Basic HTML Version
Appeal to the Church
425
I ask: Wherein have those who profess confidence in the
Testimonies
sought to live according to the light given in them? Wherein have
they regarded the warnings given? Wherein have they heeded the
instructions they have received?
I saw that great changes must be wrought in the hearts and lives
of very many before God can work in them by His power for the
salvation of others. They must be renewed after the image of God,
in righteousness and true holiness. Then the love of the world, the
love of self, and every ambition of life calculated to exalt self will
be changed by the grace of God and employed in the special work
of saving souls for whom Christ died. Humility will take the place
of pride, and haughty self-esteem will be exchanged for meekness.
Every power of the heart will be controlled by disinterested love
for all mankind. Satan, I saw, will arouse when they in earnest
commence the work of reformation in themselves. He knows that
[485]
these persons, if consecrated to God, could prove the strength of His
promises and realize a power working with them that the adversary
would not be able to gainsay or resist. They would realize the life of
God in the soul.
One family in particular have needed all the benefits they could
receive from the reform in diet, yet these very ones have been com-
pletely backslidden. Meat and butter have been used by them quite
freely, and spices have not been entirely discarded. This family
could have received great benefit from a nourishing, well-regulated
diet. The head of the family needed plain, nutritious food. His habits
were sedentary, and his blood moved sluggishly through the system.
He could not, like others, have the benefit of healthful exercise;
therefore his food should have been of the right quality and quantity.
There has not been in this family the right management in regard
to diet; there has been irregularity. There should have been a spec-
ified time for each meal, and the food should have been prepared
in a simple form and free from grease; but pains should have been
taken to have it nutritious, healthful, and inviting. In this family,
as also in many others, a special parade has been made for visitors,
many dishes prepared and frequently made too rich, so that those
seated at the table would be tempted to eat to excess. Then in the
absence of company there was a great reaction, a falling off in the
preparations brought on the table. The diet was spare and lacked