Article July 18, 1914 Issue

Wednesday Evening Testimonies

LOUISE SATTERTHWAITE

It was a winter night, but I noted with interest the appearance of perspiration upon the forehead of a gentleman sitting in front of me. The occasion was a Wednesday evening meeting, and a voice near us was heard speaking with zeal but not with discretion,—it was indeed a voice heard in this meeting as regularly as Wednesday evening came around. Though its owner was possessed of a kindly thought, nevertheless, since acts as well as motives need to be considered, it often happened that the words uttered by this one did as much harm as good. On this occasion the testimony, supposed to be slightly humorous, verged close upon the blasphemous, and amused smiles were noted on the faces of some of the visitors, while on others a shocked expression was seen. The man who perspired was a member of the church, and he suffered poignantly.

As I listened to the testimony, the thought came to me that if she or any one of us had been put into a witness-box, how carefully would we have weighed our words! Yet in this greatest of all witness-boxes, when we should present with the utmost wisdom our side of the case, this is not always done. The Christmas season had just passed and another picture came before me, where each one carefully selected the most appropriate gift and then delicately and daintily prepared it for its bestowal. It had to be just the right thing, or as near to the right thing as could be attained; it had to be free from all blemish or imperfection, and with choice and true words inseribed on it. I then thought that as these testimonies were intended to be gifts, it seemed as if they were not always so carefully prepared as they might be.

To testify at a Wednesday evening meeting is for many not an easy task; but the right sort of preparation would make it easier. One should determine just what thoughts are to be expressed, and then go over them mentally several times. One man whom I know, and who always speaks very well indeed, writes out his testimony, afterward condensing it and reading it over several times; then when he comes to speak, while many things may be forgotten, at least the most important are surely remembered.

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"To the glory of God"
July 18, 1914
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