Wounded in the House of His Friends

The Spreading Results of the General Conference Revival

Following the General Conference were the many annual camp-meetings and conferences scattered around the United States and in other countries. O. A. Olsen was well aware that at the 1893 Conference there was a "season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. The Spirit of God rested on ministers and people." He also knew that the "blessings were not confined to the delegates and those assembled in Conference, but extended to many other places at the same time." Now, Olsen reported, "most of our people had heard of the nature of the General Conference meetings, and rightly expected that some of the same blessing would attend their own [camp-meetings and] Conferences." By the end of the camp-meeting season, Olsen could testify "to the praise of the Lord that this has been so."[1]

Such reports from the camp-meetings and conferences were scattered throughout church papers during the following months. W. W. Stebbins reported from meetings in Kansas, that the "Lord gave us His signal blessing, uniting our hearts in the bonds of love and peace, causing mistakes and disunion to melt away before the power of his Spirit." He also stated that "some have found peace for the first time, and we can testify to droppings of the latter rain."[2]

D. T. Shireman, upon leaving Battle Creek, had a more intense appreciation for the beauties of creation around him. When he came home to North Carolina the faces of his brethren were already "shining with the blessing of the Lord." This led Shireman to proclaim: "They have been receiving the latter rain."[3]

L. Johnson, after visiting Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota, and Minnesota, declared that some of the members "are rejoicing in the Lord, and receiving the latter rain."[4] N. P. Nelson, writing from South Dakota, recalled that "since our last camp-meeting, we have had some drops, yes, even showers of the latter rain;" but, he questioned, "may we not confidently look for much greater blessing at our annual feast of 1893?"[5]

The Darkness That Followed

Such reports should cause rejoicing as we review our history, if it weren't for the rest of the story. Certainly we can learn from the victories gained, but ultimately if the latter rain began, and was not hindered, would not Christ have returned long ere this? So it is that Satan, fearing for his very existence and continuing in his insidious rebellion, brought several strategies against the church of 1893 to make of none effect the beginning of the latter rain and the resultant loud cry:

1. Through fanatical criticism against the church.
2. Through worldliness in the church and in our schools.
3. Through mistakes of the messengers themselves.
4. Through pharisaical blindness which continued to fight against the Minneapolis message and its messengers--even attributing the very work of the Holy Spirit to extremism, excitement, and fanaticism--Satan succeeded in bringing about a delay. We will take a brief look at each of these examples.

The first two of these satanic strategies, we will examine in this chapter--the remaining two in the chapter to follow.

1. "The Church is Babylon": Fanatical Criticism Against the Church

During the summer of 1892, A. W. Stanton, secretary for the Montana Tract Society, had become disgusted with certain wrongful actions among other Adventist workers. This disgust soon grew into open criticism of the church, to the point that he began proclaiming the Adventist church had become part of "Babylon." In early 1893, Stanton published a 64-page tract called, "The Loud Cry!" which sought to present the spiritual bankruptcy of the Adventist Church and proclaim the ensuing call to "come out of her." His tract was largely composed of misapplied Testimonies of Ellen White, even seeming to apply some of her positive comments written about the Minneapolis message and messengers to himself. Stanton sent his tract broadcast; some of his supporters making sure all the delegates to the 1893 General Conference Session could receive a copy.

W. F. Caldwell, on the other hand, was a recent convert to the Adventist Church and an active lay member. After a week of intensive Bible study, he was convinced that the church was in a "death sleep" and not living up to the light it had. Upon attending the 1893 General Conference, Caldwell received a copy of Stanton's "The Loud Cry" tract, which only seemed to confirm his findings. He soon met with Stanton, and both men assured themselves that they were on the right track. As a result, Caldwell immediately traveled to Australia, at Stanton's request and expense, to proclaim their "loud cry" message.[6]

Ellen White was quick to respond to the new movement, showing the utter fallacies of these men's claims, especially in the light of the outpouring of God's Spirit at the 1893 General Conference. Such misuse of her Testimonies of rebuke, originally written to bring people to repentance and reform--not to call them out of the Church--would tend to gather only a few followers under Stanton and Caldwell's banner. But much more damage would be done by making of none effect the true purpose of Ellen White's counsel, which now had been carried to an extreme. In a letter to Stanton, Caldwell, and friends, Ellen White asked some heart-searching questions, which also shed light upon what was really taking place at the 1893 General Conference:

I understood that both these men were at the [1893] General Conference. ... Could they not discern there the revealings of the Spirit of God? Could they not see that God was opening the windows of heaven and pouring out a blessing? Why was this? Testimonies had been given correcting and counseling the church. And many had made a practical application of the message to the Laodicean Church, and were confessing their sins and repenting in contrition of soul. They were hearing the voice of Jesus, the heavenly Merchantman. ...

