BY ALLAN G. LINDSAY

On Sabbath, June 24, 2000, hundreds of Adventists gathered in Battle Creek, Michigan, for the official opening of Historic Adventist Village, a “living history” site that features the homes and ministries of many of the church’s first-generation leaders. At a morning devotional in the rebuilt second meetinghouse, the author meditated on the importance of remembering the past and giving thanks to God for His guidance.--Editors.

T WAS THE TENTH DAY OF THE FIRST JEWISH month, Abib, in the forty-first year of the Exodus. The children of Israel were at the end of their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Now they stood at the banks of the Jordan River on the border of the Promised Land. For 40 years they had been led by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night, but now these tokens of the Lord’s presence and guidance were seen no more.

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The Fruit of THANKSGIVING

Forty years earlier it was Christ, enshrouded in the pillars of cloud and fire, who had led them through the Red Sea. Now the flooded Jordan impeded their entrance into Canaan. But Jesus was still leading them, and they were to fix their gaze on another symbol of His presence--the sacred ark of the covenant. Joshua commanded the priests to take up the ark and walk into the flooded river. As soon as the soles of their feet touched the waters of the Jordan, the waters separated and the people crossed over on dry ground (Joshua 3:13, 17).

Observe another scene on that memorable day. The priests bearing the ark are standing in the middle of the Jordan while the people cross. When all the people are safely on the other side, we see 12 men--one from each of the 12 tribes--walking toward the ark. Near where the priests are standing each man picks up a large stone from the riverbed, lifts it onto his shoulder, and carries it from the riverbank to nearby Gilgal. Here they erect a pillar of these stones. Why?

Joshua explained to the Israelites:  “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. . . . He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God” (Joshua 4:21-24, NIV). Earlier Joshua had told them the stones were to be “a memorial to the people of Israel forever” (verse 7). They were to be stones of remembrance to remind the generations to come of the great things the Lord had done for His people.

Today we meet in the replica of the second meetinghouse in Battle Creek. It too is a memorial of the great things God has done for His people. It was on April 12, 1857, that a resolution was voted: “That a house that will conveniently hold about three or four hundred people is much needed in this place and should be erected as soon as possible.”¹ (The first meetinghouse, erected two years earlier to seat 40 people, was now hopelessly inadequate.) They chose for the new location a lot owned by S. T. Belden on Van Buren Street.

In spite of the fact that building such a large house of worship was seen by some as “an evidence of increasing worldliness” and that “we were becoming more like the churches,” the work proceeded. James White called the first meeting in the new church on November 6, 1857, as a general conference of church members.²

How the times have changed! In his invitation James wrote in the Review: “We will feed with hay as many horses as we can put in our barns. We will lodge as many as we can provide beds for, then give up our floors, and barn-chambers to those brethren who can best endure such lodgings. Those who can, will do well to bring provisions, buffalo robes, or bedclothes, so that they can lodge in the old meetinghouse. Come along brethren and sisters. Bring what you can, and we will do what we can for you.”³

He also warned that the meeting-house was yet to be paid for (at a total cost of $881), so they were to come prepared to give. “These are hard times, brethren, but come prepared to do something as the Lord has prospered. We will take gold, silver, good bills, wheat, corn, oats, butter, cheese, deerskins, or good promises of help soon.”⁴ So they came on Sabbath, November 6—some 400 believers—to give of their means and to receive much spiritual blessing.

The last meeting in this building was held 10 years later, but what a memorable decade for the Advent people. Like Israel of old, the Lord had given abundant evidence that He was leading them.

Let us do what Israel was commanded to do then—pick up some stones of remembrance and recall the great things the Lord did during those years. Some smaller stones we must leave to one side, but what are the larger ones?

The Stone of 1858--The Vision
On May 21, 1858, a general conference opened in the second meetinghouse. It was described as “the largest and the best ever held by Advent Sabbathkeepers.”⁵ Two days later the 400 present heard Mrs. White relate for the first time the two-hour vision she had received 10 weeks earlier in the middle of a funeral service in Lovett’s Grove, Ohio. The most comprehensive and significant of all her 2,000 visions, it unfolded the high points of the great controversy between Christ and Satan from Lucifer’s expulsion from heaven to the creation of the new earth.

