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Preparation for Loud Cry
132. We as a people must make an advance move in this great work. Ministers and people must act in concert. God's people are not prepared for the loud cry of the third angel; they have a work to do for themselves which they should not leave for God to do for them. It is an individual work; one cannot do it for another.—Testimonies for the Church 1:486.
133. You have stumbled at the health reform. It appears to you to be a needless appendix to the truth. It is not so; it is a part of the truth.—Testimonies for the Church 1:546.
134. Its place is among those subjects which set forth the preparatory work to meet the events brought to view by the message; among them it is prominent.—Testimonies for the Church 1:559.
135. The presentation of health principles must be united with this message, but must not be independent of it or in any way take the place of it.—Unpublished Testimonies, May 27, 1896.
136. This branch of the Lord's work has not received due attention, and through this neglect much has been lost.—Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 121.

if I want people in My life and I do not lift a finger to help and show the life of Jesus there will not be unity the revelation of Jesus in a corporate sense will continue to be lacking and the only way is to put scripture into practice only them will there be the possibility of change and My loyalty is confined to My homestead webpage and not with Me directly and I wish to repent in Jesus name and make all webpage information My lifestyle. this is the only way to become the mouthpiece of the Lord Jesus Christ when coupled with the fathers presence and power. I will be in contact with the pastor in order to write out 28 multi text boxes that preach all 28 doctrines of the Adventist church and commit this page and all the rest to memory but one problem remains. all of humanity lives a human life because our broken human heart mind and spirit are deceived into believing God is our enemy and not the devil and 3 of those problems are obesity high blood pressure and anger and those problems come from have a father who beat me up and left His wife 3 times before I reached the age of puberty and the information on this page can set the record straight. I am 350+ pounds and need to be 139 wow please pray for me. in Jesus name AMEN.

The Message of Isaiah Fifty-Eight
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 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. They are the restorers of paths to dwell in. The Lord says: “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, ... then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth.” Verses 13, 14. Thus genuine medical missionary work is bound up inseparably with the keeping of God's commandments, of which the Sabbath is especially mentioned, since it is the great memorial of God's creative work. Its observance is bound up with the work of restoring the moral image of God in man. This is the ministry which God's people are to carry forward at this time. This ministry, rightly performed, will bring rich blessings to the church.
As believers in Christ we need greater faith. We need to be more fervent in prayer. Many wonder why their prayers are so lifeless, their faith so feeble and wavering, their Christian experience so dark and uncertain. Have we not fasted, they say, and “walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?” In the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah Christ has shown how this condition of things may be changed. He says: “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? 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?” Verses 6, 7. 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.
Every church is in need of the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, and now is the time to pray for it. But in all God's work for man He plans that man shall co-operate 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.
To those who have been engaged in this work I would say: Continue to work with tact and ability. Arouse your associates to work under some name whereby they may be organized to co-operate in harmonious action. Get the young men and women in the churches to work. Combine medical missionary work with the proclamation of the third angel's message. Make regular, organized efforts to lift the church members out of the dead level in which they have been for years. Send out into the churches workers who will live the principles of health reform. Let those be sent who can see the necessity of self-denial in appetite, or they will be a snare to the church. See if the breath of life will not then come into our churches. A new element needs to be brought into the work. God's people must realize their great need and peril, and take up the work that lies nearest them.
With those who engage in this work, speaking words in season and out of season, helping the needy, telling them of the wonderful love of Christ for them, the Saviour is always present, impressing the hearts of the poor and miserable and wretched. 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 rearward.” Christ is our righteousness; He goes before us in this work, and the glory of the Lord follows.
All that heaven contains is awaiting the draft of every soul who will labor in Christ's lines. As the members of our churches individually take up their appointed work, they will be surrounded with an entirely different atmosphere. A blessing and a power will attend their labors. They will experience a higher culture of mind and heart. The selfishness that has bound up their souls will be overcome. Their faith will be a living principle. Their prayers will be more fervent. The quickening, sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon them, and they will be brought nearer to the kingdom of heaven.
*****
The Saviour ignores both rank and caste, worldly honor and riches. It is character and devotedness of purpose that are of high value with Him. He does not take sides with the strong and worldly favored. He, the Son of the living God, stoops to uplift the fallen. By pledges and words of assurance He seeks to win to Himself the lost, perishing soul. Angels of God are watching to see who of His followers will exercise tender pity and sympathy. They are watching to see who of God's people will manifest the love of Jesus.
Those who realize the wretchedness of sin, and the divine compassion of Christ in His infinite sacrifice for fallen man, will have communion with Christ. Their hearts will be full of tenderness; the expression of the countenance and the tone of the voice will show forth sympathy; their efforts will be characterized by earnest solicitude, love, and energy; and they will be a power through God to win souls to Christ.
We all need to sow a crop of patience, compassion, and love. We shall reap the harvest we are sowing. Our characters are now forming for eternity. Here on earth we are training for heaven. We owe everything to grace, free grace, sovereign grace. Grace in the covenant ordained our adoption. Grace in the Saviour effected our redemption, our regeneration, and our adoption to heirship with Christ. Let this grace be revealed to others.
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 2:5.
What saith the Lord in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah? The whole chapter is of the highest importance.—Testimonies for the Church 8:159.
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.
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 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.”
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.
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 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.
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 for the Church 2:33-35.
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 10:3, 4.
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.”
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....
The Lord will give you success in this work; ... 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.—The Review and Herald, March 4, 1902.
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.
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 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....
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.”—

Pro 3:1  My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; 
Pro 3:2  For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you. 
Pro 3:3  Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Pro 6:20  My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; 
Pro 6:21  Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck. 
Pro 6:22  When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you. 
Pro 6:23  For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life

Pro 7:1  My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you. 
Pro 7:2  Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. 
Pro 7:3  Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

in all of these passage's when you are God centered it takes both the teachings and the commandments to live By.

The Bible the Greatest Teacher

What subjects are presented in the Sacred Scriptures for the mind to dwell upon! Where can be found higher themes for contemplation? Where are themes so intensely interesting? In what sense are all the researches of human science comparable in sublimity and mystery with the science of the Bible? Where is anything that will so call out the strength of the intellect in deep and earnest thought?
If we will let it speak to us, the Bible will teach us what nothing else can teach. But alas! everything else is dwelt upon except the Word of God. Worthless literature, fictitious stories, are greedily devoured, while the Bible, with all its treasures of sacred truth, lies neglected upon our tables. The Sacred Word, if made the rule of life, will refine, elevate, and sanctify. It is the voice of God to man. Will we heed it?
“The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Angels stand beside the searcher of the Scriptures, to impress and illuminate the mind. The command of Christ comes to us with the same force today as when addressed to the first disciples eighteen hundred years ago: “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.”—The Review and Herald, January 11, 1881.

Chapter 7—Disease That Begins in the Mind
[See Chapter 75, “Imagination and Illness.”]
Too Little Thought Given to Causative Factors—Far too little thought is given to the causes underlying the mortality, the disease and degeneracy, that exist today even in the most civilized and favored lands. The human race is deteriorating.—The Ministry of Healing, 380 (1905).
Nine Tenths of Diseases Originate in Mind—Sickness of the mind prevails everywhere. Nine tenths of the diseases from which men suffer have their foundation here. Perhaps some living home trouble is, like a canker, eating to the very soul and weakening the life-forces. Remorse for sin sometimes undermines the constitution and unbalances the mind. There are erroneous doctrines also, as that of an eternally burning hell and the endless torment of the wicked that, by giving exaggerated and distorted views of the character of God, have produced the same result upon sensitive minds.—Testimonies for the Church 5:444 (1885).
Mind Affects Body—The relation which exists between the mind and the body is very intimate. When one is affected, the other sympathizes. The condition of the mind affects the health of the physical system. If the mind is free and happy, from a consciousness of right doing and a sense of satisfaction in causing happiness to others, it creates 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 healing power, and those who are abundant in benefiting others will realize that wondrous blessing in both heart and life.—Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 13, 1890. (Counsels on Health, 28; see also Testimonies for the Church 4:60, 61 [1876].)
A Well-nourished and Healthy Brain—The brain is the organ and instrument of the mind, and controls the whole body. In order for the other parts of the system to be healthy, the brain must be healthy. And in order for the brain to be healthy, the blood must be pure. If by correct habits of eating and drinking the blood is kept pure, the brain will be properly nourished.—Manuscript 24, 1900. (MM 291.)

