p. 1 | LETTER TO A MOTHER

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 8, 1874

LETTER TO A MOTHER.

[I was much interested in the following letter written by an intelligent young man who has just embraced the truth, to his mother, answering various objections which she raised to his “new doctrine.” By permission, I send it for publication. D. M. CANRIGHT.]

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., Nov. 23, 1874.

MY DEAR MOTHER:—Yours of the 15th inst. is just received. We are very sorry that you are so exercised in regard to the doctrines which we have come to hold. But, as I have said before, we, in believing them, are not led to disbelieve the Bible, nor to lean upon our own strength, nor to cease striving to work out our own salvation. On the contrary, they strengthen our faith in the Bible; they show the complete harmony of its various parts; they show us that the Bible itself claims to be for us to understand (Rom. 15:4; 2 Pet. 1:19; Matt. 24:15; Rev. 1:3); that it is not a deep and unsearchable mystery, which was never intended to be understood; they beget a warmer love in our hearts for this sacred volume, and a stronger desire to search its precious pages; thereby we are shown that in Jesus is our strength, and that we must strive earnestly and prayerfully, through his aid and by means of his blood, to work out our own salvation. Now I cannot see anything so terrible in a doctrine which bears such fruit as this.

But, say you, That’s all well enough, if it would only stop there. But it teaches that the world is soon coming to an end, that Christ will soon come back to his followers, and that the everlasting kingdom will shortly be set up. Well, now, I don’t see why we should hate to believe that the wickedness and misery which stares us in the face all around, everywhere, is soon to cease. I don’t see why we should be reluctant to believe that our blessed Redeemer is coming so soon to receive us to himself and set up an everlasting kingdom, where we will never see sorrow, or pain, or sickness, or death, or sin. I see nothing repugnant in such a belief as that—especially if we have Bible authority for it. I should think we ought to hail the news with delight. Still I felt just as you do when I first learned that Frank was “being led astray by the Millerites,” and so I don’t blame you at all. I can only beg of you to hear our reasons for the faith that is in us, before you decide that we are wrong. *

You say you “fear these men are more for money than for the good of souls.” You are entirely mistaken here. There’s not one of them but could make treble as much in other ways with less work. The people often urge upon them to take more than they do; but they will not. The highest salary that any of them gets is $12 per week. And nearly half of that, some of them put back into the cause. The price list you speak of is for the benefit of those who are able to pay for the tracts. Many thousands are being distributed free, all over the world. But you must know that these cost something, and somebody must pay or the work must stop. Hence the actual cost (without counting interest) is put down, and when persons are able to pay it, well and good. Do you object to paying for a discipline, or a hymnbook, or a religious paper? Whatever money is received for tracts, books, &c., goes (not to the preacher, but) to pay for printing more and sending them to all parts of the world. The Lord said, “Without money and without price,” but he also said, “The laborer is worthy of his hire.”

You say the “falling stars” of ’33 were only meteors. Very well; do you suppose the stars spoken of in Matt. 24 are to be, or were, actual planets, or suns? If one of the real stars should fall to the earth, where do you suppose we would find ourselves? If multitudes of them should fall to the earth, do you think we would have much time to prepare for his coming? Do you think that would be much of a sign? Would it not rather destroy us?

Again, we read that a star went before the wise men and stood over where the young child was. Do you suppose that was one of the planets, or fixed stars? No, it could not have been. All commentators agree that it was a meteor. And, do you know, the word that is there translated star is the same that is used in Matt. 24 and translated stars? You say the sun was darkened at Christ’s crucifixion. Very true; but that was not the darkening spoken of as a sign of his second coming. Why? In Rev. 6 (written many years after Christ’s crucifixion,) we find it still prophesied as a sign of his second coming. And in the first of Revelation, we see that the things prophesied in that book were yet to come. Hence the darkening of the sun at Christ’s death was not the sign. Again, the moon was not darkened then. No stars fell. No, mother, that was the token of the horror with which all nature shuddered, and hid her face from the terrible spectacle.

You refer me to Mark 9. In the first verse he says, “There be some of them that stand here which shall not taste death till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.” And right away, in the next verse, he related the transfiguration which was an earnest or miniature of the kingdom. There was Elias, or Elijah (who was translated) as the representative of those who should not taste death, but be changed in the twinkling of an eye; there was Moses as the representative of those who died and shall be resurrected at the last day; and there was Jesus clothed in his kingly garments and appearing as he shall appear when he is crowned King of kings. And Peter thought they had come into the kingdom; for he wanted to build tabernacles and stay there. And that he believed, afterwards, that that was an illustration of the kingdom yet to come. See what he says about it in 2 Pet. 1:16–18. Also read the 3rd chapter of the same epistle, and you will see that he still looked forward to his coming as a future event.

