Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Lt 228, 1907

Officers of the General Conference

St. Helena, California

June 14, 1907

Portions of this letter are published in 2MR 72-73; 4MR 29-30. +^Note

To the officers of the General Conference:

For some time I have had a great desire to be in Washington; but I cannot leave my work here; there is too much to do, too many important interests at stake. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 1

Some very decided instruction has been given me in regard to the work to be done in Huntsville, and the necessity of our placing the training school there on vantage ground. Let us delay no longer to do the work that so long has been left undone in the southern field. Soon this work of training colored people to be laborers in the cause of God will be much harder to handle than it is now. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 2

The Lord has presented before me our neglect of <improving> opportunities for good, in failing to get acquainted with the work that is being done in the large institutions for the education of the colored people. Long ago we should have made a thorough study of the best ways of educating the colored people to be workers for the colored people. We should use every opportunity to work wisely for the teachers and students in these large educational institutions. We do not need to work hastily to indoctrinate the workers, but we can seek in every way possible to help them and to let them know that we appreciate their labors. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 3

One of the strong reasons presented to me why our office of publication should be established at Nashville was that through our publications the light of truth might shine to the teachers and students in these institutions. I expected long ago to hear that this work had been undertaken. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 4

Recently light again came to me instructing me that decided efforts should be made in an honorable way to get into the ranks of the students in these schools, and by gaining the confidence of the white teachers, get permission to give them talks on missionary subjects. It was because of the existence of these large institutions of education in Nashville that I was shown that this city was the most favorable place in which to open up our work in the southern field. There has been a sad failure to take advantage of circumstances. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 5

A mighty influence should now be set in operation, to arouse earnest efforts in behalf of the colored people. The chafing and annoyances that have existed among the workers in the southern states, the holding back, and the hindrances, have not been of the Lord’s order; and these things have prevented the work from being done that God designed should be done in that field. Had the workers been prepared to act harmoniously, and under the dictation of the Spirit of God, there would have been a very different showing than there is today. Now an earnest work is to be done for the teachers in Nashville, and a wise work is demanded for the colored students. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 6

Self has been striving for the mastery among the workers in God’s cause, and it has often been victorious. The Lord Jesus now says to us, “You who claim to have given yourselves to Me, I give you to the world, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. He who came as the light of the world, that He might bring many souls to the Father, now sends you forth as the light of the world.” 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 7

God will multiply our numbers and our men of means, and through His converted agencies will accomplish the work that He designs shall be done. It is the baptism of His Holy Spirit that is needed among His laborers; when this lack is supplied, we shall serve Him with a thousandfold more earnestness than we now do. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 8

“He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?” [Romans 8:32.] He who was rich with heaven’s boundless resources came to earth with an eternal weight of glory to impart to fallen man. He came to open the blind eyes, to see the riches of eternity held out to men. Shall only a shallow stream of gratitude be our response to this beneficence? Rather shall we not consecrate ourselves to God, soul, body, and spirit, and become laborers together with Him in the great mission for which He gave His richest Gift? 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 9

Christ was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we through His sacrifice and poverty might become rich and lay hold of His divine power. The unfathomable riches of heaven were bestowed when Christ, the express image of the Father, was given to the fallen race. That Christ should lay off His royal crown and robe and leave His high command in heaven to accept a lot of humiliation and poverty on earth is a mystery that angels desire to look into. The sacrifice was made that man might accept by faith the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. Why do God’s people manifest so little faith, why continue to work counter to God’s plan of truth and righteousness? Why do we not believe, when heaven has done all that Infinity could do for our recovery? 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 10

The principles of true godliness must be brought into the lives of God’s professing people. We must lay hold of the merits of Christ with a living, earnest faith. Heaven has been brought within our reach in the gift of God’s beloved Son; the principles of heaven that He brought with Him to earth are to be practiced in our lives. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 11

The converted soul is placed under solemn obligation to make every sacrifice for the salvation of the fallen race. Christ made an infinite sacrifice when He became the head of the human family. His example of self-abnegation is to be repeated in the lives of His followers. It is only thus that the followers of Christ become the sons of God, partakers of the divine nature. They are to labor as He labored for the recovery of the lost, seeking to cause the light of truth to dispel the darkness of ignorance and sin. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 12

My brethren, I call on you to awake. When the believer yields his will to the will and mind of Christ, he will not be listless or indifferent. Every soul who enters into discipleship with Christ will become a laborer together with Him to draw men to God. Many have lost a sense of their individual responsibility. God is waiting to renew the faith of those who have lost their first love and set them to work to fulfil the great commission, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” [Mark 16:15.] 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 13

“All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth,” Christ said. [Matthew 28:18.] The Saviour unites all His sympathies with His human instrumentalities. He lays hold of the sympathies and powers of His church in heaven and combines them with His agencies on earth. Angels are sent to minister unto them who shall be heirs of salvation. The church in heaven unites with the church on earth, to make effective the work of those who receive and believe on Him. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 14

An Appeal for More Earnest Work in the Cities of the Southern States

I ask our brethren who are bearing responsibilities in the cause of God, Can we not make more decided efforts to bring the message of present truth to the towns and cities in the southern field that are yet unworked? While the work is being carried on in a few principle cities, and the laborers there are trying to extend their efforts to the towns surrounding them, our churches throughout the southern field, guided by the advice and counsel of those who have had experience in the work, should seek to disseminate the knowledge of the truth in their own neighborhoods. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 15

My brethren, you need to pray much more than you need to talk. Do not talk doubt or unbelief; for this closes the door against the Holy Spirit. Do not criticize and find fault. Humble yourselves before God, and confess your own sins. When you have sought and received pardon for your own wrongdoing, then do the work God has ordained. Practical godliness revealed in your own life will bring your brethren into working order and will make them willing to be messengers and to suffer, if need be, for the truth’s sake. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 16

Love for souls will lead you to be laborers together with God. Love for souls will make you partakers of the sufferings of Christ and a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 17

Put not your trust in any human agency. Place no man where God should be. Let each worker seek the Lord for himself. The prayer of Christ for His disciples, when He was about to leave them, was not for the twelve alone, but for all who would believe on Him through their word, “that they all may be one, ... that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” [John 17:21.] It is the sanctified unity of God’s people that will give evidence to the worldlings that God has sent His Son into the world. 22LtMs, Lt 228, 1907, par. 18