Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)

Lt 7, 1900

Kellogg, W. K.

Sanitarium Farm, Thornleigh, New South Wales, Australia

January 25, 1900 [typed]

Portions of this letter are published in UL 39; CTr 191. +^Note

Dear Brother W. K. Kellogg:

I feel deeply concerned for your brother John. If there were any way in which I could help him, I would do so. But he refuses to be helped. I know his situation. He was represented to me as trying to draw a freight train, heavily loaded. I could see no end to the train. Your brother was tugging, ordering, directing, yet the advancement made was so small that he was almost beside himself with disappointment. The strain on him was tremendous, and would, I know, soon prove his ruin financially, and not only this; his mind would be wrecked. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 1

He is now contemplating some rash move, planning to make a break, to separate the medical missionary work from the [General] Conference, just as he had decided to do at the time the General Conference [session] was held in South Lancaster. But if he had made this move then, it would not have given him the relief he anticipated. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 2

Dr. Kellogg has looked upon the ministry of the gospel as secondary to that he calls medical missionary work. He is dissatisfied, because he cannot make those in the ministry take hold with him in drawing an endless car. But the Lord has not called Dr. Kellogg, or me, or any Seventh-day Adventist to do the work Dr. Kellogg has made a specialty of in Chicago. God has not laid upon him the work of creating buildings for the care of working men, taking upon him their burdens at an enormous expense. This is not the car God had bidden him draw. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 3

The Lord appointed Dr. Kellogg to be His agent, to carry out the divine purpose of making the Sanitarium in Battle Creek, in its religious standing, distinct from any other institution of the kind in our world. And just as long as Dr. Kellogg stays under the divine Theocracy, he will be led and taught by God. But when he stands forth in his own armor, the Lord will leave him to follow his own human devising. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 4

I have letters which I have decided to send you. I have been holding them back, but I will now send them, or some of them, to you. Light has been given me for Dr. Kellogg for a number of years, but of late the cautions, the warnings, and the entreaties have not had an influence strong enough to lead him to cut himself away from the endless car he is trying to drag. His medical colleagues must see something of this, but they dare not open their lips to advise him. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 5

The enemy has taken hold of the imaginative mind of Dr. Kellogg, and has led him into false paths. Dr. Kellogg has in his character an element of enthusiasm which causes his imagination to rise far above par. As he thinks of the accomplishment of his purposes, he is carried beyond anything that will ever be realized. For years he has felt himself hemmed in because our ministers could not see the so-called medical missionary work as the all and in all; but they could not be true to their convictions of right and agree with all Dr. Kellogg’s plans. I have not been instructed that the work your brother has taken up is all-important, as he has represented it to be. The light given me is that the gospel ministry embraces all this work. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 6

The Lord has connected all missionary work with His gospel, to be shaped and molded and fashioned after the divine similitude. As a people we have been honored with special light from God for these last days, to be borne to the world to prepare the way for the second coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. What kind of a representation would be given to the world if we gave the work called the medical missionary work the place Dr. Kellogg has given it? This work is to be to the cause as the arm is to the body. The head and the body move the hand and the arm. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 7

Our work, under God’s management and direction, has placed us where we can be distinguished as doing a special work in the world. Seventh-day Adventists are to be a people who keep the commandments of God. They are to be distinguished from the world by their observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. This day is God’s memorial of creation. And the fourth commandment, which enjoins its observance, is the only one which points to God as the Creator of heaven and earth. Satan’s work is to obliterate the memorial of creation. In these days of intellectual skepticism, if we are not guarded, we shall imbibe skeptical ideas, and the Sabbath command, stating definitely who God is, will be overlooked and ignored. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 8

What is life? A standing memorial of the only true God. The work of creation can never be explained by science. What intellect is there that can explain the science of life? Can we wonder that the materialist has no place for the existence of God? The fourth commandment declares to the whole universe, to the worlds unfallen and to the fallen world, that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. The evidence there given does not leave standing room for skepticism. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 9

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” [Exodus 20:8-11.] “Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep,” God says, “for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. ... Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.” [Exodus 31:13, 16, 17.] 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 10

