Welcome to Anchors Of Truth,
00:00:12.84\00:00:15.00
live from the
3ABN Worship Center.
00:00:15.03\00:00:17.83
Hello and
welcome to Anchors live
00:00:22.28\00:00:24.68
here at the 3ABN Worship Center
00:00:24.71\00:00:26.59
in West Frankfort/
Thompsonville, Illinois.
00:00:26.73\00:00:29.91
We're glad to see each and every
one of you that are here today
00:00:30.06\00:00:32.83
in the audience, and especially
those of you that are watching
00:00:32.86\00:00:36.31
from around the world.
00:00:36.34\00:00:37.56
Thank you for your
love and your prayers
00:00:37.82\00:00:39.98
and financial support of
3ABN as we endeavor to take this
00:00:40.33\00:00:44.12
great gospel of the
kingdom into all the world.
00:00:44.15\00:00:46.96
The Seventh-day Adventist Church
has a lot of unique beliefs.
00:00:46.99\00:00:51.06
We have a lot of, maybe, things
that people don't understand.
00:00:51.31\00:00:55.05
I just got a call this
weekend and I was so happy,
00:00:55.29\00:00:58.69
someone I've
known for many years,
00:00:58.72\00:01:00.27
internationally known
song writer, who said to me,
00:01:00.52\00:01:04.03
"I've heard of
Adventists for many years.
00:01:04.06\00:01:06.14
I know you, I
know lots of others.
00:01:06.24\00:01:08.15
But, you know, I never
really studied what you believe.
00:01:08.18\00:01:12.87
I like Adventists that
I know and that I've met,
00:01:13.14\00:01:16.16
but I really have never decided
to study because everything
00:01:16.26\00:01:20.80
seems to be so differently.
00:01:20.83\00:01:22.24
Going to church
on a different day,
00:01:22.27\00:01:24.05
your belief in what
happens to you when you die.
00:01:24.77\00:01:28.80
And there's just so many things,
and about hell, whether it
00:01:28.83\00:01:31.97
burns forever or not."
00:01:32.00\00:01:33.46
But he said, "The other
night I turned on my television
00:01:33.93\00:01:36.46
in Nashville, Tennessee.
00:01:36.49\00:01:38.33
I turned on," and he
said, "there was Doug Batchelor.
00:01:38.52\00:01:42.52
And I want you to know
that within 30 minutes,
00:01:42.72\00:01:45.67
my wife and I's lives
have been changed forever."
00:01:46.31\00:01:48.97
Now that's the
Holy Spirit, folks.
00:01:49.42\00:01:51.33
He said, "I've
been in and around this,
00:01:51.65\00:01:53.60
and I've heard it, but
I've never been open to it."
00:01:53.63\00:01:56.40
And this man, I know one
song he put on, I looked it up
00:01:56.61\00:01:59.56
myself, has over eight
million hits on YouTube.
00:01:59.59\00:02:04.35
That's a lot of hits.
Anybody know about YouTube hits?
00:02:04.39\00:02:06.99
Oh, that's an incredible feat.
00:02:07.17\00:02:09.32
But he's very well know.
00:02:09.58\00:02:10.76
Some of you in the
audience know his name.
00:02:10.79\00:02:13.01
He said, "I'd love to
come up and give a testimony.
00:02:13.28\00:02:15.76
I'm looking forward to the
next series that's happening."
00:02:15.79\00:02:19.92
Recently we were in the
studio, we recorded a song,
00:02:20.37\00:02:23.91
and it was called, Just In Time.
00:02:24.41\00:02:26.35
It's a song that we
put together in the new,
00:02:26.38\00:02:28.67
Second Coming, project we call,
Hallelujah, We're Home At Last.
00:02:29.48\00:02:33.37
And one of the songs, as I
was writing it I was impressed
00:02:33.56\00:02:36.77
to go to the, Great Controversy.
00:02:36.80\00:02:38.15
I was reading
about Ellen White's view
00:02:38.18\00:02:42.80
of the second coming.
00:02:42.83\00:02:44.22
And in this she sees and
explains, she sees a small
00:02:44.83\00:02:50.50
dark cloud about half
the size of a man's hand.
00:02:50.53\00:02:53.17
And it keeps
getting bigger and bigger.
00:02:53.20\00:02:55.19
And I said, "That's
got to go in this song."
00:02:55.39\00:02:57.60
So I prayed about it,
wrote it into this song,
00:02:57.91\00:03:01.17
we recorded it.
00:03:01.20\00:03:02.37
Backup singers that
were there, studio musicians,
00:03:02.55\00:03:05.67
people came up and
said, "Those are the most
00:03:05.70\00:03:07.75
beautiful words I've ever heard.
00:03:07.78\00:03:09.88
Did you write those words?"
00:03:09.97\00:03:11.51
And I said, "No, I
didn't write those words."
00:03:11.54\00:03:13.56
"Well who wrote those words?"
00:03:13.59\00:03:15.14
"Well, a little
lady named Ellen White."
00:03:15.17\00:03:18.08
I asked them to look
her up to read about her.
00:03:18.46\00:03:21.01
But people were saying,
someone was there from another,
00:03:21.18\00:03:24.42
it's a large
evangelical group, and said,
00:03:24.67\00:03:27.14
"Man, I love this song.
00:03:27.35\00:03:28.65
Our choir might be
interested in singing this.
00:03:28.68\00:03:31.18
Would that be okay?"
00:03:31.21\00:03:32.53
I said, "Absolutely."
00:03:32.56\00:03:33.80
So here we are, one of
the things that's unique
00:03:34.01\00:03:37.68
about the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:03:37.71\00:03:39.67
is the writings
of Ellen G. White.
00:03:39.96\00:03:41.92
So no, we don't believe
that she supersedes the Bible.
00:03:42.07\00:03:45.88
She didn't believe that.
00:03:45.91\00:03:47.15
But it's like a light that
helps us in a time than maybe...
00:03:47.35\00:03:51.67
She calls herself a
lesser light pointing
00:03:51.70\00:03:54.44
to the Light, Jesus Christ.
00:03:54.58\00:03:56.16
So all through the
ages, God has had people
00:03:56.19\00:03:58.41
to give present truth.
00:03:58.64\00:03:59.86
So I'm thankful for Ellen
White, for her writings and what
00:03:59.89\00:04:03.57
she has given to this church.
00:04:03.60\00:04:05.52
But today, we are so
blessed to have brother Jim Nix.
00:04:05.55\00:04:09.31
He's the director of
the Ellen G. White Estate.
00:04:09.34\00:04:12.51
And today his sermon is
actually going to be to us,
00:04:12.79\00:04:15.96
Ellen White, The Woman.
00:04:15.99\00:04:17.19
Because so many
people misunderstand
00:04:17.22\00:04:19.26
who Ellen White was.
00:04:19.54\00:04:21.09
You know, the Mormons
have their Joseph Smith,
00:04:21.12\00:04:23.05
and they have all these leaders.
00:04:23.08\00:04:24.57
But the difference is, Ellen
White was a servant of God.
00:04:24.74\00:04:27.70
She always put God first.
00:04:27.73\00:04:29.30
And she stands the
test of a true prophet.
00:04:29.50\00:04:32.30
So today we're going
to be blessed to hear some
00:04:32.84\00:04:35.83
personal stories about Ellen
G. White from Pastor Jim Nix
00:04:35.86\00:04:40.23
of the E.G. White Estate.
00:04:40.33\00:04:42.00
But before we do
that, Yvonne Lewis today is
00:04:42.14\00:04:45.33
actually in Detroit,
Michigan ministering there,
00:04:45.36\00:04:49.36
but I've asked our production
crew to put in this song.
00:04:49.57\00:04:54.57
So we're going to actually
roll a video that we did here
00:04:54.60\00:04:56.87
at camp meeting of this song
that has in between the words
00:04:56.90\00:05:01.38
the reading, the
recitation, Yvonne Lewis does
00:05:01.41\00:05:04.41
by Ellen G. White.
00:05:04.44\00:05:05.79
The song is
entitled, Just In Time.
00:05:05.82\00:05:08.73
"Soon there appears in
the east a small black cloud
00:07:33.30\00:07:37.13
half the size of a man's hand.
00:07:37.16\00:07:39.36
It is the cloud
which surrounds the Savior,
00:07:39.61\00:07:42.48
and which seems in the distance
to be shrouded in darkness.
00:07:42.51\00:07:46.39
The people of God know this to
be the sign of the Son of man.
00:07:46.97\00:07:51.32
In solemn silence they gaze upon
it as it draws nearer the earth,
00:07:51.72\00:07:56.58
becoming lighter
and more glorious,
00:07:56.61\00:07:58.98
until it is a great white cloud,
00:07:59.01\00:08:01.50
its base a glory
like consuming fire,
00:08:01.53\00:08:04.69
and above it the
rainbow of the covenant.
00:08:04.72\00:08:07.68
Jesus rides forth
as a mighty conqueror.
00:08:07.71\00:08:11.08
Not now a 'Man of Sorrows,'
to drink the bitter cup
00:08:11.11\00:08:14.34
of shame and woe; He comes,
victor in heaven and earth,
00:08:14.37\00:08:18.15
to judge the
living and the dead.
00:08:18.25\00:08:20.88
With anthems of celestial
melody the holy angels,
00:08:20.91\00:08:24.95
a vast unnumbered
throng, attend Him on His way.
00:08:24.98\00:08:28.98
The firmament seems
filled with radiant forms;
00:08:29.01\00:08:32.72
'ten thousand
times ten thousand,
00:08:32.75\00:08:35.38
and thousands of thousands.'
00:08:35.41\00:08:37.67
No human pen can
portray the scene;
00:08:37.70\00:08:40.41
no mortal mind is adequate
to conceive its splendor.
00:08:40.44\00:08:44.71
'His glory covered
the heavens, and the earth
00:08:44.74\00:08:48.48
was full of His praise.
00:08:48.51\00:08:50.42
And His brightness
was like the light.'
00:08:50.45\00:08:53.10
As the living
cloud comes still nearer,
00:08:53.13\00:08:55.73
every eye beholds
the Prince of life.
00:08:55.76\00:08:58.86
No crown of thorns
now mars that sacred head;
00:08:58.89\00:09:02.55
but a diadem of glory
rests on His holy brow.
00:09:02.58\00:09:06.51
His countenance outshines
the dazzling brightness
00:09:06.54\00:09:10.39
of the noonday sun.
00:09:10.42\00:09:11.97
'And on His robe and on
His thigh a name written,
00:09:12.00\00:09:16.02
King of kings,
and Lord of lords.'"
00:09:16.05\00:09:19.59
Amen, amen, amen.
00:10:43.76\00:10:45.31
Wasn't that powerful?
00:10:45.34\00:10:46.45
Do you realize she
was only 17 years of age,
00:10:47.24\00:10:50.19
Ellen Harmon, not married yet,
when she first had the vision
00:10:50.39\00:10:53.88
of the second coming?
00:10:53.91\00:10:55.11
And when you read those
exciting words, which basically
00:10:55.27\00:10:58.24
are unchanged from
when she first wrote it out
00:10:58.96\00:11:01.19
when she was 18,
it was a teenager.
