As we focus on Ellen White at the General Conference session of 1888 we will draw heavily from a retrospective statement she wrote within a few weeks of the meeting. There had been time for observation and reflection, and it was less difficult to put events in their proper perspective. Her manuscript of twenty-six pages bears the title "Looking Back at Minneapolis."
"This was a season of refreshing to many souls," she wrote near the opening of this review, "but it did not abide upon some."--Selected Messages 3:164. She declared later in the statement: "My burden during the meeting was to present Jesus and His love before my brethren, for I saw marked evidences that many had not the Spirit of Christ."--Manuscript 24, 1888 (see also Ibid., 3:171). She added: "My heart was pained to see the spirit that controlled some of our ministering brethren, and this spirit seemed to be contagious."--Ibid.
Forty years earlier Ellen White had been present when doctrinal matters were studied by those who were pioneering the work of the church. As she wrote of this in 1892, she recalled:
We would come together burdened in soul, praying that we might be one in faith and doctrine; for we knew that Christ is not divided. One point at a time was made the subject of investigation. Solemnity characterized these counsels of investigation. The Scriptures were opened with a sense of awe. Often we fasted, that we might be better fitted to understand the truth.
After earnest prayer, if any point was not understood, it was discussed, and each one expressed his opinion freely; then we would again bow in prayer, and earnest supplications went up to heaven that God would help us to see eye to eye, that we might be one, as Christ and the Father are one....
We sought most earnestly that the Scriptures should not be wrested to suit any man's opinions. We tried to make our differences as slight as possible by not dwelling on points that were of minor importance, upon which there were varying opinions. But the burden of every soul was to bring about a condition among the brethren which would answer the prayer of Christ that His disciples might be one as He and the Father are one.--The Review and Herald, July 26, 1892. (Italics supplied. See also Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 24, 25.)
But this was not the case at Minneapolis. Those there did not try to make their differences "as slight as possible." For two years the issue of the law in Galatians had smoldered, and when it was taken up, bitterness and accusations were unleashed.
The focal point was verse 24 of chapter 3, which reads: "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." There was no argument among Seventh-day Adventists concerning the believer's being justified by faith, although this vital truth was sadly neglected at the time. In 1888 the sharp difference of opinion, as when J. H. Waggoner wrote on the subject in 1854, was whether the law brought to view as the schoolmaster was the moral or the ceremonial law. Thus two issues were bound up in a study of "the law and the gospel" in such a way that if one topic suffered in bitter debate, both were affected. The great adversary took advantage of this.
To complicate matters, the discussion of the law in Galatians followed close on the heels of the bitter and extended debate over the Huns and the Alemanni, with key workers taking sides and reacting strongly.
The Law in Galatians at Last Introduced
On Monday, October 15, near the close of the institute, E. J. Waggoner introduced the subject of the law in Galatians. The discussion ran for almost a week at the Bible study periods in the General Conference session. Beginning with the second day, Waggoner placed the emphasis on justification by faith. He was scholarly, gentle, and earnest, his arguments persuasive. On Monday, October 22, just one week after beginning his studies, he wrote a report of the progress of the institute and the General Conference session for the readers of the Signs of the Times. After writing of the subjects presented in the Bible study hour during the first few days, he reported that next taken up were "the law and the gospel in their various relations, coming under the general head of justification by faith."
These subjects have aroused a deep interest in the minds of all present; and thus far during the conference, one hour a day has been devoted to a continuance of their study.--The Signs of the Times, November 2, 1888.
His audience generally was in sympathy with the much-loved and respected Uriah Smith. Many stood with Butler, who was absent. Because Ellen White was tolerant and wished to see a fair discussion of the vital question of Christ and His righteousness, it was assumed she was influenced by Waggoner. This she denied, testifying:
I have had no conversation in regard to it with my son W. C. White, with Dr. Waggoner, or with Elder A. T. Jones.--Manuscript 15, 1888 (see also A. V. Olson, Thirteen Crisis Years, pp. 304, 305).
