Footprints of the Pioneers

Chapter 26—The Valley of Vision

Our Blessed Savior

THE burden of the valley of vision. I saw a light gleam in the darkness. A feeble flame, flicked by the wind, now bent almost to extinction, now leaping bravely upward, meeting the surrounding gloom with promise of a greater day. It seemed men tended the light. Sometimes their dark bodies passed in front of it; sometimes as they stood behind it, their faces were lighted with its glow. FOPI 218.2

Then I saw the light multiplying. Yonder, here, there, new candles were set aflame, as men carried the light to other places. Laboriously at first, with patient, groping steps, they sought to increase the illumination. And as the light spread, the tapers were turned to torches. Their beams reached out to one another, and in the murky night they traced a pattern of progress toward the dawn. FOPI 218.3

The company that served grew greater: men, women, youth, and little children. They circled the earth. They lifted their torches high; they threw the kindling sparks to waiting light bearers. Into the dark recesses of heathen lands and through the bewildering mazes of old civilizations the light penetrated, rescuing devil-ridden souls, lifting despairing men, pointing them to the splendor of the on speeding day. And all the earth was lighted with the glory of the knowledge of the coming of the Lord. FOPI 218.4

But what! Would men quench light? Would they turn their faces away to the blackness of night? Would they seize the candle, the torch, the lamp, and dash them to the ground? Yea! Because men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. They lifted up their hands and smote; they lifted up their feet and kicked; they lifted up their voices and cried the light down. FOPI 221.1

And what! Would some who bore the light neglect its flame and let it perish? Would they be greedy of the baubles that hung beside their path, and let fall the precious torch? Yea! Because they lost the vision of their mission, and their eyes were filmed with the cobwebs of earthly pleasures, so that they could not discern the light of life. They grasped for earthly treasure; they stumbled on the unevenness of their path; they heard the sounds of the revel, and, searching for it, fell in the morass. FOPI 221.2

And I heard One praying in the chambers of the night: “Father, let Thy glory shine forth. Let the sun of Your eternal love diffuse Thy light through all the world. Father, let not this day fail, this day of Your appointed time, when Thou wilt end the mystery of iniquity and reveal the mystery of godliness. O Father, give me children, children of light, children in whom is no blemish, children in whom is no guile, children who are wrapped in the glory of Thy righteousness, children who will finish the work of God in the earth. For the time is at hand, and the word of God cannot fail. Holy Father, I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work Thou gave me to do. Now glorify me with the glory that I had with Thee before the world was. This is the glory: that the children of Thy covenant should shine forth in the brightness of Your indwelling, that they should be sanctified through Thy word of truth, that they should all be one in us, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee. So shall the agony of the ages end in the rapture of redemption, and Thy name be glorified.” FOPI 221.3

This is the burden of the valley of vision: Where are the men and the women of God, where are the young men and the maidens, strong, true hearted, disciplined, fired with the zeal of the supreme mission, who shall catch the torch of truth from the hands of the falling veterans, and carry it on to the glorious consummation? Let them stand up and be counted. Let them thrust aside the fears, the doubts, the cowardice of inaction; let them waive the exemption of the benedict, the ease and pleasure of the vine and the fig tree. Let them stoop not to drink at leisure, but with their eyes fixed upon the foe stride upright through the Waters of Trembling. FOPI 222.1

This is the day of battle, the day of crisis, the day of decision. The last great assault is ordered. What man is fearful and fainthearted, let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart. What man is courageous and stouthearted,. a son of the King, let him rise up and go into the wood and strengthen the hand of God’s anointed. The trumpet is blown in the mountain of God: let the soldiers of the Last Legion gather. For now, by the might of God, shall Israel be delivered! FOPI 222.2

What cheer from the battlefields of old? What inspiration from the heroes of faith who have gone before? What examples of self-discipline, of sacrifice, of devotion to the cause, of utter and absolute consecration to the finishing of the gospel work? Call up the names of God’s warriors who fought His battles, of the pilgrims in the night who kept the path to the dawn, of the workers who toiled and sacrificed and gave the last full measure of devotion. Are they worthy of imitation? Are they the pattern of conduct? Does their faith inspire us? Do their deeds provoke us to emulation? Is their memory precious? Are they about us as a cloud of witnesses for God? FOPI 222.3

Then set the feet in the path they trod. Then lift the light that they cherished. Then marshal the powers of body, mind, and soul to finish the task they began. For, please God, the work shall be done in this our day; and we shall clasp hands on the Mount of Triumph with the heroes of God. FOPI 222.4

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. He who has disciplined his appetite and his lust and his ambition. He who has husbanded and built his strength for service. He who has forgotten himself in contemplation of Christ. He who has put his hand in God’s, and through storm and hazard and want and the blackness of trial has stayed his soul on the Changeless Love. He shall receive the blessing of the Lord and the acclaim of the Holy Ones. FOPI 223.1

The vision is of the tumultuous past and the victories of the saints, immortal in fame through seeing Him who is invisible. It is of the past because we are the children of the patriarchs, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness., obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. It is of the past because out of the mold of its dead days springs up the life of today. FOPI 223.2

And the vision is of the glorious future, of the triumph of Christ and of His followers tried and true, of the choiring leaders of the redeemed, of harpers harping with their harps, of voices from heaven as the voice of many waters and as the voice of a great thunder, singing as it were a new song before the Throne. Transmuted into the melody and speech of heaven, redolent of experience and eloquent of the praise of eternity, it yet is reminiscent of that deathless theme of time: FOPI 223.3

Worthy, worthy is the Lamb, Worthy, worthy is the Lamb;
Worthy, worthy is the Lamb
That was slain.
Glory, hallelujah! Praise Him, hallelujah!
Glory, hallelujah
To the Lamb!