00:11:01.22\00:11:04.31
It's a teenager's description
of the second coming of Christ.
00:11:04.34\00:11:07.94
Maybe that's why it
excites Adventists so much.
00:11:08.07\00:11:10.44
Because you get the enthusiasm
and the power of a teenager
00:11:10.47\00:11:14.41
who's describing the
second coming of Christ
00:11:14.44\00:11:16.92
as she saw it in that first
vision back in December of 1844.
00:11:17.12\00:11:20.55
Well it's good to be
here with you this morning.
00:11:20.65\00:11:22.78
I didn't really plan on
commenting on this song,
00:11:22.81\00:11:24.83
but it's so powerful I just
had to say something about it
00:11:24.86\00:11:27.57
and remind you of the
setting for when she first wrote
00:11:27.60\00:11:31.79
about the second coming
of Christ back there in 1845,
00:11:31.82\00:11:35.70
a year after she had the vision.
00:11:35.73\00:11:37.44
Today, I was asked before
I begin to just say a word
00:11:38.47\00:11:41.62
about the White Estate and
what the White Estate does.
00:11:41.65\00:11:45.07
And so let me just
put it in a nut shell.
00:11:45.28\00:11:46.96
Because that's not part of
my talk this morning either,
00:11:46.99\00:11:49.02
is to talk about
the White Estate.
00:11:49.05\00:11:50.54
But the Ellen G.
White Estate is the literary
00:11:50.64\00:11:53.25
estate for Ellen White.
00:11:53.28\00:11:54.71
When she died in 1915, she left
her materials, her writings,
00:11:54.74\00:11:59.43
copyrights to her
books, to a committee,
00:11:59.61\00:12:02.47
five individuals, and she
set up what was, not defined
00:12:03.19\00:12:07.13
in her will, but it's really
a self-perpetuating board.
00:12:07.16\00:12:09.92
So when there's a vacancy
among one of the trustees
00:12:09.95\00:12:12.14
of her estate, why,
then the other trustees
00:12:12.17\00:12:15.60
elect a successor.
00:12:15.63\00:12:17.36
That has been expanded;
the number of five original
00:12:17.39\00:12:19.95
trustees is now fifteen.
00:12:19.98\00:12:21.61
And we continue to serve at the
world headquarters of the church
00:12:21.64\00:12:24.72
to promote, to protect
and preserve the originals,
00:12:24.92\00:12:28.58
but promote the
writings of Ellen White.
00:12:28.61\00:12:30.46
And we're not officially
part of the General Conference.
00:12:30.49\00:12:33.53
We are a separate corporation,
as she established it
00:12:33.63\00:12:36.56
or set it up back
there in her will.
00:12:36.59\00:12:38.66
But we continue to work
hand in glove with the church.
00:12:38.69\00:12:41.56
And we hope that the
writings of Ellen White
00:12:41.59\00:12:43.98
will continue to
be a blessing to many.
00:12:44.01\00:12:45.63
That's the purpose
of the White Estate,
00:12:45.66\00:12:47.93
and that's what
we're trying to do.
00:12:47.96\00:12:49.81
Alright, now, I'm
going to finally get down
00:12:49.98\00:12:51.92
to what I was
hoping to talk about today.
00:12:51.95\00:12:54.75
And that is,
Ellen White as a person.
00:12:54.78\00:12:57.49
But I specifically want to
talk about it from one angle.
00:12:57.52\00:13:00.03
And that is the
practical gift of prophecy.
00:13:00.06\00:13:03.01
And I want to
share a few stories.
00:13:03.04\00:13:04.23
That's what I've been
asked to do in this series,
00:13:04.26\00:13:05.90
to share some stories.
00:13:05.93\00:13:07.02
And I want to share some stories
showing the practical side
00:13:07.05\00:13:10.28
of the counsels that God
gave through Ellen White.
00:13:10.31\00:13:13.77
I want to start
with a text, Hosea 12:13.
00:13:14.30\00:13:17.76
"And by a prophet the Lord
brought Israel out of Egypt,
00:13:17.79\00:13:21.67
and by a prophet
he was preserved."
00:13:21.70\00:13:24.60
Now what was true for
Jacob has also been true
00:13:24.63\00:13:27.76
for the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:13:27.79\00:13:29.57
But things didn't actually get
started in a very powerful way.
00:13:29.60\00:13:33.97
And I want to start
with, I want to begin with
00:13:34.04\00:13:36.56
a résumé of Ellen White.
00:13:36.59\00:13:39.14
Now this is not the résumé that
you're probably use to hearing,
00:13:39.65\00:13:42.09
but it's all factual
information about her,
00:13:42.12\00:13:45.12
before we get into the stories.
00:13:45.15\00:13:46.68
And I will ask you, with
this résumé that I'm going to
00:13:46.71\00:13:49.45
share with you, what chance of
success would you give a person
00:13:49.48\00:13:54.50
with a résumé such as this?
00:13:54.53\00:13:56.40
She was born the
youngest of eight children,
00:13:57.30\00:13:59.95
a girl at a time when
females had few options in life.
00:14:00.15\00:14:04.13
Her father was a
small business man
00:14:04.66\00:14:07.14
who, in order to provide
for the family, was often absent
00:14:07.27\00:14:10.05
from home for
long periods of time.
00:14:10.08\00:14:12.46
As a child, nine years of
age, she endured a serious
00:14:13.01\00:14:16.99
head/facial injury resulting
in near death, disfigurement,
00:14:17.02\00:14:22.01
and the ending of her formal
schooling at the age of nine.
00:14:22.11\00:14:26.18
Because of her families
unpopular religious beliefs,
00:14:26.80\00:14:29.40
she and they were
expelled from the church
00:14:29.60\00:14:31.85
that they were members of.
00:14:31.88\00:14:33.25
A devastating
spiritual disappointment
00:14:34.17\00:14:36.29
was experienced
due to those beliefs.
00:14:36.32\00:14:39.11
Not long after
that, consumption,
00:14:39.35\00:14:41.49
or we would say tuberculosis,
nearly took her life.
00:14:41.52\00:14:44.75
Some people questioned her
sanity and/or her integrity
00:14:45.64\00:14:49.02
when barely beyond
her seventeenth birthday
00:14:49.05\00:14:51.35
she claimed to have
received a vision from God.
00:14:51.45\00:14:54.58
Her name was printed
in newspapers far and wide
00:14:55.02\00:14:57.42
in connection with a
sensational religious
00:14:57.45\00:14:59.82
fanaticism court case.
00:14:59.85\00:15:02.59
She was still seventeen.
00:15:02.62\00:15:04.22
Upon claiming to have
received additional visions,
00:15:04.91\00:15:07.89
critics continued to belittle
and attack her reputation.
00:15:07.92\00:15:11.82
Then, would you
know, at the age of 18...
00:15:12.46\00:15:14.37
We're talking about
what kind of success
00:15:14.40\00:15:15.61
a person like this would have.
00:15:15.64\00:15:16.88
At the age of 18 she
married a man who had no money,
00:15:16.91\00:15:21.01
only 41 weeks of
formal education,
00:15:21.87\00:15:24.88
and the newlyweds were so
poor they had to live with
00:15:25.44\00:15:28.14
her parents for a
while, and then with others.
00:15:28.17\00:15:31.01
And yet, her
husband was determined
00:15:31.59\00:15:33.44
to start a religious
movement, despite being so poor
00:15:33.47\00:15:36.84
that he had to borrow money
from those who had accepted
00:15:36.87\00:15:39.59
his views, to go and share
with other potential members.
00:15:39.62\00:15:44.26
At the age of 20, not
quite 21 years of age, she urged
00:15:45.10\00:15:48.48
her husband to start a paper.
00:15:48.51\00:15:50.62
Now remember, he
still has no money.
00:15:50.95\00:15:52.80
But eventually he
printed the paper on credit.
00:15:53.75\00:15:57.15
Even so, the fact that
they had no money, and she was
00:15:57.32\00:16:00.43
telling him to do what he
didn't see how he could do,
00:16:00.46\00:16:02.66
she told him that the
paper was going to be a success,
00:16:02.69\00:16:05.06
and eventually it would be
like streams of light going
00:16:05.09\00:16:07.71
clear around the world.
00:16:07.74\00:16:08.85
It would be a
success from the beginning.
00:16:08.88\00:16:11.79
She suffered the deaths
of two of her young children,
00:16:12.66\00:16:17.59
plus the embarrassment of one of
the other two surviving children
00:16:18.25\00:16:21.31
who, except for about
ten years during his life,
00:16:21.56\00:16:24.12
was, in all candor, a
financial and spiritual mess.
00:16:24.33\00:16:28.26
Throughout her life,
critics repeatedly attacked her.
00:16:29.96\00:16:32.87
Sometimes those critics
were even people she had helped,
00:16:32.97\00:16:36.70
and in at least one case,
allowed to live in her own home.
00:16:36.84\00:16:40.27
She struggled to deal
with her husband's strokes,
00:16:40.89\00:16:43.77
and then his death.
00:16:43.80\00:16:45.19
She was 53 when he died.
00:16:45.36\00:16:47.58
Some claim that the church
she had served so faithfully
00:16:48.29\00:16:51.27
and helped found basically
exiled her to Australia
00:16:51.30\00:16:54.12
for nine years.
00:16:54.15\00:16:55.43
But while she was
down there in Australia,
00:16:55.65\00:16:58.05
she urged the establishment
of a school on sufficient land
00:16:58.09\00:17:02.08
so that they
could teach agriculture.
00:17:02.52\00:17:04.55
Now this was at a
time when they had no money
00:17:04.93\00:17:06.82
down there in Australia either.
00:17:06.85\00:17:08.51
And the search committee
was having a rough time
00:17:08.54\00:17:11.08
even getting enough money
put together so they could
00:17:11.11\00:17:14.65
buy the tickets on the train
to go and look at property,
00:17:14.68\00:17:17.35
let alone buy it if
they found anything.
00:17:17.38\00:17:19.74
But she said, no,
this is what she was shown.
00:17:19.89\00:17:22.08
This is what they should do.
00:17:22.11\00:17:23.65
Eventually they did
find a piece of property.
00:17:23.86\00:17:26.18
And some of the skeptics among
them, she said the property,
00:17:26.28\00:17:29.92
"Yeah, looks like
what God showed me.
00:17:29.95\00:17:31.45
That's fine. Let's go for it."
00:17:31.48\00:17:32.93
But some of the
skeptics were not so sure.
00:17:33.02\00:17:35.53
And so they asked a
government expert to come
00:17:35.89\00:17:39.21
and test the soil.
00:17:39.24\00:17:40.27
If we're going to have
an agricultural school,
00:17:40.30\00:17:42.20
well then you better have pretty
good soil to grow anything.
00:17:42.39\00:17:45.88
And when the agricultural
expert handed the report
00:17:45.91\00:17:50.37
to the church brethren,
he just kind of quipped,
00:17:50.68\00:17:54.94
it wasn't in the
report, but he said to them,
00:17:54.97\00:17:57.05
"If a bandicoot," which is
a small Australian marsupial,
00:17:57.08\00:18:00.54
"If a bandicoot tried to walk
across that piece of property
00:18:00.57\00:18:03.95
that you're wanting
to buy for agriculture,"
00:18:03.98\00:18:05.78
he said, "it's so
bad that the bandicoot
00:18:06.03\00:18:08.07
would have to take
his lunch bucket with him
00:18:08.25\00:18:10.39
or he would starve
before he got to the other side.
