Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 6 (1889-1890)

Lt 23, 1890

Stone, Brother

Battle Creek, Michigan

January 6, 1890

Portions of this letter are published in 1888 520; ChL 23; HP 60; 9MR 127.

Dear Brother Stone,

I have a message to bear to you from the Lord. I should have written to you during the Minneapolis meeting, but the current setting in the direction of doubt and unbelief of the Testimonies was so strong that I had no liberty to present to others the counsel of God in their case. I was bidden by the Lord to wait, for warnings and reproofs would have no effect. Only as He should lead and impress me must I speak. Our brethren had not a heart to receive anything that would humble their pride. If it were presented, they would be offended or stumble at the word, for such was the spirit that prevailed in that meeting, and under its influence many would move rashly. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 1

More recently our case has again been presented before me. I was shown that for a long time your thoughts and feelings, your spirit and deportment, have not been of a character to give you moral solidity, to make you a man of holy influence. After the death of your wife, the weakness of your character was evinced in your attentions to young girls. Your familiarity was an injury to them, making impressions on their minds unfavorable to their spiritual advancement. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 2

The difficulty is in your heart. It was not pure. You have not had Christ abiding in you by faith. You have not kept the way of the Lord. You have not abstained from the very appearance of evil. Your own ways, your own feelings, your appetites and passions, have held sway until you have placed yourself where you are now trammeled and are inclined to please yourself irrespective of the counsel of God. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 3

By the death of your wife your children were left motherless; but how feeble was your sense of responsibility to them. Other things intruded themselves. Your thoughts, impulses and purposes were very much after the order of the enemy of all righteousness. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” [1 John 2:16.] 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 4

Had you been consecrated to God, soul, body, and spirit, as every shepherd of the flock should be, had you borne the burden of souls, had you studied from cause to effect, you would have said, “I cannot take one step where there is the least probability of separating my soul from God. My fear to offend God is greater than my desire to indulge in my own inclinations. The impulse of passion shall not make and ruin my influence and deaden my conscience so that I cannot hear the voice of God to me. I will not be drawn away from Him who should stand first in my affections.” 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 5

But you have not relinquished every idol that God might reign supreme. In contracting marriage with your present wife, you have taken upon yourself obligations that tend to draw you away from the work of God; you will be unfaithful to your solemn trust as a shepherd of the flock unless you now put on Christ and put away the indulgence of selfish passions and lusts. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 6

You may for a time, pass on professing godliness, appearing to be a shepherd; but if you have a divided heart, yielding its service, its affections, to another than God, you will be finally and forever something else than a faithful child of God. He that doeth the will of God abideth forever. But the birthright can easily be sold for some selfish gratification and repentance may come too late. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 7

The thorns of sin grow naturally and spontaneously, while grace can thrive only by careful cultivation. The Lord Jesus has watched your life. He knows your history. He has seen in your heart the choking thorns that have for years been growing, suppressed in their activity, but never fully uprooted, because there has been a yielding to temptation. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 8

The grace of Christ entering the soul would germinate and take root and flourish, but in the same heart are earthly plants, presented as thorns; these spring up among the precious, tender plants of heavenly origin. Now and then the tops are cut off, but the root is living, ready to send up shoots when circumstances are favorable. Nurtured by indulgence, they grow unchecked, until the precious plants are left in the shade. Their roots were not planted in prepared soil, and the thorns finally occupy the field. Thorns and thistles and briars have supplanted the precious plants of heavenly origin. You have given evidence that your life is not controlled by heavenly influence. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 9

Oh, how many are being deluded by their own supposed goodness! When Peter said that he would follow Christ to prison and to death [Luke 22:33], he meant it, every word of it; but he was not conscious that slumbering in his soul were elements that circumstances would fan into life, and which would prove his eternal ruin unless he was made conscious of his danger. His compassionate Saviour saw in him a self-love, self-assurance which would overbear even his love of Christ; unless he could be brought to see this he would be lost to the cause of God. This represents your case. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 10

Christ sees the peril of your soul. While you apparently love the truth and the cause of God, there is in your heart an unsanctified love which will make its object supreme. With the indulgence of your passions, there is come into your experience a commonness, an earthliness. Satan stands with his alluring baits to take the mind and the heart captive, and you have yielded to his wiles; you have bound your soul about with promises that it is not possible for you to fulfill and yet be an obedient child of God. I hope that you will see what these things are and break the chains that hold you. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 11

Already you have unfitted yourself for God’s sacred work, and unless through fasting and prayer you humble your heart before God, you will not long have a place in His work. You have too many things to absorb your interest, to divide your thoughts. At the very best, there is none too much of our powers to give to the Lord, and the entrusted talents need to be carefully cultivated and discretely used, that we may not disappoint the Saviour. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 12