The papal power has arrogated to itself the power to change times and laws, ignoring the fourth commandment. Many of the skeptical religionists of the present day regard the belief of Seventh-day Adventists in the Sabbath, and their belief in the near and personal appearing of Jesus Christ, to reign as a King over the whole earth, as childish notions. All kinds of stories are told of us. People admit we are a good sort of people, but they say that we are far behind in intellectual superiority, that we do not keep abreast of the times. Hear the testimony of Christ: “In that hour,” we read, “Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes; even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.” [Luke 10:21.] 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 11

God gave Dr. Kellogg a work to do in connection with the Sanitarium. This institution was to stand as a representative of the people who believe the third angel’s message. God has given it prominence, and has, through its management, brought the truth before the higher classes. These have borne away with them a testimony that has led others to come. Thus the Lord Himself has wrought to make the truth stand in its moral power and dignity before a gainsaying and prejudiced world. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 12

In the wilderness Christ endured trials which human beings cannot comprehend. Here Christ was brought face to face with the subtle power of Satan, the fallen angel. The enemy pursued the same course with the Saviour that he did with Adam and Eve in Eden. He began by disputing the sovereignty of Christ. If you are the Son of God, he said, give me evidence that you are. Here you are in the wilderness, hungry, starving for food. You do not look like a sovereign. Give me evidence that you are what you claim to be. Command that these stones be made bread. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 13

Well did Satan know who Christ was; for when the Saviour went to Gadara, the evil spirits in the two madmen there cried out, “We know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. Art thou come hither to torment us before our time?” [Mark 1:24; Matthew 8:29.] As Christ passed through the test of the second Adam, His beauty of character shone out through His disguise. Satan could see through His humanity the glory and purity of the Holy One with whom he had been associated in the heavenly courts. As he looked upon Christ, there rose before his mind a picture of what he himself was then. At that time he had beauty and holiness. Self-exaltation led him to strive for a place above Christ. But he had failed. Could he not now carry out his design upon the enfeebled humanity of Christ? He knew that if he could induce Christ to yield one jot in His allegiance to His Father, he would have the world entirely in his power, and would be able to rule as only he in a changed spiritual nature could rule. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 14

But the One Satan was trying to overcome was the Lord of heaven, and all the efforts of the tempter were without avail. As Satan saw that he could not obtain the victory, he was aroused to malignant hatred. Though Jesus was physically weak from His long fast, He would not yield one inch to the wily foe. His will was anchored in the will of His Father. “It is written,” came from His pale and quivering lips, as Satan told Him to turn the stones into bread, “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” [Matthew 4:4.] 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 15

Then Satan took Christ to the pinnacle of the temple, and told Him to cast Himself down, saying, “It is written, He will give his angels charge over thee to keep thee,” leaving out the words, “in all thy ways.” [Luke 4:9, 10; Psalm 91:11.] Thus he tried to lead Him to commit the sin of presumption. He reminded Him of the ministration of angels. But no temptation could make the Saviour accept the challenge of the tempter. His time to show His divine power had not yet come. He was fully aware of the glory He had with the Father before the world was. But then His was a willing submission to the divine will, and it was unchanged now. This was His time of trial and temptation, which He must endure, however cruel and cutting it might be. He saw Himself uplifted on the cross of Calvary, having suffered a shameful rejection at the hands of His own nation. But He knew that by suffering and sorrow and a cruel death He was to bruise the serpent’s head. The giving up of His life was to be the price of the world’s redemption. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 16

The second time Satan was a loser. The adversary seemed to have power to take Christ where he pleased; for he next took Him to an exceeding high mountain, and there presented before Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, saying, “All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” [Luke 4:6, 7.] Then it was that divinity flashed through humanity, and the fallen angels saw Jesus glorified before them as He said, “Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” [Verse 8.] 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 17

The victory was gained. Christ had redeemed Adam’s disgraceful failure and fall, and through His obedience to the law of God, had placed man on vantage ground with God. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 18

“Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” [Matthew 4:11.] The angels had been watching the contest, but they could do nothing to relieve the Saviour till the last temptation had been resisted. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 19

