The Fruitage of Spiritual Gifts

Chapter 20 — The Peril of Pantheism

ONE OF THE OUTSTANDING traits and advantages of the advent movement has been its continued uniformity. It has been so “fitly joined together” to use a Bible expression that it has derived great strength from its unity in form and faith and spirit. Very few members have gone from our church to other churches, and for preachers to leave the advent church and preach in another is almost unknown. We have, through the years, had but little disaffection or apostasy. God’s people in every age have always seen some leaders leave, and we have been no exception to that rule. But those who have gone out from us have been few indeed. A real schism has not been found in our church, and doctrinal controversies have never seriously troubled or interfered with our evangelistic activity. FSG 277.1

To the foregoing statement there is one exception, and that is the controversy concerning pantheism which arose in the early nineties and lasted some twelve years. For Christianity and especially for the remnant church, the doctrine of God is fundamental. We agree with the author of the book Problem of God: FSG 277.2

“Everyone will admit that the idea of God is intended to be the highest and deepest conception of which the human mind is capable. A civilization in which God is believed in is totally different from one in which He is not believed in. Literature, art, morals, and religion assume a different form and acquire a different content in the changes of the attitude towards God. Our ‘God’ idea is the acid test of our valuation of life.”—page 15. FSG 278.1

Without faith in God there can be no hope of personal immortality, or definite standard of right and wrong. A life with God left out of the reckoning lacks design or plan and is lost in the chaos of doubt. FSG 278.2

American pantheism, the so-called transcendentalism, was held and taught by many in the United States from the time the advent movement began. From the beginning Mrs. White warned against the subtle influence of that soul destroying delusion which appeared so cultured and innocent, like “an angel of light.” Of these perils in the early days, she wrote: FSG 278.3

“After the passing of the time in 1844, we had fanaticism of every kind to meet. Testimonies of reproof were given me to bear to some holding spiritualistic theories. FSG 278.4

“There were those who were active in disseminating false ideas in regard to God. Light was given me that these men were making the truth of no effect by their false teachings. I was instructed that they were misleading souls by presenting speculative theories regarding God. FSG 278.5

“I went to the place where they were, and opened before them the nature of their work. The Lord gave me strength to lay plainly before them their danger. Among other views, they held that those who were once sanctified could not sin. Their false teaching was working great harm to themselves and to others. They were gaining a spiritualistic power over those who could not see the evil of these beautifully-clothed theories. The doctrine that all were holy had led to the belief that the affections of the sanctified would never lead astray. The result of this belief was the fulfillment of the evil desires of hearts that, though professedly sanctified, were far from purity of thought and life. FSG 278.6

“Ungodly teaching is followed by sinful practice. It is the seducing bait of the father of lies, and results in the impenitence of self satisfied impurity. FSG 279.1

“This is only one of the instances in which I was called upon to rebuke those who were presenting the doctrine of an impersonal God pervading all nature, and similar errors.”—Testimonies for the Church 8:292, 293. FSG 279.2

Since the purpose of this volume is to show the fruitage of the Spirit of prophecy and its providential guidance in the advent movement, I shall quote largely from those writings. FSG 279.3

Among Adventists the strong trend toward doctrinal religion might readily lead some into speculative theology and even into metaphysical ideas and deceptive philosophy. One of the early evidences of this perilous tendency was seen in the first book by Dr. J. H. Kellogg, called Harmony of Science and the Bible, and printed in 1879. This book aroused much discussion but was quite generally accepted, especially because of its ingenious explanation of the resurrection of the body. But gradually the writer of this book began to bring in other theories, and finally, at the General Conference in 1901, he gave a lecture on “The Divine Life in Man,” which brought the crisis and conflict out in the open. This lecture abounded with statements that were wholly pantheistic. He taught that God was in everything and everything was God. A very few sentences will make this plain. FSG 279.4

