EARLY TEACHINGS | AdventAI

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 9, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 35.

EARLY TEACHINGS.

"My mother's teachings," said an old lady one day, "were always so plain, so practical, and so scriptural, that they were unalterably fixed in my memory and heart. They have gone with me through all my life, and have helped me in my teachings of others.

"I never wash hands and face to this day, that I do not recall her performing the motherly duty for me as a child; she would end with a kiss, and say, 'There, darling, you can run now; your face and hands are clean; Jesus only can cleanse the heart.'

"When robed with extra care for the Sabbath or for visiting, and I asked, 'Am I all right now, mamma?' she would answer, 'All right outside, dear; and I hope inside, too.'

"If I was set to do any little household service, she was sure to overlook it to see if I had done it thoroughly; if the rounds of the chairs, the panels of the doors, and every corner were well dusted, if the tines of the forks and the ends of the spoons were properly cleaned, time and time again saying, 'He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.'

"If I wished for anything beyond our money-reach, she was sure to remind me that

'a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things he possesseth.'

"If someone called whom I disliked, the grimace on my face would call out the gentle reproof, 'My dear, you need the love of God shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost.'

"When we sat at table, her simple prayer, 'Lord, we thank thee for our daily bread; be pleased to feed our souls with the bread of life,' I never forgot.

"When I went out to visit friends, her uniform injunction was, 'My dear, be circumspect.' So sure was this to come, that I often laughingly prevented the utterance by saying, 'Oh, you needn't say what you were going to; I know my charge.' 'Well, then,' she would reply gently, 'to him who knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin.'

"In every phase of life she circumvented me with Bible truth, till, older grown, my proud heart sometimes resisted, and I would say, 'It is Bible, Bible always; nothing but Bible!' She would answer, 'How can it be anything else? The Bible is our authoritative rule of faith and practice, given to us for our guidance every day and every moment.'

"She was never offensive in her presentation of truth; her pleasant, affectionate, and appropriate words never hurt. But they were enduring teachings, and since she departed this life, they have come with a sweet and holy unction, that has made them as precious as gold-dust to my thought and life."—Faithful Witness.