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C. A. BATES

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Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 18, 1858

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 11, No. 15.

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C. A. BATES

By C. A. Bates

From Bro. Bates.
BRO. SMITH: I truly feel that we are living in perilous times, when it becomes us to be up and doing, and have on the whole armor.
Brn. Cornell, Hart and Sperry have recently visited us. They found the church in a perishing condition, with scarcely life enough to keep up meetings. By the strait testimony given by these brethren we were led to see our deplorable condition, and to turn to the Lord. The spirit of confession was manifested among most of the brethren and sisters. We truly had a soul-cheering time while waiting upon the Lord, and by the grace of God we mean to arise with the rest of the brethren and sisters scattered abroad, fully realizing that there is a great work for us to do in order to stand in the day of the battle of the Lord. We shall have to put forth a mighty effort to extricate ourselves from these weights that bind us down, that so we may rise above the trifling things of earth. There are many blessed promises in the word of God to the faithful that endure to the end. I sometimes fear that I shall be one that will be shaken off in the trying time that is just before us. O how much need there is of our being awake and living, active Christians. We have lived long enough with the theory of the truth without the power. A great responsibility rests on us for the light we have. O that we might have more of the Spirit to accompany the truth as we talk it to others, that it may compel them to believe. I long for the time to come when the church will cut loose from the world and get in their proper place, when they can come together to praise the Lord instead of telling of their unworthiness. We have three meetings a week. We feel to thank the Lord for what we have of his Spirit with us, and pray for more. Pray for us that we may arise and raise the standard of piety to its proper place, and help make up the 144000 to stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb.

C. A. BATES

Green Vale, Ills., Jan. 31st, 1859.