A Response to an Urgent Testimony
from
Mrs. E. G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
Sanitarium, St. Helena, Cal.
Under the date of March 30 of last
year there was sent to me a very urgent testimony written by you in which you requested
all those having difficulties concerning your testimonies to inform you concerning the
same, and in which you assured me that the Lord would help you to answer the
objections. Upon receipt of this I wrote and asked several questions which seemed to
me to be of considerable importance, but in your answer all were ignored except one, the
answer to which was clear enough.
I have thought many times since
that I would write you again, but when I thought of the many perplexing things you are
called upon to consider, I felt that it would be cruel to burden you further; so for this
reason I have not written. But I have just reread the testimony above referred to
and find that it is very explicit and urgent in the request that all perplexities
concerning the testimonies be referred to you for explanation, and since there are many
things in your testimonies and other writing which seem to me to be contradictory and not
in accordance with the facts as I see them, I take this opportunity of complying with your
request which is as follows:
Sanitarium, Cal., March 30, 1906.To Those Who are
Perplexed Regarding the Testimonies Relating to the Medical Missionary Work:
Recently in
the visions of the night I stood in a large company of people. There were
present Dr. Kellogg, Elders Jones, Tenny, and Taylor, Dr. Paulson, Elder Sadler, Judge
Arthur, and many of their associates. I was directed by the Lord to request them
and any others who have perplexities and grievous things in their minds regarding the
testimonies that I have borne, to specify what their objections and criticisms are.
The Lord will help me to answer these objections, and to make plain that which seems to be
intricate.
Let those who are
troubled now place upon paper a statement of the difficulties that perplex their
minds, and let us see if we can not throw some light upon the matter that will relieve
their perplexities. The time has come for the leaders to state to us the
perplexities of which they have spoken to the nurses and to their associate
physicians. Let us now have their reasons for talking with the students in
a way that would destroy their faith in the messages that God sends to his people. Let
it all be written out, and submitted to those who desire to remove the perplexities.
If statements have been
made that there are contradictions in the testimonies, should I not be acquainted with the
charges and accusations? Should I not know the reason of this sowing tares of
unbelief?
Some who have gone to Battle
Creek have spent many hours with nurses, presenting objections to the testimonies.
Such ones would be able to spend more of their precious, God-given time in the study of
the Word of God if with humble hearts they would follow the directions Christ
has given, and present to me their grievances before they tell them to others.
Men do not glorify God in spending so much time in long talks, which sometimes extend late
into the night, in an effort to weaken the faith of those who are called to Battle Creek
supposedly to be educated in medical missionary lines and fitted to go forth into any
place where duty may call them.
I am praying for you all,
and praying for our youth. It is time that we understood who is on the Lord's side.
I ask that the leaders in the medical work at Battle Creek and those who have been
associated with them in gathering together criticisms and objections to the testimonies
that I have borne, shall open to me the things that they have been opening to
others. They should certainly do this, if they are loyal to the directions God
has given. We should also have a clear statement of facts from those with whom
physicians and ministers have been at work, to undermine their confidences in the Bible,
the Messages, and the Testimonies. If there is in your minds the thought that Sister
White's work can be no longer trusted, we would be glad to know when and why you came to
this decision. It may be that some matters that seem to you very objectionable can
be explained. This will be better than to leave these matters until the great future
investigation, when every man's work will appear as it is, with the reasons that underly
their course of action.
I am now charged to
request those who are in difficulty in regard to Sister White's work to let their
questions appear now, before the great day of judgment comes, when every work shall
be made to appear with the motive underlying it, when the secrets of all hearts shall be
known, and every thought, word, and deed shall be tested by the Judge of the whole world,
and each one will receive sentence according as his works have been.
I present this before you
all. I am still praying for the physicians, the ministers, and the church in Battle
Creek. If any are framing excuses that have deceived their own minds, I plead with
them to put these excuses away before the final judgment, the great execution of the
sentences that shall be passed upon all the earth. In the judgment there will be
tried the cases of those who have been exalted to high positions of influence, those who
have had great opportunities and great light, but who have refused to heed that light,
because it did not agree with the desire of their own hearts. They have turned aside
the counsel of the Lord to open the door to seductive influence, and are repeating the
very experience that was set in operation in the heavenly courts.
There is a class who need to
look well to the course of action they are pursuing, and to do the diligent work that is
essential. "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have
need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and
blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be
rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see. As many as
I love I rebuke and chasten; be zealous, therefore, and repent. Beyond I stand at
the door, I will come in to him,and will sup with him, and he with me To him that
overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne even as I also overcame, and am set
down with my Father in his throne."
(Signed) ELLEN G. WHITE.
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Sunday afternoon, Oct. 2, 1904, in the Tabernacle, before a very large audience
you made the following statements which were taken down by an expert stenographer, and
which have been verified by scores who heard the statements:"I
know that those that have got the books that God has bidden me to write, when that hand
trembled so that it seemed an impossibility -- I want you to read
the books, 'Patriarchs and Prophets,' 'Desire of Ages,' 'Ministry of Healing' is nearly
done, and a great many other books.
"I am not, as I said yesterday,
a prophet. I do not claim to be a leader. I claim to be simply a
messenger of God, and that is all I have ever claimed."
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St. Helena, Cal., Feb. 14, 1901,
to ----------:"I wish to be in as
quiet place as possible, for private conversation is much more wearing on me than public
speaking. I know that I have the special power of God when I am bearing my
testimony before the people. I know the Lord will not leave me." . . .
"My Instructor said silence is eloquence even when before your supposed
friends. You will be justified in keeping your words for public occasion."
A Messenger -- Review and Herald, July 27, 1906:
"When I was last in Battle Creek,
I said before a large congregation that I did not claim to be a prophet- ess.
Twice I referred to this matter, intending each time to make the statement, 'I
do not claim to be a prophetess.' If I spoke otherwise than this, let all now
understand that what I had in mind to say was that I do not claim the title of prophet
or prophetess."
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In the testimony dated Feb. 14, 1901, above quoted, you state: "I know
that I have the special power of God when I am bearing my testimony before the people."
On Sunday, Oct. 2, 1904, when bearing your testimony before a very large audience in the
Tabernacle, you stated "I am not, as I said yesterday, a prophet."
In the Review of July 26, 1906, you stated that you intended to say,
"I do not claim to be a prophetess," and that what you had in mind
to say was: "I do not claim the title of prophet or prophetess."
Are we to understand from this that on this occasion the special power of God was not with
you when you said, "I am not, as I said yesterday, a prophet," or is the
statement in the Review incorrect?
SIGNING OF CONTRACTS
Testimony in General Conference Bulletin of 1893, pp. 162, 163:"Before
persons are admitted to our Missionary Training School, let there be a written
agreement that after receiving their education they will give themselves to the work
for a specified time. This is the only way our missions can be made what they
should be."
