Earlier text: COLORADO.A GREAT and solemn truth has been intrusted to us, for which we are responsible. Too often this truth is presented in cold theory. Sermon after sermon upon doctrinal points is delivered to people who come and go, some of whom will never have another as favorable opportunity of being convicted and converted to Christ. Golden opportunities are lost by delivering elaborate discourses,314which display self, but do not magnify Christ. A theory of the truth without vital godliness cannot remove the moral darkness which envelops the soul. Most precious gems of truth are often rendered powerless by the wisdom of words in which they are clothed, while the power of the Spirit of God is lacking. Christ presented the truth in its simplicity; and he reached not only the most elevated, but the lowliest men of earth. The minister who is God’s ambassador and Christ’s representative on the earth, who humbles himself that God may be exalted, will possess the genuine quality of eloquence. True piety, a close connection with God, and a daily, living experience in the knowledge of Christ, will make eloquent even the stammering tongue. As I see the wants in young churches, as I see and realize their great need of vital godliness and their deficiency in true religious experience, my heart is sad. I know that those who bear the message of truth to them do not properly instruct them on all points essential to the perfection of a symmetrical character in Christ Jesus. These things may be neglected too long by the teachers of the truth. Speaking of the gospel, Paul says: “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles [mark the explanation of the mystery]; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus; whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” Here the ministers of Christ have their work, their qualifications, and the power of God’s grace working in them, clearly defined. God has been pleased recently to show me a great deficiency in many who profess to be representatives of Christ. In short, if they are deficient in faith and in a knowledge of vital godliness, they are315not only deceiving their own souls, but are making a failure in the work of presenting every man perfect in Christ. Many whom they bring into the truth are destitute of true godliness. They may have a theory of the truth, but they are not thoroughly converted. Their hearts are carnal; they do not abide in Christ and he in them. It is the duty of the minister to present the theory of the truth; but he should not rest with having done this merely. He should adopt the language of Paul, “I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” A vital connection with the Chief Shepherd will make the under-shepherd a living representative of Christ, a light indeed to the world. An understanding of all points of our faith is indeed essential, but it is of greater importance that the minister be sanctified through the truth which he presents for the purpose of enlightening the consciences of his hearers. In a series of meetings not one discourse should be given consisting of theory alone, nor should one long, tedious prayer be made. Such prayers God does not hear. I have listened to many prosy, sermonizing prayers that were uncalled for and out of place. A prayer with one-half the number of words, offered in fervor and faith, would have softened the hearts of the hearers; but, instead of this, I have seen them wait impatiently, as though wishing that every word would end the prayer. Had the minister wrestled with God in his chamber until he felt that his faith could grasp the eternal promise, “Ask, and ye shall receive,” he would have come to the point at once, asking with earnestness and faith for what he needed. We need a converted ministry; otherwise the churches raised up through their labors, having no root in themselves, will not be able to stand alone. The faithful minister of Christ will take the burden upon his soul. He will not hunger after popularity. The Christian minister should never enter the desk until he has first sought God in his closet, and has come into close connection with him. He may, with humility, lift his thirsty soul to God, and be refreshed with the dew of316grace before he shall speak to the people. With an unction of the Holy Spirit upon him, giving him a burden for souls, he will not dismiss a congregation without presenting before them Jesus Christ, the sinner’s only refuge, making earnest appeals that will reach their hearts. He should feel that he may never meet these hearers again until the great day of God. The Master who has chosen him, who knows the hearts of all men, will give him tongue and utterance, that he may speak the words he ought to speak at the right time and with power. And those who become truly convicted of sin, and charmed with the Way, the Truth, and the Life, will find sufficient to do without praising and extolling the ability of the minister. Christ and his love will be exalted above any human instrument. The man will be lost sight of, because Christ is magnified and is the theme of thought. Many are converted to the minister who are not really converted to Christ. We marvel at the stupor that benumbs the spiritual senses. There is a lack of vital power. Lifeless prayers are offered, and testimonies are borne which fail to edify or strengthen the hearers. It becomes every minister of Christ to inquire the cause of this. Paul writes to his Colossian brethren: “As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. [Not an unsanctified love of the smartness, ability, or oratory of the preacher, but a love born of the Spirit of God, which his servant represented in his words and character.] For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” Ministers who labor in towns and cities to present the truth should not feel content, nor that their work is ended, until those who have accepted the theory of the truth realize indeed the effect of its sanctifying power, and are truly converted to God. God would be better pleased to have six truly converted to the truth as the result of their labors, than to have sixty make a nominal profession, and yet not be thoroughly converted. These ministers should devote less time to preaching sermons, and reserve a portion of their strength to visit and pray with those who are interested, giving them godly instruction, to the end that they may “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” The love of God must be living in the heart of the teacher of the truth. His own heart must be imbued with that deep and fervent love which Christ possessed; then it will flow out to others. Ministers should teach that all who accept the truth should bring forth fruit to the glory of God. They should teach that self-sacrifice must be practiced every day; that many things which have been cherished must be yielded; and that many duties, disagreeable though they may appear, must be performed. Business interests, social endearments, ease, honor, reputation, in short, everything, must be held in subjection to the superior and ever-paramount claims of Christ. Ministers who are not men of vital piety, who stir up an interest among the people, but leave the work in the rough, leave an exceedingly difficult field for others to enter and finish the work they failed to complete. These men will be proved; and if they do not do their work more faithfully, they will, after a still further test, be laid aside as cumberers of the ground, unfaithful watchmen. God would not have men go forth as teachers who have not studiously learned their lessons, and who will not continue to study that they may present every point of present truth in an intelligent, acceptable manner. With a knowledge of the theory, they should continually be obtaining a more thorough knowledge of Jesus Christ. Rules and studies are necessary; but with them318the minister should combine earnest prayer that he may be faithful, not building upon the foundation wood, hay, or stubble, which will be consumed by the fires of the last day. Prayer and study should go hand in hand. The fact that a minister is applauded and praised is no evidence that he has spoken under the influence of the Spirit. It is too frequently the case that young converts, unless guarded, will set their affections more upon their minister than upon their Redeemer. They consider that they have been greatly benefited by their minister’s labors. They conceive that he possesses the most exalted gifts and graces, and that no other can do equally as well as he; therefore they attach undue importance to the man and his labors. This is a confidence that disposes them to idolize the man, and look to him more than to God; and in doing this they do not please God nor grow in grace. They do great harm to the minister, especially if he is young and developing into a promising gospel laborer. These teachers, if they are really men of God, receive their words from God. Their manner of address may be faulty, and need much improvement; yet if God breathes through them words of inspiration, the power is not of man, but of God. The Giver should have the glory and the heart’s affections, while the minister should be esteemed, loved, and respected for his work’s sake, because he is God’s servant to bear the message of mercy to sinners. The Son of God is often eclipsed by the man standing between him and the people. The man is praised, petted, and exalted, and the people scarcely get a glimpse of Jesus, who, by the precious beams of light reflected from him, should eclipse everything besides. The minister of Christ who is imbued with the Spirit and love of his Master, will so labor that the character of God and of his dear Son may be made manifest in the fullest and clearest manner. He will strive to have his hearers become intelligent in their conceptions of the character of God, that his glory may be acknowledged on the earth. A man is no sooner converted than in319his heart is born a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus; the saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart. The Spirit of Christ illuminating the soul is represented by the light, which dispels all darkness; it is compared to salt, because of its preserving qualities; and to leaven, which secretly exerts its transforming power. Those whom Christ has connected with himself will, as far as in them lies, labor diligently and perseveringly, as he labored, to save souls who are perishing around them. They will reach the people by prayer, earnest, fervent prayer, and personal effort. It is impossible for those who are thoroughly converted to God, enjoying communion with him, to be negligent of the vital interests of those who are perishing outside of Christ. The minister should not do all the work himself, but he should unite with him those who have taken hold of the truth. He will thus teach others to work after he shall leave. A working church will ever be a growing church. They will ever find a