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made prominent. Many are arbitrary, dictatorial, overbearing, boastful,
proud, and unconsecrated. Yet some of these persons are ministers,
handling sacred truths. Unless they repent, their candlestick will be
removed out of its place. The Saviour’s curse pronounced upon the
fruitless fig tree is a sermon to all formalists and boasting hypocrites
who stand forth to the world in pretentious leaves, but are devoid of
fruit. What a rebuke to those who have a form of godliness, while in
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their unchristian lives they deny the power thereof! He who treated
with tenderness the very chief of sinners, He who never spurned true
meekness and penitence, however great the guilt, came down with
scathing denunciations upon those who made high professions of
godliness, but in works denied their faith.
Manner of Speaking
Some of our most talented ministers are doing themselves great in-
jury by their defective manner of speaking. While teaching the people
their duty to obey God’s moral law, they should not be found violating
the laws of God in regard to health and life. Ministers should stand
erect and speak slowly, firmly, and distinctly, taking a full inspiration
of air at every sentence and throwing out the words by exercising the
abdominal muscles. If they will observe this simple rule, giving atten-
tion to the laws of health in other respects, they may preserve their life
and usefulness much longer than men in any other profession.
The chest will become broader, and by educating the voice, the
speaker need seldom become hoarse, even by constant speaking. In-
stead of our ministers’ becoming consumptives by speaking, they may,
by care, overcome all tendency to consumption. I would say to my
ministering brethren: Unless you educate yourselves to speak accord-
ing to physical law, you will sacrifice life, and many will mourn the
loss of “those martyrs to the cause of truth,” when the facts in the case
are that by indulging in wrong habits you did injustice to your selves
and to the truth which you represented, and robbed God and the world
of the service you might have rendered. God would have been pleased
to have you live, but you slowly committed suicide.
The manner in which the truth is presented often has much to do in
determining whether it will be accepted or rejected. All who labor in
the great cause of reform should study to become efficient workmen,