51. G. I. Butler

G. I. ButlerPPP 246.1

Imagine my surprise when I happened upon the mention of prayer in the obituary of one of the pioneers. Especially since that obituary was for Elder G. I. Butler, the man who was president of the General Conference at the time of the great 1888 General Conference session in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Anyone who knows anything at all about Elder Butler will recall that he was on the opposing side when it came to Elders A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner’s preaching about righteousness by faith.PPP 246.2

I wish I had time to tell you Elder Butler’s story after Minneapolis. Unfortunately, we never hear about it. We just remember that he was wrong in 1888. I’m glad that God doesn’t leave us at our low points in life, even though, sadly, sometimes we leave each other there. Gradually, Elder Butler came to experience fully righteousness by faith in his own life. Early in this century he wrote in a letter that he had come to see that Christ should be the center of every sermon preached from an Adventist pulpit.PPP 246.3

As I said, I wish I had time to tell you the story of how this change came about in Elder Butler’s life, but I don’t. Sadly, he died of a brain tumor in 1918 at the age of 83. Describing his final illness, the writer of Elder Butler’s obituary said,PPP 246.4

“It was a matter of deep sorrow to him when the time came that he could no longer bow upon his knees before God three times a day” (R & H, Aug. 29, 1918).PPP 247.1

When I first read that, my initial thought was the comparison with Daniel who lived so long ago in Babylon. But my very next thought was, if someone was writing my obituary, would a change in my prayer life be so noticeable that it would be mentioned in my obituary? It is a sobering thought, isn’t it?—From the Editor.PPP 247.2