I. Withheld or Misappropriated Tithe

At a camp meeting in a southwestern conference, a woman said to me, "I feel that some of my tithe money has been used by church leaders in a manner which I totally disapprove-helping fund legal action against an Adventist who reportedly misused the denominational name." And lest I misjudge the depth of her feelings, she then remarked: "You go tell those church leaders where you came from that if they do this once more, they'll never see another nickel of my tithe!"

Another church member, in a Midwestern State, telephoned me to complain that his conference administration had allocated more than $20,000 of tithe money to help set up a new church company whose experimental style of worship was repugnant to him. He concluded, with considerable vehemence, "I'm finished sending my tithe to those boys" at the conference office. Other similar scenarios might be cited from around the world.

Problems in Ellen White's Day

More than one has wondered out loud about what Ellen White might say on these issues were she alive today. Fortunately, we need not wonder long, for, as the adage goes, "The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In Mrs. White's day the church faced three problems with regard to both tithe and offerings:

• Some leaders at church headquarters diverted funds entrusted to

their care. Instead of allocating the funds to the purpose designated by the donor, the money was used for other church projects.

• On occasion some church members withheld payment of the tithe,

either in whole or in part, using it to cover personal emergencies at home.

• Sometimes church members decided that they-not conference

officials-should choose the projects upon which their tithe should be expended.

Mrs. White wrote against all three of these irregularities. And what she said in her day needs to be said again in our day.

As we survey Mrs. White's various essays on the subject, we see her making three particular points, always in her typically forthright manner.

1. God Blesses the Donor

In 1870, Ellen White told the leaders of the church, concerning funds that had been misapplied: "The means thus dedicated has not always been appropriated as the' self-sacrificing donors designed. Covetous, selfish men, having no spirit of self-denial or self-sacrifice themselves, have handled unfaithfully means thus brought into the treasury."1

In spite of this malfeasance, Mrs. White went on to encourage the donors with these words: "Those self-sacrificing, consecrated ones who render back to God the things that are His, as He requires of them, will be rewarded according to their works. Even though the means thus consecrated be misapplied so that it does not accomplish the object which the donor had in view-the glory of God and the salvation of souls-those who made the sacrifice in sincerity of soul, with an eye single to the glory of God, will not lose their reward."2

What an encouragement those words must have been to church members whose money did not always go as the donor had intended! Fortunately, we today are much less likely to be confronted by a similar situation because clear, unequivocal denominational policies require funds to go as specified by the donor, and church auditors-at all levels-monitor such procedures carefully and continuously.

Does that mean, then, that if my funds are misapplied, I should not complain, because I'm going to receive my blessing anyway? No, not according to Ellen White.

2. Speak to the Proper Ones

Mrs. White spelled Out the duty church member have when they feel that their tithes and offerings are being improperly used. She counseled: "Some have been dissatisfied and have said: 'I will not longer pay m tithe for I have no confidence in the way things are managed at the heart of the work. But will you rob God because you think the management of the work is not right?

"Make your complaint, plainly and openly, in the right spirit, to the proper ones. Send in your petitions for things to be adjusted and set in order; but do not withdraw from the work of God, and prove unfaithful, because others are not doing right."³

Mrs. White did not counsel silence at the price of expediency. After telling the church member to "make your complaint," she went on to specify how such complaints should be made.

(a) "Plainly and openly." No innuendos; no dark hints of mysterious wrongs too horrible to be uttered in the light of day. None of this "If you knew what I know," etc.

(b) "in the right spirit." Criticism can be constructive or destructive. While Ellen White never sanctioned the latter; she applauded and recommended the former. Often the key factor is not what is done, but how it is done.

(c) "To the proper ones. In Matthew 18 Jesus specifies that when we have a grievance against a brother in the church, we should go to him alone in seeking to ameliorate the situation. If that initiative fails, we should go again, with one or two other Christians as witnesses. If that also fails, then--and only then--"Tell it unto the church" (v. 17).

