Ellen G. White: The Later Elmshaven Years: 1905-1915 (vol. 6)

Arthur L. White

Copyright © 2018, Ellen G. White Estate, Inc.

Table of Contents

Information about this Book

Foreword

Chapter 1—Loma Linda, “Hill Beautiful”

Chapter 2—Meeting the Payments on Loma Linda

Chapter 3—Meeting Crises in Colorado

Chapter 4—Independence or Unity?

Chapter 5—1905 Closes With Battle Creek Issues

Chapter 6—The Year of the Earthquake

Chapter 7—Ellen White Comes to Her Own Defense

Chapter 8—On the Evangelistic Trail

Chapter 9—1907—At Home and in the Field

Chapter 10—Continuing in a Varied Ministry

Chapter 11—Bearer of Messages of Encouragement and Reproof

Chapter 12—When the Test Comes

Chapter 13—Through the Year 1908

Chapter 14—Finding a Site for Pacific Union College

Chapter 15—Attending the General Conference of 1909

Chapter 16—The General Conference Address on Health Reform

Chapter 17—The Long Trip Home

Chapter 18—America’s Cities—The Great Unworked Field

Chapter 19—The Threat of Distracting Doctrinal Controversy

Chapter 20—Writing, Publishing, and Speaking

Chapter 21—Will Seventh-day Adventists Train Physicians?

Chapter 22—At 82—A Very Busy Year

Chapter 23—The 1911 Edition of The Great Controversy

Chapter 24—Inspiration and the 1911 Edition of The Great Controversy

Chapter 25—1911—A Year of Concentrated Book Preparation

Chapter 26—The Other Side of 1911

Chapter 27—Winding Down a Busy Life Program

Chapter 28—1913—Concerted Drive on Book Production

Chapter 29—Interludes in the Drive on Book Production

Chapter 30—1914—Ellen White’s Eighty-seventh Year

Chapter 31—The Last Mile

Chapter 32—The Messenger of the Lord at Rest

Appendix A

Appendix B

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Overview

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About the Author

Ellen G. White (1827-1915) is considered the most widely translated American author, her works having been published in more than 160 languages. She wrote more than 100,000 pages on a wide variety of spiritual and practical topics. Guided by the Holy Spirit, she exalted Jesus and pointed to the Scriptures as the basis of one’s faith.

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Foreword

An Explanation the Author Would Like to Have You Read

Although he has spent his working lifetime involved in the custody of the Ellen G. White writings, the author has been amazed at the frequency and number of visions given to Ellen White during the last decade of her life. What has not amazed him, however, is the substantial influence these visions exerted as the counsels given were heeded and the reproofs were received and integrated into the thinking and actions of church members and leaders.

The Early Elmshaven Years, covering the period between late 1900 and mid-1905, quite naturally forms the introduction to this volume, which is devoted to the last decade of the fruitful life of the messenger of the Lord. The same words of appreciation for competent assistance and the same explanations could be given here, but I will do no more than to ask the reader to review again the author’s aims and objectives that have motivated him during the year this volume was being prepared:

1. To write for the average reader, but in such detail and with such documentation as will meet the expectations of the scholar.

2. To leave the reader with the feeling that he or she is acquainted with Ellen White as a very human person.

3. To portray accurately the life and work of Ellen White as the Lord’s messenger in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, not by a slavish chronicle of each day of her active ministry, but to select from her experience events and happenings that illustrate her lifework and make a contribution to the cause.

4. As far as possible, to keep these events in a year-by-year [10] development, picturing her home life, her travels, her weaknesses and strengths, her burden of heart, and her earnest devotional life.

5. To select and present, in detail, significant events, two or three in a given year, that best illustrate her prophetic mission, depicting the interplay between Ellen White and church leaders, institutions and individuals, recounting the sending of testimonies and the response to these messages.

6. As a secondary objective, to provide a knowledge of the principal points of the history of the church in a unique way as it is seen especially through the eyes of, or in relation to, the messenger of the Lord.

7. Not only to make the work an interesting narrative, but in the selection of illustrative experiences, to choose those with which the reader may at times vicariously associate himself.

8. To keep constantly before the reader the major role the visions, in one form or another, played in almost every phase of the experiences comprising the narrative.

9. Where convenient to the purposes of the manuscript, to let Ellen White speak in her own words rather than to call upon the author to provide a paraphrase. This ensures an accurate conveyance of the unique and fine points of the messages in the very expressions of the prophetic messenger herself. In doing so, to provide many important statements in a form that will be of value to all readers.

10. To provide a documented running account of the literary work done both by Ellen White and her literary assistants, in the production of her articles and books.

11. And in all of this, to present, in a natural way in the narrative, confidence-confirming features.

As stated in Seventh-day Adventists Believe, “The writings of Ellen White are not a substitute for Scripture. They cannot be placed on the same level. The Holy Scriptures stand alone, the unique standard by which her and all other writings must be judged and to which they must be subject” (Seventh-day Adventists Believe [Washington, D.C.: Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1988], p. 227).

Arthur L. White [11]

Chapter 1—Loma Linda, “Hill Beautiful”

To Ellen White the stopover on May 4, in 1905, in Los Angeles was all too short. She was with the party of workers traveling east to Washington, D.C., to attend the 1905 General Conference session. During the past several months her mind had been repeatedly called to the Redlands-Riverside-San Bernardino area, some sixty miles east of Los Angeles, as a place where the church should have a sanitarium—it would be the third such institution in southern California.

“I hope,” she wrote to Elder E. S. Ballenger on February 26, 1905, “when you see a suitable place in Redlands, which could be used as a sanitarium, offered for sale at a reasonable price, you will let us know about it. We shall need a sanitarium in Redlands. Unless we start an enterprise of this kind, others will.”—Letter 83, 1905.

Three days later she wrote: “In closing, I would ask you not to forget that sometime a sanitarium will be needed in Redlands.”—Letter 89, 1905. Six weeks later she wrote to Elder J. A. Burden, manager of the Glendale Sanitarium: “Redlands and Riverside have been presented to me as places that should be worked.... Please consider the advisability of establishing a sanitarium in the vicinity of these towns.”—Letter 115, 1905.

Elder Burden reports that at about this time, in the course of a conversation at Elmshaven, Ellen White told the president of the Southern California Conference and one of his committee members that there was a “Sanitarium waiting near Riverside and Redlands,” and she thought it was nearer Redlands. She told them they could find it if they wanted to (DF 8, J. A. Burden, “The Location and [12] Development of Loma Linda,” p. 96).

In response to the repeated messages, a committee was appointed to look for such a site. They felt it must be the Loma Linda resort hotel they had visited earlier, but as it carried a price tag of $85,000, they had turned from it. Now the business had completely failed and the hotel had closed up on April 1; the committee found that it could be bought for $45,000.

On Thursday, May 4, when the eastbound train stopped at the Los Angeles station, a few of the brethren, including Elder Burden, boarded the car to tell Sister White about Loma Linda. She was immediately interested and excitedly urged, “Look up all the particulars and write me at once in Washington.”— Ibid.

She wanted to hear more, but the train was pulling out and the men hurried off. In parting she was urged to watch for the place, which could be seen from the right-hand side of the car. But her berth was on the left side, so it is unlikely that she saw it as the cars sped by.

The conference-bound party reached Washington on Tuesday morning, May 9. The session opened on Thursday morning. Friday afternoon, May 12, the promised letter describing Loma Linda was placed in Ellen White’s hands.

She read it aloud to her son W. C. White:

“Dear Sister White,

“While on the train at Los Angeles, we spoke to you of a property for sale near Redlands which seemed to be well adapted for sanitarium purposes. I asked those with you to call your attention to it as the train passed the place. I am sending you a little pamphlet that contains a few views and a brief description of the property, but words and pictures can but faintly describe its beauty. It is simply ideal and grand for a sanitarium.

“The buildings are in excellent condition, well furnished, heated with steam heat, and lighted with electricity. Everything is complete to begin business at once. The main building has forty-six rooms, and there are four cottages having four rooms each, with bath and toilet. Three of these cottages have four porches each, with broad windows so that beds can be wheeled right out on the porch, and patients can sleep in the open air. There is another beautiful building—a two story cottage of nine [13] rooms, with bath and toilet. Another building which has been used as a recreation pavilion, and has four nice rooms, would make a fine gymnasium and chapel.

“There are barns and sheds, and a house for the workmen. There are ten acres of good bearing orange orchard, fifteen acres of alfalfa, eight acres of apricots, plums and almonds. The rest of the grounds are beautifully laid out in lawns, drives, and walks, there being more than a mile of cement walk. The principal buildings are on a beautiful knoll about 125 feet above the valley. The main building is surrounded with pepper-wood trees from thirty to forty feet high.

“There are five horses, four cows, 150 chickens, thirty-five turkeys, some hogs, farm implements, buggies, carriages, and wagons.

“The place has an ample supply of water from the mountains. An artesian well, which has a good pumping plant, yields an abundance of water, if for any reason the mountain water should fail. The water is piped all over the seventy-six acres.

“The place cost the present owners $150,000. They have tried to run it as a tourist hotel, but it was a failure, and they lost money, so it was closed the first of April. The stockholders are financially embarrassed, and have ordered the property sold for $40,000. The furnishings alone in the buildings cost $12,000, and have been used for only about two years and a half.

“A number of us went to see the place today, and we were deeply impressed that this is the place which the Lord has shown you, near Redlands and Riverside, in which sanitarium work should be carried on. It is five miles from Redlands.

“The question is, what shall we do? We must act at once, for the company is anxious to sell, and there are others who want it....

“We do not wish to move hastily, and we should like to hear from you and the brethren in Washington who have gone from this field, as to how you and they feel about the matter. I wish that if it is at all possible you would take the matter up in council with them, and have them wire us. I do not know how long we can hold the offer open, but will try to do so until we hear from [14] you. I think that those here who are considering the matter feel such a strong conviction that we should have the place that they will pay down a deposit, even if we lose it, rather than let the property pass out of our hands before we can hear from the brethren in Washington.

“How I wish that you could have stopped off and seen the property while on your way to the conference; but it may be that you can return this way and see it then. I hope that you can send us some counsel as soon as you receive this letter.

“Wishing you much of the blessing of the Lord in the conference, I am, Yours in the work, J. A. Burden.”—J. A. Burden to EGW, May 7, 1905 (Special Testimonies, Series B 3:33-35).

When she finished reading, she told Willie that she believed the place was the one that had been presented to her several years ago. (28 WCW, p. 442).

She later wrote that the description given by Brother Burden answered in every respect to that of places she had been instructed would be opened to the church, at prices below their original cost. The terms offered Elder Burden were $5,000 down and like amounts in August (due July 26), September (due August 26), and December (due December 31), making $20,000. The remaining $20,000 would come due in three years (The Story of Our Health Message, 349, 350).

What could they do? Burden in California called for an immediate answer. Conference officers and Ellen White were across the continent in Washington, D.C. It seemed that there could not have been a more inopportune time to deal with such a weighty and far-reaching matter. All in Washington were deeply involved in the General Conference session that had just opened. The Southern California Conference with 1,332 members was now involved in an indebtedness of about $75,000, stemming from the recently acquired San Fernando College and Glendale Sanitarium, the longer-established vegetarian restaurant and treatment rooms in Los Angeles, and the health-food business there.

Three weeks earlier, at the Southern California constituency meeting, a new president had been chosen—a good man, but far from a seasoned executive. He had been charged to hold the line as far as indebtedness was concerned. The General Conference, too, was facing overwhelming financial problems. There was the [15] possibility of having to raise between $75,000 and $90,000 to meet the deficit of the old medical association. So there was little to encourage the hope of help from that source.

Ellen White’s Telegram, “Secure the Property”

And yet, as W. C. White reported shortly after this experience, Elder Burden’s description of Loma Linda “answered more closely to what had been presented” to his mother than any property she had ever seen. The Lord had been moving on her mind to appeal to the members to do something immediately in establishing a sanitarium in “Redlands and Riverside,” and “this place described by Elder Burden seemed” “perfectly in accord with our needs.” What could they do?

“We must take action at once,” Ellen White told her son.

“Willie,” she queried, “will you do as I ask?”

“I usually do,” he responded.

Then came her request: “I want you to send a telegram to Elder Burden to secure the property at once.”

As Willie was leaving the room to send the telegram, she called him back and extracted a promise to send the telegram immediately, before taking counsel with anyone regarding the matter (28 WCW, p. 443).

He promised, and the telegram was sent. Only the overwhelming conviction that Loma Linda was the place God wished His people to have could have led Ellen White to take such a course of action so foreign to her relationship to church organization. True, she had just a few months earlier assisted in the purchase of the property near San Diego and in starting the Paradise Valley Sanitarium. This had been done with the knowledge of the Southern California Conference but without their official support or financial backing. On another occasion she explained her instruction to W. C. White as follows: “I did not consult with anyone, because I thought this would hinder us, and I believed that we could carry the matter forward without putting the burden on the conference.”—Letter 153, 1905.

Friday’s telegram was followed by a letter to Elder Burden on Sunday, May 14, which opened:

Your letter has just been read. I had no sooner finished [16] reading it than I said, “I will consult no one; for I have no question at all about the matter. I advised Willie to send you a telegram without spending time to ask the advice of the brethren. Secure the property by all means, so that it can be held, and then obtain all the money you can and make sufficient payments to hold the place. This is the very property that we ought to have. Do not delay; for it is just what is needed. As soon as it is secured, a working force can begin operations in it. I think that sufficient help can be secured to carry this matter through. I want you to be sure to lose no time in securing the right to purchase the property. We will do our utmost to help you raise the money. I know that Redlands and Riverside are to be worked, and I pray that the Lord may be gracious, and not allow anyone else to get this property instead of us....

Here is the word of the Lord. Open up every place possible. We are to labor in faith, taking hold of a power that is pledged to do large things for us. We are to reach out in faith in Los Angeles and in Redlands and Riverside.—Letter 139, 1905.

In defense of her unprecedented action, she declared: “I considered that the advantages of this location authorized me to speak positively regarding this matter.”—Letter 247, 1905.

The Conference Declines Responsibility

Through the next three weeks letters and telegrams concerning the Loma Linda property crisscrossed the continent. Southern California Conference officers, after counseling with union conference leaders, telegraphed that the conference could take no responsibility in the matter (The Story of Our Health Message, 349).

