MR No. 692—Ellen White Counsels Regarding Education
Today as I have been writing upon the “Life of Christ,” my heart has been all subdued and broken by the thought of the great and infinite sacrifice made in our behalf. I thought, What more could God say to us in pledging His word as to what He will do than what He has said. I have thought there is nothing more, no greater assurance, that could be made of what God purposes giving us, than that manifested in giving His Son. Who can doubt that the Father is perfectly willing to accept us and to refine us; to keep us; to give us heavenly wisdom; to give us His light? Was not Christ the Word? Was not He the light? Was not He the light of men? And did not He come into the world that He might penetrate the clouds of darkness that covered the earth? “Darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people.” Now, what more could God do than to roll back the cloud, and to break that spell of Satan, by which he would chain our minds to earth and earthly things, and to bring the glorious prospect of immortality, than He had done? What more could He do, I say, than He has done?
(9MR 51.1)
As I was hurrying around to get things closed up in order to come into this meeting, although I was in a hurry, and my head tired, and I was somewhat perplexed, I felt a great peace upon me. Now, brethren, I would not give up that peace for all the praise and all the honor and all the glory that there is in this world, because I appreciate every ray of light, and every impression of the Spirit of God. Oh, I appreciate the connection. I 52want to keep this connection. I do not want the connection broken between my soul and my God. I want the communication open between God and my soul, and then I can say indeed, “It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
(9MR 51.2)
But I have to venture something, of course I do. I have to venture and venture by faith upon the loving promises of God, and believe that they will be verified to me. Christ ventured a great deal when He came here to stand upon the battlefield, when He came here clothed with humanity, standing as our surety, as our substitute, that He would overcome in our behalf, that we might be overcomers in His strength and by His merits. Well, now it seems such a venture that He made for us. And cannot we venture something for Him? Cannot we say, “I will go unto my Saviour, and if I perish, I perish. I will perish at His feet? Then let us make a venture. Make a surrender to God. Let self be broken all to pieces.
(9MR 52.1)
I want self to die, but it is a constant fight for me every day of my life, that the enemy shall not obtain the advantage and weaken my faith, so that I shall not claim the promises of God and believe. Believe what?—that He will keep that which I have committed unto His care against that day. But the enemy will come in and loom up the trials that will come and that I will have to bear, and will try in every way to overcome me, that he may triumph. But when I say, “I will trust my heavenly Father,” why should not I trust Him? Does not He want me to be saved? Why not look to Calvary? Does He want you to be saved?
(9MR 52.2)
Look to Calvary. That tells you the story. He wants us to be saved with an everlasting salvation. He does not want us to wait until this meeting is closed, and we go home without knowing that our lives are hid with Christ in God. He wants us to know it right here upon this ground. I believe 53it is sacred ground. I believe the angels of God are walking up and down this encampment. I know they are, for I have seen the interest that all heaven has in the assembly of the saints when they come together; how with intense interest they are watching and seeking to make impressions upon human hearts. Will we let them be made? Will we open the door? Will we let Jesus in? May the Lord help us on this blessed holy Sabbath and in this sacred place, made sacred by His presence, for He has revealed Himself unto us since we have been here, to take up the tokens of God.
(9MR 52.3)
Gather up the precious rays of light, and yet grasp for more. If any man thirst, let him come and drink, and drink again, and continue drinking. If any thirst, come and drink. Why stand back from the fountain? Why not come to the fullness of Christ? He has put into our hands the key which will open the storehouse where are the immortal treasures. Shall we not take of His love and drink in of His fullness? God grant that we shall have an experimental knowledge of what it is to be Christ’s, and Christ ours. Let self die and break all to pieces, and let Jesus put His armor upon us, and put His mold and superscription upon us.
(9MR 53.1)
Now, there are those who may have been hardhearted, and they may have been foolish in their inclination and desire and indulgence of self. Their thoughts may have been wandering, and their words light and trifling; notwithstanding, the injunction is to be holy in all conversation. “What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11). “In all holy conversation” signifies that in all matters we are to be holy; and that means wholly the Lord’s. Make no reserve. Therefore, all that I have, and all that I do, and all that I say, is to be as a God-bought subject of Jesus Christ. The redemption money has been paid as the 54price of my soul, and instead of being a slave of Satan, I am to be indeed the child of God. I am His servant. Then shall we not every one of us draw in even cords with Christ? Shall we not yoke up with Him? Shall we not bear our end of the yoke?
