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I placed this in this forum because it deals with a question regarding the observation of the law, in regards to idols. Since this is the Sabbath and Law forum, it seems the most logical place.
The following is a statement by Ellen White from the Review and Herald, September 10, 1901. It discusses photograph idols.
“No Other Gods Before Me”
During the night I was sorely distressed. A great burden rested upon me. I had been pleading with God to work in behalf of His people. My attention was called to the money which they have invested in photographs. I was taken from house to house, through the homes of our people, and as I went from room to room, my Instructor said, “Behold the idols which have accumulated!”
As I visited the homes of our people and our schools, I see that all the available space on tables, what-nots, and mantelpieces is filled up with photographs. On the right hand and on the left are seen the pictures of human faces. God desires this order of things to be changed. Were Christ on earth, He would say, “Take these things hence.” I have been instructed that these pictures are as so many idols, taking up the time and thought which should be sacredly devoted to God.
These photographs cost money. Is it consistent for us, knowing the work that is to be done at this time, to spend God's money in producing pictures of our own faces and the faces of our friends? Should not every dollar that we can spare be used in the upbuilding of the cause of God? These pictures take money that should be sacredly devoted to God's service; and they divert the mind from the truths of God's word.
This making and exchanging photographs is a species of idolatry. Satan is doing all he can to eclipse heaven from our view. Let us not help him by making picture-idols. We need to reach a higher standard than these human faces suggest. The Lord says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Those who claim to believe in Christ need to realize that they are to reflect His image. It is His likeness that is to be kept before the mind. The words that are spoken are to be freighted with heavenly inspiration.
Christ looks upon a world filled with the din of merchandise and trade, with the dishonesty and scheming of buyers and sellers. In their desire to get gain, men have lost sight of the laws of justice and equity. “It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.” Satan has devised a multitude of ways in which to keep men from serving God. He has invented sports and games, into which men enter with such intensity that one would suppose a crown of life was to reward the winner. At the horse races and football matches, which are attended by thousands and thousands of people, lives for which Christ shed His blood are thrown away. What will become of the souls of the men and boys whose lives are thus extinguished? Will they be counted worthy of the redemption which Christ died to secure for them?
Looking upon these God-dishonoring scenes, Christ asks, “What is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” He calls the attention of men to the nobler world which they have lost from view. He points them to the threshold of heaven, flushed with the glory of the infinite God.
Those who have taken part in the solemn rite of baptism have pledged themselves to seek for those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God; pledged themselves to labor earnestly for the salvation of sinners. God asks those who take His name, How are you using the powers that have been redeemed by the death of my Son? Are you doing all in your power to rise to a greater height in spiritual understanding? Are you adjusting your interests and actions in harmony with the momentous claims of eternity?
Let there be a reformation among the people of God. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Those upon whom the Lord has placed the burden of His work are struggling to proclaim the message, that souls perishing in ignorance may be warned. Can you not, by self-denial, do something to help them in their work? Arouse, and show by your unselfish zeal and earnestness that you are converted.
Every dollar is required in the work of saving souls. The money invested by the professed people of God in getting pictures made of human faces would support several missionaries in the field. Many small streams, when put together, swell into a large river.
We embezzle our Lord's goods when we use for selfish pleasure the means which should be used to proclaim the last message of warning. If you spend the Lord's money for self-gratification, how can you expect Him to continue to bestow His goods on you? How does the Master regard those who selfishly invest His money in photographs? That very money could have been used to purchase reading-matter to send to those in the darkness of ignorance.
The truth that God has given us must be heralded to the world. We have been given the privilege of doing this work. We are to sow the seed of truth beside all waters. The Lord calls upon us to practice self-denial and self-sacrifice. The gospel demands entire consecration. The necessities of the cause demand all that we can give. Our indulgence in photographs has been a selfish gratification on our part, which bears silent witness against us. By this indulgence a large amount of wood, hay, and stubble has been brought to the foundation, to be consumed by the fires of the last day.
After going from home to home, and seeing the many photographs, I was instructed to warn our people against this evil. This much we can do for God. We can put these picture-idols out of sight. They have no power for good, but interpose between God and the soul. They can do nothing to help in sowing the seeds of truth. Christ calls upon those who claim to be following Him to put on the whole armor of God. Our educational institutions need to feel the reforming power of the Spirit of God. “If the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” Those who are engaged as teachers in our schools and sanitariums should reach a high standard of consecration. And the students in these institutions, who are fitting themselves to go forth as missionaries, should learn to practice self-denial.
