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The Leader: Calling for Commitment, August 10
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day
whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that
were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in
whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord.
Joshua 24:15
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I feel a special interest in the movements and decisions that shall be made
at this conference [the 1901 General Conference session] regarding the things
that should have been done years ago, and especially ten years ago, when we
were assembled in conference, and the Spirit and power of God came into our
meeting, testifying that God was ready to work for this people if they would
come into working order....
The light then given me was that this people should stand higher than any
other people on the face of the whole earth, that they should be a loyal people,
a people who would rightly represent truth. The sanctifying power of the
truth, revealed in their lives, was to distinguish them from the world. They
were to stand in moral dignity, having such a close connection with heaven
that the Lord God of Israel could give them a place in the earth.
Year after year the same acknowledgment was made, but the principles
which exalt a people were not woven into the work. God gave them clear light
as to what they should do, and what they should not do, but they departed
from that light, and it is a marvel to me that we stand in as much prosperity
as we do today. It is because of the great mercy of our God, not because of
our righteousness, but that His name should not be dishonored in the world....
The Word of God is to be our guide. Have you given heed to the Word?
The Testimonies are not by any means to take the place of the Word. They
are to bring you to that neglected Word, that you may eat the words of Christ,
that you may feed upon them, that by living faith you may be built up from
that upon which you feed. If you live in obedience to Christ and His Word,
you are eating the leaves of the tree of life, which are for the healing of the
nations.—
The General Conference Bulletin, April 3, 1901
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