The Review reported her talk: “It abounded in startling facts and vivid descriptions. And when the course of the narration had brought us down to the days of the first advent, the humiliation, the suffering and finally the crucifixion of the Saviour, especially then did not only the silent tear, but even the audible sobs of many in the congregation, announce that their hearts were touched by the sufferings of the Son of God for rebellious man.”⁶

She did not stop till 10:00 p.m., but the congregation was so moved by her talk that they followed with “a crowding of testimonies.” James White did not succeed in closing the meeting until 11:00 p.m.

This stone of remembrance from 1858 reminds us of God’s love and grace extended to His people, showing the church more clearly the broad scope of the plan of salvation and of their part in it. From the story shared that day eventually emerged the Conflict of the Ages series of books.

The Stone of 1860—Organization
The 1850s were a time of growth for the infant church, but it had no official organization that could respond to movements like the Messenger Party, led by H. S. Case and C. P. Russell; the Age-to-Come Party, under the leadership of J. M. Stephenson and D. P. Hall; or the Marion Party of B. F. Snook and W. H. Brinkerhoff. Who should appoint preachers, locate them, and decide how to pay them? And the question that concerned the leaders most was the ownership of church property.

In the late 1850s the church owned nothing. A church building belonged to the member on whose property it happened to be built. The second meetinghouse was on land owned by

S. T. Belden. Should he apostatize, what would happen to their church? And James White was uncomfortable because he was the legal owner of the printing press. The logical solution was to set up a legal corporation, requiring organization.

In May 1860 the Parkville, Michigan, church was the first to organize a religious society that could hold property. Since no denominational name had yet been adopted, members used the tentative name “Parkville Church of Christ’s Second Advent.”

In late September a group of leaders and laity from five states met, climaxing a decade of earnest discussion over whether the church should be organized and have a name. On October 1 they voted.

Various suggestions had been made over the years, including the name “Seventh-day Door Shutters.” The “little flock” sounded too agrarian. Someone proposed the “remnant scattered abroad.” As early as 1853 Seventh Day Baptists rather prophetically referred to the pioneers as the “Seventh-day Advent people,” and others suggested the “Advent Sabbatarians.” They knew the Parkville church had taken the name “Church of Christ’s Second Advent.” David Hewitt, the first Sabbathkeeping Adventist in Battle Creek (who had been termed “the most honest man in town”), made the motion to “take the name of Seventh-day Adventists.”

Afterward Ellen White noted: “The name Seventh-day Adventist carries the true features of our faith to the front, and will convict the inquiring mind. Like an arrow from the Lord’s quiver, it will wound the transgressors of God’s law, and will lead to repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”⁷

It was a momentous decision.

The Stone of 1863--The First General Conference
The third stone is a large one, providing a firm foundation for what was later built upon it. After selecting a name, organization could quickly follow. On May 3, 1861, the first legal body of the emerging church was organized and incorporated: the Seventh-day Adventist  Publishing Association. Five months later the first local conference was organized, representing the church in Michigan. (Originally the word “conference” was used to refer to a single gathering of believers who wished to confer with one another. Now it came to mean a permanent and operating union of churches.)

As other states moved, it soon became apparent that there was need for a higher body to supervise the total work in a smooth and efficient manner. The first meeting of the Michigan Conference was held in October 1862 in Monterey. It was a memorable event, for while Moses Hull spoke on the “ministration of angels,” the floor of the building sank by about 20 centimeters (eight inches) under the weight of the delegates! The congregation was dismissed and the “damage speedily and promptly repaired.” Later that day the delegates resolved that “we invite the several State Conferences to meet with us, by delegate, in general conference, at our next annual Conference.”⁸