These brethren who claimed to have this wonderful light had the very same work of repentance and confession to do, thus clearing the rubbish from the door of their own hearts, and opening the door of their hearts to welcome the heavenly guest. Had they placed themselves in the channel of light, they would have received the most precious blessing from heaven. They would have seen that the Lord was indeed graciously manifesting Himself to His people and that the Sun of Righteousness had risen upon them. This was precious merchandizing actively carried on. The counsel of Christ to the Laodicean Church was being acted upon and all who were feeling their poverty were buying gold (faith and love), white raiment (the righteousness of Christ), and eyesalve (true spiritual discernment).

Why did not these brethren fall into line, and place themselves in the channel of light? They were poverty stricken and knew it not. They were not working in Christ's lines, were not humbled and subdued by His Holy Spirit, and were so blinded that they could not see the strong beams of light that were coming from the throne of God upon His people.

O why did they not open the door of their hearts to Jesus? Why not have removed right there all that obstructs the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness that they might shine to the world? While God's blessing was penetrating everywhere, while His presence was consecrating and sanctifying souls unto Himself, why did they not place their souls in the channel of light? ... How could they come from that meeting where the power of God was revealed in so marked a manner, and proclaim that the loud-cry was that the commandment-keeping people were Babylon?[7]

Throughout the following summer Ellen White continued to write articles seeking to counteract the work of Stanton and Caldwell and their false "loud cry." She attested that this work of Satan would be "sounding at the very time when God is saying to his people, 'Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.'"[8] Ellen White also knew that such misuse of her writings would result in "unbelief in the testimonies, and as far as possible, they will make of none effect the work that I have for years been doing." Because, "when it is made manifest that their message is error, then the testimonies brought into the companionship of error, share the same condemnation; and people of the world ... present these matters as evidence that my work is not of God, or of truth, but falsehood."[9]

Ellen White's strong calls to repentance for the rebellion against the Minneapolis message would be nullified by having the Testimonies taken to an extreme by those who were calling the Church Babylon.[10]* Once again, she asked searching questions through her articles in the Review:

Why were these men so full of zeal for the cause, not present at the [1893] General Conference held at Battle Creek, as were the devout men at Jerusalem at the time of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? At the great heart of the work, men opened their treasures of light, and while the Lord was pouring out his Spirit upon the people, did these men receive of the heavenly anointing? While the deep movings of the Spirit of God were made manifest among the people, and souls were being converted, and hard hearts broken, there were those who were listening to the suggestions of Satan, and they were inspired with zeal from beneath to go forth and proclaim that the very people receiving of the Holy Spirit, who are to receive the latter rain and the glory that is to lighten the whole earth, were Babylon. Did the Lord give these messengers their message? No; for it was not a message of truth.[11]

When men arise, claiming to have a message from God, but instead of warring against principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, they form a hollow square, and turn the weapons of warfare against the church militant, be afraid of them. They do not bear the divine credentials. God has not given them any such burden of labor. They would tear down that which God would restore by the Laodicean message. He wounds only that he may heal, not cause to perish. ...

How glad my heart was made by the report from the [1893] General Conference that many hearts were softened and subdued, that many made humble confessions, and cleared away from the door of the heart the rubbish that was keeping the Saviour out. How glad I was to know that many welcomed Jesus in as an abiding guest. How is it that these pamphlets ["The Loud Cry"] denouncing the Seventh-day Adventist Church as Babylon were scattered abroad everywhere, at the very time when that church was receiving the outpouring of the Spirit of God? How is it that men can be so deceived as to imagine that the loud cry consists in calling the people of God out from the fellowship of a church that is enjoying a season of refreshing? O, may these deceived souls come into the current, and receive the blessing, and be endued with power from on high.[12]

2. Worldliness in the Church

Although the false "loud cry" had a negative effect on the church, the worsening conditions at the heart of the work in Battle Creek had even more. One thing was certain though for Ellen White--God had indeed poured out His Spirit in a great measure upon Adventist institutions, schools, camp-meetings and the 1893 General Conference. The question was, however, what response had that outpouring received and what would the lasting results be?

