About this time I was shown that it was my duty to visit our people in New Hampshire. My constant and faithful companion at this time was Louisa Foss, a sister of Samuel Foss, the husband of my sister Mary. I can never forget her kind and sisterly attention to me in my journeyings. We were also accompanied by Elder Files and his wife, who were old and valued friends of my family, and by Brother Ralph Haskins and Elder James White.
(LS 77.1)
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We were cordially received by our friends in New Hampshire, but there were wrongs existing in that field which burdened me much. We had to meet a spirit of self-righteousness that was very depressing.
(LS 77.2)
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While visiting at the house of Elder Washington Morse, I was very ill. Prayer was offered in my behalf, and the Spirit of God rested upon me. I was taken off in vision, and some things were shown me concerning the case of Elder Morse in connection with the disappointment of 1844.
(LS 77.3)
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Elder Morse had been firm and consistent in the belief that the Lord would come at that time; but when the period passed without bringing the event expected, he was perplexed and unable to explain the delay. Although bitterly disappointed, he did not renounce his faith, as some did, calling it a fanatical delusion; but he was bewildered, and could not understand the position of God’s people on prophetic time. He had been so earnest in declaring that the coming of the Lord was near, that when the time passed, he was despondent, and did nothing to encourage the disappointed people, who were like sheep without a shepherd, left to be devoured of wolves.
(LS 77.4)
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The case of Jonah was presented before me. Elder Morse was in a condition similar to that of the disappointed prophet. He had proclaimed that the Lord would come in 1844. The time had passed. The check of fear that had partially held the people was removed, and they indulged in derision of those who had looked in vain for Jesus. Elder Morse felt that he was a byword among his neighbors, an object of jest, and he could not be reconciled to his position. He did not think of the mercy of God in granting the world a longer time in which to prepare for His coming, that the warning of the judgment might be heard more widely, and the people tested with greater light. He thought only of the humiliation of God’s servants.
(LS 78.1)
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Instead of being discouraged at his disappointment, as was Jonah, Elder Morse should have cast aside his selfish sorrow, and gathered up the rays of precious light that God had given His people. He should have rejoiced that the world was granted a reprieve; and he should have been ready to aid in carrying forward the great work yet to be done upon the earth, in bringing sinners to repentance and salvation.
(LS 78.2)
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It was difficult to accomplish much good in New Hampshire. We found little spirituality there. Many pronounced their experience in the movement of 1844 a delusion. It was hard to reach this class, for we could not accept the position they ventured to take. A number who had been active preachers and exhorters in 1844, now seemed to have lost their moorings and did not know where we were in prophetic time; they were fast uniting with the spirit of the world.
(LS 78.3)
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In New Hampshire we had to contend with a species of spiritual magnetism, of a similar character with mesmerism. It was our first experience of this kind, and happened thus: Arriving at Claremont, we were told that there were two parties of Adventists, one party denying their former faith, and another a small number who believed that in their past experience they had been led by the providence of God. We were directed to two men especially as holding views similar to our own. We found that there was much prejudice against these men, but supposed that they were persecuted for righteousness’ sake. We called on them, and were kindly received and courteously treated. We soon learned that they claimed perfect sanctification, declaring that they were above the possibility of sin.
(LS 79.1)
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These men wore excellent clothes, and had an air of ease and comfort. While we were talking with them, a little boy, about eight years old, and literally clad in dirty rags, entered the room in which we were sitting. We were surprised to find that this child was the son of one of these men. The mother looked exceedingly ashamed and annoyed; but the father, utterly unconcerned, continued to talk about his high spiritual attainments, without the slightest recognition of his little son.
(LS 79.2)
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His sanctification had suddenly lost its charm in my eyes. Wrapped in prayer and meditation, throwing off all the toil and responsibilities of life, this man had failed to provide for the actual wants of his family or to give his children fatherly attention. He seemed to forget that the greater our love for God, the stronger should be our love and care for those whom He has given us. The Saviour never taught idleness and abstract devotion, to the neglect of the duties lying directly in our pathway.
