[ML 193.2]            The great apostle Paul was firm where duty and principle were at stake; he preached Christ with great boldness; but he was never harsh and impolite. He had a tender heart, and was ever kind and thoughtful of others. Courtesy was a marked trait of his character, and this gave him access to the better class of society. . . .  {ML 193.2}
[ML 193.3]          He was zealous for the truth, bold in advocating Christ; but propriety of deportment, the grace of true politeness, marked all his conduct. . . .  {ML 193.3}
[ML 193.4]          Paul attracted warm hearts wherever he went; his soul was linked to the soul of his brethren. When he parted with them, knowing and assuring them that they would never see his face again, they were filled with sorrow, and so earnestly besought him to still remain with them that he exclaimed, "What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart?" His sympathetic heart was breaking as he witnessed and felt their grief at this final separation. They loved him, and felt that they could not give him up. What Christian does not admire the character of Paul? Firm as a rock when standing in defense of the truth, he was affectionate and gentle as a child when surrounded by his friends. . . .  {ML 193.4}
[ML 193.5]          The most Christlike professors are those who are the most kind, pitiful, and courteous; their convictions are firm and their characters strong; nothing can swerve them from their faith or allure them from their duty.  {ML 193.5}
[ML 193.6]          A Christian will cultivate a meek and quiet spirit; he will be calm, considerate of others, and will have a happy temper that sickness will not make irritable or the weather or circumstances disturb. . . . The children of God never forget to do good. . . . Good works are spontaneous with them, for God has transformed their natures by His grace.                                                                              194   {ML 193.6}
[ML 194.1]       Hospitality         Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:9, 10 {ML 194.1}
[ML 194.2]            When the spirit of hospitality dies, the heart becomes palsied with selfishness.  {ML 194.2}
[ML 194.3]          "A lover of hospitality" is among the specifications given by the Holy Spirit as marking one who is to bear responsibility in the church. And to the whole church is given the injunction: "Use hospitality one to another without grudging. . . ." 1 Peter 4:9, 10.  {ML 194.3}
[ML 194.4]          These admonitions have been strangely neglected. Even among those who profess to be Christians, true hospitality is little exercised. Among our own people the opportunity of showing hospitality is not regarded as it should be, as a privilege and blessing. There is altogether too little sociability, too little of a disposition to make room for two or three more at the family board, without embarrassment or parade. Some plead that "it is too much trouble." It would not be if you would say: "We have made no special preparation, but you are welcome to what we have." By the unexpected guest a welcome is appreciated far more than is the most elaborate preparation. . . .  {ML 194.4}
[ML 194.5]          Christ keeps an account of every expense incurred in entertaining for His sake. He supplies all that is necessary for this work. Those who for Christ's sake entertain their brethren, doing their best to make the visit profitable both to their guests and to themselves, are recorded in heaven as worthy of special blessings.  {ML 194.5}
[ML 194.6]          As you open your door to Christ's needy and suffering ones, you are welcoming unseen angels. You invite the companionship of heavenly beings. They bring a sacred atmosphere of joy and peace. They come with praises upon their lips, and an answering strain is heard in heaven. Every deed of mercy makes music there.                                                                              195   {ML 194.6}
[ML 195.1]       Cheerfulness         He sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:8 {ML 195.1}
[ML 195.2]            You have a duty to perform, which is to make yourself cheerful and to cultivate unselfishness in your feelings until it will be your greatest pleasure to make all around you happy. . . .  {ML 195.2}
[ML 195.3]          Cheerfulness without levity is one of the Christian graces.  {ML 195.3}
[ML 195.4]          Do not allow the perplexities and worries of everyday life to fret your mind and cloud your brow. If you do, you will always have something to vex and annoy. Life is what we make it, and we shall find what we look for. If we look for sadness and trouble, if we are in a frame of mind to magnify little difficulties, we shall find plenty of them to engross our thoughts and our conversation. But if we look on the bright side of things, we shall find enough to make us cheerful and happy. If we give smiles, they will be returned to us; if we speak pleasant, cheerful words, they will be spoken to us again.  {ML 195.4}
[ML 195.5]          It is Satan's studied plan to push persons from one extreme to the other. As children of the light, God would have us cultivate a cheerful, happy spirit, that we may show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.  {ML 195.5}
[ML 195.6]          Go into a cellar, and you may well talk of darkness, and say, "I cannot see; I cannot see." But come up into the upper chamber, where the light shines, and you need not be in darkness. Come up where Christ is, and you will have light.  {ML 195.6}
[ML 195.7]          Earnest Christians seek to imitate Jesus, for to be Christians is to be Christlike. . . . A hearty, willing service to Jesus produces a sunny religion. . . . In Christ is light and peace and joy forevermore.                                                                              196   {ML 195.7}
[ML 196.1]      Kind Speech         The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. Isaiah 50:4 {ML 196.1}
[ML 196.2]            If we have Christ abiding with us, we shall be Christians at home as well as abroad. He who is a Christian will have kind words for his relatives and associates. He will be kind, courteous, loving, sympathetic, and will be educating himself for an abode with the family above. If he is a member of the royal family, he will represent the kingdom to which he is going. He will speak with gentleness to his children, for he will realize that they too are heirs of God, members of the heavenly court. Among the children of God no spirit of harshness dwells.  {ML 196.2}
[ML 196.3]          Some pride themselves on being outspoken, blunt, and rough, and they call this frankness; but it is not rightly named, it is selfishness of the deepest dye.  {ML 196.3}
[ML 196.4]          Christ is always calm and dignified, and those who labor with Him will use in their work the oil of grace. Their words and actions will be soothing.  {ML 196.4}
[ML 196.5]          We must educate the soul to be pitiful, gentle, tender, full of forgiveness and compassion. While we lay aside all vanity, all foolish talking, jesting, and joking, we are not to become cold, unsympathetic, and unsocial. The Spirit of the Lord is to rest upon you until you shall be like a fragrant flower from the garden of God. You are to keep talking of the light, of Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness, until you shall change from glory to glory, from character to character, going on from strength to strength, and reflecting more and more of the precious image of Jesus.  {ML 196.5}
[ML 196.6]          Christ is ever ready to impart of His riches, and we should gather the jewels that come from Him, that, when we speak, these jewels may drop from our lips.                                                                              197   {ML 196.6}
[ML 197.1]       Children Love Mother's Companionship         Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Proverbs 31:28 {ML 197.1}
[ML 197.2]            The home should be to the children the most attractive place in the world, and the mother's presence should be its greatest attraction. Children have sensitive, loving natures. They are easily pleased and easily made unhappy. . . .  {ML 197.2}
[ML 197.3]          Young children love companionship, and can seldom enjoy themselves alone. They yearn for sympathy and tenderness. That which they enjoy, they think will please mother also. . . .  {ML 197.3}
[ML 197.4]          Instead of sending her children from her, that she may not be annoyed by their noise or troubled by their little wants, let the mother plan amusement or light work to employ the active hands and minds. By entering into their feelings and directing their amusements and employments, the mother will gain the confidence of her children. . . . By patient, watchful love she can turn the minds of the children in the right direction, cultivating in them beautiful and attractive traits of character.  {ML 197.4}
[ML 197.5]          Mothers should guard against training their children to be dependent and self-absorbed. Never lead them to think that they are the center, and that everything must revolve around them. Some parents give much time and attention to amusing their children, but children should be trained to amuse themselves, to exercise their own ingenuity and skill. Thus they will learn to be content with very simple pleasures. They should be taught to bear bravely their little disappointments and trials. . . . Study to suggest ways by which the children may learn to be thoughtful for others.  {ML 197.5}
[ML 197.6]          In the Word of God we find a beautiful description of a happy home and the woman who presides over it: "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her."                                                                              198   {ML 197.6}
[ML 198.1]       Father's Heart Turned to His Children         He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers. Malachi 4:6 {ML 198.1}
[ML 198.2]            The father when he returns from his daily labor will not bring his perplexities to his home. He will feel that home and the family circle are too sacred to be marred with unhappy perplexities. When he left his home he did not leave his Saviour and his religion behind. Both were his companions. The sweet influence of his home, the blessing of his wife, and the love of his children make his burdens light; and he returns with peace in his heart and cheerful, encouraging words for his wife and children, who are waiting joyfully to welcome his coming.  {ML 198.2}
[ML 198.3]          He should find it a pleasant change to spend some time with his children. He may take them into the garden and show them the opening buds and the varied tints of the blooming flowers. . . . He may impress upon their minds the fact that if God cares so much for the trees and flowers, he will care much more for the creatures formed in his image. He may lead them early to understand that God wants children to be lovely, not with artificial adornment, but with beauty of character, the charms of kindness and affection, which will make their hearts bound with joy and happiness.  {ML 198.3}
[ML 198.4]          If the frivolous and pleasure seeking will allow their minds to dwell upon the real and the true, the heart cannot but be filled with reverence, and they will adore the God of nature.  {ML 198.4}
[ML 198.5]          If you would draw your children to Jesus, you must not enter your home with cross words, with a frown upon your brow. If you come from your business weary and worn, just plead with God for His grace, for His restful Spirit, that your heart may be melted with tenderness, that your lips may be filled with words of kindness and comfort. Bind your children to your heart. Recommend your religion to them by its pleasantness.                                                                              199   {ML 198.5}
[ML 199.1]       Happy Companionship Together         We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. Psalm 55:14 {ML 199.1}
[ML 199.2]           Throw around your children the charms of home and of your society. If you do this, they will not have so much desire for the society of young associates. . . . Because of the evils now in the world and the restrictions necessary to be placed upon the children, parents should have double care to bind them to their hearts and let them see that they wish to make them happy.  {ML 199.2}
[ML 199.3]          Let parents devote the evenings to their families. Lay off care and perplexity with the labors of the day. . . . Let the evenings be spent as happily as possible.  {ML 199.3}
[ML 199.4]          Form a home reading circle, in which every member of the family shall lay aside the busy cares of the day and unite in study. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, take up this work heartily, and see if the home church will not be greatly improved. . . . Read the literature that will give you true knowledge and that will be a help to the entire family.  {ML 199.4}
[ML 199.5]          If they would gather the children close to them, and show that they love them, and would manifest an interest in all their efforts, and even in their sports, sometimes even being a child among children, they would make the children very happy and would gain their love and win their confidence.  {ML 199.5}
[ML 199.6]          Brought up under the wise and loving guidance of a true home, children will have no desire to wander away in search of pleasure and companionship. Evil will not attract them. The spirit that prevails in the home will mold their characters; they will form habits and principles that will be a strong defense against temptation when they shall leave the home shelter and take their place in the world.                            *     *     *     *     *  {ML 199.6}
[ML 199.7]          The young heart is quick to respond to the touch of sympathy.                                                                              200   {ML 199.7}
[ML 200.1]       Hold the Family Together by Affection         Shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. Psalm 92:2 {ML 200.1}
[ML 200.2]           The religion of Christ will lead us to do all the good possible, to both high and low, rich and poor, happy and oppressed. But especially will it lead to the manifestation of kindness in our own family. It will be manifested by acts of courtesy and love to father and mother, husband, wife, and child. We are to look to Jesus, to catch His Spirit, to live in the light of His goodness and love, and to reflect His glory upon others.  {ML 200.2}
[ML 200.3]          Those who are united by the ties of nature have the strongest claims upon one another. In their dealings with each other they should manifest kindness and the tenderest love.  {ML 200.3}
[ML 200.4]          Gentle manners, cheerful conversation, and loving acts will bind the hearts of children to their parents by the silken cords of affection and will do more to make home attractive than the rarest ornaments that can be bought for gold.  {ML 200.4}
[ML 200.5]          Mutual kindness and forbearance will make home a paradise and attract holy angels into the family circle; but they will flee from a house where there are unpleasant words, fretfulness, and strife.  {ML 200.5}
[ML 200.6]          The most valuable rules for social and family intercourse are to be found in the Bible. . . . Our Saviour's sermon on the mount contains instruction of priceless worth to old and young. It should be often read in the family circle, and its precious teachings exemplified in the daily life. The golden rule, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them,". . . should be made the law of the family. Those who cherish the spirit of Christ will manifest politeness at home. . . . They will be constantly seeking to make all around them happy, forgetting self in their kind attention to others.  {ML 200.6}
[ML 200.7]          Christian courtesy is the golden clasp which unites the members of the family in bonds of love, becoming closer and stronger every day.                                                                              201   {ML 200.7}
[ML 201.1]       Make the Home a Blessing to Others         When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: . . . for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Luke 14:13, 14 {ML 201.1}
[ML 201.2]            God is displeased with the selfish interest so often manifested for "me and my family." Every family that cherishes this spirit needs to be converted by the pure principles exemplified in the life of Christ. Those who shut themselves up within themselves, who are unwilling to be drawn upon to entertain visitors, lose many blessings.  {ML 201.2}
[ML 201.3]          There are many others to whom we might make our homes a blessing. Our social entertainments should not be governed by the dictates of worldly custom, but by the Spirit of Christ and the teaching of His Word. The Israelites, in all their festivities, included the poor, the stranger, and the Levite, who was both the assistant of the priest in the sanctuary and a religious teacher and missionary. These were regarded as the guests of the people, to share their hospitality on all occasions of social and religious rejoicing and to be tenderly cared for in sickness or in need. It is such as these whom we should make welcome to our homes. How much such a welcome might do to cheer and encourage the missionary nurse or the teacher, the care-burdened, hard-working mother, or the feeble and aged, so often without a home, and struggling with poverty and many discouragements....  {ML 201.3}
[ML 201.4]          The warmth of a genial welcome, a place at your fireside, a seat at your home table, the privilege of sharing the blessing of the hour of prayer, would to many of these be like a glimpse of heaven.  {ML 201.4}
[ML 201.5]          Our sympathies are to overflow the boundaries of self and the enclosure of family walls. There are precious opportunities for those who will make their homes a blessing to others. Social influence is a wonderful power. We can use it if we will as a means of helping those about us. . . .                         *     *      *     *      *  {ML 201.5}
[ML 201.6]          Our time here is short. We can pass through this world but once; as we pass along, let us make the most of life.                                                                              202   {ML 201.6}
[ML 202.1]       The Home Should Be a Refuge for the Youth         Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me. Mark 9:37 {ML 202.1}
[ML 202.2]            Our homes should be a place of refuge for the tempted youth. Many there are who stand at the parting of the ways. Every influence, every impression, is determining the choice that shapes their destiny both here and hereafter.  {ML 202.2}
[ML 202.3]          Do not hold yourselves aloof from them, but come close to them. Bring them to your firesides; invite them to your family altars. There is work that thousands need to have done for them. Every tree in Satan's garden is hung with tempting, poisonous fruit, and a woe is pronounced upon every one who plucks and eats.  {ML 202.3}
[ML 202.4]          Evil invites them. Its resorts are made bright and attractive. They have a welcome for every comer. All about us are youth who have no home and many whose homes have no helpful, uplifting power, and the youth drift into evil. They are going down to ruin within the very shadow of our own doors.  {ML 202.4}
[ML 202.5]          These youth need a hand stretched out to them in sympathy. Kind words simply spoken, little attentions simply bestowed, will sweep away the clouds of temptation which gather over the soul. The true expression of heaven-born sympathy has power to open the door of hearts that need the fragrance of Christlike words and the simple, delicate touch of the spirit of Christ's love. If we would show an interest in the youth, invite them to our homes, and surround them with cheering, helpful influences, there are many who would gladly turn their steps into the upward path.  {ML 202.5}
[ML 202.6]          Remember that happiness will not be found in shutting yourselves up to yourselves, satisfied to pour out all your affection upon each other. Seize upon every opportunity for contributing to the happiness of those around you. . . . True joy can be found only in unselfish service.                                                                              203   {ML 202.6}
[ML 203.1]       Let Visitors Join in Family Worship         But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9 {ML 203.1}
[ML 203.2]            In a sense the father is the priest of the household, laying upon the family altar the morning and evening sacrifice. But the wife and children should unite in prayer and join in the song of praise. In the morning before he leaves home for his daily labor let the father gather his children about him and, bowing before God, commit them to the care of the Father in heaven. When the cares of the day are past, let the family unite in offering grateful prayer and raising the song of praise, in acknowledgment of divine care during the day. . . . Do not fail to gather your family around God's altar.  {ML 203.2}
[ML 203.3]          In our efforts for the comfort and happiness of guests let us not overlook our obligations to God. The hour of prayer should not be neglected for any consideration. Do not talk and amuse yourselves till all are too weary to enjoy the season of devotion. To do this is to present to God a lame offering. At an early hour of the evening, when we can pray unhurriedly and understandingly, we should present our supplications and raise our voices in happy, grateful praise.  {ML 203.3}
[ML 203.4]          Let all who visit Christians see that the hour of prayer is the most precious, the most sacred, and the happiest hour of the day. These seasons of devotion exert a refining, elevating influence upon all who participate in them. They bring a peace and rest grateful to the spirit.  {ML 203.4}
[ML 203.5]          A lamp, however small, if kept steadily burning, may be the means of lighting many other lamps. . . . Wonderful opportunities are ours through a faithful use of the opportunities of our own homes. If we will open our hearts and homes to the divine principles of life, we shall become channels for currents of life-giving power. From our homes will flow streams of healing, bringing life, and beauty, and fruitfulness where now are barrenness and dearth.                                                                              204   {ML 203.5}
[ML 204.1]       To Have Friends We Must Be Friendly         A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly. Proverbs 18:24 {ML 204.1}
[ML 204.2]            In the arrangements for the education of the chosen people it is made manifest that a life centered in God is a life of completeness. Every want He has implanted, He provides to satisfy; every faculty imparted, He seeks to develop.  {ML 204.2}
[ML 204.3]          The Author of all beauty, Himself a lover of the beautiful, God provided to gratify in His children the love of beauty. He made provision also for their social needs, for the kindly and helpful associations that do so much to cultivate sympathy and to brighten and sweeten life.  {ML 204.3}
[ML 204.4]          Christian sociability is altogether too little cultivated by God's people. . . . By social intercourse acquaintances are formed and friendships contracted which result in a unity of heart and an atmosphere of love which is pleasing in the sight of heaven.  {ML 204.4}
[ML 204.5]          Everyone will find companions or make them. And just in proportion to the strength of the friendship, will be the amount of influence which friends will exert over one another for good or for evil. All will have associates, and will influence and be influenced in their turn.  {ML 204.5}
[ML 204.6]          The link is a mysterious one which binds human hearts together, so that the feelings, tastes, and principles of two individuals are closely blended. One catches the spirit and copies the ways and acts of the other. As wax retains the figure of the seal, so the mind retains the impression produced by intercourse and association. The influence may be unconscious, yet it is no less powerful. . . . If choice is made of companions who fear the Lord, the influence will lead to truth, to duty, and to holiness. A truly Christian life is a power for God.                           *     *     *     *      *  {ML 204.6}
[ML 204.7]          The warmth of true friendship . . . is a foretaste of the joys of heaven.                                                                              205   {ML 204.7}
[ML 205.1]       Righteousness Enriches Life         He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour. Proverbs 21:21 {ML 205.1}
[ML 205.2]            Gatherings for social intercourse are made in the highest degree profitable and instructive when those who meet together have the love of God glowing in their hearts; when they meet to exchange thoughts in regard to the Word of God or to consider methods for advancing His work and doing good to their fellow men. When the Holy Spirit is regarded as a welcome guest at these gatherings, when nothing is said or done to grieve it away, God is honored, and those who meet together are refreshed and strengthened. . . .  {ML 205.2}
[ML 205.3]          Christ rejoices when the thoughts of the young are occupied by the grand and ennobling themes of salvation. He enters the hearts of all such as an abiding guest, filling them with joy and peace. . . . Those who possess this love will delight to talk of the things that God has prepared for them that love Him.  {ML 205.3}
[ML 205.4]          Young men and young women should not think that their sports, their evening parties, and musical entertainments, as usually conducted, are acceptable to Christ.  {ML 205.4}
[ML 205.5]          Light has been given me, again and again, that all our gatherings should be characterized by a decided religious influence. If our young people would assemble to read and understand the Scriptures, asking, "What shall I do that I may have eternal life?" and then place themselves unitedly upon the side of truth, the Lord would let His blessing come into their hearts. . . .  {ML 205.5}
[ML 205.6]          To all, old and young, the word of the Lord is: Let the truth of God be inwrought in mind and soul. Let your prayer be, "O Lord, preserve my soul, that I shall not dishonor Thee."                                                                              206   {ML 205.6}
[ML 206.1]       Take a Day in the Country         He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Psalm 23:2, 3   {ML 206.1}
[ML 206.2]           Let several families living in a city or village unite and leave the occupations which have taxed them physically and mentally, and make an excursion into the country to the side of a fine lake or to a nice grove where the scenery of nature is beautiful. They should provide themselves with plain, hygienic food, the very best fruits and grains, and spread their table under the shade of some tree or under the canopy of heaven. The ride, the exercise, and the scenery will quicken the appetite, and they can enjoy a repast which kings might envy.  {ML 206.2}
[ML 206.3]          On such occasions parents and children should feel free from care, labor, and perplexity. Parents should become children with their children, making everything as pleasant for them as possible. Let the whole day be given to recreation. Exercise in the open air for those whose employment has been withindoors and sedentary will be beneficial to health. All who can, should feel it a duty to pursue this course. Nothing will be lost, but much gained. They can return to their occupations with new life and new courage to engage in their labor with zeal, and they are better prepared to resist disease. . . .  {ML 206.3}
[ML 206.4]          But few realize the constant, wearing labor of those who are bearing the responsibilities of the work in the office. They are confined withindoors day after day and week after week, while a constant strain upon the mental powers is surely undermining their constitutions and lessening their hold on life. . . .  {ML 206.4}
[ML 206.5]          They should have a change frequently, should often devote a day wholly to recreation with their families, who are almost entirely deprived of their society.                                                                              207   {ML 206.5}
[ML 207.1]       Visiting with One Another         Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Malachi 3:16, 17 {ML 207.1}
[ML 207.2]            We have an individual accountability to God, an individual work which no one can do for us. It is to make the world better by precept, personal effort, and example. While we should cultivate sociability, let it not be merely for amusement, but for a purpose. There are souls to save. . . . Our intercourse with others should be characterized by sobriety and heavenly-mindedness. Our conversation should be upon heavenly things. . . .  {ML 207.2}
[ML 207.3]          What is more worthy to engross the mind than the plan of redemption? It is a subject that is exhaustless. The love of Jesus, the salvation offered to fallen man through His infinite love, holiness of heart, the precious, saving truth for these last days, the grace of Jesus Christ--these are subjects which may animate the soul and cause the pure in heart to feel that joy that the disciples felt when Jesus came and walked with them as they traveled toward Emmaus. He who has centered his affections upon Christ will relish this kind of hallowed association and will gather divine strength by such intercourse.... When the truth of God is an abiding principle in the heart, it will be like a living spring. Attempts may be made to repress it, but it will gush forth in another place; it is there, and cannot be headed off. The truth in the heart is a wellspring of life. It refreshes the weary, restrains the vile thought and utterance, and makes all flourishing.... Their happiness will ... be ... in Jesus and His love.                                                                              208   {ML 207.3}
[ML 208.1]       Jesus and His Friends at Bethany         Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. John 11:5 {ML 208.1}
[ML 208.2]            There was one home that He loved to visit--the home of Lazarus, and Mary, and Martha; for in the atmosphere of faith and love His spirit had rest.  {ML 208.2}
[ML 208.3]          Among the most steadfast of Christ's disciples was Lazarus of Bethany. From their first meeting his faith in Christ had been strong; his love for Him was deep, and he was greatly beloved by the Saviour. It was for Lazarus that the greatest of Christ's miracles was performed. The Saviour blessed all who sought His help; He loves all the human family; but to some He is bound by peculiarly tender associations. His heart was knit by a strong bond of affection to the family at Bethany, and for one of them His most wonderful work was wrought.  {ML 208.3}
[ML 208.4]          At the home of Lazarus, Jesus had often found rest. The Saviour had no home of His own; He was dependent on the hospitality of His friends and disciples; and often, when weary, thirsting for human fellowship, He had been glad to escape to this peaceful household, away from the suspicion and jealousy of the angry Pharisees. Here He found a sincere welcome, a pure, holy friendship. Here He could speak with simplicity and perfect freedom, knowing that His words would be understood and treasured.  {ML 208.4}
[ML 208.5]          Our Saviour appreciated a quiet home and interested listeners. He longed for human tenderness, courtesy, and affection. Those who received the heavenly instruction He was always ready to impart were greatly blessed.... The multitudes were slow of hearing, and in the home at Bethany Christ found rest from the weary conflict of public life. Here He opened to an appreciative audience the volume of Providence. In these private interviews He unfolded to His hearers that which He did not attempt to tell to the mixed multitude. He needed not to speak to His friends in parables.                                                                              209   {ML 208.5}
[ML 209.1]       The Friendship Between Paul and Timothy         To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.... Greatly desiring to see thee, ... that I may be filled with joy. 2 Timothy 1:2-4 {ML 209.1}
[ML 209.2]            From the judgment hall of Caesar, Paul returned to his cell, realizing that he had gained for himself only a brief respite. He knew that his enemies would not rest until they had compassed his death. But he knew also that for a time truth had triumphed. . . .  {ML 209.2}
[ML 209.3]          Sitting day after day in his gloomy cell, knowing that at a word or a nod from Nero his life might be sacrificed, Paul thought of Timothy, and determined to send for him. To Timothy had been committed the care of the church at Ephesus, and he had therefore been left behind when Paul made his last journey to Rome. Paul and Timothy were bound together by an affection unusually deep and strong. Since his conversion Timothy had shared Paul's labors and sufferings, and the friendship between the two had grown stronger, deeper, and more sacred, until all that a son could be to a loved and honored father, Timothy was to the aged, toil-worn apostle. It is little wonder that in his loneliness and solitude Paul longed to see him.  {ML 209.3}
[ML 209.4]          Under the most favorable circumstances several months must pass before Timothy could reach Rome from Asia Minor. Paul knew that his life was uncertain, and he feared that Timothy might arrive too late to see him. He had important counsel and instruction for the young man, to whom so great responsibility had been entrusted; and while urging him to come without delay, he dictated the dying testimony that he might not be spared to utter. His soul filled with loving solicitude for his son in the gospel and for the church under his care, Paul sought to impress Timothy with the importance of fidelity to his sacred trust. . . . Paul closed his letter by commending his beloved Timothy to the guardianship of the Chief Shepherd, who, though the undershepherds might be stricken down, would still care for His flock.                                                                              210   {ML 209.4}
[ML 210.1]       Jonathan and David         How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. 2 Samuel 1:25, 26 {ML 210.1}
[ML 210.2]            The friendship of Jonathan for David was . . . of God's providence, to preserve the life of the future ruler of Israel.  {ML 210.2}
[ML 210.3]          At this time, when there were so few bright spots in the path of David, he was rejoiced to receive an unexpected visit from Jonathan, who had learned the place of his refuge. Precious were the moments which these two friends passed in each other's society. They related their varied experiences, and Jonathan strengthened the heart of David, saying, "Fear not! for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth." As they talked of the wonderful dealings of God with David, the hunted fugitive was greatly encouraged. "And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house."  {ML 210.3}
[ML 210.4]          After the visit of Jonathan, David encouraged his soul with songs of praise, accompanying his voice with his harp.  {ML 210.4}
[ML 210.5]          Jonathan, by birth heir to the throne, yet knowing himself set aside by the divine decree; to his rival the most tender and faithful of friends, shielding David's life at the peril of his own; steadfast at his father's side through the dark days of his declining power, and at his side falling at the last--the name of Jonathan is treasured in heaven, and it stands on earth a witness to the existence and the power of unselfish love.                             *    *    *    *    *    *  {ML 210.5}
[ML 210.6]          Connected with Christ, we are connected with our fellow men by the golden links of the chain of love.                                                                              211   {ML 210.6}
[ML 211.1]       Recreation Refreshes and Invigorates         Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:11 {ML 211.1}
[ML 211.2]           It is the privilege and duty of Christians to seek to refresh their spirits and invigorate their bodies by innocent recreation, with the purpose of using their physical and mental powers to the glory of God. Our recreation should not be scenes of senseless mirth, taking the form of the nonsensical. We can conduct them in such a manner as will benefit and elevate those with whom we associate and better qualify us and them to more successfully attend to the duties devolving upon us as Christians. . . . The religion of Christ is cheering and elevating in its influence. It is above everything like foolish jesting and joking, vain and frivolous chitchat. In all our seasons of recreation we may gather from the Divine Source of strength fresh courage and power, that we may the more successfully elevate our lives to purity, true goodness, and holiness.  {ML 211.2}
[ML 211.3]          There are persons with a diseased imagination to whom religion is a tyrant, ruling them as with a rod of iron. Such are constantly mourning over their depravity and groaning over supposed evil. Love does not exist in their hearts; a frown is ever upon their countenances. They are chilled by the innocent laugh from the youth or from anyone. They consider all recreation or amusement a sin and think that the mind must be constantly wrought up to just such a stern, severe pitch. This is one extreme. Others think that the mind must be ever on the stretch to invent new amusements and diversions in order to gain health. They learn to depend on excitement, and are uneasy without it. Such are not true Christians. They go to another extreme. The true principles of Christianity open before all a source of happiness, the height and depth, the length and breadth of which are immeasurable.                                                                              212   {ML 211.3}
[ML 212.1]       No One Lives to Himself         For none of us liveth to himself. Romans 14:7 {ML 212.1}
[ML 212.2]            The young generally conduct themselves as though the precious hours of probation, while mercy lingers, were one grand holiday, and they were placed in this world merely for their own amusement, to be gratified with a continual round of excitement. Satan has been making special efforts to lead them to find happiness in worldly amusements and to justify themselves by endeavoring to show that these amusements are harmless, innocent, and even important to health.  {ML 212.2}
[ML 212.3]          The desire for excitement and pleasing entertainment is a temptation and a snare to God's people, and especially to the young. Satan is constantly preparing inducements to attract minds from the solemn work of preparation for scenes just in the future. Through the agency of worldlings he keeps up a continual excitement to induce the unwary to join in worldly pleasures. There are shows, lectures, and an endless variety of entertainments that are calculated to lead to a love of the world; and through this union with the world faith is weakened.  {ML 212.3}
[ML 212.4]          Worldly pleasures are infatuating; and for their momentary enjoyment many sacrifice the friendship of Heaven, with the peace, love, and joy that it affords.  {ML 212.4}
[ML 212.5]          Christians have many sources of happiness at their command, and they may tell with unerring accuracy what pleasures are lawful and right. They may enjoy such recreations as will not dissipate the mind or debase the soul, such as will not disappoint, and leave a sad after-influence to destroy self-respect or bar the way to usefulness. If they can take Jesus with them, and maintain a prayerful spirit, they are perfectly safe.  {ML 212.5}
[ML 212.6]          In view of their high calling the youth among us should . . . ponder well the paths of their feet, remembering that where they lead the way others will follow.                                                                              213   {ML 212.6}
[ML 213.1]       God Gives Us the Good         For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy. Ecclesiastes 2:26 {ML 213.1}
[ML 213.2]            Youth cannot be made as sedate and grave as old age, the child as sober as the sire. While sinful amusements are condemned, . . . provide in their stead innocent pleasures, which will not taint or corrupt the morals.  {ML 213.2}
[ML 213.3]          There is a distinction between recreation and amusement. Recreation, when true to its name, re-creation, tends to strengthen and build up. Calling us aside from our ordinary cares and occupations, it affords refreshment for mind and body, and thus enables us to return with new vigor to the earnest work of life. Amusement, on the other hand, is sought for the sake of pleasure, and is often carried to excess; it absorbs the energies that are required for useful work, and thus proves a hindrance to life's true success.  {ML 213.3}
[ML 213.4]          While we shun the false and artificial . . . we must supply sources of pleasure that are pure and noble and elevating.  {ML 213.4}
[ML 213.5]          Our holidays should not be spent in patterning after the world, yet they should not be passed by unnoticed. . . . On these days . . . get something to take the place of more dangerous amusements.  {ML 213.5}
[ML 213.6]          No recreation helpful only to themselves will prove so great a blessing to the children and youth as that which makes them helpful to others.  {ML 213.6}
[ML 213.7]          Would it not be well for us to observe holidays unto God, when we could revive in our minds the memory of His dealing with us? ...  {ML 213.7}
[ML 213.8]          The world has many holidays, and men become engrossed with games, with horse races, with gambling, smoking, and drunkenness. They show plainly under what banner they are standing.... Shall not the people of God more frequently have holy convocations in which to thank God for His rich blessings?                                                                              214   {ML 213.8}
[ML 214.1]       Walk in the Way of Good Men         Walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. Proverbs 2:20 {ML 214.1}
[ML 214.2]            There are modes of recreation which are highly beneficial to both mind and body. An enlightened, discriminating mind will find abundant means for entertainment and diversion, from sources not only innocent, but instructive. Recreation in the open air, the contemplation of the works of God in nature, will be of the highest benefit.  {ML 214.2}
[ML 214.3]          While we are seeking to refresh our spirits and invigorate our bodies, we are required of God to use all our powers at all times to the best purpose. We may associate together as we do here today, ［FROM AN ADDRESS GIVEN AT AN OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL GATHERING AT GOGUAC LAKE, MICHIGAN.］ and do all to the glory of God. We can and should conduct our recreations in such a manner that we shall be fitted for the more successful discharge of the duties devolving upon us, and that our influence shall be more beneficial upon those with whom we associate. Especially should it be the case upon an occasion like this, which should be of good cheer to us all. We can return to our homes improved in mind and refreshed in body, and prepared to engage in the work anew, with better hope and better courage.  {ML 214.3}
[ML 214.4]         We believe that it is our privilege every day of our lives to glorify God upon the earth; that we are not to live in this world merely for our own amusement, merely to please ourselves. We are here to benefit humanity, to be a blessing to society....  {ML 214.4}
[ML 214.5]          We here behold the beauties of nature.... As we behold these works of nature we should let the mind be carried up higher, to nature's God; let it be elevated to the Creator of the universe, and then adore the Creator who has made all these beautiful things for our benefit and happiness.  {ML 214.5}
[ML 214.6]          We must take periods of rest, periods of recreation, periods for contemplation.                                                                              215   {ML 214.6}
[ML 215.1]       Walk Not in the Way With Sinners         My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.... My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path. Proverbs 1:10-15 {ML 215.1}
[ML 215.2]            Amusements are doing more to counteract the working of the Holy Spirit than anything else, and the Lord is grieved.  {ML 215.2}
[ML 215.3]          Those who are artificial in character and religious experience too readily gather for pleasure and amusement, and their influence attracts others. Sometimes young men and women who are trying to be Bible Christians are persuaded to join the party. Unwilling to be thought singular, and naturally inclined to follow the example of others, they place themselves under the influence of those who, perhaps, have never felt the divine touch on mind and heart. Had they prayerfully consulted the divine standard, to learn what Christ has said in regard to the fruit to be borne on the Christian tree, they would have discerned that these entertainments were really banquets prepared to keep souls from accepting the invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb.  {ML 215.3}
[ML 215.4]          It sometimes happens that by frequenting places of amusement, youth who have been carefully instructed in the way of the Lord are carried away by the glamor of human influence, and form attachments for those whose education and training have been of a worldly character. They sell themselves into lifelong bondage by uniting with persons who have not the ornament of a Christlike spirit.  {ML 215.4}
[ML 215.5]          You will be invited to attend places of amusement. . . . If you are true to Christ then, you will not try to form excuses for your nonattendance, but will plainly and modestly declare that you are a child of God, and your principles would not allow you to be in a place, even for one occasion, where you could not invite the presence of your Lord.  {ML 215.5}
[ML 215.6]          God desires His people to show by their lives the advantage of Christianity over worldliness; to show that they are working on a high, holy plane.                                                                              216   {ML 215.6}
[ML 216.1]       Associate With Those Who Love God         I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. Psalm 119:63 {ML 216.1}
[ML 216.2]           Between the associations of the followers of Christ for Christian recreation and worldly gatherings for pleasure and amusement, will exist a marked contrast. Instead of prayer and the mentioning of Christ and sacred things, will be heard from the lips of worldlings the silly laugh and the trifling conversation. Their idea is to have a general high time.  Their amusements commence in folly and end in vanity. We want in our gatherings to have them so conducted, and to so conduct ourselves, that when we return to our homes we can have a conscience void of offense toward God and man; a consciousness that we have not wounded or injured in any manner those with whom we have associated or had an injurious influence over them.  {ML 216.2}
[ML 216.3]          We are of that class who believe that it is our privilege every day of our lives to glorify God upon the earth; that we are not to live in this world merely for our own amusement, merely to please ourselves. We are here to benefit humanity and to be a blessing to society.  {ML 216.3}
[ML 216.4]          Those who truly love God will not cultivate the society of those who do not love Jesus. They will find that Christian society and conversation is food to the soul, that in the society of those who love God they breathe in the atmosphere of heaven. Christians will exercise love and sympathy one for another. The encouragement given one to another, the esteem manifested one for another, the helps, the instruction, the reproofs, warnings, the Christian counsel that should be found among the followers of Christ will further them in the spiritual life; for Christian fellowship is according to God's plan. . . . They will have tender consideration for all of like precious faith, and will draw toward those who love God. There will be fellowship such as the world knows not of.  {ML 216.4}
[ML 217.1]       Chap. 8 - A Life of Service    God Works Through Me  God Makes Me Perfect in Every Good Work         Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Hebrews 13:20, 21 {ML 217.1}
[ML 217.2]           The religion of Jesus Christ means something more than talk. The righteousness of Christ consists in right actions and good works from pure, unselfish motives....Christ came to do His Father's will. Are we following in His steps? All who have named the name of Christ should be constantly seeking for a more intimate acquaintance with Him, that they may walk even as He walked, and do the works of Christ. . . .  {ML 217.2}
[ML 217.3]          It is the work we do, or do not do, that tells with tremendous power upon our lives and destinies. God requires us to improve every opportunity for usefulness that is offered us. Neglect in doing this is perilous to our spiritual growth. We have a great work to do.  {ML 217.3}
[ML 217.4]          The duties that the Lord places in our way we are to perform, not as a cold, dreary exercise, but as a service of love. Bring into your work your highest powers and sympathies, and you will find that Christ is in it. His presence will make the work light, and your heart will be filled with joy. You will work in harmony with God, and in loyalty and love and fidelity. We are to be sincere, earnest Christians, doing faithfully the work placed in our hands.  {ML 217.4}
[ML 217.5]          Every one who kindles his taper from the divine altar holds his lamp firmly. He does not use common fire upon his censer, but the holy fire, kept burning by the power of God day and night. Those who walk in the footsteps of Jesus, who will surrender their lives to His guidance and to His service, have the golden oil in their vessels with their lamps. They will never be placed in a position for which God has not made provision. The lamp of life is always trimmed by the very hand that lit it.                                                                              218   {ML 217.5}
[ML 218.1]       Be Zealous of Good Works         Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Titus 2:14 {ML 218.1}
[ML 218.2]            Christ's followers have been redeemed for service. Our Lord teaches that the true object of life is ministry. Christ Himself was a worker, and to all His followers He gives the law of service--service to God and to their fellow men. Here Christ has presented to the world a higher conception of life than they had ever known. By living to minister for others man is brought into connection with Christ. The law of service becomes the connecting link which binds us to God and to our fellow men.  {ML 218.2}
[ML 218.3]          To His servants Christ commits "His goods"--something to be put to use for Him. He gives "to every man his work." Each has his place in the eternal plan of Heaven. Each is to work in cooperation with Christ for the salvation of souls. Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God. . . .  {ML 218.3}
[ML 218.4]          And those who would be workers together with God must strive for perfection of every organ of the body and quality of the mind. True education is the preparation of the physical, mental, and moral powers for the performance of every duty; it is the training of body, mind, and soul for divine service. . . .  {ML 218.4}
[ML 218.5]          Of every Christian the Lord requires growth in efficiency and capability in every line. Christ has paid us our wages, even His own blood and suffering, to secure our willing service. He came to our world to give us an example of how we should work and what spirit we should bring into our labor. He desires us to show how we can best advance His work and glorify His name in the world, crowning with honor, with the greatest love and devotion, the Father who "so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."                                                                              219   {ML 218.5}
[ML 219.1]       Work Diligently for God         Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto me. Colossians 3:23 {ML 219.1}
[ML 219.2]            There is a great work to be done in our world. Men and women are to be converted, not by the gift of tongues nor by the working of miracles, but by the preaching of Christ crucified. Why delay the effort to make the world better? Why wait for some wonderful thing to be done, some costly apparatus to be provided? ... Into all that we do, whether our work be in the shop, on the farm, or in the office, we are to bring the endeavor to save souls.  {ML 219.2}
[ML 219.3]          This life is full of gracious opportunities, which you can improve in the exercise of your God-given abilities to bless others, and in so doing bless yourself, without considering self in the matter. Trivial circumstances oftentimes prove a decided blessing to the one who acts from principle and has formed the habit of doing right because it is right. Seek for a perfect character, and let all you do, whether seen and appreciated by human eyes or not, be done with an eye single to God's glory, because you belong to God and He has redeemed you at the price of His own life. Be faithful in the least as well as in the greatest; learn to speak the truth, to act all times the truth. Let the heart be fully submitted to God. If controlled by His grace, you will do little deeds of kindness, take up the duties lying next to you, and bring all the sunshine into your life and character that it is possible to bring, scattering the gifts of love and blessing along the pathway of life. Your works will be far-reaching as eternity. Your lifework will be seen in heaven, and there it will live, through ceaseless ages, because it is found precious in the sight of God.                           *     *     *     *     *  {ML 219.3}
[ML 219.4]          Remember that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well.                                                                              220   {ML 219.4}
[ML 220.1]       Let Your Light Shine         Ye are the light of the world.... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16 {ML 220.1}
[ML 220.2]            If you walk in the light, you can every one be light bearers to the world. Do not seek to accomplish some great work and neglect the little opportunities close at hand. We can do very much by exemplifying the truth in our daily life. The influence which we may thus exert cannot be easily withstood. Men may combat and defy our logic; they may resist our appeals; but a life of holy purpose, of disinterested love in their behalf, is an argument in favor of the truth that they cannot gainsay. Far more can be accomplished by humble, devoted, virtuous lives than can be affected by preaching when a godly example is lacking. You can labor to build up the church, to encourage your brethren, and to make the social meetings interesting; and you can let your prayers go out, like sharp sickles, with the laborers into the harvest field. Each should have a personal interest, a burden of soul, to watch and pray for the success of the work.  {ML 220.2}
[ML 220.3]          You can also in meekness call the attention of others to the precious truths of God's Word. Young men... may never be able to present the truth from the desk, but they could go from house to house and point the people to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. The dust and rubbish of error have buried the precious jewels of truth; but the Lord's workers can uncover these treasures, so that many will look upon them with delight and awe.  {ML 220.3}
[ML 220.4]          There is a great variety of work, adapted to different minds and varied capabilities. In the day of God not one will be excused for being shut up to his own selfish interests. And it is by working for others that you will keep your own souls alive.... Earnest, unselfish effort will garner sheaves for Jesus.... The Lord is a mighty helper.                                                                              221   {ML 220.4}
[ML 221.1]       Abound in Love at Home and Abroad         Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in  love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you. 1 Thessalonians 3:11, 12 {ML 221.1}
[ML 221.2]            Missionary work is to be done in the home. Here those who have received Christ are to show what grace has done for them. A divine influence controls the true believer in Christ, and this influence makes itself felt throughout the home and is favorable for the perfection of the characters of all in the home.  {ML 221.2}
[ML 221.3]          The faithful performance of home duties has an influence upon those not in the home. Our spiritual progress in the home is carried into our missionary work abroad. In the father's house is to be given the evidence of a fitness to work for the church. With earnest, humble hearts the members of the family are to seek to know that Christ is abiding in the heart. Then they can go forth fully armed and  equipped for service. . . .  {ML 221.3}
[ML 221.4]          The effort to make the home what it should be--a symbol of the home in heaven--prepares us for work in a larger sphere. The education received by showing a tender regard for each other enables us to know how to reach hearts that need to be taught the principles of true religion. The church needs all the cultivated spiritual force which can be obtained, that all, and especially the younger members of the Lord's family, may be carefully guarded. The truth lived at home makes itself felt in disinterested labor abroad. He who lives Christianity in the home will be a bright and shining light everywhere.  {ML 221.4}
[ML 221.5]          The more closely the members of the family are united in their work in the home, the more uplifting and helpful will be the influence that father and mother and sons and daughters will exert outside the home.                                                                              222   {ML 221.5}
[ML 222.1]       A Little Maid Witnesses for God         Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master . . . : he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. 2 Kings 5:1-3.   {ML 222.1}
[ML 222.2]            A slave, far from her home, this little maid was nevertheless one of God's witnesses, unconsciously fulfilling the purpose for which God had chosen Israel as His people. As she ministered in that heathen home, her sympathies were aroused in behalf of her master; and, remembering the wonderful miracles of healing wrought through Elisha, she said to her mistress, "Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy." She knew that the power of Heaven was with Elisha, and she  believed that by this power Naaman could be healed.  {ML 222.2}
[ML 222.3]          The conduct of the captive maid, the way that she bore herself in that heathen home, is a strong witness to the power of early home training. There is no higher trust than that committed to fathers and mothers in the care and training of their children. . . .  {ML 222.3}
[ML 222.4]          We know not in what line our children may be called to serve. They may spend their lives within the circle of the home; they may  engage in life's common vocations, or go as teachers of the gospel to heathen lands; but all are alike called to be missionaries for God, ministers of mercy to the world. . . .  {ML 222.4}
[ML 222.5]          The parents of that Hebrew maid, as they taught her of God, did not know the destiny that would be hers. But they were faithful to their trust; and in the home of the captain of the Syrian host, their child bore witness to the God whom she had learned to honor.                                                                              223   {ML 222.5}
[ML 223.1]       God Supplies the Resources         His disciples came to him, saying, . . . Send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, . . . Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. . . . And looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. . . . And they took up of fragments that remained twelve baskets full. Matthew 14:15-20 {ML 223.1}
[ML 223.2]            In this parable is wrapped up a deep, spiritual lesson for God's workers. . . . In full reliance upon God, Jesus took the small store of loaves; and although there was but a small supply for His own family of disciples, He did not invite them to eat, but began to distribute to them, bidding them serve the people. The food multiplied in His hands; and the hands of the disciples, reaching out to Christ, Himself the Bread of Life, were never empty. The little store was sufficient for all. After the wants of the people had been supplied, the fragments were gathered up, and Christ and His disciples ate of the precious, Heaven-supplied food.  {ML 223.2}
[ML 223.3]          The disciples were the channel of communication between Christ and the people. This should be a great encouragement to His disciples today. Christ is the great Center, the Source of all strength. His disciples are to receive their supplies from Him. . . . As we continue to impart, we shall continue to receive; and the more we impart, the more we shall receive. . . .  {ML 223.3}
[ML 223.4]          Mark that pool which receives the showers of heaven but has no outlet. It is a blessing to no one, but in stagnant selfishness poisons the air around. Now look at the stream flowing from the mountainside, refreshing the thirsty land through which it passes. What blessing it brings! One would think that in giving so liberally it would exhaust its resources. But not so. It is a part of God's great plan that the stream that gives shall never lack; and day by day and year by year it flows on its way, ever receiving and ever giving.                                                                              224   {ML 223.4}
[ML 224.1]       Restore the Old Paths         And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. Isaiah 58:12 {ML 224.1}
[ML 224.2]            The work specified in these words is the work God requires His people to do. It is a work of God's own appointment. With the work of advocating the commandments of God and repairing the breach that has been made in the law of God, we are to mingle compassion for suffering humanity. We are to show supreme love to God; we are to exalt His memorial, which has been trodden down by unholy feet; and with this, we are to manifest mercy, benevolence, and the tenderest pity for the fallen race. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." As a people we must take hold of this work. Love revealed for suffering humanity gives significance and power to the truth.  {ML 224.2}
[ML 224.3]          The evangelization of the world is the work that God has given to those who go forth in His name. They are to be co-laborers with Christ, revealing to those ready to perish His tender, pitying love. God calls for thousands to work for Him, not by preaching to those who know the truth, going over and over the same ground, but by warning those who have never heard the last message of mercy. Work, with a heart filled with an earnest longing for souls. Do medical missionary work. Thus you will gain access to the hearts of the people. The way will be prepared for more decided proclamation of the truth. You will find that relieving their physical suffering gives you opportunity to minister to their spiritual needs.  {ML 224.3}
[ML 224.4]          The Lord will give you success in this work; for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation when it is interwoven with the practical life, when it is lived and practiced. The union of Christlike work for the body and Christlike work for the soul is the true interpretation of the gospel.                                                                              225   {ML 224.4}
[ML 225.1]       Jesus Came to Serve         Even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. Mark 10:45 {ML 225.1}
[ML 225.2]            Many feel that it would be a great privilege to visit the scenes of Christ's life on earth, to walk where He trod, to look upon the lake beside which He loved to teach, and the hills and valleys on which His eyes so often rested. But we need not go to Nazareth, to Capernaum, or to Bethany, in order to walk in the steps of Jesus. We shall find His footprints beside the sickbed, in the hovels of poverty, in the crowded alleys of the great city, and in every place where there are human hearts in need of consolation. In doing as Jesus did when on earth, we shall walk in His steps. . . .  {ML 225.2}
[ML 225.3]          Millions upon millions of human souls ready to perish, bound in chains of ignorance and sin, have never so much as heard of Christ's love for them. Were our condition and theirs to be reversed, what would we desire them to do for us? All this, so far as lies in our power, we are under the most solemn obligation to do for them." Christ's rule of life, by which every one of us must stand or fall in the judgment, is, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."  {ML 225.3}
[ML 225.4]          The Saviour has given His precious life in order to establish a church capable of caring for sorrowful, tempted souls. A company of believers may be poor, uneducated, and unknown; yet in Christ they may do a work in the home, the neighborhood, the church, and even in "the regions beyond," whose results shall be as far reaching as eternity.  {ML 225.4}
[ML 225.5]          It is because this work is neglected that so many young disciples never advance beyond the mere alphabet of Christian experience. The light which was glowing in their own hearts when Jesus spoke to them, "Thy sins be forgiven thee," they might have kept alive by helping those in need. The restless energy that is so often a source of danger to the young might be directed into channels through which it would flow out in streams of blessing. Self would be forgotten in earnest work to do others good.                                                                              226   {ML 225.5}
[ML 226.1]       Relieve Suffering Humanity         And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. Luke 9:2 {ML 226.1}
[ML 226.2]            Christ established His temporary hospital on the green hill slopes of Galilee and in every other place where the sick and the suffering could be brought to Him. In every city, every town, every village through which He passed, with the tender compassion of a loving Father He laid His hand upon the afflicted ones, and made them whole. This same work Christ has empowered His church to do.  {ML 226.2}
[ML 226.3]          At the close of His earthly ministry, when He charged His disciples with a solemn commission to go "into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature," He declared that their ministry would receive confirmation through the restoration of the sick to health. Ye "shall lay hands on the sick," He said, "and they shall recover." Mark 16:15, 18. By healing in His name the diseases of the body, they would testify to His power for the healing of the soul.  {ML 226.3}
[ML 226.4]          The Saviour's commission to the disciples includes all believers to the end of time. . . . Never has the world's need for teaching and healing been greater than it is today. The world is full of those who need to be ministered unto--the weak, the helpless, the ignorant, the degraded.  {ML 226.4}
[ML 226.5]          God's people are to be genuine medical missionaries. They are to learn to minister to the needs of soul and body. They should know how to give the simple treatments that do so much to relieve pain and remove disease. They should be familiar with the principles of health reform, that they may show others how, by right habits of eating, drinking, and dressing, disease may be prevented and health regained. ... The Great Physician ... will bless every one who will go forward humbly and trustfully, seeking to impart the truth for this time.                            *     *     *     *     *  {ML 226.5}
[ML 226.6]          In a special sense the healing of the sick is our work.                                                                              227   {ML 226.6}
[ML 227.1]       Give Men and Women the Water of Life         Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14 {ML 227.1}
[ML 227.2]            In His talk with the Samaritan woman, instead of disparaging Jacob's well, Christ presented something better. . . . He turned the conversation to the treasure He had to bestow, offering the woman something better than she possessed, even living water, the joy and hope of the gospel.  {ML 227.2}
[ML 227.3]          How much interest Christ manifested in this one woman! How earnest and eloquent were His words! When the woman heard them, she left her waterpot and went into the city, saying to those she met, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" We read that many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him. And who can estimate the influence that these words have exerted for the saving of souls in the years that have passed since then!  {ML 227.3}
[ML 227.4]          Jesus came in personal contact with men. He did not stand aloof and apart from those who needed His help. He entered the homes of men, comforted the mourner, healed the sick, aroused the careless, and went about doing good. And if we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we must do as He did. We must give men the same kind of help that He did.  {ML 227.4}
[ML 227.5]          The Lord desires that His word of grace shall be brought home to every soul. To a great degree this must be accomplished by personal labor. This was Christ's method. His work was largely made up of personal interviews. He had a faithful regard for the one-soul audience. Through that one soul the message was often extended to thousands. . . . There are multitudes who will never be reached by the gospel unless it is carried to them.                                                                              228   {ML 227.5}
[ML 228.1]       Work for the Children         But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 19:14 {ML 228.1}
[ML 228.2]            Wherever the Saviour went, the benignity of His countenance and His gentle, kindly manner won the love and confidence of children. . . .  {ML 228.2}
[ML 228.3]          One mother with her child had left her home to find Jesus. On the way she told a neighbor her errand, and the neighbor wanted to have Jesus bless her children. Thus several mothers came together, with their little ones. Some of the children had passed beyond the years of infancy to childhood and youth. . . . But He waited to see how the disciples would treat them. When He saw them send the mothers away, thinking to do Him a favor, He showed them their error,  saying, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." He took the children in His arms, He laid His hands upon them, and gave them the blessing for which they came.  {ML 228.3}
[ML 228.4]          God wants every child of tender age to be His child, to be adopted into His family. Young though they may be, the youth may be members of the household of faith, and have a most precious experience.... Christ will make them little missionaries. The whole current of their thoughts may be changed, so that sin will not appear a thing to be enjoyed but to be hated and shunned.... The Lord will give an experience to these children in missionary lines.  {ML 228.4}
[ML 228.5]          We may bring hundreds and thousands of children to Christ if we will work for them.  {ML 228.5}
[ML 228.6]          The children should be so educated that they will sympathize with the aged and afflicted and will seek to alleviate the sufferings of the poor and distressed. They should be taught to be diligent in missionary work; and from their earliest years self-denial and sacrifice for the good of others and the advancement of Christ's cause should be inculcated, that they may be laborers together with God.                                                                              229   {ML 228.6}
[ML 229.1]       Work for Prominent Men and Women         While he spake ... unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. Matthew 9:18, 19 {ML 229.1}
[ML 229.2]            He ［Christ］ worked for all who would hear His word--not only the publican and the outcasts, but the rich and cultivated Pharisee, the Jewish nobleman, the centurion, and the Roman ruler. This is the kind of work I have ever seen should be done.  {ML 229.2}
[ML 229.3]          The higher classes have been strangely neglected. In the higher walks of life will be found many who will respond to the truth because it is consistent, because it bears the stamp of the high character of the gospel. Not a few of the men of ability thus won to the cause will enter energetically into the Lord's work.  {ML 229.3}
[ML 229.4]          Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the strained, restless relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place--that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis.  {ML 229.4}
[ML 229.5]          We are not to forget the . . . lawyers, ministers, senators, and judges, many of whom are slaves to intemperate habits. We are to leave no effort untried to show them that their souls are worth saving, that eternal life is worth striving for.  {ML 229.5}
[ML 229.6]          The greatest men of the earth are not beyond the power of a wonder-working God.... When converted to Christ, many will become agencies in the hand of God to work for others of their own class.... Only eternity will reveal what has been accomplished by this kind of ministry--how many souls, sick with doubt and tired of worldliness and unrest, have been brought to the great Restorer.                                                                              230   {ML 229.6}
[ML 230.1]       Work for the Needy         And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew 9:35 {ML 230.1}
[ML 230.2]            What a busy life Christ led! Day by day He might be seen entering the humble abodes of want and sorrow, speaking hope to the downcast and peace to the distressed. The poor and suffering received the greatest share of His attention. Children loved Him. They were drawn to Him by His ready sympathy. By His simple, loving words He settled many a difficulty arising among them. Often He took them on His knee and talked with them in a way that won their hearts....  {ML 230.2}
[ML 230.3]          Humble, gracious, tenderhearted, pitiful, He went about doing good, feeding the hungry, lifting up the bowed down, comforting the sorrowing. None who came to Him for aid went away unrelieved. Not a thread of selfishness was woven into the pattern He has left for His children to follow. He lived the life that He would have all live who believe on Him. It was His meat and drink to do the will of His Father. To all who came to Him for help He brought faith and hope and life. Wherever He went He carried blessing.  {ML 230.3}
[ML 230.4]         The tender sympathies of our Saviour were aroused for fallen and suffering humanity. If you would be His followers, you must cultivate compassion and sympathy. Indifference to human woes must give place to lively interest in the sufferings of others. The widow, the orphan, the sick and the dying, will always need help. Here is an opportunity to proclaim the gospel--to hold up Jesus, the hope and consolation of all men. When the suffering body has been relieved, and you have shown a lively interest in the afflicted, the heart is opened, and you can pour in the heavenly balm. If you are looking to Jesus, and drawing from Him knowledge and strength and grace, you can impart His consolation to others, because the Comforter is with you.                                                                              231   {ML 230.4}
[ML 231.1]       Do Good on the Sabbath         It is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Matthew 12:12 {ML 231.1}
[ML 231.2]            According to the fourth commandment the Sabbath was dedicated to rest and religious worship. All secular employment was to be suspended, but works of mercy and benevolence were in accordance with the purpose of the Lord. They were not to be limited by time or place. To relieve the afflicted, to comfort the sorrowing, is a labor of love that does honor to God's holy day.  {ML 231.2}
[ML 231.3]          The necessities of life must be attended to, the sick must be cared for, the wants of the needy must be supplied. He will not be held guiltless who neglects to relieve suffering on the Sabbath. God's holy rest day was made for man, and acts of mercy are in perfect harmony with its intent. God does not desire His creatures to suffer an hour's pain that may be relieved upon the Sabbath or any other day. . . .  {ML 231.3}
[ML 231.4]          The Sabbath is not intended to be a period of useless inactivity. The law forbids secular labor on the rest day of the Lord; the toil that gains a livelihood must cease; no labor for worldly pleasure or profit is lawful upon that day; but as God ceased His labor of creating, and rested upon the Sabbath and blessed it, so man is to leave the occupations of his daily life and devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, to worship, and to holy deeds. The work of Christ in healing the sick was in perfect accord with the law. It honored the Sabbath.  {ML 231.4}
[ML 231.5]          Labor to relieve the suffering was pronounced by our Saviour a work of mercy and no violation of the Sabbath.  {ML 231.5}
[ML 231.6]          The needs of suffering humanity are never to be neglected. The Saviour, by His example, has shown us that it is right to relieve suffering on the Sabbath.                                                                              232   {ML 231.6}
[ML 232.1]       Who is My Neighbor?         But he ... said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? Luke 10:29 {ML 232.1}
[ML 232.2]            Among the Jews the question, "Who is my neighbor?" caused endless dispute. They had no doubt as to the heathen and the Samaritans. These were strangers and enemies. But where should the distinction be made among the people of their own nation, and among the different classes of society? . . . This question Christ answered in the parable of the good Samaritan. He showed that our neighbor does not mean merely one of the church or faith to which we belong. It has no reference to race, color, or class distinction. Our neighbor is every person who needs our help. Our neighbor is every soul who is wounded and bruised by the adversary. Our neighbor is every one who is the property of God.  {ML 232.2}
[ML 232.3]          Every one who is in suffering need is our neighbor. Every straying son and daughter of Adam, who has been ensnared by the enemy of souls and bound in the slavery of wrong habits that blight the God-given manhood or womanhood, is my neighbor.  {ML 232.3}
[ML 232.4]          Our neighbors are not merely our associates and special friends; they are not simply those who belong to our church, or who think as we do. Our neighbors are the whole human family. We are to do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. We are to give to the world an exhibition of what it means to carry out the law of God. We are to love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves.  {ML 232.4}
[ML 232.5]          Today God gives men opportunity to show whether they love their neighbor. He who truly loves God and his fellow man is he who shows mercy to the destitute, the suffering, the wounded, those who are ready to die. God calls upon every man to take up his neglected work, to seek to restore the moral image of the Creator in humanity.                                                                              233   {ML 232.5}
[ML 233.1]       Speak the Truth to My Neighbor         These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates. Zechariah 8:16 {ML 233.1}
[ML 233.2]            To all who are working with Christ I would say, Wherever you can gain access to the people by the fireside, improve your opportunity. Take your Bible, and open before them its great truths. Your success will not depend so much upon your knowledge and accomplishments as upon your ability to find your way to the heart. By being social and coming close to the people, you may turn the current of their thoughts more readily than by the most able discourse.  {ML 233.2}
[ML 233.3]          Take along the publications and ask them to read. When they see that you are sincere they will not despise any of your efforts. There is a way to reach the hardest hearts. Approach in the simplicity and sincerity and humility that will help us to reach the souls of them for whom Christ died.  {ML 233.3}
[ML 233.4]          Allow no opportunity to pass unimproved. Visit those who live near you, and by sympathy and kindness try to reach their hearts. Visit the sick and suffering and show a kindly interest in them. If possible, do something to make them more comfortable. Through this means you can reach their hearts and speak a word for Christ. Eternity alone will reveal how far reaching such a line of labor can be.  {ML 233.4}
[ML 233.5]          Those who do not take up this work, those who act with the indifference that some have manifested, will soon lose their first love and will begin to censure, criticize, and condemn their own brethren.  {ML 233.5}
[ML 233.6]          Those who go forth in the spirit of the Master, seeking to reach souls with the truth, will . . . become more and more vitalized as they give themselves to the service of God. It is a joyous work to open the Scriptures to others.                                                                              234   {ML 233.6}
[ML 234.1]       Save Myself by Saving Others         Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. 1 Timothy 4:16 {ML 234.1}
[ML 234.2]            I have read of a man who, journeying on a winter's day through deep drifts of snow, became benumbed by the cold, which was almost imperceptibly freezing his vital powers. He was nearly chilled to death, and was about to give up the struggle for life, when he heard the moans of a fellow traveler who was also perishing with cold. His sympathy was aroused, and he determined to rescue him. He chafed the ice-cold limbs of the unfortunate man, and after considerable effort raised him to his feet. As the sufferer could not stand, he bore him in sympathizing arms through the very drifts he had thought he could never get through alone.  {ML 234.2}
[ML 234.3]          When he had carried his fellow traveler to a place of safety, the truth flashed home to him that in saving his neighbor he had also saved himself. His earnest efforts to help another had quickened the blood that was freezing in his own veins and sent a healthy warmth to the extremities of his body.  {ML 234.3}
[ML 234.4]          The lesson that in helping others we ourselves receive help must be urged upon young believers continually, by precept and example, that in their Christian experience they may gain the best results. Let the desponding ones, those disposed to think that the way to eternal life is trying and difficult, go to work to help others. Such efforts, united with prayer for divine light, will cause their own hearts to throb with the quickening influence of the grace of God, their own affections to glow with more divine fervor. Their whole Christian life will be more of a reality, more earnest, more prayerful.... The testimonies borne by them in the Sabbath services will be filled with power. With joy they will bear witness to the preciousness of the experience they have gained in working for others.                                                                              235   {ML 234.4}
[ML 235.1]       Be Kind and Tenderhearted         Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 {ML 235.1}
[ML 235.2]            Let the tenderness and mercy that Jesus has revealed in His own precious life be an example to us of the manner in which we should treat our fellow beings.... Many have fainted and become discouraged in the great struggle of life, whom one word of kindly cheer and courage would have strengthened to overcome.... We cannot tell how far reaching may be our tender words of kindness, our Christ-like efforts to lighten some burden. The erring can be restored in no other way than in the spirit of meekness, gentleness, and tender love.  {ML 235.2}
[ML 235.3]          In all your transactions with your fellow men never forget that you are dealing with God's property. Be kind; be pitiful; be courteous. Respect God's purchased possession. Treat one another with tenderness and courtesy.  {ML 235.3}
[ML 235.4]          If you have enmity, suspicion, envy, and jealousy in your hearts, you have a work to do to make these things right. Confess your sins; come into harmony with your brethren. Speak well of them. Throw out no unfavorable hints, no suggestions that will awaken distrust in the minds of others. Guard their reputation as sacredly as you would have them guard yours; love them as you would be loved of Jesus.  {ML 235.4}
[ML 235.5]          The grace of God leads men to place themselves in all their business transactions in the place of those with whom they are dealing. It leads men to look not only on their own things but also on the things of others. It leads them to reveal tenderness, sympathy, and kindness. Cherishing a right spirit, living a holy life--this is what being Christlike means. . . .  {ML 235.5}
[ML 235.6]          Let your life be controlled by the wide, generous principles of the Bible, the principles of good will, kindness, and courtesy.                                                                              236   {ML 235.6}
[ML 236.1]       Have an Understanding Heart         I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart. 1 Kings 3:12 {ML 236.1}
[ML 236.2]            Solomon in his youth made David's choice his own. Above every earthly good he asked of God a wise and understanding heart. . . . The power of his understanding, the extent of his knowledge, the glory of his reign, became the wonder of the world.  {ML 236.2}
[ML 236.3]          The name of Jehovah was greatly honored during the first part of Solomon's reign. The wisdom and righteousness revealed by the king bore witness to all nations of the excellency of the attributes of the God whom he served. For a time Israel was as the light of the world, showing forth the greatness of Jehovah. Not in the surpassing wisdom, the fabulous riches, the far-reaching power and fame that were his, lay the real glory of Solomon's early reign; but in the honor that he brought to the name of the God of Israel through a wise use of the gifts of Heaven.  {ML 236.3}
[ML 236.4]         As the years went by and Solomon's fame increased, he sought to honor God by adding to his mental and spiritual strength and by continuing to impart to others the blessings he received. None understood better than he that it was through the favor of Jehovah that he had come into possession of power and wisdom and understanding, and that these gifts were bestowed that he might give to the world a knowledge of the King of kings.  {ML 236.4}
[ML 236.5]          As the man is converted by the truth, the work of transformation of character goes on. He has an increased measure of understanding, in becoming a man of obedience to God. The mind and will of God become His will, and by constantly looking to God for counsel, he becomes a man of increased understanding. There is a general development of the mind that is unreservedly placed under the guidance of the Spirit of God.                                                                              237   {ML 236.5}
[ML 237.1]       Be Full of Compassion         Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. Psalm 112:4 {ML 237.1}
[ML 237.2]           Wherever there is an impulse of love and sympathy, wherever the heart reaches out to bless and uplift others, there is revealed the working of God's Holy Spirit. In the depths of heathenism men who have had no knowledge of the written law of God, who have never even heard the name of Christ, have been kind to His servants, protecting them at the risk of their own lives. Their acts show the working of a divine power. The Holy Spirit has implanted the grace of Christ in the heart of the savage, quickening his sympathies contrary to his nature, contrary to his education. . . .  {ML 237.2}
[ML 237.3]          Christ is seeking to uplift all who will be lifted to companionship with Himself, that we may be one with Him as He is one with the Father. He permits us to come in contact with suffering and calamity in order to call us out of our selfishness; He seeks to develop in us the attributes of His character--compassion, tenderness, and love. By accepting this work of ministry we place ourselves in His school, to be fitted for the courts of God. . . .  {ML 237.3}
[ML 237.4]          By cooperating with heavenly beings in their work on earth, we are preparing for their companionship in heaven. "Ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation," angels in heaven will welcome those who on earth have lived "not to be ministered unto, but to minister." In this blessed companionship we shall learn, to our eternal joy, all that is wrapped up in the question, "Who is my neighbor?"                             *     *     *     *     *  {ML 237.4}
[ML 237.5]          Every act of love, every word of kindness, every prayer in behalf of the suffering and oppressed, is reported before the eternal throne and placed on heaven's imperishable record.                                                                              238   {ML 237.5}
[ML 238.1]       Sing and Pray With My Neighbors         They sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. 2 Chronicles 29:30 {ML 238.1}
[ML 238.2]            The presentation of the truth in love and sympathy, from house to house, is in harmony with the instruction that Christ gave to His disciples when He sent them out on their first missionary tour. By songs of praise to God, by humble, heartfelt prayers, by a simple presentation of Bible truth in the family circle, many will be reached. The divine ［Worker］ will be present to send conviction to hearts. "I am with you alway" is His promise. With the assurance of the abiding presence of such a Helper, we may labor with hope and faith and courage.  {ML 238.2}
[ML 238.3]         Those who have the gift of song are needed. Song is one of the most effective means of impressing spiritual truth upon the heart. Often by the words of sacred songs the springs of penitence and faith have been unsealed. . . . Church members, young and old, should be educated to go forth to proclaim this last message to the world. If they go in humility, angels of God will go with them, teaching them how to lift up the voice in prayer, how to raise the voice in song, and how to proclaim the gospel message for this time.  {ML 238.3}
[ML 238.4]          Learn to sing the simplest of songs. These will help you in house-to-house labor, and hearts will be touched by the influence of the Holy Spirit. Christ was often heard singing hymns of praise. . . . There was joy in His heart. We learn from the Word that there is joy among the angels of heaven over one repentant sinner and that the Lord rejoices over His church with singing.  {ML 238.4}
[ML 238.5]          As, like the disciples, you go from place to place telling the story of the Saviour's love, you will make friends and will see the fruit of your labor.                                                                              239   {ML 238.5}
[ML 239.1]       Visit Fatherless and Widows         Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:27 {ML 239.1}
[ML 239.2]            Among all whose needs demand our interest, the widow and the fatherless have the strongest claims upon our tender sympathy and care. . . .  {ML 239.2}
[ML 239.3]          The father who has died in the faith, resting upon the eternal promise of God, left his loved ones in full trust that the Lord would care for them. And how does the Lord provide for these bereaved ones? He does not work a miracle in sending manna from heaven, He does not send ravens to bring them food; but He works a miracle upon human hearts, He expels selfishness from the soul, He unseals the fountain of benevolence. He tests the love of His professed followers by committing to their tender mercies the afflicted and bereaved ones, the poor and the orphan.  {ML 239.3}
[ML 239.4]          Many a widowed mother with her fatherless children is bravely striving to bear her double burden, often toiling far beyond her strength in order to keep her little ones with her and to provide for their needs. Little time has she for their training and instruction, little opportunity to surround them with influences that would brighten their lives. She needs encouragement, sympathy, and tangible help. God calls upon us to supply to these children, so far as we can, the want of a father's care. . . . Seek to aid the careworn mother.  {ML 239.4}
[ML 239.5]          In homes supplied with life's comforts, in bins and granaries filled with the yield of abundant harvests, in warehouses stocked with the products of the loom, and vaults stored with gold and silver, God has supplied means for the sustenance of these needy ones.  {ML 239.5}
[ML 239.6]          Those who have pity for the . . . widows, the orphans, and the needy, Christ represents as commandment keepers, who shall have eternal life.                                                                              240   {ML 239.6}
[ML 240.1]       Deal My Bread to the Hungry         Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? Isaiah 58:7 {ML 240.1}
[ML 240.2]            What is pure religion? Christ has told us that pure religion is the exercise of pity, sympathy, and love, in the home, in the church, and in the world. . . .  {ML 240.2}
[ML 240.3]          We are to think and care for others who need our love, our tenderness, and care. We should ever remember that we are representatives of Christ, and that we are to share the blessings that He gives, not with those who can recompense us again, but with those who will appreciate the gifts that will supply their temporal and spiritual necessities. Those who give feasts for the purpose of helping those who have but little pleasure, for the purpose of bringing brightness into their dreary lives, for the purpose of relieving their poverty and distress, are acting unselfishly and in harmony with the instruction of Christ.  {ML 240.3}
[ML 240.4]          All around us we see want and suffering. Families are in need of food; little ones are crying for bread. The houses of the poor lack proper furniture and bedding. Many live in mere hovels which are almost destitute of conveniences. The cry of the poor reaches to heaven. God sees; God hears.  {ML 240.4}
[ML 240.5]          The work of gathering in the needy . . . is the very work which every church that believes the truth for this time should long since have been doing. We are to show the tender sympathy of the Samaritan in supplying physical necessities, feeding the hungry, bringing the poor that are cast out to our homes, gathering from God every day grace and strength that will enable us to reach to the very depths of human misery and help those who cannot possibly help themselves. In doing this work we have a favorable opportunity to set forth Christ the crucified One.                                                                              241   {ML 240.5}
[ML 241.1]       Clothe the Naked         I was . . . naked, and ye clothed me. Matthew 25:35, 36 {ML 241.1}
[ML 241.2]            Christ . . . says, It was I who was hungry and thirsty. It was I who was a stranger. It was I who was sick. It was I who was in prison. . . . While you crowded your wardrobe with rich apparel, I was destitute. While you pursued your pleasures, I languished in prison.  {ML 241.2}
[ML 241.3]          When you doled out the pittance of bread to the starving poor, when you gave those flimsy garments to shield them from the biting frost, did you remember that you were giving to the Lord of glory? All the days of your life I was near you in the person of these afflicted ones, but you did not seek Me. You would not enter into fellowship with Me.  {ML 241.3}
[ML 241.4]          In the professed Christian world there is enough expended in extravagant display, for jewels and ornaments, to supply the wants of all the hungry and clothe the naked in our towns and cities; and yet these professed followers of the meek and lowly Jesus need not deprive themselves of suitable food or comfortable clothing. What will these church members say when confronted in the day of God by the worthy poor, the afflicted, the widows and fatherless, who have known pinching want for the meager necessities of life, while there was expended by these professed followers of Christ, for superfluous clothing, and needless ornaments expressly forbidden in the Word of God, enough to supply all their wants?  {ML 241.4}
[ML 241.5]          In the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah the work that the people of God are to do in Christ's lines is dearly set forth. They are to break every yoke, they are to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked. . . . If they carry out the principles of the law of God in acts of mercy and love, they will represent the character of God to the world, and receive the richest blessings of Heaven.                                                                              242   {ML 241.5}
[ML 242.1]       Relieve the Oppressed         Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Isaiah 1:17 {ML 242.1}
[ML 242.2]            Jesus, the precious Saviour, the pattern man, was firm as a rock where truth and duty were concerned. And His life was a perfect illustration of true courtesy. Kindness and gentleness gave fragrance to His character. He had ever a kind look and a word of comfort and consolation for the needy and oppressed. . . .  {ML 242.2}
[ML 242.3]          When you meet those who are careworn and oppressed, who know not which way to turn to find relief, put your hearts into the work of helping them. It is not God's purpose that His children shall shut themselves up to themselves, taking no interest in the welfare of those less fortunate than themselves. Remember that for them as well as for you Christ has died. Conciliation and kindness will open the way for you to help them, to win their confidence, to inspire them with hope and courage.  {ML 242.3}
[ML 242.4]          Let not men allow their business dealing to rob them of their humaneness. . . . Kind words, pleasant looks, a condescending demeanor, are of great value. There is a charm in the intercourse of men who are truly courteous. . . . How restoring and uplifting the influence of such dealing upon men who are poor and depressed, borne down to the earth by sickness and poverty! Shall we withhold from them the balm that such dealing brings?  {ML 242.4}
[ML 242.5]         Every act of justice, mercy, and benevolence makes melody in heaven. The Father from His throne beholds those who do these acts of mercy, and numbers them with His most precious treasures. "And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels." Every merciful act to the needy, the suffering, is regarded as though done to Jesus. When you succor the poor, sympathize with the afflicted and oppressed, and befriend the orphan, you bring yourselves into a closer relationship to Jesus.                                                                              243   {ML 242.5}
[ML 243.1]       Be Eyes to the Blind; Feet to the Lame         I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. Job 29:15 {ML 243.1}
[ML 243.2]            Watch carefully, prayerfully, conscientiously, lest the mind become so engrossed with many important business transactions that true godliness is overlooked and love is quenched from the soul, notwithstanding the great and pitiful need of your being God's helping hand to the blind and to all others who are unfortunate. The most friendless demand the most attention. Use your time and strength in learning to be "fervent in spirit," to deal justly, and to love mercy, "serving the Lord." Remember that Christ says, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me."  {ML 243.2}
[ML 243.3]          God requires His people to be far more pitiful and considerate of the unfortunate than they are. . . . God requires that the same consideration which should be given to the widow and fatherless be given to the blind and to those suffering under the affliction of other physical infirmities. Disinterested benevolence is very rare in this age of the world. . . .  It is strange that professed Christian men should disregard the plain, positive teachings of the Word of God and feel no compunction of conscience. God places upon them the responsibility of caring for the unfortunate, the blind, the lame, the widow, and the fatherless; but many make no effort to regard it.  {ML 243.3}
[ML 243.4]          There is a great work to be done in our world, and as we approach the close of earth's history, it does not lessen in the least degree; but when the perfect love of God is in the heart, wonderful things will be done.                                                                              244   {ML 243.4}
[ML 244.1]       A Father to the Poor         I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. Job 29:16 {ML 244.1}
[ML 244.2]            This was an evidence that Job had righteousness that was after Christ's order. Through Jesus men may possess a spirit of tender pity toward the needy and distressed. . . . He descended to the lowest humiliation and was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, that He might exalt us to be joint heirs with Himself. The whole world was in need of that which Christ alone could give them. He did not withdraw Himself from those who called upon Him for help. He did not do as many now do, say, "I wish they would not trouble me with their affairs. I want to hoard up my means, to invest it in houses and lands." Jesus, the Majesty of heaven, turned from the splendor of His heavenly home, and in the gracious purpose of His heart He demonstrated the character of God to men throughout the world.  {ML 244.2}
[ML 244.3]          Take away poverty, and we should have no way of understanding the mercy and love of God, no way of knowing the compassionate and sympathetic heavenly Father.  {ML 244.3}
[ML 244.4]          First meet the temporal necessities of the needy and relieve their physical wants and sufferings, and you will then find an open avenue to the heart, where you may plant the good seeds of virtue and religion.  {ML 244.4}
[ML 244.5]          Never does the gospel put on an aspect of greater loveliness than when it is brought to the most needy and destitute regions. . . . Truth from the Word of God enters the hovel of the peasant and lights up the rude cottages of the poor. . . . Rays from the Sun of Righteousness bring gladness to the sick and suffering. Angels of God are there. . . . Those who have been loathed and abandoned are raised through faith and pardon to the dignity of sons and daughters of God.                              *     *     *     *     *  {ML 244.5}
[ML 244.6]          Christianity is the solace of the poor.                                                                              245   {ML 244.6}
[ML 245.1]       Remember Especially Needy Church Members         As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10 {ML 245.1}
[ML 245.2]            In a special sense Christ has laid upon His church the duty of caring for the needy among its own members. He suffers His poor to be in the borders of every church. They are always to be among us, and He places upon the members of the church a personal responsibility to care for them. As the members of a true family care for one another, ministering to the sick, supporting the weak, teaching the ignorant, training the inexperienced, so is the "household of faith" to care for its needy and helpless ones.  {ML 245.2}
[ML 245.3]          It is the duty of each church to make careful, judicious arrangements for the care of its poor and sick.  {ML 245.3}
[ML 245.4]          Any neglect on the part of those who claim to be followers of Christ, a failure to relieve the necessities of a brother or a sister who is bearing the yoke of poverty and oppression, is registered in the books of heaven as shown to Christ in the person of His saints. What a reckoning the Lord will have with many, very many, who present the words of Christ to others but fail to manifest tender sympathy and regard for a brother in the faith who is less fortunate and successful than themselves.  {ML 245.4}
[ML 245.5]          A true Christian is the poor man's friend. He deals with his perplexed and unfortunate brother as one would deal with a delicate, tender, sensitive plant. God wants His workers to move among the sick and suffering as messengers of His love and mercy. He is looking upon us, to see how we are treating one another, whether we are Christlike in our dealing with all, high or low, rich or poor, free or bond.  {ML 245.5}
[ML 245.6]          There is no question in regard to the Lord's poor. They are to be helped in every case where it will be for their benefit.                                                                              246   {ML 245.6}
[ML 246.1]       My Spirituality Strengthened and                               Health Improves         Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Isaiah 58:8 {ML 246.1}
[ML 246.2]            Is not this what we all crave? Oh, there is health and peace in doing the will of our Heavenly Father. "Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."  {ML 246.2}
[ML 246.3]          If thou clothe the naked, and bring the poor . . . to thy house, and deal thy bread to the hungry, "then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily." Doing good is an excellent remedy for disease.  {ML 246.3}
[ML 246.4]          The pleasure of doing good to others imparts a glow to the feelings which flashes through the nerves, quickens the circulation of the blood, and induces mental and physical health.  {ML 246.4}
[ML 246.5]          Pure and undefiled religion is not a sentiment, but the doing of works of mercy and love. This religion is necessary to health and happiness. It enters the polluted soul temple, and with a scourge drives out the sinful intruders. Taking the throne, it consecrates all by its presence, illuminating the heart....It opens the windows of the soul heavenward, letting in the sunshine of God's love. With it comes serenity and composure. Physical, mental, and moral strength increase, because the atmosphere of heaven, as a living, active agency, fills the soul.                                                                              247   {ML 246.5}
[ML 247.1]       I May Shine as the Stars for Ever and Ever         And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:3 {ML 247.1}
[ML 247.2]            He who has appointed "to every man his work," according to his ability, will never let the faithful performance of duty go unrewarded. Every act of loyalty and faith will be crowned with special tokens of God's favor and approbation. To every worker is given the promise: "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."  {ML 247.2}
[ML 247.3]          However short our service or humble our work, if in simple faith we follow Christ, we shall not be disappointed of the reward. That which even the greatest and wisest cannot earn, the weakest and most humble may receive. Heaven's golden gate opens not to the self-exalted. It is not lifted up to the proud in spirit. But the everlasting portals will open wide to the trembling touch of a little child. Blessed will be the recompense of grace to those who have wrought for God in the simplicity of faith and love.  {ML 247.3}
[ML 247.4]          The brows of those who do this work will wear the crown of sacrifice. But they will receive their reward.  {ML 247.4}
[ML 247.5]          To every worker for God this thought should be a stimulus and an encouragement. In this life our work for God often seems to be almost fruitless. Our efforts to do good may be earnest and persevering, yet we may not be permitted to witness their results. To us the effort may seem to be lost. But the Saviour assures us that our work is noted in heaven, and that the recompense cannot fail.  {ML 247.5}
[ML 247.6]         Though his life may be hard and self-denying,...in the sight of heaven it will be a success, and he will be ranked as one of God's noblemen. "They that be wise shall shine as the brightest of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."  {ML 247.6}
[ML 248.1]       Chap. 9 - A Sanctified Life    Sanctification  Wholly Sanctified: Body, Soul, and Spirit         The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 {ML 248.1}
[ML 248.2]           The sanctification set forth in the Sacred Scriptures has to do with the entire being--spirit, soul, and body. Here is the true idea of entire consecration. Paul prays that the church at Thessalonica may enjoy this great blessing. "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23....  {ML 248.2}
[ML 248.3]          True sanctification is an entire conformity to the will of God. Rebellious thoughts and feelings are overcome, and the voice of Jesus awakens a new life, which pervades the entire being. Those who are truly sanctified will not set up their own opinion as a standard of right and wrong. They are not bigoted or self-righteous; but they are jealous of self, ever fearing, lest a promise being left them, they should come short of complying with the conditions upon which the promises are based....  {ML 248.3}
[ML 248.4]          Bible sanctification does not consist in strong emotion. Here is where many are led into error. They make feelings their criterion. When they feel elated or happy, they claim that they are sanctified. Happy feelings or the absence of joy is no evidence that a person is or is not sanctified. There is no such thing as instantaneous sanctification. True sanctification is a daily work, continuing as long as life shall last. Those who are battling with daily temptations, over-coming their own sinful tendencies, and seeking for holiness of heart and life make no boastful claims of holiness. They are hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Sin appears to them exceedingly sinful.                           *     *     *     *     *  {ML 248.4}
[ML 248.5]          Genuine sanctification ... is nothing less than a daily dying to self and daily conformity to the will of God.                                                                              249   {ML 248.5}
[ML 249.1]       A Practical Example of Sanctification         Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27 {ML 249.1}
[ML 249.2]            Here is Bible sanctification. It is not merely a show or outside work. It is sanctification received through the channel of truth. It is truth received in the heart and practically carried out in the life.  {ML 249.2}
[ML 249.3]          Jesus, considered as a man, was perfect, yet He grew in grace. Luke 2:52: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Even the most perfect Christian may increase continually in the knowledge and love of God. . . .  {ML 249.3}
[ML 249.4]          "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen."  {ML 249.4}
[ML 249.5]          Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, or a day. It is a continual growth in grace. We know not one day how strong will be our conflict the next. Satan lives, and is active, and every day we need to cry earnestly to God for help and strength to resist him. As long as Satan reigns we shall have self to subdue, besetments to overcome, and there is no stopping place, there is no point to which we can come and say we have fully attained....  {ML 249.5}
[ML 249.6]          The Christian life is constantly an onward march. Jesus sits as a refiner and purifier of His people; and when His image is perfectly reflected in them, they are perfect and holy, and prepared for translation.  {ML 249.6}
[ML 249.7]          Every living Christian will advance daily in the divine life. As he advances toward perfection, he experiences a conversion to God every day; and this conversion is not completed until he attains to perfection of Christian character, a full preparation for the finishing touch of immortality.                                                                              250   {ML 249.7}
[ML 250.1]       Sanctified Through Obedience         Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you. Leviticus 20:7, 8 {ML 250.1}
[ML 250.2]            Adam and Eve dared to transgress the Lord's requirements, and the terrible result of their sin should be a warning to us not to follow their example of disobedience....There is no genuine sanctification except through obedience to the truth. Those who love God with all the heart will love all His commandments also. The sanctified heart is in harmony with the precepts of God's law; for they are holy, just, and good.  {ML 250.2}
[ML 250.3]          No one who truly loves and fears God will continue to transgress the law in any particular. When man transgresses he is under the condemnation of the law, and it becomes to him a yoke of bondage. Whatever his profession may be he is not justified, which means pardoned.  {ML 250.3}
[ML 250.4]          "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Through obedience comes sanctification of body, soul, and spirit. This sanctification is a progressive work, and an advance from one stage of perfection to another.  {ML 250.4}
[ML 250.5]          Let a living faith run like threads of gold through the performance of even the smallest duties. Then all the daily work will promote Christian growth. There will be a continual looking unto Jesus. Love for Him will give vital force to everything that is undertaken. Thus through the right use of our talents we may link ourselves by a golden chain to the higher world. This is true sanctification, for sanctification consists in the cheerful performance of daily duties in perfect obedience to the will of God.  {ML 250.5}
[ML 250.6]          When it is in the heart to obey God, when efforts are put forth to this end, Jesus accepts this disposition and effort as man's best service, and He makes up for the deficiency with His own divine merit.                                                                              251   {ML 250.6}
[ML 251.1]       The Fruits of Sanctification         Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4 {ML 251.1}
[ML 251.2]            Through Jesus the fallen sons of Adam become "sons of God." "Both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." The Christian's life should be one of faith, of victory, and joy in God. "Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Truly spake God's servant Nehemiah, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." And Paul says: "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  {ML 251.2}
[ML 251.3]          Such are the fruits of Bible conversion and sanctification.  {ML 251.3}
[ML 251.4]          His ［the truly righteous man's］ nature is so thoroughly imbued with love for God and his fellow men that he works the works of Christ with a willing heart.  {ML 251.4}
[ML 251.5]          All who come within the sphere of his influence perceive the beauty and fragrance of his Christian life, while he himself is unconscious of it, for it is in harmony with his habits and inclinations. He prays for divine light, and loves to walk in that light. It is his meat and drink to do the will of his heavenly Father. His life is hid with Christ in God; yet he does not boast of this, nor seem conscious of it. God smiles upon the humble and lowly ones who follow closely in the footsteps of the Master. Angels are attracted to them and love to linger about their path. They may be passed by as unworthy of notice by those who claim exalted attainments and who delight in making prominent their good works: but heavenly angels bend lovingly over them and are as a wall of fire round about them.... To man is granted the privilege of becoming an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ.                                                                              252   {ML 251.5}
[ML 252.1]       Christ Sanctified Himself for Me         As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. John 17:18, 19 {ML 252.1}
[ML 252.2]            Christ declared He sanctified Himself, that we also might be sanctified. He took upon Himself our nature, and became a faultless pattern for men. He made no mistake, that we also might become victors, and enter into His kingdom as overcomers. He prayed that we might be sanctified through the truth. What is truth? He declared, "Thy word is truth." His disciples were to be sanctified through obedience to the truth. He says, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word." That prayer was for us; we have believed in the testimony of the disciples of Christ. He prays that His disciples may be one, even as He and the Father are one; and this unity of believers is to be as testimony to the world that He has sent us, and that we bear the evidence of His grace.  {ML 252.2}
[ML 252.3]          We are to be brought into a sacred nearness with the world's Redeemer. We are to be one with Christ as He is one with the Father. What a wonderful change the people of God experience in coming into unity with the Son of God! We are to have our tastes, inclinations, ambitions, and passions all subdued, and brought into harmony with the mind and spirit of Christ. This is the very work that the Lord is willing to do for those who believe in Him. Our life and deportment are to have a molding power in the world. The spirit of Christ is to have a controlling influence over the life of His followers, so that they will speak and act like Jesus. Christ says, "The glory which thou gavest Me I have given them." ...  {ML 252.3}
[ML 252.4]          The grace of Christ is to work a wonderful transformation in the life and character of its receiver; and if we are truly the disciples of Christ, the world will see that divine power has done something for us; for while we are in the world, we shall not be of it.                                                                              253   {ML 252.4}
[ML 253.1]       Meek Men and Women         He will beautify the meek with salvation. Psalm 149:4 {ML 253.1}
[ML 253.2]           The most precious fruit of sanctification is the grace of meekness. When this grace presides in the soul the disposition is molded by its influence. There is a continual waiting upon God and a submission of the will to His. The understanding grasps every divine truth and the will bows to every divine precept, without doubting or murmuring. True meekness softens and subdues the heart and gives the mind a fitness for the engrafted word. It brings the thoughts into obedience to Jesus Christ. It opens the heart to the Word of God, as Lydia's was opened. It places us with Mary, as learners at the feet of Jesus. "The meek will He guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach His way."  {ML 253.2}
[ML 253.3]          The language of the meek is never that of boasting. Like the child Samuel, they pray, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." When Joshua was placed in the highest position of honor, as commander of Israel, he bade defiance to all the enemies of God. His heart was filled with noble thoughts of his great mission. Yet upon the intimation of a message from Heaven, he placed himself in the position of a little child to be directed. "What saith my Lord unto His servant?" was his response. . . .  {ML 253.3}
[ML 253.4]          Meekness in the school of Christ is one of the marked fruits of the Spirit. It is a grace wrought by the Holy Spirit as a sanctifier, and enables its possessor at all times to control a rash and impetuous temper. . . .  {ML 253.4}
[ML 253.5]          Meekness is the inward adorning, which God estimates as of great price. . . . He who garnished the heavens with the orbs of light has by the same Spirit promised that "He will beautify the meek with salvation." Angels of heaven will register as best adorned those who put on the Lord Jesus Christ and walk with Him in meekness and lowliness of mind.                                                                              254   {ML 253.5}
[ML 254.1]       Daniel's Life of Temperance         But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Daniel 1:8 {ML 254.1}
[ML 254.2]            The life of Daniel is an inspired illustration of what constitutes a sanctified character. It presents a lesson for all, and especially for the young. A strict compliance with the requirements of God is beneficial to the health of body and mind. In order to reach the highest standard of moral and intellectual attainments, it is necessary to seek wisdom and strength from God and to observe strict temperance in all the habits of life. In the experience of Daniel and his companions we have an instance of the triumph of principle over temptation to indulge the appetite. It shows us that through religious principle young men may triumph over the lusts of the flesh, and remain true to God's requirements, even though it cost them a great sacrifice.  {ML 254.2}
[ML 254.3]          Daniel was a devoted servant of the Most High. His long life was filled with noble deeds of service for his Master. His purity of character and unwavering fidelity are equaled only by his humility of heart and his contrition before God. We repeat, The life of Daniel is an inspired illustration of true sanctification.  {ML 254.3}
[ML 254.4]          Wherever they may be, those who are truly sanctified will elevate the moral standards by preserving correct physical habits and, like Daniel, presenting to others an example of temperance and self-denial. . . .  {ML 254.4}
[ML 254.5]          With what care should Christians regulate their habits, that they may preserve the full vigor of every faculty to give to the service of Christ.                             *      *      *      *      *  {ML 254.5}
[ML 254.6]          He who cherishes the light which God has given him upon health reform has an important aid in the work of becoming sanctified through the truth and fitted for immortality.                                                                              255   {ML 254.6}
[ML 255.1]       Enoch's Life of Holiness         Enoch walked with God . . . three hundred years. Genesis 5:22 {ML 255.1}
[ML 255.2]            There was a line of holy men who, elevated and ennobled by communion with God, lived as in the companionship of Heaven. They were men of massive intellect, of wonderful attainments. They had a great and holy mission--to develop a character of righteousness, to teach a lesson of godliness, not only to the men of their time, but for future generations. . . .  {ML 255.2}
[ML 255.3]          Of Enoch it is written that he lived sixty-five years, and begat a son. After that he walked with God three hundred years. During these earlier years Enoch had loved and feared God and had kept His commandments. . . . From the lips of Adam he had learned the dark story of the fall and the cheering one of God's grace as seen in the promise, and he relied upon the Redeemer to come. But after the birth of his first son Enoch reached a higher experience; he was drawn into a closer relationship with God. He realized more fully his own obligations and responsibility as a son of God. And as he saw the child's love for its father, its simple trust in his protection; as he felt the deep, yearning tenderness of his own heart for that first-born son, he learned a precious lesson of the wonderful love of God to men in the gift of His Son and the confidence which the children of God may repose in their heavenly Father. The infinite, unfathomable love of God through Christ became the subject of his meditations day and night, and with all the fervor of his soul he sought to reveal that love to the people among whom he dwelt.  {ML 255.3}
[ML 255.4]          Enoch's walk with God was not in a trance or a vision, but in all the duties of his daily life. . . . In the family and in his intercourse with men, as a husband and father, a friend, a citizen, he was the steadfast, unwavering servant of the Lord.                                                                              256   {ML 255.4}
[ML 256.1]       Steadfast Integrity of the Three Hebrews         Nebuchadnezzar . . . said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said . . . , True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Daniel 3:24, 25 {ML 256.1}
[ML 256.2]            These three Hebrews possessed genuine sanctification. True Christian principle will not stop to weigh consequences. It does not ask, What will people think of me if I do this? or how will it affect my worldly prospects if I do that? With the most intense longing the children of God desire to know what He would have them do, that their works may glorify Him. The Lord has made ample provision that the hearts and lives of all His followers may be controlled by divine grace, that they may be as burning and shining lights in the world.  {ML 256.2}
[ML 256.3]          These faithful Hebrews possessed great natural ability; they had enjoyed the highest intellectual culture, and now occupied a position of honor; but all this did not lead them to forget God. Their powers were yielded to the sanctifying influence of divine grace. By their steadfast integrity they showed forth the praises of Him who had called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. In their wonderful deliverance were displayed, before that vast assembly, the power and majesty of God. Jesus placed Himself by their side in the fiery furnace, and by the glory of His presence convinced the proud king of Babylon that it could be no other than the Son of God. The light of Heaven had been shining forth from Daniel and his companions, until all their associates understood the faith which ennobled their lives and beautified their characters. . . .  {ML 256.3}
[ML 256.4]          What a lesson is here given to the fainthearted, the vacillating, the cowardly in the cause of God! . . . These faithful, steadfast characters exemplify sanctification, while they have no thought of claiming the high honor.                          *      *      *      *      *  {ML 256.4}
[ML 256.5]          Every Christian may enjoy the blessing of sanctification.                                                                              257   {ML 256.5}
[ML 257.1]       John's Love and Loyalty         And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16 {ML 257.1}
[ML 257.2]            The confiding love and unselfish devotion manifested in the life and character of John present lessons of untold value to the Christian church. Some may present him as possessing this love independent of divine grace; but John had, by nature, serious defects of character: he was proud and ambitious and quick to resent slight and injury. . . .  {ML 257.2}
[ML 257.3]          John desired to become like Jesus, and under the transforming influence of the love of Christ, he became meek and lowly of heart. Self was hid in Jesus. He was closely united to the Living Vine, and thus became a partaker of the divine nature. Such will ever be the result of communion with Christ. This is true sanctification.  {ML 257.3}
[ML 257.4]          There may be marked defects in the character of an individual, yet when he becomes a true disciple of Jesus, the power of divine grace makes him a new creature. Christ's love transforms, sanctifies him. But when persons profess to be Christians, and their religion does not make them better men and better women in all the relations of life--living representatives of Christ in disposition and character --they are none of His.  {ML 257.4}
[ML 257.5]          John enjoyed the blessing of true sanctification. But mark, the apostle does not claim to be sinless; he is seeking perfection by walking in the light of God's countenance. He testifies that the man who professes to know God, and yet breaks the divine law, gives the lie to his profession. . . . While we are to love the souls for whom Christ died, and labor for their salvation, we should not make a compromise with sin. We are not to unite with the rebellious, and call this charity. God requires His people in this age of the world to stand, as did John in his time, unflinchingly for the right, in opposition to soul-destroying errors.                                                                              258   {ML 257.5}
[ML 258.1]       Lives of John and Judas Contrasted         The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1 John 2:17 {ML 258.1}
[ML 258.2]            John and his fellow disciples were in a school in which Christ was teacher. . . . John treasured every lesson and constantly sought to bring his life into harmony with the Divine Pattern. The lessons of Jesus, setting forth meekness, humility, and love as essential to growth in grace and a fitness for his work, were of the highest value to John. . . .  {ML 258.2}
[ML 258.3]          An instructive lesson may be drawn from the striking contrast between the character of John and that of Judas. John was a living illustration of sanctification. On the other hand, Judas possessed a form of godliness, while his character was more satanic than divine. He professed to be a disciple of Christ, but in words and in works denied Him.  {ML 258.3}
[ML 258.4]          Judas had the same precious opportunities as had John to study and to imitate the Pattern. He listened to the lessons of Christ, and his character might have been transformed by divine grace. But while John was earnestly warring against his own faults and seeking to assimilate to Christ, Judas was violating his conscience, yielding to temptation, and fastening upon himself habits of dishonesty that would transform him into the image of Satan.  {ML 258.4}
[ML 258.5]          These two disciples represent the Christian world. All profess to be Christ's followers; but while one class walk in humility and meekness, learning of Jesus, the other show that they are not doers of the Word, but hearers only. One class are sanctified through the truth; the other know nothing of the transforming power of divine grace. The former are daily dying to self, and are overcoming sin. The latter are indulging their own lusts, and becoming the servants of Satan.                                                                              259   {ML 258.5}
[ML 259.1]       The Lord Sanctifies Sabbathkeepers         Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. Ezekiel 20:12 {ML 259.1}
[ML 259.2]            The Lord's day mentioned by John was the Sabbath, the day on which Jehovah rested after the great work of creation, and which He blessed and sanctified because He had rested upon it. The Sabbath was as sacredly observed by John upon the Isle of Patmos as when he was among the people, preaching upon that day. By the barren rocks surrounding him, John was reminded of rocky Horeb, and how, when God spoke His law to the people there, He said, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."  {ML 259.2}
[ML 259.3]          The Son of God spoke to Moses from the mountaintop. God made the rocks His sanctuary. His temple was the everlasting hills. The Divine Legislator descended upon the rocky mountain to speak His law in the hearing of all the people, that they might be impressed by the grand and awful exhibition of His power and glory, and fear to transgress His commandments. . . . The law of Jehovah was unchangeable, and the tablets upon which He wrote that law were solid rock, signifying the immutability of His precepts. Rocky Horeb became a sacred spot to all who loved and revered the law of God.  {ML 259.3}
[ML 259.4]          While John was contemplating the scenes of Horeb, the Spirit of Him who sanctified the seventh day, came upon him. He contemplated the sin of Adam in transgressing the divine law, and the fearful results of that transgression. The infinite love of God, in giving His Son to redeem a lost race, seemed too great for language to express. As he presents it in his epistle, he calls upon the church and the world to behold it.  {ML 259.4}
[ML 259.5]          All who regard the Sabbath as a sign between them and God . . . will represent the principles of His government. They will bring into daily practice the laws of His kingdom. Daily it will be their prayer that the sanctification of the Sabbath may rest upon them.                                                                              260   {ML 259.5}
[ML 260.1]       Christ is the Truth         Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6 {ML 260.1}
[ML 260.2]            When Christ bowed on the banks of Jordan, after His baptism, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit descended in the form of a dove, like burnished gold, and encircled Him with its glory; and the voice of God from the highest heaven was heard, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The prayer of Christ in man's behalf opened the gates of heaven, and the Father had responded, accepting the petition for the fallen race. Jesus prayed as our substitute and surety, and now the human family may find access to the Father through the merits of His well-beloved Son. This earth, because of transgression, had been struck off from the continent of heaven. Communication had ceased between man and his Maker; but the way has been opened so that he may return to the Father's house. Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life." The gate of heaven has been left ajar, and the radiance from the throne of God shines into the hearts of those who love Him, even though they dwell in this sin-cursed earth. The light that encircled the divine Son of God will fall upon the pathway of all who follow in His footsteps. There is no reason for discouragement. The promises of God are sure and steadfast.  {ML 260.2}
[ML 260.3]          "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Do you desire to become the sons and daughters of the Most High? . . . You may come unto the Father in the name of His Son, and, no matter how broken and feeble your petitions, Jesus will present them before the throne of infinite power, and the light that was shed upon Him will be reflected upon you. You will be "accepted in the Beloved."                                                                              261   {ML 260.3}
[ML 261.1]       Truth Sanctifies         Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17 {ML 261.1}
[ML 261.2]            The truth of God is to sanctify the soul. "A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." The sanctifying power of truth is to abide in the soul and be carried with us to our business, there to apply its continual tests to every transaction of life, especially to our dealings with our fellow men. It is to abide in our households, having a subduing power upon the life and character of all its inmates.  {ML 261.2}
[ML 261.3]          I must ever urge upon those who profess to believe the truth the necessity of practicing the truth. This means sanctification, and sanctification means the culture and training of every capability for the Lord's service.  {ML 261.3}
[ML 261.4]          Teach your children to love the truth because it is the truth and because they are to be sanctified through the truth and fitted to stand in the grand review that shall erelong determine whether they are qualified to enter into higher work, and become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King.  {ML 261.4}
[ML 261.5]          The truth, the precious truth of God's Word, will have a sanctifying effect upon the heart and character. There is work to be done for ourselves and for our children. The natural heart is full of hatred to the truth, as it is to Jesus. Unless parents shall make it the first business of their lives to guide their children's feet into the path of righteousness from their earliest years, the wrong path will be chosen before the right.  {ML 261.5}
[ML 261.6]          The work of sanctification begins in the home. Those who are Christians in the home will be Christians in the church and in the world.                                                                              262   {ML 261.6}
[ML 262.1]       Truth Elevates         And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Acts 20:32 {ML 262.1}
[ML 262.2]            The precious faith inspired of God imparts strength and nobility of character. As His goodness, His mercy, and His love are dwelt upon, clearer and still clearer will be the perception of truth; higher, holier the desire for purity of heart and clearness of thought. The soul dwelling in the atmosphere of holy thought is transformed by intercourse with God through the study of His Word. Truth is so large, so far reaching, so deep, so broad, that self is lost sight of. The heart is softened and subdued into humility, kindness, and love.  {ML 262.2}
[ML 262.3]          The natural powers are enlarged because of holy obedience. From the study of the words of life, students may come forth with minds expanded, elevated, ennobled. . . . Being pure-minded, they will become strong-minded. Every intellectual faculty will be quickened. They may so educate and discipline themselves that all within the sphere of their influence may see what man can be, and what he can do, when connected with the God of wisdom and power.  {ML 262.3}
[ML 262.4]          The truth of God never degrades the receiver. The influence of the truth upon him who accepts it will tend constantly to his elevation. . . .  {ML 262.4}
[ML 262.5]          Those who are sanctified through the truth are living recommendations of its power and representatives of their risen Lord. The religion of Christ will refine the taste, sanctify the judgment, elevate, purify, and ennoble the soul, making the Christian more and more fit for the society of the heavenly angels.  {ML 262.5}
[ML 262.6]          God bids us fill our minds with great thoughts, pure thoughts. . . . No one with a spirit to appreciate its teachings can read a single passage from the Bible without gaining from it some helpful thought.                                                                              263   {ML 262.6}
[ML 263.1]       Truth Purifies         Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. 1 Peter 1:22 {ML 263.1}
[ML 263.2]            The lily on the lake strikes its roots down deep beneath the surface of rubbish and slime, and through its porous stem draws those properties that will aid its development and bring to light its spotless blossom to repose in purity on the bosom of the lake.  {ML 263.2}
[ML 263.3]          It refuses all that would tarnish and mar its spotless beauty. . . . Let the youth be found in association with those who fear and love God; for these noble, firm characters are represented by the lily that opens its pure blossom on the bosom of the lake. They refuse to be molded by the influences that would demoralize, and gather to themselves only that which will aid the development of a pure and noble character. They are seeking to be conformed to the divine model.  {ML 263.3}
[ML 263.4]          In the estimation of God a pure heart is more precious than the gold of Ophir. A pure heart is the temple where God dwells, the sanctuary where Christ takes up his abode. A pure heart is above everything that is cheap or low; it is a shining light, a treasure house from which come uplifting, sanctified words. It is a place where the imagery of God is recognized, and where the highest delight is to behold his image. It is a heart that finds its whole and only pleasure and satisfaction in God, and whose thoughts and intents and purposes are alive with godliness. Such a heart is a sacred place; it is a treasury of all virtue. . . .  {ML 263.4}
[ML 263.5]          The very thoughts of those whose hearts are pure are brought into captivity to Christ. They are occupied with thinking how they can best glorify God.  {ML 263.5}
[ML 263.6]          It will then be as natural for us to seek purity and holiness. . . as it is for the angels of glory to execute the mission of love assigned to them.                                                                              264   {ML 263.6}
[ML 264.1]       Truth Enlightens         The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 1:18 {ML 264.1}
[ML 264.2]            In a knowledge of God, all true knowledge and real development have their source. Wherever we turn, in the physical, the mental, or the spiritual realm; in whatever we behold, apart from the blight of sin, this knowledge is revealed. Whatever line of investigation we pursue with a sincere purpose to arrive at truth, we are brought in touch with the unseen, mighty Intelligence that is working in and through all. The mind of man is brought into communion with the mind of God, the finite with the Infinite. The effect of such communion on body and mind and soul is beyond estimate.  {ML 264.2}
[ML 264.3]          In this communion is found the highest education. It is God's own method of development. "Acquaint now thyself with Him," is His message to mankind.  {ML 264.3}
[ML 264.4]          As he studies and meditates upon the themes into which "the angels desire to look," he may have their companionship. . . . He may dwell in this world in the atmosphere of heaven, imparting to earth's sorrowing and tempted ones thoughts of hope and longings for holiness; himself coming closer and still closer into fellowship with the Unseen; like him of old who walked with God, drawing nearer and nearer and threshold of the eternal world, until the portals shall open, and he shall enter there. He will find himself no stranger. The voices that will greet him are the voices of the holy ones, who, unseen, were on earth his companions--voices that here he learned to distinguish and to love. He who through the word of God has lived in fellowship with Heaven will find himself at home in heaven's companionship.  {ML 264.4}
[ML 264.5]          Guided by "the Spirit of truth," he will be led into all truth. . . . He will be precious in the sight of heaven.                                                                              265   {ML 264.5}
[ML 265.1]       Truth Transforms         Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. Psalm 15:1, 2 {ML 265.1}
[ML 265.2]           We must present the principles of truth, and let them work upon the hearts of the people. We may pick the leaves from a tree as often as we please, but this will not cause the tree to die; the next season the leaves will come out again as thick as before. But strike the ax at the root of the tree, and not only will the leaves fall off of themselves, but the tree will die. Those who accept the truth, in the love of it, will die to the world, and will become meek and lowly in heart like their divine Lord. Just as soon as the heart is right, the dress, the conversation, the life, will be in harmony with the Word of God. We all need to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. May He help us to plant our feet firmly upon the platform of eternal truth.  {ML 265.2}
[ML 265.3]          The transforming influence of truth sanctifies the soul. He loves the commandments of God. His fear and condemnation are one. The love of Christ, expressed in His great sacrifice to save man, has broken every barrier down. The love of God flows into the soul, and gratitude springs up in the heart that was as cold as a stone. Christ crucified, Christ our righteousness, wins the heart and brings it to repentance. This theme is so simple that children can grasp it, the wise and learned are charmed with it, while they behold it in its depths of wisdom, love, and power which they can never fathom. We want to present this precious truth to the people who are bound in sin. Let all see that Christ was slain for their transgressions, that He desires to save them.  {ML 265.3}
[ML 265.4]         Let us remember that there is need of sanctified pens and sanctified tongues. When we as a people live as God would be pleased to have us live, we shall see the deep movings of His Spirit. Much will then be done for those who have never heard the truth.  {ML 265.4}
[ML 265.5]          We should be pervaded with a deep, abiding sense of the value, sanctity, and the authority of the truth.                                                                              266   {ML 265.5}
[ML 266.1]       Truth Will Triumph Gloriously         Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Isaiah 26:2 {ML 266.1}
[ML 266.2]            The truth of God must be enshrined in the heart, and we must be determined to fight the battles of the Lord, if we would come off conquerors with the final triumph of the truth; for the truth will triumph gloriously. . . . If you are seeking to be a blessing to others, God will bless you. We should bring all the good possible into our lives, that we may glorify God and be a blessing to humanity.  {ML 266.2}
[ML 266.3]          The church is God's agency for the proclamation of truth, empowered by Him to do a special work; and if she is loyal to Him, obedient to all His commandments, there will dwell within her the excellency of divine grace. If she will be true to her allegiance, if she will honor the Lord God of Israel, there is no power that can stand against her.  {ML 266.3}
[ML 266.4]          Zeal for God and His cause moved the disciples to bear witness to the gospel with mighty power. Should not a like zeal fire our hearts with a determination to tell the story of redeeming love, of Christ and Him crucified? It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the Saviour.  {ML 266.4}
[ML 266.5]          If the church will put on the robe of Christ's righteousness, withdrawing from all allegiance with the world, there is before her the dawn of a bright and glorious day. God's promise to her will stand fast forever. He will make her an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Truth, passing by those who despise and reject it, will triumph. Although at times apparently retarded, its progress has never been checked. When the message of God meets with opposition, He gives it additional force, that it may exert greater influence. Endowed with divine energy, it will cut its way through the strongest barriers, and triumph over every obstacle.                                                                              267   {ML 266.5}
[ML 267.1]       The Work of a Lifetime         Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Corinthians 7:1 {ML 267.1}
[ML 267.2]            The formation of a right character is the work of a lifetime, and is the outgrowth of prayerful meditation united with a grand purpose. The excellence of character that you possess must be the result of your own effort. Friends may encourage you, but they cannot do the work for you. Wishing, sighing, dreaming, will never make you great or good. You must climb.  {ML 267.2}
[ML 267.3]          The conversation we have by the fireside, the books we read, the business we transact, are all agents in forming our characters, and day by day decide our eternal destiny.  {ML 267.3}
[ML 267.4]          Mental ability and genius are not character, for these are often possessed by those who have the very opposite of a good character. Reputation is not character. True character is a quality of the soul, revealing itself in the conduct.  {ML 267.4}
[ML 267.5]          A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that we can take from this world to the next. Those who are under the instruction of Christ in this world will take every divine attainment with them to the heavenly mansions. And in heaven we are continually to improve.  {ML 267.5}
[ML 267.6]          A good character is a capital of more value than gold or silver. It is unaffected by panics or failures, and in that day when earthly possessions shall be swept away, it will bring rich returns. Integrity, firmness, and perseverance are qualities that all should seek earnestly to cultivate; for they clothe the possessor with a power which is irresistible--a power which makes him strong to do good, strong to resist evil, strong to bear adversity.                                                                              268   {ML 267.6}
[ML 268.1]       Characters Polished After the Similitude of a Palace         That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace. Psalm 144:12 {ML 268.1}
[ML 268.2]           If the youth rightly appreciate this important matter of character-building, they will see the necessity of doing their work so that it will stand the test of investigation before God. The humblest and weakest, by persevering effort in resisting temptation and seeking wisdom from above, may reach heights that now seem impossible. These attainments cannot come without a determined purpose to be faithful in the fulfillment of little duties. It requires constant watchfulness that crooked traits shall not be left to strengthen. The young may have moral power; for Jesus came into the world that He might be our example, and give to all youth and those of every age divine help.  {ML 268.2}
[ML 268.3]          This world is God's workshop, and every stone that can be used in the heavenly temple must be hewed and polished until it is a tried and precious stone, fitted for its place in the Lord's building. But if we refuse to be trained and disciplined, we shall be as stones that will not be hewed and polished, and that are cast aside at last as useless.  {ML 268.3}
[ML 268.4]          It may be that much work needs to be done . . . , that you are a rough stone, which must be squared and polished before it can fill a place in God's temple. You need not be surprised if with hammer and chisel God cuts away the sharp corners of your character until you are prepared to fill the place He has for you. No human being can accomplish this work. Only by God can it be done. And be assured that He will not strike one useless blow. His every blow is struck in love, for your eternal happiness. He knows your infirmities and works to restore, not to destroy.  {ML 268.4}
[ML 268.5]          A character polished after the similitude of a palace . . . may shine in the courts of the Lord forever.                                                                              269   {ML 268.5}
[ML 269.1]       Righteous Shall Live Forever         For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. Isaiah 51:8 {ML 269.1}
[ML 269.2]            I found, among the articles of clothing I needed, some woolen goods which at first appeared all right, but when brought to the light and shaken thoroughly, revealed the destructive work of moths. Had we not made close inspection, we should not have discovered their depredations. The moth is so small a creature as to be scarcely observable; but the traces of its existence are apparent, and the destruction that it makes with fur and woolen goods shows that it is a practical worker, although out of sight and unsuspected.  {ML 269.2}
[ML 269.3]          Thinking of the secret but destructive work of these moths reminded us of some human beings we had known. How often our hearts have been pained by some sudden revelation in the outward actions of those for whom we had hoped better things, bringing to light their true character, that had heretofore been hidden from the sight of all! When held up before the light of God's Word, the character is found to be like the moth-eaten garment, which, when shaken out and examined, reveals the destructive work that has been going on secretly for years. . . .  {ML 269.3}
[ML 269.4]          It took time for the moth to do its work of destruction so quietly in the dark; and it takes time, little by little, for a child or youth to be easy and happy and feel secure in a course of prevarication, a course of sin hidden from human eyes. Any one act, either good or evil, does not form the character, but thoughts and feelings indulged prepare the way for acts and deeds of the same kind. . . . Be careful not to let your feet take the first step in any evil way. If you will lay the foundation for your character in a pure, virtuous life, seeking help and strength from God, your character will not be like the moth-eaten garment, but it will be firm and solid.                                                                              270   {ML 269.4}
[ML 270.1]       God Loves Most a Beautiful Character         Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Psalm 90:17 {ML 270.1}
[ML 270.2]           God is a lover of the beautiful, but that which He most loves is a beautiful character.... It is beauty of character that shall not perish, but last through the ceaseless ages of eternity.  {ML 270.2}
[ML 270.3]          The great Master-Artist has taken thought for the lilies, making them so beautiful that they outshine the glory of Solomon. How much more does He care for man, who is the image and glory of God. He longs to see His children reveal a character after His similitude. As the sunbeam imparts to the flowers their varied and delicate tints, so does God impart to the soul the beauty of His own character.  {ML 270.3}
[ML 270.4]          All who choose Christ's kingdom of love and righteousness and peace, making its interest paramount to all other, are linked to the world above, and every blessing needed for this life is theirs. In the book of God's providence, the volume of life, we are each given a page. That page contains every particular of our history; even the hairs of the head are numbered. God's children are never absent from His mind.  {ML 270.4}
[ML 270.5]          Worldly display, however imposing, is of no value in God's sight. Above the seen and temporal He values the unseen and eternal. The former is of worth only as it expresses the latter. The choicest productions of art possess no beauty that can compare with the beauty of character, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit's working in the soul. . . .  {ML 270.5}
[ML 270.6]          Christ came to the earth and stood before the children of men with the hoarded love of eternity, and this is the treasure that, through our connection with Him, we are to receive, to reveal, and to impart. . . .  {ML 270.6}
[ML 270.7]          We are to be distinguished from the world because God has placed His seal upon us, because He manifests in us His own character of love.                                                                              271   {ML 270.7}
[ML 271.1]       Perfection, the Goal to Be Gained         Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48 {ML 271.1}
[ML 271.2]            God will accept only those who are determined to aim high. He places every human agent under obligation to do his best. Moral perfection is required of all. Never should we lower the standard of righteousness in order to accommodate inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrongdoing. We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin. All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole, and every one who receives Christ as a personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes.  {ML 271.2}
[ML 271.3]          And those who would be workers together with God must strive for perfection of every organ of the body and quality of the mind. True education is the preparation of the physical, mental, and moral powers for the performance of every duty; it is the training of body, mind, and soul for divine service. This is the education that will endure unto eternal life. . . .  {ML 271.3}
[ML 271.4]          But Christ has given us no assurance that to attain perfection of character is an easy matter. A noble, all-around character is not inherited. It does not come to us by accident. A noble character is earned by individual effort through the merits and grace of Christ. God gives the talents, the powers of the mind; we form the character. It is formed by hard, stern battles with self. Conflict after conflict must be waged against hereditary tendencies. We shall have to criticize ourselves closely, and allow not one unfavorable trait to remain uncorrected.  {ML 271.4}
[ML 271.5]          Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of character. . . . The real difficulty arises from the corruption of an unsanctified heart and an unwillingness to submit to the control of God.  {ML 271.5}
[ML 271.6]          Subjection to the will of Christ means restoration to perfect manhood.                                                                              272   {ML 271.6}
[ML 272.1]       Clothed in the Robe of Righteousness         And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. Revelation 19:8 {ML 272.1}
[ML 272.2]            By the wedding garment . . . is represented the pure, spotless character which Christ's true followers will possess. To the church it is given "that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white," "not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." The fine linen, says the Scripture, "is the righteousness of saints." It is the righteousness of Christ, His own unblemished character, that through faith is imparted to all who receive Him as their personal Saviour. . . .  {ML 272.2}
[ML 272.3]          This robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has in it not one thread of human devising. Christ in His humanity wrought out a perfect character, and this character He offers to impart to us. . . .  {ML 272.3}
[ML 272.4]          When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged in His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness. . . .  {ML 272.4}
[ML 272.5]          Righteousness is rightdoing, and it is by their deeds that all will be judged. Our characters are revealed by what we do.  {ML 272.5}
[ML 272.6]          Let the youth and the little children be taught to choose for themselves that royal robe woven in heaven's loom--the "fine linen, clean and white," which all the holy ones of earth will wear. This robe, Christ's own spotless character, is freely offered to every human being. But all who receive it will receive and wear it here.  {ML 272.6}
[ML 272.7]          Clothed in the glorious apparel of Christ's righteousness, they have a place at the King's feast. They have a right to join the blood-washed throng.                                                                              273   {ML 272.7}
[ML 273.1]       Saints Shall Possess the Kingdom         The saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. Daniel 7:18 {ML 273.1}
[ML 273.2]            God takes none to heaven but those who are first made saints in this world through the grace of Christ, those in whom He can see Christ exemplified. When the love of Christ is an abiding principle in the soul, we shall realize that we are hid with Christ in God. . . .  {ML 273.2}
[ML 273.3]          These only who, by prayer and watchfulness and love, work the works of Christ, can God rejoice over with singing. The more fully the Lord sees the character of His beloved Son revealed in His people, the greater is His satisfaction and delight in them. God Himself and the heavenly angels rejoice over them with singing. The believing sinner is pronounced innocent, while the guilt is placed on Christ. The righteousness of Christ is placed on the debtor's account, and against his name on the balance sheet is written: Pardoned. Eternal Life. . . .  {ML 273.3}
[ML 273.4]          "Ye are God's husbandry." As one takes pleasure in the cultivation of a garden, so God takes pleasure in His believing sons and daughters. A garden demands constant labor. The weeds must be removed; new plants must be set out; branches that are making too rapid development must be pruned back. So the Lord works for His garden, so He tends His plants. He cannot take pleasure in any development that does not reveal the graces of the character of Christ. The blood of Christ has made men and women God's precious charge. . . . Some plants are so feeble that they have hardly any life, and for these the Lord has a special care.                               *    *    *    *    *  {ML 273.4}
[ML 273.5]          Only those will enter heaven who in probationary time have formed a character that breathes a heavenly influence. The saint in heaven must first be a saint upon earth.                                                                              274   {ML 273.5}
[ML 274.1]       Partakers Through God's Promises         Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4 {ML 274.1}
[ML 274.2]            Every promise that is in God's book holds out to us the encouragement that we may be partakers of the divine nature. This is the possibility--to rely upon God, to believe His Word, to work His works, and this we can do when we lay hold of the divinity of Christ. This possibility is worth more to us than all the riches in the world. There is nothing on earth that can compare with it. As we lay hold of the power thus placed within our reach, we receive a hope so strong that we can rely wholly upon God's promise; and laying hold of the possibilities there are in Christ, we become the sons and daughters of God. . . .  {ML 274.2}
[ML 274.3]          He who truly believes in Christ is made partaker of the divine nature, and has power that he can appropriate under every temptation. He will not fall under temptation or be left to defeat. In time of trial he will claim the promises, and by these escape the corruptions that are in the world through lust. . . .  {ML 274.3}
[ML 274.4]          To make us partakers of the divine nature, heaven gave its most costly treasure. The Son of God laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown and came to our earth as a little child. He pledged Himself to live from infancy to manhood a perfect life. He engaged to stand in a fallen world as the representative of the Father. And He would die in behalf of a lost race. What a work was this! . . . I hardly know how to present these points; they are so wonderful, wonderful. . . .  {ML 274.4}
[ML 274.5]          By His life of sacrifice and death of shame He has made it possible for us to take hold of His divinity, and to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. . . . If you are partakers of the divine nature, you will day by day be obtaining a fitting for that life that measures with the life of God. Day by day you will purify your trust in Jesus and follow His example and grow into His likeness until you shall stand before Him perfected.                                                                              275   {ML 274.5}
[ML 275.1]       Christ Dwells in Me         Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. John 6:53-56 {ML 275.1}
[ML 275.2]            To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ is to receive Him as a personal Saviour, believing that He forgives our sins and that we are complete in Him. It is by beholding His love, by dwelling upon it, by drinking it in, that we are to become partakers of His nature. What food is to the body, Christ must be to the soul. Food cannot benefit us unless we eat it, unless it becomes a part of our being. So Christ is of no value to us if we do not know Him as a personal Saviour. A theoretical knowledge will do us no good. We must feed upon Him, receive Him into the heart, so that His life becomes our life. His love, His grace, must be assimilated.  {ML 275.2}
[ML 275.3]          It is not enough even that we believe on Christ for the forgiveness of sin; we must by faith be constantly receiving spiritual strength and nourishment from Him through His word. . . . "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Jesus accepted His Father's law, wrought out its principles in His life, manifested its spirit, and showed its beneficent power in the heart. . . . The followers of Christ must be partakers of His experience. They must receive and assimilate the Word of God so that it shall become the motive power of life and action. By the power of Christ they must be changed into His likeness, and reflect the divine attributes.  {ML 275.3}
[ML 275.4]          It is by receiving the life for us poured out on Calvary's cross that we can live the life of holiness. And this life we receive by receiving His word, by doing those things which He has commanded. Thus we become one with Him.                                                                              276   {ML 275.4}
[ML 276.1]       Dwell Together in Unity         Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1 {ML 276.1}
[ML 276.2]           Christian unity is a mighty agency. It tells in a powerful manner that those who possess it are children of God. It has an irresistible influence upon the world, showing that man in his humanity may be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We are to be one with our fellow men and with Christ, and in Christ one with God. Then of us can be spoken the words, "Ye are complete in Him."  {ML 276.2}
[ML 276.3]          In the plan of redemption a place is allotted to every soul. To each man is given his work. No one can be a member of Christ's body and yet be inactive. . . . The work of God's people may and will be varied, but one Spirit is the mover in it all. All the work done for the Master is to be connected with the great whole. The workers are to labor together in concert, each one controlled by divine power, putting forth undivided effort to draw those around them to Christ. All must move like parts of a well-adjusted machinery, each part dependent on the other part, yet standing distinct in action. And each one is to take the place assigned him and do the work appointed him. God calls upon the members of His church to receive the Holy Spirit, to come together in unity and brotherly sympathy, to bind their interests together in love.  {ML 276.3}
[ML 276.4]          Nothing so manifestly weakens a church as disunion and strife. Nothing so wars against Christ and the truth as this spirit. . . .  {ML 276.4}
[ML 276.5]          He in whose heart Christ abides recognizes Christ abiding in the heart of his brother. Christ never wars against Christ. Christ never exerts an influence against Christ. Christians are to do their work, whatever it may be, in the unity of the Spirit, for the perfecting of the whole body.                                                                              277   {ML 276.5}
[ML 277.1]       Strength From Above         But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 {ML 277.1}
[ML 277.2]            Wonderful are the possibilities before the youth to grasp the assurances of God's Word. Scarcely can the human mind comprehend the spiritual attainments which can be reached by them as they become partakers of the divine nature. Daily correcting mistakes and gaining victories, they grow into wise, strong men and women in Christ.  {ML 277.2}
[ML 277.3]          He who has become a partaker of the divine nature knows that his citizenship is above. He catches the inspiration from the Spirit of Christ. His soul is hid with Christ in God. Such a man Satan can no longer employ as his instrumentality to insinuate himself into the very sanctuary of God, to defile the temple of God. He gains victories at every step. He is filled with ennobling thoughts. He regards every human being as precious, because Christ has died for every soul.  {ML 277.3}
[ML 277.4]          "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles." The man who waits upon the Lord is strong in his strength, strong enough to hold firm under great pressure. Yet he is easy to be entreated on the side of mercy and compassion, which is the side of Christ. The soul that is submissive to God is ready to do the will of God; he diligently and humbly seeks to know that will. He accepts discipline, and is afraid to walk according to his own finite judgment. He communes with God, and his conversation is in heaven.  {ML 277.4}
[ML 277.5]          Linked to the Infinite One, man is made partaker of the divine nature. Upon him the shafts of evil have no effect; for he is clothed with the panoply of Christ's righteousness.  {ML 277.5}
[ML 278.1]       Chap. 10 - A Reverent Life    Respect in My Life  Respect For Parents         Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:12 {ML 278.1}
[ML 278.2]           The best way to educate children to respect their father and mother is to give them the opportunity of seeing the father offering kindly attentions to the mother, and the mother rendering respect and reverence to the father. It is by beholding love in their parents that children are led to obey the fifth commandment. . . .  {ML 278.2}
[ML 278.3]          Our obligation to our parents never ceases. Our love for them, and theirs for us, is not measured by years or distance, and our responsibility can never be set aside. When the nations are gathered before the judgment seat of Christ, but two classes will be represented --those who have identified their interest with Christ and suffering humanity; those who have ignored their God-given obligations, done injury to their fellow men, and dishonor to God. Their eternal destiny will be decided on the ground of what they did and what they did not do to Christ in the person of His saints.  {ML 278.3}
[ML 278.4]          Parents are entitled to a degree of love and respect which is due to no other person. . . . The fifth commandment requires children not only to yield respect, submission, and obedience to their parents, but also to give them love and tenderness, to lighten their cares, to guard their reputation, and to succor and comfort them in old age.  {ML 278.4}
[ML 278.5]          While the parents live it should be the children's joy to honor and respect them. They should bring all the cheerfulness and sunshine into the life of the aged parents that they possibly can. They should smooth their pathway to the grave. There is no better recommendation in this world than that a child has honored his parents, no better record in the books of heaven than that he has loved and honored father and mother.                                                                              279   {ML 278.5}
[ML 279.1]       Respect for the Aged         Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:32 {ML 279.1}
[ML 279.2]            There are services due to others which we cannot ignore and yet keep the commandments of God. To live, think, and act for self only is to become useless as servants of God. . . .  {ML 279.2}
[ML 279.3]         We have in our ranks too many who are restless, talkative, self-commending, and who take the liberty to put themselves forward, having no reverence for age, experience, or office. The church is suffering today for help of an opposite character--modest, quiet, God-fearing men, who will bear disagreeable burdens when laid upon them, not for the name, but to render service to their Master, who died for them. Persons of this character do not think it detracts from their dignity to rise up before the ancient and to treat gray hairs with respect. . . .  {ML 279.3}
[ML 279.4]          Those who fear and reverence God, He will delight to honor. Man may be so elevated as to form the connecting link between heaven and earth. He came from the hand of his Creator with a symmetrical character, endowed with such capacities for improvement that, combining divine influence with human efforts, he might elevate himself almost to an angel's sphere. Yet, when thus elevated, he will be unconscious of his goodness and greatness.  {ML 279.4}
[ML 279.5]          And God has especially enjoined tender respect toward the aged. He says, "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." It tells of battles fought, and victories gained; of burdens borne, and temptations resisted. It tells of weary feet nearing their rest, of places soon to be vacant. Help the children to think of this, and they will smooth the path of the aged by their courtesy and respect and will bring grace and beauty into their young lives as they heed the command to "rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man."                                                                              280   {ML 279.5}
[ML 280.1]       Respect for Authority         Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the forward. 1 Peter 2:17, 18 {ML 280.1}
[ML 280.2]            The apostle plainly outlined the attitude that believers should sustain toward the civil authorities: "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with welldoing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.  {ML 280.2}
[ML 280.3]          It is our duty in every case to obey the laws of our land, unless they conflict with the higher law which God spoke with an audible voice from Sinai and afterward engraved on stone with His own finger. . . . The ten precepts of Jehovah are the foundation of all righteous and good laws. Those who love God's commandments will conform to every good law of the land.  {ML 280.3}
[ML 280.4]          We are to recognize human government as an ordinance of divine appointment and teach obedience to it as a sacred duty, within its legitimate sphere. But when its claims conflict with the claims of God, we must obey God rather than men. God's Word must be recognized as above all human legislation. A "Thus saith the Lord" is not to be set aside for a "Thus saith the church" or a "Thus saith the state." The crown of Christ is to be lifted above the diadems of earthly potentates.  {ML 280.4}
[ML 280.5]          We are not required to defy authorities. Our words, whether spoken or written, should be carefully considered.                           *     *      *      *      *  {ML 280.5}
[ML 280.6]          Teach the people to conform in all things to the laws of their state when they can do so without conflicting with the law of God.                                                                              281   {ML 280.6}
[ML 281.1]       Reverence for God         God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. Psalm 89:7 {ML 281.1}
[ML 281.2]           Another precious grace that should be carefully cherished is reverence. True reverence for God is inspired by a sense of His infinite greatness and a realization of His presence. With this sense of the Unseen the heart of every child should be deeply impressed. The hour and place of prayer and the services of public worship the child should be taught to regard as sacred because God is there. And as reverence is manifested in attitude and demeanor, the feeling that inspires it will be deepened.  {ML 281.2}
[ML 281.3]          Well would it be for young and old to study and ponder and often repeat those words of Holy Writ that show how the place marked by God's special presence should be regarded.  {ML 281.3}
[ML 281.4]          "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet," He commanded Moses at the burning bush; "for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."  {ML 281.4}
[ML 281.5]          Jacob, after beholding the vision of the angels, exclaimed, "The Lord is in this place; and I knew it not."  {ML 281.5}
[ML 281.6]          Humility and reverence should characterize the deportment of all who come into the presence of God. In the name of Jesus we may come before Him with confidence, but we must not approach Him with the boldness of presumption, as though He were on a level with ourselves. There are those who address the great and all-powerful and holy God, who dwelleth in light unapproachable, as they would address an equal, or even an inferior. There are those who conduct themselves in His house as they would not presume to do in the audience chamber of an earthly ruler. These should remember that they are in His sight whom seraphim adore, before whom angels veil their faces. God is greatly to be reverenced; all who truly realize His presence will bow in humility before Him.                                                                              282   {ML 281.6}
[ML 282.1]       Reverence for God's Name         Holy and reverend is his name. Psalm 111:9 {ML 282.1}
[ML 282.2]           Reverence should be shown also for the name of God. Never should that name be spoken lightly or thoughtlessly. Even in prayer its frequent or needless repetition should be avoided.  {ML 282.2}
[ML 282.3]          Those who are brought into covenant relation with God are pledged to speak of Him in the most respectful, reverential manner....  {ML 282.3}
[ML 282.4]          Swearing, and all words spoken in the form of an oath, are dishonoring to God. The Lord sees, the Lord hears, and He will not hold the transgressor guiltless. He will not be mocked. Those who take the name of the Lord in vain will find it a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  {ML 282.4}
[ML 282.5]          By the thoughtless mention of God in common conversation, by appeals to Him in trivial matters, and by the frequent and thoughtless repetition of His name, we dishonor Him.  {ML 282.5}
[ML 282.6]          What faint views some have of the holiness of God, and how much they take His holy and reverend name in vain, without realizing that it is God, the great and terrible God, of whom they are speaking. While praying, many use careless and irreverent expressions, which grieve the tender Spirit of the Lord and cause their petitions to be shut out of heaven.  {ML 282.6}
[ML 282.7]          "Holy and reverend is His name." We are never in any manner to treat lightly the titles or appellations of the Deity. In prayer we enter the audience chamber of the Most High, and we should come before Him with holy awe. The angels veil their faces in His presence. The cherubim and the bright and holy seraphim approach His throne with solemn reverence. How much more should we, finite, sinful beings, come in a reverent manner before the Lord, our Maker!                                                                              283   {ML 282.7}
[ML 283.1]       Reverence for the Word of God         Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. Jeremiah 7:23 {ML 283.1}
[ML 283.2]            You need and I need that the spiritual vision shall be cleared and intensified to behold the scheme of redemption as we have never viewed it before. We want that our hearts should feel the mighty throbs of a Saviour's love. In searching the Scriptures, in feeding upon the words of life, O consider it is the voice of God to the soul. We may be confused sometimes over the voice of our friends; but in the Bible we have the counsel of God upon all important subjects which concern our eternal interests, and in temporal matters we may learn a great deal. Its teaching will be always suited to our peculiar circumstances and calculated to prepare us to endure trial and fit us for our God-given work.  {ML 283.2}
[ML 283.3]          The Bible is God's voice speaking to us, just as surely as if we could hear it with our ears. If we realized this, with what awe we would open God's Word and with what earnestness we would search its precepts. The reading and contemplation of the Scriptures would be regarded as an audience with the Infinite One.  {ML 283.3}
[ML 283.4]          We are to open the Word of God with reverence and with a sincere desire to know the will of God concerning us. The heavenly angels will direct our search. God speaks to us in His Word. We are in the audience chamber of the Most High, in the very presence of God. Christ enters the heart.  {ML 283.4}
[ML 283.5]          Show that you reverence your faith, speaking reverently of sacred things. Never allow one expression of lightness and trifling to escape your lips when quoting Scripture. As you take the Bible in your hands, remember that you are on holy ground.                                                                              284   {ML 283.5}
[ML 284.1]       Reverence in the Home         Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 1 Samuel 2:30 {ML 284.1}
[ML 284.2]           Make the home life as nearly as possible like heaven.  {ML 284.2}
[ML 284.3]          In the home the foundation is laid for the prosperity of the church. The influences that rule in the home life are carried into the church life; therefore, church duties should first begin in the home.  {ML 284.3}
[ML 284.4]          Those who govern their families in the right way will bring into the church an influence of order and reverence.  {ML 284.4}
[ML 284.5]          Fathers and mothers who make God first in their households, who teach their children that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, glorify God before angels and before men. . . . Christ is not a stranger in their homes; His name is a household name, revered and glorified. Angels delight in a home where God reigns supreme and the children are taught to reverence religion, the Bible, and their Creator. Such families can claim the promise, "Them that honour Me, I will honour."  {ML 284.5}
[ML 284.6]          The sacred privilege of communing with God makes distinct and clear the sight of the glorious things prepared for those who love God and reverence His commandments. We need to bring reverence into our daily lives. . . .  {ML 284.6}
[ML 284.7]          We bring too much that is little and common into the daily duties of life, and the result is that we fail to see Him who is invisible. Thus we lose many rich blessings in our religious experience.  {ML 284.7}
[ML 284.8]          True reverence is revealed by obedience. God has commanded nothing that is unessential, and there is no other way of manifesting reverence so pleasing to Him as by obedience to that which He has spoken.                                                                              285   {ML 284.8}
[ML 285.1]       Reverence for God's Representatives         And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. 2 Chronicles 36:15, 16  {ML 285.1}
[ML 285.2]           Reverence should be shown for God's representatives--for ministers, teachers, and parents who are called to speak and act in His stead. In the respect shown to them He is honored.  {ML 285.2}
[ML 285.3]          The education and training of the youth should be of a character that would exalt sacred things and encourage pure devotion for God in His house. Many who profess to be children of the heavenly King have no true appreciation of the sacredness of eternal things. . . .  {ML 285.3}
[ML 285.4]          They are seldom instructed that the minister is God's ambassador, that the message he brings is one of God's appointed agencies in the salvation of souls, and that to all who have the privilege brought within their reach it will be a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. . . .  {ML 285.4}
[ML 285.5]          Many . . . make the service a subject of criticism at home, approving a few things and condemning others. . . . In regard to the service of the sanctuary, if the speaker has a blemish, be afraid to mention it. Talk only of the good work he is doing, of the good ideas he presented, which you should heed as coming through God's agent. . . .  {ML 285.5}
[ML 285.6]          Unless correct ideas of true worship and true reverence are impressed upon the people, there will be a growing tendency to place the sacred and eternal on a level with common things, and those professing the truth will be an offense to God and a disgrace to religion. They can never, with their uncultivated ideas, appreciate a pure and holy heaven, and be prepared to join with the worshipers in the heavenly courts above, where all is purity and perfection, where every being has perfect reverence for God and His holiness.  {ML 285.6}
[ML 285.7]          Paul describes the work of God's ambassadors as that by which every man shall be presented perfect in Christ Jesus.                                                                              286   {ML 285.7}
[ML 286.1]       Reverence for the House of God         Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:30 {ML 286.1}
[ML 286.2]            God is high and holy; and to the humble, believing soul, His house on earth, the place where His people meet for worship, is as the gate of heaven. The song of praise, the words spoken by Christ's ministers, are God's appointed agencies to prepare a people for the church above, for that loftier worship.  {ML 286.2}
[ML 286.3]          When the worshipers enter the place of meeting, they should do so with decorum, passing quietly to their seats. . . . Common talking, whispering, and laughing should not be permitted in the house of worship, either before or after the service. Ardent, active piety should characterize the worshipers.  {ML 286.3}
[ML 286.4]          If some have to wait a few minutes before the meeting begins, let them maintain a true spirit of devotion by silent meditation, keeping the heart uplifted to God in prayer that the service may be of special benefit to their own hearts and lead to the conviction and conversion of other souls. They should remember that heavenly messengers are in the house. We all lose much sweet communion with God by our restlessness, by not encouraging moments of reflection and prayer. . . .  {ML 286.4}
[ML 286.5]          Elevate the standard of Christianity in the minds of your children; help them to weave Jesus into their experience; teach them to have the highest reverence for the house of God and to understand that when they enter the Lord's house it should be with hearts that are softened and subdued by such thoughts as these: "God is here; this is His house. I must have pure thoughts and holiest motives. . . . This is the place where God meets with and blesses His people." . . .  {ML 286.5}
[ML 286.6]          Parents should not only teach, but command, their children to enter the sanctuary with sobriety and reverence.  {ML 286.6}
[ML 286.7]          Practice reverence until it becomes a part of yourself.                                                                              287   {ML 286.7}
[ML 287.1]       Reverence for the Sabbath         Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8 {ML 287.1}
[ML 287.2]            "Remember" is placed at the very first of the fourth commandment. Parents, you need to remember the Sabbath day yourselves to keep it holy. And if you do this, you are giving the proper instruction to your children; they will reverence God's holy day. . . . All through the week keep the Lord's holy Sabbath in view, for that day is to be devoted to the service of God. It is a day when the hands are to rest from worldly employment, when the soul's needs are to receive especial attention.  {ML 287.2}
[ML 287.3]          The Sabbath--oh! make it the sweetest, the most blessed day of the whole week. . . . Parents can and should give attention to their children, reading to them the most attractive portions of Bible history, educating them to reverence the Sabbath day, keeping it according to the commandment. . . . They can make the Sabbath a delight if they will take the proper course. The children can be interested in good reading or in conversation about the salvation of their souls.  {ML 287.3}
[ML 287.4]          During a portion of the day all should have an opportunity to be out of doors. . . . Let their young minds be associated with God in the beautiful scenery of nature, let their attention be called to the tokens of His love to man in His created works. . . . As they view the beautiful things which He has created for the happiness of man, they will be led to regard Him as a tender, loving Father. . . . As the character of God puts on the aspect of love, benevolence, beauty, and attraction, they are drawn to love Him.  {ML 287.4}
[ML 287.5]          The Sabbath is the golden clasp that unites God and His people.  {ML 287.5}
[ML 287.6]          It means eternal salvation to keep the Sabbath holy unto the Lord.                                                                              288   {ML 287.6}
[ML 288.1]       He Is a Living God         The Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king. Jeremiah 10:10 {ML 288.1}
[ML 288.2]            "My presence shall go with thee" (Exodus 33:14), was the promise given during the journey through the wilderness. This assurance was accompanied by a marvelous revelation of Jehovah's character, which enabled Moses to proclaim to all Israel the goodness of God and to instruct them fully concerning the attributes of their invisible King. . . .  {ML 288.2}
[ML 288.3]          Till the close of his long life of patient ministry Moses continued his exhortations to Israel to keep their eyes fixed on their divine Ruler. . . .  {ML 288.3}
[ML 288.4]          With what confidence had Moses assured the Israelites of the merciful attributes of Jehovah! Often during the wilderness sojourn he had pleaded with God in behalf of erring Israel, and the Lord had spared them. . . .  {ML 288.4}
[ML 288.5]          The prophet pleaded the marvelous providences and promises of God in behalf of the chosen nation. And then, as the strongest of all pleas, he urged the love of God for fallen man. . . . "Pardon, I beseech Thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of Thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now." . . .  {ML 288.5}
[ML 288.6]          Graciously the Lord responded, "I have pardoned according to thy word." And then He imparted to Moses, in the form of a prophecy, a knowledge of His purpose concerning the final triumph of His chosen people. "As truly as I live," He declared, "all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." . . . God's glory, His character, His merciful kindness and tender love--all that Moses had pleaded in behalf of Israel was to be revealed to all mankind. And this promise of Jehovah was made doubly sure; it was confirmed by an oath. As surely as God lives and reigns, His glory shall be declared "among the heathen, His wonders among all people.                                                                              289   {ML 288.6}
[ML 289.1]       God Is My Father         Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. 1 John 3:1 {ML 289.1}
[ML 289.2]            What love, what matchless love, that, sinners and aliens as we are, we may be brought back to God and adopted into His family! We may address Him by the endearing name, "Our Father," which is a sign of our affection for Him and a pledge of His tender regard and relationship to us. And the Son of God, beholding the heirs of grace, "is not ashamed to call them brethren." They have even a more sacred relationship to God than have the angels who have never fallen.  {ML 289.2}
[ML 289.3]          All the paternal love which has come down from generation to generation through the channel of human hearts, all the springs of tenderness which have opened in the souls of men, are but as a tiny rill to the boundless ocean, when compared with the infinite, exhaustless love of God. Tongue cannot utter it; pen cannot portray it. You may meditate upon it every day of your life; you may search the Scriptures diligently in order to understand it; you may summon every power and capability that God has given you, in the endeavor to comprehend the love and compassion of the heavenly Father; and yet there is an infinity beyond.  {ML 289.3}
[ML 289.4]          In all His children God beholds the image of His only-begotten Son. He looks upon them with a love greater than any language can express. He enfolds them in the arms of His love. The Lord rejoices over His people.  {ML 289.4}
[ML 289.5]          He has redeemed us out of the careless world and has chosen us to become members of the royal family, sons and daughters of the heavenly King. He invites us to trust in Him with a trust deeper and stronger than that of a child in his earthly father.  {ML 289.5}
[ML 289.6]          God is to us a tender, compassionate, heavenly Father.                                                                              290   {ML 289.6}
[ML 290.1]       God Is With Me         The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalm 46:7 {ML 290.1}
[ML 290.2]           "Emmanuel, God with us," this means everything to us. What a broad foundation does it lay for our faith. What a hope big with immortality does it place before the believing soul. God with us in Christ Jesus to accompany us every step of the journey to heaven. The Holy Spirit with us as a comforter, a guide in our perplexities, to soothe our sorrows, and shield us in temptation. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"  {ML 290.2}
[ML 290.3]          God commanded Moses for Israel, "Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them," and He abode in the sanctuary, in the midst of His people. Through all their weary wandering in the desert, the symbol of His presence was with them. So Christ set up His tabernacle in the midst of our human encampment. He pitched His tent by the side of the tents of men, that He might dwell among us and make us familiar with His divine character and life. . . .  {ML 290.3}
[ML 290.4]          Since Jesus came to dwell with us, we know that God is acquainted with our trials and sympathizes with our griefs. Every son and daughter of Adam may understand that our Creator is the friend of sinners. . . .  {ML 290.4}
[ML 290.5]          "God with us" is the surety of our deliverance from sin, the assurance of our power to obey the law of heaven.  {ML 290.5}
[ML 290.6]          Christ sought to teach the grand truth so needful for us to learn, that God is always with us, an inmate of every dwelling, that He is acquainted with every action performed on earth. He knows the thoughts that are framed in the mind and endorsed by the soul. He hears every word that falls from the lips of human beings. He is walking and working in the midst of all our transactions in life. He knows every plan, and He measures every method.                                                                              291   {ML 290.6}
[ML 291.1]       God Sees Me         Thou God seest me. Genesis 16:13 {ML 291.1}
[ML 291.2]            God is a vigilant observer of the actions of the children of men. Nothing occurs in earth or heaven without the knowledge of the Creator. Nothing can happen without His permission. He on whom the fate of an empire may depend is watched over with a vigilance which knows no relaxation by Him who "giveth salvation unto kings," to whom belong "the shields of the earth." And the poor man is as tenderly watched over as the monarch upon his throne.  {ML 291.2}
[ML 291.3]          God is constantly at work for the good of His creatures. . . . Times without number God has interposed to avert death, to keep men, women, and children in safety when Satan purposed a result wholly disastrous. . . .  {ML 291.3}
[ML 291.4]          This world has been signally blessed by God. Human beings are the recipients of countless mercies. Providence watches over and shields them. Upon them are poured the choicest gifts in heaven's treasury.  {ML 291.4}
[ML 291.5]          God knows you by name. He knows every action of your life.  {ML 291.5}
[ML 291.6]          God knows every thought, every purpose, every plan, every motive. . . . As the artist transfers to the canvas the features of the face, so the features of each individual character are transferred to the books of heaven. God has a perfect photograph of every man's character.  {ML 291.6}
[ML 291.7]          God wants you to recognize the divine presence. His peace and comfort and grace and joy will change the shadow of death into bright morning and blessed sunshine. . . . A reverential spirit realizes that the heart must be kept by the power of God. Ministering angels open the eyes of the mind and heart to see wonderful things in the divine law, in the natural world, and in the eternal things revealed by the Holy Spirit.                                                                              292   {ML 291.7}
[ML 292.1]       God Cares for Me         Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10 {ML 292.1}
[ML 292.2]            The Lord is in active communication with every part of His vast dominions. He is represented as bending toward the earth and its inhabitants. He is listening to every word that is uttered. He hears every groan; He listens to every prayer; He observes the movements of every one. . . .  {ML 292.2}
[ML 292.3]          God has always had a care for His people. . . . Christ taught His disciples that the amount of divine attention given to any object is proportionate to the rank assigned to it in the creation of God. He called their attention to the birds of the air. Not a sparrow, He said, falls to the ground without the notice of our heavenly Father. And if the little sparrow is regarded by Him, surely the souls of those for whom Christ has died are precious in His sight. The value of man, the estimate God places upon him, is revealed in the cross of Calvary. . . .  {ML 292.3}
[ML 292.4]          God's mercy and love for the fallen race have not ceased to accumulate, nor lost their earthward direction.  {ML 292.4}
[ML 292.5]          It is true that disappointments will come; tribulation we must expect; but we are to commit everything, great and small, to God. He does not become perplexed by the multiplicity of our grievances, nor overpowered by the weight of our burdens. His watchcare extends to every household, and encircles every individual; He is concerned in all our business and our sorrows. He marks every tear; He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. All the afflictions and trials that befall us here are permitted, to work out His purposes of love toward us--"that we might be partakers of His holiness," and thus become participants in that fullness of joy which is found in His presence.                                                                              293   {ML 292.5}
[ML 293.1]       God is All in All         Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me. Isaiah 46:9 {ML 293.1}
[ML 293.2]            In heaven God is all in all. There, holiness reigns supreme; there is nothing to mar the perfect harmony with God. If we are indeed journeying thither, the spirit of heaven will dwell in our hearts here. But if we find no pleasure now in the contemplation of heavenly things; if we have no interest in seeking the knowledge of God, no delight in beholding the character of Christ; if holiness has no attractions for us--then we may be sure that our hope of heaven is vain. Perfect conformity to the will of God is the high aim to be constantly before the Christian. He will love to talk of God, of Jesus, of the home of bliss and purity which Christ has prepared for them that love Him. The contemplation of these themes, when the soul feasts upon the blessed assurances of God, the apostle represents as tasting "the powers of the world to come."  {ML 293.2}
[ML 293.3]          The knowledge of God as revealed in Christ is the knowledge that all who are saved must have. It is the knowledge that works transformation of character. This knowledge, received, will re-create the soul in the image of God. It will impart to the whole being a spiritual power that is divine. . . .  {ML 293.3}
[ML 293.4]          "For this cause," Paul says, "I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.                                                                              294   {ML 293.4}
[ML 294.1]       God in Nature         The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Psalm 19:1 {ML 294.1}
[ML 294.2]           God has surrounded us with nature's beautiful scenery to attract and interest the mind. It is His design that we should associate the glories of nature with His character. If we faithfully study the book of nature, we shall find it a fruitful source for contemplating the infinite love and power of God. . . .  {ML 294.2}
[ML 294.3]          The great Master Artist has painted upon heaven's shifting, changing canvas the glories of the setting sun. He has tinted and gilded the heavens with gold, silver, and crimson, as though the portals of high heaven were thrown open, that we might view its gleamings and our imagination take hold of the glory within. Many turn carelessly from this heavenly wrought picture. They fail to trace the infinite love and power of God in the surpassing beauties seen in the heavens, but are almost entranced as they view the imperfect paintings, in imitation of the Master Artist.  {ML 294.3}
[ML 294.4]          The Redeemer of the world chose the open air in which to give His lessons of instruction. . . . He chose the groves and the seaside, where He could have a commanding view of landscape and varied scenery, that He might illustrate important truths of the kingdom of God by the works of God in nature.  {ML 294.4}
[ML 294.5]          Look at the wonderful and beautiful things of nature. Think of their marvelous adaptation to the needs and happiness, not only of man, but of all living creatures. The sunshine and the rain, that gladden and refresh the earth, the hills and seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator's love. It is God who brings the bud to bloom, the flower to fruit. It is He who supplies the daily needs of all His creatures.  {ML 294.5}
[ML 294.6]          The heart is quickened, and throbs with new and deeper love, mingled with awe and reverence, as we contemplate God in nature.                                                                              295   {ML 294.6}
[ML 295.1]       Abundant Life in Christ         I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 {ML 295.1}
[ML 295.2]            All created beings live by the will and power of God. They are recipients of the life of the Son of God. However able and talented, however large their capacities, they are replenished with life from the source of all life. He is the spring, the fountain, of life. Only He who alone hath immortality, dwelling in light and life, could say, "I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again." . . .  {ML 295.2}
[ML 295.3]          Christ was invested with the right to give immortality. The life which He had laid down in humanity, He again took up and gave to humanity. "I am come," He says, "that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." . . .  {ML 295.3}
[ML 295.4]          All who are one with Christ through faith in Him gain an experience which is life unto eternal life. . . . "Because I live, ye shall live also."  {ML 295.4}
[ML 295.5]          Christ became one with humanity, that humanity might become one in Spirit and life with Him. By virtue of this union in obedience to the Word of God, His life becomes their life. He says to the penitent, "I am the resurrection, and the life." Death is looked upon by Christ as sleep--silence, darkness, sleep. He speaks of it as if it were of little moment. "Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me," He says, "shall never die." . . . And to the believing one, death is but a small matter. With him to die is but to sleep.  {ML 295.5}
[ML 295.6]          The same power that raised Christ from the dead will raise His church, and glorify it with Christ, as His bride, above all principalities, above all powers, above every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the heavenly courts, the world above. The victory of the sleeping saints will be glorious on the morning of the resurrection.                                                                              296   {ML 295.6}
[ML 296.1]       Christ Is My Perfect Example         For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. 1 Peter 2:21, 22 {ML 296.1}
[ML 296.2]            Christ is our example in all things. In the providence of God, His early life was passed in Nazareth, where the inhabitants were of that character that He was continually exposed to temptations, and it was necessary for Him to be guarded in order to remain pure and spotless amid so much sin and wickedness. Christ did not select this place Himself. His heavenly Father chose this place for Him, where His character would be tested and tried in a variety of ways. The early life of Christ was subjected to severe trials, hardships, and conflicts, that He might develop the perfect character which makes Him a perfect example for children, youth, and manhood. . . .  {ML 296.2}
[ML 296.3]          The life of Christ was designed to show that purity, stability, and firmness of principle are not dependent upon a life freed from hardships, poverty, and adversity. The trials and privations of which so many youth complain, Christ endured without murmuring. And this discipline is the very experience the youth need, which will give firmness to their character and make them like Christ, strong in spirit to resist temptation. They will not, if they separate from the influence of those who would lead them astray and corrupt their morals, be overcome by the devices of Satan. Through daily prayer to God they will have wisdom and grace from Him to bear the conflicts and stern realities of life, and come off victorious. Fidelity and serenity of mind can only be retained by watchfulness and prayer. Christ's life was an example of persevering energy, which was not allowed to become weakened by reproach, ridicule, privation, or hardships. . . . And in just that degree that they maintain their integrity of character under discouragements will their fortitude, stability, and power of endurance increase, and they wax strong in spirit.                                                                              297   {ML 296.3}
[ML 297.1]       Christ My Elder Brother         Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17 {ML 297.1}
[ML 297.2]            The Elder Brother of our race is by the eternal throne. He looks upon every soul who is turning his face toward Him as the Saviour. He knows by experience what are the weaknesses of humanity, what are our wants, and where lies the strength of our temptations. . . . He is watching over you, trembling child of God. Are you tempted? He will deliver. Are you weak? He will strengthen. Are you ignorant? He will enlighten. Are you wounded? He will heal. The Lord "telleth the number of the stars"; and yet "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."  {ML 297.2}
[ML 297.3]          Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be open for you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment and difficulty. The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you become in His strength. The heavier your burdens, the more blessed the rest in casting them upon your Burden Bearer.  {ML 297.3}
[ML 297.4]          Circumstances may separate friends; the restless waters of the wide sea may roll between us and them. But no circumstances, no distance, can separate us from the Saviour. Wherever we may be, He is at our right hand, to support, maintain, uphold, and cheer. Greater than the love of a mother for her child is Christ's love for His redeemed. It is our privilege to rest in His love; to say, "I will trust Him; for He gave His life for me."  {ML 297.4}
[ML 297.5]          Human love may change, but Christ's love knows no change. When we cry to Him for help, His hand is stretched out to save.  {ML 297.5}
[ML 297.6]          He desires us to realize that He has returned to heaven as our Elder Brother and that the measureless power given Him has been placed at our disposal.                                                                              298   {ML 297.6}
[ML 298.1]       Jesus as a Youth         And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Luke 2:40 {ML 298.1}
[ML 298.2]            Wonderful in its significance is the brief record of His early life: "The child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him." In the sunlight of His Father's countenance Jesus "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." His mind was active and penetrating, with a thoughtfulness and wisdom beyond His years. Yet His character was beautiful in its symmetry. The powers of mind and body developed gradually, in keeping with the laws of childhood.  {ML 298.2}
[ML 298.3]          As a child, Jesus manifested a peculiar loveliness of disposition. His willing hands were ever ready to serve others. He manifested a patience that nothing could disturb and a truthfulness that would never sacrifice integrity. In principle firm as a rock, His life revealed the grace of unselfish courtesy.  {ML 298.3}
[ML 298.4]          With deep earnestness the mother of Jesus watched the unfolding of His powers and beheld the impress of perfection upon His character. With delight she sought to encourage that bright, receptive mind. . . .  {ML 298.4}
[ML 298.5]          From her lips and from the scrolls of the prophets He learned of heavenly things. The very words which He Himself had spoken to Moses for Israel He was now taught at His mother's knee. As He advanced from childhood to youth, he did not seek the schools of the rabbis. He needed not the education to be obtained from such sources; for God was His instructor. . . .  {ML 298.5}
[ML 298.6]          Since He gained knowledge as we may do, His intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures shows how diligently His early years were given to the study of God's Word. . . . From the first dawning of intelligence He was constantly growing in spiritual grace and knowledge of truth.                                                                              299   {ML 298.6}
[ML 299.1]       Christ Was Obedient         And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. . . . And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. Luke 2:51, 52 {ML 299.1}
[ML 299.2]            Notwithstanding the sacred mission of Christ, His exalted relationship with God, of which He was fully aware, He was not above performing the practical duties of life. He was the Creator of the world, and yet He acknowledged His obligation to His earthly parents, and at the call of duty, in compliance with the wishes of His parents, He returned with them from Jerusalem after the Passover, and was subject unto them.  {ML 299.2}
[ML 299.3]          He submitted to restraints of parental authority and acknowledged the obligations of a son, a brother, a friend, and a citizen. He discharged His duties to His earthly parents with respectful courtesy. He was the Majesty of heaven. He had been the great commander in heaven. Angels loved to do His bidding. And now He was a willing servant, a cheerful, obedient son.  {ML 299.3}
[ML 299.4]          Jesus was not turned aside by an influence from the faithful service expected of a son. He did not aim to do anything remarkable to distinguish Himself from other youth or to proclaim His heavenly birth. Even His friends and relatives, in all the years that Christ's life was passed among them, saw no special marks of His divinity. Christ was sedate, self-denying, gentle, cheerful, kind, and ever obedient....  {ML 299.4}
[ML 299.5]          There is an important lesson for parents and children to learn in the silence of the Scriptures in reference to the childhood and youth of Christ. He was our example in all things. In the little notice given of His childhood and youthful life is an example for parents as well as children, that the more quiet and unnoticed the period of childhood and youth is passed, and the more natural and free from artificial excitement, the more safe will it be for the children and the more favorable for the formation of a character of purity, natural simplicity, and true moral worth.                                                                              300   {ML 299.5}
[ML 300.1]       Christ Tempted as We Are         For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15 {ML 300.1}
[ML 300.2]            The coming of Christ to our world was a great event, not only to this world, but to all the worlds in the universe of God. He came to take upon Him our nature, to be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet to leave before us an example of perfect purity and unblemished character. In that He was tempted in all points like as we are, He knows how to sympathize with us. He knows how to pity and how to aid the children and youth; for He too was a child, and He understands every trial and temptation with which children are beset. . . .  {ML 300.2}
[ML 300.3]          His eyes shone with an expression of that love which led Him to leave the heavenly courts and come to earth to die in the sinner's place. . . . He pitied and loved not only those who sought to be obedient and loving, but those also who were wayward and perverse. Jesus has not changed; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He still loves and pities the erring, seeking to draw them to Himself, that He may give them divine aid. He knows that a demon power is struggling in every soul, striving for the mastery; but Jesus came to break the power of Satan and to set the captives free.  {ML 300.3}
[ML 300.4]          In Christ the character of the Father was revealed. As children looked upon His countenance, they saw purity and goodness shining forth from His eyes. In His countenance gentleness, meekness, love, and conscious power were combined. But though every word, every gesture, every expression of His face, betokened His divine supremacy, humility marked His deportment and bearing. He came but for one purpose, and that was the salvation of the lost.                                                                              301   {ML 300.4}
[ML 301.1]       Christ in Me the Hope of Glory         To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27 {ML 301.1}
[ML 301.2]            "Christ in you, the hope of glory." A knowledge of this mystery furnishes a key to every other. It opens to the soul the treasures of the universe, the possibilities of infinite development.  {ML 301.2}
[ML 301.3]          And this development is gained through the constant unfolding to us of the character of God--the glory and the mystery of the written Word. If it were possible for us to attain to a full understanding of God and His Word, there would be for us no further discovery of truth, no greater knowledge, no further development. God would cease to be supreme, and man would cease to advance. Thank God, it is not so. Since God is infinite, and in Him are all the treasures of wisdom, we may to all eternity be ever searching, ever learning, yet never exhaust the riches of His wisdom, His goodness, or His power.  {ML 301.3}
[ML 301.4]          Let the seeker for the salvation of God possess the same energy and earnestness that he would have for worldly treasure, and the object would be gained. . . .  {ML 301.4}
[ML 301.5]          All who are made partakers of His salvation here, and who hope to share the glories of the kingdom hereafter, must gather with Christ. Each must feel that he is responsible for his own case. . . . If these maintain their Christian walk, Jesus will be in them the hope of glory, and they will love to speak forth His praise that they may be refreshed. The cause of their Master will be near and dear to them. . . . Every Christian must go on from strength to strength, and employ all his powers in the cause of God.  {ML 301.5}
[ML 301.6]          The life of the true believer reveals an indwelling Saviour. . . . His whole life is a testimony to the power of the grace of Christ.                                                                              302   {ML 301.6}
[ML 302.1]       My Guardian Angel         For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Psalm 91:11 {ML 302.1}
[ML 302.2]           A guardian angel is appointed to every follower of Christ. These heavenly watchers shield the righteous from the power of the wicked one. This Satan himself recognized when he said, "Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not Thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?" The agency by which God protects His people is presented in the words of the psalmist, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them."  {ML 302.2}
[ML 302.3]          I have seen the tender love that God has for His people, and it is very great. I saw angels over the saints with their wings spread about them. Each saint had an attending angel. If the saints wept through discouragement, or were in danger, the angels that ever attended them would fly quickly upward to carry the tidings, and the angels in the city would cease to sing. . . . They would bear the tidings upward, and all the angels in the city would weep, and then with a loud voice say, "Amen." But if the saints fixed their eyes upon the prize before them, and glorified God by praising Him, then the angels would bear the glad tidings to the city, and the angels in the city would touch their golden harps and sing with a loud voice, "Alleluia!" and the heavenly arches would ring with their lovely songs.  {ML 302.3}
[ML 302.4]          His angels are appointed to watch over us, and if we put ourselves under their guardianship, then in every time of danger they will be at our right hand. When unconsciously we are in danger of exerting a wrong influence, the angels will be by our side, prompting us to a better course, choosing words for us, and influencing our actions. Thus our influence may be a silent, unconscious, but mighty power in drawing others to Christ and the heavenly world.                                                                              303   {ML 302.4}
[ML 303.1]       Angels in My Daily Life         The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. Psalm 34:7 {ML 303.1}
[ML 303.2]           Today . . . heavenly messengers are passing through the length and breadth of the land, seeking to comfort the sorrowing, to protect the impenitent, to win the hearts of men to Christ. We cannot see them personally; nevertheless they are with us, guiding, directing, protecting. . . .  {ML 303.2}
[ML 303.3]          These angels of light create a heavenly atmosphere about the soul, lifting us toward the unseen and the eternal. We cannot behold their forms with our natural sight; only by spiritual vision can we discern heavenly things. The spiritual ear alone can hear the harmony of heavenly voices. . . .  {ML 303.3}
[ML 303.4]          Again and again have angels talked with men as a man speaketh with a friend, and led them to places of security. Again and again have the encouraging words of angels renewed the drooping spirits of the faithful, and carrying their minds above the things of earth, caused them to behold by faith the white robes, the crowns, the palm branches of victory, which overcomers will receive when they surround the great white throne.  {ML 303.4}
[ML 303.5]          It is the work of the angels to come close to the tried, the suffering, the tempted. They labor untiringly in behalf of those for whom Christ died.  {ML 303.5}
[ML 303.6]          Angels are ever present where they are most needed. They are with those who have the hardest battles to fight, with those who must battle against inclination and hereditary tendencies, whose home surroundings are the most discouraging.  {ML 303.6}
[ML 303.7]          Heavenly beings are appointed to do their work of ministry-- to guide, guard, and control those who shall be heirs of salvation. . . . Faithful sentinels are on guard to direct souls in right paths.                                                                              304   {ML 303.7}
[ML 304.1]       Angels Join Me in Soul Winning         Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Hebrews 1:14 {ML 304.1}
[ML 304.2]            The glad message of Hebrews 1:14 is for all. The entire chapter is a wonderful encouragement for every tried and tempted soul. "But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" These messages are coming down along the line to our time, to them that shall be heirs of salvation. Angels actually come to our world. Nor are they always invisible. They sometimes veil their angelic appearance, and appearing as men, they converse with and enlighten human beings. . . .  {ML 304.2}
[ML 304.3]          While some are in the valley of decision, angels are uniting with true, wholehearted servants of Christ to help these needy souls.  {ML 304.3}
[ML 304.4]          If angels occupied the place of man in the administration of the gospel, there would not be whole regions left in darkness and the shadow of death. The work would have been as is represented by the angel flying through the midst of heaven proclaiming the everlasting gospel to them that dwell on the earth. But the Lord does nothing without the cooperation of man. Could the intense interest which the angels have for man be put into voice that would be heard by the human agent, what appeals would be heard in burning words to communicate to others that which heaven had communicated to them.  {ML 304.4}
[ML 304.5]          God has manifested His love to men by making them partakers with Himself in the work of salvation. All to whom the heavenly inspiration has come are put in trust with the gospel. "We are labourers together with God," called to represent Him as ambassadors of love. We are to cooperate with the work of the delegates of heaven. . . .  {ML 304.5}
[ML 304.6]          Through the ministration of angels, God sends light to His people, and through His people the light is to be given to the world.                                                                              305   {ML 304.6}
[ML 305.1]       Angels Employ My Hands to Do His Work         Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Psalm 103:20, 21 {ML 305.1}
[ML 305.2]           Angelic agencies, though invisible, are cooperating with visible human agencies, forming a relief association with men. Is there not something stimulating and inspiring in this thought that the human agent stands as the visible instrument to confer the blessings of angelic agencies? As we are thus laborers together with God, the work bears the inscription of the divine. With what joy and delight all heaven looks upon these blended influences, influences which are acknowledged in the heavenly courts! Human agencies are the hands of heavenly instrumentalities, for heavenly angels employ human hands in practical ministry. Their acts of unselfish ministry make them partakers in the success which is a result of the relief offered. This is Heaven's way of administering saving power. The knowledge and actions of the heavenly order of workers, united with the knowledge and power which are imparted to human agencies, relieve the oppressed and distressed.  {ML 305.2}
[ML 305.3]          The very angels who when Satan was seeking the supremacy fought the battle in the heavenly courts, and triumphed on the side of God; the very angels who from their exalted position shouted for joy over the creation of our world, and over the creation of our first parents, who were to inhabit the earth . . . are most intensely interested to work in union with the fallen, redeemed race in the development of that power which God gives to help every man who will unite with heavenly intelligences to seek and save human beings who are perishing in their sins. . . .  {ML 305.3}
[ML 305.4]          Human agencies are called to be hand helpers, to work out the knowledge and use the facilities of heavenly angels. By uniting with these powers that are omnipotent, we shall be benefited by their higher education and experience. . . . Such a cooperation will accomplish a work which will give honor and glory and majesty to God.                                                                              306   {ML 305.4}
[ML 306.1]       Peter Delivered by an Angel         And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod. Acts 12:11 {ML 306.1}
[ML 306.2]            Peter was confined in a rock-hewn cell, the doors of which were strongly bolted and barred. . . . But the bolts and bars and the Roman guard, which effectually cut off all possibility of human aid, were but to make more complete the triumph of God in the deliverance of Peter. . . .  {ML 306.2}
[ML 306.3]          It is the last night before the proposed execution. A mighty angel is sent from heaven to rescue Peter. . . . He enters the cell, and there lies Peter, sleeping the peaceful sleep of perfect trust. . . .  {ML 306.3}
[ML 306.4]          Not until he feels the touch of the angel's hand and hears a voice saying, "Arise up quickly," does he awaken sufficiently to see his cell illuminated by the light of heaven and an angel of great glory standing before him. Mechanically he obeys the word spoken to him, and as in rising he lifts his hands, he is dimly conscious that the chains have fallen from his wrists. . . .  {ML 306.4}
[ML 306.5]          He ［the angel］ moves toward the door, followed by the usually talkative Peter, now dumb from amazement. They step over the guard, and reach the heavily bolted door, which of its own accord swings open, and closes again immediately. . . .  {ML 306.5}
[ML 306.6]          The second door . . . is reached. It opens . . . with no creaking of hinges or rattling of iron bolts. . . . In the same way they pass through the third gateway, and find themselves in the open street. . . . The angel glides on in front, encircled by a light of dazzling brightness. . . . Thus they pass on through one street, and then, the mission of the angel being accomplished, he suddenly disappears.  {ML 306.6}
[ML 306.7]          Today, as verily as in the days of the apostles, heavenly messengers are passing through the length and breadth of the land. . . . We cannot see them personally; nevertheless they are with us, guiding, directing, protecting.                                                                              307   {ML 306.7}
[ML 307.1]       Angels Are Preparing Me for Eternity         Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Exodus 23:20 {ML 307.1}
[ML 307.2]            All heaven is engaged in the work of preparing a people to stand in the day of the Lord's preparation. The connection of heaven with earth seems very close. . . .  {ML 307.2}
[ML 307.3]          The heavenly intelligences are waiting with almost impatient earnestness to make Him known to the human agents, that they may be laborers together with these heavenly angels in presenting Jesus --the world's Redeemer, full of grace and truth. . . .  {ML 307.3}
[ML 307.4]          The first tear of penitence for sins creates joy among the heavenly angels in the courts of heaven. The heavenly messengers are ready to be on the wing to minister to the soul who is seeking Jesus. . . .  {ML 307.4}
[ML 307.5]          Grand and glorious things hath God prepared for those who love Him. Angels are looking forward with earnest expectation to the final triumph of the people of God, when seraphim and cherubim and the "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands" shall swell the anthems of the blessed and celebrate the triumphs of the mediatorial achievements in the recovery of man.  {ML 307.5}
[ML 307.6]          Jesus counted the cost of the salvation of every son and daughter of Adam. He provided abundant means that, if they would but comply with the conditions, none need perish, but might have everlasting life. . . . Every heavenly intelligence works as His agent to win man to God.  {ML 307.6}
[ML 307.7]          The angels of glory find their joy in . . . giving love and tireless watchcare to souls that are fallen and unholy. Heavenly beings woo the hearts of men; they bring to this dark world light from the courts above; by gentle and patient ministry they move upon the human spirit, to bring the lost into a fellowship with Christ which is even closer than they themselves can know.                                                                              308   {ML 307.7}
[ML 308.1]       Angels Holding the Four Winds         I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, . . . saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Revelation 7:2, 3 {ML 308.1}
[ML 308.2]            Four mighty angels are still holding the four winds of the earth. Terrible destruction is forbidden to come in full. The accidents by land and by sea; the loss of life, steadily increasing, by storm, by tempest, by railroad disaster, by conflagration; the terrible floods, the earthquakes, and the winds will be the stirring up of the nations to one deadly combat, while the angels hold the four winds, forbidding the terrible power of Satan to be exercised in its fury until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads.  {ML 308.2}
[ML 308.3]          Angels are holding the four winds, which are represented as an angry horse seeking to break loose and rush over the face of the whole earth, bearing destruction and death in its path.  {ML 308.3}
[ML 308.4]          A terrible conflict is before us. We are nearing the battle of the great day of God Almighty. That which has been held in control is to be let loose. The angel of mercy is folding her wings, preparing to step down from the throne and leave the world to the control of Satan. The principalities and powers of earth are in bitter revolt against the God of heaven. They are filled with hatred against those who serve Him, and soon, very soon, will be fought the last great battle between good and evil. The earth is to be the battlefield--the scene of the final contest and the final victory.  {ML 308.4}
[ML 308.5]          While their hands were loosening, and the four winds were about to blow, the merciful eye of Jesus gazed on the remnant that were not sealed, and He raised His hands to the Father and pleaded with Him that He had spilled His blood for them. Then another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels and bid them hold until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads.  {ML 308.5}
[ML 309.1]       Chap. 11 - A Victorious Life    Equipped for Victory  Put on the Whole Armor of God         Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:11, 12 {ML 309.1}
[ML 309.2]           It is not safe for us, when going into battle, to cast away our weapons. It is then that we need to be equipped with the whole armor of God. Every piece is essential.  {ML 309.2}
[ML 309.3]          While Satan is constantly seeking to blind their minds to the fact, let Christians never forget that they "wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits ［margin］ in high places." The inspired warning is sounding down the centuries to our time: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." . . .  {ML 309.3}
[ML 309.4]          From the days of Adam to our own time our great enemy has been exercising his power to oppress and destroy. He is now preparing for his last campaign against the church. All who seek to follow Jesus will be brought into conflict with this relentless foe. The more nearly the Christian imitates the divine Pattern, the more surely will he make himself a mark for the attacks of Satan.  {ML 309.4}
[ML 309.5]          We must have on the whole armor of God, and be ready at any moment for a conflict with the powers of darkness. When temptations and trials rush in upon us, let us go to God, and agonize with Him in prayer. He will not turn us away empty, but will give us grace and strength to overcome, and to break the power of the enemy. Oh, that all could see these things in their true light, and endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus! Then would Israel move forward, strong in God, and in the power of His might.                                                                              310   {ML 309.5}
[ML 310.1]       Loins Girt About with Truth         Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand, Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth. Ephesians 6:13, 14 {ML 310.1}
[ML 310.2]            It is when we walk in the light that shines upon us, obeying the truth that is open to our understanding, that we receive greater light. We cannot be excusable in accepting only the light which our fathers had one hundred years ago. . . . We want the truth on every point, and we are to put it in practice daily.  {ML 310.2}
[ML 310.3]          The whole mind and soul should become imbued with the truth, that you may be a living representation of Christ. . . . God would have you filled with His Holy Spirit, endowed with power from on high. Labor not to become great men; but labor rather to become good and perfect men, showing forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. God calls for Calebs and Joshuas, fearless, singlehearted men, who will work with faith and courage.  {ML 310.3}
[ML 310.4]          If the truth of God be not deep rooted in the heart, you cannot stand the test of temptation. There is only one power that can keep us steadfast under the most trying circumstances--the grace of God in truth. The ungodly are lynx-eyed to mark every inconsistency, and prompt to pour contempt on the weak and halting ones. Let the youth make their mark high. Let them seek in humble prayer for that help which Christ has promised, that they may exert an influence upon others that they will not be ashamed to meet in the great day of final settlement and rewards. Those who have exemplified the loftiest Christian principles in every department of business and religious life will have the inexpressible advantage, for they will enter the Paradise of God as conquerors.                                                                              311   {ML 310.4}
[ML 311.1]       The Breastplate of Righteousness         Having on the breastplate of righteousness. Ephesians 6:14 {ML 311.1}
[ML 311.2]            Clad in the armor of Christ's righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. "Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners," she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer.  {ML 311.2}
[ML 311.3]          Only the covering which Christ Himself has provided can make us meet to appear in God's presence. This covering, the robe of His own righteousness, Christ will put upon every repenting, believing soul. "I counsel thee," He says, "to buy of Me . . . white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear." . . .  {ML 311.3}
[ML 311.4]          "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." Everything that we of ourselves can do is defiled by sin. But the Son of God was "manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin." Sin is defined to be "the transgression of the law." But Christ was obedient to every requirement of the law. . . . When on earth He said to His disciples, "I have kept My Father's commandments." By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God's commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ . . . we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness. Then, as the Lord looks upon us, He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah.  {ML 311.4}
[ML 311.5]          To every one God has made an offer that will help to brace every nerve and spiritual muscle for the time of test that is to come to us all. I am charged with the message, Clothe yourself with the whole armor of Christ's righteousness. . . . And, having done all you can do on your part, you have the assurance of victory. To every soul is granted the gracious opportunity of standing on the Rock of Ages.                                                                              312   {ML 311.5}
[ML 312.1]       Feet Shod with Gospel of Peace         And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:15 {ML 312.1}
[ML 312.2]            The Lord is soon coming. Talk it, pray it, believe it. Make it a part of the life. You will have to meet a doubting, objecting spirit, but this will give way before firm, consistent trust in God. When perplexities or hindrances present themselves, lift the soul to God in songs of thanksgiving. Gird on the Christian armor, and be sure that your feet are "shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."  {ML 312.2}
[ML 312.3]          We are living in the midst of an "epidemic of crime," at which thoughtful, God-fearing men everywhere stand aghast. The corruption that prevails, it is beyond the power of the human pen to describe. Every day brings fresh revelations of political strife, bribery, and fraud. Every day brings its heart-sickening record of violence and lawlessness, of indifference to human suffering, of brutal, fiendish destruction of human life. Every day testifies to the increase of insanity, murder, and suicide. Who can doubt that satanic agencies are at work among men with increasing activity to distract and corrupt the mind and defile and destroy the body? . . .  {ML 312.3}
[ML 312.4]          Everywhere there are hearts crying out for something which they have not. They long for a power that will give them mastery over sin, a power that will deliver them from the bondage of evil, a power that will give health and life and peace. Many who once knew the power of God's Word have dwelt where there is no recognition of God, and they long for the divine presence.  {ML 312.4}
[ML 312.5]          The world needs today what it needed nineteen hundred years ago--a revelation of Christ.  {ML 312.5}
[ML 312.6]          For earth's sin and misery the gospel is the only antidote.                                                                              313   {ML 312.6}
[ML 313.1]       The Shield of Faith         Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Ephesians 6:16 {ML 313.1}
[ML 313.2]            Faith in God's Word, prayerfully studied and practically applied, will be our shield from Satan's power and will bring us off conquerors through the blood of Christ.  {ML 313.2}
[ML 313.3]          When souls are converted their salvation is not yet accomplished. They then have the race to run; the arduous struggle is before them to do, what? "To fight the good fight of faith," to press forward to the mark for the prize of the high calling which is in Christ Jesus. There is no release in this warfare; the battle is lifelong, and must be carried forward with determined energy proportionate to the value of the object you are in pursuit of, which is eternal life. Immense interests are here involved. We are made partakers of Christ's self-sacrifice here in this life, and then we are assured that we shall be partakers of all its benefits in the future immortal life, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. Think of this.  {ML 313.3}
[ML 313.4]          The promise is, "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape." Maintain to the last your Christian integrity, and do not murmur against God. . . . Consider that eternal interests are here involved. You cannot afford to become discouraged and cast away your confidence. The Lord loves you, trust in the Lord. The Lord Jesus is your only hope. Make sure work for eternity. You must not murmur or complain or condemn yourself. Neglect no means of grace. Encourage your soul to believe and to trust in God.  {ML 313.4}
[ML 313.5]          In the Lord we have righteousness and strength. Lean upon Him, and through His power you may quench all the fiery darts of the adversary and come off more than conqueror.                                                                              314   {ML 313.5}
[ML 314.1]       The Helmet of Salvation         For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. Isaiah 59:17 {ML 314.1}
[ML 314.2]            Many have confused ideas in regard to conversion. They have often heard the words repeated from the pulpit, "Ye must be born again." "You must have a new heart." These expressions have perplexed them. They could not comprehend the plan of salvation.  {ML 314.2}
[ML 314.3]          Many have stumbled to ruin because of the erroneous doctrines taught by some ministers concerning the change that takes place at conversion. Some have lived in sadness for years, waiting for some marked evidence that they were accepted by God. They have separated themselves in a large measure from the world, and find pleasure in associating with the people of God; yet they dare not profess Christ, because they fear it would be presumption to say that they are children of God. They are waiting for that peculiar change that they have been led to believe is connected with conversion.  {ML 314.3}
[ML 314.4]          After a time some of these do receive evidence of their acceptance with God, and are then led to identify themselves with His people. And they date their conversion from this time. But . . . they were adopted into the family of God before that time. God accepted them when they became weary of sin, and having lost their desire for worldly pleasures, resolved to seek God earnestly. But, failing to understand the simplicity of the plan of salvation, they lost many privileges and blessings which they might have claimed had they only believed, when they first turned to God, that He had accepted them.  {ML 314.4}
[ML 314.5]          Others fall into a more dangerous error. They are governed by impulse. Their sympathies are stirred, and they regard this flight of feeling as an evidence that they are accepted by God and are converted. But the principles of their life are not changed. The evidences of a genuine work of grace on the heart are to be found not in feeling, but in the life.                                                                              315   {ML 314.5}
[ML 315.1]       The Sword of the Spirit         And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17 {ML 315.1}
[ML 315.2]            We know the dangers and temptations that beset the youth at the present time are not few or small. . . . We live in an age when to resist evil calls for constant watchfulness and prayer. God's precious Word is the standard for youth who would be loyal to the King of heaven. Let them study the Scriptures. Let them commit text after text to memory, and acquire a knowledge of what the Lord has said. . . . And in trial let the youth spread out the Word of God before them, and with humble hearts, and in faith, seek the Lord for wisdom to find out His way, and for strength to walk in it. . . .  {ML 315.2}
[ML 315.3]          Let our young men institute a warfare against every habit that has the least danger of leading the soul from duty and devotion. Let them have stated seasons for prayer, never neglecting them if it can possibly be avoided. If they go out to battle with their vicious habits indulged as before they professed fellowship with Christ, they will soon fall an easy prey to Satan's devices. But armed with the Word of God, having it treasured in heart and mind, they will come forth unharmed by all the assaults of the foes of God or man. . . .  {ML 315.3}
[ML 315.4]          In the name of God lift your banner for truth and righteousness-- the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. You need the perfect armor of truth now, the sword of the Spirit, whose edge will never be blunted, but will cut its way through sin and unrighteousness.  {ML 315.4}
[ML 315.5]          Let them take the Word of truth as the man of their counsel, and become skillful in the use of "the sword of the Spirit." Satan is a wise general; but the humble, devoted soldier of Jesus Christ may overcome him.                                                                              316   {ML 315.5}
[ML 316.1]       In Christ There is Strength         Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me. Isaiah 27:5 {ML 316.1}
[ML 316.2]            The enemy cannot overcome the humble learner of Christ, the one who walks prayerfully before the Lord. Christ interposes Himself as a shelter, a retreat, from the assaults of the wicked one. The promise is given, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." . . .  {ML 316.2}
[ML 316.3]          Satan was permitted to tempt the too-confident Peter, as he had been permitted to tempt Job; but when that work was done he had to retire. Had Satan been suffered to have his way, there would have been no hope for Peter. He would have made complete shipwreck of faith. But the enemy dare not go one hairbreadth beyond his appointed sphere. There is no power in the whole satanic force that can disable the soul that trusts, in simple confidence, in the wisdom that comes from God.  {ML 316.3}
[ML 316.4]          Christ is our tower of strength, and Satan can have no power over the soul that walks with God in humility of mind. The promise, "Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me." In Christ there is perfect and complete help for every tempted soul. Dangers beset every path, but the whole universe of heaven is standing on guard, that none may be tempted above that which he is able to bear. Some have strong traits of character, that will need to be constantly repressed. If kept under the control of the Spirit of God, these traits will be a blessing; but if not, they will prove a curse. . . . If we will give ourselves unselfishly to the work, never swerving in the least from principle, the Lord will throw about us the everlasting arms, and will prove a mighty helper. If we will look to Jesus as the One in whom we may trust, He will never fail us in any emergency.                                                                              317   {ML 316.4}
[ML 317.1]       Through Christ There is Victory         Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 {ML 317.1}
[ML 317.2]            Christ has power from His Father to give His divine grace and strength to man, making it possible for him through His name to overcome. . . .  {ML 317.2}
[ML 317.3]          All are personally exposed to the temptations that Christ overcame, but strength is provided for them in the all-powerful name of the great Conqueror. And all must, for themselves, individually overcome.  {ML 317.3}
[ML 317.4]          He knows every trial and sorrow of childhood and youth. He was once just your age. The temptations and trials which come to you came also to Him. The sorrows which come to you came to Him. But He was never overcome by temptation. His life held nothing that was not pure and noble. He is your helper, your Redeemer.  {ML 317.4}
[ML 317.5]          His heart of divine love and sympathy is drawn out most of all for the one who is the most hopelessly entangled in the snares of the enemy. With His own blood He has signed the emancipation papers of the race.  {ML 317.5}
[ML 317.6]          Jesus does not desire those who have been purchased at such a cost to become the sport of the enemy's temptations. He does not desire us to be overcome and perish. He who curbed the lions in their den and walked with His faithful witnesses amid the fiery flames is just as ready to work in our behalf, to subdue every evil in our nature. Today He is standing at the altar of mercy, presenting before God the prayers of those who desire His help. He turns no weeping, contrite one away. . . . The souls that turn to Him for refuge, Jesus lifts above the accusing and the strife of tongues. No man or evil angel can impeach these souls. Christ unites them to His own divine-human nature.                                                                              318   {ML 317.6}
[ML 318.1]       The Will is the Deciding Power         Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2 {ML 318.1}
[ML 318.2]            There is nothing that can keep you away from God but a rebellious will.  {ML 318.2}
[ML 318.3]          The will is the governing power in the nature of man. If the will is set right, all the rest of the being will come under its sway. The will is not the taste or the inclination, but it is the choice, the deciding power, the kingly power, which works in the children of men unto obedience to God or to disobedience.  {ML 318.3}
[ML 318.4]          You will be in constant peril until you understand the true force of the will. You may believe and promise all things, but your promises and your faith are of no account until you put your will on the right side. If you will fight the fight of faith with your will power, there is no doubt that you will conquer.  {ML 318.4}
[ML 318.5]          Your part is to put your will on the side of Christ. When you yield your will to His, He immediately takes possession of you, and works in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. Your nature is brought under the control of His Spirit. Even your thoughts are subject to Him. If you cannot control your impulses, your emotions, as you may desire, you can control the will, and thus an entire change will be wrought in your life. When you yield up your will to Christ, your life is hid with Christ in God. It is allied to the power which is above all principalities and powers. You have a strength from God that holds you fast to His strength; and a new life, even the life of faith, is possible to you.  {ML 318.5}
[ML 318.6]          You can never be successful in elevating yourself, unless your will is on the side of Christ, cooperating with the Spirit of God. Do not feel that you cannot; but say, "I can, I will." And God has pledged His Holy Spirit to help you in every decided effort.                                                                              319   {ML 318.6}
[ML 319.1]       First Victories Won in the Home         Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. . . . Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:1-3 {ML 319.1}
[ML 319.2]            In all that pertains to the success of God's work, the very first victories are to be won in the home life.  {ML 319.2}
[ML 319.3]          Beyond the discipline of the home and the school, all have to meet the stern discipline of life. How to meet this wisely is a lesson that should be made plain to every child and to every youth. It is true that God loves us, that He is working for our happiness, and that, if His law had always been obeyed, we should never have known suffering; and it is no less true that, in this world, as the result of sin, suffering, trouble, burdens, come to every life. We may do the children and the youth a lifelong good by teaching them to meet bravely these troubles and burdens. While we should give them sympathy, let it never be such as to foster self-pity. What they need is that which stimulates and strengthens rather than weakens.  {ML 319.3}
[ML 319.4]          They should be taught that this world is not a parade ground, but a battlefield. All are called to endure hardness, as good soldiers. They are to be strong, and quit themselves like men. Let them be taught that the true test of character is found in the willingness to bear burdens, to take the hard place, to do the work that needs to be done, though it bring no earthly recognition or reward.  {ML 319.4}
[ML 319.5]          There is no greater curse upon households than to allow the youth to have their own way.  {ML 319.5}
[ML 319.6]          Temptation once resisted will give power to more firmly resist the second time; every new victory gained over self will smooth the way for higher and nobler triumphs. Every victory is a seed sown to eternal life.                                                                              320   {ML 319.6}
[ML 320.1]       Be Steadfast, Unmovable         Therefore, my beloved brethren, be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58 {ML 320.1}
[ML 320.2]            Those who stand in defense of the honor of God, and maintain the purity of truth at any cost, will have manifold trials, as did our Saviour in the wilderness of temptation. The yielding temperaments, who have not courage to condemn wrong, but keep silent when their influence is needed to stand in the defense of right against any pressure, may avoid many heartaches and escape many perplexities, and lose a very rich reward, if not their own souls.  {ML 320.2}
[ML 320.3]          Those who in harmony with God, and through faith in Him, receive strength to resist wrong, and stand in defense of the right, will always have severe conflicts and will frequently have to stand almost alone. But precious victories will be theirs while they make God their dependence. His grace will be their strength. Their moral sense will be keen, clear, and sensitive. Their moral powers will be equal to withstand wrong influences. Their integrity, like that of Moses, of the purest character.  {ML 320.3}
[ML 320.4]          It will require moral courage to do God's work unflinchingly. Those who do this can give no place to self-love, to selfish considerations, ambition, love of ease, or desire to shun the cross. . . . Shall we obey His voice, or shall we listen to the soothing voice of the evil one, and be rocked to a fatal slumber just on the eve of eternal realities?  {ML 320.4}
[ML 320.5]          Our Saviour longs to save the young. . . . He is waiting to place upon their heads the crown of life and hear their happy voices join in ascribing honor and glory and majesty to God and the Lamb in the song of victory that shall echo and re-echo throughout the courts of heaven.                                                                              321  {ML 320.5}
[ML 321.1]    Walk in the Light         O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Psalm 43:3 {ML 321.1}
[ML 321.2]           In these days of peril we should be exceedingly careful not to reject the rays of light which Heaven in mercy sends us, for it is by these that we are to discern the devices of the enemy. We need light from Heaven every hour, that we may distinguish between the sacred and the common, the eternal and the temporal. If left to ourselves, we shall blunder at every step; we shall incline to the world, we shall shun self-denial, and see no necessity for constant watchfulness and prayer, and we shall be taken captive by Satan at his will. Some are today in this position. Having refused the light which God has sent them, they know not at what they stumble.  {ML 321.2}
[ML 321.3]          All whose names shall at last be found written in the Lamb's book of life will fight manfully the battles of the Lord. They will labor most earnestly to discern and put away temptations and every evil thing. They will feel that the eye of God is upon them and that the strictest fidelity is required. As faithful sentinels they will keep the passage barred, that Satan may not pass them disguised as an angel of light to work his work of death in their midst. . . .  {ML 321.3}
[ML 321.4]          The white-robed ones who surround the throne of God are not composed of that company who were lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, and who choose to drift with the current rather than to breast the waves of opposition. All who remain pure and uncorrupted from the spirit and influence prevailing at this time will have stern conflicts. They will come through great tribulation; they will wash their robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. These will sing the song of triumph in the kingdom of glory.                                                                              322   {ML 321.4}
[ML 322.1]       Hold Fast         Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Revelation 3:11 {ML 322.1}
[ML 322.2]            Decisions may be made in a moment that fix one's condition forever. . . . But remember, it would take the work of a lifetime to recover what a moment of yielding to temptation and thoughtlessness throws away. . . .  {ML 322.2}
[ML 322.3]          By a momentary act of will you may place yourself in the power of Satan, but it will require more than a momentary act of will to break his fetters and reach for a higher, holier life. The purpose may be formed, the work begun, but its accomplishment will require toil, time, and perseverance, patience, and sacrifice. The man who  deliberately wanders from God in the full blaze of light will find, when he wishes to set his face to return, that briars and thorns have grown up in his path, and he must not be surprised or discouraged if he is compelled to travel long with torn and bleeding feet. The most fearful and most to be dreaded evidence of man's fall from a better state is the fact that it costs so much to get back. The way of return can be gained only by hard fighting, inch by inch, every hour. . . .  {ML 322.3}
[ML 322.4]          Those who win heaven will put forth their noblest efforts and will labor with all long-suffering, that they may reap the fruit of toil. There is a hand that will open wide the gates of Paradise to those who have stood the test of temptation and kept a good conscience by giving up the world, its honors, its applause, for the love of Christ, thus confessing Him before men and waiting with all patience for Him to confess them before His Father and the holy angels.  {ML 322.4}
[ML 322.5]          Keep the conscience tender, that you may hear the faintest whisper of the voice that spake as never man spake.                                                                              323   {ML 322.5}
[ML 323.1]       Christ's Victory as Complete as Adam's Failure         For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Romans 5:19 {ML 323.1}
[ML 323.2]            Christ is called the second Adam. In purity and holiness, connected with God and beloved by God, He began where the first Adam began. Willingly He passed over the ground where Adam fell, and redeemed Adam's failure.  {ML 323.2}
[ML 323.3]          But the first Adam was in every way more favorably situated than was Christ. The wonderful provision made for man in Eden was made by a God who loved him. Everything in nature was pure and undefiled. . . . Not a shadow interposed between them ［Adam and Eve］ and their Creator. They knew God as their beneficent Father, and in all things their will was conformed to the will of God. . . .  {ML 323.3}
[ML 323.4]          But Satan came to the dwellers in Eden and insinuated doubts of God's wisdom. He accused Him, their Heavenly Father and Sovereign, of selfishness, because, to test their loyalty, He had prohibited them from eating of the tree of knowledge. . . .  {ML 323.4}
[ML 323.5]          Christ was tempted by Satan in a hundredfold severer manner than was Adam, and under circumstances in every way more trying. The deceiver presented himself as an angel of light, but Christ withstood his temptations. He redeemed Adam's disgraceful fall, and saved the world. . . .  {ML 323.5}
[ML 323.6]          In His human nature He maintained the purity of His divine character. He lived the law of God, and honored it in a world of transgression, revealing to the heavenly universe, to Satan, and to all the fallen sons and daughters of Adam that through His grace humanity can keep the law of God. He came to impart His own divine nature, His own image, to the repentant, believing soul.  {ML 323.6}
[ML 323.7]          Christ's victory was as complete as had been Adam's failure. So we may resist temptation, and force Satan to depart from us.                                                                              324   {ML 323.7}
[ML 324.1]       Christ Overcame the World         These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 {ML 324.1}
[ML 324.2]            When the last steps of Christ's humiliation were to be taken, when the deepest sorrow was closing about His soul, He said to His disciples, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me." "The prince of this world is judged." Now shall he be cast out. With prophetic eye Christ traced the scenes to take place in His last great conflict. He knew that when He should exclaim, "It is finished," all heaven would triumph. His ear caught the distant music and the shouts of victory in the heavenly courts. He knew that the knell of Satan's empire would then be sounded, and the name of Christ would be heralded from world to world throughout the universe.  {ML 324.2}
[ML 324.3]          Christ rejoiced that He could do more for His followers than they could ask or think. He spoke with assurance, knowing that an almighty decree had been given before the world was made. He knew that truth, armed with the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, would conquer in the contest with evil; and that the bloodstained banner would wave triumphantly over His followers. He knew that the life of His trusting disciples would be like His, a series of uninterrupted victories, not seen to be such here, but recognized as such in the great hereafter. . . .  {ML 324.3}
[ML 324.4]          "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Christ did not fail, neither was He discouraged, and His followers are to manifest a faith of the same enduring nature. . . . Though apparent impossibilities obstruct their way, by His grace they are to go forward. . . . They are to have power to resist evil, power that neither earth, nor death, nor hell can master, power that will enable them to overcome as Christ overcame.                               *     *     *     *     *  {ML 324.4}
[ML 324.5]          Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name.                                                                              325   {ML 324.5}
[ML 325.1]       Christians in All Ages Have Overcome         For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4 {ML 325.1}
[ML 325.2]            The apostles built upon a sure foundation, even the Rock of Ages. To this foundation they brought the stones that they quarried from the world. Not without hindrance did the builders labor. Their work was made exceedingly difficult by the opposition of the enemies of Christ. They had to contend against the bigotry, prejudice, and hatred of those who were building upon a false foundation. . . .  {ML 325.2}
[ML 325.3]          Kings and governors, priests and rulers, sought to destroy the temple of God. But in the face of imprisonment, torture, and death, faithful men carried the work forward; and the structure grew, beautiful and symmetrical. . . .  {ML 325.3}
[ML 325.4]          Centuries of fierce persecution followed the establishment of the Christian church, but there were never wanting men who counted the work of building God's temple dearer than life itself. . . .  {ML 325.4}
[ML 325.5]          The enemy of righteousness left nothing undone in his effort to stop the work committed to the Lord's builders. But God "left not Himself without witness." Workers were raised up who ably defended the faith once delivered to the saints. History bears record to the fortitude and heroism of these men. Like the apostles, many of them fell at their post, but the building of the temple went steadily forward. The workmen were slain, but the work advanced. The Waldenses, John Wycliffe, Huss and Jerome, Martin Luther and Zwingle, Cranmer, Latimer, and Knox, the Huguenots, John and Charles Wesley, and a host of others brought to the foundation material that will endure throughout eternity. . . . We may look back through the centuries and see the living stones of which it is composed gleaming like jets of light through the darkness of error and superstition. Throughout eternity these precious jewels will shine with increasing luster, testifying to the power of the truth of God.                                                                              326   {ML 325.5}
[ML 326.1]       Paul's Shout of Victory         Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Romans 8:35-37 {ML 326.1}
[ML 326.2]            Paul suffered for the truth's sake, and yet we hear no complaints from his lips. As he reviews his life of toil and care and sacrifice, he says, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." The shout of victory from God's faithful servant comes down the line to our time: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  {ML 326.2}
[ML 326.3]          Though Paul was at last confined in a Roman prison--shut away from the light and air of heaven, cut off from his active labors in the gospel, and momentarily expecting to be condemned to death--yet he did not yield to doubt or despondency. From that gloomy dungeon came his dying testimony, full of sublime faith and courage that has inspired the hearts of saints and martyrs in all succeeding ages. His words fitly describe the results of . . . sanctification. . . . "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing."  {ML 326.3}
[ML 326.4]          The wounds and scars of our warfare will be to us, as to Paul, the trophies of victory.                                                                              327   {ML 326.4}
[ML 327.1]       Jeremiah's Declaration of Thanksgiving         It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22, 23 {ML 327.1}
[ML 327.2]            The faithful prophet was daily strengthened to endure. "The Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one," he declared in faith; "therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten." "Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for He hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of the evildoers." The experiences through which Jeremiah passed in the days of his youth and also in the later years of his ministry taught him the lesson that "the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." He learned to pray, "O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in Thine anger, lest Thou bring me to nothing."  {ML 327.2}
[ML 327.3]          When called to drink of the cup of tribulation and sorrow, and when tempted in his misery to say, "My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord," he recalled the providences of God in his behalf, and triumphantly exclaimed, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness."  {ML 327.3}
[ML 327.4]          Many professed Christians dwell too much on the dark side of life, when they might rejoice in the sunshine; they repine when they should be glad; they talk of trials when they should offer praise for the rich blessings they enjoy. They look at the unpleasant things, hoard up the disappointments, and sigh over the griefs, and, as a consequence, grow heavyhearted and sad, when, should they count up their blessings, they would find them so numerous that they would forget to mention their annoyances. If they would every day take note of the favors that are done them; if they would store their minds with the precious memory of kindnesses received, how much occasion they would find to render thanks and praise to the Giver of all good. {ML 327.4}
[ML 328.1]                                                                               328  Job Knew That His Redeemer Lived         I know that my redeemer liveth, that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Job 19:25, 26  {ML 328.1}
[ML 328.2]           Into the experience of all there come times of keen disappointment and utter discouragement--days when sorrow is the portion, and it is hard to believe that God is still the kind benefactor of His earth-born children; days when troubles harass the soul, till death seems preferable to life. It is then that many lose their hold on God and are brought into the slavery of doubt, the bondage of unbelief. Could we at such times discern with spiritual insight the meaning of God's providences, we should see angels seeking to save us from ourselves, striving to plant our feet upon a foundation more firm than the everlasting hills; and new faith, new life, would spring into being.  {ML 328.2}
[ML 328.3]          The faithful Job, in the day of his affliction and darkness, declared: . . .        "My soul chooseth . . . death rather than my life.         I loathe it;         I would not live alway:         Let me alone;         For my days are vanity."  {ML 328.3}
[ML 328.4]          But though weary of life, Job was not allowed to die. To him were pointed out the possibilities of the future, and there was given him the message of hope:        "Thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear:         Because thou shalt forget thy misery,         And remember it as waters that pass away. . . ."  {ML 328.4}
[ML 328.5]          From the depths of discouragement and despondency Job rose to the heights of implicit trust in the mercy and the saving power of God. Triumphantly he declared: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him."                                                                              329   {ML 328.5}
[ML 329.1]       None Greater Than John the Baptist         Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist. Matthew 11:11 {ML 329.1}
[ML 329.2]            The tall reeds that grew beside the Jordan, bending before every breeze, were fitting representatives of the rabbis who had stood as critics and judges of the Baptist's mission. They were swayed this way and that by the winds of popular opinion. They would not humble themselves to receive the heart-searching message of the Baptist, yet for fear of the people they dared not openly oppose his work. But God's messenger was of no such craven spirit. The multitudes who were gathered about Christ had been witnesses to the work of John. They had heard his fearless rebuke of sin. To the self-righteous Pharisees, the priestly Sadducees, King Herod and his court, princes and soldiers, publicans and peasants, John had spoken with equal plainness. He was no trembling reed, swayed by the winds of human praise or prejudice. In the prison he was the same in his loyalty to God and his zeal for righteousness as when he preached God's message in the wilderness. In his faithfulness to principle he was as firm as a rock. . . .  {ML 329.2}
[ML 329.3]          In the announcement to Zacharias before the birth of John, the angel had declared, "He shall be great in the sight of the Lord." In the estimation of Heaven, what is it that constitutes greatness?-- Not that which the world accounts greatness. . . . It is moral worth that God values. Love and purity are the attributes He prizes most. John was great in the sight of the Lord, when before the messengers from the Sanhedrim, before the people, and before his own disciples he refrained from seeking honor for himself, but pointed all to Jesus as the Promised One. His unselfish joy in the ministry of Christ presents the highest type of nobility ever revealed in man.                                                                              330   {ML 329.3}
[ML 330.1]       With Honesty         Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. Romans 12:17 {ML 330.1}
[ML 330.2]            In every business transaction a Christian will be just what he wants his brethren to think he is. His course of action is guided by underlying principles. He does not scheme; therefore he has nothing to conceal, nothing to gloss over. He may be criticized, he may be tested, but his unbending integrity will shine forth like pure gold. He is a blessing to all connected with him, for his word is trustworthy. He is a man who will not take an advantage of his neighbor. He is a friend and benefactor to all, and his fellow men put confidence in his counsel. . . . A truly honest man will never take advantage of weakness or incompetency in order to fill his own purse. He accepts a fair equivalent for that which he sells. If there are defects in the articles sold, he frankly tells his brother or his neighbor, although by so doing he may work against his own pecuniary interests.  {ML 330.2}
[ML 330.3]          In all the details of life the strictest principles of honesty are to be maintained. These are not the principles which govern our world, for Satan, deceiver, liar, and oppressor is the master, and his subjects follow him and carry out his purposes. But Christians serve under a different Master, and their actions must be wrought in God, irrespective of all selfish gain. Deviation from perfect fairness in business deal may appear as a small thing in the estimation of some, but our Saviour did not thus regard it. . . .  {ML 330.3}
[ML 330.4]          A man may not have a pleasant exterior, he may be deficient in many respects, but if he has a reputation for straightforward honesty, he will be respected. . . . A man who steadfastly adheres to truth will win the confidence of all. Not only will his brethren in the faith trust him, but unbelievers will be constrained to acknowledge him as a man of honor.                                                                              331   {ML 330.4}
[ML 331.1]       With Truthfulness         The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. Zephaniah 3:13 {ML 331.1}
[ML 331.2]            Truthfulness and integrity are attributes of God, and he who possesses these qualities possesses a power that is invincible.  {ML 331.2}
[ML 331.3]          Never prevaricate; never tell an untruth in precept or in example. . . . Be straight and undeviating. Even a slight prevarication should not be allowed.  {ML 331.3}
[ML 331.4]          The Saviour has a deep contempt for all deception. The stern punishment meted out to Ananias and Sapphira shows this.  {ML 331.4}
[ML 331.5]          Lying lips are an abomination to Him. He declares that into the holy city "there shall in no wise enter . . . any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie." Let truth telling be held with no loose hand or uncertain grasp. Let it become a part of the life. Playing fast and loose with truth, and dissembling to suit one's own selfish plans, means shipwreck of faith. . . . He who utters untruths sells his soul in a cheap market. His falsehoods may seem to serve in emergencies; he may thus seem to make business advancement that he could not gain by fair dealing; but he finally reaches the place where he can trust no one. Himself a falsifier, he has no confidence in the word of others.  {ML 331.5}
[ML 331.6]          No man can pride himself on his truthfulness, for unless he has overcome he does not know what truthfulness is. No one can know the strength of his truthfulness and honesty until he has passed the fiery ordeal of the temptation to acquire means in questionable ways.  {ML 331.6}
[ML 331.7]          He whose heart is filled with the love that proceeds from God does not allow self-exaltation or dishonesty to find place in his life. He who is "born again," of the Spirit, reveals Christ in the daily life. He is upright in all his dealings. He does no sly, cunning, underhand work. The good fruit that appears in his life testifies to the condition of his heart.                                                                              332   {ML 331.7}
[ML 332.1]       With Humility         A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. Proverbs 29:23 {ML 332.1}
[ML 332.2]            Man may lift himself up in pride and boast of his power, but in an instant God can bring him to nothingness. It is Satan's work to lead men to glorify themselves with their entrusted talents. Every man through whom God works will have to learn that the living, ever-present, ever-acting God is supreme, and has lent him talents to use--an intellect to originate; a heart to be the seat of his throne; affections to flow out in blessing to all with whom he shall come in contact, a conscience through which the Holy Spirit can convict him of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.  {ML 332.2}
[ML 332.3]          Pride, ignorance, and folly are constant companions. The Lord is displeased with the pride manifested among His professed people.  {ML 332.3}
[ML 332.4]          Parents, . . . it is easier for you to teach your children a lesson of pride than a lesson of humility.  {ML 332.4}
[ML 332.5]          Before honor is humility. To fill a high place before men, Heaven chooses the worker who . . . takes a lowly place before God. The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor for God. The heavenly intelligences can cooperate with him who is seeking, not to exalt self, but to save souls. . . . From communion with Christ he will go forth to work for those who are perishing in their sins. He is anointed for his mission, and he succeeds where many of the learned and intellectually wise would fail. . . .  {ML 332.5}
[ML 332.6]          The simplicity, the self-forgetfulness, and the confiding love of a little child are the attributes that Heaven values. These are the characteristics of real greatness.  {ML 332.6}
[ML 332.7]          Solomon was never so rich or so wise or so truly great as when he confessed, "I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in."                                                                              333   {ML 332.7}
[ML 333.1]       With Liberality         There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Proverbs 11:24, 25 {ML 333.1}
[ML 333.2]            It is God who blesses men with property, and He does this that they may be able to give toward the advancement of His cause. He sends the sunshine and the rain. He causes vegetation to flourish. He gives health and the ability to acquire means. All our blessings come from His bountiful hand. In turn, He would have men and women show their gratitude by returning Him a portion in tithes and offerings--in thank offerings, in freewill offerings, in trespass offerings. Should means flow into the treasury in accordance with this divinely appointed plan--a tenth of all the increase, and liberal offerings-- there would be an abundance for the advancement of the Lord's work.  {ML 333.2}
[ML 333.3]          But the hearts of men become hardened through selfishness, and like Ananias and Sapphira, they are tempted to withhold part of the price, while pretending to fulfill God's requirements. Many spend money lavishly in self-gratification. Men and women consult their pleasure and gratify their taste, while they bring to God, almost unwillingly, a stinted offering. They forget that God will one day demand a strict account of how His goods have been used.  {ML 333.3}
[ML 333.4]          Constant, self-denying benevolence is God's remedy for the cankering sins of selfishness and covetousness. God has arranged systematic benevolence to sustain His cause and relieve the necessities of the suffering and needy. He has ordained that giving should become a habit, that it may counteract the dangerous and deceitful sin of covetousness. Continual giving starves covetousness to death. . . . He requires the constant exercise of benevolence, that the force of habit in good works may break the force of habit in an opposite direction.                                                                              334   {ML 333.4}
[ML 334.1]       With Love         Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. 1 Corinthians 13:4 {ML 334.1}
[ML 334.2]            Those who open their hearts and homes to invite Jesus to abide with them should keep the moral atmosphere unclouded by strife, bitterness, wrath, malice, or even an unkind word. Jesus will not abide in a home where are contention, envy, and bitterness. . . .  {ML 334.2}
[ML 334.3]          Paul had a healthful religious experience. The love of Christ was his grand theme and the constraining power that governed him.  {ML 334.3}
[ML 334.4]          When in most discouraging circumstances, which would have had a depressing influence upon halfway Christians, he is firm of heart, full of courage and hope and cheer, exclaiming, "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, Rejoice." The same hope and cheerfulness is seen when he is upon the deck of the ship, the tempest beating about him, the ship going to pieces. He gives orders to the commander of the ship and preserves the lives of all on board. Although a prisoner, he is really the master of the ship, the freest and happiest man on board. When wrecked and driven to a barbarous island, he is the most self-possessed, the most helpful in saving his fellow men from a watery grave. His hands brought the wood to kindle the fire for the benefit of the chilled, shipwrecked passengers. When they saw the deadly viper fasten upon his hand, they were filled with terror; but Paul calmly shook it into the fire, knowing it could not harm him; for he implicitly trusted in God.  {ML 334.4}
[ML 334.5]          When before kings and dignitaries of the earth, who held his life in their hands, he quailed not; for he had given his life to God. . . . Grace, like an angel of mercy, makes his voice heard sweet and clear, repeating the story of the cross, the matchless love of Jesus.  {ML 334.5}
[ML 334.6]          Love's agencies have wonderful power, for they are divine.                                                                              335   {ML 334.6}
[ML 335.1]       With Christlike Words and Deeds         By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:37 {ML 335.1}
[ML 335.2]            When you do your appointed work without contention or criticism of others, a freedom, a light, and a power will attend it that will give character and influence to the institutions and enterprises with which you are connected.  {ML 335.2}
[ML 335.3]          Remember that you are never on vantage ground when you are ruffled and when you carry the burden of setting right every soul who comes near you. If you yield to the temptation to criticize others, to point out their faults, to tear down what they are doing, you may be sure that you will fail to act your own part nobly and well.  {ML 335.3}
[ML 335.4]          This is a time when every man in a responsible position and every member of the church should bring every feature of his work into close accord with the teachings of the Word of God. By untiring vigilance, by fervent prayer, by Christlike words and deeds, we are to show the world what God desires His church to be. . . .  {ML 335.4}
[ML 335.5]          Christ humbled Himself to stand at the head of humanity, to meet the temptations and endure the trials that humanity must meet and endure. He must know what humanity has to meet from the fallen foe, that He might know how to succor those who are tempted.  {ML 335.5}
[ML 335.6]          And Christ has been made our judge. The Father is not the judge. The angels are not. He who took humanity upon Himself, and in this world lived a perfect life, is to judge us. He only can be our judge. . . . No one of you has been appointed to be judge of others. It is all that you can do to discipline yourselves. . . .  {ML 335.6}
[ML 335.7]          We have a character to maintain, but it is the character of Christ. . . . May the Lord help us to die to self, and be born again, that Christ may live in us, a living, active principle, a power that will keep us holy.                                                                              336   {ML 335.7}
[ML 336.1]       With Peace         Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Job 22:21 {ML 336.1}
[ML 336.2]            We embarked in a small boat which was to convey us across the channel to the coast of Denmark. Here I was provided with a stateroom containing two sofas, and shut in by heavy curtains-- accommodations which we then thought hardly necessary for a day journey of only six hours. We had occasion, however, to change this opinion before reaching land. The first hour we spent on deck in the cheerful and well-furnished ladies' cabin. The weather was pleasant, the sea smooth, and we anticipated an enjoyable trip. But soon the captain, passing through the cabin, advised us to go below and lie down at once, for we were coming into rough water. We complied, though rather unwillingly. In a short time the boat began to rock violently; we could hardly keep our position upon the sofas. I became very ill, now in a profuse perspiration, as if every organ was struggling against the terrible malady, and then overcome by deathly seasickness. . . .  {ML 336.2}
[ML 336.3]          Death seemed very near; but I felt that I could cling, with the firm grasp of faith, to the hand of Jesus. He who holds the waters in the hollow of His hand could keep us in the tempest. The waves of the great deep obey His voice, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." I thought how Jesus calmed the fears of His disciples as He stilled the stormy Galilee; and should I be afraid to trust to His protection who had given me my work? My heart was kept in perfect peace because it was stayed on Him. The lesson of trust I learned during these few hours was very precious. I have found that every trial of life is given to teach me a new lesson of my own dependence, and of trust in my heavenly Father. We may believe that God is with us in every place, and in every trying hour we may hold fast that hand which has all power.                                                                              337   {ML 336.3}
[ML 337.1]       Not One Word of His Promise Has Failed         Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. 1 Kings 8:56 {ML 337.1}
[ML 337.2]            We were favored with a sight of the most glorious sunset it was ever my privilege to behold. Language is inadequate to picture its beauty. The last beams of the setting sun, silver and gold, purple, amber, and crimson, shed their glories athwart the sky, growing brighter and brighter, rising higher and higher in the heavens, until it seemed that the gates of the city of God had been left ajar and gleams of the inner glory were flashing through. For two hours the wondrous splendor continued to light up the cold northern sky--a picture painted by the great Master-Artist upon the shifting canvas of the heavens. Like the smile of God it seemed, above all earthly homes, above the rock-bound plains, the rugged mountains, the lonely forests, through which our journey lay.  {ML 337.2}
[ML 337.3]          Angels of mercy seemed whispering, "Look up. This glory is but a gleam of the light which flows from the throne of God. Live not for earth alone. Look up, and behold by faith the mansions of the heavenly home." This scene was to me as the bow of promise to Noah, enabling me to grasp the assurance of God's unfailing care and to look forward to the haven of rest awaiting the faithful worker. Ever since that time I have felt that God granted us this token of His love for our encouragement. Never while memory lingers can I forget that vision of beauty and the comfort and peace it brought.  {ML 337.3}
[ML 337.4]          It is impossible for any mind to comprehend all the richness and greatness of even one promise of God. One catches the glory of one point of view, another the beauty and grace from another point, and the soul is filled with heavenly light.  {ML 337.4}
[ML 337.5]          In them He is speaking to us individually. . . . It is in these promises that Christ communicates to us His grace and power.                                                                              338   {ML 337.5}
[ML 338.1]       God's Promises Are for Me         Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:4, 5 {ML 338.1}
[ML 338.2]           To blot the promises of God from the Word would be like blotting the sun from the sky. There would then be nothing to gladden our experience. God has placed the promises in His Word to lead us to have faith in Him. In these promises He draws back the veil from eternity, giving us a glimpse of the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory which awaits the overcomer. Let us, then, rest in God. Let us praise Him for giving us such a glorious revelation of His purposes.  {ML 338.2}
[ML 338.3]          All along our pathway God places the flowers of promise to brighten our journey. But many refuse to gather these flowers, choosing instead the thorns and thistles. At every step they weep and mourn, when they might rejoice in the Lord because He has made the road to heaven so pleasant.  {ML 338.3}
[ML 338.4]          As we look at the promises of God we find comfort and hope and joy, for they speak to us the words of the Infinite One. Properly to appreciate these precious promises we should study them carefully, examining them in detail. How much joy we might bring into life, how much goodness into the character, if we would but make these promises our own! As we journey in the upward way, let us talk of the blessings strewn along the path. As we think of the mansions Christ is preparing for us, we forget the petty annoyances which we meet day by day. We seem to breathe the atmosphere of the heavenly country to which we are journeying, and we are soothed and comforted. . . . Let us honor God by weaving more of Jesus and heaven into our lives.  {ML 338.4}
[ML 338.5]          The unfailing promises of God will keep your heart in perfect peace.  {ML 338.5}
[ML 339.1]       Chap. 12 - An Eternal Life    Preparing for Eternal Life  Make Your Calling and Election Sure         Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:10, 11 {ML 339.1}
[ML 339.2]           Here a life insurance policy is offered us which insures for us eternal life in the kingdom of God. I ask you to study these words of the apostle Peter. There is understanding and intelligence in every sentence. By taking hold upon the Lifegiver, who gave His life for us, we receive eternal life.  {ML 339.2}
[ML 339.3]          We are each deciding our eternal destiny, and it rests wholly with us whether we shall gain eternal life. Will we live the lessons given in the Word of God, Christ's great lesson book? It is the grandest, and yet the most simply arranged and easily understood book ever prepared for giving an education in proper behaviour, in speech, in manners, in affection. It is the only book that will prepare human beings for the life that measures with the life of God. And those who make this Word their daily study are the only ones who are worthy of receiving a diploma entitling them to educate and train the children for entrance into the higher school, to be crowned as victorious overcomers.  {ML 339.3}
[ML 339.4]          Christ Jesus is the only judge of the fitness of human agents to receive eternal life. The gates of the holy city will open to those who have been humble, meek, lowly followers of His, having learned their lessons from Him, and received from Him their life insurance policy, forming characters after the divine similitude.  {ML 339.4}
[ML 339.5]          When the ransomed are redeemed from the earth, the city of God will be opened to you. . . . Then the harp will be placed in your hand, and your voice will be raised in songs of praise to God and to the Lamb, by whose great sacrifice you are made partakers of His nature and given an immortal inheritance in the kingdom of God.                                                                              340   {ML 339.5}
[ML 340.1]       Keep the Commandments         Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:14 {ML 340.1}
[ML 340.2]            The conflict is before us. The only safety for any one of us now is to be one with Christ in God. We are to strive to enter in at the strait gate. But this gate does not swing loosely on its hinges. It will not admit doubtful characters. We must now strive for eternal life with an intensity that is proportionate to the value of the prize before us. It is not money or lands or position, but the possession of a Christlike character, that will open to us the gates of Paradise. It is not dignity, it is not intellectual attainments, that will win for us the crown of immortality. Only the meek and lowly ones, who have made God their sufficiency, will receive this gift. . . .  {ML 340.2}
[ML 340.3]          To create the soul anew, to bring light out of darkness, love out of enmity, holiness out of impurity, is the work of Omnipotence alone. The work of the Infinite, as He engages, by the consent of the human being, to make the life complete in Christ, to bring perfection to the character, is the science of eternity.  {ML 340.3}
[ML 340.4]          What is the honor conferred upon Christ? Without employing any compulsion, without using any violence, He blends the will of the human subject to the will of God. This is the science of all true science; for by it a mighty change is wrought in mind and character --the change that must be wrought in the life of every one who passes through the gates of the city of God.  {ML 340.4}
[ML 340.5]          Then they that have kept God's commandments shall breathe in immortal vigor beneath the tree of life; and through unending ages the inhabitants of sinless worlds shall behold, in that garden ［Eden］ of delight, a sample of the perfect work of God's creation, untouched by the curse of sin--a sample of what the whole earth would have become, had man but fulfilled the Creator's glorious plan.                                                                              341   {ML 340.5}
[ML 341.1]       Walk With God Continually         And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. Genesis 5:24 {ML 341.1}
[ML 341.2]            When God takes the members of His church to heaven, it will be because they have walked with Him here on this earth, receiving from above strength and wisdom which enables them to serve Him aright. Those who are taken to God will be men and women who now pray in humility and contrition, whose hearts are not lifted up unto vanity. In their dealing with believers and unbelievers they represent Christ.  {ML 341.2}
[ML 341.3]          Those who have no pleasure in thinking and talking of God in this life will not enjoy the life that is to come, where God is ever present, dwelling among His people. But those who love to think of God will be in their element, breathing in the atmosphere of heaven. Those who on earth love the thought of heaven will be happy in its holy associations and pleasures. . . .  {ML 341.3}
[ML 341.4]          When in the world they did not claim to be their own, and God set to His seal that they were His. Heaven will be for those who desire it with intense desire, who put forth efforts in proportion to the value of the object which they seek. The thoughts of those who will obtain heaven will be upon heavenly things.  {ML 341.4}
[ML 341.5]          "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." For three hundred years Enoch had been seeking purity of soul, that he might be in harmony with Heaven. For three centuries he had walked with God. Day by day he had longed for a closer union; nearer and nearer had grown the communion, until God took him to Himself. He had stood at the threshold of the eternal world, only a step between him and the land of the blest; and now the portals opened, the walk with God, so long pursued on earth, continued, and he passed through the gates of the Holy City--the first from among men to enter there.                                                                              342   {ML 341.5}
[ML 342.1]       Walk by Faith         For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 {ML 342.1}
[ML 342.2]            We are to live, not to elevate ourselves, but that we may, as God's little children, do to the very best of our ability the work that He has committed to us. It is our business to give a right impression to others. We are preparing for eternity, for the sanitarium above, where the Great Physician shall wipe away the tears from every eye, and where the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nation.  {ML 342.2}
[ML 342.3]          Let us all take hold of Christ Jesus by a living faith, and walk in humility of mind. Then the grace of God will be revealed in us, and we shall see of His salvation. We shall greet the holy family of the redeemed. . . . We shall touch our golden harps, and heaven will ring with rich music. We shall cast our glittering crowns at His feet and give glory to Him who has overcome in our behalf.  {ML 342.3}
[ML 342.4]          There may be some things here that we do not understand. Some things in the Bible may appear to us mysterious, because they are beyond our finite comprehension. But as our Saviour leads us by the living waters, He will make clear to our minds that which was not before clearly understood.  {ML 342.4}
[ML 342.5]          As I think of the future glory of heaven, I feel an intense desire that every living soul may know about it. . . . I long to hold Him up as the mighty Healer. . . .  {ML 342.5}
[ML 342.6]          It means much to us whether we are in pursuit of the heavenly things or of the earthly. The earthly will soon pass away. In these days there is great destruction of earthly treasures. There are "earthquakes in divers places," and trouble and difficulties are seen on every hand. But it is our privilege to be preparing to become members of the heavenly family, children of the heavenly King.                                                                              343   {ML 342.6}
[ML 343.1]      Be Ready and Waiting         And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Isaiah 25:9 {ML 343.1}
[ML 343.2]            As I hear of the terrible calamities that from week to week are taking place, I ask myself: What do these things mean? The most awful disasters are following one another in quick succession. How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of seemingly disorganized, unregulated forces, but in them God's purpose may be read. They are one of the means by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger. . . .  {ML 343.2}
[ML 343.3]          The judgments of God are in the land. They speak in solemn warning, saying: "Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." . . .  {ML 343.3}
[ML 343.4]          We are living in the closing scenes of this earth's history. . . . We have no time--not a moment--to lose. Let us not be found sleeping on guard. . . . Let us persuade men and women everywhere to repent and flee from the wrath to come. Let us arouse them to immediate preparation, for we little know what is before us. . . .  {ML 343.4}
[ML 343.5]          He ［the Lord］ is soon coming, and we must be ready and waiting for His appearing. Oh, how glorious it will be to see Him and be welcomed as His redeemed ones! . . . If we can but see the King in His beauty we shall be forever blessed. I feel as if I must cry aloud: "Homeward bound!" We are nearing the time when Christ will come in power and great glory to take His ransomed ones to their eternal home. . . .  {ML 343.5}
[ML 343.6]          In the great closing work we shall meet with perplexities that we know not how to deal with; but let us not forget that the three great powers of heaven are working, that a divine hand is on the wheel, and that God will bring His promises to pass. He will gather from the world a people who will serve Him in righteousness.                                                                              344   {ML 343.6}
[ML 344.1]       God's People Delivered         And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:10 {ML 344.1}
[ML 344.2]            It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His people. The sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in quick succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Everything in nature seems turned out of its course. . . . Dark, heavy clouds come up, and clash against each other. In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of God like the sound of many waters, saying, "It is done."  {ML 344.2}
[ML 344.3]          That voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a mighty earthquake, "such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." The firmament appears to open and shut. The glory from the throne of God seems flashing through. The mountains shake like a reed in the wind, and ragged rocks are scattered on every side. . . .  {ML 344.3}
[ML 344.4]          Graves are opened, and "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth . . . awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." All who have died in the faith of the third angel's message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear God's covenant of peace with those who have kept His law. . . .  {ML 344.4}
[ML 344.5]          The voice of God is heard from heaven, declaring the day and hour of Jesus' coming and delivering the everlasting covenant to His people. Like peals of loudest thunder, His words roll through the earth. The Israel of God stand listening, with their eyes fixed upward. Their countenances are lighted up with His glory, and shine as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked cannot look upon them. And when the blessing is pronounced on those who have honored God by keeping His Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.                                                                              345   {ML 344.5}
[ML 345.1]       Christ Himself Comes for Us         For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 {ML 345.1}
[ML 345.2]            Jesus is coming, coming with clouds and great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to honor those who have loved Him and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them or His promise.  {ML 345.2}
[ML 345.3]          There appears in the East a small black cloud. . . . The people of God know this to be the sign of the Son of man. In solemn silence they gaze upon it as it draws nearer the earth, . . . until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant. Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror. . . .  {ML 345.3}
[ML 345.4]          As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head, but a diadem of glory rests on His holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun. "And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords." . . . The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place. . . .  {ML 345.4}
[ML 345.5]          Amid the reeling of the earth, the flash of lightning, and the roar of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints. . . . Throughout the length and breadth of the earth the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live. . . . All arise with the freshness and vigor of eternal youth. . . .  {ML 345.5}
[ML 345.6]          The living righteous are changed "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal, and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Oh, what a glorious meeting!                                                                              346   {ML 345.6}
[ML 346.1]       Christ's Coronation Day         Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Revelation 15:3 {ML 346.1}
[ML 346.2]            In that day the redeemed will shine forth in the glory of the Father and His Son. The angels of heaven, touching their golden harps, will welcome the King, and those who are the trophies of His victory--those who have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. A song of triumph will peal forth, filling all heaven. Christ has conquered. He enters the heavenly courts accompanied by His redeemed ones, the witnesses that His mission of suffering and sacrifice has not been in vain.  {ML 346.2}
[ML 346.3]          Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The brightness of His presence fills the city of God and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance.  {ML 346.3}
[ML 346.4]          Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions of all ages who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the "great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. . . .  {ML 346.4}
[ML 346.5]          In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and heaven the final coronation of the Son of God takes place.                                                                              347   {ML 346.5}
[ML 347.1]       Christ Presents Me With a Crown and Harp         Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8 {ML 347.1}
[ML 347.2]            Before entering the city of God the Saviour bestows upon His followers the emblems of victory and invests them with the insignia of their royal state. The glittering ranks are drawn up in the form of a hollow square about their King, whose form rises in majesty high above saint and angel, whose countenance beams upon them full of benignant love. Throughout the unnumbered host of the redeemed every glance is fixed upon Him, every eye beholds His glory whose "visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men." Upon the heads of the overcomers Jesus with His own right hand places the crown of glory. For each there is a crown, bearing his own "new name," and the inscription, "Holiness to the Lord." In every hand are placed the victor's palm and the shining harp. Then, as the commanding angels strike the note, every hand sweeps the harp strings with skillful touch, awaking sweet music in rich, melodious strains. Rapture unutterable thrills every heart, and each voice is raised in grateful praise: "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever."  {ML 347.2}
[ML 347.3]          Oh, what joy unspeakable, to see Him whom we loved--to see Him in His glory who so loved us that He gave Himself for us--to behold those hands once pierced for our redemption stretched out to us in blessing and welcome!  {ML 347.3}
[ML 347.4]          Those who . . . place themselves in God's hands . . . will see the King in His beauty. They will behold His matchless charms, and touching their golden harps, they will fill all heaven with rich music and with songs to the Lamb.                                                                              348   {ML 347.4}
[ML 348.1]       Given a White Robe of Righteousness         These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:14 {ML 348.1}
[ML 348.2]            Glorious will be the reward bestowed when the faithful workers gather about the throne of God and of the Lamb. . . . They will stand before the throne, accepted in the Beloved. All their sins have been blotted out, all their transgressions borne away. Now they can look upon the undimmed glory of the throne of God. . . . In that day the redeemed will shine forth in the glory of the Father and the Son. The angels, touching their golden harps, will welcome the King and His trophies of victory--those who have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb.  {ML 348.2}
[ML 348.3]          All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving--the robe of Christ's righteousness. All nature in its surpassing loveliness will offer to God a constant tribute of praise and adoration. The world will be bathed in the light of heaven. The years will move on in gladness. The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold greater than it is now. Over the scene the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and Christ will unite in proclaiming, "There shall be no more sin, neither shall there be any more death." . . .  {ML 348.3}
[ML 348.4]          The conflict is over. All tribulation and strife are at an end. Songs of victory fill all heaven as the redeemed stand around the throne of God. All take up the joyful strain, "Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and lives again, a triumphant conqueror."  {ML 348.4}
[ML 348.5]          "I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb."                                                                              349   {ML 348.5}
[ML 349.1]       Victory Over Death         And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4 {ML 349.1}
[ML 349.2]            We have a living, risen Saviour. He burst the fetters of the tomb after He had lain there three days, and in triumph He proclaimed over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, "I am the resurrection, and the life." And He is coming. Are we getting ready for Him? Are we ready so that if we shall fall asleep, we can do so with hope in Jesus Christ? . . .  {ML 349.2}
[ML 349.3]          The Life-giver is soon to come . . . to break the fetters of the tomb. He is to bring forth the captives. . . . The last thoughts they had were of the grave and the tomb, but now they proclaim, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" The pangs of death were the last things they felt. . . . When they awake the pain is all gone. "O grave, where is thy victory?" Here they stand, and the finishing touch of immortality is put upon them, and they go up to meet their Lord in the air. The gates of the city of God swing back upon their hinges, . . . and the ransomed of God walk in through the cherubims and seraphims. Christ bids them welcome and puts upon them His benediction. "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." What is that joy? He sees of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied. . . . Here is one who in the night season we pleaded with God on his behalf. There is one that we talked with on his dying bed, and he hung his helpless soul upon Jesus. Here is one who was a poor drunkard. We tried to get his eyes fixed upon Him who is mighty to save, and we told him that Christ could give him the victory. There are the crowns of immortal glory upon their heads.  {ML 349.3}
[ML 349.4]          There, there is no disappointment, no sorrow, no sin, no one who shall say, "I am sick." There, there is no burial train, no mourning, no death, no parting, no broken hearts; and Jesus is there, peace is there.... In His presence is fullness of joy, at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore!                                                                              350   {ML 349.4}
[ML 350.1]       No More Sin         And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. Revelation 22:3, 4 {ML 350.1}
[ML 350.2]            Every trace of the curse is swept away. . . . One reminder alone remains: our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His crucifixion. Upon His wounded head, upon His side, His hands and feet, are the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought. Says the prophet, beholding Christ in His glory, "He had bright beams ［margin］ coming out of His side: and there was the hiding of His power." That pierced side whence flowed the crimson stream that reconciled man to God--there is the Saviour's glory, there "the hiding of His power." "Mighty to save," through the sacrifice of redemption, He was therefore strong to execute justice upon them that despised God's mercy. And the tokens of His humiliation are His highest honor; through the eternal ages the wounds of Calvary will show forth His praise and declare His power. . . .  {ML 350.2}
[ML 350.3]          The time has come to which holy men have looked with longing since the flaming sword barred the first pair from Eden--the time for "the redemption of the purchased possession." The earth originally given to man as his kingdom, betrayed by him into the hands of Satan, and so long held by the mighty foe, has been brought back by the great plan of redemption. All that was lost by sin has been restored. . . . God's original purpose in the creation of the earth is fulfilled as it is made the eternal abode of the redeemed. "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever."  {ML 350.3}
[ML 350.4]          Then we shall enjoy with Him all the glories of the world to come throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. . . . There is nothing in the kingdom of God to disturb or annoy. This is the life that is promised to the overcomer--a life of happiness and peace, a life of love and beauty.... There is no sin, no distracting care, nothing to mar the peace of the inhabitant.                                                                              351   {ML 350.4}
[ML 351.1]       As Heirs, We Inherit the Kingdom         Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:34 {ML 351.1}
[ML 351.2]            Before the ransomed throng is the holy city. Jesus opens wide the pearly gates, and the nations that have kept the truth enter in. There they behold the Paradise of God, the home of Adam in his innocency. Then that voice, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, is heard, saying, "Your conflict is ended." "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."  {ML 351.2}
[ML 351.3]          Now is fulfilled the Saviour's prayer for His disciples, "I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am." "Faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy," Christ presents to the Father the purchase of His blood, declaring, "Here am I, and the children whom Thou hast given Me." "Those that Thou gavest Me I have kept." Oh, the wonders of redeeming love! the rapture of that hour when the infinite Father, looking upon the ransomed, shall behold His image, sin's discord banished, its blight removed, the human once more in harmony with the divine!  {ML 351.3}
[ML 351.4]          Then the redeemed will be welcomed to the home that Jesus is preparing for them. . . . They will associate with those who have overcome Satan and through divine grace have formed perfect characters. Every sinful tendency, every imperfection, that afflicts them here, has been removed by the blood of Christ, and the excellence and brightness of His glory, far exceeding the brightness of the sun, is imparted to them. And the moral beauty, the perfection of His character, shines through them in worth far exceeding this outward splendor. They are without fault before the great white throne, sharing the dignity and the privileges of the angels.                                                                              352   {ML 351.4}
[ML 352.1]       Families Will Be Reunited         Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. Jeremiah 31:16, 17 {ML 352.1}
[ML 352.2]            Christ is coming with clouds and with great glory. . . . He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. . . . There will be a re-linking of the family chain.  {ML 352.2}
[ML 352.3]          Oh, wonderful redemption! long talked of, long hoped for, contemplated with eager anticipation. . . .  {ML 352.3}
[ML 352.4]          The living righteous are changed "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal, and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Angels "gather together the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers' arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness ascend together to the city of God.  {ML 352.4}
[ML 352.5]          With joy unutterable parents see the crown, the robe, the harp, given to their children. The days of hope and fear are ended. . . . Their children have been redeemed.  {ML 352.5}
[ML 352.6]          There we shall see on every hand the beautiful trees of Paradise, in the midst of them the tree of life. There we shall behold with undimmed vision the beauties of Eden restored. There we shall cast at the feet of our Redeemer the crowns that He has placed on our heads, and touching our golden harps, we shall offer praise and thanksgiving to Him that sitteth on the throne. . . . May you all be among those who shall enter through the gates of pearl into the city of our God. May you, as unbroken families, dwell forever in that haven of rest. To this end may God help you now to strive for the crown of life.                                                                              353   {ML 352.6}
[ML 353.1]       We Shall Recognize Each Other         Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 {ML 353.1}
[ML 353.2]            In the mansions above we shall meet to part no more. We shall know each other in our heavenly home.  {ML 353.2}
[ML 353.3]          The redeemed will meet and recognize those whose attention they have directed to the uplifted Saviour. What blessed converse they have with these souls! "I was a sinner," it will be said, "without God and without hope in the world, and you came to me and drew my attention to the precious Saviour as my only hope. . . . Others will say, "I was a heathen in heathen lands. You left your friends and comfortable home and came to teach me how to find Jesus and believe in Him as the only true God. I demolished my idols and worshiped God, and now I see Him face to face. I am saved, eternally saved, ever to behold Him whom I love. . . ."  {ML 353.3}
[ML 353.4]          Others will express their gratitude to those who fed the hungry and clothed the naked. "When despair bound my soul in unbelief, the Lord sent you to me," they say, "to speak words of hope and comfort. You brought me food for my physical necessities, and you opened to me the Word of God, awakening me to my spiritual needs. You treated me as a brother. You sympathized with me in my sorrows, and restored my bruised and wounded soul, so that I could grasp the hand of Christ that was reached out to save me. In my ignorance you taught me patiently that I had a Father in heaven who cared for me. You read to me the precious promises of God's Word. You inspired in me the faith that He would save me. My heart was softened, subdued, broken, as I contemplated the sacrifice which Christ had made for me. . . . I am here, saved, eternally saved, ever to live in His presence and to praise Him who gave His life for me."  {ML 353.4}
[ML 353.5]          What rejoicing there will be as these redeemed ones meet and greet those who have had a burden in their behalf! And those who have lived, not to please themselves, but to be a blessing to the unfortunate who have so few blessings--how their hearts will thrill with satisfaction!                                                                              354   {ML 353.5}
[ML 354.1]       A Beautiful Country         And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. Hebrews 11:15, 16 {ML 354.1}
[ML 354.2]            A fear of making the future inheritance seem too material has led many to spiritualize away the very truths which lead us to look upon it as our home. Christ assured His disciples that He went to prepare mansions for them in the Father's house. Those who accept the teachings of God's Word will not be wholly ignorant concerning the heavenly abode. And yet "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God.  {ML 354.2}
[ML 354.3]          In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called a country. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord.  {ML 354.3}
[ML 354.4]          The grass will be a living green, and will never wither. There will be roses and lilies and all kinds of flowers there. They will never blight or fade or lose their beauty and fragrance.  {ML 354.4}
[ML 354.5]          The lion, we should much dread and fear here, will then lie down with the lamb, and everything in the New Earth will be peace and harmony. The trees of the New Earth will be straight and lofty, without deformity.  {ML 354.5}
[ML 354.6]          In the New Earth there are no chilling winds, no disagreeable changes. The atmosphere is ever right and healthful.                                                                              355   {ML 354.6}
[ML 355.1]       Eat of the Tree of Life         In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:2 {ML 355.1}
[ML 355.2]            Out of the throne came a pure river of water, and on either side of the river was the tree of life. . . . The fruit was glorious; it looked like gold mixed with silver.  {ML 355.2}
[ML 355.3]          The fruit of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden possessed supernatural virtue. To eat of it was to live forever. Its fruit was the antidote of death. Its leaves were for the sustaining of life and immortality. . . . After the entrance of sin the heavenly Husbandman transplanted the tree of life to the Paradise above.  {ML 355.3}
[ML 355.4]          The redeemed saints, who have loved God and kept His commandments here, will enter in through the gates of the city, and have right to the tree of life. They will eat freely of it as our first parents did before their fall. The leaves of that immortal widespread tree will be for the healing of the nations. All their woes will then be gone. Sickness, sorrow, and death they will never again feel, for the leaves of the tree of life have healed them. Jesus will then see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied, when the redeemed, who have been subject to sorrow, toil, and afflictions, who have groaned beneath the curse, are gathered up around that tree of life to eat of its immortal fruit, that our first parents forfeited all right to, by breaking God's commands. There will be no danger of their ever losing right to the tree of life again, for he that tempted our first parents to sin will be destroyed by the second death.  {ML 355.4}
[ML 355.5]          Upon the tree of life was most beautiful fruit, of which the saints could partake freely. . . . The most exalted language fails to describe the glory of heaven or the matchless depths of a Saviour's love.                                                                              356   {ML 355.5}
[ML 356.1]       At the Marriage Supper         Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. Revelation 19:9 {ML 356.1}
[ML 356.2]            In both the Old and New Testament the marriage relation is employed to represent the tender and sacred union that exists between Christ and His people. To the mind of Jesus the gladness of the wedding festivities pointed forward to the rejoicing of that day when He shall bring home His bride to the Father's house, and the redeemed with the Redeemer shall sit down to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He says, "As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." "Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; . . .but thou shalt be called My Delight ［margin］; . . . for the Lord delighteth in thee." "He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing." When the vision of heavenly things was granted to John the apostle, he wrote: "I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready." "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."  {ML 356.2}
[ML 356.3]          Jesus saw in every soul one to whom must be given the call to His kingdom.  {ML 356.3}
[ML 356.4]          Having received the kingdom, He will come in His glory, as King of kings and Lord of lords, for the redemption of His people, who are to "sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob" at His table in His kingdom, to partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb.                                                                              357   {ML 356.4}
[ML 357.1]       The Glories of Our Heavenly Home         And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. Revelation 21:18, 19 {ML 357.1}
[ML 357.2]            The glorious city of God has twelve gates, set with pearls most glorious. It also has twelve foundations of various colors. The streets of the city are of pure gold. In this city is the throne of God, and a pure, beautiful river proceeding out of it, as clear as crystal. Its sparkling purity and beauty make glad the city of God. The saints will drink freely of the healing waters of the river of life. . . .  {ML 357.2}
[ML 357.3]          All faces will reflect the image of their Redeemer. There will then be no anxious, troubled countenances, but all will be bright, and smiling in spotless purity. The angels will be there, also the resurrected saints with the martyrs, and the best of all, and what will cause us the most joy, our lovely Saviour, who suffered and died that we might enjoy that happiness and freedom, will be there.--His glorious face will shine brighter than the sun, and light up the beautiful city and reflect glory all around.  {ML 357.3}
[ML 357.4]          Children will be there. They will never be engaged in strife or discord. Their love will be fervent and holy. They will also have a crown of gold upon their heads and a harp in their hands. And their little countenances, that we here see so often troubled and perplexed, will beam with holy joy, expressive of their perfect freedom and happiness. . . .  {ML 357.4}
[ML 357.5]          The saints will have crowns of glory upon their heads and harps of gold in their hands. They will play upon the golden harp and sing redeeming love, and make melody unto God. Their former trials and suffering in this world will be forgotten and lost amid the glories of the New Earth. And they will ever have the approving smiles of Jesus upon them, and their happiness will be complete. . . . The future abode of the saints will be all glorious.                                                                              358   {ML 357.5}
[ML 358.1]       Labor for Pleasure and Enjoyment         And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. Isaiah 65:21, 22 {ML 358.1}
[ML 358.2]            There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God's people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home.  {ML 358.2}
[ML 358.3]          "My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."  {ML 358.3}
[ML 358.4]          In the earth made new the redeemed will engage in the occupations and pleasure that brought happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning. The Eden life will be lived, the life in garden and field. "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. . . ."  {ML 358.4}
[ML 358.5]          There every power will be developed, every capability increased. The grandest enterprises will be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations will be reached, the highest ambitions realized. And there will appear new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects of study to call forth the powers of body and mind and soul.  {ML 358.5}
[ML 358.6]          There certainly is and ever will be employment in heaven. The whole family of the redeemed will not live in a state of dreamy idleness. There remaineth a rest to the people of God. In heaven activity will not be wearing and burdensome; it will be rest. The whole family of the redeemed will find their delight in serving Him whose they are by creation and by redemption.  {ML 358.6}
[ML 358.7]          To the weary and heavy laden, to those who have fought the good fight of faith, it will be a glorious rest; for the youth and vigor of immortality will be theirs, and against sin and Satan they will no longer have to contend.                                                                              359   {ML 358.7}
[ML 359.1]       Harmonious Social Life         The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. Psalm 16:6 {ML 359.1}
[ML 359.2]           The loves and sympathies which God Himself has planted in the soul shall there find truest and sweetest exercise. The pure communion with holy beings, the harmonious social life with the blessed angels and with the faithful ones of all ages, who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, the sacred ties that bind together "the whole family in heaven and earth"--these help to constitute the happiness of the redeemed.  {ML 359.2}
[ML 359.3]          Amid the ransomed throng are the apostles of Christ, the heroic Paul, the ardent Peter, the loved and loving John, and their true-hearted brethren, and with them the vast host of martyrs.  {ML 359.3}
[ML 359.4]          Heaven is full of joy. It resounds with the praise of Him who made so wonderful a sacrifice for the redemption of the human race. Should not the church on earth be full of praise? Should not Christians publish throughout the world the joy of serving Christ? Those who in heaven join with the angelic choir in their anthem of praise must learn on earth the song of heaven, the keynote of which is thanksgiving.  {ML 359.4}
[ML 359.5]          Everything in heaven is noble and elevated. All seek the interest and happiness of others. No one devotes himself to looking out and caring for self. It is the chief joy of all holy beings to witness the joy and happiness of those around them.  {ML 359.5}
[ML 359.6]          If you have trials here, and feel lonesome, look away from this dark world to the bright glories of heaven. Set your affections upon heavenly joys, and then you will not feel so deeply the trials and disappointments of this life, for you will feel that you have a home in glory, a crown, a harp, and a lovely Saviour there. Strive for that blest inheritance which God has promised to those that love Him and keep His commandments.                                                                              360   {ML 359.6}
[ML 360.1]       Study God's Wisdom Throughout Eternity         The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. Ephesians 1:17, 18 {ML 360.1}
[ML 360.2]            The science of redemption is the science of all sciences, the science that is the study of the angels and of all the intelligences of the unfallen worlds, the science that engages the attention of our Lord and Saviour, the science that enters into the purpose brooded in the mind of the Infinite--"kept in silence through times eternal," the science that will be the study of God's redeemed throughout the endless ages. This is the highest study in which it is possible for man to engage. As no other study can, it will quicken the mind and uplift the soul. . . .  {ML 360.2}
[ML 360.3]          The theme of redemption is one that angels desire to look into; it will be the science and the song of the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Is it not worthy of careful thought and study now? . . .  {ML 360.3}
[ML 360.4]          The subject is inexhaustible. The study of the incarnation of Christ, His atoning sacrifice, and mediatorial work will employ the mind of the diligent student as long as time shall last; and looking to heaven with its unnumbered years, he will exclaim, "Great is the mystery of godliness."  {ML 360.4}
[ML 360.5]          In eternity we shall learn that which, had we received the enlightenment that it was possible to obtain here, would have opened our understanding. The themes of redemption will employ the hearts and minds and tongues of the redeemed through the everlasting ages. They will understand the truths which Christ longed to open to His disciples, but which they did not have faith to grasp. Forever and forever new views of the perfection and glory of Christ will appear. Through endless ages the faithful Householder will bring forth from His treasures things new and old.  {ML 360.5}
[ML 360.6]          Since God is infinite, and in Him are all the treasures of wisdom, we may to all eternity be ever searching, ever learning, yet never exhaust the riches of His wisdom, His goodness, or His power.                                                                              361   {ML 360.6}
[ML 361.1]       Christ Will Teach the Redeemed         And they shall be all taught of God. John 6:45 {ML 361.1}
[ML 361.2]            In the school of Christ students never graduate. Among the pupils are both the old and the young. Those who give heed to the instructions of the Divine Teacher constantly advance in wisdom, refinement, and nobility of soul, and thus they are prepared to enter that higher school, where advancement will continue throughout eternity. . . .  {ML 361.2}
[ML 361.3]          To dwell forever in this home of the blest, to bear in soul, body, and spirit, not the dark traces of sin and the curse, but the perfect likeness of our Creator, and through ceaseless ages to advance in wisdom, in knowledge and holiness, ever exploring new fields of thought, ever finding new wonders and new glories, ever increasing in capacity to know and to enjoy and to love, and knowing that there is still beyond us joy and love and wisdom infinite--such is the object to which the Christian hope is pointing.  {ML 361.3}
[ML 361.4]          In the world to come Christ will lead the redeemed beside the river of life and will teach them wonderful lessons of truth. He will unfold to them the mysteries of nature. They will see that a master hand holds the world in position. They will behold the skill displayed by the great Artist in coloring the flowers of the field, and will learn of the purposes of the merciful Father, who dispenses every ray of light, and with the holy angels the redeemed will acknowledge in songs of grateful praise God's supreme love to an unthankful world. Then it will be understood that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  {ML 361.4}
[ML 361.5]          He ［Christ］ will impart rich stores of knowledge. He will unravel mysteries in the providences of God which in this life we are unable to understand.                              *     *     *     *     *  {ML 361.5}
[ML 361.6]          We must get an education here that will enable us to live with God through the eternal ages. The education we begin here will be perfected in heaven. We will only just enter a higher grade.                                                                              362   {ML 361.6}
[ML 362.1]       Travel to Worlds Afar         These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. Revelation 14:4 {ML 362.1}
[ML 362.2]            All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar--worlds that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe and rang with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God's handiwork. With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation--suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator's name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed.  {ML 362.2}
[ML 362.3]          And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption, and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise. . . .  {ML 362.3}
[ML 362.4]          The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, . . . in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy declare that God is love.                                                                              363   {ML 362.4}
[ML 363.1]       Listen to the Angel Choir         And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:13, 14 {ML 363.1}
[ML 363.2]            No one born into the world, not even the most gifted of God's children, has ever been accorded such demonstration of joy as greeted the Babe born in Bethlehem.  {ML 363.2}
[ML 363.3]          The angels . . . appeared to the humble shepherds, guarding their flocks by night, upon Bethlehem's plains. . . . The angel of the Lord came to them, and said, "Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." No sooner had their eyes become accustomed to the glorious presence of the one angel than, lo! the whole plain was lighted up with the wondrous glory of the multitude of angels that peopled the plains of Bethlehem . . . , all praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest; and on earth, peace, good will toward men."  {ML 363.3}
[ML 363.4]          Then was the melody of heaven heard by mortal ears, and the heavenly choir swept back to heaven as they closed their ever memorable anthem. The light faded away. . . ; but there remained in the hearts of the shepherds the brightest picture mortal man had ever looked upon, and the blessed promise and assurance of the advent to our world of the Saviour of men, which filled their hearts with joy and gladness, mingled with faith and wondrous love to God.  {ML 363.4}
[ML 363.5]          O that today the human family could recognize that song! The declaration then made, the note them struck, will swell to the close of time and resound to the ends of the earth. When the Sun of Righteousness shall arise, with healing in His wings, that song will be re-echoed by the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, saying, "Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."                                                                              364   {ML 363.5}
[ML 364.1]       Worship Together         For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. Isaiah 66:22, 23 {ML 364.1}
[ML 364.2]            In the beginning the Father and the Son had rested upon the Sabbath after their work of creation. When "the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them," the Creator and all heavenly beings rejoiced in contemplation of the glorious scene. "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." . . .  {ML 364.2}
[ML 364.3]          When there shall be a "restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began," the creation Sabbath, the day on which Jesus lay at rest in Joseph's tomb, will still be a day of rest and rejoicing. Heaven and earth will unite in praise, as "from one sabbath to another" the nations of the saved shall bow in joyful worship to God and the Lamb.  {ML 364.3}
[ML 364.4]          The nations of the saved will know no other law than the law of heaven. All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving. Over the scene the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy. . . .  {ML 364.4}
[ML 364.5]          "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." "The Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." "In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue His people."  {ML 364.5}
[ML 364.6]          So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun.                                                                              365   {ML 364.6}
[ML 365.1]       Privilege of Open Communion With God         I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. Revelation 21:22 {ML 365.1}
[ML 365.2]            The people of God are privileged to hold open communion with the Father and the Son. "Now we see through a glass, darkly." We behold the image of God reflected, as in a mirror, in the works of nature and in His dealings with men; but then we shall see Him face to face, without a dimming veil between. We shall stand in His presence and behold the glory of His countenance.  {ML 365.2}
[ML 365.3]          We may address Him by the endearing name, "Our Father," which is a sign of our affection for Him and a pledge of His tender regard and relationship to us. And the Son of God, beholding the heirs of grace, "is not ashamed to call them brethren." They have even a more sacred relationship to God than have the angels who have never fallen.  {ML 365.3}
[ML 365.4]          All the paternal love which has come down from generation to generation through the channel of human hearts, all the springs of tenderness which have opened in the souls of men, are but as a tiny rill to the boundless ocean when compared with the infinite, exhaustless love of God.  {ML 365.4}
[ML 365.5]          Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God through Christ. The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and still more of glory will be opened to us; and the more we know of God, the more intense will be our happiness.  {ML 365.5}
[ML 365.6]          And what is the happiness of heaven but to see God? What greater joy could come to the sinner saved by the grace of Christ than to look upon the face of God and know Him as Father?  {ML 365.6}
[ML 365.7]          How much comfort it gives to behold Him here by the eye of faith, that we may by beholding be made like Him, but what will it be to behold Him as He is, without one dimming veil between?                                                                              366   {ML 365.7}
[ML 366.1]       The Veil Will Be Drawn Aside         Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face. 1 Corinthians 13:12 {ML 366.1}
[ML 366.2]            There, when the veil that darkens our vision shall be removed, and our eyes shall behold that world of beauty of which we now catch glimpses through the microscope; when we look on the glories of the heavens, now scanned afar through the telescope; when, the blight of sin removed, the whole earth shall appear "in the beauty of the Lord our God," what a field will be open to our study! There the student of science may read the records of creation, and discern no reminders of the law of evil. He may listen to the music of nature's voices, and detect no note of wailing or undertone of sorrow. In all created things he may trace one handwriting--in the vast universe behold "God's name writ large," and not in earth or sea or sky one sign of ill remaining. . . .  {ML 366.2}
[ML 366.3]          There will be open to the student history of infinite scope and of wealth inexpressible. Here, from the vantage ground of God's Word, the student is afforded a view of the vast field of history, and may gain some knowledge of the principles that govern the course of human events. But his vision is still clouded and his knowledge incomplete. Not until he stands in the light of eternity will he see all things clearly. . . .  {ML 366.3}
[ML 366.4]          The veil that interposes between the visible and the invisible world will be drawn aside, and wonderful things will be revealed. . . .  {ML 366.4}
[ML 366.5]          There all who have wrought with unselfish spirit will behold the fruit of their labors. The outworking of every right principle and noble deed will be seen. . . . How little of the result of the world's noblest work is in this life manifest to the doer! . . . Parents and teachers lie down in their last sleep, their lifework seeming to have been wrought in vain; they know not that their faithfulness has unsealed springs of blessing that can never cease to flow . . . , and the influence repeat itself a thousandfold. . . . In the hereafter the action and reaction of all these will be seen.                                                                              367   {ML 366.5}
[ML 367.1]       I Shall Meet My Guardian Angel         Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 18:10 {ML 367.1}
[ML 367.2]            Not until the providences of God are seen in the light of eternity shall we understand what we owe to the care and interposition of His angels. Celestial beings have taken an active part in the affairs of men. They have appeared in garments that shone as the lightning; they have come as men, in the garb of wayfarers. They have accepted the hospitalities of human homes; they have acted as guides to benighted travelers. They have thwarted the spoiler's purpose, and turned aside the stroke of the destroyer.  {ML 367.2}
[ML 367.3]          Though the rulers of this world know it not, yet often in their councils angels have been spokesmen. Human eyes have looked upon them. Human ears have listened to their appeals. In the council hall and the court of justice heavenly messengers have pleaded the cause of the persecuted and oppressed. They have defeated purposes and arrested evils that would have brought wrong and suffering to God's children. . . .  {ML 367.3}
[ML 367.4]          Every redeemed one will understand the ministry of angels in his own life. The angel who was his guardian from his earliest moment; the angel who watched his steps, and covered his head in the day of peril; the angel who was with him in the valley of the shadow of death; who marked his resting place, who was the first to greet him in the resurrection morning--what will it be to hold converse with him, and to learn the history of divine interposition in the individual life, of heavenly cooperation in every work for humanity!  {ML 367.4}
[ML 367.5]          All the perplexities of life's experience will then be made plain. Where to us have appeared only confusion and disappointment, broken purposes and thwarted plans, will be seen a grand, overruling, victorious purpose, a divine harmony.                                                                              368   {ML 367.5}
[ML 368.1]       Why the Great Controversy Was Permitted         And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. Ephesians 3:9, 10 {ML 368.1}
[ML 368.2]            For what was the great controversy permitted to continue throughout the ages? Why was it that Satan's existence was not cut short at the outset of his rebellion?--It was that the universe might be convinced of God's justice in His dealing with evil, that sin might receive eternal condemnation. In the plan of redemption there are heights and depths that eternity itself can never exhaust, marvels into which the angels desire to look. The redeemed only, of all created beings, have in their own experience known the actual conflict with sin; they have wrought with Christ, and, as even the angels could not do, have entered into the fellowship of His sufferings. . . .  {ML 368.2}
[ML 368.3]         He "hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places: . . . that in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."  {ML 368.3}
