Sanderson, A. J.
South Lancaster, Massachusetts
December 3, 1901
Portions of this letter are published in 5Bio 141-142.
Dear Brother Sanderson,—
I have just received and read your letter. I thank you, my brother, for writing. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 1
We have had a very important meeting at this place. I am not well, and so have spoken only three times. I spoke Friday morning, Sabbath morning, and Sunday afternoon. Dr. Kellogg also spoke Sunday afternoon. He spoke well. The congregations at the meetings have been large. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 2
I have a severe cold and a very sore throat. I think I was poisoned the day I spoke at Trenton. The hall was small and was crowded with people. The congestion in my lungs is very stubborn. I see no visitors, for I cannot engage in conversation. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 3
I am staying at the Sanitarium where there is every convenience for taking treatment. Sara does all that she can do for me and all that anyone could do. Every day I take a hot bath, followed by a cold sponge. I do not take sweats. Such severe treatment is not good for me. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 4
I suppose you think it strange that I am in New England at this time of the year. I am surprised myself. I went to New York in answer to an urgent call for help from Elder Haskell. I was three weeks considering the matter of coming. It did not seem best for me to leave home during the winter months. But the more I thought the matter over, the more firmly was I convinced that the Lord desired me to go. While in New York I learned that a conference was to be held in South Lancaster, and I thought it might be my duty to attend. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 5
A long list of appointments has been sent out for me. I am asked to attend meetings in Philadelphia, Buffalo, Graysville, and Nashville. But unless I am much better than I am at present, I shall not go to all these places. I am looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith, for direction and guidance. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 6
I have been requested to go to New Bedford tomorrow to see Gilbert Collins who thinks he has not long to live. I think he desires my counsel regarding the disposition of his property. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 7
I had planned to go to New Bedford, but the snow is falling fast. My cough is no better, and I think I shall have to give up this appointment. And it is very probable that I shall not visit Philadelphia, but shall go straight to Nashville. There I shall stay till I am better in health. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 8
The rain began falling Monday night and continued to fall until the middle of the next day. Then the snow began to fall, and has continued till all outside is covered with a garment of white. This is a sight I have not seen for eleven years. Last night the thermometer fell 20 degrees below zero. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 9
My brother, I write to you because I desire you to be all that Jesus desires you to be. I have a most earnest hope that you will yet see things clearly. I still urge you to go to Battle Creek. I long for something to be done to break the spell that is upon you, that you may be a free man in Christ Jesus. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 10
You must not in any sense be controlled by your wife. I have not given her up, even though I understand her and her disposition as an open book. But I know that unless she gives herself to the Lord in unreserved consecration, she will lose eternal life. She has but a vague sense of what it means to be a Christian. It is burdensome to her to think of Christ or to try to shape her character after the divine pattern. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 11
You are differently constituted. You have a mind that God can work upon when you refuse to allow it to be controlled by unsanctified theories and unsanctified minds. I know that the Lord loves you, and He has given me much to say to you. He longs to see you heeding His voice and doing His will. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 12
Do not imperil your soul by allowing yourself to be influenced by your wife while she continues to open her heart and mind to strange theories and false doctrines. You well know that she should not be connected with the Sanitarium. Her influence was represented to me as injuring the spiritual interests of patients, nurses, and helpers. You do not realize how deleterious her influence was in the Sanitarium, and therefore I write you, her husband, to say that it is her own attitude and her sentiments that close the door against her connection with the Sanitarium. Her heart is in rebellion against God. Satan has used her to counterwork the work of the Holy Spirit until you yourself have been deceived in regard to what is truth and righteousness. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 13
I have given you and your wife the message God has given me for you both. There is only one way for your wife to find peace with God. Her stubborn, self-willed spirit must yield to the Spirit of God. She must build upon the Rock. And you must be true to principle. You may not realize that by conceding to her wishes contrary to the Word of God, you are building on the sand. But this is so. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 14
I shall plead with God for you both. But I must tell you that God takes no pleasure in your wife’s character-building. She does not know the meaning of the self-sacrificing, self-denying love of Christ. She has cherished the spirit of apostasy as if it were a sign of mental superiority. In order to be saved, she must change the disposition that has made you both so unhappy. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 15
The Word of the Lord for you is, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” [Joshua 24:15.] Treat your wife kindly, but firmly. Take your stand on the side of Christ, and when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up for you a standard against him. Will you not by perfect obedience show your loyalty to Christ? Will you not wear the yoke of Christ? Will you not learn from Him His meekness and lowliness? Thus you will find rest unto your soul. Do not refuse to come to Christ because your wife refuses His invitation. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 16
The Saviour gave His life to open for you the fountain of eternal life, and it is opened for your wife also, if she will come to Christ. But she refuses to yield, thinking to show a superiority that will give her an advantage. O how greatly the Lord is grieved by her resistance to truth and righteousness. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 17
Your only hope is to unite with God. The Angel of the covenant is empowering His servants to be His witnesses, to carry the truth to all parts of the world. He has sent forth His angels with their messages. But as though these angels did not speed on their way fast enough to satisfy His heart of yearning love, He gives John personally the message to be given to all: “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” [Revelation 22:17.] He has opened a fountain for Judah and Jerusalem, and every member of His church is to show his loyalty by inviting the thirsty to drink of the water of life. A chain of living witnesses is to carry the invitation to the world. Will you, my brother, act your part in this great work? Christ calls upon you to believe and live the truth, even though you have to stand alone. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 18
In much love. 16LtMs, Lt 178a, 1901, par. 19