Manuscript Releases, vol. 8 [Nos. 526-663]

MR No. 528—Evangelism and the Husbanding of Conference Funds

My soul is burdened and distressed, because of the way in which the work of our cause in _____ has in some respects been managed for the past three years. It has been laid out before me that there has been a lack of spiritual discernment.... 8MR 8.1

The men composing the Conference Committee should be men of ability. They are called by God to take their place in the work, ... to build up the cause of God in right lines. 8MR 8.2

It should not be the chief consideration of conference officers to collect and save up money, for then the real work of the conference, the salvation of souls, will become a matter of secondary importance. Our people should never be permitted to lose sight of a world shrouded in darkness, waiting for the light of the gospel message. 8MR 8.3

What a change would have been seen in this conference, if all its laborers, with truly converted hearts, had worked with zeal and sanctified ability! Men and women would have been converted to the truth through the preaching of the Word, and these would have reached out for others. Many souls would have been converted, and these new converts would have brought additional revenue to the cause of God in their tithes and offerings. 8MR 8.4

The character of the economy which has often been revealed in the effort to save up means, is an offense to God. He says, “The gold and the silver is Mine.” Religious and spiritual interests must not be narrowed down and subordinated to the accumulation of means in the conference treasury, that the officers may stand high in the estimation of the people as good financiers. The Lord looks beneath the surface to the outcome, and He does not approve of such financiering.—Manuscript 17, 1908. (“The Work in California,” February 15, 1908.) 8MR 8.5

Released May 20, 1977.