“Take the sunflower, for example. It looks straight at the sun....It is God in the sunflower that makes it do this...There is an intelligence that is present in the plant, in all vegetation...When we see all these little cells marching along in such perfect order, we feel that we can almost hear the divine voice speaking to these particles, issuing orders to them. We can see there is a divine Master there, who is certainly directing every movement.... I want to keep before your minds the thought that God makes you now just as much as he made Adam; God is working in us to-day in exactly the same way that he worked in making Adam. Where ever God’s life is, God Himself is. You can not separate God and His life. That is the reason why God is everywhere. That is the best explanation I can give of the way in which the work is done in the brain. There is an intelligence here. Every one of these cells is a separate little intelligence by itself. There is a divine presence in every one of them. It is the life of God in these cells that travels over these wonderful little telegraph wires, these nerve filaments. It is God’s life operating there as the power of God; so whenever there is a nerve impression, or an impulse goes out to a muscle, it is God’s power in the muscle. It is God at work.”—The General Conference Bulletin, 492-495, 1901. FSG 279.5

These pantheistic ideas, however, were more clearly formulated in the Living Temple, a book by the same writer. In this book he stated: FSG 280.1

“God is the explanation of nature—not a God outside of nature, but in nature, manifesting himself through and in all the objects, movements, and varied phenomena of the universe.” “We have a physiological proof of the existence within the body of some power superior to the material composition or substance of the body, which exercises a constant supervision and control whereby individual identity is maintained. This can be nothing less than the Power which builds, which creates,—it is God Himself, the divine Presence in the temple.”—pages 28, 52. FSG 280.2

About this time one of our leading editors, Dr. E. J. Waggoner, in London, began to set forth speculations which, because of obscure yet pantheistic philosophy, greatly alarmed the leaders in our church. I met him in Europe in 1903. I asked him about the heavenly sanctuary. He stated that the sanctuary in heaven was a living being, so large that not only this earth, but many other worlds and even whole solar systems could find room within it. Though he seemed embarrassed by the questions asked him about the second apartment in the sanctuary and the ark, he said all those matters were living beings, because God is everywhere and in everything and everything is God. Dr. Waggoner was prominent as a teacher, and he went so far that he claimed that the Holy Ghost was the same, or just about the same, as the air we breathe. His teaching, though muddled and confused beyond words, mystified the hearers. They hardly knew what he meant when he said, “Let a man breathe by faith, and he will be full of the spirit of God,” or when he taught: FSG 280.3

“When Christ breathed upon His disciples, and said, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost,’ it was to teach us that when we recognize Him in the breath of life which He gives us, we are to receive the Holy Ghost, which is as free as the air; and just as the air will come in when there is a vacuum, so wherever there is a place for the Spirit of God to enter, there it will come in. There is a wonderful connection between the air we breathe and the Spirit.... When a man knows and recognizes that every breath he draws is a direct breathing of God into his nostrils, he lives in the presence of God, and has a Spirit filled life.” FSG 281.1

The sum, however, of this esoteric teaching was that God was in everything as a literal life, so that what we ate or drank or breathed became God in us, and would keep us from ever dying. He even claimed that if Israel, after coming out of Egypt, had exercised faith they would never have died. In like manner, Adventists were never to die. FSG 281.2

“We must let God live through us in everything; let God live His own life in us, and the power of that life will resist the disease, while we hold to that power by faith. That is justification by faith. So the doctors at the sanitarium should teach justification by faith, although they do not call it by just those words.” (See The General Conference Bulletin, 1899, 58 ff.) FSG 281.3

The fruitage of these false speculations was most destructive. Against these subversive and deceptive errors the Spirit of prophecy in the most positive testimonies earnestly warned the Adventist Church. Pantheism had been presented in such beautiful language, with such apparent assurance, and under the guise of a deeper spiritual experience, that not all at first discerned how false and perilous these ideas were. FSG 281.4

“God has permitted the presentation of the combination of good and evil in ‘Living Temple’ to be made to reveal the danger threatening us.... God has permitted the present crisis to come to open the eyes of those who desire to know the truth. He would have His people understand to what lengths the sophistry and devising of the enemy would lead.... Few can see the meaning of the present apostasy. But the Lord has lifted the curtain, and has shown me its meaning, and the result that it will have if allowed to continue.”—Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, pages 36, 37. FSG 282.1

The speculations of the advocates of pantheism regarding the personality of God were most misleading. They were built largely on new conceptions of matter and new theories concerning creation. They practically made matter God and God matter, and tried in this way to explain not only creation but the whole mystery of the universe. It was then commonly taught in the world that this earth was made out of pre-existent matter. Many teachers in the schools of the world, both here and overseas, taught the theories of evolution concerning the origin of life, the creation of our earth and solar systems, the indestructibility of matter, and other delusions. Against this, the Spirit of prophecy protested in the following words: FSG 282.2

