Quotations from the writings of Ellen G. White with the word . . .
r e f o r m e r ( 4 RELATED PHRASES ) |
The word 'reformer' appears 155 times in the writings of Ellen White See page on Original site Related Phrase: health reformer ( ) - - true reformer ( below ) - - reformation ( )
| As Luther was conducted to his lodgings, a rumor was circulated through the city that the pope had triumphed, and the Reformer would be brought to the stake. Both threats and expressions of respect and sympathy greeted him as he made his way through the crowded streets. Many visited him at his lodgings, and declared themselves ready to defend him with their lives. In the midst of the excitement, the Reformer alone was calm. A letter written by him at this time reveals his feelings: { ST August 23, 1883, par. 14 }
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Reformers
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We are not to cheapen the work by centering our thoughts upon ourselves. Think just as little upon yourself as possible. Think evils of no man. Christ’s followers must walk in the light of his glorious example, and at whatever cost or labor or suffering, must maintain the purity of the soul and spirit through the grace of Christ, yielding complete allegiance to the reformatory doctrines of the gospel of Christ, without mingling self with the work. Keep self subdued, and keep Jesus ever lifted up, and push the triumphs of the cross of Christ. Let it be your work while life shall last to extend the borders of his kingdom, and wage a daily war against all sin and ungodliness, whatever others may think of you. The matter of what others think of you must be left in the hands of God. He is acquainted with the inwardness of every life, the motives of every action, the foundation of every character. Our work is to push the reform committed to us in the spirit of unvarying kindness and tenderest love. Self is not to be made prominent at any time; there is to be no seeking after supremacy. God knows this has nearly ruined the purity and success of the church, and hindered the triumph we might have had. Reformers are to work only in Jesus. Self is not to appear. “He must increase I must decrease.” We are to maintain a Christlike simplicity, manifesting pure, clear straightforward, honest works. We will see men and women who manifest bitterness of spirit, who are talkative, and who reveal Satanic elements of character; for they are contentious, never at peace never at rest, but ever stirring up that which is disagreeable. Let these professing, but not practicing Christians see that the oldest workers of our cause are not destroyers but reformers, let them see that our work is not to ruin, but to save, to strengthen, to bind up wounds, to heal bruises. { 1888 969.1 }
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| Wycliffe appealed from the synod to Parliament; he fearlessly arraigned the hierarchy before the national council and demanded a reform of the enormous abuses sanctioned by the church. With convincing power he portrayed the usurpation and corruptions of the papal see. His enemies were brought to confusion. The friends and supporters of Wycliffe had been forced to yield, and it had been confidently expected that the Reformer himself, in his old age, alone and friendless, would bow to the combined authority of the crown and the miter. But instead of this the papists saw themselves defeated. Parliament, roused by the stirring appeals of Wycliffe, repealed the persecuting edict, and the Reformer was again at liberty. { GC 89.4} Read entire Chapter 5
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| Though the pope himself had been guilty of greater crimes than Huss had ever charged upon the priests, and for which he had demanded a reformation, yet the same council which degraded the pontiff proceeded to crush the Reformer. The imprisonment of Huss excited great indignation in Bohemia. Powerful noblemen addressed to the council earnest protests against this outrage. The emperor, who was loath to permit the violation of a safe-conduct, opposed the proceedings against him. But the enemies of the Reformer were malignant and determined. They appealed to the emperor’s prejudices, to his fears, to his zeal for the church. They brought forward arguments of great length to prove that “faith ought not to be kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy, though they are furnished with safe-conducts from the emperor and kings.”— Jacques Lenfant, History of the Council of Constance, vol. 1, p. 516. Thus they prevailed. { GC 107.1} Read entire Chapter 6
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The tidings of Luther’s arrival at Augsburg gave great satisfaction to the papal legate. The troublesome heretic who was exciting the attention of the whole world seemed now in the power of Rome, and the legate determined that he should not escape. The Reformer had failed to provide himself with a safe-conduct. His friends urged him not to appear before the legate without one, and they themselves undertook to procure it from the emperor. The legate intended to force Luther, if possible, to retract, or, failing in this, to cause him to be conveyed to Rome, to share the fate of Huss and Jerome. Therefore through his agents he endeavored to induce Luther to appear without a safe-conduct, trusting himself to his mercy. This the Reformer firmly declined to do. Not until he had received the document pledging him the emperor’s protection, did he appear in the presence of the papal ambassador. { GC 135.1} Read entire Chapter 7
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| Luther was not to make his perilous journey alone. Besides the imperial messenger, three of his firmest friends determined to accompany him. Melanchthon earnestly desired to join them. His heart was knit to Luther’s, and he yearned to follow him, if need be, to prison or to death. But his entreaties were denied. Should Luther perish, the hopes of the Reformation must center upon his youthful colaborer. Said the Reformer as he parted from Melanchthon: “If I do not return, and my enemies put me to death, continue to teach, and stand fast in the truth. Labor in my stead.... If you survive, my death will be of little consequence.”— Ibid., b. 7, ch. 7. Students and citizens who had gathered to witness Luther’s departure were deeply moved. A multitude whose hearts had been touched by the gospel, bade him farewell with weeping. Thus the Reformer and his companions set out from Wittenberg. { GC 151.1} Read entire Chapter 8
