Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 178, 1903

Jones, A. T.

“Elmshaven,” St. Helena, California

August 2, 1903

Portions of this letter are published in LLM 62-63. +^Note

Elder A. T. Jones

My dear Brother,—

I am very much burdened over the fact that, notwithstanding the light you have received through the testimonies, you should accept from the lips of any human being presentations that would lead you to unite with others in sanctioning and planning for the building up of an educational institution in Battle Creek. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 1

A school such as has been planned for should be in some place where the students would not be closely associated with the large numbers who are expected to patronize the Sanitarium at Battle Creek. It is not wise to plan to maintain such a school in a place where a worldly element prevails to so great an extent as to counterwork that which the Lord has outlined should be done for our youth in our educational institutions. So many youth should not be brought together in Battle Creek. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 2

The Lord presented to us the reasons for removing the college from Battle Creek. This instruction should now be searched out and studied by those who are planning to organize another educational institution there. Let the light already given shine forth in its purity and beauty, that God’s name may be glorified. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 3

The very same reasons that were given for the removal of the old Battle Creek College from Battle Creek should now lead our brethren to decide to train in other places the youth who now expect to prepare themselves for medical missionary work. Those who expect to become medical missionary workers must be thoroughly educated in Bible lines. They should have the very best spiritual advantages, in order that they may be fitted to teach and to train others. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 4

My brother, I am surprised that you are found asleep on this point. I declare unto you, in the name of the Lord, that the arrangements being made for the training of medical missionaries in Battle Creek are not right. A great work is to be done in a short time, and God forbids that we should encourage so many of our youth to bind themselves up for three or four or six years of training before engaging in active work. Men and women should gain an education by working along practical lines in different places in accordance with the light that God has given and under the instruction of experienced leaders. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 5

*****

During the rehearsal of the law, Moses outlines the specifications given by the Lord to Israel by the observance of which they were to be God’s peculiar people: 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 6

“Hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you unto this day. Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart form thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons.” [Deuteronomy 4:1-9.] 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 7

“These are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: that thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.” [Deuteronomy 6:1, 2.] 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 8

“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee unto the land which He sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by His name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you, (for the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you;) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 9

“Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God as ye tempted Him in Massah. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies, and His statutes, which He hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken. And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: and the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: and He brought us out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He sware unto our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He hath commanded us.” [Verses 3-25.] 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 10

“Thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. (We would do well to remember this distinction.) The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.” [Deuteronomy 7:6-9.] 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 11

Shall we not consider these Scriptures? We are on probation. In all dispensations, the one great object of God has been to test and try the men and women whom He has created and lead them to understand His purpose concerning them. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 12

Circumstances that perplex us the Lord does not prevent from occurring. The enemy designs to set in operation those things that will discourage the tempted ones and lead them to be presumptuous. But if the one who is beset by the enemy simply puts his trust in the Lord, he will not be overcome. If under trial he manifests his natural traits, there is a work that he must do, a work of humbling himself and of seeking God’s grace most earnestly. Under no circumstances should he become discouraged. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 13

The Lord never sends trials because He delights to harass His children, but because He desires to arouse His chosen ones to a realization of the imperative necessities of their situation. He says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” But mark the next statement. You are not to work out your salvation by your own power; “for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” [Philippians 2:12, 13.] Every one is to work with fear and trembling, lest he should depart from the expressed will of his heavenly Father. Such fear is the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 14

The Lord takes no delight in seeing His people in perplexity and despondency. He desires to see the principles of truth and righteousness quell all rebellion of the soul against God. He delights in His people. When they depend more on their finite capabilities than on Him, for their own good He permits circumstances to occur that will lead them to seek Him, to feel their dependence on Him, and to draw nigh to Him, that He may draw nigh to them and endow them with His own attributes, which will fit them for entrance into heaven. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 15

While living on this earth, we may be united with divinity and be taught of God. He delights to enlighten the understanding of those who come to Him in their weakness and manifest their dependence upon Him for strength. The Holy Spirit is the efficiency for every one. By this agency God helps every person who will be worked and molded in accordance with the divine likeness. He whose perceptive faculties are quickened as the result of this fashioning process can say, “Goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life.” [Psalm 23:6.] 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 16

This, then, is the blessing of trial—that all who are tried may feel their dependence upon God and express their gratitude of heart for His blessings by acknowledging Him in thank and praise offerings. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 17

The Lord desires to manifest Himself to His people; but frequently all His blessings and special manifestations are appropriated as something that is no more than what should be expected of Him. Failing to place their trust in Him, many become proud and self-dependent. Thus the threads of vanity are woven into the fabric of all their work, and the enemy gains vantage ground. Through the influence of human instrumentalities he draws the mind from God and glorifies the human agent. Thus deceived, heeding not the cautions God has given, buoyed up with self-confidence, man goes forward to his sure ruin. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 18

The power to get wealth is a gift from God. Every jot and tittle of the praise given to any man because of the success he has attained is dangerous. God manifests His power by co-operating with human agents in positions of sacred trust. Man is wholly dependent on God for wisdom and tact and should give to his Creator all the praise due to His holy name for entrusted gifts. Every talent is to be employed in the work of promoting God’s cause of uplifting the standard of truth in new territory. The work established in new places will result in the increase of entrusted talents. The talent of influence, consecrated to the Master’s service, will greatly increase in power as it is put out to the exchangers and wisely used. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 19

The great promises, so full and complete, which God made to Israel, were always given on condition of obedience to His laws and statutes. He will not work with those who are disobedient. Through Moses, He cautioned them fully on this point: 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 20

“Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God,” Moses said, “in not keeping His commandments, and His judgments and His statutes, which I command thee this day: lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, and from the house of bondage; who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might humble thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end: and thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.” [Deuteronomy 8:11-20.] 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 21

Many are the evidences that the Lord has given that His people are to Him a precious treasure. By humble, earnest persevering faith and obedience, man reveals that his heart is filled with the abounding grace of God. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 22

The words of truth and righteousness, as revealed in the Scriptures, will be the power of God’s people. The ten commandments express His will and are a transcript of His character. It is His will that there should be especially set apart an order of men to minister for Him, to conduct sacred services, to speak His words, to reveal His will, in simple and plain language setting before all whom they meet the principles that God has graciously revealed to enlighten our understanding in regard to the motives prompting Him to urge us to be obedient. The fear and the love of God will lead men cheerfully and heartily to obey Him, not only to promote His glory, but to attain that which is for their own highest good—harmony with heaven. 18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 23