“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Rom. 16:17, 18.
In view of our obligation to the cause of God and his dear people, it becomes our unpleasant duty to thus publicly expose the evil course now being pursued by Eld. Charles Lee of Minnesota, a Swedish preacher. For about one year we have kept silent, while he has been working against the cause and doing all he could to injure the character of some of the leaders in this work. We hoped that he might see the evil of such a course and reform; but as he has now renounced all connection with Seventh-day Adventists, and avows it to be his object to fight against us and to divide and tear down our churches, both among the Swedes and the Americans, we can in justice no longer keep silent.
Eld. Lee can have no influence with our American people; but with the Swedes it is different. He was the first, and for three years the only, Swedish minister among us. Several churches in the West have been raised up by him. Hence they would naturally have a great regard for him. Very few of them can speak or read English; hence they have little acquaintance with our doctrines or with our people, except through our Swedish publications which are very few as yet. This has given Eld. Lee every chance to tell them what he pleased, while they had no means of knowing the truth in the matter. That he has misrepresented and made statements utterly false, we can readily show. It is not strange, therefore, that some of the Swedes, his own converts, should be deceived by him. We are thankful, however, that there are but a few.
Eld. Lee now claims that he has great light from God and is called to lead out in a special work of reformation. But his past history has not been such as to justify such a supposition. When the Lord selects a man to lead out in a special work he does not choose one who has been led by Satan this way and that way in the wrong direction, but one who has taken a straightforward course and every step he has taken has been in the right direction. Luther, Wesley, William Miller, &c., were raised in error; but when they began to change, they stepped toward the light and the right every time. Not so with Eld. Lee. He was first converted and baptized among the Baptists, a people who have much truth and light. But the next step he took was right into Spiritualism,—a doctrine which rejects Christ, the Bible, and everything that is holy. Here he left the Lord and came directly under the special power of Satan. He says himself that he was under the special influence of the devil for quite a while. Is this the way the Lord leads his servants? The next move he made was to embrace the doctrines of Seventh-day Adventists, and come directly into fellowship with, and, as he says, under the influence of, sister White. He now says that for about three years he was under the influence of Mrs. White, and that she is the false prophetess, the Jezebel of Rev. 2:20, 23, who is inspired by the devil. It has only been a few months since he found this out. Evidently, then, according to his own story, the devil, instead of the Lord, has been leading Eld. Lee most of the time.
On the Minnesota camp-ground last June he twice publicly confessed that he had been wholly wrong, had been led by the enemy, and had sinned. Then he and his wife both came forward for prayer, to be prayed for by Bro. and Sr. White.
Besides this, Eld. Lee was once insane. This was his condition when the writer first saw him some five years ago. At another time he was upon the point of committing suicide. Now he has started out on another new path. Judging from the past, he will not stick to this long. Brethren, the Lord does not lead men in so many different directions.
Eld. Lee complains that he has labored hard for five years among S. D. Adventists and has received but very little for it. But what are the facts? He has labored under the direction of our Conferences less than three years; and much of this time he was not actually out at work. Most of this time he was a single man, having no family to support, no expense of housekeeping, getting his board among the brethren, &c. Besides, he was a beginner, a man whom we had not proved. Minnesota, the State in which he mostly labored, was a poor Conference financially. It has been able to pay its best ministers but the smallest wages. The Swedish mission in which he labored was young and very poor, having to be mostly supported by contributions from the American brethren.
Under these circumstances he could not reasonably expect to receive much. But he has, as our books show, been paid well, even more liberally than many of our old, efficient American ministers. He has received as follows:—
From Eld. White, $50.00
Of the Gen. Conf., 445.71
Of the Minn. Conf., 320.00
Total, $815.71
In addition to this, the brethren where he has labored have given him between $200 and $300 in money and clothes, as we find by a little inquiry among them; so that Eld. Lee has actually received over $1000 for his work. While Eld. Grant, president of the Minnesota Conference, and all the other ministers in the State, received only five dollars per week, Eld. Lee received ten dollars per week at the same time. This is the way he has been abused by us!
Notwithstanding all Eld. Lee’s begging for money and pleading poverty, when I met himself and wife at Litchfield, Minn., April 14–16, I found them both dressed in the best of clothing, better than Elder Grant, Elder Lindblad, Bro. Sawyer, or myself wore. I have seldom, if ever, seen the wife of one of our ministers dressed as richly as Mrs. Lee. How shall we account for this?
