Remarriage in Old Age
83
The Lord will not disappoint any who put their trust in Him. He
will be first and last and best in everything to us. He will be a present
help in every time of need. In these last days of service we shall
... be held, and led, and protected, by the power of Christ. May the
Lord bless and strengthen you, that your last days may be your best
days, fragrant with the softening, subduing influence of His love. The
Lord bless and keep you and give you repose in His love, is my most
earnest desire for you, my brother. -
Testimonies on Sexual Behavior,
Adultery, and Divorce, 31-33
(
Letter 70, 1898
).
Advice to J. N. Andrews
I advised you to marry before you returned the last time to Europe
for these reasons. First, you needed a wife to care for you and [you]
should not have taken your family to Europe without a good companion
to be a mother to your children, that these children might not in all
things bear the stamp of your mind and be molded according to your
ideas. Your mind is not equally balanced. You need another element
brought into your labors that you do not possess and that you do not
[113]
understand is really essential....
Your ideas have been erroneous to preserve your life as a widower,
but on this point I will say no more. The influence of a noble Christian
woman of proper capabilities would have served to counteract the
tendencies of your mind. The ability of concentrativeness, the intense
light in which you view everything of a religious character connected
with the cause and work of God, has brought upon you depression
of spirits, a weight of anxiety that has weakened you physically and
mentally. If you had been connected with one who would have opposite
feelings, who would have ability to turn your thoughts away from
gloomy subjects, who would not have yielded her individuality, but
have preserved her identity and had a molding influence upon your
mind, you would today have had physical strength and power to resist
disease.—
Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 34
.
You remember I wrote you from Texas to obtain a wife before you
returned to Europe. Do you suppose I would have given you such
advice if I had no light upon the matter? Be assured, no such counsel
would have been given you without good reason. I was shown [that]
you follow your own judgment and your own ideas altogether too