(9MR 53.2)
Christ has trod the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with Him. Now shall we show, after Christ has demonstrated that He died for us, that He rose and ascended to heaven to be our Advocate, that we will yoke up with Him—that we will take His yoke, lift His burden, and carry on the very work that He carried on when He was here on the earth.
(9MR 54.1)
God help us to understand our privileges and opportunities. If we do not, we will go away from this place without the sweet impressions God is ready to make upon our hearts. They will lose their influence upon us. You want here to make an entire surrender to God. Do not leave this ground until you know that Jesus Christ is yours; and begin early. Do not wait until the close of the meeting, because you want all the blessing that will come as the result of an entire surrender, and falling upon the Rock and being broken.
(9MR 54.2)
Then let us begin at the very beginning to manifest that faith which takes hold of the promises of God. Then your testimonies will be of what the Lord has done for you right here upon this ridge overlooking the waters [of Lake Michigan] that He has made with His hand. Right here I surrender myself to God, and He blesses me. He has converted me, and I believe that His blessing will rest upon me every step that I advance toward Zion. Let us begin, then, right here. Do not let pride or anything else come in to lead us from Christ. Let us be determined that we will be the Lord’s, and every night and every morning turn a new leaf, and the record in the heavenly courts will be of character, oh, so much cleaner, so much purer, so much 55more satisfactory to the universe of heaven, so much more pleasing to Him who died for us, that here are souls who are gaining victory over Satan, every step of the way.—Manuscript 8, 1891, pp. 1-5. (Remarks by Sister White at Harbor Heights, Michigan, July 24, 1891.)
(9MR 54.3)
The Proper Way to Deal With Students in Our Schools
Brethren, our standard is altogether too low. We have had the precious gems, precious treasures upon earth which have been unfolded, and we have seen the beauty and the glory of the truth, but we have made it a sort of common thing.
(9MR 55.1)
Christ presents many phases of character to God’s people, and yet He says, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4). What is the matter?—the gold the truth bids to seek, the gold of love and faith, is dropped out of the character and now you must come back.
(9MR 55.2)
“Thy gentleness hath made me great” (Psalm 18:35). The gentleness, forbearance, longsuffering, mercy, and patience have greater power than you imagine. God wants us to cultivate that side of the question. If justice and its twin sister, mercy, do not stand together, it is a terrible thing. You want the world and whatever you are connected with.
(9MR 55.3)
You need not be afraid of manifesting weakness of character in being too merciful. I will risk every one of you that you will not be too merciful, too compassionate, or too sympathetic for the erring. What we want is the Spirit of Christ interwoven into our everyday experience. You want it when you rise in the morning, you want it at noon, and you want it at night. You want it continually, so that it shall be an abiding principle, as with 56Daniel, the abiding principle of fearing God, let the consequence be what it may.
(9MR 55.4)
Now we want to understand that there is something more to our work than we have given to it, and we want to understand that the essential work must begin with our own individual selves, our own hearts. We must know the influence of the Spirit of God on the human heart, on the human affections. Do not you remember that when Christ was teaching there came one saying, “Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with Thee.” And Christ, looking around upon His disciples that were receiving His words of life, read the interest in their eager countenances and said to the messengers, “Behold My mother and My brethren” are they that “do the will of My Father” (Matthew 12:47, 49, 50). They are the ones that are His mother and His brethren. They are the ones that are more closely related to Him than any ties of relationship.
(9MR 56.1)
We are a selfish set of beings. To those who are not related to us, the milk of human kindness is seldom given. There is abundance of overflowing love manifested to those who are related to us, but to others—just as near and dear to the heart of Infinite Love—there is a coldness, uncourteousness, and selfish withholding of that love that flowed forth in such large measure to the special favorites and relatives. Who are my mother and my brother and my sister? Every soul striving to do the will of God is to be treated as our own relative. We do not do so. We are God’s children. God is not pleased with this favoritism. My husband is perfect, my children are perfect, and I myself am perfect. That is with many about the sum total of their religious experience—they act it out.
(9MR 56.2)
You look upon some and say, “How foolish they are.” Had we not better have the compassion of Jesus Christ at all times and in all places and in everything in our dealings with children and youth who have not our experience? I have felt upon this point a most wonderful responsibility, as case after case has been presented before me in different schools and in different places, where for years back [there] has been the mismanagement of a certain one, and then I have looked to see where he would come out, and he came out as the servant of the devil. Where might he have come out? As a child and servant of Jesus Christ. Who is responsible for that man’s disposition?
