What Became of A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner?

Ellen G. White

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Elder A. T. Jones

Elder E. J. Waggoner

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Statement Prepared by Arthur L. White, Secretary of The Ellen G. White Estate

Taken from Thirteen Crisis Years Appendix B, pages 312-325

Elder A. T. Jones was born April 26, 1850, in Ohio, and from 1870 to 1873 served in the United States Army. While stationed near Walla Walla in the Territory of Washington in 1873 he was led to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Jones was a studious man, interested especially in history; and after becoming a Seventh-day Adventist, in due time he entered the ministry. His name appeared in ministerial lists of the denomination in 1885, when it is noted that he became an associate editor of the Signs of the Times, published in Oakland, California.

Elder E. J. Waggoner was born in Wisconsin, January 12, 1855. He attended Battle Creek College in its earliest days and received a classical education. After completing his college work, he was persuaded to take the medical course. He completed his work at Bellevue Medical College, New York. From there he went to the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where he served as staff physician for some time. Waggoner’s heart was in evangelism, and in 1883 he was called to assist his father, J. H. Waggoner, editor of the The Signs of the Times, May 6, 1886 issue lists E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones as associate editors.

The two men were quite different in build, manner, temperament, and delivery. Of this a personal acquaintance, A. W. Spalding, wrote:

“Unlike as garden fruit and apples of the desert were these two, yet they teamed together in close fellowship and cooperation. Young Waggoner was not even like his father, tall and massive; he was short, stocky, somewhat diffident. Jones was a towering, angular man, with a loping gait and uncouth posturing: and gestures. Waggoner was a product of the schools, with a leonine head well packed with learning, and with a saver tongue. Jones was largely self-taught, a convert found as a private in the United States Army, who had studied day and night to amass a great store of historical and Biblical knowledge. Not only was he naturally abrupt, but he cultivated singularity of speech and manner, early discovering that it was an asset with his audiences.”—Origin and History of Seventh-day Adventists, vol. 2, pp. 289.291.

The Minneapolis Conference and its aftermath drew both Elder Jones and Elder Waggoner into increasing prominence in the work of the church. God blessed their ministry, and it was their privilege to lead in a renewed emphasis on the basic Protestant doctrine, righteousness by faith. For many years they were held in high esteem.

Knowing well the peril of those who are used mightily of God, and with a seeming premonition, Ellen White wrote in 1892:

“It is quite possible that Elder Jones or Waggoner may be overthrown by the temptations of the enemy; but if they should be, this would not prove that they had had no message from God, or that the work that they had done was all a mistake. But should this happen, how many would take this position, and enter into a fatal delusion because they are not under the control of the Spirit of God. They walk in the sparks of their own kindling, and cannot distinguish between the fire they have kindled, and the light which God has given, and they walk in blindness as did the Jews.

“I know that this is the very position many would take if either of these men were to fall, [2] and I pray that these men upon whom God has laid the burden of a solemn work, may be able to give the trumpet a certain sound, and honor God at every step, and that their path at every step may grow brighter and brighter until the close of time.”—Letter 24, 1892.

Jones and Waggoner, so highly honored of God, because of their wide influence for good, became the special point of attack of the great adversary. The Ellen G. White communications to both men through a fifteen year period following 1888 reveal that each had weaknesses in his experience and each made mistakes. This, however, did not disqualify them to do God’s service. It is with regret that we record that both men lost their way. We shall review rather briefly the experience of the two men, and then deal first in detail with Elder A. T. Jones. All that appears here is presented in kindness, but it is appropriate that a record of the facts be made available to all interested in the work of the church and in the experience of these two men at one time so influential in its work.

In 1884 Elders Waggoner and Jones met. On April 26, 1886, as Elder J. H. Waggoner, the father of E. J. Waggoner, was released from his responsibilities as editor of the Signs of the Times, E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones were selected to serve jointly, and their names appeared jointly as editors for three years, from May 13, 1886, to May 6, 1889. The issue of May 6, 1889, lists E. J. Waggoner as editor and A. T. Jones as special contributor.

