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Quotations from the writings of Ellen G. White with the phrase . . .

Mansions  of  the  blessed

Before any can enter the mansions of the blessed, their cases must be investigated, and their characters and their deeds must pass in review before God. All are to be judged according to the things written in the books and to be rewarded as their works have been. This judgment does not take place at death. Mark the words of Paul: "He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead." Acts 17:31.  Here the apostle plainly stated that a specified time, then future, had been fixed upon for the judgment of the world.  Great Controversy, page 548.2

We do not plead for a manifestation of what the world calls courtesy, but for that courtesy which everyone will take with him to the mansions of the blessed.  {AH 425.3}

Are all the members of your church seeking to gather fresh manna every morning and evening? Are you seeking divine enlightenment? or are you devising means whereby you can glorify yourselves? Are you, with your whole soul, might, mind, and strength, loving and serving God in blessing others around you by leading them to the Light of the world? Are you satisfied with past blessings? or are you walking as Christ walked, working as He worked, revealing Him to the world in your words and actions? Are you, as obedient children, living a pure and holy life? Christ must be brought into your life. He alone can cure you of envy, of evil surmising against your brethren; He alone can take away from you the self-sufficient spirit that some of you cherish to your own spiritual detriment. Jesus alone can make you feel your weakness, your ignorance, your corrupt nature. He alone can make you pure, refine you, fit you for the mansions of the blessed.  {5T 486.2}

My brethren and sisters, will you not face heavenward? Will you not open the chambers of the mind to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness? Will you not open the door of the heart, and welcome Jesus in? There is healing in his wings. He will create the kindness and love in your hearts that should be cherished and exhibited in your family, and this love will not only embrace your own household, but will flow out to those around you in the church and the world. We do not plead for a manifestation of what the world calls courtesy, but for that courtesy which everyone will take with him to the mansions of the blessed. Oh, what rays of softness and beauty shone forth in the daily life of our Saviour, and were revealed in all the associations which he cherished! There never was so perfect an illustration of genuine courtesy as that which was exemplified in the life of Jesus. He bids parents to come unto him and learn of him, for he is meek and lowly of heart. He says to the children, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." Send them not to the rabbis, send them not to the Pharisees, but take the little children to Jesus for instruction and discipline.  {ST, May 7, 1894 par. 10}

The  mansions  that  Jesus  has  gone  to  prepare

"I ask you who are handling sacred things, I ask the individual members of the church, have you confessed your sins? If not, begin now; for your souls are in great peril. If you die with your mistakes concealed, unconfessed, you die in your sins. The mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for all who love him, will be peopled by those who are free from sin. But sins that are not confessed will never be forgiven; the name of him who thus rejects the grace of God will be blotted out of the book of life. The time is at hand when every secret thing shall be brought into judgment, and then there will be many confessions made that will astonish the world. The secrets of all hearts will be revealed. The confession of sin will be most public. The sad part of it is that confession then made will be too late to benefit the wrong-doer or to save others from deception. It only testifies that the condemnation is just. He gained nothing by his pride and self-sufficiency and stubbornness, for his own life was embittered, he ruined his own character so that he was not a fit subject of heaven, and by his influence he led others to ruin.     Review & Herald,  December 16, 1890, paragraph 20

The mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for all who love Him will be peopled by those who are free from sin. But sins that are not confessed will never be forgiven; the name of him who thus rejects the grace of God will be blotted out of the book of life. The time is at hand when every secret thing shall be brought into judgment, and then there will be many confessions made that will astonish the world. The secrets of all hearts will be revealed. The confession of sin will be most public. The sad part of it is that confession then made will be too late to benefit the wrongdoer or to save others from deception. It only testifies that his condemnation is just. . . . You may now close the book of your remembrance in order to escape confessing your sins, but when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, you cannot close them. The recording angel has testified that which is true. All that you have tried to conceal and forget is registered, and will be read to you when it is too late for wrongs to be righted. . . . Unless your sins are canceled, they will testify against you at that day.  {TMK 238.3}

What valuable lessons these pilgrims and strangers must have learned in the friendly asylum of the rocks! As they climb the steep mountain paths, they have in mind, not the homes they have left, although they still hope to possess them again; but they are looking for a home so high that the highest peak of the Alps cannot reach it,-- a home with their heavenly Father in the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for them, from which they will never be driven. The bitter venom of the dragon cannot reach them there. Therefore they can well afford to leave their earthly treasures, to grope their way among dark and crooked paths, and to be inclosed in rocky chambers, away from the light of day, if by this means they can attain that home among the blest,-- a home not made with-hands, eternal in the heavens.  {HS 243.1}

Faith sees Jesus standing as our mediator at the right hand of God. Faith beholds the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love Him. Faith sees the robe and the crown all prepared for the overcomer. Faith hears the song of the redeemed, and brings eternal glories near. We must come close to Jesus in loving obedience if we would see the King in His beauty. {YRP 371.2}

