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Appendix B Typical Temperance Addresses By Ellen G. White
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There is need now of men like Daniel,—men who have the self-
denial and the courage to be radical temperance reformers. Let
every Christian see that his example and influence are on the side
of reform. Let ministers of the gospel be faithful in sounding the
warnings to the people. And let all remember that our happiness in
two worlds depends upon the right improvement of one.—
Historical
Sketches of S.D.A. Foreign Missions, pages 207-211
.
2. A Talk on Temperance—1891
Satan was the first rebel in the universe, and ever since his ex-
pulsion from heaven he has been seeking to make every member
of the human family an apostate from God, even as he is himself.
He laid his plans to ruin man, and through the unlawful indulgence
of appetite, led him to transgress the commandments of God. He
tempted Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit, and so
accomplished their fall, and their expulsion from Eden. How many
say, “If I had been in Adam’s place, I would never have transgressed
on so simple a test.” But you who make this boast have a grand
opportunity of showing your strength of purpose, your fidelity to
principle under trial. Do you render obedience to every command of
God? Does God see no sin in your life?
Would that the Fall of Adam and Eve had been the only fall; but
from the loss of Eden to the present time, there has been a succession
of falls. Satan has planned to ruin man, by leading him away from
loyalty to the commandments of God, and one of his most successful
methods is that of tempting him to the gratification of perverted
appetite. We see on all sides the marks of man’s intemperance.
In our cities and villages the saloon is on every corner, and in the
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countenances of its patrons we see the dreadful work of ruin and
destruction. On every side, Satan seeks to entice the youth into the
path of perdition; and if he can once get their feet set in the way,
he hurries them on in their downward course, leading them from
one dissipation to another, until his victims lose their tenderness
of conscience, and have no more the fear of God before their eyes.
They exercise less and less self-restraint. They become addicted
to the use of wine and alcohol, tobacco and opium, and go from
one stage of debasement to another. They are slaves to appetite.