(9MR 57.1)
I have sat in school with a pupil sitting by my side, when the master sent a ruler to hit that student upon the head, but it hit me, and gave me a wonderful wound. I rose from my seat and left the room. When I left the schoolhouse and was on the way home, he ran after me and said, “Ellen, I made a mistake; won’t you forgive me?”
(9MR 57.2)
Said I, “Certainly I will, but where is the mistake?”
(9MR 57.3)
“I did not mean to hit you.”
(9MR 57.4)
“But,” said I, “it is a mistake that you should hit anybody. I would just as soon have this gash in my forehead as to have another injured.”
(9MR 57.5)
It is the spirit in the man. You may have teachers in the school who have never felt the controlling power of the Spirit of God over every action of their lives. They may take the students, and full of passion, shake them, but this act will never be unless the teacher has lost his self-control and is full of angry feelings. Do the students have any more love for such a teacher?
(9MR 57.6)
No teacher, I care not who he is, can have any influence over the students for good, no matter how well educated, how intellectual, or how refined he may be, unless he loves them. What shall we do? Put away the iron that is 58in your souls—these satanic attributes that bear such fruit—whatever it may cost you—even if it costs you your right arm, as Christ said when talking to His disciples. “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus” to be converted—they were following Christ, learning of Christ. “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:1, 3). What is the matter? There are many who do not put themselves in the place of the child. They do not see that in bruising that child they are bruising their own soul more, because they are destroying his manhood. What God wants is that we should seek and save that which is lost.
(9MR 57.7)
He says, “Whosoever shall humble himself” (verse 4). How hard it is! It is like severing an arm. But whatever spirit there is in us that prompts to harshness and arbitrary action, however dear that spirit is to us, or however much we want to cherish it, that spirit must die. That spirit must go out of our hearts and go out of the church, and the spirit of love and tenderness and forbearance come in.
(9MR 58.1)
No matter what sort of education you have had in your life, or however stern it may have been, you must become as a little child, and in mind and spirit you must put yourself on a level with that little child, that you may be a proper instructor. You must understand that its trials are greater to it than yours are to you. You must know that when God would have you correct a child, you must never lay hold of the child suddenly and shake him as a terrier does a rat. No. But take him alone and pray with him, and talk with him instead of forcing your will upon him. Show him the will of Christ. And, if you do not bind that child to your own heart before you get through, you will have an entirely different experience than I have had.
(9MR 58.2)
You want to be where you can deal with human minds just as tenderly as Christ has dealt with you. If you were to have Christ deal with you as some teachers have dealt with students in the schools, you would be indignant. Many of you are not as perfect in the sight of God as you may think you are. And if you want Christ to forgive your sins you must be kind to those whom Satan is seeking to lead under his dark banner.
(9MR 59.1)
“Whoso shall receive one such little child in My name receiveth Me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck.... Wherefore, if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off” (Matthew 18:5, 6, 8). No matter how dear your way is, how grandly you look upon your ideas and plans, the question is: Are you going to come to God’s ideas and God’s plans and ways? Unless you are, you are under the condemnation of God today, and ought to be converted.
(9MR 59.2)
We see one going astray. What are we going to do? Cut him off from us and leave him in the hands of Satan? Or are we going to bring him into the hands of Christ, where we can pray for him and lead and guide him? What are we going to do? Build up the barriers between God and the soul? No, that is the devil’s work, and we don’t want to do his work; we want to do Christ’s work, the work of the Spirit....
(9MR 59.3)
“Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:14). I know something of what I am talking. The objectionable characters are the very ones who are sick. They need your help, and for these very ones you should put forth extra effort. Do not cut the knot of difficulty by sending them where the devil wants them, but bind them with the cords of love—just where Christ did. 60Christ said in regard to Zacchaeus, that He came to save that which was lost—that which was hopeless in the eyes of others. The Pharisees found fault with Him, because He was so tender and merciful toward others, but here Christ has shown what He would do. What we want is to melt our hard hearts in pieces before God.
(9MR 59.4)
All this harshness—because I am in position of a teacher, I must rule, and you must come right to my ideas and under my control—that is not the way at all. It is not the way to present [yourself] before them. The right way is to do as God exhorts parents—bring them [children] up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. How is that? We sit down and read to them from the Bible—I don’t want to speak to you my words, but let God speak to you. Let God speak to them out of His Word. Read to them with such tenderness that tears are in your voice. That is what you want to do.