Elder Waggoner then carried the work of editor until May 11, 1891, when the name of Elder M. C. Wilcox appears on the masthead. It will be observed that the two men held editorial responsibilities through the Minneapolis conference and E. J. Waggoner for two and a half years beyond.

Elder A. T. Jones

Through the 1890’s Elder A. T. Jones was much in Battle Creek. He attended all sessions of the General Conference from 1888 to 1905, and often presented important addresses. Ellen White had occasion in April, 1893, to caution Elder Jones regarding extreme views in his presentations of the relation of faith and works (Selected Messages 1:377-380), and a few months later to reprove him for giving wholehearted support to Anna Rice Phillips who claimed the gift of prophecy (Selected Messages 2:85-95). From time to time Ellen White counseled him to exercise caution in his manner of speaking and writing so as to avoid giving offense.

On October 5, 1897, he was elevated to the position of leading editor of the Review and Herald. It was announced that with this arrangement Elder Jones “instead of speaking to comparatively few of our people at annual gatherings, he will address all of them every week. This will give to our churches and scattered brethren everywhere, the privilege of receiving, each week, the words of faith, hope, courage, and good cheer that have been a means of so much blessing to many all over both America and Europe.”—The Review and Herald, October 5, 1897, p. 640. Uriah Smith served as an associate editor.

This arrangement continued until May 14, 1901, when an adjustment was made, and Elder Uriah Smith was returned to the position as editor in chief of the Review and Herald and Brother Jones was freed for evangelistic work in the field.

At the General Conference session held February 19 to March 8, 1897, at College View, Nebraska, Jones was elected a member of the General Conference Committee. He served in this capacity until, in a most unusual action, he resigned some time prior to the General Conference of 1901. Concerning this it should be noted that subsequent to the General Conference session held in February, 1899, efforts were made to right certain wrongs pointed out by the testimonies, and it is reported:

“The efforts of the Committee in this direction did not in every instance meet with that hearty cooperation that might be expected. This caused Elder Jones to lose sight of the dignity of his position to the extent of allowing, as the Testimony says, ‘an evil spirit to cast drops of [3] gall into his words,’ and, forgetting the warning given him of God, ‘he pressed his brethren into hard places.’ When mildly reproved by the president of the General Conference for his course, and counseled to make the matter right with the brethren by apology, he resigned from the Committee.”—A Statement Refuting Charges Made by A. T. Jones Against the Spirit of Prophecy and the Plan of Organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination, pp. 15, 16 (96-page pamphlet published in May, 1906, by the General Conference Committee).

At the General Conference session held in Battle Creek in April, 1901, as presented in chapters 17 and 18, the work of the church was reorganized, which reorganization resulted in the drawing in of a number of men to carry responsibilities. The field was divided into union conferences and provision was made for the organization of General Conference departments. Jones was again elected to the General Conference Committee, a position which he held until the session of 1905. In the summer of 1901 he was assigned to general work in the field, and attended certain camp meetings.

He took the position that we should have no “kings,” that is, we should not have conference presidents. This sentiment prevailed in the writing up of a new constitution at the General Conference of 1901. The remit was that a General Conference Committee was elected, with the committee authorized to appoint a chairman and other officers. A. T. Jones gave strong support to this plan. As he entered the field, attending camp meetings in 1901, his work took him to the West Coast, first to the Pacific Northwest and then to California. At the California Conference session in June he was elected president, and oddly enough, accepted the office. His harsh and domineering spirit soon cost him the confidence of many of those with whom he worked.

In the summer of 1903, at a time when affairs at the conference were most uncomfortable, he had an interview at Elmshaven with Ellen White, in which he told her that at the request of Dr. J. H. Kellogg he was planning to go to Battle Creek to teach Bible in the American Medical Missionary College. He hoped to be able to help Dr. Kellogg. She counseled him not to go. He promised Sister White that he would be guarded. She had been warned in vision that such a move on his part would lead to his downfall. She wrote of it thus:

“In vision I had seen him [A. T. Jones] under the influence of Dr. Kellogg. Fine threads were being woven around him, till he was being bound hand and foot, and his mind and his senses were becoming captivated.”—Letter 116, 1906.