In a testimony written in 1888 you state:
"The Sanitarium at Battle Creek has been built up under
a pressure of difficulties. There have had to be decisive measures taken,
contracts signed by those who were engaged as helpers that they would remain a certain
number of years. This has been a positive necessity.... Thus it
has been necessary in the Sanitarium at Battle Creek to make contracts binding those who
connect with it as helpers, so that after they have been educated and trained as
nurses and as bath hands, they shall not leave because others present inducements to them."
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Testimony ------, ------, ------, and
------, St. Helena, Cal., Aug. 3, 1903, p. 4:"No
man or woman is to bind him- self or herself to serve for a certain number of years under
the control of a medical association.... I know that some have thought it is advisable
for the workers in our sanitarium to sign certain contracts. But I know also
that it is not in accordance with God's plan for the workers to sign these
contracts."
Testimony to ------, Elmshaven, San., Cal., Aug. 4, 1903:
"Yesterday I sent you a letter containing the warning
that has been given again and again. The workers in our institutions are not to
sign contracts binding themselves to an institution for a certain number of years."
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For a number of years the managers of the Sanitarium Medical Missionary
Training School, believing that they were working in harmony with the principles set forth
in the above testimony which was printed in the General Conference Bulletin of
1893, and in the above testimony of 1888, which was published in a pamphlet entitled
"Selections from the Unpublished Writings of Mrs. E. G. White," required that
before persons were admitted to this school they should sign an agreement to give
themselves to the work for a specified time. Later the managers were severely
criticized for doing what the testimony of 1903 above quoted advised.
Under the circumstances what was the duty of the managers of the Sanitarium
Medical Missionary Training School? Which instruction should they follow --
that given in 1888 and that published in the General Conference Bulletin in 1893,
or that given to Elders ------, ------, ------, in 1903?
DENOMINATIONAL OR UNDENOMINATIONAL
Testimony to ------ and Sanitarium Board Jan. 11, 1899:"Our brethren in America who are engaged
in medical missionary work,
can, by appealing to the outside people, obtain help because theirs is not a
denominational work."
Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White, page 382:
"Though founded and managed by Seventh-day Adventists,
the Sanitarium is not conducted on a denominational basis."
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Testimony dated Aug. 21, 1902:"It
has been stated that the Battle Creek Sanitarium is not denominational. But if ever
an institution was established to be denominational in every sense of the word, this
Sanitarium was."
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How can the work of the Sanitarium Board be "not a denomi- national work"
in any sense of the word whatever, since the institution which it conducts as is stated,
was established to be denominational in every sense of the word"? What
do these statements mean?
DOES HE BELIEVE
THE TESTIMONIES?
| Testimony to Elders ------, ------, ------, ------,
dated Feb. 21, 1899, page 7:
I know that when admonition and warnings have
been given, Dr. Kellogg has not despised these warnings and set them aside.
He has not worked in order to get rich. The work that is done to relieve suffering
humanity is of more value to him than a world of gold. He has gathered in all of the
outcast that he can that they may be uplifted and reformed and see God as their
Restorer. God approves of his work in this line, let the brethren
appreciate this work.
Testimony to ------, dated Aug. 5, 1902:
I was instructed I have a message for you to
bear to Dr. Kellogg. I thought, It will do no good. He does not accept
the messages that I bear to him unless these harmonize with his plans and devisings."
Testimony to Dr. Kellogg dated at Elmshaven, Sanitarium, Cal., Nov. 12, 1902, three
months and nine days later:
You tell me that you do not believe the messages I send you, but
I know that this is not true.
Series B, No. 7, Sanitarium, Cal., Jan. 1, 1904 (one year and eighteen
days later):
Thus it has been for years, and message after message has
the Lord sent in warning, but the one to whom they have been sent has refused to
hear.
At Tacoma Park, Washington, May 30, 1905, you stated:
When Dr. Kellogg receives the messages of warning given during
the past twenty years ... then we may have confidence that he is seeking the light.
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In 1899:
"Dr. Kellogg has despised these warnings and set them aside."
In August, 1902:
"Dr. Kellogg does not accept the messages ... unless these harmonize
with his plans and devisings."
In January, 1904:
"Thus it has been for years, and message after message has the
Lord sent in warning, but the one to whom they have been sent has refused to hear."
In May, 1905:
"When Dr. Kellogg receives the messages of warning given during the
past twenty years..."
These five statements seemingly represent a very peculiar state of affairs as
regards Dr. Kellogg's views of the testimonies. In 1899 he believed them; in August,
1902, he did not accept them; in November, 1902, three months later, Dr.
Kellogg said that he did not believe, but you said that he did; and only one
year after this you said that for years he has refused to hear; and in 1905 you
infer that he has not received your messages for twenty years.
Please explain what is meant by these seemingly contradictions.
HAS THE TIME COME
TO DISCARD MILK,
EGGS, AND BUTTER?
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, Nos. 21-25, p. 21:"We
bear positive testimony against tobacco, spiritous liquors, snuff, tea, coffee,
flesh meats, butter, spices, rich cakes, mince pies, a large amount of salt, and all
other exciting substances used as articles of food."
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2, Nos. 15-20, p. 367:
"Because we from principle discard the use of meat,
butter, mince pies, spices, lard, and that which irritates the stomach and destroys
health."
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2, No. 18, p. 485:
"One family in particular have needed
the benefits they could receive from the reform in diet; yet these very ones
have completely backslidden. Meat and butter have been used by them quite
freely, and spices have not been entirely discarded."
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2, No. 18, p. 487:
"I have a well-set table on all occasions.
I make no change for visitors whether believers or unbelievers.... No
butter of flesh meats of any kind come upon my table."
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 136:
"Children are allowed to eat flesh meats, spices,
butter, cheese, pork, pastry, and condiments generally.... These things do the
work of deranging the stomach, exciting the nerves to unnatural action and enfeebling the
intellect."
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2, p. 362:
"You place upon your tables butter, eggs,
and meat, and your children partake of them. They are fed with the very things
that will excite their animal passions, and then you come to meeting and ask God to bless
and save your children. How high do your prayers go?"
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Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7, No. 35, p. 135:"Milk,
eggs, and butter should not be classed with flesh meat. Let diet reform be
progressive. Let the people be taught how to prepare food without the use of milk or
butter. Tell them that the time will soon come when there will be no safety in
using eggs, milk, cream, or butter, because disease in animals is increasing."
