Steps in the Fall of a Heretic: A. T. Jones

Koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Visiting Professor, Department of Liberal Education, Kyungpook National University, Sangju Campus, South Korea, Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia

The May 6, 1886, issue lists E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones as associate editors.

Source: A. V. Olson, “Appendix A: Ellen White’s Sermons and Minneapolis”; “Appendix B: What became of A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner?”; “Appendix C: The President of the General Conference,” in Through Crisis to Victory 1888-1901: From the Minneapolis Meeting to the Reorganization of the General Conference (Washington DC: Review and Herald, 1966), 242-320.

Physical built

The two men were quite different in build, manner, temperament,

and delivery. Of this a personal acquaintance, A. W. Spalding, wrote:

"Unlike as garden fruit and apples of the desert were these two, yet

they teamed together in close fellowship and cooperation. Young Waggoner

was not even like his father, tall and massive; he was short, stocky,

somewhat diffident. Jones was a towering, angular man, with a loping

gait and uncouth posturings and gestures. Waggoner was a product of

the schools, with a leonine head well packed with learning, and with a

silver tongue. Jones was largely self-taught, a convert found as a private

in the United States Army, who had studied day and night to amass a

great store of historical and Biblical knowledge. Not only was he naturally

abrupt, but he cultivated singularity of speech and manner, early

discovering that it was an asset with his audiences."—Origin and History

of Seventh-day Adventists, vol. 2, pp. 289-291.

The Minneapolis Conference and its aftermath drew both Elder

Jones and Elder Waggoner into increasing prominence in the work of

the church.

Emphasized the basic Protestant doctrine, RBF (Olsen 303)

God blessed their ministry, and it was their privilege to lead

in a renewed emphasis on the basic Protestant doctrine, righteousness

by faith. For many years they were held in high esteem.

1892 Even if they go wrong they are still right (EGW) (Olsen 303)

Knowing well the peril of those who are used mightily of God, and

with a seeming premonition, Ellen White wrote in 1892:

"It is quite possible that Elder Jones or Waggoner may be overthrown

by the temptations of the enemy; but if they should be, this

would not prove that they had had no message from God, or that the

work that they had done was all a mistake. But should this happen, how

many would take this position, and enter into a fatal delusion because

they are not under the control of the Spirit of God. They walk in the

sparks of their own kindling, and cannot distinguish between the fire

they have kindled, and the light which God has given, and they walk in

blindness as did the Jews.

"I know that this is the very position many would take if either of

these men were to fall, and I pray that these men upon whom God has

laid the burden of a solemn work, may be able to give the trumpet a

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office. His harsh and domineering spirit soon cost him the confidence of

many of those with whom he worked.

Summer of 1903 Jones said that Kellogg asked him to come and help

In the summer of 1903, at a time when affairs at the conference were

most uncomfortable, he had an interview at Elmshaven with. Ellen

White, in which he told her that at the request of Dr. J. H. Kellogg he

was planning to go to Battle Creek to teach Bible in the American

Medical Missionary College. He hoped to be able to help Dr. Kellogg.

She counseled him not to go. He promised Sister White that he would be

guarded. She had been warned in vision that such a move on his part

would lead to his downfall.

In Vision EGW saw it was wrong

She wrote of it thus:

"In vision I had seen him [A. T. Jones] under the influence of Dr.

Kellogg. Fine threads were being woven around him, till he was being

bound hand and foot, and his mind and his senses were becoming captivated."—

Letter 116, 1906.

Before 1903 that Jones went to Battle Creek EGW warned him but he did not pay attention

Then, comments Ellen White, as she reported this to Brother Jones

just before he went to Battle Creek, she could see "that his perceptions

were becoming confused, and that he did not believe the warning given.

The enemy works in a strange, wonderful way to influence human

minds."—Ibid. But Jones was sure that he would not fall away. He was a

man with too much self-confidence.

