THREE IMPORTANT
QUESTIONS
FOR
Seventh-Day Adventists
TO CONSIDER
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
BY CHARLES LEE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
"Take heed that no man deceive you" --Jesus
MARION, IOWA
ADVENT AND SABBATH ADVOCATE PRESS
1876
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APOSTATISED
FROM WHAT?
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"Be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asketh you a reason of the hope that is within you, with meekness and fear."
Peter.
The dark picture drawn by my S. D. Advent brethren, intended to represent my character and
present religious position, and by them circulated about the world, in three different
languages, has caused considerable excitement in some localities. For fear that we
should violate the Lord's teaching, found in Matt. 5:38-48, etc., we have carefully
considered what would be our Christian duty with respect to their accusation. We
have thought to say nothing about it, but letters of inquiry, as well as personal
inquiries, require that we should give reason for the hope that is within us.
We will give a brief history of our acquaintance with the leaders of the S.D.A.
Denomination, and answer the main points in their accusation, and give our reason why we
have separated from them.
From hearing Eld. Ingraham (one of the S.D.A. preachers) lecture on the subject
of the soon coming of Christ, my mind was first called to this people. I became so
interested in the doctrine of Christ's coming that, under very trying circumstances, I set
out to preach the same to my countrymen. As I took these steps, trials upon trials
pressed heavily upon me, and soon I found myself without friends and means.
Discouraged, and from a long journey nearly worn out, I met for the first time with Eld.
Canright (the minister who has tried hard to blacken my character). It must have
been at this time that he found me "insane" and at "the point of committing
suicide," as he says. I have not known that I have ever been so unhappy, nor
has any one told me so, till it came from the Elder's lips and pen. May God forgive
him!
I was now on my way from Neb. to Minn., and, after a few weeks stay in Iowa, I
continued my journey mostly on foot, till I finally reached Litchfield, Minn., where I
then held religious meetings nearly every day for several months. In the winter of
the same year, 1871, I went farther north in the State to labor. I left seven or
eight souls at Litchfield, who had taken hold of the truth I presented, and they
encouraged me to go on in my missionary work. I labored in Chicago and Isanti
Counties till in June, 1872, when I went to the Minnesota Camp-meeting. I went a
week before the Camp-meeting commenced, so as to have an opportunity to become acquainted
with Eld. H. Grant, the President of the Minnesota Conference. When there, he set me
to weed his garden, which I did willingly, as for the Lord. I also helped to prepare
the Camp-ground. I told Eld. Grant of my labor, and peculiar circumstances.
The first day of the Camp-meeting, I, with the help of another man, put up a tent for Eld.
Grant, and, as I had no friends there, I thought he would let me sleep in his tent.
But I was informed that he had no place for me, and I had to sleep in the large tent
without any covering, and took a very bad cold. At the close of that meeting I
reported that I had a good interest in Isanti County, and that 13 souls had taken hold of
the Advent faith, and met together for worship on the Sabbath -- the seventh day.
My report was not accepted, and I was ordered by Eld. Canright and others to go
to the Southwest part of the State to labor, where the American brethren could look after
me. About the breaking up of the Camp-meeting, I received a letter from the brethren
in Litchfield containing $10. On this money I traveled to the place appointed by the
American brethren. They promised, however, to pay my fare. As there were but a
few of my countrymen in that part of the State, and they were scattered here and there, I
could do nothing there. Disappointed and discouraged, I was again left to myself to
find my way back to the northern part of the State the best way I could. The long
journey before me, without any means, was not inviting. I had then to go to work in
the harvest field to earn means to take me back to Isanti County.
The strong opposing influence from the different sects about my brethren had
weakened and discouraged them; and, as they had no publications to strengthen them in
their faith, they had turned back again to their former state. This was the result
of my long absence from them. I had to do the work over once more. The Lord
strengthened me, and I began to preach to them again, and in other places, and at the next
Camp-meeting I reported that about 70 had taken hold of the Advent faith, as I understood
it.
At the close of the Camp-meeting, they sent Eld. Matteson with me to learn the
truth of my report. He stated the facts in an article for the Review and Herald,
and shortly after that, Eld. White wrote an article that appeared in the same paper, from
which we take the following extracts:
We wish here to state that Bro. Charles Lee of
Minnesota started out on his mission to the Swedes penniless and on foot. He
appeared on the Minnesota Camp-ground in 1873 with the same suit of clothes that he wore
on the same Camp-ground in 1872, and in which he stood and preached, and by the help of
the Lord, turned between sixty and seventy of his countrymen to the Lord's Sabbath, and
brought them into a position so that Bro. Matteson could organize them into churches,
according to the close plan S. D. Adventists.... Without assistance from either the
Minnesota or General Conference he has toiled on in faith and hope trusting in God for his
reward. Here is the secret of his success. This has been as God would have it.
Then, in referring to such that do the Lord's work for money, the Eld. says,
For the benefit of such, the case of Bro. Lee is given.
Bro. Matteson reports the organization of S.B. among the Swedes of several hundreds
of dollars. This is all accomplished before Bro. Lee received a dollar from the
treasury. -- Review & Herald.
Eld. White became so interested in me then, that he sent me $50 to buy me a
suit of clothes, and ordered my old suit to be sent to Battle Creek, Michigan, "to be
preserved as a memorial for the benefit of those who do the work of the Lord only for
cash." These are his words in the Review.
In the winter of 1874, Eld. Butler was sent to Minn. to visit me, and look at
my labors. He was then the President of the Gen. Conference. After his visit
with us, he wrote several articles for the "Review," in which he gave the
history of the trials and perplexities I passed through. In one he says:
Very little had been done among
this people two or three years ago. Indeed, there was little thought or feeling
among us in regard to the Swedes at all. A little before this, Bro. C. Lee, a native
Swede, embraced the truth in Wasioja, Minn. Bro. Lee was a practicing physician of
the Eclectic school, and had diplomas from two medical societies and quite an extensive
practice. He had recommendations from those of the first class in the community as a
worthy man and a citizen.
Then, in speaking of my trials, and the selfishness
manifested toward me by some of the Advent brethren, he says:
These things in Bro. Lee's
peculiar condition nearly broke the poor man's heart. There were some rich and
influential brethren who manifested selfishness of an aggravating character, such as they
would not like to receive in their own cases under similar circumstances. The poor
wanderer on foot, with his satchel on his back, faint and weary many times, and often
without food, sometimes sleeping without shelter, slowly trudged his way back to Northern
Minnesota, several hundred miles.
Some of his experience would almost draw tears from a stone. In several cases the
hand of Providence manifestedly interfered in his behalf, and supplied his want of food.
After having referred to how the leading men of the Minn.