00:18:10.42\00:18:11.96
This land will grown nothing."
00:18:11.99\00:18:13.68
And she said, "But
false witness has been
00:18:14.31\00:18:16.63
born against this property.
00:18:16.66\00:18:18.09
It will."
00:18:18.12\00:18:19.19
And of course, it did.
00:18:19.22\00:18:21.19
She was also sued by an extended
member of her family one time
00:18:22.39\00:18:26.63
for alienation of
affection because of some other
00:18:26.66\00:18:30.68
members of the family.
00:18:30.71\00:18:31.74
It was settled out of court.
00:18:31.77\00:18:32.97
When she came back to the United
States in 1900 from Australia,
00:18:33.15\00:18:36.37
she urged the purchase
of properties in southern
00:18:36.57\00:18:38.67
California to
establish sanitariums.
00:18:38.70\00:18:42.01
But again, they had no money.
00:18:42.04\00:18:43.84
They had to borrow money
just to buy the sanitariums.
00:18:43.87\00:18:45.86
And yet she said, "One
of these is going to be a
00:18:45.89\00:18:47.98
great educational center.
00:18:48.01\00:18:50.41
Talk about someone
who, some might say, had
00:18:50.68\00:18:53.43
delusions of grandeur.
00:18:53.46\00:18:54.63
And yet, she knew where
the messages were coming from
00:18:54.66\00:18:58.31
that was giving her the
counsel of what they should do.
00:18:58.41\00:19:00.33
And of course, today we
have Loma Linda University
00:19:00.36\00:19:03.40
as one of those
three sanitariums.
00:19:03.53\00:19:05.66
At the end of her life,
her estate was $21,500 in debt.
00:19:05.99\00:19:10.84
She had given away so
much money she died in debt.
00:19:11.68\00:19:15.03
Though actually I don't
think she knew she was in debt.
00:19:15.23\00:19:17.53
Her accountant figured
his books differently than
00:19:17.82\00:19:20.50
the executors of the estate.
00:19:20.53\00:19:22.57
But never the less,
officially she was in debt.
00:19:22.73\00:19:25.41
In recent years, critics
have claimed that she was so
00:19:26.94\00:19:30.43
illiterate she
needed secretaries
00:19:30.46\00:19:32.47
to write things for her.
00:19:32.50\00:19:34.06
Though other critics
claimed that she was so cleaver
00:19:34.55\00:19:37.32
she could plagiarize everything.
00:19:37.35\00:19:39.11
And so I guess she
didn't need the secretaries.
00:19:39.14\00:19:41.84
You can't have it both
ways, I might point out.
00:19:41.87\00:19:44.01
Either you're so dumb
you have to have somebody
00:19:44.04\00:19:46.13
write for you, or else
you're so cleaver you can
00:19:46.16\00:19:48.18
cover it all up, but
you can't have it both.
00:19:48.21\00:19:49.86
But the critics seem
to like it both ways.
00:19:49.89\00:19:52.81
And to top it all off,
she was plain in appearance.
00:19:53.00\00:19:56.53
Some might even say homely.
00:19:56.77\00:19:59.29
So with a résumé like
that, what kind of success
00:19:59.63\00:20:03.31
would you expect
from such a person?
00:20:03.34\00:20:05.55
Or to put it another
way, why are we here today
00:20:05.92\00:20:09.33
even talking or
thinking about Ellen White?
00:20:09.36\00:20:12.51
And it's because of the
fruits of her God directed life.
00:20:12.82\00:20:17.74
Despite the
seemingly insurmountable odds,
00:20:18.35\00:20:21.32
God's counsels through Ellen
White remain the inspiration
00:20:21.35\00:20:24.95
behind most facets of the
00:20:25.30\00:20:27.65
Seventh-day
Adventist Church's work.
00:20:27.68\00:20:29.67
Now let me just give
you a few indisputable facts
00:20:29.84\00:20:32.07
about the lasting
impact of her life.
00:20:32.17\00:20:34.47
The Seventh-day Adventist
Church, of which Ellen White
00:20:35.24\00:20:37.79
is recognized as
one of the co-founders,
00:20:37.82\00:20:40.28
is the largest
worldwide denomination
00:20:40.31\00:20:43.22
founded in the United
States with now over 18 million
00:20:43.25\00:20:47.00
members on its books worldwide.
00:20:47.03\00:20:49.04
According to one source,
Adventists currently are the
00:20:49.56\00:20:52.07
sixth largest
international religious
00:20:52.10\00:20:54.97
organization worldwide.
00:20:55.00\00:20:56.56
We have work established
in 216 of the 238 countries
00:20:56.80\00:21:02.06
recognized by
the United Nations.
00:21:02.24\00:21:04.31
There was a church that
broke off of the Sabbath keeping
00:21:04.80\00:21:07.97
Adventists way
back in the 1850's.
00:21:08.00\00:21:10.21
And today it's called,
The Church of God Seventh-day.
00:21:10.31\00:21:13.37
And if you go to their website,
you'll see what is the main
00:21:13.69\00:21:16.84
difference, there's a
question and answer section.
00:21:16.87\00:21:19.40
One of the questions
is, "What is the difference
00:21:19.43\00:21:21.10
between the Church
of God Seventh-day,"
00:21:21.25\00:21:23.00
that had its origins
back in the 1850's and 60's,
00:21:23.03\00:21:26.48
but among other
things rejected Ellen White's
00:21:26.73\00:21:29.60
claim to inspiration,
"What is the main difference,"
00:21:29.63\00:21:32.12
it says on that website.
00:21:32.15\00:21:33.89
And here is
quoting from their website,
00:21:34.08\00:21:36.62
"The Church of God
Seventh-day considers Mrs. White
00:21:36.72\00:21:39.29
as it would any other
writer since the completion
00:21:39.32\00:21:41.67
of the biblical canon.
00:21:41.70\00:21:42.95
It regards neither Mrs.
White nor her writings to be an
00:21:43.28\00:21:46.74
expression of the
spirit of prophecy.
00:21:46.77\00:21:48.59
This is the
fundamental difference
00:21:48.62\00:21:50.96
between the two churches."
00:21:50.99\00:21:52.72
But there's something
else that is a major difference
00:21:53.20\00:21:55.72
between the two churches.
00:21:55.75\00:21:57.38
One has accepted
the gift that God gave
00:21:57.76\00:22:00.70
through the
ministry of Ellen White,
00:22:01.00\00:22:02.85
with over 18 million
members and work, as I said,
00:22:02.88\00:22:06.30
in over 200 countries.
00:22:06.33\00:22:08.19
The other,
according to their website,
00:22:08.22\00:22:10.40
has about 200 local
congregations in the
00:22:10.43\00:22:12.80
United States and a worldwide
affiliation in more than
00:22:12.83\00:22:16.99
25 countries, with a
total of about 300,000 members.
00:22:17.02\00:22:21.25
At the time of her death,
there were 24 books in print
00:22:21.72\00:22:24.30
under her name, plus
two other book manuscripts
00:22:24.33\00:22:26.81
that were almost completed.
00:22:26.84\00:22:28.25
Ellen White still remains the
most translated female author
00:22:28.48\00:22:31.41
in the world in
terms of languages,
00:22:31.44\00:22:33.41
not in total number
of titles translated,
00:22:33.44\00:22:36.11
as well as the most translated
single American author
00:22:36.29\00:22:38.93
of either sex.
00:22:39.19\00:22:40.54
And because of her nurturing,
the churches publishing ministry
00:22:40.85\00:22:44.43
has been impacted,
educational ministry.
00:22:44.96\00:22:46.98
I mean, you look at
63 publishing houses
00:22:47.02\00:22:48.87
publishing in 365
languages around the world.
00:22:48.97\00:22:52.32
A medical health work;
over 600 healthcare facilities.
00:22:52.35\00:22:56.47
American and Australian
eating habits, especially for
00:22:56.50\00:22:59.81
breakfast, indirectly but
impacted by corn flakes...
00:22:59.84\00:23:06.29
Who invented corn flakes?
00:23:06.32\00:23:08.14
Dr. Kellogg who was a
believer in Ellen White.
00:23:08.17\00:23:10.49
According to Wikipedia...
00:23:10.65\00:23:12.42
You know that very
substantiated source.
00:23:12.45\00:23:15.73
Anyway, according to
them the Adventist church,
00:23:15.76\00:23:18.32
Seventh-day Adventist
Church, operates the largest
00:23:18.35\00:23:20.91
Christian school
system, Protestant Christian
00:23:21.25\00:23:23.44
school system in the
world with over 7800 schools.
00:23:23.47\00:23:27.24
To give you some impact for
just a minute before we get into
00:23:27.98\00:23:30.46
the stories, to give
you some impact to show you
00:23:30.49\00:23:32.88
what influence
she had on education,
00:23:32.91\00:23:36.59
in 1895 the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:23:36.88\00:23:40.70
operated 18
schools, we had 35 teachers,
00:23:40.73\00:23:44.81
with a combined
enrollment of 895 students.
00:23:45.01\00:23:48.40
In 1897, Ellen White,
after being shown that we should
00:23:48.62\00:23:52.07
start church schools, she
urged that every church that has
00:23:52.10\00:23:55.42
at least six children
should have a church school.
00:23:55.45\00:23:57.84
So remember, 1895; 18 schools.
00:23:57.87\00:24:00.61
1900, anybody want to
guess how many schools we had?
00:24:00.64\00:24:05.68
220 in those five years as a
direct result of the counsel;
00:24:06.14\00:24:12.02
every church should have if
they have at least six children.
00:24:12.37\00:24:15.57
1900; 220 schools,
00:24:15.60\00:24:17.24
250 teachers verses 35
before, and about 5000 students.
00:24:17.27\00:24:21.23
And in 1905, it almost
doubled again to 417 schools,
00:24:21.26\00:24:25.84
with 466 teachers.
00:24:25.87\00:24:27.60
Just to show you the impact
that Ellen White's writings
00:24:28.02\00:24:32.00
have had in that one regard
on the history of the church.
00:24:32.03\00:24:35.50
Well, all this is pretty
astonishing for the person
00:24:36.34\00:24:38.42
that had the
résumé that we began with.
00:24:38.45\00:24:40.91
In 1935, A.G. Daniels,
former president of the
00:24:41.09\00:24:44.65
General Conference,
wrote this about Ellen White:
00:24:44.68\00:24:47.80
"It is my deep conviction
that Mrs. White's life
00:24:48.12\00:24:51.17
far transcends the life
of anyone I have ever known
00:24:51.37\00:24:54.99
or with whom I
have been associated.
00:24:55.02\00:24:57.07
I never once," he said,
"I never once heard her boast
00:24:57.68\00:25:01.31
of the gracious gift
God bestowed upon her
00:25:01.34\00:25:05.00
or of the marvelous
results of her endeavors.
00:25:05.10\00:25:08.58
She did rejoice in the fruitage,
but gave all the glory to Him
00:25:08.92\00:25:13.84
who wrought through her."