All could see that she listened attentively to Waggoner's expositions. In her retrospective statement, written soon after the conference, she declared:
When I stated before my brethren that I had heard for the first time the views of Elder E. J. Waggoner, some did not believe me. I stated that I had heard precious truths uttered that I could respond to with all my heart, for had not these great and glorious truths, the righteousness of Christ and the entire sacrifice made in behalf of man, been imprinted indelibly on my mind by the Spirit of God? Has not this subject been presented in the testimonies again and again? When the Lord had given to my brethren the burden to proclaim this message, I felt inexpressively grateful to God, for I knew it was the message for this time.--Manuscript 24, 1888 (see also Selected Messages 3:172).
It is interesting to note that several times Ellen White declared that she was not ready to accept some points made by Dr. Waggoner. Of this she wrote on November 1, while the conference was nearing its close:
Some interpretations of Scripture given by Dr. Waggoner I do not regard as correct. But I believe him to be perfectly honest in his views, and I would respect his feelings and treat him as a Christian gentleman.... The fact that he honestly holds some views of Scripture differing from yours or mine is no reason why we should treat him as an offender, or as a dangerous man, and make him the subject of unjust criticism. We should not raise a voice of censure against him or his teachings unless we can present weighty reasons for so doing and show him that he is in error. No one should feel at liberty to give loose rein to the combative spirit....
It would be dangerous to denounce Dr. Waggoner's position as wholly erroneous. This would please the enemy. I see the beauty of truth in the presentation of the righteousness of Christ in relation to the law as the doctor has placed it before us.--Manuscript 15, 1888 (see also Olson, op. cit., p. 304).
Satan's Diverting Strategy
Here we see some of the fine points in the matter. In this statement she refers to the enemy; it is very clear that she considered what was taking place as a phase of the struggle between the forces of righteousness and the forces of the enemy. She had been forewarned: "I had presented before me in Europe chapters in the future experience of our people which are being fulfilled during this meeting. The reason given me was want of Bible piety and of the spirit and mind of Christ. The enemy has been placing his mold on the work for years, for it certainly is not the divine mold."--Manuscript 21, 1888.
Now, as she wrote of the 1888 session, she was particularly concerned that Seventh-day Adventist workers be alert to the perils of the threatening Sunday law issue, and recognize the relative insignificance of the topics being debated. She drew the curtain aside:
Now, Satan had a council as to how he should keep pen and voice of Seventh-day Adventists silent. If he could only engage their attention and divert their powers in a direction to weaken and divide them his prospect would be fair.
Satan has done his work with some success. There has been variance of feelings, and division. There has been much jealousy and evil surmising. There have been many unsanctified speeches, hints, and remarks. The minds of the men who should be heart and soul at work, prepared to do mighty strokes for God, at this very time are absorbed in matters of little consequence. Because the ideas of some are not exactly in accordance with their own on every point of doctrine involving minor ideas and theories which are not vital questions, the great question of the nation's religious liberty, now involving so much, is to many a matter of little consequence. Satan has been having things his own way.--Manuscript 24, 1888 (see also Ibid., 3:167). (Italics supplied.)
As to the relative importance of the matter of the law in Galatians, Ellen White made several other statements:
Hours ...were spent [by her at night] in prayer in regard to the law in Galatians. This was a mere mote. Whichever way was in accordance with a "Thus saith the Lord," my soul would say, Amen, and Amen.--Ibid. (see also Ibid., 3:175). (Italics supplied.)
The question at issue is not a vital question and should not be treated as such. The wonderful importance and magnitude of this subject has been exaggerated, and for this reason--through misconception and perverted ideas--we see the spirit that prevails at this meeting.--Ibid. (Italics supplied.)
Two points stand out in the statements she made at the conference: (1) the proper handling of truth will not lead to sharp divisions--its integrity can be judged by its peaceable fruits; (2) the fact that some error of minor consequence may be linked with vital truth does not cancel out the truth. Waggoner could be stressing vital truths and doing so in a telling way, and at the same time hold some views unacceptable on minor points. In her addresses she had little to say about righteousness by faith per se, but she emphasized the importance of tolerance and of unity among brethren, and the manifestation of a Christian attitude. She commented:
There are some differences of views on some subjects, but is this a reason for sharp, hard feelings? Shall envy and evil surmisings and imaginings, evil suspicion, hatred, and jealousies become enthroned in the heart? All these things are evil and only evil. Our help is in God alone. Let us spend much time in prayer and in searching the Scriptures with a right spirit, anxious to learn and willing to be corrected or undeceived on any point where we may be in error. If Jesus is in our midst and our hearts are melted into tenderness by His love we shall have one of the best conferences we have ever attended.--Ibid. (see also Ibid., 3:166).