“The work of creation can never be explained by science. What science can explain the mystery of life? The theory that God did not create matter when He brought the world into existence, is without foundation. In the formation of our world, God was not indebted to pre-existing matter.”—Testimonies for the Church 8:258. FSG 282.3

“Many teach that matter possesses vital power,—that certain properties are imparted to matter, and it is then left to act through its own inherent energy; and that the operations of nature are conducted in harmony with fixed laws, with which God Himself cannot interfere. This is false science, and is not sustained by the word of God. Nature is the servant of her Creator. God does not annul His laws, or work contrary to them; but He is continually using them as His instruments. Nature testifies of an intelligence, a presence, an active energy, that works in and through her laws. There is in nature the continual working of the Father and the Son. Christ says, ‘My Father works hitherto, and I work.’”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 114. FSG 282.4

About this time another development had come into the advent movement. At that time the so-called medical missionary phase of the Adventist work grew rapidly. Not only were many sanitariums established, but city mission homes and refuge missions sprang up in every part of America and even overseas. A large number of our ministers and Bible instructors were taken from the evangelistic work and placed in these missions for the poor and outcast. It almost looked for some years as if the Adventist Church were to be an imitation of the Salvation Army. FSG 283.1

During the General Conference session of 1895, in a meeting of the Medical Missionary Association, the secretary gave a report of the operations of the association during the two-year period. As soon as he had finished and the report had been accepted, a delegate arose and said: FSG 283.2

“I was not quite sure, Mr. Chairman, of the statistics; but the best I could get it, from the report, is that this association employs 74 physicians, 448 nurses, and about 1,200 other helpers. Am I correct?” FSG 283.3

On being assured that these figures were approximately correct, the delegate continued: FSG 283.4

“Then if this is correct, there are more persons in the employ of this association in its various departments of work, than in the employ of the whole General Conference. Is that correct?” FSG 283.5

Again the conclusion was affirmed, and thus these striking figures were emphasized as indicating “the size of the work that is being brought before us today.” (See The General Conference Bulletin, 1901, 178.) FSG 283.6

This work had greatly increased the preceding two years. Of our twenty-seven sanitariums, eleven had been started the preceding two years, and of our thirty-one treatment rooms, thirteen had been established in that two-year period. With this unusual growth in the medical work, there had also developed an independent spirit as to ownership and control. The president of the association, Dr. Kellogg, at the same conference, stated: FSG 284.1

“This Association has charge of the medical and benevolent work of the entire denomination, and it has the power of the entire denomination in it; for it has all the presidents in it, and the whole General Conference in it, and it has something more in it besides. And so you see it is competent to deal with any question that needs to be brought forward in relation to medical missionary work. There is no question that this Association can consider that it needs to refer to the General Conference Committee or the General Conference, because it is the General Conference, and the Medical Missionary Association. We have, therefore, a responsibility on our shoulders to do the right thing, and to know how we ought to do.”—The General Conference Bulletin, 172. FSG 284.2

This vast world-wide medical missionary work further was so completely centralized in Battle Creek that all the institutions and workers in all the earth were practically under the domination, or at least direction, of one man or a small body of men. Dr. Kellogg explained the plan of organization: FSG 284.3

“In order to bind our different sanitariums together, the Medical Missionary Board has devised this plan, that instead of creating an entirely independent corporation wherever a sanitarium is organized ... there shall be auxiliary associations established, tied to this central body. And there are two knots that are tied: One is that the persons elected to these offices are nominated by this association at its biennial or annual meetings, and elected by its elective body. And no person can be a member of the elective body of one of these smaller institutions unless he is nominated by this body for that purpose. Then the board of trustees, in some instances at any rate, are nominated by this body, the Medical Missionary Board. So there are two great ties. It is impossible ... to maintain their corporate life without this corporation.”—The General Conference Bulletin, 316. FSG 284.4

After some discussion the doctor continued: FSG 285.1

“The motion is [to adopt] the plan that has been explained to you for the incorporation of local sanitariums, so that they shall be inseparably connected with this body, and can not be turned into a private enterprise or interest, or be dissolved and the money returned to the original donors, but be kept in line with this association, which represents the whole denomination. The purpose of the motion is to authorize the Medical Missionary Board in taking such steps as are necessary to secure that result, and the carrying out of the plan that has been outlined.”—The General Conference Bulletin, 317. FSG 285.2

