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Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers
You will be in danger of making mistakes if you move out in
your own supposed wisdom. You need counsel. You have not the
efficiency for all classes of labor, and you should not commence work
in important places if there is danger that you will lay a foundation
which you cannot complete. Light must be expressly given by God,
and duty must be clear and unmistakable before one or two men enter
new and important fields. You need to counsel with your brethren;
for there is danger that you will run too fast in devising plans and
methods.
Words which never should have been uttered have been spoken
to you with reference to your brethren. The misconceptions existing
in other minds have been communicated to you, and your mind has
been led in a train of speculative thought that is not safe or correct.
Keep watch over your thoughts. Guard closely the impulses of your
mind and heart. Words have been spoken that have led you to place
more confidence in your own plans and methods than is right. Words
slip from your lips, unbidden and unsanctioned by God. Take heed
lest, when the time comes that you can prove yourself a friend and
fill a friend’s place by giving sound counsel, you are unprepared.
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Importance of Counsel With Brethren
You must not walk independently of all counsel. It is your duty
to counsel with your brethren. This may touch your pride, but the
humility of a mind taught by the Holy Spirit will listen to counsel,
and will banish all self-confidence. When counsel is given that
conflicts with your personal wishes, you are not to think that your
own wisdom is sufficient for you to give counsel to others, or that
you can afford to neglect the counsel given.
Wherever you may labor, there is need that you blend your
efforts with those of other efficient laborers. You are not a complete
whole; you cannot successfully complete a series of meetings by
yourself, but you can do your part with other laborers. This may be
humiliating to you; but it should not be, for God has given a variety
of gifts, and He desires that these gifts blend in perfect harmony.
You need to realize the danger of viewing matters from your own
standpoint and with your own eyes or discernment. It would be well
for you frankly to state your plans to your brethren, that you may