The Landmarks and the Pillars
Quite naturally reports of the happenings at Minneapolis were sent from day to day to Butler, bedridden in Battle Creek. What he heard did not give him peace of mind. He telegraphed a message to the session, "Stand by the old landmarks." This stiffened the resistance to the Waggoner presentation. Shortly after the session, Ellen White was to address herself to the point:
In Minneapolis God gave precious gems of truth to His people in new settings. This light from heaven by some was rejected with all the stubbornness the Jews manifested in rejecting Christ, and there was much talk about standing by the old landmarks.
But there was evidence they knew not what the old landmarks were. There was evidence that there was reasoning from the Word that commended itself to the conscience; but the minds of men were fixed, sealed against the entrance of light, because they had decided it was a dangerous error removing the "old landmarks" when it was not moving a peg of the old landmarks, but they had perverted ideas of what constituted the old landmarks.--Manuscript 13, 1889 (see also Counsels to Writers and Editors, 30).
Then she lists what she considered the "landmarks":
The passing of the time in 1844 was a period of great events, opening to our astonished eyes the cleansing of the sanctuary transpiring in heaven, and having decided relation to God's people upon the earth, [also] the first and second angels' messages and the third, unfurling the banner on which was inscribed, "The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." One of the landmarks under this message was the temple of God, seen by His truth-loving people in heaven, and the ark containing the law of God. The light of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment flashed its strong rays in the pathway of the transgressors of God's law. The nonimmortality of the wicked is an old landmark. I can call to mind nothing more that can come under the head of the old landmarks. All this cry about changing the old landmarks is all imaginary.
Now at the present time God designs a new and fresh impetus shall be given to His work. Satan sees this, and he is determined it shall be hindered. He knows that if he can deceive the people who claim to believe present truth, [and make them believe that] the work the Lord designs to do for His people is a removing of the old landmarks, something which they should, with most determined zeal, resist, then he exults over the deception he has led them to believe.--Ibid. (see also Counsels to Writers and Editors, pp. 30, 31).
Ellen White's Objective
As the meeting advanced and the positions of the participants became clear Ellen White moved into the confrontation:
My burden during the meeting was to present Jesus and His love before my brethren, for I saw marked evidences that many had not the Spirit of Christ. My mind was kept in peace, stayed upon God, and I felt sad to see that a different spirit had come into the experience of our brother ministers, and that it was leavening the camp....
I was able to sleep but a few hours. I was writing all hours of the morning, frequently rising at 2:00 and at 3:00 A.M. and relieving my mind by writing upon the subjects that were presented before me. My heart was pained to see the spirit that controlled some of our ministering brethren, and this spirit seemed to be contagious. There was much talking done....
When I plainly stated my faith there were many who did not understand me and they reported that Sister White had changed; Sister White was influenced by her son W. C. White and by Elder A. T. Jones. Of course, such a statement coming from the lips of those who had known me for years, who had grown up with the third angel's message and had been honored by the confidence and faith of our people, must have influence. I became the subject of remarks and criticism, but no one of our brethren came to me and made inquiries or sought any explanation from me.
We tried most earnestly to have all our ministering brethren rooming in the house meet in an unoccupied room and unite our prayers together, but did not succeed in this but two or three times. They chose to go to their rooms and have their conversation and prayers by themselves. There did not seem to be any opportunity to break down the prejudice that was so firm and determined, no chance to remove the misunderstanding in regard to myself, my son, and E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones.--Manuscript 24, 1888 (see also Selected Messages 3:171-173).
From morning to morning Ellen White met with the workers, at times reading what she had written during the early hours as the Spirit of the Lord had been leading her mind. Regarding an early-morning workers' meeting, she reported:
The remark was made, "If our views of Galatians are not correct, then we have not the third angel's message, and our position goes by the board; there is nothing to our faith."
