Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)
Lt 348, 1906
Butler, G. I.
St. Helena, California
October 30, 1906
Portions of this letter are published in RY 62; 2MR 71; SpTB #11 18-19; PH116 19-24; PC 332-333. +Note
Elder G. I. Butler
My dear Brother:
Last night I could not sleep after one o’clock. I stayed in bed for two hours after waking, trying to get to sleep, but could not. I then got up, and on going into my office from my sleeping room, I found your letter. I have just finished reading it, and a letter from Edson. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 1
I shall not try to answer your letter now; for there are questions in it that require a thoughtful rereading. I am thankful that we have a divine Counsellor, One who understands the situation. He can give wisdom; and without His counsel, we should make grave blunders. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 2
I am suffering from another attack of influenza, and yet, in spite of the fact that I do not get half the amount of sleep that I should have, I wrote in two and a half days forty pages of letter paper for the Australian mail. I have to be instant in season and out of season. I knew that Brother Salisbury, who is in charge of the Echo office, needed words of caution in regard to showing special care as to who is taken into the Echo office. I advised that one brother, the former treasurer, be reinstated in his position. I advised that another brother should not be given a certain position; for he would make trouble for the work, because he is an easy subject for temptation and not an easy subject for correction. It is hard for him to change his course of action. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 3
In every mail that goes to Australia, I send a letter, with copies of letters that I have written to others, to Stephen Belden. If I happen to miss a mail, he feels this deeply. Just now I am sending him all that I can; for I fear that each mail that goes will be the last in which I can send him anything. Poor man, he is dying of cancer, and I am so far away that I cannot be near to help him. But I can write to him, and I can pray for him. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 4
Recently I have written letters to different ones who are in danger of being misled by the deceptive influence that prevails at Battle Creek. The disaffected ones will make every effort possible to secure the tabernacle, and to gain other advantages by which to disseminate their wrong theories and carry forward their apostasy. But the Lord lives and reigns. I am writing out the cautions He gives me. I will not give up. I must relieve my soul of its burdens. It may be that I shall have to visit Battle Creek. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 5
I have been pleading with the Lord to help His people on every point; for He alone can control the elements of wickedness in Battle Creek. He will shortly bring something to pass. What a privilege it is to be able to bring our perplexities to the Lord in prayer. He has invited us to do this, and why should we not avail ourselves of the privilege? “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” [Matthew 7:7.] We need much more faith and much more earnest prayer. We need to humble our hearts before God and put all selfishness out of the way. We must have that strength, that wisdom, that cometh from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. With the hand of faith we must grasp the hand of Infinite Power, and hold on, believing with the whole heart the promises God has given. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 6
Our will and way are to be submerged in the Lord’s will and way. Self must surrender, not to discouragement, though difficulties be piled mountain high, but to God. We must work in accordance with His will and His way. We are His children, and we must cut loose from our own devisings and let the Lord work out His will through us, although He may deny us the very thing that we feel we must have. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 7
I have tried to hang my helpless soul upon Jesus. We need more faith, more steady, unwavering, sanctified faith. We shall triumph in carrying out God’s wise will. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 8
I felt great sadness of heart on hearing that one of the Huntsville school buildings had been consumed by fire. I am so sorry that one life was lost. We must now do our very best to make the needed improvements at the school. I am not favorably impressed by what you say about all the buildings that are to be erected, being small. We must not let the work at Huntsville flag or be brought down to small dimensions. There is need of buildings, and there is need of larger buildings, but these must not be extravagantly large; for the work in other places in the South must be considered. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 9
The school at Madison must be treated fairly, yes, right loyally. If all will act a part to help this school, the Lord will bless them. I am determined to act my part, although my debt of thirty thousand dollars does not lessen. I feel so great an interest in these schools and in other lines of work that I must see what I can do. I have not lost one jot of my interest in the southern field. I want to act a part in helping all lines of the work. I especially desire that Brethren Magan and Sutherland shall have hearts of hope and courage, because they see that they have the sincere sympathy of all who have an understanding of the case. They must be encouraged by the true interest manifested in their behalf. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 10
Let us take all these burdens to the Lord God of Israel. Let us work in His name and for His glory. Our hearts need to be filled with veins of sympathy. We need to have courage and joy in the Lord. Never, never let words be spoken that will make the burden weigh heavier upon those who have struggled for so long to carry out the expressed will and purpose of God. I fully believe that those who are connected with the school at Madison are carrying out the will of God. I believe that this farm is the very place for the school. Provision must be made to aid this institution. Those who are struggling to establish this school must be helped. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 11
The Lord is good; let us trust in Him. I do love the Lord, but it makes my heart ache to see and feel the necessities that must be met. We will say, The Lord lives, and He is rich in resources. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 12
Let us have thankful hearts, and be of good courage in the Lord. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, we may triumph in Him. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 13
