Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

Judging from the literal meaning of the term “acting in an arbitrary and dictatorial manner,” “arbitrary” refers to making decisions alone, having the final say; and “dictatorial” means that after making a judgment or decision on one’s own, everyone else must execute it without the right to have differing opinions or statements, nor even to ask questions. Being arbitrary and dictatorial means that when faced with a situation, they ponder and consider it themselves before making a decision on what to do. They independently make decisions behind the scenes about how to do things, without anyone else’s input; even their own co-workers, collaborators or higher-level leaders cannot intervene—this is what it means to be arbitrary and dictatorial. No matter what situation they face, those who act in this manner consistently proceed by mulling things over in their minds and racking their brains in deliberation, never conferring with others. They think this way and that in their heads, but what they are actually thinking, no one knows. Why does no one know? Because they don’t say. Some people might think it’s just because they are not talkative, but is that really the case? This isn’t a matter of personality; it’s an intentional choice to keep others in the dark. They want to do things on their own, they have their own calculations. What are they calculating? Their calculations revolve around their own interests, status, fame, gain, and prestige. They ponder how to act in their own favor, how to protect their status and reputation from harm, how to act without letting others see through them, and crucially, how to conceal their actions from the Above, hoping to eventually receive benefit without revealing any flaws to anyone. They think, “If I have a momentary slip-up and say something wrong, everyone will see through me. If someone speaks out of turn and reports me to the above, the above might replace me, and I will lose my status. Besides, if I always fellowship with others, won’t my limited abilities be evident to all? Might others look down on me?” Now, tell Me, if they were really seen through, would that be good or bad? Actually, for those who pursue the truth, for honest people, being seen through and losing some face or reputation doesn’t matter much. They don’t seem very concerned with these things; they seem to be less overtly conscious of them and don’t place too much stock in them. But antichrists are the exact opposite; they don’t pursue the truth, and they regard their status and others’ perceptions and attitudes toward them as more important than life itself.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Six

Some people like to do things alone, without discussing things with anyone or telling anyone. They simply do things as they want, regardless of how others might view them. They think, “I’m the leader, and you are God’s chosen ones, so you need to follow what I do. Do exactly as I say—that’s how it ought to be.” They do not notify others when they act and their actions have no transparency. They are always privately exerting themselves and acting in secret. Just like the great red dragon, which maintains its single-party monopoly on power, they wish always to hoodwink and control others, whom they see as insignificant and worthless. They always want to have the final say in matters, without discussing or communicating with others, and they never solicit others’ opinions. What do you think of this approach? Is it possessed of normal humanity? (It is not.) Is it not the nature of the great red dragon? The great red dragon is dictatorial and likes to act in an arbitrary way. Are those with this type of corrupt disposition not the offspring of the great red dragon? This is how people should know themselves. Are you capable of acting like this? (Yes.) When you behave this way are you aware of it? If you are, then there is still hope for you, but if you are not, you are surely in trouble, and in this case, are you not doomed? What is to be done when you are unaware of your acting like this? (We need our brothers and sisters to point it out and prune us.) If you first say to others, “I’m someone who naturally loves to lead others, and I’m telling you in advance, so if and when it happens, don’t take issue with it. You’ve got to bear with me. I know it isn’t great, and I’m working on changing it gradually, so I hope you’ll be tolerant of me. When these things happen, bear with me, cooperate with me, and let’s strive together to cooperate in harmony.” Is doing things in this way acceptable? (No. It’s without reason.) Why do you say that this is without reason? Someone who says this doesn’t intend to seek the truth. They know quite well that doing things in this way is wrong, but they persist in doing it, all while constraining others, demanding their cooperation and support. There is no desire to practice the truth in their intent. They are deliberately going against the truth. A knowing violation—that is what God loathes most. No one but evil people and antichrists are capable of doing such a thing, and to do so is precisely how antichrists act. One is in danger when they intentionally go against the truth and resist God. This is walking the path of antichrists.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. On Harmonious Cooperation