I said, "Brethren, here is the very thing I have been telling you. This statement is not true. It is an extravagant, exaggerated statement. If it is made in the discussion of this question I shall feel it my duty to set this matter before all that are assembled, and whether they hear or forbear, tell them the statement is incorrect. The question at issue is not a vital question and should not be treated as such."--Ibid. (see also Ibid., 3:174, 175).
"Elder Waggoner," she reported, "had taken a straightforward course, not involving personalities, to thrust anyone or to ridicule anyone. He conducted the subject as a Christian gentleman should, in a kind and courteous manner."--Ibid.
Ellen White felt she had done all that she could do in presenting the light the Lord had given her, and she thought to quietly withdraw from the conference (Ibid.). To do so would be in harmony with a predetermined course of action of which she wrote:
I have pledged myself by a solemn vow to God that wherever this spirit of contempt and unkindness and want of love should exist, I would lay it out in clear lines before my brethren, show them the sinfulness of their course, and with decided testimony turn the current if possible. If I could not succeed, then I would withdraw myself from the meetings, for I am afraid to be in such gatherings lest I shall be leavened with the prevailing spirit.--Manuscript 21, 1888.
But she discovered that this was not God's plan. She was not to be released from her responsibility to be there as His messenger. She recounted the experience:
When I purposed to leave Minneapolis, the Angel of the Lord stood by me and said: "Not so: God has a work for you to do in this place. The people are acting over the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. I have placed you in your proper position, which those who are not in the light will not acknowledge; they will not heed your testimony; but I will be with you; My grace and power shall sustain you."
In solemn words the angel continued, opening up still further the true situation there at Minneapolis:
"It is not you they are despising, but the messengers and the message I sent to My people. They have shown contempt for the word of the Lord. Satan has blinded their eyes and perverted their judgment; and unless every soul shall repent of this their sin, this unsanctified independence that is doing insult to the Spirit of God, they will walk in darkness. I will remove the candlestick out of his place except they repent and be converted, that I should heal them.
"They have obscured their spiritual eyesight. They would not that God should manifest His Spirit and His power, for they have a spirit of mockery and disgust at My word. Lightness, trifling, jesting, and joking are daily practiced. They have not set their hearts to seek Me. They walk in the sparks of their own kindling, and unless they repent, they shall lie down in sorrow.
Thus saith the Lord, "Stand at your post of duty; for I am with thee, and will not leave thee nor forsake thee."
These words from God I have not dared to disregard.--Letter 2a, 1892.
A Heart-Searching Appeal
Not released, Ellen White remained. As she went before the workers in the early-morning meeting on Wednesday, October 24, she felt she must lay restraints aside and in the fear of God bear a bold message of reproof and rebuke. Writing of the experience, she declared, "Through the grace of Christ I experienced a divine compelling power to stand before my ministering brethren, in the name of the Lord, hoping and praying that the Lord would open the blind eyes. I was strengthened to say the words which my secretary took in shorthand."--Manuscript 24, 1888. What she said that Wednesday morning to the rather restricted group of ministers maybe read as the "Morning Talk," now appearing in A. V. Olson's Thirteen Crisis Years, pages 300-303. As she opened her address, she said in part:
Now our meeting is drawing to a close, and not one confession has been made; there has not been a single break so as to let the Spirit of God in.
Now I was saying what was the use of our assembling here together and for our ministering brethren to come in if they are here only to shut out the Spirit of God from the people? We did hope that there would be a turning to the Lord here. Perhaps you feel that you have all you want.
I have been awake since two o'clock and I have been praying, but I cannot see the work making the advancement that I wish I could. I have been talking and pleading with you, but it does not seem to make any difference with you....
I never was more alarmed than at the present time. Now, I have been taken down through the first rebellion, and I saw the workings of Satan and I know something about this matter that God has opened before me, and should not I be alarmed?--Manuscript 9, 1888 (see also Olson, op. cit., p. 300).
Never before had she spoken so boldly to this group of responsible workers. She felt that souls and the future of the cause of God were at stake, for before her were the men who would be leading the church in the days to come. After speaking for some time, she closed her solemn remarks, stating:
This investigation must go forward. All the object I had was that the light should be gathered up, and let the Saviour come in.
