The work of the 1905 General Conference session continued at an even pace. Ten times Ellen White addressed the session including once during the first Sabbath morning and on each of the two following Sabbath afternoons.
"The Lord has helped me," wrote Ellen White near the close of the session, "to make the discourses impressive.... I still have a work to do on the grounds, for certain individuals."--Letter 149, 1905. One of these was Elder A. T. Jones, still a member of the General Conference Committee but now closely associated with Dr. J. H. Kellogg and in full sympathy with him.
Sometime during the session a vision was given Ellen White in which "Elder Jones's case was again presented to me."--Letter 116, 1906. This led her to have an extended interview with him in which she discussed the peril of his being in Battle Creek in close association with Dr. Kellogg. But the interview was unproductive, for Jones felt he was in no danger. His presence at this meeting marked the close of his connection with the church in an official capacity--a connection that in its earlier years was marked by outstanding contributions.
Elder A. T. Jones
At the age of 23 Alonzo T. Jones, an officer in the United States Army, became a Seventh-day Adventist. An earnest, studious, self-made man, he qualified himself for the ministry, which he entered in 1885. He soon distinguished himself as an associate editor of the Signs of the Times. Soon he was joined by a physician-turned-minister, Dr. Ellet J. Waggoner. At the General Conference of 1888, the two led out in the presentation on righteousness by faith. They carried the strong support of Ellen White as advocate of this precious truth. When she could, she traveled and worked with them for two years following the session, carrying the message to churches, ministerial institutes, institutions, and camp meetings.
Elders Jones and Waggoner were catapulted into the position of the leading Bible expositors in the ranks of Seventh-day Adventists, a role they held through much of the 1890s. Jones attended all General Conference sessions, and it was not uncommon for each of the two men to lead out in ten to twenty or more consecutive Bible studies. Jones spent much time in Battle Creek and stood as a prominent leader, holding several important positions.
But Elders Jones and Waggoner, so highly honored of God because of their wide influence for good, became the special point of attack of the great adversary. The Ellen G. White communications to both men through a fifteen-year period following 1888 reveal that each had weaknesses in his experience, each was confronted with dangers, and each made mistakes. This, however, did not disqualify them to do God's service.
Ellen White had occasion in April, 1893, to caution Elder Jones regarding his extreme views in his presentation of the relation of faith and works (see Selected Messages 1:377-380). Again the following year she reproved him for giving wholehearted support to Anna Rice Phillips, who claimed the gift of prophecy (see Ibid., 2:85-95). From time to time Ellen White counseled him to exercise caution in his manner of speaking and writing so as to avoid giving offense.
In February, 1897, Jones was elected as one of the thirteen members of the General Conference Committee, and eight months later was installed as the editor of the Review and Herald, a position he held for four years. With this arrangement it was stated that "instead of speaking to comparatively few of our people in annual gatherings, he will address all of them every week."--The Review and Herald, October 5, 1897. Through a portion of this time he was chairman of the board of the Review and Herald Publishing Association.
In a most unusual fashion, while still editor of the Review, Jones, offended when mildly reproved by the president of the General Conference for treating his fellow workers harshly, resigned as a member of the General Conference Committee. A testimony to him had referred to "'an evil spirit to cast drops of gall into his words'"(quoted in A. V. Olson, Through Crisis to Victory, p. 305).
Jones took a prominent place at the 1901 session of the General Conference, and urged that in the reorganization of the General Conference there be "no kings." He was influential in developing a constitution that did not provide for the election of leading General Conference officers by the delegates, but left this responsibility to the Executive committee of twenty-five. As noted earlier, this proved to be a serious weakness, and was corrected in 1903.
Reappointed to the new General Conference Committee in 1901, Jones was assigned to general work that took him to the summer camp meetings in the West. After persuading local conferences in the Northwest to follow the lead of the General Conference and elect no presidents, he himself accepted the presidency of the California Conference. This conference, except for Michigan, was the largest and strongest local conference in the world.
His harsh domineering spirit soon cost him the confidence of those with whom he worked. Ellen White labored with him diligently, and he promised reform, and with her encouragement was in 1902 elected to a second term.
