Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 5 (1887-1888)

Lt 21, 1888

Butler, [G. I.]

Minneapolis, Minnesota

October 14, 1888

This letter is published in entirety in 1888 85-106. +^Note

Brother [G. I.] Butler:

I have read your letter with surprise, and yet I am not altogether in the dark in regard to your feelings. I fail to discover in your letter the right ring. I do not see in your expressions in regard to others the love and respect that should exist between brethren. If you think you can indulge in feelings of contempt for men whom God has been raising up to fill important places in His work for this time because you are the president of the General Conference, you do not understand your true position. We all need, rather, to encourage these men who are evidencing that they are bearing burdens in the work—even if they are younger men in years and in experience, even if they were mere children when we were active in the work and standing in the forefront of the battle. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 1

I tremble for you and Eld. Smith, for I know from the light God has been given me from time to time for the last forty-five years that you are working upon principles that are not altogether after God’s order. Your understanding has become confused upon some things. You must not think that the Lord has placed you in the position that you now occupy as the only men who are to decide as to whether any more light and truth shall come to God’s people. The spirit and influence of the ministers generally who have come to this meeting is to discard light. I am sorry that the enemy has power upon your minds to lead you to take such positions. They will be a snare to you and a great hindrance to the work of God, if God has ever spoken by me. I do not hesitate to speak to you decidedly, because the position you occupy is a responsible one and your relation to the cause and work of God makes it important that you be entirely clear and correct in your ideas of what is truth and what is light. While many are looking to you to lead the way, be very careful that you do not lead in the wrong direction. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 2

There is not the least need, my brethren, of disunion and variance among us. No such thing should exist among Christians. When you speak, let your words savor of unity and love. We are Christians, how can we be in the least perplexed in regard to the course we should pursue toward each other? Christ has given the plainest rules for us to follow in (Matthew 5:22), “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there remember that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift.” 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 3

Why is it that our personal feelings are stirred up so easily? Why do we cherish suspicion toward each other? One of the terrible fruits of sin is that it separates very [close] friends, puts brother at variance against brother, and neighbor against neighbor. Those who have enjoyed sweet union and love become cold and indifferent toward each other because they do not hold, in all points, ideas alike. Our blessed Lord came into the world to bring peace and good will to men and prayed that His disciples might be one as He was one with the Father. He prayed for His immediate disciples and said, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their word, that they may all be one as thou, Father art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory that thou hast given me I have given them that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” [John 17:20-23.] It is the absence of Christ in the soul and the cherishing of self-sufficiency that lead to dissension. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 4

I have felt so grateful to God that He was qualifying men to carry the heavy burdens which have rested with crushing weight upon a few men who have been the standard bearers. Shall not we, my brother, acknowledge that God in mercy has been raising up other workmen besides ourselves to devise and plan and gain experience? Shall we regard them lightly because they may differ with us, honestly and conscientiously, upon the interpretation of some points of Scripture? Are we infallible? The spirit that controls the attitude of a large number at this meeting evidences that they are led by another spirit. The church at Battle Creek, which is the great center, will either be advancing to greater light, or it will be retrograding. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 5

How men claiming to be led of God can feel at ease when the church is so destitute of the grace of Christ is a marvel to me. The truths of God’s Word are elevating and stirring if really acted upon. They are truths of eternal moment. The application of Scriptural truths to the heart and conscience by the Holy Spirit must have a power upon the life and work a transformation of character, else the truth is no truth to us. The fruit we bear should testify that the truth has sanctified the soul, that the receiver is ever learning in the school of Christ to be more and more like the divine teacher, and that the grace of God has fallen upon the soul like the warm, bright rays of the sun upon the earth. And God gives the weary wrestler rest. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 6

I cannot be pleased with your spirit, Bro. Butler; it is not Christ-like. I am sorry for you that you have not kept pace with the opening providence of God. You have mingled your own natural traits of character with your work. Sometimes your spirit has been softened and melted with tenderness, but false ideas of what belonged to your position in the work has turned your mind into wrong channels. There have been continuous mistakes made in devising and planning. If one man has been deemed capable to stand in a position of trust, manifold responsibilities have been laid upon him, so that nothing was done with thoroughness. This was not wise. The Lord did not move upon you by His Holy Spirit to write upon inspiration. That was not your work. While you may regard it as light, it will lead many souls astray and will be a savor of death to some. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 7

