Our Master was a man of sorrows; He was acquainted with grief; and those who suffer with Him will reign with Him. When the Lord appeared to Saul in his conversion, He did not purpose to show him how much good he should enjoy, but what great things he should suffer for His name. Suffering has been the portion of the people of God from the days of the martyr Abel. The patriarchs suffered for being true to God and obedient to His commandments. The great Head of the church suffered for our sake; His first apostles and the primitive church suffered; the millions of martyrs suffered, and the Reformers suffered. And why should we, who have the blessed hope of immortality, to be consummated at the soon appearing of Christ, shrink from a life of suffering? Were it possible to reach the tree of life in the midst of the Paradise of God without suffering, we would not enjoy so rich a reward for which we had not suffered. We would shrink back from the glory; shame would seize us in the presence of those who had fought the good fight, had run the race with patience, and had laid hold on eternal life. But none will be there who have not, like Moses, chosen to suffer affliction with the people of God. The prophet John saw the multitude of the redeemed, and inquired who they were. The prompt answer came: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” {1T 78.1}

I efteråret 1846 begyndte vi at holde den bibelske sabbat og at lære og forsvare den. Min opmærksomhed blev først (76) rettet mod sabbatten, da jeg tidligere det samme år var på besøg i New Bedford, Massachusetts. Der blev jeg bekendt med bror Joseph Bates, som tidligt havde antaget adventtroen og var en aktiv arbejder for sagen. Bror B. hellig holdt sabbatten og lagde vægt på dens betydning. Jeg følte ikke dens betydning og troede, at bror B. tog fejl ved at dvæle mere ved det fjerde bud end ved de andre ni. Men Herren viste mig den himmelske helligdom. Guds tempel var åbnet i himmelen, og jeg blev vist Guds ark tildækket med nådestolen. Der stod der to engle, em ved hver ende af arken, med deres vinger spredt ud over nådestolen og deres ansigter vendt mod den. Min ledsagende engel fortalte mig, at disse repræsenterede hele den himmelske hær, der med ærbødig ærefrygt ser hen mod den hellige lov, som var blevet skrevet med Guds finger. Jesus løftede arkens låg, og jeg så stentavlerne, hvorpå de ti bud var skrevet. Jeg blev forbavset, da jeg så det fjerde bud placeret midt i de ti bud med en dæmpet stråleglans af lys, der omkransede det. Engelen sagde: "Det er det eneste af de ti, som fortæller, hvem den levende Gud er, som skabte himlene og jorden og alt levende, som er derpå. Da jordens grundvold blev lagt, blev sabbattens grundvold også lagt."