An Ellen White letter urged the securing of the property but declared the conference could not be asked to assume the responsibility. But if Burden would move forward, money would come. “If you in Los Angeles will do your best,” wrote Ellen White on May 24, “we will do our best.... If you do nothing, waiting for the conference, you will lose your chance.”—Letter 145, 1905.

One telegram signed by conference officers and Ellen White urged Burden to delay action till they returned to the West. But circumstances did not warrant this. Burden could delay action on the deal only till Friday, May 26. On that date, if the property was to [17] be held he must make a payment of $1,000 to bind the contract until Thursday, June 15. By then conference officers and Ellen White and her son would be back.

The Search for Money

But there was no money in sight. On Thursday, May 25, Elder Burden and a close friend, Elder R. S. Owen, a Bible teacher at the San Fernando school, took the inter-urban electric car down the coast to call on a farmer who was thought to have some means. He lived about a mile and a half from the car stop. When they got to his cabin, no one was at home. A neighbor thought he was most likely somewhere on the ranch, but search as they would, no sign of the man was found. The two men returned to the car stop and waited.

It was dark now, and as the inter-urban car sped toward them, they failed to signal it for a stop, so it did not even slow up. There would be a two-hour wait for another car, so the men went back to the cabin, which now had a light in it. Finding the farmer, his wife, and daughter, they introduced themselves and soon explained their mission. Elder Burden reports that as the telegram from Mrs. White and the letters that followed were read to the farmer, he suddenly exclaimed, “Praise the Lord!”—The Story of Our Health Message, 355.

He had been praying that the Lord would send someone to buy his place. It had been sold a few days before and now he was ready to make available $2,400 for the Loma Linda enterprise. The next day Elder Burden phoned the representative of the Loma Linda Association that he was ready to do business. The $1,000 was paid, and work was begun on a contract. This was finished the following Monday. Four thousand dollars more had to be on hand by June 15 to make up the first payment of $5,000 or the deposit would be lost.

Now all awaited the return of the California workers from the General Conference. Ellen White was detained in Washington for a week until W. C. White finished special General Conference Committee work. Travel plans called for them to reach Redlands at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 12. Local and union conference workers would come out from Los Angeles and meet them at Loma Linda. A great deal depended on this meeting. Would approving action be taken, or would Elder Burden lose the borrowed $1,000 given to bind the contract? [18]

Ellen White Inspects Loma Linda

Elder Burden, his wife, and fellow workers were inspecting the grounds and the buildings as the express wagon from Redlands drove up carrying Ellen White, W. C. White and his wife, and others. Sister White’s gaze was fixed on the main building.

“Willie, I have been here before,” she said as she stepped down from the wagon.

“No, Mother,” he replied, “you have never been here.”

“Then this is the very place the Lord has shown me,” she said, “for it is all familiar.”

Ellen White turned to one of the ministers and declared, “We must have this place. We should reason from cause to effect. The Lord has not given us this property for any common purpose.”

As they looked over grounds and buildings, she said again and again, “This is the very place the Lord has shown me.”

How closely her observations were noted! Following Elder Burden into the recreation building, she commented:

This building will be of great value to us. A school will be established here. Redlands will become a center as also will Loma Linda. Battle Creek is going down. God will reestablish His medical work at this place.—W. L. Johns and R. H. Utt, eds., The Vision Bold, 179.

It was past noon, and the representatives of the Loma Linda Association invited the entire party into the dining room to partake of a sumptuous vegetarian dinner. Then the manager opened a door and ushered the group into the parlor. All were waiting eagerly to hear from Ellen White; she did not disappoint them. She spoke on the work of the true medical missionary. Burden reports:

I think I never heard her paint in such glowing terms the work of the true medical missionary.... The place and surroundings and theme seemed to blend in such a way as to inspire her with the wonderful work that could be accomplished in those lines if men would follow the plans and methods of the great medical Missionary in their labors to serve a perishing world.—DF 8, J. A. Burden, “The Location and Development of Loma Linda,” p. 110. [19]

The manager of the Loma Linda Association stayed by Burden’s side. Tears flowed down his cheeks; as Ellen White finished, he turned to Burden and said: “I would give the world to be with you people in a work such as this. It was what we had in mind, but we did not know how to carry it out. I am glad you people are obtaining this property, as I know our plans will now be realized.” Burden invited him to stay and help carry forward the work. “Impossible!” he replied. “Only Christians of the highest ideals could carry out such a work.”— Ibid.

In spite of the evidences of God’s leading, both in circumstances and in Ellen White’s counsel, the group facing such a stupendous project was unready to come to any decision. The financial problems loomed too large.

So before taking any steps it was felt that the matter should be placed before the Los Angeles Carr Street church, the largest in the conference. The meeting was called for ten o’clock the next day, June 12.

While most of the group returned to Los Angeles on the evening train, Ellen White and her party and the conference committee remained to inspect the property more thoroughly. Burden reports that “Sister White’s interest was so intense that she had not only inspected the rooms in the main building and cottages, but visited the kitchen, dining room, and storerooms.”— Ibid., 111.

She was thrilled to see the canned fruit and supplies and was deeply impressed with the quality of the furniture, linens, rugs, and silverware.

She did not meet with the conference committee that evening, but there it was argued that if a hundred businessmen and physicians, with all their resources, had failed in their Loma Linda project, what should lead the church group to think they could succeed? Thus with four days remaining until June 15, when the first payment was due, the committee adjourned to await the meeting called in Los Angeles the next day.

By 10:00 A.M. Monday the church on Carr Street was crowded. Sister White reviewed what had been revealed to her of the medical missionary work that should be carried forward in southern California. She told the audience that Loma Linda recalled to her mind visions of properties that ought to be secured for sanitarium [20] work. The church members voted in favor of securing the property for a sanitarium.

The First $5,000 Payment

However, the officers of the Southern California Conference felt that more than one church should be heard from before the conference could be brought into it. June 20 was set for a delegated meeting of the conference as a time for the decision. In the meantime, June 15 would come with its payment of $4,000 due. It took considerable faith and courage just then to meet the payment to complete the first installment on the $40,000. The farmer down the coast had provided $2,400. Brother Burden talked with a sister, Belle Baker. She could see no reason to hesitate and said she would put up $1,000. “You may lose it,” Burden suggested. “I’ll risk it,” she replied.—Ibid., 356.

Then Burden conferred with his friend, R. S. Owen. “I don’t have the money,” Owen declared, “but I’ll mortgage my house for it.” He was able to get an unsecured loan for the needed amount, and the June payment was made on schedule.

Five days later, on June 20, the constituency of the Southern California Conference met. They were faced with the matter of whether Loma Linda should be purchased, and if so, whether it would be operated “by private corporation or by the conference assuming the financial responsibility of the enterprise” (Pacific Union Recorder, July 13, 1905.) Ellen White was on hand for the meeting. She spoke for more than an hour on the work that should be done in southern California and urged the securing of the Loma Linda property, as it fully met the descriptions of the properties shown to her in vision that should be in the church’s possession. She declared, “This is the very property that we ought to have.”— Ibid.

Still the leading officers of the Southern California Conference hesitated. How, with the heavy debt on the conference, could they become further involved in securing properties and starting sanitariums? Conference officers cautioned the delegates to move guardedly.

Then Elder G. A. Irwin, the newly elected General Conference vice-president, rose to speak. He was on a mission to California, and while passing through Los Angeles had been urged to visit Loma [21] Linda. He had just that morning come from there; he now spoke in favor of securing that institution. He rehearsed a number of incidents in which, when Sister White’s counsel was followed and workers and church members responded to the guiding messages, God signally blessed and success came to the work.

Irwin spoke particularly of the Avondale school in Australia from where he had just returned after a four-year term of service. While leading workers had foreseen only failure, Ellen White had urged that the property be bought and schoolwork begun. Elder Irwin pointed out that that college was now one of the most successful training schools in the denomination and was free of debt.

The audience listened attentively as Elder Irwin spoke with measured words:

Although the conference is heavily in debt, I believe it to be to the glory of God that the conference should assume this responsibility.— Ibid.

Elder Irwin’s speech, exuding confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy counsels and urging action, turned the tide. The constituency voted unanimously in favor of securing the Loma Linda property and opening a third sanitarium in southern California. Cash and pledges totaling $1,100 were offered in support of the action. The enthusiastic response of a new church member, the daughter of Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, founder of the Los Angeles Times, who promised to give $10,000 if and when she could get the money released from another commitment, gave encouraging support. [22]

Chapter 2—Meeting the Payments on Loma Linda

Although official action had been taken by the constituency of the Southern California Conference to buy Loma Linda and operate a sanitarium, officers of the conference saw little light in following through. Of the attitude of the conference president, Ellen White wrote to Elder Burden on June 25, 1905:

I hope that Brother—will move understandingly in reference to the sanitariums already in operation [Paradise Valley and Glendale] and also in regard to the new sanitarium [Loma Linda]....

Do not be discouraged if in any wise there is some cutting across of your plans, and if you are somewhat hindered. But I hope that we shall never again have to meet the hindrance that we have met in the past because of the way in which things have been conducted in some lines in southern California.

I have seen the hold-back principles followed, and I have seen the displeasure of the Lord because of this. If the same spirit is manifested, I shall not consent to keep silent as I have done.—Letter 161, 1905.

But as the days came and went, there was the nagging question: Where would the $5,000 come from for the July 26 payment?

Ellen White, in fulfillment of her promise, was endeavoring to raise money. But there were no immediate responses. One course seemed to offer the promise of relief—selling some of the land. It was proposed that thirty-eight acres could be retained for the [23] sanitarium. The other thirty-eight could be sold in building lots. Some figured a large portion of the original investment of $40,000 could be raised in this way. Learning of this, Ellen White wrote to Burden on July 5:

I learned that ------ has proposed to sell some of the land to help pay the standing debt. Tell me how the matter is now. Can you obtain a loan of money to raise the rest of the $5,000 [due July 26]? ... We must be sure and have every payment made in time....

I just thought to write you a few lines to assure you that not one foot of that land is to be sold to raise money. We will hire money at the bank rather than this shall be done.—Letter 161a, 1905.

A week later Elder Burden, still manager of Glendale Sanitarium, wrote Sister White advising her that he had hoped to secure the needed money for the July 26 payment from a certain brother, but through unfortunate family circumstances the promise of this was being withdrawn. What is more, a Brother Parker, who had $4,000 invested in some other phase of the work (most likely Glendale Sanitarium), was calling for his money.

“It only shows,” wrote Burden, “that the enemy is determined to hedge up the way if possible. I do not know where to look now with assurance for the money on time. Our committee will have a meeting tomorrow.”—J. A. Burden to EGW, July 12, 1905.

Four days later Burden wrote, “Thus far we have nothing in sight or rather very little for the next payment.” And he continued, “There is an undercurrent at work which is seeking to turn money aside which we ought to have, and had really been promised to us.”—J. A. Burden to EGW, July 16, 1905.

Finally in desperation he sought permission of the neighboring conference to the north to make some contacts there that might yield financial help, but he was informed that the securing of the Loma Linda property had been contrary to the advice of the Pacific Union Conference committee. No door was open in the north.

As July 26 neared, Burden must have thought of a letter from Sister White written July 10:

I want you to keep me posted about the money coming in [24] with which to make the payments on the Loma Linda property. I am writing to different ones, asking them to help us at this time, and I think that we shall obtain means to make every payment.—Letter 197, 1905 (The Story of Our Health Message, 358, 359).

Finally Wednesday, the fateful day, dawned with still no money in sight. If the payment was not available by 2:00 P.M. the property and the initial $5,000 payment would be lost. Would deliverance come, or would the enemy succeed in bringing defeat? A meeting of the conference committee had been called for that morning in Los Angeles at their new office on the second floor of 257 South Hill Street (Pacific Union Recorder, June 22, 1905). A heavy cloud of perplexity hung over the assembly. Some felt the circumstances justified the misgivings they had entertained from the start. Others, Elder Burden recounted, “remembered the clear words that had come through the Testimonies, and refused to concede there should be failure” (The Story of Our Health Message, 358). As they reached out for deliverance, someone suggested that the morning mail had not yet come and perhaps relief would come from that source.

We turn to Elder Burden for the heartwarming story:

“Soon after this the postman was heard coming up the stairs. He opened the door and delivered the mail. Among the letters was one bearing the postmark Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“The letter was opened, and it was found to contain a draft for $5,000, just the amount needed for the payment.

“Needless to say, the feelings of those who had been critical were quickly changed. Eyes filled with tears, and one who had been especially critical was the first to break the silence. With trembling voice, he said, ‘It seems that the Lord is in this matter.’ ‘Surely He is,’ was the reply, ‘and He will carry it through to victory.’ The influence that filled the room that day hushed the spirit of criticism. It was as solemn as the judgment day.”— Ibid.

Among those to whom Sister White had written appealing for funds was a woman in Atlantic City, and Elder Burden points out:

“The Lord had put it into her heart to respond and to mail the letter just at the time when our faith had been tested almost to the limit, that it might be revived and strengthened. [25]

“Soon we were at the bank window to pay in the $5,000. As the receipt was taken from the counter, a voice seemed to say to us, ‘See how nearly you missed that payment. How are you going to meet the next one, within a month?’ In heart we answered, ‘It will surely come, even though we do not now know the source.’ We thanked God and took new courage in believing that the Lord was going before us.”—Ibid., 359.

The Southern California Conference camp meeting was scheduled for August 11 to 21 in Los Angeles, where Evangelist W. W. Simpson’s tent meetings were about to close. The big tent would be moved to Boyle Heights—an area that would become well known to Seventh-day Adventists a decade later, for the White Memorial Hospital was to be established there. The tent would be pitched on Mott Street, between First and Second (Pacific Union Recorder, July 27, 1905). The conference president announced that among those present would be “Sister White, Elders M. C. Wilcox, G. A. Irwin, J. O. Corliss, W. C. White, and G. W. Rine.”

Ellen White was sure to meet this appointment, for with the markedly cool attitude of the president toward the Loma Linda project, the future of the institution still rested in the balance. She regarded the conference president “an excellent man,” but one who had “not had experience in dealing with minds” (Letter 237, 1905).