He and his wife have reported that they were greatly abused at Battle Creek while there. But nothing can be more false and ungrateful than these statements. Just before Eld. Lee came to Battle Creek, he stated to Bro. J. E. Norstrom of Cambridge, Minn., with whom he was then holding a tent-meeting, that he should not labor longer in the humble manner that he had in the past in country school-houses and small places. His place now was to be more at headquarters where he could look after the paper, go into the large cities, or on a mission to Sweden. It was with such exalted ideas as these that he left the interest there to die out and hastened to Battle Creek.
Bro. Sawyer here took him to his home and treated him as a brother. Dr. Lee, without consulting the brethren at Battle Creek, brought with him a Swedish girl to take the place of sister Deedon, who had become quite efficient help on the HAROLD, and whom he intended to take away as his wife. Thus he had virtually taken into his own hands the matter of managing affairs connected with the publication of the HAROLD.
Dr. Lee and sister Deedon were married by Bro. White. The marriage fee of $5 Bro. W. returned to Dr. Lee, and in a note to his wife, Julia, added another five to it. Bro. and Sr. Lee stayed at the Health Institute about six weeks, during which time they were charged nothing either for board or baths.
Mrs. Lee has had much to say about paying the last dollar she had for a bath at the Health Institute. First, she was not sick, and need not have gone there for a bath. And, secondly, it was simply by a mistake that any thing was taken for her bath as she paid it to the wrong person, who knew nothing of her being entertained there free of cost.
The following action by the Trustees of the Publishing Association will explain itself:—
At a meeting of the Board, Oct. 8, 1874, it was “moved and supported that the money paid by sister Deedon for board and tuition be refunded to her.” The books show that the money was refunded accordingly. The tuition referred to was for the study of the Swedish language in the school. Eld. Lee having for a while paid the board of the girl he brought with him, the following action was taken by the Trustees of the Publishing Association Nov. 30, 1874, in regard to that:—2
Moved and carried, that Bro. Lee’s board, his wife’s, and the board bill of the Swedish girl, be paid from the Swedish fund. The books show that this also was paid them.
Thus the action of the brethren in Battle Creek toward them was characterized by kindness and generosity in the extreme, and yet they report that they were greatly abused while there. This is the kind of abuse they received.
The first man to take any interest in the Swedish work was Bro. James Sawyer, an American. He studied hard to learn the language, and began to translate tracts into Swedish before he knew of any who had embraced the truth, and before he heard of Eld. Lee. Through his efforts the HAROLD was started. Soon Bro. Carlstedt was engaged to help him. The Swedish Sabbath-keepers were very few and mostly poor. The expense of publishing the HAROLD and the tracts was mostly met by the American brethren.
Under these circumstances Eld. Lee should have felt very grateful to Bro. Sawyer and to his American brethren for what they were doing for his people. But instead of this he immediately manifested great jealousy of Bro. Sawyer. He began to find fault with him, to criticise his work, and to belittle him, and labor to turn the Swedes against him. This he has kept up till the present time. And Bro. Chas. Carlstedt, though a Swede, he treated in a similar manner. This is the spirit which Chas. Lee has manifested toward his brethren from first to last. Evidently he feared some one would be above himself, and his valuable labors would not be appreciated. So he has let no chance slip to tear down others that he might build up himself.
For this spirit he was reproved by the testimony through sister White, and never was a reproof more true and more needed than this. It is epistle No. 1 in Testimony No. 24. All should read it. It can be had at the Review Office. Here is where he began to rebel, to turn against Bro. and Sr. White, and the work generally. A hatred of just reproof and a rebellion against it, is the real root of all his trials and the reason why he hates the testimonies and sister White so much. All who are acquainted with the circumstances know that this is so.