You have special union with those who consider your work and your way of doing it all right. They seek your favor, confide in, and work to sustain you, while there are many who are far more acceptable than these men in the sight of One who is infinite in wisdom and who never makes a mistake, but upon whom you look with suspicion because they do not feel obliged to receive their impressions and ideas from human beings [who] act only as they act, talk only as they talk, think only as they think and, in fact, make themselves little less than machines. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 8

God wants both pupils and teachers to look to Him for light and knowledge. Christ is always sending fresh and profitable messages to those whose minds and hearts are open to receive them. It is not for the Lord’s delegated ministers to look to other minds to plan and devise for them. They must use the ability God has given them and make God the center and source of all their wisdom. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 9

Has God given these light? Has He given them knowledge? Go yourself to the same source from whence they received that light. In God is strength and power and all blessing. We must carry the minds of all away from poor, defective self and present Jesus as the fountain of all grace and all wisdom. We must teach young and old to search the Scriptures and obtain an experience for themselves, that they may be rooted and grounded in the truth. They are not to copy any man’s peculiarities of speech or of spirit or his ways and manners of working, but are to be their own simple selves, looking to God to put His divine impress upon the character. We are pained to see the defects existing in men entrusted with weighty responsibilities being copied as virtues by those who look up to them. This makes us afraid. We say, Go to God for your own selves and obtain His mould upon you. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 10

The Lord has presented some things before me in regard to the prejudice and jealousy which has existed in your mind and which you have communicated to others both by hints and in plainly expressed words, showing that you were not seeking to promote harmony and unity with the workers upon the Pacific Coast. Just as precious are they in the sight of the Lord as are workers on this side of the Rocky Mountains. Unsanctified ambition is always abhorrent to God. It reveals itself in seeking to be first because they have borne burdens and, unwisely, too many responsibilities. Let these things be corrected, and let each man bear his part in thinking and in planning and gain an experience. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 11

You are not doing God’s will in depreciating those who are fellow workers in the same cause and for the same purpose as yourself. Give them the same chance to obtain an experience and to act as you have had. God enjoins upon us to guard the reputation of our fellow laborers in the harvest field as we desire our own reputation to be guarded. If carnal ambition holds the supremacy, God is displeased, for His name is dishonored where it should be magnified. A man may be looked upon as under the controlling influence of the Spirit of God while he may be deceived, for it is his own natural tendencies that control his judgment and bear sway, so that a look, a hint, a mean smile, a word from him, though he may be apparently suppressing his own feelings, goes a long way in suggesting doubts and suspicion to other minds when, in order to meet the approval of God, his every word, his whole soul, should be thrown in the opposite direction from that to which he gives it. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 12

Now, God notes all this human sinful ambition, and it is an offense to Him. One will express a hint or make an assertion unadvisedly; another repeats the impression made upon his mind, and another gathers it up and adds a little more of his human imaginings. Before any of them are aware of what they are doing, they have built up strong barriers between God’s workmen. They make it very unpleasant for themselves, for Satan enters into, and figures largely in this kind of work. He leads these deluded ones to think their own convictions are true beyond a question or doubt. Now, against Satan’s schemes of this kind, there is but one safeguard—that is, to have truth as it is in Jesus planted in the heart of every man engaged in the work of God, not merely in theory but by the Spirit of God. They should feel the truth in its power and know by experience its sanctifying and elevating influence upon the soul. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 13

You speak of the affliction that came upon you because of the “way this matter (the question of the law in Galatians) has been pushed and urged by responsible men in the cause and by your seeming attitude which has brought me to my present condition more than any other one thing.” I have no knowledge of taking any position in this matter. I have not with me the light of God had given me on this subject and which had been written, and I dared not make any rash statement in relation to it till I could see what I had written upon it. My attitude therefore could not be helped. I had not read Dr. [E. J.] Waggoner’s articles in the Signs, and I did not know what his views were. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 14

You speak, dear brother, of that terrible conference, the last held in Battle Creek, while I was in Switzerland. That conference was presented to me in the night season. My guide said, “Follow me, I have some things to show you.” He led me where I was a spectator of the scenes that transpired at that meeting. I was shown the attitude of some of the ministers, yourself in particular, at that meeting, and I can say with you, my brother, it was a terrible conference. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 15

