Quotations from the writings of Ellen G. White with the word . . .
H e A r s a Y ( 5 RELATED PHRASES )
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The word 'Hearsay' appears 30 times in the writings of Ellen G. White See page on original site Related Phrase: hearsay evidence ( )
| My brethren, if you have thus placed a stumbling-stone in the path of others, your first duty is to remove it, by doing justice to your brother. You have thought evil of him, you have said things untrue, because you have gathered up hearsay; you worked in blindness of mind, and now, if you would cure the wound, confess your mistake, and seek to be in complete harmony with your brother. This is the only way to correct your errors. Confess to your brother, and bind him close to your heart, so that you can labor together in love and unity. The rules are plainly laid down in God's word. Whether you have been a minister, the president of a Conference, the superintendent of a Sabbath-school, or a teacher in the Sabbath-school, or have held important positions in any branch of the work, there is but one right course for you to pursue. {RH, December 16, 1890 par. 9}
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| I am filled with sorrow as I see finite men who claim to be the sons of God, filled with evil surmising, and ready to speak evil of their brethren in the truth, ready to weigh others in their own scales of human opinion, and place their estimate upon those of whom they really understand but little. The worst of it is that often those who ought to understand why such action is out of place, drink in the spirit of the accuser, go to the polluted fountain of suspicion and distrust, and turning from the course justice marks out, are guided by some one's hearsay of another's action or character. By this course God's Holy Spirit is grieved, and the churches are weakened by the influence of distrust and suspicion; for they are led to speak evil of those who stand far better in the sight of God than do their accusers. Are we to take reports, hearsay, as if they were verity and truth? Are we not to rebuke the talebearer who would make a condemned brother's course appear as bad as possible? The true brethren of Christ are those who guard the interests of their brethren and sisters. How inappropriate it is to condemn others, when every soul is to be saved, not on his own merits, but by the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour! We are all erring, finite creatures, accountable to God for our words, works, and influence. {RH, October 24, 1893 par. 2}
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| Oh, that the Lord might guide you! You should never in a single instance allow hearsay to move you to action, and yet you have sometimes done this. Never take action to narrow and circumscribe the work unless you know that you are moved to do so by the Spirit of the Lord. Our people are doing work for foreign missions, but there are home missions that need their help just as much as these foreign missions. We should make efforts to show our people the wants of the cause of God, and to open before them the need of using means that God has entrusted to them to advance the work of the Master both at home and abroad. Unless those who can help in ----- are aroused to a sense of their duty, they will not recognize the work of God when the loud cry of the third angel shall be heard. When light goes forth to lighten the earth, instead of coming up to the help of the Lord, they will want to bind about His work to meet their narrow ideas. Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things, and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning. There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness. Those who are accounted good workers will need to draw nigh to God, they will need the divine touch. They will need to drink more deeply and continuously at the fountain of living water, in order that they may discern God's work at every point. Workers may make mistakes, but you should give them a chance to correct their errors, give them an opportunity to learn caution, by leaving the work in their hands. {TM 299.2}
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| If there is any one in the church who desires to be a teacher, who thinks himself called upon to instruct others, let him show a fitness for the position, not by his profession merely, not by his discourses alone, but by his spirit and life. Let him not indulge in evil surmisings, let him give no credence to hearsay, or be found reporting a tale of reproach to others while neglecting to learn whether the accusation is true or false. Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. {RH, March 12, 1895 par. 2}
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| Dear sister, we are determined to be impartial and not have our words or acts in any way influenced by hearsay. We have no pets. May the Lord give us heavenly wisdom, that we may deal righteously and impartially, and thus meet the mind of His Spirit. We do not want our works wrought in self. We do not want personal feelings. If we think we are not specially considered, or if we see, or imagine that we see, positive neglect, we want the spirit of our forgiving Master. The people who professed to be His followers received Him not, because His face was toward Jerusalem, and He gave no special indication that He was to tarry with them. They did not open their doors to the heavenly Guest, and did not urge His abiding with them, although they beheld Him weary with His journey, and the night was drawing on. They gave no sign that they really desired Jesus. The disciples knew that He designed to tarry there that night, and they felt so keenly the slight thus given to their Lord that they were angry, and prayed Jesus to show proper resentment and call down fire from heaven to consume those who had thus abused Him. But He rebuked their indignation and zeal for His honor, and told them that He came, not to visit with judgment, but to show mercy. {2T 566.1}
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| Brethren and sisters, if we love the truth, which has brought us from the darkness of error to the observance of the law of God, we shall highly estimate everything connected with its interests. At our business meetings everything is laid open, so that all may understand how our institutions and various enterprises are conducted and sustained; and when they have this opportunity to know, and yet fail to improve it, ignorance is sin. Those who believe the truth should be prepared to defend our institutions. When false and detrimental reports come, either from believers or unbelievers, they should be able to answer intelligently, telling, not what they have gathered from hearsay, but what they know to be true in relation to their prosperity and plan of operations. {RH, April 29, 1884 par. 3}
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| The world by wisdom knows not God. Many have talked eloquently about him, but their supposed sound reasoning, their subtle arguments, bring men no nearer to him, because they themselves are not in vital connection with him. Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools. Their wrong impressions and imperfect knowledge of God do not lead them to become partakers of his divine nature. Their lives are not conformed to his image. A correct knowledge of God is not a hearsay report, but an intelligent, experimental knowledge. {RH, July 20, 1897 par. 9}
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| I feel so saddened, so discouraged, by the thought that my brethren are willing to listen to and circulate hearsay. I know that the Spirit of God will not cooperate with those who, by their criticisms, their evil-surmising, and their hardheartedness are helping Satan. God says to them, "Thou hast left thy first love. . . . Repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly," that is, "I will not bear long with your perverse spirit, which leads you to cherish envy and evil-surmising." {18MR 198.3}
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