I feel sad for you, I feel sad for your wife. Your marriage was unwise. Had you stood in the counsel of God, you would have seen this yourself. Your wife married you to be petted and flattered, to absorb your affections. She is exacting, drawing upon you for sympathy and special favors, and ready to feel injured unless she receives them. You and your wife are absorbed in each other; a lovesick sentimentalism is the atmosphere most agreeable to her, and it has also been most agreeable to you. You two may constitute yourselves a mutual admiration society, but in no respect do you glorify God in this matter. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 13

Your wife is placed in a position that she has no disposition to fill. She is not yet converted. She lives to please herself, not to do the will of God. She has not thought of being a caretaker or a burden bearer. She is willing to be an ornament in the cause of God; if she can be petted and admired, and can have easy places found for her, she will accept the connection of the Lord’s cause, but she is not ready to be Christ’s servant, a soldier of the cross. She has no inclination to do what she will have to do if she becomes entirely converted. “If any man will come after me,” said Christ, “let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” [Luke 9:23.] Her case is perilous; if she should now die, it would be with her pride, her self-love upon her, and for such there is no place in the heavenly courts. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 14

The seeds of truth have been dropped into the soil of the heart which was mellowed by the influence of the Spirit of God, and the seed gave some promise of bearing fruit; but your unwise course, your cowardly promises, your infatuation, spoiled the work; the plowing was not deep and thorough, the fallow ground was not broken-up, and the seeds of evil were left to grow into life. By your lovesick sentimentalism, you have spoiled her experience; I fear that it may never become perfect. The policy of ambition and covetousness will be only too readily accepted by you both. The prospect of gaining more means and that quickly, will lead you to take a step farther toward the world and to separate farther from the work of God. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 15

Your wife consented to marry you on condition that she should not bear a mother’s responsibility for your motherless children. Was the Lord leading you in this arrangement? I answer, No. Your own unsanctified, unholy passion were bringing you into the bondage of Satan. If your wife had had the fear of God before her, she would have never consented to marry a man who could sacrifice the interests of his own motherless children to the selfish pleasure of a young wife. Such unfaithfulness to sacred responsibilities as you have shown is not flattering to any man. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 16

Your wife has no thought of being a mother to your children. She is not willing to tax herself [for] them, to give them love and care, and to win their affections. Regardless of their future, she would see them placed in the hands of strangers, provided that she may be free from care. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 17

You are not a patient, kind father. I have seen that you were giving honeyed words to your wife, while you had only harsh orders to [give] your daughter. If your wife spoke to you of any fault in your children, you were decided in your condemnation and blame. While you have been praising and flattering your wife, the hearts of your children have been starving for love. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 18

You have shown great weakness, and the course which you have pursued will live in the minds of your children. Impressions have been made upon them which it will be difficult to efface. The withdrawal of a father’s care and love where these were doubly needed have left the children to the influence of circumstances that have made the bad worse, and have weakened the good impulses that love and wisdom might have developed for the formation of much better characters than they now possess. In their present condition they are not the most favorable subjects to educate and train. A blight is upon their young lives. Tender plants, they might, if rightly cared for, have been beautiful for heaven; but their roots have been robbed of nourishment, and the seed plot of the soul has been left to become a field of thorns and briars. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 19

At times your conscience is aroused and troubles you when you think of your motherless children; but unless you and your wife are converted, the atmosphere of your home will be the very worst for their moral and eternal interest. Your wife is now more of a child than they. She will come in between you and your children, and will be jealous of the love you give to them. As things now are, I cannot find it in my heart to ask you to take your children home. They would not receive much kindness, not much tenderness. You would be absorbed, as you have been, in an unsanctified and idolatrous love, and your children would not see in your discipline forbearance, gentleness, and goodness. Home would not be a happy place either for the children or for yourselves. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 20

Brother Stone, how could you withdraw your interest from your own children—bone of your bone, and flesh of your flesh? And how can you be blessed of God as a shepherd of the flock, when you have so little of the shepherd’s care for your own lambs? Your labors cannot receive the sanction of God while you are neglecting sacred responsibilities. You have not cultivated a tender sensibility. Your sympathies are not readily called out, except for your own special gratification. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 21

All this is unlike Christ. He was full of sympathy and unselfish love. You need to be changed; you must have a different experience from what you have had. You should feel and show an interest in your children, a tender thoughtfulness to make them happy. Here is your first duty. Remember that as you and your wife deal with your children, so will God deal with you. You could have had the influence over them which every father should have for his children. This neglected responsibility should not be left haphazard. No longer try to shift it upon others. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 22

