We who live in the present age can expect to find heresy among the remnant people. "God will arouse his people; if other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat." 1
The vision seen by Mrs. Ellen G. White concerning "A Firm Platform" indicated that heresies would arise that would attack the doctrinal basis of the denomination. She wrote concerning that vision: "I saw individuals approach the platform and examine the foundation. Some with rejoicing immediately stepped upon it. Others commenced to find fault with the foundation. They wished improvements made, and then the platform would be more perfect, and the people much happier. Some stepped off the platform to examine it, and declared it to be laid wrong. But I saw that nearly all stood firm upon the platform, and exhorted those who had stepped off to cease their complaints; for God was the Master-builder, and they were fighting against Him."' That this vision was fulfilled can be seen in the examples of the Messenger Party, Stevenson and Hall, Moses Hull, the Marion Party, D. M. Canright, the 1884 Movement, and the Shepherd's Rod movement.
The Messenger Party
In 1855 at Jackson, Michigan, a paper called The Messenger of Truth was published. Filling it with slander and criticism of Elder and Mrs. James White, the publishers (H. S. Case and C. P. Russell) sought to discourage the other workers. Case claimed that James White had church property in his own name. When this charge was made in 1854, it was refuted through the columns of the church paper (The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, November 21, 1854). Concerning this party, Ellen G. White wrote:
"I was pointed back to the rise of the advent doctrine, and even before that time, and saw there had not been a parallel to the deception, misrepresentation, and falsehood that has been practiced by the Messenger party, or such an association of corrupt hearts under a cloak of religion. Some honest hearts have been influenced by them, concluding that they must have at least some cause for their statements, thinking them incapable of uttering so glaring falsehoods. I saw that such will have evidence of the truth of these matters. The church of God should move straight along, as though there were not such a people in the world." 3
Members of the Messenger Party, besides Case and Russell, included Wyman, Bezzo, Chapin, Lillis, and Hicks. Most of these men had been reproved by Mrs. White after she had see·n in vision their wrongs! In 1857 the paper had ceased to function, and the opposers of Elder White, his wife, and the Review had become split among themselves. This fulfilled a prediction of Mrs. White in June, 1855, after the vision in Oswego, New York: "That paper will go down; and when they cease its publication, you will find that our ranks have doubled." 5
The "Age to Come"
In 1855 J. M. Stevenson and D. P. Hall endeavored to alienate the believers in Wisconsin. They began to write articles on the "Age to Come" doctrine for the Messenger Party after November 22, 1855, when in vision Ellen G. White heard an angel tell them that God would suffer them "but a little while." 6 Later they gave up the Sabbath and opposed it. Their influence was lost, and they could not labor effectively among the Advent believers. These men died insane.7
J. H. Waggoner, corresponding editor of The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, recommended that the church oppose the "Age to Come" doctrine. He wrote:
"The wants and perils of the scattered flock demand that we promptly meet and expose the fallacies of the theory of the Age to Come; not from a desire for, and love of controversy; (for this we have avoided;) but from a desire to uphold the truth of God, and with a firm reliance on the power of the truth, and trust in divine aid to vindicate and sustain it." 8
Moses Hull
In 1862 Moses Hull, a prominent Adventist preacher, began to be affected by the teachings of the Spiritualists whom he debated.
The reason for his heresy was the "lack of consecration and vital piety,9 and relying upon his own strength when meeting the Spiritualists.10 Ellen G. White recommended that he get a knowledge of himself, and find time for meditation and prayer as a means for overcoming the error!0 Doubting the interest of the brethren in him, Moses Hull joined the Spiritualists in 1863!1 The reasons for excluding him from fellowship with the believers were presented in the denominational paper. They are: 11
1. His rejection of the Bible, as a rule of life.
2. A denial of the divinity of Jesus Christ.
3. Rejection of the vicarious merits of the blood of Christ, and consequently the whole doctrine of the atonement.
4. Believes in the total unaccountability of man.
5. Maintains that every individual of the race of Adam will progress, until all will become good, happy, and saved.
6. Denies the doctrine of the physical resurrection.
7. Questions the existence of a personal Devil.
8. Discards the idea of future punishment to the wicked. ·
9. Denies the mortality of man.
10. Believes in the conscious state of the dead.
11. Rejects the Bible view of the saints' inheritance.
12. Disbelieves entirely the view of Christ's atoning work as a High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.
