given to us jewels of rare
beauty, no gem from mountain or mine, no coral from the ocean's flow,
can compare with them. And they are of priceless value too; Christ's
blood alone could purchase them, and this He gave, gave freely too, that
they might be fitted to deck His diadem of glory. He has encased these
gems in caskets of exquisite workmanship, and given them to us, that we
may keep them safely, and return them to Him when He shall ask them of
us. Shall we be negligent of this trust? Shall we be busy, here and
there, and suffer the adversary of souls to secure them to himself? We
know that God is pleased to accept the efforts of the faithful mother;
his language to us is, "Take this child and nurse it for _me_, and I
will give thee thy wages." But on this condition alone, are we to
receive the reward promised that they be trained for His service. And
have we not the evidence, even now, before us of the fulfillment of His
precious promise? Those of us who were privileged on the last Sabbath to
witness the consecration of that band of youthful disciples to the
Savior, felt that the efforts of faithful mothers _had_ been blessed,
their prayers _had_ been answered, and when we remembered that six of
those loved ones were the children of our little circle, and others were
intimately connected with some of our number, we felt our confidence in
God strengthened, and I trust all gained new encouragement to labor for
those who were yet out of the ark of safety. There are others of our
number with whom God's Spirit has been striving, and even now His
influences are being felt. Shall they be resisted, and those thus
influenced go farther from Him who has died that they might live?

Not many years since I was permitted to stand by the death-bed of a
mother in Israel. Her sons were there, and as she looked at them with
eyes in which we might almost see reflected the bright glories of the
New Jerusalem, she exclaimed, "Dear sons, I shall meet you all in
heaven." Why, we were led to ask, does she say this? Two of them had
already reached the age of manhood, and had as yet refused to yield
obedience to their Heavenly Father. But she trusted in her
covenant-keeping God, she had given them to Him; for them she had
labored and prayed, and she _knew_ that God delighted to answer prayer.
We realized the ground of her confidence, when tidings came to us, ere
that year had expired, that one of those sons, far away upon the ocean,
with n