Waldenses
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The youth who received ordination to the sacred office saw before
them, not the prospect of earthly wealth and glory, but a life of toil
and danger, and possibly a martyr’s fate. The missionaries went out
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two and two, as Jesus sent forth his disciples. With every young man
was usually associated a man of age and experience, the youth being
under the guidance of his companion, who was held responsible for
his training, and whose instruction he was required to heed. These
co-laborers were not always together, but often met for prayer and
counsel, thus strengthening each other in the faith.
To have made known the object of their mission would have insured
its defeat; therefore they carefully concealed their real character. Every
minister possessed a knowledge of some trade or profession, and the
missionaries prosecuted their work under cover of a secular calling.
Usually they chose that of merchant or peddler. They dealt in choice
and costly articles, such as silks, laces, and jewels, which in those
times could not be readily procured, and thus they found entrance
where they would otherwise have been repulsed. All the while their
hearts were uplifted to God for wisdom to present a treasure more
precious than gold or gems. They secretly carried about with them
copies of the Bible, in whole or in part, and whenever an opportunity
was presented, they called the attention of their customers to these
manuscripts. Often an interest to read God’s Word was thus awakened,
and some portion was gladly left with those who desired to receive it.
The work of these missionaries began in the plains and valleys
at the foot of their own mountains, but it extended far beyond these
limits. With naked feet and in garments coarse and travel-stained
as were those of their Master, they passed through great cities, and
penetrated to distant lands. Everywhere they scattered the precious
seed. Churches sprung up in their path, and the blood of martyrs
witnessed for the truth. The day of God will reveal a rich harvest of
souls garnered by the labors of these faithful men. Veiled and silent, the
Word of God was making its way through Christendom, and meeting
a glad reception in the homes and hearts of men.
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To the Waldenses the Scriptures were not merely a record of God’s
dealings with men in the past, and a revelation of the responsibilities
and duties of the present, but an unfolding of the perils and glories of
the future. They believed that the end of all things was not far distant;
and as they studied the Bible with prayer and tears, they were the