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Chapter 28—Worldliness in the Church
Dear Brethren and Sisters in-----,
June 12, 1868, I was shown that the love of the world was to
a great extent taking the place of love to God. You are situated
in a pleasant country, one that is favorable to worldly prosperity.
This places you where you are in constant danger of having your
interest swallowed up in the world, in laying up treasure upon the
earth. Your hearts will be where your treasure is. You are situated
where there are temptations to be plunging deeper and deeper into
the world, to be continually accumulating; and while you are thus
engaged, the mind becomes engrossed with the cares of this life
to such an extent as to shut out true godliness. But few realize the
deceitfulness of riches. Those who are anxious to acquire means
are so bent upon this one object as to make the religion of Christ a
secondary matter. Spiritual things are not valued and are not sought
after, for the love of gain has eclipsed the heavenly treasure. If the
prize of eternal life were to be valued by the zeal, perseverance,
and earnestness exhibited by those who profess to be Christians,
it would not be half as valuable as earthly possessions. Compare
the earnest effort made to obtain the things of this earth with the
languid, weak, inefficient effort to gain spirituality and a heavenly
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treasure. No wonder that we experience so little of the illuminating
influence from the heavenly sanctuary. Our desires are not in that
direction; they are mostly confined to earthly pursuits, seeking for
worldly things, and neglecting the eternal. Prosperity is blinding
the eyes and deceiving the soul. God may speak, but the rubbish of
earth prevents His voice from being heard.
Our aged father T has his affections upon the things of this earth
when they should be removed and he be ripening up for heaven. The
life that he now lives he should live by faith in the Son of God; his
affections should be on the better land. He should have less and
less interest in the perishable treasures of earth, while eternal things,
which are of the greatest consequence, should engage his whole
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