W. W. Prescott reported in July 1893 that "there had been a negative reaction following the 1892 revival [at Battle Creek College]. A lack of unity and loyalty among some of the faculty had spread to the students."[13] In fact, just before the college closed for the summer, Prescott was purported to state that the condition "of things among the students, and all around at the College, regarded from a religious standpoint, was worse than he had ever known it before." One of the faculty members went so far as to claim that "every one of the students who had made a start during the special season at the College last winter, had backslidden and had gone back into a position worse than before."[14]

Although there were varying claims as to why this was the case, Ellen White was directed to the true causes of the problem. During 1893 the "grace and mercy of God" had been "abundantly bestowed" on those in Battle Creek, in a "heaven-sent refreshing of the shower of Grace," she declared. But while the youth were being "moved upon by the Holy Spirit so that they might use the rich blessing aright, and progress from light to a greater light, nearly all the educators at Battle Creek had lost their clear spiritual discernment, because they did not maintain the victory by determined watchfulness." Ellen White lamented at "how easily they can grieve the Holy Spirit away, by walking contrary to its ennobling, sanctifying, sacred influence. O, how the gift has been abused!"[15]

During the summer Ellen White was anxious that the recent outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Conference and the moves toward revival and reformation would not become stagnant, as people fell back into worldliness with a lack of interest for missionary work around the world. This was especially a concern for Battle Creek at the heart of the work. Writing to the brethren in America, she amply expressed these concerns:

If men and women have received increased light, what are they doing? What are they doing to warn men and women who do not understand that the Lord is soon coming? ... Who will leave pleasant homes and dear ties of relationship, and carry the precious light of truth to lands afar off. ...

Did the Lord open to you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing at the last Conference? What use have you made of the gift of God? He has supplied the motive forces of which he has made a lodgement in your hearts, that with patience and hope and untiring vigilance you might set forth Jesus Christ and him crucified, that you might send the note of warning that Christ is coming the second time with power and great glory, calling men to repent of their sins. If the brethren in Battle Creek do not now arouse and go to work in missionary fields, they will fall back into death-like slumber. How did the Holy Spirit work upon your hearts?[16]

In articles published during the summer Ellen White continued to express the same concerns. Would God's remnant people take advantage of the great light they were given, or would they slumber, while at the same time condemning other non-Adventist churches around them?

The Lord is waiting to be gracious to his people, to give them an increased knowledge of his paternal character, of his goodness, mercy, and love. He waits to show them his glory; and if they follow on to know the Lord, they shall know that his goings forth are prepared as the morning. ...

Many have looked upon those belonging to other churches as great sinners, when the Lord does not thus regard them. Those who look thus upon the members of other churches, have need to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God. Those whom they condemn may have had but little light, few opportunities and privileges. If they had had the light that many of the members of our churches have had, they might have advanced at a far greater rate, and have better represented their faith to the world. Of those who boast of their light, and yet fail to walk in it, Christ says, "But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum (Seventh-day Adventists, who have had great light), which art exalted unto heaven (in point of privilege), shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee."[17]

Ellen White continued her article by writing of the Adventist institutions God had raised up for the purpose of sharing light with the world, yet counsel and reproofs against running them like the world had gone unheeded. She then quoted large portions from Jeremiah, including chapter 3:3, 4: "'Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain. ... Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth.'"[18]

In a similar article run in the Signs, Ellen White again quoted Christ's words to Capernaum and concluded with these thoughts: "the worst feature of the iniquity of this day is a form of godliness without the power thereof. Those who profess to have great light are found among the careless and indifferent, and the cause of Christ is wounded in the house of its professed friends. Let those who would be saved, arouse from their lethargy, and give the trumpet a certain sound; for the end of all things is at hand."[19] Once again, in 1893, Christ was being wounded in the house of His friends.