(9MR 60.1)
The devil is seeking them; and what is the reason?—their souls are precious in the sight of God. There is a dignity and coldness in ourselves, so that we cannot place ourselves in a position where we can feel for them. One who has sinned is humiliated in his [own] sight on account of it. But suppose that you crowd the humiliation in strong pressure upon the one who has done wrong, then what? You drive him to desperation, you discourage him; and how is it with a discouraged youth or adult?—he becomes stubborn, unyielding, difficult. Oh, that the Spirit and power of Christ may come into our midst, and that every teacher, and everyone who has a part to act in the work, may let the softening influence of the Holy Spirit into his heart.
(9MR 60.2)
If God has ever spoken by me, there must be a higher standard in every one of our schools in this respect. That standard is to be reached by working in Christ, and in Christ’s way. Be meek and lowly of heart, then comes rest— 61rest in the hardest kind of conflict. Why?—because you have true religion—meekness and lowliness.
(9MR 60.3)
Now let me tell you, from what God has shown me we need the message to the Laodicean church. You have left your first love, and there is hardness and coldness and want of sympathy—except for the favorite few. That will never answer in the world. We are to seek and save that which is lost. We must have the Spirit of the true Helper, the spirit of Christ.
(9MR 61.1)
Ministers have been presented to me, with their course of action and their character before they were converted—the hardest and most incorrigible, the most unbending, the most stubborn—and yet, every one of these traits of character was what they needed in the work of God. We don’t want to kill that. It is needed in order to fill important positions of trust in the cause of God. There must be a transformation of character. The leaven must work in the human heart, until every action is in conformity to the will of God, and they are sanctified; then they become the most valuable. It is this very kind of individuals that God can use in the different branches of His work.
(9MR 61.2)
There are different phases of character needed in the work of God. All that is required is conversion: “A new heart also will I give you” (Ezekiel 36:26). Seek them, save them, and bring them to Christ. Let His love be poured into their hearts. Let in the light of the Sun of Righteousness. Teachers in our schools, have you received it? You may walk in the light, as Christ is in the light, every one of you. Have you received the baptism of the Holy Ghost? This is the question that was asked some who were workers in the time of the apostles, and they said, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost” (Acts 19:2King James VersionAmerican Standard VersionWebster’s BibleAmerican King James VersionDarby BibleWorld English BibleYoung’s Literal Translation). This is true of some of the 62workers today. They have not so much as heard of the Holy Ghost.
(9MR 61.3)
Now suppose that right here in our school we should be fitted for the work. God gave Moses a special work for which he was to have a special preparation. Moses thought that he was to do that work by force and by might, and he went and slew one who was fighting with an Israelite, and hid him in the sand. He thought the Israelites ought to know that he was the one who should deliver Israel, and he was going to begin the work in a hurry. But the Lord takes that man, Moses, seeing that he is not ready for the work, and sends him for forty years to act as a keeper of sheep. He goes into the rocks in the mountains, in the desert, and there hunts with all patience for the stray sheep. And then the Lord reveals Himself in the bush to him as the “I AM” and bids him go and deliver the children of Israel. Now, he has the education, but it took him forty years to learn to be a tender, patient, loving, faithful shepherd....
(9MR 62.1)
Teachers see a child who has not the experience they think he ought to have and they don’t stop to plead with him. They don’t remember how it was with them in their childhood—if one came upon them like a storm, how it braced them in that very evil that ought to be corrected. Some go at these children as though they had no heart, feeling, conscience, or reason, and by their course of action stir up the worst passions of the human heart.
(9MR 62.2)
There are those who are the most precious laborers in the cause today, who, in their childhood, were not the easiest to manage.... They seemed to be full of mischief. And what can you do to help such? Let the Sun of Righteousness into your own soul and diffuse it among them. I never found that it converted a child to shake him or to strike him in passion. I never found that it had any right influence upon him. I would a great deal rather 63you would strike the body than the mind, but both are degrading in their tendencies.
(9MR 62.3)
What we want is the right kind of education in our schools. We are reformers. We are the ones who are to be continually improving in our spirit and practices. We are talking of the righteousness of Christ, the mercy that is in the law, because Christ is there. We are telling, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other? (Psalm 85:10). Why not carry this out in your practice in school?
