Manuscripts and Memories of Minneapolis

J. H. Kellogg to W. C. White, Jul. 17, 1893

Battle Creek, Mich., July 17, 1893.
Eld. W. C. White,
C/o Ed. Hare, Turner St.,
Auckland, New Zealand.
Dear Brother:-
[Extract]

I was sorry to see by your letter that you had somehow gotten a wrong impression of my influence upon Eld. Tenney. Bro. Tenney showed me what he wrote you, and I confess I do not see that your conclusions were at all justified by what he said, although what he did say I think communicated a wrong impression, for dating back to the time of the Institute preceding the General Conference, I have believed that Bro. Jones and myself were in perfect harmony upon doctrinal points, and so far as I know, we have been excellent friends upon her points. Bro. Jones and Prof. Prescott fell into extreme views the subject of praying for the sick, as you very well know. I did not approve of their position and wrote you very freely about the matter. It was making no end of trouble and stirring up fanaticism from one end of the land to the other. It has not entirely died out yet, although Bro. Jones and Prof. Prescott long ago began to pursue a different course. Prof. Prescott told me a few days ago that he fully accepted your mother’s testimony on the subject, and I have no doubt Eld. Jones has done the same, as his practice, so far as I know, has been entirely consistent will what your mother wrote me last year upon this subjects and which accorded entirely with what she had written in the Testimonies years before, and which was the position I accepted as right. MMM 264.1

A short time prior to the Conference there was a very exciting and sensational time among the students at the College, and things were carried on under very high pressure for some time. Between 60 and 70 of our students were attending college, and of course were drawn into it more or less, and doubtless some of them felt that I was not fully in sympathy with the movement because I did not encourage the same effort here at the Sanitarium. I have never seen any good results form this sort of work, and the results at the College were no better than usual. Prof. Prescott stated to me just before College closed, that the state of things among the students, and all around at the College, regarded from a religious standpoint, was worse than he had ever known it before. I was very much astonished. He attributed the state of things to the failure of the teachers to co-operate with him in keeping up the interest which was started last winter. I cannot state how this is, but I feel sure than when an iron has been heated to a white heat by turning on the full force of the furnace and bellows, it is very difficult to make it very much hotter. It is impossible to keep up a religious interest at fever heat perpetually. There must be a reaction. I was still more surprised when Mrs. Counsellman, the preceptress, a few days later incidentally mentioned to me that everyone of the students who had made a start during the special season at the College last winter, had backslidden and had gone back into a position worst than before. It seems to me we have had lessons enough of this kind to teach us that other methods are better. I am not speaking of this by way of criticism, as I am not responsible for any of this work, but simply to mention the particulars in which I am not quite in harmony with the work of Prof. Prescott and Eld. Jones. I am not opposed to their work in any sense, and am as good friends as they have anywhere, and when their work was in progress I said not one word against it. MMM 264.2

If I am to be regarded as an enemy holding bitterness and jealousy against every person with whose methods I do not absolutely agree, I shall have to remain content with being held in such a light. There are certain principles that I have learned by experience and education which are to me demonstrative, and until my confidence in them is shaken, I shall be guided by them. I should be in a pitiful situation if I allowed myself to be wafted about by the opinions of every person who, for the time being, exercises a dominant and influence. MMM 265.1

I have not been an opposer of the work of Eld. Jones and Prof. Prescott. You will remember than I stood by Eld. Jones, you, and your mother at Minneapolis, when almost all your old friends deserted you. I stood with you in inviting Eld. Jones to come to the Battle Creek College, and without my vote he would not have come there. Prof. Prescott was then in an opposing attitude. I have never been on the side of opposition. It seems evident from what you wrote me, and from your mother’s letter that someone has communicated to you a false impression respecting my position. There was a good occasion for this because when this I was talking on Medical Missionary work at the Tabernacle—that is, when I gave the talks which have been gives in the Medical Missionary Extra #1,—Bro. Jones was present, and because Harmon Lindsay, and some others who had been opposed to him, said “Amen” to what I said he thought it must be wrong. My talks were before a select class of workers, and were presented with the understanding that I was to be criticised and set right wherever I was wrong. MMM 265.2