Then, comments Ellen White, as she reported this to Brother Jones just before he went to Battle Creek, she could see “that his perceptions were becoming confused, and that he did not believe the warning given. The enemy works in a strange, wonderful way to influence human minds.”—Ibid. But Jones was sure that he would not fall away. He was a man with too much self-confidence.

In 1905, still a member of the General Conference Committee, he was invited to assist in meeting some religious liberty crises in Washington, D.C. But in two months he was back in Battle Creek. Ellen White endeavored to draw Elder Jones away from Battle Creek into evangelistic work, and this would doubtless have saved the man. On February 26, 1905, she wrote:

“Elder A. T. Jones, God calls upon you to go out into the cities, and give the last message of warning. Look to God for your support as you go. Call the people together, and you will certainly not work in vain. Let the truth go forth as a lamp that burneth. No longer confine your efforts to one place. Let there be held, right where you are, a solemn convocation. Let there be a renunciation of self to God. Hold fast the beginning of your faith unto the end. Let not your faith waver. Go forth in faith....

“There are those who have never heard the message of mercy and warning. In the name of [4] the Lord I say, Delay not. Proclaim the gospel message in the cities of America. Scatter the seeds of truth throughout these cities. Take with you reliable men, who with pen and voice will act their part in proclaiming the message of present truth to the world.”—Letter 187, 1905.

But he continued in Battle Creek under influences he was no match for. He was soon in bitter opposition to his brethren and to the Spirit of prophecy. He issued a number of tracts and pamphlets in defending his course.

A number of enlightening statements made by Ellen White in communications to him or in which reference is made to him between the time he joined Dr. Kellogg in Battle Creek until her last message to him in 1911 are most revealing. There unfolds the picture of the progressive steps in the experience of a man, self-confident, flaunting warning messages, and deliberately placing himself under influences that finally captivated him and led to his spiritual destruction. There follows in chronological order excerpts from several Ellen G. White documents:

July 23, 1904, “Inharmonious Note” at the Berrien Springs Meeting,—“The words and attitude of Brother—and Brother A. T. Jones at the Berrien Springs meeting [1904] struck an inharmonious note,—a note that was not inspired of God. It created a state of things which resulted in harm that they did not anticipate. It made the work of the meeting very much harder than it would otherwise have been. Had it not been for their injudicious course, the Berrien Springs Conference would have shown very different results.”—Testimonies for the Church Containing Letters to Physicians and Ministers Instruction to Seventh-day Adventists, 42.

December 29, 1905, Lost Spiritual Eyesight and Repudiated God’s Warnings.—“I send no more [testimonies to be read to the Battle Creek church] to A. T. Jones, for I have evidence that a work will have to be done for him before the Lord will accept his service. God has given him warnings which he has repudiated, and I am deeply grieved that he has so little spiritual eyesight.”—Letter 345, 1905 (written to G. W. Amadon, first elder of the Battle Creek church).

March 12, 1906, The Wrong Spirit and Demonstrations of Bitterness.—“You may be surprised to hear the words that you have heard from Elder A. T. Jones; but I am not at all surprised. This is the development of the man when the spirit that is counter to the Spirit of God comes upon him. In him as he is at the present time, you have a representation of a man who is not under the molding influence of the Spirit of God. The Lord accepts no such demonstrations of bitterness....

“Read in my books, Patriarchs and Prophetsand Great Controversy, the story of the first great apostasy. History is being repeated and will be repeated. Read then, and understand.”—Letter 98, 1906.