(9MR 63.1)
What we want is to be Bible Christians. God has opened to me what stands in the way of the conversion of youth and children—their parents do not treat them aright. There is too much indulgence and too much passion. Now, when they come into the schools, shall they have the same kind of treatment by those who think that what they don’t know is not worth knowing? They know it all, when they have scarcely learned the first lessons in the alphabet of self-control, and how to deal with human minds. There is something to learn. God help us to come right to the cross, to see the royal Sufferer upon the cross, and why He suffers. It is to save souls, to bring sons and daughters to God. He gave Himself to save the world. He says, “Love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
(9MR 63.2)
It is the “iron” in the character that has nearly destroyed the influence of some in our institutions, and it will be the ruin of our educational institutions unless the teachers connect in meekness and humbleness of mind with Christ, and seek to work in Christ’s lines. Let this be the occasion for our receiving the Holy Ghost, and, when every one of us seeks for the baptism of the Holy Ghost, it will come. Let us seek it with the whole heart. But you need not be in meeting all the time. You can go away by yourselves and earnestly seek God in secret prayer. “Cut off” the right arm or the right 64hand rather than offend one of these little ones. Get along with one-half of the things that you think are essential to make you successful in the work, if need be, and then have the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and you can diffuse light to those around you.
(9MR 63.3)
Let us seek God together. I want His Spirit. I long after Him. “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after ... the living God” (Psalm 42:1, 2). I want, brethren and sisters, that we should come right to the cross and seek Christ and His love, mercy, and compassion, and see how He values the human soul. You can never measure it, except as you come to the cross. And, because not every soul is cast upon the same mold as yours, that is no reason that they are not worth anything. God has a work for every one of them; and we want to work for souls, to labor for them as those who must give an account, that in the judgment they shall not come to us and say, “You did not show any of the mercy and love and tenderness of Christ to me. If you had, it would have broken my heart.” We want our hearts to be broken—they are altogether too hard. Let them break, and let Christ put His mold and His superscription upon the soul. Then what shall we see? We shall see the mighty revealings of the Spirit of God as on the day of Pentecost. Then we shall be able to move others, to move the youth in the school. But in whatever branch of the work you are engaged, you can go singing all the way to Zion. Not that you will not have any characters around you hard to deal with—you will have them—but you can deal with them so much more easily because Christ is your Helper, because Christ is with you, and you are laborers together with God.—Manuscript 8a, 1891, pp. 1-10. (“The Proper Way to Deal With Students in Our Schools,” July 21, 1891.)
(9MR 64.1)
Talk to the Teachers
The speaker quoted Jeremiah 9:23-24.
(9MR 65.1)
[The students] received an education from the great fountain of wisdom and knowledge. What for? That they might impart wisdom and knowledge to others. That they might be in the presence of God and devote their capabilities and powers to God; not give them as a contribution to the devil. But this has been done in certain cases, and in case after case that has been presented before me....
(9MR 65.2)
When I was coming from California, there was an infidel Jew on the same car. He was engaging in conversation with those present, on the subject of the Bible and Christianity. He would talk to one and then to another. He would present Christ and the Christian religion in such a manner, in such a ridiculous light as to create a laugh, and those present could not withstand his ridicule, and they would begin to retreat. Then he would have a triumph, and he was triumphing all over the car. Finally he came and sat down by me. He saw I had a Bible in my hand, and he began to talk about the Bible and religion, and said religion was like jugglery business; it was like sorcery. I did not say a word, but let him talk on. The people were listening intently to see what I would say, and he talked, and talked and talked, until I thought he had about exhausted himself.
(9MR 65.3)
The I said to him, “This is eternal life, that ye might know God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent.” Then I spoke to him of my own experience. Said I, “You call religion sorcery, jugglery, and all these things; but we have a ‘sure word of prophecy whereunto ye do well to take heed.’”
(9MR 65.4)
I could make them all hear in the car, and so I did. He then put in some remark, but an answer came to my mind. He said, “Have you ever studied 66such and such an author?” Said I, “I have not.” Said he, “There! there! you don’t know!” I said, “I don’t want to know. I have no time to read such trash. I want to carry the knowledge I get from these [Bible] authors over to the other side. But as for your authors, where did they get their power to think? Where did they get anything of sharpness worthy of retaining? They got it from the God of heaven. But they have prostituted their powers.”
