True Missionary Spirit
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will they manifest such love for the souls of men as Jesus exemplified
in His life.
The reason why there is no deeper religious fervor and no more
earnest love for one another in the church is that the missionary spirit
has been dying out. Little is now said concerning Christ’s coming,
which was once the theme of thought and of conversation. There is an
unaccountable reluctance, a growing disrelish for religious conversa-
tion; and in its stead, idle, frivolous chitchat is indulged in, even by
the professed followers of Christ.
My brethren and sisters, do you desire to break the spell that holds
you? Would you arouse from this sluggishness that resembles the
torpor of death? Go to work, whether you feel like it or not. Engage
in personal effort to bring souls to Jesus and the knowledge of the
truth. In such labor you will find both a stimulus and a tonic; it will
both arouse and strengthen. By exercise your spiritual powers will
become more vigorous, so that you can with better success work out
your own salvation. The stupor of death is upon many who profess
Christ. Make every effort to arouse them. Warn, entreat, expostulate.
Pray that the melting love of God may warm and soften their icebound
natures. Though they may refuse to hear, your labor will not be lost.
In the effort to bless others your own souls will be blessed.
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We have the theory of the truth, and now we need to seek most
earnestly for its sanctifying power. I dare not hold my peace in this
time of peril. It is a time of temptation, of despondency. Everyone
is beset by the wiles of Satan, and we should press together to resist
his power. We should be of one mind, speaking the same things, and
with one mouth glorifying God. Then may we successfully enlarge
our plans and by vigilant missionary effort take advantage of every
talent we can use in the various departments of the work.
The light of truth is shedding its bright beams upon the world
through missionary effort. The press is an instrumentality by which
many are reached whom it would be impossible to reach by ministerial
effort. A great work can be done by presenting to the people the Bible
just as it reads. Carry the word of God to every man’s door, urge
its plain statements upon every man’s conscience, repeat to all the
Saviour’s command: “Search the Scriptures.” Admonish them to take
the Bible as it is, to implore divine enlightenment, and then, when the