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Testimonies for the Church Volume 5
of employing other laborers to follow after and pick up the stitches
dropped by negligent workers. It is the duty of the president of the
conference to have an oversight of the laborers and their work, and to
teach them to be faithful in these things; for no church can prosper
that is robbing God. The spiritual dearth in our churches is frequently
the result of an alarming prevalence of selfishness. Selfish, worldly
pursuits and schemes interpose between the soul and God. Men cling
to the world, seeming to fear that should they let go their hold upon
it, God would not care for them. And so they attempt to take care of
themselves; they are anxious, troubled, distressed, holding on to their
large farms and adding to their possessions.
“The word of God speaks of ‘the hire of the laborers, ... which
is of you kept back by fraud.’ This is generally understood to apply
to wealthy men who employ servants and do not pay them for their
labor, but it has a broader meaning than this. It applies with great force
to those who have been enlightened by the Spirit of God and yet in
any degree work upon the same principle that these men do in hiring
servants, grinding them down to the lowest price.”
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I solemnly warn you not to stand in an attitude similar to that of
the unfaithful spies, who went up to view the land of promise. When
these spies returned from their search, the congregation of Israel were
cherishing high hopes and were waiting in eager expectancy. The news
of their return is carried from tribe to tribe and is hailed with rejoicing.
The people rush out to meet the messengers, who have endured the
fatigue of travel in the dusty highways and under a burning sun. These
messengers bring specimens of the fruit, showing the fertility of the
soil. The congregation rejoice that they are to come into possession
of so goodly a land; and they listen intently as the report is brought
to Moses, that not a word shall escape them. “We came unto the land
whither thou sentest us,” the spies begin, “and surely it floweth with
milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.” The people are enthusiastic;
they would eagerly obey the voice of the Lord and go up at once to
possess the land.
But the spies continue: “Nevertheless the people be strong that
dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and more-
over we saw the children of Anak there.” Now the scene changes. Hope
and courage give place to cowardly despair as the spies utter the senti-
ments of their unbelieving hearts, which are filled with discouragement