Pastoral Ministry

Prisons

Those within prison walls need comfort and encouragement—Then what is traced in your diary this year? Does it record an experience gained by ministering to the suffering, the poor, and the needy? Those who are suffering for Christ's sake, who will not yield the truth for error, who, perhaps, are incarcerated within prison walls, these need comfort and encouragement. This is the kind of work that is deciding our destiny. There is a precious reward awaiting those who are faithful in their ministry. They will have a home in the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for them that love him and wait for his appearing.—The Youth's Instructor, August 19, 1897. PaM 140.2

It would be unsafe to take to heaven, persons who claim to be Christ's servants, yet neglect to visit those who are in prison—But God's law plainly reveals to us the duty of man to his fellow man. All who neglect their fellow creatures—the very least of those whom Christ calls His brethren—are recorded in the books of heaven as “weighed in the balances” and “found wanting.” In disregarding His special commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;” in passing by the suffering, the needy, and the wounded, they have left the side of Christ, their example, and taken the side of the enemy of God. In neglecting to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, to visit those who are in prison, they show what spirit they are of. It would not be safe for such characters to enter heaven; for by their selfishness and hard-heartedness, by their failure to appreciate their brethren here, they plainly reveal the fact that they could not appreciate God, His Son, or the saints in the kingdom of heaven.—The Home Missionary, October 1, 1897. PaM 140.3

Ellen White visited a prison and spoke to the convicts—During my stay in Oregon, I visited the prison in Salem, and by invitation spoke to the convicts in the prison chapel.—The Signs of the Times, July 25, 1878. PaM 141.1