[ML 368.4]          As the nations of the saved look upon their Redeemer, and behold the eternal glory of the Father shining in His countenance; as they behold His throne, which is from everlasting to everlasting, and know that His kingdom is to have no end, they break forth in rapturous song. . . .  {ML 368.4}
[ML 368.5]          Mercy, tenderness, and parental love are seen to blend with holiness, justice, and power. While we behold the majesty of His throne, high and lifted up, we see His character in its gracious manifestations, and comprehend, as never before, the significance of that endearing title, "Our Father." . . .  {ML 368.5}
[ML 368.6]          The result of the Saviour's conflict with the powers of darkness is joy to the redeemed, redounding to the glory of God throughout eternity.                                                                              369   {ML 368.6}
[ML 369.1]       I Press Toward the Mark         This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13, 14 {ML 369.1}
[ML 369.2]            Another year of your life closes today. How can you look back upon it? Have you made advancement in the divine life? Have you increased in spirituality? Have you crucified self, with the affections and lusts? Have you an increased interest in the study of God's Word? Have you gained decided victories over your own feelings and waywardness? Oh, what has been the record of your life for the year which has now passed into eternity, never to be recalled?  {ML 369.2}
[ML 369.3]          As you enter upon a new year, let it be with an earnest resolve to have your course onward and upward. Let your life be more elevated and exalted than it has hitherto been. Make it your aim not to seek your own interest and pleasure, but to advance the cause of your Redeemer. Remain not in a position where you ever need help yourself, and where others have to guard you to keep you in the narrow way. You may be strong to exert a sanctifying influence upon others. You may be where your soul's interest will be awakened to do good to others, to comfort the sorrowful, strengthen the weak, and to bear your testimony for Christ whenever opportunity offers. Aim to honor God in everything, always and everywhere. Carry your religion into everything.  {ML 369.3}
[ML 369.4]          Prepare for eternity with such a zeal as you have not yet manifested. Educate your mind to love the Bible, to love the prayer meeting, to love the hour of meditation, and, above all, the hour when the soul communes with God. Become heavenly-minded if you would unite with the heavenly choir in the mansions above....  {ML 369.4}
[ML 369.5]          A new page is turned in the book of the recording angel. . . . Let a record be stamped there which you will not be ashamed to have revealed to the gaze of men and angels.  {ML 369.5}
[WM 0.1]         WM - Welfare Ministry (1952)      Table of Contents                                   Section I                            The Divine Philosophy of Suffering                                      and Poverty     1. Why Poverty and Distress? ....................................... 15   2. Christ's Sympathy for Suffering Humanity ........................ 23                                   Section II                            God's Program for His Church     3. Isaiah 58-- A Divine Prescription ............................... 29   4. This Is Pure Religion ........................................... 35   5. The Parable of the Good Samaritan ............................... 42                                   Section III                               The New Testament Pattern     6. Our Example in Welfare Ministry ................................. 53   7. Visitation--The New Testament Plan .............................. 59   8. Dorcas--Her Ministry and Its Influence .......................... 66                                    Section IV                                Neighborhood Evangelism     9. Types of Work in Neighborhood Evangelism ........................ 71  10. Kindness the Key to Hearts ...................................... 81  11. How to Visit and What to Do ..................................... 87                                                                                   6    12. The Effectiveness of Visitation Evangelism ...................... 97  13. Organizing the Church for Welfare Ministry ..................... 105                                    Section V                             Relieving Suffering Humanity    14. In the Footsteps of the Master ................................. 117  15. Medical Ministry in the Homes .................................. 125  16. Preparing for Last-Day Crises and Disasters .................... 134                                   Section VI                           The Dorcas Movement in the Church    17. Women Called to the Work ....................................... 143  18. Qualifications of Women for Service ............................ 149  19. The Influence of Christian Women ............................... 157                                   Section VII                                      The Poor    20. Ministry to the Poor ........................................... 169  21. The Poor in the Church ......................................... 178  22. The Poor of the World .......................................... 188  23. Helping the Poor to Help Themselves ............................ 194  24. Poor to Exercise Benevolence ................................... 203                                    Section VIII                                  The Unfortunate    25. Our Duty to the Unfortunate .................................... 209  26. Help and Encouragement for Widows .............................. 214  27. The Care of Orphans ............................................ 220  28. Adopting Children .............................................. 232  29. The Care of the Aged ........................................... 237  30. Our Responsibility to the Blind ................................ 239                                                                                7                                   Section IX                                  The Outcasts    31. Working for Outcasts ........................................... 245  32. Cautions Sounded ............................................... 253  33. The Call for a Balanced Work ................................... 256                                   Section X                          Financial Resources for Welfare Work    34. Our Individual Responsibility .................................. 263  35. Releasing the Streams of Benevolence ........................... 268  36. Specific Funds for Welfare Work ................................ 272  37. The Wealth of the Gentiles ..................................... 277  38. Food Sales ..................................................... 284  39. Forbidden Money-raising Methods ................................ 289                                  Section XI                          The Fruitage of Welfare Ministry    40. The Influence of Neighborhood Ministry ......................... 295  41. Reflex Blessings ............................................... 301  42. The Present and Eternal Rewards ................................ 311      Appendix ....................................................... 321  {WM 0.1}
[WM 0.2]     FOREWORD         WELFARE MINISTRY PRESENTS SPIRIT OF PROPHECY INSTRUCTION IN THE DELICATE WORK OF REACHING HEARTS AND WINNING SOULS THROUGH NEIGHBORLY KINDNESS. THIS IS  A TYPE OF SOUL-WINNING MINISTRY WITH WHICH MANY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS ARE BUT CASUALLY ACQUAINTED--YET A WORK ORDAINED OF GOD AS THE MOST APPROPRIATE MEANS OF BRINGING CHRIST AND CHRISTIANITY TO THE ATTENTION OF THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD. IT IS A WORK THAT PROMISES RICH REWARDS.       NOT ONLY BY CONCISE, WELL-WORDED PRECEPT HAS THE AUTHOR SET BEFORE US THIS TYPE OF MINISTRY, BUT THROUGH THE YEARS, ALTHOUGH BUSY WITH HER HOME DUTIES AND HER RESPONSIBILITIES AS THE MESSENGER OF THE LORD, SHE OFTEN UNWITTINGLY SET AN EXAMPLE AS HER HEART WAS DRAWN OUT TO THE NEEDY ABOUT HER. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF THE UNSELFISH MINISTRY OF ELLEN G. WHITE AS A WELFARE WORKER, DRAWN FROM HER DIARY AND LETTERS, AS FOUND IN THE APPENDIX OF THIS VOLUME, WILL BE PERUSED WITH EAGER INTEREST AND WELL MIGHT BE READ BEFORE THE COUNSELS FOUND IN THE BODY OF THE TEXT ARE STUDIED. BE THAT AS IT MAY, THE READER WILL SOON OBSERVE THAT THE WELFARE MINISTRY TO WHICH THE CHURCH IS  SUMMONED IS NOT MERELY A COMMUNITY SERVICE BUT A KIND OF LOVING MINISTRY AND SOUL-WINNING ENDEAVOR--THE HIGHEST TYPE OF WELFARE EVANGELISM.       IN THE ASSEMBLING OF SPIRIT OF PROPHECY COUNSELS RELATING TO THIS IMPORTANT FIELD OF ENDEAVOR, EXCERPTS HAVE BEEN DRAWN FROM THE VAST RESERVOIR OF PRECIOUS INSTRUCTION PENNED THROUGH SEVEN DECADES. THEY HAVE BEEN GATHERED NOT ONLY FROM CURRENTLY AVAILABLE PUBLISHED BOOKS BUT ALSO FROM THE THOUSANDS OF E. G.                                                                       10    WHITE ARTICLES WHICH WERE PREPARED FOR THE JOURNALS OF THE DENOMINATION, THE SPECIAL TESTIMONIES ISSUED IN PAMPHLET FORM, AND THE E. G. WHITE MANUSCRIPT FILES. SELECTED AS THEY ARE FROM THESE VARIOUS SOURCES WRITTEN AT DIFFERENT TIMES, THEY INEVITABLY BRING THE READER OVER THE SAME PATH HE HAS TRAVERSED BEFORE, TO EMPHASIZE SOME IMPORTANT POINT VITAL TO A FULL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBJECT. SUCH REPETITION, THOUGH REDUCED TO A MINIMUM, CANNOT BE AVOIDED ENTIRELY IN SUCH A COMPILATION AS THIS, FOR THE COMPILERS ARE LIMITED IN THEIR WORK TO THE SELECTING OF THE SUBJECT MATTER AND THE ARRANGING OF IT IN ITS LOGICAL SEQUENCE, SUPPLYING  ONLY THE HEADINGS.       IT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT AND WELL-NIGH IMPOSSIBLE TO BRING WITHIN THE COVERS OF ONE BOOK THE VAST AMOUNT OF INSTRUCTION ELLEN G. WHITE HAS GIVEN CONCERNING THIS PARTICULAR KIND OF WORK, AND WHICH MIGHT RIGHTLY APPEAR IN A VOLUME BEARING THE TITLE WELFARE MINISTRY. IT IS NOT A SIMPLE MATTER TO SELECT THE MATERIAL AND DRAW THE LINE BETWEEN THE NEIGHBORLY VISIT AND THE MISSIONARY CALL, NOR TO SEPARATE THE WORK OF NOBLE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST WOMEN IN ITS BROADER ASPECTS FROM THE MORE WELL-DEFINED TASK UNDERTAKEN WITH SOLELY MISSIONARY OBJECTIVES. TO THE CHILD OF GOD THESE BLEND TOGETHER IN THE VARIED ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIFE.       ATTENTION IS HERE CALLED TO CERTAIN TERMS OCCURRING FREQUENTLY IN THIS VOLUME SUCH AS "MEDICAL MISSIONARY WORK" AND "CHRISTIAN HELP WORK." IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT A CAREFUL STUDY OF THE ELLEN G. WHITE WRITINGS  REVEALS THAT THE PHRASE "MEDICAL MISSIONARY WORK" IS  EMPLOYED BY THE AUTHOR TO INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES OF CONSECRATED DOCTORS AND NURSES, AND THAT ITS  SIGNIFICANCE ALSO REACHES FAR BEYOND THESE BOUNDS TO INCLUDE ALL ACTS OF MERCY AND DISINTERESTED KINDNESS. "CHRISTIAN HELP WORK" IS ALSO A TERM MORE COMMONLY                                                                       11    EMPLOYED BY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS IN THEIR EARLIER YEARS THAN NOW AND REFERS TO THE TYPE OF WORK DESCRIBED IN THIS VOLUME. WRITING AS SHE DID IN DIFFERENT CONTINENTS, THE AUTHOR IN HER REFERENCE TO MONEY AT TIMES SPEAKS OF DOLLARS AND AT OTHER TIMES OF POUNDS AND SHILLINGS.       IT IS URGED THAT THE READER STUDY THE INSTRUCTION IN ITS PROPER SETTING, TO DISCOVER THE BASIC PRINCIPLES  INVOLVED IN EACH CASE. FOR INSTANCE, A STUDY OF THE COUNSELS REGARDING "CHURCH SUPPERS" WILL REVEAL THAT ALTHOUGH WE ARE WARNED AGAINST UTILIZING THE APPEAL TO INDULGED APPETITE AND LOVE OF PLEASURE AS A MEANS OF RAISING CHURCH FUNDS, YET IT IS THE PRIVILEGE OF CHURCH GROUPS TO ENGAGE IN THE PREPARATION AND SALE OF HEALTHFUL FOOD IF THE WORK IS PROPERLY CONDUCTED AND DONE IN AN APPROPRIATE PLACE.       EXCEPT IN A VERY FEW CASES WHERE A SENTENCE OR TWO MAY CLEARLY ENUNCIATE A PRINCIPLE, THE COMPILERS HAVE ENDEAVORED TO INCLUDE SUFFICIENT OF THE CONTEXT OF EACH EXCERPT TO ASSURE THE READER OF THE PROPER USE OF THE SELECTED STATEMENT. IN EACH CASE THE DATE OF WRITING OR OF FIRST PUBLICATION IS INDICATED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NOTATION OF THE SOURCE FROM WHICH THE STATEMENT IS DRAWN.       THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN PREPARED IN THE OFFICE OF THE ELLEN G. WHITE PUBLICATIONS BY THE TRUSTEES, WHO CARRY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CARE AND PUBLICATION OF THE E. G. WHITE WRITINGS. THE WORK HAS BEEN DONE IN FULL HARMONY WITH MRS. WHITE'S INSTRUCTION TO THESE TRUSTEES IN PROVIDING "FOR THE PRINTING OF COMPILATIONS FROM MY MANUSCRIPTS," FOR THEY CONTAIN, SHE SAID, "INSTRUCTION THAT THE LORD HAS GIVEN ME FOR HIS PEOPLE."       THAT THIS VOLUME OF INSTRUCTION ADDRESSED TO SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS--LAITY AND MINISTRY ALIKE--MAY ENCOURAGE THE CHURCH TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE                                                                       12    OPPORTUNITIES IN NEIGHBORHOOD MINISTRY; THAT ITS INSTRUCTION MAY GUIDE IN INTELLIGENT, CONSCIENTIOUS, LOVING SERVICE; AND THAT THROUGH ITS GUIDANCE THERE MAY BE AN ABUNDANT HARVEST OF SOULS IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS THE SINCERE WISH OF THE PUBLISHERS AND                               THE TRUSTEES OF THE                               ELLEN G. WHITE PUBLICATIONS.    WASHINGTON, D.C.  SEPTEMBER 10,1951  {WM 0.2}
[WM 14.1]     Gem Thought             Gem Thought          Sin has extinguished the love that God placed in man's heart. The work of the church is to rekindle this love. The church is to cooperate with God by uprooting selfishness from the human heart, placing in its stead the benevolence that was in man's heart in his original state of perfection. --Letter 134, 1902.  {WM 14.1}
[WM 15.1]       Chapter One - Why Poverty and Distress?         Blessed Are the Merciful.--The Lord Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." There never was a time when there was greater need for the exercise of mercy than today. The poor are all around us, the distressed, the afflicted, the sorrowing, and those who are ready to perish.  {WM 15.1}
[WM 15.2]          Those who have acquired riches have acquired them through the exercise of the talents that were given them of God, but these talents for the acquiring of property were given to them that they might relieve those who are in poverty. These gifts were bestowed upon men by Him who maketh His sun to shine and His rain to fall upon the just and the unjust, that by the fruitfulness of the earth men might have abundant supplies for all their need. The fields have been blessed of God, and "of His goodness He hath prepared for the poor."--Signs of the Times, June 13, 1892.  {WM 15.2}
[WM 15.3]          Suffering and Misery Not Intended by God.-- There are many who complain of God because the world is so full of want and suffering, but God never meant that this misery should exist. He never meant that one man should have an abundance of the luxuries of life while the children of others cry for bread. The Lord is a God of benevolence.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 273.                                                                              16   {WM 15.3}
[WM 16.1]          God has made men His stewards, and He is not to be charged with the sufferings, the misery, the nakedness, and the want of humanity. The Lord has made ample provision for all. He has given to thousands of men large supplies with which to alleviate the want of their fellows; but those whom God has made stewards have not stood the test, for they have failed to relieve the suffering and the needy.  {WM 16.1}
[WM 16.2]          When men who have been abundantly blessed of Heaven with large wealth fail to carry out God's design, and do not relieve the poor and the oppressed, the Lord is displeased and will surely visit them. They have no excuse for withholding from their neighbors the help that God has put it into their power to provide; and God is dishonored, His character is misinterpreted by Satan, and He is represented as a stern judge who causes suffering to come upon the creatures He has made. This misrepresentation of God's character is made to appear as truth, and thus through the temptation of the enemy men's hearts are hardened against God. Satan charges upon God the very evil he himself has caused men to commit by withholding their means from the suffering. He attributes to God his own characteristics.--Review and Herald, June 26, 1894.  {WM 16.2}
[WM 16.3]          There Need Be No Suffering, No Destitution.-- If men would do their duty as faithful stewards of their Lord's goods, there would be no cry for bread, none suffering in destitution, none naked and in want. It is the unfaithfulness of men that brings about the state of suffering in which humanity is plunged. If those whom God has made stewards would but appropriate their Lord's goods to the object for which He gave to them, this state of suffering would not exist. The Lord tests men by giving them an                                                                              17  abundance of good things, just as He tested the rich man of the parable. If we prove ourselves unfaithful in the righteous mammon, who shall entrust to us the true riches? It will be those who have stood the test on the earth, who have been found faithful, who have obeyed the words of the Lord in being merciful, in using their means for the advancement of His kingdom, that will hear from the lips of the Master, "Well done, good and faithful servant."--Ibid.  {WM 16.3}
[WM 17.1]          Some Rich--Some Poor.--The reason why God has permitted some of the human family to be so rich and some so poor will remain a mystery to men till eternity, unless they enter into right relations with God and carry out His plans instead of acting on their own selfish ideas.--Testimonies to Ministers, p. 280.  {WM 17.1}
[WM 17.2]          To Encourage Love and Mercy.--In the providence of God events have been so ordered that the poor are always with us, in order that there may be a constant exercise in the human heart of the attributes of mercy and love. Man is to cultivate the tenderness and compassion of Christ; he is not to separate himself from the sorrowing, the afflicted, the needy, and the distressed.--Signs of the Times, June 13, 1892.  {WM 17.2}
[WM 17.3]          To Develop a Godlike Character in Man.--While the world needs sympathy, while it needs the prayers and assistance of God's people, while it needs to see Christ in the lives of His followers, the people of God are equally in need of opportunities that draw out their sympathies, give efficiency to their prayers, and develop in them a character like that of the divine pattern.  {WM 17.3}
[WM 17.4]          It is to provide these opportunities that God has placed among us the poor, the unfortunate, the sick,                                                                              18  and the suffering. They are Christ's legacy to His church, and they are to be cared for as He would care for them. In this way God takes away the dross and purifies the gold, giving us that culture of heart and character which we need.  {WM 17.4}
[WM 18.1]          The Lord could carry forward His work without our cooperation. He is not dependent on us for our money, our time, or our labor. But the church is very precious in His sight. It is the case which contains His jewels, the fold which encloses His flock, and He longs to see it without spot or blemish or any such thing. He yearns after it with unspeakable love. This is why He has given us opportunities to work for Him, and He accepts our labors as tokens of our love and loyalty.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 261.  {WM 18.1}
[WM 18.2]          That We May Understand the Mercy of God.-- The poor man as well as the rich man is the object of God's special care and attention. Take away poverty, and we should have no way of understanding the mercy and love of God, no way of knowing the compassionate and sympathetic heavenly Father.--Letter 83, 1902.  {WM 18.2}
[WM 18.3]          God Gives to Us That We Might Give to Others.-- God imparts His blessing to us that we may impart to others. When we ask Him for our daily bread He looks into our hearts to see if we will share the same with those more needy than ourselves. When we pray "God be merciful to me a sinner," He watches to see if we will manifest compassion toward those with whom we associate. This is the evidence of our connection with God, that we are merciful even as our Father in heaven is merciful.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 283, 284.  {WM 18.3}
[WM 18.4]         Withholding Dwarfs Spiritual Growth.--Nothing                                                                              19  saps spirituality from the soul more quickly than to enclose it in selfishness and self-caring. Those who indulge self and neglect to care for the souls and bodies of those for whom Christ has given His life, are not eating of the bread of life or drinking of the water of the well of salvation. They are dry and sapless, like a tree that bears no fruit. They are spiritual dwarfs, who consume their means on self; but "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."--Review and Herald, Jan. 15, 1895.  {WM 18.4}
[WM 19.1]          It is because the rich neglect to do the work for the poor that God designed they should do, that they grow more proud, more self-sufficient, more self-indulgent, and hardhearted. They separate the poor from them simply because they are poor, and thus give them occasion to become envious and jealous. Many become bitter, and are imbued with hatred toward those who have everything when they have nothing.  {WM 19.1}
[WM 19.2]          God weighs actions, and everyone who has been unfaithful in his stewardship, who has failed to remedy evils which were in his power to remedy, will be of no esteem in the courts of heaven. Those who are indifferent to the wants of the needy will be counted unfaithful stewards, and will be registered as enemies of God and man. Those who misappropriate the means that God has entrusted to them to help the very ones who need their help, prove that they have no connection with Christ, because they fail to manifest the tenderness of Christ toward those who are less fortunate than themselves.--Ibid., Dec. 10, 1895.  {WM 19.2}
[WM 19.3]          If the Rich Walk in Christ's Footsteps.--The rich man is a steward of God, and if he walks in Christ's footsteps, maintaining a humble, godly life, he becomes, through the transformation of character,                                                                              20  meek and lowly in heart. He realizes that his possessions are only lent treasures, and he feels that a sacred trust has been committed to him to help the needy and suffering, in Christ's stead. This work will bring its reward in talents and treasures laid up beside the throne of God. Thus the rich man may make a spiritual success of life, as a faithful steward of his Lord's goods.--Manuscript 22, 1898.  {WM 19.3}
[WM 20.1]          Suffering--One Means of Perfecting Character.-- The Saviour's words have a message of comfort to those also who are suffering affliction or bereavement. Our sorrows do not spring out of the ground. God "doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." When He permits trials and afflictions, it is "for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness." If received in faith, the trial that seems so bitter and hard to bear will prove a blessing. The cruel blow that blights the joys of earth will be the means turning our eyes to Heaven. How many there are who would never have known Jesus had not sorrow led them to seek comfort in Him!  {WM 20.1}
[WM 20.2]          The trials of life are God's workmen, to remove the impurities and roughness from our character. Their hewing, squaring, and chiseling, their burnishing and polishing, is a painful process; it is hard to be pressed down to the grinding wheel. But the stone is brought forth prepared to fill its place in the heavenly temple. Upon no useless material does the Master bestow such careful, thorough work. Only His precious stones are polished after the similitude of a palace.  {WM 20.2}
[WM 20.3]          The Lord will work for all who put their trust in Him. Precious victories will be gained by the faithful. Precious lessons will be learned. Precious experiences will be realized.--Mount of Blessing, pp. 23, 24.                                                                              21   {WM 20.3}
[WM 21.1]          Affliction and Calamity No Indication of God's Disfavor.--"As Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." ...  {WM 21.1}
[WM 21.2]          It was generally believed by the Jews that sin is punished in this life. Every affliction was regarded as the penalty of some wrongdoing, either of the sufferer himself or of his parents. It is true that all suffering results from the transgression of God's law, but this truth had become perverted. Satan, the author of sin and all its results, had led men to look upon disease and death as proceeding from God--as punishment arbitrarily inflicted on account of sin. Hence one upon whom some great affliction or calamity had fallen, had the additional burden of being regarded as a great sinner....  {WM 21.2}
[WM 21.3]          God had given a lesson designed to prevent this. The history of Job had shown that suffering is inflicted by Satan, and is overruled by God for purposes of mercy. But Israel did not understand the lesson. The same error for which God had reproved the friends of Job was repeated by the Jews in their rejection of Christ.  {WM 21.3}
[WM 21.4]          The belief of the Jews in regard to the relation of sin and suffering was held by Christ's disciples. While Jesus corrected their error. He did not explain the cause of the man's affliction, but told them what would be the result. Because of it the works of God would be made manifest. "As long as I am in the world," He said, "I am the light of the world." Then having anointed the eyes of the blind man, He sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man's sight was                                                                              22  restored. Thus Jesus answered the question of the disciples in a practical way, as He usually answered questions put to Him from curiosity. The disciples were not called upon to discuss the question as to who had sinned or had not sinned, but to understand the power and mercy of God in giving sight to the blind.-- The Desire of Ages, pp. 470, 471.  {WM 21.4}
[WM 22.1]          Christ to Be Seen and Heard Through Us.--God designs that the sick, the unfortunate, those possessed of evil spirits, shall hear His voice through us. Through His human agents He desires to be a comforter, such as the world has never before seen. His words are to be voiced by His followers: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me."  {WM 22.1}
[WM 22.2]          The Lord will work through every soul that will give himself up to be worked, not only to preach but to minister to the despairing and to inspire hope in the hearts of the hopeless. We are to act our part in relieving and softening the miseries of this life. The miseries and mysteries of this life are as dark and cloudy as they were thousands of years ago. There is something for us to do: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." There are needy close by us; the suffering are in our very borders. We must try to help them. By the grace of Christ, the sealed fountains of earnest, Christlike work are to be unsealed. In the strength of Him who has all strength we are to work as we have never worked before.--Manuscript 65b, 1898.  {WM 22.2}
[WM 23.1]       Chapter Two - Christ's Sympathy for Suffering Humanity         Christ Himself Suffers With Suffering Humanity. --Christ identifies His interest with that of suffering humanity. He reproved His own nation for their wrong treatment of their fellow men. The neglect or abuse of the weakest, the most erring believers He speaks of as rendered to Himself. The favors shown them are accredited as bestowed upon Himself. He has not left us in darkness concerning our duty, but often repeats the same lessons through different figures and in different lights. He carries the actors forward to the last great day, and declares that the treatment given to the very least of His brethren is commended or condemned as if done to Himself. He says, "Ye did it unto Me," or, "Ye did it not unto Me."  {WM 23.1}
[WM 23.2]          He is our substitute and surety; He stands in the place of humanity, so that He Himself is affected as His weakest follower is affected. Such is the sympathy of Christ, which never allows Him to be an indifferent spectator of any suffering caused to His children. Not the slightest wound can be given by word, spirit, or action, that does not touch the heart of Him who gave His life for fallen humanity. Let us bear in mind that Christ is the great heart from which the lifeblood flows to every organ in the body. He is the head, from which extends every nerve to the minutest and remotest member of the body. When one member of that body with which Christ is so                                                                              24  mysteriously connected, suffers, the throb of pain is felt by our Saviour.  {WM 23.2}
[WM 24.1]          Will the church arouse? Will its members come into sympathy with Christ, so they will have His tenderness for all the sheep and lambs of His fold? For their sake the Majesty of heaven made Himself of no reputation; for them He came to a world all seared and marred with the curse, He toiled day and night to instruct, to elevate, and to bring everlasting joy to a thankless, disobedient people. For their sake He became poor, that they through His poverty might be rich. For them He denied Himself; for them He endured privation, scorn, contempt, suffering, and death. For them He took the form of a servant. This is our pattern; will we copy it? Will we have a care for God's heritage? Will we cherish tender compassion for the erring, the tempted, and the tried?--Letter 45, 1894.  {WM 24.1}
[WM 24.2]          Touched With the Feelings of Our Infirmities.-- Christ, our substitute and surety, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. His human life was one long travail in behalf of the inheritance He was to purchase at such an infinite cost. He was touched with the feelings of our infirmities. In consideration of the value He places upon the purchase of His blood, He adopts them as His children, makes them the objects of His tender care, and in order that they may have their temporal and spiritual necessities supplied, He commits them to His church, saying, "Inasmuch as ye do it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye do it unto Me."--Manuscript 40, 1899.  {WM 24.2}
[WM 24.3]          Christ Came to Relieve Suffering.--This world is a vast lazar house, but Christ came to heal the sick, to proclaim deliverance to the captives of Satan. He was in Himself health and strength. He imparted His life                                                                              25  to the sick, the afflicted, those possessed of demons. He turned away none who came to receive His healing power. He knew that those who petitioned Him for help had brought disease upon themselves; yet He did not refuse to heal them. And when virtue from Christ entered into these poor souls, they were convicted of sin, and many were healed of their spiritual disease, as well as of their physical maladies. The gospel still possesses the same power, and why should we not today witness the same results?  {WM 24.3}
[WM 25.1]          Christ feels the woes of every sufferer. When evil spirits rend a human frame, Christ feels the curse. When fever is burning up the life current, He feels the agony. And He is just as willing to heal the sick now as when He was personally on earth. Christ's servants are His representatives, the channels for His working. He desires through them to exercise His healing power. --The Desire of Ages, pp. 823, 824.  {WM 25.1}
[WM 25.2]          Christ alone had experience in all the sorrows and temptations that befall human beings. Never another of woman born was so fiercely beset by temptation; never another bore so heavy a burden of the world's sin and pain. Never was there another whose sympathies were so broad or so tender. A sharer in all the experiences of humanity He could feel not only for, but with, every burdened and tempted and struggling one.--Education, p. 78.  {WM 25.2}
[WM 25.3]          Christ Reached Rich and Poor Alike.--Christ took a position which was on a level with the poor, that through His poverty we might become rich in beauty of character, and be, as He was, a savor of life unto life. By becoming poor He could sympathize with the poor. His humanity could touch their humanity and help them to gain the perfection of right habits and a                                                                              26  noble character. He could teach them how to lay up for themselves in heaven imperishable treasures. The commander in the heavenly courts, He became one with humanity, a partaker of their sufferings and afflictions, that through the representation of His character in its unsullied purity they might become partakers of the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust. And Christ was a joy to the rich, for He could teach them how to sacrifice their earthly possessions to help to save the souls perishing in the darkness of error.--Letter 150, 1899.  {WM 25.3}
[WM 26.1]          Cultivate Christlike Compassion and Sympathy.-- The tender sympathies of our Saviour were aroused for fallen and suffering humanity. If you would be His followers, you must cultivate compassion and sympathy. Indifference to human woes must give place to lively interest in the sufferings of others. The widow, the orphan, the sick, and the dying will always need help. Here is an opportunity to proclaim the gospel-- to hold up Jesus, the hope and consolation of all men. When the suffering body has been relieved, and you have shown a lively interest in the afflicted, the heart is opened, and you can pour in the heavenly balm. If you are looking to Jesus, and drawing from Him knowledge and strength and grace, you can impart His consolation to others, because the Comforter is with you.--Medical Missionary, January, 1891.                                                                              28   {WM 26.1}
[WM 28.1]                  Gem Thought          Read Isaiah 58, ye who claim to be children of the light. Especially do you read it again and again who have felt so reluctant to inconvenience yourselves by favoring the needy. You whose hearts and houses are too narrow to make a home for the homeless, read it; you who can see orphans and widows oppressed by the iron hand of poverty and bowed down by hardhearted worldlings, read it. Are you afraid that an influence will be introduced into your family that will cost you more labor? Read it. Your fears may be groundless, and a blessing may come, known and realized by you every day. But if otherwise, if extra labor is called for, you can draw upon One who has promised: "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily."  {WM 28.1}
[WM 28.2]          The reason why God's people are not more spiritually minded, and have not more faith, I have been shown, is because they are narrowed up with selfishness. The prophet is addressing Sabbathkeepers, not sinners, not unbelievers, but those who make great pretensions to godliness. It is not the abundance of your meetings that God accepts. It is not the numerous prayers, but the rightdoing, doing the right thing and at the right time. It is to be less self-caring and more benevolent. Our souls must expand. Then God will make them like a watered garden, whose waters fail not.--Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 35, 36.  {WM 28.2}
[WM 29.1]       Chapter Three - Isaiah 58- - A Divine Prescription         The Chapter That Defines Our Work.--The whole of the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah is to be regarded as a message for this time, to be given over and over again.--Special Testimonies, series B, no. 2, p. 5.  {WM 29.1}
[WM 29.2]          What saith the Lord in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah? The whole chapter is of the highest importance.--Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 159.  {WM 29.2}
[WM 29.3]          I have been instructed to refer our people to the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. Read this chapter carefully and understand the kind of ministry that will bring life into the churches. The work of the gospel is to be carried by means of our liberality as well as by our labors. When you meet suffering souls who need help, give it to them. When you find those who are hungry, feed them. In doing this you will be working in lines of Christ's ministry. The Master's holy work was a benevolent work. Let our people everywhere be encouraged to have a part in it.--Manuscript 7, 1908.  {WM 29.3}
[WM 29.4]          The Work Outlined.--Please read Isaiah 58: "Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands                                                                              30  of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."  {WM 29.4}
[WM 30.1]          This is the special work now before us. All our praying and abstinence from food will avail nothing unless we resolutely lay hold of this work. Sacred obligations are resting upon us. Our duty is plainly stated. The Lord has spoken to us by His prophet. The thoughts of the Lord and His ways are not what blind, selfish mortals believe they are or wish them to be. The Lord looks on the heart. If selfishness dwells there, He knows it. We may seek to conceal our true character from our brethren and sisters, but God knows. Nothing can be hid from Him.  {WM 30.1}
[WM 30.2]          The fast which God can accept is described. It is to deal thy bread to the hungry and to bring the poor which are cast out to thy house. Wait not for them to come to you. The labor rests not on them to hunt you                                                                              31  up and entreat of you a home for themselves. You are to search for them and bring them to your house. You are to draw out your soul after them. You are with one hand to reach up and by faith take hold of the mighty arm which brings salvation, while with the other hand of love you reach the oppressed and relieve them. It is impossible for you to fasten upon the arm of God with one hand while the other is employed in ministering to your own pleasure.  {WM 30.2}
[WM 31.1]          If you engage in this work of mercy and love, will the work prove too hard for you? Will you fail and be crushed under the burden, and your family be deprived of your assistance and influence? Oh, no; God has carefully removed all doubts upon this question, by a pledge to you on condition of your obedience. This promise covers all that the most exacting, the most hesitating, could crave. "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily." Only believe that He is faithful that hath promised. God can renew the physical strength. And more, He says He will do it. And the promise does not end here. "Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward." God will build a fortification around thee. The promise does not stop even here. "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am." If ye put down oppression and remove the speaking of vanity, if ye draw out your soul to the hungry, "then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought ［famine］, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."--Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 33-35.                                                                              32   {WM 31.1}
[WM 32.1]          The Twofold Reform of Isaiah 58.--The work specified in these words ［Isaiah 58］ is the work God requires His people to do. It is a work of God's own appointment. With the work of advocating the commandments of God and repairing the breach that has been made in the law of God, we are to mingle compassion for suffering humanity. We are to show supreme love to God; we are to exalt His memorial, which has been trodden down by unholy feet; and with this we are to manifest mercy, benevolence, and the tenderest pity for the fallen race. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." As a people we must take hold of this work. Love revealed for suffering humanity gives significance and power to the truth.--Special Testimonies, series A, no. 10, pp. 3, 4.  {WM 32.1}
[WM 32.2]          A True Interpretation of the Gospel.--It is only by an unselfish interest in those in need of help that we can give a practical demonstration of the truths of the gospel. "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."  {WM 32.2}
[WM 32.3]          Much more than mere sermonizing is included in preaching the gospel. The ignorant are to be enlightened; the discouraged are to be uplifted; the sick are to be healed. The human voice is to act its part in God's work. Words of tenderness, sympathy, and love are to witness to the truth. Earnest, heartfelt prayers are to bring the angels near. . . .  {WM 32.3}
[WM 32.4]          The Lord will give you success in this work; . . .                                                                              33  it is interwoven with the practical life, when it is lived and practiced. The union of Christlike work for the body and Christlike work for the soul is the true interpretation of the gospel.--Review and Herald, March 4, 1902.  {WM 32.4}
[WM 33.1]          The Counsel Is Explicit.--I have no fears of workers who are engaged in the work represented in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. This chapter is explicit, and is enough to enlighten anyone who wishes to do the will of God. There is plenty of opportunity for everyone to be a blessing to humanity. The third angel's message is not to be given a second place in this work, but is to be one with it. There may be, and there is, a danger of burying up the great principles of truth when doing the work that is right to do. This work is to be to the message what the hand is to the body. The spiritual necessities of the soul are to be kept prominent.--Letter 24, 1898.  {WM 33.1}
[WM 33.2]          Our God-appointed Work.--I cannot too strongly urge all our church members, all who are true missionaries, all who believe the third angel's message, all who turn away their feet from the Sabbath, to consider the message of the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. The work of beneficence enjoined in this chapter is the work that God requires His people to do at this time. It is a work of His own appointment. We are not left in doubt as to where the message applies, and the time of its marked fulfillment, for we read: "They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." Verse 12. God's memorial, the seventh-day Sabbath, the sign of His                                                                              34  work in creating the world, has been displaced by the man of sin. God's people have a special work to do in repairing the breach that has been made in His law; and the nearer we approach the end, the more urgent this work becomes. All who love God will show that they bear His sign by keeping His commandments. . . .  {WM 33.2}
[WM 34.1]         When the church accepts its God-given work, the promise is: "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward."--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 265-267.  {WM 34.1}
[WM 35.1]       Chapter Four - This is Pure Religion         Pure Religion Defined.--What is pure religion? Christ has told us that pure religion is the exercise of pity, sympathy, and love in the home, in the church, and in the world. This is the kind of religion to teach to the children, and is the genuine article. Teach them that they are not to center their thoughts upon themselves, but that wherever there is human need and suffering, there is a field for missionary work.--Review and Herald, Nov. 12, 1895.  {WM 35.1}
[WM 35.2]          Pure religion and undefiled before the Father is this: "To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Good deeds are the fruit that Christ requires us to bear: kind words, deeds of benevolence, of tender regard for the poor, the needy, the afflicted. When hearts sympathize with hearts burdened with discouragement and grief, when the hand dispenses to the needy, when the naked are clothed, the stranger made welcome to a seat in your parlor and a place in your heart, angels are coming very near, and an answering strain is responded to in heaven.--Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 25.  {WM 35.2}
[WM 35.3]          God's Test of Our Religion.--I have been shown some things in reference to our duty to the unfortunate which I feel it my duty to write at this time.  {WM 35.3}
[WM 35.4]          I saw that it is in the providence of God that widows and orphans, the blind, the deaf, the lame, and persons afflicted in a variety of ways have been placed in close Christian relationship to His church; it is to                                                                              36  prove His people and develop their true character. Angels of God are watching to see how we treat these persons who need our sympathy, love, and disinterested benevolence. This is God's test of our character. If we have the true religion of the Bible, we shall feel that a debt of love, kindness, and interest is due to Christ in behalf of His brethren; and we can do no less than to show our gratitude for His immeasurable love to us while we were sinners unworthy of His grace, by having a deep interest and unselfish love for those who are our brethren and who are less fortunate than ourselves.--Ibid., vol. 3, p. 511.  {WM 35.4}
[WM 36.1]          How Does Your Light Shine?--Those who should have been the light of the world have shed forth but feeble and sickly beams. What is light? It is piety, goodness, truth, mercy, love; it is the revealing of the truth in the character and life. The gospel is dependent on the personal piety of its believers for its aggressive power, and God has made provision through the death of His beloved Son, that every soul may be thoroughly furnished unto every good work.--Review and Herald, March 24, 1891.  {WM 36.1}
[WM 36.2]          The Sign Distinguishing True and False Religion. --True sympathy between man and his fellow man is to be the sign distinguishing those who love and fear God from those who are unmindful of His law. How great the sympathy that Christ expressed in coming to this world to give His life a sacrifice for a dying world! His religion led to the doing of genuine medical missionary work. ［THE READER SHOULD BEAR IN MIND THAT THE TERM "MEDICAL MISSIONARY WORK" AS OFTEN EMPLOYED BY MRS. WHITE STRETCHED FAR BEYOND THE BOUNDS OF PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL SERVICE TO EMBODY ALL ACTS OF MERCY AND DISINTERESTED KINDNESS.--COMPILERS.］ He was a healing power. "I will have                                                                              37  mercy, and not sacrifice," He said. This is the test that the great Author of truth used to distinguish between true religion and false.--Manuscript 117, 1903.  {WM 36.2}
[WM 37.1]         Practical Sympathy the Test of Purity.--Satan is playing the game of life for every soul. He knows that practical sympathy is a test of the purity and unselfishness of the heart, and he will make every possible effort to close our hearts to the needs of others, that we may finally be unmoved by the sight of suffering. He will bring in many things to prevent the expression of love and sympathy. It is thus that he ruined Judas. Judas was constantly planning to benefit self. In this he represents a large class of professed Christians of today. Therefore we need to study his case. We are as near to Christ as he was. Yet if, as with Judas, association with Christ does not make us one with Him, if it does not cultivate within our hearts a sincere sympathy for those for whom Christ gave His life, we are in the same danger as was Judas of being outside of Christ, the sport of Satan's temptations.  {WM 37.1}
[WM 37.2]          We need to guard against the first deviation from righteousness; for one transgression, one neglect to manifest the spirit of Christ, opens the way for another and still another, until the mind is overmastered by the principles of the enemy. If cultivated, the spirit of selfishness becomes a devouring passion which nothing but the power of Christ can subdue.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 264, 265.  {WM 37.2}
[WM 37.3]          Pure Religion Is Doing Deeds of Mercy and Love. --True godliness is measured by the work done. Profession is nothing; position is nothing; a character like the character of Christ is the evidence we are to bear that God has sent His Son into the world. Those                                                                              38  who profess to be Christians, yet do not act as Christ would were He in their place, greatly injure the cause of God. They misrepresent their Saviour, and are standing under false colors. . . .  {WM 37.3}
[WM 38.1]          Pure and undefiled religion is not a sentiment, but the doing of works of mercy and love. This religion is necessary to health and happiness. It enters the polluted soul temple, and with a scourge drives out the sinful intruders. Taking the throne, it consecrates all by its presence, illuminating the heart with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. It opens the windows of the soul heavenward, letting in the sunshine of God's love. With it comes serenity and composure. Physical, mental, and moral strength increase, because the atmosphere of heaven as a living, active agency fills the soul. Christ is formed within, the hope of glory.--Review and Herald, Oct. 15, 1901.  {WM 38.1}
[WM 38.2]          To become a toiler, to continue patiently in well-doing which calls for self-denying labor, is a glorious work, which Heaven smiles upon. Faithful work is more acceptable to God than the most zealous and thought-to-be holiest worship. It is working together with Christ that is true worship. Prayers, exhortation, and talk are cheap fruits, which are frequently tied on; but fruits that are manifested in good works, in caring for the needy, the fatherless, and widows, are genuine fruits, and grow naturally upon a good tree. --Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 24.  {WM 38.2}
[WM 38.3]          Are We the Children of God?--It is not fitful service that God accepts; it is not emotional spasms of piety that make us children of God. He calls upon us to work for principles that are true, firm, and abiding. If Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, He will be revealed in the character, it will be Christlike. We                                                                              39  are to represent Christ to the world, as Christ represented the Father.--Review and Herald, Jan. 11, 1898.  {WM 38.3}
[WM 39.1]          We want to show Christian warmth and heartiness, not as though we were doing some wonderful thing, but just what we would expect any real Christian to do in our own case were we placed in like circumstances.--Letter 68, 1898.  {WM 39.1}
[WM 39.2]          Not to Be Weary in Well-doing.--Many times our efforts for others may be disregarded and apparently lost. But this should be no excuse for us to become weary in well-doing. How often  has Jesus come to find fruit upon the plants of His care, and found nothing but leaves! We may be disappointed as to the result of our best efforts, but this should not lead us to be indifferent to others' woes and to do nothing. "Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty."--Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 525.  {WM 39.2}
[WM 39.3]          In Doing for Others We Are Doing for Christ.-- From what has been shown me, Sabbathkeepers are growing more selfish as they increase in riches. Their love for Christ and His people is decreasing. They do not see the wants of the needy, nor feel their sufferings and sorrows. They do not realize that in neglecting the poor and the suffering they neglect Christ, and that in relieving the wants and sufferings of the poor as far as possible, they minister to Jesus. . . .  {WM 39.3}
[WM 39.4]          "Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, and in                                                                              40  prison, and ye visited Me not. Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did not to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Matthew 25:41-46.  {WM 39.4}
[WM 40.1]          Jesus here identifies Himself with His suffering people. It was I who was hungry and thirsty. It was I who was a stranger. It was I who was naked. It was I who was sick. It was I who was in prison. When you were enjoying the food from your bountifully spread tables, I was famishing in the hovel or street not far from you. When you closed your doors against Me, while your well-furnished rooms were unoccupied, I had not where to lay My head. Your wardrobes were filled with an abundant supply of changeable suits of apparel, upon which means had been needlessly squandered, which you might have given to the needy. I was destitute of comfortable apparel. When you were enjoying health, I was sick. Misfortune cast Me into prison and bound me with fetters, bowing down My spirit, depriving Me of freedom and hope, while you roamed free. What a oneness Jesus here expresses as existing between Himself and His suffering disciples! He makes their case His own. He identifies Himself as being in person the very sufferer. Mark, selfish Christian: every neglect of the needy poor, the orphan, the fatherless, is a neglect of Jesus in their person.  {WM 40.1}
[WM 40.2]         I am acquainted with persons who make a high profession, whose hearts are so encased in self-love and selfishness that they cannot appreciate what I am                                                                              41  writing. They have all their lives thought and lived only for self. To make a sacrifice to do others good, to disadvantage themselves to advantage others, is out of the question with them. They have not the least idea that God requires this of them. Self is their idol. Precious weeks, months, and years pass into eternity, but they have no record in heaven of kindly acts, of sacrificing for others' good, of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, or taking in the stranger. This entertaining strangers at a venture is not agreeable. If they knew that all who sought to share their bounty were worthy, then they might be induced to do something in this direction. But there is virtue in venturing something. Perchance we may entertain angels.-- Ibid., vol. 2, pp. 24-26.  {WM 40.2}
[WM 42.1]       Chapter Five - The Parable of the Good Samaritan         The Nature of True Religion Illustrated.--In the story of the good Samaritan, Christ illustrates the nature of true religion. He shows that it consists not in systems, creeds, or rites, but in the performance of loving deeds, in bringing the greatest good to others, in genuine goodness. . . . The lesson is no less needed in the world today than when it fell from the lips of Jesus. Selfishness and cold formality have well-nigh extinguished the fire of love and dispelled the graces that should make fragrant the character. Many who profess His name have lost sight of the fact that Christians are to represent Christ. Unless there is practical self-sacrifice for the good of others, in the family circle, in the neighborhood, in the church, and wherever we may be, then whatever our profession we are not Christians.--The Desire of Ages, pp. 497, 504.  {WM 42.1}
[WM 42.2]          Who Is My Neighbor?--Among the Jews the question, "Who is my neighbor?" caused endless dispute. They had no doubt as to the heathen and the Samaritans. These were  strangers and enemies. But where should the distinction be made among the people of their own nation, and among the different classes of society? Whom should the priest, the rabbi, and elder, regard as neighbor? They spent their lives in the round of ceremonies to make themselves pure. Contact with the ignorant and careless multitude, they taught, would cause defilement that would require wearisome                                                                              43  effort to remove. Were they to regard the "unclean" as neighbors?  {WM 42.2}
[WM 43.1]          This question Christ answered in the parable of the good Samaritan. He showed that our neighbor does not mean merely one of the church or faith to which we belong. It has no reference to race, color, or class distinction. Our neighbor is every person who needs our help. Our neighbor is every soul who is wounded and bruised by the adversary. Our neighbor is everyone who is the property of God.--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 376.  {WM 43.1}
[WM 43.2]          Illustrated by the Parable.--Christ was speaking to a large company. The Pharisees, hoping to catch something from His lips that they could use to condemn Him, sent a lawyer to Him with a question, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Christ read the hearts of the Pharisees as an open book, and His answer to the questioner was, "What is written in the law? how readest thou?" "And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself."  {WM 43.2}
[WM 43.3]          "Thou hast answered right," Christ said; "this do, and thou shalt live." The lawyer knew that by his own answer he had condemned himself. He knew that he did not love his neighbor as himself. But willing to justify himself, he asked, "And who is my neighbour?"  {WM 43.3}
[WM 43.4]          Christ answered this question by relating an incident, the memory of which was fresh in the minds of his hearers.--Manuscript 117, 1903.  {WM 43.4}
[WM 43.5]          "A certain man," He said, "went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."                                                                              44   {WM 43.5}
[WM 44.1]          In journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho, the traveler had to pass through a portion of the wilderness of Judea. The road led down a wild, rocky ravine, which was infested with robbers and was often the scene of violence. It was here that the traveler was attacked, stripped of all that was valuable, and left half dead by the wayside. As he lay thus, a priest came that way; he saw the man lying wounded and bruised, weltering in his own blood; but he left him without rendering any assistance. He "passed by on the other side." Then a Levite appeared. Curious to know what had happened, he stopped and looked at the sufferer. He was convicted of what he ought to do, but it was not an agreeable duty. He wished that he had not come that way, so that he would not have seen the wounded man. He persuaded himself that the case was no concern of his, and he too "passed by on the other side."  {WM 44.1}
[WM 44.2]          But a Samaritan, traveling the same road, saw the sufferer, and he did the work that the others had refused to do. With gentleness and kindness he ministered to the wounded man. "When he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him. Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee." The priest and the Levite both professed piety, but the Samaritan showed that he was truly converted. It was no more agreeable for him to do the work than for the priest and the Levite, but in spirit and works he proved himself to be in harmony with God.  {WM 44.2}
[WM 44.3]          In giving this lesson Christ presented the principles                                                                              45  of the law in a direct, forcible way, showing His hearers that they had neglected to carry out these principles. His words were so definite and pointed that the listeners could find no opportunity to cavil. The lawyer found in the lesson nothing that he could criticize. His prejudice in regard to Christ was removed. But he had not overcome his national dislike sufficiently to give credit to the Samaritan by name. When Christ asked, "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?" he answered, "He that shewed mercy on him."  {WM 44.3}
[WM 45.1]          "Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." Show the same tender kindness to those in need. Thus you will give evidence that you keep the whole law.--Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 379, 380.  {WM 45.1}
[WM 45.2]          Anyone in Need Is Our Neighbor.--Any human being who needs our sympathy and our kind offices is our neighbor. The suffering and destitute of all classes are our neighbors; and when their wants are brought to our knowledge, it is our duty to relieve them as far as possible.--Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 226, 227.  {WM 45.2}
[WM 45.3]          By this parable the duty of man to his fellow man is forever settled. We are to care for every case of suffering and to look upon ourselves as God's agents to relieve the needy to the very uttermost of our ability. We are to be laborers together with God. There are some who manifest great affection for their relatives, for their friends and favorites, who yet fail to be kind and considerate to those who need tender sympathy, who need kindness and love. With earnest hearts let us inquire, Who is my neighbor? Our neighbors are not merely our associates and special friends; they are not simply those who belong to our church, or who                                                                              46  think as we do. Our neighbors are the whole human family. We are to do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. We are to give to the world an exhibition of what it means to carry out the law of God. We are to love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves.--Review and Herald, Jan. 1, 1895.  {WM 45.3}
[WM 46.1]          True Religion Misrepresented.--The priest and the Levite had been for worship to the Temple, whose service was appointed by God Himself. To participate in that service was a great and exalted privilege, and the priest and Levite felt that having been thus honored, it was beneath them to minister to an unknown sufferer by the wayside. Thus they neglected the special opportunity which God had offered them as His agents to bless a fellow being.  {WM 46.1}
[WM 46.2]          Many today are making a similar mistake. They separate their duties into two distinct classes. The one class is made up of great things, to be regulated by the law of God; the other class is made up of so-called little things, in which the command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," is ignored. This sphere of work is left to caprice, subject to inclination or impulse. Thus the character is marred, and the religion of Christ misrepresented.  {WM 46.2}
[WM 46.3]          There are those who would think it lowering to their dignity to minister to suffering humanity. Many look with indifference and contempt upon those who have laid the temple of the soul in ruins. Others neglect the poor from a different motive. They are working, as they believe, in the cause of Christ, seeking to build up some worthy enterprise. They feel that they are doing a great work, and they cannot stop to notice the wants of the needy and distressed. In                                                                              47  advancing their supposedly great work they may even oppress the poor. They may place them in hard and trying circumstances, deprive them of their rights, or neglect their needs. Yet they feel that all this is justifiable because they are, as they think, advancing the cause of Christ.--Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 382, 383.  {WM 46.3}
[WM 47.1]          Far-reaching Requirements of God's Law.--To leave the suffering neighbor unrelieved is a breach of the law of God. God brought the priest along that way in order that with his own eyes he might see a case that needed mercy and help; but the priest, though holding a holy office, whose work it was to bestow mercy and to do good, passed by on the other side. His character was exhibited in its true nature before the angels of God. For a pretense he could make long prayers, but he could not keep the principles of the law in loving God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself. The Levite was of the same tribe as was the wounded, bruised sufferer. All Heaven watched as the Levite passed down the road, to see if his heart would be touched with human woe. As he beheld the man he was convicted of what he ought to do; but as it was not an agreeable duty, he wished he had not come that way, so that he need not have seen the man who was wounded and bruised, naked and perishing, and in want of help from his fellow men. He passed on his way, persuading himself that it was none of his business, and that he had no need to trouble himself over the case. Claiming to be an expositor of the law, to be a minister in sacred things, he yet passed by on the other side.  {WM 47.1}
[WM 47.2]          Enshrined in the pillar of cloud, the Lord Jesus had given special direction in regard to the performance of acts of mercy toward man and beast. While the law                                                                              48  of God requires supreme love to God and impartial love to our neighbors, its far-reaching requirements also take in the dumb creatures that cannot express in words their wants or sufferings. "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." He who loves God not only will love his fellow men but will regard with tender compassion the creatures which God has made. When the Spirit of God is in man, it leads him to relieve rather than to create suffering.--Review and Herald, Jan. 1, 1895.  {WM 47.2}
[WM 48.1]          The Principles of God's Law Were Forgotten.-- The priest and Levite had no excuse for their cold-hearted indifference. The law of mercy and kindness was plainly stated in the Old Testament Scriptures. It was their appointed work to minister to just such cases as the one whom they had coldly passed by. Had they obeyed the law they claimed to respect, they would not have passed this man by without helping him. But they had forgotten the principles of the law that Christ, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, had given to their fathers as He led them through the wilderness. . . .  {WM 48.1}
[WM 48.2]          Who is my neighbor? This is a question that all our churches need to understand. Had the priest and the Levite read understandingly the Hebrew code, their treatment of the wounded man would have been far different.--Manuscript 117, 1903.  {WM 48.2}
[WM 48.3]          Conditions of Inheriting Eternal Life.--The conditions of inheriting eternal life are plainly stated by our Saviour in the most simple manner. The man who was wounded and robbed represents those who are subjects of our interest, sympathy, and charity. If we                                                                              49  neglect the cases of the needy and the unfortunate that are brought under our notice, no matter who they may be, we have no assurance of eternal life; for we do not answer the claims that God has upon us. We are not compassionate and pitiful to humanity, because they may not be kith or kin to us. You have been found transgressors of the second great commandment, upon which the last six commandments depend. Whosoever offendeth in one point is guilty of all. Those who do not open their hearts to the wants and sufferings of humanity will not open their hearts to the claims of God as stated in the first four precepts of the Decalogue. Idols claim the heart and affections, and God is not honored and does not reign supreme.-- Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 524.  {WM 48.3}
[WM 49.1]          Your Opportunity and Mine.--Today God gives men opportunity to show whether they love their neighbor. He who truly loves God and his fellow man is he who shows mercy to the destitute, the suffering, the wounded, those who are ready to die. God calls upon every man to take up his neglected work, to seek to restore the moral image of the Creator in humanity. -Letter 113, 1901.  {WM 49.1}
[WM 49.2]         How We May Love Our Neighbors as Ourselves. --We can love our neighbor as ourselves only as we love God supremely. The love of God will bear fruit in love to our neighbors. Many think that it is impossible to love our neighbor as ourselves, but it is the only genuine fruit of Christianity. Love to others is putting on the Lord Jesus Christ; it is walking and working with the invisible world in view. We are thus to keep looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.--Review and Herald, June 26, 1894.                                                                              52   {WM 49.2}
[WM 52.1]                   Gem Thought          Christ's followers have been redeemed for service. Our Lord teaches that the true object of life is ministry. Christ Himself was a worker, and to all His followers He gives the law of service--service to God and to their fellow men. Here Christ has presented to the world a higher conception of life than they had ever known. By living to minister for others, man is brought into connection with Christ. The law of service becomes the connecting link which binds us to God and to our fellow men.  {WM 52.1}
[WM 52.2]          To His servants Christ commits "His goods,"--something to be put to use for Him. He gives "to every man his work." Each has his place in the eternal plan of heaven. Each is to work in cooperation with Christ for the salvation of souls. Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God.--Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 326, 327.  {WM 52.2}
[WM 53.1]       Chapter Six - Our Example in Welfare Ministry         Christ Stands Before Us as the Great Pattern.-- Make Christ's work your example. Constantly He went about doing good--feeding the hungry and healing the sick. No one who came to Him for sympathy was disappointed. The commander of the heavenly courts, He was made flesh and dwelt among us, and His lifework is an example of the work we are to do. His tender, pitying love rebukes our selfishness and heartlessness.--Manuscripts 55, 1901.  {WM 53.1}
[WM 53.2]          Christ stood at the head of humanity in the garb of humanity. So full of sympathy and love was His attitude that the poorest was not afraid to come to Him. He was kind to all, easily approached by the most lowly. He went from house to house, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, comforting the mourners, soothing the afflicted, speaking peace to the distressed. . . . He was willing to humble Himself, to deny Himself. He did not seek to distinguish Himself. He was the servant of all. It was His meat and drink to be a comfort and a consolation to others, to gladden the sad and heavy-laden one with whom He daily came in contact.  {WM 53.2}
[WM 53.3]          Christ stands before us as a pattern Man, the great Medical Missionary--an example for all who should come after. His love, pure and holy, blessed all who came within the sphere of its influence. His character                                                                              54  was absolutely perfect, free from the slightest stain of sin. He came as an expression of the perfect love of God, not to crush, not to judge and condemn, but to heal every weak, defective character, to save men and women from Satan's power. He is the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of the human race. He gives to all the invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."  {WM 53.3}
[WM 54.1]          What, then, is the example that we are to set to the world? We are to do the same work that the great Medical Missionary undertook in our behalf. We are to follow the path of self-sacrifice trodden by Christ.-- Special Testimonies, series B, no. 8, pp. 31, 32.  {WM 54.1}
[WM 54.2]          Christ Moved With Compassion.--When Christ saw the multitudes that gathered about Him, "He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd." Christ saw the sickness, the sorrow, the want and degradation of the multitudes that thronged His steps. To Him were presented the needs and woes of humanity throughout the world. Among the high and the low, the most honored and the most degraded, He beheld souls who were longing for the very blessings He had come to bring. . . .  {WM 54.2}
[WM 54.3]          Today the same needs exist. The world is in need of workers who will labor as Christ did for the suffering and the sinful. There is indeed a multitude to be reached. The world is full of sickness, suffering, distress, and sin. It is full of those who need to be ministered unto--the weak, the helpless, the ignorant, the degraded.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 254.                                                                              55   {WM 54.3}
[WM 55.1]          The Model We Should Copy.--The true missionary spirit is the spirit of Christ. The world's Redeemer was the great model missionary. Many of His followers have labored earnestly and unselfishly in the cause of human salvation; but no man's labor can bear comparison with the self-denial, the sacrifice, the benevolence, of our Exemplar.  {WM 55.1}
[WM 55.2]          The love which Christ has evinced for us is without a parallel. How earnestly He labored! How often was He alone in fervent prayer, on the mountainside or in the retirement of the garden, pouring out His supplications with strong crying and tears. How perseveringly He urged His petitions in behalf of sinners! Even on the cross He forgot His own sufferings in His deep love for those whom He came to save. How cold our love, how feeble our interest, when compared with the love and interest manifested by our Saviour! Jesus gave Himself to redeem our race, and yet how ready are we to excuse ourselves from giving all that we have for Jesus. Our Saviour submitted to wearing labor, ignominy, and suffering. He was repulsed, mocked, derided, while engaged in the great work which He came to earth to do.  {WM 55.2}
[WM 55.3]          Do you, my brethren and sisters, inquire: What model shall we copy? I do not point you to great and good men, but to the world's Redeemer. If we would have the true missionary spirit, we must be imbued with the love of Christ; we must look to the Author and Finisher of our faith, study His character, cultivate His spirit of meekness and humility, and walk in His footsteps.  {WM 55.3}
[WM 55.4]          Many suppose that the missionary spirit, the qualification for missionary work, is a special gift or endowment bestowed upon the ministers and a few members of the church and that all others are to be mere spectators.                                                                              56  Never was there a greater mistake. Every true Christian will possess a missionary spirit, for to be a Christian is to be Christlike. No man liveth to himself, and "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." Everyone who has tasted of the powers of the world to come, whether he be young or old, learned or unlearned, will be stirred with the spirit which actuated Christ. The very first impulse of the renewed heart is to bring others also to the Savior. Those who do not possess this desire give evidence that they have lost their first love; they should closely examine their own hearts in the light of God's Word, and earnestly seek a fresh baptism of the Spirit of Christ; they should pray for a deeper comprehension of that wondrous love which Jesus manifested for us in leaving the realms of glory and coming to a fallen world to save the perishing.--Ibid., vol. 5, pp. 385, 386.  {WM 55.4}
[WM 56.1]          Christ's Interpretation of the Gospel.--The divine commission needs no reform. Christ's way of presenting truth cannot be improved upon. The Saviour gave the disciples practical lessons, teaching them how to work in such a way as to make souls glad in the truth. He sympathized with the weary, the heavy laden, the oppressed. He fed the hungry and healed the sick. Constantly He went about doing good. By the good He accomplished, by His loving words and kindly deeds, He interpreted the gospel to men.  {WM 56.1}
[WM 56.2]          Brief as was the period of His public ministry, He accomplished the work He came to do. How impressive were the truths He taught! How complete His lifework! What spiritual food He daily imparted as He presented the bread of life to thousands of hungry souls! His life was a living ministry of the word. He promised nothing that He did not perform.                                                                              57   {WM 56.2}
[WM 57.1]          The words of life were presented in such simplicity that a child could understand them. Men, women, and children were so impressed with His manner of explaining the Scriptures that they would catch the very intonation of His voice, place the same emphasis on their words, and imitate His gestures. Youth caught His spirit of ministry, and sought to pattern after His gracious ways by seeking to assist those whom they saw needing help.  {WM 57.1}
[WM 57.2]          Just as we trace the pathway of a stream of water by the line of living green it produces, so Christ could be seen in the deeds of mercy that marked His pathway at every step. Wherever He went health sprang up, and happiness followed wherever He passed. The blind and deaf rejoiced in His presence. His words to the ignorant opened to them a fountain of life. He dispensed His blessings abundantly and continuously. They were the garnered treasures of eternity, given in Christ, the Lord's rich gift to man.  {WM 57.2}
[WM 57.3]          Christ's work in behalf of man is not finished. It continues today. In like manner His ambassadors are to preach the gospel and to reveal His pitying love for lost and perishing souls. By an unselfish interest in those who need help they are to give a practical demonstration of the truth of the gospel. Much more than mere sermonizing is included in this work. The evangelization of the world is the work God has given to those who go forth in His name. They are to be co-laborers with Christ, revealing to those ready to perish His tender, pitying love. God calls for thousands to work for Him, not by preaching to those who know the truth for this time, but by warning those who have never heard the last message of mercy. Work with a heart filled with an earnest longing for souls. Do medical missionary work. Thus you will gain access to                                                                              58  the hearts of people, and the way will be prepared for a more decided proclamation of the truth.  {WM 57.3}
[WM 58.1]          Who are laborers together with Christ in this blessed medical missionary work? Who have learned the lessons of the Master and know how to deal skillfully with souls for whom Christ has died? We need, oh, so much, physicians for the soul who have been educated in the school of Christ and who can work in Christ's lines.--Review and Herald, Dec. 17, 1914.  {WM 58.1}
[WM 59.1]       Chapter Seven - Visitation--The New Testament Plan         Christ's Methods of Labor.--From Christ's methods of labor we may learn valuable lessons. He did not follow merely one method; in various ways He sought to gain the attention of the multitude, that He might proclaim to them the truths of the gospel.  {WM 59.1}
[WM 59.2]          Christ's chief work was in ministering to the poor, the needy, and the ignorant. In simplicity He opened before them the blessing they might receive, and thus aroused a soul hunger for the bread of life. Christ's life is an example to all His followers. It is the duty of all who have learned the way of life to teach others what it means to believe in the Word of God. There are many now in the shadow of death who need to be instructed in the truths of the gospel. Nearly the whole world is lying in wickedness. Yet we have words of hope for those who sit in darkness.--Review and Herald, May 9, 1912.  {WM 59.2}
[WM 59.3]          The Scope of Christ's House-to-House Ministry.-- Our Saviour went from house to house, healing the sick, comforting the mourners, soothing the afflicted, speaking peace to the disconsolate. He took the little children in His arms and blessed them and spoke words of hope and comfort to the weary mothers. With unfailing tenderness and gentleness He met every form of human woe and affliction. Not for Himself, but for others, did He labor. He was the servant of all. It was His meat and drink to bring hope and strength to all                                                                              60  with whom He came in contact.--Gospel Workers, p. 188.  {WM 59.3}
[WM 60.1]          Christ's Method Brings True Success.--Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, "Follow Me."--Ministry of Healing, p. 143.  {WM 60.1}
[WM 60.2]          This was the way the Christian Church was established. Christ first selected a few persons and bade them follow Him. They then went in search of their relatives and acquaintances, and brought them to Christ. This is the way we are to labor. A few souls brought out and fully established on the truth will, like the first disciples, be laborers for others.--Review and Herald, Dec. 8, 1885.  {WM 60.2}
[WM 60.3]          The Divine Example of Personal Evangelism.-- Jesus came in personal contact with men. He did not stand aloof and apart from those who needed His help. He entered the homes of men, comforted the mourner, healed the sick, aroused the careless, and went about doing good. And if we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we must do as He did. We must give men the same kind of help that He gave.--Ibid., April 24, 1888.  {WM 60.3}
[WM 60.4]          It is not preaching that is the most important; it is house-to-house work, reasoning from the Word, explaining the Word. It is those workers who follow the methods that Christ followed who will win souls for their hire.--Gospel Workers, p. 468.  {WM 60.4}
[WM 60.5]          The Lord desires that His word of grace shall be brought home to every soul. To a great degree this must be accomplished by personal labor. This was Christ's method. His work was largely made up of                                                                              61  personal interviews. He had a faithful regard for the one-soul audience. Through that one soul and message was often extended to thousands. Christ's Object Lessons, p. 229.  {WM 60.5}
[WM 61.1]          The Twelve Sent Forth in House-to-House Labor. --On this first tour the disciples were to go only where Jesus had been before them and had made friends. . . . Nothing must be allowed to divert their minds from their great work or in any way excite opposition and close the door for further labor. They were not to adopt the dress of the religious teachers, nor use any guise in apparel to distinguish them from the humble peasants. They were not to enter into the synagogues and call the people together for public service; their efforts were to be put forth in house-to-house labor. . . . They were to enter the dwelling with the beautiful salutation, "Peace be to this house." That home would be blessed by their prayers, their songs of praise, and the opening of the Scriptures in the family circle.-- The Desire of Ages, pp. 351, 352.  {WM 61.1}
[WM 61.2]          The Seventy Likewise.--Calling the twelve about Him, Jesus bade them go out two and two through the towns and villages. None were sent forth alone, but brother was associated with brother, friend with friend. Thus they could help and encourage each other, counseling and praying together, each one's strength supplementing the other's weakness. In the same manner He afterward sent forth the seventy. It was the Saviour's purpose that the messengers of the gospel should be associated in this way. In our own time evangelistic work would be far more successful if this example were more closely followed.--Ibid., p. 350.  {WM 61.2}
[WM 61.3]          Paul Went From House to House.--Paul, as well as laboring publicly, went from house to house preaching                                                                              62  repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. He met with men at their homes and besought them with tears, declaring unto them the whole counsel of God.--Review and Herald, April 24, 1888.  {WM 61.3}
[WM 62.1]          The Secret of Paul's Power and Success.--On one occasion Paul said: "Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house." . . .  {WM 62.1}
[WM 62.2]          These words explain the secret of Paul's power and success. He kept back nothing that was profitable for the people. He preached Christ publicly, in the market places and the synagogues. He taught from house to house, availing himself of the familiar intercourse of the home circle. He visited the sick and sorrowing, comforting the afflicted, and lifting up the oppressed. And in all that he said and did he preached a crucified and risen Saviour.--Youth's Instructor, Nov. 22, 1900.  {WM 62.2}
[WM 62.3]          Paul Also Found Access to Others Through His Trade.-- During the long period of his ministry in Ephesus, where for three years he carried forward an aggressive evangelistic effort throughout that region, Paul again worked at his trade. . . .  {WM 62.3}
[WM 62.4]          There were some who objected to Paul's toiling with his hands, declaring that it was inconsistent with the work of a gospel minister. Why should Paul, a minister of the highest rank, thus connect mechanical work with the preaching of the Word? Was not the laborer worthy of his hire? Why should he spend in                                                                              63  making tents time that to all appearance could be put to better account?  {WM 62.4}
[WM 63.1]          But Paul did not regard as lost the time thus spent. As he worked with Aquila he kept in touch with the Great Teacher, losing no opportunity of witnessing for the Saviour and of helping those who needed help. His mind was ever reaching out for spiritual knowledge. He gave his fellow workers instruction in spiritual things, and he also set an example of industry and thoroughness. He was a quick, skillful worker, diligent in business, "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." As he worked at his trade, the apostle had access to  a class of people that he could not otherwise have reached. . . .  {WM 63.1}
[WM 63.2]          Paul sometimes worked night and day, not only for his own support, but that he  might assist his fellow laborers. He shared his earnings with Luke, and he helped Timothy. He even suffered hunger at times, that he  might relieve the necessities of others. His was an unselfish life.--Acts of the Apostles, pp. 351, 352.  {WM 63.2}
[WM 63.3]          Paul's Practical Example to Self-supporting Laymen.--Paul set an example against the sentiment, then gaining influence in the church, that the gospel could be proclaimed successfully only by those who were wholly freed from the necessity of physical toil. He illustrated in a practical way what might be done by consecrated laymen in many places where the people were unacquainted with the truths of the gospel. His course inspired many humble toilers with a desire to do what they could to advance the cause of God, while at the same time they supported themselves in daily labor.  {WM 63.3}
[WM 63.4]          Aquila and Priscilla were not called to give their whole time to the ministry of the gospel, yet these                                                                              64  humble laborers were used by God to show Apollos the way of truth more perfectly. The Lord employs various instrumentalities for the accomplishment of His purpose; and while some with special talents are chosen to devote all their energies to the work of teaching and preaching the gospel, many others, upon whom human hands have never been laid in ordination, are called to act an important part in soulsaving.  {WM 63.4}
[WM 64.1]          There is a large field open before the self-supporting gospel worker. Many may gain valuable experiences in ministry while toiling a portion of the time at some form of manual labor, and by this method strong workers may be developed for important service in needy fields.--Ibid., p. 355.  {WM 64.1}
[WM 64.2]          Go in the Spirit That Endued Paul.--Go to your neighbors one by one, and come close to them till their hearts are warmed by your unselfish interest and love. Sympathize with them, pray with them, watch for opportunities to do them good, and as you can, gather a few together and open the Word of God to their darkened minds. Keep watching as he who must render an account for the souls of men, and make the most of the privileges that God gives you of laboring with Him in His moral vineyard.  {WM 64.2}
[WM 64.3]          Do not neglect speaking to your neighbors and doing them all the kindness in your power, that you "by all means may save some." We need to seek for the spirit that constrained the apostle Paul to go from house to house, pleading with tears and teaching "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." --Review and Herald, March 13, 1888.  {WM 64.3}
[WM 64.4]          The First Works of the New Testament Church.-- The first works of the church were seen when the believers sought out friends, relatives, and acquaintances,                                                                              65  and with hearts overflowing with love, told the story of what Jesus was to them.--Special Testimonies, series A, no. 2, p. 17.  {WM 64.4}
[WM 65.1]          Success of the New Testament Plan.--The more closely the New Testament plan is followed in missionary labor, the more successful will be the efforts put forth. We should work as did our divine Teacher, sowing the seeds of truth with care, anxiety, and self-denial. We must have the mind of Christ if we would not become weary in well-doing. His was a life of continual sacrifice for others' good. We must follow His example.--Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 210.  {WM 65.1}
[WM 66.1]       Chapter Eight - Dorcas--Her Ministry and its Influence         Restored to Life to Continue Her Ministry.--In the course of his ministry the apostle Peter visited the believers at Lydda. Here he healed Aeneas, who for eight years had been confined to his bed with palsy. "Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole," the apostle said; "arise, and make thy bed." "He arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord."  {WM 66.1}
[WM 66.2]          At Joppa, which was near Lydda, there lived a woman named Dorcas, whose good deeds had made her greatly beloved. She was a worthy disciple of Jesus, and her life was filled with acts of kindness. She knew who needed comfortable clothing and who needed sympathy, and she freely ministered to the poor and the sorrowful. Her skillful fingers were more active than her tongue.  {WM 66.2}
[WM 66.3]          "And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died." The church in Joppa realized their loss; and hearing that Peter was at Lydda, the believers sent messengers to him, "desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them." In view of the life of service that Dorcas had lived, it is little wonder that they mourned, that warm teardrops fell upon the inanimate clay.  {WM 66.3}
[WM 66.4]          The apostle's heart was touched with sympathy as                                                                              67  he beheld their sorrow. Then, directing that the weeping friends be sent from the room, he kneeled down and prayed fervently to God to restore Dorcas to life and health. Turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up." Dorcas had been of great service to the church, and God saw fit to bring her back from the land of the enemy, that her skill and energy might still be a blessing to others and also that by this manifestation of His power the cause of Christ might be strengthened.--Acts of the Apostles, pp. 131, 132.  {WM 66.4}
[WM 67.1]          A Worthy Disciple Who Could not Be Spared.-- She ［Dorcas］ had been a worthy disciple of Jesus Christ, and her life had been characterized by deeds of charity and kindness to the poor and sorrowful and by zeal in the cause of truth. Her death was a great loss; the infant church could not well spare her noble efforts. . . .  {WM 67.1}
[WM 67.2]          This great work of raising the dead to life was the means of converting many in Joppa to the faith of Jesus.--Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, pp. 323, 324.                                                                              70   {WM 67.2}
[WM 70.1]                    Gem Thought          Church members are to do evangelistic work in the homes of their neighbors who have not yet received full evidence of the truth for this time. The presentation of the truth in love and sympathy, from house to house, is in harmony with the instruction that Christ gave to His disciples when He sent them out on their first missionary tour. By songs of praise to God, by humble, heartfelt prayers, by a simple presentation of Bible truth in the family circle, many will be reached. The divine ［Worker］ will be present to send conviction to hearts. "I am with you alway" is His promise. With the assurance of the abiding presence of such a Helper, we may labor with hope and faith and courage. . . .  {WM 70.1}
[WM 70.2]         My brethren and sisters, give yourselves to the Lord for service. Allow no opportunity to pass unimproved. Visit those who live near you, and by sympathy and kindness try to reach their hearts. Visit the sick and suffering, and show a kindly interest in them. If possible, do something to make them more comfortable. Through this means you can reach their hearts, and speak a word for Christ. Eternity alone will reveal how far reaching such a line of labor can be.--Review and Herald, Nov. 21, 1907.  {WM 70.2}
[WM 71.1]       Chapter Nine - Types of Work in Neighborhood Evangelism         A Large Work Before Our Churches.--There is a work to be done by our churches that few have any idea of. . . . We shall have to give of our means to support laborers in the harvest field, and we shall rejoice in the sheaves gathered in. But while this is right, there is a work, as yet untouched, that must be done. The mission of Christ was to heal the sick, encourage the hopeless, bind up the brokenhearted. This work of restoration is to be carried on among the needy suffering ones of humanity.  {WM 71.1}
[WM 71.2]          God calls not only for your benevolence but for your cheerful countenance, your hopeful words, the grasp of your hand. Relieve some of God's afflicted ones. Some are sick, and hope has departed. Bring back the sunlight to them. There are souls who have lost their courage; speak to them, pray for them. There are those who need the bread of life. Read to them from the Word of God. There is a soul sickness no balm can reach, no medicine heal. Pray for these, and bring them to Jesus Christ. And in all your work Christ will be present to make impressions upon human hearts.--Manuscript 105, 1898.  {WM 71.2}
[WM 71.3]          Visit Every Family and Know Their Spiritual Condition.--Wherever a church is established, all the members should engage actively in a missionary work.                                                                              72  They should visit every family in the neighborhood and know their spiritual condition. If professed Christians had engaged in this work from the time when their names were first placed on the church books, there would not now be such widespread unbelief, such depths of iniquity, such unparalleled wickedness, as is seen in the world at the present time. If every church member had sought to enlighten others, thousands upon thousands would today stand with God's commandment-keeping people.  {WM 71.3}
[WM 72.1]          And not only in the world do we see the result of the church's neglect to work in Christ's lines. By this neglect a condition of things has been brought into the church that has eclipsed the high and holy interests of the work of God. A spirit of criticism and bitterness has come into the church, and the spiritual discernment of many has been dimmed. Because of this the cause of Christ has suffered great loss. Heavenly intelligences have been waiting to cooperate with human agencies, but we have not discerned their presence.  {WM 72.1}
[WM 72.2]          It is now high time that we repent. All the people of God should interest themselves in the work of doing good. They should unite heart and soul in earnest endeavor to uplift and enlighten their fellow men.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 296, 297.  {WM 72.2}
[WM 72.3]          Finding Those Who Will Hear.--Several years ago, during a former visit to the South, while out on long drives, I sometimes asked who occupied the homes we passed, and I learned that in many of the larger Southern houses were men who bear important responsibilities in the care of great estates. Upon further inquiry, I learned that no one had sought to bring before these men the Word of Life. None had gone to                                                                              73  them, with Bible in hand, and said, "We have something precious for you, and we want that you should hear it." Now it has been presented before me repeatedly that this is a line of work that must be done. We are to go out into the highways and into the hedges and carry to the people the message of truth that Christ has given us. We are to compel many to come in.-- Manuscript 15, 1909.  {WM 72.3}
[WM 73.1]          Making Contacts Count for Christ.--There are many from whom hope has departed. Bring back the sunshine to them. Many have lost their courage. Speak to them words of cheer. Pray for them. There are those who need the bread of life. Read to them from the Word of God. Upon many is a soul sickness which no earthly balm can reach or physician heal. Pray for these souls. Bring them to Jesus. Tell them that there is a balm in Gilead and a Physician there.--Prophets and Kings, pp. 718, 719.  {WM 73.1}
[WM 73.2]          Working for All Classes.--Everywhere there is a work to be done for all classes of society. We are to come close to the poor and the depraved, those who have fallen through intemperance. And, at the same time, we are not to forget the higher classes--the lawyers, ministers, senators, and judges, many of whom are slaves to intemperate habits. We are to leave no effort untried to show them that their souls are worth saving, that eternal life is worth striving for.--Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 58.  {WM 73.2}
[WM 73.3]          Called to Different Lines of Service.--The Lord is calling upon His people to take up different lines of missionary work, to sow beside all waters. We do but a small part of the work that He desires us to do among                                                                              74  our neighbors and friends. By kindness to the poor, the sick, or the bereaved we may obtain an influence over them, so that divine truth will find access to their hearts. No such opportunity for service should be allowed to pass unimproved. It is the highest missionary work that we can do. The presentation of the truth in love and sympathy from house to house is in harmony with the instruction of Christ to His disciples when He sent them out on their first missionary tour. --Review and Herald, June 6, 1912.  {WM 73.3}
[WM 74.1]          Help Humanity as Did Christ.--As He ［Christ］ passed through the towns and cities, He was like a vital current, diffusing life and joy wherever He went. The followers of Christ are to labor as He did. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the suffering and afflicted. We are to minister to the despairing and inspire hope in the hopeless.--The Desire of Ages, p. 350.  {WM 74.1}
[WM 74.2]          The Work Every Church Should Have Been Doing.--The work of gathering in the needy, the oppressed, the suffering, the destitute, is the very work which every church that believes the truth for this time should long since have been doing. We are to show the tender sympathy of the Samaritan in supplying physical necessities, feeding the hungry, bringing the poor that are cast out to our homes, gathering from God every day grace and strength that will enable us to reach to the very depths of human misery and help those who cannot possibly help themselves. In doing this work we have a favorable opportunity to set forth Christ the crucified One.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 276.  {WM 74.2}
[WM 74.3]          Sermons Cannot Do It.--By personal labor reach the people where they are. Become acquainted with                                                                              75  them. This work cannot be done by proxy. Money loaned or given cannot accomplish it. Sermons from the pulpit cannot do it.--Gospel Workers, p. 188.  {WM 74.3}
[WM 75.1]          Sunshine Bands.--There is power in the ministry of song. Students who have learned to sing sweet gospel songs with melody and distinctness can do much good as singing evangelists. They will find many opportunities to use the talent that God has given them in carrying melody and sunshine into many lonely places darkened by sorrow and affliction, singing to those who seldom have church privileges.  {WM 75.1}
[WM 75.2]          Students, go out into the highways and hedges. Endeavor to reach the higher as well as the lower classes. Enter the homes of the rich as well as the poor, and as you have opportunity, ask, "Would you be pleased to have us sing some gospel hymns?" Then as hearts are softened, the way may open for you to offer a few words of prayer for the blessing of God. Not many will refuse to listen. Such ministry is genuine missionary work.--Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, pp. 547, 548.  {WM 75.2}
[WM 75.3]          A Wide Field of Practical Service.--There is a wide field for service for women as well as for men. The efficient cook, the seamstress, the nurse--the help of all is needed. Let the members of poor households be taught how to cook, how to make and mend their own clothing, how to nurse the sick, how to care properly for the home. Even the children should be taught to do some little errand of love and mercy for those less fortunate than themselves.  {WM 75.3}
[WM 75.4]          Other lines of usefulness will open before those who are willing to do the duty nearest them. It is not learned, eloquent speakers that are needed now, but humble, Christlike men and women.                                                                              76   {WM 75.4}
[WM 76.1]          Work disinterestedly, lovingly, patiently, for all with whom you are brought in contact. Show no impatience. Utter not one unkind word. Let the love of Christ be in your hearts, the law of kindness on your lips.--Review and Herald, Aug. 7, 1913.  {WM 76.1}
[WM 76.2]          Using Our Holidays to Run Errands for the Lord. --There are other lines of work. Some are capable of reading the Scriptures and communicating to others that which we believe. These may be channels of light and a precious comfort to some poor discouraged souls who seem to be unable to grasp hope and exercise faith. Others should search and study how they can be doing errands for the Lord. If those whose employment takes the most of their time, excepting Sundays or holidays, instead of spending this time in their own pleasure, use it in blessing others, they will be of service in the cause of God. Your example will help others to do something that will tell to the glory of God. Heed the words of the inspired apostle, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Thus a living principle will be brought into your daily active life, of being good and doing good. . . .  {WM 76.2}
[WM 76.3]          It will not be possible for all to give their whole time to the work, because of the labor they must do to earn their daily living. Yet these have their holidays and times that they can devote to Christian work, and do good in this way if they cannot give much of their means.--Letter 12, 1892.  {WM 76.3}
[WM 76.4]          The hours so often spent in amusement that refreshes neither body nor soul should be spent in visiting the poor, the sick, and the suffering, or in seeking to help someone who is in need.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 276.                                                                              77   {WM 76.4}
[WM 77.1]          Welfare Ministry on the Sabbath.--According to the fourth commandment the Sabbath was dedicated to rest and religious worship. All secular employment was to be suspended, but works of mercy and benevolence were in accordance with the purpose of the Lord. They were not to be limited to time or place. To relieve the afflicted, to comfort the sorrowing, is a labor of love that does honor to God's holy day.--Redemption: or the Teachings of Christ, no. 4, p. 46.  {WM 77.1}
[WM 77.2]          Early-Day Methods of Visitation.--Let those who feel the burden of souls resting upon them go out and do house-to-house work, and teach the people precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little, gradually leading them into the full light of Bible truth. This is what we had to do in the early days of the message. As earnest efforts are put forth, the Lord will let His blessing rest upon the workers and upon those who are seeking for an understanding of the truth as it is in the Word of God.  {WM 77.2}
[WM 77.3]          There are precious truths, glorious truths, in God's Word, and it is our privilege to bring these truths before the people. In those parts of the field where many cannot attend meetings far away from their homes, we can bring the truth to them personally and can work with them in simplicity.  {WM 77.3}
[WM 77.4]          What light there is in the Word! In Isaiah we read, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgressions." This is the work we are to do. Note the expression, "My people." Why should the prophet say, "My people"? They were not walking in accordance with the light of truth, but God desired to save them from their sins. The truth was to be brought to them anew in its simplicity.  {WM 77.4}
[WM 77.5]          The message of the third angel must go to all                                                                              78  people, and Christ has declared that it is to be proclaimed in the highways and in the byways. "Cry aloud, spare not," He commands. This means that wherever they shall present the truth, whether before a public congregation or from house to house, they are to present it as it is revealed in God's Word.-- Manuscript 15, 1909.  {WM 77.5}
[WM 78.1]          Not to Wait for Souls to Come to Us.--We are not to wait for souls to come to us; we must seek them out where they are. When the Word has been preached in the pulpit, the work has but just began. There are multitudes who will never be reached by the gospel unless it is carried to them.--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 229.  {WM 78.1}
[WM 78.2]          Labor from house to house, not neglecting the poor, who are usually passed by. Christ said, "He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor," and we are to go and do likewise.--Review and Herald, June 11, 1895.  {WM 78.2}
[WM 78.3]          "I Am Lost! and You Never Warned Me!"--Go to the homes of those even who manifest no interest. While mercy's sweet voice invites the sinner, work with every energy of heart and brain, as did Paul, "who ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." In the day of God how many will confront us and say, "I am lost! I am lost! And you never warned me; you never entreated me to come to Jesus. Had I believed as you did, I would have followed every Judgment-bound soul within my reach with prayers and tears and warnings."--Ibid., June 24, 1884.  {WM 78.3}
[WM 78.4]          Relationship of Visitation Evangelism to Our Own Spirituality.--Visit your neighbors in a friendly way, and become acquainted with them.... Those who do                                                                              79  not take up this work, those who act with the indifference that some have manifested, will soon lose their first love and will begin to censure, criticise, and condemn their own brethren.--Ibid., May 13, 1902.  {WM 78.4}
[WM 79.1]          The Work Not Dull or Uninteresting.--All who commune with God will find abundance of work to do for Him. Those who go forth in the spirit of the Master, seeking to reach souls with the truth, will not find the work of drawing souls to Christ a dull, uninteresting drudgery. They are charged with a work as God's husbandmen, and they will become more and more vitalized as they give themselves to the service of God. It is a joyous work to open the Scriptures to others.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 118.  {WM 79.1}
[WM 79.2]          Make Others Happy.--Be joyful in God. Christ is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. Look toward the light. Accustom yourselves to speak the praise of God. Make others happy. This is your first work. It will strengthen the best traits of character. Throw the windows of the soul wide open heavenward, and let the sunshine of Christ's righteousness in. Morning, noon, and night your hearts may be filled with the bright rays of heaven's light.--Review and Herald, April 7, 1904.  {WM 79.2}
[WM 79.3]          Rekindle the Spirit of Evangelism of 1844. ［THIS, ELLEN G. WHITE'S LAST MESSAGE TO THE GENERAL CONFERENCE IN SESSION IN 1913, WAS READ TO THE CONFERENCE BY THE PRESIDENT, A. G. DANIELLS, TUESDAY MORNING, MAY 27.］--Recently in the night season my mind was impressed by the Holy Spirit with the thought that if the Lord is coming as soon as we believe He is, we ought to be even more active than we have been in years past in getting the truth before the people.  {WM 79.3}
[WM 79.4]         In this connection my mind reverted to the activity                                                                              80  of the Advent believers in 1843 and 1844. At that time there was much house-to-house visitation, and untiring efforts were made to warn the people of the things that are spoken in God's Word. We should be putting forth even greater effort than was put forth by those who proclaimed the first angel's message so faithfully. We are rapidly approaching the end of this earth's history; and as we realize that Jesus is indeed coming soon, we shall be aroused to labor as never before. We are bidden to sound an alarm to the people. --General Conference Bulletin, May 27, 1913, p. 164.  {WM 79.4}
[WM 80.1]          Bring This Work Into Practice Again.--As, like the disciples, you go from place to place, telling the story of the Saviour's love, you will make friends and will see the fruit of your labor. All true, humble, loving, faithful workers will be sustained and strengthened by power from on high. They will win their way to the hearts of the people as they follow Christ's example. The sick will be ministered to, the afflicted prayed for. There will be heard the voice of singing and the voice of prayer. The Scriptures will be opened to testify of truth. And with signs following, the Lord will confirm the word spoken.  {WM 80.1}
[WM 80.2]          This class of work has gone out of fashion. Let it be once more brought into practice. The fields are white all ready to harvest. The Lord desires many more to go out into the harvest field. He will be with those who study His Word and obey His commands. He will impart to them His grace. Go forth in the name of Christ, remembering that He is your companion, that every prayer, every word, every song, is heard by Him. The message of the soon coming of the Lord with power and great glory will bring conviction to many hearts.--Review and Herald, Feb. 4, 1904.  {WM 80.2}
[WM 81.1]       Chapter Ten - Kindness the Key to Hearts         Many Reached Only by Love and Kindness.-- Those who engage in house-to-house labor will find opportunities for ministry in many lines. They should pray for the sick and should do all in their power to relieve them from suffering. They should work among the lowly, the poor, and the oppressed. We should pray for and with the helpless ones who have not strength of will to control the appetites that passion has degraded. Earnest, persevering effort must be made for the salvation of those in whose hearts an interest is awakened. Many can be reached only through acts of disinterested kindness. Their physical wants must first be relieved. As they see evidence of our unselfish love, it will be easier for them to believe in the love of Christ.  {WM 81.1}
[WM 81.2]          Missionary nurses are best qualified for this work, but others should be connected with them. These, although not specially educated and trained in nursing, can learn from their fellow workers the best manner of labor.  {WM 81.2}
[WM 81.3]          Talk, Pharisaism, and self-praise are abundant; but these will never win souls to Christ. Pure, sanctified love, such love as was expressed in Christ's lifework, is as a sacred perfume. Like Mary's broken box of ointment, it fills the whole house with fragrance. Eloquence, knowledge of truth, rare talents, mingled with love, are all precious endowments. But ability alone, the choicest talents alone, cannot take the place of love. --Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 83, 84.  {WM 81.3}
[WM 81.4]          With Love Which Springs From the Heart.--Love is the basis of godliness. Whatever the profession, no                                                                              82  man has pure love to God unless he has unselfish love for his brother. But we can never come into possession of this spirit by trying to love others. What is needed is the love of Christ in the heart. When self is merged in Christ, love springs forth spontaneously. The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within--when the sunshine of heaven fills the heart and is revealed in the countenance.  {WM 81.4}
[WM 82.1]          It is not possible for the heart in which Christ abides to be destitute of love. If we love God because He first loved us, we shall love all for whom Christ died. We cannot come in touch with divinity without coming in touch with humanity; for in Him who sits upon the throne of the universe, divinity and humanity are combined. Connected with Christ, we are connected with our fellow men by the golden links of the chain of love. Then the pity and compassion of Christ will be manifest in our life. We shall not wait to have the needy and unfortunate brought to us. We shall not need to be entreated to feel for the woes of others. It will be as natural for us to minister to the needy and suffering as it was for Christ to go about doing good.  {WM 82.1}
[WM 82.2]          Wherever there is an impulse of love and sympathy, wherever the heart reaches out to bless and uplift others, there is revealed the working of God's Holy Spirit.--Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 384, 385.  {WM 82.2}
[WM 82.3]          Christ's Love and Sympathy Drew the People.-- It was the outcast, the publican and sinner, the despised of the nations, that Christ called, and by His loving-kindness compelled to come unto Him. The one class that He would never countenance was those who stood apart in their self-esteem, and looked down upon others.--Ministry of Healing, p. 164.                                                                              83   {WM 82.3}
[WM 83.1]          To Love as Christ Loved.--The love that is inspired by the love we have for Jesus will see in every soul, rich and poor, a value that cannot be measured by human estimate. The world sinks into insignificance in comparison with the value of one soul. The love of God revealed for man is beyond any human computation. It is infinite. And the human agent who is a partaker of the divine nature will love as Christ loves, will work as Christ worked. There will be an inborn compassion and sympathy which will not fail or be discouraged. This is the spirit that should be encouraged to live in every heart and be revealed in every life. This love can only exist and be kept refined, holy, pure, and elevated through the love in the soul for Jesus Christ, nourished by daily communion with God. All this coldness on the part of Christians is a denial of the faith. But this spirit will melt away before the bright beams of Christ's love in the follower of Christ. Willingly, naturally, he will obey the injunction, "Love one another as I have loved you."-- Manuscript 60, 1897.  {WM 83.1}
[WM 83.2]          Pray for Sympathetic Hearts.--As surely as we believe in Christ and do His will, not exalting self, but walking in all humility of mind, so surely will the Lord be with us. . . . Pray that He will give you a heart of flesh, a heart that can feel the sorrows of others, that can be touched with human woe. Pray that He will give you a heart that will not permit you to turn a deaf ear to the widow or the fatherless. Pray that you may have bowels of mercy for the poor, the infirm, and the oppressed. Pray that you may love justice and hate robbery, and make no difference in the bestowal of your favors, except to consider the cases of the needy and the unfortunate. Then the                                                                              84  promises recorded in Isaiah 58 will be fulfilled to you. --Letter 24, 1889.  {WM 83.2}
[WM 84.1]          Speaking a Word of Courage.--Never, never become heartless, cold, unsympathetic, and censorious. Never lose an opportunity to say a word to encourage and inspire hope.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 613.  {WM 84.1}
[WM 84.2]          In working for the victims of evil habits, instead of pointing them to the despair and ruin toward which they are hastening, turn their eyes to Jesus. Fix them upon the glories of the heavenly. This will do more for the saving of body and soul than will all the terrors of the grave when kept before the helpless and apparently hopeless.--Ministry of Healing, p. 62.  {WM 84.2}
[WM 84.3]          No One Reclaimed by Reproach.--It is always humiliating to have one's errors pointed out. None should make the experience more bitter by needless censure. No one was ever reclaimed by reproach; but many have thus been repelled, and have been led to steel their hearts against conviction. A tender spirit, a gentle, winning deportment may save the erring and hide a multitude of sins.--Ibid., p. 166.  {WM 84.3}
[WM 84.4]          Encourage a Love of Hospitality.--As you regard your eternal interest, arouse yourselves, and begin to sow good seed. That which ye sow shall ye also reap. The harvest is coming--the great reaping time, when we shall reap what we have sown. There will be no failure in the crop. The harvest is sure. Now is the sowing time. Now make efforts to be rich in good works, "ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." I implore you, my brethren, in every place, rid yourselves of your icy coldness. Encourage in                                                                              85  yourselves a love of hospitality, a love to help those who need help.--Review and Herald, April 20, 1886.  {WM 84.4}
[WM 85.1]          Revive the Spirit of the Good Samaritan.--The spirit of the good Samaritan has not been largely represented in our churches. Many in need of help have been passed by, as the priest and Levite passed by the wounded and bruised stranger who had been left to die by the wayside. The very ones who needed the power of the divine Healer to cure their wounds have been left uncared for and unnoticed. Many have acted as if it were enough to know that Satan had his trap all set for a soul, and they could go home and care not for the lost sheep. It is evident that those who manifest such a spirit have not been partakers of the divine nature, but of the attributes of the enemy of God.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 294, 295.  {WM 85.1}
[WM 85.2]          Sympathy as Well as Charity.--I have been shown that among those who accept present truth there are many whose dispositions and characters need converting. Everyone who claims to be a Christian should examine himself, and see if he is as kind and considerate of his fellow beings as he desires his fellow beings to be of him. When this is done there will be a showing that is after the divine similitude.  {WM 85.2}
[WM 85.3]          The Lord is honored by our acts of mercy, by the exercise of thoughtful consideration for the unfortunate and distressed. The widow and the fatherless need more than our charity. They need sympathy and watchcare and compassionate words and a helping hand to place them where they can learn to help themselves. All deeds done for those who need help are as if done to Christ. In our study to know how to help the unfortunate we should study the way in which                                                                              86  Christ worked. He did not refuse to work for those who made mistakes; His works of mercy were done for every class, the righteous and the unrighteous. For all alike He healed disease and gave lessons of instruction if they humbly asked Him.  {WM 85.3}
[WM 86.1]          Those who claim to believe in Christ are to represent Christ in deeds of kindness and mercy. Such will never know until the day of judgment what good they have done in seeking to follow the example of the Saviour.--Letter 140, 1908.  {WM 86.1}
[WM 86.2]          Kindness the Key to Greater Evangelism.--If we would humble ourselves before God, and be kind and courteous and tenderhearted and pitiful, there would be one hundred conversions to the truth where now there is only one.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 189.  {WM 86.2}
[WM 87.1]       Chapter Eleven - How to Visit and What to Do         Come Close to Your Neighbors.--Go to your neighbors one by one, and come close to them till their hearts are warmed by your unselfish interest and love. Sympathize with them, pray for them, watch for opportunities to do them good, and as you can, gather a few together and open the Word of God to their darkened minds.--Review and Herald, March 13, 1888.  {WM 87.1}
[WM 87.2]          Help Where Help is Needed Most.--There are those all around you who have woes, who need words of sympathy, love, and tenderness, and our humble, pitying prayers. Some are suffering under the iron hand of poverty, some with disease, and others with heartaches, despondency, and gloom. Like Job, you should be eyes to the blind and feet to the lame, and you should inquire into the cause which you know not and search it out with the object in view to relieve their necessities and help just where they most need help.--Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 530.  {WM 87.2}
[WM 87.3]          First meet the temporal necessities of the needy and relieve their physical wants and sufferings, and you will then find an open avenue to the heart, where you may plant the good seeds of virtue and religion.-- Ibid., vol. 4, p. 227.  {WM 87.3}
[WM 87.4]          A Persuasive Approach.--Approach the people in a persuasive, kindly manner, full of cheerfulness and love for Christ. . . . No human tongue can express the preciousness of the ministration of the Word and the Holy Spirit. No human expression can portray to the                                                                              88  finite mind the value of understanding and by living faith receiving the blessing that is given as Jesus of Nazareth passes by.--Letter 60, 1903.  {WM 87.4}
[WM 88.1]          Maintain Proper Attitude Toward People.--It is a delicate matter to deal with minds. Only He who reads the heart knows how to bring men to repentance. Only His wisdom can give us success in reaching the lost. You may stand up stiffly, feeling, "I am holier than thou," and it matters not how correct your reasoning or how true your words; they will never touch hearts. The love of Christ, manifested in word and act, will win its way to the soul, when the reiteration of precept or argument would accomplish nothing.-- Ministry of Healing, pp. 163, 164.  {WM 88.1}
[WM 88.2]          Show Heartfelt Sympathy.--We need more of Christlike sympathy; not merely sympathy for those who appear to us to be faultless, but sympathy for poor, suffering, struggling souls, who are often overtaken in fault, sinning and repenting, tempted and discouraged. We are to go to our fellow men, touched, like our merciful High Priest, with the feeling of their infirmities.--Ibid., p. 164.  {WM 88.2}
[WM 88.3]          Work in a Way That Will Remove Prejudice.-- My brethren and sisters, visit those who live near you, and by sympathy and kindness seek to reach their hearts. Be sure to work in a way that will remove prejudice instead of creating it. And remember that those who know the truth for this time and yet confine their efforts to their own churches, refusing to work for their unconverted neighbors, will be called to account for unfulfilled duties.--Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 34, 35.                                                                              89   {WM 88.3}
[WM 89.1]          Get Into the Home When You Can.--Come close to the people; get into the families when you can; do not wait for the people to hunt up the shepherd.-- Letter 8, 1895.  {WM 89.1}
[WM 89.2]          The Three Important Steps in House-to-House Ministry.--The burden now is to convince souls of the truth. This can best be done by personal efforts, by bringing the truth into their houses, praying with them, and opening to them the Scriptures.--Review and Herald, Dec. 8, 1885.  {WM 89.2}
[WM 89.3]          Importance of the Handshake.--Much depends upon the manner in which you meet those whom you visit. You can take hold of a person's hand in greeting in such a way as to gain his confidence at once, or in so cold a manner that he will think you have no interest in him.--Gospel Workers, p. 189.  {WM 89.3}
[WM 89.4]          Christian Politeness Needed.--There are enough who want to be Christians, and if we will let the leaven begin to work, it will take one and then another, just as the spirit of God will work with us and we will see that we can reach the people, not by our own smartness, but by the Spirit of God. Yet we want the ability and power that God has given us to be brought into use. We do not want to be novices forever; we want to know how to conduct ourselves properly; we want Christian politeness. And we want to carry it with us in all our work. We do not want any of the sharp corners which may be in our character to be made prominent, but we want to work in humility, so we will forget them, and better characteristics will come in. We want cheerfulness in our work.--Manuscript 10, 1888.                                                                              90   {WM 89.4}
[WM 90.1]          Power of Courtesy.--The cultivation of a uniform courtesy, a willingness to do to others as we would wish them to do to us, would annihilate half the ills of life. The spirit of self-aggrandizement is the spirit of Satan; but the heart in which the love of Christ is cherished, will possess that charity which seeketh not her own.-- Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 133.  {WM 90.1}
[WM 90.2]          Proper Attitude Toward Poor.--You don't want to hold yourselves as though it were a condescension to come in contact with poor families. Talk as though they were as good a piece of humanity as you are. They have little enough light and joy, and why not carry additional joy and light to shine in upon them and fill their hearts. What we want is the tender sympathy of Jesus Christ, and then we can melt our way right into their hearts. We want to clothe ourselves, not with pomposity, but with plain simple dress, so that they will feel that we are an equal with them and as though we considered that they were worth saving, and we can melt our way into their hearts.  {WM 90.2}
[WM 90.3]          Now, brethren and sisters, we want the iron taken out of our souls, and we want it taken out of our manner of work. We can educate workers in every church.--Manuscript 10, 1888.  {WM 90.3}
[WM 90.4]          Tactful as Was Christ.--He had tact to meet the prejudiced minds, and surprise them with illustrations that won their attention. Through the imagination He reached the heart.--The Desire of Ages, p. 254.  {WM 90.4}
[WM 90.5]          Talk Courage.--Do not utter one despondent word, for such words please Satan. Talk of Christ's goodness and tell of His power. Words of hope and trust and courage are as easily spoken as words of                                                                              91  complaint. "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice."--Review and Herald, April 7, 1904.  {WM 90.5}
[WM 91.1]          Come to the Point.--Now, when we go into the house we should not begin to talk of frivolous things, but come right to the point and say, I want you to love Jesus, for He has first loved you. . . . Take along the publications and ask them to read. When they see that you are sincere they will not despise any of your efforts. There is a way to reach the hardest hearts. Approach in the simplicity, and sincerity, and humility that will help us to reach the souls of them for whom Christ died.--Manuscript 10, 1888.  {WM 91.1}
[WM 91.2]          Present Christ by the Fireside.--To all who are working with Christ I would say, Wherever you can gain access to the people by the fireside, improve your opportunity. Take your Bible, and open before them its great truths. Your success will not depend so much upon your knowledge and accomplishments as upon your ability to find your way to the heart. By being social and coming close to the people, you may turn the current of their thoughts more readily than by the most able discourse. The presentation of Christ in the family, by the fireside, and in small gatherings in private houses is often more successful in winning souls to Jesus than are sermons delivered in the open air, to the moving throng, or even in halls or churches.-- Gospel Workers, p. 193.  {WM 91.2}
[WM 91.3]          Tell How You Found Jesus.--Visit your neighbors and show an interest in the salvation of their souls. Arouse every spiritual energy to action. Tell those whom you visit that the end of all things is at hand. The Lord Jesus Christ will open the door of their                                                                              92  hearts and will make upon their minds lasting impressions.  {WM 91.3}
[WM 92.1]          Strive to arouse men and women from their spiritual insensibility. Tell them how you found Jesus and how blessed you have been since you gained an experience in His service. Tell them what blessing comes to you as you sit at the feet of Jesus and learn precious lessons from His Word. Tell them of the gladness and joy that there is in the Christian life. Your warm, fervent words will convince them that you have found the pearl of great price. Let your cheerful, encouraging words show that you have certainly found the higher way. This is genuine missionary work, and as it is done, many will awake as from a dream.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 38.  {WM 92.1}
[WM 92.2]          Present Christ and His Melting Love.--There are many souls yearning unutterably for light, for assurance and strength beyond what they have been able to grasp. They need to be sought out and labored for patiently, perseveringly. Beseech the Lord in fervent prayer for help. Present Jesus because you know Him as your personal Saviour. Let His melting love, His rich grace, flow forth from human lips. You need not present doctrinal points unless questioned. But take the Word, and with tender, yearning love for souls, show them the precious righteousness of Christ, to whom you and they must come to be saved.--Manuscript 27, 1895.  {WM 92.2}
[WM 92.3]          In all your labor let it appear that you know Jesus. Present His purity and saving grace, so that those for whom you labor may, by beholding, be changed into the divine image. The chain that is let down from the throne of God is long enough to reach to the lowest depths of sin. Hold up a sin-pardoning Saviour before                                                                              93  the lost and lonely, for Jesus has made divine intercession in their behalf. He is able to lift them from the pit of sin, that they may be acknowledged as the children of God, heirs with Christ to an immortal inheritance. They may have the life that measures with the life of God.--Review and Herald, April 11, 1912.  {WM 92.3}
[WM 93.1]          The Power of Sacred Songs.--Those who have the gift of song are needed. Song is one of the most effective means of impressing spiritual truth upon the heart. Often by the words of sacred song the springs of penitence and faith have been unsealed. Church members, young and old, should be educated to go forth to proclaim this last message to the world. If they go in humility, angels of God will go with them, teaching them how to lift up the voice in prayer, how to raise the voice in song, and how to proclaim the gospel message for this time.--Ibid., June 6, 1912.  {WM 93.1}
[WM 93.2]          Hearts Touched by Simple Songs.--Learn to sing the simplest of songs. These will help you in house-to-house labor, and hearts will be touched by the influence of the Holy Spirit. Christ was often heard singing hymns of praise; and yet I have heard persons say, "Christ never smiled." How mistaken their ideas in regard to the Saviour! There was joy in His heart. We learn from the Word that there is joy among the heavenly angels over one repentant sinner, and that the Lord Himself rejoices over His church with singing. --Ibid., Nov. 11, 1902.  {WM 93.2}
[WM 93.3]          Talk Familiarly and Make Personal Appeals.-- Personal, individual effort and interest for your friends and neighbors will accomplish more than can be estimated. It is for the want of this kind of labor that souls for whom Christ died are perishing. . . . Your work                                                                              94  may accomplish more real good than the more extensive meetings, if they lack in personal effort. When both are combined, with the blessing of God, a more perfect and thorough work may be wrought; but if we can have but one part done, let it be the individual labor of opening the Scriptures in households, making personal appeals, and talking familiarly with the members of the family, not about things of little importance, but of the great themes of redemption. Let them see that your heart is burdened for the salvation of souls.--Ibid., March 13, 1888.  {WM 93.3}
[WM 94.1]          Effectiveness of the Question Technique.--My ministering brethren, do not think that the only work you can do, the only way you can labor for souls, is to give discourses. The best work you can do is to teach, to educate. Whenever you can find an opportunity to do so, sit down with some family, and let them ask questions. Then answer them patiently, humbly. Continue this work in connection with your more public efforts. Preach less, and educate more, by holding Bible readings and by praying with families and little companies.--Gospel Workers, p. 193.  {WM 94.1}
[WM 94.2]          With a Voice Full of Pathos.--Let the voice express sympathy and tenderness. Christ's voice was full of pathos. By persevering effort we can cultivate the voice, ridding it of all harshness. Let us ask in faith for a converted voice, a converted tongue, and for Christlike sympathy and tenderness, that we may win souls to the truth we teach.--Review and Herald, Nov. 11, 1902.  {WM 94.2}
[WM 94.3]          If They Shut the Door in Your Face, What Then? --"But," says one, "suppose we cannot gain admittance to the homes of the people; and if we do suppose they                                                                              95  rise up against the truths that we present. Shall we not feel excused from making further efforts for them?" By no means. Even if they shut the door in your face, do not hasten away in indignation, and make no further effort to save them. Ask God in faith to give you access to those very souls. Cease not your efforts, but study and plan until you find some other means of reaching them. If you do not succeed by personal visits, try sending them the silent messenger of truth. There is so much pride of opinion in the human heart that our publications often gain admittance where the living messenger cannot.--Historical Sketches, p. 150.  {WM 94.3}
[WM 95.1]          How Christ Met the People.--We shall gain much instruction for our work from a study of Christ's methods of labor and His manner of meeting the people. In the gospel story we have the record of how He worked for all classes, and of how as He labored in cities and towns thousands were drawn to His side to hear His teaching. The words of the Master were clear and distinct and were spoken in sympathy and tenderness. They carried with them the assurance that here was truth. It was the simplicity and earnestness with which Christ labored and spoke that drew so many to Him.--Review and Herald, Jan. 18, 1912.  {WM 95.1}
[WM 95.2]          Not Mechanical in Labor.--All who engage in this personal labor should be just as careful not to become mechanical in their manner of working as should the minister who preaches the Word. They should be constantly learning.--Gospel Workers, p. 193.  {WM 95.2}
[WM 95.3]          Devise New Methods.--I address Christians who live in our large cities: God has made you depositories of truth, not that you may retain it, but that you may impart it to others. You should visit from house to                                                                              96  house as faithful stewards of the grace of Christ. As you work, devise, and plan, new methods will continually present themselves to your mind, and by use the powers of your intellect will be increased. A lukewarm, slack performance of duty is an injury to the soul for whom Christ has died. If we would find the pearls buried in the debris of the cities, we should go forth ready to do the work required by the Master.--Review and Herald, June 11, 1895.  {WM 95.3}
[WM 96.1]          New Life and New Plans.--Men are needed who pray to God for wisdom, and who, under the guidance of God, can put new life into the old methods of labor and can invent new plans and new methods of awakening the interest of church members and reaching the men and women of the world.--Manuscript 117, 1907.  {WM 96.1}
[WM 96.2]          In the Power of Persuasion, Prayer, and Love.-- The poor are to be relieved, the sick cared for, the sorrowing and the bereaved comforted, the ignorant instructed, the inexperienced counseled. We are to weep with those that weep and rejoice with those that rejoice. Accompanied by the power of persuasion, the power of prayer, the power of the love of God, this work will not, cannot, be without fruit.--Ministry of Healing, pp. 143, 144.  {WM 96.2}
[WM 97.1]       Chapter Twelve - The Effectiveness of Visitation Evangelism         The Place of Visitation Evangelism in Finishing God's Work on Earth.--How can the great work of the third angel's message be accomplished? It must be largely accomplished by persevering, individual effort, by visiting the people in their homes.--Historical Sketches, p. 150.  {WM 97.1}
[WM 97.2]         One of the most effective ways in which light can be communicated is by private, personal effort. In the home circle, at your neighbor's fireside, at the bedside of the sick, in a quiet way you may read the Scriptures and speak a word for Jesus and the truth. Thus you may sow precious seed that will spring up and bring forth fruit.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 428, 429.  {WM 97.2}
[WM 97.3]          Repaid a Thousand Times.--Wake up, brethren and sisters. Don't be afraid of good works. Be not weary in well-doing, for you shall reap in due time if you faint not. . . . Encourage in yourselves a love of hospitality, a love to help those who need help.  {WM 97.3}
[WM 97.4]          You may say you have been deceived, bestowing your means upon those unworthy of your charity, and therefore have become discouraged in trying to help the needy. I present Jesus before you. . . . One soul wrenched from Satan's grasp; one soul you have benefited; one soul encouraged! This will a thousand times pay you for all your efforts. To you Jesus will say, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." Should we not                                                                              98  gladly do all we can to imitate the life of our divine Lord?--Review and Herald, April 20, 1886.  {WM 97.4}
[WM 98.1]          Vital to Our Own Eternal Destiny.--As you engage in this work you have companions unseen by human eyes. Angels of heaven were beside the Samaritan who cared for the wounded stranger. Angels from the heavenly courts stand by all who do God's service in ministering to their fellow-men. And you have the cooperation of Christ Himself. He is the Restorer, and as you work under His supervision you will see great results. Upon your faithfulness in this work, not only the well-being of others, but your own eternal destiny depends.--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 388.  {WM 98.1}
[WM 98.2]          Christ Enters the Homes With Them.--The Lord desires that the truth shall come close to the people, and this can be accomplished only by personal labor. Much is comprehended in the command, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled." There is a work to be done in this line that has not yet been done. Let God's workers teach the truth in families, drawing close to those for whom they labor. If they thus cooperate with God, He will clothe them with spiritual power. Christ will guide them in their work, entering the houses of the people with them and giving them words to speak that will sink deep into the hearts of the listeners. The Holy Spirit will open hearts and minds to receive the rays coming from the Source of all light.--Review and Herald, Dec. 29, 1904.  {WM 98.2}
[WM 98.3]          Bring Hope to the People.--It is impossible for the man who believes in Christ to see the work that needs to be done and yet do nothing. Daily we are to receive from Heaven the healing balm of God's grace to impart to the needy and suffering. Christ's followers                                                                              99  are to learn of the woes of the poor in their immediate vicinity and seek to bring them relief. Those who have a dark and disagreeable life are the very ones whom we should bid to hope because Christ is their Saviour. Are there not those who can go from house to house, from family to family, and repeat the A B C of true Christian experience?--Ibid., April 11, 1912.  {WM 98.3}
[WM 99.1]          E. G. White's Experience in Visitation.--I remember when the converting power of God came upon me in my childhood I wanted everyone else to get the blessing that I had, and I could not rest till I had told them of it. I began to visit with my young companions and went to their houses to talk with them and tell them my experience, how precious the Saviour was to me, and how I wanted to serve Him, and how I wanted them to serve Him also. So I would talk of the preciousness of Christ, and I would say, "Won't you kneel down and pray with me?" Some would kneel and some would sit in their chairs, but before we gave up, everyone would be on her knees and we would pray together for hours, till the last one would say, "I believe that Jesus has forgiven me my sins." Sometimes the sun would begin to make its appearance in the heavens before I would give up the struggle. There is a great power in Jesus.--Manuscript 10, 1888.  {WM 99.1}
[WM 99.2]          The "First Works" Bring Results.--The reason so many fail to have success is that they trust in themselves altogether too much, and do not feel the positive necessity of abiding in Christ, as they go forth to seek and save that which is lost. Until they have the mind of Christ and teach the truth as it is in Jesus, they will not accomplish much. . . .  {WM 99.2}
[WM 99.3]          The atmosphere of the church is so frigid, its spirit is of such an order, that men and women cannot                                                                              100  sustain or endure the example of primitive and heaven-born piety. The warmth of their first love is frozen up, and unless they are watered over by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, their candlestick will be removed out of its place, except they repent and do their first works. The first works of the church were seen when the believers sought out friends, relatives, and acquaintances, and with hearts overflowing with love, told the story of what Jesus was to them and what they were to Jesus.--Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 167, 168.  {WM 99.3}
[WM 100.1]          You Are a Letter; Deliver It!--The apostle Paul says to the disciples of Jesus, "Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ," "known and read of all men." In every one of His children Jesus sends a letter to the world. If you are Christ's follower, He sends in you a letter to the family, the village, the street, where you live. Jesus, dwelling in you, desires to speak to the hearts of those who are not acquainted with Him. Perhaps they do not read the Bible or do not hear the voice that speaks to them in its pages; they do not see the love of God through His works. But if you are a true representative of Jesus, it may be that through you they will be led to understand something of His goodness, and be won to love and serve Him.--Steps to Christ, p. 119.  {WM 100.1}
[WM 100.2]          The Literature We Leave in the Homes Will Bear Fruit.--"Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace," you will be prepared to walk from house to house carrying the truth to the people. Sometimes you will find it very trying to do work of this kind; but if you go forth in faith, the Lord will go before you, and His light will shine upon your pathway.                                                                              101  As you enter the homes of your neighbors to sell or to give away our literature, and in humility to teach them the truth, you will be accompanied by the light of heaven.--Review and Herald, Nov. 11, 1902.  {WM 100.2}
[WM 101.1]          God will soon do great things for us if we lie humble and believing at His feet.... More than one thousand will soon be converted in one day, most of whom will trace their first convictions to the reading of our publications.--Ibid., Nov. 10, 1885.  {WM 101.1}
[WM 101.2]          The Best Way to Reach Souls.--In the very shadows of the houses of God there are multitudes of godless sinners, without a knowledge of the truth, without hope. . . . In every city, in every settlement where Christians meet to worship God, there are men and women and children to be gathered into the fold. Many never hear a discourse on God's Word. Who will take upon himself a burden for souls? Who will learn from the Great Teacher that the best way to reach souls is by direct, personal appeal to erring individuals, to those who are dead in trespasses and sins, to behold their uplifted, crucified Redeemer, and live? Christians, let your hearts be filled with sympathy and love for those who know not the truth.--Manuscript 81, 1900.  {WM 101.2}
[WM 101.3]          Situations Adapted to Our Talents.--If the teachers of His Word are willing, the Lord will lead them into close relation with the people. He will guide them into the homes of those who need and desire the truth, bringing them into the situations best suited to their talents.--Letter 95, 1896.  {WM 101.3}
[WM 101.4]          Talents of All Needed.--The Lord has a place for everyone in His great plan. Talents that are not needed are not bestowed. To every man God gives                                                                              102  talents, which are to be improved according to His several ability. Supposing the talent is small, God has a place for it; and that one talent, if used, will do the very work God designed that it should do. The talents of the humble cottager are needed in house-to-house labor and can accomplish more in this work than brilliant gifts. And he who uses aright his one talent will be as verily rewarded as he who uses aright five talents. It is for working according to the ability given that God rewards His servants.--Letter 41, 1899.  {WM 101.4}
[WM 102.1]          How to Find Time for Neighborly Visits.--If the young men and the young women would solemnly consecrate themselves to God, if they would practice self-denial in the home life, relieving their tired, careworn mothers, what a change would take place in our churches. The mother could find time to make neighborly visits. When opportunity offered, the children could give assistance by doing, when quite young, little errands of mercy and love to bless others. Thus thousands of the homes of the poor and needy could be entered. Books relating to health and temperance could be placed in many homes. The circulation of these books is an important work, for they contain precious knowledge in regard to the treatment of disease--knowledge that would be a great blessing to those who cannot afford to pay for the physician's visits.--Manuscript 119, 1901.  {WM 102.1}
[WM 102.2]          "Do Not Wait to Be Told Your Duty."--Do not wait to be told your duty. Open your eyes and see who are around you; make yourselves acquainted with the helpless, afflicted, and needy. Hide not yourselves from them and seek not to shut out their needs. Who gives the proofs mentioned in James, of possessing pure                                                                              103  religion, untainted with selfishness or corruption?-- Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 29.  {WM 102.2}
[WM 103.1]          Break the Spell: "Go to Work, Whether You Feel Like It or Not."--My brethren and sisters, do you desire to break the spell that holds you? Would you arouse from this sluggishness that resembles the torpor of death? Go to work, whether you feel like it or not. Engage in personal effort to bring souls to Jesus and the knowledge of the truth. In such labor you will find both a stimulus and a tonic; it will both arouse and strengthen. By exercise your spiritual powers will become more vigorous, so that you can with better success work out your own salvation. The stupor of death is upon many who profess Christ. Make every effort to arouse them. Warn, entreat, expostulate. Pray that the melting love of God may warm and soften their icebound natures. Though they may refuse to hear, your labor will not be lost. In the effort to bless others your own souls will be blessed. --Ibid., vol. 5, p. 387.  {WM 103.1}
[WM 103.2]          Carrying the Atmosphere of Heaven.--Visiting the sick, comforting the poor and the sorrowful for Christ's sake, will bring to the workers the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and  even the countenance will express the peace that dwells in the soul. The faces of men and women who talk with God, to whom the invisible world is a reality, express the peace of God. They carry with them the soft and genial atmosphere of heaven, and diffuse it in deeds of kindness and works of love. Their influence is of a character to win souls to Christ. If all could see and understand, and be doers of the words of God, what peace, what happiness, what health of body and peace of soul, would be the result! A warm, kindly atmosphere of love, the pitying                                                                              104  tenderness of Christ in the soul cannot be estimated. The price of love is above gold and silver and precious stones, and makes human agents like Him who lived not to please Himself.--Letter 43, 1895.  {WM 103.2}
[WM 104.1]          "Hundreds and Thousands Were Seen Visiting Families."--In visions of the night representations passed before me of a great reformatory movement among God's people. Many were praising God. The sick were healed, and other miracles were wrought. A spirit of intercession was seen, even as was manifested before the great day of Pentecost. Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families and opening before them the Word of God. Hearts were convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest. On every side doors were thrown open to the proclamation of the truth. The world seemed to be lighted with the heavenly influence. Great blessings were received by the true and humble people of God. I heard voices of thanksgiving and praise, and there seemed to be a reformation such as we witnessed in 1844.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 126.  {WM 104.1}
[WM 105.1]       Chapter Thirteen - Organizing the Church for Welfare Ministry         God's Purpose in Church Organization.--The church of Christ on earth was organized for missionary purposes, and the Lord desires to see the entire church devising ways and means whereby high and low, rich and poor, may hear the message of truth.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 29,  {WM 105.1}
[WM 105.2]          To Unite in Exercises of Charity.--Wherever the truth has been proclaimed and people have been awakened and converted, the believers are at once to unite in exercises of charity. Wherever Bible truth has been presented, a work of practical godliness is to be begun. Wherever a church is established, missionary work is to be done for the helpless and the suffering.-- Ibid., pp. 84, 85.  {WM 105.2}
[WM 105.3]          A Call for Men Who Can Lead.--Unless there are those who will devise means of turning to account the time, strength, and brains of the church members, there will be a great work left undone that ought to be done. Haphazard work will not answer. We want men in the church who have ability to develop in the line of organizing and giving practical work to young men and women in the line of relieving the wants of humanity, and working for the salvation of the souls of men, women, youth, and children.--Letter 12, 1892.  {WM 105.3}
[WM 105.4]          Like a Training School.--Every church should be a training school for Christian workers. Its members should be taught how to give Bible readings, how to                                                                              106  conduct and teach Sabbath school classes, how best to help the poor and to care for the sick, how to work for the unconverted. There should be schools of health, cooking schools, and classes in various lines of Christian help work. There should not only be teaching, but actual work under experienced instructors. Let the teachers lead the way in working among the people, and others, uniting with them, will learn from their example. One example is worth more than many precepts.--Ministry of Healing, p. 149.  {WM 105.4}
[WM 106.1]          Preparing Our Youth for Practical Service.--The Great Teacher cooperates with all the efforts made to relieve suffering humanity. Teach the students to make a practical application of the lessons they have received. As they witness human woe and the deep poverty of those they are trying to help, they will be stirred with compassion. Their hearts will be softened and subdued by the deep, holy principles revealed in the Word of God. The great Physician cooperates with every effort made in behalf of suffering humanity, to give health to the body and light and restoration to the soul.... We must now see what can be done to educate the students in practical missionary work.-- Manuscript 70, 1898.  {WM 106.1}
[WM 106.2]          Teach Practical Missionary Work.--On such occasions as our annual camp meetings we must never lose sight of the opportunities afforded for teaching the believers how to do practical missionary work in the place where they may live. In many instances it would be well to set apart certain men to carry the burden of different lines of educational work at these meetings. Let some help the people to learn how to give Bible readings and to conduct cottage meetings.                                                                              107  Let others bear the burden of teaching the people how to practice the principles of health and temperance and how to give treatments to the sick. Still others may labor in the interests of our periodical and book work. --Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 82, 83.  {WM 106.2}
[WM 107.1]          Form Bands of Workers.--The formation of small companies as a basis of Christian effort has been presented to me by One who cannot err. If there is a large number in the church, let the members be formed into small companies, to work not only for the church members but for unbelievers. If in one place there are only two or three who know the truth, let them form themselves into a band of workers. Let them keep their bond of union unbroken, pressing together in love and unity, encouraging one another to advance, each gaining courage and strength from the assistance of the others.--Ibid., vol. 7, pp. 21, 22.  {WM 107.1}
[WM 107.2]          Well-organized Companies in Every Church.-- Let there be in every church well-organized companies of workers to labor in the vicinity of that church. Put self behind you, and let Christ go before as your life and power. Let this work be entered into without delay, and the truth will be as leaven in the earth. When such forces are set to work in all our churches, there will be a renovating, reforming, energizing power in the churches, because the members are doing the very work that God has given them to do. Let all our churches be active, zealous, filled with enthusiasm by the Spirit and power of God. It is the intelligent use of the means, the capabilities, the powers, given you by God, consecrated to His service, that will tell in the communities where you may labor. It may be that you will have to make a very small beginning in some                                                                              108  places; but do not be discouraged; the work will grow larger, and you will be doing the work of an evangelist. Look at Christ's manner of working, and strive to labor as He did.--Review and Herald, Sept. 29, 1891.  {WM 107.2}
[WM 108.1]          To Work Under a Name.--In all God's work for man He plans that man shall cooperate with Him. To this end the Lord calls upon the church to have a higher piety, a more just sense of duty, a clearer realization of their obligations to their Creator. He calls upon them to be a pure, sanctified, working people. And the Christian help work is one means of bringing this about, for the Holy Spirit communicates with all who are doing God's service.... I would say: Continue to work with tact and ability. Arouse your associates to work under some name whereby they may be organized to cooperate in harmonious action. Get the young men and women in the churches to work.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 266, 267.  {WM 108.1}
[WM 108.2]          Youth to Organize and Train for the Closing Work.--There are many lines in which the youth can find opportunity for helpful effort. As they organize into bands for Christian service, their cooperation will prove an assistance and encouragement....  {WM 108.2}
[WM 108.3]          In this closing work of the gospel there is a vast field to be occupied; and, more than ever before, the work is to enlist helpers from the common people. Both the youth and those older in years will be called from the field, from the vineyard, and from the workshop, and sent forth by the Master to give His message. Many of these may have had little opportunity for education, but Christ sees in them qualifications that will enable them to fulfill His purpose. If they put                                                                              109  their hearts into the work and continue to be learners, He will fit them to labor for Him.  {WM 108.3}
[WM 109.1]          With such preparation as they can gain, thousands upon thousands of the youth and those older in years should be giving themselves to the work. Already many hearts are responding to the call of the Master Worker, and their numbers will increase.  {WM 109.1}
[WM 109.2]          All who engage in ministry are God's helping hand. There is no line of work in which it is possible for the youth to receive greater benefit. They are co-workers with the angels; rather, they are human agencies through whom the angels accomplish their mission. Angels speak through their voices and work by their hands. And the human workers, cooperating with heavenly agencies, have the benefit of their education and experience. As a means of education what "university course" can equal this? With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the world!-- Youth's Instructor, March 3, 1908.  {WM 109.2}
[WM 109.3]          A Great Work to Be Done by Men Now Idle.-- It is not God's purpose that ministers should be left to do the greatest part of the work of sowing the seeds of truth. Men who are not called to the gospel ministry are to be encouraged to labor for the Master according to their several ability. Hundreds of men and women now idle could do acceptable service. By carrying the truth into the homes of their neighbors and friends, they could do a great work for the Master. God is no respecter of persons. He will use humble, devoted Christians who have the love of the truth in their hearts. Let such ones engage in service for him by doing house-to-house work. Sitting by the fireside, such                                                                              110  men--if humble, discreet, and godly--can do more to meet the real needs of families than could a minister.-- Review and Herald, Aug. 26, 1902.  {WM 109.3}
[WM 110.1]          The Best Help Ministers Can Give.--The best help that ministers can give the members of our churches is not sermonizing but planning work for them. Give each one something to do for others.... If set to work, the despondent will soon forget their despondency; the weak will become strong; the ignorant, intelligent; and all will be prepared to present the truth as it is in Jesus.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 82.  {WM 110.1}
[WM 110.2]          Everyone who is added to the ranks by conversion is to be assigned his post of duty. Everyone should be willing to be or to do anything in this warfare.--Ibid., vol. 7, p. 30.  {WM 110.2}
[WM 110.3]          Let All Cooperate.--There has been so much preaching to our churches that they have almost ceased to appreciate the gospel ministry. The time has come when this order of things should be changed. Let the minister call out the individual church members to help him by house-to-house work in carrying the truth into regions beyond. Let all cooperate with the heavenly intelligences in communicating truth to others.--Review and Herald, June 11, 1895.  {WM 110.3}
[WM 110.4]          All United to Finish the Work.--Those who have the spiritual oversight of the church should devise ways and means by which an opportunity may be given to every member of the church to act some part in God's work. Too often in the past this has not been done. Plans have not been clearly laid and fully carried out whereby the talents of all might be employed in active service. There are but few who realize how much has been lost because of this.                                                                              111   {WM 110.4}
[WM 111.1]          The leaders in God's cause, as wise generals, are to lay plans for advance moves all along the line. In their planning they are to give special study to the work that can be done by the laity for their friends and neighbors. The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers.-- Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 116, 117.  {WM 111.1}
[WM 111.2]          Christ Can Be Represented in All Lawful Callings. --All should be taught how to work. Especially should those who are newly come to the faith be educated to become laborers together with God. If this duty is neglected, the work of the minister is incomplete.  {WM 111.2}
[WM 111.3]          But God does not want His people to hang their weight upon the ministers. As a steward of the grace of God, every church member should feel an individual responsibility to have life and root in himself. All who are ordained unto the life of Christ are ordained to work for the salvation of their fellow men. He who loves God supremely and his neighbor as himself cannot rest content with doing nothing.  {WM 111.3}
[WM 111.4]          Did the professed believers in the truth live the truth, they would today all be missionaries. Some would be working in the islands of the sea; some, in the different countries of the world. Some would be serving Christ as home missionaries. Not all are called upon to go abroad. Some may be successful in business lines, and in this work they may represent Christ. They may show to the world that business may be conducted on righteous principles, in strict fidelity to the truth. There may be Christian lawyers, Christian physicians, Christian merchants. Christ may be represented in all lawful callings.--Manuscript 19, 1900.                                                                              112   {WM 111.4}
[WM 112.1]          Example of a Faithful Church.--Sabbath morning, November 10, 1900, we entered the San Francisco church, and found it crowded to its utmost capacity. As I stood before the people I thought of the dream and the instruction which had been given me so many years ago, and I was much encouraged. Looking at the people assembled, I felt that I could indeed say, "The Lord has fulfilled His word."  {WM 112.1}
[WM 112.2]          During the past few years the "beehive" ［REFERENCE IS HERE MADE TO A REVELATION IN 1876 WHEN THE ACTIVITIES OF THE THEN RELATIVELY NEW CHURCHES IN SAN FRANCISCO AND OAKLAND WERE REPRESENTED AS TWO BEEHIVES.］ in San Francisco has been indeed a busy one. Many lines of Christian effort have been carried forward by our brethren and sisters there. These included visiting the sick and destitute, finding homes for orphans and work for the unemployed, nursing the sick, and teaching the truth from house to house, distributing literature, and conducting classes on healthful living and the care of the sick. A school for the children has been conducted in the basement of the Laguna Street meetinghouse. For a time a workingmen's home and medical mission was maintained. On market Street, near the city hall, there were treatment rooms, operated as a branch of the St. Helena Sanitarium. In the same locality was a health-food store. Nearer the center of the city, not far from the Call building, was conducted a vegetarian cafe, which was open six days in the week and entirely closed on the Sabbath. Along the water front ship mission work was carried on. At various times our ministers conducted meetings in large halls in the city. Thus the warning message was given by many.-- Review and Herald, July 5, 1906.  {WM 112.2}
[WM 112.3]         For This Purpose the Church Is Organized.-- Someone must fulfill the commission of Christ; someone                                                                              113  must carry on the work which He began to do on earth; and the church has been given this privilege. For this purpose it has been organized. Why, then, have not church members accepted the responsibility? There are those who have seen this great neglect; they have seen the needs of many who are in suffering and want; they have recognized in these poor souls those for whom Christ gave His life, and their hearts have been stirred with pity, every energy has been roused to action. They have entered upon a work of organizing those who will cooperate with them in bringing the truth of the gospel before many who are now in vice and iniquity, that they may be redeemed from a life of dissipation and sin.  {WM 112.3}
[WM 113.1]          Those who have been engaged in this Christian help work have been doing what the Lord desires to have done, and He has accepted their labors. That which has been done in this line is a work which every Seventh-day Adventist should heartily sympathize with and endorse, and take hold of earnestly. --Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 295, 296.                                                                              116   {WM 113.1}
[WM 116.1]                 Gem Thought          What a busy life Christ led! Day by day He might be seen entering the humble abodes of want and sorrow, speaking hope to the downcast and peace to the distressed. The poor and suffering received the greatest share of His attention. Children loved Him. They were drawn to Him by His ready sympathy. By His simple, loving words He settled many a difficulty arising among them. Often He took them on His knee and talked with them in a way that won their hearts.  {WM 116.1}
[WM 116.2]          His was the medical missionary work that He asks His people to do today. Humble, gracious, tenderhearted, pitiful, He went about doing good, feeding the hungry, lifting up the bowed down, comforting the sorrowing. None who came to Him for aid went away unrelieved. Not a thread of selfishness was woven into the pattern He has left for His children to follow. He lived the life that He would have all live who believe on Him. It was His meat and drink to do the will of His father. To all who came to Him for help He brought faith and hope and life. Wherever He went He carried blessing.  {WM 116.2}
[WM 116.3]          To us Christ's message is, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."--Manuscript 115, 1902.  {WM 116.3}
[WM 117.1]       Chapter Fourteen - In the Footsteps of the Master         Christ's Pattern of Medical Ministry.--For three years the disciples had before them the wonderful example of Christ. Day by day they walked and talked with Him, hearing His words of cheer to the weary and heavy laden and seeing the manifestations of His power in behalf of the sick and afflicted. When the time came for Him to leave them, He gave them power to work as He had worked. He bestowed on them His grace, saying, "Freely ye have received, freely give." They were to go forth into the world to shed abroad the light of His gospel of love and healing. The work He had done they were to do.  {WM 117.1}
[WM 117.2]          And this is the work we also are to do in the world. In sympathy and compassion we are to minister to those in need of help, seeking with unselfish earnestness to lighten the woe of suffering humanity. As we engage in this work we shall be greatly blessed. Its influence is irresistible. By it souls are won to the Redeemer. The practical carrying out of the Saviour's commission demonstrates the power of the gospel. This work calls for laborious effort, but it pays; for by it perishing souls are saved. Through its influence men and women of talent are to be brought to the cross of Christ.  {WM 117.2}
[WM 117.3]          Man has a body as well as a soul to save. Both are to be restored to health by God's simple but efficacious methods, which appeal to men and women of intelligence.                                                                              118  Through a belief in the truth souls are awakened to a need of a preparation for life's duties. As the health of the body is restored the powers of the mind are put forth to grasp the great truths of the gospel.--Letter 152, 1901.  {WM 117.3}
[WM 118.1]          First Meet the Temporal Necessities.--The suffering and destitute of all classes are our neighbors, and when their wants are brought to our knowledge it is our duty to relieve them as far as possible. A principle is brought out in this parable ［of the good Samaritan］ that it would be well for the followers of Christ to adopt. First meet the temporal necessities of the needy and relieve their physical wants and sufferings, and you will then find an open avenue to the heart, where you may plant the good seeds of virtue and religion. --Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 226, 227.  {WM 118.1}
[WM 118.2]          A World to Save.--Remember that there is a world to save. We are to act our part, standing close by the side of Christ as his colaborers. He is the head; we are His helping hand. He designs that we, by doing medical missionary work, shall undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free. Let us not close our eyes to the misery around us or our ears to the cries of distress which are continually ascending. Christ is the greatest missionary the world has ever known. He came to uplift and cheer the sorrowing and distressed, and in this work we are to cooperate with him.--Manuscript 31, 1901.  {WM 118.2}
[WM 118.3]          Find Christ's Footprints in the Hovels of Poverty. --Many feel that it would be a great privilege to visit the scenes of Christ's life on earth, to walk where He trod, to look upon the lake beside which He loved to teach, and the hills and valleys on which His eyes so often rested. But we need not go to Nazareth, to                                                                              119  Capernaum, or to Bethany in order to walk in the steps of Jesus. We shall find His footprints  beside the sickbed, in the hovels of poverty, in the crowded alleys of the great city, and in every place where there are human hearts in need of consolation. In doing as Jesus did when on earth, we shall walk in His steps.-- The Desire of Ages, p. 640.  {WM 118.3}
[WM 119.1]          The Gospel of Relief From Suffering.--Medical missionary work brings to humanity the gospel of release from suffering. It is the pioneer work of the gospel. It is the gospel practiced, the compassion of Christ revealed. Of this work there is great need, and the world is open for it. God grant that the importance of medical missionary work shall be understood and that new fields may be immediately entered.--Manuscript 55, 1901.  {WM 119.1}
[WM 119.2]          Begin in Your Own Neighborhood.--Before the true reformer, the medical missionary work will open many doors. No one need wait until called to some distant field before beginning to help others. Wherever you are, you can begin at once. Opportunities are within the reach of everyone. Take up the work for which you are held responsible, the work that should be done in your home and in your neighborhood. Wait not for others to urge you to action. In the fear of God go forward without delay, bearing in mind your individual responsibility to Him who gave His life for you. Act as if you heard Christ calling upon you personally to do your utmost in His service. Look not to see who else is ready. If you are truly consecrated, God will, through your instrumentality, bring into the truth others whom He can use as channels to convey light to many that are groping in darkness.                                                                              120   {WM 119.2}
[WM 120.1]          All can do something. In an effort to excuse themselves, some say: "My home duties, my children, claim my time and my means." Parents, your children should be your helping hand, increasing your power and ability to work for the Master. Children are the younger members of the Lord's family. They should be led to consecrate themselves to God, whose they are by creation and by redemption. They should be taught that all their powers of body, mind, and soul are His. They should be trained to help in various lines of unselfish service.--Testimonies, vol. 7, pp. 62, 63.  {WM 120.1}
[WM 120.2]          Everyone to Do His Best.--The Lord desires every worker to do his best. Those who have not had special training in one of our medical institutions may think that they can do very little; but, my dear fellow workers, remember that in the parable of the talents Christ did not represent all the servants as receiving the same number. To one servant was given five talents; to another, two; and to still another, one. If you have but one talent, use it wisely, increasing it by putting it out to the exchangers. Some cannot do as much as others, but everyone is to do all he can to roll back the wave of disease and distress that is sweeping over our world. Come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty powers of darkness. God desires every one of His children to have intelligence and knowledge, so that with unmistakable clearness and power His glory shall be revealed in our world.--Review and Herald, June 9, 1904.  {WM 120.2}
[WM 120.3]          Laborers Together With God.--A grand side of the work of God is revealed by the words "medical missionary." To be a medical missionary means to be a laborer together with God. Medical missionary work,                                                                              121  a work that is to be a great help and strength to the cause, is to be carried forward in all carefulness and wisdom. Into this work not one thread is to be drawn that will spoil the beautiful pattern that God designs shall be worked out.--Manuscript 139, 1902.  {WM 120.3}
[WM 121.1]          Proclaiming the Truth to the Sick and the Well. --The gospel ministry is an organization for the proclamation of the truth to the sick and to the well. It combines the medical missionary work and the ministry of the Word. By these combined agencies opportunities are given to communicate light and to present the gospel to all classes and all grades of society. God wants the ministers and the church members to take a decided, active interest in the medical missionary work.  {WM 121.1}
[WM 121.2]          To take people right where they are, whatever their position or condition, and help them in every way possible--this is gospel ministry. Those who are diseased in body are nearly always diseased in mind, and when the soul is sick the body also is affected.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 300, 301.  {WM 121.2}
[WM 121.3]          The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah contains present truth for the people of God. Here we see how medical missionary work and the gospel ministry are to be bound together as the message is given to the world. Upon those who keep the Sabbath of the Lord is laid the responsibility of doing a work of mercy and benevolence. Medical missionary work is to be bound up with the message, and sealed with the seal of God. --Manuscript 22, 1901.  {WM 121.3}
[WM 121.4]          North, South, East, and West.--Why has it not been understood from the Word of God that the work being done in medical missionary lines is a fulfillment                                                                              122  of the scripture, "Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be full."  {WM 121.4}
[WM 122.1]          This is a work that the churches in every locality, north and south and east and west, should do. The churches have been given the opportunity of answering this work. Why have they not done it? Someone must fulfill the commission.  {WM 122.1}
[WM 122.2]          A work which should have been done has been left undone. Those who have been engaged in the medical missionary work have been doing the very class of work the Lord would have done. . . .  {WM 122.2}
[WM 122.3]          Oh, how much, how very much remains to be done, and yet how many that might use their God-given talents aright are doing almost nothing besides caring for and pleasing themselves. But the hand of the Lord is stretched out still, and if they will work today in His vineyard, He will accept their service.--Manuscript 18, 1897.  {WM 122.3}
[WM 122.4]          Keep a Proper Balance.--Medical missionary work should be carried forward by the church in well-organized efforts. It should be to the cause of God as the right hand is to the body. But the medical missionary work is not to take on undue importance. It should be done without neglecting other lines of work.-- Letter 139, 1898.  {WM 122.4}
[WM 122.5]          The Work of the Right Hand.--The right hand is used to open doors through which the body may find entrance. This is the part the medical missionary work is to act. It is to largely prepare the way for the                                                                              123  reception of the truth for this time. A body without hands is useless. In giving honor to the body, honor must also be given to the helping hands, which are agencies of such importance that without them the body can do nothing. Therefore the body which treats indifferently the right hand, refusing its aid, is able to accomplish nothing.--Manuscript 55, 1901.  {WM 122.5}
[WM 123.1]          A Part of a Great Whole.--The medical missionary work ought always to have existed in the work of reform. But it is never to become the means of separating the workers in the ministry from their work. Christ united these two branches in all his labors. The medical missionary work is part of the great whole, as the arm is part of the body. But the arm is not to say to the head, I have no need of thee. The body has need of the head decidedly, and the arms, in order to do active, aggressive work. The body is not to become the arm. Each member has its appointed work to perform. --Manuscript 105, 1899.  {WM 123.1}
[WM 123.2]          The Prayer of the Medical Missionary.--Pastors and teachers are to work intelligently in their lines, instructing church members how to work in medical missionary lines. When the professed followers of Christ have an indwelling Saviour, they will be found doing as Christ did. They will have no opportunity to rust through inaction. They will have enough to do. And the work which they do under the auspices of the church will be their greatest means of communicating light.  {WM 123.2}
[WM 123.3]          The man who is working according to God's plan will pray, "Let it be known this day in my work for suffering humanity that there is a God in Israel, and that I am thy servant. Let it be seen that I am working,                                                                              124  not according to my own impulse and wisdom, but according to thy word."  {WM 123.3}
[WM 124.1]          When man places himself in this attitude, and realizes that he is working out God's plan, and that God is working out His plan through him, he is in possession of divine power, which knows nothing of defeat. All the power of counteragencies is of no more account than the chaff of the threshing floor.--Manuscript 115, 1899.  {WM 124.1}
[WM 124.2]          It Will Bring Life to Churches.--To my ministering brethren I would say, Prosecute this work with tact and ability. Set to work the young men and the young women in our churches. Combine the medical missionary work with the proclamation of the third angel's message. Make regular, organized efforts to lift the churches out of the dead level into which they have fallen, and have remained for years. Send into the church workers who will set the principles of health reform in their connection with the third angel's message before every family and individual. Encourage all to take a part in work for their fellow men, and see if the breath of life will not quickly return to these churches.--Letter 54, 1898.  {WM 124.2}
[WM 125.1]       Chapter Fifteen - Medical Ministry in the Homes         The Door of Entrance to Homes.--Medical missionary work is the pioneer work of the gospel, the door through which the truth for this time is to find entrance to many homes. God's people are to be genuine medical missionaries, for they are to learn to minister to the needs of both soul and body. The purest unselfishness it to be shown by our workers as, with the knowledge and experience gained by practical work, they go out to give treatments to the sick. As they go from house to house they will find access to many hearts. Many will be reached who otherwise never would have heard the gospel message.--Review and Herald, Dec. 17, 1914.  {WM 125.1}
[WM 125.2]          Christ Will Guide in This Ministry.--If you are pressing close to the side of Christ, wearing His yoke, you will daily learn of Him how to carry messages of peace and comfort to the sorrowing and disappointed, the sad and brokenhearted. You can point the discouraged ones to the Word of God and take the sick to the Lord in prayer. As you pray, speak to Christ as you would to a trusted, much-loved friend. Maintain a sweet, free, pleasant dignity as a child of God. This will be recognized.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 323, 324.  {WM 125.2}
[WM 125.3]          The Ministry of Christlike Physicians and Nurses. --Oh, that all who are afflicted could be ministered to by Christlike physicians and nurses, who could help them to place their weary, pain-racked bodies in the care of the Great Healer, in faith looking to Him for restoration.                                                                              126   {WM 125.3}
[WM 126.1]          Every sincere Christian bows to Jesus as the true physician of souls. When He stands by the bedside of the afflicted there will be many not only converted but healed. If through judicious ministration the patient is led to give his soul to Christ and to bring his thoughts into obedience to the will of God, a great victory is gained.--Review and Herald, May 9, 1912.  {WM 126.1}
[WM 126.2]          The Missionary Nurse in the Home.--The Lord wants wise men and women acting in the capacity of nurses to comfort and help the sick and suffering. . . . There are many lines of work to be carried forward by the missionary nurse. There are openings for well-trained nurses to go among families and seek to awaken an interest in the truth. In almost every community there are large numbers who do not attend any religious service. If they are reached by the gospel, it must be carried to their homes. Often the relief of their physical needs is the only avenue by which they can be approached. As missionary nurses care for the sick and relieve the distress of the poor, they will find many opportunities to pray with them, to read to them from God's Word, to speak of the Saviour. They can pray with and for the helpless ones who have not strength of will to control the appetites that passion has degraded. They can bring a ray of hope into the lives of the defeated and disheartened. Their unselfish love, manifested in acts of disinterested kindness, will make it easier for these suffering ones to believe in the love of Christ.--Ibid.  {WM 126.2}
[WM 126.3]          Teach the People How to Keep Well.--The medical missionary work presents many opportunities for service. Intemperance in eating and ignorance of nature's laws are causing much of the sickness that                                                                              127  exists and are robbing God of the glory due him. . . . Teach the people that it is better to know how to keep well than to know how to cure disease. We should be wise educators, warning all against self-indulgence. As we see the wretchedness, deformity, and disease that have come into the world as a result of ignorance, how can we refrain from doing our part to enlighten the ignorant and relieve the suffering?--Ibid., June 6, 1912.  {WM 126.3}
[WM 127.1]          The Simple Principles All Should Master.--God's people are to be genuine medical missionaries. They are to learn to minister to the needs of soul and body. They should know how to give the simple treatments that do so much to relieve pain and remove disease. They should be familiar with the principles of health reform, that they may show others how, by right habits of eating, drinking, and dressing, disease may be prevented and health regained. A demonstration of the value of the principles of health reform will do much toward removing prejudice against our evangelical work. The Great Physician, the originator of medical missionary work, will bless every one who will go forward humbly and trustfully, seeking to impart the truth for this time.--Ibid., May 5, 1904.  {WM 127.1}
[WM 127.2]          A Continual Reform Essential.--Reform, continual reform, must be kept before the people, and by our example we must enforce our teachings. True religion and the laws of health go hand in hand. It is impossible to work for the salvation of men and women without presenting to them the need of breaking away from sinful gratifications, which destroy the health, debase the soul, and prevent divine truth from impressing the mind. Men and women must be taught to take a careful review of every habit and practice,                                                                              128  and at once put away those things that cause an unhealthy condition of the body, and thus cast a dark shadow over the mind.--Ibid., Nov. 12, 1901.  {WM 127.2}
[WM 128.1]          Teach the Principles of Healthful Cooking.--Because the avenues to the soul have been closed by the tyrant Prejudice, many are ignorant of the principles of healthful living. Good service can be done by teaching the people how to prepare healthful food. This line of work is as essential as any that can be taken up. More cooking schools should be established, and some should labor from house to house, giving instruction in the art of cooking wholesome foods. Many, many will be rescued from physical, mental, and moral degeneracy through the influence of health reform. These principles will commend themselves to those who are seeking for light, and such will advance from this to receive the full truth for this time.  {WM 128.1}
[WM 128.2]          God wants His people to receive to impart. As impartial, unselfish witnesses, they are to give to others what the Lord has given them. And as you enter into this work, and by whatever means in your power seek to reach hearts, be sure to work in a way that will remove prejudice instead of creating it. Make the life of Christ your constant study, and labor as He did, following His example.--Ibid., June 6, 1912.  {WM 128.2}
[WM 128.3]          We need a genuine education in the art of cooking. . . . Form classes, where you may teach the people how to make good bread and how to put together ingredients to make healthful food combinations from the grains and the vegetables.--Manuscript 150, 1905.  {WM 128.3}
[WM 128.4]          Follow a Course That Commends Reform.--Many of the views held by Seventh-day Adventists differ widely from those held by the world in general. Those who advocate an unpopular truth should, above all                                                                              129  others, seek to be consistent in their own life. They should not try to see how different they can be from others, but how near they can come to those whom they wish to influence, that they may help them to the positions they themselves so highly prize. Such a course will commend the truths they hold.  {WM 128.4}
[WM 129.1]          Those who are advocating a reform in diet should, by the provision they make for their own table, present the advantages of hygiene in the best light. They should so exemplify its principles as to commend it to the judgment of candid minds. . . .  {WM 129.1}
[WM 129.2]          When those who advocate hygienic reform carry the matter to extremes, people are not to blame if they become disgusted. Too often our religious faith is thus brought into disrepute, and in many cases those who witness such exhibitions of inconsistency can never afterward be brought to think that there is anything good in the reform. These extremists do more harm in a few months than they can undo in a lifetime. They are engaged in a work which Satan loves to see go on. . . . Narrow ideas and overstraining of small points have been a great injury to the cause of hygiene.-- Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, pp. 55-57.  {WM 129.2}
[WM 129.3]          Personal Views Not to Be Urged.--Those who have but a partial understanding of the principles of reform are often the most rigid, not only in carrying out their views themselves, but in urging them on their families and their neighbors. The effect of their mistaken reforms, as seen in their own ill-health, and their efforts to force their views upon others give many a false idea of dietetic reform and lead them to reject it altogether.  {WM 129.3}
[WM 129.4]          Those who understand the laws of health and who are governed by principle will shun the extremes both                                                                              130  of indulgence and of restriction. Their diet is chosen, not for the mere gratification of appetite, but for the upbuilding of the body. They seek to preserve every power in the best condition for highest service to God and man. The appetite is under the control of reason and conscience, and they are rewarded with health of body and mind. While they do not urge their views offensively upon others, their example is a testimony in favor of right principles. These persons have a wide influence for good.  {WM 129.4}
[WM 130.1]          There is a real common sense in dietetic reform. The subject should be studied broadly and deeply, and no one should criticize others because their practice is not, in all things, in harmony with his own. It is impossible to make an unvarying rule to regulate everyone's habits, and no one should think himself a criterion for all. Not all can eat the same things. Foods that are palatable and wholesome to one person may be distasteful, and even harmful, to another. Some cannot use milk, while others thrive on it. Some persons cannot digest peas and beans; others find them wholesome. For some the coarser grain preparations are good food, while others cannot use them.--Ministry of Healing, pp. 318-320.  {WM 130.1}
[WM 130.2]          Light for the Salvation of the World.--Those who act as teachers are to be intelligent in regard to disease and its causes, understanding that every action of the human agent should be in perfect harmony with the laws of life. The light God has given on health reform is for our salvation and the salvation of the world. Men and women should be informed in regard to the human habitation, fitted up by our Creator as His dwelling place, and over which He desires us to be faithful stewards. "For ye are the temple of the living                                                                              131  God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."--Review and Herald, Nov. 12, 1901.  {WM 130.2}
[WM 131.1]          Revives Confidence.--Many have no faith in God and have lost confidence in man, but they appreciate acts of sympathy and helpfulness. As they see one with no inducement of earthly praise or compensation coming to their homes, ministering to the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, comforting the sad, and tenderly pointing all to Him of whose love and pity the human worker is but the messenger--as they see this, their hearts are touched. Gratitude springs up, faith is kindled. They see that God cares for them, and as His Word is opened they are prepared to listen.--Ibid., May 9, 1912.  {WM 131.1}
[WM 131.2]          Many Saved From Degradation.--I have been shown that the medical missionary work will discover, in the very depths of degradation, men who once possessed fine minds, richest qualifications, who will be rescued, by proper labor, from their fallen condition. It is the truth as it is in Jesus that is to be brought before human minds after they have been sympathetically cared for and their physical necessities met. The Holy Spirit is working and cooperating with the human agencies that are laboring for such souls, and some will appreciate the foundation upon a rock for their religious faith. There is to be no startling communication of strange doctrine to these subjects whom God loves and pities; but as they are helped physically by the medical missionary workers, the Holy Spirit cooperates with the minister of human agencies to arouse the moral powers. The mental powers are awakened into activity, and these poor souls will, many of them, be saved in the kingdom of God.                                                                              132   {WM 131.2}
[WM 132.1]          Nothing can, or ever will, give character to the work in the presentation of truth to help the people just where they are so well as Samaritan work. A work properly conducted to save poor sinners that have been passed by the churches, will be the entering wedge whereby the truth will find standing room. A different order of things needs to be established among us as a people, and as this class of work is done, there will be created an entirely different atmosphere surrounding the souls of the workers; for the Holy Spirit communicates to all those who are doing God's service, and those who are worked by the Holy Spirit will be a power for God in lifting up, strengthening, and saving the souls that are ready to perish.--Special Testimonies, series A, no. 11, p. 32.  {WM 132.1}
[WM 132.2]          Zeal and Perseverance Required.--Could I arouse our people to Christian effort, could I lead them to engage in medical missionary work with holy zeal and divine perseverance, not in a few places, but in every place, putting forth personal effort for those out of the fold, how grateful I should be! This is true missionary work. In some places it is attended with little success, apparently; but again, the Lord opens the way, and signal success attends the effort. Words are spoken which are as nails fastened in a sure place. Angels from heaven cooperate with human instrumentalities, and sinners are won to the Saviour.--Letter 43, 1903.  {WM 132.2}
[WM 132.3]          Holy and Devout Men and Women Called.--Holy and devout persons, both men and women, are wanted now to go forth as medical missionaries. Let them cultivate their physical and mental powers and their piety to the uttermost. Every effort should be made to send forth intelligent workers. The same grace that came from Jesus Christ to Paul and Apollos, which                                                                              133  caused them to be distinguished for their spiritual excellencies, can be received now, and will bring into working order many devoted missionaries.--Special Testimonies Relating to Medical Missionary Work, p. 8.  {WM 132.3}
[WM 133.1]          Do Not Wait.--Workers--gospel medical missionaries --are needed now. You cannot afford to spend years in preparation. Soon doors now open to the truth will be forever closed. Carry the message now. Do not wait, allowing the enemy to take possession of the fields now open before you. Let little companies go forth to do the work to which Christ appointed His disciples. Let them labor as evangelists, scattering our publications, and talking of the truth to those they meet. Let them pray for the sick, ministering to their necessities, not with drugs, but with nature's remedies, and teaching them how to regain health and avoid disease.-- Testimonies, vol. 9. p. 172.  {WM 133.1}
[WM 133.2]          ［NOTE: FOR MORE DETAILED COUNSELS REGARDING MEDICAL MINISTRY AND THE PRESENTATION OF OUR HEALTH MESSAGE SEE MINISTRY OF HEALING, MEDICAL MINISTRY, COUNSELS ON DIET AND FOODS, AND COUNSELS ON HEALTH.--COMPILERS.］  {WM 133.2}
[WM 134.1]       Chapter Sixteen - Preparing for Last-Day Crises and Disasters         These Last-Day Conditions Press Us to Prepare. --We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God. The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude.  {WM 134.1}
[WM 134.2]          The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.  {WM 134.2}
[WM 134.3]         The condition of things in the world shows that troublous times are right upon us. The daily papers are full of indications of a terrible conflict in the near future. Bold robberies are of frequent occurrence. Strikes are common. Thefts and murders are committed on every hand. Men possessed of demons are taking the lives of men, women, and little children. Men have become infatuated with vice, and every species of evil prevails.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 11.  {WM 134.3}
[WM 134.4]          Something Decisive About to Take Place.--The present is a time of overwhelming interest to all living. Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all                                                                              135  classes, have their attention fixed upon the events, taking place about us. They are watching the strained, restless relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place--that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis.  {WM 134.4}
[WM 135.1]          Angels are now restraining the winds of strife, that they may not blow until the world shall be warned of its coming doom; but a storm is gathering, ready to burst upon the earth; and when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.--Education, pp. 179, 180.  {WM 135.1}
[WM 135.2]          The time is at hand when there will be sorrow in the world that no human balm can heal. The Spirit of God is being withdrawn. Disasters by sea and by land follow one another in quick succession. How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized, unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control of man; but in them all, God's purpose may be read. They are among the agencies by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.--Prophets and Kings, p. 277.  {WM 135.2}
[WM 135.3]          Large Cities Will Be Swept Away.--The work that should long ago have been in active operation to win souls to Christ has not been done. The inhabitants of the ungodly cities so soon to be visited by calamities have been cruelly neglected. The time is near when large cities will be swept away, and all should be warned of these coming judgments. But who is giving to the accomplishment of this work the wholehearted service that God requires? . . .                                                                              136   {WM 135.3}
[WM 136.1]          At the present time there is not a thousandth part being done in working the cities that should be done, and that would be done if men and women would do their whole duty.--Manuscript 53, 1910.  {WM 136.1}
[WM 136.2]          O that God's people had a sense of the impending destruction of thousands of cities, now almost given to idolatry!--Review and Herald, Sept. 10, 1903.  {WM 136.2}
[WM 136.3]          Impending Disasters.--Not long ago a very impressive scene passed before me. I saw an immense ball of fire falling among some beautiful mansions, causing their instant destruction. I heard someone say, "We knew that the judgments of God were coming upon the earth, but we did not know that they would come so soon." Others said, "You knew? Why then did you not tell us? We did not know." On every side I heard such words spoken. . . .  {WM 136.3}
[WM 136.4]          Soon grievous troubles will arise among the nations --trouble that will not cease until Jesus comes. As never before we need to press together, serving Him who has prepared His throne in the heavens and whose kingdom ruleth over all. God has not forsaken His people, and our strength lies in not forsaking Him.  {WM 136.4}
[WM 136.5]          The judgments of God are in the land. The wars and rumors of wars, the destruction by fire and flood, say clearly that the time of trouble, which is to increase until the end, is very near at hand. We have no time to lose. The world is stirred with the spirit of war. The prophecies of the eleventh of Daniel have almost reached their final fulfillment.--Ibid., Nov. 24, 1904.  {WM 136.5}
[WM 136.6]          Indescribable.--Last Friday morning, just before I awoke, a very impressive scene was presented before me. I seemed to awake from sleep but was not in my home. From the windows I could behold a terrible                                                                              137  conflagration. Great balls of fire were falling upon houses, and from these balls fiery arrows were flying in every direction. It was impossible to check the fires that were kindled, and many places were being destroyed. The terror of the people was indescribable. After a time I awoke and found myself at home.-- Letter 278, 1906.  {WM 136.6}
[WM 137.1]          Prepare While There Is an Opportunity.--As religious aggression subverts the liberties of our nation, those who would stand for freedom of conscience will be placed in unfavorable positions. For their own sake they should, while they have opportunity, become intelligent in regard to disease, its causes, prevention, and cure. And those who do this will find a field of labor anywhere. There will be suffering ones, plenty of them, who will need help, not only among those of our own faith, but largely among those who know not the truth.--Medical Missionary, November, December, 1892.  {WM 137.1}
[WM 137.2]          Ready to Give Immediate Assistance.--Poverty and distress in families will come to our knowledge, and afflicted and suffering ones will have to be relieved. We know very little of the human suffering that exists everywhere about us, but as we have opportunity we should be ready to render immediate assistance to those who are under a severe pressure.--Manuscript 25, 1894.  {WM 137.2}
[WM 137.3]          God's Helping Hand in Lessening Suffering.--The work of health reform is the Lord's means for lessening suffering in our world and for purifying His church. Teach the people that they can act as God's helping hand by cooperating with the Master Worker in                                                                              138  restoring physical and spiritual health.--Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 112, 113.  {WM 137.3}
[WM 138.1]          Every Member to Take Hold of Medical Missionary Work.--We have come to a time when every member of the church should take hold of medical missionary work. The world is a lazar house filled with victims of both physical and spiritual disease. Everywhere people are perishing for lack of a knowledge of the truths that have been committed to us. The members of the church are in need of an awakening, that they may realize their responsibility to impart these truths.--Ibid., vol. 7, p. 62.  {WM 138.1}
[WM 138.2]          A Door of Entrance to the Large Cities.--Henceforth medical missionary work is to be carried forward with an earnestness with which it has never yet been carried. This work is the door through which the truth is to find entrance to the large cities.--Ibid., vol. 9, p. 167.  {WM 138.2}
[WM 138.3]          Every city is to be entered by workers trained to do medical missionary work.--Ibid., vol. 7, p. 59.  {WM 138.3}
[WM 138.4]          In every large city there should be a corps of organized, well-disciplined workers; not merely one or two, but scores should be set to work.--Letter 34, 1892.  {WM 138.4}
[WM 138.5]          A Part of the Work of Every Church.--Medical missionary work should have its representative in every place in connection with the establishment of our churches.--Manuscript 88, 1902.  {WM 138.5}
[WM 138.6]          In every city where we have a church there is need of a place where treatments can be given. Among the homes of our church members there are few that afford room and facilities for the proper care of the sick. A place should be provided where treatment may be given for common ailments. The building might be                                                                              139  inelegant and even rude, but it should be furnished with facilities for giving simple treatments.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 113.  {WM 138.6}
[WM 139.1]          The medical missionary work should be a part of the work of every church in our land. Disconnected from the church it would soon become a strange medley of disorganized atoms. It would consume, but not produce. Instead of acting as God's helping hand to forward His truth, it would sap the life and force from the church and weaken the message. Conducted independently, it would not only consume talent and means needed in other lines, but in the very work of helping the helpless apart from the ministry of the word, it would place men where they would scoff at Bible truth.--Ibid., p. 289.  {WM 139.1}
[WM 139.2]          Medical Missionary Ministry in the Closing Crisis. --My heart is made sad as I look at our churches, which ought to be connected in heart and soul and practice with the medical missionary work. . . . I wish to tell you that soon there will be no work done in ministerial lines but medical missionary work. The work of a minister is to minister. Our ministers are to work on the gospel plan of ministering.  {WM 139.2}
[WM 139.3]          You will never be ministers after the gospel order till you show a decided interest in medical missionary work, the gospel of healing and blessing and strengthening. Come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty powers of darkness, that it be not said of you, "Curse ye Meroz, . . . curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord." Judges 5:23.--General Conference Bulletin, April 12, 1901.                                                                              142   {WM 139.3}
[WM 142.1]                   Gem Thought          In Joppa there was a Dorcas, whose skillful fingers were more active than her tongue. She knew who needed comfortable clothing and who needed sympathy, and she freely ministered to the wants of both classes. And when Dorcas died, the church in Joppa realized their loss. It is no wonder that they mourned and lamented, nor that warm teardrops fell upon the inanimate clay. She was of so great value that by the power of God she was brought back from the land of the enemy, that her skill and energy might still be a blessing to others.  {WM 142.1}
[WM 142.2]          Such patient, prayerful, and persevering fidelity as was possessed by these saints of God is rare; yet the church cannot prosper without it. It is needed in the church, in the Sabbath school, and in society. Many come together in church relationship with their natural traits of character unsubdued; and in a crisis, when strong, hopeful spirits are needed, they give up to discouragement and bring burdens on the church; and they do not see that this is wrong. The cause does not need such persons, for they are unreliable; but there is always a call for steadfast, God-fearing workers, who will not faint in the day of adversity.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 304.  {WM 142.2}
[WM 143.1]       Chapter Seventeen - Women Called to the Work         The Dorcas Movement Today.--There certainly should be a larger number of women engaged in the work of ministering to suffering humanity, uplifting, educating them how to believe--simply to believe, in Jesus Christ our Saviour. And as souls give themselves to the Lord Jesus, making an entire surrender, they will understand the doctrine. . . .  {WM 143.1}
[WM 143.2]          I am pained because our sisters in America are not more of them doing the work they might do for the Lord Jesus. Abiding in Christ, they would receive courage and strength and faith for the work. Many women love to talk. Why can't they talk the words of Christ to perishing souls? The more closely we are related to Christ, the heart learns the wretchedness of souls that do not know God, and who do not feel the dishonor they are doing to Christ who has bought them with a price.  {WM 143.2}
[WM 143.3]          When the believing women shall feel the burden of souls, and burden of sins not their own, they will be working as Christ worked. They will consider no sacrifice too great to make to win souls to Christ. And everyone who has this love for souls, is born of God; they are ready to follow in His footsteps, and their words and voice would be talents employed in the Master's service; the very nourishment coming from                                                                              144  the parent stock to their own souls would flow out in distinct channels of love to souls who are withered and dried up.  {WM 143.3}
[WM 144.1]          In this work is a constant education. The desire to be a blessing discovers the weakness and inefficiency of the worker. This drives the soul to God in prayer, and the Lord Jesus gives light and His Holy Spirit, and they understand that it is Christ who does the melting and breaking of the hard hearts.--Letter 133, 1898.  {WM 144.1}
[WM 144.2]          The Value of Organization.--The work you ［ADDRESSED TO A WOMAN OF BROAD PUBLIC EXPERIENCE WHO HAD JOINED THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH.］ are doing to help our sisters feel their individual accountability to God is a good and necessary work. Long has it been neglected. But when this work is laid out in clear, simple, definite lines, we may expect that home duties, instead of being neglected, will be done much more intelligently. The Lord would have us ever to urge the worth of the human soul upon those who do not understand its value.  {WM 144.2}
[WM 144.3]         If we can arrange to have regular, organized companies instructed intelligently in regard to the part they should act as servants of the Master, our churches will have a life and vitality that they have long needed. The excellency of the soul Christ has saved will be appreciated. Our sisters generally have a hard time with their increasing families and their unappreciated trials. I have so longed for women who could be educated to help our sisters rise from their discouragement and feel that they could do a work for the Lord. This is bringing rays of sunshine into their own lives, which are reflected into the hearts of others. God will bless you and all who unite with you in this grand work.--Letter 54, 1899.                                                                              145   {WM 144.3}
[WM 145.1]          The Lord Has a Work for Women.--The Lord has a work for women as well as for men. They may take their places in His work at this crisis, and He will work through them. If they are imbued with a sense of their duty, and labor under the influence of the Holy Spirit, they will have just the self-possession required for this time. The Saviour will reflect upon these self-sacrificing women the light of His countenance, and will give them a power that exceeds that of men. They can do in families a work that men cannot do, a work that reaches the inner life. They can come close to the hearts of those whom men cannot reach. Their labor is needed.--Review and Herald, Aug. 26, 1902.  {WM 145.1}
[WM 145.2]          Women Have a High Destiny.--Sisters, we may do a noble work for God if we will. Woman does not know her power. God did not intend that her capabilities should be all absorbed in questioning: What shall I eat? what shall I drink? and wherewithal shall I be clothed? There is a higher purpose for woman, a grander destiny. She should develop and cultivate her powers, for God can employ them in the great work of saving souls from eternal ruin.--Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 642.  {WM 145.2}
[WM 145.3]          We may safely say that the dignity and importance of woman's mission and distinctive duties are of a more sacred and holy character than the duties of man. . . . Let woman realize the sacredness of her work and, in the strength and fear of God, take up her mission.-- Ibid., vol. 3, p. 565.  {WM 145.3}
[WM 145.4]          If we can impress upon the minds of our sisters the good which it is in their power to do through the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall see a large work accomplished. --Letter 119, 1898.                                                                              146   {WM 145.4}
[WM 146.1]          Women Called to Be Messengers of Mercy.--We greatly need consecrated women who, as messengers of mercy, will visit the mothers and the children in their homes and help them in the everyday household duties, if need be, before beginning to talk to them regarding the truth for this time. You will find that by this method you will have souls as the result of your ministry.--Review and Herald, July 12, 1906.  {WM 146.1}
[WM 146.2]          Why Stand Ye Idle?--The Lord of the vineyard is saying to many women who are now doing nothing, "Why stand ye here all the day idle?" They may be instruments of righteousness, rendering holy service. It was Mary who first preached a risen Jesus; and the refining, softening influence of Christian women is needed in the great work of preaching the truth now. If there were twenty women where now there is one who would make the saving of souls their cherished work, we should see many more converted to the truth. Zealous and continued diligence in the cause of God would be wholly successful, and would astonish them with its results. The work must be accomplished through patience and perseverance, and in this is manifested the real devotion to God. He calls for deeds, and not words only.  {WM 146.2}
[WM 146.3]          The work of God is worthy of our best efforts. . . . Often we are so wrapped up in our selfish interests that our hearts are not allowed to take in the needs and wants of humanity; we are lacking in deeds of sympathy and benevolence, in sacred and social ministering to the needy, the oppressed, and the suffering.-- Signs of the Times, Sept. 16, 1886.  {WM 146.3}
[WM 146.4]          The Work to Be Done.--Inaction and delicate idleness is weakening the life forces of young women. There are those who spend hours of precious time in                                                                              147  bed, which is not blessing them with increase of strength or relieving others from burdens, but is bringing upon them debility and confirming them in wrong habits. These hours idled away needlessly in bed can never be regained. The sin of time thus lost is marked in the book of records.  {WM 146.4}
[WM 147.1]          There is enough to do in this busy world of ours. There are enough in God's great family who need sympathy and aid. If our own work does not demand our time, there are sick to be visited, the poor to be helped and encouraged.--The Health Reformer, June, 1873.  {WM 147.1}
[WM 147.2]          A Unique Place for Women in the Work.--There is a wide field in which our sisters may do good service for the Master in the various branches of the work connected with His cause. Through missionary labor they can reach a class that our ministers cannot. . . . There is work neglected or done imperfectly that could be thoroughly accomplished by the help that sisters can give. There are so many kinds of work too laborious for women, which our brethren are called to engage in, that many branches of missionary work are neglected. Many things connected with different churches are left undone that women, if properly instructed, could attend to. Our sisters might serve as church clerks, and the church business would not be so sadly neglected. There are many other offices connected with the cause of God which our sisters are better qualified to fill than our brethren, and in which they might do efficient service.--Review and Herald, Dec. 19, 1878.  {WM 147.2}
[WM 147.3]          Missionary Correspondence.--Women can do good work in the missionary field, by writing to friends, and learning their true feelings in relation to the cause of                                                                              148  God. Very valuable items are brought to light through this means. The workers should not seek for self-exaltation, but to present the truth in its simplicity wherever they shall have an opportunity.--Signs of the Times, Sept. 16, 1886.  {WM 147.3}
[WM 148.1]          God's Claim Upon Our Time and Money.--We have no right, my Christian sisters, to waste our time, and give example to others who are less able than we to waste their time and energies upon needless ornaments, upon dress or furniture, or to indulge in superfluities in food. We have religious duties to perform, and if we neglect these duties, and give our time to needless things, we will dwarf the intellect and separate the affections from God. The Author of our existence has claims upon our time and our money. He has poor and suffering ones all around us that money may relieve, and cheering, encouraging words bless. Christ identifies Himself with the wants of suffering humanity. As you neglected to visit the widow and orphans tried in the furnace of affliction, suffering want and privation, you did not realize that Christ would mark the circumstances against you in the book of records, as though you had neglected Him.-- The Health Reformer, June, 1873.  {WM 148.1}
[WM 148.2]          Engage in Personal Evangelism.--A direct necessity is being met by the work of women who have given themselves to the Lord and are reaching out to help a needy, sin-stricken people. Personal evangelistic work is to be done. The women who take up this work carry the gospel to the homes of the people in the highways and the byways. They read and explain the word to families, praying with them, caring for the sick, relieving their temporal necessities.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 118.  {WM 148.2}
[WM 149.1]       Chapter Eighteen - Qualifications of Women for Service         The Kind of Women Called to Service.--God calls for earnest women workers, workers who are prudent, warmhearted, tender, and true to principle. He calls for persevering women who will take their minds from self and their personal convenience, and will center them on Christ. . . . Will our sisters arise to the  emergency? Will they work for the Master?--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 118.  {WM 149.1}
[WM 149.2]          Learning in the School of Christ.--The Lord has a work for women as well as men to do. They may accomplish a good work for God, if they will first learn in the school of Christ the precious, all-important lesson of meekness. They must not only bear the name of Christ but possess His Spirit. They must walk even as He walked, purifying their souls from everything that defiles. Then they will be able to benefit others by presenting the all-sufficiency of Jesus.--Manuscript 119, 1907.  {WM 149.2}
[WM 149.3]          With Firm Principle and Decided Character.-- Women of firm principle and decided character are needed, women who believe that we are indeed living in the last days, and that we have the last solemn message of warning to be given to the world. They should feel that they are engaged in an important work in spreading the rays of light which Heaven has shed upon them. When the love of God and His truth is an abiding principle, they will let nothing deter                                                                              150  them from duty or discourage them in their work. They will fear God and will not be diverted from their labors in His cause by the temptation of lucrative situations and attractive prospects. They will preserve their integrity at any cost to themselves. These are the ones who will correctly represent the religion of Christ, whose words will be fitly spoken, like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Such persons can in many ways do a precious work for God. He calls upon them to go out into the harvest field and help gather in the sheaves.--Signs of the Times, Sept. 16, 1886.  {WM 149.3}
[WM 150.1]          Tact, Perception, Ability.--Christian women are called for. There is a wide field in which they may do good service for the Master. There are noble women who have had moral courage to decide in favor of the truth from the weight of evidence. They have tact, perception, and good ability, and could make successful Christian workers.--Ibid.  {WM 150.1}
[WM 150.2]          The Martha and Mary Attributes Blended.--All who work for God should have the Martha and the Mary attributes blended--a willingness to minister and a sincere love of the truth. Self and selfishness must be put out of sight.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 118.  {WM 150.2}
[WM 150.3]          Gentlewomen Needed.--Women are needed who are not self-important, but gentle in manners and lowly of heart, who will work with the meekness of Christ wherever they can find anything to do for the salvation of souls. All who have been made partakers of the heavenly benefits should be earnest and anxious that others who do not have the privileges which they have enjoyed, should have the evidences of the truth presented before them. And they will not merely desire that others should have this benefit, but will see that                                                                              151  they do have it, and will do their part toward the accomplishment of this object.  {WM 150.3}
[WM 151.1]          Those who become colaborers with God will increase in moral and spiritual power, while those who devote their time and energies to serving themselves will dwarf, and wither, and die.--Signs of the Times, Sept. 16, 1886.  {WM 151.1}
[WM 151.2]          Improvement of Talents.--Our sisters . . . are not deficient in ability, and if they would put to a right use the talents they already have, their efficiency would be greatly increased.--Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 629, 630.  {WM 151.2}
[WM 151.3]          Courageous and Self-reliant.--Many a home is made very unhappy by the useless repining of its mistress, who turns with distaste from the simple, homely tasks of her unpretending domestic life. She looks upon the cares and duties of her lot as hardships, and that which through cheerfulness might be made not only pleasant and interesting but profitable,  becomes the merest drudgery. She looks upon the slavery of her life with repugnance, and imagines herself a martyr.  {WM 151.3}
[WM 151.4]          It is true that the wheels of domestic machinery will not always run smoothly; there is much to try the patience and tax the strength. But while mothers are not responsible for circumstances over which they have no control, it is useless to deny that circumstances make a great difference with mothers in their lifework. But their condemnation is when circumstances are allowed to rule and to subvert their principle, when they grow tired and unfaithful to their high trust, and neglect their known duty.  {WM 151.4}
[WM 151.5]          The wife and mother who nobly overcomes difficulties                                                                              152  under which others sink for want of patience and fortitude to persevere, not only becomes strong herself in doing her duty, but her experience in overcoming temptations and obstacles qualifies her to be an efficient help to others, both by words and example. Many who do well under favorable circumstances seem to undergo a transformation of character under adversity and trial; they deteriorate in proportion to their troubles. God never designed that we should be the sport of circumstances.--The Health Reformer, August, 1877.  {WM 151.5}
[WM 152.1]          The Elements of Christian Character.--Mothers, you are developing character. Your compassionate Redeemer is watching you in love and sympathy, ready to hear your prayers, and render you the assistance which you need in your lifework. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, faith, and charity are the elements of the Christian character. These precious graces are the fruits of the Spirit. They are the Christian's crown and shield. The highest daydreaming and most exalted aspirations can aim at nothing higher. Nothing can give more perfect content and satisfaction. These heavenly attainments are not dependent upon circumstances, nor the will or imperfect judgment of man. The precious Saviour, who understands our heart struggles and the weakness of our  natures, pities, and forgives us our errors and bestows upon us the graces which we earnestly desire.--Ibid.  {WM 152.1}
[WM 152.2]          A True Gentlewoman.--Do you make mistakes? Do not let this discourage you. The Lord may permit you to make small mistakes in order to save you from making larger mistakes. Go to Jesus, and ask Him to forgive you, and then believe that He does. "If we                                                                              153  confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  {WM 152.2}
[WM 153.1]          When unkind, discouraging words are spoken to you, do not retaliate. Do not reply unless you can return a pleasant answer. Say to yourself, "I will not disappoint my Saviour." The Christian woman is a gentlewoman. On her lips is ever the law of kindness. She utters no hasty words. To speak gentle words when you are irritated will bring sunshine into your hearts and make your path more smooth. A schoolgirl, when asked for a definition of meekness, said, "Meek people are those who give soft answers to rough questions." Christ says, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." They will be fit subjects for the kingdom of heaven, for they are willing to be taught.-- Review and Herald, April 7, 1904.  {WM 153.1}
[WM 153.2]          Graceful and Dignified.--Do not treat life as a romance but as a reality. Perform your smallest duty in the fear and love of God, with faithfulness and cheerfulness. God declares, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much."  {WM 153.2}
[WM 153.3]          Study the life that Christ lived while on this earth. He did not neglect the smallest, simplest duty. Perfection marked all that He did. Look to Him for help, and you will be enabled to perform your daily duties with the grace and dignity of one who is seeking for the crown of immortal life.--Ibid. (Counsel addressed to "My Sisters Tempted by Discouragement.")  {WM 153.3}
[WM 153.4]          Faithful in That Which Is Least.--My brethren and sisters, do not pass by the little things to look for larger work. You might do successfully the small work but fail utterly in attempting a larger work, and fall into discouragement. Take hold wherever you see that there is a work to be done. It is by doing with your                                                                              154  might what your hands find to do that you will develop talent and aptitude for large work. It is by slighting the daily opportunities, neglecting the little things, that so many become fruitless and withered.--Ibid., Aug. 26, 1902.  {WM 153.4}
[WM 154.1]          Attentive to Little Things.--We dwell much on the grandeur of Christ's life. We speak of the great things that He accomplished, of the miracles He wrought, of how He spoke peace to the tempestuous waters, restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, and raised the dead to life. But His attention to small things is even higher proof of His greatness. Listen to Him speaking to Martha as she comes to Him with the request that He bid her sister help her with the serving. He tells her not to allow the cares of the household to disturb the peace of her soul. "Martha, Martha," He says, "thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."--Ibid., April 7, 1904.  {WM 154.1}
[WM 154.2]          Frugal; Collect Every Fragment.--"Gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost." He who had all resources at His command gives a lesson that not a fragment should be wasted. He who has plenty should not waste. Let nothing be wasted that can do good to any one. Collect every fragment, for someone will need it. These lessons in regard to spiritual blessings bestowed are to be carefully treasured.--Manuscript 60, 1897.  {WM 154.2}
[WM 154.3]          The Power of Politeness.--Every woman should develop a well-balanced mind and a pure character, reflecting only the true, the good, and the beautiful. The wife and mother may bind her husband and children                                                                              155  to her heart by unvarying love, shown in gentle words and courteous deportment. Politeness is cheap, but it has power to soften natures which would grow hard and rough without it. Christian politeness should reign in every household. The cultivation of a uniform courtesy, a willingness to do by others as we would like them to do by us, would banish half the ills of life.-- Signs of the Times, Aug. 15, 1906.  {WM 154.3}
[WM 155.1]          Be Sure We Are Working for Jesus.--Our sisters are not excused from taking a part in the work of God. Everyone who has tasted of the powers of the world to come has earnest work to do in some capacity in the Lord's vineyard. Our sisters may manage to keep busy with their fingers constantly employed in manufacturing little dainty articles to beautify their homes or to present to their friends. Great quantities of this kind of material may be brought and laid upon the foundation stone, but will Jesus look upon all this variety of dainty work as a living sacrifice to Himself? Will He pronounce the commendation upon the workers, "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience," and how thou "hast borne, and hast patience, and for My name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted"?  {WM 155.1}
[WM 155.2]          Let our sisters inquire, How shall I meet in the Judgment these souls with whom I have or should have become acquainted? Have I studied over their individual cases? Have I so acquainted myself with my Bible that I could open the Scriptures to them? . . .  {WM 155.2}
[WM 155.3]          Is it the work God has appointed you as His hired servants, to study the intricate, delicate patterns of embroidery and the many obscure points in this class of work for the purpose of mastering what someone else has done or to show what you can do? Is this the kind of labor that God will commend you in doing,                                                                              156  which so absorbs your interest, your God-given time and talents, that you have no taste or education or aptitude for missionary labor? All this kind of work is hay, wood, and stubble, which the fires of the last day will consume. But where are your offerings to God? Where is your patient labor, your earnest zeal, that brings you into connection with Christ, bearing His yoke, lifting His burdens? Where are the gold, the silver, and the precious stones which you have laid upon the foundation stone, which the fires of the last day cannot consume, because they are imperishable? --Review and Herald, May 31, 1887.  {WM 155.3}
[WM 156.1]          Jesus Knows Women's Burdens.--He who gave back to the widow her only son as he was being carried to the burial, is touched today by the woe of the bereaved mother. He who gave back to Mary and Martha their buried brother, who wept tears of sympathy at the grave of Lazarus, who pardoned Mary Magdalene, who remembered His mother when He was hanging in agony upon the cross, who appeared to the weeping women after His resurrection, and made them His messengers to preach a risen Saviour saying, "Go tell My disciples that I go to My Father and to your Father, to My God and to your God," is woman's best friend today and ready to aid her in her need if she will trust Him.--The Health Reformer, August, 1877.  {WM 156.1}
[WM 157.1]       Chapter Nineteen - The Influence of Christian Women         Wonderful Mission of Women.--Seventh-day Adventists are not in any way to belittle woman's work.-- Gospel Workers, p. 453.  {WM 157.1}
[WM 157.2]          Wonderful is the mission of the wives and mothers and the younger women workers. If they will, they can exert an influence for good to all around them. By modesty in dress and circumspect deportment they may bear witness to the truth in its simplicity. They may let their light so shine before all that others will see their good works and glorify their Father which is in heaven. A truly converted woman will exert a powerful transforming influence for good. Connected with her husband, she may aid him in his work and become the means of encouragement and blessing to him. When the will and way are brought into subjection to the Spirit of God, there is no limit to the good that can be accomplished.-- Manuscript 91, 1908.  {WM 157.2}
[WM 157.3]          To Act a Part in the Closing Work.--Our sisters, the youth, the middle-aged, and those of advanced years may act a part in the closing work for this time; and in doing this as they have opportunity they will obtain an experience of the highest value to themselves. In forgetfulness of self they will grow in grace. By training the mind in this direction they will learn how to bear burdens for Jesus.--Review and Herald, Jan. 2, 1879.  {WM 157.3}
[WM 157.4]          To Serve With Faithfulness and Discernment.-- At this time every talent of every worker should be                                                                              158  regarded as a sacred trust to be used in extending the work of reform. The Lord instructed me that our sisters who have received a training that has fitted them for positions of responsibility are to serve with faithfulness and discernment in their calling, using their influence wisely and, with their brethren in the faith, obtaining an experience that will fit them for still greater usefulness....  {WM 157.4}
[WM 158.1]          In ancient times the Lord worked in a wonderful way through consecrated women who united in His work with men whom He had chosen to stand as His representatives. He used women to gain great and decisive victories. More than once in times of emergency He brought them to the front and worked through them for the salvation of many lives.--Letter B-22, 1911.  {WM 158.1}
[WM 158.2]          The Mother's First Responsibility.--The mother's influence never ceases. It is ever active, either for good or for evil; and if she would have her work abide the test of the Judgment, she must make God her trust and labor with an eye single to His glory. Her first duty is to her children, to so mold their characters that they may be happy in this life and secure the future, immortal life. She should not be influenced by what Mrs. So-and-So does, nor by the remarks of Mrs. A. or B. in reference to her being so odd, so different from other people in her dress or in the arrangement of her house for comfort rather than display or in the management of her children.  {WM 158.2}
[WM 158.3]          God has given the mother, in the education of her children, a responsibility paramount to everything else.--Good Health, June, 1880.  {WM 158.3}
[WM 158.4]          Society Has Claims Upon Women.--It is woman's right to look after the interest of her husband, to have                                                                              159  a care for his wardrobe, and to seek to make him happy. It is her right to improve her mind and manners, to be social, cheerful, and happy, shedding sunshine in her family and making it a little heaven. And she may have an interest for more than "me and mine." She should consider that society has claims upon her. --The Health Reformer, June, 1873.  {WM 158.4}
[WM 159.1]          A Work Outside Our Homes.--Men and women are not fulfilling the design of God when they simply express affection for their own family circle, for their rich relatives and friends, while they exclude those from their love whom they could comfort and bless by relieving their necessities....  {WM 159.1}
[WM 159.2]          When the Lord bids us do good for others outside our home, He does not mean that our affection for home shall become diminished, and that we shall love our kindred or our country less because He desires us to extend our sympathies. But we are not to confine our affection and sympathy within four walls, and enclose the blessing that God has given us, so that others will not be benefited with us in its enjoyment. --Review and Herald, Oct. 15, 1895.  {WM 159.2}
[WM 159.3]          Enlarging the Sphere of Usefulness.--All have not the same work. There are distinct and individual duties for each to perform; yet with these varied duties there may be a beautiful harmony, binding the work of all together in perfect fitness. Our heavenly Father requires of none to whom He has given but one talent, the improvement of five. But if the one be wisely used, the possessor will soon have gained more, and may continually increase her power of influence and sphere of usefulness by making the best use of the talents which God has given her. Her individuality may be                                                                              160  distinctly preserved, and yet she be part of the great whole in advancing the work of reform so greatly needed.  {WM 159.3}
[WM 160.1]          Woman, if she wisely improves her time and her faculties, relying upon God for wisdom and strength, may stand on an equality with her husband as adviser, counselor, companion, and co-worker, and yet lose none of her womanly grace or modesty. She may elevate her own character, and just as she does this she is elevating and ennobling the characters of her family and exerting a powerful though unconscious influence upon others around her.--Good Health, June, 1880.  {WM 160.1}
[WM 160.2]          Learning to Reach Other Women With the Truth. --Women can learn what needs to be done to reach other women. There are women who are especially adapted for the work of giving Bible readings, and they are very successful in presenting the Word of God in its simplicity to others. They become a great blessing in reaching mothers and their daughters. This is a sacred work, and those engaged in it should receive encouragement.--Letter 108, 1910.  {WM 160.2}
[WM 160.3]          Responsibility to Gather Sheaves.--Let every sister who claims to be a child of God feel a responsibility to help all within her reach. The noblest of all attainments may be gained through practical self-denial and benevolence for others' good. Sisters, God calls you to work in the harvest field and to help gather in the sheaves.... In the various lines of home missionary work the modest, intelligent woman may use her powers to the very highest account.--Review and Herald, Dec. 10, 1914.                                                                              161   {WM 160.3}
[WM 161.1]          An Influence on the Side of Reform and Truth. --Why should not women cultivate the intellect? Why should they not answer the purpose of God in their existence? Why may they not understand their own powers, and realizing that these powers are given of God, strive to make use of them to the fullest extent in doing good to others, in advancing the work of reform, of truth, and of real goodness in the world? Satan knows that women have a power of influence for good or for evil; therefore he seeks to enlist them in his cause. He invents multitudinous fashions, and tempts the women of the present day, as he did Eve to pluck and eat, to adopt and practice these ever-changing, never-satisfying modes.  {WM 161.1}
[WM 161.2]          Sisters and mothers, we have a higher aim, a more noble work, than to study the latest fashion and form garments with needless adorning to meet the standard of this modern Moloch. We may become its slave, and sacrifice upon its altars our own and the present and future happiness of our children. But what do we gain in the end? We have sown to the flesh; we shall reap corruption. Our works cannot bear the inspection of God. We shall see at last how many souls might have been blessed and redeemed from darkness and error by our influence, which, instead, encouraged them in pride and outward display to the neglect of the inward adorning.--Good Health, June, 1880.  {WM 161.2}
[WM 161.3]          Placing Leaven of God's Word in Homes.--Women as well as men can engage in the work of hiding the truth where it can work out and be made manifest.... Discreet and humble women can do a good work in explaining the truth to the people in their homes. The Word of God thus explained will begin its leavening                                                                              162  work, and through its influence whole families will be converted to the truth.--Letter 86, 1907.  {WM 161.3}
[WM 162.1]          Do Not Become Weary in Missionary Service.-- My sisters, do not become weary in the distribution of our literature. This is a work you may all engage in successfully if you are but connected with God. Before approaching your friends and neighbors or writing letters of inquiry lift the heart to God in prayer. All who with humble heart take part in this work will be educating themselves as acceptable workers in the vineyard of the Lord.--Review and Herald, Dec. 10, 1914.  {WM 162.1}
[WM 162.2]          Women Can Reach Hearts.--To these our friends who expect soon to go from us to other lands I wish to say: "Remember that you can break down the severest opposition by taking a personal interest in the people whom you meet. Christ took a personal interest in men and women while He lived on this earth. Wherever He went He was a medical missionary. We are to go about doing good, even as He did. We are instructed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the sorrowing."  {WM 162.2}
[WM 162.3]          The sisters can do much to reach the heart and make it tender. Wherever you are, my sisters, work in simplicity. If you are in a home where there are children, show an interest in them. Let them see that you love them. If one is sick, offer to give him treatment; help the careworn, anxious mother to relieve her suffering child.--Ibid., Nov. 11, 1902.  {WM 162.3}
[WM 162.4]          To Unite With Other Women in Temperance Work.--The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is an organization with whose efforts for the spread of                                                                              163  temperance principles we can heartily unite. To light has been given me that we are not to stand aloof from them, but, while there is to be no sacrifice of principle on our part, as far as possible we are to unite with them in laboring for temperance reforms.... We are to work with them when we can, and we can assuredly do this on the question of utterly closing the saloon.  {WM 162.4}
[WM 163.1]          As the human agent submits his will to the will of God, the Holy Spirit will make the impression upon the hearts of those to whom he ministers. I have been shown that we are not to shun the W.C.T.U. workers. By uniting with them in behalf of total abstinence we do not change our position regarding the observance of the seventh day, and we can show our appreciation of their position regarding the subject of temperance. By opening the door and inviting them to unite with us on the temperance question we secure their help along temperance lines; and they, by uniting with us, will hear new truths which the Holy Spirit is waiting to impress upon hearts.--Ibid., June 18, 1908.  {WM 163.1}
[WM 163.2]          Surprised at Our Indifference.--I have had some opportunity to see the great advantage to be gained by connecting with the W.C.T.U. workers, and I have been much surprised as I have seen the indifference of many of our leaders to this organization. I call on my brethren to awake.--Letter 274, 1907.  {WM 163.2}
[WM 163.3]          Appreciate the Good Done by W.C.T.U.--Light has been given me that there are those with most precious talents and capabilities in the W.C.T.U. Much time and money has been absorbed among us in ways that bring no returns. Instead of this, some of our best talent should be set at work for the W.C.T.U.,                                                                              164  not as evangelists, but as those who fully appreciate the good that has been done by this body. We should seek to gain the confidence of the workers in the W.C.T.U. by harmonizing with them as far as possible.... This people have been rich in good works.-- Manuscript 91, 1907.  {WM 163.3}
[WM 164.1]          A Telling Influence-Counsel to a Sister.--I hope, my sister, that you will have an influence in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.... Get the oil of grace in the conscious and unconscious influence of words spoken, revealing the fact that you have the light of life to shine forth to others in a direct, positive testimony upon subjects where you can all agree, and this will leave a telling influence. My heart is with your heart in this work of temperance. I speak upon this subject most decidedly, and it has a decided influence upon other minds.--Manuscript 74, 1898.  {WM 164.1}
[WM 164.2]          Doing Missionary Work Without Neglecting Home Duties.--Intelligent Christian women may use their talents to the very highest account. They can show by their life of self-denial and by their willingness to work to the best of their ability that they believe the truth and are being sanctified through it. Many need a work of this kind to develop the powers they possess. Wives and mothers should in no case neglect their husbands and their children, but they can do much without neglecting home duties, and all have not these responsibilities.  {WM 164.2}
[WM 164.3]          Who can have so deep a love for the souls of men and women for whom Christ died as those who are partakers of His grace? Who can better represent the religion of Christ than Christian women, women who are earnestly laboring to bring souls to the light of                                                                              165  truth? Who else is so well adapted to the work of the Sabbath school? The true mother is the true, teacher of children. If with a heart imbued with the love of Christ, she teaches the children of her class, praying with them and for them, she may see souls converted and gathered into the fold of Christ. I do not recommend that woman should seek to become a voter or officeholder; but as a missionary, teaching the truth by epistolary correspondence, distributing reading matter, conversing with families and praying with the mother and children, she may do much and be a blessing.-- Signs of the Times, Sept. 16, 1886.  {WM 164.3}
[WM 165.1]          Women Not Excused Because of Domestic Cares. --Some can do more than others, but all can do something. Women should not feel that they are excused because of their domestic cares. They should become intelligent as to how they can work most successfully and methodically in bringing souls to Christ. If all would realize the importance of doing to the utmost of their ability in the work of God, having a deep love for souls, feeling the burden of the work upon them, hundreds would be engaged as active workers who have hitherto been dull and uninterested, accomplishing nothing, or at most but very little.  {WM 165.1}
[WM 165.2]          In many cases the rubbish of the world has clogged the channels of the soul. Selfishness controls the mind and warps the character. Were the life hid with Christ in God, His service would be no drudgery. If the whole heart were consecrated to God, all would find something to do and would covet a part in the work. They would sow beside all waters, praying and believing that the fruit would appear. The practical, God-fearing workers will be growing upward, praying in faith for grace and heavenly wisdom that they may do                                                                              166  the work devolving upon them with cheerfulness and a willing mind. They will seek the divine rays of light that they may brighten the paths of others.--Ibid.  {WM 165.2}
[WM 166.1]          A Beautiful, Character-molding Resolution.--Let every individual member of the church ask himself, "What part can I act to win souls to Jesus Christ?" "I will," says one class, "guard myself that my wants shall be so bound about that no needless adornment shall steal away the pence and shillings to gratify pride or display. I will consecrate myself to God, and my desire for selfish gratification shall be killed before it buds and blossoms and bears fruit." This is a good resolution. It will please the Saviour who has purchased you. . . .  {WM 166.1}
[WM 166.2]          One may say, "I have no opportunity to obtain money, but I will set apart myself. I will educate and train myself that no opportunity shall be allowed to pass unimproved. I have always kept myself busy, but after all I have not felt a satisfaction in the way my time has been occupied. I see now as never before that very much of my time has been employed in doing nothing but those things that pleased myself. Now I desire to please God, and I will give a portion of my time in doing real service for the Master. I will visit the sick, I will train myself to have an interest and sympathy for the suffering ones, and I will add if possible some favors to make them more comfortable. Through this means I can reach their hearts and speak a word as the servant of Jesus Christ. Thus I can cultivate the art of ministering, and may win souls to Jesus." Can you not see that Jesus will say, "Well done" to this line of ministry?--Letter 12, 1892.                                                                              168   {WM 166.2}
[WM 168.1]                   Gem Thought          A true Christian is the poor man's friend. He deals with his perplexed and unfortunate brother as one would deal with a delicate, tender, sensitive plant. God wants His workers to move among the sick and suffering as messengers of His love and mercy. He is looking upon us, to see how we are treating one another, whether we are Christlike in our dealing with all, high or low, rich or poor, free or bond. . . .  {WM 168.1}
[WM 168.2]          When you meet those who are careworn and oppressed, who know not which way to turn to find relief, put your hearts into the work of helping them. It is not God's purpose that His children shall shut themselves up to themselves, taking no interest in the welfare of those less fortunate than themselves. Remember that for them as well as for you Christ has died. Conciliation and kindness will open the way for you to help them, to win their confidence, to inspire them with hope and courage.--Letter 30, 1887.  {WM 168.2}
[WM 169.1]       Chapter Twenty - Ministry to the Poor         The Gospel in Its Greatest Loveliness.--Unto the poor the gospel is to be preached. Never does the gospel put on an aspect of greater loveliness than when it is brought to the most needy and destitute regions. To men of every station it delivers its precepts, which regulate their duties, and its promises, which nerve them to the discharge of their duties. Then it is that the light of the gospel shines forth in its most radiant clearness and its greatest power. Truth from the Word of God enters the hovel of the peasant and lights up the rude cottages of the poor, both black and white. Rays from the Sun of Righteousness bring gladness to the sick and suffering. Angels of God are there, and the simple faith shown makes the crust of bread and the cup of water as a banquet of luxury. Those who have been loathed and abandoned are raised through faith and pardon to the dignity of sons and daughters of God. Lifted above all in the world, they sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. They have no earthly treasure, but they have found the pearl of great price. The sin-pardoning Saviour receives the poor and ignorant and gives them to eat of the bread which                                                                              170  comes down from heaven. They drink of the water of life.--Letter 113, 1901.  {WM 169.1}
[WM 170.1]          Jesus Associated Himself With the Poor.--It has become fashionable to look down upon the poor. . . . But Jesus, the Master, was poor, and He sympathizes with the poor, the discarded, the oppressed, and declares that every insult shown to them is as if shown to Himself. I am more and more surprised as I see those who claim to be children of God possessing so little of the sympathy, tenderness, and love which actuated Christ. Would that every church, North and South, were imbued with the spirit of our Lord's teaching!--Manuscript 6, 1891.  {WM 170.1}
[WM 170.2]          Christ Came to Minister to the Poor.--Christ stood at the head of humanity in the garb of humanity. So full of sympathy and love was His attitude that the poorest was not afraid to come to Him. He was kind to all, easily approached by the most lowly. He went from house to house, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, comforting the mourners, soothing the afflicted, speaking peace to the distressed.--Letter 117, 1903.  {WM 170.2}
[WM 170.3]          "And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."                                                                              171   {WM 170.3}
[WM 171.1]          This is a wonderful description of Christ's work. The Pharisees and Sadducees despised the poor. The learned and rich neglected them, as though their wealth and knowledge made them of more value than those who were poor. But Jesus declared that it was His work to give encouragement and comfort and help where it was most needed.--Manuscript 65b, 1898.  {WM 171.1}
[WM 171.2]          How Christ Awakened Soul Hunger.--Christ's chief work was in the preaching of the gospel to the poor. He chose to minister to the needy, the ignorant. In simplicity He opened before them the blessings they might receive, and thus He awakened their soul's hunger for the truth, the bread of life. Christ's life is an example to all His followers.--Manuscript 103, 1906.  {WM 171.2}
[WM 171.3]          The Evidence of the Divinity of the Gospel.-- Christ met with the greatest success among the poor, and with this class every human being, whether learned or unlearned, may find abundance to do. The poor need comfort and sympathy, for there are those who without a helping hand will never recover themselves. In working for these Christ's disciples will fulfill their commission. This is the highest credential of the gospel ministry. Had the gospel been of men, it would have been popular with the rich and mighty; but it pours contempt upon the rich and mighty, and calls upon all who accept it to work the works of Christ, helping those who are destitute, despised, forsaken, afflicted.  {WM 171.3}
[WM 171.4]          Those who take hold of the work for the love of Christ and the love of souls will work in Christ's lines. This world is a lazar house of disease, but Christ came to heal the sick, to comfort the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, to give sight to                                                                              172  the blind. The gospel is the very essence of restoration, and Christ would have us bid the brokenhearted, the hopeless, and the afflicted, take hold His strength; for the acceptable year of the Lord has come.--Manuscript 65b, 1898.  {WM 171.4}
[WM 172.1]          Christianity the Solace of the Poor.--There is a connection between the religion of Christ and poverty. Christianity is the solace of the poor. There is a false religion, endangering the souls of all who advance it, that teaches that selfish pleasure and enjoyment is the sum of happiness. But the parable of the rich man and Lazarus shows us that this is false. There came a time when the rich man would have given all he possessed to have exchanged places with Lazarus, once poor, and covered with sores.  {WM 172.1}
[WM 172.2]          In the humanity of Christ there are golden threads that bind the believing, trusting poor man to His own soul of infinite love. He is the great physician. In our world He bore our infirmities and carried our burdens. He is the mighty Healer of all diseases. He was poor, and yet He was the center of all goodness, all blessings. He is a reservoir of power to all to consecrate their powers to the work of becoming sons of God.--Manuscript 22, 1898.  {WM 172.2}
[WM 172.3]          Christ Lifted the Stigma From Poverty.--Christ has ever been the poor man's friend. He chose poverty, and honored it by making it His lot. He has stripped from it forever the reproach of scorn by blessing the poor, the inheritors of God's kingdom. Such was His work. By consecrating Himself to a life of poverty He redeemed poverty from its humiliation. He took His position with the poor that He might lift from poverty the stigma that the world had attached to it. He knew the danger of the love of riches. He knew that                                                                              173  this love is ruinous to many souls. It places those who are rich where they indulge every wish for grandeur. It teaches them to look down on those who are suffering the pressure of poverty. It develops the weakness of human minds and shows that notwithstanding the abundance of wealth, the rich are not rich toward God.  {WM 172.3}
[WM 173.1]          The characters of many have been molded by the false estimate placed on the worldly rich man. The man possessed of houses and lands, lauded and deceived by the respect given him, may look down upon the poor man, who possesses virtues that the rich man does not. When weighed in the golden scales of the sanctuary, the selfish, covetous rich man will be found wanting, while the poor man, who has depended in faith upon God alone for his virtue and goodness, will be pronounced heir to eternal riches in the kingdom of God.--Manuscript 22, 1898.  {WM 173.1}
[WM 173.2]          World's Great Men Cannot Solve the Problem.-- In the great cities there are multitudes living in poverty and wretchedness, well-nigh destitute of food, shelter, and clothing; while in the same cities are those who have more than heart could wish, who live luxuriously, spending their money on richly furnished houses, on personal adornment, or worse still, upon the gratification of sensual appetites, upon liquor, tobacco, and other things that destroy the powers of the brain, unbalance the mind, and debase the soul. The cries of starving humanity are coming up before God. . . .  {WM 173.2}
[WM 173.3]          There are not many, even among educators and statesmen, who comprehend the causes that underlie the present state of society. Those who hold the reins of government are not able to solve the problem of moral corruption, poverty, pauperism, and increasing                                                                              174  crime. They are struggling in vain to place business operations on a more secure basis. If men would give more heed to the teaching of God's Word, they would find a solution of the problems that perplex them.--Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 12, 13.  {WM 173.3}
[WM 174.1]         God's Plan for Israel to Check Inequality.--It was to be impressed upon the minds of all that the poor have as much right to a place in God's world as have the more wealthy. Such were the provisions made by our merciful Creator, to lessen suffering, to bring some ray of hope, to flash some gleam of sunshine, into the life of the destitute and distressed.  {WM 174.1}
[WM 174.2]          The Lord would place a check upon the inordinate love of property and power. Great evils would result from the continued accumulation of wealth by one class and the poverty and degradation of another. Without some restraint the power of the wealthy would become a monopoly, and the poor, though in every respect fully as worthy in God's sight, would be regarded and treated as inferior to their more prosperous brethren. The sense of this oppression would arouse the passions of the poorer class. There would be a feeling of despair and desperation which would tend to demoralize society and open the door to crimes of every description. The regulations that God established were designed to promote social equality. The provisions of the sabbatical year and the jubilee would, in a great measure, set right that which during the interval had gone wrong in the social and political economy of the nation.  {WM 174.2}
[WM 174.3]          These regulations were designed to bless the rich no less than the poor. They would restrain avarice and a disposition for self-exaltation and would cultivate a noble spirit of benevolence; and by fostering good-will                                                                              175  and confidence between all classes they would promote social order, the stability of government. We are all woven together in the great web of humanity, and whatever we can do to benefit and uplift others will reflect in blessing upon ourselves. The law of mutual dependence runs through all classes of society. The poor are not more dependent upon the rich than are the rich upon the poor. While the one class ask a share in the blessings which God has bestowed upon their wealthier neighbors, the other need the faithful service, the strength of brain and bone and muscle, that are the capital of the poor. . . .  {WM 174.3}
[WM 175.1]          There are many who urge with great enthusiasm that all men should have an equal share in the temporal blessings of God. But this was not the purpose of the Creator. A diversity of condition is one of the means by which God designs to prove and develop character. Yet He intends that those who have worldly possessions shall regard themselves merely as stewards of His goods, as entrusted with means to be employed for the benefit of the suffering and the needy.  {WM 175.1}
[WM 175.2]          Christ has said that we shall have the poor always with us, and He unites His interest with that of His suffering people. The heart of our Redeemer sympathizes with the poorest and lowliest of His earthly children. He tells us that they are His representatives on earth. He has placed them among us to awaken in our hearts the love that He feels toward the suffering and oppressed. Pity and benevolence shown to them are accepted by Christ as if shown to Himself. An act of cruelty or neglect toward them is regarded as though done to Him.--Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 534-536.  {WM 175.2}
[WM 175.3]          Christ Sees Opportunity in Man's Extremity.-- Christ's heart is cheered by the sight of those who are                                                                              176  poor in every sense of the term; cheered by His view of the ill-used ones who are meek and of those bowed down with the sorrows of bereavement; cheered by the seemingly unsatisfied hungering after righteousness, by the inability of many to begin. He welcomes, as it were, the very condition of things that would discourage many ministers. He sees an opportunity to help those who are so much in need of help by meeting them where they are.  {WM 175.3}
[WM 176.1]          The Lord Jesus corrects our erring piety, giving the burden of this work for the poor and needy in the rough places to men and women of adaptability who have hearts that can feel for the ignorant and for those who are out of the way. The Lord teaches them how to meet these cases. These workers will be encouraged as they see doors opening for them to enter places where they can do medical missionary work. Having little self-confidence, they give God all the glory, taking none of it to themselves. The Saviour is present to help to make a beginning through those whose hands are rough and unskilled, but whose hearts are susceptible to pity and awakened to do something to relieve the woes so abundant. He works through those who can discern mercy in misery, gain in the loss of all things. When the Light of the world passeth by, privileges appear in all hardships, right and order in confusion, the success and wisdom of God in that which has seemed to be failure in human experience. . . .  {WM 176.1}
[WM 176.2]          Christ pronounces His blessing upon those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. In Luke we read, "Blessed be ye poor." The poor have not a hundredth part of the delusive temptations of the rich. In Matthew we read, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the kingdom of heaven." Poverty                                                                              177  of spirit signifies wealth to be supplied by the riches of the grace of God.--Letter 100, 1902.  {WM 176.2}
[WM 177.1]          If Poverty Were Removed From the Earth.--Want and poverty there will always be. However high the standard of knowledge and morality may be, whatever heights we may reach in civilization, poverty will always continue, as a display of the riches of the grace of God, a standing memorial to the truth of the words, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." It would not be for the benefit of Christianity for the Lord to remove poverty from the earth. Thus a door would be closed that is now open for the exercise of faith--a means whereby the hearts of the afflicted can be reached by the gospel of goodness. By Christian liberality souls are reached that could be reached in no other way. It is the helping hand of the gospel.--Letter 83, 1902.  {WM 177.1}
[WM 178.1]       Chapter Twenty-One - The Poor in the Church         The Needy of the Household of Faith.--Our love for God is to be expressed in doing good to the needy and suffering of the household of faith whose necessities come to our knowledge and require our care. Every soul is under special obligation to God to notice His worthy poor with particular compassion. Under no consideration are these to be passed by.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 271.  {WM 178.1}
[WM 178.2]          "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."  {WM 178.2}
[WM 178.3]          In a special sense Christ has laid upon His church the duty of caring for the needy among its own members. He suffers His poor to be in the borders of every church. They are always to be among us, and He places upon the members of the church a personal responsibility to care for them.  {WM 178.3}
[WM 178.4]          As the members of a true family care for one another, ministering to the sick, supporting the weak, teaching the ignorant, training the inexperienced, so is the "household of faith" to care for its needy and helpless ones.--Ministry of Healing, p. 201.  {WM 178.4}
[WM 178.5]          Two Classes to Care For.--There are two classes of poor whom we have always within our borders-- those who ruin themselves by their own independent course of action and continue in their transgression, and those who for the truth's sake have been brought into straitened circumstances. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves, and then toward both these                                                                              179  classes we shall do the right thing under the guidance and counsel of sound wisdom.  {WM 178.5}
[WM 179.1]          There is no question in regard to the Lord's poor. They are to be helped in every case where it will be for their benefit. God wants His people to reveal to a sinful world that He has not left them to perish. Special pains should be taken to help those who for the truth's sake are cast out from their homes and are obliged to suffer. More and more there will be need of large, open, generous hearts, those who will deny self and will take hold of the cases of these very ones whom the Lord loves. The poor among God's people must not be left without provision for their wants. Some way must be found whereby they may obtain a livelihood. Some will need to be taught to work. Others who work hard, and are taxed to the utmost of their ability to support their families, will need special assistance. We should take an interest in these cases and help them to secure employment. There should be a fund to aid such worthy poor families who love God and keep His commandments.  {WM 179.1}
[WM 179.2]          Care must be taken that the means needed for this work shall not be diverted into other channels. It makes a difference whether we help the poor who through keeping God's commandments are reduced to want and suffering, or whether we neglect these in order to help blasphemers who tread underfoot the commandments of God. And God regards the difference. Sabbathkeepers should not pass by the Lord's suffering, needy ones to take upon themselves the burden of supporting those who continue in transgression of God's law, those who are educated to look for help to anyone who will sustain them. This is not the right kind of missionary work. It is not in harmony with the Lord's plan.                                                                              180   {WM 179.2}
[WM 180.1]          Wherever a church is established its members are to do a faithful work for the needy believers. But they are not to stop here. They are also to aid others, irrespective of their faith. As the result of such effort some of these will receive the special truths for this time.  {WM 180.1}
[WM 180.2]          "If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land." Deuteronomy 15:7-11.  {WM 180.2}
[WM 180.3]          Through circumstances some who love and obey God become poor. Some are not careful; they do not know how to manage. Others are poor through sickness and misfortune. Whatever the cause they are in need, and to help them is an important line of missionary work.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 269-271.  {WM 180.3}
[WM 180.4]          Poverty May Result From Adverse Circumstance. --It has not always been regarded as a mark of                                                                              181  inefficiency when through adverse circumstances pinching want has made it necessity for a brother to incur debts or suffer for food and clothing even though he was unable to lift these debts, struggle as hard as he might. A helping hand has been reached out to such ones, to place them upon their feet, free from embarrassment, that they might do their work in the vineyard of the Lord and not be oppressed with the thought that a cloud of debt was hanging over them.-- Manuscript 34, 1894.  {WM 180.4}
[WM 181.1]          The Responsibility of the Church or Churches.-- It is the duty of each church to make careful, judicious arrangements for the care of its poor and sick.--Letter 169, 1901.  {WM 181.1}
[WM 181.2]          God suffers His poor to be in the borders of every church. They are always to be among us, and the Lord places upon the members of every church a personal responsibility to care for them. We are not to lay our responsibility upon others. Toward those within our own borders we are to manifest the same love and sympathy that Christ would manifest were He in our place. Thus we are to be disciplined, that we may be prepared to work in Christ's lines.  {WM 181.2}
[WM 181.3]          The minister should educate the various families and strengthen the church to care for its own sick and poor. He should set at work the God-given faculties of the people, and if one church is overtaxed in this line, other churches should come to its assistance. Let the church members exercise tact and ingenuity in caring for these, the Lord's people. Let them deny themselves luxuries and needless ornaments, that they may make the suffering needy ones comfortable. In doing this they practice the instruction given in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah, and the blessing there                                                                              182  pronounced will be theirs.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 272.  {WM 181.3}
[WM 182.1]          Every Church Member to Do His Part.--The Lord's people are to be as true as steel to principle. He has pointed out the work devolving on every church member. He declares that the church members are faithfully to do their duty to those within their own borders. They are generously to support their own poor. They are to engage in systematic missionary work, teaching their children to keep the way of the Lord and to do judgment and justice.  {WM 182.1}
[WM 182.2]          But the light which for years has been before the churches has been disregarded. The work that ought to have been done for suffering humanity in every church has not been done. Church members have failed to heed the word of the Lord, and this has deprived them of an experience they should have gained in gospel work.--Review and Herald, March 4, 1902.  {WM 182.2}
[WM 182.3]          The poor and the needy are to be cared for. These must not be neglected, at whatever cost or sacrifice to ourselves.--Youth's Instructor, Aug. 26, 1897.  {WM 182.3}
[WM 182.4]          The Church to Bear the Burden.--The churches that have the poor among them should not neglect their stewardship and throw the burden of the poor and sick upon the sanitarium. All the members of the several churches are responsible before God for their afflicted ones. They should bear their own burdens. If they have sick persons among them, whom they wish to be benefited by treatment, they should, if able, send them to the sanitarium. In doing this they will not only be patronizing the institution which God has established but will be helping those who need help, caring for the poor as God requires us to do.-- Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 551.                                                                              183   {WM 182.4}
[WM 183.1]          When the Lord's Poor Are Neglected.--When the Lord's poor are neglected and forgotten or greeted with cold looks and cruel words, let the guilty one bear in mind that he is neglecting Christ in the person of His saints. Our Saviour identifies His interest with that of suffering humanity. As the heart of the parent yearns with pitying tenderness over the suffering one of her little flock, so the heart of our Redeemer sympathizes with the poorest and lowliest of His earthly children. He has placed them among us to awaken in our hearts that love which He feels toward the suffering and oppressed, and He will let His judgments fall upon anyone who wrongs, slights, or abuses them.-- Ibid., p. 620.  {WM 183.1}
[WM 183.2]          Search Out the Needs.--Your good wishes we will thank you for, but the poor cannot keep comfortable on good wishes alone. They must have tangible proofs of your kindness in food and clothing. God does not mean that any of His followers should beg for bread. He has given you an abundance that you may supply those of their necessities which by industry and economy they are not able to supply. Do not wait for them to call your attention to their needs. Act as did Job. The thing that he knew not he searched out. Go on an inspecting tour and learn what is needed and how it can be best supplied.--Ibid., vol. 5, p. 151.  {WM 183.2}
[WM 183.3]          Do Not Wait for Them to Come to Us.--Poverty and distress in families will come to our knowledge, and afflicted and suffering ones will have to be relieved. . . . Do not wait for them to come to you. Examine their wearing apparel and help them if they need help. We should invest means to help young men and young women to obtain an education in sending                                                                              184  the gospel to the poor, in aiding those who have ventured by faith to take their position upon the platform of eternal truth, when by so doing they have placed themselves in an embarrassing situation. Where there are cases of special need the minister must be prepared to relieve those who are in poverty for the truth's sake.--Manuscript 25, 1894.  {WM 183.3}
[WM 184.1]          Help for New Converts out of Employment.--In our benevolent work special help should be given to those who, through the presentation of the truth, are convicted and converted. We must have a care for those who have the moral courage to accept the truth, who lose their situations in consequence, and are refused work by which to support their families. Provision should be made to aid the worthy poor and to furnish employment for those who love God and keep His commandments. They should not be left without help, to feel that they are forced to work on the Sabbath or starve. Those who take their position on the Lord's side are to see in Seventh-day Adventists a warmhearted, self-denying, self-sacrificing people, who cheerfully and gladly minister to their brethren in need. It is of this class especially that the Lord speaks when He says: "Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house." Isaiah 58:7.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 85.  {WM 184.1}
[WM 184.2]          Provide Land for Poor Families.--Where the school is established ［in Australia］ there must be land for orchards and gardens, that students may have physical exercise combined with mental taxation, and half and some wholly pay their way at school. Also ground must be purchased, that families that cannot obtain work in the cities because of the observance of the Sabbath may buy small farms and make their own living. This is a positive necessity in this country.                                                                              185  Education must be given in regard to tilling the soil, and we must expect that the Lord will bless this effort. --Manuscript 23, 1894.  {WM 184.2}
[WM 185.1]          Our Duty to Poor Families.--Inquiries are often made in regard to our duty to the poor who embrace the third message; and we ourselves have long been anxious to know how to manage with discretion the cases of poor families who embrace the Sabbath. But while at Roosevelt, New York, August 3, 1861, I was shown some things in regard to the poor.  {WM 185.1}
[WM 185.2]          God does not require our brethren to take charge of every poor family that shall embrace this message. If they should do this, the ministers must cease to enter new fields, for the funds would be exhausted. Many are poor from their own lack of diligence and economy; they know not how to use means aright. If they should be helped, it would hurt them. Some will always be poor. If they should have the very best advantages, their cases would not be helped. They have not good calculation, and would use all the means they could obtain, were it much or little.  {WM 185.2}
[WM 185.3]          Some know nothing of denying self and economizing to keep out of debt and to get a little ahead for a time of need. If the church should help such individuals instead of leaving them to rely upon their own resources, it would injure them in the end, for they look to the church and expect to receive help from them and do not practice self-denial and economy when they are well provided for. And if they do not receive help every time, Satan tempts them, and they become jealous and very conscientious for their brethren, fearing they will fail to do all their duty to them. The mistake is on their own part. They are deceived. They are not the Lord's poor.                                                                              186   {WM 185.3}
[WM 186.1]          The instructions given in the Word of God in regard to helping the poor do not touch such cases, but are for the unfortunate and afflicted. God in His providence has afflicted individuals to test and prove others. Widows and invalids are in the church to prove a blessing to the church. They are a part of the means which God has chosen to develop the true character of Christ's professed followers and to call into exercise the precious traits of character manifested by our compassionate Redeemer.  {WM 186.1}
[WM 186.2]          Many who can but barely live when they are single choose to marry and raise a family when they know they have nothing with which to support them. And worse than this, they have no family government. Their whole course in their family is marked with their loose, slack habits. They have but little control over themselves, and are passionate, impatient, and fretful. When such embrace the message they feel that they are entitled to assistance from their more wealthy brethren; and if their expectations are not met, they complain of the church and accuse them of not living out their faith? Who must be the sufferers in this case? Must the cause of God be sapped, and the treasury in different places exhausted, to take care of these large families of poor? No. The parents must be the sufferers. They will not, as a general thing, suffer any greater lack after they embrace the Sabbath than they did before.  {WM 186.2}
[WM 186.3]          There is an evil among some of the poor which will certainly prove their ruin unless they overcome it. They have embraced the truth with their coarse, rough, uncultivated habits, and it takes some time for them to see and realize their coarseness, and that it is not in accordance with the character of Christ. They look upon others who are more orderly and refined as being                                                                              187  proud, and you may hear them say: "The truth brings us all down upon a level." But it is an entire mistake to think that the truth brings the receiver down. It brings him up, refines his taste, sanctifies his judgment, and, if lived out, is continually fitting him for the society of holy angels in the city of God. The truth is designed to bring us all up upon a level.  {WM 186.3}
[WM 187.1]          The more able should ever act a noble, generous part in their deal with their poorer brethren, and should also give them good advice, and then leave them to fight life's battles through. But I was shown that a most solemn duty rests upon the church to have an especial care for the destitute widows, orphans, and invalids.--Testimonies, vol. 1, pp. 272-274.  {WM 187.1}
[WM 187.2]          Counsel Regarding a Balanced Work.--Christ has not bidden us bestow all our labor and all our gifts upon the poor. We have a work to do in behalf of those who are fulfilling His commission, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." The increase of the ministry will require an increase of means. . . .  {WM 187.2}
[WM 187.3]          When you expend money consider, "Am I encouraging prodigality?" When you give to the poor and wretched consider, "Am I helping them, or hurting them?" . . .  {WM 187.3}
[WM 187.4]          Think of the necessities of our mission fields throughout the world. . . . The present time is burdened with eternal interests. We are to unfurl the standard of truth before a world perishing in error. God calls for men to rally under Christ's blood-stained banner, give the Bible to the people, multiply camp meetings in different localities, warn the cities, and send the warning far and near in the highways and byways of the world.--Manuscript 4, 1899.  {WM 187.4}
[WM 188.1]       Chapter Twenty-Two - The Poor of the World         To Supply the Wants of the Poor.--All around us we see want and suffering. Families are in need of food; little ones are crying for bread. The houses of the poor lack proper furniture and bedding. Many live in mere hovels, which are almost destitute of conveniences. The cry of the poor reaches to heaven. God sees; God hears.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 385.  {WM 188.1}
[WM 188.2]          While God in His providence has laden the earth with His bounties and filled its storehouses with the comforts of life, want and misery are on every hand. A liberal Providence has placed in the hands of His human agents an abundance to supply the necessities of all, but the stewards of God are unfaithful. In the professed Christian world there is enough expended in extravagant display to supply the wants of all the hungry and to clothe the naked. Many who have taken upon themselves the name of Christ are spending His money for selfish pleasure, for the gratification of appetite, for strong drink and rich dainties, for extravagant houses and furniture and dress, while to suffering human beings they give scarcely a look of pity or a word of sympathy.  {WM 188.2}
[WM 188.3]          What misery exists in the very heart of our so-called Christian countries! Think of the condition of the poor in our large cities. In these cities there are multitudes of human beings who do not receive as much care and consideration as are given to the brutes. There are thousands of wretched children, ragged and half starved, with vice and depravity written on their faces. Families are herded together in miserable                                                                              189  tenements, many of them dark cellars reeking with dampness and filth. Children are born in these terrible places. Infancy and youth behold nothing attractive, nothing of the beauty of natural things that God has created to delight the senses. These children are left to grow up molded and fashioned in character by the low precepts, the wretchedness, and the wicked example around them. They hear the name of God only in profanity. Impure words, the fumes of liquor and tobacco, moral degradation of every kind, meet the eye and pervert the senses. And from these abodes of wretchedness piteous cries for food and clothing are sent out by many who know nothing about prayer.  {WM 188.3}
[WM 189.1]          By our churches there is a work to be done of which many have little idea, a work as yet almost untouched. "I was an hungred," Christ says, "and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me." Matthew 25:35, 36. Some think that if they give money to this work, it is all they are required to do, but this is an error. Donations of money cannot take the place of personal ministry. It is right to give our means, and many more should do this; but according to their strength and opportunities, personal service is required of all.  {WM 189.1}
[WM 189.2]          The work of gathering in the needy, the oppressed, the suffering, the destitute, is the very work which every church that believes the truth for this time should long since have been doing. We are to show the tender sympathy of the Samaritan in supplying physical necessities, feeding the hungry, bringing the poor that are cast out to our homes, gathering from God every day grace and strength that will enable us to reach to the very depths of human misery and help                                                                              190  those who cannot possibly help themselves. In doing this work we have a favorable opportunity to set forth Christ the crucified One.--Ibid., pp. 274-276.  {WM 189.2}
[WM 190.1]          Begin by Helping Your Neighbors.--Every church member should feel it his special duty to labor for those living in his neighborhood. Study how you can best help those who take no interest in religious things. As you visit your friends and neighbors show an interest in their spiritual as well as in their temporal welfare. Present Christ as a sin-pardoning Saviour. Invite your neighbors to your home, and read with them from the precious Bible and from books that explain its truths. This, united with simple songs and fervent prayers, will touch their hearts. Let church members educate themselves to do this work. This is just as essential as to save the benighted souls in foreign countries. While some feel the burden of souls afar off, let the many who are at home feel the burden of precious souls around them and work just as diligently for their salvation.  {WM 190.1}
[WM 190.2]          The hours so often spent in amusement that refreshes neither body nor soul should be spent in visiting the poor, the sick, and the suffering, or in seeking to help someone who is in need.  {WM 190.2}
[WM 190.3]          In trying to help the poor, the despised, the forsaken, do not work for them mounted on the stilts of your dignity and superiority, for in this way you will accomplish nothing. Become truly converted, and learn of Him who is meek and lowly in heart. We must set the Lord always before us. As servants of Christ keep saying, lest you forget it, "I am bought with a price."  {WM 190.3}
[WM 190.4]          God calls not only for your benevolence but for your cheerful countenance, your hopeful words, the                                                                              191  grasp of your hand. As you visit the Lord's afflicted ones you will find some from whom hope has departed; bring back the sunshine to them. There are those who need the bread of life; read to them from the Word of God. Upon others there is a soul sickness that no earthly balm can reach or physician heal; pray for these, and bring them to Jesus.  {WM 190.4}
[WM 191.1]          On special occasions some indulge in sentimental feelings which lead to impulsive movements. They may think that in this way they are doing great service for Christ, but they are not. Their zeal soon dies, and then Christ's service is neglected. It is not fitful service that God accepts; it is not by emotional spasms of activity that we can do good to our fellow men. Spasmodic efforts to do good often result in more injury than benefit.--Ibid., pp. 276-277.  {WM 191.1}
[WM 191.2]          Give the Right Kind of Help.--Methods of helping the needy should be carefully and prayerfully considered. We are to seek God for wisdom, for He knows better than shortsighted mortals how to care for the creatures He has made. There are some who give indiscriminately to everyone who solicits their aid. In this they err. In trying to help the needy we should be careful to give them the right kind of help. There are those who when helped will continue to make themselves special objects of need. They will be dependent as long as they see anything on which to depend. By giving undue time and attention to these we may encourage idleness, helplessness, extravagance, and intemperance.  {WM 191.2}
[WM 191.3]          When we give to the poor we should consider, "Am I encouraging prodigality? Am I helping or injuring them?" No man who can earn his own livelihood has a right to depend on others.                                                                              192   {WM 191.3}
[WM 192.1]          The proverb, "The world owes me a living," has in it the essence of falsehood, fraud, and robbery. The world owes no man a living who is able to work and gain a living for himself. But if one comes to our door and asks for food, we should not turn him away hungry. His poverty may be the result of misfortune.  {WM 192.1}
[WM 192.2]          We should help those who with large families to support have constantly to battle with feebleness and poverty. Many a widowed mother with her fatherless children is working far beyond her strength in order to keep her little ones with her and provide them with food and clothing. Many such mothers have died from overexertion. Every widow needs the comfort of hopeful, encouraging words, and there are very many who should have substantial aid.--Ibid., pp. 227, 228.  {WM 192.2}
[WM 192.3]          Take Note of Every Case of Need.--It is God's purpose that the rich and the poor shall be closely bound together by the ties of sympathy and helpfulness. He bids us interest ourselves in every case of suffering and need that shall come to our knowledge. Think it not lowering to your dignity to minister to suffering humanity. . . .  {WM 192.3}
[WM 192.4]          Many not of our faith are longing for the very help that Christians are in duty bound to give. If God's people would show a genuine interest in their neighbors, many would be reached by the special truths for this time. Nothing will or ever can give character to the work like helping the people just where they are. Thousands might today be rejoicing in the message if those who claim to love God and keep His commandments would work as Christ worked.--Ibid., pp. 279, 280.  {WM 192.4}
[WM 192.5]          The Best Way to Reach Hearts Today.--By showing an interest in the wants of suffering humanity we                                                                              193  can best reach hearts. The culture of the mind and heart is much more easily accomplished when we feel such tender sympathy in others that we scatter our benefits and privileges to relieve their necessities.-- Letter 116, 1897.  {WM 192.5}
[WM 193.1]          We want to represent Christ by reaching out to others. We are to work under the commission Christ gave to His disciples, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." This, then, is our work, to reach the people who are neglected, and win them to Christ.  {WM 193.1}
[WM 193.2]          Until recently our people have made but little or no effort to help these. Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He would have every soul regard the efficacy of His blood as of unlimited value, able to save unto the uttermost all who will be persuaded to come to Him. He would have every individual of our race, formed in His image, remember that God is infinite, and that His love revealed in the atonement of Christ, in favor of all mankind, makes manifest the value He places on humanity. He bids them come to Him and be saved. To the Source of all our mercies we must come. He will use men as His agents to win their fellow men from sin.--Letter 33, 1898.  {WM 193.2}
[WM 194.1]       Chapter Twenty-Three - Helping the Poor to Help Themselves         Educate the Poor to Be Self-reliant.--Men and women of God, persons of discernment and wisdom, should be appointed to look after the poor and needy, the household of faith first. These should report to the church and counsel as to what should be done.  {WM 194.1}
[WM 194.2]          Instead of encouraging the poor to think that they can have their eating and drinking provided free, or nearly so, we should place them where they can help themselves. We should endeavor to provide them with work, and if necessary, teach them how to work. Let the members of poor households be taught how to cook, how to make and mend their own clothing, how to care properly for the home. Let boys and girls be thoroughly taught some useful trade or occupation. We are to educate the poor to become self-reliant. This will be true help, for it will not only make them self-sustaining but will enable them to help others.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 278, 279.  {WM 194.2}
[WM 194.3]          A Call to Men of Thought and Means.--The question will often arise: What can be done where poverty prevails and is to be contended with at every step? Under these circumstances how can we impress minds with correct ideas of improvement? Certainly the work is difficult; and unless the teachers, the thinking men, and the men who have means will exercise their talents and will lift just as Christ would lift were He in their place an important work will be left undone. The necessary reformation will never be made unless men                                                                              195  and women are helped by a power outside of themselves. Those who have talents and capabilities must use these gifts to bless their fellow men, laboring to place them upon a footing where they can help themselves. It is thus that the education gained at our schools should be put to the very best use.  {WM 194.3}
[WM 195.1]          God's entrusted talents are not to be hid under a bushel or under a bed. "Ye are the light of the world," Christ said. Matthew 5:14. As you see families living in hovels, with scant furniture and clothing, without tools, without books or other marks of refinement about their homes, will you become interested in them and endeavor to teach them how to put their energies to the very best use, that there may be improvement, and that their work may move forward?--Ibid., pp. 188, 189.  {WM 195.1}
[WM 195.2]          God's Word Reveals the Solution to the Problem. --There are largehearted men and women who are anxiously considering the condition of the poor and what means can be found for their relief. How the unemployed and the homeless can be helped to secure the common blessings of God's providence and to live the life He intended man to live, is a question to which many are earnestly endeavoring to find an answer. . . .  {WM 195.2}
[WM 195.3]          If men would give more heed to the teaching of God's Word, they would find a solution of these problems that perplex them. Much might be learned from the Old Testament in regard to the labor question and the relief of the poor. In God's plan for Israel every family had a home on the land, with sufficient ground for tilling. Thus were provided both the means and the incentive for a useful, industrious, and self-supporting life. And no devising of men has ever improved                                                                              196  upon that plan. To the world's departure from it is owing, to a large degree, the poverty and wretchedness that exist today. . . .  {WM 195.3}
[WM 196.1]         In Israel industrial training was regarded as a duty. Every father was required to teach his sons some useful trade. The greatest men in Israel were trained to industrial pursuits. A knowledge of the duties pertaining to housewifery was considered essential for every woman. And skill in these duties was regarded as an honor to women of the highest station.  {WM 196.1}
[WM 196.2]          Various industries were taught in the schools of the prophets, and many of the students sustained themselves by manual labor. . . .  {WM 196.2}
[WM 196.3]          The plan of life that God gave to Israel was intended as an object lesson for all mankind. If these principles were carried out today, what a different place this world would be!--Ministry of Healing, pp. 183-188.  {WM 196.3}
[WM 196.4]         Multitudes Might Find Homes on the Land.-- Within the vast boundaries of nature there is still room for the suffering and needy to find a home. Within her bosom there are resources sufficient to provide them with food. Hidden in the depths of the earth are blessings for all who have courage and will and perseverance to gather her treasures. The tilling of the soil, the employment that God appointed to man in Eden, opens a field in which there is opportunity for multitudes to gain a subsistence. . . .  {WM 196.4}
[WM 196.5]          If the poor now crowded into the cities could find homes upon the land, they might not only earn a livelihood but find health and happiness now unknown to them. Hard work, simple fare, close economy, often hardship and privation, would be their lot. But what a blessing would be theirs in leaving the                                                                              197  city, with its enticements to evil, its turmoil and crime, misery and foulness, for the country's quiet and peace and purity. . . .  {WM 196.5}
[WM 197.1]          If they ever become industrious and self-supporting, very many must have assistance, encouragement, and instruction. There are multitudes of poor families for whom no better missionary work could be done than to assist them in settling on the land and in learning how to make it yield them a livelihood.  {WM 197.1}
[WM 197.2]          The need for such help and instruction is not confined to the cities. Even in the country, with all its possibilities for a better life, multitudes of the poor are in great need. Whole communities are devoid of education in industrial and sanitary lines. . . .  {WM 197.2}
[WM 197.3]          Imbruted souls, bodies weak and ill-formed, reveal the results of evil heredity and of wrong habits. These people must be educated from the very foundation. They have led shiftless, idle, corrupt lives, and they need to be trained to correct habits.  {WM 197.3}
[WM 197.4]          How can they be awakened to the necessity of improvement? How can they be directed to a higher ideal of life? How can they be helped to rise? What can be done where poverty prevails, and is to be contended with at every step?--Ibid., pp. 188-193.  {WM 197.4}
[WM 197.5]          A Work for Christian Farmers.--Christian farmers can do real missionary work in helping the poor to find homes on the land and in teaching them how to till the soil and make it productive. Teach them how to use the implements of agriculture, how to cultivate various crops, how to plant and care for orchards.  {WM 197.5}
[WM 197.6]          Many who till the soil fail to secure adequate returns because of their neglect. Their orchards are not properly cared for, the crops are not put in at the right time, and a mere surface work is done in cultivating                                                                              198  the soil. Their ill success they charge to the unproductiveness of the land. False witness is often borne in condemning land that, if properly worked, would yield rich returns. The narrow plans, the little strength put forth, the little study as to the best methods, call loudly for reform.--Ibid., p. 193.  {WM 197.6}
[WM 198.1]          Even the poorest can improve their surroundings by rising early and working diligently. . . . It is by diligent labor, by putting to the wisest use every capability, by learning to waste no time, that they will become successful in improving their premises and cultivating their land.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 188, 189.  {WM 198.1}
[WM 198.2]          Establishment of Industries.--Attention should be given to the establishment of various industries so that poor families can find employment. Carpenters, blacksmiths, and indeed everyone who understands some line of useful labor should feel a responsibility to teach and help the ignorant and the unemployed.  {WM 198.2}
[WM 198.3]          In ministry to the poor there is a wide field of service for women as well as for men. The efficient cook, the housekeeper, the seamstress, the nurse--the help of all is needed. . . .  {WM 198.3}
[WM 198.4]          Missionary families are needed to settle in the waste places. Let farmers, financiers, builders, and those who are skilled in various arts and crafts go to neglected fields to improve the land, to establish industries, to prepare humble homes for themselves, and to help their neighbors.--Ministry of Healing, p. 194.  {WM 198.4}
[WM 198.5]          Help Men to Help Themselves.--By instruction in practical lines we can often help the poor most effectively. As a rule those who have not been trained to work do not have habits of industry, perseverance,                                                                              199  economy, and self-denial. They do not know how to manage. Often through lack of carefulness and right judgment there is wasted that which would maintain their families in decency and comfort if it were carefully and economically used. "Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment."  {WM 198.5}
[WM 199.1]          We may give to the poor, and harm them, by teaching them to be dependent. . . .  {WM 199.1}
[WM 199.2]          Real charity helps men to help themselves. . . . True beneficence means more than mere gifts. It means a genuine interest in the welfare of others. We should seek to understand the needs of the poor and distressed, and to give them the help that will benefit them most. To give thought and time and personal effort costs far more than merely to give money. But it is the truest charity.--Ibid., pp. 194, 195.  {WM 199.2}
[WM 199.3]          Physical Effort and Moral Power Required.-- Physical effort and moral power are to be united in our endeavors to regenerate and reform. We are to seek to gain knowledge in both temporal and spiritual lines, that we may communicate it to others. We are to seek to live out the gospel in all its bearings, that its temporal and spiritual blessings may be felt all around us.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 189.  {WM 199.3}
[WM 199.4]          Unwittingly Injured.--We may err in making gifts to the poor which are not a blessing to them, leading them to feel that they need not exert themselves and practice economy, for others will not permit them to suffer. We should not give countenance to indolence or encourage habits of self-gratification by affording means for indulgence.--Historical Sketches, p. 293.  {WM 199.4}
[WM 199.5]          You may give to the poor, and injure them,                                                                              200  because you teach them to be dependent. Instead, teach them to support themselves. This will be true help. The needy must be placed in positions where they can help themselves.--Manuscript 46, 1898.  {WM 199.5}
[WM 200.1]          Not to Be Supported in Idleness.--The Word of God teaches that if a man will not work, neither shall he eat. The Lord does not require the hard-working man to support those who are not diligent. There is a waste of time, a lack of effort, which brings to poverty and want. If these faults are not seen and corrected by those who indulge them, all that might be done in their behalf is like putting treasure into a basket with holes. But there is an unavoidable poverty, and we are to manifest tenderness and compassion toward those who are unfortunate.--Review and Herald, Jan. 3, 1899.  {WM 200.1}
[WM 200.2]          Poor to Seek Counsel.--There is a class of poor brethren who are not free from temptation. They are poor managers, they have not wise judgment, they wish to obtain means without waiting the slow process of persevering toil. Some are in such haste to better their condition that they engage in various enterprises without consulting men of good judgment and experience. Their expectations are seldom realized; instead of gaining, they lose, and then come temptation and a disposition to envy the rich. They really want to be benefited by the wealth of their brethren, and feel tried because they are not. But they are not worthy of receiving special help. They have evidence that their efforts have been scattered. They have been changeable in business and full of anxiety and cares which bring but small returns. Such persons should listen to the counsel of those of experience. But frequently they are the last ones to seek advice.                                                                              201  They think they have superior judgment and will not be taught.  {WM 200.2}
[WM 201.1]          These are often the very ones who are deceived by those sharp, shrewd peddlers of patent rights whose success depends upon the art of deception. These should learn that no confidence whatever can be put in such peddlers. But the brethren are credulous in regard to the very things they should suspect and shun. They do not take home the instruction of Paul to Timothy: "But godliness with contentment is great gain." "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." Let not the poor think that the rich are the only covetous ones. While the rich hold what they have with a covetous grasp, and seek to obtain still more, the poor are in great danger of coveting the rich man's wealth.--Testimonies, vol. 1, pp. 480, 481.  {WM 201.1}
[WM 201.2]          To Be Willing to Receive Advice.--Many lack wise management and economy. They do not weigh matters well and move cautiously. Such should not trust to their own poor judgment, but counsel with their brethren who have experience. Those who lack good judgment and economy are often unwilling to seek counsel. They generally think that they understand how to conduct their temporal business, and are unwilling to follow advice. They make bad moves and suffer in consequence. Their brethren are grieved to see them suffer, and they help them out of difficulty. Their unwise management affects the church. It takes means from the treasury of God which should have been used to advance the cause of present truth.  {WM 201.2}
[WM 201.3]          If these poor brethren would take a humble course and be willing to be advised and counseled by their brethren, and then are brought into straitened places, their brethren should feel it their duty to cheerfully                                                                              202  help them out of difficulty. But if they choose their own course and rely upon their judgment, they should be left to feel the full consequences of their unwise course, and learn by dear experience that "in a multitude of counselors there is safety." God's people should be subject one to another. They should counsel with each other, that the lack of one be supplied by the sufficiency of the other.--Review and Herald, April 18, 1871.  {WM 201.3}
[WM 202.1]          Most Poor Could Help Themselves.--There are very few in our land of plenty who are really so poor as to need help. If they would pursue a right course, they could in almost every case be above want. My appeal to the rich is, Deal liberally with your poor brethren, and use your means to advance the cause of God. The worthy poor, those who are made poor by misfortune and sickness, deserve your special care and help. "Finally be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another; love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous."--Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 481.  {WM 202.1}
[WM 202.2]          Observe the Golden Rule.--God often raises up someone who will shield the poor from being placed in positions that will be loss to them, even if it be given to their disadvantage. This is the duty of man toward his fellow man. To take advantage of a man's ignorance because he cannot discern the outcome of a course of action is not right. It is the duty of his brother to personally set the matter plainly and faithfully before him, in all its bearings, lest he shall act blindly, and cripple the resources justly his. When men observe the golden rule, Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you, many difficulties now existing would be quickly adjusted.--Letter 85, 1896.  {WM 202.2}
[WM 203.1]       Chapter Twenty-Four - Poor to Exercise Benevolence         Not the Amount, but the Prompting Love.--The poor are not excluded from the privilege of giving. They, as well as the wealthy, may act a part in this work. The lesson that Christ gave in regard to the widow's two mites shows us that the smallest willing offerings of the poor, if given from a heart of love, are as acceptable as the largest donations of the rich. In the balances of the sanctuary the gifts of the poor, made from love of Christ, are estimated, not according to the amount given but according to the love which prompts the sacrifice.--Review and Herald, Oct. 10, 1907.  {WM 203.1}
[WM 203.2]          Sacrifice Also Required of the Poor.--Some who are poor in this world's goods are apt to place all the straight testimony upon the shoulders of the men of property. But they do not realize that they also have a work to do. God requires them to make a sacrifice.-- Ibid., April 18, 1871.  {WM 203.2}
[WM 203.3]          She Did What She Could.--The Saviour called His disciples to Him and bade them mark the widow's poverty. Then His words of commendation fell upon her ear: "Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all." Tears of joy filled her eyes as she felt that her act was understood and appreciated. Many would have advised her to keep her pittance for her own use. Given into the hands of the well-fed priests, it would be lost sight of among the many costly gifts brought to the treasury. But Jesus understood her motive. She believed the                                                                              204  service of the temple to be of God's appointment, and she was anxious to do her utmost to sustain it. She did what she could, and her act was to be a monument to her memory through all time, and her joy in eternity. Her heart went with her gift; its value was estimated, not by the worth of the coin, but by the love to God and the interest in His work that had prompted the deed.  {WM 203.3}
[WM 204.1]          Jesus said of the poor widow, She "hath cast in more than they all." The rich had bestowed from their abundance, many of them to be seen and honored by men. Their large donations had deprived them of no comfort, or even luxury; they had required no sacrifice, and could not be compared in value with the widow's mite.  {WM 204.1}
[WM 204.2]          It is the motive that gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy or with high moral worth. Not the great things which every eye sees and every tongue praises does God account most precious. The little duties cheerfully done, the little gifts which make no show, and which to human eyes may appear worthless, often stand highest in His sight. A heart of faith and love is dearer to God than the most costly gift. The poor widow gave her living to do the little that she did. She deprived herself of food in order to give those two mites to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that her heavenly Father would not overlook her great need. It was this unselfish spirit and childlike faith that won the Saviour's commendation.  {WM 204.2}
[WM 204.3]          Among the poor there are many who long to show their gratitude to God for His grace and truth. They greatly desire to share with their more prosperous brethren in sustaining His service. These souls should not be repulsed. Let them lay up their mites in the                                                                              205  bank of heaven. If given from a heart filled with love for God, these seeming trifles become consecrated gifts, priceless offerings, which God smiles upon and blesses. --The Desire of Ages, pp. 614-616.  {WM 204.3}
[WM 205.1]          How the Macedonian Church Responded.--Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: "Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also."  {WM 205.1}
[WM 205.2]          There had been a famine at Jerusalem, and Paul knew that many of the Christians had been scattered abroad, and that those who remained would be likely to be deprived of human sympathy and exposed to religious enmity. Therefore he exhorted the churches to send pecuniary assistance to their brethren in Jerusalem. The amount raised by the churches exceeded the expectation of the apostles. Constrained by the love of Christ, the believers gave liberally, and they were filled with joy because they should thus express their gratitude to the Redeemer and their love for the brethren. This is the true basis of charity according to God's Word.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 271, 272.  {WM 205.2}
[WM 205.3]          According to Our Entrusted Talents.--Of the church in Macedonia we read that "in a great trial of                                                                              206  affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality." Then, shall any of us who profess to be Christians think that we shall be excused in doing nothing for the truth because we are poor? We regard the precious light of truth as an inexpressible, inexhaustible treasure. We are to exert an influence in proportion to our entrusted talents, be we rich or poor, high or low, ignorant or learned. We are servants of Jesus Christ, and the Lord expects us to do our best.--Review and Herald, Sept. 4, 1894.  {WM 205.3}
[WM 206.1]          Not to Be Denied the Blessing of Giving.--A responsibility rests upon the ministers of Christ to educate the churches to be liberal. Even the poor are to have a part in presenting their offerings to God. They are to be sharers of the grace of Christ in denying self to help those whose need is more pressing than their own. Why should the poor saints be denied the blessing of giving to aid those who are still poorer than themselves? The work of educating the people along these lines has been neglected, and the churches have failed to give for the necessity of poorer churches, and thus the blessing has been withheld that should have been theirs, and will be withheld until they shall have a realizing sense of their neglect.--Review and Herald, Sept. 4, 1894.                                                                              208   {WM 206.1}
[WM 208.1]                  Gem Thought          In the night of spiritual darkness God's glory is to shine forth through His church in lifting up the bowed down and comforting those that mourn. All around us are heard the wails of a world's sorrow. On every hand are the needy and distressed. It is ours to aid in relieving and softening life's hardships and misery. The wants of the soul, only the love of Christ can satisfy. If Christ is abiding in us, our hearts will be full of divine sympathy. The sealed fountains of earnest, Christlike love will be unsealed. --Prophets and Kings, pp. 718, 719.  {WM 208.1}
[WM 209.1]       Chapter Twenty-Five - Our Duty to the Unfortunate         Pity for the Blind, Lame, and Afflicted.--Those who have pity for the unfortunate, the blind, the lame, the afflicted, the widows, the orphans, and the needy, Christ represents as commandment keepers, who shall have eternal life.--Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 512.  {WM 209.1}
[WM 209.2]          Frozen Sympathies.--In view of what heaven is doing to save the lost, how can those who are partakers of the riches of the grace of Christ withdraw their interest and their sympathies from their fellow men? How can they indulge in pride of rank or caste and despise the unfortunate and the poor?  {WM 209.2}
[WM 209.3]          Yet it is too true that the pride of rank and the oppression of the poor which prevail in the world, exist also among the professed followers of Christ. With many the sympathies that ought to be exercised in full measure toward humanity seem frozen up. Men appropriate to themselves the gifts entrusted to them wherewith to bless others. The rich grind the face of the poor and use the means thus gained to indulge their pride and love of display even in the house of God. . . . Were it not that the Lord has revealed His                                                                              210  love to the poor and lowly who are contrite in heart, this world would be a sad place for the poor man.-- Review and Herald, June 20, 1893.  {WM 209.3}
[WM 210.1]          Make Condition of Unfortunate Brother Our Own.--When a man is struggling with honest endeavor to sustain himself and his family, and yet is unable to do this, so that they suffer for necessary food and clothing, the Lord will not pronounce our ministering brethren guiltless if they look on with indifference or prescribe conditions for this brother which are virtually impossible of fulfillment . . . We are to make the condition of the unfortunate brother our own.  {WM 210.1}
[WM 210.2]          Any neglect on the part of those who claim to be followers of Christ, a failure to relieve the necessities of a brother or a sister who is bearing the yoke of poverty and oppression, is registered in the books of heaven as shown to Christ in the person of His saints. What a reckoning the Lord will have with many, very many, who present the words of Christ to others but fail to manifest tender sympathy and regard for a brother in the faith who is less fortunate and successful than themselves. . . .  {WM 210.2}
[WM 210.3]          If you knew the circumstances of this brother, and did not make earnest efforts to relieve him, and change his oppression to freedom, you are not working the works of Christ, and are guilty before God. I write plainly, for, from the light given me of God, there is a class of work that is neglected.  {WM 210.3}
[WM 210.4]          There may be great interest taken in the wholesale business of feeding the wretched class who are in poverty. All this I have no objection to, but it is a misdirected zeal if we pass by the cases of these who are of the household of faith and let their cry of                                                                              211  distress come up to God because of suffering which we might alleviate, and in thus doing represent Jesus Christ in sympathy and love. The Lord has a controversy with us for this neglect. He cannot say to any man or woman, "Well done," unless they have done well in representing the attributes of Christ-- goodness, compassion, and love--to their fellow men. --Manuscript 34, 1894.  {WM 210.4}
[WM 211.1]          Provide Homes for Homeless--Years ago I was shown that God's people would be tested upon this point of making homes for the homeless; that there would be many without homes in consequence of their believing the truth. Opposition and persecution would deprive believers of their homes, and it was the duty of those who had homes to open a wide door to those who had not. I have been shown more recently that God would specially test His professed people in reference to this matter.  {WM 211.1}
[WM 211.2]          Christ for our sakes became poor that we through His poverty might be made rich. He made a sacrifice that He might provide a home for pilgrims and strangers in the world seeking for a better country, even an heavenly. Shall those who are subjects of His grace, who are expecting to be heirs of immortality, refuse, or even feel reluctant, to share their homes with the homeless and needy? Shall we, who are disciples of Jesus, refuse strangers an entrance to our doors because they can claim no acquaintance with the inmates?  {WM 211.2}
[WM 211.3]          Has the injunction of the apostle no force in this age: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares"? . . .  {WM 211.3}
[WM 211.4]          Our heavenly Father lays blessings disguised in our pathway, but some will not touch these for fear they                                                                              212  will detract from their enjoyment. Angels are waiting to see if we embrace opportunities within our reach of doing good--waiting to see if we will bless others, that they in their turn may bless us. . . .  {WM 211.4}
[WM 212.1]          I have heard many excuse themselves from inviting to their homes and hearts the saints of God. "Why, I have nothing prepared, I have nothing cooked; they must go to some other place." And at that place there may be some other excuse invented for not receiving those who need hospitality, and the feelings of the visitors are deeply grieved, and they leave with unpleasant impressions in regard to the hospitality of these professed brethren and sisters. If you have no bread, sister, imitate the case brought to view in the Bible. Go to your neighbor and say, "Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him." We have not an example of this lack of bread ever being made an excuse to refuse entrance to an applicant. When Elijah came to the widow of Sarepta, she shared her morsel with the prophet of God, and he wrought a miracle, and caused that in that act of making a home for his servant, and sharing her morsel with him, she herself was sustained, and her life and that of her son preserved. Thus will it prove in the case of many, if they do this cheerfully, for the glory of God.--Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 27-29.  {WM 212.1}
[WM 212.2]          Church Body Accountable for Negligence of Members.--God will hold the church at _____ responsible, as a body, for the wrong course of its members. If a selfish and unsympathizing spirit is allowed to exist in any of its members toward the unfortunate, the widow, the orphan, the blind, the lame, or those who are sick in body or mind, He will hide His face from His                                                                              213  people until they do their duty and remove the wrong from among them. If any professing the name of Christ so far misrepresent their Saviour as to be unmindful of their duty to the afflicted, or if they in any way seek to advantage themselves to the injury of the unfortunate, and thus rob them of means, the Lord holds the church accountable for the sin of its members until they have done all they can to remedy the existing evil. He will not hearken to the prayer of His people while the orphan, the fatherless, the lame, the blind, and the sick are neglected among them.--Ibid., vol. 3, pp. 517, 518.  {WM 212.2}
[WM 213.1]         Heaven Keeps a Faithful Record.--Christ regards all acts of mercy, benevolence, and thoughtful consideration for the unfortunate, the blind, the lame, the sick, the widow, and the orphan as done to Himself: and these works are preserved in the heavenly records and will be rewarded. On the other hand, a record will be written in the book against those who manifest the indifference of the priest and the Levite to the unfortunate, and those who take any advantage of the misfortunes of others.--Ibid., pp. 512, 513.  {WM 213.1}
[WM 214.1]       Chapter Twenty-Six - Help and Encouragement for Widows         The Claims of Widows and Orphans.--Among all whose needs demand our interest, the widow and the fatherless have the strongest claims upon our tender sympathy and care. "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."  {WM 214.1}
[WM 214.2]          The father who has died in the faith, resting upon the eternal promise of God, left his loved ones in full trust that the Lord would care for them. And how does the Lord provide for these bereaved ones? He does not work a miracle in sending manna from heaven; He does not send ravens to bring them food; but He works a miracle upon human hearts. He expels selfishness from the soul; He unseals the fountain of benevolence. He tests the love of His professed followers by committing to their tender mercies the afflicted and bereaved ones, the poor and the orphan. These are in a special sense the little ones whom Christ looks upon, whom it is an offense to Him to neglect. Those who do neglect them are neglecting Christ in the person of His afflicted ones. Every kind act done to them in the name of Jesus is accepted by Him as if done to Himself, for He identifies His interest with that of suffering humanity, and He has entrusted to His church the grand work of ministering to Jesus by helping and blessing the needy and suffering. On all who shall minister to them with willing hearts the blessing of the Lord will rest.--Review and Herald, June 27, 1893.                                                                              215   {WM 214.2}
[WM 215.1]          Give Tangible Help; Lighten Widow's Burdens.-- Many a widowed mother with her fatherless children is bravely striving to bear her double burden, often toiling far beyond her strength in order to keep her little ones with her and to provide for their needs. Little time has she for their training and instruction, little opportunity to surround them with influences that would brighten their lives. She needs encouragement, sympathy, and tangible help.  {WM 215.1}
[WM 215.2]          God calls upon us to supply to these children, so far as we can, the want of a father's care. Instead of standing aloof, complaining of their faults, and of the trouble they may cause, help them in every way possible. Seek to aid the careworn mother. Lighten her burdens.--Ministry of Healing, p. 203.  {WM 215.2}
[WM 215.3]          To Be Channels of God's Bounties.--In homes supplied with life's comforts, in bins and granaries filled with the yield of abundant harvests, in warehouses stocked with the products of the loom, and vaults stored with gold and silver, God has supplied means for the sustenance of these needy ones. He calls upon us to be channels of His bounty.--Ibid., p. 202.  {WM 215.3}
[WM 215.4]          Help for the Widow Entrusted to the Prosperous. --The poor, the homeless, and the widows are among us. I heard a wealthy farmer describe the situation of a poor widow among them. He lamented her straitened circumstances, and then said: "I don't know how she is going to get along this cold winter. She has close times now." Such have forgotten the Pattern, and by their acts say: "Nay, Lord, we cannot drink of the cup of self-denial, humiliation, and sacrifice which You drank of, nor be baptized with the suffering which You were baptized with. We cannot live to do others good. It is our business to take care of ourselves."                                                                              216   {WM 215.4}
[WM 216.1]          Who should know how the widow should get along unless it be those who have well-filled granaries? The means for her to get along are at hand. And dare those whom God has made His stewards, to whom He has entrusted means, withhold from the needy disciples of Christ? If so, they withhold from Jesus. Do you expect the Lord to rain down grain from heaven to supply the needy? Has He not rather placed it in your hands, to help and bless them through you? Has He not made you His instrument in this good work to prove you and to give you the privilege of laying up a treasure in heaven?--Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 32, 33.  {WM 216.1}
[WM 216.2]          Brethren, for Christ's sake fill up your lives with good works. . . . All you have belongs to God. Be guarded, lest you selfishly hoard the bounties He has given you for the widow and the fatherless.--Ibid., vol. 4, p. 627.  {WM 216.2}
[WM 216.3]          Christians Possess an Abundance for the Needy.-- Christians are not excusable for permitting the widow's cries and the orphan's prayers to ascend to Heaven because of their suffering want while a liberal Providence has placed in the hands of these Christians abundance to supply their need. Let not the cries of the widow and fatherless call down the vengeance of Heaven upon us as a people. In the professed Christian world there is enough expended in extravagant display, for jewels and ornaments, to supply the wants of all the hungry and clothe the naked in our towns and cities; and yet these professed followers of the meek and lowly Jesus need not deprive themselves of suitable food or comfortable clothing. What will these church members say when confronted in the day of God by the worthy poor, the afflicted, the widows and fatherless, who have known pinching want for the                                                                              217  meager necessities of life, while there was expended by these professed followers of Christ, for superfluous clothing and needless ornaments expressly forbidden in the Word of God, enough to supply all their wants? --Review and Herald, Nov. 21, 1878.  {WM 216.3}
[WM 217.1]          Neglect Not Those Close By.-- With every gift and offering there should be a suitable object before the giver, not to uphold any in idleness, not to be seen of men or to get a great name, but to glorify God by advancing His cause. Some make large donations to the cause of God while their brother who is poor may be suffering close by them, and they do nothing to relieve him. Little acts of kindness performed for their brother in a secret manner would bind their hearts together and would be noticed in heaven. I saw that in their prices and wages the rich should make a difference in favor of the afflicted and widows and the worthy poor among them.--Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 194.  {WM 217.1}
[WM 217.2]          God Hears Widow's Prayer.--The laws given to Israel guard especially the interests of those who need help. "Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless."  {WM 217.2}
[WM 217.3]          Let those in our churches and those who stand in position of responsibility in our institutions learn from these words how carefully the Lord guards the interests of those who cannot help themselves. He hears the cry of the widow for her fatherless children. He will surely bring into judgment those who                                                                              218  disregard the rules that He has laid down to shield them from harm.  {WM 217.3}
[WM 218.1]          And yet, in spite of the warnings that God has given, there are those who are not afraid to do injustice to the widow and the fatherless. The word of the Lord has come to them, but they would not change their course in order to help the needy. They turned their ears away from the plea of the fatherless. The tears and prayers of the widow were nothing to them.--Manuscript 117, 1903.  {WM 218.1}
[WM 218.2]         Visiting the Widow.--Visiting the widow and the fatherless which the apostle enjoined is to have a Christian, sanctified sympathy with them in their affliction. They are to sacredly guard their interests, to work for them, to put themselves to inconvenience to do them a favor. They are to give them Christlike counsel; they are to unite with them in prayer and to ever bear in mind that Jesus Christ is present in all these visits, and that a faithful record is kept of the object and the work accomplished. Christians will give evidence that they are converted men and women. They will show that they are Bible readers, Bible believers, and they obey every injunction of the Word of God. They will not seek to create sympathy for themselves by speaking in disfavor of wife or husband. They will not become self-centered, but they will have a heart to do others good and to be a blessing to humanity, for this is Christlike. They will walk circumspectly and reveal the character of Christ. They will in all their dealings with widows and the fatherless do just as they would wish others to do by wife and children were they to leave them husbandless and fatherless.  {WM 218.2}
[WM 218.3]          The facts should be borne in mind by all who                                                                              219  claim to be children of God, that there is a Watcher in every business transaction who records every act and deed of the transactor and that this record will stand just as it is written until the great day when every man shall receive according as his works have been, unless their wrongs shall have been repented of and blotted out. Any injustice done to saint or sinner will then be rewarded accordingly. Christ identifies His interest in all the afflictions of his people. God will avenge those who shall treat the widow or the fatherless with oppression, or who shall rob them in any way.--Letter 36, 1888.  {WM 218.3}
[WM 219.1]          No Decrease in Responsibility.--Every poor, tried soul needs light, needs tender, sympathizing, hopeful words. Every widow needs the comfort of helpful and encouraging words that others can bestow. . . .  {WM 219.1}
[WM 219.2]          There is a great work to be done in our world, and as we approach the close of earth's history, it does not lessen the least degree; but when the perfect love of God is in the heart, wonderful things will be done. Christ will be in the heart of the believer as a well of water springing up into everlasting life.--Review and Herald, Jan. 15, 1895.  {WM 219.2}
[WM 220.1]       Chapter Twenty-Seven - The Care of Orphans         Christian Fathers and Mothers Needed.--Until death shall be swallowed up in victory there will be orphans to be cared for, who will suffer in more ways than one if the tender compassion and loving-kindness of our church members are not exercised in their behalf. The Lord bids us, "Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house." Christianity must supply fathers and mothers for these homeless ones. The compassion for the widow and the orphan manifested in prayers and deeds will come up in remembrance before God, to be rewarded by and by.--Review and Herald, June 27, 1893.  {WM 220.1}
[WM 220.2]          Christ Says, Take These Children.--Fatherless and motherless children are thrown into the arms of the church, and Christ says to His followers: Take these destitute children, bring them up for Me, and ye shall receive your wages. I have seen much selfishness exhibited in these things. Unless there is some special evidence that they themselves are to be benefited by adopting into their family those who need homes, some turn away and answer: No. They do not seem to know or care whether such are saved or lost. That, they think, is not their business. With Cain they say: "Am I my brother's keeper?" They are not willing to be put to inconvenience or to make any sacrifice for the orphans, and they indifferently thrust such ones into the arms of the world, who are sometimes more willing to receive them than are these professed Christians. In the day of God inquiry will be made for those whom Heaven gave them the opportunity of saving. But                                                                              221  they wished to be excused, and would not engage in the good work unless they could make it a matter of profit to them. I have been shown that those who refuse these opportunities for doing good will hear from Jesus: "As ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me."--Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 33  {WM 220.2}
[WM 221.1]          Open Your Hearts and Your Homes.--My husband and I, though called to arduous labor in the ministry, felt it our privilege to gather into our home children who needed care, and help them to form characters for heaven. We could not adopt infants, for this would have engrossed our time and attention and would have robbed the Lord of the service He required of us in bringing many sons and daughters to Him. But we felt that the Lord's instruction in Isaiah 58 was for us, and that His blessing would attend us in obedience to His word. All can do something for the needy little ones, by helping to place them in homes where they can be cared for.--Manuscript 35, 1896.  {WM 221.1}
[WM 221.2]          There is a wide field of usefulness before all who will work for the Master in caring for these children and youth who have been deprived of the watchful guidance of parents and the subduing influence of a Christian home. Many of them have inherited evil traits of character; and if left to grow up in ignorance, they will drift into associations that lead to vice and crime. These unpromising children need to be placed in a position favorable for the formation of a right character, that they may become children of God.  {WM 221.2}
[WM 221.3]          Are you who profess to be children of God acting your part in teaching these, who so much need to be patiently taught how to come to the Saviour? Are you acting your part as faithful servants of Christ? Are these unformed, perhaps ill-balanced minds cared for                                                                              222  with that love which Christ has manifested for us? The souls of children and youth are in deadly peril if left to themselves. They need patient instruction, love, and tender Christian care.  {WM 221.3}
[WM 222.1]          Were there no revelation to point out our duty, the very sight of our eyes, and what we know of the inevitable working of cause and effect, should arouse us to rescue these unfortunate ones. If the members of the church would bring into this work the same energy and tact and skill that they employ in the common business relations of life, if they would seek wisdom from God, and earnestly study how to mold these undisciplined minds, many souls that are ready to perish might be rescued. . . .  {WM 222.1}
[WM 222.2]          Brethren and sisters, I ask you to consider this matter carefully. Think of the wants of the fatherless and motherless. Are not your hearts stirred as you witness their sufferings? See if something cannot be done for the care of these helpless ones. As far as lies in your power, make a home for the homeless. Let everyone stand ready to act a part in helping forward this work. The Lord said to Peter: "Feed My lambs." This command is to us, and by opening our homes for the orphans we aid in its fulfillment. Let not Jesus be disappointed in you.  {WM 222.2}
[WM 222.3]          Take these children and present them to God as a fragrant offering. Ask His blessing upon them, and then mold and fashion them according to Christ's order. Will our people accept this holy trust? Because of our shallow piety and worldly ambition, shall those for whom Christ has died be left to suffer, to go in wrong paths?--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 282-284.  {WM 222.3}
