Brother J, your case was presented before me. You occupy a responsible position. You are entrusted with talents of money and of influence. To every man is given a work—something to do, not merely to engage his brain, bone, and muscle in common labor; it means more than this. You are acquainted with this work from a worldly point of view, and have some experience in it in a religious capacity. But for a few years past you have been losing time, and now you will have to work fast to redeem the past. To possess talents is not enough; you must so use them as to advantage not merely yourself but Him who bestowed them. All that you have is a loan from your Lord. He will require it again at your hand with interest. {2T 243.2}

Bror J, din sag blev fremvist for mig. Du har en ansvarsbetynget stilling. Du er betroet med talenter for penge og indflydelse. Ethvert menneske har fået et arbejde - noget at udrette, ikke kun for at engagere deres hjerner, ben og muskulatur i almindeligt arbejde; det er mere end det. Du kender til dette arbejde fra et verdsligt synspunkt og har nogen erfaring med på en religiøs vinkel. Men for nogle år siden tabte du noget tid og nu må du arbejde hurtigere for at indhentede fortiden. At have talenter er ikke nok; du må bruge dem sådan at du ikke blot fremhjælper dig selv men ham som har betroet dig dem. Alt hvad du har er et lån fra din Herre. Han vil kræve det igen fra din hånd med renter.