00:25:13.87\00:25:15.27
So what are a few other reasons,
how are some ways that she
00:25:15.82\00:25:20.49
has impacted the church?
00:25:20.52\00:25:21.81
You remember in Ephesians
4, the apostle Paul talks about
00:25:21.84\00:25:25.23
the gifts that God
puts in the church.
00:25:25.26\00:25:27.26
And one of those gifts, of
course, He placed in His church
00:25:27.29\00:25:30.37
is that of prophets.
00:25:30.40\00:25:32.81
And in Ephesians 4:12, he
gives a reason for the gifts.
00:25:33.01\00:25:37.18
And this would
apply also to prophets.
00:25:37.21\00:25:38.93
"For the perfecting of
the saints, for the work of
00:25:38.96\00:25:41.22
the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ."
00:25:41.25\00:25:44.45
So for the next few
minutes, what I want to do is
00:25:44.64\00:25:46.49
to look at a few stories
from Ellen White's experience
00:25:46.52\00:25:49.30
that deal with
perfecting of the saints, or the
00:25:49.33\00:25:52.50
work of the ministry, or the
edifying of the body of Christ.
00:25:52.53\00:25:56.53
And let me start with a
story that was told to me
00:25:56.56\00:25:59.33
many years ago by Ellen
White's oldest granddaughter,
00:25:59.36\00:26:02.28
Ella White Robinson.
00:26:02.31\00:26:04.28
Ella was a teenager in
Australia living in a tent
00:26:04.71\00:26:09.11
with her grandmother
while they were building
00:26:09.14\00:26:11.75
what became Avondale College.
00:26:11.78\00:26:13.88
And then later
they had their own home,
00:26:13.91\00:26:15.66
and Ellen White
had her home across
00:26:15.69\00:26:17.20
the road called, Sunnyside.
00:26:17.23\00:26:18.30
So the two families,
Ella's father and stepmother
00:26:18.33\00:26:22.12
and brothers and sister
lived in one, and across
00:26:22.15\00:26:25.09
the road just a little
ways away was Ellen White.
00:26:25.12\00:26:27.84
And the usual routine when
Ellen White was not traveling,
00:26:27.91\00:26:30.57
as Ella described it to
me, was that in the morning
00:26:30.60\00:26:34.19
after breakfast her grandmother
would come across the road
00:26:34.22\00:26:38.05
and she would
meet with the family
00:26:38.08\00:26:39.66
for a short period of time.
00:26:39.69\00:26:41.11
And they would
visit a little bit.
00:26:41.31\00:26:42.69
Now Ella was an
interesting person to meet,
00:26:43.24\00:26:45.90
even when I
knew her in her 80's.
00:26:45.93\00:26:47.57
She was still a
very dynamic person.
00:26:47.60\00:26:49.78
And I guess she was
really full of energy
00:26:49.81\00:26:52.12
when she was younger.
00:26:52.15\00:26:53.29
I can only imagine
what she must have been
00:26:53.32\00:26:54.55
when she was a teenager.
00:26:54.58\00:26:55.61
But anyway, she was concerned
because there in Cooranbong
00:26:55.64\00:27:02.81
where the new school
was being established
00:27:02.84\00:27:04.85
they did not have any motels
or places for people, parents,
00:27:05.45\00:27:09.86
that wanted to look at
the new school to see if they
00:27:09.89\00:27:11.67
wanted to send
their children there.
00:27:11.70\00:27:12.95
They had no place
for the parents to stay.
00:27:13.15\00:27:15.29
That meant that anybody coming
to the school needed to stay
00:27:15.39\00:27:18.48
in the homes of one
of the faculty members.
00:27:18.51\00:27:20.50
And Ella said that it seemed
like the most popular place
00:27:21.05\00:27:25.02
of all the places
where you could stay
00:27:25.05\00:27:26.90
was Ellen White's place.
00:27:27.10\00:27:28.70
And in fact, in one letter
Ellen White said she thought
00:27:29.39\00:27:31.79
she should just put a sign on
the front of her house saying,
00:27:31.82\00:27:33.97
"free lodging,"
because so many people came.
00:27:34.00\00:27:36.44
Anyway, so that kind of
substantiates what Ella said.
00:27:36.63\00:27:38.90
That was number one.
00:27:38.93\00:27:40.02
And Ella said, "If they couldn't
get to stay with my grandmother,
00:27:40.05\00:27:43.66
then it seemed like
they wanted to stay with us.
00:27:43.69\00:27:45.56
And so she said, "We
always had a lot of company."
00:27:45.77\00:27:47.32
And all the company, of
course, meant extra work.
00:27:47.35\00:27:49.51
Extra food to
prepare, extra laundry to do.
00:27:49.94\00:27:53.45
Even the chimneys on
the kerosene lamps had to be
00:27:53.67\00:27:56.45
cleaned, the smoke
off of them, and all that.
00:27:56.48\00:27:58.33
And she said it seemed so
unfair, because there was a
00:27:58.36\00:28:01.62
small church school
that she was attending,
00:28:01.65\00:28:03.47
and she said, "My
other classmates, they didn't
00:28:03.50\00:28:07.03
have all that company.
00:28:07.06\00:28:08.19
So they didn't have
all of this extra work."
00:28:08.22\00:28:11.64
And so she said, "I
began to pray to God to impress
00:28:12.08\00:28:14.86
my mother," which
was her stepmother...
00:28:14.89\00:28:17.34
Her mother had
died a few years earlier
00:28:17.37\00:28:18.84
and her father had remarried.
00:28:18.87\00:28:20.14
"...to impress my
mother not to ask me to do
00:28:20.17\00:28:23.53
so many chores."
00:28:23.56\00:28:24.93
Now that might be a
natural prayer for a teenager,
00:28:25.22\00:28:27.38
so it's a believable
story she was telling me.
00:28:27.41\00:28:29.97
And she said her grandmother,
she thought it was just
00:28:30.00\00:28:32.60
a day or two later
after she prayed this prayer,
00:28:32.63\00:28:35.54
her grandmother
came across the road
00:28:35.74\00:28:37.60
for one of these morning visits.
00:28:37.63\00:28:39.08
And it seemed like
just a natural thing to do,
00:28:39.28\00:28:41.49
the family all gathered,
Willy White and his family
00:28:41.52\00:28:43.81
all gathered there in the
parlor to meet with Ellen White.
00:28:43.84\00:28:46.75
And they visited a
little while, like normal.
00:28:46.95\00:28:49.37
And Ella told me, "When it
came to the time when usually
00:28:49.40\00:28:52.62
in the conversation it
just seemed natural that
00:28:52.65\00:28:55.05
my sister and I would take
our little twin half brothers,
00:28:55.08\00:28:57.98
little twin
brothers, into the other room
00:28:58.01\00:28:59.82
to play with them so
that grandma could talk with
00:28:59.85\00:29:01.74
papa and mama a
little bit longer," she said,
00:29:01.77\00:29:04.28
"we started to pick up the twin
boys, the little baby twins,
00:29:04.31\00:29:08.90
and grandma said, 'No, I
have a message for you.'"
00:29:09.10\00:29:13.68
And Ella said, "All of a
sudden I realized this was
00:29:13.96\00:29:16.06
a different type of visit than
what grandmother usually had
00:29:16.09\00:29:19.10
when she came across
the road in the morning
00:29:19.13\00:29:21.06
for one of these
after breakfast visits."
00:29:21.09\00:29:22.89
And she said her grandmother
reached into her satchel
00:29:22.92\00:29:24.92
and she brought
out some manuscript,
00:29:24.95\00:29:26.45
and she began to read.
00:29:26.48\00:29:27.76
And the first was some counsel
that she had for her son,
00:29:28.15\00:29:31.33
Willy White, Ella's father.
00:29:31.36\00:29:33.43
And Ella said, "No problem,
she wasn't talking to me.
00:29:33.60\00:29:37.13
So there was no problem.
00:29:37.16\00:29:38.52
Whatever she
needed to tell my dad..."
00:29:38.68\00:29:41.36
"My father," I
think she called him.
00:29:41.39\00:29:42.73
"...my father,
whatever she needed to tell him,
00:29:42.83\00:29:45.15
counsel, that was fine.
00:29:45.18\00:29:46.38
It wasn't addressed to me."
00:29:46.41\00:29:47.76
And she said,
"Grandma kept talking.
00:29:48.10\00:29:50.18
And she kept reading."
00:29:50.35\00:29:51.48
And pretty soon, she started
talking to Willy's second wife,
00:29:51.51\00:29:55.58
Ella's stepmother.
00:29:55.61\00:29:57.08
And again Ella
said, "No problem.
00:29:57.18\00:29:59.65
She's not giving me any counsel.
00:29:59.68\00:30:01.37
So, you know, it's fine.
00:30:01.62\00:30:03.34
Whatever she needs to
say, well that's fine."
00:30:03.37\00:30:05.62
And so there was some counsel.
00:30:05.99\00:30:07.15
But she said,
"Grandma didn't quit.
00:30:07.18\00:30:09.32
She kept reading."
00:30:09.65\00:30:10.85
And she said, "Now
the counsel was to me.
00:30:11.18\00:30:14.56
All of a sudden, now
it's a little bit different."
00:30:14.66\00:30:16.69
And what was some of
the counsel that she told me
00:30:16.90\00:30:20.25
her grandmother
advised her to do?
00:30:20.28\00:30:24.93
"You need to
help your mother more.
00:30:26.35\00:30:28.46
Your mother has so
many pressures on her,
00:30:30.04\00:30:32.84
so many responsibilities,
you need to help her more."
00:30:33.00\00:30:37.68
Now what was she praying?
00:30:37.71\00:30:40.12
Mother to ask me to do less.
00:30:40.41\00:30:42.55
And here, she's
being asked to do more.
00:30:42.58\00:30:44.55
"Furthermore," she
said, "grandma went on to say,
00:30:44.58\00:30:47.73
'Everything you do, no
matter how insignificant it may
00:30:48.54\00:30:52.11
seem to you, whatever, you
should always do everything
00:30:52.14\00:30:56.84
to the very best
of your ability.'"
00:30:56.94\00:30:59.47
Ella told me, "The
longer I sat there,
00:30:59.65\00:31:01.97
the more angry I was becoming.
00:31:02.00\00:31:04.04
This seems so unfair.
00:31:04.07\00:31:05.70
I had just been praying to
God, 'Please impress my mother
00:31:05.73\00:31:09.28
to ask me to do less,'
and here grandma is saying
00:31:09.49\00:31:12.56
I should be doing more."
00:31:12.59\00:31:14.28
And she said, "I was so upset
I blurted out to my grandmother,
00:31:15.52\00:31:19.80
'Did you just make that up,
00:31:20.12\00:31:22.19
or did the angel
really tell you all that?'"
00:31:22.22\00:31:24.96
And she said her grandmother
responded, "I didn't put
00:31:26.12\00:31:28.37
anything in the
testimony that I wasn't shown."
00:31:28.40\00:31:31.84
Ella told me, she
said, "There was some for my
00:31:32.50\00:31:34.60
younger sister Mabel.
00:31:34.63\00:31:35.99
I don't have a clue
what she said to Mabel.
