Steve Wohlberg's third letter
Steve Wohlberg released a third letter1 (date unknown) dealing once again with the tithe issue. In this letter, he seeks to show that Ernie Knoll's dreams contradict Ellen White's writings.
Ernie Knoll vs. Ellen White
“Ernie Knoll’s dream “Stand Fast” vs. 9T:249-250 and the “Watson Letter” (See full statements below)
1. In the dream by Ernie Knoll, the message is conveyed: If any tithes are being misappropriated, don’t pay your tithes to the conference. Said another way: Situation: If any tithes are being misappropriated. Action to take: don’t pay your tithes to the conference.
2. Spirit of prophecy: Situation: If any tithes are being misappropriated. Action to take: do pay your tithes to the conference but do whatever can be done to correct the misappropriation.” Steve Wohlberg
Q. Are both these statements an accurate summary of what Ellen White and Ernie Knoll say?
Ernie Knoll
“It is important that His people understand while it is important that we are to return a tithe to God’s storehouse, it is equally important that they understand what the funds are being used for. If an individual is providing funds and they understand the funds are not being used according to His will, that person will be held accountable.” Stand Fast, Feb. 5, 2008
“I watch again how we were shown that it is important His people understand that we are to return a tithe to His storehouse. I am again shown it is important that we understand what the funds are being used for. If an individual is providing funds and they understand that the funds are not being used according to His will, that person will be held accountable if they do nothing about bringing it to the attention of the recipient, the one who holds the keys.” Testing the Spirits, May 12, 2008
You will notice in these quotes that Ernie never mentions the conference as Wohlberg suggested. This is his interpretation and is not correct but is misleading. The Herald's counsel encompasses more than the conference. God will hold us accountable if we know the tithe we return to Him is being misused, no matter where we send it.
Ellen White
“Some have been dissatisfied and have said: "I will not longer pay my 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.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p. 249.2
Q. What was the point Ellen White was making in 9 Testimonies p. 249?
- “I will not longer pay my tithe”
- “For I have no confidence in the way things are managed at the heart of the work”
- “Make your complaint, plainly and openly, in the right spirit, to the proper ones”
- “Do not withdraw from the work of God, and prove unfaithful”
Q. Do Ernie’s dreams encourage people to stop paying tithe?
“I watch again how we were shown that it is important His people understand that we are to return a tithe to His storehouse. ” Testing the Spirits, May 12, 2008
Q. Do Ernie's dreams contradict Ellen White?
“If the conference business is not managed according to the order of the Lord, that is the sin of the erring one. 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 the Lord His own property. "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully" or negligently.” Sermons and Talks, Vol. 2, p. 74.4
This quotation indicates that if we don't try to correct the evil where we return our tithes to, then God will hold us responsible. This is just what Ernie's dreams teach. There is no conflict.
Ellen White not an example on tithing
“3. Ellen White is not our example, Jesus is. In fact, regarding her sending of tithe funds to the workers in the south, rather than endorsing the practice of sending the tithes to other than the conference, she said, “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 other words, this was not to be an example for the members of our church, but was, in her words, a “special case” (emphasis added). (Reading on, we learn that it was a special case of people not trusting her counsel enough to give their tithes to the conference but to also correct the misappropriation of tithes).” Steve Wohlberg
Q. Did anyone ever follow Ellen White’s example?
“If there has 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.” Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 215.3
“I do not care to give publicity to this work which the Lord has appointed me to do, and others to do." Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 215.5
“I have seventy-five dollars from Brother _____, tithe money, and we thought that it would be best to send it along to the Southern field to help colored ministers. . . . I want it specially applied to the colored ministers to help them in their salaries.--Letter 262, 1902, p. 1. (To Elder and Mrs. J. E. White, Oct. 23, 1902; Biography Vol. 5, p. 396.)" Manuscript Releases, Vol. 2, p. 100.4
"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 minister they could find.” Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 215.6}
Notice Ellen White never rebuked these people who had lost confidence in those they would normally return their tithe to and instead took the responsibility upon themselves to appropriate the tithe to those who were most in need. Compare this situation to the quote in the previous section where people had lost confidence in the conference and were no longer paying their tithe and you will notice a difference.
