Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Lt 218, 1906

Elders of the Battle Creek Church and Ministers and Physicians throughout the field

St. Helena, California

June 28, 1906

Portions of this letter are published in Ev 220; 4MR 417-418.

To the elders of the Battle Creek church, and to our ministers and physicians throughout the field: 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 1

Dear Brethren:

I have many things to say to you, and I shall now present them chapter by chapter, as I am led by the Holy Spirit. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 2

I have received letters from several in Battle Creek who are connected with the medical work. They write as men earnestly seeking for the truth, and I appreciate their sincerity, but some are greatly deceived. Several of our ministers have made a grave mistake in leaving their fields of labor to connect with the work at Battle Creek. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 3

We are living in an age of this earth’s history, when men must seek counsel of God and not be led away from their post of duty and away from the truth by men who have not a real faith in Christ. Let no one regard it safe to follow human impulse. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 4

There is a group of men in Battle Creek who today would be standing on the platform of eternal truth had it not been for the acceptance of misleading sentiments regarding our Creator, such as appeared in Living Temple. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 5

Had every laborer, to a man, who claimed to believe the testimonies, taken his stand firmly on the right side of the questions that have come up in connection with the Battle Creek Sanitarium during the past few years, the division that exists today would not be seen. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 6

Some have advanced the idea that the Battle Creek Sanitarium was rebuilt in its present proportions because of counsel given by the General Conference Committee and the presidents of conferences. Those who make this claim do not take into account the fact that the recognized leader of the medical work, who claimed to believe the testimonies, had been receiving during a period of many years many, many testimonies on the necessity of developing new centers in unworked fields—testimonies that plainly indicated to the managers of the Battle Creek Sanitarium the will of God concerning sanitarium work. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 7

In the light of these communications, the managers of the sanitarium should have known their duty after the fire. Dr. Kellogg and his associates knew that anything I might say in addition to these communications would be in harmony with the instruction I had already communicated to them in the past. But instead of studying these messages wherein the Lord had plainly declared His will regarding this work, they took counsel of men who had not had the advantage of the wonderful flood of light which had been thrown upon their pathway for years. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 8

If those who were consulted in this matter had read all the testimonies that Dr. Kellogg and his associates had received, they would not have consented to the erection of even a small building in the place of those that had recently burned down. But in their determination to labor in unity with Dr. Kellogg so far as possible without sacrificing principle, they gave their assent to certain plans for rebuilding. Afterward, without their consent, these plans were changed and enlarged upon. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 9

For years errors have been creeping into the medical work, and these have resulted in great evil. The Lord has signified that the safety of the leaders in this work lay in their willingness to be guided by divine counsel. The Lord instructed me to do all I could to help Dr. Kellogg, but he refused to be helped. He has eagerly embraced greater responsibilities than one man is capable of bearing. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 10

Too much commercial work has been mingled with the medical missionary work. The capabilities that should have been developed under God in caring for the sick, and doing the work of a physician of the soul as well as of the body, have, in recent years, been used largely in launching out in various enterprises. These enterprises necessitated the carrying of many responsibilities that the Lord never intended that Dr. Kellogg should bear. The Chicago work was not in all respects carried on in the right way. Too great an effort was made to feed a large class. Too much money was used in doing slum work. God did not lay upon Dr. Kellogg the responsibility of doing so much of this kind of work. The Lord declared, “He is my physician.” 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 11

There was a work to be done for the poor, as well as for the rich. The gospel was to be preached to all classes, that the rich and the poor, the honored and the lowly, might be brought in. All classes are to be reached by the last message of mercy that is to be given to the world. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 12

In the record of the Acts of the Apostles, we see the disciples of Jesus manifesting a Christlike activity in medical missionary work. All their efforts were put forth in the strength of the divine united with the human. Like a stream, which may be traced back to its source, their medical missionary work was so genuine that it could easily be traced back to the Great Medical Missionary. In the work of the Lord’s agencies, the one Chief Agent is recognized as the real, actuating force. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 13

The medical work in our sanitariums is to be a source of education. The church is to labor in union with Christ. Every worker is to be a partaker of the divine nature and is to be unhindered by disobedience, unbelief, and worldliness. Every talent possible is to be developed and used. Had Christ remained on this earth, He would have been a compassionate Redeemer, a faithful Counselor, of each and every one. The Word of God is to be taught in the perfection of the glory that the Word contains—truth, eternal truth, unadulterated with the sophistries of men or the deceptions of Satan. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 14

The Lord gave to the leaders of our medical work the privilege of carrying forward the same work that He Himself had exemplified in His own life on this earth. The same Holy Spirit that abode in Christ was, by divine promise, to be imparted constantly to every disciple of His. Even Christ, during His ministry, was in His divine-human nature constantly receiving the Holy Spirit and imparting blessings as He went about doing His appointed work. And Christ declares to His disciples: “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” [Acts 1:8.] This is the instruction given to all our medical workers and ministers. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 15

The disciples of Christ were to have a new experience after Pentecost. The promise of the Father now became the promise of the Son. The same Holy Spirit that abode in Christ when He imparted to them the instruction He was constantly receiving was to be the source of their intelligence and the secret of their power in doing the very same work that Christ Himself had done. In bearing witness of Him, they were to have a precious experience. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 16

As they accepted their responsibilities, as their testimony identified them with Christ their educator, they were commissioned by Him not to depart from Jerusalem, but to “wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel? And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 17

“And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” [Verses 4-11.] 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 18

This is the event for which we are looking. Let this promise be written in large letters, to be read and understood by all. An understanding of the hope of Christ’s second coming is the key that unlocks all the history that follows and explains all the future lessons. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 19

Our physicians have been in need of wise counselors. I have been looking over the many testimonies that have been borne to Dr. Kellogg for the past thirty years and his responses to these communications. He has repeatedly acknowledged that [had] he followed out plans which [were] interrupted by timely messages of counsel and admonition, these plans would have been attended with failure; and he has expressed great thankfulness for the goodness of God in giving these messages of encouragement and warning that have been coming to the people of God for so many years. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 20

That which our physicians need is a knowledge of the science of truth through diligent searching of the Scriptures. I am commissioned to say that all who are enlightened by the Spirit of God must see the unscriptural position that some have taken in attempting to justify their crooked course instead of confessing their sins. 21LtMs, Lt 218, 1906, par. 21