Our Firm Foundation -1987_01

7/26/2019 Our Firm Foundation -1987_01

1/32

Vol No I

Between the

Porch

and the

Altar

Secrets of the

Rapture

The

Power of

Music

What Does it

Prove?

Keeping

the Heart

January 987

Ellen White Member

of

the Board

see page

8


2/32

d i tor i l

A

s

YOU read

your

January

edition of

Our

irm

Founda

tion

it

will be 1987 Ho w swiftly

the years

fl y

by t seems such a

short

s tep f ro m

th e

cradle

to ol d

age.

In f

youth we

impatiently

reach Qut fo r maturi ty and adu lt -

hood Then, suddenly, we r c

there. As au r s tar strca ks across

life we

can

h ard ly c at ch Ou r

breath

before we

arc

holding our

f i rst g r an d ch i ld . While we blink

our eyes in amazement they grow

into youth ,

they marry.

and

then

come

great-grandchildren.

Before

we know it

we

f ind ourse lv es

with canes and

content with

our

rocking

chair. Such is life on

planet

earth.

But now we have come

to

a

different era

Hundreds

of

gen-

erations

have

gone

before us,

al l

struggling

with l i fe an d

it s

varied problems. Now wc

face

the

last generation-and we arc that

generation.

The evidence

is over-

whelming

that

the human race is

facing

its D-Day.

T he w or ld

cries

for

peace, but

on the horizon

looms the

horrible

prospect

of

human

annihilation.

Nagasaki

and

Hiroshima

arc

ugly reminders

of

man s

capacity

to destroy.

But Jesus has

prom ised that He will come

before man destroys the earth.

See

Revelation

11:18)

He

must

then, come

soon,

for man s

destruction of our world is

in-

evitable

jf God does not inter-

pose.

Our Firm Foundation January 987

Th e

prophecies of Matthew

24

and Luke 17, an d 2 ar e

no w

unmistakably being fulfilled

daily

before

our

eyes through

the

media of th e

world.

Th e

tragedy

is

that

the

church

is

not

alarmed.

Very few

sermons are

preached

from our pulpits to prepare our

people for the emergency that

will come

as an overwhelming

surprise. See testimonies

voL 8

28, 37)

Ol d

ag e

an d disease ar e

plac-

ing thousands

in

the grave dai ly .

And yet the r em na nt c hu rc h has

t he c ur e

fo r

it all.

God

gave it to

us

We

can put old

age

out

of

business.

Soon,

if we 3re

faithful,

by t he p ow er of the Holy S piri t

the

character

of

Christ

will

be

perfectly

reproduced

in us. See

Chris/ s Object Lessons 69) Th e

Holy Spirit will

come

to

His

church,

Pentecost Tw o will be

greater in

power

than

Pentecost

One the

Latter Rain

will

fall

th e

Loud

Cr y will

sound.

Le t us

pray that it will happen now, this

year 1987.

This

is

th e prayer

of

the

s ta ff o f

Our Firm FOllndation

Recently

I

was with John

Osborne

in Bonita Springs ,

F lo r id a p u ttin g my

weekend

series-Preparing for Eternity-on

video tape.

We now

have eight

hours recorded on two fourhour

cassettes available fo r 49. We

believe

that

these messages ca n be

shown

in homes Or in

prayer

meetings. They

present

the

mes-

sage

of righteousness

by

faith

and v ic tory over

sin

in

the set-

ting

of

rhe three angels messages.

The e ight one -hou f

sections

arc

as

follows:

J. Th e

Gift

of

Prophecy

in th e

Remnant

Church

2

Th e

Message

to Laodicea

3 Th e Three Angels Messages

4

Job

th e

Perfect

Ma n

Closing Events

6 T h e

C l e a n s i

ng o f th e

Sanctuary

7 The Seven E sse ntia ls of

Holy

Living

8 A

Conversation

with John

Osborne on the Final

Crisis

These presentations

have been

a help to

many

over

the years .

I

have

no

doubt

that these

same

messages

of

historic

Adventism

can now

reach where I cannot go

personally,

and will continue

to

bless many souls.

Also,

we now

have available

A

Syllabus

01 oly

Living

Th is

book

of

pages by Eld er

lul ius Gilbert White,

gives

a

beautiful

presentation of

many

practical aspects

of

righteousness

by f ai th. T he suggested

donation

is just 2.50.

Th e Lord has

blessed

us in tlie

preparing

of

these materials ; now

we pray that He will bless

in

their use in the field. There

arC

souls to be saved. We

cannot

af-

ford to n eg le ct t he

opportunities

t he L or d places before us.

RON

SPE R EDITOR


3/32

Table of Contents

What

Does It

Prove?

And more-What docs

it

say?

is the mission

of

Hope Interna

tional and the editors

of Our Firm

Foundation

to give the s traight testi-

mony and to present Christ and Him

crucified. The days that yet remain

of this world arc few and what we

do we must do quickly.

We

must

boldly

proclaim

the truths that place

us on so firm a foundation in the

midst of this troubled world.-THE

EDITORS

Vol.

2 No.1

ARTICLES

January

1987

KC\ in

D.

Paulson

4

DEPARTMENTS

Edi tarial

2

i e

Upon Line

21

Melange

13

Berea 8

Letters 14

Religious Liberty

Update

30

Food fo r Thought 15

Keeping the Heart

Ellen G. White

12

Eternal

interests

deserve protection

Between th e

Porch

and the Altar

Ron

Spear

16

Sin cannot be taken l ight ly

Co-opera tion Ellen G. White 22

The seCret

of success

Secrets

of the

Rapture

Ralph

Larson

The s tory beh ind

a

fallacy

The

Sin

of

Licentiousness

Ellen

G.

White 6

Way back then . . .

and now

Editor Ron Spear

Managing

Editor

Dave Fiedler

Associate Editor Vern Jennings

Copy

Editor

Lila

Rae

Frederick

Editorial

Secretary

Clarissa

Fiedler

Contributing Editors Colin Standish

Ralph Larson,

John Osborne

Art

Director

Bob

Bresnahan

Layout Shari lyn

Kendall

Typography Arnct Mathers

Circulation

Joseph

Leatherman

TO SUBSCRIBE

If you wish to subscribe, send

your

order and

donation

to Ow rm Foun

datiol

P.O. Box 940,

Eatonville,

WA

98328.

Suggested donations fo r th e

annual

subscription are listed below.

We

have

kept our pr ices as low as possible but

if your finances

cannot

meet the re-

quested

donation.

just send whatever

you can.

We

want

no

one

to be

unable

10

receive

this mater ia l because

of

lack

of funds. If you

ar c

impressed

to

givc a

donation

to assist in providing

subscriptions for those

whose

funds

may be l imited, send your

gift

marked HSubscription Assistance to

the address above.

Your

donation is

tax deductible.

United States

US 14.50

Canada US 19.75

Overseas

surface

mail 24.50

Inquire for overseas air rates.

The Power

of

Music H. Lloyd Leno

Psychological

and

physiological

effects

of music

Ellen White-Member

of

the

Board Dal c Fiedler

Only

one

organization could make the claim

Invitation

to Writers

6

8

u rm FOllndalion

Editorial Office:

P.O. Box 940

Eatonville, WA 98328

206) 832-6602

Copyright

1986

Hope International

We

are

accepting artic le-length 1800-2800 words manu-

scripts preferably typewri t ten

for possible

publication in

Our

rm Foundatioll

We

are

not in a position to give consideration

to longer submissions. When sending material

fOT

our

considera-

tion

please retain

your original

manuscript

and send

us a photo

copy. Should

you des ire advance not ice of a

decision to publish

your art ic le . p lease

include a

self-addressed. stamped

envelope.