Antichrists are unable to cooperate with anyone; they’re always wishing to set up solitary rule. The characteristic of this manifestation is “solo.” Why use the word “solo” to describe it? Because before they take action, they don’t come before God in prayer, nor do they seek the truth principles, much less do they find someone to fellowship with and say to them, “Is this an appropriate course? What do the work arrangements stipulate? How’s this sort of thing to be handled?” They never discuss things or seek to reach a consensus with their co-workers and partners—they just consider things and scheme on their own, making their own plans and arrangements. With a mere cursory read-through of the work arrangements of God’s house, they think they’ve understood them, and then they blindly arrange the work—and by the time others know of this, the work has already been arranged. It’s impossible for anyone to hear their views or sentiments from their own mouth in advance, as they never communicate the thoughts and views they harbor to anyone. Someone may ask, “Don’t all leaders and workers have partners?” They may nominally have someone as a partner, but when it comes time to work, they don’t anymore—they fly solo. Although leaders and workers have partners, and everyone who does any duty has a partner, antichrists believe that they have good caliber and are better than ordinary people, so ordinary people are not worthy of being their partner, and are all inferior to them. This is why antichrists like to call the shots and don’t like to discuss things with anyone else. They think doing so makes them look like an incompetent good-for-nothing. What kind of viewpoint is this? What kind of disposition is this? Is this an arrogant disposition? They think that to cooperate and discuss things with others, to make inquiries of them and seek from them, is undignified and demeaning, an affront to their self-respect. And so, in order to protect their self-respect, they don’t allow transparency in anything they do, nor do they tell others about it, much less discuss it with them. They think that to discuss with others is to show themselves as incompetent; that to always solicit other people’s opinions means they are stupid and incapable of thinking for themselves; that working with others in completing a task or sorting out some problem makes them appear useless. Isn’t this their arrogant and absurd mentality? Isn’t this their corrupt disposition? The arrogance and self-righteousness within them is too obvious; they have lost all normal human reason, and they aren’t quite right in the head. They always think they have abilities, can finish things by themselves, and have no need to cooperate with others. Since they have such corrupt dispositions, they are unable to achieve harmonious cooperation. They believe that to cooperate with others is to dilute and fragment their power, that when work is shared with others, their own power is lessened and they can’t decide everything for themselves, meaning they lack real power, which for them is a tremendous loss. And so, no matter what happens to them, if they believe they understand and that they know the appropriate way to handle it, they won’t discuss it with anyone else, and they will call all the shots. They will prefer to make mistakes over letting other people know, they will prefer to be wrong over sharing power with someone else, and they will prefer dismissal over letting other people intervene in their work. This is an antichrist. They would rather harm the interests of God’s house, would rather wager the interests of God’s house, than share their power with anyone else. They think that when they’re doing a piece of work or handling some matter, this isn’t the performance of a duty, but rather a chance to display themselves and stand out from others, and a chance to exercise power. Therefore, although they say that they will harmoniously cooperate with others and that they will discuss matters together with others when they occur, the truth is, in the depths of their heart, they are unwilling to give up their power or status. They think that so long as they understand some doctrines and are capable of doing it themselves, they don’t need to cooperate with anyone else; they think that it should be carried out and completed alone, and that only this makes them competent. Is this view correct? They don’t know that if they violate principles, they aren’t doing their duties, they aren’t able to carry out God’s commission, and they are merely laboring. Rather than seek the truth principles when doing their duty, they exercise power according to their thoughts and intentions, show off, and parade themselves. No matter who their partner is or what they do, they never want to discuss things, they always want to act on their own, and they always want to have the final say. They are obviously playing with power and using power to do things. Antichrists all love power, and when they have status, they want more power. When they possess power, antichrists are liable to use their status to show off and parade themselves, so as to make others look up to them and to achieve their goal of standing out from the crowd. Thus do the antichrists fixate upon power and status, and will never relinquish their power, ever.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part One)

On the surface, it may seem like some antichrists have assistants or partners, but the fact is that when something happens, no matter how right others may be, antichrists never listen to what they have to say. They don’t even take it into account, much less discuss it or fellowship about it. They don’t pay any attention at all, as if others may as well not be there. When antichrists listen to what others have to say, they are merely going through the motions or performing an act for others to witness. But when it ultimately comes time for the final decision, it is the antichrists who call the shots; anyone else’s words are wasted breath, they don’t count at all. For example, when two people are responsible for something, and one of them has the essence of an antichrist, what is exhibited in this person? No matter what it is, they and they alone are the one who gets the ball rolling, who asks the questions, who sorts things out, and who comes up with a solution. And most of the time, they keep their partner completely in the dark. What is their partner in their eyes? Not their deputy, but simply window dressing. In the antichrist’s eyes, their partner simply doesn’t exist. Whenever there is a problem, the antichrist thinks it over, and once they have decided on a course of action, they inform everyone else that this is how it is to be done, and no one is allowed to question it. What is the essence of their cooperation with others? Fundamentally it is to have the final say, never discussing problems with anyone else, taking sole responsibility for the work, and turning their partners into window dressing. They always act alone and never cooperate with anyone. They never discuss or communicate about their work with anyone else, they often make decisions alone and deal with issues alone, and in many things, other people find out how things were finished or handled only after the deed is done. Other people tell them, “All problems have to be discussed with us. When did you handle that person? How did you handle him? How did we not know about it?” They neither provide an explanation nor pay any attention; to them, their partners have no use at all, and are just decoration or window dressing. When something happens, they think it over, make up their own mind, and act however they wish to. No matter how many people there are around them, it’s as if these people are not there. To the antichrist, they may as well be air. Given this, is there any real aspect to their partnership with others? Not at all, they are just going through the motions and acting a part. Others say to them, “Why don’t you fellowship with everyone else when you come across a problem?” They reply, “What do they know? I’m the team leader, it’s up to me to decide.” The others say, “And why didn’t you fellowship with your partner?” They reply, “I told him, he had no opinion.” They use other people having no opinion or not being able to think for themselves as excuses to obfuscate the fact that they are acting as a law unto themselves. And this is not followed by the slightest introspection. It would be impossible for this kind of person to accept the truth. This is a problem with the antichrist’s nature.

