Brethren in Battle Creek, Mi. and in other States
NP
July 1, 1903 [typed]
Portions of this letter are published in PM 176-177, 181-182, 184. +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.
To my brethren in Battle Creek, Michigan, and in other states,—
I have been made sorry to learn that some who have stock in the Review and Herald Publishing House were decidedly opposed to the removal of the publishing work from Battle Creek, and that these were agitating the matter of withdrawing their stock, if the publishing work were taken to some other place. 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 1
The question arises, Why should any one make such a decision? The Lord has long been sending His word to our brethren in Battle Creek that there has been a failure to consider the needs of the whole field. Instruction has been given that the efforts to center so much in Battle Creek were not wise, and that this place was becoming a modern Jerusalem. The Lord has sent message after message to draw people away from Battle Creek. He has told us plainly that these large centers should be broken up, and that plants should be made in other cities. 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 2
Washington, D. C., the capital of our nation, has repeatedly been presented to me as a place in which there should be memorials for the Lord. Many years ago I was shown that in this city the third angel’s message was to be proclaimed. With clearness and power the word was to sound forth, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Prepare to meet thy God.” [Mark 1:15; Amos 4:12.] If there is any place in the world that should have the full rays of present truth, it is Washington, the city that is the very heart of this nation. Those who act a prominent part in framing laws for the nation should understand what is written in the law of God, which lies at the foundation of all right laws. 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 3
There has been on the part of our people a great neglect of stewardship. Long ago a sanitarium should have been erected in Washington, that the people of that city might have the light on health reform. God has looked with displeasure upon the neglect that has been shown to this city. He has given us the commission, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” [Matthew 28:19, 20.] 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 4
Even more explicit are the directions given in Mark: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: In My name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” [Mark 16:15-18.] 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 5
The Lord has sent message after message to His people, telling them that there were too many buildings and too many gatherings in Battle Creek. He has declared that His means should be proportionately distributed, that the cities, not only of America, but of all the world, might hear the message of warning. If plants had been made in many places, if the cities had been worked as God designed they should be, thousands of men and women would have been converted to the truth. 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 6
The Lord instructed me that unless the people did respond to the words of admonition sent them, He would surely scatter them from Battle Creek. Again and again I have been shown that the Lord would turn and overturn in Battle Creek. Ministers and physicians were disregarding the cautions and warnings given them. The Lord told me that I must present these warnings to His people in other parts of the world who had not heard them and who, as they met in conferences and councils at Battle Creek, were ignorant of the light that has been sent regarding the need of getting out of Battle Creek. 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 7
The Lord’s messages of warning were despised. Then He sent warnings by fire. Shall I not punish for these things, saith the Lord. The destruction by fire of two of our largest institutions speaks to our people in Battle Creek, telling them to repent and be converted. If these warnings are not heeded, the Lord’s hand will be stretched out still to punish. 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 8
I entreat my brethren and sisters in Battle Creek to be careful what they do; for the Lord marks all their actions. Men cannot mock God and go unpunished. The word has come that the publishing house is to be moved from Battle Creek, that it is to be placed where it can stand as a memorial for God, testifying to many people that His law has been trampled under foot, and that in the place of the seventh-day Sabbath, a spurious rest day has been accepted by the Protestant world. 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 9
The worldlings in high places are yet to be warned. Our neglect to proclaim the truth throughout the world stands as a reproach to us, condemning our unfaithful stewardship. 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 10
There are those who would now do all in their power to make of none effect the testimonies that God has given. But in so doing they stand in defiance of the warnings of the Lord. As surely as God lives and rules over the children of men, so surely will a continuation to reject heaven’s warnings be visited upon an obdurate people. 18LtMs, Lt 126, 1903, par. 11