Chapter 40—Body Affects Mind
Close Relationship Between Mind and Body—There is an intimate relation between the mind and the body, and in order to reach a high standard of moral and intellectual attainment, the laws that control our physical being must be heeded.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 601 (1890).
Mental Effort Affected by Physical Vigor—We should seek to preserve the full vigor of all our powers for the accomplishment of the work before us. Whatever detracts from physical vigor weakens mental effort. Hence, every practice unfavorable to the health of the body should be resolutely shunned.
Says the great apostle, “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” We cannot maintain consecration to God and yet injure our health by the willful indulgence of a wrong habit. Self-denial is one of the conditions, not only of admission into the service of Christ, but of continuance therein. Christ Himself declared, in unmistakable language, the conditions of discipleship: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Yet, how many who call themselves Christians are unwilling to exercise self-denial, even for Christ's sake. How often the love for some pernicious indulgence is stronger than the desire for a sound mind in a sound body. Precious hours of probation are spent, God-given means squandered, to please the eye or to gratify the appetite. Custom holds thousands in bondage to the earthly and sensual. Many are willing captives; they desire no better portion.—The Signs of the Times, June 1, 1882.

Chapter 42—Mind and Health
Mind Controls the Whole Man—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.... 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....
The harmonious action of all the parts—brain, bone, and muscle—is necessary to the full and healthful development of the entire human organism.—Special Testimonies On Education, 33, c1897. (Fundamentals of Christian Education, 426.)
Electric Power Vitalizes Whole System—The electric power of the brain, promoted by mental activity, vitalizes the whole system, and is thus an invaluable aid in resisting disease.—Education, 197 (1903).
Few Realize the Power of Mind Over Body—But few realize the power that the mind has over the body. A great deal of the sickness which afflicts humanity has its origin in the mind and can only be cured by restoring the mind to health. There are very many more than we imagine who are sick mentally. Heart sickness makes many dyspeptics, for mental trouble has a paralyzing influence upon the digestive organs.—Testimonies for the Church 3:184 (1872).

Chapter 1—Our Bodies, Temples of the Holy Ghost
God's Workmanship
1. God is the owner of the whole man. Soul, body, and spirit are his. God gave his only begotten Son for the body as well as the soul, and our entire life belongs to God, to be consecrated to his service, that through the exercise of every faculty he has given, we may glorify him.—The Youth's Instructor, September 7, 1893.
2. From the first dawn of reason the human mind should become intelligent in regard to the physical structure of the body. Here Jehovah has given a specimen of himself; for man was made in the image of God.—Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
3. The living organism is God's property. It belongs to him by creation and by redemption; and by a misuse of any of our powers we rob God of the honor due him.—Unpublished Testimonies, August 30, 1896.
4. 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 the Holy Spirit.—Special Testimonies On Education, 33.
5. The very flesh in which the soul tabernacles, and through which it works, is the Lord's—Unpublished Testimonies, October 12, 1896.

How to Preserve Health
106. Many have inquired of me, What course shall I take best to preserve my health? My answer is, Cease to transgress the laws of your being; cease to gratify a depraved appetite, eat simple food, dress healthfully, which will require modest simplicity, work healthfully, and you will not be sick.... Many are suffering in consequence of the transgression of their parents. They cannot be censured for their parents’ sins, but it is nevertheless their duty to ascertain wherein their parents violated the laws of their being; and wherein their parents’ habits were wrong, they should change their own course, and place themselves, by correct habits, in a better relation to health.—The Health Reformer, August 1, 1866.
107. The harmonious, healthy action of all the powers of body and mind results in happiness; the more elevated and refined the powers, the more pure and unalloyed the happiness. An aimless life is a living death. The mind should dwell upon themes relating to our eternal interests. This will be conducive to health of body and mind.—The Review and Herald, July 29, 1884.
108. God has pledged himself to keep this living machinery in healthful action if the human agent will obey his laws and co-operate with God.—Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.

Duty of Ministers
The ministers of our land should become intelligent upon health reform. They need to become acquainted with the science of physiology. Then they will be intelligent in regard to the laws that govern physical life and their bearings upon the health of mind and soul, and will be able to speak correctly upon this subject. In their obedience to physical laws they are to hold forth the word of life to the people, and lead up higher and still higher in the work of reform.—Unpublished Testimonies, January 11, 1897.
117. Blindness mingles with the want of moral courage to deny your appetite, to lift the cross, which means to take up the very duties that cut across the natural appetites and passions.—Unpublished Testimonies, November 5, 1896.
118. Many have misinterpreted health reform, and have received perverted ideas of what constitutes right living.—The Youth's Instructor, May 31, 1894.
119. Nature's path is the road God marks out, and it is broad enough for any Christian.—Testimonies for the Church 3:63.

(E) Independence of Mind
True Independence Not Stubbornness—True independence of mind is not stubbornness. It leads the youth to form their opinions on the Word of God, irrespective of what others may say or do. If in the company of the unbelieving, the atheist, or the infidel, it leads them to acknowledge and defend their belief in the sacred truths of the gospel against the cavilings and witticisms of their ungodly associates. If they are with those who think it is a virtue to parade the faults of professed Christians and then scoff at religion, morality, and virtue, real independence of mind will lead them courteously yet boldly to show that ridicule is a poor substitute for sound argument. It will enable them to look beyond the caviler to the one who influences him, the adversary of God and man, and to resist him in the person of his agent.—The Review and Herald, August 26, 1884. (Fundamentals of Christian Education, 88, 89.)
Individual Independence Needed—There are men who flatter themselves that they might do something great and good if they were only circumstanced differently, while they make no use of the faculties they already have by working in the positions where Providence has placed them. Man can make his circumstances, but circumstances should never make the man. Man should seize circumstances as his instruments with which to work. He should master circumstances, but should never allow circumstances to master him. Individual independence and individual power are the qualities now needed. Individual character need not be sacrificed, but it should be modulated, refined, elevated.—Testimonies for the Church 3:496, 497 (1875).
How Far to Go in Independence—God would have His people disciplined and brought into harmony of action that they may see eye to eye and be of the same mind and of the same judgment. In order to bring about this state of things, there is much to be done.... The Lord would not have us yield up our individuality. But what man is a proper judge of how far this matter of individual independence should be carried? ...
Peter exhorts his brethren: “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” The apostle Paul also exhorts his Philippian brethren to unity and humility: “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”—Testimonies for the Church 3:360 (1875).
God's Power Our Dependence—Brethren, I entreat you to move with an eye single to the glory of God. Let His power be your dependence, His grace your strength. By study of the Scriptures and earnest prayer seek to obtain clear conceptions of your duty, and then faithfully perform it. It is essential that you cultivate faithfulness in little things, and in so doing you will acquire habits of integrity in greater responsibilities. The little incidents of everyday life often pass without our notice, but it is these things that shape the character. Every event of life is great for good or for evil. The mind needs to be trained by daily tests that it may acquire power to stand in any difficult position. In the days of trial and of peril you will need to be fortified to stand firmly for the right, independent of every opposing influence.—Testimonies for the Church 4:561 (1881).

Chapter 43—Mind and Spiritual Health
The Fruitage of Spiritual Life—Spiritual life yields to its possessor that which all the world is seeking but which can never be obtained without an entire surrender to God.—Letter 121, 1904.
Body, Mind, and Soul Benefit From Communion With God—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.—Education, 14 (1903).
Love for God Essential for Health—God is the great caretaker of the human machinery. In the care of our bodies we must cooperate with Him. Love for God is essential for life and health.—Special Testimonies, Series B 15:18, April 3, 1900. (Counsels on Health, 587.)
Health of Body Important to Health of Soul—God would be recognized as the Author of our being. That life He has given us is not to be trifled with. Recklessness in the bodily habits reveals a recklessness of moral character. The health of the body is to be regarded as essential for the advancement of growth in grace, an even temper.—Manuscript 113, 1898.

