40
Selected Messages Book 2
there met a man and his wife who claim to follow the Word of God
and to believe the Testimonies. They have had an unusual experience
during the past two or three years. They seemed to be honesthearted
people.
I listened while they related some of their experiences, and then I
told them something of the work we had to do in meeting and opposing
fanaticism soon after the passing of the time when we expected to
see our Lord. During those trying days some of our most precious
believers were led into fanaticism. I said further that before the end
we would see strange manifestations by those who professed to be led
by the Holy Spirit. There are those who will treat as something of
great importance these peculiar manifestations, which are not of God,
but which are calculated to divert the minds of many away from the
teachings of the Word.
In this stage of our history we must be very careful to guard against
everything that savors of fanaticism and disorder. We must guard
against all peculiar exercises that would be likely to stir up the minds
of unbelievers, and lead them to think that as a people we are led by
impulse, and delight in noise and confusion accompanied by eccentric-
ities of action. In the last days the enemy of present truth will bring in
manifestations that are not in harmony with the workings of the Spirit,
but are calculated to lead astray those who stand ready to take up with
something new and strange.
I told this brother and his wife that the experience through which I
passed in my youth, shortly after the passing of the time in 1844, had
led me to be very, very cautious about accepting anything similar to
that which we then met and rebuked in the name of the Lord.
[42]
No greater harm could be done to the work of God at this time
than for us to allow a spirit of fanaticism to come into our churches,
accompanied by strange workings which are incorrectly supposed to
be operations of the Spirit of God.
As this brother and his wife outlined their experiences, which they
claim have come to them as the result of receiving the Holy Ghost with
apostolic power, it seemed to be a facsimile of that which we were
called to meet and correct in our early experience.
Toward the close of our interview Brother L proposed that we unite
in prayer, with the thought that possibly while in prayer his wife would
be exercised as they had described to me, and that then I might be able