00:31:36.14\00:31:38.54
I was so angry, I could
hardly wait for grandmother
00:31:38.57\00:31:42.33
to get out of
there that morning."
00:31:42.36\00:31:43.92
Now this was unusual, frankly,
because if you talk to Ella
00:31:44.03\00:31:47.02
for just a few minutes, she was
33 when her grandmother died.
00:31:47.05\00:31:52.07
She had a lot of
memories of Ellen White.
00:31:52.10\00:31:53.66
And she loved her grandmother.
00:31:53.69\00:31:55.63
You could tell that
by talking with her.
00:31:55.66\00:31:57.44
But on this
occasion the counsel comes,
00:31:57.47\00:31:59.78
it's cutting across
what she wants to do,
00:31:59.81\00:32:01.66
and she's angry.
00:32:01.69\00:32:02.76
And as soon as her
grandmother left, she said,
00:32:02.79\00:32:04.40
"I ran to my bedroom, I
threw myself across the bed,
00:32:04.43\00:32:08.52
and I began to
sob, and sob, and sob.
00:32:08.55\00:32:11.14
It seemed so unfair."
00:32:11.17\00:32:12.72
And then I can still remember
this little wisp of a woman
00:32:14.05\00:32:16.86
telling me this story
with her thin little finger
00:32:16.89\00:32:20.25
pointing towards
heaven, and she said,
00:32:20.28\00:32:21.78
"All of a
sudden it dawned on me.
00:32:21.81\00:32:24.60
This was the
answer to my prayer.
00:32:24.88\00:32:27.25
Oh it wasn't
the answer I wanted,
00:32:27.52\00:32:29.21
but it was the
answer to my prayer."
00:32:30.18\00:32:32.33
And then she said, "Such
awe came over me to think
00:32:32.69\00:32:35.65
that the great God
of the universe up there
00:32:35.68\00:32:38.10
took time out of what He's
doing to send an angel down
00:32:38.13\00:32:42.65
to my grandmother to give
her a special message for me."
00:32:43.28\00:32:48.74
She said, "I'm
embarrassed to tell you, Jim,
00:32:49.17\00:32:51.18
that was not my first response.
00:32:51.28\00:32:53.14
But ever since, I have
been extremely grateful
00:32:53.53\00:32:56.63
to God for what He
did for me as a teenager."
00:32:57.14\00:33:00.34
Now she's written the story out.
00:33:00.81\00:33:02.10
Some of you may
have seen it in her book.
00:33:02.13\00:33:03.71
In her book, she adds something
that I don't remember her
00:33:04.19\00:33:06.42
telling me when
she told me the story.
00:33:06.45\00:33:08.06
And that was, that one of her
duties was to scour the smoke
00:33:08.09\00:33:12.42
off the bottom of the kettles,
the big pans that they cooked
00:33:12.50\00:33:15.06
with on the wood stove.
00:33:15.09\00:33:16.76
And in the book, she tells
how she dried her eyes, got up,
00:33:16.79\00:33:19.69
and she went out into that sand
pit out behind where she was
00:33:19.72\00:33:22.46
suppose to be scouring the smoke
off the bottom of the kettles.
00:33:22.49\00:33:25.43
And she said, "I gave
those pots the best scouring
00:33:25.46\00:33:29.98
I ever did in my life."
00:33:30.01\00:33:31.42
But it changed the impact
of this woman's, or the focus
00:33:31.69\00:33:36.14
of this woman's thinking,
this young girl's thinking.
00:33:36.17\00:33:38.34
Because, as we say,
it was for the perfecting
00:33:38.80\00:33:42.39
of the saints.
00:33:42.67\00:33:44.05
Well, there's another
story I could tell, but I think
00:33:45.23\00:33:47.77
I'm going to go to the
work of the ministry next,
00:33:47.80\00:33:49.91
because I get to watch
the clock up there also.
00:33:49.94\00:33:53.32
And I want to make certain I
get some in to illustrate these.
00:33:53.35\00:33:55.93
So let's think about a man that
you probably have all heard of
00:33:56.03\00:34:00.95
if you know anything
about Adventist history at all.
00:34:00.98\00:34:02.87
And that is Uriah Smith.
00:34:02.90\00:34:05.39
Uriah Smith worked
for the church paper,
00:34:05.66\00:34:08.91
The Review and Herald,
for a total of about 50 years.
00:34:08.94\00:34:12.42
From, just one little
time I think he was gone
00:34:12.52\00:34:15.10
for a short time, but
basically from 1853 to 1903.
00:34:15.13\00:34:18.86
And for many of those years,
probably half of them or so,
00:34:18.97\00:34:21.52
he was editor of
the church paper.
00:34:21.55\00:34:23.48
He was a very gifted writer.
00:34:23.51\00:34:24.85
We don't have time to talk
a lot about what all he did,
00:34:25.70\00:34:27.90
but he was extremely
gifted in a number of areas.
00:34:27.93\00:34:30.71
He did the first woodcuts,
because he was an artist.
00:34:30.74\00:34:33.12
So the first woodcuts,
primitive though they were,
00:34:33.15\00:34:35.34
that appeared in Sabbath
keeping Adventist publications.
00:34:35.37\00:34:38.10
If you look closely,
you'll find a little "U.S."
00:34:38.40\00:34:40.61
somewhere in the woodcut
showing that he was the one
00:34:40.64\00:34:43.45
who had made the woodcut.
00:34:43.48\00:34:44.81
He was a poet,
he was an inventor.
00:34:44.98\00:34:46.83
And as I've
said, he was an editor.
00:34:47.11\00:34:50.47
He was a teacher,
though he was recalled as
00:34:50.67\00:34:53.75
being a fairly dry speaker.
00:34:53.78\00:34:56.46
No, dry speaker.
Not just fairly dry.
00:34:56.68\00:34:59.62
A dry speaker, but a
wonderfully gifted writer.
00:34:59.65\00:35:02.20
Now in 1881-82, back in
that era, there was a problem
00:35:02.66\00:35:08.02
at the new Battle Creek college
that had been established.
00:35:08.05\00:35:11.12
They had hired a new
president by the name of
00:35:11.80\00:35:13.67
Alexander McLearn.
00:35:13.70\00:35:15.22
And McLearn had, as I
understand, not joined
00:35:15.37\00:35:17.95
the church, but he
indicated that he wanted to,
00:35:17.98\00:35:19.92
and he had a degree, so
that would be good to have him
00:35:19.95\00:35:21.99
charge of the school.
00:35:22.23\00:35:23.42
And McLearn had an
interesting philosophy,
00:35:23.69\00:35:27.06
and that had to
do with the rules.
00:35:27.22\00:35:29.02
They should not have
many rules for the students.
00:35:29.05\00:35:30.85
And the rules they
did have for the students
00:35:31.11\00:35:33.57
did not need to be
enforced too vigorously.
00:35:33.77\00:35:37.01
And the chairman of the school
board for that period of time
00:35:37.27\00:35:40.34
was Uriah Smith.
00:35:40.37\00:35:41.75
And he tended to agree
with Alexander McLearn,
00:35:41.78\00:35:45.06
the principle.
00:35:45.09\00:35:46.12
Now on the other side
you have the head of the
00:35:46.55\00:35:48.77
English department, a man by
the name of Goodloe Harper Bell.
00:35:48.80\00:35:52.21
That's a good name for
a school, isn't it; Bell.
00:35:52.86\00:35:54.82
Anyway, Goodloe Harper Bell.
00:35:54.85\00:35:56.36
And he believed that
you should have many rules
00:35:56.46\00:36:00.03
and you should
enforce them rigorously.
00:36:00.13\00:36:02.01
Fairly, but you enforce them.
00:36:02.04\00:36:04.19
And he had on his side an ally.
00:36:04.42\00:36:07.37
And that was G.I.
Butler, who was the president
00:36:07.40\00:36:11.09
of the General
Conference at the time.
00:36:11.29\00:36:12.94
So here you have the church
paper editor supporting the
00:36:13.33\00:36:16.01
president or principle,
and on this side you have the
00:36:16.04\00:36:18.41
president of the
General Conference supporting
00:36:18.44\00:36:20.47
the head of the
English department.
00:36:20.86\00:36:22.69
And it did not go well.
00:36:22.99\00:36:24.50
Believe me, it did not go well.
00:36:25.06\00:36:26.12
In fact, it went so bad
they had to close the college
00:36:26.15\00:36:28.80
for one year, 1882-83,
until they could sort it all out
00:36:28.83\00:36:32.43
and figure out what
rules they were going to use,
00:36:32.46\00:36:34.19
and everybody's
tempers could calm down,
00:36:34.22\00:36:35.94
and all that, and then
they re-opened the school.
00:36:35.97\00:36:38.22
Well then you have, a few
years later, you have another
00:36:38.52\00:36:41.00
situation that Uriah
Smith is involved with.
00:36:41.03\00:36:42.89
And I'm telling
you this as background
00:36:42.92\00:36:44.60
for what I want
to share in a minute.
00:36:44.63\00:36:46.15
1888, the great righteousness
by faith General Conference
00:36:47.14\00:36:50.35
session in
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
00:36:50.38\00:36:53.04
Uriah Smith
went to that session.
00:36:53.41\00:36:55.73
He was editor of the paper.
00:36:55.99\00:36:57.43
He reported, from what people
say, quite fairly, even though
00:36:57.46\00:37:01.15
he was not one who accepted or
resonated with the new emphasis
00:37:01.18\00:37:06.17
on Christ and His righteousness
that was being presented
00:37:06.20\00:37:09.10
there by elders A.T.
Jones and E.J. Waggoner,
00:37:09.13\00:37:12.59
and Ellen White supporting them.
00:37:12.92\00:37:14.69
In fact, Elder
Smith was so upset by this
00:37:14.92\00:37:19.30
that when he came back home,
Ellen White tried to reach out
00:37:19.33\00:37:23.19
to him because she
knew he had not accepted
00:37:23.22\00:37:26.43
the new insights that
had come at this session.
00:37:26.61\00:37:29.38
And he refused to talk with her.
00:37:29.41\00:37:31.70
He didn't want a
thing to do with her.
00:37:32.00\00:37:33.54
And so, you could imagine there
is some strain going on there.
00:37:34.86\00:37:38.02
He's editor of the church paper.
00:37:38.05\00:37:39.70
And she's in Battle Creek,
came to Battle Creek later.
00:37:39.73\00:37:42.98
Well on December 31,
1890 she wrote a letter
00:37:43.65\00:37:49.35
to Uriah Smith.
00:37:49.38\00:37:50.63
And it's twelve
pages type written,
00:37:51.10\00:37:52.97
double spaced type written.
00:37:53.22\00:37:54.71
And I want to just read
you a few lines from this
00:37:54.91\00:37:57.91
to give you some idea
of how she went out...
00:37:58.21\00:38:00.66
Not just working for him
because he was a church leader.
00:38:00.69\00:38:03.30
The same kind of
passion for souls she expressed
00:38:03.90\00:38:07.75
in other letters to other
people when they were not living
00:38:07.95\00:38:11.10
or doing right.
00:38:11.13\00:38:12.26
But I'm going to read
a little bit from this.