The Commander in the heavenly courts, Christ was accustomed to receive the attendance and adoration of angels. And at any time during His life on this earth He could have called to His Father for twelve legions of angels. But no bribe, no temptation to lead Him to manifest His divine prerogatives, could induce Him to deviate from the path of God’s appointment. Great tact and cunning were shown by the tactics which Satan followed. Three times did the enemy try to gain the victory over Christ. He assailed Him on the point of appetite. He appealed to His pride. He presented before Him the most captivating scenes of this world. He challenged Him to give evidence that He was the Son of God. Christ gave him none, but righteously maintained His dignity as One to whom God has committed all power. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 20

Today Satan has great power in the world. He has been permitted to assume the proprietorship of this earth for an appointed time. During this period, when iniquity prevails, men and women are given a chance to take sides. In every possible way Satan tries to make the broad road attractive and the narrow road grievous, humiliating, and objectionable. He lays ingenious plans to allure men and women to indulge appetite. Cheap, unsatisfying pleasures are made all and in all in this degenerate age. Satan throws his glamour about these amusements, which eclipse eternal things. Many will sell their birthright, as did Esau, for self-indulgence. Worldly pleasure will appear more desirable to them than the heavenly birthright. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 21

But Christ has overcome in our behalf. He was the only One who could be a competent Saviour. He had divine wisdom, ability, and power. He could stand before the world as a wonderful Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. God’s words concerning His anointed One are weighty with meaning; “Unto the Son he said, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” [Hebrews 1:8, 9.] 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 22

The Lord designed that Dr. Kellogg should carry no burdens of his own manufacturing, that he should put on his neck no yoke of his own invention. Christ says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [Matthew 11:30.] True love to God aids the Christian to work without friction. Christs yoke does not gall. The Lord calls upon Dr. Kellogg to lay off the loads he has placed upon himself, and to come closer and still closer to his brethren. The physician ought to know the remedy he prescribes for others. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 23

The work the Lord laid upon Dr. Kellogg was to let his light shine upon those whom God would draw to the Battle Creek Sanitarium. God has given Dr. Kellogg his work. He is to stand in his lot and in his place. When he surrenders as a child to learn in the school of Christ, when by faith he opens the door of the heart, and admits the testimony of the Lord Jesus, contained in His gospel, what a revolution will be wrought in his heart. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 24

I am presenting to you, Brother W. K. Kellogg, what the Lord has presented to me. While W. C. White was in America, some things were opened before me which I wrote of briefly to your brother. I saw W. C. White place his hand upon Dr. Kellogg’s shoulder, laying before him at the same time some propositions of counsel and advice. But John drew his shoulder away impatiently, and would not listen to him. He seemed determined not to harmonize with W. C. White, because he did not agree with all his plans and methods. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 25

Again, we were in a large meeting, and your brother John was apparently at cross-purposes with every minister who did not echo his sentiments in reference to that which is called medical missionary work. To him this work seemed to be the pith and the object of everything, and he showed a kind of stubborn despondency, a settled spirit of “I do not care what you think or what you say. I will not be advised or counselled by any of them.” 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 26

I could not see that Dr. Kellogg enjoyed any happiness. He was like a cart pressed beneath sheaves. He thought every one meant to hurt him, and he would not be pleased, he would not see anything in a proper light. I could see nothing before him but an unbalanced mind. I saw that he would invest means in various ways that would tell to very little account. But he had his mind made up, and anything his brethren said against his plans was resented with a hard, determined retaliation. What do you know about these matters? he asked. He talked like one who thought no one but himself knew anything about the matters under consideration. He acted like a man determined to push matters to the bitter end. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 27

Again, on another occasion, it seemed that the Lord was in our midst. I heard the sound of mingled weeping and rejoicing. I turned to see what it meant, and I saw John and W. C. White weeping on each other’s necks, confessing and rejoicing. All ill-will had gone. The faces of both were shining as though with the brightness of the light of Christ. Before all present John said, “I have been born again. It is true, really true that He who could have destroyed me pities and pardons me. I cannot doubt it. I believe it. O my Saviour, I am surprised because of Thy love. I thank Thee, I love Thee, I will serve Thee. I will serve in my way no longer. I know the meaning of the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. There is an entire change in all my views and feelings, toward my brethren and toward God. I now know that I have been following a course that God did not mark out for me. When the love of Christ is brought into the soul by faith, we know and believe the love that Christ has for us. He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 28