Calling this Christs "recipe,"⁴ Mrs. White says we are to follow this principle "in all cases and under all circumstances."⁵ And, in the process, we are "not to make it a matter of comment and criticism among ourselves; nor even after it is told to the church, are we at liberty to repeat it to others."⁶

A certain "Brother D," in 1885, created a problem in church by clandestinely telling church members that the leaders in this work are designing, dishonest men, engaged in deceiving the people." Mrs. White wrote that Ds activity did not bear the signet of heaven. She lied a much better way. She said,

"He has not conformed to the Bible rule and conferred with the leading brethren. . . . Let him come upon an equality with his brethren; if he has difficulties with them in regard to their course of action, let him show wherein their sin lies."⁷

3. The Tithe Not to be Withheld or Diverted

But, we may ask, are there no circumstances under which individual church members may feel free to dispense their tithe as they please? The answer: Ellen White never even considered such an option.

In Mrs. Whites day some Seventh-day Adventists either withheld their tithes and offerings altogether, or diverted their tithe by applying it to projects of their own choosing. This was done because the conference business, in the eyes of the member, was being improperly administered, and unworthy ministers were being paid from the tithe.

In an article entitled, "Existing Evils and Their Remedy," Mrs. White wrote, in 1890: "You who have been withholding your means from the cause of God, read the book of Malachi, and see what is spoken there in regard to tithes and offerings. Cannot you see that it is not best under any circumstances to withhold your tithes and offerings because you are not in harmony with everything your brethren do? Unworthy ministers may receive some of the means thus raised; but dare any one, because of this, withhold from the treasury, and brave the curse of God? I dare not....

"If the Conference business is not managed according to the order of the Lord, that is the sin of the erring ones. The Lord will not hold you responsible for it, if you do what you can to correct the evil. But do not commit sin yourselves by withholding from God His own property."⁸

Nearly two decades later Ellen Whites convictions were still the same. She wrote, in 1909: "Let none feel at liberty to retain their tithe, to use according to their own judgment. They are not to use it for themselves in an emergency, nor to apply it as they see fit, even in what they may regard as the Lords work....

"A very plain, definite message has been given to me for our people. I am bidden to tell them that they are making a mistake in applying the tithe to various objects which, though good in themselves, are not the object to which the Lord has said that the tithe should be applied."⁹

II. The Disposition of Tithes and Offerings

Proper and Improper Usages of Tithe Funds

What are these usages which, "though good in themselves," were not to be supported from the tithe? According to Ellen White, they include

• The care of the poor, sick, and aged.¹⁰

1. The education of worthy and needy students.¹¹
2. Operating expenses of schools.¹²
3. Salaries and expenses of literature evangelists.¹³
4. The expenses of a local church.¹⁴
5. Buildings for congregational worship or institutional needs, such as schools, hospitals, and publishing houses.¹⁵

On the positive side, Ellen White wrote: "The tithe is sacred, reserved by God for Himself. It is to be brought into His treasury to be used to sustain the gospel laborers in their work."¹⁶

Leaving no doubt in anyones mind as to what she meant, Ellen White named the functions for which a conference committee might regularly appropriate tithe funds. These include

1. Salaries and expenses of ministers and Bible instructors.¹⁷
2. Salaries and expenses of Bible teachers in our various educational institutions.¹⁸

Salaries and expenses of minister-physicians.¹⁹

Retirement benefits for gospel workers.²⁰

Needy mission fields, in North America and abroad.²¹

At a time before the churchs worldwide work was as well established as it is today, Mrs. White also indicated that in exceptionally dire emergency situations the conference might use tithe funds "to secure the humblest place of worship."²² Further, she approved the appropriation of some tithe funds to assist the self-supporting enterprise being established by Professors Sutherland and Magan at Madison, Tennessee.²³ These exceptions were just that-- exceptions. They were not the rule. Her general counsel is stated so unambiguously that none need misunderstand: "A great mistake is made when the tithe is drawn from the object for which it is to be used--the support of the ministers. "²⁴

Who Are Ministers?

If the tithe is to be used essentially for ministerial salaries and expenses, what constitutes a "minister"? An independent publishing ministry in a North American conference is known to have designated six of its employees as "ministers." None of these "ministers" is recognized as such by the local conference. Yet all of them (three field representatives, two workers who operate a cassette ministry, and the appointment secretary) are paid from tithes which, though the publishing enterprise does not actively solicit, it nevertheless knowingly and willingly accepts.

