Letter to the President of the General Conference October 8, 2013 Dear brother Wilson, Not long ago this appeared in the Adventist Review: OnThis Day (April 1) in 1901, before the formal opening of the General Conference session, Ellen White spoke to a specially called meeting of church leaders and urged a thorough reorganization of denominational administration. She proposed that: the General Conference Committee should represent all phases of the work; every institution should have a voice; the present Executive Committee should be relieved because it had accomplished little; the leading men should go out into the field to observe; there should be no kings in the work; and the gospel work and the medical work should be blended. _______________________ Here is what I would like to bring to your attention: In the right column of page 23 of the 1901 General Conference Bulletin, we read the following from Mrs. White: I feel a special interest in the movements and decisions that shall be made at this conference regarding the things that should have been done years ago, and especially ten years ago, when we were assembled in conference, and the Spirit and power of God came into our meeting, testifying that God was ready to work for this people if they would come into working order. The brethren assented to the light God had given; but there were those connected with our institutions, especially with the Review and Herald office and the Conference, who brought in elements of unbelief, so that the light that was given was not acted upon. It was assented to, but no special change was made to bring about such a condition of things that the power of God could be revealed among His people. The light then given me was that this people should stand higher than any other people on the face of the whole earth, that they should be a loyal people, a people who would rightly represent truth. The sanctifying power of the truth, revealed in their lives, was to distinguish them from the world. Continuing from page 23 of the 1901 G.C. Bulletin: Year after year the same acknowledgement was made, but the principles which exalt a people were not woven into the work. God gave them clear light as to what they should do and what they should not do, but they DEPARTED from that light; and it is a marvel to me that we stand in as much prosperity as we do today. It is because of the great mercy of God, not because of our righteousness, but that His name should not be dishonored in the world. E.G. White, 1901 General Conference Bulletin, p.23 On page 25 of the Bulletin, we read, again from Mrs. White, O, my very soul is drawn in these things! Men who have not learned to submit themselves to the control and discipline of God, are not competent to train the youth, to deal with human minds. It is just as much an impossibility for them to do this work as would be for them to make a world. That these men should stand in a sacred place, to be as THE VOICE OF GOD TO THE PEOPLE, as we once believed the General Conference to be,--THAT IS PAST. What we want now is a REORGANIZATION. We want to begin at the foundation and to build upon a different principle. Then, on page 83, we read these words: This meeting will determine the character of our work in the future. How important that every step taken is under the supervision of God. This work must be carried in a VERY DIFFERENT MANNER to what it has been in the past years. The Spirit of the Lord was at that Conference (1901) and the things which He initiated there prompted these statements from Mrs. White: We have been trying to organize the work on right lines. The Lord sent His angels to minister unto us who are heirs of salvation, telling us how to carry the work forward. This is not our work. God has brought it about... I was never more astonished in my life than at the turn things have taken at this meeting. This is not our work; God has brought it about. Instruction regarding this was presented to me; but until the sum was worked out at this meeting, I could not comprehend this instruction. Gods angels have been walking up and down in this congregation. I want everyone of you to remember this, and I want you to remember also that God has said that He will heal the wounds of His people... Who do you suppose has been among us since this Conference began? Who has kept away the objectionable features that generally appear in such a meeting? Who has walked up and down the aisles of the Tabernacle? The God of Heaven and His angels. And they did not come here to tear you to pieces, but to give you right and peaceable minds. They have been among us to work the works of God, to keep back the powers of darkness, that the work God designed should be done should not be hindered. The angels of God have been working among us. 1901 General Conference Bulletin, pp.463,464. Now brother Wilson, you will remember that on page 83 of the 1901 General Conference Bulletin, Mrs. White had said: This meeting will determine the character of our work in the future. How important that every step taken is under the supervision of God. This work must be carried in a very different manner to what it has been in the past years. After the Conference Mrs. White wrote: The result of the last General Conference [1901] has been the greatest, the most terrible, sorrow of my life. No change was made. The spirit that should have been brought into the whole work as the result of that meeting was not brought in because men did not receive the testimonies of the Spirit of God. As they went to their several fields of labor, they did not walk in the light that the Lord had flashed upon their pathway, but carried into their work the wrong principles that had been prevailing in the work at Battle Creek. E.G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol.13,122.3. Two years later, at the 1903 General Conference, the leaders reversed the 1901 reformatory steps in order to continue the old order of things that had been prevailing in the work at Battle Creek for years which was THE WORK OF MAKING MAN AMENABLE TO MAN. (Testimonies to Ministers, 481) This action resulted in the opposition of the minority of the Committee on Plans and Constitution to the reversal of the 1901 Constitution as proposed by the majority of the Committee on Plans and Constitution in their report on the Constitution. A protest was lodged by the minority of the committee regarding the proposed revision of the Constitution: The minority of your Committee on Plans and Constitution beg leave to submit that the Constitution proposed by the majority of the Committee appears to us to be so subversive to the principles of organization given to us at the General Conference of 1901 that we cannot possibly subscribe to it... The proposed new Constitution reverses the reformatory steps that were taken, and the principles which were given and adopted as the principles of reorganization, in the General Conference of 1901, and embodied in the present Constitution; and this, before that Constitution or the organization according to it, has ever had adequate trial. We therefore recommend that the Constitution of 1901 be given a fair trial before it be annihilated. 