[WM 222.4]          They Are God's Property.--Orphans who are lent to Christians in trust for God are too often passed by                                                                              223  and neglected, and yet they are bought with a price, and are just as valuable in the sight of God as we are. . . . They must be cared for; they must receive special attention. You cannot expend your means in a better way than by opening your doors to make homes for them. When the Lord sees that you are faithful in doing what you can to relieve human misery, He will move upon others to provide means to care for those who need help. Those who enlarge their hearts in this kind of work do no more than their duty.  {WM 222.4}
[WM 223.1]          Christ is our example. He was the Majesty of heaven, yet He did more for our fellow men than any of us can possibly do. "Ye are labourers together with God." Let not one needless expenditure be made for the gratification of pride and vanity. Put your mites and your larger sums in the bank of heaven, where they will accumulate. Many who have had precious opportunities to wear the yoke of Christ in this most precious line of work have refused to submit to the yoke. It has not been pleasant to practice unselfishness, and they have neglected to make the cases of the poor and unfortunate their own. They do not heed the injunctions of Christ, and improve every talent that the Lord has given them, cooperating with heavenly intelligences in gathering souls who will serve, honor, and glorify the name of Christ.--Review and Herald, Jan. 15, 1895.  {WM 223.1}
[WM 223.2]          Counsel to Foster Parents.--Dear Brother and Sister D: Your late visit and conversation with us have suggested many thoughts, of which I cannot forbear placing a few upon paper. I was very sorry that E had not carried himself correctly at all times; yet, when you consider, you cannot expect perfection in youth at his                                                                              224  age. Children have faults, and they need a great deal of patient instruction.  {WM 223.2}
[WM 224.1]          That he should have feelings not always correct is no more than can be expected of a boy of his age. You must remember that he has no father or mother, no one to whom he can confide his feelings, his sorrows, and his temptations. Every person feels that he must have some sympathizer. This boy has been tossed about here and there, from pillar to post, and he may have many errors, many careless ways, with considerable independence, and he may lack reverence. But he is quite enterprising, and with right instruction and kind treatment, I have the fullest confidence that he would not disappoint our hopes, but would fully repay all the labor expended on him. Considering his disadvantages, I think he is a very good boy.  {WM 224.1}
[WM 224.2]          When we entreated you to take him we did it because we fully believed it was your duty, and that in doing so you would be blessed. We did not expect that you would do this merely to be benefited by the help that you would receive from the boy, but to benefit him, to do a duty to the orphan--a duty which every true Christian should be seeking and anxiously watching to perform; a duty, a sacrificing duty, which we believed it would do you good to take up, if you did it cheerfully, with a view to being the instrument in the hands of God of saving a soul from the snares of Satan, of saving a son whose father devoted his precious life to pointing souls to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. . . .  {WM 224.2}
[WM 224.3]          In regard to E, do not, I entreat of you, forget that he is a child with only a child's experience. Do not measure him, a poor, weak, feeble boy, with yourselves and expect of him accordingly. I fully believe that it is in your power to do the right thing by this orphan.                                                                              225  You can present inducements to him so that he will not feel that his task is cheerless, unrelieved by a ray of encouragement. You, my brother and sister, can enjoy yourselves in each other's confidence, you can sympathize with each other, interest and amuse each other, and tell your trials and burdens to each other. You have something to cheer you, while he is alone. He is a thinking boy, but has no one to confide in or to give him a cheering word amid his discouragements and severe trials, which I know he has as well as those more advanced in years.  {WM 224.3}
[WM 225.1]          If you shut yourselves up to each other, it is selfish love, unattended with Heaven's blessing. I have strong hope that you will love the orphan for Christ's sake, that you will feel that your possessions are but worthless unless employed in doing good. Do good; be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for yourselves a good foundation against the time to come, that you may lay hold on eternal life. None will reap the reward of everlasting life but the self-sacrificing. A dying father and mother left their jewels to the care of the church, to be instructed in the things of God and fitted for heaven. When these parents shall look about for their dear ones, and one is found missing because of neglect, what will the church answer? It is in a great degree responsible for the salvation of these orphan children.  {WM 225.1}
[WM 225.2]          In all probability you have failed to gain the boy's confidence and affection by not giving him more tangible proofs of your love by holding out some inducements. If you could not expend money, you could at least in some way encourage him by letting him know you were not indifferent to his case. That the love and affection is to be all on one side is a mistake. How much affection have you educated                                                                              226  yourselves to manifest? You are too much shut up to yourselves and do not feel the necessity of surrounding yourselves with an atmosphere of tenderness and gentleness, which comes from true nobility of soul. Brother and Sister F left their children to the care of the church. They had plenty of wealthy relatives who wanted the children; but they were unbelievers, and if allowed to have the care, or become the guardians, of the children, would lead their hearts away from the truth into error, and endanger their salvation. Because these relatives were not allowed to take the children, they were dissatisfied, and have done nothing for them. The confidence of the parents in the church should be considered, and not be forgotten because of selfishness.  {WM 225.2}
[WM 226.1]          We have the deepest interest for these children. One has already developed a beautiful Christian character and married a minister of the gospel. And now, in return for the care and burdens borne for her, she is a true burden bearer in the church. She is sought unto for advice and counsel by the less experienced, and they seek not in vain. She possesses true Christian humility, with becoming dignity, which can but inspire respect and confidence in all who know her. These children are as near to me as my own. I shall not lose sight of them nor cease my care for them. I love them sincerely, tenderly, affectionately.--Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 327-334.  {WM 226.1}
[WM 226.2]          Judged by What They Did Not Do.--There are orphans that should be cared for; but some will not venture to undertake this, for it would bring them more work than they care to do, leaving them but little time to please themselves. But when the King shall make investigation these do-nothing, illiberal,                                                                              227  selfish souls will learn that heaven is for those who have been workers, those who have denied themselves for Christ's sake. No provisions have been made for those who have ever taken such special care in loving and looking out for themselves. The terrible punishment the King threatened those on His left hand, in this case, is not because of their great crimes. They are not condemned for the things which they did do, but for that which they did not do. You did not do those things Heaven assigned you to do. You pleased yourself, and can take your portion with self-pleasers.-- Ibid., p. 27.  {WM 226.2}
[WM 227.1]          Be Daughters of Benevolence.--To my sisters I would say: Be daughters of benevolence. The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. You may have thought that if you could find a child without fault, you would take it and care for it; but to perplex your mind with an erring child, to unlearn it many things and teach it anew, to teach it self-control, is a work which you refuse to undertake. To teach the ignorant, to pity and to reform those who have ever been learning evil, is no slight task; but Heaven has placed just such ones in your way. They are blessings in disguise.--Ibid.  {WM 227.1}
[WM 227.2]          Those With a True Mother's Heart.--Mothers who have wisely reared their children feel the burden of responsibility, not only for their own children, but for their neighbor's children. A true mother's heart of sympathy goes out for all with whom she comes in contact. With a determined effort she seeks to turn wayward souls to Christ. In His strength she is enabled to do much. And those who have no children have responsibilities to bear. In most cases they may receive into their homes children who are orphaned and                                                                              228  homeless. These they may train for Christ's sake to practice those virtues so much needed in our world.-- Manuscript 34, 1899.  {WM 227.2}
[WM 228.1]          Let the condition of helpless little ones appeal to every mother's heart, that she may put into exercise a mother's love for homeless orphan children. Their helplessness appeals to every God-given attribute in human nature.--Medical Missionary, April, 1895.  {WM 228.1}
[WM 228.2]          In the Loving Atmosphere of a Christian Home. --There are the multitudes of children who have been wholly deprived of the guidance of parents and the subduing influence of a Christian home. Let Christians open their hearts and homes to these helpless ones. The work that God has committed to them as an individual duty should not be turned over to some benevolent institution or left to the chances of the world's charity. If the children have no relatives able to give them care, let the members of the church provide homes for them. He who made us ordained that we should be associated in families, and the child nature will develop best in the loving atmosphere of a Christian home.  {WM 228.2}
[WM 228.3]          Many who have no children of their own could do a good work in caring for the children of others. Instead of giving attention to pets, lavishing affection upon dumb animals, let them give their attention to little children, whose characters they may fashion after the divine similitude. Place your love upon the homeless members of the human family. See how many of these children you can bring up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Many would thus be greatly benefited themselves.--Ministry of Healing, pp. 203, 204.  {WM 228.3}
[WM 228.4]          Why the Responsibility Belongs Primarily to the                                                                              229  Church.--God has placed in our care the poor and the suffering, and these are to be cared for as Christ cared for them. The Lord would have this work done in the different churches, rather than that these unfortunate ones should depend so largely upon institutions; for this will take out of the hands of the churches the very work God has appointed them to do.  {WM 228.4}
[WM 229.1]          When fathers and mothers die and leave their children unprovided for, the orphans should be cared for by the church. Open your hearts, you that have the love of God, and take them into your homes.-- Manuscript 105, 1899.  {WM 229.1}
[WM 229.2]          Orphans' Homes.--When all is done that can be done in providing for orphans in our own homes, there will still be many needy ones in the world who should be cared for. They may be ragged, uncouth, and seemingly in every way unattractive; but they are bought with a price, and are just as precious in the sight of God as are our own little ones. They are God's property, for whom Christians are responsible. Their souls, God says, "will I require at thine hand."  {WM 229.2}
[WM 229.3]          To care for these needy ones is a good work; yet in this age of the world the Lord does not give us as a people directions to establish large and expensive institutions for this purpose. If, however, there are among us individuals who feel called of God to establish institutions for the care of orphan children, let them follow out their convictions of duty. But in caring for the world's poor, they should appeal to the world for support. They are not to draw upon the people to whom the Lord has given the most important work ever given to men, the work of bringing the last message of mercy before all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. The Lord's treasury must have a                                                                              230  surplus to sustain the work of the gospel in "regions beyond."  {WM 229.3}
[WM 230.1]          Let those who feel the burden of establishing these institutions have wise solicitors to present their necessities and raise funds. Let the people of the world be aroused, let the denominational churches be canvassed by men who feel the necessity that something be done in behalf of the poor and orphans. In every church there are those who fear God. Let these be appealed to, for to them God has given this work. . . .  {WM 230.1}
[WM 230.2]          The design of an orphans' home should be not merely to provide the children with food and clothing but to place them under the care of Christian teachers, who will educate them in the knowledge of God and His Son. Those who work in this line should be men and women who are largehearted and inspired with enthusiasm at the cross of Calvary. They should be men and women who are cultured and self-sacrificing, who will work as Christ worked for the cause of God and the cause of humanity.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 286, 287.  {WM 230.2}
[WM 230.3]          Small Homelike Institutions.--Such institutions, to be most effective, should be modeled as closely as possible after the plan of a Christian home. Instead of large establishments, bringing great numbers together, let there be small institutions in different places. Instead of being in or near some town or large city, they should be in the country, where land can be secured for cultivation and the children can be brought into contact with nature and can have the benefits of industrial training.  {WM 230.3}
[WM 230.4]          Those in charge of such a home should be men and women who are largehearted, cultured, and self-sacrificing; men and women who undertake the work                                                                              231  from love to Christ, and who train the children for Him. Under such care many homeless and neglected ones may be prepared to become useful members of society, an honor to Christ themselves, and in their turn helping others.-Ministry of Healing, pp. 205-206.  {WM 230.4}
[WM 231.1]          Importance of Seeking Counsel.--God will not bless those who work without taking counsel with their brethren. Any Seventh-day Adventist who supposes that in himself he is a complete whole, and that he can at all times safely follow his own mind and judgment, is not to be trusted; for he is not walking in the light as Christ is in the light. There will be many who have not a correct sense of what they are doing. Men need clear ideas, deep spirituality. In His service God desires every man to move sensibly, weighing the motives prompting his movements.--Manuscript 26, 1902.  {WM 231.1}
[WM 231.2]          If We Obeyed God's Instruction.--The Word of God abounds with instruction as to how we should treat the widow, the fatherless, and the needy, suffering poor. If all would obey this instruction, the widow's heart would sing for joy; hungry little children would be fed; the destitute would be clothed; and those ready to perish would be revived. Heavenly intelligences are looking on, and when, imbued with zeal for Christ's honor, we place ourselves in the channel of God's providence, these heavenly messengers will impart to us a new spiritual power, so that we shall be able to combat difficulties and triumph over obstacles.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 284, 285.  {WM 231.2}
[WM 232.1]       Chapter Twenty-Eight - Adopting Children         Let Families Adopt Children.--There is a special work to be done for the children more advanced in years. Let families of our faith who in the churches can do so, adopt these little ones, and they will receive a blessing in so doing.--Letter 205, 1899.  {WM 232.1}
[WM 232.2]          There are persons who have no little ones of their own, who may do good by adopting children. Those who have not the sacred responsibility of proclaiming the Word and laboring directly for the salvation of souls, have duties in other lines of work. If they are consecrated to God, and are qualified to mold and fashion human minds, the Lord will bless them in caring for the children of others.  {WM 232.2}
[WM 232.3]          But let the children of believers have our first consideration. There are among Sabbathkeepers very many large families of children that are not properly cared for. Many parents give evidence that they have not learned of Christ the lessons that would make them safe guardians of children. Their children do not receive proper training. And there are among us many children whom death has deprived of the parents' care. There are those who might take some of these children and seek to mold and fashion their characters according to Bible principles.--Manuscript 35, 1896.  {WM 232.3}
[WM 232.4]          God has a people in this world, and there are many who can adopt children and care for them as God's little ones.--Letter 68, 1899.  {WM 232.4}
[WM 232.5]          Children of Believers.--The Lord would have every church consider it a religious obligation resting                                                                              233  upon them to adopt the babies of those whose parents have died in the faith. Let families take these little orphans.--Manuscript 44, 1900.  {WM 232.5}
[WM 233.1]          Counsel to a Childless Couple.--You have not felt that it was required of you to be interested in others, to make their cases your own, and to manifest an unselfish interest for the very ones who stand most in need of help. You have not reached out to help the most needy, the most helpless.  {WM 233.1}
[WM 233.2]          Had you children of your own to call into exercise care, affection, and love, you would not be so much shut up to yourselves and to your own interests. If those who have no children, and whom God has made stewards of means, would expand their hearts to care for children who need love, care, and affection, and assistance with this world's goods, they would be far happier than they are today. So long as youth who have not a father's pitying care nor a mother's tender love are exposed to the corrupting influences of these last days, it is somebody's duty to supply the place of father and mother to some of them. Learn to give them love, affection, and sympathy.  {WM 233.2}
[WM 233.3]          All who profess to have a Father in heaven, who they hope will care for them, and finally take them to the home He has prepared for them, ought to feel a solemn obligation resting upon them to be friends to the friendless and fathers to the orphans, to aid the widows and be of some practical use in this world by benefiting humanity. Many have not viewed these things in a right light. If they live merely for themselves, they will have no greater strength than this calls for.--Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 328, 329.  {WM 233.3}
[WM 233.4]          Is It God's Will?--The question of adopting a child, especially an infant, involves most serious responsibility.                                                                              234  It should not be lightly regarded. . . . The question for each to settle is, In doing this shall I be merely gratifying my own wishes, or is it a duty the Lord has appointed for me? Is this His way, or a way of my own choosing? All are to be workers for God. Not one is excused. Your talents are not your own, to employ as you shall fancy. Inquire, What would the Lord have me do with His entrusted talents?--Manuscript 35, 1896.  {WM 233.4}
[WM 234.1]          Examine the Motives.--We need carefully to search our hearts and study our motives. Selfishness may prompt the desire to do what appears to be an unselfish and praiseworthy act. The reason that many urge for desiring to adopt a child, the longing for something on which to center their affection, reveals the fact that their heart is not centered upon Christ; it is not absorbed in His work.--Manuscript 35, 1896.  {WM 234.1}
[WM 234.2]          Shall Ministers Adopt Children.--The question has been asked whether a minister's wife should adopt infant children. I answer: If she has no inclination or fitness to engage in missionary work outside her home, and feels it her duty to take orphan children and care for them, she may do a good work. But let the choice of children be first made from among those who have been left orphans by Sabbathkeeping parents. God will bless men and women as they with willing hearts share their homes with these homeless ones.  {WM 234.2}
[WM 234.3]          But if the minister's wife can herself act a part in the work of educating others, she should consecrate her powers to God as a Christian worker. She should be a true helper to her husband, assisting him in his work, improving her intellect, and helping to give the message. The way is open for humble, consecrated                                                                              235  women, dignified by the grace of Christ, to visit those in need of help and shed light into discouraged souls. They can lift up the bowed down by praying with them and pointing them to Christ. Such should not devote their time and strength to one helpless little mortal that requires constant care and attention. They should not thus voluntarily tie their hands.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 285.  {WM 234.3}
[WM 235.1]          Perhaps God Has Withheld This Blessing.--A well-ordered, well-disciplined family will have a powerful influence for good. But if you have no children of your own, it may be that the Lord has a wise purpose in withholding from you this blessing. It should not be taken as evidence that it is your duty to adopt a child. In some cases this might be advisable. If the Lord bids you take an infant to bring up, then the duty is too plain to be misunderstood. But as a rule it would not be wise for a minister's wife to encumber herself with such a responsibility. . . .  {WM 235.1}
[WM 235.2]          If the companion of a minister is united with her husband in the work of saving souls, it is the highest work she can do. But the care of a little child would absorb her attention, so that she could not attend meetings and labor successfully in visiting and personal effort. Even if she accompanies her husband, the child is too often the burden of thought and conversation, and the visit is made of no effect. Those whom God has called to be colaborers with Him are to have no idols to absorb thought and affection that He would have directed in other lines.--Manuscript 35, 1896.  {WM 235.2}
[WM 235.3]          Ever Keep a Proper Perspective of Responsibility. --Great consideration must be exercised in the work that we undertake. We are not to assume large burdens                                                                              236  in the care of infant children. This work is being done by others. We have a special work in caring for and educating the children more advanced in years. Let families who can do so adopt the little ones, and they will receive a blessing in so doing.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 246, 247.  {WM 235.3}
[WM 237.1]       Chapter Twenty-Nine - The Care of the Aged         Respectfully and Tenderly Cared For.--The matter of caring for our aged brethren and sisters who have no homes is constantly being urged. What can be done for them? The light which the Lord has given me has been repeated: It is not best to establish institutions for the care of the aged, that they may be in a company together. Nor should they be sent away from home to receive care. Let the members of every family minister to their own relatives. When this is not possible the work belongs to the church, and it should be accepted both as a duty and as a privilege. All who have Christ's spirit will regard the feeble and aged with special respect and tenderness.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 272.  {WM 237.1}
[WM 237.2]          To Remain Among Friends and Relatives.--The aged also need the helpful influences of the family. In the home of brethren and sisters in Christ can most nearly be made up to them the loss of their own home. If encouraged to share in the interests and occupations of the household, it will help them to feel that their usefulness is not at an end. Make them feel that their help is valued, that there is something yet for them to do in ministering to others, and it will cheer their hearts and give interest to their lives.  {WM 237.2}
[WM 237.3]          So far as possible let those whose whitening heads and failing steps show that they are drawing near to the grave remain among friends and familiar associations. Let them worship among those whom they have known and loved. Let them be cared for by loving and tender hands. . . .                                                                              238   {WM 237.3}
[WM 238.1]          The presence in our homes of one of these helpless ones is a precious opportunity to cooperate with Christ in His ministry of mercy and to develop traits of character like His. There is a blessing in the association of the old and the young. The young may bring sunshine into the hearts and lives of the aged. Those whose hold on life is weakening need the benefit of contact with the hopefulness and buoyancy of youth. And the young may be helped by the wisdom and experience of the old. Above all, they need to learn the lesson of unselfish ministry. The presence of one in need of sympathy and forbearance and self-sacrificing love would be to many a household a priceless blessing. It would sweeten and refine the home life and call forth in old and young those Christlike graces that would make them beautiful with a divine beauty and rich in heaven's imperishable treasure.-- Ministry of Healing, pp. 204, 205.  {WM 238.1}
[WM 238.2]          Institutions Not the Best Plan.--Men should not be employed to give their time and talents to the work of bringing the aged or the orphans together into a company to be fed and clothed. This is not the best way to manage these cases. . . .  {WM 238.2}
[WM 238.3]          Nor is it best to erect buildings for old men and old women, that they may be in a company together. Let them be helped in the very places where they can be helped. Let relations take care of their own poor relations, and let the church take care of its own needy members. This is the very work God would have the church do, and they will obtain a blessing in doing it.--Manuscript 44, 1900.  {WM 238.3}
[WM 239.1]       Chapter Thirty - Our Responsibility to the Blind         Treat the Blind With Compassion.--The Lord desires those connected with the medical missionary work to be true missionaries. In word and action they are to be Christlike. They are not to be merciful only when they feel an impulse to show mercy, nor are they to act selfishly toward the ones who are the most deserving of medical missionary work. The blind, for instance, are to be treated with compassion. Let medical missionaries reflect concerning their actions toward the blind, that they may learn whether as true missionaries for God they could not have done for this unfortunate class of people many things that they have left undone. From what has been presented to me I know that many, many cases have not received the encouragement that Christ would have given them were He in the place of our medical missionaries.  {WM 239.1}
[WM 239.2]          The Lord, He is God. He notices these instances of neglect. Every such wrong action is a misrepresentation of His mercy, loving-kindness, and benevolence.  {WM 239.2}
[WM 239.3]          I am instructed to say, "Watch carefully, prayerfully, conscientiously, lest the mind become so engrossed with many important business transactions that true godliness is overlooked, and love is quenched from the soul, notwithstanding the great and pitiful need of your being God's helping hand to the blind and to all others who are unfortunate." The most friendless demand the most attention. Use your time and strength in learning to be "fervent in spirit," to deal justly, and to love mercy, "serving the Lord." Remember that Christ says, "Inasmuch as ye have done                                                                              240  it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me."--Manuscript 109, 1902.  {WM 239.3}
[WM 240.1]          While God is a friend to the blind and the unfortunate, He does not excuse their sins. He requires them to overcome, and to perfect Christian character in the name of Jesus, who overcame in their behalf. But Jesus pities our weakness, and He is ready to give strength to bear up in trial and to resist the temptations of Satan if we will cast our burden upon Him.  {WM 240.1}
[WM 240.2]          Angels Guard the Blind.--Angels are sent to minister to the children of God who are physically blind. Angels guard their steps and save them from a thousand dangers, which, unknown to them, beset their path. But His Spirit will not attend them unless they cherish a spirit of kindness and seek earnestly to have control over their natures and to bring their passions and every power into submission to God. They must cultivate a spirit of love, and control their words and actions.  {WM 240.2}
[WM 240.3]          I was shown that God requires His people to be far more pitiful and considerate of the unfortunate than they are. "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Here genuine religion is defined. God requires that the same consideration which should be given to the widow and fatherless be given to the blind and to those suffering under the affliction of other physical infirmities. Disinterested benevolence is very rare in this age of the world.-- Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 516.  {WM 240.3}
[WM 240.4]          Guardians of the Unfortunate.--If there are those in the church who would cause the blind to stumble, they should be brought to justice; for God has made                                                                              241  us guardians of the blind, the afflicted, the widows, and the fatherless. The stumbling block referred to in the Word of God does not mean a block of wood placed before the feet of the blind to cause him to stumble, but it means much more than this. It means any course that may be pursued to injure the influence of their blind brother, to work against his interest, or to hinder his prosperity.  {WM 240.4}
[WM 241.1]          A brother who is blind and poor and diseased, and who is making every exertion to help himself that he may not be dependent, should be encouraged by his brethren in every way possible. But those who profess to be his brethren, who have the use of all their faculties, who are not dependent, but who so far forget their duty to be blind as to perplex and distress and hedge up his way, are doing a work which will require repentance and restoration before God will accept their prayers. And the church of God, who have permitted their unfortunate brother to be wronged, will be guilty of sin until they do all in their power to have the wrong righted.--Ibid., pp. 519, 520.  {WM 241.1}
[WM 241.2]          The Viewpoint of Mercy.--I wish that we might all see as God sees. I wish all could realize how God looks upon those men who profess to be followers of Christ, who have the blessing of sight and the advantage of means in their favor, and who yet envy the little prosperity enjoyed by a poor blind man and would benefit themselves, increase their stock of means, at the disadvantage of their afflicted brother. This is regarded of God as the most criminal selfishness and robbery, and is an aggravating sin, which He will surely punish. God never forgets. He does not look upon these things with human eyes and with cold, unfeeling, human judgment. He views things, not from                                                                              242  the worldling's standpoint, but from the standpoint of mercy, pity, and infinite love.--Ibid., pp. 514, 515.  {WM 241.2}
[WM 242.1]          Blind Often Mistreated.--With those who dare to deal without mercy, God will deal as they have dealt with those who besought them for aid. I have been instructed that the blind have often been dealt with in a merciless way.  {WM 242.1}
[WM 242.2]          True sympathy between man and his fellow man is to be the sign distinguishing those who love and fear God from those who are unmindful of His law.-- Manuscript 117, 1903.  {WM 242.2}
[WM 242.3]          Fulfill Your Responsibility to the Unfortunate.-- It is strange that professed Christian men should disregard the plain, positive teachings of the Word of God and feel no compunctions of conscience. God places upon them the responsibility of caring for the unfortunate, the blind, the lame, the widow, and the fatherless; but many make no effort to regard it. In order to save such, God frequently brings them under the rod of affliction, and places them in positions similar to those occupied by the persons who were in need of their help and sympathy but who did not receive it at their hands.--Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 517.                                                                              244   {WM 242.3}
[WM 244.1]                    Gem Thought          There is a work to be accomplished for many to whom it would not be of the least good for you to tell the truth, for they could not comprehend it. But you can reach them through disinterested acts of benevolence. There are outcasts, men who have lost the similitude of God, who must first be cared for, fed, washed, and decently clothed. Then they are not to hear anything but of Christ, His great love and His willingness to save them. Let these perishing souls feel that all you have done for them was done because of your love for their souls.  {WM 244.1}
[WM 244.2]          The Lord uses the human agent. The divine and the human are to unite, becoming laborers together in the work of uplifting and restoring the moral image of God in man. . . . Move intelligently and perseveringly. Do not be discouraged if you do not at first have all the sympathy and cooperation that you expect. If you work, making the Lord your dependence, be assured that the Lord always helps the humble, meek, and lowly. But you need the working of the Holy Spirit upon your own heart and mind, in order to know how to do Christian help work. Pray much for those you are trying to help. Let them see that your dependence is upon a higher power, and you will win souls.-- Letter 24, 1898.  {WM 244.2}
[WM 245.1]       Chapter Thirty-One - Working for Outcasts         The Gospel Invitation to All Classes.--Christ illustrated the spiritual blessings of the gospel by a temporal feast, the invitation to the supper. He set forth the wonderful condescension of God in the earnest invitation of the master of the feast to all who would come. The special call of the gospel to be given near the close of earth's history is also presented.  {WM 245.1}
[WM 245.2]          The invitation was to go first to the highways, bidding all come to the marriage supper of the Lamb. That message to the people so highly favored was rejected.  {WM 245.2}
[WM 245.3]          The next call was made to the poorer class--the poor, the halt, the maimed, the blind. These were not exalted by ambitious projects. If they would accept the invitation, they might come. This message was given, and the servants brought the report, "Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room."  {WM 245.3}
[WM 245.4]          Then the Master said to His workers, "Go and seek in the byways, for the most degraded and the helpless, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled."--Manuscript 81, 1899.  {WM 245.4}
[WM 245.5]          "Compel them to come in," Christ bids us. . . . In obedience to this word we must go to the heathen who are near us and to those who are afar off. The "publicans and harlots" must hear the Saviour's invitation.                                                                              246  Through the kindness and long-suffering of His messengers the invitation becomes a compelling power to uplift those who are sunken in the lowest depths of sin.--Ministry of Healing, p. 164.  {WM 245.5}
[WM 246.1]          Christ Longs to Reshape the Character.--However low, however fallen, however dishonored and debased others may be, we are not to despise them and pass them by with indifference; but we should consider the fact that Christ has died for them. . . .Christ longs to reshape the marred human character, to restore the moral image of God in men.--Review and Herald, Oct. 15, 1895.  {WM 246.1}
[WM 246.2]          He Regards Them as Precious.--Every soul is the object of the loving interest of Him who gave His life that He might bring men back to God. This earnest, persevering interest expressed by our heavenly Father teaches us that the helpless and outcast are not to be passed by indifferently. They are the Lord's by creation and by redemption. If we were left to ourselves to judge, we would regard many who are degraded as hopeless. But the Lord sees the value of the silver in them. Though they do not look for help, He regards them as precious. The one who sees beneath the surface knows how to deal with human minds. He knows how to bring men to repentance. He knows that if they see themselves as sinners, they will repent and be converted to the truth. This is the work we are to engage in.--Letter 80, 1898.  {WM 246.2}
[WM 246.3]          Not to Ask--"Are They Worthy?"--To the appeal of the erring, the tempted, the wretched victims of want and sin, the Christian does not ask, Are they worthy? but, How can I benefit them? In the most wretched, the most debased, he sees souls whom Christ                                                                              247  died to save, and for whom God has given to His children the ministry of reconciliation.--Mount of Blessing, p. 40.  {WM 246.3}
[WM 247.1]          Discovered by Medical Missionary Work.--I have been instructed that the medical missionary work will discover, in the very depths of degradation, men who, though they have given themselves up to intemperate, dissolute habits, will respond to the right kind of labor. But they need to be recognized and encouraged. Firm, patient, earnest effort will be required in order to lift them up. They cannot restore themselves. They may hear Christ's call, but their ears are too dull to take in its meaning; their eyes are too blind to see anything good in store for them. They are dead in trespasses and sins. Yet even these are not to be excluded from the gospel feast. They are to receive the invitation: "Come." Though they may feel unworthy, the Lord says: "Compel them to come in." Listen to no excuse. By love and kindness lay right hold of them. . . . This work, properly conducted, will save many a poor sinner who has been neglected by the churches.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 279, 280.  {WM 247.1}
[WM 247.2]          In this work of restoration much painstaking effort will be required. No startling communications of strange doctrines should be made to these souls, but as they are helped physically the truth for this time should be presented. Men and women and youth need to see the law of God with its far-reaching requirements. It is not hardship, toil, or poverty that degrades humanity; it is sin, the transgression of God's law. The efforts put forth to rescue the outcast and degraded will be of no avail unless the claims of the law of God and the need of loyalty to Him are impressed on mind and heart. God has enjoined nothing that is                                                                              248  not necessary to bind up humanity with Him. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. . . . The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." "By the word of Thy lips," says the psalmist, "I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." Psalm 19:7, 8; 17:4.  {WM 247.2}
[WM 248.1]         Angels are helping in this work to restore the fallen and bring them back to the One who has given His life to redeem them, and the Holy Spirit is cooperating with the ministry of human agencies to arouse the moral powers by working on the heart, reproving of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.--Ibid., pp. 259, 260.  {WM 248.1}
[WM 248.2]          Working for the Intemperate. ［FURTHER DETAILS AND COUNSEL ON THIS TOPIC WILL BE FOUND IN MINISTRY OF HEALING, PAGES 171-182, AND A MORE RECENT EXHAUSTIVE COMPILATION ENTITLED TEMPERANCE.］--Earnest effort should be made in behalf of those who are in bondage to evil habits. There is everywhere a work to be done for those who through intemperance have fallen. In the midst of churches, religious institutions, and professedly Christian homes, many of the youth are choosing the path to destruction. Through intemperate habits they bring upon themselves disease, and through greed to obtain money for sinful indulgence they fall into dishonest practices. Health and character are ruined. Aliens from God, outcasts from society, these poor souls feel that they are without hope either for this life or for the life to come. The hearts of the parents are broken. Men speak of these erring ones as hopeless, but not so does God regard them. He understands all the circumstances that have made them what they are, and He looks upon them with pity. This is a class that demand help. Never give them occasion to say, "No man cares for my soul."                                                                              249   {WM 248.2}
[WM 249.1]         Among the victims of intemperance are men of all classes and all professions. Men of high station, of eminent talents, of great attainments, have yielded to the indulgence of appetite, until they are helpless to resist temptation. Some of them who were once in the possession of wealth are without home, without friends, in suffering, misery, disease, and degradation. They have lost their self-control. Unless a helping hand is held out to them they will sink lower and lower.--Ministry of Healing, pp. 171, 172.  {WM 249.1}
[WM 249.2]          A Battle Fought Again and Again.--No random, haphazard, desultory work is to be done. To get fast hold of souls ready to perish means more than praying for a drunkard and then, because he weeps and confesses the pollution of his soul, declaring him saved. Over and over again the battle must be fought.-- Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 196.  {WM 249.2}
[WM 249.3]          You must hold fast to those whom you are trying to help, else victory will never be yours. They will be continually tempted to evil. Again and again they will be almost overcome by the craving for strong drink; again and again they may fall; but do not, because of this, cease your efforts.--Ministry of Healing, p. 173.  {WM 249.3}
[WM 249.4]          The Work Not in Vain.--When some, their human efforts united with the divine, endeavor to reach to the very depths of human woe and misery, God's blessing will rest richly upon them. Even though but few accept the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, their work will not be in vain; for one soul is precious, very precious, in the sight of God. Christ would have died for one soul in order that that one might live through the eternal ages. . . .  {WM 249.4}
[WM 249.5]          Many souls are being rescued, wrenched from Satan's hand, by faithful workers. Someone must have                                                                              250  a burden of soul to find those who have been lost to Christ. The rescue of one soul over whom Satan has triumphed causes joy among the heavenly angels. There are those who have destroyed in themselves the moral image of God. The gospel net must gather in these poor outcasts. Angels of God will cooperate with those who are engaged in this work, who make every effort to save perishing souls, to give them opportunities which many have never had. There is no other way of reaching them but in Christ's way. He ever worked to relieve suffering and teach righteousness. Only thus can sinners be raised from the depths of degradation.--Testimonies, vol. 8, pp. 72, 73.  {WM 249.5}
[WM 250.1]          To Labor in Love.--The workers must labor in love, feeding, cleansing, and clothing those who need their help. In this way these outcasts are prepared to know that someone cares for their souls. The Lord has shown me that many of these poor outcasts from society will, through the ministration of human agencies, cooperate with divine power and seek to restore the moral image of God in others for whom Christ has paid the price of His own blood. They will be called the elect of God, precious, and will stand next to the throne of God. . . .  {WM 250.1}
[WM 250.2]          The Lord is working to reach the most depraved. Many will know what it means to be drawn to Christ, but will not have moral courage to war against appetite and passion. But the workers must not be discouraged at this; for it is written: "In the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 1 Timothy 4:1. Is it only those rescued from the lowest depths that backslide? There are those in the ministry who have had light and a knowledge of the truth who will not be                                                                              251  overcomers. They do not restrict their appetites and passions or deny themselves for Christ's sake. Many poor outcasts, even publicans and sinners, will grasp the hope set before them in the gospel, and will go into the kingdom of heaven before the ones who have had great opportunities and great light, but who have walked in darkness. . . .My brethren and sisters, take your position on the Lord's side, and be earnest, active, courageous co-workers with Christ, laboring with Him to seek and save the lost.--Ibid., vol. 5, pp. 74, 75.  {WM 250.2}
[WM 251.1]          Not to Follow Salvation Army Methods.--The Lord has marked out our way of working. As a people we are not to imitate and fall in with Salvation Army methods. This is not the work that the Lord has given us to do. Neither is it our work to condemn them and speak harsh words against them. There are precious, self-sacrificing souls in the Salvation Army. We are to treat them kindly. There are in the Army honest souls, who are sincerely serving the Lord, and who will see greater light, advancing to the acceptance of all truth. The Salvation Army workers are trying to save the neglected, downtrodden ones. Discourage them not. Let them do that class of work by their own methods and in their own way. But the Lord has plainly pointed out the work that Seventh-day Adventists are to do.--Ibid., vol. 8, pp. 184, 185.  {WM 251.1}
[WM 251.2]          Helping the Outcasts Find a New Career.--As God's children devote themselves to this work ［restoring the fallen］, many will lay hold of the hand stretched out to save them. They are constrained to turn from their evil ways. Some of the rescued ones may, through faith in Christ, rise to high places of service, and be entrusted with responsibilities in the work of saving souls. They know by experience the                                                                              252  necessities of those for whom they labor, and they know how to help them. They know what means can best be used to recover the perishing. They are filled with gratitude to God for the blessings they have received. Their hearts are quickened by love, and their energies are strengthened to lift up others who can never rise without help. Taking the Bible as their guide and the Holy Spirit as their helper and comforter, they find a new career opening before them. Every one of these souls that is added to the force of workers, provided with facilities and instruction as to how to save souls for Christ, becomes a colaborer with those who brought him the light of truth. Thus God is honored and His truth advanced.--Ibid., vol. 6, p. 260.  {WM 251.2}
[WM 253.1]       Chapter Thirty-Two - Cautions Sounded         Slum Work Not to Be Glamorized.--Precautions must be taken in this last work that mortals shall undertake. There is danger of so working upon the imagery of the mind that persons who are wholly unfitted to engage in the sacred work of God will consider themselves appointed by Heaven to work for the outcast and fallen. If all the experiences, pleasant and unpleasant were depicted, there would not be so many drawn to this class of work. Many enter the work because they love that which is sensational and exciting. But unless they throw all their energies into this grand, soul-saving work, they reveal that they have not the true missionary spirit.--Manuscript 177, 1899.  {WM 253.1}
[WM 253.2]          Danger in Working for Outcasts.--In every effort to keep the soul with all diligence, man needs the keeping power of God. There is danger, constant danger, of contamination in the work among the fallen and degraded. Why, then, do men and women place themselves in contact with this danger who are unprepared to resist temptation, and who have not sufficient strength of character for the work?  {WM 253.2}
[WM 253.3]          Upon the mind of many a young man engaged in the so-called medical missionary work an altogether different effect is produced than the doctor or any of his associates imagine. ［REFERENCE IS HERE MADE TO DR. J. H. KELLOGG, WHO WAS LEADING OUT IN A RAPIDLY EXPANDING WORK FOR THE DEPRAVED AND OUTCAST.--COMPILERS.］ He is not careful to watch the designs of Satan toward him in his new and exposed career, and gradually he separates from the home life and healthful influences. Before every such youth the                                                                              254  danger signal needs to be uplifted. In every place where men and women are working for the degraded someone must bear grave responsibilities, or the workers will become cheap in their attitude, their words, and their principles.  {WM 253.3}
[WM 254.1]         Many will unite in this work, thinking that by so doing they will be helped from their life of sin; and when occasion arises these will think it right to prevaricate, to be dishonest, or to commit any of the sins of which they have been guilty in the past. Beholding this, the workers who are not living in close connection with God will be changed, not from good to a greater good, but from defective to a still more defective character. They will take up with the ways and manners of the open sinner. They will join the evildoers in magnifying every evil report, and in time will lose all love of refinement of speech or manners. Their fear of God and love of righteousness becomes mingled with a kind of religious fever, which is not acceptable in the sight of God.--Manuscript 177, 1899.  {WM 254.1}
[WM 254.2]          More Lost Than Saved.--It is dangerous to set young men and young women at work among the abandoned classes. They are placed where they come in contact with every form of impurity, and Satan uses this opportunity to compass their ruin. Thus far more is lost than these workers save. Many of the efforts made for the abandoned result in the loss of the purity of the workers. Those who are engaged in visiting the houses of prostitution place themselves in terrible temptation. This work is always dangerous. It is a scheme of the devil to lead souls into temptation and lustful practices. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a                                                                              255  Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters."  {WM 254.2}
[WM 255.1]          The farther young men and young women keep away from the corrupted and corrupting elements in this world, the better and safer will be their future experience. Medical missionary workers should be cleansed, refined, purified, and elevated. They should stand upon the platform of eternal truth. But I have been instructed that the truth has not been made to appear in its true bearing. The result that is worked out tends to corrupt minds; the sacred is not distinguished from the common.--Letter 162, 1900.  {WM 255.1}
[WM 255.2]          Guard the Work Sacredly.--Many things have been presented to me. I was shown that there is a work to be done for the most depraved class, but that this matter must be most carefully guarded, so that the labor put forth shall not be in vain. Young men and young women should not be exposed, as many have been, in meeting the abandoned classes. Decided restraints are to be made, for there are positive dangers to be met. There is need of sacredly guarding the work. In the work for the lower class the strongest precautions should be observed. There are many who should not go into the large cities to work for the most depraved.--Manuscript 17, 1901.  {WM 255.2}
[WM 256.1]      Chapter Thirty-Three - The Call for a Balanced Work         Maintain Proper Perspective.--As the work advances, dangers arise that need to be guarded against. As new enterprises are entered upon, there is a tendency to make some one line all absorbing; that which should have the first place becomes a secondary consideration. The church needs fresh power and vitality, but there is great danger of taking on new lines of work that will waste their energies instead of bringing life into the church.--The Daily Bulletin of the General Conference, March 2, 1899.  {WM 256.1}
[WM 256.2]          Work for the Outcasts Not the Burden of Our Work.--Of late ［1899］ a great interest has been aroused for the poor and outcast classes; a great work has been entered upon for the uplifting of the fallen and degraded. This in itself is a good work. We should ever have the Spirit of Christ, and we are to do the same class of work that He did for suffering humanity. The Lord has a work to be done for the outcasts. There is no question but that it is the duty of some to labor among them and try to save the souls that are perishing. This will have its place in connection with the proclamation of the third angel's message and the reception of Bible truth. But there is a danger of loading down everyone with this class of work, because of the intensity with which it is carried on. There is danger of leading men to center their energies in this line, when God has called them to another work.  {WM 256.2}
[WM 256.3]          The great question of our duty to humanity is a serious one, and much of the grace of God is needed in                                                                              257  deciding how to work so as to accomplish the greatest amount of good. Not all are called to begin their work by laboring among the lowest classes. God does not require His workmen to obtain their education and training in order to devote themselves exclusively to these classes. The working of God is manifested in a way which will establish confidence that the work is of His devising, and that sound principles underlie every action. But I have had instruction from God that there is danger of planning for the outcasts in a way which will lead to spasmodic and excitable movements. These will produce no really beneficial results. A class will be encouraged to do a kind of work which will amount to the least in strengthening all parts of the work by harmonious action.  {WM 256.3}
[WM 257.1]          The gospel invitation is to be given to the rich and the poor, the high and the low, and we must devise means for carrying the truth into new places and to all classes of people. The Lord bids us, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled." He says, "Begin in the highways; thoroughly work the highways; prepare a company who in unity with you can go forth to do the very work that Christ did in seeking and saving the lost."  {WM 257.1}
[WM 257.2]          Christ preached the gospel to the poor, but He did not confine His labors to this class. He worked for all who would hear His word--not only the publican and the outcasts, but the rich and cultivated Pharisee, the Jewish nobleman, the centurion, and the Roman ruler. This is the kind of work I have ever seen should be done. We are not to strain every spiritual sinew and nerve to work for the lowest classes, and make that work the all in all. There are others whom we must bring to the Master, souls who need the truth, who are                                                                              258  bearing responsibilities, and who will work with all their sanctified ability for the high places as well as for the low places.  {WM 257.2}
[WM 258.1]          The work for the poorer classes has no limit. It can never be got through with, and it must be treated as a part of the great whole. To give our first attention to this work, while there are vast portions of the Lord's vineyard open to culture and yet untouched, is to begin in the wrong place. As the right arm is to the body, so is the medical missionary work to the third angel's message. But the right arm is not to become the whole body. The work is seeking the outcasts is important, but it is not to become the great burden of our mission.--Manuscript 3, 1899.  {WM 258.1}
[WM 258.2]          Not Called Upon to Erect Homes for Abandoned Women or Babies.--I must speak plainly in regard to some things which must be guarded. We should not enter into the work of maintaining homes for abandoned women or for infants. This responsibility might better be borne by families, who should care for those who need help in these lines.--Letter 11, 1900.  {WM 258.2}
[WM 258.3]          The Lord does not give us direction to erect buildings for the care of babies, although this is a good work, but it is not the work for the present time. Let the world do all it will in this line. Our time and means must be invested in a different line of work. We are to carry the last message of mercy in the very best way to reach those in the churches who are hungering and praying for light.--Letter 232, 1899.  {WM 258.3}
[WM 258.4]         Turn to Fields Ready to Harvest.--This work is being made the all-absorbing work, but this is not in God's order. It is a never-ending work, and if it is carried on as it has been in the past, all the power of                                                                              259  God's people will be required to counterbalance it, and the work of preparing a people to stand amid the perils of the last days will never be done.  {WM 258.4}
[WM 259.1]          Our work is to put on the armor and make aggressive warfare. Laborers are not to be encouraged to work in the slums and filth of the cities, where they will only secure converts who need watching, and that continually. There are fields all ripe for harvest, and all the time and money is not to be devoted to gathering in those who through indulgence of appetite have trained themselves in pollution. Some of these may be saved. And there are those who can labor in the lowest places of the earth without becoming deteriorated in character. But it is not safe to give young men and young women this class of work to do. The experiment would be a dear one. Thus those who could work in the highways would be disqualified for work of any kind. . . .  {WM 259.1}
[WM 259.2]          Men's feelings may become deeply moved as they see human beings suffering as the result of their own course of action. There are those who are specially impressed to come into direct contact with this class, and the Lord gives them a commission to work in the worst places of the earth, doing what they can to redeem outcasts and place them where they will be under the care of the church. But the Lord has not called Seventh-day Adventists to make this work a specialty. He would not have them in this work engross many workers or exhaust the treasury.--Manuscript 16, 1900.  {WM 259.2}
[WM 259.3]          Support From the World Not From Churches.-- Constant work is to be done for the outcasts, but this work is not to be made all-absorbing. . . . No one should now visit our churches and in the present                                                                              260  pressure obtain from them means to sustain the work of rescuing outcasts. The means to sustain that work should come, and will come, largely from those not of our faith. Let the churches take up their appointed work of presenting truth from the oracles of God in the highways.--Letter 138, 1898.  {WM 259.3}
[WM 260.1]          The Lord does not lay upon His people all the burden of laboring for a class so hardened by sin that many of them will neither be benefited themselves nor benefit others. If there are men who can take up the work for the most degraded, if God lays upon them a burden to labor for the masses in various ways, let these go forth and gather from the world the means required for doing this work. Let them not depend on the means which God intends shall sustain the work of the third angel's message.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 246.  {WM 260.1}
[WM 260.2]         Nations Waiting for the Light.--To those who suppose that the Lord has given them the work of caring for the promiscuous mass of outcasts, who have ruined themselves, many of whom will continue to do as they have done in the past, at the same time subsisting on means given them by Seventh-day Adventists, the Lord says, Who gave you this work? There are peoples and nations yet to receive the light of truth for this time. The gospel message is to be exalted and is to become far reaching.  {WM 260.2}
[WM 260.3]          In every place where the message is proclaimed, missionary workers are to go forth with their Bibles in their hands. Souls are to be converted and established in the truth. A meetinghouse is to be built. Light is to shine forth from the believers, who are to be as a city set on a hill. The church is to be in that place a witness to what the truth can do.--Letter 41, 1900.                                                                              262   {WM 260.3}
[WM 262.1]                    Gem Thought          That man might not lose the blessed results of benevolence, our Redeemer formed the plan of enlisting him as His co-worker. By a chain of circumstances which would call forth his charities, He bestows upon man the best means of cultivating benevolence, and keeps him habitually giving to help the poor and to advance His cause. He sends His poor as the representatives of Himself. By their necessities a ruined world are drawing forth from us talents of means and of influence, to present to them the truth, of which they are in perishing need. And as we heed these calls by labor and by acts of benevolence, we are assimilated to the image of Him who for our sakes became poor. In bestowing we bless others, and thus accumulate true riches.--Testimonies, vol. 3, pp. 382, 383.  {WM 262.1}
[WM 263.1]       Chapter Thirty-Four - Our Individual Responsibility         An Individual Work Committed to Christ's Followers.--Christ commits to His followers an individual work--a work that cannot be done by proxy. Ministry to the sick and the poor, the giving of the gospel to the lost, is not to be left to committees or organized charities. Individual responsibility, individual effort, personal sacrifice, is the requirement of the gospel. --Ministry of Healing, p. 147.  {WM 263.1}
[WM 263.2]          Needs Supplied as We impart.--Christ has bidden us, through the prophet, "Deal thy bread to the hungry," and "satisfy the afflicted soul;" "when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him," and "bring the poor that are cast out to thy house." He has bidden us, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." But how often our hearts sink and faith fails us as we see how great is the need and how small the means in our hands. Like Andrew looking upon the five barley loaves and the two little fishes, we                                                                              264  exclaim, "What are they among so many?" Often we hesitate, unwilling to give all that we have, fearing to spend and to be spent for others. But Jesus has bidden us, "Give ye them to eat." His command is a promise, and behind it is the same power that fed the multitude beside the sea.  {WM 263.2}
[WM 264.1]          In Christ's act of supplying the temporal necessities of a hungry multitude, is wrapped up a deep spiritual lesson for all His workers. Christ received from the Father; He imparted to the disciples; they imparted to the multitude; and the people to one another. So all who are united to Christ will receive from Him the bread of life, the heavenly food, and impart it to others. . . .  {WM 264.1}
[WM 264.2]          The disciples were the channel of communication between Christ and the people. This should be a great encouragement to His disciples today. Christ is the great center, the source of all strength. His disciples are to receive their supplies from Him. The most intelligent, the most spiritually-minded, can bestow only as they receive. Of themselves they can supply nothing for the needs of the soul. We can impart only that which we receive from Christ, and we can receive only as we impart to others. As we continue imparting we continue to receive; and the more we impart, the more we shall receive. Thus we may be constantly believing, trusting, receiving, and imparting.  {WM 264.2}
[WM 264.3]         The work of building up the kingdom of Christ will go forward, though to all appearance it moves slowly and impossibilities seem to testify against advance. The work is of God, and He will furnish means and will send helpers, true, earnest disciples, whose hands also will be filled with food for the starving multitude. God is not unmindful of those who labor in love to give the word of life to perishing souls, who                                                                              265  in their turn reach forth their hands for food for other hungry souls.--The Desire of Ages, pp. 369, 370.  {WM 264.3}
[WM 265.1]          Burden Not to Be Shifted to Organizations.--In our work for God there is danger of relying too largely upon what man with his talents and ability can do. Thus we lose sight of the one Master Worker. Too often the worker for Christ fails to realize his personal responsibility. He is in danger of shifting his burden upon organizations, instead of relying upon Him who is the source of all strength. It is a great mistake to trust in human wisdom or numbers in the work of God. Successful work for Christ depends not so much on numbers or talent as upon pureness of purpose, the true simplicity of earnest, dependent faith. Personal responsibilities must be borne, personal duties must be taken up, personal efforts must be made for those who do not know Christ. In the place of shifting your responsibility upon someone whom you think more richly endowed than you are, work according to your ability.--Ibid., p. 370.  {WM 265.1}
[WM 265.2]          God Will Provide the Means.--The means in our possession may not seem to be sufficient for the work; but if we will move forward in  faith, believing in the all-sufficient power of God, abundant resources will open before us. If the work be of God, He Himself will provide the means for its accomplishment. He will reward honest, simple reliance upon Him. The little that is wisely and economically used in the service of the Lord of heaven will increase in the very act of imparting. In the hand of Christ the small supply of food remained undiminished until the famished multitude were satisfied. If we go to the Source of all strength, with our hands of faith outstretched to receive, we shall be sustained in our work, even under                                                                              266  the most forbidding circumstances, and shall be enabled to give to others the bread of life.--Ibid., pp. 369-371.  {WM 265.2}
[WM 266.1]          Risk Something to Save Souls.--There is a fearfulness to venture out and to run risks in this great work, fearing that the expenditure of means would not bring returns. What if means are used, and yet we cannot see that souls have been saved by it? What if there is a dead loss of a portion of our means? Better work and keep at work than to do nothing. You know not which shall prosper, this or that. Men will invest in patent rights and meet with heavy losses, and it is taken as a matter of course. But in the work and cause of God, men are afraid to venture. Money seems to them to be a dead loss that does not bring immediate returns when invested in the work of saving souls. The very means that is now so sparingly invested in the cause of God, and that is selfishly retained, will, in a little while, be cast with all idols to the moles and to the bats. Money will soon depreciate in value very suddenly when the reality of eternal scenes opens to the senses of man.  {WM 266.1}
[WM 266.2]         God will have men who will venture anything and everything to save souls. Those who will not move until they can see every step of the way clearly before them will not be of advantage at this time to forward the truth of God. There must be workers now who will push ahead in the dark as well as in the light, and who will hold up bravely under discouragements and disappointed hopes, and yet work on with faith, with tears and patient hope, sowing beside all waters, trusting the Lord to bring the increase. God calls for men of nerve, of hope, faith, and endurance, to work to the point.--The True Missionary, January, 1874.                                                                              267   {WM 266.2}
[WM 267.1]          Every Dollar Is Needed.--The end of all things is at hand, and God calls for men to come into active service and do their duty because He desires it and the world needs their help. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit men will become discreet in the outlay of means and will expend it according to the greatness and importance of the work which is to be done. . . . The Lord God of heaven calls upon men to put away their idols, to cut off every extravagant desire, to indulge in nothing that is simply for display and parade, and to study economy in purchasing garments and furniture. Do not expend one dollar of God's money in purchasing needless articles. Your money means the salvation of souls. Then let it not be spent for gems, for gold, or precious stones. . . .  {WM 267.1}
[WM 267.2]          You may give thousands of dollars to the cause, and yet that extra dollar, that extra pound, is called for. Every pound is needed, every shilling can be put to use, and invested in such a way as to bring you imperishable treasure. My dear friends, who love God and would serve Him with wholeheartedness, I entreat of you that you ask yourselves when you are spending money in purchasing goods, "Am I glorifying God, or am I simply gratifying a human desire? Shall I invest this money which I hold in my hand to please myself, to make gifts to my children, or to my friends, or shall I be a co-worker with Christ, a pattern to all who are studying to glorify God?" The rule is given us, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."--Letter 90, 1895.  {WM 267.2}
[WM 268.1]       Chapter Thirty-Five - Releasing the Streams of Benevolence         To Be God's Almoners.--God has placed property in the hands of men in order that they may learn to be merciful, to be His almoners to relieve the suffering of His fallen creatures.--Signs of the Times, June 20, 1892.  {WM 268.1}
[WM 268.2]          To Keep Hearts Tender and Sympathetic.--Acts of generosity and benevolence were designed by God to keep the hearts of the children of men tender and sympathetic and to encourage in them an interest and affection for one another in imitation of the Master, who for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich.--Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 547.  {WM 268.2}
[WM 268.3]          Streams of Beneficence to Be Kept Flowing.--The small streams of beneficence must be ever kept flowing into the treasury. God's providence is far ahead, moving onward much faster than our liberalities.-- Manuscript 26, 1891.  {WM 268.3}
[WM 268.4]         A Constant Flow of Gifts.--The money that God has entrusted to men is to be used in blessing humanity, in relieving the necessities of the suffering and the needy. Men are not to feel that they have done a very wonderful thing when they have endowed certain institutions or churches with large gifts. In the wise providence of God there are constantly presented before them the very ones who need their help. They are to relieve the suffering, clothe the naked, and help                                                                              269  many who are in hard and trying circumstances, who are wrestling with all their energies to keep themselves and their families from a pauper's home.-- Review and Herald, Jan. 4, 1898.  {WM 268.4}
[WM 269.1]          We Ask for Others.--When we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," we ask for others as well as ourselves. And we acknowledge that what God gives us is not for ourselves alone. God gives to us in trust, that we may feed the hungry. Of His goodness He has prepared for the poor. And He says, "When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours. . . . But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." --Mount of Blessing, pp. 163, 164.  {WM 269.1}
[WM 269.2]          God's Superscription on Every Dollar.--Whatever may be the sum of our talents, whether one, two, or five, not a farthing of our money is to be squandered upon vanity, pride, or selfishness. Every dollar of our accumulation is stamped with the image and superscription of God. As long as there are hungry ones in God's world to be fed, naked ones to be clothed, souls perishing for the bread and water of salvation, every unnecessary indulgence, every overplus of capital, pleads for the poor and the naked.--Signs of the Times, June 20, 1892.  {WM 269.2}
[WM 269.3]          Streams of Beneficence Dried Up.--The more means persons expend in dress, the less they can have to feed the hungry and clothe the naked; and the streams of beneficence, which should be constantly flowing, are dried up. Every dollar saved by denying one's self of useless ornaments may be given to the                                                                              270  needy or may be placed in the Lord's treasury to sustain the gospel, to send missionaries to foreign countries, to multiply publications to carry rays of light to souls in the darkness of error. Every dollar used unnecessarily deprives the spender of a precious opportunity to do good.--Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 645, 646.  {WM 269.3}
[WM 270.1]          God Calls for Self-Denial.--God calls upon the young to deny themselves of needless ornaments and articles of dress, even if they cost but a few dimes, and place the amount in the charity box. He also calls upon those of mature age to stop when they are examining a gold watch or chain or some expensive article of furniture and ask themselves the question: Would it be right to expend so large an amount for that which we could do without or when a cheaper article would serve our purpose just as well?  By denying yourselves and lifting the cross for Jesus, who for your sakes became poor, you can do much toward relieving the suffering of the poor among us; and by thus imitating the example of your Lord and Master you will receive His approval and blessing.--Ibid., p. 511.  {WM 270.1}
[WM 270.2]          Not a Light Matter to Be the Lord's Steward.-- What if they should see inscribed upon their expensive decorations in their homes, the pictures, and furniture, "Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house"! In the dining room, where the table is laden with abundant food, the finger of God has traced, "Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?"  {WM 270.2}
[WM 270.3]          Let all, old and young, consider that it is not a light matter to be the Lord's steward and to be charged in the books of heaven with using in a selfish manner. The needy, the oppressed, are left in want, while the                                                                              271  Lord's money is selfishly squandered in extravagance and luxury. O that all will remember that God is no respecter of persons! It is a great thing to be a steward, faithful and true, before a just impartial God, who will not excuse in any of His stewards any unfairness or any  robbery toward Him.--Manuscript 11, 1892.  {WM 270.3}
[WM 271.1]          A Wonderful Reformation Promised.--When the grace of Christ is expressed in the words and works of the believers, light will shine forth to those who are in darkness; for while the lips are speaking to the praise of God, the hand will be stretched out in beneficence for the help of the perishing. We read that on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, no man said that aught that he possessed was his own. All they owned was held for the advance of the wonderful reformation. And thousands were converted in a day. When the same spirit actuates believers today, and they give back to God of His own with the same liberality, a wide and far-reaching work will be accomplished.--Manuscript 95, 1907.  {WM 271.1}
[WM 272.1]       Chapter Thirty-Six - Specific Funds for Welfare Work         Christians to Act as God's Treasurers.--The poor are God's heritage. Christ has given His life for them. He calls upon those whom He has appointed to act as His stewards, to give liberally of the means entrusted to them to relieve the poor and to support His work in the earth. The Lord is rich in resources. He has appointed men to act as His treasurers in this world. That which He has given them they are to use in his service.--Manuscript 146, 1903.  {WM 272.1}
[WM 272.2]          A Thank Offering for the Poor.--In every church there should be established a treasury for the poor. Then let each member present a thank offering to God once a week or once a month, as is most convenient. This offering will express our gratitude for the gifts of health, of food, and of comfortable clothing. And according as God has blessed us with these comforts will we lay by for the poor, the suffering, and the distressed. I would call the attention of our brethren specially to this point. Remember the poor. Forgo some of your luxuries, yea, even comforts, and help those who can obtain only the most meager food and clothing. In doing for them you are doing for Jesus in the person of His saints. He identifies Himself with suffering humanity. Do not wait until your imaginary wants are all satisfied. Do not trust to your feelings and give when you feel like it and withhold when you do not feel like it. Give regularly, either ten, twenty, or fifty  cents a week, as you would like to see upon the heavenly  record in the day of God.--Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 150, 151.                                                                              273   {WM 272.2}
[WM 273.1]          A Self-denial Box at Home.--Let everyone have a self-denial box in his home, and when he would spend pennies and shillings in self-gratification let him remember the needy and starving in Africa and India and those close by his own door. There are poor among us. Practice economy, and in every line present your case to God. Ask Him to give you the spirit of Christ, that you may be in every sense of the word Christ's disciples and receive His blessing. As you turn from the worship of self and try to relieve suffering humanity, pray that God will give you a true missionary work to do for souls. Then those who come to worship in the house of God will see a people clothed in modest apparel in harmony with the faith and Word of God. It is these things that steal away the love and trust and confidence of God's people in Him, that mar the religious experience and develop a selfishness that God cannot look upon.--Manuscript 52, 1898.  {WM 273.1}
[WM 273.2]          The Second Tithe.--To promote the assembling of the people for religious service, as well as to provide for the poor, a second tithe of all the increase was required. Concerning the first tithe, the Lord had declared, "I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel," But in regard to the second He commanded, "Thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which He shall choose to place His name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always." This tithe, or its equivalent in money, they were for two years to bring to the place where the sanctuary was established. After presenting a thank offering to God and a specified portion to the priest, the offerers were to use the remainder for a religious feast, in which                                                                              274  the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow should participate. . . .  {WM 273.2}
[WM 274.1]         Every third year, however, this second tithe was to be used at home, in entertaining the Levite and the poor, as Moses said, "That they may eat within thy gates, and be filled." This tithe would provide a fund for the uses of charity and hospitality.--Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 530.  {WM 274.1}
[WM 274.2]          The consecration to God of a tithe of all increase, whether of the orchard and harvest field, the flocks and herds, or the labor of brain or hand; the devotion of a second tithe for the relief of the poor and for other benevolent uses, tended to keep fresh before the people the truth of God's ownership of all and of their opportunity to be channels of His blessings. It was a training adapted to kill out all narrowing selfishness and to cultivate breadth and nobility of character.--Education, p. 44.  {WM 274.2}
[WM 274.3]          Gifts and Offerings for Welfare Work.--Deeds of mercy must be done; the poor and the suffering must be aided. Gifts and offerings should be appropriated for this purpose. Especially in new fields, where the standard of truth has never yet been uplifted, this work must be done.--Special Testimonies, series A, no. 9, p. 68.  {WM 274.3}
[WM 274.4]          Medical missionaries can find a field in which to relieve the distress of those who are failing under bodily ailments. They should have means so that they may clothe the naked and feed the hungry. Christian help work will do more than the preaching of sermons. --Review and Herald, Dec. 24, 1895.  {WM 274.4}
[WM 274.5]          It will be necessary that a fund shall be created so that the workers may have means with which to help those who are in poverty and distress, and this practical                                                                              275  ministry will open their hearts to respond to the truth.--Ibid., Jan. 28, 1896.  {WM 274.5}
[WM 275.1]          Men are appointed to proclaim the truth in new places. These men must have funds for their support. And they must have a fund to draw upon for the help of the poor and needy whom they meet in their work. The benevolence that they show toward the poor gives influence to their efforts to proclaim the truth. Their willingness to help those in need gains for them the gratitude of those they help and the approval of Heaven.--Letter 32, 1903.  {WM 275.1}
[WM 275.2]          Aided From Special Contributions, Not Regular Church Income.--In the sixth chapter of Acts we are shown how when men were to be selected to fill positions in the church, the matter was brought before the Lord, and most earnest prayer was offered for guidance. The widows and fatherless were to be supported by contributions from the church. Their wants were not to be relieved by the church but by special donations. The tithe was to be consecrated to the Lord, and was always to be used for the support of the ministry. Men must be chosen to oversee the work of caring for the poor, to look after the proper distribution of the means in hand, that none among the believers should suffer for the necessaries of life.-- Letter 9, 1899.  {WM 275.2}
[WM 275.3]          None Suffer If God's Plans Are Followed.--There is nothing, after their recognition of the claims of God, that more distinguishes the laws given by Moses than the liberal, tender, and hospitable spirit enjoined toward the poor. Although God had promised greatly to bless His people, it was not His design that poverty should be wholly unknown among them. He                                                                              276  declared that the poor should never cease out of the land. There would ever be those among His people who would call into exercise their sympathy, tenderness, and benevolence. Then, as now, persons were subject to misfortune, sickness, and loss of property; yet so long as they followed the instruction given by God, there were no beggars among them, neither any who suffered for food.--Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 530, 531.  {WM 275.3}
[WM 277.1]       Chapter Thirty-Seven - The Wealth of the Gentiles         Not to Take Means From the Cause.--The tithe is set apart for a special use. It is not to be regarded as a poor fund. It is to be especially devoted to the support of those who are bearing God's message to the world, and it should not be diverted from this purpose.--Review and Herald, Supplement, Dec. 1, 1896.  {WM 277.1}
[WM 277.2]          The cause of God should not be overlooked that the poor may receive our first attention. Christ once gave His disciples a very important lesson on this point. When Mary poured the ointment on the head of Jesus, covetous Judas made a plea in behalf of the poor, murmuring at what he considered a waste of money. But Jesus vindicated the act, saying: "Why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on Me." "Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." By this we are taught that Christ is to be honored in the consecration of the best of our substance. Should our whole attention be directed to relieving the wants of the poor, God's cause would be neglected. Neither will suffer if His stewards do their duty, but the cause of Christ should come first.--Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 550, 551.  {WM 277.2}
[WM 277.3]          God's claim is to take precedence of any other claim and must be discharged first. Then the poor and the needy are to be cared for.--Youth's Instructor, Aug. 26, 1897.  {WM 277.3}
[WM 277.4]          To Receive From Outside Sources.--God will open                                                                              278  the way for us from sources outside our own people. I cannot see how anyone can take exceptions to the receiving of gifts from those not of our faith. They can only do so by taking extreme views and by creating issues which they are not authorized to do.--Special Testimonies to Ministers and Workers, no. 3, p. 43.  {WM 277.4}
[WM 278.1]          God Moves Upon Unbelievers to Help.--You inquire with respect to the propriety of receiving gifts from Gentiles or the heathen. The question is not strange; but I would ask you, Who is that owns our world? Who are the real owners of houses and lands? Is it not God? He has an abundance in our world which He has placed in the hands of men, by which the hungry might be supplied with food, the naked with clothing, the homeless with homes. The Lord would move upon worldly men, even idolaters, to give of their abundance for the support of the work, if we would approach them wisely and give them an opportunity of doing those things which it is their privilege to do. What they would give we should be privileged to receive.  {WM 278.1}
[WM 278.2]          We should become acquainted with men in high places, and by exercising the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of the dove we might obtain advantage from them, for God would move upon their minds to do many things in behalf of His people. If proper persons would set before those who have means and influence, the needs of the work of God in a proper light, these men might do much to advance the cause of God in our world. We have put away from us privileges and advantages that we might have had the benefit of, because we chose to stand independent of the world. But we need not sacrifice one principle                                                                              279  of truth while taking advantage of every opportunity to advance the cause of God.--Ibid., pp. 29, 30.  {WM 278.2}
[WM 279.1]          Call Upon Great and Good Men to Help Us.-- There is a world to be warned, and we have been very delicate about calling upon rich men, either church members or worldlings, to aid us in the work. We would that all professed Christians stood with us. We would that their souls might be drawn out in liberality in aiding us in building up the kingdom of God in our world. We should call upon great and good men to help us in our Christian endeavor work. They should be invited to second our efforts in seeking to save that which is lost.--The Origin and Development of the Thanksgiving Plan, p. 5.  {WM 279.1}
[WM 279.2]          Such Gifts Not to Be Refused.--When we show to the world, to angels, and to men that the prosperity of the cause of God is our first consideration, God will bless us. Sometimes He works through unbelievers, and unexpected relief comes. The Lord puts it into the hearts of men to help. The means coming in this way is not to be refused. When means comes from unbelievers it is to be used by the human agent to honor God. Every spiritually-minded, wholehearted giver will rightly apply every God-entrusted talent.  {WM 279.2}
[WM 279.3]         The Lord does not have to depend upon our means. He will not be restricted by the human agent. His way is always the best way, and any help that may come to advance His cause and work in any of our institutions is to be used as coming from Him. Gifts from unbelievers are not to be refused. The money is the Lord's, and is to be received with gratitude. Let God work and send by whom He will. . . . We believe time is closing. Eternity is at hand. Our supply of                                                                              280  means is limited, and the work to be done is great. It is now that faith must be exercised. Our sufficiency is in God.--Manuscript 47, 1899.  {WM 279.3}
[WM 280.1]          Wealthy Will Provide Facilities.--Let those who labor in the interests of the cause of God lay the necessities of the work in ----- before the wealthy men of the world. Do this judiciously. Tell them what you are trying to do. Solicit donations from them. It is God's means which they have, means which should be used in enlightening the world.  {WM 280.1}
[WM 280.2]          There are stored up in the earth large treasures of gold and silver. Men's riches have accumulated. Go to these men with a heart filled with love for Christ and suffering humanity and ask them to help you in the work you are trying to do for the Master. As they see that you reveal the sentiments of God's benevolence, a chord will be touched in their hearts. They will realized that they can be Christ's helping hand by doing medical missionary work. They will be led to cooperate with God, to provide the facilities necessary to set in operation the work that needs to be done. --Manuscript 40, 1901.  {WM 280.2}
[WM 280.3]          Impressed by the Spirit to Give.--The higher classes have been strangely neglected. In the higher walks of life will be found many who will respond to the truth, because it is consistent, because it bears the stamp of the high character of the gospel. Not a few of the men of ability thus won to the cause will enter energetically into the Lord's work.  {WM 280.3}
[WM 280.4]          The Lord calls upon those who are in positions of trust, those to whom He has entrusted His precious gifts, to use their talents of intellect and means in His service. Our workers should present before these men                                                                              281  a plain statement of our plan of labor, telling them what we need in order to help the poor and needy and to establish this work on a firm basis. Some of these will be impressed by the Holy Spirit to invest the Lord's means in a way that will advance His cause. They will fulfill His purpose by helping to create centers of influence in the large cities.--Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 112.  {WM 280.4}
[WM 281.1]          Money Will Be Given.--The experience of apostolic days will come to us if men will be worked by the Holy Spirit. The Lord will withdraw His blessing where selfish interests are indulged, but He will put His people in possession of good throughout the world if they will unselfishly use their ability for the uplifting of humanity. His work is to be a sign of His benevolence, a sign that will win the confidence of the world and bring in resources for the advancement of the gospel.--Special Testimonies, series B, no. 1, p. 20.  {WM 281.1}
[WM 281.2]          It Is God's Money.--Why not ask the Gentiles for assistance? I have received instruction that there are men and women in the world who have sympathetic hearts, and who will be touched with compassion as the needs of suffering humanity are presented before them. . . .  {WM 281.2}
[WM 281.3]          The matter has been presented to me in this light. Our work is to be aggressive. The money is the Lord's, and if the wealthy are approached in the right way, the Lord will touch their hearts and impress them to give of their means. God's money is in the hands of these men, and some of them will heed the request for help.  {WM 281.3}
[WM 281.4]          Talk this over, and do all in your power to secure gifts. We are not to feel that it would not be the thing to ask men of the world for means, for it is just the                                                                              282  thing to do. This plan was opened before me as a way of coming in touch with wealthy men of the world. Through this means not a few will become interested, and may hear and believe the truth for this time.-- Stewardship Series, no. 1, pp. 15, 16.  {WM 281.4}
[WM 282.1]          How to Make the Approach.--Multitudes who are prosperous in the world and who never stoop to the common forms of vice are yet brought to destruction through the love of riches. . . .  {WM 282.1}
[WM 282.2]          These men are in need of the gospel. They need to have their eyes turned from the vanity of material things to behold the preciousness of the enduring riches. They need to learn the joy of giving, the blessedness of being coworkers with God.  {WM 282.2}
[WM 282.3]          Persons of this class are often the most difficult of access, but Christ will open ways whereby they may be reached. Let the wisest, the most trustful, the most hopeful laborers seek for these souls. With the wisdom and tact born of divine love, with the refinement and courtesy that result alone from the presence of Christ in the soul, let them work for those who, dazzled by the glitter of earthly riches, see not the glory of the heavenly treasure. Let the workers study the Bible with them, pressing sacred truth home to their hearts. Read to them the words of God: "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." "Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I                                                                              283  delight, saith the Lord." "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." 1 Corinthians 1:30; Jeremiah 9:23, 24; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 4:19.  {WM 282.3}
[WM 283.1]          Such an appeal, made in the spirit of Christ, will not be thought impertinent. It will impress the minds of many in the higher classes.  {WM 283.1}
[WM 283.2]          By efforts put forth in wisdom and love, many a rich man may be awakened to a sense of his responsibility and his accountability to God. When it is made plain that the Lord expects them as His representatives to relieve suffering humanity, many will respond and will give of their means and their sympathy for the benefit of the poor. When their minds are thus drawn away from their own selfish interests, many will be led to surrender themselves to Christ. With their talents of influence and means they will gladly unite in the work of beneficence with the humble missionary who was God's agent in their conversion. By a right use of their earthly treasure they will lay up "a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth." They will secure for themselves the treasure that wisdom offers, even "durable riches and righteousness."--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 256-258.  {WM 283.2}
[WM 284.1]       Chapter Thirty-Eight - Food Sales         Church-sponsored Food Sales Not Condemned.-- When the State fair was held in Battle Creek, our people took with them onto the grounds three or four cooking stoves and demonstrated how good meals might be prepared without the use of flesh meat. We were told that we set the best table on the ground. Whenever large gatherings are held, it is your privilege to devise plans whereby you can provide those who attend with wholesome food, and you are to make your efforts educational.--Manuscript 27, 1906.  {WM 284.1}
[WM 284.2]          A Unique Experience in Health Education.--It was on the occasion of the visit of Barnum's great menagerie to this city on the 28th of June ［1877］, that the ladies of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union struck a telling blow for temperance and reform by organizing an immense temperance restaurant to accommodate the crowds of people who gathered in from the country to visit the menagerie, thus preventing them from visiting the saloons and groggeries, where they would be exposed to temptation. The mammoth tent, capable of holding five thousand people used by the Michigan Conference for camp meeting purposes, was tendered for the occasion. Beneath this immense canvas temple were erected fifteen or twenty tables for the accommodation of guests.  {WM 284.2}
[WM 284.3]          By invitation the sanitarium set a large table in the center of the great pavilion, bountifully supplied with delicious fruits, grains, and vegetables. This table formed the chief attraction and was more largely patronized than any other. Although it was more than                                                                              285  thirty feet long, it became so crowded that it was necessary to set another about two thirds as long, which was also thronged.--Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 275.  {WM 284.3}
[WM 285.1]          Planning for a Banquet.--Yesterday I had a two hours' conversation with A and his wife, who are working at the sanitarium here. I think that the interview was a profitable one. They spoke of a plan that they have in mind--to have a banquet at the sanitarium and to invite the prominent residents of St. Helena--lawyers, bankers, and ministers. They hope that thus they can do something to remove the impression that seems to be held by some in St. Helena-- that this institution is a place where only imbeciles and decrepit people are cared for. Brother B, manager of the San Francisco Vegetarian Cafe, will come up to take charge of the preparation of the banquet.  {WM 285.1}
[WM 285.2]          I saw no objection to this plan. When the light of health reform first came to us we used, on holiday occasions, to take cooking stoves to the grounds where the people were assembled, and right there bake unleavened bread--gems and rolls. And I think that good was the result of our efforts, though, of course, we had not the health food preparations that we now have. At that time we were just beginning to learn how to live without using flesh meat.  {WM 285.2}
[WM 285.3]          Sometimes we gave entertainments, and we took great care that all that we prepared for the table was palatable and nicely served. In fruit season we would get blueberries and raspberries fresh from the bushes, and strawberries fresh from the vines. We made the table fare an object lesson which showed those present that our diet, even though it was in accordance with the principles of health reform, was far from being a meager one.                                                                              286   {WM 285.3}
[WM 286.1]          Sometimes a short temperance lecture was given in connection with these entertainments, and thus people became acquainted with our principles of living. As far as we knew, all were pleased and all were enlightened. We always had something to say about the necessity of providing wholesome food and of preparing it simply, and yet making it so palatable and appetizing that those eating it would be satisfied. The world is full of the temptation to indulge appetite, and words of warning, earnest and right to the point, have made wonderful changes in families and in individuals.--Letter 166, 1903.  {WM 286.1}
[WM 286.2]          Peril of Making Financial Gain in Sale of Food the Primary Objective.--Light was also given that in the cities there would be opportunity to do a work similar to that which we did on the Battle Creek fair grounds. In harmony with this light, hygienic restaurants have been established. But there is grave danger that our restaurant workers will become so imbued with the spirit of commercialism that they will fail to impart the light which the people need. Our restaurants bring us in contact with many people, but if we allow our minds to be engrossed with the thought of financial profit, we shall fail to fulfill the purpose of God. He would have us take advantage of every opportunity to present the truth that is to save men and women from eternal death.--Manuscript 27, 1906.  {WM 286.2}
[WM 286.3]          Christ Reached the People at Their Dinners and Feasts.--Christ is our Master. By definite instructions He prepared His followers for their work before leaving them. As soon as He could talk, Christ used the talent of speech, in the family circle and among friends and acquaintances, in a way that was without fault.                                                                              287  Not one impure word escaped His lips. Never did He do a wrong action, for He was the Son of God. Although He possessed a human form, yet He was without a taint of sin.  {WM 286.3}
[WM 287.1]          When invited, as His work commenced, to a dinner or feast by Pharisee or publican He accepted the invitation. He was accused by the religious leaders of eating with publicans, and they cast the imputation upon Him that He was like them. But on such occasions Christ controlled the table talk, and gave many precious lessons. Those present listened to Him; for had He not healed their sick, comforted their sorrowing, taken their children in His arms and blessed them? Publicans and sinners were drawn to Him, and when He opened His lips to speak, their attention was riveted on Him.  {WM 287.1}
[WM 287.2]          Christ taught His disciples how to conduct themselves when in the company of those who were not religious and those who were. He taught them by example that when attending any public gathering, they need not want for something to say. But His conversation differed most decidedly from that which had been listened to at feasts in the past. Every word He uttered was a savor of life unto life to His hearers, and they listened with subdued attention, as though desirous of hearing to a purpose.  {WM 287.2}
[WM 287.3]          The respect shown to Christ at the feasts He attended was in marked contrast to the manner in which the scribes and Pharisees were treated, and this made them anxious. Christ gave lessons adapted to the needs of His hearers. It was when He was at a feast that He gave the parable of the great supper, and showed the way in which the invitation of the king was treated. . . .  {WM 287.3}
[WM 287.4]          The great teacher spoke as one having authority. He instructed His disciples in regard to the duties and                                                                              288  regulations of true social life, which are the same as the laws of the kingdom of God. Christ spoke His words with great clearness and simplicity, and with no uncertain sound. His words were as apples of gold in pictures of silver.--Manuscript 19, 1899.  {WM 287.4}
[WM 288.1]          Opportunities in Large Gatherings.--I was given instruction that as we approach the end there will be large gatherings in our cities, as there has recently been in St. Louis, and that preparations must be made to present the truth at these gatherings. When Christ was upon this earth He took advantage of such opportunities. Wherever a large number of people were gathered for any purpose, His voice was heard, clear and distinct, giving His message. And as a result, after His crucifixion and ascension, thousands were converted in a day. The seed sown by Christ sank deep into hearts, and germinated, and when the disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit, the harvest was gathered in. . . .  {WM 288.1}
[WM 288.2]          At every large gathering some of our ministers should be in attendance. They should work wisely to obtain a hearing and to get the light of the truth before as many as possible. . . .  {WM 288.2}
[WM 288.3]          We should improve every such opportunity as that presented by the St. Louis Fair. At all similar gatherings there should be present men whom God can use. Leaflets containing the light of present truth should be scattered among the people like the leaves of autumn. To many who attend these gatherings these leaflets would be as the leaves of the tree of life, which are for the healing of the nations.--Letter 296, 1904.  {WM 288.3}
[WM 289.1]       Chapter Thirty-Nine - Forbidden Money-Raising Methods         Lust of Appetite and Love of Pleasure the Wrong Money-raising Appeal.--We see the churches of our day encouraging feasting, gluttony, and dissipation, by the suppers, fairs, dances, and festivals gotten up for the purpose of gathering means into the church treasury. Here is a method invented by carnal minds to secure means without sacrificing.  {WM 289.1}
[WM 289.2]          Such an example makes an impression upon the minds of youth. They notice that lotteries and fairs and games are sanctioned by the church, and they think there is something fascinating in this way of obtaining means. . . .  {WM 289.2}
[WM 289.3]          Let us stand clear of all these church corruptions, dissipations, and festivals, which have a demoralizing influence upon young and old. We have no right to throw over them the cloak of sanctity because the means is to be used for church purposes. Such offerings are lame and diseased and bear the curse of God. They are the price of souls. The pulpit may defend festivals, dancing, lotteries, fairs, and luxurious feasts, to obtain means for church purposes, but let us participate in none of these things; for if we do, God's displeasure will be upon us. We do not propose to appeal to the lust of appetite or resort to carnal amusements as an inducement to Christ's professed followers to give of the means which God has entrusted to them. If they do not give willingly, for the love of Christ, the offering will in no case be acceptable to God.--Review and Herald, Nov. 21, 1878.                                                                              290   {WM 289.3}
[WM 290.1]          The Church Is Desecrated.--When money is raised for religious purposes, to what means do many churches resort? To bazaars, suppers, fancy fairs, even to lotteries and like devices. Often the place set apart for God's worship is desecrated by feasting and drinking, buying, selling, and merrymaking. Respect for the house of God and reverence for His worship are lessened in the minds of the youth. The barriers of self-restraint are weakened. Selfishness, appetite, the love of display, are appealed to, and they strengthen as they are indulged.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 91.  {WM 290.1}
[WM 290.2]          How Are Unbelievers Impressed?--And what impression is made upon the minds of unbelievers? The holy standard of the Word of God is lowered into the dust. Contempt is cast upon God and upon the Christian name. The most corrupt principles are strengthened by this un-Scriptural way of raising means. And this is as Satan would have it. Men are repeating the sin of Nadab and Abihu. They are using common instead of sacred fire in the service of God. The Lord accepts no such offerings.  {WM 290.2}
[WM 290.3]          All these methods for bringing money into His treasury are an abomination to Him. It is a spurious devotion that prompts all such devising. O what blindness, what infatuation, is upon many who claim to be Christians! Church members are doing as did the inhabitants of the world in the days of Noah, when the imagination of their hearts was only evil continually. All who fear God will abhor such practices as a misrepresentation of the religion of Jesus Christ. --Review and Herald, Dec. 8, 1896.  {WM 290.3}
[WM 290.4]          Giving for Selfish Considerations.--In professedly Christian gatherings Satan throws a religious garment                                                                                  291  over delusive pleasures and unholy revelings to give them the appearance of sanctity, and the consciences of many are quieted because means are raised to defray church expenses. Men refuse to give for the love of God, but for the love of pleasure and the indulgence of appetite for selfish considerations they will part with their money.  {WM 290.4}
[WM 291.1]          Is it because there is not power in the lessons of Christ upon benevolence, and in His example, and the grace of God upon the heart to lead men to glorify God with their substance, that such a course must be resorted to in order to sustain the church? The injury sustained to the physical, mental, and moral health in these scenes of amusement and gluttony is not small. And the day of final reckoning will show souls lost through the influence of these scenes of gaiety and folly.  {WM 291.1}
[WM 291.2]          It is a deplorable fact that sacred and eternal considerations do not have that power to open the hearts of the professed followers of Christ to make freewill offerings to sustain the gospel, as the tempting bribes of feasting and general merriment. It is a sad reality that these inducements will prevail when sacred and eternal things will have no force to influence the heart to engage in works of benevolence.  {WM 291.2}
[WM 291.3]          The plan of Moses in the wilderness to raise means was highly successful. There was no compulsion necessary. Moses made no grand feast. He did not invite the people to scenes of gaiety, dancing, and general amusement. Neither did he institute lotteries or anything of this profane order to obtain means to erect the tabernacle of God in the wilderness. God commanded Moses to invite the children of Israel to bring the offerings. Moses was to accept gifts of every man that gave willingly from his heart. These freewill offerings                                                                              292  came in so great abundance that Moses proclaimed it was enough. They must cease their presents, for they had given abundantly, more than they could use.  {WM 291.3}
[WM 292.1]          Satan's temptations succeed with the professed followers of Christ on the point of indulgence of pleasure and appetite. Clothed as an angel of light, he will quote Scripture to justify the temptations he places before men to indulge the appetite, and in worldly pleasures which suit the carnal heart. The professed followers of Christ are weak in moral power and are fascinated with the bribe which Satan has presented before them, and he gains the victory.  {WM 292.1}
[WM 292.2]          How does God look upon churches that are sustained by such means? Christ cannot accept these offerings, because they were not given through their love and devotion to Him but through their idolatry of self. But what many would not do for the love of Christ they will do for the love of delicate luxuries to gratify the appetite and for love of worldly amusements to please the carnal heart.--Ibid., Oct. 13, 1874.  {WM 292.2}
[WM 292.3]          Motive for Giving Is Chronicled.--I was shown that the recording angel makes a faithful record of every offering dedicated to God, and put into the treasury, and also of the final result of the means thus bestowed. The eye of God takes cognizance of every farthing devoted to His cause and of the willingness or reluctance of the giver. The motive in giving is also chronicled. Those self-sacrificing, consecrated ones who render back to God the things that are His, as He requires of them, will be rewarded according to their works.--Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 518, 519.                                                                              294   {WM 292.3}
[WM 294.1]                     Gem Thought          People are watching and weighing those who claim to believe the special truths for this time. They are watching to see wherein their life and conduct represent Christ. By humbly and earnestly engaging in the work of doing good to all, God's people will exert an influence that will tell in every town and city where the truth has entered. If all who know the truth will take hold of this work as opportunities are presented, day by day doing little acts of love in the neighborhood where they live, Christ will be manifest to their neighbors. The gospel will be revealed as a living power and not as cunningly devised fables or idle speculations. It will be revealed as a reality, not the result of imagination or enthusiasm. This will be of more consequence than sermons or professions or creeds.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 264.  {WM 294.1}
[WM 295.1]       Chapter Forty - The Influence of Neighborhood Ministry         Let the World See.--Let the world see that we are not selfishly narrowed up to our own exclusive interests and religious joys, but that we are liberal, and desire them to share our blessings and privileges, through the sanctification of the truth. Let them see that the religion which we profess does not close up or freeze over the avenues to the soul, making us unsympathizing and exacting. Let all who profess to have found Christ, minister as He did to the benefit of man, cherishing a spirit of wise benevolence. We shall then see many souls following the light that shines from our precept and example.--Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 59.  {WM 295.1}
[WM 295.2]          Christian Help Work Is More Effectual Than Preaching.--The good works of the children of God are the most effectual preaching the unbeliever has.-- Spiritual Gifts, vol. 2, p. 235.                                                                              296   {WM 295.2}
[WM 296.1]          Let them do Christian help work, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. This will have a far stronger influence for good than the preaching of sermons.--Testimonies, vol. 7, pp. 227, 228.  {WM 296.1}
[WM 296.2]          Our ideas of Christian benevolence must be worked out if we would have them enlarged. Practical work will accomplish far more than sermons.--Ibid., vol. 6, p. 302.  {WM 296.2}
[WM 296.3]          Influence of the Life of Christian Service.--The Christian's life will testify that he is governed by other laws than those which the world obeys--laws of a higher order than those that control the lovers of the world. The will of God, our Creator, is to be made manifest in us, not only in the name we bear, but in our life of self-denial. We are to give evidence that we are influenced and controlled by unselfish principles. All our purposes and pursuits should stand in distinct contrast to the selfishness of the world.  {WM 296.3}
[WM 296.4]          Oneness with Christ enables men to wield an influence far above that of the renowned of this world. While copying the example of Christ, they have, with His grace, power to benefit the church and the community. Their influence is felt just in proportion to the distinctness of the line of demarcation which separates them in spirit and principle from the world.  {WM 296.4}
[WM 296.5]          As union is strength, the Source of all power, of all goodness, mercy, and love, takes finite, human beings into copartnership with Himself for the purpose of imparting His divine power to human agencies, to diffuse His influence and extend it far and near. When one is allied to Christ, a partaker of the divine nature, his interest is identified with that of all suffering humanity. As we look aright to the cross of Calvary, every nerve of heart and brain will thrill in sympathy                                                                              297  for the human misery in all parts of our world. Those who are created anew in Christ Jesus will realize the wretchedness of sin and the divine compassion of Christ in His infinite sacrifice for fallen man. Communion with Christ imparts to them tenderness of heart; there will be sympathy in their looks, in the tones of the voice; and earnestness of solicitude, love, and energy, in their efforts, which will make them powerful through God in winning souls to Christ.-- Medical Missionary, June, 1891.  {WM 296.5}
[WM 297.1]          The Hallowed Influence of Benevolent Acts.--If the world had before them the example that God demands those who believe in Him to set, they would work the works of Christ. If Jesus were set forth, crucified among us, if we viewed the cross of Calvary in the light of God's Word, we would be one with Christ as He was one with the Father. Our faith would be altogether different from the faith now shown. It would be a faith that works by love to God and to our fellow men, and purifies the soul. If this faith were shown by God's people, many more would believe on Christ. A hallowed influence would be exerted by the benevolent actions of God's servants, and they would shine as lights in the world.--Special Testimonies, series A, no. 10, p. 2.  {WM 297.1}
[WM 297.2]          Mightier Than the Sword or Courts of Justice.-- The love of God in the heart, manifested in true, unselfish missionary labor, will be more mighty than the sword or courts of justice in dealing with the evildoer. The living missionary, with his heart overflowing with the love of God, can break down the barriers. The medical missionary, taking up his appointed work, cannot only relieve bodily maladies, but through the love and grace of Christ can heal the diseased soul,                                                                              298  leprous with sin. The hearts of men will often harden under rebuke, but they cannot withstand the love expressed toward them in Christ.--Manuscript 60, 1897.  {WM 297.2}
[WM 298.1]          Loving Ministry Will Allay Prejudice.--The glory of heaven is in lifting up the fallen, comforting the distressed. And wherever Christ abides in human hearts He will be revealed in the same way. Wherever it acts the religion of Christ will bless. Wherever it works there is brightness. . . .  {WM 298.1}
[WM 298.2]          Whatever the difference in religious belief, a call from suffering humanity must be heard and answered. Where bitterness of feeling exists because of difference in religion, much good may be done by personal service. Loving ministry will break down prejudice and win souls to God.--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 386.  {WM 298.2}
[WM 298.3]          We Must Disarm Prejudice.--The followers of Christ, as they approach the time of trouble, ［should］ make every exertion to place themselves in a proper light before the people, to disarm prejudice.--The Great Controversy, p. 616.  {WM 298.3}
[WM 298.4]          As a means of overcoming prejudice and gaining access to minds medical missionary work must be done. . . . We are to work as gospel medical missionaries to heal the sin-sick souls by giving them the message of salvation. This work will break down prejudice as nothing else can.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 211.  {WM 298.4}
[WM 298.5]          The Witness of the Virtuous, Unselfish Life.-- The good works of God's people have a more powerful influence than words. By their virtuous life and unselfish acts the beholder is led to desire the same righteousness which produced so good fruit.--Review and Herald, May 5, 1885.                                                                              299   {WM 298.5}
[WM 299.1]          Deeds Greater Than Creeds.--Divine truth exerts little influence upon the world, when it should exert much influence through our practice. The mere profession of religion abounds, but it has little weight. We may claim to be followers of Christ, we may claim to believe every truth in the Word of God; but this will do our neighbor no good unless our belief is carried into our daily life. Our profession may be as high as heaven, but it will save neither ourselves nor our fellow men unless we are Christians. A right example will do more to benefit the world than all our profession. --Christ's Object Lessons, p. 383.  {WM 299.1}
[WM 299.2]          Influences Emanating From a Loving Home.-- Those who cultivate love in the home life will form characters after Christ's likeness, and they will be constrained to exert a helpful influence beyond the family circle, in order that they may bless others by kind, thoughtful ministrations, by pleasant words, by Christlike sympathy, by acts of benevolence. They will be quick to discern those who have hungry hearts, and will make a feast for those who are needy and afflicted. Those who have heavenly discernment, who exercise tender regard for every member of the family, will, in doing their whole duty, fit themselves to do a work that will brighten other homes and will teach others by precept and example what it is that will make home happy.--Review and Herald, Oct. 15, 1895.  {WM 299.2}
[WM 299.3]          Examples of Influence.--By their wisdom and justice, by the purity and benevolence of their daily life, by their devotion to the interests of the people-- and they, idolaters--Joseph and Daniel proved themselves true to the principles of their early training, true to Him whose representatives they were. These men, both in Egypt and in Babylon, the whole nation                                                                              300  honored; and in them a heathen people, and all the nations with which they were connected, beheld an illustration of the goodness and beneficence of God, an illustration of the love of Christ.  {WM 299.3}
[WM 300.1]          What a lifework was that of these noble Hebrews! As they bade farewell to their childhood's home, how little did they dream of their high destiny! Faithful and steadfast, they yielded themselves to the divine guiding, so that through them God could fulfill His purpose.  {WM 300.1}
[WM 300.2]          The same mighty truths that were revealed through these men, God desires to reveal through the youth and the children of today. The history of Joseph and Daniel is an illustration of what He will do for those who yield themselves to Him and with the whole heart seek to accomplish His purpose.  {WM 300.2}
[WM 300.3]          The greatest want of the world is the want of men --men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.--Education, pp. 56, 57.  {WM 300.3}
[WM 301.1]      Chapter Forty-One - Reflex Blessings         The Law of Action and Reaction.--Divine wisdom has appointed in the plan of salvation the law of action and reaction, making the work of beneficence, in all its branches, twice blessed. He that gives to the needy blesses others, and is blessed himself in a still greater degree. God could have reached His object in saving sinners without the aid of man, but He knew that man could not be happy without acting a part in the great work in which he would be cultivating self-denial and benevolence. That man might not lose the blessed results of benevolence, our Redeemer formed the plan of enlisting him as His co-worker.-- Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 382.  {WM 301.1}
[WM 301.2]          It is as we give ourselves to God for the service of humanity that He gives Himself to us. No one can give place in his own heart and life for the stream of God's blessings to flow to others without receiving in himself a rich reward.--Mount of Blessing, pp. 81, 82.  {WM 301.2}
[WM 301.3]         Helping Others Will Develop Character.--It is in doing the works of Christ, ministering as He did to the suffering and afflicted, that we are to develop Christian character. It is for our good that God has called us to practice self-denial for Christ's sake, to bear the cross, to labor and sacrifice in seeking to save that which is lost. This is the Lord's process of refining, purging away the baser material, that the precious traits of character which were in Christ Jesus, may appear in the believer. . . . Through the grace of Christ our efforts to bless others are not only the means of our growth in grace, but they will enhance our future                                                                              302  eternal happiness. To those who have been co-workers with Christ it will be said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee ruler over many things."-- Review and Herald, June 27, 1893.  {WM 301.3}
[WM 302.1]          The spirit of unselfish labor for others gives depth, stability, and Christlike loveliness to the character and brings peace and happiness to its possessor.-- Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 607.  {WM 302.1}
[WM 302.2]          The Source of True Happiness.--In doing for others a sweet satisfaction will be experienced, an inward peace which will be a sufficient reward. When actuated by a high and noble desire to do others good, they will find true happiness in a faithful discharge of life's manifold duties.--Ibid., vol. 2, p. 132.  {WM 302.2}
[WM 302.3]          Real happiness is found only in being good and doing good.--Youth's Instructor, Dec. 5, 1901.  {WM 302.3}
[WM 302.4]          Our happiness will be proportionate to our unselfish works, prompted by divine love, for in the plan of salvation God has appointed the law of action and reaction.--Signs of the Times, Nov. 25, 1886.  {WM 302.4}
[WM 302.5]          Welfare Work Induces Health.--Those who give practical demonstrations of their benevolence by their sympathy and compassionate acts toward the poor, and suffering, and the unfortunate, not only relieve the sufferers, but contribute largely to their own happiness, and are in the way of securing health of soul and body. Isaiah has . . . plainly described the work that God will accept and bless His people in doing.--Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 60.  {WM 302.5}
[WM 302.6]          I call your attention to the sure results of heeding the Lord's admonition to care for the afflicted: "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily." Is not this what                                                                              303  we all crave? Oh, there is health and peace in doing the will of our Heavenly Father. "Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shalt be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."--Medical Missionary, June, 1891.  {WM 302.6}
[WM 303.1]          How Welfare Work Induces Health.--The pleasure of doing good to others imparts a glow to the feelings which flashes through the nerves, quickens the circulation of the blood, and induces mental and physical health.--Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 56.  {WM 303.1}
[WM 303.2]          The sympathy which exists between the mind and the body is very great. When one is affected the other responds. The condition of the mind has much to do with the health of the physical system. If the mind is free and happy, under a consciousness of rightdoing and a sense of satisfaction in causing happiness to others, it will create a cheerfulness that will react upon the whole system, causing a freer circulation of the blood and a toning up of the entire body. The blessing of God is a healer, and those who are abundant in benefiting others will realize that wondrous blessing in their hearts and lives.--Ibid., p. 60.  {WM 303.2}
[WM 303.3]          A Remedy for Disease.--Some plead their poor health--they would love to do if they had strength.                                                                              304  Such have so long shut themselves up to themselves and thought so much of their own poor feelings and talked so much of their sufferings, trials, and afflictions that it is their present truth. They can think of no one but self, however much others may be in need of sympathy and assistance. You who are suffering with poor health, there is a remedy for you. If thou clothe the naked, and bring the poor that are cast out to thy house, and deal thy bread to the hungry, "then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily." Doing good is an excellent remedy for disease. Those who engage in the work are invited to call upon God, and He has pledged Himself to answer them. Their soul shall be satisfied in drought, and they shall be like a watered garden, whose waters fail not.--Ibid., vol. 2, p. 29.  {WM 303.3}
[WM 304.1]          This is the recipe that Christ has prescribed for the fainthearted, doubting, trembling soul. Let the sorrowful ones, who walk mournfully before the Lord, arise and help someone who needs help.--Ibid., vol. 6, p. 266.  {WM 304.1}
[WM 304.2]          Sympathy Productive of Much Good.--When human sympathy is blended with love and benevolence and sanctified by the Spirit of Jesus, it is an element which can be productive of great good. Those who cultivate benevolence are not only doing a good work for others and blessing those who receive the good action, but they are benefiting themselves by opening their hearts to the benign influence of true benevolence. Every ray of light shed upon others will be reflected upon our own hearts. Every kind and sympathizing word spoken to the sorrowful, every act to relieve the oppressed, and every gift to supply the necessities of our fellow beings, given or done with an                                                                              305  eye to God's glory, will result in blessings to the giver. Those who are thus working are obeying a law of heaven and will receive the approval of God. . . .  {WM 304.2}
[WM 305.1]          Jesus knew the influence of benevolence upon the heart and life of the benefactor, and He sought to impress upon the minds of His disciples the benefits to be derived from the exercise of this virtue. He says: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." He illustrates the spirit of cheerful benevolence, which should be exercised toward friends, neighbors, and strangers, by the parable of the man who journeyed from Jerusalem to Jericho.--Ibid., vol. 4, pp. 56, 57.  {WM 305.1}
[WM 305.2]          In Saving His Neighbor He Saved Himself.--A working church is a growing church. The members find a stimulus and a tonic in helping others. I have read of a man who, journeying on a winter's day through deep drifts of snow, became benumbed by the cold, which was almost imperceptibly freezing his vital powers. He was nearly chilled to death and was about to give up the struggle for life, when he heard the moans of a fellow traveler who was also perishing with cold. His sympathy was aroused, and he determined to rescue him. He chafed the ice-cold limbs of the unfortunate man, and after considerable effort raised him to his feet. As the sufferer could not stand, he bore him in sympathizing arms through the very drifts he had thought he could never get through alone.  {WM 305.2}
[WM 305.3]          When he had carried his fellow traveler to a place of safety, the truth flashed home to him that in saving his neighbor he had also saved himself. His earnest efforts to help another had quickened the blood that was freezing in his own veins and sent a healthy warmth to the extremities of his body.  {WM 305.3}
[WM 305.4]          The lesson that in helping others we ourselves                                                                              306  receive help, must be urged upon young believers continually, by precept and example, that in their Christian experience they may gain the best results. Let the desponding ones, those disposed to think that the way to eternal life is trying and difficult, go to work to help others. Such efforts, united with prayer for divine light, will cause their own hearts to throb with the quickening influence of the grace of God, their own affections to glow with more divine fervor. Their whole Christian life will be more of a reality, more earnest, more prayerful.--Gospel Workers, pp. 198, 199.  {WM 305.4}
[WM 306.1]          The Church Is Blessed.--Let church members during the week act their part faithfully, and on the Sabbath tell their experiences. The meeting will then be as meat in due season, bringing to all present new life and fresh vigor. When God's people see the great need of working as Christ worked for the conversion of sinners, the testimonies borne by them in the Sabbath services will be filled with power. With joy they will bear witness to the preciousness of the experience they have gained in working for others.--Ibid., p. 199.  {WM 306.1}
[WM 306.2]          Our Own Graces Exercised.--Had there been nothing in the world to work at cross purposes with us, patience, forbearance, gentleness, meekness, and longsuffering would not have been called into action. The more these graces are exercised, the more will they be increased and strengthened. The more we deal our temporal bread to the hungry, the oftener we clothe the naked, visit the sick, and relieve the fatherless and the widow in their affliction, the more decidedly shall we realize the blessing of God.--Manuscript 64, 1894.  {WM 306.2}
[WM 306.3]          Why Blessings Are Withheld.--The blessing of God cannot come upon those who are idlers in His                                                                              307  vineyard. Professed Christians who do nothing neutralize the efforts of real workers by their influence and example. They make the grand and important truths they profess to believe, appear inconsistent, and cause them to have no effect. They misrepresent the character of Christ. How can God let the showers of His grace come upon the churches that are largely composed of this kind of members? They are of no manner of use in the work of God. How can the Master say to such, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord," when they have been neither good nor faithful? God cannot speak a falsehood. The power of the grace of God cannot be given in large measure to the churches. It would dishonor His own glorious character to let streams of grace come upon the people who will not wear the yoke of Christ, who will not bear His burdens, who will not deny self, who will not lift the cross of Christ. Because of their slothfulness they are a hindrance to those who would move out in the work if they did not block up the way.--Review and Herald, July 21, 1896.  {WM 306.3}
[WM 307.1]          Become a Living Stream of Good Deeds.--If God and Christ and angels rejoice when even one sinner repents and becomes obedient to Christ, should not man be imbued with the same spirit, and work for time and for eternity with persevering effort to save, not only his own soul, but the souls of others? If you work in this direction with wholehearted interest as the followers of Christ, discharging every duty, improving every opportunity, your own souls will be gradually settling into the mold of a perfect Christian. The heart will not be sere and unfeeling. The spiritual life will not be dwarfed. The heart will glow with the                                                                              308  impress of the divine image, for it will be in close sympathy with God. The whole life will flow out with cheerful readiness in channels of love and sympathy for humanity. Self will be forgotten, and the ways of this class will be established in God. In watering others their own souls will be watered. The stream flowing through their souls is from a living spring and is flowing out to others in good deeds, in earnest, unselfish effort for their salvation. In order to be a fruitful tree, the soul must derive its support and nourishment from the Fountain of Life and must be in harmony with the Creator.--Ibid., Jan. 2, 1879.  {WM 307.1}
[WM 308.1]          The Reason for Barrenness.--None of our churches need be barren and unfruitful. But some of our brethren and sisters are in danger of starving to death spiritually even when they are constantly hearing the truth presented by our ministers, for they neglect to impart that which they receive. God requires every one of His stewards to use the talent entrusted to him. He bestows rich gifts upon us in order that we may bestow them freely upon others. He keeps the heart flooded with the light of His presence, in order that we may reveal Christ to our fellow men. How can those who fold their hands in ease, content to do nothing, expect God to continue to supply their necessities? The members of all our churches should labor as those who must give an account.--Ibid., Nov. 11, 1902.  {WM 308.1}
[WM 308.2]          Our Destiny Involved.--It is the work that we do or do not do that tells with tremendous power upon our lives and destinies. God requires us to improve every opportunity for usefulness that is offered us. Neglect to do this is perilous to our spiritual growth.-- Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 540.                                                                              309   {WM 308.2}
[WM 309.1]          He Who Lives to Please Himself Is Not a Christian.--"Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thine house? When thou seest the naked that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?" How much of this hiding has been done! How many have closed the eyes and locked the door of the heart, lest a softening influence should prompt them to works of kindness and charity! The work of Christ never ceases. His tender love and goodness are inexhaustible; His mercy is over all the children of men. The Lord Jesus means that you shall be blessed in imparting to His needy, suffering ones. He has made men His copartners. "We are labourers together with God." Has not Christ, by both precept and example, plainly taught us what we should do? We are to work, imbued with His Spirit, as we look to the cross, ready if He bids us, to leave all for His sake. He who lives to please himself is not a Christian. He has not been created anew in Christ Jesus.  {WM 309.1}
[WM 309.2]          The Christian feels that no other being in the universe has the claim to him which Jesus has. He is a purchased possession, bought by the costly price of the blood of the Lamb. He is to devote himself unreservedly to Christ; his thoughts, his words, and all his works are to be subject to the will of Christ.-- Medical Missionary, June, 1891.  {WM 309.2}
[WM 309.3]          Contentment Here and Eternal Reward Hereafter. --In order to be happy, we must strive to attain to that character which Christ exhibited. One marked peculiarity of Christ was His self-denial and benevolence. He came not to seek His own. He went about doing good, and this was His meat and drink. We may, by following the example of the Saviour, be in holy                                                                              310  communion with Him; and by daily seeking to imitate His character and follow His example we shall be a blessing to the world and shall secure for ourselves contentment here and an eternal reward hereafter.-- Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 227.  {WM 309.3}
[WM 311.1]       Chapter Forty-two - The Present and Eternal Rewards         Service Brings Reward.--While the great final reward is given at Christ's coming, truehearted service for God brings a reward even in this life.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 305, 306.  {WM 311.1}
[WM 311.2]          Brought Closer to Jesus.--When you succor the poor, sympathize with the afflicted and oppressed, and befriend the orphan, you bring yourselves into a closer relationship to Jesus.--Ibid., vol. 2, p. 25.  {WM 311.2}
[WM 311.3]          A Richer Experience Promised.--To practice the principles of love which Christ taught by precept and example will make the experience of everyone who follows him like the experience of Christ.--Review and Herald, Jan. 15, 1895.  {WM 311.3}
[WM 311.4]          As you open your door to Christ's needy and suffering ones, you are welcoming unseen angels. You invite the companionship of heavenly beings. They bring a sacred atmosphere of joy and peace. They come with praises upon their lips, and an answering strain is heard in heaven. Every deed of mercy makes music there.--The Desire of Ages, p. 639.  {WM 311.4}
[WM 311.5]          Will Thrill With Satisfaction.--There is earnest work for every pair of hands to do. Let every stroke tell for the uplifting of humanity. There are so many that need to be helped. The heart of him who lives, not to please himself, but to be a blessing to those who have so few blessings, will thrill with satisfaction. Let every idler awake and face the realities of life. Take the Word of God and search its pages. If you are doers of                                                                              312  this Word, life will indeed be to you a living reality, and you will find that the reward is abundant.--Manuscript 46, 1898.  {WM 311.5}
[WM 312.1]          Perplexing Problems Will Be Solved.--If you will seek the Lord and be converted every day, if you will of your own spiritual choice be free and joyous in God, if with gladsome consent of heart to His gracious call, you come wearing the yoke of Christ--the yoke of obedience and service--all your murmurings will be stilled, all your difficulties will be removed, all the perplexing problems that now confront you will be solved.--Mount of Blessing, p. 101.  {WM 312.1}
[WM 312.2]         Often Repaid in the Coin of the Realm.--The golden rule teaches, by implication, the same truth which is taught elsewhere in the sermon on the mount, that "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." That which we do to others, whether it be good or evil, will surely react upon ourselves, in blessing or in cursing. Whatever we give we shall receive again. The earthly blessings which we impart to others may be, and often are, repaid in kind. What we give does, in time of need, often come back to us in fourfold measure in the coin of the realm. But, besides this, all gifts are repaid, even in this life, in the fuller inflowing of His love, which is the sum of all heaven's glory and its treasure.--Ibid., p. 194.  {WM 312.2}
[WM 312.3]          God Will Repay.--In heaven a book is written for those who interest themselves in the needs of their fellow beings, a book whose record will be revealed in that day when every man will be judged according to the deeds written therein. God will repay every act of injustice done to the poor. Those who manifest indifference or disregard for the unfortunate must not                                                                              313  expect to receive the blessing of Him who declared, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me."--Letter 140, 1908.  {WM 312.3}
[WM 313.1]          All Good Deeds Recorded.--God has not been unmindful of the good deeds, the self-denying acts, of the church in the past. All are registered on high.-- Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 611.  {WM 313.1}
[WM 313.2]          Every faithful, unselfish performance of duty is noticed by the angels and shines in the life record.-- Ibid., vol. 2, p. 132.  {WM 313.2}
[WM 313.3]          Angels are commissioned to be our helpers. They are passing between earth and heaven, bearing upward the record of the doings of the children of men.-- Southern Watchman, April 2, 1903.  {WM 313.3}
[WM 313.4]          In Heaven's Imperishable Record.--Every act of love, every word of kindness, every prayer in behalf of the suffering and oppressed, is reported before the eternal throne and placed on heaven's imperishable record.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 133.  {WM 313.4}
[WM 313.5]          It were well . . . to remember the record kept on high--that book in which there are no omissions, no mistakes, and out of which they will be judged. There every neglected opportunity to do service for God is recorded; and there, too, every deed of faith and love is held in everlasting remembrance.--Prophets and Kings, p. 639.  {WM 313.5}
[WM 313.6]          Reward for Welfare Work.--Those who will receive the most abundant reward will be those who have mingled with their activity and zeal, gracious, tender pity for the poor, the orphan, the oppressed, and the afflicted. . . . There are about us those who have a meek and lowly spirit, the Spirit of Christ, who do many little things to help those around them, and                                                                              314  who think nothing of it; they will be astonished at last to find that Christ has noticed the kind word spoken to the disheartened, and taken account of the smallest gift given for the relief of the poor, that cost the giver some self-denial.--Review and Herald, July 3, 1894.  {WM 313.6}
[WM 314.1]          God Takes Note of Works of Kindness.--Every act of justice, mercy, and benevolence makes melody in heaven. The Father from His throne beholds those who do these acts of mercy and numbers them with His most precious treasures. "And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels." Every merciful act to the needy, the suffering, is regarded as though done to Jesus.--Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 25.  {WM 314.1}
[WM 314.2]          Rewarded for Little Things Generally Overlooked. --At the day of judgment those who have been faithful in their everyday life, who have been quick to see their work and do it, not thinking of praise or profit, will hear the words, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Christ does not commend them for the eloquent orations they have made, the intellectual power they have displayed, or the liberal donations they have given. It is for doing little things that are generally overlooked that they are rewarded. --Youth's Instructor, Jan. 17, 1901.  {WM 314.2}
[WM 314.3]          When the cases of all come in review before God, the question, What did they profess? will not be asked, but, What have they done? Have they been doers of the word? Have they lived for themselves, or have they been exercised in works of benevolence, in deeds of kindness and love, preferring others before themselves, and denying themselves that they might bless others? If the record shows that this has been their life, that                                                                              315  their characters have been marked with tenderness, self-denial, and benevolence, they will receive the blessed assurance and benediction from Christ, "Well done." "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."--Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 525.  {WM 314.3}
[WM 315.1]          Right Motivation Essential.--It is the motive that gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy or with high moral worth. Not the great things which every eye sees and every tongue praises does God account most precious. The little duties cheerfully done, the little gifts which make no show, and which to human eyes may appear worthless, often stand highest in His sight. A heart of faith and love is dearer to God than the most costly gift.--The Desire of Ages, p. 615.  {WM 315.1}
[WM 315.2]          To Be Judged by Our Motives.--Daily review of our acts, to see whether conscience approves or condemns, is necessary for all who wish to reach perfection of Christian character. Many acts which pass for good works, even deeds of benevolence, will, when closely investigated, be found to be prompted by wrong motives.  {WM 315.2}
[WM 315.3]          Many receive applause for virtues which they do not possess. The Searcher of hearts weighs the motives, and often deeds highly applauded by men are recorded by Him as springing from selfishness and base hypocrisy. Every act of our lives, whether excellent and praiseworthy or deserving of censure, is judged by the Searcher of hearts according to the motives which prompted it.--Gospel Workers, p. 275.  {WM 315.3}
[WM 315.4]          The Two Oars--Faith and Works.--If we are faithful in doing our part, in cooperating with Him,                                                                              316  God will work through us ［to do］ the good pleasure of His will. But He cannot work through us if we make no effort. If we gain eternal life, we must work, and work earnestly. . . . Let us not be deceived by the oft-repeated assertion, "All you have to do is to believe." Faith and works are two oars which we must use equally if we ［would］ press our way up the stream against the current of unbelief. "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." The Christian is a man of thought and practice. His faith fixes its roots firmly in Christ. By faith and good works he keeps his spirituality strong and healthy, and his spiritual strength increases as he strives to work the works of God.--Review and Herald, June 11, 1901.  {WM 315.4}
[WM 316.1]          Our Crowns May Be Bright or Dim.--Although we have no merit in ourselves, in the great goodness and love of God we are rewarded as if the merit were our own. When we have done all the good we can possibly do, we are still unprofitable servants. We have done only what was our duty. What we have accomplished has been wrought solely through the grace of Christ, and no reward is due to us from God on the ground of our merit. But through the merit of our Saviour every promise that God has made will be fulfilled, and every man will be rewarded according to his deeds.  {WM 316.1}
[WM 316.2]          The precious rewards of the future will be proportioned to the work of faith and labor of love in the present life. "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." We should be most grateful that now in probationary time through the infinite mercy of God we are permitted to sow the seed for our future harvest. We should carefully consider what                                                                              317  the harvest will be. Whether the crown of our eternal rejoicing shall be bright or dim depends upon our own course of action. We may make our calling and election sure, and may come into possession of the rich inheritance, or we may defraud ourselves of the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.--Ibid., June 27, 1893.  {WM 316.2}
[WM 317.1]          To Meet Those Saved by Our Efforts.--When the redeemed stand before God precious souls will respond to their names who are there because of the faithful, patient efforts put forth in their behalf, the entreaties and earnest persuasions to flee to the Stronghold. Thus those who in this world have been laborers together with God will receive their reward.--Testimonies, vol. 8, pp. 196, 197.  {WM 317.1}
[WM 317.2]          The redeemed will meet and recognize those whose attention they have directed to the uplifted Saviour. What blessed converse they have with these souls! "I was a sinner," it will be said, "without God and without hope in the world, and you came to me, and drew my attention to the precious Saviour as my only hope." . . .  {WM 317.2}
[WM 317.3]          Others will express their gratitude to those who fed the hungry and clothed the naked. "When despair bound my soul in unbelief, the Lord sent you to me," they say, "to speak words of hope and comfort. You brought me food for my physical necessities, and you opened to me the Word of God, awakening me to my spiritual needs. You treated me as a brother. You sympathized with me in my sorrows and restored my bruised and wounded soul so that I could grasp the hand of Christ that was reached out to save me. In my ignorance you taught me patiently that I had a Father in heaven who cared for me."--Ibid., vol. 6, p. 311.                                                                              318   {WM 317.3}
[WM 318.1]          "Come, Ye Blessed of My Father."--When the nations are gathered before Him there will be but two classes, and their eternal destiny will be determined by what they have done or have neglected to do for Him in the person of the poor and the suffering. In that day Christ does not present before men the great work He has done for them in giving His life for their redemption. He presents the faithful work they have done for Him.  {WM 318.1}
[WM 318.2]          To those whom He sets upon His right hand He will say, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me." But those whom Christ commends know not that they have been ministering unto Him. To their perplexed inquiries He answers, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." . . .  {WM 318.2}
[WM 318.3]          Those whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known little of theology, but they have cherished His principles. Through the influence of the divine Spirit they have been a blessing to those about them. Even among the heathen are those who have cherished the spirit of kindness; before the words of life had fallen upon their ears, they have befriended the missionaries, even ministering to them at the peril of their own lives. Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law                                                                              319  required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God.  {WM 318.3}
[WM 319.1]          How surprised and gladdened will be the lowly among the nations, and among the heathen, to hear from the lips of the Saviour, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." How glad will be the heart of Infinite Love as His followers look up with surprise and joy at His words of approval.--The Desire of Ages, pp. 637, 638.                                                                              321   {WM 319.1}
[WM 321.1]       Appendix                                     APPENDIX                          PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF ELLEN G.                              WHITE AS A WELFARE WORKER            ［WHILE ALL THROUGH HER LIFE MRS. WHITE WAS MINDFUL OF THE NEEDS OF THOSE ABOUT HER, THERE WERE TIMES WHEN THESE NEEDS PRESSED ESPECIALLY HARD. NO ATTEMPT IS MADE IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES TO GIVE AN EXHAUSTIVE ACCOUNT, BUT RATHER TO PRESENT SOME TYPICAL EXPERIENCES CONCERNING WHICH SHE HAPPENED TO MAKE A RECORD IN HER DIARY OR IN HER LETTERS. THESE EXCERPTS PRESENT THE WIDE FIELD OF HER WELFARE MINISTRY, WITH LARGER EMPHASIS ON TWO PERIODS IN HER LIFE EXPERIENCE, ONE RATHER EARLY AND THE OTHER LATER IN HER LIFE.  {WM 321.1}
[WM 321.2]         IN THE "JOTTINGS" FROM THE DIARY OF 1859 WE SEE MRS. WHITE AS A THIRTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD MOTHER OF THREE LIVELY BOYS, CARRYING THE HOUSEHOLD BURDENS, WRITING, TRAVELING, AND PREACHING, AND AT THE SAME TIME ASSISTING THOSE AROUND HER WHO WERE SUFFERING OR IN NEED. THROUGH THE NINETIES WE OBSERVE HER IN AUSTRALIA DURING A PERIOD OF SEVERE AND PROLONGED DEPRESSION, WITH HEART-BREAKING NEEDS ON EVERY SIDE. WITH THESE THE READER WILL ALSO FIND A NUMBER OF STATEMENTS WHICH HELP TO TRACE THE THREAD OF HER WELFARE ACTIVITIES THROUGH HER ENTIRE LIFE.  {WM 321.2}
[WM 321.3]         THE READER WILL OBSERVE THAT THE E. G. WHITE DIARY ENTRIES ARE RECORDED IN TERSE DIARY STYLE, SOMETIMES IN SHORT PHRASES AND OFTEN IN THE PRESENT TENSE. SURELY IT WILL BE ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT THE PURELY BIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT AS ELLEN WHITE RECORDED HER DAY-BY-DAY ACTIVITIES DOES NOT CONSTITUTE INSTRUCTION FOR THE CHURCH AND THEREFORE IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS AUTHORITATIVE TESTIMONY. THIS IS TRUE ALSO OF BIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES DRAWN FROM THE E. G. WHITE LETTERS. NEVERTHELESS, THE EXAMPLE OF ELLEN WHITE DOES ADD EMPHASIS TO HER PRECEPT.  {WM 321.3}
[WM 321.4]         THE BURDEN OF HEART CARRIED BY MRS. WHITE, HER SENSE OF HER RESPONSIBILITY TO THOSE IN SUFFERING AND NEED ABOUT HER, AND HER EAGERNESS TO HELP, THOUGH SEEMINGLY EVER HAMPERED BY LIMITED RESOURCES, SHOULD ENCOURAGE EVERY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST TO GREATER AND MORE ENTHUSIASTIC PARTICIPATION IN WELFARE MINISTRY.--COMPILERS.］  {WM 321.4}
[WM 321.5]         E. G. White Instructed to Set an Example.--After my marriage I was instructed that I must show a special interest in motherless and fatherless children, taking some under my own charge for a time, and then finding homes for them. Thus I would be giving others an example of what they could do.  {WM 321.5}
[WM 321.6]         Although called to travel often, and having much writing to do, I have taken children of three and five years of age, and have cared for them, educated them, and trained them for responsible positions. I have taken into my home from time to time boys from ten to sixteen years of age, giving them motherly care and a training for service. ［FROM THE PEN OF TWO WORKERS WHO IN THEIR YOUTH SPENT MANY MONTHS IN THE WHITE HOME WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS OF WHAT THEY PERSONALLY WITNESSED.--COMPILERS.        "NOT ONLY WAS MRS. WHITE A STRONG COUNSELOR FOR HER HUSBAND, TO GUARD HIM AGAINST MAKING MISTAKES THAT WOULD JEOPARDIZE THE CAUSE IN ANY PART, BUT SHE WAS MOST CAREFUL TO CARRY OUT IN HER OWN COURSE THE THINGS SHE TAUGHT TO OTHERS. FOR INSTANCE, SHE FREQUENTLY DWELT IN HER PUBLIC TALKS UPON THE DUTY OF CARING FOR WIDOWS AND ORPHANS, CITING HER HEARERS TO ISAIAH 58:7-10; AND SHE EXEMPLIFIED HER EXHORTATIONS BY TAKING THE NEEDY TO HER OWN HOME FOR SHELTER, FOOD, AND RAIMENT. I WELL REMEMBER HER HAVING AT ONE TIME, AS MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY, A BOY AND GIRL AND A WIDOW AND HER TWO DAUGHTERS. I HAVE, MOREOVER, KNOWN HER TO DISTRIBUTE TO POOR PEOPLE HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS' WORTH OF NEW CLOTHES WHICH SHE BOUGHT FOR THAT PURPOSE." --J. O. CORLISS, REVIEW AND HERALD, AUG. 30, 1923.        "ELDER WHITE WAS HIMSELF A VERY PHILANTHROPIC MAN. HE ALWAYS LIVED IN A LARGE HOUSE, BUT THERE WERE NO VACANT ROOMS IN IT. ALTHOUGH HIS IMMEDIATE FAMILY WAS SMALL, HIS HOUSE WAS ALWAYS FILLED WITH WIDOWS AND THEIR CHILDREN, POOR FRIENDS, POOR BRETHREN IN THE MINISTRY, AND THOSE WHO NEEDED A HOME. HIS HEART AND HIS POCKETBOOK WERE ALWAYS OPEN, AND HE WAS READY TO HELP THOSE WHO NEEDED HELP. HE CERTAINLY SET A MOST NOBLE EXAMPLE TO OUR DENOMINATION IN HIS LARGEHEARTEDNESS AND LIBERALITY OF SPIRIT."--THE MEDICAL MISSIONARY, FEBRUARY, 1894.］ I have felt                                                                              322  it my duty to bring before our people that work for which those in every church should feel a responsibility.  {WM 321.6}
[WM 322.1]         While in Australia I carried on this same line of work, taking into my home orphan children, who were in danger of being exposed to temptations that might cause the loss of their souls.--Review and Herald, July 26, 1906.  {WM 322.1}
[WM 322.2]                     Ellen G. White in Practical                             Dorcas Work              (Jottings from E. G. White Diary of 1859)            January 2, Sunday.--Sister Augusta Bognes was sent for to assist me to prepare for another journey. Made a coat for Edson. He will accompany us. We tried to comfort Augusta. She is cast down and discouraged, health poor and no one to depend on. She has laid aside her armor and shield of faith. May the lord strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees. Gave Sister Irving a warm cloak and dress and a few other things to make over for her.  {WM 322.2}
[WM 322.3]         January 3, Monday.--Went to the office. Called in to Brother Loughborough's and to my sister's. Wrote seven pages to Doctor Naramores, then took dinner to my sister's. Had a good interview with my father and mother. Went to the office again after dinner, and wrote four pages to Brother Orton's family. Also wrote four pages to Brother Howland's family and wrote to Sister Ashley, and Brother Collin's                                                                              323  family. Paid widow Cranson $1.00 for making a couple of shirts. Paid Sister Bognes $1.00 for making a coat. She was unwilling to take it, but I felt it duty to hand it to her. She is poor and sickly. May the Lord pity and care for her. Said Jesus, "The poor always ye have with you." May the Lord rid us of selfishness and help us to care for other's woes and relieve them.  {WM 322.3}
[WM 323.1]         January 6, Thursday.--Make a cap for Edson and a vest. At night am very weary. Give Agnes a half worn dress for her mother. They are poor. The husband and father is sick. Their crops have failed. Have breadstuff to buy and nothing to buy with. Agnes is their main support. She is only seventeen. There are four children now at home. They must suffer unless the church interests themselves in their behalf. May the Lord have mercy upon the needy, and put it in His children's hearts to dispense to them with a liberal hand.  {WM 323.1}
[WM 323.2]         February 3, Thursday.--Very sick all day with sick headache. Henry Pierce from Monterey at our house. Send Sister Leander Jones some things for her children and Jenny sends her her best bonnet. May the Lord enable us to see the wants of the poor and give us a ready and willing heart to supply them.  {WM 323.2}
[WM 323.3]         February 28, Monday.--Mary Loughborough came here. Stopped with us for dinner. Her baby is sick in the afternoon. Went into Sister Ratel's. Have a pleasant interview. Her babe has on an old torn white dress. The best he has except one that she keeps to put on when she goes out with him. She speaks of her children that died two years since. She does not wish them alive again. The family are all poor. The oldest girl prizes a Bible I gave her, much. She reads out of it to her parents. Sister Ratel's health is very poor. Has spit blood today. I fear she will not fill her place in her family long. She tries to do right. Her husband is a poor, wicked, passionate man and she has great trials. May the Lord sustain her. She begs us to pray for her that she may do right at all times.                                                                              324   {WM 323.3}
[WM 324.1]         March 1, Tuesday.--Walked to the office. Called to see Sister Sarah and mother. Sarah gave me a little dress and two aprons for Sister Ratel's babe. I then called on Sister Aurora Lockwood. Had a pleasant interview with her. She is a choice sister, beloved of God and highly respected of all the church.  {WM 324.1}
[WM 324.2]         I rode down to the city and purchased a few things. Bought a little dress for Sister Ratel's babe. Came to the office, assisted them a little there, and then came home to dinner. Sent the little articles to Sister Ratel. Mary Loughborough sends her another dress, so she will do very well now. Oh, that all knew the sweetness of giving to the poor, of helping do others good, and making others happy. The Lord open my heart to do all in my power to relieve those around me. "Give me to feel my brother's woe."  {WM 324.2}
[WM 324.3]         March 8, Tuesday.--It is a day when infirmities are striving for the victory. I suffer much pain in my left shoulder and lung. My spirits are depressed. Brother John Andrews leaves today. Comes up to visit us in the eve. Have a pleasant interview. Get together a few things for him to take home. Send Angeline a new calico dress, nine shillings, and a stout pair of calfskin shoes. Father gives the making of the shoes and the making of a pair of boots for Brother John Andrews. I send the little boy a nice little flannel shirt and yarn to knit him a pair of stockings. I send Sister or Mother Andrews a nice large cape, well wadded for her to wear. I make a bag to put them in of towel cloth. Write three small pages to Sister Mary Chase. In it write receipt ［recipe］ obtained from John's.  {WM 324.3}
[WM 324.4]         March 10, Thursday.--Walked to the city and back. Was very weary. Purchased John F. a pair of pants. In the afternoon Sister Irving came in. . . .  {WM 324.4}
[WM 324.5]         For ten weeks the daughter has lived with us, and we paid her nine shillings a week. All but one dollar of this she has handed to her mother. Her clothes are poor, yet she does not appropriate any means to her own use. She forgets herself in her devotion and self-sacrifice to her parents. It                                                                              325  was as affecting a scene as I never witnessed. The reluctance of the mother to accept the wages, all the wages of a daughter, through necessity and the willingness and freedom of the daughter to have all go to her poor afflicted parents. The mother and daughter wept, and we wept. We aided them some. Paid half toward a pair of boots for a little brother. One dollar. I paid one-fifty for a pair of shoes for the mother. Husband gave her one dollar in money. Henry gave her ten cents. Edson, ten cents, and little Willie ten. Husband gave her twenty-five more to buy a little luxury for the sick one. We parted with considerable half-worn clothing to make over.  {WM 324.5}
[WM 325.1]         April 21, Thursday.--Work on a rug. Write a letter to Daniel Bourdeau. This morning there is a feeling of sympathy among certain of the flock for Brother Benedict's family. We have contributed a mite for their relief, about seven dollars. Purchased them different things to eat, and carry it to them. Brother and Sister Benedict visited us all day. Had a very interesting and pleasant interview. My mother came to see me, which was a great comfort to me.  {WM 325.1}
[WM 325.2]                 Welfare Ministry Through the Years          E. G. White Calls for Help.--Dear Brethren and Sisters: The treasury in the Poor Fund, consisting of clothes, et cetera, for those in need, is nearly exhausted. And as there are cases of destitution continually arising, and one new one has arisen recently, I thought it would be well for those who have clothing, bedding, or money to spare to send it on here immediately. We hope there will be no delay, for we are going to assist some that are needy as soon as we get things together. Send your donations to Sr. Uriah Smith or myself.--Review and Herald, Oct. 30, 1860.  {WM 325.2}
[WM 325.3]         James and Ellen White Combine Prayer and Labor.-- Before there were any sanitariums among us, my husband and I began work in medical missionary lines. We would bring to our house cases that had been given up by the                                                                              326  physicians to die. When we knew not what to do for them we would pray to God most earnestly, and He always sent His blessing. He is the mighty Healer, and He worked with us. We never had time or opportunity to take a medical course, but we had success as we moved out in the fear of God and sought Him for wisdom at every step. This gave us courage in the Lord.  {WM 325.3}
[WM 326.1]         Thus we combined prayer and labor. We used the simple water treatments, and then tried to fasten the eyes of the patients on the Great Healer. We told them what He could do for them. If we can inspire the patients with hope, this is greatly to their advantage. We want all that have any part to act in our sanitariums to have a firm grasp on the power of the Infinite. We believe in Him and in the power of His word. When we do our best for the recovery of the sick, we may then look for Him to be with us, that we may see of His salvation. We put too little confidence in the power of the hand that rules the world.--Manuscript 49, 1908.  {WM 326.1}
[WM 326.2]         In House-to House Ministry.--Before our sanitarium there was established my husband and I went from house to house to give treatment. Under God's blessing we saved the lives of many who were suffering.--Letter 45, 1903.  {WM 326.2}
[WM 326.3]         Interest in a Needy Widow.--In regard to Nellie L., you know she is a widow with the care of three children, and she is struggling to obtain knowledge that she may engage in the kindergarten work, where she can keep her children with her. Let us not see the poor soul struggle for her life and sacrifice her health to do this. I have thought of the liberal donations that have been made to individuals who have married at Oakland. Would that these friends might use their means and express their sympathies to bless the widow and the fatherless that are deserving of their attention and substantial sympathy. Have not such cases claims upon us?  {WM 326.3}
[WM 326.4]         I will help Nellie one hundred dollars if you will do the same. Two hundred dollars would be a great blessing to her                                                                              327  just now. Will you do this for Christ's sake? Will you encourage others to help her to get a start in life? It would be far better to do this than to wait and let Nellie be worn out with anxiety and care and fall in the struggle, leaving her children helpless, motherless, to be cared for by others.  {WM 326.4}
[WM 327.1]         One hundred dollars from you will not be a large sum, but it will be a great blessing to her. Will you do this? Let us do it as a free gift and not let the horror of debt be upon her who is struggling under such discouragements. If you will do this, please collect in my name from Signs Office one hundred dollars for Nellie L. Let us both take stock in this matter and the Lord will bless us. I know she will struggle with all her powers to be self-supporting.                            Battle Creek, Mich., March 28, 1889 Brother C. H. Jones:  {WM 327.1}
[WM 327.2]         Please pay to the order of ----- ----- $100.00 (One Hundred Dollars) as a gift from the Lord who has made me His steward of means.                       "Ellen G. White" (Letter 28, 1889.)  {WM 327.2}
[WM 327.3]                    Pioneering in Australia          Prejudice Removed by Welfare Ministry.--We passed through many interesting experiences while in Australia. We helped establish a school from the foundation, going into the eucalyptus woods and camping while the trees were being felled, the grounds cleared, and the school buildings erected.  {WM 327.3}
[WM 327.4]         Prejudice in the community in which the school was established, was broken down by the medical missionary work that we did. The nearest physician lived twenty miles away. I told the brethren that I would allow my secretary, a trained nurse who has been with me for twenty years, to go to visit the sick whenever they called for her. We made a hospital of our home. My nurse treated successfully some most difficult cases that the physicians had pronounced incurable. This labor was not without its reward. Suspicion and prejudice were removed. The hearts of the people were                                                                              328  won, and many accepted the truth. At the time we went there it was regarded necessary to keep everything under lock and key, for fear of theft. Only once was anything stolen from us, and that was shortly after our arrival. Now the community is law abiding, and no one thinks of being robbed.--Manuscript 126, 1902.  {WM 327.4}
[WM 328.1]         Personal Interest in the People.--We tried to take a personal interest in the people. If we met someone walking as we were driving to the station four and a half miles away, we were glad to let them ride with us in our carriage. We did what we could to develop our land, and encouraged our neighbors to cultivate the soil, that they too might have fruit and vegetables of their own. We taught them how to prepare the soil, what to plant, and how to take care of the growing produce. They soon learned the advantages of providing for themselves in this way. We realized that Christ took a personal interest in men and women while He lived on this earth. He was a medical missionary everywhere He went. We are to go about doing good, even as He did. We are instructed to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, to heal the sick and comfort those that mourn.-- Manuscript 126, 1902.  {WM 328.1}
[WM 328.2]         Economizing to Help Others.--We live economically in every way and make a study of how every penny is to be laid out. . . . We make over and over our clothing, patching and enlarging garments in order to make them wear a little longer, so that we can supply with clothing those who are more needy. One of our brethren in Ormondville, who is an intelligent carpenter, could not go forward in baptism because he had not a change of clothing. When he was able to get a cheap suit he was the most grateful man I ever saw, because he could then go forward in the ordinance of  baptism.--Letter 89a, 1894.  {WM 328.2}
[WM 328.3]         New Durable Material Bought for Relief Work.--Some of our people say to me, "Give away your old clothes, and that will help the poor." Should I give away the garments                                                                              329  that I patch and enlarge, the people would not be able to see anything of which they could make use. I buy for them new, strong, durable material. I have visited the factories where they make tweed cloth and have bought a number of remnants that perhaps have a flaw but can be purchased cheap, and will do some good to those to whom we give. I can afford to wear the old garments until they are beyond repair. I have purchased your uncle excellent cloth for pants and vest, and he is now supplied with good respectable clothing. In this way I can supply large families of children with durable garments, which the parents would not think of getting for them.--Ibid.  {WM 328.3}
[WM 329.1]         Purchasing Wood From Needy Farmers.--Poverty is so widespread in the colonies that starvation is staring many in the face, and the strangest part of the matter is that the farmers seem so perfectly helpless to devise plans by which to turn their time and money to account. . . . We purchase wood from our brethren who are farmers, and we try to give their sons and daughters employment. But we need a large charitable fund upon which to draw to keep families from starvation. Those who need our help are not of the tramp order, but are men who have earned in prosperous times as high as twenty and forty dollars per week. . . . I divided my household stores of provisions with families of this sort, sometimes going eleven miles to relieve their necessities.--Letter 89a, 1894.  {WM 329.1}
[WM 329.2]         Solicitous for a Needy Student.--Will you please inquire of Brother-----in regard to the clothing that he requires, and what he needs please furnish to him, and charge the same to my account. He has not received his trunk, and I fear he may suffer for the want of necessary changes.--Letter 100, 1893.  {WM 329.2}
[WM 329.3]         Helping a Minister Suffering Illness.--Brother and Sister A. have been laboring in Ormondville, about one hundred miles from here, with good results. . . . I met him in Napier, and he told me I was the one who sent him to                                                                              330  school in Healdsburg, paying his expenses to obtain an education. I was so thankful to see the result of this investment.  {WM 329.3}
[WM 330.1]         We sent Brother A. . . . to the institute at St. Helena. . . . He is a great sufferer. I have appropriated three hundred dollars to this case, although there are many cases where every dollar is needed, but I feel perfectly clear in helping in this case. It is a case where those who love and fear God must show their sympathy in a tangible manner and bear in mind that Christ identified his interest with suffering humanity.--Letters 79 and 33, 1893.  {WM 330.1}
[WM 330.2]         Mrs. White Meeting the Problems of Depression.-- Brother M.'s family are industrious workers if they can only get work to do. We will not see them go hungry or destitute of clothing or become discouraged. They are bought, bought by the blood of Christ, and are of value with God. While in this country we will continue to help the poor and distressed as far as possible. Brother M. is in debt on his place; I met the last quarter's interest, seven pounds, for which I expect nothing, but I would not, could not, see the family turned into the street. . . . We pray most earnestly that the Lord will work in behalf of this dear family.  {WM 330.2}
[WM 330.3]         We are sorely perplexed ourselves to understand our duty to all these suffering ones. So many families are out of employment, and that means destitute, hungry, afflicted, and oppressed. I can see no way but to help these poor souls in their great need, and I shall do this if the Lord will. And He does will. His word is sure, and cannot fail, nor be changed by any of the human devices to evade it.  {WM 330.3}
[WM 330.4]         We must help the needy and the oppressed lest Satan take them out of our hands, out of our ranks, and place them, while under temptation, in his own ranks.--Letter 42, 1894.  {WM 330.4}
[WM 330.5]         Shopping to Meet the Needs of the Poor.--I go to Sydney today to the yearly sales to purchase some goods. They have these sales to rid the stores of their old stock. The poor                                                                              331  around us are suffering for food and clothing, and I can buy at an advantage by visiting these stores. We economize as much as possible, and there is need enough for it.... There are many poor who are distressed for want of food and clothing who are of the household of faith. Our purses will scarcely suffice to reach the needs of those we know. Jesus says, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." How precious are these words of comfort to the poor!--Letter 39, 1895.  {WM 330.5}
[WM 331.1]         A Dorcas Society Organized.--Sunday has been a busy day for us, planning for the very, very poor and setting in operation some plans which will relieve myself and family from doing everything that is to be done. Sister C., a worthy woman, is prostrated upon her bed with sciatica. She has a son thirteen years of age and an aged mother, who is an invalid with no means of support. The mother has had help from her sons in paying house rent, and as times have become harder and closer this is all they seem able to do. We have also Bro. R. and his wife with four helpless children. He does his level best to support his innocent children, but they are in want all the time. He gets little for his fruit. We now go round to the members of the church to see if they can supply us with old clothes for these destitute families. I have been buying good material at sales to make up for them, as well as supplying them with food.  {WM 331.1}
[WM 331.2]         Some of our family were out on a charity expedition yesterday, and made a little beginning. Some things were collected. There are eight families that we have been helping all that we thought advisable.  {WM 331.2}
[WM 331.3]         A Dorcas society is to open this week to examine and remodel old and new material to help the needy. The members of my family and I have made many donations of money and clothing. The draft upon us has not been small. We do not have to hunt up cases; they hunt us up. These things are forced upon our notice; we cannot be Christians and pass them by, and say, "Be ye warmed and clothed," and do not those things that will warm and clothe them.                                                                              332  The Lord Jesus says, "The poor always ye have with you." They are God's legacy to us.--Manuscript 4, 1895.  {WM 331.3}
[WM 332.1]         Assisting With Food and Clothing.--The poor, our family have had to assist in food and clothing, and to help the widow and fatherless by money gifts as well as food and clothing. This is part of our work as Christians which cannot be neglected. Christ said, "The poor always ye have with you," and in this part of the Lord's vineyard that is literally true. Doing good in all its forms in enjoined upon the Lord's missionaries by the Holy Scriptures. Read 2 Corinthians 9. You see, not only is our work to preach, but as we see suffering humanity in the world, we are to help them in their temporal necessities. Thus we will be instruments in the hands of God....  {WM 332.1}
[WM 332.2]         Those who have given themselves to the Lord will yoke up with Christ and will work in Christ's lines, ever looking to Jesus for wisdom and correct judgment as to how to move. Many bring their zeal and natural temperaments into their benevolence; they move by impulse: they give to those to whom they take a notion to give; and others who are every bit as worthy, they, like the priest and Levite, look upon them but do not feel any particular interest, and pass by on the other side, which is the side of indifference and neglect. Doing good in all its forms is enjoined in the Holy Scriptures, but prudence and careful consideration are needed to know how to show mercy and help the really needy. The way that is profitable to both parties is to help them to help themselves; open ways before them in the place of giving them money; find some work for them to do; manifest discretion; and be sure we make such use of means as will do the most good for the Lord's poor in the present and future.--Letter 31b, 1895.  {WM 332.2}
[WM 332.3]         Work Supplied to Needy Families.--There were many here who were poor and in need. Men who were trying to serve the Lord and keep His commandments could not provide food for their families, and they begged us to give them something to do. We employed them, and they ate at                                                                              333  our table. We gave them suitable wages until their families were fed and comfortably clothed. Then we let them go to find work somewhere else. Some of them we had to provide with a suit of Willie's clothes, to make them fit for Sabbath meetings.--Letter 33, 1897.  {WM 332.3}
[WM 333.1]         Providing Work, Books, and Clothes.--Those in this country who receive the truth are mostly poor, and in the winter time it is a hard matter for them to sustain their families. Since I wrote the foregoing, a letter was brought to me from . . . a man who was a coachbuilder. He was in great poverty two years ago, and we gave him work. He was obliged to leave his family, a wife and five children, in the suburbs of Sydney, and come to Cooranbong, about ninety miles off, to obtain work. Before this he was in partnership with his brother, who also is a coachbuilder.  {WM 333.1}
[WM 333.2]         But when he embraced the Sabbath he lost his situation, and he worked for small wages, and finally he could get no work. He is an intelligent, refined man, an able teacher in the Sabbath school, and a sincere Christian. We kept him as long as we had work that he could do, and when he left he modestly asked if we could let him have a few books on present truth, for he had none. I gave him about six dollars' worth of books. He also asked if we had any cast-off clothing that we could give him, that his wife might make over for the children. I provided him a box of clothing, for which he was very grateful.--Letter 113, 1897.  {WM 333.2}
[WM 333.3]         As Set Before Her by the Lord.--Why do you not search out the cases of such men as Brother_____? He is a Christian gentleman in every sense of the word. He is a man that God loves. Such men as he are precious in the Lord's sight. I know him well.  {WM 333.3}
[WM 333.4]         I interested myself in his case.... I endeavored to anticipate his needs and never to place him where he would have to beg for work. While in Cooranbong I tried to set an example of how the needy should be helped. I tried to work in the way set before me by the Lord.--Letter 105, 1902.                                                                              334   {WM 333.4}
[WM 334.1]         A Dorcas Society in the E. G. White Home.--Last evening we had a Dorcas Society in our home, and my workers who help in the preparation of my articles for the papers and do the cooking and sewing, five of them, sat up until midnight, cutting out clothing. They made three pairs of pants for the children of one family. Two sewing machines were running until midnight. I think there was never a happier set of workers than were these girls last evening.  {WM 334.1}
[WM 334.2]         We made up a bundle of clothing for this family, and thought it was about all we could do. Sister C. is now on this errand of mercy to this poor family, cutting out garments from the material provided. There are also other families to be supplied. And now comes another request, and we must supply them with things for winter wear. Thus it has been ever since we came to this country. We shall certainly heed the call to send a box of clothing to these needy ones. I merely tell you these things that you may know that we are surrounded by poverty. The wife of this fisherman is to be baptized next Sabbath. The poor have the gospel preached unto them. The people of this locality have very little of this world's goods.--Letter 113, 1897.  {WM 334.2}
[WM 334.3]         Assisting the Sick and Destitute.--The sick call upon us for help, and we go to their assistance. Sister McEnterfer, my helper and nurse, is called upon from miles around to prescribe for them and give them treatment. She has had wonderful success. There is no physician in Cooranbong, but we shall build a hospital or sanitarium soon, where the sick can be brought in and cared for. In the past we have brought them to our own home and cared for them, for we cannot let human beings suffer without doing something to relieve them....  {WM 334.3}
[WM 334.4]         We take no pay for anything we do, but we must have a hospital, which will cost as little as possible, where we can have some conveniences and facilities for caring for the sick.  {WM 334.4}
[WM 334.5]         This is the work of Christ, and this must be our work. We want to follow closely in the footsteps of the Master. We find in this place intelligent people, who once were in                                                                              335  comfortable positions, but poverty has come to them. We find these work, and pay them for it, and thus relieve their necessities. This is the very work to be done in order to heal the maladies of the soul as well as of the body. Christ is the mighty Healer of soul and body.  {WM 334.5}
[WM 335.1]         Christ declared, "The poor always have ye with you." Oh, how I long to do more than I am now doing. May the Lord strengthen me, is my prayer, that I may be able to do all He has appointed me to do. Yesterday a box of clothing was sent to a poor but intelligent and industrious family. The father is a fine workman, a coachmaker by trade. He works when he can get work. This is now the third box of clothing we have sent him. Souls are coming into the truth through the influence of this family, and Brother Starr is going to Sydney to baptize several who have been converted to the truth.  {WM 335.1}
[WM 335.2]         I long to see the work advancing. We shall labor on patiently, and the Lord will do the convicting and the converting. We cannot neglect the poor. Christ was poor. He knew privation and want. I use every dollar of my income to advance the work. . . . We mean to work while the day lasts, for the night cometh in which no man can work.-- Letter 111, 1898.  {WM 335.2}
[WM 335.3]         Medical Missionary Work Around Cooranbong.--Sr. Sara McEnterfer, in company with Bro. James, my farmer, has just gone to visit Bro. C., who lives six miles from here in the bush. This brother has embraced the truth since we came to Cooranbong. . . .  {WM 335.3}
[WM 335.4]         Now news has come to us that our beloved brother has come down with typhoid fever. Mr. Pringle is the only man in the village who knows anything about giving treatment without drugs; but six weeks ago he was called upon to attend Mr. B., who was also down with typhoid. He has stayed with him night and day, and has now returned to his home, worn out with the strain. So he cannot be depended on to nurse Bro. C.  {WM 335.4}
[WM 335.5]         Sara and Bro. J. have gone up to see what the situation is.                                                                              336  If Bro. C. can be moved, he must be brought within our reach, even if he has to be carried on a litter. We cannot let him lie there and die, to leave his wife and children to the mercy of whoever will have mercy upon them. . . .  {WM 335.5}
[WM 336.1]         March 21. Sara has just returned with the good news that Bro. C. is much better. He was attacked, but Mr. Pringle, who was able to visit him, found him a very different subject from Mr. B. Bro. C. is a health reformer, and when his case was given vigorous treatment the fever was mastered. He is weak, but is up and dressed, and is cheerful and happy in the Lord. Sara says that the corn he is growing will help largely to sustain his family. They have a hand mill, and grind this corn over and over until it is fine. From this they make their bread, for they have not money to purchase fine flour. We shall send them some flour. This is the work that has been done in several cases. We have just helped men to help themselves.  {WM 336.1}
[WM 336.2]         Bro. C. has that in him that will not allow him, if he has health, to depend on anyone. But the man who purchased his boat has paid him nothing, for he could not. W. C. White saw Bro. C.'s necessity, and borrowed eight pounds from our blacksmith and loaned it to him, that he might make a beginning. And all are glad and more than astonished to see the beginning he has made. About twelve acres have been declared and planted with sweet corn and field corn. The sweet corn they will eat, and the field corn they will sell. The vegetables that have been grown help a great deal in supporting the family. The little lads are working with their father like little farmers. They are so earnest and full of zeal that it is amusing to look at them and see how happy they are in their work. They have not much society besides their own family connections, but they are in the very best school they could be in.--Letter 48, 1899.  {WM 336.2}
[WM 336.3]         First Attention to Needy Church Members.--There are families who have lost their situations which they have held for twenty years. One man and his wife have a large family of children which we have been caring for. I am paying the                                                                              337  expenses of four children in school from this one family. We see many cases we must help. These are excellent men we have helped. They have large families, but they are the Lord's poor. One man was a coachbuilder, a cabinetmaker, and a wheelwright, and a gentleman of superior order in the sight of God, who reads the heart of all. This family we provided with clothing from our family for three years. We moved the family to Cooranbong. We hoped to help them get a home this winter. I let them live in my tent, and they put an iron roof on it and have lived in it a year. Everyone loves this man, his wife, and children. We must help them. They have a father and a mother they must support. Three families of this same order are on the school premises, and oh, if we only had money to help them build a cheap wooden home, how glad they would be! I use every penny I have in this helping work. But it makes a difference with me whom I help, whether it is God's suffering poor who are keeping His commandments and lose their situations in consequence or whether it is a blasphemer treading under foot the commandments of God. And God regards the difference. We should make these men and women all workers together with God.--Letter 45, 1900.  {WM 336.3}
[WM 337.1]         "We Helped All We Could."--In Australia we have tried to do all we could in this line. We located in Cooranbong, and there, where the people have to send twenty-five miles for a doctor, and pay him twenty-five dollars a visit, we helped the sick and suffering all we could. Seeing that we understood something of disease, the people brought their sick to us, and we cared for them. Thus we entirely broke down the prejudice in that place. . . .  {WM 337.1}
[WM 337.2]         Medical missionary work is the pioneer work. It is to be connected with the gospel ministry. It is the gospel in practice, the gospel practically carried out. I have been made so sorry to see that our people have not taken hold of this work as they should. . . .  {WM 337.2}
[WM 337.3]         All heaven is interested in the work of relieving suffering humanity. Satan is exerting all his powers to obtain                                                                              338  control over the souls and bodies of men. He is trying to bind them to the wheels of his chariot. My heart is made sad as I look at our churches, which ought to be connected in heart and soul and practice with the medical missionary work.--General Conference Bulletin, April 12, 1901.  {WM 337.3}
[WM 338.1]              Mrs. White Retained Broad Sympathies                        Throughout Life            Drawn Out to President McKinley's Widow.--I am not able to sleep past two o'clock A.M. I am awakened often at one o'clock at night with my heart drawn out in tender sympathy for the bereaved wife of President McKinley. One is taken and the other left. The strong one upon whose large affections she could ever lean, is not. While he was in health, fulfilling the duties of his office, an apparently friendly hand was extended, which President McKinley was ready to grasp. That Judas hand held a pistol and shot the President. Amid scenes of pleasant life and enjoyment came sorrow and sadness and suffering and woe. How could he do this terrible murderous action?  {WM 338.1}
[WM 338.2]         My heart is in deep sympathy for the one who is left. I have been repeating over and over, Oh, how short come all words of human sympathy. There are thousands that would speak words to relieve if possible the breaking heart, but they do not understand how feeble are words to comfort the bereaved one, who in her feebleness ever found a human heart in her husband, full of tenderness and compassion and love. The strong human arm upon which the frail suffering wife leaned, is not.  {WM 338.2}
[WM 338.3]         I do not wish that our sister should have less regret and less love for the faithful husband, but that she should now look to her best Friend, One whose love has been expressed to her all her life. I would speak to her the words of Isaiah 61:1-3: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening                                                                              339  of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the Spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord."--Diary, 1901.  {WM 338.3}
[WM 339.1]         Ministering to Aged War Veterans.--At one time I had some remnants of books and some complete volumes of Sabbath Readings stored somewhere in Battle Creek. Please ask Brother Amadon to make diligent search for all these things, and to send to me....  {WM 339.1}
[WM 339.2]         We can use the small volumes of Sabbath Readings and other works to good advantage in orphans' homes and in many other places where these little books will be highly valued. We could use some of them in the Soldiers' Home at Yountville, where many hundreds of old soldiers are provided for in large government buildings. We are giving these men every attention possible. Every other Sabbath a party from the sanitarium and the St. Helena churches visits them, to sing religious hymns and to speak to them. They are interested in these meetings, and seem delighted with everything that our people do for them.  {WM 339.2}
[WM 339.3]         We are sending papers to these soldiers and have placed in their library copies of my works, Christ's Object Lessons, and some larger books of mine. Many of these men are intelligent. Our brethren and sisters are working this field, and we hope to do much more for the soldiers than we have yet done. Sometimes a talk--a short, pointed, Bible sermon --is given them, and they listen with intense interest. The gospel songs, the short prayer, and the good talk, taken together, seem to be just what is needed to interest the old men. They say, "We never have had any such work as this done for us before!"  {WM 339.3}
[WM 339.4]         We desire to keep books and papers circulating among these soldiers. Please help us all you can along this line by gathering together something for them to read--books and papers full of bible truth.--Letter 96, 1903.                                                                              340   {WM 339.4}
[WM 340.1]                  A Letter to Fatherless Children                                            San Jose, California                                          June 29, 1905     Dear Children:            I must write a few lines to you. We wish that we could step into your home and weep with you and kneel with you in prayer. Will each one of you seek the Lord and serve Him? You can be a great blessing to your mother by doing nothing that will make her heart sad. The Lord Jesus will receive you if you will give your hearts to Him. Do all that is possible to relieve your mother from every care and burden.  {WM 340.1}
[WM 340.2]         The Lord has promised to be a Father to the fatherless. If you will give your hearts to Him, He will give you power to become the sons and daughters of God. If the elder children will relieve the mother by bearing as many burdens as possible, and by treating the younger children kindly, teaching them to do right and not to worry mother, the Lord will greatly bless them.  {WM 340.2}
[WM 340.3]         Give your hearts to the loving Saviour, and do only those things that are pleasing in His sight. Do nothing to grieve your mother. Remember that the Lord loves you, and that each one of you can become a member of the family of God. If you are faithful here, when He shall come in the clouds of heaven, you will meet your father, and will be a united family.                                    In love,                                           Ellen G. White. --Letter 165, 1905.  {WM 340.3}
[WM Herald, January 28, 1902 par. 1]         WM Herald - The West Michigan Herald      January 28, 19022    Why Object Lessons Should Be Sold         I have been shown that many of those who claim to be children of God have become rusty through inaction, and the Lord in his providence has given them something to do; and in thus doing has opened the way for them to become acquainted with the truth.  {WM Herald, January 28, 1902 par. 1}
[WM Herald, January 28, 1902 par. 2]          The work being done with Object Lessons is a good beginning. This is a work that is to be a blessing to all who engage in it. The more you do in this work the less weary and the less perplexed you will be. As you go forth to sell the book that the Lord has said should be sold, you will realize that to you is spoken the benediction, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."  {WM Herald, January 28, 1902 par. 2}
[WM Herald, January 28, 1902 par. 3]          The Lord comes very near to the workers, and the angels go before them. The work of selling the book is to accomplish double and triple good in different lines. Many more will buy the book when they are told the object for which it is being sold than if it were sold for the ordinary purpose. The work is done with such earnestness that it appeals to their hearts. It is a lesson to them, and although many are not of our faith, they appreciate the effort that is being made. They are impressed with the earnestness of the workers. They realize that what they are doing is commanded by the Lord, who blesses every good work. Light shines into their hearts. To many the conviction of the Spirit of God will come through the seed sown by this unselfish work done for the Master.  {WM Herald, January 28, 1902 par. 3}
[WM Herald, January 28, 1902 par. 4]          The saving of many souls will be the result of the work done in canvassing for "Christ's Object Lessons." Those who purchase the book feel that they are doing something to advance a good cause.  {WM Herald, January 28, 1902 par. 4}
[WM Herald, January 28, 1902 par. 5]          Under the divine guidance go forward with your work, and, as you go, trust in the Lord for aid. Remember that when with thankful heart you do the best you can you are allied with the angels of God. They go before you. There is sympathy and union between divine and human agencies.                  Mrs. E. G. White.  {WM Herald, January 28, 1902 par. 5}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 1]       October 26, 1904 The Book of Books.    Mrs. E. G. White.         All would pronounce the Bible the most interesting book they ever perused if their imagination had not become perverted by exciting stories of a fictitious character.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 1}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 2]          If we study the word of God with interest, and pray to understand it, new beauties will be seen in every line. God will reveal precious truths so clearly that the mind will derive sincere pleasure and have a continual feast as its comforting and sublime truths are unfolded.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 2}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 3]          To the diligent Bible student new light, new ideas, new gems of truth will constantly appear and be eagerly grasped, for it is impossible for any mind to comprehend all the richness and greatness of even one promise of God. One catches the glory from one point of view, and another the beauty and grace from another point, and the soul is filled with the heavenly light.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 3}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 4]          After the first acquaintance with the Bible the interest of the earnest seeker grows rapidly. The discipline gained by a regular study of the word of God enables him to see a freshness and beauty in truth that he never before discerned.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 4}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 5]          The Bible may be studied as a branch of human science would be; but its beauty, the evidence of its power to save souls that believe, is a lesson that is never thus learned. It is a leaf from the tree of life, and by eating it, by receiving it into our minds, we grow strong to do the will of God.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 5}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 6]          Those who bring to the investigation of the word a spirit of which it does not approve, will take away from the search a spirit which it has not imparted. We should take up the study of God's word with humble hearts. All selfishness, all love of originality, should be laid aside. Long cherished opinions must not be regarded as infallible.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 6}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 7]          Those who study the Bible simply to find texts to prove their theory or vindicate their opinion, will not be enlightened by the Spirit of God. Not through controversy and discussion is the soul enlightened. We must look and live. We must search the scriptures in order to receive life for the soul.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 7}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 8]          When the heart is brought into harmony with the word, a new life will spring up within, a new light will shine upon every line of the word, and it will become the voice of God to the soul. Then the truth of God's word will be regarded with new interest, and will be explored as if it were a revelation just from the courts above. Every declaration of inspiration concerning Christ will take hold of the in-most soul of those who love Him. Envy, jealousy and evil surmising will cease. The Bible will be regarded as a charter from heaven. Its study will absorb the mind, and its truths will feast the soul.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 8}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 9]         Several times each day, precious golden moments should be consecrated to prayer and the study of the scriptures, if it is only to commit a text to memory, that spiritual life may exist in the soul. We should take one verse and concentrate the mind on the task of ascertaining the thought which God has put in that verse for us until it becomes our own, and we know 'what saith the Lord.'  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 9}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 10]          The mind must be restrained and not allowed to wander. It should be trained to dwell upon the scriptures; even whole chapters may be committed to memory, to be repeated when Satan comes with his temptations. Even while you are walking on the streets, you may read a passage and meditate upon it, thus fixing it in your mind, and God will flash the knowledge obtained into the memory at the very time when it is needed.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 10}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 11]          We should open the scriptures with reverence, and never allow one expression of lightness and trifling to escape our lips when quoting scripture. As we take our Bible into our hands let us remember that we are on holy ground.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 11}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 12]          There is little benefit derived from hasty reading of the scriptures. One may read the whole Bible through, and yet fail to see its beauty or comprehend its deep hidden meaning. One passage studied until its significance is clear to the mind, and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view and no positive instruction gained.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 12}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 13]          If Christians would earnestly search the scriptures more hearts would burn with the vivid truths therein revealed. Their hopes would brighten with the precious promises strewn like pearls all along through the sacred writings. In contemplating the history of patriarchs and prophets, the men who loved and feared God and walked with Him, hearts will glow with the spirit that animated these worthies. As the mind dwells on the virtue and piety of holy men of old, the spirit which inspired them will kindle a flame of love and holy fervor in the hearts of those who would be like them in character, and as they gather the golden truth from the word, the heavenly Instructor is close by their side.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 13}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 14]          In the word is poetry, wisdom, history, biography and the most profound philosophy. Here is a study that quickens the mind into a vigorous and healthy life, and awakens it to the highest exercise. Studied and obeyed, the word of God would give to the world men of stronger and more active intellect than will the closest application to all the subjects which human philosophy embraces. It would give men of strength and solidity of character, of keen perception and sound judgment: men who would be an honor to God and a blessing to the world, for it enlarges the mind, expands, elevates and endows it with new vigor, by bringing its faculties in contact with stupendous truths.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 14}
[WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 15]          Even unconsciously we imitate that with which we are familiar. By having a knowledge of Christ-His words-and His Lessons of instruction, we instinctively borrow the virtues of the character which we have so closely studied and become imbued with the spirit which we have so much admired.  {WM Herald, October 26, 1904 par. 15}
[CM 0.1]        CM - Colporteur Ministry (1953)      FOREWORD         RESPONDING TO A DIVINE COMMISSION, SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS HAVE ENTERED ENTHUSIASTICALLY UPON THE WORK OF HERALDING THROUGH THE PRINTED PAGE THE TRUTHS OF THE SABBATH AND THE SECOND ADVENT. IN THE MORE THAN A CENTURY OF OUR EVANGELISTIC ACTIVITY THE PUBLISHING WORK HAS BEEN A POWERFUL AGENCY FOR THE SPREADING OF THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE THE WORLD AROUND.       THROUGH THE YEARS, GUIDANCE IN PUBLISHING AND CIRCULATING OUR LITERATURE HAS BEEN GIVEN THROUGH THE PEN OF ELLEN G. WHITE. IN THESE COUNSELS THE SELLING OF OUR TRUTH-FILLED BOOKS AND PAPERS IS ELEVATED TO A WORK COMPARABLE TO THAT OF THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. THE SELLER OF BOOKS IS SEEN AS A COLPORTEUR EVANGELIST.       IN 1902 A NUMBER OF STATEMENTS FROM THE PEN OF MRS. WHITE RELATING TO OUR COLPORTEUR MINISTRY WERE ASSEMBLED AND PUBLISHED IN MANUAL FOR CANVASSERS. SUBSEQUENT ELLEN G. WHITE COUNSELS ON OUR LITERATURE MINISTRY LED TO AN ENLARGEMENT OF THIS WORK, AND IN 1920 THE MUCH LOVED COLPORTEUR EVANGELIST APPEARED. THIS LITTLE WORK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN MANY LANGUAGES AND HAS BEEN WIDELY CIRCULATED.       THE DESIRE TO ELIMINATE REPETITION OF SUBJECT MATTER, TO PLACE THE COUNSELS IN A WELL-ORGANIZED TOPICAL ARRANGEMENT, AND TO INCLUDE A FEW ADDITIONAL CHOICE STATEMENTS FROM THE ELLEN G. WHITE BOOKS, PERIODICAL ARTICLES, AND MANUSCRIPT FILES HAS LED TO THIS PRESENT COMPILATION, WHICH HAS BEEN PREPARED IN HARMONY WITH THE PROVISION ESTABLISHED BY MRS. WHITE FOR THE POSTHUMOUS PUBLICATION OF HER WRITINGS. REFERENCE IS GIVEN FOR EACH QUOTATION, AND THE YEAR OF WRITING OR OF FIRST PUBLICATION IS NOTED.       SIDEHEADS, SUPPLIED BY THE COMPILERS, SERVE AS AN AID                                                         vi  TO THE READER IN FINDING DESIRED STATEMENTS. BOLD-FACED TYPE IS USED TO INTRODUCE EACH EXCERPT, WHILE ITALICS ARE USED FOR A HEADING WITHIN THE STATEMENT ITSELF. EXCEPT FOR A FEW STATEMENTS, REPETITIOUS IN CHARACTER, THE FULL CONTENT OF COLPORTEUR EVANGELIST IS INCLUDED IN THIS NEW VOLUME. ALL REFERENCES ARE TO ORIGINAL SOURCES AND NOT TO COLPORTEUR EVANGELIST, AS IT, TOO, WAS COMPILED AFTER MRS. WHITE'S DEATH.       THE READER WILL FREQUENTLY FIND THROUGHOUT THE BOOK SUCH TERMS AS "CANVASSERS," "TRACT AND MISSIONARY SOCIETY," AND "CANVASSING AGENTS." THESE WERE THE TERMS USED IN THE TIMES OF ELLEN G. WHITE, AND THEY WILL BE READILY UNDERSTOOD BY THE READER.       THAT THE COUNSELS CONCERNING LITERATURE EVANGELISM, REARRANGED IN THIS ENLARGED FORM, MAY GUIDE AND INSPIRE COLPORTEUR EVANGELISTS TO A RICHER AND MORE EFFECTIVE MINISTRY FOR THE MASTER, IS THE SINCERE WISH OF THE PUBLISHERS AND OF--          THE TRUSTEES OF THE ELLEN G. WHITE PUBLICATIONS.  {CM 0.1}
[CM 0.2]     Table of Contents                                    Section I                            Colporteur Evangelism     1. Our Literature and Its Mission ................................... 1   2. A Work Second to None ............................................ 6   3. A Call for Colporteur Evangelists ............................... 16   4. Selection of Colporteur Evangelists ............................. 26   5. Our Students and Colporteur Evangelism .......................... 30   6. A Soul-Winning Work ............................................. 36                                  Section II                          The Qualified Colporteur     7. Wholly Surrendered to God ....................................... 47   8. Fully Prepared .................................................. 55   9. Exemplary in Habit, Deportment, and Dress ....................... 61  10. Pleasing in Voice and Speech .................................... 70  11. Diligent in Service ............................................. 76  12. Given to Much Prayer ............................................ 80                                    Section III                      The Colporteur Evangelist in Action    13. Points on Selling ............................................... 84  14. The Colporteur Evangelist and Finance ........................... 92  15. Co-operating With Other Gospel Workers ......................... 100                                      viii                                  Section IV                          In League with the Divine    16. Led by God's Spirit ............................................ 104  17. Accompanied by Angels .......................................... 110  18. Help for Every Difficulty ...................................... 114                                  Section V                        Our Truth-Filled Literature    19. Books That Give the Message .................................... 120  20. Our Large Message Books ........................................ 123  21. Health Publications ............................................ 131  22. Maintaining a Proper Balance ................................... 135  23. Our Magazine Ministry .......................................... 145  24. The Far-Reaching Influence of Our Publications ................. 148  {CM 0.2}
[CM 1.1]       Section I - Colporteur Evangelism    Chapter 1 - Our Literature and Its Mission         "Begin to Print."--At a meeting held in Dorchester, Massachusetts, November, 1848, I had been given a view of the proclamation of the sealing message, and of the duty of the brethren to publish the light that was shining upon our pathway.  {CM 1.1}
[CM 1.2]          After coming out of vision, I said to my husband: "I have a message for you. You must begin to print a little paper and send it out to the people. Let it be small at first; but as the people read, they will send you means with which to print, and it will be a success from the first. From this small beginning it was shown to me to be like streams of light that went clear round the world."--Life Sketches, p. 125. (1915)  {CM 1.2}
[CM 1.3]          Make Truth Clear and Plain.--Our publications have a most sacred work to do in making clear, simple, and plain the spiritual basis of our faith. Everywhere the people are taking sides; all are ranging themselves either under the banner of truth and righteousness or under the banner of the apostate powers that are contending for the supremacy. At this time God's message to the world is to be given with such prominence and power that the                                                                              2  people will be brought face to face, mind to mind, heart to heart, with truth. They must be brought to see its superiority over the multitudinous errors that are pushing their way into notice, to supplant, if possible, the word of God for this solemn time.  {CM 1.3}
[CM 2.1]          The great object of our publications is to exalt God, to call men's attention to the living truths of His word. God calls upon us to lift up, not our own standard, not the standard of this world, but His standard of truth.-- Testimonies, vol. 7, pp. 150, 151. (1902)  {CM 2.1}
[CM 2.2]          Publish Light and Truth.--In the night of March 2, 1907, many things were revealed to me regarding the value of our publications on present truth and the small effort that is being made by our brethren and sisters in the churches for their wide circulation.  {CM 2.2}
[CM 2.3]          I have been repeatedly shown that our presses should now be constantly employed in publishing light and truth. This is a time of spiritual darkness in the churches of the world. Ignorance of divine things has hidden God and the truth from view. The forces of evil are gathering in strength. Satan flatters his co-workers that he will do a work that will captivate the world. While partial inactivity has come upon the church, Satan and his hosts are intensely active. The professed Christian churches are not converting the world; for they are themselves corrupted with selfishness and pride, and need to feel the converting power of God in their midst before they can lead others to a purer or higher standard.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 65. (1909)                                                                              3   {CM 2.3}
[CM 3.1]          Means of Quickly Giving the Message.--The book work should be the means of quickly giving the sacred light of present truth to the world. The publications that come forth from our presses today are to be of such a character as to strengthen every pin and pillar of the faith that was established by the word of God and by the revelations of His Spirit.  {CM 3.1}
[CM 3.2]          The truth that God has given for His people in these last days should keep them firm when there come into the church those who present false theories. The truth that has stood firm against the attacks of the enemy for more than half a century must still be the confidence and comfort of God's people.  {CM 3.2}
[CM 3.3]          Our evidence to nonprofessors that we have the truth of the word of God will be given in a life of strict self-denial. We must not make a mockery of our faith, but ever keep before us the example of Him who, though He was the Prince of heaven, stooped to a life of self-denial and sacrifice to vindicate the righteousness of His Father's word. Let us each resolve to do our best, that the light of our good works may shine forth to the world.--Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 69, 70. (1909)  {CM 3.3}
[CM 3.4]          To Prepare a People to Meet God.--The publications sent forth from our printing houses are to prepare a people to meet God. Throughout the world they are to do the same work that was done by John the Baptist for the Jewish nation. By startling messages of warning, God's prophet awakened men from worldly dreaming. Through him God called backsliding Israel to repentance.                                                                              4  By his presentation of truth he exposed popular delusions. In contrast with the false theories of his time, truth in his teaching stood forth as an eternal certainty. "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," was John's message. Matthew 3:2. This same message, through the publications from our printing houses, is to be given to the world today. . . .  {CM 3.4}
[CM 4.1]          And in a large degree through our publishing houses is to be accomplished the work of that other angel who comes down from heaven with great power and who lightens the earth with his glory.--Testimonies, vol 7, pp. 139, 140. (1902)  {CM 4.1}
[CM 4.2]          Publications to Go Everywhere.--Our publications should go everywhere. Let them be issued in many languages. The third angel's message is to be given through this medium and through the living teacher. You who believe the truth for this time, wake up. It is your duty now to bring in all the means possible to help those who understand the truth to proclaim it. Part of the money that comes in from the sale of our publications should be used to increase our facilities for the production of more literature that will open blind eyes and break up the fallow ground of the heart.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 62. (1909)  {CM 4.2}
[CM 4.3]          There are many places in which the voice of the minister cannot be heard, places which can be reached only by our publications,--the books, papers, and tracts filled with the Bible truths that the people need. Our literature is to be distributed everywhere. The truth is to be sown beside all waters; for we know not which will prosper, this, or that. In our erring judgment we may think it unwise                                                                              5  to give literature to the very ones who would accept the truth the most readily. We know not what may be the results of giving away a leaflet containing present truth.-- Manuscript 127, 1909.  {CM 4.3}
[CM 5.1]          We are fast approaching the end. The printing and circulation of the books and papers that contain the truth for this time are to be our work.--Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 89. (1904)  {CM 5.1}
[CM 5.2]          To Every Country and Clime.--Publications must be multiplied, and scattered like the leaves of autumn. These silent messengers are enlightening and molding the minds of thousands in every country and in every clime.--Review and Herald, Nov. 21, 1878.  {CM 5.2}
[CM 5.3]          In Every Language.--From city to city, from country to country, they ［canvasser-evangelists］ are to carry the publications containing the promise of the Saviour's soon coming. These publications are to be translated into every language, for to all the world the gospel is to be preached. To every worker Christ promises the divine efficiency that will make his labors a success.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 34. (1909)  {CM 5.3}
[CM 5.4]          To Lighten the Whole World.--The world is to receive the light of truth through an evangelizing ministry of the word in our books and periodicals.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 61. (1909)  {CM 5.4}
[CM 5.5]          From our books and papers bright beams of light are to shine forth to enlighten the world in regard to present truth.--Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 87. (1904)  {CM 5.5}
[CM 6.1]      Chap. 2 - A Work Second to None         Successful Soul-Saving Ministry.--The canvassing work, properly conducted, is missionary work of the highest order, and it is as good and successful a method as can be employed for placing before the people the important truths for this time. The importance of the work of the ministry is unmistakable; but many who are hungry for the bread of life have not the privilege of hearing the word from God's delegated preachers. For this reason it is essential that our publications be widely circulated. Thus the message will go where the living preacher cannot go, and the attention of many will be called to the important events connected with the closing scenes of this world's history.  {CM 6.1}
[CM 6.2]          A Work Ordained of God.--God has ordained the canvassing work as a means of presenting before the people the light contained in our books, and canvassers should be impressed with the importance of bringing before the world as fast as possible the books necessary for their spiritual education and enlightenment. This is the very work the Lord would have His people do at this time. All who consecrate themselves to God to work as canvassers are assisting to give the last message of warning to the world. We cannot too highly estimate this work; for were it not for the efforts of the canvasser,                                                                              7  many would never hear the warning.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 313. (1900)  {CM 6.2}
[CM 7.1]          A Most Important Work.--If there is one work more important than another, it is that of getting our publications before the public, thus leading them to search the Scriptures. Missionary work--introducing our publications into families, conversing, and praying with and for them--is a good work and one which will educate men and women to do pastoral labor.--Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 390. (1880)  {CM 7.1}
[CM 7.2]          When church members realize the importance of the circulation of our literature, they will devote more time to this work. Papers, tracts, and books will be placed in the homes of the people, to preach the gospel in their several lines. . . . The church must give her attention to the canvassing work. This is one way in which she is to shine in the world. Then will she go forth "fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners."--Manuscript 113, 1901.  {CM 7.2}
[CM 7.3]          A Call for Revived Interest.--The importance of the canvassing work is kept ever before me. This work has not of late had the life infused into it which was once given by the agents who made it their specialty. Canvassers have been called from their evangelistic work to engage in other labor. This is not as it should be. Many of our canvassers, if truly converted and consecrated, can accomplish more in this line than in any other in bringing the truth for this time before the people.  {CM 7.3}
[CM 7.4]          We have the word of God to show that the end is near. The world is to be warned, and as never before                                                                              8  we are to be laborers with Christ. The work of warning has been entrusted to us. We are to be channels of light to the world, imparting to others the light we receive from the great Light Bearer. The words and works of all men are to be tried. Let us not be backward now. That which is to be done in warning the world must be done without delay. Let not the canvassing work be left to languish. Let the books containing the light on present truth be placed before as many as possible. --Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 329. (1900)  {CM 7.4}
[CM 8.1]          Equal in Importance to the Ministry.--Canvassers must go out into various parts of the country. The importance of this work is fully equal to that of the ministry. The living preacher and the silent messenger are both required for the accomplishment of the great work before us.--Review and Herald, April 1, 1880.  {CM 8.1}
[CM 8.2]          Canvassing for our publications is an important and most profitable line of evangelistic work. Our publications can go to places where meetings cannot be held. In such places the faithful evangelistic canvasser takes the place of the living preacher. By the canvassing work the truth is presented to thousands who otherwise would never hear it.--Review and Herald, Oct. 7, 1902.  {CM 8.2}
[CM 8.3]          We have no time to lose. Important work is before us, and if we are slothful servants we shall certainly lose the heavenly reward. But few have broad and extensive views of what can be done in reaching the people by personal, interested efforts in a wise distribution of our publications. Many who will not be induced to listen to the truth presented by the living preacher will take up a tract or a paper and peruse it; many things they read                                                                              9  meet their ideas exactly, and they become interested to read all it contains.--Review and Herald, Dec. 19, 1878.  {CM 8.3}
[CM 9.1]          To Understand Our Responsibility.--There is danger of entering into commercialism and becoming so engrossed in worldly business that the truths of the word of God in their purity and power will not be brought into the life. The love of trade and gain is becoming more and more prevalent. My brethren, let your souls be truly converted. If ever there was a time when we needed to understand our responsibilities, it is now, when truth is fallen in the streets and equity cannot enter. Satan has come down with great power to work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; and everything that can be shaken will be shaken, and those things that cannot be shaken will remain. The Lord is coming very soon, and we are entering into scenes of calamity. Satanic agencies, though unseen, are working to destroy human life. But if our life is hid with Christ in God, we shall see of His grace and salvation. Christ is coming to establish His kingdom on the earth. Let our tongues be sanctified and used to glorify Him. Let us work now as we have never worked before. We are exhorted to "be instant in season, out of season." 2 Timothy 4:2. We are to make openings for the presentation of the truth. We are to improve every opportunity of drawing souls to Christ.  {CM 9.1}
[CM 9.2]          As a people we are to be reconverted, our lives sanctified to declare the truth as it is in Jesus. In the work of scattering our publications, we can speak of a Saviour's love from a warm and throbbing heart. God alone has the power to forgive sins; if we do not speak this                                                                              10  message to the unconverted, our neglect may prove their ruin. . . . The Lord calls upon all of us to seek to save perishing souls. Satan is at work to deceive the very elect, and now is our time to work with vigilance. Our books and papers are to be brought before the notice of the people; the gospel of present truth is to be given to our cities without delay. Shall we not arouse to our duties?--Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 62, 63. (1909)  {CM 9.2}
[CM 10.1]          The Work of God.--Let the canvasser remember that he has an opportunity to sow beside all waters. Let him remember, as he sells the books which give a knowledge of the truth, that he is doing the work of God and that every talent is to be used to the glory of His name. God will be with everyone who seeks to understand the truth that he may set it before others in clear lines. God has spoken plainly and clearly. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come." Revelation 22:17. We are to make no delay in giving instruction to those who need it, that they may be brought to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 314, 315. (1900)  {CM 10.1}
[CM 10.2]          Watchmen and Messengers.--The time has come when a large work should be done by the canvassers. The world is asleep, and as watchmen they are to ring the warning bell to awake the sleepers to their danger. The churches know not the time of their visitation. Often they can best learn the truth through the efforts of the canvasser. Those who go forth in the name of the Lord are His messengers to give to the multitudes who are in darkness and error the glad tidings of salvation                                                                              11  through Christ in obeying the law of God.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 315. (1900)  {CM 10.2}
[CM 11.1]          Seeing Souls Converted.--Let canvassers go forth with the word of the Lord, remembering that those who obey the commandments and teach others to obey them will be rewarded by seeing souls converted, and one soul truly converted will bring others to Christ. Thus the work will advance into new territory.--Testimonies vol. 6, p. 315. (1900)  {CM 11.1}
[CM 11.2]          As Long as Probation Lasts.--As long as probation continues, there will be opportunity for the canvasser to work. When the religious denominations unite with the papacy to oppress God's people, places where there is religious freedom will be opened by evangelistic canvassing. If in one place the persecution becomes severe, let the workers do as Christ has directed. "When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another." If persecution comes there, go to still another place. God will lead His people, making them a blessing in many places. Were it not for persecution they would not be so widely scattered abroad to proclaim the truth. And Christ declares: "Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come." Matthew 10:23. Until in heaven is spoken the word, "It is finished," there will always be places for labor, and hearts to receive the message.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 478. (1900)  {CM 11.2}
[CM 11.3]          There is a great work to be done, and every effort possible must be made to reveal Christ as the sin-pardoning Saviour, Christ as the Sin Bearer, Christ as the bright and morning Star; and the Lord will give us favor before                                                                              12  the world until our work is done.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 20, 21. (1900)  {CM 11.3}
[CM 12.1]          No Higher Work.--There is no higher work than evangelistic canvassing, for it involves the performance of the highest moral duties. Those who engage in this work need always to be under the control of the Spirit of God. There must be no exalting of self. What have any of us that we did not receive from Christ? We must love as brethren, revealing our love by helping one another. We must be pitiful and courteous. We must press together, drawing in even cords. Only those who live the prayer of Christ, working it out in practical life, will stand the test that is to come upon all the world. Those who exalt self place themselves in Satan's power, preparing to receive his deceptions. The word of the Lord to His people is that we lift the standard higher and still higher. If we obey His voice, He will work with us, and our efforts will be crowned with success. In our work we shall receive rich blessings from on high and shall lay up treasure beside the throne of God.  {CM 12.1}
[CM 12.2]          If we only knew what is before us we would not be so dilatory in the work of the Lord.  {CM 12.2}
[CM 12.3]          Responsible for Work We Might Have Done.--We are in the shaking time, the time when everything that can be shaken will be shaken. The Lord will not excuse those who know the truth if they do not in word and deed obey His commands. If we make no effort to win souls to Christ we shall be held responsible for the work we might have done, but did not do because of our spiritual indolence. Those who belong to the Lord's kingdom must work earnestly for the saving of souls.                                                                              13  They must do their part to bind up the law and seal it among the disciples.  {CM 12.3}
[CM 13.1]          Who Will Go?--The Lord designs that the light which He has given on the Scriptures shall shine forth in clear, bright rays; and it is the duty of our canvassers to put forth a strong, united effort that God's design may be accomplished. A great and important work is before us. The enemy of souls realizes this, and he is using every means in his power to lead the canvasser to take up some other line of work. This order of things should be changed. God calls the canvassers back to their work. He calls for volunteers who will put all their energies and enlightenment into the work, helping wherever there is opportunity. The Master calls for everyone to do the part given him according to his ability. Who will respond to the call? Who will go forth to labor in wisdom and grace and the love of Christ for those nigh and afar off? Who will sacrifice ease and pleasure, and enter the places of error, superstition, and darkness, working earnestly and perseveringly, speaking the truth in simplicity, praying in faith, doing house-to-house labor? Who at this time will go forth without the camp, imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit, bearing reproach for Christ's sake, opening the Scriptures to the people, and calling them to repentance?  {CM 13.1}
[CM 13.2]          God has His workmen in every age. The call of the hour is answered by the coming of the man. Thus when the divine Voice cries, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" the response will come, "Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:8. Let all who labor effectually in the canvassing field feel in their hearts that they are doing the work of the Lord in ministering to souls who know                                                                              14  not the truth for this time. They are sounding the note of warning in the highways and byways to prepare a people for the great day of the Lord, which is so soon to break upon the world. We have no time to lose. We must encourage this work. Who will go forth now with our publications?  {CM 13.2}
[CM 14.1]          The Lord imparts a fitness for the work to every man and woman who will co-operate with divine power. All the requisite talent, courage, perseverance, faith, and tact will come as they put the armor on. A great work is to be done in our world, and human agencies will surely respond to the demand. The world must hear the warning. When the call comes, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" send back the answer clear and distinct, "Here am I; send me."--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 331-333. (1900)  {CM 14.1}
[CM 14.2]          Comments of Careless Spectators.--Careless spectators may not appreciate your work or see its importance. They may think it a losing business, a life of thankless labor and self-sacrifice. But the servant of Jesus sees it in the light shining from the cross. His sacrifices appear small in comparison with those of the blessed Master, and he is glad to follow in His steps. The success of his labor affords him the purest joy and is the richest recompense for a life of patient toil.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 340. (1900)  {CM 14.2}
[CM 14.3]          No time to Lose.--The canvassing work is a work of great responsibility, meaning much to the men and women who engage in it. We are living in a time when there is a great work to be done, and what better                                                                              15  opportunity can we have to give the call to the supper Christ has prepared? Those who at this time take up the canvassing work with earnestness and consecration will be greatly blessed. You have no time to lose. Give yourselves willingly and unselfishly to the doing of this work. Remember that it is evangelistic in its nature, and that it helps to give a warning which is greatly needed.-- Manuscript 113, 1901.  {CM 14.3}
[CM 16.1]      Chap. 3 - A Call for Colporteur Evangelists         Recruits Called For.--Night after night I am standing before the people, bearing a very positive testimony, and pleading with them to be wide awake, and to take up the work of circulating our literature.--Review and Herald, April 20, 1905.  {CM 16.1}
[CM 16.2]          The canvassing field is in need of recruits. Those who engage in this work in the spirit of the Master will find entrance to the homes of those who need the truth. To these they can tell the simple story of the cross, and God will strengthen and bless them as they lead others to the light. The righteousness of Christ goes before them, and the glory of God is their rearward.--Review and Herald, June 16, 1903.  {CM 16.2}
[CM 16.3]          Arise and Shine.--The canvassing work should no longer be neglected. Many times I have been shown that there should be a more general interest in our canvassing work. The circulation of our literature is one very important means of placing before men and women the light that the Lord has committed to His church to be given to the world. The books sold by our canvassers open to many minds the unsearchable riches of Christ.  {CM 16.3}
[CM 16.4]          In the service of God there is work of many kinds to be performed. In the service of the temple there were                                                                              17  hewers of wood, as well as priests of various orders bearing various degrees of responsibility. Our church members are to arise and shine because their light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon them. Let those who know the truth arouse out of sleep, and make every effort to reach the people where they are. The work of the Lord must no longer be neglected by us, and made secondary to worldly interests. We have no time to be idle or discouraged. The gospel is to be proclaimed to all the world. The publications containing the light of present truth are to go forth to all places. . . .  {CM 16.4}
[CM 17.1]          Why are we not more wide-awake? Each worker may now understand his special work, and receive strength to take hold of it anew. Distinct and peculiar developments of the boundless glory of God will bring tributary offerings of varied kinds to the feet of Jesus. Every new disclosure of the Saviour's love turns the balance for some soul in one direction or the other. The end of all things is at hand. The men of the world are rushing on to their ruin. Their schemes, their confederacies, are many. New devices will continually be brought in to make of no effect the counsel of God. Men are heaping up treasures of gold and silver to be consumed by the fires of the last days.--Review and Herald, June 2, 1903.  {CM 17.1}
[CM 17.2]          The Lord Calls for Many.--The new year is just before us, and plans should be laid for earnest, persevering effort in the Master's service. There is much to be done to advance the work of God. I have been instructed that the canvassing work is to be revived, and that it is to be carried forward with increasing success. It is the Lord's work, and a blessing will attend those who                                                                              18  engage in it with earnestness and diligence.--Review and Herald, Jan. 20, 1903.  {CM 17.2}
[CM 18.1]          The Lord calls for many more to engage in the canvassing work. . . . For Christ's sake, my brethren and sisters, make the most of the hours of the new year to place the precious light of present truth before the people. The Angel of the covenant is empowering His servants to carry the truth to all parts of the world. He has sent forth His angels with the message of mercy; but, as if they did not speed on their way fast enough to satisfy His heart of yearning love, He lays on every member of His church the responsibility of proclaiming this message. "Let him that heareth say, Come." Every member of the church is to show his loyalty by inviting the thirsty to drink of the water of life. A chain of living witnesses is to carry the invitation to the world. Will you act your part in this great work?  {CM 18.1}
[CM 18.2]          Both Men and Women.--Jesus is calling for many missionaries, for men and women who will consecrate themselves to God, willing to spend and be spent in His service. Oh, can we not remember that here is a world to labor for? Shall we not move forward step by step, letting God use us as His helping hand? Shall we not place ourselves on the altar of service? Then the love of Christ will touch and transform us, make us willing for His sake to do and dare.--Review and Herald, Jan. 27, 1903.  {CM 18.2}
[CM 18.3]          Many, both men and women, can do an excellent work by canvassing for books that are full of direct, simple instruction on practical godliness.--Manuscript 81, 1900.                                                                              19   {CM 18.3}
[CM 19.1]          A Call to Youth.--The Lord calls upon our youth to labor as canvassers and evangelists, to do house-to-house work in places that have not yet heard the truth. He speaks to our young men, saying, "Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Those who will go forth to the work under God's direction will be wonderfully blessed. Those who in this life do their best will obtain a fitness for the future immortal life.--Review and Herald, May 16, 1912.  {CM 19.1}
[CM 19.2]          We have a work to do. Educate, educate, educate young men to give themselves to the ministry of the word. Educate them to become canvassers, to sell those books which the Lord by His Holy Spirit has stirred minds to write. This reading matter will thus be given to a large class of people who would never hear the truth unless it was brought to their doors. This is the work of the evangelist.--Letter 135, 1900.  {CM 19.2}
[CM 19.3]          Christ calls for young men who will volunteer to carry the truth to the world. Men of spiritual stamina are wanted, men who are able to find work close at hand, because they are looking for it. The church needs new men to give energy to the ranks, men for the times, able to cope with its errors, men who will inspire with fresh zeal the flagging efforts of the few laborers, men whose hearts are warm with Christian love, and whose hands are eager to go about their Master's work.-- Manual for Canvassers, p. 22. (1902)  {CM 19.3}
[CM 19.4]          Hundreds to Go.--May the Lord move upon many of our young men to enter the canvassing field as                                                                              20  canvassing evangelists. By the canvassing work the truth is presented to thousands that otherwise would not hear it. Our time for work is short. . . .  {CM 19.4}
[CM 20.1]          Why is there not a more diligent seeking of the Lord, that hundreds may be filled with the Holy Spirit, and may go forth to proclaim the truth, "the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following"? Our commission is to let the light shine forth everywhere from the press. By the printed page the light reaches the isolated ones, who have no opportunity to hear the living preachers. This is a most blessed missionary work. Canvassers can be the Lord's helping hand, opening doors for the entrance of truth. . . .  {CM 20.1}
[CM 20.2]          We must arouse the zeal and earnestness of the canvassing agents, calling on them to take the light into the dark places of the earth. There is no release for any who have talents and capabilities. They are required to be the Lord's instruments, required to co-operate with the Lord Jesus in shedding the light of heaven into this sin-darkened world.--Letter 21, 1902.  {CM 20.2}
[CM 20.3]          Workers From Every Church.--God calls for workers from every church among us to enter His service as canvasser evangelists. God loves His church. If the members will do His will, if they will strive to impart the light to those in darkness, He will greatly bless their efforts. He represents the church as being the light of the world. Through its faithful ministrations, a multitude that no man can number will become children of God, fitted for the everlasting glory. Every part of God's dominion is to be filled with His glory. What, then, is the church doing to enlighten the world, that from all parts of the                                                                              21  earth a tribute of praise and prayer and thanksgiving may ascend to Him?--Letter 124, 1902.  {CM 20.3}
[CM 21.1]          Every Believer to Help.--Let every believer scatter broadcast tracts and leaflets and books containing the message for this time. We need colporteurs, who will go forth to circulate our publications everywhere.-- Review and Herald, Nov. 12, 1903.  {CM 21.1}
[CM 21.2]          Men From Common Walks of Life.--In this closing work of the gospel there is a vast field to be occupied; and, more than ever before, the work is to enlist helpers from the common people. Both the youth and those older in years will be called from the field, from the vineyard, and from the workshop, and sent forth by the Master to give His message. Many of these have had little opportunity for education; but Christ sees in them qualifications that will enable them to fulfill His purpose. If they put their hearts into the work, and continue to be learners, He will fit them to labor for Him.-- Education, pp. 269, 270. (1903)  {CM 21.2}
[CM 21.3]          God's Blessing Promised.--There is missionary labor to be done in the distribution of tracts and papers, and in canvassing for our different publications. Let none of you think that you cannot engage in this work because it is taxing, and requires time and thought. If it requires time, give it cheerfully; and the blessing of God will rest upon you. There never was a time when more workers were needed than at the present. There are brethren and sisters throughout all our ranks who should discipline themselves to engage in this work; in all our                                                                              22  churches something should be done to spread the truth. It is the duty of all to study the various points of our faith, that they may be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within them, with meekness and fear.-- Review and Herald, April 1, 1880.  {CM 21.3}
[CM 22.1]          Christ Will Teach What to Say.--Many are sad and discouraged, weak in faith and trust. Let them do something to help someone more needy than themselves, and they will grow strong in God's strength. Let them engage in the good work of selling our books. Thus they will help others, and the experience gained will give them the assurance that they are God's helping hand. As they plead with the Lord to help them, He will guide them to those who are seeking for the light. Christ will be close beside them, teaching them what to say and do. By comforting others, they themselves will be comforted.  {CM 22.1}
[CM 22.2]          Angels Accompany and Prepare Way.--I ask you, dear Christian workers, to do what you can to circulate the books that the Lord has said should be sown broadcast throughout the world. Do your best to place them in the homes of as many people as possible. Think of how great a work can be done if a large number of believers will unite in an effort to place before the people, by the circulation of these books, the light that the Lord has said should be given them. Under divine guidance, go forward in the work, and look to the Lord for aid. The Holy Spirit will attend you. Angels of heaven will accompany you, preparing the way.--Review and Herald, Jan. 7, 1903.                                                                              23   {CM 22.2}
[CM 23.1]          The Consecration God Requires.--We need canvassers, evangelists, ministers, who have received the Holy Spirit, and who are partakers of the divine nature. We need workers who are able to talk with God, and then with the people. I am alarmed as I see how many obstructions are coming in to divert men from evangelistic work, and thus hinder the work of God. . . . I warn those who should be in the canvassing work, circulating the books so much needed everywhere, to be careful not to turn from the work that the Lord has called them to. Let not the men that God has called to do gospel work become entangled with business perplexities. Let them keep their souls in the atmosphere most favorable to spirituality. . . . God wants every worker who claims to believe the present truth to consecrate himself, body, soul, and spirit, to the work of seeking to save the perishing souls around him.--Manuscript 44, 1903.  {CM 23.1}
[CM 23.2]          City Colporteurs Needed.--Books containing the precious light of present truth are lying on the shelves of our publishing houses. These should be circulated. Canvassers are needed who will enter our large cities with these books. As they go from house to house, they will find souls who are hungry for the bread of life, to whom they can speak words in season. Canvassers are needed who feel a burden for souls. You may say, "I am not a minister. I cannot preach to the people." No, you may not be able to preach; but you can minister, you can ask those you meet if they love the Lord Jesus. You can be an evangelist. You can be God's helping hand, working as did the disciples when Christ sent them                                                                              24  forth. Young men, young women, you are called by the Master to take up His work. There is a famine in the land for the pure gospel.--Manuscript 113, 1901.  {CM 23.2}
[CM 24.1]          Workers Called to Highways and Byways.--The things of this world are soon to perish. This is not discerned by those who have not been divinely enlightened, who have not kept pace with the work of God. Consecrated men and women must go forth to sound the warning in the highways and the byways. I urge my brethren and sisters not to engage in work that will hinder them from proclaiming the gospel of Christ. You are God's spokesmen. You are to speak the truth in love to perishing souls. "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled," Christ says. Do not these words plainly outline the work of the canvasser? With Christ in his heart he is to go forth into the highways and byways of life, giving the invitation to the marriage supper. Men of wealth and influence will come, if they are invited. Some will refuse, but thank God, not all.  {CM 24.1}
[CM 24.2]          O that thousands more of our people had a realization of the time in which we are living, and of the work to be done in field service, in house-to-house labor. There are many, many who know not the truth. They need to hear the call to come to Jesus. The sorrowing are to be cheered, the weak strengthened, the mourners comforted. The poor are to have the gospel preached to them.  {CM 24.2}
[CM 24.3]          The Master knows and watches over His workers, in whatever part of His vineyard they are working. He calls upon His church to arouse and become acquainted                                                                              25  with the situation. He calls upon those in our institutions to awake and set in operation influences that will advance His kingdom. Let them send forth laborers into the field, and then see that the interest of these laborers does not flag for lack of sympathy and of opportunities for development.--Review and Herald, June 2, 1903.  {CM 24.3}
[CM 25.1]          Scatter Books Like Leaves of Autumn.--This is a work that should be done. The end is near. Already much time has been lost, when these books should have been in circulation. Sell them far and near. Scatter them like the leaves of autumn. This work is to continue without the forbiddings of anyone. Souls are perishing out of Christ. Let them be warned of His soon appearing in the clouds of heaven.--Review and Herald, Aug. 13, 1908.  {CM 25.1}
[CM 25.2]          One Hundred Where There Is One.--The lost sheep of God's fold are scattered in every place, and the work that should be done for them is being neglected. From the light given me I know that where there is one canvasser in the field, there should be one hundred. --Testimonies, vol. 6. p. 315. (1900)  {CM 25.2}
[CM 25.3]          Assurance of Success.--A great and good work may be done by evangelistic canvassing. The Lord has given men tact and capabilities. Those who use these entrusted talents to His glory, weaving Bible principles into the web, will be given success. We are to work and pray, putting our trust in Him who will never fail. --Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 340. (1900)  {CM 25.3}
[CM 26.1]       Chap. 4 - Selection of Colporteur Evangelists         Those Who Feel Burden of Service.--Since canvassing for our literature is a missionary work, it should be conducted from a missionary standpoint. Those selected as canvassers should be men and women who feel the burden of service, whose object is not to get gain, but to give light to the people. All our service is to be done to the glory of God, to give the light of truth to those who are in darkness. Selfish principles, love of gain, dignity, or position, should not be once named among us.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 317. (1900)  {CM 26.1}
[CM 26.2]          Care in Selecting Workers.--The canvassing work is more important than many have regarded it, and as much care and wisdom must be used in selecting the workers as in selecting men for the ministry. Young men can be trained to do much better work than has been done and on much less pay than many have received. Lift up the standard and let the self-denying and the self-sacrificing, the lovers of God and of humanity, join the army of workers. Let them come, not expecting ease, but to be brave and of good courage under rebuffs and hardships. Let those come who can give a good report of our publications because they themselves appreciate their value.--Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 405, 406. (1885)                                                                              27   {CM 26.2}
[CM 27.1]          Our brethren should show discretion in selecting canvassers and colporteurs, unless they have made up their minds to have the truth misapprehended and misrepresented. They should give all real workers good wages; but the sum should not be increased to buy canvassers, for this course hurts them. It makes them selfish and spendthrifts. Seek to impress them with the spirit of true missionary work and with the qualifications necessary to ensure success. The love of Jesus in the soul will lead the canvasser to feel it a privilege to labor to diffuse light. He will study, plan, and pray over the matter.-- Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 403. (1885)  {CM 27.1}
[CM 27.2]          Some Better Adapted Than Others.--Some are better adapted than others for doing a certain work; therefore it is not correct to think that everyone can be a canvasser. Some have no special adaptability for this work; but they are not, because of this, to be regarded as faithless or unwilling. The Lord is not unreasonable in His requirements. The church is as a garden in which is a variety of flowers, each with its own peculiarities. Though in many respects all may differ, yet each has a value of its own.  {CM 27.2}
[CM 27.3]          God does not expect that with their different temperaments His people will each be prepared for any and every place. Let all remember that there are varied trusts. It is not the work of any man to prescribe the work of any other man contrary to his own convictions of duty. It is right to give counsel and suggest plans; but every man should be left free to seek direction from God, whose he is and whom he serves.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 333. 334. (1900)                                                                              28   {CM 27.3}
[CM 28.1]          Young men and young women who should be engaged in the ministry, in Bible work, and in the canvassing work should not be bound down to mechanical employment.--Review and Herald, May 16, 1912.  {CM 28.1}
[CM 28.2]          Men of Good Address, Tact, and Foresight.--Missionaries are wanted everywhere. In all parts of the field canvassers should be selected, not from the floating element in society, not from among men and women who are good for nothing else and have made a success of nothing, but from among those who have good address, tact, keen foresight, and ability. Such are needed to make a success as colporteurs, canvassers, and agents. Men suited to this work undertake it, but some injudicious minister will flatter them that their gift should be employed in the desk instead of simply in the work of the colporteur. Thus this work is belittled. They are influenced to get a license to preach; and the very ones who might have been trained to make good missionaries to visit families at their homes and talk and pray with them are caught up to make poor ministers; and the field where so much labor is needed, and where so much good might be accomplished for the cause, is neglected. The efficient colporteur, as well as the minister, should have a sufficient remuneration for his services if his work is faithfully done.--Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 389, 390. (1880)  {CM 28.2}
[CM 28.3]          Those of the Best Talent.--Everyone is not fitted for this work. Those of the best talent and ability, who will take hold of the work understandingly and systematically, and carry it forward with persevering energy, are                                                                              29  the ones who should be selected. There should be a most thoroughly organized plan; and this should be faithfully carried out. Churches in every place should feel the deepest interest in the tract and missionary work.-- Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 390. (1880)  {CM 28.3}
[CM 29.1]          Religious Experience Needed.--Let Christian youth be selected to circulate the books containing present truth. Youth who have no religious experience should not be accepted as canvassers for our books, because they cannot properly represent the precious truth to be presented. To send such youth into the canvassing field is unjust to them and to the Lord's work. This is a sacred work, and those who enter it should be able to bear witness for Christ.--Review and Herald, Oct. 7, 1902.  {CM 29.1}
[CM 29.2]          Canvassing is the best way in which to obtain experience. Be sure that these souls are soundly converted before encouraging them to labor in any line. Then let them work, and God will work with them.--Manuscript 126, 1899.  {CM 29.2}
[CM 29.3]          A Sacred Work.--The canvassing work should be considered as sacred, and those who have unclean hands and defiled hearts should not be encouraged to enter upon it. The angels of God cannot accompany the unconsecrated to the homes of the people; therefore all those who are not converted, whose thoughts are corrupt, who will leave the taint of their imperfections upon everything they touch, should refrain from handling the truth of God.--Review and Herald, May 20, 1890.  {CM 29.3}
[CM 30.1]       Chap. 5 - Our Students and Colporteur Evangelism         A Divine Plan for Our Students.--The Lord has instituted a plan whereby many of the students in our schools can learn practical lessons needful to success in afterlife. He has given us the privilege of handling precious books that have been dedicated to the advancement of our educational and sanitarium work. In the very handling of these books, the youth will meet with many experiences that will teach them how to cope with problems that await them in the regions beyond. During their school life, as they handle these books, many learn how to approach people courteously, and how to exercise tact in conversing with them on different points of present truth. As they meet with a degree of success financially, some will learn lessons of thrift and economy, which will be of great advantage to them when they are sent out as missionaries.--Review and Herald, June 4, 1908.  {CM 30.1}
[CM 30.2]          Schools to Prepare Colporteur Evangelists.--Our schools have been established by the Lord; and if they are conducted in harmony with His purpose, the youth sent to them will quickly be prepared to engage in                                                                              31  various branches of missionary work. Some will be trained to enter the field as missionary nurses, some as canvassers, some as evangelists, some as teachers, and some as gospel ministers.--Review and Herald, Oct. 15, 1903.  {CM 30.2}
[CM 31.1]         Opportunity for Student Colporteurs.--When school closes, there will be opportunity for many to go out into the field as evangelistic canvassers. The faithful colporteur finds his way into many homes, where he leaves precious reading matter containing the truth for this time.--Review and Herald, Aug. 27, 1903.  {CM 31.1}
[CM 31.2]          Learn in the School of Christ.--As students, you are ever to be learning in the school of Christ; you are to bring your entrusted capital of physical and mental energy into your work. God will not accept of a divided heart. There are men and women who should be educating themselves for canvassers, and for Bible readers ［Bible instructors］. They should put away every unholy thought and corrupting practice, that they may be sanctified through the truth. They should be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Nothing less than the power of God will make and keep you right. You are to offer to God nothing less than your best. You should do better and better work as you put in practice what you learn. --Review and Herald, May 20, 1890.  {CM 31.2}
[CM 31.3]          A Means of Education.--I have had special light in regard to the canvassing work, and the impression and burden does not leave me. This work is a means of                                                                              32  education. It is an excellent school for those who are qualifying themselves to enter the ministry. Those who take up this work as they should place themselves where they learn of Christ and follow His example. Angels are commissioned to go forth with those who take up this work in true humility.--Manuscript 26, 1901.  {CM 31.3}
[CM 32.1]          The very best education young men can obtain is by entering the canvassing field and working from house to house. In this work they will find opportunity to speak the words of life. Thus they will sow the seeds of truth. Let young men show that they have resting on them a burden from the Lord. The only way for them to prove that they can stand firm in God, having on the whole armor, is by doing faithfully the work God has given them to do.--Manuscript 75, 1900.  {CM 32.1}
[CM 32.2]          True "Higher Education."--We must not discourage our brethren, weakening their hands so that the work which God desires to accomplish through them shall not be done. Let not too much time be occupied in fitting up men to do missionary work. Instruction is necessary, but let all remember that Christ is the Great Teacher and the Source of all true wisdom. Let young and old consecrate themselves to God, take up the work, and go forward, laboring in humility under the control of the Holy Spirit. Let those who have been in school go out into the field and put to a practical use the knowledge they have gained. If canvassers will do this, using the ability which God has given them, seeking counsel from Him, and combining the work of selling books with personal labor for the people, their talents will increase by exercise, and they will learn many practical lessons                                                                              33  which they could not possibly learn in school. The education obtained in this practical way may properly be termed higher education.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 330, 331. (1900)  {CM 32.2}
[CM 33.1]          An Invaluable Experience.--All who desire an opportunity for true ministry, and who will give themselves unreservedly to God, will find in the canvassing work opportunities to speak upon many things pertaining to the future, immortal life. The experience thus gained will be of the greatest value to those who are fitting themselves for the ministry. It is the accompaniment of the Holy Spirit of God that prepares workers, both men and women, to become pastors to the flock of God. As they cherish the thought that Christ is their Companion, a holy awe, a sacred joy, will be felt by them amid all their trying experiences and all their tests. They will learn how to pray as they work. They will be educated in patience, kindness, affability, and helpfulness. They will practice true Christian courtesy, bearing in mind that Christ, their Companion, cannot approve of harsh, unkind words or feelings. Their words will be purified. The power of speech will be regarded as a precious talent, lent them to do a high and holy work. The human agent will learn how to represent the divine Companion with whom he is associated. To that unseen Holy One he will show respect and reverence because he is wearing His yoke and is learning His pure, holy ways. Those who have faith in this divine Attendant will develop. They will be gifted with power to clothe the message of truth with a sacred beauty.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 322. (1900)                                                                              34   {CM 33.1}
[CM 34.1]          A Preparation for the Ministry.--Some men whom God was calling to the work of the ministry have entered the field as canvassers. I have been instructed that this is an excellent preparation if their object is to disseminate light, to bring the truths of God's word directly to the home circle. In conversation the way will often be opened for them to speak of the religion of the Bible. If the work is entered upon as it should be, families will be visited, the workers will manifest Christian tenderness and love for souls, and great good will be the result. This will be an excellent experience for any who have the ministry in view.  {CM 34.1}
[CM 34.2]          Those who are fitting for the ministry can engage in no other occupation that will give them so large an experience as will the canvassing work.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 334. (1900)  {CM 34.2}
[CM 34.3]          There are more difficulties in this work than in some other branches of business; but the lessons learned, the tact and discipline acquired, will fit you for other fields of usefulness, where you can minister to souls. Those who poorly learn their lesson, and are careless and abrupt in approaching persons, would show the same want of tact and skill in dealing with minds, should they enter the ministry. . . .  {CM 34.3}
[CM 34.4]          In evangelistic canvassing, young men may become better prepared for ministerial labor than by spending many years in school.--Manual for Canvassers, pp. 41, 42. (1902)  {CM 34.4}
[CM 34.5]          The Essential Knowledge.--To those who are attending school that they may learn how to do the work of God more perfectly, I would say: Remember that it is                                                                              35  only by a daily consecration to God that you can become soul winners. There have been those who were unable to go to school because they were too poor to pay their way. But when they became sons and daughters of God they took hold of their work where they were, laboring for those around them. Though destitute of the knowledge obtained in school, they consecrated themselves to God, and God worked through them. Like the disciples when called from their nets to follow Christ, they learned precious lessons from the Saviour. They linked themselves with the Great Teacher, and knowledge they gained from the Scriptures qualified them to speak to others of Christ. Thus they became truly wise, because they were not too wise in their own estimation to receive instruction from above. The renewing power of the Holy Spirit gave them practical, saving energy.  {CM 34.5}
[CM 35.1]          The knowledge of the most learned man, if he has not learned in Christ's school, is foolishness so far as leading souls to Christ is concerned. God can work with those only who will accept the invitation: "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 318. (1900)  {CM 35.1}
[CM 36.1]       Chap. 6 - A Soul-Winning Work         A Means of Bringing Souls to Christ.--We need to realize the importance of the canvassing work as one great means of finding out those who are in peril and bringing them to Christ. Canvassers should never be prohibited from speaking of the love of Christ, from telling their experience in their service for the Master. They should be free to speak or to pray with those who are awakened. The simple story of Christ's love for man will open doors for them, even to the homes of unbelievers.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 324. (1900)  {CM 36.1}
[CM 36.2]          He who takes up the work of canvassing as he should must be both an educator and a student. While he tries to teach others he himself must learn to do the work of an evangelist. As canvassers go forth into the field with humble hearts, full of earnest activity, they will find many opportunities to speak a word in season to souls ready to die in discouragement. After laboring for these needy ones they will be able to say: "Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord." Ephesians 5:8. As they see the sinful course of others they can say: "Such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:11.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 335. (1900)                                                                              37   {CM 36.2}
[CM 37.1]          My brethren and sisters, remember that one day you will stand before the Lord of all the earth, to give an account of the deeds done in the body. Then your work will appear as it really is. The vineyard is large, and the Lord is calling for laborers. Do not allow anything to keep you from the work of soul saving. The canvassing work is a most successful way of saving souls. Will you not try it?--Review and Herald, June 2, 1903.  {CM 37.1}
[CM 37.2]          Colporteur to Reveal Christ.--Christ's interests are the first and the highest of all interests. He has a property in this world that He wishes secured, saved for His everlasting kingdom. It is for His Father's glory and for His own glory that His messengers shall go forth in His name; for they and He are one. They are to reveal Him to the world. His interests are their interests. If they will be colaborers with Him, they will be made heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ to an immortal inheritance.--Review and Herald, June 2, 1903.  {CM 37.2}
[CM 37.3]          Speak Words of Truth.--The canvassing work is a work of great responsibility, and it means much not only to those who are engaged in it, but to the people for whom they labor. Let the canvasser remember that his work is evangelistic in its nature, and that God wants those whom he meets to be saved. Let him keep his heart under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Let him keep the Bible near him for reference, and when an opportunity presents itself to speak words of truth, let him pray for grace to speak wisely, that to those to whom he speaks his words may be a savor of life unto life.-- Review and Herald, June 16, 1903.                                                                              38   {CM 37.3}
[CM 38.1]          To Hunt and Fish for Souls.--Canvasser evangelists are needed, to hunt and fish for souls. The canvassing work should now be earnestly and decidedly taken up. The canvasser whose heart is meek and lowly can accomplish much good. Going out two and two, canvassers can reach a class that cannot be reached by our camp meetings. From family to family they carry the message of truth. Thus they come into close touch with the people, and find many opportunities to speak of the Saviour. Let them sing and pray with those who become interested in the truths they have to give. Let them speak to families the words of Christ. They may expect success; for theirs is the promise, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Canvassers who go forth in the spirit of the Master have the companionship of heavenly beings.  {CM 38.1}
[CM 38.2]          I beg those bearing responsibilities in God's cause to let no commercial enterprises interpose between them and the work of soul saving. Let no business be allowed to absorb the time and talents of workers who ought to be engaged in preparing a people for the coming of the Lord. The truth is to go forth as a lamp that burneth. Time is short; the enemy will make every effort to magnify in our minds matters of lesser consequence, and to lead us to regard lightly the very work that most needs to be done.--Review and Herald, June 2, 1903.  {CM 38.2}
[CM 38.3]          Reach All Classes.--In order to reach all classes, we must meet them where they are. They will seldom seek us of their own accord. Not alone from the pulpit are the hearts of men touched by divine truth. There is another field of labor, humbler, it may be, but fully as promising.                                                                              39  It is found in the home of the lowly, and in the mansion of the great.--The Desire of Ages, p. 152. (1898)  {CM 38.3}
[CM 39.1]          Those in the Highways.--Take the books to businessmen, to teachers of the gospel, whose minds have not been called to the special truths for this time. The message is to be given "in the highways,"--to men who take an active part in the world's work, to the teachers and leaders of the people. Thousands can be reached in the most simple, humble way. The most intellectual, those who are looked upon as the world's most gifted men and women, are often refreshed by the simple words of one who loves God, and who can speak of that love as naturally as the worldling speaks of the things that interest him most deeply. Often the words well prepared and studied have but little influence. But the true, honest expression of a son or daughter of God, spoken in natural simplicity, has power to open the door to hearts that have long been closed against Christ and His love.--Review and Herald, Jan. 20, 1903.  {CM 39.1}
[CM 39.2]          Books will reach those who can be reached in no other way,--those living far from any large settlement. I call these the byway hearers. To such ones our canvassers are to carry the books containing the message of salvation.  {CM 39.2}
[CM 39.3]          Our canvassers are to be God's evangelists, going from house to house in out-of-the-way places, and opening the Scriptures to those they meet. They will find those who are willing and anxious to learn from the Scriptures. . . .  {CM 39.3}
[CM 39.4]          I greatly desire to do all in my power to reach those in the highways and the byways.--Letter 155, 1903.                                                                              40   {CM 39.4}
[CM 40.1]          In the Thoroughfares of Travel.--In the world-renowned health resorts and centers of tourist traffic, crowded with many thousands of seekers after health and pleasure, there should be stationed ministers and canvassers capable of arresting the attention of the multitudes. Let these workers watch their chance to present the message for this time, and hold meetings as they have opportunity. Let them be quick to seize opportunities to speak to the people. Accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, let them meet the people with the message borne by John the Baptist: "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The word of God is to be presented with clearness and power, that those who have ears to hear, may hear the truth. Thus the gospel of present truth will be placed in the way of those who know it not, and will be accepted by not a few, and carried by them to their own homes in all parts of the earth.--Review and Herald, Jan. 25, 1906.  {CM 40.1}
[CM 40.2]          Help the Intemperate.--In your work you will meet with those who are fighting against appetite. Speak words that will strengthen and encourage them. Do not let Satan quench the last spark of hope in their hearts. Of the erring, trembling one, struggling with evil, Christ says, "Let him come unto Me;" and He places His hands underneath him, and lifts him up. The work that Christ did, you, as His evangelists, can do as you go from place to place. Labor in faith, expecting that souls will be won to Him who gave His life that men and women might stand on God's side. Draw with God to win the drunkard and the tobacco devotee from the habits which debase                                                                              41  them till they are below the level of the beasts that perish.--Review and Herald, Jan. 7, 1903.  {CM 40.2}
[CM 41.1]          Pray for Sick and Discouraged.--Christ was sowing the seeds of truth wherever He was, and as His followers you can witness for the Master, doing a most precious work in fireside labor. In thus coming close to the people you will often find those who are sick and discouraged. If you are pressing close to the side of Christ, wearing His yoke, you will daily learn of Him how to carry messages of peace and comfort to the sorrowing and disappointed, the sad and brokenhearted. You can point the discouraged ones to the word of God and take the sick to the Lord in prayer. As you pray, speak to Christ as you would to a trusted, much-loved friend. Maintain a sweet, free, pleasant dignity, as a child of God. This will be recognized.--Testimonies, vol. 6 pp. 323, 324. (1900)  {CM 41.1}
[CM 41.2]          With a Prayer on the Lips.--The claims of God are to be ever before us. We should never forget that we are to give an account for the deeds done in the body. Weighted with this thought, canvassers will watch for souls, and their prayer will go forth from unfeigned lips for wisdom to speak a word in season to those in need of help. Such workers will continually be elevating and purifying the soul through obedience to the truth. They will have a true sense of the value of the soul, and will make the most of every opportunity to make known the riches of the grace of Christ. Let the canvasser go forth with the prayer upon his lips, "Lord, what wilt Thou                                                                              42  have me to do?" Let him labor as in the sight of God, and in the presence of heavenly angels; let him desire in all things to be approved by God; and his work will not be fruitless.  {CM 41.2}
[CM 42.1]          We need far less controversy, and far more presentation of Christ. Our Redeemer is the center of all our faith and hope. Those who can present His matchless love, and inspire hearts to give Him their best and holiest affections, are doing work that is great and holy. By diligence in canvassing, by faithfully presenting to the people the cross of Calvary, the canvasser doubles his usefulness. But while we present these methods of work, we cannot lay out an undeviating line for everyone to follow. Circumstances alter cases. . . .  {CM 42.1}
[CM 42.2]          Speak of Christ's Love.--Often doctrinal subjects are presented with no special effect; for men expect others to press upon them their doctrines; but when the matchless love of Christ is dwelt upon, His grace impresses the heart. There are many who are sincerely seeking for light, who know not what they must do to be saved. Oh, tell them of the love of God, of the sacrifice made on Calvary's cross to save the perishing! Tell them to place their will on the side of God's will; and "if any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." John 7:17.--Manual for Canvassers, pp. 36-38. (1902)  {CM 42.2}
[CM 42.3]          Avoid Controverted Points.--Some who labor in the canvassing field have a zeal that is not according to knowledge. Because of their lack of wisdom, because they have been so much inclined to act the minister and                                                                              43  theologian, it has been almost a necessity to place restrictions upon our canvassers. When the Lord's voice calls, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" the Divine Spirit puts it into hearts to respond: "Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:8. But bear in mind that the live coal from the altar must first touch your lips. Then the words you speak will be wise and holy words. Then you will have wisdom to know what to say and what to leave unsaid. You will not try to reveal your smartness as theologians. You will be careful not to arouse a combative spirit or excite prejudice by introducing controverted points of doctrine. You will find enough to talk about that will not excite opposition, but that will open the heart to desire a deeper knowledge of God's word.  {CM 42.3}
[CM 43.1]          Ready to Give Answer.--The Lord desires you to be soul winners; therefore, while you should not force doctrinal points upon the people, you should "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." 1 Peter 3:15. Why fear? Fear lest your words should savor of self-importance, lest unadvised words be spoken, lest the words and manner should not be after Christ's likeness. Connect firmly with Christ, and present the truth as it is in Him.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 324, 325. (1900)  {CM 43.1}
[CM 43.2]          Lift Up Christ.--Work as Paul worked. Wherever he was, whether before scowling Pharisee or Roman authority, rich or poor, learned or ignorant, the cripple at Lystra or the convicted sinners in the Macedonian dungeon, he lifted up Christ as the One who hates sin                                                                              44  and loves the sinner, the One who bore our sins that He might impart to us His righteousness.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 34. (1902)  {CM 43.2}
[CM 44.1]          The Minister as Canvasser.--The intelligent, God-fearing, truth-loving canvasser should be respected; for he occupies a position equal to that of the gospel minister. Many of our young ministers and those who are fitting for the ministry would, if truly converted, do much good by working in the canvassing field. And by meeting the people and presenting to them our publications they would gain an experience which they cannot gain by simply preaching. As they went from house to house they could converse with the people, carrying with them the fragrance of Christ's life. In thus endeavoring to bless others they would themselves be blessed; they would obtain an experience in faith; their knowledge of the Scriptures would greatly increase; and they would be constantly learning how to win souls for Christ.  {CM 44.1}
[CM 44.2]          All our ministers should feel free to carry with them books to dispose of wherever they go. Wherever a minister goes, he can leave a book in the family where he stays, either selling it or giving it to them. Much of this work was done in the early history of the message. Ministers acted as colporteurs, using the means obtained from the sale of the books to help in the advancement of the work in places where help was needed. These can speak intelligently in regard to this method of work; for they have had an experience in this line.  {CM 44.2}
[CM 44.3]          Let none think that it belittles a minister of the gospel to engage in canvassing as a means of carrying truth to the people. In doing this work he is laboring in the same                                                                              45  manner as did the apostle Paul, who says: "Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 20:18-21. The eloquent Paul, to whom God manifested Himself in a wonderful manner, went from house to house in all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations. --Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 321-322. (1900)  {CM 44.3}
[CM 45.1]          As Important as Preaching.--The ministerial evangelist who engages in the canvassing work is performing a service fully as important as that of preaching the gospel before a congregation Sabbath after Sabbath. God looks upon the faithful evangelistic canvasser with as much approval as He looks upon any faithful minister. Both workers have light, and both are to shine in their respective spheres of influence. God calls upon every man to co-operate with the great Medical Missionary Worker, and to go forth into the highways and byways. Each man, in his particular line of service, has a work to do for God. Such laborers, if converted, are true missionaries. --Letter 186, 1903.  {CM 45.1}
[CM 45.2]          There are some who are adapted to the work of the colporteur and who can accomplish more in this line than by preaching. If the Spirit of Christ dwells in their hearts, they will find opportunity to present His word                                                                              46  to others and to direct minds to the special truths for this time.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 323. (1900)  {CM 45.2}
[CM 46.1]          Joy in Service.--It was Christ's joy to help those in need of help, to seek the lost, to rescue the perishing, to lift up the bowed down, to heal the sick, to speak words of sympathy and consolation to the sorrowing and the distressed. The more fully we are imbued with His Spirit, the more earnestly we shall work for those around us; and the more we do for others, the greater will be our love for the work, and the greater our delight in following the Master. Our hearts will be filled with the love of God; and with earnestness and convincing power we shall speak of the crucified Saviour.  {CM 46.1}
[CM 46.2]          I ask those to whom the light of truth has come: What are you going to do during the year that is just opening? Will you stop to quarrel with one another, to weaken and destroy the faith of humanity in humanity? or will you devote your time to strengthening the things that remain, that are ready to die? As our people engage in earnest work for the Master, complaints will cease to be heard. Many will be roused from the despondency that is ruining them body and soul. As they work for others, they will have much that is helpful to speak of when they assemble to worship God. The testimonies they bear will not be dark and gloomy, but full of joy and courage. Instead of thinking and talking about the faults of their brethren and sisters, and about their own trials, they will think and talk of the love of Christ, and will strive earnestly to become more efficient workers for Him. --Review and Herald, Jan. 7, 1903.  {CM 46.2}
[CM 47.1]       Section II - The Qualified Colporteur    Chapter 7 - Wholly Surrendered to God         The First Essential.--Those who engage in the canvassing work should first give themselves wholly and unreservedly to God. Christ has invited them, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."--Manuscript 26, 1901.  {CM 47.1}
[CM 47.2]          Redeem the Time.--If you have neglected the sowing time, if you have allowed God-given opportunities to pass unimproved, if you have given yourselves up to self-pleasing, will you not now repent, before it is forever too late, and strive to redeem the time? The obligation to use your talents in the Master's service rests heavily upon you. Come to the Lord, and make an entire surrender of all to Him. You cannot afford to lose one day. Take up your neglected work. Put away your querulous unbelief, your envy and evil thinking, and go to work, in humble faith, and with earnest prayer to the Lord to pardon you for your years of unconsecration. Ask the Lord for help. If you seek Him earnestly, with the whole heart, you will find Him, and He will strengthen and bless you.--Review and Herald, Jan. 7, 1903.                                                                              48   {CM 47.2}
[CM 48.1]          Be Humble and Teachable.--In choosing men and women for His service, God does not ask whether they possess learning or eloquence or worldly wealth. He asks: "Do they walk in such humility that I can teach them My way? Can I put My words into their lips? Will they represent Me?"  {CM 48.1}
[CM 48.2]          God can use every person just in proportion as He can put His Spirit into the soul temple. The work that He will accept is the work that reflects His image. His followers are to bear, as their credentials to the world, the ineffaceable characteristics of His immortal principles. --Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 144. (1902)  {CM 48.2}
[CM 48.3]          Why Many Have Failed.--Canvassers need to be daily converted to God, that their words and deeds may be a savor of life unto life, that they may exert a saving influence. The reason why many have failed in the canvassing work is that they were not genuine Christians; they did not know the spirit of conversion. They had a theory as to how the work should be done, but they did not feel their dependence upon God.  {CM 48.3}
[CM 48.4]          Changed by Beholding.--Canvassers, remember that in the books you handle you are presenting, not the cup containing the wine of Babylon, doctrines of error dealt to the kings of the earth, but the cup full of the preciousness of the truths of redemption. Will you yourselves drink of it? Your minds can be brought into captivity to the will of Christ, and He can put upon you His own superscription. By beholding, you will become changed from glory to glory, from character to character. God wants you to come to the front, speaking the words He will give you. He wants you to show that you place a                                                                              49  high estimate upon humanity, humanity that has been purchased by the precious blood of the Saviour. When you fall upon the Rock and are broken, you will experience the power of Christ, and others will recognize the power of the truth upon your hearts.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 317, 318. (1900)  {CM 48.4}
[CM 49.1]          Put on Christ.--No one can be a successful soul winner till he himself has settled the question of surrender to God. We are individually to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. To each one of us He must become wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. When our faith lays hold upon Christ as our personal Saviour, we shall place Him before others in a new light. And when the people behold Christ as He is, they will not wrangle over doctrines; they will flee to Him for pardon, purity, and eternal life.  {CM 49.1}
[CM 49.2]          The difficulty most to be dreaded is that the canvasser who meets these inquiring souls has not himself been converted; that he does not himself know by experience the love of Christ which passes knowledge. If he himself has not this knowledge, how can he tell others the precious old, old story? The people need to be taught the very essence of true faith, the way to accept Christ and to confide in Him as their personal Saviour. They need to know how they may follow His steps whithersoever He goes. Let the feet of the worker follow step by step the footprints of Jesus, and mark out no other way in which to proceed heavenward. . . .  {CM 49.2}
[CM 49.3]          Draw Men to the Redeemer.--Many professed Christians have broken away from Christ, the great center, and they make themselves a center; but if they would                                                                              50  be successful in attracting others to the Saviour, they must themselves flee back to Him, and realize their utter dependence upon His grace. Satan has tried to the uttermost to sever the chain that unites men to God; he desires to bind their souls to his own car, and make them slaves in his service; but we are to work against him, and drawn men to the Redeemer.--Manual for Canvassers, pp. 38, 39. (1902)  {CM 49.3}
[CM 50.1]          Soul Brought to Jesus in Safekeeping.--When a soul has been brought to Christ through this personal labor, leave the surrendered, humbled heart for God to work with; let God urge upon him just such service as He sees fit. God has promised that His grace shall be sufficient for everyone who will come unto Him. Those who surrender to Jesus, who open the door of the heart and invite Him in, will be in safekeeping. He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." John 14:6. Possessing Jesus, they will possess truth. They will be complete in Him.--Manual for Canvassers, pp. 38, 39. (1902)  {CM 50.1}
[CM 50.2]          Absolute Honesty.--If the canvasser pursues a wrong course, if he utters falsehood or practices deception, he loses his own self-respect. He may not be conscious that God sees him and is acquainted with every business transaction, that holy angels are weighing his motives and listening to his words, and that his reward will be according to his works; but if it were possible to conceal his wrongdoing from human and divine inspection, the fact that he himself knows it, is degrading to his mind and character. One act does not determine the character, but it breaks down the barrier, and the next temptation is more readily entertained, until finally a habit of                                                                              51  prevarication and dishonesty in business is formed, and the man cannot be trusted.  {CM 50.2}
[CM 51.1]          There are too many in families and in the church who make little account of glaring inconsistencies. There are young men who appear what they are not. They seem honest and true; but they are like whited sepulchers, fair without, but corrupt to the core. The heart is spotted, stained with sin; and thus the record stands in the heavenly courts. A process has been going on in the mind that has made them callous, past feeling. But if their characters, weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, are pronounced wanting in the great day of God, it will be a calamity that they do not now comprehend. Truth, precious, untarnished truth, is to be a part of the character.  {CM 51.1}
[CM 51.2]          Purity of Life.--Whatever way is chosen, the path of life is best with perils. If the workers in any branch of the cause become careless and inattentive to their eternal interests, they are meeting with great loss. The tempter will find access to them. He will spread nets for their feet, and will lead them in uncertain paths. Those only are safe whose hearts are garrisoned with pure principles. Like David they will pray: "Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not." A constant battle must be kept up with the selfishness and corruption of the human heart. Often the wicked seem to be prospered in their way; but those who forget God, even for an hour or a moment, are in a dangerous path. They may not realize its perils; but ere they are aware, habit, like an iron band, holds them in subjection to the evil with which they have tampered. God despises their course, and His blessing will not attend them.                                                                              52   {CM 51.2}
[CM 52.1]          No Tampering With Sin.--I have seen that young men undertake this work without connecting themselves with heaven. They place themselves in the way of temptation to show their bravery. They laugh at the folly of others. They know the right way; they know how to conduct themselves. How easily they can resist temptation! How vain to think of their falling! But they make not God their defense. Satan has an insidious snare prepared for them, and they themselves become the sport of fools.  {CM 52.1}
[CM 52.2]          Our great adversary has agents that are constantly hunting for an opportunity to destroy souls, as a lion hunts his prey. Shun them, young man; for, while they appear to be your friends, they will slyly introduce evil ways and practices. They flatter you with their lips, and offer to help and guide you; but their steps take hold on hell. If you listen to their counsel, it may be the turning point in your life. One safeguard removed from conscience, the indulgence of one evil habit, a single neglect of the high claims of duty, may be the beginning of a course of deception that will pass you into the ranks of those who are serving Satan, while you are all the time professing to love God and His cause. A moment of thoughtlessness, a single misstep, may turn the whole current of your lives in the wrong direction. And you may never know what caused your ruin until the sentence is pronounced: "Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."  {CM 52.2}
[CM 52.3]          Avoid Evil Associates.--Some young men know that what I have said fairly describes their course. Their ways are not hidden from the Lord, although they may                                                                              53  be hidden from their best friends, even their fathers and mothers. I have little hope that some of these will ever change their course of hypocrisy and deception. Others who have erred are seeking to redeem themselves. May the dear Jesus help them to set their faces as a flint against all falsehoods and the flatteries of those who would weaken their purpose to do right or who would insinuate doubts or infidel sentiments to shake their faith in the truth. Young friends, do not spend an hour in the company of those who would unfit you for the pure and sacred work of God. Do nothing before strangers that you would not do before your father and mother, or that you would be ashamed of before Christ and the holy angels.  {CM 52.3}
[CM 53.1]          Some may think these cautions are not needed by Sabbathkeepers, but those to whom they apply know what I mean. I tell you, young men, to beware; for you can do nothing that is not open to the eyes of angels and of God. You cannot do an evil work and others not be affected by it. While your course of action reveals what kind of material is used in your own character building, it also has a powerful influence over others. Never lose sight of the fact that you belong to God, that He has bought you with a price, and you must render an account to Him for all His entrusted talents. No one should have any part in the work of the canvasser or colporteur whose hand is defiled with sin or whose heart is not right with God, for such persons will surely dishonor the cause of truth. Those who are workers in the missionary field need God to guide them. They should be careful to start right and then keep quietly and firmly                                                                              54  on in the path of rectitude. They should be decided, for Satan is determined and persevering in his efforts to overthrow them.--Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 396-399. (1885)  {CM 53.1}
[CM 54.1]          Constant Dependence on God.--He who in his work meets with trials and temptations should profit by these experiences, learning to lean more decidedly upon God. He should feel his dependence every moment.  {CM 54.1}
[CM 54.2]          No complaint should be cherished in his heart or be uttered by his lips. When successful, he should take no glory to himself, for his success is due to the working of God's angels upon the heart. And let him remember that both in the time of encouragement and the time of discouragement the heavenly messengers are always beside him. He should acknowledge the goodness of the Lord, praising Him with cheerfulness.  {CM 54.2}
[CM 54.3]          Christ laid aside His glory and came to this earth to suffer for sinners. If we meet with hardships in our work, let us look to Him who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. Then we shall not fail nor be discouraged. We shall endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Remember what He says of all true believers: "We are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." 1 Corinthians 3:9.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 334, 335. (1900)  {CM 54.3}
[CM 54.4]          The World's Greatest Need.--The greatest want of the world is the want of men,--men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.--Education, p. 57. (1903)  {CM 54.4}
[CM 55.1]       Chap. 8 - Fully Prepared         Thorough Preparation.--Very much more efficient work can be done in the canvassing field than has yet been done. The canvasser should not rest satisfied unless he is constantly improving. He should make thorough preparation, but should not be content with a set form of words; he should give the Lord a chance to work with his efforts and impress his mind. The love of Jesus abiding in his heart will enable him to devise means to gain access to individuals and families.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 396. (1885)  {CM 55.1}
[CM 55.2]          Let a class of canvassers be fitted up, by thorough instruction and drill, to handle the publications that shall come forth from the press.--Letter 66, 1901.  {CM 55.2}
[CM 55.3]          Knowledge of God's Word.--The minds of all should be stored with a knowledge of the truths of God's word, that they may be prepared, at any moment when required, to present from the storehouse things new and old.-- Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 415. (1880)  {CM 55.3}
[CM 55.4]          A Knowledge of the Book You Sell.--Canvassers should thoroughly acquaint themselves with the book they are handling and be able readily to call attention to the important chapters.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 338. (1900)                                                                              56   {CM 55.4}
[CM 56.1]          Intellectual and Heart Culture.--Young men are wanted who are men in understanding, who appreciate the intellectual faculties that God has given them, and who cultivate them with the utmost care. Exercise enlarges these faculties, and if heart culture is not neglected, the character will be well balanced. The means of improvement are within the reach of all. Then let none disappoint the Master, when He comes seeking for fruit, by presenting nothing but leaves. A resolute purpose, sanctified by the grace of Christ, will do wonders.-- Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 403. (1885)  {CM 56.1}
[CM 56.2]          Let canvassers be faithful students, learning how to make their work successful; and while thus employed, let them keep their eyes and ears and understanding open to receive wisdom from God, that they may know how to help those who are perishing for lack of a knowledge of Christ. Let every worker concentrate his energies and use his powers for the highest of all service, to recover men from the snare of Satan and bind them to God, making the chain of dependence through Jesus Christ fast to the throne encircled with the rainbow of promise.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 339, 340. (1900)  {CM 56.2}
[CM 56.3]          Responsibility of Teachers of Canvassers.--Teachers in the canvassing work have grave responsibilities to bear. Those who rightly comprehend their position, will direct and instruct those under their care with a sense of their personal accountability, and will inspire others to fidelity in the cause. They will be much in prayer, they will understand that their words and actions are making impressions that will not be easily effaced, but will be as enduring as eternity. They will realize that no other can                                                                              57  come after them and correct their mistakes, or supply their deficiencies. How important it is, then, that the teachers' subject, manner, and spirit are after God's order.--Review and Herald, May 20, 1890.  {CM 56.3}
[CM 57.1]         To Be Educated and Trained.--The presidents of our conferences and others in responsible positions have a duty to do in this matter, that the different branches of our work may receive equal attention. Canvassers are to be educated and trained to do the work required in selling the books upon present truth which the people need. There is need of men of deep Christian experience, men of well-balanced minds, strong, well-educated men, to engage in this work. The Lord desires those to take hold of the canvassing work who are capable of educating others, who can awaken in promising young men and women an interest in this line, leading them to take up the book work and handle it successfully. Some have the talent, education, and experience which would enable them to educate the youth for the canvassing work in such a way that much more would be accomplished than is now being done.  {CM 57.1}
[CM 57.2]          Experienced With Inexperienced.--Those who have gained an experience in this work have a special duty to perform in teaching others. Educate, educate, educate young men and women to sell the books which the Lord by His Holy Spirit has stirred His servants to write. God desires us to be faithful in educating those who accept the truth, that they may believe to a purpose and work intelligently in the Lord's way. Let inexperienced persons be connected with experienced workers, that they may learn how to work. Let them seek God                                                                              58  most earnestly. These may do a good work in canvassing if they will obey the words: "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine." 1 Timothy 4:16. Those who give evidence that they are truly converted, and who take up the canvassing work, will see that it is the best preparation for other lines of missionary labor.  {CM 57.2}
[CM 58.1]          If those who know the truth would practice it, methods would be devised for meeting the people where they are. It was the providence of God which in the beginning of the Christian church scattered the saints abroad, sending them out of Jerusalem into many parts of the world. The disciples of Christ did not stay in Jerusalem or in the cities nearby, but they went beyond the limits of their own country into the great thoroughfares of travel, seeking for the lost that they might bring them to God. Today the Lord desires to see His work carried forward in many places. We must not confine our labors to a few localities.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 329, 330. (1900)  {CM 58.1}
[CM 58.2]          Two and Two.--Canvassers should be sent out two and two. Inexperienced workers should be sent out with those of more experience, who can give them help. They can converse together and study the word of life together, praying with and for each other. Thus both the younger and the elder Christian will receive the blessing of God. --Manual for Canvassers, p. 17. (1902)  {CM 58.2}
[CM 58.3]          In the Service of God.--Canvassers should be impressed with the fact that the canvassing work is the very work the Lord desires them to do. They should remember that they are in the service of God.                                                                              59   {CM 58.3}
[CM 59.1]          Painstaking effort is required; instruction must be given; a sense of the importance of the work must be kept before the workers. All must cherish the spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice that has been exemplified in the life of our Redeemer.  {CM 59.1}
[CM 59.2]          Sixth of Isaiah.--Let the canvassers read the sixth chapter of Isaiah, and take its lesson home to their hearts:  {CM 59.2}
[CM 59.3]          "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:5-8.  {CM 59.3}
[CM 59.4]          This representation will be acted over and over again. The Lord desires to have many take part in this grand work, those who are consecrated, whose hearts are humble, and who are willing to engage in any line that demands their service.--Manual for Canvassers, pp. 18, 19. (1902)  {CM 59.4}
[CM 59.5]          Constantly Improving.--The follower of Jesus should be constantly improving in manners, in habits, in spirit, in labor. This is done by keeping the eye, not on mere outward, superficial attainments, but on Jesus. A transformation takes place in mind, in spirit, in character. The Christian is educated in the school of Christ to                                                                              60  cherish the graces of His Spirit in all meekness and lowliness. He is fitting for the society of heavenly angels. --Gospel Workers, p. 283. (1915)  {CM 59.5}
[CM 60.1]          God desires us to make use of every opportunity for securing a preparation for His work. He expects us to put all our energies into its performance, and to keep our hearts alive to its sacredness and its fearful responsibilities. --The Ministry of Healing, p. 498. (1905)  {CM 60.1}
[CM 61.1]       Chap. 9 - Exemplary in Habit, Deportment, and Dress         A High and Elevating Work.--The canvassing work is God's means of reaching many that would not otherwise be impressed with the truth. The work is a good one, the object high and elevating; and there should be a corresponding dignity of deportment. The canvasser will meet men of varied minds. He will meet those who are ignorant and debased and can appreciate nothing that does not bring them money. These will be abusive, but he should not heed them. His good nature should never fail; he should take a cheerful, hopeful view of every perplexity. He will meet those who are bereaved, disheartened, and sore and wounded in spirit. He will have many opportunities of speaking to these kind words and words of courage, hope, and faith. He may be a wellspring to refresh others if he will; but, in order to do this, he must himself draw from the Fountain of living truth.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 405. (1885)  {CM 61.1}
[CM 61.2]          Dangerous to Do Careless Work.--Well may everyone feel an individual responsibility in this work. Well may he consider how he may best arrest the attention, for his manner of presenting the truth may decide the destiny of a soul. If he makes a favorable impression, his                                                                              62  influence may be to that soul a savor of life unto life; and that one person, enlightened in regard to the truth, may enlighten many others. Therefore it is dangerous to do careless work in dealing with minds.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 405. (1885)  {CM 61.2}
[CM 62.1]          Need of Energy and Enthusiasm.--Among the people professing present truth there is not a missionary spirit corresponding with our faith. The ring of the true gold in character is wanting. Christian life is more than they take it to be. It does not consist in mere gentleness, patience, meekness, and kindliness. These graces are essential; but there is need of courage, force, energy, and perseverance also. Many who engage in the work of canvassing are weak, nerveless, spiritless, easily discouraged. They lack push. They have not those positive traits of character that give men power to do something, --the spirit and energy that kindle enthusiasm. The canvasser is engaged in an honorable business, and he should not act as though he were ashamed of it. If he would have success attend his efforts he must be courageous and hopeful.  {CM 62.1}
[CM 62.2]          Cultivate Active Virtues.--The active virtues must be cultivated as well as the passive. The Christian, while he is ever ready to give the soft answer that turneth away wrath, must possess the courage of a hero to resist evil. With the charity that endureth all things, he must have the force of character which will make his influence a positive power for good. Faith must be wrought into his character. His principles must be firm; he must be noble-spirited, above all suspicion of meanness. The canvasser must not be self-inflated. As he associates with                                                                              63  men he must not make himself conspicuous, talking of himself in a boastful way; for by this course he would disgust intelligent, sensible people. He must not be selfish in his habits nor overbearing and domineering in his manners.  {CM 62.2}
[CM 63.1]          Employ Tact.--Very many have settled it in their minds that they cannot find time to read one in ten thousand of the books that are published and put upon the market. And in many cases when the canvasser makes known his business, the door of the heart closes firmly; hence the great need of doing his work with tact and in a humble, prayerful spirit. He should be familiar with the word of God and have words at his command to unfold the precious truth and to show the great value of the pure reading matter he carries.--Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 404, 405. (1885)  {CM 63.1}
[CM 63.2]          Honesty and Integrity.--The worker who has the cause of God at heart will not insist on receiving the highest wages. He will not plead, as some of our youth have done, that unless he can make a stylish and elegant appearance, and board at the best hotels, he will not be patronized. What the canvasser needs is not the faultless apparel, or the address of the dandy or the clown, but that honesty and integrity of character which is reflected in the countenance. Kindness and gentleness leave their impress upon the face, and the practiced eye sees no deception, detects no pomposity of manner.  {CM 63.2}
[CM 63.3]          A large number have entered the field as canvassers with whom premiums are the only means of success. They have no real merit as workers. They have no experience in practical religion; they have the same                                                                              64  faults, the same tastes and self-indulgences, that characterized them before they claimed to be Christians. Of them it may be said that God is not in their thoughts; He has no abiding place in their hearts. There is a littleness, an earthliness, a debasement in their character and deportment, that testifies against them that they are walking in the way of their own hearts and in the sight of their own eyes. They will not practice self-denial, but are determined to enjoy life. The heavenly treasure has no attractions for them; all their tastes are downward, not upward. Friends and relatives cannot elevate such persons, for they have not a mind to despise the evil and choose the good.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 402 (1885)  {CM 63.3}
[CM 64.1]          Chaste, Meek, Temperate.--Canvassers need self-culture and polished manners, not the affected and artificial manners of the world, but the agreeable manners that are the natural result of kindness of heart and a desire to copy the example of Christ. They should cultivate thoughtful, care-taking habits,--habits of industry and discretion,--and should seek to honor God by making of themselves all that it is possible for them to become. Jesus made an infinite sacrifice to place them in right relations to God and to their fellow men, and divine aid combined with human effort will enable them to reach a high standard of excellence. The canvasser should be chaste like Joseph, meek like Moses, and temperate like Daniel; then a power will attend him wherever he goes.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 396. (1885)  {CM 64.1}
[CM 64.2]          Pleasing Dress and Manners.--We now have great facilities for spreading the truth; but our people are not                                                                              65  coming up to the privileges given them. They do not in every church see and feel the necessity of using their abilities in saving souls. They do not realize their duty to obtain subscribers for our periodicals, including our health journal, and to introduce our books and pamphlets. Men should be at work who are willing to be taught as to the best way of approaching individuals and families. Their dress should be neat, but not foppish, and their manners such as not to disgust the people. There is a great want of true politeness among us as a people. This should be cultivated by all who take hold of the missionary work.--Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 391, 392. (1880)  {CM 64.2}
[CM 65.1]          Untidiness in dress brings a reproach against the truth we profess to believe. You should consider that you are a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the whole life be in harmony with Bible truth. . . . This is not a matter of but little consequence; for it affects your influence over others for time and for eternity. You cannot expect the Lord to give you the fullest success in winning souls for Him unless your whole manner and appearance is of a nature that will win respect. The truth is magnified even by the impression of neatness in dress. --Letter 336, 1908.  {CM 65.1}
[CM 65.2]          Persons of uncouth manners are not fitted for this work. Men and women who possess tact, good address, keen foresight, and discriminating minds, and who feel the value of souls, are the ones who can be successful. --Manual for Canvassers, p. 15. (1902)  {CM 65.2}
[CM 65.3]          Christian Courtesy and Helpfulness.--The canvasser should make every effort in his power to let the light of                                                                              66  truth shine forth in good works. In his discharge of duty he should shed about him the fragrance of Christian courtesy, improving every opportunity to perform acts of helpful service. He should educate himself to speak distinctly and impressively. He should learn daily in the school of the Great Teacher. Christ will surely help those who hide in Him, depending on Him for strength.--Review and Herald, June 16, 1903.  {CM 65.3}
[CM 66.1]          Carefulness in Deportment.--There must be a decided stand taken by all our ministers and by all who profess to believe the truth, in reference to the low level that some seem inclined to take in regard to their words and their deportment. These in many cases in no way correspond with the holy, sacred truths that we profess. Many feel competent to become canvassers and colporteurs who are unconverted. They never have had the transforming grace of Christ. They are not pure. They are daily living a careless, sinful life. Their practices are such as make holy angels hide their faces. We must reach a higher standard, or we will be a reproach to the cause of God and a stumbling block to sinners.--Letter 26d, 1887.  {CM 66.1}
[CM 66.2]          Example in Health Reform.--In your association with unbelievers do not allow yourselves to be swerved from right principles. If you sit at their table, eat temperately and only of food that will not confuse the mind. Keep clear of intemperance. You cannot afford to weaken your mental or physical powers, lest you become unable to discern spiritual things. Keep your mind in such a condition that God can impress it with the precious truths of His word.                                                                              67   {CM 66.2}
[CM 67.1]          Thus you will have an influence upon others. Many try to correct the lives of others by attacking what they regard as wrong habits. They go to those whom they think in error, and point out defects, but do not put forth earnest, tactful effort in directing the mind to true principles. Such a course often fails of securing the desired results. In trying to correct others we too often arouse their combativeness, and thus do more harm than good. Do not watch others in order to point out their faults or errors. Teach by example. Let your self-denial and your victory over appetite be an illustration of obedience to right principles. Let your life bear witness to the sanctifying, ennobling influence of truth.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 336, 337. (1900)  {CM 67.1}
[CM 67.2]         The Graces of the Spirit.--God, in His great love, is seeking to develop in us the precious graces of His Spirit. He permits us to encounter obstacles, persecution, and hardships, not as a curse, but as the greatest blessing of our lives. Every temptation resisted, every trial bravely borne, gives us a new experience, and advances us in the work of character building. The soul that through divine power resists temptation, reveals to the world and to the heavenly universe the efficiency of the grace of Christ.--Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 117. (1896)  {CM 67.2}
[CM 67.3]         Personal "Atmosphere."--Every soul is surrounded by an atmosphere of its own,--an atmosphere, it may be, charged with the life-giving power of faith, courage, and hope, and sweet with the fragrance of love. Or it may be heavy and chill with the gloom of discontent and                                                                              68  selfishness, or poisonous with the deadly taint of cherished sin. By the atmosphere surrounding us, every person with whom we come in contact is consciously or unconsciously affected.--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 339. (1900)  {CM 67.3}
[CM 68.1]          Character Is Power.--Character is power. The silent witness of a true, unselfish, godly life carries an almost irresistible influence. By revealing in our own life the character of Christ we co-operate with Him in the work of saving souls. It is only by revealing in our life His character that we can co-operate with Him. And the wider the sphere of our influence, the more good we may do.--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 340. (1900)  {CM 68.1}
[CM 68.2]          True as Needle to Pole.--May the Lord help everyone to improve to the utmost the talents committed to his trust. Those who work in this cause do not study their Bibles as they should. If they did, its practical teachings would have a positive bearing upon their lives. Whatever your work may be, dear brethren and sisters, do it as for the Master, and do your best. Do not overlook present golden opportunities and let your life prove a failure while you sit idly dreaming of ease and success in a work for which God has never fitted you. Do the work that is nearest you. Do it, even though it may be amid perils and hardships in the missionary field; but do not, I beg of you, complain of hardships and self-sacrifices. Look at the Waldenses. See what plans they devised that the light of the gospel might shine into benighted minds. We should not labor with the expectation of receiving our reward in this life, but with our                                                                              69  eyes fixed steadfastly upon the prize at the end of the race. Men and women are wanted now who are as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men and women who will work without having their way smoothed and every obstacle removed.  {CM 68.2}
[CM 69.1]          When You Live Your Faith.--I have described what canvassers ought to be; and may the Lord open their minds to comprehend this subject in its length and breadth, and may they realize their duty to represent the character of Christ by their patience, courage, and steadfast integrity. Let them remember that they can deny Him by a loose, lax, undecided character. Young men, if you take these principles with you into the canvassing field you will be respected; and many will believe the truth you advocate, because you live your faith, because your daily life is as a bright light set upon a candlestick, which giveth light to all that are in the house. Even your enemies, as much as they war against your doctrines, will respect you; and when you have gained this much, your simple words will have a power and will carry conviction to hearts.--Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 406, 407. (1885)  {CM 69.1}
[CM 70.1]       Chap. 10 - Pleasing in Voice and Speech         The Gift of Speech.--Of all the gifts that God has bestowed upon men, none is more precious than the gift of speech. If sanctified by the Holy Spirit, it is a power for good. It is with the tongue that we convince and persuade; with it we offer prayer and praise to God; and with it we convey rich thoughts of the Redeemer's love. By a right use of the gift of speech the canvasser can sow the precious seeds of truth in many hearts.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 337. (1900)  {CM 70.1}
[CM 70.2]          More attention should be given to the culture of the voice. We may have knowledge, but unless we know how to use the voice correctly, our work will be a failure. Unless we can clothe our ideas in appropriate language, of what avail is our education? Knowledge will be of little advantage to us unless we cultivate the talent of speech; but it is a wonderful power when combined with the ability to speak wise, helpful words, and to speak them in a way that will command attention.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 380. (1900)  {CM 70.2}
[CM 70.3]          Young men and young women, has God placed in your hearts a desire to do service for Him? Then by all means cultivate the voice to the utmost of your ability so that you can make plain the precious truth to others.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 383. (1900)                                                                              71   {CM 70.3}
[CM 71.1]          Speak Clearly and Distinctly.--When you speak, let every word be full and well rounded, every sentence clear and distinct to the very last word. Many as they approach the end of a sentence lower the tone of the voice, speaking so indistinctly that the force of the thought is destroyed. Words that are worth speaking at all are worth speaking in a clear, distinct voice, with emphasis and expression. But never search for words that will give the impression that you are learned. The greater your simplicity, the better will your words be understood.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 383. (1900)  {CM 71.1}
[CM 71.2]          An Indispensable Qualification.--The canvasser who can speak clearly and distinctly about the merits of the book he is introducing, will find this a great help to him in securing a subscription. He may have opportunity to read a chapter; and by the music of his voice and the emphasis placed on the words, he can make the scene presented stand out as clearly before the mind of the listener as if it could in reality be seen.  {CM 71.2}
[CM 71.3]          The ability to speak clearly and distinctly, in full, round tones, is invaluable in any line of work. This qualification is indispensable in those who desire to become ministers, evangelists, Bible workers, or canvassers. Those who are planning to enter these lines should be taught to use the voice in such a way that when they speak to people about the truth, it will make a decided impression for good. The truth must not be marred by being communicated through defective utterance.-- Manual for Canvassers, pp. 23, 24. (1902)                                                                              72   {CM 71.3}
[CM 72.1]          Tell Them With Simplicity.--Men and women are wandering in the mist and fog of error. They want to know what is truth. Tell them, not in high-flown language, but with the simplicity of the children of God. --Manual for Canvassers, pp. 39, 40. (1902)  {CM 72.1}
[CM 72.2]          Words Well Chosen.--Do not, because you are among unbelievers, become careless in your words; for they are taking your measure. Study the instruction given to Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. They "offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not." Taking common fire they placed it upon their censers. "And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified." Leviticus 10:1-3. Canvassers should remember that they are working with the Lord to save souls, and that they are to bring no commonness or cheapness into His sacred service. Let the mind be filled with pure, holy thoughts, and let the words be well chosen. Hinder not the success of your work by uttering light, careless words.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 24. (1902)  {CM 72.2}
[CM 72.3]          Winning Words; Gentle, Courteous Demeanor.-- Those who work for Christ are to be upright and trustworthy, firm as a rock to principle, and at the same time kind and courteous. Courtesy is one of the graces of the Spirit. To deal with human minds is the greatest work ever given to man; and he who would find access to hearts must heed the injunction, "Be pitiful, be courteous."                                                                              73  Love will do that which argument will fail to accomplish. But a moment's petulance, a single gruff answer, a lack of Christian politeness and courtesy in some small matter, may result in the loss of both friends and influence.  {CM 72.3}
[CM 73.1]          What Christ was on this earth, the Christian worker should strive to be. He is our example, not only in His spotless purity, but in His patience, gentleness, and winsomeness of disposition. His life is an illustration of true courtesy. He had ever a kind look and a word of comfort for the needy and the oppressed. His presence brought a purer atmosphere into the home. His life was as leaven working amid the elements of society. Pure and undefiled, He walked among the thoughtless, the rude, the uncourteous; among unjust publicans, unrighteous Samaritans, heathen soldiers, rough peasants, and the mixed multitude. . . .  {CM 73.1}
[CM 73.2]          The religion of Jesus softens whatever is hard and rough in the temper, and smooths whatever is rugged and sharp in the manners. It makes the words gentle and the demeanor winning. Let us learn from Christ how to combine a high sense of purity and integrity with sunniness of disposition. A kind, courteous Christian is the most powerful argument that can be produced in favor of Christianity.  {CM 73.2}
[CM 73.3]          Kind words are as dew and gentle showers to the soul. The Scripture says of Christ, that grace was poured into His lips, that He might "know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary." And the Lord bids us, "Let your speech be alway with grace" "that it may minister grace unto the hearers."                                                                              74   {CM 73.3}
[CM 74.1]          Some with whom you are brought in contact may be rough and uncourteous, but do not, because of this, be less courteous yourself. He who wishes to preserve his own self-respect must be careful not to wound needlessly the self-respect of others. This rule should be sacredly observed toward the dullest, the most blundering.-- Gospel Workers, pp. 121, 122. (1915)  {CM 74.1}
[CM 74.2]          The Saviour's Voice.--The Saviour's voice was as music to the ears of those who had been accustomed to the monotonous, spiritless preaching of the scribes and Pharisees. He spoke slowly and impressively, emphasizing those words to which He wished His hearers to give special heed. . . . The power of speech is of great value, and the voice should be cultivated for the blessing of those with whom we come in contact.--Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 240. (1913)  {CM 74.2}
[CM 74.3]          His Words Drew Hearts.--We should speak of Christ to those who know Him not. We should do as Christ did. Wherever He was, in the synagogue, by the wayside, in the boat thrust out a little from the land, at the Pharisee's feast or the table of the publican, He spoke to men of the things pertaining to the higher life. The things of nature, the events of daily life, were bound up by Him with the words of truth. The hearts of His hearers were drawn to Him; for He had healed their sick, had comforted their sorrowing ones, and had taken their children in His arms and blessed them. When He opened His lips to speak, their attention was riveted upon Him, and every word was to some soul a savor of life unto life.                                                                              75   {CM 74.3}
[CM 75.1]          So it should be with us. Wherever we are, we should watch for opportunities of speaking to others of the Saviour. If we follow Christ's example in doing good, hearts will open to us as they did to Him. Not abruptly, but with tact born of divine love, we can tell them of Him who is the "Chiefest among ten thousand," and the One "altogether lovely." Song of Solomon 5:10, 16. This is the very highest work in which we can employ the talent of speech. It was given to us that we might present Christ as the sin-pardoning Saviour.--Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 338, 339. (1900)  {CM 75.1}
[CM 76.1]      Chap. 11 - Diligent in Service         Energy and Willingness.--Success depends not so much on talent as on energy and willingness. It is not the possession of splendid talents that enables us to render acceptable service; but the conscientious performance of daily duties, the contented spirit, the unaffected, sincere interest in the welfare of others. In the humblest lot true excellence may be found. The commonest tasks, wrought with loving faithfulness, are beautiful in God's sight.--Prophets and Kings, p.  219. (1916)  {CM 76.1}
[CM 76.2]          No Place for Indolence.--Let no one think that he is at liberty to fold his hands and do nothing. That anyone can be saved in indolence and inactivity is an utter impossibility. Think of what Christ accomplished during His earthly ministry. How earnest, how untiring, were His efforts! He allowed nothing to turn Him aside from the work given Him. Are we following in His footsteps? He gave up all to carry out God's plan of mercy for the fallen race. In the fulfillment of the purpose of heaven, He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He had had no communion with sin, had known nothing of it; but He came to this world, and took upon His sinless soul the guilt of sinful man, that sinners might stand justified before God. He                                                                              77  grappled with temptation, overcoming in our behalf. The Son of God, pure and unsullied, bore the penalty of transgression, and received the stroke of death that brought deliverance to the race.--Review and Herald, Jan. 20, 1903.  {CM 76.2}
[CM 77.1]          Wholehearted Labor.--God's servants are to be "not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." Listlessness and inefficiency are not piety. When we realize that we are working for God, we shall have a higher sense than we have ever had before of the sacredness of spiritual service. This realization will put life and vigilance and persevering energy into the discharge of every duty. Religion, pure, undefiled religion, is intensely practical. Nothing but earnest, wholehearted labor will avail in the saving of souls. We are to make our everyday duties acts of devotion, constantly increasing in usefulness because we see our work in the light of eternity. Letter 43, 1902.  {CM 77.1}
[CM 77.2]          Regularity and Dispatch.--God has no use for lazy men in His cause; He wants thoughtful, kind, affectionate, earnest workers. . . . Persons who have not acquired habits of close industry and economy of time should have set rules to prompt them to regularity and dispatch.-- Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 411. (1880)  {CM 77.2}
[CM 77.3]          Rise Early, Work Industriously.--The work of the colporteur is elevating and will prove a success if he is honest, earnest, and patient, steadily pursuing the work he has undertaken. His heart must be in the work. He must rise early and work industriously, putting to proper                                                                              78  use the faculties God has given him. Difficulties must be met. If confronted with unceasing perseverance, they will be overcome. The worker may continually be forming a symmetrical character. Great characters are formed by little acts and efforts.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 18. (1902)  {CM 77.3}
[CM 78.1]          Faithful to Duty.--Those who have entered the canvassing field are in danger of not feeling the necessity of being particular in their work. They are in danger of becoming content with superficial attainments, of being careless in their manners and lazy in mind. There should be faithful discharge of duty in the canvassing field, for it is important and sacred.--Review and Herald, May 20, 1890.  {CM 78.1}
[CM 78.2]          Exact and Diligent.--Remember that in whatever position you may serve, you are revealing motive, developing character. Whatever your work, do it with exactness, with diligence; overcome the inclination to seek an easy task.--The Ministry of Healing, p. 499. (1905)  {CM 78.2}
[CM 78.3]          When we labor diligently for the salvation of our fellow men, God will prosper our every effort.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 86. (1909)  {CM 78.3}
[CM 78.4]          When the canvasser enters upon his work, he should not allow himself to be diverted, but should intelligently keep to the point with all diligence. And yet, while he is doing his canvassing, he should not be heedless of opportunities to help souls who are seeking for light and who need the consolation of the Scriptures. If the canvasser walks with God, if he prays for heavenly wisdom that he may do good and only good in his labor, he will                                                                              79  be quick to discern his opportunities and the needs of the souls with whom he comes in contact. He will make the most of every opportunity for drawing souls to Christ. In the spirit of Christ he will be ready to speak a word to him that is weary.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 339. (1900)  {CM 78.4}
[CM 79.1]          Report Encouraging Experience.--Let those who gain such an experience in working for the Lord write an account of it for our papers, that others may be encouraged. Let the canvasser tell of the joy and blessing he has received in his ministry as an evangelist. These reports should find a place in our papers, for they are far-reaching in their influence. They will be as sweet fragrance in the church, a savor of life unto life. Thus it is seen that God works with those who co-operate with Him.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 336. (1900)  {CM 79.1}
[CM 80.1]       Chap. 12 - Given to Much Prayer         Pray for a Deeper Experience.--To our canvassers, to all whom God has entrusted with talents that they may co-operate with Him, I would say: Pray, oh, pray for a deeper experience. Go forth with your hearts softened and subdued by a study of the precious truths that God has given us for this time. Drink deeply of the water of salvation, that it may be in your hearts as a living spring, flowing forth to refresh souls ready to perish. God will then give wisdom to enable you to impart aright. He will make you channels for communicating His blessings. He will help you to reveal His attributes by imparting to others the wisdom and understanding that He has imparted to you.  {CM 80.1}
[CM 80.2]          I pray the Lord that you may understand this subject in its length and breadth and depth, and that you may feel your responsibility to represent the character of Christ by patience, by courage, and by steadfast integrity. "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7, R.V.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 320. (1900)  {CM 80.2}
[CM 80.3]          Pray Humbly and Fervently.--Humble, fervent prayer would do more in behalf of the circulation of our books than all the expensive embellishments in the world. If the workers will turn their attention to that which is                                                                              81  true and living and real; if they will pray for, believe for, and trust in the Holy Spirit, His power will be poured upon them in strong, heavenly currents, and right and lasting impressions will be made upon the human heart. Then pray and work, and work and pray, and the Lord will work with you.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 319. (1900)  {CM 80.3}
[CM 81.1]          Satan is on your track. He is an artful opponent, and the malignant spirit which you meet in your work is inspired by him. Those whom he controls echo his words. If the veil could be rent away from their eyes, those thus worked would see Satan plying all his arts to win them from the truth. In rescuing souls from his devices, far more will be accomplished by Christlike, humble prayer than by many words without prayer.  {CM 81.1}
[CM 81.2]          Pray Constantly.--The workers should keep the soul constantly uplifted to God in prayer. They are never alone. If they have faith in God, if they realize that to them is committed the work of giving to the people light on Bible subjects, they constantly enjoy the companionship of Christ.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 40. (1902)  {CM 81.2}