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From the foregoing statements it is difficult to form an opinion as to what the
Lord wishes us to understand with reference to the use of butter. Over thirty years
ago your testimony states: "We bear positive testimony against ... flesh
meats, butter," etc., which seems to clearly indicate that butter as well as
meat must not be used. In several other testimonies, parts of which are quoted, butter
and flesh meats are classed together but in a testimony written more than thirty
years later, when butter was certainly much more liable to disease, you state: "Butter
should not be classed with flesh meat," and give the impression that it can be
used with some degree of safety at least. There is seemingly a mistake of some sort
here. Please inform me as to the facts with reference to the matter.
HEALTH REFORM
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, Nos. 21-25, p, 21, written in 1870:"Above
all things we should not with our pens advocate positions that we
do not put to a practical test in our
own families, upon our own tables. This
is dissimulation, a species of hypocrisy....
"We bear positive testimony against tobacco,
spiritous liquors, snuff, tea, coffee, flesh meats, butter, spices, rich cakes,
mince pies, a large amount of salt, and all other exciting substances used as articles of
food."
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2, No. 18, p. 487, written in 1868:
"I have a well-set table on all occasions.
I make no change for visitors whether believers or unbelievers.... No
butter or flesh meats of any kind come on my table."
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2, No. 18, p. 371, written in 1869:
"I have not changed my course a particle since I adopted the
health reform. I have not taken one back step since the light from heaven upon
this subject first shone upon my pathway.
I broke away from everything at once -- from meat
and butter and from three meals.... I left off these things from
principle. I took my stand on health reform from principle and since that time,
brethren,you have not heard me advance an extreme view of health reform that I have had to
take back. I have advanced nothing but what I stand to to-day."
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Testimony written Aug. 30, 1894:"When
the selfishness of taking the lives of animals to gratify perverted appetite was presented
to me by a Catholic woman, I felt ashamed and distressed. I saw it in a new light,
and I said, 'I will no longer patronize the butcher, I will not have the flesh of
slain animals on my table.' "
Sunnyside, Cooranbong, Oct. 5, 1898:
"I have had workmen clearing land, building houses,
doing the hardest kind of work, and these have sat at my table, but not a particle of
meat has been upon my table in any shape for the last five years. I found that I
could take no half and half ground. I must be firm and decided in regard to my
diet."
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In the testimony written in 1868 you say:
No butter or flesh meats of any kind come on my table.
In the testimony written the following year you state:
I have not changed my course a particle since I adopted the health
reform. I have not taken one back step since the light from heaven upon this subject
first shone upon my pathway. I broke away from everything at once --
from meat and butter and from three meals. I left off these things from
principle. I took my stand on health reform from principle and since that
time, brethren, you have not heard me advance an extreme view of health reform that I have
had to take back. I have advanced nothing but what I stand to to-day.
In 1894, you state:
When the selfishness of taking the lives of animals to gratify a
perverted appetite was presented to me by a Catholic woman, I felt ashamed and
distressed. I saw it in a new light, and I said, I will no longer patronize the
butcher, I will not have the flesh of slain animals on my table.
Three parties, all Seventh-day Adventists, two of them officially connected
with the denomination, state for a number of years after you received the light on health
reform, that you ate meat and oysters. Two of these persons within the past ninety
days told me personally that you ate oysters in their own home, on one occasion as late as
1890. Another stated that he saw you eating oysters in a restaurant.
If you deny that you ate oysters and state that the statements of these two men
are false, I will make an affidavit to this statement and give you the names of the two
persons referred to so that they can be asked for an explanation.
In a testimony to Elders Irwin, Prescott, Waggoner, and Jones, Feb.21, 1899,
you state as follows: "Dr. Kellogg needs the help of those who will co-operate
with him, who will counsel with him. He has these now, but those who do not
accept the light God has given on health reform, who subsist on the flesh of dead animals,
who use narcotics and stimulants, can not represent the truth to others. God gave
the light on health reform, and those who rejected it rejected God." --
Series B, No. 6, p. 31.
In patronizing the butcher and having meat on your table, were you in
so doing practicing dissimulation, a species of hypocrisy in that you were advocating
a position with your pen that you did not put to a practical test in your own family and
upon your own table?
Since you ate meat and oysters after "light on health reform
first shone upon your pathway," and in so doing took a "backward
step" and went contrary to the light God had given you on health reform,
were you in doing this in the same position as those described in your testimony of Feb.
21, 1899 to Elders Irwin ... as follows: "... those who do not accept the
light God has given on health reform, who subsist on the flesh of dead animals ... can not
represent the truth to others?
Series B, No. 6, p. 31: "God gave the light on health reform and those
who rejected it, rejected God."
During the period between 1868 and 1894 in which you ate meat and
oysters and served meat on your table and in so doing, going contrary to the light God had
given you -- were your testimonies, other writings, and speeches just as truly and purely
from the Lord as when you were living up to all the light you had?
THE USE
OF MEDICINES
"How to Live," Chap. III, p. 62:"Medicines have no power to cure,
but will most generally hinder nature in her efforts."
"How to Live," Chap III, p. 57:
"Medicine deranges nature's fine machinery and breaks
down the constitution. It kills but never cures."
Testimony, Aug. 30, 1896:
"A simple diet and the entire absence of drugs,
leaving nature free to recuperate the wasted energies of the body would make our
sanitariums far more effectual in restoring the sick to health."
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Sunnyside, Cooranbong, Aug. 29, 1898:"This
is God's method, the herbs that grow for the benefit of man, and the little handful of
herbs kept and steeped and used for sudden ailments have served tenfold, yes, one hundred
fold better purpose than all the drugs hidden under mysterious names and dealt out to the
sick."
The Education our Schools Should Give, Aug. 26, 1898:
"The true method of healing the sick is to tell them of the
herbs that grow for the benefit of man. Scientists have attached large names to
these simplest preparations, but true education will lead us to teach the sick that they
need not call in a doctor any more than they would call in a lawyer. They can
themselves administer the simplest herbs if necessary."
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A drug is defined by Webster as "any substance used in the composition of
medicines," therefore the active principle of the herbs you refer to, which is
extracted by steeping, is a drug. From this we naturally conclude that in steeping
the herbs, some drug is extracted which, when used for the purpose of curing disease,
would properly be called a medicine. Your testimonies state:
Medicines have no power to cure, but will most generally hinder
nature in her efforts.
Medicine deranges nature's fine machinery and breaks down the
constitution. It kills but never cures.
A simple diet and the entire absence of drugs, leaving nature
free to recuperate the wasted energies of the body, would make our sanitariums far more
effectual in restoring the sick to health.
If medicines have "no power to cure," and derange
nature's fine machinery, and their entire absence is best, how can it be
"God's method" to use steeped herbs, and how can they be so
beneficial in cases of sudden ailments?
