Testimonies for the Church Volume 1 - A New You Ministry

this fanaticism you have done more injury to the cause of God in Wisconsin than youhave done good in all your life. Our faith has been made disgusting to unbelievers; awound, an incurable wound, has been given to the cause of God, and yet many, withyourself, seem astonished that so much is said and made of this fanaticism. One evilseed sown takes root, grows rank, and bears fruit, and there is an abundant harvest.Evil flourishes and needs no culture while the good seed sown needs to be watered,carefully tended, and continually nourished, or the precious plants will die. Satan, evilangels, and wicked men are trying to root up and destroy the good, and it requires thegreatest vigilance, and the most constant care, to have it live and flourish. An evil seedsown cannot be easily rooted out. It spreads, and springs up in every direction, to crushout the precious seed; and if left alone it will grow strong, and shut out the rays of thesun from the precious plants, until they grow sickly and die.We met your influence at—–. The division existing there would not have been hadyou taken a right position, and received the word of the Lord through His servants.But this you would not do. God’s servants had to deal plainly with your wrong course.Had they taken stronger ground, and been much more severe with the course you hadpursued, God would have approved them. It would have been better had you remainedentirely away from—–, for every time God’s servants exposed that fanaticism, thereproof hit Brother G, and you shrank, felt abused, neglected, etc. You pursued yourblind course among different families in—–; you labored for sympathy, and createdopposition of feeling against Brethren C, D, and E. You felt wrong, felt slighted; youtalked and acted out your feelings, and thus created jealousy and distrust in many mindsin regard to God’s servants whom He had especially sent to you. Your course destroyedthe force of their testimony on some minds; but318