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moral ruin, unless you can be aroused to see that you are standing
upon the very brink of the precipice. There are many such cases that I
have to write about.
It alarms me to see how the sin of licentiousness is coming in
upon us. I felt this when I wrote to Elder Butler upon this point at the
last General Conference, begging him to do all that he could to fence
against what was coming in upon us. We must elevate the standard and
build up barriers about the soul so that nothing shall mar its simplicity
and purity, and thus defile the religious character. God has given man
intellect, and let every soul beware how this great gift is prostituted to
the soul’s eternal ruin.
Repentance and Rebaptism—There is no more hope of you than
of any common sinner, nor as much, unless you greatly humble your
soul before God, repent, and are converted. Take the first steps in
the way to life—repentance, faith, and baptism. You have tampered
with the divine safeguards of your peace. If you refuse to listen to
the voice of reproof, if you choose your own course, if you will not
allow the grace of Christ to transform you, your guilt will be as much
greater than that of the common sinner as your advantages of light and
influence have been greater.
Great care should be exercised in companionship and friendship
lest the soul be imperiled, lest there be even an appearance of evil
which in the eyes of others would lower the standard of religious
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principle and sap the foundation of religious belief.
The Sad Example of Solomon—How many, even in the ranks
of Sabbathkeepers, are forming unsanctified connections. Men who
have wives, and women who have husbands, are showing affection
and giving undue attention to [those of the opposite sex]. How many
men of promise there are in our ranks who no longer have pure faith
and holy trust in God, because they have betrayed sacred trusts. Noble
aspirations are quenched. Their steps are retrograding because they
covet another man’s wife or are unduly familiar with unmarried women.
Their frivolous conduct leads them to break the seventh commandment.
Of Solomon, the inspired record says, “His wives turned away his
heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his
God” (
1 Kings 11:4
).
Perpetuating Power of Evil Influence—This is no theme to be
treated with a smile. The heart that loves Jesus will not desire the