I don't expect my testimony is pleasing, yet I shall bear it in God's fear. God knows there is a preparation going on here to fit these ministers for the work, and unless we are converted God does not want us.... These truths will stand just as long as time shall last. You want the eyesalve that you can see, and Jesus will help you if you will come to Him as little children. May God help us to seek Him with all our hearts.--matter that God has opened before me, and should not I be alarmed?--Ibid. (see also Olson, op. cit., pp. 302, 303).
In the heart of this earnest appeal she made a statement that must have startled her hearers:
If the ministers will not receive the light, I want to give the people a chance; perhaps they may receive it. God did not raise me up to come across the plains to speak to you and you sit here to question His message and question whether Sister White is the same as she used to be in years gone by. I have in many things gone way back and given you that which was given me in years past, because then you acknowledged Sister White was right. But somehow it has changed now, and Sister White is different. Just like the Jewish nation....
There is the danger God has shown me that there would be a deceitful handling of the Word of God. I have been shown that when debaters handle these truths, unless they have the Spirit of God, they handle them with their own efforts. They will, by making false theories and false statements, build up a structure that will not stand the test of God. This is what the Lord has shown me.--Ibid. (see also Olson, op. cit., pp. 301,302).
The Conference Session Closes on the Upbeat
From a letter written Sunday, November 4, to Mary White, a little glimpse is given of the closing days of the General Conference session of 1888. It was the last day of the meeting:
Our meeting is closed. I have on last Sabbath [November 3] given my last discourse. There seems to be considerable feeling in the congregation for the first time. I called them forward for prayers, although the church was densely packed. Quite a number came forward. The Lord gave me the spirit of supplication, and His blessing came upon me.
I did not go out to meeting this morning. This has been a most laborious meeting, for Willie and I have had to watch at every point lest there should be moves made, resolutions passed, that would prove detrimental to the future work. [One resolution that was urged would have restricted the theological teachings at battle creek college to only what had been taught in years past.]
I have spoken nearly twenty times with great freedom and we believe that this meeting will result in great good. We know not the future, but we feel that Jesus stands at the helm and we shall not be shipwrecked. My courage and faith has been good and has not failed me, notwithstanding we have had the hardest and most incomprehensible tug of war we have ever had among our people. The matter cannot be explained by pen unless I should write many, many pages; so I had better not undertake the job.--Letter 82, 1888. (Italics supplied.)
This she did shortly after the session closed, in the 26-page statement "Looking Back at Minneapolis" (Manuscript 24, 1888), a major portion of which appears in Selected Messages 3:163-177. After reporting in her letter to Mary that O. A. Olsen had been elected president of the General Conference, and that S. N. Haskell was to serve until Olsen could move from Europe back to the United States, she continued:
I cannot tell what the future may reveal, but we shall remain for about four weeks in Battle Creek and get out a testimony that should come out just now without delay. Then we can see how matters are moving at the great center of the work. We are determined to do all we can in the fear of God to help our people in this emergency.--Letter 82, 1888.
By several expressions in this letter to Mary it is clear that when the meeting at Minneapolis broke up, the way lines would fall was not then seen but would be determined by what was in the hearts of individual ministers. This would not be known until there was a firming up and personal decisions made.
W. C. White's Appraisal
On the Friday before the session was to close, W. C. White took time to write to Smith Sharp, a minister working in Topeka, Kansas:
We are just at the close of another General Conference, and in a few days, the delegates will be scattered to their respective fields, and another year's work begun.
This has been a very interesting conference, and although not accompanied with all that peace and harmony that sometimes has been manifest, it is perhaps as profitable a meeting as was ever held, for many important principles were made prominent, and some conclusions arrived at, that will be of great value, as they may influence our future work. Many go forth from this meeting determined to study the Bible as never before, and this will result in clearer preaching.
As you have no doubt noticed in the Bulletin, many advance steps have been taken as to our foreign missions, also some good moves for the advancement of the work in the South.--WCW to Smith Sharp, November 2, 1888.
