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Gospel Order
113
men who are its strict observers will alone honor Him by teaching it
to others.
The servants of God who teach the truth should be men of judg-
ment. They should be men who can bear opposition and not get
excited; for those who oppose the truth will pick at those who teach
it, and every objection that can be produced, will be brought in its
worst form to bear against the truth. The servants of God who bear
the message must be prepared to remove these objections, with calm-
ness and meekness, by the light of truth. Frequently opposers talk to
ministers of God in a provoking manner, to call out something from
them of the same nature, that they can make as much of it as possible
and declare to others that the teachers of the commandments have
a bitter spirit and are harsh, as has been reported. I saw that we
must be prepared for objections, and with patience, judgment, and
meekness, let them have the weight they deserve, not throw them
away or dispose of them by positive assertions, and then bear down
upon the objector, and manifest a hard spirit toward him; but give
the objections their weight, then bring forth the light and the power
of the truth, and let it outweigh and remove the errors. Thus a good
impression will be made, and honest opposers will acknowledge that
they have been deceived and that the commandment keepers are not
what they have been represented to be.
Those who profess to be servants of the living God must be will-
ing to be servants of all, instead of being exalted above the brethren,
and they must possess a kind, courteous spirit. If they err, they
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should be ready to confess thoroughly. Honesty of intention cannot
stand as an excuse for not confessing errors. Confession would not
lessen the confidence of the church in the messenger, and he would
set a good example; a spirit of confession would be encouraged in
the church, and sweet union would be the result. Those who profess
to be teachers should be patterns of piety, meekness, and humility,
possessing a kind spirit, to win souls to Jesus and the truth of the
Bible. A minister of Christ should be pure in conversation and in
actions. He should ever bear in mind that he is handling words of
inspiration, words of a holy God. He must also bear in mind that
the flock is entrusted to his care, and that he is to bear their cases
to Jesus, and plead for them as Jesus pleads for us with the Father.
I was pointed back to the children of Israel anciently and saw how