Section 10—Mental Health
Chapter 44—Laws Governing the Mind
Man Created With Perfectly Balanced Mind—The Lord made man upright in the beginning. He was created with a perfectly balanced mind, the size and strength of all its organs being perfectly developed. Adam was a perfect type of man. Every quality of mind was well proportioned, each having a distinctive office, and yet all dependent one upon another for the full and proper use of any one of them.—Testimonies for the Church 3:72 (1872).
Creator Ordained Laws of the Mind—He who created the mind and ordained its laws provided for its development in accordance with them.—Education, 41 (1903).
God's Great Laws—There are great laws that govern the world of nature, and spiritual things are controlled by principles equally certain. The means for an end must be employed if the desired results are to be attained. God has appointed to every man his work according to his ability. It is by education and practice that persons are to be qualified to meet any emergency which may arise, and wise planning is needed to place each one in his proper sphere that he may obtain an experience that will fit him to bear responsibility.—Testimonies for the Church 9:221, 222 (1909).
Transgression of Nature's Laws Is Sin—A continual transgression of nature's laws is a continual transgression of the law of God. The present weight of suffering and anguish which we see everywhere, the present deformity, decrepitude, disease, and imbecility now flooding the world, make it, in comparison to what it might be and what God designed it should be, a lazar house; and the present generation are feeble in mental, moral, and physical power. All this misery has accumulated from generation to generation because fallen man will break the law of God. Sins of the greatest magnitude are committed through the indulgence of perverted appetite.—Testimonies for the Church 4:30 (1876).

Chapter 45—Individuality
Individuality a Power—Every human being, created in the image of God, is endowed with a power akin to that of the Creator—individuality, power to think and to do. The men in whom this power is developed are the men who bear responsibilities, who are leaders in enterprises, and who influence character.—Education, 17 (1903).
Each Has a Distinct Individuality—The gospel deals with individuals. Every human being has a soul to save or to lose. Each has an individuality separate and distinct from all others. Each must be convicted for himself, converted for himself. He must receive the truth, repent, believe, and obey for himself. He must exercise his will for himself. No one can do this work by proxy. No one can submerge his individuality in another's. Each must surrender to God by his own act and the mystery of godliness.—Manuscript 28, 1898.
Unity in Diversity—It is the Lord's plan that there shall be unity in diversity. There is no man who can be a criterion for all other men. Our varied trusts are proportioned to our varied capabilities. I have been distinctly instructed that God endows men with different degrees of capability and then places them where they can do the work for which they are fitted. Each worker is to give his fellow workers the respect that he wishes to have shown to himself.—Letter 111, 1903.

Nearly all neglect self-examination—I have been shown that many are in the greatest danger of failing to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. Ministers are in danger of losing their own souls. Some who have preached to others will themselves be cast away because they have not perfected a Christian character. In their labor they do not save souls, and fail even to save their own. They do not see the importance of self-knowledge and self-control. They do not watch and pray, lest they enter into temptation. If they would watch, they would become acquainted with their weak points, where they are most likely to be assailed by temptation. With watchfulness and prayer their weakest points can be so guarded as to become their strongest points, and they can encounter temptation without being overcome. Every follower of Christ should daily examine himself, that he may become perfectly acquainted with his own conduct. There is with nearly all a neglect of self-examination. This neglect is positively dangerous in one who professes to be a mouthpiece for God, occupying the fearful, responsible position of receiving the words from God to give to His people. The daily conduct of such a person has great influence upon others. If he has any success in labor, he brings his converts to his own low standard, and it is seldom that they rise higher. Their minister's ways, his words, his gestures and manners, his faith, and his piety, are considered a sample of those of all Sabbathkeeping Adventists; and if they pattern after him who has taught them the truth, they think they are doing all their duty.—Testimonies for the Church 2:511.
Ministers should make the actions of each day a subject of deliberate review—There is much in the conduct of a minister that he can improve. Many see and feel their lack, yet they seem to be ignorant of the influence they exert. They are conscious of their actions as they perform them, but suffer them to pass from their memory, and therefore do not reform. If ministers would make the actions of each day a subject of careful thought and deliberate review, with the object to become acquainted with their own habits of life, they would better know themselves. By a close scrutiny of their daily life under all circumstances they would know their own motives, the principles which actuate them. This daily review of our acts, to see whether conscience approves or condemns, is necessary for all who wish to arrive at the 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. Many receive applause for virtues which they do not possess. The Searcher of hearts inspects motives, and often the deeds which are highly applauded by men are recorded by Him as springing from selfish motives 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.—Testimonies for the Church 2:511, 512.
One hour's meditation is more valuable than days spent studying the most able authors—Bro. Hull, God wants you to come nearer to Him, where you can take hold of His strength, and by living faith claim His salvation, and be a strong man. If you were a devotional, godly man in the pulpit and out, a mighty influence would attend your preaching. You do not closely search your own heart. You have studied many works to make your discourses thorough, able, and pleasing. But the greatest and most necessary study you have neglected—the study of yourself. A thorough knowledge of yourself, meditation and prayer, have been neglected by you too much. They have come in as secondary things. Your success as a minister depends upon your keeping your own heart. You will receive more strength by spending one hour each day in meditation, and mourning over your failings and heart-corruptions, and pleading for God's pardoning love, and the assurance of sins forgiven, than you would by spending many hours and days in studying the most able authors, and making yourself acquainted with every objection to our faith, and the most powerful evidences in favor of our faith.—The Review and Herald, January 19, 1864.
A large portion of the time being spent in study should rather be spent in prayer and meditation—I was shown that the time that is consumed in so much reading and study is often worse than thrown away. A large portion of the time spent over books and in studying should be spent before God imploring Him for heavenly wisdom and for strength and power to let the truth, which they do fully understand, shine out before the people in its clearness and harmonious beauty. There is too little time spent in secret prayer and in sacred meditation. The cry of God's servants should be for the holy unction and to be clothed with salvation, that what they preach may reach hearts. Time is so short and ministers of these last days are so few that they should throw all their energies into the work, and should be in close connection with God and holy angels, that a tremendous power may be in their preaching—a compelling power, to draw every soul who is honest and loves the truth right along to embrace it.—The Voice in Speech and Song, 219.
Meditate especially on the mediatorial work of Christ—Ministers of the gospel would be powerful men if they set the Lord always before them and devoted their time to the study of His adorable character. If they did this, there would be no apostasies, there would be none separated from the conference because they have, by their licentious practices, disgraced the cause of God and put Jesus to an open shame. The powers of every minister of the gospel should be employed to educate the believing churches to receive Christ by faith as their personal Saviour, to take Him into their very lives and make Him their Pattern, to learn of Jesus, believe in Jesus, and exalt Jesus. The minister should himself dwell on the character of Christ. He should ponder the truth, and meditate upon the mysteries of redemption, especially the mediatorial work of Christ for this time.—Selected Messages 3:187.

Chapter 3—Characteristics of a Minister
The influence of a minister's true Christian character is like cheering rays of sunlight—God calls upon ministers who accept His truth, and bear, in His name, the most solemn message ever given to the world, to lift the standard of Bible truth, and exemplify its precepts in their daily lives. Such a course would charm into believing many who have intrenched themselves behind the breast-works of infidelity. The influence of a true Christian character is like the cheering rays of sunlight that pierce to the remotest corners of the dark places into which they are allowed to enter. The light emanating from the example of the true Christian minister should not be fitful and uncertain like the flash of a meteor, but it should have the calm and steady radiance of the heavenly stars.—The Review and Herald, August 8, 1878.
Judas exemplifies ministers who may love Jesus, but cling to their objectionable traits of character—In Christ he beheld a character that was pure, harmless, and undefiled, and his heart was drawn out in love for his Master. But the light that was shed upon him from the character of Christ, brought with it the responsibility of yielding up every natural or acquired trait that was not in harmony with the character of Christ. In this Judas did not stand the test. The love of the world was deeply rooted in his heart, and he did not give up his love for the world, nor surrender his ambition to Christ. He never came to the point of surrendering himself fully to Jesus. He felt that he could retain his own individual judgment and opinion. While he accepted the position of the minister of Christ, yet he never brought himself under the divine molding of Christ. He clung to his objectionable traits of character, and indulged in his own sinful habits, and, instead of becoming pure and Christlike, he became selfish and covetous.—The Signs of the Times, December 18, 1893.

