Testimonies for the Church Volume 1 - A New You Ministry

enefited by them. But all this was lost in consequence of these testimonies’ beingheld private.3. Still others have rebelled against the testimonies. Some of these have respondedin a faultfinding spirit. Some have shown bitterness, anger, and wrath, and in return formy toil and pains in writing the testimonies they have turned upon us to injure us allthey could; while others have held me for hours in personal interviews to pour into myears and my aching heart their complaints, murmurings, and self-justifications, perhapsappealing to their own sympathies with weeping, and losing sight of their own faultsand sins. The influence of these things has been terrible upon me and has sometimesdriven me nearly to distraction. That which has followed from the conduct of theseunconsecrated, unthankful persons has cost me more suffering and has worn upon mycourage and health ten times more than all the toil of writing the testimonies.And all this has been suffered by me, and my brethren and sisters generally haveknown nothing about it. They have had no just idea of the amount of wearing laborof this kind which I have had to perform, nor of the burdens and sufferings unjustlythrown upon me. I have given some personal communications in several numbersof my testimonies, and in some cases persons have been offended because I did notpublish all such communications. On account of their number this would be hardlypossible, and it would be improper from the fact that some of them relate to sins whichneed not, and should not, be made public.But I have finally decided that many of these personal testimonies should bepublished, as they all contain more or less reproof and instruction which apply tohundreds or thousands of others in similar condition. These should have the lightwhich God has seen fit to give which meets their cases. It is a wrong to shut it awayfrom them by sending it to one person631