Q. Did Ellen White condemn these people for not sending their tithe to the conference if it was the only storehouse?
“I have taken the money, given a receipt for it, and told them how it was appropriated.” Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 215.6
“I commend those sisters who have placed their tithe where it is most needed to help to do a work that is being left undone; and if this matter is given publicity, it will create knowledge which would better be left as it is.” Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 215.5
Q. Is it wrong to follow the example of people God is leading?
“Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.” 1 Corinthians 4:16
“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 11:1
The minister of Christ should be a man who has sought and found the Lord, who has been brought into holy alliance with unfailing, divine resources. He should be able to say to his flock, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." The Review and Herald, Oct. 28, 1890 par. 1
Q. Did Ellen White always accept peoples tithes and offerings?
“When means has been pressed upon me, I have refused it, or appropriated it to such charitable objects as the Publishing Association. I shall do so no more. I shall do my duty in labor as ever, but my fears of receiving means to use for the Lord are gone. This case of Sister More has fully aroused me to see the work of Satan in depriving us of means.” {1T 678.3}
Only prophets can give their tithe to anyone they feel like
“4. Sister White made multiple statements within the Watson Letter specifically stating that this work was not to be publicized because it was not to be the practice of non-prophets to give their tithe to just anyone they felt like giving it to. For example:
a. “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 Lord's 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.”
b. “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.”
c. “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.” Steve Wohlberg
Q. Did Ellen White ever suggest her practice of not sending her tithe through the appointed channels was not to be followed by non-prophets?
"Some cases have been kept before me for years, and I have supplied their needs from the tithe, as God has 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 to do a work that is being left undone; and if this matter is given publicity, it will create 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." Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 215.5
Q. Why did Ellen White not want her example of tithe paying to be publicized?
This is a good question and with the information available, our conclusions are only guesses. We will leave it up to the reader to form their own opinion.
Not best to withhold tithe from the conference
“5. Sister White clearly stated in the “Watson Letter” that the best thing is not for people to withhold their tithes from the conference and send them wherever they felt was best. However, because there were people whose faith was too weak to listen to the prophet and instead wanted to live by sight, tithe monies had been sent to Sister White. These people withheld their tithes from the conference and sent it instead to Sister White with the statement that either she send it where she knew it would be well used or else they would. God works with people where they are, and so Sister White sent it to the southern workers, but this is not what is best. Note her specific instruction: “I send this matter to you so that you shall not make a mistake.” Steve Wohlberg
Q. Did Ellen White say people were weak in faith for not paying their tithe to the conference?
You can read the entire Watson letter and you will not find Ellen White mentioning anything like that. The letter deals with two groups of people. 1) Those who saw a need in the south and wanted to help. 2) Those who were not happy with the way the conference was using the tithe, so decided to send it elsewhere which still fulfilled the purpose of tithe. Both are valid reasons for not paying tithe to the conference.
In Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p. 249.2, we saw Ellen White rebuking people because they had lost confidence in the conference and no longer returned their tithe. However in the Watson Letter, we see the same issue but instead of not paying tithe, these faithful people took it upon themselves to ensure their tithe was used correctly. Ellen White did not rebuke these people like those who had stopped tithing. If as Wohlberg suggests these people were weak in faith and their practice was not the best, why didn't Ellen White rebuke them as well?
God’s people should send their tithes to the conference
“6. The principle which can be derived from this is: No one should make a general statement to instruct others to send their tithes wherever they feel like sending them. Sister White never did, and she instructed others not to as well. God’s people should send their tithes to the conference and support other of God’s workers with their offerings.” Steve Wohlberg
It is true Ellen White did not publicize where people should send their tithe. People should seek God’s guidance in this matter. Regarding Wohlberg's last sentence, this is generally sound advice when the church is not misusing God’s sacred tithes and supporting false doctrines. However as Ellen White says, “Circumstances alter cases.”2
Q. But didn't Ellen White recommend we put our confidence in the conference and support it with our tithes?
"Dear Sister: A long time ago I received your letter enclosing a draft for $100; $25 of this you say is a thank offering, to be used in carrying forward the work in some needy place. As you have requested, I shall use it where, according to my best judgment, it is most needed. The reward of whole-souled liberality is the leading of mind and soul and heart to a closer fellowship with the Spirit.
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. Love them with a true heart fervently, and encourage them to bear their responsibilities faithfully in the fear of God. "Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity" [1 Tim. 4:12]. Read Philippians 2:1-16." Manuscript Releases, Vol. 12, p. 271
Q. If the conference is no longer the voice of God, how could we feel confident in supporting it?
“It is working upon wrong principles that has brought the cause of God into its present embarrassment. The people have lost confidence in those who have the management of the work. Yet we hear that the voice of the Conference is the voice of God. Every time I have heard this, I have thought it was almost blasphemy. The voice of the Conference ought to be the voice of God, but it is not, because some in connection with it are not men of faith and prayer, they are not men of elevated principle. There is not a seeking of God with the whole heart; there is not a realization of the terrible responsibility that rests upon those in this institution to mold and fashion minds after the divine similitude.--Manuscript 37, 1901, p. 8 (April, 1901, Talk by Mrs. E. G. White in the Review Chapel regarding the Southern work)." Christian Leadership, p. 20.4
Obviously when the conference is the voice of God and it does God’s bidding, His people should have confidence in it and support it. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether it is it still the voice of God.