00:38:12.36\00:38:14.28
"Dear Brother Smith, I
have been remarkably exercised
00:38:14.48\00:38:19.07
in regard to your
case several times during
00:38:19.10\00:38:21.82
my last round of labors.
00:38:21.85\00:38:23.46
I have been greatly
blessed of the Lord;
00:38:23.94\00:38:26.18
but at times your case
has been presented before me
00:38:26.42\00:38:29.64
in a very clear light,
just where you are standing.
00:38:29.67\00:38:34.30
I have carried the
burden with but little hope
00:38:34.33\00:38:36.81
that I could do you any good."
00:38:37.01\00:38:38.86
Now she's going in the next few
pages, she's going to go back
00:38:38.89\00:38:41.35
and refer clear back
to the situation of the
00:38:41.38\00:38:43.75
Battle Creek college about
eight or nine years before,
00:38:43.78\00:38:45.81
seven or eight years before.
00:38:45.84\00:38:46.97
She's going to talk about
his views and his being on the
00:38:47.07\00:38:50.79
wrong side in Minneapolis
00:38:50.82\00:38:52.33
at the General
Conference session of 1888.
00:38:52.51\00:38:54.77
And she's going to move
back and forth between appeals
00:38:54.87\00:38:57.29
to this man and
relating some of the problems
00:38:57.32\00:39:00.82
that he had in his life.
00:39:00.85\00:39:02.40
So skipping over a
couple or three pages,
00:39:02.50\00:39:04.44
we're just going to
talk about the appeals.
00:39:04.47\00:39:06.29
"I am sorry," she wrote
to him, "I am sorry that you
00:39:06.32\00:39:09.84
are affected with
defective spiritual eye-sight."
00:39:09.87\00:39:13.48
That's pretty straight
talk, isn't it, to write to the
00:39:14.11\00:39:16.02
editor of the church paper.
00:39:16.10\00:39:17.31
Maybe the editor still
gets those kind of talk,
00:39:19.79\00:39:21.54
but not from a prophet.
00:39:21.57\00:39:22.60
You know, this is coming
from the servant of the Lord.
00:39:22.63\00:39:25.22
"I beg of you for your soul's
sake to buy of the heavenly
00:39:25.25\00:39:28.01
merchant man gold
that ye may be rich;
00:39:28.04\00:39:29.94
white raiment
that ye may be clothed,
00:39:30.14\00:39:32.35
and anoint thine eyes with
eye salve that thou mayest see."
00:39:32.38\00:39:36.61
Skipping over another page.
00:39:36.81\00:39:38.44
Again, she's moving
back and forth between things
00:39:38.47\00:39:40.87
in his life that he needs
to change, and then the appeal.
00:39:40.90\00:39:43.47
"My brother, Uriah
Smith, whom I have loved
00:39:43.50\00:39:46.25
and respected in the
Lord, you have been working
00:39:46.28\00:39:49.13
at cross purposes with
God, practicing upon yourself
00:39:49.16\00:39:53.42
deceptions which, if you
continue as you have done,
00:39:53.45\00:39:57.65
will be succeeded with
deceptions and delusions
00:39:57.94\00:40:00.91
which will end in irrevocable
separation from God."
00:40:01.11\00:40:05.70
Can you be much
plainer than that?
00:40:06.26\00:40:08.24
"If you keep
going as you are going,
00:40:08.27\00:40:10.44
you will be eternally lost."
00:40:10.47\00:40:13.29
Well, she's moving back and
forth again about things that
00:40:14.06\00:40:17.43
are going on in his life.
00:40:17.46\00:40:18.81
And get over
another two or three pages,
00:40:18.91\00:40:21.48
and here's what
we find her saying.
00:40:21.51\00:40:22.68
"'Without Me,' said
Christ, 'ye can do nothing.'
00:40:22.71\00:40:25.54
Do you refuse to
fall on the Rock?
00:40:25.98\00:40:28.84
If so, there is not
the slightest assurance
00:40:29.18\00:40:31.95
in your case that you
will ever recover yourself
00:40:31.98\00:40:34.59
out of the snare of the devil."
00:40:34.69\00:40:36.99
Well, skipping over some more.
00:40:38.11\00:40:39.69
Coming towards
the end of the letter,
00:40:40.55\00:40:41.62
we're over to page ten now.
00:40:41.65\00:40:43.15
"Why your particular
case agonizes my soul
00:40:43.59\00:40:47.47
so
continuously, I cannot define.
00:40:47.50\00:40:50.50
Again and again have I
seen that blindness was upon you
00:40:50.75\00:40:53.89
to an alarming degree.
00:40:53.92\00:40:55.27
I give you up to the hands
of Jesus, and then think I have
00:40:55.30\00:40:58.53
not more to say, not another
word, then I find my soul torn
00:40:58.56\00:41:03.23
with anguish and I am
weeping and praying with strong
00:41:03.26\00:41:06.52
crying and tears, 'Take
not thy Holy Spirit from him;
00:41:06.55\00:41:10.41
O, let something from Thy
spirit break this spell.'"
00:41:10.68\00:41:15.95
Do you feel the
intensity of Ellen White,
00:41:16.40\00:41:18.00
just a little parenthesis
here, do you feel the intensity
00:41:18.03\00:41:21.01
for Ellen White when she
is writing, trying to appeal
00:41:21.04\00:41:24.63
to a soul to
come back to Christ,
00:41:24.66\00:41:26.96
or to change his or her life?
00:41:26.99\00:41:28.41
I think it comes
through pretty clear.
00:41:28.80\00:41:30.46
And I just throw in that when
critics, who have never read
00:41:30.49\00:41:34.18
these kind of letters
probably, say that Ellen White
00:41:34.21\00:41:36.92
asked her secretary
to write them, it just...
00:41:36.95\00:41:39.78
I mean, you can't believe it
when you've read how intense...
00:41:39.81\00:41:43.35
In fact, one of her
secretaries wrote and said,
00:41:43.53\00:41:45.34
"Anybody that knows the
burden that Ellen White carries
00:41:45.37\00:41:48.78
for a soul when she's
really intently trying to
00:41:48.81\00:41:51.87
reclaim that soul knows that
she could never have asked us
00:41:52.07\00:41:54.73
to write anything."
00:41:54.89\00:41:56.22
There's no way Ellen White
could say, "Oh, come on in here,
00:41:56.25\00:41:58.67
Marion Davis," or one
of the other secretaries,
00:41:58.70\00:42:00.51
"and go rough up
Elder Smith a little bit,"
00:42:00.54\00:42:02.27
and come up with
something like this.
00:42:02.30\00:42:03.57
I mean, here she is,
the servant of the Lord,
00:42:03.60\00:42:05.12
she's been shown the situation.
00:42:05.15\00:42:07.07
And now with the intensity
of that burden that's on her,
00:42:07.23\00:42:10.48
knowing what's at stake,
she is appealing to this man.
00:42:10.93\00:42:14.13
Well, we're talking
about the work of the ministry,
00:42:14.16\00:42:17.39
what impact did
this have on Uriah Smith.
00:42:17.42\00:42:21.16
Ellen White did not
ask him to do what he did,
00:42:21.43\00:42:24.06
but he called for a
meeting, he asked for a meeting
00:42:24.50\00:42:27.21
with Ellen White, and he
invited along a few of the
00:42:27.41\00:42:30.17
church leaders, including
the General Conference president
00:42:30.20\00:42:33.10
and some others.
00:42:33.13\00:42:34.16
And then, as I say, Ellen White
did not ask him to do this,
00:42:34.49\00:42:37.37
but then the report
is that he read out loud
00:42:37.40\00:42:41.40
every word in this testimony.
00:42:41.43\00:42:44.61
And then with tears of
repentance and confession,
00:42:45.85\00:42:49.16
he broke down and
wept and apologized
00:42:49.72\00:42:53.04
for his wrong attitude, going
clear back to the situation with
00:42:53.07\00:42:56.23
the college, as
well as Minneapolis.
00:42:56.26\00:42:59.98
Now that was not
enough for Uriah Smith.
00:43:00.71\00:43:03.79
Because Uriah Smith
knew he was a church leader,
00:43:04.13\00:43:07.52
and he needed to do more.
00:43:07.69\00:43:09.27
There was a workers meeting,
ministers had gathered there
00:43:09.46\00:43:11.70
in Battle Creek, and he
asked if he could speak to them.
00:43:11.73\00:43:14.54
And the report is that he did.
00:43:14.76\00:43:16.06
Now on that occasion, he
did not re-read the testimony.
00:43:16.09\00:43:19.57
So he just described
what the counsel was that
00:43:19.60\00:43:23.77
Ellen White had given him.
00:43:23.80\00:43:25.33
And then again, the report
is that with tears of repentance
00:43:25.52\00:43:28.72
and confession, he begged
the ministers to forgive him.
00:43:28.75\00:43:32.17
Because he knew
some had sided with him
00:43:32.41\00:43:34.56
and some had been against him.
00:43:34.66\00:43:36.48
He had divided the working
force, and now he's apologizing
00:43:36.51\00:43:40.50
for his wrong influence.
00:43:40.75\00:43:42.59
But that was not
enough for Uriah Smith.
00:43:43.68\00:43:47.92
Because Uriah Smith
knew he was a church leader.
00:43:48.42\00:43:52.39
And so he asked the following
Sabbath, according to the
00:43:53.06\00:43:56.00
account that we have,
he asked if he could speak
00:43:56.03\00:43:58.86
to the congregation in
the large Dime Tabernacle,
00:43:58.89\00:44:02.23
the big Adventist church
in Battle Creek, Michigan.
00:44:02.26\00:44:05.16
He had divided that
congregation also, just like
00:44:05.27\00:44:07.55
he had the pastoral force.
00:44:07.58\00:44:09.24
Some with him, some against him.
00:44:09.34\00:44:11.03
But he had divided.
00:44:11.22\00:44:12.57
And now on Sabbath,
again the account is
00:44:12.87\00:44:15.48
he did not read the testimony,
but he referred to its contents.
00:44:15.51\00:44:18.98
And with tears of
repentance and confession,
00:44:19.23\00:44:22.13
he apologized and
begged their forgiveness.
00:44:22.67\00:44:25.56
Was he a perfect
individual after this?
00:44:26.68\00:44:30.25
No, he was still human.
00:44:30.28\00:44:31.80
But was he a changed man?
00:44:31.83\00:44:34.10
Definitely.
00:44:34.41\00:44:35.47
And why would I say that?
00:44:35.67\00:44:37.32
Well let me give you
just one other little vignette
00:44:37.52\00:44:40.47
in Elder Smith's life,
this man who contributed so much
00:44:40.50\00:44:43.26
through the years to our church.
00:44:43.29\00:44:44.35
But occasionally he
did get on the wrong side.
00:44:44.55\00:44:46.20
And that's what
encourages me about
00:44:46.27\00:44:47.42
these stories, is when we do.
00:44:47.45\00:44:49.31
Because we all get on
the wrong side at some point
00:44:49.34\00:44:50.96
or other in our
life; we're sinners.
00:44:50.99\00:44:52.75
But God doesn't give up on us.
00:44:53.17\00:44:54.67
He comes
through again and again.