May the Lord bless you, Elder Butler, and preserve you in health. May His Spirit and His grace be upon you. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 14
The question that you ask in regard to plates, I cannot answer now. After the death of my husband, I was for one year so afflicted that I felt that perhaps the Lord would let me rest in the grave. Night after night I was in deep sorrow. One night I had a special answer to my prayer. It was after the healing power of God came upon me at Healdsburg. At that time the Lord raised me up, and gave me special light, and I have never since felt so unreconciled. I was instructed that the Lord had mercifully raised me up because He had a special work for me to do, and I was assured that I should have the special protection and care of God. The Lord had spared my life and had saved me from that which was surely sapping my life forces. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 15
The Mighty Healer said, “Live. I have put my Spirit upon your son, W. C. White, that he may be your counsellor. I have given him the spirit of wisdom, and a discerning, perceptive mind. He will have wisdom in counsel; and if he walks in My way, and works out My will, he will be kept, and will be enabled to help you bring before My people the light I will give you for them. Let your light so shine before men that they may see and understand in a special manner that the Lord has given a message to meet the emergencies that will arise. As you speak the words I give you, angels of heaven will be with you, to make impressions on the minds of those who hear. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 16
“I will be with your son and will be his counsellor. He will respect the truth that comes through you to the people. He will have wisdom to defend the truth; for I will take charge of his mind and will give him sound judgment in the councils that he attends in connections with the work. The world in its wisdom knows not God. It does not behold the beauty and harmony of the special work that I have given you. Your son will be perplexed over many matters that are to come before My people, but he is to wait and watch and pray, and let the words of God come to the people, even though he cannot always immediately discern the purpose of God. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 17
“If you watch and wait and pray, Providence and revelation will guide you through all the perplexities that you will meet, so that you will not fail nor become discouraged. Time will outline the beauty and grandeur of heaven’s plan. It is difficult for human minds to comprehend that God in His providence is working for the world through a feeble instrument. To know God in the working out of His providence is true science. There is much knowledge among men, but to see the designs of heavenly wisdom in times of necessity, to see the simplicity of God’s plan revealing His justice and goodness and love, and searching out the hearts of men—this many fail to do. His plan seems too wonderful for them to accept, and thus they fail to be benefited. But Providence is still in our world, working among those who are grasping for the truth. These will recognize the hand of God. But His Word will not be revered by those who trust in their own wisdom. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 18
“The counsel and purposes of the Omnipotent One, and His great plan, are not recognized by selfish human beings. It is difficult for man, in his pride and self-sufficiency, to accept the plan that God is working out through the mediation of His Son. It is contrary to the mind of the self-deceived and self-important to receive God’s words of warning and reproof. They resist the light. But the promises of mercy and grace and love must still come through the lips of My messengers to those who are being led astray. If those reproved will heed, and understand, and be corrected, if they will change their wilful course of sin, God will grant pardon. But if they allow the enemy to stir up rebellion in their hearts, they in their turn will stir up rebellion in other hearts and in their stubbornness will fight against God.” 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 19
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” [Matthew 5:14-16.] 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 20
These words place a weighty responsibility upon Christ’s disciples. The followers of Jesus are under obligation to the world to reveal Him in pure, noble characters. What a light shone forth from Daniel. In the court of Babylon he made known the purposes of God, reflecting the light of heaven into this proud kingdom. What light shone forth from his three companions, as in steadfast integrity they stood before the proud monarch, declaring, “Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” [Daniel 3:18.] What a demonstration of the power of truth was the example that Abraham set before the church in his home. And Mordecai, Ezra, Nehemiah, and many others were chosen messengers—men through whom the pure light of consecration shone brightly. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 21
“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” [Matthew 5:16.] All who would be disciples of Christ are bound to make God and heaven manifest by good works. All who will walk humbly before God will surely recognize the workings of His providence. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 22
The messages that God sends are as light in a dark place. Through Christ, God is establishing a kingdom in this world. As God’s people reveal Him in good works, they become the light of the world. As they work under Christ’s counsel, and bear a living testimony to the truth, they will be sustained against the power and craft of Satan, which will increase as we near the time of Christ’s second appearing. God’s witnesses are to hold firmly to the Word of the Lord, which is to shine amidst the moral darkness till the very close of this earth’s history. There must be in this time of trial a dignified reliance upon the Word of God. We are to hold fast to past and present truth. The light is to shine forth with heavenly clearness. God will give an increase of light to those who walk in light received. Satan’s devising and his mysterious, deceiving power cannot put out the light which God bids shine. Every soul who is willing to be instructed by the Word has the precious treasure of strength of character and is enabled to glorify God in word and act. The followers of Christ increase in power to be good and do good; for the Sun of righteousness is shining upon them. 21LtMs, Lt 348, 1906, par. 23