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Testimonies for the Church Volume 3
enchanted yourself. You do not see yourself. You are all very weak,
when you might be strong in the precious, saving truth, strengthened,
established, and settled upon the Rock Christ Jesus. I feel deeply. I
tremble for you. I see temptations on every hand, and you with so little
power to resist them.
Brother E, I was shown that you are infatuated; you are deceived
as to your motives and the real purposes of your heart. I saw you
in the society of Brother G’s daughter. She has never yielded her
heart to Christ. I was shown her affected and convicted. But your
course was not of that character to deepen conviction, or to give her the
impression that there was special importance attached to these matters.
You profess to hold sacred the salvation of the soul, and the present
truth. She does not respect the Sabbath from principle. She loves the
vanity of the world and enjoys the pride and amusements of life. But
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you have been departing so gradually from God, and from the light,
that you do not see the separation which the truth necessarily brings
between those who love God and those who are lovers of pleasure
more than lovers of God. I saw that you were attracted to her society.
Religious meetings and sacred duties were of minor importance, while
the presence of a mere child, who has no knowledge of the truth or of
heavenly things, fascinated you. You have overlooked self-denial and
the cross, which lie directly in the pathway of every disciple of Christ.
I was shown that if you had been walking in the light you would
have taken your position decidedly for the truth. Your example would
have shown that you considered the truth you profess of that impor-
tance that your affections and heart could go only where the image of
Christ was discernible. Christ now says to you: Which will you have,
Me or the world? Your decision is to be made here. Will you follow
the promptings of an unsanctified heart, turn away from self-denial for
Christ’s sake, and step over the cross without lifting it? Or will you
lift that cross, heavy though it may be, and make some sacrifice for
the truth’s sake? May God help you to see where you are, that you
may place a true estimate upon eternal things. You now have so little
spiritual eyesight that the holy and sacred are placed upon a level with
the common. You have responsibilities. Your influence affects your
sisters to a great extent. Your only safety is in separation from the
world.