[CM 81.3]          Power in Importunate Prayer.--Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His experience testifies to the power of importunate prayer. It is now that we are to learn this lesson of prevailing prayer, of unyielding faith. The greatest victories to the church of Christ or to the individual Christian, are not those that are gained by talent or education, by wealth, or the favor of men. They are those victories that are gained in the audience chamber with God, when earnest, agonizing faith lays hold upon the mighty arm of power.                                                                              82   {CM 81.3}
[CM 82.1]          Those who are unwilling to forsake every sin and to seek earnestly for God's blessing, will not obtain it. But all who will lay hold of God's promises as did Jacob, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded.--Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 203. (1890)  {CM 82.1}
[CM 82.2]          Every Difficulty a Call to Prayer.--The path of sincerity and integrity is not a path free from obstruction, but in every difficulty we are to see a call to prayer.-- The Desire of Ages, p. 667. (1898)  {CM 82.2}
[CM 82.3]          Prayer and Bible Study Essential.--Satan well knows that all whom he can lead to neglect prayer and the searching of the Scriptures, will be overcome by his attacks. Therefore he invents every possible device to engross the mind.--The Great Controversy, p. 519. (1888)  {CM 82.3}
[CM 82.4]          Those who will put on the whole armor of God and devote some time every day to meditation and prayer and to the study of the Scriptures will be connected with heaven and will have a saving, transforming influence upon those around them.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 112. (1882)  {CM 82.4}
[CM 82.5]          Praying With People.--There are many, who, because of prejudice, will never know the truth unless it is brought to their homes. The canvasser may find these souls and minister to them. There is a line of work in house-to-house labor which he can accomplish more successfully than others. He can become acquainted with the people and understand their true necessities; he can pray with them and can point them to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Thus the                                                                              83  way will be opened for the special message for this time to find access to their hearts.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 314. (1900)  {CM 82.5}
[CM 83.1]          By Prayer and Song.--The work of the canvasser evangelist, whose heart is imbued with the Holy Spirit, is fraught with wonderful possibilities for good. The presentation of the truth, in love and simplicity, from house to house, is in harmony with the instruction that Christ gave His disciples when He sent them out on their first missionary tour. By songs of praise, by humble, heartfelt prayers, many will be reached. The divine Worker will be present to send conviction to hearts. "I am with you alway," is His promise. With the assurance of the abiding presence of such a helper we may labor with faith and hope and courage.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 34. (1909)  {CM 83.1}
[CM 83.2]          God Gives Success.--It is God alone who can give success either in preparing or in circulating our publications. If in faith we maintain His principles, He will co-operate with us in placing the books in the hands of those whom they will benefit. The Holy Spirit is to be prayed for, trusted in, believed in. Humble, fervent prayer will do more to promote the circulation of our books than will all the expensive ornamentation in the world.--Testimonies, vol. 7, pp. 158, 159. (1902)  {CM 83.2}
[CM 84.1]       Section III - The Colporteur Evangelist in Action    Chapter 13 - Points on Selling         Introducing Our Books.--Other publishers have regular systems of introducing into the market books of no vital interest. "The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." Golden opportunities occur almost daily where the silent messengers of truth might be introduced into families and to individuals; but no advantage is taken of these opportunities by the indolent, thoughtless ones. Living preachers are few. There is only one where there should be a hundred. Many are making a great mistake in not putting their talents to use in seeking to save the souls of their fellow men.  {CM 84.1}
[CM 84.2]          Hundreds of men should be engaged in carrying the light all through our cities, villages, and towns. The public mind must be agitated. God says: Let light be sent out into all parts of the field. He designs that men shall be channels of light, bearing it to those who are in darkness.--Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 389. (1880)  {CM 84.2}
[CM 84.3]          Canvassing campaigns are to be organized for the sale of our literature, that the world may be enlightened                                                                              85  as to what is just before us.--Review and Herald, June 2, 1903.  {CM 84.3}
[CM 85.1]          Circulation Increases Demand.--Our publishing houses should show marked prosperity. Our people can sustain them if they will show a decided interest to work our publications into the market. . . . The wider the circulation of our publications, the greater will be the demand for books that make plain the Scriptures of truth. Many are becoming disgusted with the inconsistencies, the errors, and the apostasy of the churches, and with the festivals, fairs, lotteries, and numerous inventions to extort money for church purposes. There are many who are seeking for light in the darkness. If our papers, tracts, and books, expressing the truth in plain Bible language, could be widely circulated, many would find that they are just what they want. But many of our brethren act as though the people were to come to them or send to our offices to obtain publications, when thousands do not know that they exist.  {CM 85.1}
[CM 85.2]          Exalt the Value of the Books.--God calls upon His people to act like living men and not to be indolent, sluggish, and indifferent. We must carry the publications to the people and urge them to accept, showing them that they will receive much more than their money's worth. Exalt the value of the books you offer. You cannot regard them too highly.--Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 392. (1880)  {CM 85.2}
[CM 85.3]          Prices of Our Publications.--Some things of grave importance have not been receiving due attention at our offices of publication. Men in responsible positions should                                                                              86  have worked up plans whereby our books could be circulated and not lie on the shelves, falling dead from the press. Our people are behind the times and are not following the opening providence of God.  {CM 85.3}
[CM 86.1]          Many of our publications have been thrown into the market at so low a figure that the profits are not sufficient to sustain the office and keep good a fund for continual uses. And those of our people who have no special burden of the various branches of the work . . . do not become informed in regard to the wants of the cause and the capital required to keep the business moving. They do not understand the liability to losses and the expense every day occurring to such institutions. They seem to think that everything moves off without much care or outlay of means, and therefore they will urge the necessity of the lowest figures on our publications, thus leaving scarcely any margin.  {CM 86.1}
[CM 86.2]          And after the prices have been reduced to almost ruinous figures, they manifest but a feeble interest in increasing the sales of the very books on which they have asked such low prices. The object gained, their burden ceases, when they ought to have an earnest interest and a real care to press the sale of the publications, thereby sowing the seeds of truth and bringing means into the offices to invest in other publications.  {CM 86.2}
[CM 86.3]          There has been a very great neglect of duty on the part of ministers in not interesting the churches in the localities where they labor, in regard to this matter. When once the prices of books are reduced, it is a very difficult matter to get them again upon a paying basis, as men of narrow minds will cry, Speculation, not discerning that no one man is benefited, and that God's                                                                              87  instrumentalities must not be crippled for want of capital. Books that ought to be widely circulated are lying useless in our offices of publication because there is not interest enough manifested to get them circulated.  {CM 86.3}
[CM 87.1]          The press is a power; but if its products fall dead for want of men who will execute plans to widely circulate them, its power is lost. While there has been a quick foresight to discern the necessity of laying out means in facilities to multiply books and tracts, plans to bring back the means invested so as to produce other publications, have been neglected. The power of the press, with all its advantages, is in their hands; and they can use it to the very best account, or they can be half asleep and through inaction lose the advantages which they might gain. By judicious calculation they can extend the light in the sale of books and pamphlets. They can send them into thousands of families that now sit in the darkness of error.--Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 388, 389. (1880)  {CM 87.1}
[CM 87.2]          Not to Rely on Premiums.--Those who have genuine humility, and whose minds have been expanded by the truths unfolded in the gospel, will have an influence that will be felt. They will make an impression upon minds and hearts, and they will be respected by the larger number, even of those who have no sympathy with their faith. With the truths of the Bible and our valuable papers they will have success, for the Lord will open the way before them. But to urge our papers upon the people by means of gifts and premiums does not have a permanent influence for good. If our workers would go forth relying upon the truths of the Bible, with the love of Christ and of souls in their hearts, they would accomplish                                                                              88  more in obtaining permanent subscribers than by depending upon premiums or low prices. The prominence given to these inducements to take the paper gives the impression that it cannot possess real merit in itself. The results would be better if the paper were made prominent and the money spent for premiums were reserved to distribute a few copies free. When premiums are offered, some may be induced to take the paper who otherwise would not, but others will refuse to subscribe because they think it a speculation. If the canvasser would present the merits of the paper itself, with his heart uplifted to God for success, and would depend less upon premiums, more would be accomplished.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 401. (1885)  {CM 87.2}
[CM 88.1]          Canvassers should be secured to handle the books, Great Controversy, Patriarchs and Prophets, Desire of Ages, Daniel and the Revelation, and other books of like character, who have a sense of the value of the matter these books contain, and a realization of the work to be done to interest people in the truth. Special help, which is above all the supposed advantages of illustrations, will be given to such canvassers. The canvassers who are born again by the work of the Holy Spirit, will be accompanied by angels, who will go before them to the dwellings of the people, preparing the way for them. --Manuscript 131, 1899.  {CM 88.1}
[CM 88.2]          Open Doors by Courtesy and Kindness.--One of the simplest, yet most effective methods of labor is that of the canvasser evangelist. By courteous behavior and kindness such a worker may open the door of many homes. When he is entertained by strangers he should show                                                                              89  himself thoughtful and helpful. Never should he make himself a burden, requiring to be waited upon by those upon whom rest the cares of the household. Should there be sickness in the home while he is there, let him do all he can to help. Sometimes he will find men who say they are too busy to listen to a canvass or a Bible reading. Often he may gain their attention by helping them in their work.--Manuscript 26, 1905.  {CM 88.2}
[CM 89.1]          Win Confidence by Helpfulness.--When staying at the homes of the people, share the burdens of the household. . . . Help the tired father do the chores. Take an interest in the children. Be considerate. Work in humility, and the Lord will work with you.--Review and Herald, Nov. 11, 1902.  {CM 89.1}
[CM 89.2]          In every place that you visit, you will find the sick and suffering. Relieve them if possible, even if by so doing, you are detained some little time. . . . The use of simple means in the treatment of the sick will be an object lesson. If at all consistent, pray for the sick one. God may raise him up, and this will be a witness for the truth. Tell the families you visit what they must do to keep well. Take with you some pamphlets bearing on health reform, and leave them with the people. Thus you can sow the seeds of truth.--Manuscript 18a, 1901.  {CM 89.2}
[CM 89.3]          Simple Treatments.--Canvassers should be able to give instruction in regard to the treatment of the sick. They should learn the simple methods of hygienic treatment. Thus they may work as medical missionaries, ministering to the souls and the bodies of the suffering. This work should now be going forward in all parts of the                                                                              90  world. Thus multitudes might be blessed by the prayers and instruction of God's servants.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 324.  {CM 89.3}
[CM 90.1]          Show Value of Healthful Living.--Canvassers should never forget that they are to make earnest efforts to do medical missionary work. The publications treating on health reform are now very much needed by the world. Intemperance is striving for the mastery. Self-indulgence is increasing. In his work the canvasser can do much to show those whom he visits the value of healthful living. Instead of staying at a hotel, he should, if possible, obtain lodging with a private family. As he sits at the meal table with the family, let him practice the instruction given in the health works he is selling. If he has opportunity, let him speak of the value of health reform. If in word and action he is courteous, he will find that his words leave an impression for good.--Manuscript 113, 1901.  {CM 90.1}
[CM 90.2]          Call Attention to Health Literature.--Tell the people that you have for sale books which give much valuable instruction regarding sickness and disease and how to avoid them, and that a study of this instruction saves much suffering and saves also much of the money spent in paying doctor's bills. Tell them that in these books is advice which they cannot possibly obtain from their physician during the short visits he makes.--Manuscripts 113, 1901.  {CM 90.2}
[CM 90.3]          "Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace," you will be prepared to walk from house to house, carrying the truth to the people. Sometimes you will find it very trying to do work of this kind; but if                                                                              91  you go forth in faith, the Lord will go before you, and His light will shine upon your pathway. As you enter the homes of your neighbors to sell or to give away our literature, and in humility to teach them the truth, you will be accompanied by the light of heaven. Learn to sing the simplest of songs. These will help you in house-to-house labor, and hearts will be touched by the influence of the Holy Spirit. . . . We may enjoy the companionship of the heavenly angels. We may not discern their forms, but by faith we may know that they are with us.--Review and Herald, Nov. 11, 1902.  {CM 90.3}
[CM 91.1]          The Real Purpose.--By many of our canvassers there has been a departure from right principles. Through a desire to reap worldly advantage their minds have been drawn away from the real purpose and spirit of the work. Let none think that display will make a right impression upon the people. This will not secure the best or most permanent results. Our work is to direct minds to the solemn truths for this time. It is only when our own hearts are imbued with the spirit of the truths contained in the book we are selling, and when in humility we call the attention of the people to these truths, that real success will attend our efforts; for it is only then that the Holy Spirit, who convinces of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, will be present to impress hearts. --Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 318, 319. (1900)  {CM 91.1}
[CM 92.1]       Chap. 14 - The Colporteur Evangelist and Finance         Prompt Payment for Books.--The work is halting because gospel principles are not obeyed by those who claim to be following Christ. The loose way in which some canvassers, both old and young, have performed their work shows that they have important lessons to learn. Much haphazard work has been presented before me. Some have trained themselves in deficient habits, and this deficiency has been brought into the work of God. The tract and missionary societies ［Book and Bible Houses］ have been deeply involved in debt through the failure of canvassers to meet their indebtedness. Canvassers have felt that they were ill-treated if required to pay promptly for the books received from the publishing houses. Yet to require prompt remittal is the only way to carry on business.  {CM 92.1}
[CM 92.2]          Absolute Honesty.--Matters should be so arranged that canvassers shall have enough to live on without overdrawing. This door of temptation must be closed and barred. However honest a canvasser may be, circumstances will arise in his work which will be to him a sore temptation.  {CM 92.2}
[CM 92.3]          Laziness and indolence are not the fruit borne upon the Christian tree. No soul can practice prevarication or                                                                              93  dishonesty in handling the Lord's goods and stand guiltless before God. All who do this are in action denying Christ. While they profess to keep and teach God's law, they fail to maintain its principles.  {CM 92.3}
[CM 93.1]          No Reckless Spending.--The Lord's goods should be handled with faithfulness. The Lord has entrusted men with life and health and reasoning powers. He has given them physical and mental strength to be exercised; and should not these gifts be faithfully and diligently employed to His name's glory? Have our brethren considered that they must give an account for all the talents placed in their possession? Have they traded wisely with their Lord's goods, or have they spent His substance recklessly, and are they written in heaven as unfaithful servants? Many are spending their Lord's money in riotous enjoyment, so called; they are not gaining an experience of self-denial, but spending money on vanities, and are failing to bear the cross after Jesus. Many who were privileged with precious, God-given opportunities have wasted their lives and are now found in suffering and want.  {CM 93.1}
[CM 93.2]          God calls for decided improvement to be made in the various branches of the work. The business done in connection with the cause of God must be marked with greater precision and exactness. There has not been firm, decided effort to bring about essential reform.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 337,338. (1900)  {CM 93.2}
[CM 93.3]          Not to Incur Debt.--All must practice economy. No worker should manage his affairs in a way to incur debt. The practice of drawing money from the treasury before                                                                              94  it is earned, is a snare. In this way the resources are limited, so that laborers cannot be supported in missionary work. When one voluntarily becomes involved in debt, he is entangling himself in one of Satan's nets which he sets for souls.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 65. (1902)  {CM 93.3}
[CM 94.1]          Canvassers Who Expect to Be Helped.--When they get into difficulty, some canvassers expect that money is to be drawn from the treasury to help them out, only to get into strait places again, and again to require help. Those who are stewards of the means in the treasury must keep a sharp lookout to see that the supply is not exhausted by these drafts. When men cannot by canvassing bring into the treasury every dollar that belongs to it rightly, let them stop just where they are. They should not engage in canvassing unless they can bring means into the treasury, instead of robbing it.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 65. (1902)  {CM 94.1}
[CM 94.2]          Truthful, Honest, and Faithful.--The canvassing work is not to be conducted in a slack, loose manner. Those engaged in work that calls for the handling of money should keep a strict account of every penny received and paid out. The education in accuracy thus gained will fit them for greater usefulness.  {CM 94.2}
[CM 94.3]          If a canvasser continues to order books, and sends no report of his work, making no statement regarding their delivery and the receipt and expenditure of the money that he handles, those in charge of the work should, in a kind, friendly manner, endeavor to ascertain the true situation. To supply books freely to an agent until he is                                                                              95  hopelessly involved in debt is to do injustice both to the canvasser and to those by whom he is employed. Such a loose, careless way of working brings discouragement.  {CM 94.3}
[CM 95.1]          A worker who sees that he is unable to make a success of the canvassing work should go to the proper persons and tell them that he cannot continue in that line of work.  {CM 95.1}
[CM 95.2]          Every canvasser should be truthful, honest, and faithful. How many souls might be saved from temptation, and how much sorrow might be avoided, if all our workers were trained to be as true as steel to principle! --Manuscript 20, 1904.  {CM 95.2}
[CM 95.3]          Results of Careless Financial Habits.--Some canvassers have conducted their business in such a slack, loose way as to be constantly sapping the funds needed for carrying on the work. They have sold books, and given the impression that they were working for the cause; but instead of bringing in the means so much needed to advance the work, they have taken many dollars from the treasury. The means which came into their hands, which was not their own, they appropriated to defray their own expenses, the expenses of their families, or to favor their family connections.  {CM 95.3}
[CM 95.4]          By appropriating to their own use that which belongs to the cause of God, canvassers involve themselves in difficulties, separate their souls from God, and create a feeling of uncertainty, a want of confidence in those who are laboring with them in the field. At the same time they do injustice to their fellow laborers. Men who do their very best are liable to be regarded with suspicion,                                                                              96  and thus are made to suffer because of the course of untrustworthy persons.  {CM 95.4}
[CM 96.1]          The result is that the cause of God is involved in perplexity and brought into embarrassment, and a heavy burden is cast upon those who were appointed to bear weighty responsibilities. If this loose way of doing business is permitted to continue, it will not only drain the treasury of means, but will cut off the supplies that flow from the people. It will destroy their confidence in those at the head of the work who have the management of funds, and will lead many to discontinue their gifts and offerings.  {CM 96.1}
[CM 96.2]          The course of these careless workmen has brought upon men in leading positions a burden that grieves them to the heart. They are perplexed to know how they can guard the cause of God from every species of robbery, and yet save the souls of those who have such perverted ideas as to what is true honesty.  {CM 96.2}
[CM 96.3]          The practice of borrowing money to relieve some pressing necessity, and making no calculation for canceling the indebtedness, however common, is demoralizing. The Lord would have all who believe the truth converted from these self-deceiving practices. They should choose rather to suffer want than to commit a dishonest act. . . . If those who see the truth do not change in character corresponding to the sanctifying influence of the truth, they will be a savor of death unto death. They will misrepresent the truth, bring a reproach upon it, and dishonor Christ, who is truth.  {CM 96.3}
[CM 96.4]          The question to be considered is, By what means the work can be carried forward, and canvassers be prevented from embarrassing the cause, and casting a burden                                                                              97  upon the publishing houses by a careless, selfish way of doing business. This question is of consequence.-- Manuscript 168, 1898.  {CM 96.4}
[CM 97.1]          Side Lines.--Some have brought themselves and their families into most distressing circumstances through poor management in book canvassing. They have run in debt, and have borrowed money of men not of our faith.  {CM 97.1}
[CM 97.2]          With the work of scattering our publications and advocating the truth, some have mingled scheming, buying and selling. This makes a bad combination. As they labor to obtain advantage for themselves, they are allured by the prospect of buying things for less and selling them for more than their value. Therefore the world regards them as sharpers, men who will gain advantage for themselves without considering the case of others. They do not keep the commandments of God; for they do not love their neighbor as themselves.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 62. (1902)  {CM 97.2}
[CM 97.3]          Financial Gain Not Paramount.--If our canvassers are controlled by the spirit of financial gain, if they circulate the book upon which they can make the most money, to the neglect of others that the people need, I ask, In what sense is theirs a missionary work? Where is the missionary spirit, the spirit of self-sacrifice? The work of the intelligent, God-fearing canvasser has been represented as equal to that of the gospel minister. Then should the canvasser feel at liberty, any more than the minister, to act from selfish motives? Should he be unfaithful to the principles of missionary work, and sell only those books that are cheapest and easiest to handle,                                                                              98  neglecting to place before the people books which will give most light, because by so doing he can earn more money for himself? How is the missionary spirit revealed here? Has not the canvassing work ceased to be what it should be? How is it that no voice is raised to correct this state of things?--Manual for Canvassers, pp. 47, 48. (1902)  {CM 97.3}
[CM 98.1]          But many are attracted into the canvassing work to sell books and pictures that do not express our faith, and do not give light to the purchaser. They are induced to do this because the financial prospects are more flattering than those that can be offered them as licentiates. These persons are obtaining no special fitness for the gospel ministry. They are not gaining that experience which would fit them for the work. They are not learning to bear the burden of souls and daily obtaining a knowledge of the most successful way of winning people to the truth. They are losing time and opportunities.  {CM 98.1}
[CM 98.2]          These men are frequently turned aside from the convictions of the Spirit of God, and receive a worldly stamp of character, forgetting how much they owe to the Lord, who gave His life for them. They use their powers for their own selfish interests, and refuse to labor in the vineyard of the Lord.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 43. (1902)  {CM 98.2}
[CM 98.3]          Not to Offer Special Inducements--Many of the workers in the canvassing field are making no sacrifices. As a class they have less of the missionary spirit than the workers in any other denomination. When the way is all prepared for them, when they can command the highest wages, then they are willing to enter the field.                                                                              99  Many inducements are presented to canvassers to handle popular books; large wages are offered them; and many refuse to work for less wages to circulate books treating on present truth. Therefore the inducements have been increased to correspond with those offered by other publishers, and as a consequence the expense of getting our publications before the people is large; many of the canvassers obtain their money easily and spend it freely. --Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 403, 404. (1885)  {CM 98.3}
[CM 99.1]          Economy and Self-Denial.--Quite a sum may be expended in hotel bills that are not at all necessary. The cause of God lay so near the heart of the pioneers in this message that they seldom took a meal at a hotel, even though the cost was but twenty-five cents each. But young men and women generally are not educated to economize, and waste follows waste everywhere. In some families there is a wicked waste of enough to support another family if reasonable economy were used. If, while traveling, our youth will keep an exact account of the money they expend, item by item, their eyes will be opened to see the leaks. While they may not be called upon to deprive themselves of warm meals, as the early workers did in their itinerant life, they may learn to supply their real wants with less expense than they now think necessary. There are persons who practice self-denial in order to give means to the cause of God; then let the workers in the cause also practice self-denial by limiting their expenses as far as possible. It would be well for all our workers to study the history of the Waldensian missionaries and to imitate their example of sacrifice and self-denial.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 400. (1885)  {CM 99.1}
[CM 100.1]       Chap. 15 - Co-operating with Other Gospel Workers         Combine Work of Press and Preacher. The press is a powerful instrumentality which God has ordained to be combined with the energies of the living preacher to bring the truth before all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples.--Life Sketches, p. 217. (1915)  {CM 100.1}
[CM 100.2]          Mission of the "Silent Messengers."--I have been instructed that even where the people hear the message from the living preacher, the canvasser should carry on his work in co-operation with the minister; for though the minister may faithfully present the message, the people are not able to retain it all. The printed page is therefore essential, not only in awakening them to the importance of the truth for this time, but in rooting and grounding them in the truth and establishing them against deceptive error. Papers and books are the Lord's means of keeping the message for this time continually before the people. In enlightening and confirming souls in the truth the publications will do a far greater work than can be accomplished by the ministry of the word alone. The silent messengers that are placed in the                                                                              101  homes of the people through the work of the canvasser will strengthen the gospel ministry in every way; for the Holy Spirit will impress minds as they read the books, just as He impresses the minds of those who listen to the preaching of the word. The same ministry of angels attends the books that contain the truth as attends the work of the minister.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 315, 316. (1900)  {CM 100.2}
[CM 101.1]          Co-operate With Gospel Minister.--The work of co-operating with the gospel minister in carrying the present truth to all nations, tongues, and peoples, is indeed a most essential one. It should be conducted in a manner in keeping with the exalted truth which we profess to love. Through the canvassing work, the minds of many who are now absorbed in iniquity and error, may be enlightened. Through this agency a people may be prepared to stand in the great day of God which is just before us.--Review and Herald, May 20, 1890.  {CM 101.1}
[CM 101.2]          Part of Medical Work and of Ministry.--The preaching of the word is a means by which the Lord has ordained that His warning message shall be given to the world. In the Scriptures the faithful teacher is represented as a shepherd of the flock of God. He is to be respected and his work appreciated. Genuine medical missionary work is bound up with the ministry, and the canvassing work is to be a part both of the medical missionary work and of the ministry. To those who are engaged in this work I would say: As you visit the people, tell them that you are a gospel worker and that you love the Lord.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 323. (1900)                                                                              102   {CM 101.2}
[CM 102.1]          The Colporteur and Bible Work.--Letters have been received by me, making inquiries in regard to the duties of the canvasser. Some have said that in visiting the people they have found favorable opportunities for presenting the truth for this time, and have almost been forced into giving Bible readings. These opportunities they could not conscientiously neglect. On the other hand, letters come saying that our canvassers are neglecting their work in order to give Bible readings upon doctrinal subjects, and that the prejudice aroused by these readings has made it difficult for the canvasser to deliver his books; and some are asking counsel in regard to these matters.  {CM 102.1}
[CM 102.2]          Not to Dwell Upon Doctrinal Subjects.--We think that there is truth in both the statements,--that canvassers find favorable opportunities for leading the people to a better understanding of the Bible, and that, because of the way in which they meet these opportunities, prejudice is aroused, and the work hindered. When the canvasser enters upon his work, he should not allow himself to be diverted, but should intelligently keep to the point with all diligence. And yet while he is faithful in his canvassing, he should not neglect opportunities to help those who are seeking for light and who need the consolation of the Scriptures. If the canvasser walks with God, if he prays for heavenly wisdom that he may do good and only good in his labor, he will be quick to discern the needs of those with whom he comes in contact. He will make the most of his opportunities to draw souls to Christ, not dwelling upon doctrinal subjects, but upon the love of God, upon His mercy and goodness in the plan of salvation. In the spirit of Christ he will be                                                                              103  ready to speak a word in season to him that is weary.  {CM 102.2}
[CM 103.1]          The great need of the soul is to know God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. The Bible abounds in practical lessons, which the canvasser may safely present. If he can by this means impart a knowledge of practical religion, he will be feeding the people, who need just such precious food.--Manual for Canvassers, pp. 35, 36. (1902)  {CM 103.1}
[CM 103.2]          Be Bible Students.--We have a grand work to do for the Master, to open the word of God to those who are in the darkness of error. Young friends, act as though you had a sacred charge. You should be Bible students, ever ready to give to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you. By your true Christian dignity give evidence that you know you have a truth that it is for the interest of the people to hear. If this truth is inwrought in the soul, it will manifest itself in the countenance and demeanor, in a calm, noble self-possession and peace which the Christian alone can possess.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 401. (1885)  {CM 103.2}
[CM 103.3]          Hold Bible Readings.--As the canvasser visits the people at their homes, he will often have opportunity to read to them from the Bible or from books that teach the truth. When he discovers those who are searching for truth he can hold Bible readings with them. These Bible readings are just what the people need. God will use in His service those who thus show a deep interest in perishing souls. Through them He will impart light to those who are ready to receive instruction.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 324. (1900)  {CM 103.3}
[CM 104.1]       Section IV - In League with the Divine    Chapter 16 - Led by God's Spirit         Under the Control of the Holy Spirit.--The canvassing work should never languish. The agencies set in operation to do this work need always to be under the control of the Holy Spirit of God.--Letter 82, 1899.  {CM 104.1}
[CM 104.2]          Man needs a power outside of and beyond himself, to restore him to the likeness of God, and enable him to do the work of God; but this does not make the human agency unessential. Humanity lays hold upon divine power, Christ dwells in the heart by faith; and through co-operation with the divine, the power of man becomes efficient for good.  {CM 104.2}
[CM 104.3]          He who called the fishermen of Galilee is still calling men to His service. And He is just as willing to manifest His power through us as through the first disciples. --The Desire of Ages, pp. 296, 297. (1898)  {CM 104.3}
[CM 104.4]          Pray for the Holy Spirit.--We should pray as earnestly for the descent of the Holy Spirit as the disciples prayed on the Day of Pentecost. If they needed it at that time, we need it more today. Moral darkness, like a funeral pall, covers the earth. All manner of false doctrines, heresies, and satanic deceptions are misleading the minds                                                                              105  of men. Without the Spirit and power of God it will be in vain that we labor to present the truth.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 158. (1882)  {CM 104.4}
[CM 105.1]          When under test young men show that they have a genuine burden for souls, and intense longing to save their fellow men, they will see souls converted. From their work a harvest for the Lord will be reaped. Let them go out as true missionaries to do the work of circulating books containing present truth. As they go, let their prayers ascend to God for increased light and for the guidance of His Spirit, that they may know how to speak a word in season. When they see an opportunity to do an act of kindness, let them take hold as if they were working for wages. Let them remember that thus they are doing errands for the Lord.--Manuscript 75, 1900.  {CM 105.1}
[CM 105.2]          His Help Assured.--God does not ask us to do in our own strength the work before us. He has provided divine assistance for all the emergencies to which our human resources are unequal. He gives the Holy Spirit to help in every strait, to strengthen our hope and assurance, to illuminate our minds and purify our hearts. --Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 19. (1904)  {CM 105.2}
[CM 105.3]          The humble, efficient worker who obediently responds to the call of God may be sure of receiving divine assistance. To feel so great and holy a responsibility is of itself elevating to the character. It calls into action the highest mental qualities, and their continued exercise strengthens and purifies mind and heart. The influence upon one's own life, as well as upon the life of others, is incalculable.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 340. (1900)                                                                              106   {CM 105.3}
[CM 106.1]          Holy Spirit Transforms the Life.--When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven.--The Desire of Ages, p. 173. (1898)  {CM 106.1}
[CM 106.2]          The Secret of Success.--Joshua had received the promise that God would surely overthrow these enemies of Israel, yet he put forth as earnest effort as though success depended upon the armies of Israel alone. He did all that human energy could do, and then he cried in faith for divine aid. The secret of success is the union of divine power with human effort. Those who achieve the greatest results are those who rely most implicitly upon the Almighty Arm.--Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 509. (1890)  {CM 106.2}
[CM 106.3]          Take Hold of Power.--Let canvassing evangelists give themselves up to be worked by the Holy Spirit. Let them by persevering prayer take hold of the power which comes from God, trusting in Him in living faith. His great and effectual influence will be with every true, faithful worker.  {CM 106.3}
[CM 106.4]          As God blesses the minister and the evangelist in their earnest efforts to place the truth before the people, so He will bless the faithful canvasser.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 340. (1900)  {CM 106.4}
[CM 106.5]          Let young and old consecrate themselves to God, take up the work, and go forward, laboring in humility under the control of the Holy Spirit.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 331. (1900)                                                                              107   {CM 106.5}
[CM 107.1]          Realize every moment that you must have the presence of the Holy Spirit; for it can do a work that you cannot do of yourself.--Testimonies to Ministers, p. 310. (1923)  {CM 107.1}
[CM 107.2]          Become His Instrumentality.--Our books should be handled by consecrated workers, whom the Holy Spirit can use as His instrumentalities. Christ is our sufficiency, and we are to present the truth in humble simplicity, letting it bear its own savor of life unto life.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 319. (1900)  {CM 107.2}
[CM 107.3]          Holy Spirit Gives Words.--Hearts cannot fail to be touched by the story of the atonement. As you learn the meekness and lowliness of Christ, you will know what you should say to the people; for the Holy Spirit will tell you what words to speak. Those who realize the necessity of keeping the heart under the control of the Holy Spirit will be enabled to sow seed that will spring up unto eternal life. This is the work of the evangelistic canvasser.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 325. (1900)  {CM 107.3}
[CM 107.4]          He Impresses Hearts.--The Lord Jesus standing by the side of the canvasser, walking with them, is the chief worker. If we recognize Christ as the One who is with us to prepare the way, the Holy Spirit by our side will make impressions in just the lines needed.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 40. (1902)  {CM 107.4}
[CM 107.5]          He Gives Success.--We can enlighten the people only through the power of God. The canvassers must keep their own souls in living connection with God. They                                                                              108  should labor praying that God will open the way, and prepare hearts to receive the message He sends them. It is not the ability of the agent or worker, but it is the Spirit of God moving upon the heart that will give true success.--Manuscript 31, 1890.  {CM 107.5}
[CM 108.1]          Near to Help in Time of Need.--To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest. They will look back with thankfulness upon the darkest part of their way. . . . From every temptation and every trial He will bring them forth with firmer faith and a richer experience.--The Desire of Ages, p. 528. (1898)  {CM 108.1}
[CM 108.2]          "All Power" Available.--Those in the darkness of error are the purchase of the blood of Christ. They are the fruit of His suffering, and they are to be labored for. Let our canvassers know that it is for the advancement of Christ's kingdom that they are laboring. He will teach them as they go forth to their God-appointed work, to warn the world of a soon-coming judgment. Accompanied by the power of persuasion, the power of prayer, the power of the love of God, the evangelist's work will not, cannot, be without fruit. Think of the interest that the Father and the Son have in this work. As the Father loves the Son, so the Son loves those that are His,--those who work as He worked to save perishing souls. None need feel that they are powerless; for Christ declares, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." He has promised that He will give this power to His workers. His power is to become their power.                                                                              109  They are to link their souls with God. Christ desires all to enjoy the wealth of His grace, which is beyond all computation. It is limitless, exhaustless. It is ours by eternal covenant, if we will be workers together with God. It is ours if we will unite with Him to bring many sons and daughters to God.--Review and Herald, June 2, 1903.  {CM 108.2}
[CM 109.1]          Consecrate yourselves wholly to the work of God. He is your strength, and He will be at your right hand, helping you to carry on His merciful designs.-- Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 41. (1909)  {CM 109.1}
[CM 109.2]          God will accept the wholehearted service, and will Himself make up the deficiencies.--The Ministry of Healing, p. 150. (1905)  {CM 109.2}
[CM 109.3]          Measureless Results Possible.--To everyone who offers himself to the Lord for service, withholding nothing, is given power for the attainment of measureless results.-- Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 30. (1902)  {CM 109.3}
[CM 110.1]       Chap. 17 - Accompanied by Angels         Ministry of Holy Angels.--We need to understand better than we do the mission of the angels. It would be well to remember that every true child of God has the co-operation of heavenly beings. Invisible armies of light and power attend the meek and lowly ones who believe and claim the promises of God. Cherubim and seraphim, and angels that excel in strength, stand at God's right hand, "All ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation."--The Acts of the Apostles, p. 154. (1911)  {CM 110.1}
[CM 110.2]          Thousands of Angels.--In working for perishing souls you have the companionship of angels. Thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand angels are waiting to co-operate with members of our churches in communicating the light that God has generously given, that a people may be prepared for the coming of Christ.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 129. (1909)  {CM 110.2}
[CM 110.3]          They Are Ever Near.--Those who labor for the good of others are working in union with the heavenly angels. They have their constant companionship, their unceasing ministry. Angels of light and power are ever near to protect, to comfort, to heal, to instruct, to inspire. The highest education, the truest culture, and the most exalted                                                                              111  service possible to human beings in this world are theirs. --Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 307, 308. (1900)  {CM 110.3}
[CM 111.1]          Sent to Help Us.--Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly on the merits of the Saviour. God would send every angel in heaven to the aid of such a one, rather than allow him to be overcome. --Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 17. (1902)  {CM 111.1}
[CM 111.2]          Our canvassers are having marked success. And why should they not? The heavenly angels are working with them. Hundreds of those who believe the truth will, if they keep their hearts humble, do a good work, in the companionship of heavenly angels. God will use those who humble the heart before him, and sanctify themselves in faith and humility, following the example of the Great Teacher, and speaking words that will enlighten those not of our faith. We are to work patiently and disinterestedly, as the servants of the Lord, opening the Scriptures to others.--Letter 102, 1910.  {CM 111.2}
[CM 111.3]          Angels Give Words.--Much responsibility rests upon the canvasser. He should go to his work prepared to explain the Scriptures. If he puts his trust in the Lord as he travels from place to place, angels of God will be round about him, giving him words to speak that will bring light and hope and courage to many souls.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 314. (1900)  {CM 111.3}
[CM 111.4]          They Come to Soften Hearts.--God will impress those whose hearts are open to truth, and who are longing for guidance. He will say to His human agent,                                                                              112  "Speak to this one or to that one of the love of Jesus." No sooner is the name of Jesus mentioned in love and tenderness than angels of God draw near, to soften and subdue the heart.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 37. (1902)  {CM 111.4}
[CM 112.1]          They Give Instruction.--Every canvasser has positive and constant need of the angelic ministration; for he has an important work to do, a work that he cannot do in his own strength. Those who are born again, who are willing to be guided by the Holy Spirit, doing in Christ's way that which they can do, those who will work as if they could see the heavenly universe watching them, will be accompanied and instructed by holy angels, who will go before them to the dwellings of the people, preparing the way for them. Such help is far above all the advantages which expensive embellishments are supposed to give.  {CM 112.1}
[CM 112.2]          They Give Success.--When men realize the times in which we are living, they will work as in the sight of heaven. The canvasser will handle those books that bring light and strength to the soul. He will drink in the spirit of those books and will put his whole soul into the work of presenting them to the people. His strength, his courage, his success, will depend on how fully the truth presented in the books is woven into his own experience and developed in his character. When his own life is thus molded, he can go forward, representing to others the sacred truth he is handling. Imbued with the Spirit of God he will gain a deep, rich experience, and heavenly angels will give him success in the work.-- Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 319, 320. (1900)                                                                              113   {CM 112.2}
[CM 113.1]          Jesus and holy angels will give success to the efforts of intelligent, God-fearing men who do all in their power to save souls. Quietly, modestly, with a heart overflowing with love, let them seek to win minds to investigate the truth, engaging in Bible readings when they can. By so doing they will be sowing the seed of truth beside all waters, showing forth the praises of Him who hath called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. Those who are doing this work from right motives are doing an important work of ministering. They will manifest no feeble, undecided character. Their minds are enlarging, their manners are becoming more refined. They should place no bounds to their improvement, but every day be better fitted to do good work.--Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 403. (1885)  {CM 113.1}
[CM 114.1]       Chap. 18 - Help for Every Difficulty         A Thousand Ways.--Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service of God supreme, will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet.--The Ministry of Healing, p. 481. (1905)  {CM 114.1}
[CM 114.2]          Results Not Measured by Apparent Success.--We are to be sincere, earnest Christians, doing faithfully the duties placed in our hands, and looking ever to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Our reward is not dependent upon our seeming success, but upon the spirit in which our work is done. As canvassers or evangelists, you may not have had the success you prayed for, but remember that you do not know and cannot measure the result of faithful effort.--Manuscript 20, 1905.  {CM 114.2}
[CM 114.3]          No Need for Discouragement.--When there is a continual reliance upon God, a continual practice of self-denial, the workers will not sink into discouragement. They will not worry. They will remember that in every place there are souls of whom the Lord has need, and whom the devil is seeking, that he may bind them fast in the slavery of sin, of disregard for the law of God.-- Manual for Canvassers, pp. 22, 23. (1902)                                                                              115   {CM 114.3}
[CM 115.1]          Victory Will Be Given.--The canvasser need not be discouraged if he is called to encounter difficulties in his work; let him work in faith, and victory will be given. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world." Whenever a book is presented that will expose error, Satan is close by the side of the one to whom it is offered, and urges reasons why it should not be accepted. But a divine agency is at work to influence minds in favor of the light. Ministering angels will oppose their power to that of Satan. And when through the influence of the Holy Spirit the truth is received into the mind and heart, it will have a transforming power upon the character.--Manuscript 31, 1890.  {CM 115.1}
[CM 115.2]          Look Heavenward in Faith.--Take the word of Christ as your assurance. Has He not invited you to come unto Him? Never allow yourself to talk in a hopeless, discouraged way. If you do, you will lose much. By looking at appearances, and complaining when difficulties and pressure come, you give evidence of a sickly, enfeebled faith. Talk and act as if your faith was invincible. The Lord is rich in resources; He owns the world. Look heavenward in faith. Look to Him who has light and power and efficiency.--Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 146, 147. (1900)  {CM 115.2}
[CM 115.3]          Believe God's Promise.--Those who work for God will meet with discouragement, but the promise is always theirs: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matthew 28:20. God will give a most                                                                              116  wonderful experience to those who will say: "I believe Thy promise; I will not fail nor become discouraged." --Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 335, 336. (1900)  {CM 115.3}
[CM 116.1]          The Saviour Will Send Help.--The precious Saviour will send help just when we need it. The way to heaven is consecrated by His footprints. Every thorn that wounds our feet has wounded His. Every cross that we are called to bear, He has borne before us. The Lord permits conflicts, to prepare the soul for peace.--The Great Controversy, p. 633. (1888)  {CM 116.1}
[CM 116.2]          He Uplifts the Distressed.--Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father's heart. . . . God is bending from His throne to hear the cry of the oppressed. To every sincere prayer He answers, "Here am I." He uplifts the distressed and downtrodden. In all our afflictions He is afflicted. In every temptation and every trial the Angel of His presence is near to deliver.--The Desire of Ages, p. 356. (1898)  {CM 116.2}
[CM 116.3]          Danger of Hesitating and Doubting.--As the prophet ［Jonah］ thought of the difficulties and seeming impossibilities of this commission, he was tempted to question the wisdom of the call. . . . While he hesitated, still doubting, Satan overwhelmed him with discouragement. . . . In the charge given him, Jonah had been entrusted with a heavy responsibility; yet He who had bidden him go was able to sustain His servant and grant him success. --Prophets and Kings, p. 266. (1916)                                                                              117   {CM 116.3}
[CM 117.1]          Let Courage Fail Not.--Never let your courage fail. Never talk unbelief because appearances are against you. As you work for the Master you will feel pressure for want of means, but the Lord will hear and answer your petitions for help. Let your language be: "The Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." Isaiah 50:7.-- Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 244. (1902)  {CM 117.1}
[CM 117.2]          Let us be hopeful and courageous. Despondency in God's service is sinful and unreasonable. He knows our every necessity. He has all power. He can bestow upon His servants the measure of efficiency that their need demands.--Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 38. (1904)  {CM 117.2}
[CM 117.3]          Be strong, and talk hope. Press your way through obstacles. You are in spiritual wedlock with Jesus Christ. The word is your assurance. Approach your Saviour with the full confidence of living faith, joining your hands with His. Go where He leads the way. Whatsoever He says to you, do. He will teach you just as willingly as He will teach someone else.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 462. (1900)  {CM 117.3}
[CM 117.4]          Exercise Faith of Caleb.--It was Caleb's faith in God that gave him courage; that kept him from the fear of man, even the mighty giants, the sons of Anak, and enabled him to stand boldly and unflinchingly in defense of the right. From the same exalted source, the mighty General of the armies of heaven, every true soldier of the cross of Christ must receive strength and courage to overcome obstacles that often seem insurmountable....                                                                              118  We want Calebs now . . . who with courageous words will make a strong report in favor of immediate action. --Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 378-383. (1885)  {CM 117.4}
[CM 118.1]          Work With Determination.--Those in the service of God must show animation and determination in the work of winning souls. Remember that there are those who will perish unless we as God's instrumentalities work with a determination that will not fail nor become discouraged. The throne of grace is to be our continual dependence.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 418. (1900)  {CM 118.1}
[CM 118.2]          Face Difficulties Bravely.--Difficulties will arise that will try your faith and patience. Face them bravely. Look on the bright side. If the work is hindered, be sure that it is not your fault, and then go forward, rejoicing in the Lord.--Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 244. (1902)  {CM 118.2}
[CM 118.3]          Trials Mean Benefit.--But when tribulation comes upon us, how many of us are like Jacob! We think it the hand of an enemy; and in the darkness we wrestle blindly until our strength is spent, and we find no comfort or deliverance. . . . We also need to learn that trials mean benefit, and not to despise the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when we are rebuked of Him.--Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 25. (1896)  {CM 118.3}
[CM 118.4]          The Lord Jesus Our Efficiency.--Workers for Christ are never to think, much less to speak, of failure in their work. The Lord Jesus is our efficiency in all things; His Spirit is to be our inspiration; and as we place ourselves in His hands, to be channels of light, our means of doing                                                                              119  good will never be exhausted. We may draw upon His fullness, and receive of that grace which has no limit. --Gospel Workers, p. 19. (1915)  {CM 118.4}
[CM 119.1]          Expect Great Things.--It is not the capabilities you now possess, or ever will have, that will give you success. It is that which the Lord can do for you. We need to have far less confidence in what man can do, and far more confidence in what God can do for every believing soul. He longs to have you reach after Him by faith. He longs to have you expect great things from Him. He longs to give you understanding in temporal as well as in spiritual matters. He can sharpen the intellect. He can give tact and skill. Put your talents into the work, ask God for wisdom, and it will be given you.--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 146. (1900)  {CM 119.1}
[CM 119.2]          All Difficulties Removed.--If you will seek the Lord and be converted every day; if you will of your own spiritual choice be free and joyous in God; if with gladsome consent of heart to His gracious call, you come wearing the yoke of Christ,--the yoke of obedience and service,--all your murmurings will be stilled, all your difficulties will be removed, all the perplexing problems that now confront you will be solved.--Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 101. (1896)  {CM 119.2}
[CM 119.3]         Through most wonderful workings of divine providence, mountains of difficulty will be removed and cast into the sea.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 96. (1909)  {CM 119.3}
[CM 120.1]       Section V - Our Truth-filled Literature    Chapter 19 - Books That Give the Message         Proclaim the Third Angel's Message.--The Lord calls for workers to enter the canvassing field that the books containing the light of present truth may be circulated. The people in the world need to know that the signs of the times are fulfilling. Take to them the books that will enlighten them. . . .  {CM 120.1}
[CM 120.2]          Those who have been long in the truth are asleep. They need to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit. The third angel's message is to be proclaimed with a loud voice. Tremendous issues are before us. We have no time to lose. God forbid that we should allow minor matters to eclipse the light which should be given to the world.  {CM 120.2}
[CM 120.3]          The warning message is to be carried to all parts of the world. Our books are to be published in many different languages. With these books, humble, faithful men are to go forth as colporteur evangelists, bearing the truth to many who otherwise would never be enlightened. --Manuscript 76, 1901.  {CM 120.3}
[CM 120.4]          A Definite Mission.--My heart aches as I see those who profess to be looking for the Saviour devoting their time and talents to circulating books that contain nothing                                                                              121  concerning the special truths for this time--books of narrative, books of biography, books of men's theories and speculations. The world is full of such books; they can be had anywhere; but how can the followers of Christ engage in so common a work, when there is crying need for God's truth on every hand? It is not our mission to circulate such works. There are thousands of others to do this, who as yet have not sufficient knowledge of anything better. We have a definite mission, and we should not turn from it to side issues. Men and means are not to be employed in bringing before the people books that have no bearing upon the present truth.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 51. (1902)  {CM 120.4}
[CM 121.1]          Unless care is taken, the market will be flooded with books of a cheap order, and the people will be deprived of the light and truth which it is essential they should have to prepare the way of the Lord.--Letter 43, 1899.  {CM 121.1}
[CM 121.2]          Handle Books That Bring Light to the Soul.--Let canvassers handle books which bring light and strength to the soul, and let them drink in the spirit of these books. Let them put their whole soul into the work of presenting these books to the people. If they are imbued with the Spirit of God, heavenly angels will give them success in their work, and they will gain a deep, rich experience. --Letter 75, 1900.  {CM 121.2}
[CM 121.3]          Teach the Evidences of Our Faith.--Our workers should now be encouraged to give their first attention to books that deal with the evidences of our faith--books that teach the doctrines of the Bible and that will prepare a people to stand in the trying times before us. Having                                                                              122  brought a people to the enlightenment of the truth by prayerful labor in Bible instruction, and through a wise use of our publications, we are to teach them to become laborers in word and doctrine. We are to encourage them to scatter the books that deal with Bible subjects --books the teachings of which will prepare a people to stand, having their loins girded with truth and their lamps burning.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 61. (1909)  {CM 121.3}
[CM 122.1]          Contain Present Truth.--Canvassers should be encouraged to take hold of this work, not to canvass for storybooks, but to bring before the world the books containing truth essential for this time.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 315. (1900)  {CM 122.1}
[CM 122.2]          Give the Testing Truths.--The larger books . . . contain present truth for this time--truth that is to be proclaimed in all parts of the world. Our canvassers are to circulate the books that give definite instruction regarding the testing messages that are to prepare a people to stand on the platform of eternal truth, holding aloft the banner on which is inscribed, "The commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."  {CM 122.2}
[CM 122.3]          I have been instructed that the canvassing work is to be revived. Our smaller books, with our pamphlets and journals, can and should be used in connection with our larger books.--Manuscript 136, 1903.  {CM 122.3}
[CM 123.1]       Chap. 20 - Our Large Message Books         Books That Reveal Light on Satan's Apostasy.--［NOTE: THE READER MUST KEEP IN MIND THAT, SINCE THESE STATEMENTS WERE PENNED, A NUMBER OF LARGE MESSAGE-FILLED BOOKS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED AND ARE AVAILABLE TO OUR COLPORTEURS.--COMPILERS.］ Instruction has been given me that the important books containing the light that God has given regarding Satan's apostasy in heaven should be given a wide circulation just now; for through them the truth will reach many minds. Patriarchs and Prophets, Daniel and the Revelation, and The Great Controversy are needed now as never before. They should be widely circulated because the truths they emphasize will open many blind eyes. . . . Many of our people have been blind to the importance of the very books that were most needed. Had tact and skill then been shown in the sale of these books, the Sunday-law movement would not be where it is today.--Review and Herald, Feb. 16, 1905.  {CM 123.1}
[CM 123.2]         In The Desire of Ages, Patriarchs and Prophets, The Great Controversy, and in Daniel and the Revelation, there is precious instruction. These books must be regarded as of special importance, and every effort should be made to get them before the people.--Letter 229, 1903.  {CM 123.2}
[CM 123.3]          The light given was that Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, The Great Controversy, and Patriarchs and Prophets, would make their way. They contain the very                                                                              124  message the people must have, the special light God had given His people. The angels of God would prepare the way for these books in the hearts of the people.-- Special Instruction Regarding Royalties, p. 7. (1899)  {CM 123.3}
[CM 124.1]          The Spirit of Prophecy Books.--I thank my heavenly Father for the interest that my brethren and sisters have taken in the circulation of Christ's Object Lessons. By the sale of this book great good has been accomplished, and the work should be continued. But the efforts of our people should not be confined to this one book. The work of the Lord includes more than one line of service. Christ's Object Lessons is to live and do its appointed work, but not all the thought and effort of God's people are to be given to its circulation. The larger books, Patriarchs and Prophets, The Great Controversy, and The Desire of Ages, should be sold everywhere. These books contain truth for this time,--truth that is to be proclaimed in all parts of the world. Nothing is to hinder their sale.  {CM 124.1}
[CM 124.2]          The effort to circulate Christ's Object Lessons has demonstrated what can be done in the canvassing field. This effort is a never-to-be-forgotten lesson on how to canvass in the prayerful, trustful way that brings success.  {CM 124.2}
[CM 124.3]          Many more of our larger books might have been sold if church members had been awake to the importance of the truths these books contain, and had realized their responsibility to circulate them. My brethren and sisters, will you not now make an effort to circulate these books? and will you not bring into this effort the enthusiasm that you brought into the effort to sell Christ's Object Lessons? In selling this book many have learned how to handle the larger books. They have obtained an                                                                              125  experience that has prepared them to enter the canvassing field.  {CM 124.3}
[CM 125.1]          Influence of These Books.--Sister White is not the originator of these books. They contain the instruction that during her lifework God has been giving her. They contain the precious, comforting light that God has graciously given His servant to be given to the world. From their pages this light is to shine into the hearts of men and women, leading them to the Saviour. The Lord has declared that these books are to be scattered throughout the world. There is in them truth which to the receiver is a savor of life unto life. They are silent witnesses for God. In the past they have been the means in His hands of convicting and converting many souls. Many have read them with eager expectation, and, by reading them, have been led to see the efficacy of Christ's atonement, and to trust in its power. They have been led to commit the keeping of their souls to their Creator, waiting and hoping for the coming of the Saviour to take His loved ones to their eternal home. In the future, these books are to make the gospel plain to many others, revealing to them the way of salvation.--Review and Herald, Jan. 20, 1903.  {CM 125.1}
[CM 125.2]          Sell Books That Give Light.--The Lord has sent His people much instruction, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little. Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light. Oh, how much good would be accomplished if the books containing this light were read with a determination to carry out the principles they contain! There would be a                                                                              126  thousandfold greater vigilance, a thousandfold more self-denial and resolute effort. And many more would now be rejoicing in the light of present truth.  {CM 125.2}
[CM 126.1]          My brethren and sisters, work earnestly to circulate these books. Put your hearts into this work, and the blessing of God will be with you. Go forth in faith, praying that God will prepare hearts to receive the light. Be pleasant and courteous. Show by a consistent course that you are true Christians. Walk and work in the light of heaven, and your path will be as the path of the just, shining more and more unto the perfect day.-- Review and Herald, Jan. 20, 1903.  {CM 126.1}
[CM 126.2]          Truths Barricaded by a "Thus Saith the Lord."--How many have read carefully Patriarchs and Prophets, The Great Controversy, and The Desire of Ages? I wish all to understand that my confidence in the light that God has given stands firm, because I know that the Holy Spirit's power magnified the truth, and made it honorable, saying: "This is the way, walk ye in it." In my books, the truth is stated, barricaded by a "Thus saith the Lord." The Holy Spirit traced these truths upon my heart and mind as indelibly as the law was traced by the finger of God, upon the tables of stone, which are now in the ark, to be brought forth in that great day when sentence will be pronounced against every evil, seducing science produced by the father of lies.--Letter 90, 1906.  {CM 126.2}
[CM 126.3]          God would be pleased to see The Desire of Ages in every home. In this book is contained the light He has given upon His word. To our canvassers I would say, Go forth with your hearts softened and subdued by                                                                              127  reading of the life of Christ. Drink deeply of the water of salvation, that it may be in your heart as a living spring, flowing forth to refresh souls ready to perish.-- Letter 75, 1900.  {CM 126.3}
[CM 127.1]          "The Great Controversy," Above Silver or Gold.-- The Great Controversy should be very widely circulated. It contains the story of the past, the present, and the future. In its outline of the closing scenes of this earth's history, it bears a powerful testimony in behalf of the truth. I am more anxious to see a wide circulation for this book than for any others I have written; for in The Great Controversy, the last message of warning to the world is given more distinctly than in any of my other books.--Letter 281, 1905.  {CM 127.1}
[CM 127.2]          I speak to you who are engaged in the canvassing work. Have you read volume 4 ［The Great Controversy］? Do you know what it contains? Have you any appreciation of the subject matter? Do you not see that the people need the light therein given? If you have not already done so, I entreat you to read carefully these solemn warnings and appeals. I am sure that the Lord would have this work carried into all the highways and byways, where are souls to be warned of the danger so soon to come.--Letter 1, 1890.  {CM 127.2}
[CM 127.3]          I was moved by the Spirit of the Lord to write that book, and while working upon it, I felt a great burden upon my soul. I knew that time was short, that the scenes which are soon to crowd upon us would at the last come very suddenly and swiftly, as represented in the words of Scripture: "The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."                                                                              128   {CM 127.3}
[CM 128.1]          The Lord has set before me matters which are of urgent importance for the present time, and which reach into the future. The words have been spoken in a charge to me, "Write in a book the things which thou hast seen and heard, and let it go to all the people; for the time is at hand when past history will be repeated." I have been aroused at one, two, or three o'clock in the morning with some point forcibly impressed upon my mind, as if spoken by the voice of God. . . .  {CM 128.1}
[CM 128.2]          I was shown . . . that I should devote myself to writing out the important matters for volume 4 ［The Great Controversy］; that the warning must go where the living messenger could not go, and that it would call the attention of many to the important events to occur in the closing scenes of this world's history.--Letter 1, 1890.  {CM 128.2}
[CM 128.3]          The book The Great Controversy, I appreciate above silver or gold, and I greatly desire that it shall come before the people. While writing the manuscript of The Great Controversy, I was often conscious of the presence of the angels of God. And many times the scenes about which I was writing were presented to me anew in visions of the night, so that they were fresh and vivid in my mind.--Letter 56, 1911.  {CM 128.3}
[CM 128.4]          The Greatest Results Future.--The results of the circulation of this book ［The Great Controversy］ are not to be judged by what now appears. By reading it, some souls will be aroused, and will have courage to unite themselves at once with those who keep the commandments of God. But a much larger number who read it will not take their position until they see the very events taking place that are foretold in it. The fulfillment of                                                                              129  some of the predictions will inspire faith that others also will come to pass, and when the earth is lightened with the glory of the Lord, in the closing work, many souls will take their position on the commandments of God as the result of this agency.--Manuscript 31, 1890.  {CM 128.4}
[CM 129.1]          Books With a Unique Influence.--God gave me the light contained in The Great Controversy and Patriarchs and Prophets and this light was needed to arouse the people to prepare for the great day of God, which is just before us. These books contain God's direct appeal to the people. Thus He is speaking to the people in stirring words, urging them to make ready for His coming. The light God has given in these books should not be concealed. . . .  {CM 129.1}
[CM 129.2]          I know that the statement made that these books cannot be sold, is untrue. I know; for the Lord has instructed me that this is said because human devising has blocked the way for their sale. It cannot be denied that these works were not the product of any human mind; they are the voice of God speaking to His people and they will have an influence upon minds that other books do not have.--Manuscript 23, 1890.  {CM 129.2}
[CM 129.3]          Many will depart from the faith and give heed to seducing spirits. Patriarchs and Prophets and The Great Controversy, are books that are especially adapted to those who have newly come to the faith, that they may be established in the truth. The dangers are pointed out that should be avoided by the churches. Those who become thoroughly acquainted with the lessons in these books will see the dangers before them, and will be able to discern the plain, straight path marked out for them.                                                                              130  They will be kept from strange paths. They will make straight paths for their feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way.--Letter 229, 1903.  {CM 129.3}
[CM 130.1]          Will Preserve From Error.--Let there be an interest awakened in the sale of these books. Their sale is essential; for they contain timely instruction from the Lord. They should be appreciated as books that bring to the people light that is especially needed just now. Therefore these books should be widely distributed. Those who make a careful study of the instruction contained in them, and will receive it as from the Lord, will be kept from receiving many of the errors that are being introduced. Those who accept the truths contained in these books will not be led into false paths.  {CM 130.1}
[CM 131.1]       Chap. 21 - Health Publications         Circulation of Health Publications.--The circulation of our health publications is a most important work. It is a work in which all who believe the special truths for this time should have a living interest. God desires that now, as never before, the minds of the people shall be deeply stirred to investigate the great temperance question and the principles underlying true health reform. . . .  {CM 131.1}
[CM 131.2]          Religion and Health.--True religion and the laws of health go hand in hand. It is impossible to work for the salvation of men and women without presenting to them the need of breaking away from sinful gratifications, which destroy the health, debase the soul, and prevent divine truth from impressing the mind.--Review and Herald, Nov. 12, 1901.  {CM 131.2}
[CM 131.3]          Health Reform an Entering Wedge.--The gospel of health has able advocates, but their work has been made very hard because so many ministers, presidents of conferences, and others in positions of influence have failed to give the question of health reform its proper attention. They have not recognized it in its relation to the work of the message as the right arm of the body. While very little respect has been shown to this department by many of the people, and by some of the ministers, the                                                                              132  Lord has shown His regard for it by giving it abundant prosperity. When properly conducted, the health work is an entering wedge, making a way for other truths to reach the heart. When the third angel's message is received in its fullness, health reform will be given its place in the councils of the conference, in the work of the church, in the home, at the table, and in all the household arrangements. Then the right arm will serve and protect the body.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 327. (1900)  {CM 131.3}
[CM 132.1]          Health Literature the Helping Hand of the Gospel.-- Our health literature is the helping hand of the gospel, opening the way for the truth to enter and save many souls. I know of nothing which so quickly unlocks hearts as this literature, which, when read and practiced, leads souls to the searching of the Bible for a better understanding of the truth.  {CM 132.1}
[CM 132.2]          Canvassers should bring the health publications to the notice of those they visit, telling them how useful they are in the treatment of disease.--Manuscript 113, 1901.  {CM 132.2}
[CM 132.3]          Arrests Attention.--Publications upon health reform will reach many who will not see or read anything upon important Bible subjects. . . . The truth must come to the people upon health reform. This is essential in order to arrest the attention in regard to Bible truth.  {CM 132.3}
[CM 132.4]          God requires that His people shall be temperate in all things. Unless they practice temperance, they will not, cannot, be sanctified through the truth. Their very thoughts and minds become depraved.  {CM 132.4}
[CM 132.5]          Many of those looked upon as hopelessly depraved, will, if properly instructed in regard to their unhealthful                                                                              133  practices, be arrested with the truth. Then they may be elevated, ennobled, sanctified, fit vessels for the Master's use. Go with your hands full of proper reading matter, and your heart full of the love of Christ for their souls, reaching them where they are. . . .  {CM 132.5}
[CM 133.1]          Removes Prejudice.--I have been shown that in giving attention to this branch of the work you remove a large amount of prejudice from many minds, that has barred the way to their receiving the truth and reading the publications setting forth the truth which we believe. This matter must not be passed over as nonessential; for nearly every family needs to be stirred up on this question, and their consciences aroused to be doers of the word of God in practicing self-denial of appetite. When you make the people intelligent on the question of health reform, you have prepared the way for them to give attention to the present truth for these last days. Said my guide, "Educate, educate, educate." The mind must be enlightened; for the understanding is darkened just as Satan would have it to be, because he can find access through perverted appetite, to debase the soul. . . .  {CM 133.1}
[CM 133.2]          I am informed by my guide, "All who believe and proclaim the truth should not only practice health reform, but teach it diligently to others." This will be a strong agency in calling the attention of the unbelieving to consider that if we are intelligent upon this subject in regard to healthful diet and practices, we would be sound on the subjects of Bible doctrine.--Manuscript 1, 1875.  {CM 133.2}
[CM 133.3]          The Lord calls for workers to enter the canvassing field. He desires the books upon health reform to be circulated. Much depends upon the question of health reform.--Manuscript 174, 1899.                                                                              134   {CM 133.3}
[CM 134.1]          Let young men and young women take our books on healthful living, and go out among the people, doing their utmost to advance the work of health reform. There are many in the world who are anxious to know more in regard to these principles.--Letter 154a, 1900.  {CM 134.1}
[CM 134.2]          Great Need for This Light.--The people are in sad need of the light shining from the pages of our health and temperance journals. God desires to use these journals as mediums through which flashes of light shall arrest the attention of the people, and cause them to heed the warning of the message of the third angel. . . .  {CM 134.2}
[CM 134.3]          Ministers can and should do much to urge the circulation of the health journals. Every member of the church should work as earnestly for these journals as for our other periodicals. There should be no friction between the two. . . .  {CM 134.3}
[CM 134.4]          The circulation of the health journals will be a powerful agency in preparing the people to accept those special truths that are to fit them for the soon coming of the Son of man.--Review and Herald, Nov. 12, 1901.  {CM 134.4}
[CM 134.5]          A Permanent Part of Our Literature.--Health reform will reach a class and has reached a class that otherwise would never have been reached by the truth. There is a great necessity for labor being put forth to help the people, believers and unbelievers, at the present time by health talks, and health publications. I cannot see why the health books should not have a permanent place as well as the other publications notwithstanding human prejudices to the contrary.--Letter 25a, 1889.  {CM 134.5}
[CM 135.1]       Chap. 22 - Maintaining a Proper Balance         Health and Religious Books.--Perfect unity should exist among the workers who handle the books that are to flood the world with light. Wherever the canvassing work is presented among our people, let both the health books and the religious books be presented together as parts of a united work. The relation of the religious and the health books is presented to me as illustrated by the union of the warp and the woof to form a beautiful pattern and a perfect piece of work.  {CM 135.1}
[CM 135.2]          Equally Important.--In the past the health books have not been handled with the interest which their importance demands. Though by a large class they have been highly appreciated, yet many have not thought it essential that they should go to the world. But what can be a better preparation for the coming of the Lord and for the reception of other truths essential to prepare a people for His coming than to arouse the people to see the evils of this age and to stir them to reformation from self-indulgent and unhealthful habits? Is not the world in need of being aroused on the subject of health reform? Are not the people in need of the truths presented in the health books? A different sentiment from that which has heretofore prevailed regarding the health works should be entertained by many of our canvassers in the field.                                                                              136   {CM 135.2}
[CM 136.1]          Divisions and distinct parties should not be seen among our canvassers and general agents ［publishing department secretaries］. All should be interested in the sale of the books treating upon the health question as well as in the sale of the distinctively religious works. The line is not to be drawn that certain books only are to occupy the attention of the canvassers. There must be perfect unity, a well-balanced, symmetrical development of the work in all its parts.  {CM 136.1}
[CM 136.2]          Not to Be Separated.--The indifference with which the health books have been treated by many is an offense to God. To separate the health work from the great body of the work is not in His order. Present truth lies in the work of health reform as verily as in other features of gospel work. No one branch when separated from others can be a perfect whole.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 326, 327. (1900)  {CM 136.2}
[CM 136.3]          No One Branch a Specialty.--In all our work, caution should be used that no one branch be made a specialty, while other interests are left to suffer. There has not been that interest taken in the circulation of our health journals that there should be. The circulation of these journals must not be neglected, or the people will suffer a great loss.--Review and Herald, Nov. 12, 1901.  {CM 136.3}
[CM 136.4]          Each Has Its Proper Place.--But while the health work has its place in the promulgation of the third angel's message, its advocates must not in any way strive to make it take the place of the message. The health books should occupy their proper position, but the circulation of these books is only one of many lines in the                                                                              137  great work to be done. The glowing impressions sometimes given to the canvasser in regard to the health books must not result in excluding from the field other important books that should come before the people. Those who have charge of the canvassing work should be men who can discern the relation of each part of the work to the great whole. Let them give due attention to the circulation of the health books, but not make this line so prominent as to draw men away from other lines of vital interest, thus excluding the books that bear the special message of truth to the world.  {CM 136.4}
[CM 137.1]          Just as much education is necessary for the handling of the religious books as for the handling of those treating upon the question of health and temperance. Just as much should be said in regard to the work of canvassing for books containing spiritual food, just as much effort should be made to encourage and educate workers to circulate the books containing the third angel's message, as is said and done to develop workers for the health books.  {CM 137.1}
[CM 137.2]          Each Complements the Other.--The one class of books will always make a place for the other. Both are essential, and both should occupy the field at the same time. Each is the complement of the other and can in no wise take its place. Both treat on subjects of highest value, and both must act their part in the preparation of the people of God for these last days. Both should stand as present truth to enlighten, to arouse, to convince. Both should blend in the work of sanctifying and purifying the churches that are looking and waiting for the coming of the Son of God in power and great glory.  {CM 137.2}
[CM 137.3]          Let each publisher and general agent ［publishing department secretary］ work enthusiastically to encourage                                                                              138  the agents ［colporteurs］ now in the field and to hunt up and train new workers. Let each strengthen and build up the work as much as possible without weakening the work of others. Let all be done in brotherly love and without selfishness.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 327, 328. (1900)  {CM 137.3}
[CM 138.1]          Work to Develop Symmetrically.--The health reform is as closely related to the third angel's message as the arm to the body; but the arm cannot take the place of the body. The proclamation of the third angel's message, the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus, is the burden of our work. The message is to be proclaimed with a loud cry, and is to go to the whole world. The presentation of health principles must be united with this message, but must not in any case be independent of it, or in any way take the place of it. . . . There must be a well-balanced, symmetrical development of the work in all its parts. . . . I would have the health books occupy their proper place; but they are only one of many lines in the great work to be done. The Lord has sent His message to the world in books that contain the truth for the last days.  {CM 138.1}
[CM 138.2]          Canvassers should not be taught that one book or one class of books is to occupy the field, to the neglect of all others. Among the workers are always some who can be swayed in almost any direction. Those who have charge of the canvassing work should be men of well-balanced minds, who can discern the relation of each part of the work to the great whole. Let them give due attention to the circulation of health books, but not make this line so prominent as to draw men away from other lines of vital interest.--Letter 57, 1896.                                                                              139   {CM 138.2}
[CM 139.1]          The sale of health journals and books in no way hinders the sale of the publications dealing with other phases of the third angel's message. All are to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus to come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.--Manuscript 113, 1901.  {CM 139.1}
[CM 139.2]          Not All to Work for One Book.--It has been urged as the best policy that only one book at a time should have a place in the canvassing field,--that all the canvassers should work for the same book. Could this be done, it would not be wise nor expedient. No one book should be carried exclusively and kept before the public as if it could supply every demand for this time. If the Lord has light for His people, brought out in different ways in various books, who shall venture to put up barriers so that the light shall not be diffused throughout the world? The Lord desires our brethren to devise plans so that the light He has given shall not be hid in our publishing houses, but shall shine forth to enlighten all who will receive it.--Manual for Canvassers, p. 47. (1902)  {CM 139.2}
[CM 139.3]          Literature for All Classes.--No canvasser should exalt the book for which he is working above others that set forth the truth for this time. Should our canvassers drop all but one book, and concentrate their energies on that, the work would not be carried on according to God's plan. Minds are not constituted alike, and what might be food for one might fail to attract another; therefore, books should be in the field treating in a variety of ways the special subjects for this time. It will be necessary for the canvasser to make a wise selection. Let no one                                                                              140  who is doing the work of God become narrow and shortsighted. The Lord has many instrumentalities through which He designs to work. When one book is exalted above another, there is danger that the very work best adapted to give light to the people will be crowded out. There is no need of contrasting different books, and judging as to which will do the most good. God has a place for all the voices and all the pens that he has inspired to utterance for Him. It will be difficult for some minds to fathom our most difficult works, and a simpler way of putting the truth will reach them more readily. Let the leading workers encourage the weaker ones, and show an equal interest in every one of the instrumentalities set in motion to prepare a people for the day of the Lord. Some would receive more benefit from papers and tracts than from books. Papers, tracts, and pamphlets that dwell upon Bible lessons, all need attention in the canvassing work, for they are as little wedges that open the way for larger works.--Manual for Canvassers, pp. 48, 49. (1902)  {CM 139.3}
[CM 140.1]         Tracts and Pamphlets.--The canvasser should carry with him tracts, pamphlets, and small books to give to those who cannot buy. In this way the truth can be introduced into many homes.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 338. (1900)  {CM 140.1}
[CM 140.2]          More Decided Efforts for Religious Books.--Canvassing for our publications is an important and most profitable evangelistic work. . . . While we have said much in regard to canvassing for the health books,--and we still feel that we should circulate these books,--yet more                                                                              141  decided efforts should be made to carry our important religious books to the people. Our publications can go to places where meetings cannot now be held. In such places the faithful evangelistic canvasser takes the place of the living preacher.--Letter 14, 1902.  {CM 140.2}
[CM 141.1]          At this period of our work we must guard every step we take in reference to the publication of our books. I have been plainly shown that we must secure as canvassers men and women of ability. Much of the effort that has been devoted to the sale of medical books should now be given to the handling of books that contain the present truth for this time, that the evidences of our faith and the issues that are before us may be known by the people. . . .  {CM 141.1}
[CM 141.2]          We are to bring into the work every living agency who feels that he is chosen of God to do, not a common, commercial work, but a work that will give light and truth, Bible truth, to the world.--Letter 72, 1907.  {CM 141.2}
[CM 141.3]          Small Books vs. Large Books.--I do not believe it is right to devote so much attention to the sale of the smaller books, to the neglect of the larger ones. It is wrong to leave lying on the shelves the large works that the Lord has revealed should be put into the hands of the people, and to push so vigorously, in the place of these, the sale of small books.--Manuscript 123, 1902.  {CM 141.3}
[CM 141.4]          No Time for the Commonplace.--We are now altogether too near the close of this earth's history to keep before the attention of the people a class of books which do not contain the message which our people need. Draw their attention to books treating on practical faith                                                                              142  and godliness. Cleanse and sanctify the camp. There is an abundance of books which will give light to the world.  {CM 141.4}
[CM 142.1]          I cannot understand why our papers should contain so many notices of books unessential for this time. Plenty of such books can be obtained in all bookstores. Why not draw the minds of the people to subjects relating to the words of eternal life? Why not make an effort to obtain communications simple, real, and true, from our workers in all parts of the world? God calls for this class of reading. We have no time to devote to commonplace things, no time to waste on books which only amuse.-- Counsels to Writers and Editors, pp. 147, 148. (1899)  {CM 142.1}
[CM 142.2]          I have been instructed that the common stories put into book form are not essential to our well-being. The world is flooded with this class of literature, and the fact that such books find a ready sale is by no means evidence that they are the books which should be circulated. The passion of stories is bringing into existence many thousands of worthless books, which are as hay, wood, and stubble. These books are written by those whose minds have been educated to run in a channel of romance. Everything that the imaginative mind can think of is woven into the book, and presented to the world as mental food. But very often it has no food value. "What is the chaff to the wheat?" We do not need novels; for we are dealing with the stern realities of life.--Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 147. (1899)  {CM 142.2}
[CM 142.3]          Avoid Frivolous and Exciting Literature.--The world is deluged with books that might better be consumed rather than circulated. Books upon Indian warfare and                                                                              143  similar topics, published and circulated as a money-making scheme, might better never be read. There is a satanic fascination in these books. The heart-sickening relation of crimes and atrocities has a bewitching power upon many youth, exciting in them the desire to bring themselves into notice, even by the most wicked deeds. There are many works more strictly historical whose influence is little better. The enormities, the cruelties, the licentious practices, portrayed in these writings, have acted as leaven in many minds, leading to the commission of similar acts. Books that delineate the satanic deeds of human beings are giving publicity to evil works. The horrible details of crime and misery need not be lived over, and none who believe the truth for this time should act a part in perpetuating their memory.  {CM 142.3}
[CM 143.1]          Love stories and frivolous and exciting tales constitute another class of books that is a curse to every reader. The author may attach a good moral, and all through his work may weave religious sentiments; yet in most cases Satan is but clothed in angel robes, the more effectually to deceive and allure. The mind is affected in a great degree by that upon which it feeds. The readers of frivolous, exciting tales become unfitted for the duties lying before them. They lead an unreal life, and have no desire for useful employment, and no desire to search the Scriptures, to feed upon the heavenly manna. The mind is enfeebled, and loses its power to contemplate the great problems of duty and destiny.  {CM 143.1}
[CM 143.2]          I have been instructed that the youth are exposed to the greatest peril from improper reading. Satan is constantly leading both the youth and those of mature age to be charmed with worthless stories. Could a large                                                                              144  share of the books published be consumed, a plague would be stayed that is doing a fearful work in weakening the mind and corrupting the heart. None are so confirmed in right principles as to be secure from temptation. All this trashy reading should be resolutely discarded.  {CM 143.2}
[CM 144.1]          We have no permission from the Lord to engage in either the printing or the sale of such literature, for it is the means of destroying many souls. I know of what I am writing; for this matter has been opened before me. Let not those who believe the truth engage in this work, thinking to make money. The Lord will put a blight upon the means thus obtained; He will scatter more than is gathered.--Manual for Canvassers, pp. 51-53. (1902)  {CM 144.1}
[CM 144.2]          Canvass to Diffuse Light.--In this age the trivial is praised and magnified. There is a call for anything that will create a sensation and make sales. The country is flooded with utterly worthless publications, which were written for the sake of making money, while really valuable books are unsold and unread. Those who handle this sensational literature because by so doing they can make higher wages are missing a precious opportunity to do good. There are battles to be fought to arrest the attention of men and women, and interest them in really valuable books that have the Bible for their foundation; and it will be a still greater task to find conscientious, God-fearing workers who will enter the field to canvass for these books for the purpose of diffusing light.-- Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 401, 402. (1885)  {CM 144.2}
[CM 145.1]       Chap. 23 - Our Magazine Ministry         Presenting the Truth Through Our Periodicals.-- Blessed, soul-saving Bible truths are published in our papers. There are many who can help in the work of selling our periodicals.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 63. (1909)  {CM 145.1}
[CM 145.2]          We have been asleep, as it were, regarding the work that may be accomplished by the circulation of well-prepared literature. Let us now, by the wise use of periodicals and books, preach the word with determined energy, that the world may understand the message that Christ gave to John on the Isle of Patmos. Let every human intelligence who professes the name of Christ testify, The end of all things is at hand; prepare to meet thy God.--Review and Herald, July 30, 1908.  {CM 145.2}
[CM 145.3]          Proclaim the Third Angel's Message.--The great and wonderful work of the last gospel message is to be carried on now as it has never been before. The world is to receive the light of truth through an evangelizing ministry of the word in our books and periodicals. Our publications are to show that the end of all things is at hand. I am bidden to say to our publishing houses, Lift up the standard; lift it up higher. Proclaim the third angel's message, that it may be heard by all the world. Let it be seen that "here are they that keep the                                                                              146  commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Let our literature give the message as a witness to all the world.--Review and Herald, July 30, 1908.  {CM 145.3}
[CM 146.1]          Periodical Subscriptions.--A mistake has been made in soliciting subscriptions for our periodicals for only a few weeks, when by a proper effort much longer subscriptions might have been obtained. One yearly subscription is of more value than many for a short time. When the paper is taken for only a few months, the interest often ends with the short subscription. Few renew their subscriptions for a longer period, and thus there is a large outlay of time that brings small returns, when, with a little more tact and perseverance, yearly subscriptions might have been obtained. You strike too low, brethren; you are too narrow in your plans. You do not put into your work all the tact and perseverance that it deserves. There are more difficulties in this work than in some other branches of business; but the lessons that will be learned, the tact and discipline that will be acquired, will fit you for other fields of usefulness, where you may minister to souls. Those who poorly learn their lesson, and are careless and abrupt in approaching persons, would show the same defects of manner, the same want of tact and skill in dealing with minds, should they enter the ministry.  {CM 146.1}
[CM 146.2]          Short Subscriptions a Mistake.--While short subscriptions are accepted, some will not make the effort necessary to obtain them for a longer time. Canvassers should not go over the ground in a careless, unconcerned manner. They should feel that they are God's workmen, and the love of souls should lead them to make every effort                                                                              147  to enlighten men and women in regard to the truth. Providence and grace, means and ends, are closely connected. When His laborers do the very best they can, God does for them that which they cannot do themselves; but no one need expect to succeed independently and by his own exertions. There must be activity united with firm trust in God.  {CM 146.2}
[CM 147.1]          Economy is needed in every department of the Lord's work. The natural turn of youth in this age is to neglect and despise economy, and to confound it with stinginess and narrowness. But economy is consistent with the most broad and liberal views and feelings; there can be no true generosity where it is not practiced. No one should think it beneath him to study economy and the best means of taking care of the fragments. Said Christ, after He had performed a notable miracle: "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost."-- Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 399, 400. (1885)  {CM 147.1}
[CM 148.1]       Chap. 24 - The Far-Reaching Influence of our Publications         Power of the Pen.--The pen is a power in the hands of men who feel the truth burning upon the altar of their hearts, and who have an intelligent zeal for God, balanced with sound judgment. The pen, dipped in the fountain of pure truth, can send the beams of light to dark corners of the earth, which will reflect its rays back, adding new power, and giving increased light to be scattered everywhere.--Life Sketches, p. 214. (1915)  {CM 148.1}
[CM 148.2]          The Press God's Instrumentality.--The press is a powerful means to move the minds and hearts of the people. . . . The press is a powerful instrumentality which God has ordained to be combined with the energies of the living preacher to bring the truth before all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples. Many minds can be reached in no other way.--Christian Experience, pp. 225-227. (1922)  {CM 148.2}
[CM 148.3]          The publishing branch of our cause has much to do with our power. I do desire that it shall accomplish all that the Lord designs it should. If our bookmen do their part faithfully, I know, from the light God has given me, that the knowledge of present truth will be doubled and trebled.--Life Sketches, pp. 446, 447. (1915)                                                                              149   {CM 148.3}
[CM 149.1]          Influence of Our Publications.--I have been shown that our publications should be printed in different languages and sent to every civilized country, at any cost. What is the value of money at this time, in comparison with the value of souls? . . .  {CM 149.1}
[CM 149.2]          I have been shown that the press is powerful for good or evil. This agency can reach and influence the public mind as no other means can. The press, controlled by men who are sanctified to God, can be a power indeed for good in bringing men to the knowledge of the truth. . . .  {CM 149.2}
[CM 149.3]          In Other Lands.--I have been shown that the publications already have been doing a work upon some minds in other countries, in breaking down the walls of prejudice and superstition. I was shown men and women studying with intense interest papers and a few pages of tracts upon present truth. They would read the evidences so wonderful and new to them, and would open their Bibles with a deep and new interest, as subjects of truth that had been dark to them were made plain, especially the light in regard to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. As they searched the Scriptures to see if these things were so, a new light shone upon their understanding, for angels were hovering over them, and impressing their minds with the truths contained in the publications they had been reading.  {CM 149.3}
[CM 149.4]          Searching With Prayer and Tears.--I saw them holding papers and tracts in one hand, and the Bible in the other, while their cheeks were wet with tears; and bowing before God in earnest, humble prayer, to be guided into all truth,--the very thing He was doing for them                                                                              150  before they called upon Him. And when the truth was received in their hearts, and they saw the harmonious chain of truth, the Bible was to them a new book; they hugged it to their hearts with grateful joy, while their countenances were all aglow with happiness and holy joy.  {CM 149.4}
[CM 150.1]          These were not satisfied with merely enjoying the light themselves, and they began to work for others. Some made great sacrifices for the truth's sake and to help those of the brethren who were in darkness. The way is thus preparing to do a great work in the distribution of tracts and papers in other languages.--Life Sketches, pp. 214, 215. (1915)  {CM 150.1}
[CM 150.2]          Books Taken From Shelves.--It is true that some who buy the books will lay them on the shelf or place them on the parlor table and seldom look at them. Still God has a care for His truth, and the time will come when these books will be sought for and read. Sickness or misfortune may enter the home, and through the truth contained in the books God sends to troubled hearts peace and hope and rest. His love is revealed to them, and they understand the preciousness of the forgiveness of their sins. Thus the Lord co-operates with His self-denying workers.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 313, 314. (1900)  {CM 150.2}
[CM 150.3]          Souls Brought to Christ.--Our publications are now sowing the gospel seed, and are instrumental in bringing as many souls to Christ as the preached word. Whole churches have been raised up as the result of their circulation.--Review and Herald, June 10, 1880.                                                                              151   {CM 150.3}
[CM 151.1]          Even the Fragments Are Precious.--We should treat as a sacred treasure every line of printed matter containing present truth. Even the fragments of a pamphlet or of a periodical should be regarded as of value. Who can estimate the influence that a torn page containing the truths of the third angel's message may have upon the heart of some seeker after truth? Let us remember that somebody would be glad to read all the books and papers we can spare. Every page is a ray of light from heaven, to shine into the highways and the hedges, shedding light upon the pathway of truth.  {CM 151.1}
[CM 151.2]          In the miracle of feeding the multitude with a few loaves and fishes, the food was increased as it passed from Christ to those who accepted it. Thus it will be in the distribution of our publications. God's truth, as it is passed out, will multiply greatly. And as the disciples by Christ's direction gathered up the fragments which remained, that nothing should be lost, so we should treasure every fragment of literature containing the truth for this time.--Review and Herald, August 27, 1903.  {CM 151.2}
[CM 151.3]         A Thousand in One Day.--God will soon do great things for us if we lie humble and believing at His feet. . . . More than one thousand will soon be converted in one day, most of whom will trace their first convictions to the reading of our publications.--Review and Herald, Nov. 10, 1885.  {CM 151.3}
[CM 151.4]          When the Final Warning Is Given.--By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and                                                                              152  signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.  {CM 151.4}
[CM 152.1]          The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The seed has been sown, and now it will spring up and bear fruit. The publications distributed by missionary workers have exerted their influence, yet many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now the rays of light penetrate everywhere, the truth is seen in its clearness. . . . A large number take their stand upon the Lord's side.--The Great Controversy, p. 612. (1888)  {CM 152.1}
[CM 152.2]          God's Plan for Proclaiming the Message.--To us as a people God has given great light, and He calls upon us to let it shine forth to those in darkness. By us the light, the power, of a living truth is to be given to the world. From us there is to shine forth to those in darkness a clear, steady light, kept alive by the power of God. We are charged to use the light given us to create other lights, that our fellow men may rejoice in the truth. Let us not disregard the charge. Suppose that the sun should refuse to shine, what terrible darkness and confusion would result! For us to refuse to let our light shine to those in darkness is to contract guilt, the magnitude of which cannot be computed. . . .  {CM 152.2}
[CM 152.3]          "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."                                                                              153   {CM 152.3}
[CM 153.1]          These words outline God's plan for the promulgation of the gospel. His instrumentalities, divine and human, are to unite in an effort to save the lost. These souls are to be rescued from the bondage of sin. God calls upon those who have taken His name to obey His orders. All are called to take some part in His work. . . .  {CM 153.1}
[CM 153.2]          Transforming Power of Truth.--It is through the transforming influence of divine grace on human hearts that the power of the word of truth is revealed. The message, proclaimed in regions where it has not yet been heard, makes an impression on hearts. It seems to have greater power in transforming character than when presented to those who are familiar with its office work. Truth has little power on the hearts of those who walk contrary to it for advantage to themselves--those who follow a course opposed to its principles. Such ones profess to believe the word of God, but they give no evidence that they are sanctified by it.  {CM 153.2}
[CM 153.3]          The truth is to take possession of the will of those who have never before heard it. They will see the sinfulness of sin, and their repentance will be thorough and sincere. The Lord will work upon hearts that in the past have not been appealed to, hearts that heretofore have not seen the enormity of sin.  {CM 153.3}
[CM 153.4]          Christ is the only successful antagonist that sin has ever encountered. Let the full light of His life stream into the souls of those who are in darkness. Under the direct power of the gospel thousands have been converted in a day.  {CM 153.4}
[CM 153.5]          When a sinner becomes sensible of the fact that only through Christ can he gain eternal life; when he realizes that obedience to God's word is the condition of                                                                              154  entrance into the kingdom of God; when he sees Christ as the propitiation for sin, he comes to the Saviour in humility and contrition, confessing his sins and seeking forgiveness. His soul is impressed with a sense of the majesty and glory of God. The blessedness of an eternal life of peace and joy and purity is felt so deeply that an entire surrender is made.  {CM 153.5}
[CM 154.1]          I am instructed to say that some who outwardly appear the most fully given to sin will, when light flashes into the soul, make most successful workers in places where there are just such sinners as they themselves once were.  {CM 154.1}
[CM 154.2]          Written for Canvassers.--I write this because those engaged in canvassing work and in house-to-house labor often meet men and women who are coarse and forbidding in outward appearance, but who, if won to the truth, will be among its most loyal and stanch adherents. The spirit of truth is indeed of value in any church. Those whom the Lord uses may not always have outward polish, but if they have integrity of character, the Lord accounts them precious.  {CM 154.2}
[CM 154.3]          God's Work to Increase as End Draws Near.--As the end draws near, the work of God is to increase in full strength and purity and holiness. The workers are to be filled with love for God and for one another. They are to cherish principles of the strictest integrity. When the true keynote is struck, God will reveal Himself as a God of mercy and love. Angels of heaven will draw near to the members of the church on earth to aid them in their necessity. Let us ever remember that we are laborers together with God. In this heavenly union we shall carry forward His work with completeness, with singing                                                                              155  and rejoicing. In every soul will be kindled the fire of holy zeal. Company after company will leave the dark standard of the foe to come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.  {CM 154.3}
[CM 155.1]          Workers Must Gain Deeper Experience.--God's workers must gain a far deeper experience. If they will surrender all to Him, He will work mightily for them. They will plant the standard of truth upon fortresses till then held by Satan, and with shouts of victory take possession of them. They bear the scars of battle, but there comes to them the comforting message that the Lord will lead them on, conquering and to conquer.  {CM 155.1}
[CM 155.2]          When God's servants with consecrated zeal co-operate with divine instrumentalities, the state of things that exists in this world will be changed, and soon the earth will with joy receive her King. Then "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."--Review and Herald, Sept. 17, 1903.  {CM 155.2}
[1BC 1081.1]        1BC - S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 1 (1953)      Abbreviations    AUCR--The Australasian Union Conference Record    BE--The Bible Echo    BTS--Bible Training School    ChE--Christian Education    CTBH--Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene (certain chapters by EGW)    GCB--General Conference Bulletin    GH--Good Health    HR--Health Reformer    HS--Historical Sketches of SDA Missions (certain chapters by EGW)    Letter--Ellen G. White Letter    MS--Ellen G. White Manuscript    NL--Notebook Leaflets    PUR--Pacific Union Recorder    RH--The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald    SW--Sabbath School Worker    ST--Signs of the Times    1SP--Spirit of Prophecy, The, vol. 1 (2SP, etc., for vols. 2-4)    1SG--Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1 (2SG, etc., for vols. 2-4)    YI--Youth's Instructor      Genesis                                  Chapter 1          1-3 (Psalm 33:6, 9). A Reservoir of Means.--God spoke, and His words created His works in the natural world. God's creation is but a reservoir of means made ready for Him to employ instantly to do His pleasure (Letter 131, 1897).  {1BC 1081.1}
[1BC 1081.2]         26 (Ephesians 3:15). A Larger Family.--Infinite love--how great it is! God made the world to enlarge heaven. He desires a larger family of created intelligences (MS 78, 1901).  {1BC 1081.2}
[1BC 1081.3]          27. Man, a New and Distinct Order.--All heaven took a deep and joyful interest in the creation of the world and of man. Human beings were a new and distinct order. They were made "in the image of God," and it was the Creator's design that they should populate the earth (RH Feb. 11, 1902).  {1BC 1081.3}
[1BC 1081.4]          29 (Psalm 104:14). Fruit in Our Hands.--The Lord has given His life to the trees and vines of His creation. His word can increase or decrease the fruit of the land. If men would open their understanding to discern the relation between nature and nature's God, faithful acknowledgments of the Creator's power would be heard. Without the life of God, nature would die. His creative works are dependent on Him. He bestows life-giving properties on all that nature produces. We are to regard the trees laden with fruit as the gift of God, just as much as though He placed the fruit in our hands (MS 114, 1899).  {1BC 1081.4}
[1BC 1081.5]                                Chapter 2          2 (Exodus 20:8-11). Seven Literal Days.--The weekly cycle of seven literal days, six for labor, and the seventh for rest, which has been preserved and brought down through Bible history, originated in the great fact of the first seven days (3SG 90).  {1BC 1081.5}
[1BC 1081.6]          7 (1 Corinthians 3:9; Acts 17:28). Man Under God's Supervision.--The physical organism of man is under the supervision of God; but it is not like a clock, which is set in operation, and must go of itself. The heart beats, pulse succeeds pulse, breath succeeds breath, but the entire being is under the supervision of God. "Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." In God we live and move and have our being. Each heart-beat, each breath, is the inspiration of Him who breathed into the nostrils of Adam the breath of life,--the inspiration of the ever-present God, the Great I AM (RH Nov. 8, 1898).  {1BC 1081.6}
[1BC 1081.7]         (2 Peter 1:4). Partakers of God's                                                                              1082  Nature.--The Lord created man out of the dust of the earth. He made Adam a partaker of His life, His nature. There was breathed into him the breath of the Almighty, and he became a living soul. Adam was perfect in form--strong, comely, pure, bearing the image of his Maker (MS 102, 1903).  {1BC 1081.7}
[1BC 1082.1]          Physical Power Long Preserved.--Man came from the hand of his Creator perfect in organization and beautiful in form. The fact that he has for six thousand years withstood the ever-increasing weight of disease and crime is conclusive proof of the power of endurance with which he was first endowed (CTBH 7).  {1BC 1082.1}
[1BC 1082.2]          8. Adam Crowned King in Eden.--Adam was crowned king in Eden. To him was given dominion over every living thing that God had created. The Lord blessed Adam and Eve with intelligence such as He had not given to any other creature. He made Adam the rightful sovereign over all the works of His hands. Man, made in the divine image, could contemplate and appreciate the glorious works of God in nature (Redemption; or the Temptation of Christ, p. 7).  {1BC 1082.2}
[1BC 1082.3]          15. Eden, Heaven in Miniature.--Adam had themes for contemplation in the works of God in Eden, which was heaven in miniature. God did not form man merely to contemplate His glorious works; therefore, He gave him hands for labor, as well as a mind and heart for contemplation. If the happiness of man consisted in doing nothing, the Creator would not have given Adam his appointed work. Man was to find happiness in labor, as well as in meditation (Ibid., 7, 8).  {1BC 1082.3}
[1BC 1082.4]          16, 17 (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 43:6, 7). To Re-populate Heaven After Test.--God created man for His own glory, that after test and trial the human family might become one with the heavenly family. It was God's purpose to re-populate heaven with the human family, if they would show themselves obedient to His every word. Adam was to be tested, to see whether he would be obedient, as the loyal angels, or disobedient. If he stood the test, his instruction to his children would have been only of loyalty. His mind and thoughts would have been as the mind and thoughts of God. He would have been taught by God as His husbandry and building. His character would have been moulded in accordance with the character of God (Letter 91, 1900).  {1BC 1082.4}
[1BC 1082.5]          17 (John 8:44; Genesis 3:4). Seeds of Death Satan's Work.--Christ never planted the seeds of death in the system. Satan planted these seeds when he tempted Adam to eat of the tree of knowledge which meant disobedience to God (MS 65, 1899) ［published in F. D. Nichol, Ellen G. White and Her Critics］.  {1BC 1082.5}
[1BC 1082.6]         (Revelation 13:8). Death Penalty Not Enforced at Once.--Adam listened to the words of the tempter, and yielding to his insinuations, fell into sin. Why was not the death penalty at once enforced in his case?--Because a ransom was found. God's only begotten Son volunteered to take the sin of man upon Himself, and to make an atonement for the fallen race. There could have been no pardon for sin had this atonement not been made. Had God pardoned Adam's sin without an atonement, sin would have been immortalized, and would have been perpetuated with a boldness that would have been without restraint (RH April 23, 1901).  {1BC 1082.6}
[1BC 1082.7]                                  Chapter 3          1-6. A Succession of Falls.--If the race had ceased to fall when Adam was driven from Eden, we should now be in a far more elevated condition physically, mentally, and morally. But while men deplore the fall of Adam, which has resulted in such unutterable woe, they disobey the express injunctions of God, as did Adam, although they have his example to warn them from doing as he did in violating the law of Jehovah. Would that man had stopped falling with Adam. But there has been a succession of falls. Men will not take warning from Adam's experience. They will indulge appetite and passion in direct violation of the law of God, and at the same time continue to mourn Adam's transgression, which brought sin into the world.  {1BC 1082.7}
[1BC 1082.8]          From Adam's day to ours there has been a succession of falls, each greater than the last, in every species of crime. God did not create a race of beings so devoid of health, beauty, and moral power as now exists in the world. Disease of every kind has                                                                              1083  been fearfully increasing upon the race. This has not been by God's especial providence, but directly contrary to His will. It has come by man's disregard of the very means which God has ordained to shield him from the terrible evils existing (Ibid., March 4, 1875).  {1BC 1082.8}
[1BC 1083.1]          1. Satan Uses Instruments.--In Eden Satan used the serpent as his instrument. Today he makes use of the members of the human family, striving by means of every species of cunning and deception to hedge up the path of righteousness cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in (Letter 91, 1900).  {1BC 1083.1}
[1BC 1083.2]          5. No Change in Satan's Propaganda.--God does not consult our opinions or preferences. He knows what human beings do not know,--the future results of every movement, and therefore our eyes should be directed to Him, and not to the worldly advantages presented by Satan. Satan tells us that if we give heed to him, we shall reach great heights of knowledge. Ye shall be as gods, he said to Eve, if you eat of the tree forbidden by God. The test given to Adam and Eve was very light, but they could not bear it. They disobeyed God, and this transgression opened the floodgates of woe on our world (MS 50, 1893).  {1BC 1083.2}
[1BC 1083.3]          6. Mildest Test Given.--With what intense interest the whole universe watched the conflict that was to decide the position of Adam and Eve. How attentively the angels listened to the words of Satan, the originator of sin, as he placed his own ideas above the commands of God, and sought to make of none effect the law of God through his deceptive reasoning! How anxiously they waited to see if the holy pair would be deluded by the tempter, and yield to his arts! They asked themselves, Will the holy pair transfer their faith and love from the Father and Son to Satan? Will they accept his falsehoods as truth? They knew that they might refrain from taking the fruit, and obey the positive injunction of God, or they might violate the express command of their Creator.  {1BC 1083.3}
[1BC 1083.4]          The mildest test was given them that could be given; for there was no need of their eating of the forbidden tree; everything that their wants required had been provided (BE July 24, 1899).  {1BC 1083.4}
[1BC 1083.5]          Gained Only a Knowledge of Sin and Its Results.--If Adam and Eve had never touched the forbidden tree, the Lord would have imparted to them knowledge,--knowledge upon which rested no curse of sin, knowledge that would have brought them everlasting joy. The only knowledge they gained by their disobedience was a knowledge of sin and its results (AUCR March 1, 1904).  {1BC 1083.5}
[1BC 1083.6]          Adam's Fall Inexplainable.--In what consisted the strength of the assault made upon Adam, which caused his fall? It was not indwelling sin; for God made Adam after His own character, pure and upright. There were no corrupt principles in the first Adam, no corrupt propensities or tendencies to evil. Adam was as faultless as the angels before God's throne. These things are inexplainable, but many things which now we cannot understand will be made plain when we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known (Letter 191, 1899).  {1BC 1083.6}
[1BC 1083.7]          (Ecclesiastes 1:13-18).--Age after age, the curiosity of men has led them to seek for the tree of knowledge; and often they think they are plucking fruit most essential, when, like Solomon's research, they find it altogether vanity and nothingness in comparison with that science of true holiness which will open to them the gates of the city of God. The human ambition has been seeking for that kind of knowledge that will bring to them glory and self-exaltation and supremacy. Thus Adam and Eve were worked upon by Satan until God's restraint was snapped asunder, and their education under the teacher of lies began in order that they might have the knowledge which God had refused them,--to know the consequence of transgression (MS 67, 1898).  {1BC 1083.7}
[1BC 1083.8]          Fall Broke Golden Chain of Obedience.--Adam yielded to temptation and as we have the matter of sin and its consequence laid so distinctly before us, we can read from cause to effect and see the greatness of the act is not that which constitutes sin; but the disobedience of God's expressed will, which is a virtual denial of God, refusing the laws of His government. . . .  {1BC 1083.8}
[1BC 1083.9]          The fall of our first parents broke the golden chain of implicit obedience of the                                                                              1084  human will to the divine. Obedience has no longer been deemed an absolute necessity. The human agents follow their own imaginations which the Lord said of the inhabitants of the old world was evil and that continually (MS 1, 1892).  {1BC 1083.9}
[1BC 1084.1]          Adam: Temptation Removed as Far as Possible.--The plan of salvation was so arranged that when Adam was tested, temptation was removed from him as far as possible. When Adam was tempted, he was not hungry (ST April 4, 1900).  {1BC 1084.1}
[1BC 1084.2]         Man a Free Agent.--God had power to hold Adam back from touching the forbidden fruit; but had He done this, Satan would have been sustained in his charge against God's arbitrary rule. Man would not have been a free moral agent, but a mere machine (RH June 4, 1901).  {1BC 1084.2}
[1BC 1084.3]          Every Inducement to Remain Loyal.--It certainly was not God's purpose that man should be sinful. He made Adam pure and noble, with no tendency to evil. He placed him in Eden, where he had every inducement to remain loyal and obedient. The law was placed around him as a safeguard. (Ibid.).  {1BC 1084.3}
[1BC 1084.4]          7. Fig Leaves Will Not Cover Sin.--Adam and Eve both ate of the fruit, and obtained a knowledge which, had they obeyed God, they would never have had,--an experience in disobedience and disloyalty to God,--the knowledge that they were naked. The garment of innocence, a covering from God, which surrounded them, departed; and they supplied the place of this heavenly garment by sewing together fig-leaves for aprons.  {1BC 1084.4}
[1BC 1084.5]          This is the covering that the transgressors of the law of God have used since the days of Adam and Eve's disobedience. They have sewed together fig-leaves to cover their nakedness, caused by transgression. The fig-leaves represent the arguments used to cover disobedience. When the Lord calls the attention of men and women to the truth, the making of fig-leaves into aprons will be begun, to hide the nakedness of the soul. But the nakedness of the sinner is not covered. All the arguments pieced together by all who have interested themselves in this flimsy work will come to naught (Ibid., Nov. 15, 1898).  {1BC 1084.5}
[1BC 1084.6]          10, 11. Drew on Robes of Ignorance.--Had Adam and Eve never disobeyed their Creator, had they remained in the path of perfect rectitude, they could have known and understood God. But when they listened to the voice of the tempter, and sinned against God, the light of the garments of heavenly innocence departed from them; and in parting with the garments of innocence, they drew about them the dark robes of ignorance of God. The clear and perfect light that had hitherto surrounded them had lightened everything they approached; but deprived of that heavenly light, the posterity of Adam could no longer trace the character of God in His created works (Ibid., March 17, 1904).  {1BC 1084.6}
[1BC 1084.7]          15. Adam Knew Original Law.--Adam and Eve at their creation had knowledge of the original law of God. It was imprinted upon their hearts, and they were acquainted with the claims of law upon them. When they transgressed the law of God, and fell from their state of happy innocence, and became sinners, the future of the fallen race was not relieved by a single ray of hope. God pitied them, and Christ devised the plan for their salvation by Himself bearing the guilt. When the curse was pronounced upon the earth and upon man, in connection with the curse was a promise that through Christ there was hope and pardon for the transgression of God's law. Although gloom and darkness hung, like the pall of death, over the future, yet in the promise of the Redeemer, the Star of hope lighted up the dark future. The gospel was first preached to Adam by Christ. Adam and Eve felt sincere sorrow and repentance for their guilt. They believed the precious promise of God, and were saved from utter ruin (RH April 29, 1875).  {1BC 1084.7}
[1BC 1084.8]          Christ the Immediate Surety.--As soon as there was sin, there was a Saviour. Christ knew that He would have to suffer, yet He became man's substitute. As soon as Adam sinned, the Son of God presented Himself as surety for the human race, with just as much power to avert the doom pronounced upon the guilty as when He died upon the cross of Calvary (Ibid., March 12, 1901).  {1BC 1084.8}
[1BC 1084.9]          Continent of Heaven.--Jesus became the world's Redeemer, rendering perfect                                                                              1085  obedience to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. He redeemed Adam's disgraceful fall, uniting the earth, that had been divorced from God by sin, to the continent of heaven ［OBVIOUSLY THE WORD "CONTINENT" IS HERE EMPLOYED IN A BROADER SENSE THAN IS COMMONLY UNDERSTOOD TODAY. IT IS IN KEEPING WITH USAGE NOW OBSOLETE, WHICH PERMITTED THE WORD "CONTINENT" TO APPLY TO "THE 'SOLID GLOBE' OR ORB OF THE SUN OR MOON" (SEE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY).--EDITOR.］ (BE Aug. 6, 1894).  {1BC 1084.9}
[1BC 1085.1]         Connected With Sphere of Glory.--Though earth was struck off from the continent of heaven ［OBVIOUSLY THE WORD "CONTINENT" IS HERE EMPLOYED IN A BROADER SENSE THAN IS COMMONLY UNDERSTOOD TODAY. IT IS IN KEEPING WITH USAGE NOW OBSOLETE, WHICH PERMITTED THE WORD "CONTINENT" TO APPLY TO "THE 'SOLID GLOBE' OR ORB OF THE SUN OR MOON" (SEE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY). --EDITOR.］ and alienated from its communion, Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory (ST Nov. 24, 1887).  {1BC 1085.1}
[1BC 1085.2]         Instantaneous Substitution.--The instant man accepted the temptations of Satan, and did the very things God had said he should not do, Christ, the Son of God, stood between the living and the dead, saying, "Let the punishment fall on Me. I will stand in man's place. He shall have another chance" (Letter 22, Feb. 13, 1900).  {1BC 1085.2}
[1BC 1085.3]          Christ Placed Feet in Adam's Steps.--What love! What amazing condescension! The King of glory proposed to humble Himself to fallen humanity! He would place His feet in Adam's steps. He would take man's fallen nature, and engage to cope with the strong foe who triumphed over Adam. He would overcome Satan, and in thus doing He would open the way for the redemption from the disgrace of Adam's failure and fall, of all those who would believe on Him (Redemption; or the Temptation of Christ, p. 15).  {1BC 1085.3}
[1BC 1085.4]          16, 17. Execution of Sentence Withheld.--God forbears, for a time, the full execution of the sentence of death pronounced upon man. Satan flattered himself that he had forever broken the link between heaven and earth. But in this he was greatly mistaken and disappointed. The Father had given the world into the hands of His Son for Him to redeem from the curse and the disgrace of Adam's failure and fall (Ibid., 17).  {1BC 1085.4}
[1BC 1085.5]          17, 18. The Curse on All Creation.--All nature is confused; for God forbade the earth to carry out the purpose He had originally designed for it. Let there be no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord. The curse of God is upon all creation. Every year it makes itself more decidedly felt (MS 76a, 1901).  {1BC 1085.5}
[1BC 1085.6]          The first curse was pronounced upon the posterity of Adam and upon the earth, because of disobedience. The second curse came upon the ground after Cain slew his brother Abel. The third most dreadful curse from God, came upon the earth at the Flood (4SG 121).  {1BC 1085.6}
[1BC 1085.7]          The land has felt the curse, more and more heavily. Before the Flood, the first leaf which fell, and was discovered decaying upon the ground, caused those who feared God great sorrow. They mourned over it as we mourn over the loss of a dead friend. In the decaying leaf they could see an evidence of the curse, and of the decay of nature (Ibid., 155).  {1BC 1085.7}
[1BC 1085.8]          (Romans 8:22).--The sin of man has brought the sure result,--decay, deformity, and death. Today the whole world is tainted, corrupted, stricken with mortal disease. The earth groaneth under the continual transgression of the inhabitants thereof (Letter 22, Feb. 13, 1900).  {1BC 1085.8}
[1BC 1085.9]          The Lord's curse is upon the earth, upon man, upon beast, upon the fish in the sea, and as transgression becomes almost universal the curse will be permitted to become as broad and as deep as the transgression (Letter 59, 1898).  {1BC 1085.9}
[1BC 1085.10]          Tokens of God's Continued Love.--After the transgression of Adam, God might have destroyed every opening bud and blooming flower, or He might have taken away their fragrance, so grateful to the senses. In the earth seared and marred by the curse, in the briers, the thistles, the thorns, the tares, we may read the law of condemnation; but in the delicate color and perfume of the flowers, we may learn that God still loves us, that His mercy is not wholly withdrawn from the earth (RH Nov. 8, 1898).  {1BC 1085.10}
[1BC 1085.11]          17-19.--God said to Adam, and to all the descendants of Adam, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread; for from henceforth the earth must be worked under the drawback of transgression. Thorns and briars shall it produce (MS 84, 1897).                                                                              1086   {1BC 1085.11}
[1BC 1086.1]          There is no place upon earth where the track of the serpent is not seen and his venomous sting felt. The whole earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof. The curse is increasing as transgression increases (Letter 22, Feb. 13, 1900).  {1BC 1086.1}
[1BC 1086.2]          18. Amalgamation Brought Noxious Plants.--Not one noxious plant was placed in the Lord's great garden, but after Adam and Eve sinned, poisonous herbs sprang up. In the parable of the sower the question was asked the Master, "Didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? how then hath it tares?" The Master answered, "An enemy hath done this." All tares are sown by the evil one. Every noxious herb is of his sowing, and by his ingenious methods of amalgamation he has corrupted the earth with tares (MS 65, 1899) ［published in F. D. Nichol, Ellen G. White and Her Critics］.  {1BC 1086.2}
[1BC 1086.3]         22-24 (Revelation 22:2, 14). Obedience Is Condition of Eating of Tree.-- Transgression of God's requirements excluded Adam from the Garden of Eden. A flaming sword was placed around the tree of life, lest man should put forth his hand and partake of it, immortalizing sin. Obedience to all the commandments of God was the condition of eating of the tree of life. Adam fell by disobedience, forfeiting by sin all right to use either the life-giving fruit of the tree in the midst of the Garden, or its leaves, which are for the healing of the nations.  {1BC 1086.3}
[1BC 1086.4]          Obedience through Jesus Christ gives to man perfection of character and a right to that tree of life. The conditions of again partaking of the fruit of the tree are plainly stated in the testimony of Jesus Christ to John: "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and many enter in through the gates into the city" (MS 72, 1901).  {1BC 1086.4}
[1BC 1086.5]          24 (Matthew 4:4; 6:63). No Sword Before Our Tree of Life.--The Scriptures, "It is written," is the gospel we are to preach. No flaming sword is placed before this tree of life. All who will may partake of it. There is no power that can prohibit any soul from taking of the fruit of this tree of life. All may eat and live forever (Letter 20, 1900).  {1BC 1086.5}
[1BC 1086.6]                                 Chapter 4          4. Offering Must Be Sprinkled With Blood.--In every offering to God we are to acknowledge the one great Gift; that alone can make our service acceptable to him. When Abel offered the firstling of the flock, he acknowledged God, not only as the Giver of his temporal blessings, but also as the Giver of the Saviour. Abel's gift was the very choicest he could bring; for it was the Lord's specified claim. But Cain brought only of the fruit of the ground, and his offering was not accepted by the Lord. It did not express faith in Christ. All our offerings must be sprinkled with the blood of the atonement. As the purchased possession of the Son of God, we are to give the Lord our own individual lives (RH Nov. 24, 1896).  {1BC 1086.6}
[1BC 1086.7]          (Genesis 2:17). Substitute Accepted for Time Being.--Fallen man, because of his guilt, could no longer come directly before God with his supplications; for his transgression of the divine law had placed an impassable barrier between the holy God and the transgressor. But a plan was devised that the sentence of death should rest upon a substitute. In the plan of redemption there must be the shedding of blood, for death must come in consequence of man's sin. The beasts for sacrificial offerings were to prefigure Christ. In the slain victim, man was to see the fulfillment for the time being of God's word, "Ye shall surely die" (Redemption; or the Temptation of Christ, p. 19).  {1BC 1086.7}
[1BC 1086.8]          6. God Marks Every Action.--The Lord saw the wrath of Cain, He saw the falling of his countenance. Thus is revealed how closely the Lord marks every action, all the intents and purposes, yes, even the expression of the countenance. This, though man may say nothing, expresses his refusal to do the way and will of God. . . . Well might the question be asked you of the Lord, when you cannot follow the impulse of your own rebellious heart, and are restrained from doing your own unrighteous, unsanctified will, "Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?" Such exhibitions reveal that because they cannot do after Satan's arts and devices they are provoked, and can only manifest a spirit similar to that of Cain (MS 77, 1897).  {1BC 1086.8}
[1BC 1086.9]         8. Contention Must Come.--There could                                                                              1087  be no harmony between the two brothers, and contention must come. Abel could not concede to Cain without being guilty of disobedience to the special commands of God (Letter 16, 1897).  {1BC 1086.9}
[1BC 1087.1]          Cain Filled With Doubt and Madness.--Satan is the parent of unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion. He filled Cain with doubt and with madness against his innocent brother and against God, because his sacrifice was refused and Abel's accepted. And he slew his brother in his insane madness (RH March 3, 1874).  {1BC 1087.1}
[1BC 1087.2]          15. Mark of Cain.--God has given to every man his work; and if any one turns from the work that God has given him, to do the work of Satan, to defile his own body or lead another into sin, that man's work is cursed, and the brand of Cain is placed upon him. The ruin of his victim will cry unto God, as did the blood of Abel (Ibid., March 6, 1894).  {1BC 1087.2}
[1BC 1087.3]          Any man, be he minister or layman, who seeks to compel or control the reason of any other man, becomes an agent of Satan, to do his work, and in the sight of the heavenly universe he bears the mark of Cain (MS 29, 1911).  {1BC 1087.3}
[1BC 1087.4]          25. Seth More Noble in Stature Than Cain or Abel.--Seth was of more noble stature than Cain or Abel, and resembled Adam more than any of his other sons. The descendants of Seth had separated themselves from the wicked descendants of Cain. They cherished the knowledge of God's will, while the ungodly race of Cain had no respect for God and His sacred commandments (3SG 60).  {1BC 1087.4}
[1BC 1087.5]                                   Chapter 5          22-24. Enoch Saw God Only by Faith.--Did he ［Enoch］ see God by his side? Only by faith. He knew that the Lord was there, and he adhered steadfastly to the principles of truth. We, too, are to walk with God. When we do this, our faces will be lighted up by the brightness of His presence, and when we meet one another, we shall speak of His power, saying, Praise God. Good is the Lord, and good is the word of the Lord (MS 17, 1903).  {1BC 1087.5}
[1BC 1087.6]          Christ a Constant Companion.--We can have what Enoch had. We can have Christ as our constant companion. Enoch walked with God, and when assailed by the tempter, he could talk with God about it. He had no "It is written" as we have, but he had a knowledge of his heavenly Companion. He made God his Counsellor, and was closely bound up with Jesus. And Enoch was honored in this course. He was translated to heaven without seeing death. And those who will be translated at the close of time, will be those who commune with God on earth. Those who make manifest that their life is hid with Christ in God will ever be representing Him in all their life-practices. Selfishness will be cut out by the roots (MS 38, 1897).  {1BC 1087.6}
[1BC 1087.7]         Strove to Conform to Divine Likeness.--Let us realize the weakness of humanity, and see where man fails in his self-sufficiency. We shall then be filled with a desire to be just what God desires us to be,-- pure, noble, sanctified. We shall hunger and thirst after the righteousness of Christ. To be like God will be the one desire of the soul.  {1BC 1087.7}
[1BC 1087.8]          This is the desire that filled Enoch's heart. And we read that he walked with God. He studied the character of God to a purpose. He did not mark out his own course, or set up his own will, as if he thought himself fully qualified to manage matters. He strove to conform himself to the divine likeness (Letter 169, 1903).  {1BC 1087.8}
[1BC 1087.9]          How Enoch Walked With God.--While trusting in your heavenly Father for the help you need, He will not leave you. God has a heaven full of blessings that He wants to bestow on those who are earnestly seeking for that help which the Lord alone can give. It was in looking in faith to Jesus, in asking of Him, in believing that every word spoken would be verified, that Enoch walked with God. He kept close by the side of God, obeying His every word. . . . His was a wonderful life of oneness. Christ was his Companion. He was in intimate fellowship with God (MS 111, 1898).  {1BC 1087.9}
[1BC 1087.10]          Abode in Pure Atmosphere.--He ［Enoch］ did not make his abode with the wicked. He did not locate in Sodom, thinking to save Sodom. He placed himself and his family where the atmosphere would be as pure as possible. Then at times he went forth to the inhabitants of the world with                                                                              1088  his God-given message. Every visit he made to the world was painful to him. He saw and understood something of the leprosy of sin. After proclaiming his message, he always took back with him to his place of retirement some who had received the warning. Some of these became overcomers, and died before the Flood came. But some had lived so long in the corrupting influence of sin that they could not endure righteousness (MS 42, 1900).  {1BC 1087.10}
[1BC 1088.1]          24. No Moral Darkness So Dense.--Enoch walked with God, while of the world around him sacred history records, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Enoch's righteous life was in marked contrast with the wicked people around him. His piety, his purity, his unswerving integrity were the result of his walking with God, while the wickedness of the world was the result of their walking with the deceiver of mankind. There never has been and never will be an age when the moral darkness will be so dense as when Enoch lived a life of irreproachable righteousness (MS 43, 1900).  {1BC 1088.1}
[1BC 1088.2]          Enoch the First Prophet.--Enoch was the first prophet among mankind. He foretold by prophecy the second coming of Christ to our world, and his work at that time. His life was a specimen of Christian consistency. Holy lips alone should speak forth the words of God in denunciation and judgments. His prophecy is not found in the writings of the Old Testament. We may never find any books which relate to the works of Enoch, but Jude, a prophet of God, mentions the work of Enoch (Ibid.).  {1BC 1088.2}
[1BC 1088.3]                                   Chapter 6          2. Co-operation With God Avoids Cain-worship.--Had man co-operated with God, there would have been no Cain-worshipers. Abel's example of obedience would have been followed. Men might have worked out the will of God. They might have obeyed His law, and in obedience they would have found salvation. God and the heavenly universe would have helped them to retain the divine likeness. Longevity would have been preserved; and God would have delighted in the work of His hands (RH Dec. 27, 1898).  {1BC 1088.3}
[1BC 1088.4]         3 (1 Peter 3:18-21). God Preached Through Methuselah, Noah, and Others.--God granted them one hundred and twenty years of probation, and during that time preached to them through Methuselah, Noah, and many others of His servants. Had they listened to the testimony of these faithful witnesses, had they repented and returned to their loyalty, God would not have destroyed them (RH April 23, 1901).  {1BC 1088.4}
[1BC 1088.5]          Enoch Bore Testimony Unflinchingly.--Before the destruction of the antediluvian world, Enoch bore his testimony unflinchingly (RH Nov. 1, 1906).  {1BC 1088.5}
[1BC 1088.6]          Voices of Noah and Methuselah Heard.--God determined to purify the world by a flood; but in mercy and love He gave the antediluvians a probation of one hundred and twenty years. During this time, while the ark was building, the voices of Noah, Methuselah, and many others were heard in warning and entreaty, and every blow struck on the ark was a warning message (Ibid., Sept. 19, 1907).  {1BC 1088.6}
[1BC 1088.7]          Some Believed; Some Backslid.--For one hundred and twenty years Noah proclaimed the message of warning to the antediluvian world; but only a few repented. Some of the carpenters he employed in building the ark believed the message, but died before the Flood; others of Noah's converts backslid (MS 65, 1906).  {1BC 1088.7}
[1BC 1088.8]          Many of the believing ones kept the faith, and died triumphant (MS 35, 1906).  {1BC 1088.8}
[1BC 1088.9]          Enoch's Experience a Convincing Sermon.--［Jude 14, 15 quoted.］ The sermon preached by Enoch, and his translation to heaven was a convincing argument to all living in Enoch's time. It was an argument that Methuselah and Noah could use with power to show that the righteous could be translated (MS 46, 1895).  {1BC 1088.9}
[1BC 1088.10]          Association With Unbelievers Caused Loss.--Those who believed when Noah began to build the ark, lost their faith through association with unbelievers who aroused all the old passion for amusement and display (RH Sept. 15, 1904).  {1BC 1088.10}
[1BC 1088.11]          (1 John 3:8). Christ in Warfare in Noah's Day.--"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the                                                                              1089  works of the devil." Christ was engaged in this warfare in Noah's day. It was His voice that spoke to the inhabitants of the old world in messages of warning, reproof, and invitation. He gave the people a probation of one hundred and twenty years, in which they might have repented. But they chose the deceptions of Satan, and perished in the waters of the Flood (Ibid., March 12, 1901).  {1BC 1088.11}
[1BC 1089.1]          4. Great Art and Inventions Perished.--There perished in the Flood greater inventions of art and human skill than the world knows of today. The arts destroyed were more than the boasted arts of today (Letter 65, 1898).  {1BC 1089.1}
[1BC 1089.2]          How did man gain his knowledge of how to devise?--From the Lord, by studying the formation and habits of different animals. Every animal is a lesson book, and from the use they make of their bodies and the weapons provided them, men have learned to make apparatus for every kind of work. If men could only know how many arts have been lost to our world, they would not talk so fluently of the dark ages. Could they have seen how God once worked through His human subjects, they would speak with less confidence of the arts of the antediluvian world. More was lost in the Flood, in many ways, than men today know. Looking upon the world, God saw that the intellect He had given man was perverted, that the imagination of his heart was evil and that continually. God had given these men knowledge. He had given them valuable ideas, that they might carry out His plan. But the Lord saw that those whom He designed should possess wisdom, tact, and judgment, were using every quality of the mind to glorify self. By the waters of the Flood, He blotted this long-lived race from the earth, and with them perished the knowledge they had used only for evil. When the earth was repeopled, the Lord trusted His wisdom more sparingly to men, giving them only the ability they would need in carrying out His great plan (Letter 175, 1896).  {1BC 1089.2}
[1BC 1089.3]          Delusions of Progress.--True knowledge has decreased with every successive generation. God is infinite, and the first people upon the earth received their instructions from that infinite God who created the world. Those who received their knowledge direct from infinite wisdom were not deficient in knowledge.  {1BC 1089.3}
[1BC 1089.4]          God instructed Noah how to make that immense ark, for the saving of himself and his family. He also instructed Moses how to make the tabernacle, and the embroidery, and skillful work which was to adorn the sanctuary. The women wrought, with great ingenuity the embroidery of silver and gold. Skillful men were not wanting to accomplish the work of making the ark, the tabernacle, and the vessels of solid gold.  {1BC 1089.4}
[1BC 1089.5]          God gave David a pattern of the temple which Solomon built. None but the most skillful men of design and art were allowed to have anything to do with the work. Every stone for the temple was prepared to exactly fill its place, before being brought to the temple. And the temple came together without the sound of an axe or hammer. There is no such building to be found in the world for beauty, richness and splendor.  {1BC 1089.5}
[1BC 1089.6]          There are many inventions and improvements, and labor-saving machines now that the ancients did not have. They did not need them. . . .  {1BC 1089.6}
[1BC 1089.7]          The greater the length of time the earth has lain under the curse, the more difficult has it been for man to cultivate it, and make it productive. As the soil has become more barren, and double labor has had to be expended upon it, God has raised up men with inventive faculties to construct implements to lighten labor on the land groaning under the curse. But God has not been in all man's inventions. Satan has controlled the minds of men to a great extent, and has hurried men to new inventions which has led them to forget God.  {1BC 1089.7}
[1BC 1089.8]          In strength of intellect, men who now live can bear no comparison to the ancients. There have been more ancient arts lost than the present generation now possess. For skill and art those living in this degenerate age will not compare with the knowledge possessed by strong men who lived near one thousand years.  {1BC 1089.8}
[1BC 1089.9]          Men before the Flood lived many hundreds of years, and when one hundred years old they were considered but youths. Those long-lived men had sound minds in                                                                              1090  sound bodies. Their mental and physical strength was so great that the present feeble generation can bear no comparison to them. Those ancients had nearly one thousand years in which to acquire knowledge. They came upon the stage of action from the ages of sixty to one hundred years, about the time those who now live the longest have acted their part in their little short life time, and have passed off the stage. Those who are deceived, and flattered on in the delusion that the present is an age of real progress, and that the human race has been in ages past progressing in true knowledge, are under the influence of the father of lies, whose work has ever been to turn the truth of God into a lie (4SG 154-156).  {1BC 1089.9}
[1BC 1090.1]          Giants Before the Flood.--At the first resurrection all come forth in immortal bloom, but at the second, the marks of the curse are visible upon all. All come up as they went down into their graves. Those who lived before the Flood, come forth with their giant-like stature, more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and well proportioned. The generations after the Flood were less in stature (3SG 84).  {1BC 1090.1}
[1BC 1090.2]          5. Degenerated From Lightness to Debasing Sins.--We have the history of the antediluvians, and of the cities of the plain, whose course of conduct degenerated from lightness and frivolity to debasing sins that called down the wrath of God in a most dreadful destruction, in order to rid the earth of the curse of their contaminating influence. Inclination and passion bore sway over reason. Self was their god, and the knowledge of the Most High was nearly obliterated through the selfish indulgence of corrupt passions (Letter 74, 1896).  {1BC 1090.2}
[1BC 1090.3]          Perverted What Was Lawful.--The sin of the antediluvians was in perverting that which in itself was lawful. They corrupted God's gifts by using them to minister to their selfish desires. The indulgence of appetite and base passion made their imaginations altogether corrupt. The antediluvians were slaves of Satan, led and controlled by him (MS 24, 1891).  {1BC 1090.3}
[1BC 1090.4]          Corrupted Through Perverted Appetite.--The inhabitants of the Noachian world were destroyed, because they were corrupted through the indulgence of perverted appetite (ST Sept. 2, 1875).  {1BC 1090.4}
[1BC 1090.5]          11. Worshiped Self-indulgence; Fostered Crime.--They worshipped selfish indulgence,--eating, drinking, merry-making,--and resorted to acts of violence and crime if their desires and passions were interfered with.  {1BC 1090.5}
[1BC 1090.6]          In the days of Noah the overwhelming majority was opposed to the truth, and enamored with a tissue of falsehoods. The land was filled with violence. War, crime, murder, was the order of the day. Just so will it be before Christ's second coming (MS 24, 1891).  {1BC 1090.6}
[1BC 1090.7]          12, 13. Noah Ridiculed.--Before the destruction of the old world by a flood, there were talented men, men who possessed skill and knowledge. But they became corrupt in their imagination, because they left God out of their plans and councils. They were wise to do what God had never told them to do, wise to do evil. The Lord saw that this example would be deleterious to those who should afterwards be born, and He took the matter in hand. For one hundred twenty years He sent them warnings through His servant Noah. But they used the probation so graciously granted them in ridiculing Noah. They caricatured him and criticized him. They laughed at him for his peculiar earnestness and intense feeling in regard to the judgments which he declared God would surely fulfill. They talked of science and of the laws controlling nature. Then they held a carnival over the words of Noah, calling him a crazy fanatic. God's patience was exhausted. He said to Noah, "The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them, and, behold, I will destroy them from the earth" (MS 29, 1890).  {1BC 1090.7}
[1BC 1090.8]          17 (2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 14:10). Coal and Oil Agencies in Final Destruction.--Those majestic trees which God had caused to grow upon the earth, for the benefit of the inhabitants of the old world, and which they had used to form into idols, and to corrupt themselves with, God has reserved in the earth, in the shape of coal and oil to use as agencies in their final destruction. As He called forth the waters in the earth at the time of the Flood, as weapons from His arsenal to accomplish the destruction                                                                              1091  of the antediluvian race, so at the end of the one thousand years He will call forth the fires in the earth as His weapons which He has reserved for the final destruction, not only of successive generations since the Flood, but the antediluvian race who perished by the Flood (3SG 87).  {1BC 1090.8}
[1BC 1091.1]                                  Chapter 7          21-23. Kept Through Faith in Christ.--It was Christ who kept the ark safe amid the roaring, seething billows, because its inmates had faith in His power to preserve them (RH March 12, 1901).  {1BC 1091.1}
[1BC 1091.2]                                   Chapter 8          13. Seeds and Some Plants Preserved.--The beautiful trees and shrubbery bearing flowers were destroyed, yet Noah preserved seed and took it with him in the ark, and God by His miraculous power preserved a few of the different kinds of trees and shrubs alive for future generations. Soon after the Flood trees and plants seemed to spring out of the very rocks. In God's providence seeds were scattered and driven into the crevices of the rocks and there securely hid for the future use of man (3SG 76).  {1BC 1091.2}
[1BC 1091.3]                                   Chapter 9          6. God Protects Man's Rights.--How carefully God protects the rights of men! He has attached a penalty to wilful murder. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." (Genesis 9:6) If one murderer were permitted to go unpunished, he would by his evil influence and cruel violence subvert others. This would result in a condition of things similar to that which existed before the Flood. God must punish murderers. He gives life, and He will take life, if that life becomes a terror and a menace (MS 126, 1901).  {1BC 1091.3}
[1BC 1091.4]          12. Bow Shows Christ's Love Which Encircles Earth.--As we look upon this bow, the seal and sign of God's promise to man, that the tempest of His wrath should no more desolate our world by the waters of a flood, we contemplate that other than finite eyes are looking upon this glorious sight. Angels rejoice as they gaze upon this precious token of God's love to man. The world's Redeemer looks upon it; for it was through His instrumentality that this bow was made to appear in the heavens, as a token or covenant of promise to man. God Himself looks upon the bow in the clouds, and remembers His everlasting covenant between Himself and man.  {1BC 1091.4}
[1BC 1091.5]          After the fearful exhibition of God's avenging power, in the destruction of the Old World by a flood, had passed, He knew that those who had been saved from the general ruin would have their fears awakened whenever the clouds should gather, the thunders roll, and the lightnings flash; and that the sound of the tempest and the pouring out of the waters from the heavens would strike terror to their hearts, for fear that another flood was coming upon them. But behold the love of God in the promise: ［Genesis 9:12-15 quoted］.  {1BC 1091.5}
[1BC 1091.6]          The family of Noah looked with admiration and reverential awe mingled with joy upon this sign of God's mercy, which spanned the heavens. The bow represents Christ's love which encircles the earth, and reaches unto the highest heavens, connecting men with God, and linking earth with heaven.  {1BC 1091.6}
[1BC 1091.7]          As we gaze upon the beautiful sight, we may be joyful in God, assured that He Himself is looking upon this token of His covenant, and that as He looks upon it He remembers the children of earth, to whom it was given. Their afflictions, perils, and trials are not hidden from Him. We may rejoice in hope, for the bow of God's covenant is over us. He never will forget the children of His care. How difficult for the mind of finite man to take in the peculiar love and tenderness of God, and His matchless condescension when He said, "I will look upon the bow in the cloud, and remember thee" (RH Feb. 26, 1880).  {1BC 1091.7}
[1BC 1091.8]                                   Chapter 11          2-9. Men Resumed Hostility.--But no sooner was the earth repeopled than men resumed their hostility to God and heaven. They transmitted their enmity to their posterity, as though the art and device of misleading men, and causing them to continue the unnatural warfare, was a sacred legacy (Letter 4, 1896).                                                                              1092   {1BC 1091.8}
[1BC 1092.1]          3-7. Confederacy Born of Rebellion.--This confederacy was born of rebellion against God. The dwellers on the plain of Shinar established their kingdom for self-exaltation, not for the glory of God. Had they succeeded, a mighty power would have borne sway, banishing righteousness, and inaugurating a new religion. The world would have been demoralized. The mixture of religious ideas with erroneous theories would have resulted in closing the door to peace, happiness, and security. These suppositions, erroneous theories, carried out and perfected, would have directed minds from allegiance to the divine statutes, and the law of Jehovah would have been ignored and forgotten. Determined men, inspired and urged on by the first great rebel, would have resisted any interference with their plans or their evil course. In the place of the divine precepts they would have substituted laws framed in accordance with the desires of their selfish hearts, in order that they might carry out their purposes (RH Dec. 10, 1903).  {1BC 1092.1}
[1BC 1092.2]                                    Chapter 12          1. Abraham Chosen From Idolatrous Generation.--After the Flood the people once more increased on the earth, and wickedness also increased. Idolatry became well-nigh universal, and the Lord finally left the hardened transgressors to follow their evil ways, while He chose Abraham, of the line of Shem, and made him the keeper of His law for future generations (MS 65, 1906).  {1BC 1092.2}
[1BC 1092.3]          Abraham's Family Touched by False Worship.--In that age, idolatry was fast creeping in and conflicting with the worship of the true God. But Abraham did not become an idolater. Although his own father was vacillating between the true and the false worship, and with his knowledge of the truth false theories and idolatrous practises were mingled, Abraham kept free from this infatuation. He was not ashamed of his faith, and made no effort to hide the fact that he made God his trust. He "builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord" (YI March 4, 1897).  {1BC 1092.3}
[1BC 1092.4]          2, 3 (John 8:56; Galatians 3:8). Abraham Saw Coming Redeemer.--Christ said to the Pharisees, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:56). How did Abraham know of the coming of the Redeemer? God gave him light in regard to the future. He looked forward to the time when the Saviour should come to this earth, His divinity veiled by humanity. By faith he saw the world's Redeemer coming as God in the flesh. He saw the weight of guilt lifted from the human race, and borne by the divine substitute (MS 33, 1911).  {1BC 1092.4}
[1BC 1092.5]          (Ephesians 2:8). Keep Commandments Under Abrahamic Covenant.--If it were not possible for human beings under the Abrahamic covenant to keep the commandments of God, every soul of us is lost. The Abrahamic covenant is the covenant of grace. "By grace ye are saved." ［John 1:11, 12 quoted.］ Disobedient children? No, obedient to all His commandments. If it were not possible for us to be commandment-keepers, then why does He make the obedience to His commandments the proof that we love Him? (Letter 16, 1892).  {1BC 1092.5}
[1BC 1092.6]                                   Chapter 13          10, 11. Lot Went in Rich; Came Out With Nothing.--He ［Lot］ chose a land which was beautiful in situation, which promised great returns. Lot went in rich, and came forth with nothing as the result of his choice. It makes every difference whether men place themselves in positions where they will have the very best help of correct influences, or whether they choose temporal advantages. There are many ways which lead to Sodom. We all need anointed eyesight, that we may discern the way that leads to God (Letter 109, 1899).  {1BC 1092.6}
[1BC 1092.7]          Lot Was Convinced of Mistake.--Lot chose Sodom for his home because he saw advantages to be gained there from a worldly point of view. But after he had established himself, and grown rich in earthly treasure, he was convinced that he had made a mistake in not taking into consideration the moral standing of the community in which he was to make his home (RH Nov. 14, 1882).  {1BC 1092.7}
[1BC 1092.8]                                     Chapter 14          18-20. Melchizedek, Christ's Representative.--God has never left Himself without                                                                              1093  witness on the earth. At one time Melchisedek represented the Lord Jesus Christ in person, to reveal the truth of heaven, and perpetuate the law of God (Letter 190, 1905).  {1BC 1092.8}
[1BC 1093.1]          It was Christ that spoke through Melchisedek, the priest of the most high God. Melchisedek was not Christ, but he was the voice of God in the world, the representative of the Father. And all through the generations of the past, Christ has spoken; Christ has led His people, and has been the light of the world. When God chose Abraham as a representative of His truth, He took him out of his country, and away from his kindred, and set him apart. He desired to mold him after His own model. He desired to teach him according to His own plan (RH Feb. 18, 1890).  {1BC 1093.1}
[1BC 1093.2]          20 (Genesis 28:22; Leviticus 27:30). Tithing Goes Back to Days of Adam.-- The tithing system reaches back beyond the days of Moses. Men were required to offer to God gifts for religious purposes, before the definite system was given to Moses, even as far back as the days of Adam. In complying with God's requirements they were to manifest in offerings their appreciation of His mercies and blessings to them. This was continued through successive generations, and was carried out by Abraham, who gave tithes to Melchisedek, the priest of the most high God. The same principle existed in the days of Job (ST April 29, 1875).  {1BC 1093.2}
[1BC 1093.3]                                   Chapter 15          9-11. Let Nothing Mar Your Sacrifice.--Watch as faithfully as did Abraham lest the ravens or any birds of prey alight upon your sacrifice and offering to God. Every thought of doubt should be so guarded that it will not see the light of day by utterance. Light always flees from words which honor the powers of darkness (Letter 7, 1892).  {1BC 1093.3}
[1BC 1093.4]          16. God Bore Long for Sake of Good Amorites.--In the days of Abraham the Lord declared, "The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." He would not at that time allow them to be destroyed. In this is revealed the long-sufferance of God. The Amorites were at enmity against His law; they believed not in Him as the true and living God; but among them were a few good persons, and for the sake of these few, He forbore long. Centuries afterward, when the Israelites returned from Egypt to the promised land, the Amorites were "cast out before the children of Israel." They finally suffered calamity because of continued willful disregard of the law of God (RH July 12, 1906).  {1BC 1093.4}
[1BC 1093.5]          (Ecclesiastes 8:11, 12). Rejection of Light Led to Destruction of Amorites.--The Amorites were inhabitants of Canaan, and the Lord had promised the land of Canaan to the Israelites; but a long interval must pass before His people should possess the land. He stated the reason why this interval must pass. He told them that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full, and their expulsion and extermination could not be justified until they had filled up the cup of their iniquity. Idolatry and sin marked their course, but the measure of their guilt was not such that they could be devoted to destruction. In His love and pity God would let light shine upon them in more distinct rays; He would give them opportunity to behold the working of His wondrous power, that there might be no excuse for their course of evil. It is thus that God deals with the nations. Through a certain period of probation He exercises long-suffering toward nations, cities, and individuals. But when it is evident that they will not come unto Him that they might have life, judgments are visited upon them. The time came when judgment was inflicted upon the Amorites, and the time will come when all the transgressors of His law will know that God will by no means clear the guilty (Ibid., May 2, 1893).  {1BC 1093.5}
[1BC 1093.6]                                   Chapter 18          19. Fulfilling Conditions Brings Blessing.--If parents would fulfill the conditions upon which God has promised to be their strength, they would not fail of receiving His blessing in their households (RH May 21, 1895).  {1BC 1093.6}
[1BC 1093.7]                                  Chapter 19          12-14. Sodom Passed Boundary of Mercy.--The Sodomites had passed the boundary of mercy, and no more light was granted to them prior to their destruction. Had the warning gone through these cities of the                                                                              1094  plain, and had they been told just what was to come, who of them would have believed it? They would no more have accepted the message, and God knew it, than the sons-in-law of Lot (MS 19a, 1886).  {1BC 1093.7}
[1BC 1094.1]         16. Lot Paralyzed.--Lot was paralyzed by the great calamity about to occur; he was stupefied with grief at the thought of leaving all he held dear on earth (RH Nov. 14, 1882).  {1BC 1094.1}
[1BC 1094.2]                                  Chapter 22          1 (James 1:13). God Permitted Circumstances to Test.--What is temptation? --It is the means by which those who claim to be the children of God are tested and tried. We read that God tempted Abraham, that He tempted the children of Israel. This means that He permitted circumstances to occur to test their faith, and lead them to look to Him for help. God permits temptation to come to His people today, that they may realize that He is their helper. If they draw nigh to Him when they are tempted, He strengthens them to meet the temptation. But if they yield to the enemy, neglecting to place themselves close to their Almighty Helper, they are overcome. They separate themselves from God. They do not give evidence that they walk in God's way (ST March 12, 1912).  {1BC 1094.2}
[1BC 1094.3]          2. Nothing Too Precious to Give to God.--This act of faith in Abraham is recorded for our benefit. It teaches us the great lesson of confidence in the requirements of God, however close and cutting they may be; and it teaches children perfect submission to their parents and to God. By Abraham's obedience we are taught that nothing is too precious for us to give to God (Ibid., Jan. 27, 1887).  {1BC 1094.3}
[1BC 1094.4]          12. Every Gift Is the Lord's.--Abraham's test was the most severe that could come to a human being. Had he failed under it, he would never have been registered as the father of the faithful. Had he deviated from God's command, the world would have lost an inspiring example of unquestioning faith and obedience. The lesson was given to shine down through the ages, that we may learn that there is nothing too precious to be given to God. It is when we look upon every gift as the Lord's, to be used in His service, that we secure the heavenly benediction. Give back to God your intrusted possession, and more will be intrusted to you. Keep your possessions to yourself, and you will receive no reward in this life, and will lose the reward of the life to come (YI June 6, 1901).  {1BC 1094.4}
[1BC 1094.5]          Isaac a Figure of Christ.--The offering of Isaac was designed by God to prefigure the sacrifice of His Son. Isaac was a figure of the Son of God, who was offered a sacrifice for the sins of the world. God desired to impress upon Abraham the gospel of salvation to men; and in order to make the truth a reality, and to test his faith, He required Abraham to slay his darling Isaac. All the agony that Abraham endured during that dark and fearful trial was for the purpose of deeply impressing upon his understanding the plan of redemption for fallen man (Ibid., March 1, 1900).  {1BC 1094.5}
[1BC 1094.6]                                   Chapter 25          29-34 (Hebrews 12:16, 17). Birthright Lost Value and Sacredness.-- Esau had a special, strong desire for a particular article of food, and he had gratified self so long that he did not feel the necessity of turning from the tempting, coveted dish. He thought upon it, and made no special effort to restrain his appetite, until its power bore down every other consideration, and controlled him, and he imagined he would suffer great inconvenience, and even death, if he could not have that particular dish. The more he thought upon it, the more his desire strengthened, until his birthright, which was sacred, lost its value and its sacredness. He thought, Well, if I now sell it, I can easily buy it back again. . . . When he sought to purchase it back, even at a great sacrifice on his part, he was not able to do so. . . . He sought for repentance carefully and with tears. It was all in vain. He had despised the blessing, and the Lord removed it from him forever (RH April 27, 1886).  {1BC 1094.6}
[1BC 1094.7]          Esau a Type.--Esau passed the crisis of his life without knowing it. What he regarded as a matter worthy of scarcely a thought was the act which revealed the prevailing traits of his character. It showed his choice, showed his true estimate of that which was sacred and which should                                                                              1095  have been sacredly cherished. He sold his birthright for a small indulgence to meet his present wants, and this determined the after course of his life. To Esau a morsel of meat was more than the service of his Master (Letter 5, 1877).  {1BC 1094.7}
[1BC 1095.1]          Esau represents those who have not tasted of the privileges which are theirs, purchased for them at infinite cost, but have sold their birthright for some gratification of appetite, or for the love of gain (Letter 4, 1898).  {1BC 1095.1}
[1BC 1095.2]                                   Chapter 28          12. Those Who Mount Must Place Feet Firmly.--Jesus is the ladder to heaven, . . . and God calls upon us to mount this ladder. But we cannot do this while we load ourselves down with earthly treasures. We wrong ourselves when we place our convenience and personal advantages before the things of God. There is no salvation in earthly possessions or surroundings. A man is not exalted in God's sight, or accredited by Him as possessing goodness, because he has earthly riches. If we gain a genuine experience in climbing, we shall learn that as we ascend we must leave every hindrance behind. Those who mount must place their feet firmly on every round of the ladder (ST Feb. 1, 1899).  {1BC 1095.2}
[1BC 1095.3]          12, 13. Christ Bridges the Gulf.--Jacob thought to gain a right to the birthright through deception, but he found himself disappointed. He thought he had lost everything, his connection with God, his home, and all, and there he was a disappointed fugitive. But what did God do? He looked upon him in his hopeless condition, He saw his disappointment, and He saw there was material there that would render back glory to God. No sooner does He see his condition than He presents the mystic ladder, which represents Jesus Christ. Here is man, who had lost all connection with God, and the God of heaven looks upon him and consents that Christ shall bridge the gulf which sin has made. We might have looked and said, I long for heaven but how can I reach it? I see no way. That is what Jacob thought, and so God shows him the vision of the ladder, and that ladder connects earth with heaven, with Jesus Christ. A man can climb it, for the base rests upon the earth and the top-most round reaches into heaven. . . .  {1BC 1095.3}
[1BC 1095.4]          Ye inhabitants of the earth, praise Him! And why? Because through Jesus Christ--whose long human arm encircles the race, while with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the Infinite--the gulf is bridged with His own body, and this atom of a world which was separated from the continent of heaven by sin and became an island is again reinstated, because Christ bridged the gulf (MS 5, 1891).  {1BC 1095.4}
[1BC 1095.5]                                    Chapter 31          50. Laban Understood the Wrong of Polygamy.--Laban understood the wrong of polygamy, although it was alone through his artifice that Jacob had taken two wives. He well knew that it was the jealousy of Leah and Rachel that led them to give their maids to Jacob, which confused the family relation, and increased the unhappiness of his daughters. And now as his daughters are journeying at a great distance from him, and their interest is to be entirely separate from his own, he would guard as far as possible their happiness. Laban would not have Jacob bring still greater unhappiness upon himself and upon Leah and Rachel, by taking other wives (3SG 126).  {1BC 1095.5}
[1BC 1095.6]                                   Chapter 32          24. Victory Sure When Self Is Surrendered.--Jacob "had power over the angel, and prevailed." Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender this sinful, erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of heaven. He has fastened his trembling grasp on the promises of God, and the heart of infinite love could not turn away the sinner's plea. . . .  {1BC 1095.6}
[1BC 1095.7]          Let no one despair of gaining the victory. Victory is sure when self is surrendered to God (MS 2, 1903).  {1BC 1095.7}
[1BC 1095.8]          26 (Matthew 11:12). Determined Effort and Faith Essential.--Jacob was in fear and distress while he sought in his own strength to obtain the victory. He mistook the divine visitor for an enemy, and contended with him while he had any strength left. But when he cast himself upon the mercy of God, he found that instead of being in the hands of an enemy, he was encircled                                                                              1096  in the arms of infinite love. He saw God face to face, and his sins were pardoned. "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." This violence takes in the whole heart. To be double minded is to be unstable. Resolution, self-denial and consecrated effort are required for the work of preparation. The understanding and the conscience may be united; but if the will is not set to work, we shall make a failure. Every faculty and feeling must be engaged. Ardor and earnest prayer must take the place of listlessness and indifference. Only by earnest, determined effort and faith in the merits of Christ can we overcome, and gain the kingdom of heaven. Our time for work is short. Christ is soon to come the second time (YI May 24, 1900).  {1BC 1095.8}
[1BC 1096.1]                                    Chapter 35          2, 3. Jacob's Efforts to Remove Wrong Accepted.--Jacob was humbled, and required his family to humble themselves, and to lay off all their ornaments, for he was to make an atonement for their sins, by offering a sacrifice unto God, that He might be entreated for them, and not leave them to be destroyed by other nations. God accepted the efforts of Jacob to remove the wrong from his family, and appeared unto him, and blessed him, and renewed the promise made to him, because His fear was before him (3SG 137).  {1BC 1096.1}
[1BC 1096.2]                                    Chapter 37          4. Joseph Illustrates Christ.--Joseph illustrates Christ. Jesus came to His own, but His own received Him not. He was rejected and despised, because His acts were righteous, and His consistent, self-denying life was a continual rebuke upon those who professed piety, but whose lives were corrupt. Joseph's integrity and virtue were fiercely assailed, and she who would lead him astray could not prevail, therefore her hatred was strong against the virtue and integrity which she could not corrupt, and she testified falsely against him. The innocent suffered because of his righteousness. He was cast into prison because of his virtue. Joseph was sold to his enemies by his own brethren for a small sum of money. The Son of God was sold to His bitterest enemies by one of His own disciples. Jesus was meek and holy. His was a life of unexampled self-denial, goodness, and holiness. He was not guilty of any wrong. Yet false witnesses were hired to testify against Him. He was hated because He had been a faithful reprover of sin and corruption. Joseph's brethren stripped him of his coat of many colors. The executioners of Jesus cast lots for His seamless coat (Ibid.,  174).  {1BC 1096.2}
[1BC 1096.3]          17-20. Joseph Shrank From Presence of His Brothers.--His ［Joseph's］ brothers rudely repulsed him. He told them his errand, but they answered him not. Joseph was alarmed at their angry looks. Fear took the place of joy, and he instinctively shrank with dread from their presence. They then took hold of him violently. They taunted him with the admonitions he had given them in the past, accused him of relating his dreams to exalt himself above them in the mind of their father, that he might love him more than themselves (Ibid., 140).  {1BC 1096.3}
[1BC 1096.4]          28, 36. Joseph Brought Blessing to Egypt.--Joseph regarded his being sold into Egypt as the greatest calamity that could have befallen him; but he saw the necessity of trusting in God as he had never done when protected by his father's love. Joseph brought God with him into Egypt, and the fact was made apparent by his cheerful demeanor amid his sorrow. As the ark of God brought rest and prosperity to Israel, so did this God-loving, God-fearing youth bring a blessing to Egypt. This was manifested in so marked a manner that Potiphar, in whose house he served, attributed all his blessings to his purchased slave, and made him a son rather than a servant. It is God's purpose that those who love and honor His name shall be honored also themselves, and that the glory given to God through them shall be reflected upon themselves (YI March 11, 1897).  {1BC 1096.4}
[1BC 1096.5]                                    Chapter 39          9. Early Impressions Fortified Heart.--The early impressions made upon his ［Joseph's］ mind garrisoned his heart in the hour of fierce temptation, and led him to exclaim, "How can I do this                                                                              1097  great wickedness, and sin against God?" Childhood is the season in which the most abiding impressions may be made. . . .  {1BC 1096.5}
[1BC 1097.1]          The seeds sown in infancy by the careful, God-fearing mother will become trees of righteousness, which will blossom and bear fruit; and the lessons given by a God-fearing father by precept and example, will, as in the case of Joseph, yield an abundant harvest by-and-by (GH Jan. 1880).  {1BC 1097.1}
[1BC 1097.2]          Entire Future Suspended on Moment's Decision.--Few temptations are more dangerous or more fatal to young men than the temptation to sensuality and none if yielded to will prove so decidedly ruinous to soul and body for time and eternity. The welfare of his entire future is suspended upon the decision of a moment. Joseph calmly casts his eyes to heaven for help, slips off his loose outer garment, leaving it in the hand of his tempter and while his eye is lighted with determined resolve in the place of unholy passion, he exclaims, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" The victory is gained; he flees from the enchanter; he is saved (Letter 3, 1879).  {1BC 1097.2}
[1BC 1097.3]          9-19. Providence Will Overrule Enemy's Devices.--Amidst the snares to which all are exposed, they need strong and trustworthy defenses on which to rely. Many in this corrupt age have so small a supply of the grace of God, that in many instances their defense is broken down by the first assault, and fierce temptations take them captives. The shield of grace can preserve all unconquered by the temptations of the enemy, though surrounded with the most corrupting influences. By firm principle, and unwavering trust in God, their virtue and nobleness of character can shine, and, although surrounded with evil, no taint need be left upon their virtue and integrity. And if like Joseph they suffer calumny and false accusations, Providence will overrule all the enemy's devices for good, and God will in His own time exalt as much higher, as for a while they were debased by wicked revenge (3SG 145, 146).  {1BC 1097.3}
[1BC 1097.4]          20 (Lamentations 3:27; Matthew 23:12). Seeming Prosperity of Vice, a Severe Test.--Joseph's faithful integrity led to the loss of his reputation and his liberty. This is the severest test that the virtuous and God-fearing are subjected to, that vice seems to prosper while virtue is trampled in the dust. The seducer was living in prosperity as a model of virtuous propriety, while Joseph, true to principle, was under a degrading charge of crime the most revolting. Joseph's religion kept his temper sweet and his sympathy with humanity warm and strong, notwithstanding all his trials. There are those who if they feel they are not rightly used, become sour, ungenerous, crabbed and uncourteous in their words and deportment. They sink down discouraged, hateful and hating others. But Joseph was a Christian. No sooner does he enter upon prison life, than he brings all the brightness of his Christian principles into active exercise; he begins to make himself useful to others. He enters into the troubles of his fellow prisoners. He is cheerful, for he is a Christian gentleman. God was preparing him under this discipline for a situation of great responsibility, honor, and usefulness, and he was willing to learn; he took kindly to the lessons the Lord would teach him. He learned to bear the yoke in his youth. He learned to govern by first learning obedience himself. He humbled himself, and the Lord exalted him to special honor (Letter 3, 1879).  {1BC 1097.4}
[1BC 1097.5]          Hardships Prepared Joseph for Exalted Position.--The part which Joseph acted in connection with the scenes of the gloomy prison, was that which raised him finally to prosperity and honor. God designed that he should obtain an experience by temptations, adversity, and hardships, to prepare him to fill an exalted position (3SG 146).  {1BC 1097.5}
[1BC 1097.6]                                   Chapter 41          38-40. Secret of Fidelity.--Joseph carried his religion everywhere, and this was the secret of his unwavering fidelity (MS 59, 1897).  {1BC 1097.6}
[1BC 1097.7]          38. Men Recognize a Living Connection With God.--He who receives Christ by living faith has a living connection with God, and is a vessel unto honor. He carries with him the atmosphere of heaven, which is the grace of God, a treasure that the world cannot buy. He who is in living connection with God may be in humble stations,                                                                              1098  yet his moral worth is as precious as was that of Joseph and Daniel, who were recognized by heathen kings as men with whom was the Spirit of God (MS 54, 1894).  {1BC 1097.7}
[1BC 1098.1]                                    Chapter 42          21. Joseph's Brothers Feared Slavery.--They ［Joseph's brothers］ sold Joseph as a slave, and they were fearful that God designed to punish them by suffering them to become slaves (3SG 156).  {1BC 1098.1}
[1BC 1098.2]                                    Chapter 45          5. Minds of Brothers Relieved.--They ［Joseph's brothers］ humbly confessed their wrongs which they had committed against Joseph, and entreated his forgiveness, and were greatly rejoiced to find that he was alive; for they had suffered remorse, and great distress of mind, since their cruelty toward him. And now as they knew that they were not guilty of his blood, their troubled minds were relieved (Ibid., 167).  {1BC 1098.2}
[1BC 1098.3]                                    Chapter 49          3, 4 (ch. 39.9). Unstable as Water.--There are those to be met with everywhere who have no fixed principles. It is hard for them to resist temptation. Let it come from what quarter, and in what form it may, and every precaution must be taken to surround them with influences that will strengthen their moral power. Let them be separated from these helpful influences and association, be thrown with a class who are irreligious, and they will soon show that they have no real hold from above; they trusted in their own strength. They have been praised and exalted when their feet were standing in sliding sand. They are like Reuben, unstable as water, having no inward rectitude, and like Reuben they will never excel. What you need is to see your dependence upon God, and to have a resolute heart. Be a man where you are; show strength of character where you are; be able, through Jesus Christ, to say, "No, I will not do this great wickedness, and sin against God." That kind of easy good nature which can never nerve itself to give decided refusal to any proposal that would injure his moral and religious influence in the sight of God and of man is always under the control of Satan far more than under the control of the Spirit of God. They are led into evil very easily because they have a very accommodating disposition, and it hurts them to give a square No, "I will not do this wickedness and sin against God." If invited to take a glass with merry men or women, they are led as an ox to the slaughter, they join with the impious, who laugh at the ready compliance afterwards. There is no interior strength to fall back upon. They do not make God their trust. They have no high principles of duty (Letter 48, 1887).                                                    -    {1BC 1098.3}
[1BC 1098.4]      Exodus                                     Chapter 1          1. See EGW comment on Deuteronomy 1:1.  {1BC 1098.4}
[1BC 1098.5]          8. Egyptians Sinned in Refusing Light.--The sin of the Egyptians was that they had refused the light which God had so graciously sent to them through Joseph (YI April 15, 1897).  {1BC 1098.5}
[1BC 1098.6]                                   Chapter 2          10 (Hebrews 11:26, 27). In Egypt Moses Studied Laws of God.--The strength of Moses was his connection with the Source of all power, the Lord God of hosts. He rises grandly above every earthly inducement, and trusts himself wholly to God. He considered that he was the Lord's. While he was connected with the official interests of the king of Egypt, he was constantly studying the laws of God's government, and thus his faith grew. That faith was of value to him. It was deeply rooted in the soil of his earliest teachings, and the culture of his life was to prepare him for the great work of delivering Israel from bondage. He meditated on these things; he was constantly listening to his                                                                              1099  commission from God. After slaying the Egyptian, he saw that he had not understood God's plan, and he fled from Egypt and became a shepherd. He was no longer planning to do a great work, but he became very humble; the mists that were beclouding his mind were expelled, and he disciplined his mind to seek after God as his refuge (Letter 21a, 1893).  {1BC 1098.6}
[1BC 1099.1]          11 (Acts 7:22). Training for Two Generalships.--Moses was a man of intelligence. In the providence of God he was given opportunity to gain a fitness for a great work. He was thoroughly educated as a general. When he went out to meet the enemy, he was successful; and on his return from battle, his praises were sung by the whole army. Notwithstanding this, he constantly remembered that through him God purposed to deliver the children of Israel (YI Jan. 29, 1903).  {1BC 1099.1}
[1BC 1099.2]                                   Chapter 3          1. Jethro Singled Out.--Jethro was singled out from the darkness of the Gentile world to reveal the principles of heaven. God has ever had appointed agencies, and has ever given abundant evidences that these agencies were heaven-appointed and heaven-sent (Letter 190, 1905).  {1BC 1099.2}
[1BC 1099.3]          Moses Transferred to a Private School.--God transferred Moses from the courts of luxury, where his every wish was gratified, to a more private school. Here the Lord could commune with Moses and so educate him that he would obtain a knowledge of the hardships, trials, and perils of the wilderness (YI Dec. 13, 1900).  {1BC 1099.3}
[1BC 1099.4]          2-5. Burning Bush a Reality.--It will baffle the keenest intellect to interpret the divine manifestation of the burning bush. It was not a dream; it was not a vision; it was a living reality,--something that Moses saw with his eyes. He heard the voice of God calling to him out of the bush, and he covered his face, realizing that he stood in the immediate presence of God. God was conversing with humanity. Never could Moses describe the impression made upon his mind by the sight he then saw, and by the sound of the voice that spoke to him; but this impression was never effaced. Heaven came very near to him as, with reverent awe, he listened to the words, "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." What wondrous condescension for God to leave the heavenly courts, and manifest Himself to Moses, talking with him face to face, "as a man speaketh unto his friend" (Ibid., Dec. 20, 1900).  {1BC 1099.4}
[1BC 1099.5]          14. God Sees Future as We See Present.--I Am means an eternal presence; the past, present, and future are alike to God. He sees the most remote events of past history, and the far distant future with as clear a vision as we do those things that are transpiring daily. We know not what is before us, and if we did, it would not contribute to our eternal welfare. God gives us an opportunity to exercise faith and trust in the great I AM (Lt 119, 1895).  {1BC 1099.5}
[1BC 1099.6]         20. Plagues a Sign of God's Power Over All.--When the children of Israel were in bondage to the Egyptians, God revealed Himself as a God above all human authority, all human greatness. The signs and miracles He wrought in behalf of His people show His power over nature, and over the greatest among those who worshiped nature, who ignored the power that made nature.  {1BC 1099.6}
[1BC 1099.7]          God went through the proud land of Egypt just as He will go through the earth in the last days (RH July 10, 1900).  {1BC 1099.7}
[1BC 1099.8]                                   Chapter 4          10. Fearful of Bringing Self Into Work.--When, after Moses' time of preparation and trial was over, he was once more told to go and deliver Israel, he was self-distrustful, slow of speech, timid. "Who am I," he said, "that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" He pleaded as an excuse a lack of ready speech. He had been the general of the armies of Egypt, and he certainly knew how to speak. But he was afraid that he would bring self into his work (MS 11, 1903).  {1BC 1099.8}
[1BC 1099.9]          21. Rejection of Light Hardens Heart.--Pharaoh saw the mighty working of the Spirit of God; he saw the miracles which the Lord performed by His servant; but he refused obedience to God's command. The rebellious king had proudly inquired, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his                                                                              1100  voice to let Israel go? . . . ［Exodus 5:2］." And as the judgments of God fell more and more heavily upon him, he persisted in stubborn resistance. By rejecting light from heaven, he became hard and unimpressible. The providence of God was revealing His power, and these manifestations, unacknowledged, were the means of hardening Pharaoh's heart against greater light. Those who exalt their own ideas above the plainly specified will of God, are saying as did Pharaoh, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice?" Every rejection of light hardens the heart and darkens the understanding; and thus men find it more and more difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, and they become bolder in resisting the will of God (MS 3, 1885).  {1BC 1099.9}
[1BC 1100.1]          (Matthew 12:31, 32). God Gave Pharaoh Into Hands of Self.--Every additional evidence of the power of God that the Egyptian monarch resisted, carried him on to a stronger and more persistent defiance of God. Thus the work went on, finite man warring against the expressed will of an infinite God. This case is a clear illustration of the sin against the Holy Ghost. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Gradually the Lord withdrew His Spirit. Removing His restraining power, He gave the king into the hands of the worst of all tyrants,--self (RH July 27, 1897).  {1BC 1100.1}
[1BC 1100.2]          (Galatians 6:7). Pharaoh Sowed Obstinacy, Reaped Obstinacy.-- "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Pharaoh sowed obstinacy, and he reaped obstinacy. He himself put this seed into the soil. There was no more need for God by some new power to interfere with its growth, than there is for Him to interfere with the growth of a grain of corn. All that is required is that a seed shall be left to germinate and spring up to bring forth fruit after its kind. The harvest reveals the kind of seed that has been sown (MS 126, 1901).  {1BC 1100.2}
[1BC 1100.3]          Rebellion Produces Rebellion.--After the plague was stayed, the king refused to let Israel go. Rebellion produces rebellion. The king had become so hardened with his continual opposition to the will of God, that his whole being rose in rebellion to the awful exhibitions of His divine power (3SG 215).  {1BC 1100.3}
[1BC 1100.4]          Israel Would Be Preserved, Even if Pharaoh Had to Die.--Pharaoh hardened his heart against the Lord and he ventured, notwithstanding all the signs and mighty wonders he had witnessed, to threaten that if Moses and Aaron appeared before him again they should die. If the king had not become hardened in his rebellion against God, he would have been humbled under a sense of the power of the living God who could save or destroy. He would have known that He who could do such miracles, and multiply His signs and wonders, would preserve the lives of His chosen servants, even if He should have to slay the king of Egypt (Ibid., 220).  {1BC 1100.4}
[1BC 1100.5]                                    Chapter 7          10-12. Magicians' Work a Counterfeit.--The magicians seemed to perform several things with their enchantments similar to those things which God wrought by the hand of Moses and Aaron. They did not really cause their rods to become serpents, but by magic, aided by the great deceiver, made them to appear like serpents, to counterfeit the work of God. Satan assisted his servants to resist the work of the Most High, in order to deceive the people, and encourage them in their rebellion. Pharaoh would grasp at the least evidence he could obtain to justify himself in resisting the work of God, performed by Moses and Aaron. He told these servants of God that his magicians could do all these wonders. The difference between the work of God and that of the magicians was, one was of God, and the other of Satan. One was true, the other false (Ibid., 205, 206).  {1BC 1100.5}
[1BC 1100.6]                                    Chapter 8          7. Pharaoh Continued Devotions During Plagues.--During the plagues on Egypt Pharaoh was punctual in his superstitious devotion to the river, and visited it every morning, and as he stood upon its banks he offered praise and thanksgiving to the water, recounting the great good it accomplished, and telling the water of its great power; that without it they could not exist; for their lands were watered by                                                                              1101  it, and it supplied meat for their tables (4SG 54, 55).  {1BC 1100.6}
[1BC 1101.1]                                  Chapter 9          3. Effect of Plagues Tested.--Those who regarded the word of the Lord gathered their cattle into barns and houses, while those whose hearts were hardened, like Pharaoh's, left their cattle in the field. Here was an opportunity to test the exalted pride of the Egyptians, and to show the number whose hearts were really affected by the wonderful dealings of God with His people, whom they had despised and cruelly entreated (3SG 214).  {1BC 1101.1}
[1BC 1101.2]                                  Chapter 11          1, 8. Moses Fearlessly Met Pharaoh Again.--Notwithstanding Moses had been forbidden to come again into the presence of Pharaoh, for in the day he should see his face he should die, yet he had one more message from God for the rebellious king, and he firmly walked into his presence, and stood fearlessly before him to declare to him the word of the Lord. . . .  {1BC 1101.2}
[1BC 1101.3]          As Moses told the king of the plague which would come upon them, more dreadful than any had yet visited Egypt, which would cause all his great counselors to bow down before him, and entreat the Israelites to leave Egypt, the king was exceedingly angry. He was enraged because he could not intimidate Moses, and make him tremble before his kingly authority. But Moses leaned for support upon a mightier arm than that of any earthly monarch (Ibid., 221, 222).  {1BC 1101.3}
[1BC 1101.4]                                   Chapter 12          31, 32. Pharaoh Brought From Pride to Humility.--When the Egyptians, from the king upon his throne down to the lowliest servant, were afflicted, and their firstborn were slain, then there was wailing throughout all Egypt. Then Pharaoh remembered his proud boast, "Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice, to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." He humbled himself and went with his counselors and his rulers to Goshen in haste, and bowed before Moses and Aaron, and bid them go and serve their God. Their flocks and herds should go also as they had requested. They implored them to be gone, fearing if they continued longer, they would be all as dead men. Pharaoh also entreated Moses to bless him, thinking at the time that a blessing from the servant of God would protect him from the further effects of the dreadful plague (Ibid., 246).  {1BC 1101.4}
[1BC 1101.5]          38. Many Egyptians Acknowledged God.--There was quite a large number of the Egyptians who were led to acknowledge, by manifestations of the signs and wonders shown in Egypt, that the God of the Hebrews was the only true God. They entreated to be permitted to come to the houses of the Israelites with their families, upon that fearful night when the angel of God should slay the firstborn of the Egyptians. They were convinced that their gods whom they had worshiped were without knowledge, and had no power to save or to destroy. And they pledged themselves to henceforth choose the God of Israel as their God. They decided to leave Egypt, and go with the children of Israel to worship their God. The Israelites welcomed the believing Egyptians to their houses (Ibid., 224, 225).  {1BC 1101.5}
[1BC 1101.6]                                   Chapter 14          15, 16, 21, 22. Hand of Christ Rolled Back Waters.--The mighty hand of Christ rolled back the waters of the Red Sea, so that they stood up like a wall. Thus He made a dry passage through the sea, and Israel passed over dryshod (MS 155, 1899).  {1BC 1101.6}
[1BC 1101.7]          23, 26-28. Pursuit of Israel Closed Egyptians' Probation.--When the whole army,--"all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen,"-- were in the very bed of the sea, the Lord said unto Moses, "Stretch out thy rod over the sea." Israel had passed over on dry land, but they heard the shouting of he armies in pursuit. As Moses stretched out his rod over the sea, the embanked waters that had stood as a great wall, rolled on in their natural course. Of all the men of Egypt in that vast army, not one escaped. All perished in their determination to have their own way and to refuse God's way. That occasion was the end of their probation (MS 35, 1906).  {1BC 1101.7}
[1BC 1101.8]          25-27. Pharaoh Perished in Red Sea.--The monarch hardened his heart, and went                                                                              1102  on from one step to another of unbelief, until throughout the vast realm of Egypt the firstborn, the pride of every household, had been laid low. After this he hurried with his army after Israel. He sought to bring back a people delivered by the arm of Omnipotence. But he was fighting against a Power greater than any human power, and with his host he perished in the waters of the Red Sea (MS 126, 1901).  {1BC 1101.8}
[1BC 1102.1]                                  Chapter 15          23-25 (Jeremiah 8:22). A Balm for Every Wound.--When Moses presented before the Lord the sad difficulties of the children of Israel, He did not present some new remedy, but called their attention to that which was at hand; for there was a bush or shrub which He had created that was to be cast into the water to make the fountain sweet and pure. When this was done, the suffering people could drink of the water with safety and pleasure. God has provided a balm for every wound. There is a balm in Gilead, there is a physician there (Letter 65a, 1894).  {1BC 1102.1}
[1BC 1102.2]                                  Chapter 16          3 (1 Corinthians 6:20). Effects of Appetite in Israel's Experience.--Whenever their appetite was restricted, the Israelites were dissatisfied, and murmured and complained against Moses and Aaron, and against God. . . . But God was proving His people. In order to develop what was in their hearts, He allowed them to pass through severe trials. When they failed, He brought them around to the same point again, trying them a little more closely and severely....  {1BC 1102.2}
[1BC 1102.3]          In Egypt their taste had become perverted. God designed to restore their appetite to a pure, healthy state, in order that they might enjoy the simple fruits that were given to Adam and Eve in Eden. He was about to establish them in a second Eden, a goodly land, where they might enjoy the fruits and grains that He would provide for them. He purposed to remove the feverish diet upon which they had subsisted in Egypt; for He wished them to be in perfect health and soundness when they entered the goodly land to which He was leading them, so that the surrounding heathen nations might be constrained to glorify the God of Israel, the God who had done so wonderful a work for His people. Unless the people who acknowledged Him as the God of heaven were in perfect soundness of health, His name could not be glorified.  {1BC 1102.3}
[1BC 1102.4]          If the Israelites had submitted to God's requirements, they would have had a healthy posterity. But they chose to follow their own way, walking after the imagination of their own hearts. They gratified their appetites and consulted their own tastes and wishes. As a result, the wilderness was strewn with their dead bodies. Of all the vast multitude that left Egypt, six hundred thousand mighty men of war, besides women and children, only two entered the promised land (MS 69, 1912).  {1BC 1102.4}
[1BC 1102.5]          10. Cost of Disobedience.--If all the teachings given by Christ when enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, had been obeyed, the Jewish nation would have stood forth to glorify God above every nation and people upon the face of the earth. Jerusalem need not have been destroyed. But she disregarded the commandments of God, while professedly regarding them (Letter 195, 1899).  {1BC 1102.5}
[1BC 1102.6]          14, 15. Wilderness Diet Made Israel More Manageable.--If the Israelites had been given the diet to which they had been accustomed while in Egypt, they would have exhibited the unmanageable spirit that the world is exhibiting today. In the diet of men and women in this age there are included many things that the Lord would not have permitted the children of Israel to eat. The human family as it is today is an illustration of what the children of Israel would have been if God had allowed them to eat the food and follow the habits and customs of the Egyptians (Letter 44, 1903).  {1BC 1102.6}
[1BC 1102.7]          29 (ch. 20:8-11). Miracle Preserved Sabbath.--By a miracle God preserved the Sabbath law through the forty years of wilderness wandering (MS 77, 1899).  {1BC 1102.7}
[1BC 1102.8]                                  Chapter 17          14-16 (1 Samuel 15:2, 3). Amalek Doomed to Destruction.--Many years before, God had appointed Amalek to utter destruction. They had lifted up their hands against God, and His throne, and had taken oath                                                                              1103  by their gods that Israel should be utterly consumed, and the God of Israel brought down so that He would not be able to deliver them out of their hands.  {1BC 1102.8}
[1BC 1103.1]          Amalek had made derision of the fears of his people, and made sport of God's wonderful works for the deliverance of Israel performed by the hand of Moses before the Egyptians. They had boasted that their wise men and magicians could perform all those wonders. And if the children of Israel had been their captives, in their power as they were in Pharaoh's, that the God of Israel Himself would not have been able to deliver them out of their hands. They despised Israel, and vowed to plague them until there should not be one left (4SG 72, 73).  {1BC 1103.1}
[1BC 1103.2]          God did not wish His people to possess anything which belonged to the Amalekites, for His curse rested upon them and their possessions. He designed that they should have an end, and that His people should not preserve anything for themselves which He had cursed. He also wished the nations to see the end of that people who had defied Him, and to mark that they were destroyed by the very people they had despised. They were not to destroy them to add to their own possessions, or to get glory to themselves, but to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken in regard to Amalek (Ibid.,  75).  {1BC 1103.2}
[1BC 1103.3]                                   Chapter 18          13. See EGW comment on Numbers 12:3.  {1BC 1103.3}
[1BC 1103.4]                                   Chapter 19          3. Ancient Instruction to Be Studied.--The instructions given to Moses for ancient Israel, with their sharp, rigid outlines, are to be studied and obeyed by the people of God today (Letter 259, 1903).  {1BC 1103.4}
[1BC 1103.5]          Moses and God in Secret Council.--Moses, the visible leader of the Israelites, was admitted into the secret councils of the Most High. The people were given evidence that Moses did indeed talk with God, receiving from Him the instruction given them (Ibid.).  {1BC 1103.5}
[1BC 1103.6]          3-8. God's Covenant Our Refuge.--The covenant that God made with His people at Sinai is to be our refuge and defense. The Lord said to Moses:--  {1BC 1103.6}
[1BC 1103.7]          "Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, than ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."  {1BC 1103.7}
[1BC 1103.8]          "And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words."  {1BC 1103.8}
[1BC 1103.9]          "And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do."  {1BC 1103.9}
[1BC 1103.10]          This covenant is of just as much force today as it was when the Lord made it with ancient Israel (SW March 1, 1904).  {1BC 1103.10}
[1BC 1103.11]          7, 8 (quoted) (Isaiah 56:5). A Pledge to the Covenant.--This is the pledge that God's people are to make in these last days. Their acceptance with God depends on a faithful fulfilment of the terms of their agreement with Him. God includes in His covenant all who will obey Him. To all who will do justice and judgment, keeping their hand from doing any evil, the promise is, "Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off" (RH June 23, 1904).  {1BC 1103.11}
[1BC 1103.12]          9. Glory of Cloud Emanated From Christ.--The cloud that guided Israel, stood over the tabernacle. The glory of the cloud emanated from Jesus Christ, who from the midst of the glory talked with Moses, as He had talked with him from the burning bush. The brightness of God's presence was enshrouded in the darkness of the cloud which He made His pavilion, that the people could endure to look upon the cloud, as seeing Him who is invisible. This was God's plan whereby He might approach man (MS 126, 1901).  {1BC 1103.12}
[1BC 1103.13]                                   Chapter 20          1-17 (Nehemiah 9:6-15). Father by Side of Son in Giving Law.--When the law was spoken, the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, stood by the side of His Son, enshrouded in the fire and the smoke on the mount.                                                                              1104  It was not here that the law was first given; but it was proclaimed, that the children of Israel, whose ideas had become confused in their association with idolaters in Egypt, might be reminded of its terms, and understand what constitutes the true worship of Jehovah (ST Oct. 15, 1896).  {1BC 1103.13}
[1BC 1104.1]          Adam and Eve Knew the Law.--Adam and Eve, at their creation, had a knowledge of the law of God. It was printed on their hearts, and they understood its claims upon them (MS 99, 1902).  {1BC 1104.1}
[1BC 1104.2]          The law of God existed before man was created. It was adapted to the condition of holy beings; even angels were governed by it. After the fall, the principles of righteousness were unchanged. Nothing was taken from the law; not one of its holy precepts could be improved. And as it has existed from the beginning, so will it continue to exist throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. "Concerning thy testimonies," says the psalmist, "I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever (ST April 15, 1886).  {1BC 1104.2}
[1BC 1104.3]          Law Suited to Holy Order of Beings.--The Sabbath of the fourth commandment was instituted in Eden. After God had made the world, and created man upon the earth, He made the Sabbath for man. After Adam's sin and fall nothing was taken from the law of God. The principles of the ten commandments existed before the fall, and were of a character suited to the condition of a holy order of beings. After the fall, the principles of those precepts were not changed, but additional precepts were given to meet man in his fallen state (3SG 295).  {1BC 1104.3}
[1BC 1104.4]         Worded to Meet Fallen Intelligences.--The law of Jehovah dating back to creation, was comprised in the two great principles, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." These two great principles embrace the first four commandments, showing the duty of man to God, and the last six, showing the duty of man to his fellowman. The principles were more explicitly stated to man after the fall, and worded to meet the case of fallen intelligences. This was necessary in consequence of the minds of men being blinded by transgression (ST April 15, 1875 ［Reprinted in RH May 6, 1875］).  {1BC 1104.4}
[1BC 1104.5]         The law of God existed before the creation of man or else Adam could not have sinned. After the transgression of Adam the principles of the law were not changed, but were definitely arranged and expressed to meet man in his fallen condition. Christ, in counsel with His Father, instituted the system of sacrificial offerings; that death, instead of being immediately visited upon the transgressor, should be transferred to a victim which should prefigure the great and perfect offering of the son of God (Ibid., March 14, 1878).  {1BC 1104.5}
[1BC 1104.6]          Precepts Given to Guard Decalogue.--In consequence of continual transgression, the moral law was repeated in awful grandeur from Sinai. Christ gave to Moses religious precepts which were to govern everyday life. These statutes were explicitly given to guard the ten commandments. They were not shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ. They were to be binding upon men in every age as long as time should last. These commands were enforced by the power of the moral law, and they clearly and definitely explained that law (Ibid., April 15, 1875 ［Reprinted in RH May 6, 1875］).  {1BC 1104.6}
[1BC 1104.7]         (Isaiah 58:13, 14). Every Specification Is God's Character.--The God of heaven has placed a benediction upon them that keep the commandments of God. Shall we stand as a peculiar people of God, or shall we trample upon the law of God and say it is not binding? God might just as well have abolished Himself. In the law every specification is the character of the infinite God (MS 12, 1894).  {1BC 1104.7}
[1BC 1104.8]          Law Denounces Slightest Sin.--God has given His law for the regulation of the conduct of nations, of families, and of individuals. There is not one worker of wickedness, though his act be the lightest and the most secret, that escapes the denunciation of that law (MS 58, 1897).  {1BC 1104.8}
[1BC 1104.9]          Holiness Made Known.--Our duty to obey this law is to be the burden of this last message of mercy to the world. God's law is not a new thing. It is not holiness created, but holiness made known. It is a                                                                              1105  code of principles expressing mercy, goodness, and love. It presents to fallen humanity the character of God, and states plainly the whole duty of man (MS 88, 1897).  {1BC 1104.9}
[1BC 1105.1]          (John 14:15). Ten Commandments--Ten Promises.--The ten commandments, Thou shalt, and Thou shalt not, are ten promises, assured to us if we render obedience to the law governing the universe. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Here is the sum and substance of the law of God. The terms of salvation for every son and daughter of Adam are here outlined (MS 41, 1896).  {1BC 1105.1}
[1BC 1105.2]          The ten holy precepts spoken by Christ upon Sinai's mount were the revelation of the character of God, and made known to the world the fact that He had jurisdiction over the whole human heritage. That law of ten precepts of the greatest love that can be presented to man is the voice of God from heaven speaking to the soul in promise, "This do, and you will not come under the dominion and control of Satan." There is not a negative in that law, although it may appear thus. It is DO, and Live (Letter 89, 1898).  {1BC 1105.2}
[1BC 1105.3]          (Romans 12:1; 2 Peter 1:4). A Wall of Protection.--In the ten commandments God has laid down the laws of His kingdom. Any violation of the laws of nature is a violation of the law of God.  {1BC 1105.3}
[1BC 1105.4]          The Lord has given His holy commandments to be a wall of protection around His created beings, and those who will keep themselves from the defilement of appetite and passion may become partakers of the divine nature. Their perceptions will be clear. They will know how to preserve every faculty in health, so that it may be presented to God in service. The Lord can use them: for they understand the words of the great apostle, "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (MS 153, 1899).  {1BC 1105.4}
[1BC 1105.5]          3-17 (Proverbs 4:20-22). Health in Obedience to God's Law.--The love of Jesus in the soul will banish all hatred, selfishness, and envy; for the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. There is health in obedience to God's law. The affections of the obedient are drawn out after God. Looking unto the Lord Jesus, we may encourage and serve one another. The love of Christ is shed abroad in our souls, and there is no dissension and strife among us (MS 152, 1901).  {1BC 1105.5}
[1BC 1105.6]          No Others Professed to Keep Commandments.--The ancient Jewish church were the highly favored people of God, brought out of Egypt and acknowledged as His own peculiar treasure. The many and exceeding great and precious promises to them as a people, were the hope and confidence of the Jewish church. Herein they trusted, and believed their salvation sure. No other people professed to be governed by the commandments of God (Redemption: or the First Advent of Christ, p. 35).  {1BC 1105.6}
[1BC 1105.7]          3. Self-dependence Is Idolatry.--Idolaters are condemned by the Word of God. Their folly consists in trusting in self for salvation, in bowing down to the works of their own hands. God classes as idolaters those who trust in their own wisdom, their own devising, depending for success on their riches and power, striving to strengthen themselves by alliance with men whom the world calls great, but who fail to discern the binding claims of His law (RH March 15, 1906).  {1BC 1105.7}
[1BC 1105.8]          False Conceptions of God Are Idolatry.--Are we worshipers of Jehovah, or of Baal? of the living God, or of idols? No outward shrines may be visible; there may be no image for the eye to rest upon; yet we may be practising idolatry. It is as easy to make an idol of cherished ideas or objects as to fashion gods of wood or stone. Thousands have a false conception of God and His attributes. They are as verily serving a false god as were the servants of Baal (Ibid., Dec. 3, 1908).  {1BC 1105.8}
[1BC 1105.9]          Satan Plants Throne Between Heaven and Earth.--Satan accomplished the fall of man, and since that time it has been his work to efface in man the image of God, and to stamp upon human hearts his own image. Possessing supremacy in guilt, he claims supremacy for himself, and exercises over his subjects the power of royalty. He cannot expel God from His throne, but through the system of idolatry, he plants his own throne between the heaven and                                                                              1106  the earth, between God and the human worshiper (Ibid., Oct. 22, 1895).  {1BC 1105.9}
[1BC 1106.1]          4-6. Second Commandment and Pictures.--A few condemned pictures, urging that they are prohibited by the second commandment, and that everything of this kind should be destroyed. . . . The second commandment prohibits image worship; but God himself employed pictures and symbols to represent to His prophets lessons which He would have them give to the people, and which could thus be better understood than if given in any other way. He appealed to the understanding through the sense of sight. Prophetic history was presented to Daniel and John in symbols, and these were to be represented plainly upon tables, that he who read might understand (HS 212).  {1BC 1106.1}
[1BC 1106.2]          8-11 (Genesis 2:9, 16, 17; Exodus 16:29). Sabbath, a Test of Loyalty.-- Every man has been placed on trial, as were Adam and Eve in Eden. As the tree of knowledge was placed in the midst of the garden of Eden, so the Sabbath command is placed in the midst of the decalogue. In regard to the fruit of the tree of knowledge, the restriction was made, "Ye shall not eat of it, . . . lest ye die" ［Genesis 3:3］. Of the Sabbath, God said, Ye shall not defile it, but keep it holy. . . . As the tree of knowledge was the test of Adam's obedience, so the fourth command is the test that God has given to prove the loyalty of all His people. The experience of Adam is to be a warning to us so long as time shall last. It warns us not to receive any assurance from the mouth of men or of angels that will detract one jot or tittle from the sacred law of Jehovah (RH Aug. 30, 1898).  {1BC 1106.2}
[1BC 1106.3]          14. False Worship Is Spiritual Adultery.--All false worship is spiritual adultery. The second precept, which forbids false worship, is also a command to worship God, and Him only serve. The Lord is a jealous God. He will not Be trifled with. He has spoken concerning the manner in which He should be worshiped. He has a hatred of idolatry; for its influence is corrupting. It debases the mind, and leads to sensuality and all kinds of sin (MS 126, 1901).  {1BC 1106.3}
[1BC 1106.4]          16 (Galatians 6:7). Flippant Speech May Be False Witness.--Slander covers more ground than we suppose. The command, "Thou shalt not bear false witness," means very much more than we realize. False witness is borne again and again in flippant speech concerning even the workers whom God has sent. The seeds of envy, of evil thinking and evil speaking, germinate and produce a harvest of their kind, to be garnered by the one who planted the seed. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Letter 9, 1892).  {1BC 1106.4}
[1BC 1106.5]                                   Chapter 21          1-6. Care of the Interests of Servants.--The Lord desired to guard the interests of servants. He commanded the Israelites to be merciful, and to bear in mind that they themselves had been servants. They were directed to be mindful of the rights of their servants. In no case were they to abuse them. In dealing with them they were not to be exacting, as the Egyptian taskmasters had been with them. They were to exercise tenderness and compassion in the treatment of their servants. God desired them to put themselves in the place of the servants, and deal with them as they would wish others to deal with them under the same circumstances.  {1BC 1106.5}
[1BC 1106.6]          Because of poverty, some were sold into bondage by their parents. Others who were sentenced for crimes by the judges were sold into bondage. The Lord specified that even these were not to be held as bond-servants for more than seven years. At the end of that time every servant was given his freedom, or, if he chose, he was allowed to remain with his master. Thus God guarded the interests of the lowly and the oppressed. Thus He enjoined a noble spirit of generosity, and encouraged all to cultivate a love for liberty, because the Lord had made them free. Any one who refused liberty when it was his privilege to have it, was marked. This was not a badge of honor to him, but a mark of disgrace. Thus God encouraged the cultivation of a high and noble spirit, rather than a spirit of bondage and slavery.  {1BC 1106.6}
[1BC 1106.7]          God desires Christians to respect the liberty that He has in so marvelous a manner given them. In Christ is vested the                                                                              1107  ownership of every man. Man should not be another man's property. God has bought mankind. One man's mind, one man's power, should not rule and control another's conscience. In the sight of God wealth and position do not exalt one man above another. Men are free to choose the service of God, to love the Lord, and to keep all His commandments (MS 126, 1901).  {1BC 1106.7}
[1BC 1107.1]                                   Chapter 23          16 (John 7). Christ's Sacrifice Provides Bounties.--The rivers of blood that flowed at the harvest thanksgiving, when the sacrifices were offered in such large numbers, were meant to teach a great truth. For even the productions of the earth, the bounties provided for man's sustenance, we are indebted to the offering of Christ upon the cross of Calvary. God teaches us that all we receive from Him is the gift of redeeming love (RH Nov. 10, 1896).  {1BC 1107.1}
[1BC 1107.2]                                   Chapter 24          4-8. Ratification of the Covenant.--Preparation was now made for the ratification of the covenant, according to God's directions. . . .  {1BC 1107.2}
[1BC 1107.3]          Here the people received the conditions of the covenant. They made a solemn covenant with God, typifying the covenant made between God and every believer in Jesus Christ. The conditions were plainly laid before the people. They were not left to misunderstand them. When they were requested to decide whether they would agree to all the conditions given, they unanimously consented to obey every obligation. They had already consented to obey God's commandments. The principles of the law were now particularized, that they might know how much was involved in covenanting to obey the law; and they accepted the specifically defined particulars of the law.  {1BC 1107.3}
[1BC 1107.4]          If the Israelites had obeyed God's requirements, they would have been practical Christians. They would have been happy; for they would have been keeping God's ways, and not following the inclinations of their own natural hearts. Moses did not leave them to misconstrue the words of the Lord or to misapply His requirements. He wrote all the words of the Lord in a book, that they might be referred to afterward. In the mount he had written them as Christ Himself dictated them.  {1BC 1107.4}
[1BC 1107.5]          Bravely did the Israelites speak the words promising obedience to the Lord, after hearing His covenant read in the audience of the people. They said, "All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient." Then the people were set apart and sealed to God. A sacrifice was offered to the Lord. A portion of the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled upon the altar. This signified that the people had consecrated themselves--body, mind, and soul--to God. A portion was sprinkled upon the people. This signified that through the sprinkled blood of Christ, God graciously accepted them as His special treasure. Thus the Israelites entered into a solemn covenant with God (MS 126, 1901).  {1BC 1107.5}
[1BC 1107.6]                                    Chapter 25          17-22. Living Angels Beside Heavenly Ark.--The ark of the earthly sanctuary was the pattern of the true ark in heaven. There, beside the heavenly ark, stand living angels, each with one wing overshadowing the mercy-seat, and stretching forth on high, while the other wings are folded over their forms in token of reverence and humility (ST March 21, 1911).  {1BC 1107.6}
[1BC 1107.7]                                    Chapter 26          31. Temple Vail Renewed Yearly.--At the moment in which Christ died, there were priests ministering in the temple before the vail which separated the holy from the most holy place. Suddenly they felt the earth tremble beneath them, and the vail of the temple, a strong, rich drapery that had been renewed yearly, was rent in twain from top to bottom by the same bloodless hand that wrote the words of doom upon the walls of Belshazzar's palace (3SP 166, 167).  {1BC 1107.7}
[1BC 1107.8]                                    Chapter 27          1 (ch. 38:1). Service of Altar Restored.--Directions were given for building an altar for the offering of sacrifices, a service which had been almost wholly discontinued. While in Egyptian bondage the people's                                                                              1108  ideas of sacrifice had been largely molded by the ideas of the Egyptians who had themselves learned from Israel when they first went into Egypt, but who had mingled with truth the falsehood of idolatry. They had most indecent practices in connection with the worship at their heathen altars. The law given in Eden and repeated on Sinai was essential for the Israel of God; for during the bondage in Egypt the claims of God and His commandments had been lost sight of. This is why the Lord uttered His holy law with an audible voice in the hearing of all the people. He desired that they should hear His commandments and obey them (MS 58, 1900).  {1BC 1107.8}
[1BC 1108.1]                                  Chapter 31          1-6 (1 Timothy 5:13). Meddling Punished by Death.--The Lord loves to see His work done as perfectly as possible. In the wilderness, the Israelites had to learn to accomplish with exactness and promptness the work connected with the order of the camp and especially the work of the tabernacle, its ornaments, and its service. All had to learn before they could accomplish this, to them new work. They had to be trained before they could do it as God desired. There were men there ready to give counsel and advice and to meddle with the work of mounting and dismounting the tabernacle; and those who neglected their special work to meddle with the work of others, thinking they had special wisdom and knew how it should be done, were put to death. Each one had to be taught the value of promptness and exactness in every position of trust. The memory had to be taxed, and they had to realize the responsibility of doing everything in due time.  {1BC 1108.1}
[1BC 1108.2]          This is the discipline which the Lord anciently gave to His people, and it is the discipline which should exist in our missions, our colleges, our publishing houses, our sanitariums. God likes to see men understand their weak points, and instead of closing their eyes to their defects, they should make persevering efforts to overcome them (MS 24, 1887).  {1BC 1108.2}
[1BC 1108.3]          How Could the Work Be Done?--Israel had been held all their days in the bondage of Egypt, and although there were ingenious men among them, they had not been instructed in the curious arts which were called for in the building of the tabernacle. They knew how to make bricks, but they did not understand how to work in gold and silver. How was the work to be done? Who was sufficient for these things? These were questions that troubled the mind of Moses.  {1BC 1108.3}
[1BC 1108.4]          Then God Himself explained how the work was to be accomplished. He signified by name the persons He desired to do a certain work. Bezaleel was to be the architect. This man belonged to the tribe of Judah,--a tribe that God delighted to honor (MS 29, 1908).  {1BC 1108.4}
[1BC 1108.5]          2-7. Did Not Depend on Skilled Egyptians.--In ancient times, the Lord instructed Moses to build Him a sanctuary. The people were to provide the material, and skillful men must be found to handle the precious material. Among the multitude were Egyptians, who had acted as overseers for such work, and thoroughly understood how it should be done. But the work was not dependent upon them. The Lord united with human agencies, giving them wisdom to work skillfully. ［Exodus 31:2-7 quoted.］  {1BC 1108.5}
[1BC 1108.6]          Let the workmen in the service of God today pray to Him for wisdom and keen foresight, that they may do their work perfectly (MS 52, 1903).  {1BC 1108.6}
[1BC 1108.7]          13 (ch. 25:8). Sabbath Kept During Construction.--God directed that a tabernacle should be built, where the Israelites, during their wilderness-journeying, could worship Him. Orders from heaven were given that this tabernacle should be built without delay. Because of the sacredness of the work and the need for haste, some argued that the work of the tabernacle should be carried forward on the Sabbath, as well as on the other days of the week. Christ heard these suggestions, and saw that the people were in great danger of being ensnared by concluding that they would be justified in working on the Sabbath that the tabernacle might be completed as quickly as possible. The word came to them, "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep." Though the work on the tabernacle must be carried forward with                                                                              1109  expedition, the Sabbath must not be employed as a working day. Even the work on the Lord's house must give way to the sacred observance of the Lord's rest day. Thus jealous is God for the honor of His memorial of creation (RH Oct. 28, 1902).  {1BC 1108.7}
[1BC 1109.1]         18. Original Law in Heavenly Ark.--I warn you, Do not place your influence against God's commandments. That law is just as Jehovah wrote it in the temple of heaven. Man may trample upon its copy here below, but the original is kept in the ark of God in heaven; and on the cover of this ark, right above that law, is the mercy seat. Jesus stands right there before that ark to mediate for man (MS 6a, 1886).  {1BC 1109.1}
[1BC 1109.2]          Law Preserved in Ark.--"And He ［Christ］ gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communicating with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written by the finger of God." Nothing written on those tables could be blotted out. The precious record of the law was placed in the ark of the testament and is still there, safely hidden from the human family. But in God's appointed time He will bring forth these tables of stone to be a testimony to all the world against the disregard of His commandments and against the idolatrous worship of a counterfeit Sabbath (MS 122, 1901).  {1BC 1109.2}
[1BC 1109.3]          There are abundant evidences of the immutability of God's law. It was written with the finger of God, never to be obliterated, never to be destroyed. The tables of stone are hidden by God, to be produced in the great judgment-day, just as He wrote them (RH March 26, 1908).  {1BC 1109.3}
[1BC 1109.4]          When the judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened, and every man shall be judged according to the things written in the books, then the tables of stone, hidden by God until that day, will be presented before the world as the standard of righteousness. Then men and women will see that the prerequisite of their salvation is obedience to the perfect law of God. None will find excuse for sin. By the righteous principles of that law, men will receive their sentence of life or of death (Ibid., Jan. 28, 1909).  {1BC 1109.4}
[1BC 1109.5]                                    Chapter 32          1, 2. Aaron's Sin, Pacifying.--We repeat the sin of Aaron, pacifying, when the eyesight should be clear to discern evil and state it plainly, even if it places us in an unpleasant position, because our motives may be misapprehended. We must not suffer wrong upon a brother or any soul with whom we are connected. This neglect to stand up firmly for truth was the sin of Aaron. Had he spoken the truth plainly, that golden calf would never have been made. The same spirit that led him to shun to declare the whole truth for fear of offending, led him to act a falsehood in pointing to the golden calf as a representation of the One who brought them from Egypt. Thus one unfaithfulness leads to another (Letter 10, 1896).  {1BC 1109.5}
[1BC 1109.6]          4, 5. Idol Proclaimed God.--The result of their murmuring and unbelief was that Aaron made them a golden calf to represent God. He proclaimed this idol to be God, and a great deal of enthusiasm was created over this false god (RH Sept. 6, 1906).  {1BC 1109.6}
[1BC 1109.7]          19. Tables of Law Purposely Broken.--In utter discouragement and wrath because of their great sin, he ［Moses］ threw down the tables of stone by divine direction purposely to break them in the sight of the people, and thus signify that they had broken the covenant so recently made with God (ST May 20, 1880).  {1BC 1109.7}
[1BC 1109.8]                                   Chapter 34          28 (Matthew 4:1-11). No Pangs of Hunger.--Moses had, on special occasions, been thus long ［forty days］ without food. But he felt not the pangs of hunger. He was not harassed and tormented by a vile yet powerful foe. Moses was elevated above the human, and was enshrouded in the glory of God, and was especially sustained of God. The excellent glory inclosed him (Redemption: or the First Advent of Christ, pp. 47, 48).  {1BC 1109.8}
[1BC 1109.9]          29. Christ Is the Glory of the Law.--The glory that shone on the face of Moses was a reflection of the righteousness of Christ in the law. The law itself would have no glory, only that in it Christ is embodied. It has no power to save. It is                                                                              1110  lusterless only as in it Christ is represented as full of righteousness and truth (RH April 22, 1902).  {1BC 1109.9}
[1BC 1110.1]          29-33 (2 Corinthians 3:13-15). Moses Saw the Day of Christ.--In the mount, when the law was given to Moses, the Coming One was shown to him also. He saw Christ's work, and His mission to earth, when the Son of God should take upon Himself humanity, and become a teacher and a guide to the world, and at last give Himself a ransom for their sins. When the perfect Offering should be made for the sins of men, the sacrificial offerings typifying the work of the Messiah were to cease. With the advent of Christ, the veil of uncertainty was to be lifted, and a flood of light shed upon the darkened understanding of His people.  {1BC 1110.1}
[1BC 1110.2]          As Moses saw the day of Christ, and the new and living way of salvation that was to be opened through His blood, he was captivated and entranced. The praise of God was in his heart, and the divine glory that attended the giving of the law was so strikingly revealed in his countenance when he came down from the mount to walk with Israel, that the brightness was painful. Because of their transgressions, the people were unable to look upon his face, and he wore a veil that he might not terrify them. . . .  {1BC 1110.2}
[1BC 1110.3]          Had the Israelites discerned the gospel light that was opened to Moses, had they been able by faith to look steadfastly to the end of that which was abolished, they could have endured the light which was reflected from the countenance of Moses. "But their minds were blinded; for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ." The Jews as a people did not discern that the Messiah whom they rejected, was the Angel who guided their fathers in their travels in the wilderness. To this day the veil is upon their hearts, and its darkness hides from them the good news of salvation through the merits of a crucified Redeemer (ST Aug. 25, 1887).                                                    -    {1BC 1110.3}
[1BC 1110.4]       Leviticus                                     Chapter 1          1, 2. Become Familiar With Levitical Law.--We are to become familiar with the Levitical law in all its bearings; for it contains rules that must be obeyed; it contains the instruction that if studied will enable us to understand better the rule of faith and practice that we are to follow in our dealings with one another. No soul has any excuse for being in darkness. Those who receive Christ by faith will receive also power to become the sons of God (Letter 3, 1905).  {1BC 1110.4}
[1BC 1110.5]          3 (Malachi 1:13). Every Sacrifice Inspected by God.--It is Christ who searches the hearts and tries the reins of the children of men. All things are naked and open before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight. In the days of ancient Israel the sacrifices brought to the high priest were cut open to the backbone to see if they were sound at heart. So the sacrifices we bring today are laid open before the piercing eye of our great High Priest. He opens and inspects every sacrifice brought by the human race, that He may prove whether it is worthy of being presented to the Father (MS 42, 1901).  {1BC 1110.5}
[1BC 1110.6]                                   Chapter 5          6. Bring a Trespass Offering.--Let the members of every family begin to work over against their own houses. Let them humble themselves before God. It would be well to have a trespass-offering box in sight, and have all the household agree that whosoever speaks unkindly of another or utters angry words, shall drop into the trespass-offering box a certain sum of money. This would put them upon their guard against the wicked words which work injury, not only to their brethren, but to themselves. No man of himself can                                                                              1111  tame the unruly member, the tongue; but God will do the work for him who comes unto Him with contrite heart in faith and with humble supplication. By the help of God, bridle your tongues; talk less, and pray more (RH March 12, 1895).  {1BC 1110.6}
[1BC 1111.1]                                   Chapter 8          31. Sin Offering of Officiating Priest.--The sins of the people were transferred in figure to the officiating priest, who was a mediator for the people. The priest could not himself become an offering for sin, and make an atonement with his life, for he was also a sinner. Therefore, instead of suffering death himself, he killed a lamb without blemish; the penalty of sin was transferred to the innocent beast, which thus became his immediate substitute, and typified the perfect offering of Jesus Christ. Through the blood of this victim, man looked forward by faith to the blood of Christ which would atone for the sins of the world (ST March 14, 1878).  {1BC 1111.1}
[1BC 1111.2]                                  Chapter 10          1 (ch. 16:12, 13). Strange Fire Offered Today.--God has not changed. He is as particular and exact in His requirements now as He was in the days of Moses. But in the sanctuaries of worship in our day, with the songs of praise, the prayers, and the teaching from the pulpit, there is not merely strange fire, but positive defilement. Instead of truths being preached with holy unction from God, it is sometimes spoken under the influence of tobacco and brandy. Strange fire indeed! Bible truth and Bible holiness are presented to the people, and prayers are offered to God, mingled with the stench of tobacco! Such incense is most acceptable to Satan! A terrible deception is this! What an offence in the sight of God! What an insult to Him who is holy, dwelling in light unapproachable!  {1BC 1111.2}
[1BC 1111.3]         If the faculties of the mind were in healthful vigor, professed Christians would discern the inconsistency of such worship. Like Nadab and Abihu, their sensibilities are so blunted that they make no difference between the sacred and common. Holy and sacred things are brought down upon a level with their tobacconized breaths, benumbed brains, and their polluted souls, defiled through indulgence of appetite and passion. Professed Christians eat and drink, smoke and chew tobacco, and become gluttons and drunkards, to gratify appetite, and still talk of overcoming as Christ overcame! (RH March 25, 1875).  {1BC 1111.3}
[1BC 1111.4]                                   Chapter 14          4-8 (John 1:29). Two Birds--One Dipped in Blood.--The wonderful symbol of the living bird dipped in the blood of the bird slain and then set free to its joyous life, is to us the symbol of the atonement. There were death and life blended, presenting to the searcher for truth the hidden treasure, the union of the pardoning blood with the resurrection and life of our Redeemer. The bird slain was over living water; that flowing stream was a symbol of the ever flowing, ever cleansing efficacy of the blood of Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the fountain that was open for Judah and Jerusalem, wherein they may wash and be clean from every stain of sin. We are to have free access to the atoning blood of Christ. This we must regard as the most precious privilege, the greatest blessing, ever granted to sinful man. And how little is made of this great gift! How deep, how wide and continuous is this stream! To every soul thirsting after holiness there is repose, there is rest, there is the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit, and then the holy, happy, peaceful walk and precious communion with Christ. Then, oh, then, can we intelligently say with John, "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world" (Letter 87, 1894).  {1BC 1111.4}
[1BC 1111.5]                                   Chapter 16          23, 24. Garments of the High Priest.--As the high priest laid aside his pontifical dress, and officiated in the white linen dress of a common priest, so Christ emptied Himself, and took the form of a servant, and offered sacrifice, Himself the priest, Himself the victim. As the high priest, after performing his service in the holy of holies, came forth to the waiting congregation in his pontifical robes, so Christ will come the second time clothed                                                                              1112  in glorious garments of the whitest white, "such as no fuller on earth can whiten them." He will come in His own glory, and in the glory of His Father, as King of kings and Lord of lords, and all the angelic host will escort Him on His way (MS 113, 1899).  {1BC 1111.5}
[1BC 1112.1]                                   Chapter 17          11 (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:22). Blood Was Sacred.--The blood of the Son of God was symbolized by the blood of the slain victim, and God would have clear and definite ideas preserved between the sacred and the common. Blood was sacred, inasmuch as through the shedding of the blood of the Son of God alone could there be atonement for sin (ST July 15, 1880).  {1BC 1112.1}
[1BC 1112.2]                                   Chapter 25          10. Year of Jubilee.--Every fiftieth year, the year of jubilee, every inheritance in the land was to be restored to its original owner. "In the year of jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession," God declared.  {1BC 1112.2}
[1BC 1112.3]          Thus in His infinite wisdom the Lord educated His people. His requirements were not arbitrary. Connected with all the instruction received by the people from the Source of all light was the consequence of obedience and disobedience. They were taught that obedience would bring them the richest spiritual grace, and would enable them to distinguish between the sacred and the common. Disobedience would also bring its sure result. If the people chose to manage the land in their own supposed wisdom, they would find that the Lord would not work a miracle to counteract the evils He was trying to save them from.  {1BC 1112.3}
[1BC 1112.4]          The Lord presented to His people the course they must pursue if they would be a prosperous, independent nation. If they obeyed Him, He declared that health and peace would be theirs, and under His supervision the land would yield its increase (MS 121, 1899).  {1BC 1112.4}
[1BC 1112.5]          18-22. Agricultural and Tithing Laws a Test.--The tithing system was instituted by the Lord as the very best arrangement to help the people in carrying out the principles of the law. If this law were obeyed, the people would be entrusted with the entire vineyard, the whole earth. ［Quotes Leviticus 25:18-22.］ . . .  {1BC 1112.5}
[1BC 1112.6]          Men were to cooperate with God in restoring the diseased land to health, that it might be a praise and a glory to His name. And as the land they possessed would, if managed with skill and earnestness, produce its treasures, so their hearts, if controlled by God, would reflect His character. . . .  {1BC 1112.6}
[1BC 1112.7]          In the laws which God gave for the cultivation of the soil, He was giving the people opportunity to overcome their selfishness and become heavenly-minded. Canaan would be to them as Eden if they obeyed the Word of the Lord. Through them the Lord designed to teach all the nations of the world how to cultivate the soil so that it would yield healthy fruit, free from disease. The earth is the Lord's vineyard, and is to be treated according to His plan. Those who cultivated the soil were to realize that they were doing God service. They were as truly in their lot and place as were the men appointed to minister in the priesthood and in work connected with the tabernacle. God told the people that the Levites were a gift to them, and no matter what their trade, they were to help to support them (Ibid.).                                                    -    {1BC 1112.7}
[1BC 1112.8]       Numbers                                      Chapter 11          4. Diet Modified Disposition, Activated Mind.--The state of the mind has largely to do with the health of the body, and especially with the health of the digestive organs. As a general thing, the Lord did not provide His people with flesh meat in the desert, because He knew that the use of this diet would create disease and                                                                              1113  insubordination. In order to modify the disposition, and bring the higher powers of the mind into active exercise, He removed from them the flesh of dead animals. He gave them angel's food, manna from heaven (MS 38, 1898).  {1BC 1112.8}
[1BC 1113.1]                                   Chapter 12          1. Moses' Wife Not Black.--The wife of Moses was not black, but her complexion was somewhat darker than the Hebrews (1SP 286).  {1BC 1113.1}
[1BC 1113.2]          3. Moses Superior to All Rulers.--Moses stands forth superior in wisdom and integrity to all the sovereigns and statesmen of earth. Yet this man claims no credit for himself, but points the people to God as the Source of all power and wisdom. Where is there such a character among men of this age? Those who would speak contemptuously of the law of God are dishonoring Him and casting a shadow over the most illustrious character presented in the annals of men (ST Oct. 21, 1886).  {1BC 1113.2}
[1BC 1113.3]          (Exodus 18:13). Moses Could Judge Instantly.--Moses was a humble man; God called him the meekest man on earth. He was generous, noble, well-balanced; he was not defective, and his qualities were not merely half developed. He could successfully exhort his fellow-men, because his life itself was a living representation of what man can become and accomplish with God as his helper, of what he taught to others, of what he desired them to be, and of what God required of him. He spoke from the heart and it reached the heart. He was accomplished in knowledge and yet simple as a child in the manifestation of his deep sympathies. Endowed with a remarkable instinct, he could judge instantly of the needs of all who surrounded him, and of the things which were in bad condition and required attention, and he did not neglect them (MS 24, 1887).  {1BC 1113.3}
[1BC 1113.4]          The Meekest of Men.--Moses was the greatest man who ever stood as leader of the people of God. He was greatly honored by God, not for the experience which he had gained in the Egyptian court, but because he was the meekest of men. God talked with him face to face, as a man talks with a friend. If men desire to be honored by God, let them be humble. Those who carry forward God's work should be distinguished from all others by their humility. Of the man who is noted for his meekness, Christ says, He can be trusted. Through him I can reveal Myself to the world. He will not weave into the web any threads of selfishness. I will manifest Myself to him as I do not to the world (MS 165, 1899).  {1BC 1113.4}
[1BC 1113.5]                                  Chapter 13          30. Courage Through Faith.--It was Caleb's faith that gave him courage, that kept him from the fear of man, and enabled him to stand boldly and unflinchingly in the defense of the right. Through reliance on the same Power, the mighty General of the armies of heaven, every true soldier of the cross may receive strength and courage to overcome the obstacles that seem insurmountable (RH May 30, 1912).  {1BC 1113.5}
[1BC 1113.6]          (Zechariah 4:6). Calebs Needed Today.--Calebs have been greatly needed in different periods of the history of our work. Today we need men of thorough fidelity, men who follow the Lord fully, men who are not disposed to be silent when they ought to speak, who are as true as steel to principle, who do not seek to make a pretentious show, but who walk humbly with God, patient, kind, obliging, courteous men, who understand that the science of prayer is to exercise faith and show works that will tell to the glory of God and the good of His people. . . . To follow Jesus requires wholehearted conversion at the start, and a repetition of this conversion every day (Letter 39, 1899).  {1BC 1113.6}
[1BC 1113.7]                                  Chapter 14          29, 30 (ch. 26:64, 65). Wanderings Extended Through Satan's Efforts.--God gave positive evidence that He rules in the heavens, and rebellion was punished with death. Only two of those who as adults left Egypt, saw the promised land. The wanderings of the people were extended until the rest were buried in the wilderness.  {1BC 1113.7}
[1BC 1113.8]         Today Satan is using the same devising to introduce the same evils, and his efforts are followed by the same results that in                                                                              1114  the days of Israel laid so many in their graves (MS 13, 1906).  {1BC 1113.8}
[1BC 1114.1]                                  Chapter 15          38, 39 (1 Timothy 2:9, 10; 1 Peter 3:3, 4). Israel's Dress Distinguished Them From Nations.--The children of Israel, after they were brought out of Egypt, were commanded to have a simple ribbon of blue in the border of their garments, to distinguish them from the nations around them, and to signify that they were God's peculiar people. The people of God are not now required to have a special mark placed upon their garments. But in the New Testament we are often referred to ancient Israel for examples. If God gave such definite directions to His ancient people in regard to their dress, will not the dress of His people in this age come under His notice? Should there not be in their dress a distinction from that of the world? Should not the people of God, who are His peculiar treasure, seek even in their dress to glorify God? And should they not be examples in point of dress, and by their simple style rebuke the pride, vanity, and extravagance of worldly, pleasure-loving professors? God requires this of His people. Pride is rebuked in His Word (HR Feb. 1872).  {1BC 1114.1}
[1BC 1114.2]                                   Chapter 16          1-50. Rebellion Against Leadership.--These men of Israel complained, and influenced the people to stand with them in rebellion, and even after God stretched forth His hand and swallowed up the wrong-doers, and the people fled to their tents in horror, their rebellion was not cured. The depth of their disaffection was made manifest even under the judgment of the Lord. The morning after the destruction of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and their confederates, the people came to Moses and Aaron, saying, "Ye have killed the people of the Lord." For this false charge on the servants of God, thousands more were killed, for there was in them sin, exultation and presumptuous wickedness (Letter 12a, 1893).  {1BC 1114.2}
[1BC 1114.3]          (1 Samuel 15:23). Lessons From the Rebellion.--I question whether genuine rebellion is ever curable. Study in Patriarchs and Prophets the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. This rebellion was extended, including more than two men. ［REFERENCE IS HERE MADE TO TWO MEN LEADING A REBELLION IN A CERTAIN FIELD.--EDITOR.］ It was led by two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, men of renown. Call rebellion by its right name, and apostasy by its right name, and then consider that the experience of the ancient people of God with all its objectionable features was faithfully chronicled to pass into history. The Scripture declares, "These things were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." And if men and women who have the knowledge of the truth are so far separated from their great Leader, that they will take the great leader of apostasy, and name him Christ our Righteousness, it is because they have not sunk the shaft deep into the mines of truth. They are not able to distinguish the precious ore from the base material. . . .  {1BC 1114.3}
[1BC 1114.4]         The Lord has permitted this matter to develop as it has done, in order to show how easily His people will be misled, when they depend upon the words of men instead of searching the Scriptures for themselves, as did the noble Bereans, to see if these things are so. . . .  {1BC 1114.4}
[1BC 1114.5]          Rebellion and apostasy are in the very air we breathe. We shall be affected by it unless we by faith hang our helpless souls upon Christ. If men are so easily misled, how will they stand when Satan shall personate Christ, and work miracles? Who will be unmoved by his misrepresentations? Professing to be Christ when it is only Satan assuming the person of Christ, and apparently working the works of Christ? What will hold God's people from giving their allegiance to false Christs? "Go not ye after them."  {1BC 1114.5}
[1BC 1114.6]          The doctrines must be plainly understood. The men accepted to teach the truth must be anchored; then their vessel will hold against storm and tempest, because the anchor holds them firmly. The deceptions will increase, and we are to call rebellion by its right name. We are to stand with the whole armor on. My brethren, you are not meeting men only,                                                                              1115  but principalities and powers. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. Let Ephesians 6:10-18 be read carefully (Letter 1, 1897).  {1BC 1114.6}
[1BC 1115.1]          Christ came to our world not to aid Satan in working up rebellion, but to put down rebellion. Wherever men start out in rebellion they will work secretly and in darkness, as they will not come as Christ has told them to do to the ones they have any matter against but will take their budget of falsehoods and enmity and evil surmisings and Satanic representations, as did Satan to the fellow angels under him, and gain their sympathy by false representations (Letter 156, 1897).  {1BC 1115.1}
[1BC 1115.2]          1-3. Princes Enlisted in Rebellion.--Those men of Israel were determined to resist all evidence that would prove them to be wrong, and they went on and on in their course of disaffection until many were drawn away to unite with them. Who were these? Not the weak, not the ignorant, not the unenlightened. In that rebellion there were two hundred and fifty princes famous in the congregation, men of renown (Letter 2a, 1892).  {1BC 1115.2}
[1BC 1115.3]          3. Moses Accused of Hindering Progress.--They accused Moses of being the cause of their not entering the promised land. They said that God had not dealt with them thus. He had not said that they should die in the wilderness. They would never believe that He had thus said; but that it was Moses who had said this, not the Lord; and that it was all arranged by Moses to never bring them to the land of Canaan (4SG 30).  {1BC 1115.3}
[1BC 1115.4]          Korah Deceived Himself.--Korah had cherished his envy and rebellion until he was self-deceived, and he really thought that the congregation was a very righteous people, and that Moses was a tyrannical ruler, continually dwelling upon the necessity of the congregation's being holy, when there was no need of it, for they were holy (Ibid., 31).  {1BC 1115.4}
[1BC 1115.5]          19. The People Deceived Themselves.--The people thought if Korah could lead them, and encourage them, and dwell upon their righteous acts, instead of reminding them of their failures, they should have a very peaceful, prosperous journey, and he would without doubt lead them, not back and forward in the wilderness, but into the promised land. They said that it was Moses who had told them that they could not go into the land, and that the Lord had not thus said. Korah in his exalted self-confidence gathered all the congregation against Moses and Aaron, "unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation" (Ibid.).  {1BC 1115.5}
[1BC 1115.6]                                    Chapter 17          1-13. Rod Preserved as Reminder.--All the remarkable changes in the rod occurred in one night, to convince them that God had positively distinguished between Aaron and the rest of the children of Israel. After this miracle of divine power, the authority of the priesthood was no longer called in question. This wonderful rod was preserved to be frequently shown to the people to remind them of the past, to prevent them from murmuring, and again calling in question to whom the priesthood rightfully belonged. After the children of Israel were fully convinced of their wrong, in unjustly accusing Moses and Aaron, as they had done, they saw their past rebellion in its true light, and they were terrified. They spake unto Moses, saying, "Behold we die, we perish; we all perish." They are at length compelled to believe the unwelcome truth, that their fate is to die in the wilderness. After they believed that it was indeed the Lord who had said they should not enter the promised land, but should die, they then acknowledged that Moses and Aaron were right, and that they had sinned against the Lord, in rebelling against their authority. They also confessed that Korah, and those who perished with him, were sinners against the Lord and that they had justly suffered His wrath (Ibid., 35, 36).  {1BC 1115.6}
[1BC 1115.7]                                    Chapter 20          7, 8, 10, 12. Sin of Moses Misrepresented God's Leadership.--In all their wanderings, the children of Israel were tempted to attribute to Moses the special work of God, the mighty miracles that had been wrought to deliver them from Egyptian bondage. They charged Moses with bringing them out of the land of Egypt. It was true that God had manifested Himself wonderfully to Moses. He had specially                                                                              1116  favored him with His presence. To him God had revealed His exceeding glory. Upon the mount He had taken him into a sacred nearness to Himself, and had talked with him as a man speaks to a friend. But the Lord had given evidence after evidence that it was He Himself who was working for their deliverance.  {1BC 1115.7}
[1BC 1116.1]          By saying, "Must we fetch you water out of this rock?" Moses virtually said to the people that they were correct in believing that he himself was doing the mighty works that had been done in their behalf. This made it necessary for God to prove to Israel that his admission was not founded on fact. . . . To dispel forever from the minds of the Israelites the idea that a man was leading them, God found it necessary to allow their leader to die before they entered the land of Canaan (MS 69, 1912).  {1BC 1116.1}
[1BC 1116.2]                                   Chapter 21          6. Had Been Miraculously Preserved.--To punish them for their ingratitude, and complaining against God, the Lord permitted fiery serpents to bite them. They were called fiery, because their bite produced painful inflammation, and speedy death. The Israelites, up to this time, had been preserved from these serpents in the wilderness, by a continual miracle; for the wilderness through which they traveled was infested with poisonous serpents (4SG 41).  {1BC 1116.2}
[1BC 1116.3]          A Fatal Decision.--There were those who stopped to reason regarding the foolishness of looking for relief to this means. That they should be healed by looking at a piece of brass was absurd to their minds, and they said, "We will not look." This decision was fatal, and all who would not accept the provision made perished.  {1BC 1116.3}
[1BC 1116.4]          The brazen serpent was uplifted in the wilderness that those who looked in faith might be made whole. In like manner God sends a restoring, healing message to men, calling upon them to look away from man and earthly things, and place their trust in God. He has given His people the truth with power through the Holy Spirit. He opened His Word to those who were searching and praying for truth. But when these messengers gave the truth they had received to the people, they were as unbelieving as the Israelites. Many are cavilling over the truth brought to them by humble messengers (MS 75, 1899).  {1BC 1116.4}
[1BC 1116.5]                                    Chapter 22          1-6. Balaam, Double-Minded.--At the time Balak sent messengers for him ［Balaam］, he was double-minded, pursuing a course to gain and retain the favor and honor of the enemies of the Lord, for the sake of rewards he received from them. At the same time he was professing to be a prophet of God. Idolatrous nations believed that curses might be uttered which would affect individuals, and even whole nations (4SG 43).  {1BC 1116.5}
[1BC 1116.6]          15-17. Balaam's One Sin, Covetousness.--Here is a solemn warning for the people of God today, to allow no unchristian trait to live in their hearts. A sin which is fostered becomes habitual; and, strengthened by repetition, it soon exerts a controlling influence, bringing into subjection all the nobler powers. Balaam loved the reward of unrighteousness. The sin of covetousness, which God ranks with idolatry, he did not resist and overcome. Satan obtained entire control of him through this one fault, which deteriorated his character, and made him a time-server. He called God his master; but he did not serve Him; he did not work the works of God (ST Nov. 18, 1880).  {1BC 1116.6}
[1BC 1116.7]                                   Chapter 24          1-5. Beheld Glory of God's Presence.--Balaam had wished to appear to be favorable to Balak, and had permitted him to be deceived, and think that he used superstitious ceremonies and enchantments when he besought the Lord. But as he followed out the command given him of God, he grew bolder in proportion as he obeyed the divine impulse, and he laid aside his pretended conjuration, and, looking toward the encampment of the Israelites, he beholds them all encamped in perfect order, under their respective standards, at a distance from the tabernacle. Balaam was permitted to behold the glorious manifestation of God's presence, overshadowing protecting, and guiding the tabernacle. He was filled with admiration at the sublime scene. He opened his parable                                                                              1117  with all the dignity of a true prophet of God (4SG  47, 48).  {1BC 1116.7}
[1BC 1117.1]          15-24. Balak Amazed by Revelation.--The Moabites understood the import of the prophetic words of Balaam--that the Israelites after conquering the Canaanites, should settle in their land, and all attempts to subdue them would be of no more avail than for a feeble beast to arouse the lion out of his den. Balaam told Balak that he would inform him what the Israelites should do to his people at a later period. The Lord unfolded the future before Balaam, and permitted events which would occur, to pass before his sight, that the Moabites should understand that Israel should finally triumph. As Balaam prophetically rehearsed the future to Balak and his princes, he was struck with amazement at the future display of God's power (Ibid., 48).  {1BC 1117.1}
[1BC 1117.2]                                  Chapter 25          16-18. God's Control Unlimited.--Moses commanded the men of war to destroy the women and male children. Balaam had sold the children of Israel for a reward, and he perished with the people whose favor he had obtained at the sacrifice of twenty-four thousand of the Israelites. The Lord is regarded as cruel by many in requiring His people to make war with other nations. They say that it is contrary to His benevolent character. But He who made the world, and formed man to dwell upon the earth, has unlimited control over all the works of His hands, and it is His right to do as He pleases, and what He pleases with the work of His hands. Man has no right to say to his Maker, Why doest Thou thus? There is no injustice in His character. He is the Ruler of the world, and a large portion of His subjects have rebelled against His authority, and have trampled upon His law. . . . He has used His people as instruments of His wrath, to punish wicked nations, who have vexed them, and seduced them into idolatry (Ibid., 50, 51).  {1BC 1117.2}
[1BC 1117.3]                                   Chapter 26          64. See EGW comment on Numbers 14:29.  {1BC 1117.3}
[1BC 1117.4]                                   Chapter 29          12-39. See EGW comment on Exodus 23:16.                                                    -    {1BC 1117.4}
[1BC 1117.5]       Deuteronomy                                       Chapter 1          1. Study Deuteronomy Carefully.--The book of Deuteronomy should be carefully studied by those living on the earth today. It contains a record of the instruction given to Moses to give to the children of Israel. In it the law is repeated. . . .  {1BC 1117.5}
[1BC 1117.6]          The law of God was often to be repeated to Israel. That it precepts might not be forgotten, it was to be kept before the people, and was ever to be exalted and honored. Parents were to read the law to their children, teaching it to them line upon line, precept upon precept. And on public occasions the law was to be read in the hearing of all the people.  {1BC 1117.6}
[1BC 1117.7]          Upon obedience to this law depended the prosperity of Israel. If they were obedient, it would bring them life; if disobedient, death (RH Dec. 31, 1903).  {1BC 1117.7}
[1BC 1117.8]          (Exodus 1:1). Study Deuteronomy and Exodus More.--We do not make enough of Deuteronomy and Exodus. These books record the dealings of God with Israel. God took the Israelites from slavery, and led them through the wilderness to the promised land (MS 11, 1903).  {1BC 1117.8}
[1BC 1117.9]          6-10. Israel's Invisible Leader Ruled Through Visible Agents.-- The Lord God of heaven is our Leader. He is a leader whom we can safely follow; for He never makes a mistake. Let us honor God and His Son Jesus Christ, through whom He communicates with the world. It was Christ who gave to Moses the instruction that He gave to the children of Israel. It was Christ who delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Moses and Aaron were the visible leaders of the people. To Moses instruction was given by their invisible Leader, to be repeated to them.                                                                              1118   {1BC 1117.9}
[1BC 1118.1]         Had Israel obeyed the directions given them by Moses, not one of those who started on the journey from Egypt would in the wilderness have fallen a prey to disease or death. They were under a safe Guide. Christ had pledged Himself to lead them safely to the promised land if they would follow His guidance. This vast multitude, numbering more than a million people, was under His direct rule. They were His family. In every one of them He was interested (MS 144, 1903).  {1BC 1118.1}
[1BC 1118.2]                                   Chapter 4          1. Study Chapters Four to Eight.--I ask you to study the fourth to the eighth chapters of Deuteronomy, that you may understand what God required of His ancient people that they might be a holy people unto Himself. We are nearing the day of God's great final review, when the people of this world must stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for their deeds. We are now in the time of investigation. Before the day of God's review, every character will have been investigated, every case decided for eternity. Let the words of God's servant recorded in these chapters be read with profit (Letter 112, 1909).  {1BC 1118.2}
[1BC 1118.3]                                   Chapter 6          1, 2 (quoted). Results of Obedience.--In this scripture we are taught that obedience to God's requirements brings the obedient under the laws that control the physical being. Those who would preserve themselves in health must bring into subjection all appetites and passions. They must not indulge lustful passion and intemperate appetite, for they are to remain under control to God, and their physical, mental, and moral powers are to be so wisely employed that the bodily mechanism will remain in good working order. Health, life, and happiness are the result of obedience to physical laws governing our bodies. If our will and way are in accordance with God's will and way; if we do the pleasure of our Creator, He will keep the human organism in good condition, and restore the moral, mental, and physical powers, in order that He may work through us to His glory. Constantly His restoring power is manifested in our bodies. If we cooperate with Him in this work, health and happiness, peace and usefulness, are the sure results (MS 151, 1901).  {1BC 1118.3}
[1BC 1118.4]          6-9. (quoted) (verse 25; Romans 10:5). Obedience by Faith Is Righteousness by Faith.--When we bring our lives to complete obedience to the law of God, regarding God as our supreme Guide, and clinging to Christ as our hope of righteousness, God will work in our behalf. This is a righteousness of faith, a righteousness hidden in a mystery of which the worldling knows nothing, and which he cannot understand. Sophistry and strife follow in the train of the serpent; but the commandments of God diligently studied and practiced, open to us communication with heaven, and distinguish for us the true from the false. This obedience works out for us the divine will, bringing into our lives the righteousness and perfection that was seen in the life of Christ (MS 43, 1907).  {1BC 1118.4}
[1BC 1118.5]                                 Chapter 9          9. See EGW comment on Exodus 34:28.  {1BC 1118.5}
[1BC 1118.6]                                  Chapter 15          11. No Thread of Selfishness in Web of Life.--Deuteronomy contains much instruction regarding what the law is to us, and the relation we shall sustain to God as we reverence and obey His law.  {1BC 1118.6}
[1BC 1118.7]          We are God's servants, doing His service. Into the great web of life we are to draw no thread of selfishness; for this would spoil the pattern. But, oh, how thoughtless men are apt to be! How seldom do they make the interests of God's suffering ones their own. The poor are all around them, but they pass on, thoughtless and indifferent, regardless of the widows and orphans who, left without resources, suffer, but do not tell their need. If the rich would place a small fund in the bank, at the disposal of the needy ones, how much suffering would be saved. The holy love of God should lead every one to see that it is his duty to care for some other one, and thus keep alive the spirit of benevolence. . . . With what goodness, mercy, and love God lays His requirements before His children, telling them what they                                                                              1119  are to do. He honors us by making us His helping hand. Instead of complaining, let us rejoice that we have the privilege of serving under so good and merciful a Master (Letter 112, 1902).  {1BC 1118.7}
[1BC 1119.1]                                   Chapter 18          10 (Leviticus 18:21; 20:2, 3). Trial by Fire Condemned.--God was a wise and compassionate Lawgiver, judging all cases righteously, and without partiality. While the Israelites were in Egyptian bondage, they were surrounded by idolatry. The Egyptians had received traditions in regard to sacrificing. They did not acknowledge the existence of the God of heaven. They sacrificed to their idol gods. With great pomp and ceremony they performed their idol worship. They erected altars to the honor of their gods, and they required even their own children to pass through the fire. After they had erected their altars, they required their children to leap over the altars through the fire. If they could do this without their being burned, the idol priests and people received it as an evidence that their god accepted their offerings, and favored especially the person who passed through the fiery ordeal. He was loaded with benefits, and was ever afterward greatly esteemed by all the people. He was never allowed to be punished, however aggravating might be his crimes. If another person who leaped through the fire was so unfortunate as to be burned, then his fate was fixed; for they thought that their gods were angry, and would be appeased with nothing short of the unhappy victim's life, and he was offered up as a sacrifice upon their idol altars.  {1BC 1119.1}
[1BC 1119.2]         Even some of the children of Israel had so far degraded themselves as to practice these abominations, and God caused the fire to kindle upon their children, whom they made to pass through the fire. They did not go to all the lengths of the heathen nations; but God deprived them of their children by causing the fire to consume them in the act of passing through it.  {1BC 1119.2}
[1BC 1119.3]          Because the people of God had confused ideas of the ceremonial sacrificial offerings, and had heathen traditions confounded with their ceremonial worship, God condescended to give them definite directions, that they might understand the true import of those sacrifices which were to last only till the Lamb of God should be slain, who was the great antitype of all their sacrificial offerings (3SG 303, 304).  {1BC 1119.3}
[1BC 1119.4]                                   Chapter 23          14. No Uncleanness of Body, Word, or Spirit.--In order to be acceptable in God's sight, the leaders of the people were to give strict heed to the sanitary condition of the armies of Israel, even when they went forth to battle. Every soul, from the commander-in-chief to the lowest soldier in the army, was sacredly charged to preserve cleanliness in his person and surroundings; for the Israelites were chosen by God as His peculiar people. They were sacredly bound to be holy in body and spirit. They were not to be careless or neglectful of their personal duties. In every respect they were to preserve cleanliness. They were to allow nothing untidy or unwholesome in their surroundings, nothing which would taint the purity of the atmosphere. Inwardly and outwardly they were to be pure ［Deuteronomy 23:14 quoted］ (Letter 35, 1901).  {1BC 1119.4}
[1BC 1119.5]          We know His will, and any departure from it to follow ideas of your own is a dishonor to His name, a reproach to His sacred truth. Everything that relates to the worship of God on earth, is to bear in appearance a striking resemblance to heavenly things. There must be no careless disregard in these things, if you expect the Lord to favor you with His presence. He will not have His work placed on a level with common, temporal things (MS 7, 1889).  {1BC 1119.5}
[1BC 1119.6]          All those who come into His presence should give special attention to the body and the clothing. Heaven is a clean and holy place. God is pure and holy. All who come into His presence should take heed to His directions, and have the body and the clothing in a pure, clean condition, thus showing respect to themselves and to Him. The heart must also be sanctified. Those who do this will not dishonor His sacred name by worshiping Him while their hearts are polluted and                                                                              1120  their apparel is untidy. God sees these things. He marks the heart-preparation, the thoughts, the cleanliness in appearance, of those who worship Him (MS 126 1901).  {1BC 1119.6}
[1BC 1120.1]                                   Chapter 26          8. Wonders Showed God's Power.--The Lord brought up His people from their long servitude in a signal manner, giving the Egyptians an opportunity to exhibit the feeble wisdom of their mighty men, and array the power of their gods in opposition to the God of heaven. The Lord showed them by His servant Moses that the Maker of the heavens and the earth is the living and all-powerful God, above all gods. That His strength was mightier than the strongest--that OMNIPOTENCE could bring forth His people with a high hand and with an out-stretched arm. The signs and miracles performed in the presence of Pharaoh were not given for his benefit alone, but for the advantage of God's people, to give them more clear and exalted views of God, and that all Israel should fear Him, and be willing and anxious to leave Egypt, and choose the service of the true and merciful God. Had it not been for these wonderful manifestations, many would have been satisfied to remain in Egypt rather than to journey through the wilderness (3SG 204, 205).  {1BC 1120.1}
[1BC 1120.2]          16. Withhold Nothing.--There must be no withholding on our part, of our service or our means, if we would fulfill our covenant with God ［Deuteronomy 26:16 quoted］. The purpose of all God's commandments is to reveal man's duty not only to God, but to his fellow man. In this late age of the world's history, we are not, because of the selfishness of our hearts, to question or dispute the right of God to make these requirements, or we will deceive ourselves, and rob our souls of the richest blessings of the grace of God. Heart and mind and soul are to be merged in the will of God. Then the covenant, framed from the dictates of infinite wisdom, and made binding by the power and authority of the King of kings and Lord of lords, will be our pleasure. God will have no controversy with us in regard to these binding precepts. It is enough that He has said that obedience to His statutes and laws is the life and prosperity of His people (MS 67, 1907).  {1BC 1120.2}
[1BC 1120.3]          18 (Romans 6:3, 4). Mutual Pledge and Mutual Blessing.--The blessings of God's covenant are mutual ［Deuteronomy 26:18 quoted］. . . .  {1BC 1120.3}
[1BC 1120.4]          By our baptismal pledge we avouched and solemnly confessed the Lord Jehovah as our Ruler. We virtually took a solemn oath, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that henceforth our lives would be merged into the life of these three great Agencies, that the life we should live in the flesh would be lived in faithful obedience to God's sacred law. We declared ourselves dead, and our life hid with Christ in God, that henceforth we should walk with Him in newness of life, as men and women having experienced the new birth. We acknowledged God's covenant with us, and pledged ourselves to seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. By our profession of faith we acknowledged the Lord as our God, and yielded ourselves to obey His commandments. By obedience to God's Word we testify before angels and men that we live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Ibid.).  {1BC 1120.4}
[1BC 1120.5]                                   Chapter 30          15-19 (Joshua 24:15). Decision to Be Based on Evidence.--It is not the plan of God to compel men to yield their wicked unbelief. Before them are light and darkness, truth and error. It is for them to decide which to accept. The human mind is endowed with power to discriminate between right and wrong. God designs that men shall not decide from impulse, but from weight of evidence, carefully comparing scripture with scripture (Redemption: or the Miracles of Christ, pp. 112, 113).  {1BC 1120.5}
[2BC 993.1]         2BC - S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 2 (1953)      Joshua                                   Chapter 1          No Better Guide Than God.--If men will walk in the path that God has marked out for them, they will have a counselor whose wisdom is far above any human wisdom. Joshua was a wise general because God was his guide. The first sword that Joshua used was the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Will the men who are handling large responsibilities read the first chapter of Joshua? ［Joshua 1:1, 5, 7 quoted.］  {2BC 993.1}
[2BC 993.2]         Do you think that all these charges would have been given to Joshua if there had been no danger of his being brought under misleading influences? It was because the strongest influences were to be brought to bear against his principles of righteousness that the Lord in mercy charged him not to turn to the right hand or to the left. He was to follow a course of strictest integrity. ［Joshua 1:8, 9 quoted.］ If there had been no peril before Joshua, God would not over and over again have charged him to be of good courage. But amid all his cares, Joshua had his God to guide him.  {2BC 993.2}
[2BC 993.3]          There is no greater deception than for man to suppose that in any difficulty he can find a better guide than God, a wiser counselor in any emergency, a stronger defense under any circumstance (MS 66, 1898).  {2BC 993.3}
[2BC 993.4]          7, 8. Secret of Joshua's Success.--The Lord has a great work to be done in our world. To every man He has given His work for man to do. But man is not to make man his guide, lest he be led astray; this is always unsafe. While Bible religion embodies the principles of activity in service, at the same time there is the necessity of asking for wisdom daily from the Source of all wisdom. What was Joshua's victory? Thou shalt meditate upon the Word of God day and night. The word of the Lord came to Joshua just before he passed over Jordan.... ［Joshua 1:7, 8 quoted.］ This was the secret of Joshua's victory. He made God his Guide (Letter 188, 1901).  {2BC 993.4}
[2BC 993.5]          Counselors Should Cherish Everything Coming From God.--Those holding the positions of counselors should be unselfish men, men of faith, men of prayer, men that will not dare to rely upon their own human wisdom, but will seek earnestly for light and intelligence as to what is the best manner of conducting their business. Joshua, the commander of Israel, searched the books diligently in which                                                                              994  Moses had faithfully chronicled the directions given by God,--His requirements, reproofs, and restrictions,--lest he should move unadvisedly. Joshua was afraid to trust his own impulses, or his own wisdom. He regarded everything that came from Christ, who was enshrouded by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, as of sufficient importance to be sacredly cherished (Letter 14, 1886).  {2BC 993.5}
[2BC 994.1]                                   Chapter 2          10. Judgments Sent Fear Among Nations.--The terrible judgments of God which were visited upon the idolaters in the lands through which the children of Israel passed caused a fear and dread to fall upon all people living on the earth (MS 27, 1899).  {2BC 994.1}
[2BC 994.2]                                   Chapter 3, 4          Study Joshua 3 and 4.--Study carefully the experiences of Israel in their travels to Canaan. Study the third and fourth chapters of Joshua, recording their preparation for and passage over the Jordan into the promised land. We need to keep the heart and mind in training, by refreshing the memory with the lessons that the Lord taught His ancient people. Then to us, as He designed it should be to them, the teachings of His Word will ever be interesting and impressive (Letter 292, 1908).  {2BC 994.2}
[2BC 994.3]                                    Chapter 4          24. God Wanted to Teach the World Through His People.--Through His people Israel, God designed to give to the world a knowledge of His will. His promises and threatenings, His instructions and reproofs, the wonderful manifestations of His power among them, in blessings for obedience, and judgment for transgression and apostasy,--all were designed for the education and development of religious principle among the people of God until the close of time. Therefore it is important that we acquaint ourselves with the history of the Hebrew host, and ponder with care the dealings of God with them.  {2BC 994.3}
[2BC 994.4]          The words which God spoke to Israel by His Son were spoken for us also in these last days. The same Jesus who, upon the mount, taught His disciples the far-reaching principles of the law of God, instructed ancient Israel from the cloudy pillar and from the tabernacle, by the mouth of Moses and Joshua.... Religion in the days of Moses and Joshua was the same as religion today (ST May 26, 1881).  {2BC 994.4}
[2BC 994.5]                                    Chapter 5          13, 14 (ch. 6:16, 20). Israel's Part in Conquest of Jericho.-- When Joshua went forth in the morning before the taking of Jericho, there appeared before him a warrior fully equipped for battle. And Joshua asked, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" and he answered, "As Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." If the eyes of Joshua had been opened as were the eyes of the servant of Elisha at Dothan, and he could have endured the sight, he would have seen the angels of the Lord encamped about the children of Israel; for the trained army of heaven had come to fight for the people of God, and the Captain of the Lord's host was there to command. When Jericho fell, no human hand touched the walls of the city, for the angels of the Lord overthrew the fortifications, and entered the fortress of the enemy. It was not Israel, but the Captain of the Lord's host that took Jericho. But Israel had their part to act to show their faith in the Captain of their salvation.  {2BC 994.5}
[2BC 994.6]         Battles are to be fought every day. A great warfare is going on over every soul, between the prince of darkness and the Prince of life. There is a great battle to be fought, that the inhabitants of the world may be warned of the great day of the Lord, that the strongholds of the enemy may be entered, and that all who love the Lord may be gathered under the bloodstained banner of Prince Emmanuel, but you are not to do the main fighting here. As God's agents you are to yield yourselves to Him, that He may plan and direct and fight the battle for you, with your cooperation. The Prince of life is at the head of His work. He is to be with you in your daily battle with self, that you may be true to principle; that passion, when warring for the mastery, may be subdued by the grace of Christ; that you come off more than conqueror through                                                                              995  Him that hath loved us. Jesus has been over the ground. He knows the power of every temptation. He knows just how to meet every emergency, and how to guide you through every path of danger. Then why not trust Him? Why not commit the keeping of your soul unto God, as unto a faithful Creator? (RH July 19, 1892).  {2BC 994.6}
[2BC 995.1]                                     Chapter 6          2-5. See EGW on Judges 7:7, 16-18.  {2BC 995.1}
[2BC 995.2]          Many Today Would Wish to Follow Their Own Plan.--Would those who today profess to be God's people conduct themselves thus, under similar circumstances? Doubtless many would wish to follow out their own plans, would suggest ways and means of accomplishing the desired end. They would be loth to submit to so simple an arrangement, and one that reflected no glory upon themselves, save the merit of obedience. They would also question the possibility of conquering a mighty city in that manner. But the law of duty is supreme. It should wield authority over human reason. Faith is the living power that presses through every barrier, overrides all obstacles, and plants its banner in the heart of the enemy's camp (ST April 14, 1881).  {2BC 995.2}
[2BC 995.3]          When Man Builds Theories, He Loses Simplicity of Faith.--There are deep mysteries in the Word of God, there are mysteries in His providences, and there are mysteries in the plan of salvation, that man cannot fathom. But the finite mind, strong in its desire to satisfy curiosity, and solve the problems of infinity, neglects to follow the plain course indicated by the revealed will of God, and pries into the secrets hidden since the foundation of the world. Man builds his theories, loses the simplicity of true faith, becomes too self-important to believe the declarations of the Lord, and hedges himself in with his own conceits.  {2BC 995.3}
[2BC 995.4]          Many who profess to be children of God are in this position. They are weak because they trust to their own strength. God works mightily for a faithful people, who obey His Word without questioning or doubt. The Majesty of heaven, with His army of angels, leveled the walls of Jericho before His people. The armed warriors of Israel had no cause to glory in their achievements. All was done through the power of God. Let the people give up all desire for self-exaltation, let them humbly submit to the divine will, and God will again manifest His power, and bring freedom and victory to His children (ST April 14, 1881).  {2BC 995.4}
[2BC 995.5]          16, 20. See EGW on ch. 5:13, 14.  {2BC 995.5}
[2BC 995.6]         Simple Means Glorify God.--At the taking of Jericho the mighty General of armies planned the battle in such simplicity that no human being could take the glory to himself. No human hand must cast down the walls of the city, lest man should take to himself the glory of victory. So today no human being is to take to himself glory for the work he accomplishes. The Lord alone is to be magnified. Oh, that men would see the necessity for looking to God for their orders! (RH Oct. 16, 1900).  {2BC 995.6}
[2BC 995.7]          Possession After Forty Years' Delay.--The Lord marshaled His armies about the doomed city; no human hand was raised against it; the hosts of heaven overthrew its walls, that God's name alone might have the glory. It was that proud city whose mighty bulwarks had struck terror to the unbelieving spies. Now in the capture of Jericho, God declared to the Hebrews that their fathers might have possessed the city forty years before, had they but trusted in Him (RH March 15, 1887).  {2BC 995.7}
[2BC 995.8]          Men's Weakness to Find Supernatural Strength.--Our Lord is cognizant of the conflict of His people in these last days with the satanic agencies combined with evil men who neglect and refuse this great salvation. With the greatest simplicity and candor, our Saviour, the mighty General of the armies of heaven, does not conceal the stern conflict which they will experience. He points out the dangers, He shows us the plan of the battle, and the hard and hazardous work to be done, and then lifts His voice before entering the conflict to count the cost while at the same time He encourages all to take up the weapons of their warfare and expect the heavenly host to compose the armies to war in defense of truth and righteousness. Men's weakness shall find supernatural strength                                                                              996  and help in every stern conflict to do the deeds of Omnipotence, and perseverance in faith and perfect trust in God will ensure success. While the past confederacy of evil is arrayed against them He bids them to be brave and strong and fight valiantly for they have a heaven to win, and they have more than an angel in their ranks, the mighty General of armies leads on the armies of heaven. As on the occasion of the taking of Jericho, not one of the armies of Israel could boast of exercising their finite strength to overthrow the walls of the city, but the Captain of the Lord's host planned that battle in the greatest simplicity, that the Lord alone should receive the glory and man should not be exalted. God has promised us all power; for the promise is unto you and your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Letter 51, 1895).  {2BC 995.8}
[2BC 996.1]          20. Obedience Will Break Down Barriers.--The strong barriers of prejudice that have been built up will just as surely come down as did the walls of Jericho before the armies of Israel. There must be continual faith and trust in the Captain of our salvation. We must obey His orders. The walls of Jericho came down as a result of obeying orders (RH July 12, 1887).  {2BC 996.1}
[2BC 996.2]                                   Chapter 7          7. Joshua's Doubt and Unbelief.--Joshua manifested a true zeal for the honor of God, yet his petitions were mingled with doubt and unbelief. The thought that God had brought His people over the Jordan to deliver them up to the power of the heathen was a sinful one, unworthy of a leader of Israel. Joshua's feelings of despondency and distrust were inexcusable in view of the mighty miracles which God had wrought for the deliverance of His people, and the repeated promise that He would be with them in driving out the wicked inhabitants of the land.  {2BC 996.2}
[2BC 996.3]          But our merciful God did not visit His servant with wrath because of this error. He graciously accepted the humiliation and prayers of Joshua, and at the same time gently rebuked his unbelief, and then revealed to him the cause of their defeat (ST April 21, 1881).  {2BC 996.3}
[2BC 996.4]          11-13 (ch. 22:15-34). God's Abhorrence of Idolatry.--Here the Lord gave expression to His abhorrence of idolatry. Those heathen nations had turned from the worship of the living God, and were paying homage to demons. Shrines and temples, beautiful statues, and costly monuments, all the most ingenious and expensive works of art, had held the thoughts and affections of the veriest slavery to Satanic delusions.  {2BC 996.4}
[2BC 996.5]         The human heart is naturally inclined to idolatry and self-exaltation. The costly and beautiful monuments of heathen worship would please the fancy and engage the senses, and thus allure the Israelites from the service of God. It was to remove this temptation from His people that the Lord commanded them to destroy those relics of idolatry, on penalty of being themselves abhorred and accursed of God (ST April 21, 1881).  {2BC 996.5}
[2BC 996.6]          16-26. Sin Must Be Searched Out and Reproved.--The history of Achan teaches the solemn lesson that for one man's sin the displeasure of God will rest upon a people or a nation till the transgression is searched out and punished. Sin is corrupting in its nature. One man infected with its deadly leprosy may communicate the taint to thousands. Those who occupy responsible positions as guardians of the people are false to their trust if they do not faithfully search out and reprove sin. Many dare not condemn iniquity, lest they shall thereby sacrifice position or popularity. And by some it is considered uncharitable to rebuke sin. The servant of God should never allow his own spirit to be mingled with the reproof which he is required to give; but he is under the most solemn obligation to present the Word of God, without fear or favor. He must call sin by its right name. Those who by their carelessness or indifference permit God's name to be dishonored by His professed people, are numbered with the transgressor,-- registered in the record of heaven as partakers in their evil deeds....  {2BC 996.6}
[2BC 996.7]          The love of God will never lead to the belittling of sin; it will never cover or excuse an unconfessed wrong. Achan learned too late that God's law, like its Author, is unchanging. It has to do with                                                                              997  all our acts and thoughts and feelings. It follows us, and reaches every secret spring of action. By indulgence in sin, men are led to lightly regard the law of God. Many conceal their transgressions from their fellow men, and flatter themselves that God will not be strict to mark iniquity. But His law is the great standard of right, and with it every act of life must be compared in that day when God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or evil. Purity of heart will lead to purity of life. All excuses for sin are vain. Who can plead for the sinner when God testifies against him? (ST April 21, 1881).  {2BC 996.7}
[2BC 997.1]          20, 21. Confession Without Repentance Is Worthless.--There are many professed Christians whose confessions of sin are similar to that of Achan. They will, in a general way, acknowledge their unworthiness, but they refuse to confess the sins whose guilt rests upon their conscience, and which have brought the frown of God upon His people. Thus many conceal sins of selfishness, over-reaching, dishonesty toward God and their neighbor, sins in the family, and many others which it is proper to confess in public.  {2BC 997.1}
[2BC 997.2]          Genuine repentance springs from a sense of the offensive character of sin. These general confessions are not the fruit of true humiliation of soul before God. They leave the sinner with a self-complacent spirit to go on as before, until his conscience becomes hardened, and warnings that once aroused him produce hardly a feeling of danger and after a time his sinful course appears right. All too late his sins will find him out, in that day when they shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever. There is a vast difference between admitting facts after they are proved, and confessing sins known only to ourselves and God (ST May 5, 1881).  {2BC 997.2}
[2BC 997.3]          Achan Felt No Burden.--That which was esteemed by Achan as a very little thing was the cause of great anguish and sorrow to the responsible men of Israel, and this is always the case when it is manifest that the Lord is angry with His people. It is the men upon whom rests the burden of the work, who most keenly feel the weight of the people's sins, and who pray in agony of soul because of the rebuke of the Lord. Achan, the guilty party, did not feel the burden. He took it very coolly. We find nothing in the account to signify that he felt distressed. There is no evidence that he felt remorse, or reasoned from cause to effect, saying. "It is my sin that has brought the displeasure of the Lord upon the people." He did not ask, "Can it be that it is because I stole that golden wedge and Babylonish garment that we have been defeated in battle? "He had no idea of making his wrong right by confession of sin and humiliation of soul (Letter 13, 1893).  {2BC 997.3}
[2BC 997.4]          God's Method Vindicated.--The confession of Achan, although too late to be available in bringing to him any saving virtue, yet vindicated the character of God in His manner of dealing with him, and closed the door to the temptation that so continually beset the children of Israel, to charge upon the servants of God the work that God Himself had ordered to be done (Letter 13, 1893).  {2BC 997.4}
[2BC 997.5]          21. Growth of Achan's Covetousness.--Achan had fostered covetousness and deception in his heart, until his perceptions of sin had become blunted, and he fell an easy prey to temptation. Those who venture to indulge in a known sin will be more readily overcome the second time. The first transgression opens the door to the tempter, and he gradually breaks down all resistance and takes full possession of the citadel of the soul. Achan had listened to oft-repeated warnings against the sin of covetousness. The law of God, pointed and positive, had forbidden stealing and all deception, but he continued to cherish sin. As he was not detected and openly rebuked, he grew bolder; warnings had less and less effect upon him, until his soul was bound in chains of darkness (ST April 21, 1881).  {2BC 997.5}
[2BC 997.6]          In Exchange for His Soul.--For a Babylonish robe and a paltry treasure of gold and silver, Achan consented to sell himself to evil, to bring upon his soul the curse of God, to forfeit his title to a rich possession in Canaan, and lose all prospect of the future, immortal inheritance in the earth made new. A fearful price indeed                                                                              998  he paid for his ill-gotten gains! (ST May 5, 1881).  {2BC 997.6}
[2BC 998.1]          God Demands Clean Lives.--There are many in this day that would designate Achan's sin as of little consequence, and would excuse his guilt; but it is because they have no realization of the character of sin and its consequences, no sense of the holiness of God and of His requirements. The statement is often heard that God is not particular whether or not we give diligent heed to His Word, whether or not we obey all the commandments of His holy law; but the record of His dealing with Achan should be a warning to us. He will in no wise clear the guilty. . . .  {2BC 998.1}
[2BC 998.2]          The controversy for truth will have little success when sin is upon those who advocate it. Men and women may be well versed in Bible knowledge, as well acquainted with the Scripture as were the Israelites with the ark, and yet if their hearts are not right before God, success will not attend their efforts. God will not be with them. They do not have a high sense of the obligations of the law of heaven, nor do they realize the sacred character of the truth they are teaching. The charge is, "Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord."  {2BC 998.2}
[2BC 998.3]          It is not enough to argue in defense of the truth. The most telling evidence of its worth is seen in a godly life; and without this the most conclusive statements will be lacking in weight and prevailing power; for our strength lies in being connected with God by His Holy Spirit, and transgression severs us from this sacred nearness with the Source of our might and wisdom (RH March 20, 1888).  {2BC 998.3}
[2BC 998.4]          24-26. Result of Influence of Parents.--Have you considered why it was that all who were connected with Achan were also subjects of the punishment of God? It was because they had not been trained and educated according to the directions given them in the great standard of the law of God. Achan's parents had educated their son in such a way that he felt free to disobey the Word of the Lord, the principles inculcated in his life led him to deal with his children in such a way that they also were corrupted. Mind acts and reacts upon mind, and the punishment which included the relations of Achan with himself, reveals the fact that all were involved in the transgression (MS 67, 1894).  {2BC 998.4}
[2BC 998.5]                                   Chapter 17          13 (ch. 23:13). Stopping Halfway Hinders God's Plan.--The Lord assured them that they must dispossess the land of those who were a snare to them, who would be thorns in their side. This was the word of the Lord, and His plan was that under His guardianship His people should have larger and still larger territory. Wherever they should build houses and cultivate the land, business firms should be established, that they would not have to borrow from their neighbors, but their neighbors from them. Their possessions were to enlarge, and they were to become a great and powerful people. But they stopped halfway. They consulted their own convenience, and the very work God could have done for them by placing them where the knowledge of God should be made known and the abominable practices of the heathen banished from the land, was not done.  {2BC 998.5}
[2BC 998.6]         With all their advantages and opportunities and privileges, the Jewish nation failed to carry out God's plans. They bore little fruit, and continually less, until the Lord employed the barren fig tree with His curse upon it, to represent the condition of the once chosen nation. The work we do must be done with the unworked portions of the Lord's vineyard in mind. But today it is in a few places only that means are expended and advantages provided. The Lord would have the means and advantages more equally distributed. He would have provision made for many places that are now unworked (MS 126, 1899).  {2BC 998.6}
[2BC 998.7]                                   Chapter 18          1. A Witness Borne Through Worship.--In the land of Canaan, God's people were to have one general place of assembly, where, three times each year they could all meet to worship God. As they would obey the divine laws, they would receive the divine blessing. God would not blot out the idolatrous nations. He would give them opportunity to become acquainted with Him through His church. The experience                                                                              999  of His people during the forty years of their wilderness wandering was to be the study of these nations. God's laws and kingdom were to extend over all the territory of the earth, and His people must be known as the people of the living God.  {2BC 998.7}
[2BC 999.1]          Their service was an imposing one, and testified to the truth of a living God. Their sacrifices pointed to a coming Saviour, who would take the kingdoms under the whole heaven, and possess them forever and ever. Evidence had been given of His power to do this, for as their invisible Leader had He not subdued their enemies and made a way for His church in the wilderness? His people would never know defeat if they would abide under the shadow of the Almighty; for One mightier than angels would fight by their side in every battle (MS 134, 1899).  {2BC 999.1}
[2BC 999.2]                                   Chapter 20          3-6 Position Did Not Prevent Penalty.--However distinguished his position might be, he ［the manslayer］ must suffer the penalty of his crime. The safety and purity of the nation demanded that the sin of murder be severely punished. Human life, which God alone could give, must be sacredly guarded.  {2BC 999.2}
[2BC 999.3]         The blood of the victim, like the blood of Abel, will cry to God for vengeance on the murderer and on all who shield him from the punishment of his crime. Whoever,--be it individual or city,-- will excuse the crime of the murderer, when convinced of his guilt, is a partaker of his sin, and will surely suffer the wrath of God. The Lord designed to impress upon His people the terrible guilt of murder, while He would make the most thorough and merciful provision for the acquittal of the innocent (ST Jan. 20, 1881).  {2BC 999.3}
[2BC 999.4]                                  Chapter 22          15-34 (ch. 7:11-13). Beware of Laxness or Harshness in Dealing With Sin.--Care should be exercised by all Christians, to shun the two extremes, of laxness in dealing with sin on the one hand, and harsh judgment and groundless suspicion on the other. The Israelites who manifested so much zeal against the men of Gad and Reuben remembered how, in Achan's case, God had rebuked the lack of vigilance to discover the sins existing among them. Then they resolved to act promptly and earnestly in the future; but in seeking to do this they went to the opposite extreme. Instead of meeting their brethren with censure, they should first have made courteous inquiry to learn all the facts in the case.  {2BC 999.4}
[2BC 999.5]         There are still many who are called to endure false accusation. Like the men of Israel, they can afford to be calm and considerate, because they are in the right. They should remember with gratitude that God is acquainted with all that is misunderstood and misinterpreted by men, and they may safely leave all in His hands. He will surely vindicate the cause of those who put their trust in Him, as He searched out the hidden guilt of Achan.  {2BC 999.5}
[2BC 999.6]          How much of evil would be averted, if all, when falsely accused, would avoid recrimination, and in its stead employ mild, conciliating words. And at the same time, those who in their zeal to oppose sin have indulged unjust suspicions, should ever seek to take the most favorable view of their brethren, and should rejoice when they are found guiltless (ST May 12, 1881).  {2BC 999.6}
[2BC 999.7]                                  Chapter 23          6. Rebellion Against God Is Inexcusable.--God's plan for the salvation of men, is perfect in every particular. If we will faithfully perform our allotted parts, all will be well with us. It is man's apostasy that causes discord, and brings wretchedness and ruin. God never uses His power to oppress the creatures of His hand. He never requires more than man is able to perform; never punishes His disobedient children more than is necessary to bring them to repentance; or to deter others from following their example. Rebellion against God is inexcusable (ST May 19, 1881).  {2BC 999.7}
[2BC 999.8]          6-8. Danger From Contact With Infidelity.--We are in as great danger from contact with infidelity as were the Israelites from intercourse with idolaters. The productions of genius and talent too often conceal the deadly poison. Under an attractive guise, themes are presented and thoughts expressed that attract, interest,                                                                              1000  and corrupt the mind and heart. Thus, in our Christian land, piety wanes, and skepticism and ungodliness are triumphant (ST May 19, 1881).  {2BC 999.8}
[2BC 1000.1]         12, 13. Danger of Uniting in Marriage With Unbelievers.--The Lord has not changed. His character is the same today as in the days of Joshua. He is true, merciful, compassionate, faithful in the performance of His Word, both in promises and threatenings. One of the greatest dangers that besets the people of God today, is that of association with the ungodly; especially in uniting themselves in marriage with unbelievers. With many, the love for the human eclipses the love for the divine. They take the first step in backsliding by venturing to disregard the Lord's express command; and complete apostasy is too often the result. It has ever proved a dangerous thing for men to carry out their own will in opposition to the requirements of God. Yet it is a hard lesson for men to learn that God means what He says.  {2BC 1000.1}
[2BC 1000.2]          As a rule, those who choose for their friends and companions, persons who reject Christ and trample upon God's law, eventually become of the same mind and spirit. We should ever feel a deep interest in the salvation of the impenitent, and should manifest toward them a spirit of kindness and courtesy; but we can safely choose for our friends only those who are the friends of God (ST May 19, 1881).  {2BC 1000.2}
[2BC 1000.3]          13. See EGW on ch. 17:13.  {2BC 1000.3}
[2BC 1000.4]                                 Chapter 24          A Call to Gratitude, Humility, and Separation.--When Joshua was nearing the close of his life he took up a review of the past for two reasons--to lead the Israel of God to gratitude for the marked manifestation of God's presence in all their travels, and to lead them to humility of mind under a sense of their unjust murmurings and repinings and their neglect to follow out the revealed will of God. Joshua goes on to warn them in a most earnest manner against the idolatry around them. They were warned not to have any connection with idolaters, not to intermarry with them, nor in any way put themselves in danger of being affected and corrupted by their abominations. They were counseled to shun the very appearance of evil, not to dabble around the borders of sin, for this was the surest way to be engulfed in sin and ruin. He showed them that desolation would be the result of their departing from God, and as God was faithful to His promise He would also be faithful in executing His threatenings (Letter 3, 1879).  {2BC 1000.4}
[2BC 1000.5]          14-16. Moral Madness to Prefer Praise of Men.--When a man comes to his right mind, he begins to reflect upon his relation to his Maker. It is moral madness to prefer the praise of men to the favor of God, the rewards of iniquity to the treasures of heaven, the husks of sin to the spiritual food God gives His children. Yet how many who display intelligence and shrewdness in worldly things, manifest an utter disregard to those things that pertain to their eternal interest (ST May 19, 1881).  {2BC 1000.5}
[2BC 1000.6]          15. See EGW on Deuteronomy 30:15-19, Vol. 1, p. 1120.  {2BC 1000.6}
[2BC 1000.7]          27. We Need to Recall God's Words.--Joshua plainly declares that his instructions and warnings to the people were not his own words, but the words of God. This great stone would stand to testify to succeeding generations of the event which it was set up to commemorate, and would be a witness against the people, should they ever again degenerate into idolatry. . . .  {2BC 1000.7}
[2BC 1000.8]          If it was necessary for God's ancient people to often call to mind His dealings with them in mercy and judgment, in counsel and reproof, it is equally important that we contemplate the truths delivered to us in His Word,--truth which, if heeded, will lead us to humility and submission, and obedience to God. We are to be sanctified through the truth. The Word of God presents special truths for every age. The dealings of God with His people in the past should receive our careful attention. We should learn the lessons which they are designed to teach us. But we are not to rest content with them. God is leading out His people step by step. Truth is progressive. The earnest seeker will be constantly receiving light from heaven. What is truth? should ever be our inquiry (ST May 26, 1881).  {2BC 1000.8}
[2BC 1001.1]      Judges                                     Chapter 2          1, 2. A Genuine Revival.--［Judges 2:1, 2 quoted.］ The people bowed before God in contrition and repentance. They offered sacrifice, and confessed to God and to one another. The sacrifices they offered would have been of no value if they had not shown true repentance. Their contrition was genuine. The grace of Christ wrought in their hearts as they confessed their sins and offered sacrifice, and God forgave them.  {2BC 1001.1}
[2BC 1001.2]          The revival was genuine. It wrought a reformation among the people. They remained true to the covenant they had made. The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen the great works of the Lord. Their sins were repented of and forgiven, but the seed of evil had been sown, and it sprang up to bear fruit. Joshua's life of steadfast integrity closed. His voice was no longer heard in reproof and warning. One by one the faithful sentinels who had crossed the Jordan laid off their armor. A new generation came upon the scene of action. The people departed from God. Their worship was mingled with erroneous principles and ambitious pride (RH Sept. 25, 1900).  {2BC 1001.2}
[2BC 1001.3]          2 (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Harmful Effects of Association With the World.--It is not safe for Christians to choose the society of those who have no connection with God, and whose course is displeasing to Him. Yet how many professed Christians venture upon the forbidden ground. Many invite to their homes relatives who are vain, trifling, and ungodly; and often the example and influence of these irreligious visitors produce lasting impressions upon the minds of the children in the household. The influence thus exerted is similar to that which resulted from the association of the Hebrews with the godless Canaanites.  {2BC 1001.3}
[2BC 1001.4]          God holds the parents accountable for disregarding His command to separate themselves and their families from these unholy influences. While we must live in the world, we are not to be of the world. We are forbidden to conform to its practices and fashions. The friendship of the ungodly is more dangerous than their enmity. It misleads and destroys thousands who might, by proper and holy example, be led to become children of God. The minds of the young are thus made familiar with irreligion, vanity, ungodliness, pride, and immorality; and the heart not shielded by divine grace, gradually becomes corrupted. Almost imperceptibly, the youth learn to love the tainted atmosphere surrounding the ungodly. Evil angels gather about them, and they lose their relish for that which is pure, refined, and ennobling.  {2BC 1001.4}
[2BC 1001.5]          Professed Christian parents will pay the greatest deference to their worldly and irreligious guests, while these very persons are leading the children of those who pay them so much polite attention, away from sobriety and from religion. The youth may be trying to lead a religious life, but the parents have invited the tempter into their household, and he weaves his net about the children. Old and young became absorbed in questionable enjoyments, and the excitement of worldly pleasure.  {2BC 1001.5}
[2BC 1001.6]          Many feel that they must make some concessions to please their irreligious relatives and friends. As it is not always easy to draw the line, one concession prepares the way for another, until those who were once true followers of Christ, are in life and character conformed to the customs of the world. The connection with God is broken. They are Christians in name only. When the test hour comes, then their hope is seen to be without foundation. They have sold themselves and their children to the enemy (ST June 2, 1881).  {2BC 1001.6}
[2BC 1001.7]          Friendship With World or Favor of God?--Among God's preferred people, there are men in responsible positions who are content to remain in a state of coldness and backsliding. Their piety vanishes at the approach of temptation. To gain the friendship of worldlings, they will                                                                              1002  risk the consequences of losing the favor of God. The Lord is trying His people as silver is tried. Closer and still closer will come the searching test, until the heart is wholly submitted to God, or hardened in disobedience and rebellion (ST June 2, 1881).  {2BC 1001.7}
[2BC 1002.1]                                   Chapter 3          9. Othniel Made a Judge.--In their prosperity, Israel forgot God, as they had been warned that they would do. But reverses came. The Hebrews were subdued by the king of Mesopotamia, and held in severe bondage for eight years. In their distress, they found that their idolatrous connection could not help them. Then they remembered the wonderful works of God, and began to cry unto Him, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Othniel, Caleb's younger brother. The Spirit of the Lord rested upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war, and the Lord delivered the king of Mesopotamia into his hand.  {2BC 1002.1}
[2BC 1002.2]          When Othniel was designated as the man whom God had chosen to lead and deliver Israel, he did not refuse to take the responsibility. In the strength of God he at once commenced to repress idolatry as the Lord had commanded, to administer justice, and to elevate the standard of morality and religion. As Israel repented of their sins, the Lord manifested His great mercy toward them, and wrought for their deliverance.  {2BC 1002.2}
[2BC 1002.3]          For forty years Othniel ruled in Israel. During this time the people remained faithful to the divine law, and consequently enjoyed peace and prosperity. But when his judicious and salutary control ceased with his death, the Israelites again relapsed into idolatry. And thus the story of backsliding and chastisement, of confession and deliverance, was repeated again and again (ST June 9, 1881).  {2BC 1002.3}
[2BC 1002.4]                                    Chapter 4          6. God Instructed Deborah to Call Barak.--The Lord communicated to Deborah His purpose to destroy the enemies of Israel, and bade her send for a man named Barak, of the tribe of Naphtali, and make known to him the instructions which she had received. She accordingly sent for Barak, and directed him to assemble ten thousand men of the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun, and make war upon the armies of King Jabin (ST June 16, 1881).  {2BC 1002.4}
[2BC 1002.5]          8, 9. Barak Lacked Confidence in Israel.--Barak knew the scattered, disheartened, and unarmed condition of the Hebrews, and the strength and skill of their enemies. Although he had been designated by the Lord Himself as the one chosen to deliver Israel, and had received the assurance that God would go with him and subdue their enemies, yet he was timid and distrustful. He accepted the message from Deborah as the word of God, but he had little confidence in Israel, and feared that they would not obey his call. He refused to engage in such a doubtful undertaking unless Deborah would accompany him, and thus support his efforts by her influence and counsel (ST June 16, 1881).  {2BC 1002.5}
[2BC 1002.6]          12-14. Poorly Equipped Israelites Go to Mt. Tabor.--Barak now marshaled an army of ten thousand men, and marched to Mount Tabor, as the Lord had directed. Sisera immediately assembled an immense and well-equipped force, expecting to surround the Hebrews and make them an easy prey. The Israelites were but poorly prepared for an encounter, and looked with terror upon the vast armies spread out in the plain beneath them, equipped with all the implements of warfare, and provided with the dreaded chariots of iron. These were so constructed as to be terribly destructive. Large, scythe-like knives were fastened to the axles, so that the chariots, being driven through the ranks of the enemy, would cut them down like wheat before the sickle (ST June 16, 1881).  {2BC 1002.6}
[2BC 1002.7]          17-22. Sisera's Death at Hand of Jael.--Jael was at first ignorant of the character of her guest, and she resolved to conceal him; but when she afterward learned that he was Sisera, the enemy of God and of His people, her purpose changed. As he lay before her asleep, she overcame her natural reluctance to such an act, and slew him by driving a nail through his temples, pinning him to the earth. As Barak, in pursuit of his enemy, passed that way, he was called in by Jael to behold the vain-glorious captain dead at his feet,                                                                              1003  --slain by the hand of a woman (ST June 16, 1881).  {2BC 1002.7}
[2BC 1003.1]                                   Chapter 6          15 (Proverbs 15:33; 18:12). Before Honor Is Humility.--Gideon deeply felt his own insufficiency for the great work before him. . . .  {2BC 1003.1}
[2BC 1003.2]         The Lord does not always choose for His work men of the greatest talents, but He selects those whom He can best use. Individuals who might do good service for God, may for a time be left in obscurity, apparently unnoticed and unemployed by their Master. But if they faithfully perform the duties of their humble position, cherishing a willingness to labor and to sacrifice for Him, He will in His own time intrust them with greater responsibilities.  {2BC 1003.2}
[2BC 1003.3]          Before honor is humility. The Lord can use most effectually those who are most sensible of their own unworthiness and inefficiency. He will teach them to exercise the courage of faith. He will make them strong by uniting their weakness to His might, wise by connecting their ignorance with His wisdom (ST June 23, 1881).  {2BC 1003.3}
[2BC 1003.4]          23. The Same Compassionate Saviour.--［Judges 6:23 quoted.］ These gracious words were spoken by the same compassionate Saviour who said to the tempted disciples upon the stormy sea, "It is I; be not afraid,"--He who appeared to those sorrowing ones in the upper chamber, and spoke the selfsame words addressed to Gideon, "Peace be unto you." The very same Jesus who walked in humiliation as a Man among the children of men, came to His ancient people, to counsel and direct, to command, to encourage, and reprove them (ST June 23, 1881).  {2BC 1003.4}
[2BC 1003.5]                                     Chapter 7          2, 3 (Deuteronomy 20:5-8). Christ Considers Family Ties.--［Judges 7:2, 3; Deuteronomy 20:5-8 quoted.］ What a striking illustration is this of the tender, pitying love of Christ! He who instituted the relations of life and the ties of kindred, made special provision that these be not too widely broken. He would have none go forth to battle unwillingly. This proclamation also sets forth in a forcible manner the influence which may be exerted by one man who is deficient in faith and courage, and further shows the effect of our thoughts and feelings upon our own course of action (ST June 30, 1881).  {2BC 1003.5}
[2BC 1003.6]          4. Qualities Needed in Christ's Soldiers.--True Christian character is marked by a singleness of purpose, an indomitable determination, which refuses to yield to worldly influences, which will aim at nothing short of the Bible standard. If men will permit themselves to become discouraged in the service of God, the great adversary will present abundant reasons to turn them from the plain path of duty to one of ease and irresponsibility. Those who can be bribed or seduced, discouraged or terrified, will be of no service in the Christian warfare. Those who set their affections on worldly treasures or worldly honors, will not push the battle against principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places.  {2BC 1003.6}
[2BC 1003.7]          All who would be soldiers of the cross of Christ, must gird on the armor and prepare for conflict. They should not be intimidated by threats, or terrified by dangers. They must be cautious in peril, yet firm and brave in facing the foe and doing battle for God. The consecration of Christ's follower must be complete. Father, mother, wife, children, houses, lands, everything, must be held secondary to the work and cause of God. He must be willing to bear patiently, cheerfully, joyfully, whatever in God's providence he may be called to suffer. His final reward will be to share with Christ the throne of immortal glory . . . ［Judges 7:4 quoted］ (ST June 30, 1881).  {2BC 1003.7}
[2BC 1003.8]          7. Pray and Never Be Surprised.--The Lord is willing to do great things for us. We shall not gain the victory through numbers, but through the full surrender of the soul to Jesus. We are to go forward in His strength, trusting in the mighty God of Israel.  {2BC 1003.8}
[2BC 1003.9]          There is a lesson for us in the story of Gideon's army. . . .  {2BC 1003.9}
[2BC 1003.10]          The Lord is just as willing to work through human efforts now, and to accomplish great things through weak instrumentalities. It is essential to have an intelligent knowledge of the truth; for how else could we meet its wily opponents? The Bible must be studied, not alone for                                                                              1004  the doctrines it teaches, but for its practical lessons. You should never be surprised, you should never be without your armor on. Be prepared for any emergency, for any call of duty. Be waiting, watching for every opportunity to present the truth, familiar with the prophecies, familiar with the lessons of Christ. But do not trust in well-prepared arguments. Argument alone is not enough. God must be sought on your knees; you must go forth to meet the people through the power and influence of His Spirit.  {2BC 1003.10}
[2BC 1004.1]         Act promptly. God would have you minute men, as were the men who composed Gideon's army. Many times ministers are too precise, too calculating. While they are getting ready to do a great work, the opportunity for doing a good work passes unimproved. The minister moves as though the whole burden rested on himself, a poor finite man, when Jesus is carrying him and his burden too. Brethren, trust self less, and Jesus more (RH July 1, 1884).  {2BC 1004.1}
