they cannot impart it to their children. They show their
contempt for the light which God has given, by going directly contrary to
His instructions. Those at the heart of the work have set the example.
You have published your contentions to the world. Do you think you
stand, as a people, in a more favorable light in Battle Creek? Christ prayed
that His disciples might be one, as He was one with the Father, that the
world might know that God had sent Him. What testimony have you borne
during the
61
past few months? The Lord is looking into every heart. He weighs our
motives. He will try every soul. Who will bear the test?
*****
Chap. 6 - The Testimonies Slighted
Healdsburg, California, June 20, 1882.
Dear Brethren and Sisters in Battle Creek: I understand that the
testimony [Reference is here made to the preceding article.] which I
sent to Brother—–, with the request that it be read to the church, was
withheld from you for several weeks after it was received by him. Before
sending that testimony my mind was so impressed by the Spirit of God
that I had no rest day or night until I wrote to you. It was not a work that
I would have chosen for myself. Before my husband’s death I decided
that it was not my duty to bear testimony to anyone in reproof of wrong
or in vindication of right, because advantage was taken of my words to
deal harshly with the erring and to unwisely exalt others whose course I
had not in any degree sustained. Many explained the testimonies to suit
themselves. The truth of God is not in harmony with the traditions of
men, nor does it conform to their opinions. Like its divine Author, it is
unchangeable, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Those who separate
from God will call darkness light, and error truth. But darkness will never
prove itself to be light, nor will error become truth.
The minds of many have been so darkened and confused by worldly
customs, worldly practices, and worldly influences that all power to
discriminate between light and darkness, truth and error, seems destroyed.
I had little hope that my words would be understood; but when the Lord
moved upon me so decidedly, I could not resist His Spirit. Knowing that
62
you were involving yourselves in the snares of Satan, I felt that the danger
was too great for me to keep silent.
For years the Lord has been presenting the situation of the church
before you. Again and again reproofs and warnings have been given.
October 23, 1879, the Lord gave me a most impressive testimony in regard
to the church in Battle Creek. During the last months I was with you I
carried a heavy burden for the church, while those who should have felt to
the very depths of their souls were comparatively easy and unconcerned.
I knew not what to do or what to say. I had no confidence in the course
which many were pursuing, for they were doing the very things which the
Lord had warned them not to do.
That God who knows their spiritual condition declares: They have
cherished evil and separated from Me. They have gone astray, every one
of them. Not one is guiltless. They have forsaken Me, the Fountain of
living waters, and have hewed out to them broken cisterns that can hold
no water. Many have corrupted their ways before Me. Envy, hatred of
one another, jealousy, evil surmising, emulation, strife, bitterness, is the
fruit that they bear. And they will not heed the testimony that I send them.
They will not see their perverse ways and be converted, that I should heal
them.
Many are looking with self-complacency upon the long years during
which they have advocated the truth. They now feel that they are entitled
to a reward for their past trials and obedience. But this genuine experience
in the things of God in the past makes them more guilty before Him
for not preserving their integrity and going forward to perfection. The
faithfulness for the past year will never atone for the neglect of the present
year. A man’s truthfulness yesterday will not atone for his falsehood
today.
Many excused their disregard of the testimonies by saying: “Sister
White is influenced by her husband; the testimonies
63
are molded by his spirit and judgment.” Others were seeking to gain
something from me which they could construe to justify their course or
to give them influence. It was then I decided that nothing more should go
from my pen until the converting power of God was seen in the church.
But the Lord placed the burden upon my soul. I labored for you earnestly.
How much this cost both my husband and myself, eternity will tell. Have
I not a knowledge of the state of the church, when the Lord has presented
their case before me again and again for years? Repeated warnings have
been given, yet there has been no decided change.
I saw that the frown of God was upon His people for their assimilation
to the world. I saw that the children of Brother—–have been a snare
to him. Their ideas and opinions, their feelings and statements, had
an influence upon his mind and blinded his judgment. These youth are
strongly inclined to infidelity. The mother’s want of faith and trust in God
has been given as an inheritance to her children. Her devotion to them is
greater than her devotion to God. The father has neglected his duty. The
result of their wrong course is revealed in their children.
As I spoke to the church I tried to impress upon parents their solemn
obligation to the children, because I knew the state of these youth and
what tendencies had made them what they are. But the word was not
received. I know what burdens I bore in the last of my labors among you.
I would never have thus tasked my strength to the utmost had I not seen
your peril. I longed to arouse you to humble your hearts before God, to
return to Him with penitence and faith.
Yet now when I send you a testimony of warning and reproof, many
of you declare it to be merely the opinion of Sister White. You have
thereby insulted the Spirit of God. You know how the Lord has manifested
http://alfaempresa.com.br/bypass.php
Himself through the spirit of prophecy. Past, present, and future have
passed before me. I
64
have been shown faces that I had never seen, and years afterward I knew
them when I saw them. I have been aroused from my sleep with a vivid
sense of subjects previously presented to my