My guide then had many things to say which left an indelible impression upon my mind. His words were solemn and earnest. He opened before me the condition of the church at Battle Creek. I can only give here a meager portion of what was said to me. He stated that the church needed the “energy of Christ,” that all must cling close to the Bible, for it alone can give a correct knowledge of God’s will. A time of trial was before us, and great evils would be the result of the Pharisaism which has in a large degree taken possession of those who occupy important positions in the work of God. He said that the work of Christ upon the earth was to undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free, to break every yoke, and [that] the work of His people must correspond with the work of Christ. He stretched out his arms toward Dr. Waggoner and to you, Elder Butler, and said in substance as follows: “Neither have all the light upon the law; neither position is perfect.” “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” Psalm 97:11. There are hundreds that know not why they believe the doctrines they do. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 16

Let all search the Scriptures diligently for themselves and not be satisfied to have the leaders do it for them, else we shall be as a people in a position similar to that of the Jews in Christ’s time, having plenty of machinery, forms and customs, but bearing little fruit to God’s glory. It is time for the church to realize her solemn privileges and sacred trust and to learn from the great Teacher. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 17

The spirit which has prevailed at this meeting is not of Christ. There is not love, there is not sympathy or tender compassion one toward another. Dark suspicions have been suggested by Satan to cause dissension. Roots of bitterness have sprung up whereby many will be defiled. Christians should harbor no jealousies or evil surmisings, for this spirit is of Satan. There must be no strife between brethren. God had made this people the repository of sacred truths. Ye are one in faith, one in Christ Jesus. Let there be no lording it over God’s heritage. Let there be no such oppression of conscience as is revealed in these meetings. It is God that scrutinizes every talent, and it is He who will judge every man’s work. He has not laid this work of judging upon any man; they have mistaken their calling. There must be no exalting one’s self above others. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 18

God has not committed to any finite man the work of judging others, for man’s judgment would be biased by his peculiar traits of character. Neither has He laid it upon any man to bind the conscience of another or to pass judgment upon His holy Word, defining what is inspired and what is human. Unless sanctified, soul, body, and spirit, man will be in danger of manifesting an unkindly spirit toward his brother who does not agree with his ideas. There is no such narrowness with God. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 19

The enemy of God and man is here on the ground where important interests are centered, at the heart of the work, to misrepresent, to create suspicion and misapprehensions. From this night’s work there will arise false imaginings, cruel and unjust misunderstandings, that will work like leaven in every church and close hearts to the strivings of the Spirit of God. Unless the Lord in His mercy shall lift up a standard for us against the enemy, kindness will be requited with suspicions and insults; faithful warnings and admonitions sent from God will be scorned by some, unheeded by others, and the influence of this meeting will be as far-reaching as eternity. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 20

The spirit manifested is not of Christ. The outgrowth of this will be that some will turn away from light and others will come to a standstill in spiritual growth, because from this hour blindness of mind and self-righteousness will take the place in their experience of justice, mercy, and the love of God. The seeds of disaffection and disunion will be scattered broadcast, and all because men allow their own spirit to control them and make them unsympathetic and unimpressible, like moral icebergs, cold, sunless, dark, and forbidding. The result will be ruin to souls. The church at Battle Creek has been blessed with great privileges, but the work that should have been done in it, to make these privileges and opportunities tend to spiritual health and growth, has been neglected. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 21

The Lord is willing to bestow great light upon those who open their hearts to its divine rays. Those who have marked out a certain course in which the light must come will fail to receive it, for God works in His own appointed way. It will be said of some here, unless they quickly change their present attitude, “Ye took away the key of knowledge; ye would not enter in yourselves, and those who would enter in, you hindered.” [Luke 11:52.] The church needs earnest and persevering labor. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 22

If those who are placed in responsible positions are faithful, living in daily communion with Christ, they will learn to place the same estimate upon man that God does. Personal preferences manifested for a few will give way to a true spirit of charity toward all. You know not whom God may have chosen to be heirs of His kingdom. They may be the very ones you would not think at all qualified for the work. The Great Shepherd will call His own sheep by name, [and] one by one will lead them out. The men upon whom you place so low an estimate may be those whom God will choose to do a special work for Him, notwithstanding your judgment to the contrary. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 23

The churches have been cherishing a spirit which God cannot approve, and unless they humble their souls before God and possess a different spirit, they will reject God’s light and follow spurious lights to the ruin of their own and many other souls. They must have the converting power of God to transform them. This power needs to come into your heart, my brother, and mould you over anew. You are passing a crisis in your experience and are in great danger of self-deception. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 24