How is the term “cooperation” to be explained and practiced? (Discussing things when they arise.) Yes, that’s one way of practicing it. What else? (Offsetting one’s weaknesses with the other’s strengths, supervising each other.) That fits entirely; practicing like that is cooperating in harmony. Is there more? Soliciting the other’s opinion when things happen—isn’t that cooperation? (Yes.) If one person fellowships theirs, and the other theirs, and in the end, they just go with the first person’s fellowship, why go through the motions? That’s not cooperation—it’s out of line with the principles, and it doesn’t yield the results of cooperation. If you speak on and on, like a machine gun, and don’t give others who’d like to speak the chance, and don’t listen to others even after you’ve spoken all your ideas, is that discussion? Is it fellowship? That’s just going through the motions—it’s not cooperation. What is cooperation, then? It’s when you, having spoken your ideas and decisions, can solicit the other’s opinions and views, then hold your and their statements and views against each other for comparison, with a few people exercising discernment on them together, and seeking the principles, thus coming to a common understanding and determining the correct path of practice. That’s what it means to discuss and to fellowship—that’s what “cooperation” means. Some people, as leaders, can’t see through some matter, but won’t discuss it with others until they’re out of options. They then say to the group, “I can’t handle this matter autocratically; I need to cooperate in harmony with everyone. I’ll let you all express your opinions about it and discuss it, to determine the right thing for us to do.” After everyone has spoken and had their say, they ask the leader what he thinks of it. He says, “What everyone wants is the same as what I want—I was thinking it, too. It’s what I’ve planned to do from the start, and with this discussion, unanimity is guaranteed.” Is this a candid remark? There’s a taint to it. He can’t see through the matter at all, and there’s an intent to mislead and trick people in what he says—it’s meant to get people to esteem him. His solicitation of everyone’s opinions is just a matter of form, meant to get everyone to say he’s not being dictatorial or autocratic. To avoid that label, he employs this method to cover things up. The fact is that while everyone is talking, he’s not listening at all, and not taking what they say at all to heart. And he’s not being sincere in letting everyone speak, either. On the surface, he’s letting everyone fellowship and have a discussion, but in reality, he’s only letting everyone talk in order to find a method that lines up with his own intentions. And once he’s determined the suitable way to go about the thing, he’ll force people to accept what he intends to do, whether it’s correct or not, and make everyone think that his way is right, that it’s what everyone intends. In the end, he executes it by force. Is that what you’d call cooperation? No—what would you call it, then? He’s being dictatorial. Whether he’s right or wrong, he wants to have the sole, final say. Moreover, when something happens and he can’t see through it, he has everyone else speak first. Once they have, he recapitulates their views and looks in them for a method that he likes and finds suitable, and makes everyone accept it. He’s adopting a pretense of cooperation, with the result that he still acts as he means to—still, he’s the one with the sole and final say. He finds faults and pokes holes in what everyone says, giving commentary and setting the tone, then goes on to synthesize all of it into one complete, accurate statement, with which to make his decision, showing everyone that he’s more elevated than others. From the outside, he seems to have heard everyone’s messages, and he does let everyone talk. The fact, though, is that he alone makes the decision in the end. The decision is in fact everyone’s insights and views, just summarized by him, put in a slightly more complete and accurate way. Some people can’t see through this, and so think it’s him who’s elevated. What’s the character of such action on his part? Isn’t it an extreme cleverness? He summarizes everyone’s messages and states them as his own, so that people worship and obey him; and in the end, everyone acts as he wills. Is that harmonious cooperation? It’s arrogance and self-righteousness, dictatorship—he takes all the credit for himself. Such people are so disingenuous, so arrogant and self-righteous, in cooperating with others, and people will see that, given enough time.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part One)

