Chapter 39—The Adulterer and Church Membership
An Early Ellen White Statement—The Lord gave us labor of
spirit last first day [Sunday, February 5, 1854], and while we were
engaged in earnest prayer I was taken off in vision and saw the state of
some of the professed Israel of God. I saw the situation of many at our
meeting in Oswego. I saw that they were standing in the way of the
work of God, especially those at Caughdenoy. I saw that God’s frown
was upon them, also upon some in Roosevelt.
Said the angel, “The ax has not been laid at the root of the tree.”
Those who have indulged in the wicked passions of the heart have
been fellowshiped. If God had made Brother Roosevelt an overseer
of the flock, he would have seen the evil and corruption among the
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people. The ax has not been laid at the root of the tree. God has not
altered nor changed. He is a jealous God, and will not look upon sin
now with any more allowance than He did among ancient Israel. Sin
is sin. Sins have not been held forth in their sinfulness, but it has been
made to appear as though sins have been lightly regarded by God.
An Enormous Sin—I saw that the seventh commandment has
been violated by some who are now held in fellowship by the church.
This has brought God’s frown upon them. This sin is awful in these last
days, but the church [members] have brought God’s frown and curse
upon them by regarding the sin so lightly. I saw it was an enormous
sin and there have not been as vigilant efforts made as there should
have been to satisfy the displeasure of God and remove His frown by
taking a strict, thorough course with the offender.
It has had an awful, corrupting influence upon the young. They see
how lightly the sin of breaking the seventh commandment is regarded,
and the one who commits this horrid sin thinks that all he has to do
is to confess that he was wrong and is sorry, and he is then to have
all the privileges of the house of God and be held in [the] embrace or
fellowship of the church.
They have thought it was not so great a sin, but have lightly es-
teemed the breaking of the seventh commandment. This has been
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