Meade MacGuire (1875-1967) was a prominent Adventist leader and author. He would have been 13 years old when the “everlasting gospel” message was revived at the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference, by elders Waggoner and Jones.
In 1891, when he was 16 years old, he proposed to organize a youth society in his church, at Antigo, Wisconsin.
Arthur Spalding, Christ’s Last Legion, p. 120:
But when he ventured to suggest it one day, instead of smiles he met frowns. “No, Meade,” said the older people, “that would never do. Why should you run off by yourselves? Young people alone will fall into disorder. Stick to the church and the Missionary Society with the older people, and don’t try to be independent.”But Brother Conner, the elder of the church, a saintly old man, placed his hand on Meade’s shoulder, and said, “My boy, you go right ahead. You may have the church for your meeting, and I’ll stand by you.” So the meetings were started, and with thirty members. They sang, they studied the Scriptures, they prayed, and they “gave their testimonies,” scarcely one ever failing to speak. The critical older members, like, critics of a long-ago time, “could find none occasion nor fault; inasmuch as [they] were faithful, neither was there any error nor fault found in” them.
Said MacGuire in his after-years, “We had not the slightest disorder. I believe God restrained the enemy because He wanted this work to go forward, and the people were not sufficiently in favor of it to stand by us if mistakes were made.”
Later, he served at the Review and Herald Publishing Association, organized the youth of Battle Creek for study and missionary work, served in the Colorado Conference office, was business manager of Boulder Sanitarium and Hospital, and an author of a number of very precious small books that contained the 1888 gospel message (which is why he finds a place on this website).
Fred Wright met Meade MacGuire on his first trip to America in 1964. He writes:
A Brief History of the Early Years, p. 52:
There was one brother there [at Loma Linda], however, who really captured my attention–Elder Meade MacGuire. He was one of the very few who really grasped the light which came through the open portals of heaven in the messages which were unfolded through the ministries of Elders Waggoner and Jones between 1888 and 1893.At the time I met him, he was becoming nearer and nearer to one hundred [ed. note: actually Meade would have been about 89 years old in 1964]. Meade McGuire wrote those three fine little books, Lambs Among Wolves, His Cross and Mine, and The Life of Victory.
As I came away from his place I felt a sense of one era in the history of the Church being replaced by the next. I believe that the full significance of what took place between us there, will not be truly understood until, in heaven, the books of records shall be opened by us.
About MacGuire’s books, Fred later wrote:
The Messenger and News Review, April 1984:
We have known [about his] books from the very earlier days in the rediscovery of Waggoner’s and Jones’ message and hold them in the highest regard.It is my understanding that Elder Meade MacGuire as a young man personally listened to and accepted the message delivered by God’s faithful servants in 1888. Thereafter, until his death in the 1960’s, he faithfully presented the truth in beautifully simple form wherever he had the opportunity.
It was my privilege to meet him briefly in 1964 shortly after my first arrival in the United States.
I can give nothing short of the best recommendation for his books. They contain the message and have the added advantage of being printed by official Adventist publishing houses so that they do not face the same prejudice as our books do when you offer them to Adventists.
Meade was one of the few, after Waggoner and Jones passed from the scene, who grasped the 1888 gospel message, and taught it very simply and clearly in his books and writings. His beautiful message acted as a bridge between 1888 and our time, so that truth was preserved, and witness was borne to it, even in the years when the actual writings of Waggoner and Jones were all but lost and forgotten.
The timeline of his written works is as follows (the green titles are linked to Articles; the gold titles are books that are listed below):
1924 The Life of Victory
1927 His Cross and Mine
1932 Ten Essentials to Get Answers to Prayer (Australian Signs of the Times)
1939 Learn of Me
1939 The Early and the Latter Rain
1942 Does God Care?
1943 The Latter Rain (RH)
1951 The Glory that Lightens the Earth
1956 Is the Standard Too High?
1957 Lambs Among Wolves
1987 Meade MacGuire Recalls (Burnside)
The Life of Victory
This was Meade MacGuire’s first published book, written in 1924 (he would have been 49 years old then). The first half of the book deals especially with victory over sin, and how to achieve this experience of deliverance. It draws heavily on the scriptures from Romans chapter 5 through 8.
The later chapters deal with the work of sanctification, soul-winning, prayer, and abiding in Christ; or in short, Christian growth and maturity.
The appearance of this book signaled that the 1888 gospel message was not going to just fade away after the deaths of the original messengers. No; the message was alive and well, with it’s keynotes of victory over sin, deliverance from the old nature, living faith, the possibility of perfection, and the joy of freedom found in a heart that was in harmony with God’s law. 125p
Contents
- The Need of Victory
- The Awful Nature of Sin
- How Can God Justify a Sinner?
- How Can a Sinner Secure Justification?
