No such spirit can enter Heaven. S—— and B——, whom God frowns upon, have dared to withstand the servants of God, to malign them and to impute to them evil motives. They have tried to destroy the confidence of the brethren in these workers, as well as in the Testimonies. If the work is of God they cannot overthrow it. Their efforts will be in vain. T27 140.3

Bro. C——, you were in such darkness that you thought these men were right. You have repeated their words, and talked of the “one-man power.” Oh, how little you knew what you were talking about. T27 142.1

Some have been ready to say anything, to prefer any charge against the servants of God, and to be jealous and fault-finding. And if they can find any instance where they think the ministers have spoken decidedly, and perhaps severely, in their zeal for the cause of God, they have been willing to make the most of their words, and have felt at liberty to cherish the most bitter, wicked spirit, and to charge the Lord's servants with wrong motives. Let these fault-finders ask what they would have done under similar circumstances, bearing similar burdens. Let them look, and search, and condemn their own wrong, overbearing course, and their own impatience and fretfulness, and when without sin themselves let them cast the first stone of censure at the brethren, who are trying to get them into working order. A holy God will not bring out souls to the truth, to come under such an influence as has existed in the church! Our Heavenly Father is too wise to bring souls into the truth, to be moulded by the influence of these men who are unconsecrated in heart and life. These men are not in harmony with the truth. They are not in union with the body, but are drawing off from the church. They are working at cross-purposes with those whom God is using to bring souls into the truth. T27 142.2

Who would nourish those who should take their stand to obey all of God's commandments? Who would be nursing fathers and nursing mothers to those who need help and strength? Do these brethren know what they are doing? They are standing directly in the way of sinners. They are blocking up the way by their own wrong course. The blood of souls will be on their garments unless they repent and entirely change their course. Do these disaffected ones think they are right, and the body of Sabbath-keepers deluded? “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Whom is God blessing, and whom is he leading? Who are at work for him? Who are doing good in laboring to get the truth before other minds? Do these men think that the body will come to them and give up their experience and their views to follow their judgment? or will they come into harmony with the body? T27 143.1

Bro. C—— boasts of his independence of mind and judgment, while he is blocking up the way of sinners by his own unconsecrated life and his opposition to the work, in blindly warring against Christ in the persons of his servants. Bro. C——, you are deceived in the quality of true independence. Independence is not obstinacy, although this is often confounded with independence. When Bro. C—— has formed an opinion and expressed it in his family or in the church with considerable confidence and with some publicity, he is then inclined to make it appear that he is right by every argument he can produce. He is then in danger, great danger of closing his eyes, and violating his conscience by his persistency, for the temptation of the enemy is strong upon him. His pride of opinion is hard to yield even in the face of light and evidence sufficient to convince him if he would be convinced. He thinks that if he should admit that he was wrong it would be a reflection on his judgment and discernment. T27 143.2

Bro. C——, you are in great danger of losing your soul. You want to have the pre-eminence. At times you feel deeply if you think you are slighted. You are not a happy man. You will not be happy if you leave the people of God, taking offence at plain words and facts as did many of the followers of Christ, because the truth spoken was too close. You will not be a happy man, for you will take yourself with you. You are not right; you make trouble for yourself. Your temperament is your enemy; and go where you will you will take yourself with your burden of unhappiness. It is an honor to confess a wrong as soon as it is discerned. T27 144.1

There are many matters in connection with the work of God with which you find fault because it is natural for you to find fault. And since you turned your face against the light God revealed to you in regard to yourself, you are fast losing your discernment, and are more ready to find fault with everything. You give your opinion with dictatorial confidence, and treat the queries of others in regard to your opinion as an abuse of you. True refined independence never disdains to seek counsel of the experienced and of the wise, and it treats the counsel of others with respect. T27 144.2

Bro. C——, you must be a converted man or you will lose eternal life. You cannot be a happy man until you obtain the meekness of wisdom. You and your wife have too long worked at cross-purposes. You must lay down this fault-finding, these suspicions, jealousies, and unhappy bickerings. The same spirit which is developed in your family is developed in your religious experience. Be careful how you speak of the faults of each other in the presence of your children; and be careful how you let your spirit control you. You see only the bad and evil in your oldest son; you give him no credit for good qualities which, should he die, you would suddenly become convinced he had possessed. You have neither of you pursued a consistent course toward your son. His faults you dwell upon and make apparent to him in the presence of others, and show that you have no confidence in his good traits of character. T27 145.1