[2BC 1004.2]          7, 16-18 (Joshua 6:2-5). God's Ways Are Not Our Ways.--It is a dangerous thing for men to resist the Spirit of truth and grace and righteousness, because its manifestations are not according to their ideas, and have not come in the line of their methodical plans. The Lord works in His own way, and according to His own devising. Let men pray that they may be divested of self, and may be in harmony with heaven. Let them pray, "Not my will, but thine, O God, be done." Let men bear in mind that God's ways are not their ways, nor His thoughts their thoughts; for He says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." In the instruction that the Lord gave Gideon when he was about to fight with the Midianites,--that he should go out against his foes with an army of three hundred blowing trumpets, and carrying empty pitchers in their hands, and shouting, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon,"--these precise, methodical, formal men would see nothing but inconsistency and confusion. They would start back with determined protest and resistance. They would have held long controversies to show the inconsistency and the dangers that would accompany the carrying on of the warfare in such an extreme way, and in their finite judgment they would pronounce all such movements as utterly ridiculous and unreasonable. How unscientific, how inconsistent, would they have thought the movements of Joshua and his army at the taking of Jericho! (RH May 5, 1896).  {2BC 1004.2}
[2BC 1004.3]                                    Chapter 8          1-3. A Prudent Answer Appeases Anger.--Gideon's modest and prudent answer appeased the anger of the men of Ephraim, and they returned in peace to their homes. How much of the trouble that exists in the world today, springs from the same evil traits that actuated the men of Ephraim, and how many evils might be avoided if all who are unjustly accused or censured would manifest the meek, self-forgetful spirit of Gideon (ST July 21, 1881).  {2BC 1004.3}
[2BC 1004.4]          24-27. Satan Prompts Gideon to Lead Israel Astray.--Satan is never idle. He is filled with hatred against God, and is constantly enticing men into a wrong course of action. After the armies of the Lord have gained a signal victory, the great adversary is especially busy. He comes disguised as an angel of light, and as such he endeavors to overthrow the work of God. Thus thoughts and plans were suggested to the mind of Gideon, by which Israel were led astray (ST July 28, 1881).  {2BC 1004.4}
[2BC 1004.5]          Leaders May Lead Astray.--Those who are placed in the highest positions may lead astray, especially if they feel that there is no danger. The wisest err; the strongest grow weary. Excess of caution is often attended with as great danger as excess of confidence. To go forward without stumbling, we must have the assurance that a hand all-powerful will hold us up, and an infinite pity be exercised toward us if we fall. God alone can at all times hear our cry for help.  {2BC 1004.5}
[2BC 1004.6]          It is a solemn thought that the removal of one safeguard from the conscience, the failure to fulfill one good resolution, the formation of one wrong habit, may result not only in our own ruin, but in the ruin of those who have put confidence in us. Our only safety is to follow where the steps of the Master lead the way, to trust                                                                              1005  for protection implicitly to Him who says, "Follow me." Our constant prayer should be. "Hold up my goings in thy path, O Lord, that my footsteps slip not" (ST July 28, 1881).  {2BC 1004.6}
[2BC 1005.1]                                  Chapter 9          Principle, Not Policy, Must Control.--Had the Israelites preserved a clear perception of right and wrong, they would have seen the fallacy of Abimelech's reasoning, and the injustice of his claims. They would have seen that he was filled with envy, and actuated by a base ambition to exalt himself by the ruin of his brethren. Those who are controlled by policy rather than by principle are not to be trusted. They will pervert the truth, conceal facts, and construe the words of others to mean that which was never intended. They will employ flattering words, while the poison of asps is under their tongue. He who does not earnestly seek the divine guidance will be deceived by their smooth words and their artful plans (ST Aug. 4, 1881).  {2BC 1005.1}
[2BC 1005.2]                                  Chapter 10          1, 2. Tola Restored Order, Law, and Justice.--After the death of Abimelech, the usurper, the Lord raised up Tola to judge Israel. His peaceful reign presented a happy contrast to the stormy scenes through which the nation had been passing. It was not his work to lead armies to battle and to achieve victories over the enemies of Israel, as the former rulers had done; but his influence effected a closer union among the people, and established the government upon a firmer basis. He restored order, law, and justice.  {2BC 1005.2}
[2BC 1005.3]          Unlike the proud and envious Abimelech, Tola's great desire was, not to secure position or honor for himself, but to improve the condition of his people. A man of deep humility, he felt that he could accomplish no great work, but he determined to perform with faithfulness his duty to God and to the people. He highly valued the privilege of divine worship, and chose to dwell near the tabernacle, that he might oftener attend upon the services there performed (ST Aug. 11, 1881).  {2BC 1005.3}
[2BC 1005.4]          3-6. Jair Tried to Maintain Worship of God.--［Judges 10:6 quoted.］ Tola governed Israel twenty-three years, and was succeeded by Jair. This ruler also feared the Lord and endeavored to maintain His worship among the people. In conducting the affairs of the government he was assisted by his sons, who acted as magistrates, and went from place to place to administer justice.  {2BC 1005.4}
[2BC 1005.5]           To some extent, during the latter part of Jair's reign, and more generally after his death, the Israelites again relapsed into idolatry (ST Aug. 11, 1881).  {2BC 1005.5}
[2BC 1005.6]                                 Chapter 11          23 (Genesis 15:16). Probation for the Nations.--God is slow to anger. He gave the wicked nations a time of probation that they might become acquainted with Him and His character. According to the light given was their condemnation for refusing to receive the light and choosing their own ways rather than God's ways. God gave the reason why He did not at once dispossess the Canaanites. The iniquity of the Amorites was not full. Through their iniquity they were gradually bringing themselves to the point where God's forbearance could no longer be exercised and they would be exterminated. Until the point was reached and their iniquity was full, the vengeance of God would be delayed. All nations had a period of probation. Those who made void God's law would advance from one degree of wickedness to another. Children would inherit the rebellious spirit of their parents and do worse than their fathers before them until God's wrath would fall upon them. The punishment was not less because deferred (MS 58, 1900).  {2BC 1005.6}
[2BC 1005.7]                                 Chapter 13          2-5. A Lesson to Mothers.--Many whom God would use as His instruments have been disqualified at their birth by the previous wrong habits of their parents. When the Lord would raise up Samson as a deliverer of His people, He enjoined upon the mother correct habits of life before the birth of her child. . . .  {2BC 1005.7}
[2BC 1005.8]          In instructing this one mother, the Lord gave a lesson to all who should be mothers to the close of time. Had the wife of                                                                              1006  Manoah followed the prevailing customs, her system would have been weakened by violation of nature's laws, and her child would have suffered with her the penalty of transgression (GH Feb., 1880).  {2BC 1005.8}
[2BC 1006.1]          2-23. Manoah Meets Christ.--Manoah and his wife knew not that the One thus addressing them was Jesus Christ. They looked upon Him as the Lord's messenger, but whether a prophet or an angel, they were at a loss to determine. Wishing to manifest hospitality toward their guest, they entreated Him to remain while they should prepare for Him a kid. But in their ignorance of His character, they knew not whether to offer it for a burnt-offering or to place it before Him as food.  {2BC 1006.1}
[2BC 1006.2]          The angel answered, "Although thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord." Feeling assured, now, that his visitor was a prophet, Manoah said, "What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor?"  {2BC 1006.2}
[2BC 1006.3]          The answer was, "Why askest thou after my name, seeing it is secret?" Perceiving the divine character of his guest, Manoah "took a kid, with a meat-offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord; and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on." Fire came from the rock, and consumed the sacrifice, and as the flame went up toward heaven, "the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground." There could be no further question as to the character of their visitor. They knew that they had looked upon the Holy One, who, veiling His glory in the cloudy pillar, had been the Guide and Helper of Israel in the desert.  {2BC 1006.3}
[2BC 1006.4]          Amazement, awe, and terror filled Manoah's heart; and he could only exclaim, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God!" But his companion in that solemn hour possessed more faith than he. She reminded him that the Lord had been pleased to accept their sacrifice, and had promised them a son who should begin to deliver Israel. This was an evidence of favor instead of wrath. Had the Lord purposed to destroy them, He would not have wrought this miracle, nor given them a promise which, were they to perish, must fail of fulfillment (ST Sept. 15, 1881).  {2BC 1006.4}
[2BC 1006.5]          5. Simplicity Leads to Readiness in Service.--He who will observe simplicity in all his habits, restricting the appetite and controlling the passions, may preserve his mental powers strong, active, and vigorous, quick to perceive everything which demands thought or action, keen to discriminate between the holy and the unholy, and ready to engage in every enterprise for the glory of God and the benefit of humanity (ST Sept. 29, 1881).  {2BC 1006.5}
[2BC 1006.6]                               Chapter 14          1-4. A Spy in the Camp.--The Lord has in His Word plainly instructed His people not to unite themselves with those who have not His love and fear before them. Such companions will seldom be satisfied with the love and respect which are justly theirs. They will constantly seek to gain from the God-fearing wife or husband some favor which shall involve a disregard of the divine requirements. To a godly man, and to the church with which he is connected, a worldly wife or a worldly friend is as a spy in the camp, who will watch every opportunity to betray the servant of Christ, and expose him to the enemy's attacks (ST Sept. 27, 1910).  {2BC 1006.6}
[2BC 1006.7]                                 Chapter 15          14-19. Samson Recognizes His Dependence.--Thousands of Israelites witnessed Samson's defeat of the Philistines, yet no voice was raised in triumph, till the hero, elated at his marvelous success, celebrated his own victory. But he praised himself, instead of ascribing the glory to God. No sooner had he ceased than he was reminded of his weakness by a most intense and painful thirst. He had become exhausted by his prodigious labors, and no means of supplying his need was at hand. He began to feel his utter dependence upon God, and to be convinced that he had not triumphed by his own power, but in the strength of the Omnipotent One.  {2BC 1006.7}
[2BC 1006.8]          He then gave God the praise for his deliverance, and offered an earnest prayer for relief from his present suffering. The                                                                              1007  Lord hearkened to his petition and opened for him a spring of water. In token of his gratitude Samson called the name of the place En-hakkore, or "the well of him that cried" (ST Oct. 6, 1881).  {2BC 1006.8}
[2BC 1007.1]                                  Chapter 16          Samson Failed Where Joseph Overcame.--Samson in his peril had the same source of strength as had Joseph. He could choose the right or the wrong as he pleased. But instead of taking hold of the strength of God, he permitted the wild passions of his nature to have full sway. The reasoning powers were perverted, the morals corrupted. God had called Samson to a position of great responsibility, honor, and usefulness; but he must first learn to govern by first learning to obey the laws of God. Joseph was a free moral agent. Good and evil were before him. He could choose the path of purity, holiness, and honor, or the path of immorality and degradation. He chose the right way, and God approved. Samson, under similar temptations, which he had brought upon himself, gave loose rein to passion. The path which he entered upon he found to end in shame, disaster, and death. What a contrast to the history of Joseph! (ST Oct. 13, 1881).  {2BC 1007.1}
[2BC 1007.2]          (Galatians 6:7, 8). Samson's History a Lesson for Youth.--The history of Samson conveys a lesson for those whose characters are yet unformed, who have not yet entered upon the stage of active life. The youth who enter our schools and colleges will find there every class of mind. If they desire sport and folly, if they seek to shun the good and unite with the evil, they have the opportunity. Sin and righteousness are before them, and they are to choose for themselves. But let them remember that "whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. . . . He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (ST Oct. 13, 1881).  {2BC 1007.2}
[2BC 1007.3]          4. Precious Hours Squandered.--In the society of this enchantress, the judge of Israel squandered precious hours that should have been sacredly devoted to the welfare of his people. But the blinding passions which make even the strongest weak, had gained control of reason and of conscience (ST Oct. 13, 1881).  {2BC 1007.3}
[2BC 1007.4]          Philistines Knowing Divine Law, Watched Samson.--The Philistines were well acquainted with the divine law, and its condemnation of sensual indulgence. They kept a vigilant watch over all the movements of their enemy, and when he degraded himself by this new attachment, and they saw the bewitching power of the enchantress, they determined, through her, to accomplish his ruin (ST Oct. 13, 1881).  {2BC 1007.4}
[2BC 1007.5]          15-17. Samson Deliberately Walked Into Net of Betrayer.--Samson's infatuation seems almost incredible. At first he was not so wholly enthralled as to reveal the secret; but he had deliberately walked into the net of the betrayer of souls, and its meshes were drawing closer about him at every step (ST Oct. 13, 1881).  {2BC 1007.5}
[2BC 1007.6]          15-20. Samson Lost Sense of Sacredness of His Work.--Samson, that mighty man of valor, was under a solemn vow to be a Nazarite during the period of his life; but becoming infatuated by the charms of a lewd woman, he rashly broke that sacred pledge. Satan worked through his agents to destroy this ruler of Israel, that the mysterious power which he possessed might no longer intimidate the enemies of God's people. It was the influence of this bold woman that separated him from God, her artifices that proved his ruin. The love and service which God claims, Samson gave to this woman. This was idolatry. He lost all sense of the sacred character and work of God, and sacrificed honor, conscience, and every valuable interest, to base passion (ST July 1, 1903).  {2BC 1007.6}
[2BC 1007.7]          20. Willful Sin Caused Loss of Strength.--Had Samson's head been shaven without fault on his part, his strength would have remained. But his course had shown contempt for the favor and authority of God as much as if he had in disdain himself severed his locks from his head. Therefore God left him to endure the results of his own folly (ST Oct. 13, 1881).  {2BC 1007.7}
[2BC 1007.8]          28. Real Contest Between Jehovah and Dagon.--The contest, instead of being between Samson and the Philistines, was now between Jehovah and Dagon, and                                                                              1008  thus the Lord was moved to assert His almighty power and His supreme authority (ST Oct. 13, 1881).  {2BC 1007.8}
[2BC 1008.1]          30. God's Design for Samson Marred by Sin.--God designed that Samson should accomplish a great work for Israel. Hence the utmost care had been taken at the very outset of life to surround him with the most favorable conditions for physical strength, intellectual vigor, and moral purity. Had he not in after years ventured among the ungodly and the licentious, he would not so basely have yielded to temptation (ST Oct. 13, 1881).                                                    -    {2BC 1008.1}
[2BC 1008.2]       1 Samuel                                   Chapter 1          Valuable Lessons in Life of Samuel.--The reign of judges in Israel closes with Samuel, than whom few purer or more illustrious characters are presented in the sacred record. There are few, also, whose life history contains lessons of greater value to the thoughtful student (ST Oct. 27, 1881).  {2BC 1008.2}
[2BC 1008.3]          8. Satan's Attempt to Destroy Hannah.--This scene was enacted again and again, not only at the yearly gatherings, but whenever circumstances furnished an opportunity for Peninnah to exalt herself at the expense of her rival. The course of this woman seemed to Hannah a trial almost beyond endurance. Satan employed her as his agent to harass, and if possible exasperate and destroy, one of God's faithful children (ST Oct. 27, 1881).  {2BC 1008.3}
[2BC 1008.4]          10. Mighty Power in Prayer.--There is a mighty power in prayer. Our great adversary is constantly seeking to keep the troubled soul away from God. An appeal to heaven by the humblest saint is more to be dreaded by Satan than the decrees of cabinets or the mandates of kings (ST Oct. 27, 1881).  {2BC 1008.4}
[2BC 1008.5]          14. Intemperance Was Common in Israel.--Feasting revelry had well-nigh supplanted true godliness among the people of Israel. Instances of intemperance, even among women, were of frequent occurrence, and now Eli determined to administer what he considered a deserved rebuke (ST Oct. 27, 1881).  {2BC 1008.5}
[2BC 1008.6]          20-28. The Reward of Faithfulness.--During the first three years of the life of Samuel the prophet, his mother carefully taught him to distinguish between good and evil. By every familiar object surrounding him, she sought to lead his thoughts up to the Creator. In fulfillment of her vow to give her son to the Lord, with great self-denial she placed him under the care of Eli the high priest, to be trained for service in the house of God. Though Samuel's youth was passed at the tabernacle devoted to the worship of God, he was not free from evil influences or sinful example. The sons of Eli feared not God, nor honored their father; but Samuel did not seek their company nor follow their evil ways. His early training led him to choose to maintain his Christian integrity. What a reward was Hannah's! and what an encouragement to faithfulness is her example! (RH Sept. 8, 1904).  {2BC 1008.6}
[2BC 1008.7]                                  Chapter 2          11. Faith's Triumph Over Natural Affection.--As soon as the little one was old enough to be separated from its mother, she fulfilled her solemn vow. She loved her child with all the devotion of a mother's heart; day by day her affections entwined about him more closely as she watched his expanding powers, and listened to the childish prattle; he was her only son, the especial gift of heaven; but she had received him as a treasure consecrated to God, and she would not withhold from the Giver His own. Faith strengthened the mother's heart, and she yielded not to the pleadings of natural affection (ST Oct. 27, 1881).  {2BC 1008.7}
[2BC 1008.8]          Mother's Decisive Power in Her Home.--Would that every mother could realize how great are her duties and her responsibilities,                                                                              1009  and how great will be the reward of faithfulness. The mother's daily influence upon her children is preparing them for everlasting life or eternal death. She exercises in her home a power more decisive than the minister in the desk, or even the king upon his throne (ST Nov. 3, 1881).  {2BC 1008.8}
[2BC 1009.1]          12. Eli's Criminal Neglect.--The course of Eli--his sinful indulgence as a father, and his criminal neglect as a priest of God-- presents a striking and painful contrast to the firmness and self-denial of the faithful Hannah. Eli was acquainted with the divine will. He knew what characters God could accept, and what He would condemn. Yet he suffered his children to grow up with unbridled passions, perverted appetites, and corrupt morals.  {2BC 1009.1}
[2BC 1009.2]          Eli had instructed his children in the law of God, and had given them a good example in his own life; but this was not his whole duty. God required him, both as a father and as a priest, to restrain them from following their own perverse will. This he had failed to do (ST Nov. 10, 1881).  {2BC 1009.2}
[2BC 1009.3]          Warning to Parents Following Eli's Example.--If parents who are following Eli's example of neglect could see the result of the education they are giving their children, they would feel that the curse which fell on Eli would assuredly fall on them. The sin of rebellion against parental authority, lies at the very foundation of the misery and crime in the world today (ST Nov. 10, 1881).  {2BC 1009.3}
[2BC 1009.4]          Many Youth Becoming Infidels.--By precept and example, let the young be taught reverence for God and for His Word. Many of our youth are becoming infidels at heart, because of the lack of devotion in their parents (ST Nov. 24, 1881).  {2BC 1009.4}
[2BC 1009.5]          Parents and Soul Winning.--Christian parents, if you desire to work for the Lord, begin with your little ones at home. If you manifest tact and wisdom and the fear of God in the management of your children, you may be intrusted with greater responsibilities. True Christian effort will begin at home, and go out from the center to embrace wider fields. A soul saved in your own family circle or in your own neighborhood, by your patient, painstaking labor, will bring as much honor to the name of Christ, and will shine as brightly in your crown as if you had found that soul in China or India (ST Nov. 10, 1881).  {2BC 1009.5}
[2BC 1009.6]          The Duty of the Minister.--All parents should strive to make their families patterns of good works, perfect Christian households. But in a pre-eminent degree is this the duty of those who minister in sacred things, and to whom the people look for instruction and guidance. The ministers of Christ are to be examples to the flock. He who fails to direct wisely his own household, is not qualified to guide the church of God (ST Nov. 10, 1881).  {2BC 1009.6}
[2BC 1009.7]          Ministers and Their Children.--But great as are the evils of parental unfaithfulness under any circumstances, they are tenfold greater when they exist in the family of those who stand in Christ's stead, to instruct the people. Ministers of the gospel, who fail to control their own households, are, by their wrong example, misleading many. They sanction the growth of evil, instead of repressing it. Many who consider themselves excellent judges of what other children should be and what they should do, are blind to the defects of their own sons and daughters. Such a lack of divine wisdom in those who profess to teach the Word of God, is working untold evil. It tends to efface from the minds of the people the distinction between right and wrong, purity and vice (ST Nov. 24, 1881).  {2BC 1009.7}
[2BC 1009.8]          (Ch. 3:11-14). Results of Parental Unfaithfulness.--The history of Eli is a terrible example of the results of parental unfaithfulness. Through his neglect of duty, his sons became a snare to their fellow men and an offense to God, forfeiting not only the present but the future life. Their evil example destroyed hundreds, and the influence of these hundreds corrupted the morals of thousands. This case should be a warning to all parents. While some err upon the side of undue severity, Eli went to the opposite extreme. He indulged his sons to their ruin. Their faults were overlooked in their childhood, and excused in their days of youth. The commands of the parents were disregarded, and the father did not enforce obedience.                                                                              1010  The children saw that they could hold the lines of control, and they improved the opportunity. As the sons advanced in years, they lost all respect for their fainthearted father. They went on in sin without restraint. He remonstrated with them, but his words fell unheeded. Gross sins and revolting crimes were daily committed by them, until the Lord Himself visited with judgment the transgressors of His law.  {2BC 1009.8}
[2BC 1010.1]         We have seen the result of Eli's mistaken kindness,--death to the indulgent father, ruin and death to his wicked sons, and destruction to thousands in Israel. The Lord Himself decreed that for the sins of Eli's sons no atonement should be made by sacrifice or offering forever. How great, how lamentable, was their fall,--men upon whom rested sacred responsibilities, proscribed, outlawed from mercy, by a just and holy God!  {2BC 1010.1}
[2BC 1010.2]          Such is the fearful reaping of the harvest sown when parents neglect their God-given responsibilities,--when they allow Satan to preoccupy the field which they themselves should carefully have sown with precious seed of virtue, truth, and righteousness. If but one parent is neglectful of duty, the result will be seen in the character of the children; if both fail, how great will be their accountability before God! How can they escape the doom of those who destroy their children's souls? (RH Aug. 30, 1881).  {2BC 1010.2}
[2BC 1010.3]          12-17. Typical Service the Connecting Link.--The typical service was the connecting link between God and Israel. The sacrificial offerings were designed to prefigure the sacrifice of Christ, and thus to preserve in the hearts of the people an unwavering faith in the Redeemer to come. Hence, in order that the Lord might accept their sacrifices, and continue His presence with them, and, on the other hand, that the people might have a correct knowledge of the plan of salvation, and a right understanding of their duty, it was of the utmost importance that holiness of heart and purity of life, reverence for God, and strict obedience to His requirements, should be maintained by all connected with the sanctuary (ST Dec. 1, 1881).  {2BC 1010.3}
[2BC 1010.4]          17. Sins of Priests Caused Some to Offer Own Sacrifices.--As the men of Israel witnessed the corrupt course of the priests, they thought it safer for their families not to come up to the appointed place of worship. Many went from Shiloh with their peace disturbed, their indignation aroused, until they at last determined to offer their sacrifices themselves, concluding that this would be fully as acceptable to God, as to sanction in any manner the abominations practiced in the sanctuary (ST Dec. 1. 1881).  {2BC 1010.4}
[2BC 1010.5]          26 (Psalm 71:17). A Place for Consecrated Youth.--God gives all an opportunity in this life to develop character. All may fill their appointed place in His great plan. The Lord accepted Samuel from his very childhood, because his heart was pure, and he had reverence for God. He was given to God, a consecrated offering, and the Lord made him, even in his childhood, a channel of light. A life consecrated as was Samuel's is of great value in God's sight. If the youth of today will consecrate themselves as did Samuel, the Lord will accept them and use them in His work. Of their life they may be able to say with the psalmist, "O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works" (MS 51, 1900).  {2BC 1010.5}
[2BC 1010.6]                                  Chapter 3          4. Samuel Commissioned When Twelve Years Old.--When but twelve years old, the son of Hannah received his special commission from the Most High (ST Dec. 15, 1881).  {2BC 1010.6}
[2BC 1010.7]          10-14. God May Pass By Adults and Use Children.--God will work with children and youth who give themselves to Him. Samuel was educated for the Lord in his youth, and God passed by the hoary-headed Eli, and conversed with the child Samuel (MS 99, 1899).  {2BC 1010.7}
[2BC 1010.8]          11-14. See EGW on ch. 2:12.  {2BC 1010.8}
[2BC 1010.9]         Lord Will Pass By Fathers Who Neglect Home Life.--By this we see that the Lord will pass by old, experienced fathers connected with His work if they neglect their duty in their home life (Letter 33, 1897).  {2BC 1010.9}
[2BC 1010.10]          God's Thorough Work Contrasted With Eli's Carelessness.--Eli was a believer in God and in His Word; but he did not, like Abraham, "command" his children                                                                              1011  and his household after him. Let us hear what God says about Eli's neglect: "Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone that heareth it shall tingle." The Lord had borne long with Eli. He had been warned and instructed; but, like the parents of today, he had not heeded the warning. But when the Lord took hold of the case, He ceased not till He had made thorough work (RH May 4, 1886).  {2BC 1010.10}
[2BC 1011.1]          20 (ch. 7:9, 15). Samuel Takes Hold With Both Hands.--Samuel was now invested by the God of Israel with the three-fold office of judge, prophet, and priest. Placing one hand in the hand of Christ, and with the other taking the helm of the nation, he holds it with such wisdom and firmness as to preserve Israel from destruction (ST June 22, 1882).  {2BC 1011.1}
[2BC 1011.2]                                 Chapter 4          3. Israel Sought Victory in Wrong Way.--The recollection of these glorious triumphs inspired all Israel with fresh hope and courage, and they immediately sent to Shiloh for the ark, "that when it cometh among us," said they, "it may save us out of the hand of our enemies." They did not consider that it was the law of God which alone gave to the ark its sacredness, and that its presence would bring them prosperity only as they obeyed that law (ST Dec. 22, 1881).  {2BC 1011.2}
[2BC 1011.3]          3-5. Hophni and Phinehas Presumptuously Enter Most Holy Place.-- The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, eagerly acceded to the proposal to bear the ark into the camp. Without the consent of the high priest, they ventured presumptuously into the holy of holies, and took from thence the ark of God. Filled with pride, and elated with the expectation of speedy victory, they bore it to the camp. And the people, beholding, as they thought, the token of Jehovah's presence, "shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again." (ST Dec. 22, 1881).  {2BC 1011.3}
[2BC 1011.4]                                   Chapter 6          1-5. Only One Sacrifice Can Secure Divine Favor.--The Philistines hoped by their offerings to appease the wrath of God, but they were ignorant of the one great sacrifice which alone can secure to sinful men the divine favor. Those gifts were powerless to atone for sin; for the offerers did not through them express faith in Christ (ST Jan. 12, 1882).  {2BC 1011.4}
[2BC 1011.5]          19. The Spirit of Irreverent Curiosity Still Exists.--The spirit of irreverent curiosity still exists among the children of men. Many are eager to investigate those mysteries which infinite wisdom has seen fit to leave unrevealed. Having no reliable evidence from which to reason, they base their theories on conjecture. The Lord has wrought for His servants and for the upbuilding of His cause at the present day as verily as He wrought in behalf of ancient Israel; but vain philosophy, "science falsely so called," has sought to destroy faith in the direct interposition of Providence, attributing all such manifestations to natural causes. This is the sophistry of Satan. He is asserting his authority by mighty signs and wonders in the earth. Those who ignore or deny the special evidences of God's power, are preparing the way for the arch-deceiver to exalt himself before the people as superior to the God of Israel.  {2BC 1011.5}
[2BC 1011.6]          Many accept the reasoning of these would-be wise men as truth, when in fact it undermines the very foundations which God has laid. Such teachers are the ones described by inspiration, who must become fools in their own estimation, that they may be wise. God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. By those who are guided only by human wisdom, the simplicity of His mighty workings is called foolishness. They think themselves wiser than their Creator, when in fact they are victims of finite ignorance and childish conceit. It is this that holds them in the darkness of unbelief, so that they do not discern the power of God, and tremble before Him (ST Jan. 19, 1882).  {2BC 1011.6}
[2BC 1011.7]                                   Chapter 7          3. Modern Forms of Idolatry.--Many who bear the name of Christians are serving other gods besides the Lord. Our Creator demands our supreme devotion, our first allegiance. Anything which tends to abate our love for God, or to interfere                                                                              1012  with the service due Him, becomes thereby an idol. With some their lands, their houses, their merchandise, are the idols. Business enterprises are prosecuted with zeal and energy, while the service of God is made a secondary consideration. Family worship is neglected, secret prayer is forgotten. Many claim to deal justly with their fellow men, and seem to feel that in so doing they discharge their whole duty. But it is not enough to keep the last six commandments of the decalogue. We are to love the Lord our God with all the heart. Nothing short of obedience to every precept--nothing less than supreme love to God as well as equal love to our fellow man--can satisfy the claims of the divine law.  {2BC 1011.7}
[2BC 1012.1]          There are many whose hearts have been so hardened by prosperity that they forget God, and forget the wants of their fellow man. Professed Christians adorn themselves with jewelry, laces, costly apparel, while the Lord's poor suffer for the necessaries of life. Men and women who claim redemption through a Saviour's blood will squander the means intrusted to them for the saving of other souls, and then grudgingly dole out their offerings for religion, giving liberally only when it will bring honor to themselves. These are idolaters (ST Jan. 26, 1882).  {2BC 1012.1}
[2BC 1012.2]          7-11. God's Intervention to Save Helpless Israel.-- It was the Lord's purpose so to manifest His power in delivering Israel, that they might not take the glory to themselves. He permitted them, when unarmed and defenseless, to be challenged by their enemies, and then the Captain of the Lord's host marshalled the army of heaven to destroy the foes of His people. Humility of heart and obedience to the divine law are more acceptable to God than the most costly sacrifices from a heart filled with pride and hypocrisy. God will not defend those who are living in transgression of His law (ST Jan. 26, 1882).  {2BC 1012.2}
[2BC 1012.3]          12. Samuel's Diary.--There are thousands of souls willing to work for the Master who have not had the privilege of hearing the truth as some have heard it, but they have been faithful readers of the Word of God, and they will be blessed in their humble efforts to impart light to others. Let such ones keep a diary, and when the Lord gives them an interesting experience, let them write it down, as Samuel did when the armies of Israel won a victory over the Philistines. He set up a monument of thankfulness, saying ,"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." "Brethren, where are the monuments by which you keep in view the love and goodness of God? Strive to keep fresh in your minds the help that the Lord has given you in your efforts to help others. Let not your actions show one trace of selfishness. Every tear that the Lord has helped you to wipe from sorrowful eyes, every fear that has been expelled, every mercy shown,--trace a record of it in your diary. "As thy days, so shall thy strength be" (MS 62, 1905).  {2BC 1012.3}
[2BC 1012.4]                                   Chapter 8          1-3. Samuel's Sons Loved Reward.--Samuel had judged Israel from his youth. He had been a righteous and impartial judge, faithful in all his work. He was becoming old; and the people saw that his sons did not follow his footsteps. Although they were not vile, like the children of Eli, yet they were dishonest and double-minded. While they aided their father in his laborious work, their love of reward led them to favor the cause of the unrighteous (1SP 353).  {2BC 1012.4}
[2BC 1012.5]          1-5. Samuel Was Deceived in His Sons.--These young men had received faithful instructions from their father, both by precept and example. They were not ignorant of the warnings given to Eli, and the divine judgments visited upon him and his house. They were apparently men of sterling virtue and integrity, as well as intellectual promise. It was with the full assent of the people that Samuel shared with his sons the responsibilities of office. But the characters of these young men were yet to be tested. Separated from their father's influence, it would be seen whether they were true to the principles which he had taught them. The result showed that Samuel had been painfully deceived in his sons. Like many young men of today who have been blessed with good abilities, they perverted their God-given powers. The honor bestowed upon them rendered them proud and self-sufficient. They did not make the                                                                              1013  glory of God their aim, nor did they seek earnestly to Him for strength and wisdom. Yielding to the power of temptation, they became avaricious, selfish, and unjust. God's Word declares that "they walked not in His ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment" (ST Feb. 2, 1882).  {2BC 1012.5}
[2BC 1013.1]          5. Like All the Nations.--The dissatisfied longing for worldly power and display, is as difficult to cure now as in the days of Samuel. Christians seek to build as worldlings build, to dress as worldlings dress,- to imitate the customs and practices of those who worship only the god of this world. The instructions of God's Word, the counsels and reproofs of His servants, and even warnings sent directly from His throne, seem powerless to subdue this unworthy ambition. When the heart is estranged from God, almost any pretext is sufficient to justify a disregard of His authority. The promptings of pride and self-love are gratified at whatever expense to the cause of God (ST July 13, 1882).  {2BC 1013.1}
[2BC 1013.2]          6. Faithfulness Brings Criticism.--The unconsecrated and world-loving are ever ready to criticise and condemn those who have stood fearlessly for God and the right. If a defect is seen in one whom the Lord has intrusted with great responsibilities, then all his former devotion is forgotten, and an effort is made to silence his voice and destroy his influence. But let these self-constituted judges remember that the Lord reads the heart. They cannot hide its secrets from His searching gaze. God declares that He will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing (ST July 13, 1882).  {2BC 1013.2}
[2BC 1013.3]          6, 7. Useful Men Seldom Appreciated.--The most useful men are seldom appreciated. Those who have labored most actively and unselfishly for their fellow man, and who have been instrumental in achieving the greatest results, are often repaid with ingratitude and neglect. When such men find themselves set aside, their counsels slighted and despised, they may feel that they are suffering great injustice. But let them learn from the example of Samuel not to justify or vindicate themselves, unless the Spirit of God unmistakably prompts to such a course. Those who despise and reject the faithful servant of God, not merely show contempt for the man, but for the Master who sent him. It is God's words, His reproofs and counsel, that are set at naught; His authority that is rejected (ST July 13, 1882).  {2BC 1013.3}
[2BC 1013.4]                                   Chapter 10          9. Saul Became a New Man.--The Lord would not leave Saul to be placed in a position of trust without divine enlightenment. He was to have a new calling, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. The effect was that he was changed into a new man. The Lord gave Saul a new spirit, other thoughts, other aims and desires than he had previously had. This enlightenment, with the spiritual knowledge of God, placing him on vantage ground, was to bind his will to the will of Jehovah (Letter 12a, 1888).  {2BC 1013.4}
[2BC 1013.5]          24. Saul's Capabilities Perverted.--Saul had a mind and influence capable of governing a kingdom, if his powers had been submitted to the control of God, but the very endowments that qualified him for doing good could be used by Satan, when surrendered to his power, and would enable him to exert widespread influence for evil. He could be more sternly vindictive, more injurious and determined in prosecuting his unholy designs, than could others, because of the superior powers of mind and heart that had been given him of God (ST Oct. 19, 1888).  {2BC 1013.5}
[2BC 1013.6]          24, 25. Mutual Love of Saul and Samuel.--The relation between Samuel and Saul was one of peculiar tenderness. Samuel loved Saul as his own son, while Saul, bold and ardent of temper, held the prophet in great reverence, and bestowed upon him the warmth of his affection and regard. Thus the prophet of the living God, an old man whose mission was nearly finished, and the youthful king, whose work was before him, were bound together by the ties of friendship and respect. All through his perverse course, the king clung to the prophet as if he alone could save him from himself (ST June 1, 1888).  {2BC 1013.6}
[2BC 1013.7]                                   Chapter 12          1-5. Samuel a Man of Strict Integrity.--How many retiring from a position of responsibility                                                                              1014  as a judge, can say in regard to their purity, Which of you convinceth me of sin? Who can prove that I have turned aside from my righteousness to accept bribes? I have never stained my record as a man who does judgment and justice. Who today can say what Samuel said when he was taking leave of the people of Israel, because they were determined to have a king? . . . Brave, noble judge! But it is a sorrowful thing that a man of the strictest integrity should have to humble himself to make his own defence (MS 33, 1898).  {2BC 1013.7}
[2BC 1014.1]          Faithfulness Leads to Honor at the End.--The honor accorded him who is concluding his work is of far more worth than the applause and congratulations which those receive who are just entering upon their duties, and who have yet to be tested. One may easily lay off his burdens, when even the enemies of truth acknowledge his fidelity. But how many of our great men close their official labors in disgrace, because they have sacrificed principle for gain or honor. The desire to be popular, the temptations of wealth or ease, lead them astray. Men who connive at sin may appear to prosper; they may triumph because their undertakings seem crowned with success; but God's eye is upon these proud boasters. He will reward them as their works have been. The greatest outward prosperity cannot bring happiness to those who are not at peace with God or with themselves (ST July 27, 1882).  {2BC 1014.1}
[2BC 1014.2]          14. Perpetual Obligation of the Law.--The law of God was not given to the Jews alone. It is of world-wide and perpetual obligation. "He that offendeth in one point is guilty of all." Its ten precepts are like a chain of ten links. If one link is broken, the chain becomes worthless. Not a single precept can be revoked or changed to save the transgressor. While families and nations exist; while property, life, and character must be guarded; while good and evil are antagonistic, and a blessing or a curse must follow the acts of men--so long must the divine law control us. When God no longer requires men to love Him supremely, to reverence His name, and to keep the holy Sabbath; when He permits them to disregard the rights of their fellow men, to hate and injure one another--then, and not till then, will the moral law lose its force (ST Jan. 19, 1882).  {2BC 1014.2}
[2BC 1014.3]                                Chapter 13          8-10. God Was Revealing Saul's True Character.--In detaining Samuel, it was the purpose of God that the heart of Saul should be revealed, that others might know what he would do in an emergency. It was a trying position in which to be placed, but Saul did not obey orders. He felt that it would make no difference who approached God, or in what way; and, full of energy and self-complacency, he put himself forward into the sacred office.  {2BC 1014.3}
[2BC 1014.4]          The Lord has His appointed agencies; and if these are not discerned and respected by those who are connected with His work, if men feel free to disregard God's requirements, they must not be kept in positions of trust. They would not listen to counsel, nor to the commands of God through His appointed agencies. Like Saul, they would rush into a work that was never appointed them, and the mistakes they would make in following their human judgment would place the Israel of God where their Leader could not reveal Himself to them. Sacred things would become mingled with the common (YI Nov. 17, 1898).  {2BC 1014.4}
[2BC 1014.5]          9. Saul Could Have Offered Prayer.-- He ［Saul］ could have offered humble prayer to God without the sacrifice; for the Lord will accept even the silent petition of a burdened heart; but instead of this, he forced himself into the priesthood (YI Nov. 17, 1898).  {2BC 1014.5}
[2BC 1014.6]          11. Blaming Samuel Led to Further Sin.--Saul endeavored to vindicate his own course, and blamed the prophet, instead of condemning himself.  {2BC 1014.6}
[2BC 1014.7]          There are today many who pursue a similar course. Like Saul, they are blinded to their errors. When the Lord seeks to correct them, they receive reproof as insult, and find fault with the one who brings the divine message.  {2BC 1014.7}
[2BC 1014.8]          Had Saul been willing to see and confess his error, this bitter experience would have proved a safeguard for the future. He would afterward have avoided the mistakes which called forth divine reproof.                                                                              1015  But feeling that he was unjustly condemned, he would, of course, be likely again to commit the same sin.  {2BC 1014.8}
[2BC 1015.1]          The Lord would have His people, under all circumstances, manifest implicit trust in Him. Although we cannot always understand the workings of His providence, we should wait with patience and humility until He sees fit to enlighten us. We should beware of taking upon ourselves responsibilities which God has not authorized us to bear. Men frequently have too high an estimate of their own character or abilities. They may feel competent to undertake the most important work, when God sees that they are not prepared to perform aright the smallest and humblest duty (ST Aug. 10, 1882).  {2BC 1015.1}
[2BC 1015.2]          13, 14. Saul's Folly Leads to Rejection.--Saul's transgression proved him unworthy to be intrusted with sacred responsibilities. One who had himself so little reverence for God's requirements, could not be a wise or safe leader for the nation. Had he patiently endured the divine test, the crown would have been confirmed to him and to his house. In fact, Samuel had come to Gilgal for this very purpose. But Saul had been weighed in the balance, and found wanting. He must be removed to make way for one who would sacredly regard the divine honor and authority (ST Aug. 3, 1882).  {2BC 1015.2}
[2BC 1015.3]          After Whose Heart?--Saul had been after the heart of Israel, but David is a man after God's own heart (ST June 15, 1888).  {2BC 1015.3}
[2BC 1015.4]                                 Chapter 14          1, 6, 7. Jonathan an Instrument of God.--These two men gave evidence that they were moving under the influence and command of a more than human general. To outward appearance, their venture was rash, and contrary to all military rules. But the action of Jonathan was not done in human rashness. He depended not on what he and his armor-bearer themselves could do; he was the instrument that God used in behalf of His people Israel. They made their plans, and rested their cause in the hands of God. If the armies of the Philistines challenged them, they would advance. If they said, Come, they would go forward. This was their sign, and the angels of God prospered them. They went forward, saying, "It may be that the Lord will work for us" (YI Nov. 24, 1898).  {2BC 1015.4}
[2BC 1015.5]          11-15. Armies of Heaven Aided Jonathan.--It would have been an easy matter for the Philistines to kill these two brave, daring men; but it did not enter into their minds that these two solitary men had come up with any hostile intent. The wondering men above looked on, too surprised to take in their possible object. They regarded these men as deserters, and permitted them to come without harm. . . .  {2BC 1015.5}
[2BC 1015.6]          This daring work sent a panic through the camp. There lay the dead bodies of twenty men, and to the sight of the enemy there seemed hundreds of men prepared for war. The armies of heaven were revealed to the opposing host of the Philistines (YI Nov. 24, 1898).  {2BC 1015.6}
[2BC 1015.7]          24, 25. Honey of God's Providing.--This rash oath of Saul's was a human invention. It was not inspired of God, and God was displeased with it. Jonathan and his armorbearer, who, through God, had wrought deliverance for Israel that day, had become weak through hunger. The people also were weary and hungry.  {2BC 1015.7}
[2BC 1015.8]          "And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground." This honey was of God's own providing. He desired that the armies of Israel should partake of this food, and receive strength. But Saul, who was not under the direction of God, had interposed his rash oath (YI Dec. 1, 1898).  {2BC 1015.8}
[2BC 1015.9]          Man-invented Tests Dishonor God.--There are many who will lightly regard the tests which God has given, and will assume the responsibility of creating tests and prohibitions, as did Saul, which bring dishonor to God and evil to men (ST June 1, 1888).  {2BC 1015.9}
[2BC 1015.10]          37. Saul Did Not Sense His Own Guilt.--When the people had satisfied their hunger, Saul proposed to continue the pursuit that night; but the priest suggested that it would be wiser first to ask counsel of God. This was done in the usual manner; but no answer came. Regarding this silence as a token of the Lord's displeasure, Saul determined to discover the cause. Had he properly realized the sinfulness of His                                                                              1016  own course, he would have concluded that he himself was the guilty one. But failing to discern this, he gave command that the matter be decided by lot (ST Aug. 17, 1882).  {2BC 1015.10}
[2BC 1016.1]          44 (Matthew 7:2). The Guilty Are Severe Judges.--Those who are most ready to excuse or justify themselves in sin are often most severe in judging and condemning others. There are many today, like Saul, bringing upon themselves the displeasure of God. They reject counsel and despise reproof. Even when convinced that the Lord is not with them, they refuse to see in themselves. . . the cause of their trouble. How many cherish a proud, boastful spirit, while they indulge in cruel judgment or severe rebuke of others really better in heart and life than they. Well would it be for such self-constituted judges to ponder those words of Christ: "With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (ST Aug. 17, 1882).  {2BC 1016.1}
[2BC 1016.2]          45. Danger in Following Blindly.--God's people of today are in danger of committing errors no less disastrous. We cannot, we must not, place blind confidence in any man, however high his profession of faith or his position in the church. We must not follow his guidance, unless the Word of God sustains him. The Lord would have His people individually distinguish between sin and righteousness, between the precious and the vile (ST Aug. 17, 1882).  {2BC 1016.2}
[2BC 1016.3]                                 Chapter 15          2, 3 (Exodus 17:14-16). Destruction of Amalek Not to Add to Israel's Possessions.--God did not wish His people to possess anything which belonged to the Amalekites, for His curse rested upon them and their possessions. He designed that they should have an end, and that His people should not preserve anything for themselves which He had cursed. He also wished the nations to see the end of that people who had defied Him, and to mark that they were destroyed by the very people they had despised. They were not to destroy them to add to their own possessions, or to get glory to themselves, but to fulfill the Word of the Lord spoken in regard to Amalek (1SP 364).  {2BC 1016.3}
[2BC 1016.4]          3. Amalek Used Gifts With No Thought of Giver.--That wicked people ［the Amalekites］ were dwelling in God's world, the house which he had prepared for His faithful, obedient children. Yet they appropriated His gifts to their own use, without one thought of the Giver. The more blessings He poured upon them, the more boldly they transgressed against Him. Thus they continued to pervert His blessings and abuse His mercy. . . .  {2BC 1016.4}
[2BC 1016.5]          Our gracious God still bears long with the impenitent. He gives them light from heaven, that they may understand the holiness of His character, and the justice of His requirements. He calls them to repentance, and assures them of His willingness to forgive. But if they continue to reject His mercy, the mandate goes forth devoting them to destruction (ST Aug. 24, 1882).  {2BC 1016.5}
[2BC 1016.6]          10-23. Stubbornness Made Saul's Case Hopeless.--It was Saul's stubbornness that made his case hopeless, and yet how many venture to follow his example. The Lord in mercy sends words of reproof to save the erring, but they will not submit to be corrected. They insist that they have done no wrong, and thus resist the Spirit of God (RH May 7, 1895).  {2BC 1016.6}
[2BC 1016.7]          17. God Guides the Humble and Consecrated.--［1 Samuel 15:17 quoted.］ Here Samuel points out the reason for Saul's appointment to the throne of Israel. He had a humble opinion of his own capabilities, and was willing to be instructed. When the divine choice fell upon him, he was deficient in knowledge and experience, and had, with many good qualities, serious defects of character. But the Lord granted him the Holy Spirit as a guide and helper, and placed him in a position where he could develop the qualities requisite for a ruler of Israel.  {2BC 1016.7}
[2BC 1016.8]          Should he trust to his own strength and judgment, Saul would move impulsively, and would commit grave errors. But if he would remain humble, seeking constantly to be guided by divine wisdom, and advancing as the providence of God opened the way, he would be enabled to discharge the duties of his high position with                                                                              1017  success and honor. Under the influence of divine grace, every good quality would be gaining strength, while evil traits would as steadily lose their power.  {2BC 1016.8}
[2BC 1017.1]          This is the work which the Lord proposes to do for all who consecrate themselves to Him (ST Sept. 7, 1882).  {2BC 1017.1}
[2BC 1017.2]          Those Who Feel Insufficient Will Receive Help.--Whatever the position in which God has placed us, whatever our responsibilities or our dangers, we should remember that He has pledged Himself to impart needed grace to the earnest seeker. Those who feel insufficient for their position, and yet accept it because God bids them, relying upon His power and wisdom, will go on from strength to strength. When they enter upon their work, they may have almost everything to learn; but with Christ as a teacher they will become efficient laborers. God does not intrust His work to the worldly wise; for they are too proud to learn. He chooses those who, feeling their deficiencies, seek to be guided by unerring wisdom (ST Sept. 7, 1882).  {2BC 1017.2}
[2BC 1017.3]          Become Sensitive to Little Digressions.--There are many whom He has called to positions in His work for the same reason that He called Saul,--because they are little in their own sight, because they have a humble and teachable spirit. In His providence He places them where they may learn of Him. To all who will receive instruction He will impart grace and wisdom. It is His purpose to bring them into so close connection with Himself that Satan shall have no opportunity to pervert their judgment or overpower their conscience. He will reveal to them their defects of character, and bestow upon all who seek His aid, strength to correct their errors. Whatever may be man's besetting sin, whatever bitter or baleful passions struggle for the mastery, he may conquer, if he will watch and war against them in the name and strength of Israel's Helper. The children of God should cultivate a keen sensitiveness to sin. Here, as well as elsewhere, we should not despise the day of small things. It is one of Satan's most successful devices, to lead men to the commission of little sins, to blind the mind to the danger of little indulgences, little digressions from the plainly stated requirements of God. Many who would shrink with horror from some great transgression, are led to look upon sin in little matters as of trifling consequence. But these little sins eat out the life of godliness in the soul. The feet which enter upon a path diverging from the right way are tending toward the broad road that ends in death. When once a retrograde movement begins, no one can tell where it may end. . . .  {2BC 1017.3}
[2BC 1017.4]          We must learn to distrust self and to rely wholly upon God for guidance and support, for a knowledge of His will, and for strength to perform it (ST Sept. 7, 1882).  {2BC 1017.4}
[2BC 1017.5]          22. God Did Not Want Spoil of Corrupt People.--［1 Samuel 15:22 quoted.］ God required of His people obedience rather than sacrifice. All the riches of the earth were His. The cattle upon a thousand hills belonged to Him. He did not require the spoil of a corrupt people, upon whom His curse rested, even to their utter extinction, to be presented to Him to prefigure the holy Saviour, as a lamb without blemish (1SP 365).  {2BC 1017.5}
[2BC 1017.6]          23. See EGW on Numbers 16:1-50, Vol. I, p. 1114.  {2BC 1017.6}
[2BC 1017.7]          Saul a Failure.--The first king of Israel proved a failure, because he set his will above the will of God. Through the prophet Samuel the Lord instructed Saul that as king of Israel his course of action must be one of strictest integrity. Then God would bless his government with prosperity. But Saul refused to make obedience to God his first consideration, and the principles of heaven the government of his conduct. He died in dishonor and despair (MS 151, 1899).  {2BC 1017.7}
[2BC 1017.8]          Pretended Righteousness Used as Cloak.--Many who profess to be serving God are in the same position as Saul,--covering over ambitious projects, pride of display, with a garment of pretended righteousness. The Lord's cause is made a cloak to hide the deformity of injustice, but it makes the sin of tenfold greater enormity (MS la, 1890).  {2BC 1017.8}
[2BC 1017.9]          Self-justification Keeps One in Darkness.--Those whose deeds are evil, will not come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved and their real characters revealed. If they continue in the path of                                                                              1018  transgression, and sever themselves entirely from the Redeemer, stubbornness, and sullenness, and a spirit of revenge will take possession of them, and they will say to their own souls, Peace, peace, when there is every reason that they should be alarmed, for their steps are directed toward destruction. As Saul resisted the reproofs of the servant of the Lord, this spirit took possession of him. He defied the Lord, he defied His servant, and his enmity toward David was the outworking of the murderous spirit that comes into the heart of those who justify themselves in the face of their guilt (ST June 22, 1888).  {2BC 1017.9}
[2BC 1018.1]          28. David and Saul Contrasted.--David and Saul stand before us in this history as men widely different in character. The course of David makes manifest the fact that he regarded the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom. But Saul was shorn of his strength, because he failed to make obedience to God's commandments the rule of his life. It is a fearful thing for a man to set his will against the will of God, as revealed in his specified requirements. All the honor that a man could receive on the throne of a kingdom, would be a poor compensation for the loss of the favor of God through an act of disloyalty to heaven. Disobedience to the commandments of God can only bring disaster and dishonor at last. God has given to every man his work, just as truly as he appointed to Saul the government of Israel; and the practical and important lesson to us is to accomplish our appointed work in such a manner that we may meet our life records with joy, and not with grief (ST Sept. 7, 1888).  {2BC 1018.1}
[2BC 1018.2]          34, 35. Samuel Active in Retirement.--After Israel had rejected Samuel as ruler of the nation, though well qualified for public labor, the prophet sought retirement. He was not superannuated, for he presided as teacher in the school of the prophets. This service for his God was a pleasant service (ST Oct. 19, 1888).  {2BC 1018.2}
[2BC 1018.3]                                  Chapter 16          7-13. Christ Built David's Character.--When God called David from his father's sheepfold to anoint him king of Israel, He saw in him one to whom He could impart His Spirit. David was susceptible to the influence of the Holy Spirit, and the Lord in His providence trained him for His service, preparing him to carry out His purposes. Christ was the Master-builder of his character (MS 163, 1902).  {2BC 1018.3}
[2BC 1018.4]          11, 12. God Chose and Prepared David for His Work.--Six miles south of Jerusalem, "the city of the great King," was Bethlehem, where David was born more than a thousand years before the infant Jesus was cradled in the manger, and worshiped by the wise men from the East. Centuries before the advent of the Saviour of the world, David, in the freshness of boyhood, had kept watch of his flocks as they grazed on the open fields of Bethlehem. The simple shepherd boy sang the songs of his own composing, and the music of his harp made a sweet accompaniment to the melody of his fresh young voice. The Lord had chosen David, and had ordered his life that he might have an opportunity to train his voice, and cultivate his talent for music and poetry. The Lord was preparing him in his solitary life with his flocks, for the work He designed to commit to his trust in afteryears (ST June 8, 1888).  {2BC 1018.4}
[2BC 1018.5]                                 Chapter 17          1-11. Goliath About Twelve Feet Tall.--The Philistines propose their own manner of warfare, in selecting a man of great size and strength, whose height is about twelve feet; and they send this champion forth to provoke a combat with Israel, requesting them to send out a man to fight with him (1SP 370).  {2BC 1018.5}
[2BC 1018.6]                                   Chapter 22          3, 4. David's Care for His Parents.--David's anxiety was not all for himself, although he realized his peril. He thought of his father and mother, and he concluded that he must seek another refuge for them. He went to the king of Moab, and the Lord put it into the heart of the monarch to courteously grant to the beloved parents of David an asylum in Mizpeh, and they were not disturbed, even in the midst of the enemies of Israel. From this history, we may all learn precious lessons of filial love. The Bible plainly condemns the unfaithfulness of parents to their children,                                                                              1019  and the disobedience of children to their parents. Religion in the home is of priceless value (ST Sept. 7, 1888).  {2BC 1018.6}
[2BC 1019.1]          5. Sentinels of Heaven Gave Warning.--It seemed certain to him ［David］ that he must, at last, fall into the hands of his pursuer and persecutor. But could his eyes have been opened, he would have seen the angels of the Lord encamped round about him and his followers. The sentinels of heaven were waiting to warn them of impending danger, and to conduct them to a place of refuge when their peril demanded it. God could protect David and his followers; for they were not a band in rebellion against Saul. David had repeatedly proved his allegiance to the king (ST Sept. 7, 1888).  {2BC 1019.1}
[2BC 1019.2]          6-16. The Effects of Evil Surmising.--The spirit of evil was upon Saul. He felt that his doom had been sealed by the solemn message of his rejection from the throne of Israel. His departure from the plain requirements of God was bringing its sure results. He did not turn, and repent, and humble his heart before God, but opened it to receive every suggestion of the enemy. He listened to every false witness, eagerly receiving anything that was detrimental to the character of David, hoping that he might find an excuse for manifesting his increasing envy and hatred of him who had been anointed to the throne of Israel. Every rumor was credited, no matter how inconsistent and irreconcilable it was with the former character and custom of David.  {2BC 1019.2}
[2BC 1019.3]          Every evidence that the protecting care of God was over David seemed to imbitter and deepen his one engrossing and determined purpose. The failure to accomplish his own designs appeared in marked contrast to the success of the fugitive in eluding his search, but it only made the determination of the king the more unrelenting and firm. He was not careful to conceal his designs toward David, nor scrupulous as to what means should be employed in accomplishing his purpose.  {2BC 1019.3}
[2BC 1019.4]          It was not the man David, who had done him no harm, against whom the king was contending. He was in controversy with the King of heaven; for when Satan is permitted to control the mind that will not be ruled by Jehovah, he will lead it according to his will, until the man who is thus in his power becomes an efficient agent to carry out his designs. So bitter is the enmity of the great originator of sin against the purposes of God, so terrible is his power for evil, that when men disconnect from God, Satan influences them, and their minds are brought more and more into subjection, until they cast off the fear of God, and the respect of men, and become bold and avowed enemies of God and of His people.  {2BC 1019.4}
[2BC 1019.5]          What an example was Saul giving to the subjects of his kingdom in his desperate, unprovoked persecution of David! What a record he was making to be placed upon the pages of history for future generations! He sought to turn the full tide of the power of his kingdom into the channel of his own hatred in hunting down an innocent man. All this had a demoralizing influence upon Israel. And while Saul was giving loose reign to his passion, Satan was weaving a snare to compass his ruin, and the ruin of his kingdom. While the king and his councilors were planning for the capture of David, the affairs of the nation were being mismanaged and neglected. While imaginary foes were constantly presented before the minds of the people, the real enemies were strengthening themselves without arousing suspicion or alarm. By following the dictates of Satan, Saul was himself hastening the very result which, with unsanctified ability, he was endeavoring to avert.  {2BC 1019.5}
[2BC 1019.6]          The counsel of the Lord had been disregarded again and again by the rebellious king, and the Lord had given him up to the folly of his own wisdom. The influences of the Spirit of God would have restrained him from the course of evil which he had chosen, that eventually worked out his ruin. God hates all sin, and when man persistently refuses all the counsel of heaven, he is left to the deceptions of the enemy, to be drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed (ST Sept. 7, 1888).  {2BC 1019.6}
[2BC 1019.7]          9, 10. Humanity Was Extinguished From Saul.--Doeg knew well that the action of the priest toward David did not proceed from any malice toward the king. The priest thought that in doing a kindness                                                                              1020  to an ambassador of his court, he was showing respect to the king. He was altogether innocent of any evil intention toward Saul or his realm. David had not taken a straightforward course before the priest, he had dissimulated, and on this account he had brought the whole family of the priesthood into peril.  {2BC 1019.7}
[2BC 1020.1]          But Doeg was a slanderer, and Saul had such a spirit of envy and hatred and murder, that he desired the report to be true. The partial and exaggerated statement of the chief of the herdsmen, was suited for the use of the adversary of God and man. It was presented to the mind of Saul in such a light that the king lost all control of himself, and acted like a madman. If he had but calmly waited until he could have heard the whole story, and had exercised his reasoning faculties, how different would have been the terrible record of that day's doings!  {2BC 1020.1}
[2BC 1020.2]          How Satan exults when he is enabled to set the soul into a white heat of anger! A glance, a gesture, an intonation, may be seized upon and used, as the arrow of Satan, to wound and poison the heart that is open to receive it. If the Spirit of Christ possesses us wholly, and we have been transformed by His grace, there will be no disposition to speak evil, or to bear reports freighted with falsehood. The falsifier, the accuser of the brethren, is a chosen agent of the great deceiver. Ahimelech was not present on this occasion to vindicate himself, and to state the facts as they existed; but Doeg cared not for this. Like Satan his father, he read the mind of Saul, and improved the opportunity of increasing the misery of the king by the words of his mischievous tongue, which was set on fire of hell. He stirred up the very worst passions of the human heart (ST Sept. 21, 1888).  {2BC 1020.2}
[2BC 1020.3]          16. The Inconsistency of Jealousy.--The inconsistency of jealousy was shown in this verdict. Without proving the guilt of any one of the priests, the king commanded that all the line of Eli should be slain. He had determined upon this course of action before he had sent for them or heard their side of the case. And no amount of proof could undo his malignant purpose. To vent his wrath upon one man seemed too small a matter to satisfy the fury of his revenge (ST Sept. 21, 1888).  {2BC 1020.3}
[2BC 1020.4]          17, 18. Cruelty of Saul and Doeg.--Saul's rage was not appeased by the noble stand of his footmen, and he turned to the man whom he had connected with himself as a friend, because he had reported against the priests. Thus this Edomite, who was as base a character as was Barabbas, slew with his own hand eighty-five priests of the Lord in one day; and he and Saul, and he who was a murderer from the beginning, gloried over the massacre of the servants of the Lord. Like savage beasts who have tasted of blood, so were Saul and Doeg (ST Sept. 21, 1888).  {2BC 1020.4}
[2BC 1020.5]                                   Chapter 23          3, 4. David Seeks Assurance.--He ［David］ had been anointed as king, and he thought that some measure of responsibility rested upon him for the protection of his people. If he could but have the positive assurance that he was moving in the path of duty, he would start out with his limited forces, and stand faithfully at his post whatever might be the consequences (ST Oct. 5, 1888).  {2BC 1020.5}
[2BC 1020.6]          9-12. Saul's Unreasonableness.--Although a great deliverance had been wrought for Keilah, and the men of the city were very grateful to David and his men for the preservation of their lives, yet so fiendish had become the soul of the God-forsaken Saul, that he could demand from the men of Keilah that they yield up their deliverer to certain and unmerited death. Saul had determined that if they should offer any resistance they would suffer the bitter consequences of opposing the command of their king. The long-desired opportunity seemed to have come, and he determined to leave nothing undone in securing the arrest of his rival (ST Oct. 5, 1888).  {2BC 1020.6}
[2BC 1020.7]          12. People Knew Not Their Own Mind.--The inhabitants of the city did not for a moment think themselves capable of such an act of ingratitude and treachery; but David knew, from the light that God had given him, that they could not be trusted, that in the hour of need they would fail (ST Oct. 5, 1888).                                                                              1021   {2BC 1020.7}
[2BC 1021.1]          19-26. Hypocrisy of Citizens of Ziph.--The citizens of Keilah, who should have repaid the interest and zeal of David in delivering them from the hands of the Philistines, would have given him up because of their fear of Saul rather than to have suffered a siege for his sake. But the men of Ziph would do worse; they would betray David into the hands of his enemy, not because of their loyalty to the king, but because of their hatred of David. Their interest for the king was only a pretense. They were of their own accord acting the part of hypocrites when they offered to assist in the capture of David. It was upon these false-hearted betrayers that Saul invoked the blessing of the Lord. He praised their satanic spirit in betraying an innocent man, as the spirit and act of virtue in showing compassion to himself. Apparently David was in greater danger than he had ever been before. Upon learning the perils to which he was exposed, he changed his position, seeking refuge in the mountains between Maon and the Dead Sea (ST Oct. 12, 1888).  {2BC 1021.1}
[2BC 1021.2]          27-29. Saul Angry but Afraid.--The disappointed king was in a frenzy of anger to be thus cheated of his prey; but he feared the dissatisfaction of the nation; for, if the Philistines should ravage the country while he was destroying its defender, a reaction would be likely to take place, and he would become the object of the people's hate. So he relinquished his pursuit of David, and went against the Philistines, and this gave David an opportunity to escape to the stronghold of En-gedi (ST Oct. 12, 1888).  {2BC 1021.2}
[2BC 1021.3]                                   Chapter 24          6 (Proverbs 16:32). Who Am I to Raise My Hand?--The course of David made it manifest that he had a Ruler whom he obeyed. He could not permit his natural passions to gain the victory over him; for he knew that he that ruleth his own spirit, is greater than he who taketh a city. If he had been led and controlled by human feelings, he would have reasoned that the Lord had brought his enemy under his power in order that he might slay him, and take the government of Israel upon himself. Saul's mind was in such a condition that his authority was not respected, and the people were becoming irreligious and demoralized. Yet the fact that Saul had been divinely chosen king of Israel kept him in safety, for David conscientiously served God, and he would not in any wise harm the anointed of the Lord (ST Oct. 12, 1888).  {2BC 1021.3}
[2BC 1021.4]                                  Chapter 25          1. Relation of Youth and Old Age Illustrated.--The life of Samuel from early childhood had been a life of piety and devotion. He had been placed under the care of Eli in his youth, and the loveliness of his character drew forth the warm affection of the aged priest. He was kind, generous, diligent, obedient, and respectful. The contrast between the course of the youth Samuel and that of the priest's own sons was very marked, and Eli found rest and comfort and blessing in the presence of his charge. It was a singular thing that between Eli, the chief magistrate of the nation, and the simple child so warm a friendship should exist. Samuel was helpful and affectionate, and no father ever loved his child more tenderly than did Eli this youth. As the infirmities of age came upon Eli, he felt more keenly the disheartening, reckless, profligate course of his own sons, and he turned to Samuel for comfort and support.  {2BC 1021.4}
[2BC 1021.5]          How touching to see youth and old age relying one upon the other, the youth looking up to the aged for counsel and wisdom, the aged looking to the youth for help and sympathy. This is as it should be. God would have the young possess such qualifications of character that they shall find delight in the friendship of the old, that they may be united in the endearing bonds of affection to those who are approaching the borders of the grave (ST Oct. 19, 1888).  {2BC 1021.5}
[2BC 1021.6]          10, 11 (Luke 12:16-21). Gain Was Nabal's God.--Nabal thought nothing of spending an extravagant amount of his wealth to indulge and glorify himself; but it seemed too painful a sacrifice for him to make to bestow compensation which he never would have missed, upon those who had been like a wall to his flocks and herds. Nabal was like the rich man in the parable.                                                                              1022  He had only one thought,--to use God's merciful gifts to gratify his selfish animal appetites. He had no thought of gratitude to the Giver. He was not rich toward God; for eternal treasure had no attraction for him. Present luxury, present gain, was the one absorbing thought of his life. This was his god (ST Oct. 26, 1888).  {2BC 1021.6}
[2BC 1022.1]          18-31. A Contrast of Characters.--In the character of Abigail, the wife of Nabal, we have an illustration of womanhood after the order of Christ; while her husband illustrates what a man may become who yields himself to the control of Satan (MS 17, 1891).  {2BC 1022.1}
[2BC 1022.2]          39. God Will Set Matters Right.--When David heard the tidings of the death of Nabal, he gave thanks that God had taken vengeance into His own hands. He had been restrained from evil, and the Lord had returned the wickedness of the wicked upon his own head. In this dealing of God with Nabal and David, men may be encouraged to put their cases into the hands of God; for in His own good time He will set matters right (ST Oct. 26, 1888).  {2BC 1022.2}
[2BC 1022.3]                                 Chapter 27          1. A Failure in David's Faith.--David's faith in God had been strong, but it had failed him when he placed himself under the protection of the Philistines. He had taken this step without seeking the counsel of the Lord; but when he had sought and obtained the favor of the Philistines, it was poor policy to repay their kindness by deception. In the favor they had shown him they had been actuated by selfishness. They had reason to remember the son of Jesse, for his valor had cost them their champion, Goliath, and had turned the tide of the battle against them. The Philistines were glad of an opportunity to separate David's forces from the army under Saul. They hoped that David would avenge his wrongs by joining them in battle against Saul and Israel (ST Nov. 16, 1888).  {2BC 1022.3}
[2BC 1022.4]          Failure to Pray Leads to Mistakes.--This demonstrates the fact that great and good men, men with whom God has worked, will make grievous mistakes when they cease to watch and pray, and to fully trust in God.  {2BC 1022.4}
[2BC 1022.5]          There is a precious experience, an experience more precious than fine gold, to be gained by everyone who will walk by faith. He who will walk in the way of unwavering trust in God will have a connection with heaven. The child of God is to do his work, looking to God alone for strength and guidance. He must toil on without despondency and full of hope, even though he is placed in most trying and aggravating circumstances.  {2BC 1022.5}
[2BC 1022.6]          David's experiences are recorded for the instruction of the people of God in these last days. In his warfare against Satan, this servant of God had received light and direction from heaven, but, because the conflict was long continued, and because the question of his receiving the throne was unsettled, he became weary and discouraged (ST Nov. 9, 1888).  {2BC 1022.6}
[2BC 1022.7]                                  Chapter 28          7. The Witch and Satan Had an Agreement.--The witch of Endor had made agreement with Satan to follow his directions in all things; and he would perform wonders and miracles for her, and would reveal to her the most secret things, if she would yield herself unreservedly to be controlled by his Satanic majesty. This she had done (1SP 375, 376).  {2BC 1022.7}
[2BC 1022.8]          8-19. Saul's Final Step.--When Saul inquired for Samuel, the Lord did not cause Samuel to appear to Saul. He saw nothing. Satan was not allowed to disturb the rest of Samuel in the grave, and bring him up in reality to the witch of Endor. God does not give Satan power to resurrect the dead. But Satan's angels assume the form of dead friends, and speak and act like them, that through professed dead friends he can the better carry on his work of deception. Satan knew Samuel well, and he knew how to represent him before the witch of Endor, and to utter correctly the fate of Saul and his sons.  {2BC 1022.8}
[2BC 1022.9]          Satan will come in a very plausible manner to such as he can deceive, and will insinuate himself into their favor, and lead them almost imperceptibly from God. He wins them under his control, cautiously at first, until their perceptibilities become blunted. Then he will make bolder suggestions, until he can lead them to commit                                                                              1023  almost any degree of crime. When he has led them fully into his snare, he is then willing that they should see where they are, and he exults in their confusion, as in the case of Saul. He had suffered Satan to lead him a willing captive, and now Satan spreads before Saul a correct description of his fate. By giving Saul a correct statement of his end, through the woman of Endor, Satan opens a way for Israel to be instructed by his satanic cunning, that they may, in their rebellion against God, learn of him, and by thus doing, sever the last link which would hold them to God.  {2BC 1022.9}
[2BC 1023.1]          Saul knew that in this last act, of consulting the witch of Endor, he cut the last shred which held him to God. He knew that if he had not before wilfully separated himself from God, this act sealed that separation, and made it final. He had made an agreement with death, and a covenant with hell. The cup of his iniquity was full (1SP 376, 377).                                                    -    {2BC 1023.1}
[2BC 1023.2]       2 Samuel                                      Chapter 12          1-14. David's Conviction of Guilt Led to His Salvation.--The prophet Nathan's parable of the ewe lamb, given to King David, may be studied by all. The light was flashed sharply upon the king, while he was in utter darkness as to what was thought of his actions in regard to Uriah. While he was following his course of self-indulgence and commandment breaking, the parable of a rich man who took from a poor man his one ewe lamb, was presented before him. But the king was so completely wrapped in his garments of sin, that he did not see that he was the sinner. He fell into the trap, and with great indignation, he passed his sentence upon another man, as he supposed, condemning him to death. When the application was made, and the facts brought home to him, when Nathan said, Thou art the man; unknowingly thou hast condemned thyself, David was overwhelmed. He had not one word to say in defence of his course of action.  {2BC 1023.2}
[2BC 1023.3]          This experience was most painful to David, but it was most beneficial. But for the mirror which Nathan held up before him, in which he so clearly recognized his own likeness, he would have gone on unconvicted of his heinous sin, and would have been ruined. The conviction of his guilt was the saving of his soul. He saw himself in another light, as the Lord saw him, and as long as he lived he repented of his sin (Letter 57, 1897).  {2BC 1023.3}
[2BC 1023.4]          13. See EGW on 1 Kings 3:14.  {2BC 1023.4}
[2BC 1023.5]          David Offered No Excuses.--David awakens as from a dream. He feels the sense of his sin. He does not seek to excuse his course, or palliate his sin, as did Saul; but with remorse and sincere grief, he bows his head before the prophet of God, and acknowledges his guilt. . . .  {2BC 1023.5}
[2BC 1023.6]          David does not manifest the spirit of an unconverted man. If he had possessed the spirit of the rulers of the nations around him, he would not have borne, from Nathan, the picture of his crime before him in its truly abominable colors, but would have taken the life of the faithful reprover. But notwithstanding the loftiness of his throne, and his unlimited power, his humble acknowledgement of all with which he was charged, is evidence that he still feared and trembled at the word of the Lord (1SP 378, 381).  {2BC 1023.6}
[2BC 1023.7]          25 (1 Kings 3:3). Failure to Sense Need Leads to Presumption.-- Solomon's youth was illustrious, because he was connected with heaven, and made God his dependence and his strength. God had called him Jedidiah, which, interpreted, meant The Beloved of God. He had been the pride and hope of his father, and well beloved in the sight of his mother. He had been surrounded by every worldly advantage that could improve his education and increase his wisdom. But, on the                                                                              1024  other hand, the corruption of court life was calculated to lead him to love amusement and the gratification of his appetite. He never felt the want of means by which to gratify his desires, and never had need to exercise self-denial.  {2BC 1023.7}
[2BC 1024.1]          Notwithstanding all these objectionable surroundings, the character of Solomon was preserved in purity during his youth. God's angel could talk with him in the night season; and the divine promise to give him understanding and judgment, and to fully qualify him for his responsible work, was faithfully kept. In the history of Solomon we have the assurance that God will do great things for those who love Him, who are obedient to His commandments, and trust in Him as their surety and strength.  {2BC 1024.1}
[2BC 1024.2]          Many of our youth suffer shipwreck in the dangerous voyage of life, because they are self-confident and presumptuous. They follow their inclinations, and are allured by amusements, and indulgence of appetite, till habits are formed which become shackles, impossible for them to break, and which drag them down to ruin. . . . If the youth of our day would, like young King Solomon, feel their need of heavenly wisdom, and seek to develop and strengthen their higher faculties, and consecrate them to the service of God, their lives would show great and noble results, and bring pure and holy happiness to themselves and many others (HR April, 1878).  {2BC 1024.2}
[2BC 1024.3]                                  Chapter 16          10, 11. David Accepted Humiliation as Necessary.--［2 Samuel 16:10, 11 quoted.］ He ［David］ thus acknowledges, before his people and chief men, that this is the punishment God has brought upon him because of his sin, which has given the enemies of the Lord occasion to blaspheme; that the enraged Benjamite might be accomplishing his part of the punishment predicted, and that if he bore these things with humility, the Lord would lessen his affliction, and turn the curse of Shimei into a blessing. David does not manifest the spirit of an unconverted man. He shows that he has had an experience in the things of God. He manifests a disposition to receive correction from God, and, in confidence turns to Him as his only trust. God rewards David's humble trust in Him, by defeating the counsel of Ahithophel, and preserving his life (1SP 383).  {2BC 1024.3}
[2BC 1024.4]                                 Chapter 19          16, 18-23. Shimei Confessed, David Forgave.--After the death of Absalom, God turned the hearts of Israel, as the heart of one man, to David. Shimei, who had cursed David in his humility, through fear of his life, was among the first of the rebellious to meet David on his return to Jerusalem. He made confession of his rebellious conduct toward David. Those who witnessed his abusive course urged David not to spare his life, because he cursed the Lord's anointed. But David rebuked them. He not only spared the life of Shimei, but mercifully forgave him. Had David possessed a revengeful spirit, he could readily have gratified it, by putting the offender to death (1SP 384).  {2BC 1024.4}
[2BC 1024.5]                                Chapter 24          1-14. See EGW on 1 Chronicles 21:1-13.  {2BC 1024.5}
[2BC 1024.6]          15-25. See EGW on 1 Chronicles 21:14-27.                                                    -    {2BC 1024.6}
[2BC 1024.7]       1 Kings                                   Chapter 1          5, 6. David Faithfully Withstood Pressure by Adonijah.--Adonijah had ever had his own way, and he thought that if he made a demonstration showing his desire to reign, David would yield to his wishes. But David was true to God and to his convictions (MS 6 1/2, 1903).  {2BC 1024.7}
[2BC 1024.8]                                  Chapter 2          1-9. David Prepared the Way for Solomon.--David's public labor was about to close. He knew that he should soon die,                                                                              1025  and he does not leave his business matters in confusion, to vex the soul of his son; but while he has sufficient physical and mental strength, he arranges the affairs of his kingdom, even to the minutest matters, not forgetting to warn Solomon in regard to the case of Shimei. He knew that the latter would cause trouble in the kingdom. He was a dangerous man, of violent temper, and was kept in control only through fear. Whenever he dared, he would cause rebellion, or, if he had a favorable opportunity, would not hesitate to take the life of Solomon.  {2BC 1024.8}
[2BC 1025.1]          David, in arranging his business, sets a good example to all who are advanced in years, to settle their matters while they are capable of doing so, that when they shall be drawing near to death, and their mental faculties are dimmed, they shall have nothing of a worldly nature to divert their minds from God (1SP 389, 390).  {2BC 1025.1}
[2BC 1025.2]          19. Solomon's Honor to His Mother.--We take the position that the fifth commandment is binding upon the son and daughter, although they may be old and gray-headed. However high or humble their station in life they will never rise above or fall below their obligation to obey the fifth precept of the decalogue, that commands them to honor their father and mother. Solomon, the wisest and most exalted monarch that ever sat upon an earthly throne, has given us an example of filial love and reverence. He was surrounded by his courtly train, consisting of the wisest sages and counselors, yet, when visited by his mother, he laid aside all the customary ceremonies attending the approach of a subject to an oriental monarch. The mighty king, in the presence of his mother, was only her son. His royalty was laid aside, as he rose from his throne and bowed before her. He then seated her on his throne, at his right hand (ST Feb. 28, 1878).  {2BC 1025.2}
[2BC 1025.3]                                    Chapter 3          2. A Temporary Place of Worship Should Have Been Prepared.-- Solomon. . . knew that it would take much time to carry out the grand designs given for the building of the temple; and before building the house of the Lord or the walls about Jerusalem, he should have prepared a temporary place of worship for the people of God. He should not have encouraged them, by his own example, to go to the high places to offer sacrifice. But we read, "Only the people of Israel sacrificed in high places." This is mentioned as a matter that should have been otherwise.  {2BC 1025.3}
[2BC 1025.4]          Solomon changed his place of worship to Jerusalem, but his former act in sacrificing in a place not made sacred by the presence of the Lord, but dedicated to the worship of idols, removed from the minds of the people something of the repulsion with which they should have regarded the horrible performances practiced by idolaters. This mingling of the sacred and the profane was the first step in the practice of Solomon which led him to suppose that the Lord was not so particular in regard to the worship of His people. Thus he was educating himself to make still greater departures from God and His work. Little by little his heathen wives led him to make them altars on which to sacrifice to their gods (MS 5, 1912).  {2BC 1025.4}
[2BC 1025.5]          3. See EGW on 2 Samuel 12:25.  {2BC 1025.5}
[2BC 1025.6]          4 (2 Chronicles 1:3-6). A Token of Earnest Desire.--These sacrifices were offered by Solomon and his men in positions of trust, not as a formal ceremony, but as a token of their earnest desire for special help. They knew that they were insufficient, in their own strength, for the responsibilities entrusted to them. Solomon and his associates longed for quickness of mind, for largeness of heart, for tenderness of spirit (RH Oct. 19, 1905).  {2BC 1025.6}
[2BC 1025.7]          5-9 (2 Chronicles 1:7-10). A Most Precious Lesson.--This prayer is a most precious lesson of instruction. Especially is it of value to those entrusted with responsibilities in the Lord's work. It is a sample prayer, indited by the Lord, to guide aright the desires of His servants. It is given also for the guidance of those who today are striving to serve the Lord with singleness of heart. . . .  {2BC 1025.7}
[2BC 1025.8]          It was in the night season that the Lord appeared to Solomon. During the busy hours of the day Solomon had much to do. Many came to him for advice and counsel, and his mind was fully occupied.                                                                              1026  The hours of the night, when all was silent, and Solomon was free from confusion, was the time that the Lord chose in which to reveal Himself to him.  {2BC 1025.8}
[2BC 1026.1]          God often chooses the silence of the night to give His servants instruction. He can then gain freer access to their hearts than during the day. There is less to draw the mind from Him. . . .  {2BC 1026.1}
[2BC 1026.2]          The Lord was testing Solomon. He placed in his mind a desire for the things that would enable him to rule wisely the people of Israel . . . . ［Verses 7-9 quoted.］ It was such a prayer as this that Solomon was continually to offer in the days of exaltation and glory awaiting him. And thus those who today are standing in positions of trust in the Lord's work are to pray. Let them beware of lifting up their hearts unto vanity. Only the prayers of those whose hearts are not filled with self-exaltation and haughtiness will the Lord hear. ［Isaiah 58:9 quoted.］  {2BC 1026.2}
[2BC 1026.3]         God commended Solomon's prayer. And He will today hear and commend the prayers of those who in faith and humility cry to Him for aid. He will certainly answer the fervent prayer for a preparation for service. In answer He will say, Here I am. What wilt thou that I shall do for thee?  {2BC 1026.3}
[2BC 1026.4]          The lesson to be drawn from this record is more precious than any earthly treasure. He who led Solomon's mind as he made this prayer will today teach His servants how to pray for what they need (MS 164, 1902).  {2BC 1026.4}
[2BC 1026.5]          Possibilities of a Heavenly Commerce.--This is a lesson for us. Our petitions to God should not proceed from hearts that are filled with selfish aspirations. God exhorts us to choose those gifts that will redound to His glory. He would have us choose the heavenly instead of the earthly. He throws open before us the possibilities and advantages of a heavenly commerce. He gives encouragement to our loftiest aims, security to our choicest treasure. When the worldly possession is swept away, the believer will rejoice in his heavenly treasure, the riches that cannot be lost in any earthly disaster (RH Aug. 16, 1898).  {2BC 1026.5}
[2BC 1026.6]          5-15 (2 Chronicles 1:7-12). Study Every Point Carefully.--［1 Kings 3:5-15 quoted.］ It would be well for us carefully to study Solomon's prayer, and to consider every point on which depended his receiving the rich blessings that the Lord was ready to give him (MS  154, 1902).  {2BC 1026.6}
[2BC 1026.7]          6. God Dealt According to Faithfulness.--［1 Kings 3:6 quoted.］ There is enough contained in these words to silence every skeptic in regard to God's sanctioning the sins of David and Solomon. God was merciful to them according as they walked before Him in truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart. Just according to their faithfulness, God dealt with them (1SP 395).  {2BC 1026.7}
[2BC 1026.8]          14 (2 Samuel 12:13). David Reproved for Walking in Own Counsel.--［1 Kings 3:14 quoted.］ Several times during his reign David walked in the counsel of his own heart, and greatly injured his influence by following his impulses. But he always received the words of reproof sent to him by the Lord. These words cut him to the quick. He did not seek to evade the matter, but bore the punishment of his transgression, saying, "I have sinned" (MS 164, 1902).  {2BC 1026.8}
[2BC 1026.9]                                     Chapter 5          2-9. David's Public Relations.--［1 Kings 5:2-9 quoted.］ David had lived in friendship with the people of Tyre and Sidon, who had not in any way molested Israel. Hiram, king of Tyre, acknowledged Jehovah as the true God, and some of the Sidonians were turning from idol worship.  {2BC 1026.9}
[2BC 1026.10]          Today, in our dealings with our neighbors, we are to be kind and courteous. We are to be as signs in the world, testifying to the power of divine grace to refine and ennoble those who give themselves to God's service (MS 18, 1905).  {2BC 1026.10}
[2BC 1026.11]          3-18 (ch. 7:13, 14, 40; 2 Chronicles 2:3-14). A Spirit of Sacrifice Vital in Every Phase of Our Work.--The beginnings of Solomon's apostasy may be traced to many seemingly slight deviations from right principles. Associations with idolatrous women was by no means the only cause of his downfall. Among the primary causes that led Solomon into extravagance and tyrannical oppression, was his course in developing and cherishing a spirit of covetousness.                                                                              1027   {2BC 1026.11}
[2BC 1027.1]         In the days of ancient Israel, when at the foot of Sinai Moses told the people of the divine command, "Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them," the response of the Israelites was accompanied by appropriate gifts. "They came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing," and brought offerings. For the building of the sanctuary, great and expensive preparations were necessary; a large amount of the most precious and costly material was required; yet the Lord accepted only free-will offerings. "Of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering" was the divine command repeated by Moses to the congregation. Devotion to God and a spirit of sacrifice were the first requisites in preparing a dwelling-place for the Most High.  {2BC 1027.1}
[2BC 1027.2]          A similar call to self-sacrifice was made when David turned over to Solomon the responsibility of erecting the temple. Of the assembled multitude that had brought their liberal gifts, David asked, "Who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?" This call should ever have been kept in mind by those who had to do with the construction of the temple.  {2BC 1027.2}
[2BC 1027.3]          Chosen men were specially endowed by God with skill and wisdom for the construction of the wilderness-tabernacle. "Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel . . . of the tribe of Judah; and he hath filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. . . . And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab . . . of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer . . . and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work." "Then wrought Bezaleel, . . . and every wise-hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding." Heavenly intelligences cooperated with the workmen whom God Himself chose.  {2BC 1027.3}
[2BC 1027.4]          The descendants of these men inherited to a large degree the skill conferred upon their forefathers. In the tribes of Judah and of Dan there were men who were regarded as especially "cunning" in the finer arts. For a time these men remained humble and unselfish; but gradually, almost imperceptibly, they lost their hold upon God and His truth. They began to ask for higher wages because of their superior skill. In some instances their request was granted, but more often those asking higher wages found employment in the surrounding nations. In place of the noble spirit of self-sacrifice that had filled the hearts of their illustrious ancestors, they cherished a spirit of covetousness, of grasping for more and more. They served heathen kings with their God-given skill, and dishonored their Maker.  {2BC 1027.4}
[2BC 1027.5]         It was to these apostates that Solomon looked for a master workman to superintend the construction of the temple on Mount Moriah. Minute specifications, in writing, regarding every portion of the sacred structure, had been entrusted to the king, and he should have looked to God in faith for consecrated helpers, to whom would have been granted special skill for doing with exactness the work required. But Solomon lost sight of this opportunity to exercise faith in God. He sent to the king of Tyre for "a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with cunning men . . . in Judah and in Jerusalem."  {2BC 1027.5}
[2BC 1027.6]          The Phenician king responded by sending Huram, "a cunning man, endued with understanding, . . . the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre." This master workman, Huram, was a descendant, on his mother's side, of Aholiab, to whom, hundreds of years before, God had given special wisdom for the construction of the tabernacle. Thus at the head of Solomon's company of workmen there was placed an unsanctified man, who demanded large wages because of his unusual skill.  {2BC 1027.6}
[2BC 1027.7]          Huram's efforts were not prompted by a desire to render his highest service to God. He served the god of this world--Mammon. The very fibers of his being had been inwrought with principles of selfishness, which were revealed in his grasping                                                                              1028  for the highest wages. And gradually these wrong principles came to be cherished by his associates. As they labored with him day after day, and yielded to the inclination to compare his wages with their own, they began to lose sight of the holy character of their work, and to dwell upon the difference between their wages and his. Gradually they lost their spirit of self-denial, and fostered a spirit of covetousness. The result was a demand for higher wages, which was granted them.  {2BC 1027.7}
[2BC 1028.1]          The baleful influences set in operation by the employment of this man of a grasping spirit, permeated all branches of the Lord's service, and extended throughout Solomon's kingdom. The high wages demanded and received gave many an opportunity to indulge in luxury and extravagance. In the far-reaching effects of these influences, may be traced one of the principal causes of the terrible apostasy of him who once was the wisest of mortals. The king was not alone in his apostasy. Extravagance and corruption were to be seen on every hand. The poor were oppressed by the rich; the spirit of self-sacrifice in God's service was well nigh lost.  {2BC 1028.1}
[2BC 1028.2]         Herein lies a most important lesson for God's people today,--a lesson that many are slow to learn. The spirit of covetousness, of seeking for the highest position and the highest wage, is rife in the world. The old-time spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice is too seldom met with. But this is the only spirit that can actuate a true follower of Jesus. Our divine Master has given us an example of how we are to work. And to those whom He bade, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," He offered no stated sum as a reward for their services. They were to share with Him His self-denial and sacrifice.  {2BC 1028.2}
[2BC 1028.3]          Those who claim to be followers of the Master Worker, and who engage in His service as colaborers with God, are to bring into their work the exactitude and skill, the tact and wisdom, that the God of perfection required in the building of the earthly tabernacle. And now, as in that time and as in the days of Christ's earthly ministry, devotion to God and a spirit of sacrifice should be regarded as the first requisites of acceptable service. God designs that not one thread of selfishness shall be woven into His work.  {2BC 1028.3}
[2BC 1028.4]          Great care should be taken in regard to the spirit pervading the Lord's institutions. These institutions were founded in self-sacrifice, and have been built up by the self-denying gifts of God's people and the unselfish labor of His servants. Everything connected with institutional service should bear the signature of heaven. A sense of the sacredness of God's institutions should be encouraged and cultivated. The workers are to humble their hearts before the Lord, acknowledging His sovereignty. All are to live in accordance with principles of self-denial. As the true, self-sacrificing laborer, with his spiritual lamp trimmed and burning, strives unselfishly to advance the interests of the institution in which he is working, he will have a precious experience, and will be able to say, "The Lord indeed is in this place." He will feel that he is highly privileged in being permitted to give to the Lord's institution his ability, his service, and his unwearying vigilance.  {2BC 1028.4}
[2BC 1028.5]          In the early days of the third angel's message those who established our institutions, and those who labored in them, were actuated by high motives of unselfishness. For their arduous labors they received no more than a mere pittance--barely enough for a meager support. But their hearts were baptized with the ministry of love. The reward of whole-souled liberality was apparent in their close fellowship with the Spirit of the Master Worker. They practiced the closest economy, in order that as many other laborers as possible might be planting the standard of truth in new places.  {2BC 1028.5}
[2BC 1028.6]          But in time a change came. The spirit of sacrifice was not manifest. In some of our institutions the wages of a few workers was increased beyond reason. Those who received these wages claimed that they deserved a greater sum than others, because of their superior talents. But who gave them their talents, their ability? With the increase of wages came a steady increase of covetousness, which is idolatry, and a steady decline of spirituality. Gross evils crept in, and God was dishonored. The minds of many who witnessed this grasping after higher and still higher wages, were                                                                              1029  leavened with doubt and unbelief. Strange principles, like evil leaven, permeated  nearly the entire body of believers. Many ceased to deny self, and not a few withheld their tithes and offerings.  {2BC 1028.6}
[2BC 1029.1]          God in His providence called for a reform in His sacred work, which should begin at the heart, and work outwardly. Some who blindly continued to place a high estimate upon their services, were removed. Others received the message given to them, turned to God with full purpose of heart, and learned to abhor their covetous spirit. So far as possible, they endeavored to set a right example before the people by voluntarily reducing their wages. They realized that nothing less than complete transformation in mind and heart would save them from being swept off their feet by some masterly temptation.  {2BC 1029.1}
[2BC 1029.2]          The work of God in all its wide extent is one, and the same principles should control, the same spirit be revealed, in all its branches. It must bear the stamp of missionary work. Every department of the cause is related to all parts of the gospel field, and the spirit that controls one department will be felt throughout the entire field. If a portion of the workers receive large wages, there are others, in different branches of the work, who will call for higher wages, and the spirit of self-sacrifice will gradually be lost sight of. Other institutions and conferences will catch the same spirit, and the Lord's favor will be removed from them; for He can never sanction selfishness. Thus our aggressive work would come to an end. Only by constant sacrifice can it be carried forward.  {2BC 1029.2}
[2BC 1029.3]          God will test the faith of every soul. Christ has purchased us at an infinite sacrifice. Although He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, that we through His poverty might come into possession of eternal riches. All that we possess of ability and intellect has been lent us in trust by the Lord, to use for Him. It is our privilege to be partakers with Christ in His sacrifice (RH Jan. 4, 1906).  {2BC 1029.3}
[2BC 1029.4]          Contact With Worldly Wise Men Paved Way for Ruin.--Solomon prepared the way for his own ruin when he sought for wise men from other nations to build the temple. God had been the educator of His people, and He designed that they should stand in His wisdom, and with His imparted talents should be second to none. If they had the clean hands, the pure heart, and the noble, sanctified purpose, the Lord would communicate to them His grace. But Solomon looked to man instead of God, and he found his supposed strength to be weakness. He brought to Jerusalem the leaven of the evil influences which were perpetuated in polygamy and idolatry (GCB Feb. 25, 1895).  {2BC 1029.4}
[2BC 1029.5]                                     Chapter 6          7 (Ephesians 2:19-22). A Type of God's Spiritual Temple.--The Jewish temple was built of hewn stones quarried out of the mountains; and every stone was fitted for its place in the temple, hewn, polished, and tested, before it was brought to Jerusalem. And when all were brought to the ground, the building went together without the sound of ax or hammer. This building represents God's spiritual temple, which is composed of material gathered out of every nation, and tongue, and people, of all grades, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned. These are not dead substances, to be fitted by hammer and chisel. They are living stones, quarried out from the world by the truth; and the great Master-Builder, the Lord of the temple, is now hewing and polishing them, and fitting them for their respective places in the spiritual temple. When completed, this temple will be perfect in all its parts, the admiration of angels and of men; for its Builder and Maker is God.  {2BC 1029.5}
[2BC 1029.6]          Let no one think that there need not be a stroke placed upon him. There is no person, no nation, that is perfect in every habit and thought. One must learn of another. Therefore God wants the different nationalities to mingle together, to be one in judgment, one in purpose. Then the union that there is in Christ will be exemplified (HS 136, 137).  {2BC 1029.6}
[2BC 1029.7]          11-13. Building and Character to Reveal God's Greatness.--［1 Kings 6:11-13 quoted.］ The preparations made for the building of this house for the Lord, must be in accordance with the instructions He had given. No pains must be spared in its erection; for in it God was to meet with                                                                              1030  His people. The building must show forth to the nations of the earth the greatness of Israel's God. In every part it must represent the perfection of Him whom the Israelites were called upon to honor before all the world.  {2BC 1029.7}
[2BC 1030.1]          The specifications regarding the building were often repeated. In all the work done, these specifications were to be followed with the utmost exactness. Believers and unbelievers were to learn of the importance of the work from the care shown in its performance.  {2BC 1030.1}
[2BC 1030.2]          The care shown in the building of the temple is a lesson to us regarding the care that we are to show in our character-building. No cheap material was to be used. No haphazard work was to be done in matching the different parts. Piece must fit piece perfectly. Just as God's temple was, so must His church be. Into their character-building His people are to bring no worthless timbers, no careless, indifferent work. . . .  {2BC 1030.2}
[2BC 1030.3]          In times of perplexity and distress, when a heavy strain is brought to bear, it will plainly be seen what kind of timbers have been used in the character-building (MS 18, 1905).  {2BC 1030.3}
[2BC 1030.4]          12, 13. God Gives Skill, Understanding, Adaptability.--［1 Kings 6:12, 13 quoted.］ This word was sent to Solomon while he was engaged in the building of the temple. The Lord assured him that He was taking notice of his efforts and of the efforts of the others engaged on the building. God exercises the same watchcare over His work today. Those who labor with a sincere desire to fulfill the Word of the Lord, and to glorify His name, will gain increased knowledge; for the Lord will cooperate with them. He watches with approval those who keep His glory in view. He will give them skill and understanding and adaptability for their work. Each one who enters the service of God with a determination to do his best, will receive a valuable education, if he heeds the instruction given by the Lord, and does not follow his own wisdom and his own ideas. All are to be teachable, seeking the Lord with humility, and using for Him, with cheerfulness and gratitude, the knowledge gained (MS 18, 1905).  {2BC 1030.4}
[2BC 1030.5]          23-28 (ch. 8:6, 7; 2 Chronicles 5:7, 8, 12-14). Two Additional Angels Placed by Ark.--A most splendid sanctuary had been made, according to the pattern showed to Moses in the mount, and afterward presented by the Lord to David. In addition to the cherubim on the top of the ark, Solomon made two other angels of larger size, standing at each end of the ark, representing the heavenly angels guarding the law of God. It is impossible to describe the beauty and splendor of this sanctuary. Into this place the sacred ark was borne with solemn reverence by the priests, and set in its place beneath the wings of the two stately cherubim that stood upon the floor.  {2BC 1030.5}
[2BC 1030.6]         The sacred choir lifted their voices in praise to God, and the melody of their voices was accompanied by all kinds of musical instruments. And while the courts of the temple resounded with praise, the cloud of God's glory took possession of the house, as it had formerly filled the wilderness tabernacle (RH Nov. 9, 1905).  {2BC 1030.6}
[2BC 1030.7]                                     Chapter 7          13, 14, 40 (ch. 5:3-18; 2:13, 14; 2 Chronicles 4:11). Solomon Should Have Used Available Talent.--The first thing that Solomon should have thought of in connection with the building of the temple was how to obtain all the strength and ability possible from the people whom Christ had been training by the communications given through Moses for Israel (MS 5, 1912).  {2BC 1030.7}
[2BC 1030.8]                                    Chapter 8          6, 7. See EGW on ch. 6:23-28.  {2BC 1030.8}
[2BC 1030.9]         54. See EGW on 2 Chronicles 6:13.  {2BC 1030.9}
[2BC 1030.10]                                     Chapter 10          18-27 (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Pity the Man Who Was Envied.--Many envied the popularity and abundant glory of Solomon, thinking that of all men he must be the most happy. But amid all that glory of artificial display the man envied is the one to be most pitied. His countenance is dark with despair. All the splendor about him is but to him mockery of the distress and anguish of his thoughts as he reviews his misspent life in seeking for happiness through indulgence and selfish gratification of every desire (ST Feb. 7, 1878).                                                                              1031   {2BC 1030.10}
[2BC 1031.1]                                   Chapter 11          1. Unsanctified Marriages Cause Downfall.--All the sins and excesses of Solomon can be traced to his great mistake in ceasing to rely upon God for wisdom, and to walk in humility before Him. . . .  {2BC 1031.1}
[2BC 1031.2]          The lesson for us to learn from the history of this perverted life is the necessity of continual dependence upon the counsels of God; to carefully watch the tendency of our course, and to reform every habit calculated to draw us from God. It teaches us that great caution, watchfulness, and prayer are needed to keep undefiled the simplicity and purity of our faith. If we would rise to the highest moral excellence, and attain to the perfection of religious character, what discrimination should be used in the formation of friendships, and the choice of a companion for life!  {2BC 1031.2}
[2BC 1031.3]          Many, like the king of Israel, follow their own carnal desires, and enter into unsanctified marriages. Many who started out in life with as fair and promising a morning, in their limited sphere, as Solomon had in his exalted station, through one false and irrevocable step in the marriage relation, lose their souls, and draw others down to ruin with them. As Solomon's wives turned his heart away from God to idolatry, so do frivolous companions, who have no depth of principle, turn away the hearts of those who were once noble and true, to vanity, corrupting pleasures, and downright vice (HR May, 1878).  {2BC 1031.3}
[2BC 1031.4]          1-4 (1 Corinthians 10:12). A Special Lesson to the Aged.--Of Solomon the inspired record says, "His wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God."  {2BC 1031.4}
[2BC 1031.5]          This is no theme to be treated with a smile. The heart that loves Jesus will not desire the unlawful affections of another. Every want is supplied in Christ. This superficial affection is of the same character as that exalted enjoyment which Satan promised Eve. It is coveting that which God has forbidden. When it is too late hundreds can warn others not to venture upon the precipice. Intellect, position, wealth can never, never take the place of moral qualities. Clean hands, a pure heart, and noble, earnest devotion to God and the truth the Lord esteems above the golden wedge of Ophir. An evil influence has a perpetuating power. I wish I could set this matter before God's commandment-keeping people just as it has been shown me. Let the sad memory of Solomon's apostasy warn every soul to shun the same precipice. His weakness and sin are handed down from generation to generation. The greatest king that ever wielded a scepter, of whom it had been said that he was the beloved of God, through misplaced affection became contaminated and was miserably forsaken of his God. The mightiest ruler of the earth had failed to rule his own passions. Solomon may have been saved "as by fire," yet his repentance could not efface those high places, nor demolish those stones, which remained as evidences of his crimes. He dishonored God, choosing rather to be controlled by lust than to be a partaker of the divine nature. What a legacy Solomon's life has committed to those who would use his example to cover their own base actions. We must either transmit a heritage of good or evil. Shall our lives and our example be a blessing or a curse? Shall people look at our graves and say, He ruined me, or, He saved me? . . .  {2BC 1031.5}
[2BC 1031.6]          The lesson to be learned from the life of Solomon has a special moral bearing upon the life of the aged, of those who are no longer climbing the mountain but are descending and facing the western sun. We expect to see defects in the characters of youth who are not controlled by love and faith in Jesus Christ. We see youth wavering between right and wrong, vacillating between fixed principle and the almost overpowering current of evil that is bearing them off their feet to ruin. But of those of mature age we expect better things. We look for the character to be established, for principles to be rooted, and for them to be beyond the danger of pollution. But the case of Solomon is before us as a beacon of warning. When thou, aged pilgrim who hast fought the battles of life, thinkest that thou standest take heed lest thou fall. How, in Solomon's case, was weak, vacillating character, naturally bold, firm, and determined, shaken like a reed in the wind under the tempter's power! How was an old gnarled cedar of Lebanon,                                                                              1032  a sturdy oak of Bashan, bent before the blast of temptation! What a lesson for all who desire to save their souls to watch unto prayer continually! What a warning to keep the grace of Christ ever in their heart, to battle with inward corruptions and outward temptations! (Letter 51, 1886).  {2BC 1031.6}
[2BC 1032.1]          As long as life shall last, there is need of guarding the affections and the passions with a firm purpose. There is inward corruption, there are outward temptations, and wherever the work of God shall be advanced, Satan plans so to arrange circumstances that temptation shall come with overpowering force upon the soul. Not one moment can we be secure only as we are relying upon God, the life hid with Christ in God (Letter 8b, 1891).  {2BC 1032.1}
[2BC 1032.2]          4-6. Why God Broke His Covenant With Solomon.--［1 Kings 11:4-6 quoted.］ Solomon lost his connection with heaven, and set Israel an example so misleading that God could not vindicate him. God broke His covenant with Solomon because Solomon was disloyal. Had Solomon heeded the instruction given him, God would have worked through him to reveal to the world His power and majesty.  {2BC 1032.2}
[2BC 1032.3]          Those today to whom the Lord has given great light will find their only safety in walking in the way of the Lord, placing themselves where He can carry out His will through them. God will do large things for those who will learn of him, not taking counsel of themselves, but of Him who never makes a mistake. Our safety, our wisdom, is in recognizing and heeding God's instructions. The most valuable knowledge that we can obtain is the knowledge of God. Those who walk humbly before Him, loving Him supremely and obeying His Word, will be blessed with wisdom. They will be given the knowledge of heaven to impart to others. Wisdom is God's gift, to be kept pure from all contamination. Its possession lays upon every one on whom it is bestowed a peculiar obligation to glorify God by blessing his fellow men. He is ever to keep before him the fear of God, enquiring at every step, "Is this the way of the Lord?"  {2BC 1032.3}
[2BC 1032.4]          God desires to have upon this earth righteous representatives, through whom He can communicate to His people His peculiar favor. These representatives are to be men who honor God by keeping His commandments, --wise, true men, who can act as leaders, walking circumspectly, showing to the world the meaning of true loyalty to God (MS 1, 1912).  {2BC 1032.4}
[2BC 1032.5]          4 (Revelation 2:4, 5). A Candlestick Removed.--Did Solomon know God when he was doing according to the ways of idolaters?--No; he had forgotten the rich experience of his youth and the prayers he had made in the temple. ［Revelation 2:4, 5 quoted.］  {2BC 1032.5}
[2BC 1032.6]          The candlestick was removed out of its place when Solomon forgot God. He lost the light of God, he lost the wisdom of God, he confounded idolatry with religion (RH March 29, 1892).  {2BC 1032.6}
[2BC 1032.7]          4-8 (2 Kings 23:13, 14). Monument to a Debased Character.--Few realize that, in their lives, they constantly exert an influence which will be perpetuated for good or evil. Hundreds of years had elapsed since Solomon caused those idolatrous shrines to be erected on the mount; and, although Josiah had demolished them as places for worship, their debris, containing portions of architecture, were still remaining in the days of Christ. The prominence upon which those shrines had stood was called, by the true-hearted of Israel, the Mount of Offense.  {2BC 1032.7}
[2BC 1032.8]          Solomon, in his pride and enthusiasm, did not realize that in those pagan altars he was erecting a monument of his debased character, to endure for many generations, and to be commented on by thousands. In like manner, every act of life is great for good or evil; and it is only by acting upon principle in the tests of daily life, that we acquire power to stand firm and faithful in the most dangerous and most difficult positions.  {2BC 1032.8}
[2BC 1032.9]          The marks of Solomon's apostasy lived ages after him. In the days of Christ, the worshipers in the temple could look, just opposite them, upon the Mount of Offense, and be reminded that the builder of their rich and glorious temple, the most renowned of all kings, had separated himself from God, and reared altars to heathen idols; that the mightiest ruler on earth had failed in ruling his own spirit. Solomon went down to death a repentant man;                                                                              1033  but his repentance and tears could not efface from the Mount of Offense the signs of his miserable departure from God. Ruined walls and broken pillars bore silent witness for a thousand years to the apostasy of the greatest king that ever sat upon an earthly throne (HR May, 1878).  {2BC 1032.9}
[2BC 1033.1]          4-11. Luxury, Wine, Idolatrous Women, Defeat Solomon.--Solomon, under all his honors, walked wisely and firmly in the counsels of God for a considerable time; but he was overcome at length by temptations that came through his prosperity. He had lived luxuriously from his youth. His appetite had been gratified with the most delicate and expensive dainties. The effects of this luxurious living, and the free use of wine, finally clouded his intellect, and caused him to depart from God. He entered into rash and sinful marriage relations with idolatrous women (HR April, 1878).  {2BC 1033.1}
[2BC 1033.2]          9-12 (ch. 14:21). Solomon's Influence on His Children.--It was this prophecy of impending ruin that had awakened the apostate king as from a dream, and had led him to repent, and to seek to stay, so far as possible, the terrible tide of evil that during the later years of his reign had been rising high and still higher. But at the time of his repentance, only a few years of life remained to him, and he could not hope to avert the consequences of long years of wrong-doing. His course of evil had set in operation influences that afterward he could never fully control.  {2BC 1033.2}
[2BC 1033.3]         Especially was this the case in the training of the children born to him through marriage with idolatrous women. Rehoboam, the son whom Solomon chose to be his successor, had received from his mother, an Ammonitess, a stamp of character that led him to look upon sin as desirable. At times he endeavored to serve God, and was granted a measure of prosperity; but he was not steadfast, and at last he yielded to the influences for evil that had surrounded him from infancy (RH July 3, 1913).  {2BC 1033.3}
[2BC 1033.4]                                   Chapter 12          25-33. Danger in Manifesting Jeroboam's Spirit.--Men today are in danger of manifesting the same spirit that Jeroboam manifested, and of doing a work similar in character to the work that he did. His plans, put into operation, led the children of Israel away from God into idolatry, and they performed and permitted terrible evils. The Judge of all the earth will lay to the charge of Jeroboam the awful results of his course. And to the charge of those who follow his example will be laid the results of their wrong course (Letter 113, 1903).  {2BC 1033.4}
[2BC 1033.5]                                   Chapter 13          11-19. God Alone Can Countermand His Orders.--The man of God had been fearless in delivering his message of rebuke. He had not hesitated to denounce the king's false system of worship. And he had refused Jeroboam's invitation, even though promised a reward. But he allowed himself to be over-persuaded by the one who claimed to have a message from heaven.  {2BC 1033.5}
[2BC 1033.6]          When the Lord gives a man a command such as He gave this messenger, He Himself must countermand the order. Upon those who turn from the voice of God to listen to counter orders, the threatened evil will come. Because this messenger obeyed false orders, God permitted him to be destroyed (MS 1, 1912).  {2BC 1033.6}
[2BC 1033.7]                                   Chapter 14          21. See EGW on ch. 11:9-12.  {2BC 1033.7}
[2BC 1033.8]                                  Chapter 16          31. Jezebel Versus the Spirit of God.--How few realize the power of an unconsecrated woman. I was carried back to the time of Ahab. God would have been with Ahab if he had walked in the counsel of heaven. But Ahab did not do this. He married a woman given to idolatry. Jezebel had more power over the king than God had. She led him into idolatry, and with him the people (MS 29, 1911).  {2BC 1033.8}
[2BC 1033.9]          The influence of Jezebel over Ahab was greater than the influence of the Spirit of God, however powerful and convincing the evidence from heaven (MS 19, 1906).  {2BC 1033.9}
[2BC 1033.10]                                   Chapter 17          1. Elijah Took the Key of Heaven.--Before he ［Ahab］ could recover from his astonishment or frame a reply, Elijah                                                                              1034  disappeared, taking with him the key of heaven. . . .  {2BC 1033.10}
[2BC 1034.1]          His word had locked up the treasures of heaven, and his word only could open them again. . . .Ahab did not realize that the prophet had left his presence unrebuked until the man of God had gone beyond recall (RH Aug. 14, 1913).  {2BC 1034.1}
[2BC 1034.2]          1, 2. God's Man With God's Message.--God always has men to whom He intrusts His message. His Spirit moves upon their hearts, and constrains them to speak. Stimulated by holy zeal, and with the divine impulse strong upon them, they enter upon the performance of their duty without coldly calculating the consequences of speaking to the people the word which the Lord has given them. But the servant of God is soon made aware that he has risked something. He finds himself and his message made the subject of criticism. His manners, his life, his property are all inspected and commented upon. His message is picked to pieces and rejected in the most illiberal and unsanctified spirit, as men in their finite judgment see fit. Has that message done the work God designed it should accomplish? No; it has signally failed, because the hearts of the hearers were unsanctified.  {2BC 1034.2}
[2BC 1034.3]          If the minister's face is not flint, if he has not indomitable faith and courage, if his heart is not made strong by constant communion with God, he will begin to shape his testimony to please the unsanctified ears and hearts of those whom he is addressing. In endeavoring to avoid the criticism to which he is exposed, he separates from God, and loses the sense of the divine favor, and his testimony becomes tame and lifeless. He finds that his courage and faith are gone, and his labors are powerless. The world is full of flatterers and dissemblers who have yielded to the desire to please; but the faithful men, who do not study self-interest, but love their brethren too well to suffer sin upon them, are few indeed (RH April 7, 1885).  {2BC 1034.3}
[2BC 1034.4]                                  Chapter 18          17. Rebels Blame Others for Troubles.--Those who refuse to receive reproof and to be corrected, will manifest enmity, malice, and hatred against the instrument that God has used. They will leave no means untried to cast stigma upon the one who bore to them the message. They will feel as did Ahab toward Elijah, that God's servant is the one who is the hindrance, the curse. Said Ahab, "Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" (RH Jan. 8, 1884).  {2BC 1034.4}
[2BC 1034.5]          36-40. One Who Stood Wholly for God.--God would have His honor exalted before men as supreme, and His counsels confirmed in the eyes of the people. The witness of the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel gives the example of one who stood wholly for God and His work in the earth. The prophet calls the Lord by His name, Jehovah God, which He Himself had given to denote His condescension and compassion. Elijah calls Him the God of Abraham and Isaac and Israel. He does this that He may excite in the hearts of His backslidden people humble remembrance of the Lord, and assure them of His rich, free grace. Elijah prays, Be it known this day that thou art the God of Israel. The honor of God is to be exalted as supreme, but the prophet asks further that his mission also may be confirmed. "Let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel," he prays, "and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord," he pleads, "hear me." . . .  {2BC 1034.5}
[2BC 1034.6]          His zeal for God's glory and his deep love for the house of Israel present lessons for the instruction of all who stand today as representatives of God's work in the earth (Letter 22, 1911).  {2BC 1034.6}
[2BC 1034.7]          42-44. Important Lessons From Elijah.--Important lessons are presented to us in the experience of Elijah. When upon Mt. Carmel he offered the prayer for rain, his faith was tested, but he persevered in making known his request unto God. Six times he prayed earnestly, and yet there was no sign that his petition was granted, but with a strong faith he urged his plea to the throne of grace. Had he given up in discouragement at the sixth time, his prayer would not have been answered, but he persevered till the answer came. We have a God whose ear is not closed to our petitions; and if we prove His word, He will honor our faith. He wants us to have all our interests interwoven with His interests,                                                                              1035  and then He can safely bless us; for we shall not then take glory to self when the blessing is ours, but shall render all the praise to God. God does not always answer our prayers the first time we call upon Him; for should He do this, we might take it for granted that we had a right to all the blessings and favors He bestowed upon us. Instead of searching our hearts to see if any evil was entertained by us, any sin indulged, we should become careless, and fail to realize our dependence upon Him, and our need of His help.  {2BC 1034.7}
[2BC 1035.1]          Elijah humbled himself until he was in a condition where he would not take the glory to himself. This is the condition upon which the Lord hears prayer, for then we shall give the praise to Him. The custom of offering praise to men is one that results in great evil. One praises another, and thus men are led to feel that glory and honor belong to them. When you exalt man, you lay a snare for his soul, and do just as Satan would have you. You should praise God with all your heart, soul, might, mind, and strength; for God alone is worthy to be glorified (RH March 27, 1913).  {2BC 1035.1}
[2BC 1035.2]          43, 44. Elijah's Heart Search.--The servant watched while Elijah prayed. Six times he returned from the watch, saying, There is nothing, no cloud, no sign of rain. But the prophet did not give up in discouragement. He kept reviewing his life, to see where he had failed to honor God, he confessed his sins, and thus continued to afflict his soul before God, while watching for a token that his prayer was answered. As he searched his heart, he seemed to be less and less, both in his own estimation and in the sight of God. It seemed to him that he was nothing, and that God was everything; and when he reached the point of renouncing self, while he clung to the Saviour as his only strength and righteousness, the answer came. The servant appeared, and said, "Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand" (RH May 26, 1891).  {2BC 1035.2}
[2BC 1035.3]                                  Chapter 19          4. Looking to God Upholds Courage.--However courageous and successful a man may be in the performance of a special work, unless he looks constantly to God when circumstances arise to test his faith he will lose his courage. Even after God has given him marked tokens of His power, after he has been strengthened to do God's work, he will fail unless he trusts implicitly in Omnipotence (RH Oct. 16, 1913).  {2BC 1035.3}
[2BC 1035.4]          18. Many Have Not Bowed to Baal.--There are in our cities thousands who have the fear of God before them, who have not bowed the knee to Baal. It is because so many of these are in lowly circumstances that the world does not notice them. But though hidden in highways and hedges, these are seeking God (MS 17, 1898).  {2BC 1035.4}
[2BC 1035.5]          19-21. The Character of Elisha.--The attention of Elijah was attracted to Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who with the servants was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen. He was educator, director, and worker. Elisha did not live in the thickly populated cities. His father was a tiller of the soil, a farmer. Far from the city and court dissipation, Elisha had received his education. He had been trained in habits of simplicity, of obedience to his parents and to God. Thus in quietude and contentment he was prepared to do the humble work of cultivating the soil. But though of a meek and quiet spirit, Elisha had no changeable character. Integrity and fidelity and the love and fear of God were his. He had the characteristics of a ruler, but with it all was the meekness of one who would serve. His mind had been exercised in the little things, to be faithful in whatsoever he should do; so that if God should call him to act more directly for Him, he would be prepared to hear His voice.  {2BC 1035.5}
[2BC 1035.6]          The surroundings of Elisha's home were those of wealth; but he realized that in order to obtain an all-round education, he must be a constant worker in any work that needed to be done. He had not consented to be in any respect less informed than his father's servants. He had learned how to serve first, that he might know how to lead, instruct, and command.  {2BC 1035.6}
[2BC 1035.7]          Elisha waited contentedly, doing his work with fidelity. Day by day, through practical obedience and the divine grace in which he trusted, he obtained rectitude                                                                              1036  and strength of purpose. While doing all that he possibly could in cooperating with his father in the home firm, he was doing God's service. He was learning how to cooperate with God (YI April 14, 1898).  {2BC 1035.7}
[2BC 1036.1]                                  Chapter 22          7,8. Prejudices Blind Eyes to Truth.--The more closely the Scriptures are studied, the more clearly shall we understand the true character of our thoughts and actions. But thousands put the Bible on one side for the same reason that Ahab hated Micaiah. Because it prophesies evil against the sinner, they claim that they find objections and contradictions in God's Word. While professing to be open to conviction, they allow prejudice to hold sway, and refuse to see the truth which that Word reveals (YI June 10, 1897).                                                    -    {2BC 1036.1}
[2BC 1036.2]       2 Kings                                   Chapter 1          2, 3. Voice of the Prince of Darkness.--The god of Ekron was supposed to give information, through the medium of its priests, concerning future events. Large numbers of people went to inquire of it; but the predictions there uttered and the information given, proceeded directly from the prince of darkness (RH Jan. 15, 1914).  {2BC 1036.2}
[2BC 1036.3]          3. Is There No God in Israel?--God is your counselor, and we are always in danger of showing distrust of God when we seek for the advice and counsel of men who do not make God their trust, and who are so devoid of wisdom in matters that they will, by following their own judgment, retard the work. They do not recognize God to be infinite in wisdom. We are to acknowledge God in all our counsels, and when we ask Him, we are to believe that we receive the things we ask of Him. If you depend upon men who do not love God and obey His commandments, you will surely be brought into very difficult places. Those that are not connected with God are connected with the enemy of God, and the enemy will work with them to lead us in false paths. We do not honor God when we go aside from the only true God to inquire of the god of Ekron. The question is asked, Is it because there is not a God in Israel that ye have gone to the god of Ekron to inquire? (MS 41, 1894).  {2BC 1036.3}
[2BC 1036.4]                                   Chapter 2          1-6. Some Need Many Moves.--Again, God sees that a worker needs to be more closely associated with Him; and to bring this about, He separates him from friends and acquaintances. When He was preparing Elijah for translation, He moved him from place to place that he might not settle down at ease, and thus fail of obtaining spiritual power. And it was God's design that Elijah's influence should be a power to help many souls to gain a wider, more helpful experience.  {2BC 1036.4}
[2BC 1036.5]          Let those who are not permitted to rest in quietude, who must be continually on the move, pitching their tent tonight in one place, and tomorrow night in another place, remember that the Lord is leading them, and that this is His way of helping them to form perfect characters. In all the changes that we are required to make, God is to be recognized as our companion, our guide, our dependence (RH May 2, 1907).  {2BC 1036.5}
[2BC 1036.6]          1-8. Our Schools of the Prophets.--Just before Elijah was taken to heaven, he visited the schools of the prophets, and instructed the students on the most important points of their education. The lessons he had given them on former visits, he now repeated, impressing upon the minds of the youth the importance of letting simplicity mark every feature of their education. Only in this way could they receive the mold of heaven, and go forth to work in the ways of the Lord. If conducted as God designs they should be, our schools in these closing days of the message will do a work similar to that done by the schools of the prophets (RH Oct. 24, 1907).                                                                              1037   {2BC 1036.6}
[2BC 1037.1]          9. Linking One's Self With Holy Spirit Means Success.--The success of the ministry of Elijah was not due to any inherited qualities he possessed, but to the submission of himself to the Holy Spirit, which was given to him as it will be given to all who exercise living faith in God. In his imperfection man has the privilege of linking himself up with God through Jesus Christ (MS 148, 1899).  {2BC 1037.1}
[2BC 1037.2]          9, 15. Power United With Tender Compassion.--Elisha received a double portion of the spirit that had rested on Elijah. In him the power of Elijah's spirit was united with the gentleness, mercy, and tender compassion of the Spirit of Christ (Letter 93, 1902).  {2BC 1037.2}
[2BC 1037.3]          11-15 (Zechariah 4:6). Deviation Disqualifies for Service.-- Henceforth Elisha stood in the place of Elijah. He was called to the position of highest honor because he had been faithful over a few things. The question arose in his mind, Am I qualified for such a position? But he would not allow his mind to question. The greatest qualification for any man in a position of trust is to obey implicitly the Word of the Lord. Elisha might exercise his reasoning ability on every other subject but the one that would admit of no reasoning. He was to obey the Word of the Lord at all times and in all places. Elisha had put his hand to the plow, and he would not look back. He revealed his determination and firm reliance upon God.  {2BC 1037.3}
[2BC 1037.4]          This lesson is for us to study carefully. We are in no case to swerve from our allegiance. No duties that God presents before us should cause us to work at cross-purposes with Him. The Word of God is to be our counselor. It is only those who render perfect and thorough obedience to God that He will choose. Those who follow the Lord are to be firm and straightforward in obeying His directions. Any deviation to follow human devising or planning disqualifies them for being trustworthy. Even if they have to walk as did Enoch,--with God alone,--his children must separate from those who do not obey Him, who show that they are not in vital connection with Him. The Lord God is a Host; and all who are in His service will realize the meaning of His words to Zerubbabel, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts" (YI April 28, 1898).  {2BC 1037.4}
[2BC 1037.5]          15. Lessons from Elijah and Elisha.--The history of Elijah and Elisha needs to be brought out in clear lines, that our people may understand the importance of the work of reform to be carried on in this age. Oh, that our people might have the assurance that their feet are standing on the sure foundation!  {2BC 1037.5}
[2BC 1037.6]          The lessons to be learned from the life work of Elijah and Elisha mean much to all who are striving to plant the feet of men and women on the eternal Rock. The workers must humble their own hearts if they would understand God's purposes for them; they must themselves strive in the truest sense if they would influence others to enter the strait gate. The presentation of the truth must be made with grace and with power to those who stand in need of light and uplifting (Letter 30, 1912).  {2BC 1037.6}
[2BC 1037.7]                                     Chapter 4          38-44 (ch. 6:1-7). Schools Were Respected for Learning and Piety.--Samuel had founded the first regular establishments for religious instruction and the unfolding of the prophetic gifts. Among the chief subjects of study, were the law of God with the instructions given to Moses, sacred history, sacred music, and poetry. In these "schools of the prophets" young men were educated by those who were not only well versed in divine truth, but who themselves maintained close communion with God and had received the special endowment of His Spirit. These educators enjoyed the respect and confidence of the people both for learning and piety. The power of the Holy Spirit was often strikingly manifest in their assemblies, and the exercise of the prophetic gift was not infrequent. These schools, or colleges, were of untold value to Israel, not only as providing for the dissemination of religious truth, but as preserving the spirit of vital godliness (ST July 20, 1882).  {2BC 1037.7}
[2BC 1037.8]                                    Chapter 6          1-7. See EGW on ch. 4:38-44.                                                                              1038   {2BC 1037.8}
[2BC 1038.1]                                    Chapter 8          16, 18. Jezebel's Scheme Unsuccessful.--With her seductive arts, Jezebel made Jehoshaphat her friend. She arranged a marriage between her daughter Athaliah and Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat. She knew that her daughter, brought up under her guidance and as unscrupulous as herself, would carry out her designs. But did she? No; the sons of the prophets, who had been educated in the schools which Samuel established, were steadfast for truth and righteousness (MS 116, 1899).  {2BC 1038.1}
[2BC 1038.2]                                     Chapter 10          1-31. Jehu Religion Unsafe.--Men are slow to learn the lesson that the spirit manifested by Jehu will never bind hearts together. It is not safe for us to bind our interests with a Jehu religion; for this will result in bringing sadness of heart upon God's true workers. God has not given to any of His servants the work of punishing those who will not heed His warnings and reproofs. When the Holy Spirit is abiding in the heart, it will lead the human agent to see his own defects of character, to pity the weakness of others, to forgive as he wishes to be forgiven. He will be pitiful, courteous, Christlike (RH April 10, 1900).  {2BC 1038.2}
[2BC 1038.3]                                     Chapter 15          5. See EGW on 2 Chronicles 26:16-21.  {2BC 1038.3}
[2BC 1038.4]                                     Chapter 20          12-15 (Isaiah 39:1-4). What Have They Seen?--What have your friends and acquaintances seen in your house? Are you, instead of revealing the treasures of the grace of Christ, displaying those things that will perish with the using? Or do you, to those with whom you are brought in contact, communicate some new thought of Christ's character and work? Have you always some fresh revelation of His pitying love to impart to those who know Him not? (ST Oct. 1, 1902).  {2BC 1038.4}
[2BC 1038.5]                                     Chapter 22          10, 11 (2 Chronicles 34:18, 19). Josiah's Repentance Points to Our Work.--When Josiah heard the words of warning and condemnation because Israel had trampled upon the precepts of heaven, he humbled himself. He wept before the Lord. He made a thorough work of repentance and reformation, and God accepted his efforts. The whole congregation of Israel entered into a solemn covenant to keep the commandments of Jehovah. This is our work today. We must repent of the past evil of our doings, and seek God with all our hearts. We must believe that God means just what He says, and make no compromise with evil in any way. We should greatly humble ourselves before God, and consider any loss preferable to the loss of His favor (RH Jan. 31, 1888).  {2BC 1038.5}
[2BC 1038.6]          13. See EGW on 2 Chronicles 34:21.  {2BC 1038.6}
[2BC 1038.7]          14. See EGW on 2 Chronicles 34:22.  {2BC 1038.7}
[2BC 1038.8]                                     Chapter 23          1-3 (2 Chronicles 34:29-31). Need for a Reform.--Josiah had read to priests and people the Book of the law found in the side of the ark in the house of God. His sensitive conscience was deeply stirred as he saw how far the people had departed from the requirements of the covenant they had made with God. He saw that they were indulging appetite to a fearful extent, and perverting their senses by the use of wine. Men in sacred offices were frequently incapacitated for the duties of their positions, because of their indulgence in wine.  {2BC 1038.8}
[2BC 1038.9]          Appetite and passion were fast gaining the ascendancy over the reason and judgment of the people, till they could not discern that the retribution of God would follow upon their corrupt course. Josiah, the youthful reformer, in the fear of God demolished the profane sanctuaries and hideous idols built for heathen worship, and the altars reared for sacrifices to heathen deities. Yet there were still to be seen in Christ's time the memorials of the sad apostasy of the king of Israel and his people (HR April, 1878).  {2BC 1038.9}
[2BC 1038.10]          The Book an Ally in Work of Reform.--In his position as king, it was the work of Josiah to carry out in the Jewish nation the principles taught in the Book of the law. This he endeavored to do faithfully. In the Book of the law itself he found a treasure of knowledge, a powerful ally in the work of reform (GCB April 1, 1903).                                                                              1039   {2BC 1038.10}
[2BC 1039.1]          2 (2 Chronicles 34:30). Josiah's View of His Highest Position.--To be a reader of the Book of the law, containing a "Thus saith the Lord," Josiah regarded as the highest position that he could occupy. . . . The highest work of princes in Israel,--of physicians, of teachers in our schools, as well as of ministers and those who are in positions of trust in the Lord's institutions,--is to fulfill the responsibility resting upon them to fasten the Scriptures in the minds of the people as a nail in a sure place, to use their God-given talent of influence to impress the truth that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." For the leaders in Israel to extend a knowledge of the Scriptures in all their borders is to promote spiritual health; for God's Word is a leaf from the tree of life (MS 14, 1903).  {2BC 1039.1}
[2BC 1039.2]          10. Children Need Not Be Sacrificed to Moloch.--Religion in the home--what will it not accomplish? It will do the very work that God designed should be done in every family. Children will be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They will be educated and trained, not to be society devotees, but members of the Lord's family. They will not be sacrificed to Moloch. Parents will become willing subjects of Christ. Both father and mother will consecrate themselves to the work of properly training the children given them. They will firmly decide to work in the love of God with the utmost tenderness and compassion to save the souls under their guidance. They will not allow themselves to be absorbed with the customs of the world. They will not give themselves up to parties, concerts, dances, to give feasts and attend feasts, because after this manner do the Gentiles (NL No. 29, p. 2).  {2BC 1039.2}
[2BC 1039.3]          13, 14 (1 Kings 11:4-8). Memorials of Apostasy.--Goodness alone is true greatness. Everyone will transmit a heritage of good or of evil. On the southern eminence of the Mount of Olives were the memorial stones of Solomon's apostasy. Huge idols, unshapely blocks of wood and stone, appeared above the groves of myrtle and olive. Josiah, the youthful reformer, in his religious zeal destroyed these images of Ashtoreth and Chemosh and Moloch, but the broken fragments and masses of ruins remained opposite Mount Moriah, where stood the temple of God. As strangers in after generations asked, "What mean these ruins confronting the temple of the Lord?" they were answered, "There is Solomon's Mount of Offense, where he built altars for idol worship to please his heathen wives" (Letter 8b, 1891).  {2BC 1039.3}
[2BC 1039.4]          29, 30 (2 Kings 22:19, 20; 2 Chronicles 34:26-33; 35:20-24). Josiah's Mistake.--Those who will not take God's Word as assurance, need not hope that human wisdom can help them; for human wisdom, aside from God, is like the waves of the sea, driven with the wind, and tossed. The word of Christ is, "He shall guide you into all truth." Reject not the light given.  {2BC 1039.4}
[2BC 1039.5]         Read the history of Josiah. He had done a good work. During his reign idolatry was put down, and apparently successfully uprooted. The temple was reopened and the sacrificial offerings re-established. His work was done well.  {2BC 1039.5}
[2BC 1039.6]          But at the last he died in battle. Why?--Because he did not heed the warnings given. . . . ［2 Chronicles 34:26-33; 35:20-24 quoted.］  {2BC 1039.6}
[2BC 1039.7]         Because Josiah died in battle, who will charge God with denying His word that Josiah should go to his grave in peace? The Lord did not give orders for Josiah to make war on the king of Egypt. When the Lord gave the king of Egypt orders that the time had come to serve Him by warfare, and the ambassadors told Josiah not to make war on Necho, no doubt Josiah congratulated himself that no word from the Lord had come directly to him. To turn back with his army would have been humiliating, so he went on. And because of this, he was killed in battle, a battle that he should not have had anything to do with. The man who had been so greatly honored by the Lord, did not honor the word of God. The Lord had spoken in his favor, predicted good things for him; and Josiah became self-confident, and failed to heed the warning. He went against the word of God, choosing to follow his own way, and God could not shield him from the consequences of his act.  {2BC 1039.7}
[2BC 1039.8]          In this our day men choose to follow their own desires and their own will.                                                                              1040  Can we be surprised that there is so much spiritual blindness? (MS 163, 1903).  {2BC 1039.8}
[2BC 1040.1]                                     Chapter 24          10-16 (2 Chronicles 36:20). Israelites Proved Themselves Untrustworthy.--The children of Israel were taken captive to Babylon because they separated from God, and no longer maintained the principles that had been given to keep them free from the methods and practices of the nations who dishonored God. The Lord could not give them prosperity, he could not fulfill His covenant with them, while they were untrue to the principles He had given them zealously to maintain. By their spirit and their actions they misrepresented His character, and He permitted them to be taken captive. Because of their separation from Him, He humbled them. He left them to their own ways, and the innocent suffered with the guilty.  {2BC 1040.1}
[2BC 1040.2]         The Lord's chosen people proved themselves untrustworthy. They showed themselves to be selfish, scheming, dishonorable. But among the children of Israel there were Christian patriots, who were as true as steel to principle, and upon these loyal men the Lord looked with great pleasure. These were men who would not be corrupted by selfishness, who would not mar the work of God by following erroneous methods and practices, men who would honor God at the loss of all things. They had to suffer with the guilty, but in the providence of God their captivity at Babylon was the means of bringing them to the front, and their example of untarnished integrity shines with heaven's luster (RH May 2, 1899).  {2BC 1040.2}
[2BC 1040.3]          17-20 (2 Kings 25:7; 2 Chronicles 36:11-13; Jeremiah 27:12-22; 39:4-7). Zedekiah Refused God's Protection.--Zedekiah was faithfully instructed through the prophet Jeremiah, how he might be preserved from the calamities that would surely come upon him if he did not change his course and serve the Lord. The calamities came, because he would not, through obedience, place himself under the protection of God. With his eyes put out, he was led in chains of captivity to Babylon.  {2BC 1040.3}
[2BC 1040.4]         What a sad and awful warning is this to those who harden themselves under reproof, and who will not humble themselves in repentance, that God may save them! (Letter 281, 1905).  {2BC 1040.4}
[2BC 1040.5]                                     Chapter 25          9 (2 Chronicles 36:19; Jeremiah 39:8). Failure as Missionaries.--Why did the Lord permit Jerusalem to be destroyed by fire the first time? Why did He permit His people to be overcome by their enemies and carried into heathen lands?--It was because they had failed to be His missionaries, and had built walls of division between themselves and the people round them. The Lord scattered them, that the knowledge of His truth might be carried to the world. If they were loyal and true and submissive, God would bring them again into their own land (GCB April 7, 1903).  {2BC 1040.5}
[CG 0.1]        CG - Child Guidance (1954)      FOREWORD         AS MARRIAGE UNITES TWO HEARTS AND LIVES IN LOVE, AND A NEW HOME IS CREATED, AN EARLY CONCERN OF ITS FOUNDERS IS THAT THE CHILDREN WHICH GRACE THIS NEW HOME SHALL BE PROPERLY REARED. THE QUESTION OF MANOAH OF OLD, "HOW SHALL WE ORDER THE CHILD?" IS THOUGHTFULLY PONDERED BY PARENTS TODAY AS THEY LOOK INTO THE FACE OF THE PRECIOUS AND HELPLESS GIFT ENTRUSTED TO THEIR CARE.       THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INSTRUCTION ON CHILD GUIDANCE IS BEST UNDERSTOOD AS WE NOTE THE IMPORTANT PLACE IT TAKES IN THE WORD OF GOD AND THE FREQUENT AND DETAILED REFERENCES TO THE SUBJECT IN THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY WRITINGS. IN HER SEVERAL BOOKS, BUT MORE PARTICULARLY IN THE ARTICLES ON PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN LIVING WHICH APPEARED FROM WEEK TO WEEK IN THE VARIOUS JOURNALS OF THE DENOMINATION, MRS. WHITE SET FORTH A WEALTH OF COUNSEL TO PARENTS. IN ADDITION TO THIS, SHE ADDRESSED TO VARIOUS FAMILIES HUNDREDS OF PERSONAL TESTIMONIES IN WHICH SHE DEALT SPECIFICALLY WITH THE PROBLEMS THEY FACED. IN THESE ARTICLES AND PERSONAL TESTIMONIES SHE DESCRIBED THE PRINCIPLES WHICH SHOULD GUIDE PARENTS, AND THE PROCEDURES THEY SHOULD FOLLOW AS THEY WERE KEPT BEFORE HER IN VISION.       IN HER LATER YEARS MRS. WHITE EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO BRING OUT A BOOK FOR CHRISTIAN PARENTS THAT WOULD MAKE CLEAR "THE MOTHER'S DUTY AND INFLUENCE OVER HER CHILDREN." IN THE RECENTLY ISSUED THE ADVENTIST HOME AND THIS COMPANION WORK, THAT DESIRE IS NOW FULFILLED. ONLY THE THOUGHTFUL AND PRAYERFUL PERUSAL OF THE SIGNIFICANT COUNSELS OF THIS VOLUME CAN REVEAL THE TREMENDOUS AND FAR-REACHING INFLUENCE OF TRAINING THE CHILD PROPERLY AS GOD HAS PLACED THE RESPONSIBILITY WITH PARENTS.       THE FACT THAT ELLEN WHITE WAS THE MOTHER OF FOUR BOYS   {CG 0.1}
[CG 13.1]     To the Reader         It is the privilege of parents to take their children with them to the gates of the city of God, saying, "I have tried to instruct my children to love the Lord, to do His will, and to glorify Him." To such the gate will be thrown open, and parents and children will enter in. But all cannot enter. Some are left outside with their children, whose characters have not been transformed by submission to the will of God. A hand is raised, and the words are spoken, "You have neglected home duties. You have failed to do the work that would have fitted the soul for a home in heaven. You cannot enter." The gates are closed to the children because they have not learned to do the will of God, and to parents because they have neglected the responsibilities resting upon them. ［MANUSCRIPT 31, 1909.］  {CG 13.1}
[CG 13.2]         Light has been shining from the Word of God and the testimonies of His Spirit so that none need err in regard to their duty. God requires parents to bring up their children to know Him and to respect His claims; they are to train their little ones, as the younger members of the Lord's family, to have beautiful characters and lovely tempers, that they may be fitted to shine in the heavenly courts. By neglecting their duty and indulging their children in wrong, parents close to them the gates of the city of God. These facts must be pressed home upon parents; they must arouse and take up their long-neglected work. ［TESTIMONIES FOR THE CHURCH, VOL. 5, PP. 325, 326.］                  Ellen G. White.  {CG 13.2}
[CG 17.1]      Chap. One - Importance of the Home School         Education Begins at Home.--It is in the home that the education of the child is to begin. Here is his first school. Here, with his parents as instructors, he is to learn the lessons that are to guide him throughout life-- lessons of respect, obedience, reverence, self-control. The educational influences of the home are a decided power for good or for evil. They are in many respects silent and gradual, but if exerted on the right side, they become a far-reaching power for truth and righteousness. If the child is not instructed aright here, Satan will educate him through agencies of his choosing. How important, then, is the school in the home!  {CG 17.1}
[CG 17.2]          Here the Foundations Are Laid.--Upon all parents there rests the obligation of giving physical, mental, and spiritual instruction. It should be the object of every parent to secure to his child a well-balanced, symmetrical character. This is a work of no small magnitude and importance--a work requiring earnest thought and prayer no less than patient, persevering effort. A right foundation must be laid, a framework, strong and firm, erected; and then day by day the work of building, polishing, perfecting, must go forward.  {CG 17.2}
[CG 17.3]          Deny the Child Anything but This Right.--Parents, remember that your home is a training school, in which your children are to be prepared for the home above. Deny them anything rather than the education that they should receive in their earliest years. Allow no word of pettishness. Teach your children to be kind and patient.                                                                              18  Teach them to be thoughtful of others. Thus you are preparing them for higher ministry in religious things.  {CG 17.3}
[CG 18.1]          The home should be a preparatory school, where children and youth may be fitted to do service for the Master, preparatory to joining the higher school in the kingdom of God.  {CG 18.1}
[CG 18.2]          Not a Secondary Matter.--Let not home education be regarded as a secondary matter. It occupies the first place in all true education. Fathers and mothers have entrusted to them the molding of their children's minds.  {CG 18.2}
[CG 18.3]          How startling is the proverb, "As the twig is bent, the tree is inclined." This is to be applied to the training of our children. Parents, will you remember that the education of your children from their earliest years is committed to you as a sacred trust? These young trees are to be tenderly trained, that they may be transplanted to the garden of the Lord. Home education is not by any means to be neglected. Those who neglect it neglect a religious duty.  {CG 18.3}
[CG 18.4]          The Great Scope of Home Education.--Home education means much. It is a matter of great scope. Abraham was called the father of the faithful. Among the things that made him a remarkable example of godliness was the strict regard that in his home he paid to the commands of God. He cultivated home religion. He who sees the education given in every home, and who measures the influence of this education, said, "I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment."  {CG 18.4}
[CG 18.5]          God commanded the Hebrews to teach their children His requirements, and to make them acquainted with all                                                                              19  His dealings with their people. The home and the school were one. In the place of stranger lips, the loving hearts of the father and mother were to give instruction to their children. Thoughts of God were associated with all the events of daily life in the home dwelling. The mighty works of God in the deliverance of His people were recounted with eloquence and reverential awe. The great truths of God's providence and of the future life were impressed on the young mind. It became acquainted with the true, the good, the beautiful.  {CG 18.5}
[CG 19.1]          By the use of figures and symbols the lessons given were illustrated, and thus more firmly fixed in the memory. Through this animated imagery the child was, almost from infancy, initiated into the mysteries, the wisdom, and the hopes of his fathers, and guided in a way of thinking and feeling and anticipating, that reached beyond things seen and transitory, to the unseen and eternal.  {CG 19.1}
[CG 19.2]          It Precedes and Prepares for the Day School.--The work of parents precedes that of the teacher. They have a home school--the first grade. If they seek carefully and prayerfully to know and to do their duty, they will prepare their children to enter the second grade--to receive instructions from the teacher.  {CG 19.2}
[CG 19.3]          It Fashions Character.--The home may be a school where the children are indeed fashioned in character after the similitude of a palace.  {CG 19.3}
[CG 19.4]          Education in the Nazareth Home.--Jesus secured His education in the home. His mother was His first human teacher. From her lips, and from the scrolls of the prophets, He learned of heavenly things. He lived in a                                                                              20  peasant's home and faithfully and cheerfully acted His part in bearing the household burdens. He who had been the commander of heaven was a willing servant, a loving, obedient son. He learned a trade, and with His own hands worked in the carpenter's shop with Joseph.  {CG 19.4}
[CG 21.1]       Chap. Two - The First Teachers         Parents to Understand Their Responsibility.-- The father and the mother should be the first teachers of their children.  {CG 21.1}
[CG 21.2]          Fathers and mothers need to understand their responsibility. The world is full of snares for the feet of the young. Multitudes are attracted by a life of selfish and sensual pleasure. They cannot discern the hidden dangers or the fearful ending of the path that seems to them the way of happiness. Through the indulgence of appetite and passion, their energies are wasted, and millions are ruined for this world and for the world to come. Parents should remember that their children must encounter these temptations. Even before the birth of the child, the preparation should begin that will enable it to fight successfully the battle against evil.  {CG 21.2}
[CG 21.3]          More than human wisdom is needed by parents at every step, that they may understand how best to educate their children for a useful, happy life here, and for higher service and greater joy hereafter.  {CG 21.3}
[CG 21.4]          Child Training an Important Part of God's Plan.-- The training of children constitutes an important part of God's plan for demonstrating the power of Christianity. A solemn responsibility rests upon parents so to train their children that when they go forth into the world, they will do good and not evil to those with whom they associate.  {CG 21.4}
[CG 21.5]          Parents should not lightly regard the work of training their children, nor neglect it upon any account. They                                                                              22  should employ much time in careful study of the laws which regulate our being. They should make it their first object to become intelligent in regard to the proper manner of dealing with their children, that they may secure to them sound minds in sound bodies. . . .  {CG 21.5}
[CG 22.1]          Many who profess to be followers of Christ are sadly neglectful of home duties; they do not perceive the sacred importance of the trust which God has placed in their hands, to so mold the characters of their children that they will have the moral stamina to resist the many temptations that ensnare the feet of youth.  {CG 22.1}
[CG 22.2]          Co-operation With God Is Necessary.--Christ did not ask His Father to take the disciples out of the world, but to keep them from the evil in the world, to keep them from yielding to the temptations which they would meet on every hand. This prayer fathers and mothers should offer for their children. But shall they plead with God, and then leave their children to do as they please? God cannot keep children from evil if the parents do not co-operate with Him. Bravely and cheerfully parents should take up their work, carrying it forward with unwearying endeavor.  {CG 22.2}
[CG 22.3]          If parents would feel that they are never released from their burden of educating and training their children for God, if they would do their work in faith, co-operating with God by earnest prayer and work, they would be successful in bringing their children to the Saviour.  {CG 22.3}
[CG 22.4]          How One Couple Met Their Responsibilities.--An angel from heaven came to instruct Zacharias and Elizabeth as to how they should train and educate their child, so as to work in harmony with God in preparing a                                                                              23  messenger to announce the coming of Christ. As parents they were to faithfully co-operate with God in forming such a character in John as would fit him to perform the part God had assigned him as a competent worker.  {CG 22.4}
[CG 23.1]          John was the son of their old age, he was a child of miracle, and the parents might have reasoned that he had a special work to do for the Lord and the Lord would take care of him. But the parents did not thus reason; they moved to a retired place in the country, where their son would not be exposed to the temptations of city life, or induced to depart from the counsel and instruction which they as parents would give him. They acted their part in developing a character in the child that would in every way meet the purpose for which God had designed his life. . . . They sacredly fulfilled their obligation.  {CG 23.1}
[CG 23.2]          Regard Children as a Trust.--Parents are to look upon their children as entrusted to them of God to be educated for the family above. Train them in the fear and love of God; for "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."  {CG 23.2}
[CG 23.3]          Those who are loyal to God will represent Him in the home life. They will look upon the training of their children as a sacred work, entrusted to them by the Most High.  {CG 23.3}
[CG 23.4]          Parents to Qualify as Christian Teachers.--The work of parents, which means so much, is greatly neglected. Awake, parents, from your spiritual slumber and understand that the very first teaching the child receives is to be given to him by you. You are to teach your little ones to know Christ. This work you must do before Satan sows his seeds in their hearts. Christ calls the children, and they are to be led to Him, educated in habits of                                                                              24  industry, neatness, and order. This is the discipline Christ desires them to receive.  {CG 23.4}
[CG 24.1]          Sin will lie at the door of parents unless they take themselves in hand and qualify themselves to become wise, safe, Christian teachers.  {CG 24.1}
[CG 24.2]          Unity Between Parents Is Necessary.--Husband and wife are to be closely united in their work in the home school. They are to be very tender and very guarded in their speech, lest they open a door of temptation through which Satan will enter to obtain victory after victory. They are to be kind and courteous to each other, acting in such a way that they can respect one another. Each is to help the other to bring into the home a pleasant, wholesome atmosphere. They should not differ in the presence of their children. Christian dignity is ever to be preserved.  {CG 24.2}
[CG 24.3]          The Special Instructor Given for Every Child.-- The mother must ever stand pre-eminent in this work of training the children; while grave and important duties rest upon the father, the mother, by almost constant association with her children, especially during their tender years, must always be their special instructor and companion.  {CG 24.3}
[CG 24.4]          An Education Broader Than Mere Instruction.-- Parents must learn the lesson of implicit obedience to God's voice, which speaks to them out of His Word; and as they learn this lesson, they can teach their children respect and obedience in word and action. This is the work that should be carried on in the home. Those who do it will reach upward themselves, realizing that they must elevate their children. This education means much more than mere instruction.                                                                              25   {CG 24.4}
[CG 25.1]          Haphazard Work Not Acceptable.--Haphazard work in the home will not pass the review in the judgment. Faith and works are to be combined by Christian parents. As Abraham commanded his household after him, so they are to command their households after them. The standard which every parent must raise is given: "They shall keep the way of the Lord." Every other way is a path which leads, not to the city of God, but to the ranks of the destroyer.  {CG 25.1}
[CG 25.2]          Let Parents Review Work.--Will parents review their work in the educating and training of their children, and consider whether they have done their whole duty in hope and faith that these children may be a crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jesus? Have they so labored for the welfare of their children that Jesus can look down from heaven and by the gift of His Spirit sanctify their efforts? Parents, it may be yours to prepare your children for the highest usefulness in this life, and to share at last the glory of that which is to come.  {CG 25.2}
[CG 26.1]       Chap. Three - When to Begin the Child's Training         Education Begins With the Infant.--The word "education" means more than a course of study at college. Education begins with the infant in its mother's arms. While the mother is molding and fashioning the character of her children, she is educating them.  {CG 26.1}
[CG 26.2]          Parents send their children to school; and when they have done this, they think they have educated them. But education is a matter of greater breadth than many realize: it comprises the whole process by which the child is instructed from babyhood to childhood, from childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood. As soon as a child is capable of forming an idea, his education should begin.  {CG 26.2}
[CG 26.3]          Start When the Mind Is Most Impressible.--The work of education and training should commence with the babyhood of the child; for then the mind is the most impressible, and the lessons given are remembered.  {CG 26.3}
[CG 26.4]          Children should virtually be trained in a home school from the cradle to maturity. And, as in the case of any well-regulated school, the teachers themselves gain important knowledge; the mother especially, who is the principal teacher in the home, should there learn the most valuable lessons of her life.  {CG 26.4}
[CG 26.5]          It is a parent's duty to speak right words. . . . Day by day parents should learn in the school of Christ lessons from One that loves them. Then the story of God's                                                                              27  everlasting love will be repeated in the home school to the tender flock. Thus, before reason is fully developed, children may catch a right spirit from their parents.  {CG 26.5}
[CG 27.1]          Give Study to the Early Training.--The early training of children is a subject that all should carefully study. We need to make the education of our children a business, for their salvation depends largely upon the education given them in childhood. Parents and guardians must themselves maintain purity of heart and life, if they desire their children to be pure. As fathers and mothers, we should train and discipline ourselves. Then as teachers in the home, we can train our children, preparing them for the immortal inheritance.  {CG 27.1}
[CG 27.2]          Make a Right Beginning.--Your children are God's property, bought with a price. Be very particular, O fathers and mothers, to treat them in a Christlike manner.  {CG 27.2}
[CG 27.3]          The youth should be carefully and judiciously trained, for the wrong habits formed in childhood and youth often cling to the entire life-experience. May God help us to see the necessity of beginning right.  {CG 27.3}
[CG 27.4]          Importance of Training the First Child.--The first child especially should be trained with great care, for he will educate the rest. Children grow according to the influence of those who surround them. If they are handled by those who are noisy and boisterous, they become noisy and almost unbearable.  {CG 27.4}
[CG 27.5]          The Plant--An Object Lesson in Child Training.-- The gradual development of the plant from the seed is an object lesson in child training. There is "first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." Mark                                                                              28  4:28. He who gave this parable created the tiny seed, gave it its vital properties, and ordained the laws that govern its growth. And the truths taught by the parable were made a reality in His own life. He, the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, became a babe in Bethlehem, and for a time represented the helpless infant in its mother's care. In childhood He spoke and acted as a child, honoring His parents, and carrying out their wishes in helpful ways. But from the first dawning of intelligence He was constantly growing in grace and in a knowledge of truth.  {CG 27.5}
[CG 31.1]       Chap. Four - Methods of Teaching         Parental Government to Be a Study.-- The work of the parent is seldom done as it should be. . . . Parents, have you studied parental government that you may wisely train the will and impulse of your children? Teach the young tendrils to entwine about God for support. It is not enough that you say, Do this, or, Do that, and then become utterly regardless and forgetful of what you have required, and the children are not careful to do your commands. Prepare the way for your child to obey your commands cheerfully; teach the tendrils to cling to Jesus. . . . Teach them to ask the Lord to help them in the little things of life; to be wide awake to see the small duties which need to be done; to be helpful in the home. If you do not educate them, there is one who will, for Satan is watching his opportunity to sow the seeds of tares in the heart.  {CG 31.1}
[CG 31.2]          Approach Task With Restful Spirit and Loving Heart.--My sister, has God entrusted you with the responsibilities of a mother? . . . You need to learn right methods and acquire tact for the training of your little ones, that they may keep the way of the Lord. You need to seek constantly the highest culture of mind and soul, that you may bring to the education and training of your children a restful spirit, a loving heart; that you may imbue them with pure aspirations, and cultivate in them a love for things honest and pure and holy. As a humble child of God, learn in the school of Christ; seek constantly to improve your powers, that you may do the                                                                              32  most perfect, thorough work at home, by both precept and example.  {CG 31.2}
[CG 32.1]          The Effect of a Quiet, Gentle Manner.--Few realize the effect of a mild, firm manner, even in the care of an infant. The fretful, impatient mother or nurse creates peevishness in the child in her arms, whereas a gentle manner tends to quiet the nerves of the little one.  {CG 32.1}
[CG 32.2]          Theories Are to Be Tested.--The study of books will be of little benefit, unless the ideas gained can be carried out in practical life. And yet the most valuable suggestions of others should not be adopted without thought and discrimination. They may not be equally adapted to the circumstances of every mother, or to the peculiar disposition or temperament of each child in the family. Let the mother study with care the experience of others, note the difference between their methods and her own, and carefully test those that appear to be of real value.  {CG 32.2}
[CG 32.3]          Methods Employed in Ancient Times.--From the earliest times the faithful in Israel had given much attention to the matter of education. The Lord had directed that the children, even from babyhood, should be taught of His goodness and His greatness, especially as revealed in His law and shown in the history of Israel. Through song and prayer, and lessons from the Scriptures, adapted to the opening mind, fathers and mothers were to instruct their children that the law of God is an expression of His character, and that as they received the principles of the law into the heart, the image of God was traced on mind and soul. In both the school and the home, much of the teaching was oral, but the youth also learned to read the Hebrew writings; and the parchment                                                                              33  rolls of the Old Testament Scriptures were open to their study.  {CG 32.3}
[CG 33.1]          Teach With Kindliness and Affection.--It is the special work of fathers and mothers to teach their children with kindliness and affection. They are to show that as parents they are the ones to hold the lines, to govern, and not to be governed by their children. They are to teach that obedience is required of them.  {CG 33.1}
[CG 33.2]          The restless spirit naturally inclines to mischief; the active mind, if left unoccupied with better things, will give heed to that which Satan may suggest. The children need . . . to be instructed, to be guided in safe paths, to be kept from vice, to be won by kindness, and be confirmed in well-doing.  {CG 33.2}
[CG 33.3]          Fathers and mothers, you have a solemn work to do. The eternal salvation of your children depends upon your course of action. How will you successfully educate your children? Not by scolding, for it will do no good. Talk to your children as if you had confidence in their intelligence. Deal with them kindly, tenderly, lovingly. Tell them what God would have them do. Tell them that God would have them educated and trained to be laborers together with Him. When you act your part, you can trust the Lord to act His part.  {CG 33.3}
[CG 33.4]          Take Time to Reason.--Every mother should take time to reason with her children, to correct their errors, and patiently teach them the right way.  {CG 33.4}
[CG 33.5]          Vary the Manner of Instruction.--The greatest care should be taken in the education of youth, to vary the manner of instruction so as to call forth the high and noble powers of the mind. . . . There are very few who realize the most essential wants of the mind, and how to                                                                              34  direct the developing intellect, the growing thoughts and feelings of youth.  {CG 33.5}
[CG 34.1]          Teach the First Lessons in the Out-of-doors.-- Mothers, let the little ones play in the open air; let them listen to the songs of the birds and learn the love of God as expressed in His beautiful works. Teach them simple lessons from the book of nature and the things about them; and as their minds expand, lessons from books may be added and firmly fixed in their memory.  {CG 34.1}
[CG 34.2]          The cultivation of the soil is good work for children and youth. It brings them into direct contact with nature and nature's God. And that they may have this advantage, there should be, as far as possible, in connection with our schools, large flower gardens and extensive lands for cultivation.  {CG 34.2}
[CG 34.3]          An education amid such surroundings is in accordance with the directions which God has given for the instruction of youth. . . .  {CG 34.3}
[CG 34.4]          To the nervous child or youth, who finds lessons from books exhausting and hard to remember, it will be especially valuable. There is health and happiness for him in the study of nature; and the impressions made will not fade out of his mind, for they will be associated with objects that are continually before his eyes.  {CG 34.4}
[CG 34.5]          Make Lessons Short and Interesting.--When parents thoroughly act their part, giving them line upon line, and precept upon precept, making their lessons short and interesting, and teaching them not only by precept but by example, the Lord will work with their efforts and make them efficient teachers.  {CG 34.5}
[CG 34.6]          "Say It Simply; Say It Often."--Those who instruct children should avoid tedious remarks. Short remarks                                                                              35  and to the point will have a happy influence. If much is to be said, make up for briefness by frequency. A few words of interest, now and then, will be more beneficial than to have it all at once. Long speeches burden the small minds of children. Too much talk will lead them to loathe even spiritual instruction, just as overeating burdens the stomach and lessens the appetite, leading even to a loathing of food. The minds of the people may be glutted with too much speechifying.  {CG 34.6}
[CG 35.1]          Encourage Independent Thinking.--While the children and youth gain a knowledge of facts from teachers and textbooks, let them learn to draw lessons and discern truth for themselves. In their gardening, question them as to what they learn from the care of their plants. As they look on a beautiful landscape, ask them why God clothed the fields and woods with such lovely and varied hues. Why was not all colored a somber brown? When they gather the flowers, lead them to think why He spared us the beauty of these wanderers from Eden. Teach them to notice the evidences of everywhere manifest in nature of God's thought for us, the wonderful adaptation of all things to our need and happiness.  {CG 35.1}
[CG 35.2]          Direct Childhood Activity.--Parents need not feel that it is necessary to repress the activity of their children, but they are to understand that it is essential to guide and train them in right and proper directions. These active impulses are like the vines, that, if untrained, will run over every stump and brush, and fasten their tendrils upon low supports. If the vines are not trained about some proper support, they waste their energies to no purpose. So it is with children. Their activities must                                                                              36  be trained in the right direction. Give their hands and minds something to do that will advance them in physical and mental attainments.  {CG 35.2}
[CG 36.1]          Teach Helpfulness at an Early Age.--Very early the lesson of helpfulness should be taught the child. As soon as strength and reasoning power are sufficiently developed, he should be given duties to perform in the home. He should be encouraged in trying to help father and mother, encouraged to deny and to control himself, to put others' happiness and convenience before his own, to watch for opportunities to cheer and assist brothers and sisters and playmates, and to show kindness to the aged, the sick, and the unfortunate. The more fully the spirit of true ministry pervades the home, the more fully it will be developed in the lives of the children. They will learn to find joy in service and sacrifice for the good of others.  {CG 36.1}
[CG 36.2]          Parents, help your children to do the will of God by being faithful in the performance of the duties which really belong to them as members of the family. This will give them a most valuable experience. It will teach them that they are not to center their thoughts upon themselves, to do their own pleasure, or to amuse themselves. Patiently educate them to act their part in the family circle.  {CG 36.2}
[CG 36.3]          Fashion Character by Little Attentions, Often Repeated.--Parents, in the training of your children, study the lessons that God has given in nature. If you would train a pink, or rose, or lily, how would you do it? Ask the gardener by what process he makes every branch and leaf to flourish so beautifully, and to develop in symmetry and loveliness. He will tell you that it was by                                                                              37  no rude touch, no violent effort; for this would only break the delicate stems. It was by little attentions, often repeated. He moistened the soil and protected the growing plants from the fierce blasts and from the scorching sun, and God caused them to flourish and to blossom into loveliness. In dealing with your children, follow the method of the gardener. By gentle touches, by loving ministrations, seek to fashion their characters after the pattern of the character of Christ.  {CG 36.3}
[CG 37.1]          Give Attention to Little Things.--What a great mistake is made in the education of children and youth, in favoring, indulging, and petting them! They become selfish and inefficient, and lack energy in the little things of life. They are not trained to acquire strength of character by the performance of everyday duties, lowly though they may be. . . .  {CG 37.1}
[CG 37.2]          No one is qualified for great and important work, unless he has been faithful in the performance of little duties. It is by degrees that the character is formed, and that the soul is trained to put forth effort and energy proportionate to the task which is to be accomplished.  {CG 37.2}
[CG 37.3]          Talented Children Require Greater Care.--We should imprint upon our children's minds that they are not their own, to go, and to come, and dress, and act, as they please. . . . If they possess personal attractions and rare natural abilities, greater care should be taken in their education, lest these endowments be turned to a curse, and are so used as to disqualify them for the sober realities of this life, and, through flattery and vanity and love of display, unfit them for the better life.  {CG 37.3}
[CG 37.4]          Refrain From Undue Notice or Flattery.--Give children but little notice. Let them learn to amuse                                                                              38  themselves. Do not put them on exhibition before visitors as prodigies of wit or wisdom, but leave them as far as possible to the simplicity of their childhood. One great reason why so many children are forward, bold, and impertinent is they are noticed and praised too much, and their smart, sharp sayings repeated in their hearing. Endeavor not to censure unduly, nor to overwhelm with praise and flattery. Satan will all too soon sow evil seed in their young hearts, and you should not aid him in his work.  {CG 37.4}
[CG 38.1]          Read to Your Children.--Fathers and mothers, obtain all the help you can from the study of our books and publications. Take time to read to your children. . . . Form a home reading circle, in which every member of the family shall lay aside the busy cares of the day, and unite in study. Especially will the youth who have been accustomed to reading novels and cheap storybooks receive benefit from joining in the evening family study.  {CG 38.1}
[CG 38.2]          "Train," Not "Tell."--To parents is committed the great work of educating and training their children for the future, immortal life. Many fathers and mothers seem to think that if they feed and clothe their little ones, and educate them according to the standard of the world, they have done their duty. They are too much occupied with business or pleasure to make the education of their children the study of their lives. They do not seek to train them so that they will employ their talents for the honor of their Redeemer. Solomon did not say, "Tell a child the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." But, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."                                                                              39   {CG 38.2}
[CG 39.1]          Educate for Self-control.--No work ever undertaken by man requires greater care and skill than the proper training and education of youth and children. There are no influences so potent as those which surround us in our early years. . . . The nature of man is threefold, and the training enjoined by Solomon comprehends the right development of the physical, intellectual, and moral powers. To perform this work aright, parents and teachers must themselves understand "the way the child should go." This embraces more than a knowledge of books or the learning of the schools. It comprehends the practice of temperance, brotherly kindness, and godliness; the discharge of our duty to ourselves, to our neighbors, and to God.  {CG 39.1}
[CG 39.2]          The training of children must be conducted on a different principle from that which governs the training of irrational animals. The brute has only to be accustomed to submit to its master, but the child must be taught to control himself. The will must be trained to obey the dictates of reason and conscience. A child may be so disciplined as to have, like the beast, no will of its own, his individuality being lost in that of his teacher. Such training is unwise, and its effect disastrous. Children thus educated will be deficient in firmness and decision. They are not taught to act from principle; the reasoning powers are not strengthened by exercise. So far as possible, every child should be trained to self-reliance. By calling into exercise the various faculties, he will learn where he is strongest, and in what he is deficient. A wise instructor will give special attention to the development of the weaker traits, that the child may form a well-balanced, harmonious character.  {CG 39.2}
[CG 41.1]       Chap. Five - The Bible as a Textbook         The Child's First Textbook.--The Bible should be the child's first textbook. From this book, parents are to give wise instruction. The Word of God is to be made the rule of the life. From it the children are to learn that God is their father, and from the beautiful lessons of His Word they are to gain a knowledge of His character. Through the inculcation of its principles, they are to learn to do justice and judgment.  {CG 41.1}
[CG 41.2]          A Book of Promises, Blessings, and Reproofs.--The mother must keep her mind refreshed and stored with the promises and blessings of God's Word, and also the forbidden things, that when her children do wrong she may present as a reproof the words of God, and show them how they are grieving the Spirit of God. Teach them that the approbation and smiles of Jesus are of greater value than the praise or flattery or approval of the most wealthy, the most exalted, the most learned of the earth. Lead them to Jesus Christ day by day, lovingly, tenderly, earnestly. You must not allow anything to come between you and this great work.  {CG 41.2}
[CG 41.3]          Its Study Builds Character.--The lessons of the Bible have a moral and religious influence on the character, as they are brought into the practical life. Timothy learned and practiced these lessons. The great apostle often drew him out and questioned him in regard to Scripture history. He showed him the necessity of shunning every evil way and told him that blessing would surely attend all who are faithful and true, giving them a faithful, noble                                                                              42  manhood. A noble, all-round manhood does not come by chance. It is the result of the molding process of character building in the early years of youth, and a practice of the law of God in the home. God will bless the faithful efforts of all who teach their children as He has directed.  {CG 41.3}
[CG 42.1]          It Presents God's Love as a Pleasant Theme.--The children in every family are to be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Evil propensities are to be controlled, evil tempers subdued; and the children are to be instructed that they are the Lord's property, bought with His own precious blood, and that they cannot live a life of pleasure and vanity, have their own will and carry out their own ideas, and yet be numbered among the children of God. The children are to be instructed with kindness and patience. . . . Let the parents teach them of the love of God in such a way that it will be a pleasant theme in the family circle, and let the church take upon them the responsibility of feeding the lambs as well as the sheep of the flock.  {CG 42.1}
[CG 42.2]          Its Stories Bring Assurance to the Timid Child.-- Only the sense of God's presence can banish the fear that, for the timid child, would make life a burden. Let him fix in his memory the promise, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." Psalm 34:7. Let him read that wonderful story of Elisha in the mountain city, and, between him and the hosts of armed foemen, a mighty encircling band of heavenly angels. Let him read how to Peter, in prison and condemned to death, God's angel appeared; how, past the armed guards, the massive doors and great iron gateway with their bolts and bars, the angel led God's                                                                              43  servant forth in safety. Let him read of that scene on the sea, when to the tempest-tossed soldiers and seamen, worn with labor and watching and long fasting, Paul the prisoner, on his way to trial and execution, spoke those grand words of courage and hope: "Be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you. . . . For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee." In the faith of this promise Paul assured his companions, "There shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you." So it came to pass. Because there was in that ship one man through whom God could work, the whole shipload of heathen soldiers and sailors was preserved. "They escaped all safe to land." Acts 27:22-24, 34, 44.  {CG 42.2}
[CG 43.1]         These things were not written merely that we might read and wonder, but that the same faith which wrought in God's servants of old might work in us. In no less marked a manner than He wrought then will He work now wherever there are hearts of faith to be channels of His power.  {CG 43.1}
[CG 43.2]          Be strong in faith, and teach your children that we are all dependent upon God. Read to them the story of the four Hebrew children, and impress their minds with a realization of the influence for good that was exerted in Daniel's time because of strict adherence to principle.  {CG 43.2}
[CG 43.3]          Make the Bible Lessons Simple.--The parents are to teach their children lessons from the Bible, making them so simple that they can readily be understood.  {CG 43.3}
[CG 43.4]          Teach your children that the commandments of God must become the rule of their life. Circumstances may                                                                              44  occur to separate them from the parents and from their homes, but the lessons of instruction given in childhood and youth will be a blessing to them throughout their lifetime.  {CG 43.4}
[CG 45.1]      Chap. Six - The Book of Nature         An Unfailing Source of Instruction.--Next to the Bible, nature is to be our great lesson book.  {CG 45.1}
[CG 45.2]          To the little child, not yet capable of learning from the printed page or of being introduced to the routine of the schoolroom, nature presents an unfailing source of instruction and delight. The heart not yet hardened by contact with evil is quick to recognize the Presence that pervades all created things. The ear as yet undulled by the world's clamor is attentive to the Voice that speaks through nature's utterances. And for those of older years, needing continually its silent reminders of the spiritual and eternal, nature's teaching will be no less a source of pleasure and of instruction.  {CG 45.2}
[CG 45.3]          Used as a Textbook in Eden.--The whole natural world is designed to be an interpreter of the things of God. To Adam and Eve in their Eden home, nature was full of the knowledge of God, teeming with divine instruction. To their attentive ears it was vocal with the voice of wisdom. Wisdom spoke to the eye and was received into the heart, for they communed with God in His created works.  {CG 45.3}
[CG 45.4]          The book of nature, which spread its living lessons before them, afforded an exhaustless source of instruction and delight. On every leaf of the forest and stone of the mountains, in every shining star, in earth and sea and sky, God's name was written. With both the animate and the inanimate creation--with leaf and flower and tree, and with every living creature, from the leviathan of the waters to the mote in the sunbeam--the dwellers in Eden                                                                              46  held converse, gathering from each the secrets of its life. God's glory in the heavens, the innumerable worlds in their orderly revolutions, "the balancings of the clouds" (Job 37:16), the mysteries of light and sound, of day and night--all were objects of study by the pupils of earth's first school.  {CG 45.4}
[CG 46.1]          Added Lessons Since the Fall.--Although the earth was blighted with the curse, nature was still to be man's lesson book. It could not now represent goodness only; for evil was everywhere present, marring earth and sea and air with its defiling touch. Where once was written only the character of God, the knowledge of good, was now written also the character of Satan, the knowledge of evil. From nature, which now revealed the knowledge of good and evil, man was continually to receive warning as to the results of sin.  {CG 46.1}
[CG 46.2]          Nature Illustrates Bible Lessons.--Many illustrations from nature are used by the Bible writers; and as we observe the things of the natural world, we shall be enabled, under the guiding of the Holy Spirit, more fully to understand the lessons of God's Word.  {CG 46.2}
[CG 46.3]          In the natural world God has placed in the hands of the children of men the key to unlock the treasure house of His Word. The unseen is illustrated by the seen; divine wisdom, eternal truth, infinite grace, are understood by the things that God has made.  {CG 46.3}
[CG 46.4]          Children should be encouraged to search out in nature the objects that illustrate Bible teachings, and to trace in the Bible the similitudes drawn from nature. They should search out, both in nature and in Holy Writ, every object representing Christ, and those also that He employed in illustrating truth. Thus may they learn to see Him in tree                                                                              47  and vine, in lily and rose, in sun and star. They may learn to hear His voice in the song of birds, in the sighing of the trees, in the rolling thunder, and in the music of the sea. And every object in nature will repeat to them His precious lessons.  {CG 46.4}
[CG 47.1]          To those who thus acquaint themselves with Christ, the earth will nevermore be a lonely and desolate place. It will be their Father's house, filled with the presence of Him who once dwelt among men.  {CG 47.1}
[CG 47.2]          The Bible Interprets Nature's Mysteries.--The child, as he comes in contact with nature, will see cause for perplexity. He cannot but recognize the working of antagonistic forces. It is here that nature needs an interpreter. Looking upon the evil manifest even in the natural world, all have the same sorrowful lesson to learn-- "An enemy hath done this." Matthew 13:28.  {CG 47.2}
[CG 47.3]          Only in the light that shines from Calvary can nature's teaching be read aright. Through the story of Bethlehem and the cross let it be shown how good is to conquer evil, and how every blessing that comes to us is a gift of redemption.  {CG 47.3}
[CG 47.4]          In brier and thorn, in thistle and tare, is represented the evil that blights and mars. In singing bird and opening blossom, in rain and sunshine, in summer breeze and gentle dew, in ten thousand objects in nature, from the oak of the forest to the violet that blossoms at its root, is seen the love that restores. And nature still speaks to us of God's goodness.  {CG 47.4}
[CG 47.5]          Lessons in the Ideal Schoolroom.--As the dwellers in Eden learned from nature's pages, as Moses discerned God's handwriting on the Arabian plains and mountains, and the Child Jesus on the hillsides of Nazareth, so the                                                                              48  children of today may learn of Him. The unseen is illustrated by the seen.  {CG 47.5}
[CG 48.1]          Cultivate a Love of Nature.--Let the mother . . . find time to cultivate in herself and her children a love for the beautiful things of nature. Let her point them to the glories spread out in the heavens, to the thousand forms of beauty that adorn the earth, and then tell them of Him who made them all. Thus she can lead their young minds up to the Creator, and awaken in their hearts reverence and love for the Giver of every blessing. The fields and hills--nature's audience chamber-- should be the schoolroom for little children. Her treasures should be their textbook. The lessons thus imprinted upon their minds will not be soon forgotten.  {CG 48.1}
[CG 48.2]          Parents may do much to connect their children with God by encouraging them to love the things of nature which He has given them, and to recognize the hand of the Giver in all they receive. The soil of the heart may thus early be prepared for casting in the precious seeds of truth, which in due time will spring up and bear a rich harvest.  {CG 48.2}
[CG 48.3]          Join Birds in Songs of Praise.--The little children should come especially close to nature. Instead of putting fashion's shackles upon them, let them be free like the lambs, to play in the sweet, fresh sunlight. Point them to shrubs and flowers, the lowly grass and the lofty trees, and let them become familiar with their beautiful, varied, and delicate forms. Teach them to see the wisdom and love of God in His created works; and as their hearts swell with joy and grateful love, let them join the birds in their songs of praise.  {CG 48.3}
[CG 48.4]          Educate the children and youth to consider the works                                                                              49  of the great Master Artist, and to imitate the attractive graces of nature in their character building. As the love of God wins their hearts, let them bring into their lives the beauty of holiness. So shall they use their capabilities to bless others and to honor God.  {CG 48.4}
[CG 49.1]          Point From Nature to Nature's God.--The children need to be given lessons that will nurture in them courage to resist evil. Point them from nature to nature's God, and they will thus become acquainted with the Creator. How can I best teach my children to serve and glorify God? should be the question occupying the minds of parents. If all heaven is interested in the welfare of the human race, should not we be diligent to do all in our power for the welfare of our children?  {CG 49.1}
[CG 49.2]          Nature Study Strengthens the Mind.--The glory of God is displayed in His handiwork. Here are mysteries that the mind will become strong in searching out. Minds that have been amused and abused by reading fiction may in nature have an open book, and read truth in the works of God around them. All may find themes for study in the simple leaf of the forest tree, the spires of grass covering the earth with their green velvet carpet, the plants and flowers, the stately trees of the forest, the lofty mountains, the granite rocks, the restless ocean, the precious gems of light studding the heavens to make the night beautiful, the exhaustless riches of the sunlight, the solemn glories of the moon, the winter's cold, the summer's heat, the changing, recurring seasons, in perfect order and harmony, controlled by infinite power; here are subjects which call for deep thought, for the stretch of the imagination.                                                                              50   {CG 49.2}
[CG 50.1]          If the frivolous and pleasure-seeking will allow their minds to dwell upon the real and true, the heart cannot but be filled with reverence, and they will adore the God of nature. The contemplation and study of God's character as revealed in His created works will open a field of thought that will draw the mind away from low, debasing, enervating amusements. The knowledge of God's works and ways we can only begin to obtain in this world; the study will be continued throughout eternity. God has provided for man subjects of thought which will bring into activity every faculty of the mind. We may read the character of the Creator in the heavens above and the earth beneath, filling the heart with gratitude and thanksgiving. Every nerve and sense will respond to the expressions of God's love in His marvelous works.  {CG 50.1}
[CG 50.2]          Nature and the Bible Were Jesus' Textbooks.-- His ［Jesus'］ education was gained from Heaven-appointed sources, from useful work, from the study of the Scriptures, from nature, and from the experiences of life-- God's lesson books, full of instruction to all who bring to them the willing hand, the seeing eye, and the understanding heart.  {CG 50.2}
[CG 50.3]          His intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures shows how diligently His early years were given to the study of God's Word. And spread out before Him was the great library of God's created works. He who had made all things studied the lessons which His own hand had written in earth and sea and sky. Apart from the unholy ways of the world, He gathered stores of scientific knowledge from nature. He studied the life of plants and animals, and the life of man. From His earliest years He was possessed of one purpose; He lived to bless others. For this He                                                                              51  found resources in nature; new ideas of ways and means flashed into His mind as He studied plant life and animal life. . . .  {CG 50.3}
[CG 51.1]          Thus to Jesus the significance of the Word and the works of God was unfolded, as He was trying to understand the reason of things. Heavenly beings were His attendants, and the culture of holy thoughts and communings was His. From the first dawning of intelligence He was constantly growing in spiritual grace and knowledge of truth.  {CG 51.1}
[CG 51.2]          Every child may gain knowledge as Jesus did. As we try to become acquainted with our heavenly Father through His Word, angels will draw near, our minds will be strengthened, our characters will be elevated and refined.  {CG 51.2}
[CG 51.3]          Later Used by Him in His Teaching.--The great Teacher brought His hearers in contact with nature, that they might listen to the voice which speaks in all created things; and as their hearts became tender and their minds receptive, He helped them to interpret the spiritual teaching of the scenes upon which their eyes rested. The parables, by means of which He loved to teach lessons of truth, show how open His spirit was to the influences of nature, and how He delighted to gather the spiritual teaching from the surroundings of daily life.  {CG 51.3}
[CG 51.4]          The birds of the air, the lilies of the field, the sower and the seed, the shepherd and the sheep--with these Christ illustrated immortal truth. He drew illustrations also from the events of life, facts of experience familiar to the hearers--the leaven, the hid treasure, the pearl, the fishing net, the lost coin, the prodigal son, the houses on the rock and the sand. In His lessons there was                                                                              52  something to interest every mind, to appeal to every heart. Thus the daily task, instead of being a mere round of toil, bereft of higher thoughts, was brightened and uplifted by constant reminders of the spiritual and the unseen.  {CG 51.4}
[CG 52.1]          So we should teach. Let the children learn to see in nature an expression of the love and the wisdom of God; let the thought of Him be linked with bird and flower and tree; let all things seen become to them the interpreters of the unseen, and all the events of life be a means of divine teaching.  {CG 52.1}
[CG 52.2]          As they learn thus to study the lessons in all created things, and in all life's experiences, show that the same laws which govern the things of nature and the events of life are to control us; that they are given for our good; and that only in obedience to them can we find true happiness and success.  {CG 52.2}
[CG 53.1]       Chap. Seven - Practical Lessons from Nature's Book         God's Voice in His Handiwork.--Wherever we turn, we hear the voice of God and behold His handiwork. From the solemn roll of the deep-toned thunder and old ocean's ceaseless roar, to the glad songs that make the forests vocal with melody, nature's ten thousand voices speak His praise. In earth and sea and sky, with their marvelous tint and color, varying in gorgeous contrast or blended in harmony, we behold His glory. The everlasting hills tell of His power. The trees that wave their green banners in the sunlight, and the flowers in their delicate beauty, point to their Creator. The living green that carpets the brown earth tells of God's care for the humblest of His creatures. The caves of the sea and the depths of the earth reveal His treasures. He who placed the pearls in the ocean and the amethyst and chrysolite among the rocks is a lover of the beautiful. The sun rising in the heavens is a representative of Him who is the life and light of all that He has made. All the brightness and beauty that adorn the earth and light up the heavens speak of God.  {CG 53.1}
[CG 53.2]          Shall we, then, in the enjoyment of His gifts, forget the Giver? Let them rather lead us to contemplate His goodness and His love. Let all that is beautiful in our earthly home remind us of the crystal river and green fields, the waving trees and living fountains, the shining city and the white-robed singers, of our heavenly home-- that world of beauty which no artist can picture, no                                                                              54  mortal tongue describe. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9.  {CG 53.2}
[CG 54.1]          Of God's Love and Character.--Mothers . . . should not be so engrossed with the artificial and burdened with care that they cannot have time to educate their children from God's great book of nature, impressing their young minds with the beauties of opening buds and flowers. The lofty trees, the lovely birds caroling forth their happy songs to their Creator, speak to their senses of the goodness, mercy, and benevolence of God. Every leaf and flower with their varied tints, perfuming the air, teach them that God is love. All that is good and lovely and beautiful in this world speaks to them of the love of our heavenly Father. The character of God they may discern in His created works.  {CG 54.1}
[CG 54.2]          Of God's Perfection.--As the things of nature show their appreciation of the Master Worker by doing their best to beautify the earth and to represent God's perfection, so human beings should strive in their sphere to represent God's perfection, allowing Him to work out through them His purposes of justice, mercy, and goodness.  {CG 54.2}
[CG 54.3]          Of the Creator and the Sabbath.--Who gives us the sunshine which makes the earth bring forth and bear? and who the fruitful showers? Who has given us the heavens above and the sun and stars in the heavens? Who gave you your reason, and who keeps watch over you from day to day? . . . Every time we look at the world, we are reminded of the mighty hand of God                                                                              55  which called it into existence. The canopy over our head, and the earth beneath covered with a carpet of green, call to remembrance the power of God and also His loving-kindness. He might have made the grass brown or black, but God is a lover of the beautiful, and therefore He has given us beautiful things upon which to look. Who could paint upon the flowers the delicate tint with which God has clothed them? . . .  {CG 54.3}
[CG 55.1]          We can have no better lesson book than nature. "Consider the lilies of the field; . . . they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Let the minds of our children be carried up to God. It is for this that He has given us the seventh day and left it as a memorial of His created works.  {CG 55.1}
[CG 55.2]          Obedience to Law.--The same power that upholds nature is working also in man. The same great laws that guide alike the star and the atom control human life. The laws that govern the heart's action, regulating the flow of the current of life to the body, are the laws of the mighty Intelligence that has the jurisdiction of the soul. From Him all life proceeds. Only in harmony with Him can be found its true sphere of action. For all the objects of His creation the condition is the same--a life sustained by receiving the life of God, a life exercised in harmony with the Creator's will. To transgress His law--physical, mental, or moral--is to place one's self out of harmony with the universe, to introduce discord, anarchy, ruin.  {CG 55.2}
[CG 55.3]          To him who learns thus to interpret its teachings, all nature becomes illuminated; the world is a lesson book, life a school. The unity of man with nature and with God, the universal dominion of law, the results of                                                                              56  transgression, cannot fail of impressing the mind and molding the character. These are lessons that our children need to learn.  {CG 55.3}
[CG 56.1]          Other Lessons From Nature's Laws.--In the cultivation of the soil the thoughtful worker will find that treasures little dreamed of are opening up before him. No one can succeed in agriculture or gardening without attention to the laws involved. The special needs of every variety of plant must be studied. Different varieties require different soil and cultivation, and compliance with the laws governing each is the condition of success.  {CG 56.1}
[CG 56.2]          The attention required in transplanting, that not even a root fiber shall be crowded or misplaced, the care of the young plants, the pruning and watering, the shielding from frost at night and sun by day, keeping out weeds, disease, and insect pests, the training and arranging, not only teach important lessons concerning the development of character, but the work itself is a means of development. In cultivating carefulness, patience, attention to detail, obedience to law, it imparts a most essential training.  {CG 56.2}
[CG 56.3]          The constant contact with the mystery of life and the loveliness of nature, as well as the tenderness called forth in ministering to these beautiful objects of God's creation, tends to quicken the mind and refine and elevate the character; and the lessons taught prepare the worker to deal more successfully with other minds.  {CG 56.3}
[CG 56.4]          Lessons From Seed Sowing.--The parable of the sower and the seed conveys a deep spiritual lesson. The seed represents the principles sown in the heart, and its growth the development of character. Make the teaching on this point practical. The children can prepare the soil                                                                              57  and sow the seed; and as they work, the parent or teacher can explain to them the garden of the heart, with the good or bad seed sown there; and that as the garden must be prepared for the natural seed, so the heart must be prepared for the seed of truth. As the plant grows, the correspondence between the natural and the spiritual sowing can be continued.  {CG 56.4}
[CG 57.1]          As the seed is cast into the ground, they can teach the lesson of Christ's death; and as the blade springs up, the truth of the resurrection.  {CG 57.1}
[CG 57.2]          The Garden of the Heart Needs Cultivating.-- From the tilling of the soil, lessons may constantly be learned. No one settles upon a raw piece of land with the expectation that it will at once yield a harvest. Diligent, persevering labor must be put forth in the preparation of the soil, the sowing of the seed, and the culture of the crop. So it must be in the spiritual sowing. The garden of the heart must be cultivated. The soil must be broken up by repentance. The evil growths that choke the good grain must be uprooted. As soil once overgrown with thorns can be reclaimed only by diligent labor, so the evil tendencies of the heart can be overcome only by earnest effort in the name and strength of Christ.  {CG 57.2}
[CG 57.3]          Growth in Grace.--Tell your children about the miracle-working power of God. As they study the great lesson book of nature, God will impress their minds. The farmer plows his land and sows his seed, but he cannot make the seed grow. He must depend on God to do that which no human power can do. The Lord puts His vital power into the seed, causing it to spring forth into life. Under His care the germ of life breaks through the hard crust encasing it, and springs up to bear fruit. First                                                                              58  appears the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. As the children are told of the work that God does for the seed, they learn the secret of growth in grace.  {CG 57.3}
[CG 58.1]          Rising Above Surroundings.--In America we have the fresh water lilies. These beautiful lilies come up pure, spotless, perfect, without a single mar. They come up through a mass of debris. I said to my son, "I want you to make an effort to get me the stem of that lily as near the root as possible. I want you to understand something about it."  {CG 58.1}
[CG 58.2]          He drew up a handful of lilies, and I looked at them. They were all full of open channels, and the stems were gathering the properties from the pure sands beneath, and these were being developed into the pure and spotless lily. It refused all the debris. It refused every unsightly thing, but there it was developed in its purity.  {CG 58.2}
[CG 58.3]          Now this is exactly the way that we are to educate our youth in this world. Let their minds and hearts be instructed who God is, who Jesus Christ is, and the sacrifice that He has made in our behalf. Let them draw the purity, the virtue, the grace, the courtesy, the love, the forbearance; let them draw it from the Source of all power.  {CG 58.3}
[CG 58.4]          Lessons in Trust and Perseverance.--"Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: . . . and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee." "Go to the ant; . . . consider her ways." "Behold the birds." "Consider the ravens." Job 12:7, 8; Proverbs 6:6; Matthew 6:26, American Standard Version; Luke 12:24.  {CG 58.4}
[CG 58.5]          We are not merely to tell the child about these creatures of God's. The animals themselves are to be his                                                                              59  teachers. The ants teach lessons of patient industry, of perseverance in surmounting obstacles, of providence for the future. And the birds are teachers of the sweet lesson of trust. Our heavenly Father provides for them; but they must gather the food, they must build their nests and rear their young. Every moment they are exposed to enemies that seek to destroy them. Yet how cheerily they go about their work! How full of joy are their little songs!  {CG 58.5}
[CG 59.1]          How beautiful the psalmist's description of God's care for the creatures of the woods--       "The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats;        And the rocks for the conies." Psalm 104:18.   He sends the springs to run among the hills, where the birds have their habitation and "sing among the branches." Psalm 104:12. All the creatures of the woods and hills are a part of His great household. He opens His hand and satisfies "the desire of every living thing." ［Psalm 145:16.］  {CG 59.1}
[CG 59.2]         The Insects Teach Industry.--The industrious bee gives to men of intelligence an example that they would do well to imitate. These insects observe perfect order, and no idler is allowed in the hive. They execute their appointed work with an intelligence and activity that are beyond our comprehension. . . . The wise man calls our attention to the small things of the earth: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise; which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." "The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." We may learn from these little teachers a lesson of faithfulness. Should we improve with the same diligence the faculties which an                                                                              60  all-wise Creator has bestowed upon us, how greatly would our capacities for usefulness be increased. God's eye is upon the smallest of His creatures; does He not, then, regard man formed in His image, and require of him corresponding returns for all the advantages He has given him?  {CG 59.2}
[CG 63.1]      Chap. Eight - Preparation is Needed         The Mother's Preparation Strangely Neglected.-- The child's first teacher is the mother. During the period of greatest susceptibility and most rapid development his education is to a great degree in her hands. To her first is given opportunity to mold the character for good or for evil. She should understand the value of her opportunity and, above every other teacher, should be qualified to use it to the best account. Yet there is no other to whose training so little thought is given. The one whose influence in education is most potent and far-reaching is the one for whose assistance there is the least systematic effort.  {CG 63.1}
[CG 63.2]          Careful, Thorough Preparation Urgent.--Those to whom the care of the little child is committed are too often ignorant of its physical needs; they know little of the laws of health or the principles of development. Nor are they better fitted to care for its mental and spiritual growth. They may be qualified to conduct business or to shine in society; they may have made creditable attainments in literature and science; but of the training of a child they have little knowledge. . . .  {CG 63.2}
[CG 63.3]          Upon fathers as well as mothers rests a responsibility for the child's earlier as well as its later training, and for both parents the demand for careful and thorough preparation is most urgent. Before taking upon themselves the possibilities of fatherhood and motherhood, men and women should become acquainted with the laws of physical development--with physiology and hygiene, with the bearing of prenatal influences, with the laws of                                                                              64  heredity, sanitation, dress, exercise, and the treatment of disease; they should also understand the laws of mental development and moral training. . . .  {CG 63.3}
[CG 64.1]          Never will education accomplish all that it might and should accomplish until the importance of the parents' work is fully recognized, and they receive a training for its sacred responsibilities.  {CG 64.1}
[CG 64.2]          Parents should study the laws of nature. They should become acquainted with the organism of the human body. They need to understand the functions of the various organs, and their relation and dependence. They should study the relation of the mental to the physical powers, and the conditions required for the healthy action of each. To assume the responsibilities of parenthood without such preparation is a sin.  {CG 64.2}
[CG 64.3]          "Who Is Sufficient?"--Parents may well inquire, "Who is sufficient for these things?" God alone is their sufficiency, and if they leave Him out of the question, seeking not His aid and counsel, hopeless indeed is their task. But by prayer, by study of the Bible, and by earnest zeal on their part, they may succeed nobly in this important duty, and be repaid a hundredfold for all their time and care. . . . The source of wisdom is open, from which they may draw all necessary knowledge in this direction.  {CG 64.3}
[CG 64.4]          At times the heart may be ready to faint; but a living sense of the dangers threatening the present and future happiness of their loved ones should lead Christian parents to seek more earnestly for help from the source of strength and wisdom. It should make them more circumspect, more decided, more calm yet firm, while they watch for these souls, as they that must give account.                                                                              65   {CG 64.4}
[CG 65.1]          Child Training Calls for Understanding God's Will.--Parents are without excuse if they fail to obtain a clear understanding of God's will, that they may obey the laws of His kingdom. Only thus can they lead their children to heaven. My brethren and sisters, it is your duty to understand God's requirements. How can you educate your children in the things of God unless you first know yourselves what is right and what is wrong, unless you realize that obedience means eternal life and disobedience eternal death?  {CG 65.1}
[CG 65.2]          We must make it our lifework to understand the will of God. Only as we do this can we train our children aright.  {CG 65.2}
[CG 65.3]          God's Manual With Full Instructions.--Parents cannot properly fulfill their responsibilities unless they take the Word of God as the rule of their life, unless they realize that they are to so educate and fashion the character of each dear human treasure that it may at last lay hold of eternal life.  {CG 65.3}
[CG 65.4]          The Bible, a volume rich in instruction, should be their textbook. If they train their children according to its precepts, they not only set their young feet in the right path, but they educate themselves in their most holy duties.  {CG 65.4}
[CG 65.5]          The work of parents is an important, a solemn, work; the duties devolving upon them are great. But if they will study the Word of God carefully, they will find in it full instructions and many precious promises made to them on condition that they perform their work faithfully and well.  {CG 65.5}
[CG 65.6]          Rules for Parents and Children.--God has given rules for the guidance of parents and children. These rules are to be strictly obeyed. The children are not to                                                                              66  be indulged and allowed to think that they can follow their own desires without asking the advice of their parents. . . .  {CG 65.6}
[CG 66.1]          From the rules that God has given for the guidance of parents and children, there can be no sinless swerving. God expects parents to give their children a training that is in accordance with the principles of His Word. Faith and works are to be combined. Everything that is done in the home life and in the school life must be done decently and in order.  {CG 66.1}
[CG 66.2]          To the Law and the Testimony.--The work of education in the home, if it is to accomplish all that God designs it shall, demands that parents be diligent students of the Scriptures. They must be learners of the great Teacher. Day by day the law of love and kindness must be upon their lips. Their lives must reveal the grace and truth that was seen in the life of their Example. Then a sanctified love will bind the hearts of parents and children together, and the youth will grow up established in the faith and rooted and grounded in the love of God.  {CG 66.2}
[CG 66.3]          When the will and ways of God become the will and ways of Seventh-day Adventist parents, their children will grow up to love and honor and obey God. Satan will not be able to gain control of their minds, for they have been educated to regard the Word of the Lord as supreme, and they will test every experience that comes to them by the law and the testimony.  {CG 66.3}
[CG 66.4]          If Negligent, Redeem the Time.--Parents should be studying the Word of God for themselves and for their families. But instead of this, many children are left to grow up untaught, unmanaged, unrestrained. Parents should now do everything in their power to redeem their                                                                              67  neglect and place their children where they will be under the very best influences.  {CG 66.4}
[CG 67.1]          Then search the Scriptures, parents. Be not only hearers; be doers of the Word. Meet God's standard in the education of your children.  {CG 67.1}
[CG 67.2]          The Guiding Rule: What Saith the Lord?--The work of all parents is to train their children in the way of the Lord. This is not a matter that can be trifled with, or set aside, without incurring the displeasure of God. We are not called upon to decide what course others shall pursue, or how we may get on the most easily, but, What saith the Lord? Neither parents nor children can have peace or happiness or rest of spirit in any false path. But when the fear of God reigns in the heart, combined with love for Jesus, peace and joy will be felt.  {CG 67.2}
[CG 67.3]          Parents, spread out the Word of God before Him who reads your heart and every secret thing, and inquire, What saith the Scripture? This must be the rule of your life. Those who have a love for souls will not be silent when they see their danger. We are assured that nothing but the truth of God can make parents savingly wise in dealing with human minds, and keep them so.  {CG 67.3}
[CG 67.4]          Individual Preparation.--If there is any post of duty above another which requires a cultivation of the mind, where the intellectual and physical powers require healthy tone and vigor, it is the training of children.  {CG 67.4}
[CG 67.5]          In view of the individual responsibility of mothers, every woman should develop a well-balanced mind and pure character, reflecting only the true, the good, and the beautiful. The wife and mother may bind her husband and children to her heart by an unremitting love,                                                                              68  shown in gentle words and courteous deportment, which, as a rule, will be copied by her children.  {CG 67.5}
[CG 68.1]          Mother, This Is Your Scared Work.--My sister, Christ has committed to you the sacred work of teaching His commandments to your children. In order to be fitted for this work, you must yourself live in obedience to all His precepts. Cultivate a watchful observance of every word and action. Guard most diligently your words. Overcome all hastiness of temper; for impatience, if manifested, will help the adversary to make the home life disagreeable and unpleasant for your children.  {CG 68.1}
[CG 68.2]          Work in Partnership With the Divine.--Mothers, let your hearts be open to receive the instruction of God, ever bearing in mind the fact that you must act your part in conforming to the will of God. You must place yourself in the light and seek from God wisdom, that you may know how to act, that you may acknowledge God as the chief worker, and realize that you are a laborer together with Him. Let your heart be drawn out in contemplation of heavenly things. Exercise your God-given talents in doing the duties which God has enjoined upon you as a mother, and work in partnership with divine agencies. Labor intelligently, and, "whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."  {CG 68.2}
[CG 68.3]          The mother should surrender herself and her children to the care of the compassionate Redeemer. Earnestly, patiently, courageously, she should seek to improve her own abilities, that she may use aright the highest powers of the mind in the training of her children. She should make it her highest aim to give her child an education which will receive the approval of God. As she takes up                                                                              69  her work understandingly, she will receive power to perform her part.  {CG 68.3}
[CG 69.1]          The mother should feel her need of the Holy Spirit's guidance, that she may herself have a genuine experience in submission to the way and will of the Lord. Then, through the grace of Christ, she can be a wise, gentle, loving teacher of her children.  {CG 69.1}
[CG 69.2]          If You Have Begun Wrong.--To parents who have begun their training wrong, I would say, Do not despair. You need to be soundly converted to God. You need the true spirit of obedience to the Word of God. You must make decided reforms in your own customs and practices, conforming your life to the saving principles of the law of God. When you do this, you will have the righteousness of Christ which pervades that law, because you love God and recognize His law as a transcript of His character. True faith in the merits of Christ is not fancy. It is of the highest importance that you bring the attributes of Christ into your own life and character, and educate and train your children with persevering effort to be obedient to the commandments of God. A "Thus saith the Lord" should guide you in all your plans of education. . . .  {CG 69.2}
[CG 69.3]          Let there be a deep and thorough repentance before God. Commence the year . . . by earnestly seeking God for grace, for spiritual discernment to discover the defects in the work of the past. Repent before God for your neglected work as home missionaries.  {CG 69.3}
[CG 69.4]          This is your day of trust, your day of responsibility and opportunity. Soon will come your day of reckoning. Take up your work with earnest prayer and faithful endeavor. Teach your children that it is their privilege to receive                                                                              70  every day the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Let Christ find you His helping hand to carry out His purposes. By prayer you may gain an experience that will make your ministry for your children a perfect success.  {CG 69.4}
[CG 71.1]       Chap. Nine - A Call for Self-Improvement         Continual Advancement Necessary.--The mother's work is such that it demands continual advancement in her own life, in order that she may lead her children to higher and still higher attainments. But Satan lays his plans to secure the souls of both parents and children. Mothers are drawn away from the duties of home and the careful training of their little ones, to the service of self and the world.  {CG 71.1}
[CG 71.2]          For the sake of their children, if for no other reason, mothers should cultivate their intellects, for they bear a greater responsibility in their work than does the king upon his throne. Few mothers feel the weight of the trust that is given them, or realize the efficiency they can attain for their peculiar work through patient, thorough effort in self-culture.  {CG 71.2}
[CG 71.3]          And first, the mother needs to strictly discipline and cultivate all the faculties and affections of the mind and heart, that she may not have a distorted or one-sided character and leave the marks of her deficiency or eccentricity upon her offspring. Many mothers need ［to］ be roused to see the positive necessity of a change in their purposes and characters in order to perform acceptably the duties they have voluntarily assumed by entering upon the married life. The channel of woman's usefulness can be widened and her influence extended to an almost unlimited degree if she will give proper attention to these matters, which affect the destiny of the human race.  {CG 71.3}
[CG 71.4]          Constantly Increase in Wisdom and Efficiency.-- Mothers, above all others, should accustom themselves                                                                              72  to thought and investigation if they would increase in wisdom and efficiency. Those who persevere in this course will soon perceive that they are acquiring the faculty in which they thought themselves deficient; they are learning to form aright the characters of their children. The result of the labor and thought given to this work will be seen in their obedience, their simplicity, their modesty and purity. This result will richly repay all the effort made.  {CG 71.4}
[CG 72.1]          God would have mothers seek constantly to improve both the mind and the heart. They should feel that they have a work to do for Him in the education and training of their children, and the more perfectly they can improve their own powers, the more efficient will they become in their work as parents.  {CG 72.1}
[CG 72.2]          Parents Should Grow Intellectually and Morally.-- It is the duty of mothers to cultivate their minds and keep their hearts pure. They should improve every means within their reach for their intellectual and moral improvement, that they may be qualified to improve the minds of their children.  {CG 72.2}
[CG 72.3]          Parents should be constant learners in the school of Christ. They need freshness and power, that with the simplicity of Christ they may teach the younger members of God's family the knowledge of His will.  {CG 72.3}
[CG 72.4]          The Amazing Power of Christian Culture.--Parents have not yet aroused to understand the amazing power of Christian culture. There are mines of truth to be worked that have been strangely neglected. This careless indifference does not meet the approval of God. Parents, God calls upon you to look at this matter with anointed eyes. You have as yet only skimmed the surface. Take up                                                                              73  your long-neglected work, and God will co-operate with you. Do your work with wholeheartedness, and God will help you to make improvement. Begin by bringing the gospel into the home life.  {CG 72.4}
[CG 73.1]          We are now in God's workshop. Many of us are rough stones from the quarry. But as the truth of God is brought to bear upon us, every imperfection is removed and we are prepared to shine as lively stones in the heavenly temple, where we shall be brought into association, not only with the holy angels, but with the King of heaven Himself.  {CG 73.1}
[CG 73.2]          The Aim--Perfection.--Mothers, will you not dispense with useless, unimportant labor for that which must perish with the using? Will you not seek to draw near to God, that His wisdom may guide and His grace assist you, in a work which will be as enduring as eternity? Aim to make your children perfect in character. Remember that such only can see God. . . .  {CG 73.2}
[CG 73.3]          Many parents are neglecting their God-given work. They are themselves far from purity and holiness, and they do not see the defects of their children as they would if their own eyes were beholding and admiring the perfection of Christ's character.  {CG 73.3}
[CG 73.4]          How to Become an Ideal Mother.--Instead of sinking into a mere household drudge, let the wife and mother take time to read, to keep herself well informed, to be a companion to her husband, and to keep in touch with the developing minds of her children. Let her use wisely the opportunities now hers to influence her dear ones for the higher life. Let her take time to make the dear Saviour a daily companion and familiar friend. Let her take time for the study of His Word, take time                                                                              74  to go with the children into the fields and learn of God through the beauty of His works.  {CG 73.4}
[CG 74.1]          Let her keep cheerful and buoyant. Instead of spending every moment in endless sewing, make the evening a pleasant social season, a family reunion after the day's duties. Many a man would thus be led to choose the society of his home before that of the clubhouse or the saloon. Many a boy would be kept from the street or the corner grocery. Many a girl would be saved from frivolous, misleading associations. The influence of the home would be to parents and children what God designed it should be, a lifelong blessing.  {CG 74.1}
[CG 74.2]          Make a Success of Domestic Life--Counsel to a Mother.--You should not follow your own inclinations. You should be very careful to set a right example in all things. Do not be inactive. Arouse your dormant energies. Make yourself a necessity to your husband by being attentive and helpful. Be a blessing to him in everything. Take up the duties essential to be done. Study how to perform with alacrity the plain, uninteresting, homely, but most needful duties which relate to domestic life. . . .  {CG 74.2}
[CG 74.3]          Try to make a success of your domestic life. It means more to fill the position of wife and mother than you have thought. . . . You need the culture and experience of domestic life. You need the variety, the stir, the earnest effort, the cultivation of the will power, that this life brings.  {CG 74.3}
[CG 74.4]          Parents Who Are Too Busy.--Many parents plead that they have so much to do that they have no time to improve their minds, to educate their children for                                                                              75  practical life, or to teach them how they may become lambs of Christ's fold.  {CG 74.4}
[CG 75.1]          Parents must not neglect to arm their own minds against sin, to guard against that which will not only ruin themselves, but transmit pain and every kind of misery and evil to their offspring. By correctly educating themselves, parents are to teach their children that the heavens do rule.  {CG 75.1}
[CG 75.2]          Parents Should Welcome Counsel.--While they sleep in godless indifference, Satan is sowing in the hearts of their children seeds which will spring up to bear a harvest of death. Yet often such parents resent counsel as to their mistakes. They act as though they would like to ask those who offer advice, What right have you to meddle with my children? But are their children not God's children also? How does He regard their wicked neglect of duty? What excuse will they offer when He asks them why they brought children into the world, and then left them to be the sport of Satan's temptations?  {CG 75.2}
[CG 75.3]          Be prepared to listen to counsel from others. Do not feel that it is no business of your brethren or sisters how you treat your children, or how your children conduct themselves.  {CG 75.3}
[CG 75.4]          Benefits of Meetings for Mutual Counsel. ［NOTE: REFERENCE IS HERE MADE TO GROUP STUDY AS IN CAMP MEETING.］--God has committed to our hands a most sacred work, and we need to meet together to receive instruction, that we may be fitted to perform this work. . . . We need to meet together and receive the divine touch that we may understand our work in the home. Parents need to understand                                                                              76  how they may send forth from the sanctuary of the home their sons and daughters so trained and educated that they will be fitted to shine as lights in the world.  {CG 75.4}
[CG 76.1]         From the camp meeting we may take with us a better understanding of our home duties. There are lessons to be learned here regarding the work the Lord would have our sisters do in their homes. They are to learn to cultivate politeness of speech when speaking to husband and children. They are to study how they may help to bring every member of the family under discipline to God. Let fathers and mothers realize that they are under obligation to make home pleasant and attractive, and that obedience is not to be obtained by scolding and threats. Many parents have yet to learn that no good is accomplished by outbursts of scolding. Many do not consider the need of speaking kindly to the children. They do not remember that these little ones are bought with a price and are the purchased possession of the Lord Jesus.  {CG 76.1}
[CG 79.1]       Chap. Ten - The Key to Happiness and Success         Happiness Dependent on Obedience.--Let fathers, mothers, and the educators in our schools remember that it is a higher branch of education to teach children obedience. Altogether too little importance is attached to this line of education.  {CG 79.1}
[CG 79.2]          Children will be happier, far happier, under proper discipline than if left to do as their untrained impulses suggest.  {CG 79.2}
[CG 79.3]          Prompt and continual obedience to wise parental rule will promote the happiness of the children themselves, as well as the honor of God and the good of society. Children should learn that in submission to the laws of the household is their perfect liberty. Christians will learn the same lesson--that in their obedience to God's law is their perfect freedom.  {CG 79.3}
[CG 79.4]          The will of God is the law of heaven. As long as that law was the rule of life, all the family of God were holy and happy. But when the divine law was disobeyed, then envy, jealousy, and strife were introduced, and a part of the inhabitants of heaven fell. As long as God's law is revered in our earthly homes, the family will be happy.  {CG 79.4}
[CG 79.5]          Disobedience Caused Loss of Eden.--The history of Adam and Eve's disobedience in the very beginning of this earth's history is fully given. By that one act of disobedience our first parents lost their beautiful Eden home. And it was such a little thing! We have reason to                                                                              80  be thankful that it was not a larger matter, because if it had been, little disregards in disobedience would have been multiplied. It was the least test that God could give the holy pair in Eden.  {CG 79.5}
[CG 80.1]          Disobedience and transgression are ever a great offense to God. Unfaithfulness in that which is least will soon, if uncorrected, lead to transgression in that which is great. It is not the greatness of the disobedience, but the disobedience itself which is the crime.  {CG 80.1}
[CG 80.2]          The Foundation of Temporal and Spiritual Prosperity.--Temporal and spiritual prosperity are made conditional upon obedience to the law of God. But we do not read God's Word, and thus become familiar with the terms of the blessing that is to be given to all who hearken diligently to God's law and teach it diligently in their families. Obedience to God's Word is our life, our happiness. We look upon the world and see it groaning under the wickedness and violence of men who have degraded the law of God. He has withdrawn His blessing from orchard and vineyard. Were it not for His commandment-keeping people who live upon the earth, He would not stay His judgments. He extends His mercy because of the righteous, who love and fear Him.  {CG 80.2}
[CG 80.3]          Guide the Children Into Paths of Obedience.--A sacred duty rests upon parents to guide their children into paths of strict obedience. True happiness in this life and in the future life depends upon obedience to a "Thus saith the Lord." Parents, let Christ's life be the pattern. Satan will devise every possible means to break down this high standard of piety as one altogether too strict. It is your work to impress upon your children in their early years the thought that they are formed in the image of                                                                              81  God. Christ came to this world to give them a living example of what they all must be, and parents who claim to believe the truth for this time are to teach their children to love God and to obey His law. This is the greatest and most important work that fathers and mothers can do. . . . It is God's design that even the children and youth shall understand intelligently what God requires, that they may distinguish between righteousness and sin, between obedience and disobedience.  {CG 80.3}
[CG 81.1]          Obedience to Become a Delight.--Parents should educate their children line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, not allowing any disregard of God's holy law. They should rely upon divine power, asking the Lord to help them to keep their children true to Him who gave His only-begotten Son to bring the disloyal and disobedient back to their allegiance. God longs to pour upon men and women the rich current of His love. He longs to see them delighting to do His will, using every jot of their entrusted powers in His service, teaching all who come within the sphere of their influence that the way to be treated as righteous for Christ's sake is to obey the law.  {CG 81.1}
[CG 82.1]       Chap. Eleven - To be Taught from Babyhood         Begin the Teaching Early.--Obedience to parental authority should be inculcated in babyhood and cultivated in youth.  {CG 82.1}
[CG 82.2]          Some parents think that they can let their little ones have their own way in their babyhood, and then when they get older, they will reason with them; but this is a mistake. Begin in the baby life to teach obedience. . . . Require obedience in your home school.  {CG 82.2}
[CG 82.3]          From their earliest life children should be taught to obey their parents, to respect their word, and to reverence their authority.  {CG 82.3}
[CG 82.4]          Before Reason Is Developed.--One of the first lessons a child needs to learn is the lesson of obedience. Before he is old enough to reason, he may be taught to obey.  {CG 82.4}
[CG 82.5]          The mother's work should commence with the infant. She should subdue the will and temper of the child and bring its disposition into subjection. Teach it to obey, and as the child grows older, relax not the hand.  {CG 82.5}
[CG 82.6]          Before Self-will Grows Strong.--Few parents begin early enough to teach their children obedience. The child is usually allowed to get two or three years the start of its parents, who forbear to discipline it, thinking it is too young to learn to obey. But all this time self is growing strong in the little being, and every day makes it a harder task for the parent to gain control of the child.  {CG 82.6}
[CG 82.7]          At a very early age children can comprehend what is plainly and simply told them, and, by kind and judicious                                                                              83  management, can be taught to obey. . . . The mother should not allow her child to gain an advantage over her in a single instance; and, in order to maintain this authority, it is not necessary to resort to harsh measures; a firm, steady hand and a kindness which convinces the child of your love will accomplish the purpose. But let selfishness, anger, and self-will have their course for the first three years of a child's life, and it will be hard to bring it to submit to wholesome discipline. Its disposition has become soured; it delights in having its own way; parental control is distasteful. These evil tendencies grow with its growth, until, in manhood, supreme selfishness and a lack of self-control place him at the mercy of the evils that run riot in our land.  {CG 82.7}
[CG 83.1]          Never should they ［the children］ be allowed to show their parents disrespect. Self-will should never be permitted to go unrebuked. The future well-being of the child requires kindly, loving, but firm discipline.  {CG 83.1}
[CG 83.2]          Obedience to Parents Leads to Obedience to God.-- The youth and children who have praying parents have been greatly privileged, for such have an opportunity to know and love God. In respecting and rendering obedience to their parents, they may learn how to respect and obey their heavenly Father. If they walk as children of the light, they will be kind and courteous, loving and respectful, to their parents, whom they have seen, and thus be better qualified to love God, whom they have not seen. If they are faithful representatives of their parents, practicing the truth through the help given them of God, then by precept and example they acknowledge the ownership of God and honor Him by a well-ordered life and godly conversation.                                                                              84   {CG 83.2}
[CG 84.1]          Only the Obedient Enter Heaven.--Let parents and teachers impress upon the minds of the children that the Lord is proving them in this life, to see if they will render obedience to Him with love and reverence. Those who would not be obedient to Christ here would not obey Him in the eternal world.  {CG 84.1}
[CG 84.2]          If parents or children are ever welcomed into the mansions above, it will be because they have in this world learned to obey the commands of God.  {CG 84.2}
[CG 85.1]       Chap. Twelve - Obedience Must Become a Habit         Use Gentle but Persistent Effort.--Children are to be taught that their capabilities were given them for the honor and glory of God. To this end they must learn the lesson of obedience. . . . By gentle, persistent effort the habit should be established. Thus to a great degree may be prevented those later conflicts between will and authority that do so much to arouse in the minds of the youth alienation and bitterness toward parents and teachers, and too often resistance of all authority, human and divine.  {CG 85.1}
[CG 85.2]          Allow No Arguments or Evasions.--The first care of the parents should be to establish good government in the family. The word of the parents should be law, precluding all arguments or evasions. Children should be taught from infancy to implicitly obey their parents.  {CG 85.2}
[CG 85.3]          Strict discipline may at times cause dissatisfaction, and children will want their own way; yet where they have learned the lesson of obedience to their parents, they are better prepared to submit to the requirements of God. Thus the training received in childhood influences the religious experience and molds the character of the man.  {CG 85.3}
[CG 85.4]          Permit No Exceptions.--As teachers in their own family, parents are to see that the rules are not disobeyed. . . . By allowing their children to go on in disobedience, they fail to exercise proper discipline. Children must be brought to the point of submission and obedience. Disobedience must not be allowed. Sin lies at the door of the parents who allow their children to                                                                              86  disobey. . . . Children are to understand that they are to obey.  {CG 85.4}
[CG 86.1]          Require Prompt, Perfect Obedience.--When parents fail to require prompt and perfect obedience in their children, they fail to lay the right foundation of character in their little ones. They prepare their children to dishonor them when they are old, and bring sorrow to their hearts when they are nearing the grave.  {CG 86.1}
[CG 86.2]          Requirements Should Be Reasonable.--The requirements of the parents should always be reasonable; kindness should be expressed, not by foolish indulgence, but by wise direction. Parents are to teach their children pleasantly, without scolding or faultfinding, seeking to bind the hearts of the little ones to them by silken cords of love. Let all, fathers and mothers, teachers, elder brothers and sisters, become an educating force to strengthen every spiritual interest, and to bring into the home and the school life a wholesome atmosphere, which will help the younger children to grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  {CG 86.2}
[CG 86.3]          In our own training of children, and in the training of children of others, we have proved that they never love parents and guardians less for restraining them from doing evil.  {CG 86.3}
[CG 86.4]          Reasons for Obedience Should Be Given.--Children are to learn to obey in the family government. They are to form a symmetrical character that God can approve, maintaining law in the home life. Christian parents are to educate their children to obey the law of God. . . . The reasons for this obedience and respect for the law of God may be impressed upon the children as soon as they                                                                              87  can understand its nature, so that they will know what they should do, and what they should abstain from doing.  {CG 86.4}
[CG 87.1]          The Parent's Word Should Be Law.--Your children, that are under your control, should be made to mind you. Your word should be their law.  {CG 87.1}
[CG 87.2]          Many Christian parents fail to command their children after them, and then wonder that their children are perverse, disobedient, unthankful, and unholy. Such parents are under the rebuke of God. They have neglected to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They have failed to teach them the first lesson of Christianity: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." "Foolishness," says the wise man, "is bound in the heart of a child." The love of folly, the desire to do evil, the hatred of holy things, are some of the difficulties that parents must meet in the home mission field. . . .  {CG 87.2}
[CG 87.3]          In the strength of God, parents must arise and command their households after them. They must learn to repress wrong with a firm hand, yet without impatience or passion. They should not leave the children to guess at what is right, but should point out the way in unmistakable terms and teach them to walk therein.  {CG 87.3}
[CG 87.4]          Influence of One Disobedient Child.--One disobedient child will do great harm to those with whom he associates, for he will fashion other children after his own pattern.  {CG 87.4}
[CG 87.5]          Winking at Sin.--Teach your children to honor you, because the law of God lays this duty upon children. If you allow your children to lightly esteem your wishes                                                                              88  and pay no regard to the laws of the household, you are winking at sin; you are permitting the devil to work as he will; and the same insubordination, want of reverence, and love of self will be carried with them even into the religious life and into the church. And the beginning of all this evil is charged in the books of heaven to the neglect of the parents.  {CG 87.5}
[CG 88.1]          Habit of Obedience Established by Repetition.-- Lessons on obedience, on respect for authority, need to be often repeated. This kind of work done in the family will be a power for good, and not only will the children be restrained from evil and constrained to love truth and righteousness, but parents will be equally benefited. This kind of work which the Lord requires cannot be done without much serious contemplation on their part, and much study of the Word of God, in order that they may instruct according to His directions.  {CG 88.1}
[CG 91.1]       Chap. Thirteen - Self-Control         Prepare Children for Life and Its Duties.--Well may the mother inquire with deep anxiety, as she looks upon the children given to her care, What is the great aim and object of their education? Is it to fit them for life and its duties, to qualify them to take an honorable position in the world, to do good, to benefit their fellow-beings, to gain eventually the reward of the righteous? If so, then the first lesson to be taught them is self-control; for no undisciplined, headstrong person can hope for success in this world or reward in the next.  {CG 91.1}
[CG 91.2]          Train the Child to Yield.--The little ones, before they are a year old, hear and understand what is spoken in reference to themselves, and know to what extent they are to be indulged. Mothers, you should train your children to yield to your wishes. This point must be gained if you would hold the control over your children, and preserve your dignity as a mother. Your children quickly learn just what you expect of them, they know when their will conquers yours, and will make the most of their victory.  {CG 91.2}
[CG 91.3]          It is the veriest cruelty to allow wrong habits to be developed, to give the law into the hands of the child and let him rule.  {CG 91.3}
[CG 91.4]          Do Not Gratify Selfish Wishes.--If parents are not careful, they will treat their children in such a way as will lead the children to demand attention and privileges that will call for the parents to deprive themselves in order to indulge their little ones. The children will call                                                                              92  upon the parents to do things for them, to gratify their wishes, and the parents will concede to their wishes, regardless of the fact that it is inculcating selfishness in their children. But in doing this work parents are wronging their children, and will find out afterwards how difficult a thing it is to counteract the influence of the education of the first few years in a child's life. Children need to learn early that they cannot be gratified when selfishness prompts their wishes.  {CG 91.4}
[CG 92.1]          Give Nothing for Which Children Cry.--One precious lesson which the mother will need to repeat again and again is that the child is not to rule; he is not the master, but her will and her wishes are to be supreme. Thus she is teaching them self-control. Give them nothing for which they cry, even if your tender heart desires ever so much to do this; for if they gain the victory once by crying they will expect to do it again. The second time the battle will be more vehement.  {CG 92.1}
[CG 92.2]          Never Permit Display of Angry Passions.--Among the first tasks of the mother is the restraining of passion in her little ones. Children should not be allowed to manifest anger; they should not be permitted to throw themselves upon the floor, striking and crying because something has been denied them which was not for their best good. I have been distressed as I have seen how many parents indulge their children in the display of angry passions. Mothers seem to look upon these outbursts of anger as something that must be endured, and appear indifferent to the child's behavior. But if an evil is permitted once, it will be repeated, and its repetition will result in habit, and so the child's character will receive an evil mold.                                                                              93   {CG 92.2}
[CG 93.1]          When to Rebuke the Evil Spirit.--I have often seen the little one throw itself and scream if its will was crossed in any way. This is the time to rebuke the evil spirit. The enemy will try to control the minds of our children, but shall we allow him to mold them according to his will? These little ones cannot discern what spirit is influencing them, and it is the duty of parents to exercise judgment and discretion for them. Their habits must be carefully watched. Evil tendencies are to be restrained, and the mind stimulated in favor of the right. The child should be encouraged in every effort to govern itself.  {CG 93.1}
[CG 93.2]          Begin With the "Songs of Bethlehem."--Mothers should educate their babies in their arms after correct principles and habits. They should not allow them to pound their heads on the floor. . . . Let the mothers educate them in their infancy. Commence with the songs of Bethlehem. These soft tunes will have a quieting influence. Sing them these subdued tunes in regard to Christ and His love.  {CG 93.2}
[CG 93.3]          No Wavering or Indecision.--Perverse temper should be checked in the child as soon as possible; for the longer this duty is delayed, the more difficult it is to accomplish. Children of quick, passionate disposition need the special care of their parents. They should be dealt with in a particularly kind but firm manner; there should be no wavering or indecision on the part of the parents in their case. The traits of character which would naturally check the growth of their peculiar faults should be carefully nourished and strengthened. Indulgence of the child of passionate and perverse disposition will result in his ruin. His faults will strengthen with his years, retard the                                                                              94  development of his mind, and overbalance all the good and noble traits of his character.  {CG 93.3}
[CG 94.1]          An Example of Parental Self-control Is Vital.-- Some parents have not control over themselves. They do not control their own morbid appetites or their passionate temper; therefore they cannot educate their children in regard to the denial of their appetite, and teach them self-control.  {CG 94.1}
[CG 94.2]          If parents desire to teach their children self-control, they must first form the habit themselves. The scolding and faultfinding of parents encourages a hasty, passionate temper in their children.  {CG 94.2}
[CG 94.3]          Weary Not in Well-doing.--Parents are too fond of ease and pleasure to do the work appointed them of God in their home life. We should not see the terrible state of evil that exists among the youth of today if they had been properly trained at home. If parents would take up their God-given work and would teach self-restraint, self-denial, and self-control to their children, both by precept and example, they would find that while they were seeking to do their duty, so as to meet the approval of God, they would be learning precious lessons in the school of Christ. They would be learning patience, forbearance, love, and meekness; and these are the very lessons that they must teach to their children.  {CG 94.3}
[CG 94.4]          After the moral sensibilities of the parents are aroused, and they take up their neglected work with renewed energy, they should not become discouraged or allow themselves to be hindered in the work. Too many become weary in well-doing. When they find that it requires taxing effort, and constant self-control, and increased grace, as well as knowledge, to meet the unexpected                                                                              95  emergencies that arise, they become disheartened, and give up the struggle, and let the enemy of souls have his own way. Day after day, month after month, year after year, the work is to go on, till the character of your child is formed, and the habits established in the right way. You should not give up and leave your families to drift along in a loose, ungoverned manner.  {CG 94.4}
[CG 95.1]          Never Lose Control of Yourselves.--Never should we lose control of ourselves. Let us ever keep before us the perfect Pattern. It is a sin to speak impatiently and fretfully or to feel angry--even though we do not speak. We are to walk worthy, giving a right representation of Christ. The speaking of an angry word is like flint striking flint: it at once kindles wrathful feelings.  {CG 95.1}
[CG 95.2]          Never be like a chestnut bur. In the home do not allow yourself to use harsh, rasping words. You should invite the heavenly Guest to come into your home, at the same time making it possible for Him and the heavenly angels to abide with you. You should receive the righteousness of Christ, the sanctification of the Spirit of God, the beauty of holiness, that you may reveal to those around you the Light of life.  {CG 95.2}
[CG 95.3]          "He that is slow to anger," says the wise man, "is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city." The man or woman who preserves the balance of the mind when tempted to indulge passion stands higher in the sight of God and heavenly angels than the most renowned general that ever led an army to battle and to victory. Said a celebrated emperor when on his dying bed, "Among all my conquests there is but one which affords me any consolation now, and that is the conquest I have gained over my own turbulent temper."                                                                              96  Alexander and Caesar found it easier to subdue a world than to subdue themselves. After conquering nation after nation, they fell--one of them "the victim of intemperance, the other of mad ambition."  {CG 95.3}
[CG 97.1]      Chap. Fourteen - Quietness, Respect, and Reverence         Repress Undue Noise and Turbulence.--Let not a mother allow her mind to be occupied with too many things. . . . With the greatest diligence and the closest watchfulness she must care for the little ones who, if allowed, will follow every impulse springing out of the fullness of their unpracticed, ignorant hearts. In their exuberance of spirit they will give utterance to noise and turbulence in the home. This should be checked. Children will be just as happy if they are educated not to do these things. They are to be taught that when visitors come, they are to be quiet and respectful.  {CG 97.1}
[CG 97.2]          Let Quietness Reign in the Home.--Fathers and mothers, . . . teach your children that they must be subordinate to law. Do not allow them to think that because they are children, it is their privilege to make all the noise they wish in the house. Wise rules and regulations must be made and enforced, that the beauty of the home life may not be spoiled.  {CG 97.2}
[CG 97.3]          Parents do their children great wrong when they allow them to scream and cry. They should not be allowed to be careless and boisterous. If these objectionable traits of character are not checked in their early years, the children will take them with them, strengthened and developed, into religious and business life. Children will be just as happy if they are taught to be quiet in the house.                                                                              98   {CG 97.3}
[CG 98.1]          Teach Respect for Experienced Judgment.--Children should be taught to respect experienced judgment. They should be so educated that their minds will be united with the minds of their parents and teachers, and so instructed that they can see the propriety of heeding their counsel. Then when they go forth from the guiding hand, their characters will not be like the reed trembling in the wind.  {CG 98.1}
[CG 98.2]          Parental Laxness Encourages Disrespect.--If in their own homes children are allowed to be disrespectful, disobedient, unthankful, and peevish, their sins lie at the door of their parents.  {CG 98.2}
[CG 98.3]          The mother . . . is to rule her household wisely, in the dignity of her motherhood. Her influence in the home is to be paramount; her word, law. If she is a Christian, under God's control, she will command the respect of her children. Tell your children exactly what you require of them.  {CG 98.3}
[CG 98.4]          When parents do not maintain their authority, when the children go to school, they have no particular respect for the teachers or principal of the school. The reverence and respect that they should have, they were never taught to have at home. Father and mother were on the same level with the children.  {CG 98.4}
[CG 98.5]          Results of Unchecked Impertinence.--Show respect for your children, and do not allow them to speak one disrespectful word to you.  {CG 98.5}
[CG 98.6]          A Wise Youthful Attitude.--Wise is that young man and highly blest who feels it to be his duty, if he has parents, to look up to them, and if he has not, who regards his guardian, or those with whom he lives, as counselors, as comforters, and in some respects as his                                                                              99  rulers, and who allows the restraints of his home to abide upon him.  {CG 98.6}
[CG 99.1]          Reverence to Be Carefully Cherished. ［NOTE: FOR A FULLER TREATMENT OF THIS SUBJECT, SEE CHAPTER 80, "REVERENCE FOR THAT WHICH IS HOLY."］--Reverence . . . is a grace that should be carefully cherished. Every child should be taught to show true reverence for God.  {CG 99.1}
[CG 99.2]         The Lord desires us to understand that we must place our children in right relation to the world, the church, and the family. Their relation to the family is the first point to be considered. Let us teach them to be polite to one another, and polite to God. "What do you mean," you may inquire, "by saying that we should teach them to be polite to God?" I mean that they are to be taught to reverence our heavenly Father and to appreciate the great and infinite sacrifice that Christ has made in our behalf. . . . Parents and children are to sustain so close a relation to God that the heavenly angels can communicate with them. These messengers are shut out from many a home where iniquity and impoliteness to God abound. Let us catch from His Word the spirit of heaven and bring it into our life here below.  {CG 99.2}
[CG 99.3]          How to Teach Reverence.--Parents can and should interest their children in the varied knowledge found in the sacred pages. But if they would interest their sons and daughters in the Word of God, they must be interested in it themselves. They must be familiar with its teachings and, as God commanded Israel, speak of it "when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."                                                                              100  Deuteronomy 11:19. Those who desire their children to love and reverence God must talk of His goodness, His majesty, and His power, as revealed in His Word and in the works of creation.  {CG 99.3}
[CG 100.1]          Reverence Is Revealed by Obedience.--Let children be shown that true reverence is revealed by obedience. God has commanded nothing that is unessential, and there is no other way of manifesting reverence so pleasing to Him as by obedience to that which He has spoken.  {CG 100.1}
[CG 101.1]       Chap. Fifteen - Care in Handling Property         Repress Destructive Tendencies.--Education must be all-round and uniform. Every mother needs to be diligent. She must allow nothing to divert her mind. She must not allow her children to follow their uneducated will in handling things in the home. They should be taught that they are not to keep the house in perpetual disorder by handling things for their own amusement. Mothers, teach your children from their earliest years that they are not to look upon everything in the home as playthings for them. By these little things order is taught. No matter what fuss the children may make, let not the organ of destruction, which is large in babyhood and childhood, be strengthened and cultivated. "Thou shalt," and "Thou shalt not," God says. Without loss of temper, but decidedly, parents are to say to their children, No, and mean it.  {CG 101.1}
[CG 101.2]          With firmness they are to refuse to allow everything in the home to be handled freely and thrown about on the floor or in the dirt. Those who allow a child to pursue such a course are doing him a great wrong. He may not be a bad child, but his education is making him very troublesome and destructive.  {CG 101.2}
[CG 101.3]          Teach Respect for Others' Property.--Some parents allow their children to be destructive, to use as playthings things which they have no right to touch. Children should be taught that they must not handle the property of other people. For the comfort and happiness of the family, they must learn to observe the rules of propriety.                                                                              102  Children are no happier when they are allowed to handle everything they see. If they are not educated to be caretaking, they will grow up with unlovely, destructive traits of character.  {CG 101.3}
[CG 102.1]          Strong and Durable Playthings.--Do not give the children playthings that are easily broken. To do this is to teach lessons in destructiveness. Let them have a few playthings, and let these be strong and durable. Such suggestions, small though they may seem, mean much in the education of the child.  {CG 102.1}
[CG 103.1]       Chap. Sixteen - Health Principles         Begin Health Education Early.--The Creator of man has arranged the living machinery of our bodies. Every function is wonderfully and wisely made. And God has pledged Himself to keep this human machinery in healthful action if the human agent will obey His laws and co-operate with God. . . .  We may behold and admire the work of God in the natural world, but the human habitation is the most wonderful.  {CG 103.1}
[CG 103.2]         From the first dawn of reason, the human mind should become intelligent in regard to the physical structure. Here Jehovah has given a specimen of Himself, for man was made in the image of God.  {CG 103.2}
[CG 103.3]          The first study of the young should be to know  themselves and how to keep their bodies in health.  {CG 103.3}
[CG 103.4]          Lessons of Primary Importance.--In the early education of children, many parents and teachers fail to understand that the greatest attention needs to be given to the physical constitution, that a healthy condition of body and brain can be secured.  {CG 103.4}
[CG 103.5]          The future happiness of your families and the welfare of society depend largely upon the physical and moral education which your children receive in the first years of their life.  {CG 103.5}
[CG 103.6]          Parents to Understand and Teach Physiology.--If parents themselves would obtain knowledge and feel the importance of putting it to a practical use in the education of their dear children, we should see a different order of things among youth and children. The children need                                                                              104  to be instructed in regard to their own bodies. There are but few youth who have any definite knowledge of the mysteries of human life. They know but little about the living machinery. Says David, "I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  {CG 103.6}
[CG 104.1]          Teach your children to study from cause to effect; show them that if they violate the laws of their being, they must pay the penalty by suffering disease. If in your effort you can see no special improvement, be not discouraged; patiently instruct, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. . . . Press on until the victory is gained. Continue to teach your children in regard to their own bodies, and how to take care of them. Recklessness in regard to bodily health tends to recklessness in moral character.  {CG 104.1}
[CG 104.2]          Healthful Living Should Be a Family Matter.-- Healthful living must be made a family matter. Parents should awake to their God-given responsibilities. Let them study the principles of health reform and teach their children that the path of self-denial is the only path of safety. The mass of the inhabitants of the world by their disregard of physical law are destroying their power of self-control and unfitting themselves to appreciate eternal realities. Willingly ignorant of their own structure, they lead their children in the path of self-indulgence, thus preparing the way for them to suffer the penalty of the transgression of nature's laws.  {CG 104.2}
[CG 104.3]          Physical Training Should Be Given.--Physical training, the development of the body, is far more easily given than spiritual training. The nursery, the playground, the workshop; the sowing of the seed, and the gathering of the harvest--all these give physical training.                                                                              105  Under ordinarily favorable circumstances a child naturally gains healthful vigor and a proper development of the bodily organs. Yet even in physical lines the child should be carefully trained.  {CG 104.3}
[CG 105.1]          Obedience to Nature's Laws Brings Health and Happiness.--Our children should be instructed that they may be intelligent in regard to their own physical organism. They can at an early age, by patient instruction, be made to understand that they should be made to obey the laws of their being if they would be free from pain and disease. They should understand that their lives cannot be useful if they are crippled by disease. Neither can they please God if they bring sickness upon themselves by the disregard of nature's laws.  {CG 105.1}
[CG 106.1]       Chap. Seventeen - Cleanliness         God Is Particular.--The Lord commanded the children of Israel to wash their clothes and put away all impurity from their encampment, lest in passing by He should see their uncleanness. God is passing by our homes today, and He looks upon the unsanitary conditions of families and the lax habits. Had we not better reform, and that without delay?  {CG 106.1}
[CG 106.2]          Parents, God has made you His agents, that you may instill right principles in the minds of your children. You have in trust the Lord's little ones, and that God who was so particular that the children of Israel should grow up with habits of cleanliness will not sanction any impurity in the home today. God has given you the work of educating your children in these lines, and in training your children in habits of cleanliness, you teach them spiritual lessons. They will see that God would have them clean in heart as well as in body, and will be led to an understanding of the pure principles which God designs should prompt every act of their lives.  {CG 106.2}
[CG 106.3]          If God was so particular to enjoin cleanliness upon those journeying in the wilderness, who were in the open air nearly all the time, He requires no less of us who live in ceiled houses, where impurities are more observable and have a more unhealthful influence.  {CG 106.3}
[CG 106.4]          Cleanliness Should Become Second Nature.-- Uncleanness in the home is a great mistake, for it is educating in its effects and casts its influence abroad. Even in babyhood a right direction should be given to the minds and habits of children. . . . Show them that uncleanness,                                                                              107  whether in body or dress, is objectionable to God. Teach them to eat in a clean manner. Constant vigilance must be exercised that these habits may become second nature to them. . . . Impurity will be despised as it should be. . . .  {CG 106.4}
[CG 107.1]          Oh, that all would understand that these small duties are not to be neglected. The whole of their future life will be shaped by the habits and practices of their childhood. Children are peculiarly susceptible to impressions, and sanitary knowledge may be imparted to them by not permitting disorder.  {CG 107.1}
[CG 107.2]          Teach Love for Cleanliness and Hatred for Dirt.-- You should cultivate a love for neatness and strict cleanliness.  {CG 107.2}
[CG 107.3]          Dress your children simply and plainly. Let their clothes be made of durable material. Keep them sweet and clean. Teach them to hate anything like dirt and filth.  {CG 107.3}
[CG 107.4]          Let the strength which is now given to the unnecessary planning of what you shall eat and drink, and wherewithal you shall be clothed, be directed to keeping their persons clean and their clothes neat. Do not misunderstand me in this. I do not say that you must keep them indoors, like dolls. There is nothing impure in clean sand and dry earth; it is the emanations from the body that defile, requiring the clothing to be changed and the body washed.  {CG 107.4}
[CG 107.5]          Keep Premises Clean.--Whole families might be helped and blessed if parents would find something for their children to do. Why are not ministers and teachers more explicit on this subject that means so much to physical health and spiritual soundness? The boys and                                                                              108  girls of the family should feel that they are a part of the home firm. They should strive to keep the premises cleansed from every unpleasant sight. Instruction in these lines should be given.  {CG 107.5}
[CG 108.1]          Every form of uncleanliness tends to disease. Death- producing germs abound in dark, neglected corners, in decaying refuse, in dampness and mold and must. No waste vegetables or heaps of fallen leaves should be allowed to remain near the house to decay and poison the air. Nothing unclean or decaying should be tolerated within the home. In towns or cities regarded perfectly healthful, many an epidemic of fever has been traced to decaying matter about the dwelling of some careless householder. Perfect cleanliness, plenty of sunlight, careful attention to sanitation in every detail of the home life, are essential to freedom from disease and to the cheerfulness and vigor of the inmates of the home.  {CG 108.1}
[CG 108.2]          Personal Cleanliness Essential to Health.--Scrupulous cleanliness is essential to both physical and mental health. Impurities are constantly thrown off from the body through the skin. Its millions of pores are quickly clogged unless kept clean by frequent bathing, and the impurities which should pass off through the skin become an additional burden to the other eliminating organs.  {CG 108.2}
[CG 108.3]          Most persons would receive benefit from a cool or tepid bath every day, morning or evening. Instead of increasing the liability to take cold, a bath, properly taken, fortifies against cold because it improves the circulation; the blood is brought to the surface, and a more easy and regular flow is obtained. The mind and the body are alike invigorated. The muscles become more flexible; the intellect is made brighter. The bath is a                                                                              109  soother of the nerves. Bathing helps the bowels, the stomach, and the liver, giving health and energy to each, and it promotes digestion.  {CG 108.3}
[CG 109.1]          It is important also that the clothing be kept clean. The garments worn absorb the waste matter that passes off through the pores; if they are not frequently changed and washed, the impurities will be reabsorbed.  {CG 109.1}
[CG 109.2]          Clean Surroundings Are an Aid to Purity.--I have often seen children's beds in such a condition that the foul, poisonous odor constantly rising from them was to me unendurable. Keep everything the eyes of the children rest upon and that comes in contact with the body, night or day, clean and wholesome. This will be one means of educating them to choose the cleanly and the pure. Let the sleeping room of your children be neat, however destitute it may be of expensive furniture.  {CG 109.2}
[CG 109.3]          Maintain a Proper Balance.--Cleanliness and order are Christian duties, yet even these may be carried too far and made the one essential, while matters of greater importance are neglected. Those who neglect the interests of the children for these considerations are tithing the mint and cummin, while they neglect the weightier matters of the law--justice, mercy, and the love of God.  {CG 109.3}
[CG 110.1]       Chap.  Eighteen - Neatness, Order, and Regularity         Cultivate Order and Taste.--The cultivation of order and taste is an important part of the education of children. . . .  {CG 110.1}
[CG 110.2]          As the guardian and teacher of your children, you are in duty bound to do every little thing in the home with nicety and in order. Teach your children the invaluable lesson of keeping their clothing tidy. Keep your own clothing clean and sweet and respectable. . . .  {CG 110.2}
[CG 110.3]          You are under obligation to God always to be patterns of propriety in your home. . . . Remember that in heaven there is no disorder, and that your home should be a heaven here below. Remember that in doing faithfully from day to day the little things to be done in the home, you are a laborer together with God, perfecting a Christian character.  {CG 110.3}
[CG 110.4]          Bear in mind, parents, that you are working for the salvation of your children. If your habits are correct, if you reveal neatness and order, virtue and righteousness, sanctification of soul, body, and spirit, you respond to the words of the Redeemer, "Ye are the light of the world."  {CG 110.4}
[CG 110.5]          Train in Habits of Neatness.--Every family is required to be trained in habits of neatness, cleanliness, and thoroughness. We who profess to believe the truth must make manifest to the world that the principles of truth and righteousness do not make people coarse, rough, untidy, and disorderly. . . .                                                                              111   {CG 110.5}
[CG 111.1]          Love for God will be expressed in the family by love for our children. Genuine love will not let them drift into slackness and untidiness, because this is the easiest way; but from the pure example set before them by the parents, by the loving but inflexible firmness in cultivating industrious habits, they will educate their children after the same order.  {CG 111.1}
[CG 111.2]          Teach Children to Care for Clothing.--Begin early to teach the little ones to take care of their clothing. Let them have a place to lay their things away and be taught to fold every article neatly and put it in its place. If you cannot afford even a cheap bureau, use a dry-goods box, fitting it with shelves and covering it with some bright, pretty-figured cloth. This work of teaching neatness and order will take a little time each day, but it will pay in the future of your children, and in the end will save you much time and care.  {CG 111.2}
[CG 111.3]          To Keep Own Room Tidy.--If the children have a room which they know is their own, and if they are taught how to keep it tidy and make it pleasant, they will have a sense of ownership--they will feel that they have within the home a home of their own, and will have a satisfaction in keeping it neat and nice. The mother will necessarily have to inspect their work and make suggestions and give instruction. This is the mother's work.  {CG 111.3}
[CG 111.4]          To Have Regular Hours for Sleep.--How prevalent is the habit of turning day into night, and night into day. Many youth sleep soundly in the morning, when they should be up with the early singing birds and be stirring when all nature is awake.  {CG 111.4}
[CG 111.5]          Some youth are much opposed to order and discipline. They do not respect the rules of the home by rising at a                                                                              112  regular hour. They lie in bed some hours after daylight, when everyone should be astir. They burn the midnight oil, depending upon artificial light to supply the place of the light that nature has provided at seasonable hours. In so doing they not only waste precious opportunities, but cause additional expense. But in almost every case the plea is made, "I cannot get through my work; I have something to do; I cannot retire early." . . . The precious habits of order are broken, and the moments thus idled away in the early morning set things out of course for the whole day.  {CG 111.5}
[CG 112.1]          Our God is a God of order, and He desires that His children shall will to bring themselves into order and under His discipline. Would it not be better, therefore, to break up this habit of turning night into day, and the fresh hours of the morning into night? If the youth would form habits of regularity and order, they would improve in health, in spirits, in memory, and in disposition.  {CG 112.1}
[CG 112.2]          It is the duty of all to observe strict rules in their habits of life. This is for your own good, dear youth, both physically and morally. When you rise in the morning, take into consideration, as far as possible, the work you must accomplish during the day. If necessary, have a small book in which to jot down the things that need to be done, and set yourself a time in which to do your work.  {CG 112.2}
[CG 113.1]       Chap. Nineteen - Purity         Give Instruction in the Principles of Purity.-- Christian mothers, be entreated by a mother to realize the responsibility resting upon you. Teach your children from the cradle to practice self-denial and self-control. Bring them up to have sound constitutions and good morals. Impress upon their tender minds the truth that God does not design that we shall live for present gratification merely, but for our ultimate good. These lessons will be as seed sown in fertile soil, and they will bear fruit that will make your hearts glad.  {CG 113.1}
[CG 113.2]          To shield their children from contaminating influences, parents should instruct them in the principles of purity. Those children who in the home form habits of obedience and self-control will have little difficulty in their school life and will escape many of the temptations that beset the youth. Parents should train their children to be true to God under all circumstances and in all places. They should surround them with influences that tend to strengthen character. With such a training, children, when sent away to school, will not be a cause of disturbance or anxiety. They will be a support to their teachers and an example and encouragement to their fellow pupils.  {CG 113.2}
[CG 113.3]          Exercise Unceasing Watchfulness.--Parents and guardians must themselves maintain purity of heart and life if they would have their children pure. They must give the needed instruction, and in addition to this they must exercise unceasing watchfulness. Every day new thoughts are awakened in the minds of the young, new                                                                              114  impressions made upon their hearts. The associations they form, the books they read, the habits they cherish-- all must be guarded.  {CG 113.3}
[CG 114.1]          Keep the Home Pure and Attractive.--The home must be kept pure and clean. Unclean, neglected corners in the house will tend to make impure, neglected corners in the soul. Mothers, you are the educators of your children, and you can do a great deal if you begin early to inculcate pure thoughts, by fitting up their rooms in a cleanly, tasteful, attractive manner.  {CG 114.1}
[CG 114.2]          Guard the Associations.--If parents desire their children to be pure, they must surround them with pure associations such as God can approve.  {CG 114.2}
[CG 114.3]          With what care parents should guard their children from careless, loose, demoralizing habits! Fathers and mothers, do you realize the importance of the responsibility resting on you? Do you allow your children to associate with other children without being present to know what kind of education they are receiving? Do not allow them to be alone with other children. Give them your special care. Every evening know where they are and what they are doing. Are they pure in all their habits? Have you instructed them in the principles of moral purity? If you have neglected to teach them line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, let not another day pass without confessing to them your neglect to do this. Then tell them that you mean now to do your God-appointed work. Ask them to take hold with you in the reform.  {CG 114.3}
[CG 114.4]          Neighbors may permit their children to come to your house to spend the evening and the night with your children. Here is a trial and a choice for you, to run the risk                                                                              115  of offending your neighbors by sending their children to their own home, or gratify them, and let them lodge with your children, and thus expose them to be instructed in that knowledge which would be a lifelong curse to them. To save my children from becoming corrupted, I have not allowed them to sleep in the same bed, or in the same room, with other boys, and have, as occasion has required, when traveling, made a scanty bed upon the floor for them, rather than have them lodge with others. I have tried to keep them from associating with rough, rude boys and have presented inducements before them to make their employment at home cheerful and happy. By keeping their minds and hands occupied, they have had but little time, or disposition, to play in the street with other boys and obtain a street education.  {CG 114.4}
[CG 115.1]          Erect Barriers Against Sensuality.--Those who have charge of God's property in the souls and bodies of the children formed in His image should erect barriers against the sensual indulgence of the age, which is ruining the physical and moral health of thousands. If many of the crimes of this time were traced to their true cause, it would be seen that they are chargeable to the ignorance of fathers and mothers who are indifferent on this subject. Health and life itself are being sacrificed to this lamentable ignorance.  {CG 115.1}
[CG 115.2]          Parents, if you fail to give your children the education which God has made it your duty to give them, you must answer to Him for the results. These results will not be confined merely to your children. As the one thistle permitted to grow in the field produces a harvest of its kind, so the sins resulting from your neglect will work to ruin all who come within the sphere of their influence.                                                                              116   {CG 115.2}
[CG 116.1]          Fill the Mind With Images of Purity.--The Christian life is one of constant self-denial and self-control. These are the lessons to be taught the children from their infancy. Teach them that they must practice temperance, purity in thought and heart and act, that they belong to God because they have been bought with a price, even the precious blood of His dear Son.  {CG 116.1}
[CG 116.2]          If in their tender years the minds of children are filled with pleasant images of truth, of purity and goodness, a taste will be formed for that which is pure and elevated, and their imagination will not become easily corrupted or defiled. While if the opposite course is pursued, if the minds of the parents are continually dwelling upon low scenes; if their conversation lingers over objectionable features of character; if they form a habit of speaking complainingly of the course others have pursued, the little ones will take lessons from the words and expressions of contempt and will follow the pernicious example. The evil impress, like the taint of the leprosy, will cleave to them in afterlife.  {CG 116.2}
[CG 116.3]          The seed sown in infancy by the careful, God-fearing mother will become trees of righteousness, which will blossom and bear fruit; and the lessons given by a God-fearing father by precept and example will, as in the case of Joseph, yield an abundant harvest by and by.  {CG 116.3}
[CG 119.1]       Chap. Twenty - Helpfulness         Teach the Children to Be Helpful.--In the home school the children should be taught how to perform the practical duties of everyday life. While they are still young, the mother should give them some simple task to do each day. It will take longer for her to teach them how than it would to do it herself, but let her remember that she is to lay for their character building the foundation of helpfulness. Let her remember that the home is a school in which she is the head teacher. It is hers to teach her children how to perform the duties of the household quickly and skillfully. As early in life as possible they should be trained to share the burdens of the home. From childhood boys and girls should be taught to bear heavier and still heavier burdens, intelligently helping in the work of the family firm.  {CG 119.1}
[CG 119.2]          Overlook Childish Mistakes.--Thousands in their own homes are left almost uneducated. "It is so much trouble," says the mother. "I would rather do these things myself; it is such a trouble; you bother me."  {CG 119.2}
[CG 119.3]          Does not mother remember that she herself had to learn in jots and tittles before she could be helpful? It is a wrong to children to refuse to teach them little by little. Keep these children with you. Let them ask questions, and in patience answer them. Give your little children something to do, and let them have the happiness of supposing they help you.  {CG 119.3}
[CG 119.4]          There must be no repulsing of your children when trying to do proper things. If they make mistakes, if accidents happen and things break, do not blame them.                                                                              120  Their whole future life depends upon the education you give them in their childhood years. Teach them that all their faculties of body and mind were given to them to use, and that all are the Lord's, pledged to His service. To some of these children the Lord gives an early intimation of His will. Parents and teachers, begin early to teach the children to cultivate their God-given faculties.  {CG 119.4}
[CG 120.1]          Let Children Share Home Burdens.--Make the life of your children pleasant, and at the same time teach them to be obedient and helpful, bearing small burdens as you bear larger ones. Educate them to habits of industry, so that the enemy will not make a workshop of their minds. Give your children something to think of, something to do, that they may be fitted for usefulness in this life and in the future life.  {CG 120.1}
[CG 120.2]          From their earliest years they should be trained to carry their share of the home burdens. They should be taught that obligations are mutual. They should also be taught to work quickly and neatly. This education will be of the greatest value to them in after years.  {CG 120.2}
[CG 120.3]          Each member of the family should understand just the part he is expected to act in union with the others. All, from the child six years old and upward, should understand that it is required of them to bear their share of life's burdens.  {CG 120.3}
[CG 120.4]          A Source of Experience and Pleasure.--How important that fathers and mothers should give their children, from their very babyhood, the right instruction. They are to teach them to obey the command, "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." And                                                                              121  the children as they grow in years are to appreciate the care that their parents have given them. They are to find their greatest pleasure in helping father and mother.  {CG 120.4}
[CG 121.1]          A Charm May Surround the Humblest Employment.-- If children were taught to regard the humble round of everyday duties as the course marked out for them by the Lord, as a school in which they were to be trained to render faithful and efficient service, how much more pleasant and honorable would their work appear. To perform every duty as unto the Lord throws a charm around the humblest employment and links the workers on earth with the holy beings who do God's will in heaven. And in our appointed place we should discharge our duties with as much faithfulness as do the angels in their higher sphere.  {CG 121.1}
[CG 122.1]       Chap. Twenty-One - Industry         A Safeguard for the Young.--One of the surest safeguards of the young is useful occupation. Children who are trained to industrious habits, so that all their hours are usefully and pleasantly employed, have no inclination to repine at their lot and no time for idle daydreaming. They are in little danger of forming vicious habits or associations.  {CG 122.1}
[CG 122.2]          There is untold value in industry. Let the children be taught to do something useful. More than human wisdom is needed that parents may understand how best to educate their children for a useful, happy life here and for higher service and greater joy hereafter.  {CG 122.2}
[CG 122.3]          Assign Tasks Appropriate to Age and Ability.-- From infancy children should be trained to do those things which are appropriate for their age and ability. Parents should now encourage their children to become more independent. Serious troubles are soon to be seen upon the earth, and children should be trained in such a way as to be able to meet them.  {CG 122.3}
[CG 122.4]          Teach your children to be useful, to bear burdens according to their years; then the habit of laboring will become second nature to them, and useful work will never seem like drudgery.  {CG 122.4}
[CG 122.5]          The Fruitage of Idleness.--Parents cannot commit a greater sin than to neglect their God-given responsibilities in leaving their children with nothing to do; for these children will soon learn to love idleness and grow up to be shiftless, useless men and women. When they become                                                                              123  old enough to earn their living and are taken into employment, they will work in a lazy, droning way and will think they will be paid just the same if they idle away their time, as if they did faithful work. There is every difference between this class of worker and the one who realizes that he must be a faithful steward. In whatever line of work they engage, the youth should be "diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord"; for he that is unfaithful in that which is least is unfaithful also in much.  {CG 122.5}
[CG 123.1]          If children have proper home training, they will not be found upon the streets, receiving the haphazard education that so many receive. Parents who love their children in a sensible way will not permit them to grow up with lazy habits and ignorant of how to do home duties. Ignorance is not acceptable to God and is unfavorable for the doing of His work.  {CG 123.1}
[CG 123.2]          The Wise Use of Time.--Where there is an abundance of idleness, Satan works with his temptations to spoil life and character. If youth are not trained to useful labor, whether they be rich or poor, they are in peril; for Satan will find employment for them after his own order. The youth who are not barricaded with principle do not regard time as a precious treasure, a trust from God, for which every human being must give an account.  {CG 123.2}
[CG 123.3]          Children should be educated to make the very best use of their time, to be helpful to father and mother, to be self-reliant. They should not be allowed to consider themselves above doing any kind of labor that is necessary.  {CG 123.3}
[CG 123.4]          The value of time is beyond computation. Time squandered can never be recovered. . . . The improvement of wasted moments is a treasure.                                                                              124   {CG 123.4}
[CG 124.1]          Overcome Every Indolent Habit.--In His Word God has marked out a plan for the education of children, and this plan parents are to follow. They are to teach their children to overcome every indolent habit. Each child should be taught that he has a work to do in the world.  {CG 124.1}
[CG 124.2]          Laziness and indolence are not the fruit borne upon the Christian tree.  {CG 124.2}
[CG 124.3]          Indolence is a great curse. God has blessed human beings with nerves, organs, and muscles; and they are not to be allowed to deteriorate because of inaction, but are to be strengthened and kept in health by exercise. To have nothing to do is a great misfortune, for idleness ever has been and ever will be a curse to the human family.  {CG 124.3}
[CG 124.4]          Children, never prove unfaithful stewards in the home. Never shirk your duty. Good hard work makes firm sinews and muscles. In promoting the prosperity of the home, you will bring the richest blessing to yourselves.  {CG 124.4}
[CG 124.5]          Why Work Before Play?--My mother taught me to work. I used to ask my mother, "Why must I always do so much work before I play?" "It is to educate and train your mind for useful labor, and another thing, to keep you out of mischief; and when you get older, you will thank me for it." When one of my little girls ［a granddaughter］ said to me, "Why must I knit? Grandmothers knit," I replied, "Will you tell me how grandmothers learned to knit?" "Why, they began when they were little girls."  {CG 124.5}
[CG 124.6]          Value of a Daily Program.--As far as possible, it is well to consider what is to be accomplished through the day. Make a memorandum of the different duties that                                                                              125  await your attention, and set apart a certain time for the doing of each duty. Let everything be done with thoroughness, neatness, and dispatch. If it falls to your lot to do the chamber work, then see that the rooms are well aired, and that the bed clothing is exposed to the sunlight. Give yourself a number of minutes to do the work, and do not stop to read papers and books that take your eye, but say to yourself, "No, I have just so many minutes in which to do my work, and I must accomplish my task in the given time." . . .  {CG 124.6}
[CG 125.1]          Let those who are naturally slow of movement seek to become active, quick, energetic, remembering the words of the apostle, "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord."  {CG 125.1}
[CG 125.2]          If it falls to your lot to prepare the meals, make careful calculations, and give yourself all the time necessary to prepare the food, and set it on the table in good order, and on exact time. To have the meal ready five minutes earlier than the time you have set is more commendable than to have it five minutes later. But if you are under the control of slow, dilatory movements, if your habits are of a lazy order, you will make a long job out of a short one; and it is the duty of those who are slow to reform and to become more expeditious. If they will, they can overcome their fussy, lingering habits. In washing dishes they may be careful and at the same time do quick work. Exercise the will to this end, and the hands will move with dispatch.  {CG 125.2}
[CG 125.3]          Blend the Physical With the Mental.--When children were sent into my family to board, and they would say, "My mother does not want me to do my washing," I would say, "Well, shall we do it for you and charge you                                                                              126  half a dollar more for your board?" "Oh, no! Mother doesn't want to pay any more for me." "Well, then," I would say, "you may get up in the morning and do it for yourself. God never designed that you should be waited upon by us. Instead of your mother getting up and getting breakfast in the morning while you lie in bed, you should be the one to say, 'Mother, don't you get up in the morning. We will take hold of these burdens and perform these duties.' You should let those whose hairs are growing gray take their rest in the morning."  {CG 125.3}
[CG 126.1]          Why is this not so? Where is the trouble? It is with the parents who let their children come up without bearing any burdens in the family. When these children go out to school, they say, "Ma says she doesn't want me to work." Such mothers are foolish. They spoil their children and then send them to the school to spoil it. . . . Work is the very best discipline they can have. It is no harder for them than for their mothers. Blend the physical labor with the mental, and the powers of the mind will develop far better.  {CG 126.1}
[CG 126.2]          Devise Ways.--Parents should devise ways and means for keeping their children usefully busy. Let the children be given little pieces of land to cultivate, that they may have something to give as a freewill offering.  {CG 126.2}
[CG 126.3]          Allow them to help you in every way they can, and show them that you appreciate their help. Let them feel that they are a part of the family firm. Teach them to use their minds as much as possible, so to plan their work that they may do it quickly and thoroughly. Teach them to be prompt and energetic in their work, to economize time so that no minutes may be lost in their allotted hours of work.                                                                              127   {CG 126.3}
[CG 127.1]          Labor Is Noble.--Let us teach the little ones to help us while their hands are small and their strength is slight. Let us impress upon their minds the fact that labor is noble, that it was ordained to man of heaven, that it was enjoined upon Adam in Eden, as an essential to the healthy development of mind and body. Let us teach them that innocent pleasure is never half so satisfying as when it follows active industry.  {CG 127.1}
[CG 128.1]       Chap. Twenty-Two - Diligence and Perseverance         Satisfaction in Tasks Completed.--Children frequently begin a piece of work with enthusiasm; but, becoming perplexed or wearied with it, they wish to change and take hold of something new. Thus they may take hold of several things, meet with a little discouragement, and give them up; and so they pass from one thing to another, perfecting nothing. Parents should not allow the love of change to control their children. They should not be so much engaged with other things that they will have no time to patiently discipline the developing minds. A few words of encouragement, or a little help at the right time, may carry them over their trouble and discouragement; and the satisfaction they will derive from seeing the task completed that they undertook will stimulate them to greater exertion.  {CG 128.1}
[CG 128.2]          Many children, for want of words of encouragement and a little assistance in their efforts, become disheartened and change from one thing to another. And they carry this sad defect with them in mature life. They fail to make a success of anything they engage in, for they have not been taught to persevere under discouraging circumstances. Thus the entire lifetime of many proves a failure, because they did not have correct discipline when young. The education received in childhood and youth affects their entire business career in mature life, and their religious experience bears a corresponding stamp.  {CG 128.2}
[CG 128.3]          Habits of Indolence Are Carried Into Later Life.-- Children who have been petted and waited upon always                                                                              129  expect it; and if their expectations are not met, they are disappointed and discouraged. This same disposition will be seen through their whole lives; they will be helpless, leaning upon others for aid, expecting others to favor them and yield to them. And if they are opposed, even after they have grown to manhood and womanhood, they think themselves abused; and thus they worry their way through the world, hardly able to bear their own weight, often murmuring and fretting because everything does not suit them.  {CG 128.3}
[CG 129.1]          Develop Habits of Thoroughness and Dispatch.-- From the mother the children are to learn habits of neatness, thoroughness, and dispatch. To allow a child to take an hour or two in doing a piece of work that could easily be done in half an hour is to allow it to form dilatory habits. Habits of industry and thoroughness will be an untold blessing to the youth in the larger school of life, upon which they must enter as they grow older.  {CG 129.1}
[CG 129.2]          Counsel Especially for Girls.--Another defect that has caused me much uneasiness and trouble is the habit some girls have of letting their tongues run, wasting precious time in talking of worthless things. While girls give their attention to talk, their work drags behind. These matters have been looked upon as little things, unworthy of notice. Many are deceived as to what constitutes a little thing. Little things have an important relation to the great whole. God does not disregard the infinitely little things that have to do with the welfare of the human family.  {CG 129.2}
[CG 129.3]          Importance of "Little Things."--Never underrate the importance of little things. Little things supply the                                                                              130  actual discipline of life. It is by them that the soul is trained that it may grow into the likeness of Christ, or bear the likeness of evil. God help us to cultivate habits of thought, word, look, and action that will testify to all about us that we have been with Jesus and learned of Him!  {CG 129.3}
[CG 130.1]          Make Mistakes a Steppingstone.--Let the child and the youth be taught that every mistake, every fault, every difficulty conquered becomes a steppingstone to better and higher things. It is through such experiences that all who have ever made life worth the living have achieved success.  {CG 130.1}
[CG 131.1]       Chap. Twenty-Three - Self-Denial, Unselfishness, and Thoughtfulness         Lessons That Are Needed in Every Home.--In every home there should be taught lessons of self-denial. Fathers and mothers, teach your children to economize. Encourage them to save their pennies for missionary work. Christ is our example. For our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. He taught that all should come together in love and unity, to work as He worked, to sacrifice as He sacrificed, to love as the children of God.  {CG 131.1}
[CG 131.2]          Learn the lesson of self-denial, and teach it to your children. All that can be saved by self-denial is needed now in the work to be done. The suffering must be relieved, the naked clothed, the hungry fed; the truth for this time must be told to those who know it not.  {CG 131.2}
[CG 131.3]          Sacrifice Should Become Habitual.--By precept and example, teach self-denial, economy, largeheartedness, and self-reliance. Everyone who has a true character will be qualified to cope with difficulties and will be prompt in following a "Thus saith the Lord." Men are not prepared to understand their obligation to God until they have learned in Christ's school to wear His yoke of restraint and obedience. Sacrifice is the very beginning of our work in advancing the truth and in establishing institutions. It is an essential part of education. Sacrifice must become habitual in all our character building in this life, if we would have a building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.                                                                              132   {CG 131.3}
[CG 132.1]          A Self-denial Box.--Children are to be educated to deny themselves. At one time, when I was speaking in Nashville, the Lord gave me light on this matter. It flashed upon me with great force that in every home there should be a self-denial box, and that into this box the children should be taught to put their pennies they would otherwise spend for candy and other unnecessary things. . . .  {CG 132.1}
[CG 132.2]          You will find that as the children place their pennies in these boxes, they will gain a great blessing. . . . Every member of the family, from the oldest to the youngest, should practice self-denial.  {CG 132.2}
[CG 132.3]          Children Should Not Be the Center of Attraction.-- Children of two to four years of age should not be encouraged to think that they must have everything that they ask for. Parents should teach them lessons of self-denial and never treat them in such a way as to make them think they are the center, and that everything revolves about them.  {CG 132.3}
[CG 132.4]          Many children have inherited selfishness from their parents, but parents should seek to uproot every fiber of this evil tendency from their natures. Christ gave many reproofs to those who were covetous and selfish. Parents should seek, on the first exhibition of selfish traits of character, whether in their presence, or when in association with other children, to restrain and uproot these traits from the character of their children.  {CG 132.4}
[CG 132.5]          Some parents give much time and attention to amusing their children, but children should be trained to amuse themselves, to exercise their own ingenuity and skill. Thus they will learn to be content with very simple pleasures. They should be taught to bear bravely their                                                                              133  little disappointments and trials. Instead of calling attention to every trifling pain or hurt, divert their minds; teach them to pass lightly over little annoyances or discomforts.  {CG 132.5}
[CG 133.1]          The Grace of Self-forgetfulness.--One of the characteristics that should be especially cherished and cultivated in every child is that self-forgetfulness which imparts to the life such an unconscious grace. Of all excellences of character this is one of the most beautiful, and for every true lifework it is one of the qualifications most essential.  {CG 133.1}
[CG 133.2]          Study how to teach the children to be thoughtful of others. The youth should be early accustomed to submission, self-denial, and regard for others' happiness. They should be taught to subdue the hasty temper, to withhold the passionate word, to manifest unvarying kindness, courtesy, and self-control.  {CG 133.2}
[CG 133.3]          How carefully should parents manage their children in order to counteract every inclination to selfishness! They should continually suggest ways by which their children may become thoughtful for others and learn to do things for their fathers and mothers, who are doing everything for them.  {CG 133.3}
[CG 134.1]       Chap. Twenty-Four - Economy and Thrift         Eliminate Extravagant Habits.--Teach your children that God has a claim upon all they possess, and that nothing can ever cancel this claim; all they have is theirs only in trust, to prove whether they will be obedient. Money is a needed treasure; let it not be lavished upon those who do not need it. Someone needs your willing gifts. . . . If you have extravagant habits, cut them away from the life as soon as possible. Unless you do this, you will be bankrupt for eternity. And habits of economy, industry, and sobriety are, even in this world, a better portion for you and your children than a rich dowry.  {CG 134.1}
[CG 134.2]          Instruct the Children in Economy.--The light given me now by the Lord is that we are to be careful not to spend our precious time and money unwisely. Many things may suit our fancy, but we are to guard against the expenditure of money for that which is not bread. We shall need much means to advance the work decidedly in our cities. Everyone is to have a part to act in the Lord's work. Parents are to instruct their children in lessons of economy, in order that the younger members of the flock may learn to share the responsibility of supporting the cause of God at this time.  {CG 134.2}
[CG 134.3]          Love Not Expressed by Extravagance.--Practice economy in your homes. By many idols are cherished and worshiped. Put away your idols. Give up your selfish pleasure. Do not, I beg of you, absorb means in embellishing your houses; for it is God's money, and it will be required of you again. Parents, for Christ's sake do not                                                                              135  use the Lord's money to please the fancies of your children. Do not teach them to seek after style and ostentation in order to obtain an influence in the world. . . .  {CG 134.3}
[CG 135.1]          Do not educate your children to think that your love for them must be expressed by indulging their pride, their extravagance, their love of display. There is no time now to invent ways of using money. Your inventive faculties are to be put to the stretch, to see how you can economize.  {CG 135.1}
[CG 135.2]          Christ's Lesson in Economy.--There is a lesson for us in the feeding of the five thousand, a lesson that has a special application to those times when we are placed in trying circumstances and are compelled to practice close economy. Having worked the miracle and satisfied the hunger of the multitude, Christ was careful that the food that remained should not be wasted.  {CG 135.2}
[CG 135.3]          He said to the disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." Though He had all the resources of heaven at His command, He would not suffer even a morsel of bread to be wasted.  {CG 135.3}
[CG 135.4]          Discard Nothing Useful.--Nothing that can be utilized should be thrown away. This will require wisdom, and forethought, and constant care. It has been presented to me that the inability to save, in little things, is one reason why so many families suffer for lack of the necessities of life.  {CG 135.4}
[CG 135.5]          They Never Learned to Economize.--There is much work to be done for the Master, and men who might today be occupying high positions in connection with the work of God have failed because they never learned to economize. They did not limit their wants to their incomes when they entered the work, and their spend-thrift                                                                              136  habits proved the ruin of their usefulness in the cause.  {CG 135.5}
[CG 136.1]          How to Teach the Right Use of Money.--Let every youth and every child be taught, not merely to solve imaginary problems, but to keep an accurate account of his own income and outgoes. Let him learn the right use of money by using it. Whether supplied by their parents or by their own earnings, let boys and girls learn to select and purchase their own clothing, their books, and other necessities; and by keeping an account of their expenses, they will learn, as they could learn in no other way, the value and the use of money.  {CG 136.1}
[CG 136.2]          The Value of Keeping Accounts.--When very young, children should be educated to read, to write, to understand figures, to keep their own accounts. They may go forward, advancing step by step in this knowledge.  {CG 136.2}
[CG 136.3]          Let children be taught to keep an account. This will enable them to be accurate. The spendthrift boy will be the spendthrift man. The vain, selfish, self-caring girl will be the same kind of woman. We are to remember there are other youth for whom we are accountable. If we train our children to correct habits, through them we shall be able to influence others.  {CG 136.3}
[CG 139.1]       Chap. Twenty-Five - Simplicity         Educate in Natural Simplicity.--The little ones should be educated in childlike simplicity. They should be trained to be content with the small, helpful duties and the pleasures and experiences natural to their years. Childhood answers to the blade in the parable, and the blade has a beauty peculiarly its own. Children should not be forced into a precocious maturity, but as long as possible should retain the freshness and grace of their early years. The more quiet and simple the life of the child--the more free from artificial excitement and the more in harmony with nature--the more favorable it is to physical and mental vigor and to spiritual strength.  {CG 139.1}
[CG 139.2]          Parents should by their example encourage the formation of habits of simplicity, and draw their children away from an artificial to a natural life.  {CG 139.2}
[CG 139.3]          Unaffected Children Are Most Attractive.--Those children are most attractive who are natural and unaffected. It is not wise to give children special notice. . . . Vanity should not be encouraged by praising their looks, their words, or their actions. Nor should they be dressed in an expensive and showy manner. This encourages pride in them and awakens envy in the hearts of their companions. Teach the children that the true adorning is not outward. "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." 1 Peter 3:3, 4.                                                                              140   {CG 139.3}
[CG 140.1]          The Secret of True Charm.--Girls should be taught that the true charm of womanliness is not alone in beauty of form or feature, nor in the possession of accomplishments; but in a meek and quiet spirit, in patience, generosity, kindness, and a willingness to do and suffer for others. They should be taught to work, to study to some purpose, to live for some object, to trust in God and fear Him, and to respect their parents. Then as they advance in years, they will grow more pure-minded, self-reliant, and beloved. It will be impossible to degrade such a woman. She will escape the temptations and trials that have been the ruin of so many.  {CG 140.1}
[CG 140.2]          Seeds of Vanity.--In many families the seeds of vanity and selfishness are sown in the hearts of the children almost during babyhood. Their cunning little sayings and doings are commented upon and praised in their presence, and repeated with exaggerations to others. The little ones take note of this and swell with self-importance; they presume to interrupt conversations and become forward and impudent. Flattery and indulgence foster their vanity and willfulness, until the youngest not unfrequently rules the whole family, father and mother included.  {CG 140.2}
[CG 140.3]          The disposition formed by this sort of training cannot be laid aside as the child matures to riper judgment. It grows with his growth, and what might have appeared cunning in the baby, becomes contemptible and wicked in the man or woman. They seek to rule over their associates; and if any refuse to yield to their wishes, they consider themselves aggrieved and insulted. This is because they have been indulged to their injury in youth, instead of being taught the self-denial necessary to bear the hardships and toils of life.                                                                              141   {CG 140.3}
[CG 141.1]          Do Not Foster Love of Praise.--Children need appreciation, sympathy, and encouragement; but care should be taken not to foster in them a love of praise. . . . The parent or teacher who keeps in view the true ideal of character and the possibilities of achievement cannot cherish or encourage self-sufficiency. He will not encourage in the youth the desire or effort to display their ability or proficiency. He who looks higher than himself will be humble, yet he will possess a dignity that is not abashed or disconcerted by outward display or human greatness.  {CG 141.1}
[CG 141.2]          Encourage Simplicity in Diet and Dress.--Parents have a sacred duty to perform in teaching their children to help bear the burdens of the home, to be content with plain and simple food, and neat and inexpensive dress.  {CG 141.2}
[CG 141.3]          Oh, that mothers and fathers would realize their responsibility and accountability before God! What a change would take place in society! Children would not be spoiled by being praised and petted, or made vain by indulgence in dress.  {CG 141.3}
[CG 141.4]          Teach Simplicity and Trust.--We should teach our children lessons in simplicity and trust. We should teach them to love, and fear, and obey their Creator. In all the plans and purposes of life His glory should be held paramount; His love should be the mainspring of every action.  {CG 141.4}
[CG 141.5]          Christ Our Example.--Jesus, our Redeemer, walked the earth with the dignity of a king; yet He was meek and lowly of heart. He was a light and blessing in every home because He carried cheerfulness, hope, and courage with Him. Oh, that we could be satisfied with less heart-longings, less striving for things difficult to                                                                              142  obtain wherewith to beautify our homes, while that which God values above jewels, the meek and quiet spirit, is not cherished. The grace of simplicity, meekness, and true affection would make a paradise of the humblest home. It is better to endure cheerfully every inconvenience than to part with peace and contentment.  {CG 141.5}
[CG 143.1]       Chap. Twenty-Six - Courtesy and Reserve         Courtesy Begins in the Home. ［NOTE: SEE THE ADVENTIST HOME, PP. 421-429, CHAPTER ENTITLED "COURTESY AND KINDNESS."］--Parents, teach your children . . . how to conduct themselves in the home with true politeness. Educate them to show kindness and tenderness to one another. Allow no selfishness to live in the heart or find room in the home.  {CG 143.1}
[CG 143.2]         The youth who grow up careless and rude in words and manners reveal the character of their home training. The parents have not realized the importance of their stewardship; and the harvest they have sown, they have also reaped.  {CG 143.2}
[CG 143.3]          Principles of Heaven to Pervade.--The principles of heaven are to be brought into the government of the home. Every child is to be taught to be polite, compassionate, loving, pitiful, courteous, tenderhearted.  {CG 143.3}
[CG 143.4]          When all are members of the royal family, there will be true politeness in the home life. Each member of the family will seek to make it pleasant for every other member.  {CG 143.4}
[CG 143.5]          Teach It by Precept and Example.--Children, as well as those of older years, are exposed to temptations; and the older members of the family should give them, by precept and example, lessons in courtesy, cheerfulness, affection, and in the faithful discharge of their daily duties.                                                                              144   {CG 143.5}
[CG 144.1]          Respect for Weary Feet Nearing Their Rest.--And God has especially enjoined tender respect toward the aged. He says, "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." Proverbs 16:31. It tells of battles fought and victories gained, of burdens borne and temptations resisted. It tells of weary feet nearing their rest, of places soon to be vacant. Help the children to think of this, and they will smooth the path of the aged by their courtesy and respect, and will bring grace and beauty into their young lives as they heed the command to "rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man." Leviticus 19:32.  {CG 144.1}
[CG 144.2]          Teach Reserve and Modesty.--Pride, self-esteem, and boldness are marked characteristics of the children of this day; and they are the curse of the age. . . . The most sacred lessons of modesty and humility are to be taught to the children, both at home and in the Sabbath school.  {CG 144.2}
[CG 144.3]          Will you to whom I now address these words take heed to the instruction given you? Let the youth take warning; let them not be forward in conversation, but be modest and retiring. Let them be quick to hear things that will profit the soul, and be slow to speak, unless it be to represent Jesus, and to witness to the truth. Show humility of mind by modesty of demeanor.  {CG 144.3}
[CG 144.4]          A Guard to Virtue.--Cherish the precious, priceless gem of modesty. This will guard virtue. . . . I feel impelled by the Spirit of the Lord to urge my sisters who profess godliness to cherish modesty of deportment and a becoming reserve. . . . I have inquired, When will the youthful sisters act with propriety? I know there will be no decided change for the better until parents feel the                                                                              145  importance of greater carefulness in educating their children correctly. Teach them to act with reserve and modesty.  {CG 144.4}
[CG 145.1]          True Graces.--A child's truest graces consist in modesty and obedience--in attentive ears to hear the words of direction, in willing feet and hands to walk and work in the path of duty. And a child's true goodness will bring its own reward, even in this life.  {CG 145.1}
[CG 146.1]       Chap. Twenty-Seven - Cheerfulness and Thankfulness         Let a Sweet Influence Pervade the Home.--Above all things else, let parents surround their children with an atmosphere of cheerfulness, courtesy, and love. A home where love dwells, and where it is expressed in looks, in words, and in acts, is a place where angels delight to manifest their presence.  {CG 146.1}