The annual conference constituency meeting would be held in connection with the camp meeting, which made it a particularly crucial session. Writing of the experience a month later, W. C. White declared:

We all saw that very much was at stake, and that much depended on how the sanitarium work was presented to our people at this meeting. We knew that there was sufficient means among our people in southern California to carry forward all the institutional work in that conference, but if they chose to keep it in the banks, to invest it in real estate, or to tie it up in farms, if they feared to trust it in our institutional work, then we should have great difficulty in securing funds.

He continued:

We knew there was a hard battle to fight at the Los Angeles [26] camp meeting, a battle against indifference, distrust, fear, and selfishness, and we tried to make a thorough preparation.—28 WCW, p. 447.

Indeed, it was a thorough preparation that was made by Ellen White and her associates. It was planned that a series of lessons based on the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy would be given, one each day during the camp meeting. The people must be made to see the importance of sanitarium work, and that in southern California special responsibilities rested on the Advent believers. To carry this through, some of the most telling Ellen G. White letters, together with related materials, were printed in tract form for distribution to every family. This accounts for the twenty-four-page Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 3, titled “Letters to Sanitarium Workers in Southern California.” But instead of day-by-day studies, the presentations were crowded, because of a delay in printing the materials, into one three-hour meeting well along in the conference.

From day to day meetings of the conference business session were held. Ellen White seldom attended business meetings (as she wrote to her old friend Lucinda Hall, she thought that she was “old enough to be excused from such burdens [Letter 237, 1905]), but in this case she felt she should. Of this she said:

In some of the business meetings, I sat on the platform, that I might have an understanding of the questions that came up for consideration by the conference. I feared lest some action might be taken that would in the future bring about confusion.—Letter 263, 1905.

She wanted to sit where she “could hear the motions read” (Letter 237, 1905). At one point a resolution was introduced to “change the constitution in such a way that every church member might become a delegate to the conference meetings” (Letter 263, 1905).

She reports on that meeting:

When I saw that there was a likelihood of the motion being passed, I said, “Read that motion again, if you please.” It was read. Then I said, “Such a motion as that was made years ago, and the matter was distinctly opened before me.”—Letter 237, 1905. [27]

She advised the congregation:

Such a move should not be made hastily. The delegates to our conferences should be chosen men of wisdom and capability, men whom the Lord may use to prevent rash movements. God has men of appointment, whom He has fitted to judge righteously.—Letter 263, 1905.

Then, referring to light given in early years, she continued:

It will be impossible for me to relate here all the instruction that was then given me, but I will say that the motion has never carried at any time, because it is not in harmony with the mind of the Lord.—Letter 237, 1905.

“The resolution,” she wrote, “was finally laid on the table.”—Letter 251, 1905.

She spoke six times in the large tent, at times to a packed tent of 2,000. And while some speakers found it difficult to make themselves heard by so large a crowd, the Lord gave her “strength to speak so that all could hear” (Letter 241a, 1905). “The Lord greatly sustained me in my work at the camp meeting,” she wrote.—Letter 251, 1905.

At the close of the three-hour meeting when the Loma Linda project was presented, the people began to testify to their confidence in the work, and to tell of the money they had in the bank, which they would lend to the enterprise. Others promised to sell property and to invest the proceeds in sanitarium enterprises. By one o’clock the blackboard showed the responses:

Gifts subscribed on June 20 | $1,100
Gifts subscribed today | $1,000
Money offered at moderate interest | $14,000
Property consecrated to be sold and the proceeds invested in sanitarium work | $16,350

—28 WCW, p. 449.

The tide was turned in overwhelming favor of the sanitarium enterprises. Loma Linda would have full support.

This led the astonished conference president to comment in his [28] report in the Pacific Union Recorder:

This liberality on the part of a willing membership, few of whom are well off in this world’s goods, ought to stimulate confidence in our own conference and perhaps inspire other conferences to raise funds to liquidate all indebtedness.—September 14, 1905.

The August 26 payment of $5,000 was made on time, and a few days later the December 31 payment was also made. In fact, instead of taking three years to pay the second $20,000 of the purchase price, as allowed in the contract, it was taken care of within six months.

Reports J. A. Burden, who was so close to the enterprise:

The counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy had been confirmed. As we moved forward in faith, the Lord opened the way before us, and the money came from unexpected sources.—The Story of Our Health Message, 361.

A detailed account of God’s continued providence in connection with Loma Linda cannot be included here. Fuller accounts are to be found in such works as The Story of Our Health Message, The Vision Bold, volume 3 of Origin and History of Seventh-day Adventists, and the Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia.

Ellen White went to Loma Linda following the Los Angeles camp meeting; there she spent two weeks resting and writing. She was delighted with developments, noting particularly the canning of 7,000 quarts of fruit by a Brother Hansen, including apricots, plums, prunes, and other fruit, and a large amount of jelly.

While there she counted 109 Russian towels. She noted also the smaller linen towels, which she did not take time to count. She was “more and more pleased” with the place as she continued her inspection: feather pillows, excellent cotton mattresses, two hair mattresses, good Brussels carpets, thirty-five cotton and woolen blankets besides what was on the beds, about a dozen sofa cushions, washbowls of the most beautiful sort, and fine iron bedsteads (Letter 353, 1905).

Before returning home she spent a week at the Paradise Valley Sanitarium. Here she was met by the Sanitarium automobile. “I enjoy very much riding in the automobile,” she reported.—Letter 263, 1905. She was pleased at developments there. [29]

By the first of October Elder and Mrs. Burden were residing at Loma Linda, and within days patients were coming. But pressed hard to meet the needs of an opening institution, the staff found it necessary to postpone the dedication.

Dedication of Loma Linda Sanitarium

The dedication of Loma Linda was something Ellen White could not miss. Invited to give the dedicatory address, she made a trip south to meet the appointment and to attend, a week later, the dedication of the Paradise Valley Sanitarium. She, with her son W. C. White, Sara McEnterfer, her niece May Walling, and Clarence Crisler, reached Loma Linda on Friday afternoon April 13.

She was glad to arrive a few hours before the Sabbath began. She sometimes traveled on the Sabbath and sometimes arrived at her destination after the Sabbath had begun, but she said, “It is very painful to me to be arriving on the Sabbath.”—Manuscript 123, 1906.

By the time the sun was setting over the orange groves, casting light on the snowcapped peaks beyond, Ellen White was comfortably settled in the “nine-room cottage,” one of several on the eastern end of the Sanitarium grounds. She found the surroundings beautiful—the air filled with the fragrance of orange blossoms, the lawns green and flower gardens colorful, and the glow on Mount San Gorgonio a rich pink from the last light of the sun.

Sabbath morning in the Sanitarium parlor Ellen White gave a sermon on Second Peter. Sunday morning was spent looking over the property as guests came in from all over southern California for the dedication that afternoon. About 500 gathered in the chairs set up on the lawn under the pepper trees. Among the guests were “several physicians and other leading men from the surrounding cities.” The speakers’ platform was an improvised structure about three feet off the ground and covered overhead and in back by a striped canvas.

Ellen White made her way to the platform for her talk and took her seat beside Elder Haskell (Manuscript 123, 1906; see photo). When her turn came to speak, she stood, according to one of the few pictures of Ellen White in action, just to the left of the small table in the center of the platform. Part of the time she placed her right hand on the table, while she gestured with her left. [30]

Her long, dark dress came within two or three inches of the platform floor. Her jacket, or the top part of the suit, was also long, coming well below her waist, but the buttons reached only to her waist. Her plain white collar was fastened with a simple brooch, and she was hatless, though several in the congregation and on the platform wore hats.

She was beginning to show her age, with a slight bulging at the waist. Her illnesses, along with her difficulties with her heart and hip, kept her from getting the exercise that she needed, so it is only natural that at her age she had become somewhat rotund.

In her talk she reviewed the providences of God in the purchase of Loma Linda, delineated the purposes of establishing sanitariums, and stressed the values of its then rural location in the treatment of the sick (The Review and Herald, June 21, 1906).

She would keep in close touch with Loma Linda, both by correspondence and by visits when these could be arranged. She urged that in its educational features nurses and physicians should be trained there. The training of physicians at Loma Linda was a phase of the work with which she would be involved in 1909 and 1910.

The Food Factory

The production of healthful foods would soon become a part of the Loma Linda program, in addition to canning fruit. Early in 1906 the manager, J. A. Burden, who was acquainted with food production at the St. Helena Sanitarium food factory, began to plan for such a work at Loma Linda. The logical place for such a factory as he saw it, was behind the main Sanitarium building, some 100 or 150 yards to the east. It would be a good-sized plant and produce foods the sale of which, he hoped, would provide profits that would reduce the indebtedness of the institution.

While in northern California, Ellen White received visions relating to the food business and the location of the factory. On May 6 she wrote a ten-page letter to Burden, putting matters in proper perspective:

I must write you words of counsel. I am instructed to say, Move guardedly, and be careful not to take upon yourself too [31] many responsibilities. Your mind is to be left as free as possible from matters of secondary importance.

The Lord has instructed me that it would be a mistake for us to plan for the production of large quantities of health foods at Loma Linda, to be distributed through commercial channels. Loma Linda is a place that has been especially ordained of God to make a good impression upon the minds of many who have not had the light of present truth. Every phase of the work in this place, every movement made, should be so fully in harmony with the sacred character of present truth as to create a deep spiritual impression.

Everything connected with the institution at Loma Linda should, so far as possible, be unmingled with commercialism. Nothing should be allowed to come in that would in any wise lessen the favorable impression you are striving to make. If we manifest a genuine faith in eternal realities, this will have a far-reaching effect on the minds of others. We must allow nothing to hinder our efforts for the saving of souls. God requires us to leave impressions that will help awaken unbelievers to a realization of their duty. Let us use voice and pen in helping those who need clear discernment.

Many are now inquiring, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” We cannot answer this question satisfactorily by connecting with our sanitariums the production of health foods for commercial gain. By our example we are to leave upon the minds of our patients the impression that we are sustained and guided by the grace of God, and that we are keeping constantly in view the glory of God.

Then she wrote of the interesting way the matter was opened to her in the visions of the night:

I was shown a large building where many foods were made. There were also some smaller buildings near the bakery. As I stood by, I heard loud voices in dispute over the work that was being done. There was a lack of harmony among the workers, and confusion had come in.—Letter 140, 1906.

She then saw Elder Burden’s distress, and his attempts to reason [32] with the disputers to bring them into harmony. She saw patients, somewhat hidden by the shrubbery, who overheard these disputes, and who were “expressing words of regret that a food factory should be established on these beautiful grounds,” so near the Sanitarium. “Then One appeared on the scene, and said, ‘All this has been caused to pass before you as an object lesson, that you might see the result of carrying out certain plans.’”— Ibid.

Ellen White then writes of how a contrasting view was given to her:

And then, lo, the whole scene changed. The bakery building was not where we had planned it, but at a distance from the Sanitarium buildings, on the road toward the railroad. It was a humble building, and a small work was carried on there. The commercial idea was lost sight of, and, in its stead, a strong spiritual influence pervaded the place. A suitable helper was given Brother Hansen at such times as he required help. The management of this small bakery did not bring a heavy responsibility upon Brother and Sister Burden. The patients were favorably impressed by what they saw.

She pointed out further:

We shall have a work to do at Loma Linda in supplying health foods, in a limited way, to the surrounding cities; but it has been presented to me that in the establishment of a large food factory, you would be disappointed in your expectations. The influences connected with its management would not make a favorable impression upon the people.— Ibid.

With this counsel before him, it did not take long for Elder Burden and his associates to decide where to locate the bakery—on the road near the railway. [33]

Chapter 3—Meeting Crises in Colorado

During the closing months of 1905 Ellen White was at Elmshaven and pressed hard with writing. On two occasions testimonies were sent that reached their destinations on just the right day to bring victory to God’s cause. Both the matter of the proposed sale of Boulder (Colorado) Sanitarium, and the proposition of separating the several language groups of believers in North America into national conferences had been introduced at the General Conference session in Washington, D.C., in May.

The Boulder, Colorado, Sanitarium

Boulder Sanitarium was established in 1895 by Adventists. The plant consisted of a five-story main building of brick, two fourteen-room cottages, a barn, powerhouse, bakery, and laundry building (Record of Progress and An Earnest Appeal In Behalf of the Boulder-Colorado Sanitarium, 3). Money for construction had been borrowed from the General Conference Association. The plant, which was not to cost more than $30,000, when completed cost $75,000. The General Conference money came from funds invested in the cause by Adventists at low interest rates (28 WCW, p. 451).

It was expected that the organization making the investment in the Sanitarium would control it, and that the earnings of the institution would not only meet running expenses, but in time repay the capital investment.

Three factors militated against this: (1) poor management both at Boulder and Battle Creek; (2) the John Kellogg-inspired philosophy [34] that it was wrong for conferences to own and control sanitariums and wrong for ministers to direct the work of physicians and nurses; and (3) the idea that inasmuch as Seventh-day Adventist sanitariums were philanthropic institutions, a sanitarium would do well if it paid running expenses without an interest obligation, let alone retire its indebtedness (Ibid., 452).

In the spirit of the last two of these propositions, Boulder Sanitarium was transferred to the supervision of the Kellogg-controlled International Medical Missionary Association. The General Conference was given a note for $45,000 in return for its investment of $75,000. Officials of the Colorado Conference were dropped from the board. For years the institution struggled financially, but in 1904, under F. M. Wilcox’s management, it was able for the first time to pay one year’s interest and, a year later, $4,000 on the note.

These were the circumstances when at the General Conference of 1905 in Washington, D.C., Dr. O. G. Place, who several years earlier had been a physician at Boulder Sanitarium, came forward with the proposition that he purchase the institution. He offered $50,000. Some time before, Dr. Place had purchased a hotel within a half mile of the Sanitarium and had opened a competing institution, one with less discipline, lower standards, and higher employee remuneration. One deficiency was that in this institution the patients and guests were served meat.

During the months preceding the General Conference session, Dr. Place had succeeded in making friends of the members of the Colorado Conference committee who had been left off the Boulder Sanitarium board. Taking all factors into consideration, he expected to be able to work out a deal while in Washington.