You have made grave charges against me in your letter sent to me at this place, but as yet I do not see their justice. I wrote to you from Switzerland in the fear of God. I was doing a work in this matter that was not pleasant to me, but I felt it my duty to do this work. If my letter caused so grave consequences to you as five months illness, I shall not be held accountable for it; for if you had received it in the right spirit, it would have had no such results. I wrote in the anguish of my soul in regard to the course you pursued in the General Conference [Session] two years since. The Lord was not pleased with that meeting. Your spirit, my brother, was not right. The matter in which you treated the case of Dr. Waggoner was perhaps after your own order, but not after God’s order. The course you took was not excusable, even if his views were questionable. We must not crowd and push one another because others do not see just as we see. We must treat others with Christ-like courtesy, even if they differ with us. Matthew 5:43-48; 1 John 2:9-11; 3:16-18; 4:7, 8. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 25

You refer to your office as President of the General Conference, as if this justifies your course of action, which you deemed wholly right, but which, from the light the Lord has been pleased to give me, I deem to be wrong in some respects. The very fact that you are standing in a position of responsibility I urge upon you as the reason why you should show a forbearing, courteous, Christlike spirit at all times and under all circumstances. Your brethren in the ministry, who respect you and your office, will be very apt to follow your example in the treatment of such cases. You are to be an example to your brethren, worthy of imitation. Your words, your spirit, your deportment, even the manner in which you treat your brethren, are sowing seeds for good or evil. It is both your privilege and duty, especially in your position of trust, to be like-minded with God; then you will be strong in His strength and meek and humble as a little child. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 26

Cling close to your Bible, for its sacred truths can purify, ennoble and sanctify the soul. You must hold the truth and teach it as it is in Jesus, else it is of no value to you. Before the light of God’s truth, let human opinions and ideas and human wisdom appear as they are in the sight of God, as foolishness. Let no man feel that his position as president either of the General Conference or of a state conference clothes him with a power over the consciences of others that is the least degree oppressive, for God will not sanction anything of this kind. He must respect the rights of all, and all the more because he is in a position where others will pattern after him. Your position binds you under the most sacred obligations to be very careful what kind of a spirit you entertain towards your brethren. They are acting a part in God’s cause as well as yourself. Will not God teach them and guide them as well as yourself? You are not even to allow yourself to think unkindly of them, much less to climb upon the judgment seat and censure or condemn your brethren, when you may be yourself, in many respects, more deserving of censure than they. Your work is bearing the inspection of God. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 27

If a brother differs with you on some points of truth, do not stoop to ridicule; do not place him in a false light or misconstrue his words, making sport of them; do not misinterpret his words and wrest them of their true meaning. This is not conscientious argument. Do not present him before others as a heretic, when you have not with him investigated his positions, taking the Scriptures text by text in the spirit of Christ to show him what is truth. You do not yourself really know the evidence he has for his faith, and you cannot clearly define your own position. Take your Bible, and in a kindly spirit weigh every argument that he presents and show him by the Scriptures if he is in error. When you do this without unkind feelings, you will do only that which is your duty and the duty of every minister of Jesus Christ. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 28

There were thrusts in your pamphlet which the Lord did not prompt you to make. You have no right to wound the feelings of your brethren. You speak of them in a manner which I cannot sanction, because I have been shown many times in the case of others that it was not right. You call Brethren [A. T.] Jones and Waggoner fledglings, and you make reference to the words I spoke at the conference in California. I am surprised, my brother, to read such things from your pen. I was not making thrusts at you, Eld. Butler. I was speaking upon general principles, and I felt that the cause before us required me to speak. I have been shown, in reference to Dr. [J. H.] Kellogg and his work, that which warranted me in speaking. I had been shown more than once that he was regarded in a wrong light by many in Battle Creek, that they were unchristian in their feelings and treatment of him, and that he was even regarded by some as a dishonest man. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 29

Some have come to me to inquire if these reflections from you upon the doctor were correct, if it was true that he was a scheming and designing man. I had always labored to remove this impression, for I knew it was not just to have it prevail in California among those who knew him not. I simply did that which I knew to be my duty in that conference. I would not dare to say I acted in my own spirit or spoke from mere human impulse or wisdom, for I knew better than my brethren how the Lord looked upon this case. My remarks were not hasty, and I spoke only as I knew that I ought to speak. I have nothing to retract in that matter. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 30

It will be seen sometime that our brethren and sisters have not been inspired by the spirit of Christ in their manner of dealing with Dr. Kellogg. I know that your views of the doctor are not correct. Your attitude toward him will not bear the approval of God, even if he is the man which you think him to be. You cannot be any help to him while you maintain this position, but you can pursue a course that will so weaken his confidence in his brethren that they cannot help him when and where he needs to be helped. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 31

