328
Selected Messages Book 2
Men will arise speaking perverse things, to counterwork the very
movements that the Lord is leading His servants to make. But it is
time that men and women reasoned from cause to effect. It is too late,
too late, to establish large business firms in the cities—too late to call
young men and women from the country to the city. Conditions are
arising in the cities that will make it very hard for those of our faith to
remain in them. It would therefore be a great mistake to invest money
in the establishment of business interests in the cities.—
Manuscript
76, 1905
.
Working the Cities From Outposts
As far as possible, our institutions should be located away from
the cities. We must have workers for these institutions, and if they
are located in the city, that means that families of our people must
settle near them. But it is not God’s will that His people shall settle
in the cities, where there is constant turmoil and confusion. Their
children should be spared this; for the whole system is demoralized
by the hurry and rush and noise. The Lord desires His people to move
into the country, where they can settle on the land, and raise their own
[358]
fruit and vegetables, and where their children can be brought in direct
contact with the works of God in nature. Take your families away
from the cities is my message.
The truth must be spoken, whether men will hear, or whether men
will forbear. The cities are filled with temptation. We should plan our
work in such a way as to keep our young people as far as possible from
this contamination.
The cities are to be worked from outposts. Said the messenger of
God, “Shall not the cities be warned? Yes; not by God’s people living
in them, but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming
upon the earth.”—
Letter 182, 1902
.
Churches, but Not Institutions in the Cities
Repeatedly the Lord has instructed us that we are to work the
cities from outpost centers. In these cities we are to have houses of
worship, as memorials for God; but institutions for the publication of
our literature, for the healing of the sick, and for the training of workers,