Kellogg, J. H.
“Elmshaven,” St. Helena, California
November 11, 1902
This letter is published in entirety in BCL 61-67. +NoteOne or more typed copies of this document contain additional Ellen White handwritten interlineations which may be viewed at the main office of the Ellen G. White Estate.
Dr. J. H. Kellogg
My dear brother,—
When you took your position with those who have warded off all testimonies of reproof, did you feel that you were standing on safe ground? Do you not know that those who despise and throw aside the counsels of the Lord are in fearful peril? And do you not know that by standing with them, you are making of no account the work given me of God? Any one could say, “Some one has told Sister White;” but this would not make it so. Any one could close his eyes to his danger, but this would not make the danger less real. This is too serious a matter for you to trifle with. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 1
“Some one has told her.” This, then, is the measure of your faith. But though you say this, you know better. I charge this upon you in the name of the Lord. But I will not argue about the matter. If you cavil over the instruction that God has given, refusing to accept it as truth, under the subterfuge that all unrepentant sinners have used and will continue to use, the guilt is your own. But so long as the Lord presents before me your case and your dangers, I shall not cease to warn you. If you will not take heed, if you refuse to change, I must then present the instruction given to me to those in responsible positions, that the people of God may not be leavened by the influence of your erroneous position. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 2
Dr. Kellogg, no one can appreciate more fully than myself the honor that God has bestowed on you in connecting you with His work as His chosen physician. I have a knowledge of you as a boy, and the Lord instructed me in regard to the dangers that threatened you even in your childhood years because of hereditary and cultivated tendencies. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 3
One evening my husband and I talked about your case for a long time and then joined in prayer for you. In the night season, light was given that we were to make a way for you and two of your companions. We decided to invest three thousand dollars in this—a thousand dollars for each of you. Light was given me that my husband and I were to act the part of a father and mother to you. I was instructed that as you engaged in active service, the responsibilities placed on you would bring temptation and trial. So long as you heeded the cautions given you by the Lord, you would be safe, but should you trust to your own wisdom, you would be in positive danger. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 4
The path was marked out by the Lord for all of you. Each one of you, if you chose to be worked by the Spirit of God, would receive special grace which would fit you for service. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 5
Light was given that you would have to keep careful guard over yourself, else you would become ambitious for name and place and would take yourself out of the hands of Christ. But if you kept yourself humble before God, you would overcome all inclination to prevarication and misrepresentation. I was shown that it was most essential for you to have clear views of the atonement and clear views of what it means to be a Christian. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 6
The Lord laid upon me the work of bearing, clearly and distinctly, the testimonies that He should give me for you. He told me that I was to act as His servant in keeping you from destroying your own influence. You were in danger of looking upon yourself as capable of doing great things in your own strength; if you did not follow the Lord closely, you would walk in strange paths and would mislead the people of God. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 7
The instruction was given me regarding you: “If he refuses to heed the messages I send, he will pursue a course that will prevent My having any connection with him. Only those that honor Me can I honor. Be straightforward. Do not enter into controversy; for this will do no good. The more Dr. Kellogg is argued with, the more subterfuges will he use. His danger is not now as great as it will be. If he will heed the counsels I shall give you for him, I can use him to accomplish an important work. He will make many crooked paths. He will hurt your soul; nevertheless continue to bear the testimonies that I give you, diminishing them not so much as by a word; for this is his hope. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 8
“If he will be humble and contrite, I can use him. When he prays and believes, he will be enabled, by the softening, subduing influence of My Spirit, to do a good work. But when he thinks he is ruler, he will at times speak and act in a lordly, overbearing manner. There will be times when, if his path is crossed, he will be filled with a determination to carry out his own plans, plans that would dishonor God and bring reproach on His cause. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 9
“If he will always bow to the divine Ruler, if he will always be ready to listen to the words that I give you for him, if he will accept them without resorting to prevarication or subterfuge, if he will subdue his rashness and his indomitable will, and humble himself before me, I will forgive his transgressions. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 10
“His danger lies in a determination to carry things heavily in his own way. He will suffer many things unjustly, and he will do great injustice to others by putting his own estimate on character, disparaging those who refuse to walk in his ways and accept his plans.” 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 11
My brother, in regard to this last point, you have tried to hurt the influence of those who did not come into line in harmony with your ideas, who would not summit to your judgment. But in some respects, the judgment of those you so harshly condemned was superior to your own. Your harshness has separated from the work men who would have been an honor to the truth, men who were fitted to do excellent service in the medical missionary work. But they refused to be bound to your terms. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 12