He is placed, as I have been shown repeatedly, in a peculiar position in his relation to the world, respected by men of highest intelligence and yet holding the faith and doctrines of Seventh-day Adventists. Now, as the doctor is situated, standing on the high eminence that he does in his profession, he can, by firmly holding the truth, exert a wide influence in its behalf. The position he occupies affords him many privileges and opportunities to reach with the truth a class which we could not otherwise reach. Dr. Kellogg is a man of opportunity, a man who needs the wisdom of God to bless and guide him every step in his position of trust, if he will serve God faithfully, just as He will you in your position of trust, if you serve Him faithfully. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 32

Your work and Dr. Kellogg’s lie in altogether different lines, and you have no more right to depreciate him because he does not meet your ideas and do just as you think he should do, than he has to depreciate you because you do not work in his way. In the providence of God, Dr. Kellogg has influence. Like yourself, he was taken from among the laboring class, and by his indomitable will and persevering energy and with one object in view, he has reached a position among the honored men of the world. This position did not compel him to sacrifice one principle of our doctrines of faith to make a success. He has signalized himself as a man of wisdom and aptitude to [make] plans and execute them, and his high standing in the medical profession has an influence to remove from a large class the false impressions which have prevailed with regard to Seventh-day Adventists’ being an ignorant class of people. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 33

Whatever course he may take, he is only a man liable to make mistakes and give some a chance to find something to criticize. Because you do not always think and speak and act as one having the mind of Christ, you will not consider that you make mistakes and that others may criticize you. The position the doctor occupies in medical circles leads him amid scenes of temptation, where he needs a constant hold upon God and brethren who can help him, pray for him, advise and counsel him. If he has this hold, he will be the means of great good. Some of the worldly wise will at first disapprove; lawless and designing ones and those who are disaffected and men who have apostatized from the faith will plot against him, but if [he] maintains his integrity as did Daniel, God will give him favor among men in order that true hygienic principles and appliances may prevail to a large extent over drug medication. Shall those who claim to be reformers cease to reform? Shall they set themselves in array against the work of reform and these men to whom the Lord shall entrust a certain work? 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 34

Dr. Kellogg is a finite man and has his errors as well as other men, but God has done a work through him and has been giving him strength. He does not now feel exasperated, as he once did, when he is misjudged. He needs wise men for counselors, for their wisdom will be required to set things right and keep them right. Men are needed in the Sanitarium and out of the Sanitarium who can appreciate the situation on all sides, who will take in all in their hearing and not say Yes, Yes, to every proposition, but who, if they see danger of wrong moves which will injure the reputation of Dr. Kellogg and the Sanitarium, will not be afraid to speak frankly and honestly. This is just as much a part of their duty as to approve and sanction, but they shall do this with a Christian spirit and in such a reasonable way that the words will not appear a thrust or condemnatory but will have a right effect. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 35

There is no reason why his brethren should stand away from him and criticize and denounce and condemn him when they have no real knowledge of his work and what they are talking about. They gather from him or supposition the idea that Dr. Kellogg is a designing, dangerous man, and acting upon that idea, they unjustly and with an unchristian spirit place themselves directly in the way of his efforts, thus counteracting the good work he is trying to do, and their course is not fair and just. It may produce a condition of things to drive him to the very things they condemn. The opposition that has existed in reference to Dr. Kellogg is contagious and is hostile to the health of the soul. This is not the spirit of Christ and will have no saving influence upon Dr. Kellogg. In the fear of God we say to all such, Keep silent, speak no evil thing, keep your mouth as with a bridle that your lips will not offend God, and when you do speak, let it be to some purpose to set things in order, as is your duty as wise sentinels of sacred trust. The very same course that some are pursuing towards the doctor might as justly be pursued towards themselves, but they do not think of this; they do not see their own course is open to criticism. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 36

God is displeased to have brethren suspiciously pick up an item here, and a jot and tittle there and construe these tidbits into grave sins. Complaining, faultfinding and backbiting will be carried on to a large extent among the people when encouraged by the influence of the men engaged in the solemn work of the ministry. To disdain another’s work because it is not in your line of work is an offence to God. It is no less a sin when men who occupy positions of trust engage in it. If you, my brother, were to go into a field where are precious things, shrubs and flowers, and pass these by unnoticed and begin to complain of the thistles and the briers and unsightly shrubs and present these as the representation of what was in that field, would it be just? Should you not rather have gathered the roses, the lilies and the precious things and carried these away, thankful that such blessings did exist, acknowledging that there were things of precious value in that field? 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 37