- Delivered by Death
- Alive unto God
- Resurrection Life
- Faith Makes It So
- Right Action of the Will
- The Closest Union
- The Power Provided
- The Laws of Death and Life
- In Christ
- The Law of Growth
- Sanctification
- Sent from God
- Winning Souls
- The Privilege and Necessity of Prayer
- When, Where, and How to Pray
- Abiding in Christ
His Cross and Mine
In 1927, Meade published this book, his second. The Cross is the very center of the science of salvation, and therefore is an exhaustless theme.
In the short, concise chapters of this book, some of the wonders of the Cross of Christ are unfolded:
- the revelation of the character of God in contrast to Satan’s lies,
- the love of the Father in giving His Son,
- the immutability of the Law which God could not set aside,
- the high price and hideousness of sin and its consequences,
- the open door for sinners to be freed by dying with Christ and being raised to newness of life, and
- the clear line of separation between the worldly ways and the Lord’s ways.
This is a deeply spiritual work, which leads faltering souls back to the true path, and more firmly establishes those who are already in that way. 132p
Contents
- Introduction
- My Own Cross
- The Cross and the Early Disciples
- The Cross in Heaven
- The Cross Supreme
- Gethsemane
- Calvary
- The Victory of the Cross
- The Cross and the Crucifixion
- The Cross and Sin
- Crucified with Christ
- The Cross and the World
- The Face of Christ
Does God Care?
Suffering, disappointments, hardships, trials, untimely deaths: why do these things happen, if there is a loving God? And why do Christians also have to endure these things, since they strive to please God?
These kinds of questions often arise, and trouble many. This little book was written to deal with those questions, and answer them in a clear, straightforward, and faith-building way. Each chapter deals with a different facet of the problem, and presents the answer from Scripture.
This is a wonderful little book, that will be useful not only to sufferers, but to Christians who need a more mature experience, so they can understand and cooperate with God in the work of character building, and the demonstration of His character in this world of pain.
Originally published in 1942, this text is taken from the sixth edition, published in 1950. 55p
Contents
- Does God Care?
- Is It Necessary?
- May We Benefit From It?
- Shall We Seek To Escape It?
- Victory Through Suffering
- God Has a Purpose
- The Way to Perfection
- The Foundation of Character
- The Secret of Victory
- The Glorious Goal
- Preparation for Service
- He Shares Our Suffering
- Where Suffering Is Unknown
Lambs Among Wolves
Jesus said, “I send you forth as lambs among wolves.” A lamb and a wolf have radically different natures. Using this natural distinction, Meade MacGuire contrasts the life of a true Christian, who has a new lamb-like nature, with that of a worldly person, who has a wolf-like nature.
But he goes much further than this. There are professed Christians, who think they are “lambs” but struggle with a wolf-like nature, and cannot understand why they constantly fail to be like Jesus, and cannot gain the victory over their weaknesses and tendencies to sin. Such poor souls need to understand the steps by which they can be changed, so that the Christian life is not an impossible burden, but a joyful, peaceful way.
That peaceful way, and how to obtain it, is spelled out very clearly in this book. However, even mature Christians would benefit by reviewing the clear Scriptural standard, and practical advice offered in this book.
Originally published in 1957, at the time when interest in the 1888 message was being revived, and there was a warfare in the Seventh-day Adventist church between two conflicting gospels, this book was Meade’s fourth, and its release was timely. It was one more witness pointing in the true direction. Meade was 82 years old at this time, and this was the last of his larger written works. 107p
Contents
- The New Life
- Love is the Way
- The Great Secret
- Are You Dead or Alive?
- Victory by Dying, Not by Trying
- What Would Jesus Do in My Place?
- Don’t Be a Fool
- The Supreme Goal of Life
Learn of Me
The subtitle is “A Homily on Matthew 11:28-30”. It is a practical exposition of the well-known words of Jesus, “Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…”
This booklet was originally published in 1939. 32p
Contents
- Come Unto Me
- Take My Yoke Upon You
- Learn of Me
- I Am Meek and Lowly in Heart
- Two Principles
- Two Men
- Heirs of Heaven and Earth
- You Shall Find Rest
- Everyday Life
The Latter Rain
Why has there been a delay in the promise of the Latter Rain, the power that would attend the gospel message in the last days?
This little volume is all about the Latter Rain promise: the reason for the delay, defining the Latter Rain, and what the conditions are to receiving it.
It also deals with some misconceptions. For example, the erroneous idea that sin cannot be overcome, whereas living victory is an essential element in order to fit a person for participation in the Latter Rain.
This document was originally published as articles in The Review and Herald of 1943. 41p
Contents
- A Delay in the Promise
- Understanding the Latter Rain
- What are the Conditions?
- The Example of Pentecost
- Reaching for Perfection
- God’s Provision