April 2, 1906, Captivated, Deluded, and Deceived.—“During the General Conference at Takoma Park [May, 1905], Elder Jones’s case was again presented to me. After this, I had a long conversation with him in which I pointed out his danger. But he was self-confident, and declared to me that Dr. Kellogg believed the truth and the testimonies just as firmly as the rest of us believed and advocated them. In this conversation Elder Jones manifested that which had been revealed to me regarding him, that in the place of receiving the warnings he was full of self-confidence; that he had exalted himself, and in the place of being prepared to help Dr. Kellogg, he had united with him to disbelieve and distrust, and falsely to accuse the ministers and others who were trying to save Dr: Kellogg and other physicians who were in peril....

“I warned Elder Jones, but he felt that he was not in the least danger. But the fine threads have been woven about him, and he is now a man deluded and deceived. Though claiming to believe the testimonies, he does not believe them.”—Letter 116, 1906 (to Dr. David Paulson). [5]

May 1, 1906, Chose Darkness Rather Than Light.—“I am sorry for A. T. Jones, who has been warned over and over again. Notwithstanding these warnings, he has allowed the enemy to fill his mind with thoughts of self-importance. Heed not his words, for he has rejected the plainest light and has chosen darkness instead. The Holy One hath given us messages clear and distinct, but some poor souls have been blinded by the falsehoods and the deceptive influences of satanic agencies, and have turned from truth and righteousness to follow these fallacies of satanic origin.”—Manuscript 39, 1906.

June 15, 1906, Voice Controlled by Dr. Kellogg.—“Dr. Kellogg controls the voice of Elder A. T. Jones, and will use him as his mouthpiece. My prayer is, O God, open Thou the blind eyes, that they may see; and the ears of the deaf that they may hear, and become humble.”—Letter 182, 1906.

July 5, 1906, Grieved the Holy Spirit.—“Elder A. T. Jones, Dear Brother,—Again and again your case has been presented before me. I am now instructed to say to you, You have had a large knowledge of truth, and less, far less, spiritual understanding. When you were called to the important work at Washington, you had need of far more of the humble grace that becometh a Christian. Since the Berrien Springs meeting, your attitude and the attitude of several others has grieved the Spirit of God. You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting….

“Self-exaltation is your great danger. It causes you to swell to large proportions. You trust in your own wisdom, and that is often foolishness. Do you remember the counsel which I gave you in my letter of April, 1894? This was in answer to your letter expressing deep regret over the part you had taken in an unwise movement [Anna Phillips, see Selected Messages 2:85, 95] and you appealed to me for instruction, that you might ever avoid such mistakes....

“When at the General Conference at Washington I had a conversation with you, but it seemed to have no influence upon you. You appeared to feel fully capable of managing yourself. After that conversation, scene after scene passed before me in the night season, and I was then instructed that you neither had been nor would be a help to Dr. Kellogg: for you were blind in regard to his dangers and his real standing. You cannot be a help to him; for you entirely misjudge his case. You consider the light given me of God regarding his position as of less value than your own judgment....

“Brother Jones, I have a message for you. In many respects you are a weak man. If I were to write out all that has been revealed to me of your weakness, and of the developments of your work that have not been in accordance with the course of a true Christian, the representation would not be pleasing. This may have to be done if you continue to justify yourself in a course of apostasy. Until your mind is cleared of the mist of perplexity, silence is eloquence on your part.

“I am so sorry that you are spoiling your record....

“Brother Jones, will you not earnestly seek the Lord, that in your life there may be a humbling of self, and an exaltation of the principles of righteousness? The success and prosperity of your work will depend upon your following strictly where Jesus leads the way. God would have you stand as a faithful watchman, laboring earnestly for souls ready to perish. If you will consent to be a worker together with God, you may manifest in earnest words and works, the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit. True repentance will bring newness of life.”—Letter 242, 1906.

July 27, 1906, A Revival of the First Great Apostasy.—“My heart was filled with sorrow because of the course that J. H. Kellogg is following. And A. T. Jones is following the same course and voicing the same sentiments, with a most determined spirit. When a realization of this comes over me, with such force, great sorrow fills my soul.