The employees of this publishing ministry do not criticize the church. They publish tracts by the million and send their literature without charge to developing countries.

Are these six persons actually ministers, qualified to be paid by tithe money?

In the broadest sense, all church members should be ministers. Mrs. White wrote: "You may say, 'I am not a minister, and therefore cannot preach the truth. You may not be a minister in the generally-accepted sense of the word; you may never be called to stand in the desk. Nevertheless, you can be a minister for Christ. If you will have your eyes opened to see the opportunities that present themselves for speaking a word to this soul and to that, God will speak through you to lead them to Christ."²⁵

So we all should be Gods ministers. However, to suggest that Ellen White would approve of paying from the tithe all "ministers for Christ" although they are not ''ministers in the generally--accepted sense of the word is to give the word "minister" a meaning she never intended.

For Ellen White the ministers in "the generally-accepted sense of the word" were men appointed by the conference as licensed ministers or ordained ministers. As noted above, she also included women Bible instructors who served under the aegis of the conference as worthy of tithe support.

Literature evangelists were specifically excluded by Mrs. White as eligible for tithe support. This is in spite of the fact that they are either commissioned or credentialed by conference executive committee action, and often give more Bible studies in a week than does the local pastor. If literature evangelists were pointedly excluded from receiving the tithe, much less can we make a legitimate case for paying tithe to self-appointed ministers in a lay-operated publishing enterprise.

In the publishing houses of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, not one employee, other than ordained-minister editors, is paid from tithe funds. It matters not whether he be a worker in a factory, a field representative, or even the president of the publishing house himself.

The Storehouse

Now, what about the "storehouse"? Malachi quotes God as instructing His people to bring all the tithes into the "storehouse" (Mal. 3:10).

A fair reading of Ellen Whites statements leads unquestionably to the conclusion that, in her mind, the church treasury was the storehouse of Malachi 3. She used the words "treasury" and "storehouse" as synonyms when she wrote, "If all the tithes were brought into the storehouse, Gods treasury would not be empty."²⁶ Concerning the church treasury, she stated: "Many presidents of state conferences do not attend to that which is their work--to see that the elders and deacons of the churches do their work in the churches, by seeing that a faithful tithe is brought into the treasury."²⁷

Again, she declared: "If our churches will take their stand upon the Lords word and be faithful, paying their tithe into His treasury, more laborers will be encouraged to take up ministerial work."²⁸

Seventh-day Adventists hold as a fundamental belief that they are the remnant church referred to in Revelation 12:17. They are the church militant, not the church triumphant. The church militant is composed of both wheat and tares, but nevertheless it is the visible organization God is using to proclaim the three angels messages to the ends of the earth.

There is only one "storehouse" and that must be the organized church itself. This includes each local and union conference, as well as the General Conference. These are the three levels of the church where properly elected committees determine where tithe funds can best be spent.

It is essential that all branches of the church work together closely if we are to accomplish our mission. Mrs. White declares: "Some have advanced the thought that, as we near the close of time, every child of God will act independently of any religious organization. But I have been instructed by the Lord that in this work there is no such thing as every mans being independent. The stars of heaven are all under law, each influencing the other to do the will of God, yielding their common obedience to the law that controls their action. And, in order that the Lords work may advance healthfully and solidly, His people must draw together."²⁹

We are not drawing together when we compete with one another for the tithe. Such a practice can only lead to a fracturing of our unity, and ultimately, a completely divided house.

Offerings

Next, what about offerings? God accused His people anciently of robbing Him in two financial categories--"tithes" and "offerings" (Mal. 3:8). Significantly, He instructs His people to bring all the tithes into the storehouse, but not necessarily all the offerings. In the handling of our offerings God allows us a measure of discretion not permitted in the handling of the tithe. He permits us to decide how much we will give, and how and where we will place our gifts.

The tithe is specified as 10 percent of our "increase" (Lev. 27:32; Deut. 14:22), which all are obliged to pay. However, when it comes to freewill offerings, each person is to give "as he is able," and according to the "blessing of the Lord thy God which He hath given thee." (Deut. 16:17).