If "the true method of healing the sick is to tell them of the herbs that
grow for the benefit of man," and if "true education will lead us to teach them
that they need not call in a doctor any more than they would call in a lawyer," why
have you so earnestly advised young men and women to become physicians and nurses, often
stating that a consecrated physician could do vastly more than a minister in winning souls
to Christ?
In view of the many, many things you have said against the use of medicines and
drugs, I can not comprehend why in a testimony under the caption "The Education Our
Schools Should Give," you make such a positive statement as "The true method
of healing the sick is to tell them of the herbs that grow for the benefit of
man, and that it a (true education) will lead us to teach the sick that they need not
call in a doctor any more than they would call in a lawyer. They can administer the
simplest herbs if necessary."
YIELDING OF JUDGMENT
Unheeded Warnings. South Lan- caster, Mass., Nov. 27, 1901:"If
my brethren look upon the warnings that they have received as being unimportant because
of words that have been spoken and letters that have been written to me, if they
refuse to accept the Testimonies given through me because they think in their hearts,
"Somebody has told her," they must bear the responsibility of the influence of
their course of action upon themselves and others."
"It makes me very sad to know
that some have yielded to this temptation. The Lord has charged me to enter into no
controversy with any one who, when a message comes, shall ask, Who has told Sister White?
I am neither to affirm or deny such charges, but state the facts according
to the instruction that God has given me at different times and in many places."
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Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, Nos. 1-14, p. 563:"My
health was poor, and my mental sufferings were beyond description. Under these
circumstances, I yielded my judgment to that of others, and wrote what appeared
in No. 11 in regard to the Health Institute, being unable then to give all I had seen.
In this I did wrong."
To Dr. Kellogg, Oct. 28, 1903:
"When you received my letter, you were perplexed, and
said, "Some one has misinformed Sister White regarding our work." But
no mortal man had ever written to me or told me that this building had been put up."
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In a testimony entitled "Unheeded Warnings," written in 1901, writing
about the question of your being charged with being influenced by others, you make the positive
statement that the Lord has charged you to enter into no controversy with any one
who, when a message comes, shall ask, Who has told Sister White? "I am
neither to affirm or deny such charges," but to state the facts, etc.
In a testimony written in 1903, you make the following statement:
"When you received my letter, you were perplexed, and you said, "Some one
has misinformed Sister White regarding our work. But no mortal man had ever written
to me or told me that this building had been put up." Since the Lord
charged you that you were neither to affirm or deny these charges, did you go contrary to
the testimonies in 1903, when you apparently denied the charge that some one had
misinformed you? Would it be just for any one under those circumstances to
accuse you of being disloyal to the testimonies?
Since on one occasion, as is stated in Volume 1 of your Testimonies, page 563,
you yielded your judgment to that of others and in so doing did wrong, is it not
possible that some of your other writings contain matter written while your judgment was
influenced by that of others?
HOW MISTAKES MAY
OCCUR
To ------, Oct. 5, 1898, p. 6:I
find under my door in the morning several copied articles from Sister Peck, Maggie Hare,
and Minnie Hawkins. All must be read, critically by me. Sometimes I am
utterly exhausted, then I can not read. That may be the reason that you had that
statement in regard to meat-eating.
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In quite a number of your testimonies I notice that you refer to
your being feeble and exhausted. Is it not possible that a considerable number of
the seeming contradictions and inconsistencies in your writings are due to the fact that
they slip through without your careful supervision? If this is so, are people to be
criticized for calling attention to such, and trying to find out the facts? Or, is
it the duty of every one to say, "This is from Sister White, and it must be so
because it is the Word of God"?
Spiritual Gifts, by Ellen G. White, 1858, p. 22:"Sorrow filled Heaven, as it was realized that man
was lost, and the world that God created was to be filled with mortals doomed to misery,
sickness, and death, and there was no way of escape for the offender.
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Patriarchs and Prophets, by Mrs. E. G. White, 1890, p. 69: Old Edition:"The
fall of man filled all heaven with sorrow. The world that God had made was blighted
with the curse of sin, and inhabited by beings doomed to misery and death. There
appeared no escape for those who had transgressed the law."
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Why was this change made?
ERECTION OF BUILDINGS
IN CHICAGO
In the early part 1899 you sent Dr. K. a testimony in which you stated that Dr.
K. had taken money from the Battle Creek Sanitarium to erect buildings in Chicago.
Testimony to Sanitarium Board, Jan. 31, 1899:
"I am directed by the Lord
to call upon you to do something for us, and to do it now.... Some division of
your funds must be made for this purpose."
"An Appeal for the Work in
Australia," 1899, p. 36:
"... the profits of the
Sanitarium should be largely used in helping similar institutions in needy
circumstances...."
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Testimony, Geelong, Victoria, March 10, 1900:"It
galls my soul to think that though I have presented our necessities to the managers of the
Battle Creek Sanitarium, the money that should have been used to provide this field
with facilities has been absorbed in other enterprises. The Lord instructed me
that I had a right as his steward to call for means from the Battle Creek Sanitarium
to establish a sanitarium in Australia. Such an institution is greatly needed in
this country and would accomplish far more than an institution of the same kind would
accomplish in America. Light has been given me that the money which should have
been used to establish this institution has been used in the work in Chicago.
This was not a right disposition of the money. Dr. K. has established institutions
and carried on a work which has consumed so much of the available means in one spot of the
Lord's vineyard while other portions of the vineyard have been left without enough to make
a beginning. This is a misconception of the mind and will of God, so much money
should not have been absorbed in erecting buildings in one locality, but should have
been used in carrying forward aggressive work in other parts of the field."
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It was a considerable time after the sending out of the first testimony relative
to this matter before any explanation was given by you as to what was really meant, other
than the plain statement of the testimony. It is evident that during this time you
were under the impression that the buildings had been erected, because upon your return
from Australia, when looking over the work in Chicago, you asked Dr. Paulson where the
buildings were that had been erected.
In further proof of this statement, we quote from a talk by you in June, 1902,
as follows:
During the general meetings held here
in June, 1902, I attended three meetings in the Sanitarium Chapel. I had a
decided message to bear to the people. A heavy burden rested upon me to make a clear
statement of the principles that should be followed in our medical missionary work.
I was very thankful that Judge Arthur was present to hear the message that the Lord had
given me. I asked the Lord for help, and was assured of His presence....
Shortly after the meetings closed, Judge Arthur and
his wife spent part of a day at my home. We had much pleasant and profitable
conversation. Among other things discussed was the matter of the representation that
had been given me of an expensive building in the city of Chicago, used for various
lines of medical missionary work. I related how that when I was in Australia, I
was shown a large building in Chicago, which, in its erection and equipment, cost a
large amount of money. And I was shown the error of investing means in any such
buildings in our cities.... I saw the expensive building above referred to,
fall, with many others.
