Now listen and you will hear a voice in the clouds of error saying, The truth hath prevailed to open the pores and let nature rid itself of the evil I loaded you down with in a belief. This is the way God or Wisdom takes to get rid of a false belief: the belief is made in the heavens or your mind, it then becomes more and more condensed till it takes the form of matter. Then Wisdom dissolves it and it passes through the pores, and the effort of coughing is one of Truth's servants, not error's: error would try to make you look upon it as an enemy. Remember it is for your good till the storm is over or the error is destroyed. So hoping that you may soon rid yourself of all worldly opinions and stand firm in the Truth that will set you free, I remain your friend and protector till the storm is over and the waters of your belief are still.
P. P. Q.
Portland, Feb. 8th, 1861.
To Miss S., Hill, N. H.
Your letter was received and I was sorry to learn that you thought you took cold. Perhaps you did, but you know all of my patients have to go through the fiery furnace to cleanse them of the dross of “this sinful world,” made so by the opinions of the blind guides. Remember that passage where it says, “Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.” As Truth is our friend, it rids us of our errors, and if we know its voice we should not fear, but receive it with joy. For although it may seem a hard master, nevertheless it will work out for you a more perfect health and happiness than this world of error ever could. So listen to it and I will try to set all things right.
Of course you get very tired, and this would cause the heat to affect the surface as your head was affected, the heat would affect the fluids, and when the heat came in contact with the cold it would chill the surface. This change you call “a cold.” But the same would come about in another way. Every word I said to you is like yeast. This went into your system like food and came in contact with the food of your old bread or belief. Mine was like a purgative, and acted like an emetic on your mind, so that it would keep up a war with your devils [errors], and they will not leave a person, when they have so good a hold as they have on you, without making some
