What I am about to describe to you is far from being a heavenly scene, and yet it is a scene I myself have witnessed, when in company with a beloved aunt, a veritable angel-missionary, I visited one of the many fields of her angelic labor.
A DARKENED SPIRIT LED TO SEE THE LIGHT.
A barren waste of sand and rocks spread out far and wide before us; no blooming plants, no lofty trees, no singing birds, to awaken music with their melody; all was silent, profound, deep desolation. At a distance I could perceive the white foam and the dashing waves of angry waters breaking upon a great line of cragged, dreary-looking rocks. Oh, what an appearance of unrestfulness was here!
At first I could perceive no signs of human life, not even a vestige of animal existence. The place was too sterile, barren, and forbidding for even the very lowest form of conscious being.
I turned to my companion in surprise at having been brought to such an unhallowed spot; perceiving which, she silently pointed to an object slightly in advance of us, which appeared to me but one of the many rocks about us, so thickly was it enveloped in a cloud of darkness; but which in a little time I discovered to bear a resemblance to a human form.
The figure was crouching down in the sand, its head bowed upon its knees, presenting a most abject and despairing appearance. It was evidently a male, and he seemed to be suffering intensely. I shall never forget the terrible pang that shot through me at the sight; nothing more than that experience would I need through all my life, to pity, sympathize with, and seek to assist the miserable and unfortunate.
I clearly saw that this unhappy soul could not perceive our approach. His senses were absorbed in his own condition and discordant surroundings; but we could trace upon the cloud-like vapor enveloping him lines indicating that his had been a hard and bitter life. Misery, intemperance, impurity of life, had marked his way; unmourned and unregretted on earth, he had entered spirit life, engulfed in degradation and despair. And then and there I learned that this place, appearing so terribly desolate, was typical of the earthly lives of those who came here for a time, because of their unhallowed existence through mortality.
Drawing closer, the angel with me spread her hands above the unfortunate’s head, and presently little lines of light streaming from her white fingers began to permeate the darkness, and the being before us groaned and stirred restlessly.
Continuing her work, my blessed companion made rapid passes over the form before us, the light still flowing down upon him from her fingers. He trembled, great tears coursed down his cheeks, and at last he cried: “Oh, Lord, save me! Help me, and I will be a better man!”
It was the cry of a spirit, struggling through the darkness, the degradation and sin of years, yearning for light and praying for assistance.