Conference treated me, and how the Lord helped me out of the discouraging circumstances,
the Elder says: --
But what a painful record this is
to many of us. These facts are far from complimentary to us. It may be said by
some, "We did not feel sure that Bro. L. was able to do a good work. We were
fearful he would not rightly present the cause." Doubtless this was the very
feeling many had. But during this time of suspicion and trial, the Lord regarded
Bro. Lee with just as much favor as when the most abundant success crowned his
efforts. He was doing his will. We, his people, had not enough of his spirit
to recognize the Lord's true servant. There was a failure to discern moral
worth. To us, this is disgraceful.
In another article the Elder says: --
The work of Bro. Lee among
the Swedes is certainly remarkable, considering all the circumstances. He commenced
about two years ago with no experience in this work, never having heard a course of
lectures himself, and not being much accustomed to public speaking. He had been
passing through most serious troubles in his own experience before he embraced the truth,
which was enough to break down most any man. These were brought upon him by
others. Because of the effect of these upon him, some sabbath-keepers were
suspicious of him, and had no confidence in his making efforts in the direction of
preaching. In fact, he received but little sympathy from our American
Sabbath-keepers anywhere. He was without friends or influence, and wended his way on
foot from Central Iowa to Central and Northern Minnesota, and went to work in such
openings as he could find. He suffered privations, such as very few of our preachers
know anything about.
He met opposition from priests, and those under
their influence, most bitter and determined. Even his life was threatened in some
instances. And after the most careful inquiry, I can not learn that he provoked this
by any personalities or improper conduct; but on the contrary, he was usually mild, and
free from using unnecessarily cutting language.
If any think this noble work which has been
wrought among the Swedes was easily accomplished, they very much misconceive the facts in
the case. I think, after careful inquiry, that our ministers never met with fiercer
opposition. Our American people, always accustomed to free speech, do not understand
the bitterness of feeling sometimes manifested by those coming from other lands where
Church and State are united, and the strong arm of power is made to be felt in religious
matters.
That Bro. Lee should have had such success under
these circumstances is good evidence that he learned to lean on a mightier arm than puny
man possesses. He learned to cry to God in distress and agony of soul for help, and
he received it. The fruits of these labors eternity will show. Here is an
example for some of our young men of culture and ability. We invite them to study
it, and go to work for God. Go and do likewise.
Bro. Lee is happy in the Lord, and of good courage
to labor anywhere. He will be very busy among the Swedes, setting before them the
precious truths of the message. My acquaintance with him and them will be long
remembered by me with pleasure.
We leave it to the reader to compare our case as it
appeared in the eyes of our S. D. Advent brethren in the year 1874, with the one presented
in 1876, if the Supplement is at hand; but we will continue to give the cause of the
change.
I toiled on another year, still believing that my Advent brethren were a free
and God-fearing class of people, and that they held to nothing but Bible-truth. I
was again on the Camp-ground and reported that several Swedish Churches had been raised up
under my labors during that year. At this Camp-meeting, Eld. Butler spoke on the
subject of "Spiritual Gifts," and tried hard to prove that other churches have
lost these gifts on account of their turning away from God's Sabbath, but that the Advent,
or last church, have got these gifts restored to them, and, as a consequence, God has
given the spirit of prophecy to Mrs. White. I had no real understanding of this
before; but, from the writings of Mrs. White, thought her to be a remarkable woman, and a
child of God. I had no reason to think otherwise, because I knew she was upheld
among the people that I loved, and still love, for the truth's sake. I accepted the
Elder's argument for further investigation. I thought it might be possible that the
Lord uses her as an instrument whereby he shields his people from the many secret works of
Spiritualism of the last days. But toward the close of the Camp-meeting, I had an
experience that did not allow my mind to rest on such a conclusion.
Some time before I embraced the Advent doctrine I had an experience in what
might be termed the spirit-power of Spiritualism. Eld. Canright, with the intent to
blacken my character, says, "He was first converted and baptized among Baptists, a
people who have much truth and light. But the
next step he took was right into Spiritualism, --
doctrine which rejects Christ, the Bible, and everything holy." The Elder does
not tell the truth when he says that I stepped into Spiritualism. At the time I had
the above mentioned experience, I did not know anything of the doctrine taught and
believed by the Spiritualists. The experience I had was this, that while in prayer
to God on my knees, a spirit-power came over me, that brought light around me and made me,
in feeling, to rise higher and higher from the earth. It made me praise and glorify
God in a, to me, yet unknown manner. It made me strong and mighty in myself.
It was not long, however, before I with the help of the word of God and the past
experience as a child of God, could detect the deceiving influence.
At the Camp-meeting above referred to, while Mrs. White carried on a so-called
"Revival-meeting," I stept up by her side and said I would have a part in that
work. She said, "Come, Bro. Lee." I knelt by her side and began to
pray. As I prayed, the same spirit-power above referred to, and against which I had
been struggling then for several years, rested upon me with might, and I felt so
blessed and powerful, and my words seemed to be mighty. Mrs. White and others
responded with a solemn "Amen." Mrs. White said, "Blessed be the
Lord; the angels of God are here!" As soon as I stepped from her side I became
frightened about myself and went in the woods to seek God in secret prayer. There I
realized a change of the spiritual influence, and God's blessing rested upon me again, as
it used to while toiling in his vineyard. I became alarmed at the experience I had
and tried to find out the cause of it.
The next morning I was ordained. At the occasion many tears were shed,
and a deep spiritual impression was realized by many. To my soul it was total
darkness. I felt so uneasy that my body trembled. As I stood up on my feet, my
eyes met the eyes of Mrs. White, and an electric shock went through my being. I
realized her influence as being of a persecuting nature. I kept the experience to
myself.
In 1874, the American brethren printed the Svensk Advent Herald.
The man Eld. White and wife picked out to edit the paper, had, according to the
testimony of some of the Baptist brethren in Chicago, been excluded from their church on
account of adultery some time before, an adultery too shameful to explain. This, and
articles he put in the paper, which were not fit to be put into any kind of paper, much
less a religious paper, brought an influence against me and my work, that the way seemed
entirely hedged up. On this account I concluded to go to Chicago to labor
there. In the fall of 1874, after trying to do my best to labor in Minn., I started
for Chicago. At the same time I had received two letters from Battle Creek,
containing the express desire of Eld. White that I should pick them out a Swedish girl,
and send her to B.C. for the type-setting work. On his request I took the hired girl
from Sr. Swanson in Litchfield, Minn., paid her fare with my own money. I went to
Chicago and began to hold meetings, and as I got started, they wrote me from B.C. to come
there immediately, because they needed me. Thus I came to Battle Creek. Eld.
Canright gives it the appearance that I left Minnesota with big feelings for a high
position in B.C., and that I took the girl there independent of the brethren. My
brethren in Minn. are ready witnesses that he falsely accuses me. Some of the
brethren in Chicago, also, know that I had to break up my meetings there on account of the
request for me to come to B.C.