00:44:55.20\00:44:56.88
And that's what He
did with Elder Smith.
00:44:56.91\00:44:58.33
Well in 1897, Elder
Smith was not asked to continue
00:44:58.36\00:45:04.51
as editor of, The Review.
00:45:04.61\00:45:06.36
He was 65 years
of age at the time.
00:45:07.51\00:45:09.59
He had invented several things,
so he had royalties coming in
00:45:10.10\00:45:13.20
from his patents.
00:45:13.23\00:45:14.43
He also had authored a
number of books, so he had
00:45:14.53\00:45:16.52
royalties coming in from those.
00:45:16.55\00:45:18.24
He had a large house just a
block or so from the college,
00:45:18.44\00:45:21.02
which he had a number of rooms
that he rented out to students.
00:45:21.05\00:45:23.54
Because in the early days of the
college, they didn't have dorms.
00:45:23.68\00:45:26.34
So he had an income.
00:45:26.80\00:45:28.19
And now he is not elected
or re-elected to be editor
00:45:28.38\00:45:32.91
of the church paper.
00:45:32.94\00:45:34.42
Who did they put in?
00:45:34.63\00:45:35.90
A.T. Jones.
00:45:36.58\00:45:38.55
The man who had publically
humiliated Uriah Smith
00:45:38.69\00:45:42.42
in 1888 at the
General Conference session.
00:45:42.45\00:45:45.23
He had stood up and
said, "Brother Smith thinks
00:45:45.66\00:45:48.22
he knows what he's talking
about, but he really doesn't."
00:45:48.25\00:45:50.26
Well I'm paraphrasing.
00:45:50.37\00:45:51.64
They disagreed
on the ten kingdoms;
00:45:51.74\00:45:54.55
the identity of the
various ten horns, ten kingdoms,
00:45:54.58\00:45:58.00
ten toes, all that.
00:45:58.03\00:45:59.08
They agreed on all,
but I think there was one.
00:45:59.11\00:46:01.23
But they
disagreed vehemently on one.
00:46:01.26\00:46:03.51
And Smith would submit, as
a kind gentleman that he was,
00:46:03.54\00:46:06.19
"Well I think this
is the identification."
00:46:06.22\00:46:08.24
And Jones said, "He
doesn't know what he's
00:46:08.34\00:46:09.40
talking about; here it is."
00:46:09.43\00:46:10.64
So I mean, here was a younger
man taking on the older man
00:46:10.75\00:46:13.88
publically at the
session and putting him down.
00:46:13.91\00:46:16.94
And now he is put in as
editor, and Smith is asked to be
00:46:16.97\00:46:20.93
associate editor.
00:46:20.96\00:46:22.29
Now what would you have done
if you had been Elder Smith?
00:46:22.57\00:46:25.75
Probably most of
us at 65 years of age,
00:46:26.42\00:46:28.65
if we had another
income, we would have retired.
00:46:28.68\00:46:32.02
But he didn't. He stayed on.
00:46:32.42\00:46:34.64
And in 1901, Ellen White,
among others, was thrilled
00:46:34.67\00:46:38.00
when the church at the
1901 General Conference session
00:46:38.10\00:46:40.52
again put Uriah Smith back in
as editor of the church paper.
00:46:40.65\00:46:44.74
Did Ellen White's ministry
have an impact on this minister?
00:46:44.95\00:46:50.05
Well, certainly it did.
00:46:50.36\00:46:51.88
Let me give you another little
interesting, it's a short story,
00:46:52.24\00:46:55.50
but I find it very interesting.
00:46:55.71\00:46:57.48
It's about a young
minister in Australia.
00:46:57.51\00:47:01.48
And one day he
went to get his mail,
00:47:01.68\00:47:06.17
and he probably found an
envelope about like this.
00:47:06.33\00:47:08.81
Maybe there were shorter ones
also, but this is an original
00:47:08.84\00:47:10.91
envelope from Ellen White
with her return address up here.
00:47:10.94\00:47:13.64
And here was his name on it.
00:47:13.78\00:47:15.59
And he thought to himself,
"What in the world have I done?
00:47:16.33\00:47:20.73
Why is Ellen
White writing to me?"
00:47:21.26\00:47:24.40
I mean, now let's be honest.
00:47:25.29\00:47:27.56
I see a couple of you chuckling.
00:47:27.59\00:47:29.28
Let's be honest, if
you were alive back then
00:47:29.31\00:47:32.69
and you were, for instance,
a minister, or someone else,
00:47:33.83\00:47:36.47
but a minister, and you
knew Ellen White was going to be
00:47:36.50\00:47:39.66
at a camp meeting that
you were scheduled to be at,
00:47:39.69\00:47:42.24
would you possibly
approach the camp meeting
00:47:43.33\00:47:47.40
with a little bit of
fear and trepidation?
00:47:47.60\00:47:49.90
We're told that some
of the ministers did. Why?
00:47:50.27\00:47:51.88
Because they knew if God had
given her a message for them,
00:47:51.91\00:47:54.55
she would invite them to come to
the room where she was staying,
00:47:54.75\00:47:57.34
or her tent, and she always
had someone there with her.
00:47:57.37\00:48:00.05
Often the conference president
when she would read a testimony.
00:48:00.08\00:48:03.25
So here's this young minister.
00:48:03.70\00:48:05.14
He knows about
some of the messages.
00:48:05.17\00:48:06.78
And he thinks to himself,
"What in the world have I done?
00:48:06.81\00:48:09.97
Why has Ellen
White written to me?"
00:48:10.19\00:48:12.71
So he prayed a prayer, which I
think was a pretty good prayer.
00:48:13.28\00:48:15.92
He said, "Lord, give me the
courage to open this envelope
00:48:15.95\00:48:21.00
and to see what's in here.
00:48:21.03\00:48:22.16
And then give me the
strength to do whatever it is
00:48:22.64\00:48:25.82
that the Lord has shown
that I should be doing."
00:48:25.92\00:48:28.40
So he went out into the
bush, and again he knelt down
00:48:29.06\00:48:32.24
and he prayed the
prayer, "Give me the courage
00:48:32.27\00:48:34.92
to tear this envelope
open, and then give me
00:48:34.95\00:48:37.42
the strength to
do whatever it is."
00:48:37.45\00:48:39.01
And he opened up
the letter and read it.
00:48:39.04\00:48:41.49
And here's the
story, he tells the story
00:48:41.52\00:48:42.96
on himself what happened.
00:48:42.99\00:48:44.44
What was the counsel
that God had given Ellen White
00:48:44.81\00:48:47.82
for this young minister?
00:48:47.85\00:48:49.34
Preach shorter sermons.
00:48:49.75\00:48:52.17
Preach shorter sermons.
00:48:53.72\00:48:55.13
He admitted that at
the time he was preaching
00:48:55.51\00:48:57.67
for about an hour and a half.
00:48:57.70\00:48:59.20
And he was thinking about
lengthening them to two hours.
00:48:59.45\00:49:02.29
Because if he did
that, he might hit a few more
00:49:02.32\00:49:04.17
people in the congregation.
00:49:04.20\00:49:05.66
And here comes the
message from the Lord,
00:49:05.69\00:49:07.41
"Preach shorter sermons."
00:49:07.44\00:49:09.70
Now talk about a
practical counsel,
00:49:10.98\00:49:13.66
practical advice
for this young man.
00:49:13.69\00:49:15.46
When you look back
over his life from then on,
00:49:15.66\00:49:18.86
what did he do most of
the rest of his career?
00:49:18.96\00:49:22.02
He was a chaplain in
several of our sanitariums.
00:49:23.36\00:49:26.58
And if there is any one thing
that sick people don't like,
00:49:27.14\00:49:30.95
it's someone that comes in
and talks and talks and talks.
00:49:31.05\00:49:34.86
This was practical advice.
00:49:35.44\00:49:37.07
Say what needs to be said,
and then, bluntly, shut-up.
00:49:37.10\00:49:41.13
I mean, you know, then be quiet.
00:49:41.16\00:49:43.03
Don't just keep talking.
00:49:43.06\00:49:44.93
Talk about practical
advice for this young minister.
00:49:45.15\00:49:49.43
Well, there are other
stories that could be told about
00:49:50.39\00:49:52.78
the work of the ministry.
00:49:53.55\00:49:54.93
Yeah, let me just
tell one short one.
00:49:56.33\00:49:57.70
I think I can get this
in, and still a couple more
00:49:57.73\00:49:59.47
in the time we have.
00:49:59.50\00:50:00.56
This is about Eugene Farnsworth.
00:50:00.59\00:50:02.56
Eugene Farnsworth, who
we talked about last night,
00:50:02.70\00:50:04.98
at the Washington,
New Hampshire church.
00:50:05.01\00:50:06.42
In 1867, the minister of
the church, Frederick Wheeler,
00:50:06.45\00:50:10.26
that we also talked
about in the previous segment,
00:50:10.29\00:50:12.41
he had been called away
to another place in 1857.
00:50:12.44\00:50:15.64
And so for the
next few years there was
00:50:15.67\00:50:17.19
no pastor over the church.
00:50:17.22\00:50:18.59
And things kind of
spiritually kind of slid
00:50:18.62\00:50:20.39
in the congregation.
00:50:20.42\00:50:21.58
And it was not going
well spiritually for that
00:50:21.61\00:50:25.11
little congregation.
00:50:25.14\00:50:26.62
And so, James and
Ellen White and J.N. Andrews
00:50:26.77\00:50:29.85
came to
Washington, New Hampshire
00:50:29.96\00:50:31.80
in Christmas week of 1867.
00:50:32.01\00:50:35.28
Now the way they did it in those
days, back in the early days
00:50:35.46\00:50:37.76
before you had, you know,
all this easy communication
00:50:37.79\00:50:39.78
like day, was that if
a minister was going to
00:50:39.81\00:50:42.30
be at a certain
place to hold preaching
00:50:42.33\00:50:44.09
on a certain date or
dates over a weekend,
00:50:44.20\00:50:46.61
they would put a notice on
the back page of, The Review.
00:50:46.64\00:50:49.45
And then, of course,
given traveling connections
00:50:49.48\00:50:51.84
and changes in plans, and
all that, they tried their
00:50:51.87\00:50:54.23
best to show up,
but they didn't always.
00:50:54.26\00:50:56.07
So there was a notice that
was placed on the back page
00:50:56.10\00:50:58.80
of, The Review, saying
that James and Ellen White
00:50:58.83\00:51:00.85
and J.N Andrews were coming
to Washington, New Hampshire.
00:51:00.88\00:51:03.08
I might just throw in
that J.N. Andrews, one time,
00:51:03.64\00:51:06.90
said about James White and
his keeping to his schedule
00:51:06.93\00:51:10.57
that he would print on
the back page of, The Review,
00:51:10.60\00:51:12.70
that if there's one thing
that God doesn't know about the
00:51:12.73\00:51:15.25
future, it's where
James White is really going to
00:51:15.28\00:51:17.15
be next Sabbath.
00:51:17.18\00:51:18.46
Because he
didn't always make it.
00:51:18.49\00:51:19.52
But anyway, he
shows up for this meeting.
00:51:19.55\00:51:21.46
And on Monday,
December 23, 1867,
00:51:21.49\00:51:24.94
something happened
there that was very unusual.