Competitive Sports

But there is more to the story. In 1867, not long after the American Civil War, Princeton College was the first to establish rules for what was to become American football. As the sports programs developed in the schools of the world, it also began to creep into Adventist colleges, primarily at Battle Creek in the summer of 1893. For example, when a Battle Creek college football team ended one of its games in a tie with the local high school team because of a last-minute penalty assessed against them, the combative spirit of the world was also readily roused. Not willing to end in a tie, the college team and its Adventist supporters protested the call vehemently, but to no avail. A rematch was planned, and students went back to their dorms discussing the injustice of the call to those who were unable to attend.

Local newspapers reported on the match and gave special attention to the fierce disagreement at the end. The papers also reported on a special football competition between the American and British students of Battle Creek College. When the game was played, it was attended by a large number of Adventists and people from the community in Battle Creek. After the British won the game, it was touted in the paper as "The Great International Football Game." One of the British students sent a copy of the newspaper's game coverage, along with reports of boxing matches being held on campus, home to his parents in Australia, who had at great expense sent him to this hallowed college for a Christian education. The parents were troubled, to say the least, and showed the newspaper articles to Ellen White.[20]

It was not long before Ellen White was moved to respond to such events through several letters and manuscripts. She felt constrained by the Spirit of God to write warnings of where such activities would lead. In letters to Prescott and the teachers and students of Battle Creek she expressed these concerns, especially in the light of the recent manifestations of the Holy Spirit during the previous year:

Has the Lord graciously opened to you the windows of heaven and poured you out a blessing? Oh! Then, that was the very time to educate the teachers and students how to retain the precious favor of God by working in accordance with increased light, and sent its precious rays to others. Has heaven's light been given? And for what purpose has it been given? That the light should shine forth in practical works of righteousness. ...

Has not the playing of games, and rewards, and the using of the boxing glove been educating and training after Satan's direction to lead to the possession of his attributes? What if they could see Jesus, the man of Calvary, looking upon them in sorrow, as was represented to me. Things are certainly receiving a wrong mold, and are counteracting the work of the divine power which has been graciously bestowed. ...

The time is altogether too full of tokens of the coming conflict to be educating the youth in fun and games. It pains my heart to read letters where these exercises are spoken about, and where they write such expressions as "O, we had so much fun" and such expressions.[21]

Moses had gone up into the mount to receive instruction from the Lord, and the whole congregation should have been in humble attitude before God: but instead of that they ate and drank and rose up to play. Has there been a similar experience in Battle Creek? ... Thus Satan and his angels are laying their snares for your souls, and he is working in a certain way upon teachers and pupils to induce them to engage in exercises and amusements which become intensely absorbing, but which are of a character to strengthen the lower powers, and create appetites and passions that will take the lead, and counteract most decidedly the operations and working of the Holy Spirit of God upon the human heart.

What saith the Holy Spirit to you? What was its power and influence upon your hearts during the [1893] General Conference, and the Conferences in other states? Have you taken special heed to yourselves? Have the teachers in the school felt that they must take heed? ... The amusements are doing more to counteract the working of the Holy Spirit than anything else, and the Lord is grieved.[22]

After the outpouring of the Spirit of God in Battle Creek [in late 1892 and early 1893] it was proved in the college that a time of great spiritual light is also a time of corresponding spiritual darkness. Satan and his legions of satanic agencies are on the ground, pressing their powers upon every soul to make of none effect the showers of grace that have come from heaven to revive and quicken the dormant energies into decided action to impart that which God has imparted. Had all the many souls, then enlightened, gone to work at once to impart to others that which God had given to them for that very purpose, more light would have been given, more power bestowed.[23]

Writing once again to W. W. Prescott in October 1893, Ellen White lamented that she had been "pained to see that the precious light given in Battle Creek at the last General Conference [1893] was not so cherished that every lamp was kept trimmed and burning, because supplied with the oil of grace." The "enemy was allowed to come in and lead minds ... to turn from the precious light and the deep movings of the Spirit of God," she declared. Considering the Sunday law crisis and "the close of this earth's history so close upon us, there should have been, on the part of all, works corresponding to the light given." Instead, Ellen White reported, "among the youth the passion for football games and other kindred selfish gratifications have been misleading in their influence." However, Ellen White obviously understood that it wasn't just the students at fault but the teachers as well:

The instructors ought to have had wisdom to follow the indications of the Holy Spirit, and go on from grace to grace, leading the youth to make the most of the light and grace given. They should have taught the youth that the Holy Spirit, which was imparted in great measure, was to help them to use their time and ability to do the very highest service for the Master, showing forth the praises of Him who had called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. But instead of this, many went more eagerly in pursuit of pleasure. ...

