Messenger of the Lord

Two Definite Camps

At the Lake Union Conference session in May 1904, the deepening cleavage between two definite camps continued. Each camp was composed of strong, well-known church leaders. Each group looked differently and deeply at various denominational issues. According to E. K. VandeVere, long-time head of the history department at Emmanuel Missionary College (E.M.C.), the polarities at the 1904 session included: Centralization vs decentralization of authority
Orthodoxy vs the new theology (pantheism, etc.)
Organization vs independence
Paid ministry vs a self-supporting ministry
Validity of Ellen White’s “testimonies” vs her being questioned and/or ignored
Medical work as “arm” vs medical work as “body”
Emmanuel Missionary College’s success vs the reopening of Battle Creek College
Battle Creek regarded as “punished” vs Battle Creek’s fires as accidental
Move to Washington vs the value of Battle Creek label
Educational orthodoxy vs experimental education
Board control of E.M.C. vs E.M.C. administrators being led by the Spirit MOL 203.3

“Reformers” Kellogg, Sutherland, Magan, E. J. Waggoner, A. T. Jones vs top-level church administrators Daniells, Spicer, Prescott, Morrison. ⁴⁹ MOL 203.4

Into this ferment came Ellen White with sermons each morning at eleven o’clock, including “The Foundation of Our Faith,” “Lessons From Revelation 3,” “A Plea for Unity,” “Take Heed to Thyself,” and “A Change of Feeling Needed.” ⁵⁰ MOL 203.5

In these sermons Mrs. White emphasized the principles that each side was trying to uphold. She hoped that both sides would see the big picture. But she also saw what prevented both groups from understanding each other. Attitudes on both sides of various issues were the chief obstacle to resolving the apparent dilemmas: “Angels from heaven, sent to minister wisdom and grace, were disappointed to see self pressing its way in, to make things appear in a wrong light. Men were talking and discussing, and conjectures were brought in that should have had no place in the meeting.” ⁵¹ MOL 203.6

Near the end of the meetings, Ellen White had a vision. She wrote an account of it and gave it to W. C. White to read to the delegates on the last day: “Last night matters were presented to me, showing that strange things would mark the conclusion of the conference ... unless the Holy Spirit of God should change the hearts and minds of many of the workers. The medical missionaries especially should seek to have their souls transformed by the grace of God.” ⁵² MOL 203.7

Tensions continued building. To provide as much help as possible to those who still wavered, Mrs. White rushed the printing of Testimonies, volume 8, with its section entitled, “The Essential Knowledge.” ⁵³ Further, she was fast developing her next health book especially for the general public, The Ministry of Healing. In this book she incorporated the same principles regarding the personality of God and His involvement in the healing of disease, especially in the section also entitled, “The Essential Knowledge.” ⁵⁴ MOL 203.8