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Failure At Minneapolis On The Authority Issue
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September 11-Failure At Minneapolis On The Authority Issue

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Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart. Jer. 15:16.

It's good to eat the words of God. But sometimes we would rather partake of those of other people. That thought brings us back to the issue of authority at Minneapolis. While the aftermath of the conference had its successes, it also had its failures. Perhaps the most obvious one was the continuing temptation to rely on human opinions. By 1894, however, it was no longer the authoritative words of Butler and Smith, but those of Jones that were causing the problem. Ellen White's repeated endorsement of him and Waggoner at Minneapolis and beyond had undoubtedly prepared the minds of many to accept whatever they said or wrote. Because of their uplifting of Christ and the power of the forces in Adventism lined up against them she had to "shout loud" her endorsement of them to get them a hearing.

Her voice did not go unheard. By 1894 S. N. Haskell felt compelled to observe to her that it had been "absolutely necessary" for her to "uphold Eld. Waggoner and A. T. Jollies for these number of years." "But," he added, "the whole country has been silenced against criticizing them to any extent. That battle has been fought, and the victory gained."

The denomination, he told her, now faced the opposite problem--the people and church leaders "were taking everything they [Jones and W. W. Prescott] said as being almost inspired of God." F. M. Wilcox had come to a similar conclusion. Writing from Battle Creek, he noted that "there was a time when many of the principles that Brother Jones has brought out were opposed, but lately the great mass of our people have hung on is words almost as though they were the words of God."

Thus by 1894 Adventists had created a new crisis of authority. "Some of our brethren," Ellen White commented, "have looked to these ministers, and have placed them where God should be. They have received every word from their lips, without carefully seeking the counsel of God for themselves" (Lt 27, 1894).

Will we ever learn?

One of the great lessons of the 1888 General Conference session involves authority-- that God's Word is the supreme authority, and that we need to move away from trusting the words of human beings and reading the Bible through their eyes.

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God, help us!
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