“O the wondrous power of love! How soft, yet how invincible its influence. Doubts and fears are gone. I see that I have been my worst enemy. The infinite, omnipotent power of the eternal God can have no power over the soul that is steeled in unbelief. I have considered myself a martyr, but my Saviour has brought into my soul by faith a love that is inexplainable, wondrous. What will not this love do in the way of constant self-denial and self-sacrifice. How peacefully and pleasantly it works to gain its object! Under its influence, work is pleasure and labor is delight. It leads the soul to surrender in obedience. This is the love of God that we keep His commandments. This love is more than an impulse, an emotion. It is an active, living, working principle. It is not a matter guided by the feelings, but by the will. In it is comprehended the stern resolve of a mind subdued and softened, which lays hold of the strength of the Infinite, saying, I will serve Thee even unto death. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 29

“How differently do I now view the law of God. It is my safety, my life. My delight is to do Thy will, O my God. The law of Jehovah does not leave us free to make our exceptions and selections. But how much of this I have done. Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy commandments? I see now as never before that all we are brethren. I see that the first four precepts of the Decalogue define and enjoin love to God, and that the last six define and enjoin love to man, declaring, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. In obedience to this great principle I have been remiss. But God has forgiven me. I see now that it is impossible to love Christ without loving those who believe in Him. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 30

“The more faith we have in Christ, the more sincere, sanctified love we shall have for the saints. They are the purchase of His blood, the objects of His tenderest care and affection, and we are to be united in Christian fellowship. Every fresh manifestation of His rich grace will melt and subdue our hearts, and we will study the words of Inspiration, ‘He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.’ [John 1:10-12.] 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 31

“Every fresh manifestation of affection will knit us more closely to one another. We are members of Christ’s body, of His flesh, and His bones. How strong a regard then should exist between us. We should have a deep interest in and love for each other, because one spirit animates and presides over the whole. We are each to maintain our individuality, while united in one faith. Christ died for us all. I know now as never before the value of Christian love.” 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 32

Dr. Kellogg grasped W. C. White’s hand, saying, My brother, my brother. When we were bowed in prayer, all enmity was swept away before the revealed plan of redemption. Only as self is surrendered to the control of the Holy Spirit can love increase and grow continually through the beholding of the cross of Calvary. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 33

Praise and thanksgiving such as I have never heard before then came forth from human lips. “O,” said Dr. Kellogg, “the sweetness of the peace that fills my soul, the gladness and joy that is in my heart! I never experienced anything like this before. Life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel. I have a new life, new tastes, new affections. I can say in truth, I know in whom I have believed. I am not following cunningly devised fables. I am standing on the Eternal Rock.” 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 34

This scene was revived in my mind this morning, and in this letter I have written out more fully that which I had before written in my diary. I have been waiting for this wonderful revelation to be fulfilled. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 35

Still other points were presented to me. John turned to Willie, and said, “In my boyhood we were true yoke-fellows. We will again unite. We can help one another. In unity is our strength, in division is our weakness. The Holy Spirit will help our infirmities.” 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 36

There were many others upon whom the Holy Spirit was moving. But the faces of Dr. Kellogg and his wife, and W. K. Kellogg and his wife and children were specially lighted up with the glory of God. Dr. Kellogg’s children were happy in the Lord. Ministers and church members bore such wonderful testimonies that no one could doubt that they were visited by the Daystar from on high. The place seemed solemn and yet glorious, because of the presence of the Lord. He walked among us. We know that, for it was evident. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 37

When I commenced this letter, I did not expect to write so much. But the Spirit of God brought these things to my mind, and I could not forbear writing. This has given me the hope that we shall see the deep movings of the Spirit of God. I have watched every mail to hear of the fulfilling of this vision, but nothing has come. Yet I expect this vision to be fulfilled. It will come to pass. We shall see of the salvation of God. The Lord has a heaven full of blessings, and He bids us let our light shine to others, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 38

I will not make this letter any longer, but as I write, my heart grows hopeful that the Lord will be all He has said that He would be. 15LtMs, Lt 7, 1900, par. 39