00:51:24.97\00:51:27.73
It's not the only time
it happened, but it was very
00:51:27.76\00:51:29.72
unusual in the
experience of Ellen White.
00:51:29.75\00:51:32.03
God had given her messages for
members of that congregation.
00:51:32.06\00:51:35.98
Apparently the meeting
was not held in the church.
00:51:36.15\00:51:37.79
It was held in the home of the
first elder, Cyrus Farnsworth.
00:51:37.82\00:51:40.78
But in it she was shown
the sins and the problems
00:51:40.92\00:51:45.29
of several
members of the church.
00:51:45.96\00:51:48.13
And she stood up, under the
influence of the Holy Spirit,
00:51:48.22\00:51:51.96
and began to call
to people and say,
00:51:51.99\00:51:53.72
"I've been shown this about you,
00:51:53.75\00:51:55.17
and I've been
shown that about you."
00:51:55.38\00:51:57.06
And let's be honest, some of
us would be sitting like this
00:51:57.20\00:51:59.91
in our chairs, I think probably,
the longer this meeting went on.
00:52:00.09\00:52:03.02
And it went on for five hours.
00:52:03.05\00:52:04.72
Well there was a young
man, Eugene Farnsworth,
00:52:05.70\00:52:07.43
sitting in the
congregation that day.
00:52:07.46\00:52:10.66
Or at his
uncle's house probably.
00:52:10.69\00:52:12.61
And he's thinking to himself...
00:52:12.78\00:52:14.99
Because he's never really
accepted Ellen White's visions.
00:52:15.02\00:52:17.55
He had never had any reason to
accept them or not accept them.
00:52:18.87\00:52:22.00
And so here she is.
00:52:22.17\00:52:23.56
And he's thinking to
himself, "If she's genuine,
00:52:23.62\00:52:27.85
she will reprove my father."
00:52:27.89\00:52:30.21
Because he knew that his father
had started chewing tobacco.
00:52:30.24\00:52:35.01
Now his father had
claimed to have given it up
00:52:35.17\00:52:36.89
when he joined the church.
00:52:36.92\00:52:37.98
Now he comes, you
know, he's doing it again.
00:52:38.01\00:52:41.60
And Eugene knew it because when
they worked out in the woods
00:52:41.64\00:52:44.45
in the winter, he
sometimes would be working
00:52:44.48\00:52:47.14
behind his father and he would
see where his father had kicked,
00:52:47.17\00:52:50.04
where he had spit
out the tobacco juice
00:52:50.39\00:52:52.44
he would kick it over
with his shoe trying to
00:52:52.47\00:52:54.48
cover it up so
his son didn't know.
00:52:54.51\00:52:55.70
But Eugene knew.
00:52:55.73\00:52:56.76
And so Eugene thought to
himself, "If she's from God,
00:52:56.97\00:52:59.59
she will rebuke my father.
00:52:59.79\00:53:01.74
She will call him
out on this thing."
00:53:01.77\00:53:03.47
Because he's publically
saying he's not using any
00:53:03.50\00:53:06.27
tobacco anymore.
00:53:06.30\00:53:07.41
And as Eugene himself
would later tell the story,
00:53:07.55\00:53:10.25
almost as the thought
went through his mind,
00:53:10.28\00:53:12.29
Ellen White turned
to Williams Farnsworth
00:53:12.32\00:53:14.57
and said, "I have been
shown that you are the slave
00:53:14.91\00:53:18.28
of nicotine, king nicotine,"
and went on to explain
00:53:18.31\00:53:22.49
that apparently some
knew that he was there
00:53:22.52\00:53:26.10
and he thought they didn't know.
00:53:26.13\00:53:27.24
And she appealed to
him to give up the tobacco.
00:53:27.55\00:53:32.54
Now let's just step aside for
a minute here and think about
00:53:32.78\00:53:35.90
how some people
react to the gift today.
00:53:35.93\00:53:38.27
Do you think that for
teenage Eugene Farnsworth,
00:53:38.30\00:53:41.62
who was about 19 years of
age, do you think at that point
00:53:41.65\00:53:45.27
he thought the spirit of
prophecy was not relevant?
00:53:45.30\00:53:47.38
Of course not.
00:53:48.63\00:53:49.81
He knew it was relevant. Why?
00:53:49.84\00:53:50.89
Because as a teenager
he put it to the test,
00:53:50.92\00:53:52.92
and he knew it was trustworthy.
00:53:53.09\00:53:54.53
And what happened?
00:53:54.77\00:53:57.07
Well, revival broke out
as a result of the meeting.
00:53:57.10\00:53:59.70
Two days later on Christmas
day, 1867, they actually
00:53:59.97\00:54:05.35
went after, James and
Ellen White then started
00:54:05.38\00:54:07.38
working especially
for the young people.
00:54:07.41\00:54:09.40
They worked initially
for the adult side thinking,
00:54:09.50\00:54:11.83
"If we want revival
in our church, one thing
00:54:11.86\00:54:13.35
we need to do is, we adults
need to get our lives right.
00:54:13.38\00:54:15.88
And then maybe some of
the people, young people,
00:54:15.91\00:54:18.40
will see some reason
to get their lives right."
00:54:18.43\00:54:20.84
Just kind of a novel approach
to evangelizing young people.
00:54:20.87\00:54:24.25
Anyway, there were all
together thirty young people
00:54:24.28\00:54:28.33
on Christmas day gave
their heart to the Lord.
00:54:28.36\00:54:29.92
Five later did.
00:54:30.12\00:54:31.78
Twelve of them wanted
to be baptized immediately.
00:54:31.98\00:54:34.19
They went out and
chopped a hole in the ice
00:54:34.22\00:54:36.42
in the nearby pond.
00:54:36.45\00:54:37.64
And twelve of
them were baptized.
00:54:37.74\00:54:39.14
Six must have been
like me from California
00:54:39.17\00:54:41.24
originally, they waited
until the spring to be baptized.
00:54:41.27\00:54:43.55
Anyway, nine of them
eventually became paid
00:54:43.78\00:54:47.10
workers in the church.
00:54:47.13\00:54:48.54
Now I think we have
time for just one more story.
00:54:48.57\00:54:50.35
And we're going to talk about
edifying the body of Christ.
00:54:50.38\00:54:52.91
And there are many stories that
could be told about that also.
00:54:52.94\00:54:55.15
This is a story that was
told to me by Ellen White's
00:54:55.18\00:54:57.56
youngest
granddaughter, Grace Jacques.
00:54:57.59\00:54:59.77
She said it happened when she
was about 10 or 11 years of age.
00:54:59.80\00:55:02.59
And she was born in
1900, so do the math.
00:55:02.77\00:55:04.80
This happened
about 1910 or 1911.
00:55:04.90\00:55:07.07
There was a publishing
house, as near as we can tell
00:55:07.54\00:55:09.99
from our records
at the White Estate
00:55:10.02\00:55:11.58
it was probably the evangelical
publisher, Fleming H. Revell,
00:55:11.61\00:55:15.19
who wanted Ellen White to
produce a book just for them.
00:55:15.37\00:55:19.03
Now the first
edition of, Steps to Christ,
00:55:19.13\00:55:20.79
had been printed
by Fleming H. Revell.
00:55:20.82\00:55:22.81
And it sold well.
00:55:22.93\00:55:25.49
So now they wanted
to do another book.
00:55:25.75\00:55:28.06
And so they made arrangements
to come to Ellen White's
00:55:28.26\00:55:31.14
home at Elms Haven.
00:55:31.17\00:55:32.26
They met with her
upstairs in her writing room.
00:55:32.29\00:55:35.67
They were gathered
there in a semi circle around.
00:55:35.85\00:55:37.93
And first one and
another presented the importance
00:55:37.96\00:55:41.91
of this project, how they
thought it would be a blessing
00:55:41.94\00:55:44.39
to everybody that read the book,
00:55:44.42\00:55:45.90
how it would
help her financially.
00:55:45.93\00:55:47.48
They would promote
the book, etcetera.
00:55:47.51\00:55:49.08
And they made quite
an impression on her.
00:55:49.11\00:55:52.35
And she reached over to
pick up her pen, because
00:55:52.38\00:55:54.95
of course she had to
sign a legal contract
00:55:54.98\00:55:57.01
signifying that she was
going to produce this book
00:55:57.39\00:55:59.23
exclusively for them, and
then she laid the pen down.
00:55:59.26\00:56:02.70
They thought,
"Well, she's getting old.
00:56:02.80\00:56:05.43
She must not understand
that she needs to sign that."
00:56:05.99\00:56:09.10
And so they went through their
presentation a second time.
00:56:09.31\00:56:11.87
The second time, she
didn't even pick up her pen.
00:56:11.90\00:56:13.65
She just changed the
subject, started talking about
00:56:13.90\00:56:15.76
something else.
00:56:15.79\00:56:16.93
So they thought, "Well..."
00:56:17.03\00:56:18.83
Or I should say, her son
thought, "Well, you know,
00:56:19.39\00:56:21.87
mother is not
going to sign right now."
00:56:21.90\00:56:23.09
He took them
downstairs, came back upstairs
00:56:23.12\00:56:25.25
to where his mother was still
seated in her writing room,
00:56:25.28\00:56:27.75
same chair, and he
knelt down by her and he said,
00:56:27.78\00:56:30.52
"Mother, you know why
the men are here?" "Yes."
00:56:30.55\00:56:32.34
"You know you need to
sign that if you're going to
00:56:32.47\00:56:35.42
do this book for them." "Yes."
00:56:35.45\00:56:36.74
Well he said, "You picked up the
pen, and then you laid it down.
00:56:36.77\00:56:38.91
Why was that? Why
didn't you sign it?"
00:56:38.94\00:56:40.84
And she said, "Well
just as I picked up the pen,
00:56:41.19\00:56:43.45
I saw an angel
standing behind them gesturing.
00:56:43.84\00:56:46.50
And I know I'm not
to sign that contract."
00:56:46.70\00:56:49.97
Now we know that Ellen White
books can be read, published,
00:56:50.19\00:56:53.42
anywhere in the world.
00:56:53.45\00:56:54.75
And if she had given
the exclusive rights to that
00:56:54.89\00:56:56.95
publishing house, the church
would have had to buy the rights
00:56:56.98\00:56:59.41
for that book, because otherwise
they could not have printed it.
00:56:59.44\00:57:03.21
So the question we have
is, are we today listening
00:57:03.58\00:57:06.55
to these counsels
that God has given us?
00:57:06.58\00:57:09.01
She'll drive us to
Jesus as our best Friend.
00:57:09.77\00:57:12.11
She'll catch us from falling.
00:57:12.43\00:57:13.97
Sometimes we may feel
crowded by her, but in the end
00:57:14.31\00:57:17.24
we will feel blessed
for having spent time
00:57:17.27\00:57:19.65
with her writings.
00:57:19.68\00:57:20.95
King Jehoshaphat's
admonition is still true,
00:57:21.26\00:57:23.96
"Believe in the Lord your
God, so shall ye be established;
00:57:24.17\00:57:27.77
believe His
prophets, so shall ye prosper."
00:57:27.87\00:57:30.52