As I related some of these matters, and described the
building that had been shown me, Judge Arthur said: "I can tell you
something in regard to that building. A plan was drawn up for the erection of just
such a building in Chicago. It would have cost considerable money.
Brother William Loughborough, of Battle Creek, drew up the plans, and several men
occupying responsible positions in the medical work met together to consider the matter.
Various locations were considered. One of the plans discussed was very
similar to what you have described.
Sometime after this [note date above, June, 1902],
I was shown that the vision [given nearly three years ago] of buildings in
Chicago and the draft upon the means of our people to erect them, and their destruction,
was an object-lesson for our people, warning them not to invest largely of their means
in property in Chicago, or any other city, unless the providence of God should
positively open the way and plainly point out duty to build or to buy as necessary, in
giving the note of warning. [Note. -- The contemplated medical college
building was to be erected by funds secured from the sale of 28 Thirty-Third Place which
already belonged to the College -- neither the Sanitarium nor the people were
asked to contribute to this.]
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Why did you quote Judge Arthur in June, 1902, when he specifically told both
you and W. C. White that he did not remember the facts, but that he would send them to
W. C. White in a letter as soon as he returned home and got access to the records
containing them? This letter was sent to W. C. White Aug. 27, 1902, but your
statement was made June, 1902.
Believing that wrong use was being made of the information given W. C. White
and yourself in that only a few of the facts and some errors were being related, I asked
the Judge to give me the facts, which he has done in the letters quoted below, a perusal
of which, together with the minutes of the meeting of the College Board, will quite fully
explain.
April 18, 1907.
According to promise I have looked up and enclose herewith the copy of my letter to Elder
W. C. White, dated Aug. 27, 1902, relating to the Medical Missionary College building
which it was at one time proposed to erect in Chicago. The circumstances which
brought about this letter are as follows:
While I was in California
with Mrs. Arthur (I think it was the month of June, 1902), staying at St. Helena
Sanitarium, one evening Elder W. C. White called upon me at the Sanitarium and remained in
consultation with me until late at night with reference to various denominational matters
that were at the time unsettled, and which it was proposed to lay before Sister White for
her decision. In the course of this conversation I incidentally mentioned the
fact of our having proposed at one time to erect this building. Elder
White inquired more particularly into the circumstances connected with the matter, and
then stated that what I had said had somewhat explained to him a mystery connected with a
testimony coming from Sister White referring to the erection of certain buildings in
Chicago for medical missionary work. He asked me if I would give him a
detailed statement of everything that occurred. I told him that I could not
do that as very many of the facts and circumstances connected with the transaction
had passed out of my memory, but that upon my return home I would look them up and write
him the result of my investigation.
The next day while out
driving with Sister White and my wife, Elder White, who was with us, mentioned to Sister
White the conversation on this subject that he had had with me the evening previous, and
something more was said with reference to it, just what, I do not remember, except
that I stated also to Sister White that I would write the facts in a letter to Elder White
as soon as I returned home and got access to the records containing them.
Yours very truly,
JESSE ARTHUR.
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JUDGE ARTHUR'S LETTER
TO
W. C. WHITE.
April 18, 1907.ELDER W.
C. WHITE,
Sanitarium, Napa Co., Cal.
My Dear Brother White: --
I find it
possible at this time to make for you the long-promised statement in reference to the
action of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Missionary College in the spring
and early summer of 1899, looking to the erection of a large medical college building in
the city of Chicago. The facts are as follows:
During the last of May, 1899, Dr.
A. B. Olsen, who was then Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical
Missionary College, prompted by Dr. Bayard Holmes of Chicago, urged upon the Board the
necessity of the Medical College becoming a member of the Association of American Medical
Colleges in order to give it an assured standing and position among the medical
institutions of this and other countries.
In furtherance of this
object, Dr. Olsen was appointed a delegate to attend a meeting of such Association which
was shortly afterwards to take place in the city of Columbus, Ohio, and make application
in behalf of our medical college for membership. This he did, and such application
was laid over to be acted upon at the next regular meeting to take place a year from that
time.
Upon Dr. Olsen's return, he
reported that the principal objection urged against admitting our medical college to
membership was the want of a suitable building in the city of Chicago. It was then
determined by the Board to take steps at once looking toward the erection of such
building. A building committee was appointed and consisted of A. B. Olsen, W. K.
Kellogg, and myself. Dr. Olsen was chosen secretary of such committee and I selected
chairman.
The committee met and
immediately formulated plans for the purchase of a site and the erection of such a
building. I was instructed as chairman of the committee to open negotiations looking
either to the sale or mortgaging of No. 28 thirty-third Place which the College owned, and
otherwise taking steps to raise the necessary funds to purchase the site and erect the
building contemplated. Dr. Olsen was instructed to procure suitable plans for the
College building, which he did. The cost of the site and improvements was to be
somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000 or possibly more. The committee went to
Chicago, looked over several sites, and finally settled upon one on Thirteenth Street, and
negotiations were opened for its purchase.
All this took place while
Dr. J. H. Kellogg was absent from the United States in Europe. After our plans were
quite well completed for the going on of the work, it was thought advisable to await Dr.
Kellogg's return to this country before proceeding further with the matter. I
learned through others that after the Doctor did return and was advised of what had been
done, that he discouraged going on with the project. Just what reasons he assigned
for doing so I don't think I ever knew.
Confirmatory of what I have
stated, I enclose herewith copy of two notes written me by Dr. Olsen, one under date of
May 30, 1899, and the other under date of June 25 of the same year. I also enclose
copy of the minutes of a meeting of the committee held on the 26th day of June of the same
year.
The plans for the building
were in my possession at one time, but I think were returned by me to Dr. Olsen and I have
no doubt can be found among the archives of the Medical College now in the possession of
Dr. Stewart.
If I have omitted anything
that is im- portant for you to know in connection with this matter, write to me and if
possible I will explain the omission.
Yours very truly,
JESSE ARTHUR.
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Nearly two years later at the General Conference held in Battle Creek, April, 1901, at
which you were present, quite definite plans were formulated to secure from the people
not $65,000 but $100,000 or more for the purpose of erecting buildings for the Medical
College. Several hundreds of dollars were raised at this time, and several thousands
of dollars pledged.
In the first attempt to erect a college building, it was definitely understood
that the money was to come from the sale of No. 28 Thirty-third Place, and that the amount
expended was not to exceed $65,000 in all. It was impossible to sell the
place for over $50,000. Not a single dollar was raised in cash or pledges, for no
effort was made at this time to secure the necessary funds except by selling the property
referred to, which was not accomplished, so the matter was dropped. At the General
Conference in 1901, a plan was set on foot whereby it was thought a large sum of money
could be raised for the purpose of securing the necessary buildings for the college,
the records of the meeting which are quoted in this connection are ample evidence of this
and also of the fact that there were others besides Dr. Kellogg interested in the
project. In this connection it might be proper to ask if the testimony in question
would be applicable to W. C. White, A. G. Daniells, and O. A. Olsen, since they took such
a prominent part in the effort to raise the money referred to.