Had you been less authoritative and more gracious, how much better it would have been. The Lord could not co-operate with your unsubdued and determined will. O how many there are whom you could have subdued and won by kindness and tender courtesy, but in whose hearts, by your masterly dictatorship, you caused hatred rather than love to spring up. Had you been true to yourself and to those you might have kept as fast friends, you would have laid aside your garments of authority which you wore as if charged with special dictatorship. How many souls you have bruised and wounded and driven from you forever, because you have felt it your privilege to humble them before others. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 13
Provoked by the unbelief of the children of Israel, Moses uttered a hasty, presumptuous speech; and the Lord told him that he had dishonored His name and that he could not lead the children of Israel into the promised land. Moses repented, and the Lord forgave him; nevertheless, he must bear his punishment. My brother, the Lord would have you learn from Moses’ experience how He regards the hard, hasty, condemnatory spirit you have so often manifested. Throughout your lifetime, your inclination to condemn hastily and harshly has been your sin. You have felt inclined to break out on our ministers because they did not come up to the mark on health reform. Your spirit has been such as to make the Lord ashamed of you. In your words and actions there has been that which Christ will in no wise endorse. You have assumed an authority, a rulership, that God has not given you. How can you reform others until you yourself are reformed? No man is prepared to correct the faults of others until he has corrected his own faults. You need to be converted, to be born again, before you can co-operate with the Lord Jesus. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 14
God’s word to you is: “But to do good and to communicate, forget not.” [Hebrews 13:16.] In some respects you love to do this. You have excellent impulses, but you are not in all respects right with God. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 15
I hoped that after I talked these matters over and over again with you, as I did at the time of the General Conference, you would break through the mist and fog. But it seems that you did not. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 16
Before I went to the General Conference, I was instructed that I could help you. The Lord told me that I must bear my testimony at this meeting against the incorrect ideas that had been coming in in regard to forbearance and Christlikeness. My work was to present the standard of Christianity that had been presented to me. As one with God-given authority, I was to bear my message against the wrong principles that had been coming in. I dwelt on general principles, hoping that this would help you to understand the work that you must do if you enter the kingdom of heaven. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 17
After I returned to St. Helena, certain documents were presented to me which were to be signed by our medical missionary workers. You wrote to me, asking me to examine these documents. I stated plainly that the principles contained in them were not in accordance with the Word of God, and that while in Australia, I was instructed to warn our people against subscribing their names to any such papers; for it meant oppression and disaster. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 18
I have the tenderest feelings toward you, Dr. Kellogg. There is no one on earth who understands you as well as I do, and no one else who will tell you of your dangers. When the Lord gives me a message for you, I shall surely give it to you. Even if you continue to refuse to accept what I say, I shall not feel that I have nothing more to say to you. I love your soul too well to keep silent. I shall continue to warn you. I promised the Lord that I would do this. And when I see the people of God in danger of accepting your wrong version of things, and of moving blindly, I shall present to them that which I have presented to you, else I shall be held accountable. I love your soul, and I want you to have eternal life. I must tell you the truth. And whether you acknowledge it or not, you know that what I tell you is truth. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 19
Shortly before your father died, he called me to him, saying that he had something to say to me. “I feel that John is in great danger,” he said. “But, Sister White, you will not get discouraged, will you, even though he seems to be headstrong? You are the only one who can help him. Do not let him go, even though his case appears discouraging.” 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 20
I promised that I would do as the Spirit of the Lord directed me. God’s word to me has always been, “You can help him.” 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 21
Dr. Kellogg, you may tell me that you do nor believe the messages I send you, but I know that this is not true. You know of the experience that God has given me in His work. You cannot deny that He has led and sustained me. You may close your eyes and ears to the messages that God sends, but after all, you do believe them. And you may depend on this: a mother could not hold more firmly to a child that she dearly loves than I shall hold to you. I expect to see you engaged in the work that God has given you, and I pray for you constantly, in private prayer and at family worship. Sometimes I am awakened in the night, and rising, I walk the room, praying, “O Lord, hold Dr. Kellogg fast. Do not let him go. Keep him steadfast. Anoint his eyes with the heavenly salve, that he may see all things clearly.” 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 22
The time is nearing when the great crisis in the history of the world will have come, when every movement in the government of God will be watched with intense interest and inexpressible apprehension. In quick succession the judgments of God will follow one another—fire and flood and earthquakes, with war and bloodshed. Something great and decisive will soon of necessity take place. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 23
