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    The positive side

    E. J. Waggoner’s sermons on salvation through faith in Christ’s righteousness struck a note that had long been missing from Adventist sermons. Most Adventist converts had come from other Christian churches, and their acceptance of Christ was taken for granted. Adventist ministers preached much more about the law and the Sabbath than about Christ. They became skilled debaters who prided themselves on their ability to outargue their Sundaykeeping counterparts. Waggoner’s sermons were different. He concentrated on Christ—His deity, His humanity, and His righteousness, which He offers to us as a gift. In this new emphasis Waggoner had the total support of Ellen White. She told the delegates: “I see the beauty of truth in the presentation of the righteousness of Christ in relation to the law as the doctor has placed it before us.... That which has been presented harmonizes perfectly with the light which God has been pleased to give me during all the years of my experience.” 32E. G. White Manuscript 15, 1888.88IOL 5.5

    “In Minneapolis,” she said later, “God gave precious gems of truth to His people in new settings.” 33E. G. White Manuscript 13, 1889. “The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones.” 34E. G. White Letter 57, 1895.88IOL 5.6

    These messages were as living water to many thirsty souls who were present. W. C. White called Waggoner’s sermons the turning point in his life. 35W. C. White to G. C. Tenney, May 5, 1893 Seven years after the conference A. O. Tait was still feeling the glow. He reminisced: “There are quite a number of men in Battle Creek yet who do not see light in this blessed truth in regard, to the righteousness of Christ that has been coming to us as a flood of blessing ever since the Minneapolis General Conference. I found that doctrine just the food that my poor soul needed, there at Minneapolis, and I was converted at that meeting, and have been rejoicing in the light of it ever since.” 36A. O. Tait to W. C. White, Oct. 7, 1895.88IOL 5.7

    Nearly half a century later Elder C. C. McReynolds still looked back to the Minneapolis session as a truly memorable and blessed experience. He recalled: “At the close of Elder Waggoner’s fourth or fifth lesson I was a subdued, repenting sinner. I felt that I must get away alone with the Lord. I went out of the city away into the woods; I did not want dinner; I spent the afternoon there on my knees and on my face before the Lord with my Bible. I had come to the point that I did believe the promises of God in His Word for forgiveness of my sins, and that it did mean me as well as any other sinner. His promise in 1 John 1:9; Isaiah 1:18; Galatians 1:4; and Titus 2:14 and many of the promises were reviewed. There I saw Him as my own personal Saviour and there I was converted anew. All doubts that my sins were really forgiven were taken away, and from then till now, I have never doubted my acceptance as a pardoned child of God.” 37C. C. McReynolds, “Experiences While at the General Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1888,” written in 1931.88IOL 5.8

    This kind of divine encounter must have been experienced by more than a few, for Ellen White stated, “Again and again the Spirit of the Lord came into the meeting with convincing power, notwithstanding the unbelief manifested by some present.” 38E. G. White Letter 51a, 1895.88IOL 6.1

    In order not to lose the benefits of this new emphasis on Christ and His righteousness, Ellen White, Jones, and Waggoner spent the next three years conducting revivals at camp meetings and in our larger churches across the country. There was still much opposition, especially in Battle Creek, but there were many victories. Concerning two of these revivals Ellen White recollected: “We worked and some know how hard we worked. I think it was a whole week, going early and late, at Chicago, in order that we might get these ideas in the minds of the brethren....88IOL 6.2

    “They think they have to trust in their own righteousness, and in their own works, and keep looking at themselves, and not appropriating the righteousness of Christ and bringing it into their life, and into their character.... It was after one week had passed away before there was a break, and the power of God, like a tidal wave, rolled over that congregation. I tell you, it was to set men free; it was to point them to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.88IOL 6.3

    “And there at South Lancaster, the mighty movings of the Spirit of God were there. Some are here that were in that meeting. God revealed His glory, and every student in the college was brought to the door there in confession, and the movings of the Spirit of God were there. And thus from place to place. Everywhere we went we saw the movings of the Spirit of God.” 39E. G. White Manuscript 9, 1890.88IOL 6.4

    As time passed, many—probably most—of those who had sinned so brazenly at Minneapolis confessed their guilt and asked the Lord for forgiveness. This included not only Elders Butler and Smith but their leading supporters as well. Typical was the attitude expressed by Elder I. D. Van Horn when he wrote to Ellen White in 1893: “I am now heartily ashamed of the part I took in the ‘merriment,’ the ‘satire,’ ‘sarcasm’ and ‘wit’ that was so much indulged in by myself and others in the same room at that Minneapolis meeting. It was very wrong—all wrong—and must have been displeasing to the Lord who witnessed it all. I wish it all could be blotted from my memory.” 40I. D. Van Horn to Ellen G. White, Maranatha, 9, 1893 (written in Battle Creek).88IOL 6.5

    In addition to these revivals, between 1889 and 1891 three institutes or Bible schools, totaling 46 weeks in time, were held in Battle Creek for our ministers. These institutes also gave special emphasis to the theme of justification by faith. A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner were among the instructors in these institutes, and they were also the key speakers in most of the General Conference sessions throughout the 1890s. Ellen White’s books Steps to Christ, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, The Desire of Ages, and Christ’s Object Lessons, with their concentration on Christ’s ministry, His teachings, and His character, were all published between 1892 and 1900. We can thank the Lord that beginning with the Minneapolis conference the subject of justification by faith in Christ’s righteousness has come to have a larger place in the thinking and in the experience of Seventh-day Adventists.88IOL 6.6

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