A great mistake has been made in following the world's plans and ideas of recreation in indulgence and pleasure-loving. This has resulted in loss every time. ... It is so easy to drift into worldly plans and methods and customs, and have no more thought of the time in which we live and the great work to be accomplished than had the people in Noah's day. ...

The end of all things is at hand. There is need now for men armed and equipped to battle for God. Please read Ezekiel 9. Who bear the sign, the mark of God in their foreheads?--The men that sigh and cry for the abominations done in the midst of Jerusalem,--among those that profess to be God's people--not those who are engrossed in games for their selfish amusement.[24]

In a letter to Uriah Smith a month later, Ellen White reiterated the same concerns. She had "not one doubt" but that God had abundantly blessed the students in the school and the church. But "a period of great light and the outpouring of the Spirit is quite generally followed by a time of great darkness." Why? Because Satan had come in with "all his deceiving energies to make of none effect the deep movings of the Spirit of God." Once again, Ellen White got to the point:

When the students at the school went into their match games and football playing, when they became absorbed in the amusement question, Satan saw it a good time to step in and make of none effect the Holy Spirit of God in molding and using the human subject. ... Had these students allowed the Holy Spirit to use them, they would have aroused as living missionaries to work in Christ's lines. They could not [but] have considered their individual responsibility to work in every way possible in harmony with Christ their Pattern to save souls ready to perish. Instead ... they threw wide open the gates and invited the enemy to come in.[25]

In a Review article published only a short time later, Ellen White continued to proclaim the fact that indeed, "the Lord has condescended to give you an outpouring of his Holy Spirit. At the camp-meetings, and in our various institutions, a great blessing has been showered upon you." Yet, she grieved, "Among the students the spirit of fun and frolic was indulged. They became so interested in playing games that the Lord was crowded out of their minds." Then, quoting from the solemn words spoken to the Jewish nation, Ellen White declared: "Jesus stood among you in the playground, saying, O that thou hadst known, 'even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!' 'Ye also have seen me, and believed not.' Yes; Christ revealed himself to you, and deep impressions were made as the Holy Spirit moved upon your hearts; but you pursued a course by which you lost these sacred impressions, and failed to maintain the victory."[26]*

Once again, the problem was not just with the college staff and students, but with the Church "in America, and especially Battle Creek"--the center of Adventism and the heart of the work. Here, Ellen White declared, "where the greatest light from heaven has been shining upon the people, can become the place of greatest peril and darkness because the people do not continue to practice the truth and walk in the light." If the church, "who has had great light, ... does not walk in the light, and put on her beautiful garments, and arise and shine; darkness will becloud the vision, so that light will be regarded as darkness, and darkness as light."[27]

Thus Ellen White recognized that part of the problem was with school boards and other influences there in Battle Creek. She was certain that God had different plans if only church leadership had been open to His principles: "The work of the General Conference might have given character to the school at Battle Creek if all had been under the working of the Holy Spirit, making it as the school of the prophets. ... We need now to begin over again. It may be essential to lay the foundation of schools after the pattern of the schools of the prophets."[28]

Others also recognized the great blessings God had in store for the church and the result of not receiving them in full. O. A. Olsen, writing for the 1893 week of prayer to be held in December, recalled that "the last General Conference and the Bible Institute connected with it was a season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. The Spirit of God rested on ministers and people." Yet, he bemoaned, "We must admit that much greater blessings were in store for us than were received. We are satisfied too soon. We let go the arm of the Lord. There is yet too much unbelief cherished in the heart. ... Our unbelief has prevented the Lord from doing more for us." Considering the world events then taking place, Olsen suggested that the only thing holding up progress was God's being forced to wait for His people to be "'sealed in their foreheads.' If this were now done, the story of earth's history would at once close. God is waiting for us." Then in words that ring prophetic, Olsen declared that although God is longsuffering, "soon the opportunity may be forever past. He may soon take us at our word, as he did the children of Israel," which resulted in "leanness to their souls" as they wandered in the wilderness for forty years.[29]