[CG 146.2]          Parents, let the sunshine of love, cheerfulness, and happy contentment enter your own hearts; and let its sweet, cheering influence pervade your home. Manifest a kindly, forbearing spirit; and encourage the same in your children, cultivating all the graces that will brighten the home life. The atmosphere thus created will be to the children what air and sunshine are to the vegetable world, promoting health and vigor of mind and body.  {CG 146.2}
[CG 146.3]          Let the Countenance Be Cheerful.--There is nothing gloomy in the religion of Jesus. While all lightness, trifling, and jesting, which the apostle says are not convenient, are to be studiously avoided, there is a sweet rest and peace in Jesus that will be expressed in the countenance. Christians will not be mournful, depressed, and despairing. They will be sober-minded, yet they will show to the world a cheerfulness which only grace can impart.  {CG 146.3}
[CG 146.4]          Children are attracted by a cheerful, sunny demeanor. Show them kindness and courtesy, and they will manifest the same spirit toward you and toward one another.  {CG 146.4}
[CG 146.5]          Educate the soul to cheerfulness, to thankfulness, and                                                                              147  to the expression of gratitude to God for the great love wherewith He hath loved us. . . . Christian cheerfulness is the very beauty of holiness.  {CG 146.5}
[CG 147.1]          Speak Pleasant, Cheery Words.--Pleasant, cheery words cost no more than unpleasant, moody words. Do you dislike to have harsh words spoken to you? Remember that when you speak such words, others feel the sharp sting. . . . Parents, bring practical godliness into the home. Angels are not attracted to a home where discord reigns. Educate your children to speak words that will bring sunshine and joy.  {CG 147.1}
[CG 147.2]          Encourage a Happy Frame of Mind.--If there is anyone who should be continually grateful, it is the Christian. If there is anyone who enjoys happiness, even in this life, it is the faithful follower of Jesus Christ. It is the duty of God's children to be cheerful. They should encourage a happy frame of mind. God cannot be glorified by His children living continually under a cloud and casting a shadow wherever they go. The Christian should cast sunshine instead of a shadow. . . . He will bear a cheerful countenance.  {CG 147.2}
[CG 147.3]          Children hate the gloom of clouds and sadness. Their hearts respond to brightness, to cheerfulness, to love.  {CG 147.3}
[CG 147.4]          Smile, Parents, Smile.--Some parents--and some teachers as well--seem to forget that they themselves were once children. They are dignified, cold, and unsympathetic. . . . Their faces habitually wear a solemn, reproving expression. Childish mirth or waywardness, the restless activity of the young life, finds no excuse in their eyes. Trifling misdemeanors are treated as grave sins. Such discipline is not Christlike. Children thus trained fear their parents or teachers, but do not love                                                                              148  them; they do not confide to them their childish experiences. Some of the most valuable qualities of mind and heart are chilled to death, as a tender plant before the wintry blast.  {CG 147.4}
[CG 148.1]          Smile, parents; smile, teachers. If your heart is sad, let not your face reveal the fact. Let the sunshine from a loving, grateful heart light up the countenance. Unbend from your iron dignity, adapt yourselves to the children's needs, and make them love you. You must win their affection if you would impress religious truth upon their heart.  {CG 148.1}
[CG 148.2]          A Fitting Prayer.--Make your work pleasant with songs of praise. If you would have a clean record in the books of heaven, never fret or scold. Let your daily prayer be, "Lord, teach me to do my best. Teach me how to do better work. Give me energy and cheerfulness." . . . Bring Christ into all that you do. Then your lives will be filled with brightness and thanksgiving. . . . Let us do our best, moving forward cheerfully in the service of the Lord, with our hearts filled with His joy.  {CG 148.2}
[CG 148.3]          Teach Children to Be Grateful.--"Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given thee." Thanksgiving and praise should be expressed to God for temporal blessings and for whatever comforts He bestows upon us. God would have every family that He is preparing to inhabit the eternal mansions above give glory to Him for the rich treasures of His grace. Were children, in the home life, educated and trained to be grateful to the Giver of all good things, we would see an element of heavenly grace manifest in our families. Cheerfulness would be seen in the home life, and coming from such homes, the youth would bring a spirit of                                                                              149  respect and reverence with them into the schoolroom and into the church. There would be an attendance in the sanctuary where God meets with His people, a reverence for all the ordinances of His worship, and grateful praise and thanksgiving would be offered for all the gifts of His providence.  {CG 148.3}
[CG 149.1]          If the word of the Lord were now as strictly carried out as it was when enjoined upon ancient Israel, fathers and mothers would give to their children an example which would be of the highest value. . . . Every temporal blessing would be received with gratitude, and every spiritual blessing become doubly precious because the perception of each member of the household had become sanctified by the Word of truth. The Lord Jesus is very near to those who thus appreciate His gracious gifts, tracing all their good things back to the benevolent, loving, care-taking God, and recognizing Him as the great Fountain of all comfort and consolation, the inexhaustible Source of grace.  {CG 149.1}
[CG 150.1]       Chap. Twenty-Eight - Truthfulness         Let Parents Be Models of Truthfulness.--Parents and teachers, be true to God. Let your life be free from deceitful practices. Let no guile be found in your lips. However, disagreeable it may be to you at the time, let your ways, your words, and your works show uprightness in the sight of a holy God. Oh, the effect of the first lesson in deceit is terrible! Shall any who claim to be sons and daughters of God give themselves up to deceitful practices and lying?  {CG 150.1}
[CG 150.2]          Never let your children have the semblance of an excuse for saying, Mother does not tell the truth. Father does not tell the truth. When you are tried in the heavenly courts, shall the record be made against your name, A deceiver? Shall your offspring be perverted by the example of those who ought to guide them in the way of truth? Instead of this, shall not the converting power of God enter the hearts of mothers and fathers? Shall not the Holy Spirit of God be allowed to make its mark upon their children?  {CG 150.2}
[CG 150.3]          It cannot be expected that children will be altogether guileless. But there is danger that through unwise management, parents will destroy the frankness which should characterize child experience. By word and action parents should do all in their power to preserve artless simplicity. As children advance in years, parents should not give the slightest occasion for the sowing of that seed which will develop into deceit and falsehood, and mature into untrustworthy habits.                                                                              151   {CG 150.3}
[CG 151.1]          Never Prevaricate.--Parents should be models of truthfulness, for this is the daily lesson to be impressed upon the heart of the child. Undeviating principle should govern parents in all the affairs of life, especially in the education and training of their children. "Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right."  {CG 151.1}
[CG 151.2]          A mother who lacks discernment, and who does not follow the guidance of the Lord, may educate her children to be deceivers and hypocrites. The traits of character thus cherished may become so persistent that to lie will be as natural as to breathe. Pretense will be taken for sincerity and reality.  {CG 151.2}
[CG 151.3]          Parents, never prevaricate; never tell an untruth in precept or in example. If you want your child to be truthful, be truthful yourself. Be straight and undeviating. Even a slight prevarication should not be allowed. Because mothers are accustomed to prevaricate and be untruthful, the child follows her example.  {CG 151.3}
[CG 151.4]          Untruthfulness Is Encouraged by Harsh Words.-- Do not become impatient with your children when they err. When you correct them, do not speak abruptly and harshly. This confuses them, making them afraid to tell the truth.  {CG 151.4}
[CG 152.1]       Chap. Twenty-Nine - Honesty and Integrity         Honesty to Be Practiced and Taught.--It is essential that honesty be practiced in all the details of the mother's life, and it is important in the training of children to teach the youthful girls as well as boys never to prevaricate or to deceive in the least.  {CG 152.1}
[CG 152.2]          The Standard God Requires.--God wants men in His service, under His banner, to be strictly honest, unimpeachable in character, that their tongues shall not utter a semblance of untruth. The tongue must be true, the eyes must be true, the actions wholly and entirely such as God can commend. We are living in the sight of a holy God, who solemnly declares, "I know thy works." The divine eye is ever upon us. We cannot cover one act of unjust deal from God. The witness of God to our every action is a truth which but few realize.  {CG 152.2}
[CG 152.3]          Those who realize their dependence upon God will feel that they must be honest with their fellow men, and, above all, they must be honest with God, from whom come all the blessings of life. The evasion of the positive commands of God concerning tithes and offerings is registered in the books of heaven as robbery toward Him.  {CG 152.3}
[CG 152.4]          Honest Weights and Measures.--An honest man, according to Christ's measurement, is one who will manifest unbending integrity. Deceitful weights and false balances, with which many seek to advance their interests in the world, are abomination in the sight of God. . . . Firm integrity shines forth as gold amid the dross                                                                              153  and rubbish of the world. Deceit, falsehood, and unfaithfulness may be glossed over and hidden from the eyes of man, but not from the eyes of God. The angels of God, who watch the development of character and weigh moral worth, record in the books of heaven these minor transactions which reveal character.  {CG 152.4}
[CG 153.1]          Honest With Time and Money.--Men are wanted whose sense of justice, even in the smallest matters, will not allow them to make an entry of their time that is not minute and correct--men who will realize that they are handling means that belong to God, and who would not unjustly appropriate one cent to their own use; men who will be just as faithful and exact, careful and diligent, in their labor, in the absence of their employer as in his presence, proving by their faithfulness that they are not merely men-pleasers, eyeservants, but are conscientious, faithful, true workmen, doing right, not for human praise, but because they love and choose the right from a high sense of their obligation to God.  {CG 153.1}
[CG 153.2]          Just What He Wants Others to Think He Is.--In every business transaction a Christian will be just what he wants his brethren to think he is. His course of action is guided by underlying principles. He does not scheme; therefore he has nothing to conceal, nothing to gloss over. He may be criticized, he may be tested, but his unbending integrity will shine forth like pure gold. He is a blessing to all connected with him, for his word is trustworthy. He is a man who will not take advantage of his neighbor. He is a friend and benefactor to all, and his fellow men put confidence in his counsel. . . . A truly honest man will never take advantage of weakness and incompetency in order to fill his own purse.                                                                              154   {CG 153.2}
[CG 154.1]          Allow No Deviation From Rigid Honesty.--In every business transaction be rigidly honest. However tempted, never deceive or prevaricate in the least matter. At times a natural impulse may bring temptation to diverge from the straightforward path of honesty, but do not vary one hairsbreadth. If in any matter you make a statement as to what you will do, and afterward find that you have favored others to your own loss, do not vary a hairsbreadth from principle. Carry out your agreement. By seeking to change your plans you would show that you could not be depended on. And should you draw back in little transactions, you would draw back in larger ones. Under such circumstances some are tempted to deceive, saying, I was not understood. My words have been taken to mean more than I intended. The fact is, they meant just what they said, but lost the good impulse, and then wanted to draw back from their agreement, lest it prove a loss to them. The Lord requires us to do justice, to love mercy, and truth, and righteousness.  {CG 154.1}
[CG 154.2]          Maintain Strict Principles.--In all the details of life the strictest principles of honesty are to be maintained. . . . Deviation from perfect fairness in business deal may appear as a small thing in the estimation of some, but our Saviour did not thus regard it. His words on this point are plain and explicit: "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much." A man who will overreach his neighbor on a small scale will overreach in a larger scale if the temptation is brought to bear upon him. A false representation in a small matter is as much dishonesty in the sight of God as falsity in a larger matter.  {CG 154.2}
[CG 154.3]          Honesty should stamp every action of our lives.                                                                              155  Heavenly angels examine the work that is put into our hands; and where there has been a departure from the principles of truth, "wanting" is written in the records.  {CG 154.3}
[CG 156.1]       Chap. Thirty - Self-Reliance and Sense of Honor         Train Every Child to Be Self-reliant.--So far as possible, every child should be trained to self-reliance. By calling into exercise the various faculties, he will learn where he is strongest, and in what he is deficient. A wise instructor will give special attention to the development of the weaker traits, that the child may form a well-balanced, harmonious character.  {CG 156.1}
[CG 156.2]          Too Much Ease Will Develop Weaklings.--If parents, while they live, would assist their children to help themselves, it would be better than to leave them a large amount at death. Children who are left to rely principally upon their own exertions make better men and women and are better fitted for practical life than those children who have depended upon their father's estate. The children left to depend upon their own resources generally prize their abilities, improve their privileges, and cultivate and direct their faculties to accomplish a purpose in life. They frequently develop characters of industry, frugality, and moral worth, which lie at the foundation of success in the Christian life. Those children for whom parents do the most, frequently feel under the least obligation toward them.  {CG 156.2}
[CG 156.3]          Obstacles Develop Strength.--It is obstacles that make men strong. It is not helps, but difficulties, conflicts, rebuffs, that make men of moral sinew. Too much ease and avoiding responsibility have made weaklings                                                                              157  and dwarfs of those who ought to be responsible men of moral power and strong spiritual muscle.  {CG 156.3}
[CG 157.1]          From the earliest years it is necessary to weave into the character principles of stern integrity, that the youth may reach the highest standard of manhood and womanhood. They should ever keep the fact before their eyes that they have been bought with a price and should glorify God in their bodies and spirits, which are His. The youth should seriously consider what shall be their purpose and lifework, and lay the foundation in such a way that their habits shall be free from all taint of corruption. If they would stand in a position where they shall influence others, they must be self-reliant.  {CG 157.1}
[CG 157.2]          Prepare Children to Meet Problems Bravely.-- Beyond the discipline of the home and the school, all have to meet the stern discipline of life. How to meet this wisely is a lesson that should be made plain to every child and to every youth. It is true that God loves us, that He is working for our happiness, and that, if His law had always been obeyed, we should never have known suffering; and it is no less true that, in this world, as the result of sin, suffering, trouble, burdens, come to every life. We may do the children and the youth a lifelong good by teaching them to meet bravely these troubles and burdens. While we should give them sympathy, let it never be such as to foster self-pity. What they need is that which stimulates and strengthens rather than weakens.  {CG 157.2}
[CG 157.3]          They should be taught that this world is not a parade ground, but a battlefield. All are called to endure hardness, as good soldiers. They are to be strong and quit themselves like men. Let them be taught that the true test of character is found in the willingness to bear                                                                              158  burdens, to take the hard place, to do the work that needs to be done, though it bring no earthly recognition or reward.  {CG 157.3}
[CG 158.1]          Strengthen the Sense of Honor.--The wise educator, in dealing with his pupils, will seek to encourage confidence and to strengthen the sense of honor. Children and youth are benefited by being trusted. Many, even of the little children, have a high sense of honor; all desire to be treated with confidence and respect, and this is their right. They should not be led to feel that they cannot go out or come in without being watched. Suspicion demoralizes, producing the very evils it seeks to prevent. . . . Lead the youth to feel that they are trusted, and there are few who will not seek to prove themselves worthy of the trust.  {CG 158.1}
[CG 161.1]       Chap. Thirty-One - Importance of Character         The Only Treasure Taken From This World.--A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that we can take from this world to the next. Those who are under the instruction of Christ in this world will take every divine attainment with them to the heavenly mansions. And in heaven we are continually to improve. How important, then, is the development of character in this life.  {CG 161.1}
[CG 161.2]          True Character a Quality of the Soul.--Mental ability and genius are not character, for these are often possessed by those who have the very opposite of a good character. Reputation is not character. True character is a quality of the soul, revealing itself in the conduct.  {CG 161.2}
[CG 161.3]          A good character is a capital of more value than gold or silver. It is unaffected by panics or failures, and in that day when earthly possessions shall be swept away, it will bring rich returns. Integrity, firmness, and perseverance are qualities that all should seek earnestly to cultivate; for they clothe the possessor with a power which is irresistible--a power which makes him strong to do good, strong to resist evil, strong to bear adversity.  {CG 161.3}
[CG 161.4]          Its Two Essential Elements.--Strength of character consists of two things--power of will and power of self-control. Many youth mistake strong, uncontrolled passion for strength of character; but the truth is that he who is mastered by his passions is a weak man. The real greatness and nobility of the man is measured by his powers to subdue his feelings, not by the power of his feelings to                                                                              162  subdue him. The strongest man is he who, while sensitive to abuse, will yet restrain passion and forgive his enemies.  {CG 161.4}
[CG 162.1]          More Necessary Than Outward Show.--If it were considered as important that the young possess a beautiful character and amiable disposition as it is that they imitate the fashions of the world in dress and deportment, we would see hundreds where there is one today coming upon the stage of active life prepared to exert an ennobling influence upon society.  {CG 162.1}
[CG 162.2]          Its Development Is the Work of a Lifetime.--The formation of character is the work of a lifetime, and it is for eternity. If all could realize this, if they would awake to the thought that we are individually deciding our own destiny for eternal life or eternal ruin, what a change would take place! How differently would this probationary time be occupied, and what different characters would fill our world!  {CG 162.2}
[CG 162.3]          Development and Growth.--The germination of the seed represents the beginning of spiritual life, and the development of the plant is a figure of the development of character. There can be no life without growth. The plant must either grow or die. As its growth is silent and imperceptible, but continuous, so is the growth of character. At every stage of development our life may be perfect; yet if God's purpose for us is fulfilled, there will be constant advancement.  {CG 162.3}
[CG 162.4]          It Is the Harvest of Life.--The harvest of life is character, and it is this that determines destiny, both for this life and for the life to come. The harvest is a reproduction of the seed sown. Every seed yields fruit after its kind. So it is with the traits of character we cherish. Selfishness,                                                                              163  self-love, self-esteem, self-indulgence, reproduce themselves; and the end is wretchedness and ruin. "He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:8. Love, sympathy, and kindness yield fruitage of blessing, a harvest that is imperishable.  {CG 162.4}
[CG 163.1]          The Greatest Evidence of Christianity.--If Christian mothers will present to society children with integrity of character, with firm principles and sound morals, they will have performed the most important of all missionary labors. Their children, thoroughly educated to take their places in society, are the greatest evidence of Christianity that can be given to the world.  {CG 163.1}
[CG 163.2]          The Influence of One Child Properly Trained.-- No higher work was ever committed to mortals than the shaping of character. Children are not only to be educated, but trained as well; and who can tell the future of a growing child, or youth? Let the greatest care be bestowed upon the culture of your children. One child, properly disciplined in the principles of truth, who has the love and fear of God woven through the character, will possess a power for good in the world that cannot be estimated.  {CG 163.2}
[CG 164.1]       Chap. Thirty-Two - How Character is Formed         Attained by Persevering, Untiring Effort.--Character does not come by chance. It is not determined by one outburst of temper, one step in the wrong direction. It is the repetition of the act that causes it to become habit, and molds the character either for good or for evil. Right characters can be formed only by persevering, untiring effort, by improving every entrusted talent and capability to the glory of God. Instead of doing this, many allow themselves to drift wherever impulse or circumstances may carry them. This is not because they are lacking in good material, but because they do not realize that in their youth God wants them to do their very best.  {CG 164.1}
[CG 164.2]          Our first duty to God and our fellow beings is in self-development. Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable. In order to purify and refine our characters, we need the grace given us of Christ that will enable us to see and correct our deficiencies and improve that which is excellent in our characters.  {CG 164.2}
[CG 164.3]          By Cultivating God-given Powers.--To a great extent everyone is the architect of his own character. Every day the structure more nearly approaches completion. The Word of God warns us to take heed how we build, to see that our building is founded upon the Eternal Rock. The time is coming when our work will stand revealed just as it is. Now is the time for all to                                                                              165  cultivate the powers that God has given them, that they may form characters for usefulness here and for a higher life hereafter.  {CG 164.3}
[CG 165.1]          Faith in Christ as a personal Saviour will give strength and solidity to the character. Those who have genuine faith in Christ will be sober-minded, remembering that God's eye is upon them, that the Judge of all men is weighing moral worth, that heavenly intelligences are watching to see what manner of character is being developed.  {CG 165.1}
[CG 165.2]          It Is Influenced by Every Act.--Every act of life, however unimportant, has its influence in forming the character. A good character is more precious than worldly possessions, and the work of forming it is the noblest in which men can engage.  {CG 165.2}
[CG 165.3]          Characters formed by circumstance are changeable and discordant--a mass of contraries. Their possessors have no high aim or purpose in life. They have no ennobling influence upon the characters of others. They are purposeless and powerless.  {CG 165.3}
[CG 165.4]          Perfected by Following God's Pattern.--God expects us to build characters in accordance with the pattern set before us. We are to lay brick by brick, adding grace to grace, finding our weak points and correcting them in accordance with the directions given. When a crack is seen in the walls of a mansion, we know that something about the building is wrong. In our character building, cracks are often seen. Unless these defects are remedied, the house will fall when the tempest of trial beats upon it.  {CG 165.4}
[CG 165.5]          God gives us strength, reasoning power, time, in order that we may build characters on which He can place His                                                                              166  stamp of approval. He desires each child of His to build a noble character, by the doing of pure, noble deeds, that in the end he may present a symmetrical structure, a fair temple, honored by man and God.  {CG 165.5}
[CG 166.1]          In our character building we must build on Christ. He is the sure foundation--a foundation which can never be moved. The tempest of temptation and trial cannot move the building which is riveted to the Eternal Rock.  {CG 166.1}
[CG 166.2]          He who would grow into a beautiful building for the Lord must cultivate every power of the being. It is only by the right use of the talents that the character can develop harmoniously. Thus we bring to the foundation that which is represented in the Word as gold, silver, precious stones--material that will stand the test of God's purifying fires. In our character building Christ is our example.  {CG 166.2}
[CG 166.3]          Temptation Must Be Resisted.--The life of Daniel is an inspired illustration of what constitutes a sanctified character. It presents a lesson for all, and especially for the young. A strict compliance with the requirements of God is beneficial to the health of body and mind.  {CG 166.3}
[CG 166.4]          Daniel's parents had trained him in his childhood to habits of strict temperance. They had taught him that he must conform to nature's laws in all his habits; that his eating and drinking had a direct influence upon his physical, mental, and moral nature, and that he was accountable to God for his capabilities; for he held them all as a gift from God and must not, by any course of action, dwarf or cripple them. As the result of this teaching, the law of God was exalted in his mind and reverenced in his heart. During the early years of his captivity Daniel was passing through an ordeal which was to                                                                              167  familiarize him with courtly grandeur, with hypocrisy, and with paganism. A strange school indeed to fit him for a life of sobriety, industry, and faithfulness! And yet he lived uncorrupted by the atmosphere of evil with which he was surrounded.  {CG 166.4}
[CG 167.1]          Daniel and his companions enjoyed the benefits of correct training and education in early life, but these advantages alone would not have made them what they were. The time came when they must act for themselves --when their future depended upon their own course. Then they decided to be true to the lessons given them in childhood. The fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, was the foundation of their greatness. His Spirit strengthened every true purpose, every noble resolution.  {CG 167.1}
[CG 167.2]          The Aim Must Be High.--If the youth today would stand as Daniel stood, they must put to the stretch every spiritual nerve and muscle. The Lord does not desire that they shall remain novices. He wishes them to reach the highest round of the ladder, that they may step from it into the kingdom of God.  {CG 167.2}
[CG 167.3]          If the youth rightly appreciate this important matter of character building, they will see the necessity of doing their work so that it will stand the test of investigation before God. The humblest and weakest, by persevering effort in resisting temptation and seeking wisdom from above, may reach heights that now seem impossible. These attainments cannot come without a determined purpose to be faithful in the fulfillment of little duties. It requires constant watchfulness that crooked traits shall not be left to strengthen. The young may have moral power, for Jesus came into the world that He might                                                                              168  be our example and give to all youth and those of every age divine help.  {CG 167.3}
[CG 168.1]          Counsel and Reproof Must Be Heeded.--Those who are defective in character, in conduct, in habits and practices, are to take heed to counsel and reproof. This world is God's workshop, and every stone that can be used in the heavenly temple must be hewed and polished, until it is a tried and precious stone, fitted for its place in the Lord's building. But if we refuse to be trained and disciplined, we shall be as stones that will not be hewed and polished, and that are cast aside at last as useless.  {CG 168.1}
[CG 168.2]          It may be that much work needs to be done in your character building, that you are a rough stone which must be squared and polished before it can fill a place in God's temple. You need not be surprised if with hammer and chisel God cuts away the sharp corners of your character, until you are prepared to fill the place He has for you. No human being can accomplish this work. Only by God can it be done. And be assured that He will not strike one useless blow. His every blow is struck in love, for your eternal happiness. He knows your infirmities, and works to restore, not to destroy.  {CG 168.2}
[CG 169.1]       Chap. Thirty-Three - Parental Responsibility in Character Formation         A Divine Commission to Parents.--God has given parents their work, to form the characters of their children after the divine Pattern. By His grace they can accomplish the task; but it will require patient, painstaking effort, no less than firmness and decision, to guide the will and restrain the passions. A field left to itself produces only thorns and briers. He who would secure a harvest for usefulness or beauty must first prepare the soil and sow the seed, then dig about the young shoots, removing the weeds and softening the earth, and the precious plants will flourish and richly repay his care and labor.  {CG 169.1}
[CG 169.2]          Character building is the most important work ever entrusted to human beings, and never before was its diligent study so important as now. Never was any previous generation called to meet issues so momentous; never before were young men and young women confronted by perils so great as confront them today.  {CG 169.2}
[CG 169.3]          Here is your work, parents, to develop the characters of your children in harmony with the precepts of the Word of God. This work should come first, for eternal interests are here involved. The character building of your children is of more importance than the cultivation of your farms, more essential than the building of houses to live in, or of prosecuting any manner of business or trade.                                                                              170   {CG 169.3}
[CG 170.1]          Home, the Best Place for Character Building.-- Neither the church school nor the college affords the opportunities for establishing a child's character building upon the right foundation that are afforded in the home.  {CG 170.1}
[CG 170.2]          Crooked Characters Must Be Straightened.-- Those who do not make the crooked character straight in this life can have no part in the future immortal life. Oh, how important it is for the youth to keep straight. Parents act an important part in this matter. On them rests the sacred responsibility of training their children for God. To them has been given the work of helping their little ones form characters which will gain for them entrance into the courts above.  {CG 170.2}
[CG 170.3]          Parents, Do Not Blunder Here.--Parents, for Christ's sake do not blunder in your most important work, that of molding the characters of your children for time and for eternity. An error on your part in neglect of faithful instruction, or in the indulgence of that unwise affection which blinds your eyes to their defects and prevents you from giving them proper restraint, will prove their ruin. Your course may give a wrong direction to all their future career. You determine for them what they will be and what they will do for Christ, for men, and for their own souls.  {CG 170.3}
[CG 170.4]          Deal honestly and faithfully with your children. Work bravely and patiently. Fear no crosses, spare no time or labor, burden or suffering. The future of your children will testify the character of your work. Fidelity to Christ on your part can be better expressed in the symmetrical character of your children than in any other way. They are Christ's property, bought with His own blood. If their influence is wholly on the side of Christ, they are                                                                              171  His colaborers, helping others to find the path of life. If you neglect your God-given work, your unwise course of discipline places them among the class who scatter from Christ and strengthen the kingdom of darkness.  {CG 170.4}
[CG 171.1]          A Clean House, but Children Untrained.--I have seen a mother whose critical eye could discern anything imperfect in the matching of the woodwork of her house, and who was very particular to have her house cleaning thoroughly done at the precise time she had set, and would carry it through frequently at the expense of physical and spiritual health, while her children were left to run in the street and obtain a street education. These children were growing up coarse, selfish, rude, and disobedient. The mother, although she had hired help, was so much engaged in household cares that she could not afford time to properly train her children. She let them come up with deformity of character, undisciplined, and untrained. We could but feel that the fine taste of the mother was not exercised in the right direction, or she would have seen the necessity of molding the minds and manners of her children and educating them to have symmetrical characters and lovely tempers.  {CG 171.1}
[CG 171.2]          If the mother had let these things which she had allowed to claim her first attention come in secondarily, she would have regarded the physical, mental, and moral training of her children of almost infinite importance. Those who take upon themselves the responsibility of mothers should feel under the most solemn obligation to God and to their children to so educate them that they will have amiable and affectionate dispositions, and that they will be pure in morals, refined in taste, and lovely in character.                                                                              172   {CG 171.2}
[CG 172.1]          Only by God's Spirit.--Shall we consider that we are capable of fashioning our lives and characters to enter into the portals of glory? We cannot do it. We are dependent every moment upon the Spirit of God operating upon us and upon our children.  {CG 172.1}
[CG 172.2]          If parents would see a different state of things in their family, let them consecrate themselves wholly to God, and the Lord will devise ways and means whereby a transformation may take place in their households.  {CG 172.2}
[CG 172.3]          God's Part and Yours.--Christian parents, I entreat you to awake. . . . If you neglect your duty and shirk your responsibility, expecting the Lord to do your work, you will be disappointed. When you have faithfully done all that you can do, bring your children to Jesus; and with earnest, persevering faith, make intercession for them. The Lord will be your helper; He will work with your efforts; in His strength you will gain the victory. . . .  {CG 172.3}
[CG 172.4]          When parents shall manifest such an interest for their children as God would have them, He will hear their prayers and work with their efforts; but God does not propose to do the work which He has left for parents to do.  {CG 172.4}
[CG 172.5]          The Creator Will Help You.--Mothers, remember that in your work the Creator of the universe will give you help. In His strength, and through His name, you can lead your children to be overcomers. Teach them to look to God for strength. Tell them that He hears their prayers. Teach them to overcome evil with good. Teach them to exert an influence that is elevating and ennobling. Lead them to unite with God, and then they will                                                                              173  have strength to resist the strongest temptation. They will then receive the reward of the overcomer.  {CG 172.5}
[CG 173.1]          Your compassionate Redeemer is watching you in love and sympathy, ready to hear your prayers and render you the assistance which you need in your lifework. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, faith, and charity are the elements of the Christian character. These precious graces are the fruits of the Spirit. They are the Christian's crown and shield.  {CG 173.1}
[CG 173.2]          A Word of Encouragement to Those Who Have Erred.--Those who have been training their children in an improper way need not despair; let them become converted to God and seek for the true spirit of obedience, and they will be enabled to make decided reforms. In conforming your own customs to the saving principles of God's holy law, you will have an influence upon your children.  {CG 173.2}
[CG 173.3]          Some Children Will Refuse to Heed Parental Counsel.--Parents may do everything in their power to give their children every privilege and instruction, in order that they may give their hearts to God; yet the children may refuse to walk in the light and, by their evil course, cast unfavorable reflections upon their parents who love them, and whose hearts yearn after their salvation.  {CG 173.3}
[CG 173.4]          It is Satan who tempts children to follow in a course of sin and disobedience. . . . If they refuse to walk in the light, if they refuse to submit their will and way to God, and persist in following a course of sin in their impenitence, the light and privileges they have had will rise up in judgment against them, because they did not walk in the light, and knew not whither they went. Satan is leading                                                                              174  them, and they become a subject of remark in the world. People will say, "Why, look at those children! Their parents are very religious, but you see they are worse than my children, and I do not profess to be a Christian." In this way children who receive good instruction and yet do not heed it cast a reproach upon their parents, dishonoring them, and putting them to shame before an ungodly world. They also bring a reproach upon the religion of Jesus Christ through their wicked course of action.  {CG 173.4}
[CG 174.1]          Parents, This Is Your Work.--Parents, it is your work to develop in your children patience, constancy, and genuine love. In dealing aright with the children God has given you, you are helping them lay the foundation for pure, well-balanced characters. You are instilling into their minds principles which they will one day follow in their own families. The effect of your well-directed efforts will be seen as they conduct their households in the way of the Lord.  {CG 174.1}
[CG 175.1]       Chap. Thirty-Four - Ways in Which Character is Ruined         Parents May Sow the Seed of Ruin.--Mistaken parents are teaching their children lessons which will prove ruinous to them, and are also planting thorns for their own feet. . . . To a great extent, parents hold in their own hands the future happiness of their children. Upon them rests the important work of forming the character of these children. The instructions given in childhood will follow them all through life. Parents sow the seed which will spring up and bear fruit either for good or evil. They can fit their sons and daughters for happiness or for misery.  {CG 175.1}
[CG 175.2]         By Indulgence or Iron Rule.--Children are often indulged from their babyhood, and wrong habits become fixed. The parents have been bending the sapling. By their course of training the character develops, either into deformity or into symmetry and beauty. But while many err upon the side of indulgence, others go to the opposite extreme and rule their children with a rod of iron. Neither of these follow out the Bible directions, but both are doing a fearful work. They are molding the minds of their children and must render an account in the day of God for the manner in which they have done this. Eternity will reveal the results of the work done in this life.  {CG 175.2}
[CG 175.3]          By Failing to Train for God.--In failing to train their children to keep the way of the Lord, to do those things                                                                              176  which He has commanded, parents neglect a solemn duty.  {CG 175.3}
[CG 176.1]          Some ［children］ have been left to do as they pleased; others have been found fault with and discouraged. But little pleasantness, and cheerfulness, and words of approval have been given them.  {CG 176.1}
[CG 176.2]          Oh, if mothers would only work with wisdom, with calmness and determination, to train and subdue the carnal tempers of their children, what an amount of sin would be nipped in the bud, and what a host of church trials would be saved! . . . Many souls will be eternally lost because of the neglect of parents to properly discipline their children, and to teach them submission to authority in their youth. Petting faults and soothing outbreaks is not laying the ax at the root of the evil, but proves the ruin of thousands of souls. Oh, how will parents answer to God for this fearful neglect of their duty!  {CG 176.2}
[CG 176.3]          By Negligence That Dallies With Sin.--Children need watchful care and guidance as never before, for Satan is striving to gain the control of their minds and hearts and to drive out the Spirit of God. The fearful state of the youth of this age constitutes one of the strongest signs that we are living in the last days, but the ruin of many may be traced directly to the wrong management of the parents. The spirit of murmuring against reproof has been taking root and is bearing its fruit of insubordination. While the parents are not pleased with the characters their children are developing, they fail to see the errors that make them what they are. . . .  {CG 176.3}
[CG 176.4]          God condemns the negligence that dallies with sin and crime, and the insensibility that is slow to detect its baleful presence in the families of professed Christians.                                                                              177   {CG 176.4}
[CG 177.1]          By Lack of Restraint.--Because they do not properly restrain and direct their children, thousands are coming up with deformed characters, with lax morals, and with little education in the practical duties of life. They are left to do as they please with their impulses, their time, and their mental powers. The loss to the cause of God in these neglected talents lies at the door of fathers and mothers; and what excuse will they render to Him whose stewards they are, entrusted with the sacred duty of fitting the souls under their charge to improve all their powers to the glory of their Creator?  {CG 177.1}
[CG 177.2]          The parents have thought they loved their children, but have proved themselves their worst enemies. They have let evil go unrestrained. They have allowed their children to cherish sin, which is like cherishing and petting a viper, that will not only sting the victim who cherishes it, but all with whom he is connected.  {CG 177.2}
[CG 177.3]          By Overlooking Glaring Wrongs.--Instead of uniting with those who bear the burdens, to lift up the standard of morals, and working with heart and soul in the fear of God to correct the wrongs in their children, many parents soothe their own consciences by saying, "My children are no worse than others." They seek to conceal the glaring wrongs which God hates, lest their children shall become offended and take some desperate course. If the spirit of rebellion is in their hearts, far better subdue it now than permit it to increase and strengthen by indulgence. If parents would do their duty, we should see a different state of things. Many of these parents have backslidden from God. They do not have wisdom from Him to perceive the devices of Satan and to resist his snares.                                                                              178   {CG 177.3}
[CG 178.1]          By Petting and Indulging Children.--Parents frequently pet and indulge their young children because it appears easier to manage them in that way. It is smoother work to let them have their own way than to check the unruly inclinations that rise so strongly in their breasts. Yet this course is cowardly. It is a wicked thing thus to shirk responsibility; for the time will come when these children, whose unchecked inclinations have strengthened into absolute vices, will bring reproach and disgrace upon themselves and their families. They go out into busy life unprepared for its temptations, not strong enough to endure perplexities and troubles; passionate, overbearing, undisciplined, they seek to bend others to their will, and, failing in this, consider themselves ill-used by the world, and turn against it.  {CG 178.1}
[CG 178.2]          By Sowing Seeds of Vanity.--Wherever we go, we see children indulged, petted, and praised without discretion. This tends to make them vain, bold, and conceited. The seeds of vanity are easily sown in the human heart by injudicious parents and guardians, who praise and indulge the young under their charge, with no thought of the future. Self-will and pride are evils that turned angels into demons and barred the gates of heaven against them. And yet parents, unconsciously, are systematically training their children to be the agents of Satan.  {CG 178.2}
[CG 178.3]          By Becoming Slaves to Teen-age Children.--How many toil-worn, burdened parents have become slaves to their children, while, in harmony with their education and training, the children live to please, amuse, and glorify themselves. Parents sow the seed in the hearts of their children which yields a harvest that they do not care to reap. Under this training, at the age of ten,                                                                              179  twelve, or sixteen, children think themselves very wise, imagine that they are prodigies, and regard themselves as altogether too knowing to be in subjection to their parents, and too elevated to stoop to the duties of everyday life. The love of pleasure controls their minds; and selfishness, pride, and rebellion work out their bitter results in their lives. They accept the insinuations of Satan and cultivate an unhallowed ambition to make a great show in the world.  {CG 178.3}
[CG 179.1]          By Misguided Love and Sympathy.--Parents may indulge their affection for their children at the expense of obedience to God's holy law. Guided by this affection, they disobey God by allowing their children to carry out wrong impulses, and withhold the instruction and discipline which God has commanded them to give. When parents thus disregard the commands of God, they imperil their own souls and the souls of their children.  {CG 179.1}
[CG 179.2]          Weakness in requiring obedience, and false love and sympathy--the false notion that to indulge and not to restrain is wisdom--constitute a system of training that grieves angels; but it delights Satan, for it brings hundreds and thousands of children into his ranks. This is why he blinds the eyes of parents, benumbs their sensibilities, and confuses their minds. They see that their sons and daughters are not pleasant, lovely, obedient, and care-taking; yet children accumulate in their homes, to poison their lives, fill their hearts with grief, and add to the number whom Satan is using to allure souls to destruction.  {CG 179.2}
[CG 179.3]          By Failure to Require Obedience.--If ungrateful children are fed and clothed and allowed to go uncorrected, they are emboldened to continue in their course                                                                              180  of evil. And inasmuch as their parents or guardians thus favor them and do not require obedience, they are partakers with them in their wicked deeds. Such children might just as well be with the wicked, whose iniquitous course they choose to follow, as to remain in Christian homes, to poison others. In this age of wickedness every Christian must stand firm in condemnation of the evil, Satanic actions of wayward children. Evil youth should not be treated as kind and obedient, but as disturbers of the peace and corrupters of their companions.  {CG 179.3}
[CG 180.1]          By Allowing the Children to Follow Their Own Minds.--The prevailing influence in society is in favor of allowing the youth to follow the natural turn of their own minds.  {CG 180.1}
[CG 180.2]          They ［parents］ think that by gratifying the wishes of their children and letting them follow their own inclinations, they can gain their love. What an error! Children thus indulged grow up unrestrained in their desires, unyielding in their dispositions, selfish, exacting, and overbearing, a curse to themselves and to all around them.  {CG 180.2}
[CG 180.3]          By Allowing Wrong Attitudes.--The lessons of childhood, good or bad, are not learned in vain. Character is developed in youth for good or evil. At home there may be praise and false flattery; in the world each stands on his own merits. The pampered ones, to whom all home authority has yielded, are there daily subjected to mortification by being obliged to yield to others. Many are even then taught their true place by these practical lessons of life. Through rebuffs, disappointments, and plain language from their superiors, they often find their true level and are humbled to understand and accept their                                                                              181  proper place. But this is a severe and unnecessary ordeal for them to pass through and could have been prevented by proper training in their youth.  {CG 180.3}
[CG 181.1]          The majority of these ill-disciplined ones go through life at cross-purposes with the world, making a failure where they should have succeeded. They grow to feel that the world owes them a grudge because it does not flatter and caress them, and they take revenge by holding a grudge against the world and bidding it defiance. Circumstances sometimes oblige them to affect a humility they do not feel; but it does not fit them with a natural grace, and their true characters are sure to be exposed sooner or later. . . .  {CG 181.1}
[CG 181.2]          Why will parents educate their children in such a manner that they will be at war with those who are brought in contact with them?  {CG 181.2}
[CG 181.3]          By Training as Devotees of Society.--Children are not to be trained to be the devotees of society. They are not to be sacrificed to Molech, but they are to become members of the Lord's family. Parents are to be filled with the compassion of Christ, that they may work for the salvation of the souls that are placed under their influence. They are not to have their minds all engrossed in the fashions and practices of the world. They are not to educate their children to attend parties and concerts and dances, to have and attend feasts, because after this manner the Gentiles walk.  {CG 181.3}
[CG 181.4]          By Permitting Selfish Seeking of Happiness.-- There are many youth who might have been a blessing to society and an honor to the cause of God if they had been started in life with right ideas as to what constituted success. But instead of being controlled by reason and                                                                              182  principle, they had been trained to yield to wayward inclination, and sought only to gratify themselves by indulging in selfish pleasure, thinking thus to obtain happiness. But they failed to attain their object, for seeking happiness in the path of selfishness will bring but misery. They are useless in society, useless in the cause of God. Their prospects both for this world and the next are of a most discouraging order, for by selfish love of pleasure they lose both this world and the next.  {CG 181.4}
[CG 182.1]          By a Lack of Piety at Home.--In professedly Christian homes, where fathers and mothers would be supposed to be diligent students of the Scriptures, in order that they might know every specification and restriction in the Word of God, there is manifest neglect of following the instruction of the Word and of bringing up the children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Professedly Christian parents fail to practice piety at home. How can fathers and mothers represent Christ's character in the home life when they are content to reach a cheap, low standard? The seal of the living God will be placed upon those only who bear a likeness to Christ in character.  {CG 182.1}
[CG 182.2]          If Parents Were Obedient to God.--The Lord will not vindicate the misrule of parents. Today hundreds of children swell the ranks of the enemy, living and working apart from the purpose of God. They are disobedient, unthankful, unholy; but the sin lies at the door of their parents. Christian parents, thousands of children are perishing in their sins because of the failure of their parents to rule the home wisely. If parents were obedient to the unseen Leader of the armies of Israel, whose glory was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, the unhappy state                                                                              183  of affairs now existing in so many families would not be seen.  {CG 182.2}
[CG 184.1]       Chap. Thirty-Five - How Parents May Build Strong Characters         Devote Best Time and Thought to It.--The parents receive the child a helpless burden in their arms; he knows nothing, and he is to be taught to love God, is to be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He is to be fashioned after the divine model.  {CG 184.1}
[CG 184.2]          When parents see the importance of their work in training their children, when they see that it involves eternal interest, they will feel that they must devote their best time and thought to this work.  {CG 184.2}
[CG 184.3]          Gain an Understanding of Principles Involved.-- The lessons learned, the habits formed, during the years of infancy and childhood have more to do with the formation of the character and the direction of the life than have all the instruction and training of after years.  {CG 184.3}
[CG 184.4]          Parents need to consider this. They should understand the principles that underlie the care and training of children. They should be capable of rearing them in physical, mental, and moral health.  {CG 184.4}
[CG 184.5]          Shun Superficiality.--We are living in an age when almost everything is superficial. There is but little stability and firmness of character, because the training and education of children from their cradle is superficial. Their character is built upon sliding sand. Self-denial and self-control have not been molded into their characters. They have been petted and indulged until they are spoiled for practical life. The love of pleasure controls                                                                              185  minds, and children are flattered and indulged to their ruin.  {CG 184.5}
[CG 185.1]          Fortify Children Through Prayer and Faith.--You have brought children into the world who have had no voice in regard to their existence. You have made yourselves responsible in a great measure for their future happiness, their eternal well-being. The burden is upon you, whether you are sensible of it or not, to train these children for God--to watch with jealous care the first approach of the wily foe, and be prepared to raise a standard against him. Build a fortification of prayer and faith about your children, and exercise diligent watching thereunto. You are not secure a moment against the attacks of Satan. You have no time to rest from watchful, earnest labor. You should not sleep a moment at your post. This is a most important warfare. Eternal consequences are involved. It is life or death with you and your family.  {CG 185.1}
[CG 185.2]          Take a Firm, Decided Stand.--Parents generally put too much confidence in their children; for often when the parents are confiding in them, they are in concealed iniquity. Parents, watch your children with a jealous care. Exhort, reprove, counsel them when you rise up, and when you sit down; when you go out, and when you come in; "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little." Subdue your children when they are young. With many parents this is sadly neglected. They do not take as firm and decided a stand as they should in regard to their children.  {CG 185.2}
[CG 185.3]          Patiently Sow Precious Seed.--"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Parents, your work is to win the confidence of your children, and in love patiently                                                                              186  sow the precious seed. Do your work with contentment, never complaining of the hardship, care, and toil. If by patient, kindly, Christlike efforts you may present one soul perfect in Christ Jesus, your life will not have been in vain. Keep your own soul hopeful and patient. Let no discouragement be traced in your features or attitude. You have in your hands the making of a character, through the help of God, that may work in the Master's vineyard and win many souls to Jesus. Ever encourage your children to reach a high standard in all their habits and tendencies. Be patient with their imperfections, as God is patient with you in your imperfections, bearing with you, watching over you, that you may bring forth fruit unto His glory. Encourage your children to strive to add to their attainments the virtues they lack.  {CG 185.3}
[CG 186.1]          Teach Submission to Law.--Fathers and mothers, be sensible. Teach your children that they must be subordinate to law.  {CG 186.1}
[CG 186.2]          It is not mercy or kindness to permit a child to have its own way, to submit to its rule, and to neglect to correct it on the ground that you love it too well to punish it. What kind of love is it that permits your child to develop traits of character that will make him and everyone else miserable? Away with such love! True love will look out for the present and eternal good of the soul.  {CG 186.2}
[CG 186.3]          What right have parents to bring children into the world to neglect and to let them grow up without culture and Christian training? Parents should be responsible. Teach them control; teach them that they are to be managed, and not to manage.  {CG 186.3}
[CG 186.4]          Co-ordinate the Physical, Mental, and Spiritual.-- The physical, mental, and spiritual capabilities should be                                                                              187  developed in order to form a properly balanced character. Children should be watched, guarded, and disciplined in order to successfully accomplish this.  {CG 186.4}
[CG 187.1]          The physical constitution of Jesus, as well as His spiritual development, is brought before us in these words,"the child grew," and "increased in stature." In childhood and youth attention should be given to physical development. Parents should so train their children in good habits of eating and drinking, dressing, and exercise, that a good foundation will be laid for sound health in afterlife. The physical organism should have special care, that the powers of the body may not be dwarfed, but developed to their full extent. This places the children and youth in a favorable position, so that, with proper religious training, they may, like Christ, wax strong in spirit.  {CG 187.1}
[CG 187.2]          Health Is Related to Intellect and Morals.--In order to arouse the moral sensibilities of your children to the claims that God has upon them, you should imprint upon their minds and hearts how to obey the laws of God in their physical frames; for health has a great deal to do with their intellect and morals. If they have health and purity of heart, they are then better prepared to live and be a blessing to the world. To balance their minds in the right direction and at the right time is a most important work, for very much depends on the decision made at the critical moment.  {CG 187.2}
[CG 187.3]          How important, then, that the minds of parents should be as free as possible from perplexing, wearing care in needless things, that they may think and act with calm consideration, wisdom, and love, making the physical and moral health of their children the first and highest consideration.                                                                              188   {CG 187.3}
[CG 188.1]          Parents wonder that children are so much more difficult to control than they used to be, when in most cases their own criminal management has made them so. The quality of food they bring upon their tables and encourage their children to eat is constantly exciting their animal passions and weakening the moral and intellectual faculties.  {CG 188.1}
[CG 188.2]          Pure Food for the Mind Is Essential.--Educate the faculties and tastes of your dear ones; seek to preoccupy their minds, so that there shall be no place for low, debasing thoughts or indulgences. The grace of Christ is the only antidote or preventive of evil. You may choose, if you will, whether the minds of your children shall be occupied with pure, uncorrupted thoughts or with the evils that are existing everywhere--pride and forgetfulness of their Redeemer. The mind, like the body, must have pure food in order to have health and strength. Give your children something to think of that is out of and above themselves. The mind that lives in a pure, holy atmosphere will not become trifling, frivolous, vain, and selfish.  {CG 188.2}
[CG 188.3]          We are living in a time when everything that is false and superficial is exalted above the real, the natural, and the enduring. The mind must be kept free from everything that would lead it in a wrong direction. It should not be encumbered with trashy stories, which do not add strength to the mental powers. The thoughts will be of the same character as the food we provide for the mind.  {CG 188.3}
[CG 188.4]          A Brilliant Intellect Is Not Sufficient.--You may be pleased with the brilliant intellect of your child; but unless it is under the control of a sanctified heart, it will work at cross-purposes with God. Nothing but a high                                                                              189  sense of the claims of God upon us can give us the proper stability of character, penetration of mind, and depth of understanding essential to success, both in this world and in the world to come.  {CG 188.4}
[CG 189.1]          Aim at High Points in Character Development.-- If we teach our children to be industrious, half the danger is over, for idleness leads into all manner of temptation to sin. Let us educate our children to be simple in manner without being bold, to be benevolent and self-sacrificing without being extravagant, to be economical without becoming avaricious. And above all, let us teach them the claims which God has upon them, that it is their duty to carry religion into every department of life, that they should love God supremely, and love their neighbor, not neglecting the little courtesies of life which are essential to happiness.  {CG 189.1}
[CG 189.2]          Pray for Heavenly Wisdom.--Parents should reflect and pray earnestly to God for wisdom and divine aid to properly train their children, that they may develop characters that God will approve. Their anxiety should not be how they can educate their children that they may be praised and honored of the world, but how they can educate them to form beautiful characters that God can approve. Much prayer and study are needed for heavenly wisdom to know how to deal with young minds, for very much is depending upon the direction parents give to the minds and wills of their children.  {CG 189.2}
[CG 189.3]          Moral and Spiritual Guidance Must Be Given.-- Parents need to be impressed with their obligation to give to the world children having well-developed character--children who will have moral power to resist temptation, and whose life will be an honor to God and a                                                                              190  blessing to their fellow men. Those who enter upon active life with firm principles will be prepared to stand unsullied amid the moral pollutions of this corrupt age.  {CG 189.3}
[CG 190.1]          Teach Children to Choose for Themselves.--Let the youth and the little children be taught to choose for themselves that royal robe woven in heaven's loom--the "fine linen, clean and white" (Revelation 19:8), which all the holy ones of earth will wear. This robe, Christ's own spotless character, is freely offered to every human being. But all who receive it will receive and wear it here.  {CG 190.1}
[CG 190.2]          Let the children be taught that as they open their minds to pure, loving thoughts and do loving and helpful deeds, they are clothing themselves with His beautiful garment of character. This apparel will make them beautiful and beloved here, and will hereafter be their title of admission to the palace of the King.  {CG 190.2}
[CG 193.1]       Chap. Thirty-Six - Advantage of the Early Years         Early Childhood Is the Most Important Period.-- Too much importance cannot be placed on the early training of children. The lessons that the child learns during the first seven years of life have more to do with forming his character than all that it learns in future years.  {CG 193.1}
[CG 193.2]          From babyhood the character of the child is to be molded and fashioned in accordance with the divine plan. Virtues are to be instilled into his opening mind.  {CG 193.2}
[CG 193.3]          The parents' work must begin with the child in its infancy, that it may receive the right impress of character ere the world shall place its stamp on mind and heart.  {CG 193.3}
[CG 193.4]          The Most Susceptible Age.--It is during the first years of a child's life that his mind is most susceptible to impressions either good or evil. During these years decided progress is made in either a right direction or a wrong one. On one hand, much worthless information may be gained; on the other, much solid, valuable knowledge. The strength of intellect, the substantial knowledge, are possessions which the gold of Ophir could not buy. Their price is above gold or silver.  {CG 193.4}
[CG 193.5]          First Impressions Are Seldom Forgotten.--Neither infants, children, or youth should hear an impatient word from father, mother, or any member of the household; for they receive impressions very early in life, and what parents make them today, they will be tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. The first lessons impressed upon the child are seldom forgotten. . . .                                                                              194   {CG 193.5}
[CG 194.1]          The impressions made on the heart early in life are seen in after years. They may be buried, but they will seldom be obliterated.  {CG 194.1}
[CG 194.2]          The Foundation Is Laid in the First Three Years.-- Mothers, be sure that you properly discipline your children during the first three years of their lives. Do not allow them to form their wishes and desires. The mother must be mind for her child. The first three years is the time in which to bend the tiny twig. Mothers should understand the importance attaching to this period. It is then that the foundation is laid.  {CG 194.2}
[CG 194.3]          If these first lessons have been defective, as they very often are, for Christ's sake, for the sake of your children's future and eternal good, seek to repair the wrong you have done. If you have waited until your children were three years old to begin to teach them self-control and obedience, seek to do it now, even though it will be much harder.  {CG 194.3}
[CG 194.4]          Not So Difficult As Generally Supposed.--Much parental anxiety and grief might be saved if children were taught from their cradles that their wills were not to be made law, and their whims continually indulged. It is not so difficult as is generally supposed to teach the little child to stifle its outburst of temper and subdue its fits of passion.  {CG 194.4}
[CG 194.5]          Do Not Postpone This Work.--Many neglect their duty during the first years of their children's lives, thinking that when they get older, they will then be very careful to repress wrong and educate them in the right. But the very time for them to do this work is when the children are babes in their arms. It is not right for parents to pet and humor their children; neither is it right for                                                                              195  them to abuse them. A firm, decided, straightforward course of action will be productive of the best results.  {CG 194.5}
[CG 195.1]          When I have called attention of parents to the wrong habits which they were encouraging in their very young children, some parents have appeared entirely indifferent; others have said with a smile, "Little darlings! I cannot bear to cross them in any way. They will do better when they get older. They will then be ashamed of these passionate outbursts. It is not best to be too particular and strict with the little ones. They will outgrow these habits of telling lies and deceiving and being indolent and selfish." A very easy way indeed for mothers to dispose of the matter, but this does not meet the will of God.  {CG 195.1}
[CG 195.2]          Thwart Satan's Effort to Claim Infant Children.-- Parents, you fail generally to begin your work early enough. You let Satan preoccupy the soil of the heart by putting in the first crop of seed.  {CG 195.2}
[CG 195.3]          You have a work to do that Satan shall not gain the control of your children and take them away from you before they are out of your arms. Mothers, you should see to it that the powers of darkness do not control your little ones. You should set your will that the enemy shall not raise his banner of darkness in your home.  {CG 195.3}
[CG 195.4]          In Preparing Also for Practical Life.--There are but very few who take time to carefully consider what an amount of knowledge both of temporal and eternal things may be gained by the child during its first twelve or fifteen years. Not only should children in these first years of life be obtaining book knowledge, but they should be learning the arts essential for practical life; the latter should not be neglected for the former.                                                                              196   {CG 195.4}
[CG 196.1]          Napoleon's Heritage.--The character of Napoleon Bonaparte was greatly influenced by his training in childhood. Unwise instructors inspired him with a love for conquest, forming mimic armies and placing him at their head as commander. Here was laid the foundation for his career of strife and bloodshed. Had the same care and effort been directed to making him a good man, imbuing his young heart with the spirit of the Gospel, how widely different might have been his history.  {CG 196.1}
[CG 196.2]          Hume and Voltaire.--It is said that Hume, the skeptic, was in early life a conscientious believer in the Word of God. Being connected with a debating society, he was appointed to present the arguments in favor of infidelity. He studied with earnestness and perseverance, and his keen and active mind became imbued with the sophistry of skepticism. Erelong he came to believe its delusive teachings, and his whole afterlife bore the dark impress of infidelity.  {CG 196.2}
[CG 196.3]          When Voltaire was five years old, he committed to memory an infidel poem, and the pernicious influence was never effaced from his mind. He became one of Satan's most successful agents to lead men away from God. Thousands will rise up in the judgment and charge the ruin of their souls upon the infidel Voltaire.  {CG 196.3}
[CG 196.4]          By the thoughts and feelings cherished in early years every youth is determining his own life history. Correct, virtuous, manly habits formed in youth will become a part of the character and will usually mark the course of the individual through life. The youth may become vicious or virtuous, as they choose. They may as well be distinguished for true and noble deeds as for great crime and wickedness.                                                                              197   {CG 196.4}
[CG 197.1]          Hannah's Reward.--Opportunities of inestimable worth, interests infinitely precious, are committed to every mother. During the first three years of the life of Samuel the prophet, his mother carefully taught him to distinguish between good and evil. By every familiar object surrounding him she sought to lead his thoughts up to the Creator. In fulfillment of her vow to give her son to the Lord, with great self-denial she placed him under the care of Eli the high priest, to be trained for service in the house of God. . . . His early training led him to choose to maintain his Christian integrity. What a reward was Hannah's! And what an encouragement to faithfulness is her example!  {CG 197.1}
[CG 197.2]          How Joseph's Mind Was Garrisoned.--The lessons given Joseph in his youth by Jacob in expressing his firm trust in God and relating to him again and again the precious evidences of His loving-kindness and unceasing care were the very lessons he needed in his exile among an idolatrous people. In the testing time he put these lessons to a practical use. When under the severest trial, he looked to his heavenly Father, whom he had learned to trust. Had the precepts and example of the father of Joseph been of an opposite character, the pen of inspiration would never have traced upon the pages of sacred history the story of integrity and virtue that shines forth in the character of Joseph. The early impressions made upon his mind garrisoned his heart in the hour of fierce temptation and led him to exclaim, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"  {CG 197.2}
[CG 197.3]          The Fruitage of Wise Training.--It is a sad fact that any weakness and indecision on the part of the mother is quickly seen by the children, and the tempter then works                                                                              198  upon their minds, leading them to persist in following their inclination. If parents would cultivate the qualities necessary for them to use in the proper training of their children, if they would plainly lay before the children the rules they must follow, and not suffer these rules to be broken, the Lord would co-operate with and bless both parents and children.  {CG 197.3}
[CG 198.1]          At a very early age children become susceptible to demoralizing influences, but parents who profess to be Christians do not seem to discern the evil of their own course of management. Oh, that they might realize that the bias which is given to a child in its earliest years gives a tendency to character and shapes the destiny either for eternal life or eternal death! Children are susceptible to moral and spiritual impressions, and those who are wisely trained in childhood may be erring at times, but they will not go far astray.  {CG 198.1}
[CG 199.1]       Chap. Thirty-Seven - The Power of Habit         How Habits Are Established.--Any one act, either good or evil, does not form the character; but thoughts and feelings indulged prepare the way for acts and deeds of the same kind.  {CG 199.1}
[CG 199.2]          It is . . . by a repetition of acts that habits are established and character confirmed.  {CG 199.2}
[CG 199.3]          The Time to Establish Good Habits.--The character is formed, to a great extent, in early years. The habits then established have more influence than any natural endowment, in making men either giants or dwarfs in intellect; for the very best talents may, through wrong habits, become warped and enfeebled. The earlier in life one contracts hurtful habits, the more firmly will they hold their victim in slavery, and the more certainly will they lower his standard of spirituality. On the other hand, if correct and virtuous habits are formed in youth, they will generally mark the course of the possessor through life. In most cases, it will be found that those who in later life reverence God and honor the right learned that lesson before there was time for the world to stamp its images of sin upon the soul. Those of mature age are generally as insensible to new impressions as is the hardened rock, but youth is impressible.  {CG 199.3}
[CG 199.4]          Habits May Be Modified, but Seldom Changed.-- What the child sees and hears is drawing deep lines upon the tender mind, which no after circumstances in life can entirely efface. The intellect is now taking shape, and the affections receiving direction and strength. Repeated                                                                              200  acts in a given course become habits. These may be modified by severe training, in afterlife, but are seldom changed.  {CG 199.4}
[CG 200.1]          Once formed, habits become more and more firmly impressed upon the character. The intellect is continually receiving its mold from opportunities and advantages, ill or well improved. Day by day we form characters which place the students as well-disciplined soldiers under the banner of Prince Emmanuel, or rebels under the banner of the prince of darkness. Which shall it be?  {CG 200.1}
[CG 200.2]          Persevering Effort Is Necessary.--What we venture to do once, we are more apt to do again. Habits of sobriety, of self-control, of economy, of close application, of sound, sensible conversation, of patience and true courtesy, are not gained without diligent, close watching over self. It is much easier to become demoralized and depraved than to conquer defects, keeping self in control and cherishing true virtues. Persevering efforts will be required if the Christian graces are ever perfected in our lives.  {CG 200.2}
[CG 200.3]          Corrupt Children Endanger Others.--God-fearing parents will deliberate and plan as to how to train their children to right habits. They will choose companions for their children, rather than leave them in their inexperience to choose for themselves.  {CG 200.3}
[CG 200.4]          If, in their early childhood, children are not perseveringly and patiently trained in the right way, they will form wrong habits. These habits will develop in their future life and will corrupt others. Those whose minds have received a low cast, who have been cheapened by wrong home influences, by deceptive practices, carry their wrong habits with them through life. If they make                                                                              201  a profession of religion, these habits will be revealed in their religious life.  {CG 200.4}
[CG 201.1]          King Saul, a Sad Example.--The history of Israel's first king presents a sad example of the power of early wrong habits. In his youth Saul did not love and fear God; and that impetuous spirit, not early trained to submission, was ever ready to rebel against divine authority. Those who in their youth cherish a sacred regard for the will of God, and who faithfully perform the duties of their position, will be prepared for higher service in afterlife. But men cannot for years pervert the powers that God has given them, and then, when they choose to change, find these powers fresh and free for an entirely opposite course.  {CG 201.1}
[CG 201.2]          A child may receive sound religious instruction; but if parents, teachers, or guardians permit his character to be biased by a wrong habit, that habit, if not overcome, will become a predominant power, and the child is lost.  {CG 201.2}
[CG 201.3]          Small Actions Are Important.--Every course of action has a twofold character and importance. It is virtuous or vicious, right or wrong, according to the motive which prompts it. A wrong action, by frequent repetition, leaves a permanent impression upon the mind of the actor, and also on the minds of those who are connected with him in any relation, either spiritual or temporal. The parents or teachers who give no attention to the small actions that are not right establish those habits in the youth.  {CG 201.3}
[CG 201.4]          Parents should deal faithfully with the souls committed to their trust. They should not encourage in their children pride, extravagance, or love of show. They should not teach them, or suffer them to learn, little pranks                                                                              202  which appear cunning in small children, but which they will have to unlearn, and for which they must be corrected when they are older.  {CG 201.4}
[CG 202.1]          Little pranks and errors may seem to be amusing when the child is a baby, and they may be permitted and encouraged; but as the child grows older, they become disgusting and offensive.  {CG 202.1}
[CG 202.2]          Bad Habits Are More Easily Formed Than Good.-- All the learning they may acquire will never undo the evil resulting from lax discipline in childhood. One neglect, often repeated, forms habit. One wrong act prepares the way for another. Bad habits are more easily formed than good ones and are given up with more difficulty.  {CG 202.2}
[CG 202.3]          Young children, if left to themselves, learn the bad more readily than the good. Bad habits agree best with the natural heart, and things which they see and hear in infancy and childhood are deeply imprinted upon their minds.  {CG 202.3}
[CG 202.4]          Early Habits Decide Future Victory or Defeat.-- We shall be individually, for time and eternity, what our habits make us. The lives of those who form right habits, and are faithful in the performance of every duty, will be as shining lights, shedding bright beams upon the pathway of others; but if habits of unfaithfulness are indulged, if lax, indolent, neglectful habits are allowed to strengthen, a cloud darker than midnight will settle on the prospects in this life, and forever debar the individual from the future life.  {CG 202.4}
[CG 202.5]          In childhood and youth the character is most impressible. The power of self-control should then be acquired. By the fireside and at the family board, influences are exerted whose results are as enduring as eternity.                                                                              203  More than any natural endowment, the habits established in early years decide whether a man will be victorious or vanquished in the battle of life.  {CG 202.5}
[CG 204.1]       Chap. Thirty-Eight - Study Age, Disposition, and Temperament         Do Not Hurry Children Out of Childhood.-- Parents should never hurry their children out of their childhood. Let the lessons given them be of that character which will inspire their hearts with noble purposes; but let them be children and grow up with that simple trust, candor, and truthfulness which will prepare them to enter the kingdom of heaven.  {CG 204.1}
[CG 204.2]          There Is a Beauty Appropriate to Each Period.-- Parents and teachers should aim so to cultivate the tendencies of the youth that at each stage of life they may represent the beauty appropriate to that period, unfolding naturally, as do the plants in the garden.  {CG 204.2}
[CG 204.3]          One of Christ's most beautiful and impressive parables is that of the sower and the seed. . . . The truths which this parable teaches were made a living reality in Christ's own life. In both His physical and His spiritual nature He followed the divine order of growth, illustrated by the plant, as He wishes all youth to do. Although He was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, He became a babe in Bethlehem, and for a time represented the helpless infant in its mother's care.  {CG 204.3}
[CG 204.4]         In childhood Jesus did the works of an obedient child. He spoke and acted with the wisdom of a child, and not of a man, honoring His parents and carrying out their wishes in helpful ways, according to the ability of a child. But at each stage of His development He was perfect,                                                                              205  with the simple, natural grace of a sinless life. The Sacred Record says of His childhood, "The child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him." And of His youth it is recorded, "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Luke 2:40, 52.  {CG 204.4}
[CG 205.1]          Diversity of Disposition in Family Members.-- Marked diversities of disposition and character frequently exist in the same family, for it is in the order of God that persons of varied temperament should associate together. When this is the case, each member of the household should sacredly regard the feelings and respect the right of the others. By this means mutual consideration and forbearance will be cultivated, prejudices will be softened, and rough points of character smoothed. Harmony may be secured, and the blending of the varied temperaments may be a benefit to each.  {CG 205.1}
[CG 205.2]          Study Individual Minds and Characters.--Every child brought into the world increases the responsibility of the parents. . . . Their dispositions, their tendencies, their traits of character are to be studied. Very carefully should the discriminating powers of the parents be educated, that they may be enabled to repress the wrong tendencies and encourage right impressions and correct principles.  {CG 205.2}
[CG 205.3]          Violence or harshness is not required in this work. Self-control must be cultivated and leave its impression on the mind and heart of the child.  {CG 205.3}
[CG 205.4]          It is a very nice work to deal with human minds. All children cannot be treated in the same way, for that restraint which must be kept upon one would crush out the life of another.                                                                              206   {CG 205.4}
[CG 206.1]          Stimulate Weak Traits; Repress Wrong Ones.-- There are few well-balanced minds, because parents are wickedly negligent of their duty to stimulate weak traits and repress wrong ones. They do not remember that they are under the most solemn obligation to watch the tendencies of each child, that it is their duty to train their children to right habits and right ways of thinking.  {CG 206.1}
[CG 206.2]          Learn the Disposition of Each Child.--Children must have constant care, but you need not let them see that you are ever guarding them. Learn the disposition of each as revealed in their association with one another, and then seek to correct their faults by encouraging opposite traits. Children should be taught that the development of both the mental and the physical powers rests with themselves; it is the result of effort. They should early learn that happiness is not found in selfish gratification; it follows only in the wake of duty. At the same time the mother should seek to make her children happy.  {CG 206.2}
[CG 206.3]          Mental Needs Are as Important As Physical.-- Some parents attend carefully to the temporal wants of their children; they kindly and faithfully nurse them in sickness, and then think their duty done. Here they mistake. Their work has but just begun. The wants of the mind should be cared for. It requires skill to apply the proper remedies to cure a wounded mind.  {CG 206.3}
[CG 206.4]          Children have trials just as hard to bear, just as grievous in character, as those of older persons. Parents themselves do not feel the same at all times. Their minds are often perplexed. They labor under mistaken views, and feelings. Satan buffets them, and they yield to his temptations. They speak irritably and in a manner to excite wrath in their children, and are sometimes exacting and                                                                              207  fretful. The poor children partake of the same spirit, and the parents are not prepared to help them, for they were the cause of the trouble. Sometimes everything seems to go wrong. There is fretfulness all around, and all have a miserable, unhappy time. The parents lay the blame upon their poor children and think them very disobedient and unruly, the worst children in the world, when the cause of the disturbance is in themselves.  {CG 206.4}
[CG 207.1]          Encourage Amiability.--The ill-balanced mind, the hasty temper, the fretfulness, envy, or jealousy, bear witness to parental neglect. These evil traits of character bring great unhappiness to their possessors. How many fail to receive from companions and friends the love which they might have, if they were more amiable. How many create trouble wherever they go, and in whatever they are engaged!  {CG 207.1}
[CG 207.2]          Varied Temperaments Need Varied Discipline.-- Children have varied temperaments, and parents cannot always give the same manner of discipline to each. There are different qualities of mind, and they should be made a prayerful study that they may be molded so as to accomplish the purpose God designed.  {CG 207.2}
[CG 207.3]          Mothers, . . . take time to get acquainted with your children. Study their dispositions and temperaments, that you may know how to deal with them. Some children need more attention than others.  {CG 207.3}
[CG 207.4]          Dealing With Unpromising Children.--There are some children who need more patient discipline and kindly training than others. They have received as a legacy unpromising traits of character, and because of this they need the more of sympathy and love. By                                                                              208  persevering labor these wayward ones may be prepared for a place in the work of the Master. They may possess undeveloped powers which, when aroused, will enable them to fill places far in advance of those from whom more has been expected.  {CG 207.4}
[CG 208.1]          If you have children with peculiar temperaments, do not, because of this, let the blight of discouragement rest upon their lives. . . . Help them by the manifestation of forbearance and sympathy. Strengthen them by loving words and kindly deeds to overcome their defects of character.  {CG 208.1}
[CG 208.2]          You Can Train More Than You Think.--Just as soon as the mother loves Jesus, she wants to train her children for Him. You can train the disposition of children much more than you think you can from their earliest years. That precious name of Jesus should be a household word.  {CG 208.2}
[CG 209.1]       Chap. Thirty-Nine - The Will a Factor in Success         Every Child Should Understand the Power of the Will.--The will is the governing power in the nature of man, bringing all the other faculties under its sway. The will is not the taste or the inclination, but it is the deciding power, which works in the children of men unto obedience to God, or unto disobedience.  {CG 209.1}
[CG 209.2]          Every child should understand the true force of the will. He should be led to see how great is the responsibility involved in this gift. The will is . . . the power of decision, or choice.  {CG 209.2}
[CG 209.3]          Success Comes When the Will Is Yielded to God.-- Every human being possessed of reason has power to choose the right. In every experience of life God's word to us is, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve." Joshua 24:15. Everyone may place his will on the side of the will of God, may choose to obey Him, and by thus linking himself with divine agencies, he may stand where nothing can force him to do evil. In every youth, every child, lies the power, by the help of God, to form a character of integrity and to live a life of usefulness.  {CG 209.3}
[CG 209.4]          The parent or teacher who by such instruction trains the child to self-control will be the most useful and permanently successful. To the superficial observer his work may not appear to the best advantage; it may not be valued so highly as that of the one who holds the mind and will of the child under absolute authority; but after years will show the result of the better method of training.                                                                              210   {CG 209.4}
[CG 210.1]          Do Not Weaken, but Direct the Child's Will.--Save all the strength of the will, for the human being needs it all; but give it proper direction. Treat it wisely and tenderly, as a sacred treasure. Do not hammer it in pieces, but by precept and true example wisely fashion and mold it until the child comes to years of responsibility.  {CG 210.1}
[CG 210.2]          Children should early be trained to submit their will and inclination to the will and authority of their parents. When parents teach their children this lesson, they are educating them to submit to God's will and obey His requirements, and fitting them to be members of Christ's family.  {CG 210.2}
[CG 210.3]          To Be Guided, Not Crushed.--To direct the child's development without hindering it by undue control should be the study of both parent and teacher. Too much management is as bad as too little. The effort to "break the will" of a child is a terrible mistake. Minds are constituted differently; while force may secure outward submission, the result with many children is a more determined rebellion of the heart. Even should the parent or teacher succeed in gaining the control he seeks, the outcome may be no less harmful to the child. . . .  {CG 210.3}
[CG 210.4]          Since the surrender of the will is so much more difficult for some pupils than for others, the teacher should make obedience to his requirements as easy as possible. The will should be guided and molded, but not ignored or crushed.  {CG 210.4}
[CG 210.5]          Lead; Never Drive.--Allow the children under your care to have an individuality, as well as yourselves. Ever try to lead them, but never drive them.  {CG 210.5}
[CG 210.6]          Exercise of Will Expands and Strengthens Mind.-- A child may be so trained as to have . . . no will of his                                                                              211  own. Even his individuality may be merged in the one who superintends his training; his will, to all intents and purposes, is subject to the will of the teacher. Children who are thus educated will ever be deficient in moral energy and individual responsibility. They have not been taught to move from reason and principle; their wills have been controlled by another, and the mind has not been called out, that it might expand and strengthen by exercise. They have not been directed and disciplined with respect to their peculiar constitutions and capabilities of mind, to put forth their strongest powers when required.  {CG 210.6}
[CG 211.1]          When There Is a Clash of Wills.--If the child has a stubborn will, the mother, if she understands her responsibility, will realize that this stubborn will is part of the inheritance she has given him. She will not look upon his will as something that must be broken. There are times when the determination of the mother meets the determination of the child, when the firm, matured will of the mother meets the unreasoning will of the child, and when either the mother rules because of her advantage of age and experience, or there is a ruling of the older will by the younger, undisciplined will of the child. At such times there is need of great wisdom; for by unwise management, by stern compulsion, the child may be spoiled for this life and the next. By a lack of wisdom everything may be lost.  {CG 211.1}
[CG 211.2]          This is a crisis that should seldom be permitted to come, for both mother and child will have a hard struggle. Great care should be shown to avoid such an issue. But once such an issue is entered into, the child must be led to yield to the superior wisdom of the parent. The mother is to keep her words under perfect control. There                                                                              212  are to be no loud-voiced commands. Nothing is to be done that will develop a defiant spirit in the child. The mother must study how to deal with him in such a way that he will be drawn to Jesus. She must pray in faith that Satan shall not be victor over the child's will. The heavenly angels are watching the scene.  {CG 211.2}
[CG 212.1]          The mother must realize that God is her helper, that love is her success, her power. If she is a wise Christian, she will not attempt to force the child into submission. She will pray; and as she prays, she will be conscious of a renewal of spiritual life within herself. And she will see that at the same time the power that is working in her is working also in the child. And the child, in the place of being compelled, is led and grows gentler; and the battle is gained. Each kindly thought, each patient action, each word of wise restraint, is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. The mother has gained a victory more precious than language can express. She has renewed light and increased experience. The "true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," has subdued her will. There is peace after the storm, like the shining of the sun after rain.  {CG 212.1}
[CG 212.2]          Parents Should Retain Youthful Feelings.--Too few realize the importance of retaining, as far as possible, their own youthful feelings, and not becoming harsh and unsympathizing in their nature. God would be pleased to have parents mingle the graceful simplicity of a child with the strength, wisdom, and maturity of manhood and womanhood. Some never had a genuine childhood. They never enjoyed the freedom, simplicity, and freshness of budding life. They were scolded and snubbed, reproved and beaten, until the innocency and trustful frankness of                                                                              213  the child was exchanged for fear, envy, jealousy, and deceitfulness. Such seldom have the characteristics that will make the childhood of their own dear ones happy.  {CG 212.2}
[CG 213.1]          A Great Mistake.--A great mistake is made when the lines of control are placed in the child's hands, and he is allowed to bear sway and control in the home. This is giving undue direction to that wonderful thing, the will power. But this has been done and will continue to be done because fathers and mothers are blind in their discernment and calculation.  {CG 213.1}
[CG 213.2]          A Mother Who Yielded to Her Crying Child.-- Your child . . . needs the hand of wisdom to guide him aright. He has been allowed to cry for what he wanted, until he has formed the habit of doing this. He has been allowed to cry for his father. Again and again, in his hearing, others have been told how he cries for his father, until he makes it a point of doing this. Had I your child, in three weeks he would be transformed. I would let him understand that my word was law, and kindly but firmly I would carry out my purposes. I would not submit my will to the child's will. You have a work to do here, and you have lost much by not taking hold of it before.  {CG 213.2}
[CG 213.3]          Unhappy Life of the Spoiled Child.--Every child that is not carefully and prayerfully disciplined will be unhappy in this probationary time and will form such unlovely traits of character that the Lord cannot unite them with His family in heaven. There is a very great burden to be carried all through the life of a spoiled child. In trial, in disappointment, in temptation, he will follow his undisciplined, misdirected will.  {CG 213.3}
[CG 213.4]          Children who are allowed to have their own way are                                                                              214  not happy. The unsubdued heart has not within itself the elements of rest and contentment. The mind and heart must be disciplined and brought under proper restraint, in order for the character to harmonize with the wise laws that govern our being. Restlessness and discontent are the fruits of indulgence and selfishness.  {CG 213.4}
[CG 214.1]          The Background of Many Trials.--The sad trials, which prove so dangerous to the prosperity of a church, and which cause the unbelieving to stumble and turn away with doubt and dissatisfaction, usually arise from an unsubdued and rebellious spirit, the offspring of parental indulgence in early youth. How many lives are wrecked, how many crimes are committed, under the influence of a quick-rising passion that might have been checked in childhood, when the mind was impressible, when the heart was easily influenced for right and was subject to a fond mother's will. Inefficient training of children lies at the foundation of a vast amount of moral wretchedness.  {CG 214.1}
[CG 215.1]       Chap. Forty - Exemplify Christian Principles         Children Will Imitate Parents.--Fathers and mothers, you are teachers; your children are the pupils. Your tones of voice, your deportment, your spirit, are copied by your little ones.  {CG 215.1}
[CG 215.2]          Children imitate their parents; hence great care should be taken to give them correct models. Parents who are kind and polite at home, while at the same time they are firm and decided, will see the same traits manifested in their children. If they are upright, honest, and honorable, their children will be quite likely to resemble them in these particulars. If they reverence and worship God, their children, trained in the same way, will not forget to serve Him also.  {CG 215.2}
[CG 215.3]          In the family, fathers and mothers should ever present before their children the example they wish to be imitated. They should manifest one to the other a tender respect in word, and look, and action. They should make it manifest that the Holy Spirit is controlling them, by representing to their children the character of Jesus Christ. The powers of imitation are strong; and in childhood and youth, when this faculty is most active, a perfect pattern should be set before the young. Children should have confidence in their parents, and thus take in the lessons they would inculcate.  {CG 215.3}
[CG 215.4]          Teach by Precept and Example.--The mother, in the education of her children, is in a continual school. While teaching her children, she is herself learning daily. The lessons which she gives her children in self-control                                                                              216  must be practiced by herself. In dealing with the varied minds and moods of her children, she needs keen perceptive powers or she will be in danger of misjudging and of dealing partially with her children. The law of kindness she should practice in her home life is she would have her children courteous and kind. Thus they have lessons repeated, by precept and example daily.  {CG 215.4}
[CG 216.1]          The teachers in the school will do something toward educating your children, but your example will do more than can be accomplished by any other means. Your conversation, the way in which you manage your business matters, the likes and dislikes to which you give expression, all help in molding the character. The kindly disposition, the self-control, the self-possession, the courtesy your child sees in you, will be daily lessons to him. Like time, this education is ever going on, and the tendency of this everyday school should be to make your child what he ought to be.  {CG 216.1}
[CG 216.2]          Be careful that you are not rude to your children. . . . Require obedience, and do not allow yourself to speak carelessly to your children, because your manners and your words are their lesson book. Help them gently, tenderly over this period of their life. Let the sunshine of your presence make sunshine in their hearts. These growing boys and girls feel very sensitive, and by roughness you may mar their whole life. Be careful, mothers; never scold, for that never helps.  {CG 216.2}
[CG 216.3]          Parents to Be Patterns of Self-control.--Children should be kept as free from excitement as possible; therefore the mother must be calm and unhurried, free from all excitement and nervous haste. This is a school of discipline to herself as well as to the child. While teaching                                                                              217  the little ones the lesson of self-denial, she is educating herself to be a pattern to her children. While with tender interest she is working the soil of their hearts, that she may subdue the natural sinful inclinations, she is cultivating in her own words and in her own deportment the graces of the Spirit.  {CG 216.3}
[CG 217.1]          One victory gained over yourself will be of great value and encouragement to your children. You may stand on vantage ground, saying, I am God's husbandry; I am God's building. I place myself under His hand to be fashioned after the divine similitude, that I may be a co-worker with God in fashioning the minds and characters of my children so that it will be easier for them to walk in the way of the Lord. . . . Fathers and mothers, when you can control yourselves, you will gain great victories in controlling your children.  {CG 217.1}
[CG 217.2]          The Fruits of Self-control.--Parents, every time you lose self-control and speak and act impatiently, you sin against God. The recording angel writes every impatient, unguarded word spoken before them, carelessly or in jest; every word that is not chaste and elevated, he marks as a spot against your Christian character. Speak kindly to your children. Remember how sensitive you are, how little you can bear to be blamed, and do not lay upon them that which you cannot bear; for they are weaker than you and cannot endure as much. The fruits of self-control, thoughtfulness, and painstaking on your part will be a hundredfold.  {CG 217.2}
[CG 217.3]          Let your pleasant, cheerful words ever be like sunbeams in your family.  {CG 217.3}
[CG 217.4]          If parents desire their children to be right and do right, they must be right themselves in theory and in practice.                                                                              218   {CG 217.4}
[CG 218.1]          Children Are Influenced by Deportment of Professing Christians.--There are children of Sabbathkeepers who have been taught from their youth to observe the Sabbath. Some of these are very good children, faithful to duty as far as temporal matters are concerned; but they feel no deep conviction of sin and no need of repentance from sin. Such are in a dangerous condition. They are watching the deportment and efforts of professed Christians. They see some who make high professions, but who are not conscientious Christians, and they compare their own views and actions with these stumbling blocks; and as there are no outbreaking sins in their own lives, they flatter themselves that they are about right.  {CG 218.1}
[CG 218.2]          It is because so many parents and teachers profess to believe the Word of God while their lives deny its power, that the teaching of Scripture has no greater effect upon the youth. At times the youth are brought to feel the power of the Word. They see the preciousness of the love of Christ. They see the beauty of His character, the possibilities of a life given to His service. But in contrast they see the life of those who profess to revere God's precepts.  {CG 218.2}
[CG 218.3]          Parents Must Say "No" to Temptation.--Mothers, by not following the practices of the world, you may set before your children an example of faithfulness to God, and so teach them to say no. Teach your children the meaning of the precept, "If sinners entice thee, consent thou not." But if you would have your children able to say no to temptation, you yourself must be able to say no. It is as needful for the man to say no, as for the child.  {CG 218.3}
[CG 218.4]          Exemplify Gentleness.--Parents, be kind and gentle with your children, and they will learn gentleness. Let us                                                                              219  demonstrate in our homes that we are Christians. I value as worthless that profession that is not carried out in the home life in kindness and forbearance and love.  {CG 218.4}
[CG 219.1]          Watch Tone of Voice As Well As the Words.-- Let not one word of fretfulness, harshness, or passion escape your lips. The grace of Christ awaits your demand. His Spirit will take control of your heart and conscience, presiding over your words and deeds. Never forfeit your self-respect by hasty, thoughtless words. See that your words are pure, your conversation holy. Give your children an example of that which you wish them to be. . . . Let there be peace, pleasant words, and cheerful countenances.  {CG 219.1}
[CG 219.2]          Parents cannot with safety be in any way overbearing. They must not show a masterly, criticizing, faultfinding spirit. The words they speak, the tone in which they speak, are lessons, either for good or ill, to their children. Fathers and mothers, if cross words fall from your lips, you are teaching your children to speak in the same way, and the refining influence of the Holy Spirit is made of none effect. Patient continuance in well-doing is essential if you would do your duty to your children.  {CG 219.2}
[CG 219.3]          Parents Are God's Agents in Molding Character.-- The intellects of your children are taking shape, the affections and characters are being molded, but after what pattern? Let the parents remember that they are agents in these transactions. And when they may be sleeping in the grave, their work left behind is enduring, and will bear testimony of them whether it is good or bad.  {CG 219.3}
[CG 219.4]          Stamping the Image of the Divine.--You must instruct, warn, and counsel, ever remembering that your                                                                              220  looks, words, and actions have a direct bearing upon the future course of your dear ones. Your work is not done to paint a form of beauty upon canvas or to chisel it from marble, but to impress upon a human soul the image of the Divine.  {CG 219.4}
[CG 223.1]      Chap. Forty-One - Objectives of Discipline         Self-government the Paramount Objective.--The object of discipline is the training of the child for self-government. He should be taught self-reliance and self-control. Therefore as soon as he is capable of understanding, his reason should be enlisted on the side of obedience. Let all dealing with him be such as to show obedience to be just and reasonable. Help him to see that all things are under law, and that disobedience leads, in the end, to disaster and suffering. When God says, "Thou shalt not," He in love warns us of the consequence of disobedience, in order to save us from harm and loss.  {CG 223.1}
[CG 223.2]          Enlisting the Power of the Will.--The true object of reproof is gained only when the wrongdoer himself is led to see his fault and his will is enlisted for its correction. When this is accomplished, point him to the source of pardon and power.  {CG 223.2}
[CG 223.3]          Those who train their pupils to feel that the power lies in themselves to become men and women of honor and usefulness will be the most permanently successful.  {CG 223.3}
[CG 223.4]          Correct Habits, Inclinations, Evil Tendencies.-- It is the work of the parents to restrain and guide and control. They cannot commit a worse evil than to permit their children to gratify all their childish wishes and fancies, and leave them to follow their own inclinations; they cannot do them a greater wrong than to leave upon their minds the impression that they are to live to please and amuse themselves, to choose their own ways and find their own pleasure and society. . . . The youth need                                                                              224  parents who will educate and discipline them, correct their wrong habits and inclinations, and prune away their evil tendencies.  {CG 223.4}
[CG 224.1]          Break Down Satan's Stronghold.--Mothers, the destiny of your children rests to a great extent in your hands. If you fail in duty, you may place them in Satan's ranks and make them his agents to ruin other souls. Or your faithful discipline and godly example may lead them to Christ, and they in turn will influence others, and thus many souls may be saved through your instrumentality.  {CG 224.1}
[CG 224.2]          Let us look carefully and begin to catch up our dropped stitches. Let us break down the strongholds of the enemy. Let us mercifully correct our loved ones and keep them from the power of the enemy. Do not be discouraged.  {CG 224.2}
[CG 224.3]          Teach Respect to Parental and Divine Authority.-- Children . . . should be trained, educated, and disciplined until they become obedient to their parents, giving respect to their authority. In this way respect for divine authority will be implanted in their hearts, and the family training will be like a preparatory training for the family in heaven. The training of childhood and youth should be of such a character that children will be prepared to take up their religious duties, and thus become fitted to enter into the courts above.  {CG 224.3}
[CG 224.4]          He who is the fountain of all knowledge has stated the condition of our fitness to enter the heaven of bliss, in the words, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Obedience to God's commandments is the price of heaven, and obedience to their parents in the Lord is the all-important lesson for children to learn.                                                                              225   {CG 224.4}
[CG 225.1]          Obedience From Principle, Not Compulsion.-- Tell your children exactly what you require of them. Then let them understand that your word is law and must be obeyed. Thus you are training them to respect the commandments of God, which plainly declare, "Thou shalt," and "Thou shalt not." It is far better for your boy to obey from principle than from compulsion.  {CG 225.1}
[CG 225.2]          A Lesson in Implicit Confidence.--Isaac is bound by the trembling, loving hands of his pitying father, because God has said it. The son submits to the sacrifice, because he believes in the integrity of his father. . . .  {CG 225.2}
[CG 225.3]          This act of faith in Abraham is recorded for our benefit. It teaches us the great lesson of confidence in the requirements of God, however close and cutting they may be; and it teaches children perfect submission to their parents and to God. By Abraham's obedience we are taught that nothing is too precious for us to give to God.  {CG 225.3}
[CG 225.4]          Youth Will Respond to Trust.--The youth must be impressed with the idea that they are trusted. They have a sense of honor, and they want to be respected, and it is their right. If pupils receive the impression that they cannot go out or come in, sit at the table, or be anywhere, even in their rooms, except they are watched, a critical eye is upon them to criticize and report, it will have the influence to demoralize, and pastime will have no pleasure in it. This knowledge of a continual oversight is more than a parental guardianship, and far worse; for wise parents can, through tact, often discern beneath the surface and see the working of the restless mind under the longings of youth, or under the forces of temptations, and set their plans to work to counteract evils. But this constant watchfulness is not natural, and produces evils                                                                              226  that it is seeking to avoid. The healthfulness of youth requires exercise, cheerfulness, and a happy, pleasant atmosphere surrounding them, for the development of physical health and symmetrical character.  {CG 225.4}
[CG 226.1]          Self-government Versus Absolute Authority.-- There are many families of children who appear to be well trained, while under the training discipline; but when the system which has held them to set rules is broken up, they seem to be incapable of thinking, acting, or deciding for themselves. These children have been so long under iron rule, not allowed to think and act for themselves in those things in which it was highly proper that they should, that they have no confidence in themselves to move out upon their own judgment, having an opinion of their own. And when they go out from their parents to act for themselves, they are easily led by others' judgment in the wrong direction. They have not stability of character. They have not been thrown upon their own judgment as fast and as far as practicable, and therefore their minds have not been properly developed and strengthened. They have so long been absolutely controlled by their parents that they rely wholly upon them; their parents are mind and judgment for them.  {CG 226.1}
[CG 226.2]          On the other hand, the young should not be left to think and act independently of the judgment of their parents and teachers. Children should be taught to respect experienced judgment and to be guided by their parents and teachers. . . . They should be so educated that their minds will be united with the minds of their parents and teachers, and so instructed that they can see the propriety of heeding their counsel. Then when they go forth from the guiding hand of their parents and                                                                              227  teachers, their characters will not be like the reed trembling in the wind.  {CG 226.2}
[CG 227.1]          The severe training of youth--without properly directing them to think and act for themselves as their own capacity and turn of mind will allow, that by this means they may have growth of thought, feelings of self-respect, and confidence in their own ability to perform--will ever produce a class who are weak in mental and moral power. And when they stand in the world to act for themselves, they will reveal the fact that they were trained, like the animals, and not educated. Their wills, instead of being guided, were forced into subjection by the harsh discipline of parents and teachers.  {CG 227.1}
[CG 227.2]          Evil Results When One Mind Dominates Another.-- Those parents and teachers who boast of having complete control of the minds and wills of the children under their care would cease their boastings could they trace out the future lives of the children who are thus brought into subjection by force or through fear. These are almost wholly unprepared to share in the stern responsibilities of life. When these youth are no longer under their parents and teachers, and are compelled to think and act for themselves, they are almost sure to take a wrong course and yield to the power of temptation. They do not make this life a success, and the same deficiencies are seen in their religious life. Could the instructors of children and youth have the future result of their mistaken discipline mapped out before them, they would change their plan of education. That class of teachers who are gratified that they have almost complete control of the wills of their scholars are not the most successful teachers, although the appearance for the time being may be flattering.                                                                              228   {CG 227.2}
[CG 228.1]          God never designed that one human mind should be under the complete control of another. And those who make efforts to have the individuality of their pupils merged in themselves, and to be mind, will, and conscience for them, assume fearful responsibilities. These scholars may, upon certain occasions, appear like well-drilled soldiers. But when the restraint is removed, there will be seen a want of independent action from firm principle existing in them.  {CG 228.1}
[CG 228.2]          Through Skill and Patient Effort.--It requires skill and patient effort to mold the young in the right manner. Especially do children who have come into the world burdened with a heritage of evil, the direct results of the sins of their parents, need the most careful culture to develop and strengthen their moral and intellectual faculties. And the responsibility of the parents is heavy indeed. Evil tendencies are to be carefully restrained and tenderly rebuked; the mind is to be stimulated in favor of the right. The child should be encouraged in attempting to govern himself. And all this is to be done judiciously, or the purpose desired will be frustrated.  {CG 228.2}
[CG 229.1]       Chap. Forty-Two - The Time to Begin Discipline         Disobedient Children a Sign of the Last Days.-- One of the signs of the "last days" is the disobedience of children to their parents. And do parents realize their responsibility? Many seem to lose sight of the watch care they should ever have over their children, and suffer them to indulge in evil passions and to disobey them.  {CG 229.1}
[CG 229.2]          Children are the heritage of the Lord, and unless parents give them such a training as will enable them to keep the way of the Lord, they neglect solemn duty. It is not the will or purpose of God that children shall become coarse, rough, uncourteous, disobedient, unthankful, unholy, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. The Scriptures state that this condition of society shall be a sign of the last days.  {CG 229.2}
[CG 229.3]          Indulgent Parents Disqualify for Heaven's Order.-- There is perfect order in heaven, perfect concord and agreement. If parents so neglect to bring their children under proper authority here, how can they hope that they will be considered fit companions for the holy angels in a world of peace and harmony?  {CG 229.3}
[CG 229.4]          Those who have had no respect for order or discipline in this life would have no respect for the order which is observed in heaven. They can never be admitted into heaven, for all worthy of an entrance there will love order and respect discipline. The characters formed in this life will determine the future destiny. When Christ shall come, He will not change the character of any individual. . . . Parents should neglect no duty on their part to benefit their children. They should so train them                                                                              230  that they may be a blessing to society here and may reap the reward of eternal life hereafter.  {CG 229.4}
[CG 230.1]          When Discipline Should Begin.--The moment that the child begins to choose his own will and way, that moment his education in discipline is to begin. This may be called an unconscious education. It is then that a work, conscious and powerful, is to begin. The greatest burden of this work necessarily rests on the mother. She has the first care of the child, and she is to lay the foundation of an education that will help the child to develop a strong, symmetrical character. . . .  {CG 230.1}
[CG 230.2]          Frequently mere babies show a most determined will. If this will is not brought into subjection to a wiser authority than the child's untrained desires, Satan takes control of the mind and fashions the disposition in harmony with his will.  {CG 230.2}
[CG 230.3]          Neglecting the work of disciplining and training until a perverse disposition has become strengthened is doing the children a most serious wrong; for they grow up selfish, exacting, and unlovable. They cannot enjoy their own company any better than can others; therefore they will ever be filled with discontent. The work of the mother must commence at an early age, giving Satan no chance to control the minds and dispositions of their little ones.  {CG 230.3}
[CG 230.4]          Repress First Appearance of Evil.--Parents, you should commence your first lesson of discipline when your children are babes in your arms. Teach them to yield their will to yours. This can be done by bearing an even hand and manifesting firmness. Parents should have perfect control over their own spirits and, with mildness and yet firmness, bend the will of the child until it shall expect nothing else but to yield to their wishes.                                                                              231   {CG 230.4}
[CG 231.1]          Parents do not commence in season. The first manifestation of temper is not subdued, and the children grow stubborn, which increases with their growth and strengthens with their strength.  {CG 231.1}
[CG 231.2]          "Too Young to Punish?"--Eli did not manage his household according to God's rules for family government. He followed his own judgment. The fond father overlooked the faults and sins of his sons in their childhood, flattering himself that after a time they would outgrow their evil tendencies. Many are now making a similar mistake. They think they know a better way of training their children than that which God has given in His Word. They foster wrong tendencies in them, urging as an excuse, "They are too young to be punished. Wait till they become older and can be reasoned with." Thus wrong habits are left to strengthen until they become second nature. The children grow up without restraint, with traits of character that are a lifelong curse to them and are liable to be reproduced in others.  {CG 231.2}
[CG 231.3]          There is no greater curse upon households than to allow the youth to have their own way. When parents regard every wish of their children and indulge them in what they know is not for their good, the children soon lose all respect for their parents, all regard for the authority of God or man, and are led captive at the will of Satan.  {CG 231.3}
[CG 231.4]          Put Home Training Ahead of Other Pursuits.-- Many point to the children of ministers, teachers, and other men of high repute for learning and piety, and urge that if these men, with their superior advantages, fail in family government, those who are less favorably situated need not hope to succeed. The question to be settled is,                                                                              232  Have these men given to their children that which is their right--a good example, faithful instruction, and proper restraint? It is by a neglect of these essentials that such parents give to society children who are unbalanced in mind, impatient of restraint, and ignorant of the duties of practical life. In this they are doing the world an injury which outweighs all the good that their labors accomplish. Those children transmit their own perversity of character as an inheritance to their offspring, and at the same time their evil example and influence corrupt society and make havoc in the church. We cannot think that any man, however great his ability and usefulness, is best serving God or the world while his time is given to other pursuits, to the neglect of his own children.  {CG 231.4}
[CG 232.1]          Heavenly Co-operation Is Promised.--God will bless a just and correct discipline. But "without me," says Christ, "ye can do nothing." The heavenly intelligences cannot co-operate with fathers and mothers who are neglecting to train their children, who are allowing Satan to handle that little piece of infant machinery, that youthful mind, as an instrument through whom he can work to counteract the working of the Holy Spirit.  {CG 232.1}
[CG 233.1]       Chap. Forty-Three - Discipline in the Home         Well-ordered, Well-disciplined Families.--It is the duty of those who claim to be Christians to present to the world well-ordered, well-disciplined families-- families that will show the power of true Christianity.  {CG 233.1}
[CG 233.2]          It is no easy matter to train and educate children wisely. As parents try to keep judgment and the fear of the Lord before them, difficulties will arise. The children will reveal the perversity bound up in their hearts. They show love of folly, of independence, a hatred of restraint and discipline. They practice deception and utter falsehoods. Too many parents, instead of punishing the children for these faults, make themselves blind in order that they shall not see beneath the surface or discern the true meaning of these things. Therefore the children continue in their deceptive practices, forming characters that God cannot approve.  {CG 233.2}
[CG 233.3]          The standard raised in God's Word is set aside by parents who dislike, as some have termed it, to use the strait jacket in the education of their children. Many parents have a settled dislike for the holy principles of the Word of God, because these principles place too much responsibility on them. But the after sight, which all parents are obliged to have, shows that God's ways are the best, and that the only path of safety and happiness is found in obedience to His will.  {CG 233.3}
[CG 233.4]          Restraint of Children Is No Easy Task.--In the present state of things in society, it is no easy task for parents to restrain their children and instruct them according to the Bible rule of right. When they would                                                                              234  train their children in harmony with the precepts of the Word of God and, like Abraham of old, command their households after them, the children think their parents overcareful and unnecessarily exacting.  {CG 233.4}
[CG 234.1]          False Ideas Regarding Restraint.--If you want the blessing of God, parents, do as did Abraham. Repress the evil, and encourage the good. Some commanding may be necessary in the place of consulting the inclination and pleasure of the children.  {CG 234.1}
[CG 234.2]          To allow a child to follow his natural impulses is to allow him to deteriorate and to become proficient in evil. Wise parents will not say to their children, "Follow your own choice; go where you will, and do what you will"; but, "Listen to the instruction of the Lord." Wise rules and regulations must be made and enforced, that the beauty of the home life may not be spoiled.  {CG 234.2}
[CG 234.3]          Why Achan's Family Perished.--Have you considered why it was that all who were connected with Achan were also subjects of the punishment of God? It was because they had not been trained and educated according to the directions given them in the great standard of the law of God. Achan's parents had educated their son in such a way that he felt free to disobey the word of the Lord. The principles inculcated in his life led him to deal with his children in such a way that they also were corrupted. Mind acts and reacts upon mind, and the punishment, which included the relations of Achan with himself, reveals the fact that all were involved in the transgression.  {CG 234.3}
[CG 234.4]          Blind Parental Affection the Greatest Obstacle in Training.--The sin of parental neglect is almost universal. Blind affection for those who are connected with                                                                              235  us by the ties of nature too often exists. This affection is carried to great lengths; it is not balanced by the wisdom or the fear of God. Blind parental affection is the greatest obstacle in the way of the proper training of children. It prevents the discipline and training which are required by the Lord. At times, because of this affection, parents seemed to be bereft of their reason. It is like the tender mercies of the wicked--cruelty disguised in the garb of so-called love. It is the dangerous undercurrent which carries children to ruin.  {CG 234.4}
[CG 235.1]          Parents are in constant danger of indulging natural affections at the expense of obedience to God's law. Many parents, to please their children, allow what God forbids.  {CG 235.1}
[CG 235.2]          Parents Responsible for What Children Might Have Been.--If as teachers in the home the father and mother allow children to take the lines of control into their own hands and to become wayward, they are held responsible for what their children might otherwise have been.  {CG 235.2}
[CG 235.3]          Those who follow their own inclination, in blind affection for their children, indulging them in the gratification of their selfish desires, and do not bring to bear the authority of God to rebuke sin and correct evil, make it manifest that they are honoring their wicked children more than they honor God. They are more anxious to shield their reputation than to glorify God, more desirous to please their children than to please the Lord. . . .  {CG 235.3}
[CG 235.4]          Those who have too little courage to reprove wrong, or who through indolence or lack of interest make no earnest effort to purify the family or the church of God, are held accountable for the evil that may result from                                                                              236  their neglect of duty. We are just as responsible for evils that we might have checked in others by exercise of parental or pastoral authority, as if the acts had been our own.  {CG 235.4}
[CG 236.1]          No Place for Partiality.--It is very natural for parents to be partial to their own children. Especially if these parents feel that they themselves possess superior ability, they will regard their children as superior to other children. Hence much that would be severely censured in others is passed over in their own children as smart and witty. While this partiality is natural, it is unjust and unchristian. A great wrong is done our children when we permit their faults to go uncorrected.  {CG 236.1}
[CG 236.2]          Make No Compromise With Evil.--It should be made plain that the government of God knows no compromise with evil. Neither in the home nor in the school should disobedience be tolerated. No parent or teacher who has at heart the well-being of those under his care will compromise with the stubborn self-will that defies authority or resorts to subterfuge or evasion in order to escape obedience. It is not love but sentimentalism that palters with wrongdoing, seeks by coaxing or bribes to secure compliance, and finally accepts some substitute in place of the thing required.  {CG 236.2}
[CG 236.3]          In too many families today there is too much self-indulgence and disobedience passed by without being corrected, or else there is manifested an overbearing, masterful spirit that creates the worst evils in the dispositions of children. Parents correct them at times in such an inconsiderate way that their lives are made miserable, and they lose all respect for father, mother, brothers, and sisters.                                                                              237   {CG 236.3}
[CG 237.1]          Parents Fail to Understand Correct Principles.--It is heart-saddening to see the imbecility of parents in the exercise of their God-given authority. Men who in everything else are consistent and intelligent fail to understand the principles that should be brought into the training of their little ones. They fail to give them right instruction at the very time when right instruction, a godly example, and firm decision are most needed to lead in right lines the inexperienced minds that are ignorant of the deceptive and dangerous influences that they must meet with everywhere.  {CG 237.1}
[CG 237.2]          The greatest suffering has come upon the human family because parents have departed from the divine plan to follow their own imaginings and imperfectly developed ideas. Many parents follow impulse. They forget that the present and future good of their children requires intelligent discipline.  {CG 237.2}
[CG 237.3]          God Accepts No Excuse for Mismanagement.-- Rebellion is too frequently established in the hearts of children through the wrong discipline of the parents, when if a proper course had been taken, the children would have formed good and harmonious characters.  {CG 237.3}
[CG 237.4]          While parents have the power to discipline, educate, and train their children, let them exert that power for God. He requires from them pure, faultless, undeviating obedience. He will tolerate nothing else. He will make no excuse for the mismanagement of children.  {CG 237.4}
[CG 237.5]          Overcome Natural Spirit of Obstinacy.--Some children are naturally more obstinate than others and will not yield to discipline, and in consequence they make themselves very unattractive and disagreeable. If the mother has not wisdom to deal with this phase of                                                                              238  character, a most unhappy state of affairs will follow; for such children will have their own way to their destruction. But how terrible for a child to cherish a spirit of obstinacy not only in childhood, but in more mature years, and because of a lack of agreement in childhood, nourish bitterness and unkindness in manhood and womanhood toward the mother who failed to bring her children under restraint.  {CG 237.5}
[CG 238.1]          Never Tell Child, "I Cannot Do Anything With You."--Never let your child hear you say, "I cannot do anything with you." As long as we may have access to the throne of God, we as parents should be ashamed to utter any such word. Cry unto Jesus, and He will help you to bring your little ones to Him.  {CG 238.1}
[CG 238.2]          Family Government to Be Diligently Studied.--I have heard mothers say that they had not the ability to govern which others have, that it is a peculiar talent which they do not possess. Those who realize their deficiency in this respect should make the subject of family government their most diligent study. And yet the most valuable suggestions of others should not be adopted without thought and discrimination. They may not be equally adapted to the circumstances of every mother, or to the peculiar disposition and temperament of each child in the family. Let the mother study with care the experience of others, note the difference between their methods and her own, and carefully test those that may appear to be of real value. If one mode of discipline does not produce the desired results, let another plan be tried, and the effects carefully noted.  {CG 238.2}
[CG 238.3]          Mothers, above all others, should accustom themselves to thought and investigation. If they will persevere in this                                                                              239  course, they will find that they are acquiring the faculty in which they thought themselves deficient, that they are learning to form aright the characters of their children. The result of the labor and thought given to this work will be seen in their obedience, their simplicity, their modesty and purity; and it will richly repay all the effort made.  {CG 238.3}
[CG 239.1]          Parents to Be United in Discipline.--The mother should ever have the co-operation of the father in her efforts to lay the foundation of a good Christian character in her children. A doting father should not close his eyes to the faults of his children because it is not pleasant to administer correction.  {CG 239.1}
[CG 239.2]          Right principles must be established in the mind of the child. If the parents are united in this work of discipline, the child will understand what is required of him. But if the father, by word or look, shows that he does not approve of the discipline the mother gives, if he feels that she is too strict, and thinks that he must make up for the harshness by petting and indulgence, the child will be ruined. Deception will be practiced by the sympathizing parents, and the child will soon learn that he can do as he pleases. Parents who are committing this sin against their children are accountable for the ruin of their souls.  {CG 239.2}
[CG 239.3]          Combined Influence of Affection and Authority.-- Let the light of heavenly grace irradiate your character, that there may be sunlight in the home. Let there be peace, pleasant words, and cheerful countenances. This is not blind affection, not that tenderness which encourages sin by unwise indulgence, and which is the veriest cruelty, not that false love which allows the children to rule and makes the parents slaves to their caprices. There should be no parental partiality, no                                                                              240  oppression; the combined influence of affection and authority will place the right mold upon the family.  {CG 239.3}
[CG 240.1]          Represent God's Character in Discipline.--Be firm, be decided in carrying out Bible instruction, but be free from all passion. Bear in mind that when you become harsh and unreasonable before your little ones, you teach them to be the same. God requires you to educate your children, bringing into your discipline all the generalship of a wise teacher who is under the control of God. If the converting power of God is exercised in your home, you yourselves will be constant learners. You will represent the character of Christ, and your efforts in this direction will please God. Never neglect the work that should be done for the younger members of the Lord's family. You are, parents, the light of your home. Then let your light shine forth in pleasant words, in soothing tones of the voice. Take all the sting out of them by prayer to God for self-control. And angels will be in your home, for they will observe your light. The discipline you give your children will go forth in strong, clear currents from your correctly managed home to the world.  {CG 240.1}
[CG 240.2]          No Deviation From Right Principles.--Anciently, parental authority was regarded; children were then in subjection to their parents and feared and reverenced them; but in these last days the order is reversed. Some parents are in subjection to their children. They fear to cross the will of their children, and therefore yield to them. But just as long as children are under the roof of the parents, dependent upon them, they should be subject to their control. Parents should move with decision, requiring that their views of right be followed out.                                                                              241   {CG 240.2}
[CG 241.1]          Take Extreme Steps if Willful Disobedience Is Unchecked.--Some indulgent, ease-loving parents fear to exercise wholesome authority over their unruly sons, lest they run away from home. It would be better for some to do this than to remain at home to live upon the bounties provided by the parents, and at the same time trample upon all authority, both human and divine. It might be a most profitable experience for such children to have to the full that independence which they think so desirable, to learn that it costs exertion to live. Let the parents say to the boy who threatens to run away from home, "My son, if you are determined to leave home rather than comply with just and proper rules, we will not hinder you. If you think to find the world more friendly than the parents who have cared for you from infancy, you must learn your mistake for yourself. When you wish to come to your father's house, to be subject to his authority, you will be welcome. Obligations are mutual. While you have food and clothing and parental care, you are in return under obligation to submit to home rules and wholesome discipline. My house cannot be polluted with the stench of tobacco, with profanity or drunkenness. I desire that angels of God shall come into my home. If you are fully determined to serve Satan, you will be as well off with those whose society you love as you will be at home."  {CG 241.1}
[CG 241.2]          Such a course would check the downward career of thousands. But too often children know that they may do their worst, and yet an unwise mother will plead for them and conceal their transgressions. Many a rebellious son exults because his parents have not the courage to restrain him. . . . They do not enforce obedience. Such parents are encouraging their children in dissipation and                                                                              242  are dishonoring God by their unwise indulgence. It is these rebellious, corrupt youth that form the most difficult element to control in schools and colleges.  {CG 241.2}
[CG 242.1]          Be Not Weary in Well-doing.--The work of parents is continuous. It should not be laid hold of vigorously for one day and neglected the next. Many are ready to begin the work, but are not willing to persevere in it. They are eager to do some great thing, to make some great sacrifice; but they shrink from the unceasing care and effort in the little things of everyday life, the hourly pruning and training of the wayward tendencies, the work of giving instruction, reproof, or encouragement, little by little, as it is needed. They wish to see children correct their faults and form right characters at once, reaching the mountaintop at a bound, and not by successive steps; and because their hopes are not immediately realized, they become disheartened. Let all such persons take courage as they remember the words of the apostle, "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."  {CG 242.1}
[CG 242.2]          Sabbathkeeping children may become impatient of restraint and think their parents too strict; hard feelings may even arise in their hearts and discontented, unhappy thoughts may be cherished by them against those who are working for their present and their future and eternal good. But if life shall be spared a few years, they will bless their parents for that strict care and faithful watchfulness over them in their years of inexperience.  {CG 242.2}
[CG 242.3]          Read Admonitions From God's Word.--When children err, parents should take time to read to them tenderly from the Word of God such admonitions as are particularly applicable to their case. When they are                                                                              243  tried, tempted, or discouraged, cite them to its precious words of comfort, and gently lead them to put their trust in Jesus. Thus the young mind may be directed to that which is pure and ennobling. And as the great problems of life, and the dealings of God with the human race, are unfolded to the understanding, the reasoning powers are exercised, the judgment enlisted, while lessons of divine truth are impressed upon the heart. Thus parents may be daily molding the characters of their children, that they may have a fitness for the future life.  {CG 242.3}
[CG 244.1]       Chap. Forty-Four - Administration of Corrective Discipline         Ask the Lord to Come In and Rule.--Exact obedience in your family; but while you do this, seek the Lord with your children, and ask Him to come in and rule. Your children may have done something that demands punishment; but if you deal with them in the spirit of Christ, their arms will be thrown about your neck; they will humble themselves before the Lord and will acknowledge their wrong. That is enough. They do not then need punishment. Let us thank the Lord that He has opened the way by which we may reach every soul.  {CG 244.1}
[CG 244.2]          If your children are disobedient, they should be corrected. . . . Before correcting them, go by yourself, and ask the Lord to soften and subdue the hearts of your children and to give you wisdom in dealing with them. Never in a single instance have I known this method to fail. You cannot make a child understand spiritual things when the heart is stirred with passion.  {CG 244.2}
[CG 244.3]          Instruct Children Patiently.--The Lord wants the hearts of these children from their very babyhood to be given to His service. While they are too young to reason with, divert their minds as best you can; and as they become older, teach them by precept and example that you cannot indulge their wrong desires.  {CG 244.3}
[CG 244.4]          Instruct them patiently. Sometimes they will have to be punished, but never do it in such a way that they will feel that they have been punished in anger. By such a course you only work a greater evil. Many unhappy                                                                              245  differences in the family circle might be avoided if parents would obey the counsel of the Lord in the training of their children.  {CG 244.4}
[CG 245.1]          Parents to Be Under Discipline to God.--Mothers, however provoking your children may be in their ignorance, do not give way to impatience. Teach them patiently and lovingly. Be firm with them. Do not let Satan control them. Discipline them only when you are under the discipline of God. Christ will be victor in the lives of your children if you will learn of Him who is meek and lowly, pure and undefiled.  {CG 245.1}
[CG 245.2]          But if you attempt to govern without exercising self-control, without system, thought, and prayer, you will most assuredly reap the bitter consequences.  {CG 245.2}
[CG 245.3]          Never Correct in Anger.--You should correct your children in love. Do not let them have their own way until you get angry, and then punish them. Such correction only helps on the evil, instead of remedying it.  {CG 245.3}
[CG 245.4]          To manifest passion toward an erring child is to increase the evil. It arouses the worst passions of the child and leads him to feel that you do not care for him. He reasons with himself that you could not treat him so if you cared.  {CG 245.4}
[CG 245.5]          And think you that God takes no cognizance of the way in which these children are corrected? He knows, and He knows also what might be the blessed results if the work of correction were done in a way to win rather than to repel. . . .  {CG 245.5}
[CG 245.6]          Do not, I beg of you, correct your children in anger. That is the time of all times when you should act with humility and patience and prayer. Then is the time to                                                                              246  kneel down with the children and ask the Lord for pardon. Seek to win them to Christ by the manifestation of kindness and love, and you will see that a higher power than that of earth is co-operating with your efforts.  {CG 245.6}
[CG 246.1]          When you are obliged to correct a child, do not raise the voice to a high key. . . . Do not lose your self-control. The parent who, when correcting a child, gives way to anger is more at fault than the child.  {CG 246.1}
[CG 246.2]          Scolding and Fretting Never Help.--Harsh, angry words are not of heavenly origin. Scolding and fretting never help. Instead, they stir up the worst feelings of the human heart. When your children do wrong and are filled with rebellion, and you are tempted to speak and act harshly, wait before you correct them. Give them an opportunity to think, and allow your temper to cool.  {CG 246.2}
[CG 246.3]          As you deal kindly and tenderly with your children, they and you will receive the blessing of the Lord. And think you that in the day of God's judgment anyone will regret that he has been patient and kind with his children?  {CG 246.3}
[CG 246.4]          Nervousness Is No Excuse for Impatience.--Parents sometimes excuse their own wrong course because they do not feel well. They are nervous and think they cannot be patient and calm and speak pleasantly. In this they deceive themselves and please Satan, who exults that the grace of God is not regarded by them as sufficient to overcome natural infirmities. They can and should at all times control themselves. God requires it of them.  {CG 246.4}
[CG 246.5]          Sometimes when fatigued by labor or oppressed with care, parents do not maintain a calm spirit, but manifest a lack of forbearance that displeases God and brings a cloud over the family. Parents, when you feel fretful, you                                                                              247  should not commit so great a sin as to poison the whole family with this dangerous irritability. At such times set a double watch over yourselves and resolve that none but pleasant, cheerful words shall escape your lips. By thus exercising self-control, you will grow stronger. Your nervous system will not be so sensitive. . . . Jesus knows our infirmities and has Himself shared our experience in all things but in sin; therefore He has prepared for us a path suited to our strength and capacity.  {CG 246.5}
[CG 247.1]          Sometimes everything seems to go wrong in the family circle. There is fretfulness all around, and all seem very miserable and unhappy. The parents lay the blame upon their poor children and think them very disobedient and unruly, the worst children in the world, when the cause of the disturbance is in themselves. God requires them to exercise self-control. They should realize that when they yield to impatience and fretfulness, they cause others to suffer. Those around them are affected by the spirit they manifest, and if they in their turn act out the same spirit, the evil is increased.  {CG 247.1}
[CG 247.2]          There Is Sometimes Power in Silence.--Those who desire to control others must first control themselves. . . . When a parent or teacher becomes impatient and is in danger of speaking unwisely, let him remain silent. There is wonderful power in silence.  {CG 247.2}
[CG 247.3]          Give Few Commands; Then Require Obedience.-- Let mothers be careful not to make unnecessary requirements to exhibit their own authority before others. Give few commands, but see that these are obeyed.  {CG 247.3}
[CG 247.4]          Do not . . . in your discipline of children release them from that which you have required them to do. Do not let your mind become so absorbed in other things                                                                              248  as to cause you to grow careless. And do not become wearied in your guardianship because your children forget and do that which you have forbidden them to do.  {CG 247.4}
[CG 248.1]          In all your commands aim to secure the highest good of your children, and then see that these commands are obeyed. Your energy and decision must be unwavering, yet ever in subjection to the Spirit of Christ.  {CG 248.1}
[CG 248.2]          Dealing With a Negligent Child.--When you ask your child to do a certain thing, and he answers, "Yes, I will do it," and then neglects to fulfill his word, you must not leave the matter thus. You must call your child to account for this neglect. If you pass it by without notice, you educate your child to habits of neglect and unfaithfulness. God has given to every child a stewardship. Children are to obey their parents. They are to help bear the burdens and responsibilities of the home; and when they neglect to do their appointed work, they should be called to account and required to perform it.  {CG 248.2}
[CG 248.3]          Results of Hasty, Spasmodic Discipline.--When children have done wrong, they themselves are convicted of their sin and feel humiliated and distressed. To scold them for their faults will often result in making them stubborn and secretive. Like unruly colts, they seem determined to make trouble, and scolding will do them no good. Parents should seek to divert their minds into some other channel.  {CG 248.3}
[CG 248.4]          But the trouble is, parents are not uniform in their management, but move more from impulse than from principle. They fly into a passion and do not set an example before their children that Christian parents should. One day they pass over the wrongdoings of their children, and the next day they manifest no patience or                                                                              249  self-control. They do not keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment. They are often more guilty than are their children.  {CG 248.4}
[CG 249.1]          Some children will soon forget a wrong that is done to them by father and mother; but other children who are differently constituted cannot forget severe, unreasonable punishment which they did not deserve. Thus their souls are injured, and their minds bewildered. The mother loses her opportunities to instill right principles into the mind of the child, because she did not maintain self-control and manifest a well-balanced mind in her deportment and words.  {CG 249.1}
[CG 249.2]          Be so calm, so free from anger, that they will be convinced that you love them, even though you punish them.  {CG 249.2}
[CG 249.3]          Inducements Are Sometimes Better Than Punishment.-- I have felt such a deep interest in this line of work that I have adopted children in order that they might be trained in right lines. Instead of punishing them when they did wrong, I would hold out inducements to them to do right. One was in the habit of throwing herself on the floor if she could not have her own way. I said to her, "If you will not lose your temper once today, your uncle White and I will take you in the carriage, and we will have a happy day in the country. But if you throw yourself on the floor once, you will forfeit your right to the pleasure." I worked in this way for these children, and now I feel thankful that I had the privilege of doing this work.  {CG 249.3}
[CG 249.4]          Deal With Wrong Promptly, Wisely, Firmly.-- Disobedience must be punished. Wrongdoing must be corrected. The iniquity that is bound up in the heart of a                                                                              250  child must be met and overcome by parents and teachers. Wrong must be dealt with promptly and wisely, with firmness and decision. Hatred of restraint, love of self-indulgence, indifference to things of eternity, must be carefully dealt with. Unless evil is eradicated, the soul will be lost. And more than this: he who gives himself up to follow in Satan's lead seeks constantly to entice others. From our children's earliest years we should seek to subdue in them the spirit of the world.  {CG 249.4}
[CG 250.1]          The Rod Is Sometimes Necessary.--The mother may ask, "Shall I never punish my child?"  {CG 250.1}
[CG 250.2]          Whipping may be necessary when other resorts fail, yet she should not use the rod if it is possible to avoid doing so. But if milder measures prove insufficient, punishment that will bring the child to its senses should in love be administered. Frequently one such correction will be enough for a lifetime, to show the child that he does not hold the lines of control.  {CG 250.2}
[CG 250.3]          And when this step becomes necessary, the child should be seriously impressed with the thought that this is not done for the gratification of the parent, or to indulge arbitrary authority, but for the child's own good. He should be taught that every fault uncorrected will bring unhappiness to himself and will displease God. Under such discipline children will find their greatest happiness in submitting their wills to the will of the heavenly Father.  {CG 250.3}
[CG 250.4]          As the Last Resort.--Many times you will find that if you will reason with them kindly, they will not need to be whipped. And such method of dealing will lead them to have confidence in you. They will make you their confidant. They will come to you and say, I did wrong today                                                                              251  at such a time, and I want you to forgive me and to ask God to forgive me. I have gone through scenes like this, and therefore I know. . . . I am thankful that I had courage, when they did wrong, to deal with them firmly, to pray with them, and to keep the standards of God's Word before them. I am glad that I presented to them the promises made to the overcomer, and the rewards offered to those who are faithful.  {CG 250.4}
[CG 251.1]          Never Strike a Passionate Blow.--Never give your child a passionate blow, unless you want him to learn to fight and quarrel. As parents you stand in the place of God to your children, and you are to be on guard.  {CG 251.1}
[CG 251.2]          You may have to punish with the rod; this is sometimes essential, but defer any settlement of the difficulty until you have settled the case with yourselves. Ask yourself, Have I submitted my way and will to God? Have I placed myself where God can manage me, so that I may have wisdom, patience, kindness, and love in dealing with the refractory elements in the home?  {CG 251.2}
[CG 251.3]          Caution to a Quick-tempered Father.--Bro. L., have you considered what a child is, and whither it is going? Your children are the younger members of the Lord's family--brothers and sisters entrusted to your care by your heavenly Father for you to train and educate for heaven. When you are handling them so roughly as you have frequently done, do you consider that God will call you to account for this dealing? You should not use your children thus roughly. A child is not a horse or a dog to be ordered about according to your imperious will, or to be controlled under all circumstances by a stick or whip, or by blows with the hand. Some children are so vicious in their tempers that the infliction of pain                                                                              252  is necessary, but very many cases are made much worse by this manner of discipline. . . .  {CG 251.3}
[CG 252.1]          Never raise your hand to give them a blow unless you can with a clear conscience bow before God and ask His blessing upon the correction you are about to give. Encourage love in the hearts of your children. Present before them high and correct motives for self-restraint. Do not give them the impression that they must submit to control because it is your arbitrary will, because they are weak, and you are strong, because you are the father, they the children. If you wish to ruin your family, continue to govern by brute force, and you will surely succeed.  {CG 252.1}
[CG 252.2]          Never Shake an Offending Child.--Parents have not given their children the right education. Frequently they manifest the same imperfections which are seen in the children. They eat improperly, and this calls their nervous energies to the stomach, and they have no vitality to expand in other directions. They cannot properly control their children because of their own impatience; neither can they teach them the right way. Perhaps they take hold of them roughly and give them an impatient blow. I have said that to shake a child would shake two evil spirits in, while it would shake one out. If a child is wrong, to shake it only makes it worse. It will not subdue it.  {CG 252.2}
[CG 252.3]          First Use Reason and Prayer.--First reason with your children, clearly point out their wrongs, and impress upon them that they have not only sinned against you, but against God. With your heart full of pity and sorrow for your erring children, pray with them before correcting them. Then they will see that you do not punish                                                                              253  them because they have put you to inconvenience, or because you wish to vent your displeasure upon them, but from a sense of duty, for their good; and they will love and respect you.  {CG 252.3}
[CG 253.1]          That prayer may make such an impression on their minds that they will see that you are not unreasonable. And if the children see that you are not unreasonable, you have gained a great victory. This is the work that is to be carried on in our family circles in these last days.  {CG 253.1}
[CG 253.2]          The Effectiveness of Prayer in a Disciplinary Crisis.--Do not threaten them with the wrath of God if they do wrong, but bring them in your prayers to Christ.  {CG 253.2}
[CG 253.3]          Before you cause your child physical pain, you will, if you are a Christian father or mother, reveal the love you have for your erring one. As you bow before God with your child, you will present before the sympathizing Redeemer His own words, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." Mark 10:14. That prayer will bring angels to your side. Your child will not forget these experiences, and the blessing of God will rest upon such instruction, leading him to Christ. When children realize that their parents are trying to help them, they will bend their energies in the right direction.  {CG 253.3}
[CG 253.4]          Personal Experiences in Discipline.--I never allowed my children to think that they could plague me in their childhood. I also brought up in my family others from other families, but I never allowed those children to think that they could plague their mother. Never did I allow myself to say a harsh word or to become impatient or fretful over the children. They never got the better of                                                                              254  me once--not once, to provoke me to anger. When my spirit was stirred, or when I felt anything like being provoked, I would say, "Children, we shall let this rest now; we shall not say anything more about it now. Before we retire, we shall talk it over." Having all this time to reflect, by evening they had cooled off, and I could handle them very nicely. . . .  {CG 253.4}
[CG 254.1]          There is a right way, and there is a wrong way. I never lifted a hand to my children, before I talked with them; and if they broke down, and if they saw their mistake (and they always did when I brought it before them and prayed with them), and if they were subdued (and they always were when I did this), then I had them under my control. I never found them otherwise. When I prayed with them, they would break all to pieces, and they would throw their arms around my neck and cry. . . .  {CG 254.1}
[CG 254.2]          I never allowed, in correcting my children, even my voice to be changed in any way. When I saw something wrong, I waited until the "heat" was over, and then I would take them after they had had a chance for reflection and were ashamed. They would get ashamed, if I gave them an hour or two to think of these things. I always went away and prayed. I would not speak to them then.  {CG 254.2}
[CG 254.3]          After they had been left to themselves for a while, they would come to me about it. "Well," I would say, "we will wait until evening." At that time we would have a season of prayer, and then I would tell them that they hurt their own souls and grieved the Spirit of God by their wrong course of action.  {CG 254.3}
[CG 254.4]          Take Time for Prayer.--When I have felt roiled and was tempted to speak words that I would be ashamed of,                                                                              255  I would keep silent and pass right out of the room and ask God to give me patience to teach these children. Then I could go back and talk with them, and tell them they must not do this wrong again. We can take such a position in this matter that we shall not provoke the children to wrath. We should speak kindly and patiently, remembering all the time how wayward we are and how we want to be treated by our heavenly Father.  {CG 254.4}
[CG 255.1]          Now these are the lessons that parents must learn, and when you have learned these, you will be the very best students in the school of Christ, and your children will be the very best children. In this way you can teach them to have respect for God and to keep His law, because you will have excellent government over them, and in doing this you are bringing up into society children who will be a blessing to all around them. You are fitting them to be laborers together with God.  {CG 255.1}
[CG 255.2]          Joy May Follow the Pain of Discipline.--The true way of dealing with trial is not by seeking to escape it, but by transforming it. This applies to all discipline, the earlier as well as the later. The neglect of the child's earliest training, and the consequent strengthening of wrong tendencies, makes his after education more difficult and causes discipline to be too often a painful process. Painful it must be to the lower nature, crossing, as it does, the natural desires and inclinations; but the pain may be lost sight of in a higher joy.  {CG 255.2}
[CG 255.3]          Let the child and the youth be taught that every mistake, every fault, every difficulty, conquered, becomes a steppingstone to better and higher things. It is through such experiences that all who have ever made life worth the living have achieved success.                                                                              256   {CG 255.3}
[CG 256.1]          Follow the Divine Guidebook.--Parents who would properly rear their children need wisdom from heaven in order to act judiciously in all matters pertaining to home discipline.  {CG 256.1}
[CG 256.2]          The Bible is a guide in the management of children. Here, if parents desire, they may find a course marked out for the education and training of their children, that they may make no blunders. . . . When this Guidebook is followed, parents, instead of giving unlimited indulgence to their children, will use more often the chastening rod; instead of being blind to their faults, their perverse tempers, and alive only to their virtues, they will have clear discernment and will look upon these things in the light of the Bible. They will know that they must command their children in the right way.  {CG 256.2}
[CG 256.3]          God cannot take rebels into His kingdom; therefore He makes obedience to His commands a special requirement. Parents should diligently teach their children what saith the Lord. Then God will show to angels and to men that He will build a safeguard round about His people.  {CG 256.3}
[CG 256.4]          Your Part and God's Part.--Parents, when you have faithfully done your duty, to the extent of your ability, you may then in faith ask the Lord to do that for your children which you cannot do.  {CG 256.4}
[CG 256.5]          After you have done your duty faithfully to your children, then carry them to God and ask Him to help you. Tell Him that you have done your part, and then in faith ask God to do His part, that which you cannot do. Ask Him to temper their dispositions, to make them mild and gentle by His Holy Spirit. He will hear you pray. He will love to answer your prayers. Through His Word He has enjoined it upon you to correct your children, to                                                                              257  "spare not for their crying," and His Word is to be heeded in these things.  {CG 256.5}
[CG 258.1]       Chap. Forty-Five - With Love and Firmness         Two Ways and Their End.--There are two ways to deal with children--ways that differ widely in principle and results. Faithfulness and love, united with wisdom and firmness, in accordance with the teachings of God's Word, will bring happiness in this life and in the next. Neglect of duty, injudicious indulgence, failure to restrain or correct the follies of youth, will result in unhappiness and final ruin to the children and disappointment and anguish to the parents.  {CG 258.1}
[CG 258.2]          Love has a twin sister, which is duty. Love and duty stand side by side. Love exercised while duty is neglected will make children headstrong, willful, perverse, selfish, and disobedient. If stern duty is left to stand alone without love to soften and win, it will have a similar result. Duty and love must be blended in order that children may be properly disciplined.  {CG 258.2}
[CG 258.3]          Uncorrected Faults Bring Unhappiness.--Wherever it seems necessary to deny the wishes or oppose the will of a child, he should be seriously impressed with the thought that this is not done for the gratification of the parents, or to indulge arbitrary authority, but for his own good. He should be taught that every fault uncorrected will bring unhappiness to himself and will displease God. Under such discipline children will find their greatest happiness in submitting their own will to the will of their heavenly Father.  {CG 258.3}
[CG 258.4]          Youth who follow their own impulse and inclination                                                                              259  can have no real happiness in this life, and in the end will lose eternal life.  {CG 258.4}
[CG 259.1]          Kindness to Be the Law of the Home.--God's method of government is an example of how children are to be trained. There is no oppression in the Lord's service, and there is to be no oppression in the home or in the school. Yet neither parents nor teachers should allow disregard of their word to pass unnoticed. Should they neglect to correct the children for doing wrong, God would hold them accountable for their neglect. But let them be sparing of censure. Let kindness be the law of the home and of the school. Let the children be taught to keep the law of the Lord, and let a firm, loving influence restrain them from evil.  {CG 259.1}
[CG 259.2]          Have Consideration for Childish Ignorance.-- Fathers and mothers, in the home you are to represent God's disposition. You are to require obedience, not with a storm of words, but in a kind, loving manner. You are to be so full of compassion that your children will be drawn to you.  {CG 259.2}
[CG 259.3]          Be pleasant in the home. Restrain every word that would arouse unholy temper. "Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath," is a divine injunction. Remember that your children are young in years and experience. In controlling and disciplining them, be firm, but kind.  {CG 259.3}
[CG 259.4]          Children do not always discern right from wrong, and when they do wrong, they are often treated harshly, instead of being kindly instructed.  {CG 259.4}
[CG 259.5]          No license is given in God's Word for parental severity or oppression or for filial disobedience. The law of God, in the home life and in the government of nations, flows from a heart of infinite love.                                                                              260   {CG 259.5}
[CG 260.1]          Sympathy for the Unpromising Child.--I see the necessity of parents dealing in the wisdom of Christ with their erring children. . . . It is the unpromising ones who need the greatest patience and kindness, the most tender sympathy. But many parents reveal a cold, unpitying spirit, which will never lead the erring to repentance. Let the hearts of parents be softened by the grace of Christ, and His love will find a way to the heart.  {CG 260.1}
[CG 260.2]          The Saviour's rule--"As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise" (Luke 6:31)-- should be the rule of all who undertake the training of children and youth. They are the younger members of the Lord's family, heirs with us of the grace of life. Christ's rule should be sacredly observed toward the dullest, the youngest, the most blundering, and even toward the erring and rebellious.  {CG 260.2}
[CG 260.3]          Help Children to Overcome.--God has a tender regard for the children. He wants them to gain victories every day. Let us all endeavor to help the children to be overcomers. Do not let offenses come to them from the very members of their own family. Do not permit your actions and your words to be of a nature that your children will be provoked to wrath. Yet they must be faithfully disciplined and corrected when they do wrong.  {CG 260.3}
[CG 260.4]          Give Praise Whenever Possible.--Praise the children when they do well, for judicious commendation is as great a help to them as it is to those older in years and understanding. Never be cross-grained in the sanctuary of the home. Be kind and tenderhearted, showing Christian politeness, thanking and commending your children for the help they give you.  {CG 260.4}
[CG 260.5]          Be pleasant. Never speak loud, passionate words. In                                                                              261  restraining and disciplining your children, be firm, but kind. Encourage them to do their duty as members of the family firm. Express your appreciation of the efforts they put forth to restrain their inclinations to do wrong.  {CG 260.5}
[CG 261.1]          Be just what you wish your children to be when they shall have charge of families of their own. Speak as you would have them speak.  {CG 261.1}
[CG 261.2]          Guard Tones of the Voice.--Speak always in a calm, earnest voice, in which no trace of passion is expressed. Passion is not necessary to secure prompt obedience.  {CG 261.2}
[CG 261.3]          Fathers and mothers, you are responsible for your children. Be careful under what influences you place them. Do not, by scolding or fretting, lose your own influence over them for good. You are to guide them, not to stir up the passions of their mind. Whatever provocation you may have, be sure that the tone of your voice betrays no irritation. Do not let them see in you a manifestation of the spirit of Satan. This will not help you to fit and train your children for the future, immortal life.  {CG 261.3}
[CG 261.4]          Justice to Be Blended With Mercy.--God is our lawgiver and king, and parents are to place themselves under His rule. This rule forbids all oppression from parents and all disobedience from children. The Lord is full of loving-kindness, mercy, and truth. His law is holy, just, and good, and must be obeyed by parents and children. The rules which should regulate the lives of parents and children flow from a heart of infinite love, and God's rich blessings will rest upon those parents who administer His law in their homes, and upon the children who obey this law. The combined influence of mercy and justice is to be felt. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Households                                                                              262  under this discipline will walk in the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.  {CG 261.4}
[CG 262.1]          The parent who permits his rule to become a despotism is making a terrible mistake. He wrongs not only his children but himself, quenching in their young hearts the love that would flow out in acts and words of affection. Kindness, forbearance, and love, manifested to children, will be reflected back upon the parents. That which they sow, they will also reap. . . .  {CG 262.1}
[CG 262.2]          While you seek to administer justice, remember that she has a twin sister, which is mercy. The two stand side by side and should not be separated.  {CG 262.2}
[CG 262.3]          Severity Arouses Combative Spirit. Counsel to Stern Parents.--Severity and justice, unmingled with love, will not lead your children to do right. Notice how quickly the combative spirit is aroused in them. Now there is a better way to manage them than by mere compulsion. Justice has a twin sister, which is love. Let love and justice clasp hands in all your management, and you will surely have the help of God to co-operate with your efforts. The Lord, your gracious Redeemer, wants to bless you, and give you His mind, and His grace, and His salvation, that you may have a character which God can approve.  {CG 262.3}
[CG 262.4]          The authority of the parents should be absolute, yet this power is not to be abused. In the control of his children the father should not be governed by caprice, but by the Bible standard. When he permits his own harsh traits of character to bear sway, he becomes a despot.  {CG 262.4}
[CG 262.5]          Reprove, but With Affectionate Tenderness.--No doubt you will see faults and waywardness on the part of your children. Some parents will tell you that they talk                                                                              263  to and punish their children, but they cannot see that it does them any real good. Let such parents try new methods. Let them mingle kindness and affection and love with their family government, and yet let them be as firm as a rock to right principles.  {CG 262.5}
[CG 263.1]          None who deal with the young should be ironhearted, but affectionate, tender, pitiful, courteous, winning, and companionable; yet they should know that reproofs must be given, and that even rebuke may have to be spoken to cut off some evil-doing.  {CG 263.1}
[CG 263.2]          I am instructed to say to parents, Raise the standard of behavior in your own homes. Teach your children to obey. Rule them by the combined influence of affection and Christlike authority. Let your lives be such that of you may be spoken the words of commendation spoken of Cornelius, of whom it is said that he "feared God with all his house."  {CG 263.2}
[CG 263.3]          Exercise Neither Severity nor Excessive Indulgence.-- We have no sympathy with that discipline which would discourage children by hard censure, or irritate them by passionate correction, and then, as the impulse changes, smother them with kisses, or harm them by injurious gratification. Excessive indulgence and undue severity are alike to be avoided. While vigilance and firmness are indispensable, so also are sympathy and tenderness. Parents, remember that you deal with children who are struggling with temptation, and that to them these evil promptings are as hard to resist as are those that assail persons of mature years. Children who really desire to do right may fail again and again, and as often need encouragement to energy and perseverance. Watch the working of these young minds with prayerful                                                                              264  solicitude. Strengthen every good impulse; encourage every noble action.  {CG 263.3}
[CG 264.1]          Maintain Uniform Firmness, Unimpassioned Control.-- Children have sensitive, loving natures. They are easily pleased and easily made unhappy. By gentle discipline in loving words and acts, mothers may bind their children to their hearts. Uniform firmness and unimpassioned control are necessary to the discipline of every family. Say what you mean calmly, move with consideration, and carry out what you say without deviation.  {CG 264.1}
[CG 264.2]          It will pay to manifest affection in your association with your children. Do not repel them by lack of sympathy in their childish sports, joys, and griefs. Never let a frown gather upon your brow, or a harsh word escape your lips.  {CG 264.2}
[CG 264.3]          Even kindness must have its limits. Authority must be sustained by a firm severity, or it will be received by many with mockery and contempt. The so-called tenderness, the coaxing and the indulgence used toward youth, by parents and guardians, is the worst evil which can come upon them. Firmness, decision, positive requirements, are essential in every family.  {CG 264.3}
[CG 264.4]          Remember Your Own Mistakes.--Let father and mother remember that they themselves are but grown-up children. Though great light has shone upon their pathway and they have had long experience, yet how easily are they stirred to envy, jealousy, and evil surmisings. Because of their own mistakes and errors they should learn to deal gently with their erring children.  {CG 264.4}
[CG 264.5]          You may feel annoyed sometimes because your children go contrary to what you have told them. But have                                                                              265  you ever thought that many times you go contrary to what the Lord has commanded you to do?  {CG 264.5}
[CG 265.1]          How to Win Love and Confidence.--There is danger that both parents and teachers will command and dictate too much, while they fail to come sufficiently into social relation with their children or scholars. They often hold themselves too much reserved and exercise their authority in a cold, unsympathizing manner, which cannot win the hearts of their children and pupils. If they would gather the children close to them, and show that they love them, and would manifest an interest in all their efforts, and even in their sports, sometimes even being a child among them, they would make the children very happy and would gain their love and win their confidence. And the children would more quickly learn to respect and love the authority of their parents and teachers.  {CG 265.1}
[CG 265.2]          Seek to Imitate Christ.--He ［Christ］ identified Himself with the lowly, the needy, and the afflicted. He took little children in His arms and descended to the level of the young. His large heart of love could comprehend their trials and necessities, and He enjoyed their happiness. His spirit, wearied with the bustle and confusion of the crowded city, tired of association with crafty and hypocritical men, found rest and peace in the society of innocent children. His presence never repulsed them. The Majesty of heaven condescended to answer their questions, and simplified His important lessons to meet their childish understanding. He planted in their young, expanding minds the seeds of truth that would spring up and produce a plentiful harvest in their riper years.                                                                              266   {CG 265.2}
[CG 266.1]          An Errant Youth Who Needed Sympathy.--Your letters I have read with interest and sympathy. I would say your son now needs a father as he has never needed one before. He has erred; you know it, and he knows that you know it; and words that you would have spoken to him in his innocency with safety, and which would not have produced any bad results, would now seem like unkindness and be sharp as a knife. . . . I know that parents feel the shame of the wrongdoing of a child that has dishonored them very keenly, but does the erring one wound and bruise the heart of the earthly parent any more than we as the children of God bruise our heavenly Parent, who has given us and is still giving us His love, inviting us to return and repent of our sins and iniquities and He will pardon our transgression?  {CG 266.1}
[CG 266.2]          Do not withdraw your love now. That love and sympathy is needed now as never before. When others look with coldness and put the worst construction upon the misdeeds of your boy, should not the father and mother in pitying tenderness seek to guide his footsteps into safe paths? I do not know the character of your son's sins, but I am safe in saying, whatever they may be, Let no comments from human lips, no pressure from human actions, of those who think they are doing justice, lead you to pursue a course which can be interpreted by your son that you feel too much mortified and dishonored to ever take him back into confidence and to forget his transgressions. Let nothing cause you to lose hope, nothing to cut off your love and tenderness for the erring one. Just because he is erring, he needs you, and he wants a father and a mother to help him to recover himself from the snare of Satan. Hold him fast by faith and love, and cling to the all-pitying Redeemer, remembering that he                                                                              267  has One who has an interest in him, even above your own. . . .  {CG 266.2}
[CG 267.1]          Do not talk discouragement and hopelessness. Talk courage. Tell him he can redeem himself, that you, his father and mother, will help him to take hold from above to plant his feet on the solid Rock, Christ Jesus, to find a sure support and unfailing strength in Jesus. If his fault be ever so grievous, it will not cure your son to press this constantly upon him. A right course of action is needed to save a soul from death and keep a soul from committing a multitude of sins.  {CG 267.1}
[CG 267.2]          Seek Divine Help to Overcome Hasty Temper.--I wish to say to every father and mother, If you have a hasty temper, seek God for help to overcome it. When you are provoked to impatience, go to your chamber, and kneel down and ask God to help you that you may have a right influence over your children.  {CG 267.2}
[CG 267.3]          Mothers, when you yield to impatience and deal harshly with your children, you are not learning of Christ, but of another master. Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." When you find your work hard, when you complain of difficulties and trials, when you say that you have no strength to withstand temptation, that you cannot overcome impatience, and that the Christian life is uphill work, be sure that you are not bearing the yoke of Christ; you are bearing the yoke of another master.  {CG 267.3}
[CG 267.4]          Reflecting the Divine Image.--The church needs men of a meek and quiet spirit, who are long-suffering and patient. Let them learn these attributes in dealing                                                                              268  with their families. Let parents think a great deal more of their children's eternal interests than they do of their present comfort. Let them look upon their children as younger members of the Lord's family, and train and discipline them in such a way as will lead them to reflect the divine image.  {CG 267.4}
[CG 271.1]      Chap. Forty-Six - Evils of Indulgence         True Love Is Not Indulgent.--Love is the key to a child's heart, but the love that leads parents to indulge their children in unlawful desires is not a love that will work for their good. The earnest affection which springs from love to Jesus will enable parents to exercise judicious authority and to require prompt obedience. The hearts of parents and children need to be welded together, so that as a family they may be a channel through which wisdom, virtue, forbearance, kindness, and love may flow.  {CG 271.1}
[CG 271.2]          Too Much Freedom Makes Prodigal Sons.--The reason that children do not become godly is because they are allowed too much freedom. Their will and inclination is indulged. . . . Many prodigal sons become such because of indulgence in the home, because their parents have not been doers of the Word. The mind and purpose are to be sustained by firm, undeviating, sanctified principles. Consistency and affection are to be enforced by a lovely and consistent example.  {CG 271.2}
[CG 271.3]          The More Indulgence, the Harder the Management.-- Parents, make home happy for your children. By this I do not mean that you are to indulge them. The more they are indulged, the harder they will be to manage, and the more difficult it will be for them to live true, noble lives when they go out into the world. If you allow them to do as they please, their purity and loveliness of character will quickly fade. Teach them to obey. Let them see that your authority must be respected.                                                                              272  This may seem to bring them a little unhappiness now, but it will save them from much unhappiness in the future.  {CG 271.3}
[CG 272.1]          To indulge a child when young and erring is a sin. A child should be kept under control.  {CG 272.1}
[CG 272.2]          If children are allowed to have their own way, they receive the idea that they must be waited upon, cared for, indulged, and amused. They think that their wishes and their will must be gratified.  {CG 272.2}
[CG 272.3]          Should she ［the mother］ not let her child have his own way now and then, let him do just as he wishes, permit him to be disobedient? Certainly not, for just so sure as she does, she lets Satan plant his hellish banner in her house. She must fight the battle of that child which he cannot fight himself. That is her work, to rebuke the devil, to seek God earnestly, and never to let Satan take her child right out of her arms and place him in his arms.  {CG 272.3}
[CG 272.4]          Indulgence Causes Restlessness and Discontent.-- In some families the wishes of the child are law. Everything he desires is given him. Everything he dislikes he is encouraged to dislike. These indulgences are supposed to make the child happy, but it is these very things that make him restless, discontented, and satisfied with nothing. Indulgence has spoiled his appetite for plain, healthful food, for the plain, healthful use of his time; gratification has done the work of unsettling that character for time and for eternity.  {CG 272.4}
[CG 272.5]          Elisha's Effective Rebuke for Disrespect.--The idea that we must submit to ways of perverse children is a mistake. Elisha, at the very commencement of his work, was mocked and derided by the youth of Bethel. He was a man of great mildness, but the Spirit of God impelled                                                                              273  him to pronounce a curse upon those railers. They had heard of Elijah's ascension, and they made this solemn event the subject of jeers. Elisha evinced that he was not to be trifled with, by old or young, in his sacred calling. When they told him he had better go up, as Elijah had done before him, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. The awful judgment that came upon them was of God.  {CG 272.5}
[CG 273.1]          After this, Elisha had no further trouble in his mission. For fifty years he passed in and out of the gate of Bethel, and went to and fro from city to city, passing through crowds of the worst and rudest of idle, dissolute youth; but no one ever mocked him or made light of his qualifications as the prophet of the Most High.  {CG 273.1}
[CG 273.2]          Do Not Yield to Coaxing.--Parents will have much to answer for in the day of accounts because of their wicked indulgence of their children. Many gratify every unreasonable wish, because it is easier to be rid of their importunity in this way than in any other. A child should be so trained that a refusal would be received in the right spirit and accepted as final.  {CG 273.2}
[CG 273.3]          Do Not Take Child's Word Before That of Others.-- Parents should not pass lightly over the sins of their children. When these sins are pointed out by some faithful friend, the parent should not feel that his rights are invaded, that he has received a personal offense. The habits of every youth and every child affect the welfare of society. The wrong course of one youth may lead many others in an evil way.  {CG 273.3}
[CG 273.4]          Do not allow your children to see that you take their word before the statements of older Christians. You cannot do them a greater injury. By saying, I believe my                                                                              274  children before I believe those whom I have evidence are children of God, you encourage in them the habit of falsifying.  {CG 273.4}
[CG 274.1]          The Heritage of a Spoiled Child.--It is impossible to depict the evil that results from leaving a child to its own will. Some who go astray because of neglect in childhood will later, through the inculcation of practical lessons, come to their senses; but many are lost forever because in childhood and youth they received only a partial, one-sided culture. The child who is spoiled has a heavy burden to carry throughout his life. In trial, in disappointment, in temptation, he will follow his undisciplined, misdirected will. Children who have never learned to obey will have weak, impulsive characters. They seek to rule, but have not learned to submit. They are without moral strength to restrain their wayward tempers, to correct their wrong habits, or to subdue their uncontrolled wills. The blunders of untrained, undisciplined childhood become the inheritance of manhood and womanhood. The perverted intellect can scarcely discern between the true and the false.  {CG 274.1}
[CG 275.1]       Chap. Forty-Seven - Lax Discipline and its Fruitage         Faulty Training Affects Entire Religious Life.--A woe rests upon parents who have not trained their children to be God-fearing, but have allowed them to grow to manhood and womanhood undisciplined and uncontrolled. During their own childhood they were allowed to manifest passion and willfulness and to act from impulse, and they bring this same spirit into their own homes. They are defective in temper, and passionate in government. Even in their acceptance of Christ they have not overcome the passions that were allowed to rule in their childish hearts. They carry the results of their early training through their entire religious life. It is a most difficult thing to remove the impress thus made upon the plant of the Lord; for as the twig is bent, the tree is inclined. If such parents accept the truth, they have a hard battle to fight. They may be transformed in character, but the whole of their religious experience is affected by the lax discipline exercised over them in their early lives. And their children have to suffer because of their defective training; for they stamp their faults upon them to the third and fourth generation.  {CG 275.1}
[CG 275.2]          The Eli's of Today.--When parents sanction and thus perpetuate the wrongs in their children as did Eli, God will surely bring them to the place where they will see that they have not only ruined their own influence, but also the influence of the youth whom they should have restrained. . . . They will have bitter lessons to learn.                                                                              276   {CG 275.2}
[CG 276.1]          Oh, that the Eli's of today, who are everywhere to be found pleading excuses for the waywardness of their children, would promptly assert their own God-given authority to restrain and correct them. Let parents and guardians, who overlook and excuse sin in those under their care, remember that they thus become accessory to these wrongs. If, instead of unlimited indulgence, the chastening rod were oftener used, not in passion, but with love and prayer, we would see happier families and a better state of society.  {CG 276.1}
[CG 276.2]          The neglect of Eli is brought plainly before every father and mother in the land. As the result of his unsanctified affection or his unwillingness to do a disagreeable duty, he reaped a harvest of iniquity in his perverse sons. Both the parent who permitted the wickedness and the children who practiced it were guilty before God, and He would accept no sacrifice or offering for their transgression.  {CG 276.2}
[CG 276.3]          Society Cursed by Defective Characters.--Oh! when will parents be wise? When will they see and realize the character of their work in neglecting to require obedience and respect according to the instructions of God's Word? The results of this lax training are seen in the children as they go out into the world and take their place at the head of families of their own. They perpetuate the mistakes of their parents. Their defective traits have full scope; and they transmit to others the wrong tastes, habits, and tempers that were permitted to develop in their own characters. Thus they became a curse instead of a blessing to society.  {CG 276.3}
[CG 276.4]          The wickedness which exists in the world today may be traced to the neglect of parents to discipline themselves                                                                              277  and their children. Thousands upon thousands of Satan's victims are what they are because of the injudicious way in which they were managed during their childhood. The stern rebuke of God is upon this mismanagement.  {CG 276.4}
[CG 277.1]          Slackening the Reins of Discipline.--Children who are misruled, who are not educated to obey and respect, link themselves with the world and take their parents in hand, putting a bridle on them, and leading them where they choose. Too often, at the very time when the children should show unquestioning respect and obedience to the counsel of their parents, the parents slacken the reins of discipline. Parents who have hitherto been bright examples of consistent piety are now led by their children. Their firmness is gone. Fathers who have borne the cross of Christ, and kept the marks of the Lord Jesus on them in singleness of purpose, are led by their children in questionable and uncertain paths.  {CG 277.1}
[CG 277.2]          Indulging the Older Children.--Fathers and mothers who should understand the responsibility which rests upon them relax their discipline to meet the inclinations of their growing sons and daughters. The will of the child is the law recognized. Mothers who have been firm, consistent, and unbending in their adherence to principle, maintaining simplicity and fidelity, become indulgent as their children merge into manhood and womanhood. In their love of display they give their children to Satan with their own hands, like the apostate Jews making them pass through the fire to Molech.  {CG 277.2}
[CG 277.3]          Dishonoring God to Gain Child's Favor.--Fathers and mothers are giving way to the inclination of godless children, and assisting them with money and facilities to make an appearance in the world.                                                                              278   {CG 277.3}
[CG 278.1]          Oh, what an account such parents will have to render to God! They dishonor God and show all honor to their wayward children, opening their doors to amusements which they have in the past condemned from principle. They have allowed card playing, dancing parties, and balls to win their children to the world. At the time when their influence over their children should be strongest, bearing a testimony of what true Christianity means, like Eli they bring themselves under the curse of God by dishonoring Him and disregarding His requirements, in order to gain the favor of their children. But a fashionable piety will not be of much value in the hour of death. Although some ministers of the gospel may approve this kind of religion, parents will find that they are leaving the crown of glory to obtain laurels that are of no value. God help fathers and mothers to arouse to their duty!  {CG 278.1}
[CG 278.2]          Be What You Wish Your Children to Be.--Be what you wish your children to be. Parents have perpetuated by precept and example their own stamp of character to their posterity. The fitful, coarse, uncourteous tempers and words are impressed upon children, and children's children, and thus the defects in the management of parents testify against them from generation to generation.  {CG 278.2}
[CG 279.1]       Chap. Forty-Eight - The Child's Reaction         To Provocation.--Children are exhorted to obey their parents in the Lord, but parents are also enjoined, "Provoke not your children to wrath, lest they be discouraged."  {CG 279.1}
[CG 279.2]          Often we do more to provoke than to win. I have seen a mother snatch from the hand of her child something that was giving it special pleasure. The child did not know the reason for this, and naturally felt abused. Then followed a quarrel between parent and child, and a sharp chastisement ended the scene as far as outward appearance was concerned; but that battle left an impression on the tender mind that would not be easily effaced. This mother acted unwisely. She did not reason from cause to effect. Her harsh, injudicious action stirred the worst passions in the heart of her child, and on every similar occasion these passions would be aroused and strengthened.  {CG 279.2}
[CG 279.3]          To Faultfinding.--You have no right to bring a gloomy cloud over the happiness of your children by faultfinding or severe censure for trifling mistakes. Actual wrong should be made to appear just as sinful as it is, and a firm, decided course should be pursued to prevent its recurrence; yet children should not be left in a hopeless state of mind, but with a degree of courage that they can improve and gain your confidence and approval. Children may wish to do right, they may purpose in their hearts to be obedient; but they need help and encouragement.  {CG 279.3}
[CG 279.4]          To Too Harsh Discipline.--Oh, how God is dishonored in a family where there is no true understanding                                                                              280  as to what constitutes family discipline, and children are confused as to what is discipline and government. It is true that too harsh discipline, too much criticism, unrequired laws and regulations, lead to disrespect of authority and to the disregarding finally of those regulations that Christ would have fulfilled.  {CG 279.4}
[CG 280.1]          When parents show a rough, severe, masterly spirit, a spirit of obstinacy and stubbornness is aroused in the children. Thus the parents fail to exert over their children the softening influence that they might.  {CG 280.1}
[CG 280.2]          Parents, can you not see that harsh words provoke resistance? What would you do if treated as inconsiderately as you treat your little ones? It is your duty to study from cause to effect. When you scolded your children, when with angry blows you struck those who were too small to defend themselves, did you ask yourself what effect such treatment would have upon you? Have you thought how sensitive you are in regard to words of censure or blame? how quickly you feel hurt if you think that someone fails to recognize your capabilities? You are but grown-up children. Then think how your children must feel when you speak harsh, cutting words to them, severely punishing them for faults that are not half so grievous in the sight of God as is your treatment of them.  {CG 280.2}
[CG 280.3]          Many parents professing to be Christians are not converted. Christ does not abide in their hearts by faith! Their harshness, their imprudence, their unsubdued tempers, disgust their children and make them averse to all their religious instruction.  {CG 280.3}
[CG 280.4]          To Continual Censure.--In our efforts to correct evil, we should guard against a tendency to faultfinding                                                                              281  or censure. Continual censure bewilders, but does not reform. With many minds, and often those of the finest susceptibility, an atmosphere of unsympathetic criticism is fatal to effort. Flowers do not unfold under the breath of a blighting wind.  {CG 280.4}
[CG 281.1]          A child frequently censured for some special fault comes to regard that fault as his peculiarity, something against which it is vain to strive. Thus are created discouragement and hopelessness, often concealed under an appearance of indifference or bravado.  {CG 281.1}
[CG 281.2]          To Ordering and Scolding.--Some parents raise many a storm by their lack of self-control. Instead of kindly asking the children to do this or that, they order them in a scolding tone, and at the same time a censure or reproof is on their lips which the children have not merited. Parents, this course pursued toward your children destroys their cheerfulness and ambition. They do your bidding, not from love, but because they dare not do otherwise. Their heart is not in the matter. It is a drudgery instead of a pleasure, and this often leads them to forget to follow out all your directions, which increases your irritation and makes it still worse for the children. The faultfinding is repeated, their bad conduct arrayed before them in glowing colors, until discouragement comes over them, and they are not particular whether they please or not. A spirit of "I don't care" seizes them, and they seek that pleasure and enjoyment away from home, away from their parents, which they do not find at home. They mingle with street company and are soon as corrupt as the worst.  {CG 281.2}
[CG 281.3]          To an Arbitrary Course of Action.--The will of the parents must be under the discipline of Christ. Molded                                                                              282  and controlled by God's pure Holy Spirit, they may establish unquestioned dominion over the children. But if the parents are severe and exacting in their discipline, they do a work which they themselves can never undo. By their arbitrary course of action, they stir up a sense of injustice.  {CG 281.3}
[CG 282.1]          To Injustice.--Children are sensitive to the least injustice, and some become discouraged under it and will neither heed the loud, angry voice of command, nor care for threatenings of punishment. Rebellion is too frequently established in the hearts of children through the wrong discipline of the parents, when if a proper course had been taken, the children would have formed good and harmonious characters. A mother who does not have perfect control of herself is unfit to have the management of children.  {CG 282.1}
[CG 282.2]          To a Jerk or Blow.--When the mother gives her child a jerk or blow, do you think it enables him to see the beauty of the Christian character? No indeed; it only tends to raise evil feelings in the heart, and the child is not corrected at all.  {CG 282.2}
[CG 282.3]          To Harsh, Unsympathetic Words.--Christ is ready to teach the father and the mother to be true educators. Those who learn in His school . . . will never speak in a harsh, unsympathetic tone; for words spoken in this manner grate upon the ear, wear upon the nerves, cause mental suffering, and create a state of mind that makes it impossible to curb the temper of the child to whom such words are spoken. This is often the reason why children speak disrespectfully to parents.  {CG 282.3}
[CG 282.4]          To Ridicule and Taunting.--They ［parents］ are not authorized to fret and scold and ridicule. They should                                                                              283  never taunt their children with perverse traits of character, which they themselves have transmitted to them. This mode of discipline will never cure the evil. Parents, bring the precepts of God's Word to admonish and reprove your wayward children. Show them a "Thus saith the Lord" for your requirements. A reproof which comes as the word of God is far more effective than one falling in harsh, angry tones from the lips of parents.  {CG 282.4}
[CG 283.1]          To Impatience.--Impatience in the parents excites impatience in the children. Passion manifested by the parents creates passion in the children and stirs up the evils of their nature. . . . Every time they lose self-control and speak and act impatiently, they sin against God.  {CG 283.1}
[CG 283.2]          To Alternate Scolding and Coaxing.--I have frequently seen children who were denied something that they wanted throw themselves upon the floor in a pet, kicking and screaming, while the injudicious mother alternately coaxed and scolded in the hope of restoring her child to good nature. This treatment only fosters the child's passion. The next time it goes over the same ground with increased willfulness, confident of gaining the day as before. Thus the rod is spared and the child is spoiled.  {CG 283.2}
[CG 283.3]          The mother should not allow her child to gain an advantage over her in a single instance. And, in order to maintain this authority, it is not necessary to resort to harsh measures; a firm, steady hand and a kindness which convinces the child of your love will accomplish the purpose.  {CG 283.3}
[CG 283.4]          To Lack of Firmness and Decision.--Great harm is done by a lack of firmness and decision. I have known                                                                              284  parents to say, You cannot have this or that, and then relent, thinking they may be too strict, and give the child the very thing they at first refused. A lifelong injury is thus inflicted. It is an important law of the mind--one which should not be overlooked--that when a desired object is so firmly denied as to remove all hope, the mind will soon cease to long for it, and will be occupied in other pursuits. But as long as there is any hope of gaining the desired object, an effort will be made to obtain it. . . .  {CG 283.4}
[CG 284.1]          When it is necessary for parents to give a direct command, the penalty of disobedience should be as unvarying as are the laws of nature. Children who are under this firm, decisive rule know that when a thing is forbidden or denied, no teasing or artifice will secure their object. Hence they soon learn to submit and are much happier in so doing. The children of undecided and overindulgent parents have a constant hope that coaxing, crying, or sullenness may gain their object, or that they may venture to disobey without suffering the penalty. Thus they are kept in a state of desire, hope, and uncertainty, which makes them restless, irritable, and insubordinate. God holds such parents guilty of wrecking the happiness of their children. This wicked mismanagement is the key to the impenitence and irreligion of thousands. It has proved the ruin of many who have professed the Christian name.  {CG 284.1}
[CG 284.2]          To Unnecessary Restrictions.--When parents become old and have young children to bring up, the father is likely to feel that the children must follow in the sturdy, rugged path in which he himself is traveling. It is difficult for him to realize that his children are in need of having life made pleasant and happy for them by their parents.                                                                              285   {CG 284.2}
[CG 285.1]          Many parents deny the children an indulgence in that which is safe and innocent, and are so afraid of encouraging them in cultivating desires for unlawful things that they will not even allow their children to have the enjoyment that children should have. Through fear of evil results, they refuse permission to indulge in some simple pleasure that would have saved the very evil they seek to avoid; and thus the children think there is no use in expecting any favors, and therefore will not ask for them. They steal away to the pleasures they think will be forbidden. Confidence between parents and children is thus destroyed.  {CG 285.1}
[CG 285.2]          To the Denial of Reasonable Privileges.--If fathers and mothers have not themselves had a happy childhood, why should they shadow the lives of their children because of their own great loss in this respect? The father may think that this is the only course that will be safe to pursue; but let him remember that all minds are not constituted alike, and the greater the efforts made to restrict, the more uncontrollable will be the desire to obtain that which is denied, and the result will be disobedience to parental authority. The father will be grieved by what he considers the wayward course of his son, and his heart will feel sore over his rebellion. But would it not be well for him to consider the fact that the first cause of his son's disobedience was his own unwillingness to indulge him in that in which there was no sin? The parent thinks that sufficient reason is given for his son's abstaining from his indulgence since he has denied it to him. But parents should remember that their children are intelligent beings, and they should deal with them as they themselves would like to be dealt with.                                                                              286   {CG 285.2}
[CG 286.1]          To Severity.--Parents who exercise a spirit of dominion ［domination］ and authority, transmitted to them from their own parents, which leads them to be exacting in their discipline and instruction, will not train their children aright. By their severity in dealing with their errors, they stir up the worst passions of the human heart and leave their children with a sense of injustice and wrong. They meet in their children the very disposition that they themselves have imparted to them.  {CG 286.1}
[CG 286.2]          Such parents drive their children away from God, by talking to them on religious subjects; for the Christian religion is made unattractive and even repulsive by this misrepresentation of truth. Children will say, "Well, if that is religion, I do not want anything of it." It is thus that enmity is often created in the heart against religion; and because of an arbitrary enforcement of authority, children are led to despise the law and the government of heaven. Parents have fixed the eternal destiny of their children by their own misrule.  {CG 286.2}
[CG 286.3]          To Quiet, Kind Manner.--If parents desire their children to be pleasant, they should never speak to them in a scolding manner. The mother often allows herself to become irritable and nervous. Often she snatches at the child and speaks in a harsh manner. If a child is treated in a quiet, kind manner, it will do much to preserve in him a pleasant temper.  {CG 286.3}
[CG 286.4]          To Loving Entreaty.--The father, as priest of the household, should deal gently and patiently with his children. He should be careful not to arouse in them a combative disposition. He must not allow transgression to go uncorrected, and yet there is a way to correct without stirring up the worst passions in the human                                                                              287  heart. Let him in love talk with his children, telling them how grieved the Saviour is over their course; and then let him kneel with them before the mercy seat and present them to Christ, praying that He will have compassion on them and lead them to repent and ask forgiveness. Such disciplining will nearly always break the most stubborn heart.  {CG 286.4}
[CG 287.1]          God desires us to deal with our children in simplicity. We are liable to forget that children have not had the advantage of the long years of training that older people have had. If the little ones do not act in accordance with our ideas in every respect, we sometimes think that they deserve a scolding. But this will not mend matters. Take them to the Saviour, and tell Him all about it; then believe that His blessing will rest upon them.  {CG 287.1}
[CG 288.1]       Chap. Forty-Nine - Attitude of Relatives         Indulgent Relatives Are a Problem.--Be careful how you relinquish the government of your children to others. No one can properly relieve you of your God-given responsibility. Many children have been utterly ruined by the interference of relatives or friends in their home government. Mothers should never allow their sisters or mothers to interfere with the wise management of their children. Though the mother may have received the very best training at the hands of her mother, yet, in nine cases out of ten, as a grandmother she would spoil her daughter's children, by indulgence and injudicious praise. All the patient effort of the mother may be undone by this course of treatment. It is proverbial that grandparents, as a rule, are unfit to bring up their grandchildren. Men and women should pay all the respect and deference due to their parents; but in the matter of the management of their own children, they should allow no interference, but hold the reins of government in their own hands.  {CG 288.1}
[CG 288.2]          When They Laugh at Disrespect and Passion.-- Wherever I go, I am pained by the neglect of proper home discipline and restraint. Little children are allowed to answer back, to manifest disrespect and impertinence, using language that no child should ever be permitted to address to its superiors. Parents who permit the use of unbecoming language are more worthy of blame than their children. Impertinence should not be tolerated in a child even once. But fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts and grandparents laugh at the exhibition of passion                                                                              289  in the little creature of a year old. Its imperfect utterance of disrespect, its childish stubbornness, are thought cunning. Thus wrong habits are confirmed, and the child grows up to be an object of dislike to all around him.  {CG 288.2}
[CG 289.1]          When They Discourage Proper Correction.--I tremble especially for mothers, as I see them so blind, and feeling so little the responsibilities that devolve upon a mother. They see Satan working in the self-willed child of even but a few months of age. Filled with spiteful passion, Satan seems to be taking full possession. But there may be in the house perhaps a grandmother, an aunt, or some other relative or friend, who will seek to make that parent believe that it would be cruelty to correct that child; whereas just the opposite is true; and it is the greatest cruelty to let Satan have the possession of that tender, helpless child. Satan must be rebuked. His hold on the child must be broken. If correction is needed, be faithful, be true. The love of God, true pity for the child, will lead to the faithful discharge of duty.  {CG 289.1}
[CG 289.2]          Perplexities of a Family Community.--It is not the best policy for children of one, two, or three families that are connected by marriage to settle within a few miles of one another. The influence is not good on the parties. The business of one is the business of all. The perplexities and troubles which every family must experience more or less, and which, as far as possible, should be confined within the limits of the family circle, are extended to family connections and have a bearing upon the religious meetings. There are matters which should not be known to a third person, however friendly and closely connected he may be. Individuals and families should bear them. But the close relationship of several families, brought                                                                              290  into constant intercourse, has a tendency to break down the dignity which should be maintained in every family. In performing the delicate duty of reproving and admonishing, there will be danger of injuring feelings, unless it be done with the greatest tenderness and care. The best models of character are liable to errors and mistakes, and great care should be exercised that too much is not made of little things.  {CG 289.2}
[CG 290.1]          Such family and church relationship . . . is very pleasant to the natural feelings; but it is not the best, all things considered, for the development of symmetrical Christian characters. . . . All parties would be much happier to be separated and to visit occasionally, and their influence upon one another would be tenfold greater.  {CG 290.1}
[CG 290.2]          United as these families are by marriage, and mingling as they do in one another's society, each is awake to the faults and errors of the others, and feels in duty bound to correct them; and because these relatives are really dear to one another, they are grieved over little things that they would not notice in those not so closely connected. Keen sufferings of mind are endured, because feelings will arise with some that they have not been treated impartially, and with all that consideration which they deserved. Petty jealousies sometimes arise, and molehills become mountains. These little misunderstandings and petty variances cause more severe suffering of mind than do trials that come from other sources.  {CG 290.2}
[CG 293.1]       Chap. Fifty - What Comprises True Education?         The Breadth of True Education.--True education means more than taking a certain course of study. It is broad. It includes the harmonious development of all the physical powers and the mental faculties. It teaches the love and fear of God and is a preparation for the faithful discharge of life's duties.  {CG 293.1}
[CG 293.2]          Proper education includes not only mental discipline, but that training which will secure sound morals and correct deportment.  {CG 293.2}
[CG 293.3]          The first great lesson in all education is to know and understand the will of God. We should bring into every day of life the effort to gain this knowledge. To learn science through human interpretation alone is to obtain a false education, but to learn of God and Christ is to learn the science of heaven. The confusion in education has come because the wisdom and knowledge of God have not been exalted.  {CG 293.3}
[CG 293.4]          Influence Counter to Selfish Rivalry and Greed.-- At such a time as this, what is the trend of the education given? To what motive is appeal most often made? To self-seeking. Much of the education given is a perversion of the name. In true education the selfish ambition, the greed for power, the disregard for the rights and needs of humanity, that are the curse of our world, find a counterinfluence. God's plan of life has a place for every human being. Each is to improve his talents to the                                                                              294  utmost; and faithfulness in doing this, be the gifts few or many, entitles one to honor.  {CG 293.4}
[CG 294.1]          In God's plan there is no place for selfish rivalry. Those who measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves among themselves, are not wise. (2 Corinthians 10:12.) Whatever we do is to be done "as of the ability which God giveth." 1 Peter 4:11. It is to be done "heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23, 24. Precious the service done and the education gained in carrying out these principles. But how widely different is much of the education now given! From the child's earliest years it is an appeal to emulation and rivalry; it fosters selfishness, the root of all evil.  {CG 294.1}
[CG 294.2]          The Model Was Given in Eden.--The system of education instituted at the beginning of the world was to be a model for man throughout all aftertime. As an illustration of its principles a model school was established in Eden, the home of our first parents. The Garden of Eden was the schoolroom, nature was the lesson book, the Creator Himself was the instructor.  {CG 294.2}
[CG 294.3]          Exemplified in the Master Teacher.--In the training of His disciples the Saviour followed the system of education established at the beginning. The Twelve first chosen, with a few others who through ministry to their needs were from time to time connected with them, formed the family of Jesus. They were with Him in the house, at the table, in the closet, in the field. They accompanied Him on His journeys, shared His trials and hardships, and, as much as in them was, entered into His work.                                                                              295   {CG 294.3}
[CG 295.1]          Sometimes He taught them as they sat together on the mountainside, sometimes beside the sea, or from the fisherman's boat, sometimes as they walked by the way. Whenever He spoke to the multitude, the disciples formed the inner circle. They pressed close beside Him, that they might lose nothing of His instruction. They were attentive listeners, eager to understand the truths they were to teach in all lands and to all ages.  {CG 295.1}
[CG 295.2]          True Education Is Both Practical and Literary.-- In childhood and youth practical and literary training should be combined, and the mind stored with knowledge. . . .  {CG 295.2}
[CG 295.3]          Children should be taught to have a part in domestic duties. They should be instructed how to help father and mother in the little things that they can do. Their minds should be trained to think, their memories taxed to remember their appointed work; and in the training to habits of usefulness in the home, they are being educated in doing practical duties appropriate to their age.  {CG 295.3}
[CG 295.4]          It Is Not the Natural Choice of Youth.--The kind of education that fits the youth for practical life, they naturally do not choose. They urge their desires, their likes and dislikes, their preferences and inclinations; but if parents have correct views of God, of the truth, and of the influences and associations that should surround their children, they will feel that upon them rests the God-given responsibility of carefully guiding the inexperienced youth.  {CG 295.4}
[CG 295.5]          It Is Not a Method of Escape From Life's Burdens.-- Let the youth be impressed with the thought that education is not to teach them how to escape life's disagreeable tasks and heavy burdens; that its purpose is to lighten the                                                                              296  work by teaching better methods and higher aims. Teach them that life's true aim is not to secure the greatest possible gain for themselves, but to honor their Maker in doing their part of the world's work, and lending a helpful hand to those weaker or more ignorant.  {CG 295.5}
[CG 296.1]          Education Should Awaken the Spirit of Service.-- Above any other agency, service for Christ's sake in the little things of everyday experience has power to mold the character and to direct the life into lines of unselfish ministry. To awaken this spirit, to encourage and rightly to direct it, is the parents' and the teacher's work. No more important work could be committed to them. The spirit of ministry is the spirit of heaven, and with every effort to develop and encourage it angels will co-operate.  {CG 296.1}
[CG 296.2]          Such an education must be based upon the Word of God. Here only are its principles given in their fullness. The Bible should be made the foundation of study and of teaching. The essential knowledge is a knowledge of God and of Him whom He has sent.  {CG 296.2}
[CG 296.3]          It Places Moral Training Above Intellectual Culture. --Children are in great need of proper education in order that they may be of use in the world. But any effort that exalts intellectual culture above moral training is misdirected. Instructing, cultivating, polishing, and refining the youth and children should be the main burden of both parents and teachers.  {CG 296.3}
[CG 296.4]          Its Goal Is Character Building.--The highest class of education is that which will give such knowledge and discipline as will lead to the best development of character, and will fit the soul for that life which measures with the life of God. Eternity is not to be lost out of our reckoning. The highest education is that which will teach                                                                              297  our children and youth the science of Christianity, which will give them an experimental knowledge of God's ways, and will impart to them the lessons that Christ gave to His disciples of the paternal character of God.  {CG 296.4}
[CG 297.1]          It Is a Training That Directs and Develops.--There is a time for training children and a time for educating youth, and it is essential that in school both of these be combined in a great degree. Children may be trained for the service of sin or for the service of righteousness. The early education of youth shapes their characters both in their secular and in their religious life. Solomon says, "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." This language is positive. The training which Solomon enjoins is to direct, educate, and develop.  {CG 297.1}
[CG 297.2]          In order for parents and teachers to do this work, they must themselves understand "the way" the child should go. This embraces more than merely having a knowledge of books. It takes in everything that is good, virtuous, righteous, and holy. It comprehends the practice of temperance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love to God and to one another. In order to attain this object, the physical, mental, moral, and religious education of children must have attention.  {CG 297.2}
[CG 297.3]          It Prepares Workers for God.--Upon fathers and mothers devolves the responsibility of giving a Christian education to the children entrusted to them. In no case are they to let any line of business so absorb mind and time and talents that their children are allowed to drift until they are separated far from God. They are not to allow their children to slip out of their grasp into the hands of unbelievers.                                                                              298   {CG 297.3}
[CG 298.1]          They are to do all in their power to keep them from imbibing the spirit of the world. They are to train them to become workers together with God. They are to be God's human hand, fitting themselves and their children for an endless life.  {CG 298.1}
[CG 298.2]          It Teaches the Love and Fear of God.--Christian parents, will you not for Christ's sake examine your desires, your aims for your children, and see if they will bear the test of God's law? The most essential education is that which will teach them the love and the fear of God.  {CG 298.2}
[CG 298.3]          It Is Regarded by Many as Old-fashioned.--The education that is lasting as eternity is almost wholly neglected as old-fashioned and undesirable. The educating of the children to take hold of the work of character building in reference to their present good, their present peace and happiness, and to guide their feet in the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, is considered not fashionable and, therefore, not essential. In order to have your children enter the gates of the City of God as conquerors, they must be educated to fear God and keep His commandments in the present life.  {CG 298.3}
[CG 298.4]          It Is Ever Progressing, Never Completed.--Our lifework here is a preparation for the life eternal. The education begun here will not be completed in this life; it will be going forward through all eternity--ever progressing, never completed. More and more fully will be revealed the wisdom and love of God in the plan of redemption. The Saviour, as He leads His children to the fountains of living waters, will impart rich stores of knowledge. And day by day the wonderful works of God,                                                                              299  the evidences of His power in creating and sustaining the universe, will open before the mind in new beauty. In the light that shines from the throne, mysteries will disappear, and the soul will be filled with astonishment at the simplicity of the things that were never before comprehended.  {CG 298.4}
[CG 300.1]       Chap. Fifty-One - Preparing for School         The First Eight or Ten Years.--Children should not be long confined within doors, nor should they be required to apply themselves closely to study until a good foundation has been laid for physical development. For the first eight or ten years of a child's life the field or garden is the best schoolroom, the mother the best teacher, nature the best lesson book. Even when the child is old enough to attend school, his health should be regarded as of greater importance than a knowledge of books. He should be surrounded with the conditions most favorable to both physical and mental growth.  {CG 300.1}
[CG 300.2]          It is customary to send very young children to school. They are required to study from books things that tax their young minds. . . . This course is not wise. A nervous child should not be overtaxed in any direction.  {CG 300.2}
[CG 300.3]          The Child's Program During Infancy.--During the first six or seven years of a child's life, special attention should be given to its physical training, rather than the intellect. After this period, if the physical constitution is good, the education of both should receive attention. Infancy extends to the age of six or seven years. Up to this period children should be left, like little lambs, to roam around the house and in the yards, in the buoyancy of their spirits, skipping and jumping, free from care and trouble.  {CG 300.3}
[CG 300.4]          Parents, especially mothers, should be the only teachers of such infant minds. They should not educate from books. The children generally will be inquisitive to learn the things of nature. They will ask questions in regard                                                                              301  to things they see and hear, and parents should improve the opportunity to instruct and patiently answer those little inquiries. They can in this manner get the advantage of the enemy and fortify the minds of their children by sowing good seed in their hearts, leaving no room for the bad to take root. The mother's loving instruction at a tender age is what is needed by children in the formation of character.  {CG 300.4}
[CG 301.1]          Lessons During the Transition Period.--The mother should be the teacher, and home the school where every child receives his first lessons; and these lessons should include habits of industry. Mothers, let the little ones play in the open air; let them listen to the songs of the birds and learn the love of God as expressed in His beautiful works. Teach them simple lessons from the book of nature and the things about them; and as their minds expand, lessons from books may be added and firmly fixed in the memory. But let them also learn, even in their earliest years, to be useful. Train them to think that, as members of the household, they are to act an interested, helpful part in sharing the domestic burdens, and to seek healthful exercise in the performance of necessary home duties.  {CG 301.1}
[CG 301.2]          It Need Not Be a Painful Process.--Such a training is of untold value to a child, and this training need not be a painful process. It can be so given that the child will find pleasure in learning to be helpful. Mothers can amuse their children while teaching them to perform little offices of love, little home duties. This is the mother's work--patiently to instruct her children, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little.                                                                              302  And in doing this work, the mother herself will gain an invaluable training and discipline.  {CG 301.2}
[CG 302.1]         Morals Imperiled by School Associates.--Do not send your little ones to school too early. The mother should be careful how she trusts the molding of the infant mind to other hands.  {CG 302.1}
[CG 302.2]          Many mothers feel that they have not time to instruct their children, and in order to get them out of the way, and get rid of their noise and trouble, they send them to school. . . .  {CG 302.2}
[CG 302.3]          Not only has the physical and mental health of children been endangered by being sent to school at too early a period, but they have been the losers in a moral point of view. They have had opportunities to become acquainted with children who were uncultivated in their manners. They were thrown into the society of the coarse and rough, who lie, swear, steal and deceive, and who delight to impart their knowledge of vice to those younger than themselves. Young children, if left to themselves, learn the bad more readily than the good. Bad habits agree best with the natural heart, and the things which they see and hear in infancy and childhood are deeply imprinted upon their minds; and the bad seed sown in their young hearts will take root and will become sharp thorns to wound the hearts of their parents.  {CG 302.3}
[CG 303.1]       Chap. Fifty-Two - Choosing the School         We Sustain Terrible Losses.--At times I find myself wishing that God would speak to parents with an audible voice as He spoke to the wife of Manoah, telling them what they must do in training their children. We are sustaining terrible losses in every branch of the work through the neglect of home training. It was this that impressed upon our minds the need of schools where a religious influence should predominate. If anything can be done to counteract the great evil, in the strength of Jesus we will do it.  {CG 303.1}
[CG 303.2]          Facing a Momentous Issue.--Parents, guardians, place your children in training schools where the influences are similar to those of a rightly conducted home school; schools in which the teachers will carry them forward from point to point, and in which the spiritual atmosphere is a savor of life unto life. . . . Whether or not our youth who have received wise instruction and training from godly parents will continue to be sanctified through the truth depends largely upon the influence that, after leaving their homes, they meet among those to whom they look for Christian instruction.  {CG 303.2}
[CG 303.3]          Which Class of Educators?--There are two classes of educators in the world. One class is those whom God makes channels of light, and the other class is those whom Satan uses as his agents, who are wise to do evil. One class contemplates the character of God and increases in the knowledge of Jesus, whom God hath sent into the world. This class becomes wholly given up to                                                                              304  those things which bring heavenly enlightenment, heavenly wisdom, to the uplifting of the soul. Every capability of their nature is submitted to God, and their thoughts are brought into captivity to Christ. The other class is in league with the prince of darkness, who is ever on the alert that he may find an opportunity to teach others the knowledge of evil.  {CG 303.3}
[CG 304.1]          Choose the School Where God Is the Foundation.-- In planning for the education of their children outside the home, parents should realize that it is no longer safe to send them to the public school, and should endeavor to send them to schools where they will obtain an education based on a Scriptural foundation. Upon every Christian parent there rests the solemn obligation of giving to his children an education that will lead them to gain a knowledge of the Lord and to become partakers of the divine nature through obedience to God's will and way.  {CG 304.1}
[CG 304.2]          Consider God's Counsel to Israel.--While the judgments of God were falling upon the land of Egypt, the Lord directed the Israelites not only to keep their children within their houses, but to bring in even their cattle from the fields. . . .  {CG 304.2}
[CG 304.3]          As the Israelites kept their children within their houses during the time when the judgments of God were in the land of Egypt, so in this time of peril we are to keep our children separate and distinct from the world. We are to teach them that the commandments of God mean much more than we realize. Those who keep them will not imitate the practices of the transgressors of God's law.  {CG 304.3}
[CG 304.4]          Parents must regard God's Word with respect, obeying its teachings. To the parents in this day, as well as to the                                                                              305  Israelites, God declares: "These words . . . shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."  {CG 304.4}
[CG 305.1]          Notwithstanding this plain instruction, some of God's people permit their children to attend the public schools, where they mingle with those who are corrupt in morals. In these schools their children can neither study the Bible nor learn its principles. Christian parents, you must make provision for your children to be educated in Bible principles.  {CG 305.1}
[CG 305.2]          Bible Truth Neutralized; the Child Confused.-- Do our children receive from the teachers in the public schools ideas that are in harmony with the Word of God? Is sin presented as an offense against God? Is obedience to all the commandments of God taught as the beginning of all wisdom? We send our children to the Sabbath school that they may be instructed in regard to the truth, and then as they go to the day school, lessons containing falsehood are given them to learn. These things confuse the mind, and should not be; for if the young receive ideas that pervert the truth, how will the influence of this education be counteracted?  {CG 305.2}
[CG 305.3]          Can we wonder that under such circumstances some of the youth among us do not appreciate religious advantages? Can we wonder that they drift into temptation? Can we wonder that, neglected as they have been,                                                                              306  their energies are devoted to amusements which do them no good, that their religious aspirations are weakened, and their spiritual life darkened? The mind will be of the same character as that upon which it feeds, the harvest of the same nature as the seed sown. Do not these facts sufficiently show the necessity of guarding from the earliest years the education of the youth? Would it not be better for the youth to grow up in a degree of ignorance as to what is commonly accepted as education than for them to become careless in regard to the truth of God?  {CG 305.3}
[CG 306.1]          Schools in All Our Churches.--In all our churches there should be schools, and teachers in these schools who are missionaries. It is essential that teachers be trained to act well their part in the important work of educating the children of Sabbathkeepers, not only in the sciences, but in the Scriptures. These schools, established in different localities and conducted by God-fearing men or women, as the case demands, should be built on the same principles as were the schools of the prophets.  {CG 306.1}
[CG 306.2]          Church Schools in the Cities.--It is of the greatest importance that church schools shall be established, to which the children may be sent and still be under the watch care of their mothers and have opportunity to practice the lessons of helpfulness that it is God's design they shall learn in the home. . . .  {CG 306.2}
[CG 306.3]          Much more can be done to save and educate the children of those who at present cannot get away from the cities. This is a matter worthy of our best efforts. Church schools are to be established for the children in the cities, and in connection with these schools provision is to be made for the teaching of higher studies, where these are called for.                                                                              307   {CG 306.3}
[CG 307.1]          Provide Schools for Small Churches.--Many families, who, for the purpose of educating their children, move to places where our large schools are established, would do better service for the Master by remaining where they are. They should encourage the church of which they are members to establish a church school where the children within their borders could receive an all-round, practical Christian education. It would be vastly better for their children, for themselves, and for the cause of God, if they would remain in the smaller churches, where their help is needed, instead of going to the larger churches, where, because they are not needed, there is a constant temptation to fall into spiritual inactivity.  {CG 307.1}
[CG 307.2]          Wherever there are a few Sabbathkeepers, the parents should unite in providing a place for a day school where their children and youth can be instructed. They should employ a Christian teacher, who, as a consecrated missionary, shall educate the children in such a way as to lead them to become missionaries. Let teachers be employed who will give a thorough education in the common branches, the Bible being made the foundation and the life of all study.  {CG 307.2}
[CG 307.3]          In localities where believers are few, let two or three churches unite in erecting a humble building for a church school.  {CG 307.3}
[CG 307.4]          If parents will realize the importance of these small educating centers, co-operating to do the work that the Lord desires to be done at this time, the plans of the enemy for our children will be frustrated.  {CG 307.4}
[CG 307.5]          Home Church Schools.--As far as possible, all our children should have the privilege of a Christian education.                                                                              308  To provide this we must sometimes establish home church schools. It would be well if several families in a neighborhood would unite to employ a humble, God-fearing teacher to give to the parents that help that is needed in educating their children. This will be a great blessing to many isolated groups of Sabbathkeepers, and a plan more pleasing to the Lord than that which has been sometimes followed, of sending young children away from their homes to attend one of our larger schools.  {CG 307.5}
[CG 308.1]          Our small companies of Sabbathkeepers are needed to hold up the light before their neighbors; and the children are needed in their homes, where they may be a help to their parents when the hours of study are ended. The well-ordered Christian home, where young children can have parental discipline that is after the Lord's order, is the best place for them.  {CG 308.1}
[CG 308.2]          A Problem for Isolated Members.--Some families of Sabbathkeepers live alone or far separated from others of like faith. These have sometimes sent their children to our boarding schools, where they have received help and have returned to be a blessing in their own home. But some cannot send their children away from home to be educated. In such cases parents should endeavor to employ an exemplary religious teacher, who will feel it a pleasure to work for the Master in any capacity and be willing to cultivate any part of the Lord's vineyard. Fathers and mothers should co-operate with the teacher, laboring earnestly for the conversion of their children.  {CG 308.2}
[CG 308.3]          Work as for Life to Save Children.--In some countries parents are compelled by law to send their children to school. In these countries, in localities where there is a church, schools should be established, if there are no                                                                              309  more than six children to attend. Work as if you were working for your life to save the children from being drowned in the polluting, corrupting influences of the world.  {CG 308.3}
[CG 309.1]          We are far behind our duty in this important matter. In many places schools should have been in operation years ago. Many localities would thus have had representatives of the truth who would have given character to the work of the Lord. Instead of centering so many large buildings in a few places, schools should have been established in many localities.  {CG 309.1}
[CG 309.2]          Let these schools now be started under wise direction, that the children and youth may be educated in their own churches. It is a grievous offense to God that there has been so great neglect in this line, when Providence has so abundantly supplied us with facilities with which to work.  {CG 309.2}
[CG 309.3]          An Established School Not to Be Abandoned.--The schoolwork in a place where a church school has been established should never be given up unless God plainly directs that this should be done. Adverse influences may seem to conspire against the school, but with God's help the teacher can do a grand, saving work in changing the order of things.  {CG 309.3}
[CG 309.4]          To Uplift Disobedient, Unruly Children.--Sometimes there is in the school a disorderly element that makes the work very hard. Children who have not received a right education make much trouble, and by their perversity make the heart of the teacher sad. But let him not become discouraged. Test and trial bring experience. If the children are disobedient and unruly, there is all the more need of strenuous effort. The fact                                                                              310  that there are children with such characters is one of the reasons why church schools should be established. The children whom parents have neglected to educate and discipline must be saved if possible.  {CG 309.4}
[CG 310.1]          To Convert Worldly Youth.--Years ago school buildings should have been erected in other places besides -----, not large buildings, but buildings suitable for church schools, in which the children and youth could receive a true education. The lesson books used should be of a character to bring the law of God to the attention. The Bible should be made the foundation of education. In this work the light and strength and power of the truth will be magnified. Youth from the world, whose minds have not been depraved by habits of sensuality, will connect with these schools and will there be converted. . . . This kind of missionary work, I am instructed, will have a most telling influence in extending the light and knowledge of truth.  {CG 310.1}
[CG 310.2]          To Maintain the Highest Standards.--The character of the work done in our church schools should be of the very highest order. Jesus Christ, the Restorer, is the only remedy for a wrong education; and the lessons taught in His Word should ever be kept before the youth in the most attractive form. The school discipline should supplement the home training, and both at home and at school simplicity and godliness should be maintained.  {CG 310.2}
[CG 310.3]          To Prepare for the Higher Grade Above.--To parents He sends the warning cry, Gather your children into your own houses; gather them away from those who are disregarding the commandments of God, who are teaching and practicing evil. Get out of the large cities                                                                              311  as fast as possible. Establish church schools. Give your children the Word of God as the foundation of all their education. This is full of beautiful lessons, and if pupils make it their study in the primary grade below, they will be prepared for the higher grade above.  {CG 310.3}
[CG 311.1]          God Has Made Provision.--Our schools are the Lord's special instrumentality to fit the children and youth for missionary work. Parents should understand their responsibility and help their children to appreciate the great privileges and blessings that God has provided for them in educational advantages.  {CG 311.1}
[CG 312.1]       Chap. Fifty-Three - The Church's Responsibility         The Church as a Watchman.--The Lord would use the church school as an aid to the parents in educating and preparing their children for this time before us. Then let the church take hold of the schoolwork in earnest and make it what the Lord desires it to be.  {CG 312.1}
[CG 312.2]          God has appointed the church as a watchman, to have a jealous care over the youth and children, and as a sentinel to see the approach of the enemy and give warning of danger. But the church does not realize the situation. She is sleeping on guard. In this time of peril fathers and mothers must arouse and work as for life, or many of the youth will be forever lost.  {CG 312.2}
[CG 312.3]          God's Law Must Be Upheld.--The church has a special work to do in educating and training its children that they may not, in attending school, or in any other association, be influenced by those of corrupt habits. The world is full of iniquity and disregard of the requirements of God. . . .  {CG 312.3}
[CG 312.4]          The Protestant churches have accepted the spurious Sabbath, the child of the Papacy, and have exalted it above God's holy, sanctified day. It is our work to make plain to our children that the first day of the week is not the true Sabbath, and that its observance, after light has come to us as to what is the true Sabbath, is a plain contradiction of the law of God.  {CG 312.4}
[CG 312.5]          Skilled Workers Must Be Trained for Christ.--As a church, as individuals, if we would stand clear in the judgment, we must make more liberal efforts for the                                                                              313  training of our young people, that they may be better fitted for the various branches of the great work committed to our hands. We should lay wise plans, in order that the ingenious minds of those who have talent may be strengthened and disciplined and polished after the highest order, that the work of Christ may not be hindered for lack of skillful laborers, who will do their work with earnestness and fidelity.  {CG 312.5}
[CG 313.1]          All to Share the Expense.--Let all share the expense. Let the church see that those who ought to receive its benefits are attending the school. Poor families should be assisted. We cannot call ourselves true missionaries if we neglect those at our very doors, who are at the most critical age, and who need our aid to secure knowledge and experience that will fit them for the service of God. The Lord would have painstaking efforts made in the education of our children.  {CG 313.1}
[CG 313.2]          Lift Financial Load of Training Worthy Youth.-- The churches in different localities should feel that a solemn responsibility rests upon them to train youth and educate talent to engage in missionary work. When they see those in the church who give promise of making useful workers, but who are not able to support themselves in the school, they should assume the responsibility of sending them to one of our training schools. There is excellent ability in the churches that needs to be brought into service. There are persons who would do good service in the Lord's vineyard, but many are too poor to obtain without assistance the education that they require. The churches should feel it a privilege to take a part in defraying the expenses of such.                                                                              314   {CG 313.2}
[CG 314.1]          Those who have the truth in their hearts are always openhearted, helping where it is necessary. They lead out, and others imitate their example. If there are some who should have the benefit of the school, but who cannot pay full price for their tuition, let the churches show their liberality by helping them.  {CG 314.1}
[CG 314.2]          A School Fund for Advanced Education.-- Let a fund be created by generous contributions for the establishment of schools for the advancement of educational work. We need men well trained, well educated, to work in the interests of the churches. They should present the fact that we cannot trust our youth to go to seminaries and colleges established by other denominations, that we must gather them into schools where their religious training shall not be neglected.  {CG 314.2}
[CG 314.3]          Give to Missions, but Do Not Neglect Youth at Home.--Shall the members of the church give means to advance the cause of Christ among others and leave their own children to carry on the work and service of Satan?  {CG 314.3}
[CG 314.4]          While we should put forth earnest efforts for the masses of the people around us, and push the work into foreign fields, no amount of labor in this line can excuse us for neglecting the education of our children and youth. They are to be trained to become workers for God. Both parents and teachers, by precept and example, are so to instill the principles of truth and honesty into the minds and hearts of the young, that they will become men and women who are as true as steel to God and His cause.  {CG 314.4}
[CG 314.5]          Pray in Faith; God Will Open Ways.--Some may ask, "How are such schools to be established?" We are not a rich people, but if we pray in faith and let the Lord work in our behalf, He will open ways before us to establish                                                                              315  small schools in retired places for the education of our youth, not only in the Scriptures and in book learning, but in many lines of manual labor.  {CG 314.5}
[CG 315.1]          "Let Us Arise and Build." ［NOTE: THIS IS A PORTION OF AN ADDRESS GIVEN JULY 14, 1902, URGING THE BUILDING OF A CHURCH SCHOOL NEAR HER OWN HOME.］--We should establish the work in right lines here at Crystal Springs ［Sanitarium, California］. Here are our children. Shall we allow them to be contaminated by the world--by its iniquity, its disregard of God's commandments? I ask those who are planning to send their children to the public schools, where they are liable to be contaminated, How can you take such a risk?  {CG 315.1}
[CG 315.2]         We desire to erect a church school building for our children. Because of the many calls for means, it seems a difficult matter to secure sufficient money or to arouse an interest great enough to build a small, convenient schoolhouse. I have told the school committee that I would lease to them some land for as long a time as they care to use it for school purposes. I hope that interest enough will be aroused to enable us to erect a building where our children can be taught the Word of God, which is the lifeblood and the flesh of the Son of God. . . . Will you not take an interest in the erection of this school building in which the Word of God is to be taught? One man, when asked how much he was willing to give to the school in labor, said that if we would give him three dollars a day and his board and lodging, he would help us. But we do not want offers of this kind. Help will come to us. We expect to have a school building, in which the Bible can be taught, in which prayers can be offered to God, and in which the children can be instructed in                                                                              316  Bible principles. We expect that everyone who can take hold with us will want to have a share in erecting this building. We expect to train a little army of workers on this hillside.  {CG 315.2}
[CG 316.1]          Help With Labor As Well As Finances.--We know that all are interested in the success of this enterprise. Let those who have spare time give a few days in helping to build this schoolhouse. Not enough money has been subscribed yet to pay merely for the necessary material. We are glad for what has been given, but we now ask everyone to take hold of this matter interestedly, so that we shall soon have a place where our children can study the Bible, which is the foundation of all true education. The fear of the Lord--the very first lesson to be taught-- is the beginning of wisdom.  {CG 316.1}
[CG 316.2]          There is no reason why this matter should drag. Let everyone take hold to help, persevering with unflagging interest until the building is completed. Let everyone do something. Some may have to get up as early as four o'clock in the morning in order to help. Usually I begin my work before that time. As soon as it is daylight, some could begin work on the building, putting in an hour or two before breakfast. Others could not do this, perhaps, but all can do something to show their interest in making it possible for the children to be educated in a school where they can be disciplined and trained for God's service. His blessing will surely rest upon every such effort. . . .  {CG 316.2}
[CG 316.3]          Brethren and sisters, what will you do to help build a church school? We believe that everyone will regard it as a privilege and a blessing to have this school building. Let us catch the spirit of the work, saying, We will arise                                                                              317  and build. If all will take hold of the work unitedly, we shall soon have a schoolhouse in which from day to day our children will be taught the way of the Lord. As we do our best, the blessing of God will rest upon us. Shall we not arise and build?  {CG 316.3}
[CG 318.1]       Chap. Fifty-Four - Teachers and Parents in Partnership         Need for a Sympathetic Understanding.--The teachers in the home and the teachers in the school should have a sympathetic understanding of one another's work. They should labor together harmoniously, imbued with the same missionary spirit, striving together to benefit the children physically, mentally, and spiritually, and to develop characters that will stand the test of temptation.  {CG 318.1}
[CG 318.2]          Parents should remember that much more will be accomplished by the work of the church school if they themselves realize the advantage that their children will obtain in such a school, and unite wholeheartedly with the teacher. By prayer, by patience, by forbearance, parents can undo much of the wrong caused by impatience and unwise indulgence. Let parents and teacher take hold of the work together, the parents remembering that they themselves will be helped by the presence in the community of an earnest, God-fearing teacher.  {CG 318.2}
[CG 318.3]          Disunion May Nullify Good Influence.--A spirit of disunion cherished in the hearts of a few will communicate itself to others and undo the influence for good that would be exerted by the school. Unless parents are ready and anxious to co-operate with the teacher for the salvation of their children, they are not prepared to have a school established among them.                                                                              319   {CG 318.3}
[CG 319.1]          Teamwork Begins in the Home.--The work of co-operation should begin with the father and mother themselves, in the home life. In the training of their children they have a joint responsibility, and it should be their constant endeavor to act together. Let them yield themselves to God, seeking help from Him to sustain each other. Let them teach their children to be true to God, true to principle, and thus true to themselves and to all with whom they are connected. With such training, children when sent to school will not be a cause of disturbance or anxiety. They will be a support to their teachers and an example and encouragement to their fellow pupils.  {CG 319.1}
[CG 319.2]          The children will carry with them into the schoolroom the influence of your training. As godly parents and godly teachers work in harmony, the hearts of the children are prepared to take a deep interest in the work of God in the church. The graces cultivated in the home are carried into the church, and God is glorified.  {CG 319.2}
[CG 319.3]          If parents are so engrossed in the business and pleasures of this life that they neglect the proper discipline of their children, the work of the teacher is not only made very hard and trying, but often rendered wholly fruitless.  {CG 319.3}
[CG 319.4]          The Teacher's Work Is Supplemental.--In the formation of character no other influences count so much as the influence of the home. The teacher's work should supplement that of the parents, but is not to take its place. In all that concerns the well-being of the child, it should be the effort of parents and teachers to co-operate.  {CG 319.4}
[CG 319.5]          The instruction given the child in the home is to be such as will help the teacher. In the home the child is to be                                                                              320  taught the importance of neatness, order, and thoroughness; and these lessons are to be repeated in the school.  {CG 319.5}
[CG 320.1]          When the child is old enough to be sent to school, the teacher should co-operate with the parents, and manual training should be continued as part of the school studies. There are many students who object to this kind of work in the schools. They think useful employment, like learning a trade, degrading; but such have an incorrect idea of what constitutes true dignity.  {CG 320.1}
[CG 320.2]          The Home May Be Blessed Through the School.-- If he ［the teacher］ labors patiently, earnestly, perseveringly, in Christ's lines, the reformatory work done in the school may extend to the homes of the children, bringing into them a purer, more heavenly atmosphere. This is indeed missionary work of the highest order.  {CG 320.2}
[CG 320.3]          The watchful teacher will find many opportunities for directing pupils to acts of helpfulness. By little children especially the teacher is regarded with almost unbounded confidence and respect. Whatever he may suggest as to ways of helping in the home, faithfulness in the daily tasks, ministry to the sick or the poor, can hardly fail of bringing forth fruit. And thus again a double gain will be secured. The kindly suggestion will react upon its author. Gratitude and co-operation on the part of the parents will lighten the teacher's burden and brighten his path.  {CG 320.3}
[CG 320.4]          Parents May Lighten the Teacher's Work.--If parents faithfully act their part, the work of the teacher will be greatly lightened. His hope and courage will be increased. Parents whose hearts are filled with the love of Christ will refrain from finding fault and will do all in their power to encourage and help the one whom they have chosen as teacher for their children. They will be                                                                              321  willing to believe that he is just as conscientious in his work as they are in theirs.  {CG 320.4}
[CG 321.1]          When parents realize their responsibilities, there will be far less left for the teachers to do.  {CG 321.1}
[CG 321.2]          Parents May Be Counselors to the Teacher.--We are to talk the love of God in our homes; we are to teach it in our schools. The principles of the Word of God are to be brought into the home and school life. If parents fully understood their duty of submission to the Lord's revealed will, they would be wise counselors in our school and in educational matters; for their experience in home training would teach them how to guard against the temptations that come to children and youth. Teachers and parents would thus become laborers together with God in the work of educating the youth for heaven.  {CG 321.2}
[CG 321.3]          The parents' intimate knowledge both of the character of the children and of their physical peculiarities or infirmities, if imparted to the teacher, would be an assistance to him. It is to be regretted that so many fail of realizing this. By most parents little interest is shown either to inform themselves as to the teacher's qualification, or to co-operate with him in his work.  {CG 321.3}
[CG 321.4]          They ［parents］ must feel it their duty to co-operate with the teacher, to encourage wise discipline, and to pray much for the one who is teaching their children.  {CG 321.4}
[CG 321.5]          Teachers May Be Advisers to Parents.--Since parents so rarely acquaint themselves with the teacher, it is the more important that the teacher seek the acquaintance of parents. He should visit the homes of his pupils and gain a knowledge of the influences and surroundings among which they live. By coming personally in touch with their homes and lives, he may strengthen the ties                                                                              322  that bind him to his pupils, and may learn how to deal more successfully with their different dispositions and temperaments.  {CG 321.5}
[CG 322.1]          As he interests himself in the home education, the teacher imparts a double benefit. Many parents, absorbed in work and care, lose sight of their opportunities to influence for good the lives of their children. The teacher can do much to arouse these parents to their possibilities and privileges. He will find others to whom the sense of their responsibility is a heavy burden, so anxious are they that their children shall become good and useful men and women. Often the teacher can assist these parents in bearing their burden; and, by counseling together, both teacher and parents will be encouraged and strengthened.  {CG 322.1}
[CG 323.1]       Chap. Fifty-Five - Unity in Discipline         The Teacher Needs Tact in Management.--Among the youth will be found great diversity of character and education. Some have lived in an element of arbitrary restraint and harshness, which has developed in them a spirit of obstinacy and defiance. Others have been household pets, allowed by overfond parents to follow their own inclinations. Every defect has been excused, until their character is deformed. To deal successfully with these different minds, the teacher needs to exercise great tact and delicacy in management, as well as firmness in government.  {CG 323.1}
[CG 323.2]          Dislike and even contempt for proper regulations will often be manifested. Some will exercise all their ingenuity in evading penalties, while others will display a reckless indifference to the consequences of transgression. All this will call for more patience and greater exertion on the part of those who are entrusted with their education.  {CG 323.2}
[CG 323.3]          Let Rules Be Few and Well Considered.--In the school as well as in the home there should be wise discipline. The teacher must make rules to guide the conduct of his pupils. These rules should be few and well considered, and once made they should be enforced. Every principle involved in them should be so placed before the student that he will be convinced of its justice.  {CG 323.3}
[CG 323.4]          The Teacher Must Enforce Obedience.--In the school, as well as in the home, the question of discipline should be understood. We should hope that in the schoolroom there would never be occasion to use the rod. But                                                                              324  if in a school there are those who stubbornly resist all counsel and entreaty, all prayers and burden of soul in their behalf, then it is necessary to make them understand that they must obey.  {CG 323.4}
[CG 324.1]          Some teachers do not think it best to enforce obedience. They think that their duty is merely to educate. True, they should educate. But what does the education of children amount to if, when they disregard the principles placed before them, the teacher does not feel that he has a right to exercise authority.  {CG 324.1}
[CG 324.2]          He Needs the Co-operation of Parents.--The teacher should not be left to carry the burden of his work alone. He needs the sympathy, the kindness, the co-operation, and the love of every church member. The parents should encourage the teacher by showing that they appreciate his efforts. Never should they say or do anything that will encourage insubordination in their children.  {CG 324.2}
[CG 324.3]          But I know that many parents do not co-operate with the teacher. They do not foster in the home the good influence exerted in the school. Instead of carrying out in the home the good influence exerted in the school, they allow their children to do as they please, to go hither and thither without restraint. And if the teacher exercises authority in requiring obedience, the children carry to their parents an exaggerated, distorted account of the way in which they have been dealt with. The teacher may have done only that which it was his painful duty to do; but the parents sympathize with their children, even though they are in the wrong. And often those parents who themselves rule in anger are the most unreasonable when their children are restrained and disciplined in school.                                                                              325   {CG 324.3}
[CG 325.1]          When parents justify the complaints of their children against the authority and discipline of the school, they do not see that they are increasing the demoralizing power which now prevails to such a fearful extent. Every influence surrounding the youth needs to be on the right side, for youthful depravity is increasing.  {CG 325.1}
[CG 325.2]          Let Them Sustain the Faithful Teachers.--Parents who have never felt the care which they should feel for the souls of their children, and who have never given them proper restraint and instruction, are the very ones who manifest the most bitter opposition when their children are restrained, reproved, or corrected at school. Some of these children are a disgrace to the church and a disgrace to the name of Adventists.  {CG 325.2}
[CG 325.3]          Let them ［parents］ teach their children to be true to God, true to principle, and thus true to themselves and to all with whom they are connected. . . .  {CG 325.3}
[CG 325.4]          Parents who give this training are not the ones likely to be found criticizing the teacher. They feel that both the interest of their children and justice to the school demand that, so far as possible, they sustain and honor the one who shares their responsibility.  {CG 325.4}
[CG 325.5]          Never Criticize the Teacher Before Children.-- Parents, when the church school teacher tries to train and discipline your children that they may gain eternal life, do not in their presence criticize his actions, even though you may think him too severe. If you desire them to give their hearts to the Saviour, co-operate with the teacher's efforts for their salvation. How much better it is for children, instead of hearing criticism, to hear from the lips of their mother words of commendation regarding the work of the teacher. Such words make lasting                                                                              326  impressions and influence the children to respect the teacher.  {CG 325.5}
[CG 326.1]          If criticism or suggestion in regard to the teacher's work becomes necessary, it should be made to him in private. If this proves ineffective, let the matter be referred to those who are responsible for the management of the school. Nothing should be said or done to weaken the children's respect for the one upon whom their well-being in so great degree depends.  {CG 326.1}
[CG 326.2]          If parents would place themselves in the position of the teachers, and see how difficult it must necessarily be to manage and discipline a school of hundreds of students of every grade and class of minds, they might, upon reflection, see things differently.  {CG 326.2}
[CG 326.3]          Insubordination Often Begins in the Home.--In allowing children to do as they please, parents may think themselves affectionate, but they are practicing the veriest cruelty. Children are able to reason, and their souls are hurt by inconsiderate kindness, however proper this kindness may be in the eyes of the parents. As the children grow older, their insubordination grows. Their teachers may try to correct them, but too often the parents side with the children, and the evil continues to grow, clothed, if possible, with a still darker covering of deception than before. Other children are led astray by the wrong course of these children, and yet the parents cannot see the wrong. The words of their children are listened to before the words of teachers, who mourn over the wrong.  {CG 326.3}
[CG 326.4]          Teacher's Work Doubled by Non-co-operative Parents.--The neglect of parents to train their children makes the work of the teacher doubly hard. The children                                                                              327  bear the stamp of the unruly, unamiable traits revealed by their parents. Neglected at home, they regard the discipline of the school as oppressive and severe. Such children, if not carefully guarded, will leaven other children by their undisciplined, deformed characters. . . . The good that children might receive in school to counteract their defective home training is undermined by the sympathy which their parents show for them in their wrongdoing.  {CG 326.4}
[CG 327.1]          Shall parents who believe the Word of God continue their crooked management and confirm in their children their evil propensities? Fathers and mothers professing the truth for this time might better come to their senses and no longer be partakers in this evil, no longer carry out Satan's devices by accepting the false testimony of their unconverted children. It is enough for teachers to have the children's influence to contend with, without having the parents' influence also.  {CG 327.1}
[CG 328.1]       Chap. Fifty-Six - Academy and College Training         Many Losing the Way in Worldly Institutions.-- It is a terrible fact, and one that should make the hearts of parents tremble, that in so many schools and colleges to which the youth are sent for mental culture and discipline, influences prevail which misshape the character, divert the mind from life's true aims, and debase the morals. Through contact with the irreligious, the pleasure loving, and the corrupt, many, many youth lose the simplicity and purity, the faith in God, and the spirit of self-sacrifice that Christian fathers and mothers have cherished and guarded by careful instruction and earnest prayer.  {CG 328.1}
[CG 328.2]          Many who enter school with the purpose of fitting themselves for some line of unselfish ministry become absorbed in secular studies. An ambition is aroused to win distinction in scholarship and to gain position and honor in the world. The purpose for which they entered school is lost sight of, and the life is given up to selfish and worldly pursuits. And often habits are formed that ruin the life both for this world and for the world to come.  {CG 328.2}
[CG 328.3]          Religious Home Influences Are Effaced.--You pray, "Lead us not into temptation." Then do not consent for your children to be placed where they will meet unnecessary temptation. Do not send them away to schools where they will be associated with influences that will be as tares sown in the field of their heart.  {CG 328.3}
[CG 328.4]          In the home school, during their early years, train and discipline your children in the fear of God. And then be                                                                              329  careful lest you place them where the religious impressions they have received will be effaced, and the love of God taken out of their hearts. Let no inducement of high wages or of apparently great educational advantages lead you to send your children away from your influence, to places where they will be exposed to great temptations. "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mark 8:36, 37.  {CG 328.4}
[CG 329.1]          Our Colleges Are Ordained of God.--When I was shown by the angel of God that an institution should be established for the education of our youth, I saw that it would be one of the greatest means ordained of God for the salvation of souls. . . . If the influence in our college is what it should be, the youth who are educated there will be enabled to discern God and glorify Him in all His works; and while engaged in cultivating the faculties which God has given them, they will be preparing to render Him more efficient service.  {CG 329.1}
[CG 329.2]          The youth are to be encouraged to attend our schools, which should become more and more like the schools of the prophets. Our schools have been established by the Lord.  {CG 329.2}
[CG 329.3]          Advantages of Experience in School Home.--To a great extent children who are to receive an education in our schools will make far more permanent advancement if separated from the family circle where they have received an erroneous education. It may be necessary for some families to locate where they can board their children and save expense, but in many cases it would prove a hindrance rather than a blessing to their children.                                                                              330   {CG 329.3}
[CG 330.1]          School Home for Wayward Daughter.--The enemy has had his way with your daughter until his toils have bound her about like bands of steel, and it will require a strong, persevering effort to save her soul. If you have success in this case, there must be no halfway work. The habits of years cannot easily be broken. She should be placed where a steady, firm, abiding influence is constantly exercised. I would advise you to put her in the college at -----; let her have the discipline of the boardinghouse. It is where she ought to have been years ago.  {CG 330.1}
[CG 330.2]          The boardinghouse is conducted upon a plan that makes it a good home. This home may not suit the inclinations of some, but it is because they have been educated to false theories, to self-indulgence and self-gratification; and all their habits and customs have been in a wrong channel. But, my dear sister, we are nearing the end of time; and we want now, not to meet the world's tastes and practices, but to meet the mind of God, to see what saith the Scriptures, and then to walk according to the light which God has given us. Our inclinations, our customs and practices, are not to have the preference. God's Word is our standard.  {CG 330.2}
[CG 330.3]          Resident Students.--It seems that some teachers think that none of the children and young people whose parents live in the vicinity of a school should have school privileges unless they live with their teachers in the school home. This is to me a new and strange idea.  {CG 330.3}
[CG 330.4]          There are young people whose home influences have been such that it would be greatly to their advantage to live for a time in a well-regulated school home. And for those who live where they must of necessity leave their own homes in order to enjoy school privileges, the school                                                                              331  homes are a great blessing. But the parental home where God is feared and obeyed is, and ever should be, the best place for young children, where under the proper training of their parents they may enjoy the care and discipline of a religious family, administered by their own parents. . . .  {CG 330.4}
[CG 331.1]          Regarding the youth that are of suitable age to attend a boarding school, let us avoid making unnecessary and arbitrary rules that would separate from their parents those who live in the vicinity of our schools. . . .  {CG 331.1}
[CG 331.2]          Unless the parents are convinced that it would be for the best interests of their children to place them under the school home discipline, they should be permitted to keep them under their own control as far as possible. In some places parents living near the school may see that their children would be benefited by living at the school home, where they can receive certain lines of instruction that they could not receive so well in their own homes. But let it not be urged that children must in all cases be separated from their parents in order to get the advantages of any one of our schools. . . .  {CG 331.2}
[CG 331.3]          Parents are the natural guardians of their children, and they have a solemn responsibility to oversee their education and training.  {CG 331.3}
[CG 331.4]          Can we not understand that the parents, who have watched for years the development of their children, should know best the kind of training and management they should have in order to bring out and cultivate the best traits of character in them? I should advise that children from homes within two or three miles of a school should be allowed to attend the school while living at home and having the benefits of parental influence. Wherever possible, let the family be held together.                                                                              332   {CG 331.4}
[CG 332.1]          All Children to Have Educational Privileges.-- The church is asleep and does not realize the magnitude of this matter of educating the children and youth. "Why," says one, "what is the need of being so particular to educate our youth thoroughly? It seems to me that if you take a few who have decided to follow a literary calling or some other calling that requires a certain discipline, and give due attention to them, that is all that is necessary. It is not required that the whole mass of our youth be so well trained. Will not this answer every essential requirement?" I answer, No, most decidedly not. . . . All our youth should be permitted to have the blessings and privileges of an education at our schools, that they may be inspired to become laborers together with God. They all need an education, that they may be fitted for usefulness, qualified for places of responsibility in both private and public life.  {CG 332.1}
[CG 332.2]          A Balanced School Program.--The faculties of the mind need cultivation, that they may be exercised to the glory of God. Careful attention should be given to the culture of the intellect, that the various organs of the mind may have equal strength, by being brought into exercise, each in its distinctive office. If parents allow their children to follow the bent of their own minds, their own inclination and pleasure, to the neglect of duty, their characters will be formed after this pattern, and they will not be competent for any responsible position in life. The desires and inclinations of the young should be restrained, their weak points of character strengthened, and their overstrong tendencies repressed.  {CG 332.2}
[CG 332.3]          If one faculty is suffered to remain dormant, or is turned out of its proper course, the purpose of God is not                                                                              333  carried out. All the faculties should be well developed. Care should be given to each, for each has a bearing upon the others, and all must be exercised in order that the mind may be properly balanced. If one or two organs are cultivated and kept in continual use because it is the choice of your children to put the strength of the mind in one direction to the neglect of other mental powers, they will come to maturity with unbalanced minds and inharmonious characters. They will be apt and strong in one direction, but greatly deficient in other directions just as important. They will not be competent men and women. Their deficiencies will be marked and will mar the entire character.  {CG 332.3}
[CG 333.1]          Evils of Constant, Year-round Study.--Many parents keep their children at school nearly the year round. These children go through the routine of study mechanically, but do not retain that which they learn. Many of these constant students seem almost destitute of intellectual life. The monotony of continual study wearies the mind, and they take but little interest in their lessons; and to many the application to books becomes painful. They have not an inward love of thought and an ambition to acquire knowledge. They do not encourage in themselves habits of reflection and investigation. . . .  {CG 333.1}
[CG 333.2]          Close reasoners and logical thinkers are few, for the reason that false influences have checked the development of the intellect. The supposition of parents and teachers that continued study would strengthen the intellect has proved erroneous, for in many cases it has had the opposite effect.  {CG 333.2}
[CG 333.3]          Censure Often Justly Belongs to Parents.--The teacher should not be expected to do the parents' work.                                                                              334  There has been, with many parents, a fearful neglect of duty. Like Eli, they fail to exercise proper restraint; and then they send their undisciplined children to college, to receive the training which the parents should have given them at home.  {CG 333.3}
[CG 334.1]          The teachers have a task which few appreciate. If they succeed in reforming these wayward youth, they receive but little credit. If the youth choose the society of the evil-disposed and go on from bad to worse, then the teachers are censured and the school is denounced. In many cases the censure justly belongs to the parents. They had the first and most favorable opportunity to control and train their children, when the spirit was teachable, and the mind and heart were easily impressed. But through the slothfulness of the parents, the children are permitted to follow their own will, until they become hardened in an evil course.  {CG 334.1}
[CG 334.2]          Parents to Sustain Teacher's Authority.--One of the greatest difficulties with which teachers have had to contend is the failure on the part of parents to co-operate in administering the discipline of the college. If the parents would stand pledged to sustain the authority of the teacher, much insubordination, vice, and profligacy would be prevented. Parents should require their children to respect and obey rightful authority. They should labor with unremitting care and diligence to instruct, guide, and restrain their children, until right habits are firmly established. With such training the youth would be in subjection to the institutions of society and the general restraints of moral obligation.  {CG 334.2}
[CG 334.3]          It is not to be left to children to judge whether the discipline of the college is reasonable or unreasonable.                                                                              335  If the parents have confidence enough in the teachers and in the system of education adopted by the school to send their children to it, let them show good sense and moral stamina and support the teacher in enforcing discipline. . . .  {CG 334.3}
[CG 335.1]          Parents who are wise will feel very grateful that there are schools where lawlessness of any kind will not be tolerated, and where children will be trained to obedience rather than indulgence, and where good influences will be brought to bear upon them.  {CG 335.1}
[CG 335.2]          There are some parents who purpose sending their demoralized children to school because they are incorrigible at home. Will these parents support the teachers in their work of discipline, or will they stand ready to believe every false report?  {CG 335.2}
[CG 335.3]          They Should Support School Discipline.--Some parents who have sent their children to ----- have told them that if anything unreasonable were required of them not to submit, whoever might require it. What a lesson is this to give to children! In their inexperience how can they judge between what is reasonable and unreasonable?  {CG 335.3}
[CG 335.4]          They may wish to be away at night, no one knows where, and if required by teachers or guardians to give an account of themselves, will call this unreasonable and an infringement on their rights. Their independence must not be interfered with. What power can rules or authority have upon these youth, while they consider any discipline an unreasonable restriction of their liberty?  {CG 335.4}
[CG 335.5]          In many cases these youth have remained in school but a short period, returning home with an unfinished education, that they may have liberty to follow the bent of their untrained, undisciplined wills which they could                                                                              336  not have at school. The lessons of indulgence taught them by an unwise father or mother have done their work for time and for eternity, and the loss of these souls will be set to their account.  {CG 335.5}
[CG 336.1]          An Education Outside the College Curriculum.-- Children and youth should cultivate habits of thoroughness in the matter of education. The college course does not embrace all the education which they are to receive. They may be constantly learning lessons from the things they see and hear. They may study from cause to effect, from the surroundings and the circumstances of life. They may learn every day something they must avoid, and something they may practice that will elevate and ennoble them, giving solidity to the character and strengthening in them those principles which are the foundation of noble manhood and womanhood.  {CG 336.1}
[CG 336.2]          If they enter upon their education with careless purposes, well content to pass along without any particular effort on their part, then they will not reach the standard God would have them attain.  {CG 336.2}
[CG 339.1]       Chap. Fifty-Seven -     Exercise and Health ［NOTE: SEE  THE ADVENTIST HOME, PP. 493-530,  SECTION XVII, "RELAXATION AND RECREATION."］         Well-regulated Employment and Amusement.--In order for children and youth to have health, cheerfulness, vivacity, and well-developed muscles and brains, they should be much in the open air and have well-regulated employment and amusement.  {CG 339.1}
[CG 339.2]          Children should have occupation for their time. Proper mental labor and physical outdoor exercise will not break the constitution of your boys. Useful labor and an acquaintance with the mysteries of housework will be beneficial to your girls, and some outdoor employment is positively necessary to their constitution and health.  {CG 339.2}
[CG 339.3]          Exercise and Fresh Air.--Those who do not use their limbs every day will realize a weakness when they do attempt to exercise. The veins and muscles are not in a condition to perform their work and keep all the living machinery in healthful action, each organ in the system doing its part. The limbs will strengthen with use. Moderate exercise every day will impart strength to the muscles, which without exercise become flabby and enfeebled. By active exercise in the open air every day, the liver, kidneys, and lungs also will be strengthened to perform their work.  {CG 339.3}
[CG 339.4]          Bring to your aid the power of the will, which will resist cold and will give energy to the nervous system. In a short time you will so realize the benefit of exercise                                                                              340  and pure air that you would not live without these blessings. Your lungs, deprived of air, will be like a hungry person deprived of food. Indeed, we can live longer without food than without air, which is the food that God has provided for the lungs.  {CG 339.4}
[CG 340.1]          Students Especially Need Physical Activity.-- Inactivity weakens the system. God made men and women to be active and useful. Nothing can increase the strength of the young like proper exercise of all the muscles in useful labor.  {CG 340.1}
[CG 340.2]          All Faculties Are Strengthened by Exercise.--Children and youth who are kept at school and confined to books cannot have sound physical constitutions. The exercise of the brain in study, without corresponding physical exercise, has a tendency to attract the blood to the brain, and the circulation of the blood through the system becomes unbalanced. The brain has too much blood, and the extremities too little. There should be rules regulating the studies of children and youth to certain hours, and then a portion of their time should be spent in physical labor. And if their habits of eating, dressing, and sleeping are in accordance with physical law, they can obtain an education without sacrificing physical and mental health.  {CG 340.2}
[CG 340.3]          Let children be taught, when quite young, to bear the smaller responsibilities of life, and the faculties thus employed will strengthen by exercise. Thus the youth may become efficient helpers in the greater work which the Lord shall afterward call them to do. . . .  {CG 340.3}
[CG 340.4]          Few have been trained to habits of industry, thoughtfulness, and caretaking. Indolence, inaction, is the greatest curse to children of this age. Wholesome, useful labor                                                                              341  will be a great blessing, by promoting the formation of good habits and a noble character.  {CG 340.4}
[CG 341.1]          Plan for Variety and Change in Work.--The active mind and hands of youth must have employment, and if they are not directed to tasks that are useful, that will develop them and bless others, they will find employment in that which will work injury to them in both body and mind.  {CG 341.1}
[CG 341.2]          The youth should cheerfully share the burdens of life with their parents, and by so doing preserve a clear conscience, which is positively necessary to physical and moral health. In doing this, they should be guarded from being taxed in the same direction for any great length of time. If the youth are kept steadily at one kind of employment, until the task becomes irksome, less will be accomplished than might have been through a change of work or a season of relaxation. If the mind is too severely taxed, it will cease to become strong and will degenerate. By a change in the work, health and vigor may be retained. There will be no need to cast aside the useful for the useless, for selfish amusements are dangerous to the morals.  {CG 341.2}
[CG 341.3]          Weariness, Normal Result of Labor.--Mothers, there is nothing that leads to such evils as to lift the burdens from your daughters and give them nothing special to do, and let them choose their own employment, perhaps a little crochet or some other fancywork to busy themselves. Let them have exercise of the limbs and muscles. If it wearies them, what then? Are you not wearied in your work? Will weariness hurt your children, unless overworked, more than it hurts you? No, indeed.  {CG 341.3}
[CG 341.4]          They may be weary, but how sweet is rest after a                                                                              342  proper amount of labor. Sleep, nature's sweet restorer, invigorates the tired body and prepares it for the next day's duties.  {CG 341.4}
[CG 342.1]          Why Poverty Is Often a Blessing.--Riches and idleness are thought by some to be blessings indeed; but those who are always busy, and who cheerfully go about their daily tasks, are the most happy and enjoy the best health. . . . The sentence that man must toil for his daily bread, and the promise of future happiness and glory, both came from the same throne, and both are blessings.  {CG 342.1}
[CG 342.2]          Poverty, in many cases, is a blessing; for it prevents youth and children from being ruined by inaction. The physical as well as the mental powers should be cultivated and properly developed. The first and constant care of parents should be to see that their children have firm constitutions, that they may be sound men and women. It is impossible to attain this object without physical exercise.  {CG 342.2}
[CG 342.3]          For their own physical health and moral good, children should be taught to work, even if there is no necessity so far as want is concerned. If they would have pure and virtuous characters, they must have the discipline of well-regulated labor, which will bring into exercise all the muscles. The satisfaction that children will have in being useful, and in denying themselves to help others, will be the most healthful pleasure they ever enjoyed.  {CG 342.3}
[CG 342.4]          Mental and Physical Activities Equalized.--Students should not be permitted to take so many studies that they will have no time for physical training. The health cannot be preserved unless some portion of each day is given to muscular exertion in the open air. Stated                                                                              343  hours should be devoted to manual labor of some kind, anything that will call into action all parts of the body. Equalize the taxation of the mental and the physical powers, and the mind of the student will be refreshed. If he is diseased, physical exercise will often help the system to recover its normal condition. When students leave college, they should have better health and a better understanding of the laws of life than when they enter it. The health should be as sacredly guarded as the character.  {CG 342.4}
[CG 343.1]          Youthful Energy--How Rashly Squandered.--The youth in the freshness and vigor of life little realize the value of their abounding energy. A treasure more precious than gold, more essential to advancement than learning or rank or riches--how lightly is it held! how rashly squandered!. . .  {CG 343.1}
[CG 343.2]          In the study of physiology, pupils should be led to see the value of physical energy and how it can be so preserved and developed as to contribute in the highest degree to success in life's great struggle.  {CG 343.2}
[CG 343.3]          Activity Not to Be Repressed but Guided.--Our children stand, as it were, at the parting of the ways. On every hand the world's enticements to self-seeking and self-indulgence call them away from the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord. Whether their lives shall be a blessing or a curse depends upon the choice they make. Overflowing with energy, eager to test their untried capabilities, they must find some outlet for their superabounding life. Active they will be for good or for evil.  {CG 343.3}
[CG 343.4]          God's Word does not repress activity, but guides it aright. God does not bid the youth to be less aspiring.                                                                              344  The elements of character that make a man truly successful and honored among men--the irrepressible desire for some greater good, the indomitable will, the strenuous application, the untiring perseverance--are not to be discouraged. By the grace of God they are to be directed to the attainment of objects as much higher than mere selfish and worldly interests as the heavens are higher than the earth.  {CG 343.4}
[CG 345.1]       Chap. Fifty-Eight - Training for Practical Life         Why God Appointed Labor for Adam and Eve.-- The Lord made Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden to dress the garden and keep it for the Lord. It was for their happiness to have some employment, or else the Lord would not have appointed them their work.  {CG 345.1}
[CG 345.2]          When in counsel with the Father before the world was, it was designed that the Lord God should plant a garden for Adam and Eve in Eden and give them the task of caring for the fruit trees and cultivating and training the vegetation. Useful labor was to be their safeguard, and it was to be perpetuated through all generations to the close of earth's history.  {CG 345.2}
[CG 345.3]          Example of Jesus as the Perfect Workman.--In His earth-life, Christ was . . . obedient and helpful in the home. He learned the carpenter's trade and worked with His own hands in the little shop at Nazareth. . . . The Bible says of Jesus, "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him." As He worked in childhood and youth, mind and body were developed. He did not use His physical powers recklessly, but gave them such exercise as would keep them in health, that He might do the best work in every line. He was not willing to be defective, even in the handling of tools. He was perfect as a workman, as He was perfect in character.  {CG 345.3}
[CG 345.4]          Every article He made was well made, the different parts fitting exactly, the whole able to bear test.                                                                              346   {CG 345.4}
[CG 346.1]          He Toiled Daily With Patient Hands.--Jesus made the lowly paths of human life sacred by His example. . . . His life was one of diligent industry. He, the Majesty of heaven, walked the streets, clad in the simple garb of the common laborer. He toiled up and down the mountain steeps, going to and from His humble work. Angels were not sent to bear Him on their pinions up the tiresome ascent, or to lend their strength in performing His lowly task. Yet when He went forth to contribute to the support of the family by His daily toil, He possessed the same power as when He wrought the miracle of feeding the five thousand hungry souls on the shore of Galilee.  {CG 346.1}
[CG 346.2]          But He did not employ His divine power to lessen His burdens or lighten His toil. He had taken upon Himself the form of humanity with all its attendant ills, and He flinched not from its severest trials. He lived in a peasant's home, He was clothed in coarse garments, He mingled with the lowly, He toiled daily with patient hands. His example shows us that it is man's duty to be industrious, that labor is honorable.  {CG 346.2}
[CG 346.3]          For a long time Jesus dwelt at Nazareth, unhonored or unknown, that He might teach men how to live near God while discharging the humble duties of life. It was a mystery to angels that Christ, the Majesty of heaven, should condescend, not only to take upon Himself humanity, but to assume its heaviest burdens and most humiliating offices. This He did in order to become like one of us, that He might be acquainted with the toil, the sorrows, and fatigue of the children of men.  {CG 346.3}
[CG 346.4]          Awaken Ambition for Useful Accomplishments.-- In the children and youth an ambition should be awakened to take their exercise in doing something that will                                                                              347  be beneficial to themselves and helpful to others. The exercise that develops mind and character, that teaches the hands to be useful, that trains the youth to bear their share of life's burdens, is that which gives physical strength and quickens every faculty. And there is a reward in virtuous industry, in the cultivation of the habit of living to do good.  {CG 346.4}
[CG 347.1]          The youth need to be taught that life means earnest work, responsibility, caretaking. They need a training that will make them practical--men and women who can cope with emergencies. They should be taught that the discipline of systematic, well-regulated labor is essential, not only as a safeguard against the vicissitudes of life, but as an aid to all-round development.  {CG 347.1}
[CG 347.2]          Physical Labor Is Not Degrading.--It is a popular error with a large class to regard work as degrading; therefore young men are very anxious to educate themselves to become teachers, clerks, merchants, lawyers, and to occupy almost any position that does not require physical labor. Young women regard housework as belittling. And although the physical exercise required to perform household labor, if not too severe, is calculated to promote health, yet they seek for an education that will fit them to become teachers or clerks, or they learn some trade that will confine them indoors, to sedentary employment.  {CG 347.2}
[CG 347.3]          The world is full of young men and women who pride themselves upon their ignorance of any useful labor; and they are, almost invariably, frivolous, vain, fond of display, unhappy, unsatisfied, and too often dissipated and unprincipled. Such characters are a blot upon society and a disgrace to their parents.                                                                              348   {CG 347.3}
[CG 348.1]          None of us should be ashamed of work, however small and servile it may appear. Labor is ennobling. All who toil with head or hands are working men or working women. And all are doing their duty and honoring their religion as much while working at the washtub or washing dishes as they are in going to meeting. While the hands are engaged in the most common labor, the mind may be elevated and ennobled by pure and holy thoughts.  {CG 348.1}
[CG 348.2]          Youth to Be Masters, Not Slaves of Labor.--The youth should be led to see the true dignity of labor.  {CG 348.2}
[CG 348.3]          One great reason why physical toil is looked down on is the slipshod, unthinking way in which it is so often performed. It is done from necessity, not from choice. The worker puts no heart into it, and he neither preserves self-respect nor wins the respect of others. Manual training should correct this error. It should develop habits of accuracy and thoroughness. Pupils should learn tact and system; they should learn to economize time and to make every move count. They should not only be taught the best methods, but be inspired with ambition constantly to improve. Let it be their aim to make their work as nearly perfect as human brains and hands can make it.  {CG 348.3}
[CG 348.4]          Such training will make the youth masters and not slaves of labor. It will lighten the lot of the hard toiler and will ennoble even the humblest occupation. He who regards work as mere drudgery and settles down to it with self-complacent ignorance, making no effort to improve, will find it indeed a burden. But those who recognize science in the humblest work will see in it nobility and beauty and will take pleasure in performing it with faithfulness and efficiency.                                                                              349   {CG 348.4}
[CG 349.1]          Wealth Not to Excuse From Practical Training.-- In many cases parents who are wealthy do not feel the importance of giving their children an education in the practical duties of life as well as in the sciences. They do not see the necessity, for the good of their children's minds and morals, and for their future usefulness, of giving them a thorough understanding of useful labor. This is due their children, that, should misfortune come, they could stand forth in noble independence, knowing how to use their hands. If they have a capital of strength, they cannot be poor, even if they have not a dollar.  {CG 349.1}
[CG 349.2]          Many who in youth were in affluent circumstances may be robbed of all their riches, and be left with parents and brothers and sisters dependent upon them for sustenance. Then how important that every youth be educated to labor, that they may be prepared for any emergency! Riches are indeed a curse when their possessors let them stand in the way of their sons and daughters obtaining a knowledge of useful labor, that they may be qualified for practical life.  {CG 349.2}
[CG 349.3]          Children to Share Domestic Duties.--The faithful mother will not, cannot, be a devotee to fashion, neither will she be a domestic slave, to humor the whims of her children and excuse them from labor. She will teach them to share with her domestic duties, that they may have a knowledge of practical life. If the children share the labor with their mother, they will learn to regard useful employment as essential to happiness, ennobling rather than degrading. But if the mother educates her daughters to be indolent, while she bears the heavy burdens of domestic life, she is teaching them to look down upon her as their servant, to wait on them and do the things they                                                                              350  should do. The mother should ever retain her dignity.  {CG 349.3}
[CG 350.1]          Some mothers are at fault in releasing their daughters from toil and care. By so doing they encourage them in indolence. The excuse these mothers sometimes plead is, "My daughters are not strong." But they take the sure course to make them weak and inefficient. Well-directed labor is just what they require to make them strong, vigorous, cheerful, happy, and courageous to meet the various trials with which this life is beset.  {CG 350.1}
[CG 350.2]          Assign Useful Tasks to Children.--The carelessness of parents in neglecting to furnish employment to their children has resulted in untold evil, imperiling the lives of many youth and sadly crippling their usefulness.  {CG 350.2}
[CG 350.3]          God desires both parents and teachers to train children in the practical duties of everyday life. Encourage industry. Girls--and even boys who do not have outdoor work--should learn how to help the mother. From childhood, boys and girls should be taught to bear heavier and still heavier burdens, intelligently helping in the work of the family firm. Mothers, patiently show your children how to use their hands. Let them understand that their hands are to be used as skillfully as are yours in the household work.  {CG 350.3}
[CG 350.4]          Each child in the family should have a part of the home burden to bear and should be taught to perform his task faithfully and cheerfully. If the work is portioned out in this way, and the children grow up accustomed to bearing suitable responsibilities, no member of the household will be overburdened, and everything will move off pleasantly and smoothly in the home. A proper economy will be maintained, for each one will be acquainted with, and interested in, the details of the home.                                                                              351   {CG 350.4}
[CG 351.1]          Cooking and Sewing, Basic Lessons.--Mothers should take their daughters with them into the kitchen and give them a thorough education in the cooking department. They should also instruct them in the art of substantial sewing. They should teach them how to cut garments economically and put them together neatly. Some mothers, rather than to take this trouble to patiently instruct their inexperienced daughters, prefer to do it all themselves. But in so doing, they leave the essential branches of education neglected and commit a great wrong against their children; for in afterlife they feel embarrassment because of their lack of knowledge in these things.  {CG 351.1}
[CG 351.2]          Give Training to Both Boys and Girls.--Since both men and women have a part in homemaking, boys as well as girls should gain a knowledge of household duties. To make a bed and put a room in order, to wash dishes, to prepare a meal, to wash and repair his own clothing, is a training that need not make any boy less manly; it will make him happier and more useful. And if girls, in turn, could learn to harness and drive a horse, ［NOTE: THIS WAS WRITTEN IN 1903. THE PRINCIPLES ARE FULLY APPLICABLE TODAY.］ and to use the saw and the hammer, as well as the rake and the hoe, they would be better fitted to meet the emergencies of life.  {CG 351.2}
[CG 351.3]         It is as essential for our daughters to learn the proper use of time as it is for our sons, and they are equally accountable to God for the manner in which they occupy it. Life is given us for wise improvement of the talents we possess.                                                                              352   {CG 351.3}
[CG 352.1]          See Privileges in Conserving Mother's Strength.-- Every day there is housework to be done--cooking, washing dishes, sweeping, and dusting. Mothers, have you taught your daughters to do these daily duties? . . . Their muscles need exercise. In the place of getting exercise by jumping and playing ball or croquet, let their exercise be to some purpose.  {CG 352.1}
[CG 352.2]          Teach the children to bear their share of the burdens of the household. Keep them occupied at some useful employment. Show them how to do their work easily and well. Help them to realize that by lightening the burdens of their mother, they are preserving her strength and prolonging her life. Many a weary mother has been laid away in an untimely grave for no other reason than that her children were not taught to share her burdens. By encouraging a spirit of unselfish service in the home, parents are drawing their children closer to Christ, who is the embodiment of unselfishness.  {CG 352.2}
[CG 352.3]          An Experiment in Happiness.--Children, seat your mother in the easy chair, and tell her to show you what she would have done first. What a surprise this would be to many weary, overtaxed mothers! Never will children and youth feel the peace of contentment until by the faithful performance of home duties they relieve the tired hands and weary heart and brain of the mother. These are steps on the ladder of progress that will carry them forward to receive the higher education.  {CG 352.3}
[CG 352.4]          It is the faithful performance of everyday duties that brings the satisfaction and peace that come to the true home worker. Those who neglect to bear part of the responsibilities of the home are the ones who are troubled with loneliness and discontent; for they have not learned                                                                              353  the truth that those who are happy are happy because they share the daily routine of work which rests upon the mother or other members of the family. Many are leaving unlearned the most useful lessons, which it is essential for their future good to understand.  {CG 352.4}
[CG 353.1]          The Rewards of Faithfulness in Home Duties.--A faithful fulfillment of home duties, filling the position you can occupy to the best advantage, be it ever so simple and humble, is truly elevating. This divine influence is needed. In this there is peace and sacred joy. It possesses healing power. It will secretly and insensibly soothe the wounds of the soul and even the sufferings of the body. Peace of mind, which comes from pure and holy motives and actions, will give free and vigorous spring to all the organs of the body. Inward peace and a conscience void of offense toward God will quicken and invigorate the intellect, like dew distilled upon the tender plants. The will is then rightly directed and controlled and is more decided and yet free from perverseness. The meditations are pleasing because they are sanctified. The serenity of mind which you may possess will bless all with whom you associate. This peace and calmness will, in time, become natural and will reflect its precious rays upon all around you, to be again reflected upon you. The more you taste this heavenly peace and quietude of mind, the more it will increase. It is an animated, living pleasure which does not throw all the moral energies into a stupor, but awakens them to increased activity. Perfect peace is an attribute of Heaven which angels possess.  {CG 353.1}
[CG 353.2]          There Will Be Activity in Heaven.--The angels are workers; they are ministers of God to the children of men. Those slothful servants who look forward to a heaven of                                                                              354  inaction have false ideas of what constitutes heaven. The Creator has prepared no place for the gratification of sinful indolence. Heaven is a place of interested activity; yet to the weary and heavy laden, to those who have fought the good fight of faith, it will be a glorious rest; for the youth and vigor of immortality will be theirs, and against sin and Satan they will no longer have to contend. To these energetic workers a state of eternal indolence would be irksome. It would be no heaven to them. The path of toil appointed to the Christian on earth may be hard and wearisome, but it is honored by the footprints of the Redeemer, and he is safe who follows in that sacred way.  {CG 353.2}
[CG 355.1]      Chap. Fifty-Nine - Teaching Useful Trades         Every Child Should Learn Some Trade.--The carelessness of parents in failing to furnish employment to the children that they have taken the responsibility of bringing into the world has resulted in untold evil, imperiling the lives of many youth and greatly crippling their usefulness. It is a great mistake to permit young men to grow up without learning some trade.  {CG 355.1}
[CG 355.2]          From the pillar of cloud Jesus gave directions through Moses to the Hebrews that they should educate their children to work, that they should teach them trades, and that none should be idle.  {CG 355.2}
[CG 355.3]          You should help your children to acquire a knowledge, that, if necessary, they could live by their own labor. You should teach them to be decided in following the calls of duty.  {CG 355.3}
[CG 355.4]          Teach Use of Tools.--When children reach a suitable age, they should be provided with tools. If their work is made interesting, they will be found apt pupils in the use of tools. If the father is a carpenter, he should give his boys lessons in house building, ever bringing into his instruction lessons from the Bible, the words of Scripture in which the Lord compares human beings to His building.  {CG 355.4}
[CG 355.5]          Train Sons in Agriculture.--Fathers should train their sons to engage with them in their trades and employments. Farmers should not think that agriculture is a business that is not elevated enough for their sons. Agriculture should be advanced by scientific knowledge.                                                                              356   {CG 355.5}
[CG 356.1]          Farming has been pronounced unprofitable. People say that the soil does not pay for the labor expended upon it, and they bemoan the hard fate of those who till the soil. . . . But should persons of proper ability take hold of this line of employment, and make a study of the soil, and learn how to plant, to cultivate, and to gather in the harvest, more encouraging results might be seen. Many say, "We have tried agriculture and know what its results are," and yet these very ones need to know how to cultivate the soil and to bring science into their work. Their plowshares should cut deeper, broader furrows, and they need to learn that in tilling the soil they need not become common and coarse in their natures. . . . Let them learn to put in the seed in its season, to give attention to vegetation, and to follow the plan that God has devised.  {CG 356.1}
[CG 356.2]          Training of Outstanding Value.--No line of manual training is of more value than agriculture. A greater effort should be made to create and to encourage an interest in agricultural pursuits. Let the teacher call attention to what the Bible says about agriculture; that it was God's plan for man to till the earth; that the first man, the ruler of the whole world, was given a garden to cultivate; and that many of the world's greatest men, its real nobility, have been tillers of the soil. Show the opportunities in such a life. . . .  {CG 356.2}
[CG 356.3]          He who earns his livelihood by agriculture escapes many temptations and enjoys unnumbered privileges and blessings denied to those whose work lies in the great cities. And in these days of mammoth trusts and business competition, there are few who enjoy so real an independence and so great certainty of fair return for their labor as does the tiller of the soil.                                                                              357   {CG 356.3}
[CG 357.1]          Fresh Produce Is of Special Value.--Families and institutions should learn to do more in the cultivation and improvement of land. If people only knew the value of the products of the ground, which the earth brings forth in their season, more diligent efforts would be made to cultivate the soil. All should be acquainted with the special value of fruits and vegetables fresh from the orchard and garden.  {CG 357.1}
[CG 357.2]          Schools to Give Instruction in Useful Trades.-- Manual training is deserving of far more attention than it has received. Schools should be established that, in addition to the highest mental and moral culture, shall provide the best possible facilities for physical development and industrial training. Instruction should be given in agriculture, manufactures--covering as many as possible of the most useful trades--also in household economy, healthful cookery, sewing, hygienic dressmaking, the treatment of the sick, and kindred lines. Gardens, workshops, and treatment rooms should be provided, and the work in every line should be under the direction of skilled instructors.  {CG 357.2}
[CG 357.3]          The work should have a definite aim and should be thorough. While every person needs some knowledge of different handicrafts, it is indispensable that he become proficient in at least one. Every youth, on leaving school, should have acquired a knowledge of some trade or occupation by which, if need be, he may earn a livelihood.  {CG 357.3}
[CG 357.4]          A Training of Double Value.--There should have been connected with the schools establishments for carrying on various branches of labor, that the students might have employment and the necessary exercise out                                                                              358  of school hours. . . . Then a practical knowledge of business could have been obtained while their literary education was being gained.  {CG 357.4}
[CG 358.1]          Industrial Knowledge Is of More Value Than Scientific.--There should have been experienced teachers to give lessons to young ladies in the cooking department. Young girls should have been instructed to cut, make, and mend garments, and thus become educated for the practical duties of life.  {CG 358.1}
[CG 358.2]          For young men, there should be establishments where they could learn different trades, which would bring into exercise their muscles as well as their mental powers. If the youth can have but a one-sided education, which is of the greater consequence--a knowledge of the sciences, with all the disadvantages to health and life, or a knowledge of labor for practical life? We unhesitatingly answer, The latter. If one must be neglected, let it be the study of books.  {CG 358.2}
[CG 358.3]          There may be those who have had wrong training and those who have wrong ideas in regard to the training of children. These children and youth want the very best training, and you must bring the physical labor right in with the mental--the two should go together.  {CG 358.3}
[CG 358.4]          Jesus Was an Example of Contented Industry.--It requires much more grace and stern discipline of character to work for God in the capacity of mechanic, merchant, lawyer, or farmer, carrying the precepts of Christianity into the ordinary business of life, than to labor as an acknowledged missionary in the open field, where one's position is understood and half its difficulties obviated by that very fact. It requires strong spiritual nerve and muscle to carry religion into the workshop                                                                              359  and business office, sanctifying the details of everyday life, and ordering every worldly transaction to the standard of a Bible Christian.  {CG 358.4}
[CG 359.1]          Jesus, in His thirty years of seclusion at Nazareth, toiled and rested, ate and slept, from week to week and from year to year, the same as His humble contemporaries. He called no attention to Himself as a marked personage; yet He was the world's Redeemer, the adored of angels, doing, all the time, His Father's work, living out a lesson that should remain for humanity to copy to the end of time.  {CG 359.1}
[CG 359.2]          This essential lesson of contented industry in the necessary duties of life, however humble, is yet to be learned by the greater portion of Christ's followers. If there is no human eye to criticize our work, nor voice to praise or blame, it should be done just as well as if the Infinite One Himself were personally to inspect it. We should be as faithful in the minor details of our business as we would in the larger affairs of life.  {CG 359.2}
[CG 360.1]       Chap. Sixty - Knowledge of and Obedience to the Laws of Life         Wonders of the Human Body.--We are God's workmanship, and His Word declares that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." He has prepared this living habitation for the mind; it is "curiously wrought," a temple which the Lord Himself has fitted up for the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. The mind controls the whole man. All our actions, good or bad, have their source in the mind. It is the mind that worships God and allies us to heavenly beings. Yet many spend all their lives without becoming intelligent in regard to the casket ［the human body］ that contains this treasure.  {CG 360.1}
[CG 360.2]          All the physical organs are the servants of the mind, and the nerves are the messengers that transmit its orders to every part of the body, guiding the motions of the living machinery.  {CG 360.2}
[CG 360.3]          As the mechanism of the body is studied, attention should be directed to its wonderful adaptation of means to ends, the harmonious action and dependence of the various organs. As the interest of the student is thus awakened, and he is led to see the importance of physical culture, much can be done by the teacher to secure proper development and right habits.  {CG 360.3}
[CG 360.4]          The Health to Be Guarded.--Since the mind and the soul find expression through the body, both mental and spiritual vigor are in great degree dependent upon physical strength and activity; whatever promotes                                                                              361  physical health, promotes the development of a strong mind and a well-balanced character. Without health, no one can as distinctly understand or as completely fulfill his obligations to himself, to his fellow beings, or to his Creator. Therefore the health should be as faithfully guarded as the character. A knowledge of physiology and hygiene should be the basis of all educational effort.  {CG 360.4}
[CG 361.1]          Many Unwilling to Study the Laws of Health.-- Many are unwilling to put forth the needed effort to obtain a knowledge of the laws of life and the simple means to be employed for the restoration of health. They do not place themselves in right relation to life. When sickness is the result of their transgression of natural law, they do not seek to correct their errors, and then ask the blessing of God.  {CG 361.1}
[CG 361.2]          We should educate ourselves, not only to live in harmony with the laws of health, but to teach others the better way. Many, even of those who profess to believe the special truths for this time, are lamentably ignorant with regard to health and temperance. They need to be educated, line upon line, precept upon precept. The subject must be kept fresh before them. This matter must not be passed over as nonessential, for nearly every family needs to be stirred up on the question. The conscience must be aroused to the duty of practicing the principles of true reform.  {CG 361.2}
[CG 361.3]          The principles of hygiene as applied to diet, exercise, the care of children, the treatment of the sick, and many like matters should be given much more attention than they ordinarily receive.  {CG 361.3}
[CG 361.4]          To Study Preventive Measures.--Far too little thought is given to the causes underlying the mortality,                                                                              362  the disease and degeneracy, that exist today even in the most civilized and favored lands. The human race is deteriorating. . . . Most of the evils that are bringing misery and ruin to the race might be prevented, and the power to deal with them rests to a great degree with parents.  {CG 361.4}
[CG 362.1]          Teach Children to Reason From Cause to Effect.-- Teach your children to reason from cause to effect. Show them that if they violate the laws of their being, they must pay the penalty in suffering. If you cannot see as rapid improvement as you desire, do not be discouraged, but instruct them patiently, and press on until victory is gained.  {CG 362.1}
[CG 362.2]          Those who study and practice the principles of right living will be greatly blessed, both physically and spiritually. An understanding of the philosophy of health is a safeguard against many of the evils that are continually increasing.  {CG 362.2}
[CG 362.3]          Let the Instruction Be Progressive.--Children should be early taught, in simple, easy lessons, the rudiments of physiology and hygiene. The work should be begun by the mother in the home and should be faithfully carried forward in the school. As the pupils advance in years, instruction in this line should be continued until they are qualified to care for the house they live in. They should understand the importance of guarding against disease by preserving the vigor of every organ and should also be taught how to deal with common diseases and accidents.  {CG 362.3}
[CG 362.4]          Factual Knowledge Is Not Sufficient.--The student of physiology should be taught that the object of his study is not merely to gain a knowledge of facts and                                                                              363  principles. This alone will prove of little benefit. He may understand the importance of ventilation, his room may be supplied with pure air; but unless he fills his lungs properly he will suffer the results of imperfect respiration. So the necessity of cleanliness may be understood, and needful facilities may be supplied; but all will be without avail unless put to use. The great requisite in teaching these principles is to impress the pupil with their importance, so that he will conscientiously put them in practice.  {CG 362.4}
[CG 363.1]          Knowledge of Nature's Laws Is Necessary.-- There are matters not usually included in the study of physiology that should be considered--matters of far greater value to the student than are many of the technicalities commonly taught under this head. As the foundation principle of all education in these lines, the youth should be taught that the laws of nature are the laws of God-- as truly divine as are the precepts of the Decalogue. The laws that govern our physical organism, God has written upon every nerve, muscle, and fiber of the body. Every careless and willful violation of these laws is a sin against our Creator. How necessary, then, that a thorough knowledge of these laws should be imparted!  {CG 363.1}
[CG 363.2]          Regularity in Eating and Sleeping.--The importance of regularity in the time for eating and sleeping should not be overlooked. Since the work of building up the body takes place during the hours of rest, it is essential, especially in youth, that sleep should be regular and abundant.  {CG 363.2}
[CG 363.3]          In regulating the hours for sleep, there should be no haphazard work. Students should not form the habit of burning the midnight oil and taking the hours of the day                                                                              364  for sleep. If they have been accustomed to doing this at home, they should correct the habit, going to bed at a seasonable hour. They will then rise in the morning refreshed for the duties of the day.  {CG 363.3}
[CG 364.1]          Insist on Right Health Habits.--Right habits of eating and drinking and dressing must be insisted upon. Wrong habits render the youth less susceptible to Bible instruction. The children are to be guarded against the indulgence of appetite, and especially against the use of stimulants and narcotics. The tables of Christian parents should not be loaded down with food containing condiments and spices.  {CG 364.1}
[CG 364.2]          We are not to indulge in any habit that will weaken physical or mental strength, or abuse our powers in any way. We are to do all in our power to keep ourselves in health, in order that we may have sweetness of disposition, a clear mind, and be able to distinguish between the sacred and the common, and honor God in our bodies and in our spirits, which are His.  {CG 364.2}
[CG 364.3]          Importance of Correct Posture.--Among the first things to be aimed at should be a correct position, both in sitting and in standing. God made man upright, and He desires him to possess not only the physical but the mental and moral benefit, the grace and dignity and self-possession, the courage and self-reliance, which an erect bearing so greatly tends to promote. Let the teacher give instruction on this point by example and by precept. Show what a correct position is, and insist that it shall be maintained.  {CG 364.3}
[CG 364.4]          Respiration and Vocal Culture.--Next in importance to right position are respiration and vocal culture. The one who sits and stands erect is more likely than others                                                                              365  to breathe properly. But the teacher should impress upon his pupils the importance of deep breathing. Show how the healthy action of the respiratory organs, assisting the circulation of the blood, invigorates the whole system, excites the appetite, promotes digestion, and induces sound, sweet sleep, thus not only refreshing the body, but soothing and tranquilizing the mind. And while the importance of deep breathing is shown, the practice should be insisted upon. Let exercises be given which will promote this, and see that the habit becomes established. . . .  {CG 364.4}
[CG 365.1]          The training of the voice has an important place in physical culture, since it tends to expand and strengthen the lungs, and thus to ward off disease. To ensure correct delivery in reading and speaking, see that the abdominal muscles have full play in breathing, and that the respiratory organs are unrestricted. Let the strain come on the muscles of the abdomen rather than on those of the throat. Great weariness and serious disease of the throat and lungs may thus be prevented. Careful attention should be given to securing distinct articulation, smooth, well-modulated tones, and a not-too-rapid delivery. This will not only promote health, but will add greatly to the agreeableness and efficiency of the student's work.  {CG 365.1}
[CG 365.2]          Three Essentials for Family Happiness.--In the study of hygiene the earnest teacher will improve every opportunity to show the necessity of perfect cleanliness both in personal habits and in all one's surroundings. The value of the daily bath in promoting health and in stimulating mental action should be emphasized. Attention should be given also to sunlight and ventilation, the                                                                              366  hygiene of the sleeping room and the kitchen. Teach the pupils that a healthful sleeping room, a thoroughly clean kitchen, and a tastefully arranged, wholesomely supplied table will go farther toward securing the happiness of the family and the regard of every sensible visitor than any  amount of expensive furnishing in the drawing room. That "the life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment" (Luke 12:23) is a lesson no less needed now than when given by the divine Teacher eighteen hundred years ago.  {CG 365.2}
[CG 366.1]          Seek to Understand Nature's Remedies.--Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in divine power--these are the true remedies. Every person should have a knowledge of nature's remedial agencies and how to apply them. It is essential both to understand the principles involved in the treatment of the sick and to have a practical training that will enable one rightly to use this knowledge.  {CG 366.1}
[CG 366.2]          The use of natural remedies requires an amount of care and effort that many are not willing to give.  Nature's process of healing and upbuilding is gradual, and to the impatient it seems slow. The surrender of hurtful indulgences requires sacrifice. But in the end it will be found that nature, untrammeled, does her work wisely and well. Those who persevere in obedience to her laws will reap the reward in health of body and health of mind.  {CG 366.2}
[CG 366.3]         A Comprehensive Code.--In regard to that which we can do for ourselves, there is a point that requires careful, thoughtful consideration. I must become  acquainted with myself. I must be a learner always as to how to take care of this building, the body God has given                                                                              367  me, that I may preserve it in the very best condition of health. I must eat those things which will be for my very best good physically, and I must take special care to have my clothing such as will conduce to a healthful circulation of the blood. I must not deprive myself of exercise and air. I must get all the sunlight that it is possible for me to obtain. I must have wisdom to be a faithful guardian of my body.  {CG 366.3}