Address

all editorial

correspondence

to

Managing Editor

Our

rm Foundatiol

P.O. Box 940,

Eatonville, WA

98328

January

987

Ollr Firm Foul datio


4/32

HE VERY

mention

of th e

wedding ring produces

resentment with some people. The

recent deluge of

teredness

and anti legalism cru-

sading

tends

to

provoke

a

Who

cares? response

whenever .Issues

of conduct

arise. But because

of

my conviction that any subje ct

address ed by Inspiration deserves

attention,

that

th e B ib le

nowhere

is t inguish s man s s pi ri tu al

SUCCess from the

Lord s

well-

reasoned

guides fo r behavior, I

believe

a

few tho ugh ts a rc

in

der.

Historical ly, Seventh-day Ad-

ventists

have

taken seriously the

Bible s

statements on outward

ado rnment. P au l w ro te to Timo

thy, uIn

like

manner

also,

that

women adorn

themselves

in mod-

est 3pparcl, with shamefacedness

and sobrie ty ;

no t

with -braided

hair, or gold, or pea rl s, Or costly

array;

but which

becometh

wo-

men

professing godliness

with

good

works.

1 Timothy 2:9 10

Peter l ikewise declared

concern-

in g Christian women, Whose

adorning, le t it

no t be that

out-

Kevin D Paulson

ward ad orn in g

of plaiting the

hair, and of wearing of gold, or

of

putting

on of

apparel;

bu t le t

it be th e hidden man of the

heart.

I

Peler

3:3 4

There

seems to be

evidence

that

the

ear ly church v iewed the

marriage

ring as

in this category.

Says one scholar: Neither the

Bible

no r

th e

Talmud

speaks of

th e

ring

as

symbolic of

marriage.

As a matter

of fact,

ear ly Chr is -

t ians frowned upon

the

ring as an

outward

adornment. James Rem-

ington McCarthy, Rings

Through

the ges

To my knowledge,

no

biblieal

scholar ha s

provided

evidence

th:H

the

bove

Scriptures

h:3d a

culturally confined application

with

which

modern Christ ians

need not

be

concerned (similar,

say, to

Paul s command

that wo-

men be

silent

in

church). J can

recall one person

remotcly

sug-

gest ing this poss ibil ity,

bu t he

of-

fered

no

proof.

What

amazes me

is that

of th e many believers

I

know

who

quest ion t he Adven ti st

standard

on jewelry,

none hJve

seriously attempted

to

deal

with

these

passages. J m afraid that

many thoughtlessly

conclude

that

this is an Ellen White p roblem.

and do not

look at the

biblieal

evidence.

Ellen White plainly connects

th e aforementioned

biblical coun-

sel to

the wedding ring. After

citing the passage from I Timo-

thy,

she declares: Here

th e

Lord,

through His apo stle, speaks

ex-

pressly against the

wearing of

gold. Let those

who

have had ex-

perience

see to

it

that

they

do not

lead

others

astray on this

point

by their example. That ring en-

c ir cl ing you r f inge r may

be

very

plain, bu t it

is

useless; an d

the

wearing o f it

has

a wrong

influ-

en ce upon

others. Testimonies

vol . 4

630

E ls ewhe re sh e writes:

Some

have had a burden in

regard

to

t he wear in g of a marriage ring,

feeling

that

the

wives

of ou r

ministers

should conform to this

custom.

Al l this is unneceSS3ry.

. . .

We

need no t

wea

r the sign

fo r

we

ar c no t untrue

to

the

mar-

riage vow, an d

th e

wearing

of

it

would

be no

evi denc e th at

we

were t rue. I feel deeply over

this

leavening

process which seems to

be going on

among

us in the con-

formity

to

custom

and

fashion.

Not one penny

should

be spent

fo r

a

circlet of

gold to

testify

that

we ar c

married.

However , she qualifies the in-

struction

with

reference to be-

lievers

in

lands

where customs

differ from those of North

Amer-

ica:

UIn

countr ies where th e

cus-

tom

is

imperative,

we

have

no

burden to condemn those who

have

th ei r m ar ri ag e

ring;

le t

them wear it if they can do so

conscientiously.

Testimonies

Mil islers 180 181

At

th e

1972

Fall

Council

the

issue was discussed by the Gen-

eral

Conference

officers, relative

to

th e claim

that

American cus-

tom

had

s ignif icant ly

changed

since

Ellen

White s instruction,

thus render ing

acceptable

th e

use

of

th e

wedding

band.

While

the

brethren

agreed that

one

consci-

entiously

p ersuaded o f

a

ring s

necessity

should

no t be denied

Prove?

t

oes

hat

Oll r F i rm

Foul dorion

January

1987


5/32

baptism,

they

maintained

that

because, in ou r judgment, the

wearing of the wedding band still

is

not regarded as

obliga

tory or

an

impcrativc

custom in

North

America,

we discourage the use

of the wedding band,

and

in-

struct

our

ministers

no t to per-

form r ing ce remonies . General

Conference Officers, Counsel

Regarding the Wedding Band in

North America, October 2, 1972,

2

I am unaware

of any

study

showing

clearly those changes in

American soc ie ty which demand

that the

marr iage ri ng

now

be

worn. s with t he bi bl ical state

ments, it doesn t appear that any

precise

cultural

shift can be doc-

umented.

In

my

expcrience with

friends, both in and

ou t

of th e

church,

[ have seen fa r too many

girls

with

rings on thc finger

designatcd fo r marriage,

whom

I

know were

neither

married nor

engaged. Others I m

sure can

tes-

tify

to the

same

fact. [

cannot

bu t

find

the claim of

cultural

sity less than convinc ing, espe-

cially

when so

many

Adventists

who

work outside th e church

have yet

to be

embarrassed

due

to

the absence of a ring.

The issue

of cul tu ra l

cxpccta-

tion in the

United

States looks

even more suspect

in view of

the

following

statement

made

a num-

ber

of

yea rs ago:

I n the U.S., where the mar-

riage rate now stands at 1,669,934

couples a year, having receded

from the

a l l - t ime peak of

2,291,045 in 1946, wedding r ings

are

manufacturcd at

a rate

of

about 850,000 a month.

If

all of

these

rings were

to be used by

brides

in

genuine

weddings,

every

adult Ame ric an f emal e

would have

a

ring

finger

deeo

rated like the neck of an

Ubangi

and would have

to

contr ct

shocking as it

may

seern-a new

marriage

every five

years.

Ob-

viously most of the rings arc used

merely

for immoral

purposes.

The

big ten-ccnt stores

do

a rc.mark-

able business in cheap

wedding

rings,

sel ling six

or

seven

million

a year to bo th occas iona l

and

steady customers.

The rings

are

well made, neatly

polished

and

cannot be distinguished

from

the

genuine a rticl e a t a

distance

of

two

feet,

which is as close as

the

manager s tands to th e hotel

reg-

ister.

Robert

Wallace,

With

This

Ring. . Life June 18,

1951

This is

not

to say,

of

course,

that t he p re sence

of a

wedding

band

instantly raises

moral ques-

tions. It does, however , dampen

assumptions

as

to

a ring s respec-

tabiliry.

Occasionally

people

will tell

me

of

persons they

know

who

have dec ided

to

wear a ring be-

cause they ve grown w eary of

Has the increased

popularity of

wedding bands

decreased the

divorce rate?

romantic

a dva nce s. T he logic

here escapes me. How

difficult

is

it

to say, I m

married ?

More-

ove r, my guess is

that

anyone

not

decent enough

to back off

under

such

circumstances

would prob-

ab ly no t

be

stopped

by a

ring.

One

question I have is why we

seem embarrassed to tell others

what we believe and

why

arc we

afraid to tell people

what

the

Bible

says on this point?

Has

the

wedding

ring,

in a cur ious way ,

become a subst itute for witness

ing?

It is time we asked, What is

the true basis fo r the recent surge

in the

populari ty

of w edding

rings

in

North

American Adven-

tism? The

average

bel iever who

wears a ring will doubt less an-

swer,

Becausc I

wish to show

that I m

marricd.

In response,

we inquire: Arc we then

to

as-

sume that th e

church

now has a

deeper regard fo r the sacredness

of

marriage than

in the past?