Ellen White, learning of the plans, went before the General Conference on Monday, May 29, with a vigorous protest against selling Boulder Sanitarium. Her message was based not only on the disclosure of the propositions made but on a vision given to her while there in Washington (Letter 163, 1905). “Recently,” she said, “the question has been raised, What shall we do with the Colorado Sanitarium?”—Record of Progress and An Earnest Appeal In Behalf of the Boulder-Colorado Sanitarium, 39. She then discussed the situation:

The light given me has been that the plans followed in the [35] building up of this institution were not altogether in accordance with the mind and will of God. Too much money was invested in the building.— Ibid.

She pointed out that the solution in this case, as in other cases of a similar character, was not in selling and getting out, but in making the institution a success in spite of the problems. More than money was at stake:

After the investment has been made, the buildings erected, and our workers have gone in there, and wrestled and wrestled to make the work a success, and the Sanitarium has accomplished much good, shall we turn over the place to private parties? After the workers have wrestled all these years, shall those now connected with it give it up, and say they are beaten? We cannot have it so. No such representation of our work is to be made before the world.— Ibid.

Every employee was to stretch his energies to make it a success. She declared:

God wants this institution to stand as an educating power in the medical missionary work, and He desires that those who have been struggling with all their might to make it a success shall not have labored in vain.... The light given me is that we should not rest until the Boulder Sanitarium is a decided success. What we need is to gird on the armor, and advance in unity.—Ibid., 39, 40.

She was positive in her position:

God wants us never to do such a thing as to part with the Boulder Sanitarium. This institution will yet do its work, and will do it well.—Ibid., 41.

Then she pointed out that it was not in the order of God that another medical institution was started in Boulder. God had not sent a second sanitarium to Boulder. There were plenty of places a physician could go to establish another sanitarium.

Those carrying the responsibilities at the Sanitarium knew nothing prior to the General Conference session of the proposition that the institution be sold. When they learned what was going on, [36] and that the president of the conference was a party to it, they were shocked; relationships were really strained.

Later Ellen White wrote more in regard to a second sanitarium in Boulder:

The light which God has given me is that Dr. Place has not the glory of God in view in establishing a sanitarium in Boulder so near the one which is already located there.—Letter 198, 1906.

And to the doctor she wrote on the same day:

Dr. Place, you could not have properly considered the results upon others, or you would not have established a sanitarium where you are now located. Your management in this matter has not pleased the Lord. Your sanitarium cannot be carried on to the glory of God, situated as near as it is to the Boulder Sanitarium....

And why was our Boulder Sanitarium established? Was it not to teach health reform, and use rational methods in the treatment of disease? Dr. Place, if your institution gives indulgence to meat-eating and various other appetites, then is not its influence against the sanitarium already established, where the principles of health reform are upheld?

I have had the situation opened to me, my brother, and the results for which a sanitarium should be conducted. The Boulder Sanitarium had, in the fear of God, taken the ground that our leading sanitariums have taken—to discard meat, tea, coffee, spirituous liquor, and the drug medications. Temperance principles had been taught in parlor lectures, and in other ways. Wholesome foods were served, and genuine health reform was taught. This institution should have had the right of way. But by the location of another sanitarium so nearby, the principles of which are in some respects quite different from those of the Boulder Sanitarium, difficulties will be presented which should not exist.—Letter 196, 1906.

The matter of serving meat was one Ellen White mentioned in an appeal to the “Brethren and Sisters in the Colorado Conference,” August 10, 1905:

Abstinence from flesh meat will prove a great benefit to those [37] who abstain. The diet question is a subject of vital importance. Those who do not conduct sanitariums in the right way lose their opportunity to help the very ones who need help the most. Our sanitariums are established for a special purpose, to teach people that we do not live to eat, but that we eat to live.—Manuscript 90, 1905 (Special Testimonies, Series B 5:28, 29). [The several E. G. White documents dealing with the boulder sanitarium situation were first assembled as parts of Manuscript 90, 1905, and later printed in Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 5.]

The straight testimony of the messenger of the Lord precluded any precipitous action on the selling of the Sanitarium. Yet not all in Colorado were convinced that selling might not be a way out of the problem they faced.

Proposal of a Sanitarium at Canon City

Just then another factor was interjected—the proposition of establishing a new sanitarium in Colorado. This was to be in Canon City, 100 miles to the south of Boulder, in a rather sparsely settled area. The chief attraction was newly developed artesian wells with mineral water thought to be of curative value.

The Denver papers of August 5 carried the story. A corporation was being formed to open a general tourist sanitarium. The incorporators were Pitt W. Wade, a young Seventh-day Adventist physician; A. G. Wade, his brother; and W. W. Hills, a physician who had labored for years as a minister in the Colorado Conference.

The board of directors was announced as: Pitt W. Wade, W. W. Hills, C. J. Frederickson (the county treasurer), M. J. Evans (a banker), and the president of the Colorado Conference. Capital stock was set at $200,000, in shares of one dollar each. The objectives stated in the corporation charter were broad. First, on the list was “the founding of a general tourist sanitarium,” but the category of potential interests embraced almost every type of activity from owning, controlling, and leasing of manufacturing plants, to mercantile concerns, printing establishments, and cattle raising. The promoters hoped to raise some $40,000 from Seventh-day Adventists.

The announcing of these plans did two things: it brought discouragement to those trying to make the Boulder Sanitarium a [38] success, and it led the messenger of the Lord to enter the picture.

On August 10 she wrote to physicians and ministers in Colorado:

I have a message for the brethren who contemplate establishing a sanitarium at Canon City. The Lord forbids, at this time, any movement that would tend to draw to other enterprises the sympathy and support that are needed just now by the Boulder Sanitarium. This is a critical time for that institution.—Record of Progress and An Earnest Appeal In Behalf of the Boulder-Colorado Sanitarium, 32.

To those who would now solicit means from our people for the establishment of a sanitarium in Canon City, I am bidden to say, Stop where you are and consider the necessities that have been laid before you a [sanitarium on the school grounds in Takoma Park, a sanitarium to be built near Nashville, and assistance to the school at Huntsville]. These necessities demand attention. Do not draw means from our people to establish something that is not a positive necessity. Let not your zeal abate, but do those things that the Lord would have you do.—Ibid., 36.

She urged that their ambitions should be focused on the institution already established, until it was free from debt. Boulder Sanitarium was to receive all the help that could be given to it (Ibid.).

Delicate Issues at the Camp Meeting

Camp meeting was to be held in Colorado at Denver, August 17-27. Elder G. A. Irwin, General Conference vice-president, was still on the West Coast awaiting the arrival of his wife from Australia, where she had labored with her husband prior to his appointment as General Conference vice-president. While he waited, he spent a number of days at Elmshaven. He was to attend the Colorado meeting as a General Conference representative and was fully aware of the confused and critical situation in that State. He asked Ellen White to let him have copies of what she had written from time to time about Boulder Sanitarium. He would take with him what he could, and other documents would be mailed to him in Denver.

Ellen White was to leave August 10 for the Los Angeles camp [39] meeting. Before leaving, she was up much of two nights writing and getting testimonies ready for Colorado. She and her staff assembled the materials, and the secretaries copied five key documents, which, after a careful final reading by Ellen White, were hastened by mail to Elder Irwin (28 WCW, p. 263).

In her communication dated August 10 she dealt again very plainly with the proposition to the Sanitarium, and with the competitive institution in Boulder. She then took up the proposal of the Canon City Sanitarium. These Elder Irwin received by mail in Denver and used effectively.

An Affirmative Response to Testimonies Carefully Presented

After the difficult Denver meeting, Elder Irwin wrote telling how he had dreaded that meeting, for “there were so many conflicting interests to harmonize.” But, he reported, “the testimonies...came just at the right time.”—G. A. Irwin to WCW, August 28, 1905. He first took the conference president to one side, talked with him, and read him the testimonies. Irwin reported that the president listened very attentively and respectfully to the end, and that a very deep impression was made upon him. He had favored the transfer of Boulder Sanitarium to Dr. Place, and was, as noted, also in sympathy with the enterprise in Canon City. The message struck him hard, but he accepted the counsel (Ibid.).

Elder Irwin then talked with Dr. Hills and he also acquiesced to the counsel, although it was clear that it was a heavy blow to him (Ibid.).

Dr. Wade, who could not be at the camp meeting, learned of the testimonies and telegraphed that he felt in harmony with what the Lord had said.

The messages from Ellen White were read to the conference committee and then to all the workers of the Colorado Conference. With the workers committed, Elder Irwin took the matter to the whole body of believers assembled, where a vote was taken. There was not a dissenting vote.

The victory was gained. The conference committee issued a statement, referring first to the counsel given, which “met with a hearty general response on the part of our conference workers and [40] conference delegates” (Ibid., 49).

Then in penitent explanation the statement continued that while this instruction seemed to cut directly across plans that were believed to be right and that accorded with the best judgment of those concerned with them at the time, they felt that the only consistent position they could take was to acknowledge the mistaken judgment cheerfully and gladly, and yield their own plans to the instruction sent to them (Ibid.).

The statement of the conference committee pointed out that in the reorganization of Boulder Sanitarium it was now “more than ever before a denominational institution” (Ibid., 50). Full support of the conference constituency was solicited.

But Why Not Canon City?

But it was not easy for the leading promoters of the Canon City Sanitarium to give up their enterprise. In late September Dr. Wade visited Ellen White at Elmshaven and laid the matter before her in as favorable light as he could. Adjustments had been made in the plans that would leave the conference president and non-SDA businessmen off the board, and limit the financial support to non-church members. As he sought her support, she told him if she had further light from the Lord on the matter she would send it to him. On Thursday night, September 28, a vision was given to her providing “further light.” This formed the basis of three communications. The first, a letter to Dr. Wade, was written October 2:

I have not written to you before, regarding the sanitarium enterprise with which you are connected; for I have received no light that would lead me to write anything contrary to that which was contained in the testimony read in Denver by Elder Irwin. But I am now prepared to speak positively. Last Thursday night [September 28] the matter was presented to me more fully.

She told Dr. Wade that he was in need of “treatment from the Great Physician of soul and body.” “You need a new spiritual life,” she urged, and then added:

Were a sanitarium established by you, circumstances would arise that would injure the experience of others who might be connected with the institution. The matter has been made plain [41] to me, and I am authorized to say that the men who are united in the matter of erecting and controlling a sanitarium in Canon City are not qualified to do the best kind of work. Should they carry out their plans there would be disappointment and continual friction.—Letter 285, 1905.

This was followed by a personal appeal for the cultivation of the heavenly graces.

The same day she wrote an eight-page testimony addressed to “The Promoters of the Canon City Sanitarium.” It opened with words right to the point:

Last Thursday night, September 28, light was given me that the testimonies written out and sent to Elder Irwin to be read at the camp meeting in Denver were being made of no effect by some who are not pleased with the instruction that the Lord has given in regard to the undertaking of private sanitarium enterprises in Colorado.

I saw that in the company formed for the management of the Canon City Sanitarium enterprise, it is not alone the unbelieving elements that are objectionable. Some of those connected with this movement, who profess to believe the truth, are not qualified to carry out their ambitious purposes. It is in mercy that the Lord, who knows the end from the beginning, sends His warning to these brethren, not for their discouragement, but that they may be kept from making mistakes which would lead them away from Him.

Then she added words of gentle reproof to those who persisted in endeavoring to find a way to carry out their own plans in spite of counsel that they should not do so. She declared, stating a hermeneutic principle:

In the testimonies sent to the Denver meeting, the Spirit of God dictated a message that should prevent the carrying out of plans which would result in disappointment....God does not at one time send a message of warning, and later another message, encouraging a movement against which He had previously given warning. His messages do not contradict one another.—Letter 287, 1905. [42]

Linking Up With Unbelievers

One week later she wrote to Doctors Wade and Hills:

The Lord has repeatedly instructed me to say to His people that they are not to bind up with the world in business partnerships of any kind, and especially in so important a matter as the establishment of a sanitarium. Believers and unbelievers, serving two masters, cannot properly be linked together in the Lord’s work. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” God forbids His people to unite with unbelievers in the building up of His institutions.

She laid out clearly the involvements:

One of the dangers to be met if we should link up with unbelievers is that we cannot depend upon the opinions and judgment, regarding the sacred interests of the Lord’s work, of men who, with the Bible open before them, are living in open transgression of the law of God. We cannot depend upon them, because the enemy of Christ influences their minds.

They may be ever so favorable to our work now, but in the future there will come times of crisis, and then our people will be brought into a position of extreme trial, if they are bound up in any way with the worldlings. Our people may think that they can guard against these difficulties that would naturally arise in their union with worldlings, but in this they will be disappointed.

In connection with any combination with outside parties, there will be disappointment. It behooves us to move very guardedly, for thereby we shall save ourselves much burden and trouble, for the light given me is that to link up with them and to lean upon them is folly and disappointment.

“Wait,” she counseled. “Wait until the Lord shall manifest Himself in a more distinct and striking manner than He has done.”

She reminded the two physicians:

Our health institutions are of value in the Lord’s estimation only when He is allowed to preside in their management. If His plans and devisings are regarded as inferior to plans of men, He [43] looks upon these institutions as of no more value than the institutions established and conducted by worldlings.—Letter 283, 1905.

The Canon City enterprise was reluctantly abandoned. Boulder Sanitarium survived.

To place in permanent form before church members throughout Colorado the history and the testimonies concerning the Sanitarium matters, a pamphlet of eighty pages was published at Pacific Press in the late fall of 1905. It carried the title “Record of Progress and an Earnest Appeal in Behalf of the Boulder, Colorado, Sanitarium.” The pamphlet was designated as Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 5. This made it a part of a growing series of special testimonies, issued to meet special or local situations. The next year, after some developments in the situation in Colorado, a second printing was made with added material bringing the presentation up-to-date. [44]

Chapter 4—Independence or Unity?

For the printing of literature for the various language groups in North America, arrangements were made in 1903 to establish at College View, Nebraska, the International Publishing Association. Prior to this the Review and Herald had handled this type of work, but the loss of the plant by fire in late 1902 brought about the necessity of a new arrangement. Equipment was installed at College View, in a plant of moderate size, and printing was done there in German, Danish-Norwegian, and Swedish.

Differences in nationality of workers led to differences in opinions as to how the plant should be operated. A growing feeling had been expressed at the General Conference session in Washington in May, 1905, that it would be well if there could be a separation of the printing work for these three language groups. Also, some of the ministers in the field working for these several nationalities were advocating the organization of separate conferences for each of the three respective ethnic groups.