“Being arbitrary and dictatorial, never fellowshipping with others, and forcing others to obey them”—what primarily does this behavior of antichrists signify? Their disposition is wicked and vicious, and they possess an exceptionally strong desire to control others, exceeding the bounds of normal human rationality. Additionally, what is their understanding or view and attitude toward the duty they perform? How does this differ from those who genuinely perform their duty? Those who genuinely perform their duty seek principles for what they do, which is a fundamental requirement. But how do antichrists apprehend the duty they perform? What disposition and essence are revealed through their performance of duty? They stand in a high position and condescend to those below them. Once they are chosen to lead, they start to see themselves as individuals of status and identity. They don’t accept their duty from God. Upon acquiring a certain position, they feel their status is important, their power great, and their identity unique, allowing them to look down on others from their high position. At the same time, they think that they can issue commands and act according to their own thoughts, and that they don’t even need to have any misgivings about doing this. They think they can use the opportunity to perform duty to satisfy their craving for authority, to satisfy their desire and ambition to rule and lead others with power. It could be said they feel they finally have the chance to be unchallenged in their authority. Some say: “The manifestations of antichrists are being arbitrary and dictatorial, and never fellowshipping with others. Although our leader also has the disposition and revelations of antichrists, they often fellowship with us!” Does that mean they are not an antichrist? Antichrists can sometimes pretend; after a round of fellowshipping with everyone and understanding and grasping everyone’s thoughts—identifying who is aligned with them and who is not—they categorize them. In future matters, they only communicate with those who are in good relations and compatible with them. Those who are not in sync with them are often kept in the dark about most matters, and they may even withhold books of God’s words from them. Have you ever acted in this way, being arbitrary and dictatorial, never fellowshipping with others? Being arbitrary and dictatorial certainly happens, but this is not necessarily the case for never fellowshipping with others; occasionally you may fellowship. However, after fellowshipping, things still proceed as you said. Some people think: “Despite our fellowship, I’ve actually already established a set plan long ago. I fellowship with you just as a formality, just to let you know I have my principles in what I do. Do you think I don’t know your measure? In the end, you will still have to listen to me and follow my way.” In fact, they have already decided in their hearts long ago. They believe, “I have a silver tongue and can twist any argument to my favor; no one can outtalk me, so naturally, the trend will follow my lead.” They have made their calculations far in advance. Does this sort of situation exist? Being arbitrary and dictatorial is not a behavior that is accidentally revealed on occasion; it is controlled by a certain disposition. It may not seem like being arbitrary and dictatorial from their way of speaking or acting, but from their disposition and the nature of their actions, they are indeed arbitrary and dictatorial. They go through formalities and “listen” to others’ opinions, allowing others to speak, making them aware of a situation’s details, discussing what God’s word requires—but they use a certain rhetoric or phrasing to guide others to reach a consensus with them. And what is the final result? Everything develops according to their plan. This is their insidious aspect; this is also called forcing others to obey them, it is a kind of “gentle” compulsion.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Six

What is another manifestation of the arbitrariness and dictatorialness of antichrists? They never fellowship the truth with the brothers and sisters, nor do they resolve people’s actual problems. Instead, they merely preach words and doctrines to lecture people, and even force others to obey them. What about their attitude and approach toward the Above and toward God? It is nothing but deceit and duplicity. Regardless of the issues within the church, they never report anything to the Above. Whatever they do, they never inquire of the Above. It seems as though they have no issues that require fellowship or guidance from the Above—everything they do is furtive and secretive, and behind the scenes. This is called underhanded manipulation, where they wish to have the final say and be the decision-maker. However, sometimes they also masquerade, bringing up trivial matters to inquire of the Above, posing as someone pursuing the truth, leading the Above to mistakenly believe they seek the truth in everything with utmost meticulousness. In reality, they never seek guidance on any significant matter, making unilateral decisions and keeping the Above in the dark. If any problem arises, they are even less likely to report it, fearing that it might affect their power, status, or reputation. Antichrists act arbitrarily and dictatorially; they never fellowship with others and force others to obey them. To put it plainly, the primary manifestations of this behavior are engaging in personal management; cultivating their influence, personal clique, and connections; pursuing their own ventures; and then, they do whatever they please, doing things that benefit themselves, and acting without transparency. The wish and desire of antichrists to have others submit to them are particularly strong; they expect people to obey them like a hunter making his hound obey his commands, not allowing any discernment of right or wrong, insisting on absolute compliance and submission.

