Not one of us is excusable, under any form of trial, for letting our hold upon God become loosened. He is our source of strength, our stronghold in every trial. When we cry unto Him for help, his hand will be stretched forth mightily to save. Brother D should have felt that, having God for his father, he could hope and rejoice, though every human friend should forsake him. I entreat him not to rob God of his service because frail man has misjudged him, but make haste and consecrate himself to God and serve Him with all the powers of his being. God loves him, and he loves God; and his works must be in accordance with his faith, whatever course men may pursue toward him. His enemies may point to his present position as an evidence that they were right in their judgment of him. Brother D’s course has been hasty and without due thought. His soul has been disgusted, and he thinks it has been too thoroughly wounded for recovery. Those who have pursued him so relentlessly have been in life and character far from blameless. If God had dealt with their crooked ways and imperfect characters as they have dealt with Brother D, they would have perished long ago. But a compassionate God has borne with them and not dealt with them according to their sins. {4T 328.3}

Ingen af os kan undskyldes, under nogen former for prøvelser, for at løsne vort greb på Gud. Han er vor styrkes kilde, vor fæstning i enhver prøvelse. Når vi råber til (329) ham efter hjælp, vil hans hånd strækkes ud, mægtig til at redde. Bror D burde føle dette, have Gud som sin far, han kunne håbe og glæde sig, selvom alle menneskevennerne svigter ham. Jeg bønfalder ham, ikke at frarøve Gud sin tjeneste, fordi svigtende mennesker har fejlbedømt ham, men skynd dig og hellig dig selv til Gud og tjen ham af alle kræfter. Gud elsker ham og han elsker Gud; og hans gerninger må svare til hans tro, uanset hvilken opførsel mennesker må udvise mod ham. Hans fjender kan pege på hans nuværende position, som bevis for at de havde ret, i deres vurdering af ham. Bror D's opførsel har været overilet og uden passende eftertænksomhed. Han væmmes ved sin sjæl og han mener den er blevet for såret for meget, til at kunne helbredes igen. Dem som har behandlet ham så hårdt, har i deres liv og karakter været langt fra ulastelige. Hvis Gud havde behandlet andre med de krogede veje og den ufuldkommenhed, som de har behandlet bror D med, ville de været gået til grunde for lang tid siden. Men en medfølende Gud har båret over med dem og ikke behandlet dem efter deres synder.