(9MR 65.5)
“Now,” said I, “Jesus Christ saw the condition of the Jewish nation, and He came that He might unearth the hidden treasures. There we can sink the shaft and bring up the rich ore, the jewels of truth, and it is all rich. And those things you get from your authors that are worth anything, you get from Him. This is not anything new. Christ gave it to the patriarchs and prophets, and it is these precious gems of truth, and this gospel, which you abhor and detest, that was preached to Adam in Eden.” He finally hemmed and hawed and spat, and turned himself in his seat, but he didn’t say a word. And then there was a greater uproar in the car than before. The people were laughing at him, and saying that he was put down by a woman, but he did not say a word. He just got up and went out.
(9MR 66.1)
Now, I want to say right here, you may go to these infidel authors to get bright thoughts, but I don’t want to go there. I would rather go to the snow of Lebanon. Let me go to any other place than to infidel authors. Why? Because mingled with all their writings is a serious malady. The cunning of Satan is there. Was he not the covering cherub in the Eden of God? And was he not cast out of heaven because, as it was said of him, “thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness?” Then, cannot he mingle some of his sophistry with truth so 67as to fascinate and captivate the human mind? Of course he can. He is a smart general, and therefore, no man can handle him. And for that very reason, God sent His Son into the world to stand here on the field of battle and present the great original truths; to take men from the bands of error; to rescue them; to reform them. Christ presented these principles of truth, arranged in the order of the gospel, that they might serve the very purpose for which they were given to man.
(9MR 66.2)
We do not want to drink of the turbid streams of the valley. We do not want the corrupted sophistry of infidelity. Because many are so ready to give in to doubt and questioning, infidels are made bold. God help us that we may drink of the pure streams that flow from beneath the throne of God. We can drink, and continue to drink. And, if you thirst for knowledge, there is plenty of it here. Jesus Christ came into our world in simplicity, to meet men where they are. He gave them the most precious truths that were ever given to mortals. If you study them with sincerity, the angels of God are around you as you study, to minister to you, to give to your understanding the precious truths of God.
(9MR 67.1)
Many think themselves wonderfully wise in understanding the sentiments of infidel writers, but they will find that they are building upon a sandy foundation. They are not building upon the solid Rock. The storm of persecution, the storm of trial comes, and sweeps away that foundation, and they have nothing upon which to stand. What we want is to rivet our souls to the Eternal Rock. We don’t want our students to feel themselves so smart that they think they know everything worth knowing. We have not yet begun to know the Bible. You have your mind upon this, upon that, and upon the other, and it is filled with so much that is of no importance that the very truth that will make you wise unto salvation, you know scarcely anything about. What 68we want is to become strong men and women.
(9MR 67.2)
Brother [Alfred S.] Hutchins was at one time riding in Vermont, and he met a lawyer. “Well,” said the lawyer, “I understand that you are a Seventh-day Adventist.”“Yes.”“Well,” said he, “you are nothing but little men.”“Yes, we know that,” said Brother Hutchins, “but we are handling mighty subjects. It is by the study of these mighty subjects that we are trying to get truth before the people.” This is what we want—the mighty subjects that will make men wise unto salvation.
(9MR 68.1)
Just as soon as you begin to think you are big men, and that you are so large that you can comprehend and pick out all that is precious in infidel authors, and leave out all that is vile, then you are wise above that which is written. You cannot do this. The devil is right by your side, and the evil angels are there. The devil is a great deal smarter than you are, and you cannot see what he is driving at. He will so cunningly interweave his sentiments with the thoughts of these writers, so that it will be impossible to distinguish the error which they contain. He regards this circumstance as his opportunity. These very things may insinuate themselves into your mind and character, and God pronounces you a fool. That is just how it is. If you want to be counted a fool in God’s sight, it is very easy for you to do it, but if you want to be counted a wise man in God’s eyes, come right to the cross of Calvary, and get the inspiration that comes from it, and your name will be written as a wise man who built his house upon the rock, and the storms came and “the winds blew,and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock” (Matthew 7:25).
(9MR 68.2)
It requires considerable effort to climb hills, to get upon the rock. And so we find that it will require the exercise of all our abilities, of 69every spiritual nerve and muscle, to get upon the Living Rock, the Saviour of mankind. It will require all our mental and spiritual powers to understand the Word of God, to understand the incarnation of Christ, to understand the great plan of redemption. The mind may faint beneath the effort, and yet, there is an infinity beyond. You have only then touched the surface.