1903 General Conference Bulletin, pp.146,147. This reversal called for the following testimony: I am instructed to say that those who would tear down the foundation that God has laid, are not to be accepted as the teachers and leaders of His people. E.G. White, Special Testimonies, Series B, #7, p.36-41. October, 1903. Four years later, in 1907, the Lord sent this most solemn warning which was published one year and a half later, in 1909: God says, I will be glorified in My people. But the self-confident management of men has resulted in putting God aside and accepting the devisings of men. If you allow this to continue your faith will soon become extinct. Testimonies to Ministers, 481. On page 480, we read these solemn words: I write thus fully, because I have been shown that ministers and people are tempted more and more to trust in finite men for wisdom, and to make flesh their arm. To conference presidents, and men in responsible places, I bear this message: Break the bands and fetters that have been placed upon Gods people. To you the words are spoken, Break every yoke. UNLESS YOU CEASE THE WORK OF MAKING MAN AMENABLE TO MAN, unless you become humble in heart, and yourselves learn the way of the Lord as little children, the Lord will divorce you from His work. Earlier, regarding the work of making man amenable to man, the Lord had said, The high-handed power that has been developed, as though position has made men gods, makes me afraid and ought to cause fear. It is a curse wherever and by whomsover it is exercised. This lording it over Gods heritage will create such a disgust of mans jurisdiction that a state of insubordination will result... Men have taken unfair advantage of those whom they supposed to be under their jurisdiction. They were determined to bring the individuals to their terms; THEY WOULD RULE OR RUIN. There will be no material change until a decided movement is made to bring in a different order of things. Idem, 361,360. Ever since no decided movement has been made to bring in the change that God asked for between 1888 and 1901. On the contrary the old order of things which is the work of making man amenable to man, which is antagonistic to Gospel Order, has been waxing stronger and stronger even to this day. For years the Lord had been warning the church that the leaders were following in the track of Romanism. Testimonies to Ministers, bottom of page 362 and top of page 363. Brother Wilson, just one more thing. At the 1897 General Conference the Lord, through Mrs. White, declared: It is not wise to have one man as president of the General Conference. (T.M.342) Three presidents were then chosen but that was short lived. During the 1901 General Conference the position was eliminated altogether and a chairman was chosen instead to make room for Christ to be the sole Head and Ruler of His people through the Holy Spirit but a few months later A.G. Daniells who had acted as the chairman assumed the position of president without the constitution. It is amazing that he was able to get away with this only to be elected president at the 1903 General Conference but not without reversing the reformatory steps that had been taken at the 1901 General Conference. In 1901 the Lord sent the following testimony: We may have to remain in this world because of insubordination many more years. Evangelism, 696. Two years later, in 1903, Mrs White wrote, Our position in the world is not what it should be. 8 T 247. Last, I read the inaugural speech you gave in 2010 in which you stated, if I am not mistaken, that the present working order was in harmony with the 1901 divine instructions. How could that be when the Lord Himself said that no change was made at that conference! How could that be since the Lord, in 1907, declared that the self-confident management of the leading men had put Him aside and accepted the devisings of men! (Testimonies to Ministers, 480-481) As far as we know, no decided movement was made since 1903 to bring in a different order of things. We have been wandering in this wilderness of sin and sorrow for so long when Jesus should have returned shortly after 1844. (Great Controversy, 457-458). I would really appreciate your feedback. Thank you. Laval Picard The presidents reply: From: [email protected] To: picard_laval@hotmail Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 09:58:27 -0400 Subject: Your Message to Pastor Wilson Dear Brother Picard: Thank you for your message to Pastor Wilson. He has asked me to respond on his behalf. You message to Pastor Wilson was received and Pastor Wilson expresses appreciation for your research. Blessings Orville Parchment Assistant to the President General Field Secretary General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. I have no doubt that the leaders in General Conference have been approached over these issues several times over the years but there has been no decided movement on their part that would show that they are in the least interested in re-visiting and re-applying the principles of reorganization given by the Lord Himself in 1901. Of course we would have expected at least a few comments from the president but none came which is very disappointing to say the very least of it. I understand he must be very busy but this matter is of the highest consequence and should be on his agenda. I have little hope that the leaders of the General Conference will ever again deal with this matter of reorganization and that would explain why Mrs. White prophesied these words: Unless those who can help in are aroused to a sense of their duty, they will not recognize the work of God when the loud cry of the third angel shall be heard. When light goes forth to lighten the earth, instead of coming up to the help of the Lord, they--leading men who have put God aside and accepted the devisings of men--will want to bind about His work to meet their narrows ideas. Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things, and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning. There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness. Those who are accounted good workers will need to draw nigh to God (F.W,106), they will need the divine touch. (F.W.27). Testimonies to Ministers, 300. We cannot depend for counsel upon humanity. The Lord will teach us our duty just as willingly as He will teach somebody else. If we come to Him in faith, He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Those who decide to do nothing in any line that will displease God, will know, after presenting their case before Him, just what course to pursue. Desire of Ages, 668. No one is to control anothers mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. Desire of Ages, 550. Let me tell you, if your heart is in the work and you have faith in God, you need not depend upon the sanction of any minister or people; if you go right to work in the name of the Lord, in a humble way doing what you can to teach the truth, God will vindicate you. If the work had not been so restricted by an impediment here and an impediment there, and on the other side an impediment, it would have gone forward in its majesty. E.G. White, 1901 General Conference Bulletin, 26. What a wonderful work could have been done for the vast company gathered in Battle Creek at the General Conference of 1901, if the leaders of our work had taken themselves in hand. But the work that all Heaven was waiting to do as soon as men prepared the way, was not done; for the leaders closed and BOLTED THE DOOR against the Spirits entrance. There was a stopping short of entire surrender to God. And hearts that might have been purified from all error were strengthened in wrong doing. THE DOORS WERE BARRED AGAINST THE HEAVENLY CURRENT THAT WOULD HAVE SWEPT AWAY ALL EVIL. Men left their sins unconfessed. They built themselves up in wrong doing, and said to the Spirit of God, Go Thy way for this time; when I have a more convenient season, I will call for Thee. Battle Creek Letters, 55-56 When Vol.9 of the Testimonies was published in 1948, there were found on pages 260 and 261 some words which the leaders, being afraid of losing their grip on the wheels of control, interpreted to mean that the General Conference was still the voice of God to the people and always would be. These statements are claimed to be from a manuscript which was read before the delegates at the 1909 General Conference. But how could Mrs. Whites words be interpreted in such a way when that same year the following statement was published: God says, I will be glorified in My people. But the self-confident management of men has resulted in putting God aside and accepting the devisings of men. If you allow this to continue your faith will soon become extinct. Testimonies to Ministers, 481. (1909) How could these men still be the voice of God to the people if they had put Him aside and accepted the devisings of men? When God has been put aside for the devisings of men, one can only expect the following: Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God, will work under Satans dictation TO BRING MEN UNDER THE CONTROL OF MEN and fraud and guile will bear the semblance of zeal for truth and for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Whatever in our practice is not as open as day belongs to the methods of the prince of evil. His methods are practiced even among Seventh-day Adventists who claim to have advanced truth. Testimonies to Ministers, 366. Two years before Mrs White passed away, she wrote, Principles have been perverted. Men have been departing from the right principles, for the promulgation of which these institutions were established. They have failed of doing the very work God ordained should be done to prepare a people. E.G. White, Southern Union Worker, Nashville, Tenn. Oct.16, 1913. In this we are repeating the history of Ancient Israel to the very letter. On pages 360 and 361 of Testimonies to Ministers, Mrs. White makes a parallel between the leaders of the General Conference in our day and those of the Sanhedrin in the days of Christ. At the time of the first advent of Christ to our world, the men who composed the Sanhedrin exercised their authority in controlling men according to their will. Thus the souls whom Christ had given His life to free from the bondage of Satan were brought under bondage to him in another form. Testimonies to Ministers, 361. Men have taken unfair advantage of those whom they supposed to be under their jurisdiction. They were determined to bring the individuals to their terms; THEY WOULD RULE OR RUIN. There will be no material change until a decided movement is made to bring in a different order of things. 360. The high-handed power that has been developed, as though position has made men gods, makes me afraid and ought to cause fear. It is a curse wherever and by whomsover it is exercised. This lording it over Gods heritage will create such a disgust of mans jurisdiction that a state of insubordination will result. 361 Therefore, The apostasy prevailing today is similar to that which in the prophets day--Elijahs--overspread Israel. In the exaltation of the human above the divine, in the praise of popular leaders.. multitudes are following after Baal. Prophets & Kings, 170. Humanity is hailed as God. T.M.365. They are following in the track of Romanism. T.M.362-363. In spite of all these warnings we continue as if the Lord had never spoken any of these things. The old order of things which is antagonistic to Gospel Order has been maintained decade after decade along with a semblance of zeal for truth and for the advancement of the kingdom of God. The focus is on the work of bringing more people into the church when like the Jews of old we need to be converted ourselves! (F.W.77 bottom of page). Way before 1901 Mrs. White had written, Satans chief work is at the headquarters of our faith. Testimonies, vol.4, 210, bottom of page. The people to whom God has entrusted eternal interests, the depositories of truth pregnant with eternal results, the keepers of light that is to illuminate the whole world, have lost their bearings. Testimonies to Ministers, 397. Muhindo Ezra: Prayers only Yes brother but it must be praying with the understanding. 1 Cor.14:15. We have been holding prayer meetings after prayer meetings even special prayer meetings for almost two centuries but things have continued as before. The work of proclaiming the third angels message to the world has been delayed ever since 1844 (G.C.457-458) and in turn, we have delayed the return of Christ. And now we need to study the third angels message like never before.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 23:07:29 +0000
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