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  • Ellen G. White

#47 Country Living — 1 of 4



The Divine Ideal

Although everything God had made was in the perfection of beauty, and there seemed nothing wanting upon the earth which God had created to make Adam and Eve happy, yet He manifested His great love to them by planting a garden especially for them. A portion of their time was to be occupied in the happy employment of dressing the garden, and a portion in receiving the visits of angels, listening to their instruction, and in happy meditation. Their labor was not wearisome, but pleasant and invigorating. This beautiful garden was to be their home, their special residence.—Spiritual Gifts 3:34 (1864). {LDE 94.1}


What were the conditions chosen by the infinite Father for His Son? A secluded home in the Galilean hills; a household sustained by honest, self-respecting labor; a life of simplicity; daily conflict with difficulty and hardship; self-sacrifice, economy, and patient, gladsome service; the hour of study at His mother’s side, with the open scroll of Scripture; the quiet of dawn or twilight in the green valley; the holy ministries of nature; the study of creation and providence; and the soul’s communion with God—these were the conditions and opportunities of the early life of Jesus.—The Ministry of Healing, 365, 366 (1905). {LDE 94.2}



Away From the Cities

Get out of the cities as soon as possible and purchase a little piece of land where you can have a garden, where your children can watch the flowers growing and learn from them lessons of simplicity and purity.—Selected Messages 2:356 (1903). {LDE 95.1}


Out of the cities, is my message at this time. Be assured that the call is for our people to locate miles away from the large cities. One look at San Francisco as it is today would speak to your intelligent minds, showing you the necessity of getting out of the cities.... {LDE 95.2}


The Lord calls for His people to locate away from the cities, for in such an hour as ye think not, fire and brimstone will be rained from heaven upon these cities. Proportionate to their sins will be their visitation. When one city is destroyed, let not our people regard this matter as a light affair, and think that they may, if favorable opportunity offers, build themselves homes in that same destroyed city.... {LDE 95.3}


Let all who would understand the meaning of these things read the eleventh chapter of Revelation. Read every verse, and learn the things that are yet to take place in the cities. Read also the scenes portrayed in the eighteenth chapter of the same book.—MR 1518 (May 10, 1906). {LDE 95.4}


Fathers and mothers who possess a piece of land and a comfortable home are kings and queens.—The Adventist Home, 141 (1894). {LDE 96.1}



Cities to Be Worked From Outposts

As God’s commandment-keeping people we must leave the cities. As did Enoch, we must work in the cities but not dwell in them.—Evangelism, 77, 78 (1899). {LDE 96.2}


The cities are to be worked from outposts. Said the messenger of God, “Shall not the cities be warned? Yes, not by God’s people living in them but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth.”—Selected Messages 2:358 (1902). {LDE 96.3}


For years I have been given special light that we are not to center our work in the cities. The turmoil and confusion that fill these cities, the conditions brought about by the labor unions and the strikes, would prove a great hindrance to our work.—Testimonies for the Church 7:84 (1902). {LDE 96.4}


When iniquity abounds in a nation there is always to be heard some voice giving warning and instruction, as the voice of Lot was heard in Sodom. Yet Lot could have preserved his family from many evils had he not made his home in this wicked, polluted city. All that Lot and his family did in Sodom could have been done by them even if they had lived in a place some distance away from the city.—Evangelism, 78 (1903). {LDE 96.5}


For the present, some will be obliged to labor in Chicago, but these should be preparing working centers in rural districts from which to work the city. The Lord would have His people looking about them and securing humble, inexpensive places as centers for their work. And from time to time larger places will come to their notice, which they will be able to secure at a surprisingly low price.—Evangelism, 402 (1906). {LDE 96.6}



Rich Blessings in a Natural Environment

We say again, “Out of the cities.” Do not consider it a great deprivation that you must go into the hills and mountains, but seek for that retirement where you can be alone with God, to learn His will and way.... {LDE 97.1}


I urge our people to make it their lifework to seek for spirituality. Christ is at the door. This is why I say to our people, “Do not consider it a privation when you are called to leave the cities and move out into the country places. Here there await rich blessings for those who will grasp them. By beholding the scenes of nature, the works of the Creator, by studying God’s handiwork, imperceptibly you will be changed into the same image.”—Selected Messages 2:355, 356 (1908). {LDE 97.2}



Character Development Easier in the Country

Parents flock with their families to the cities because they fancy it easier to obtain a livelihood there than in the country. The children, having nothing to do when not in school, obtain a street education. From evil associates they acquire habits of vice and dissipation.—Testimonies for the Church 5:232 (1882). {LDE 97.3}


Send the children to schools located in the city, where every phase of temptation is waiting to attract and demoralize them, and the work of character building is tenfold harder for both parents and children.—Fundamentals of Christian Education, 326 (1894). {LDE 98.1}


The cities are filled with temptation. We should plan our work in such a way as to keep our young people as far as possible from this contamination.—The Adventist Home, 136 (1902). {LDE 98.2}


It is time for our people to take their families from the cities into more retired localities, else many of the youth, and many also of those older in years, will be ensnared and taken by the enemy.—Testimonies for the Church 8:101 (1904). {LDE 98.3}


There is not one family in a hundred who will be improved physically, mentally, or spiritually, by residing in the city. Faith, hope, love, happiness, can far better be gained in retired places, where there are fields and hills and trees. Take your children away from the sights and sounds of the city, away from the rattle and din of streetcars and teams, and their minds will become more healthy. It will be found easier to bring home to their hearts the truth of the Word of God.—The Adventist Home, 137 (1905). {LDE 98.4}


 

Arthur | (Paulo Rocha) Saúde

Cláudio | (Ruth) Saúde

Levi | Saúde

Luiz e Alejandro | Saúde

Marcos | Saúde

Pedro | (pastor) Saúde

Laura | (Almir) Saúde

Miguel | (Alex) Saúde

Pr. Ottoni | (pai da Marjorie) Saúde

Thalles | (Juan e Thais) Saúde

Mateus | Saúde

Sandra | (Joezel) Saúde

Isadora | Saúde

Inês | Saúde

Laurete | Saúde

Enock e Túlio | (Silas) Saúde

Nair | (Oliveira) Saúde

Tia Bia | Saúde

Lúcia | (vó Keyse) Saúde

Saul | (família Cruz) Saúde

Elisa | (família Aguiar) Saúde

Jorge | (Ever) Saúde

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