Testimonies for the Church Volume 1 - A New You Ministry

the afternoon. It seemed impossible for me to stand before the people. When myhusband asked what subject I would speak upon, I could not gather or retain a sentencein my mind. But I thought: If God will have me speak, He will surely strengthen me;I will venture by faith; I can but fail. I staggered to the tent with a strangely confusedbrain, but told the preaching brethren on the stand that if they would sustain me by theirprayers, I would speak. I stood before the people in faith, and in about five minutesmy head and lungs were relieved, and without difficulty I spoke more than one hourto fifteen hundred eager listeners. After I ceased speaking, a sense of the goodnessand mercy of God came over me, and I could not forbear rising again and relating mysickness and the blessing of God which had sustained me while speaking. Since thatmeeting my lungs have been greatly relieved, and I have been improving in health.In the West we met reports amounting to little less than slander against my husband.These were current at the time of the General Conference, and were carried to all partsof the field. I will state one as a sample. It was said that my husband was so crazyfor money that he had engaged in selling old bottles. The facts are these: When wewere about to move, I asked my husband what we should do with a lot of old bottles onhand. Said he: “Throw them away.” Just then our Willie came in and offered to cleanand sell them. I told him to do so, and he should have what he could get for them.And when my husband rode to the post office, he took Willie and the bottles into thecarriage. He could do no less for his own faithful little son. Willie sold the bottles andtook the money. On their way to the post office my husband took a brother connectedwith the Review office into the carriage, who conversed pleasantly with him as theyrode to and from town, and because he saw Willie come out to the carriage and askhis father a question relative to the value of the bottles, and then saw the druggist inconversation with my husband relative to605