Conclusion

Divine counsel comes to believers in various ways. Sometimes a supernatural revelation uncovers the deeply hidden secrets of someone’s life, making them known to the prophet. God’s purpose in this is to give the person going down the wrong road a second chance. In other cases, a simple letter transmits the necessary counsel to avoid an error, or to correct one that has already been made. The letter does not even have to be directly addressed to us personally to have a beneficial effect on our behavior. Here is how it was explained by Ellen White: “I was directed to bring out general principles, in speaking and in writing, and at the same time specify the dangers, errors, and sins of some individuals, that all might be warned, reproved, and counseled.” ^{6Testimonies for the Church 2:687.} Reading an inspired book; or sometimes only a verse read during a quiet hour of meditation, may well wake us up in the desire to follow more closely the counsel, admonishment, or correction that we receive from heaven through the words of the prophet.VOTS 78.2