You have a knowledge of the truth; you are not ignorant of the claims of Scripture; you know your Master’s will, for He has plainly revealed it. But your heart is not inclined to follow the light which shines upon your pathway. You have a large measure of self-conceit. Your love for self is greater than your love for the cause of present truth. Your self-confidence and your self-sufficiency will certainly prove your ruin unless you can see your weakness and errors, and reform. You are arbitrary. You have a set will of your own to maintain, and although the opinions of others may be correct, and your judgment wrong, yet you are not the man to yield. You hold firmly to your advanced opinion, irrespective of the judgment of others. I wish you could see the danger of continuing the course you have been pursuing. If your eyes could be enlightened by the Spirit of God, you would see these things clearly. (3T 244.1) MC VC

Your wife loves the truth, and she is a practical woman, a woman of principle. But you do not appreciate her value. She has worked hard for the common good of the family, but you have not given her your confidence. You have not counseled with her as was your duty. You keep your matters very much to yourself; you do not love to open your heart to your wife and let her know your exercises of mind and your real faith and feelings. You are secretive. Your wife does not hold the honored place in your family that she deserves and that she is capable of filling. (3T 244.2) MC VC

You feel that your wife should not interfere with your plans and arrangements, and you too frequently set your will and plans of operation in opposition to hers. You act as though her identity should be merged in yours. You are not satisfied to have her act as though she had an individuality, an identify of her own. God holds her accountable for her individuality. You cannot save her, and she cannot save you. She has a conscience of her own by which she must be guided. You are too willing to be conscience for her, and sometimes for your children. God has higher claims upon your wife than you can have. She must form a character for herself, and she is accountable to God for the character she develops. (3T 244.3) MC VC