We are God's stewards, and “it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” The money that God has intrusted to us is to be carefully husbanded. We are to increase in efficiency by putting to the best use the talents given us, that at God's coming we may return to Him His own with usury. Review and Herald, September 10, 1901
She does not suggest they are idols in the sense of worship, but in taking time, money and attention from God.
This message was from 1901, but pictures distracting from God, and taking money from God were not new themes for Ellen White. In 1868 the book Testimonies for the Church, Volume 1, was published, collecting together various testimonies she had written previously. Testimony 12 touched on the issue of picture taking.
The youth have their hearts filled with the love of self. This is manifested in their desire to see their faces daguerreotyped by the artist; and they are not satisfied with being once represented, but sit again and again for their picture, each time hoping that the last will excel all their previous efforts and appear really more beautiful than the original. Their Lord's money is squandered in this way, and what is gained? Merely their poor shadow upon paper. The hours that should have been devoted to prayer are occupied upon their own poor selves; precious hours of probation are thus wasted.
Photography was much more expensive then, than it is now. And of course, it was not like digital photography or even Polaroid instants. You may have to sit several times to get what you are looking for. To illustrate this, here are a series of letters from Ellen White to her husband James, relating her own sitting for pictures:
We received yours [i.e., letter] which contained the number of pictures to be sent. They are slow in getting them out. We send from Ingelson's seven each. We sent from Lathrop's and Dunham's, six each. You will see that Lathrop has the preference. I thought that mine from Ingelson's was perfect, but I did not think yours was good. I have just received half a dozen from Lathrop's and Dunham's of mine. It is the judgment of all that this last is far better than Ingelson's. What do you think? We have a few of the small size of yours, but none yet of mine....
Lathrop is as pleased a man as you ever saw with the pictures, especially of you. He says he would sell your negative for five hundred dollars. Beside what we take, it will bring him that much custom. He thinks Ingelson's a flat affair. He [Lathrop] has your picture in the window for show.—Letter 1a, 1876, p. 1. (To James White, March 24, 1876.)
In regard to our pictures, how many shall we order? Dunham gave me mine as well as yours—one dozen each. This is liberal, I think. Everyone thinks these last [pictures] from Dunham's are perfect. What is your judgment? Lucinda's are not yet finished. No orders, he says, were left for him, but one dozen will be finished in a short time.—Letter 3, 1876, pp. 3, 4. (To James White, April 4, 1876.)
I have just gotten the picture Dunham has made. I do not like it. Shall not order any till you see it and send your opinion of it.—Letter 12, 1876, p. 1. (To James White, April 21, 1876.)
In regard to my small picture, I did sit once again, but the picture was not good. Will try it again. Mary and Willie did not get good pictures, but they will try it again.—Letter 15, 1876. (To James White, April 27, 1876.)
I do not think I shall ever get a picture to equal the one Dunham has made for me. He says I had better have the large one put on a small card. What do you think of this plan?—Letter 17, 1876, p. 2. (To James White, April 30, 1876.)
Dunham gave me one dozen of these last pictures of yours. Shall I send them to you? What do you think of them? I told him I did not like them. They did not look natural, but you can use them. If so, let me know.—Letter 21, 1876, p. 2. (To James White, May 5, 1876.)
She relates that Lathrop would sell the negative for $500. Since this was in 1876, calculating for inflation, the cost would be around $10,700 in today’s money (can fluctuate depending on when you read the post)
1876 dollars in 2016 | Inflation Calculator
This does not tell us the price for each photo, but does give a hint as to the high expense of photography in that day.
Here we see her offering to pay for additional pictures at a later date:
Well, Addie [Walling], I would be pleased to have you get your picture taken and write to May [Walling] to do the same. I will settle the bills. I want to see the faces of my children once more.—Letter 101, 1886, p. 4. (To Addie Walling, July 21, 1886.)
Many families of the time, having spent so much money on the pictures, would display them. The Whites would, like most families, show their pictures:
If you have Father's pictures, please bring them. I want to show them. My pocket album I left at Healdsburg.—Letter 15, 1882, p. 1. (To W. C. White, May 23, 1882).
Father, I am sure, has confidence in you. We often hear him speak of you and Emma with pleasure in high terms. He shows your pictures and he calls you two his “canaries.”—Letter 22, 1879, p. 1. (To Edson White, July 1, 1879.)
She relates that this battle with idolatry was ongoing for years in the church.
We have for years been waging a war with spiritual idolatry. Scriptural conversions are not as abundant as we could wish. There are so many things put in the place where God should be, when He should have the entire room, and every nook and corner should reveal His presence. We have a constant contest with idolatry. Many things which gratify the lust of the eye are taking precious time and stealing away precious money. The senses are pleased, but God is robbed both of time and money. I am pained to see the photographs multiplied and hanging everywhere. Manuscript 40, 1891
The following is a statement by Ellen White from the Review and Herald, September 10, 1901. It discusses photograph idols.