Eld. Lee should have been very thankful for the publication of the HAROLD for his people. Even though it was not perfect in every way, he should have given it his hearty support, made the best of any mistakes, encouraged the people to like it, and done all he could to make it better. But he has done just the reverse of all this. He has tried to discourage those who were doing their best for it, has tried to get them out of the Office, has pointed out and magnified every slight error in the HAROLD, has held it up to criticism and ridicule before the brethren, etc. Here is a sample of what he has done all along in this respect. In a letter to P. E. Hansen, dated May 18, 1875, he says:—
“I wrote to Bro. Swanson to look through our paper. Tell him to notice particularly in the March number the article, ‘Who Changed the Sabbath?’ in the April number, the article, ‘The End of the Wicked.’ Unless I look after our interest it will be lost.” “They would have the work in their own hands, and cannot carry it out.” This letter reveals what he was after all the time; namely, to get the paper out of the hands of those who had started it and had supported it, and get it into his own hands. This is a specimen of the way he has worked privately to set the Swedes against the paper. And what were the things in the HAROLD which were so terrible? Simply a misspelled word, a poorly constructed sentence, or a slight variation in the translation? These things will occur in the best of papers. Not one in fifty of the readers would ever have noticed them or have cared for them if they did, unless Eld. Lee had called their attention to them. But he could do no better himself; and after trying and failing, he went to Chicago to learn his own language sufficiently well to write correctly for the HAROLD.
Every reasonable inducement has been held out for Swedish young men and young women to come to the Office and to the school, and qualify themselves to help print the HAROLD and Swedish books. If Eld. Lee was so anxious for this branch of the work, why did he not encourage persons to do this? On the other hand, he has discouraged those who wished to come and has used all his influence with the Swedes to keep any from coming to Battle Creek. Besides this, he refused even to write for the HAROLD unless he was paid for it. But this is something we have never done for any one. Elders White, Waggoner, Andrews, and others, have for twenty-five years written thousands upon thousands of pages for our papers for which none of them have ever received one cent. They have bought their own paper, envelopes, stamps, &c. But this young novice must have pay, pay, pay, for every scratch he makes. Several dollars have been sent to him with which to pay his postage. This is the spirit of sacrifice he has had for the Swedish work.
We are sorry to say further that Eld. Lee is not a man of truth. His word cannot be relied upon. He has made statements which are positively untrue, as we can readily show. In his letter to Bro. Hansen, above quoted, he says, “I will say this in relation to Bro. and Sr. White: They have three very large farms, one in Battle Creek which they paid $10,000 for.” Again, “Bro. and Sr. White own two farms, each worth 15,000 dollars.”
These statements of Dr. Lee against one who has been his true friend and benefactor, whether made in ignorance or malice, are false. Eld. White has never owned any such farms. He has owned several small farms and city residences at different times. One he sold in 1869 for $4,200 dollars, one in 1875 for $4,200 dollars, and one six months later for 4,600 dollars; but did not own them, and was not able to own them at any one time. During the past three years Eld. White has been selling his property, and has put $6,000 into the several branches of the cause, a portion of which has gone into the unworthy pockets of Dr. Charles Lee, and at the present time he holds a title to only one piece of ground 60 by 50 feet, on which is his house and home for his family at Oakland, Cal.
Eld. Geo. I. Butler labored some among the Swedes; so they became acquainted with him and regarded him as a good man. Now Eld. Lee has reported everywhere among them that Eld. Butler was in sympathy with him and did not believe Sr. White’s testimonies. But this is utterly false. Bro. Butler has written to Eld. Lee and other Swedes, plainly stating how he stands. His article published in the last HAROLD and in this number of the Review shows that Eld. Lee has made this tale, like other things, out of whole cloth.
He also took extracts from Testimony No. 24, epistle No. 3, pasted them into his scrap-book, and read them everywhere he went, and said they were from Bro. Butler’s testimony. Then he could easily show how false they were so far as Bro. B. was concerned. This had much weight with many, but that testimony is not Eld. Butler’s. At Litchfield, Minn., when the writer proved to him that he had been circulating a falsehood, he admitted that he did not know that it was Eld. B. who was meant, but he supposed that it was. This is a sample of his statements in which he is dealing so largely. He boldly asserts as facts what he does not know to be true, and other things which he must know to be false.
The following statement from Elders Lindblad and Meyer will have weight with our Swedish brethren. Eld. Lindblad was a Baptist preacher. He embraced the truth under the labors of Dr. Lee, and has been well acquainted with him for some time. Bro. Lindblad is now elder of the Swedish church at Lake City, Minn., and also a preacher. He has been at Battle Creek, and has had a good chance to become acquainted with our people and our work. Bro. Meyer was also a Baptist minister, and is now elder of the Swedish church at Trade Lake, Wis., and a laboring minister. He has been with Dr. Lee and knows him well. None of the church, either at Lake City or at Trade Lake, go with Dr. Lee. Here is the statement referred to:—
ISANTI, ISANTI CO., MINN., APRIL 22, 1876.