Another manifestation of the arbitrariness and dictatorialness of antichrists can be observed in the following scenario. For instance, if the leader of a certain church is an antichrist, and if higher-level leaders and workers intend to learn about and intervene in the work of that church, would this antichrist agree? Absolutely not. To what extent does he control the church? Like an impenetrable fortress, where neither needle can pierce nor water seep in, he allows no one else to get involved or inquire. When he learns that leaders and workers are coming to learn about the work, he says to the brothers and sisters, “I don’t know what these people’s aim is in coming. They don’t understand the actual situation of our church. If they interfere, they could disturb our church’s work.” That’s how he misleads the brothers and sisters. Once the leaders and workers arrive, he finds various reasons and excuses to prevent the brothers and sisters from contacting them, while hypocritically entertaining the leaders and workers, keeping them secluded in a place under the guise of ensuring their safety; but in reality, it’s to prevent them from meeting the brothers and sisters and learning about the situation from them. When the leaders and workers inquire about the work situation, the antichrist engages in deception via presenting a false image; he deceives those above him and hides the truth from those below him, pads his statements, and exaggerates the work’s effectiveness to deceive them. When the leaders and workers suggest meeting with the church’s brothers and sisters, he replies, “I haven’t made any arrangements! You didn’t notify me before coming. If you had, I would have arranged for some of the brothers and sisters to meet you. But given the current hostile environment, for safety reasons, it’s better you don’t meet with the brothers and sisters.” Although his words sound reasonable, a discerning person can detect the issue: “He doesn’t want the leaders and workers to meet with the brothers and sisters because he fears being exposed, afraid that the flaws and deviations in his work will be revealed.” The antichrist tightly controls the brothers and sisters of the church. If the leaders and workers are not responsible, they can easily be deceived and fooled by the antichrist. The actual situation of the church’s brothers and sisters, their difficulties that remain unresolved, whether the Above’s fellowships and sermons and books of God’s words are timely delivered to the brothers and sisters, how the various work projects of the church are progressing, whether there are deviations or problems—all these things the leaders and workers would not know. The brothers and sisters are also unaware of any new work arrangements in God’s house; thus, the antichrist completely controls the church, monopolizing power and having the final say in matters. The church’s brothers and sisters have no opportunity to contact the upper-level leaders and workers, and not knowing the factual truth, they are misled and controlled by the antichrist. These inspection leaders and workers, regardless of how the antichrist speaks, lack discernment and still think the antichrist is doing good work, placing their complete trust in him. This is tantamount to entrusting God’s chosen people to the antichrist’s care. If, during the antichrist’s deception, the leaders and workers are unable to discern, are irresponsible, and do not know how to handle it, isn’t this hindering the church’s work and harming God’s chosen people? Such leaders and workers, are they not false leaders and workers? With regard to a church controlled by an antichrist, the leaders and workers must intervene and make inquiries, and they need to promptly handle and get rid of the antichrist—this is without question. If there are false leaders who do not do real work and ignore the antichrist’s misleading of God’s chosen people, the chosen people should expose these false leaders and workers, report them, remove them from their positions, and replace them with good leaders. This is the only way to thoroughly resolve the issue of the antichrist misleading people. Some may say, “Such leaders and workers might be of poor caliber and lack discernment, which is why they failed to handle and resolve the issue of the antichrist. They are not doing it intentionally; shouldn’t they be given another chance?” For such muddleheaded leaders, no more chances should be given. If given another chance, they will only continue to harm God’s chosen people. This is because they are not people who pursue the truth; they lack conscience and reason, and are unprincipled in their actions—they are despicable people who should be eliminated!

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Six

Today, in one regard, we dissected the manifestations of the arbitrary and dictatorial behavior of antichrists. In another, by dissecting these manifestations, everyone is made aware that even if you are not an antichrist, having such manifestations links you to the quality of antichrists. Is acting in an arbitrary and dictatorial manner a manifestation of normal humanity? Absolutely not; clearly, this is a display of a corrupt disposition. No matter how high your status or how many duties you can perform, if you can learn to fellowship with others, then you are upholding the principles of the truth, which is a minimum requirement. Why is it said that learning to fellowship with others equates to upholding principles? If you can learn to fellowship, it proves that you don’t treat your status as a meal ticket or take it too seriously. Regardless of how high your status, you are performing your duty. Your actions are done for the sake of performing your duty, not for status. At the same time, when encountering problems, if you can learn to fellowship and, regardless of whether it’s with ordinary brothers and sisters or those you collaborate with, you are able to seek and fellowship with them, what does this prove? It shows that you have the attitude of seeking and submitting to the truth, which firstly reflects your attitude toward God and the truth. Furthermore, performing your duty is your responsibility, and seeking the truth in your work is the path you should follow. As for how others respond to your decisions, whether they can submit or how they submit, that’s their business; but whether you can properly perform your duty and meet the standards is yours. You must understand the principles of performing duty; it’s not about submitting to some individual but submitting to the truth principles. If you feel that you understand the truth principles and, through fellowshipping with everyone, reach a consensus that everyone agrees is appropriate, but there are a few who are recalcitrant and want to cause trouble, what should be done in such a situation? In this case, the minority should follow the majority. Since most people have reached a consensus, why do they come out to cause trouble? Are they deliberately trying to cause destruction? They can express their opinions to let everyone discern them, and if everyone says that their opinions do not conform to the principles and don’t hold up, then they should abandon their viewpoints and stop holding onto them. What is the principle in dealing with this matter? One should uphold what is right and not force others to obey what is wrong. Understood?