Are

wc wearing more rings today be-

cause we wish more t ha n

ever

to

be faithful

to

the

marriage

vow?

Has the

increased popul ar it y of

wedding bands been paralleled by

a decrease in th e rate of

divorce

and

infidelity? I m almost

afraid

to ask.

The disturbing truth is tha

the per iod during which wedding

rings

have

grown

popular in th

church

has

witnessed

an

ingly critical

attitude

toward

th

writ ings

of

Ellen White, the

emergence

of

a

misguided

percep

tion of legalism

which

reduce

emphasis on s tandards of behav

ior,

and the

fiercest

attack

ou

message has suffered

since

it

beginning.

Church

members from

throughout Nor th

America could

testify

that in the recent conflic

the a bscnce r

presence

of a wed

ding band

has become one al

though certainly not the only

indication

of

a

person s

theologi

cal stand. A reccnt

newspaper

ar

ticle

covering

one pa stor s theo

logically

related

dismissal

spok

of how,

ou t

of c Ia ted liberation

from Ellen White,

this

ministc

went out and bought his

wife

o

twelve year s

he r

first

wedding

band.

(What this has

to

do with

marriage we arc

permitted to

guess.)

Cou ld it be

that in Adventi sm

th e wedding ri ng

has come

to sig

nify remarkably

little

in the way

of marriage or

its obligations

Has it become, instead, a tool in

the hands

of

church critics,

ages

ture

of defiance against histori

Adventism?

How

well I

remembe

one

c ri ti c s a rt ic le which

cited

the recen t p ro lifera tio n of wed

ding bands

as

proof that

th

church s historic bel ie fs a rc fall

ing by

the

wayside, and

tha

s t raight-laced, old-fashioned

conservatives

had

better get on

the bandwagon

of change.

Loya

believers will want no.

part

in

writing speeches fo r the church

foes.

Without wishing

to

be

judg

mental,

I have

found t ha t

church

members

who shake

off

thei

Laodicean

s lumb er, de ciding

without reserve

to

follow thei

Lord,

tend to leave wedding

ring

behind. By

contrast,

the apathet

ic, the cynical, and the uncar in

tend to keep them.

The day North

American

Adventism

finds a

new

commitment to

Jesus Christ wil

be the day

wedding

rings pas

from

the scene. i

hnu ry

1987 Our Fil m

oundation


6/32

The Power

Music

Part One

loy Lena

A

GAINST the backdrop of

the spread of

Rock 'n

Roll

and campus unrest nationwide

dming the

late 60s

the

Seventh-

day Adven ti st Chu rch

was

ex-

periencing a troublesome change

in

atti tude

toward

worship in

general

and r el ig ious mus ic in

particular. Among those who

ad -

vocated the use of the

vernacular

popular

music were sincere

Chris-

tians who were looking

for

new

ways to witness

for Chr is t.

Also,

among the

advocates

of th e us e

of

popular

dance styles

fo r

wor-

ship, were those who,

in my

opinion,

were

motivated to

a

large

extent

by the prevail ing

philo so phy o f ch nge for

change' s s ake. Tills

philosophy

assumes th t

s ince previous

methods

did

no t

solve

or

cure

the

world's

problems

or

evangelize

the wodd, they mus t

be

replaced

with

new,

even t hough

radical,

methods. The

end

justifies

the

means

seemed to be almost a

credo.

Most c hu rc h musicia ns a nd

church

leaders

alike

found

them-

selves grop ing

fo r

answers .

However , some musicians

and

a'

few chu rc h l ea de rs

were Dot

surprised at the development of

th e problem , because

in

th e ab-

sence of

strong

leadership and/or

a unified

philosophy

of music,

the

church

was in fact

vulnerable

Ollr

irm

oul dalion

Janu:lrY 1987

on this issue. In the summer of

J972, the G enera I Conference

convened a special

task

force

committee to study the problem

that had developed in music. A

number of paper s were commis-

sioned and cap abl e persons

pu t

forth a tremendous ef fo r t to

se arch for

and apply

guiding

principles.

Sensing

th e

need

for some

scientific

information

that could

complement

that

from the

Bible

and the

writings

of E. G.

White,

I

suggested to th e

chairman

of

the

committee

that a paper dea ling

with the psychological

aspect

of

music

be prepared

fo r

study

by

the committee. The r epl y was a

request tha t

I undertake

this

as

signment. The resul t was a paper

which was subsequently rev ised

fo r

the Review and erald and

in

which f orm it is here reproduced.

Since writing these articles, ]

have

continued

my study

in this

area with

the hope

of

developing

a larger

and

more

complete

perspective. The

information

dis-

covered,

and

the

resulting in -

sights gained,

will

be the subject

of an a rt ic le which

will

follow

this

series.

Dr.

H.

Lloyd

Lena, Director

Music Department, Antil l ian

Col-

lege Puerto Rico

D

URING RECENT years a

gre t

de l

of

concern

among Adventists

has

developed over

the sub ject

of

th e

ethics

of music.

There

has

always been an awareness that

some

types of ent er ta inmen t and

amusement s wer e harmful to th e

Christian,

and

it was

more

or less

understood that music closely as

sociated

with

these amusements

WJS

also

unsaf e for Christian use.

However, until about

the

1960s.

discussions on the

subject.

writ-

ten

or verbal,

by

ministry or

laity,

seem to have been

infre-

qu ent, causing lit tle recognition

or

comment out si de

of th e local

situation.

Today we sec a dirferen pic

turc.

There

is

widespread

inter-

est,

conce rn , a nd

discussion,

ancl

some definite

polarization

among

the

church members. Some be

lieve that music

amoral, th at

its meaning and influence are

what the

individual

wishes i[ to

be. Others have strong

convic-

tions as to the inf luence of music.

A

few have

studied

and wri tt cn

on

th e

s ub je ct . S ur pr is in gl y

enough. there .are thosc who fail

to see

any issue

at

all.

Rather than relying on major-

ity

opinion, personal tastcs, or

even th e

opinion

of professionals

in the field of music,

it

seems

logical that we should

develop

a


7/32

ph ilo sophy of m usic

based on

what

effect

music

has upon peo-

ple.

I believe this can

be

deter-

mined

from

three sources.

First,

the Bible, giving us the basic

p ri nc ip le s o f

Christian l iving.

Second,

th e

wri ti ngs o f

the

Spirit

of

Prophecy to enlarge upon the

b ib li ea l t ea chi ng s.

And th i rd ,

God s

other

book,

nature

and

science, which can furnish us

with

added

i ns ight s i nto the

na-

ture

of man s response

to various

stimuli

in

hi s environment.

Addressing a meeting of the

American Psychiatr ic Associa-

tion,

Howard Hanson,

a national-

ly

prominent composer , declared:

is

a

curiously

subtle

art

with i nnumerab le , varying

emo-

t ional connotations. t is made

up

of many ingredients and ,

accord-

ing to

th e

p ropo rti on s o f

these

component s, i t

ca n

be

soothing

or

i nv igorat ing, ennob li ng

or

vul-

gar izing, phi losophical

o r o rg ia s-

tic.

l t has powers

f or evil,

as well

as fo r good.

we

ar c to usc it

as

a

soci al or therapeutic

fo rc e, the

first essenti al i s that we find

out

something about it. l

It is obvious that

we

Seventh-

day

Adventists use mus ic a great

deal.

But Our tastes an d

conse-

quently Our practices ar e subject

to

the i nf lu en ce o f r ad io , te levi -

sion,

and

the recording industry

as

are

those

of other s. Can

we af-

ford

to be

less

concerned

about

To remazn

uninformed

is to

surrender our

power

o f

choice to

others

the power

and

influence

of mu-

sic? there

ar c

eternal

conse-

quences involved, we indeed must

guard

well t he a venues

of

th e

soul. 2

To

do this we must

be

in -

formed. To remain

uninformed

is

to

sur render ou r power of

choice

to other s, for no

on e

can

live

in

a

mus ic al v ac uum. First,

le t

us

review b ri ef ly c er ta in s ci en ti fi c

invest igations into the psycholog-

ical

an d

physiological

responses

to

music.

