Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Ms 69, 1911

Talk/Remarks by Mrs. E. G. White at Paradise Valley Sanitarium

Paradise Valley Sanitarium, San Diego, California

April 14, 1911

Previously unpublished.

1 Peter 4:1. “Forasmuch then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 1

2 Peter 1:1-9. The plan is laid out. That is our business, our work in this world. 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 2

We are to live upon the plan of addition, not subtraction, not be on the mount one day and the next day away down because we have spoken unadvisedly or done some act that is not right. We want to live, daily increasing in grace, in knowledge, in faith. We are preparing for what? An eternity of bliss. That is our privilege if we will prepare for it. It is our privilege to see the King in His beauty. It is our privilege to follow on to know the Lord. This is the life insurance policy, that we may know that His going forth is prepared as the morning, that we may see what a fullness there is for every one of us if we will only take hold determinedly to live on the plan of addition, adding grace to grace; and you will need to be much with God in prayer. 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 3

While you are doing your work, you will need to lift your heart to God, and the light heaven will shine into your soul and it will be lifted up in thanksgiving to God. You will see enough to be thankful for. This eternal life policy is in doing the will of God. “If we do these things, we shall never fall.” [Verse 10.] All the opportunities have been given, that we may follow on to know the Lord. Every light and trifling conversation places in the mind of some, things that will not help you to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 4

But here is a world of work for us. The father and the mother in the family have a work to do, and then here are the children. The parents should never permit one word of impatience to escape their lips. It does not help you in the government of your children to be in a position where you break out upon them. The children should hear from your lips nothing but that which you will be glad that you spoke when you get into the kingdom of glory. 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 5

We are striving for an eternal inheritance. We are working for the glory that we may glorify Him on the earth. If we do this, we shall have a heaven to go to heaven in, because our works and our deeds make the world just as it is. And we want to give an example that if we should see our neighbor in the heavenly courts, we can know that we said and did what we could to help them there. That is why I never wait for feeling when the call comes that they want to hear Sister White speak. I do not wait for feeling at all. I tell the Lord He knows all about it. He knows what physical and spiritual strength I need, and I want Him to stand right by my side, that I may only speak the words that will glorify His precious name. 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 6

Every one of us must be in a condition reformatory, increasing in knowledge and in heavenly kindness; in doing this we shall honor our Redeemer. If you will brace right up in the name of the Lord and not let feeling come in, but just take the principles of Bible truth and carry them out from point to point, you will grow stronger all the time. We must live by faith where we are if we shall ever see the inside of the kingdom of God, the gates thrown open and we be welcomed in, and the harp put in our hands and the crown placed on our brows. And then, then what songs will go forth unto God in the heavenly courts! And once there, once inside those gates, there will be no tempting devil to come to us, no thought will arise in our minds that ought not to be there. What we want is heaven, everlasting life, and we want to follow the example of Christ in His life. You can read the Bible to know what that is, and then carry out the very principles of temperance and kindness. 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 7

In Christ’s day the mothers concluded that they would go and find Him. They would go where Jesus was. They felt so sorry and hopeless, so they gathered up their children, first one neighbor and then another joining them. And when they came to Christ, the disciples said, You must not disturb the Master; He is giving us a lesson. Christ turned around, and said, “Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” [Matthew 19:14.] Then He had the children, one in each arm and another clinging to His limbs, and there He blessed those children and talked to them. 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 8

We want to be sanctified. We need a great deal more of the Spirit of Christ in our works and in our words and in our life, and if we have it, then we are comforted every moment because we reach out for Christ and He reaches our for us, and He never neglects to take a hand that is stretched out to Him. If it were not for the love of our Redeemer, what should I have done in all the perplexities into which I have been brought both on the land and on the water? 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 9

I want to tell you that we have a precious Saviour, and we must not in any way be improvident of our time or of our strength. We must use our time and strength in a godly manner. We must use our tongue in a manner that shows we are sanctified and purified by the grace of God. You cannot tell or know what is before you. We want to help every soul that we can possibly help. You want to speak a word. You want your mind filled with Bible subjects, and you want to speak a word to those who are very young and a word to the older ones when you see that they are careless and indifferent and do not understand what God requires of them. 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 10

Now and then you can break out in a song, and I have known it to do great good. When I have been where there was great opposition, the countenances of the people would change while I was singing. When the enemy tempts you to be grieved, strike right up with a song. Let us see if we cannot be living Christians. When our Saviour took up the little children, they were imbued with the Spirit of Christ, and the mothers went home with their children, tears running down their faces, and rejoicing at every step that Christ had blessed their children. 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 11

This is the work, and it is a work of simplicity. It is not a work of boasting and feeling that you are very grand and have a great deal of knowledge. Who gives you your knowledge? It is Jesus Christ. He has given it to me in my infirmities since I was nine years old. And I know Him; I have proved Him. And I want to tell you, every one of you, do not, I beseech of you, cause one pang of anguish to any soul, because you grieve the heart of Christ. Let us every one strive to help the other. When you feel cross, be sure to control your tongue with your will, that you may not utter one word that will cause unhappiness. If you do this, whatever you have to do will pass off readily and happily. Let us live and work for the glory of God, and if you keep your eye single to the glory of God, all the difficulties will lighten and you can go forth rejoicing at every step of the way. 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1911, par. 12