Considerable study was given to the matter at the time of the session, but the published reports of the meeting are silent in regard to this. However, at this session, arrangements were made to organize a Foreign Department of the General Conference to care for the needs of the various language groups in North America.

The annual meeting of the International Publishing Association was appointed to convene at College View, Nebraska, on September 5, 1905. In connection with this the newly formed Foreign Department of the General Conference was to hold a council. Those [45] arranging for these meetings were well aware of the agitation in the churches of the various nationalities calling for separate local conference organizations. It was with considerable misgiving that the leading brethren prepared for the meetings to convene in College View in early September.

Meeting the Appeal for Guiding Counsel

Elder G. A. Irwin, vice-president of the General Conference, was to be present, and the president of the Central Union Conference, Elder E. T. Russell, was also to be there. These two church leaders requested Ellen White to send them any instruction she had relating to the questions that would come to the front at those meetings. She began to respond to this request before leaving for southern California on August 10. Search was made in the various sources of her existing writings in the Elmshaven office that would provide materials. A key item found was an address she had given at a council at Basel, Switzerland, on September 24, 1885.

From a long chapter in Testimonies, volume 7, published in 1902, “God’s Purpose in Our Publishing Houses,” selection of material was made that would be of particular value in helping the workers in the College View plant see the very exalted nature of the work in which they were engaged. They were also reminded that the church’s publishing houses were to be training schools for workers. The materials selected came from pages 140, 142-144, and 146-149. Another article appearing in volume 7 on pages 191-193 was selected for use. A third article was made up of materials selected from the Testimonies relating to the publishing work at home and abroad and containing excerpts from volumes 7 and 8. From her manuscripts a little item was chosen presenting her observation in Switzerland of men working together in a well-organized way. Thus Ellen White’s staff worked getting ready for the September 5 deadline for the College View meetings.

Soon after leaving Los Angeles and its camp meeting on August 20, Ellen White went to Loma Linda and wrote three testimonies to aid in dealing specifically with situations that would be met at College View. The first of these carried the dateline Loma Linda, August 24, 1905, and was addressed to “Our Brethren Connected With the Publishing Work at College View.” She opened with a [46] reference to her attending the council held the year before at College View in connection with the first annual meetings of the International Publishing Association. At that meeting her mind was deeply exercised, she said, “regarding the unity which should attend our work.” This set the tone for her letter. [The several Ellen G. White statements regarding the publishing work in college view and separate conferences were drawn together as parts of Manuscript 94, 1905, and later published as Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 4 (see especially pp. 22-32, where quotations in this chapter can be found). See also Testimonies for the Church 9:186-198.]

She asked:

Why are many of us so weak and inefficient? It is because we look to self, studying our own temperament and wondering how we can make a place for ourselves, our individuality, and our peculiarities, in the place of studying Christ and His character.

She declared:

Brethren who could work together in harmony if they would learn of Christ, forgetting that they are Americans or Europeans, Germans or Frenchmen, Swedes, Danes, or Norwegians, seem to feel that if they should blend with those of other nationalities, something of that which is peculiar to their own country and nation would be lost, and something else would take its place.

She urged:

My brethren, let us put all of that aside. We have no right to keep our minds stayed on ourselves, our preferences, and our fancies. We are not to seek to maintain a peculiar identity of our own, a personality, an individuality, which will separate us from our fellow laborers. We have a character to maintain, but it is the character of Christ.

The second communication written from Loma Linda on the same day, August 24, titled “The Publishing Work at College View, “was in more general terms. It opened with the words:

I approve of the efforts that have been made to establish our German and Scandinavian publishing work at College View. I hope that plans will be devised for the encouragement and strengthening of this work. [47]

She came right to the subject in stating:

Our German and Danish and Swedish brethren have no good reason for not being able to act in harmony in the publishing work. Those who believe the truth should remember that they are God’s little children, under His training. Let them be thankful to God for His manifold mercies and be kind to one another. They have one God and one Saviour; and one Spirit—the Spirit of Christ—is to bring unity into their ranks.

It is in this testimony that we find Ellen White’s classic statement that has been used in several E. G. White compilations:

Christ recognized no distinction of nationality or rank or creed. The scribes and Pharisees desired to make a local and a national benefit of all the gifts of heaven, and to exclude the rest of God’s family in the world. But Christ came to break down every wall of partition. He came to show that His gift of mercy and love is as unconfined as the air, the light, or the showers of rain that refresh the earth.

The Matter of Separate Conferences

In her third communication to the workers at College View she addressed herself to the question introduced at the General Conference regarding German and Scandinavian conferences. This testimony, dated September 1, 1905, and written from Loma Linda, opened:

Some of our ministers have written to me, asking if the work among the Germans and the Scandinavians should not be carried forward under separate organizations. This matter has been presented to me several times, and I have written upon the subject; but I do not know where to find all that I have written regarding the matter. When I was in College View [in 1904,] the Lord gave me a straight testimony to bear, and since that time the matter has been presented to me again.

Then she tells of how the subject was presented to her:

At one time I seemed to be in a council meeting where these matters were being considered. One of Authority stood in the [48] midst of those assembled and opened before them principles that should be followed in the work of God. The instruction given was that should such separation take place, it would not tend to advance the interest of the work among the various nationalities. It would not lead to the highest spiritual development. Walls would be built up that would have to be removed in the near future.

According to the light given me of God, separate organizations, instead of bringing about unity, will create discord. If our brethren will seek the Lord together in humility of mind, those who now think it necessary to organize separate German and Scandinavian conferences will see that the Lord desires them to work together as brethren.

Were those who seek to disintegrate the work of God to carry out their purpose, some would magnify themselves to do a work that should not be done. Such an arrangement would greatly retard the cause of God. If we are to carry on the work most successfully the talents to be found among the English and Americans should be united with the talents of those of every other nationality. And each nationality should labor earnestly for every other nationality. There is but one Lord; one faith. Our efforts should be to answer Christ’s prayer for His disciples, that they should be one.

Bringing this phase of counsel to a close, she stated:

I must write plainly regarding the building up of partition walls in the work of God. Such an action has been revealed to me as a fallacy of human invention. It is not the Lord’s plan for His people to separate themselves into separate companies, because of differences in nationality and language. Did they do this, their ideas would become narrow, and their influence would be greatly lessened. God calls for a harmonious blending of a variety of talents.

She closes her appeal with these words:

Brethren, unify; draw close together, laying aside every human invention, and following closely in the footsteps of Jesus, your great example. [49]

At that time the United States mails were relatively uncluttered by a mass of second and third-class materials; postal schedules could be counted on with precision. Ellen White and her associates at Loma Linda had their eyes on the dates set for the meetings in College View and pulled these six or seven items together—those written earlier and the four written for the occasion—into a single package and got it off in the mail, addressed to Elder G. A. Irwin, so that it would reach him in College View just at the opening of the important meetings.

The Meeting

Considering the various factors and the temper of those involved, church leaders anticipated that the meetings could run into several days. They did not know what might develop regarding the separation of nationalities. But, reported Elder E. T. Russell after the meetings closed: “The business was carried forward with dispatch and in two days was worked out completely.”—28 WCW, p. 471.

The work that was begun on Tuesday, September 5, was finished by Wednesday evening, September 6. On Thursday the seventh, Elder G. A. Irwin wrote to the workers at Elmshaven:

I am glad to tell you that the Lord has given the victory here just as signally as He did in Colorado. The communications from Sister White came in just the right time, and answered the most important questions before us. They made the matter so clear and plain that even the most extreme agitators of a separation were led to accept them.—G. A. Irwin to WCW, September 7, 1905.

Irwin pointed out that Mrs. White’s words penned at Loma Linda sounded the keynote: “I approve of the efforts that have been made to establish our German and Scandinavian publishing work in College View. I hope that plans will be devised for the encouragement and strengthening of this work.” It seemed to be a text to work from. Commented Irwin:

The Lord disapproved of the efforts to divide and scatter into separate organizations, but on the other hand, approved of the effort that had been made to unite the three nationalities [50] together in the publishing work. So then all we felt that we had to do was to devise plans for the encouragement of the work.

Then Elder Irwin, who for four years (1897 to 1901) had served as president of the General Conference, opened his heart in an expression of what he saw take place during the few days at Denver in late August and at College View in early September. He wrote:

I want to say, Brother White, that ever since I have been connected with the message, I have never seen more marked manifestations of the workings of divine Providence than I have at the meetings at Denver and here. I came up to both of these meetings with a great deal of dread and many misgivings; but the Lord has worked them both out so easily and so satisfactorily that it gives me a great deal of courage in the Lord’s work.

Then he referred to his observation regarding the response of the people and their loyalty to the testimonies:

I was very much pleased to see the loyalty with which the brethren here regarded the testimonies.— Ibid.

He told of one brother who was strong for the division of the groups into separate conferences, but after the testimonies were read he was the first man to get on his feet and acknowledge that he was wrong. “Now that the Lord had spoken, he felt to say, Amen.”

There had been some grumbling among the personnel in the publishing house during the meeting. Some who strongly favored a division suggested that possibly the wording of the messages as read to them from Sister White did not actually come from her pen but may have been written by someone else, perhaps by Elder Irwin, to help carry the day at College View. This was a line of criticism that would run into 1906 and accelerate. It was suggested, particularly in Battle Creek, that possibly some of the messages sent out as coming from Sister White actually were written by others.

Nonetheless, it was a clear-cut victory for the truth at College View, the second occasion within a few days’ time in which messages sent through the mail from California arrived at just the hour they were needed, met the situation squarely, and were heartily responded to by the workers and rank and file of the people. [51]

Those present at the councils in College View in 1905 requested copies of the E. G. White testimonies that had turned the tide and had seemingly settled the question both of a unified work in the publishing house and of whether there should be separate conferences representing the language groups. There were also many out in the field who had been agitating the matter of separate conferences, and it was felt that they should have copies of these testimonies.

So plans were laid for the immediate publication of the entire group of materials in a thirty-two-page pamphlet. This was identified as Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 4, and carried the title of “Testimonies for the Church Regarding the Spirit of Unity That Should Be Maintained in the International Publishing Association and Among Laborers of All Nationalities in the Lord’s Harvest Field.” It was printed at Pacific Press as soon as arrangements could be made and was the second pamphlet of the four printed in 1905 as part of the nearly a score of pamphlets designated as Special Testimonies, Series B. Much of it was later reprinted in Testimonies, volume 9.

Concern for the Vegetarian Restaurants

Ellen White’s trip to southern California to attend the Los Angeles camp meeting and to visit the sanitariums at Loma Linda, Paradise Valley, and Glendale took her away from home from August 10 to September 21.

For a year or more she had been concerned regarding the restaurants Seventh-day Adventists were operating, a line of work she had strongly supported. On several occasions she visited the vegetarian restaurant in Los Angeles and had been led to ponder:

It is not the large number of meals served that brings glory to God. What does this avail if not one soul has been converted, to gladden the hearts of the workers?

She declared:

There is danger, in the establishment of restaurants, of losing sight of the work that most needs to be done. There is danger of the workers’ losing sight of the work of soul saving as they carry [52] forward the business part of the enterprise. There is danger that the business part of the work will be allowed to crowd out the spiritual part.

Some good is being done by the restaurant work. Men and women are being educated to dispense with meat and other injurious articles of diet. But who are being fed with the bread of life? Is the purpose of God being fulfilled if in this work there are no conversions? It is time that we called a halt, lest we spend our energies in the establishment of a work that does little to make ready a people for the coming of the Lord.

The only object in the establishment of restaurants was to remove prejudice from the minds of men and women, and win them to the truth.—Manuscript 84, 1903 (Medical Ministry, 306, 307).

Now in September, 1905, just after her return from southern California, she participated in a convention of health food workers held at St. Helena Sanitarium. She spoke to them on Sabbath, and on Sunday addressed them on the subject of restaurant work (Manuscript 150, 1905). She spoke of her visit to the vegetarian restaurant in Los Angeles and told of her distress on observing that little was done to make the work a means of evangelistic outreach (Manuscript 96, 1905; Manuscript 27, 1906). Reporting on her Sunday meeting, she wrote:

I told them that there must be a thorough reformation in the health food business. It is not to be regarded so much as a commercial enterprise. At present but little is seen as the result of this work to lead us to recommend the establishment of more places to be conducted as our restaurants have been in the past. But few have been converted by this work in Los Angeles and in San Francisco. Many of the workers have lost the science of soul saving.—Letter 271, 1905.

Shortly after this convention, in writing to the president of the Southern California Conference she asked, “What is being accomplished in our large restaurants to teach men and women the way of the Lord?”—Letter 279, 1905.

Then she reported:

I am instructed to say that it is a mistake to gather up our young men and young women who have talent that might be [53] utilized in evangelistic work, and call them to a work of serving tables, to a work where but feeble efforts are being put forth to warn those that are perishing in their sins, in ignorance of the truth and light which should be making its way into all parts of the world.... Those who have a valuable talent of influence should not be confined to the work of restaurants as they are now conducted.— Ibid.

Happenings at Elmshaven

At Elmshaven, with the coming of fall it was grape-harvest time. Ellen White did not sell her grapes to wineries. Instead they were crushed and the juice was bottled fresh at the nearby Sanitarium Health Food Factory. It was then sold to health food stores, sanitariums, and individuals.

One Friday afternoon in mid-October, W. C. White summarized the activities around the place:

This Friday afternoon Dores [Robinson] is working writing out Mother’s messages to the promoters of the Canon City Sanitarium enterprise. Ella and Mrs. Crisler are under the live oak tree, reading Patriarchs and Prophets [in connection with putting in new chapter headings, new tailpieces, and new illustrations.]

Sara is assisting Brother and Sister James with the wine, and Maggie, with a broken arm [she tripped over a pipe that was out of place] is inspecting the operations. May and the children are at home getting ready for the Sabbath.—29 WCW, p. 148.

October and November were months in which many issues pressed hard upon Ellen White. Then on November 16, W. C. White, on the urging of Elder Daniells, left to attend meetings in the Midwest and the East. He was away the rest of the year.

Her Seventy-Eighth Birthday

Sunday, November 26, was Ellen White’s seventy-eighth birthday, but under the pressure of work she had forgotten this. Late in the morning she took a carriage ride. When she returned, she [54] was greeted by a house full of people and two tables prepared in the dining room.

