And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Acts 20:32.
(TDG 131.1)
The knowledge of the way of the Lord is increasing, and will continue to increase. Heresy and superstition are clothing the world in the sackcloth garments of rebellion and transgression. Literature and cheap fiction of every order is circulated like the leaves of autumn, and the minds of thousands are so taken up with irreligious, cheap trash that there is no place in the mind for solid reading. The Word of God and all that would elevate man from his degradation is passed by with indifference.
(TDG 131.2)
But the Word of God contains the truth, and all those who support the truth of God for this time are doing their work for time and for eternity. Those who bring the Word of God into mind and heart are distinctly taking their stand on the side of God and the universe of heaven. They will stand heart to heart and hand to hand in defense of the holy and the pure, that which will stand the test of ages. Those who support error by word and pen and voice, and by the oppression of those who are linked with the truth, are ranged upon the other side, with the first great apostate and the evil men who are his agents. The Word declares of these that they shall “wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” And on one of these two sides, men will labor to the end.
(TDG 131.3)
All our powers belong to God. They are His by creation, and by redemption. God has given to every one His measure of power, and He expects each to put it forth on the side of truth. Thus it is to shine forth. The Christian is to stand with undivided interest on the Lord’s side. “Now abideth faith, hope, love.” Faith looks through discouraging difficulties, and lays hold of the unseen, even Omnipotence, therefore it cannot be baffled. Faith, hope, and love are sisters, and their works blend perfectly to shine amid the moral darkness of the world. The children and the youth are to be instructed, the ignorant are to be taught by patient effort to know what is truth. It is to be given them line upon line.—Manuscript 46, May 2, 1897, “The Entrance of Thy Word Giveth Light.”
(TDG 131.4)