I obeyed their orders and went to B.C. When there, I was told that Mr. C.
Carlstedt, the Editor of the Swede paper, had written a letter to Mrs. White concerning
her silk dresses and a gold watch that she wore. Mrs. W. had not answered his
letter, but at a prayer meeting in the Church, she had read certain expressions from the
letter and censured Mr. C. for setting himself up as a teacher, etc. Shortly after
this unexpected treatment, Mr. C. became very sick. I was told by the brethren in
B.C. that he was under the doctors' care at the "Health Institute," and that his
disease was by the doctors called Fever and Ague. The second day after I came there
I went to see him, and I was astonished at what I had heard, when I found the man
struggling with death. I told his wife that he lay on his death-bed. A burning
fever of a typhoid character, reigned over his system. His mind was also in great
excitement.
I went to the "Review" office and told the brethren that I considered
it their duty to go and see Mr. C. before he died. This caused considerable
excitement among them, and soon Eld. and Mrs. White, Eld. Smith and Mr. Sawyer were ready
to go there. At the request of Eld. W. I went with them.
We all knelt in prayer for the sick man; and Mrs. W. praised the Lord because
he was "present with his restoring power, to raise Carlstedt, whose sickness,"
she said, was "not unto death, but to the glory of the Son of God." To me
it was darkness and death; and it was an evidence to my soul that if she was right before
God, then I had never known any thing about the Spirit of God. Either of us was
entirely deceived.
On the way to Mr. C., I asked Eld. W. if Mrs. W. wore a gold watch, etc., to
which he answered, "yes." According to the testimony of Jesus, found in
Matt. 18:15-17, it appeared to me that Mrs. W. was guilty of a great wrong, and that Mr.
C. was abused, even if he was to blame for writing to her about her silk dresses and gold
watch.
On our way back Mrs. W. said to me that the Lord was there with his restoring
power, and she was confident that he would be restored to health again. I told her I
did not realize it, and that it was darkness to me. She did not speak to me again
that evening. As I parted from them, I went direct to Chicago, to continue my
meetings. A few days after I came to Chicago, Mrs. W. sent me a written testimony;
and in that she says she knew that I was under the influence of devils. The next day
I received a dispatch that Mr. C. was dead. I read and re-read the testimony, and
said to myself, "If she could see 3 years ago that Satan should take possession of my
soul and body because I would not give myself entirely up to be led by her and her
husband, why could she not see that Mr. C. would die a few days before he did, as her
attention was called directly to his case? And if she saw my then pitiable condition
so long before, why did she not warn me before Satan got me entirely under his
influence?"
The brethren at B.C. wrote me to come right back to the Office. I did so.
When there, Mr. J. Sawyer set me to work, and I thought he was authorized to do
so. Then Eld. W. came, and, in a very harsh manner asked me, "Who has set you
to work here? Do you intend to come here and run the whole business?"
etc. I told him who had set me to work, but then he went out. This led to what
he called "laboring meetings." When he could not gain his object he turned
to his wife and said, "Mrs. White, what did you see in regard to Bro. Lee's
case?" She answered, "I saw that we should have to meet Spiritualism in
Bro. Lee," or, "I saw that if he does not yield his independent will to be led
by the leading brethren, Satan will take possession of his soul." "There,
that's it," he said. "If Bro. Lee does not accept the testimony, he is
beyond our reach." Her testimony was considered above the word of God. I
did not know before that Mrs. W. held such a position in the Advent church. It
really astonished me.
She said things that I never thought a human being would say. She said,
"You, foreigners, must be moulded by us for eternity." In this it seemed
to me that she presented herself infallible, wherefore I answered, "Moulded by you!
moulded by you!! not as long as I can see defects in your character." I can in
truth say, that in all my trials on the narrow way, I have never been so cast down and
heart-sick as I was in Battle Creek, Mich., and my wife testifies to the same. It
was horrid. A few days before we were married, Mrs. W. sent for my wife (then Miss
Deedon) to come and see her. She then told her that I was "the most deceived
person in the world," and warned her against me. If either of us had failed to
know under what influence she labored, we would never been married or else it would have
caused disturbance in our family for life. A few weeks from this, the testimony of
Mrs. W. came out against me in print, and I was looked upon as a doomed man. This
seemed hard, but God was still unchanged; when alone in prayer, we enjoyed the sweet
blessing of God, and were strengthened. At times, of course, we would be nearly
overcome, which was the case for about fifteen long months, while we stood between light
and darkness. She has been the cause of pressing many bitter tears from our eyes,
but we pray that God may forgive her.
As we left B.C. we knew the brethren suspicioned us that we had reported the
whole affair to our Swedish friends. They inquired very particularly if we had
written to them. But we kept it to ourselves.
About the middle of Jan., 1875, we left B.C. and went out to preach.
God's blessing rested upon us and we raised up several churches during that year. We
labored in Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota.
Private letters sent to us via Battle Creek, some in care of the
"Review" office, and some in care of the "Svensk Advent Harold," came
to us opened. We wrote to the Office about it, and told them they misused us.
We then learned that Mr. J. Sawyer was engaged in that kind of work. While visiting
our brethren in Indiana this summer, to influence them against us, they shamed him for
opening other people's letters. Then, according to their statement, he said that I
was in partnership with him and that he opened 10 letters. I have never been in
partnership with him or any one else in B.C. To complete his work more fully, he
went from house to house among unbelievers and circulated the Swedish paper containing
"Eld. C. Lee's Case," as it appeared in the eyes of the Advent leaders in 1876;
even the Lutheran priest was considered worthy of such a present.
With feelings of sadness we kept our experience to ourselves and toiled on till
the Minn. Camp-meeting 1875. The first that then attracted our attention
particularly on the Camp-ground was Bro. P. Hanson of Litchfield, in company with another
man and the Sheriff, who, with legal force, drove a man, having put up a small stand
containing groceries, from the Camp-ground. I asked Bro. Hanson what that meant.
He said that the man was not a S. D. Adventist. And when I said, "But
you, as Christians, ought not to use the law on him," he said that Eld. Grant says
that "he knew that Mrs. W. would not allow him an inch." Mrs. W. had not
yet arrived.
P. Hanson held a letter in his possession from me containing information about
the property of Eld. and Mrs. W. I had stated to him that they were worth about
$40,000. This did not originate with me but I quoted from others. This letter
was translated and read to the Elder and his wife, and soon the Elder broke out against us
in public, and impressed the minds of the people that we were enemies to them, and tried
to injure their name. "Eld White, if I have been wrongly informed, and thus
stated things that are not so, please forgive me." This I said twice.