stimulus and a tonic in trying to help others, and in doing it they will be strengthened and encouraged. I have read of a man who, journeying on a winter’s day through the deep, drifted snow, became benumbed by the cold, which was almost imperceptibly stealing away his vital powers. And as he was nearly chilled to death by the embrace of the frost king, and about to give up the struggle for life, he heard the moans of a brother traveler, who was perishing with cold as he was about to perish. His humanity was aroused to rescue him. He chafed the ice-clad limbs of the unfortunate man, and, after considerable effort, raised him to his feet; and as he could not stand, he bore him in sympathizing arms through the very drifts he had thought he could never succeed in getting through alone. And when he had borne his fellow-traveler to a place of safety, the truth flashed home to him that in saving his neighbor he had saved himself also. His earnest efforts to save another quickened the blood which was freezing in his own veins, and created a healthful warmth in the extremities of the body. These lessons must be forced upon young believers continually, not only by precept, but by example, that in their Christian experience they may realize similar results. Let the desponding ones, those disposed to think the way to life is very trying and difficult, go to work and seek to help others. In such efforts, mingled with prayer for divine light, their own hearts will throb with the quickening influence of the grace of God; their own affections will glow with more divine fervor, and their whole Christian life will be more of a reality, more earnest, more prayerful. The minister of Christ should be a man of prayer, a man of piety; cheerful, but never coarse and rough, jesting or frivolous. A spirit of frivolity may be in keeping with the profession of clowns and theatrical actors; but it is altogether beneath the dignity of a man who is chosen to stand between the living and the dead, and to be mouth-piece for God. Every day’s labor is faithfully chronicled in the books of God. As men claiming spiritual illumination, you will give moral tone to the character of all with whom you are connected. As faithful ministers of the gospel, you should bend all the energies of the mind and all the opportunities of your life to make your work wholly successful, and present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. In order to do this, you must pray earnestly. Ministers of the gospel must be in possession of that power which wrought such wonders for the humble fishermen of Galilee. Moral and intellectual powers are needed in order to discharge with fidelity the important duties devolving upon you; but these may be possessed, and yet there may be a great lack of godliness. The endowment of the Holy Spirit is indispensably essential to success in your great work. Said Christ, “Without me, ye can do nothing.” But through Christ strengthening you, you can do all things. Dear Bro. A: I have risen early to write to you. Additional light has been given me of late, for which I am responsible. Twice while in this State has the Lord revealed himself to me. While pleading with him in the night season, I was shown in vision many things connected with the cause of God. The state of things in the church, the College, the Sanitarium, and the publishing houses located at Battle Creek, and the work of God in Europe and England, in Oregon and Texas, and in other new fields, was presented before me. There is the greatest need of the work in new fields starting right, bearing the impress of the divine. Many in these new fields will be in danger of accepting the truth or assenting to it, who have not a genuine conversion of heart. When tested by storm and tempest, it will be found that their house is not built upon a rock, but upon sliding sand. Practical godliness must be possessed by the minister, and developed in his daily life and character. His discourses should not be exclusively theoretical. I was shown some things not favorable to the prosperity of the cause of truth in Texas. The Brn. B and their families have not heretofore been a blessing or help to the cause of God in any place. Their influence has been shown me before this, as not being a sweet-smelling savor. They cannot build up the cause of God, because they have not the elements within them which make them capable of exerting a healthful influence on the side of God and the truth. If you had had the mind of God, you would not have been so void of discernment, especially after you had been faithfully warned by those in whom you should have had confidence. Smooth words and fair speeches have deceived you. These brothers are not all alike, but all have defective characters. By constant watchfulness over themselves, and by earnest prayer to God in faith, they may make a success of keeping self in its proper position. Through Jesus Christ they may be transformed in character,322and obtain a moral fitness to meet the Lord when he shall come; but God will not lay any important responsibility upon them, for souls would thus be imperiled. These men are unfitted to lead the flock of God. At the very time when their words should be few and well chosen, modest and unassuming, their natural traits of character are woven into all they do and say, and the work of God is marred. You and Bro. C have not had true discernment. You have had too great confidence in the ability of these men. A ship may be sound in nearly every