We are a
united body. We are bound together by a common religious conviction, by one and
the same divine discipline and by the bond of common hope. We form a permanent
society and come together for communal gatherings as if forming an army around
God and besieging Him with our prayers. This is the kind of force in which God
rejoices. …
In these meetings of our society there is also
encouragement, admonition, and divine correction, for holding judgment is a matter
which carries great weight among us, as it should be among people who are sure
of God’s presence. … The most proven men preside; the “elders” as we call them.
They have attained this honor only through their good name, never through the
use of money.