Attempts were made to separate him from Battle Creek but he did not want (1904 and 1905)

In 1904, still a member of the General Conference Committee, he

was invited to assist in meeting some religious liberty crises in Washington,

D.C. But in a few months he was back in Battle Creek. Ellen White

endeavored to draw Elder Jones away from Battle Creek into evangelistic

work, and this would doubtless have saved the man. On February 26,

1905, she wrote:

"Elder A. T. Jones, God calls upon you to go out into the cities, and

give the last message of warning. Look to God for your support as you

go. Call the people together, and you will certainly not work in vain. Let

the truth go forth as a lamp that burneth. No longer confine your

efforts to one place. Let there be held, right where you are, a solemn

convocation. Let there be a renunciation of self to God. Hold fast the

beginning of your faith unto the end. Let not your faith waver. Go forth

in faith....

"There are those who have never heard the message of mercy and

warning. In the name of the Lord I say, Delay not. Proclaim the gospel

message in the cities of America. Scatter the seeds of truth throughout

these cities. Take with you reliable men, who with pen and voice will act

their part in proclaiming the message of present truth to the world."—

Letter 187, 1905.

Jones opposed the Spirit of Prophecy (Olsen 306)

But he continued in Battle Creek under influences he was no match

for. He was soon in bitter opposition to his brethren and to the Spirit of

prophecy. He issued a number of tracts and pamphlets in defending his

course.

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APPENDIX B

A number of enlightening statements made by Ellen White in communications

to him or in which reference is made to him between the

time he joined Dr. Kellogg in Battle Creek until her last message to him

in 1911 are most revealing.

Between 1903-1911 one can see the progressive steps of a man towards destruction (Olsen 307)

There unfolds the picture of the progressive

steps in the experience of a man, self-confident, flaunting warning messages,

and deliberately placing himself under influences that finally captivated

him and led to his spiritual destruction. There follows in chronological

order excerpts from several Ellen G. White documents:

July 23, 1904, "Inharmonious Note" at the Berrien Springs Meeting.—"

The words and attitude of Brother and Brother A. T.

Jones at the Berrien Springs meeting [1904] struck an inharmonious

note,—a note that was not inspired of God. It created a state of things

which resulted in harm that they did not anticipate. It made the work of

the meeting very much harder than it would otherwise have been. Had

it not been for their injudicious course, the Berrien Springs Conference

would have shown very different results."—Special Testimonies,

Series B, No. 2, p. 42.

Jones lost spiritual eyesight December 29, 1905

December 29, 1905, Lost Spiritual Eyesight and Repudiated God's

Warnings.—"I send no more [testimonies to be read to the Battle

Creek church] to A. T. Jones, for I have evidence that a work will have

to be done for him before the Lord will accept his service. God has given

him warnings which he has repudiated, and I am deeply grieved that he

has so little spiritual eyesight."—Letter 345, 1905 (written to G. W.

Amadon, first elder of the Battle Creek church).

March 12, 1906, The Wrong Spirit and Demonstrations of Bitterness.

—"You may be surprised to hear the words that you have heard from

Elder A. T. Jones; but I am not at all surprised. This is the development

of the man when the spirit that is counter to the Spirit of God

comes upon him. In him as he is at the present time, you have a representation

of a man who is not under the molding influence of the Spirit of

God. The Lord accepts no such demonstrations of bitterness. . . .

"Read in my books, Patriarchs and Prophets and Great Controversy,

the story of the first great apostasy. History is being repeated and will be

repeated. Read then, and understand."—Letter 98, 1906.