[CG 367.1]          I should do a very unwise thing to enter a cool room when in a perspiration; I should show myself an unwise steward to allow myself to sit in a draft, and thus expose myself so as to take cold. I should be unwise to sit with cold feet and limbs and thus drive back the blood from the extremities to the brain or internal organs. I should always protect my feet in damp weather. I should eat regularly of the most healthful food which will make the best quality of blood, and I should not work intemperately if it is in my power to avoid doing so. And when I violate the laws God has established in my being, I am to repent and reform, and place myself in the most favorable condition under the doctors God has provided--pure air, pure water, and the healing, precious sunlight.  {CG 367.1}
[CG 367.2]          We Are Individually Responsible to God.--Our bodies are Christ's purchased possession, and we are not at liberty to do with them as we please. All who understand the laws of health should realize their obligation to obey these laws, which God has established in their being. Obedience to the laws of health is to be made a matter of personal duty. We ourselves must suffer the results of violated law. We must individually answer to God for our habits and practices. Therefore the question with us                                                                              368  is not, "What is the world's practice?" but, "How shall I as an individual treat the habitation that God has given me?"  {CG 367.2}
[CG 371.1]       Chap. Sixty-One -     The Homemaker in the Kitchen ［NOTE: COUNSELS  ON DIET AND FOODS PRESENTS DETAILED COUNSELS ON  THE WHOLE FOOD QUESTION.］         The High Calling of the Homemaker.--There can be no employment more important than that of housework. To cook well, to present healthful food upon the table in an inviting manner, requires intelligence and experience. The one who prepares the food that is to be placed in our stomachs, to be converted into blood to nourish the system, occupies a most important and elevated position.  {CG 371.1}
[CG 371.2]          It is essential for every youth to have a thorough acquaintance with everyday duties. If need be, a young woman can dispense with a knowledge of French and algebra, or even of the piano; but it is indispensable that she learn to make good bread, to fashion neatly fitting garments, and to perform efficiently the many duties that pertain to homemaking.  {CG 371.2}
[CG 371.3]          To the health and happiness of the whole family nothing is more vital than skill and intelligence on the part of the cook. By ill-prepared, unwholesome food she may hinder and even ruin both the adult's usefulness and the child's development. Or by providing food adapted to the needs of the body, and at the same time inviting and palatable, she can accomplish as much in the right as otherwise she accomplished in the wrong direction. So, in many ways, life's happiness is bound up with faithfulness in common duties.                                                                              372   {CG 371.3}
[CG 372.1]          The Science of Cooking Is an Essential Art.--The science of cooking is not a small matter. . . . This art should be regarded as the most valuable of all the arts, because it is so closely connected with life. It should receive more attention; for in order to make good blood, the system requires good food. The foundation of that which keeps people in health is the medical missionary work of good cooking.  {CG 372.1}
[CG 372.2]          Often health reform is made health deform by the unpalatable preparation of food. The lack of knowledge regarding healthful cookery must be remedied before health reform is a success.  {CG 372.2}
[CG 372.3]          Good cooks are few. Many, many mothers need to take lessons in cooking, that they may set before the family well-prepared, neatly served food.  {CG 372.3}
[CG 372.4]          Seek to Become Mistress of the Art.--Our sisters often do not know how to cook. To such I would say, I would go to the very best cook that could be found in the country, and remain there if necessary for weeks, until I had become mistress of the art--an intelligent, skillful cook. I would pursue this course if I were forty years old. It is your duty to know how to cook, and it is your duty to teach your daughters to cook.  {CG 372.4}
[CG 372.5]          Study and Practice.--Food can be prepared simply and healthfully, but it requires skill to make it both palatable and nourishing. In order to learn how to cook, women should study and then patiently reduce what they learn to practice. People are suffering because they will not take the trouble to do this. I say to such, It is time for you to rouse your dormant energies and inform yourselves. Do not think the time wasted which is devoted to                                                                              373  obtaining a thorough knowledge and experience in the preparation of healthful, palatable food. No matter how long an experience you have had in cooking, if you still have the responsibilities of a family, it is your duty to learn how to care for them properly.  {CG 372.5}
[CG 373.1]          Both Variety and Simplicity Are Essential.--The meals should be varied. The same dishes, prepared in the same way, should not appear on the table meal after meal and day after day. The meals are eaten with greater relish, and the system is better nourished, when the food is varied.  {CG 373.1}
[CG 373.2]          Our bodies are constructed from what we eat; and in order to make tissues of good quality, we must have the right kind of food, and it must be prepared with such skill as will best adapt it to the wants of the system. It is a religious duty for those who cook to learn how to prepare healthful food in a variety of ways, so that it may be both palatable and healthful.  {CG 373.2}
[CG 373.3]          Even in the table arrangements, fashion and show exert their baleful influence. The healthful preparation of food becomes a secondary matter. The serving of a great variety of dishes absorbs time, money, and taxing labor, without accomplishing any good. It may be fashionable to have half a dozen courses at a meal, but the custom is ruinous to health. It is a fashion that sensible men and women should condemn, by both precept and example. . . . How much better it would be for the health of the household if the table preparations were more simple.  {CG 373.3}
[CG 373.4]          Results of Poor Cooking.--Poor cookery is wearing away the life energies of thousands. More souls are lost from this cause than many realize. In deranges the system                                                                              374  and produces disease. In the condition thus induced, heavenly things cannot be readily discerned.  {CG 373.4}
[CG 374.1]          Scanty, ill-cooked food depraves the blood by weakening the bloodmaking organs. It deranges the system and brings on disease, with its accompaniment of irritable nerves and bad tempers. The victims of poor cookery are numbered by thousands and tens of thousands. Over many graves might be written: "Died because of poor cooking," "Died of an abused stomach."  {CG 374.1}
[CG 374.2]          Teach Your Children How to Cook.--Do not neglect to teach your children how to cook. In so doing, you impart to them principles which they must have in their religious education. In giving your children lessons in physiology, and teaching them how to cook with simplicity and yet with skill, you are laying the foundation for the most useful branches of education. Skill is required to make good light bread. There is religion in good cooking, and I question the religion of that class who are too ignorant and too careless to learn to cook.  {CG 374.2}
[CG 374.3]          Instruct Them Patiently and Cheerfully.--Mothers should take their daughters into the kitchen with them when very young, and teach them the art of cooking. The mother cannot expect her daughters to understand the mysteries of housekeeping without education. She should instruct them patiently, lovingly, and make the work as agreeable as she can by her cheerful countenance and encouraging words of approval.  {CG 374.3}
[CG 374.4]          If they fail once, twice, or thrice, censure not. Already discouragement is doing its work and tempting them to say, "It is of no use; I can't do it." This is not the time for censure. The will is becoming weakened. It needs the spur of encouraging, cheerful, hopeful words, as, "Never                                                                              375  mind the mistakes you have made. You are but a learner, and must expect to make blunders. Try again. Put your mind on what you are doing. Be very careful, and you will certainly succeed."  {CG 374.4}
[CG 375.1]          How Interest and Ardor May Be Cooled.--Many mothers do not realize the importance of this branch of knowledge, and rather than have the trouble and care of instructing their children and bearing with their failings and errors while learning, they prefer to do all themselves. And when their daughters make a failure in their efforts, they send them away with, "It is no use; you can't do this or that. You perplex and trouble me more than you help me."  {CG 375.1}
[CG 375.2]          Thus the first efforts of the learners are repulsed, and the first failure so cools their interest and ardor to learn, that they dread another trial, and will propose to sew, knit, clean house, anything but cook. Here the mother was greatly at fault. She should have patiently instructed them, that they might, by practice, obtain an experience which would remove the awkwardness and remedy the unskillful movements of the inexperienced worker.  {CG 375.2}
[CG 375.3]          The Most Necessary Preparation Young Women Can Make for Practical Life.--Young ladies should be thoroughly instructed in cooking. Whatever may be their circumstances in life, here is knowledge which may be put to a practical use. It is a branch of education which has the most direct influence upon human life, especially the lives of those held most dear.  {CG 375.3}
[CG 375.4]          I prize my seamstress; I value my copyist; but my cook, who knows well how to prepare the food to sustain life and nourish brain, bone, and muscle, fills the most important place among the helpers in my family.                                                                              376   {CG 375.4}
[CG 376.1]          Young women think that it is menial to cook and do other kinds of housework; and, for this reason, many girls who marry and have the care of families have little idea of the duties devolving upon a wife and mother.  {CG 376.1}
[CG 376.2]          Thus Build a Barrier Against Folly and Vice.-- When you are teaching them ［your daughters］ the art of cookery, you are building around them a barrier that will preserve them from the folly and vice which they may otherwise be tempted to engage in.  {CG 376.2}
[CG 376.3]          Men As Well As Women Should Learn to Cook.-- Men, as well as women, need to understand the simple, healthful preparation of food. Their business often calls them where they cannot obtain wholesome food; then, if they have a knowledge of cookery, they can use it to good purpose.  {CG 376.3}
[CG 376.4]          Both young men and young women should be taught how to cook economically and to dispense with everything in the line of flesh food.  {CG 376.4}
[CG 376.5]          Study Economy; Avoid Waste.--In every line of cooking the question that should be considered is, "How shall the food be prepared in the most natural and inexpensive manner?" And there should be careful study that the fragments of food left over from the table be not wasted. Study how, that in some way these fragments of food shall not be lost. This skill, economy, and tact is a fortune. In the warmer parts of the season, prepare less food. Use more dry substance. There are many poor families, who, although they have scarcely enough to eat, can often be enlightened as to why they are poor; there are so many jots and tittles wasted.  {CG 376.5}
[CG 376.6]          Serious Questions for Reflection.--"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the                                                                              377  glory of God." Do you do this when you prepare food for your tables and call your family to partake of it? Are you placing before your children only the food that you know will make the very best blood? Is it that food that will preserve their systems in the least feverish condition? Is it that which will place them in the very best relation to life and health? Is this the food that you are studying to place before your children? Or do you, regardless of their future good, provide for them unhealthful, stimulating, irritating food?  {CG 376.6}
[CG 378.1]       Chap. Sixty-Two - Eating to Live         God Appointed the Inclinations and Appetites.-- Our natural inclinations and appetites . . . were divinely appointed, and when given to man, were pure and holy. It was God's design that reason should rule the appetites, and that they should minister to our happiness. And when they are regulated and controlled by a sanctified reason, they are holiness unto the Lord.  {CG 378.1}
[CG 378.2]          A Subject of Divine Solicitude.--The education of the Israelites included all their habits of life. Everything that concerned their well-being was the subject of divine solicitude and came within the province of divine law. Even in providing their food, God sought their highest good. The manna with which He fed them in the wilderness was of a nature to promote physical, mental, and moral strength. . . . Notwithstanding the hardships of their wilderness life, there was not a feeble one in all their tribes.  {CG 378.2}
[CG 378.3]          Built From the Food We Eat.--Our bodies are built up from the food we eat. There is a constant breaking down of the tissues of the body; every movement of every organ involves waste, and this waste is repaired from our food. Each organ of the body requires its share of nutrition. The brain must be supplied with its portion; the bones, muscles, and nerves demand theirs. It is a wonderful process that transforms the food into blood and uses this blood to build up the varied parts of the body; but this process is going on continually, supplying with life and strength each nerve, muscle, and tissue.                                                                              379   {CG 378.3}
[CG 379.1]          Begin With Correct Infant Feeding.--The importance of training children to right dietetic habits can hardly be overestimated. The little ones need to learn that they eat to live, not live to eat. The training should begin with the infant in its mother's arms. The child should be given food only at regular intervals, and less frequently as it grows older. It should not be given sweets, or the food of older persons, which it is unable to digest. Care and regularity in the feeding of infants will not only promote health, and thus tend to make them quiet and sweet-tempered, but will lay the foundation of habits that will be a blessing to them in after years.  {CG 379.1}
[CG 379.2]          Educate Tastes and Appetite.--As children emerge from babyhood, great care should still be taken in educating their tastes and appetite. Often they are permitted to eat what they choose and when they choose, without reference to health. The pains and money so often lavished upon unwholesome dainties lead the young to think that the highest object in life, and that which yields the greatest amount of happiness, is to be able to indulge the appetite. The result of this training is gluttony, then comes sickness. . . .  {CG 379.2}
[CG 379.3]          Parents should train the appetites of their children and should not permit the use of unwholesome foods.  {CG 379.3}
[CG 379.4]          Spiritual, Mental, and Physical Powers Influenced by Diet.--Mothers who gratify the desires of their children at the expense of health and happy tempers are sowing seeds of evil that will spring up and bear fruit. Self-indulgence grows with the growth of the little ones, and both mental and physical vigor are sacrificed. Mothers who do this work reap with bitterness the seed they have sown. They see their children grow up unfitted                                                                              380  in mind and character to act a noble and useful part in society or in the home. The spiritual as well as the mental and physical powers suffer under the influence of unhealthful food. The conscience becomes stupefied, and the susceptibility to good impressions is impaired.  {CG 379.4}
[CG 380.1]          Choose the Best Foods.--In order to know what are the best foods, we must study God's original plan for man's diet. He who created man and who understands his needs appointed Adam his food. . . . Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator.  {CG 380.1}
[CG 380.2]          Prepare Them in a Simple, Appetizing Way.--God has furnished man with abundant means for the gratification of an unperverted appetite. He has spread before him the products of the earth--a bountiful variety of food that is palatable to the taste and nutritious to the system. Of these our benevolent heavenly Father says we may freely eat. Fruits, grains, and vegetables, prepared in a simple way, free from spice and grease of all kinds, make, with milk or cream, the most healthful diet. They impart nourishment to the body and give a power of endurance and a vigor of intellect that are not produced by a stimulating diet.  {CG 380.2}
[CG 380.3]          Appetite Not a Safe Guide.--Those foods should be chosen that best supply the elements needed for building up the body. In this choice appetite is not a safe guide. Through wrong habits of eating, the appetite has become perverted. Often it demands food that impairs health and causes weakness instead of strength. . . . The disease and suffering that everywhere prevail are largely due to popular errors in regard to diet.                                                                              381   {CG 380.3}
[CG 381.1]          Children Who Followed an Untrained Appetite.-- While upon the cars, I heard parents remark that the appetites of their children were delicate, and unless they had meat and cake, they could not eat. When the noon meal was taken, I observed the quality of food given to these children. It was fine wheaten bread, sliced ham coated with black pepper, spiced pickles, cake, and preserves. The pale, sallow complexion of these children plainly indicated the abuses the stomach was suffering. Two of these children observed another family of children eating cheese with their food, and they lost their appetite for what was before them until their indulgent mother begged a piece of the cheese to give to her children, fearing the dear children would fail to make out their meal. The mother remarked, "My children love this or that so much, and I let them have what they want; for the appetite craves the kinds of food the system requires."  {CG 381.1}
[CG 381.2]          This might be correct if the appetite had never been perverted. There is a natural and a depraved appetite. Parents who have taught their children to eat unhealthful, stimulating food all their lives--until the taste is perverted, and they crave clay, slate pencils, burned coffee, tea grounds, cinnamon, cloves, and spices--cannot claim that the appetite demands what the system requires. The appetite has been falsely educated, until it is depraved. The fine organs of the stomach have been stimulated and burned, until they have lost their delicate sensitiveness. Simple, healthful food seems to them insipid. The abused stomach will not perform the work given it, unless urged to it by the most stimulating substances. If these children had been trained from their infancy to take only healthful food, prepared in the most simple manner, preserving its natural properties as much as possible, and avoiding                                                                              382  flesh meats, grease, and all spices, the taste and appetite would be unimpaired. In its natural state, it might indicate, in a great degree, the food best adapted to the wants of the system."  {CG 381.2}
[CG 382.1]          What About Flesh Foods?--We do not mark out any precise line to be followed in diet; but we do say that in countries where there are fruits, grains, and nuts in abundance, flesh food is not the right food for God's people. I have been instructed that flesh food has a tendency to animalize the nature, to rob men and women of that love and sympathy which they should feel for everyone, and to give the lower passions control over the higher powers of the being. If meat eating was ever healthful, it is not safe now.  {CG 382.1}
[CG 382.2]          Reasons for Discarding Flesh Foods.--Those who eat flesh are but eating grains and vegetables at second hand, for the animal receives from these things the nutrition that produces growth. The life that was in the grains and vegetables passes into the eater. We receive it by eating the flesh of the animal. How much better to get it direct, by eating the food that God provided for our use!  {CG 382.2}
[CG 382.3]          Flesh was never the best food; but its use is now doubly objectionable, since disease in animals is so rapidly increasing. Those who use flesh foods little know what they are eating. Often if they could see the animals when living and know the quality of the meat they eat, they would turn from it with loathing. People are continually eating flesh that is filled with tuberculous and cancerous germs. Tuberculosis, cancer, and other fatal diseases are thus communicated.  {CG 382.3}
[CG 382.4]          Effects Not Immediately Realized.--The effects of a flesh diet may not be immediately realized, but this is no                                                                              383  evidence that it is not harmful. Few can be made to believe that it is the meat they have eaten which has poisoned their blood and caused their suffering. Many die of diseases wholly due to meat eating, while the real cause is not suspected by themselves or by others.  {CG 382.4}
[CG 383.1]          Return to the Original Wholesome Diet.--Is it not time that all should aim to dispense with flesh foods? How can those who are seeking to become pure, refined, and holy, that they may have the companionship of heavenly angels, continue to use as food anything that has so harmful an effect on soul and body? How can they take the life of God's creatures that they may consume the flesh as a luxury? Let them, rather, return to the wholesome and delicious food given to man in the beginning.  {CG 383.1}
[CG 383.2]          The Course of Those Awaiting Christ's Coming.-- Among those who are waiting for the coming of the Lord, meat eating will eventually be done away; flesh will cease to form a part of their diet. We should ever keep this end in view and endeavor to work steadily toward it. I cannot think that in the practice of flesh eating we are in harmony with the light which God has been pleased to give us.  {CG 383.2}
[CG 383.3]          Back to God's Design.--Again and again I have been shown that God is bringing His people back to His original design, that is, not to subsist on the flesh of dead animals. He would have us teach people a better way. . . . If meat is discarded, if the taste is not educated in that direction, if a liking for fruits and grains is encouraged, it will soon be as God in the beginning designed it should be. No meat will be used by His people.                                                                              384   {CG 383.3}
[CG 384.1]          Instruction Concerning a Change in Diet.--It is a mistake to suppose that muscular strength depends on the use of animal food. The needs of the system can be better supplied, and more vigorous health can be enjoyed without its use. The grains, with fruits, nuts, and vegetables, contain all the nutritive properties necessary to make good blood. These elements are not so well or so fully supplied by a flesh diet. Had the use of flesh been essential to health and strength, animal food would have been included in the diet appointed man in the beginning.  {CG 384.1}
[CG 384.2]          When the use of flesh food is discontinued, there is often a sense of weakness, a lack of vigor. Many urge this as evidence that flesh food is essential; but it is because foods of this class are stimulating, because they fever the blood and excite the nerves, that they are so missed. Some will find it as difficult to leave off flesh eating as it is for the drunkard to give up his dram, but they will be the better for the change.  {CG 384.2}
[CG 384.3]          When flesh food is discarded, its place should be supplied with a variety of grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits, that will be both nourishing and appetizing. This is especially necessary in the case of those who are weak, or who are taxed with continuous labor.  {CG 384.3}
[CG 384.4]          Well-prepared Substitutes Are Helpful.--Especially where meat is not made a principal article of food is good cooking an essential requirement. Something must be prepared to take the place of meat, and these substitutes for meat must be well prepared, so that meat will not be desired.  {CG 384.4}
[CG 384.5]          I am acquainted with families who have changed from a meat diet to one that is impoverished. Their food is so                                                                              385  poorly prepared that the stomach loathes it, and such have told me that the health reform did not agree with them; that they were decreasing in physical strength. Here is one reason why some have not been successful in their efforts to simplify their food. They have a poverty-stricken diet. Food is prepared without painstaking, and there is a continual sameness.  {CG 384.5}
[CG 385.1]          There should not be many kinds at any one meal, but all meals should not be composed of the same kinds of foods without variation. Food should be prepared with simplicity, yet with a nicety which will invite the appetite.  {CG 385.1}
[CG 385.2]          Overcoming the Unnatural Appetite.--Persons who have accustomed themselves to a rich, highly stimulating diet have an unnatural taste, and they cannot at once relish food that is plain and simple. It will take time for the taste to become natural and for the stomach to recover from the abuse it has suffered. But those who persevere in the use of wholesome food will, after a time, find it palatable. Its delicate and delicious flavors will be appreciated, and it will be eaten with greater enjoyment than can be derived from unwholesome dainties. And the stomach, in a healthy condition, neither fevered nor overtaxed, can readily perform its task.  {CG 385.2}
[CG 385.3]          Healthful Eating Is Not a Sacrifice.--While the children should be taught to control the appetite, and to eat with reference to health, let it be made plain that they are denying themselves only that which would do them harm. They give up hurtful things for something better. Let the table be made inviting and attractive as it is supplied with the good things which God has so bountifully bestowed.                                                                              386   {CG 385.3}
[CG 386.1]          Consider the Season, Climate, Occupation.--Not all foods wholesome in themselves are equally suited to our needs under all circumstances. Care should be taken in the selection of food. Our diet should be suited to the season, to the climate in which we live, and to the occupation we follow. Some foods that are adapted for use at one season or in one climate are not suited to another. So there are different foods best suited for persons in different occupations. Often food that can be used with benefit by those engaged in hard physical labor is unsuitable for persons of sedentary pursuits or intense mental application. God has given us an ample variety of healthful foods, and each person should choose from it the things that experience and sound judgment prove to be best suited to his own necessities.  {CG 386.1}
[CG 386.2]          Prepare Food With Intelligence and Skill.--It is wrong to eat merely to gratify the appetite, but no indifference should be manifested regarding the quality of the food or the manner of its preparation. If the food eaten is not relished, the body will not be so well nourished. The food should be carefully chosen and prepared with intelligence and skill.  {CG 386.2}
[CG 386.3]          "We Can Pick Up Anything."--In many families great preparations are made for visitors. A variety of food is prepared for the table. This food is tempting to those unaccustomed to such a variety of rich food. . . .  {CG 386.3}
[CG 386.4]          I have a knowledge of the course pursued by some who make these extra preparations for visitors. In their own families they observe no regularity. The meals are prepared to suit the convenience of the wife and mother. The happiness of the husband and children is not studied. Though such a parade is made for visitors, anything is                                                                              387  thought to be good enough for "only us." A table against the wall, a cold meal placed on it, with no effort to make it inviting, is too often seen. "Only for us," they say. "We can pick up anything."  {CG 386.4}
[CG 387.1]          Make the Mealtime a Pleasant Social Occasion.-- Mealtime should be a season for social intercourse and refreshment. Everything that can burden or irritate should be banished. Let trust and kindliness and gratitude to the Giver of all good be cherished, and the conversation will be cheerful, a pleasant flow of thought that will uplift without wearying.  {CG 387.1}
[CG 387.2]          The table is not a place where rebellion should be cultivated in the children by some unreasonable course pursued by the parents. The whole family should eat with gladness, with gratitude, remembering that those who love and obey God will partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb in the kingdom of God, and Jesus Himself will serve them.  {CG 387.2}
[CG 387.3]          Regularity in Eating.--Irregularities in eating destroy the healthful tone of the digestive organs, to the detriment of health and cheerfulness.  {CG 387.3}
[CG 387.4]          In no case should the meals be irregular. If dinner is eaten an hour or two before the usual time, the stomach is unprepared for the new burden; for it has not yet disposed of the food eaten at the previous meal and has not vital force for the new work. Thus the system is overtaxed.  {CG 387.4}
[CG 387.5]          Neither should the meals be delayed one or two hours, to suit circumstances, or in order that a certain amount of work may be accomplished. The stomach calls for food at the time it is accustomed to receive it. If that time is delayed, the vitality of the system decreases and finally reaches so low an ebb that the appetite is entirely                                                                              388  gone. If food is then taken, the stomach is unable to properly care for it. The food cannot be converted into good blood. If all would eat at regular periods, not tasting anything between meals, they would be ready for their meals and would find a pleasure in eating that would repay them for their effort.  {CG 387.5}
[CG 388.1]          Teach Children When, How, and What to Eat.-- Children are generally untaught in regard to the importance of when, how, and what they should eat. They are permitted to indulge their tastes freely, to eat at all hours, to help themselves to fruit when it tempts their eyes; and this, with the pie, cake, bread and butter, and sweetmeats eaten almost constantly, makes them gourmands and dyspeptics. The digestive organs, like a mill which is continually kept running, become enfeebled, vital force is called from the brain to aid the stomach in its overwork, and thus the mental powers are weakened. The unnatural stimulation and wear of the vital forces make them nervous, impatient of restraint, self-willed, and irritable. They can scarcely be trusted out of their parents' sight. In many cases the moral powers seem deadened, and it is difficult to arouse them to a sense of the shame and grievous nature of sin; they slip easily into habits of prevarication, deceit, and often open lying.  {CG 388.1}
[CG 388.2]          Parents deplore these things in their children, but do not realize that it is their own bad management which has brought about the evil. They have not seen the necessity of restraining the appetites and passions of their children, and they have grown and strengthened with their years. Mothers prepare with their own hands and place before their children food which has a tendency to injure them physically and mentally.                                                                              389   {CG 388.2}
[CG 389.1]          Never Eat Between Meals.--The stomach must have careful attention. It must not be kept in continual operation. Give this misused and much-abused organ some peace and quiet and rest. . . .  {CG 389.1}
[CG 389.2]          After the regular meal is eaten, the stomach should be allowed to rest for five hours. Not a particle of food should be introduced into the stomach till the next meal. In this interval the stomach will perform its work and will then be in a condition to receive more food.  {CG 389.2}
[CG 389.3]          Mothers make a great mistake in permitting them ［their children］ to eat between meals. The stomach becomes deranged by this practice, and the foundation is laid for future suffering. Their fretfulness may have been caused by unwholesome food, still undigested; but the mother feels that she cannot spend time to reason upon the matter and correct her injurious management. Neither can she stop to soothe their impatient worrying. She gives the little sufferers a piece of cake or some other dainty to quiet them, but this only increases the evil. . . .  {CG 389.3}
[CG 389.4]          Mothers often complain of the delicate health of their children, and consult the physician; when, if they would but exercise a little common sense, they would see that the trouble is caused by errors in diet.  {CG 389.4}
[CG 389.5]          Late "Snacks" a Pernicious Habit.--Another pernicious habit is that of eating just before bedtime. The regular meals may have been taken; but because there is a sense of faintness, more food is taken. By indulgence this wrong practice becomes a habit and often so firmly fixed that it is thought impossible to sleep without food. As a result of eating late suppers, the digestive process is continued through the sleeping hours. But though the stomach works constantly, its work is not properly                                                                              390  accomplished. The sleep is often disturbed with unpleasant dreams, and in the morning the person awakes unrefreshed and with little relish for breakfast. When we lie down to rest, the stomach should have its work all done, that it, as well as the other organs of the body, may enjoy rest. For persons of sedentary habits late suppers are particularly harmful. With them the disturbance created is often the beginning of disease that ends in death.  {CG 389.5}
[CG 390.1]          A Mother Counseled That Breakfast Is Important.-- Your child has a nervous temperament, and her diet should be carefully guarded. She should not be allowed to choose that food which will gratify the taste without affording proper nourishment. . . . Never let her go from home to school without her breakfast. Do not venture to give full scope to your inclinations in this matter. Place yourself entirely under the control of God, and He will help you to bring all your desires into harmony with His requirements.  {CG 390.1}
[CG 390.2]          It is the custom and order of society to take a slight breakfast. But this is not the best way to treat the stomach. At breakfast time the stomach is in a better condition to take care of more food than at the second or third meal of the day. The habit of eating a sparing breakfast and a large dinner is wrong. Make your breakfast correspond more nearly to the heartiest meal of the day.  {CG 390.2}
[CG 390.3]          Provide an Abundance of the Best Foods.--Children and youth should not be underfed in the least degree; they should have an abundance of healthful food, but this does not mean that it is proper to place before them rich cakes and pastries. They should have the best of exercise and the best of food, for these have an important                                                                              391  bearing upon the condition of the mental and moral powers. A proper, wholesome diet will be one of the means whereby healthful digestion may be preserved.  {CG 390.3}
[CG 391.1]          Partake of This in Moderation.--Parents often make a mistake by giving their children too much food. Children treated in this way will grow up dyspeptics. Moderation in the use of even good food is essential. Parents, place before your children the amount they should eat. Leave it not with them to eat just as much as they may feel inclined. . . . Parents, unless this point is guarded, your children will have dull perceptions. They may attend school, but they will be unable to learn as they ought; for the strength which should go to the brain is used in taking care of the extra food that burdens the stomach. Parents need to be educated to see that too much food given to children makes them feeble instead of robust.  {CG 391.1}
[CG 391.2]          Parents, Not Children, to Dictate Here.--Teach them to deny appetite, to be grateful for the plain, simple diet God gives them. It is not for you to allow them to dictate to you what they should eat, but you should dictate what is best for them. It is a sin for you to allow your children to murmur and complain about good wholesome food, just because it does not suit their depraved appetites.  {CG 391.2}
[CG 391.3]          Do not let the child receive the impression that, because he is your child, he must therefore be deferred to and permitted to choose and direct his own way. He should not be permitted to choose articles of food that are not good for him, simply because he likes them. The experience of parents should have a controlling power in the life of the child.                                                                              392   {CG 391.3}
[CG 392.1]          Respect Child's Preference, if Reasonable.--It rests with us individually to decide whether our lives shall be controlled by the mind or by the body. The youth must, each for himself, make the choice that shapes his life; and no pains should be spared that he may understand the forces with which he has to deal, and the influences which mold character and destiny.  {CG 392.1}
[CG 392.2]          In the education of children and youth they should be taught that the habits of eating, drinking, and dressing which have been formed after the world's standard are not in accordance with the laws of health and life, and must be held in control by reason and intellect. The power of appetite and strength of habit should not be permitted to overpower the dictates of reason. In order to secure this object, the youth must have higher aims and motives than mere animal gratification in eating and drinking.  {CG 392.2}
[CG 392.3]          Far-reaching Effects of Perverted Appetite.-- Some are not impressed with the necessity of eating and drinking to the glory of God. The indulgence of appetite affects them in all the relations of life. It is seen in the family, in the church, in the prayer meeting, and in the conduct of their children. It is the curse of their lives. It prevents them from understanding the truths for these last days.  {CG 392.3}
[CG 392.4]          Healthful Living, a Personal Obligation.--What we eat and drink has an important bearing upon our lives and characters, and Christians should bring their habits of eating and drinking into conformity to the laws of nature. We must sense our obligations to God in these matters. Obedience to the laws of health should be made a matter of earnest study, for willing ignorance on this                                                                              393  subject is sin. Each one should feel a personal obligation to carry out the laws of healthful living.  {CG 392.4}
[CG 394.1]      Chap. Sixty-Three - Temperance in All Things         Intemperance Causes Most of Life's Ills.--Intemperance is at the foundation of the larger share of the ills of life. It annually destroys tens of thousands. We do not speak of intemperance as limited only to the use of intoxicating liquors, but give it a broader meaning, including the hurtful indulgence of any appetite or passion.  {CG 394.1}
[CG 394.2]          Through intemperance some sacrifice one half, and others two thirds of their physical, mental, and moral powers and become playthings for the enemy.  {CG 394.2}
[CG 394.3]          Excessive Indulgence Is Sin.--Excessive indulgence in eating, drinking, sleeping, or seeing is sin. The harmonious healthy action of all the powers of body and mind results in happiness; and the more elevated and refined the powers, the more pure and unalloyed the happiness.  {CG 394.3}
[CG 394.4]          Temperance Is a Principle of the Religious Life.-- Temperance in all things of this life is to be taught and practiced. Temperance in eating, drinking, sleeping, and dressing is one of the grand principles of the religious life. Truth brought into the sanctuary of the soul will guide in the treatment of the body. Nothing that concerns the health of the human agent is to be regarded with indifference. Our eternal welfare depends upon the use we make during this life of our time, strength, and influence.  {CG 394.4}
[CG 394.5]          Only one lease of life is granted us here; and the inquiry with everyone should be, How can I invest my life that it may yield the greatest profit?                                                                              395   {CG 394.5}
[CG 395.1]          Our first duty toward God and our fellow beings is that of self-development. Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable. Hence that time is spent to good account which is directed to the establishment and preservation of sound physical and mental health. We cannot afford to dwarf or cripple a single function of mind or body by overwork or by abuse of any part of the living machinery. As surely as we do this, we must suffer the consequences.  {CG 395.1}
[CG 395.2]         It Has a Wonderful Power.--The observance of temperance and regularity in all things has a wonderful power. It will do more than circumstances or natural endowments in promoting that sweetness and serenity of disposition which count so much in smoothing life's pathway. At the same time the power of self-control thus acquired will be found one of the most valuable of equipments for grappling successfully with the stern duties and realities that await every human being.  {CG 395.2}
[CG 395.3]          An Aid to Clear Thinking.--Every day men in positions of trust have decisions to make upon which depend results of great importance. Often they have to think rapidly, and this can be done successfully by those only who practice strict temperance. The mind strengthens under the correct treatment of the physical and mental powers. If the strain is not too great, new vigor comes with every taxation.  {CG 395.3}
[CG 395.4]          Temperate Habits Yield Rich Rewards.--The rising generation are surrounded with allurements calculated to tempt the appetite. Especially in our large cities, every form of indulgence is made easy and inviting. Those who,                                                                              396  like Daniel, refuse to defile themselves will reap the reward of their temperate habits. With their greater physical stamina and increased power of endurance, they have a bank of deposit upon which to draw in case of emergency.  {CG 395.4}
[CG 396.1]          Right physical habits promote mental superiority. Intellectual power, physical strength, and longevity depend upon immutable laws. There is no happen-so, no chance, about this matter. Nature's God will not interfere to preserve men from the consequences of violating nature's laws.  {CG 396.1}
[CG 396.2]          For Perfect Health Be Temperate in All Things.-- In order to preserve health, temperance in all things is necessary. . . . Our heavenly Father sent the light of health reform to guard against the evils resulting from a debased appetite, that those who love purity and holiness may know how to use with discretion the good things He has provided for them, and that by exercising temperance in daily life, they may be sanctified through the truth.  {CG 396.2}
[CG 396.3]          Temperance Precedes Sanctification.--God's people are to learn the meaning of temperance in all things. . . . All self-indulgence is to be cut away from their lives. Before they can really understand the meaning of true sanctification and of conformity to the will of Christ, they must, by co-operating with God, obtain the mastery over wrong habits and practices.  {CG 396.3}
[CG 396.4]          In Study.--Intemperance in study is a species of intoxication; and those who indulge in it, like the drunkard, wander from safe paths and stumble and fall in the darkness. The Lord would have every student bear in mind that the eye must be kept single to the glory of God. He is not to exhaust and waste his physical and                                                                              397  mental powers in seeking to acquire all possible knowledge of the sciences, but is to preserve the freshness and vigor of all his powers to engage in the work which the Lord has appointed him in helping souls to find the path of righteousness.  {CG 396.4}
[CG 397.1]          In Work.--We should practice temperance in our labor. It is not our duty to place ourselves where we shall be overworked. Some may at times be placed where this is necessary, but it should be the exception, not the rule. We are to practice temperance in all things. If we honor the Lord by acting our part, He will on His part preserve our health. We should have a sensible control of all our organs. By practicing temperance in eating, in drinking, in dressing, in labor, and in all things, we can do for ourselves what no physician can do for us.  {CG 397.1}
[CG 397.2]          As a rule, the labor of the day should not be prolonged into the evening. . . . I have been shown that those who do this often lose much more than they gain, for their energies are exhausted, and they labor on nervous excitement. They may not realize any immediate injury, but they are surely undermining their constitution.  {CG 397.2}
[CG 397.3]          Those who make great exertions to accomplish just so much work in a given time, and continue to labor when their judgment tells them they should rest, are never gainers. They are living on borrowed capital. They are expending the vital force which they will need at a future time. And when the energy they have so recklessly used is demanded, they fail for want of it. The physical strength is gone, the mental powers fail. They realize that they have met with a loss, but do not know what it is. Their time of need has come, but their physical resources are exhausted. Everyone who violates the laws                                                                              398  of health must sometime be a sufferer to a greater or less degree. God has provided us with constitutional force, which will be needed at different periods of our lives. If we recklessly exhaust this force by continual overtaxation, we shall sometime be the losers.  {CG 397.3}
[CG 398.1]          In Dressing.--In all respects the dress should be healthful. "Above all things," God desires us to "be in health"--health of body and of soul. And we are to be workers together with Him for the health of both soul and body. Both are promoted by healthful dress.  {CG 398.1}
[CG 398.2]          It should have the grace, the beauty, the appropriateness of natural simplicity. Christ has warned us against the pride of life, but not against its grace and natural beauty.  {CG 398.2}
[CG 398.3]          In Eating.--True temperance teaches us to dispense entirely with everything hurtful, and to use judiciously that which is healthful. There are few who realize as they should how much their habits of diet have to do with their health, their character, their usefulness in this world, and their eternal destiny. The appetite should ever be in subjection to the moral and intellectual powers. The body should be servant to the mind, and not the mind to the body.  {CG 398.3}
[CG 398.4]          Those who eat and work intemperately and irrationally, talk and act irrationally. It is not necessary to drink alcoholic liquors in order to be intemperate. The sin of intemperate eating--eating too frequently, too much, and of rich, unwholesome food--destroys the healthy action of the digestive organs, affects the brain, and perverts the judgment, preventing rational, calm, healthy thinking and acting.                                                                              399   {CG 398.4}
[CG 399.1]          Special Care Not to Overeat.--In nine cases out of ten there is more danger of eating too much than too little. . . . There are many sick who suffer from no disease. The cause of their sickness is indulgence of appetite. They think that if the food is healthful, they may eat as much as they please. This is a great mistake. Persons whose powers are debilitated should eat a moderate and even limited amount of food. The system will then be enabled to do its work easily and well, and a great deal of suffering will be saved.  {CG 399.1}
[CG 399.2]          Do Not Deny God by One Act of Intemperance.-- We have been bought with a price; therefore we are to glorify God in our body and in our spirit, which are His. We are not to deny Him by one act of intemperance, because the only-begotten Son of God has purchased us at an infinite cost, even the sacrifice of His life. He did not die for us in order that we might become slaves to evil habits, but that we might become the sons and daughters of God, serving Him with every power of the being.  {CG 399.2}
[CG 399.3]          Those who have a constant realization that they stand in this relation to God will not place in the stomach food which pleases the appetite, but which injures the digestive organs. They will not spoil the property of God by indulging improper habits of eating, drinking, or dressing. They will take great care of the human machinery, realizing that they must do this in order to work in copartnership with God. He wills that they shall be healthy, happy, and useful. But in order for them to be this, they must place their wills on the side of His will.  {CG 399.3}
[CG 399.4]          Carry Temperance Into All Details of Home Life.-- We urge that the principles of temperance be carried into                                                                              400  all the details of home life; that the example of parents should be a lesson of temperance; that self-denial and self-control should be taught to the children and enforced upon them, so far as consistent, from babyhood.  {CG 399.4}
[CG 400.1]          In the family circle and in the church we should place Christian temperance on an elevated platform. It should be a living, working element, reforming habits, dispositions, and characters.  {CG 400.1}
[CG 401.1]       Chap. Sixty-Four - The Home and the Temperance Crusade         Intemperance Is on the Rampage.--Intemperance still continues its ravages. Iniquity in every form stands like a mighty barrier to prevent the progress of truth and righteousness. Social wrongs, born of ignorance and vice, are still causing untold misery and casting their baleful shadow upon both the church and the world. Depravity among the youth is increasing instead of decreasing. Nothing but earnest, continual effort will avail to remove this desolating curse. The conflict with interest and appetite, with evil habits and unholy passions, will be fierce and deadly; only those who shall move from principle can gain the victory in this warfare.  {CG 401.1}
[CG 401.2]          Intemperance is on the increase, in spite of the efforts made to control it. We cannot be too earnest in seeking to hinder its progress, to raise the fallen and shield the weak from temptation. With our feeble human hands we can do but little, but we have an unfailing Helper. We must not forget that the arm of Christ can reach to the very depths of human woe and degradation. He can give us help to conquer even this terrible demon of intemperance.  {CG 401.2}
[CG 401.3]          Total Abstinence Is the Answer.--The only way in which any can be secure against the power of intemperance is to abstain wholly from wine, beer, and strong drinks. We must teach our children that in order to be manly they must let these things alone. God has shown us what constitutes true manliness. It is he that                                                                              402  overcometh who will be honored, and whose name will not be blotted out of the book of life.  {CG 401.3}
[CG 402.1]          Parents may, by earnest, persevering effort, unbiased by the customs of fashionable life, build a moral bulwark about their children that will defend them from the miseries and crimes caused by intemperance. Children should not be left to come up as they will, unduly developing traits that should be nipped in the bud; but they should be disciplined carefully, and educated to take their position upon the side of right, of reform and abstinence. In every crisis they will then have moral independence to breast the storm of opposition sure to assail those who take their stand in favor of true reform.  {CG 402.1}
[CG 402.2]          Intemperance Is Often a Result of Home Indulgence.-- Great efforts are made in our country to put down intemperance, but it is found a hard matter to overpower and chain the full-grown lion. If half these efforts were directed toward enlightening parents as to their responsibility in forming the habits and characters of their children, a thousandfold more good might result than from the present course. We bid all workers in the cause of temperance Godspeed; but we invite them to look deeper into the cause of the evil they war against, and go more thoroughly and consistently into reform.  {CG 402.2}
[CG 402.3]          In order to reach the root of intemperance we must go deeper than the use of alcohol or tobacco. Idleness, lack of aim, or evil associations may be the predisposing cause. Often it is found at the home table, in families that account themselves strictly temperate. Anything that disorders digestion, that creates undue mental excitement or in any way enfeebles the system, disturbing the balance of the mental and the physical powers, weakens the                                                                              403  control of the mind over the body, and thus tends toward intemperance. The downfall of many a promising youth might be traced to unnatural appetites created by an unwholesome diet.  {CG 402.3}
[CG 403.1]          The tables of our American people are generally prepared in a manner to make drunkards. Appetite is the ruling principle with a large class. Whoever will indulge appetite in eating too often, and food not of a healthful quality, is weakening his power to resist the clamors of appetite and passion in other respects in proportion as he has strengthened the propensity to incorrect habits of eating.  {CG 403.1}
[CG 403.2]          Tea and Coffee Are Contributing Factors.-- Through the intemperance begun at home, the digestive organs first become weakened, and soon ordinary food does not satisfy the appetite. Unhealthy conditions are established, and there is a craving for more stimulating food. Tea and coffee produce an immediate effect. Under the influence of these poisons the nervous system is excited; and in some cases, for the time being, the intellect seems to be invigorated, the imagination more vivid. Because these stimulants produce such agreeable results, many conclude that they really need them; but there is always a reaction. The nervous system has borrowed power from its future resources for present use, and all this temporary invigoration is followed by a corresponding depression. The suddenness of the relief obtained from tea and coffee is an evidence that what seems to be strength is only nervous excitement, and consequently must be an injury to the system.  {CG 403.2}
[CG 403.3]          Tobacco, a Subtle Poison.--Tobacco using is a habit which frequently affects the nervous system in a more                                                                              404  powerful manner than does the use of alcohol. It binds the victim in stronger bands of slavery than does the intoxicating cup; the habit is more difficult to overcome. Body and mind are, in many cases, more thoroughly intoxicated with the use of tobacco than with spirituous liquors; for it is a more subtle poison.  {CG 403.3}
[CG 404.1]          Tobacco . . . affects the brain and benumbs the sensibilities, so that the mind cannot clearly discern spiritual things, especially those truths which would have a tendency to correct this filthy indulgence. Those who use tobacco in any form are not clear before God. In such a filthy practice it is impossible for them to glorify God in their bodies and spirits, which are His.  {CG 404.1}
[CG 404.2]          Tobacco weakens the brain and paralyzes its fine sensibilities. Its use excites a thirst for strong drink, and in very many cases lays the foundation for the liquor habit.  {CG 404.2}
[CG 404.3]          Effects of Stimulants and Narcotics.--The effect of stimulants and narcotics is to lessen physical strength, and whatever affects the body will affect the mind. A stimulant may for a time arouse the energies and produce mental and physical activity; but when the exhilarating influence is gone, both mind and body will be in a worse condition than before. Intoxicating liquors and tobacco have proved a terrible curse to our race, not only weakening the body and confusing the mind, but debasing the morals. As the control of reason is set aside, the animal passions will bear sway. The more freely these poisons are used, the more brutish will become the nature.  {CG 404.3}
[CG 404.4]          Teach Children to Abhor Stimulants.--Teach your children to abhor stimulants. How many are ignorantly fostering in them an appetite for these things!                                                                              405   {CG 404.4}
[CG 405.1]          God calls upon parents to guard their children against the indulgence of appetite, and especially against the use of stimulants and narcotics. The tables of Christian parents should never be loaded with food containing condiments and spices. They are to study to preserve the stomach from any abuse.  {CG 405.1}
[CG 405.2]          In this fast age the less exciting the food the better. Temperance in all things and firm denial of appetite is the only path of safety.  {CG 405.2}
[CG 405.3]          A Challenge to Parents.--Parents may have transmitted to their children tendencies to appetite and passion, which will make more difficult the work of educating and training these children to be strictly temperate and to have pure and virtuous habits. If the appetite for unhealthy food and for stimulants and narcotics has been transmitted to them as a legacy from their parents, what a fearfully solemn responsibility rests upon the parents to counteract the evil tendencies which they have given to their children! How earnestly and diligently should the parents work to do their duty, in faith and hope, to their unfortunate offspring!  {CG 405.3}
[CG 405.4]          Tastes and Appetites Must Be Educated.--Parents should make it their first business to understand the laws of life and health, that nothing shall be done by them in the preparation of food, or through any other habits, which will develop wrong tendencies in their children. How carefully should mothers study to prepare their tables with the most simple, healthful food, that the digestive organs may not be weakened, the nervous forces unbalanced, and the instruction which they should give their children counteracted, by the food placed before them. This food either weakens or strengthens the organs                                                                              406  of the stomach and has much to do in controlling the physical and moral health of the children, who are God's blood-bought property.  {CG 405.4}
[CG 406.1]          What a sacred trust is committed to parents, to guard the physical and moral constitutions of their children, so that the nervous system may be well balanced, and the soul not be endangered!  {CG 406.1}
[CG 406.2]          Our sisters can do much in the great work for the salvation of others by spreading their tables with only healthful, nourishing food. They may employ their precious time in educating the tastes and appetites of their children, in forming habits of temperance in all things, and in encouraging self-denial and benevolence for the good of others.  {CG 406.2}
[CG 406.3]          Negligent Parents Are Responsible.--Many parents, to avoid the task of patiently educating their children to habits of self-denial, indulge them in eating and drinking whenever they please. The desire to satisfy the taste and to gratify inclination does not lessen with the increase of years; and these indulged youth, as they grow up, are governed by impulse, slaves to appetite. When they take their place in society and begin life for themselves, they are powerless to resist temptation. In the glutton, the tobacco devotee, . . . and the inebriate, we see the evil results of erroneous education. . . .  {CG 406.3}
[CG 406.4]          When we hear the sad lamentation of Christian men and women over the terrible evils of intemperance, the questions at once arise: Who have educated the youth? Who have fostered in them these unruly appetites? Who have neglected the solemn responsibility of forming their character for usefulness in this life and for the society of heavenly angels in the next?                                                                              407   {CG 406.4}
[CG 407.1]          The Real Work Begins at Home.--It is in the home that the real work must begin. The greatest burden rests upon those who have the responsibility of educating the youth, of forming their character. Here is a work for mothers, in helping their children to form correct habits and pure tastes, to develop moral stamina, true moral worth. Teach them that they are not to be swayed by others, that they are not to yield to wrong influences, but to influence others for good, to ennoble and elevate those with whom they associate. Teach them that if they connect themselves with God, they will have strength from Him to resist the fiercest temptations.  {CG 407.1}
[CG 407.2]          Temperance Is Not a Matter for Jesting.--Many make the subject of temperance a matter of jest. They claim that the Lord does not concern Himself with such minor matters as our eating and drinking. But if the Lord had no care for these things, He would not have revealed Himself to the wife of Manoah, giving her definite instructions and twice enjoining upon her to beware lest she disregard them. Is not this sufficient evidence that He does care for these things?  {CG 407.2}
[CG 407.3]          Reform Begins With the Mother.--The carefulness with which the mother should guard her habits of life is taught in the Scriptures.  {CG 407.3}
[CG 407.4]          The reform should begin with the mother before the birth of her children; and if God's instructions were faithfully obeyed, intemperance would not exist.  {CG 407.4}
[CG 407.5]          Not only the habits of the mother, but the training of the child were included in the angel's instruction to the Hebrew parents. It was not enough that Samson, the child who was to deliver Israel, should have a good legacy at his birth. This was to be followed by careful training.                                                                              408  From infancy he was to be trained to habits of strict temperance. . . .  {CG 407.5}
[CG 408.1]          The directions given concerning the Hebrew children teach us that nothing which affects the child's physical well-being is to be neglected. Nothing is unimportant. Every influence that affects the health of the body has its bearing upon mind and character.  {CG 408.1}
[CG 408.2]          Temperance and self-control should be taught from the cradle. Upon the mother largely rests the burden of this work, and, aided by the father, she may carry it forward successfully.  {CG 408.2}
[CG 408.3]          Continue the Lessons at Fireside and at School.-- It is a most difficult matter to unlearn the habits which have been indulged through life and have educated the appetite. The demon of intemperance is not easily conquered. It is of giant strength and hard to overcome. But let parents begin a crusade against intemperance at their own firesides, in their own families, in the principles they teach their children to follow from their very infancy, and they may hope for success. It will pay you, mothers, to use the precious hours which are given you of God in forming, developing, and training the characters of your children, and in teaching them to strictly adhere to the principles of temperance in eating and drinking.  {CG 408.3}
[CG 408.4]          Instruction in this line should be given in every school and in every home. The youth and children should understand the effect of alcohol, tobacco, and other like poisons in breaking down the body, beclouding the mind, and sensualizing the soul. It should be made plain that no one who uses these things can long possess the full strength of his physical, mental, or moral faculties.                                                                              409   {CG 408.4}
[CG 409.1]          Make Plain the Effect of Small Deviations.--It is the beginnings of evil that should be guarded against. In the instruction of the youth the effect of apparently small deviations from the right should be made very plain. . . . Let the youth be impressed with the thought that they are to be masters, and not slaves. Of the kingdom within them God has made them rulers, and they are to exercise their Heaven-appointed kingship. When such instruction is faithfully given, the results will extend far beyond the youth themselves. Influences will reach out that will save thousands of men and women who are on the very brink of ruin.  {CG 409.1}
[CG 409.2]          Build Moral Stamina to Resist Temptation.-- Individual effort on the right side is needed to subdue the growing evil of intemperance. Oh, that we could find words that would melt and burn their way into the heart of every parent in the land!  {CG 409.2}
[CG 409.3]          Parents may lay for their children the foundation for a healthy, happy life. They may send them forth from their homes with moral stamina to resist temptation, and courage and strength to wrestle successfully with life's problems. They may inspire in them the purpose and develop the power to make their lives an honor to God and a blessing to the world. They may make straight paths for their feet, through sunshine and shadow, to the glorious heights above.  {CG 409.3}
[CG 409.4]          God calls upon us to stand upon the broad platform of temperance in eating, drinking, and dressing. Parents, will you not awaken to your God-given responsibilities? Study the principles of health reform and teach your children that the path of self-denial is the only path of safety.  {CG 409.4}
[CG 413.1]       Chap. Sixty-Five - The Blessings of Proper Dress         Appropriate and Becoming.--In dress, as in all things else, it is our privilege to honor our Creator. He desires our clothing to be not only neat and healthful, but appropriate and becoming.  {CG 413.1}
[CG 413.2]          We should seek to make the best of our appearance. In the tabernacle service God specified every detail concerning the garments of those who ministered before Him. Thus we are taught that He has a preference in regard to the dress of those who serve Him. Very specific were the directions given in regard to Aaron's robes, for his dress was symbolic. So the dress of Christ's followers should be symbolic. In all things we are to be representatives of Him. Our appearance in every respect should be characterized by neatness, modesty, and purity.  {CG 413.2}
[CG 413.3]          Illustrated by the Things of Nature.--By the things of nature ［the flowers, the lily］ Christ illustrates the beauty that Heaven values, the modest grace, the simplicity, the purity, the appropriateness, that would make our attire pleasing to Him.  {CG 413.3}
[CG 413.4]          Character May Be Judged by Style of Dress.--The dress and its arrangement upon the person is generally found to be the index of the man or the woman.  {CG 413.4}
[CG 413.5]          We judge of a person's character by the style of dress worn. A modest, godly woman will dress modestly. A refined taste, a cultivated mind, will be revealed in the choice of a simple, appropriate attire. . . . The one who is simple and unpretending in her dress and in her manners shows that she understands that a true woman                                                                              414  is characterized by moral worth. How charming, how interesting, is simplicity in dress, which in comeliness can be compared with the flowers of the field.  {CG 413.5}
[CG 414.1]          Guiding Principles Enunciated.--I beg of our people to walk carefully and circumspectly before God. Follow the customs in dress so far as they conform to health principles. Let our sisters dress plainly, as many do, having the dress of good, durable material, appropriate for this age, and let not the dress question fill the mind. Our sisters should dress with simplicity. They should clothe themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety. Give to the world a living illustration of the inward adorning of the grace of God.  {CG 414.1}
[CG 414.2]          Follow Prevailing Customs if Modest, Healthful, and Convenient.--Christians should not take pains to make themselves a gazingstock by dressing differently from the world. But if, when following out their convictions of duty in respect to dressing modestly and healthfully, they find themselves out of fashion, they should not change their dress in order to be like the world; but they should manifest a noble independence and moral courage to be right, if all the world differ from them.  {CG 414.2}
[CG 414.3]          If the world introduce a modest, convenient, and healthful mode of dress, which is in accordance with the Bible, it will not change our relation to God or to the world to adopt such a style of dress. Christians should follow Christ and make their dress conform to God's Word. They should shun extremes. They should humbly pursue a straightforward course, irrespective of applause or of censure, and should cling to the right because of its own merits.                                                                              415   {CG 414.3}
[CG 415.1]          Avoid Extremes.--Do not occupy your time by endeavoring to follow all the foolish fashions in dress. Dress neatly and becomingly, but do not make yourself the subject of remarks either by being overdressed or by dressing in a lax, untidy manner. Act as though you knew that the eye of heaven is upon you, and that you are living under the approbation or disapprobation of God.  {CG 415.1}
[CG 415.2]          Care in Dress Not to Be Confused With Pride.-- There is a class who are continually harping upon pride and dress, who are careless of their own apparel, and who think it a virtue to be dirty, and dress without order and taste; and their clothing often looks as if it flew and lit upon their persons. Their garments are filthy, and yet such ones will ever be talking against pride. They class decency and neatness with pride.  {CG 415.2}
[CG 415.3]          Those who are careless and untidy in dress are seldom elevated in their conversation and possess but little refinement of feeling. They sometimes consider oddity and coarseness humility.  {CG 415.3}
[CG 415.4]          Christ Sounded a Caution.--Christ noticed the devotion to dress, and He cautioned, yea, He commanded, His followers not to bestow too much thought upon it. "Why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." . . . Pride and extravagance in dress are sins to which woman is especially prone; hence these injunctions relate directly to her. Of how little value are gold or pearls or costly array, when compared with the meekness and loveliness of Christ!                                                                              416   {CG 415.4}
[CG 416.1]          Bible Instruction for God's People.--I was directed to the following scriptures. Said the angel, "They are to instruct God's people." 1 Timothy 2:9, 10: "In like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works." 1 Peter 3:3-5: "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting of the hair and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, . . . adorned themselves."  {CG 416.1}
[CG 416.2]          Many look upon these injunctions as too old-fashioned to be worthy of notice; but He who gave them to His disciples understood the dangers from the love of dress in our time, and sent to us the note of warning. Will we heed the warning and be wise?  {CG 416.2}
[CG 416.3]          Those who are truly seeking to follow Christ will have conscientious scruples in regard to the dress they wear; they will strive to meet the requirements of this injunction ［1 Peter 3:3-5］ so plainly given by the Lord.  {CG 416.3}
[CG 416.4]          Dangers in the Love of Dress.--The love of dress endangers the morals and makes woman the opposite of the Christian lady, characterized by modesty and sobriety. Showy, extravagant dress too often encourages lust in the heart of the wearer and awakens base passions in the heart of the beholder. God sees that the ruin of the character is frequently preceded by the indulgence of pride and vanity in dress. He sees that the costly apparel stifles the desire to do good.                                                                              417   {CG 416.4}
[CG 417.1]          The Witness of Simplicity in Dress.--Simple, plain, unpretending dress will be a recommendation to my youthful sisters. In no better way can you let your light shine to others than in your simplicity of dress and deportment. You may show to all that, in comparison with eternal things, you place a proper estimate upon the things of this life.  {CG 417.1}
[CG 417.2]          Modesty Will Shield From a Thousand Perils.-- My sisters, avoid even the appearance of evil. In this fast age, reeking with corruption, you are not safe unless you stand guarded. Virtue and modesty are rare. I appeal to you as followers of Christ, making an exalted profession, to cherish the precious, priceless gem of modesty. This will guard virtue.  {CG 417.2}
[CG 417.3]          Chaste simplicity in dress, when united with modesty of demeanor, will go far toward surrounding a young woman with that atmosphere of sacred reserve which will be to her a shield from a thousand perils.  {CG 417.3}
[CG 417.4]          An Old-fashioned Idea.--To train children to walk in the narrow path of purity and holiness is thought an altogether odd and old-fashioned idea. This is prevalent even among parents who profess to worship God, but their works testify that they are worshipers of mammon. They are ambitious to compete with their neighbors and to compare favorably, in the dress of themselves and their children, with the members of the church to which they belong.  {CG 417.4}
[CG 417.5]          The Only Dress Admitted Into Heaven.--There is a dress which every child and youth may innocently seek to obtain. It is the righteousness of the saints. If they will only be as willing and persevering in obtaining this as they are in fashioning their garments after the standard                                                                              418  of worldly society, they will very soon be clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and their names will not be blotted out of the book of life. Mothers, as well as youth and children, need to pray, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." ［Psalm 51:10.］ This purity of heart and loveliness of spirit are more precious than gold, both for time and for eternity. Only the pure in heart shall see God.  {CG 417.5}
[CG 418.1]         Then, mothers, teach your children, line upon line and precept upon precept, that the righteousness of Christ is the only dress in which they can be admitted into heaven, and that robed in this apparel they will be constantly doing duties in this life which will glorify God.  {CG 418.1}
[CG 419.1]       Chap. Sixty-Six - Teaching the Fundamental Principles of Dress         A Necessary Part of Education.--No education can be complete that does not teach right principles in regard to dress. Without such teaching, the work of education is too often retarded and perverted. Love of dress and devotion to fashion are among the teacher's most formidable rivals and most effective hindrances.  {CG 419.1}
[CG 419.2]          No Precise Style Given.--No one precise style has been given me as the exact rule to guide all in their dress.  {CG 419.2}
[CG 419.3]          Neat, Attractive, Clean.--The young should be encouraged to form correct habits in dress, that their appearance may be neat and attractive; they should be taught to keep their garments clean and neatly mended. All their habits should be such as to make them a help and comfort to others.  {CG 419.3}
[CG 419.4]          Let the attire be appropriate and becoming. Though only a ten-cent calico, it should be kept neat and clean.  {CG 419.4}
[CG 419.5]          Order and Correct Taste.--In their dress they ［Christians］ avoid superfluity and display; but their clothing will be neat, not gaudy, modest, and arranged upon the person with order and taste.  {CG 419.5}
[CG 419.6]          Correct taste is not to be despised or condemned. Our faith, if carried out, will lead us to be so plain in dress and zealous of good works that we shall be marked as peculiar. But when we lose taste for order and neatness in                                                                              420  dress, we virtually leave the truth; for the truth never degrades but elevates.  {CG 419.6}
[CG 420.1]          My sisters, your dress is telling either in favor of Christ and the sacred truth or in favor of the world. Which is it?  {CG 420.1}
[CG 420.2]          Good Taste in Colors and Figures.--Taste should be manifested as to colors. Uniformity in this respect is desirable as far as convenient. Complexion, however, may be taken into account. Modest colors should be sought for. When figured material is used, figures that are large and fiery, showing vanity and shallow pride in those who choose them, should be avoided. And a fantastic taste in putting on different colors is bad.  {CG 420.2}
[CG 420.3]          Consider Durability and Service.--Our clothing, while modest and simple, should be of good quality, of becoming colors, and suited for service. It should be chosen for durability rather than display. It should provide warmth and proper protection. The wise woman described in the Proverbs "is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with double garments." ［Proverbs 31:21, margin.］  {CG 420.3}
[CG 420.4]          The Purchase of Good Material Is Economy.--It is right to buy good material and have it carefully made. This is economy. But rich trimmings are not needed, and to indulge in them is to spend for self-gratification money that should be put into God's cause.  {CG 420.4}
[CG 420.5]          Remember the Needs of the Lord's Vineyard.--We should dress neatly and tastefully; but, my sisters, when you are buying and making your own and your children's clothing, think of the work in the Lord's vineyard that is still waiting to be done.  {CG 420.5}
[CG 420.6]          Worldlings spend much on dress. But the Lord has                                                                              421  charged His people to come out from the world and be separate. Gay or expensive apparel is not becoming to those who profess to believe that we are living in the last days. . . .  {CG 420.6}
[CG 421.1]          Practice economy in your outlay of means for dress. Remember that what you wear is constantly exerting an influence upon those with whom you come in contact. Do not lavish upon yourselves means that is greatly needed elsewhere. Do not spend the Lord's money to gratify a taste for expensive clothing.  {CG 421.1}
[CG 421.2]          Simplicity in Dress Recommends the Wearer's Religion.--Simplicity of dress will make a sensible woman appear to the best advantage.  {CG 421.2}
[CG 421.3]          Dress as Christians should dress--simply, plainly adorn yourselves as becometh women professing godliness, with good works.  {CG 421.3}
[CG 421.4]          Many, in order to keep pace with absurd fashion, lose their taste for natural simplicity and are charmed with the artificial. They sacrifice time and money, the vigor of intellect, and true elevation of soul, and devote their entire being to the claims of fashionable life.  {CG 421.4}
[CG 421.5]          Dear youth, a disposition in you to dress according to the fashion, and to wear lace, and gold, and artificials for display, will not recommend to others your religion or the truth that you profess. People of discernment will look upon your attempts to beautify the external as proof of weak minds and proud hearts.  {CG 421.5}
[CG 421.6]          There Should Be No Inappropriate Display.--I would remind the youth who ornament their persons and wear feathers upon their hats that, because of their sins, our Saviour's head wore the shameful crown of thorns. When you devote precious time to trimming your                                                                              422  apparel, remember that the King of glory wore a plain, seamless coat. You who weary yourselves in decorating your persons please bear in mind that Jesus was often weary from incessant toil and self-denial and self-sacrifice to bless the suffering and the needy. . . . It was on our account that He poured out His prayers to His Father with strong cries and tears. It was to save us from the very pride and love of vanity and pleasure which we now indulge, and which crowds out the love of Jesus, that those tears were shed, and that our Saviour's visage was marred with sorrow and anguish more than any of the sons of men.  {CG 421.6}
[CG 422.1]          Unnecessary Trimmings.--Do without the unnecessary trimmings, and lay aside for the advancement of the cause of God the means thus saved. Learn the lesson of self-denial, and teach it to your children.  {CG 422.1}
[CG 422.2]          A Point Clarified.--The question has often been asked me if I believe it wrong to wear plain linen collars. ［NOTE: SEE TESTIMONIES FOR THE CHURCH, VOL. 1, PP. 135, 136.］ My answer has always been No. Some have taken the extreme meaning of what I have written about collars, and have maintained that it is wrong to wear one of any description. I was shown expensively wrought collars, and expensive and unnecessary ribbons and laces, which some Sabbathkeepers have worn, and still wear for the sake of show and fashion. In mentioning collars, I did not design to be understood that nothing like a collar should be worn, or in mentioning ribbons, that no ribbons at all should be worn.  {CG 422.2}
[CG 422.3]         Extravagant or Extreme Trimmings.--Our ministers and their wives should be an example in plainness of dress; they should dress neatly, comfortably, wearing                                                                              423  good material, but avoiding anything like extravagance and trimmings, even if not expensive; for these things tell to our disadvantage. We should educate the youth to simplicity of dress, plainness with neatness. Let the extra trimmings be left out, even though the cost be but a trifle.  {CG 422.3}
[CG 423.1]          Not for Display.--True refinement does not find satisfaction in the adorning of the body for display.  {CG 423.1}
[CG 423.2]          The Bible teaches modesty in dress. "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel." 1 Timothy 2:9. This forbids display in dress, gaudy colors, profuse ornamentation. Any device designed to attract attention to the wearer or to excite admiration is excluded from the modest apparel which God's Word enjoins.  {CG 423.2}
[CG 423.3]          Self-denial in dress is a part of our Christian duty. To dress plainly and abstain from display of jewelry and ornaments of every kind is in keeping with our faith. Are we of the number who see the folly of worldlings in indulging in extravagance of dress as well as in love of amusements?  {CG 423.3}
[CG 423.4]          Imperishable Ornaments Versus Gold or Pearls.-- There is an ornament that will never perish, that will promote the happiness of all around us in this life, and will shine with undimmed luster in the immortal future. It is the adorning of a meek and lowly spirit. God has bidden us wear the richest dress upon the soul. . . . Instead of seeking golden ornaments for the exterior, an earnest effort would be put forth to secure that wisdom which is of more value than fine gold.  {CG 423.4}
[CG 423.5]          Of how little value are gold or pearls or costly array in comparison with the loveliness of Christ. Natural loveliness                                                                              424  consists in symmetry, or the harmonious proportion of parts, each with the other; but spiritual loveliness consists in the harmony or likeness of our souls to Jesus. This will make its possessor more precious than fine gold, even the golden wedge of Ophir. The grace of Christ is indeed a priceless adornment. It elevates and ennobles its possessor and reflects beams of glory upon others, attracting them also to the Source of light and blessing.  {CG 423.5}
[CG 424.1]          The Attractiveness of Genuine Beauty.--There is a natural tendency with all to be sentimental rather than practical. In view of this fact, it is important that parents, in the education of their children, should direct and train their minds to love truth, duty, and self-denial, and to possess noble independence, to choose to be right, if the majority choose to be wrong. . . .  {CG 424.1}
[CG 424.2]          If they preserve to themselves sound constitutions and amiable tempers, they will possess true beauty that they can wear with a divine grace. And they will have no need to be adorned with artificials, for these are always expressive of an absence of the inward adorning of true moral worth. A beautiful character is of value in the sight of God. Such beauty will attract, but not mislead. Such charms are fast colors; they never fade.  {CG 424.2}
[CG 424.3]          The pure religion of Jesus requires of its followers the simplicity of natural beauty and the polish of natural refinement and elevated purity, rather than the artificial and false.  {CG 424.3}
[CG 424.4]          Teach Children to Recognize Sensible Dress.--Let us be faithful to the duties of the home life. Let your children understand that obedience must reign there. Teach them to distinguish between that which is sensible and that which is foolish in the matter of dress, and                                                                              425  furnish them with clothes that are neat and simple. As a people who are preparing for the soon return of Christ, we should give to the world an example of modest dress in contrast with the prevailing fashion of the day. Talk these things over, and plan wisely what you will do; then carry out your plans in your families. Determine to be guided by higher principles than the notions and desires of your children.  {CG 424.4}
[CG 425.1]          If our hearts are united with Christ's heart, . . . nothing will be put upon the person to attract attention or to create controversy.  {CG 425.1}
[CG 425.2]          Provide Becoming Garments Appropriate for Age and Station in Life.--My sister, bind your children to your heart by affection. Give them proper care and attention in all things. Furnish them with becoming garments, that they may not be mortified by their appearance, for this would be injurious to their self-respect. . . . It is always right to be neat and to be clad appropriately, in a manner becoming to your age and station in life.  {CG 425.2}
[CG 425.3]          The Body Should Not Be Constricted.--The dress should fit easily, obstructing neither the circulation of the blood nor a free, full, natural respiration. The feet should be suitably protected from cold and damp. Clad in this way, we can take exercise in the open air, even in the dew of morning or evening, or after a fall of rain or snow, without fear of taking cold.  {CG 425.3}
[CG 425.4]          The Dress of Young Children.--If the dress of the child combines warmth, protection, and comfort, one of the chief causes of irritation and restlessness will be removed. The little one will have better health, and the mother will not find the care of the child so heavy a tax upon her strength and time.                                                                              426   {CG 425.4}
[CG 426.1]          Tight bands or waists hinder the action of the heart and lungs and should be avoided. No part of the body should at any time be made uncomfortable by clothing that compresses any organ or restricts its freedom of movement. The clothing of all children should be loose enough to admit of the freest and fullest respiration, and so arranged that the shoulders will support its weight.  {CG 426.1}
[CG 426.2]          Let the Extremities Be Properly Clothed.--Special attention should be given to the extremities, that they may be as thoroughly clothed as the chest and the region over the heart, where is the greatest amount of heat. Parents who dress their children with the extremities naked, or nearly so, are sacrificing the health and lives of their children to fashion. If these parts are not so warm as the body, the circulation is not equalized. When the extremities, which are remote from the vital organs, are not properly clad, the blood is driven to the head, causing headache or nosebleed; or there is a sense of fullness about the chest, producing cough or palpitation of the heart, on account of too much blood in that locality; or the stomach has too much blood, causing indigestion.  {CG 426.2}
[CG 426.3]          In order to follow the fashions, mothers dress their children with limbs nearly naked; and the blood is chilled back from its natural course and thrown upon the internal organs, breaking up the circulation and producing disease. The limbs were not formed by our Creator to endure exposure, as was the face. The Lord provided, . . . also, large veins and nerves for the limbs and feet, to contain a large amount of the current of human life, that the limbs might be uniformly as warm as the body. They should be so thoroughly clothed as to induce the blood to the extremities.                                                                              427   {CG 426.3}
[CG 427.1]          Satan invented the fashions which leave the limbs exposed, chilling back the life current from its original course. And parents bow at the shrine of fashion and so clothe their children that the nerves and veins become contracted, and do not answer the purpose that God designed they should. The result is habitually cold feet and hands. Those parents who follow fashion instead of reason will have an account to render to God for thus robbing their children of health. Even life itself is frequently sacrificed to the god of fashion.  {CG 427.1}
[CG 427.2]          A Distinction in Dress of Men and Women.--There is an increasing tendency to have women in their dress and appearance as near like the other sex as possible and to fashion their dress very much like that of men, but God pronounces it abomination. "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety." 1 Timothy 2:9. . . .  {CG 427.2}
[CG 427.3]          God designed that there should be a plain distinction between the dress of men and women, and has considered the matter of sufficient importance to give explicit directions in regard to it; for the same dress worn by both sexes would cause confusion and great increase of crime.  {CG 427.3}
[CG 427.4]          Dressing for Church.--Let none dishonor God's sanctuary by their showy apparel.  {CG 427.4}
[CG 427.5]          All should be taught to be neat, clean, and orderly in their dress, but not to indulge in that external adorning which is wholly inappropriate for the sanctuary. There should be no display of the apparel, for this encourages irreverence. The attention of the people is often called to this or that fine article of dress, and thus thoughts are intruded that should have no place in the hearts of the worshipers. God is to be the subject of thought, the object                                                                              428  of worship; and anything that attracts the mind from the solemn, sacred service is an offense to Him. The parading of bows and ribbons, ruffles and feathers, and gold and silver ornaments is a species of idolatry and is wholly inappropriate for the sacred service of God.  {CG 427.5}
[CG 428.1]          Some receive the idea that in order to carry out that separation from the world that the Word of God requires, they must be neglectful of their apparel. There is a class of sisters who think they are carrying out the principle of nonconformity to the world by wearing an ordinary sun-bonnet, and the same dress worn by them through the week, upon the Sabbath when appearing in the assembly of the saints to engage in the worship of God. And some men who profess to be Christians view the matter of dress in the same light. These persons assemble with God's people upon the Sabbath, with their clothing dusty and soiled, and even with gaping rents in their garments, which are placed upon their persons in a slovenly manner.  {CG 428.1}
[CG 428.2]          This class, if they had an engagement to meet a friend honored by the world, by whom they wished to be especially favored, would exert themselves to appear in his presence with the best apparel that could be obtained; for this friend would feel insulted were they to come into his presence with their hair uncombed and garments uncleanly and in disorder. Yet these persons think that it is no matter in what dress they appear or what is the condition of their persons when they meet upon the Sabbath to worship the great God.  {CG 428.2}
[CG 428.3]          Dress Not to Be Made a Subject of Controversy.-- There is no need to make the dress question the main point of your religion. There is something richer to talk                                                                              429  of. Talk of Christ; and when the heart is converted, everything that is out of harmony with the Word of God will drop off.  {CG 428.3}
[CG 429.1]          It is not your dress that makes you of value in the Lord's sight. It is the inward adorning, the graces of the Spirit, the kind word, the thoughtful consideration for others that God values.  {CG 429.1}
[CG 429.2]          None to Be Conscience for Another, but Set a Worthy Example.--Do not encourage a class who center their religion in dress. Let each one study the plain teachings of the Scriptures as to simplicity and plainness of dress and by faithful obedience to those teachings strive to set a worthy example to the world and to those new in the faith. God does not want any one person to be conscience for another.  {CG 429.2}
[CG 429.3]          Talk of the love and humility of Jesus, but do not encourage the brethren and sisters to engage in picking flaws in the dress or appearance of one another. Some take delight in this work; and when their minds are turned in this direction, they begin to feel that they must become church tinkers. They climb upon the judgment seat, and as soon as they see one of their brethren and sisters, they look to find something to criticize. This is one of the most effectual means of becoming narrow-minded and of dwarfing spiritual growth. God would have them step down from the judgment seat, for He has never placed them there.  {CG 429.3}
[CG 429.4]          The Heart Must Be Right.--If we are Christians, we shall follow Christ, even though the path in which we are to walk cuts right across our natural inclinations. There is no use in telling you that you must not wear this or that, for if the love of these vain things is in your                                                                              430  heart, your laying off your adornments will only be like cutting the foliage off a tree. The inclinations of the natural heart would again assert themselves. You must have a conscience of your own.  {CG 429.4}
[CG 430.1]          Where Many Denominations Lost Their Power.-- Human reasoning has ever sought to evade or set aside the simple, direct instructions of the Word of God. In every age a majority of the professed followers of Christ have disregarded those precepts which enjoin self-denial and humility, which require modesty and simplicity of conversation, deportment, and apparel. The result has ever been the same--departure from the teachings of the gospel leads to the adoption of the fashions, customs, and principles of the world. Vital godliness gives place to a dead formalism. The presence and power of God, withdrawn from those world-loving circles, are found with a class of humble worshipers, who are willing to obey the teachings of the Sacred Word. Through successive generations this course has been pursued. One after another different denominations have risen and yielding their simplicity, have lost, in a great measure, their early power.  {CG 430.1}
[CG 430.2]          God's Word the Standard.--All matters of dress should be strictly guarded, following closely the Bible rule. Fashion has been the goddess who has ruled the outside world, and she often insinuates herself into the church. The church should make the Word of God her standard, and parents should think intelligently upon this subject. When they see their children inclined to follow worldly fashions, they should, like Abraham, resolutely command their households after them. Instead of uniting with the world, connect them with God.  {CG 430.2}
[CG 432.1]       Chap. Sixty-Seven - The Fascinating Power of Fashion         Fashion Is a Tyrannical Ruler.--Fashion rules the world; and she is a tyrannical mistress, often compelling her devotees to submit to the greatest inconvenience and discomfort. Fashion taxes without reason and collects without mercy. She has a fascinating power and stands ready to criticize and ridicule all who do not follow in her wake.  {CG 432.1}
[CG 432.2]          The rich are ambitious to outdo one another in conforming to her ever-varying styles; the middle and poorer classes strive to approach the standard set by those supposed to be above them. Where means or strength is limited, and the ambition for gentility is great, the burden becomes almost insupportable. With many it matters not how becoming, or even beautiful, a garment may be, let the fashions change, and it must be remade or cast aside.  {CG 432.2}
[CG 432.3]          Satan, the instigator and prime mover in the ever-changing, never-satisfying decrees of fashion, is always busy devising something new that shall prove an injury to physical and moral health; and he triumphs that his devices succeed so well. Death laughs that the health-destroying folly and blind zeal of the worshipers at fashion's shrine bring them so easily under his dominion. Happiness and the favor of God are laid upon her altar.  {CG 432.3}
[CG 432.4]          The idolatry of dress is a moral disease. It must not be taken over into the new life. In most cases submission to the gospel requirements will demand a decided change in the dress.                                                                              433   {CG 432.4}
[CG 433.1]          The Price Some Pay.--How contrary to the principles given in the Scriptures are many of the modes of dress that fashion prescribes! Think of the styles that have prevailed for the last few hundreds of years or even for the last few decades. How many . . . would be pronounced inappropriate for a refined, God-fearing, self-respecting woman. . . . Many a poor girl, for the sake of a stylish gown, has deprived herself of warm underwear and paid the penalty with her life. Many another, coveting the display and elegance of the rich, has been enticed into paths of dishonesty and shame. Many a home is deprived of comforts, many a man is driven to embezzlement or bankruptcy, to satisfy the extravagant demands of the wife or children.  {CG 433.1}
[CG 433.2]          Salvation Imperiled by Idolatry of Dress.--Pride and vanity are manifested everywhere; but those who are inclined to look into the mirror to admire themselves will have little inclination to look into the law of God, the great moral mirror. This idolatry of dress destroys all that is humble, meek, and lovely in character. It consumes the precious hours that should be devoted to meditation, to searching the heart, to the prayerful study of God's Word. . . . No Christian can conform to the demoralizing fashions of the world without imperiling his soul's salvation.  {CG 433.2}
[CG 433.3]          Love of Display Demoralizes the Home.--Aided by the grace of Christ, women are capable of doing a great and grand work. For this reason Satan works with his devices to invent fashionable dress, that love of display may so absorb the mind and heart and affection of even professed Christian mothers in this age, that they have no time to give to the education and training of their children                                                                              434  or to the cultivation of their own minds and characters, that they may be examples to their children, patterns of good works. When Satan secures the time and affections of the mother, he is fully aware of how much he has gained. In nine cases out of ten he has secured the devotion of the whole family to dress and frivolous display. He reckons the children as among his spoils, for he has captivated the mother.  {CG 433.3}
[CG 434.1]          Little children hear more of dress than of their salvation, . . . for the mother is more familiar with fashion than with her Saviour.  {CG 434.1}
[CG 434.2]          Parents and children are robbed of that which is best and sweetest and truest in life. For fashion's sake they are cheated out of a preparation for the life to come.  {CG 434.2}
[CG 434.3]          Not Brave Enough to Stem the Tide.--Many of the mother's burdens are the result of her effort to keep pace with the fashions of the day. Terrible is the effect of these fashions on the physical, mental, and moral health. Lacking the courage to stand firm for the right, women allow the current of popular feeling to draw them on in its wake. . . . Too often professedly Christian mothers sacrifice principle to their desire to follow the multitude who make fashion their god. Conscience protests, but they are not brave enough to take a decided stand against the wrong.  {CG 434.3}
[CG 434.4]          Parents--Take Care.--Parents frequently dress their children in extravagant garments, with much display of ornaments, then openly admire the effect of their apparel and compliment them on their appearance. These foolish parents would be filled with consternation if they could see how Satan seconds their efforts and urges them on to greater follies.                                                                              435   {CG 434.4}
[CG 435.1]          A Problem That Faces Many Mothers.--Your daughters are inclined, if they see a dress different from that which they have, to desire a dress similar to that. Or perhaps they want something else that they see others have, which you do not feel would be in accordance with your faith to grant them. Will you allow them to tease this thing out of you, letting them mold you instead of molding them according to the principles of the gospel? Our children are very precious in the sight of God. Let us teach them the Word of God and train them in His ways. It is your privilege to teach your children to live so that they will have the commendation of Heaven. . . .  {CG 435.1}
[CG 435.2]          Let us not encourage our children to follow the fashions of the world; and if we will be faithful in giving them a right training, they will not do this. . . . The fashions of the world often take a ridiculous form, and you must take a firm position against them.  {CG 435.2}
[CG 435.3]          The Fruitage of the Love of Display.--Love of dress and pleasure is wrecking the happiness of thousands. And some of those who profess to love and keep the commandments of God ape this class as near as they possibly can and retain the Christian name. Some of the young are so eager for display that they are even willing to give up the Christian name, if they can only follow out their inclination for vanity of dress and love of pleasure.  {CG 435.3}
[CG 435.4]          Families who spend much time in dressing for display may be likened to the fig tree that Christ saw from afar. This fig tree flaunted its flourishing branches in the very face of justice; but when Christ came to look for fruit, He searched from the topmost twig to the lowest boughs and found nothing but leaves. It is fruit that He hungers for; fruit He must have.                                                                              436   {CG 435.4}
[CG 436.1]          Unsatisfying to Daughters of God.--There is enough necessary and important labor in this world of need and suffering without wasting precious moments for ornamentation or display. Daughters of the heavenly King, members of the royal family, will feel a burden of responsibility to attain to a higher life, that they may be brought into close connection with Heaven and work in unison with the Redeemer of the world. Those who are engaged in this work will not be satisfied with the fashions and follies which absorb the mind and affections of women in these last days. If they are indeed the daughters of God, they will be partakers of the divine nature. They will be stirred with deepest pity, as was their divine Redeemer, as they see the corrupting influences in society. They will be in sympathy with Christ and in their sphere, as they have ability and opportunity, will work to save perishing souls, as Christ worked in His exalted sphere for the benefit of man.  {CG 436.1}
[CG 439.1]       Chap. Sixty-Eight - Prevalence of Corrupting Vices         An Age of Abounding Iniquity.--We live amid the perils of the last days. Because iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold. The word "many" refers to the professed followers of Christ. They are affected by the prevailing iniquity and backslide from God, but it is not necessary that they should be thus affected. The cause of this declension is that they do not stand clear from this iniquity. The fact that their love of God is waxing cold because iniquity abounds shows that they are, in some sense, partakers in this iniquity, or it would not affect their love for God and their zeal and fervor in this cause.  {CG 439.1}
[CG 439.2]          Influence of Debasing Books and Pictures.--Many of the young are eager for books. They read everything they can obtain. Exciting love stories and impure pictures have a corrupting influence. Novels are eagerly perused by many; and, as the result, their imagination becomes defiled. In the cars photographs of females in a state of nudity are frequently circulated for sale. These disgusting pictures are also found in daguerrean saloons ［photo shops］ and are hung upon the walls of those who deal in engravings. This is an age when corruption is teeming everywhere. The lust of the eye and corrupt passions are aroused by beholding and by reading. The heart is corrupted through the imagination. The mind takes pleasure in contemplating scenes which awaken the lower and baser passions. These vile images, seen through defiled imagination, corrupt the morals and prepare the deluded, infatuated beings to give loose rein to lustful                                                                              440  passions. Then follow sins and crimes which drag beings formed in the image of God down to a level with the beasts, sinking them at last in perdition.  {CG 439.2}
[CG 440.1]          Licentiousness the Special Sin.--A terrible picture of the condition of the world has been presented before me. Immorality abounds everywhere. Licentiousness is the special sin of this age. Never did vice lift its deformed head with such boldness as now. The people seem to be benumbed, and the lovers of virtue and true goodness are nearly discouraged by its boldness, strength, and prevalence.  {CG 440.1}
[CG 440.2]          I was referred to Romans 1:18-32, as a true description of the world previous to the second appearing of Christ.  {CG 440.2}
[CG 440.3]          It is sin, not trial and suffering, which separates God from His people and renders the soul incapable of enjoying and glorifying Him. It is sin that is destroying souls. Sin and vice exist in Sabbathkeeping families.  {CG 440.3}
[CG 440.4]          Satan's Attack on Youth.--It is the special work of Satan in these last days to take possession of the minds of youth, to corrupt the thoughts and inflame the passions; for he knows that by so doing he can lead to impure actions, and thus all the noble faculties of the mind will become debased, and he can control them to suit his own purposes.  {CG 440.4}
[CG 440.5]          An Index to the Future of Society.--The youth of today are a sure index to the future of society; and as we view them, what can we hope for that future? The majority are fond of amusement and averse to work. . . . They have but little self-control and become excited and angry on the slightest occasion. Very many in every age                                                                              441  and station of life are without principle or conscience; and with their idle, spendthrift habits they are rushing into vice and are corrupting society, until our world is becoming a second Sodom. If the appetites and passions were under the control of reason and religion, society would present a widely different aspect. God never designed that the present woeful condition of things should exist; it has been brought about through the gross violation of nature's laws.  {CG 440.5}
[CG 441.1]          The Problems of Self-abuse.--Some who make a high profession do not understand the sin of self-abuse and its sure results. Long-established habit has blinded their understanding. They do not realize the exceeding sinfulness of this degrading sin.  {CG 441.1}
[CG 441.2]          Youth and children of both sexes engage in moral pollution and practice this disgusting, soul-and-body- destroying vice. Many professed Christians are so benumbed by the same practice that their moral sensibilities cannot be aroused to understand that it is sin, and that if continued its sure results will be utter shipwreck of body and mind. Man, the noblest being upon the earth, formed in the image of God, transforms himself into a beast! He makes himself gross and corrupt. Every Christian will have to learn to restrain his passions and be controlled by principle. Unless he does this, he is unworthy of the Christian name.  {CG 441.2}
[CG 441.3]          Moral pollution has done more than every other evil to cause the race to degenerate. It is practiced to an alarming extent and brings on disease of almost every description. Even very small children, infants, being born with natural irritability of the sexual organs, find momentary relief in handling them, which only increases the irritation                                                                              442  and leads to a repetition of the act, until a habit is established which increases with their growth.  {CG 441.3}
[CG 442.1]          Lustful Propensities Are Inherited.--Parents do not generally suspect that their children understand anything about this vice. In very many cases the parents are the real sinners. They have abused their marriage privileges and by indulgence have strengthened their animal passions. And as these have strengthened, the moral and intellectual faculties have become weak. The spiritual has been overborne by the brutish. Children are born with the animal propensities largely developed, the parents' own stamp of character having been given to them. . . . Children born to these parents will almost invariably take naturally to the disgusting habits of secret vice. . . . The sins of the parents will be visited upon their children, because the parents have given them the stamp of their own lustful propensities.  {CG 442.1}
[CG 442.2]          A Bewitching Slavery.--I have felt deeply as I have seen the powerful influence of animal passions in controlling men and women of no ordinary intelligence and ability. They would be capable of engaging in a good work, of exerting a powerful influence, were they not enslaved by base passions. My confidence in humanity has been terribly shaken.  {CG 442.2}
[CG 442.3]          I have been shown that persons of apparently good deportment, not taking unwarrantable liberties with the other sex, were guilty of practicing secret vice nearly every day of their lives. They have not refrained from this terrible sin even while most solemn meetings have been in session. They have listened to the most solemn, impressive discourses upon the judgment, which seemed to bring them before the tribunal of God, causing them                                                                              443  to fear and quake; yet hardly an hour would elapse before they would be engaged in their favorite, bewitching sin, polluting their own bodies. They were such slaves to this awful crime that they seemed devoid of power to control their passions. We have labored for some earnestly, we have entreated, we have wept and prayed over them; yet we have known that right amid all our earnest effort and distress, the force of sinful habit has obtained the mastery, and these sins have been committed.  {CG 442.3}
[CG 443.1]          Knowledge of Vice Is Spread by Its Victims.-- Those who have become fully established in this soul-and-body-destroying vice can seldom rest until their burden of secret evil is imparted to those with whom they associate. Curiosity is at once aroused, and the knowledge of vice is passed from youth to youth, from child to child, until there is scarcely one to be found ignorant of the practice of this degrading sin.  {CG 443.1}
[CG 443.2]          One corrupt mind can sow more evil seed in a short period of time than many can root out in a whole lifetime.  {CG 443.2}
[CG 444.1]       Chap. Sixty-Nine - Effects of Harmful Practices         Vital Energy Is Depleted.--The practice of secret habits surely destroys the vital forces of the system. All unnecessary vital action will be followed by corresponding depression. Among the young the vital capital, the brain, is so severely taxed at an early age that there is a deficiency and great exhaustion, which leaves the system exposed to disease of various kinds.  {CG 444.1}
[CG 444.2]          Foundation Laid for Various Diseases Later in Life.--If the practice is continued from the ages of fifteen and upward, nature will protest against the abuse she has suffered, and continues to suffer, and will make them pay the penalty for the transgression of her laws, especially from the ages of thirty to forty-five, by numerous pains in the system and various diseases, such as affection of the liver and lungs, neuralgia, rheumatism, affection of the spine, diseased kidneys, and cancerous humors. Some of nature's fine machinery gives way, leaving a heavier task for the remaining to perform, which disorders nature's fine arrangement; and there is often a sudden breaking down of the constitution, and death is the result.  {CG 444.2}
[CG 444.3]          The Sixth Commandment Is Thoughtlessly Violated.-- To take one's life instantly is no greater sin in the sight of heaven than to destroy it gradually, but surely. Persons who bring upon themselves sure decay, by wrongdoing, will suffer the penalty here, and without a thorough repentance, will not be admitted into heaven hereafter any sooner than the one who destroys life                                                                              445  instantly. The will of God establishes the connection between cause and its effects.  {CG 444.3}
[CG 445.1]          Pure-minded Also Subject to Disease.--We do not include all the youth who are feeble as guilty of wrong habits. There are those who are pure-minded and conscientious who are sufferers from different causes over which they have no control.  {CG 445.1}
[CG 445.2]          The Mental Powers Are Weakened.--Fond and indulgent parents will sympathize with their children because they fancy their lessons are too great a task, and that their close application to study is ruining their health. True, it is not advisable to crowd the minds of the young with too many and too difficult studies. But, parents, have you looked no deeper into this matter than merely to adopt the idea suggested by your children? Have you not given too ready credence to the apparent reason for their indisposition? It becomes parents and guardians to look beneath the surface for the cause.  {CG 445.2}
[CG 445.3]          The minds of some of these children are so weakened that they have but one half or one third of the brilliancy of intellect that they might have had, had they been virtuous and pure. They have thrown it away in self-abuse.  {CG 445.3}
[CG 445.4]          High Resolve and Spiritual Life Destroyed.-- Secret vice is the destroyer of high resolve, earnest endeavor, and strength of will to form a good religious character. All who have any true sense of what is embraced in being a Christian know that the followers of Christ are under obligation as His disciples to bring all their passions, their physical powers and mental faculties into perfect subordination to His will. Those who are controlled by their passions cannot be followers                                                                              446  of Christ. They are too much devoted to the service of their master, the originator of every evil, to leave their corrupt habits and choose the service of Christ.  {CG 445.4}
[CG 446.1]          Religion May Be Formal, but It Is Destitute.-- Some who profess to be followers of Christ know that they are sinning against God and ruining their health, yet they are slaves to their own corrupt passions. They feel a guilty conscience and have less and less inclination to approach God in secret prayer. They may keep up the form of religion, yet be destitute of the grace of God in the heart. They have no devotedness to His service, no trust in Him, no living to His glory, no pleasure in His ordinances, and no delight in Him.  {CG 446.1}
[CG 446.2]          Power of Self-government Seems Lost.--Some will acknowledge the evil of sinful indulgences, yet will excuse themselves by saying that they cannot overcome their passions. This is a terrible admission for any person to make who names Christ. "Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Why is this weakness? It is because the animal propensities have been strengthened by exercise, until they have gained the ascendancy over the higher powers. Men and women lack principle. They are dying spiritually, because they have so long pampered their natural appetites that their power of self-government seems gone. The lower passions of their nature have taken the reins, and that which should be the governing power has become the servant of corrupt passion. The soul is held in lowest bondage. Sensuality has quenched the desire for holiness and withered spiritual prosperity.  {CG 446.2}
[CG 446.3]          Communication With Heaven Is Severed.--Solemn messages from Heaven cannot forcibly impress the heart                                                                              447  that is not fortified against the indulgence of this degrading vice. The sensitive nerves of the brain have lost their healthy tone by morbid excitation to gratify an unnatural desire for sensual indulgence. The brain nerves which communicate with the entire system are the only medium through which Heaven can communicate to man and affect his inmost life. Whatever disturbs the circulation of the electric currents in the nervous system lessens the strength of the vital powers, and the result is a deadening of the sensibilities of the mind. In consideration of these facts, how important that ministers and people who profess godliness should stand forth clear and untainted from this soul-debasing vice!  {CG 446.3}
[CG 447.1]          Some Are Remorseful, but Self-respect Is Lost.-- The effect of such debasing habits is not the same upon all minds. There are some children who have the moral powers largely developed, who, by associating with children that practice self-abuse, become initiated into this vice. The effect upon such will be too frequently to make them melancholy, irritable, and jealous; yet such may not lose their respect for religious worship and may not show special infidelity in regard to spiritual things. They will at times suffer keenly from feelings of remorse, and will feel degraded in their own eyes, and lose their self-respect.  {CG 447.1}
[CG 447.2]          The Mind May Be Fortified Against Temptation.-- Moral power is exceedingly weak when it comes in conflict with established habits. Impure thoughts have control of the imagination, and temptation is almost irresistible. If the mind were accustomed to contemplate elevating subjects, the imagination trained to behold pure and holy things, it would be fortified against                                                                              448  temptation. It would linger upon the heavenly, the pure, the sacred, and could not be attracted to the base, corrupt, and vile.  {CG 447.2}
[CG 448.1]          Become Intelligent on These Things.--Indulgence of the baser passions will lead very many to shut their eyes to the light, for they fear that they will see sins which they are unwilling to forsake. All may see if they will. If they choose darkness rather than light, their criminality will be none the less. Why do not men and women read and become intelligent upon these things, which so decidedly affect their physical, intellectual, and moral strength? God has given you a habitation to care for and preserve in the best condition for His service and glory. Your bodies are not your own. "What! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."  {CG 448.1}
[CG 449.1]       Chap. Seventy - Cautions and Counsels         Many Cases Have Been Revealed.--Many cases have been presented before me, and as I have had a view of their inner lives, my soul has been sick and disgusted with the rotten-heartedness of human beings who profess godliness and talk of translation to heaven. I have frequently asked myself, Whom can I trust? Who is free from iniquity?  {CG 449.1}
[CG 449.2]          I am filled with horror as the condition of families professing present truth is opened before me. The profligacy of youth and even children is almost incredible. Parents do not know that secret vice is destroying and defacing the image of God in their children. The sins which characterized the Sodomites exist among them. The parents are responsible, for they have not educated their children to love and obey God. They have not restrained them, nor diligently taught them the way of the Lord. They have allowed them to go out and to come in when they chose, and to associate with worldlings. These worldly influences which counteract parental teaching and authority are to be found largely in so-called good society. By their dress, looks, amusements, they surround themselves with an atmosphere which is opposed to Christ.  {CG 449.2}
[CG 449.3]          Our only safety is to stand as God's peculiar people. We must not yield one inch to the customs and fashions of this degenerate age, but stand in moral independence, making no compromise with its corrupt and idolatrous practices.  {CG 449.3}
[CG 449.4]          The Ignorant to Be Enlightened.--No matter how high a person's profession, those who are willing to be                                                                              450  employed in gratifying the lust of the flesh cannot be Christians. As servants of Christ their employment and meditations and pleasure should consist in things more excellent. Many are ignorant of the sinfulness of these habits and their certain results. Such need to be enlightened.  {CG 449.4}
[CG 450.1]          One Who Requested Prayer for Healing.--My husband and I once attended a meeting where our sympathies were enlisted for a brother who was a great sufferer with the phthisic. He was pale and emaciated. He requested the prayers of the people of God. He said that his family were sick, and that he had lost a child. He spoke with feeling of his bereavement. He said that he had been waiting for some time to see Brother and Sister White. He had believed that if they would pray for him, he would be healed. After the meeting closed, the brethren called our attention to the case. They said that the church was assisting them, that his wife was sick, and his child had died. The brethren had met at his house and united in praying for the afflicted family. We were much worn and had the burden of labor upon us during the meeting and wished to be excused. I had resolved not to engage in prayer for anyone, unless the Spirit of the Lord should dictate in the matter. . . .  {CG 450.1}
[CG 450.2]          That night we bowed in prayer and presented his case before the Lord. We entreated that we might know the will of God concerning him. All we desired was that God might be glorified. Would the Lord have us pray for this afflicted man? We left the burden with the Lord and retired to rest. In a dream the case of that man was clearly presented. His course from his childhood up was shown, and that if we should pray, the Lord would not                                                                              451  hear us; for he regarded iniquity in his heart. The next morning the man came for us to pray for him. We took him aside and told him we were sorry to be compelled to refuse his request. I related my dream, which he acknowledged was true. He had practiced self-abuse from his boyhood up, and he had continued the practice during his married life, but said he would try to break himself of it. This man had a long-established habit to overcome. He was in the middle age of life. His moral principles were so weak that when brought in conflict with long-established indulgence, they were overcome. . . .  {CG 450.2}
[CG 451.1]          Here was a man debasing himself daily and yet daring to venture into the presence of God and ask an increase of strength which he had vilely squandered, and which, if granted, he would consume upon his lust. What forbearance has God! If He should deal with man according to his corrupt ways, who could live in His sight? What if we had been less cautious and carried the case of this man before God while he was practicing iniquity, would the Lord have heard? Would He have answered? "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight; thou hatest all workers of iniquity." . . .  {CG 451.1}
[CG 451.2]          This is not a solitary case. Even the marriage relation was not sufficient to preserve this man from the corrupt habits of his youth. I wish I could be convinced that such cases as the one I have presented are rare, but I know they are frequent.  {CG 451.2}
[CG 451.3]          A Self-murderer.--A Mr. ----- professed to be a devoted follower of Christ. He was in very feeble health. Our feelings of sympathy were called out in his behalf. . . .                                                                              452   {CG 451.3}
[CG 452.1]          His case was shown me in vision. I saw that he was deceived in regard to himself, that he was not in favor with God. He had practiced self-abuse until he was a mere wreck of humanity. This vice was shown me as an abomination in the sight of God. . . .  {CG 452.1}
[CG 452.2]          ［He］ had practiced these habits so long he seemed to have lost the control of himself. He was naturally a smart man, possessing more than common abilities. But how were all his powers of body and mind brought into subjection by Satan and consumed upon his altar!  {CG 452.2}
[CG 452.3]          This man had gone so far he seemed to be left of God. He would go into the woods and spend days and nights in fasting and prayer that he might overcome this great sin, and then would return to his old habits. God did not hear his prayers. He asked God to do for him what had been in his power to do for himself. He had vowed to God, time and again, and had as often broken his vows and given himself up to his own corrupt lust, until God had left him to work his own ruin. He has since died. He was a self-murderer. The purity of heaven will never be marred with his society.  {CG 452.3}
[CG 452.4]          Appeal to an Indulged Daughter. ［NOTE: THESE ARE EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER TO A SELF-WILLED GIRL WHO WAS PRACTICING SECRET VICE.］--Your mind is impure. You were relieved from care and labor altogether too long. Household duties would have been one of the richest blessings that you could have had. Weariness would not have injured you one tenth as much as have your lascivious thoughts and conduct. You have received incorrect ideas in regard to girls and boys associating together, and it has been very congenial to your                                                                              453  mind to be in the company of the boys. You are not pure in heart and mind. You have been injured by reading love stories and romances, and your mind has been fascinated by impure thoughts. Your imagination has become corrupt, until you seem to have no power to control your thoughts. Satan leads you captive as he pleases. . . .  {CG 452.4}
[CG 453.1]         Your conduct has not been chaste, modest, or becoming. You have not had the fear of God before your eyes. You have so often dissembled in order to accomplish your plans that you bear a violated conscience. My dear girl, unless you stop just where you are, ruin is surely before you. Cease your daydreaming, your castle-building. Stop your thoughts from running in the channel of folly and corruption.  {CG 453.1}
[CG 453.2]          You cannot safely associate with the boys. A tide of temptation is roused and surges in your breast, having a tendency to uproot principle, female virtue, and true modesty. If you go on in your willful, headstrong course, what will be your fate? . . . You are in danger, for you are just upon the point of sacrificing your eternal interests at the altar of passion. Passion is obtaining positive control of your entire being--passion of what quality? Of a base, destructive nature. By yielding to it, you will embitter the lives of your parents, bring sadness and shame to your sisters, sacrifice your own character, and forfeit heaven and a glorious immortal life. Are you ready to do this? . . .  {CG 453.2}
[CG 453.3]          You are forward. You love the boys and love to make them the theme of your conversation. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Habits have become powerful to control you, and you have learned to deceive in order to carry out your purposes                                                                              454  and accomplish your desires. I do not consider your case hopeless; if I did, my pen would not be tracing these lines. In the strength of God, you can redeem the past. . . .  {CG 453.3}
[CG 454.1]          Keep clear of the boys. In their society your temptations become earnest and powerful. Put marriage out of your girl's head. You are in no sense fit for this. You need years of experience before you can be qualified to understand the duties and take up the burdens of married life. Positively guard your thoughts, your passions, and your affections. Do not degrade these to minister to lust. Elevate them to purity; devote them to God.  {CG 454.1}
[CG 454.2]          You may become a prudent, modest, virtuous girl, but not without earnest effort. You must watch, you must pray, you must meditate, you must investigate your motives and your actions. Closely analyze your feelings and your acts. Would you, in the presence of your father, perform an impure action? No, indeed. But you do this in the presence of your heavenly Father, who is so much more exalted, so holy, so pure. Yes; you corrupt your own body in the presence of the pure, sinless angels and in the presence of Christ; and you continue to do this irrespective of conscience, irrespective of the light and warnings given you. Remember, a record is made of all your acts. You must meet again the most secret things of your life. . . .  {CG 454.2}
[CG 454.3]          Again I warn you as one who must meet these lines in that day when the case of everyone shall be decided. Yield yourself to Christ without delay; He alone, by the power of His grace, can redeem you from ruin. He alone can bring your moral and mental powers into a state of health. Your heart may be warm with the love of God; your understanding, clear and mature; your conscience,                                                                              455  illuminated, quick, and pure; your will, upright and sanctified, subject to the control of the Spirit of God. You can make yourself what you choose. If you will now face right about, cease to do evil and learn to do well, then you will be happy indeed; you will be successful in the battles of life and rise to glory and honor in the better life than this. "Choose you this day whom ye will serve."  {CG 454.3}
[CG 455.1]          Satan Works While Parents Sleep.--This is a fast age. Little boys and girls commence paying attentions to one another when they should both be in the nursery, taking lessons in modesty of deportment. What is the effect of this common mixing up? Does it increase chastity in the youth who thus gather together? No, indeed! It increases the first lustful passions; after such meetings the youth are crazed by the devil and give themselves up to their vile practices.  {CG 455.1}
[CG 455.2]          Parents are asleep and know not that Satan has planted his hellish banner right in their households. What, I was led to inquire, will become of the youth in this corrupt age? I repeat, Parents are asleep. The children are infatuated with a lovesick sentimentalism, and the truth has no power to correct the wrong. What can be done to stay the tide of evil? Parents can do much if they will.  {CG 455.2}
[CG 455.3]          If a young girl just entering her teens is accosted with familiarity by a boy of her own age, or older, she should be taught to so resent this that no such advances will ever be repeated. When a girl's company is frequently sought by boys or young men, something is wrong. That young girl needs a mother to show her her place, to restrain her, and teach her what belongs to a girl of her age.                                                                              456   {CG 455.3}
[CG 456.1]          The corrupting doctrine which has prevailed, that, as viewed from a health standpoint, the sexes must mingle together, has done its mischievous work. When parents and guardians manifest one tithe of the shrewdness which Satan possesses, then can this association of sexes be nearer harmless. As it is, Satan is most successful in his efforts to bewitch the minds of the youth; and the mingling of boys and girls only increases the evil twenty- fold.  {CG 456.1}
[CG 456.2]          The Picture Is Not Colored.--Do not deceive yourselves into the belief that, after all, this matter is placed before you in an exaggerated light. I have not colored the picture. I have stated facts which will bear the test of the judgment. Awake! Awake! I beseech you, before it shall be too late for wrongs to be righted, and you and your children perish in the general ruin. Take hold of the solemn work, and bring to your aid every ray of light you can gather than has shone upon your pathway, and that you have not cherished; and, together with the aid of the light now shining, commence an investigation of your life and character as if you were before the tribunal of God.  {CG 456.2}
[CG 456.3]          Until parents arouse, there is no hope for their children.  {CG 456.3}
[CG 457.1]       Chap. Seventy-One - Parental Vigilance and Help         Parents to Teach Self-control From Infancy.--How important that we teach our children self-control from their very infancy, and teach them the lesson of submitting their wills to us. If they should be so unfortunate as to learn wrong habits, not knowing all the evil results, they can be reformed by appealing to their reason and convincing them that such habits ruin the constitution and affect the mind. We should show them that whatever persuasions corrupt persons may use to quiet their awakened fears and lead them to still indulge this pernicious habit, whatever may be their pretense, they are their enemies and the devil's agents.  {CG 457.1}
[CG 457.2]          Keep Them Pure--Fortify Their Minds.--It is a crime for mothers to allow themselves to remain in ignorance in regard to the habits of their children. If they are pure, keep them so. Fortify their young minds, and prepare them to detest this health-and-soul-destroying vice.  {CG 457.2}
[CG 457.3]          Satan is controlling the minds of the young, and we must work resolutely and faithfully to save them. Very young children practice this vice, and it grows upon them and strengthens with their years, until every noble faculty of body and soul is being degraded. Many might have been saved if they had been carefully instructed in regard to the influence of this practice upon their health. They were ignorant of the fact that they were bringing much suffering upon themselves. . . .  {CG 457.3}
[CG 457.4]          Mothers, you cannot be too careful in preventing your                                                                              458  children from learning low habits. It is easier to learn evil than to eradicate it after it is learned.  {CG 457.4}
[CG 458.1]          Exercise Determined Watchfulness and Close Inquiry. --If your children practice this vice, they may be in danger of resorting to falsehood to deceive you. But, mothers, you must not be easily quieted and cease your investigations. You should not let the matter rest until you are fully satisfied. The health and souls of those you love are in peril, which makes this matter of the greatest importance. Determined watchfulness and close inquiry, notwithstanding the attempts to evade and conceal, will generally reveal the true state of the case. Then should the mother faithfully present this subject to them in its true light, showing it degrading downward tendency. Try to convince them that indulgence in this sin will destroy self-respect and nobleness of character, will ruin health and morals; and its foul stain will blot from the soul true love for God and the beauty of holiness. The mother should pursue this matter until she has sufficient evidence that the practice is at an end.  {CG 458.1}
[CG 458.2]          Avoid Haste and Censure as You Begin.--You may inquire, How can we remedy the evils which already exist? How shall we begin the work? If you lack wisdom, go to God; He has promised to give liberally. Pray much, and fervently, for divine aid. One rule cannot be followed in every case. The exercise of sanctified judgment is now needful. Be not hasty and agitated and approach your children with censure. Such a course would only cause rebellion in them. You should feel deeply over any wrong course you have taken, which may have opened a door for Satan to lead your children by his temptations. If you have not instructed them in regard to the violation                                                                              459  of the laws of health, blame rests upon you. You have neglected important duty, which result may be seen in the wrong practices of your children.  {CG 458.2}
[CG 459.1]         Instructing With Self-possession and Sympathy.-- Before you engage in the work of teaching your children the lesson of self-control, you should learn it yourself. If you are easily agitated and become impatient, how can you appear reasonable to your children, while instructing them to control their passions? With self-possession and feelings of the deepest sympathy and pity, you should approach your erring children and faithfully present to them the sure work of ruin upon their constitutions if they continue the course they have begun-- that as they debilitate the physical and mental, so also the moral must feel the decay, and they are sinning, not only against themselves, but against God.  {CG 459.1}
[CG 459.2]          You should make them feel, if possible, that it is God, the pure and holy God, that they have been sinning against; that the great Searcher of hearts is displeased with their course; that nothing is concealed from Him. If you can so impress your children that they will exercise that repentance which is acceptable to God, that godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of, the work will be thorough, the reform certain. They will not feel sorrow merely because their sins are known; but they will view their sinful practices in their aggravated character and will be led to confess them to God, without reserve, and will forsake them. They will feel to sorrow for their wrong course, because they have displeased God and sinned against Him and dishonored their bodies before Him who created them and has required them to present their bodies a                                                                              460  living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him, which is their reasonable service.  {CG 459.2}
[CG 460.1]         Guard the Association of Children.--Unless the minds of our children are firmly balanced by religious principle, their morals will become corrupted by the vicious examples with which they come in contact.  {CG 460.1}
[CG 460.2]         Shield them, as faithful mothers should, from becoming contaminated by associating with every young companion. Keep them, as precious jewels, from the corrupting influence of this age. If you are situated so that their intercourse with young associates cannot always be overruled, as you would wish to have it, then let them visit your children in your presence; and in no case allow these associates to lodge in the same bed or even in the same room. It will be far easier to prevent an evil than to cure it afterward. . . .  {CG 460.2}
[CG 460.3]          They ［parents］ let them visit other young friends, form their own acquaintances, and even go from their parental watch care, some distance from home, where they are allowed to do very much as they please. Satan improves all such opportunities and takes charge of the minds of these children whom mothers ignorantly expose to his artful snares.  {CG 460.3}
[CG 460.4]          The Diet Is Important.--You cannot arouse the moral sensibilities of your children while you are not careful in the selection of their food. The tables that parents usually prepare for their children are a snare to them.  {CG 460.4}
[CG 460.5]          Indulgent parents do not teach their children self-denial. The very food they place before them is such as to irritate the stomach. The excitement thus produced is communicated to the brain, and as a result the passions                                                                              461  are aroused. It cannot be too often repeated that whatever is taken into the stomach affects not only the body, but ultimately the mind as well. Gross and stimulating food fevers the blood, excites the nervous system, and too often dulls the moral perceptions, so that reason and conscience are overborne by the sensual impulses. It is difficult, and often well-nigh impossible, for one who is intemperate in diet to exercise patience and self-control. Hence the special importance of allowing children, whose characters are yet unformed, to have only such food as is healthful and unstimulating. It was in love that our heavenly Father sent the light of health reform to guard against the evils that result from unrestrained indulgence of appetite.  {CG 460.5}
[CG 461.1]          If ever there was a time when the diet should be of the most simple kind, it is now. Meat should not be placed before our children. Its influence is to excite and strengthen the lower passions and has a tendency to deaden the moral powers.  {CG 461.1}
[CG 461.2]          Cleanliness Important.--Frequent bathing is very beneficial, especially at night, just before retiring, or upon rising in the morning. It will take but a few moments to give the children a bath and to rub them until their bodies are in a glow. This brings the blood to the surface, relieving the brain; and there will be less inclination to indulge in impure practices. Teach the little ones that God is not pleased to see them with unclean bodies and untidy, torn garments. Tell them that He wants them to be pure without and within, that He may dwell with them.  {CG 461.2}
[CG 461.3]          Clean, Loose-fitting Clothing.--Having the clothing neat and clean will be one means of keeping the thoughts                                                                              462  pure and sweet. Every article of dress should be plain and simple, without unnecessary adornment, so that it will be but little work to wash and iron it. Especially should every article which comes in contact with the skin be kept clean and free from any offensive odor. Nothing of an irritating character should touch the bodies of children, nor should their clothing be allowed to bind them in any way. If more attention were given to this subject, far less impurity would be practiced.  {CG 461.3}
[CG 462.1]          Do Not Release From Exercise.--They ［the youth］ are excused from physical exercise to a great degree for fear they will overwork. The parents bear burdens themselves which their children should bear. Overwork is bad, but the result of indolence is more to be dreaded. Idleness leads to the indulgence of corrupt habits. Industry does not weary and exhaust one-fifth part as much as the pernicious habit of self-abuse. If simple, well-regulated labor exhausts your children, be assured, parents, there is something, aside from their labor, which is enervating their systems and producing a sense of constant weariness. Give your children physical labor, which will call into exercise the nerves and muscles. The weariness attending such labor will lessen their inclination to indulge in vicious habits.  {CG 462.1}
[CG 462.2]          Indolence an Open Door to Temptation.--Mothers, give your children enough to do. . . . Indolence will not be favorable to physical, mental, or moral health. It throws open the door and invites Satan in, which opportunity he improves, and draws the young into his snares. By indolence not only the moral strength is weakened, and the impulse of passion increased, but Satan's angels take possession of the whole citadel of the mind and                                                                              463  compel conscience to surrender to vile passion. We should teach our children habits of patient industry.  {CG 462.2}
[CG 463.1]          God Will Not Leave the Repentant to Perish.--You should present encouragements before your children that a merciful God will accept true heart repentance and will bless their endeavors to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. As Satan sees that he is losing control over the minds of your children, he will strongly tempt them and seek to bind them to continue to practice this bewitching vice. But with a firm purpose they must resist Satan's temptations to indulge the animal passions, because it is sin against God. They should not venture on forbidden ground, where Satan can claim control over them. If they in humility entreat God for purity of thought and a refined and sanctified imagination, He will hear them and grant their petitions. God has not left them to perish in their sins, but will help the weak and helpless, if they cast themselves in faith upon Him.  {CG 463.1}
[CG 464.1]       Chap. Seventy-Two - The Battle for Reform         Sincere Repentance and Determined Effort Necessary.-- Those who corrupt their own bodies cannot enjoy the favor of God until they sincerely repent, make an entire reform, and perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord.  {CG 464.1}
[CG 464.2]          The only hope for those who practice vile habits is to forever leave them if they place any value upon health here and salvation hereafter. When these habits have been indulged in for quite a length of time, it requires a determined effort to resist temptation and refuse the corrupt indulgence.  {CG 464.2}
[CG 464.3]          Thoughts Must Be Controlled. ［NOTE: THESE ARE FURTHER EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER TO THE SELF-WILLED YOUTH WHO WAS PRACTICING SECRET VICE.］--You should control your thoughts. This will not be an easy task; you cannot accomplish it without close and even severe effort. . . . If you indulge in vain imaginations, permitting your mind to dwell upon impure subjects, you are, in a degree, as guilty before God as if your thoughts were carried into action. All that prevents the action is the lack of opportunity. Day and night dreaming and castle-building are bad and exceedingly dangerous habits. When once established, it is next to impossible to break up such habits and direct the thoughts to pure, holy, elevated themes. You will have to become a faithful sentinel over your eyes, ears, and all your senses if you would control your mind and prevent vain and corrupt thoughts from staining your soul. The power of grace alone can accomplish this most desirable work.                                                                              465   {CG 464.3}
[CG 465.1]         Subject Passions and Affections to Reason. ［NOTE: SEE NOTE ON P. 452.］--Not only does God require you to control your thoughts, but also your passions and affections. Your salvation depends upon your governing yourself in these things. Passion and affection are powerful agents. If misapplied, if set in operation through wrong motives, if misplaced, they are powerful to accomplish your ruin and leave you a miserable wreck, without God and without hope.  {CG 465.1}
[CG 465.2]         The imagination must be positively and persistently controlled if the passions and affections are made subject to reason, conscience, and character. . . .  {CG 465.2}
[CG 465.3]          Unless you restrain your thoughts, your reading, and your words, your imagination will become hopelessly diseased. Read your Bible attentively, prayerfully, and be guided by its teachings. This is your safety.  {CG 465.3}
[CG 465.4]          Close Senses Against Evil.--Those who would have that wisdom which is from God must become fools in the sinful knowledge of this age in order to be wise. They should shut their eyes that they may see and learn no evil. They should close their ears lest they hear that which is evil, and obtain that knowledge which would stain their purity of thoughts and acts, and guard their tongues lest they utter corrupt communications and guile be found in their mouths.  {CG 465.4}
[CG 465.5]          Avoid reading and seeing things which will suggest impure thoughts. Cultivate the moral and intellectual powers.  {CG 465.5}
[CG 465.6]          Avoid Inactivity Coupled With Excessive Study.-- Excessive study, by increasing the flow of blood to the brain, creates morbid excitability that tends to lessen the power of self-control and too often gives sway to impulse                                                                              466  or caprice. Thus the door is opened to impurity. The misuse or nonuse of the physical powers is largely responsible for the tide of corruption that is overspreading the world. "Pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness" are as deadly foes to human progress in this generation as when they led to the destruction of Sodom.  {CG 465.6}
[CG 466.1]          Teachers should understand these things and should instruct their pupils in these lines. Teach the students that right living depends on right thinking, and that physical activity is essential to purity of thought.  {CG 466.1}
[CG 466.2]          No Time for Vacillation.--Purity of life and a character molded after the divine Pattern are not obtained without earnest effort and fixed principles. A vacillating person will not succeed in attaining Christian perfection. Such will be weighed in the balances and found wanting. Like a roaring lion, Satan is seeking for his prey. He tries his wiles upon every unsuspecting youth. . . . Satan tells the young that there is time enough yet, that they may indulge in sin and vice this once and never again; but that one indulgence will poison their whole life. Do not once venture on forbidden ground. In this perilous day of evil, when allurements to vice and corruption are on every hand, let the earnest, heartfelt cry of the young be raised to heaven: "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?" And may his ears be open and his heart inclined to obey the instruction given in the answer, "By taking heed thereto, according to thy word."  {CG 466.2}
[CG 466.3]          All are accountable for their actions while in this world upon probation. All have power to control their actions if they will. If they are weak in virtue and purity of thoughts and acts, they can obtain help from the                                                                              467  Friend of the helpless. Jesus is acquainted with all the weaknesses of human nature, and, if entreated, will give strength to overcome the most powerful temptations. All can obtain this strength if they seek for it in humility.  {CG 466.3}
[CG 467.1]          The only safety for the youth in this age of pollution is to make God their trust. Without divine help they will be unable to control human passions and appetites. In Christ is the very help needed, but how few will come to Him for that help. Said Jesus when upon the earth, "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." In Christ all can conquer. You can say with the apostle, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." Again, "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection."  {CG 467.1}
[CG 467.2]          In Him True Pleasure May Be Found.--The only sure safety for our children against every vicious practice is to seek to be admitted into the fold of Christ and to be taken under the watch care of the faithful and true Shepherd. He will save them from every evil, shield them from all dangers, if they will heed His voice. He says, "My sheep hear my voice, . . . and they follow me." In Christ they will find pasture, obtain strength and hope, and will not be troubled with restless longings for something to divert the mind and satisfy the heart. They have found the pearl of great price, and the mind is at peaceful rest. Their pleasures are of a pure, peaceful, elevated, heavenly character. They leave no painful reflections, no remorse. Such pleasures do not impair health or prostrate the mind, but are of a healthful nature.  {CG 467.2}
[CG 467.3]          Communion with and love for God, the practice of holiness, the destruction of sin, are all pleasant. The                                                                              468  reading of God's Word will not fascinate the imagination and inflame the passions, like a fictitious storybook, but softens, soothes, elevates, and sanctifies the heart. When in trouble, when assailed by fierce temptations, they have the privilege of prayer. What an exalted privilege! Finite beings, of dust and ashes, admitted through the mediation of Christ, into the audience chamber of the Most High. In such exercises the soul is brought into a sacred nearness with God and is renewed in knowledge and true holiness and fortified against the assaults of the enemy.  {CG 467.3}
[CG 471.1]      Chap. Seventy-Three - Responsibility for Eternal Interests         Ours Is a Day of Special Peril for Children.--We are living in an unfortunate age for children. A heavy current is setting downward to perdition, and more than childhood's experience and strength is needed to press against this current, and not be borne down by it. The youth generally seem to be Satan's captives, and he and his angels are leading them to certain destruction. Satan and his hosts are warring against the government of God, and all who have a desire to yield their hearts to Him and obey His requirements Satan will try to perplex and overcome with his temptations, that they may become discouraged and give up the warfare.  {CG 471.1}
[CG 471.2]          We never needed close connection with God more than we need it today. One of the greatest dangers that besets God's people has ever been from conformity to worldly maxims and customs. The youth especially are in constant peril. Fathers and mothers should be on their guard against the wiles of Satan. While he is seeking to accomplish the ruin of their children, let not parents flatter themselves that there is no particular danger. Let them not give thought and care to the things of this world, while the higher, eternal interests of their children are neglected.  {CG 471.2}
[CG 471.3]          Parents in General Are Indifferent.--It is a sad thing when parents grow cold in their spiritual life, and, because of waning piety and want of devotion to God, they do not realize the high responsibility that devolves                                                                              472  upon them to patiently and thoroughly train their children to keep the way of the Lord.  {CG 471.3}
[CG 472.1]          Parents in general are doing their best to unfit their children for the stern realities of life, for the difficulties that will surround them in the future, when they will be called upon to decide for right or wrong, and when strong temptations will be brought upon them. They will then be found weak where they should be strong. They will waver in principle and duty, and humanity will suffer from their weakness.  {CG 472.1}
[CG 472.2]          The All-important Work Is Neglected.--One great reason why there is so much evil in the world today is that parents occupy their minds with other things to the exclusion of the work that is all-important--the task of patiently and kindly teaching their children the way of the Lord.  {CG 472.2}
[CG 472.3]          Mothers may have acquired knowledge of many things, but they have not acquired the essential knowledge unless they have a knowledge of Christ as a personal Saviour. If Christ is in the home, if mothers have made Him their counselor, they will educate their children from their very babyhood in the principles of true religion.  {CG 472.3}
[CG 472.4]          Satan Is Allowed to Control.--Because men and women do not obey God, but choose their own way and follow their own perverted imagination, Satan is permitted to set up his hellish banner in their families and make his power felt through babes, children, and youth. His voice and will are expressed in the unsubdued wills and warped characters of the children, and through them he exerts a controlling power and carries out his plans. God is dishonored by the exhibition of perverse tempers, which exclude reverence for Him, and induce obedience                                                                              473  to Satan's suggestions. The sin committed by parents in thus permitting Satan to bear sway is beyond conception.  {CG 472.4}
[CG 473.1]          Many parents by their training, by their foolish indulgence and pampering of the tastes and appetite, are making themselves responsible for the crooked ways and dispositions of their children. Satan can control the whole being by that disposition to disobey the laws of God. Parents do not, like Abraham, command their households after them. And what is the result? Children and youth are standing under the rebel flag. They will not be ruled, but are determined to follow their own will. The only hope for children is to teach them to deny and not indulge self.  {CG 473.1}
[CG 473.2]          A Severe Battle Before Undisciplined Children.-- Children who are thus brought up undisciplined have everything to learn when they profess to be Christ's followers. Their whole religious experience is affected by their bringing up in childhood. The same self-will often appears; there is the same lack of self-denial, the same impatience under reproof, the same love of self and unwillingness to seek counsel of others, or to be influenced by other's judgment, the same indolence, shunning of burdens, lack of bearing responsibilities. All this is seen in their relation to the church. It is possible for such to overcome, but how hard the battle! How severe the conflict! How hard to pass through the course of thorough discipline which is necessary for them to reach the elevation of Christian character! Yet if they overcome at last, they will be permitted to see, before they are translated, how near the precipice of eternal destruction they came, because of the lack of right training in youth, the failure to learn submission in childhood.                                                                              474   {CG 473.2}
[CG 474.1]          Fortify Against Corrupting Influences.--Parents, you have taken the responsibility of bringing children into the world without any voice of theirs, and you are responsible for the lives and souls of your children. They have the attractions of the world to fascinate and allure. You can educate them so as to fortify them against its corrupting influence. You can train them to bear life's responsibilities and to realize their obligations to God, truth, and duty, and the bearing that their actions will have upon their future immortal life.  {CG 474.1}
[CG 474.2]          The youth of our day are ignorant of Satan's devices. Parents should therefore be awake in these perilous times, working with perseverance and industry, to shut out the first approach of the foe. They should instruct their children when sitting in the house, or walking by the way, when rising up or lying down.  {CG 474.2}
[CG 474.3]          Eternal vigilance must be exercised, that the children may be led in the paths of righteousness. Satan begins his work upon them from earliest childhood and creates desires for that which God has forbidden. The safety of children depends largely upon the vigilance, watchfulness, and care of the parents over them.  {CG 474.3}
[CG 474.4]          Parents should allow nothing to prevent them from giving to their children all the time that is necessary to make them understand what it means to obey and trust the Lord fully.  {CG 474.4}
[CG 474.5]          Parents, Awake From Your Deathlike Slumber.-- From the indifference of their parents, many children are left to feel that their parents have no care for their souls. This ought not to be so, but those who have children should so manage their domestic and business affairs that nothing may come in between them and the children                                                                              475  that would lessen the parents' influence in directing them to Christ. You should teach your children the lesson of the love of Jesus, that they may be pure in heart, in conduct, and conversation. . . .  {CG 474.5}
[CG 475.1]          The Lord would work upon the hearts of the children if the parents would but co-operate with the divine agencies, but He will not undertake to do that which has been appointed as your part of the work. Parents, you must awake from your deathlike slumber.  {CG 475.1}
[CG 475.2]          Our Great Hope Is Home Religion.--Parents are asleep. Their children are going to destruction before their eyes, and the Lord would have His messengers present before the people, by precept and example, the necessity of home religion. Urge this matter home upon your congregations. Press the conviction of these solemn duties, so long neglected, home upon the conscience. This will break up the spirit of Pharisaism and resistance to the truth as nothing else can. Religion in the home is our great hope and makes the prospect bright for the conversion of the whole family to the truth of God.  {CG 475.2}
[CG 475.3]          Satan's Power May Be Broken.--Parents have a more serious charge than they imagine. The inheritance of children is that of sin. Sin has separated them from God. Jesus gave His life that He might unite the broken links to God. As related to the first Adam, men receive from him nothing but guilt and the sentence of death. But Christ steps in and passes over the ground where Adam fell, enduring every test in man's behalf. . . . Christ's perfect example and the grace of God are given him to enable him to train his sons and daughters to be sons and daughters of God. It is by teaching them, line upon line, precept upon precept, how to give the heart                                                                              476  and will up to Christ that Satan's power is broken.  {CG 475.3}
[CG 476.1]          Fathers and mothers, in full assurance of faith plead with your sons and daughters. Let them not hear one impatient word from your lips. If necessary, make to your children a heartfelt confession for having allowed them to follow in the path of vanity and to displease the Lord, who withheld not His Son from a lost world, that all might receive pardon and forgiveness of sin. . . .  {CG 476.1}
[CG 476.2]          Fathers and mothers who have in various ways indulged your children to their hurt, God desires you to redeem the time. Take heed while it is called today.  {CG 476.2}
[CG 476.3]          Parents Have the Noblest Missionary Field.--Make it your lifework to form the characters of your children according to the divine Pattern. If they ever possess the inward adorning, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, it will be because you perseveringly trained them to love the teachings of God's Word and to seek the approval of Jesus above the approbation of the world.  {CG 476.3}
[CG 476.4]          As workers for God, our work is to begin with those nearest. It is to begin in our own home. There is no more important missionary field than this.  {CG 476.4}
[CG 476.5]          We need missionary fervor in our homes, that we may bring the Word of life before the members of our families and lead them to seek a home in the kingdom of God.  {CG 476.5}
[CG 476.6]          The management and instruction of children is the noblest missionary work that any man or woman can undertake.  {CG 476.6}
[CG 476.7]          Parents as Artists to Shape Living Clay.--How earnestly and perseveringly the artist labors to transfer to canvas a perfect likeness of his model; and how diligently the sculptor hews and chisels out the stone into a counterpart of the copy he is following. So the parents                                                                              477  should labor to shape, polish, and refine their children after the pattern given them in Christ Jesus. As the patient artist studies, and works, and forms plans to make the results of his labors more perfect, so should the parent consider time well spent that is occupied in training the children for useful lives and fitting them for the immortal kingdom. The artist's work is small and unimportant compared with that of the parent. The one deals with lifeless material, from which he fashions forms of beauty; but the other deals with a human being whose life can be shaped for good or ill, to bless humanity or to curse it; to go out in darkness, or to live forever in a future sinless world.  {CG 476.7}
[CG 477.1]          Make Perfection the Goal.--Christ was once a little child. For His sake honor the children. Look upon them as a sacred charge, not to be petted and idolized, but to be taught to live pure, noble lives. They are God's property. He loves them, and He calls upon you to co-operate with Him in teaching them to form perfect characters. The Lord requires perfection from His redeemed family. He expects from us the perfection which Christ revealed in His humanity. Fathers and mothers especially need to understand the best methods of training children that they may co-operate with God.  {CG 477.1}
[CG 477.2]          Converted Parents Needed.--Day and night I am burdened with the thought of our great need of converted parents. How many there are who need to humble their hearts before God and come into right relation to heaven if they would exert a saving influence over their families. They should know what they must do to inherit eternal life, if they would train their children for the inheritance of the redeemed. Every day they should be receiving the                                                                              478  light of heaven into their souls, every day be receiving the impressions of the Holy Spirit upon heart and mind. Every day they should be receiving the Word of truth and letting it control the life.  {CG 477.2}
[CG 478.1]          Great responsibilities rest upon parents, and they should strive earnestly to fulfill their God-appointed mission. When they see the need of bending all the energies of the being to the work of training their children for God, a great deal of the frivolity and unnecessary pretense that is now seen will be put away. They will consider no sacrifice or toil too great that will enable them to prepare to meet the Lord with joy. This is a most precious part of their service as followers of God, and one that they cannot afford to neglect.  {CG 478.1}
[CG 478.2]          Look Constantly to Jesus.--Parents, . . . use every spiritual sinew and muscle in the effort to save your little flock. The powers of hell will unite for its destruction, but God will lift up for you a standard against the enemy. Pray much more than you do. Lovingly, tenderly, teach your children to come to God as their heavenly Father. By your example teach them self-control and helpfulness. Tell them that Christ lived not to please Himself.  {CG 478.2}
[CG 478.3]          Gather up the rays of divine light that are shining upon your pathway. Walk in the light as Christ is in the light. As you take hold of the work of helping your children to serve God, the most provoking trials will come; but do not lose your hold; cling to Jesus. He says, "Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me." Isaiah 27:5. Difficulties will arise; you will meet with obstacles; but look constantly to Jesus. When an emergency arises, ask, Lord, what shall I do now? If you refuse to fret or scold, the                                                                              479  Lord will show you the way. He will help you to use the talent of speech in so Christlike a way that peace and love will reign in the home. By following a consistent course of action, you may be evangelists in the home, ministers of grace to your children.  {CG 478.3}
[CG 479.1]          This Work Pays.--It costs something to bring children up in the way of God. It costs a mother's tears and a father's prayers. It calls for unflagging effort, for patient instruction, here a little and there a little. But this work pays. Parents can thus build around their children bulwarks which will preserve them from the evil that is flooding our world.  {CG 479.1}
[CG 480.1]       Chap. Seventy-Four - Every Home a Church         Parents to Be God's Representatives.--Every family in the home life should be a church, a beautiful symbol of the church of God in heaven. If parents realized their responsibilities to their children, they would not under any circumstances scold and fret at them. This is not the kind of education any child should have. Many, many children have learned to be faultfinding, fretful, scolding, passionate children, because they were allowed to be passionate at home. Parents are to consider that they are in the place of God to their children, to encourage every right principle and repress every wrong thought.  {CG 480.1}
[CG 480.2]          If the moral qualities of children are neglected by parents and teachers, they are sure to be perverted.  {CG 480.2}
[CG 480.3]          Bible Religion the Only Safeguard.--Generally speaking, the youth have but little moral strength. This is the result of neglected education in childhood. A knowledge of the character of God and our obligations to Him should not be regarded as a matter of minor consequence. The religion of the Bible is the only safeguard for the young.  {CG 480.3}
[CG 480.4]          Happy are the parents whose lives are a true reflection of the divine, so that the promises and commands of God awaken in the child gratitude and reverence; the parents whose tenderness and justice and long-suffering interpret to the child the love and justice and long-suffering of God; and who, by teaching the child to love and trust and obey them, are teaching him to love and trust and obey his Father in heaven. Parents who impart to the child such a gift have endowed him with a treasure                                                                              481  more precious than the wealth of all the ages--a treasure as enduring as eternity.  {CG 480.4}
[CG 481.1]          Profession Is Valueless Without Home Religion.-- The daily acts of life tell the measure and mold of our disposition and character. Where there is a lack of home religion, a profession of faith is valueless. Then let no unkind words fall from the lips of those who compose the home circle. Make the atmosphere fragrant with tender thoughtfulness of others. Only those will enter heaven who in probationary time have formed a character that breathes a heavenly influence. The saint in heaven must first be a saint upon earth.  {CG 481.1}
[CG 481.2]          That which will make the character lovely in the home is that which will make it lovely in the heavenly mansions. The measure of your Christianity is gauged by the character of your home life. The grace of Christ enables its possessors to make the home a happy place, full of peace and rest. Unless you have the Spirit of Christ, you are none of His and will never see the redeemed saints in His kingdom, who are to be one with Him in the heaven of bliss. God desires you to consecrate yourself wholly to Him and represent His character in the home circle.  {CG 481.2}
[CG 481.3]          The work of sanctification begins in the home. Those who are Christians in the home will be Christians in the church and in the world. There are many who do not grow in grace because they fail of cultivating home religion.  {CG 481.3}
[CG 481.4]          Parents as Educators in the Home Church.--I speak to fathers and mothers: You can be educators in your home churches; you can be spiritual missionary agencies. Let fathers and mothers feel the need of being home missionaries, the need of keeping the home atmosphere                                                                              482  free from the influence of unkind and hasty speech, and the home school a place where angels of God can come in and bless and give success to the efforts put forth.  {CG 481.4}
[CG 482.1]          Consider the family institution a training school, preparatory for the performance of religious duties. Your children are to act a part in church capacity, and every power of the mind, every physical capacity is to be kept strong and active for the service of Christ. They are to be taught to love truth because it is truth; they are to be sanctified through the truth, that they may stand in the grand review that shall take place erelong to determine the fitness of each to enter the higher school and become a member of the royal family, a child of the heavenly King.  {CG 482.1}
[CG 482.2]          They Must Lead Consistent Lives.--Everything leaves its impress upon the youthful mind. The countenance is studied, the voice has its influence, and the deportment is closely imitated by them. Fretful and peevish fathers and mothers are giving their children lessons which at some period in their lives they would give all the world, were it theirs, could they unlearn. Children must see in the lives of their parents that consistency which is in accordance with their faith. By leading a consistent life and exercising self-control, parents may mold the characters of their children.  {CG 482.2}
[CG 482.3]          Train Children as Workers for Christ.--Those who are united by the ties of nature have the strongest claims upon each other. The members of the family should manifest kindness and the tenderest love. The words spoken and the deeds performed should be in accordance with Christian principles. In this way the home may be made a school, where workers for Christ may be trained.                                                                              483   {CG 482.3}
[CG 483.1]          The home is to be regarded as a sacred place. . . . Every day of our lives we should surrender ourselves to God. Thus we may gain special help and daily victories. The cross is to be borne daily. Every word should be guarded, for we are responsible to God to represent in our lives as far as possible the character of Christ.  {CG 483.1}
[CG 483.2]          A Fatal Mistake Many Make.--Can we educate our sons and daughters for a life of respectable conventionality, a life professedly Christian, but lacking His self-sacrifice, a life on which the verdict of Him who is truth must be, "I know you not"? Thousands are doing this. They think to secure for their children the benefits of the gospel while they deny its spirit. But this cannot be. Those who reject the privilege of fellowship with Christ in service reject the only training that imparts a fitness for participation with Him in His glory. They reject the training that in this life gives strength and nobility of character. Many a father and mother, denying their children to the cross of Christ, have learned too late that they were thus giving them over to the enemy of God and man. They sealed their ruin, not alone for the future but for the present life. Temptation overcame them. They grew up a curse to the world, a grief and shame to those who gave them being.  {CG 483.2}
[CG 483.3]          We know not in what line our children may be called to serve. They may spend their lives within the circle of the home; they may engage in life's common vocations or go as teachers of the gospel to heathen lands; but all are alike called to be missionaries for God, ministers of mercy to the world. They are to obtain an education that will help them to stand by the side of Christ in unselfish service.                                                                              484   {CG 483.3}
[CG 484.1]          Teach Them to Rely on Divine Aid.--If you wish your children to possess enlarged capacities to do good, teach them to have a right hold of the future world. If they are instructed to rely upon divine aid in their difficulties and dangers, they will not lack power to curb passion and to check the inward temptations to do wrong. Connection with the Source of wisdom will give light and the power of discernment between right and wrong. Those so endowed will become morally and intellectually strong and will have clearer views and better judgment even in temporal affairs.  {CG 484.1}
[CG 484.2]         Salvation Assured Through Faith and Trust.--We can have the salvation of God in our families; but we must believe for it, live for it, and have a continual, abiding faith and trust in God. . . . The restraint which God's Word imposes upon us is for our own interest. It increases the happiness of our families, and of all around us. It refines our taste, sanctifies our judgment, and brings peace of mind, and in the end, everlasting life. . . . Ministering angels will linger in our dwellings, and with joy carry heavenward the tidings of our advance in the divine life, and the recording angel will make a cheerful, happy record.  {CG 484.2}
[CG 484.3]          The Spirit of Christ will be an abiding influence in the home life. If men and women will open their hearts to the heavenly influence of truth and love, these principles will flow forth again like streams in the desert, refreshing all and causing freshness to appear where now is barrenness and dearth.  {CG 484.3}
[CG 484.4]          Your children will carry forth from the home the precious influence of the home education. Then work in the home circle, in the first years of the children's lives,                                                                              485  and they will carry your influence into the schoolroom; that influence will be felt by many others. Thus the Lord will be glorified.  {CG 484.4}
[CG 486.1]      Chap. Seventy-Five - Leading Little Children to Christ         How Early May Children Become Christians?--In childhood the mind is readily impressed and molded, and it is then that boys and girls should be taught to love and honor God.  {CG 486.1}
[CG 486.2]          God wants every child of tender age to be His child, to be adopted into His family. Young though they may be, the youth may be members of the household of faith and have a most precious experience. They may have hearts that are tender and ready to receive impressions that will be lasting. They may have their hearts drawn out in confidence and love for Jesus, and live for the Saviour. Christ will make them little missionaries. The whole current of their thought may be changed, so that sin will not appear a thing to be enjoyed, but to be shunned and hated.  {CG 486.2}
[CG 486.3]          Age of No Consequence.--An eminent divine was once asked how old a child must be before there was reasonable hope of his being a Christian. "Age has nothing to do with it," was the answer. "Love to Jesus, trust, repose, confidence, are all qualities that agree with the child's nature. As soon as a child can love and trust his mother, then can he love and trust Jesus as the Friend of his mother. Jesus will be his Friend, loved and honored."  {CG 486.3}
[CG 486.4]          In view of the foregoing truthful statement, can parents be too careful in presenting precept and example before those watchful little eyes and sharp senses? Our religion                                                                              487  should be made practical. It is needed in our homes as much as in the house of worship. There should be nothing cold, stern, and forbidding in our demeanor; but we should show, by kindness and sympathy, that we possess warm, loving hearts. Jesus should be the honored Guest in the family circle. We should talk with Him, bring all our burdens to Him, and converse of His love, His grace, and His perfection of character. What a lesson may be daily given by godly parents in taking all their troubles to Jesus, the Burden Bearer, instead of fretting and scolding over cares and perplexities they cannot help. The minds of the little ones may be taught to turn to Jesus as the flower turns its opening petals to the sun.  {CG 486.4}
[CG 487.1]          God's Love Should Be Taught in Every Lesson.-- The first lesson that children are to be taught is that God is their Father. This lesson should be given them in their earliest years. Parents are to realize that they are responsible before God for making their children acquainted with their heavenly Father. . . . That God is love is to be taught by every lesson.  {CG 487.1}
[CG 487.2]          Fathers and mothers should teach the infant, the child, and the youth of the love of Jesus. Let the first baby lispings be of Christ.  {CG 487.2}
[CG 487.3]          Christ should be associated with all the lessons given to children.  {CG 487.3}
[CG 487.4]          From the child's earliest years it is to be made acquainted with the things of God. In simple words let the mother tell it about Christ's life on earth. And more than this, let her bring into her daily life the teachings of the Saviour. Let her show her child, by her own example, that this life is a preparation for the life to come, a period granted to human beings in which they may form                                                                              488  characters that will win for them entrance into the city of God.  {CG 487.4}
[CG 488.1]          They Need More Than Casual Notice.--There has been altogether too little attention paid to our children and youth, and they have failed to develop as they should in the Christian life, because the church members have not looked upon them with tenderness and sympathy, desiring that they might be advanced in the divine life.  {CG 488.1}
[CG 488.2]          The Lord is not glorified when the children are neglected and passed by. . . . They require more than casual notice, more than a word of encouragement. They need painstaking, prayerful, careful labor. The heart that is filled with love and sympathy will reach the hearts of the youth who are apparently careless and hopeless.  {CG 488.2}
[CG 488.3]          Jesus Says, "Train These Children for Me."-- Parents should seek to comprehend the fact that they are to train their children for the courts of God. When they are entrusted with children, it is the same as though Christ placed them in their arms and said, "Train these children for Me, that they may shine in the courts of God." One of the first sounds that should attract their attention is the name of Jesus, and in their earliest years they should be led to the footstool of prayer. Their minds should be filled with stories of the life of the Lord, and their imaginations encouraged in picturing the glories of the world to come.  {CG 488.3}
[CG 488.4]          They May Have a Christian Experience in Childhood.-- Help your children to prepare for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for those that love Him. Help them to fulfill God's purpose for them. Let your training be such that it will help them to be an honor to the One who died to secure for them eternal life in the                                                                              489  kingdom of God. Teach them to respond to the invitation, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  {CG 488.4}
[CG 489.1]          My brother and sister, you have a sacred work to do in the training of your children. While they are young, their hearts and minds are most susceptible to right impressions. . . . Teach them that they have an individual part to act and a Christian experience to gain even in their childhood.  {CG 489.1}
[CG 489.2]          Unless parents shall make it the first business of their lives to guide their children's feet into the path of righteousness from their earliest years, the wrong path will be chosen before the right.  {CG 489.2}
[CG 489.3]          Willing Obedience Is the Test of Conversion.-- Shall we not teach our children that willing obedience to the will of God proves whether those claiming to be Christians are Christians indeed? The Lord means every word He says.  {CG 489.3}
[CG 489.4]          God's Law the Foundation of Reformation.--The law of God is to be the means of education in the family. Parents are under a most solemn obligation to walk in all the commandments of God, setting their children an example of the strictest integrity. . . .  {CG 489.4}
[CG 489.5]          The law of God is the foundation of all enduring reformation. We are to present to the world in clear, distinct lines the need of obedience to His law. The great reformative movement must begin in the home. Obedience to God's law is the great incentive to industry, economy, truthfulness, and just dealing between man and man.  {CG 489.5}
[CG 489.6]          Teach It to the Children.--Have you taught your children from their babyhood to keep the commandments                                                                              490  of God? . . . You are to teach them to form characters after the divine similitude, that Christ may reveal Himself to them. He is willing to reveal Himself to children. We know this from the history of Joseph, of Samuel, of Daniel and his companions. Can we not see from the record of their lives what God expects from children and youth?  {CG 489.6}
[CG 490.1]          Parents . . . are under obligation to God to present their children to Him fitted at a very early period to receive an intelligent knowledge of what is comprehended in being a follower of Jesus Christ.  {CG 490.1}
[CG 490.2]          Testimony of a Converted Child.--Religion helps children to study better and to do more faithful work. A little girl of twelve was telling, in a simple way, the evidence that she was a Christian. "I did not like to study, but to play. I was idle at school and often missed my lessons. Now I learn every lesson well, to please God. I was mischievous at school, when the teachers were not looking at me, making fun for the children to look at. Now I wish to please God by behaving well and keeping the school laws. I was selfish at home, didn't like to run errands, and was sulky when mother called me from play to help her in work. Now it is a real joy for me to help mother in any way and to show that I love her."  {CG 490.2}
[CG 490.3]          Beware of Procrastination.--Parents, you should commence to discipline the minds of your children while they are young, to the end that they may be Christians. . . . Beware how you lull them to sleep over the pit of destruction, with the mistaken thought that they are not old enough to be accountable, not old enough to repent of their sins and profess Christ.  {CG 490.3}
[CG 490.4]          Children of eight, ten, or twelve years are old enough                                                                              491  to be addressed on the subject of personal religion. Do not teach your children with reference to some future period when they shall be old enough to repent and believe the truth. If properly instructed, very young children may have correct views of their state as sinners and of the way of salvation through Christ.  {CG 490.4}
[CG 491.1]          I was referred to the many precious promises on record for those who seek their Saviour early. Ecclesiastes 12:1: "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them." Proverbs 8:17: "I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me." The great Shepherd of Israel is still saying, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Teach your children that youth is the best time to seek the Lord.  {CG 491.1}
[CG 491.2]          Direct From Infancy Through Youth.--To allow a child to follow his natural impulses is to allow him to deteriorate and to become proficient in evil. The results of wrong training begin to be revealed in childhood. In early youth a selfish temper is developed, and as the youth grows to manhood, he grows in sin. A continual testimony against parental neglect is borne by children who have been permitted to follow a course of their own choosing. Such a downward course can be prevented only by surrounding them with influences that will counteract evil. From infancy to youth and from youth to manhood, a child should be under influences for good.  {CG 491.2}
[CG 491.3]          Fortify Children for Future Tests.--Parents, ask yourselves the solemn question, "Have we educated our                                                                              492  children to yield to paternal authority, and thus trained them to obey God, to love Him, to hold His law as the supreme guide of conduct and life? Have we educated them to be missionaries for Christ? To go about doing good?" Believing parents, your children will have to fight decisive battles for the Lord in the day of conflict; and while they win victories for the Prince of peace, they may be gaining triumphs for themselves. But if they have not been brought up in the fear of the Lord; if they have no knowledge of Christ, no connection with heaven, they will have no moral power, and they will yield to earthly potentates who have assumed to exalt themselves above the God of heaven in establishing a spurious sabbath to take the place of the Sabbath of Jehovah.  {CG 491.3}
[CG 493.1]      Chap. Seventy-Six - Preparing for Church Membership         A Well-balanced Training.--Instruction should be given as God has directed. Patiently, carefully, diligently, mercifully, children should be trained. Upon all parents rests the obligation of giving their children physical, mental, and spiritual instruction. It is essential ever to keep before children the claims of God.  {CG 493.1}
[CG 493.2]          Physical training, the development of the body, is far more easily given than spiritual training. . . .  {CG 493.2}
[CG 493.3]          Soul culture, which gives purity and elevation to the thoughts and fragrance to word and act, requires more painstaking effort. It takes patience to keep every evil motive weeded from the garden of the heart.  {CG 493.3}
[CG 493.4]          The spiritual training should in no case be neglected. Let us teach our children the beautiful lessons of God's Word, that through these they may gain a knowledge of Him. Let them understand that they should do nothing which is not right. Teach them to do justice and judgment. Tell them that you cannot permit them to take a wrong course. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ present them to God at the throne of grace. Let them know that Jesus lives to make intercession for them. Encourage them to form characters fashioned after the divine similitude.  {CG 493.4}
[CG 493.5]          Knowledge of God and Christ Is Fundamental.-- The spiritual training should in no case be neglected, for "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."                                                                              494  Psalm 111:10. By some, education is placed next to religion, but true education is religion.  {CG 493.5}
[CG 494.1]         Define Practical Religious Experience.--Practical instruction in religious experience is what Christian parents should be prepared to give their children. God requires this of you, and you neglect your duty if you fail to perform this work. Instruct your children in regard to God's chosen methods of discipline and the conditions of success in the Christian life. Teach them that they cannot serve God and have their minds absorbed in overcareful provision for this life; but do not let them cherish the thought that they have no need to toil and may spend their leisure moments in idleness. God's Word is plain on this point.  {CG 494.1}
[CG 494.2]          Teach the Knowledge of God.--To know God is eternal life. Are you teaching this to your children, or are you teaching them to meet the world's standard? Are you getting ready for the home that God is preparing for you? . . . Teach your children of the Saviour's life, death, and resurrection. Teach them to study the Bible. . . . Teach them to form characters that will live through the eternal ages. We must pray as we never have before that God will keep and bless our children.  {CG 494.2}
[CG 494.3]          Teach Daily Repentance and Forgiveness.--It is not essential that all shall be able to specify to a certainty when their sins were forgiven. The lesson to be taught the children is that their errors and mistakes are to be brought to Jesus in their very childhood of life. Teach them to ask His forgiveness daily for any wrong that they have done, and that Jesus does hear the simple prayer of the penitent heart, and will pardon, and receive                                                                              495  them, just as He received the children brought to Him when He was upon earth.  {CG 494.3}
[CG 495.1]          Teach Sound Doctrine.--Those who have seen the truth and felt its importance, and have had an experience in the things of God, are to teach sound doctrine to their children. They should make them acquainted with the great pillars of our faith, the reasons why we are Seventh-day Adventists--why we are called, as were the children of Israel, to be a peculiar people, a holy nation, separate and distinct from all other people on the face of the earth. These things should be explained to the children in simple language, easy to be understood; and as they grow in years, the lessons imparted should be suited to their increasing capacity, until the foundations of truth have been laid broad and deep.  {CG 495.1}
[CG 495.2]          Instruct Briefly and Frequently.--Those who give instruction to children and youth should avoid tedious remarks. Short talks, right to the point, will have a happy influence. If there is much to be said, make up for brevity by frequency. A few interesting remarks, every now and then, will be more helpful than to give all the instruction at once. Long speeches tire the minds of the young. Too much talk will lead them even to loathe spiritual instruction, just as overeating burdens the stomach and lessens the appetite, leading to a loathing for food.  {CG 495.2}
[CG 495.3]          The Evenings Are Precious Seasons.--The home should be made a school of instruction rather than a place of monotonous drudgery. The evenings should be cherished as precious seasons, to be devoted to the instruction of the children in the way of righteousness.  {CG 495.3}
[CG 495.4]          Recount God's Promises.--We need to recognize the Holy Spirit as our enlightener. That Spirit loves to                                                                              496  address the children and discover to them the treasures and beauties of the Word. The promises spoken by the great Teacher will captivate the senses and animate the soul of the child with a spiritual power that is divine. There will grow in the receptive mind a familiarity with divine things which will be as a barricade against the temptations of the enemy.  {CG 495.4}
[CG 496.1]          Make Religious Instruction Pleasant.--Religious instruction should be given to children from their earliest years. It should be given, not in a condemnatory spirit, but in a cheerful, happy spirit. Mothers need to be on the watch constantly, lest temptation shall come to the children in such a form as not to be recognized by them. The parents are to guard their children with wise, pleasant instruction. As the very best friends of these inexperienced ones, they should help them in the work of overcoming, for it means everything to them to be victorious. They should consider that their own dear children who are seeking to do right are younger members of the Lord's family, and they should feel an intense interest in helping them to make straight paths in the King's highway of obedience. With loving interest they should teach them day by day what it means to be children of God and to yield the will in obedience to Him. Teach them that obedience to God involves obedience to their parents. This must be a daily, hourly work. Parents, watch, watch and pray, and make your children your companions.  {CG 496.1}
[CG 496.2]          Teach Spiritual Lessons From Domestic Tasks.--God has given to parents and teachers the work of educating the children and youth in these lines, and from every act of their lives they may be taught spiritual lessons. While                                                                              497  training them in habits of physical cleanliness, we should teach them that God desires them to be clean in heart as well as in body. While sweeping a room, they may learn how the Lord purifies the heart. They would not close the doors and windows and leave in the room some purifying substance, but would open the doors and throw wide the windows, and with diligent effort expel all the dust. So the windows of impulse and feeling must be opened toward heaven, and the dust of selfishness and earthliness must be expelled. The grace of God must sweep through the chambers of the mind, and every element of the nature must be purified and vitalized by the Spirit of God. Disorder and untidiness in daily duties will lead to forgetfulness of God and to keeping the form of godliness in a profession of faith, having lost the reality. We are to watch and pray, else we shall grasp the shadow and lose the substance.  {CG 496.2}
[CG 497.1]          A living faith like threads of gold should run through the daily experience in the performance of little duties.  {CG 497.1}
[CG 497.2]          Heart Education Versus Book Learning.--It is right for the youth to feel that they must reach the highest development of their mental powers. We would not restrict the education to which God has set no limit. But our attainments will avail nothing if not put to use for the honor of God and the good of humanity. Unless our knowledge is a steppingstone to the accomplishment of the highest purposes, it is worthless. . . .  {CG 497.2}
[CG 497.3]          Heart education is of more importance than the education gained from books. It is well, even essential, to obtain a knowledge of the world in which we live; but if we leave eternity out of our reckoning, we shall make a failure from which we can never recover.                                                                              498   {CG 497.3}
[CG 498.1]          Mutual Benefits.--Our children are the Lord's property; they have been bought with a price. This thought should be the mainspring of our labors for them. The most successful methods of assuring their salvation and keeping them out of the way of temptation is to instruct them constantly in the Word of God. And as parents become learners with their children, they will find their own growth in a knowledge of the truth more rapid. Unbelief will disappear; faith and activity will increase; assurance and confidence will deepen as they thus follow on to know the Lord.  {CG 498.1}
[CG 498.2]          How Parents May Be Stumbling Blocks.--What example do you give your children? What order do you have at home? Your children should be educated to be kind, thoughtful of others, gentle, easy to be entreated, and, above everything else, to respect religious things and feel the importance of the claims of God.  {CG 498.2}
[CG 498.3]          Boys and girls may early reveal deep and symmetrical piety if the means which God has ordained for the guidance of every family is followed in His fear and love. They will demonstrate the value of correct training and discipline. But the impression made upon the mind of children by the words of the teacher of truth is often counteracted by the words and actions of the parents. The susceptible though wayward hearts of children are often impressed by the truth, but often temptations come to them through father or mother, and they fall a prey to Satan's devices. It is almost impossible to set the feet of children in safe paths when the parents do not co-operate. Evil sentiments, falling from the lips of injudicious parents, are the chief hindrance to genuine conversions among children.                                                                              499   {CG 498.3}
[CG 499.1]          Live in Harmony With Your Prayers.--"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." When you pray, present this promise. It is our privilege to come to Him with holy boldness. As in sincerity we ask Him to let His light shine upon us, He will hear and answer us. But we must live in harmony with our prayers. They are of no avail if we walk contrary to them. I have seen a father who, after reading a portion of scripture and offering prayer, would often, almost as soon as he had risen from his knees, begin to scold his children. How could God answer the prayer he had offered? And if, after scolding his children, a father offers prayer, does that prayer benefit the children? No; not unless it is a prayer of confession to God.  {CG 499.1}
[CG 499.2]          When Children Are Ready for Baptism.--Never allow your children to suppose that they are not children of God until they are old enough to be baptized. Baptism does not make children Christians; neither does it convert them; it is but an outward sign, showing that they are sensible that they should be children of God by acknowledging that they believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour and will henceforth live for Christ.  {CG 499.2}
[CG 499.3]          Parents whose children desire to be baptized have a work to do, both in self-examination and in giving faithful instruction to their children. Baptism is a most sacred and important ordinance, and there should be a thorough understanding as to its meaning. It means repentance for sin, and the entrance upon a new life in Christ Jesus. There should be no undue haste to receive the ordinance. Let both parents and children count the cost. In consenting to baptism of their children, parents sacredly pledge                                                                              500  themselves to be faithful stewards over these children, to guide them in their character building. They pledge themselves to guard with special interest these lambs of the flock, that they may not dishonor the faith they profess. . . .  {CG 499.3}
[CG 500.1]          When the happiest period of their life has come, and they in their hearts love Jesus and wish to be baptized, then deal faithfully with them. Before they receive the ordinance, ask them if it is to be their first purpose in life to work for God. Then tell them how to begin. It is the first lessons that mean so much. In simplicity teach them how to do their first service for God. Make the work as easy to be understood as possible. Explain what it means to give up self to the Lord, to do just as His Word directs, under the counsel of Christian parents.  {CG 500.1}
[CG 500.2]          Parents' Duty After Baptism.--After faithful labor, if you are satisfied that your children understand the meaning of conversion and baptism and are truly converted, let them be baptized. But, I repeat, first of all prepare yourselves to act as faithful shepherds in guiding their inexperienced feet in the narrow way of obedience. God must work in the parents that they may give to their children a right example in love, courtesy, and Christian humility, and in an entire giving up of self to Christ. If you consent to the baptism of your children and then leave them to do as they choose, feeling no special duty to keep their feet in the straight path, you yourselves are responsible if they lose faith and courage and interest in the truth.  {CG 500.2}
[CG 500.3]          God calls upon you to teach them to prepare to be members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. Co-operate with God by working diligently for                                                                              501  their salvation. If they err, do not scold them. Never taunt them with being baptized and yet doing wrong. Remember that they have much to learn in regard to the duties of a child of God.  {CG 500.3}
[CG 501.1]          Preparation for Special Convocations.--Here is a work for families to engage in before coming up to our holy convocations. Let the preparation for eating and dressing be a secondary matter, but let deep heart-searching commence at home. Pray three times a day, and like Jacob, be importunate. At home is the place to find Jesus; then take Him with you to the meeting, and how precious will be the hours you spend there. But how can you expect to feel the presence of the Lord and see His power displayed, when the individual work of preparation for that time is neglected?  {CG 501.1}
[CG 501.2]          For your soul's sake, for Christ's sake, and for the sake of others, work at home. Pray as you are not accustomed to pray. Let the heart break before God. Set your house in order. Prepare your children for the occasion. Teach them that it is not of so much consequence that they appear with fine clothes as that they appear before God with clean hands and pure hearts. Remove every obstacle that may have been in their way--all differences that may have existed between themselves or between you and them. By so doing you will invite the Lord's presence into your homes, and holy angels will attend you as you go up to the meeting, and their light and presence will press back the darkness of evil angels.  {CG 501.2}
[CG 501.3]          Sow the Seeds of Truth in Faith.--The work of the sower is a work of faith. The mystery of the germination and growth of the seed he cannot understand, but he has confidence in the agencies by which God causes vegetation                                                                              502  to flourish. He casts away the seed, expecting to gather it manyfold in an abundant harvest. So parents and teachers are to labor, expecting a harvest from the seed they sow.  {CG 501.3}
[CG 502.1]          We should ask the blessing of God on the seed sown, and the conviction of the Holy Spirit will take hold of even the little ones. If we exercise faith in God, we shall be enabled to lead them to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. This is a work of the greatest consequence to the younger members of the Lord's family.  {CG 502.1}
[CG 505.1]       Chap. Seventy-Seven - The Bible in the Home         The Bible Is a Versatile Book.--In its wide range of style and subjects, the Bible has something to interest every mind and appeal to every heart. In its pages are found history the most ancient; biography the truest to life; principles of government for the control of the state, for the regulation of the household--principles that human wisdom has never equaled. It contains philosophy the most profound; poetry the sweetest and the most sublime, the most impassioned and the most pathetic. Immeasurably superior in value to the productions of any human author are the Bible writings, even when thus considered; but of infinitely wider scope, of infinitely greater value, are they when viewed in their relation to the grand central thought. Viewed in the light of this thought, every topic has a new significance. In the most simply stated truths are involved principles that are as high as heaven and that compass eternity.  {CG 505.1}
[CG 505.2]         The Word of God abounds in precious jewels of truth, and parents should bring them forth from their casket and present them before their children in their true luster. . . . In the Word of God you have a treasure house from which you may draw precious stores, and as Christians you should furnish yourselves for every good work.  {CG 505.2}
[CG 505.3]          In It God Provides a Rich Banquet.--In giving us the privilege of studying His Word, the Lord has set before us a rich banquet. Many are the benefits derived from feasting on His Word, which is represented by Him as His flesh and blood, His spirit and life. By partaking                                                                              506  of this Word, our spiritual strength is increased; we grow in grace and in a knowledge of the truth. Habits of self-control are formed and strengthened. The infirmities of childhood--fretfulness, willfulness, selfishness, hasty words, passionate acts--disappear, and in their place are developed the graces of Christian manhood and womanhood.  {CG 505.3}
[CG 506.1]          The beautiful lessons of the Bible stories and parables, the pure, simple instruction of God's Holy Word, is the spiritual food for you and your children.  {CG 506.1}
[CG 506.2]          Oh, what a work is before you! Will you take hold of it in the love and fear of God? Will you put yourselves in communication with God through His Word?  {CG 506.2}
[CG 506.3]          It Is the Standard of Rectitude.--The Word of God should be judiciously brought to bear upon the youthful minds and be their standard of rectitude, correcting their errors, enlightening and guiding their minds, which will be far more effectual in restraining and controlling the impulsive temperament than harsh words, which will provoke to wrath. This training of children to meet the Bible standard will require time, perseverance, and prayer. This should be attended to if some things about the house are neglected.  {CG 506.3}
[CG 506.4]          The truths of the Bible, received, will uplift the mind from its earthliness and debasement. If the Word of God were appreciated as it should be, both young and old would possess an inward rectitude, a strength of principle, that would enable them to resist temptation.  {CG 506.4}
[CG 506.5]          The Holy One of Israel has made known to us the statutes and laws which are to govern all human intelligences. These precepts, which have been pronounced "holy, and just, and good," are to form the standard of                                                                              507  action in the home. There can be no departure from them without sin, for they are the foundation of the Christian religion.  {CG 506.5}
[CG 507.1]          It Strengthens the Intellect.--If the Bible were studied as it should be, men would become strong in intellect. The subjects treated upon in the Word of God, the dignified simplicity of its utterance, the noble themes which it presents to the mind, develop faculties in man which cannot otherwise be developed. In the Bible a boundless field is opened for the imagination. The student will come from a contemplation of its grand themes, from association with its lofty imagery, more pure and elevated in thought and feeling than if he had spent the time reading any work of mere human origin, to say nothing of those of a trifling character. Youthful minds fail to reach their noblest development when they neglect the highest source of wisdom--the Word of God. The reason why we have so few men of good mind, of stability and solid worth, is that God is not feared, God is not loved, the principles of religion are not carried out in the life as they should be.  {CG 507.1}
[CG 507.2]          God would have us avail ourselves of every means of cultivating and strengthening our intellectual powers. . . . If the Bible were read more, if its truths were better understood, we should be a far more enlightened and intelligent people. Energy is imparted to the soul by searching its pages.  {CG 507.2}
[CG 507.3]          It Is the Foundation for Home, Social, and National Prosperity.--The teaching of the Bible has a vital bearing upon man's prosperity in all the relations of this life. It unfolds the principles that are the cornerstone of a nation's prosperity--principles with which is bound up                                                                              508  the well-being of society, and which are the safeguard of the family--principles without which no man can attain usefulness, happiness, and honor in this life, or can hope to secure the future, immortal life. There is no position in life, no phase of human experience, for which the teaching of the Bible is not an essential preparation.  {CG 507.3}
[CG 508.1]          Knowledge of the Scriptures Is a Safeguard.-- From a child, Timothy knew the Scriptures; and this knowledge was a safeguard to him against the evil influences surrounding him and the temptation to choose pleasure and selfish gratification before duty. Such a safeguard all our children need, and it should be a part of the work of parents and of Christ's ambassadors to see that the children are properly instructed in the Word of God.  {CG 508.1}
[CG 508.2]          Love for the Bible Is Not Natural.--Youth are ignorant and inexperienced, and the love of the Bible and its sacred truths will not come naturally. Unless great pains are taken to build up around them barriers to shield them from Satan's devices, they are subject to his temptations and are led captive by him at his will. In their early years children are to be taught the claims of God's law and faith in Jesus our Redeemer to cleanse from the stains of sin. This faith must be taught day by day, by precept and example.  {CG 508.2}
[CG 508.3]          Youth Especially Neglect Bible Study.--Both old and young neglect the Bible. They do not make it their study, the rule of their life. Especially are the young guilty of this neglect. Most of them find time to read other books, but the book that points out the way to eternal life is not daily studied, Idle stories are attentively read, while                                                                              509  the Bible is neglected. This book is our guide to a higher, holier life. The youth would pronounce it the most interesting book they ever read had not their imagination been perverted by the reading of fictitious stories.  {CG 508.3}
[CG 509.1]          Youthful minds fail to reach their noblest development when they neglect the highest source of wisdom--the Word of God. That we are in God's world, in the presence of the Creator; that we are made in His likeness; that He watches over us and loves us and cares for us--these are wonderful themes for thought and lead the mind into broad, exalted fields of meditation. He who opens mind and heart to the contemplation of such themes as these will never be satisfied with trivial, sensational subjects.  {CG 509.1}
[CG 509.2]          Parental Disregard Is Reflected in Children.--Even when quite young, children notice; and if the parents show that the Word of God is not their guide and counselor, if they disregard the messages brought to them, the same reckless spirit of, "I don't care; I will have my own way," will be shown by the children.  {CG 509.2}
[CG 509.3]          Give the Word Its Honored Place.--As a people who have had great light, we are to be uplifting in our habits, in our words, in our domestic life and association. Give the Word its honored position as a guide in the home. Let it be regarded as the counselor in every difficulty, the standard of every practice. Will my brethren and sisters be convinced that there can never be true prosperity to any soul in the family circle unless the truth of God, the wisdom of righteousness, presides? Every effort should be made by fathers and mothers to bring their own minds up from the lazy habit of regarding the service of God as a burden. The power of the truth must be a sanctifying agency in the home.                                                                              510   {CG 509.3}
[CG 510.1]          Parents, give your children, line upon line, precept upon precept, the instruction contained in God's Holy Word. This is the work you pledged yourself to do when you were baptized. Let nothing of a worldly character keep you from doing this work. Do all in your power to save the souls of your children, whether they are bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh, or whether they have been received into your family by adoption.  {CG 510.1}
[CG 510.2]          Make It the Home Textbook.--Parents, if you would educate your children to serve God and do good in the world, make the Bible your textbook. It exposes the wiles of Satan. It is the great elevator of the race, the reprover and corrector of moral evils, the detector which enables us to distinguish between the true and the false. Whatever else is taught in the home or at school, the Bible, as the great educator, should stand first. If it is given this place, God is honored, and He will work for you in the conversion of your children. There is a rich mine of truth and beauty in this holy book, and parents have themselves to blame if they do not make it intensely interesting to their children.  {CG 510.2}
[CG 510.3]          "It is written" was the only weapon that Christ used when the tempter came with his deceptions. The teaching of Bible truth is the great and grand work which every parent should undertake. In a pleasant, happy frame of mind place the truth as spoken by God before the children. As fathers and mothers, you can be object lessons to the children in the daily life by practicing patience, kindness, and love, by attaching them to yourself. Do not let them do as they please, but show them that your work is to practice the Word of God and to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.                                                                              511   {CG 510.3}
[CG 511.1]         Study Diligently, Systematically.--Observe system in the study of the Scriptures in your families. Neglect anything of a temporal nature, . . . but be sure that the soul is fed with the bread of life. It is impossible to estimate the good results of one hour or even half an hour each day devoted in a cheerful, social manner to the Word of God. Make the Bible its own expositor, bringing together all that is said concerning a given subject at different times and under varied circumstances. Do not break up your home class for callers or visitors. If they come in during the exercise, invite them to take part in it. Let it be seen that you consider it more important to obtain a knowledge of God's Word than to secure the gains or pleasures of the world.  {CG 511.1}
[CG 511.2]         If we would study the Bible diligently and prayerfully every day, we should every day see some beautiful truth in a new, clear, and forcible light.  {CG 511.2}
[CG 511.3]          Let All Study Sabbath School Lessons.--The Sabbath school affords to parents and children an opportunity for the study of God's Word. But in order for them to gain that benefit which they should gain in the Sabbath school, both parents and children should devote time to the study of the lesson, seeking to obtain a thorough knowledge of the facts presented and also of the spiritual truths which these facts are designed to teach. We should especially impress upon the minds of the youth the importance of seeking the full significance of the scripture under consideration.  {CG 511.3}
[CG 511.4]          Parents, set apart a little time each day for the study of the Sabbath school lesson with your children. Give up the social visit if need be, rather than sacrifice the hour devoted to the lessons of sacred history. Parents as well as                                                                              512  children will receive benefit from this study. Let the more important passages of Scripture connected with the lesson be committed to memory, not as a task, but as a privilege. Though at first the memory be defective, it will gain strength by exercise, so that after a time you will delight thus to treasure up the words of truth. And the  habit will prove a most valuable aid to spiritual growth.  {CG 511.4}
[CG 512.1]          Parents should feel it a sacred duty to instruct their children in the statutes and requirements of God as well as in the prophecies. They should educate their children at home and should themselves be interested in the Sabbath school lessons. By studying with the children they show that they attach importance to the truth brought out in the lessons, and help to create a taste for Bible knowledge.  {CG 512.1}
[CG 512.2]          Be Not Satisfied With Superficial Knowledge.-- The importance of seeking a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures can hardly be estimated. "Given by inspiration of God" able to make us "wise unto salvation," rendering the man of God "perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:15-17), the Bible has the highest claim to our reverent attention. We should not be satisfied with a superficial knowledge, but should seek to learn the full meaning of the words of truth, to drink deep of the spirit of the Holy Oracles.  {CG 512.2}
[CG 512.3]          Apply Lessons to Child's Experience.--In teaching children the Bible, we may gain much by observing the bent of their minds, the things in which they are interested, and arousing their interest to see what the Bible says about these things. He who created us, with our various aptitudes, has in His Word given something for everyone. As the pupils see that the lessons of the Bible                                                                              513  apply to their own lives, teach them to look to it as a counselor. . . .  {CG 512.3}
[CG 513.1]          The Bible has a fullness, a strength, a depth of meaning, that is inexhaustible. Encourage the children and youth to seek out its treasures, both of thought and of expression.  {CG 513.1}
[CG 513.2]          Each Must Study for Himself.--Mothers and fathers carry a heavy responsibility in regard to their children. Those parents who believe and study the Scriptures will realize that they must obey the commandments of God, that they must not walk contrary to His holy law. Those who allow anyone, even the minister, to lead them to disregard the Word of God must at the judgment meet the result of their course. Parents are not to trust their own souls and the souls of their children to the minister, but to God, whose they are by creation and by redemption. Parents should search the Scriptures for themselves, for they have souls to save or to lose. They cannot afford to depend for salvation upon the minister. They must study the truth for themselves.  {CG 513.2}
[CG 513.3]          Make Bible Study Interesting to Children.--Let the youth be taught to love the study of the Bible. Let the first place in our thoughts and affections be given to the Book of books, for it contains knowledge which we need above all other.  {CG 513.3}
[CG 513.4]          In order to do this work, parents must themselves become acquainted with the Word of God. . . . And instead of speaking vain words and telling idle tales to their children, they will talk with them upon Bible subjects. The book was not designed for scholars alone. It was written in a plain, simple style to meet the understanding of the common people; and, with proper                                                                              514  explanations, a large portion of it can be made intensely interesting and profitable to very small children.  {CG 513.4}
[CG 514.1]          Do not think that the Bible will become a tiresome book to the children. Under a wise instructor the Word will become more and more desirable. It will be to them as the bread of life; it will never grow old. There is in it a freshness and beauty that attract and charm the children and youth. It is like the sun shining upon the earth, giving its brightness and warmth, yet never exhausted. By lessons from Bible history and doctrine, the children and youth can learn that all other books are inferior to this. They can find here a fountain of mercy and love.  {CG 514.1}
[CG 514.2]          Parents, let the instruction you give your children be simple, and be sure that it is clearly understood. The lessons that you learn from the Word you are to present to their young minds so plainly that they cannot fail to understand. By simple lessons drawn from the Word of God and their own experience, you may teach them how to conform their lives to the highest standard. Even in childhood and youth they may learn to live thoughtful, earnest lives that will yield a rich harvest of good.  {CG 514.2}
[CG 514.3]          Give Freshest Thought; Use Best Methods.--Our heavenly Father, in giving His Word, did not overlook the children. In all that men have written, where can be found anything that has such a hold upon the heart, anything so well adapted to awaken the interest of the little ones, as the stories of the Bible?  {CG 514.3}
[CG 514.4]          In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles of the law of God. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child's comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfill the Lord's injunction concerning His precepts: "Thou shalt teach them diligently                                                                              515  unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 6:7.  {CG 514.4}
[CG 515.1]          The use of object lessons, blackboards, maps, and pictures will be an aid in explaining these lessons and fixing them in the memory. Parents and teachers should constantly seek for improved methods. The teaching of the Bible should have our freshest thought, our best methods, and our most earnest effort.  {CG 515.1}
[CG 515.2]          Take the Bible as the Guide.--You must make the Bible your guide if you would bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Let the life and character of Christ be presented as the pattern for them to copy. If they err, read to them what the Lord has said concerning similar sins. There is need of constant care and diligence in this work. One wrong trait tolerated by parents, uncorrected by teachers, may cause the whole character to become deformed and unbalanced. Teach the children that they must have a new heart; that new tastes must be created, new motives inspired. They must have help from Christ; they must become acquainted with the character of God as revealed in His Word.  {CG 515.2}
[CG 517.1]       Chap. Seventy-Eight - The Power of Prayer         The Need for Family Prayer.--Every family should rear its altar of prayer, realizing that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If any persons in the world need the strength and encouragement that religion gives, it is those who are responsible for the education and training of children. They cannot do their work in a manner acceptable to God while their daily example teaches those who look to them for guidance that they can live without God. If they educate their children to live for this life only, they will make no preparation for eternity. They will die as they have lived, without God, and parents will be called to account for the loss of their souls. Fathers, mothers, you need to seek God morning and evening at the family altar, that you may learn how to teach your children wisely, tenderly, lovingly.  {CG 517.1}
[CG 517.2]          Family Worship Neglected.--If ever there was a time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now. Infidelity and skepticism prevail. Iniquity abounds. Corruption flows in the vital currents of the soul, and rebellion against God breaks out in the life. Enslaved by sin, the moral powers are under the tyranny of Satan. The soul is made the sport of his temptations; and unless some mighty arm is stretched out to rescue him, man goes where the archrebel leads the way.  {CG 517.2}
[CG 517.3]          And yet, in this time of fearful peril, some who profess to be Christians have no family worship. They do not honor God in the home; they do not teach their children to love and fear Him. Many have separated themselves so far from Him that they feel under condemnation in                                                                              518  approaching Him. They cannot "come boldly unto the throne of grace," "lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." Hebrews 4:16; 1 Timothy 2:8. They have not a living connection with God. Theirs is a form of godliness without the power.  {CG 517.3}
[CG 518.1]          The idea that prayer is not essential is one of Satan's most successful devices to ruin souls. Prayer is communion with God, the Fountain of wisdom, the Source of strength, and peace, and happiness.  {CG 518.1}
[CG 518.2]          Tragedy of a Prayerless Home.--I know of nothing that causes me so great sadness as a prayerless home. I do not feel safe in such a house for a single night; and were it not for the hope of helping the parents to realize their necessity and their sad neglect, I would not remain. The children show the result of this neglect, for the fear of God is not before them.  {CG 518.2}
[CG 518.3]          Formal Prayer Is Not Acceptable.--In many cases the morning and evening worship is little more than a mere form, a dull, monotonous repetition of set phrases in which the spirit of gratitude or the sense of need finds no expression. The Lord accepts not such service. But the petitions of a humble heart and contrite spirit He will not despise. The opening of our hearts to our heavenly Father, the acknowledgment of our entire dependence, the expression of our wants, the homage of grateful love --this is true prayer.  {CG 518.3}
[CG 518.4]          Let There Be Households of Prayer.--Like the patriarchs of old, those who profess to love God should erect an altar to the Lord wherever they pitch their tent. . . . Fathers and mothers should often lift up their hearts to God in humble supplication for themselves and                                                                              519  their children. Let the father, as priest of the household, lay upon the altar of God the morning and evening sacrifice, while the wife and children unite in prayer and praise. In such a household Jesus will love to tarry.  {CG 518.4}
[CG 519.1]          Let the members of every family bear in mind that they are closely allied to heaven. The Lord has a special interest in the families of His children here below. Angels offer the smoke of the fragrant incense for the praying saints. Then in every family let prayer ascend to heaven both in the morning and at the cool sunset hour, in our behalf presenting before God the Saviour's merits. Morning and evening the heavenly universe take notice of every praying household.  {CG 519.1}
[CG 519.2]          Angels Guard Children Dedicated to God.--Before leaving the house for labor, all the family should be called together; and the father, or the mother in the father's absence, should plead fervently with God to keep them through the day. Come in humility, with a heart full of tenderness, and with a sense of the temptations and dangers before yourselves and your children; by faith bind them upon the altar, entreating for them the care of the Lord. Ministering angels will guard children who are thus dedicated to God.  {CG 519.2}
[CG 519.3]         Prayer Makes a Hedge About Children.--In the morning the Christian's first thoughts should be upon God. Worldly labor and self-interest should be secondary. Children should be taught to respect and reverence the hour of prayer. . . . It is the duty of Christian parents, morning and evening, by earnest prayer and persevering faith, to make a hedge about their children. They should patiently instruct them--kindly and untiringly teach them how to live in order to  please God.                                                                              520   {CG 519.3}
[CG 520.1]          Have Fixed Times for Worship.--In every family there should be a fixed time for morning and evening worship. How appropriate it is for parents to gather their children about them before the fast is broken, to thank the heavenly Father for His protection during the night, and to ask Him for His help and guidance and watch care during the day! How fitting, also, when evening comes, for parents and children to gather once more before Him and thank Him for the blessings of the day that is past!  {CG 520.1}
[CG 520.2]          Do Not Be Governed by Circumstances.--Family worship should not be governed by circumstances. You are not to pray occasionally and, when you have a large day's work to do, neglect it. In thus doing you lead your children to look upon prayer as of no special consequence. Prayer means very much to the children of God, and thank offerings should come up before God morning and evening. Says the psalmist, "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms."  {CG 520.2}
[CG 520.3]          Fathers and mothers, however pressing your business, do not fail to gather your family around God's altar. Ask for the guardianship of holy angels in your home. Remember that your dear ones are exposed to temptations.  {CG 520.3}
[CG 520.4]          In our efforts for the comfort and happiness of guests, let us not overlook our obligations to God. The hour of prayer should not be neglected for any consideration. Do not talk and amuse yourselves till all are too weary to enjoy the season of devotion. To do this is to present to God a lame offering. At an early hour of the evening, when we can pray unhurriedly and understandingly, we                                                                              521  should present our supplications and raise our voices in happy, grateful praise.  {CG 520.4}
[CG 521.1]          Let all who visit Christians see that the hour of prayer is the most precious, the most sacred, and the happiest hour of the day. These seasons of devotion exert a refining, elevating influence upon all who participate in them. They bring a peace and rest grateful to the spirit.  {CG 521.1}
[CG 521.2]          Children to Respect the Worship Hour.--Your children should be educated to be kind, thoughtful of others, gentle, easy to be entreated, and, above everything else, to respect religious things and feel the importance of the claims of God. They should be taught to respect the hour of prayer; they should be required to rise in the morning so as to be present at family worship.  {CG 521.2}
[CG 521.3]          Make the Worship Period Interesting.--The father, who is the priest of his household, should conduct the morning and evening worship. There is no reason why this should not be the most interesting and enjoyable exercise of the home life, and God is dishonored when it is made dry and irksome. Let the seasons of family worship be short and spirited. Do not let your children or any member of your family dread them because of their tediousness or lack of interest. When a long chapter is read and explained and a long prayer offered, this precious service becomes wearisome, and it is a relief when it is over.  {CG 521.3}
[CG 521.4]          It should be the special object of the heads of the family to make the hour of worship intensely interesting. By a little thought and careful preparation for this season, when we come into the presence of God, family worship can be made pleasant and will be fraught with results that eternity alone will reveal. Let the father select a                                                                              522  portion of Scripture that is interesting and easily understood; a few verses will be sufficient to furnish a lesson which may be studied and practiced through the day. Questions may be asked, a few earnest, interesting remarks made, or incident, short and to the point, may be brought in by way of illustration. At least a few verses of spirited song may be sung, and the prayer offered should be short and pointed. The one who leads in prayer should not pray about everything, but should express his needs in simple words and praise God with thanksgiving.  {CG 521.4}
[CG 522.1]         In arousing and strengthening a love for Bible study, much depends on the use of the hour of worship. The hours of morning and evening worship should be the sweetest and most helpful of the day. Let it be understood that into these hours no troubled, unkind thoughts are to intrude; that parents and children assemble to meet with Jesus and to invite into the home the presence of holy angels. Let the services be brief and full of life, adapted to the occasion, and varied from time to time. Let all join in the Bible reading and learn and often repeat God's law. It will add to the interest of the children if they are sometimes permitted to select the reading. Question them upon it, and let them ask questions. Mention anything that will serve to illustrate its meaning. When the service is not thus made too lengthy, let the little ones take part in prayer, and let them join in song, if it be but a single verse.  {CG 522.1}
[CG 522.2]          Pray Clearly and Distinctly.--By your own example teach your children to pray with clear, distinct voice. Teach them to lift their heads from the chair and never to cover their faces with their hands. Thus they can offer                                                                              523  their simple prayers, repeating the Lord's prayer in concert.  {CG 522.2}
[CG 523.1]          The Power of Music.--The history of the songs of the Bible is full of suggestion as to the uses and benefits of music and song. Music is often perverted to serve purposes of evil, and it thus becomes one of the most alluring agencies of temptation. But, rightly employed, it is a precious gift of God, designed to uplift the thoughts to high and noble themes, to inspire and elevate the soul. . . .  {CG 523.1}
[CG 523.2]          It is one of the most effective means of impressing the heart with spiritual truth. How often to the soul hard-pressed and ready to despair memory recalls some word of God's--the long-forgotten burden of a childhood song--and temptations lose their power, life takes on new meaning and new purpose, and courage and gladness are imparted to other souls!  {CG 523.2}
[CG 523.3]          The value of song as a means of education should never be lost sight of. Let there be singing in the home, of songs that are sweet and pure, and there will be fewer words of censure and more of cheerfulness and hope and joy. Let there be singing in the school; and the pupils will be drawn closer to God, to their teachers, and to one another.  {CG 523.3}
[CG 523.4]          As a part of religious service singing is as much an act of worship as is prayer. Indeed, many a song is prayer. If the child is taught to realize this, he will think more of the meaning of the words he sings and will be more susceptible to their power.  {CG 523.4}
[CG 523.5]          Instrumental and Vocal.--Evening and morning join with your children in God's worship, reading His Word and singing His praise. Teach them to repeat God's law. Concerning the commandments the Israelites were                                                                              524  instructed: "Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Accordingly Moses directed the Israelites to set the words of the law to music. While the older children played on instruments, the younger ones marched, singing in concert the song of God's commandments. In later years they retained in their minds the words of the law which they learned during childhood.  {CG 523.5}
[CG 524.1]          If it was essential for Moses to embody the commandments in sacred song, so that as they marched in the wilderness, the children could learn to sing the law verse by verse, how essential it is at this time to teach our children God's Word! Let us come up to the help of the Lord, instructing our children to keep the commandments to the letter. Let us do everything in our power to make music in our homes, that God may come in.  {CG 524.1}
[CG 524.2]          Special Worship Period for Sabbath.--At family worship ［on Sabbath］ let the children take a part. Let all bring their Bibles and each read a verse or two. Then let some familiar hymn be sung, followed by prayer. For this, Christ has given a model. The Lord's Prayer was not intended to be repeated merely as a form, but it is an illustration of what our prayers should be--simple, earnest, and comprehensive. In a simple petition tell the Lord your needs and express gratitude for His mercies. Thus you invite Jesus as a welcome guest into your home and heart. In the family long prayers concerning remote objects are not in place. They make the hour of prayer a weariness, when it should be regarded as a privilege and blessing. Make the season one of interest and joy.                                                                              525   {CG 524.2}
[CG 525.1]          More Prayer Means Less Punishment.--We should pray to God much more than we do. There is great strength and blessing in praying together in our families, with and for our children. When my children have done wrong, and I have talked with them kindly and then prayed with them, I have never found it necessary after that to punish them. Their hearts would melt in tenderness before the Holy Spirit that came in answer to prayer.  {CG 525.1}
[CG 525.2]          Benefits of Solitary Prayer.--It was in hours of solitary prayer that Jesus in His earth-life received  wisdom and power. Let the youth follow His example in finding at dawn and twilight a quiet season for  communion with their Father in heaven. And throughout the day let them lift up their hearts to God. At every step of our way He says, "I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand; . . . fear not; I will help thee." Isaiah 41:13. Could our children learn these lessons in the morning of their years, what freshness and power, what joy and sweetness, would be brought into their lives!  {CG 525.2}
[CG 525.3]          The Gates of Heaven Are Open to Every Mother.-- When Christ bowed on the banks of Jordan after His baptism and offered up prayer in behalf of humanity, the heavens were opened; and the Spirit of God, like a dove of burnished gold, encircled the form of the Saviour; and a voice came from heaven which said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  {CG 525.3}
[CG 525.4]          What significance does this have for you? It says that heaven is open to your prayers. It says that you are accepted in the Beloved. The gates are open for every mother who would lay her burden at the Saviour's feet. It says that Christ has encircled the race with His                                                                              526  human arm, and with His divine arm He has grasped the throne of the Infinite and united man with God, and earth with heaven.  {CG 525.4}
[CG 526.1]          The prayers of Christian mothers are not disregarded by the Father of all, who sent His Son to the earth to ransom a people for Himself. He will not turn away your petitions and leave you and yours to the buffetings of Satan in the great day of final conflict. It is for you to work with simplicity and faithfulness, and God will establish the work of your hands.  {CG 526.1}
[CG 527.1]       Chap. Seventy-Nine - Sabbath--The Day of Delight         Prevalent Disregard for the Sabbath.--I have been shown that very many of the parents who profess to believe the solemn message for this time have not trained their children for God. They have not restrained themselves and have been irritated with anyone who attempted to restrain them. They have not by living faith daily bound their children upon the altar of the Lord. Many of these youth have been allowed to transgress the Fourth Commandment, by seeking their own pleasure upon God's holy day. They have felt no compunctions of conscience in going about the streets on the Sabbath for their own amusement. Many go where they please, and do what they please; and their parents are so fearful of displeasing them that, imitating the management of Eli, they lay no commands upon them.  {CG 527.1}
[CG 527.2]          These youth finally lose all respect for the Sabbath and have no relish for religious meetings or for sacred and eternal things.  {CG 527.2}
[CG 527.3]          Heed First Word of the Fourth Commandment.-- "Remember" is placed at the very first of the Fourth Commandment. Parents, you need to remember the Sabbath day yourselves to keep it holy. And if you do this, you are giving the proper instruction to your children; they will reverence God's holy day. . . . Christian education is needed in your homes. All through the week keep the Lord's holy Sabbath in view, for that day is to be devoted to the service of God. It is a day when the hands are to rest from worldly employment, when the soul's needs are to receive especial attention.                                                                              528   {CG 527.3}
[CG 528.1]          When the Sabbath is thus remembered, the temporal will not be allowed to encroach upon the spiritual. No duty pertaining to the six working days will be left for the Sabbath. During the week our energies will not be so exhausted in temporal labor that on the day when the Lord rested and was refreshed, we shall be too weary to engage in His service.  {CG 528.1}
[CG 528.2]         Make Friday the Preparation Day.--On Friday let the preparation for the Sabbath be completed. See that all the clothing is in readiness, and that all the cooking is done. Let the boots be blacked, and the baths be taken. It is possible to do this. If you make it a rule, you can do it. The Sabbath is not to be given to the repairing of garments, to the cooking of food, to pleasure seeking, or to any other worldly employment. Before the setting of the sun, let all secular work be laid aside, and all secular papers be put out of sight. Parents, explain your work and its purpose to your children, and let them share in your preparation to keep the Sabbath according to the commandment.  {CG 528.2}
[CG 528.3]          In many families ［on Sabbath］ boots and shoes are blacked and brushed, and stitches are taken, all because these little odds and ends were not done on Friday. They did not "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." . . .  {CG 528.3}
[CG 528.4]          On Friday the clothing of the children is to be looked after. During the week they should be all laid out by their own hands under the direction of the mother, so that they can dress quietly, without any confusion or rushing about and hasty speeches.  {CG 528.4}
[CG 528.5]          There is another work that should receive attention on the preparation day. On this day all differences between                                                                              529  brethren, whether in the family or in the church, should be put away.  {CG 528.5}
[CG 529.1]          The Sabbath Opens With the Family at Worship.-- Before the setting of the sun, let the members of the  family assemble to read God's Word, to sing and pray. There is need of reform here, for many have been remiss. We need to confess to God and to one another. We should begin anew to make special arrangements that every member of the family may be prepared to honor the day which God has blessed and sanctified.  {CG 529.1}
[CG 529.2]          Sabbath Hours Not Ours but God's.--God has given us the whole of six days in which to do our work, and has reserved only one to Himself. This should be a day of blessing to us--a day when we should lay aside all our secular matters and center our thoughts upon God and heaven.  {CG 529.2}
[CG 529.3]          When the Sabbath commences, we should place a guard upon ourselves, upon our acts and our words, lest we rob God by appropriating to our own use that time which is strictly the Lord's. We should not do ourselves, nor suffer our children to do, any manner of our own work for a livelihood or anything which could have been done on the six working days. Friday is the day of preparation. Time can then be devoted to making the necessary  preparation for the Sabbath and to thinking and conversing about it. Nothing which will in the sight of Heaven be regarded as a violation of the holy Sabbath should be left unsaid or undone, to be said or done upon the Sabbath. God requires not only that we refrain from physical labor upon the Sabbath, but that the mind be disciplined to dwell upon sacred themes. The Fourth Commandment is virtually transgressed by conversing                                                                              530  upon worldly things or by engaging in light and trifling conversation. Talking upon anything or everything which may come into the mind is speaking our own words. Every deviation from right brings us into bondage and condemnation.  {CG 529.3}
[CG 530.1]          Sabbath Time Too Precious to Sleep Away.--None should permit themselves, through the week, to become so absorbed in their temporal interests, and so exhausted by their efforts for worldly gain, that on the Sabbath they have no strength or energy to give to the service of God. We are robbing the Lord when we unfit ourselves to worship Him upon His holy day. And we are robbing ourselves as well; for we need the warmth and glow of association, as well as the strength to be gained from the wisdom and experience of other Christians.  {CG 530.1}
[CG 530.2]          Let not the precious hours of the Sabbath be wasted in bed. On Sabbath morning the family should be astir early. If they rise late, there is confusion and bustle in preparing for breakfast and Sabbath school. There is hurrying, jostling, and impatience. Thus unholy feelings come into the home. The Sabbath, thus desecrated, becomes a weariness, and its coming is dreaded rather than loved.  {CG 530.2}
[CG 530.3]          Attend Public Worship With Children.--Fathers and mothers should make it a rule that their children attend public worship on the Sabbath, and should enforce the rule by their own example. It is our duty to command our children and our household after us, as did Abraham. By example as well as precept we should impress upon them the importance of religious teaching. All who have taken the baptismal vow have solemnly consecrated themselves to the service of God; they are                                                                              531  under covenant obligation to place themselves and their children where they may obtain all possible incentives and encouragement in the Christian life.  {CG 530.3}
[CG 531.1]          But while we worship God, we are not to consider this a drudgery. The Sabbath of the Lord is to be made a blessing to us and to our children. They are to look upon the Sabbath as a day of delight, a day which God has sanctified; and they will so consider it if they are properly instructed.  {CG 531.1}
[CG 531.2]          Wear Comely Garments for the House of Worship.-- Many need instruction as to how they should appear in the assembly for worship on the Sabbath. They are not to enter the presence of God in the common clothing worn during the week. All should have a special Sabbath suit, to be worn when attending service in God's house. While we should not conform to worldly fashions, we are not to be indifferent in regard to our outward appearance. We are to be neat and trim, though without adornment. The children of God should be pure within and without.  {CG 531.2}
[CG 531.3]          Explain Sabbath Sermon to the Children.--Ministers are engaged in a sacred, solemn work, but upon those who hear rests just as sacred a responsibility. They are to hear with a determination to follow the instruction that all must practice who gain eternal life. Each hearer should strive to understand each presentation of Bible truth as God's message to him, to be received by faith and put into practice in the daily life. Parents should explain to their children the words spoken from the pulpit, that they also may understand and have that knowledge which if put into practice brings abundant grace and peace.                                                                              532   {CG 531.3}
[CG 532.1]          Provide Special Treat for Mealtime.--We should not provide for the Sabbath a more liberal supply or a greater variety of food than for other days. Instead of this the food should be more simple, and less should be eaten, in order that the mind may be clear and vigorous to comprehend spiritual things. Overeating befogs the brain. The most precious words may be heard and not appreciated, because the mind is confused by an improper diet. By overeating on the Sabbath, many have done more than they think to dishonor God.  {CG 532.1}
[CG 532.2]          While cooking upon the Sabbath should be avoided, it is not necessary to eat cold food. In cold weather let the food prepared the day before be heated. And let the meals, though simple, be palatable and attractive. Provide something that will be regarded as a treat, something the family do not have every day.  {CG 532.2}
[CG 532.3]          The Rest of the Day Is Precious.--The Sabbath school and the meeting for worship occupy only a part of the Sabbath. The portion remaining to the family may be made the most sacred and precious season of all the Sabbath hours. Much of this time parents should spend with their children.  {CG 532.3}
[CG 532.4]          Plan Suitable Reading and Conversation.--The Sabbath--oh!--make it the sweetest, the most blessed day of the week. . . .  {CG 532.4}
[CG 532.5]          Parents can and should give attention to their  children, reading to them the most attractive portions of Bible history, educating them to reverence the Sabbath day, keeping it according to the commandment. This cannot be done if the parents feel no burden to interest their children. But they can make the Sabbath a delight if they will take the proper course. The children can be                                                                              533  interested in good reading or in conversation about the salvation of their souls. But they will have to be educated and trained. The natural heart does not love to think of God, of heaven, or of heavenly things. There must be a continual pressing back of the current of worldliness and inclination to evil and a letting in of heavenly light.  {CG 532.5}
[CG 533.1]          Not Indifferent to Children's Activities.--I have found that on the Sabbath day many are indifferent and do not know where their children are or what they are doing.  {CG 533.1}
[CG 533.2]          Parents, above everything take care of your children upon the Sabbath. Do not suffer them to violate God's holy day by playing in the house or out-of-doors. You may just as well break the Sabbath yourselves as to let your children do it, and when you suffer your children to wander about and suffer them to play upon the Sabbath, God looks upon you as Sabbathbreakers.  {CG 533.2}
[CG 533.3]          Out-of-doors With the Children.--The parents may take their children outdoors to view God in nature. They can be pointed to the blooming flowers and the opening buds, the lofty trees and beautiful spires of grass, and taught that God made all these in six days and rested on the seventh day and hallowed it. Thus the parents may bind up their lessons of instruction to their children, so that when these children look upon the things of nature, they will call to mind the great Creator of them all. Their thoughts will be carried up to nature's God-- back to the creation of our world, when the foundation of the Sabbath was laid, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Such are the lessons to be impressed on the minds of our children.  {CG 533.3}
[CG 533.4]          We are not to teach our children that they must not                                                                              534  be happy on the Sabbath, that it is wrong to walk out-of-doors. Oh, no. Christ led His disciples out by the lakeside on the Sabbath day and taught them. His sermons on the Sabbath were not always preached within enclosed walls.  {CG 533.4}
[CG 534.1]          Other Lessons From Nature--Object Lessons.-- Teach the children to see Christ in nature. Take them out into the open air, under the noble trees, into the garden; and in all the wonderful works of creation teach them to see an expression of His love. Teach them that He made the laws which govern all living things, that He has made laws for us, and that these laws are for our happiness and joy. Do not weary them with long prayers and tedious exhortations, but through nature's object lessons teach them obedience to the law of God.  {CG 534.1}
[CG 534.2]          Give True Concept of God's Character.--How can children receive a more correct knowledge of God, and their minds be better impressed, than in spending a portion of their time out-of-doors, not in play, but in company with their parents? Let their young minds be associated with God in the beautiful scenery of nature; let their attention be called to the tokens of His love to man in His created works, and they will be attracted and interested. They will not be in danger of associating the character of God with everything that is stern and severe; but as they view the beautiful things which He has created for the happiness of man, they will be led to regard Him as a tender, loving Father. They will see that His prohibitions and injunctions are not made merely to show His power and authority, but that He has the happiness of His children in view. As the character of God puts on the aspect of love, benevolence, beauty, and                                                                              535  attraction, they are drawn to love Him. You can direct their minds to the lovely birds making the air musical with their happy songs, to the spires of grass and the gloriously tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air. All these proclaim the love and skill of the heavenly Artist and show forth the glory of God.  {CG 534.2}
[CG 535.1]          Parents, why not make use of the precious lessons which God has given us in the book of nature, to give our children a correct idea of His character? Those who sacrifice simplicity to fashion and shut themselves away from the beauties of nature cannot be spiritually minded. They cannot understand the skill and power of God as revealed in His created works; therefore their hearts do not quicken and throb with new love and interest, and they are not filled with awe and reverence as they see God in nature.  {CG 535.1}
[CG 535.2]          A Day to Live the Life of Eden.--The value of the Sabbath as a means of education is beyond estimate. Whatever of ours God claims from us, He returns again, enriched, transfigured, with His own glory. . . .  {CG 535.2}
[CG 535.3]          The Sabbath and the family were alike instituted in Eden, and in God's purpose they are indissolubly linked together. On this day more than on any other, it is possible for us to live the life of Eden. It was God's plan for the members of the family to be associated in work and study, in worship and recreation, the father as priest of his household, and both father and mother as teachers and companions of their children. But the results of sin, having changed the conditions of life, to a great degree prevent this association. Often the father hardly sees the faces of his children throughout the week. He is almost wholly deprived of opportunity for companionship or                                                                              536  instruction. But God's love has set a limit to the demands of toil. Over the Sabbath He places His merciful hand. In His own day He preserves for the family opportunity for communion with Him, with nature, and with one another.  {CG 535.3}
[CG 536.1]          Make the Sabbath a Delight.--All who love God should do what they can to make the Sabbath a delight, holy and honorable. They cannot do this by seeking their own pleasure in sinful, forbidden amusements. Yet they can do much to exalt the Sabbath in their families and make it the most interesting day of the week. We should devote time to interesting our children. A change will have a happy influence upon them. We can walk out with them in the open air; we can sit with them in the groves and in the bright sunshine, and give their restless minds something to feed upon by conversing with them upon the works of God, and can inspire them with love and reverence by calling their attention to the beautiful objects in nature.  {CG 536.1}
[CG 536.2]          The Sabbath should be made so interesting to our families that its weekly return will be hailed with joy. In no better way can parents exalt and honor the Sabbath than by devising means to impart proper instruction to their families and interesting them in spiritual things, giving them correct views of the character of God and what He requires of us in order to perfect Christian characters and attain to eternal life. Parents, make the Sabbath a delight, that your children may look forward to it and have a welcome in their hearts for it.  {CG 536.2}
[CG 536.3]          A Fitting Climax in Prayer and Song.--As the sun goes down, let the voice of prayer and the hymn of praise                                                                              537  mark the close of the sacred hours, and invite God's presence through the cares of the week of labor.  {CG 536.3}
[CG 537.1]          Thus parents can make the Sabbath, as it should be, the most joyful day of the week. They can lead their children to regard it as a delight, the day of days, the holy of the Lord, honorable.  {CG 537.1}
[CG 538.1]       Chap. Eighty - Reverence for that which is Holy         The Precious Grace of Reverence.--Another precious grace that should be carefully cherished is reverence.  {CG 538.1}
[CG 538.2]          The education and training of the youth should be of a character that would exalt sacred things, and encourage pure devotion for God in His house. Many who profess to be children of the heavenly King have no true appreciation of the sacredness of eternal things.  {CG 538.2}
[CG 538.3]          God Is to Be Had in Reverence.--True reverence for God is inspired by a sense of His infinite greatness and a realization of His presence. With this sense of the Unseen the heart of every child should be deeply impressed.  {CG 538.3}
[CG 538.4]          "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him." Psalm 89:7.  {CG 538.4}
[CG 538.5]         His Name Is to Be Revered.--Reverence should be shown also for the name of God. Never should that name be spoken lightly or thoughtlessly. Even in prayer its frequent or needless repetition should be avoided. "Holy and reverend is his name." Psalm 111:9. Angels, as they speak it, veil their faces. With what reverence should we, who are fallen and sinful, take it upon our lips!  {CG 538.5}
[CG 538.6]         His Word Is Sacred.--We should reverence God's Word. For the printed volume we should show respect, never putting it to common uses or handling it carelessly. And never should Scripture be quoted in a jest or                                                                              539  paraphrased to point a witty saying. "Every word of God is pure"; "as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." (Proverbs 30:5; Psalm 12:6.)  {CG 538.6}
[CG 539.1]         Children should be taught to respect every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Parents are ever to magnify the precepts of the law of the Lord before their children, by showing obedience to that law, by themselves living under the control of God. If a sense of the sacredness of the law takes possession of the parents, it will surely transform the character by converting the soul.  {CG 539.1}
[CG 539.2]          The Place of Prayer--God Is There.--In every Christian home God should be honored by the morning and evening sacrifices of prayer and praise. Children should be taught to respect and reverence the hour of prayer.  {CG 539.2}
[CG 539.3]          The hour and place of prayer and the services of public worship the child should be taught to regard as sacred because God is there. And as reverence is manifested in attitude and demeanor, the feeling that inspires it will be deepened.  {CG 539.3}
[CG 539.4]          The House of God--His Holy Temple.--Well would it be for young and old to study and ponder and often repeat those words of Holy Writ that show how the place marked by God's special presence should be regarded.  {CG 539.4}
[CG 539.5]          "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet," He commanded Moses at the burning bush, "for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Exodus 3:5.  {CG 539.5}
[CG 539.6]          Jacob, after beholding the vision of the angels, exclaimed, "The Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. . . . This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." Genesis 28:16, 17.                                                                              540   {CG 539.6}
[CG 540.1]          "The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him." Habakkuk 2:20.  {CG 540.1}
[CG 540.2]          Many . . . have no true appreciation of the sacredness of eternal things. Nearly all need to be taught how to conduct themselves in the house of God. Parents should not only teach, but command, their children to enter the sanctuary with sobriety and reverence.  {CG 540.2}
[CG 540.3]          Guard Against a Growing Carelessness.--From the sacredness which was attached to the earthly sanctuary, Christians may learn how they should regard the place where the Lord meets with His people. There has been a great change, not for the better, but for the worse, in the habits and customs of the people in reference to religious worship. The precious, the sacred things which connect us with God are fast losing their hold upon our minds and hearts and are being brought down to the level of the common things. The reverence which the people had anciently for the sanctuary, where they met with God in sacred service, has largely passed away. Nevertheless God Himself gave the order of His service, exalting it high above everything of a temporal nature.  {CG 540.3}
[CG 540.4]          The house of God is often desecrated, and the Sabbath violated by Sabbath-believers' children. In some cases they are even allowed to run about the house, play, talk, and manifest their evil tempers in the very meetings where the saints should worship God in the beauty of holiness. And the place that should be holy, and where a holy stillness should reign, and where there should be perfect order, neatness, and humility, is made to be a perfect Babylon, "confusion." This is enough to bring God's displeasure and shut His presence from our assemblies.                                                                              541   {CG 540.4}
[CG 541.1]          We Have More Reasons for Reverence Than the Hebrews.--It is too true that reverence for the house of God has become almost extinct. Sacred things and places are not discerned; the holy and exalted are not appreciated. Is there not a cause for the want of fervent piety in our families? Is it not because the high standard of religion is left to trail in the dust? God gave rules of order, perfect and exact, to His ancient people. Has His character changed? Is He not the great and mighty God who rules in the heaven of heavens? Would it not be well for us often to read the directions given by God Himself to the Hebrews, that we who have the light of the glorious truth shining upon us may imitate their reverence for the house of God? We have abundant reason . . . even to be more thoughtful and reverential in our worship than had the Jews. But an enemy has been at work to destroy our faith in the sacredness of Christian worship.  {CG 541.1}
[CG 541.2]          The Church--the Sanctuary of the Congregation.-- The house is the sanctuary for the family, and the closet or the grove the most retired place for individual worship; but the church is the sanctuary for the congregation. There should be rules in regard to the time, the place, and the manner of worshiping.  {CG 541.2}
[CG 541.3]          Teach Children to Enter Reverently.--Parents, elevate the standard of Christianity in the minds of your children; help them to weave Jesus into their experience; teach them to have the highest reverence for the house of God and to understand that when they enter the Lord's house, it should be with hearts that are softened and subdued by such thoughts as these: "God is here; this is His house. I must have pure thoughts and the holiest motives. I must have no pride, envy, jealousy, evil surmising,                                                                              542  hatred, or deception in my heart; for I am coming into the presence of the holy God. This is the place where God meets with and blesses His people. The high and holy One who inhabiteth eternity looks upon me, searches my heart, and reads the most secret thoughts and acts of my life."  {CG 541.3}
[CG 542.1]          Remain With Their Parents.--The moral taste of the worshipers in God's holy sanctuary must be elevated, refined, sanctified. This matter has been sadly neglected. Its importance has been overlooked, and as the result disorder and irreverence have become prevalent, and God has been dishonored. When the leaders in the church, ministers and people, fathers and mothers, have not had elevated views of this matter, what could be expected of the inexperienced children? They are too often found in groups, away from the parents, who should have charge of them. Notwithstanding they are in the presence of God, and His eye is looking upon them; they are light and trifling; they whisper and laugh, are careless, irreverent, and inattentive.  {CG 542.1}
[CG 542.2]          To Be Sober and Quiet.--Do not have so little reverence for the house and worship of God as to communicate with one another during the sermon. If those who commit this fault could see the angels of God looking upon them and marking their doings, they would be filled with shame and abhorrence of themselves. God wants attentive hearers. It was while men slept that the enemy sowed tares.  {CG 542.2}
[CG 542.3]          Not to Act as in a Common Place.--There should be a sacred spot, like the sanctuary of old, where God is to meet with His people. That place should not be used as                                                                              543  a lunchroom or as a business room, but simply for the worship of God. When children attend day school in the same place where they assemble to worship on the Sabbath, they cannot be made to feel the sacredness of the place, and that they must enter with feelings of reverence. The sacred and common are so blended that it is difficult to distinguish them.  {CG 542.3}
[CG 543.1]          It is for this reason that the house or sanctuary dedicated to God should not be made a common place. Its sacredness should not be confused or mingled with the common everyday feelings or business life. There should be a solemn awe upon the worshipers as they enter the sanctuary, and they should leave behind all common worldly thoughts, for it is the place where God reveals His presence. It is as the audience chamber of the great and eternal God; therefore pride and passion, dissension and self-esteem, selfishness, and covetousness, which God pronounces idolatry, are inappropriate for such a place.  {CG 543.1}
[CG 543.2]          To Manifest No Spirit of Levity.--Parents, it is your duty to have your children in perfect subjection, having all their passions and evil tempers subdued. And if children are taken to meeting, they should be made to know and understand where they are--that they are not at home, but where God meets with His people. And they should be kept quiet and free from all play, and God will turn His face toward you, to meet with you and bless you.  {CG 543.2}
[CG 543.3]          If order is observed in the assemblies of the saints, the truth will have better effect upon all that hear it. A solemnity which is so much needed will be encouraged, and there will be power in the truth to stir up the depths of the soul, and a deathlike stupor will not hang upon                                                                              544  those who hear. Believers and unbelievers will be affected. It has seemed evident that in some places the ark of God was removed from the church, for the holy commandments have been violated and the strength of Israel has been weakened.  {CG 543.3}
[CG 544.1]          Take the Disturbing Child Out.--Your child should be taught to obey as the children of God obey Him. If this standard is maintained, a word from you will have some weight when your child is restless in the house of God. But if the children cannot be restrained, if the parents feel that the restraint is too much of an exaction, the child should be removed from the church at once; it should not be left to divert the minds of the hearers by talking or running about. God is dishonored by the loose way in which parents manage their children while at church.  {CG 544.1}
[CG 544.2]          Irreverence Encouraged by Display of Apparel.-- All should be taught to be neat, clean, and orderly in their dress, but not to indulge in that external adorning which is wholly inappropriate for the sanctuary. There should be no display of the apparel, for this encourages irreverence. . . . All matters of dress should be strictly guarded, following closely the Bible rule. Fashion has been the goddess who has ruled the outside world, and she often insinuates herself into the church. The church should make the Word of God her standard, and parents should think intelligently upon this subject.  {CG 544.2}
[CG 544.3]          Show Reverence for Ministers--God's Representatives.--Reverence should be shown for God's representatives--for ministers, teachers, and parents who are called to speak and act in His stead. In the respect shown to them He is honored.                                                                              545   {CG 544.3}
[CG 545.1]          They ［children］ are seldom instructed that the minister is God's ambassador, that the message he brings is one of God's appointed agencies in the salvation of souls, and that to all who have the privilege brought within their reach, it will be a savor of life unto life or of death unto death.  {CG 545.1}
[CG 545.2]          Nothing that is sacred, nothing that pertains to the worship of God, should be treated with carelessness and indifference. When the word of life is spoken, you should remember that you are listening to the voice of God through His delegated servant. Do not lose these words through inattention; if heeded, they may keep your feet from straying into wrong paths.  {CG 545.2}
[CG 545.3]          Accountability of Critical Parents.--Parents, be careful what example and what ideas you give your children. Their minds are plastic, and impressions are easily made. In regard to the service of the sanctuary, if the speaker has a blemish, be afraid to mention it. Talk only of the good work he is doing, of the good ideas he presented, which you should heed as coming through God's agent. It may be readily seen why children are so little impressed with the ministry of the Word, and why they have so little reverence for the house of God. Their education has been defective in this respect.  {CG 545.3}
[CG 545.4]          The delicate and susceptible minds of the youth obtain their estimate of the labors of God's servants by the way their parents treat the matter. Many heads of families make the service a subject of criticism at home, approving a few things and condemning others. Thus the message of God to men is criticized and questioned and made a subject of levity. What impressions are thus made upon the young by these careless, irreverent remarks, the                                                                              546  books of heaven alone will reveal. The children see and understand these things very much quicker than parents are apt to think. Their moral senses receive a wrong bias that time will never fully change. The parents mourn over the hardness of heart in their children and the difficulty in arousing their moral sensibility to answer to the claims of God. But the books of heavenly record trace with unerring pen the true cause. The parents were unconverted. They were not in harmony with Heaven or with Heaven's work. Their low, common ideas of the sacredness of the ministry and of the sanctuary of God were woven into the education of their children.  {CG 545.4}
[CG 546.1]          It is a question whether anyone who has for years been under this blighting influence of home instruction will ever have a sensitive reverence and high regard for God's ministry and the agencies He has appointed for the salvation of souls. These things should be spoken of with reverence, with propriety of language, and with fine susceptibility, that you may reveal to all you associate with that you regard the message from God's servants as a message to you from God Himself.  {CG 546.1}
[CG 546.2]          Practice Reverence Till It Becomes Habitual.-- Reverence is greatly needed in the youth of this age. I am alarmed as I see children and youth of religious parents so heedless of the order and propriety that should be observed in the house of God. While God's servants are presenting the words of life to the people, some will be reading, others whispering and laughing. Their eyes are sinning by diverting the attention of those around them. This habit, if allowed to remain unchecked, will grow and influence others.  {CG 546.2}
[CG 546.3]          Children and youth should never feel that it is                                                                              547  something to be proud of to be indifferent and careless in meetings where God is worshiped. God sees every irreverent thought or action, and it is registered in the books of heaven. He says, "I know thy works." Nothing is hid from His all-searching eye. If you have formed in any degree the habit of inattention and indifference in the house of God, exercise the powers you have to correct it, and show that you have self-respect. Practice reverence until it becomes a part of yourself.  {CG 546.3}
[CG 548.1]      Chap. Eighty-One - Co-Ordination of Home and Church         Begin the Work of Grace in the Home.--Parents, begin the work of grace in the church in your own home, so conducting yourselves that your children will see that you are co-operating with the heavenly angels. Be sure that you are converted every day. Train yourselves and your children for life eternal in the kingdom of God. Angels will be your strong helpers. Satan will tempt you, but do not yield. Do not speak one word of which the enemy can take an advantage.  {CG 548.1}
[CG 548.2]          Truth is pure and uncorrupted. Let it dwell in the heart. Let the determination of each member of the family be, "I will be a Christian, for in the school here below I must form a character which will give me entrance into the higher grade in heaven. I must do to others as I desire them to do to me, for only those who reveal Christ in this world can enter the courts of heaven."  {CG 548.2}
[CG 548.3]          Make the home life as nearly as possible like heaven. Let the members of the family forget not, as they gather round the family altar, to pray for the men in positions of responsibility in God's work.  {CG 548.3}
[CG 548.4]          Those who govern their families in the right way will bring into the church an influence of order and reverence. They will represent the attributes of mercy and justice as standing hand in hand. They will reveal to their children the character of Christ. The law of kindness and love upon their lips will not make their commands weak and                                                                              549  without authority, and their injunctions will not be met with disobedience.  {CG 548.4}
[CG 549.1]          Model Homes Make a Model Church.--Every family is a church, over which the parents preside. The first consideration of the parents should be to work for the salvation of their children. When the father and mother as priest and teacher of the family take their position fully on the side of Christ, a good influence will be exerted in the home. And this sanctified influence will be felt in the church and will be recognized by every believer. Because of the great lack of piety and sanctification in the home, the work of God is greatly hindered. No man can bring into the church an influence that he does not exert in his home life and in his business relations.  {CG 549.1}
[CG 549.2]          Proper Church Conduct Is Learned at Home.-- The home is a school where all may learn how they are to act in the church. When all are members of the royal family, there will be true politeness in the home life. Each member of the family will seek to make it pleasant for every other member. The angels of God, who minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation, will help you to make your family a model of the heavenly family. Let there be peace in the home, and there will be peace in the church. This precious experience brought into the church will be the means of creating a kindly affection one for another. Quarrels will cease. True Christian courtesy will be seen among church members. The world will take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus and have learned of Him. What an impression the church would make upon the world if all the members would live Christian lives!                                                                              550   {CG 549.2}
[CG 550.1]          Why There Is Weakness in the Church.--Many seem to think that the declension in the church, the growing love of pleasure, is due to want of pastoral work. True, the church is to be provided with faithful guides and pastors. Ministers should labor earnestly for the youth who have not given themselves to Christ, and also for others who, though their names are on the church roll, are irreligious and Christless. But ministers may do their work faithfully and well, yet it will amount to very little if parents neglect their work. It is to a lack of Christianity in the home life that the lack of power in the church is due. Until parents take up their work as they should, it will be difficult to arouse the youth to a sense of their duty. If religion reigns in the home, it will be brought into the church. The parents who do their work for God are a power for good. As they restrain and encourage their children, bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, they bless the neighborhood in which they live. And the church is strengthened by their faithful work.  {CG 550.1}
[CG 550.2]          Neglectful Parents Cannot Uplift the Church.-- If disobedience is allowed in the home life, the hearts of the children will be filled with opposition to the government of God. The power of the Holy Spirit will prove ineffectual to soften and subdue their hearts. If in later years, under special circumstances, they yield to the gospel of Christ, they will have to fight terrible battles to bring the disloyal will into submission to the will of God. Often the church has to suffer through its members because of the wrong education received by them in childhood. When children, they were allowed to practice deception in order to gain their own way; and the spirit                                                                              551  that was permitted to be rebellious in the home will be the last to render obedience to the requirements of God's Word.  {CG 550.2}
[CG 551.1]          Spirituality May Be Killed by Criticism.--When you are tempted to speak cross words, pray for grace to resist the temptation. Remember that your children will speak as they hear you speaking. By your example you are educating them. Remember that if you speak cross words to fellow church members, you would speak the same kind of words in heaven, were you permitted to enter there. . . .  {CG 551.1}
[CG 551.2]          After the family then comes the church. The influence of the family is to be such that it will be a help and a blessing in the church. Never speak a word of complaint or faultfinding. There are churches in which the spirituality has been almost killed, because the spirit of backbiting has been allowed to enter. Why do we speak words of blame and censure? To be silent is the strongest rebuke that you can give to one who is speaking harsh, discourteous words to you. Keep perfectly silent. Often silence is eloquence.  {CG 551.2}
[CG 551.3]          In Care for Unfortunate Youth.--Young men and women who are not under home influences need someone to look after them and to manifest some interest for them; and those who do this are supplying a great lack and are as verily doing a work for God and the salvation of souls as the minister in the pulpit. This work of disinterested benevolence in laboring for the good of the youth is no more than God requires of every one of us. How earnestly should the experienced Christian work to prevent the formation of those habits that indelibly mar the                                                                              552  character! Let the followers of Christ make the Word of God attractive to the youth.  {CG 551.3}
[CG 552.1]          The Minister Has a Special Opportunity.--At every suitable opportunity let the story of Jesus' love be repeated to the children. In every sermon let a little corner be left for their benefit. The servant of Christ may make lasting friends of these little ones. Then let him lose no opportunity of helping them to become more intelligent in a knowledge of the Scriptures. This will do more than we realize to bar the way against Satan's devices. If children early become familiar with the truths of God's Word, a barrier against ungodliness will be erected, and they will be able to meet the foe with the words, "It is written."  {CG 552.1}
[CG 552.2]          Be As Faithful at Home As at Worship.--Parents, as teachers of your loved ones the truth should have a controlling power over your conscience and your understanding, presiding over word and deed. Be as faithful in your home life as you are in the worship of God. Give a right character to all within the home. Angels of God are present, noting how the younger members of the Lord's family are treated. The religion of the home will surely be brought into the church.  {CG 552.2}
[CG 555.1]       Chap. Eighty-Two - The Hour is Late         Satan Is Marshaling His Host.--Satan is marshaling his host, and are we individually prepared for the fearful conflict that is just before us? Are we preparing ourselves and our households to understand the position of our adversaries and their modes of warfare? Are our children forming habits of decision, that they may be firm and unyielding in every matter of principle and duty? I pray that we all may understand the signs of the times, and that we may so prepare ourselves and our children that in the time of conflict God may be our refuge and defense.  {CG 555.1}
[CG 555.2]          Prepare for an Overwhelming Surprise.-- Transgression has almost reached its limit. Confusion fills the world, and a great terror is soon to come upon human beings. The end is very near. God's people should be preparing for what is to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.  {CG 555.2}
[CG 555.3]          Our time is precious. We have but a few, a very few, days of probation in which to make ready for the future, immortal life.  {CG 555.3}
[CG 555.4]          Many Families Unprepared.--On Sabbath and Sunday, in visions of the night, I seemed to be bearing my testimony before the people. On both these occasions I seemed to be in a mammoth tent which was literally packed. The Lord gave me a decided message for the people. My burden was for our families who are unprepared to meet the Lord. A special burden was upon me to point out to our people the need of seeking the Lord with close searching of heart and earnestness of purpose. . . .                                                                              556   {CG 555.4}
[CG 556.1]          Parents who are truly converted will reveal in their home life that they are bringing their lives under the discipline of the Word of God. . . . To the mother and father the right training of their children is the most important work of their life.  {CG 556.1}
[CG 556.2]          Solemn Questions for Parents.--Fathers and mothers, how stands your record? Have you been faithful to your trust? As you have seen your children inclined to follow a course that you knew would result in impurity of thought and word and act, have you, first asking God for help, tried to show them their danger? Have you pointed out to them the peril of taking a path of their own choosing? Mothers, have you neglected your God-given work--the greatest work ever committed to mortals? Have you refused to bear your God-given responsibilities? In the time of trouble just before us, when the judgments of God fall upon the impure and unholy, will your children curse you because of your indulgence?  {CG 556.2}
[CG 556.3]          Parents New in the Message Need Instruction.-- Those who bear the last message of mercy to the world should feel it their duty to instruct parents in regard to home religion. Their great reformatory movement must begin in presenting to fathers and mothers and children the principles of the law of God. As the claims of the law are presented, and men and women are convicted of their duty to render obedience, show them the responsibility of their decision, not only for themselves but for their children. Show that obedience to God's Word is our only safeguard against the evils that are sweeping the world to destruction.  {CG 556.3}
[CG 556.4]          Our Youth Need Help and Encouragement.--Now is our time and opportunity to labor for the young people.                                                                              557  Tell them that we are now in a perilous crisis, and we want to know how to discern true godliness. Our young people need to be helped, uplifted, and encouraged, but in the right manner; not, perhaps, as they would desire it, but in a way that will help them to have sanctified minds. They need good, sanctifying religion more than anything else.  {CG 556.4}
[CG 557.1]          Do Not Delay.--Coming events are casting their shadows upon our pathway. Fathers, mothers, I appeal to you to make most earnest efforts now for your children. Give them daily religious instruction. Teach them to love God and to be true to the principles of right. With lofty, earnest faith, directed by the divine influence of the Holy Spirit, work, work now. Do not put it off one day, one hour.  {CG 557.1}
[CG 557.2]          Do a Thorough Work.--Parents, humble your hearts before God. Begin a thorough work with your children. Plead with the Lord to forgive your disregard of His Word in neglecting to train your children in the way they should go. Ask for light and guidance, for a tender conscience, and for clear discernment that you may see your mistakes and failures. God will hear such prayers from a humble and contrite heart.  {CG 557.2}
[CG 557.3]          Confession May Be Necessary.--If you have failed in your duty to your families, confess your sins before God. Gather your children about you and acknowledge your neglect. Tell them that you desire to bring about a reformation in the home, and ask them to help you to make the home what it ought to be. Read to them the directions found in the Word of God. Pray with them; and ask God to spare their lives, and to help them to prepare for a home in His kingdom. In this way you may                                                                              558  begin a work of reformation; and then continue to keep the way of the Lord.  {CG 557.3}
[CG 558.1]          Give Children an Example of Strict Obedience.-- The special work of parents is to make the laws of God plain to their children and to urge their obedience to them, that they may see the importance of obeying God all the days of their life. This was the work of Moses. He was to enjoin upon parents their duty to give to their children an example of strict obedience. And this is the work that above everything else must be done in the home life today. It is to accompany the third angel's message. Ignorance is no excuse why parents should neglect to teach their children what it means to transgress the law of God. The light is abundant, and none need to walk in darkness, none need to be in ignorance. God is as verily our instructor today as He was the teacher of the children of Israel, and all are bound by the most sacred obligations to obey His laws.  {CG 558.1}
[CG 558.2]          Pray and Work for Their Salvation.--Teach your children that the heart must be trained to self-control and self-denial. The motives of the life must be in harmony with the law of God. Never be satisfied to have your children grow up apart from Christ. Never feel at ease while they are cold and indifferent. Cry to God day and night. Pray and work for the salvation of the souls of your children. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." It is the mainspring, the balance wheel of character. Without the fear of the Lord, they will fail of accomplishing the great object of their creation.  {CG 558.2}
[CG 558.3]          Act as Character Builders.--Seventh-day Adventist parents should more fully realize their responsibilities as                                                                              559  character builders. God places before them the privilege of strengthening His cause through the consecration and labors of their children. He desires to see gathered out from the homes of our people a large company of youth who, because of the godly influences of their homes, have surrendered their hearts to Him and go forth to give Him the highest service of their lives. Directed and trained by the godly instruction of the home, the influence of the morning and evening worship, the consistent example of parents who love and fear God, they have learned to submit to God as their teacher and are prepared to render Him acceptable service as loyal sons and daughters. Such youth are prepared to represent to the world the power and grace of Christ.  {CG 558.3}
[CG 560.1]       Chap. Eighty-Three - The Rewards         A Graphic Scene of the Judgment Day.--I had a dream once in which I saw a large company gathered together; and suddenly the heavens gathered blackness, the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, and a voice louder than the heaviest peals of thunder sounded through the heavens and the earth, saying, "It is done." Part of the company, with pallid faces, sprang forward with a wail of agony, crying out, "Oh, I am not ready." The question was asked, "Why are you not ready? Why have you not improved the opportunities I graciously gave you?" I awoke with the crying ringing in my ears. "I am not ready; I am unsaved--lost! lost! eternally lost!"  {CG 560.1}
[CG 560.2]          In view of the solemn responsibilities that rest upon us, let us contemplate the future, that we may understand what we must do in order to meet it. In that day shall we be confronted with neglect and contempt of God and His mercy, with rejection of His truth and love? In the solemn assembly of the last day, in the hearing of the universe, will be read the reason of the condemnation of the sinner. For the first time parents will learn what has been the secret life of their children. Children will see how many wrongs they have committed against their parents. There will be a general revealing of the secrets and motives of the heart, for that which is hid will be made manifest. Those who have made sport of solemn things connected with the judgment will be sobered as they face its terrible reality.  {CG 560.2}
[CG 560.3]          Those who have despised the Word of God will then face the Author of the inspired oracles. We cannot afford                                                                              561  to live with no reference to the day of judgment; for though long delayed, it is now near, even at the door, and hasteth greatly. The trumpet of the Archangel will soon startle the living and wake the dead. At that day the wicked will be separated from the just, as the shepherd divides the goats from the sheep.  {CG 560.3}
[CG 561.1]          When God Asks, "Where Are the Children?"-- Parents who have neglected their God-given responsibilities must meet that neglect in the judgment. The Lord will then inquire, "Where are the children that I gave you to train for Me? Why are they not at My right hand?" Many parents will then see that unwise love blinded their eyes to their children's faults and left those children to develop deformed characters unfit for heaven. Others will see that they did not give their children time and attention, love and tenderness; their own neglect of duty made the children what they are.  {CG 561.1}
[CG 561.2]          Parents, if you lose your opportunity, God pity you; for in the day of judgment God will say, "What have you done with My flock, My beautiful flock?". . .  {CG 561.2}
[CG 561.3]          Suppose you should get to heaven and none of your children be there. How could you say to God, "Here am I, Lord, and the children which Thou hast given me"? Heaven marks the neglect of parents. It is recorded in the books of heaven.  {CG 561.3}
[CG 561.4]          Families Will Pass in Review Before God.--When parents and children meet at the final reckoning, what a scene will be presented! Thousands of children who have been slaves to appetite and debasing vice, whose lives are moral wrecks, will stand face to face with the parents who made them what they are. Who but the parents must bear this fearful responsibility? Did the Lord make these youth                                                                              562  corrupt? Oh, no! He made them in His image, a little lower than the angels. Who, then, has done the fearful work of forming the life character? Who changed their characters so that they do not bear the impress of God and must be forever separated from His presence as too impure to have any place with the pure angels in a holy heaven? Were the sins of the parents transmitted to the children in perverted appetites and passions? And was the work completed by the pleasure-loving mother in neglecting to properly train them according to the pattern given her? All these mothers will pass in review before God just as surely as they exist.  {CG 561.4}
[CG 562.1]          In Heaven Is a Pictorial Record.--Let parents and children remember that day by day they are each forming a character, and that the features of this character are imprinted upon the books of heaven. God is taking pictures of His people, just as surely as an artist takes pictures of men and women, transferring the features of the face to the polished plate. What kind of picture do you wish to produce? Parents, answer the question! What kind of picture will the great Master Artist make of you in the records of heaven? . . . We must decide this now. Hereafter, when death shall come, there will be no time to straighten the crooked places in the character.  {CG 562.1}
[CG 562.2]          To us individually this should be a most important matter. Every day our likeness is being taken for time and for eternity. Let each one say, "I am having my likeness taken today." Ask yourself daily, hourly, "How will my words sound to the heavenly angels? Are they as apples of gold in pictures of silver, or are they like a blasting hail, wounding and bruising?" . . .                                                                              563   {CG 562.2}
[CG 563.1]          Not only our words and actions, but our thoughts, make up the picture of what we are. Then let every soul be good and do good. Let the picture made of you be one of which you will not be ashamed. Every feeling we cherish makes its impress upon the countenance. God help us to make our record in our families what we would wish it to be in the heavenly record.  {CG 563.1}
[CG 563.2]          Have You Been Careless?--Oh, that parents would look prayerfully and carefully after their children's eternal welfare! Let them ask themselves, Have we been careless? Have we neglected this solemn work? Have we allowed our children to become the sport of Satan's temptations? Have we not a solemn account to settle with God because we have permitted our children to use their talents, their time and influence, in working against the truth, against Christ? Have we not neglected our duty as parents and increased the number of the subjects of Satan's kingdom?  {CG 563.2}
[CG 563.3]          If mothers neglect to properly educate their children, their neglect is reflected back upon them again, making their burdens and perplexities harder than they would have been if they had devoted time and patient care in training their children to obedience and submission. It will pay in the end for mothers to make the formation of the characters of their children their first and highest consideration, that the thorns may not take root and yield an abundant harvest.  {CG 563.3}
[CG 563.4]          Children Will Condemn Unfaithful Parents.--The curse of God will surely rest upon unfaithful parents. Not only are they planting thorns which will wound them here, but they must meet their own unfaithfulness when the judgment shall sit. Many children will rise up in                                                                              564  judgment and condemn their parents for not restraining them and charge upon them their destruction. The false sympathy and blind love of parents cause them to excuse the faults of their children and pass them by without correction, and their children are lost in consequence, and the blood of their souls will rest upon the unfaithful parents.  {CG 563.4}
[CG 564.1]          Children Will Pay Tribute to Faithful Parents.-- When the judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened; when the "well done" of the great Judge is pronounced, and the crown of immortal glory is placed upon the brow of the victor, many will raise their crowns in sight of the assembled universe and, pointing to their mother, say, "She made me all I am through the grace of God. Her instruction, her prayers, have been blessed to my eternal salvation."  {CG 564.1}
[CG 564.2]          Results of Faithful Training Will Be Manifest.-- All who have wrought with unselfish spirit will behold the fruit of their labors. The outworking of every right principle and noble deed will be seen. Something of this we see here. But how little of the result of the world's noblest work is in this life manifest to the doer! How many toil unselfishly and unweariedly for those who pass beyond their reach and knowledge! Parents and teachers lie down in their last sleep, their lifework seeming to have been wrought in vain; they know not that their faithfulness has unsealed springs of blessing that can never cease to flow; only by faith they see the children they have trained become a benediction and an inspiration to their fellow men, and the influence repeat itself a thousandfold. . . . Men sow the seed from which, above their graves, others reap blessed harvests. They plant trees that                                                                              565  others may eat the fruit. They are content here to know that they have set in motion agencies for good. In the hereafter the action and reaction of all these will be seen.  {CG 564.2}
[CG 565.1]          Parents May Bring Children With Them to Promised Land.--God has permitted light from His throne to shine all along the path of life. A pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night, is moving before us as before ancient Israel. It is the privilege of Christian parents today, as it was the privilege of God's people of old, to bring their children with them to the Promised Land.  {CG 565.1}
[CG 565.2]         You want a household for God; you want your family for God. You want to take them up to the gates of the city and say, "Here am I, Lord, and the children that Thou hast given me." They may be men and women that have grown to manhood and womanhood, but they are your children all the same; and your educating, and your watchfulness over them have been blessed of God, till they stand as overcomers. Now you can say, "Here am I, Lord, and the children."  {CG 565.2}
[CG 565.3]          Broken Family Chains Will Be Relinked.--Jesus is coming, coming with clouds and great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to honor those who have loved Him and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them or His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain.  {CG 565.3}
[CG 565.4]          Comfort for a Bereaved Mother.--You inquire in regard to your little one being saved. Christ's words are your answer: "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." Remember the prophecy, "Thus saith the Lord: A voice                                                                              566  was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted. . . . Thus saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to thine own border."  {CG 565.4}
[CG 566.1]          This promise is yours. You may be comforted and trust in the Lord. The Lord has often instructed me that many little ones are to be laid away before the time of trouble. We shall see our children again. We shall meet them and know them in the heavenly courts. Put your trust in the Lord, and be not afraid.  {CG 566.1}
[CG 566.2]          Children Will Be Borne to Mothers' Arms.--Oh, wonderful redemption! long talked of, long hoped for, contemplated with eager anticipation, but never fully understood.  {CG 566.2}
[CG 566.3]          The living righteous are changed "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Angels "gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers' arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness ascend together to the City of God.  {CG 566.3}
[CG 566.4]          The Day Long Hoped For.--From the day when the first pair turned their sorrowing steps from Eden, the children of faith have waited the coming of the Promised                                                                              567  One to break the destroyer's power and bring them again to the lost Paradise.  {CG 566.4}
[CG 567.1]          Heaven will be cheap enough if we obtain it through suffering. . . . As I saw what we must be in order to inherit glory, and then saw how much Jesus had suffered to obtain for us so rich an inheritance, I prayed that we might be baptized into Christ's sufferings, that we might not shrink at trials, but bear them with patience and joy, knowing what Jesus had suffered that we through His poverty and sufferings might be made rich.  {CG 567.1}
[CG 567.2]          Heaven Is Worth Everything!--Heaven is worth everything to us. We must not run any risk in this matter. We must take no venture here. We must know that our steps are ordered by the Lord. May God help us in the great work of overcoming. He has crowns for those that overcome. He has white robes for the righteous. He has an eternal world of glory for those who seek for glory, honor, and immortality. Everyone who enters the City of God will enter it as a conqueror. He will not enter it as a condemned criminal, but as a son of God. And the welcome given to everyone who enters there will be, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25:34.  {CG 567.2}
[CG 567.3]          Partakers of Christ's Joy.--We see a retinue of angels on either side of the gate; and as we pass in, Jesus speaks, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom that is prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Here He tells you to be a partaker of His joy, and what is that? It is the joy of seeing of the travail of your soul, fathers. It is the joy of seeing that your efforts, mothers, are rewarded. Here are your children; the crown of life                                                                              568  is upon their heads, and the angels of God immortalize the names of the mothers whose efforts have won their children to Jesus Christ.  {CG 567.3}
[CG 568.1]          The Glorious Day of Victory.--Now the church is militant. Now we are confronted with a world in darkness, almost wholly given over to idolatry. . . . But the day is coming when the battle will have been fought, the victory won. The will of God is to be done on earth as it is done in heaven. . . . All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving --the robe of Christ's righteousness. All nature, in its surpassing loveliness, will offer to God a tribute of praise and adoration. The world will be bathed in the light of heaven. The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold greater than it is now. The years will move on in gladness. Over the scene the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and Christ will unite in proclaiming, "There shall be no more sin, neither shall there be any more death."  {CG 568.1}
[CG 568.2]          These visions of future glory, scenes pictured by the hand of God, should be dear to His children. . . .  {CG 568.2}
[CG 568.3]          We need to keep ever before us this vision of things unseen. It is thus that we shall be able to set a right value on the things of eternity and the things of time. It is this that will give us power to influence others for the higher life.  {CG 568.3}
[CG 568.4]          Will God Say, "Well Done"?--When you stand before the great white throne, then your work will appear as it is. The books are opened, the record of every life made known. Many in that vast company are unprepared for the revelations made. Upon the ears of some the                                                                              569  words will fall with startling distinctness, "Weighed in the balance, and found wanting." To many parents the Judge will say in that day, "You had My Word, plainly setting forth your duty. Why have you not obeyed its teachings? Knew ye not that it was the voice of God? Did I not bid you search the Scriptures, that you might not go astray? You have not only ruined your own souls, but by your pretensions to godliness you have misled many others. You have no part with Me. Depart; depart."  {CG 568.4}
[CG 569.1]          Another class stand pale and trembling, trusting in Christ, and yet oppressed with a sense of their own unworthiness. They hear with tears of joy and gratitude the Master's commendation. The days of incessant toil, of burden bearing, and of fear and anguish are forgotten as that voice, sweeter than the music of angel harps, pronounces the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter ye into the joy of your Lord." There stand the host of the redeemed, the palm branch of victory in their hand, the crown upon their head. These are the ones who by faithful, earnest labor have obtained a fitness for heaven. The lifework performed on earth is acknowledged in the heavenly courts as a work well done.  {CG 569.1}
[CG 569.2]          With joy unutterable, parents see the crown, the robe, the harp, given to their children. The days of hope and fear are ended. The seed sown with tears and prayers may have seemed to be sown in vain, but their harvest is reaped with joy at last. Their children have been redeemed. Fathers, mothers, shall the voices of your children swell the song of gladness in that day?  {CG 569.2}
[3BC 1127.1]         3BC - S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 3 (1954)      1 Chronicles                                    Chapter 21          1-13 (2 Samuel 24:1-14). David Trusted Himself to God's Mercies.--The work of numbering Israel is not fully completed before David feels convicted that he has committed a great sin against God. He sees his error, and humbles himself before God, confessing his great sin in foolishly numbering the people. But his repentance came too late. The word had already gone forth from the Lord to His faithful prophet, to carry a message to David, and offer him his choice of punishments for his transgression. David still shows that he has confidence in God. He chooses to fall into the hands of a merciful God, rather than to be left to the cruel mercies of wicked men (1SP 385).  {3BC 1127.1}
[3BC 1127.2]         14-27 (2 Samuel 24:15-25). David's Repentance Accepted and Destruction Stayed.--Swift destruction followed. Seventy thousand were destroyed by pestilence. David and the elders of Israel were in the deepest humiliation, mourning before the Lord. As the angel of the Lord was on his way to destroy Jerusalem, God bade him stay his work of death. A pitiful God loves His people still, notwithstanding their rebellion. The angel, clad in warlike garments, with a drawn sword in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem, is revealed to David, and to those who are with him. David is terribly afraid, yet he cries out in his distress, and his compassion for Israel. He begs of God to save the sheep. In anguish he confesses, "I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house." God speaks to David, by His prophet, and bids him make atonement for his sin. David's heart was in the work, and his repentance was accepted. The threshing floor of Araunah is offered him freely, where to build an altar unto the Lord; also cattle, and everything needful for the sacrifice. But David tells him who would make this generous offering, that the Lord will accept the sacrifice which he is willing to make, but that he would not come before the Lord with an offering which cost him nothing. He would buy it of him for full price. He offered there burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. God accepted the offerings by answering David in sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice. The angel of the Lord was commanded to put his sword into his sheath, and cease his work of destruction (1SP 385, 386).                                                                              1128   {3BC 1127.2}
[3BC 1128.1]                                    Chapter 22          13. God Blesses Those Who Cherish Principle.--Did the Lord make a mistake in placing Solomon in a position of so great responsibility? Nay. God prepared him to bear these responsibilities, and promised him grace and strength on condition of obedience. ［1 Chronicles 22:13 quoted.］  {3BC 1128.1}
[3BC 1128.2]          The Lord sets men in responsible places, not to act out their own wills, but His will. So long as they cherish His pure principles of government, He will bless and strengthen them, recognizing them as His instrumentalities. God never forsakes the one who is true to principle. (MS 164, 1902).  {3BC 1128.2}
[3BC 1128.3]                                   Chapter 23          1-5 (2 Chronicles 8:14). Organization for the Temple Services.--［1 Chronicles 23:1-5 quoted.］ The four thousand musicians, divided into twenty-four courses, were each lead by twelve men especially instructed and skilful in the use of musical instruments. The work of the porters was also definitely arranged.  {3BC 1128.3}
[3BC 1128.4]          The priests were divided into twenty-four courses, and a full and accurate record was made regarding this division. Each course was thoroughly organized under its chief, and each was to come to Jerusalem twice a year, to attend for one week to the ministry of the sanctuary.  {3BC 1128.4}
[3BC 1128.5]          The Levites, whose duty it was to assist in the sanctuary service, were organized and allotted their part with similar precision (RH Oct. 5, 1905).  {3BC 1128.5}
[3BC 1128.6]                                   Chapter 27          1, 32-34 (Proverbs 11:14; 24:6). Wide Distribution of Responsibility Lessened Burdens.--In planning for the administration of the affairs of the kingdom, after David abdicated in favor of Solomon, the aged king and his son and their counselors regarded it as essential that everything be done with regularity, propriety, fidelity, and dispatch. So far as possible, they followed the system of organization given Israel soon after the deliverance from Egypt. The Levites were assigned the work connected with the temple service, including the ministry of song and instrumental music, and the keeping of the treasures. The men capable of bearing arms and of serving the king were divided into twelve courses of twenty-four thousand each. Over every course was a captain. "The general of the king's army was Joab." "The courses. . . came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year." Thus every group of twenty-four thousand served the king one month during each year.  {3BC 1128.6}
[3BC 1128.7]         David appointed Jonathan, his uncle, as "a counselor, a wise man, and a scribe"; Ahithophel also was "the king's counselor. . . And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada... and Abiathar." Hushai was "the king's friend." By his prudent example, the aged king taught Solomon that "in the multitude of counselors there is safety."  {3BC 1128.7}
[3BC 1128.8]         The thoroughness and completeness of the organization perfected at the beginning of Solomon's reign; the comprehensiveness of the plans for bringing the largest number possible of all the people into active service; the wide distribution of responsibility, so that the service of God and of the king should not be unduly burdensome to any individual or class,--these are lessons which all may study with profit, and which the leaders of the Christian church should understand and follow.  {3BC 1128.8}
[3BC 1128.9]          This picture of a great and mighty nation living in simplicity and comfort in rural homes, every person rendering willing and unsalaried service to God and the king for a portion of each year, is one from which we may gather many helpful suggestions (RH Oct. 12, 1905).  {3BC 1128.9}
[3BC 1128.10]                                   Chapter 28          9. Fidelity Must Precede Blessings.--［1 Chronicles 28:9 quoted.］ This charge is given to the men in positions of trust in the work of God today as verily as it was given to Solomon. The day of test and trial is upon them, as verily as it was then upon Solomon.  {3BC 1128.10}
[3BC 1128.11]          Fidelity is required before God can bestow the blessings that He has promised. Those who offer God acceptable service must obey all His commandments. Thus they become representatives of Christ (MS 163, 1902).  {3BC 1128.11}
[3BC 1128.12]         11-13, 19. An Angel Guided David's Writing.--The Lord, through His angel, instructed David, and gave him a pattern                                                                              1129  of the house which Solomon should build for Him. An angel was commissioned to stand by David while he was writing out, for the benefit of Solomon, the important directions in regard to the arrangements of the house. David's heart was in the work (1SP 387, 388).  {3BC 1128.12}
[3BC 1129.1]          Carpenter of Nazareth Was Heavenly Architect.--Christ was the foundation of the Jewish economy. He planned the arrangements of the first earthly tabernacle. He gave every specification in regard to the building of Solomon's temple. He who worked as a carpenter in the village of Nazareth was the heavenly Architect who marked out the plan of the house where His name should be honored. The things of heaven and earth are more directly under Christ's supervision than many realize (MS 34, 1899).  {3BC 1129.1}
[3BC 1129.2]          20, 21. God Gives Wisdom to Accomplish This Work.--［1 Chronicles 28:20, 21 quoted.］ David's solemn charge should be kept in mind by those who are in positions of trust today; for it is as verily binding upon these men as it was upon Solomon at the time it was given. In this our day of probation God's people are being tested and tried as surely as they were in the days of Solomon.  {3BC 1129.2}
[3BC 1129.3]          This whole chapter is of importance to all the people of God living in this age. In the business that He desires men of His appointment to carry on for the safety and prosperity of His kingdom, the Lord does not link together scattered elements that have not had a genuine experience, and that give no promise of developing characters that may be depended upon to bear responsibilities in connection with the work of molding and fashioning a nation to do a most solemn, sacred service for God, consistent with the uplifted, purified state of a people who represent Him.  {3BC 1129.3}
[3BC 1129.4]          God's service is not committed to one man's judgment and option, but is divided among those who are found willing to labor interestedly and self-sacrificingly. Thus all, according to the skill and ability God has given them, bear the responsibilities that He has appointed to them. The important interests of a great nation were entrusted to men whose talents fitted them to handle these responsibilities. Some were chosen to direct the business affairs; others were chosen to look after spiritual matters connected with the worship of God. All the religious service and every branch of the business was to bear the signature of heaven. "Holiness unto the Lord" was to be the motto of the laborers in every department. It was regarded as essential that everything be conducted with regularity, propriety, fidelity, and dispatch.  {3BC 1129.4}
[3BC 1129.5]          To all who are engaged in His service, the Lord gives wisdom. The tabernacle to be borne in the wilderness, and the temple at Jerusalem, were built in accordance with special directions from God. In the very beginning, He was particular as to the design and the accomplishment of His work. In this age of the world He has given His people much light and instruction in regard to how His work is to be carried forward,--on an elevated, refined, ennobling basis; and He is displeased with those who in their service do not carry out His design. He will separate such men from His cause, and prove others, who, if self-sufficient, will in turn be replaced by still other laborers (MS 81, 1900).  {3BC 1129.5}
[3BC 1129.6]                                  Chapter 29          5. Half-hearted Service Cannot Please God.--［1 Chronicles 29:5 quoted.］ The response came not only in liberal offerings of treasures to meet the expense of the building, but also in willing service in the various lines of God's work. Hearts were filled with a desire to return to the Lord His own, by consecrating to His service all the energies of mind and body. Those upon whom had been placed burdens of state, determined to labor heartily and unselfishly, using for God the skill and ability He had given them.  {3BC 1129.6}
[3BC 1129.7]          David's exhortation to Solomon, and his appeal to the burden-bearers of the nation, should be kept in mind by those who are in positions of trust in the Lord's cause today. In this our day God's people will prosper only so long as they keep His precepts; and those who bear responsibilities are called upon to consecrate their service to the Lord. Conference officers, church officers, managers and heads of departments in our institutions, laborers in the field at home and abroad,--all are to render faithful                                                                              1130  service by using their talents wholly for God. The Lord is not pleased with half-hearted service. To Him we owe all that we have and are (RH Sept. 14, 1905).  {3BC 1129.7}
[3BC 1130.1]          14. David and God Were Partners.--This subject of the use of the means entrusted to us should be carefully considered; for the Lord will require His own with usury. While in poverty, many regard systematic giving as a Bible requirement; but when they come into possession of money or property, they do not acknowledge God's claim upon them. They look upon their means as their own. But not so did King David regard his possessions. He understood that God is the great proprietor of all things, and that he himself was highly honored in that he had been taken into partnership with God. His heart was filled with gratitude for the favor and mercy of God, and in his prayer when presenting offerings for the building of the temple, he said, "Of thine own have we given thee" (RH Dec. 8, 1896).                                                    -    {3BC 1130.1}
[3BC 1130.2]       2 Chronicles                              Chapter 1          3-6. See EGW on 1 Kings 3:4, Vol. 2, p. 1025.  {3BC 1130.2}
[3BC 1130.3]         7-10. See EGW on 1 Kings 3:5-9, Vol. 2, p. 1025.  {3BC 1130.3}
[3BC 1130.4]          7-12. See EGW on 1 Kings 3:5-15, Vol. 2, p. 1026.  {3BC 1130.4}
[3BC 1130.5]                                 Chapter 2          3-14. See EGW on 1 Kings 5:3-18, Vol. 2, p. 1026.  {3BC 1130.5}
[3BC 1130.6]          13, 14. See EGW on 1 Kings 7:13, 14, Vol. 2, p. 1030.  {3BC 1130.6}
[3BC 1130.7]                                 Chapter 4          11. See EGW on 1 Kings 7:13, 14, Vol. 2, p. 1030.  {3BC 1130.7}
[3BC 1130.8]                                 Chapter 5          7, 8, 12-14. See EGW on 1 Kings 6:23-28, Vol. 2, p. 1030.  {3BC 1130.8}
[3BC 1130.9]                                 Chapter 6          13 (1 Kings 8:54). Kneel for Prayer in Public Worship.--I have received letters questioning me in regard to the proper attitude to be taken by a person offering prayer to the Sovereign of the universe. Where have our brethren obtained the idea that they should stand upon their feet when praying to God? . . .  {3BC 1130.9}
[3BC 1130.10]          ［Luke 22:41; Acts 9:40; 7:59, 60; Acts 20:36; 21:5; Ezra 9:5, 6; Psalm 95:6; Ephesians 3:14 quoted.］. . .  {3BC 1130.10}
[3BC 1130.11]         Both in public and private worship it is our duty to bow down upon our knees before God when we offer our petitions to Him. This act shows our dependence upon God. . . .  {3BC 1130.11}
[3BC 1130.12]          ［2 Chronicles 6:1-13 quoted.］. . .  {3BC 1130.12}
[3BC 1130.13]          Is it possible that with all the light that God has given to His people on the subject of reverence, that ministers, principals, and teachers in our schools, by precept and example teach young men to stand erect in devotion as did the Pharisees? Shall we look upon this as significant of their self-sufficiency and self-importance? Are these traits to become conspicuous? . . .  {3BC 1130.13}
[3BC 1130.14]          We hope that our brethren will not manifest less reverence and awe as they approach the only true and living God than the heathen manifest for their idol deities, or these people will be our judges in the day of final decision. I would speak to all who occupy the place of teachers in our schools. Men and women, do not dishonor God by your irreverence and pomposity. Do not stand up in your Phariseeism and offer your prayers to God. Mistrust your own strength. Depend not in it; but often bow down on your knees before God, and worship Him.  {3BC 1130.14}
[3BC 1130.15]          And when you assemble to worship God, be sure and bow your knees before Him. Let this act testify that the whole soul,                                                                              1131  body, and spirit are in subjection to the Spirit of truth. Who have searched the Word closely for examples and direction in this respect? . . .  {3BC 1130.15}
[3BC 1131.1]          Man must come on bended knee, as a subject of grace, a suppliant at the footstool of mercy. And as he receives daily mercies at the hand of God, he is ever to cherish gratitude in his heart, and give expression to it in the words of thanksgiving and praise for these unmerited favors (NL 37, pp. 1-3).  {3BC 1131.1}
[3BC 1131.2]          The prayer offered by Solomon during the dedication of the temple, was not made while he stood upon his feet. The king knelt in the humble position of a petitioner.  {3BC 1131.2}
[3BC 1131.3]          Herein is a lesson for God's people today. Our spiritual strength and our influence are not increased by conformity to a worldly attitude during prayer. . . . Let man come on bended knee, as a subject of grace, a suppliant at the footstool of mercy. Thus he is to testify that the whole soul, body, and spirit are in subjection to his Creator (RH Nov. 30, 1905).  {3BC 1131.3}
[3BC 1131.4]                                   Chapter 8          14. See EGW on 1 Chronicles 23:1-5.  {3BC 1131.4}
[3BC 1131.5]                                   Chapter 9          17-22. See EGW on Ecclesiastes 1:14.  {3BC 1131.5}
[3BC 1131.6]          22, 23 (1 Kings 10:23, 24). God Endows Man With Talent.--［2 Chronicles 9:22, 23 quoted.］ This honor was not brought about by Solomon himself. God gave to him the talents of influence and of great wisdom. Let all remember that tact and ability do not come from the natural man. Those who depend upon ministers or upon any other men whom they regard as superior to themselves, should understand that God is the One who endows man with talent.  {3BC 1131.6}
[3BC 1131.7]          We see danger in the bestowal of rich gifts or of words of commendation upon human agencies. Those who are favored by the Lord need to be on guard constantly, lest pride or self-esteem obtain the supremacy. He who has an unusual following, he who has received words of commendation from the Lord, needs the special prayers of God's faithful watchmen, that he may be shielded from the danger of cherishing thoughts of self-esteem and spiritual pride. Never is such a man to manifest self-importance, or attempt to act as a dictator or a ruler. Faithfully should his brethren warn him of his dangers; for, if left to himself, he will surely make mistakes, and reveal human frailties.  {3BC 1131.7}
[3BC 1131.8]          In studying Solomon's history, we can see clearly that the very ones who flattered and praised and glorified the man of ability are the ones who did not recognize and glorify God for the blessings He bestowed upon them through the human instrumentality. They supported and glorified the man; God was dishonored; and therefore the Lord found the vessel He had ordained and used in His sacred service, becoming unclean. The sentiments, the spirit, and the likeness of the natural man began to appear, and he who once was doing God's will, became corrupted through human exaltations. Then the feebleness and weakness of man was revealed by the choice of injudicious friends, whose course of action helped the tempter to ensnare the man. The Lord allowed him to be ensnared, because he went on to exalt his own wisdom, and made not God his trust. He would not be counseled; he would walk in his own way....  {3BC 1131.8}
[3BC 1131.9]          The Lord sets men in positions of responsibility to carry out not their own will, but God's will. He gives wisdom to those who seek Him and depend upon Him as their Counselor. So long as men represent the pure principles of His government, He will continue to bless and maintain them as His instrumentalities to carry out His purposes concerning His people. He cooperates with those who cooperate with Him.... The test by which Solomon was measured, is used to measure all (MS 81, 1900).  {3BC 1131.9}
[3BC 1131.10]                                  Chapter 14          11. God Will Work With Us When We Trust Him.--［2 Chronicles 14:11 quoted.］ This is an appropriate prayer for us to make. Our prospects are anything but flattering. There are vast numbers arrayed against the truth, whom we must meet in presenting the light to others. Our hope is not in our knowledge of the truth, and in our own ability, but in the living God ... There should be ... living faith for the                                                                              1132  mighty God to manifest His power, else all will prove a failure. God defeated the enemies of Israel. He put their forces into disorder. They fled they knew not whither. Who can stand before the Lord God of Israel?  {3BC 1131.10}
[3BC 1132.1]          Now we are not warring against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places. The Lord would encourage us to look to Him as the source of all our strength, the One who is able to help us. We may look to men, and they will give us counsel, and yet this may be defeated; but when the God of Israel undertakes work for us, He will make it a success. We want to know that we are right before God; if we are not right before Him, then we want to make an earnest effort to come in right relation to Him. We must individually do something ourselves. We are not to risk our eternal interest upon guesswork. We must set everything right; we must follow out the requirements of God, and then expect God to work with our efforts. 2 Chronicles 20:15. God works in us by the light of His truth. We are to be obedient to all His commandments.  {3BC 1132.1}
[3BC 1132.2]          Oh, that we could take this point into consideration, that the work in which we are engaged is not our work, but God's work, and we as humble instruments are laborers together with Him; and with an eye single to God's glory, not mistake the beginning of the Christian life for its consummation, but see the necessity of training upon the earth to prepare us for doing God's will! We are not to lift up ourselves, not to be self-confident, but to trust in God, knowing that He is willing and able to help us. God will work with His people, but we want to be in that position where our trust and confidence will become firm in Him (RH May 10, 1887).  {3BC 1132.2}
[3BC 1132.3]                                  Chapter 17          3-7, 9, 10. Obedience Brings God's Favor.--［2 Chronicles 17:3-7, 9, 10 quoted.］ Obedience to the Lord always brings favor, and a faithful discharge of righteous principles will bear the divine credentials; but the Lord is dishonored when those who are placed as stewards of God's flock, sustain and sanction an evil work.  {3BC 1132.3}
[3BC 1132.4]          The outward signs of fasting and prayer, without a broken and contrite spirit, are of no value in God's sight. The inward work of grace is needed. Humiliation of soul is essential. God looks upon this. He will graciously receive those who will humble their hearts before Him. He will hear their petitions and heal their backslidings.  {3BC 1132.4}
[3BC 1132.5]          Ministers and people need the work of purification in their souls, that God's judgments may be turned away from them. God is waiting, waiting for humiliation and repentance. He will receive all who will turn unto Him with their whole heart (MS 33, 1903).  {3BC 1132.5}
[3BC 1132.6]                                   Chapter 26          16-21 (2 Kings 15:5). Success Must Not Lift One Up.--［2 Chronicles 26:16-21 quoted.］ The case of Uzziah the king reveals how God will punish the sin of presumption.... The Lord has ordained men to certain positions in His church, and He would not have them step out of the places to which He has appointed them. When the Lord gives them a measure of success, they are not to become lifted up, and think themselves qualified to do a work for which they are not fitted, and to which God has not called them (RH Aug. 14, 1900).  {3BC 1132.6}
[3BC 1132.7]                                  Chapter 33          9-13. The Way God Works.--In the case of Manasseh the Lord gives us an instance of the way in which He works. ［2 Chronicles 33:9-13 quoted.］  {3BC 1132.7}
[3BC 1132.8]          The Lord has often spoken to His people in warning and reproof. He has revealed Himself in mercy, love, and kindness. He has not left His backsliding people to the will of the enemy, but has borne long with them, even during obdurate apostasy. But after appeals have been made in vain, He prepares the rod for punishment. What compassionate love has been exercised toward the people of God! The Lord might have cut down in their sins those who were working at cross purposes with Him, but He has not done this. His hand is stretched out still. We have reason to offer thanksgiving to God that He has not taken His Spirit from those who have refused to walk in His way (Letter 94, 1899).                                                                              1133   {3BC 1132.8}
[3BC 1133.1]                                    Chapter 34          18, 19. See EGW on 2 Kings 22:10, 11, Vol. 2, p. 1038.  {3BC 1133.1}
[3BC 1133.2]          21 (2 Kings 22:13). Word of the Lord Still Binding.--［2 Kings 22:13 quoted.］ Josiah did not say, "I knew nothing about this book. These are ancient precepts, and times have changed." He appointed men to investigate the matter, and these men went to Huldah, the prophetess. ［2 Kings 22:15-20 quoted.］  {3BC 1133.2}
[3BC 1133.3]          In Josiah's day the Word of the Lord was as binding, and should have been as strictly enforced, as at the time it was spoken. And today it is as binding as it was then (GCB April 1, 1903).  {3BC 1133.3}
[3BC 1133.4]          22 (2 Kings 22:14). Huldah Visited by Most Honored of the Kingdom.-- Josiah sent as messengers to the prophetess, the highest and most honored of the people. He sent the first men of his kingdom,--men who occupied high positions of trust in the nation. Thus he conferred honor upon the oracles of God (GCB April 1, 1903).  {3BC 1133.4}
[3BC 1133.5]          29-31. See EGW on 2 Kings 23:1-3, Vol. 2, p. 1038.  {3BC 1133.5}
[3BC 1133.6]          30. See EGW on 2 Kings 23:2, Vol. 2, p. 1039.  {3BC 1133.6}
[3BC 1133.7]          26-33. See EGW on 2 Kings 23:29, 30, Vol. 2, p. 1039.  {3BC 1133.7}
[3BC 1133.8]                                 Chapter 35          20-24. See EGW on 2 Kings 23:29, 30, Vol. 2, p. 1039.  {3BC 1133.8}
[3BC 1133.9]                                 Chapter 36          11-13. See EGW on 2 Kings 24:17-20, Vol. 2, p. 1040.  {3BC 1133.9}
[3BC 1133.10]          14-21. Jews Exemplified Termination of God's Forbearance.--The Jewish nation is before us as an example of the termination of God's long forbearance. In the destruction of Jerusalem the destruction of the world is typified. The lips of Him who ever pronounced blessings upon the penitent, and spoke encouragement to the poor and suffering, and brought gladness to the humble, pronounced a curse upon those to whom He had presented light, who would not appreciate or accept light. Those who thought to evade the clear, distinct Word of God, and cherish man-made traditions, He declared would be found guilty of all the blood of the prophets which had been slain from the foundation of the world.  {3BC 1133.10}
[3BC 1133.11]          Again and again God had arrested the Jews in their wicked course by severe chastisement, but they provoked Him by their wicked works, casting away the law of the Lord of Hosts, and finally refusing to reverence His only begotten Son. Each century of transgression treasured up wrath against the day of wrath. Jesus bade the stubborn and impenitent nation to fill up the measure of their iniquity. Their wicked works were not forgotten nor overlooked. When the time of retributive judgment was fully due, the mandate was sent forth from the sacred place of the Most High for the vindication of God's honor and the magnifying of His law (Undated MS 145).  {3BC 1133.11}
[3BC 1133.12]          19. See EGW on 2 Kings 25:9, Vol. 2, p. 1040.  {3BC 1133.12}
[3BC 1133.13]          20. See EGW on 2 Kings 24:10-16, Vol. 2. p. 1040.                                                    -    {3BC 1133.13}
[3BC 1133.14]       Ezra                                       Chapter 3          10-12. Some Praised and Others Mourned.--［Ezra 3:10, 11 quoted.］ This praise and thanksgiving, we have no need to say, was entirely appropriate. The house upon which their eyes rested was of sufficient consequence for the Lord to send His word again and again to encourage the builders. The Lord gives His servants words to speak; and this gratitude all should have. . . expressed when they saw that the foundation of the house...was laid.                                                                              1134   {3BC 1133.14}
[3BC 1134.1]          But there came another difficulty. Lamentation and weeping and mourning was heard because the temple was not outwardly so glorious as the first. There were those who used their conversational powers to talk of the inferiority of the building to the one built by Solomon. Mingled with music and singing, with rejoicing and praise to God, was an inharmonious sound, not of joy or praise or thanksgiving, but of dissatisfaction. ［Ezra 3:12 quoted.］  {3BC 1134.1}
[3BC 1134.2]          They saw enough to make them praise God. They saw that the Lord had visited them after He had scattered them for their ingratitude and disloyalty to His commandments. He had moved upon the heart of Cyrus to aid those who were appointed to rebuild His house. But those who were easily discouraged did not walk by faith. They entertained discouraging sentiments, that were not a savor of life unto good works (MS 116, 1897).  {3BC 1134.2}