“I have before me such a revival of the first great apostasy in the heavenly courts, that I am bowed down with an agony that cannot be expressed. It is in Battle Creek that the warnings that are given are entirely disregarded.”—Letter 248, 1906 (to D. H. Kress). [6]

August 1, 1906, Under Hypnotic Power.—“God showed me what He would do for Dr. Kellogg if he would take hold of His hand. But he wrenched himself away. At the Berrien Springs meetings [1904] the most precious offers were given him, and when he wrenched himself away I had rich agony of heart that it seemed as if soul and body were being rent asunder.

“I have seen Dr. Kellogg exerting a hypnotic influence upon persons, and at such times the arch deceiver was his helper. Those who sustain him are guilty with him. This blindness of understanding is a strange thing in our ranks. In regard to A. T. Jones, he has a theory of truth, which his books express and he dares not tear up his past experience, which has been published. But he virtually turns away from his former experience by his present course of action….

“Dr. Kellogg has had every advantage to make impressions on human minds, and he will improve this to the best of his ability in an effort to destroy confidence in the testimonies. Those associated with him who have upheld him, will have to answer before God for their course of action.”—Letter 258, 1906.

September 30, 1907, Giving Heed to Doctrines of Devils.—“A. T. Jones, Dr. Kellogg, and Elder Tenney are all working under the same leadership. They are classing themselves with those of whom the apostle writes, ‘Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.’ In the case of A. T. Jones I can see the fulfillment of the warnings that were given me regarding him.”—Letter 306, 1907.

October 1, 1907, Now in Apostasy.—“I want to say to you, Brother and Sister Starr, that the time we have so long anticipated has come. A. T. Jones has come to the place where he voices the mind and faith of Dr. Kellogg. They have now taken a decided stand against the truth, and special efforts will be made to lead souls away. This apostasy has cost us dearly....Warning after warning has been given to these men, but they have set themselves first to deny the messages, and then to declare that they did not believe the testimonies. Their work against the truth has been as marked by deception as was the course of Canright. Many whose sympathies were with Dr. Kellogg have united with him, and have departed from the faith.”—Letter 316, 1907.

Nov. 11, 1908, Departed From the Faith.—“I must warn our people against laboring in any line in connection with A. T. Jones. He is one who has departed from the faith, and has given heed to seducing spirits. He knows not what manner of spirit he is of.”—Letter 330, 1908.

November 10, 1911, Confession and Rebaptism the Only Way Back.—“Elder A. T. Jones, I have given you instruction in straight, clear lines in regard to the perverting influence under which you have placed yourself. Your lips have uttered perverse things. You have denied the clear light of truth, and have linked up with strange elements. I gave you a correct statement in regard to your position, but you went on doing the very things the Lord had warned you not to do. It has been a strange course for one who has been enlightened by the Lord as you have been, but you have acted very much like a man who has lost his bearings. The question is, Do you think you can still hold your membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and go on hurting the influence of this people by the tracts that you publish? You have done a cruel work.

“I have warned you in regard to these things. I presented the case as the Lord presented it to me. When your blind eyes are opened, when your spiritual eyesight is restored by the heavenly anointing. You will see that you have a work to do for your own soul, and to undo what you have done to confirm others in unbelief....

“We should rejoice greatly if you would be really converted. The Lord will not receive you as a faithful minister, to be trusted with His Rock, unless you throw your lot in with His people, to confirm [7] them in the faith—not to rule them according to human ideas....

“If you wish to renew your covenant with God by confession and repentance and rebaptism, we shall rejoice with you. When you are converted, your self-sufficiency will disappear, and you will become meek and lowly in heart. When you see and repent of your mistakes, you will be a great blessing in helping others. The destroyer now takes advantage of your self-righteousness to weave into your experience his own ideas and theories. When you are really desirous of uniting with those from whom you have withdrawn yourself, the testimony will be borne that you looked up after you had stepped off the platform on which you had previously stood, and that hands were put beneath your arms, and you and Elder Waggoner were lifted once more on to the platform, standing there with shining countenances and uplifted hands. Has this time come?”—Letter 104, 1911.

In mid 1907, because of his warfare against the church and its leaders, the ministerial credentials of A. T. Jones were withdrawn. In July, 1908, he had an interview with Ellen White, which was not at all satisfactory.

