Before leaving Australia, and since coming
to this country, I have been instructed that there is a great
work to be done in America. Those who were in the work at the
beginning are passing away. Only a few of the pioneers of the
cause now remain among us. Many of the heavy burdens formerly
borne by men of long experience are now falling upon younger
men.
This transfer of responsibilities to laborers
whose experience is more or less limited is attended with some
dangers against which we need to guard. The world is filled with
strife for the supremacy. The spirit of pulling away from fellow
laborers, the spirit of disorganization, is in the very air we
breathe. By some, all efforts to establish order are regarded
as dangerous--as a restriction of personal liberty, and hence
to be feared as popery. These deceived souls regard it a virtue
to boast of their freedom to think and act independently. They
declare that they will not take any man's say-so, that they are
amenable to no man. I have been instructed that it is Satan's
special effort to lead men to feel that God is pleased to have
them choose their own course independent of the counsel of their
brethren.
Herein lies a grave danger to the prosperity
of our work. We must move discreetly, sensibly, in harmony with
the judgment of God-fearing counselors; for in this course alone
lies our safety and strength. Otherwise God cannot work with
us and by us and for us.
Oh, how Satan would rejoice if he could
succeed in his efforts to get in among this people and disorganize
the work at a time when thorough organization
is essential and will be the greatest power to keep out spurious
uprisings and to refute claims not endorsed by the word of God!
We want to hold the lines evenly, that there shall be no breaking
down of the system of organization and order that has been built
up by wise, careful labor. License must not be given to disorderly
elements that desire to control the work at this time.
Some have advanced the thought that, as
we near the close of time, every child of God will act independently
of any religious organization. But I have been instructed by
the Lord that in this work there is no such thing as every man's
being independent. The stars of heaven are all under law, each
influencing the other to do the will of God, yielding their common
obedience to the law that controls their action. And, in order
that the Lord's work may advance healthfully and solidly, His
people must draw together.
The spasmodic, fitful movements of some
who claim to be Christians are well represented by the work of
strong but untrained horses. When one pulls forward, another
pulls back, and at the voice of their master one plunges ahead
and the other stands immovable. If men will not move in concert
in the great and grand work for this time, there will be confusion.
It is not a good sign when men refuse to unite with their brethren
and prefer to act alone. Let laborers take into their confidence
the brethren who are free to point out every departure from right
principles. If men wear the yoke of Christ, they can not pull
apart; they will draw with Christ.
Some workers pull with all the power that God has given them, but they have not yet learned that they should not pull alone. Instead of isolating themselves, let them draw in harmony with their fellow laborers. Unless they do this, their activity will work at the wrong time and in the wrong way. They will often work counter to that which God would have done, and thus their work is worse than wasted.