In the summer of 1903, at a time when affairs in the California Conference were most uncomfortable, he had an interview with Ellen White at Elmshaven, in which he told her that at the request of Dr. J. H. Kellogg he was planning to go to Battle Creek to teach Bible in the American Medical Missionary College. He hoped to be able to help Dr. Kellogg. She counseled him not to go. He promised her that he would be guarded. She had been warned in vision that such a move on his part would lead to his downfall. She wrote of it thus:
In vision I had seen him A. T. Jones under the influence of Dr. Kellogg. Fine threads were being woven around him, till he was being bound hand and foot, and his mind and his senses were becoming captivated.--Letter 116, 1906.
Ellen White reported this to Brother Jones just before he went to Battle Creek; she could see "that his perceptions were becoming confused, and that he did not believe the warning given. "She said, "The enemy works in a strange, wonderful way to influence human minds."--Ibid. But Jones, a man with a great deal of self-confidence, was sure that he would not fall by the way.
Ellen White watched the inevitable results and agonized for his spiritual welfare. His plan to stay in Battle Creek only one year was soon forgotten as he became more and more entrenched there.
Call to Labor in Washington, D.C.
In February, 1905, church leaders in Washington were confronting attempts to introduce Sunday legislation in the District of Columbia and to teach religion in the public schools. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Ellen White saw an opportunity to call Jones from Battle Creek to join forces with men in Washington to make strong thrusts along religious-liberty lines. These efforts would be associated with evangelistic endeavors in unentered territories. She had the hope that in working to save others, he might save himself.
On Monday, February 13, she wrote to Elder A. T. Jones:
My Dear Brother,
The light given me is that you should be in Washington just now. Go there, and offer your help. The Lord has a work for you to do in Washington in connection with the workers there. Stand in the place of your appointment. Again and again it has been presented to me that you would be one who, in connection with your brethren, would proclaim the message in Washington. The time has come for you to do this.
Washington and Baltimore are very close together, and in both of these places a decided interest is to be aroused. You should now be putting forth earnest efforts in Washington.--Letter 65, 1905.
In this letter she discusses the evangelistic thrust that should be made "east and west, north and south." "The Lord calls for action," she wrote.
The Sabbath question is being agitated in Washington, and while minds are stirred, there is an opportunity for our people everywhere to sow the seeds of truth. Should we neglect to take advantage of this time, we should miss a great opportunity for letting light from God's Word shine forth. The trumpet is to give a certain sound.--Ibid.
In January she had written to Elders Prescott and Colcord, men giving the lead to religious-liberty efforts in Washington:
Dear Brethren,
One night we seemed to be in a council meeting, and One of acknowledged authority was telling us that now is our time to press to the front in Washington. A decided testimony must be borne to the people in the national capital, and this work must not rest upon a few. Those who engage in this work must exert themselves to the utmost of their ability to proclaim the truth with clearness and energy....
A most important work is to be done in Washington, and I inquire whether you do not need the help of those who in years past have stood prominently for religious liberty. Can it not be arranged for Elder A. T. Jones to work with you for a time in Washington, and for someone to take his place in Battle Creek? Elder Jones can help you. It may do him a world of good to have a part in this work now.--Letter 21, 1905.
To the leading men in Washington the proposition of Jones joining them seemed strange and unworkable. Even while serving as president of the California Conference, Jones, in the crisis of the fall of 1902 and later as a member of the General Conference Committee, had sided with Dr. Kellogg in his unreasonable positions and demands, and he broke with the General Conference Committee (AGD to EGW, February 22, 1905). Daniells had made several attempts to hold Jones steady, but the latter had severed himself in heart and distance from church leaders. It was clear that he was in Dr. Kellogg's camp in opposition to steps being taken to put the denomination in the best position to fulfill its divine commission.
Daniells responded to Ellen White on February 22, and the same day wrote to A. T. Jones. To Ellen White he reflected the response of leading men in Washington upon reading her letter to Jones:
The brethren who have heard the letter read are united in extending to Elder Jones an invitation to come to Washington, and work in harmony with the counsel you have given.--Ibid.
He pointed out that he did not know how "he can unite with some of us in this work without an entire change of views and feelings. But," he continued, "the counsel is plain, and it is the duty of everyone to act in harmony with it."--Ibid.