“No Other Gods Before Me”
During the night I was sorely distressed. A great burden rested upon me. I had been pleading with God to work in behalf of His people. My attention was called to the money which they have invested in photographs. I was taken from house to house, through the homes of our people, and as I went from room to room, my Instructor said, “Behold the idols which have accumulated!”
As I visited the homes of our people and our schools, I see that all the available space on tables, what-nots, and mantelpieces is filled up with photographs. On the right hand and on the left are seen the pictures of human faces. God desires this order of things to be changed. Were Christ on earth, He would say, “Take these things hence.” I have been instructed that these pictures are as so many idols, taking up the time and thought which should be sacredly devoted to God.
These photographs cost money. Is it consistent for us, knowing the work that is to be done at this time, to spend God's money in producing pictures of our own faces and the faces of our friends? Should not every dollar that we can spare be used in the upbuilding of the cause of God? These pictures take money that should be sacredly devoted to God's service; and they divert the mind from the truths of God's word.
This making and exchanging photographs is a species of idolatry. Satan is doing all he can to eclipse heaven from our view. Let us not help him by making picture-idols. We need to reach a higher standard than these human faces suggest. The Lord says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Those who claim to believe in Christ need to realize that they are to reflect His image. It is His likeness that is to be kept before the mind. The words that are spoken are to be freighted with heavenly inspiration.
Christ looks upon a world filled with the din of merchandise and trade, with the dishonesty and scheming of buyers and sellers. In their desire to get gain, men have lost sight of the laws of justice and equity. “It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.” Satan has devised a multitude of ways in which to keep men from serving God. He has invented sports and games, into which men enter with such intensity that one would suppose a crown of life was to reward the winner. At the horse races and football matches, which are attended by thousands and thousands of people, lives for which Christ shed His blood are thrown away. What will become of the souls of the men and boys whose lives are thus extinguished? Will they be counted worthy of the redemption which Christ died to secure for them?
Looking upon these God-dishonoring scenes, Christ asks, “What is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” He calls the attention of men to the nobler world which they have lost from view. He points them to the threshold of heaven, flushed with the glory of the infinite God.
Those who have taken part in the solemn rite of baptism have pledged themselves to seek for those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God; pledged themselves to labor earnestly for the salvation of sinners. God asks those who take His name, How are you using the powers that have been redeemed by the death of my Son? Are you doing all in your power to rise to a greater height in spiritual understanding? Are you adjusting your interests and actions in harmony with the momentous claims of eternity?
Let there be a reformation among the people of God. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Those upon whom the Lord has placed the burden of His work are struggling to proclaim the message, that souls perishing in ignorance may be warned. Can you not, by self-denial, do something to help them in their work? Arouse, and show by your unselfish zeal and earnestness that you are converted.
Every dollar is required in the work of saving souls. The money invested by the professed people of God in getting pictures made of human faces would support several missionaries in the field. Many small streams, when put together, swell into a large river.
We embezzle our Lord's goods when we use for selfish pleasure the means which should be used to proclaim the last message of warning. If you spend the Lord's money for self-gratification, how can you expect Him to continue to bestow His goods on you? How does the Master regard those who selfishly invest His money in photographs? That very money could have been used to purchase reading-matter to send to those in the darkness of ignorance.
The truth that God has given us must be heralded to the world. We have been given the privilege of doing this work. We are to sow the seed of truth beside all waters. The Lord calls upon us to practice self-denial and self-sacrifice. The gospel demands entire consecration. The necessities of the cause demand all that we can give. Our indulgence in photographs has been a selfish gratification on our part, which bears silent witness against us. By this indulgence a large amount of wood, hay, and stubble has been brought to the foundation, to be consumed by the fires of the last day.
After going from home to home, and seeing the many photographs, I was instructed to warn our people against this evil. This much we can do for God. We can put these picture-idols out of sight. They have no power for good, but interpose between God and the soul. They can do nothing to help in sowing the seeds of truth. Christ calls upon those who claim to be following Him to put on the whole armor of God. Our educational institutions need to feel the reforming power of the Spirit of God. “If the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” Those who are engaged as teachers in our schools and sanitariums should reach a high standard of consecration. And the students in these institutions, who are fitting themselves to go forth as missionaries, should learn to practice self-denial.
We are God's stewards, and “it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” The money that God has intrusted to us is to be carefully husbanded. We are to increase in efficiency by putting to the best use the talents given us, that at God's coming we may return to Him His own with usury. Review and Herald, September 10, 1901
She does not suggest they are idols in the sense of worship, but in taking time, money and attention from God.
