Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 20 (1905)

Lt 33, 1905

Groves, Mildred

Mountain View, California

January 23, 1905

Portions of this letter are published in LLM 51; 5Bio 384-385.

Dear Sister Mildred Groves,—

We are greatly troubled and perplexed over the movements of Dr. Evans. Some time ago he left the sanitarium for the purpose, as we supposed, of taking a short vacation and rest to recover his health. His long absence has given occasion for remarks, and inquiries are being made as to where he is and why he does not return to continue his work in the sanitarium. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 1

A report has been circulated that Dr. Evans has become familiar with you, as a nurse in the sanitarium, that he is in correspondence with you, and that he is tempted to separate from his wife that he may live with you. Dr. Evans and his wife have lived together happily until you were closely associated with him as a nurse during his confinement with the small pox. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 2

Sister Evans is passing through the deep waters of affliction. For nine years she has lived happily with her husband, and she has loved him as a true-hearted Christian woman should love the man whom she has chosen for her life companion. And the knowledge that he has become infatuated with you is a source of bitter humiliation to her. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 3

Dr. Evans and his wife are, as physicians, well adapted to each other and are well qualified to unite as true medical missionaries, and we had hoped that their united labors might have [had] a decided influence in bringing the work of our sanitarium nearer in accordance with the Word of God. We have been pleased to see the husband and wife united in seeking to treat the sick by correct methods and to impart to those coming to the institution the sound doctrines of the gospel. Under the hallowed influence of such teachings, souls will be converted. The truth practiced and taught by medical missionaries will be received in the heart of some and will lead to conversion and the establishment in the heart of the true principles of righteousness. Will you and Dr. Evans take such a course that an opposite influence shall be the result? 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 4

The Spirit of God is grieved because the commandments of God have not been kept in spirit and in truth. We can make no advancement in Christian growth unless we receive the truth of God and allow it to sanctify and purify the soul. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 5

I ask you, my sister, how could you give the least encouragement to familiarity to a married man, one whose wife was doing a noble work as a physician in connection with her husband? This is no trifling matter. Sister Evans has always loved her husband and has respected him as a noble, worthy man. And now, even though he has taken a course that is bitterly humiliating to her, her affection for him is not diminished. She still loves the man she married and to whom she has pledged her heart. O how did the wiles of the enemy lead you and Dr. Evans to do his wife such a wrong? 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 6

My sister, we must one day individually give an account of our actions to Him who reads the heart. You cannot afford to transgress God’s holy law and to bring such distress of heart to a faithful, worthy woman. The law of God is to be written on the heart and obeyed. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 7

In no case are you justified in receiving the affections of a man who is married to another. What conditions would exist in our sanitariums were such things practiced and sanctioned among medical missionaries? 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 8

I ask you now to cut the last thread that binds you to Dr. Evans. You should endeavor to realize how such a course of action as you have been following will affect you in the future. What kind of an influence do you think you could exert spiritually? Your course would ever be as a weight to keep you from any advancement in religious lines. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 9

Unless Dr. Evans is able to see the sinfulness of his course in this transaction, he can never again be trusted in a position of responsibility among our people. His life will be like a shipwrecked vessel. You could not honor and respect or even hope to retain the affections of such a man, were he to marry you. He would soon tire of you and seek some new connection. Neither of you could enjoy peace and happiness while transgressing God’s holy law. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 10

I say to you, my sister, that you are entirely wrong in accepting the love which belongs to another. Are we to conclude that the truth has lost its power over you? Will you not break away from this satanic snare, confess your sins to the Lord and to those whom you have so deeply wronged, and will you not turn to God with all your heart? He is of great compassion, and He will abundantly pardon. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 11

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” [Luke 10:27.] In these words is revealed the necessity of our giving ourselves unreservedly to God. Shall men and women be employed in our institutions who, with the Word of God open before them, drink up iniquity and heed not the plain restrictions of God’s “Thou shalt not”? 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 12

“Keep thy heart with all diligence.” [Proverbs 4:23.] The affections must be sanctified. “If ye then be risen with Christ, set your affection on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.” [See Colossians 3:1, 2.] Shall we now see that the doctor has come to his senses, and that you, a nurse, realize that you are sin-sick and need healing from the great Physician? 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 13

God will pardon you, if you now step out of the path in which Satan has been leading you. But your work and that of Dr. Evans must ever be in different places, that this temptation may forever end. Never again should you work in the same institution. God knows the weakness of the resolution of a man who has once been led astray. Yet Dr. Evans is a man whom God loves, a man to whom He has given power to do a good, pure, and solid work in connection with our institutions. He desires us to do all in our power to save this man for whom Christ has died from making a shipwreck of faith. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 14

Please let me hear from you, my sister, as to what these things mean. What course do you now intend to pursue? We do not desire to give publicity to this sad experience; for unless carefully guarded, it will spread far and wide. Let us do all in our power to correct the matter at once. I have written to Dr. Evans and have sent one copy to Brother Rogers, whom I believe to be a faithful, God-fearing man. I have not yet received any letter from the doctor. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 15

The Lord is not pleased with the course that Dr. Evans has taken. In the position he occupied in the sanitarium, he should have been as a father to you, shielding you from contamination and guarding your virtue as Christ’s purchased possession. He has decidedly failed in this, but the Lord has not cast him off. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 16

And the Lord has not rejected you. He pities and loves you, and He calls you now to come to Him and receive His spirit of purity and holiness and His everlasting love. Cast aside every suggestion that you are unworthy to be called a child of God. Come just as you are to Jesus, make a true heart work of repentance, receive His forgiveness, and never again be led to repeat such an experience as calls this letter from me. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 17

I write you, my sister, because with all my heart I pity you, and because I desire you to see the danger of the path you are treading. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 18

In love. 20LtMs, Lt 33, 1905, par. 19