Next

we will

consider

how th es e findings

compare wit h

th c w ri ti ng s

of Ellen G. White.

Then we will examine th e mora l

and

sp ir i tua l impl icat ions,

an d

how

t hese rel at e

to contemporary

moral

issues.

Tn

this

f ir st p ar t

we

There

lS

scarcely a

function the

ody

which

m y

not be ffected by

mUSl

shall exp lo re th e ways in which

sound,

musical

sounds

in

particu-

lar, affects the human organism.

Without an attempt

to

exhaust

th e

subject,

we

w il l look at some

of

the information provided by

psychologists ,

physiologists

and

other

scientists who have

con-

d uc te d r es ea rc h

in

this

field.

Some

of

these

findings

will sug-

gest

moral

and

spiritual implica-

tions;

o ther s may

not. In any case,

we

sha ll postpone unti l

later

the

discussion of these implicat ions .

The

Perception

of Music

A major i nt er es t

that

led

to

t he s tudy

of

the effects

of

music

on man

was that of

music

ther-

apy. Activity in this field in -

c re ased when

during

the Second

Wor ld War it was

recognized

that

many she ll shocked servicemen

were

in desperate

need of psychi-

atric treatment. In 1944 upon

a ut ho ri za ti on o f

th e S urgeon

General ,

the

Music Research

Foundat ion

was

established

at

Walter

Reed

General

Hospital, in

Washington, D.C. ro r the purpose

of discovering

and

developing

new

methods

of con trol li ng hu -

man

emoti ons and behav io r.

Prob ab ly the most important

developmen t in th e scientific

in -

vestigation of music

was the dis-

covery

that

music is perceived

t hr ough t ha t

portion

of the brain

rece iv ing the s timul i

of

emotions,

sensations, and feelings, without

bcing

first subjected to the

brain

cente rs involv ing reason a nd

in -

telligence. This

discovery,

con-

firmed

a numbe r o f scientists,

gave

grea t impetus

to

th e field

of

music therapy,

as

one c an r eadil y

understand

from this statement:

HMusic,

which

does no t

depend

upon

th e

master brain to gain en-

trance

into

the

organism, can

still

arouse by way

of

the

thalamus-

the relay s ta tion of

al l emotions-

sensations

and feelings. Once a

stimulus has been able to reach

t he tha lamus,

th e master

brain

is

utom tic lly in iaded and if

the

stimulus is continued fo r

some

time, a closer

contact

between

the

maste r b rain

and

the world

of

reality ca n

be

thus

established.,,3

(Emphasis supplied)

Thus,

music

became the tool

by which commun icat ion could

be

r e-e sta b li sh ed w ith

certain

mentally

il l

patients

who, because

of

their

condition, could

n l

be

reached through verbal communi-

cat ion, which requi re s the usc

of

th e

cerebral

cortex.

Music,

Moods,

Body Chemist ry

Even

without

giving

the sub-

ject a great deal of thought,

most

people wou ld agr ee

that

music

af -

fects their

moods.

Thi s i dea is

not

only accepted by the

general

pub-

li c

and

used by industries,

it is

also supported by scientific

vestigation. One of

th e

earliest

studies

was

conducted in 1920

J923 by

th c

Carnegic

Institute of

Technology. The stu dy involving

a nationwide investigation

dem-

onstrated

that

music affects the

moods

of

people of varied

g rounds in

a remarkably similar

way.4

Lat er , t he p sy ch ia tr is t Ed -

ward P od ols ky r ep or te d:

searchers

on

th e

auditory

nerves

i nd jc at e t ha t

there is scarcely

function

of

the body

which

may

no t

be

affected by

th e

pulsations

and ha rmonic combina tions

of

musica l tones . s

He sta ted fu rther tila t

moods

are d irect ly

related

to

physiology,

that t he y d epend a

great

deal on

the activity

of

the brain and

blood

and body

chemistry

continued

on

19

January

1987 Ollr

irm

FOlll1dfllio 7


8/32

Ellen

White-

Menlber of

the Board

HE OLD adage says well:

N o o rgan i z a t i on is

stronger

than

i ts Board

of

Direc-

tors.

The chances

of

any

or -

ganizat ion or

inst i tut ion actually

succeeding in its work can be

measured in th e experience,

stabil i ty,

and wisdom of it s

board. Of course, that is much

easier to S:lY than it is to do Who

after all, can accurately weigh

the inner workings of any

per-

son s heart and

mind? Who

can

see

the

future

to know

how

Our irm oundation

January

1987

qu ick ly

exper ience

will be

gained Who can measure

the

ability

of

an indomitable faith

and will to overcome t he dif-

ficulties brought

on by

a

lack

of

experience? And who would deny

tha t the Lord can confound

th e

wisdom of the world with the

foolishness of

His wil l?

But still, no DO could intel-

ligently

doubt

t he value of godly,

experienced counselors

to

serve as

a

Board of Directors. Ellen White

knew this well She knew, too, the

Dave Fiedler

heartache

that

could be caused

by

unconsecrated directors, men who

placed

their wisdom above

the

Lord s in st ruc t ion . And as no

one

else in

he r

day-she knew

that instruction. Ellen White

would

be a natural choice as a

board

member.

How often she

was asked

to

serve in such

a

capacity is not known.

How

often

she

did,

and for

what

enterprise,

is-exactly

once,

fo r th e Nashville

Agricultural

an d Norm al lnst

itute.

Surrounding

this

isolated piece

o f h is to ri c

trivia

is a

tale

deserv

ing a

retelling,

for in it we find

lessons needed today . After all

th e e xp erie nce of othe rs

is

a

much less costly way to

learn

than to

repea t the ir mistakes.

The

turn of the century held

ou t prospects of new beginnings,

progress ,

advancement .

To

Scventhday Adventists ,

there

was the expectation of the ul

timate new beg inning . but

only

after the

end

of all things then

existing.

sense of restrained,

sometimes

confused,

excitement

pervaded the denomination. ani)

a

few

years before, th e Lord had

indicated

that closing events had

begun with a clearer proclama-

tion

of

Christ s righteousness

than had been heard fo r years

The second com ing was at hand,

surely.

But for

some on

the

inside:

the

issu es were

not nearly so

clcaT Whilc

th e

avcrage

church

member

remained more or less

ublissfully

ignorant,

those marc

closely connected to the great

heart

of

the

work struggled

to

deal with mounting

problems.

The

Gene ra l Conf er en ce i ts el f

was

marred by

a

seeming ina


9/32

From the time he had persuaded them

to adopt a vegetarian diet years before

Sutherland and Magan

had

looked up

to

r Kellogg; it was only too natural for

them to continue

to

do so

bility to find it s way through the

maze

o f c onf li ct in g

in

tcrests.

Then

again, perhaps

it

was

the

tendency to find it s

own

way,

and an

inability

to

find

God s

way that

was

th e

problem.

The

situation

reached undeniable

crisis

p ropo rtio ns when E llen

White

wrote

from

Australia:

Th e

sacred character

of this [General

Conference] Association is fast

disappearing.

What

will

then be

respected

as

pure,

holy,

and

un-

defiled? Will

there

be

any

voice

that

God s

people can regard as a

voice they

can

respect?

There

certainly

is

nothing

now

that

bears the divine credentials.

As things now exist

in

Battlc

Creek,

the work

of

God

cannot

be

car ri ed f orward on

a orrect

basis Who

can

now feci sure

that they arc

safe

in

respecting

the voice of the General Con-

ference

Association? If the

people

in OUf churches understood the

management

of

th e men

who

walk in the

light

of

the sparks of

their own

kindling,

would they

respect

theiT

decisions?