In another letter, written a month later to O. A. Olsen, newly elected president of the General Conference, who was not present at Minneapolis, W. C. White described the interesting and somewhat baffling conference session:
In many respects this conference was a peculiar one. I suppose that many of your friends have written to you about it. There were some features of it that I could not understand, and some other features which I thought I could understand, that are not very pleasant to write about. Certain influences had been working for some time which culminated at this meeting in a manifestation of a spirit of pharisaism. So Mother named it.
The delegates at the close of the meeting carried away very different impressions. Many felt that it was one of the most profitable meetings that they ever attended; others, that it was the most unfortunate conference ever held. Some who left the meeting before it closed carried highly colored reports to Battle Creek and other places, of quite a discouraging character. Mother has met this spirit, and rebuked it at every turn, and there is quite a change in the aspect of matters in this State [Michigan].
Mother is now getting out Testimony No. 33, which I trust will let in considerable light. Yesterday was her sixty-first birthday, and although quite feeble when she left California, she is now quite strong and is doing lots of work.--WCW to O. A. Olsen, November 29, 1888.
W. C. White Acting General Conference President
Shortly after the workers got back to Battle Creek, the newly elected General Conference Committee of seven turned to W. C. White with the request that he serve as acting president until Olsen could close up his work in Norway and move his family to Battle Creek. Olsen's term was for one year, and he reached the United States in time to serve out the last six months. The newly elected committee was made up of O. A. Olsen, S. N. Haskell, R. M. Kilgore, E. W. Farnsworth, Dan T. Jones, R. A. Underwood, and W. C. White.
Neither Butler nor Smith was returned to the committee each had served on for so many years. Butler, in broken health, retired in Florida, and Smith continued as editor of the Review and Herald. Within a few years both men saw the mistake they had made in regard to their attitude to the truths brought to the front at Minneapolis. Both made heartfelt confessions; both regained the confidence of Ellen White and of their brethren; both served the cause they loved so well.
Facing the somewhat new panel of leaders were challenging situations, with some uncertainties as to just what the future held.
The Story that Contemporary Records Tell
In her statement "I cannot tell what the future may reveal," made on the day the conference session in Minneapolis closed, Ellen White suggests a question for which only time could supply the answer--"What would be the fruitage of the contest over the matter of the vital truth of righteousness by faith?" Two lines of documentation are available today in which we may seek the answer: One, more commonly available and perhaps the most dramatic, consists of the messages of counsel and reproof to those, largely in Battle Creek, who made up a hard core of resistance, and to several conference presidents. From this source, somewhat extensive in volume and severe in its terminology, the impression of truth rejected is easily reached.
The other line of documentation, less bold in its impact but more representative of the overall situation, is found in (1) the records of meetings held in the churches; (2) the responses to the message; (3) steps taken by the General Conference Committee keeping Jones and Waggoner to the front as the leading Bible exponents in the church through the decade following Minneapolis; (4) a close scrutiny of all E. G. White statements touching on the matter; and (5) the testimony offered by those who gained great blessings at Minneapolis through the acceptance of the message. Of such there were not a few. One can assess somewhat the feel of favorable reaction represented by the testimony of one witness:
My father [W. S. Hyatt] frequently rehearsed to me the great spiritual revival that took place among the ministers at that meeting, and he personally shared in that revival. It has always been my understanding that while a few of the workers failed to accept and understand the principles of righteousness by faith at that time, yet the great majority of the workers accepted it and entered into a new experience. A number of them showed their sincerity by being rebaptized; among them was my father. I believe that that experience my father gained at Minneapolis followed him in his work through the rest of his lifetime.--DF 189, W. S. Hyatt statement, October 19, 1960.
Perhaps the true attitude of the church and its leaders toward Jones and Waggoner after the 1888 conference session is best reflected by the invitations extended to these two men to conduct Bible studies in the General Conference sessions held during the next ten years. It must be remembered that the General Conference Committee was responsible for planning General Conference sessions and choosing the speakers. The church organization had many able preachers. The choices made reveals the sentiments of church leaders. Here is the historical picture:
In 1889 Jones took the eight o'clock daily Bible study and spoke on righteousness by faith. Waggoner also addressed the conference.
