Iowa City, Iowa, March 14, 1860
My Dear Willie,
We have not forgotten you, my dear boy. When we see other little
children around, we long to get our little Willie in our arms again, and
press his little soft cheek, and receive his kiss. In about five weeks we
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shall be at home again, and then, Willie, we will work in the garden,
and tend the flowers and plant the seeds. You must be a good, sweet,
little boy, and love to obey Jenny and Lucinda. Give up your will, and
when you wish to do anything very much, inquire, Is it not selfish? You
must learn to yield your will and your way. It will be a hard lesson for
my little boy to learn, but it will in the end be worth more to him than
gold. [
By the blessing of God and his mother’s instructions, Willie has
overcome the impatient spirit which he sometimes manifested when
quite young, and he now possesses a most affectionate, amiable, and
obedient disposition. A.P.P.
] Learn, my dear Willie, to be patient, to
wait others’ time and convenience; then you will not get impatient and
irritable. The Lord loves those little children who try to do right, and
he has promised that they shall be in his kingdom. But wicked children
God does not love. He will not take them to the beautiful City, for he
only admits the good, obedient, and patient children there. One fretful,
disobedient child, would spoil all the harmony of heaven. When you
feel tempted to speak impatient and fretful, remember the Lord sees
you, and will not love you if you do wrong. When you do right
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and overcome wrong feelings, the Lord smiles upon you.
Although he is in heaven, and you cannot see him, yet he loves
you when you do right, and writes it down in his book; and when you
do wrong, he puts a black mark against you. Now, dear Willie, try to
do right always, and then no black mark will be set down against you;
and when Jesus comes he will call for that good boy Willie White, and
will put upon your head a wreath of gold, and put in your hand a little
harp that you can play upon, and it will send forth beautiful music, and
you will never be sick, never be tempted then to do wrong; but will
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