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| We had spent some time in the West, and knew the scarcity of fruit, and we sympathized with our brethren who were conscientiously seeking to be in harmony with the body of Sabbath-keeping Adventists. They were becoming discouraged, and some were backsliding upon the health reform, fearing that at Battle Creek they were radical and fanatical. We could not raise an interest anywhere in the West to obtain subscribers for the Health Reformer. We saw that the writers in the Reformer were going away from the people, and leaving them behind. If we take positions that conscientious Christians, who are indeed reformers, can not adopt, how can we expect to benefit that class whom we can reach only from a health standpoint? { TSDF 104.3 }
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Luther’s voice as a reformer was no longer confined to Germany. His writings and his doctrine were extending to every nation in Christendom. The work spread to Switzerland and Holland. Multitudes of copies of his writings had found their way to France and Spain, and the truth was working in many hearts, reforming the life, and arousing the understanding to perceive the corruption of Romanism. In England the Reformer’s teachings were received as the word of life. In Belgium and Italy also the work was spreading. Thousands were awakening from their death-like stupor to the joy and hope of a life of faith. { ST July 19, 1883, par. 14 }
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| In the presence of that powerful and titled assembly, the lowly-born Reformer seemed awed and embarrassed. Some princes who were near him, observing his emotion, approached him kindly and one of them whispered, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.” Another said, “When you are brought before kings, it shall be given you, by the Spirit of your Father, what you shall say.” Thus the words of Christ were brought by the great ones of earth to strengthen the Reformer in his hour of trial. { ST August 23, 1883, Art. A, par. 8 }
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| In this hour of peril, God prepared a way of escape for his servant. The Holy Spirit moved upon the heart of the Elector of Saxony, and gave him wisdom to devise a plan for Luther’s preservation. Frederick had caused it to be intimated to the Reformer while still at Worms, that his liberty might be sacrificed for a time to secure his own safety and that of the Reformation; yet no hint had been given as to the manner in which this might be accomplished. With the co-operation of true friends, the elector’s purpose was carried out, and with so much tact and skill that Luther was effectually hidden from friends and foes. In fact, both his seizure and his concealment were so involved in mystery that even Frederick himself for a long time knew not whither he had been conducted. This ignorance was not without design; so long as the elector knew nothing of Luther’s whereabouts, he could reveal nothing. He had assured himself that the Reformer was safe, and with this knowledge he was content. { ST October 11, 1883, par. 13 }
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We had spent some time in the West, and we knew the scarcity of fruit, and we sympathized with our brethren who were conscientiously, in the fear of God, seeking to be in harmony with the body of Sabbath-keeping Adventists. They were becoming discouraged, and some were backsliding upon the health reform, fearing that at Battle Creek they were radical and fanatical. We could not raise an interest anywhere in the West to obtain subscribers for the Health Reformer. We saw that the writers in the Reformer were going away from the people, and leaving them behind. If we take positions that conscientious Christians, who are indeed reformers, cannot adopt, how can we expect to benefit that class whom we can reach only from a health standpoint? { PH159 43.2 }
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| Appetite and passion were fast gaining the ascendancy over the reason and judgment of the people, till they could not discern that the retribution of God would follow upon their corrupt course. Josiah, the youthful reformer, in the fear of God demolished the profane sanctuaries and hideous idols built for heathen worship, and the altars reared for sacrifices to heathen deities. Yet there were still to be seen in Christ’s time the memorials of the sad apostasy of the king of Israel and his people ( Health Reformer, April, 1878). { 2BC 1038.9 }
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| Many of our people had lost their interest in the Reformer, and letters were daily received with this discouraging request, “Please discontinue my Reformer.” ... We could not raise an interest anywhere in the West to obtain subscribers for the Health Reformer. We saw that the writers in the Reformer were going away from the people, and leaving them behind. If we take positions that conscientious Christians, who are indeed reformers, cannot adopt, how can we expect to benefit the class whom we can reach only from a health standpoint.—Testimonies for the Church 3:20.1, 1870 { CD 467.4}
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Many of our people had lost their interest in the Reformer, and letters were daily received with this discouraging request, “Please discontinue my Reformer.” Letters were received from the West, where the country is new and fruit scarce, inquiring how the friends of health reform live at Battle Creek. Did they dispense with salt entirely? If so, we cannot at present adopt the health reform. We can get but little fruit, and we have left meat, tea, coffee, and tobacco; but we must have something to sustain life. { PH159 43.1 }
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