I

answer,

No ,

not for

a moment. I have

been shown

that

the

people at

large

do not know that the heart

of the work

is

being diseased and

corrupted at

Battle Creek. l

In

late

1900 she returned to

the

United States

to

find

reports

of

strange doings

in

lndiana, but

not till April of 1901 did she

directly

deal with the

Holy

Flesh teaching of Elders Davis

and

Donnel l. More

than a

year

before, she had been shown that

ju st such

fanaticism

wou ld come

into f camprneetings shortly

before th e

close

o f p ro ba ti on .

Fortunately

the

immediate

prob-

lem was

quickly

resolved

as

the

leaders

of

the

divergent

move-

ment

accep ted the counsel of

the

Spirit

of

Prophecy

and

renounced

the ir fau lty concept of

the

nature

of Christ

Other

challenges at the Gen-

eral

Conference of 1901 did

not

go away so quick ly . Though

it

was voted

on

April

12

to

move

Battle

Creek College out of Battle

Creek, when

it came

to accom-

plishing th e task, a lingering

sense

of

shock

remained to

hinder the work. Reorganization

seemed

a

settled

rna ttcr a

t the

conference

close,

but

cropped up

again two years later in

divisive

contention

over th e revising

(others said urcvcrs ing ) of

what

was

done in 1901

3

And through

it all was the widening spl it

be-

twecn the ministry and the large

corps o f medical

missionaries

controlled by

John

Kellogg.

In

May

of

1904 the

last

strong

effort was made

to

bring the

two

factions together in

harmony.

At

a sess ion

of

th e

Lake

Union Con-

ference, ten sion s reached the

snapping point , and never again

would there be such

an oppor-

tunity for reconciliation. Dr .

Kellogg s

depressing drift from

hi s former

brethren

continued

until

he

finally

lost his

church

membership in 1907

4

Was

it all

his fault? Perhaps

not; humanity is humanity still

on both sides of any di sagree -

ment, but another s failings are

poor

reasons for

the los s of

one s

own soul. What is

certain is that

many

influential

people

t ou t

he

was

right.

Loyalties

then,

as

now, too

often

went

to

the per-

son, and

to o

o ft en int er fe red

with

th e

task of finding

th e

truth.

Many

of

the

medical

and

educational

personnel of

th e

denomin t ion

sided

to

some

degree with

Kellogg in

h is t each -

ing of pantheism as well 3S in hi s

objecting to

what

he saw as

wronfs in denominational poli-

cies. One

of

th e overlooked

miracles of the

era is

the

simple

fact that so many

recovered

from

their

confusion

in this regard.

Among those

thus res to red t

valuable service for th e Lord

were

two

ardent

men-Edward

Alexander Sutherland

and

Perc

Tilden Magan. The

tw o

had

worked together for several year

at Wal la Wal la

College

befor

being

called

to

Battle

Creek

Col

lege

in

1897.

Their

immediat

desire

was

to move the school ou

of town, bu t

Ellen

White coun

seled

delay. In

1901 when sh

told them that the moment had

come,

it was

their determination

that

packed the college into

freight cars and moved it 90

miles

away

to Berrien Springs.

6

These

men

were

reformers

first and foremost,

and

as such

they felt

strong ties to the

on

who had made the challenge o

reform seem worthwhile.

From

the

time

he had persuaded them

to adopt

a vegetarian

diet year

before, Sutherland and

Magan

had looked up

to

Dr. Kellogg; i

was

only

too natural for them

t

continue to do so. Unfortunately

their support,

and

that of others

played a large

role in steeling

him in his

defiance

at the Lak

Union Confe rence. Only

la ter

did

the

two men shake free from hi

influence.

That p ivotal con ference

ses

sion

in May

of

1904

was mad

especially tense by the death o

Ida

Magan,

Percy s wife, on th

second day

of

meetings. He

health

had given way under th

strain of unjust crit icism. Afte

nearly a year s i l lness he

troubles

on

earth were over. No

so fo r her

husband. In t he hea t

o

anuary

98

O l r

irm

OImdnlioll

9


10/32

Brother Sutherland and Brother Magan

do not go out from this place as men

who have made a failure,

but

as men

who have made a success

th e debate-which centered on

Kellogg s

pantheism,

bu t

ineluded

a

host

of other

matters-he

and

Suthe rl and tende red thei r

resig-

nat ions f rom

the college,

saying

that they

could no longer work

with the Gener al Con fe rence

leadership.

They p lanned ins tead

to

disappear

into

the

South

where

they could operate

a

school on

their own without interfcrence.

7

EIIen Whi te s response to this

plan is an amazing

example

of

her wil lingness to work

with her

brethren. She

did

not ost ra ci ze

them,

as

she might easily have

done;

neither did

she

condone

their

rashness.

Just

hours

after

their

resigna-

tion she defended them publicly:

Hl n moving th e College

from

Bat tl e Crcek

and establishing

it

in

Ber ri cn Spr in gs , Brethren

Magan

and

Sutherland

have acted

in harmony with

the

light that

God gave. They hav e worked

un -

de r

great

difficulties.

But

who

has

appreciated the

work

that

has been done

in this

place? Many

have taken an at -

titude of opposition, and have

s poken words that have caus ed

sadness

After

th e [1903J General

Conference in Oakland, a report

was

circulated

that

Sister

White

had turned aga ins t Brother

Magan.

There was

not

a

word of

truth

in this statement. But hi s

poor wife, who had toiled and

sacr if ic ed and p ray ed

with

him,

was informed that Sister

White

had taken

a stand

against her

husband. Oh, why did

ever

any-

one say such

a thing?

Sister

White

never tu rn ed a ga in st

Brother

Magan or

Brother Sutherland.

But

Sister Magan

was

so weighted

down

with

sorrow

that

she

lost

her

reason.

I

ask,

Who in the day

of

judgment will

be

held responsible

fo r

putting

out the light of that

mind that

should

be shining

today?

She suf fe red for months, and

the husband

suffered

with

her.

And now the

poor

woman has

gone,

leaving

two moth er le ss

children.

All

t hi s because of

the

work

done by unsanc t i f icd

tongues

Brother Suther l and and

Brother Magan

do not

go ou t

from

this

place

as

men who have

made a f ai lu re , but as

men who

have

made a success. They have

taught the

students

from the

Bible,

according

to the light

given through th e Testimonies.

The studcnts

th at h av e

been with

them

need not

be

ashamed of the

education

they

have

received

To

the students]

would

say,

You

are

to

let your

teachers go

willingly. They have had

a

hard

battle here, but they have made

a

success

IIThey think they

can

better

glorify God by going

to

a

more

needy

field.

This

is their own

choice;

1

have not

persuaded

them. They did not know but

what Sister

White

would stand

in

their

way.

Whcn

they

laid

thc

matter before

me

this morning,

1

told

them I would

not

hinder

them

fo r

onc moment.

us

The two

educa tors

sorely

needed her public s upport and

encouragement,

but they

also

needed her rebuke. True

to

duty,

she supplied

it:

I have words

of

counsel

for

you.

There

must

be

harmony

be-

twecn

you

and the

men

in respon-

s ib le posi tions in th e General

Conference.

You

catch at straws

in mat te rs c on ce rn in g

Elder

Daniells

and E ld er

Prescott. Why?

Because thcy

have

not

harmo-

n ized with

you in

al l

your plans,

and

have

not

givcn

you t he c red i

t

that you

deserved. But when the

Lord

eorrccted

errors, and

spoke

encouraging

words concern ing

your

efforts,

why did

you not

thank Him, and show you r grati-

tude

by

manifesting

forgiveness,

and

showing an appreciat ion of

the

burdens

borne

by these

fellow

workers?

HYour

feelings

in

regard

to

Elder Daniells and Elder

Prescott

arc

not c or rec t.

you expect

them

to

harmonize

with you, you

must harmonize

with

them. The

Lord

has

dec la red tha t

He will

harmonize wit h E ld er Daniells

and Elder Prescott.

1

know

of

what

am speaking; for

these

things

hove

been

represented to

me

My

brethren, let us

now

do

ou r

best,

not to discovcr wrong

in

Elder Daniell s, but to help

him.

