Chapter 16—A View of the Sealing
[
Following the return from Western New York in September, 1848,
Elder and Mrs. White journeyed to Maine, where they held a meeting
with the believers, October 20-22. This was the Topsham conference,
where the brethren began praying that a way might be opened for pub-
lishing the truths connected with the Advent message. A month later
they were with “a small company of brethren and sisters,” writes Elder
Joseph Bates in his pamphlet on “The Sealing Message,” “assembled
in meeting in Dorchester, near Boston, Mass.” “Before the meeting
commenced,” he continues, “some of us were examining some of the
points in the sealing message; some difference of opinion existed about
the correctness of the view of the word ‘ascending’ [see
Revelation
7:2
], etc.”
Elder James White, in an unpublished letter giving his account of
this meeting, writes: “We all felt like uniting to ask wisdom from God
on the points in dispute; also Brother Bates’s duty in writing. We had
an exceedingly powerful meeting. Ellen was again taken off in vision.
She then began to describe the Sabbath light, which was the sealing
truth. Said she: ‘It arose from the rising of the sun. It arose back there
in weakness, but light after light has shone upon it until the Sabbath
truth is clear, weighty, and mighty. Like the sun when it first rises, its
rays are cold, but as it comes up, its rays are warming and powerful;
so the light and power has increased more and more until its rays are
powerful, sanctifying the soul; but, unlike the sun, it will never set.
The Sabbath light will be at its brightest when the saints are immortal;
it will rise higher and higher until immortality comes.’
“She saw many interesting things about this glorious sealing Sab-
bath, which I have not time or space to record. She told Brother Bates
to write the things he had seen and heard, and the blessing of God
would attend it.”
It was after this vision that Mrs. White informed her husband of
his duty to publish, and that as he should advance by faith, success
would attend his efforts. (See page 125.)]
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