(LS 79.3)
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This husband and father declared that the attainment of true holiness carried the mind above all earthly thoughts. Still he sat at the table and ate temporal foods. He was not fed by a miracle. Some one had to provide the food that he ate, although about this matter he troubled himself little, his time being so entirely devoted to spiritual things. Not so his wife, upon whom rested the burden of the family. She toiled unremittingly in every department of household labor to keep up the home. Her husband declared that she was not sanctified, that she allowed worldly things to draw her mind away from religious subjects.
(LS 80.1)
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I thought of our Saviour, who labored so untiringly for the good of others. “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17), He declared. The sanctification that He taught was shown by deeds of kindness and mercy, and the love that leads men and women to regard others better than themselves.
(LS 80.2)
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In speaking of faith, one of them said, “All that we have to do is to believe, and whatever we ask of God will be given us.”
(LS 80.3)
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Elder White suggested that there were conditions attached to this promise. “‘If ye abide in Me,’ Christ said, ‘and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’John 15:7. Your theory of faith,” he continued, “must have a foundation.”
(LS 80.4)
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A sister of one of these men requested a private interview with me. She had much to say concerning entire consecration to God, and endeavored to draw out my views in regard to this subject. While talking, she held my hand in hers, and with the other softly stroked my hair. I prayed that angels of God might protect me from the unholy influences which this attractive young woman was seeking to exercise over me with her fair speeches and gentle caresses. She had much to say in regard to the spiritual attainments and great faith of her brother. Her mind seemed to be very much occupied with him and his experience. I felt that I must be guarded in what I said, and was glad when the interview was ended.
(LS 81.1)
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These persons who made such lofty professions, were deceiving the unwary. They had much to say about charity covering a multitude of sins. I could not agree with their views and feelings, and felt that they were wielding a terrible power for evil, and was glad to get away from their presence.
(LS 81.2)
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As soon as the views of these people were crossed, they manifested a stubborn, self-righteous spirit that rejected all instruction. Though professing great humility, they were boastful in their sophistry of sanctification, and resisted all appeals to reason. We felt that all our efforts to convince them of their error were useless, as they took the position that they were not learners, but teachers.
(LS 81.3)
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In the afternoon we went to the house of Brother Collier, where we proposed to hold a meeting that evening. We asked Brother Collier some questions regarding these men, but he gave us no information. “If the Lord sent you here,” he said, “you will ascertain what spirit governs them, and will solve the mystery for us.”
(LS 81.4)
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Both of these men attended the meeting at Brother Collier’s. While I was earnestly praying for light and the presence of God, they began to groan and to cry “Amen!” apparently throwing their sympathy with my prayer. But my heart was immediately oppressed with a great weight. The words died upon my lips, and darkness overshadowed the whole meeting.
(LS 82.1)
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Elder White arose, and said: “I am distressed. The Spirit of God is grieved. I resist this influence in the name of the Lord. O God, rebuke this foul spirit.”
(LS 82.2)
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I was immediately relieved, and rose above the shadows. But again, while I was speaking words of encouragement and faith to those present, their groanings and amens chilled me. Once more Elder White rebuked the spirit of darkness, and again the power of God rested upon me while I spoke to the people. These agents of the enemy were then so bound as to be unable to exert their baleful influence again that night.
(LS 82.3)
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After the meeting, Elder White said to Brother Collier: “Now I can tell you concerning these two men. They are acting under a satanic influence, yet attributing all to the Spirit of the Lord.”
(LS 82.4)
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“I believe God sent you to encourage us,” he replied. “We call their influence mesmerism. They affect the minds of others in a remarkable way, and have controlled some to their great damage. We seldom hold meetings here; for they intrude their presence, and we can have no union with them. They manifest deep feeling, as you observed tonight, but they crush the very life from our prayers, and leave an influence blacker than Egyptian darkness. I have never seen them tied up before tonight.”
(LS 82.5)
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During family prayer that night, the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I was shown many things in vision. These men were presented to me as doing great injury to the cause of God. While professing sanctification, they were transgressing the sacred law. They were corrupt at heart, and those in union with them were under a satanic delusion, obeying their carnal instincts instead of the word of God.