He has

shown

himself

to

be the

man

fo r

the

place.

At this timc

there

arc

needed men

who dare to

differ

with

those who

are coun-

terworking t he pla ns of the

Lord

fo r His peopl e. You have not

dis-

c ern ed th e

true condition of the

leaders

of

the

medical

missionary

work at

Ba ttle

Creek

[Dr.

Kellogg

and his sympathizers]. You have

not placed

a

correct estimate

upon

their

actions.

You have

en-

couraged

their

i deas and p lans

al-

together

too much. ,9

The firs t years of thc

new cen-

tury, so b righ t w ith promise, had

been hard

ones for Ed Sutherland

and Percy Magan.

In

the Spr ing

of 1904 they

were

ba ttered,

bruised, saddened-but

somewhat

wiser

than

before.

Experience

had

proved

a hard taskmaster,

bu t

they wou

Id need every bi

of

th e wisdom their

experience

ur

rm

oulldation

nu ry

1987


11/32

This organization was different; unlike

any

that went before it it strove to be

both independent

from

and loyal to

the

denomination

would afford

as

the Lord

charted

a course

for

them into

completely

new an d

untested

waters.

On th e Rocks

With

this

thumbnail skctch

of

the intricacies

of

t he ir r ecen t

ex-

periences. it is easy to sec why

Sutherland

and

M agan w ould

want

to

relocate in a place of

seclusion. As

fa r as

Adventists

were

concerned,

the South had

an

abundance

of seclusion

to offer.

Despite twenty years of urging

from

Ellen White, relat ivcly l i tt lc

work

had

been begun

in

th e

region.

To

csta

blish themscl

ves j

n

3 retired location and begin their

work

in a

quiet , s imple manner

with

a

few

young s tuden t s

seemed the

prudent and des ir ab le

thing

for the two

men

to do.

Ellen White d id n ot agree.

Although

t hcse men

ha d

made

serious errors, she

had

no inclina-

tion to let them retire from

th e

fo re fr on t o f

th c

battle and

le t

their talents go

awasting.

The

church necded schools in thc

South-why

should t he se

mcn of

considerable experience

be

tied

to

only a

small

field

of

labor

when

by

teaching teachers their

in -

fluence might

extend many

times

as

far? And so

it was

that Ellcn

White

took considerable

pains

to

involve herself in the

in i t ia l

decision

making for

the

new

project.

In

early June

of 1904 Suther-

land

and

Magan decided

to

spend

some

time

in the Umounta inous

dist rict of East Tennessee

and

th e

Carolinas,

to select

a site

fo r

th e

proposed schoo l.

Magan

writes

that H upon rcaching

Nashville,

we were

invited

by SiSler

White

an d others to spend a s hor t time

with them

in considering

impor-

tan t interes ts

connected

with

the

development

of

the work center-

ing there.

l i lt was while we

were engaged

in

th e study

of

these quest ions

th at our

attention

was directed to

a large fa rm ncar Madison, about

nine

miles

from

Nashvi lle. Sister

White advised

us

to give careful

consideration

to the

favorable

features

of this

place,

which

made it a suitable locat ion for a

school

such

as we desired to

start. l0

Magan concedes that they

shrank f rom locating so ncar

to

Nashville.

They

had

planned

on

a

more remote

site.

Ellen

White

did

not

press

th e

point-not

yet.

Soon it was agreed

to

take a

trip up the Cumberland River on

board Edson Whi te's

missionary

river boat,

th e

orning Star The

goal,

aside from a l it tl e r el axa-

tion

from the

strain

of

recent

events, was to find a suitable

location for the establ ishment of

thc

proposed

school. Sister White

wrote, sha ll enjoy the t ri p, f or

I

have much to say

to

our

party-

especially to Brethren

Sutherland

an d Magan , upon

the

school

prob-

lem. This opportunity I

must

improve. u

As the trip progressed, Ellen

White b ecame more and

more de-

cided

that

an

isolated

location

fo r the

school

was not wise. She

stressed

th e desirability

of

th e

workers

at

the school

bcing

close

enough to Nashville

that

the

could, at times, unite th eir ef

for ts with those of

the workers i

th e

city.

Eventually

it became eviden

that the ehcap

land they

ha

heard of north

o f N ash vill

didn't

exist.

The } forlling

Sta

turned about

and began

th

return journey. More

and

marc

Sister

White

favored the purchas

of

th e

Ferguscn-Nelson place,

which

she had adv is ed them t

cons ider before. The

asking

pric

was just under 13,000,

an d

in

cluded a house , l ive sto ck, car

riages,

farming

implements, an

th e

crops in

th e

fields. Not

adver

tised, but very

evident, was

more than

adequate

supply o

deep

gulches, barren

hillsides

and

rocks.

As

Sister

Whi te became mor

direct in he r counsel, the

tw

men

faced an uncomfortable

situ

ation.

They did

l Iol

want to u

the place;

it

was altogether to

large, too expensive, and

involve

too

much

work. But the Spirit

o

P rophecy s ajd their plans

wer

too

narrow.

What would

they do?

When the meaning

of

it al

came crashing

down

upon them

they sat on 3 pile of rocks an

wept. They had

always

advocate

following

th e

Lord's

counseL

I

fact

they

had

bcen

critical o

others for no t doing so. How

cou ld they turn

back now?12

By

th c

Fall

of

th e

year,

newly formed organiza tion hel

sway

over the uM3dison School

more

properly

known as th

Nashv i l l e gricu l tu ra l

nd

Normal Insti tute. From th

beginning,

Ellen

White served a

a member

of

th e Board

of

Direc

tors. It is

wcll

that she did, for

despite

her presence-this

or

ganization

was

different

Unlik

an y that wen t b ef or e it , it strov

to

be

both independent from and

loyal

to

th e denomination.

It

wasn't an easy rolc. Ellen

White never said it would be. Bu

Sutherland

and

Magan

knew

from experience that the Lord

sometimes asks

hard

things

of Hi

children.

They

had

bccn

through

the

furnace of

misrepresentation

continued

on 29

J::lnU:lry

98

01 1

irm

Ollllda ion


12/32

Keeping

the

Heart

Ellen G.

White

K P

THE heart with all

diligence;

fo r

out of

it

arc

the

issues

o f l if e. [Proverbs 4:23]

Diligent

heart-keeping is essen-

tial to

a

healthy

growth in

grace.

The heart in its natura l s ta te

is a

hab ita tion fo r

unholy thoughts

and

s n ul

passions.

When

brought into

subjection

to Christ,

it must

be

cleansed by the

Spirit

from all

defi lement . This

cannot

be done w it hou t the consent of

the individual.

When

the soul

has

been

cleansed, it is the duty

of

the

Christian

to keep

it u nde filed .

Many

seem

to

think

that the re-

ligion of Christ does not call fo r

the

abandonment

of

daily

sins,

the breaking

loose from habits

which have held the

soul in

bondage.

They

renounce

some

things eondemned

by the

con-

science, but they fail to

represent

Chr is t i n the daily life. They do

not

bring Christlikeness

into the

home.

They

do

not

show a

thoughtful

care in

their

ehoice of

words. Too often,

fretful,

im-

patient

words 3rc spoken,

words

which

stir

th e worst passions of

the human

heart.

Such oncs n eed

the

abiding

presence of Christ in

the soul.

Only

in His s trength can

they keep

guard over

the words

and act ions.

u

irm

oul dation

hnu3ry 1987

Pray

Without

Ceasing

In

the work of heart -keeping

we

must

be instant in prayer,

un-

wearied

in petitioning

the

throne

of

grace for assistancc.

Those

who take the

name

of Christian

should come to

God

in earnest-

ness and humility, pleading for

help.

The Saviour

has

told

us

to

pray without

ceasing.

The

Chris-

tian

cannot always be in

the

posi

tion of prayer, but his thoughts

and desires can

always be

up-

ward.