Your neglect toward your children at the tender age when they most needed your love and care, has opened the door for Satan to work with them; and while you have slept the enemy has been diligently sowing tares in their hearts. I beseech you, if you ever worked in your life to save souls, work now that this evil growth may be uprooted and that the good seed of the kingdom may be sown in their hearts. This will require determined, persevering effort, and longsuffering patience on the part of their father, and of the one who stands in the place of their mother. Hirelings cannot bear this responsibility. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 23

I beseech you for Christ’s sake to put away this spirit of harshness and censure. You need to have a mother’s tender love. You need the Christlove. Then you will not chide for every mistake; you will have something of the same patience toward these lambs of the flock that Christ has manifested toward you. Then God will accept your labors for others. When you faithfully bear the responsibilities in your own home, you will be better prepared to bear the responsibility of feeding the flock of God and especially of manifesting the Saviour’s tender care for the lambs of the flock. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 24

Will you both seek to bring the truth into the inner sanctuary of the soul? Will you, if brought into connection with your children, exercise that charity that suffereth long and is kind? Will you bring the same meekness and gentleness of Christ into your labors for the church? Will you guard your lips so as not to utter one word of faultfinding, but kindly instruct? No longer lay upon the foundationstone, wood, hay, and stubble, perishable material which will be burned, but lay thereon gold, silver, and precious stones that will be valuable for all time and enduring as eternity. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 25

You must love the Lord supremely. He cannot accept half-hearted service, work that is negligently performed. His curse is upon all those who do the work of God deceitfully or negligently. You have been on the losing side. You have not kept your lamp trimmed and burning. As you both now stand, you cannot indeed, be a light to the world in good works. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 26

Brother Stone, you have a larger and holier responsibility than the kind of work you have been doing in consulting your wife’s ways and preferences; her inclinations all tend to draw you away from the work. You are too easily influenced in this direction, and unless there is a decided change in the spirit and the manner of your labor, the cause of God will do better without your influence. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 27

Remember that all your words, all your ways, all your deeds, are open to the true witness. He says, “I know thy works.” [Revelation 3:15.] The deeds of each day have been passing, one after another into the book of records. What will you read there? Your words, your works, your character, are being weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. Angels of God are watching for the development of character and weighing moral worth. Profession and pretense count nothing with God. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 28

You have felt, and so has your inexperienced wife, that you were living a narrow life. You yourselves can make it broad and influential, if you will be truly converted. There can be no such thing as a narrow life for any soul connected with Christ. Those who love Jesus with heart and mind and soul, and their neighbor as themselves, have a broad field in which to use their ability and influence. There is no talent to be used for selfish gratification. Self must die and our lives be hid with Christ in God, or we shall never be among the overcomers. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 29

The Lord would have us value our souls according to the estimation—as far as we can comprehend it—that Christ has placed upon them. God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have eternal life. In the light shining from the cross of Calvary are our souls to be estimated. Jesus died that He might redeem man from eternal ruin. Then we are to hold ourselves as property purchased. “Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” [1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.] 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 30

All our powers of mind and soul and body are the Lord’s. Our time belongs to Him. We are to place ourselves in the very best possible condition to do His service, keeping constantly in connection with Christ, and considering daily the costly sacrifice made for us that we should be made the righteousness of God in Him. Thus we are to grow up unto the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 31

Those who are emptied of self, the thoughtful and conscientious, cannot raise their eyes to Christ, the living Saviour, without feelings of awe and the deepest humility. To behold Jesus continually will make the soul alive unto God. We shall love Jesus; we shall love the Father, who sent Him into the world, for we see Him in a wondrous light, full of grace and truth. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 32

Jesus declares, “All things are delivered unto me of my Father; all things that the Father hath are mine.” “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” [Matthew 11:27; 28:18.] What for? That He may give gifts unto men; that He may lay all His powers under tribute to make known the wondrous love wherewith He hath loved us. Oh, what treasures of knowledge and experience you both might have obtained if, instead of consecrating your lives to self-worship, the worship of one another, you had left these idolatrous shrines [to] worship at the holy shrine of God. What contemplations you might have had, what conceptions of the character of God! What earnestness, what zeal you might have manifested! What precious knowledge gained through your own experience you might have revealed to others! 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 33

We want now, if we are connected with the work of God, to understand our individual accountability. He who is following Christ will cherish no weak, fleshly lusts; these were to disqualify him for the service of God. Love for his own soul will lead him to seek the salvation of the soul through the merits of the blood of Christ. It will lead him at all times, and on all occasions, to maintain a connection with Christ and gather to himself the most holy influences so that Satan shall not gain any control over the soul purchased by the blood of Christ. We are to be constantly “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” [Hebrews 12:2], our support in trial, our Friend in need. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 34