April 2, 1906, Captivated, Deluded, and Deceived.—"During the General

Conference at Takoma Park [April, 1905], Elder Jones's case was

again presented to me. After this, I had a long conversation with him in

which I pointed out his danger. But he was self-confident, and declared

to me that Dr. Kellogg believed the truth and the testimonies just as

firmly as the rest of us believed and advocated them. In this conversation

Elder Jones manifested that which had been revealed to me regarding

him, that in the place of receiving the warnings he was full of selfconfidence;

that he had exalted himself, and in the place of being

prepared to help Dr. Kellogg, he had united with him to disbelieve and

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distrust, and falsely to accuse the ministers and others who were trying

to save Dr. Kellogg and other physicians who were in peril. . . .

"I warned Elder Jones, but he felt that he was not in the least danger.

But the fine threads have been woven about him, and he is now a man

deluded and deceived. Though claiming to believe the testimonies, he

does not believe them."—Letter 116, 1906 (to Dr. David Paulson).

• May 1, 1906, Chose Darkness Rather Than Light.—"I am sorry for

A. T. Jones, who has been warned over and over again. Notwithstanding

these warnings, he has allowed the enemy to fill his mind with

thoughts of self-importance. Heed not his words, for he has rejected

the plainest light and has chosen darkness instead. The Holy One hath

given us messages clear and distinct, but some poor souls have been

blinded by the falsehoods and the deceptive influences of satanic agencies,

and have turned from truth and righteousness to follow these fallacies

of satanic origin."—Manuscript 39, 1906.

June 15, 1906, Voice Controlled by Dr. Kellogg.—"Dr. Kellogg controls

the voice of Elder A. T. Jones, and will use him as his mouthpiece.

My prayer is, 0 God, open Thou the blind eyes, that they may see; and

the ears of the deaf that they may hear, and become humble."—Letter

182, 1906.

July 5, 1906, Grieved the Holy Spirit.—"Elder A. T. Jones, Dear

Brother,—Again and again your case has been presented before me. I am

now instructed to say to you, You have had a large knowledge of truth,

and less, far less, spiritual understanding. When you were called to the

important work at Washington, you had need of far more of the humble

grace that becometh a Christian. Since the Berrien Springs meeting,

your attitude and the attitude of several others has grieved the Spirit of

God. You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting... .

"Self-exaltation is your great danger. It causes you to swell to large

proportions. You trust in your own wisdom, and that is often foolish.

ness. Do you remember the counsel which I gave you in my letter of

April, 1894? This was in answer to your letter expressing deep regret

over the part you had taken in an unwise movement [Anna Phillips,

see Selected Messages, book 2, pp. 85-95] and you appealed to me for

instruction, that you might ever avoid such mistakes. . . .

"When at the General Conference at Washington I had a conversation

with you, but it seemed to have no influence upon you. You appeared

to feel fully capable of managing yourself. After that conversation,

scene after scene passed before me in the night season, and I was

then instructed that you neither had been nor would be a help to Dr.

Kellogg: for you were blind in regard to his dangers and his real standing.

You can not be a help to him; for you entirely misjudge his case.

You consider the light given me of God regarding his position as of less

value than your own judgment. . . .

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APPENDIX B

"Brother Jones, I have a message for you. In many respects you are

a weak man. If I were to write out all that has been revealed to me of

your weakness, and of the developments of your work that have not been

in accordance with the course of a true Christian, the representation

would not be pleasing. This may have to be done if you continue to

justify yourself in a course of apostasy. Until your mind is cleared of the

mist of perplexity, silence is eloquence on your part.

"I am so sorry that you are spoiling your record. . . .

"Brother Jones, will you not earnestly seek the Lord, that in your life

there may be a humbling of self, and an exaltation of the principles of

righteousness? The success and prosperity of your work will depend

upon your following strictly where Jesus leads the way. God would have

you stand as a faithful watchman, laboring earnestly for souls ready to

perish. If you will consent to be a worker together with God, you may

manifest in earnest words and works, the gracious influence of the Holy

Spirit. True repentance will bring newness of life."—Letter 242, 1906.

July 27, 1906, A Revival of the First Great Apostasy.—"My heart

was filled with sorrow because of the course that J. H. Kellogg is following.

