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Life Sketches of Ellen G. White
Everything seems to be at a standstill. But I am not going to encourage
unbelief. I will work in faith. I have been tempted to tell you a
discouraging chapter in our experience; but I will talk faith. If we look
at things which are seen, we shall be discouraged. We have to break
the soil at a venture, plow in hope, in faith. We would see a measure
of prosperity ahead, if all would work intelligently, and with earnest
endeavor put in the seed. The present appearance is not flattering,
but all the light that I can obtain is that now is the sowing time. The
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working of the grounds is our lesson book; for in exactly the way we
treat the fields with the hope of future returns, so we must sow this
missionary soil with the seeds of truth.’
“We went the whole length of the grounds we were cultivating.
We then returned, conversing as we walked along; and I saw that the
vines we had passed were bearing fruit. Said my husband, ‘The fruit
is ready to be gathered.’
“As I came to another path, I exclaimed: ‘Look, look at the beauti-
ful berries. We need not wait until tomorrow for them.’ As I gathered
the fruit, I said: ‘I thought these plants were inferior, and hardly worth
the trouble of putting into the ground. I never looked for such an
abundant yield.’
“My husband said: ‘Ellen, do you remember when we first entered
the field in Michigan, and traveled in a wagon to the different localities
to meet with the humble companies who were observing the Sabbath,—
how forbidding the prospect was? In the heat of summer our sleeping-
room was often the kitchen, where the cooking had been done through
the day, and we could not sleep. Do you remember how, in one
instance, we lost our way, and when we could find no water, you
fainted? With a borrowed ax we cut our way through the forest until
we came to a log shanty, where we were given some bread and milk
and a lodging for the night. We prayed and sang with the family, and
in the morning left them one of our pamphlets.
“‘We were greatly troubled over this circumstance. Our guide
knew the way, and that we should get lost was something we could not
understand. Years afterward, at a camp meeting, we were introduced
to several persons who told us their story. That visit made, as we
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thought, by mistake, that book we left, was seed sown. Twenty in all
were converted by what we supposed was a mistake. This was the