The minister's work demands sacrifice, but less than many who have gone before—The preachers are not all given up to the work of God, as He requires them to be. Some have felt that the lot of a preacher was hard because they had to be separated from their families. They forget that once it was harder laboring than it is now. Once there were but few friends of the cause. They forget those upon whom God laid the burden of the work in the past. There were but a few then who received the truth as the result of much labor. God's chosen servants wept and prayed for a clear understanding of truth, and suffered privation and much self-denial in order to carry it to others. Step by step they followed as God's opening providence led the way. They did not study their own convenience or shrink at hardships. Through these men God prepared the way and made the truth plain to the understanding of every honest mind. Everything has been made ready to the hands of ministers who have since embraced the truth, yet some of them have failed to take upon them the burden of the work. They seek for an easier lot, a less self-denying position. This earth is not the resting place of Christians, much less for the chosen ministers of God. They forget that Christ left His riches and glory in heaven, and came to earth to die, and that He has commanded us to love one another even as He has loved us. They forget those of whom the world was not worthy, who wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, and were afflicted and tormented.—Testimonies for the Church 1:370, 371.
Let ministers who feel they are suffering hardships, visit the workshop of the apostle Paul—Although feeble in health, he labored during the day in serving the cause of Christ, and then toiled a large share of the night, and frequently all night, that he might make provision for his own and others’ necessities.—Testimonies for the Church 4:410.
Trials prepare preachers for success as shepherds—Moses was directed of God to obtain an experience in care-taking, in thoughtfulness, in tender solicitude for his flock, that he might, as a faithful shepherd, be ready when God should call him to take charge of His people. A similar experience is essential for those who engage in the great work of preaching the truth. In order to lead souls to the life-giving fountain, the preacher must first drink at the fountain himself. He must see the infinite sacrifice made by the Son of God to save fallen men, and his own soul must be imbued with the spirit of undying love. If God appoints us hard labor to perform, we must do it without a murmur. If the path is difficult and dangerous, it is God's plan to have us follow in meekness and cry unto Him for strength. A lesson is to be learned from the experience of some of our ministers who have known nothing comparatively of difficulties and trials, yet ever look upon themselves as martyrs. They have yet to learn to accept with thankfulness the way of God's choosing, remembering the Author of our salvation. The work of the minister should be pursued with an earnestness, energy, and zeal as much greater than that put forth in business transactions as the labor is more sacred and the result more momentous.—Testimonies for the Church 4:442.

While I have been studying the mind of Christ in the light of his righteousness, in the light of his love, I see that all my past life has been a failure, that what I have done was done from a wrong principle, a wrong motive. I want to tell you that everything the faithful and true witness has said is true in my case, and I did not know it. I was saying “I am good, and I know a good deal,” but it was all false. What loveliness I now see in the sin-pardoning Redeemer. I said Christ is my Redeemer, and when I took that name my sins were gone; praise God, my sins are gone. Why does he show us our sins? It is because he is love, and his service toward us is a service of love. The Saviour whom I adore is love; the law in which I delight is love; the power that is applied to save all who have transgressed, is the power of love. The light that lightens our pathway is the light of love. O! that we could see the love of God as it is.
The only way for us to see it, is for us to receive the counsel of the faithful and true witness. And when we get the power of that love, we have all the power there is in the universe. We must not talk about laying plans for the message as we have done in the past; it is blasphemy to do it.
We have a new power descending upon us. The Spirit of God is “awaiting our demand and reception.” There must be broader plans. I want to tell you the reason why there is so much in the name of God. I will read from “Supplement to Experience and Views,” p.1:-
“I saw that God had children who do not see and keep the Sabbath. They have not rejected the light upon it. At the commencement of the time of trouble we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully.”
There is something in the Sabbath we have never had that God will reveal to us in the time of trouble. The fulfillment of the view is beginning to be seen. We have reached this time. It is time that from every sincere heart this petition should be ascending to heaven, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work.” We have done the work too much in our own strength.
We must have wisdom and strength from the throne of the Eternal One. The power that awaits our demand and reception is for us; it is the power of the Father’s word. If Jesus had doubted the ability that God gave him to create, could he have created anything? No. He believed that God was able to do it, and he said he could do it. The same God has sent us on a mission now. We have at our command all the power of the universe. How do I know it? God is love. The Sabbath reveals the name of God, the name of love. Why did God create the universe? For his pleasure. But love seeketh not her own. Why were all the worlds created? It was the outreachings of divine love. Why were the flowers, the trees, the fruits, and everything to make man a beautiful and happy home, created? It was the same outreachings of divine love. And the Sabbath memorial brings this all to view. In the light of God’s love in creating all things cannot we more fully preach the Sabbath? Let us do it in that way. It is love that brings to Christ those who are in sin, and it makes them new creatures in Christ Jesus. God is love.
Christ is love and his new name is love. This is the power by which God works. But what power did Satan have when he went forth to war against God? The power of creature force. Now we can see the contrast between God and Satan. One is love-power, and the other is self-power. One is love to others, and the other is love of self.  . GCDB February 7,  1893, page 176.8-GCDB February 7,  1893, page 177.5

There will be an effort made on the part of many pretended friends of education to divorce religion from the sciences, in our schools. They would spare no pains or expense to impart secular knowledge; but they would not mingle with it a knowledge of what God has revealed as constituting perfection of character. And yet a training in the truth of God would develop the mind, and impart secular knowledge as well; for the very foundation of true education is in the fear of the Lord. Says the psalmist, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The living oracles of God reveal the deceptions of the father of lies. Who of our youth can know anything of what is truth, in comparison with error, unless they are acquainted with the Scriptures? The simplicity of true godliness must be brought into the education of our young people, if they are to have divine knowledge to escape the corruptions that are in the world through lust. Those who are truly the followers of Christ, will not serve God only when it is in accordance with their inclination, but, as well, when it involves self-denial and cross-bearing. The earnest counsel given by the apostle Paul to Timothy, that he might not fail in doing his duty, should be set before the youth of today: “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” Besetting sins must be battled with and overcome. Objectionable traits of character, whether hereditary or cultivated, should be taken up separately, and compared with the great rule of righteousness; and in the light reflected from the word of God, they should be firmly resisted and overcome, through the strength of Christ. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” FE 135.3 
Day by day, and hour by hour, there must be a vigorous process of self-denial and of sanctification going on within; and then the outward works will testify that Jesus is abiding in the heart by faith. Sanctification does not close the avenues of the soul to knowledge, but it comes to expand the mind, and to inspire it to search for truth, as for hidden treasure; and the knowledge of God's will advances the work of sanctification. There is a heaven, and O, how earnestly we should strive to reach it. I appeal to you students of our schools and colleges, to believe in Jesus as your Saviour. Believe that He is ready to help you by His grace, when you come to Him in sincerity. You must fight the good fight of faith. You must be wrestlers for the crown of life. Strive, for the grasp of Satan is upon you; and if you do not wrench yourselves from him, you will be palsied and ruined. The foe is on the right hand, and on the left, before you, and behind you; and you must trample him under your feet. Strive, for there is a crown to be won. Strive, for if you win not the crown, you lose everything in this life and in the future life. Strive, but let it be in the strength of your risen Saviour. FE 136.1 
Will the students of our schools study, and endeavor to copy the life and character of Him who came down from heaven to show them what they must be, if they would enter the kingdom of God? I have borne you a message of the near coming of the Son of God in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. I have not presented before you any definite time, but have repeated to you the injunction of Christ himself, to watch unto prayer, “For in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.” The warning has come echoing down the ages to our time, “Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 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.”