(LS 83.1)
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They held that those who are sanctified cannot sin. And this naturally led to the belief that the affections and desires of the sanctified ones were always right, and never in danger of leading them into sin. In harmony with these sophistries, they were practising the worst sins under the garb of sanctification, and through their deceptive, mesmeric influence were gaining a strange power over some of their associates, who did not see the evil of these apparently beautiful but seductive theories.
(LS 83.2)
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Terrible was their power over the people, for while holding their attention and winning their confidence through a mesmeric influence, they led the innocent and unsuspecting to believe that this influence was the Spirit of God. Therefore those who followed their teachings were deceived into the belief that they and their associates who claimed to be wholly sanctified, could fulfill all the desires of their hearts without sin.
(LS 83.3)
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Clearly the deceptions of these false teachers were laid open before me, and I saw the fearful account that stood against them in the book of records, and the terrible guilt that rested upon them for professing complete holiness while their daily acts were offensive in the sight of God.
(LS 83.4)
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Some time after this, the characters of these persons were developed before the people, and the vision given in reference to them was fully vindicated.
(LS 84.1)
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“Believe in Christ,” was the cry of these claimants of sanctification. “Only believe; this is all that is required of you. Only have faith in Jesus.”
(LS 84.2)
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The words of John came forcibly to my mind, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”1 John 1:8. I was shown that those who triumphantly claim to be sinless, show by their very boasting that they are far from being without taint of sin. The more clearly fallen man comprehends the character of Christ, the more distrustful will he be of himself, and the more imperfect will his works appear to him, in contrast with those which marked the life of the spotless Redeemer. But those who are far from Jesus, those whose spiritual perceptions are so clouded by error that they cannot comprehend the character of the great Exemplar, conceive of Him as altogether such a one as themselves, and dare to talk of their own perfection of holiness. But they are far from God; they know little of themselves, and less of Christ.
(LS 84.3)
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As I returned to Portland, there were increasing evidences of the desolating effects of fanaticism. Some seemed to think that religion consisted in great excitement and noise. They would talk in a manner that would irritate unbelievers, and have an influence to arouse hatred against themselves and the doctrines they taught. Then they would rejoice that they suffered persecution. Unbelievers could see no consistency in such a course. The brethren in some places were prevented from assembling for meetings. The innocent suffered with the guilty.
(LS 85.1)
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I carried a sad and heavy heart much of the time. It seemed so cruel that the cause of Christ should be injured by the course of these injudicious men. They were not only ruining their own souls, but placing upon the cause a stigma not easily removed. And Satan loved to have it so. It suited him well to see the truth handled by unsanctified men; to have it mixed with error, and then all together trampled in the dust. He looked with triumph upon the confused, scattered state of God’s children.
(LS 85.2)
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We trembled for the churches that were to be subjected to this spirit of fanaticism. My heart ached for God’s people. Must they be deceived and led away by this false enthusiasm? I faithfully pronounced the warnings given me of the Lord; but they seemed to have little effect, except to make these persons of extreme views jealous of me.
(LS 85.3)
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There were some who professed great humility, and advocated creeping on the floor like children, as an evidence of their humility. They claimed that the words of Christ in Matthew 18:1-6 must have a literal fulfillment at this period, when they were looking for their Saviour to return. They would creep around their houses, on the street, over bridges, and in the church itself.
(LS 85.4)
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I told them plainly that this was not required; that the humility which God looked for in His people was to be shown by a Christlike life, not by creeping on the floor. All spiritual things are to be treated with sacred dignity. Humility and meekness are in accordance with the life of Christ, but they are to be shown in a dignified way.
(LS 86.1)
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A Christian reveals true humility by showing the gentleness of Christ, by being always ready to help others, by speaking kind words and performing unselfish acts, which elevate and ennoble the most sacred message that has come to our world.