He asked for a hearing at the General Conference session of 1909 held in Washington. The request was granted, and these meetings were held, at which he stated his case. Elder A. V. Olson, who was present, reports:

“Though not a delegate I was invited to attend the last meeting. Seated on the platform were Brethren C. W. Flaiz, acting chairman, and W. T. Bartlett, of England, acting secretary. At a table below the pulpit sat Brother A. G. Daniells, the General Conference president, at one end and A. T. Jones at the other end. Before final action was taken Brother Daniells arose and made a statement in which he said how much he personally had appreciated the fine, faithful, and efficient services that Brother Jones had rendered the cause during many years of association with us, how we had esteemed and loved him, and how our hearts had been filled with sorrow because of the misunderstanding and conflict that had come in to mar our sweet fellowship, and to separate him from his brethren.

“Then turning to Brother Jones. He made a very tender and touching appeal for him to forget the past and to come back to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brethren in the service of the Lord. He assured him that we all loved him and that we wanted him to go with us in the march toward the kingdom of God. Extending his hand across the table, he said, in a choking voice, ‘Come, Brother Jones, come.’ At this, Brother Jones arose, started to reach his hand across the table, only to draw it back. Several times, as Brother Daniells continued to plead, saying, with tears in his voice, ‘Come, Brother Jones, come!’ Brother Jones would hesitatingly reach out his hand part way across the table, and pull it back again. The last time he almost clasped the hand outstretched from the other side, then, suddenly, pulled it back, and cried out, ‘No! No!’ and sat down. That was one of the saddest scenes that I have ever witnessed. There were not many dry eyes in the Seminary chapel that afternoon. We all loved Brother Jones, and it grieved us to see him go out into the dark.”—E. G. White Estate Document File No. 53.

Shortly after this, by formal action, he was dropped from the membership roll of the Seventh-day Adventist Church of which for years he had been a member.

Subsequent to working with Dr. Kellogg, A. T. Jones entered upon the publication of The American Sentinel of Religious Liberty, a monthly journal which he issued over a period of several years. In November, 1915, he moved to Washington, D.C., and devoted his time to publishing this paper. He began to attend The People’s Church, a colored Seventh-day Adventist church that had broken away from the conference and was pastored by F. H. Seeney. On the invitation of the officers of this church, A. T. Jones participated in the work of the church and then joined the group. He was [8] granted membership on April 15, 1916.

In February, 1923, Jones returned to Battle Creek for rest and treatment, and was making satisfactory progress until in early May, when he suffered a stroke of apoplexy that caused his death a few days later. Funeral service was conducted in Battle Creek at a funeral home by the Reverend G. E. Fifield. He was buried at Kalamazoo, Michigan. A brief obituary copied from the Battle Creek Enquirer appeared in the The Review and Herald, June 28, 1923. Mrs. Jones ever remained true to the message.

Elder E. J. Waggoner

Elder E. J. Waggoner continued his editorial work at the Signs of the Times until May, 1891. In 1892 he was called to England to lead out in the editorial work there. He was stationed there until the General Conference session of 1903. During the last few years of his European sojourn, Elder W. W. Prescott was in the field laboring closely with him.

In 1894 Ellen White expressed fears concerning certain views held by Elder Waggoner in regard to organization. The communication is addressed to A. T. Jones and we quote in part:

“God has in a special manner used you and Brother Waggoner to do a special work, and I have known this. I have given all my influence in with yours, because you were doing the work of God for this time. I have done all that it was possible for me to do in Jesus Christ to stand close to you, and help you in every way; but I am very sorrowful when I see things that I cannot endorse, and I feel pained over the matter. I begin to be afraid.