This message was from 1901, but pictures distracting from God, and taking money from God were not new themes for Ellen White. In 1868 the book Testimonies for the Church, Volume 1, was published, collecting together various testimonies she had written previously. Testimony 12 touched on the issue of picture taking.
The youth have their hearts filled with the love of self. This is manifested in their desire to see their faces daguerreotyped by the artist; and they are not satisfied with being once represented, but sit again and again for their picture, each time hoping that the last will excel all their previous efforts and appear really more beautiful than the original. Their Lord's money is squandered in this way, and what is gained? Merely their poor shadow upon paper. The hours that should have been devoted to prayer are occupied upon their own poor selves; precious hours of probation are thus wasted.
Photography was much more expensive then, than it is now. And of course, it was not like digital photography or even Polaroid instants. You may have to sit several times to get what you are looking for. To illustrate this, here are a series of letters from Ellen White to her husband James, relating her own sitting for pictures:
We received yours [i.e., letter] which contained the number of pictures to be sent. They are slow in getting them out. We send from Ingelson's seven each. We sent from Lathrop's and Dunham's, six each. You will see that Lathrop has the preference. I thought that mine from Ingelson's was perfect, but I did not think yours was good. I have just received half a dozen from Lathrop's and Dunham's of mine. It is the judgment of all that this last is far better than Ingelson's. What do you think? We have a few of the small size of yours, but none yet of mine....
Lathrop is as pleased a man as you ever saw with the pictures, especially of you. He says he would sell your negative for five hundred dollars. Beside what we take, it will bring him that much custom. He thinks Ingelson's a flat affair. He [Lathrop] has your picture in the window for show.—Letter 1a, 1876, p. 1. (To James White, March 24, 1876.)
In regard to our pictures, how many shall we order? Dunham gave me mine as well as yours—one dozen each. This is liberal, I think. Everyone thinks these last [pictures] from Dunham's are perfect. What is your judgment? Lucinda's are not yet finished. No orders, he says, were left for him, but one dozen will be finished in a short time.—Letter 3, 1876, pp. 3, 4. (To James White, April 4, 1876.)
I have just gotten the picture Dunham has made. I do not like it. Shall not order any till you see it and send your opinion of it.—Letter 12, 1876, p. 1. (To James White, April 21, 1876.)
In regard to my small picture, I did sit once again, but the picture was not good. Will try it again. Mary and Willie did not get good pictures, but they will try it again.—Letter 15, 1876. (To James White, April 27, 1876.)
I do not think I shall ever get a picture to equal the one Dunham has made for me. He says I had better have the large one put on a small card. What do you think of this plan?—Letter 17, 1876, p. 2. (To James White, April 30, 1876.)
Dunham gave me one dozen of these last pictures of yours. Shall I send them to you? What do you think of them? I told him I did not like them. They did not look natural, but you can use them. If so, let me know.—Letter 21, 1876, p. 2. (To James White, May 5, 1876.)
She relates that Lathrop would sell the negative for $500. Since this was in 1876, calculating for inflation, the cost would be around $10,700 in today’s money (can fluctuate depending on when you read the post)
1876 dollars in 2016 | Inflation Calculator
This does not tell us the price for each photo, but does give a hint as to the high expense of photography in that day.
Here we see her offering to pay for additional pictures at a later date:
Well, Addie [Walling], I would be pleased to have you get your picture taken and write to May [Walling] to do the same. I will settle the bills. I want to see the faces of my children once more.—Letter 101, 1886, p. 4. (To Addie Walling, July 21, 1886.)
Many families of the time, having spent so much money on the pictures, would display them. The Whites would, like most families, show their pictures:
If you have Father's pictures, please bring them. I want to show them. My pocket album I left at Healdsburg.—Letter 15, 1882, p. 1. (To W. C. White, May 23, 1882).
Father, I am sure, has confidence in you. We often hear him speak of you and Emma with pleasure in high terms. He shows your pictures and he calls you two his “canaries.”—Letter 22, 1879, p. 1. (To Edson White, July 1, 1879.)
She relates that this battle with idolatry was ongoing for years in the church.
We have for years been waging a war with spiritual idolatry. Scriptural conversions are not as abundant as we could wish. There are so many things put in the place where God should be, when He should have the entire room, and every nook and corner should reveal His presence. We have a constant contest with idolatry. Many things which gratify the lust of the eye are taking precious time and stealing away precious money. The senses are pleased, but God is robbed both of time and money. I am pained to see the photographs multiplied and hanging everywhere. Manuscript 40, 1891