Soon, however, the writings of Mrs. E. G. White began to warn against this unfortunate trend away from the preaching of the advent message in real evangelism, which had been the secret of our prosperity thitherto. It was openly stated by those who advocated the new way that the Adventist Church was to undergo a great transformation and even reorganization and would take on an entirely different form and work, with a new spirit and objective. Mrs. White wrote of this as follows: FSG 285.3

“The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would result? The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church, would be discarded. Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. A new organization would be established. Books of a new order would be written. A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced. The founders of this system would go into the cities, and do a wonderful work. The Sabbath, of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who created it. Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement. The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but God being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless. Their foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and tempest. would sweep away the structure.”—Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, pages 54, 55. FSG 285.4

Some yet remember how these new ideas of mission work were introduced. This new order of work was taught in every part of the country. During a workers’ meeting in Minneapolis in 1899, the instructors, who believed in these new plans, spent an entire day in teaching us how to do city mission work, and then at night they took all the workers into the red-light district to teach the ministers how to win the outcasts from society. The leader of this movement was a converted criminal, who delighted in telling how wicked he had been before he was converted and how holy he had now become. C. W. Flaiz, the conference president, watched the thing in silence. I had been out of college but two years as a young preacher, and it all seemed most perplexing and different from what we had been taught by the early pioneers. Then light began to come from the messenger of God that the plans laid and the goals set before us were not in harmony with God’s design for the advent movement. FSG 286.1

It was not, however, merely in doctrine that this controversy of pantheism was seen. As indicated in the quotation given, it advocated an entirely different kind of organization. It wanted the Adventist missionary work to become nonsectarian. It boasted that in the so-called medical section of the work it already had more missionaries, somewhat over twelve hundred, than had the General Conference in its work. Some leaders had begun to teach that our organization was too rigid and that it prevented many from being led by the Lord. There was quite an effort made to depreciate church order with General and local conference planning and direction. FSG 286.2

It was stated almost boastfully that all the organization needed was the guidance of the Holy Spirit. That, of course, in itself is true, but not in the way in which it was presented. The erroneous assertion was put forth that each individual would be led by the Spirit of God so completely that there was no need of any human guidance or any church order. We were told that when all were led by the Spirit of God they would march forward in unity, so that organization would be superfluous. This one-sided view loses sight of the fact that God guides His church and missions through His servants whom He has chosen and through the church of His own planting. The result of this teaching was that the influence for order and stabilized plans was weakened. With reference to these unfortunate teachings, the Spirit of prophecy had already instructed us in no uncertain terms. In a statement written at Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, December 19, 1892, by the messenger of the Lord, we find these words: FSG 287.1

“Dear Brethren of the General Conference: I learn that it is proposed by some of our brethren to do away with the organization of some at least of the branches of our work. No doubt what has led them to propose this step is that in some of our organizations the machinery has been made so complicated as really to hinder the work. This, however, is not an argument against organization, but against the perversion of it. FSG 287.2

“It is nearly years since organization was introduced among us as a people. I one of the number who had an experience in establishing it from the first. I know the difficulties that had to be met, the evils which it was designed to correct, and I have watched its influence in connection, with the growth of the cause. At an early stage in the work, God gave us special light upon this point; and this light, together with the lessons that experience has taught us, should be carefully considered....As our numbers increased, it was evident that without some form of organization, there would be great confusion, and the work would not be carried forward successfully. To provide for the support of the ministry, for carrying the work in new fields, for protecting both the churches and the ministry from unworthy members, for holding church property, for the publication of the truth through the press, and for many other objects, organization was indispensable.”—The General Conference Bulletin, 22, 1893. FSG 287.3

The messenger of the Lord admitted that there had been times when our conference sessions were burdened too much with all sorts of propositions and resolutions. It was freely stated that “the fewer rules and regulations that we can have, the better will be the effect in the end.” We were told that we were not to “remember any branch of the work with unnecessary, burdensome restrictions and inventions of men.” But though that was true, and simplicity of plan and action was essential, yet we were told: FSG 288.1