respect; but if there is one defect—a bit of timber worm-eaten—the lives of all on board are imperiled. Nearly all the links of a chain may be sound; but one defective link destroys its worth. Individuals who possess excellent qualities, may have some marked traits of character which unfit them to be intrusted with the solemn, sacred work of God. But these men are deficient in nearly everything that pertains to Christian character. Their example is not worthy of imitation. You need to have much done for you, my brother, before your labors can be what they might and should be. Your understanding has been darkened. Sympathy and union with those whose characters have been cast in an inferior mold, will not elevate and ennoble you, but will rust and corrode your spirit, and will mar your usefulness and disconnect you from God. You are of an impulsive nature. Burdens of domestic life and of the cause do not rest very heavily upon you; and unless you are constantly under the refining influence of the Spirit of God, you will be in danger of becoming coarse in your manners. In order to rightly represent the character of Christ, you need to be spiritualized, and brought into a closer connection with God in the great work in which you are engaged. Your own thoughts must be elevated, your own heart sanctified, in order for you to be a coworker with Jesus Christ. “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” The work of God in Texas would stand higher to-day if the B brothers had no connection with it. I might323mention more particular reasons why this is so, but will not at this time. Suffice it to say that these men are not right with God. Feeling self-sufficient and competent for almost any calling, they have not made efforts to correct the objectionable traits of character which were transmitted to them as a birthright, but which by education, culture, and training, might have been overcome. They have made some improvements in this direction; but if weighed in the balances, they would still be found wanting. The word of God abounds in general principles for the formation of correct habits of living, and the Testimonies, general and personal, have been calculated to call their attention more especially to these principles; but all these have not made a sufficient impression upon their hearts and minds to cause them to realize the necessity of decided reform. If they had correct views of themselves in contrast with the perfect Pattern, they would cherish that faith that works by love and purifies the soul. These brothers, A B excepted, are naturally arbitrary, dictatorial, and self-sufficient. They do not consider others better than themselves. They are envious and jealous of any member of the church, who, they think, will be esteemed more highly than themselves. They profess conscientiousness; but they strain at a gnat and swallow a camel in their dealings with their brethren, who, they fear, will be considered superior to themselves. They seize upon little things, and talk over particulars, putting their own construction upon words and acts. This is particularly true of two of these brothers. These men, especially A B, are free, easy speakers. Their smooth manner of relating things has such an appearance of honesty and genuine interest for the cause of God, that it has a tendency to deceive and becloud the minds of those who hear them. My heart aches with sadness as I write, because I know the influence of this family wherever it is felt. I did not design to speak in regard to these persons again; but the solemn opening of these matters before me compels me to write324once more. If the ministers of the word, who profess to be connected with God, cannot discern the influence of such men, they are unfit to stand as teachers of the truth of God. If these persons would only keep their proper position, and never attempt to teach or to lead, I would be silent; but when I see that the cause of God is in danger of suffering, I can hold my peace no longer. These brothers should not be allowed to all locate in one place, and compose the leading element in the church. They are wanting in natural affection. They do not manifest sympathy, love, and refined feeling toward one another, but indulge in envy, jealousy, bickerings, and strife among themselves. Their consciences are not tender. The love, gentleness, and meekness of Christ does not help to compose their experience. God forbid that such an element should exist in the church. Unless these persons are converted, they cannot see the kingdom of Heaven. It is much more congenial to their feelings to be tearing down, picking flaws, and seeking spot and stain in others, than to be washing their own robes of character from the defilement of sin, and making them white in the blood of the Lamb. But I now come to the most painful part of this history, that concerning Bro. D. The Lord caused me to pass through an investigation in which you and Bro. C figured largely. God was grieved with you both. I saw and heard that which caused me pain and regret. Such an unreasonable, godless course as was pursued in this investigation was just what might have been looked for from the Brethren B.; but my greatest surprise and grief was that such men as Bro. C and yourself should bear an active part in this shameful, one-sided investigation. To Bro. C, who acted the lawyer, to question and bring out the minutiae in the strongest light, I would say, I would not have that work laid to my charge for the riches of the