Our offerings may be given for any one or more of numerous important activities, such as operation expenses of the local church and church school, local conference special projects, the world budget, our various educational institutions, radio and TV ministries, disaster and famine relief, and community service. These offerings may either be channeled through the local church treasurer, or given directly to the selected cause or agency.

When Ellen White wrote her son Edson that "the Lord has not specified any regular channel through which means should pass," she was talking about offerings, not tithe, as the immediately preceding paragraph in her letter makes clear: "There are those who have means and will give, some small sums and some large sums . . . direct to your destitute portion of the vineyard" in the South.³⁰

Note, similarly, the counsel in her letter to the General Conference leadership in 1908, when the Madison enterprise was still in its early stages: "The Lord works through various agencies. If there are those who desire to step into new fields and take up new lines of labor, encourage them to do so.... Do not worry lest some means shall go direct to those who are trying to do missionary work in a quiet and effective way. All the means is not to be handled by one agency or organization. "31

The restrictions placed on the tithe are not seen here. Offerings may be given directly to a designated missionary project, while tithes are returned to the Lord through the church organization.

A similar thought is expressed in Mrs. Whites letter to General Conference President 0. A. Olsen: "God does not lay upon you the burden of asking the Conference, or any council of men, whether you shall use your means as you see fit to advance the work of God."³²

W. C. White later clarified the meaning of his mothers statement to O. A. Olsen by indicating that the phrase "your means" might more accurately have been rendered "means entrusted to your care.

III. THE WATSON LETTER

We now turn to the "Watson letter", for in this letter we learn that Ellen White occasionally gave some of her tithe directly to a designated project or individual.

"During the greater part of the time since my connection with Mothers business in 1881, a full tithe has been paid on her salary to church or conference treasurer."³⁴ So wrote W. C. White, Ellen Whites son, late in her lifetime. However, there were some exceptions to this rule. At times Mrs. White gave a portion of her tithe funds directly to Adventist ministers who were in dire financial straits. Why did she do this, when her consistent counsel to others was to return their tithe through the church treasury?

Ellen Whites Special Work

The entire picture is laid out fully by Arthur L. White, Ellen Whites grandson, in his biography of the prophet.³⁵ The basic facts are these: Part of Mrs. Whites divine commission dealt with meeting the needs of elderly ministers no longer able to work and draw a salary. She states: "I was charged not to neglect or pass by those who were being wronged. . . . If I see those in positions of trust neglecting aged ministers, I am to present the matter to those whose duty it is to care for them. Ministers who have faithfully done their work are not to be forgotten or neglected when they have become feeble in health."³⁶

Those words were written in 1906, five years before the church instituted a pension plan for denominational retirees, and long before the United States government made provision for a pension for retired Americans with the Social Security Act of 1935.

Today, church workers, not only in the United States but in many other countries as well, can live in retirement with at least a measure of comfort from the combined income of their church and government pensions. But before 1911, when a minister retired, his income ceased. Some then became destitute. And there were some who were destitute even before they retired.

When acute cases of impoverished workers were brought to Mrs. Whites attention, she first contacted conference officials. Often this was sufficient, and aid was forthcoming. But occasionally there were problems, particularly in the southern States, where operating funds were always in short supply, and sometimes almost nonexistent. In such instances Mrs. White stepped in, using a portion of her own tithe and, on occasion, tithe funds placed with her by other church members as well.

For many years Ellen White carried an extraordinary burden for the work in the South. Her son, J. Edson White, shared this burden. With the blessing of the General Conference administration, Edson founded the Southern Missionary Society in 1895. This Society fostered work largely among African-Americans in the southern States. Mrs. White at times made private appeals for church members to aid this struggling, needy, and worthy work.

Money That Did Not Reach its Destination

During the first six months of 1896 the International Sabbath School Association raised $10,878--an enormous sum in those days--for the "Southern work."³⁷ Embarrassingly, these funds never reached their destination. The money was at first held in trust by the Pacific Press. It appears that the Pacific Press decided to keep the money permanently in lieu of a similar amount owed the Press by the General Conference. The Pacific Press management apparently expected the General Conference, in turn, to appropriate an equal sum to the Southern Missionary Society. But this was not done, since the General Conference coffers were either empty or nearly so.

