Letters by Editor

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 1, 1864

Letters.

By Editor

“Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one to another.”

This department of the paper is designed for the brethren and sisters to freely and fully communicate with each other respecting their hopes and determinations, conflicts and victories, attainments and desires, in the heavenly journey. Then they, says the prophet, that feared the Lord spake often one to another. We believe emphatically that we are living in that time. Therefore seek first a living experience and then record it, carefully and prayerfully, for the comfort and encouragement of the other members of the household of faith. Let this department be well filled with lively testimonies of the goodness of God, and the value of his truth.

From Bro. Carver.

Bro. WHITE: I inclose five dollars in this letter to be applied as follows; $4,00 on Review which will pay up arrearages and one year in advance, so for the next year, Lord willing, I will read my own paper; 50cts. on Instructor, 30cts. for Appeal with likeness, also the last Testimony for the Church.

This third item in the above, recalls my attention to something I wrote to you several weeks since, and to which I have as yet received no response in any shape, and having leisure, caused by illness, I wish to call your attention to the subject anew.

As it is possible my letter never reached the office, or, if so, has been crowded out of notice by the press of other matter, and the afflictions that have fallen so heavily upon you; I will give a brief synopsis of my communication.

Some of the best brethren in the Pilot Grove, Washington and Mt. Pleasant churches, consider it entirely wrong to patronize picture or likeness making, as having a tendency to idolatry, and some even assert that the fact of having likenesses of our friends is a violation of the second commandment.

This belief is based on the language of the commandment itself, and also on Moses' commentary on the commandments in the fourth and fifth chapters of Deuteronomy. If these brethren are right in their views, then the church as a body is wrong, especially our leading ministers, and are violating God's holy law by having likenesses taken; and being sinners, our baptism is invalid, &c. and in fact, the consequences are truly lamentable even if it can be considered a sin of ignorance.

On the other hand if these brethren are entertaining an erroneous view of this subject, christian charity will prompt you to set them right, that they may not bear any unnecessary burden upon their minds. Some of them are aware that I have written on the subject and no doubt are anxiously expecting to hear from Battle Creek in some way concerning it, hence I call your attention again to the subject; not that I have any particular burden myself on the point, but in behalf of my brethren, who seem so conscientious in this matter. I love my brethren and do not wish to see one of them stumble in the way to the holy City we are approaching. I know something of the enemy's devices. If he cannot hold us back, he will strive to push us ahead too fast, and if he cannot succeed in this, he will try to draw us off to the right hand or to the left, but by the grace of God I intend to keep on

the track, and do what I can to help my brethren to do the same.

We deeply sympathize with you and sister White in your heavy loss and deep affliction, and pray that it may be blessed to your spiritual and eternal welfare. We are assured in the word of God that all things shall work together for good to the people of God and though it may be difficult for us at times to recognize and kiss the hand of God by which we may be chastened or afflicted, yet if we will but yield ourselves with childlike confidence and simplicity into the hand that holds the rod, all things will be made plain by and by and we shall rejoice at the dealings of our kind Father toward us. His “frowning providences” may seem even to follow us to the end of our days, but still behind them he hides a smiling face, and we may rest assured, if we but hold fast our allegiance to him, that we shall at last see his smiling face, and bask in the light of his countenance; if not in this world, most assuredly in the next. Amen. May it be my happy privilege to meet you, dear brother and sister, in that blissful happy land.

The apostasy of Moses Hull has not shaken me a particle, but it has opened my eyes to a subject on which I was partially asleep, viz., the tremendous power of Spiritualism. But then, I feel fully assured that while we cling close to Jesus, Satan can have no power to destroy us, hence our only safety lies in keeping close to Jesus. O when I see what poor feeble worms of the dust the best of us are, how little we know, and how weak we are, how it makes me love the doctrine of the atonement, and not only the doctrine but the atonement itself,—Jesus who once came into this world and laid down his life, so that he might be my life-giver, who ascended on high that he might as my high priest offer on the heavenly altar his own precious blood to cleanse me from sin, and then having accomplished this, and finished the work of atonement, he will come by and by to confer on us the blessing secured by the atonement. Who would not love such a doctrine as this?

But I must not weary you. I did not intend when I begun, to say so much, but my thoughts and pen have run on and I hardly know when to stop. I feel to praise God for his goodness to me. Although my body is frail and fast tending to its mother dust, still I feel that I have not made a mistake in putting my trust in Jesus, nor in accepting an interest in the present truth. I thank God to-day, Bro. White, for the solid rock foundation on which the present truth is based. I thank God for the glorious and symmetrical proportions to which present truth has attained. We can walk around upon its bulwarks, and count its towers. We can enter its beautiful gates and partake of its ripe and luscious fruits. We can confess our sins and sing the high praises of our God in the sanctuary of the Lord. We can by faith bathe in the pure and refreshing waters of eternal life. All this, and more too, is held up to our view by the present truth; but all that we have seen is but a glimpse of the future glory—the crowning glory. May God bless you and preserve you to his heavenly kingdom is the prayer of your unworthy brother in the present truth.

HENRY E. CARVER.

Iowa City, Iowa.

NOTE. We are unable to see any violation of the second commandment in the matter of likenesses, as it appears very evident to us that what the commandment forbids is the formation of images for the purpose of worshiping them. Yet we have long hesitated to say even so much as this on the subject, fearing the great lengths of extravagance into which some would run on the subject of likenesses. With the present facilities for producing these pictures, the rage for them, photographic albums, &c., which characterizes the present age, there is opportunity to squander almost an unlimited amount of time and means in this direction, against this, we would raise our voice everywhere and always. Especially should our preachers set a good example in this respect.