And A. T. Jones is following the same course and voicing the same

sentiments, with a most determined spirit. When a realization of this

comes over me, with such force, great sorrow fills my soul.

"I have before me such a revival of the first great apostasy in the

heavenly courts, that I am bowed down with an agony that cannot be expressed.

It is in Battle Creek that the warnings that are given are entirely

disregarded."—Letter 248, 1906 (to D. H. Kress).

August 1, 1906, Under Hypnotic Power.—"God showed me what He

would do for Dr. Kellogg if he would take hold of His hand. But he

wrenched himself away. At the Berrien Springs meetings [1904-1 the most

precious offers were given him, and when he wrenched himself away I

had such agony of heart that it seemed as if soul and body were being

rent asunder.

"I have seen Dr. Kellogg exerting a hypnotic influence upon persons,

and at such times the arch deceiver was his helper. Those who sustain

him are guilty with him. This blindness of understanding is a strange

thing in our ranks. In regard to A. T. Jones, he has a theory of truth,

which his books express, and he dares not tear up his past experience,

which has been published. But he virtually turns away from his former

experience by his present course of action. . . .

"Dr. Kellogg has had every advantage to make impressions on human

minds, and he will improve this to the best of his ability in an effort

to destroy confidence in the testimonies. Those associated with him who

have upheld him, will have to answer before God for their course of action."—

Letter 258, 1906.

September 30, 1907, Giving Heed to Doctrines of Devils.—"A. T.

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Jones, Dr. Kellogg, and Elder Tenney are all working under the same

leadership.. They are classing themselves with those of whom the apostle

writes, 'Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits

and doctrines of devils.' In the case of A. T. Jones I can see the fulfillment

of the warnings that were given me regarding him."—Letter

306, 1907.

October 1, 1907, Now in Apostasy.--"I want to say to you, Brother

and Sister Starr, that the time we have so long anticipated has come.

A. T. Jones has come to the place where he voices the mind and faith

of Dr. Kellogg. They have now taken a decided stand against the truth,

and special efforts will be made to lead souls away. This apostasy has

cost us dearly. . . . Warning after warning has been given to these men,

but they have set themselves first to deny the messages, and then to declare

that they did not believe the testimonies. Their work against the

truth has been as marked by deception as was the course of Canright.

Many whose sympathies were with Dr. Kellogg, have united with him,

and have departed from the faith."—Letter 316, 1907.

Nov. 11, 1908, Departed From the Faith.—"I must warn our people

against laboring in any line in connection with A. T. Jones. He is

one who has departed from the faith, and has given heed to seducing

spirits. He knows not what manner of spirit he is of."--Letter 330, 1908.

November 10, 1911, Confession and Rebaptism the Only Way Back.—

"Elder A. T. Jones, I have given you instruction in straight, clear lines

in regard to the perverting influence under which you have placed yourself.

Your lips have uttered perverse things. You have denied the clear

light of truth, and have linked up with strange elements. I gave you a

correct statement in regard to your position, but you went on doing

the very things the Lord had warned you not to do. It has been a strange

course for one who has been enlightened by the Lord as you have been,

but you have acted very much like a man who has lost his bearings. The

question is, Do you think you can still hold your membership in the

Seventh-day Adventist Church and go on hurting the influence of this

people by the tracts that you publish? You have done a cruel work.

"I have warned you in regard to these things.. I presented the case as

the Lord presented it to me. When your blind eyes are opened, when

your spiritual eyesight is restored by the heavenly anointing, you will see

that you have a work to do for your own soul, and to undo what you

have done to confirm others in unbelief. . . .

"We should rejoice greatly if you would be really converted. The

Lord will not receive you as a faithful minister, to be trusted with His

flock, unless you throw your lot in with His people, to confirm them

in the faith—not to rule them according to human ideas. . . .