Dear mother, you know that God always blesses his children for doing what they believe to be right, in the light they have. And if they die so doing they will be saved. But does the fact of God’s blessing them prove that they have all the truth, all the light? Martin Luther was blessed, and yet he left much truth to be discovered by Wesley. Luther was right in many things, and God blessed him. Wesley was right in many things, and God blessed him also. But as Luther left truths for Wesley to discover, may not Wesley have left some for others to discover? (And even Wesley expected that the world would come to an end somewhere near 1866.) And the wise man says, “The path of the just is as a shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Again, Baptists, Presbyterians, and others, feel the same as you do, in regard to having lived the best they know how. They have been blessed too. Yet all cannot be right in all points, when they are so contradictory in many. True, they all believe in Jesus, and try to obey and serve the Lord; and all the faithful will be saved; but do we not believe the same?

You speak of the Millerites dressing in ascension robes, ready to go thirty years or more ago. Did you see them do so, mother? Did you see anybody that did see it? I too thought that was so until lately. But a reward of $500 has been offered everywhere to any one who could produce a single eye-witness of that event, and no one has yet been found. But even if they did, what has that to do with the doctrine of Christ’s soon coming? The Millerites were, indeed, disappointed (though they never dressed in robes to meet Christ); but does that prove the doctrine false? Christ’s disciples were sorely disappointed when they saw the one whom they expected to crown as king crucified on the cross; but did that prove Christianity a humbug? No, indeed, Jesus himself afterward showed them that all this was only a fulfillment of prophecy. See Luke 24.

Now, I will show you, I think, that in like manner, the disappointment of the Millerites was the fulfillment of prophecy. When John took the little book from which the angel prophesied that time should be no longer, it was first sweet and then bitter, and immediately he was told that he should prophesy again. See Rev. 10. Now what little book do we find that should be opened in the time of the end? See Dan. 12:4. Do you wonder then, that it was not understood before? Was it not sweet to them while proclaiming it to the world? Was it not bitter afterwards? Are they not prophesying again to many peoples, &c.? But the very fact that John was commanded to prophesy again shows that time (day and year time) did not end with the angel’s message. Also, by reading Rev. 14:6–16, you will find that time elapses after the announcement that the Judgment is come, and before Christ appears in the clouds.

But, perhaps, you say, The angel does not lie. Very well, we say the same. Then what time does end at the sounding of the angel’s message? Prophetic time. He was talking of prophets and their prophecies, and it is nothing but natural to suppose this announcement was in regard to prophetic time. In fact it is almost directly stated so in the next verse. Rev. 10:7.

I have just read the 19th of Matt. (as you told me), and find that it accords with our views in regard to the matter. But because the young man was commanded to sell all he had and give to the poor and follow Jesus, we do not think we all have to sell all we have before we can follow him. The young man’s keeping the commandments was not sufficient, nor could he follow Jesus rightly until he divested his heart of the affections it held for something else, viz. (in his case), wealth. Now I think we all are apt to have something of which we must divest ourselves, in order to follow Jesus properly. Let us ask him to strengthen our faith, as you say.

No, mother, I know you are not angry with us. I know just how you feel. I felt miserably when I first heard it. But I prayed long and earnestly for guidance from above. It was with prayers mingled with tears that I “searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11.

You ask, “Are we not to serve God every day alike?” Do you mean that there is no day above others which we should keep sacred to the Lord? Is there no day which is the Sabbath day?

We don’t condemn the other denominations. We simply proclaim what the Bible teaches. We can’t help it if the shoe fits some of the churches of to-day.

Yes, Christ would rather all should “repent, believe, and live,” and hence he has always raised up men to proclaim his truths at proper times, that men should not be left in darkness, if they would only choose the light. Before the flood he sent Noah; before he came the first time he sent John the Baptist; and he promised to warn the world before he should come again. When his disciples asked him for signs of his coming he did not rebuke them, but gave them instruction as to when they might know he was near,—even at the doors. *

You seem to think it is all in California. This is a new mission, scarcely in working order. The headquarters in the U. S. is at Battle Creek, Michigan. There are organizations in Maine, New Hampshire, Vt., Mass., Conn., R. I., Md., N. Y., Penn., O., Ind., Mich., Ill., Tenn., Ky., Wis., Minn., Neb., Ia., Mo., Kan., Cal., Or., Wash. Ter., Canada, and Switzerland; and it is preached, besides, in many other places. Plans are being laid to spread it far and wide, all over the world. *

Please continue to read and think on these subjects and be free to urge any and all objections. *

But I must close. Our love to all. Hoping to hear from you very soon, I remain as ever, your loving son.