This is the forgiveness Eld. Canright refers to, when he says, "He publicly confessed
that he had been wholly wrong," etc. Were they true Christians they could not
accuse a brother in public for anything they thought he was wrong in, before they had
found out his reason for saying or doing thus and so; for it is against the testimony of
Christ, Matt. 18:15-17; and after publicly confessing, as I did, the Spirit of Christ
would not allow another accusation for the same thing. But they have another being's
testimony that they follow, which will appear hereafter.
As Mrs. W. carried on one of her revival meetings I told my wife that I would
go up to the front and try her spirit once more. -- I call it her spirit, because
Eld. Canright, in referring to the leading men among S. D. Adventists, says, "We have
all drank in of her spirit very largely." And Eld. H. Grant says, "Even
Infidels admire her spiritual power, though they do not accept her doctrine."
My wife told me not to go, but I did and she moved up a few seats toward the front, so as
to hear what they said. Of this Eld. Canright takes advantage, and says, that both
of us went forward to be "prayed for by Bro. and Sr. White."
At the close of the Camp-meeting we went with the brethren at Litchfield.
Then we learned that Bro. P. Hanson had been instructed by Mrs. W. to warn the Swedish
brethren against us. He did his very best to follow her instruction, and succeeded
to cause division among the brethren. He was so afraid that we should have any
friends, that he gave us a free ride in his new carriage, valued at about 400 dollars, and
took us about 18 miles to a family by name Ericson, who had before been our true
friends. He warned them strongly against us, and told them not to believe what we
said. We did not know that he had such intentions when we rode with him.
Bro. Hanson was very friendly to me before he came under Mrs. W.'s
influence. The day before I started to Chicago in the fall of 1874, he felt so
interested in me that he came 3 miles purposely to relate a dream to me that he had dreamt
the night before, which he declared God had given him for my good. He dreamt that I
went to meet Miss Deedon, now my wife, and then he saw that we got into a great
trouble. But we came out of the troubles at last. About that time a short
woman, dressed in black reform dress, came to him and took him by the hand and led him
off. She appeared to him as an angel of light. But soon he heard a voice
calling to him, saying, "Beware of whom you are lead." At the same time
the woman's hand turned cold as a piece of ice in his hand, and she appeared to him as a
dark demon. This is the substance of the dream he told me.
Bro. And Sr. Ericson felt very bad to hear such news about us. They did
not know what to believe. It was hard for them to believe that I was led by Satan,
for Sr. Ericson had been raised up from a severe illness twice by our prayer. Once
while we were in B.C.
We kept quiet and appealed to God to convince them of the truth. They
also sought God for light in regard to us. The second morning at the family worship
they were more free with us. At the breakfast table, Bro. E. related a dream to us,
that he had had during the night. He said he saw a great multitude of people looking
for Christ to come. In the midst of the mass was Mrs. White. -- He
had never seen her, but described her perfectly. All at once it became very dark
upon the earth. He looked about him, and found but a small company in comparison
with the great mass he first saw. In anxiety he cried out, "Where are they all
gone?" A voice answered him, "They are all lost with Mrs.
White." At that he awoke terrified.
The influence of Mrs. W.'s testimony against me, and Bro. Hanson's work to
impress it on the minds of the brethren, brought us in a position that we had to tell the
brethren about our said experience.
We went out again to labor in the Lord's vineyard with the intention to say
nothing to the rest of the brethren about the troubles. The Lord blessed our efforts
and souls embraced the truth. In December 1875, we went to Isanti County to labor
among the churches. While there, a Mormon preacher tried his best to throw his
influence against us. He declared that God's people are, and have always been, led
by a living prophet, who, through dreams and visions receives instructions from God in
behalf of the people, from time to time. His strong texts were Num. 12:6; Amos 3:7;
Joel 2:17; the very same ones used by S. D. Adventists. He said that the Holy Ghost
could be received only through that channel, and whoever denied and opposed it was in
danger of sinning against the Holy Ghost. This had considerable of a bearing on our
minds with respect to Mrs. White.
He left books with us presenting the Mormon prophet, Joe Smith's, heavenly
dreams and visions. We read and compared them with Mrs. White's. Now we had
two individuals presented before our minds, both claiming to be leaders of God's people
with respect to Christ's coming, and, as such, receiving light for the people direct from
God. Mr. Smith of course, is dead, but another fills his place. Several of
their visions were just about the same subjects. We will here give some examples.
VISION WHILE PRAYING
Mrs. White: "While praying, the power of God came upon me as I never
had felt it before. I was surrounded with light, and was rising higher and higher
from the earth." Spir. Gifts, vol. 2, p. 30.
"While praying, the thick darkness that had enveloped me was scattered, a
bright light, like a ball of fire, came toward me, and as it fell upon me my strength was
taken away. I seemed to be in the presence of Jesus and of angels."
Ibid., p. 37.
Joe Smith: "His eyes fell upon this text, 'If any one of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upraideth not.'
James, chap. 1:5. He, therefore, retired to a secluded thicket near his father's
house, and knelt in prayer, supplicating the Lord to know "which of all the sects was
really right.' While praying, the entire wood was illuminated with a great light,
and he was enveloped in the midst of it and caught away in heavenly visions, he saw two
glorious personages and was told that his sins were forgiven. He learned also that
none of the sects was quite right, but that God had chosen him to restore the true
priesthood upon earth." -- Life in Utah, p. 24.
VISION OF THE FALL
OF SATAN
Mrs. W.: "The happiness of the angelic host consisted in their
perfect obedience to law. Each had his special work assigned him; and until Satan
rebelled, there had been perfect order and harmonious action in Heaven. The Son of
God, the Prince of Heaven and his loyal angels, engaged in conflict with the arch rebel
and those who united with him. The Son of God and true loyal angels prevailed; Satan
and his sympathizers were expelled from Heaven." Spir. of Proph. p. 23.
J. S.: "And this we saw also and witnessed, that an angel of God
being mighty in the sight of God, rebelled against the Son of God, whom the Father loved
and was in his Father's bosom. He was cast out from the presence of the Father and
the Son, and was called Destruction; because heaven wept over him. He was Lucifer,
the son of the morning. And we saw and beheld he is fallen, he is fallen: yea, even
the Son of the morning." Mormon Catechism, in Danish, p. 24.
After having made a thorough investigation of Mrs. W.'s visions and
testimonies, in comparison with the visions of Joe Smith and Swedenburg, and in the light
of Spiritualism, and the word of God, the fear that we might commit sin against the Holy
Ghost by rejecting her as a true prophetess, had left us.
About New Year we wrote to B.C. that we could no longer go with them. We
had written large packages to them before that, asking them to explain certain things
which troubled us. But not a word did we receive till the "Supplement"
came out against us.
We left Isanti for Chisago Lake a few days before New Year, 1876, and while
there, we received a letter from Bro. Ericson, the brother above referred to, containing
the following dream.