world. You were simply deceived and deluded by a strange spirit that should have had no semblance of quarter, no grain of respect. Envy, jealousy, evil surmisings, and doubtful disputations held a carnival on that occasion. You may think me too severe, but I cannot be more severe than the transaction deserves. Did you all think, when you condemned the guiltless, that God was altogether such a one as yourselves? The subsequent condition of Bro. D was the result of the position taken by you on that occasion. Had you shown fairness and sympathy, he would stand to-day where his influence would tell on the side of truth with the power that a meek and quiet spirit exerts. Bro. D was not a ready speaker, and the smooth words and fair speeches of A B, uttered with apparent coolness and candor, had effect. The poor, sightless man should have been regarded with pity and tenderness; but, instead of this, he was placed in the worst possible light. God saw, and will not hold one of you guiltless who acted a part in that unfair investigation. Bro. A, it will not then appear so amusing to you as when you were sitting in judgment against a blind brother. You should learn a lesson from this experience; namely, to close your ears to those who would prejudice you against the very ones whom God would have you sustain, pity, and strengthen. Bro. C and yourself could not see the defects in the Brn. B; neither could you discern the opposite traits of character in Bro. D. But his influence, sanctified by the Spirit of God, would tell upon the cause of God with tenfold greater power than that of the Brn. B. You have done much to injure Bro. D; and I advise you to repent of this wrong as heartily as you committed it. In the name of the Master, I entreat you to shake yourself from human influences and close your ears to gossiping reports. Let no person put a testimony in your mouth; but let God, rather than men who are unconsecrated at home and abroad, give you a burden for his cause. Bro. C needs the softening, refining Spirit of God in his heart. He needs to exercise it in his home. “Let love be without dissimulation.” Let the arbitrary, dictatorial, censorious spirit be put away from his home, with all malice. The same overbearing, judging spirit will be carried out in the church. If his feelings are326somewhat softened for the time being, he will act in a more kindly manner; but if they happen to be the opposite, he will act accordingly. Self-control and self-discipline he has not exercised. Where Bro. D has one defect, his judges and those who condemned him have ten. Bro. A, why did you not fully take the part of the oppressed? Why did you not compromise this matter? Why did you not lift your voice, as did your Saviour, and say, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone”? You have made a fearful mistake, which may result in the loss of more souls than one, notwithstanding you did it ignorantly. Had one word of tender, genuine pity been expressed by you to Bro. D, it would have been registered to your account in Heaven. But you had no more sense of the work you were doing for time and for eternity than had those who condemned Christ; and you have judged and condemned your Saviour in the person of his saint. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Hypocrisy always met the severest rebuke from Jesus; while the veriest sinners who came to him in sincere repentance were received, pardoned, and comforted. Did you think Bro. D could be made to believe that wrong was right and right was wrong, because his brethren would have him believe it? He was diseased and nervous. Everything looked dark and uncertain to him. His confidence in you and Bro. C was gone, and to whom should he look? He was censured for one thing and then for another, until he became confused, distracted, and desperate. Those who drove him to this state have committed the greater sin. Where was compassion, even on the ground of common humanity? Worldlings would not, as a general rule, have been so careless, so devoid of mercy and courtesy; and they would have exercised more compassion toward a man on account of his very infirmity, considering him entitled to the tenderest consideration and neighborly love. But here was a blind man, a brother327in Christ, and several of his brethren were sitting as judges upon his case. More than once during the progress of the trial, while a brother was being hunted like a rabbit to his death, you would break out into a loud laugh. There sat Bro. C, naturally so kind and sympathetic that he censured his brethren for cruelty in killing game to subsist upon; yet here was a poor blind man, of as much more value than birds as man formed in the image of God is above the dumb creatures of his care. Ye “strain at a gnat and swallow a camel,” would have been the verdict of Him who spake as never man spake, had his voice been heard in your assembly. He who had such tender compassion for the birds might have exercised a praiseworthy compassion and love for Christ in the person of his afflicted saint. But you were as men blindfolded. Bro. B presented a smooth, able speech. Bro. D was not a ready speaker. His thoughts could not be clothed in language that would make a case, and he was altogether too much surprised to make the best of the situation. His sharp, criticising brethren turned lawyers, and placed the blind man at great disadvantage. God saw and marked the transactions of that day. These men, adepts in casting mist and making out a case, apparently