TO OUR DEAR SWEDISH BRETHREN: We are personally acquainted with Dr. Charles Lee, and we know the course he has been pursuing for several months in fighting against the very truth and people which he once loved so much. We are fully satisfied that he is led by Satan in his present work. We have been compelled to know that he does not always tell the truth. His word cannot be relied upon. We have no sympathy with his present evil course, and we pray God that our brethren may not be deceived and misled by him.
PETER LINDBLAD.
CARL MEYER.
In harmony with the above, read the following:—
A WARNING.
The Swedish church of Seventh-day Adventists at Litchfield, Minn., to their Swedish brethren, greeting: This is to certify you that we have no fellowship with the course now being pursued by Eld. Chas. Lee. We believe his peculiar doctrines to be unsound, leading away from the present truth, and calculated to divide and distract the people of God. We advise our brethren to stand with the body of our people, and hold fast to the faith we have received.
Done by order of the church.
April 16, 1876.
Litchfield is the strongest Swedish church in Minnesota, and the one that has done the most for Dr. Lee. The same resolution was passed by the Chisago Lake church. This shows how he and his work are regarded where he is best known.
The following will speak for itself:—
APOSTASY OF ELD. CHARLES LEE.
TO THE CHURCHES OF S. D. ADVENTISTS—DEAR BRETHREN: It becomes our duty to inform you that Eld. Charles Lee, once an ordained minister of the Minnesota Conference, has now apostatized from the faith of this people, has embraced pernicious and fanatical doctrines, and is now engaged in sowing divisions and discord among our people. He avows it to be his object and business now to divide and tear down, not only the churches which he himself has built up, but all others as far as he can. We have borne with him patiently, treated him tenderly, and admonished him of his wrongs for many months, but all to no purpose. He does not claim to be a Seventh-day Adventist now, and no longer recognizes the authority of this Conference.
Hence we hereby warn our churches and brethren to beware of him, and that they do not allow him to preach in their churches, or in any manner receive encouragement in his evil work.
HARRISON GRANT, } Minn. Conf.
I. Z. LAMB, } Committee.
Litchfield, Minn., April 16, 1876.
We now ask our Swedish brethren to consider a few facts.
1. It was from the American brethren that the Swedes received the precious light of the present truth. For over twenty-five years these brethren have searched, and prayed, and toiled, and sacrificed everything, to bring out and give to the world these blessed truths.
2. When there was not a Swede to touch the work, your American brethren began to publish the truth in the Swedish language, and to make great sacrifices to get the light before you. The publication of the HAROLD thus far has cost about $2,300. Of this amount, about $1,700 have been contributed by the American brethren. Besides this, they have paid to Dr. Lee, Elds. Butler and Canright, Bro. Sawyer and others, who have labored among you, over $1000. True, the Swedes have given something in S. B., but not near this amount. This, certainly, is substantial evidence that we have an interest for you.
3. What have we done to harm any one? Whom have we misused? Have not we been true brethren to you? Have we not proved our love to you in every possible manner? And are we not willing to do so still? We appeal to your sense of truth and justice in this matter.
4. Listen to the advice of your own Swedish brethren who have had the best chance to know the truth and facts in this case.
5. As Bro. Butler states to you, many others in time past have gone off upon the same track now being followed by Dr. Lee. But every time they have come to naught. We know that he will come out in the same way. Brethren, this is God’s holy cause, and those who fight against it will sooner or later be brought to confusion.
D. M. CANRIGHT.
By appointment of our General Conference, Elder Canright has visited our Swedish churches in Minnesota. And after being with them three weeks in company with Bro. James Sawyer, meeting Elder Lee and his wife face to face, and learning many painful facts in the case, he gives the foregoing report.
We wish here to state that from what we saw of Elder Lee while he was at Battle Creek, and the fanatical and wicked spirit he manifested at times, while in this city, in the fall and winter of 1874, and from what we know of Elder Canright as a man of candor and ability, we do not hesitate to fully accept the report.
JAMES WHITE.
URIAH SMITH.