“I had been so busy,” she wrote to Edson, “that I had not thought of its being my birthday, and I was, as Brother Starr used to say, ‘plumb surprised’ to find such a large gathering.”—Letter 321, 1905.

The surprise dinner had been prepared by Sarah Peck and Mrs. S. H. King, Ellen White’s new housekeeper. Dores and Ella were there, May and her three children, Grace and the twins, Mrs. King’s 10-year-old niece, and the Elmshaven office staff. Only Willie and Mabel were missing—Mabel working at Paradise Valley and her father at College View, Nebraska, attending the Fall Council of the General Conference Committee.

“We partook of a nicely prepared meal,” Ellen White wrote, “after which we went into the parlor, and engaged in a season of prayer, and sang a few hymns. The Lord came graciously near to us as we offered up hearty thanksgiving to God for His goodness and mercy to us all.”— Ibid.

She failed to mention that she delivered what May described as a “sweet little talk,” part of which Dores took down in shorthand. In this she said:

I do not know as I shall be with you till another birthday. I do not cling to life; neither do I dread it. I am willing to take whatever God may see fit to send me.

But one thing I do desire is that as long as I have the breath of life my mental powers may be preserved. I am very thankful that my mind is as clear as it is, and that I can help as I do....

When I consider how weak I was in my younger days, I feel that at my age I have great reason to be thankful to the Lord.... Since the accident that happened to me when I was 9 years old, I have seldom been perfectly free from all pain. But I do not remember when I have been more free from pain than I am at present.—Manuscript 142, 1905.

Thinking of the controversy accelerating in Battle Creek over her work, she added:

I greatly desire that no contention or unbelief may cause me a [55] single thought of retaliation against those who are opposing my work; for I cannot afford to spoil my peace of mind. I want to know that the Lord stands back of me, and that in Him I have a helper that no human being can exceed. Nothing is so precious to me as to know that Christ is my Saviour.

I appreciate the truth, every jot of it, just as it has been given to me by the Holy Spirit for the last fifty years. I desire everyone to know that I stand on the same platform of truth that we have maintained for more than half a century. That is the testimony that I desire to bear on the day that I am 78 years of age....

I know where my help is.... I trust in Jesus Christ as my Redeemer, my Saviour, and through Him I shall be an overcomer.— Ibid.

Sister Ings at the Sanitarium sent down flowers, and there was another bouquet from St. Helena. Mrs. King gave her a silver-plated water pitcher, “just such a one as I had been thinking of purchasing” (Letter 321, 1905).

In writing of the surprise birthday party she took occasion to praise her new housekeeper, who had come from Healdsburg College where she served as matron, to take the place of Mrs. M. J. Nelson. The latter had left to continue her nurse’s training.

We have been favored with Brother and Sister King to be our helpers. Both are very useful workers. Sister King is my cook, and the food comes onto the table in an appetizing shape for my workers. This is what we need: simple food prepared in a simple, wholesome, and relishable manner.... I have had a good appetite and relish my food, and am perfectly satisfied with the portion which I select, which I know does not injure my digestive organs....

I am glad and thankful that we secured Sister King as the matron of our home, and her husband to be a caretaker outside the home, and inside when needed.—Letter 322, 1905. [56]

Chapter 5—1905 Closes With Battle Creek Issues

The issues at Battle Creek that Ellen White referred to in her little birthday talk on November 26 concerned largely the credibility of the messages of counsel and correction emanating from Elmshaven—was Ellen White influenced to write as she did? Questions were raised regarding the authorship of some of the letters and manuscripts carrying her signature. Were they written by Ellen White or by others?

Dr. J. H. Kellogg was working desperately to hold all medical institutions under the control of the International Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association. Church leaders and Ellen White were calling for conference ownership and control. Dr. Kellogg and Elder A. T. Jones were working earnestly to reestablish Battle Creek as an important educational center. The testimonies consistently counseled against such a move.

When Jones in the spring of 1905 left the work in Washington to which he had been called, he returned to Battle Creek to throw himself wholeheartedly into the bold venture of starting a “university” in connection with the Sanitarium (The Review and Herald, December 28, 1905). They had the buildings—the old Battle Creek College plant just across North Washington Street from the Sanitarium. The prime need was for students—Seventh-day Adventist students. But many church members were aware of Ellen White’s warnings against Seventh-day Adventist youth going to Battle Creek for their education. Only by discrediting her message could students in any number be secured. How better could this be done than by questioning the real authorship and authority of the testimonies [57] emanating from Ellen White’s northern California headquarters?

The counsels against elevating Battle Creek and making it an educational center could be traced back to the General Conference session of 1903. In a general letter addressed to the church, written four months later on August 13, 1903, Ellen White declared:

My dear brethren,

I understand that efforts are being made to establish a college in Battle Creek, after the Lord has plainly stated that there should not be a college there, giving the reasons. He said that the school was to be taken out of Battle Creek....

The establishment of a college in Battle Creek is contrary to the Lord’s direction. The Lord does not look with favor upon this plan, or upon those who devised it.—Letter 207, 1903.

Late that year two E. G. White articles appeared in the Review and Herald, carrying the message to rank-and-file Adventists:

The Lord is not pleased with some of the arrangements that have been made in Battle Creek.... It is not pleasing to God that our youth in all parts of the country should be called to Battle Creek to work in the Sanitarium, and to receive their education.—December 10, 1903.

A week later another warning appeared:

The light given me by the Lord—that our youth should not collect in Battle Creek to receive their education—has in no particular changed. The fact that the Sanitarium has been rebuilt does not change the light. That which in the past has made Battle Creek a place unsuitable for the education of our youth makes it unsuitable today, so far as influence is concerned....

Because the Sanitarium is where it ought not to be, shall the word of the Lord regarding the education of our youth be of no account? Shall we allow the most intelligent of our youth in the churches throughout our conferences to be placed where some of them will be robbed of their simplicity through contact with men and women who have not the fear of God in their hearts?—December 17, 1903 (see also Testimonies for the Church 8:227, 228).

Ellen G. White’s communications continued to sound warnings. [58]

On May 4, 1904, she wrote:

How can we encourage the plans to gather our youth into Battle Creek, when our heavenly Father has said that this place is not to be made a great center for educational work?—Letter 151, 1904.

On June 23 she wrote:

I was bidden to warn our people on no account to send their children to Battle Creek to receive an education, because ... delusive, scientific theories would be presented in the most seducing forms.— Manuscript 64, 1904.

These counsels were soon brought together and published in Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 6, “Testimonies to the Church Regarding Our Youth Going to Battle Creek to Obtain an Education.”

The year 1905 marked the rapidly growing rift between the medical interests headed by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, and church leaders and the church organization itself.

The steps taken following the General Conference sessions of 1901 and 1903 to bind the medical work to the denomination were seen by Dr. Kellogg as a challenge to the institutions he dominated. The organization of a medical department and the appointment of a medical department secretary confirmed this in his mind. In seeming desperation he launched an aggressive program to develop Battle Creek Sanitarium into an even stronger base of influence and entered upon an aggressive campaign to unsettle confidence in Ellen White and church leaders.

Ellen White Announces Her Positive Stand

On the last day of the 1905 General Conference session in Washington, D.C., May 30, Ellen White came before the delegates and visitors heavily burdened over the situation in Battle Creek. She read a three-page statement prepared for the occasion, which she followed with extemporaneous remarks. In plain language she set forth the issues: “Our sanitariums should not be linked up with the Medical Missionary Association at Battle Creek.... The book Living Temple contains specious, deceptive sentiments regarding the [59] personality of God and of Christ. The Lord opened before me the true meaning of these sentiments, showing me that unless they were steadfastly repudiated, they would ‘deceive the very elect.’” She denied the claim that her writings upheld the pantheistic teachings of that book, and protested against the manner in which her writings were being misused to support such a claim.

She expressed regret that the warnings sent to Battle Creek had gone unheeded, and that young people sent there for an education in medical missionary lines were endangered. She urged that they should receive their training from those “true and loyal to the faith” that was “delivered to the people of God, under the ministration of the Spirit of God.”

Then, mentioning Dr. Kellogg by name, she declared that confidence may be placed in him when he “receives the messages of warning given during the past twenty years” and “bears a testimony that has in it no signs of double meaning or of misconstruction of the light God has given.”

Then in startling language she closed her three-page written message with the words:

It has been presented to me that in view of Dr. Kellogg’s course of action at the 1904 Berrien Springs meeting, we are not to treat him as a man led of the Lord.—Manuscript 70, 1905.

In extemporaneous remarks following the reading, she declared:

The only way in which I can stand right before this people is by presenting to our physicians and ministers that which I have written to guard and encourage and warn Dr. Kellogg, showing how God has been speaking to him to keep him from the position which, unless he changes his course, will result in the loss of his soul.— Ibid.

In this was announced a course that would be followed, but kindly and without attack and ever in the hope that Dr. Kellogg would yet yield to the biddings of the Holy Spirit. It was now clear to leaders of the medical missionary interests in Battle Creek that medical work fostered by the Seventh-day Adventist Church was to be under the control of the church, for it was a branch of the work of the church. It was not to be dominated by leaders of medical [60] interests in Battle Creek who had set about to make the medical missionary work undenominational.

Kellogg Attempts to Hold the Line

Emissaries of Dr. Kellogg were sent out to hold a line of allegiance to him and the policies for which he stood. One such prominent physician, Dr. C. E. Stewart, was sent to the Pacific Coast. Kellogg, in a letter written to Elder G. I. Butler on July 24, refers to this:

Dr. Stewart has just returned from the West where he has had an opportunity to see all of our medical people and to visit all our institutions, and has also met many of the conference people. He visited, among other places, the San Jose campground, met Brother W. C. White, had several talks with him; also had an opportunity to meet Sister White and talk with her. They were very nice to him. Sister White urged him very strongly to take charge of the Loma Linda Sanitarium.—DF 45b-1.

Ellen White’s report of this visit is somewhat different. She wrote to J. A. Burden on July 10, 1905:

On my way from San Jose to St. Helena, I met Dr. Stewart, from the Battle Creek Sanitarium, and had some conversation with him. He is one of Dr. Kellogg’s lieutenants, and I hope that you will not be deceived by any flattering statements that may be made.

I know that Dr. Kellogg is doing a work that is misleading. I am writing now to put you on guard. Dr. Kellogg is sending men all around to encourage those whom they visit to take sides. Do not give the least credence to their words or plans.

We know not what tactics Satan will adopt in his efforts to gain the control. I have confidence that you will hold the fort at Loma Linda. The Lord will work for us.—Letter 197, 1905.

These Battle Creek-directed emissaries were sent to parts of the world where medical missionary work was promulgated. In a quiet and stealthy way they struck at the foundations of confidence in the Ellen White counsels (AGD to WCW, October 12, 1905). [61]

The groundwork for this had been established in the critical attitude toward church leaders and Ellen White’s support for moving the headquarters of the church and the Review and Herald publishing plant to Washington, D.C. The issues were intensified as plans now blossomed to make Battle Creek a great educational center—greater and more influential than anything that preceded it.

To draw Seventh-day Adventist youth to Battle Creek, most attractive inducements were made in courses and work opportunities offered. But there were the warnings sounded for two years that Seventh-day Adventist youth should not go to Battle Creek in pursuit of an education. The work of undercutting the testimonies began with meetings held by Dr. Kellogg and A. T. Jones with the Sanitarium workers and was advanced by correspondence with Seventh-day Adventist youth throughout the field.

Strong Sentiments Against the Spirit of Prophecy

By mid-1905 church leaders found strong anti-Spirit of Prophecy sentiments rampant in North America and overseas. It was being reported that the Spirit of Prophecy could not be “safely relied upon to guide us in our affairs” (AGD to WCW, October 3, 1905). In almost every case such sentiments could be traced to Battle Creek and particularly to Dr. Kellogg (Ibid.).

From some of the doctor’s letters the concept emanated that testimonies “were sent out with Sister White’s stamp upon them, which she herself never saw,” but that W. C. White and “her assistants had made up a testimony and signed her name, and sent it to Dr. Kellogg.”— Ibid.

Elder Daniells made reference to this work in a letter to Ellen G. White written on October 11, 1905:

There is a steady, secret, stealthy influence at work all through our ranks to create doubt regarding the messages now coming to this people. We met this in Switzerland, Germany, and England. And our General Conference brethren who attended the camp meetings in this country met it everywhere. It is working like leaven, or a deadly contagion.

In Daniells’ opinion the whole denomination should be informed as to what was going on at Battle Creek. He pleaded with [62] Ellen White: “Has not the time come to give the people enough of what God has revealed to you to fully inform and arouse them? ... Has not the time come for the ship to strike the iceberg?”

The Question—Shall We Publish?

As Ellen White on October 22 read the eight-page letter from the president of the General Conference telling of the bewildering reports from Battle Creek that were reaching the field, a heavy burden rolled onto her heart. Her diary for the next three days tells the story:

October 23: I have not had a night of sleep but a night of much prayer. The cause of God is in peril as Dr. Kellogg and those who are deceived with him are prompted by the same spirit which led to rebellion in the heavenly courts.

October 24: I thank the Lord with heart and soul and voice I have slept well during the night, notwithstanding I carry a heavy burden for the responsible men of Battle Creek.

October 24: This has been a day of distress of soul, represented to me by some things I shall trace upon paper. My heart is wrung with anguish.

W. C. White and his mother have had a praying season and it has seemed we were, as represented to me, in a strong current, trying to swim against the tide.—Manuscript 177, 1905.

Then she mentions one of the points of criticism:

I learn reports are circulated that W. C. White manipulates his mother’s writings.

All have known how much W. C. White manipulates his mother’s writings, when he has been separated from me very much of the time for the years before this year 1905, and we have, when we could get together, planned much and done so little in issuing books. But I utterly deny the charges.— Ibid.

The charge of manipulation on the part of W. C. White would be one of the major ones emerging from Battle Creek for months to come. Kellogg and his cohorts were foremost in advancing it. A great deal concerning the Battle Creek situation had been written by Ellen White to church leaders and others, but the question with her [63] was, When should it be broadcast generally? She explained the delay:

I thought I would take up this matter before, but light came that Dr. Kellogg, united with his associates, was doing a special work. Their plans were being laid, and I was to allow them to make the first move; for then there would be a necessity to “meet it,” and I would be saved from much blame.—Letter 322, 1905. (Italics supplied.)

