To Whom It May Concern by D. T. Bourdeau

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 19, 1865

To Whom It May Concern.

By D. T. Bourdeau

DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I doubtless express the minds of many, when I say that great were my surprise and sorrow when the Review brought to me the sad intelligence of the sudden attack of sickness upon our beloved Bro. White, whom God in his wise and good providence called to fill an important place in the momentous work of the last message of mercy, and who has been made near to the hearts of thousands by faithfully discharging those duties growing out of the relations that he has sustained to the cause of present truth. I have endeavored in my weakness to humbly present the case of our dear brother to the Lord, beseeching him to hear the prayers of his people in his behalf, that he may be permitted to live on and bless us with his faithful labors, and that the hearts of God's people may not be made to bleed in mourning and anguish by his death, at a time when his help is so much needed in the cause.

But while I, in common with you, have been thus exercised in behalf of our afflicted brother, the following questions have suggested themselves with force to my mind: Is prayer the only duty that we owe to Bro. White? While we pray the Lord to help our brother in an extraordinary manner, should we not also inquire into the cause of his sickness, and see whether we have not made it necessary for him to pursue a course which the Lord has permitted to bring him where he now is? If this is the case, can we with confidence ask the Lord to help in an extraordinary manner until we repent of our course, and resolve to use ordinary and commendable means in the future to preserve and prolong his life, if God in his infinite mercy sees fit to restore him to us again, according to our earnest desires, and fervent and importunate petitions?

Dear brethren: I verily believe these questions to be worthy of our most serious consideration, and pray God to enable us to answer them as in his sight, and to act accordingly in the future.

I fear that we do not fully realize the heavy responsibilities resting upon Bro. White, and the remaining members of the General Conference Executive Committee, and are not therefore in a condition to move as we should with reference to them. I have feared that they would succumb under the weight of their burdens, unless we performed our duties to them and to the cause. Though the Lord has in a special manner sustained them in the past, and there are times when we may be justified for overworking; yet light is increasing on the subject of health, and, as a general thing, we cannot expect that we can violate the laws of health without sustaining a loss. I know this to be true from sad experience. Though I expect that I shall recover in a great measure, yet I do not expect to be so strong as I should have been if I had always lived healthfully.

We can, and should, relieve the General Conference Committee, by bearing in mind their numerous and heavy responsibilities, and drawing upon their precious strength only when it is really necessary, yet laying ourselves open, and being ready for their help, that they may feel free to do their duty untrammeled. If we do this, we shall not feel tried, and feel that they are getting proud, and are neglecting us, if they do not always answer our calls for help.

We can greatly ease their burdens by being careful not to manufacture trials, by our unfaithfulness, for them to settle. The preachers and people can make the drafts of vitality upon these servants of God and the church lighter, by doing all the duties of their respective callings. A neglect of these duties adds to the burdens of God's servants.

To illustrate: Burdens which bring no profit or advantage, but rather dead loss and disadvantage, may be manufactured for Bro. and sister White and others, as follows: A church have a trial, which they can with humility and other qualifications that they should possess, settle; but they will not do their duty, but will roll the burden on the preacher. And if the preacher does not stand in the light, he will, in undertaking to settle the difficulty, make the matter worse, and perhaps himself get into a trial, and wait for Bro. and sister White, or others, to settle the whole matter. And when the servants of God come, instead of being cheered and encouraged by those who ought to hold up their hands, and by seeing the cause prosper, their hearts are made sad by what they see and hear. They must, in the fear of God, give a plain testimony, and perhaps be considered as enemies for doing their duty and telling the truth. And this is but a fraction of their burdens. Burdens of this kind can be manufactured for them in every department of the work. And let it be remembered that there is nothing more detrimental to health than mental depression, which has been the great cause of Bro. White's illness in the past. A preacher can endure much if he is cheerful, and sees the cause in which he is engaged prosper. Paul must have realized this when he wrote, "Now we live if ye stand fast in the Lord."

I have written frankly and plainly on this point, because of its important bearing on the prosperity of the cause. Brethren and sisters, shall we awake on this subject, that we may have good reason to believe that our prayers are accepted and approved in Heaven, and that we may see the cause of the Lord prosper beyond what we have yet witnessed, and according to our most sanguine expectations?

D. T. BOURDEAU.

"Our Home," Dansville, N. Y., Sept. 5, 1865.