In 1891 seventeen Bible studies were recorded in the General Conference Bulletin. All but one of these were given by Waggoner.
In 1893 Jones gave twenty-four consecutive Bible studies, which were published in the General Conference Bulletin.
In 1895 twenty-six consecutive studies by Jones were recorded.
In 1897 nineteen Bible studies were given by Waggoner and eleven by Jones. One man spoke on consecutive mornings, the other on consecutive afternoons. A large part of the Bulletin is made up of the reports of their thirty studies.
In 1899 Waggoner gave three studies and Jones seven.
It is clear that the rank and file of workers and laity alike respected and appreciated the men through whom light came at Minneapolis, and benefited from their earnest ministry of the Word. It is clear also that unprecedented opportunity was given for the presentation of whatever messages burdened their hearts.
In 1897 Jones was elected editor of the Review and Herald, a position he held for four years. During this time, Smith took a second place on the editorial staff.
Righteousness by Faith Defined
In answer to the question as to why, with the message of righteousness by faith being so important, did not Ellen White devote a book to the subject, it might be said that while it is the basis of salvation, it is a very simple matter and one that springs out here and there all through her articles and books. [Three well-balanced compilations of E. G. White materials set forth the precious truth of righteousness by faith as taught in her writings: Christ Our Righteousness, Compiled by A. G. Daniells and published in 1928; and two compilations issued by the Ellen G. White Estate, a fifty-page section, "Christ Our Righteousness," in Selected Messages, Book 1, published in 1958, and the 122-page Faith and Works, published in 1979.] She summed it up in a testimony written May 1, 1895, addressed to the Battle Creek church:
The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to his people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. His message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure....
The efficacy of the blood of Christ was to be presented to the people with freshness and power, that their faith might lay hold upon its merits....
Unless he makes it his life business to behold the uplifted Saviour, and by faith to accept the merits which it is his privilege to claim, the sinner can no more be saved than Peter could walk upon the water unless he kept his eyes fixed steadily upon Jesus.
Now it has been Satan's determined purpose to eclipse the view of Jesus, and lead men to look to man, and trust to man, and be educated to expect help from man. For years the church has been looking to man, and expecting much from man, but not looking to Jesus, in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. Therefore God gave to His servants a testimony that presented the truth as it is in Jesus, which is the third angel's message, in clear, distinct lines.--Letter 57, 1895 (see also Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 91-93).
A Personal and Frail Experience
The key phrase in the above quotation is "Unless he makes it his life business to behold the uplifted Saviour." First, it is a personal matter; only by individually beholding Jesus and laying claim upon the promised merits of a risen Saviour can the experience be enjoyed. Second, the experience is one that must be renewed daily and maintained by keeping the eyes on Jesus. It can be had and enjoyed today, and lost tomorrow. A. W. Spalding put it well as he wrote of the 1888 experience:
Justification by faith, the foundation truth of salvation through Christ, is the most difficult of all truths to keep in the experience of the Christian. It is easy of profession, but elusive in application.--Origin and History, vol. 2, p. 281.
Ellen White, in one way or another, reminded those who listened to her discourses, and who read her books and articles, of the vital place this experience held in character building, in daily victorious living, and in salvation. As noted, the Minneapolis experience did not become a fetish with her. In fact, the experience of living the life of righteousness by faith may be had with no reference to or knowledge of the struggle at Minneapolis in 1888, with its animosities and bitterness.
Nor need its precious elements, easily within the grasp of both the primitive believer and the most profound scholar, be lost for the lack of complicated formulas or definitions. Ellen White hinted at this in a statement written in 1891.
Many commit the error of trying to define minutely the fine points of distinction between justification and sanctification. Into the definitions of these two terms they often bring their own ideas and speculations. Why try to be more minute than is Inspiration on the vital question of righteousness by faith? Why try to work out every minute point, as if the salvation of the soul depended upon all having exactly your understanding of this matter? All cannot see in the same line of vision.--Manuscript 21, 1891 (see also The SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, on Romans 3:24-28,p. 1072).
The events of late 1888 and the few years that followed reveal the story of the fruitage of the momentous meeting held in Minneapolis.