Christian Woman Is Modest at All Times
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to change this terrible state of things, is my prayer.—
Testimonies for
the Church 2:482, 483 (1870)
.
Give a Good Example in Dress
Fannie Bolton was employed for a time by Ellen White as one of
her helpers. The following is a portion of a letter written to her in
1894
.
I have a word to say upon another point. Our sisters who have
come from America have an account to render before God of their
example in dress; in this matter they have not been approved of God
as His missionaries. We need to be converted—soul, body, and spirit.
Shall we by our example lead to pride, to selfish indulgence and selfish
expenditure of means in dress that testifies that we are not the doers
of the Word? The principles were presented before me, which are not
as God would have them. I am not called upon to specify, but to warn
you to take heed.
The spirit that characterizes your work, Fannie, is not discerned
by many—yourself or others. They cannot see the true inwardness of
these matters, but it manifests itself on certain occasions. Although
you are full of activity and zeal and stir and push, there is so much of
one-sided, impulsive, ill-developed movements that the results are of
the same order as the working. God’s chosen vessels will work under
the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You have worked largely under the
sustaining influence of the self-satisfaction you have cherished, feeling
that you were doing a large work. But winnow the wheat from the
chaff and there will be very few kernels of pure grain. But the many
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judge from outward appearance, not from the spirit and real results.
We are living in an age represented as being like that before the
Flood. All who now plead for souls should in their dress and deport-
ment carry the modesty and marks of the Lord Jesus. They must wait,
watch, and pray for the Holy Spirit to be abundantly bestowed. We
must take in the idea of Christianity; in conversation and in dress we
must represent the truth. A decided guard must be placed upon the
human agents in regard to the impressions they are making upon others
in deportment and in dress. The Bible is our guide; study its teachings
with a purpose to obey, and you need make no mistakes.