13. In short, he has adopted the theory and philosophy of Modern Spiritualism almost in toto." 12
The Marion Party
The Marion Party, organized in 1866 by B. F. Snook, ·first president of the Iowa Conference when it was formed in 1863, and W. H. Brinkerhoff, a lawyer and secretary of the conference, came to be known as "The Church of God (Adventist)." Snook and Brinkerhoff circulated false stories about Elder and Mrs. White. In 1865, when George I. Butler was licensed as a minister and elected to the Iowa Conference presidency, these two men rebelled. The following year their Marion Party was started, with headquarters at Marion, Iowa.13 James White and his wife then went to Marion and unity was restored. Confessions were published in the Review, but "in a very few months they turned back to the same course again, and returned to the service of the 'one' they previously confessed they had been following." 14
The 1884 Movement
In 1884 the writer of the tract "Another Angel Come From Heaven" urged "that the forty years' wandering of ancient Israel before they reached the Land of Promise was typical of modern Israel, who would wander for forty years after the disappointment in 1844. Consequently, the Lord would come in 1884 .... We are glad to say that very few were affected by its vagaries, and this work soon came to nought." 15
D. M. Canright
After twenty-eight years of holding membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, D. M. Canright left the church. He rejected the Sabbath, the doctrine of the two laws as taught by the church, and the work and teachings of Mrs. Ellen G. White. He had a good opinion of his own abilities, lacked patience, forbearance, and special regard for the opinions of others, made rash decisions, and opposed any opinion that did not agree with his own.16 Canright had previously had a series of lapses from the ministry. For seventeen years "he was lovingly labored with, and several times brought back into harmonious fellowship." 17 In 1873 he received a message from Mrs. White advising him regarding his condition and peril, and he reformed for a short while. In 1880 he lectured on elocution and two years later was farming. The final break was made in 1887. He then wrote a book against Seventh-day Adventists.18
The Shepherd's Rod Movement
This movement was started about 1929 by V. T. Houteff, a layman in the Pacific Union Conference. He was a Sabbath school teacher, but because he held ideas of doctrine differing from Seventh-day Adventist belief, and insisted on teaching them during the study period in Sabbath school, he was denied the teaching responsibility. A small corps of sympathizers then gathered in the home of a member, Mrs. E. Hermanson, on Sabbath afternoons to hear him speak. He was advised on October 16, 1930, by four leading brethren, that his manuscript of
"The Shepherd's Rod" was erroneous.19 The manuscript was published in book form in November, 1930, and two years later a second volume appeared in print. The books were published by The Universal Publishing Association, an organization founded specifically to publish the writings of V. T. Houteff, with Houteff heading the group. Their headquarters was. in Los Angeles, California, from 1930-1935. During the summer of 1935 the headquarters was moved to a location near Waco, Texas, and the name of the site beside Lake Waco became "Mount Carmel Center."
At the request of the Fullerton, California, church a hearing was arranged with Mr. Houteff, during which he presented a study on "The Harvest." The special committee, after studying the stenographic report, pointed out errors in the presentation and urged that he renounce the ·teachings he had written. No refutation showing error in the committee report was made, and no repudiation was received!20
1. Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 707.
2. Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 259.
3. Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 117.
4. Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, My Christian Experience (vol. 2), p. 195.
5. D. E. Robinson, "Prophetic Guidance in the Advent Movement" (Syllabus used in S.D.A. Theological Seminary course) 1 p. 41.
6. Ibza., p. 43.
7. A. W. Spalding, Captains of the Host (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1949), p. 208.
8. J. H. Waggoner, "The Age to Come," Review and Herald, Dec. 11, 1855.
9. Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 426.
10. Ibid., vol. 1, p. 433.
11. Spalding, op. cit., p. 208.
12. General Conference Committee, "Astonishing Apostasy," Review and Herald, Jan. 5, 1864.
13. Spalding, op. cit., pp. 208, 209.
14. Compilation of statements, "Some History and Some Information Regarding 'The Church of God,' Adventist,' and 'Seventh-day' " (Ellen G. White Publications Office), p. 9.
15. F. M. Wilcox, "Stray Offshoots," Review and Herald, Aug. 22. 1940. ·
16. G. I. Butler. "Brief History of Eld. Canright's Connection With This People," Review and Herald Extra, December, 1887.
17. Spalding, op. cit., p. 209.
18. Loc. cit.
19. General Conference Committee, "A Warning Against Error" (Pamphlet issued by The Committee on Defense Literature of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists), p. 28.
20. Ibid., pp. 29-31.