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Six

What is the standard for determining whether one has performed their duty adequately? If the path of performing one’s duty is correct, the direction is correct, and the intention is correct; if the origin is correct and the principles are correct—then if these aspects are correct, the duty one has performed is adequate. Many people understand this in theory, but become confused when something actually happens to them. To sum it up, I’ll tell you a principle: Do not act arbitrarily and unilaterally when facing situations. Why can’t you act arbitrarily and unilaterally? For one thing, acting in such a manner is not in line with the principles of performing duty. For another, a duty is not your own private affair; you are not doing it for yourself, you are not engaging in your own management, it is not your own personal business. In God’s house, no matter what you do, you are not working on your own enterprise; it is the work of God’s house, it is God’s work. You must constantly bear this knowledge and awareness in mind and say, “This is not my own affair; I am doing my duty and fulfilling my responsibility. I am doing the church’s work. This is a task God entrusted to me and I am doing it for Him. This is my duty, not my own private affair.” This is the first thing people should understand. If you treat a duty as your own personal affairs, and do not seek the truth principles when you act, and carry it out according to your own motives, views, and agenda, then you will very likely make mistakes. So how should you act if you make a very clear distinction between your duty and your own personal affairs, and are aware that this is a duty? (Seek what God asks, and seek principles.) That’s right. If something happens to you and you don’t understand the truth, and you have some idea but things still aren’t clear to you, then you must find brothers and sisters who understand the truth to fellowship with; this is seeking the truth, and before all else, this is the attitude you should have toward your duty. You shouldn’t decide things based on what you think is appropriate, and then slam the gavel down and say case closed—this easily leads to problems. A duty is not your own personal affair; whether major or minor, matters of God’s house are no one’s personal affair. As long as it relates to duty, then it is not your private matter, it is not your personal affair—it concerns the truth, and it concerns principle. So what is the first thing you should do? You should seek the truth, and seek the principles. And if you do not understand the truth, you must first seek the principles; if you already understand the truth, identifying the principles will be easy. What should you do if you don’t understand the principles? There is a way: You can fellowship with those who do understand. Don’t always assume that you understand everything and are always right; this is an easy way to make mistakes. What kind of disposition is it when you always want to have the final say? This is arrogance and self-righteousness, it is acting arbitrarily and unilaterally. Some people think, “I am college-educated, I’m more cultured than you, I have the comprehension ability, you all have small stature and don’t understand the truth, so you should listen to whatever I say. I alone can make the decisions!” How is this view? If you have this kind of view, you will run into trouble; you will never perform your duties well. How can you perform your duties well when you always want to be the one to have the final say, without harmonious cooperation? Performing your duties this way will absolutely not meet the mark. Why do I say this? You always want to constrain others and make them listen to you; you don’t take in whatever anyone else says. This is biased and stubborn, it is also arrogance and self-righteousness. In this way, not only will you fail to perform your duties well, but you will also hinder others from performing their duties well. This is the consequence of an arrogant disposition. … Some people have an arrogant and self-righteous disposition; they are unwilling to fellowship the truth and always want to have the final say. Can someone so arrogant and self-righteous cooperate harmoniously with others? God requires people to harmoniously cooperate in performing their duties to resolve their corrupt dispositions, to help them learn submission to God’s work in the course of performing their duties, and cast off their corrupt dispositions, thereby achieving adequate performance of duty. Refusing to cooperate with others and wanting to act arbitrarily and unilaterally, making everyone listen to you—is this the attitude you should have toward your duty? Your attitude toward performing your duty is related to your life entry. God is not concerned with what happens to you each day, or how much work you do, how much effort you put in—what He looks at is what your attitude toward these things is. And what does the attitude with which you do these things, and the way you do them, relate to? It relates to whether or not you pursue the truth, and also to your life entry. God looks at your life entry, at the path that you walk. If you walk the path of pursuing the truth, and you have life entry, you will be able to cooperate harmoniously with others when you perform your duties, and you will easily perform your duties in a way that is adequate. But if, while performing your duty, you constantly emphasize that you have capital, that you understand your line of work, that you have experience, and are considerate of God’s intentions, and pursue the truth more than anyone else, and if you then think that because of these things, you are qualified to have the final say, and you don’t discuss anything with anyone else, and are always a law unto yourself, and engage in your own management, and always want to be “the only flower in bloom,” then do you walk the path of life entry? No—this is the pursuit of status, it is walking the path of Paul, it is not the path of life entry.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Adequate Performance of Duty?