“Let none entertain the thought, however, that we can dispense with organization. It has cost us much study, and many prayers for wisdom that we know God has answered, to erect this structure. It has been built up by His direction, through much sacrifice and conflict. Let none of our brethren be so deceived as to attempt to tear it down, for you will thus bring in a condition of things that you do not dream of. In the name of the Lord, I declare to you that it is to stand, strengthened, established, and settled. At God’s command, ‘Go forward,’ we advanced when the difficulties to be surmounted made the advance seem impossible. We know how much it has cost to work out God’s plans in the past, which has made us as a people what we are. Then let every one be exceedingly careful not to unsettle minds in regard to those things that God has ordained for our prosperity and success in advancing His cause.”—The General Conference Bulletin, 24. FSG 288.2

This instruction from the Spirit of prophecy was especially timely then. A strong effort was made to spread responsibilities to more departments and leaders, yet it was felt by all, and clearly stated by the Spirit of prophecy, that we were not to turn away from either our denominational name or denominational control and leadership. FSG 288.3

If we would know how strong this undenominational work had grown to be inside our church, we have but to study some volumes of the periodical called The Medical Missionary, a monthly journal begun in 1890. O. A. Olsen, president of the General Conference, Mrs. E. G. White, and S. N. Haskell were among its “special contributors,” though they were strongly opposed to the plans set forth. Another evidence of the strength of this nonsectarian idea was the founding of the American Medical Missionary College in 1895. At the opening of that college the first year, the president, Dr. J. H. Kellogg, said: FSG 289.1

“This college was incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois, July 3, 1895. Its headquarters are to be in Chicago, where a part of its educational work is to be done, though the greater part will be done in Battle Creek. The college is well equipped—in fact there are scarcely half a dozen out of the hundred or more medical colleges in the United States which have as complete and thorough an equipment as has this college.” FSG 289.2

Some may question the completeness of its equipment, but no one will question the purpose and plan of the school as stated in that same address by the president: FSG 289.3

“This is not a sectarian school. Sectarian doctrines are not to be taught in this medical school. It is a school for the purpose of teaching medical science, theoretically and practically, and gospel missionary work. It is not to be either a Seventh-day Adventist or a Methodist or a Baptist or any other sectarian school, but a Christian medical college,—a missionary medical college, to which all Christian men and Christian women who are ready to devote their lives to Christian work will be admitted.”—The Medical Missionary, October, 1895, pages 290, 292. FSG 289.4

Within a few years, however, this college, in spite of its rather boastful beginning, came to naught and was closed— closed because being nonsectarian it had no denominational support. FSG 289.5

When this great controversy concerning pantheism and organization reached its climax between 1900 and 1905, the General Conference, directed by the prophetic gift, took a strong stand against this deception and rebellion. The circulation of the book Living Temple ceased, and our people turned away from the plan of nonsectarian work. FSG 290.1

The Adventist Church everywhere was greatly stirred by the discussion of these more or less new questions. It led many members to review our history and to restudy the basic truths of the advent message. It was recognized by all that though questions of organization were important, the real crux of the controversy was the strange teachings concerning God, and our relation and moral duties toward Him and our fellow men. FSG 290.2

Of the “spiritualistic theories regarding the personality of God,” advocated in Living Temple, it was said: FSG 290.3

“Those doctrines, followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy. They estimate as nothing the light that Christ came from heaven to give John to give to His people. They teach that the scenes just before us are not of sufficient importance to be given special attention. They make of no effect the truth of heavenly origin, and rob the people of God of their past experiences., giving them instead a false science.”—Special Testimonies Series B, No. 7, page 37. FSG 290.4

There were those who were troubled by grave fears of a denominational apostasy or a division of the church into two nearly equal factions. When the break did come, however, only a meager handful left us. The sanitarium was lost, but some forty years later, after it had been sold to the Government, a fair share of the proceeds was returned to the Adventists. Instead of weakening the church, the cleansing process of that conflict gave us new vigor. The confidence of both members and ministers in the advent message and in the prophetic guidance through the messenger of the Lord was increased as our people saw that our leaders had been honest and godly and that the Lord was on our side. FSG 290.5

The storm center of the conflict was the large Battle Creek Sanitarium. Directly contrary to the Spirit of prophecy messages given, it had been rebuilt on a much larger scale so as to give the centralized one-man control of the medical missionary work still more power. We were clearly instructed not to send so many young people there to be educated. FSG 291.1

“The Battle Creek Sanitarium is too large. A great many workers will be required to care for the patients who come. A tenth of the number of patients who come to the institution is as many as can be cared for with the best results in one medical missionary center.”—Testimonies for the Church 8:204, 205. FSG 291.2