The same day Elder Daniells wrote to A. T. Jones, inviting him to come to Washington in harmony with Ellen White's letter. He then stated clearly his position and in so doing revealed his attitude toward the Spirit of Prophecy:
It is a fact, Brother Jones, that during the last two years we have differed very widely regarding some matters with which we have been dealing. This has made it difficult if not impossible for us to work together with the harmony that should characterize the ambassadors of our blessed Lord. I know not how we can ever unite without a change of views, and I do not know how this change can be made. But all things are possible with God, and also to him that believeth.
I believe that the Lord is speaking to us through the Spirit of Prophecy, and we know that voice plainly declares, and repeats the declaration, that you should be in Washington now, joining the rest of us in the work to which we are called. I accept that, and place myself as well as I know how, where I can do my part in helping to arrive at the oneness among the brethren for which Jesus prayed.
I know it is safe to walk in the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy, and that it is perilous to reject that counsel.
During the last fifteen years I have had opportunities to follow my own judgment independent of the instruction given through the Spirit of Prophecy, and at times I have done this too much. But I have found that this always lands me in difficulties. On the other hand, the most careful, faithful obedience to the light given through this channel has made me free and led me in a good way. I have never been led into a trap by the Spirit of Prophecy. For this reason, whether or not I fully understand the counsel that comes, I know that the right thing to do is to act in harmony with that instruction.--AGD to A. T. Jones, February 22, 1905.
Elder Jones joined the forces in Washington and, working with Elder Prescott, took a prominent part in important gatherings in setting forth the denomination's religious-liberty positions. Daniells reports that "both speakers handled their subjects in a masterly fashion."--AGD to WCW, March 21, 1905.
But the united work was short-lived, and this attempt to save Jones collapsed. On the pretext of being needed at home in Battle Creek, he asked to be excused from working in Washington. Daniells' suggestion that he move his family to Washington did not meet with favor. So by mid-April, A. T. Jones was back in Battle Creek, working full tilt in developing plans to start a "university" in connection with the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where young people could enroll in a diversity of fields of study and work their full way at the Sanitarium. It was later learned that Jones had confided to friends in Battle Creek that he did not intend to stay long in Washington, so apparently he had not gone and taken up duties there in good faith.
The Interview with Ellen White at the 1905 Session
Now, a month later and back in Washington as a delegate to the 1905 General Conference session, Jones was engaged in the extended interview with Ellen White. His case had been presented to her in vision only a day or two before. She reported that "I pointed out his danger. But he was self-confident."--Letter 116, 1906. He maintained that there was no change from earlier years in Dr. Kellogg's attitude toward the visions.
Ellen White had been shown in vision what Jones's attitude would be and now she witnessed it. In "place of receiving the warnings, he was full of self-confidence" (Ibid.).
"I warned Elder Jones," wrote Ellen White, "but he felt that he was not in the least danger. But the fine threads have been woven about him, and he is now a man deluded and deceived. Though claiming to believe the testimonies, he does not believe them."--Ibid.
To watch a man who had been used mightily of God rejecting light and spurning every appeal weighed heavily on the heart of the Lord's messenger and deeply troubled church leaders. In this experience at the 1905 General Conference session, A. T. Jones took an important step in his apostasy. Matters reached such a point that in 1909 it seemed necessary to drop his name from the church rolls. [For further documentation on A. T. Jones's apostasy, see olson, op. cit., pp. 304-312.]
Important Session Actions
But back to the three-week-long session. Two new departments in the General Conference were formed--the Medical Department; and the Foreign Department, to care for the interests of the various language groups in North America. A far-reaching action was taken that made the General Conference session quadrennial instead of biennial. One of the reasons for this was explained to the constituents of the Pacific Union Conference:
Our union conferences have now taken up nearly all the work of the General Conference that pertains to the administration of affairs in the United States and the other organized fields in the world, so that what must be done at these large gatherings must be entirely of a general nature for the advancement of the work in the unentered fields.--Pacific Union Recorder, June 1, 1905.
Elder L. R. Conradi was reelected as a vice-president; he would continue his work in Europe, where he had labored for twenty years. Elder G. A. Irwin was called back from Australia to serve as the general vice-president, standing by Elder Daniells' side.