How should you handle difficulties you encounter while performing your duty? The best way is for everyone to seek the truth together to solve a problem and reach a consensus. As long as you understand the principles, you’ll know what to do. This is the optimal way to solve problems. If you do not seek the truth to solve a problem, and instead act only on your personal notions and imagination, then you are not performing your duty. What difference is there between this and working in the society of nonbelievers or Satan’s world? God’s house is ruled by the truth, and by God. No matter what problem appears, the truth must be sought to solve it. Regardless of how many different opinions there are or how much they differ, all of them should be brought up and fellowshipped on. Then, after a consensus is reached, action should be taken in accordance with principles. In this way, not only can you solve the problem, but you can also practice the truth and properly fulfill your duty. You can also achieve harmonious cooperation during the process of solving the problem. If those who do their duty all love the truth, then it is easy for them to accept and submit to the truth; but if they are arrogant and self-righteous, then it is not easy for them to accept the truth, even when people fellowship on it. There are people who do not understand the truth, yet always want others to listen to them. People like this only disturb others’ performance of their duty. This is the root of the issue, and it must be resolved before one’s duty can be properly performed. If, in doing one’s duty, one is always arrogant and willful, always making decisions on one’s own, doing everything recklessly and as one pleases, without cooperating or discussing things with other people, and without seeking the truth principles—what sort of attitude is this toward one’s duty? Can one’s duty be properly fulfilled this way? If this kind of person never accepts being pruned, doesn’t accept the truth at all, and still continues to do things their own way, rashly and as they please, without repenting or changing—then it is not just an attitude problem, but a problem with their humanity and character. This is someone with no humanity. Can someone with no humanity fulfill their duty properly? Of course not. If, while doing their duty, a person even commits all kinds of outrageous acts and disturbs the work of the church, then they are an evil person. People like that are not fit to do their duty. Their performance of duty results only in disturbance and damage, and they do more harm than good, so they should be disqualified from performing their duty and cleansed away from the church. That is why the ability to perform one’s duty well is not solely dependent on a person’s caliber, but principally on their attitude toward their duty, their character, whether their humanity is good or bad, and whether they are able to accept the truth. These are the root issues.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Proper Fulfillment of Duty Requires Harmonious Cooperation

It is necessary to learn how to handle it when people have problems cooperating with others during their duty. What is the principle for handling them? What effect should be achieved? Learn to work in harmony with everyone, and interact with others by the truth, God’s word, and principles, not by feelings or impetuousness. In this way, won’t the truth reign in the church? As long as the truth reigns, won’t things be handled in a fair and reasonable manner? Don’t you think harmonious coordination is beneficial for everyone? (Yes, it is.) Doing things this way is very beneficial for you. First of all, it is positively edifying and valuable for you as you perform your duties. On top of that, it prevents you from making mistakes, causing disruptions and disturbances, and taking the path of antichrists. Are you afraid of walking the path of antichrists? (Yes.) Is fear useful on its own? No—fear alone cannot fix the problem. It is normal to be afraid of walking the path of antichrists. It shows one to be a lover of the truth, someone who is willing to strive toward the truth and who is willing to pursue it. If you are fearful at heart, then you should seek the truth and find the path of practice. You must begin by learning to cooperate with others in harmony. If there is a problem, resolve it with fellowship and discussion, so that everyone may know the principles, as well as the specific reasoning and program regarding the resolution. Does this not keep you from making decisions alone? Additionally, if you have a God-fearing heart, then you will naturally be capable of receiving God’s scrutiny, but you must also learn to accept the supervision of God’s chosen people, which requires you to have tolerance and acceptance. If you see someone supervising you, inspecting your work, or checking up on you without your knowledge, and if you grow hot-headed, treat this person like an enemy and despise them, and even attack them and deal with them as a traitor, longing for them to disappear, then this is trouble. Is it not extremely vile? What is the difference between this and a devil king? Is this treating people fairly? If you walk the right path and act the right way, what do you have to fear from people checking up on you? If you are scared, it shows there is something lurking in your heart. If you know in your heart that you have a problem, then you should accept the judgment and chastisement of God. This is reasonable. If you know you have a problem, but you don’t allow anyone to supervise you, inspect your work, or investigate your problem, then you are being highly unreasonable, you are rebelling against and resisting God, and in this case, your problem is even more serious. If God’s chosen people discern that you are an evil person or a disbeliever, then the consequences will be even more troublesome. Thus, those who are able to accept the supervision, examination, and inspection of others are the most reasonable of all, they have tolerance and normal humanity. When you discover you are doing something wrong or have the revelation of a corrupt disposition, if you are able to open up to and communicate with people, this will help those around you to keep an eye on you. It is certainly necessary to accept supervision, but the main thing is to pray to God and rely on Him, subjecting yourself to constant examination. Especially when you have gone the wrong way or done something wrong, or when you are about to act or decide something on your own, and someone nearby mentions it and alerts you, you need to accept that and hasten to reflect on yourself, and admit to your mistake, and correct it. This can keep you from setting foot on the path of antichrists. If there is someone helping and alerting you in this way, are you not being protected without knowing it? You are—that is your protection. You should not, therefore, always guard yourself against your brothers and sisters, or people around you. Do not always disguise yourself and shroud yourself, not allowing others to understand you or see who you are. If your heart is always guarding itself against others, it will affect your search for truth, and it will be easy for you to lose out on the Holy Spirit’s work, as well as many opportunities to be made perfect.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Proper Fulfillment of Duty Requires Harmonious Cooperation

