The life of John, although passed in the wilderness, was not inactive. His separation from society did not make him gloomy and morose, neither was he unreconciled with his lonely life of hardship and privation. It was his choice to be secluded from the luxuries of life, and from depraved society. Pride, envy, jealousy, and corrupt passions seemed to control the hearts of men. But John was separated from the influence of these things, and, with discerning eye and wonderful discrimination, read the characters of men. He lived in the quiet retreat of the wilderness, and occasionally he mingled in society; but would not remain long where the moral atmosphere seemed to be polluted. He feared that the sight of his eyes and the hearing of his ears would so pervert his mind that he would lose a sense of the sinfulness of sin. A great work was before him, and it was necessary that he should form a character unbiased by any surrounding influence. It was necessary that his physical, mental, and moral conditions should be of that high and noble type that would qualify him for a work which required firmness and integrity, that when he should appear among men he could enlighten them, and be instrumental in giving a new direction to their thoughts, and awakening them to the necessity of forming righteous characters. John would bring the people up to the standard of divine perfection. He studied the peculiarities of minds, that he might know how to adapt his instructions to the people. {2SP 46.1}

Johannes’ liv var ikke passivt, selvom det udspilede sig i ørknen. Hans adskillelse fra samfundet gjorde ham ikke tungsindig og vranten, han var heller ikke uforsonet med sit ensomme liv med sine vanskeligheder og afsagn. Han ønskede selv at være afskåret fra livets overdådighed og fra fordærvede samfund. Folket havde hengivet sig til stolthed, misundelse, had og dårlige egenskaber. Han levede i ørknens stille afkrog, og af og til blandet ind i samfundet; men ville ikke forblive så længe hvor den moralske atmosfære virkede forurenet. Han frygtede at hans øjesyn og øres hørelse ville forvanske hans sind så han ville miste fornemmelsen for syndens syndighed. Et stort arbejde var foran ham, og det var nødvendigt at han skulle forme en karakter ubøjelig efter nogen omgivende indflydelse. Det var nødvendigt at hans fysiske, mentale og moralske betingelser skulle være af høj og ædel standard så det vil kvalificere ham til et et nødvendigt arbejde, der krævede fasthed og renhed, så han kunne vise sig iblandt de mennesker han kunne oplyse dem, og være redskab til at give en ny retning i deres tanker, og vække dem til en nødvendighed for at forme den rette karakter. Johannes ville bringe folk op til standarden for guddommelig fuldkommenhed. Han studerede sindets særligheder, så han (47) ved hvordan han tilpasser sin undervisning til folk.