Letter from Bro. Nichols.
By O. Nichols
BRO. WHITE: I have received Testimony No. 9, and am much obliged for your kindness in forwarding it in advance of the order. I have regretted that I objected to your article on "The Nation" in a letter to you last September, and have since queried whether it was my duty to present through the Review the "scriptural position" on "our duty in reference to the war;" for it seemed to place me in a disunited state toward you and some of the ministers; for this reason I delayed sending the article to the Review for several weeks, and as the article was not noticed for five or six weeks afterward, I supposed it was rejected. This subjected me to some trial in regard to the position I had taken. Since reading sister White's testimony on the war I feel somewhat relieved. Sister W. saw that your remarks on "The Nation" have been misunderstood. I honestly thought that you intended to convey the idea that it was the duty of our people that were drafted to yield implicit obedience to the commands of the chief magistrate, and engage in the war, if the authorities required it, and that the government would be responsible for our violation of the law of God. Bro. Snook conveyed the idea that it is our duty to engage in the war, if required. The editor of the Advent Herald endorsed Bro. Snook's article in the Review. In your subsequent remarks on "The Nation," there are some expressions which might be construed differently—that we need not fear a military draft, that God would interpose in our favor, and overrule that our people would not be drafted, or exempt them from military duty. But a question rises with me, if we publicly confess that it is the duty of our people to yield implicit obedience to the authorities, to obey every law of the land, then do we not acknowledge the supremacy of the laws of the land and the authorities, over God's higher laws? Will God then hear our prayer, and interpose in our behalf? It seems to me that it is our duty to publicly define our position in relation to human governments, and the requirements of God under the three angels' messages, and to do what we can for ourselves. Then we can go with confidence to God for help in any emergency. It would not be wise for our people that are drafted to willfully resist the authorities, for that would only irritate the officers in118power, and subject our people to persecution. The wiser course, in my opinion, would be to calmly state to the authorities our position as referred to, do our own duty first, then we can "come with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." We can then pray "for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty;" and especially the Lord's prayer, "Deliver us from evil." Will not the Lord then hear the petitions of his people, and deliver them from one of the worst of evils—engagement in the present war? It is truly a "perplexing war." Sister W.'s testimony in relation to it is a true picture. I mailed to you yesterday's edition of the Boston Evening Transcript. On the fourth page you will find a true representation of the army of the Potomac. There is much that corroborates the testimony of sister W. on the war. How can God prosper such a corrupt government and leading officers in the armies? It was a mystery that the leading Democrats of the North, who were always in sympathy with the slave power of the South, should, after the fall of Ft. Sumpter, unite with Mr. Lincoln's administration and fight against their Southern friends. But facts now show that their sympathy with the South never has changed. Their real object was to deceive and control the President and his cabinet, in the appointment of as many Democrats to power and trust, in the army, the navy, and the administration at Washington, as would favor the rebels. Hence the administration, and the army, especially of the Potomac, has been almost continually under the control of Northern traitors professing the Union and the constitution, in order to carry out their nefarious purposes in bringing the North under Southern dominion. But according to sister W.'s testimony they will not fully triumph over the Northern armies. On the same page you will notice the text of Mr. Emmon, of Concord, in 1780. His text was in 2 Chron. xiii, 12. Read the whole chapter; notice the parallel of the two nations of Judah and Israel, with our nation, the North and the South. After the death of Solomon, Jeroboam, one of Solomon's officers, caused the ten tribes to revolt, and set up an independent confederacy—just what the Southern States have done under Jeff. Davis. Then Jeroboam attempted to subdue the kingdom of Jerusalem under Abijah, and rule the whole nation of Israel; Jeff. Davis is trying to establish his government over the North. Now if our government had followed the example of king Abijah, 2 Chron. xiii, 12, and not "fought against the Lord God of our fathers" of the Revolution, in the establishment of Southern slavery, the rebellion would ere this have ceased. Yours,
Dorchester, Mass.
O. NICHOLS.