I met with Bro. Peter
Hanson, and he held in his hands a large gun, large as a small cannon. In looking at
the gun, it astonished me to see that the mouth of the gun was shaped like a person's
mouth when widely opened. I asked him what he should do with the gun. He
said,"'I use it to shoot with. But I can not bring about the effect I desire,
and still I have been to many persons with it." I followed him into a large
house. As I stepped in through the door, a great black horse, standing above the
door, kicked at me with his hind foot, striking at my head, but did not hit me. I
stepped out on the floor to look at the horse, and then I saw a young man, clothed in
white apparel, sitting on the horse, and chained to his back. His countenance and
gestures expressed feelings of great agony, and he tried with all his might to get loose
from the horse. He had a shining sword by his side, and he raised it with his hand
and struck at Bro. H. I said to him, "Take care, or else his sword will pierce
you through." He said, "I am not afraid, because his sword is chained to
the black horse." I asked him, "How can you have this man chained
on that black horse?" He answered me, "If this man had known that he
should be so deceived, he would never have gone into this house." I said,
"Why don't you let him loose?" He answered, "As long as I can keep
him chained on the horse I have power and respect among, and reign as a king over, the
Swedish people; but if he gets loose, then they favor him."
I turned again to the young man to observe him
more closely. I saw that the chains began to loosen, and at last he stood on the
back of the horse. At that moment P. Hanson disappeared through the door, and I saw
him no more. With an expression of joy, the young man loosened himself from the last
chain that held him to the black horse, and stepped down from him. Then he took up a
fine steel spring [Bro. Ericson understood the steel spring to be my pen] from his pocket,
and rolled it out with his hand toward me, and it gave a thrilling sound as it passed
me. Then I awoke. The dream made a deep impression on my mind.
I went to sleep again, and dreamed that I met Bro.
H. and told him the singular dream I had about him. It seemed to me that he
understood it perfectly.
At the time of Mr. Carlstedt's death, this same Ericson
had another dream, which he wrote and sent me, while I was in Battle Creek, and engaged in
the hardest battle with Eld. and Mrs. White about things I thought they were wrong
in. We will give it in this connection.
I saw in my dream a large mass of
people gathered together. At the head of the people went 3 black horses. 2
were very large, but the third not so large, and he was covered with crape. The
whole mass moved toward a graveyard. I saw you standing by one side having a white
garment on, and around your neck was a considerable quantity of fresh blood. I said
to you, "What will Julia [now my wife] think when she sees you?"
We write these dreams, not because we are believers in
dreams -- we believe in them just as far as they prove true; -- but
because dreams and visions are the cause of the course the American brethren have pursued
toward us. We are not at all surprised at their fierce behavior toward us, for we
have written out these close-cutting points before and sent to them for their
consideration. Their intention has been, as expressed by Mr. J. Sawyer, when the
brethren in Indiana asked him why they had blackened me so shamefully in the
"Review," "We meant to shut up his mouth."
Eld. Canright has made out a sum of $815 that the General and Minnesota
Conference have paid me for my work. My books show that while I have been laboring
as a preacher, which is nearly 5 years, and the fruits of my labors have gone into their
Conferences and treasuries from the very commencement, my traveling and other expenses,
including what I paid for the girl I took to B.C. and the fare that they promised to pay
when they sent me away from my field of labor, amount to 447 dollars. That leaves me
$368 to buy clothes with, and to help a dependent mother, during a period of nearly 5
years. But out of these $368 I have paid for postage, paper and envelopes for the
Swedish paper $10, and I have given $10 to the Swedish department in B.C., and another $10
to the Minn. Conference toward buying tents, and about $25 "Systematic
Benevolence." All these sums must be drawn from the 815 dollars. Then I
have left for individual use about 313 dollars during the above stated time.
Eld. Canright says that I have not put in my whole time. My brethren in
Minn. know that I have, except a short time during the harvest season.
The Elder's aim has been to impress the minds of the readers of the Supplement
that I am a worthless, miserable liar. They, in fact, like to have it so. All
this because we cannot for conscience' sake uphold Mrs. White as a prophetess of
God. For the truth's sake we give the following certificate, which I received in
1871, from leading men in the place I left as I turned in among the S. D. Adventists; the
very same year that Eld. Canright saw me "insane," as he says.
State of Minnesota,
Counties Olmsted, Dodge and Steel,
Feb. 10th, 1871.
To all whom these presents
may concern.
Mr. Charles
Lee, M.D. (the bearer) has been a practicing physician with us for the past four
years. During which time, we, the undersigned, have been intimately acquainted with
him, and with his practice; and we heartily recommend him as a good citizen, and worthy
practitioner in the healing art. -- C. Atherton, Merchant and Justice
of the Peace; L. B. Allen, Principal of Groveland Seminary; Rev. J. P. Hamlen; Rev. J. B.
Williams, Pastor of the M. E. Church; Edward Buring, Notary Public.
From the S. D. Adventists, a people claiming to keep
God's commandments and have the faith of Jesus, my wife and myself are turned off black
marked and destitute, after years of hard labor.
What Eld. Canright did in Minnesota may be seen from the following extracts,
which we take from letters written by the brethren.
The brethren at Litchfield write: --
To illustrate the idolatry that is
manifest among us as a people, by the American brethren's zeal to honor Mrs. W. as a
medium of the Son of God to give testimonies to the church in Christ's place, we will here
refer you to what occurred in our church. Eld. Canright upheld Mrs. W. to a very
great extent in his sermons, which caused not a little division among us. The church
divided in two parties; about 11 persons on each side. Those that acknowledged Mrs.
W. for what she was represented to be, were called upon to raise their hands as an
evidence against us, while the Elder read a document declaring us to be apostates from the
truth and the true church of Christ, and that those who thus separated from them should
not have any fellowship with them any more. We gave Christ the honor that they
ascribed to her, and against our testimony they reached their hands toward heaven, as an
evidence before God, that we should be considered as apostates from the true church of
Christ.
From Chisago Lake: --
Eld. Canright preached the
blackest gospel to us that we ever heard. We had to stop him several times during
his sermons to call his attention to things that we knew were false, and he did take some
of them back.
He has also much to say about me in regard to Eld.
Butler's testimony -- the testimony which he says we have misapplied and gave no
other reason than that we "supposed" it was Eld. Butler's. We would say
that we had reason to suppose that it was his. The same day we left B.C. Mrs.
Lockwood (Eld. B's sister) told my wife that Eld. B. had received a testimony, and that he
felt very bad because he did not receive a written, instead of a printed, testimony.
We knew who the 2nd in No. 24 belonged to, but the 3rd we knew nothing about, and as No.
25 was not yet printed, who, not understanding their secret workings, could suppose any
thing else but that Eld. B's testimony came out in No. 24?
