Colonizing at Institutional Centers
25
Where there is an Opening for a Livelihood
The lay members of our churches can accomplish a work which,
as yet, they have scarcely begun. None should move into new places
merely for the sake of worldly advantage; but where there is an opening
to obtain a livelihood, let families that are well grounded in the truth
enter, one or two families in a place, to work as missionaries. They
should feel a love for souls, a burden of labor for them, and should
make it a study how to bring them into the truth. They can distribute
our publications, hold meetings in their homes, become acquainted
with their neighbors, and invite them to come to these meetings. Thus
they can let their light shine in good works.—
Testimonies for the
Church 8:244, 245
(1904).
Let Not Institutional Attractions Lure You
Those who feel like settling close to our publishing house or our
sanitarium and school at Takoma Park should take counsel before they
move.
To those who are looking toward Mountain View as a favorable
place in which to live, because the Pacific Press is to be established
there, I would say: Look to other parts of the world, which need the
light that you have received in trust. Remember that God has given
to every man his work. Choose some locality where you will have
opportunity to let your light shine forth amid the moral darkness.
It is always the case that when an institution is established in a
place, there are many families who desire to settle near it. Thus it has
been in Battle Creek and in Oakland, and, to some extent, in almost
[23]
every place where we have a school or a sanitarium.—
Fundamentals
of Christian Education, 494, 495
(1904).
Establish No Jerusalem Centers
Our people are not ... to regard——as a Jerusalem center. Let them
not think, because a number of our brethren are called here to connect
with the publishing work, that this is a place for large numbers of our
people to settle with their families. And let everyone connected with
the office hold himself in readiness to leave, if God shall call him to
some new place.—
Manuscript 148, 1905
.