(9MR 68.3)
What we want is the Bible. We want to know the truth on every point. There are many who think they know it, who do not know anything about it, because they do not practice it. A man may stand upon the shore and see another swim, and he may think he knows exactly how to make the motions, but let him try it and he finds that he does not know. Just so it is in the spiritual life. You may think you know all about it, but you don’t know anything, unless you have a living experience in the things of God, because God has not spoken to your soul. You are not furnished unto all good works.
(9MR 69.1)
You are not half as wise as you thought you were. You have not half the knowledge that you thought you had. There is a knowledge that we do not want, a knowledge you cannot take with you to the other side. What we want is a knowledge that will strengthen the intellect, and make us better men and women—knowledge that will build us up in Jesus Christ, our living Head. We are to be members of the living body of Christ—He our Head, and we growing in grace. There is where our Prince comes in.
(9MR 69.2)
Paul went to Athens, and there he met eloquence with eloquence, logic with logic, oratory with oratory. There he showed his ability and smartness. And what was the effect? Afterwards he said, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). There is no time for anything else but that during our short lifetime.
(9MR 69.3)
When you are in the battle, who is with you in the army?—all the heavenly intelligences. Who else is with you?—the Captain of your salvation. Who else is with you?—Him that said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
(9MR 70.1)
Christ was the greatest teacher that the world ever knew. I am willing to be in His school. I am willing to learn from His lips. I am willing to learn from Him that lesson which will make me great in the eyes of the Lord. And what is that? “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Now Jesus, I submit myself to Thy teaching. I am willing to be taught by Him who created the heavens and the earth, who made the lofty trees, the spears of grass, and every shrub. I am willing to be taught of Him that set the stars in their order in the heavens, and appointed the sun and the moon to do their work. I can drink at that fountain. I do not need to go to infidel authors, but to God. I want to know God and the power of His grace. I will make no boast of knowledge. Those who know not God, even while they look upon His works, say there is no God. The fool hath said that in his heart. Shall we go to such men for knowledge, from whom Christ is hidden, when the very things they ought to know, they do not know? God help us that while we shall have to communicate more or less with those who have no knowledge of the truth, we may be so grounded and rooted in the truth, that nothing can move us. We are to bear rich clusters every day. Why? Because we are converted every day.
(9MR 70.2)
Just as surely as you are converted every day, you will be fruit-bearing branches—branches full of rich clusters of fruit. And what kind of fruit? 71The fruits of the Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, kindness, meekness, faith, temperance, and godliness. These are the clusters which grow on that tree. If every one of us is converted, if we remain in connection with the Vine stock every day, we shall bear the fruits of His character.
(9MR 70.3)
What we need is, not to boast of our smartness; for this is what keeps us from humbling the heart before God, and seeking Him as little children. It is this that brings us into a position where we cannot put ourselves under God and in subjection to His laws. May God help us that we may have a conversion every day of our lives. Those who do this will find that the intellect is strengthened by Him who created it. The mind will grow in the right channel, and will be fitting up for heaven. God is trying you now, here, to see how much you think of Him; to see how much you think of His government; to see how much you think of His purposes. God is trying you to see how much you think of the sacrifices He has made in order that souls might be won to Jesus Christ and placed under His blood-stained banner.
(9MR 71.1)
I have tested the promises of God. I have proved them. I have proved them in circumstances of trial and peril and persecution. This is what the Lord will do with us if we will but let Him work. We want the simplicity of true godliness. Read again Jeremiah 9:23, 24.
(9MR 71.2)
May God help us to come right into that position where no gem of light need come to us from impure channels, mingled with the remains of evil and heresies, and those things that lead in paths which God has not cast up. Rather, we may have the light that comes direct from the throne of God, which will lead us in paths of righteousness, of holiness, of purity and godliness.—Manuscript 8b, 1891, pp. 1, 3-11. (“Talk to the Teachers,” July 27, 1891.)
(9MR 71.3)
When I returned to Battle Creek, there was the Ministerial Institute and the Conference, wherein I labored exceedingly hard, then went to Petoskey to rest. But the college institute was nine miles from Petoskey at Harbor Springs. Here I labored for five weeks, then returned to Battle Creek and attended the Michigan Conference, and then left for Colorado and California.—Letter 48, 1891, p. 1. (To Brother Burke, January 6, 1891.) [Date uncertain. Ellen G. White was in Petoskey in both 1890 and 1891.]