Our

self-confidence would

vanish did

we

talk

less and

pray

morc.

give

evidence

of the sin-

cer it y o f

our prayers

by t he ear-

nestness

o f our endeavor s to an-

swcr them. to overcome

the sins

which strivc

for

a place in

the

life. Our prayers

will

be ineffec-

tual

unless

we

continually

strive

to correct that

which

is wrong

and unlovely

in

ou r

lives.

we

ask

God

to

work fo r

us.

and

then

make

no

effort

to

conquer

self.

our p rayer s

will rise no

higher

than our heads.

God

helps those

who co-operate with

Him.

can

obtain

forgiveness only through

the blood

of Chri st . H is atoning

sacrifice

is all-powerful.

But

in

t he s tr uggl e for immor ta li ty

we

have

a

part

to

act. Christ

will

help those who pray

and

then

watch unto

prayer.

He calls upon

us

to

use

every power

He has

given

us in

the

warfare

against

sin. can never be s aved i n

in -

activity

and

idleness. might as

In the

struggle

for

immortality we

have

a

part to

act

well

look fo r

a

harvest f rom seed

which

we

have not sown. and for

knowledge whe re

we

have not

studied,

as

to expect salvation

without making an effort.

is

our

part

to

wrestle

against

the

evil

tendencies

of th e natural

heart.

Results

of

Disobedience

Certain

Contrast

man s physical, men

tal,

and

moral feebleness

with

Adam s ,perfection before he

t ransgressed God s

law. Among

the waving

trees of Paradise

the

holy

pair

stood

in their sinless

beauty

before God , and

the

privi-

lege

of

unrestrained

intercourse

with H im was the ir s. Adam

was a

noble being,

with

a

powerful

mind,

a

will

in harmony

with

the

will of God, and affections that

centered

upon

Heaven. He pos

sessed a

body

heir

to no

disease

and

a

soul

bearing the impress

of

Deity.

But

al l this rich inheri-

tance,

the

gift of his

Maker, d id

not save

him

from the result

of

disobedience.

God

did not spare Adam,

though his sin may

seem to us a

small

one.

Neither

will

He

spare

us

if we continue to disregard

His

requirements. He divorced

Is

rael

fr om Him because

her

people

walked not in

His

ways.

Never

was

a

people more

beloved. Never

had

a

nat ion greater evidence of

d iv ine favor .

Ye t

only two of the

adults who left Egypt entered the

Promised

Land.

Th e rest died

in

th e

wilderness,

having proved

unworthy to enter Canaan. Pride

and self- indulgence

were

their

ruin.

Their

history

has

been

traced

by

the

pen

of

Inspiration, thot by

t he ir exper ience

we may take

warning.

t

is written for

our

ad

monition,

upon

whom the

ends of

the world

are come. God will call

us

to

account

if

we

retain wrong

traits of character, refusing

to

call to

our aid the power of the

Word and in

the name of

Jesus

correct

ou r

faults

and subdue

the

passions of the natural

heart,

Many

enthrone Satan

in th e

heart, to

triumph

over Chr is t by

the i ndul ge nc e o f

evil

inclinn-

tions. Sin

reigns where Christ

s ho ul d r eig n.

Those

who

thus

continue to cherish sin can never

be saved as they are. Unless they

change,

they will never

enter

heaven

themselves,

and they

make very

difficult

the

path of

those

who are t rying to overcome.

Thei r faulty,

unconsecrated

lives

place them on

the side of

the

power of da.rkness while

they a rc


13/32

pro fe ssed ly on the

side

of Christ.

Jesus makes them t he obj ec ts of

His tender solicitude

and unwear-

ied

labor, until, notwithstanding

al l His

efforts, they

become

fixed

in

sin. Then those

over

whom He

has wept and yearned

in love

and

compassion ar e left to pursue

their own course. The

Saviour

turns from them, saying

sadly.

They

are joined

to

their

i dols ; l et

them

alone.

God forbid

that

this

should be said of us.

E. ery Man That Hath This Hope

The sins of fre tfulness , impa-

tience love

of

the world are

grievous

in

God s

sight.

Some who

cheri sh these defects confess th:lt

Every

day mne

tenths

of

us

excuse

ourselves from this

work

they

arc

doing wrong;

but year

after year passes and

finds

them

still in bondage to these sins.

Each

year the same

acknowledg-

ment

is

made, but

no

change

ap-

pears in the life. They confess,

but they do not r epen t.

They

do

not

realize how grievous their

sins

arc

in th e sigh t of God. If

t hey were really one with Chris t,

if His Spirit were

dwelling in

them, they would sec the

sinful-

ness of sin. Not only would they

confess; but they would a lso

for-

sake

that

which God abhors.

Those who remain in trans-

gression, who

do

not strive

for

self-control,

arc

ignorant of God.

However

high

their

claims

of

god li ne ss , t he ir

spirituality

is

weak,

their faith

sma ll , the ir love

imperfect,

their hopes and

expe-

rience arc governed by circum-

s tances . But those who resolutely

try to

obtain the Yictory over

temptat ion,

who

promptly and

decisively resist the

attacks of

Satan, will become

rooted and

grounded in the

truth. Their

ex -

perience will

not be dwarfed and

sickly, bu t

will bear

rich

fruit to

th e glory of God.

HBeloved, now arc

we

the sons

of God, and it

doth

not

yet

ap -

pear what we shall be:

but

we

know that

when he shall appear,

we shall

be

like

him; fo r we

shall

sec

him

as he is

And every man

that hath this hope

in

him

purifi-

eth himself, even as

he

is

pure.

[I John 3:2 ]

This

is

our work. is

not

enough to profess to be a child of

God.

He

who

has in him this hope

will

purify

h imse lf f rom all de-

filement. But this

is

the

work

fr om which eve ry day nine tenths

of

us excuse ourselves. e seem

to

think that

it

does

not matter if

we get angry now and then, if we

cheat now and then, if

we

are

selfish and uncourteous.

Dear

young friends ,

le t

us not

spare ourselves .

Let

us

with

self-

renunciation l t

the

o

Christ, and

follow in

His foot-

steps. Let us begin in

earnest

the

work of

reformation.

Let us

cru

cify the

flesh.

Unholy habits

will

clamor

fiercely

for the victory,

bu t

in

the

name and through the

power of Jesus

we

may conquer

them. To him who seeks

daily

to

ke ep h is heart with all diligence,

to

be a

t ru e ch il d

of

God, th e

promise

is

sure,

uIn

all these

things we

are

more

than

conquer-

ors through

him

that loved us

Fo r I

am

persuaded t ha t nei ther

death,

nor life, nor angels, nor

principalities,

nor powers, nor

t hi ng s p re sent ,

no r things to

come,

nor

height,

nor

depth, nor

any o ther c reatu re, shall b e able

to separate us

from

the

love of

God,

which is

in

Christ Jesus

our

Lord.

[Romans 8:37 39]

Living the life

of

Him

who

went about doing good,

overcom-

in g self-IoYe

and every

other

species of selfishness, fulfi l l ing

bravely and ch ee rf ul ly our duty

to God

and

to those

around

us-

this makes

us

more than conquer-

ors

This prepares

us to

stand be-

fore the great white throne, frce

from

spot or wrinkle or any such

th in g, h av in g washed our robes

of

character and made them

white

in the

blood of the Lamb.

h

Youlh s Instructor March

5

1903

elange

ob

V

un Kallllon

Subject:

Psychotherapy

In

Science ews fo r

March 29

1986

on

page 202

an a rti cle o

psychotherapy npens

with

Ther

is

a

growing chorus of scientifi

criticism

tha t brands

psychother

apy rese arch as

inadequate

be

cause, unlike

behav ior therap

and

drug t reatments , the benef it

o f psychotherapy ha ve not bee

compared with

those of

inactive

placebo

treatments. In

othe

words, psychother py tre tment

h ve never een scientific ll

lesled for belleficial reslills

As any grammar school scienc

student should be able

to

tell

you

the modus operandi

of

science i

observation , hypothes is , experi

ment, theory_ That is , you observ

a

possible

cause

and

effect rela

tion,

formulate

a hypothesis, the

test

that

hypothesis

by

experi

ment, and,

if

al l goes

well,

you

have

a

theory. Wbat is

bein

reported

here

is

that psychother

a py ski pp ed

th e cr uc ia l th ir d

step: therefore

psychotherapy

must be c lassed as

wishful think

ing not science.