(LS 86.2)
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There were some in Paris, Maine, who believed that it was sin to work. The Lord gave me a reproof for the leader in this error, declaring that he was going contrary to the word of God in abstaining from labor, in urging his errors upon others, and in denouncing all who did not receive them. He rejected every evidence which the Lord gave to convince him of his error, and was determined to make no change in his course. He took weary journeys, walking great distances to places where he would receive only abuse, and thought that in so doing he was suffering for Christ’s sake. Impressions were followed, and reason and judgment were laid aside.
(LS 86.3)
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I saw that God would work for the salvation of His people: that this misguided man would soon manifest himself, so that all the honest in heart would see that he was not actuated by a right spirit, and that his career would soon close. Soon afterward the snare was broken, and he had but little more influence over the brethren. He denounced the visions as being of the devil, and continued to follow his impressions, until his mind was deranged and his friends were obliged to confine him. At last he made a rope of some of his bed clothing, with which he hanged himself, and his followers were brought to realize the fallacy of his teachings.
(LS 86.4)
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God ordained that the beings He created should work. Upon this their happiness depends. No one in the Lord’s great domain of creation was made to be a drone. Our happiness increases and our powers develop as we engage in useful employment.
(LS 87.1)
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Action gives power. Entire harmony pervades the universe of God. All the heavenly beings are in constant activity; and the Lord Jesus, in His life work, has given an example for every one. He went about “doing good.”Acts 10:38. God has established the law of obedient action. Silent but ceaseless, the objects of His creation do their appointed work. The ocean is in constant motion. The springing grass, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, does its errand, clothing the fields with beauty. The leaves are stirred to motion, and yet no hand is seen to touch them. The sun, moon, and stars are useful and glorious in fulfilling their mission.
(LS 87.2)
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At all times the machinery of the body continues its work. Day by day the heart throbs, doing its regular, appointed task, unceasingly forcing its crimson current to all parts of the body. Action, action, is seen pervading the whole living machinery. And man, his mind and body created in God’s similitude, must be active in order to fill his appointed place. He is not to be idle. Idleness is sin.
(LS 87.3)
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In the midst of my experiences in meeting fanaticism, I was subjected to a severe trial. If the Spirit of God rested upon any one in meeting, and he glorified God by praising Him, some raised the cry of mesmerism; and if it pleased the Lord to give me a vision in meeting, some would say that it was the effect of excitement and mesmerism.
(LS 88.1)
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Grieved and desponding, I often went alone to some retired place to pour out my soul before Him who invites the weary and heavy-laden to come and find rest. As my faith claimed the promises, Jesus would seem very near. The sweet light of heaven would shine around me, and I would seem to be encircled by the arms of my Saviour, and would there be taken off in vision. But when I would relate what God had revealed to me alone, where no earthly influence could affect me, I was grieved and astonished to hear some intimate that those who lived nearest to God were most liable to be deceived by Satan.
(LS 88.2)
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Some would have had me believe that there was no Holy Spirit, and that all the exercises that holy men of God experienced, were only the effect of mesmerism or the deception of Satan.
(LS 88.3)
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Those who had taken extreme views of certain texts of Scripture, refraining wholly from labor, and rejecting all who would not receive their ideas on this and other points pertaining to religious duty, charged me with conforming to the world. On the other hand, the nominal Adventists charged me with fanaticism, and I was falsely represented as the leader of the fanaticism which I was laboring constantly to arrest.
(LS 88.4)
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Different times were set for the Lord to come, and were urged upon the brethren. But the Lord showed me that they would pass by, for the time of trouble must take place before the coming of Christ; and that every time a date was set, and passed, it would weaken the faith of God’s people. For this I was charged with being the evil servant that said, “My Lord delayeth His coming.”Matthew 24:48.
(LS 89.1)
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All these things weighed heavily upon my spirits, and in the confusion I was sometimes tempted to doubt my own experience.
(LS 89.2)
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While at family prayers one morning, the power of God began to rest upon me, and the thought rushed into my mind that it was mesmerism, and I resisted it. Immediately I was struck dumb, and for a few moments was lost to everything around me. I then saw my sin in doubting the power of God, and that for so doing I was struck dumb, but that my tongue should be loosed in less than twenty-four hours. A card was held up before me, on which were written in letters of gold the chapter and verse of fifty texts of Scripture.