This unfortunate incident took place 18 years before the creation of the General Conference Auditing Service in 1914. Today all church funds, and their keepers, are closely and regularly monitored at all levels to reduce the incidence of mismanagement to the lowest possible degree.

The Colorado Incident

In 1904, as conditions in the South were growing more acute, W. 0. Palmer, a field representative of the Southern Missionary Society, went to Colorado to solicit funds among the churches. One congregation contributed about $400, some of which was tithe money. The whole procedure was admittedly irregular. The Colorado Conference saw the act as wrong and censurable. And its president was prepared to deal sternly with the hapless, errant intruder in his vineyard.

On January 22, 1905, Ellen White, then visiting in Mountain View, California, learned of the details and wrote what has now become known as the "Watson letter."

This letter is used today by several independent ministries to justify their solicitation and acceptance of tithe funds from their fellow church members. Extracts are sometimes published, but not always has the entire document been reproduced--for reasons which quickly become obvious.

For example, an edited version of the letter has been circulated by one independent ministry with a significant deletion: "I would not advise that anyone should make a practice of gathering up tithe money.

The letter was a short one by Ellen White standards-- just seven paragraphs. We reproduce it here in its entirety:

The Watson Letter

My brother, I wish to say to you, Be careful how you move. You are not moving wisely. The least you have to speak about the tithe that has been appropriated to the most needy and the most discouraging field in the world, the more sensible you will be.

It has been presented to me for years that my tithe was to be appropriated by myself to aid the white and colored ministers who were neglected and did not receive sufficient, properly to support their families. When my attention was called to aged ministers, white or black, it was my special duty to investigate into their necessities and supply their needs. This was to be my special work, and I have done this in a number of cases. No man should give notoriety to the fact that in special cases the tithe is used in that way.

In regard to the colored work in the South, that field has been and is still being robbed of the means that should come to the workers in that field. If there have been cases where our sisters have appropriated their tithe to the support of the ministers working for the colored people in the South, let every man, if he is wise, hold his peace.

I have myself appropriated my tithe to the most needy cases brought to my notice. I have been instructed to do this; and as the money is not withheld from the Lords treasury, it is not a matter that should be commented upon, for it will necessitate my making known these matters, which I do not desire to do, because it is not best.

Some cases have been kept before me for years, and I have supplied their needs from the tithe, as God instructed me to do. And if any person shall say to me, Sister White, will you appropriate my tithe where you know it is most needed, I shall say, Yes, I will; and I have done so. I commend those sisters who have placed their tithe where it is most needed to help do a work that is being left undone, and if this matter is given publicity, it will create a knowledge which would better be left as it is. I do not care to give publicity to this work which the Lord has appointed me to do, and others to do.

I send this matter to you so that you shall not make a mistake. Circumstances alter cases. I would not advise that anyone should make a practice of gathering up tithe money. But for years there have now and then been persons who have lost confidence in the appropriation of the tithe who have placed their tithe in my hands, and said that if I did not take it they would themselves appropriate it to the families of the most needy ministers they could find. I have taken the money, given a receipt for it, and told them how it was appropriated.

I write this to you so that you shall keep cool and not become stirred up and give publicity to this matter, lest many more shall follow their example.³⁸

Let us here draw some conclusions from this unusual incident in our denominational history:

1. Ellen White was directly instructed by God to aid certain poverty-stricken ministers, white and black.

2. Ellen Whites first task was to notify the Conference of the existing needs. Only if they did not respond did she then step into the breach with emergency assistance.

3. The money thus disbursed was used for living expenses of destitute workers--not for operating expenses of institutions, the publishing of literature, etc.

4. The pre-1911 financial situation does not exist today in the United States or in many other parts of the world. Pension plans are available now that did not exist when she wrote this letter.

5. In every paragraph of her letter there is at least one sentence in which she explicitly urged Elder Watson to keep quiet about the situation. This was her special work, not the special work of others. If everyone followed her example, the financial structure of the church would be substantially damaged.