General Conference Bulletin, April 16, 1901, p. 289:
Fifth meeting of Int. Med. Miss. & Benev. Ass'n.Dr.
David Paulson:
"We have an old
building in Chicago. We do not know how soon we will have to move out of it.
It is utterly unfit for sick persons.... I believe that God will move upon the
hearts of some people to help us secure new quarters. I trust that God is speaking
to some in this audience to interest them in this project."
J. H. Kellogg:
"I ask you, my friends,
what are you going to do? This denomination has not done a thing, has not raised a
penny, has not invested a single penny in the Medical Missionary College. We
want one hundred thousand dollars. We are not going to be bashful. We
want one hundred thousand dollars. We need twice that sum. You ask what we
would do with it? We would put up a building in Chicago...."
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At this juncture considerable money was donated for this purpose,
among the donors being Elder J. N. Loughborough and other ministers.
At the sixth meeting of the I.M.M.B.A., April 17 (See Gen. Conf.
Bulletin, p. 341) still more definite plans were laid for the purpose of
securing funds for the erection of medical college buildings.
W. C. White: "I am intensely interested in our schools and
in no school am I more interested than in the Medical Missionary College. Our
schools should have their buildings without rent, and therefore I offer a resolution:
"Resolved,
That we proceed to raise a fund for the purpose of providing necessary buildings for the
American Medical Missionary College.
"I move the
adoption of this resolution."A. G.
Daniells: "I second the motion."
W. C. White: "This idea is not new to you. But,
brethren, the question with us is, Has the time come to make an earnest effort to lift in
this matter, and put our medical missionary school where it will not have to pay rent?
It seems to me that we can not fail to be proud of this school, or to
appreciate the work it has done.... Shall we not manifest our interest in the
Medical Missionary College by raising a fund that it may own its buildings, and thus
be free from rental and interest? I believe that we would receive a great
blessing in doing this." ...
O. A. Olsen: "I can heartily second all the remarks made
by Elder White. It has been my privilege to be connected with the Medical
Missionary College since its beginning, and I have always taken the deepest interest in it
and its work. I am more glad than I can express in words to see the good
that has been accomplished, the way that the work is opening and the indications that are
coming into the meeting of a united effort in this line of work of spreading abroad the
whole gospel in all its parts. The move to give this [illegible word] to the Medical
Missionary College by securing it a place to work in, is just as God would have it,
and we shall all rejoice to see it. I am glad for this motion, and I am heartily
in favor of it. I believe it is the right thing to do, and God will bless us in
carrying it forward."
The question was called and carried unani- mously by acclamation --
a rising vote was then taken, which was also unanimous.
|
In your testimony given in June, 1902, you state as follows: "Some
time after this I was shown that the vision [concerning the erection of buildings in
Chicago given three years before] ... was an object lesson for our people, warning them
not to invest largely of their means in property in Chicago, or any other
city." W. C. White stated to Judge Arthur that his statement about the Medical
College building "somewhat explained to him a mystery" connected with a
testimony coming from you referring to the erection of certain buildings in Chicago for
medical missionary work.
Was this vision so mysterious to both yourself and your son that you did not
comprehend its significance for nearly three years, and not until Judge Arthur
incidentally mentioned a contemplated plan to erect a medical college building in Chicago?
Since you yourself were ignorant of the facts how can the medical leaders be so
severely criticized for failing to recognize a statement so plain as "The Lord
has shown me that you have taken money from the Battle Creek Sanitarium to erect buildings
in Chicago," when it was known beyond any question of doubt that no building had
been erected, and consequently that no money was taken from the Battle Creek Sanitarium
for its erection. Furthermore the managers of the Battle Creek Sanitarium have
never contemplated the erection of any sort of a building in Chicago for any purpose
whatever. [The proposed building was contemplated by the
college, not by the Sanitarium.]
From a testimony dated, Elmshaven, Sanitarium, Cal., Oct. 28, 1903, we
quote as follows:
In the visions of the night a view of a large building was
presented to me. I thought that it had been erected and wrote you immediately in
regard to the matter. I learned afterwards that the building which I saw
had not been put up.
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At the time of the vision you were evidently mistaken, for you thought that a certain
thing which had not been done, and stated so in a testimony. Since the building
was not erected, the statement about the expenditure of money for its erection
must also be a mistake, you must also have thought that the money had been
expended, and also thought that it had been taken from the Sanitarium.
Since you wrote in such a positive manner that the Lord had shown you so and so
with reference to the above matter, but later having learned that this was a mistake, you
state that you thought so and so about it, is it not possible that a greater mistake was
made in condemning the Sanitarium managers for doing something that you thought had
been done, when in reality it had not, neither had such a thing been contemplated by them?
While Dr. Kellogg was in Europe, there was some talk of attempting to
erect a medical college building in Chicago, a committee was appointed, and some sites
looked at, and some rough sketches made, but further than this nothing was done, for there
seemed to be no possibility of securing the money with which to erect it, and besides,
when Dr. Kellogg returned from Europe, he was opposed to going ahead with the plan.
The following, taken from the records of the American Medical Missionary
College, will show just what was done with reference to the building just referred to:
The Board of
Trustees of the American Medical Missionary College met Monday at nine o'clock, June 19,
1899, in the Hospital Committee Room, Battle Creek, Mich. Present, trustees Judge
Jesse Arthur, Dr. H. F. Rand, and Dr. A. B. Olsen. Present on invitation, Dr. Wm. A.
George and Dr. J. M. Craig; Judge Arthur being president pro tem., presided at
the meeting.
The meeting was opened by
prayer by Dr. H. F. Rand. Dr. Olsen then made a brief statement of his visit to the
meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges and stated that the American
Medical Missionary college was not voted upon at the meeting, but action was deferred
until another year. He then emphasized the importance of securing a suitable
building for the College to be located in Chicago; he stated he believed that this
would aid greatly in putting the College on a favorable basis before the world and
secure a desirable recognition. That it should be remembered that the chief
reason why the Board of Health of Illinois did not recognize our school fully was because
it had not a suitable building for clinical work and instruction.