He says that I have circulated everywhere that Eld. Butler was in sympathy with
me and that he did not believe Mrs. W.'s testimonies. I have never said that he did
not believe her testimonies, but I have said to many that Eld. Butler has sympathized with
me. To prove my position true, I can do no better than to extract from letters he
has written to me. He wrote me from Rolla, Mo., July 19, 1875, as follows: --
Dear Bro. Lee: -- I was very glad indeed to hear from
you the other day. I have thought of you a great deal within the last few months,
and wondered how you were getting along, and whether you looked back upon me with any
interest and affection or whether the trials in B.C. caused you to drop me out of your
list of friends pretty much... I had become attached to you by our short
acquaintance that winter in Minnesota, and believed you to be a child of God... But
those trials, through which you passed, caused me some anxiety lest you should lose your
confidence in the work. You know how I used to talk to you there at B.C.; and at
times I half expected you would blame me for it in your heart, and think it was cruel of
me to do so... You little knew, I suppose, at the time, through what trials I was
passing myself. Many a time I felt as if death would be a pleasure, and when talking
with you it seemed to me I should sink myself in spite of all I could do... Well,
Bro. Lee, I have had my trials as well as you, and am not out of them yet by any means.
Again, he says in another letter, dated Rolla, Mo., Sept.
13th, 1875: --
Now you know very well that I have
been in trials the past few months, and I don't know as there has been any thing done to
settle them particularly. I have known how Bro. and Sr. White have felt and spoken
concerning me, and I do not think that in all things they have spoken just as they should
either.
Let the above speak for itself.
Why Br'n Lindblad, Meyer and Norstrom have turned in with the believers in Mrs.
W. to oppose me is more than I know, and I think that they do not know themselves. I
know one thing about them, that I have given to each one of them a coat, when I thought
they needed it more than myself. And I have no doubt in my mind but what they are
dressed up in those coats when they try to blacken my and my wife's character. But
our prayer for these men is, may God forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Mr. C. Meyer told me and the brethren in Chisago Lake, a few days before he
joined in with Mr. Lindblad to work against me, that he knew that "Lindblad upheld
Mrs. W. because he expected money from the Conference." We learn that he has
worked faithfully in that line. The leader of the Cambridge church, in referring to
Lindblad's preaching there, writes, "He said that Christ is not the head of the
church now; he has placed me to lead the church, until he has finished his mediatorial
work."
If we say that it is a custom with the leaders of the Advent people to
blackmark such as they cannot hold in their grasp, we tell the truth. To illustrate
the ministers' labor under Mrs. W.'s spirit where there are individuals in the churches
who strive for gospel liberty, we will refer to what has just taken place in
Chicago. We will let one case speak for the rest. A brother by name Johnson,
who, from the rise of the church has done much for its prosperity and been considered a
faithful brother, said, that he could no longer go with a church that uphold a prophetess
to give testimonies to the church in Christ's place; he considered it to be spiritual
idolatry, and he wanted his name from the book. This was denied him at first, but as
he insisted hard on it Eld. Matteson said that he would grant it. He brought an
accusation against him because he had manifested some interest in my meetings. On
that, another principal man in the church sanctioned the accusation and declared that Bro.
Johnson should be "delivered unto Satan." He was thus expelled and doomed
as a fornicator, see 1 Cor. 5:5. Others, that desired to withdraw from the church,
were placed under a special committee.
Why do they deal thus with poor, tried souls? Simply because they want to
report that those they lost were only so many, and "they were of no moral
worth"; and, also, that their "Systematic Benevolence" shall not suffer too
much loss all at once. Thus they have "gold" at the head of the list, and
"souls of men" at the foot. See Rev. 18:12, 13. Still they think
that we speak hard when we say that the S. D. Advent church is a branch of Babylon.
Babylon is to the people of God a place of captivity, where they are strangers, and
burdened down by the authority of men. If the above does not mark the S.D.A. church
as a branch of the spiritual Babylon from which God's people have to come out at the
closing up of time, Rev. 18:1-4, then there is no Babylon in existence now.
Eld. Canright's report from Minnesota is intended to impress the reader's mind
that all my brethren have left me on account of ill-conduct. But no greater
falsehood could be circulated than that. About 100 stand by us already. We
have just received (July, 1876) a letter from the largest and strongest Swede church in
Minnesota, containing the following: --
Dear Bro. and Sr. Lee: with joy we
can say that we have been greatly blessed since we became free from the Conference and the
traditions of men. You know very well that as long as we were under their influence
there was a continual confusion in our church. But now we can say to the glory of
God, that when we meet, the love of God unites us, and when we part we know God's Holy
Spirit has been with us. We are greatly strengthened to go onward on the narrow
way. Let no evil report trouble you. We will stand by you in the truth.
The Swedish church in Indiana bears the same testimony. And we know that
all our Swedish brethren, who regard truth more than respect of men, will step out with us
as soon as they understand the mystery of Mrs. White.
Dear reader, think not that it has been to our advantage to thus separate from
the American brethren. We have done so for our conscience's sake, and for the sake
of our brethren, that we should not bring ourselves and them under an influence which we
knew to be in war with God's Spirit and the gospel. All Bible truth we love, and
mean by the grace of God to practice it in our daily life. The leaders of the Advent
body have tried their best to blacken our characters, and have withheld from us one year's
hard earned wages, and turned us off destitute; but they can bring in no other true
accusation than this, that we do not accept Mrs. White as the prophetess of God to lead
the "remnant people" in the narrow way, and to act as an officer in Christ's
place to give testimonies to the church. Believe it who may, but we will regard the
commandment that says, "Thou shalt have no other gods
before me." The Father and the Son are one; and, when the apostle
has referred to them he says: --
"Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen."
1 John 6:20, 21.
-------------------------------------
IS SHE NOT
A SPIRIT MEDIUM?
-------------------------------------
"And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have
familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek
unto their God? for the living to the dead?" Isaiah 8:19.
The last days are in the word of God
marked as perilous times, when Satan with "all power and signs and lying wonders, and
with all de- ceivableness of unrighteousness" will carry on a work among men, that
even God's chosen will be in danger. Christ, when speaking to his disciples about
the time of his second coming, says: --
For there shall arise false
Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Matt. 24:24.
"False Christs" mean false anointed ones.
We should therefore understand Christ to mean, that persons, falsely claiming to have
divine appointment as leaders of God's people, would rise up as divine teachers, and gain
a great and powerful influence over those looking for, and believing in Christ's soon
coming, and ensnare them by delusive doctrines, that the very elect barely escape their
deception.
The great Apostle says: --
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience
seared with a hot iron. 1 Tim. 4:1, 2.
This text has reference to persons who have had "the
faith," that is, they have been true believers in the doctrine of Christ, but have
through Satanic deception departed from "the faith," by giving heed to seducing
spirits and doctrines of devils. "The faith" we understand to be a humble
trust in the word of God. The opposite to faith would be visions, sight: to give up
the humble trust in the testimony of God, and by deceiving spirits have a view of things
promised in the word.
