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Warnings to the Church
197
forth to bring him back. There was more gossiping over his case
than sincere sorrow for him. All these things kept him from the
fold and caused his heart to be separated farther and farther from his
brethren, making his rescue still more difficult. How different was
this course from that pursued by the shepherd in the parable, when
in pursuit of the lost sheep. The whole ninety and nine were left in
the wilderness to care for themselves, exposed to dangers; yet the
lone sheep, separated from the flock, was in greater danger, and to
secure the one, the ninety and nine were left.
Some of the church had no special anxiety to have Brother A
return. They cared not enough to unbend from their dignity and
pride and make special efforts to help him to the light. They stood
back on their dignity and said: “We will not go after him; let him
come to us.” Viewing the feelings of his brethren toward him as he
did, it was impossible for him to do this. Had they regarded the
lesson taught by Christ, they would have been willing to yield their
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dignity and pride, and go after the wandering ones. They would
have wept over them, prayed for them, implored them to be faithful
to God and the truth, and to abide with the church. But the feeling
of many was: “If he wants to go, let him go.”
When the Lord sent His servants to do for these wanderers the
work which you ought to have done, and even when you had evi-
dence that the Lord was giving a message of mercy to these poor
straying ones, you were unprepared to give up your ideas. You did
not feel like leaving the ninety and nine, and searching after the
lost sheep till it was found, and you did not do it. And when the
sheep was found, and brought back to the fold with rejoicing, did
you rejoice? We tried to arouse you. We tried to call you together,
as the shepherd called his neighbors and friends, to have you rejoice
with us; but you seemed unwilling. You felt that the sheep had done
a great wrong in leaving the fold, and instead of rejoicing that he
had returned, you were anxious to make him feel that he should be
very sorry for leaving, and should come back just according to your
ideas. And since his return, you have had a feeling of jealousy in
regard to him. You have kept watching to see if all was right. Some
have not been exactly satisfied; they have felt an unwillingness to
have things just as they are.