Meeting Fanaticism
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tree of life, and shall drink of the river of the water of life. You will
have to suffer much, but the grace of God is sufficient.”
I then felt willing to do all that the Lord might require me to do,
that I might have His approbation, and not feel His dreadful frown.
The Seal of Divine Approval
Those were troublous times. If we had not stood firmly then, we
should have made shipwreck of our faith. Some said we were stubborn;
but we were obliged to set our faces as a flint, and turn not to the right
hand nor to the left.
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For years we labored to beat back the prejudice and subdue the
opposition that at times threatened to overwhelm the faithful standard
bearers of truth—the heroes and heroines of faith. But we found that
those who were seeking God in humility and contrition of soul, were
able to discern between the true and the false. “The meek will He
guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way.”
Psalm 25:9
.
God gave us a precious experience in those days. When brought
in close conflict with the powers of darkness, as we frequently were,
we laid the whole matter before the mighty Helper. Again and again
we prayed for strength and wisdom. We would not yield the point;
we felt that help must come. And through faith in God, the enemy’s
artillery was turned against himself, glorious victories were gained to
the cause of truth, and we were made to realize that God gave not His
Spirit by measure unto us. Had it not been for these special evidences
of God’s love, had He not thus, by the manifestation of His Spirit, set
His seal to the truth, we might have become discouraged; but these
proofs of divine guidance, these living experiences in the things of
God, strengthened us to fight manfully the battles of the Lord. The
believing ones could more clearly discern how God had mapped out
their course, guiding them amid trials, disappointments, and fierce
conflicts. They grew stronger as they met and overcame obstacles, and
gained a rich experience at every step they advanced.
Lessons from the Past
In later years I have been shown that the false theories advanced in
the past have by no means been given up. As favorable opportunities