W. A Spicer, writing for the same week of prayer and drawing from Ellen White's 1892 letter to S. N. Haskell,[30] unabashedly stated: "The latter rain has come and the true light now shineth, and the Lord only wants to tell it out among the nations." Spicer then quoted from Ellen White's July 11, 1893 Review article: "'If those to whom light has come, had received, appreciated, and acted upon it, they would have been placed in connection with God, and would have been channels by which his blessing would flow to the world. ...'" To such a statement, Spicer simply replied: "This is what might have been."[31]

Notes:

1. O. A. Olsen, "The Year's Work and the Outlook," The Home Missionary Extra, Nov. 1893, 2, 3.


2. W. W. Stebbins, "Kansas," Review and Herald, March 21, 1893, 187.


3. M. C. Wilcox, "Field Notes," The Signs of the Times, April 3, 1893, 349.


4. L. Johnson, "Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota, and Minnesota," Review and Herald, April 18, 1893, 252.


5. N. P. Nelson, "South Dakota Camp-Meeting," Review and Herald, May 9, 1893, 302.


6. North American Division Officers and Union Presidents, Issues: The Seventh-day Adventist Church and Certain Private Ministries (North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists, 1992), 56-58.


7. Ellen G. White, "To Those Who Have Published the Loud Cry," Manuscript 21, June 12, 1893; in Review and Herald, Nov. 08, 1956, 4, 5.


8. Ellen G. White, "The Remnant Church Not Babylon (continued)," Review and Herald, Aug. 29, 1893, 546, 547.


9. Ellen G. White, "The Remnant Church Not Babylon (continued)," Review and Herald, Sept. 5, 1893, 563.


10. Attempting to identify the Adventist Church as part of Babylon is not just a historical problem. The SDA Reform movement, by the early 1920s, began making claims that 1888 was the starting point from which the organized Adventist Church became part of Babylon. Consequently, when Taylor Bunch in 1930 drew a parallel between the 1888 episode and the Kadesh-Barnea experience of ancient Israel resulting in their forty years of wilderness wanderings, some of the leading brethren took offense. D. E. Robinson, A. T. Robinson, and C. McReynolds all wrote papers in early 1931 seeking to defend the Church from what they saw as extreme misrepresentations by Taylor Bunch regarding the Minneapolis Conference and the rejection that followed. There is evidence, however, that some of these brethren had been working to answer the SDA Reform Movement's accusations, and quite possibly they wrongly assumed Taylor Bunch was following in the same footsteps. Thus once again, Ellen White's true counsel regarding the 1888 episode was made of none effect by the extremes of the Reform movement and the corresponding action of the leading brethren. See references listed in chapter 14, footnotes 9 and 10.
    
    The 1940s produced three other defenses of the church from N. F. Pease, L. H. Christian, and A. W. Spalding, men who likewise felt that charges of a latter rain rejection were an attack on the church. There is also evidence that some of these men were influenced by, and were reacting to, their prior dealings with offshoot groups such as Shepherd's Rodand the Rogers Brothers. These movements both pointed to 1888 as the starting point from which the church became "Babylon."
    
    As Lowell Tarling points out, "most of the [offshoot] movements which have separated from the [Adventist] church" since the early 20th century have pointed to the 1888 episode and Ellen White's strong letters of rebuke, claiming that "the Holy Spirit is now withdrawn from the Seventh-day Adventist Church." "Most of the movements have used these quotations in this way" (The Edges of Seventh-day Adventism, Kindle edition, 2012, locations 4409-4412). None of these offshoot movements however, give us a valid reason to deny what really took place in 1888 and the following years. See references listed in chapter 14, footnote 10.