Many a youth has been flattered that he has ability as a natural gift; when the ability he thinks he has, can be attained only through diligent training and culture, learning the meekness and lowliness of Christ. Believing he is naturally gifted, he thinks there is no necessity of putting his mind to the task of mastering his lessons; and before he is aware, he is fast in the snare of Satan. God permits him to be attacked by the enemy, in order that he may understand his own weakness. He is permitted to make some decided blunder, and is plunged into painful humiliation. But when he is writhing under a sense of his own weakness, he is not to be judged harshly. This is the time above all others when he needs a judicious counselor, a true friend, who has discernment of character. This is the time when he needs a friend who is led by the Spirit of God, and who will deal patiently and faithfully with the erring, and lift up the soul that is bowed down. He is not to be lifted up by the aid of flattery. No one is authorized to deal out to the soul this delusive intoxicant of Satan. Rather he is to be pointed to the first rounds of the ladder, and his stumbling feet are to be placed on the lowest round of the ladder of progress. Peter says, “Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” FE 304.3

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Chapter 40—Study the Bible for Yourselves 
Allow no one to be brains for you, allow no one to do your thinking, your investigating, and your praying. This is the instruction we need to take to heart today. Many of you are convinced that the precious treasure of the kingdom of God and of Jesus Christ is in the Bible which you hold in your hand. You know that no earthly treasure is attainable without painstaking effort. Why should you expect to understand the treasures of the word of God without diligently searching the Scriptures? FE 307.1 
It is proper and right to read the Bible; but your duty does not end there; for you are to search its pages for yourselves. The knowledge of God is not to be gained without mental effort, without prayer for wisdom in order that you may separate from the pure grain of truth the chaff with which men and Satan have misrepresented the doctrines of truth. Satan and his confederacy of human agents have endeavored to mix the chaff of error with the wheat of truth. We should diligently seek for the hidden treasure, and seek wisdom from heaven in order to separate human inventions from the divine commands. The Holy Spirit will aid the seeker for great and precious truths which relate to the plan of redemption. I would impress upon all the fact that a casual reading of the Scriptures is not enough. We must search, and this means the doing of all the word implies. As the miner eagerly explores the earth to discover its veins of gold, so you are to explore the word of God for the hidden treasure that Satan has so long sought to hide from man. The Lord says, “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.” John 7:17 (R. V.)

When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end. DA 324.1

1 Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 1, p. 230.1 (Ellen Gould White)
... published and unpublished sources.—Compilers.]—Youth and children of both sexes engage in moral pollution [masturbation] and practice this disgusting, soul-and-body-destroying vice.

2 Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 1, p. 258.1 (Ellen Gould White)
Self-respect Destroyed by Masturbation [See Child Guidance, 439-468.]—The effect of such debasing habits is not the same upon ...

3 Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 1, p. 290.1 (Ellen Gould White)
Masturbation Debases the Mind [See Child Guidance, 439-468.]—Some children begin to practice self-pollution in their ...

4 Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, p. 592.1 (Ellen Gould White)
Masturbation and the Imagination—When persons are addicted to the habit of self-abuse, it is impossible ...

5 Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, p. 121 (Ellen Gould White)
Chapter 17—Masturbation

6 Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, p. 268 (Ellen Gould White)
Appendix A Masturbation And Insanity

7 Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, p. 268.1 (Ellen Gould White)
... that the authors of the study (Malamud, W., and Palmer, G., “The Role Played by Masturbation in the Causation of Mental Disturbances, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 76:220, 1932 ...

8 Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, p. 268.2 (Ellen Gould White)
... be supported by the efficacy of psychotherapy directed towards readjusting the patient's ideas about masturbation. Yet the fact that fifteen of the twenty-two patients suffered from depression must raise doubts ...

9 Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, p. 269.1 (Ellen Gould White)
Thus Hare questions the conclusions of Malamud and Palmer, but says, significantly, that their study is “one of the very few attempts (indeed, as far as my reading goes, the only real attempt) at a scientific study of the masturbatory hypothesis [the hypothesis that masturbation can cause insanity].”

10 Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, p. 269.2 (Ellen Gould White)
After acknowledging that “there is no way of disproving the masturbatory hypothesis,” Hare offers his final conclusion: “All we can say, from the evidence, is that the association between masturbation and mental disorder is weak and inconstant and that therefore, if masturbation is a causal factor, it is probably not a very important one” (The Ministry of Healing, 19).

11 Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, p. 269.3 (Ellen Gould White)
So, although this authority minimizes the possibility that masturbation and insanity might be linked, he does not dismiss it altogether. Even more significantly, he has discovered that there has been only one real attempt to test the hypothesis scientifically.

12 Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, p. 269.4 (Ellen Gould White)
Writing of masturbation in their Adolescent Development and Adjustment (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1965), Lester C. and Alice Crow conclude: “The effects of this form of sex perversion are not yet fully known.”

13 Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, p. 269.6 (Ellen Gould White)
... zinc for the brain, that 19th century moralists were correct when they said that repeated masturbation could make one mad!”—Zinc (Vitabooks: St. Albans, Vermont, 1981), p. 8 ...

14 Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, p. 270.2 (Ellen Gould White)
“We hate to say it, but in a zinc-deficient adolescent, sexual excitement and excessive masturbation might precipitate insanity.”—Zinc and Other Micro-nutrients (Keats: New Canaan, Conn., 1978), p. 45.

15 Ellen G. White: The Progressive Years: 1862-1876 (vol. 2), p. 90.1 (Arthur Lacey White)
Before going into the subject of health in its many ramifications, Ellen White broke away from her writing on Old Testament history for Spiritual Gifts, to present a subject on which she had been given special light—masturbation. What she wrote was published in April, 1864, and filled the first thirty-four pages of a sixty-four-page pamphlet titled An Appeal to Mothers. The Great Cause of the Physical, Mental, and Moral Ruin of Many of the Children of Our Time. Her earnest message opens:

16 Messenger of the Lord, p. 493 (Herbert E. Douglass)
Masturbation

17 Messenger of the Lord, p. 493.4 (Herbert E. Douglass)
Few topics have generated more ridicule from critics than Ellen White’s statements regarding “self-abuse,” “solitary vice,” “self-indulgence,” “secret vice,” “moral pollution,” etc. Ellen White never used the term “masturbation.”

18 Messenger of the Lord, p. 493.5 (Herbert E. Douglass)
Her first reference to this subject appeared in a 64-page pamphlet, An Appeal to Mothers, April 1864, nine months after her first comprehensive health vision. Primarily devoted to masturbation, pages 5 to 34 were from her own pen; the remainder consisted of quotations from medical authorities.

19 Messenger of the Lord, p. 493.6 (Herbert E. Douglass)
Ellen White did not say that all, or even most, of the potentially serious consequences of masturbation would happen to any one individual. Nor did she say that the worst possible degree of a serious consequence would happen to most indulgers.

20 Messenger of the Lord, p. 493.7 (Herbert E. Douglass)
Modern research indicates that Ellen White’s strong statements can be supported when she is properly understood. The general view today, however, is that masturbation is normal and healthy and thus should be free from guilt

Masturbation [Note: The author treats this subject at length in Testimonies for the Church 2:346-353, 480-482, and the out-of-print pamphlet an Appeal to Mothers (1864). See Child Guidance, Section XVII, “Preserving Moral Integrity,” Patriarchs and Prophets, 439-468, for a comprehensive coverage of the subject drawn from all published and unpublished sources.—Compilers.]—Youth and children of both sexes engage in moral pollution [masturbation] 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.