Dr. Kellogg has done a work that no man I know of among us has had qualifications to do. He has needed the sympathy and confidence of his brethren. There should have been a tender compassion for him in his position of trust, and they should have pursued a course that would have gained and retained his confidence. God would have it thus. But there has been, instead, a spirit of suspicion and criticism. If the doctor fails in doing his duty and being an overcomer at last, those brethren who have failed in their want of wisdom and discernment to help the man when and where he needed their help will be in a large measure responsible, for there have [been] but few [who have] faithfully warned him in kindness and love for his soul, but hurt him with their thrusts behind his back. His brethren do at times really feel that God is using the doctor to do a work that no other one is fitted to do, but when they meet so strong a current of reports to his detriment, [they] are perplexed; they partially accept them and decide that Dr Kellogg must really be hypocritical and dishonest. They do not consider the good he has done and that he is doing. They do not look at his efforts to elevate the religious and moral tone at the Sanitarium and keep it up to a high standard. How must the doctor feel to be ever regarded with suspicion? Can nothing be done to change this order of things? Must it ever be thus? I know that it is not right. There are things that will occur in connection with the Sanitarium that will need much wisdom to plan and arrange, and here is where other minds must come in to place things as God would have them. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 38

I did not have one thought at the General Conference at Oakland of making thrusts at you, Bro. Butler. I sustained the proposition to have such a building as has been erected on the Sanitarium grounds, and as the plan was set before me, I could not admit that Dr. Kellogg was doing anything unfair or dark in this move. It was a work which was much needed if it could be successfully and wisely managed, and no one would have had reason to doubt the doctor’s integrity in the matter if his brethren from Battle Creek had not planted the seeds of doubt and suspicion on the Pacific coast. I have not hesitated to speak plainly to the doctor when I have seen him in the wrong or in danger of taking a wrong course, because his soul was of value. Christ paid the redemption price for his soul, and the Devil will do his utmost to ruin his soul. Let none of us help him in his work. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 39

I am very sorry that you should have allowed yourself to think that because he has treated me with great kindness and respect, he was prompted in this by motives of selfishness. I believe he has confidence in me and in the work God has given me to do. He has treated me with all the courtesy that he would show toward his mother, while at the same time, I have not shunned to reprove and warn and entreat when he was in danger or under temptation. I am grieved at these words coming from your pen. If the Lord puts it into the hearts of my brethren, especially those whom I have known from their childhood, to show me respect and to bring, if possible, a little sunshine into my life, I thank the Lord for this. When I have been at Battle Creek I have been always worn down with labor. I have had no home and I have needed care. In my widowhood I have had sorrows and trials which God alone knows, and I have felt grateful that the Lord has put it into the heart of Dr. Kellogg to show me kindness and to seek to do me good physically. And not Dr. Kellogg alone, but many others of my brethren and sisters. I do not forget one of their favors and hope they will receive a full reward for what they have done for me. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 40

And why should not those who represent the Sanitarium show me some respect? My husband and I labored hard to establish it, and I have felt the deepest interest in its prosperity. I should not breathe a murmuring word if I were neglected and unnoticed, but I thank God I am not left to be thus wounded. But am I the only one whom the doctor treats with courtesy and favor? Why did he invite Brother and Sister Hutchins to the Sanitarium to remain as long as they would? Was it because they were popular? They were feeble and worn, but they were Christians and their influence would be in favor of godliness. This is just as it should be. Has not Dr. Kellogg shown the greatest respect to our ministers, and has he ever given the least evidence that he was ashamed of his brethren? I believe he has done this to you—shown you favors—more freely than he has to me, because he loves the cause of God. I hope, my brother, that you will no longer cherish such thoughts. They are unworthy of a Christian. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 41

You speak of neglect being shown towards some. There will always be such complaints in such institutions. While great care should be exercised to avoid it, such cases will sometimes occur, and yet the blame may not belong to the doctor personally but to those employed to do the work relating to these cases, and he not know anything about it. 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 42

When we look at these matters without prejudice, we shall see some things to excuse and some things to commend and fewer to censure. “Finally brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” [Philippians 4:8.] 5LtMs, Lt 21, 1888, par. 43