Ellen White was acting the part of the church
“7. In appropriating the tithes sent in to her, Sister White was acting the part of the church in accordance with what God specifically showed her.” Steve Wohlberg
This argument is written from the view that all tithe should go through the conference. However there is no Spirit of Prophecy statement supporting this idea.
Ellen White did not divert funds from the conference because of misappropriation
“8. Ellen White was not diverting tithe funds from the conference because of misappropriation. She sent tithes to the southern workers because they were insufficiently funded.” Steve Wohlberg
Q. Why were the southern workers insufficiently funded?
“The Lord has blessed the work that J.E. White has tried to do in The South. God grant that the voices which have been so quickly raised to say that all the money invested in the work must go through the appointed channel at Battle Creek, shall not be heard. The people to whom God has given his means are amenable to him alone. It is their privilege to give direct aid and assistance to missions. It is because of the misappropriation of means that the Southern field has no better showing than it has today.” Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 176.7
“Light has been given me by God that unless something more is done in behalf of the Southern field than has yet been done, those who ought to see the condition of the field, and to realize its need, will be held responsible for the means they have diverted from the object for which it was raised. The failure to do that which should have been done to place the work where it should be, shows that the past unfaithfulness is unhealed. Something has been done to help, but it falls far short of what ought to be done.” Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 178.1
“The Lord will accept no excuse for the past neglect of the Southern field. Restitution has not yet been made in full to this field. The reproach is not yet wiped out. Christ has been wronged in the person of his saints. God has been robbed of the revenue with which he desired to open the work in the South. And this miserable selfish work will be repeated, as surely as it has been done in the past, unless it is seen in a true light." Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 178.5
Ellen White did not withhold from the conference because she supported Seventh-day Adventist ministers
“9. Similarly, rather than the statement about the “Watson Letter” endorsing the idea that whoever we believe is the treasury must be the treasury, Ellen White was not withholding money “from the Lord's treasury” because she was sending the money to Seventh-day Adventist ministers, church workers who were not receiving sufficient funds to do the work they were called to do and to support their families.” Steve Wohlberg
Q. If this is the case, how do we explain Ellen White using her tithe to pay women who were not ministers?
“There are ministers' wives, Sisters Starr, Haskell, Wilson and Robinson, who have been devoted, earnest, whole-souled workers, giving Bible readings and praying with families, helping along by personal efforts just as successfully as their husbands. These women give their whole time, and are told that they receive nothing for their labors because their husbands receive their wages. I tell them to go forward and all such decisions shall be reversed. The Word says, "The laborer is worthy of his hire." When any such decision as this is made, I will in the name of the Lord, protest. I will feel it in my duty to create a fund from my tithe money, to pay these women who are accomplishing just as essential work as the ministers are doing, and this tithe I will reserve for work in the same line as that of the ministers, hunting for souls, fishing for souls. I know that the faithful women should be paid wages proportionate to the pay received by ministers. They carry the burden of souls, and should not be treated unjustly. These sisters are giving their time to educating those newly come to the faith, and hire their own work done, and pay those who work for them. All these things must be adjusted and set in order, and justice be done to all. Proof-readers in the office receive their wages, two dollars and a half and three dollars a week. This I have had to pay, and others have to pay. But ministers' wives, who carry a tremendous responsibility, devoting their entire time, have nothing for their labor. This will give you an idea of how matters are in this conference.” Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 118
Conclusion
God’s storehouse encompasses more than the conference. This is why:
- You find quotes in the Spirit of Prophecy which encourage returning your tithe to the church.
- Ellen White could say she did not withhold money from the Lord’s treasury when not sending it to the conference.
- She willingly accepted peoples tithes and sent it where she thought it was needed the most.
- She commended people for sending their tithe directly to needy ministers instead of sending it to the conference.
- She recognized the church can become corrupt and she did not condemn people for appropriating their own tithe when they didn't want to support this corruption.
- Ellen White saw that women, who were not ministers on the conference payroll, but did a work of saving souls, were equally entitled to receive tithe.
In view of these points, we wonder how Steve Wohlberg can honestly condemn Ernie's dreams and conclude they are from the devil.
Citations:
- Steve_Wohlberg-False_dreams_and_the_Watson_Letter 3.pdf
- See Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 215.6