Self-respect Destroyed by Masturbation [See Child Guidance, 439-468.]—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.—Testimonies for the Church 2:392 (1870

Masturbation Debases the Mind [See Child Guidance, 439-468.]—Some children begin to practice self-pollution in their infancy; and as they increase in years, the lustful passions grow with their growth and strengthen with their strength. Their minds are not at rest. Girls desire the society of boys, and boys that of the girls. Their deportment is not reserved and modest. They are bold and forward, and take indecent liberties. The habit of self-abuse has debased their minds and tainted their souls. Vile thoughts, and the reading of novels, love stories, and vile books excite their imagination, and just such suit their depraved minds.

Masturbation and the Imagination—When persons are addicted to the habit of self-abuse, it is impossible to arouse their moral sensibilities to appreciate eternal things or to delight in spiritual exercises. Impure thoughts seize and control the imagination and fascinate the mind, and next follows an almost uncontrollable desire for the performance of impure actions. If the mind were educated to contemplate elevating subjects, the imagination trained to reflect upon pure and holy things, it would be fortified against this terrible, debasing, soul-and-body-destroying indulgence. It would, by training, become accustomed to linger upon the high, the heavenly, the pure, and the sacred, and could not be attracted to this base, corrupt, and vile indulgence.—Testimonies for the Church 2:470 (1870).

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 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.—Child Guidance, 445, 446.

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.

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.—Child Guidance, 444.

The Results of Self-Abuse—Females possess less vital force than the other sex, and are deprived very much of the bracing, invigorating air by their indoor life. The results of self-abuse in them is seen in various diseases such as catarrh, dropsy, headache, loss of memory and sight, great weakness in the back and loins, affections of the spine, the head often decays inwardly. Cancerous humor, which would lie dormant in the system their lifetime, is inflamed and commences its eating, destructive work. The mind is often utterly ruined, and insanity takes place. [See Appendix A.]—Appeal to Mothers, 27.

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....

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 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....

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.”...

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.—Child Guidance, 450, 451.

Thus Hare questions the conclusions of Malamud and Palmer, but says, significantly, that their study is “one of the very few attempts (indeed, as far as my reading goes, the only real attempt) at a scientific study of the masturbatory hypothesis [the hypothesis that masturbation can cause insanity].”

After acknowledging that “there is no way of disproving the masturbatory hypothesis,” Hare offers his final conclusion: “All we can say, from the evidence, is that the association between masturbation and mental disorder is weak and inconstant and that therefore, if masturbation is a causal factor, it is probably not a very important one” (The Ministry of Healing, 19).

In his scholarly study on “Masturbatory Insanity; The History of an Idea,” (Journal of Mental Science 108:1, January, 1962), E. H. Hare refers to a study of 500 patients admitted consecutively to the Iowa state psychopathic hospital. He states that the authors of the study (Malamud, W., and Palmer, G., “The Role Played by Masturbation in the Causation of Mental Disturbances, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 76:220, 1932) found that in twenty-two cases masturbation was “apparently the most important cause of disorder.”

He then continues: “The authors concluded that it was the mental conflict engendered by masturbation rather than the habit itself which led to the illness, and they believed this conclusion to be supported by the efficacy of psychotherapy directed towards readjusting the patient's ideas about masturbation. Yet the fact that fifteen of the twenty-two patients suffered from depression must raise doubts about the validity even of this temperate conclusion, for the depressed patient is not only prone to blame himself for neglect of what he believes to be the rules of health, but also tends to recover from his illness whether treated by psychotherapy or not.”—P. 22.

So, although this authority minimizes the possibility that masturbation and insanity might be linked, he does not dismiss it altogether. Even more significantly, he has discovered that there has been only one real attempt to test the hypothesis scientifically.

Writing of masturbation in their Adolescent Development and Adjustment (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1965), Lester C. and Alice Crow conclude: “The effects of this form of sex perversion are not yet fully known.”

Dr. David Horrobin, an M.D. and Ph.D. from Oxford University, states:

“The amount of zinc in semen is such that one ejaculation may get rid of all the zinc that can be absorbed from the intestines in one day. This has a number of consequences. Unless the amount lost is replaced by an increased dietary intake, repeated ejaculation may lead to a real zinc deficiency with various problems developing, including impotence. “It is even possible, given the importance of zinc for the brain, that 19th century moralists were correct when they said that repeated masturbation could make one mad!”—Zinc (Vitabooks: St. Albans, Vermont, 1981), p. 8.

“We hate to say it, but in a zinc-deficient adolescent, sexual excitement and excessive masturbation might precipitate insanity.”—Zinc and Other Micro-nutrients (Keats: New Canaan, Conn., 1978), p. 45.

God's ideal for His children is higher than the highest human thought can reach. The living God has given in His holy law a transcript of His character. The greatest Teacher the world has ever known is Jesus Christ; and what is the standard He has given for all who believe in Him? “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48. As God is perfect in His high sphere of action, so man may be perfect in his human sphere. CT 365.2

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. Ed 57.3 
But such a character is not the result of accident; it is not due to special favors or endowments of Providence. A noble character is the result of self-discipline, of the subjection of the lower to the higher nature—the surrender of self for the service of love to God and man. Ed 57.4

How Satan Gains Entrance to the Soul—All should guard the senses, lest Satan gain victory over them; for these are the avenues of the soul. [2] – {AH 401.2}
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. [3] – {AH 401.3}
 
 
The apostle sought to teach the believers how important it is to keep the mind from wandering to forbidden themes or from spending its energies on trifling subjects. Those who would not fall a prey to Satan’s devices, must guard well the avenues of the soul; they must avoid reading, seeing, or hearing that which will suggest impure thoughts. The mind must not be left to dwell at random upon every subject that the enemy of souls may suggest. The heart must be faithfully sentineled, or evils without will awaken evils within, and the soul will wander in darkness. “Gird up the loins of your mind,” Peter wrote, “be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ... not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” – {AA 518.2}
 
 
The corruptions of this degenerate age have stained many souls who have been professedly serving God. But even now it is not too late for wrongs to be righted and for the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour to atone in your behalf if you repent and feel your need of pardon. We need now to watch and pray as never before, lest we fall under the power of temptation and leave the example of a life that is a miserable wreck. We must not, as a people, become careless and look upon sin with indifference. The camp needs purging. All who name the name of Christ need to watch and pray and guard the avenues of the soul; for Satan is at work to corrupt and destroy if the least advantage is given him. – {3T 476.1}
My brethren, God calls upon you as His followers to walk in the light. You need to be alarmed. Sin is among us, and it is not seen to be exceedingly sinful. The senses of many are benumbed by the indulgence of appetite and by familiarity with sin. We need to advance nearer heaven. We may grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. Walking in the light, running in the way of God’s commandments, does not give the idea that we can stand still and do nothing. We must be advancing. – {3T 476.2}

The Character Reshaped—Our work for the tempted and fallen will achieve real success only as the grace of Christ reshapes the character and the man is brought into living connection with the infinite God. This is the purpose of all true temperance effort.—Testimonies for the Church 6:111.

Christ Works From Within—Men will never be truly temperate until the grace of Christ is an abiding principle in the heart.... Circumstances cannot work reform. Christianity proposes a reformation in the heart. What Christ works within, will be worked out under the dictation of a converted intellect. The plan of beginning outside and trying to work inward has always failed, and always will fail.—Counsels on Diet and Foods, 35.

Power of Self-Control Must Be Regained—One of the most deplorable effects of the original apostasy was the loss of man's power of self-control. Only as this power is regained, can there be real progress.

The body is the only medium through which the mind and the soul are developed for the upbuilding of character. Hence it is that the adversary of souls directs his temptations to the enfeebling and degrading of the physical powers. His success here means the surrender to evil of the whole being. The tendencies of our physical nature, unless under the dominion of a higher power, will surely work ruin and death.

He was the Prince of heaven, yet He did not choose His disciples from among the learned lawyers, the rulers, the scribes, or the Pharisees. He passed these by, because they prided themselves on their learning and position. They were fixed in their traditions and superstitions. He who could read all hearts chose humble fishermen who were willing to be taught. He ate with publicans and sinners, and mingled with the common people, not to become low and earthly with them, but in order by precept and example to present to them right principles, and to uplift them from their earthliness and debasement.