(9MR 72.1)
Ellen White at Petoskey Reaches Out to Know Her Duty
Petoskey is wide awake preparing for July. [The fourth of July celebrations.] There will be great doings here, but we go on Sabbath to Harbor Springs and hold our meetings, away from the noise.
(9MR 72.2)
Brother and Sister Miller and Brother Huges from the college at Battle Creek are on the ground. Theodore Lewis is here waiting for the tents from Sherman. It will be a nice thing to go over to Harbor Springs....
(9MR 72.3)
Brother Fargo came last Monday night and returned Wednesday night. Will be here at the school. He is of excellent courage and seems better than I have ever seen him before....
(9MR 72.4)
I shall be pleased to see you, for I shall make no move until you come and we can arrange together what is best to be done. We will talk over the matter together. All want me to go to Harbor Springs and pitch my tent. I know not what is best—whether to keep open our home here or not. I do wish I had someone to counsel with. Emma is coming up here this week. Gage’s people are coming up to stay some weeks. If we all go to Harbor Springs, they may want the home for a few weeks. Well, you ought to be here, it seems to me, at the very first. I am really perplexed about what is best to do. 73Professor Prescott is desirous for me to be located on the ground. I want counsel.—Letter 83, 1891, pp. 1, 2. (To W. C. White, July 3, 1891.)
(9MR 72.5)
The Salamanca Experience
Salamanca, NY, Sabbath, November 1, 1890—The cold is very severe upon me. I shall attempt to speak, but it will be with difficulty. We have the Congregational church.
(9MR 73.1)
The Lord did indeed help and strengthen and bless me in speaking to the people, dwelling largely upon the necessity of faith and love for one another as followers of Christ, which has been almost extinct in our churches. The words spoken were heartily received and the seed sown I sincerely believe will start a train of thought that will result in the cultivation of greater love and increased faith in the rich promises of God....
(9MR 73.2)
We are as a people to guard ourselves diligently lest we forget the charges of the Lord. There are many dangers that we shall avoid if we keep ourselves a distinct people from the world. Our children are the Lord’s heritage to be educated and disciplined, and that most faithfully, to obey God and keep all the words of the Lord in obeying His commandments. Parents are responsible to God for strictly guarding their children in the path of obedience to God.
(9MR 73.3)
Salamanca, NY, Sunday, November 2, 1890—I spoke on the subject of temperance, dwelling largely upon the necessity of training children that they shall not become drunkards. All listened with most earnest attention, and many came and thanked me for the good words spoken. They confessed they had become very indifferent in the training and educating of their children: 74“If we had heard these words you have spoken from the Lord to us, and done according to the instruction given, our children might now be with us serving the Lord. The blame is wholly on us.”
(9MR 73.4)
The special instruction given from the Lord Jesus to Moses and Aaron and Caleb, is to us just as much as to them. “We are to keep our children now,” I said, “from the association of worldlings.” While we shall not cease to warn and entreat and try to present the truth to the parents who are unbelievers, to mix and mingle with them in association will be to the ruin of your children.
(9MR 74.1)
Salamanca, NY, Monday, November 3, 1890—I had an appointment Monday afternoon and I tried to fill it....I dwelt again upon the necessity of faith, the necessity of loving God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves.
(9MR 74.2)
I could not tell the words I spoke, but many said, “The power of God was upon you. The words came to us as wonderful inspiration.”
(9MR 74.3)
I know that the words of the Lord Jesus had come to the people. Many spoke of the help they received from the words spoken. I told them to render no thanks to me. God and He alone should have the praise. I was only an instrument in His hands and I could not have stood upon my feet and spoken at all had not the Lord helped me in a special manner....
(9MR 74.4)
November 4, 1890—We left Salamanca Tuesday, November 4, 1890, about eleven o’clock....We were at last seated in the cars and were thankful to be moving. I longed to be where I could write out the things that were opened to me the past night.
(9MR 74.5)
I had a very marked experience, which I hope never to forget. Through the night season I was in communion with God. I was taken out of and away from myself, and was in different States and assemblies, bearing a decided 75testimony of reproof and warning.—Manuscript 44, 1890, pp. 2-6. (Diary: “Experience at Salamanca, NY, November 1-4, 1890.)
(9MR 74.6)