The announcement in the September issue of the Medical Missionary, published in Battle Creek, of plans to launch the “university” in Battle Creek, was the “first move.” Two years before, steps being taken to open Battle Creek College were laid aside because of Ellen White’s clear counsel. Now the counsel itself was laid aside, and articles and catalogs proclaimed the opening of a number of schools—virtually a university (AGD to WCW, Oct 12, 1905).

Announced Plans for the “University” in Battle Creek

There would be “many courses of study offered by various schools carried on in connection with the Battle Creek Sanitarium”—“professional, scientific, literary, Biblical, technical.” Forty courses offered would lead to diplomas and degrees. In addition to the above, numerous trades would be taught, such as steamfitting, plumbing, blacksmithing, carpentry, painting, tinsmithing, steam and electrical engineering, shoemaking, and dressmaking.

All these were offered to Seventh-day Adventist youth who had no money. They could meet expenses by working at the Sanitarium (The Medical Missionary, October, 1905; AGD to EGW, October 11, 1905).

When young people in perplexity made inquiry of Battle Creek, they received letters from J. H. Kellogg, A. T. Jones, or Mrs. Foy. To a medical student who had been advised to get his medical training elsewhere than Battle Creek, A. T. Jones wrote: “It is impossible for me to escape the conviction that the minister who advised you to change your plans in this way advised you wrongly.”—A. T. Jones to Abner B. Dunn, September 20, 1905, attached to AGD to EGW, October 11, 1905.

Dr. J. H. Kellogg wrote to a nurse in training at a smaller SDA [64] sanitarium, urging that it would be greatly to the advantage of nurses to graduate from the Battle Creek Sanitarium. He closed his letter with these words:

As regards Washington, their plans there have mostly collapsed. They were going to have a great sanitarium out at Takoma Park. Where is it? They were going to have a big sanitarium downtown. Where is it? Dr. Hare has resigned, and I guess they have gotten pretty near the end of their financial rope.... It is not at all likely they will be able to anywhere nearly pay their running expenses.—J. H. Kellogg letter attached to AGD to EGW, October 11, 1905.

Daniells saw all this as “a great dragnet with which to catch our young people“: it could cause the loss of “hundreds of the very flower of our young people” (AGD to EGW, October 11, 1905).

At Elmshaven the staff began collecting material for publication concerning the Battle Creek issues. They expected it might make a book (29 WCW, p. 402).

A week before Elder Daniells’ October 11 letter came to Ellen White, her son reported:

There was a great burden on her mind because of the influences going out from Battle Creek to mislead and confuse our people. She told me that what she has written to our physicians and sanitarium managers in the past must be printed, and she called my attention to a large number of manuscripts which she said contained information which our people ought to have. So your letter was not a surprise to Mother.— Ibid., 294, 295.

The counsel of church leaders was sought as to what should be published and how it should reach the field

First General Conference Medical Missionary Convention

On November 16, W. C. White left the West Coast to attend the first General Conference Medical Missionary Convention to be held at College View, Nebraska, November 21-26 (Ibid., 664; The Review and Herald, November 16, 1905). [65]

Careful plans had been laid for this important five-day meeting. A. G. Daniells, writing to W. C. White, had described plans for it and urged:

Now the point I want to emphasize is that you shall attend this convention. You must be with us. This will be a very important occasion. A strong influence is being exerted against our movement, and we must do our best to make it succeed. You may think it difficult for you to leave California, but you must be present.—AGD to WCW, October 13, 1905.

The College View meeting was attended by a hundred physicians, nurses, and ministers, about evenly divided. Elder Daniells had an opportunity there to present some of the testimonies relating to Battle Creek. Nearly all took a firm and open stand on the testimonies. This encouraged church leaders.

Stirred by plans announced for the College View meeting, the medical people in Battle Creek launched countering measures. Dr. Kellogg called a convention of his new International Medical Missionary Alliance in Chicago for December 18-21 (The Medical Missionary, November, 1905).

As matters thus rapidly developed, with growing opposition to the Spirit of Prophecy messages, Ellen White wrote:

He [Dr. Kellogg] will present anything and everything possible to make of no effect the testimonies that the Lord has given me. I must do my part to meet the situation just now.—Letter 322, 1905.

At the College View meeting W. C. White studied with A. G. Daniells and others the matter of publishing testimonies that would help in the crisis. Here and in further consideration in Washington, with W. C. White participating, the decision was reached to publish two pamphlets of warning and instruction.

Mid-December Week of Prayer Meetings in Battle Creek

The West Michigan Conference invited Elder Daniells to assist in the Week of Prayer in Battle Creek in mid-December. After taking counsel with Elders Irwin, Prescott, White, and Evans, he felt he should accept the appointment and go. This would give him an [66] opportunity to present the testimonies dealing with the situation. The Week of Prayer would begin Friday night, December 15. Daniells, W. C. White, and one or two others went over on Tuesday, the twelfth. This gave them an opportunity to get the feel of the situation. One of the testimonies Daniells carried with him had been penned by Ellen White on June 28, 1905. It was titled “A Solemn Warning.” Indeed it was! It opened with the words:

I wish to sound a note of warning to our people nigh and afar off. An effort is being made by those at the head of the medical work in Battle Creek to get control of property over which, in the sight of the heavenly courts, they have no rightful control. I write now to guard ministers and lay members from being misled by those who are making these efforts.

Several lines of warning were sounded:

Notwithstanding the warnings given, Satan’s sophistries are being accepted now just as they were accepted in the heavenly courts. The science by which our first parents were deceived is deceiving men today. Ministers and physicians are being drawn into the snare.

I have sent warnings to many physicians and ministers, and now I must warn all our churches to beware of men who are being sent out to do the work of spies in our conferences and churches—a work instigated by the father of falsehood and deception. Let every church member stand true to principle. We have been told what would come, and it has come....

I cannot specify all now, but I say to our churches, Beware of the representations coming from Battle Creek that would lead you to disregard the warnings given by the Lord about the effort to make that a great educational center. Let not your sons and daughters be gathered there to receive their education. Powerful agencies have been stealthily working there to sow the seeds of evil.

I must speak plainly. It is presented to me that the condition of things is just what we were warned that it would be, unless the messages of heaven were received by the leaders of the medical work in Battle Creek. But notwithstanding the warnings [67] given, some to whom they have been sent stand up in self-confidence, as if they knew all that it was needful for them to know....

Very adroitly some have been working to make of no effect the testimonies of warning and reproof that have stood the test for half a century. At the same time, they deny doing any such thing....

Again, I say to all, Keep your families away from Battle Creek. Those who have so often opposed the efforts to remove from Battle Creek will some of them be seduced from the truth.—Manuscript 100, 1905.

On Friday night, December 15, just as the Week of Prayer opened, the church board met in the early evening. Dr. Kellogg was present. Daniells presented some of the testimonies and finished just in time for the evening meeting in the Tabernacle. Early Sabbath morning he met again with the church board, and at the eleven-o’clock worship service he presented the prepared Week of Prayer reading. At two-thirty there was another meeting at the Tabernacle with Dr. Kellogg present. Daniells read to the packed house a number of the testimonies. Many of the board members expressed their acceptance of the testimonies (AGD to Dear Friends, December 17, 1905).

While Elder Daniells and W. C. White were in Battle Creek, Ellen White and her assistants continued to collect and copy material. That weekend she wrote to Elders Daniells and Prescott:

I have lost all hope of Dr. Kellogg. He is, I fully believe, past the day of his reprieve. I have not written him a line for about one year. I am instructed not to write to him.

I have been reading over the matter given me for him, and the light is that we must call our people to a decision....We are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.—Letter 333, 1905.

Her burden of heart intensified as the week progressed. To W.C. White she wrote:

I have many things I wish you and Elder Daniells and those united with him in his labor in Battle Creek to have just as soon as possible. I have very decided testimony that I am sending in to [68] Battle Creek to Elder Daniells. I fear he will leave before he gets this so I will send a telegraph message to him to tarry till he receives this that I send.—Letter 336, 1905.

The message was sent on Thursday, December 21, and Elder Daniells tarried in Battle Creek as the Week of Prayer meetings continued. Dr. Kellogg and many of the medical personnel were in Chicago attending the meeting he had called of the International Medical Missionary Alliance to convene Monday through Thursday, December 18-21. Daniells let it be known that he had changed his plans and was staying by to await the message promised in Ellen White’s telegram.

Arrival of the Promised Testimonies

On Tuesday, December 26, Daniells went to his office early (probably his old office in the West Building) to see whether the communications from Ellen White had come. They had not. A few minutes later one of the physicians from the Battle Creek Sanitarium came to see him.

The physician was in great perplexity of mind. He had been brought up to look upon all messages given by Ellen White as emanating from the Lord. But now he was bewildered and confused. The night before, he, with many other leading Sanitarium workers, had attended a meeting lasting from five o’clock to eleven in which Dr. Kellogg had outlined the recent controversy as he saw it. Kellogg told this group of responsible Sanitarium workers that he believed in the Spirit of Prophecy and believed Ellen White “is a good woman and that she had been inspired of the Lord.” But he continued, “All of the communications which were sent out could not be relied upon as coming from the Lord.”—AGD to G. A. Irwin, December 27, 1905.

“Now,” said the doctor, addressing Elder Daniells, “I want, if possible, that you shall make it plain to me what messages we are to understand are from the Lord, and which ones emanate from men who are influencing Sister White.”

Elder Daniells told him that he could not give him any light on the point, that to him they were “all genuine,” that “they were all either from the Lord or from the devil.”

While the men talked there was a knock on the door, and a [69] messenger handed Elder Daniells a large envelope with “Elmshaven,” Sanitarium, California, as the return address. We will let Daniells tell the story as he did the next day:

“Now,” said I, “Doctor, we will open this envelope, and you shall be the first one to look upon these testimonies; take them, look them over, and tell me whether they are genuine or spurious—whether they were given to her by the Lord, or by some man.”

He took them and looked at the titles, the dates, and the signatures, and handing them over, he said to me, “Well, I cannot tell you whether these are from the Lord or from man, whether they are reliable or unreliable. It looks to me,” said he, “that it is a question of faith on my part as to whether Sister White is a servant of God or a wicked pretender.”

“Well,” said I, “you are just as able to tell me who inspired these communications as I am to tell you; you have seen them first; you know just as much about them as I do; I cannot give you the slightest information that you do not possess.

“Now,” said I, “the only ground for me to occupy is absolute confidence that God is revealing to His servant that which the church needs to understand, and that every single communication which she sends out emanates from God and not from man.”— Ibid.

The physician said that he saw the whole point and that “he must stand fully on this ground.”

A Marked Confidence-Confirming Experience

Daniells could hardly wait to read the testimonies for which he had been waiting. With a fellow minister he read the communications. They noted that while each of the two documents had been copied on Thursday, December 21, 1905, one was penned in August, 1903, and the other June 1, 1904.

Arrangements were made immediately for a meeting in the Tabernacle that evening at seven-thirty, at which the testimonies would be read to the whole church. At seven-thirty the Tabernacle was full—auditorium, vestries, and gallery. Dr. Kellogg was not there. His brother, W. K., and a number of the doctor’s supporters [70] were there. Elder Daniells took the lead, telling the congregation of how in times of old, God communicated with His people. Sometimes the prophet delivered in person the message God gave him; sometimes it was delivered through others. He pointed out that “from the earliest days of this cause the Spirit of Prophecy had been in our midst, and had been recognized by those who were loyal to this message, and that the messenger had always claimed liberty to deliver the message either in person or by sending it to others to be read.”— Ibid.

He read the telegram instructing him to wait in Battle Creek for the testimonies. Now he had the two documents in his hands: Manuscript 120, 1905, “The Result of a Failure to Heed God’s Warnings” and Manuscript 122, 1905, “A Solemn Appeal.” He pointed out that both were penned by Ellen White in her journal, one as much as two years before, but were not copied until she was impressed to do so, Thursday, December 21. Both documents carried solemn messages pointing out that leaders who were spiritually blind were leading the blind, and unless “converted and transformed,” “leaders and their followers” “cannot be laborers together with God.”—Manuscript 120, 1905.

“They persist in trying to make it appear as if they have made no mistakes, and have not been led by seducing spirits, when I know that they have; for thus saith the One who is truth.”— Ibid.

Speaking of the “one who has long stood in the position of physician-in-chief,” she declared that “no dependence can be placed in a man whose words and actions reveal that he is spiritually blind.... What can be said regarding a man who ... in his life practice disregards a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord’? He has a bewildered mind, an uncertain experience.”— Ibid.

She referred to the experiences of Adam and Eve, who “allowed themselves to be allured by the seductive influence of Satan’s voice” and were beguiled.

Thus it has been in the case of the one who has long stood at the head of our medical work. He often declares that he has always believed the messages God has given through Sister White; and yet he has done very much to undermine confidence in the validity of the Testimonies.... [71]

Oh, how many he has influenced to view things as he has viewed them! How often he has led others to think, “Somebody has told Sister White”!— Ibid.

Both of the testimonies were read without comment. As Elder Daniells read on, page after page, a number in the large Tabernacle audience could not help but note how accurately they described the words and attitudes witnessed just the night before as Dr. Kellogg addressed Sanitarium leaders. It was nine o’clock when Daniells finished reading the sixteen pages of the two documents. “It seemed to me as I read,” he wrote the next day, “that I never felt the burning power of words reaching my own soul as these.”—AGD to G. A. Irwin, December 27, 1905.

“We ought to resort to earnest prayer,” he told the hushed audience, and suggested that those who wished to do so “retire to the north vestry.” But too many wished to pray, and so the audience turned back to the main auditorium.

During the break three men who had been in Dr. Kellogg’s six-hour meeting came to Daniells and told him that the meeting held the previous night had been clearly described in the messages Ellen White felt impelled to have copied and sent. They also said that “if there had been a doubt in their minds regarding the source of the testimonies, it would have been swept away by their own statements [as set forth by Ellen G. White] in the testimonies.”— Ibid.