The prophet Jeremiah speaks of the same class when he says, "And when they
shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits," etc. The word
"they" marks a certain class, who are believers in "familiar spirits";
that is, spirit beings that have made their appearance many times, pretending to carry
information from the better world. And "they" speak in the ears of God's
people and say, "Seek unto them that have familiar spirits." Thus, they
are to be found among the people of God. This cannot apply to common Spiritualists.
The following is what Eld. James White says of his wife: --
It was but a few weeks after
the passing of the time, in 1844, that she had her first vision. The circumstances
of this manifestation are briefly stated by Mrs. W. as follows: "I visited Sr. H.,
one of our Advent sisters, whose heart was knit with mine. In the morning we bowed
at the family altar. It was not an exciting occasion. There were but five of
us present, all females. While praying, the power of God came upon me as I never had
felt it before. I was rising higher and higher from the earth," etc.
Spir. Gifts, Vol. 2, p. 20. Her condition in vision may be described as follows:
1. She is utterly unconscious of everything
transpiring around her, as has been proved by the most rigid tests, but views herself as
removed from this world, and in the presence of heavenly beings.
2. She does not breathe. During
the entire period of her continuance in vision, which has at different times ranged from
fifteen minutes to three hours, there is no breath, as has been repeated proved by
pressing upon the chest, and by closing the mouth and nostrils.
3. Immediately on entering vision, her
muscles become rigid, and joints fixed, so far as any external force can influence them.
At the same time her movements and gestures, which are frequent, free and graceful,
can not be hindered nor controlled by the strongest person.
4. On coming out of vision,
whether in the daytime or a well lighted room at night, all is total darkness. Her
power to distinguish even the most brilliant objects, held within a few inches of the
eyes, returns but gradually, some times not being fully established for three hours,"
&c. -- Life Incidents, pp. 270-272.
The following extracts, which we take from a pamphlet entitled, "Is
Spiritualism True?" compare very naturally with the above described features.
Lydia Maria Child has just
published the following statement regarding her deceased friend, Henrietta Sargent.
"One morning, she spoke of not feeling as well as usual; but it was regarded by
herself and others merely a slight deviation from her customary good health. But in
the course of the day she suddenly fainted away. As the usual restoratives produced
no effect, the family physician was summoned. No better success attended his
efforts. The breath appeared to be entirely suspended, and the limbs remained
rigid and cold. Her daughters feared she must be dead; and the doctor began to
be doubtful whether animation would ever be restored. How long she continued in this
state, I do not remember, but while they were watching her with ever-deepening anxiety,
she gasped feebly, and after awhile, opened her eyes. When she had completely
recovered, she told her daughters she had been standing by them all the time, looking at
her lifeless body, and seeing all they did to resuscitate it; and she astonished them by
repeating the minutest details of all that had been said or done by them and the doctor
during her prolonged state of utter insensibility."
Again, in the same Pamphlet, on p. 28, we read: --
A daughter of Mr. Hangly, of
Bangor, seven years of age, was taken sick of cholera, and to all appearance, died, but in
a few hours stretched forth her arms, and exclaimed, "O father! I have been to
heaven, and it is a beautiful place." She stated that she saw her mother there,
who had died but a few days before, and she was taking care of little children, among
whom, she said, were "four children of Uncle Hangly, and three children of Uncle
Casey." -- "But," said an older sister, "it can't be
so; for there are but two of Uncle Casey's children dead." --
"Yes," she relied, "I saw three of them in heaven. All were dressed
in white [Mrs. W. had a view of saved children, but she says "they had a hem of red
on their garments" and were dressed in "wings," Sir. Gifts, Vol. 2, p. 54],
and all were very happy, and the children playing." Shortly after, a message
came from Mr. Casey in Carmel, giving information of the death of another child, and
inviting them to attend the funeral.
No Adventist believes that these visions were given by
God, yet they were real, and developed truth.
Does she deal with familiar spirits? She does. Here is her own
testimony: --
Several speakers had addressed
large and attentive congregations at the Camp-meeting at Rome, N.Y., on first-day,
September 12, 1875. The following night I dreamed that a young man of noble
appearance came into the room where I was, immediately after I had been speaking. This
same person has appeared before me in important dreams to instruct me from time to time during
the past twenty-six years." -- Review and Herald, Nov. 4, 1875.
He was thus to her a familiar spirit of 26 years'
acquaintance.
Does she peep and mutter? That is, Does she in a peeping and muttering
manner utter words in her dead state? The following is sufficient to answer the
question. Eld. Bates, in speaking of their desire to know the meaning of Rev. 7th
chapter, says: --
After some time spent in
earnest prayer for light and instruction, God gave Sister White the following in vision;
viz: "Where did the light break out? Let thine angels teach us where the light
broke out. It commenced from a little, then thou didst give one light after
another. The testimony and commandments are linked together; they can not be
separated... The angels have not let go; for the saints are not all sealed.
The time of trouble has commenced; it is begun. The reason why the four winds have
not let go is because the saints are not all sealed... Why, they are just ready to
blow. There's a check put on because the saints are not sealed. Yea, publish
the things thou hast seen and heard, and the blessing of God will attend. Look ye!
that rising is in strength and grows brighter and brighter. That truth is the seal;
that's why it came last.
The shut door [see explanation
below] we have had. God has taught and taught; but that experience is not the seal;
and that commandment, that has been troden under foot, will be exalted. And when ye
get that you will go through the time of trouble." -- Eld.
Bates's book, p. 24, according to H. E. Carver.
She had this vision about 26 yeas ago, and Eld. Bates
says of it: --
The above was copied word for word
as she spoke in vision, therefore it is unadulterated; some sentences escaped us, and some
we have not copied here.
The 26 years that have passed since she muttered those
words in her death-like condition prove the whole to be an utter falsehood; because we
have not yet reached the time of trouble.
Then, what about the shut door that her instigator says, "We have
had"? She had been informed, some time prior to this, that the door of mercy
was closed against sinners in 1844. We will here give a few extracts from her own
writings.
The following we extract from a letter written by Mrs. L. S. Burdick, San
Francisco, Cal., and printed by Eld. M. Grant in his Examination of Mrs. White's
Visions, pp. 72, 73: --
I became acquainted with
James White and Ellen Harmon (now Mrs. White) early in 1845... They were not
married, but traveling together. Ellen was having what was called visions.
Said God had shown her in vision that Jesus Christ arose on the tenth day of the seventh
month, 1844, and shut the door of mercy; the whole world was doomed and lost, and there
never could be another sinner saved.