On May 20, 1863, in the second meetinghouse, delegates from six state conferences, representing about 3,500 Adventists and 30 ministers, met as the first official General Conference. They voted eight articles of their constitution and set the course of the church far into the future. Uriah Smith later reported in the Review that “perhaps no previous meeting that we have ever enjoyed was characterized by such unity of feeling and harmony of sentiment. . . . Such union . . . affords the strongest grounds of hope for the immediate advancement of the cause, and its future glorious prosperity and triumph.”⁹

Nearly 40 years later Ellen White recalled the struggles for organization and its positive outcomes: “We knew that the Lord God of Israel was leading us, and guiding by His providence. We engaged in the work of organization, and marked prosperity attended this advance movement.”¹⁰

Adding to the Stones
Other stones of remembrance may also be laid down. In 1859 Systematic Benevolence, the first plan for the financial support of the ministry, was developed from Bible study. Here in 1863, just two weeks after the initial steps for organization, Ellen White spoke of God’s plan for the health of His people, recalling the vision given her in the home of Aaron Hilliard in nearby Otsego. And here, three years later, the church met to lay plans for opening its first health institution—soon to develop into the world-famous Battle Creek Sanitarium led by the vigorous and talented Dr. Kellogg.

Israel laid down stones of remembrance at Gilgal to be a memorial forever, reminding them of God’s presence, His ongoing guidance, and His great acts of deliverance. At Gilgal Joshua encouraged the people to remember the past. And Ellen White reiterated: “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.”¹¹

Could Israel forget the past in spite of these stones? They could, and they did. Psalm 78 recalls the tragic story.

Can we forget in spite of the memorial stones raised here today? We may—and if we do, we shall soon forget what we were, why we are here, and what is our destiny.

A few months before Israel crossed the Jordan and selected their stones of remembrance Moses gathered the people together and recalled their past history in four memorable sermons  recorded in Deuteronomy. His words echo across the centuries to those living in the dawn of the third millennium:  “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Deut. 8:11-14, NIV).

Nearly 150 years have passed since this meetinghouse was built. In the intervening years our herds and flocks have grown large, our silver and gold have increased, and all we have has multiplied. The Systematic Benevo-lence fund of 1859 was replaced by the tithing system, with its income today of more than $1 billion. The 3,500 church members represented at the first General Conference have increased to more than 11 million. The General Conference that once governed six local conferences now oversees 90 union conferences and 483 local conferences. The health institute of 1866 has been replaced by 162 impressive and modern hospitals around the world. Can we forget?

The stones that Israel laid were not gathered from just anywhere in the riverbed. They were taken from where the priests stood in the midst of the river (Joshua 4:9). It was not the feet of the priests that made the place memorable. Rather, it was the ark, the symbol of Christ’s presence. As the people entered Jordan, they were to keep a distance of about 985 yards (900 meters) between them and the ark, so all could see this reminder of God’s presence, grace, favor, and power. Later, when they entered Canaan and were ready to attack Jericho, they were to follow the ark around the city (Joshua 6:2-5). After following the ark each day for seven days, they conquered the city. They did not follow the ark at Ai and were defeated (Joshua 7:2-5).

Let’s mark these stones of remembrance today. Let’s rejoice in the past tokens of His grace and favor. But let us not forget what He has done. At each step in their journey the people of God must keep their eyes on Jesus. After Ellen White’s first vision of the people of God traveling a path to the heavenly city, she wrote: “If they kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, who was just before them, leading them to the city, they were safe.”¹²

On this condition only is our safety and final triumph secured.

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¹ Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Apr. 16, 1857.
² Ibid., Oct. 29, 1857.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid., May 27, 1858.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 224.
⁸ Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Oct. 14, 1862.
⁹ Ibid., May 26, 1863.
¹⁰ Ellen G. White, Testimonies for Ministers, pp. 26, 27.
¹¹———, Life Sketches, p. 196.
¹²———, Early Writings, p. 14.

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Allan G. Lindsay is director of the Ellen G. White Research Center (South Pacific Division) at Avondale College in Cooranbong, Australia.