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In Great Britain We do not know how many conscientious objectors there were in Great Britain when World War I broke out. But there were some. One earnest Adventist, when called to take up his gun, stated that he could not fight. "Cannot fight!" said the officer. "What do you mean by that?" The soldier explained his position in a few brief words. "But it means death to refuse service in the face of the enemy!" said the commanding officer. "I expected that it would," said the reservist. "But you will be shot," said the officer. "I can do nothing else than order you shot." "Yes," said the young man, "I know that is your military duty. I expected as much when I came. But as I see Christ as my example, I cannot bear arms." The officer hesitated for a moment while the battle was raging. Then he made arrangements for the young brother to serve as a noncombatant, according to his religious conscience. We are only narrating what happened. Of course, not everything he did was according to our stand as a Movement. After one year or more, the young man was sent back for reassignment. Being assigned to drive the ammunition trucks, once more his conscience brought him into difficulty when he stated to his commanding officer that he could not do that. "Can’t drive the ammunition to the front! What do you mean?" The soldier again explained his convictions. "But you will be court-martialed at once." "Yes," he replied, "but I cannot do that kind of work." Only after he had shown unflinching courage to stand for his conviction and take the consequences was he given an alternative duty. (Condensed from the book Providences of the Great War.) Another young man told his experience as follows: "I was alone among some 900 desperate men on the docks, with armed guards on every hand. During the morning the governor appeared on his rounds and sent for me. "‘You are to work with this party till 6 p.m.,’ he said, ‘with none of this Sabbath nonsense we had from you last week.’ "‘Pardon me, sir,’ I said, ‘but I must follow my convictions, though I have no desire to be troublesome.’ "Sternly the officer barked out, ‘Look here! If these men see you refusing to work at sunset and they mutiny, you will be held responsible, and you will be liable to be shot. . . . You’ll be taught not to mutiny today. Back to work.’" In the midst of his desperate struggle, when that soldier began to falter inwardly, he felt encouraged at the thought that he was not going through those trials alone. He knew that eleven other Adventist brethren were in the same furnace of affliction. Constant prayer was his main source of strength. When the black and lonely Friday was coming to a close, he said to a senior guard, "I’m sorry, but I can work no longer today." Instantly several guards grabbed him and dragged him behind some sacks of oats out of sight of the other prisoners, where they mistreated him. Then they chained him and thrust him into a small cell. "An officer came to me," he continued, "and said in a somewhat conciliatory tone: "‘Your companions have all come to their senses and are quietly working now. I’m sorry you are so misguided as to bring this punishment on yourself. Why not change your mind, and give up this impracticable Sabbath idea, as your friends have done?’ "‘I cannot be untrue to my beliefs, even if the others have been,’ I replied. "As the guard’s steps died away, I began to think in the silence of the solitude: surely all my companions could not have failed. Yet I ought to have heard them, I thought, had they been in the adjoining cells. After a few minutes, I whistled softly two bars of the hymn, ‘The Lord is my light, my joy, and my song.’ No answer. Gloom began to settle on me. But I whistled the bars again, and a little louder. Suddenly came the next bar from the adjoining cell. The song of the angels could hardly have been sweeter to the shepherds than was that whistled hymn which told me my companions had by God’s grace endured another Sabbath test, and were all still rejoicing in Jesus." (Condensed from the book Seventh-day Adventists in Time of War.) Other brethren who also got a very grueling treatment in prison told their experiences as follows: Since they refused to work on the Sabbath, they were driven like wild beasts to the cells amid much cursing and the cracking of whips. There they were immediately handcuffed and, as the manacles were too small, they consequently tore the flesh on the backs of their hands. And then the sergeants made sport of them and punched all over their bodies. Those young men were also subjected to what was called "number one field punishment" or "shot drill." This torment consisted in having heavy weights placed upon their backs and chests, with which they were made to run from place to place for one hour. One of those soldiers was declared to be the ringleader and was handled with so much cruelty and violence that he collapsed and foamed at the mouth. He did not die, as it was feared he would, but he was ill for some time. Friday morning, they were all lined up before the sergeant major, who asked what they had decided concerning the Sabbath which was before them. As they said that it was their duty to obey God rather than men, keeping the Lord’s day holy, they were sent back to their cells quietly. The punishment they received was solitary confinement with bread and water only, together with one hour’s shot drill daily, for seven days. The next Sabbath, as those Adventist soldiers refused to break the law of God, they received the same type of punishment as before, which was extended for two weeks. It seemed to them that it was only a matter of time and they would all die in prison. They prayed to the Lord continually that He would give them strength to bear the test. On a Friday, at the end of the fourteen-day period, a prison official was sent to talk to them separately. He said to each one that all others had given in, "so you might just as well do the same." This was the severest test that came upon them at a time when they were physically very weak through starvation and exhaustion. But God inspired each one of them with sufficient valor to reply: "Even if I am alone, I will continue obeying God rather than men. I will keep also His holy Sabbath." Then one or two of the group began to whistle a hymn, and soon they were all whistling, assuring one another that they were all loyal to God. In answer to prayer, their strength was renewed day by day. (Condensed and adapted from the book Seventh-day Adventists in Time of War.) In the United States In this country, conscientious objectors were generally, but not always, accorded exemption rights by the military authorities. When the United States entered into World War I, a number of Adventist soldiers were subjected to severe trials because of their stand as conscientious objectors. We quote: "There were times when the very existence of our work was threatened by those who were in military authority, concerning the misunderstandings and false reports sent to government headquarters. The federal department of justice received over ten thousand complaints against us, our published literature, and our work, during the first six months of war. "Many of our boys had to suffer terrible abuses at the hands of military officers and private soldiers for their loyalty to religious principles. . . . The Sabbath was the greatest test of all for our young men in the army. More than one hundred of our young men were court-martialed for refusing to do military duty on the Sabbath day. Over thirty were sentenced to Fort Leavenworth, as military prisoners, whose sentences ranged from ten to fifty years of imprisonment at hard work. "Their troubles had just begun when they were sent to Leavenworth. The military prison officials endeavored to compel our young men to work on the Sabbath at ordinary labor crushing stones. Of course, they could no more do this kind of labor in prison than they could do it out of prison in the military camps. "The prison officials endeavored to coerce them by meting dire punishments upon them. For refusing to work on the Sabbath, they were deprived of their daily rations and given only a few slices of bread and water, and the amount of stone they were to crush was greatly increased per day, and at night they were confined to underground dungeons and strapped on bare hardwood planks for their beds, and exposed to the dampness and the cold. This punishment lasted for two weeks. If they refused to work the second time upon the Sabbath day, they were put upon still smaller rations, and their hands were handcuffed behind their backs around the prison bars of their cells on a level almost with their shoulders, and in this awkward standing position without any relief they were compelled to stand for nine hours each day. Others were confined in dirty dark cells for months where they were unable to stand upright or lie down without being cramped for room." –F. C. Gilbert, Divine Predictions Fulfilled, pp. 397—399. Appeals were made to Senator W. G. Harding, who later became the 29th President of the United States and, through his assistance, those Adventist military prisoners were released from that inhuman form of punishment and were exempted from Sabbath labor in prison. They were finally released from prison parole. It is encouraging to know that some faithful Christians, following their personal convictions, decided to obey God rather than men and that they were prepared to suffer even martyrdom for Christ’s sake, if necessary. We have no controversy with these conscientious believers, although we may not agree with them on every point. However, according to evidence included in this book, the reader will see that the official position adopted by the Adventist Church as a church is completely different from the independent stand taken by those serious-minded Adventists as individuals.
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