obtained a triumph, while the blind brother, misused and abused, felt that everything was sinking beneath his feet. His confidence in those whom he had believed were the representatives of Christ was terribly shaken. The moral shock he received has nearly proved his ruin, spiritually and physically. Every one who was engaged in this work should feel the deepest remorse and repentance before God. Bro. D has made a mistake in sinking under this load of reproach and undeserved criticism, which should have fallen on other heads than his. He has loved the cause of God with his whole soul. God has shown his care for the blind in giving him prosperity; but even this has been turned against him by his envious brethren. God has put it into the hearts of unbelievers to be kind and328sympathetic to him because he is a blind man. Bro. D has been a Christian gentleman, and has made even his worldly enemies to be at peace with him. God has been to him a tender father, and has smoothed his pathway. He should have been true to his knowledge of truth, and served God with singleness of heart, irrespective of censure, envy, and false accusations. It was the position you took, Bro. A, that was the finishing stroke to Bro. D. But he should not have let go his hold on God, though ministers and people did take a course in which he could see no justice. Riveted to the Eternal Rock, he should have stood firm to principle, and carried out his faith and the truth at all hazards. Oh, what necessity for Bro. D to cling more closely to the Arm that is mighty to save! All the worth and greatness of this life is derived from its connection with Heaven and the future, immortal life. God’s everlasting arm encircles the soul that turns to him for aid, however feeble that soul may be. The precious things of the hills shall perish; but the soul that lives for God, unmoved by censure, unperverted by applause, shall abide forever with him. The city of God will open its golden gates to receive him who learned while on earth to lean on God for guidance and wisdom, for comfort and hope amid loss and affliction. The songs of angels will welcome him there, and for him the tree of life will yield its fruits. Bro. D has failed where he should have been victorious. But the pitying eye of God is upon him. Although the compassion of man may fail, still God loves and pities, and reaches out his helping hand. If he will only be humble, meek, and lowly of heart, he will yet lift up his head and plant his feet firmly upon the Rock of Ages. “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” Not one of us is excusable, under any form of trial, for letting our hold upon God become loosened. He is our source of strength, our stronghold in every trial.329When we cry unto him for help, his hand will be stretched forth mightily to save. Bro. D should have felt that, having God for his father, he could hope and rejoice, though every human friend should forsake him. I entreat him not to rob God of his service because frail man has misjudged him, but make haste and consecrate himself to God and serve him with all the powers of his being. God loves him, and he loves God; and his works must be in accordance with his faith, whatever course man may pursue toward him. His enemies may point to his present position as an evidence that they were right in their judgment of him. Bro. D’s course has been hasty and without due thought. His soul has been disgusted, and he thinks it has been too thoroughly wounded for recovery. Those who have pursued him so relentlessly have been in life and character far from blameless. If God had dealt with their crooked ways and imperfect characters as they have dealt with Bro. D, they would have perished long ago. But a compassionate God has borne with them, and not dealt with them according to their sins. God has been true to Bro. D, and he should respond to his merciful dealings, notwithstanding man has shown so little of tenderness and the feelings of common humanity. It is Bro. D’s privilege to hide in Christ from the strife of tongues, and to feel that exhaustless sources of gratitude, contentment, and peace are open to him and accessible every moment. Had he earthly treasures without limit, he would not be as rich as he may now be in the privilege of being on the side of right, and of drinking to the full of the streams of salvation. What has not God done for Bro. D in giving his Son to die for him? and will he not with him freely give him all things? Why should he be unfaithful to God because man has proved unfaithful to him? How much stronger than death is the love that binds the mother’s heart to her afflicted child; yet God declares that even a mother may forget her child, “yet will I not forget thee.” No; not a single soul who puts his trust in him will be forgotten. God thinks of his children with the tenderest330solicitude, and keeps a book of remembrance before him, that he may never forget the children of his care. “Every human tie may perish,
Friend to friend unfaithful prove;
Mothers cease their own to cherish,
Heaven and earth at last remove;
But no change
Can attend Jehovah’s love.”
Bro. and Sister D might have been a precious help to the church in bringing them up to a position of better understanding, had the church accepted their efforts. But envy, evil surmisings, and jealousy have driven them away from the church. Had they left the scenes of their trial sooner than they did, it would have been better for them.
Salem, Oregon, July 8, 1878.