“I have been instructed that in building so large a sanitarium in Battle Creek men have followed their own devising. They have not been led by the Lord, but have done directly contrary to the light that He has given.”—Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, page 23. FSG 291.3

“It is not pleasing to God that our youth from all parts of the country should be called to Battle Creek, to work in the Sanitarium, and to receive their education. When we permit this, we are often guilty of robbing needy fields of their most precious treasure. FSG 291.4

“Through the light given in the testimonies, the Lord has indicated that He does not desire students to leave their home schools and sanitariums to be educated in Battle Creek. He instructed us to remove the College from this place. This was done, but the institutions that remained failed of doing what they should have done to share with other places the advantages still centered in Battle Creek. The Lord signified His displeasure by permitting the principal buildings of these institutions to be destroyed by fire.”—Testimonies for the Church 8:217, 218. FSG 291.5

There were confusing ideas of free love, and there were immoral practices by some of those who presented the doctrine of an impersonal God diffused through nature, and the doctrine of holy flesh. The details of that chapter of shame should not now be told, but those who knew the facts understood the truth of these words by the Lord’s messenger: FSG 291.6

“Pantheistic theories are not sustained by the word of God. The light of His truth shows that these theories are soul-destroying agencies. Darkness is their element, sensuality their sphere. They gratify the natural heart, and give leeway to inclination.”—The Review and Herald, January 21, 1904, page 9. FSG 292.1

There were two phases to the struggle—first, the pantheistic errors, second, the question of ownership and control. The Spirit of prophecy called them the Alpha and Omega of the issues. Pantheism, the “doctrines of devils,” is called the Alpha, and Omega was said to be events “of a most startling nature.” FSG 292.2

Some have claimed that the term Omega refers to some great future difficulty or apostasy and have at times made a mistaken application of it to this or that branch of denominational work. We cannot know the future, but in past years the understanding of those terms was that Alpha was the errors mentioned above and Omega the breakaway and rebellion that robbed our church of its oldest health institution. That was indeed a startling thing that few had expected. In the long run, however, only a few of our members left us. Those who watched the struggle at close range will never forget the thrill and tension of those days. They saw as never before the value of the prophetic guidance. The leader among those who went their way was a capable man, but his speaking was too rambling to be convincing, and his ideas did not check up with the Bible. FSG 292.3

Those who believed in pantheism and wanted a nonsectarian order with its centralized one-man control at Battle Creek focused their heaviest attacks against the Spirit of prophecy. The messages from the Lord called for a return to basic Bible principles, as they were known in earlier years. “We want to begin at the foundation and build upon a different principle.” This idea was clearly stated at the General Conference, of 1897, in College View, and it was further developed at the session in South Lancaster in February, 1899. FSG 292.4

“During the session of the General Conference, however, Testimonies were read showing that wrong principles of dealing had permeated the entire cause, and before God could send prosperity these things must be corrected. God’s Spirit accompanied the reading of these Testimonies, and a spirit of confession came upon the people, the members of the General Conference Committee taking the lead. These wrong principles had their origin with, and were promulgated by, men who occupied prominent positions in the General Conference prior to the Conference of 1897, who boldly stated that they did not believe the Testimonies, and took advantage of their official position to diffuse ‘the malaria of unbelief throughout the ranks nigh and afar off.’”—A Statement Published by the General Conference Committee, May, 1906, pages 14, 15. FSG 293.1

Our faith in the messages from the Spirit of God as given by Mrs. White came to its greatest test during this conflict over pantheistic errors. Up to that time Adventists everywhere had gladly accepted them, as we have since. But during that controversy a few determined men began a systematic attack on the work and teachings of the Lord’s messenger. As we met them here and there and listened to their stories and arguments we were forced to take sides for or against that gift. The evidence, however, in favor of the prophetic gift among us was so conclusive and compelling that Adventists decided by an overwhelming majority that the messages were genuine and must be believed and followed. For our ministers at that time this test was a marked advantage. The issue simmered down to this: Should we accept the vagaries of pantheism or stand by the advent message and believe in the prophetic voice of the Lord? Those who favored pantheistic errors naturally opposed the Spirit of prophecy, since it laid bare their evil plans and work in departing from Christ. In the following graphic words the Spirit of prophecy describes the efforts then made to tear down and destroy the Adventist Church, and the need of faithful men who would warn against this apostasy: FSG 293.2

