Chapter 2—Unsanctified Ability
I have been shown that Brother B has serious defects in his charac-
ter, which disqualify him for being closely connected with the work of
God where important responsibilities are to be borne. He has sufficient
mental ability, but the heart, the affections, have not been sanctified to
God; therefore he cannot be relied upon as qualified for so important
a work as the publication of the truth in the office at Battle Creek. A
mistake or a neglect of duty in this work affects the cause of God at
large. Brother B has not seen his failings, therefore he does not reform.
It is by small things that our characters are formed to habits of
integrity. You, my brother, have been disposed to undervalue the
importance of the little incidents of everyday life. This is a great
mistake. Nothing with which we have to do is really small. Every
action is of some account, either on the side of right or on the side
of wrong. It is only by exercising principle in small transactions of
ordinary life that we are tested and our characters formed. In the varied
circumstances of life we are tested and proved, and thereby we acquire
a power to stand the greater and more important tests that we are called
to endure, and are qualified to fill still more important positions. The
mind must be trained through daily tests to habits of fidelity, to a
sense of the claims of right and duty above inclination and pleasure.
Minds thus trained do not waver between right and wrong, as the reed
trembles in the wind; but as soon as matters come before them, they
discern at once that principle is involved, and they instinctively choose
the right without long debating the matter. They are loyal because they
have trained themselves in habits of faithfulness and truth. By being
faithful in that which is least, they acquire strength, and it becomes
easy for them to be faithful in greater matters.
Brother B’s education has not been such as to strengthen those high
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moral qualities that would enable him to stand alone in the strength
of God in defense of truth, amid the severest opposition, firm as a
rock to principle, true to moral character, unmoved by human praise or
censure or rewards, preferring death rather than a violated conscience.
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