Some brethren have erred in this respect. They have thought that Brother C was the right man to labor in Vermont and that he could accomplish more than any other minister in that state. Such do not view matters from a right standpoint. Brother C can speak in a manner to interest a congregation, and if this were all that is necessary to make a successful preacher, then a class of brethren and sisters would be right in their estimation of him. But he is not a thorough workman; he is not reliable. In church trials he is of no account. He has not experience, judgment, and discernment to be of any benefit to the church when in trial. He has not been a thoroughgoing man in temporal matters, and although he has but a small family, he has needed assistance more or less. The same lack is manifested in spiritual things as in temporal affairs. Had the right course been pursued toward him in the commencement of his preaching, he might now be of some use in this cause. His brethren injured him by making too much of him and by leaving him to bear but few of the burdens of life, until he has thought that his labors were of the greatest consequence. He has been willing that brethren in Vermont should bear his burdens while he was relieved from care. He has not had a suitable amount of exercise to give tone and strength to his muscles, and for the good of his health. (1T 448.1) MC VC

He is not capable of building up churches. When he feels the woe upon him if he preach not the gospel, as self-sacrificing preachers have felt it in the past, then like them he will be willing to labor with his hands a part of the time to earn means to support his family that they may not be burdensome to the church, and then he will go forth, not merely to preach, but to save souls. Efforts made with such a spirit will accomplish something. He has been exalted in his own estimation, has thought himself equal to any of the laborers in Vermont, and has felt that he should be ranked with them and should be consulted in business matters of the church, when he has not earned a reputation nor proved himself worthy. What self-sacrifice or devotion has he manifested for the church? What perils or hardships has he endured, that the brethren can have their confidence established in him as a laborer whom they can trust, whose influence will be good wherever he goes? Until he possesses an entirely different spirit and acts from unselfish principles, he would better give up the idea of preaching. (1T 448.2) MC VC