There is a disposition in both of you to see the faults of each other, and of all others, but you are blind to your own faults and many errors. You are both nervous, easily excited and irritated. You need the meekness of wisdom. You cling tenaciously to your own frailties, passions, and prejudices, as though if you let them go you would no more have happiness in this life, when they are thorns—pricking, bruising thorns. Jesus invites you to lay down the yoke you have been bearing, which has been galling your neck, and take his yoke which is easy, and his burden which is light. How wearisome is the load of self-love, covetousness, pride, passion, jealousy, and evil surmising. Yet how closely do men clasp these curses, and are loth to give them up. Christ understood how grievous these self-imposed burdens, and he invites were us to give them up. The heavy laden and weary souls he invites to come to him and take his burden, which is light, in exchange for the burdens which they bind upon themselves. He says, “Ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The requirements of our Saviour are all consistent and harmonious, and, if cheerfully borne, will bring peace and rest to the soul. T27 145.2

When Bro. C—— once takes a position on the wrong side, it is not easy for him to confess he has erred. But if he can let his wrong course pass out of his mind and pass from the memory of others, and he can make some changes for the better without an open acknowledgment of his wrong, he will do so. But all these errors and unconfessed sins stand registered in Heaven, and will not be blotted out until he complies with the direction given in the Word of God: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” If Bro. C—— has found another plan besides that given us by our Lord, it is not a safe way, and will prove his ruin at last. This other way is ruinous to the church—ruinous to the prosperity and happiness of his family. He needs to soften his heart, and to let tenderness, humility, and love, into his soul. He needs to cultivate unselfish qualities. Both Bro. and sister C—— should cultivate qualities of mind which will make them pure, forgetful of self, and more interested in those with whom they are brought in contact. There is a vein of self-love and care for self which does not increase their happiness, but brings to them grief and sorrow. You have a conflict with yourselves in which you alone can act a part. You should both control the tongue, and keep many things back to which you give utterance. T27 146.1

The first evil is in thinking wrong; then come the words which are wrong. But you leave undone the work of cultivating love, deference, and respect for each other. Be kindly considerate of each other's feelings, and seek to sacredly guard each other's happiness. You can do this only in the strength and name of Jesus. Sister C—— has made strong efforts to gain victories, but she has not had much encouragement from her husband. Instead of both seeking God in earnest prayer for strength to overcome the defects in their characters, they have been watching the course of each other, and weakening themselves by finding fault with the course of others. The garden of the heart has not had attention. T27 147.1

If Bro. C—— had received the light the Lord sent to him months ago, and frankly conversed with his wife, and both had broken their hard hearts before the Lord, how different would be their present state. They both slighted the words of reproof and entreaty of the Spirit of God, and did not reform their lives. But closing their eyes to the light God had sent them did not make one of their faults less grievous in the sight of God, nor lessen their accountability. They have hated the reproof which the Lord, in pitying tenderness, gave them. Bro. C—— has naturally a kind and tender heart, but it is crusted over with self-love, vanity, and evil surmising. His heart is not callous, but he lacks moral power. He is a coward as soon as the necessity is brought before him of self-denial and self-sacrifice, for he loves himself. To control self; to put a watch upon his words; to acknowledge that he has done wrong or spoken wrong, is a cross which he feels is too humiliating to lift; and yet if he is ever saved this cross must be lifted. T27 148.1

You both need to watch your words, for just as surely as there is not a sentinel placed over your thoughts and actions you will discourage one another, and make it a sure case that neither of you can be saved. You both need to guard against a hasty spirit which prompts hasty words and actions. Resentment which is indulged because you think you have been misused, is the spirit of Satan, and leads to great moral evil. When you are controlled by a hasty spirit you deprive your reason for the time of the power of regulating your words and your conduct, while at the same time you make yourselves responsible for all the evil consequences. That which is done in haste and anger is not excusable. The action is bad. You may, by a single word spoken in haste and passion, leave a sting in the hearts of friends which may never be forgotten. Unless you exercise self-control you will be a most unhappy couple. You ascribe your unhappy life to the faults of each other, but do this no more. Make it a rule never to speak a word of censure to each other, but commend and praise whenever you can. T27 148.2

Some think it is a virtue to be unrestrained, and they will speak in praise of their outspoken habit of talking out disagreeable things which are in the heart. They let an angry spirit exhaust itself in a torrent of reproach and fault-finding. The more they talk the more excited they become, and Satan stands by to help on the work, for it suits him. The words irritate the one to whom they are spoken, and they will be thrown back, giving provocation for still harder words, until a little matter has blazed into a great flame. You both feel that you have all the trials that you can possibly endure, and that your lives are the most unhappy. Resolutely commence the work of controlling your thoughts, your words, your actions. When you feel the rising of resentment, make it a rule to go by yourself and humbly pray to God, who will hearken to the prayer which goeth not forth from feigned lips. T27 149.1

Every passion must be under the control of enlightened conscience. “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” T27 150.1