11. Ibid., 562.


12. Ellen G. White, "The Church the Property of God," Review and Herald, Oct. 17, 1893, 646.


13. Gilbert M. Valentine, William Warren Prescott: Seventh-day Adventist Educator, Andrews University dissertation, 183.


14. J. H. Kellogg to W. C. White, July 17, 1893; in Manuscripts and Memories of Minneapolis, 265.


15. Ellen G. White, "Peril of Resisting the Holy Spirit," Review and Herald, Feb. 13, 1894.


16. Ellen G. White to Brethren in America, Letter 9a, Aug. 1, 1893; in "The Call from Destitute Fields," The Home Missionary, Nov. 1, 1893, 37, 38.


17. Ellen G. White, "Vital Connection with Christ Necessary," Review and Herald, Aug. 1, 1893, 481.


18. Ibid.


19. Ellen G. White, "The Doom of Sodom a Warning for the Last Days," Signs of the Times, Oct. 16, 1893.


20. See Gilbert M. Valentine, William Warren Prescott: Seventh-day Adventist Educator, 1982 dissertation, 183, 184; Larry Kirkpatrick, "Intersection Between Sport and Christianity Climax at its Infiltration into the Remnant Church: Timeline," Nov. 6, 2003, ; Emmett K. Vande Vere, The Wisdom Seekers (Nashville, TN: Southern Pub. Assn., 1972), 63; Arthur L. White, "Sports in Seventh-day Adventist Academies and Colleges," Ellen G. White Estate Shelf Document, May 21, 1959, 2.


21. Ellen G. White to W. W. Prescott, Letter 46, Sept. 5, 1893, portions in Selected Messages, book 1, 132, 133; and in "A Sheaf of Correspondence Between E. G. White in Australia and W. W. Prescott Regarding School Matters at Battle Creek, Particularly Sports and Amusements," Ellen G. White Estate Shelf Documents, No. 249a, 3-7, at , accessed Nov. 25, 2011.


22. For more recent considerations of the effects of competitive sports on Christian experience, see "Competitive Christianity: Wes Peppers Story," produced by Little Light Studios . See also Tim Ponder, "How Much Do the Games Cost?" Adventist Review, Jan. 24, 2014.


23. Ellen G. White, "To Teachers and Students of Battle Creek College and All Educational Institutions," Manuscript 51, Oct. 1893; in Spalding and Magan Collection, 69, 70.


24. Ellen G. White, "Education Advantages Not Centered in Battle Creek," Manuscript 45, 1893; in Selected Messages, book 1, 129.


25. Ellen G. White to W. W. Prescott, Letter 47, Oct. 25, 1893; portions in Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, p. 346, vol. 6, 127, and in "A Sheaf of Correspondence ..." op. cit., 16-24. The last paragraph of this letter, a portion quoted here, was not included in Arthur White's document and still remains unpublished today.


26. Ellen G. White to Uriah Smith, Letter 58, Nov. 30, 1893; in 1888 Materials, 1210-1212.


27. Ellen G. White, "Danger of Light Becoming Darkness," Review and Herald, Jan. 30, 1894. The following words from Arthur White should be thoughtfully considered: "Sister White's statement in which she says, 'I do not condemn the simple exercise of playing ball,' should be carefully noted. In other words, there was nothing inherently wrong in playing a game in which a ball was used. But after making this statement she lays out the perils in the sports program. ... There is no question but what recreation is essential, but as Ellen White saw it, as young people grew older, this recreation could be found in some useful occupation which left something worthwhile in its wake" (Arthur L. White, "Sports in Seventh-day Adventist Academies and Colleges," Ellen G. White Estate Shelf Document, May 21, 1959, 3, 4).


28. Ellen G. White to I. H. Evans & Battle Creek, Letter 23c, July 20, 1894; in "Special Testimonies-Relating to Various Matters in Battle Creek," Ellen G. White Pamphlet No. 84, 2, 5.


29. Ellen G. White to W. W. Prescott, Letter 47, Oct. 25, 1893; in "A Sheaf of Correspondence ..." op. cit., 18.


30. O. A. Olsen, "The Year's Work and the Outlook," The Home Missionary Extra, Nov. 1893, 2, 5, 6.


31. Ellen G. White to S. N. Haskell, Letter 10a, April 6, 1892, unpublished, see comments in chapter 3, footnote 1.


32. W. A. Spicer, "The Work in the Regions Beyond," The Home Missionary Extra, Nov. 1893, 21, emphasis supplied.