These institutions have not, like other institutions of the kind, received endowments or legacies. And yet God has greatly prospered and blessed them, and made them the means of great good. There are aged ones among us who are nearing the close of their probation; but for the want of wide-awake men to secure to the cause of God the means in their possession, it passes into the hands of those who are serving Satan. This means was only lent them of God to be returned to Him; but in nine cases out of ten these brethren, when passing from the stage of action, appropriate God’s property in a way that cannot glorify Him, for not one dollar of it will ever flow into the Lord’s treasury. In some cases these apparently good brethren have had unconsecrated advisers, who counseled from their own standpoint and not according to the mind of God. Property is often bequeathed to children and grandchildren only to their injury. They have no love for God or for the truth, and therefore this means, all of which is the Lord’s, passes into Satan’s ranks, to be controlled by him. Satan is much more vigilant, keen-sighted, and skillful in devising ways to secure means to himself than our brethren are to secure the Lord’s own to His cause. Some wills are made in so loose a manner that they will not stand the test of the law, and thus thousands of dollars have been lost to the cause. Our brethren should feel that a responsibility rests upon them, as faithful servants in the cause of God, to exercise their intellect in regard to this matter, and secure to the Lord His own. {4T 478.1}

Disse institutioner har ikke ligesom andre institutioner af samme slags modtaget fonds eller legater Og dog har Herren velsignet dem stort og givet dem fremgang og gjort dem til redskaber, som har udrettet meget godt. Der er alderstegne personer, som nærmer sig afslutningen af deres prøvetid; men fordi der savnes årvågne mænd, der kunne sikre Guds sag de midler, de besidder, går disse midler over på deres hænder, som tjener den onde. Disse midler var kun et lån fra Gud og skulle gives tilbage til ham; men i ni tilfælde af ti træffer disse brødre sådanne bestemmelser vedrørende anvendelsen af Guds ejendom, når de falder bort, at Gud ikke kan æres derved; for ikke een krone deraf vil nogensinde tilflyde Herrens forrådshus. I nogle tilfælde har disse tilsyneladende gode brødre haft vanhellige rådgivere, som gav dem råd ud fra deres eget standpunkt og ikke efter Guds vilje. Ejendom bliver ofte testamenteret til børn og børnebørn, kun til skade for disse. De har ingen kærlighed til Gud eller til sandheden og de midler, som alle hører Herren til, går derfor over i Satans rækker for at blive anvendt under hans ledelse. Satan er langt mere vågen, skarpsynet og dygtig til at udtænke planer, hvorved han kan sikre sig midler, end vore brødre (479) er til at sikre Herrens sag, hvad der er hans eget. Nogle testamenter bliver affattet på en så ufuldkommen måde, at de ikke har gyldighed over for loven og derved er tusinder af kroner gået tabt for sagen. Vore brødre bør forstå, at der påhviler dem et ansvar som trofaste tjenere i Guds sag til at handle forstandigt vedrørende dette punkt og at sikre Herren, hvad der tilhører ham.