Ellen G. White’s Experience and Methods as a
Personal Worker
An Early Experience—The reality of true conversion seemed so
plain to me that I felt like helping my young friends into the light, and
at every opportunity exerted my influence toward this end.
I arranged meetings with my young friends, some of whom were
considerably older than myself, and a few were married persons. A
number of them were vain and thoughtless; my experience sounded
to them like an idle tale, and they did not heed my entreaties. But I
determined that my efforts should never cease till these dear souls,
for whom I had so great an interest, yielded to God. Several entire
nights were spent by me in earnest prayer for those whom I had sought
out and brought together for the purpose of laboring and praying with
them.
Some of these had met with us from curiosity to hear what I had to
say; others thought me beside myself to be so persistent in my efforts,
[448]
especially when they manifested no concern on their own part. But at
every one of our little meetings I continued to exhort and pray for each
one separately, until every one had yielded to Jesus, acknowledging
the merits of His pardoning love. Every one was converted to God.
Night after night in my dreams I seemed to be laboring for the
salvation of souls. At such times special cases were presented to my
mind; these I afterward sought out and prayed with. In every instance
but one these persons yielded themselves to the Lord.—
Life Sketches,
41, 42
(1915).
Twenty-two Years After the Seed Sowing—After the meeting
closed [a service at the Michigan camp meeting], a sister took me
heartily by the hand, expressing great joy at meeting Sister White
again. She inquired if I remembered calling at a log house in the
woods twenty-two years before. She gave us refreshments and I left
with them a little book, Experience and Views.
She stated that she had lent that little book to her neighbors, as new
families had settled around her, until there was very little left of it; and
388