[3BC 1134.3]                                   Chapter 7          6-10. Ezra Published Copies of the Law.--Ezra was of the sons of Aaron, a priest, whom God chose to be an instrument of good unto Israel, that He might put honor upon the priesthood, the glory of which had been greatly eclipsed during the captivity. Ezra was a man of great piety and holy zeal. He was also a man of learning, and a ready scribe in the law of Moses. These qualifications made him an eminent man.  {3BC 1134.3}
[3BC 1134.4]          Ezra was impressed by the Spirit of God to search the historical and poetical books of the Bible, and by this means he became familiar with the sense and understanding of the law. During the captivity the knowledge of God's will had to some extent been lost. Ezra gathered all the copies of the law that he could find. He published copies of these among God's people, and became a teacher of the law and the prophecies in the schools of the prophets. The pure Word, thus diligently taught by Ezra, gave knowledge that was invaluable at that time (Letter 100, 1907).  {3BC 1134.4}
[3BC 1134.5]          God Gives Another Opportunity and Shows Forbearance.--The Lord raised up Ezra to be His servant. He moved upon the heart of the king, so that Ezra found favor with him. The king placed in his hands abundant means for the rebuilding of the temple, and made it possible for the Jews to return who for seventy years had been in captivity in Babylon. In thus giving to His people another opportunity to serve God in their own country, the Lord shows His forbearance with His wayward children (Letter 98, 1907).  {3BC 1134.5}
[3BC 1134.6]          10. An Example in Knowledge and Practice.--Shall we let the example of Ezra teach us the use we should make of our knowledge of the Scriptures? The life of this servant of God should be an inspiration to us to serve the Lord with heart and mind and strength. We each have an appointed work to do, and this can be accomplished only by consecrated effort. We need first to set ourselves to know the requirements of God, and then to practise them. Then we can sow seeds of truth that will bear fruit unto eternal life (RH Feb 6, 1908).  {3BC 1134.6}
[3BC 1134.7]                                   Chapter 8          22. Ezra Willing to Run the Risk.--Ezra and his companions had determined to fear and obey God, and to put their trust wholly in Him. They would not form a connection with the world in order to secure the help or friendship of the enemies of God. Whether they were with the many or the few, they knew that success could come from God only. And they had no desire that their success should be attributed to the wealth or influence of wicked men.  {3BC 1134.7}
[3BC 1134.8]          Ezra would run the risk of trusting his cause with God. He well knew that if they failed in their important work, it would be because they had not complied with the requirements of God and therefore He could not help them.  {3BC 1134.8}
[3BC 1134.9]          The Scriptures furnish abundant evidence that it is safer to be joined to the Lord, and lose the favor and friendship of the world, than to look to the world for favor and support, and forget our dependence upon God. It was because they were convinced of this truth that the Jews had refused to allow their adversaries to unite with them in the work of building the temple. They saw in the propositions of those idolaters a device of Satan to beguile                                                                              1135  God's people into union and fellowship with His enemies (RH Jan. 8, 1884).  {3BC 1134.9}
[3BC 1135.1]                                     Chapter 9          6. A Prayer of Humiliation  and Contrition.--Ezra had the true spirit of prayer. Presenting his petition before God for Israel, when they had sinned grievously in the face of great light and privileges, he exclaimed, "I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens." Ezra remembered the goodness of God in again giving his people a foothold in their native land, and he was overwhelmed with indignation and grief at the thought of their ingratitude in return for the divine favor. His language is that of true humiliation of soul, the contrition that prevails with God in prayer. Only the prayer of the humble enters into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (ST Feb. 19, 1885).                                                    -    {3BC 1135.1}
[3BC 1135.2]       Nehemiah                                    Chapter 1          1. Men of Opportunity and Principle.--Nehemiah and Ezra are men of opportunity. The Lord had a special work for them to do. They were to call upon the people to consider their ways, and to see where they had made their mistake; for the Lord had not suffered His people to become powerless and confused and to be taken into captivity without a cause. The Lord especially blessed these men for standing up for the right. Nehemiah was not set apart as a priest or a prophet, but the Lord used him to do a special work. He was chosen as a leader of the people. But his fidelity to God did not depend upon his position.  {3BC 1135.2}
[3BC 1135.3]          The Lord will not allow His work to be hindered, even though the workmen may prove unworthy. God has men in reserve, prepared to meet the demand, that His work may be preserved from all contaminating influences. God will be honored and glorified. When the divine Spirit impresses the mind of the man appointed by God as fit for the work, he responds, saying, "Here am I; send me."  {3BC 1135.3}
[3BC 1135.4]          God demonstrated to the people for whom He had done so much that He would not serve with their sins. He wrought, not through those who refused to serve Him with singleness of purpose, who had corrupted their ways before Him, but through Nehemiah; for he was registered in the books of heaven as a man. God has said, "Them that honor me I will honor." Nehemiah showed himself to be a man whom God could use to put down false principles and to restore heaven-born principles; and God honored him. The Lord will use in His work men who are as true as steel to principle, who will not be swayed by the sophistries of those who have lost their spiritual eyesight.  {3BC 1135.4}
[3BC 1135.5]          Nehemiah was chosen by God because he was willing to cooperate with the Lord as a restorer. Falsehood and intrigue were used to pervert his integrity, but he would not be bribed. He refused to be corrupted by the devices of unprincipled men, who had been hired to do an evil work. He would not allow them to intimidate him into following a cowardly course. When he saw wrong principles being acted upon, he did not stand by as an onlooker, and by his silence give consent. He did not leave the people to conclude that he was standing on the wrong side. He took a firm, unyielding stand for the right. He would not lend one jot of influence to the perversion of the principles that God has established. Whatever the course others might pursue, he could say, "So did not I, because of the fear of God."  {3BC 1135.5}
[3BC 1135.6]          In his work, Nehemiah kept the honor and glory of God ever in view. The governors that had been before him had dealt unjustly with the people, "and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty                                                                              1136  shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bear rule over the people." But so did not I," Nehemiah declared, "because of the fear of God" (RH May 2, 1899).  {3BC 1135.6}
[3BC 1136.1]          5-11. A Prayer to Be Studied.--［Nehemiah 1:5, 6 quoted.］ Not only did Nehemiah say that Israel had sinned. He acknowledged with penitence that he and his father's house had sinned. "We have dealt corruptly against Thee," he says, placing himself among those who had dishonored God by not standing stiffly for the truth. . . . ［Nehemiah 1:7-11 quoted.］ . . .  {3BC 1136.1}
[3BC 1136.2]          Nehemiah humbled himself before God, giving Him the glory due unto His name. Thus also did Daniel in Babylon. Let us study the prayers of these men. They teach us that we are to humble ourselves, but that we are never to obliterate the line of demarcation between God's commandment-keeping people and those who have no respect for His law.  {3BC 1136.2}
[3BC 1136.3]          We all need to draw near to God. He will draw near to those who approach Him in humility, filled with a holy awe for His sacred majesty, and standing before Him separate from the world (MS 58, 1903).  {3BC 1136.3}
[3BC 1136.4]          6, 7. Nehemiah Trusted God's Faithfulness.--By faith taking fast hold of the divine promise, Nehemiah laid down at the footstool of heavenly mercy his petition that God would maintain the cause of His penitent people, restore their strength, and build up their waste places. God had been faithful to His threatenings when His people separated from Him; He had scattered them abroad among the nations, according to His Word. And Nehemiah found in this very fact an assurance that He would be equally faithful in fulfilling His promises (SW March 1, 1904).  {3BC 1136.4}
[3BC 1136.5]                                  Chapter 2          4 (Romans 12:12). Instant in Prayer.--God in His providence does not permit us to know the end from the beginning; but He gives us the light of His Word to guide us as we pass along, and bids us to keep our minds stayed upon Jesus. Wherever we are, whatever our employment, our hearts are to be uplifted to God in prayer. This is being instant in prayer. We need not wait until we can bow upon our knees, before we pray. On one occasion, when Nehemiah came in before the king, the king asked why he looked so sad, and what request he had to make. But Nehemiah dared not answer at once. Important interests were at stake. The fate of a nation hung upon the impression that should then be made upon the monarch's mind; and Nehemiah darted up a prayer to the God of heaven, before he dared to answer the king. The result was that he obtained all that he asked or even desired (HS 144).  {3BC 1136.5}
[3BC 1136.6]          8, 18. The Good Hand of God Acknowledged.--The Lord requires us to sink self in Jesus Christ, and let the glory be all of God. Our life is the Lord's, and is invested with a responsibility that we do not fully comprehend. The threads of self have become woven into the fabric, and this has dishonored God. Nehemiah, after gaining so great an influence over the monarch in whose court he lived, and over his people in Jerusalem, instead of ascribing praise to his own excellent traits of character, his remarkable aptness and energy, stated the matter just as it was. He declared that his success was due to the good hand of God that was upon him. He cherished the truth that God was his safeguard in every position of influence. For every trait of character by which he obtained favor he praised the working power of God through His unseen agencies. And God gave him wisdom because he did not exalt himself. The Lord taught him how to use the gifts entrusted to him to the very best advantage, and under the supervision of God, these talents gained other talents. This human agent could be worked by divine agencies (Letter 83, 1898).  {3BC 1136.6}
[3BC 1136.7]          12-15. Angels View Church as Nehemiah Viewed Jerusalem.--With sorrow-stricken heart, the visitor from afar gazed upon the ruined defenses of his loved Jerusalem. And is it not thus that angels of heaven survey the condition of the church of Christ? Like the dwellers at Jerusalem, we become accustomed to existing evils, and often are content while making no effort to remedy them. But how are these evils regarded by beings divinely illuminated? Do not they, like Nehemiah, look with sorrow-burdened heart upon ruined walls, and gates burned with fire?  {3BC 1136.7}
[3BC 1136.8]          Are not everywhere visible the shameful                                                                              1137  tokens of backsliding from God and conformity with a sin-loving and truth-hating world? In these days of darkness and peril, who is able to stand in defense of Zion and show her any good? Her spiritual state and prospects are not in accordance with the light and privileges bestowed of God (SW March 22, 1904).  {3BC 1136.8}
[3BC 1137.1]          17, 18. Needed: Nehemiahs.--There is need of Nehemiahs in the church today,--not men who can pray and preach only, but men whose prayers and sermons are braced with firm and eager purpose. The course pursued by this Hebrew patriot in the accomplishment of his plans is one that should still be adopted by ministers and leading men. When they have laid their plans, they should present them to the church in such a manner as to win their interest and cooperation. Let the people understand the plans and share in the work, and they will have a personal interest in its prosperity. The success attending Nehemiah's efforts shows what prayer, faith, and wise, energetic action will accomplish. Living faith will prompt to energetic action. The spirit manifested by the leader will be, to a great extent, reflected by the people. If the leaders professing to believe the solemn, important truths that are to test the world at this time, manifest no ardent zeal to prepare a people to stand in the day of God, we must expect the church to be careless, indolent, and pleasure-loving (SW March 29, 1904).  {3BC 1137.1}
[3BC 1137.2]          We need Nehemiahs in this age of the world, who shall arouse the people to see how far from God they are because of the transgression of His law. Nehemiah was a reformer, a great man raised up for an important time. As he came in contact with evil and every kind of opposition, fresh courage and zeal were aroused. His energy and determination inspired the people of Jerusalem; and strength and courage took the place of feebleness and discouragement. His holy purpose, his high hope, his cheerful consecration to the work, were contagious. The people caught the enthusiasm of their leader, and in his sphere each man became a Nehemiah, and helped to make stronger the hand and heart of his neighbor. Here is a lesson for ministers of the present day. If they are listless, inactive, destitute of godly zeal, what can be expected of the people to whom they minister (SW June 28, 1904)?  {3BC 1137.2}
[3BC 1137.3]                                   Chapter 4          1-8. Satan Still Uses Contempt and Derision.--The experience of Nehemiah is repeated in the history of God's people in this time. Those who labor in the cause of truth will find that they cannot do this without exciting the anger of its enemies. Though they have been called of God to the work in which they are engaged, and their course is approved of Him, they cannot escape reproach and derision. They will be denounced as visionary, unreliable, scheming, hypocritical,--anything, in short, that will suit the purpose of their enemies. The most sacred things will be represented in a ridiculous light to amuse the ungodly. A very small amount of sarcasm and low wit, united with envy, jealousy, impiety, and hatred, is sufficient to excite the mirth of the profane scoffer. And these presumptuous jesters sharpen one another's ingenuity, and embolden each other in their blasphemous work. Contempt and derision are indeed painful to human nature; but they must be endured by all who are true to God. It is the policy of Satan thus to turn souls from doing the work which the Lord has laid upon them.  {3BC 1137.3}
[3BC 1137.4]          Proud scorners are not to be trusted; yet, as Satan found in the heavenly courts a company to sympathize with him, so these find among professed followers of Christ those whom they can influence, who believe them honest, who sympathize with them, plead in their behalf, and become permeated with their spirit. Those who are at variance in almost everything else, will unite in persecuting the few who dare to pursue the straightforward path of duty. And the same enmity which leads to contempt and derision, will, at a favorable opportunity, inspire more violent and cruel measures, especially when workers for God are active and successful (SW April 12, 1904).  {3BC 1137.4}
[3BC 1137.5]          7-9. Union Through a Dragonic Bond.--A spirit of hatred and opposition to the Hebrews formed the bond of union, and created the mutual sympathy among different bodies of men, who otherwise might                                                                              1138  have warred against each other. This will illustrate what we frequently witness in our day in the existing union of men of different denominations to oppose the present truth, whose only bond seems to be that which is dragonic in its nature, manifesting hatred and bitterness against the remnant who keep the commandments of God. "Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them."  {3BC 1137.5}
[3BC 1138.1]          We are in constant danger of becoming self-sufficient, relying upon our own wisdom, and not making God our strength. Nothing disturbs Satan so much as our not being ignorant of his devices. If we feel our dangers, we shall feel the need of prayer as did Nehemiah, and, like him, we shall obtain that sure defense that will give us security in peril. If we are careless and indifferent, we shall surely be overcome by Satan's devices. We must be vigilant. While, like Nehemiah, we resort to prayer, taking all our perplexities and burdens to God, we should not feel that we have nothing to do. We are to watch as well as pray. We should watch the work of our adversaries, lest they gain advantage in deceiving souls. We should, in the wisdom of Christ, make efforts to defeat their purposes, while, at the same time, we do not suffer them to call us from our great work. Truth is stronger than error. Righteousness will prevail over wrong. . . .  {3BC 1138.1}
[3BC 1138.2]          We shall meet with opposition of every description, as did the builders of the walls of Jerusalem; but if we watch and pray, and work as they did, God will fight our battles for us, and give us precious victories (RH July 6, 1886).  {3BC 1138.2}
[3BC 1138.3]                                   Chapter 6          3. The Way to Meet Intimidating Threats.--We shall receive the most fierce opposition from those who oppose the law of God. But, like the builders of the walls of Jerusalem, we should not be diverted and hindered from our work by reports, by messengers desiring discussion or controversy, or by intimidating threats, the publication of falsehoods, or any of the devices Satan may instigate. Our answer should be, We are engaged in a great work, and we cannot come down. We shall sometimes be perplexed to know what course we should pursue, to preserve the honor of the cause of God, and to vindicate His truth.  {3BC 1138.3}
[3BC 1138.4]          The course of Nehemiah should have a strong bearing upon our minds, as to the manner of meeting this kind of opponents. We should take all these things to the Lord in prayer, as Nehemiah made his supplication to God while his own spirit was humbled. He clung to God with unwavering faith.  {3BC 1138.4}
[3BC 1138.5]          This is the course we should pursue. Time is too precious for the servants of God to devote to vindicating their character blackened by those who hate the Sabbath of the Lord. We should move forward with unwavering confidence, believing that God will give to His truth great and precious victories. In humility, meekness, and purity of life, relying upon Jesus, we shall carry a convincing power with us that we have the truth (RH July 6, 1886).  {3BC 1138.5}
[3BC 1138.6]                                   Chapter 9          Bible Principles Versus Customs of Men.--In the ninth chapter of Nehemiah the works of the Lord in behalf of His people are recorded. The sins of the people in turning from God are pointed out. These sins had separated them from God, and He had permitted them to be brought under the control of heathen nations.  {3BC 1138.6}
[3BC 1138.7]          This history has been recorded for our benefit. What has been will be, and we need to look to God for counsel. We must not trust to the counsel of men. We need increased discernment, that we may distinguish between truth and error. The history of the children of Israel shows the sure result of turning from Bible principles to the customs and practises of men. The Lord will not serve with any plans which gratify the selfishness of men, and blight His work. He will not give prosperity to devices that lead away from fidelity to His commandments. He demands that the talents lent to man shall be used in keeping His way, in doing justice and judgment, whether it be to break down or to restore and build up. God would not have us follow the wisdom of men who have disregarded His Word, and made themselves a reproach by their practises and counsels (RH May 2, 1899).                                                                              1139   {3BC 1138.7}
[3BC 1139.1]          6-15. See EGW on Exodus 20:1-17, Vol. 1, p. 1103.  {3BC 1139.1}
[3BC 1139.2]          38 (Nehemiah 10:29). Unite in a Solemn Covenant.--It would be a scene well-pleasing to God and angels, would His professed followers in this generation unite, as did Israel of old ［referring especially to the revival in the days of Nehemiah］, in a solemn covenant to "observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes" (SW June 7, 1904).                                                    -    {3BC 1139.2}
[3BC 1139.3]       Esther                                      Chapter 1          9. Contrast of Two Feasts.--We read with pleasure of the feast of queen Vashti. This was not a feast attended by a promiscuous number, but a feast given by the queen for the women of rank in the kingdom, who were entertained with modest courtesy, without wantonness or sensuality.  {3BC 1139.3}
[3BC 1139.4]          It was when the king was not himself, when his reason was dethroned by winedrinking that he sent for the queen, that those present at his feast, men besotted by wine, might gaze on her beauty. She acted in harmony with a pure conscience.  {3BC 1139.4}
[3BC 1139.5]          Vashti refused to obey the king's command, thinking that when he came to himself, he would commend her course of action. But the king had unwise advisers. They argued it would be a power given to woman that would be to her injury (MS 29, 1911).  {3BC 1139.5}
[3BC 1139.6]          10-12. Vashti's Refusal Was for the King's Good.--［Esther 1:10, 11 quoted.］ Had the king maintained his royal dignity by practicing habits of temperance, he would never have made this command. But his mind was affected by the wine that he had used so freely, and he was not prepared to act wisely.  {3BC 1139.6}
[3BC 1139.7]          When this command came from the king, Vashti did not carry out his orders, because she knew that wine had been freely used, and that Ahasuerus was under the influence of the intoxicating liquor. For her husband's sake as well as her own, she decided not to leave her position at the head of the women of the court ［Esther 1:12 quoted］ (MS 39, 1910).  {3BC 1139.7}
[3BC 1139.8]          16-22. God Overruled Ahasuerus' Folly for Good.--［Esther 1:16-22 quoted.］ There is little doubt that the king, when he afterward considered the matter, felt that Vashti deserved to be honored, rather than to be treated as she was.  {3BC 1139.8}
[3BC 1139.9]          No law of divorce, drawn up by men who for many days had given themselves up to wine-drinking, men who were unable to control the appetite, could be of any value in the eyes of the King of kings. These men were unable to reason soundly and nobly. They could not discern the real situation.  {3BC 1139.9}
[3BC 1139.10]          However high their office, men are amenable to God. The great power exercised by kings, often leads to extremes in exaltation of self. And the worthless vows made to enact laws which disregard the higher laws of God, lead to great injustice.  {3BC 1139.10}
[3BC 1139.11]          Occasions of indulgence such as are pictured in the first chapter of Esther, do not glorify God. But the Lord accomplishes His will through men who are nevertheless misleading others. If God did not stretch forth His restraining hand, strange presentations would be seen. But God impresses human minds to accomplish His purpose, even though the one used continues to follow wrong practices. And the Lord works out His plans through men who do not acknowledge His lessons of wisdom. In His hand is the heart of every earthly ruler, to turn whithersoever He will, as He turneth the waters of the river.  {3BC 1139.11}
[3BC 1139.12]          Through the experience that brought Esther to the Medo-Persian throne, God was working for the accomplishment of His purposes for His people. That which was done under the influence of much wine worked out for good to Israel (MS 39, 1910).                                                                              1140   {3BC 1139.12}
[3BC 1140.1]                                     Chapter 4          14-17. Consecrated Women Can Act Important Part.--Through Esther the queen the Lord accomplished a mighty deliverance for His people. At a time when it seemed that no power could save them, Esther and the women associated with her, by fasting and prayer and prompt action, met the issue, and brought salvation to their people.  {3BC 1140.1}
[3BC 1140.2]          A study of women's work in connection with the cause of God in Old Testament times will teach us lessons that will enable us to meet emergencies in the work today. We may not be brought into such a critical and prominent place as were the people of God in the time of Esther; but often converted women can act an important part in more humble positions (Letter 22, 1911).                                                    -    {3BC 1140.2}
[3BC 1140.3]       Job                                    Chapter 1          1. Moses Wrote Book of Job.--The long years amid desert solitudes were not lost. Not only was Moses gaining a preparation for the great work before him, but during this time, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote the book of Genesis and also the book of Job, which would be read with the deepest interest by the people of God until the close of time (ST Feb. 19, 1880).  {3BC 1140.3}
[3BC 1140.4]          5. Job as a Faithful Priest.--It were well for parents to learn from the man of Uz a lesson of steadfastness and devotion. Job did not neglect his duty to those outside of his household; he was benevolent, kind, thoughtful of the interest of others; and at the same time he labored earnestly for the salvation of his own family. Amid the festivities of his sons and daughters, he trembled lest his children should displease God. As a faithful priest of the household, he offered sacrifices for them individually. He knew the offensive character of sin, and the thought that his children might forget the divine claims, led him to God as an intercessor in their behalf (RH Aug. 30, 1881).  {3BC 1140.4}
[3BC 1140.5]                                    Chapter 4          7-9 (ch. 38:1, 2). Calamities Not an Index to Sins.--It is very natural for human beings to think that great calamities are a sure index of great crimes and enormous sins; but men often make a mistake in thus measuring character. We are not living in the time of retributive judgment. Good and evil are mingled, and calamities come upon all. Sometimes men do pass the boundary line beyond God's protecting care, and then Satan exercises his power upon them, and God does not interpose. Job was sorely afflicted, and his friends sought to make him acknowledge that his suffering was the result of sin, and cause him to feel under condemnation. They represented his case as that of a great sinner; but the Lord rebuked them for their judgment of His faithful servant (MS 56, 1894).  {3BC 1140.5}
[3BC 1140.6]         9. Job's Friends Misrepresented God.--There is wickedness in our world, but all the suffering is not the result of a perverted course of life. Job is brought distinctly before us as a man whom the Lord allowed Satan to afflict. The enemy stripped him of all he possessed; his family ties were broken; his children were taken from him. For a time his body was covered with loathsome sores, and he suffered greatly. His friends came to comfort him, but they tried to make him see that he was responsible, by his sinful course, for his afflictions. But he defended himself, and denied the charge, declaring, Miserable comforters are ye all. By seeking to make him guilty before God, and deserving of His punishment, they brought a grievous test upon him, and represented God in a false light; but Job did not swerve from his loyalty, and God rewarded His faithful servant (MS 22, 1898).                                                                              1141   {3BC 1140.6}
[3BC 1141.1]                                    Chapter 38          (Romans 11:33.) God Asks Questions Scholars Cannot Answer.--Men of the greatest intellect cannot understand the mysteries of Jehovah as revealed in nature. Divine inspiration asks many questions which the most profound scholar cannot answer. These questions were not asked, supposing that we could answer them, but to call our attention to the deep mysteries of God, and to make men know that their wisdom is limited; that in the common things of daily life there are mysteries past the comprehension of finite minds; that the judgment and purposes of God are past finding out, His wisdom unsearchable. If He reveals Himself to man, it is by shrouding Himself in the thick cloud of mystery.  {3BC 1141.1}
[3BC 1141.2]          God's purpose is to conceal more of Himself than He makes known to man. Could men fully understand the ways and works of God, they would not then believe Him to be the infinite One. He is not to be comprehended by man in His wisdom, and reasons, and purposes. "His ways are past finding out" ［Romans 11:33］. His love can never be explained upon natural principles. If this could be done, we would not feel that we could trust Him with the interests of our souls. Skeptics refuse to believe, because with their finite minds they cannot comprehend the infinite power by which God reveals Himself to men. Even the mechanism of the human body cannot be fully understood; it presents mysteries that baffle the most intelligent.  {3BC 1141.2}
[3BC 1141.3]          Yet because human science cannot in its research explain the ways and works of the Creator, men will doubt the existence of God, and ascribe infinite power to nature. God's existence, His character, His law, are facts that all the reasoning of men of the highest attainments cannot controvert. They deny the claims of God, and neglect the interest of their souls, because they cannot understand His ways and works. Yet God is ever seeking to instruct finite men that they may exercise faith in Him and trust themselves wholly in His hands. Every drop of rain or flake of snow, every spire of grass, every leaf and flower and shrub, testifies of God. These little things so common around us, teach the lesson that nothing is beneath the notice of the infinite God, nothing too small for His attention (GCB Feb. 18, 1897).  {3BC 1141.3}
[3BC 1141.4]          1, 2. See EGW on ch. 4:7-9.  {3BC 1141.4}
[3BC 1141.5]         11. Power That Controls Waves Can Control Rebellion.--Nothing can happen in any part of the universe without the knowledge of Him who is omnipresent. Not a single event of human life is unknown to our Maker. While Satan is constantly devising evil, the Lord our God overrules all, so that it will not harm His obedient, trusting children. The same power that controls the boisterous waves of the ocean can hold in check all the power of rebellion and of crime. God says to one as to the other, "Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther."  {3BC 1141.5}
[3BC 1141.6]          What lessons of humility and faith may we not learn as we trace the dealings of God with His creatures. The Lord can do but little for the children of men, because they are so full of pride and vain glory. They exalt self, magnifying their own strength, learning, and wisdom. It is necessary for God to disappoint their hopes and frustrate their plans, that they may learn to trust in Him alone. All our powers are from God; we can do nothing independent of the strength which He has given us. Where is the man or woman or child that God does not sustain? Where is the desolate place which God does not fill? Where is the want that any but God can supply? . . .  {3BC 1141.6}
[3BC 1141.7]          He would have us make Him our protector and our guide in all the duties and affairs of life (ST July 14, 1881).  {3BC 1141.7}
[3BC 1141.8]                                    Chapter 42          10. Pray for Those Who Hurt Us.--Let us strive to walk in the light as Christ is in the light. The Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed, not only for himself, but for those who were opposing him. When he felt earnestly desirous that the souls that had trespassed against him might be helped, he himself received help. Let us pray, not only for ourselves, but for those who have hurt us, and are continuing to hurt us. Pray, pray, especially in your mind. Give not the Lord rest; for His ears are open to hear sincere, importunate prayers, when the soul is humbled before Him (Letter 88, 1906).  {3BC 1141.8}
[3BC 1142.1]       Psalm           Direction to Study Several Psalm.--How terrible it is when the acknowledgment of God is not made when it should be made! How sad to humble one's self when it is too late! Why, O why, do not men heed the invitation? The psalmist said, "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek" ［Psalm 27:8］. The whole of this psalm is excellent, and should be placed in the reading and spelling lessons of the classes. The twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and seventy-eighth psalms tell of the rich blessings bestowed by God upon His people, and of their poor returns for all His benefits. The eighty-first psalm explains why Israel was scattered. They forgot God, as the churches in our land are forgetting Him today. Read the eighty-ninth, ninetieth, ninety-first, ninety-second, and ninety-third psalms. My attention has been called to these matters. Shall we not consider the Word of the Lord? These things were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come, and should they not be the objects of study in our schools? The Word of God contains instructive lessons, given in reproof, in warning, in encouragement, and in rich promises. Would not such food as this be meat in due season to the youth (MS 96, 1899)?  {3BC 1142.1}
[3BC 1142.2]                                   Psalm 1     3. What Makes an Evergreen Christian?--Seek to be an evergreen tree. Wear the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. Cherish the grace of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. This is the fruit of the Christian tree. Planted by the rivers of water, it always brings forth its fruit in due season (MS 39, 1896).  {3BC 1142.2}
[3BC 1142.3]                                   Psalm 5     5-12 (James 3:8). Distinguishing Features of Speech.--Speech is one of the great gifts of God to man. The tongue is a little member, but the words it frames, made vocal by the voice, have a great power. The Lord declares, "The tongue can no man tame." It has set nation against nation, and has caused battle and bloodshed. Words have kindled fires that have been hard to quench. They have also brought joy and gladness to many souls. And when words are spoken because God says, "Speak unto them My words," they often cause sorrow unto repentance.  {3BC 1142.3}
[3BC 1142.4]         The talent of speech carries with it great responsibility. It needs to be carefully guarded; for it is a mighty power for evil as well as for good.  {3BC 1142.4}
[3BC 1142.5]          ［Psalm 5:5-12 quoted.］  {3BC 1142.5}
[3BC 1142.6]         In these verses righteousness and unrighteousness are represented. These are the distinguishing features of speech (Letter 34, 1899).  {3BC 1142.6}
[3BC 1142.7]                                     Psalm 8     3. See EGW on Isaiah 60:1.  {3BC 1142.7}
[3BC 1142.8]                                    Psalm 11      6 (Malachi 4:1). Devouring Flames Recompense the Wicked.--The wicked receive their recompense in the earth. "Upon the wicked he shall rain quick burning coals, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup." Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The earth is broken up. The weapons concealed in its depths are drawn forth. Devouring flames burst from every yawning chasm. The very rocks are on fire. The day has come that shall burn as an oven. The elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein are burned up. The wicked "shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts." All are punished "according to their deeds" (SW March 14, 1905).  {3BC 1142.8}
[3BC 1142.9]                                    Psalm 17      (Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 12:12.) David's Struggle.--David was a representative man. His                                                                              1143  history is of interest to every soul who is striving for eternal victories. In his life two powers struggled for the mastery. Unbelief marshalled its forces, and tried to eclipse the light shining upon him from the throne of God. Day by day the battle went on in his heart, Satan disputing every step of advance made by the forces of righteousness. David understood what it meant to fight against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. At times it seemed that the enemy must gain the victory. But in the end, faith conquered, and David rejoiced in the saving power of Jehovah.  {3BC 1142.9}
[3BC 1143.1]         The struggle that David went through, every other follower of Christ must go through. Satan has come down with great power, knowing that his time is short. The controversy is being waged in full view of the heavenly universe, and angels stand ready to lift up for God's hard pressed soldiers a standard against the enemy, and to put into their lips songs of victory and rejoicing (MS 38, 1905).  {3BC 1143.1}
[3BC 1143.2]          5. All Paths Are Beset With Peril.--You need not be surprised if everything in the journey heavenward is not pleasant. There is no use in looking to our own defects. Looking unto Jesus, the darkness passes away, and the true light shineth. Go forth daily, expressing the prayer of David, "Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not." All the paths of life are beset with peril, but we are safe if we follow where the Master leads the way, trusting the One whose voice we hear saying, "Follow Me." "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Let your heart repose in His love. We need sanctification, soul, body, and spirit. This we must seek for (NL No. 11, p. 2).  {3BC 1143.2}
[3BC 1143.3]                                   Psalm 18      3. Determination Increases Will Power.--As you confess before men and women your confidence in the Lord, additional strength is imparted to you. Determine to praise Him. With firm determination comes increased will power; and soon you will find that you cannot help praising Him ［Psalm 18:3 quoted］ (MS 116, 1902).  {3BC 1143.3}
[3BC 1143.4]         25. An Illustration of Mercy and Uprightness.--The psalmist continues: "With the merciful Thou wilt shew Thyself merciful." Let us begin to put into practise the instruction given us in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah, showing mercy to those who are afflicted. "With an upright man Thou wilt shew Thyself upright." God will reward men according to their uprightness (MS 116, 1902).  {3BC 1143.4}
[3BC 1143.5]          26. God Meets Us Where We Are.--"With the pure Thou wilt shew Thyself pure; and with the froward Thou wilt shew Thyself froward"--that is, as God meets us where we are, so we are to meet men where they are. Let us not, by refusing to meet our fellow-men where they are, place ourselves outside the compass of God's love and mercy (MS 116, 1902).  {3BC 1143.5}
[3BC 1143.6]                                   Psalm 19      (Psalm 119:130.) Teach Lessons From the Heavens.--God calls upon teachers to behold the heavens and study the works of God in nature. ［Psalm 19:1-3 quoted.］ Shall we not commit to memory the lessons nature teaches? Shall we not open the eyes of our senses; and take in the beautiful things of God? We would do well to read often the nineteenth psalm that we may understand how the Lord binds up His law with His created works. . . .  {3BC 1143.6}
[3BC 1143.7]         We are to contemplate the wonderful works of God, and repeat the lessons learned from them to our children, that we may lead them to see His skill, His power, His grandeur in His created works.  {3BC 1143.7}
[3BC 1143.8]          What a God is our God! He rules over His kingdom with diligence and care, and He has built a hedge--the ten commandments--about His subjects, to preserve them from transgression. In requiring obedience to the laws of His kingdom, God gives His people health and happiness, peace and joy. He teaches them that the perfection of character He requires can only be attained by becoming familiar with His Word. The psalmist declares, "The entrance of thy word giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple" (MS 96, 1899).  {3BC 1143.8}
[3BC 1143.9]          1-14. A Revelation of Higher Education.--When the Son of man came among men, He brought the intelligence of heaven with Him; for He created the worlds and all                                                                              1144  things that are therein. Man's study of the sciences and nature, unaided by the divine instruction, falls short of the precious things Christ would have him learn in the things of the natural world. He fails to be instructed by the little things in nature, which teach large and important truths essential for the salvation of the soul.  {3BC 1143.9}
[3BC 1144.1]          Obedience to natural laws is obedience to divine laws. Christ came to all as the God of nature. He came to reflect upon all the things of nature in their relative importance, the glory of heaven, to impress human minds with the glory of Him who created all things, to teach men to obey His voice, and impart the science of true education, which is the simplicity of true religion. ［Psalm 19:1-6 quoted.］  {3BC 1144.1}
[3BC 1144.2]         Then the psalmist connects the law of God in the natural world with the laws given to His created intelligences. ［Psalm 19:7-14 quoted.］  {3BC 1144.2}
[3BC 1144.3]         This psalm reveals that higher education which all must receive, or perish in their sins. Man alone is disobedient to the laws of Jehovah. When the Lord bids nature bear testimony to the things which He has made, instantly they witness to the glory of God.  {3BC 1144.3}
[3BC 1144.4]          Christ represents the earthly things, that they may represent the spiritual. The parable of the sower and the seed has a lesson of the highest importance. As a lesson-book Christ has opened it before us to represent the spiritual sowing. The Lord calls attention to the things which He has created, and those things repeat the lessons of Christ. He bids the things of nature speak to the senses, that man may take heed to the voice of God therein. The things of nature speak eternal truths (MS 28, 1898).  {3BC 1144.4}
[3BC 1144.5]          1 (see EGW on Isaiah 40:26). Moon and Stars May Be Our Companions.-- The heavens may be to them ［the youth］ a study-book, from which they may learn lessons of intense interest. The moon and the stars may be their companions, speaking to them in the most eloquent language of the love of God (YI Oct. 25, 1900).  {3BC 1144.5}
[3BC 1144.6]          Natural Science, God's Storehouse.--If the follower of Christ will believe His Word and practice it, there is no science in the natural world but he will be able to grasp and appropriate, nothing but will furnish him means by which he can impart truth to others. Natural science is God's storehouse from which every student in the school of Christ may draw. The ways of God in natural philosophy, and the mysteries connected with His dealings with man, are a treasury from which all may draw (MS 95, 1898).  {3BC 1144.6}
[3BC 1144.7]          Science and Religion Cannot Be Divorced.--Nature is full of lessons of the love of God. Rightly understood, these lessons lead to the Creator. They point from nature to nature's God, teaching those simple, holy truths which cleanse the mind, bringing it into close touch with God. These lessons emphasize the truth that science and religion cannot be divorced.  {3BC 1144.7}
[3BC 1144.8]          Christ came to this earth to teach men the mysteries of the kingdom of God. But men could not by human reasoning understand His lessons. Man's wisdom cannot originate the science which is divine. . . . When man is reconciled to God, nature speaks to him in words of heavenly wisdom, bearing testimony to the eternal truth of God's Word. As Christ tells us the meaning of the things in nature, the science of true religion flashes forth, explaining the relation of the law of God to the natural and spiritual world (MS 67, 1901).  {3BC 1144.8}
[3BC 1144.9]          1-3 (see EGW on Psalm 147:4). Study of Creation Lifts the Mind.--If the frivolous and pleasure-seeking will allow their minds to dwell upon the real and the true, the heart cannot but be filled with reverence, and they will adore the God of nature. The study of God's character as revealed in His created works will open a field of thought that will draw the mind away from low, enervating pleasures. The knowledge of God's works and ways we can only begin to obtain in this world; the study will be continued throughout eternity (YI May 6, 1897).  {3BC 1144.9}
[3BC 1144.10]         1-6. Forces of Nature Are God's Ministers.--［Psalm 19:1-6 quoted.］ God encourages us to contemplate His works in the natural world. He desires that we shall turn our mind from the study of the artificial to the natural. We shall understand this better as we lift up our eyes to the hills of God, and contemplate the works which His own hands have created. They are God's work. His hand has molded the mountains and                                                                              1145  balances them in their position, that they shall not be moved except at His command. The wind, the sun, the rain, the snow, and the ice, are all His ministers to do His will (MS 16, 1897).  {3BC 1144.10}
[3BC 1145.1]         14 (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 12:34-37; Philippians 4:8). Controlled, Noble Thinking Acceptable to God.--［Psalm 19:14 quoted.］ As God works upon the heart by His Holy Spirit, man must cooperate with Him. The thoughts must be bound about, restricted, withdrawn from branching out and contemplating things that will only weaken and defile the soul. The thoughts must be pure, the meditations of the heart must be clean, if the words of the mouth are to be words acceptable to heaven, and helpful to your associates. . . .［Matthew 12:34-37 quoted.］  {3BC 1145.1}
[3BC 1145.2]         In the sermon on the mount, Christ presented before His disciples the far-reaching principles of the law of God. He taught His hearers that the law was transgressed by the thoughts before the evil desire was carried out in actual commission. We are under obligation to control our thoughts, and to bring them into subjection to the law of God. The noble powers of the mind have been given to us by the Lord, that we may employ them in contemplating heavenly things. God has made abundant provision that the soul may make continual progression in the divine life. He has placed on every hand agencies to aid our development in knowledge and virtue; and yet, how little these agencies are appreciated or enjoyed! How often the mind is given to the contemplation of that which is earthly, sensual, and base! We give our time and thought to the trivial and commonplace things of the world, and neglect the great interests that pertain to eternal life. The noble powers of the mind are dwarfed and enfeebled by lack of exercise on themes that are worthy of their concentration. ［Philippians 4:8 quoted.］  {3BC 1145.2}
[3BC 1145.3]          Let every one who desires to be a partaker of the divine nature appreciate the fact that he must escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. There must be a constant, earnest struggling of the soul against the evil imaginings of the mind. There must be a steadfast resistance of temptation to sin in thought or act. The soul must be kept from every stain, through faith in Him who is able to keep you from falling. We should meditate upon the scriptures, thinking soberly and candidly upon the things that pertain to our eternal salvation. The infinite mercy and love of Jesus, the sacrifice made in our behalf, call for most serious and solemn reflection. We should dwell upon the character of our dear Redeemer and Intercessor. We should seek to comprehend the meaning of the plan of salvation. We should meditate upon the mission of Him who came to save His people from their sins. By constantly contemplating heavenly themes, our faith and love will grow stronger. Our prayers will be more and more acceptable to God, because they will be more and more mixed with faith and love. They will be more intelligent and fervent. There will be more constant confidence in Jesus, and you will have a daily, living experience in the willingness and power of Christ to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him.  {3BC 1145.3}
[3BC 1145.4]          By beholding we are to become changed, and as we meditate upon the perfections of our divine Model, we shall desire to become wholly transformed and renewed in the image of His purity. There will be a hungering and thirsting of soul to be made like Him whom we adore. The more our thoughts are upon Christ, the more we shall speak of Him to others, and represent Him to the world. We are called to come out and be separate from the world, that we may be the sons and daughters of the Most High; and we are under sacred obligation to glorify God, as His children upon the earth. It is essential that the mind should be stayed upon Christ, that we may hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ from heaven (RH June 12, 1888).  {3BC 1145.4}
[3BC 1145.5]                                 Psalm 19, 20    >     Nineteenth and Twentieth Psalm Especially for Us.--The Lord would have us awake to our true spiritual condition. He desires that every soul shall humble heart and mind before Him. The words of inspiration found in the nineteenth and twentieth psalms are presented to me for our people. It is our privilege to accept                                                                              1146  these precious promises, and to believe the warnings. I pray that our hearts may be fully awake to the perils that surround those who are indifferent to the soul's eternal welfare. We need to search the Scriptures as never before. The Word of God is to be our educator, our guide. We are to understand what saith the Scriptures.  {3BC 1145.5}
[3BC 1146.1]         In the night season I seemed to be repeating these words to the people: There is need of close examination of self. We have no time now to spend in self-indulgence. If we are connected with God, we shall humble our hearts before Him, and be very zealous in the perfecting of Christian characters. We have a grand and solemn work to do, for the world is to be enlightened in regard to the times in which we live; and they will be enlightened when a straight testimony is borne. They will be led to earnest examination of self (Letter 12, 1909).  {3BC 1146.1}
[3BC 1146.2]                                    Psalm 25      18 (2 Samuel 16:12). A Strong Man in a Storm.--David was never more worthy of admiration than in his hour of adversity. Never was this cedar of God truly greater than when wrestling with the storm and tempest. He was a man of the keenest temperament, which might have been raised to the strongest feelings of resentment. He was cut to the quick with the imputation of unmerited wrong. Reproach, he tells us, had broken his heart. And it would not have been surprising if, stung to madness, he had given vent to his feelings of uncontrollable irritation, to bursts of vehement rage, and expressions of revenge. But there was nothing of this which would naturally be expected of a man with his stamp of character. With spirits broken and in tearful emotion, but without one expression of repining, he turns his back upon the scenes of his glory and also of his crime, and pursues his flight for his life (Letter 6, 1880).  {3BC 1146.2}
[3BC 1146.3]                                    Psalm 32      1, 2. David Was Reconverted.--David was pardoned of his transgression because he humbled his heart before God in repentance and contrition of soul, and believed that God's promise to forgive would be fulfilled. He confessed his sin, repented, and was reconverted. In the rapture of the assurance of forgiveness, he exclaimed, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." The blessing comes because of pardon; pardon comes through faith that the sin, confessed and repented of, is borne by the great Sin-bearer. Thus from Christ cometh all our blessings. His death is an atoning sacrifice for our sins. He is the great Medium through whom we receive the mercy and favor of God. He, then, is indeed the Originator, the Author, as well as the Finisher, of our faith (MS 21, 1891).  {3BC 1146.3}
[3BC 1146.4]                                    Psalm 33      6, 9. See EGW on Genesis 1:1-3, Vol. 1, p. 1081.  {3BC 1146.4}
[3BC 1146.5]                                    Psalm 34      12-15. Assurance Fosters Health.--［1 Peter 3:10-12 quoted.］ . . .  {3BC 1146.5}
[3BC 1146.6]         The assurance of God's approval will promote physical health. It fortifies the soul against doubt, perplexity, and excessive grief, that so often sap the vital forces and induce nervous diseases of a most debilitating and distressing character. The Lord has pledged His unfailing word that His eye shall be over the righteous, and His ear open to their prayer, while He is against all them that do evil. We make very hard work for ourselves in this world when we take such a course that the Lord is against us (RH Oct. 16, 1883).  {3BC 1146.6}
[3BC 1146.7]                                     Psalm 35      28. Education for the Tongue.--The tongue needs to be educated and disciplined and trained to speak of the glories of heaven, to talk of the matchless love of Jesus Christ (Letter 32, 1890).  {3BC 1146.7}
[3BC 1146.8]                                    Psalm 42      1. Our Souls Should Hunger for Heaven's Gifts.--We are to come to God                                                                              1147  in faith, and pour out our supplications before Him, believing that He will work in our behalf, and in the behalf of those we are seeking to save. We are to devote more time to earnest prayer. With the trusting faith of a little child, we are to come to our heavenly Father, telling Him of all our needs. He is always ready to pardon and help. The supply of divine wisdom is inexhaustible, and the Lord encourages us to draw largely from it. The longing that we should have for spiritual blessings is described in the words, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." We need a deeper soul-hunger for the rich gifts that heaven has to bestow. We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness.  {3BC 1146.8}
[3BC 1147.1]         O that we might have a consuming desire to know God by an experimental knowledge, to come into the audience chamber of the Most High, reaching up the hand of faith, and casting our helpless souls upon the One mighty to save. His loving kindness is better than life (MS 38, 1905).  {3BC 1147.1}
[3BC 1147.2]                                    Psalm 51      1-17. The Way Back to God.--I present before you the fifty-first psalm, a psalm filled with precious lessons. From it we may learn what course to follow if we have departed from the Lord. To the king of Israel, exalted and honored, the Lord sent a message of reproof by His prophet. David confessed his sin and humbled his heart, declaring God to be just in all His dealings ［Psalm 51:1-17 quoted］ (MS 147, 1903).  {3BC 1147.2}
[3BC 1147.3]         Chief Guilt Is Sin Against God.--Sin is sin, whether committed by one sitting on a throne, or by one in the humbler walks of life. The day is coming when all who have committed sin will make confession, even though it is too late for them to receive pardon. God waits long for the sinner to repent. He manifests a wonderful forbearance. But He must at last call the transgressor of His law to account.  {3BC 1147.3}
[3BC 1147.4]          A man incurs guilt by injuring a fellow-being, but his chief guilt is the sin that he has committed against the Lord, and the evil influence of his example upon others.  {3BC 1147.4}
[3BC 1147.5]          The sincere child of God does not make light of any of His requirements (MS 147, 1903).  {3BC 1147.5}
[3BC 1147.6]          3. A Live Conscience Leads to Confession.--David often triumphed in God, and yet he dwelt much upon his own unworthiness and sinfulness. His conscience was not asleep or dead. "My sin," he cried, "is ever before me." He did not flatter himself that sin was a matter with which he had nothing to do, and that should not concern him. As he saw the depths of deceit in his heart, he was deeply disgusted with himself, and prayed that God would keep him back by His power from presumptuous sins, and cleanse him from secret faults.  {3BC 1147.6}
[3BC 1147.7]          It is not safe for us to close our eyes and harden our consciences, that we shall not see or realize our sins. We need to cherish the instruction we have had in regard to the hateful character of sin in order that we may repent of and confess our sins (Letter 71, 1893).  {3BC 1147.7}
[3BC 1147.8]                                   Psalm 63      5, 6 (Psalm 104:34). Meditation Leads to Love and Fellowship.--Rest yourself wholly in the hands of Jesus. Contemplate His great love, and while you meditate upon His self-denial, His infinite sacrifice made in our behalf in order that we should believe in Him, your heart will be filled with holy joy, calm peace, and indescribable love. As we talk of Jesus, as we call upon Him in prayer, our confidence that He is our personal, loving Saviour will strengthen and His character will appear more and more lovely. . . . We may enjoy rich feasts of love, and as we fully believe that we are His by adoption, we may have a foretaste of heaven. Wait upon the Lord in faith. The Lord draws out the soul in prayer, and gives us to feel His precious love. We have a nearness to Him, and can hold sweet communion with Him. We obtain distinct views of His tenderness and compassion, and our hearts are broken and melted with contemplation of the love that is given to us. We feel indeed an abiding Christ in the soul. We abide in Him, and feel at home with Jesus. The promises flow into the soul. Our peace is like a river, wave after wave of glory rolls into the heart, and indeed                                                                              1148  we sup with Jesus and He with us. We have a realizing sense of the love of God, and we rest in His love. No language can describe it, it is beyond knowledge. We are one with Christ, our life is hid with Christ in God. We have the assurance that when He who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory. With strong confidence, we can call God our Father (Letter 52, 1894).  {3BC 1147.8}
[3BC 1148.1]                                  Psalm 66         1-5. This Psalm Often Sung by Christ.--［Psalm 66:1-5 quoted.］ This psalm and portions of the sixty-eighth and seventy-second psalms were often sung by Christ. Thus in the most simple and unassuming way He taught others (YI Sept. 8, 1898).  {3BC 1148.1}
[3BC 1148.2]         16. Praise God More.--Would it not be well to cultivate gratitude, and to offer grateful songs of thanksgiving to God? As Christians we ought to praise God more than we do. We ought to bring more of the brightness of His love into our lives. As by faith we look to Jesus His joy and peace are reflected from the countenances. How earnestly we should seek so to relate ourselves to God that our faces may reflect the sunshine of His love! When our own souls are vivified by the Holy Spirit, we shall exert an uplifting influence upon others who know not the joy of Christ's presence.  {3BC 1148.2}
[3BC 1148.3]          Said David, "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul" (MS 115, 1903).  {3BC 1148.3}
[3BC 1148.4]                                    Psalm 71      9, 17, 19 (Psalm 92:13-15). Guard Against Evils Attending Old Age.-- David entreated the Lord not to forsake him in old age. And why did he thus pray? He saw that most of the aged around him were unhappy, because of the unfortunate traits of their character being increased with their age. If they had been naturally close and covetous, they were most disagreeably so in mature years. If they had been jealous, fretful, and impatient, they were especially so when aged.  {3BC 1148.4}
[3BC 1148.5]         David was distressed as he saw those who once seemed to have the fear of God before them, now in old age seemingly forsaken of God and exposed to ridicule by the enemies of the Lord. And why were they thus situated? As age crept on they seemed to lose their former powers of discernment, and were ready to listen to the deceptive advice of strangers in regard to those whom they should confide in. Their jealousy unrestrained sometimes burned into a flame, because all did not agree with their failing judgment. Some thought that their own children and relatives wanted them to die in order to take their places and possess their wealth, and receive the homage which had been bestowed upon them. And others were so controlled by their jealous, covetous feelings, as to destroy their own children.  {3BC 1148.5}
[3BC 1148.6]          David was strongly moved. He was distressed. He looked forward to the time when he should be aged, and feared that God would leave him and he would be as unhappy as other aged persons whose course he had noticed, and that he should be left to the reproach of the enemies of the Lord. With this burden upon him he earnestly prays ［Psalm 71:9, 17, 19 quoted］. David felt the necessity of guarding against the evils which attend old age.  {3BC 1148.6}
[3BC 1148.7]         It is frequently the case that aged persons are unwilling to acknowledge that their mental strength is failing, and therefore shorten their days by taking care which belongs to their children. Satan often plays upon their imagination, and leads them to hoard their means with miserly care, and thus create a continual anxiety about their earthly goods. Some will even deprive themselves of many of the comforts of life, and labor beyond their strength, rather than use the means which they have. Thus they are in continual vexation, through fear that some time in the future they shall want.  {3BC 1148.7}
[3BC 1148.8]         If such would take the position God would have them, their last days might be their best, their happiest. Those who have children in whose honesty and management they have reason to confide, should allow them to manage for them and provide for their happiness. Unless they do this, Satan will take advantage of their lack of mental strength, and will manage for them. They should lay aside anxiety and burdens, and occupy their time as                                                                              1149  happily as they can, in ripening up for heaven (ST Feb. 19, 1880).  {3BC 1148.8}
[3BC 1149.1]          17. See EGW on 1 Samuel 2:26, Vol. 2, p. 1010.  {3BC 1149.1}
[3BC 1149.2]                                     Psalm 77      7, 10-12. David's Varying Mental Experience.--The psalmist David in his experience had many changes of mind. At times, as he obtained views of God's will and ways, he was highly exalted. Then as he caught sight of the reverse of God's mercy and changeless love, everything seemed to be shrouded in a cloud of darkness. But through the darkness he obtained a view of the attributes of God, which gave him confidence and strengthened his faith. But when he meditated upon the difficulties and danger of life, they looked so forbidding that he thought himself abandoned by God because of his sins. He viewed his sin in such a strong light that he exclaimed, "Will the Lord cast off for ever? will he be favorable no more?"  {3BC 1149.2}
[3BC 1149.3]         But as he wept and prayed, he obtained a clearer view of the character and attributes of God, being educated by heavenly agencies, and he decided that his ideas of God's justice and severity were exaggerated. He rejected his impressions as being the result of his weakness, ignorance, and physical infirmities, and as dishonoring to God, and with renewed faith he exclaimed, "This is my infirmity; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High."  {3BC 1149.3}
[3BC 1149.4]          Most earnestly he studied the ways of God, expressed by Christ when enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, and given to Moses to be faithfully repeated to all Israel. He called to mind what God had wrought to secure for Himself a people to whom He could entrust sacred and vital truth for future ages. God wrought most wondrously to free more than a million people; and as David considered His pledges and promises to them, knowing they were for all who need them as much as for Israel, he appropriated them to himself, saying, "I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doing."  {3BC 1149.4}
[3BC 1149.5]          His faith laid hold of God, and he was strengthened and encouraged; although he recognized God's ways as mysterious, yet he knew they were merciful and good; for this was His character as revealed to Moses: "The Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth."  {3BC 1149.5}
[3BC 1149.6]          As David appropriated these promises and privileges to himself he decided that he would no longer be hasty in judgment, becoming discouraged, and casting himself down in helpless despair. His soul took courage as he contemplated the general character of God as displayed in His teaching, His forbearance, His surpassing greatness and mercy, and he saw that the works and wonders of God are to have no confined application.  {3BC 1149.6}
[3BC 1149.7]          But again David's experience changed ［Psalm 73:2-5, 12, 17-23, 28 quoted］ (MS 4, 1896).  {3BC 1149.7}
[3BC 1149.8]                                    Psalm 89      14. Twin Sisters.--Justice has a twin sister that should ever stand by her side, which is Mercy and Love (Letter 18e, 1890).  {3BC 1149.8}
[3BC 1149.9]         (1 Peter 5:3.) Men Must Not Dominate Others.--Let those who occupy positions of trust rid themselves of the unmerciful spirit which so greatly offends God. Justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne. Let no one suppose that God has given to men the power of ruling their fellow-men. He will accept the service of no man who hurts and discourages Christ's heritage. Now is the time for every man to examine himself, to prove himself, that he may see whether he is in the faith. Investigate closely the motives which prompt you to action. We are engaged in the work of the Most High. Let us not weave into the web of our work one thread of selfishness. Let us rise to a higher plane in our daily experience. God will not serve with the sins of any man (MS 42, 1901).                                                                              1150   {3BC 1149.9}
[3BC 1150.1]                                     Psalm 90         8. We May See Our Lives as God Does.--To dwell upon the beauty, goodness, mercy, and love of Jesus is strengthening to the mental and moral powers, and while the mind is kept trained to do the works of Christ, to be obedient children, you will habitually inquire, Is this the way of the Lord? Will Jesus be pleased to have me do this? Will this course be to please myself or to please Jesus?  {3BC 1150.1}
[3BC 1150.2]         Then will every soul remember the words of the Lord: Thou hast my secret sins in the light of thy countenance. Many need to make a decided change in the tenor of their thoughts and actions, if they would please Jesus. We can seldom see our sins in the grievous light that God can. Many have habituated themselves to pursue a course of sin, and their hearts harden, under the influence of the power of Satan. And their thoughts are brought into captivity to his evil influences; but when in the strength and grace of God they place their minds against the temptations of Satan, their minds are made clear, their hearts and consciences by being influenced by the Spirit of God are made sensitive, and then sin appears as it is-- exceedingly sinful. Then is the time when the secret sins are set in the light of their countenance. They confess their sins to God, and repent of them and become ashamed of sin. . . . He casts them from the light of His countenance behind His back (Letter 43, 1892).  {3BC 1150.2}
[3BC 1150.3]                                     Psalm 91      Loss Sustained by the Wicked.--In the ninety-first psalm is a most wonderful description of the coming of the Lord to bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end, and to give to those who have chosen Him as their Redeemer the assurance of His love and protecting care.  {3BC 1150.3}
[3BC 1150.4]         ［Psalm 91:1-15 quoted.］  {3BC 1150.4}
[3BC 1150.5]         The righteous understand God's government, and will triumph with holy gladness in the everlasting protection and salvation that Christ through His merits has secured for them. Let all remember this, and forget not that the wicked, who do not receive Christ as their personal Saviour, understand not His providence. The way of righteousness they have not chosen, and they know not God. Notwithstanding all the benefits He has so graciously bestowed upon them, they have abused His mercy by neglecting to acknowledge His goodness and mercy in showing them these favors. At any moment God can withdraw from the impenitent the tokens of His wonderful mercy and love.  {3BC 1150.5}
[3BC 1150.6]          Oh, that human agencies might consider what will be the sure result of their ingratitude to Him, and of their disregard of the infinite gift of Christ to our world! If they continue to love transgression more than obedience, the present blessings and the great mercy of God that they now enjoy, but do not appreciate, will finally become the occasion of their eternal ruin. They may for a time choose to engage in worldly amusements and sinful pleasures, rather than to check themselves in their course of sin, and live for God and for the honor of the Majesty of heaven; but when it is too late for them to see and to understand that which they have slighted as a thing of naught, they will know what it means to be without God, without hope. Then they will sense what they have lost by choosing to be disloyal to God and to stand in rebellion against His commandments. In the past they defied His power and rejected His overtures of mercy; finally His judgments will fall upon them. Then they will realize that they have lost happiness-- life, eternal life, in the heavenly courts. . . .  {3BC 1150.6}
[3BC 1150.7]          In the time when God's judgments are falling without mercy, oh, how enviable to the wicked will be the position of those who abide "in the secret place of the Most High"--the pavilion in which the Lord hides all who have loved Him and have obeyed His commandments! The lot of the righteous is indeed an enviable one at such a time to those who are suffering because of their sins. But the door of mercy is closed to the wicked, no more prayers are offered in their behalf, after probation ends.  {3BC 1150.7}
[3BC 1150.8]          But this time has not yet come. Mercy's sweet voice is still to be heard. The Lord is now calling sinners to come to Him (MS 151, 1901).                                                                              1151   {3BC 1150.8}
[3BC 1151.1]                                     Psalm 92         12. A "Palm-tree" Christian.--The palm tree well represents the life of a Christian. It stands upright amid the burning desert sand, and dies not; for it draws its sustenance from the springs of life beneath the surface (RH Sep. 1, 1885).  {3BC 1151.1}
[3BC 1151.2]         The Christian a Palm in the Desert.--［Psalm 92:12 quoted.］ See the weary traveler toiling over the hot sands of the desert, with no shelter to protect him from the rays of a tropical sun. His water supply fails, and he has nothing to slake his burning thirst. His tongue becomes swollen; he staggers like a drunken man. Visions of home and friends pass before his mind, as he believes himself ready to perish in the terrible desert. Suddenly those in advance send forth a shout of joy. In the distance, looming up out of the dreary, sandy waste, is a palm tree, green and flourishing. Hope quickens his pulses. That which gives vigor and freshness to the palm tree will cool the fevered pulses, and give life to those who are perishing with thirst.  {3BC 1151.2}
[3BC 1151.3]         As the palm tree, drawing nourishment from fountains of living water, is green and flourishing in the midst of the desert, so the Christian may draw rich supplies of grace from the fountain of God's love, and may guide weary souls, that are full of unrest and ready to perish in the desert of sin, to those waters of which they may drink, and live. The Christian is ever pointing his fellow-men to Jesus, who invites, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink." This fountain never fails us; we may draw, and draw again (ST Oct. 26, 1904).  {3BC 1151.3}
[3BC 1151.4]          If the Christian thrives and progresses at all, he must do so amid strangers to God, amid scoffing, subject to ridicule. He must stand upright like the palm tree in the desert. The sky may be as brass, the desert sand may beat about the palm tree's roots, and pile itself in heaps about its trunk. Yet the tree lives as an evergreen, fresh and vigorous amid the burning desert sands. Remove the sand till you reach the rootlets of the palm tree, and you discover the secret of its life; it strikes down deep beneath the surface, to the secret waters hidden in the earth. Christians indeed may be fitly represented by the palm tree. They are like Enoch; although surrounded by corrupting influences, their faith takes hold of the Unseen. They walk with God, deriving strength and grace from Him to withstand the moral pollution surrounding them. Like Daniel in the courts of Babylon, they stand pure and uncontaminated; their life is hid with Christ in God. They are virtuous in spirit amid depravity; they are true and loyal, fervent and zealous, while surrounded by infidels, hypocritical professors, godless and worldly men. Their faith and life are hid with Christ in God. Jesus is in them a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Faith, like the rootlets of the palm tree, penetrates beneath the things which are seen, drawing spiritual nourishment from the Fountain of life (ST July 8, 1886).  {3BC 1151.4}
[3BC 1151.5]          (Ezekiel 31:7.) The Christian a Sturdy Cedar.--When the love of Jesus is abiding in the soul, many who are now but withered branches will become as the cedars of Lebanon, "whose root is by the great waters." The cedar is noted for the firmness of its roots. Not content to cling to the earth with a few weak fibers, it thrusts its rootlets, like a sturdy wedge, into the cloven rock, and reaches down deeper and deeper for strong holds to grasp. When the tempest grapples with its boughs, that firm-set tree cannot be uprooted. What a goodly cedar might not every follower of Christ become, if he were but rooted and grounded in the truth, firmly united to the Eternal Rock (RH June 20, 1882).  {3BC 1151.5}
[3BC 1151.6]          13-16. See EGW on Psalm 71:9, 17, 19.  {3BC 1151.6}
[3BC 1151.7]                                   Psalm 104       14 (see EGW on Genesis 1:29, Vol. 1, p. 1081). A Harmony of Words and Works.--The words and works of the Lord harmonize. His words are gracious and His works bountiful. "He causeth grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man." How liberal are the provisions He has made for us. How wonderfully He has displayed His munificence and power in our behalf. Should our gracious Benefactor treat us as we treat one another, where would we be? Shall we not strive earnestly to follow the golden rule, "All things                                                                              1152  whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets" (Letter 8, 1901).  {3BC 1151.7}
[3BC 1152.1]         34. See EGW on Psalm 63:5, 6.  {3BC 1152.1}
[3BC 1152.2]                                    Psalm 119       17, 18, 33-40. An Example of Prayer.--［Psalm 119:17, 18, 33-40 quoted.］ Such prayers as this the Lord's servants should be continually offering to Him. This prayer reveals a consecration to God of heart and mind; it is the consecration that God is asking us to make (RH Sept. 18, 1908).  {3BC 1152.2}
[3BC 1152.3]         18. The Reservoir of Heaven Not Locked.--The Bible should be studied with prayer. We should pray as did David, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." No man can have insight into the Word of God without the illumination of the Holy Spirit. If we will but come into the right position before God, His light will shine upon us in rich, clear rays. This was the experience of the early disciples. . . . ［Acts 2:1-4 quoted.］ God is willing to give us a similar blessing, when we seek for it as earnestly.  {3BC 1152.3}
[3BC 1152.4]          The Lord did not lock the reservoir of heaven after pouring His Spirit upon the early disciples. We, also, may receive of the fullness of His blessing. Heaven is full of the treasures of His grace, and those who come to God in faith may claim all that He has promised. If we do not have His power, it is because of our spiritual lethargy, our indifference, our indolence. Let us come out of this formality and deadness (RH June 4, 1889).  {3BC 1152.4}
[3BC 1152.5]          111-115, 125-130, 165. Commandments a Delight to the Obedient.--To the obedient child of God, the commandments are a delight. David declares: ［Psalm 119:111-115, 125 quoted］.  {3BC 1152.5}
[3BC 1152.6]         Did the contempt shown to the law of God extinguish David's loyalty? Hear his words. He calls upon God to interfere and vindicate His honor, to show that there is a God, that there are limits to His forbearance, that it is possible to so presume upon the mercy of God as to exhaust it. "It is time for thee, Lord, to work," he says, "for they have made void thy law."  {3BC 1152.6}
[3BC 1152.7]          David saw the divine precepts thrown aside, and obstinacy and rebellion increasing. Was he swept away by the prevalence of apostasy? Did the scorn and contempt cast upon the law lead him to cowardly refrain from making an effort to vindicate the law? On the contrary his reverence for the law of Jehovah increased as he saw the disregard and contempt shown for it by others ［Psalm 119:126-130, 165 quoted］ (MS 27, 1899).  {3BC 1152.7}
[3BC 1152.8]         126, 127. Time for God to Work.--David was greatly tried in his day in seeing men pouring contempt upon God's law. Men threw off restraint, and depravity was the result. The law of God had become a dead letter to those whom God had created. Men refused to receive the holy precepts as the rule of their life. Wickedness was so great that David feared lest God's forbearance should cease, and he sent up a heart-felt prayer to heaven, saying, "It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold."  {3BC 1152.8}
[3BC 1152.9]          If David thought in his day that men had exceeded the limits of God's mercy, and that God would work to vindicate the honor of His law, and bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end, then what influence should the widespread iniquity of our day have upon those who love and fear God? When there is widespread disobedience, when iniquity is increasing to a swelling tide, will the professed Christian world be evil with the evil, unrighteous with the unrighteous? Shall we place our influence on the side of the great apostate, and shall universal scorn be heaped upon God's law, the great standard of righteousness? Shall we be swept away by the strong tide of transgression and apostasy? Or shall the righteous search the Scriptures, and know for themselves the conditions upon which the salvation of their souls depend? Those who make the Word of God the man of their counsel will esteem the law of God, and their appreciation of it will rise in proportion as it is set aside and despised. Loyal subjects of Christ's kingdom will re-echo the words of David and say, "It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold." This                                                                              1153  is the position those will occupy who love God sincerely and their neighbors as themselves. They will exalt the commandments in proportion as contempt increases (Undated MS 145).  {3BC 1152.9}
[3BC 1153.1]          126. When David in his day saw the departing from the law of God, he expected that a manifestation of divine displeasure would be seen. He looked for the Lord to show forth His righteous indignation. "It is time for thee, Lord, to work," he exclaimed, "for they have made void thy law." He supposed that in their lawlessness men had exceeded the bounds of God's forbearance, and that the Lord would not longer restrain Himself (MS 15, 1906).  {3BC 1153.1}
[3BC 1153.2]          Where Will the Church Stand?--It is possible for men to go so far in wickedness, under continual remonstrance, that God sees that He must arise and vindicate His honor. Thus it is at the present period of this earth's history. Crime of every degree is becoming more and more strikingly manifest. The earth is filled with violence of men against their fellow-men.  {3BC 1153.2}
[3BC 1153.3]          What position will the church take? Will those who in the past have had respect for the law of God, be drawn into the current of evil? Will the almost universal transgression and contempt of the law of God, darken the spiritual atmosphere of the souls of all alike? Will the disrespect of the law of God sweep away the protecting barriers? Because wickedness and lawlessness prevail, is the law of God to be less highly esteemed? Because it is made void by the great majority of those living on the earth, shall the few loyal ones become like all the disloyal, and act as the wicked act? Shall they not rather offer up the prayer of David, "It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law" (MS 15, 1906)?  {3BC 1153.3}
[3BC 1153.4]          130. See EGW on Psalm 19.  {3BC 1153.4}
[3BC 1153.5]         165. In Harmony With Heaven.--There is no peace in unrighteousness; the wicked are at war with God. But he who receives the righteousness of the law in Christ, is in harmony with heaven (Letter 96, 1896).  {3BC 1153.5}
[3BC 1153.6]          Obedience Leads to Peace.--Each law of God is an enactment of mercy, love, and saving power. These laws, obeyed, are our life, our salvation, our happiness, our peace ［Psalm 119:165 quoted］ (Letter 112, 1902).  {3BC 1153.6}
[3BC 1153.7]                                   Psalm 121       5. God Comes Near to Supply All Needs.--True happiness may be found in unselfishly striving to help those who need help. God helps the feeble, and strengthens those who have no strength. In the fields where the trials and the conflicts and poverty are the greatest, God's workmen must have increased protection. To those laboring in the heat of the conflict, God says, "The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand."  {3BC 1153.7}
[3BC 1153.8]         Our Lord adapts Himself to our special needs. He is a shade on our right hand. He walks close by our side, ready to supply all our necessities. He comes very near to those who are engaged in willing service for Him. He knows every one by name. O what assurances we have of the tender love of Christ (MS 51, 1903).  {3BC 1153.8}
[3BC 1153.9]                                    Psalm 135       7. See EGW on Psalm 147:8, 16-18.  {3BC 1153.9}
[3BC 1153.10]                                   Psalm 139       1-12 (Revelation 20:12, 15). Where You Are, God Is.--We are never alone. We have a Companion, whether we choose Him or not. Remember, young men and young women, that wherever you are, whatever you are doing, God is there. To your every word and action you have a witness,--the holy, sin-hating God. Nothing that is said or done or thought can escape His infinite eye. Your words may not be heard by human ears, but they are heard by the Ruler of the universe. He reads the inward anger of the soul when the will is crossed. He hears the expression of profanity. In the deepest darkness and solitude He is there. No one can deceive God; none can escape from their accountability to Him.  {3BC 1153.10}
[3BC 1153.11]         ［Psalm 139:1-12 quoted.］  {3BC 1153.11}
[3BC 1153.12]         Day by day the record of your words, your actions, and your influence, is being made in the books of heaven. This you must meet ［Revelation 20:12, 15 quoted］ (YI May 26, 1898).  {3BC 1153.12}
[3BC 1153.13]          8. No Solitude Without God.--The psalmist represents the presence of the Infinite One as pervading the universe. "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there;                                                                              1154  if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." ［Psalm 139:8.］ We can never find a solitude where God is not. The ever watchful eye of Omniscience is upon all our works, and although He can marshal the armies of heaven to do His will, He condescends to accept the services of frail, erring mortals (ST July 14, 1881).  {3BC 1153.13}
[3BC 1154.1]                                   Psalm 144         12. God Spends Time on Jewels.--We are God's workmanship. The value of the human agent depends wholly upon the polishing he receives. When the rough stones are prepared for the building, they must be taken into the shop, and hewed and squared. The process is often sharp as the stone is pressed down upon the wheel, but the rough coarseness is being removed, and the lustre begins to appear. The Lord spends not His time upon worthless material; only His jewels are polished after the similitude of a palace. Every soul must not only submit to this work of the divine hand, but must put to the tax every spiritual sinew and muscle, that the character may become more pure, the words more helpful, the actions such as God can approve (Letter 27, 1896).  {3BC 1154.1}
[3BC 1154.2]         The divine Worker spends little time on worthless material. Only the precious jewels does He polish after the similitude of a palace, cutting away the rough edges. The process is severe and trying; Christ cuts away the surplus surface, and putting the stone to the polishing wheel, presses it close, that all roughness may be worn off. Then, holding the jewel up to the light, the Master sees in it a reflection of Himself, and He pronounces it worthy of a place in His casket.  {3BC 1154.2}
[3BC 1154.3]         Blessed be the experience, however severe, that gives new value to the stone, causing it to shine with living brightness (Letter 69, 1903).  {3BC 1154.3}
[3BC 1154.4]          A Painful but Necessary Process.--By the mighty cleaver of truth God has brought His people, as rough stones, from the quarry of the world. These stones must be squared and polished. The rough edges must be removed. This is a painful process; but it is a necessary one. Without it, we could not be prepared for a place in God's temple. By trial, by warnings, by admonitions, God seeks to prepare us to fulfill His purpose. If we cooperate with Him, our characters will be fashioned "after the similitude of a palace." It is the specified work of the Comforter to transform us. At times it is hard for us to submit to the purifying, refining process. But this we must do if we would be saved at last (Letter 139, 1903).  {3BC 1154.4}
[3BC 1154.5]          Children May Be Polished for God.--Patiently, lovingly, as faithful stewards of the manifold grace of God, parents are to do their appointed work. It is expected of them that they will be found faithful. Everything is to be done in faith. Constantly they must pray that God will impart His grace to their children. Never must they become weary, impatient, or fretful in their work. They must cling closely to their children and to God.  {3BC 1154.5}
[3BC 1154.6]          If parents work in patience and love, earnestly endeavoring to help their children to reach the highest standard of purity and modesty, they will succeed. In this work parents need to manifest patience and faith, that they may present their children to God, polished after the similitude of a palace (NL No. 28, p. 3).  {3BC 1154.6}
[3BC 1154.7]          (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Corinthians 3:11-13.) Some Are Not What They Appear.-- Many, from worldly policy, endeavor, by their own efforts, to become as polished stones, but cannot be living stones, because they are not built upon the true foundation. The day of God will reveal that they are, in reality, only hay, wood, and stubble (Redemption: or the Teachings of Paul, p. 78).  {3BC 1154.7}
[3BC 1154.8]                                   Psalm 147       4 (Psalm 19:1-3; see EGW on Isaiah 60:1). The World Only a Jot.--He made the night, marshaling the shining stars in the firmament. He calls them all by name. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork, showing man that this little world is but a jot in God's creation (YI April 4, 1905).  {3BC 1154.8}
[3BC 1154.9]         8, 16-18 (Psalm 135:7). Operations of Nature Are God's Servants.-- There is scarcely an operation of nature to which we may not find reference in the Word of God. . . .  {3BC 1154.9}
[3BC 1154.10]         ［Psalm 147:8, 16-18; 135:7 quoted.］                                                                              1155   {3BC 1154.10}
[3BC 1155.1]         These words of Holy Writ say nothing of the independent laws of nature. God furnishes the matter and the properties with which to carry out His plans. He employs His agencies that vegetation may flourish. He sends the dew and the rain and the sunshine that verdure may spring forth and spread its carpet over the earth, that the shrubs and fruit trees may bud and blossom and bring forth. It is not to be supposed that a law is set in motion for the seed to work itself, that the leaf appears because it must do so of itself. God has laws which He has instituted, but they are only the servants through which He effects results. It is through the immediate agency of God that every tiny seed breaks through the earth and springs into life. Every leaf grows, every flower blooms, by the power of God (RH Nov. 8, 1898).                                                        -    {3BC 1155.1}
[3BC 1155.2]       Proverbs                                      Chapter 1          10 (Isaiah 43:10; 2 Corinthians 6:17, 18). Dart a Prayer to Heaven; Then Firmly Resist.--Hear the voice of God: "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." Those who are controlled by the Spirit of God are to keep their perceptive faculties awake; for the time has come when their integrity and loyalty to God and to one another will be tested. Do not commit the least injustice in order to gain an advantage for yourselves. Do unto others, in small matters as well as in great, as you would that others should do unto you. God says, "Ye are my witnesses." You are to act in My place.  {3BC 1155.2}
[3BC 1155.3]          Could the curtain be rolled back, you would see the heavenly universe looking with intense interest upon the one who is tempted. If you do not yield to the enemy, there is joy in heaven. When the first suggestion of wrong is heard, dart a prayer to heaven, and then firmly resist the temptation to tamper with the principles condemned in God's Word. The first time the temptation comes, meet it in such a decided manner that it will never be repeated. Turn from the one who has ventured to present wrong practises to you. Resolutely turn from the tempter, saying, I must separate from your influence; for I know you are not walking in the footsteps of our Saviour.  {3BC 1155.3}
[3BC 1155.4]          Even though you may not feel able to speak a word to those who are working on wrong principles, leave them. Your withdrawal and silence may do more than words. Nehemiah refused to associate with those who were untrue to principle, and he would not permit his workmen to associate with them. The love and fear of God were his safeguard. He lived and worked as in view of the unseen world. And David said, "I have set the Lord always before me."  {3BC 1155.4}
[3BC 1155.5]          Dare to be a Daniel. Dare to stand alone. Thus, as did Moses, you will endure the seeing of Him who is invisible. But a cowardly and silent reserve before evil associates, while you listen to their devices, makes you one with them. ［2 Corinthians 6:17, 18 quoted.］  {3BC 1155.5}
[3BC 1155.6]          Have courage to do right. The Lord's promise is more valuable than gold and silver to all who are doers of His Word. Let all regard it as a great honor to be acknowledged by God as His children (RH May 9, 1899).  {3BC 1155.6}
[3BC 1155.7]                                   Chapter 3          6. God Guides Us in Doing His Will.--Has not God said He would give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? and is not this spirit a real, true actual guide? Some men seem afraid to take God at His word as though it would be presumption in them. They pray for the Lord to teach us and yet are afraid to credit the pledged word of God and believe we have been taught of Him. So long as we come to our heavenly Father humbly and with a spirit to be taught, willing and anxious to learn,                                                                              1156  why should we doubt God's fulfilment of His own promise? You must not for a moment doubt Him and dishonor Him thereby. When you have sought to know His will, your part in the operation with God is to believe that you will be led and guided and blessed in the doing of His will. We may mistrust ourselves lest we misinterpret His teachings, but make even this a subject of prayer, and trust Him, still trust Him to the uttermost, that His Holy Spirit will lead you to interpret aright His plans and the working of His providence (Letter 35, 1893).  {3BC 1155.7}
[3BC 1156.1]          It was Christ who guided the Israelites through the wilderness. And it is Christ who is guiding His people today, showing them where and how to work (Letter 335, 1904).  {3BC 1156.1}
[3BC 1156.2]          13, 14. The Meaning of Enduring Wisdom.--True wisdom is a treasure as lasting as eternity. Many of the world's so-called wise men are wise only in their own estimation. Content with the acquisition of worldly wisdom, they never enter the garden of God, to become acquainted with the treasures of knowledge contained in His holy Word. Supposing themselves to be wise, they are ignorant concerning the wisdom which all must have who gain eternal life. They cherish a contempt for the Book of God, which, if studied and obeyed, would make them truly wise. The Bible is to them an impenetrable mystery. The grand, deep truths of the Old and New Testaments are obscure to them, because spiritual things are not spiritually discerned. They need to learn that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and that without this wisdom, their learning is of little worth.  {3BC 1156.2}
[3BC 1156.3]          Those who are striving for an education in the sciences, but who have not learned the lesson that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, are working helplessly and hopelessly, questioning the reality of everything. They may acquire an education in the sciences, but unless they gain a knowledge of the Bible and a knowledge of God, they are without true wisdom. The unlearned man, if he knows God and Jesus Christ, has a more enduring wisdom than has the most learned man who despises the instruction of God (MS 33, 1911).  {3BC 1156.3}
[3BC 1156.4]          17 (1 Timothy 4:8). Devotion to God Advances Health and Cheerfulness.-- The wise man says that wisdom's "ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." Many cherish the impression that devotion to God is detrimental to health and to cheerful happiness in the social relations of life. But those who walk in the path of wisdom and holiness find that "godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." They are alive to the enjoyment of life's real pleasures, while they are not troubled with vain regrets over misspent hours, nor with gloom or horror of mind, as the worldling too often is when not diverted by some exciting amusement. . . .  {3BC 1156.4}
[3BC 1156.5]          Godliness does not conflict with the laws of health, but is in harmony with them. Had men ever been obedient to the law of ten commandments, had they carried out in their lives the principles of these ten precepts, the curse of disease that now floods the world would not be. . . . One whose mind is quiet and satisfied in God is on the highway to health (ST Oct. 23, 1884).  {3BC 1156.5}
[3BC 1156.6]                                    Chapter 4          18. Christian Life Lights Way for Others.--A soul filled with the love of Jesus lends to the words, the manners, the looks, hope, courage and serenity. It reveals the spirit of Christ. It breathes a love which will be reflected. It awakens a desire for a better life; souls ready to faint are strengthened; those struggling against temptation will be fortified and comforted. The words, the expression, the manners throw out a bright ray of sunshine, and leave behind them a clear path toward heaven, the source of all light. Every one of us has opportunities of helping others. We are constantly making impressions upon the youth about us. The expression of the countenance is itself a mirror of the life within. Jesus desires that we shall become like Himself, filled with tender sympathy, exerting a ministry of love in the small duties of life (MS 24, 1887).  {3BC 1156.6}
[3BC 1156.7]          The Light Burns Dimly.--The light which is given to shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day, burns dimly.                                                                              1157  The church no longer sends out the clear bright rays of light amidst the moral darkness that is enveloping the world as a funeral pall. The light of many does not burn or shine. They are moral icebergs (Letter 1f, 1890).  {3BC 1156.7}
[3BC 1157.1]          20-22. See EGW on Exodus 20:3-17, Vol. 1, p. 1105.  {3BC 1157.1}
[3BC 1157.2]          23 (1 Thessalonians 5:17; see EGW on Psalm 19:14). How Hearts May Be Kept for God.--"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Diligent heart-keeping is essential to a healthy growth in grace. The heart in its natural state is a habitation for unholy thoughts and sinful passions. When brought into subjection to Christ, it must be cleansed by the Spirit from all defilement. This can not be done without the consent of the individual.  {3BC 1157.2}
[3BC 1157.3]         When the soul has been cleansed, it is the duty of the Christian to keep it undefiled. Many seem to think that the religion of Christ does not call for the abandonment of daily sins, the breaking loose from habits which have held the soul in bondage. They renounce some things condemned by the conscience, but they fail to represent Christ in the daily life. They do not bring Christlikeness into the home. They do not show a thoughtful care in their choice of words. Too often, fretful, impatient words are spoken, words which stir the worst passions of the human heart. Such ones need the abiding presence of Christ in the soul. Only in His strength can they keep guard over the words and actions.  {3BC 1157.3}
[3BC 1157.4]          In the work of heart-keeping we must be instant in prayer, unwearied in petitioning the throne of grace for assistance. Those who take the name of Christian should come to God in earnestness and humility, pleading for help. The Saviour has told us to pray without ceasing. The Christian can not always be in the position of prayer, but his thoughts and desires can always be upward. Our self-confidence would vanish, did we talk less and pray more (YI March 5, 1903).  {3BC 1157.4}
[3BC 1157.5]          (Psalm 19:14; Ephesians 4:13.) Christians should be careful that they keep the heart with all diligence. They should cultivate a love for meditation, and cherish a spirit of devotion. Many seem to begrudge moments spent in meditation, and the searching of the Scriptures, and prayer, as though the time thus occupied was lost. I wish you could all view these things in the light God would have you; for you would then make the kingdom of heaven of the first importance. To keep your heart in heaven, will give vigor to all your graces, and put life into all your duties. To discipline the mind to dwell upon heavenly things, will put life and earnestness into all our endeavors. Our efforts are languid, and we run the Christian race slowly, and manifest indolence and sloth, because we so little value the heavenly prize. We are dwarfs in spiritual attainments. It is the privilege and duty of the Christian to be "increasing in the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." ［Ephesians 4:13.］ As exercise increases the appetite, and gives strength and healthy vigor to the body, so will devotional exercises bring an increase of grace and spiritual vigor.  {3BC 1157.5}
[3BC 1157.6]         The affections should center upon God. Contemplate His greatness, His mercy and excellences. Let His goodness and love and perfection of character captivate your heart. Converse upon His divine charms, and the heavenly mansions He is preparing for the faithful. He whose conversation is in heaven, is the most profitable Christian to all around him. His words are useful and refreshing. They have a transforming power upon those who hear them, and will melt and subdue the soul (RH March 29, 1870).  {3BC 1157.6}
[3BC 1157.7]          Practical Religion Breathes Fragrance.--Let the prayer go up to God, "Create in me a clean heart;" for a pure, cleansed soul has Christ abiding therein, and out of the abundance of the heart are the issues of life. The human will is to be yielded to Christ. Instead of passing on, closing the heart in selfishness, there is need of opening the heart to the sweet influences of the Spirit of God. Practical religion breathes its fragrance everywhere. It is a savor of life unto life (Letter 31a, 1894).  {3BC 1157.7}
[3BC 1157.8]                                    Chapter 6          6. Ant Industry Reproaches Idleness.--［Proverbs 6:6 quoted.］ The habitations which                                                                              1158  the ants build for themselves show skill and perseverance. Only one little grain at a time can they handle, but by diligence and perseverance they accomplish wonders. Solomon presents to the world the industry of the ant as a reproach to those who waste their hours in sinful idleness, in practices which corrupt soul and body. The ant prepares for future seasons. This is a lesson which many gifted with reasoning powers disregard. They fail entirely to prepare for the future immortal life which God has in His providence secured for the fallen race (MS 35, 1899).  {3BC 1157.8}
[3BC 1158.1]                                    Chapter 10          9. Uprightness Makes a Man a Blessing.--The very first step in the path of life is to keep the mind stayed on God, to have His fear continually before the eyes. A single departure from moral integrity blunts the conscience, and opens the door to the next temptation. "He that walketh uprightly walketh surely; but he that perverteth his way shall be known." ［Proverbs 10:9.］ We are commanded to love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves; but the daily experience of life shows that this law is disregarded. Uprightness in deal and moral integrity will secure the favor of God, and make a man a blessing to himself and to society; but amid the varied temptations that assail one whichever way he may turn, it is impossible to keep a clear conscience and the approval of heaven without divine aid and a principle to love honesty for the sake of the right.  {3BC 1158.1}
[3BC 1158.2]          A character that is approved of God and man is to be preferred to wealth. The foundation should be laid broad and deep, resting on the rock Christ Jesus. There are too many who profess to work from the true foundation, whose loose dealing shows them to be building on sliding sand; but the great tempest will sweep away their foundation, and they will have no refuge.  {3BC 1158.2}
[3BC 1158.3]          Many plead that unless they are sharp, and watch to advantage themselves, they will meet with loss. Their unscrupulous neighbors, who take selfish advantages, are prospered; while they, although trying to deal strictly in accordance with Bible principles, are not so highly favored. Do these persons see the future? Or are their eyes too dim to see, through the miasma-laden fogs of worldliness, that honor and integrity are not rewarded in the coin of this world? Will God reward virtue with mere worldly success? He has their names graven on the palms of His hands, as heirs to enduring honors, riches that are imperishable. What did that dishonest man gain by his worldly policy? How high a price did he pay for his success? He has sacrificed his noble manhood, and has started on the road that leads to perdition. He may be converted; he may see the wickedness of his injustice to his fellow-men, and, as far as possible, make restitution; but the scars of a wounded conscience will ever remain (ST Feb. 7, 1884).  {3BC 1158.3}
[3BC 1158.4]                                   Chapter 11          1. All Business on Square Principles.--In all business transactions, we are to let the light shine decidedly. There is to be no sharp practice. Everything is to be done with the strictest integrity. Better consent to lose something financially than to gain a few shillings by sharp practice. We shall lose nothing in the end by fair dealing. We are to live the law of God in our world, and perfect a character after the divine similitude. All business, with those in the faith and those not in the faith, is to be transacted on square, righteous principles. Everything is to be seen in the light of God's law, everything done without fraud, without duplicity, without one tinge of guile (MS 47, 1898).  {3BC 1158.4}
[3BC 1158.5]          God Honors Honesty, Curses Injustice.--"A false balance is abomination to the Lord." A false balance is a symbol of all unfair dealing, all devices to conceal selfishness and injustice under an appearance of fairness and equity. God will not in the slightest degree favor such practices. He hates every false way. He abhors all selfishness and covetousness. Unmerciful dealing He will not tolerate, but will repay in kind. God can give prosperity to the working men whose means are acquired honestly. But His curse rests upon all that is gained by selfish practices.  {3BC 1158.5}
[3BC 1158.6]          When one indulges in selfishness or sharp dealing, he shows that he does not fear the Lord or reverence His name. Those                                                                              1159  who are connected with God will not only shun all injustice, but will manifest His mercy and goodness toward all with whom they have to do. The Lord will sanction no respect of person; but He will not approve the course of those who make no difference in favor of the poor, the widow, and the orphan (Letter 20a, 1893).  {3BC 1158.6}
[3BC 1159.1]          14. See EGW on 1 Chronicles 27:32-34.  {3BC 1159.1}
[3BC 1159.2]                                    Chapter 12          18. Words Mean Much.--The voice and tongue are gifts from God, and if rightly used, they are a power for God. Words mean very much. They may express love, devotion, praise, melody to God, or hatred and revenge. Words reveal the sentiments of the heart. They may be a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. The tongue is a world of blessing, or a world of iniquity (MS 40, 1896).  {3BC 1159.2}
[3BC 1159.3]          Desolating Hail or Seeds of Love?--Some are seen to come forth from their daily communion with God clothed with the meekness of Christ. Their words are not like a desolating hail, crushing everything before it; they come forth sweetly from their lips. They scatter seeds of love and kindness all along their path, and that all unconsciously, because Christ lives in their heart. Their influence is felt more than it is seen (MS 24, 1887).  {3BC 1159.3}
[3BC 1159.4]          19. The Honest Are His Jewels Forever.--Truthfulness and frankness should be ever cherished by all who claim to be followers of Christ. God and the right should be the motto. Deal honestly and righteously in this present evil world. Some will be honest when they see that honesty will not endanger their worldly interests; but all who act from this principle will have their names blotted out of the book of life.  {3BC 1159.4}
[3BC 1159.5]          Strict honesty must be cultivated. We can go through the world but once; we cannot come back to rectify any mistakes; therefore every move made should be with godly fear and careful consideration. Honesty and policy will not harmonize; either policy will be subdued, and truth and honesty hold the lines of control, or policy will take the lines, and honesty cease to direct. Both cannot act together; they can never be in agreement. When God makes up His jewels, the true, the frank, the honest, will be His chosen ones, His treasures. Angels are preparing crowns for such; and light from the throne of God will be reflected in its splendor from these star-gemmed diadems (RH Dec. 29, 1896).  {3BC 1159.5}
[3BC 1159.6]                                   Chapter 14          30 (ch. 27:4). A Despicable Trait of Satanic Character.--Envy is one of the most despicable traits of Satanic character. It is constantly seeking the lifting up of self, by casting slurs upon others. A man who is envious will belittle his neighbor, thinking to exalt himself. The sound of praise is grateful to him who has approbativeness highly developed, and he hates to hear the praises of another. Oh, what untold mischief has this evil trait of character worked in our world! The same enmity existed in the heart of Saul that stirred the heart of Cain against his brother Abel, because Abel's works were righteous, and God honored him, and his own works were evil, and the Lord could not bless him.  {3BC 1159.6}
[3BC 1159.7]         Envy is the offspring of pride, and, if it is entertained in the heart, it will lead to cruel deeds, to hatred, revenge, and murder. The great controversy between Christ and the prince of darkness, is carried on in everyday, practical life (ST Aug. 17, 1888).  {3BC 1159.7}
[3BC 1159.8]                                   Chapter 15          1, 2. Seeds That Produce a Bad Crop.--Passionate words sow seeds that produce a bad crop which no one will care to garner. Our own words have an effect upon our character, but they act still more powerfully upon the characters of others. The infinite God alone can measure the mischief that is done by careless words. These words fall from our lips, and we do not perhaps mean any harm; yet they are the index of our inward thoughts, and work on the side of evil. What unhappiness has been produced by the speaking of thoughtless, unkind words in the family circle! Harsh words rankle in the mind, it may be for years, and never lose their sting. As professed Christians, we should consider the influence our words have upon those with whom we come into association, whether they are believers or unbelievers. Our words are watched, and mischief is                                                                              1160  done by thoughtless utterances. No after association with believers or unbelievers will wholly counteract the unfavorable influence of thoughtless, foolish words. Our words evidence the manner of food upon which the soul feeds (YI June 27, 1895).  {3BC 1159.8}
[3BC 1160.1]          33. See EGW on Judges 6:15, Vol. 2, p. 1003.  {3BC 1160.1}
[3BC 1160.2]                                  Chapter 16          2. God Reads the Secret Devisings.--It is for the eternal interest of every one to search his own heart, and to improve every God-given faculty. Let all remember that there is not a motive in the heart of any man that the Lord does not clearly see. The motives of each one are weighed as carefully as if the destiny of the human agent depended upon this one result. We need a connection with divine power, that we may have an increase of clear light and an understanding of how to reason from cause to effect. We need to have the powers of the understanding cultivated, by our being partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Let each one consider carefully the solemn truth, God in heaven is true, and there is not a design, however intricate, nor a motive, however carefully hidden, that He does not clearly understand. He reads the secret devisings of every heart. Men may plan out crooked actions for the future, thinking that God does not understand; but in that great day when the books are opened, and every man is judged by the things written in the books, those actions will appear as they are. . . .  {3BC 1160.2}
[3BC 1160.3]          ［Psalm 139:1-5, 11, 12 quoted.］  {3BC 1160.3}
[3BC 1160.4]         The Lord sees and understands all dishonesty in planning, all unlawful appropriation in any degree of property or means, all injustice in man's dealing with his fellow men . . . ［Daniel 5:27 quoted］ (RH March 8, 1906).  {3BC 1160.4}
[3BC 1160.5]          11 (Hosea 12:7). Religion With Deceitful Balances an Abomination.--Fraud in any business transaction is a grievous sin in God's sight; for the goods men are handling belong to Him, and must be used to the glory of His name if men would be pure and clean in His sight. The religion that carries in its hand the scant measure and the deceitful balance is an abomination in the sight of God. He who cherishes such a religion will be brought to confusion; for God is  a jealous God (Letter 8, 1901).  {3BC 1160.5}
[3BC 1160.6]          28. See EGW on ch. 26:20-22.  {3BC 1160.6}
[3BC 1160.7]         32 (See EGW on 1 Samuel 24:6, Vol. 2, p. 1021). How to Be Stronger Than Kings or Conquerors.--Is Christ using cutting words, stern criticism and unkind suspicion toward His people who commit faults? No. He takes every infirmity into account; He acts with discernment. He knows every one of our failings; but He uses patience; for otherwise we would have perished long ago on account of our bad treatment of Him. The greatest insult we can inflict upon Him, is to pretend to be His disciples while manifesting the spirit of Satan in our words, our dispositions and our actions. It does not behoove those from whom Jesus has so much to bear, in their failings and perversity, to be ever mindful of slights and real or imaginary offense. And yet there are those who are ever suspecting the motives of others about them. They see offense and slights where no such thing was intended. All this is Satan's work in the human heart. The heart filled with that love which thinketh no evil will not be on the watch to notice discourtesies and grievances of which he may be the object. The will of God is that His love shall close the eyes, the ears and the heart to all such provocations and to all the suggestions with which Satan would fill them. There is a noble majesty in the silence of the one exposed to evil-surmising or outrage. To be master of one's spirit is to be stronger than kings or conquerors. A Christian leads one to think of Christ. He will be affable, kind, patient, humble and yet courageous and firm in vindicating the truth and the name of Christ (MS 24, 1887).  {3BC 1160.7}
[3BC 1160.8]          We must not consider as our enemies all those who do not receive us with a smile upon their lips and with demonstrations of love. It is much easier to play the martyr than to overcome a bad temper.  {3BC 1160.8}
[3BC 1160.9]          We must give others an example of not stopping at every trifling offense in order to vindicate our rights. We may expect that false reports will circulate about us; but if we follow a straight course, if we                                                                              1161  remain indifferent to these things, others will also be indifferent. Let us leave to God the care of our reputation. And thus, like sons and daughters of God, we shall show that we have self-control. We shall show that we are led by the Spirit of God, and that we are slow to anger. Slander can be lived down by our manner of living; it is not lived down by words of indignation. Let our great anxiety be to act in the fear of God, and show by our conduct that these reports are false. No one can injure our character as much as ourselves. It is the weak trees and the tottering houses that need to be constantly propped. When we show ourselves so anxious to protect our reputation against attacks from the outside, we give the impression that it is not blameless before God, and that it needs therefore to be continually bolstered up (MS 24, 1887).  {3BC 1160.9}
[3BC 1161.1]          Avoid Intoxication Through Wrath.--One class have come up without self-control; they have not bridled the temper or the tongue; and some of these claim to be Christ's followers, but they are not. Jesus has set them no such example. When they have the meekness and lowliness of the Saviour, they will not act out the promptings of the natural heart, for this is of Satan. Some are nervous, and if they begin to lose self-control in word or spirit under provocation, they are as much intoxicated with wrath as the inebriate is with liquor. They are unreasonable, and not easily persuaded or convinced. They are not sane; Satan for the time has full control. Every one of these exhibitions of wrath weakens the nervous system and the moral powers, and makes it difficult to restrain anger or another provocation. With this class there is only one remedy,--positive self-control under all circumstances. The effort to get into a favorable place, where self will not be annoyed, may succeed for a time; but Satan knows where to find these poor souls, and will assail them in their weak points again and again. They will be continually troubled so long as they think so much of self. They carry the heaviest load a mortal can lift, that is self, unsanctified and unsubdued. But there is hope for them. Let this life, so stormy with conflicts and worries, be brought into connection with Christ, and then self will no longer clamor for the supremacy (YI Nov. 10, 1886).  {3BC 1161.1}
[3BC 1161.2]                                 Chapter 17          9. See EGW on ch. 26:20-22.  {3BC 1161.2}
[3BC 1161.3]                                Chapter 18          12. See EGW on Judges 6:15.  {3BC 1161.3}
[3BC 1161.4]          21. Devil May Use Christians' Tongues to Ruin.--Do not allow the devil to use your tongue and your voice to ruin those weak in the faith; for at the day of final reckoning God will call upon you to give an account of your work (MS 39, 1896).  {3BC 1161.4}
[3BC 1161.5]                                  Chapter 20          1. See EGW on ch. 23:29-35.  {3BC 1161.5}
[3BC 1161.6]                                 Chapter 21          2. Sometimes on Lucifer's Ground.--When a man takes the position that when he has once made a decision he must stand by it, and never to alter his decision, he is on the same ground as was Lucifer when he rebelled against God. He held his plans regarding the government of heaven as an exalted, unchangeable theory.  {3BC 1161.6}
[3BC 1161.7]          No man should think that human opinions are to be immortalized. Any man taking the stand that he will never change his views places himself on dangerous ground. Those who hold the position that their views are unchangeable can not be helped; for they place themselves where they are not willing to receive counsel and admonition from their brethren (Letter 12, 1911).  {3BC 1161.7}
[3BC 1161.8]                                 Chapter 22          29. God Demands Vigorous and Earnest Efforts.--Put your highest powers into your effort. Call to your aid the most powerful motives. You are learning. Endeavor to go to the bottom of everything you set your hand to. Never aim lower than to become competent in the matters which occupy you. Do not allow yourself to fall into the habit of being superficial and neglectful in your duties and studies; for your habits will strengthen and you will become incapable of anything better. The mind                                                                              1162  naturally learns to be satisfied with that which requires little care and effort, and to be content with something cheap and inferior. There are, young men and young women, depths of knowledge which you have never fathomed, and you are satisfied and proud of your superficial attainments. If you knew much more than you do now, you would be convinced that you know very little.  {3BC 1161.8}
[3BC 1162.1]          God demands of you vigorous and earnest intellectual efforts, and with every determined effort, your powers will strengthen. Your work will then always be agreeable, because you will know that you are progressing. You can either become accustomed to slow, uncertain, irresolute movements, so much so that the work of your life will not be one-half what it could be; or, your eyes fixed upon God, and your soul strengthened by prayer, you can overcome a disgraceful slowness and a dislike for work, and train your mind to think rapidly and to put forth strong efforts at the proper time. If your highest motive is to labor for wages, you will never, in any position, be qualified to carry high responsibilities, never be fit to teach (MS 24, 1887).  {3BC 1162.1}
[3BC 1162.2]                                 Chapter 23          26. Youth's Most Precious Offering.--Then, children, come to Jesus. Give to God the most precious offering that it is possible for you to make; give Him your heart. He speaks to you saying, "My son, my daughter, give me thine heart. Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; for I will cleanse you with my own blood. I will make you members of my family--children of the heavenly King. Take my forgiveness, my peace which I freely give you. I will clothe you with my own righteousness,--the wedding garment,--and make you fit for the marriage supper of the Lamb. When clothed in my righteousness, through prayer, through watchfulness, through diligent study of my Word, you will be able to reach a high standard. You will understand the truth, and your character will be molded by a divine influence; for this is the will of God, even your sanctification" (YI June 30, 1892).  {3BC 1162.2}
[3BC 1162.3]          29-35 (ch. 20:1). Satan's Control Through Strong Drink.-- ［Proverbs 23:29-35 quoted.］ Is not this description true to life? Does it not represent to us the experience of the poor, besotted drunkard, who is plunged in degradation and ruin because he has put the bottle to his lips, and who says, "I will seek it yet again"? The curse has come upon such a soul through indulgence in evil, and Satan has control of his being. . . .  {3BC 1162.3}
[3BC 1162.4]         The man who has formed the habit of drinking intoxicating liquor, is in a desperate situation. He cannot be reasoned with, or persuaded to deny himself the indulgence. His stomach and brain are diseased, his will power is weakened, and his appetite uncontrollable. The prince of the powers of darkness holds him in bondage that he has no power to break. For the aid of such victims the liquor traffic should be stopped. Do not the rulers of this land see that awful results are the fruit of this traffic? Daily the papers are filled with accounts that would move a heart of stone; and if the senses of our rulers were not perverted, they would see the necessity of doing away with this death-dealing traffic. May the Lord move upon the hearts of those in authority, until they shall take measures that will prohibit the drink traffic (RH May 1, 1894).  {3BC 1162.4}
[3BC 1162.5]                                  Chapter 24          6. See EGW on 1 Chronicles 27:32-34.  {3BC 1162.5}
[3BC 1162.6]                                  Chapter 26          20-22 (chs. 16:28; 17:9; Jeremiah 20:10). Floating Rumors Destroy Unity.--Brethren sometimes associate together for years, and they think they can trust those they know so well just as they would trust members of their own family. There is a freedom and confidence in this association which could not exist between those not of the same faith. This is very pleasant while mutual faith and brotherly love last; but let the "accuser of the brethren" gain admittance to the heart of one of these men, controlling the mind and the imagination, and jealousies are created, suspicion and envy are harbored; and he who supposed himself secure in the love and friendship of his brother, finds himself mistrusted and his motives misjudged. The false brother                                                                              1163  forgets his own human frailties, forgets his obligation to think and speak no evil lest he dishonor God and wound Christ in the person of His saints, and every defect that can be thought of or imagined is commented upon unmercifully, and the character of a brother is represented as dark and questionable.  {3BC 1162.6}
[3BC 1163.1]         There is a betrayal of sacred trust. The things spoken in brotherly confidence are repeated and misrepresented; and every word, every action, however innocent and well-meaning, is scrutinized by the cold, jealous criticism of those who were thought too noble, too honorable to take the least advantage of friendly association or brotherly trust. Hearts are closed to mercy, judgment, and the love of God; and the cold, sneering, contemptuous spirit which Satan manifests toward his victim is revealed.  {3BC 1163.1}
[3BC 1163.2]          The Saviour of the world was treated thus, and we are exposed to the influence of the same malicious spirit. The time has come when it is not safe to put confidence in a friend or a brother.  {3BC 1163.2}
[3BC 1163.3]          As in the days of Christ spies were on His track, so they are on ours now. If Satan can employ professed believers to act as accusers of the brethren, he is greatly pleased; for those who do this are just as truly serving him as was Judas when he betrayed Christ, although they may be doing it ignorantly. Satan is no less active now than in Christ's day, and those who lend themselves to do his work will represent his spirit.  {3BC 1163.3}
[3BC 1163.4]          Floating rumors are frequently the destroyers of unity among brethren. There are some who watch with open mind and ears to catch flying scandal. They gather up little incidents which may be trifling in themselves, but which are repeated and exaggerated until a man is made an offender for a word. Their motto seems to be, "Report, and we will report it." These tale bearers are doing the devil's work with surprising fidelity, little knowing how offensive their course is to God. If they would spend half the energy and zeal that is given to this unholy work in examining their own hearts, they would find so much to do to cleanse their souls from impurity that they would have no time or disposition to criticize their brethren, and they would not fall under the power of this temptation. The door of the mind should be closed against "they say" or "I have heard." Why should we not, instead of allowing jealousy or evil-surmising to come into our hearts, go to our brethren, and, after frankly but kindly setting before them the things we have heard detrimental to their character and influence, pray with and for them? While we cannot love and fellowship those who are the bitter enemies of Christ, we should cultivate that spirit of meekness and love that characterized our Master,--a love that thinketh no evil and is not easily provoked (RH June 3, 1884).  {3BC 1163.4}
[3BC 1163.5]                                Chapter 27          4 (ch. 14:30; Song of Solomon 8:6). Envy Is a Hellish Shadow.--Envy, jealousy, and evil surmising is a hellish shadow by which Satan seeks to intercept your views of the character of Christ, so that by beholding the evil you may be fully changed into its likeness (Letter 9, 1892).  {3BC 1163.5}
[3BC 1163.6]         9. The Value of a Friend.--Things will go wrong with every one; sadness and discouragement press every soul; then a personal presence, a friend who will comfort and impart strength, will turn back the darts of the enemy that are aimed to destroy. Christian friends are not half as plentiful as they should be. In hours of temptation, in a crisis, what a value is a true friend! Satan at such times sends along his agents to cause the trembling limbs to stumble; but the true friends who will counsel, who will impart magnetic hopefulness, the calming faith that uplifts the soul,--oh, such help is worth more than precious pearls (Letter 7, 1883)!  {3BC 1163.6}
[3BC 1163.7]                                 Chapter 29          1. Rejecting Reproof Leads to Loss of Soul.--Satan will move upon minds that have been indulged, upon men who have always had their own way, and anything presented to them in counsel or reproof to change their objectionable traits of character, is considered fault-finding, binding them, restraining them, that they cannot have liberty to act themselves. The Lord in great mercy has sent messages of warning to them, but they would not listen to reproof. Like the enemy who rebelled in                                                                              1164  heaven, they did not like to hear; they do not correct the wrong they have done, but become accusers, declaring themselves misused and unappreciated.  {3BC 1163.7}
[3BC 1164.1]          Now is the time of trial, of test, of proving. Those who like Saul, will persist in having their own way, will suffer as he did, loss of honor, and finally the loss of the soul (Letter 13, 1892).  {3BC 1164.1}
[3BC 1164.2]                                   Chapter 31          26. The Law of Kindness on Your Lips.--The Lord will help every one of us where we need help the most in the grand work of overcoming and conquering self. Let the law of kindness be upon your lips and the oil of grace in your heart. This will produce wonderful results. You will be tender, sympathetic, courteous. You need all these graces. The Holy Spirit must be received and brought into your character; then it will be as holy fire, giving forth incense which will rise up to God, not from lips that condemn, but as a healer of the souls of men. Your countenance will express the image of the divine. No sharp, critical, blunt, or severe words should be spoken. This is common fire, and must be left out of all our councils and intercourse with our brethren. God requires every soul in His service to kindle their censers from the coals of sacred fire. The common, severe, harsh words that come from your lips so readily must be withheld, and the Spirit of God speak through the human agent. By beholding the character of Christ you will become changed into His likeness. The grace of Christ alone can change your heart and then you will reflect the image of the Lord Jesus. God calls upon us to be like Him,--pure, holy, and undefiled. We are to bear the divine image (Letter 84, 1899).  {3BC 1164.2}
[3BC 1164.3]          (Colossians 3:12, 13.) Live the Law of Kindness.--The Lord Jesus is our only helper. Through His grace we shall learn to cultivate love, to educate ourselves to speak kindly and tenderly. Through His grace our cold, harsh manners will be transformed. The law of kindness will be upon our lips, and those who are under the precious influences of the Holy Spirit, will not feel that it is an evidence of weakness to weep with those who weep, to rejoice with them that rejoice. We are to cultivate heavenly excellences of character. We are to learn what it means to have good-will toward all men, a sincere desire to be as sunshine and not as shadow in the lives of others.  {3BC 1164.3}
[3BC 1164.4]         My brethren, let your hearts become broken and contrite. Let expressions of sympathy and love, which will not blister the tongue, flow from your lips. Let others feel that warmth which love can create in the heart, and educate the professed disciples of Christ to correct the evils that have so long existed,--selfishness, coldness, and hardheartedness. All these traits reveal the fact that Christ is not abiding in the soul ［Colossians 3:12, 13 quoted］ (RH Jan. 2, 1894).  {3BC 1164.4}
[3BC 1164.5]          27 (Isaiah 65:21-23). No Idle Believers.--The Bible does not acknowledge a believer who is idle, however high his profession may be. There will be employment in heaven. The redeemed state is not one of idle repose. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God, but it is a rest found in loving service (Letter 203, 1905).                                                    -    {3BC 1164.5}
[3BC 1164.6]       Ecclesiastes           Solomon's Mournful Autobiography.--The book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon in his old age, after he had fully proved that all the pleasures earth is able to give are empty and unsatisfying. He there shows how impossible it is for the vanities of the world to meet the longings of the soul. His conclusion is that it is wisdom to enjoy with gratitude the good gifts of God, and to do right; for all our works will be brought into judgment.  {3BC 1164.6}
[3BC 1164.7]          Solomon's autobiography is a mournful one. He gives us the history of his search for happiness. He engaged in intellectual                                                                              1165  pursuits; he gratified his love for pleasure; he carried out his schemes of commercial enterprise. He was surrounded by the fascinating splendor of court life. All that the carnal heart could desire was at his command; yet he sums up his experience in this sad record: ［Ecclesiastes 1:14-2:11 quoted］ (HR June, 1878).  {3BC 1164.7}
[3BC 1165.1]                                   Chapter 1          13, 14. Learning Without God Is Foolishness.--Solomon had great learning; but his wisdom was foolishness; for he did not know how to stand in moral independence, free from sin, in the strength of a character molded after the divine similitude. Solomon has told us the result of his research, his painstaking efforts, his persevering inquiry. He pronounces his wisdom altogether vanity (RH April 5, 1906).  {3BC 1165.1}
[3BC 1165.2]          13-18. See EGW on Genesis 3:6, Vol. 1, p. 1083.  {3BC 1165.2}
[3BC 1165.3]          14 (ch. 10:16-19; 1 Kings 10:18-23; 2 Chronicles 9:17-22). "All Is Vanity."--Solomon sat upon a throne of ivory, the steps of which were of solid gold, flanked by six golden lions. His eyes rested upon highly cultivated and beautiful gardens just before him. Those grounds were visions of loveliness, arranged to resemble, as far as possible, the garden of Eden. Choice trees and shrubs, and flowers of every variety, had been brought from foreign lands to beautify them. Birds of every variety of brilliant plumage flitted from tree to tree, making the air vocal with sweet songs. Youthful attendants, gorgeously dressed and decorated, waited to obey his slightest wish. Scenes of revelry, music, sports, and games were arranged for his diversion at an extravagant expenditure of money.  {3BC 1165.3}
[3BC 1165.4]         But all this did not bring happiness to the king. He sat upon his magnificent throne, his frowning countenance dark with despair. Dissipation had left its impress upon his once fair and intellectual face. He was sadly changed from the youthful Solomon. His brow was furrowed with care and unhappiness, and he bore in every feature the unmistakable marks of sensual indulgence. His lips were prepared to break forth into reproaches at the slightest deviation from his wishes.  {3BC 1165.4}
[3BC 1165.5]          His shattered nerves and wasted frame showed the result of violating Nature's laws. He confessed to a wasted life, an unsuccessful chase after happiness. His is the mournful wail, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit." ［Ecclesiastes 10:16-19 quoted.］  {3BC 1165.5}
[3BC 1165.6]          It was customary for the Hebrews to eat but twice a day, their heartiest meal coming not far from the middle of the day. But the luxurious habits of the heathen had been engrafted into the nation, and the king and his princes were accustomed to extend their festivities far into the night. On the other hand, if the earlier part of the day was devoted to feasting and wine-drinking, the officers and rulers of the kingdom were totally unfitted for their grave duties.  {3BC 1165.6}
[3BC 1165.7]          Solomon was conscious of the evil growing out of the indulgence of perverted appetite, yet seemed powerless to work the required reformation. He was aware that physical strength, calm nerves, and sound morals can only be secured through temperance. He knew that gluttony leads to drunkenness, and that intemperance in any degree disqualifies a man for any office of trust. Gluttonous feasts, and food taken into the stomach at untimely seasons, leave an influence upon every fiber of the system; and the mind also is seriously affected by what we eat and drink.  {3BC 1165.7}
[3BC 1165.8]          The life of Solomon teaches a lesson of warning not only to the youth, but also to those of mature age. We are apt to look upon men of experience as safe from the allurements of sinful pleasure. But still we often see those whose early life has been exemplary being led away by the fascinations of sin, and sacrificing their God-given manhood for self-gratification. For a time they vacillate between the promptings of principle, and their inclination to pursue a forbidden course; but the current of evil finally proves too strong for their good resolutions, as in the case of the once wise and righteous king, Solomon. . . .  {3BC 1165.8}
[3BC 1165.9]          Dear reader, as you stand in imagination on the slopes of Moriah, and look across the Kidron valley upon those ruined pagan shrines, take the lesson of the repentant king home to your heart, and be wise. Make God your trust. Turn your face resolutely against temptation. Vice is a                                                                              1166  costly indulgence. Its effects are fearful upon the constitutions of those whom it does not speedily destroy. A dizzy head, loss of strength, loss of memory, derangements of the brain, heart, and lungs, follow quickly upon such transgression of the rules of health and morality (HR June, 1878).  {3BC 1165.9}
[3BC 1166.1]                                     Chapter 8          11. God's Long-suffering Leads Some to Carelessness.--In His dealings with the human race, God bears long with the impenitent. He uses His appointed agencies to call men to allegiance, and offers them His full pardon if they will repent. But because God is long-suffering, men presume on His mercy. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." The patience and long-suffering of God, which should soften and subdue the soul, has an altogether different influence upon the careless and sinful. It leads them to cast off restraint, and strengthens them in resistance. They think that the God who has borne so much from them will not heed their perversity. If we lived in a dispensation of immediate retribution, offenses against God would not occur so often. But though delayed, the punishment is none the less certain. There are limits even to the forbearance of God. The boundary of His long-suffering may be reached, and then He will surely punish. And when He does take up the case of the presumptuous sinner, He will not cease till He has made a full end.  {3BC 1166.1}
[3BC 1166.2]          Very few realize the sinfulness of sin; they flatter themselves that God is too good to punish the offender. But the cases of Miriam, Aaron, David, and many others show that it is not a safe thing to sin against God in deed, in word, or even in thought. God is a being of infinite love and compassion, but He also declares Himself to be a "consuming fire, even a jealous God" (RH Aug. 14, 1900).  {3BC 1166.2}
[3BC 1166.3]          (Matthew 26:36-46; Revelation 15:3.) Every Offense Set Down for Reckoning.--The death of Christ was to be the convincing, everlasting argument that the law of God is as unchangeable as His throne. The agonies of the Garden of Gethsemane, the insult, the mockery, and abuse heaped upon God's dear Son, the horrors and ignominy of the crucifixion, furnish sufficient and thrilling demonstration that God's justice, when it punishes, does the work thoroughly. The fact that His own Son, the Surety for man, was not spared, is an argument that will stand to all eternity before saint and sinner, before the universe of God, to testify that He will not excuse the transgressor of His law. Every offense against God's law, however minute, is set down in the reckoning, and when the sword of justice is taken in hand, it will do the work for impenitent transgressors that was done to the divine Sufferer. Justice will strike; for God's hatred of sin is intense and overwhelming (MS 58, 1897).  {3BC 1166.3}
[3BC 1166.4]          11, 12. See EGW on Genesis 15:16.  {3BC 1166.4}
[3BC 1166.5]                                  Chapter 10          16-19. See EGW on Ecclesiastes 1:14.  {3BC 1166.5}
[4BC 1137.1]         4BC - S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 4 (1955)      Isaiah                                     Chapter 1          1 (Hebrews 11:37). Isaiah Was Sawn Asunder.--Isaiah, who was permitted by the Lord to see wonderful things, was sawn asunder, because he faithfully reproved the sins of the Jewish nation. The prophets who came to look after the Lord's vineyard, were indeed beaten and killed. "They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented"--men of whom the world was not worthy. They were cruelly treated, and banished from the world (ST Feb. 17, 1898).  {4BC 1137.1}
[4BC 1137.2]         2, 3. A People Professedly Serving God.--［Isaiah 1:2, 3 quoted.］ The course pursued by Israel toward God called forth these words. It was a proof of the people's perversity that they manifested less gratitude, less attachment, less acknowledgment of ownership, toward God than the animals of the field manifest toward their masters. . . .  {4BC 1137.2}
[4BC 1137.3]          The first chapter of Isaiah is a description of a people professedly serving God, but walking in forbidden paths (MS 29, 1911).  {4BC 1137.3}
[4BC 1137.4]          4. Separation Led to Presumptuous, Foolhardy Madness.--The professed people of God had separated from God, and had lost their wisdom and perverted their understanding. They could not see afar off; for they had forgotten that they had been purged from their old sins. They moved restlessly and uncertainly under darkness, seeking to obliterate from their minds the memory of the freedom, assurance, and happiness of their former estate. They plunged into all kinds of presumptuous, foolhardy madness, placed themselves in opposition to the providences of God, and deepened the guilt that was already upon them. They listened to the charges of Satan against the divine character, and represented God as devoid of mercy and forgiveness. The prophet writes of them, saying:  {4BC 1137.4}
[4BC 1137.5]          "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward" (RH Aug. 6, 1895).  {4BC 1137.5}
[4BC 1137.6]          19. Obedience Leads to Perfection.--We cannot overestimate the value of simple faith and unquestioning obedience. It is by following in the path of obedience in simple faith that the character obtains perfection (Lt 119, 1895).                                                                              1138   {4BC 1137.6}
[4BC 1138.1]                                  Chapter 3          18-23 (1 Peter 3:1-5). Beauty of Soul a Standing Rebuke.--In the third chapter of Isaiah's prophecy mention is made of the prevailing pride of the "daughters of Zion," with "their tinkling ornaments, . . . the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, . . . and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, the rings, and nose jewels, the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails." Verses 18-23. How different this picture from that portrayed by the apostle Peter of the God-fearing woman, who, estimating at its real value the "outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel," chooses rather to cultivate beauty of soul, "even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." It was "after this manner in the old time" that "the holy women . . . who trusted in God, adorned themselves"; and their "chaste conversation coupled with fear" (1 Peter 3:1-5), as revealed in daily life, was ever a standing rebuke to their sisters who followed after folly (RH March 4, 1915).  {4BC 1138.1}
[4BC 1138.2]                                  Chapter 5          18-23 (ch. 8:12). Confidence in Man Blocks God's Messages.--［Isaiah 5:18 quoted.］ Men may seek to strengthen their forces by confederating together, making, as they suppose, strong societies to carry out the plans they have formed. They may lift up their souls in pride and self-sufficiency; but the One mighty in counsel does not plan with them. Their unbelief in His purposes and work, and their confidence in man, will not permit them to receive the messages He sends (RH Dec. 22, 1896).  {4BC 1138.2}
[4BC 1138.3]         19-23 (ch. 50:11). Men Call Evil Good, and Good Evil.--［Isaiah 5:19-23 quoted.］ The class here represented, in order to exalt their own opinions, employ a reasoning which is not authorized by the Word of God. They walk in the sparks of their own kindling. By their specious reasoning, they confuse the distinction that God desires to have drawn between good and evil. The sacred is brought down on a level with common things. Avarice and selfishness are called by false names; they are called prudence. Their rising up in independence and rebellion, their revenge and stubbornness, in their eyes are proofs of dignity, evidences of a noble mind. They act as though ignorance of divine things were not dangerous and even fatal to the soul; and they prefer their own reasoning to divine revelation, their own plans and human wisdom to the admonitions and commands of God. The piety and conscientiousness of others are called fanaticism, and those who practise truth and holiness are watched and criticized. They deride those who teach and believe the mystery of godliness, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." The principles underlying these things are not discerned by them; and they go on in wrong-doing, leaving the bars open for Satan to find ready access to the soul (RH Dec. 22, 1896).  {4BC 1138.3}
[4BC 1138.4]         20. Watch to Praise, Not Condemn.--The lips that have uttered perverse things of God's delegated servants and have scorned the message they have borne, have put darkness for light, and light for darkness. Instead of watching, as did the Pharisees, for something to condemn in the message or the messengers, something to scoff at and deride, had they opened their hearts to the bright beams of the Sun of righteousness, they would have been offering grateful praise rather than watching for something which they could misinterpret or twist so as to find fault (Letter 31a, 1894).  {4BC 1138.4}
[4BC 1138.5]          Capable but Unconverted Men Do Great Harm.--［Isaiah 5:20 quoted.］ Men may possess capabilities given them in trust of God, but if they are not humble men, daily converted men, as vessels of honor, they will do the greater harm because of their capabilities. If they are not learners of Christ Jesus, if they do not pray and keep their natural hereditary and cultivated tendencies under control, traits of character that God abhors will pervert the judgment of those who associate with them (Letter 31a, 1894).  {4BC 1138.5}
[4BC 1138.6]                                    Chapter 6          1-7 (Revelation 11:19). Isaiah's Experience Represents Last-Day Church.--［Isaiah 6:1-4 quoted.］ As the prophet Isaiah beheld the                                                                              1139  glory of the Lord, he was amazed, and, overwhelmed with a sense of his own weakness and unworthiness, he cried, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts."  {4BC 1138.6}
[4BC 1139.1]          Isaiah had denounced the sin of others; but now he sees himself exposed to the same condemnation he had pronounced upon them. He had been satisfied with a cold, lifeless ceremony in his worship of God. He had not known this until the vision was given him of the Lord. How little now appeared his wisdom and talents as he looked upon the sacredness and majesty of the sanctuary. How unworthy he was! how unfitted for sacred service! His view of himself might be expressed in the language of the apostle Paul, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"  {4BC 1139.1}
[4BC 1139.2]          But relief was sent to Isaiah in his distress. ［Isaiah 6:6, 7 quoted.］ . . .  {4BC 1139.2}
[4BC 1139.3]          The vision given to Isaiah represents the condition of God's people in the last days. They are privileged to see by faith the work that is going forward in the heavenly sanctuary. "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament." As they look by faith into the holy of holies, and see the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, they perceive that they are a people of unclean lips,--a people whose lips have often spoken vanity, and whose talents have not been sanctified and employed to the glory of God. Well may they despair as they contrast their own weakness and unworthiness with the purity and loveliness of the glorious character of Christ. But if they, like Isaiah, will receive the impression the Lord designs shall be made upon the heart, if they will humble their souls before God, there is hope for them. The bow of promise is above the throne, and the work done for Isaiah will be performed in them. God will respond to the petitions coming from the contrite heart (RH Dec. 22, 1896).  {4BC 1139.3}
[4BC 1139.4]          Isaiah had a wonderful view of God's glory. He saw the manifestation of God's power, and after beholding His majesty, a message came to him to go and do a certain work. He felt wholly unworthy for the work. What made him esteem himself unworthy? Did he think himself unworthy before he had a view of God's glory?--No; he imagined himself in a righteous state before God; but when the glory of the Lord of hosts was revealed to him, when he beheld the inexpressible majesty of God, he said, "I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a living coal in his hands, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar, and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." This is the work that as individuals we need to have done for us. We want the living coal from off the altar placed upon our lips. We want to hear the word spoken, "Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged" (RH June 4, 1889).  {4BC 1139.4}
[4BC 1139.5]          1-8. Shekinah Glory Revealed to Isaiah.--Christ Himself was the Lord of the temple. When He should leave it, its glory would depart--that glory once visible in the holy of holies over the mercy seat, where the high priest entered only once a year, on the great day of atonement, with the blood of the slain victim (typical of the blood of the Son of God shed for the sins of the world), and sprinkled it upon the altar. This was the Shekinah, the visible pavilion of Jehovah.  {4BC 1139.5}
[4BC 1139.6]          It was this glory that was revealed to Isaiah, when he says, "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple" ［Isaiah 6:1-8 quoted］ (MS 71, 1897).  {4BC 1139.6}
[4BC 1139.7]          Vision of Glory Leads to Genuine Conviction of Unworthiness.--In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah was permitted in vision to look into the holy place, and into the holy of holies in the heavenly sanctuary. The curtains of the innermost sanctuary were drawn aside, and a throne high and lifted up, towering as it were to the very heavens, was revealed to his gaze. An indescribable glory emanated from a personage on the throne, and His train filled the temple, as His glory will finally fill the                                                                              1140  earth. Cherubim were on either side of the mercy-seat, as guards round the great king, and they glowed with the glory that enshrouded them from the presence of God. As their songs of praise resounded in deep, earnest notes of adoration, the pillars of the gate trembled, as if shaken by an earthquake. These holy beings sang forth the praise and glory of God with lips unpolluted with sin. The contrast between the feeble praise which he had been accustomed to bestow upon the Creator and the fervid praises of the seraphim, astonished and humiliated the prophet. He had for the time being the sublime privilege of appreciating the spotless purity of Jehovah's exalted character.  {4BC 1139.7}
[4BC 1140.1]          While he listened to the song of the angels, as they cried, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory," the glory, the infinite power, and the unsurpassed majesty of the Lord passed before his vision, and was impressed upon his soul. In the light of this matchless radiance that made manifest all he could bear in the revelation of the divine character, his own inward defilement stood out before him with startling clearness. His very words seemed vile to him.  {4BC 1140.1}
[4BC 1140.2]          Thus when the servant of God is permitted to behold the glory of the God of heaven, as He is unveiled to humanity, and realizes to a slight degree the purity of the Holy One of Israel, he will make startling confessions of the pollution of his soul, rather than proud boasts of his holiness. In deep humiliation Isaiah exclaimed, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips: . . . for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts." This is not that voluntary humility and servile self-reproach that so many seem to consider it a virtue to display. This vague mockery of humility is prompted by hearts full of pride and self-esteem. There are many who demerit themselves in words, who would be disappointed if this course did not call forth expressions of praise and appreciation from others. But the conviction of the prophet was genuine. As humanity, with its weakness and deformity, was brought out in contrast with the perfection of divine holiness and light and glory, he felt altogether inefficient and unworthy. How could he go and speak to the people the holy requirements of Jehovah, who was high and lifted up, and whose train filled the temple? While Isaiah was trembling and conscience-smitten, because of his impurity in the presence of this unsurpassed glory, he said, "Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me" (RH Oct. 16, 1888).  {4BC 1140.2}
[4BC 1140.3]          2. Angels Fully Satisfied to Glorify God.--The seraphim before the throne are so filled with reverential awe in beholding the glory of God that they do not for an instant look upon themselves with self-complacency, or in admiration of themselves or one another. Their praise and glory are for the Lord of Hosts, who is high and lifted up, and the glory of whose train fills the temple. As they see the future, when the whole earth shall be filled with His glory, the triumphant song of praise is echoed from one to another in melodious chant, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts." They are fully satisfied to glorify God; and in His presence, beneath His smile of approbation, they wish for nothing more. In bearing His image, in doing His service and worshiping Him, their highest ambition is fully reached (RH Dec. 22, 1896).  {4BC 1140.3}
[4BC 1140.4]          5-7 (Matthew 12:34-36). Consider Words in Light of Heaven.--Let every soul who claims to be a son or a daughter of God examine himself in the light of heaven; let him consider the polluted lips that make him "undone." They are the medium of communication. ［Matthew 12:34, 35 quoted.］ Then let them not be used in bringing from the treasure of the heart words that will dishonor God and discourage those around you, but use them for the praise and glory of God, who has formed them for this purpose. When the cleansing coal is applied from the glowing altar, the conscience will be purged from dead works to serve the living God; and when the love of Jesus is                                                                              1141  the theme of contemplation, the words coming from human lips will be full of praise and thanksgiving to God and to the Lamb.  {4BC 1140.4}
[4BC 1141.1]          How many words are spoken in lightness and foolishness, in jesting and joking! This would not be so did the followers of Christ realize the truth of the words, "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."  {4BC 1141.1}
[4BC 1141.2]          Harsh and unkind words, words of censure and criticism of God's work and His messengers, are indulged in by those who profess to be His children. When these careless souls discern the greatness of God's character, they will not mingle their spirit and attributes with His service. When our eyes look by faith into the sanctuary, and take in the reality, the importance and holiness, of the work there being done, everything of a selfish nature will be abhorred by us. Sin will appear as it is,--the transgression of God's holy law. The atonement will be better understood; and by living, active faith, we shall see that whatever of virtue humanity possesses, it exists only in Jesus Christ, the world's Redeemer (RH Dec. 22, 1896).  {4BC 1141.2}
[4BC 1141.3]          5-8. When One Is Ready to Work With God, He Carries Message.-- Isaiah had a message from the God of heaven to give to the backsliding people of Israel, and he gave them this message. He knew what elements he had to deal with; he knew the stubbornness and perversity of the heart, and how hard it would be to make any impression upon them. As he stood in the portico of the temple, the Lord revealed Himself to him. The veil of the temple was withdrawn, the door lifted, and he had a view of the holy of holies within the veil. He saw the God of Israel before the throne high and lifted up, and the train of His glory filled the temple. As Isaiah senses his own sinfulness, he cries out, "I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." And there was seen the hand that took the live coal from off the altar, and touched his lips, and bade him be clean. Then he was ready to go with the message, and he said, "Send me"; for he knew that the Spirit of God would be with the message.  {4BC 1141.3}
[4BC 1141.4]          To those who are engaged in the work of God, in the conversion of souls, it would seem as though it was impossible to reach the obdurate heart. This is how Isaiah felt, but when he saw that there was a God above the cherubim, and that they were ready to work with God, he was ready to carry the message (RH May 3, 1887).  {4BC 1141.4}
[4BC 1141.5]          6. Live Coal Symbolizes Purity and Power.--The live coal is symbolical of purification. If it touches the lips, no impure word will fall from them. The live coal also symbolizes the potency of the efforts of the servants of the Lord. God hates all coldness, all commonness, all cheap efforts. Those who labor acceptably in His cause, must be men who pray fervently, and whose works are wrought in God; and they will never have cause to be ashamed of their record. They will have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and their reward will be given them,--even eternal life (RH Oct. 16, 1888).  {4BC 1141.5}
[4BC 1141.6]                                   Chapter 8          12 (see EGW comments on ch. 5:18-23). Satan Seeks to Widen Distance Between Heaven and Earth.--The satanic agencies are constantly at work, sowing and watering the seeds of rebellion against the law of God, and Satan is gathering souls under his black banner of revolt. He forms a confederacy with human beings to contend against purity and holiness. He has worked diligently, perseveringly, increasing the number who will confederate with him. By his representations he seeks to widen the distance between heaven and earth, and he grows into the conviction that he can wear out the patience of God, extinguish His love for man, and bring condemnation upon the whole human family (RH Oct. 21, 1902).  {4BC 1141.6}
[4BC 1141.7]         No Confederacy With Those Opposing the Truth.--Let the watchmen on the walls of Zion not join with those who are making of none effect the truth as it is in Christ. Let them not join the confederacy of infidelity, popery, and Protestantism in exalting tradition above Scripture, reason above revelation, and human talent above                                                                              1142  the divine influence and the vital power of godliness (RH March 24, 1896).  {4BC 1141.7}
[4BC 1142.1]          The Divine Touch Needed.--The gospel is now resolutely opposed on every hand. Never was the confederacy of evil greater than at the present time. The spirits of darkness are combining with human agencies to set them firmly against the commandments of God. Traditions and falsehoods are exalted above the Scriptures; reason and science above revelation; human talent above the teachings of the Spirit; forms and ceremonies above the vital power of godliness. We need the divine touch (RH March 19, 1895).  {4BC 1142.1}
[4BC 1142.2]          Fallen Men and Fallen Angels in Same Confederacy.--Through apostasy, fallen men and fallen angels are in the same confederacy, leagued to work against good. They are united in a desperate companionship. Through his evil angels, Satan contrives to form an alliance with professedly pious men, and thus he leavens the church of God. He knows that if he can induce men, as he induced the angels, to join in rebellion, under the guise of servants of God, he will have in them his most successful allies in his enterprise against heaven. Under the name of godliness, he can inspire them with his own accusing spirit, and lead them to charge God's servants with evil and guile. They are his trained detectives; their work is to create feuds, to make charges which create discord and bitterness among brethren, to set tongues in active service for Satan, to sow seeds of dissension by watching for evil, and by speaking of that which will create discord.  {4BC 1142.2}
[4BC 1142.3]          I beseech all who engage in the work of murmuring and complaining because something has been said or done that does not suit them, and that does not, as they think, give them due consideration, to remember that they are carrying on the very work begun in heaven by Satan. They are following in his track, sowing unbelief, discord, and disloyalty; for no one can entertain feelings of disaffection, and keep them to himself. He must tell others that he is not treated as he should be. Thus they are led to murmur and complain. This is the root of bitterness springing up, whereby many are defiled.  {4BC 1142.3}
[4BC 1142.4]          Thus Satan works today through his evil angels. He confederates with men who claim to be in the faith; and those who are trying to carry forward the work of God with fidelity, having no man's person in admiration, working without hypocrisy and partiality, will have just as severe trials brought against them as Satan can bring through those who claim to love God. Proportionate to the light and knowledge these opposers have is Satan's success. The root of bitterness strikes deep, and is communicated to others. Thus many are defiled. Their statements are confused and untruthful, their principles are unscrupulous, and Satan finds in them the very helpers he needs (RH Sept. 14, 1897).  {4BC 1142.4}
[4BC 1142.5]          What Is a Confederacy?--The question has been asked, What do you mean by a confederacy? Who have formed confederacies? You know what a confederacy is,--a union of men in a work that does not bear the stamp of pure, straightforward, unswerving integrity (MS 29, 1911).  {4BC 1142.5}
[4BC 1142.6]          (2 Corinthians 6:17.) The wicked are being bound up in bundles, bound up in trusts, in unions, in confederacies. Let us have nothing to do with these organizations. God is our Ruler, our Governor, and He calls us to come out from the world and be separate. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing." If we refuse to do this, if we continue to link up with the world, and to look at every matter from a worldly standpoint, we shall become like the world. When worldly policy and worldly ideas govern our transactions, we cannot stand on the high and holy platform of eternal truth (MS 71, 1903).  {4BC 1142.6}
[4BC 1142.7]          Good and Evil Angels in Human Form on Field of Action.--Satanic agencies in human form will take part in this last great conflict to oppose the building up of the kingdom of God. And heavenly angels in human guise will be on the field of action. Men and women have confederated to oppose the Lord God of heaven, and the church is only half awake to the situation. There needs to be much more of prayer, much more of earnest effort among professed believers.  {4BC 1142.7}
[4BC 1142.8]          The two opposing parties will continue to exist till the closing up of the last                                                                              1143  great chapter in this world's history. Satanic agencies are in every city. We cannot afford to be off our guard for one moment (Letter 42, 1909).  {4BC 1142.8}
[4BC 1143.1]                                     Chapter 14          12-14 (see EGW on Ezekiel 28:13-15). Satan's Rebellion of Long Standing.--The records of some are similar to that of the exalted angel who was given a position next to Jesus Christ in the heavenly courts. Lucifer was enshrouded with glory as the covering cherub. Yet this angel whom God had created, and entrusted with power, became desirous of being as God. He gained the sympathy of some of his associates by suggesting thoughts of criticism regarding the government of God. This evil seed was scattered in a most seducing manner; and after it had sprung up and taken root in the minds of many, he gathered the ideas that he himself had first implanted in the minds of others, and brought them before the highest order of angels as the thoughts of other minds against the government of God. Thus, by ingenious methods of his own devising, Lucifer introduced rebellion in heaven.  {4BC 1143.1}
[4BC 1143.2]          God desired that a change take place, and that the work of Satan be brought out in its genuine aspect. But the exalted angel standing next to Christ was opposed to the Son of God. The underworking was so subtle that it could not be made to appear before the heavenly host as the thing that it really was; and so there was war in heaven, and Satan was expelled with all who would not stand on the side of loyalty to God's government. The Lord God stood forth as Supreme Ruler.  {4BC 1143.2}
[4BC 1143.3]          This condition of things had existed a long period of time before Satan was unmasked and the evil ones expelled (Letter 162, 1906).  {4BC 1143.3}
[4BC 1143.4]                                   Chapter 25          1-4. Hang His Mercies in Memory's Hall.--［Isaiah 25:1-4 quoted］. Wherein do we show our gratitude to God? His benefits to us are inexpressibly great. Do we frame His mercies and blessings, and hang them in memory's hall, where we can see them and be led to offer thanksgiving to God for His goodness and love? There are thousands upon thousands who have no eyes to see, no ears to hear, no hearts to appreciate God's work in their behalf. They pass by the goodness of the Lord as theirs by right (MS 145, 1899).  {4BC 1143.4}
[4BC 1143.5]                                   Chapter 26          19. Sleeping Saints Guarded as Precious Jewels.--［Isaiah 26:19 quoted］. The Life-giver will call up His purchased possession in the first resurrection, and until that triumphant hour, when the last trump shall sound and the vast army shall come forth to eternal victory, every sleeping saint will be kept in safety and will be guarded as a precious jewel, who is known to God by name. By the power of the Saviour that dwelt in them while living and because they were partakers of the divine nature, they are brought forth from the dead (Letter 65a, 1894).  {4BC 1143.5}
[4BC 1143.6]          20 (ch. 49:16). How to Prepare for Future Protection.--When tempted to sin, let us remember that Jesus is pleading for us in the heavenly sanctuary. When we put away our sins and come to Him in faith, He takes our names on His lips, and presents them to His Father, saying, "I have graven them upon the palms of my hands; I know them by name." And the command goes forth to the angels to protect them. Then in the day of fierce trial He will say, "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast." What are the chambers in which they are to hide?-- They are the protection of Christ and holy angels. The people of God are not at this time all in one place. They are in different companies, and in all parts of the earth; and they will be tried singly, not in groups. Every one must stand the test for himself (RH Nov. 19, 1908).  {4BC 1143.6}
[4BC 1143.7]         21. Earth's Cup of Iniquity Soon Full.--The point is fast being reached when the iniquity of transgressors will be to the full. God gives nations a certain time of probation. He sends light and evidence, that, if received, will save them, but if refused as the Jews refused light, indignation and punishment will fall upon them. If men refuse to be benefited, and choose darkness rather than light, they will reap the results                                                                              1144  of their choice. "Behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." The professed Christian world is advancing, as did the Jewish nation, from one degree of sinfulness to a greater degree, refusing warning after warning, and rejecting a Thus saith the Lord, while crediting the fables of men. The Lord God will soon arise in His wrath, and pour out His judgments upon those who are repeating the sins of the inhabitants of the Noachic world. Those whose hearts are fully set in them to do evil, as were the hearts of the inhabitants of Sodom, will like them be destroyed. The fact that God had long forbearance, patience and mercy, the fact that His judgments have been long delayed, will not make the punishment any less severe when it does come (Undated MS 145).  {4BC 1143.7}
[4BC 1144.1]                                    Chapter 30          15. Usefulness Not Proved by Noise and Bustle.--We need a calm waiting upon God. The need of this is imperious. It is not the noise and bustle we make in the world which proves our usefulness. See how silently God works We do not hear the noise of His steps, and yet He is walking about us, laboring for our good. Jesus did not seek for notoriety; His life-giving virtue was going out to the needy and the afflicted through silent actions, whose influence extended far into all countries and was felt and expressed in the life of millions of human beings. Those who desire to labor with God have need of His Spirit every day; they need to walk and labor in meekness and humility of spirit, without seeking to accomplish extraordinary things, satisfied to do the work before them and doing it faithfully. Men may not see or appreciate their efforts, but the names of these faithful children of God are written in heaven among His noblest workers, as scattering His seed in view of a glorious harvest. "Ye shall know them by their fruits" (MS 24, 1887).  {4BC 1144.1}
[4BC 1144.2]          Take Time to Rest, Think, Appreciate.--The Lord wants human beings to take time to rest, time to think of and appreciate heavenly things. Those who do not value the things of heaven sufficiently to give time to them will at last lose all (Letter 181, 1903).  {4BC 1144.2}
[4BC 1144.3]                                    Chapter 40          1, 2. Some Jews, Firm to Principle, Influenced Idolatrous Companions.--The covenant mercy of God led Him to interpose in behalf of His people Israel after their severe chastisement before their enemies. Israel had chosen to walk in her own wisdom and righteousness in the place of the wisdom and righteousness of God, and as a result her nation was ruined. God permitted them to suffer under a double yoke, that they might be humiliated and repent. But in their dispersion and captivity, the Jews were not left in a hopeless state. Encouragement was given them, for through this humiliation they were to be brought to seek the Lord. God gave to Isaiah a message for this people: ［Isaiah 40:1, 2 quoted］.  {4BC 1144.3}
[4BC 1144.4]          When the Jews were dispersed from Jerusalem, there were among them young men and women who were firm as a rock to principle, men and women who had not pursued a course to make the Lord ashamed to call them His people. These were sad at heart for the backsliding which they could not prevent. These innocent ones must suffer with the guilty; but God would give them strength sufficient for their day. It was to them that the message of encouragement was sent. The hope of the nation lay in those young men and maidens who would preserve their integrity. And in their captivity these obedient ones had an influence over their idolatrous companions. Had all who were taken captive held firmly to correct principles, they would have imparted light in every place where they were scattered. But they remained impenitent, and still heavier punishment came upon them. Their calamities were sent for their purification. God would bring them to the place where they would be instructed (MS 151, 1899).  {4BC 1144.4}
[4BC 1144.5]          9-11. Israel Fully Instructed Regarding Coming Saviour.--Isaiah saw Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem amid the praises and rejoicing of the people. His prophetic words are eloquent in their simplicity. ［Isaiah 40:9-11 quoted.］                                                                              1145   {4BC 1144.5}
[4BC 1145.1]          Inspiration is revealed in this record of Christ's work. These closing chapters of the book of Isaiah should be diligently studied; for they are full of the gospel of Christ. They reveal to us that Israel was fully instructed in regard to the coming Saviour (MS 151, 1899).  {4BC 1145.1}
[4BC 1145.2]          10. Our Daily Reward.--Whenever He comes to us, His reward is with Him. He does not leave it in heaven, but gives it to us every day. Daily He gives us confidence and light and blessing. Daily our hearts beat in unison with His great heart of infinite love (MS 116, 1902).  {4BC 1145.2}
[4BC 1145.3]          12-14. Man Can Teach God Nothing.--［Isaiah 40:12-14 quoted.］ Men sometimes suppose that they discover new scientific truths; but they cannot teach God anything. Our God is a God of infinite knowledge (MS 116, 1902).  {4BC 1145.3}
[4BC 1145.4]          12-27. Questions for Meditation.--These questions are directed to us as truly as they were to the Israelites. Can we answer them (MS 116, 1902)?  {4BC 1145.4}
[4BC 1145.5]          18-28. Varieties of Gods Men Worship.--The Lord urges His supremacy. But Satan well knows that the worship of the living God elevates, ennobles, and exalts a nation. He knows that idol-worship does not elevate, but that it degrades man's ideas, by associating with worship that which is base and corrupt. He is at work constantly to draw the mind away from the only true and living God. He leads men to give honor and glory to objects that human hands have made or to soulless creatures that God has created. The Egyptians and other heathen nations had many strange gods--creatures of their own fanciful imagination.  {4BC 1145.5}
[4BC 1145.6]          The Jews, after their long captivity, would not make any image. The image on the Roman ensign or banner, they called an abomination, especially when these emblems were placed in a prominent place for them to respect. Such respect they regarded as a violation of the second commandment. When the Roman ensign was set up in the holy place in the temple, they looked upon it as an abomination....  {4BC 1145.6}
[4BC 1145.7]          To make an image of God dishonors Him. No one should bring into service the power of imagination to worship that which belittles God in the mind and associates Him with common things. Those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth. They must exercise living faith. Their worship will then be controlled not by the imagination, but by genuine faith.  {4BC 1145.7}
[4BC 1145.8]          Let men worship and serve the Lord God, and Him only. Let not selfish pride be lifted up and served as a god. Let not money be made a god. If sensuality is not kept under the control of the higher powers of the mind, base passion will rule the being. Anything that is made the subject of undue thought and admiration, absorbing the mind, is a god chosen before the Lord. God is a searcher of the heart. He distinguishes between true heart-service and idolatry (MS 126, 1901).  {4BC 1145.8}
[4BC 1145.9]          26 (Psalm 19:1). Angels Enlighten Minds as We Study God's Works.-- God calls men to look upon the heavens. See Him in the wonders of the starry heavens. ［Isaiah 40:26 quoted.］ We are not merely to gaze upon the heavens; we are to consider the works of God. He would have us study the works of infinity, and from this study, learn to love and reverence and obey Him. The heavens and the earth with their treasures are to teach the lessons of God's love, care, and power.  {4BC 1145.9}
[4BC 1145.10]         Satan will manufacture his diversions that men may not think about God. The world, filled with sport and pleasure-loving, is always thirsting for some new interest. And how little time and thought are given to the Creator of the heavens and the earth. God calls upon His creatures to turn their attention from the confusion and perplexity around them, and admire His handiwork. The heavenly bodies are worthy of contemplation. God has made them for the benefit of man, and as we study His works, angels of God will be by our side to enlighten our minds, and guard them from satanic deception. As you look at the wonderful things God's hand has made, let your proud, foolish heart feel its dependence and inferiority. As you consider these things, you will have a sense of God's condescension (MS 96, 1899).  {4BC 1145.10}
[4BC 1145.11]          All Bounties Come to Man Through the Cross.--The sun and the moon were made by Him; there is not a star that beautifies                                                                              1146  the heavens which He did not make. There is not an article of food upon our tables that He has not provided for our sustenance. The stamp and superscription of God is upon it all. Everything is included in and abundantly supplied to man, through the one unspeakable Gift, the only begotten Son of God. He was nailed to the cross that all these bounties might flow to God's workmanship (Letter 79, 1897).  {4BC 1145.11}
[4BC 1146.1]                                    Chapter 42          1-4. Christ Would Encourage Faith and Hope.--［Isaiah 42:1, 2 quoted.］ He ［Christ］ will not be like the teachers of His day. The ostentation and show and parade of piety revealed in the priests and Pharisees is not His way. ［Isaiah 42:3, 4 quoted.］ Christ saw the work of the priests and rulers. The very ones who needed help, the afflicted, the distressed, were treated with words of censure and rebuke, and He forbore to speak any word that would break the feeble reed. The dimly burning wick of faith and hope, He would encourage, and not quench. He would feed His flock like a shepherd; He would gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in His bosom (MS 151, 1899).  {4BC 1146.1}
[4BC 1146.2]          5-12. Faithfulness Leads Men to Praise God.--［Isaiah 42:5-12 quoted.］ This work had been given to Israel, but they had neglected their God-appointed work. Had they been faithful in all parts of the Lord's vineyard, souls would have been converted. The Lord's praise would have been heard from the ends of the earth. From the wilderness and the cities thereof, and from the tops of the mountains, men would have shouted His praise, and told of His glory (MS 151, 1899).  {4BC 1146.2}
[4BC 1146.3]          13. We Gain Victory in His Power.--The issue of the battle does not rest upon the strength of mortal man. "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies." In the power of Him who rides forth conquering and to conquer, weak, finite man may gain the victory (MS 151, 1899).  {4BC 1146.3}
[4BC 1146.4]          21. God's Army Magnifies the Law.--Those who belong to Christ's army must work with concerted action. They cannot be faithful soldiers unless they obey orders. United action is essential. An army in which every part acts without reference to the other parts, has no real strength. In order to add new territory to Christ's kingdom, His soldiers must act in concert. . . . He calls for a united army, which moves steadily forward, not for a company composed of independent atoms. The strength of His army is to be used for one great purpose. Its efforts are to be concentrated upon one great point--the magnifying of the laws of His kingdom before the world, before angels, and before men (MS 82, 1900).  {4BC 1146.4}
[4BC 1146.5]                                  Chapter 43          6, 7. See EGW on Genesis 2:16, 17, Vol. I, p. 1082.  {4BC 1146.5}
[4BC 1146.6]          10. See EGW on Proverbs 1:10, Vol. III, p. 1155.  {4BC 1146.6}
[4BC 1146.7]                                  Chapter 48          10. God's Children Always Being Tested.--God's children are always being tested in the furnace of affliction. If they endure the first trial, it is not necessary for them to pass through a similar ordeal the second time; but if they fail, the trial is brought to them again and again, each time being still more trying and severe. Thus opportunity after opportunity is placed before them of gaining the victory and proving themselves true to God. But if they continue to manifest rebellion, God is compelled at last to remove His Spirit and light from them (MS 69, 1912).  {4BC 1146.7}
[4BC 1146.8]          Sorrow and trial must come to all, and is beautiful only as it works to polish, to sanctify, and refine the soul as a fit instrument to do service for the Lord (Letter 69, 1897).  {4BC 1146.8}
[4BC 1146.9]                                    Chapter 49          16. See EGW on ch. 26:20.  {4BC 1146.9}
[4BC 1146.10]                                   Chapter 50          10, 11 (see EGW comments on ch. 5:19-23). Walk in God's Light, Not Own Sparks.--The Lord has presented before me that those who have been in any measure blinded by the enemy, and who have not fully recovered themselves from the snare of Satan, will be in peril because they cannot                                                                              1147  discern light from heaven, and will be inclined to accept a falsehood. This will affect the whole tenor of their thoughts, their decisions, their propositions, their counsels. The evidences that God has given are no evidence to them, because they have blinded their own eyes by choosing darkness rather than light. Then they will originate something they call light, which the Lord calls sparks of their own kindling, by which they will direct their steps. The Lord declares, "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have at mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow." Jesus said, "For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind." "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness." "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."  {4BC 1146.10}
[4BC 1147.1]         By many, the words which the Lord sent will be rejected, and the words that man may speak will be received as light and truth. Human wisdom will lead away from self-denial, from consecration, and will devise many things that tend to make of no effect God's messages. We cannot with any safety rely upon men who are not in close connection with God. They accept the opinions of men, but cannot discern the voice of the true Shepherd, and their influence will lead many astray, though evidence is piled upon evidence before their eyes, testifying to the truth that God's people should have for this time (Letter 1f, 1890).  {4BC 1147.1}
[4BC 1147.2]                                     Chapter 53          1-3. Christ's Grace and Virtue Did Not Appeal to Jews.--［Isaiah 53:1-3 quoted.］ These words do not mean that Christ was unattractive in person. In the eyes of the Jews, Christ had no beauty that they should desire Him. They looked for a Messiah who would come with outward display and worldly glory, one who would do great things for the Jewish nation, exalting it above every other nation on the earth. But Christ came with His divinity hidden by the garb of humanity, unobtrusive, humble, poor. They compared this man with the proud boasts they had made, and they could see no beauty in Him. They did not discern the holiness and purity of His character. The grace and virtue revealed in His life did not appeal to them (MS 33, 1911).  {4BC 1147.2}
[4BC 1147.3]          2, 3. A Picture That Will Subdue and Humble.--Prophecy foretold that Christ was to appear as a root out of dry ground. "He hath no form nor comeliness," wrote Isaiah, "and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." This chapter should be studied. It presents Christ as the Lamb of God. Those who are lifted up with pride, whose souls are filled with vanity, should look upon this picture of their Redeemer, and humble themselves in the dust. The entire chapter should be committed to memory. Its influence will subdue and humble the soul defiled by sin and uplifted by self-exaltation.  {4BC 1147.3}
[4BC 1147.4]          Think of Christ's humiliation. He took upon Himself fallen, suffering human nature, degraded and defiled by sin. He took our sorrows, bearing our grief and shame. He endured all the temptations wherewith man is beset. He united humanity with divinity: a divine spirit dwelt in a temple of flesh. He united Himself with the temple. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," because by so doing He could associate with the sinful, sorrowing sons and daughters of Adam (YI Dec. 20, 1900).  {4BC 1147.4}
[4BC 1147.5]          5. Christ Can Ransom Every Soul.--It was not alone by dying on the cross that Christ accomplished His work of saving men. The ignominy and suffering and humiliation was a part of His mission. "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." This penalty Christ                                                                              1148  bore for the sins of the transgressor; He has borne the punishment for every man and for this reason He can ransom every soul, however fallen his condition, if he will accept the law of God as his standard of righteousness (MS 77, 1899).  {4BC 1147.5}
[4BC 1148.1]          7, 9. Satan Assailed Christ, Provoked No Retaliation.--Satan assailed Him ［Christ］ in every point, yet He sinned not in thought, word, or deed. He did no violence, neither was guile found in His mouth. Walking in the midst of sin, He was holy, harmless, undefiled. He was wrongfully accused, yet He opened not His mouth to justify Himself. How many now, when accused of that of which they are not guilty, feel that there is a time when forbearance ceases to be a virtue, and losing their temper, speak words which grieve the Holy Spirit (MS 42, 1901)?  {4BC 1148.1}
[4BC 1148.2]          11. See EGW on Zechariah 9:16.  {4BC 1148.2}
[4BC 1148.3]                                    Chapter 54          Every Specification to Be Fulfilled.--All the fifty-fourth chapter of Isaiah is applicable to the people of God, and every specification of the prophecy will be fulfilled. The Lord will not forsake His people in their time of trial. He says, "For a small moment have I forsaken you; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." Are these words of comfort spoken to those who are making void the law of God? No, no, the promise is for those who amid general apostasy, keep the commandments of God, and lift up the moral standard before the eyes of the world who have forsaken the ordinance, and broken the everlasting covenant ［Isaiah 54:9-13 quoted］ (RH Aug. 20, 1895).  {4BC 1148.3}
[4BC 1148.4]                                    Chapter 57          14. Every Hindrance Must Be Removed.--［Isaiah 57:14 quoted.］ Is not this the very work that the Lord has given us to do in connection with those who see and feel the importance of the work that must be done in the earth that the truth may triumph gloriously? Every man who undertakes to hedge up the way of the servants of God, binding them about by human restrictions, so that they cannot follow the leadings of the Spirit of God, is hindering the advance of the work of God.  {4BC 1148.4}
[4BC 1148.5]          The Lord sends the message, "Take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people." Earnest effort is to be put forth to counterwork the influences that have kept back the message for this time. A solemn work is to be done in a short space of time (Letter 42, 1909).  {4BC 1148.5}
[4BC 1148.6]          15-19. Peace Only for the Humble.--［Isaiah 57:15-19 quoted.］ These words are addressed to those who, awake to their true situation and susceptible to the influence of the Spirit of God, humble themselves before God with contrite hearts. But to those who will not heed the reproof of God, who are determined and froward, and who set themselves to go on in their own way, God cannot speak peace. He cannot heal them; for they will not acknowledge that they need healing. He declares their true condition, "The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt" (Letter 106, 1896).  {4BC 1148.6}
[4BC 1148.7]                                    Chapter 58          A Wide and Extensive Vineyard Opened.--The piety and advanced spiritual knowledge and growth of a church is proportionate to the zeal, piety, and missionary intelligence that has been brought into it, and carried out of it to be a blessing to the very ones who need our assistance the most. Again I urge you to consider Isaiah 58, which opens a wide and extensive vineyard to be worked upon the lines which the Lord has pointed out. When this is done there will be an increase of moral sources and the church will no more remain almost stationary. There will be blessing and power attending their labor. The selfishness that has bound up their souls they have overcome, and now their light is being given to the world in clear, bright rays of a living faith and godly example. The Lord has His promises for all who will do His requirements. ［Psalm 41:1-3; 37:3; Proverbs 3:9, 10; 11:24, 25; Proverbs 19:17; Isaiah 58:10, 11 quoted.］  {4BC 1148.7}
[4BC 1148.8]         The Word of God is full of precious promises, as the above (MS 14a, 1897).  {4BC 1148.8}
[4BC 1148.9]          In our work we shall find a high profession of piety and much outward exactness                                                                              1149  bound up with great inward wickedness. The people represented in Isaiah 58 complain that the Lord allows their services to go unnoticed. This complaint is the expression of hearts unsubdued by grace, rebellious against the truth. Those who receive the truth which works by love and purifies the soul are loyal to God, honoring Him by obedience to His law, which is holy, just, and good. The spirit of true fasting and prayer is the spirit which yields mind, heart, and will to God.  {4BC 1148.9}
[4BC 1149.1]          Ministers of God have been guilty of the sin of disregarding a "Thus saith the Lord." They have led the members of their churches to observe rites which have no foundation in the word of God, but are in direct opposition to His law. By perversion and misrepresentation of the Word of God, they have caused the people to commit sin. God will reward them according to their works. Even as did the priests and rulers in the time of Christ, they have caused the people to err. Christ says of them as He said of the Jewish leaders, "In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (MS 28, 1900).  {4BC 1149.1}
[4BC 1149.2]          1. The Only Course of Safety.--My brethren, you need to study more carefully the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. This chapter marks out the only course that we can follow with safety. . . .  {4BC 1149.2}
[4BC 1149.3]          The prophet receives this word from the Lord--a message startling in its clearness and force:  {4BC 1149.3}
[4BC 1149.4]          "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Though they are called the people of God, the house of Jacob, though they profess to be linked with God in obedience and fellowship, they are far from Him. Wonderful privileges and promises have been given to them, but they have betrayed their trust. With no words of flattery must the message be given them. "Show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Show them where they are making a mistake. Set their danger before them. Tell them of the sins they are committing, while at the same time they pride themselves on their righteousness. Apparently seeking God, they are forgetting Him, forgetting that He is a God of love and compassion, long suffering and goodness, dealing justly and loving mercy. Worldly policy has come into their business and religious life. Their hearts are not purified through the truth. God looks on their outward ceremonies of humility as a solemn mockery. He regards all religious sham as an insult to Himself.  {4BC 1149.4}
[4BC 1149.5]          The people of whom the prophet spoke made a high profession of piety, and pointed to their fasting and to other external forms as an evidence of their piety. But their deeds were tainted by the leprosy of selfishness and covetousness. They had nothing except that which they had first received from God. He bestowed His goods on them that they might be His helping hand, doing what Christ would do were He in their place, giving a true representation of the principles of heaven (Letter 76, 1902)  {4BC 1149.5}
[4BC 1149.6]          1, 2. An Unmuffled Message.--Our work now is to rouse the people. Satan with all his angels has come down with great power, to work with every conceivable deception to counterwork the work of God. The Lord has a message for His people. This message will be borne, whether men will accept or reject it. As in the days of Christ, there will be the deep plottings of the powers of darkness, but the message must not be muffled with smooth words or fair speeches, crying peace, peace, when there is no peace, to those who are turning away from God. "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." ［Isaiah 58:1, 2, quoted.］  {4BC 1149.6}
[4BC 1149.7]          The whole chapter is applicable to those who are living in this period of the earth's history. Consider this chapter attentively; for it will be fulfilled (MS 36, 1897.)  {4BC 1149.7}
[4BC 1149.8]          1-4. Sins of Israel Are Sins Today.--［Isaiah 58:1-4 quoted.］ . . . The house of Jacob, at the time this warning was given to Isaiah, appeared to be a very zealous people, seeking God daily, and delighting to know His ways; but in reality they were filled with presumptuous self-confidence. They were not walking in the truth. Goodness, mercy, and love were not practiced. While presenting an appearance of sorrow for their sins, they were cherishing pride and avarice. At the very time when they were showing such outward humiliation,                                                                              1150  they would exact hard labor from those under them or in their employ. They placed a high estimate on all the good that they had done, but a very low estimate on the services of others. They despised and oppressed the poor. And their fasting only gave them a higher opinion of their own goodness.  {4BC 1149.8}
[4BC 1150.1]          There are sins of this same character among us today, and they bring the rebuke of God upon His church. Wherever such sins are found, seasons of fasting and prayer are indeed necessary; but they must be accompanied with sincere repentance and decided reformation. Without such contrition of soul, these seasons only increase the guilt of the wrong-doer. The Lord has specified the fast He has chosen, the one He will accept. It is that which bears fruit to His glory, in repentance, in devotion, in true piety. ［Isaiah 58:6, 7 quoted.］  {4BC 1150.1}
[4BC 1150.2]          In the fast that God has chosen, mercy, tenderness, and compassion will be exercised. Avarice will be put away, and fraud and oppression will be repented of and renounced. All the authority and influence will be used to help the poor and oppressed. If this were the condition of the world, it would no more be a proverb, "Truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter;" "he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey" (RH Oct. 13, 1891)  {4BC 1150.2}
[4BC 1150.3]          1-5. A Reformatory Influence From God Needed.--［Isaiah 58:1-3 quoted.］ The people here described realize that they have not the favor of God; but instead of seeking His favor in His own way, they enter into a controversy with God. They ask why, since they observe so many ceremonies, the Lord does not give them special recognition. God answers their complaints: "Behold, in the day of your fast, ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high." These fasts are only outward show, mere pretense, a mockery of humility. These worshipers, while mourning and lamenting, retain all their objectionable traits of character. Their hearts are not humbled, nor cleansed from spiritual defilement. They have not received the softening showers of the grace of God. They are destitute of the Holy Spirit, destitute of the sweetness of the heavenly influence. They manifest no repentance, nor faith that works by love and purifies the soul. They are unjust and selfish in their dealings, mercilessly oppressing those whom they regard as their inferiors. Yet they charge God with a neglect to manifest His power to them, and exalt them above others because of their righteousness. The Lord sends them a message of positive reproof, showing why they are not visited by His grace (MS 48, 1900).  {4BC 1150.3}
[4BC 1150.4]          5-7. Christians Not a Band of Mourners.--We have everything to be thankful for. Never ought Christians to move along like a band of mourners in a funeral train. God does not require this of His followers. He does not ask them to spread sackcloth and ashes under them. "Is it such a fast that I have chosen?" He asks; "a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?" God tells us what kind of fast He has chosen. "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?" This is the fast He wishes us to observe. ［Isaiah 58:7 quoted.］ In these words our duty is outlined. God shows us where we should place our treasures. As we follow in the path of self-denial and self sacrifice, helping the needy and suffering, we shall lay up treasure before the throne of God (MS 31, 1901).  {4BC 1150.4}
[4BC 1150.5]          Outward Signs Alone Are Valueless.--The outward signs of fasting and prayer, without a broken and contrite spirit, are of no value in God's sight. The inward work of grace is needed. Humiliation of soul is essential. God looks upon this. He will graciously receive those who will humble their hearts before Him. He will hear their petitions and heal their backslidings.  {4BC 1150.5}
[4BC 1150.6]          Ministers and people need the work of purification in their souls, that God's judgments may be turned away from them. God is waiting, waiting for humiliation and repentance. He will receive all who                                                                              1151  will turn unto Him with their whole heart (MS 33, 1903).  {4BC 1150.6}
[4BC 1151.1]          Help Those Suffering for Truth's Sake.--［Isaiah 58:5-7 quoted.］ God's cause embraces every needy, suffering saint. We are not selfishly to single out a few relatives and friends and help them, letting our work end here. All the needy who come to our notice are to be helped, but especially those who are suffering for the truth's sake. If we neglect this work, God will hold us accountable. Shall we not as a people who work righteousness, follow the conditions God has laid down, and be doers of His Word (MS 145, 1899)?  {4BC 1151.1}
[4BC 1151.2]          6. No Yokes to Be Placed.--The Lord has not given man the work of putting yokes on the necks of His people, binding them in such a way that they are not free to look to Him and to be led and guided by Him. It is not the Lord's design that His people shall be made amenable to their fellow-men, who are themselves wholly dependent on God (Letter 76, 1902).  {4BC 1151.2}
[4BC 1151.3]         8 (see EGW comments on Zechariah 4:12). God Needs Human Agencies.--We are to put into practice the precepts of the law, and thus have righteousness before us; the rereward will be God's glory. The light of the righteousness of Christ will be our front guard, and the glory of the Lord will be our rereward. Let us thank the Lord for this assurance. Let us constantly stand in a position where the Lord God of heaven can favor us. Let us consider that it is our high privilege to be in connection with God--to be His helping hand.  {4BC 1151.3}
[4BC 1151.4]          In God's great plan for the redemption of a lost race, He has placed Himself under the necessity of using human agencies as His helping hand. He must have a helping hand, in order to reach humanity. He must have the cooperation of those who will be active, quick to see opportunities, quick to discern what must be done for their fellow men (NL No. 23, p. 1).  {4BC 1151.4}
[4BC 1151.5]          A Visible Righteousness Required.--Note the inspired promise of the prophet to those who do all in their power to relieve distress, both physical and spiritual. ［Isaiah 58:8 quoted.］  {4BC 1151.5}
[4BC 1151.6]         As Christians we are to have a righteousness that shall be developed and seen--a righteousness that represents the character of Jesus Christ when He was in our world (MS 43, 1908).  {4BC 1151.6}
[4BC 1151.7]          8-14. Characteristics of True Reformers.--Here are given the characteristics of those who shall be reformers, who will bear the banner of the third angel's message, those who avow themselves God's commandment-keeping people, and who honor God, and are earnestly engaged, in the sight of all the universe, in building up the old waste places. Who is it that calls them, The repairers of the breach, The restorers of paths to dwell in? It is God. Their names are registered in heaven as reformers, restorers, as raising the foundations of many generations (RH Oct. 13, 1891).  {4BC 1151.7}
[4BC 1151.8]         9, 10. Compassion Causes Light to Rise.--［Isaiah 58:9, 10 quoted.］ All around us are afflicted souls. Let us search out these suffering ones, and speak a word in season to comfort their hearts. Here and there-- everywhere--we shall find them. Let us ever be channels through which may flow to them the refreshing waters of compassion. To those who minister to the necessities of the hungry and afflicted, the promise is, "Then shall thy light rise in obscurity."  {4BC 1151.8}
[4BC 1151.9]          Many are in obscurity. They have lost their bearings. They know not what course to pursue. Let the perplexed ones search out others who are in perplexity, and speak to them words of hope and encouragement. When they begin to do this work, the light of heaven will reveal to them the path that they should follow. By their words of consolation to the afflicted they themselves will be consoled. By helping others, they themselves will be helped out of their difficulties. Joy takes the place of sadness and gloom. The heart, filled with the Spirit of God, glows with warmth toward every fellow being. Every such an one is no longer in darkness; for his "darkness" is "as the noon day" (MS 116, 1902).  {4BC 1151.9}
[4BC 1151.10]          11. God's Guidance Gives Clear Discernment.--Of him who walks in the way of life everlasting, using his blessings to bless others, the prophet Isaiah declares: "The Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered                                                                              1152  garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."  {4BC 1151.10}
[4BC 1152.1]          These blessings we need. We need the water of life that flows from Jesus Christ, which will be in us a well of water springing up into everlasting life. "The Lord shall guide thee continually." When we are guided by the Lord, we shall have clear discernment. We shall not call righteousness unrighteousness, nor think that things that the Lord has forbidden are right. We shall understand where the Lord is working.  {4BC 1152.1}
[4BC 1152.2]          Many have not understood this. There are some who I know have been led astray by the enemy. But God wants to make you a partaker of the divine nature. He wants no yoke of human authority on your neck, but that you shall look to Him who is able to save to the uttermost every one that comes to Him in righteousness and truth. We have no time to tamper with the enemy; for we are very near the close of this earth's history (MS 43, 1908).  {4BC 1152.2}
[4BC 1152.3]          12-14 (Revelation 11:19; 14:9-12). Sabbathkeepers Repair the Breach.-- ［Isaiah 58:8-14 quoted.］ Where do we find the people who are thus addressed? Who is it that shall build the old waste places, and raise up the foundation of many generations? Where are the people who have had light from heaven to see that a breach has been made in the law of God?  {4BC 1152.3}
[4BC 1152.4]         In the Revelation, John says, "The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament." Revelation 11:19. John saw in vision the Lord's people looking for His coming and searching for truth. As the temple of God was opened unto His people, the light of the law of God, which was in the ark, shone forth. Those who receive this light are brought to view in the proclamation of the third angel's message.  {4BC 1152.4}
[4BC 1152.5]          This angel is seen flying in the midst of heaven, "saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. . . . Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."  {4BC 1152.5}
[4BC 1152.6]          This is the people that are repairing the breach in the law of God. They see that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment has been supplanted by a spurious sabbath, a day that has no sanction in the Word of God. Amid great opposition they become loyal to their God, and take their position under the standard of the third angel (MS 48, 1900).  {4BC 1152.6}
[4BC 1152.7]          As the end approaches, the testimonies of God's servants will become more decided and more powerful, flashing the light of truth upon the systems of error and oppression that have so long held the supremacy. The Lord has sent us messages for this time to establish Christianity upon an eternal basis, and all who believe present truth must stand, not in their own wisdom, but in God; and raise up the foundation of many generations. These will be registered in the books of heaven as repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in. We are to maintain the truth because it is truth, in the face of the bitterest opposition. God is at work upon human minds; it is not man alone that is working. The great illuminating power is from Christ; the brightness of His example is to be kept before the people in every discourse (Letter 1f, 1890).  {4BC 1152.7}
[4BC 1152.8]          Whole-souled Men to Stand in the Gap.--I write this because many in the church are represented to me as seeing men like trees walking. They must have another and deeper experience before they discern the snares spread to take them in the net of the deceiver. There must be no halfway work done now. The Lord calls for stanch, decided, whole-souled men and women to stand in the gap, and make up the hedge. ［Isaiah 58:12-14 quoted.］  {4BC 1152.8}
[4BC 1152.9]          There is a decided testimony to be borne by all our ministers in all our churches. God has permitted apostasies to take place in order to show how little dependence can be placed in man. We are always to look to God; His word is not Yea and Nay, but Yea and Amen (NL No. 19, pp. 2, 3).  {4BC 1152.9}
[4BC 1152.10]          13, 14. See EGW on Exodus 20:1-17, Vol. I.                                                                              1153   {4BC 1152.10}
[4BC 1153.1]                                    Chapter 59          13-17 (Revelation 12:17). Satan Setting Trained Agents at Work.--The condition of the world at the time of Christ is well described by the prophet Isaiah. He says that the people were found "transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God." ［Isaiah 59:13-17 quoted.］  {4BC 1153.1}
[4BC 1153.2]          The condition of the world previous to the first appearing of Christ is a picture of the condition of the world just previous to His second advent. The same iniquity will exist, Satan manifests the same delusive power upon the minds of men. He is setting his trained agents at work, and moving them to intense activity. He is securing his army of human agents to engage in the last conflict against the Prince of life, to overthrow the law of God, which is the foundation of His throne. Satan will work with miraculous presentations to confirm men in the belief that he is what he claims to be,--the prince of this world, and that victory is his. He will turn his forces against those who are loyal to God, but though he may cause pain, distress, and human agony, he cannot defile the soul. He may cause affliction to the people of God as he did to Christ, but he cannot cause one of Christ's little ones to perish. The people of God in these last days must expect to enter into the thick of the conflict; for the prophetic Word says, "The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Letter 43, 1895).  {4BC 1153.2}
[4BC 1153.3]                                   Chapter 60          1 (Psalm 8:3; 147:4; Daniel 12:3). Each to Give His Measure of Light.--Every shining star which God has placed in the heavens obeys His mandate, and gives its distinctive measure of light to make beautiful the heavens at night; so let every converted soul show the measure of light committed to him; and as it shines forth the light will increase and grow brighter. Give out your light, . . . pour forth your beams mirrored from heaven. O daughter of Zion, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee" (Letter 38, 1890).  {4BC 1153.3}
[4BC 1153.4]         2 (Malachi 2:7, 8). Only Light Can Dispel Darkness.--When Christ came into the world, darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the people. The living oracles of God were fast becoming a dead letter. The still, small voice of God was heard only at times by the most devout worshiper; for it had become overpowered and silenced by the dogmas, maxims, and traditions of men. The long, intricate explanations of the priests made that which was the plainest and most simple, mysterious, indistinct, and uncertain. The clamors of rival sects confused the understanding, and their doctrines were widely apart from the correct theory of truth....  {4BC 1153.4}
[4BC 1153.5]          Truth looked down from heaven upon the children of men, but found no reflection of itself; for darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. If the darkness of error that hid the glory of God from the view of men was to be dispelled, the light of truth must shine amid the moral darkness of the world. It was decreed in the councils of God that the only-begotten Son of God must leave His high command in heaven, and clothe His divinity with humanity, and come to the world. No outward splendor must attend His steps, save that of virtue, mercy, goodness, and truth; for He was to represent to the world the attributes of God's character; but the world, unaccustomed to gaze upon truth, turned from the light to the darkness of error; for error was more to their perverted taste than truth (RH Aug. 6, 1895).  {4BC 1153.5}
[4BC 1153.6]                                    Chapter 61          1, 3. Guard Countenance, Words, Tone of Voice.--［Isaiah 61:1 quoted.］ The Lord is not pleased to have His people a band of mourners. He wants them to repent of their sins, that they may enjoy the liberty of the sons of God. Then they will be filled with the praises of God, and will be a blessing to others. The Lord Jesus was anointed also "to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified."                                                                              1154   {4BC 1153.6}
[4BC 1154.1]          "That He," Christ Jesus, "might be glorified"--O that this might be the purpose of our lives! Then we should have regard even to the expression of our countenance, to our words, and even to the tone of our voice when we speak. All our business transactions would be wrought in faith and integrity. Then would the world be convinced that there is a people that are loyal to the God of heaven. . . .  {4BC 1154.1}
[4BC 1154.2]          God calls for all to come into harmony with Himself. He will receive them if they will put away their evil actions. By a union with the divine nature of Christ, they may escape the corrupting influences of this world. It is time for every one of us to decide whose side we are on. The agencies of Satan will work with every mind that will allow itself to be worked by him. But there are also heavenly agencies waiting to communicate the bright rays of the glory of God to all that are willing to receive Him. It is truth that we want, precious truth in all its loveliness. Truth will bring liberty and gladness (MS 43, 1908).  {4BC 1154.2}
[4BC 1154.3]                                  Chapter 64          8. Let God Work the Clay.--While the human agent is devising and planning for himself something that God has withheld him from doing, he has a hard time. He complains and frets, and has still increased difficulties. But when he submits to be as clay in the hands of the potter, then God works the man into a vessel of honor. The clay submits to be worked. If God had His way, hundreds would be worked and made into vessels as He sees best.  {4BC 1154.3}
[4BC 1154.4]          Let the hand of God work the clay for His own service. He knows just what kind of vessel He wants. To every man He has given his work. God knows what place he is best fitted for. Many are working contrary to the will of God, and they spoil the web. The Lord wants every one to be submissive under His divine guidance. He will place men where they will submit to be worked into oneness with Christ, bearing His divine similitude. If self will submit to be worked, if you will cooperate with God, if you will pray in unity, work in unity, all taking your place as threads in the web of life, you will grow into a beautiful fabric that will rejoice the universe of God. (Letter 63, 1898).  {4BC 1154.4}
[4BC 1154.5]          The Potter cannot mold and fashion unto honor that which has never been placed in His hands. The Christian life is one of daily surrender, submission and continual overcoming. Every day fresh victories will be gained. Self must be lost sight of, and the love of God must be constantly cultivated. Thus we grow up into Christ. Thus the life is fashioned according to the divine model (MS 55, 1900).  {4BC 1154.5}
[4BC 1154.6]          Every child of God is to do his very best to uplift the standard of truth. He is to work in God's order. If self is exalted, Christ is not magnified. In His Word God compares Himself to a potter, and His people to the clay. His work is to mold and fashion them after His own similitude. The lesson they are to learn is the lesson of submission. Self is not to be made prominent. If due attention is given to the divine instruction, if self is surrendered to the divine will, the hand of the Potter will produce a shapely vessel (Letter 78, 1901).  {4BC 1154.6}
[4BC 1154.7]                                   Chapter 65          2. See EGW on Jeremiah 17:25.  {4BC 1154.7}
[4BC 1154.8]          21-23. See EGW on Proverbs 31:27, Vol. III.                                                    -    {4BC 1154.8}
[4BC 1154.9]       Jeremiah                                      Chapter 3          A lesson for Spiritual Israel.--Please read the third chapter ［of Jeremiah］. This chapter is a lesson for modern Israel. Let all who claim to be children of God understand that He will not serve with their sins any more than He would with the sins of ancient Israel. God hates hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong (Letter 34, 1899).                                                                              1155   {4BC 1154.9}
[4BC 1155.1]                                   Chapter 8          7. Birds Respond More Quickly Than Men.--The swallow and the crane observe the changes of the seasons. They migrate from one country to another to find a climate suitable to their convenience and happiness, as the Lord designed they should. But God's people sacrifice life and health by seeking to gratify appetite. In their desire to accumulate treasure, they forget the Giver of all their blessings. Their health is abused, and their God-given powers are used to carry out their unsanctified, ambitious projects. Their days are filled with pain of body and disquietude of mind because they are determined to follow wrong habits and practices. They will not reason from cause to effect, and they sacrifice health, peace, and happiness to their ignorance (MS 35, 1899).  {4BC 1155.1}
[4BC 1155.2]          8 (Matthew 15:9; 22:29). Rejection of Truth Has Produced Present Condition.--The prevalence of sin is alarming; the world is being filled with violence as in the days of Noah. Would the world be in its present condition if those who claim to be the people of God had reverenced and obeyed the law of the Lord? It is the rejection of the truth, man's dispensing with the commandments of God, that has produced the condition of things which now exists. God's Word is made of none effect by false shepherds. The decided opposition of the shepherds of the flock to the law of the Lord reveals that they have rejected the Word of the Lord, and have put their own words in its place. In their interpretation of the Scriptures they teach for doctrines the commandments of men. In their apostasy from the truth they have encouraged wickedness, saying, "We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us." The words of Christ to the Pharisees are applicable to them. Christ said to these teachers, Ye are both ignorant of the Scriptures and of the power of God. . . .  {4BC 1155.2}
[4BC 1155.3]         The condition of our world today is just as the prophet has represented that it would be near the close of this earth's history (MS 60, 1900).  {4BC 1155.3}
[4BC 1155.4]          22. See EGW on Exodus 15:23-25, Vol. I, p. 1102.  {4BC 1155.4}
[4BC 1155.5]                                   Chapter 11          16. Fruitless Branches Broken Off.--［Jeremiah 11:16 quoted.］ Where her branches should have yielded fruit without stint, they were broken off because of her stubborn disobedience. The wrong course of the people of Jerusalem brought its sure result upon them and upon those whom they influenced. They departed from the example of the holy men who caught their inspiration from Jesus Christ, their invisible Leader. They could not possibly form characters that God could approve (Letter 34, 1899).  {4BC 1155.5}
[4BC 1155.6]                                   Chapter 17          5. Dependence on World Is Fatal.--［Deuteronomy 4:1, 2, 5-9; 7:1-6, 9, 10 quoted.］ Under David's rule, the people of Israel gained strength and uprightness through obedience to God's law. But the kings that followed strove for self-exaltation. They took to themselves glory for the greatness of the kingdom, forgetting how utterly dependent they were upon God. They regarded themselves as wise and independent, because of the honor showed them by fallible, erring man. They became corrupt, immoral, and rebelled against the Lord, turning from Him to the worship of idols.  {4BC 1155.6}
[4BC 1155.7]         God bore long with them, calling them often to repentance. But they refused to hear, and at last God spoke in judgment, showing them how weak they were without Him. He saw that they were determined to have their own way, and He gave them into the hands of their enemies, who spoiled their land, and took the people captive.  {4BC 1155.7}
[4BC 1155.8]          The alliances made by the Israelites with their heathen neighbors resulted in the loss of their identity as God's peculiar people. They became leavened by the evil practises of those with whom they formed forbidden alliances. Affiliation with worldlings caused them to lose their first love, and their zeal for God's service. The advantages they sold themselves to gain, brought only disappointment, and caused the loss of many souls.  {4BC 1155.8}
[4BC 1155.9]          The experience of Israel will be the experience of all who go to the world for strength, turning away from the living God. Those who forsake the mighty One,                                                                              1156  the source of all strength, and affiliate with worldlings, placing on them their dependence, become weak in moral power, as are those in whom they trust.  {4BC 1155.9}
[4BC 1156.1]          God comes with entreaties and assurances to those who are making mistakes. He seeks to show them their error, and lead them to repentance. But if they refuse to humble their hearts before Him, if they strive to exalt themselves above Him, He must speak to them in judgment. No semblance of nearness to God, no assertion of connection with Him, will be accepted from those who persist in dishonoring Him by leaning upon the arm of worldly power (RH Aug. 4, 1904).  {4BC 1156.1}
[4BC 1156.2]          25 (Isaiah 65:2; Ezekiel 12:2). Israel Blind to Light, Deaf to Messages.--Had God's chosen people stood in their appointed place, as the repositories of sacred, eternal truth, which was to come to the heathen world Jerusalem would have stood to this day. But they were a rebellious people. And when God had done all that a God could do, even to the sending of His only begotten Son, they were so ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God, that they refused the only help that could save them from ruin. "This is the heir," they said, "come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours."  {4BC 1156.2}
[4BC 1156.3]          God appointed Israel to be a light to the Gentiles, thus to call them back to their loyalty. But Israel herself became blind to the light, deaf to the messages sent to open her understanding (MS 151, 1899).  {4BC 1156.3}
[4BC 1156.4]                                    Chapter 18          1-10. God's Way.--［Jeremiah 18:1-10 quoted.］ This presents before us God's way of dealing with His people. He sends warnings. He pleads with them to cease to do evil and learn to do well. Hear the words of Christ, for they are spoken to all who claim to be His people. Blessings are promised to all who follow the Lord to do righteousness, but those who walk in their own ways show that under the trying circumstances liable to occur anywhere, they will prove unfaithful, and God cannot bless them (Letter 34, 1899).  {4BC 1156.4}
[4BC 1156.5]                                    Chapter 20          7-10. God's Messengers as Sheep Among Wolves.--The messages of reproof that God gave through His prophets to backsliding, apostate Israel, did not lead them to repentance. Misrepresented, misunderstood, His messengers were as sheep in the midst of wolves. Many of them were cruelly put to death.  {4BC 1156.5}
[4BC 1156.6]          How scornfully the Jewish nation treated the message that the Lord gave to them through His prophet Jeremiah! Of his experience Jeremiah the prophet says: "O Lord, Thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily."  {4BC 1156.6}
[4BC 1156.7]          So strong was the opposition against Jeremiah's message, so often was he derided and mocked, that he said, "I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name." Thus it has ever been. Because of the bitterness, hatred, and opposition manifested against the word of God spoken in reproof, many other messengers of God have decided to do as Jeremiah decided. But what did this prophet of the Lord do after his decision? Try as much as he would, he could not hold his peace. As soon as he came into the assemblies of the people, he found that the Spirit of the Lord was stronger than he was. The record is: "His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him."  {4BC 1156.7}
[4BC 1156.8]          In this generation, when God's servants speak the word of the Lord to reprove wrong-doers, to rebuke those who bring in wrong principles, have they not had an experience similar to that which Jeremiah had? When a course of action to pervert justice and judgment is introduced, the word of the Lord must be spoken in reproof. In this our day we find the very same difficulties that the Lord's servants found in the days of ancient Israel when they were sent to expose existing evils that                                                                              1157  were corrupting in their influence (MS 56, 1902).  {4BC 1156.8}
[4BC 1157.1]                                     Chapter 23          1 (Hosea 8:1; 13:9; Matthew 15:6). Shepherds That Scatter.--There are professedly pious men who screen the sinner by their own transgression. They disregard the commandments of God, choosing the traditions of men, making void the law of God, and promoting apostasy. The excuses they make are feeble and weak and will bring destruction to their own souls and the souls of others. . . .  {4BC 1157.1}
[4BC 1157.2]         Upon those who have taken upon them the work of shepherds of the flock, will be visited the heaviest judgments, because they have presented to the people fables instead of truth. Children will rise up and curse their parents. Church members, who have seen the light and been convicted, but who have trusted the salvation of their souls to the minister, will learn in the day of God that no other soul can pay the ransom for their transgression. A terrible cry will be raised, "I am lost, eternally lost." Men will feel as though they could rend in pieces the ministers who have preached falsehoods and condemned the truth. The pure truth for this time requires a reformation in the life, but they separate themselves from the love of the truth, and of them it can be said, "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself." The Lord sends a message to the people, "Set a trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and trespassed against my law" (Letter 30, 1900).  {4BC 1157.2}
[4BC 1157.3]          6. The Coronation Day.--On the Saviour's coronation day He will not acknowledge as His any who bear spot or wrinkle. But to His faithful ones He will give crowns of immortal glory. Those who would not that He should reign over them will see Him surrounded by the army of the redeemed, each bearing the sign, The Lord our Righteousness. They will see the head once crowned with thorns crowned with a diadem of glory (RH May 5, 1903).  {4BC 1157.3}
[4BC 1157.4]          28 (1 Corinthians 3:13). Preach the Word, Omit the Chaff.--In regard to entering into the subject of the divine mystery of the essence of God, Christ ever maintained a wise reserve. He did this that He might close the door where human conjectures should not be encouraged. The most sacred, holy, and eternal mysteries which God has not revealed are but speculations when considered from a human standpoint, mere theories that confuse the mind. There are those who know the truth but do not practice it. These greatly long for some new, strange thing to present. In their great zeal to become original some will bring in fanciful ideas which are but chaff. Even now there is a descending from the sublime and living issues for this time to the ridiculous and fanciful, and sensational minds stand ready to catch up suppositions and guesses and human theories and false science as truth to be accepted and taught.  {4BC 1157.4}
[4BC 1157.5]          These put the test of salvation on speculation without one plain, "Thus saith the Lord." They thus bring in a mass of rubbish, wood, hay, and stubble, as precious material to be laid upon the foundation stone. This will not stand the test of fire, but will be consumed, and if the ones who have made themselves believe these theories are so self-deceived and know not the truth yet are converted, their life is saved as by fire through repentance and humiliation before God. They have been dealing in common things in place of the sacred. Many catch up ideas which are of no consequence and place them before the flock of God as food, when they are only chaff which will never benefit or strengthen the flock of God, but will keep them in the lowlands, because they are feeding upon that which contains not the least virtue or nourishment. What is the chaff to the wheat (MS 45, 1900)?  {4BC 1157.5}
[4BC 1157.6]                                       Chapters 25;                                  27-29; 30, 31            (Daniel 9:1.) Records Studied by Daniel.--A copy of the letters sent by Jeremiah to the Hebrew captives in Babylon, and of the letters sent by the false prophets to these captives and to the authorities of Jerusalem, together with a story of the controversy between the true and the false, is found in the twenty-seventh to the twenty-ninth chapters of Jeremiah.  {4BC 1157.6}
[4BC 1157.7]          It was immediately after this interchange of letters between Jeremiah and the elders                                                                              1158  of the Israelites in captivity, that the prophet was instructed to write in a book all that had been revealed to him regarding the restoration of Israel. This is recorded in the thirtieth and the thirty-first chapters of Jeremiah.  {4BC 1157.7}
[4BC 1158.1]          These, with the prophecies of the twenty-fifth chapter, are the letters and the records that Daniel the prophet, during "the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede," prayerfully studied, three-score years and more after they were written (RH March 21, 1907).  {4BC 1158.1}
[4BC 1158.2]                                    Chapter 25          11, 12 (chs. 28; 29:14). Punishment in Proportion to Intelligence and Warnings Despised.--"In the fourth year of Jehoiakim," very soon after Daniel was taken to Babylon, Jeremiah predicted the captivity of many of the Jews, as their punishment for not heeding the Word of the Lord. The Chaldeans were to be used as the instrument by which God would chastise His disobedient people. Their punishment was to be in proportion to their intelligence and to the warnings they had despised. "This whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment," the prophet declared; "and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations."  {4BC 1158.2}
[4BC 1158.3]         In the light of these plain words foretelling the duration of the captivity, it seems strange that any one should hold that the Israelites would soon return from Babylon. And yet there were in Jerusalem and in Babylon those who persisted in encouraging the people to hope for a speedy deliverance. God dealt summarily with some of these false prophets, and thus vindicated the truthfulness of Jeremiah, His messenger.  {4BC 1158.3}
[4BC 1158.4]          To the end of time, men will arise to create confusion and rebellion among the people who profess to obey the law of God. But as surely as divine judgment was visited upon the false prophets in Jeremiah's day, so surely will the evil workers of today receive their full measure of retribution, for the Lord has not changed. Those who prophesy lies, encourage men to look upon sin as a light thing. When the terrible results of their evil deeds are made manifest, they seek, if possible, to make the one who has faithfully warned them responsible for their difficulties, even as the Jews charged Jeremiah with their evil fortunes.  {4BC 1158.4}
[4BC 1158.5]          Those who pursue a course of rebellion against the Lord can always find false prophets who will justify them in their acts, and flatter them to their destruction. Lying words often make many friends, as is illustrated in the case of these false teachers among the Israelites. These so-called prophets, in their pretended zeal for God, found many more believers and followers than the true prophet who delivered the simple message of the Lord.  {4BC 1158.5}
[4BC 1158.6]          In view of the work of these false prophets, Jeremiah was directed by the Lord to write letters to the captains, elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been taken captive to Babylon, bidding them not to be deluded into believing their deliverance nigh, but to submit quietly, pursue their vocations, and make for themselves peaceful homes among their conquerors. The Lord bade them not to allow so-called prophets or diviners to deceive them with false expectations. Through His servant Jeremiah He assured them that after seventy years' bondage they should be delivered, and should return to Jerusalem. God would listen to their prayers and show them His favor, when they would turn to Him with all their hearts ［Jeremiah 29:14 quoted］ (RH March 14, 1907).  {4BC 1158.6}
[4BC 1158.7]                                   Chapter 27        12-22. See EGW on 2 Kings 24:17-20, Vol. II, p. 1040.  {4BC 1158.7}
[4BC 1158.8]                                 Chapter 28        See EGW on ch. 25:11, 12.  {4BC 1158.8}
[4BC 1158.9]                                 Chapter 29        14. See EGW on ch. 25:11, 12.  {4BC 1158.9}
[4BC 1158.10]                                 Chapter 31          10-12. Divine Help Available for Correction.--［Jeremiah 31:10-12 quoted.］ Corn and wine are symbols of grace and plenty.                                                                              1159   {4BC 1158.10}
[4BC 1159.1]          All who receive the messages that the Lord sends to purify and cleanse them from all habits of disobedience to His commandments and conformity to the world, and who repent of their sins and reform, looking to God for help and walking in the way of obedience to His commandments, will receive divine help to correct their evil course of action. But those who apparently repent and seek the Lord, yet do not put away the evil of their doings, will not only disappoint themselves, but when their course is placed before them in symbols or parables, they will feel shame and sorrow because they have disappointed the Lord. They have hoped and trusted in their own course of action. As a people they have been reproved, and yet they have not put away the evil works that called for reproof (MS 65, 1912).  {4BC 1159.1}
[4BC 1159.2]                                     Chapter 36          Now Covering the Same Ground.--［Jeremiah 36:1-7 quoted.］ This chapter is a record of historical events that will be repeated. Let all who desire to receive warning, read carefully.  {4BC 1159.2}
[4BC 1159.3]          ［Jeremiah 36:22, 23, 27, 28, 32 quoted］ (MS 65, 1912).  {4BC 1159.3}
[4BC 1159.4]                                    Chapter 39          4-7. See EGW on 2 Kings 24:17-20, Vol. II, p. 1040.  {4BC 1159.4}
[4BC 1159.5]                                    Chapter 48          10-12. Spirit Does Not Work Beyond Human Power of Resistance.--The influence of the Spirit upon the human mind will regulate it after the divine order. But the Spirit does not work in a manner and power beyond the human agent's power of resistance. A man may refuse to hear the counsels and admonitions of God. He may choose to take the regulating of his conduct into his own hands; but when he does this, he is not made a vessel unto honor. Like Moab, he refuses to be changed, emptied from vessel to vessel, and therefore his scent remaineth in him. He refuses to correct his defective traits of character, although the Lord has plainly pointed out his work, his privileges, his opportunities, and the advancement to be made. It is too much trouble to break up his old ways, and transform his ideas and methods. "His scent is not changed." He clings to his defects, and is thus unfitted for the sacred work of the ministry. He was not willing to make a close examination of himself, or to closely inquire for light to shine upon him in a clear, distinct manner. His prayers have not ascended to God in humility, while with humble endeavor he sought to live his prayers by understanding and performing his duty.  {4BC 1159.5}
[4BC 1159.6]          After the Lord has put one on test and trial, that he may be assured of his calling to the ministry, if he is content to follow his own way and his own will, if he will not heed the manifestations of the Spirit of God, if he refuses to profit by growth in grace and depth of understanding, be assured that the Lord does not need him; for he cannot communicate that which he has never received.  {4BC 1159.6}
[4BC 1159.7]          Every soul is to minister. He is to use every physical, moral, and mental power, through sanctification of the Spirit, that he may be a laborer together with God. All are bound to devote themselves actively and unreservedly to God's service. They are to cooperate with Jesus Christ in the great work of helping others. Christ died for every man. He has ransomed every man by giving His life on the cross. This He did that man might no longer live an aimless, selfish life, but that he might live unto Jesus Christ, who died for his salvation. All are not called upon to enter the ministry, but nevertheless, they are to minister. It is an insult to the Holy Spirit of God for any man to choose a life of self-serving.  {4BC 1159.7}
[4BC 1159.8]         Ministry means not only the study of books and preaching. It means service (Letter 10, 1897).  {4BC 1159.8}
[4BC 1159.9]          Knowledge of Truth Not Practiced.--This description of Moab represents the churches that have become like Moab. They have not stood at their post of duty as faithful sentinels. They have not cooperated with the heavenly intelligences by exercising their God-given ability to do the will of God, pressing back the powers of darkness, and using every power God has given them to advance truth and righteousness in our world. They have a knowledge of the truth, but they have not practiced what they know (MS 7, 1891).                                                                              1160   {4BC 1159.9}
[4BC 1160.1]          God Disciplines His Workers.--God has given to every man his work, and we are to acknowledge the wisdom of His plan for us by a hearty cooperation with Him. It is in a life of service only that true happiness is found. He who lives a useless, selfish life is miserable. He is dissatisfied with himself and with every one else.  {4BC 1160.1}
[4BC 1160.2]          The Lord disciplines His workers, that they may be prepared to fill the places appointed them. Thus He desires to fit them to do more acceptable service.  {4BC 1160.2}
[4BC 1160.3]          A life of monotony is not the most conducive to spiritual growth. Some can reach the highest standard of spirituality only through a change in the regular order of things. When in His providence God sees that changes are essential for the success of the character-building, He disturbs the smooth current of the life.  {4BC 1160.3}
[4BC 1160.4]          There are those who desire to be a ruling power, and who need the sanctification of submission. God brings about a change in their lives. Perhaps He places before them duties that they would not choose. If they are willing to be guided by Him, He will give them grace and strength to perform these duties in a spirit of submission and helpfulness. Thus they are being qualified to fill places where their disciplined abilities will make them of great service.  {4BC 1160.4}
[4BC 1160.5]          Some God trains by bringing to them disappointment and apparent failure. It is His purpose that they shall learn to master difficulty. He inspires them with a determination to make every apparent failure prove a success. Often men pray and weep because of the perplexities and obstacles that confront them. But if they will hold the beginning of their confidence steadfast unto the end, He will make their ways clear. Success will come to them as they struggle against apparently insurmountable difficulties. . . .  {4BC 1160.5}
[4BC 1160.6]          Many are ignorant of how to work for God, not because they need to be ignorant, but because they are unwilling to submit to His training. Moab is spoken of as a failure because, the prophet declares, "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, . . . and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed."  {4BC 1160.6}
[4BC 1160.7]          Thus it is with those whose hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong are not purged from them. Their hearts are not cleansed from defilement. They were given an opportunity to do a work for God, but this work they did not choose to do, because they wished to carry out their own plans.  {4BC 1160.7}
[4BC 1160.8]          The Christian is to be prepared for the doing of a work that reveals kindness, forbearance, longsuffering, gentleness, patience. The cultivation of these precious gifts is to come into the life of the Christian, that, when called into service by the Master, he may be ready to use his highest powers in helping and blessing those around him (RH May 2, 1907).                                                    -    {4BC 1160.8}
[4BC 1160.9]       Ezekiel                                      Chapter 1          Glorious Revelations During Darkest Days.--All who serve God with purity of soul will know that He is jealous that His honor should be preserved. Many of the most glorious revelations recorded in the Bible were made by the Lord in the darkest days of the church's history. The Lord has given these revelations of His glory in order that men may be deeply impressed regarding the sacredness of His service. Impressions have been made that should bear with solemn force on the mind, showing that God is God, and that He has not lost His glory. He requires the utmost fidelity in His service today. The impression must be left on human minds that the Lord God is holy, and that He will vindicate His glory (MS 81, 1906).                                                                              1161   {4BC 1160.9}
[4BC 1161.1]          8 (Ezekiel 10:8, 21). Divine Power Gives Success.--In Ezekiel's vision, God had His hand beneath the wings of the cherubim. This is to teach His servants that it is divine power that gives them success. He will work with them if they will put away iniquity, and become pure in heart and life. The heavenly messengers seen by Ezekiel, like a bright light going among the living creatures with the swiftness of lightning, represent the speed with which this work will finally go forward to completion. He who slumbers not, who is continually at work for the accomplishment of His designs, can carry forward His great work harmoniously. That which appears to finite minds entangled and complicated, the Lord's hand can keep in perfect order. He can devise ways and means to thwart the purposes of wicked counselors, and those who plot out mischief.  {4BC 1161.1}
[4BC 1161.2]         Those who are called to responsible positions in the work of God often feel that they are carrying heavy burdens, when they may have the satisfaction of knowing that Jesus carries them all. We permit ourselves to feel altogether too much care, trouble, and perplexity in the Lord's work. We need to trust Him, believe in Him, and go forward. The tireless vigilance of the heavenly messengers, their unceasing employment in their ministry in connection with the beings of earth, show us how God's hand is guiding the wheel within a wheel. The divine Instructor is saying to every actor in His work, as He said to Cyrus of old, "I girded thee, though thou hast not known me" (RH Jan. 11, 1887).  {4BC 1161.2}
[4BC 1161.3]          15-28. Individual Freedom, Yet Complete Harmony.--God is acquainted with every man. Could our eyes be opened we would see that eternal justice is at work in our world. A powerful influence, not under man's control, is working. Man may fancy that he is directing matters, but there are higher than human influences at work. The servants of God know that He is working to counteract Satan's plans. Those who know not God cannot comprehend His movements. There is at work a wheel within a wheel. Apparently the complication of machinery is so intricate that man can see only a complete entanglement. But the divine hand, as seen by the prophet Ezekiel, is placed upon the wheels, and every part moves in complete harmony, each doing its specified work, yet with individual freedom of action (MS 13, 1898).  {4BC 1161.3}
[4BC 1161.4]                                     Chapter 9          2-4 (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). A Mark Which Angels Read.--［Ephesians 1:13 quoted.］ What is the seal of the living God, which is placed in the foreheads of His people? It is a mark which angels, but not human eyes, can read; for the destroying angel must see this mark of redemption (Letter 126, 1898).  {4BC 1161.4}
[4BC 1161.5]         The angel with the writer's ink horn is to place a mark upon the foreheads of all who are separated from sin and sinners, and the destroying angel follows this angel (Letter 12, 1886).  {4BC 1161.5}
[4BC 1161.6]          (Revelation 7:2.) Seal Is a Settling Into Truth.--Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads--it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved--just as soon as God's people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come. Indeed, it has begun already; the judgments of God are now upon the land, to give us warning, that we may know what is coming (MS 173, 1902).  {4BC 1161.6}
[4BC 1161.7]                                    Chapter 10          8, 21. See EGW on Ezekiel 1:8.  {4BC 1161.7}
[4BC 1161.8]                                   Chapter 12          2. See EGW on Jeremiah 17:25.  {4BC 1161.8}
[4BC 1161.9]                                    Chapter 16          49. No Imitation.--The prophet Ezekiel describes a class whose example Christians should not imitate ［Ezekiel 16:49 quoted］.  {4BC 1161.9}
[4BC 1161.10]          We are not ignorant of the fall of Sodom because of the corruption of its inhabitants. The prophet has here specified the particular evils which led to dissolute morals. We see the very sins now existing in the world which were in Sodom, and which brought upon her the wrath of God, even to her utter destruction (HR July, 1873).                                                                              1162   {4BC 1161.10}
[4BC 1162.1]                                    Chapter 20          12. See EGW on Daniel 7:25.  {4BC 1162.1}
[4BC 1162.2]          12, 13. Contempt for Law Shows Contempt for Lawgiver.--Those who trample upon God's authority, and show open contempt to the law given in such grandeur at Sinai, virtually despise the Lawgiver, the great Jehovah. . . .  {4BC 1162.2}
[4BC 1162.3]          By transgressing the law which God had given in such majesty, and amid glory which was unapproachable, the people showed open contempt of the great Lawgiver, and death was the penalty (3SG 294, 300).  {4BC 1162.3}
[4BC 1162.4]                                    Chapter 28          1-26. This History a Perpetual Safeguard.--［Ezekiel 28:1-26 quoted.］ The first sinner was one whom God had greatly exalted. He is represented under the figure of the prince of Tyrus flourishing in might and magnificence. Little by little Satan came to indulge the desire for self-exaltation. The Scripture says: "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness." "Thou hast said in thine heart, . . . I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; . . . I will be like the Most High." Though all his glory was from God, this mighty angel came to regard it as pertaining to himself. Not content with his position, though honored above the heavenly host, he ventured to covet homage due alone to the Creator. Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections and allegiance of all created beings, it was his endeavor to secure their service and loyalty to himself. And coveting the glory with which the infinite Father has invested His Son, this prince of angels aspired to power that was the prerogative of Christ alone.  {4BC 1162.4}
[4BC 1162.5]         To the very close of the controversy in heaven, the great usurper continued to justify himself. When it was announced that with all his sympathizers he must be expelled from the abodes of bliss, then the rebel leader boldly avowed his contempt for the Creator's law. He denounced the divine statutes as a restriction of their liberty, and declared that it was his purpose to secure the abolition of law. With one accord, Satan and his host threw the blame of their rebellion wholly upon Christ, declaring that if they had not been reproved, they would never have rebelled.  {4BC 1162.5}
[4BC 1162.6]          Satan's rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through all coming ages, a perpetual testimony to the nature and terrible results of sin. The working out of Satan's rule, its effects upon both men and angels, would show what must be the fruit of setting aside the divine authority. It would testify that with the existence of God's government and His law is bound up the well-being of all the creatures He has made. Thus the history of this terrible experiment of rebellion was to be a perpetual safeguard to all holy intelligences, to prevent them from being deceived as to the nature of transgression, to save them from committing sin, and suffering its punishment.  {4BC 1162.6}
[4BC 1162.7]          At any moment God can withdraw from the impenitent the tokens of His wonderful mercy and love. Oh, that human agencies might consider what will be the sure result of their ingratitude to Him and of their disregard of the infinite Gift of Christ to our world! If they continue to love transgression more than obedience, the present blessings and the great mercy of God that they now enjoy, but do not appreciate, will finally become the occasion of their eternal ruin. When it is too late for them to see and to understand that which they have slighted as a thing of naught, they will know what it means to be without God, without hope. Then they will realize what they have lost by choosing to be disloyal to God and to stand in rebellion to His commandments (MS 125, 1907).  {4BC 1162.7}
[4BC 1162.8]          A General Movement Represented.--I ask our people to study the twenty-eighth chapter of Ezekiel. The representation here made, while it refers primarily to Lucifer, the fallen angel, has yet a broader significance. Not one being, but a general movement, is described, and one that we shall witness. A faithful study of this chapter should lead those who are seeking for truth to walk in all the light that God has given to His people, lest they be deceived by the deceptions of these last days (Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 17, p. 30).  {4BC 1162.8}
[4BC 1162.9]          2, 6-10. Soon to Be Fulfilled.--［2 Thessalonians                                                                              1163  2:7, 8; Ezekiel 28:2, 6-10 quoted.］ The time is fast approaching when this scripture will be fulfilled. The world and the professedly Protestant churches are in this our day taking sides with the man of sin. . . . The great issue that is coming will be on the seventh-day Sabbath (RH April 19, 1898).  {4BC 1162.9}
[4BC 1163.1]         12. Lucifer as Near as Possible Like God.--Evil originated with Lucifer, who rebelled against the government of God. Before his fall he was a covering cherub, distinguished by his excellence. God made him good and beautiful, as near as possible like Himself (RH Sept. 24, 1901).  {4BC 1163.1}
[4BC 1163.2]          12-15 (Isaiah 14:12-14). Why God Could Do No More.--Satan, the chief of the fallen angels, once had an exalted position in heaven. He was next in honor to Christ. The knowledge which he, as well as the angels who fell with him, had of the character of God, of His goodness, His mercy, wisdom, and excellent glory, made their guilt unpardonable.  {4BC 1163.2}
[4BC 1163.3]          There was no possible hope for the redemption of those who had witnessed and enjoyed the inexpressible glory of heaven, and had seen the terrible majesty of God, and, in presence of all this glory, had rebelled against Him. There were no new and wonderful exhibitions of God's exalted power that could impress them so deeply as those they had already experienced. If they could rebel in the very presence of glory inexpressible, they could not be placed in a more favorable condition to be proved. There was no reserve force of power, nor were there any greater heights and depths of infinite glory to overpower their jealous doubts and rebellious murmuring (Redemption: The Temptation of Christ, pp. 18, 19).  {4BC 1163.3}
[4BC 1163.4]          15-19 (Isaiah 14:12-15; Revelation 12:7-9). Satan's Corrupt Working.-- There is a grand rebellion in the earthly universe. Is there not a great leader of that rebellion? Is not Satan the life and soul of every species of rebellion which he himself has instigated? Is he not the first great apostate from God? A rebellion exists. Lucifer revolted from his allegiance and makes war on the divine government. Christ is appointed to put down the rebellion. He makes this world His battlefield. He stands at the head of the human family. He clothes His divinity with humanity and He passes over the ground where Adam fell and endures all the assaults of Satan's temptations, but He does not yield in a single instance.  {4BC 1163.4}
[4BC 1163.5]          The salvation of a world is at stake. He resisted the archdeceiver. In behalf of man He must conquer as a man, and in the very same manner man must conquer by "It is written." His own words under the guise of humanity would be misjudged, misinterpreted, falsified. His own words spoken as the divine Son of God could not be falsified.  {4BC 1163.5}
[4BC 1163.6]          It will be in the last great day when every case receives as his works have been; it will be the final and eternal condemnation of the devil and all his sympathizers and all who have served under his jurisdiction and have identified themselves with him. Will he have a reason to assign for his rebellion? When the Judge of all the world demands, Why have ye done thus? what reason can he assign, what cause can he plead? Bear in mind every tongue is silent, every mouth that has been so ready to speak evil, so ready to accuse, so ready to utter words of recrimination and falsehood is stopped, and the whole world of rebellion stands speechless before God; their tongues cleave to the roof of their mouth. The place where sin entered can be specified.  {4BC 1163.6}
[4BC 1163.7]          "Thou wast perfect in thy ways . . . till iniquity was found in thee." "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness." All this was the gift of God. God was not chargeable with this--making the covering cherub beautiful, noble and good. "By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: . . . thou has defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick." In this place "traffick" is the emblem of corrupt administration. It denotes the bringing of self-seeking into spiritual offices. Nothing in spiritual service is acceptable to God except the purposes and works that are for the good of the universe. To do good to others will redound to the glory of God.  {4BC 1163.7}
[4BC 1163.8]          The principles of Satan's working in heaven are the same principles by which                                                                              1164  he works through human agents in this world. It is through these corrupting principles that every earthly empire and the churches have been increasingly corrupted. It is by the working out of these principles that Satan deceives and corrupts the whole world from the beginning to the ending. He is continuing this same policy-working, originally begun in the heavenly universe. He is energizing the whole world with his violence with which he corrupted the world in the days of Noah (Letter 156, 1897).  {4BC 1163.8}
[4BC 1164.1]                                     Chapter 31          See EGW on Psalm 92:12.  {4BC 1164.1}
[4BC 1164.2]                                    Chapter 33          Personal Responsibility.--The thirty-third chapter of Ezekiel shows that God's government is a government of personal responsibility. Each one must stand for himself. No one can obey for his neighbor. No one is excused for neglecting his duty because of a similar neglect on the part of his neighbor (Letter 162, 1900).  {4BC 1164.2}
[4BC 1164.3]          A Voice of Warning Needed.--The thirty-third chapter of Ezekiel is an outline of the work that God approves. Those in positions of sacred trust, those honored of God by being appointed to stand as watchmen on the walls of Zion, are in every respect to be all that is embraced in the meaning of the word "watchmen." They are to be ever on guard against the dangers threatening the spiritual life and health and prosperity of God's heritage.  {4BC 1164.3}
[4BC 1164.4]          Upon us as ministers God has placed a burden of solemn responsibility. . . .  {4BC 1164.4}
[4BC 1164.5]          God has declared to us, "Ye are the salt of the earth." The preserving influence that we may exert in the world, is bestowed upon us by the Lord. The bounties that we constantly receive from Him are to flow through hand and heart to those around us who have not yet become connected with the Fountainhead.  {4BC 1164.5}
[4BC 1164.6]          When we see God dishonored, we ought not to remain quiet, but should do and say all that we can to lead others to see that the God of heaven is not to be thought of as a common man, but as the Infinite One, the One worthy of man's highest reverence. Let us present God's Word in its purity, and lift up the voice in warning against everything that would dishonor our heavenly Father (MS 165, 1902).  {4BC 1164.6}
[4BC 1164.7]                                   Chapter 34          2. A Charge to Ministers.--Upon the ministers of God rests a solemn, serious charge. They will be called to a strict account for the manner in which they have discharged their responsibility. If they do not tell the people of the binding claims of God's law, if they do not preach the Word with clearness, but confuse the minds of the people by their own interpretations, they are shepherds who feed themselves, but neglect to feed the flock. They make of none effect the law of Jehovah, and souls perish because of their unfaithfulness. The blood of these souls will be upon their heads. God will call them to account for their unfaithfulness. But this will in no wise excuse those who listened to the sophistry of men, discarding the Word of God. God's law is a transcript of His character. And His word is not Yea and Nay, but Yea and Amen (Letter 162, 1900).  {4BC 1164.7}
[4BC 1164.8]                                   Chapter 36          25, 26 (John 3:3-7). The Sign of a New Heart.--［Ezekiel 36:26 quoted.］ . . . The youth especially stumble over this phrase, "a new heart." They do not know what it means. They look for a special change to take place in their feelings. This they term conversion. Over this error thousands have stumbled to ruin, not understanding the expression, "Ye must be born again."  {4BC 1164.8}
[4BC 1164.9]          Satan leads people to think that because they have felt a rapture of feeling, they are converted. But their experience does not change. Their actions are the same as before. Their lives show no good fruit. They pray often and long, and are constantly referring to the feelings they had at such and such a time. But they do not live the new life. They are deceived. Their experience goes no deeper than feeling. They build upon the sand, and when adverse winds come, their house is swept away. . . .  {4BC 1164.9}
[4BC 1164.10]          When Jesus speaks of the new heart, He means the mind, the life, the whole being. To have a change of heart is to withdraw the affections from the world, and fasten them upon Christ. To have a new                                                                              1165  heart is to have a new mind, new purposes, new motives. What is the sign of a new heart?--a changed life. There is a daily, hourly dying to selfishness and pride (YI Sept. 26, 1901).  {4BC 1164.10}
[4BC 1165.1]          26 (Psalm 51:10). How the New Heart Is Kept.--One of the most earnest prayers recorded in the Word of God is that of David when he plead, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." God's response to such a prayer is, A new heart will I give you. This is a work that no finite man can do. Men and women are to begin at the beginning, seeking God most earnestly for a true Christian experience. They are to feel the creative power of the Holy Spirit. They are to receive the new heart, that is kept soft and tender by the grace of heaven. The selfish spirit is to be cleansed from the soul. They are to labor earnestly and with humility of heart, each one looking to Jesus for guidance and encouragement. Then the building, fitly framed together, will grow into a holy temple in the Lord (Letter 224, 1907).  {4BC 1165.1}
[4BC 1165.2]                                   Chapter 37          1-10. What Can Man's Power Do?--At one time the prophet Ezekiel was in vision set down in the midst of a large valley. Before him lay a dismal scene. Throughout its whole extent the valley was covered with the bones of the dead. The question was asked, "Son of man, can these bones live?" The prophet replied, "O Lord God, Thou knowest." What could the might and power of man accomplish with these dead bones? The prophet could see no hope of life being imparted to them. But as he looked, the power of God began to work. The scattered bones were shaken, and began to come together, "bone to his bone," and were bound together by sinews. They were covered with flesh, and as the Lord breathed upon the bodies thus formed, "the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army" (MS 85, 1903).  {4BC 1165.2}
[4BC 1165.3]          A Vision of Our Work.--The souls of those whom we desire to save are like the representation which Ezekiel saw in vision,--a valley of dry bones. They are dead in trespasses and sins, but God would have us deal with them as though they were living. Were the question put to us, "Son of man, can these bones live?" our answer would be only the confession of ignorance, "O Lord, Thou knowest." To all appearance there is nothing to lead us to hope for their restoration. Yet nevertheless the word of the prophecy must be spoken even to those who are like the dry bones in the valley. We are in no wise to be deterred from fulfilling our commission by the listlessness, the dullness, the lack of spiritual perception, in those upon whom the Word of God is brought to bear. We are to preach the word of life to those whom we may judge to be as hopeless subjects as though they were in their graves.  {4BC 1165.3}
[4BC 1165.4]          Though they may seem unwilling to hear or to receive the light of truth, without questioning or wavering we are to do our part. We are to repeat to them the message. "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."  {4BC 1165.4}
[4BC 1165.5]          It is not the human agent that is to inspire with life. The Lord God of Israel will do that part, quickening the lifeless spiritual nature into activity. The breath of the Lord of hosts must enter into the  lifeless bodies. In the judgment, when all secrets are laid bare, it will be known that the voice of God spoke through the human agent, and aroused the torpid conscience, and stirred the lifeless faculties, and moved sinners to repentance and contrition, and forsaking of sins. It will then be clearly seen that through the human agent faith in Jesus Christ was imparted to the soul, and spiritual life from heaven was breathed upon one who was dead in trespasses and sins, and he was quickened with spiritual life.  {4BC 1165.5}
[4BC 1165.6]          But not only does this simile of the dry bones apply to the world, but also to those who have been blessed with great light; for they also are like the skeletons of the valley. They have the form of men, the framework of the body; but they have not spiritual life. But the parable does not leave the dry bones merely knit together into the forms of men; for it is not enough that there is symmetry of limb and feature. The breath of life must vivify the bodies, that they may stand upright, and spring into activity. These bones represent the                                                                              1166  house of Israel, the church of God, and the hope of the church is the vivifying influence of the Holy Spirit. The Lord must breathe upon the dry bones, that they may live.  {4BC 1165.6}
[4BC 1166.1]          The Spirit of God, with its vivifying power, must be in every human agent, that every spiritual muscle and sinew may be in exercise. Without the Holy Spirit, without the breath of God, there is torpidity of conscience, loss of spiritual life. Many who are without spiritual life have their names on the church records, but they are not written in the Lamb's book of life. They may be joined to the church, but they are not united to the Lord. They may be diligent in the performance of a certain set of duties, and may be regarded as living men; but many are among those who have "a name that thou livest, and art dead."  {4BC 1166.1}
[4BC 1166.2]          Unless there is genuine conversion of the soul to God; unless the vital breath of God quickens the soul to spiritual life; unless the professors of truth are actuated by heaven-born principle, they are not born of the incorruptible seed which liveth and abideth forever. Unless they trust in the righteousness of Christ as their only security; unless they copy His character, labor in His spirit, they are naked, they have not on the robe of His righteousness. The dead are often made to pass for the living; for those who are working out what they term salvation after their own ideas, have not God working in them to will and to do of His good pleasure.  {4BC 1166.2}
[4BC 1166.3]          This class is well represented by the valley of dry bones Ezekiel saw in vision (RH Jan. 17, 1893).                                                    -    {4BC 1166.3}
[4BC 1166.4]       Daniel                                       Chapter 1          1. Especially for Last Days.--Read the book of Daniel. Call up, point by point, the history of the kingdoms there represented. Behold statesmen, councils, powerful armies, and see how God wrought to abase the pride of men, and lay human glory in the dust. God alone is represented as great. In the vision of the prophet He is seen casting down one mighty ruler, and setting up another. He is revealed as the monarch of the universe, about to set up His everlasting kingdom--the Ancient of days, the living God, the Source of all wisdom, the Ruler of the present, the Revealer of the future. Read, and understand how poor, how frail, how short-lived, how erring, how guilty is man in lifting up his soul unto vanity. . . .  {4BC 1166.4}
[4BC 1166.5]          The light that Daniel received direct from God was given especially for these last days. The visions he saw by the banks of the Ulai and the Hiddekel, the great rivers of Shinar, are now in process of fulfillment, and all the events foretold will soon have come to pass (Letter 57, 1896).  {4BC 1166.5}
[4BC 1166.6]          8. No Different Plan Now.--When Daniel was in Babylon, he was beset with temptations of which we have never dreamed, and he realized that he must keep his body under. He purposed in his heart that he would not drink of the king's wine or eat of his dainties. He knew that in order to come off a victor, he must have clear mental perceptions, that he might discern between right and wrong. While he was working on his part, God worked also, and gave him "knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams." This is the way God worked for Daniel; and He does not propose to do any differently now. Man must cooperate with God in carrying out the plan of salvation (RH April 2, 1889).  {4BC 1166.6}
[4BC 1166.7]          An Intelligent Decision.--As Daniel and his fellows were brought to the test, they placed themselves fully on the side of righteousness and truth. They did not move capriciously, but intelligently. They decided that as flesh-meat had not composed their diet in the past, it should not come                                                                              1167  into their diet in the future, and as wine had been prohibited to all who should engage in the service of God, they determined that they would not partake of it. The fate of the sons of Aaron had been presented before them, and they knew that the use of wine would confuse their senses, that the indulgence of appetite would be-cloud their powers of discernment. These particulars were placed on record in the history of the children of Israel as a warning to every youth to avoid all customs and practises and indulgences that would in any way dishonor God.  {4BC 1166.7}
[4BC 1167.1]          Daniel and his companions knew not what would be the result of their decision; they knew not but that it would cost them their lives; but they determined to keep the straight path of strict temperance even when in the courts of licentious Babylon (YI Aug. 18, 1898).  {4BC 1167.1}
[4BC 1167.2]          9. Good Behavior Gained Favor.--This officer saw in Daniel good traits of character. He saw that he was striving to be kind and helpful, that his words were respectful and courteous, and his manner possessed the grace of modesty and meekness. It was the good behavior of the youth that gained for him the favor and love of the prince (YI Nov. 12, 1907).  {4BC 1167.2}
[4BC 1167.3]          15. Daniel's Tempters.--In taking this step, Daniel did not act rashly. He knew that by the time he was called to appear before the king, the advantage of healthful living would be apparent. Cause would be followed by effect. Daniel said to Melzar, who had been given charge of him and his companions: "Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink." Daniel knew that ten days would be time enough to prove the benefit of abstemiousness. . . .  {4BC 1167.3}
[4BC 1167.4]          Having done this, Daniel and his companions did still more. They did not choose as companions those who were agents of the prince of darkness. They did not go with a multitude to do evil. They secured Melzar as their friend, and there was no friction between him and them. They went to him for advice, and at the same time enlightened him by the wisdom of their deportment (YI Sept. 6, 1900).  {4BC 1167.4}
[4BC 1167.5]          17. God's Blessing No Substitute for Effort.--When the four Hebrew youth were receiving an education for the king's court in Babylon, they did not feel that the blessing of the Lord was a substitute for the taxing effort required of them. They were diligent in study; for they discerned that through the grace of God their destiny depended upon their own will and action. They were to bring all their ability to the work; and by close, severe taxation of their powers, they were to make the most of their opportunities for study and labor.  {4BC 1167.5}
[4BC 1167.6]          While these youth were working out their own salvation, God was working in them to will and to do of His good pleasure. Here are revealed the conditions of success. To make God's grace our own, we must act our part. The Lord does not propose to perform for us either the willing or the doing. His grace is given to work in us to will and to do, but never as a substitute for our effort. Our souls are to be aroused to cooperate. The Holy Spirit works in us, that we may work out our own salvation. This is the practical lesson the Holy Spirit is striving to teach us (YI Aug. 20, 1903).  {4BC 1167.6}
[4BC 1167.7]          17, 20. Honor Without Exaltation.--Daniel and his three companions had a special work to do. Although greatly honored in this work, they did not become in any way exalted. They were scholars, being skilled in secular as well as religious knowledge; but they had studied science without being corrupted. They were well-balanced because they had yielded themselves to the control of the Holy Spirit. These youth gave to God all the glory of their secular, scientific, and religious endowments. Their learning did not come by chance; they obtained knowledge by the faithful use of their powers; and God gave them skill and understanding.  {4BC 1167.7}
[4BC 1167.8]          True science and Bible religion are in perfect harmony. Let the students in our schools learn all they possibly can. But, as a rule, let them be educated in our own institutions. Be careful how you advise them to go to other schools, where error is taught, in order to complete their education. Do not give them the impression that greater educational advantages are to be obtained by mingling with those who do not seek wisdom from God. The great men of Babylon were willing to be benefited by                                                                              1168  the instruction that God gave through Daniel, to help the king out of his difficulty by the interpretation of his dream. But they were anxious to mix in their heathen religion with that of the Hebrews. Had Daniel and his fellows consented to such a compromise, they would, in the view of the Babylonians, have been complete as statesmen, fit to be entrusted with the affairs of the kingdom. But the four Hebrews entered into no such arrangement. They were true to God, and God upheld them and honored them. The lesson is for us. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Letter 57, 1896).  {4BC 1167.8}
[4BC 1168.1]          20. Spirituality and Intellect Grow Together.--As in the case of Daniel, in exact proportion as the spiritual character is developed, the intellectual capabilities are increased (RH March 22, 1898).  {4BC 1168.1}
[4BC 1168.2]                                  Chapter 2          18. Obedient May Speak Freely.--Those who live in close fellowship with Christ will be promoted by Him to positions of trust. The servant who does the best he can for his master, is admitted to familiar intercourse with one whose commands he loves to obey. In the faithful discharge of duty we may become one with Christ; for those who are obeying God's commands may speak to Him freely. The one who talks most familiarly with his divine Leader has the most exalted conception of His greatness, and is the most obedient to His commands (MS 82, 1900).  {4BC 1168.2}
[4BC 1168.3]          The history of Daniel, if all was written, would open chapters before you that would show you the temptations he had to meet, of ridicule, envy, and hatred; but he learned to master the difficulties. He did not trust in his own strength; he laid his whole soul and all his difficulties open to his heavenly Father, and he believed God heard him, and he was comforted and blessed. He rose superior to ridicule; and so will every one who is an overcomer. Daniel acquired a serene and cheerful state of mind, because he believed God was his friend and helper. The taxing duties he had to perform were made light because he brought the light and love of God into his work. "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth" to such as walk in them (YI Aug. 25, 1886).  {4BC 1168.3}
[4BC 1168.4]          37-42. A Dual Representation.--The image revealed to Nebuchadnezzar, while representing the deterioration of the kingdoms of the earth in power and glory, also fitly represents the deterioration of religion and morality among the people of these kingdoms. As nations forget God, in like proportion they become weak morally.  {4BC 1168.4}
[4BC 1168.5]          Babylon passed away because in her prosperity she forgot God, and ascribed the glory of her prosperity to human achievement.  {4BC 1168.5}
[4BC 1168.6]          The Medo-Persian kingdom was visited by the wrath of heaven because in this kingdom God's law was trampled under foot. The fear of the Lord found no place in the hearts of the people. The prevailing influences in Medo-Persia were wickedness, blasphemy, and corruption.  {4BC 1168.6}
[4BC 1168.7]          The kingdoms that followed were even more base and corrupt. They deteriorated because they cast off their allegiance to God. As they forgot Him, they sank lower and still lower in the scale of moral value (YI Sept. 22, 1903).  {4BC 1168.7}
[4BC 1168.8]          43. Iron and Clay--Mingled Churchcraft and Statecraft.--We have come to a time when God's sacred work is represented by the feet of the image in which the iron was mixed with the miry clay. God has a people, a chosen people, whose discernment must be sanctified, who must not become unholy by laying upon the foundation wood, hay, and stubble. Every soul who is loyal to the commandments of God will see that the distinguishing feature of our faith is the seventh-day Sabbath. If the government would honor the Sabbath as God has commanded, it would stand in the strength of God and in defense of the faith once delivered to the saints. But statesmen will uphold the spurious sabbath, and will mingle their religious faith with the observance of this child of the papacy, placing it above the Sabbath which the Lord has sanctified and blessed, setting it apart for man to keep holy, as a sign between Him and His people to a thousand generations. The mingling of churchcraft and statecraft is represented by the iron and                                                                              1169  the clay. This union is weakening all the power of the churches. This investing the church with the power of the state will bring evil results. Men have almost passed the point of God's forbearance. They have invested their strength in politics, and have united with the papacy. But the time will come when God will punish those who have made void His law, and their evil work will recoil upon themselves (MS 63, 1899).  {4BC 1168.8}
[4BC 1169.1]         46. A Divine Revelation.--Nebuchadnezzar felt that he could accept this interpretation as a divine revelation; for to Daniel had been revealed every detail of the dream. The solemn truths conveyed by the interpretation of this vision of the night made a deep impression on the sovereign's mind, and in humility and awe he "fell upon his face, and worshipped." . . .  {4BC 1169.1}
[4BC 1169.2]          Nebuchadnezzar saw clearly the difference between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the most learned men of his kingdom (YI Sept. 8, 1903).  {4BC 1169.2}
[4BC 1169.3]          47. A Reflector of Light.--Through the Hebrew captives the Lord was made known to the heathen in Babylon. This idolatrous nation was given a knowledge of the kingdom the Lord was to establish, and through His power maintain against all the power and craft of Satan. Daniel and his fellow-companions, Ezra and Nehemiah, and many others were witnesses for God in their captivity. The Lord scattered them among the kingdoms of the earth that their light might shine brightly amid the black darkness of heathenism and idolatry. To Daniel God revealed the light of His purposes, which had been hidden for many generations. He chose that Daniel should see in vision the light of His truth, and reflect this light on the proud kingdom of Babylon. On the despot king was permitted to flash light from the throne of God. Nebuchadnezzar was shown that the God of heaven was ruler over all the monarchs and kings of earth. His name was to go forth as the God over all gods. God desired Nebuchadnezzar to understand that the rulers of earthly kingdoms had a ruler in the heavens. God's faithfulness in rescuing the three captives from the flames and vindicating their course of action showed His wonderful power.  {4BC 1169.3}
[4BC 1169.4]          Great light shone forth from Daniel and his companions. Glorious things were spoken of Zion, the city of the Lord. Thus the Lord designs that spiritual light shall shine from His faithful watchmen in these last days. If the saints in the Old Testament bore such a decided testimony of loyalty, how should God's people today, having the accumulated light of centuries, shine forth, when the prophecies of the Old Testament shed their veiled glory into the future (Letter 32, 1899)!  {4BC 1169.4}
[4BC 1169.5]                                  Chapter 3          1-5. A Last Day Image.--By many, the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is made void, being treated as a thing of naught; while the spurious sabbath, the child of the papacy, is exalted. In the place of God's laws, are elevated the laws of the man of sin,--laws that are to be received and regarded as the wonderful golden image of Nebuchadnezzar was by the Babylonians. Forming this great image, Nebuchadnezzar commanded that it should receive universal homage from all, both great and small, high and low, rich and poor (MS 24, 1891).  {4BC 1169.5}
[4BC 1169.6]          19. Something Unusual Anticipated.--When the king saw that his will was not received as the will of God, he was "full of fury," and the form of his visage was changed against these men. Satanic attributes made his countenance appear as the countenance of a demon; and with all the force he could command, he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than its wont, and commanded the most mighty men to bind the youth, and cast them into the furnace. He felt that it required more than ordinary power to deal with these noble men. His mind was strongly impressed that something unusual would interpose in their behalf, and his strongest men were ordered to deal with them (ST May 6, 1897).  {4BC 1169.6}
[4BC 1169.7]          25. Christ Revealed by Captives.--How did Nebuchadnezzar know that the form of the fourth was like the Son of God? He had heard of the Son of God from the Hebrew captives that were in his kingdom. They had brought the knowledge of the living God who ruleth all things (RH May 3, 1892).                                                                              1170   {4BC 1169.7}
[4BC 1170.1]          28. Associates Understood Faith.--These faithful Hebrews possessed great natural ability and intellectual culture, and they occupied a high position of honor; but all these advantages did not lead them to forget God. All their powers were yielded to the sanctifying influence of divine grace. By their godly example, their steadfast integrity, they showed forth the praises of Him who had called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. In their wonderful deliverance was displayed, before that vast assembly, the power and majesty of God. Jesus placed Himself by their side in the fiery furnace, and by the glory of His presence convinced the proud king of Babylon that it could be no other than the Son of God. The light of heaven had been shining forth from Daniel and his companions, until all their associates understood the faith which ennobled their lives and beautified their characters (RH Feb. 1, 1881).  {4BC 1170.1}
[4BC 1170.2]                                    Chapter 4          17. Men of Destiny Watched With Vigilance.--The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. All kings, all nations, are His, under His rule and government. His resources are infinite. The wise man declares, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will."  {4BC 1170.2}
[4BC 1170.3]          Those upon whose actions hang the destinies of nations, are watched over with a vigilance that knows no relaxation by Him who "giveth salvation unto kings," to whom belong "the shields of the earth" (RH March 28, 1907).  {4BC 1170.3}
[4BC 1170.4]          33. Some Today Like Nebuchadnezzar.--We are living in the last days of this earth's history, and we may be surprised at nothing in the line of apostasies and denials of the truth. Unbelief has now come to be a fine art, which men work at to the destruction of their souls. There is constant danger of there being shams in pulpit preachers, whose lives contradict the words they speak; but the voice of warning and of admonition will be heard as long as time shall last; and those who are guilty of transactions that should never be entered into, when reproved or counseled through the Lord's appointed agencies, will resist the message and refuse to be corrected. They will go on as did Pharaoh, and Nebuchadnezzar, until the Lord takes away their reason, and their hearts become unimpressible. The Lord's Word will come to them; but if they choose not to hear it, the Lord will make them responsible for their own ruin (NL No. 31, p. 1).  {4BC 1170.4}
[4BC 1170.5]          37. Nebuchadnezzar Thoroughly Converted.--In Daniel's life, the desire to glorify God was the most powerful of all motives. He realized that when standing in the presence of men of influence, a failure to acknowledge God as the source of his wisdom would have made him an unfaithful steward. And his constant recognition of the God of heaven before kings, princes, and statesmen, detracted not one iota from his influence. King Nebuchadnezzar, before whom Daniel so often honored the name of God, was finally thoroughly converted, and learned to "praise and extol and honour the King of heaven" (RH Jan. 11, 1906).  {4BC 1170.5}
[4BC 1170.6]          A Warm and Eloquent Testimony.--The king upon the Babylonian throne became a witness for God, giving his testimony, warm and eloquent, from a grateful heart that was partaking of the mercy and grace, the righteousness and peace, of the divine nature (YI Dec. 13, 1904).  {4BC 1170.6}
[4BC 1170.7]                                   Chapter 5          5-9. Presence of Unseen Guest Felt.--A Watcher, who was unrecognized, but whose presence was a power of condemnation, looked on this scene of profanation. Soon the unseen and uninvited Guest made His presence felt. At the moment when the sacrilegious revelry was at its height, a bloodless hand came forth, and wrote words of doom on the wall of the banqueting hall. Burning words followed the movements of the hand. "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," was written in letters of flame. Few were the characters traced by that hand on the wall facing the king, but they showed that the power of God was there.  {4BC 1170.7}
[4BC 1170.8]          Belshazzar was afraid. His conscience was awakened. The fear and suspicion that always follow the course of the guilty seized him. When God makes men fear, they cannot hide the intensity of their                                                                              1171  terror. Alarm seized the great men of the kingdom. Their blasphemous disrespect of sacred things was changed in a moment. A frantic terror overcame all self-control. . . .  {4BC 1170.8}
[4BC 1171.1]          In vain the king tried to read the burning letters. He had found a power too strong for him. He could not read the writing (YI May 19, 1898).  {4BC 1171.1}
[4BC 1171.2]          27. See EGW on Proverbs 16:2, Vol. III, p. 1160.  {4BC 1171.2}
[4BC 1171.3]                                   Chapter 6          5. An Unenviable Position.--Daniel's position was not an enviable one. He stood at the head of a dishonest, prevaricating, godless cabinet, whose members watched him with keen, jealous eyes, to find some flaw in his conduct. They kept spies on his track, to see if they could not in this way find something against him. Satan suggested to these men a plan whereby they might get rid of Daniel. Use his religion as a means of condemning him, the enemy said (YI Nov. 1, 1900).  {4BC 1171.3}
[4BC 1171.4]          10. Undeviating Integrity Is Only Safe Course.--It may be a difficult matter for men in high positions to pursue the path of undeviating integrity whether they shall receive praise or censure. Yet this is the only safe course. All the rewards which they might gain by selling their honor would be only as the breath from polluted lips, as dross to be consumed in the fire. Those who have moral courage to stand in opposition to the vices and errors of their fellow men--it may be of those whom the world honor-- will receive hatred, insult, and abusive falsehood. They may be thrust down from their high position, because they would not be bought or sold, because they could not be induced by bribes or threats to stain their hands with iniquity. Everything on earth may seem to conspire against them; but God has set His seal upon His own work. They may be regarded by their fellow men as weak, unmanly, unfit to hold office; but how differently does the Most High regard them. Those who despise them are the really ignorant. While the storms of calumny and reviling may pursue the man of integrity through life, and beat upon his grave, God has the "well done" prepared for him. Folly and iniquity will at best yield only a life of unrest and discontent, and at its close a thorny dying pillow. And how many, as they view their course of action and its results, are led to end with their own hands their disgraceful career. And beyond all this waits the judgment, and the final, irrevocable doom, Depart (ST Feb. 2, 1882)!  {4BC 1171.4}
[4BC 1171.5]                                   Chapter 7          2-7. Messiah's Ensign, a Lamb.--To Daniel was given a vision of fierce beasts, representing the powers of the earth. But the ensign of the Messiah's kingdom is a lamb. While earthly kingdoms rule by the ascendancy of physical power, Christ is to banish every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion. His kingdom was to be established to uplift and ennoble fallen humanity (Letter 32, 1899).  {4BC 1171.5}
[4BC 1171.6]          10 (Revelation 20:12). An Unerring Register.--There is an unerring register kept of all sins committed. All man's impiety, all his disobedience to Heaven's commands, are written in the books of heaven with unerring accuracy. The figures of guilt rapidly accumulate, yet the judgments of God are tempered with mercy, until the figures have reached their appointed limit. God bears long with the transgression of human beings, and continues through His appointed agencies to present the gospel message, until the set time has come. God bears with divine patience with the perversity of the wicked; but He declares that He will visit their transgressions with a rod. He will at last permit the destructive agencies of Satan to bear sway to destroy (MS 17, 1906).  {4BC 1171.6}
[4BC 1171.7]          Accurately recorded in the books of heaven are the sneers and trivial remarks made by sinners who pay no heed to the call of mercy when Christ is represented to them by a servant of God. As the artist takes on the polished glass a true picture of a human face, so God daily places upon the books of heaven an exact representation of the character of every individual (MS 105, 1901).  {4BC 1171.7}
[4BC 1171.8]          25 (Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12). A Signpost Turned Around.--The Lord has clearly defined the road to the city of God; but the                                                                              1172  great apostate has changed the signpost, setting up a false one--a spurious sabbath. He says: "I will work at cross-purposes with God. I will empower my delegate, the man of sin, to take down God's memorial, the seventh-day Sabbath. Thus will I show the world that the day sanctified and blessed by God has been changed. That day shall not live in the minds of the people. I will obliterate the memory of it. I will place in its stead a day bearing not the credentials of heaven, a day that cannot be a sign between God and His people. I will lead the people who accept this day, to place upon it the sanctity that God placed upon the seventh day. Through my vicegerent I will exalt myself. The first day shall be extolled, and the Protestant world shall receive this spurious sabbath as genuine. Through the non-observance of the Sabbath God instituted, I will bring His law into contempt. The words, 'A sign between me and you throughout your generations,' I will make to serve on the side of my sabbath. Thus the world will become mine. I will be ruler of the earth, prince of the world. I will so control the minds under my power that God's Sabbath shall be an object of contempt. A sign? I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws shall be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For fear of wanting food and clothing, they will join with the world in transgressing God's law; and the earth will be wholly under my dominion."  {4BC 1171.8}
[4BC 1172.1]          The man of sin has instituted a false sabbath, and the professed Christian world has adopted this child of the papacy, refusing to obey God. Thus Satan leads men and women in a direction opposite to the city of refuge; and by the multitudes who follow him, it is demonstrated that Adam and Eve are not the only ones who have accepted the words of the wily foe.  {4BC 1172.1}
[4BC 1172.2]          The enemy of all good has turned the signpost round, so that it points to the path of disobedience as the path of happiness. He has insulted Jehovah by refusing to obey a "Thus saith the Lord." He has thought to change times and laws (RH April 17, 1900).  {4BC 1172.2}
[4BC 1172.3]                                    Chapter 9          1. See EGW on Jeremiah 25; Jeremiah 27-29.  {4BC 1172.3}
[4BC 1172.4]         2. God Prepares the Way.--While those who had remained loyal to God in the midst of Babylon were seeking the Lord and studying the prophecies foretelling their deliverance, God was preparing the hearts of kings to show favor to His repentant people (RH March 21, 1907).  {4BC 1172.4}
[4BC 1172.5]          3-19. Prophecy and Prayer.--Daniel's example of prayer and confession is given for our instruction and encouragement. For nearly seventy years, Israel had been in captivity. The land which God had chosen for His own possession was given into the hands of the heathen. The beloved city, the recipient of heaven's light, once the joy of the whole earth, was now despised and degraded. The temple that had contained the ark of God's covenant and the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat, was in ruins. Its very site was desecrated by unholy feet. Faithful men who knew of the former glory were filled with anguish at the desolation of the holy house that had distinguished Israel as God's chosen people. These men had been witnesses to the denunciations of God because of the sins of His people. They had been witnesses to the fulfillment of this word. They had been witnesses also to the promises of His favor if Israel would return to God, and walk circumspectly before Him. Aged, gray-headed pilgrims went up to Jerusalem to pray amid its ruins. They kissed its stones, and wet them with their tears, as they entreated the Lord to have mercy on Zion, and cover her with the glory of His righteousness. Daniel knew that the appointed time for Israel's captivity was nearly ended; but he did not feel that because God had promised to deliver them, they themselves had no part to act. With fasting and contrition he sought the Lord, confessing his own sins and the sins of the people (RH Feb. 9, 1897).  {4BC 1172.5}
[4BC 1172.6]          24. Everlasting Righteousness Brought In.--Through His chosen agencies God will graciously make known His purposes. Then the grand work of redemption will go forward. Men will learn of the reconciliation for iniquity and of the everlasting righteousness which the Messiah has                                                                              1173  brought in through His sacrifice. The cross of Calvary is the great center. This truth acted upon will make Christ's sacrifice effectual. This is that which Gabriel revealed to Daniel in answer to fervent prayer. It was of this that Moses and Elijah and Christ talked at His transfiguration. By the humiliation of the cross He was to bring everlasting deliverance to all who would walk after Him, giving positive evidence that they are separated from the world (Letter 201, 1899).  {4BC 1172.6}
[4BC 1173.1]                                    Chapter 10          3. See EGW on ch. 1:8.  {4BC 1173.1}
[4BC 1173.2]         5-7. Christ Appeared to Daniel.--No less a personage than the Son of God appeared to Daniel. This description is similar to that given by John when Christ was revealed to him upon the Isle of Patmos. Our Lord now comes with another heavenly messenger to teach Daniel what would take place in the latter days. This knowledge was given to Daniel and recorded by Inspiration for us upon whom the ends of the world are come (RH Feb. 8, 1881).  {4BC 1173.2}
[4BC 1173.3]          12, 13. Right Counsel Versus Evil Counsel.--［Daniel 10:12, 13 quoted.］ By this we see that heavenly agencies have to contend with hindrances before the purpose of God is fulfilled in its time. The king of Persia was controlled by the highest of all evil angels. He refused, as did Pharaoh, to obey the word of the Lord. Gabriel declared, He withstood me twenty-one days by his representations against the Jews. But Michael came to his help, and then he remained with the kings of Persia, holding the powers in check, giving right counsel against evil counsel. Good and evil angels are taking a part in the planning of God in His earthly kingdom. It is God's purpose to carry forward His work in correct lines, in ways that will advance His glory. But Satan is ever trying to counterwork God's purpose. Only by humbling themselves before God can God's servants advance His work. Never are they to depend on their own efforts or on outward display for success (Letter 201, 1899).  {4BC 1173.3}
[4BC 1173.4]          13. An Invisible Struggle.--We have before us in the Word of God instances of heavenly agencies working on the minds of kings and rulers, while at the same time satanic agencies were also at work on their minds. No human eloquence, in strongly set forth human opinions, can change the working of satanic agencies. Satan seeks continually to block the way, so that the truth shall be bound about by human devising; and those who have light and knowledge are in the greatest danger unless they constantly consecrate themselves to God, humiliating self, and realizing the peril of the times.  {4BC 1173.4}
[4BC 1173.5]          Heavenly beings are appointed to answer the prayers of those who are working unselfishly for the interests of the cause of God. The very highest angels in the heavenly courts are appointed to work out the prayers which ascend to God for the advancement of the cause of God. Each angel has his particular post of duty, which he is not permitted to leave for any other place. If he should leave, the powers of darkness would gain an advantage. . . .  {4BC 1173.5}
[4BC 1173.6]          Day by day the conflict between good and evil is going on. Why is it that those who have had many opportunities and advantages do not realize the intensity of this work? They should be intelligent in regard to this. God is the Ruler. By His supreme power He holds in check and controls earthly potentates. Through His agencies He does the work which was ordained before the foundation of the world.  {4BC 1173.6}
[4BC 1173.7]          As a people we do not understand as we should the great conflict going on between invisible agencies, the controversy between loyal and disloyal angels. Evil angels are constantly at work, planning their line of attack, controlling as commanders, kings, and rulers, the disloyal human forces. . . . I call upon the ministers of Christ to press home upon the understanding of all who come within the reach of their voice, the truth of the ministration of angels. Do not indulge in fanciful speculations. The written Word is our only safety. We must pray as did Daniel, that we may be guarded by heavenly intelligences. As ministering spirits angels are sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. Pray, my brethren, pray as you have never prayed before. We are not prepared for the Lord's coming. We need to make thorough work for eternity (Letter 201, 1899).                                                                              1174   {4BC 1173.7}
[4BC 1174.1]                                  Chapter 12          3 (see EGW comments on Isaiah 60:1). Stars and Gems in Crown.--By living a life of devotion and self-sacrifice in doing good to others, you might have been adding stars and gems to the crown that you will wear in heaven, and laying up unfading, eternal treasures (MS 69, 1912).  {4BC 1174.1}
[4BC 1174.2]          10. The Wicked Lack Understanding.--［Daniel 12:10 quoted.］ The wicked have chosen Satan as their leader. Under his control, the wonderful faculties of the mind are used to construct agencies of destruction. God has given the human mind great power, power to show that the Creator has endowed man with ability to do a great work against the enemy of all righteousness, power to show what victories may be gained in the conflict against evil. To those who fulfil God's purpose for them will be spoken the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." The human machinery has been used to do a work that is a blessing to humanity; and God is glorified.  {4BC 1174.2}
[4BC 1174.3]          But when those to whom God has entrusted capabilities give themselves into the hands of the enemy, they become a power to destroy. When men do not make God first and last and best in everything, when they do not give themselves to Him for the carrying out of His purposes, Satan comes in, and uses in his service the minds that, given to God, could achieve great good. Under his direction, they do an evil work with great and masterly power. God designed them to work on a high plane of action, to enter into His mind, and thus to acquire an education that would enable them to work the works of righteousness. But they know nothing of this education. They are helpless. Their powers do not guide them aright; for they are under the enemy's control (Letter 141, 1902).  {4BC 1174.3}
[4BC 1174.4]          13. Daniel Standing in His Lot Now.--［Daniel 12:9, 4, 10, 13 quoted.］ The time has come for Daniel to stand in his lot. The time has come for the light given him to go to the world as never before. If those for whom the Lord has done so much will walk in the light, their knowledge of Christ and the prophecies relating to Him will be greatly increased as they near the close of this earth's history (MS 176, 1899).                                                    -    {4BC 1174.4}
[4BC 1174.5]       Hosea                                     Chapter 4          17. A Dread Mark Placed.--By continual resistance the sinner places himself where he knows nothing but resistance. When he disregards the calls of God's mercy, and continues to sow the seeds of unbelief, the dread mark is placed over his doorway, "Ephraim is joined to his idols; let him alone" (Letter 51a, 1895).  {4BC 1174.5}
[4BC 1174.6]                                    Chapter 6          6, 7 (Micah 6:6-8). When Sacrifices Are Repugnant.--［Hosea 6:6, 7 quoted.］ The many sacrifices of the Jews and the flowing of blood to atone for sins for which they felt no true repentance was ever repugnant to God. He spoke through Micah saying, ［Micah 6:6-8 quoted］.  {4BC 1174.6}
[4BC 1174.7]          Costly gifts and a semblance of holiness cannot win the favor of God. He requires for His mercies a contrite spirit, a heart open to the light of truth, love and compassion for our fellow men, and a spirit refusing to be bribed through avarice or self-love. The priests and rulers were destitute of these essentials to God's favor, and their most precious gifts and gorgeous ceremonies were an abomination in His eyes (ST March 21, 1878.)  {4BC 1174.7}
[4BC 1174.8]                                    Chapter 8          1. See EGW on Jeremiah 23:1.  {4BC 1174.8}
[4BC 1174.9]                                    Chapter 12          7. See EGW on Proverbs 16:11, Vol. III.  {4BC 1174.9}
[4BC 1174.10]                                    Chapter 13          9. See EGW on Jeremiah 23:1.                                                                              1175   {4BC 1174.10}
[4BC 1175.1]       Joel                                       Chapter 2          23. See EGW on Revelation 18:1.  {4BC 1175.1}
[4BC 1175.2]          28, 29 (Acts 2:17, 18). A More Evident Fulfillment.--If this prophecy of Joel met a partial fulfillment in the days of the apostles, we are living in a time when it is to be even more evidently manifest to the people of God. He will so bestow His Spirit upon His people that they will become a light amid the moral darkness; and great light will be reflected in all parts of the world. O that our faith might be increased, that the Lord might work mightily with His people (MS 49, 1908).  {4BC 1175.2}
[4BC 1175.3]       Haggai                                       Chapter 1          1, 2. Pleas for Delay Dishonor God.--［Haggai 1:1, 2 quoted.］ The expression, "This people say," is significant. In the hour of their opportunity, the Israelites had not shown themselves willing. Prompt obedience is expected of those whom the Lord chooses and leads. Pleas for delay are a dishonor to God. And yet those who choose to follow their own way, often frame ingenious excuses in self-justification. Thus the Israelites declared that they had begun to rebuild, but that they were broken off in their work because of the hindrances devised by their enemies. These hindrances, they reasoned, were an indication that it was not the proper time to rebuild. They declared that the Lord had interposed difficulties to reprove their hot haste. This is why, in a communication through His prophet, He referred to them not as "my people," but as "this people."  {4BC 1175.3}
[4BC 1175.4]          The Israelites had no real excuse for leaving their work on the temple. The time when the most serious objections were raised, was the time for them to persevere in building. But they were actuated by a selfish dislike to encounter danger by arousing the opposition of their enemies. They did not possess the faith that is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. They hesitated to move forward by faith in the opening providences of God, because they could not see the end from the beginning. When difficulties arose, they were easily turned from the work.  {4BC 1175.4}
[4BC 1175.5]          This history will be repeated. There will be religious failures because men do not have faith. When they look at the things that are seen, impossibilities appear; but God can lead them step by step in the course He desires them to take. His work will advance only as His servants move forward by faith. While they may be called upon to pass through trying times, yet they should ever remember that they are contending with a weakened, beaten foe. God's people will finally triumph over every power of darkness (RH Dec. 5, 1907).  {4BC 1175.5}
[4BC 1175.6]          2. Misinterpretation of Prophecy Hindered God's Work.--The Lord has resources. His hand is on the machinery. When the time came for His temple to be rebuilt, He moved upon Cyrus as His agent to discern the prophecies concerning Himself, and to grant the Jewish people their liberty. And more, Cyrus furnished them the necessary facilities for rebuilding the temple of the Lord. This work began under Cyrus, and his successor carried on the work begun.  {4BC 1175.6}
[4BC 1175.7]          ［Isaiah 45:1 and 44:28, quoted.］  {4BC 1175.7}
[4BC 1175.8]         The Samaritans tried to hinder this work. By their false reports they aroused suspicion in minds easily stirred up to                                                                              1176  suspect; and because of this discouragement, the Jews became unbelieving and indifferent in regard to the work that the Lord had signified He would have done. They were opposed by Smerdis the usurper. "Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia." When Darius came to the throne, he set aside the work and prohibition of the usurper. But even then the people that should have been the most interested continued to be indifferent. They misapplied the prophecy given by Inspiration. They misinterpreted the Word of God, and declared that the time to build had not yet come, and that until the days were fully accomplished, they would not undertake the work. But while they left the building of the house of the Lord, the temple in which they could worship God, until the end of the time specified as the captivity of the Jews had fully come, they built mansions for themselves (MS 116, 1897).  {4BC 1175.8}
[4BC 1176.1]          13. Reproof Changed to Encouragement.--It was after Haggai's second message that the people felt that the Lord was in earnest with them. They dared not disregard the repeated warning that their prosperity and the blessing of God were dependent upon their entire obedience to the instructions given them. As soon as they decided that they would do the words of the Lord, His messages of reproof changed to words of encouragement. O how merciful a God we have! He says, "I am with you." The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. He assured the people that if they were obedient, they would place themselves in a position where He could bless them for His own name's glory. If God's people will only rely upon Him, and believe in Him, He will bless them (MS 116, 1897).  {4BC 1176.1}
[4BC 1176.2]                                   Chapter 2          1-9, 11, 12. Parables Showing What God Endorses.--In speaking of the building of a house for God, the prophet Haggai shows in parables what God endorses and what He condemns.  {4BC 1176.2}
[4BC 1176.3]          ［Haggai 2:1-9, 11, 12 quoted.］  {4BC 1176.3}
[4BC 1176.4]          This is a parable. The sacrifice, spoken of as holy flesh, was a representation of Christ, who was the foundation of the Jewish economy, and who is ever to be regarded as the One who makes possible the purification of man from sin (MS 95, 1902).  {4BC 1176.4}
[4BC 1176.5]          9. Superiority and Purpose of Second Temple.--［Haggai 2:9 quoted.］ The outward glory of the temple was not the glory of the Lord. Instruction was given as to what constituted the blessing that was to rest upon the temple. Its restoration in a plainer style than that of the first temple, was to place before the people in a proper light their past error in depending upon the pomp and splendor of outward form and ceremony. The temple was to be erected at this time, also, to remove the reproach of their disloyalty to God. Haggai instructed the people that by heartfelt repentance and by a speedy completion of the temple, they were to seek to be cleansed from the sin of disobedience that had led away from God and had delayed the carrying out of the command to arise and build. . . .  {4BC 1176.5}
[4BC 1176.6]          In neglecting the temple, which was the mirror of God's presence, the people had greatly dishonored God. They were now instructed to hold His house in sacred honor, not because of its magnificence, as did the Jews in the days of Christ, but because God had promised to be there. And this second temple was to be superior to the first because in a special sense the Messiah would honor it with His personal presence (RH Dec. 12, 1907).  {4BC 1176.6}
[4BC 1176.7]          10-13, 14. Acceptable Service.--In order that the builders of the second temple might make no mistakes, the Lord plainly instructed them, in the form of a parable, regarding the nature of service acceptable in His sight. . . . ［Haggai 2:10-13 quoted.］  {4BC 1176.7}
[4BC 1176.8]          A soul corrupted by sin is represented by the figure of a dead body in a state of putrefaction. All the washings and sprinklings enjoined in the ceremonial law were lessons in parables, teaching the necessity of a work of regeneration in the inward heart for the purification of the soul dead in trespasses and sins, and also the necessity of the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit ［Haggai 2:14 quoted］ (RH Dec. 19, 1907).  {4BC 1176.8}
[4BC 1176.9]          14-19. The Heart Unveiled.--［Haggai 2:14-                                                              1177  19, quoted.］ In this scripture the heart is unveiled. The Lord takes cognizance of all the works of the children of men. He can diminish; He can increase and bless.  {4BC 1176.9}
[4BC 1177.1]         Professing believers who reveal by their actions that they are still clinging to selfish practises, are working upon worldly principles. The principles of justice and integrity are not carried into the life-practise (MS 95, 1902).  {4BC 1177.1}
[4BC 1177.2]          23. Pebbles or Polished Gems.--Christians are Christ's jewels. They are to shine brightly for Him, shedding forth the light of His loveliness. Their luster depends on the polishing they receive. They may choose to be polished or to remain unpolished. But every one who is pronounced worthy of a place in the Lord's temple must submit to the polishing process. Without the polishing that the Lord gives they can reflect no more light than a common pebble.  {4BC 1177.2}
[4BC 1177.3]          Christ says to man, "You are mine. I have bought you. You are now only a rough stone, but if you will place yourself in my hands, I will polish you, and the luster with which you shall shine will bring honor to My name. No man shall pluck you out of My hand. I will make you My peculiar treasure. On My coronation day, you will be a jewel in My crown of rejoicing."  {4BC 1177.3}
[4BC 1177.4]          The divine Worker spends little time on worthless material. Only the precious jewels does He polish after the similitude of a palace, cutting away all the rough edges. This process is severe and trying; it hurts human pride. Christ cuts deep into the experience that man in his self-sufficiency has regarded as complete, and takes away self-uplifting from the character. He cuts away the surplus surface, and putting the stone to the polishing wheel, presses it close, that all roughness may be worn away. Then, holding the jewel up to the light, the Master sees in it a reflection of Himself, and He pronounces it worthy of a place in His casket.  {4BC 1177.4}
[4BC 1177.5]          "In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, . . . and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts." Blessed be the experience, however severe, that gives new value to the stone, and causes it to shine with living brightness (RH Dec. 19, 1907).  {4BC 1177.5}
[4BC 1177.6]          Life Hidden in Christ Preserved.--God will not suffer one of His true-hearted workers to be left alone to struggle against great odds and be overcome. He preserves as a precious jewel every one whose life is hid with Christ in God. Of every such an one He says, "I . . . will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee" (MS 95, 1902).                                                    -    {4BC 1177.6}
[4BC 1177.7]       Zechariah                                      Chapter 2          6-9. A Little-heeded Appeal.--［Zechariah 2:6-9 quoted.］ How sad it is to contemplate that this touching appeal met with so little response! Had this entreaty to flee from Babylon been heeded, how different might have been the condition of the Jews in the trying times of Mordecai and Esther!  {4BC 1177.7}
[4BC 1177.8]          The Lord's purposes for His people have ever been the same. He desires to bestow on the children of men the riches of an eternal inheritance. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. When those who choose to become obedient subjects of the Most High are finally saved in the kingdom of glory, God's purpose for mankind will have been fulfilled (RH Dec. 26, 1907).  {4BC 1177.8}
[4BC 1177.9]                                    Chapter 3          1. Same Work Today.--Joshua is represented as pleading with the Angel. Are we engaged in the same work? Are our supplications ascending to God in living faith? Are we opening the door of the heart to Jesus, and closing every means of entrance to Satan? Are we daily obtaining                                                                              1178  clearer light, and greater strength, that we may stand in Christ's righteousness? Are we emptying our hearts of all selfishness, and cleansing them, preparatory to receiving the latter rain from heaven?  {4BC 1177.9}
[4BC 1178.1]          Now is the time when we are to confess and forsake our sins, that they may go beforehand to judgment and be blotted out (RH Nov. 19, 1908).  {4BC 1178.1}
[4BC 1178.2]          1-3. False Accuser.--Those who honor God and keep His commandments are subject to the accusations of Satan. The enemy works with all his energy to lead persons into sin. Then he pleads that on account of their past sins, he should be allowed to exercise his hellish cruelty on them as his own subjects. Of this work Zechariah has written. "And he shewed me Joshua the high priest"--a representative of the people who keep the commandments of God--"standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him."  {4BC 1178.2}
[4BC 1178.3]          Christ is our High Priest. Satan stands before Him night and day as an accuser of the brethren. With his masterly power he presents every objectionable feature of character as sufficient reason for the withdrawal of Christ's protecting power, thus allowing Satan to discourage and destroy those whom he has caused to sin. But Christ has made atonement for every sinner. Can we by faith hear our Advocate saying, "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?"  {4BC 1178.3}
[4BC 1178.4]          "Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments." Thus sinners appear before the enemy who by his masterly, deceptive power has led them away from allegiance to God. With garments of sin and shame the enemy clothes those who have been overpowered by his temptations, and then he declares that it is unfair for Christ to be their Light, their Defender (MS 125, 1901).  {4BC 1178.4}
[4BC 1178.5]          4. Self-admiration Results From Ignorance.--All self-exaltation and self-admiration are the result of ignorance of God and of Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. How quickly will self-esteem die, and pride be humbled in the dust, when we view the matchless charms of the character of Christ! The holiness of His character is reflected by all who serve Him in spirit and in truth.  {4BC 1178.5}
[4BC 1178.6]          If our lips have need of cleansing, if we realize our destitution, and come to God in contrition of heart, the Lord will remove the uncleanness. He will say to His angel, "Take away the filthy garments," and clothe him with "change of raiment" (RH Dec. 22, 1896).  {4BC 1178.6}
[4BC 1178.7]          4, 5. A Change of Raiment.--Poor, repentant mortals, hear the words of Jesus, and believe as you hear: "And he answered ［the accusing charge of Satan］ and spake unto those ［angels］ that stood before him ［to do His bidding］, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him." I will blot out his transgressions. I will cover his sins. I will impute to him My righteousness. "And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment."  {4BC 1178.7}
[4BC 1178.8]          The filthy garments are removed; for Christ says, "I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee." The iniquity is transferred to the innocent, the pure, the holy Son of God; and man, all undeserving, stands before the Lord cleansed from all unrighteousness, and clothed with the imputed righteousness of Christ. Oh, what a change of raiment is this!  {4BC 1178.8}
[4BC 1178.9]          And Christ does more than this for them: ［Zechariah 3:5 quoted］.  {4BC 1178.9}
[4BC 1178.10]          This is the honor that God will bestow on those who are clothed with the garments of Christ's righteousness. With such encouragement as this, how can men continue in sin? How can they grieve the heart of Christ (MS 125, 1901)?  {4BC 1178.10}
[4BC 1178.11]          4-7. An Experience Being Re-enacted.-- ［Zechariah 3:4-7 quoted.］ The one who was clothed with filthy garments represents those who have committed wrongs, but who have come into so sincere a position of repentance that the Lord, who forgives all sins that are repented of, was satisfied. Satan seeks to place in a humiliating position those who have truly repented of their sins. And those who are continuing in a wrong course of action are prompted by Satan to tantalize the one who has repented. . . .  {4BC 1178.11}
[4BC 1178.12]          Men who have gone to great lengths in transgression, and who have never                                                                              1179  confessed their sins will seek to bring all the reproach possible upon those whom Satan has worked to destroy, but who have repented and humbled themselves before God, confessing their sins to the sin-pardoning Saviour, and receiving pardon. Men who have not repented of their sins, and have not received pardon, will tantalize the truly repentant ones, repeating their wrongdoing to those who knew nothing of the wrong done. They accuse and condemn the repentant ones as if they themselves were guiltless.  {4BC 1178.12}
[4BC 1179.1]          It has been shown me that the experience recorded in the third chapter of Zechariah is now being acted over, and will continue to be while men, making profession of cleanness, refuse to humble the heart and confess their sins (Letter 360, 1906).  {4BC 1179.1}
[4BC 1179.2]                                    Chapter 4          6. See EGW on 2 Kings 2:11-15, Vol. II, p. 1037.  {4BC 1179.2}
[4BC 1179.3]          6, 7, 10. Assumed Power Is Not God's Strength.--This chapter is full of encouragement for those who do the work of the Lord in these last days. Zerubbabel had gone to Jerusalem to build the house of the Lord. But he was compassed with difficulties. His adversaries "weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building," "and made them to cease by force and power." But the Lord interposed in their behalf, and the house was finished. ［Zechariah 4:6, 7, 10 quoted.］  {4BC 1179.3}
[4BC 1179.4]          The very same difficulties which were created to hinder the restoration and upbuilding of the work of God, the great mountains of difficulty which loomed in Zerubbabel's way, will be met by all who today are loyal to God and to His work. Many human inventions are used to carry out plans after the mind and will of men with whom God is not working. But it is not boastful words nor a multitude of ceremonies that show that the Lord is working with His people. The assumed power of the human agent does not decide this question. Those who place themselves in opposition to the Lord's work may hinder for a time, but the same Spirit that has guided the Lord's work all the way through will guide it today. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." . . .  {4BC 1179.4}
[4BC 1179.5]          The Lord would have every soul strong in His strength. He would have us look to Him, receiving our directions from Him (RH May 16, 1899).  {4BC 1179.5}
[4BC 1179.6]          11-14 (Matthew 25:1-13). Oil Purifies the Soul.--We all need to study as never before the parable of the ten virgins. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. This is the holy oil represented in Zechariah ［Zechariah 4:11-14 quoted］. This representation is of the highest consequence to those who claim to know the truth. But if we do not practise the truth, we have not received the holy oil, which the two golden pipes empty out of themselves. The oil is received into vessels prepared for the oil. It is the Holy Spirit in the heart which works by love and purifies the soul. . . .  {4BC 1179.6}
[4BC 1179.7]          Satan is working with all his hellish power to quench that light which should burn brightly in the soul and shine forth in good works. The words of God to Zechariah show from whence the holy golden oil comes, and its bright light which the Lord kindles in the chambers of the soul gives light through good works to the world. Satan will work to quench the light God has for every soul, by casting his shadow across the pathway to intercept every ray of heavenly light. He knows that his time is short. The people of God must cleave to God, else they will lose their bearings. If they cherish hereditary and cultivated traits of character that misrepresent Christ, while professedly His disciples, they are represented by the man coming to the gospel feast without having on the wedding garment, and by the foolish virgins which had no oil in their vessels with their lamps. We must cleave to that which God pronounces to be truth, though the whole world may be arrayed against it (MS 140, 1901).  {4BC 1179.7}
[4BC 1179.8]          Oil Conveyed Through Messages.--［Zechariah 4:1-3, 11-14 quoted.］ By the holy beings surrounding His throne, the Lord keeps up a constant communication with the inhabitants of the earth. The golden oil represents the grace with which God keeps the lamps of believers supplied. Were                                                                              1180  it not that this holy oil is poured from heaven in the messages of God's Spirit, the agencies of evil would have entire control over men. God is dishonored when we do not receive the communications that He sends us. Thus we refuse the golden oil which He would pour into our souls to be communicated to those in darkness (RH Feb. 3, 1903).  {4BC 1179.8}
[4BC 1180.1]          Word Flows Into Messengers' Hearts.--［Zechariah 4:11-14 quoted.］ These empty themselves into the golden bowls, which represent the hearts of the living messengers of God, who bear the Word of the Lord to the people in warnings and entreaties. The Word itself must be as represented, the golden oil, emptied from the two olive trees that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. This is the baptism by the Holy Spirit with fire. This will open the soul of unbelievers to conviction. The wants of the soul can be met only by the working of the Holy Spirit of God. Man can of himself do nothing to satisfy the longings and meet the aspirations of the heart (MS 109, 1897).  {4BC 1180.1}
[4BC 1180.2]          12 (Isaiah 58:8). To Constantly Receive, One Must Constantly Impart.--The capacity for receiving the holy oil from the two olive trees which empty themselves, is by the receiver emptying that holy oil out of himself in word and in action to supply the necessities of other souls. Work, precious, satisfying work--to be constantly receiving and constantly imparting! The capacity for receiving is only kept up by imparting (NL No. 12, pp. 3, 4).  {4BC 1180.2}
[4BC 1180.3]                                    Chapter 8          7-13. Spiritual Restoration Coming.--The work of which the prophet Zechariah writes is a type of the spiritual restoration to be wrought for Israel before the end of time ［Zechariah 8:9, 11-13, 7, 8 quoted］ (Letter 42, 1912).  {4BC 1180.3}
[4BC 1180.4]                                    Chapter 9          12-17. Responsible for Darkness.--The darkness of the Gentile world was attributable to the neglect of the Jewish nation, as is represented in the ninth chapter of Zechariah.  {4BC 1180.4}
[4BC 1180.5]          ［Zechariah 9:12-17 quoted.］ The whole world is embraced in the contract of the great plan of redemption (MS 65, 1912).  {4BC 1180.5}
[4BC 1180.6]          16 (Isaiah 53:11; Ephesians 1:18). Christ's Reward.--［Zechariah 9:16; Ephesians 1:18; Isaiah 53:11 quoted.］ Christ looks upon His people in their purity and perfection as the reward of all His sufferings, His humiliation, and His love, and the supplement of His glory,--Christ the great center, from whom radiates all glory (RH Oct. 22, 1908).                                                    -    {4BC 1180.6}
[4BC 1180.7]       Malachi                                    Chapter 1          10. Do Not Hire Every Errand Done.--Today, as in the days of Malachi, there are ministers who labor, not because they dare not do otherwise, not because the woe is upon them, but for the wages they are to receive. It is entirely wrong to hire every errand that is done for the Lord. The treasury of the Lord has been drained by those who have been only an injury to the cause. If ministers give themselves wholly to the work of God, and devote all their energies to building up His cause, they will have no lack. As regards temporal things, they have a better portion than their Lord, and better than His chosen disciples, whom He sent forth (SW Jan. 3, 1905).  {4BC 1180.7}
[4BC 1180.8]          11. Jews' Prosperity Was to Reveal God's Glory.--［Malachi 1:11 quoted.］ The prophetic words of Malachi have been meeting their fulfillment in the proclamation of the Lord's truth to the Gentiles. God, in His infinite wisdom, chose Israel as the depositary of priceless treasures of truth for all nations. He gave them His law as the standard of the character they were to develop                                                                              1181  before the world, before angels, and before the unfallen worlds. They were to reveal to the world the laws of the government of heaven. By precept and example they were to bear a decided testimony for the truth. The glory of God, His majesty and power, were to be revealed in all their prosperity. They were to be a kingdom of priests and princes. God furnished them with every facility for becoming the greatest nation on the earth.  {4BC 1180.8}
[4BC 1181.1]          Through disloyalty, God's chosen people developed a character exactly the opposite of the character He desired them to develop. They placed their own mold and superscription upon the truth. They forgot God, and lost sight of their high privilege as His representatives. The blessings they had received brought no blessing to the world. All their advantages were appropriated for their own glorification. They robbed God of the service He required of them, and they robbed their fellow men of religious guidance and a holy example. Like the inhabitants of the antediluvian world, they followed out every imagination of their evil hearts. Thus they made sacred things appear a farce, saying, "The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these," while at the same time they were misrepresenting God's character, dishonoring His name, and polluting His sanctuary (SW Jan. 10, 1905).  {4BC 1181.1}
[4BC 1181.2]          13. See EGW on Leviticus 1:3, Vol. I, p. 1110.  {4BC 1181.2}
[4BC 1181.3]                                   Chapter 2          1, 2. God Requires More Than We Give Him.--［Malachi 2:1, 2 quoted.］ The Lord requires of all who profess to be His people, far more than they give Him. He expects believers in Christ Jesus to reveal to the world, in word and deed, the Christianity that was exemplified in the life and character of the Redeemer. If the Word of God is enshrined in their hearts, they will give a practical demonstration of the power and purity of the gospel. The testimony thus borne to the world is of much more value than sermons, or professions of godliness that do not reveal good works. Let those who name the name of Christ remember that individually they are making an impression favorable or unfavorable to Bible religion, on the minds of all with whom they come in contact (SW Jan. 17, 1905).  {4BC 1181.3}
[4BC 1181.4]                                   Chapter 3          1-3. Truth a Continual Test.--［Malachi 3:1-3 quoted.］ Everything in our character that cannot enter the city of God will be reproved; if we submit to the Lord's refining, all the dross and the tin will be consumed. As the Lord's chosen ones will receive the light appropriate for this time, they will not be led to exalt themselves. They will not manufacture a standard whereby to measure their own character; for the Lord has given one standard, by which every character is to be tested. There is not one standard for the poor, and another for the rich; for all will be tested by that law which bids us to love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves. Those who win the treasure of heaven will be those who have laid up their treasure above. God gives us light and opportunities to learn from Christ; that we may be like Him in spirit and character; but we are not to conform to any human standard. We are to receive the truth of God into the heart, that it may regulate the life and form the character.  {4BC 1181.4}
[4BC 1181.5]          The Lord is looking upon men in the different spheres in which they move, and the character is tested under the different circumstances in which they are placed. The truth, pure, refined, elevating, is a continual test, to measure the man. If truth controls the conscience and is an abiding principle in the heart, it becomes an active working agent, it works by love and purifies the soul. But if the knowledge of the truth produces no beauty in the soul, if it does not subdue, soften, and recreate the man after God's own image, it is of no benefit to the receiver; it is as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. The truth as it is in Jesus, planted in the heart by the Holy Spirit, always works from within outward; it will be revealed in our words and spirit and actions toward everyone with whom we are connected (Letter 20a, 1893).  {4BC 1181.5}
[4BC 1181.6]          3, 4. A Refining Process.--［Malachi 3:3, 4 quoted.］ In this scripture is portrayed a refining, purifying process, to be carried on in the hearts of men by the Lord of hosts. The process is most trying to the soul, but it is only by this means that the                                                                              1182  dross can be removed. Of necessity we must endure trials; for through these we are brought close to our heavenly Father, in obedience to His will, that we may render to Him an offering in righteousness. . . .  {4BC 1181.6}
[4BC 1182.1]          The Master sees wherein we need to be purified for His heavenly kingdom. He will not leave us in the furnace until we are wholly consumed. As a refiner and purifier of silver, He is beholding His children, watching the process of purification, until He shall discern His image reflected in us. Although we often feel affliction's flame kindling about us, and at times fear that we shall be utterly consumed, yet the loving-kindness of God is just as great toward us at these times as when we are free in spirit and triumphing in Him. The furnace is to purify and refine, but not to consume and destroy. God in His providence would try us, to purify us as the sons of Levi, that we may offer to Him an offering in righteousness (SW Feb. 7, 1905).  {4BC 1182.1}
[4BC 1182.2]          Every Test Necessary, Seldom Repeated.--［Malachi 3:3, 4 quoted.］ Here is the process, the refining, purifying process, to be carried on by the Lord of hosts. The work is most trying to the soul, but it is only through this process that the rubbish and defiling impurities can be removed. Our trials are all necessary to bring us close to our heavenly Father, in obedience to His will, that we may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. God has given each of us capabilities, talents to improve. We need a new and living experience in the divine life, in order to do the will of God. No amount of past experience will suffice for the present, or will strengthen us to overcome the difficulties in our path. We must have new grace and fresh strength daily in order to be victorious.  {4BC 1182.2}
[4BC 1182.3]          We are seldom, in all respects, placed in the same condition twice. Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Daniel, and many others, were all sorely tried, but not in the same way. Every one has his individual tests and trials in the drama of life, but the very same trial seldom comes twice. Each has his own experience, peculiar in its character and circumstances, to accomplish a certain work. God has a work, a purpose, in the life of each and all of us. Every act, however small, has its place in our life experience. We must have the continual light and experience that come from God. We all need them, and God is more than willing we should have them, if we will take them (RH June 22, 1886).  {4BC 1182.3}
[4BC 1182.4]          5-17. A View of Two Groups.--In the third chapter of Malachi two parties are brought to view. Here the Lord denounces against His professed people who are not faithful sentinels. The charge and challenge of God against this people is marked and decided ［Malachi 3:5-12 quoted.］ Man's duty to be faithful in giving the Lord the portion which He claims in tithes and offerings, that there may be a supply to carry forward the work without embarrassment or hindrance is plainly specified.  {4BC 1182.4}
[4BC 1182.5]          A people is brought to view who are not filled with the Holy Spirit, because they have not walked humbly with God and been faithful and clean and pure and holy in His sight. God says, "Your words have been stout against me. . . . Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we accept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; . . . yea, they that tempt God are even delivered."  {4BC 1182.5}
[4BC 1182.6]          Who required them to walk mournfully? Not Christ. Their mournfulness is the fruit of their own will and unsanctified spirit. They complain of one another and of God, putting on an outside show as disappointed men, leaving the impression on the world that it does not pay to be Christians. To be envious and jealous of the brethren means to be envious and jealous of God (MS 15, 1899).  {4BC 1182.6}
[4BC 1182.7]          8. Robbery of Service.--Those who refuse to place themselves on the Lord's side are robbing Him of the service He claims. What rent are they paying Him for living in His house, this world? They act as though they had created the world, as though they had a right to use what they possess as they please. God marks their misuse of His talents (MS 50, 1901).  {4BC 1182.7}
[4BC 1182.8]          10, 11. A Message Still Binding.--Duty is duty, and should be performed for its own sake. But the Lord has compassion upon us in our fallen condition, and accompanies His commands with promises. He                                                                              1183  calls upon His people to prove Him, declaring that He will reward obedience with the richest blessings ［Malachi 3:10, 11 quoted］ (SW Feb. 14, 1905).  {4BC 1182.8}
[4BC 1183.1]          11. God Can Scatter Means.--Those who are selfishly withholding their means need not be surprised if God's hand scatters their possessions. That which should have been devoted to the advancement of His work and cause, but which has been withheld, may in various ways be taken away. God will come near to them in judgments. Many losses will be sustained. God can scatter the means He has lent to His stewards, if they refuse to use it to His glory. Some may have none of these losses to remind them of their remissness in duty, but their cases may be the more hopeless (SW Feb. 21, 1905).  {4BC 1183.1}
[4BC 1183.2]          13-16. One Person Not to Do All the Witnessing.--The fact that the Lord has been represented as hearkening to the words spoken by His witnesses, tells us that Jesus is in our very midst. He says, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst." One person is not to do all the witnessing for Jesus; but everyone who loves God is to testify of the preciousness of His grace and truth. Those who receive the light of truth are to have lesson upon lesson to educate them not to keep silent, but to speak often one to another. They are to keep in mind the Sabbath meeting, when those who love and fear God, and who think upon His name, can have opportunity to express their thoughts in speaking one to another. . . .  {4BC 1183.2}
[4BC 1183.3]          Let each one seek to become an intelligent Christian, bearing his responsibility, and acting his personal part to make the meeting interesting and profitable. . . .  {4BC 1183.3}
[4BC 1183.4]          The Majesty of heaven identifies His interests with those of the believers, however humble may be their circumstances. And wherever they are privileged to meet together, it is appropriate that they speak often one to another, giving utterance to the gratitude and love that is a result of thinking upon the name of the Lord. Thus shall God be glorified as He hearkens and hears, and the testimony meeting will be considered the most precious of all meetings; for the words spoken are recorded in the book of remembrance (MS 32, 1894).  {4BC 1183.4}
[4BC 1183.5]          16. Memory Constantly Refreshed.--Every deliverance, every blessing, that God in the past has granted to His people, should be kept fresh in memory's hall as a sure pledge of further and richer, increasing blessings that He will bestow. The Lord's blessings are adapted to the needs of His people (MS 65, 1912).  {4BC 1183.5}
[4BC 1183.6]          Represent Bright Side of Religion.--Do not gratify the enemy by dwelling upon the dark side of your experience; trust Jesus more fully for help to resist temptation. If we thought and talked more of Jesus, and less of ourselves, we should have much more of His presence. If we abide in Him, we shall be so filled with peace, faith, and courage, and shall have so victorious an experience to relate when we come to meeting, that others will be refreshed by our clear, strong testimony for God. These precious acknowledgements to the praise of the glory of His grace, when supported by a Christlike life, have an irresistible power, which works for the salvation of souls.  {4BC 1183.6}
[4BC 1183.7]          The bright and cheerful side of religion will be represented by all who are daily consecrated to God. We should not dishonor our Lord by a mournful relation of trials that appear grievous. All trials that are received as educators will produce joy. The whole religious life will be uplifting, elevating, ennobling, fragrant with good words and works. The enemy is well pleased to have souls depressed, downcast; he desires unbelievers to gain wrong impressions regarding the effect of our faith. But God desires the mind to take a higher level. He desires every soul to triumph in the keeping power of the Redeemer (SW March 7, 1905).  {4BC 1183.7}
[4BC 1183.8]         (Hebrews 10:25.) Reflecting Rays of Light.--［Malachi 3:16 quoted.］ To the Christian is granted the joy of gathering rays of eternal light from the throne of glory, and of reflecting these rays not only on his own path, but on the paths of those with whom he associates. By speaking words of hope and encouragement, of grateful praise and kindly cheer, he may strive to make those around him better, to elevate them, to point them to heaven and glory, and to lead them to seek, above all earthly things, the eternal substance, the immortal                                                                              1184  inheritance, the riches that are imperishable (SW March 7, 1905).  {4BC 1183.8}
[4BC 1184.1]          16, 17. Promises to Be Verified.--The closing words of this scripture outline the experience that the people of God are yet to have. We have a wonderful future before us as a people. The promises of the third chapter of Malachi will be verified to the letter (Letter 223, 1904).  {4BC 1184.1}