How grateful should we be for the privileges which Christ has gained for us in opening heaven before us. What hope does it give to man that the Father said to Christ, who represented humanity, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." In the Father's acceptance of Christ in man's behalf, we are assured that through the merits of his Son, we may find access to God. We may be accepted in the Beloved. Jesus, the world's Redeemer; has opened the way so that the most sinful, the most needy, the most oppressed and despised, may find access to God, may have a home in the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love Him.  {BEcho, February 1, 1893 par. 4}  {Messenger, December 15, 1892 par. 4}

Before me was a class of men possessing no inferior talent; there were those who had no knowledge of God, and no faith in his Son, but I knew that Jesus was willing to receive these men, waiting to pardon their transgressions, to take their feet from the miry clay, and to place them upon the Rock of Ages. I felt an intense desire to present the truth of God's word in such a way that they might be constrained by the love that Jesus had manifested for them to come to him in all their sinfulness and pollution, that they might be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. The most sinful may be made fit for the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love him and keep his commandments. They may be cleansed by faith in his blood, sanctified through obedience to the truth, and glorified by the power of God to shine in his everlasting kingdom.  {ST, April 20, 1888 par. 8}

We see the varied gifts of God in nature, but we see but the faintest gleaming of his glory. Our hearts should be filled with praise to him who will ever act in harmony with his own greatness; and in looking upon the works of God, by faith we may contemplate what we shall behold if we are fitted for the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love him. Then let us not go through the world neglecting to see and to appreciate the wonderful things with which God has surrounded us. Let us not forget to talk of the compassion of our heavenly Father, who hath provided all things richly to enjoy. Let us not begin to grumble, because we see thistles and thorns. God did not tell you to look upon these. He did not bid you grasp the thorns, that would wound and bruise your flesh, and grieve your spirit. Turn your eyes away from these things to the attractive loveliness of that which is beautiful. Think on these things, talk of the wonderful works of your Creator and Redeemer. Talk of the price that was given to win these things for you. Dwell upon the theme of salvation. Talk of the tender love of God, who gave his only begotten Son to die on Calvary, that we might come into possession of eternal riches.  {ST, June 29, 1888 par. 7}

The children of God profess to be pilgrims and strangers on the earth, seeking a better country. It is not for them to set their affections on things below. They are not to conform to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. They are to learn daily in the school of Christ, so profiting by the lessons of the divine Teacher that they shall be able to serve God better and better, better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today. This is the hour of probation, when opportunity is given us to perfect such characters as will fit us for a place in the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love him. In order to perfect Christian character, we must dwell upon the perfection of Christ, and as we behold his matchless charms, we shall desire to be like him, and become changed, reflecting more and more of his spirit of love.  {ST, January 26, 1891 par. 7}

The cross of Calvary is to be a constant reminder of the future, nobler world, the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for all who love him. We are to be enthusiasts. And as we by faith view the glories within the temple of God, we shall seek to awaken enthusiasm in others, a desire to behold things unseen. Our work is to attract minds away from earth to heaven; to take others with us as companions, to walk the path that is cast up for the ransomed of the Lord. The children of the Heavenly King are to move among men, not as citizens of the world, but as citizens of the kingdom above. We are pilgrims and strangers in this world, seeking a better country, even a heavenly. "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming."  {ST, August 17, 1891 par. 1}

We are to present the truth as it is in Jesus, made fragrant and attractive by the grace and the courtesy that characterized the life of Christ. Godliness is to be an ornament to the life, as well as the saving salt of character. Why do those who claim to be advanced in knowledge, make themselves objectionable, and bring the truth into disrepute? It is because the truth has not been permitted to sanctify their unholy dispositions. Those who misrepresent the truth are harsh, unsympathetic, and denunciatory. They climb upon the judgment seat, as though they had been ordained to measure character, and lord it over God's heritage. In their uncourteous ways, they make it manifest that love is not in their hearts, and they do not know the plague spot of their own souls. They do not keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, nor value the soul as Christ's purchased possession, although they are charged with treating Christ as they treat the least of his little ones. What is it that constitutes the loveliness of the soul?--It is the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. Jesus said , "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." If the things of nature are so clothed in loveliness by our Heavenly Father, shall not the soul be clothed in more desirable beauty? Through the merits and virtues of Jesus Christ, the soul may wear the image of Him who created man in His own likeness. It is holiness of life and Christlikeness of character that constitute the beauty of the soul. Through sin the divine image in man has been marred, and Satan has placed upon the soul the stamp of his own image and character; for it has been Satan's purpose to obliterate the image of God in man, so that man should not occupy the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love him. Through apostasy Satan lost heaven, and he is determined that the human race, whom he has led to transgress the law of God, shall not enjoy the pure and inexpressible glory from which he is shut out.  {ST, August 21, 1893 par. 1}

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