After a free discussion of
the matter, Dr. Rand offered and moved the adoption of the following resolution, which
motion was seconded by Dr. Olsen, and unanimously carried and said resolution adopted;
said resolution is as follows:
"Whereas, It
is the sense of this Board of Trustees that this College should be provided with a
suitable college building in the city of Chicago, as soon as possible, therefore be it resolved,
That as soon as practical, a suitable site in said city be procured by lease or
purchase and a college building be erected thereon, to be completed within a year from
this date, and to cost not to exceed the sum of $65,000 in all; and that the property
of this College known as No. 28 College Place, Chicago, Ill., be disposed of as soon as it
can be sold at a reasonable price, and the proceeds of such sale be used in procuring such
site and erecting such college building; and further, that a committee composed of the
Chairman, Jesse Arthur, and the Secretary, Dr. A. B. Olsen, and Will K. Kellogg, who is
invited to act as a member of the committee, of which invitation the secretary is directed
to notify him, is hereby appointed to carry into effect the objects and purposes of this
resolution with full power and authority to act in the premises, and further that said
committee is requested to have prepared plans and specifications for said building and
submit to this Board for consideration."
JESSE ARTHUR, Pres. pro tem.
A. B. OLSEN, Secretary.
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This action was taken several months after your testimony relating to the Chicago building
was received, but it never occurred to the Board that it in any way referred to the
Medical College building, because it stated that a large building had been erected,
and that money had been taken from the Battle Creek Sanitarium for the purpose.
Since at the time your testimony was received, the college had not thought
of erecting a building in Chicago, and no building had been erected -- how could one
be justly criticized for saying that no building had been erected? And
since the contemplated building of the Medical College was to be paid for by the proceeds
of the sale of the property at 28 Thirty-third Place, which is worth about $50,000,
and since no money was taken from or expected from the Battle Creek Sanitarium for its
erection, where does the misappropriation of funds by the Sanitarium Board come in?
And furthermore, the plans adopted did not contemplate the erection of a large
building, but to dispose of the building at 28 Thirty-third Place in order to secure a
location and building better adapted to the needs of the medical students. It was
never even suggested that the Sanitarium be in any way called upon the furnish the money
for this enterprise.
In a recent letter from your son, W. C. White, referring to the Chicago work,
we quote as follows:
You may ask, "Why was Dr. Kellogg reproved for a work being done by
his associated while he was in Europe?" Mother says in answer to this, that
"it is Dr. Kellogg's plans which have shaped the medical missionary work in
Chicago," and that as matters are presented to her, "whatever
is done, he is the doer of it."
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Does God accuse a man of being guilty of something he was entirely ignorant of and had no
part in whatever except to disapprove of when he was informed of the facts?
Hamilton, New Castle,
Jan. 3, 1899.
To the Sanitarium Board.
Dear Brethren:
"I write to ask you if you will
not make some substantial donations to our San. at Summer Hill, Sydney.... Dr.
Kellogg thinks he can raise a thousand dollars to furnish the building.
"I am directed by the Lord to
call upon you to do something for us, and to do it now." "Some division of
your funds must be made for this purpose."
An Appeal for the
Work in Australia, 1899, p. 36:
"The B. C. San. has
received thousands
of dollars in donations which should be passed over to institutions of other
countries which are struggling for an existence. And more than this, the
profits of the San should largely be used in helping similar institutions in needy
circumstances. I am now directed by the Lord to call upon you to do something for us
and to do it without delay. Some division of your fund must be made for this
purpose."
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Sanitarium Charter,
4595 --- --- Sec.
6.3303 All the funds
of said Cor- poration shall be faithfully and exclusively used for the purposes thereof,
as set forth in its articles, and the same shall be wholly used within the State [of
Michigan].
|
It might be of interest in this connection to state that you were quite a large
stockholder in the Health Reform Institute, and that when it was proposed to re-organize,
you were advised of the fact and you gave instruction to the managers of the Sanitarium as
to the distribution of your stock. The minutes of the Sanitarium Board of June 25,
1899, contain the following:
A list of thirty-nine names from Sister White to become stockholders
was read by the secretary and accepted.
We also quote part of a letter from the secretary acknowledging the receipt of
the names.
BATTLE CREEK, MICH.,
June 6, 1899.
ELDER W. C. WHITE,
"Sunnyside," Cooranbong,
New South Wales.
Dear Brother: I acknowledge receipt of your two blanks relating to Sister
White's stock in the old Health Reform Institute. We are glad to receive the
names sent, and will see that they are notified at once, as the time expires July 1st, but
as the names have already been received and acted upon by the Board, we have dated them in
June, and when signed and returned, they will be entered as stockholders in the Michigan
Sanitarium and benevolent Association. As you intimate in your letter, there are a
number on the list who have had stock assigned them and certificates have been sent.
We will forward to the others at once, also the Declaration of Principles.
Elder Haskell sent us his name, and recommended a number who were already
stockholders. We notice that your name is not on the list, but have included
it. If you will sign the enclosed blanks, and also have the other parties sign and
return, I will see that they are properly entered on our stockholders' book.
It would afford us pleasure at
any time to keep you informed in reference to the progress and general outline of the work.
Anything I can do for you at any time in reference to any matters mentioned above, I will
be glad to do it.
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
With kind wishes to
your mother and all friends,
Sincerely yours,
(Signed) W. H. HALL, Sec'y
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When you authorized the distribution of your stock at the time of the reorganization, the
Lord knew that one of the fundamental principles with reference to the distribution of the
funds was that the same should be wholly used within the State.
The stockholders may have been at fault in permitting the managers to
reorganize in the way in which they did, but since they did reorganize under a charter
which demanded that all funds be wholly used within the State, were they not
morally and legally bound to respect the regulation of the "powers that be."
Had the managers acceded to the demand, "I am now directed by the Lord to call
upon you to do something for us and to do it without delay," would they not have
violated the Bible instruction given in Romans 13:1, "Let every soul be subject unto
the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be
are ordained of God"?
While the demand, "some division of your funds must be made for
this purpose," could not be granted, the managers of the Sanitarium did lend their
best efforts toward securing money for you elsewhere and as a result several thousands of
dollars were sent to you.
Notwithstanding these facts Dr. Kellogg and the Sanitarium managers were
severely criticized, apparently for the reason that they refused to send part of the
Sanitarium earnings to Australia when they knew that by so doing they would be violating
the charter under which they were organized. We say apparently for these reasons,
because previous to 1899 the work of Dr. Kellogg and his associates received the highest
kind of commendation from you as is evidenced by the following quotations from your
writings prior to this time:
The medical missionaries
are doing the long-neglected work which God gave to the church in Battle Creek. They
are giving the last call to the supper He has prepared.
In order to be carried forward
aright the medical missionary work needs talent. It requires strong and willing
hands and wise discriminating management. But can this be while those in responsible
places -- presidents of conferences and ministers -- bar the way?
The Lord
has moved upon Dr. Kellogg and his associates to do the work which belongs to the
church, ... and God has placed his precious work in the hands of those who will take
it up and carry it forward.