6. Independent ministries who circulate this letter for their own personal purposes, in order to justify solicitation and/or acceptance of tithe funds from their fellow SDA church members, are doing exactly what Ellen White told Elder Watson not to do.

7. The money was "not withheld from the Lords treasury" in that it was being applied to denominationally-recognized ministers.

Ellen Whites Support of Recognized Causes Only

As far as extant records indicate, all tithe funds which passed through Mrs. Whites hands about the turn of the century were delivered to a recognized agency of the Seventh-day Adventist Church--in this case the Southern Missionary Society--or to workers who were sponsored or endorsed by the church leadership. None of Ellen Whites tithe is known to have gone to an independent agency or to a self-supporting worker not under the direct umbrella of the church.

While the Southern Missionary Society was, for all

practical purposes, a self-supporting organization, yet it was founded and continued to function "under the instruction of, and bearing the credentials of, the General Conference."³⁹ In giving a portion of her tithe to the Southern Missionary Society Ellen White was giving to an enterprise officially approved by the General Conference.

The Societys Work and Struggles

The greater part of the Societys work was the starting and maintenance of mission schools and the publishing of literature especially suited for the Southern field. However, the Society also carried forward other lines of evangelism among both Caucasians and African-Americans, and supported several white and black ministers. It received only a token appropriation from church funds.⁴⁰

In the reorganization of the denomination at the General Conference Session of 1901, the Southern Union Conference was created, and the Southern Missionary Society became a branch of the Southern Union. Because the Southern Union itself was not self-supporting at its birth, it was unable to provide any significant support for the Society. The adoption of the latter meant little more than "additional moral support and cooperation.

None of Ellen Whites tithe is known to have gone to an independent agency or to a self-supporting worker not under the direct umbrella of the church.

The Money From Colorado

Elder William C. White, son of Ellen White and younger brother of the founder of the Southern Missionary Society, later recalled concerning the tithe funds sent to the Society from Colorado: "The money was placed in the treasury of the Southern Missionary Society and was paid out in a regular and economical way to approved laborers who were engaged in regular denominational work."⁴²

When the tithe issue in Colorado continued to be vigorously agitated by Elder Watson, General Conference President Arthur G. Daniells wrote to Edson to ask for his side of the story. In an eight-page reply, Edson mentioned several interesting facts concerning the operation of the Southern Missionary Society, which was by now an integral part of the church: "The white laborers for the white people in the South are paid from the tithe, but for several years the Southern Missionary Society has supported from two to five ordained ministers among the colored people, and this support has come from donations received, but the conferences have not allowed the tithe to go to their support....

"Some people have placed their tithe in mothers hands and she has forwarded [it] to our Society, promptly, to help meet the payroll of the ministers. Recently three sisters in Colorado have sent their tithe to pay the colored ministers in the South. Considerable disturbance was created in regard to this by the President of the Colorado Conference. Bro. Palmer never asked an individual to pay tithe, and he certainly did not ask the church to pay its tithe.

"We keep a separate account of the small sums of tithes that come to us in this way and apply them entirely to pay the ministers working for the colored people."⁴³

Edson expressed concern on his part as to whether tithes ought to be coming to his organization, but since the sisterhood of conferences in the Southern Union refused to help--whether from their own financial distress or from various prejudices--he decided to accept it when offered. He continued: "I had many times refused tithes that had been offered to me, and I felt I needed to know my ground. I knew that the money would be used to pay ministers where their pay was refused us from the tithe from all other places, but whether we had a right to take it was a question.""

The Tithe Distribution System

The worldwide work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is jeopardized today when the tithe distribution system is tampered with in any way. Each conference collects the tithe from its constituent churches, keeps a specified amount, established by policy, to meet local ministerial expense needs, and sends the rest on to the union and the General Conference. Thus, the needs in other less affluent fields around the world can be met.

If Seventh-day Adventist church members divert their tithes, even to tithe-worthy projects at home or abroad, the basic reservoir to fund our world work will be endangered. It was this very situation that Ellen White had in mind when, in 1890, she admonished our church members and leaders: "Brethren, do not be unfaithful in your lot. Stand in your place. Do not, by your neglect of duty, increase our financial difficulties."⁴⁵

In 1911, the same year that the denomination instituted its retirement plan, Ellen 'White was approached as to her willingness to continue directly receiving tithe from church members. The pressure was now off, the original need was now virtually non-existent. Her reply is as helpful now as it was instructive then.