If you live with an eye single to the glory of God, you will, all unconsciously to yourselves, be leaving a bright track heavenward because Christ is abiding in your hearts, and you are abiding in Christ. At all times and in all places you will reveal in your character the graces of the Holy Spirit. The righteousness of Christ is yours; the glory of the Lord is your reward. Through your example the light of heaven is shining amid the moral darkness, declaring that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 35

When we estimate all our talents in the light of the cross of Calvary, we shall so live for Christ, and so let our light shine before men, that our lives will never again seem narrow. Who can estimate the value of the soul? In comparison with even one soul the whole world sinks into insignificance. There is no necessity of our belittling our responsibility or undervaluing our capabilities; it is our privilege to have the power of the Holy Spirit to help us. “Without me,” says Christ, “Ye can do nothing.” But, “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.” [John 15:5.] We can be mighty in God if we put our whole trust in Him. Each day that comes to us is a precious gift from our Father. Let us use it as such. Wisely improved, these days will be amassing for us heavenly treasures. We are to learn the weighty truths which concern our own eternal salvation; we may learn lessons of Jesus every day, and thus we shall be better able to appreciate His attractive loveliness. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 36

Then there will be none of this restless desire for change, this seeking to please self, but not earnestly seeking to keep the way of the Lord. In the service of Christ there is peace, and content, and joy unalloyed; there is rest in the consciousness of duties well done. We may be weary in working, but to grow weary in doing Christ’s work, wearing Christ’s yoke, lifting Christ’s burden, is to find rest, quietude, and peace. Jesus, who went about doing good is your example. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 37

My Brother, the higher, invisible world that is to be viewed with the eye of faith, has not had the significance to you that it should have had. Your heart has not been garrisoned with the words of Christ; it has been exposed to Satan’s suggestings and the promptings of unholy passion, until it has become hard and almost insensible to the influence of the Spirit of God. By your own course you have encouraged the enemy to tempt you. You both need a work done for you, which is represented as falling upon the Rock and being broken. Until this is done, your work will be surface work, your hearts selfish, self-caring. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 38

There are two watchers, one seeking to draw you near to Himself, moving you to believe on the Son of God, that you should not perish but have eternal life. The other watcher is taking advantage of every opportunity to sow tares in the soil of the heart. He uses every power that he can command against the salvation of souls. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 39

Evil angels ply the soul with one set of temptations after another, to compass our ruin. They suggest evil thoughts, excite worldly desires [and] carnal lusts, that the heart may be estranged from God and no longer respond to the influence of the Holy Spirit, that the word may be spoken in Heaven, “He is joined to his idols: let him alone.” [Hosea 4:17.] Your heart is becoming less and less susceptible to the influence of truth, for the truth is not brought into the inner sanctuary of the soul. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 40

The prayer of Christ to His Father just prior to the crucifixion was, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” [John 17:7.] (Matthew 13:44) tells of a man who found a treasure in a field, and for joy thereof went and sold all that he had and bought the field. He was willing to sacrifice all that he possessed to divest himself of many advantages, to suffer inconvenience, that he might win the treasure. My brother, you have lacked that earnest determination to possess the heavenly treasure at any cost. You have not realized your soul-need. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 41

Without the vitalizing influence of the Spirit of Christ, all, yes, every one with your experience and attitude, will fall into grievous temptations. You do not grow in grace; your roots do not strike down deep so as to give you firmness and stability. There is a sustaining power in the life of Christ, a power upon which you can constantly depend. The branch may draw daily nourishment from the living vine stalk, and then it does not wither, but remains green and flourishing and bears much fruit to the glory of God. The Christlike character appears, for the life is hidden with Christ in God. Here is a source of power for every true Christian. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 42

When Jesus asked His disciples, “Will ye also go away?” the apostle Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” [John 6:67, 68.] This is the heart language of every heart-follower of Jesus Christ. He will not draw back unto perdition, but will follow Him whom to know aright is life eternal. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 43

Let me tell you, my brother, the Lord is disappointed in you because you do not feel the necessity of being nourished by His grace; you have been pining and dwindling away. Your religious growth is dwarfed and stunted. You do not bring forth fruit unto perfection. You have not exercised careful husbandry over your own heart and diligently wrought with Christ to eradicate every evil thing. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 44

You need to cultivate simplicity, sincerity. However long one’s experience, however abundant his labor, if his life is not graced with true humility and that love which suffers long and is as kind, he is as nothing before God. Pride and self-complacency, and the absence of love, will destroy the efficiency of our work. The only work approved of heaven is that wrought in simplicity and Christlike humility. The favor of God, which is bestowed on every unselfish work in His cause is itself success. Here is the only true success. “What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” [Matthew 16:26.] 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 45

If you only do as well as you know how to do, without any excuse, you will follow Jesus fully—not afar off, but nigh. When converted, you will see your mistakes and will have that repentance that needeth not to be repented of. If you work in the vineyard of the Lord, you will feel that you are intrusted with high and holy responsibilities; your aims will be high, your life filled with holy endeavor to reach the noblest standard. You will seek to please and glorify Him who has given His life for you. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 46

You are now as one belated; the day is far spent, and you have been loitering. You have lost years of precious experience. It is time that you do earnest work for God during the few remaining hours wherein you can work. Do not make your wife first, a plaything as you have done. If you allow her to be a snare to you, a Delilah, you will continue to go farther from God, and your strength will be less and less. Put the Lord God of Israel first; honor Him, do His will at all hazards, magnify His holy name by wholehearted, self-denying, self-sacrificing service. “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” [Luke 22:32.] 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 47

You must have the experience that will lead you to count all things but loss and dross, that you may win Christ and win souls for Him. You have not bound off your work, for your whole heart and soul have not been enlisted in it. Your labors in the desk have not been followed up with personal effort, visiting, and instructing by the fireside. Christ reached the people where they were, in their homes, in the private walks of live. But after speaking to the people you have sought out the best and easiest places for yourself and your new-made wife, and have given yourself up to your own selfish enjoyment. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 48

You have not been a co-worker with Christ or with your brethren in saving the precious souls so dear to the heart of Jesus. Except [for] a few favorites, you have been cold, impatient, unsympathetic, unloving toward the flock of God. Oh, God requires of you altogether a different kind of labor, if you hope to receive by and by, the heavenly benediction, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” [Matthew 25:21.] 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 49

Unselfish aims and plans would energize your whole being. The truth for this time calls for the most unselfish and the most thorough labor, for the time is at hand when your work must bear the test of the judgment. You need love, pure, Christlike love, which is divine. Then you will have no hatred, you will manifest the fruits of the Spirit: joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness. Unless you take an altogether different course from what you have taken, your life will prove a miserable failure. If your character is not transformed, if your heart is unchanged, it were better for you if you had never been born. Christ alone is able to make your life what it should be, to form your character after the divine model. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 50

True success is found in keeping the future life in view. To live for self, to seek your own pleasure, will prove to you an irreparable loss. The Lord has given to man godlike qualities to be used, to be improved—not to diminish, but to increase. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 51

My brother, ask yourself these questions, and answer them to your own soul as in the presence of God. How have I spent my life? How do I now live? Am I walking in the light of the Son of Righteousness? Am I a consistent Christian? Are not many of those for whom I labor far in advance of me in self-denial, in self-sacrifice? Am I by precept and example leading to greater self-denial and consecration? When my armor is laid off will it be because my work is well done? Shall I sit down with the suffering man of Calvary upon His throne? Shall I have a starless crown? Another year has nearly gone. As the pages are turned one after another for me to review, shall I meet my record with joy and not with grief? How many hours have I devoted to self-service? How many souls might I have saved that are lost to God’s cause? By the record books of heaven we are to be judged. Are these records what we wish them to be? Where are the golden sheaves that you ought to bring to Christ? 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 52

Brother and Sister Stone, you have linked your lives together, God calls upon you to unite yourselves more closely with Jesus. I bear this solemn message to you both that you are in danger of losing your souls. Only the truly penitent, those whose sins are confessed and pardoned, will find a place in the city of God and an inheritance in the earth made new. But there is hope for you both; you may have a transformation of character, if you will. You may have it now; it is not too late to make your calling and election sure. There is a fountain open for Judah in Jerusalem. Here you may wash and be clean. Jesus will cleanse you from every sin if you sincerely repent. Oh, if you would only see and feel the necessity of keeping step with the leader, Jesus Christ. Lift the cross, deny self, humble your hearts before God, and you can now recover yourselves out of the snare of Satan. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 53

Bring a new meaning into your life and work. Represent Jesus in character. You both need this transformation before you are fitted for the work of God. If you will make the most of your God-given capabilities, and walk and work in the Spirit of the Master, your life may even now be made a glorious success. The Lord would have you and your family if you work with a purpose now, and you may receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for all those that love His appearing. 6LtMs, Lt 23, 1890, par. 54