If you feel no interest in
the work that
is going forward, if you will not encourage medical missionary work in the
churches,
it will be done without your consent, for it is the work of God and it must be
done.
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Special Testimonies to Ministers and Workers, No. 10, March, 1897, p. 1:I
wish to say that the work that is being done by Dr. Kellogg is not to be regarded as a
strange work, for it is the very work that every church that believes the truth for this
time should long since have been doing.... It is a work of God's own appointment.
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The Danger of Rejecting Light, --
Feb. 6, 1896:You are worried and
perplexed because
Dr. Kellogg is gathering disproportionately
in the medical missionary work because his work far exceeds the work being done in
the churches by the General Conference. What
is the matter? It is plain that the light given
by God has not been acted upon. Men have supplemented God's plans by their
own plans. The prosperity of the medical missionary work is in God's
order. This work must be carried to the highways and the hedges.
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SUNNYSIDE, COORANBONG,
May 19, 1898.
Dear Brother Irwin:.
. . .
.
The complaint comes, Dr.
Kellogg has gathered up all the young men he can get, and therefore we have no
workers. But this is the very best thing that could be done for the young men
and the work. To you, as President of the General Conference, and to Brother
Evans, as president of the General Conference Association, and to Brother Durland, as
President of the Michigan Conference, I would say, Continue to work with tact and ability.
Get some of these young men and young women to work in the churches. Combine
medical missionary work with the proclamation of the third angel's message.... Send
out into the churches workers who will get the principles of health reform, connected with
the third angel's message, before every church in Michigan. See if the breath of
life will not come into these churches....
The indifference among our
ministers in regard to health reform and medical mission- ary work is surprising.
Even those who do not profess to be Christians treat the subject with greater
reverence than do some of our own people, and they are going in advance of us.
Brother Irwin, take hold of
health reform. If any of our ministers have the idea that the medical
missionary work is gaining undue preponderance, let them take the men who have been
working in these lines with them into their fields of labor, two here and two there.
Let the ministers receive these medical missionaries as they would receive
Christ, and see what work they can do.
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Feb. 21, 1899 -- To Elders
Irwin, Prescott, Waggoner, and Jones:Dear Brethren:
All in responsible positions, every minister in
the Conference, are to be true yoke-fellows of Dr. Kellogg. All who from God
and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, should acknowledge that Dr. Kellogg has been
instructed by the mighty Counsellor.
The message of truth has gone
from the Sanitarium at Battle Creek to all parts of the inhabited world.
The world must have the
light. Medical missionary work gives opportunity to communicate light and to present
our faith to those of all classes and all grades of society. This work ought to
have been done; and would have been done if God's people had been converted to the truth;
if they had studied the Word with humble hearts, if they had reverenced the Creator of the
world instead of exalting themselves and seeking, as many have done, to counterwork Dr.
Kellogg's influence.
Would that there were men who had the
same zeal for the Master, the same courtesy, the same love for the truth of God that Dr.
Kellogg has. He has not betrayed his trust. The Lord has wrought with
him in his surgical operations, giving him wisdom and success that the world marvels at.
I know that when
admonitions and warnings have been given, Dr. Kellogg has not despised these warnings
and set them aside.... The truth is going forth from the Sanitarium at Battle
Creek as from no other center in our work.
Let no man think it is his
prerogative to plan the way in which Dr. Kellogg shall work.... Neither Bro. M-----
nor any other Brother need suppose that God has laid upon him the burden of setting Dr.
Kellogg in right methods of work.
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In 1899 when the leaders in the medical work could not consci- entiously accept the
message in which you stated that they had taken money from the Battle Creek Sanitarium
to erect buildings in Chicago, you sent a message in which you severely reprimanded
these same men for carrying on this work in such an aggressive manner. In some of
these messages, "An Appeal for the Work in Australia," p. 13, you state as
follows:
Time and means are being absorbed in a work which is carried forward
too earnestly in one direction.... The Lord has not appointed this.
If the Lord did not appoint this, why did He so highly commend it, and why were
the results so eminently satisfactory? In another message received in 1900, you
state concerning the medical missionary work in Chicago: "I have no hesitancy in
saying God did not set you at that work in Chicago." If God did
not set Dr. Kellogg at this work in Chicago, why did he (Dr. K.) receive the following
message from you?
I am more than pleased with the work that is being accomplished for
a class that never would be restored unless merciful, compassionate hands reached
TO THEM WHERE THEY ARE.
Other statements of criticism were received during 1899 and 1900, but all
seemed to be directed at the medical leaders because they failed to comply with your
request to send money to Australia.
In the spring of 1901 when on your way to the General Conference in Battle
Creek, you had an opportunity to study the medical missionary work in Chicago --
it was on this occasion that you asked "where are the buildings" -- and
later to come in contact with the work in Battle Creek, your views with reference to the
work seemed to change somewhat, as will be seen by what follows:
Well, while I was praying
and was sending up my petition, there was as on other times -- I saw a light
circulating right round in the room; and a fragrance like the fragrance of flowers, and
the beautiful scent of flowers, and then the Voice seemed to speak gently, and said
that I was to "accept the invitation of My servant, John Kellogg, and
make his house your home." Then the word was, "I have appointed him as
My physician. You can be an encouragement to him." That is why I
am here, and that is why I am at his home. Now I want in every way possible, if
I can, to treat Dr. Kellogg as God's appointed physician, and I am going to do it.
Now God has not blessed us as
He would have blessed us had there been an appre- ciation of the work that He is
carrying on. I thank God that Dr. Kellogg has not sunk into despondency and
infidelity. I have been afraid of it, and I have written some very straight
things to him, and it may be, Dr. Kellogg -- if he is here -- that I have written too
strong; for I felt as though I must get hold of you by the power of all the might I
had. But I have seen the work that has been carried on; and how can anybody see it
and not see that God is at work? That is the mystery to me. I can not
understand it. I can not explain it.
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Your testimony of Feb. 27, 1900, to Dr. Kellogg states, "I have no hesitancy in
saying that God did not set you at that work in Chicago." One year
later, just a few days after you investigated the medical missionary work in Chicago, and
at the time when the Lord called Dr. Kellogg "My servant," and
appointed him as His physician, you state with reference to the medical
missionary work as follows: "But I have seen the work that has been carried on,
and how can anybody see it and not see that God is at work? That is the
mystery to me. I can not understand it. I can not explain it."
General Conference Bulletin, 1901, p. 25:Mrs.
E. G. White: "The institution under the management of
Dr. Kellogg has done a great work for the education of the youth. It has
sent forth more workers in the cause in medical missionary gospel lines than any
other agency I know of among our people throughout the world. And I ask
you, How have you treated the matter?"
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