The fund of $100,000 dedicated to the college, the General Conference office, and other Washington interests, was made up as conferences and individuals gave liberally to establish a debt-free work.
The daily ministerial institute meetings were fruitful in giving the gospel ministry the "place which God has ordained that it should fill" (The Review and Herald, May 25, 1905). The certainty of the Advent faith and the surety of the triumph of the Advent Movement seemed to be the underlying theme of the session, sounded again and again. On the second Sabbath Elder Haskell spoke, recounting early experiences and the certainty of the sanctuary truths (Ibid.).
Ellen White's afternoon meeting emphasized the importance of holding fast "the truth that was wrought out amid demonstration of the Spirit and of power in the early days of the Advent Movement" (Ibid.).
Elder Butler's sermon on the last Sabbath morning called for the manifestation of love and unity that should prevail in the church. The spirit of division had to be put away (Ibid., June 1, 1905).
The Review and Herald, reporting the session, declared that:
The one all-absorbing theme which seems to rest upon the heart of every delegate is how this great message which has been committed to this people, and for which they have been sacrificing for a half century, can be speedily carried to all the world, and the glorious day of God be ushered in.--Ibid., May 25, 1905.
As the session closed, Ellen White reported:
I came to the conference with fear and trembling, but determined to do my best. I have spoken ten times, and have done considerable writing.... The conference has called forth very weighty testimonies, and I am pleased with the appreciation shown to these testimonies.--Letter 155, 1905.
J. L. Prescott, who accepted the Advent truth in 1838, felt that the session carried the spirit in the meetings of 1844 (The Review and Herald, June 1, 1905). W. C. White declared the session to be "the most hopeful of the kind that I ever attended" (Ibid., June 8, 1905).
And so the 1905 General Conference came to a close on Tuesday, May 30, having occupied three weeks less one day.
Defections Deeply Concerned Ellen White
On that final Tuesday morning Ellen White spoke concerning Dr. Kellogg and Battle Creek problems. In her address on these sensitive points, she stated:
It has been presented to me that in view of Dr. Kellogg's course of action at the Berrien Springs meetings [May 17-26, 1904], we are not to treat him as a man led of the Lord, who should be invited to attend our general meetings as a teacher and leader.--Manuscript 70, 1905.
The feelings of distress and some of the burdens she carried because of the defections of Dr. J. H. Kellogg and Elders A. T. Jones and A. F. Ballenger she could not lay aside. She had seen that Kellogg's pantheistic views, because they took away the personality of God and Jesus Christ, undercut the sanctuary truth, the cornerstone of the message, so precious to the pioneers. Now with Ballenger's direct attack on this point, there was occasion for added concern.
Two days after the close of the session she wrote words that forecast distressing times ahead:
The Lord now calls upon me to make plain to others that which has been made plain to me.... I have no liberty to withhold any longer the matters that I have written. There is much that must be brought out.--Letter 319, 1905.
The Magnitude of the Threat Revealed in Vision
Concerning the magnitude of the threat to the very existence of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as shown to her in vision, she wrote a few months later:
Had the theories contained in Living Temple been received by our people, had not a message been sent by the Lord to counteract these theories, the third angel's message would no longer have been given to the world, but pleasing fables would have been proclaimed everywhere. Men would have been led to believe a lie instead of the truth of the Word of God. An army of those who take pleasure in unrighteousness would have sprung into action.
The roll was spread before me. The presentation was as though that against which the Lord was warning His people had actually taken place. I shall not attempt to describe the presentation, but to me it was a living reality. I saw that if the erroneous sentiments contained in Living Temple were received, souls would be bound up in fallacies. Men would be so completely controlled by the mind of one man that they would act as if they were subjects of his will. Working through men, Satan was trying to turn into fables the truths that have made us what we are.--Letter 338, 1905.
In document after document in the months that followed the 1905 General Conference session, she not only wrote of the threat of the Kellogg teachings but dealt explicitly with the error of Ballenger's positions on the sanctuary truth, basing her warnings on repeated visions. [See Appendix for excerpts from documents aggregating more than fifty pages of letters and manuscripts.] She made it clear that if there was one fundamental truth that had come to the pioneers by Bible study and revelation, it was the sanctuary truth, and she indicated that Satan would bring one attack after another on this fundamental point.