(LS 89.3)
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After I came out of vision, I beckoned for the slate, and wrote upon it that I was dumb, also what I had seen, and that I wished the large Bible. I took the Bible, and readily turned to all the texts that I had seen upon the card. [Note.—For these texts, see Early Writings, 24-31, new edition.]
(LS 89.4)
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I was unable to speak all day. Early the next morning my soul was filled with joy, and my tongue was loosed to shout the high praises of God. After that I dared not doubt, or for a moment resist the power of God, however others might think of me.
(LS 89.5)
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Up to this time I could not write; my trembling hand was unable to hold a pen steadily. While in vision, I was commanded by an angel to write the vision. I obeyed, and wrote readily. My nerves were strengthened, and from that day to this my hand has been steady.
(LS 90.1)
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It was a great cross for me to relate to the erring what had been shown me concerning them. It caused me great distress to see others troubled or grieved. And when obliged to declare the messages, I would often soften them down, and make them appear as favorable for the individual as I could, and then would go by myself and weep in agony of spirit. I looked upon those who seemed to have only their own souls to care for, and thought if I were in their condition I would not murmur. It was hard to relate the plain, cutting testimonies given me of God. I anxiously watched the result, and if the persons reproved rose up against the reproof, and afterward opposed the truth, these queries would arise in my mind: Did I deliver the message just as I should? Could there not have been some way to save them? And then such distress pressed upon my soul that I often felt that death would be a welcome messenger, and the grave a sweet resting place.
(LS 90.2)
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I did not realize that I was unfaithful in thus questioning and doubting, and did not see the danger and sin of such a course, until in vision I was taken into the presence of Jesus. He looked upon me with a frown, and turned His face from me. It is not possible to describe the terror and agony I then felt. I fell upon my face before Him, but had no power to utter a word. Oh, how I longed to be covered and hid from that dreadful frown! Then could I realize, in some degree, what the feelings of the lost will be when they cry to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”Revelation 6:16.
(LS 90.3)
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Presently an angel bade me rise, and the sight that met my eyes can hardly be described. Before me was a company whose hair and garments were torn, and whose countenances were the very picture of despair and horror. They came close to me, and rubbed their garments upon mine. As I looked at my garments, I saw that they were stained with blood. Again I fell like one dead, at the feet of my accompanying angel. I could not plead one excuse, and longed to be away from that holy place.
(LS 91.1)
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The angel raised me to my feet, and said: “This is not your case now, but this scene has passed before you to let you know what your situation must be if you neglect to declare to others what the Lord has revealed to you. But if you are faithful to the end, you shall eat of the tree of life, and shall drink of the river of the water of life. You will have to suffer much, but the grace of God is sufficient.”
(LS 91.2)
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I then felt willing to do all that the Lord might require me to do, that I might have His approbation, and not feel His dreadful frown.
(LS 91.3)
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Those were troublous times. If we had not stood firmly then, we should have made shipwreck of our faith. Some said we were stubborn; but we were obliged to set our faces as a flint, and turn not to the right hand nor to the left.
(LS 91.4)
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For years we labored to beat back the prejudice and subdue the opposition that at times threatened to overwhelm the faithful standard bearers of truth—the heroes and heroines of faith. But we found that those who were seeking God in humility and contrition of soul, were able to discern between the true and the false. “The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way.”Psalm 25:9.
(LS 92.1)
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God gave us a precious experience in those days. When brought in close conflict with the powers of darkness, as we frequently were, we laid the whole matter before the mighty Helper. Again and again we prayed for strength and wisdom. We would not yield the point; we felt that help must come. And through faith in God, the enemy’s artillery was turned against himself, glorious victories were gained to the cause of truth, and we were made to realize that God gave not His Spirit by measure unto us. Had it not been for these special evidences of God’s love, had He not thus, by the manifestation of His Spirit, set His seal to the truth, we might have become discouraged; but these proofs of divine guidance, these living experiences in the things of God, strengthened us to fight manfully the battles of the Lord. The believing ones could more clearly discern how God had mapped out their course, guiding them amid trials, disappointments, and fierce conflicts. They grew stronger as they met and overcame obstacles, and gained a rich experience at every step they advanced.