She pretended God had showed her things which did
come to pass. At one time she saw that the Lord would come the second time in June,
1845. The prophecy was discussed in all the churches, and in a little
"Shut-door paper," published in Portland, Me. During the summer, after
June passed, I heard a friend ask her own she accounted for the vision? She replied
that they told her in the language of Canaan, and she did not understand the language;
that it was the next September that the Lord was coming, and the second growth of grass,
instead of the first in June.
In what is called the "Camden Vision,"
published June 29, 1851, Mrs. W. says:
Then I saw that Jesus prayed for
his enemies; but that should not cause us to lead us to pray for the wicked
world whom God had rejected. When he prayed for his enemies, there was hope for
them, and they could be benefited and saved by his prayers, and also after he was a
Mediator in the outer apartment for the whole world; but now his Spirit and sympathy were
withdrawn from the world, and our sympathy must be with Jesus, and must be withdrawn from
the ungodly. -- Mrs. E. G. White's Claim to Divine Inspiration Examined,
by H. E. Carver, pp. 56, 57.
Now, having had a vision in which she saw that no sinners
could ever be pardoned for their sins any more, she has another vision in which she sees
of what nature the Reformations were, being so many and powerful about that time. In
a paper published by Eld. White in 1849, called "The Present Truth," she says: --
I saw that the mysterious signs
and wonders and false reformations would increase and spread. The reformations that
were shown me were not reformations from error to truth, but from bad to worse; for those
who professed a change of heart had only wrapped about them a religious garb which covered
up the iniquity of a wicked heart. Some appeared to have been really converted, so
as to deceive God's people; but if their hearts could be seen they would appear as black
as ever. My accompanying angel bade me look for the travail of soul for sinners as
used to be. I looked, but could not see it, for the time for their salvation is
past. -- Ibid., p. 52.
Her earlier visions they suppress and keep back from the
people. But to the child of God such evidences as the above make it plain that she
is included among those that deal with familiar and deceiving spirits. And the
leaders of the denomination are actuated by such visions and testimonies. Eld.
Canright, in one of his sermons at Litchfield, Minn. said: --
Bro. White has been influenced by
her visions and actuated by them, and they have had a very large influence over this
people everywhere in shaping our course. We have all drank in of her spirit very
largely.
-------------------------------------
IS
SHE NOT SELLING THE OIL
TO THE FOOLISH VIRGINS
OF MATT. 25:9, 10?
-------------------------------------
"And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for
our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, Not so; lest there be not enough for
us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while
they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the
marriage: and the door was shut."
All parties agree that the word of God is the lamp the
Savior has reference to in this parable. But, then, what is the oil? The oil,
of course, goes with the lamp. Some claim that the oil is the "grace of God in
the heart." If that's true, then the human heart is the lamp. But if
those looking for the Lord's coming have such lamps to light them on their way, then they
will certainly be deceived. See the Lord's description of such a lamp in Matt.
15:19. The word of God, especially the prophetic portion, being the lamp, there must
be something that holds the same relation to that word that the oil does to the lamp, and
what is it? From Rev. 1:2, 9; 20:4, we have clear evidence that the word of God and
the testimony of Jesus are not the same thing. The word of God we understand to be
that which God has spoken through his servants the prophets, Moses, etc.; but the
testimony of Jesus is what Jesus himself has testified to confirm the word of God and to
magnify it. The testimony of Jesus is the key of interpretation to the prophetic
portion of God's word. This is expressed by the angel to the Revelator, "The
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Rev. 19:10. It is the
spirit or life to the prophetic symbols.
To illustrate: In Dan. 9:26, we find a prophecy applicable at the
destruction of Jerusalem. The disciples needed something to inform them how to
escape from the horrible destruction impending over the city. Did the prophecy of
Daniel tell them what to do when the desolating power surrounded the city? Not at
all. Was it any light to them at all? It showed them that the city was to be
destroyed, but said nothing concerning their safety. What was it that gave spirit or
life to that prophecy? The testimony of Jesus, found in Matt. 24:16-18. When
they connected that with the prophecy of Daniel, what did they have in that perilous
time? They had a prophetic lamp, filled with genuine oil, to guide them on their
way. What did they learn from their experience? They learned the truth of the
testimony of the angel to John, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy." It is the genuine oil to the prophetic lamp.
What has Mrs. White to do with the testimony of Jesus? Has she raised
herself up in Christ's place in the church to deal with his testimonies? Let us hear
what Eld. White says about it: --
God is speaking to us, not only
through the united judgment of his people, but directly from heaven, through dreams and
visions.... All our Conferences say by resolutions at each annual session that they
recognize the voice of God in the testimony of Jesus, or, the spirit of prophecy,
which is already being manifested in the remnant church of Rev. 12:17."
-- Review and Herald, Dec. 2, 1875.
Here we have it. All, or, the 15 S. D. Advent
Conferences, give an acknowledgment by resolution once a year, that they receive the
testimony of Jesus by Mrs. W. through dreams and visions.
"But," says the reader, "what kind of testimonies does she
give?" As far as we have been able to examine them in the light of the doctrine
of Christ, we have found them to be of an accusing character. Let the following,
which we extract from one of them to a minister in their ranks, serve as a specimen: --
You can neither read, spell, nor
pronounce correctly, and yet there are but few who have had less taxation and less burdens
of responsibility to bear than yourself. Your life thus far has been unprofitable.
You have some very good ideas, but the Spirit of God does not dwell in your heart.
You are not quickened by his power, and you have not genuine faith, hope and
love... As you are, you would mar all heaven. You are uncultivated, unrefined,
and unsanctified. There is no place in heaven for such a character as you now
possess... All such ministers as you have been for several years are more of a curse
than a blessing to the cause of God, etc. -- Testimony for the
church, No. 24, Epistle No. 3.
Such horrible slander, and to the gospel opposing
testimonies, as the above, are by the leaders of the denomination accepted as coming
direct from Christ, and by them printed and sold to believers or unbelievers for sacred
teachings. They, in fact, esteem them more sacred than the word of God, which Eld.
White's "Introduction" to Test. No. 26, makes plain. He says, "Let
the following pages be read in the fear of God. Those who cannot feel the force of
the great truths stated and the importance of the admonitions given, at the first reading,
should re-read this book upon their knees." Page 4. They are now 27
in number and can be had at Battle Creek, Mich., or Oakland, Cal., for 25 or 30 cents a
piece.
Eld. Canright said at Litchfield, Minn. that "the foolish virgins are
those who do not buy enough of Mrs. White's testimonies." But we told him that
those who go to buy come finally too late. While they go to buy, the bridegroom
comes. It is evident that the foolish virgins appeal to some other party than Jesus
Christ for their light to the prophetic word about the time of Christ's second
coming. They are deceived by some one selling a counterfeit testimony in Christ's
name recommended to give light to prophecy.
Reader, "Take heed that no man deceive you."
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