Jesus sought to correct the world's false standard of judging the value of men. He took His position with the poor, that He might lift from poverty the stigma that the world had attached to it. He has stripped from it forever the reproach of scorn, by blessing the poor, the inheritors of God's kingdom. He points us to the path He trod, saying, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Verse 23

But while it is necessary to manifest love and sympathy for your pupils, it is a manifest weakness to show partiality, and thus arouse suspicion and jealousy. Children are quick to discern the preferences of the teacher, and the favored student often measures his strength, his aptness and skill with that of the teacher in the management of the class. He may decide to be master, and unless the teacher has the grace of Christ, he will manifest weakness, become impatient, exacting, and severe. The leading spirit of the class will generally impart his purpose to other students, and there will be a combined effort to obtain the mastery. If the teacher, through the grace of Christ, is self-controlled, and holds the lines with a steady, patient hand, he will quell the boisterous element, keep his self-respect, and command the respect of his students. When once order is restored, let kindness, gentleness, and affection be manifested. It may be that rebellion will rise again and again, but let not the hasty temper appear. Do not speak sharply to the evil doer, and discourage a soul who is struggling with the powers of darkness. Be still, and let your heart ascend in prayer to God for help. Angels will come close to your side, and help you to lift up the standard against the enemy, and instead of cutting off the erring one, you may be enabled to gain a soul for Christ.—Extract from an article in the Sabbath-school Worker for December, 1892.

In the vision given me June 12, 1868, I was shown the danger of the people of God in looking to Brother and Sister White and thinking that they must come to them with their burdens and seek counsel of them. This ought not so to be. They are invited by their compassionate, loving Saviour to come unto Him, when weary and heavy-laden, and He will relieve them. In Him they will find rest. In taking their perplexities and trials to Jesus, they will find the promise in regard to them fulfilled. When in their distress they feel the relief which is found alone in Jesus they obtain an experience which is of the highest value to them. Brother and Sister White are striving for purity of life, striving to bring forth fruit unto holiness; yet they are only erring mortals. Many come to us with the inquiry: Shall I do this? Shall I engage in that enterprise? Or, in regard to dress, Shall I wear this or that article? I answer them: You profess to be disciples of Christ. Study your Bibles. Read carefully and prayerfully the life of our dear Saviour when He dwelt among men upon the earth. Imitate His life, and you will not be found straying from the narrow path. We utterly refuse to be conscience for you. If we tell you just what to do, you will look to us to guide you, instead of going directly to Jesus for yourselves. Your experience will be founded in us. You must have an experience for yourselves, which shall be founded in God. Then can you stand amid the perils of the last days and be purified and not consumed by the fire of affliction through which all the saints must pass in order to have the impurities removed from their character preparatory to receiving the finishing touch of immortality.

Many of our dear brethren and sisters think that they cannot have a large gathering unless Brother and Sister White attend. In many places they realize that something must be done to move the people to more earnestness and decided action in the work and cause of truth. They have had ministers to labor among them, yet they realize that a greater work must be done, and look to Brother and Sister White to do it. This, I saw, was not as God would have it. In the first place, there is a deficiency with some of our ministers. They lack thoroughness. They do not take on the burden of the work and reach out to lift just where the people need help. They do not possess discernment to see and feel just where the people need to be corrected, reproved, built up, and strengthened. Some of them labor weeks and months in a place, and there is actually more to do when they leave than when they commenced. Systematic benevolence is dragging. It is one part of the minister's labor to keep up this branch of the work; but, because this is not agreeable, some neglect their duty. They talk the truth from the word of God, but do not impress the people with the necessity of obedience. Therefore many are hearers, but not doers. The people feel the deficiency. Things are not set in order among them, and they look to Brother and Sister White to make up the deficiency.

Some of our ministering brethren have glided along without settling deep into the work and getting hold of the hearts of the people. They have excused themselves with the thought that Brother and Sister White would bring up the things that were lacking; that they were specially adapted to the work. These men have labored, but not in the right way. They have not borne the burden. They have not helped where help was needed. They have not corrected deficiencies which needed to be corrected. They have not entered, whole heart, and soul, and energies, into the wants of the people. Time has passed, and they have nothing to show for it. The burden of their deficiencies falls back on us. And they encourage the people to look to us, presenting the idea that nothing will accomplish the work but our special testimony. God is not pleased with this. Ministers should take greater responsibilities and not entertain the thought that they cannot bear that message which will help the people where they need help. If they cannot do this, they should tarry in Jerusalem till they are endowed with power from on high. They should not engage in a work which they cannot perform. They should go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, and return from their effort rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them.

“Satan has crippled our efforts by so affecting the church as to call forth from us almost double labor to cut our way through the darkness and unbelief. These efforts to set things in order in the chWill you, young friends, arise and shake off this dreadful indifference and stupor which has conformed you to the world? Will you heed the voice of warning which tells you that destruction lies in the path of those who are at ease in this hour of danger? God's patience will not always wait for you, poor, trifling souls. He who holds our destinies in His hands will not always be trifled with. Jesus declares to us that there is a greater sin than that which caused the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is the sin of those who have the great light of truth in these days and who are not moved to repentance. It is the sin of rejecting the light of the most solemn message of mercy to the world. It is the sin of those who see Jesus in the wilderness of temptation, bowed down as with mortal agony because of the sins of the world, and yet are not moved to thorough repentance. He fasted nearly six weeks to overcome, in behalf of men, the indulgence of appetite and vanity, and the desire for display and worldly honor. He has shown them how they may overcome on their own account as He overcame; but it is not pleasant to their natures to endure conflict and reproach, derision and shame, for His dear sake. It is not agreeable to deny self and to be ever seeking to do good to others. It is not pleasant to overcome as Christ overcame, so they turn from the pattern which is plainly given them to copy and refuse to imitate the example that the Saviour came from the heavenly courts to leave them.urches have exhausted our strength, and lassitude and debility have followed. I saw that we have a work to do, but the adversary of souls will resist every effort that we attempt to make. The people may be in a state of backsliding, so that God cannot bless them, and this will be disheartening; but we should not be discouraged. We should do our duty in presenting the light, and leave the responsibility with the people.”

Will you, young friends, arise and shake off this dreadful indifference and stupor which has conformed you to the world? Will you heed the voice of warning which tells you that destruction lies in the path of those who are at ease in this hour of danger? God's patience will not always wait for you, poor, trifling souls. He who holds our destinies in His hands will not always be trifled with. Jesus declares to us that there is a greater sin than that which caused the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is the sin of those who have the great light of truth in these days and who are not moved to repentance. It is the sin of rejecting the light of the most solemn message of mercy to the world. It is the sin of those who see Jesus in the wilderness of temptation, bowed down as with mortal agony because of the sins of the world, and yet are not moved to thorough repentance. He fasted nearly six weeks to overcome, in behalf of men, the indulgence of appetite and vanity, and the desire for display and worldly honor. He has shown them how they may overcome on their own account as He overcame; but it is not pleasant to their natures to endure conflict and reproach, derision and shame, for His dear sake. It is not agreeable to deny self and to be ever seeking to do good to others. It is not pleasant to overcome as Christ overcame, so they turn from the pattern which is plainly given them to copy and refuse to imitate the example that the Saviour came from the heavenly courts to leave them.

Satan is working with unfailing perseverance and intense energy to draw into his ranks the professed followers of Christ. He is working “with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish.” But Satan is not the only worker by whom the kingdom of darkness is supported. Whoever solicits to sin is a tempter. Whoever imitates the great deceiver becomes his aid. Those who give their influence to sustain an evil work are doing Satan's drudgery.

Actions reveal principles and motives. The fruit borne by many who claim to be plants in the Lord's vineyard shows them to be but thorns and briers. A whole church may sanction the wrong course of some of its members, but that sanction does not prove the wrong to be right. It cannot make grapes of thorn berries.

If some who profess to believe present truth could understand their true position, they would despair of the mercy of God. They have been exerting all their influence against the truth, against the voice of warning, against the people of God. They have been doing the work of Satan. Many have become so infatuated by his deceptions that they will never recover. Such a state of backsliding cannot exist without causing the loss of many souls.