“Elder Waggoner has entertained ideas, and without waiting to bring his ideas before a counsel of brethren, has agitated strange theories. He has brought before some of the people, ideas in regard to organization that ought never to have had expression. I supposed that the question of organization was settled forever with those who believed the testimonies given through Sister White. Now if they believe the testimonies why do they work contrary to them? Why should not my brethren be prudent enough to place these matters before me, or at least to enquire if I had any light upon these subjects? Why is it that these things start up at this time when we have canvassed the matter in our previous history, and God has spoken upon these subjects? Should not that be enough?

“Why not keep steadily at work in the lines that God has given us? Why not walk in the dear light He has revealed and in place of tearing to pieces that which God has built up, work on the side of Jesus Christ? O how Satan would rejoice to get in among this people, and disorganize the work at a time when thorough organization is essential, and will be the greatest power to keep out spurious uprisings, and to refute claims not endorsed by the word of God. We want to hold the lines evenly, that there shall be no breaking down of the system of regulation and order. In this way license shall not be given to disorderly elements to control the work at this time. We are living in a time when order, system, and unity of action is most essential.”—Letter 37, 1894 (to A. T. Jones, Jan. 14, 1894).

Elder Waggoner, representing the British field, attended the General Conference session of 1897 and gave a series of eighteen studies on the book of Hebrews. He also presented the sermon on the last Sabbath of the conference. Dr. Kellogg was also at this session and spoke frequently, and there introduced his pantheistic views—views which were to have a far-reaching influence on Elder Waggoner.

Within the next few years, while laboring in Great Britain, Waggoner began to espouse and promulgate views of spiritual affinity—that is, that one not rightfully a marriage partner here might be [9] one in the life to come, and this allows a present spiritual union. This was to lead to his downfall. He came to the 1901 General Conference session “enthused with what” he “supposed to be precious spiritual light” (Letter 224, 1908). Ellen White was shown that, instead, the views he was then espousing were “dangerous, misleading fables,” similar to the fanaticism she had been called to meet following 1844. Of this she later wrote: “Dr. Waggoner was then departing from the faith in the doctrine he held regarding spiritual affinities.”—Ibid.

She also stated: “In the European field for a long time he has sown seeds that have [borne] and will bear evil fruit, leading some to depart from the faith, and to give heed to seducing spirits, doctrines of satanic origin.”—Letter 121, 1906.

After the 1903 General Conference session, Elder Waggoner remained in the United States. O how earnestly Ellen White labored for him! She urged that he be placed on the faculty of the newly established Emmanual Missionary College, on a probationary basis, in the fervent hope that he could clear himself of subtle deceptive theories. Message after message was sent to him in warning and appeal.

To him she wrote on October 2, 1903: “It is those who have had the most light that Satan seeks the most assiduously to ensnare. He knows that if he can deceive them, they can, under his control, clothe sin with the garments of righteousness, and lead many astray. God grant that our teachers may see and understand this, their great danger, and that they may recover themselves from the snare of Satan, and put forth redoubled efforts to save others who are exposed.”—Letter 230, 1903.

Then two days later she wrote again, speaking very plainly: “You have been represented to me as being in great peril. Satan is on your track, and at times he has whispered to you pleasing fables, and has shown you charming pictures of one whom he represents as a more suitable companion for you than the wife of your youth, the mother of your children.

“Satan is working stealthily, untiringly, to effect your downfall through his specious temptations. He is determined to become your teacher, and you need now to place yourself where you can get strength to resist him. He hopes to lead you into the mazes of spiritualism. He hopes to wean your affections from your wife, and to fix them upon another woman. He desires that you shall allow your mind to dwell upon this woman, until through unholy affection she becomes your god.

“The enemy of souls has gained much when he can lead the imagination of one of Jehovah’s chosen watchmen to dwell upon the possibilities of association, in the world to come, with some woman whom he loves, and there raising up a family.”—Letter 231, 1903. Published in Medical Ministry, 100, 101.

After a winter term of teaching at Berrien Springs, Elder Waggoner, still in the fog, went to Battle Creek to join A. T. Jones and Dr. J. H. Kellogg, and in so doing placed himself in the midst of pantheistic teachings and skepticism concerning the Spirit of prophecy.

