Charismatic Experiences In Early Seventh-day Adventist History

Chapter 4—Alleged Foreign Tongue

In other instances, when one comes into this blessing of speaking with tongues, the Lord may give me the same tongue, and we may hold a conversation in the language that the Spirit of God may have given us utterance in. Even three or four may take part in the conversation, and yet it is a foreign tongue to them, and one waits on the other until the other is through; and it is all in order. This is the experience we received, according to the promised blessing. CEESDAH 20.12

And then, in accordance with that, Acts 10, Peter’s experience in the home of Cornelius corroborates it; and then Acts 19; and from the study of the Word, in our experience, and the persecution, and everything that has come with it, we have found, so far as we are able to discern, our experience corroborates with the experience of the early apostles as recorded in the Word. CEESDAH 20.13

One instance: We were shut up in the jail at Clyde, Ohio.... CEESDAH 20.14

Ellen G. White: How long ago? CEESDAH 20.15

R. Mackin: Six or eight weeks ago. In Clyde there lives a very devoted family that we knew there, and that is a credit to our people. The little children—there are four of them—are all taught to pray every evening and morning; and it is very interesting to see the family at the hour of worship. CEESDAH 20.16

Now, we went there, and they hung on for this blessing that we had received; and they put up their petition for this blessing, and came into possession of this blessing; and as the Spirit came upon them, some of them wept, and among others that wept was a little girl ten or eleven years old. Well, the grandma came into the room, and she saw the little girl weeping, and she thought I had a mesmeric influence over the child. But a few weeks later the same Spirit came upon the child when we were in the city of Toledo, and gave the message; and so they had evidence that it was not the result of any control that I might have over the child. When I came back to the town, nearly four weeks later, one of the relatives had me arrested for having this mesmeric power, as they term it. CEESDAH 20.17

The trial was set, and I simply produced the evidence from the Word of God that we were living in the last days, and, according to Acts 2, in the last days the Lord had promised to pour out the Spirit of God upon all flesh, and the boys and girls were to prophesy. CEESDAH 21.1

And by the way, it was through this little girl—the Spirit of God coming upon this child—that we were directed to go to Toledo when we did. When under the influence of the Spirit, she pointed her finger directly at me, and then toward Toledo, and through the Spirit of prophecy she says, “You go to Toledo”: and since this accorded with Acts 2: “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy”: and knowing the family—putting the test to the life—we dared not hesitate to go. CEESDAH 21.2

We were told at the same time that we would be put in prison in Toledo. That came to pass, and we had the evidence that we were directed by the Spirit because that which had been prophesied came to pass. We bore our message in the city, and they came and locked us up.... CEESDAH 21.3

If we are in a delusion, we are honestly there. But if this is from the Spirit of God, we want to follow it.... CEESDAH 21.4

This Spirit tells us to search the Word; tells us to be earnest; and tells us to be careful about our diet; tells us exactly what you have said. CEESDAH 21.5

Now, my wife, the Spirit operates through her, and we believe that this is the gift of prophecy that is to be poured out onto all flesh. This Spirit leads us into kindness and purity of life, and we can’t understand it—why—only that as the Word of God has said, that these experiences come as the result of receiving the blessing of the Spirit of God. CEESDAH 21.6

They circulate all manner of evil reports about us, which are wholly untrue. We are surprised when we hear them; there is not a syllable of truth in them. But it accords with just what the Word says. The first people to shut us up were the Adventists, at the Ohio camp meeting. CEESDAH 21.7

Ellen G. White: What party? There are many Adventists. CEESDAH 21.8

R. Mackin: The Seventh-day Adventists. The year before that, we were not in possession of this blessing fully, but we had come into possession of sufficient of the Spirit of God that we would love to get people into our tent and pray with them—just as in volume 8, you remember, it says:— CEESDAH 21.9

“The time has come for a thorough reformation to take place. When this reformation begins, the spirit of prayer will actuate every believer and will banish from the church the spirit of discord and strife. Those who have not been living in Christian fellowship will draw close to one another. One member working in right lines will lead other members to unite with him in making intercession for the revelation of the Holy Spirit. There will be no confusion, because all will be in harmony with the mind of the Spirit.”—Page 251.

Through this blessing, and our interest in the people, we assisted 26 people to go to the camp meeting who otherwise could not have gone—where they might get strength. This work went on until this last year. CEESDAH 21.10