The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 366
truth, he desired to bring it before the people; but the popular belief that
the prophecies of Daniel are mysteries and cannot be understood was a
serious obstacle in his way. He finally determined—as Farel had done
before him in evangelizing Geneva—to begin with the children, through
whom he hoped to interest the parents.
“I desire this to be understood,” he afterward said, speaking of his
object in this undertaking, “it is not because of its small importance, but
on the contrary because of its great value, that I wished to present it in
this familiar form, and that I addressed it to the children. I desired to be
heard, and I feared that I would not be if I addressed myself to the grown
people first.” “I determined therefore to go to the youngest. I gather an
audience of children; if the group enlarges, if it is seen that they listen,
are pleased, interested, that they understand and explain the subject, I am
sure to have a second circle soon, and in their turn, grown people will
see that it is worth their while to sit down and study. When this is done,
the cause is gained.”—L. Gaussen, Daniel the Prophet, vol. 2, Preface.
The effort was successful. As he addressed the children, older
persons came to listen. The galleries of his church were filled with
attentive hearers. Among them were men of rank and learning, and
strangers and foreigners visiting Geneva; and thus the message was
carried to other parts.
Encouraged by this success, Gaussen published his lessons, with the
hope of promoting the study of the prophetic books in the churches
of the French-speaking people. “To publish instruction given to the
children,” says Gaussen, “is to say to adults, who too often neglect such
books under the false pretense that they are obscure, ‘How can they be
obscure, since your children understand them?”’ “I had a great desire,”
he adds, “to render a knowledge of the prophecies popular in our flocks,
if possible.” “There is no study, indeed, which it seems to me answers
the needs of the time better.” “It is by this that we are to prepare for the
tribulation near at hand, and watch and wait for Jesus Christ.”
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