She wrote: "You ask if I will accept tithe from you and use it in the cause of God where most needed. In reply I will say that I shall not refuse to do this, but at the same time I will tell you that there is a better way. It is better to put confidence in the ministers of the conference where you live, and in the officers of the church where you worship. Draw nigh to your brethren."⁴⁶

In the spirit of the apostle Paul, who wrote the Corinthian church, "Yet show I unto you a more excellent way" (1 Cor. 12:31), Ellen White urged her fellow church members to follow the plan that best meets the total world-wide needs of the church, to minimize shortfalls and their tragic consequences. Let us follow what Ellen White called "a better way." Soon the church militant will give way to the church triumphant. In that day all who are now faithful will surely be glad that they have followed the whole counsel of the Lord.

End Notes for Part II

¹ Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2, p, 518.

² Ibid., pp. 518, 5 19.

³ Ibid., Vol. 9, p. 249.

⁴ The Upward Look, p. 106.

⁵ Ibid., p. 136.

⁶ The Desire of Ages, p. 441.

⁷ Testimonies, Vol. 5, pp. 289, 290.

⁸ Special Testimonies, Series A, No. 1, p. 27.

⁹ Testimonies, Vol. 9, pp. 247, 248.

¹⁰ Manuscript Releases, Vol. 3, p. 218; Counsels on Stewardship, p. 103.

¹¹ Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, pp. 193, 194.

¹² Testimonies, Vol. 9, pp. 248-250.

¹³ Ibid.

¹⁴ Counsels on Stewardship, p. 103; Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 248; Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, p. 191.

¹⁵ Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, pp. 185, 191.

¹⁶ Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 249.

¹⁷ Evangelism, p. 492.

¹⁸ Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 215.

¹⁹ Medical Ministry, p. 245.

²⁰ Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, p. 189.

²¹ Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, p. 192.

²² Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, p. 189.

²³ Special Testimonies, Series B, no. 11, p. 25.

²⁴ Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 249.

²⁵ The Upward Look, p. 247.

²⁶ Pacific Union Recorder, October 10, 1901.

²⁷ Testimonies to Ministers, p. 305.

²⁸ Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 249.

²⁹ Testimonies, Vol. 9, pp. 257, 258.

³⁰ Ellen G. White Letter 136, August 14, 1898; A variant is cited in the Spalding-Magan Collection, p. 498.

³¹ Ellen G. White Letter 32, January 6, 1908; cited in the SpaldingMagan Collection, p. 421.

³² Ellen G. White Letter 54, 1895, p. 19.

³³ See The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 1444, for a photocopy of W. C. Whites interlineation on p.20 of Letter 55, 1895.

³⁴ Quoted by Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Early Elmshaven Years, 1900-1905, p. 393.

³⁵ Ibid., pp. 389-397.

³⁶ Selected Messages, book 1, p. 33.

³⁷ Ronald Graybill, Mission to Black America, pp. 107, 108.

³⁸ Quoted by Arthur L. White in Ellen G. White: The Early Elmshaven Years, 1900.1 905, pp. 395, 396.

³⁹ "James Edson White," Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, 1976 ed., p. 1598; "Southern Missionary Society," ibid., p. 1396.

⁴⁰ Arthur L. White, "Mrs. Ellen G. White and the Tithe," in "The History and Use of the Tithe," unpublished document, Ellen G. White Estate, revised February, 1990, p. 30.

⁴¹ "Southern Missionary Society," Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, 1976 ed., p. 1397.

⁴² Quoted by Arthur L. White in Ellen G. White: The Early Elmshaven Years, 1900-1905, p. 394.

⁴³ J. Edson White letter to Arthur G. Daniells, March 26, 1905.

⁴⁴ Ibid.

⁴⁵ Special Testimonies, Series A, no. 1, pp. 27, 28.

⁴⁶ Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, p. 196.

For readers interested in further information, the Ellen G. White Estate offers a collection of papers, "The History and Use of the Tithe." Write: