Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Lt 99, 1899

Kellogg, H. W.

“Sunnyside,” Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

June 10, 1899

Previously unpublished.

Dear Brother:

I write to ask you, Will you sell me the right to The Gospel Primer, that I may as far as possible, remedy the grievous work that has been done in handling it? Unfair means were used; a complication of schemes which were not devised by the Holy Spirit was put in operation to obtain possession of this work, and as far as possible the publishing house should redeem their evil schemes and work. The men who took a part in this business will not meet their record with joy in the day of final account. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 1

I wish to send means to Edson to help him in his work in the Southern Field, for he cannot obtain facilities. Had the responsible men in the Review and Herald Office been influenced by the Spirit of God, they would have done the right thing in this matter, and the Lord would have blessed them. But they failed to do justly and to love mercy. They manifested little interest in the work in the South. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 2

If you will sell me the right to this book, I will use the proceeds from its sale for the work in this field, and try at this late date to do what should have been done years ago. If this plan meets your mind, let me hear from you. I greatly desire that the work shall be made straight, and the wrong righted if possible. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 3

W. C. White carries the other half of this interest, and he will pass the profits into Edson’s hands, as soon as he receives certain money which he has invested. He has not received the high wages which many in the Review and Herald Office have had. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 4

In the night season I was presenting the needs of the Southern Field before our brethren in America. I said to them, The Lord calls upon you to make decided efforts to help your neighbors in the South, but how little you have done. You erected a sanitarium in Colorado, with the money that should have been given to the Southern Field. Every year barriers are being formed which make the work of presenting the truth more difficult. The high wages which are being paid to workers in our institutions are binding up the means and bringing in a train of evils which make it very hard to enter new fields. When those in high positions shall see the evil of these large salaries, and repent of the covetousness which they have manifested and the bitterness which has resulted from their covetous spirit, the Lord will turn His face toward His people. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 5

In the month of April a scene in the Southern Field was presented before me. O what destitution there was! What need of help! In March there had been some confusion in the South which I could not explain. Our people were in trouble with the Southerners, who were making efforts to hinder the work from being established. Thousands of the colored people cannot read, and therefore cannot study the Word of God for themselves. And there are very many among the white people who do not want us to give assistance to this poor, ignorant, half-clad, half-fed people. They do not want them to be taught how to work, how to become self-sustaining, and they are seeking to revive the spirit of slavery in the South. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 6

Thus it is becoming dangerous to teach the truth to the colored race. I heard mutterings and threats against the work Edson White is doing. I heard secret plottings to destroy both work and workers if they did not desist. Then I said to the company I was addressing, “For years the Lord has been pointing out that the Southern Field should be worked in a careful, judicious way. No words should be spoken in reference to the ill-treatment of the blacks.” 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 7

While I was speaking, some voices were raised, saying, “We have been told that these great precautions are not necessary, and that altogether too much has been said in regard to the dangers existing in the South.” I turned to the speakers, and said, “You do not understand the elements to be dealt with in the Southern Field. As soon as an effort is made to educate and uplift this people, who have so long been held in ignorance and slavery, the jealousy of the whites is aroused. It will not do to work that field with the same freedom that you would bring into your work in the Northern states. On many subjects a discreet silence must be maintained, or a state of things will be brought about which will close the field against us. Those who apprehend no danger, and think they can work on the same lines in the South as in the North, have no real wisdom. In the South the spirit of slavery is not eradicated; it has only been smothered for a short time. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 8

“The desire to show their masterly authority over the blacks is still burning in the hearts of many who claim to be Christians, but whose lives declare that they are standing under the black banner of the great apostate. When the whites commit crimes, they are often allowed to go uncondemned, while for the same transgressions the blacks, ignorant, debased, knowing nothing of the Word of God, and scarcely knowing their right hand from their left, are treated worse than the brutes. The demon of passion is let loose, and all the suffering that can be devised is instituted against them. Will not God judge for these things? As surely as the whites have brought their inhuman cruelty to bear upon the negroes, so surely will God’s vengeance fall upon them.” 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 9

God is cognizant of the means of which mission fields have been robbed, and He has written it all in His book. Years that might have been spent in educating the colored people have been lost, and this neglect testifies against all Christendom, and especially against those who have been entrusted with the last message of warning to be given to the world. May the Lord help His people to see where they have been unfaithful stewards. My heart is painted when I am made to understand the treachery of the human heart. So many unworthy motives prompt to action; so much double-dealing is manifested; so many crooked methods are resorted to accomplish the ends desired. Under a garb of piety these evils work until the deceived ones discover that they have been robbed, and that the practices of God’s professed people are the same as those of the world. But the tares and the wheat must grow together until the harvest. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 10

Brother Ballenger’s idea of forming a settlement in the South will not succeed. The most quiet methods of work must be adopted. Time and experience will show you that permanent settlements cannot be made there. When one portion of the field is closed against them, the Lord would have His messengers take up their work in another part. They are not to form communities, for nothing can be permanent in this field. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 11

There is only one power that can make man steadfast and keep him so, and that power is the grace of Christ. If the truth of God is rooted in the heart, it will be the mainspring of every action. He who trusts in aught else leans for support on a tottering wall. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 12

We have had trying times in this field. God’s voice has called us to go forward, when apparently there was no path but the Red Sea. But we moved forward in faith, and planted the standard in places where the truth had never been preached. And now we see no limit to the work. The warning message must go to every town between Cooranbong to Queensland, and from Queensland to the regions beyond. We are obeying the command, “Go forward” [Exodus 14:15], and the Lord will open the way by sending means and facilities to carry on the warfare. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 13

Brother Kellogg, you have felt the truth of God in your heart. You have loved the truth, and I would say to you, Be steadfast. The truth as it is in Jesus will keep you from every snare, and will refine and purify and ennoble you. We have no time now to relax our efforts. Each minute we are to look to Jesus, and by beholding Him be changed into the same image. Be determined that you will be true to principle. You understand how the work in our institutions was established—by self-denial and self-sacrifice. You are to co-operate with One who knows no failure. I greatly desire that you may stand among the number who overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. 14LtMs, Lt 99, 1899, par. 14