On August 1, 1904, Ellen White addressed a solemn message to Brethren Paulson, Sadler, Jones, and Waggoner in which she presented what God had presented to her “in the night season.” The last part of the nine-page appeal is directed specifically to Brethren Jones and Waggoner:

“Our Counselor then laid his hands on the shoulders of Elder A. T. Jones and Elder E. J. Waggoner and said, ‘You are confused. You are in the mist and fog. You have need of the heavenly anointing.’ To Brother Jones He said, ‘Why have you permitted your mind to be worked as it has been? I warned you not to permit this.’ He said to Brother Waggoner, ‘Leave the place where you now are, and walk in the path that I have pointed out. Living Temple is full of seductive sentiments, which if received, will tear down the foundations of your faith, and weaken your perceptions of truth and righteousness.’

“Addressing them both, He said, ‘There is a work for both of you to do. Your minds need to be thoroughly renewed. Your faith is to rest on a high, holy, substantial foundation. God has a [10] work for you to do in sounding the last message of warning to the world. Turn away from scientific theories. What is the chaff to the wheat?’

“The Speaker was represented to me as standing on a high platform. To this platform He raised both men, and placed one at His right hand and the other at His left. Then He said: ‘The sentiments that you have received in harmony with the special theories presented in the book Living Temple are not pure truth. There is a commingling of truth and error, and it will be difficult for you to single out the true from the false, to distinguish between the threads of truth and the threads of error. My word is spirit and life. I am the bread of life....

“‘Cast out of your minds the sophistries that you have been receiving. God would have your minds cleansed from these theories. Hold fast the beginning of your confidence firm unto the end. Warn others to let spiritualistic sophistries alone. Preach the word as you have done in the past, and My Spirit will be with you. Holy angels will accompany you if you will follow the way that God has marked out.

“‘Separate entirely from the bewitching, misleading sentiments that run through Living Temple. You are to be My witnesses. You are to declare My word’….

“My brethren, I am so glad, so thankful, for this message that the Lord has given me for you. He said, ‘I will make you both free if you will take hold of My strength. You each have a work to do in proclaiming the message that Christ came to give John, telling him to write it in a book, and send it to the churches.’”—Letter 279, 1904.

Then Ellen White turns to what might be if the two men, believing the testimony, responded wholeheartedly. But Heaven’s appeal fell on dull ears. The steps that might have been taken were not taken. In 1905, Ellen White appealed to Elder Waggoner as she did to A. T. Jones, to enter the field of evangelism. She well knew that in saving others they might save themselves. Both men preferred to remain in Battle Creek.

In 1906 Elder Waggoner, after his wife had divorced him because of his attentions to a nurse with whom he had become acquainted in England, married the lady. This, of course, terminated his connection with the church. A few years later we find him at the Battle Creek Sanitarium working in medical and religious lines. There is no record that he ever opposed the church. On May 28, 1916, at the age of 61 years, he died at his home of a heart attack after a full day of activity. Word of his death was given to the church in a back-page note in the The Review and Herald, June 29, 1916.

This has been a sad recital. How subtle is Satan in his attacks on those to whom God has given great light. We return to the words of Ellen White penned in 1892:

“It is quite possible that Elder Jones or Waggoner may be overthrown by the temptations of the enemy; but if they should be, this would not prove that they had had no message from God, or that the work that they had done was all a mistake.... I pray that these men upon whom God has laid the burden of a solemn work, may be able to give the trumpet a certain sound, and honor God at every step, and that their path at every step may grow brighter and brighter until the close of time.”—Letter 24, 1892.

It could have been, but seeds of evil cherished in the hearts of Jones and Waggoner gave the victory to the great adversary.

It should be remembered that while God used the preaching and writings of these two men in a broad reform movement within the church at a time when they were living close to Heaven, there followed in the years associated with their apostasy from the truth, much fruitless preaching and hurtful influences. A man may be a servant of God at one time in his life and an instrument of evil at another. Thus it was with Jones and Waggoner, the story of whose later years clutches at our hearts and [11] reminds us painfully of Paul’s words: “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).