"If you wish to renew your covenant with God by confession and

repentance and rebaptism, we shall rejoice with you. When you are con-

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verted, your self-sufficiency will disappear, and you will become meek

and lowly in heart. When you see and repent of your mistakes, you will

be a great blessing in helping others. The destroyer now takes advantage

of your self-righteousness to weave into your experience his own ideas

and theories. When you are really desirous of uniting with those from

whom you have withdrawn yourself, the testimony will be borne that

you looked up after you had stepped off the platform on which you

had previously stood, and that hands were put beneath your arms, and

you and Elder Waggoner were lifted once more on to the platform, standing

there with shining countenances and uplifted hands. Has this time

come?"—Letter 104, 1911.

In mid-1907, because of his warfare against the church and its leaders,

the ministerial credentials of A. T. Jones were withdrawn. In July, 1908,

he had an interview with Ellen White, which was not at all satisfactory.

Olsen witness of Jones rejection of SDA (Olsen 311)

He asked for a hearing at the General Conference session of 1909

held in Washington. The request was granted, and these meetings

were held, at which he stated his case. Elder A. V. Olson, who was

present, reports:

"Though not a delegate I was invited to attend the last meeting.

Seated on the platform were Brethren C. W. Flaiz, acting chairman, and

W. T. Bartlett, of England, acting secretary. At a table below the pulpit

sat Brother A. G. Daniells, the General Conference president, at one

end and A. T. Jones at the other end. Before final action was taken

Brother Daniells arose and made a statement in which he said how much

he personally had appreciated the fine, faithful, and efficient services that

Brother Jones had rendered the cause during many years of association

with us, how we had esteemed and loved him, and how our hearts had

been filled with sorrow because of the misunderstanding and conflict

that had come in to mar our sweet fellowship, and to separate him from

his brethren.

"Then turning to Brother Jones, he made a very tender and touching

appeal for him to forget the past and to come back to stand shoulder to

shoulder with his brethren in the service of the Lord. He assured him

that we all loved him and that we wanted him to go with us in the

march toward the kingdom of God. Extending his hand across the table,

he said, in a choking voice, 'Come, Brother Jones, come.' At this, Brother

Jones arose, started to reach his hand across the table, only to draw it

back. Several times, as Brother Daniells continued to plead, saying, with

tears in his voice, 'Come, Brother Jones,. come!' Brother Jones would hesitatingly

reach out his hand part way across the table, and pull it back

again. The last time he almost clasped the hand outstretched from the

other side, then, suddenly, pulled it back, and cried out, 'No! No!' and

sat down. That was one of the saddest scenes that I have ever witnessed.

There were not many dry eyes in the Seminary chapel that afternoon. We

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all loved Brother Jones, and it grieved us to see him go out into the

dark."—E. G. White Estate Document File No. 53.

 Dropped from membership

Shortly after this, by formal action, he was dropped from the membership

roll of the Seventh-day Adventist Church of which for years he

had been a member.

Subsequent to working with Dr. Kellogg, A. T. Jones entered upon

the publication of The American Sentinel of Religious Liberty, a monthly

journal which he issued over a period of several years. In November,

1915, he moved to Washington, D.C., and devoted his time to publishing

this paper. He began to attend The People's Church, a colored Seventhday

Adventist church that had broken away from the conference and was

pastored by F. H. Seeney. On the invitation of the officers of this

church, A. T. Jones participated in the work of the church and then

joined the group. He was granted membership on April 15, 1916.

In February, 1923, Jones returned to Battle Creek for rest and treatment,

and was making satisfactory progress until in early May, when he

suffered a stroke of apoplexy that caused his death a few days later.

Funeral service was conducted in Battle Creek at a funeral home by the

Reverend G. E. Fifield. He was buried at Kalamazoo, Michigan. A brief

obituary copied from the Battle Creek Enquirer appeared in the Review

and Herald of June 28, 1923. Mrs. Jones ever remained true to the message.