(LS 92.2)
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In later years I have been shown that the false theories advanced in the past have by no means been given up. As favorable opportunities come, they will have a resurrection. Let us not forget that everything is to be shaken that can be shaken. The enemy will be successful in overthrowing the faith of some, but those who are true to principle will not be shaken. They will stand firm amid trial and temptation. The Lord has pointed out these errors; and those who do not discern where Satan has come in, will continue to be led in false paths. Jesus bids us be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, which are ready to die.
(LS 92.3)
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We are not called upon to enter into controversy with those who hold false theories. Controversy is unprofitable. Christ never entered into it. “It is written” is the weapon used by the world’s Redeemer. Let us keep close to the Word. Let us allow the Lord Jesus and His messengers to testify. We know that their testimony is true.
(LS 93.1)
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Christ is over all the works of His creation. In the pillar of fire, He guided the children of Israel, His eyes seeing past, present, and future. He is to be recognized and honored by all who love God. His commandments are to be the controlling power in the lives of His people.
(LS 93.2)
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The tempter comes with the supposition that Christ has removed His seat of honor and power into some unknown region, and that men need no longer be inconvenienced by exalting His character and obeying His law. Human beings are to be a law unto themselves, he declares. These sophistries exalt self and make nothing of God. Restraint and moral control in the human family are destroyed. Restraint upon vice grows more and more feeble. The world loves not, fears not God. And those who do not love or fear God soon lose all sense of obligation to one another. They are without God and without hope in the world.
(LS 93.3)
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Those teachers who do not daily bring the word of God into their life work, are in great peril. They have not a saving knowledge of God or of Christ. It is those who do not live the truth who are most inclined to invent sophistries to occupy the time and absorb the attention that ought to be given to the study of God’s word. It is a fearful mistake for us to neglect the study of the Bible to investigate theories that are misleading, diverting minds from the words of Christ to fallacies of human production.
(LS 94.1)
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We need no fanciful teaching regarding the personality of God. What God desires us to know of Him is revealed in His word and His works. The beautiful things of nature reveal His character and His power as Creator. They are His gift to the race, to show His power, and to show that He is a God of love. But no one is authorized to say that God Himself in person is in flower or leaf or tree. These things are God’s handiwork, revealing His love for mankind.
(LS 94.2)
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Christ is the perfect revelation of God. Let those who desire to know God, study the work and teaching of Christ. To those who receive Him and believe on Him, He gives power to become the sons of God.
(LS 94.3)
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Soon we returned to Vermont, and held a remarkable meeting at Johnson. On our way we stopped several days at the home of Brother E. P. Butler. We found that he and others of our brethren in northern Vermont had been sorely perplexed and tried by the false teachings and wild fanaticism of a group of people who were claiming entire sanctification, and, under the garb of great holiness, were following a course of life that was a disgrace to the Christian name.
(LS 133.1)
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The two men who were leaders in the fanaticism were in life and character much like those we met four years before in Claremont, N. H. They taught the doctrine of extreme sanctification, claiming that they could not sin, and were ready for translation. They practised mesmerism, and claimed to receive divine enlightenment while in a sort of trance.
(LS 133.2)
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They did not engage in regular work, but in company with two women, not their wives, they traveled about from place to place, forcing themselves upon the hospitality of the people. Through their subtle, mesmeric influence, they had secured a large degree of sympathy from some of the grown-up children of our brethren.
(LS 133.3)
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Brother Butler was a man of stern integrity. He was thoroughly aroused to the evil influence of the fanatical theories, and was active in his opposition to their false teachings and arrogant pretensions. Moreover, he made it plain to us that he had no faith in visions of any sort.
(LS 133.4)
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