p. 29 | MAKE YOUR WILL TO-DAY by Dudley Marvin Canright

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 19, 1877

MAKE YOUR WILL TO-DAY.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

In traveling among our brethren in New York, I found a very large number, comparatively, of men above fifty years of age, who have all the way from two to twenty thousand dollars each. Quite a number of these are above sixty years of age, some of them even seventy; and many of them have no children. Others have only one child, and this one has grown up, been educated, and is well settled in life. While still a larger class have more children, all of whom are men and women grown, married, and settled in life. They would be just about as well off without financial help from their parents as with it. At least, they are not in special need of it.

Now, these aged, wealthy brethren profess to believe that the last message to the world is not only being given, but is soon to be closed up. This work, as it rapidly extends, is in great need of means to carry it on; but these brethren are doing very little in that direction. They may pay very fairly on S. B., and perhaps give from ten to a hundred dollars a year in the cause; but still they have several thousands left, and they are very careful that this sum does not grow any less as they get older. They must keep the principal good, if they do not increase it some. This is not very consistent with their profession, particularly for aged men worth from five to twenty thousand dollars. At their age, and with their means, they certainly know they will never use up the property they have, nor come anywhere near to it. With their close way of living and giving, they are about certain to have as much at their death as they have now, if not more. Now what do they propose to do with that money? No doubt, they have promised themselves and the Lord, and their brethren perhaps, that they will give a good share of it to the cause. This is what they ought to do, at any rate.

But the years are slipping by, one after another, and they are getting very little of their means into the work of the Lord. They are liable to die suddenly any day, and the way their property is now situated, the cause would not get a dollar. In some cases, it would go to unbelieving relatives, and thus be entirely taken out of the cause of God. In other cases, it would all be left to one child, who does not need it at all, or, at least, only a small part of it. In still other cases, it would go here and there, just where the person would not care to have it go. Now, he knows this well enough; but he expects some day, just before he dies, to make a will and fix this matter all right. Then he is going to do something liberal for the cause. But men die very suddenly sometimes, frequently without the least chance to prepare such matters, and then it is too late.

Now, my brother or sister, you had better attend to that affair to-day. Have you made your will? If you have not, do not procrastinate; do not put it off till a convenient day. Go right about it; get into your carriage and go down town, and have an able lawyer fix it just as you want it. To-morrow something else will come up, and the next day something more, and the third day you will forget it, and finally it will never be done at all. If you put off making your will till you are sick and ready to die, interested parties are always ready to say and prove that your mind was weak, that you were insane, etc., and so break up your will, and the lawyers will get the most of your money. Attend to it to-day. Remember your obligation to God, your duty to the cause, and your solemn promise to help it,—remember this in your will, while making provision for those depending upon you. D. M. Canright.