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Chapter 15—Caution to Ministers
In the vision given me June 12, 1868, I was deeply impressed
with the great work to be accomplished to prepare a people for the
coming of the Son of man. I saw that the harvest is great, but the
laborers are few. Many who are at the present time in the field,
laboring to save souls, are feeble. They have borne heavy burdens,
which have tried and worn them. Yet, I was shown that with some
of our ministers there has been too great an expenditure of strength
which was not actually required. Some pray too long and too loud,
which greatly exhausts their feeble strength and needlessly expends
their vitality; others frequently make their discourses one third or one
half longer than they should. In so doing they become excessively
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weary, the interest of the people decreases before the discourse
closes, and much is lost to them, for they cannot retain it. One
half that was said would have been better than more. Although all
the matter may be important, the success would be much greater
were the praying and talking less lengthy. The result would be
reached without so great weariness. They are needlessly using up
their strength and vitality, which, for the good of the cause, it is so
necessary to retain. It is the long-protracted effort, after laboring to
the point of weariness, which wears and breaks.
I saw that it was this extra labor, when the system was exhausted,
that consumed the life of dear Brother Sperry and brought him pre-
maturely to the grave. Had he worked with reference to health he
might have lived to labor until the present time. It was, also, this
extra labor that exhausted the life force of our dear Brother Cranson
and caused his life of usefulness to be extinguished.
Much singing, as well as protracted praying and talking, is ex-
tremely wearing. In most cases our ministers should not continue
their efforts longer than one hour. They should leave preliminaries
and come to the subject at once, and should study to close the dis-
course while the interest is the greatest. They should not continue
the effort until their hearers desire them to cease speaking. Much
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