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sister, if you get up and dress and go to your usual work in the office,
all this invalidism will pass away.”
“Do you think this would pass away?” she said.
“Certainly,” I said. “You have nearly smothered the life forces by
invalidism.”
I turned to the mother and told her that her daughter would have
died of a diseased imagination if they had not been convinced of their
error. She had been educating herself to invalidism. Now this is a very
poor school. But I said to her, “Change this order; arise and dress.”
She was obedient, and is alive today.—Lt 231, 1905. (.)
Imagination Affected by Disease—You are highly sensitive and
feel deeply. You are strictly conscientious, and your judgment must be
convinced before you will yield to the opinions of others. Had your
physical health been unimpaired, you would have made an eminently
useful woman. You have long been diseased, and this has affected
your imagination so that your thoughts have been concentrated upon
yourself, and the imagination has affected the body.—
Testimonies for
the Church 3:74
(1872).
[683]
Overcoming a Diseased Imagination—The light given me is that
if the sister you mention would brace up and cultivate her taste for
wholesome food, all these sinking spells would pass away. She has
cultivated her imagination; the enemy has taken advantage of her
weakness of body, and her mind is not braced to bear up against the
hardships of everyday life. It is good, sanctified mind cure she needs,
an increase of faith, and active service for Christ. She needs also the
exercise of her muscles in outside practical labor. Physical exercise
will be to her one of the greatest blessings of her life. She need not be
an invalid, but a wholesome-minded, healthy woman, prepared to act
her part nobly and well.
All the treatment that may be given to this sister will be of little
advantage unless she acts her part. She needs to strengthen muscle and
nerve by physical labor. She need not be an invalid, but can do good,
earnest labor. Like many others, she has a diseased imagination. But
she can overcome and be a healthy woman. I have had this message to
give to many, and with the best results.—Lt 231, 1905. (.)
Summon the Aid of the Will—Indolence is a great evil. Men,
women, and youth, by dwelling upon themselves, think they are in a
much worse condition than they really are. They nurse their ailments,