If you live upon the plan of addition, adding grace unto grace, God will multiply unto you his grace. While you add, God multiplies. If you cherish a habitual impression that God sees and hears all that you do and say, and keeps a faithful record of all your words and actions, and that you must meet it all, then in all you do and say you will seek to follow the dictates of an enlightened and wakeful conscience. Your tongue will be used to the glory of God, and will be a source of blessing to yourself and to others. But if you separate from God, as you have been doing, take heed lest your tongue shall prove a world of iniquity, and bring upon you fearful condemnation, for souls will be lost through you. T27 150.2

The appetites of our animal natures ought to be kept in rigid subjection. These appetites were given us for important purposes, for good, and not to become the ministers of death by being perverted and becoming a warring lust. The appetite for tobacco, which you strengthen by indulgence, is becoming a warring lust against your soul. An intemperate man cannot be a patient man. The almost imperceptible indulgence of the taste will create an appetite for stronger stimulants. If the thoughts, and passions, and appetites, are kept in due subjection, the tongue will be controlled. T27 151.1

Bro. C——, call to your aid moral power, and leave the use of tobacco forever. You have tried to hide from others the fact that you used tobacco. But you did not hide the matter from God. “Cleanse your hands ye sinners, and purify your hearts ye double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” I commend these words to you in the name of Jesus who has given me my commission. Do not reject them. T27 151.2

You would never have rejected the Testimonies as you have, had your wrong doings not been reproved. You thought it would be easier to sacrifice the Testimonies and close your eyes to the light God has given you, than to leave your tobacco and cease your life of levity and joking with the unbeliever. The cleansing process involves denial and restraint which you have not moral power to endure, therefore you think to excuse your sins by your unbelief of the light God has sent you. Remember, you must meet all these things again, for they are written in the book, with all the warnings and reproofs God has committed to me to give to you. T27 151.3

Bro. B—— is to be pitied, for he has naturally a defective organization. His hope is small. His unbelief and doubts control his judgment. It is in his nature to place himself on the side of doubting and questioning. The only way to overcome this great evil is to cultivate opposite traits of character. He should repress and not cultivate unbelief. He should not express his doubts. He has no right to thrust the defect of his character before others to cause them sadness and discouragement. If he must be affected with this sad evil, unbelief, he should not imbitter the happiness of others by introducing his unbelief to chill the faith of his brethren. He is inclined to pass over almost everything in every discourse and exhortation from which he might draw comfort and encouragement, and he picks up something which he thinks will afford an excuse for his questioning and criticism. The avenues of his soul are thrown open and left unguarded for Satan to come in and to mould his mind to his purposes. T27 152.1

I was shown that your meetings are losing interest because God's Spirit does not attend them. The brethren and sisters are in complete bondage because of these two men. They dare not exercise their freedom, and speak out their faith in the simplicity of their souls, for here is Bro. B. with his cool, severe, critical eye, watching and ready to catch at any word which will give him a chance to exercise the faculties of his unbelieving mind. Between these two the Spirit of God is grieved away from the meetings. When brethren manifest the spirit of the dragon, to make war upon those who believe that God has communicated light and comfort to them through the Testimonies, it is time for the brethren and sisters to assert their liberty and perfect freedom of conscience. God has given them light, and it is their privilege to cherish the light and to speak of it to strengthen and encourage one another. Bro. B—— would confuse the mind by seeking to make it appear that the light God has given through the Testimonies is an addition to the Word of God. But in this he presents it in a false light. God has seen fit in this manner to bring the minds of his people to his Word, to give them a more clear understanding of it. T27 153.1

The church of —— are growing weaker and weaker because of the influence which has been exerted over them. Not an influence to help them advance, but to clog the wheels. It is the privilege of Bro. B—— to cast aside his unbelief, and to advance with the light, if he will. If he refuses to do this, the cause of God will advance all the same without his aid. But God designs that a change shall be made in the church at ——. They will either advance or retrograde. God can do more with six souls united, of the same mind and of the same judgment, than with scores of men who do as Brn. B—— and C—— have been doing. They have not brought angels of light with them into the meeting, but angels of darkness. The meetings have been unprofitable, and sometimes a positive injury. God calls for these men to come over on the Lord's side, and to be united with the body, or to cease hindering those who would be wholly for the Lord. T27 153.2

The great reason why so many professed disciples of Christ fall into grievous temptation and make work for repentance, is, they are deficient in a knowledge of themselves. Here is where Peter was so thoroughly sifted by the enemy. Here is where thousands will make shipwreck of faith. You do not take your wrongs and errors to heart and afflict your souls over them. I entreat you to purify your souls by obeying the truth. Connect yourselves with Heaven. And may the Lord save you from self-deception, T27 154.1