Further reason fo r doubt con

cerning

the e ffi cacy o f psycho

therapy is

given in

the same ar

t icle , where

it

is revealed that o

2400 patients

studied in

a

30-yea

research program,

15 per cen

reported

fecling markedly

bette

before

attending their first ther

apy

session.

seems clear to me

that

we

may be watching a downfall o

science exactly

analogous

to th

downfall of the Reforma tion

church. Heavy credence

is

given

to

man s

theories (Jung and

Freud withollt testing, just as th

church accepted man s theorie

w ith out testing them ag ainst th

Word

of

God.

Janu:ny 987 011 Firm Foulldation


14/32

LEITERS TO THE EDITOR

g

-1 --

.'

:::?

-

I want to tell

you

that th e Oc-

tober

number

of

111

Firm

Foun

dation was splendid. I

g3ve

it

away

Sabbath, to another church

membe r, h op in g she will sub-

scribe

fo r

it . ]

e sp ec ia ll y ap-

precia ted

the article

by F.

D.

Nichol

in the November

number.

I t

is almost prophetic , considering

other things I

have read

about

our hospitals in the Review and

Herald

and

perhaps elsewhere.

How it must

grieve

OUf

loving

heavenly Father, to see all

of

us

failing

at

times, and so many

of

us just downright disobedient to

the instruction He has given us

Mary E. Strickland

Chesnee,

South Carolina

Publ ica t ion

is good.

Don' t

agree

with every

jotcrprctation-

bu t then if there were more open

disagreement among

us as

a

people

there

would be

more

study. more

prayer,

more agr ee -

ment, a people prepared

fo r

the

ou tpour ing o f

the latter rain.

S

E.

Payton

Lorna Linda, California

Someone

has

scnt

me

your

January

J986

issue of Our Firm

Foundation.

What a

blessing

I was

most deligh te d

to

se e Sister

White's art ic les covering

about a

fourth of this pub li ca ti on . I' ve

had a burden

that

we have not

held

up

s u f f i i e n t l y

th e l ight

which God ha s

given

us through

her in

OUf major

publications. 1t

is a

blessing that someone

is

fced-

ing us the truth we

thirst

fo r

an d

need to

revive

us

at

this time.

1t

brings a deeper impression

to the

mind

when

set

before us

in

refreshing

tones

in newsprint.

Barbara D. Meyers

Ann Arbor, Michigan

14 Ollr

Firm FOlllldatioll

January 1987

A few mon th s ago] pick ed up

tw o early

issues

of Our Firm

Foundalioll in

the l i terature

rack

here

Dt

Sunnydale.

J took

them

home

and

read them

an d

was

quite impressed w ith the

quality

of your

paper

and the lack of

c ri ti ci sm of t he l eade rs

which

so

many p ap er s c on ta in .

A

few

weeks ago ,

the

January

1986 issue

came

to my home

addressed

to me

personally. I have finally been

able to finish

r eading eve ry

ar -

tiele. As I progressed, I sa id of

each, Thjs is the

best

yet. . ]

don't know who sent it but I

real ly

appreciate

it .

I wish I

could

pay

fo r a year's

subscrip-

tion but a t p re sent I am unable

to

do so. I do appreciate the quality

of your ar ticles .

Mrs. Reuben

Erickson

Sturgeon,

\1issouri

We

701 e

been

sending Ollt

back

issues

as

samples

to people whose

names

alld

addresses

we recei l e.

/IfallY

hare

r ece iv ed the

January

issue o

Our Firm

Founda

tion

il/

the l ast

few

mOlllhs

by

this

means.

yOIl

halle

names

and addresses

o anyone

whom yOIl

would

like

10

r ecei ve a

sample

issue send

them

10 IS and

we

will

be

happy

to in-

c ll /de Ihem ill a

future mailillg

oj

back issues.

Another opt ion

is

10

give a

gift

slIbscription.

For those who wOllld

like

a per-

sOflal

subscriplion

but

CGll/lOt

af-

ford

it.

Ollr

policy

is Ihat

if

YOllr

finances canJlot meel Ihe requested

dOHalion

y l may just send

whalel er

yOIl

call.

We

walll one

to be

unable

to receil e Ihis

material

becallse 01 lack 01 IlIlIds. Olher

people

C011lribllLe to Subscription

Ass is tance f rom t ime

to

time

to

help cover the cost

oj

the magazine

for

those who CQnllot afford il.

Such

dOllations

are

ta x deductible

and great ly

appreciated. -EDITORS

Thank

you fo r

put t ing out

such a

great

magazine. can't tel

you how much of

a

blessing

it

h3s been

in this

home.

M:J ny

times God

answers

prayers and

questions

through an article in

your magazine.

Beverly

J. Ventura

South Wales, New York

I want the

Lord

to return so

vcry

much and r ea liz e

He

is

wait-

ing

fo r

His

people

to

ge t

rcndy;

and

some

think there

ar e

signs

ye t to be fulfilled;

then

He will

come. That may be

true but if I

unders tand cor rect ly , He is wait-

in g fo r His image

to be

perfectly

reproduced in

His

pcop(c

before

He will

return.

If eve r t he re was

a time

when His

people

should

open their

eyes,

I th in k jt is now.

I

am

thankful th:lt

there

are

fo lk s lik e

you

who

ar e

stepping

out

in faith

to get

things moving

in

th e

right

direction.

May

God

truly bless you r e ve ry effort and

may many p re cious

souls be saved

because someone was no t afraid

to cal l si n

by it s right name.

Grace Gangaway

Denver , Pennsylvania

We have enjoyed the tapes of

the 1986

campmeeting so

much.

We keep playing

them

over and

over and each t imc gc.t

more f rom

them.

May God

continue

to bless you

in your m i n i s t r y in

g i v i n g

present-day truths.

Oren and Ellen Downs

College Place, WaShington

Tapes Irom Ihe

1986

Campmeel-

illg

are

nolV t1I ailable from Hope

International. See ad

on

page

31.

-EDITORS


15/32

oo r

Thought

I

HAD

A

view

of the

disastrous batt le at Manas-

sas, Virginia. t was a mOst exciting,

distressing

scene.

The Southern army

had everything

in their

fovor ond

were

prepored for a dreadful contest. The

Northern

:Hmy was

moving on with triumph, no t

doubting but

that

they would

be

victorious.

Mony

were reck le ss an d

marched forward boastingly, as

though viclory were

already

theirs.

As

they neared

the battlefield, many were almost fainting through

weariness and w ant

of

refreshment.

They

di d not ex-

peel

so fierce an encounter.

They

rushed

into

battle

ond fought brave ly , despera te ly . The deod and dyi ng

were

on

every side. Both the North and th e South

suffered severely. The Sou thern men felt the

battle,

and in

a

little while wou ld have been

driven

back

still f ur th er . The Nor th er n men were rushing on , a l-

though

their

destruction

was vcry

great.

Just

th en an

ongel

descended an d waved

his hond bockword. In-

stantly

there

was confusion in t he r anks . t appeared

to the Northern men that their

troops

were retreat

M

iog, when it was not so in reality,

an d

a

precipitate

retrcat

commenced.

This seemed wonderful to mc.

HThcn

it wns explained thnt God had this na t

jon

in His own hand,

an d would

not suffer

vicrories

to

be gained fns te r t han He ordained,

an d would

permit

no more losscs to the

Northern

men than in His wis-

dom

He

saw fit, to punish them fo

Our Firm Foundation -1987_01

Documents

Transcript of Our Firm Foundation -1987_01