Bro. Jones took occasion in a public meeting in the office, before a big audience, to refer to my remarks as the worst kind of heresy and as being genuine Roman Catholic doctrines. He did not mention my name, but he put the matter so pointedly that everyone understood who he meant. I believe what he said was published in the Bulletin, as his remarks were usually published verbatim at literatim. I knew nothing of his remarks, as I was not able to attend the evening meeting, but I felt alarmed because a number of persons came to me congratulating me upon my talks, and as they were persons who had been in apposition to Eld. Jones and his work, I was very much perplexed. I did not know that I had said anything in any respect whatever opposed to the true doctrine of righteousness by faith, in which I have believed ever since I knew anything about it, and to which I have never been in the slightest degree opposed. The suspicion that I must have been misunderstood in some way, and the fear that I might be saying something wrong, led me to go to Eld. Jones the next morning after he had made his criticisms (but without knowing the fact that he had made his criticisms) to have a talk with him upon the subject to see where I was wrong. In order to make the thing clear, I wrote out a statement embodying what I believed, and supposed to be correct doctrine. I read this to Eld. Jones and he subscribed to it entirely. He said it was exactly what he believed. One or two points which I brought forward from your mother’s Steps to Christ seemed to be new to him, but as soon as he thought of them, he also agreed to them. That evening, so I was told, Eld. Jones remarked that since his remarks the evening before he had had a talk with the brother referred to (meaning me), and that he had found there was no disagreement whatever, and that we agreed exactly. From that time to this I have never had the slightest intimation from anybody that Bro. Jones and I were in any way at variance, or that we taught anything which was not in perfect accord. MMM 266.1

I do not think it was anything I said that led Bro. Jones to make the remark he did—it was simply that he had attached to remarks I had made a meaning which they did not naturally convey, and which I did not intend them to have. He treated me, in fact, as some others had treated him, but I think his attitude was really the result of the fact that he saw those who were opposing him saying Amen to what I said. After my talk with Bro. Jones I saw just what the situation was. I had simply expressed in a different way the same principle which he was teaching, and many of those who had been opposed to his teaching accepted a different statement of the same thing because they understood them. I had for a long time been much perplexed to understand just what he meant, but finally thought I understood and had found a different mode of expressing it, which seemed to be accepted by some who had not been ready to accept his statement. I thought I saw at once a means of reconciling the discordant factions, and so I asked Bro. Jones to go with me and read over with Bro. Smith the same statement of facts respecting righteousness by faith which I had made, and which he accepted as correct. We had a conference with Bro. Smith, and he accepted every statement fully and heartily. We afterwards had a meeting with Eld. Olsen, Prof. Prescott, Eld Jones, Eld. Smith and one or two others, and discussed at length the various prepositions and ideas, and reached a perfect unanimity. The difficulty was found to be a matter of technical statement almost altogether. Now I am not saying that this is all the difficulty in the case of Bro. Smith and others, by any means, because I think there have been other difficulties than this. There has doubtless been a disposition to hold on to old positions which did not involve this question of righteousness by faith at all, and to connect them with it in a way which is entirely, unnecessary. This is another question which I have not entered into and do not profess to know anything about it. MMM 266.2

I perhaps ought not to have taken so much time to explain my attitude in relation to Prof. Prescott and Eld. Jones, but I thought it might be just as well to make myself clearly understood. I presume someone has written you what Eld. Jones said, that I had been opposing him, etc. If you should write to Eld. Jones to-day and ask him about it, I think he would write you exactly what I Have said. I am endeavoring to be a peace-maker and bring others to harmony. I am not a man who is stirring up strife and commotion. I believe I did more at the last General Conference in the interest of harmony and peace on this question than anybody else, and confess I do not like to be put in the attitude of an opposer and a bitter and jealous disturber of the peace when this is not my attitude at all. I may be so blind that I cannot see the facts. If I am, I shall be glad to have the facts pointed out to me. I have stated the situation exactly as it is. I am not very much troubled about this matter. I have so much to do and my hands are so full of work in trying to help people who need help that I have precious little time to think about myself, or any personal matters, and it makes very little difference to me how I am regarded and what people think of me, so long as I can go on about my business doing good. MMM 267.1

[Selection ends here.] MMM 267.2