I am holding to you by faith, and I am sure that you will not long remain just as you are. My brother, take Christ as your pattern. Seek with humble and contrite heart for the converting power of the Holy Spirit, that you may deal justly with your helpers and your fellow workers, in all your ways acknowledging Christ as your Saviour. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 24
Who can comprehend the love that God has shown in sending Christ to save perishing souls. I am conscious that language is far too feeble to depict this love. And our minds cannot take it in. It is impossible even for the angels fully to comprehend it. As they think of the sacrifice that Christ has made, and see how completely He identifies His interests with those of His blood-bought heritage, and how tenderly He deals with the tried and tempted, they exclaim in amazement, “Herein is love.” [1 John 4:10.] 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 25
How much God loves human beings, we never can compute. The universe is filled with proofs of His measureless benevolence. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 26
Christ has a claim on all in this world. “All things are delivered unto Me of My Father,” He said. “All things that the Father hath are Mine.” “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” [Matthew 11:27; John 16:15; Matthew 28:18.] All in heaven and in earth is at His service. The great gift of heavenly love was not to be shut up in the bosom of the Father. It was given to Christ, to give to needy human beings. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 27
Christ is full of grace and truth. He is all and in all. Then let no human being take glory to himself. The glory is to be given to the Son of God. Now and forever He is to receive all praise. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 28
My brother, humble yourself, and follow in the footsteps of Christ. When you do this, you will be a happy man. When you walk in Christian companionship with God’s ministers, recognizing the fact that God has given a work to them, as verily as He has to you, there will be sweet fellowship among you. But just as surely as you seek for the preeminence, so surely will you show your weakness by supposing that you should have the glory for that which you have accomplished. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 29
You may make yourself a ruling power, but in doing this, you gain no real triumph; for you are enfeebling the mind and extinguishing the liberty of the soul. You are to find your joy in following the Saviour’s example. Not one thread of selfishness is to be drawn into the web that you are weaving. Christ calls upon you to free yourself, in His power, from the claims of Satan. When, like Christ, you are meek and lowly, your masterly self-assurance will vanish. You will be a partaker of the divine nature. Your life will be hid with Christ in God. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 30
You need to be converted. You need to ask in humility and contrition, “What must I do to be saved?” [Acts 16:30.] The whole powers of your being need to be called into earnest effort for the salvation of your soul. As you cast yourself on Christ, you are fulfilling His purpose for you. You are no longer a law to yourself. But no violence is done to your will and your freedom of action. The mind is brought under the authority of a new law. But it is the royal law of liberty. The whole being is surrendered to God. The heart is transformed by the Spirit’s power. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 31
When in speech and action you give way to passion, you are acting as a sinner, and as a sinner you are under condemnation, needing to repent and be converted. But when the life is surrendered to the cleansing power of the truth, a change takes place. God’s Spirit is at work in the heart, bringing the truth forward into the strong light of distinct consciousness. The spirit of stubborn resistance is taken away, and a life-giving power takes possession of mind and heart. This experience you need daily to have. As the repentant sinner pleads for the cleansing efficacy of Christ’s grace, a voice speaks to him, saying, “A new heart will I give thee. The soul is cleansed, the highest powers of the being are roused to action.” 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 32
You have refused to give your mind up to Christ that He may bring your rebellious powers into conformity to His will, and you have become as were the disciples when they strove for the mastery. Christ did not rebuke them in anger. Placing a little child in the midst of them, He said, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And 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, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea.” [Matthew 18:3-6.] 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 33
The Lord wants you to humble yourself before Him as a little child. When you do this, you will gain a precious experience. I write you this because I desire you to know that the Lord will work with you when you are willing to be controlled by His Spirit. When you give yourself wholly to Him, a great change will be wrought in you. You will have such a love for the truth that wherever you go, you will bear witness to the Lord’s power. He will give you a genuine testimony to bear. Then will the Lord pour out upon you His grace and power, and you will enter a new and living way. Christ’s righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rearward. Your words and works will be ratified in heaven. As you work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, God will work in you, to will and to do of His good pleasure. Power to overcome will be given you. When the enemy comes in against you like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 34
I have been given this message to bear to you, and I have done as I am instructed. God forbid that Satan should triumph over you. May God make you His servant and through you glorify His name. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 35
I expect to see Edson and Emma in a few hours. They left Nashville for St. Helena last Thursday. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 36
In much love. 17LtMs, Lt 174, 1902, par. 37