What must one do to perform their duty well? One must come to perform it with all their heart and all their energy. Using all one’s heart and energy means keeping all one’s thoughts on performing their duty and not letting other things occupy them, and then applying the energy that one has, exerting the entirety of one’s power, and bringing one’s caliber, gifts, strengths, and the things they have understood to bear on the task. If you have the comprehension and understanding ability, and have a good idea, you must communicate with others about it. This is what it means to cooperate in harmony. This is how you will perform your duty well, how you will achieve satisfactory performance of your duty. If you wish always to take on everything yourself, if you always want to do great things alone, if you always want the focus to be on you and not others, are you performing your duty? What you are doing is called autocracy; it is putting on a show. It is satanic behavior, not the performance of duty. No one, no matter their strengths, gifts, or special talents, can take on all the work themselves; they must learn to cooperate in harmony if they are to do the church’s work well. That is why harmonious cooperation is a principle of the practice of performing one’s duty. As long as you apply all your heart and all your energy and all your loyalty, and offer up everything you can do, you are performing your duty well. If you have a thought or idea, tell it to others; do not hold it back or keep it tucked away—if you have suggestions, offer them; whoever’s idea is in accordance with the truth is to be accepted and obeyed. Do this, and you will have achieved cooperation in harmony. This is what it means to perform one’s duty loyally. In performing your duty, you are not required to take on everything yourself, nor are you required to work yourself to death, or to be “the only flower in blossom” or maverick; rather, you are required to learn how to cooperate with others in harmony, and to do all you can, to fulfill your responsibilities, to exert all your energy. That is what it means to perform your duty. To perform your duty is to brandish all the power and light that you have in order to achieve a result. That is enough. Do not try always to show off, always to say high-sounding things, to do things by yourself. You should learn how to work with others, and you should focus more on listening to others’ suggestions and discovering their strengths. In this way, cooperating in harmony becomes easy. If you try always to show off and have what you say go, you are not cooperating in harmony. What are you doing? You are causing a disturbance and undermining others. To cause a disturbance and undermine others is to play the role of Satan; it is not the performance of duty. If you always do things that cause a disturbance and undermine others, then no matter how much effort you expend or care you take, God will not remember. You may be of little strength, but if you are capable of working with others, and are able to accept suitable suggestions, and if you have the right motivations, and can protect the work of God’s house, then you are a right person. Sometimes, with a single sentence, you can solve a problem and benefit everyone; sometimes, after you fellowship on a single statement of the truth, everyone has a path to practice, and is able to work harmoniously together, and all strive toward a common goal, and share the same views and opinions, and so work is particularly effective. Although no one might remember that you played this role, and you might not feel as if you made much effort, God will see that you are a person who practices the truth, a person who acts according to the principles. God will remember your having done so. This is called performing your duty loyally. No matter the difficulties you have in performing your duty, they can in fact all be easily solved. So long as you are an honest person with a heart inclined to God, and are able to seek truth, then there is no problem that cannot be solved. If you do not understand the truth, then you must learn to obey. If there is anyone who understands the truth or speaks in accordance with the truth, then you must accept it and obey. By no means should you do things that disturb or undermine, and do not act or make decisions on your own. This way, you will do no evil. You must remember: Performing your duty is not a matter of engaging in your own enterprise or your own management. This is not your personal work, it is the work of the church, and you only contribute the strengths you have. What you do in God’s management work is but a small part of man’s cooperation. Yours is just a minor role in some corner. That is the responsibility you bear. In your heart, you should have this reason. And so, no matter how many people are performing their duties together, or what difficulties they face, the first thing everyone should do is pray to God and fellowship together, seek the truth, and then determine what the principles of practice are. When they perform their duties in this way, they will have a path to practice.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Proper Fulfillment of Duty Requires Harmonious Cooperation

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