“‘I was shown a platform, braced by solid timbers, the truths of the Word of God. Some one high in responsibility in the medical work was directing this man and that man to loosen the timbers supporting this platform. Then I heard a voice saying, “Where are the watchmen that ought to be standing on the walls of Zion? Are they asleep? How can they be silent? This foundation was built by the Master Worker, and will stand storm and tempest. Will they permit this man to present doctrines that deny the past experiences of the people of God? The time has come to take decided action!”’”—The Review and Herald, 37. FSG 294.1

In response to these instructions by the Lord’s messenger, A. G. Daniells and W. A. Spicer, then president and secretary of the General Conference, with many other loyal men of God, took a decided stand against this entire pantheistic philosophy, with all its plans to undermine the advent movement. The question, especially that of organization, was earnestly discussed at great length in the General Conference session at Oakland, California, in February, 1903. We preachers heard of this and talked of it all over America. We wondered why decision was not made. Mrs. White seemed to hold back, which some found hard to understand. Later we learned that she had sent messages to the sanitarium. people, and made one more effort to save them, but in vain. FSG 294.2

When we came to the Autumn Council in Washington that year all were waiting, and hoping that some final action might be taken. The very day we had the matter up for settlement if possible, to the happy surprise of all present, Elder Daniells arose and read a testimony that had just come. FSG 294.3

Mrs. White wrote: FSG 294.4

“I hesitated and delayed about the sending out of that which the Spirit of the Lord impelled me to write. I did not want to be compelled to present the misleading influence of these sophistries. But in the providence of God, the errors that have been coming in must be met. FSG 295.1

“Shortly before I sent out the testimonies regarding the efforts of the enemy to undermine the foundation of our faith through the dissemination of seductive theories, I had read an incident about a ship in a fog meeting an iceberg. For several nights I slept but little. I seemed to be bowed down as a cart beneath sheaves. One night a scene was clearly presented before me. A vessel was upon the waters, in a heavy fog. Suddenly the lookout cried, ‘Iceberg just ahead!’ There, towering high above the ship, was a gigantic iceberg. An authoritative voice cried out, ‘Meet it!’ There was not a moment’s hesitation. It was a time for instant action. The engineer put on full steam, and the man at the wheel steered the ship straight into the iceberg. With a crash she struck the ice. There was a fearful shock, and the iceberg broke into many pieces, falling with a noise like thunder to the deck. The passengers were violently shaken by the force of the collision, but no lives were lost. The vessel was injured, but not beyond repair. She rebounded from the contact, trembling from stem to stern, like a living creature. Then she moved forward on her way. FSG 295.2

“Well I knew the meaning of this representation. I had my orders. I had heard the words, like a voice from our Captain, ‘Meet it!’ I knew what my duty was, and that there was not a moment to lose. The time for decided action had come. I must without delay obey the command, ‘Meet it!’ FSG 295.3

“That night I was up at one o’clock, writing as fast as my hand could pass over the paper. For the next few days I worked early and late, preparing for our people the instruction given me regarding the errors that were coming in among us.”—Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, pages 55, 56. FSG 295.4

As this experience of the message that came the very day it was needed was told in our conferences and churches, it brought great courage to us all. Our people both here and overseas loved to hear the story of this vision of the iceberg and the command, “Meet it!” These words became a rallying cry that gathered all genuine believers under the old banner of the third angel’s message. Those who stand up against the advent movement forget what the gift of prophetic guidance does for God’s people. The Scriptures say that “where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18), and the church would have been badly battered and weakened had it not been for the messenger of the Lord. FSG 295.5

Next to the prophetic gift the advent movement owes a debt of gratitude to these firm and courageous leaders who refused to compromise with sin or error. There were A. G. Daniells and others in the General Conference, E. W. Farnsworth and M. N. Campbell, with many more at Battle Creek, who took a decided stand for the message of the Lord. A few among us were inclined to say that had these leaders been less rigid and yielded somewhat, we might have prevented the break that came. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We found then as we have found since that it is perilous to compromise with apostasy or to choose fanatics as “fellow-travelers.” The old saying that “who would sup with the devil must have a long spoon” still holds good. Because of the firmness and godly devotion of our leaders, the advent people came out of this pantheistic conflict purified, better united, more spiritual, and set on fire for their world-wide mission task. FSG 296.1