The church has received warning after warning. The duties and dangers of God's people have been plainly revealed. But the worldly element has proved too strong for them. Customs, practices, and fashions which lead the soul away from God have been for years gaining ground in defiance of the warnings and entreaties of the Holy Spirit, until at last their ways have become right in their own eyes, and the Spirit's voice is scarcely heard. No man can tell how far he may go in sin when once he yields himself to the power of the great deceiver. Satan entered into Judas Iscariot and induced him to betray his Lord. Satan led Ananias and Sapphira to lie to the Holy Ghost. Those who are not wholly consecrated to God may be led to do the work of Satan, while yet they flatter themselves that they are in the service of Christ.

Brethren and sisters, I entreat you to “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” To maintain the warmth and purity of Christian love requires a constant supply of the grace of Christ. Have you employed every means that your “love may abound yet more and more,” “that ye may approve things that are excellent,” and be filled with the fruits of righteousness “which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God”?

Many who should stand firm for righteousness and truth have manifested weakness and indecision that have encouraged the assaults of Satan. Those who fail to grow in grace, not seeking to reach the highest standard in divine attainments, will be overcome.

This world is to the Christian a land of strangers and enemies. Unless he shall take for his defense the divine panoply and wield the sword of the Spirit he will become the prey of the powers of darkness. The faith of all will be tested. All will be tried as gold is tried in the fire.

The church is composed of imperfect, erring men and women, who call for the continual exercise of charity and forbearance. But there has been a long period of general lukewarmness; a worldly spirit coming into the church has been followed by alienation, faultfinding, malice, strife, and iniquity.

Should there be less sermonizing by men who are unconsecrated in heart and life, and were more time devoted to humbling the soul before God, then might we hope that the Lord would appear to your help and heal your backslidings. Much of the preaching of late begets a false security. Important interests in the cause of God cannot be wisely managed by those who have had so little real connection with God as some of our ministers have had. To entrust the work to such men is like setting children to manage great vessels at sea. Those who are destitute of heavenly wisdom, destitute of living power with God, are not competent to steer the gospel ship amid icebergs and tempests. The church is passing through severe conflicts, but in her peril many would trust her to hands that will surely wreck her. We need a pilot on board now, for we are nearing the harbor. As a people we should be the light of the world. But how many are foolish virgins, having no oil in their vessels with their lamps. May the Lord of all grace, abundant in mercy, full of forgiveness, pity and save us, that we perish not with the wicked!

In this season of conflict and trial we need all the support and consolation we can derive from righteous principles, from fixed religious convictions, from the abiding assurance of the love of Christ, and from a rich experience in divine things. We shall attain to the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus only as the result of a steady growth in grace.

Oh, what can I say to open blind eyes, to enlighten the spiritual understanding! Sin must be crucified. A complete moral renovation must be wrought by the Holy Spirit. We must have the love of God, with living, abiding faith. This is the gold tried in the fire. We can obtain it only of Christ. Every sincere and earnest seeker will become a partaker of the divine nature. His soul will be filled with intense longing to know the fullness of that love which passes knowledge; as he advances in the divine life he will be better able to grasp the elevated, ennobling truths of the word of God, until by beholding he becomes changed and is enabled to reflect the likeness of his Redeemer.

We need to trust in Jesus daily, hourly. He has promised that as our day is, our strength shall be. By His grace we may bear all the burdens of the present and perform its duties. But many are weighed down by the anticipation of future troubles. They are constantly seeking to bring tomorrow's burdens into today. Thus a large share of all their trials are imaginary. For these, Jesus has made no provision. He promises grace only for the day. He bids us not to burden ourselves with the cares and troubles of tomorrow; for “sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

The habit of brooding over anticipated evils is unwise and unchristian. In thus doing we fail to enjoy the blessings and to improve the opportunities of the present. The Lord requires us to perform the duties of today and to endure its trials. We are today to watch that we offend not in word or deed. We must today praise and honor God. By the exercise of living faith today we are to conquer the enemy. We must today seek God and be determined that we will not rest satisfied without His presence. We should watch and work and pray as though this were the last day that would be granted us. How intensely earnest, then, would be our life. How closely would we follow Jesus in all our words and deeds.

There are few who rightly appreciate or improve the precious privilege of prayer. We should go to Jesus and tell Him all our needs. We may bring Him our little cares and perplexities as well as our greater troubles. Whatever arises to disturb or distress us, we should take it to the Lord in prayer. When we feel that we need the presence of Christ at every step, Satan will have little opportunity to intrude his temptations. It is his studied effort to keep us away from our best and most sympathizing friend. We should make no one our confidant but Jesus. We can safely commune with Him of all that is in our hearts.

In the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God's honor and a love for souls will not hold their peace to obtain favor of any. Their righteous souls are vexed day by day with the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous. They are powerless to stop the rushing torrent of iniquity, and hence they are filled with grief and alarm. They mourn before God to see religion despised in the very homes of those who have had great light. They lament and afflict their souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of almost every kind are in the church. The Spirit of God, which prompts to reproof, is trampled underfoot, while the servants of Satan triumph. God is dishonored, the truth made of none effect.

Many who have an intelligent knowledge of the truth, and are able to defend it by arguments, are doing nothing for the upbuilding of Christ's kingdom. We meet them from time to time, but they bear no fresh testimonies of personal experience in the Christian life; they relate no new victories gained in the holy warfare. Instead of this you notice the same old routine, the same expressions in prayer and exhortation. Their prayers have no new note; they express no greater intelligence in the things of God, no more earnest, living faith. Such persons are not living plants in the garden of the Lord, sending forth fresh shoots and new foliage, and the grateful fragrance of a holy life. They are not growing Christians. They have limited views and plans, and there is no expansion of mind, no valuable additions to the treasures of Christian knowledge. Their powers have not been taxed in this direction. They have not learned to view men and things as God views them, and in many cases unsanctified sympathy has injured souls and greatly crippled the cause of God. The spiritual stagnation that prevails is terrible. Many lead a formal Christian life and claim that their sins have been forgiven, when they are as destitute of any real knowledge of Christ as is the sinner. 
Brethren, will you have a stinted Christian growth, or will you make healthy progress in the divine life? Where there is spiritual health there is growth. The child of God grows up to the full stature of a man or woman in Christ. There is no limit to his improvement. When the love of God is a living principle in the soul, there are no narrow, confined views; there is love and faithfulness in warnings and reproofs; there is earnest work and a disposition to bear burdens and take responsibilities

The minister of God is commanded: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” The Lord says of these people: “They seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness.” Here is a people who are self-deceived, self-righteous, self-complacent, and the minister is commanded to cry aloud and show them their transgressions. In all ages this work has been done for God's people, and it is needed now more than ever before.

The word of the Lord came to Elijah; he did not seek to be the Lord's messenger, but the word came to him. God always has men to whom He entrusts 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 that God designed it should accomplish? No; it has signally failed because the hearts of the hearers were unsanctified.

After the church in ----- came to the knowledge of the truth, they would have been fruitful in good works, and would have had an influence that would make them a power on the side of right, had they manifested becoming earnestness, zeal, and love. But they have been indifferent, and have been growing cold and dead. Some have attended social meetings when they have carried with them the atmosphere of earth rather than that of heaven. The church has not been ready to respond to the efforts that have been made for them. In their present state they cannot see or realize the need of co-operation on their part; and their lack of earnestness and consecration has discouraged the ministers. Instead of this carelessness, there should have been a feeling of individual responsibility. This church will never prosper until the members commence the work of reform in their own hearts. Many who profess the faith are easily satisfied; if they come up to a few points of self-denial and reform they do not see the necessity of going further. Why is there such a resting on the lees? There is no halting place for us this side of heaven. None of us should be content with our present spiritual attainments. No one is living up to his opportunities unless he can show continual progress. He must be climbing, still climbing. It is the privilege of every Christian to grow up until he shall reach the full stature of a man in Christ Jesus.