From nine-fifteen to ten all united in prayer that their eyes might be opened to see things as God sees them. They prayed that Dr. Kellogg and his associates and all the Sanitarium helpers might be led to receive and obey the solemn messages that had come to them.

The next few days in old Battle Creek there was a lot of talk of how the Spirit of the Lord on the previous Thursday led Ellen White in California to have the message she wrote two years before copied and sent to Battle Creek to arrive just after the notable meeting was held by Dr. Kellogg in the college building. Some described the Monday-night meeting as such that “if they had not been well grounded, they would have been turned away entirely from the testimonies. One said that he would be driven into infidelity if he believed the things the doctor related to them.”— Ibid. [72]

Daniells Restates His Faith and Loyalty

Elder Daniells felt impelled to express his feelings. “Men may say what they like,” he declared as he recounted the experience. “I believe we have a living God—the author of such coincidences as these.... I believe that the fear and restraint that has been upon many has been broken, and that now they will stand calmly and fearlessly without wavering in defense of the truth of God.”

“I know,” Daniells firmly averred, “that God is rewarding us for our pledge of unswerving loyalty to the Spirit of Prophecy as well as all the rest of this message.” “Victory has been given to this cause.”— Ibid.

And indeed it was a victory.

Of Dr. Kellogg’s influence and his activities, Ellen White wrote:

The men who sustain Dr. Kellogg are in a half-mesmerized condition, and do not understand the condition of the man. They honestly believe that he is to be trusted.

But the spirit of satanic deception is upon him, and he will work any deception possible. He has been presented to me as exulting that he could hoodwink our people, and get possession of all the property in Battle Creek.—Letter 333, 1905.

And then in a forecast that was to come all too true in the next few months:

We must call our people to a decision. God calls for every jot and tittle of influence to be placed on the side of truth and righteousness. We are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves....

I have put in print most decided testimonies. A volume of lies will be circulated to counteract the very work God would have me do. But guard the outposts. Let every precaution be taken. Let us watch and pray. “Ask, and ye shall receive.” We must have increased faith. We must watch unto prayer. I know that our God is a strong defense, and that He will lift up for us a standard against the enemy.

My brethren, you and I must not lose our faith in God. Every man is being tested and tried....

We must now look for battles, but we must not be disheartened, afraid, or ashamed.— Ibid. [73]

Dr. Kellogg Unmoved

As for Dr. Kellogg, no change was observed in his attitude. Two days after the memorable Tuesday-night meeting, he called the Sanitarium family together and for three hours reviewed the history of the institution, endeavoring to prove that it was never a Seventh-day Adventist establishment but rather the property of the stockholders.

The Review and Herald, December 28, 1905, carried a six-column editorial by W. W. Prescott titled “The Battle Creek University.” In it the editor bared his own soul as he stated:

We know from personal experience something about the bitterness of the experience which results from listening to constant insinuations about the fundamental truths of this message borne to the world by Seventh-day Adventists. We know what it means to struggle with the doubts and fears aroused by skillful misrepresentations of warnings and counsels given through the Spirit of Prophecy.... We have learned our lessons through an experience from which we would gladly protect others, and therefore feel justified in speaking plainly when we see the snare set so seductively.

E. G. White Publishes Two Pamphlets

In early 1906 two pamphlets of the Special Testimonies, Series B, were published: No. 6, “Testimonies to the Church Regarding Our Youth Going to Battle Creek to Obtain an Education” (64 pages); and No. 7, “Testimonies for the Church Containing Messages of Warning and Instruction to Seventh-day Adventists Regarding Dangers Connected With the Medical Missionary Work” (64 pages). Each carried on the front cover the words “published for the author.” She took full responsibility for their issuance.

Battle Creek did not become the educational center some had anticipated; nor did it call in large numbers of Seventh-day Adventist youth. Union Conference colleges were strengthened to meet the needs of the cause, and soon the College of Medical Evangelists was established by the church at Loma Linda. [74]

Chapter 6—The Year of the Earthquake

Ellen White spent most of the year 1906 at her Elmshaven home, busily engaged in writing. This was quite in contrast with 1904 and 1905 when she spent much of the time in the field. Her writing was essentially in three areas: (1) Old Testament history, for Prophets and Kings (Letter 102, 1906; CCC to WCW, January 11, 1906); (2) meeting specific questions and objections concerning her work, raised by medical missionary workers at Battle Creek; (3) the ongoing correspondence of a routine character.

As New Year’s Day was pleasant, she chose to drive down to the St. Helena cemetery to visit the grave of Marian Davis. On Miss Davis’ death Ellen White had purchased a cemetery lot; she was buried there on October 26, 1904. Now, more than a year later, she was surprised to find that no stone marked the grave of the one who had assisted her so faithfully for twenty-four years.

When Ellen White returned home, she wrote to Mrs. W. K. Kellogg, Marian’s sister, of the neglect and pointed out that the lot should have a curb around it and the grave should have a modest stone at the head. She asked the wife of the corn-flake magnate how much should be spent and promised that upon receiving word from her, she would see that it was taken care of. “I do want the grave to present a respectable appearance,” she wrote.—Letter 10, 1906.

The situation in Battle Creek continued to burden her. Efforts put forth to undermine confidence in Ellen White’s work were intensifying. Writing to her son W. C. White, who was in the East, she declared, “I expect now that a long list of false statements will be presented to the world, and that lie upon lie, misstatement upon [75] misstatement, ... will by some be accepted as truth. But,” she concluded, “I leave my case in the hands of God.”—Letter 22, 1906.

Elder and Mrs. Haskell were guests at her home, having come just after Christmas. Haskell was suffering from an acute case of boils; he was immediately put under treatment at the Sanitarium and at Elmshaven. His wife served as nurse—a good one, Ellen White commented. Although he was supposed to remain in bed resting, he would often sneak out to visit with Ellen White. They had been close friends from early years, and there was much to talk about. “It has seemed like a revival of old times,” she said.—Letter 34, 1906.

The weather continued to be good through early January, and she found she did not even have to have a fire in her writing room.

Instructed in vision on Tuesday night, January 9, Ellen White cautioned all dealing with the Battle Creek situation to exercise care and to avoid using names of individuals. On Thursday telegrams conveyed the messages to leading workers. The message directed to W. W. Prescott, editor of the Review and Herald, read: “Strengthen past experiences. Make no attack on any person in Review. Let all seek the Lord by prayer and fasting. Letters coming. Ellen G. White.”—CCC to WCW, January 11, 1906. A confirming written message titled “Be Guarded” followed (Manuscript 5, 1906).

Then on Saturday night she was again in vision. She wrote of this to George Amadon, the first elder of the Battle Creek church:

The evening after the Sabbath I retired, and rested well without ache or pain until half past ten. I was unable to sleep. I had received instruction, and I seldom lie in bed after such instruction comes. There was a company assembled in Battle Creek, and instruction was given by One in our midst that I was to repeat and repeat with pen and voice. I left my bed, and wrote for five hours as fast as my pen could trace the lines. Then I rested on the bed for an hour, and slept part of the time.

I placed the matter in the hands of my copyist, and on Monday morning it was waiting for me, placed inside my office door on Sunday evening. There were four articles ready for me to read over and make any corrections needed. The matter is now prepared, and some of it will go in the mail today. [76]

This is the line of work that I am carrying on. I do most of my writing while the other members of the family are asleep. I build my fire, and then write uninterruptedly, sometimes for hours. I write while others are asleep. Who then has told Sister White? A messenger that is appointed.—Letter 28, 1906 (MR, p. 109).

One of the four documents was a letter addressed to “Brethren and Sisters in Battle Creek” (Letter 30, 1906). As she sent this to Elder Amadon, she included a general manuscript, “Unity in Christ” (Manuscript 9, 1906), written in 1905.

“The Lord still has His hand stretched out to save,” she had written in that manuscript, “and He will save, if Dr. Kellogg will be humble enough to repent and find his true position.”

In the communication to the Battle Creek church she made a statement that sums up the burden of the letter:

While we are to call error, error, and withstand the delusive sentiments that will continue to come into our ranks to palsy the faith and assurance of the people of God, we are to make no tirade against men and women.—Letter 30, 1906.

Appealing for unity she boldly asserted, “It would cause all the powers of hell to rejoice if our people were to become divided.”

Confirming Evidence to the Lord’s Messenger

As she wrestled with the doubts growing in the minds of physicians and nurses in Battle Creek and with the charge that her writings were manipulated by those around her, she repeatedly reached out for confirming evidence in her own experience. Invariably there came to mind God’s special providences of the late 1840s, when the foundations of doctrine were established. This helped her, and she used it to stabilize others. References to this underlying support crept into her conversations, her sermons, and her letters. To “Fellow Workers” at the Sanitarium in Australia she wrote on January 23:

My mind is very much occupied just now in the endeavor to present in the best way the facts in regard to our early experience in the proclamation of the truth that we held. I do not wish to ignore or drop one link in the chain of evidence that was formed [77] as, after the passing of the time in 1844, little companies of seekers after truth met together to study the Bible and to ask God for light and guidance. As we searched the Scriptures with much prayer, many evidences were given us under the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power. What deep importance was attached to every evidence that God gave us! The truth, point by point, was fastened in our minds so firmly that we could not doubt.

She told of how efforts were made by some to introduce erroneous and fanatical teachings. Early believers of the Seventh-day Adventist movement “had the truth so firmly established” in their minds that they “had nothing to fear.”

She cautioned further:

And now, after half a century of clear light from the Word as to what is truth, there are arising many false theories, to unsettle minds. But the evidence given in our early experience has the same force that it had then. The truth is the same as it ever has been, and not a pin or a pillar can be moved from the structure of truth. That which was sought for out of the Word in 1844, 1845, and 1846 remains the truth today in every particular.—Letter 38, 1906.

Meeting Direct Attacks

But in Battle Creek there was no peace. In early March A. T. Jones launched an attack on General Conference organization—on A. G. Daniells directly and indirectly on Ellen White. It was he who in 1901 advocated that there be no elected president of the General Conference. The statement he read to Sanitarium workers on March 4, 1906, soon appeared in a seventy-four-page pamphlet titled Some History, Some Experience, and Some Facts.

At Elmshaven a week was devoted to a study of the specific criticisms, accusations, and charges; Ellen White participated. Elders Daniells and Irwin had come from Washington to join her and her staff in this study. Following the week-long task, she wrote two communications: one on March 20 dealing with the accusation that she reproved Dr. Kellogg for erecting buildings in Chicago that in actuality were never built (Manuscript 33, 1906); the other on March 23 titled “A Message to A. T. Jones and Others in Battle Creek” (Manuscript 34, [78] 1906). From the study developed a ninety-six-page pamphlet published in May by the General Conference. It was titled A Statement Refuting Charges Made by A. T. Jones Against the Spirit of Prophecy and the Plan of Organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination.

That night she was in vision. Of this she said:

Many things in reference to the past experience given me of the Lord were vividly reviewed—the rise and progress of Seventh-day Adventists, and the part that I had been called to act in this matter. Scenes of the richest blessings, which no tongue can describe, were presented, when the evidence of the truths was substantiated to us beyond any doubt.—Manuscript 36, 1906.

On Sabbath she spoke in the Sanitarium chapel and related to the people those early experiences that had just been refreshed in her memory by the vision:

I spoke of my conversion, and of how I traveled for months, unable to speak except in a low, husky voice. The physicians decided that I could not live, that consumption had settled on my lungs.... My whole life has been a continual evidence of the miracle-working power of God. So plain were the manifestations of the Holy Spirit as I was instructed to write out the things shown me that I had not a doubt but that the Lord had been pleased to make me His messenger. All the way along I have had the accompaniment of the Holy Spirit. At various times, manifestations have been given me personally of the Spirit’s working, and it would be sinful for me to doubt. From the beginning up till the present time, I have had the accompaniment of the special working of the grace of God. Without this, I could not go from place to place, and bear my testimony.—Letter 102, 1906.

To Southern California Again

With the coming of April it was time for the dedication of two sanitariums in southern California. As mentioned earlier, on Thursday, April 12, Ellen White left for the south. With her were her niece, May Walling, who had arrived at Elmshaven a week or two earlier (Letter 124, 1906); Sara McEnterfer; and Clarence Crisler [79] (Manuscript 123, 1906). Willie stayed behind a day or so for a meeting in Mountain View.

During a three-hour stopover in Los Angeles, awaiting a train that would take her to Loma Linda, she went to the vegetarian restaurant on the corner of Third and Hill streets and met the Allens, who were in charge. They had been staunch Roman Catholics but became Adventists as a result of the meetings W. W. Simpson had held in Los Angeles (The Review and Herald, June 14, 1906).

Her visit recalled to her mind the instruction about restaurants that she had been writing since 1902, especially the counsel that smaller restaurants were needed in different parts of the large cities:

The smaller restaurants will recommend the principles of health reform as well as the larger establishments, and will be much more easily managed. We are not commissioned to feed the world, but we are instructed to educate the people.— Ibid.

A Vision of Coming Destruction

After the dedication service at Loma Linda Sunday afternoon, April 15, Ellen White and her associate workers stayed on at the Sanitarium through Monday. She was to return to Los Angeles on Tuesday and would speak at the Southern California Conference session held in the Carr Street church in Los Angeles on Wednesday. She would be en route to San Diego and the dedication of Paradise Valley Sanitarium the next week.

Monday night, April 16, while still at Loma Linda, a solemnizing vision was given to her. “A most wonderful representation,” she said, “passed before me.” Describing it in an article appearing in Testimonies for the Church, volume 9, she wrote:

During a vision of the night, I stood on an eminence, from which I could see houses shaken like a reed in the wind. Buildings, great and small, were falling to the ground. Pleasure resorts, theaters, hotels, and the homes of the wealthy were shaken and shattered. Many lives were blotted out of existence, and the air was filled with the shrieks of the injured and the terrified.... The awfulness of the scenes that passed before me I cannot find words to describe. It seemed that the forbearance of [80] God was exhausted and that the judgment day had come....

Terrible as was the representation that passed before me, that which impressed itself most vividly upon my mind was the instruction given in connection with it. The angel that stood by my side declared that God’s supreme rulership and the sacredness of His law must be revealed to those who persistently refuse to render obedience to the King of kings. Those who choose to remain disloyal must be visited in mercy with judgments, in order that, if possible, they may be aroused to a realization of the sinfulness of their course.—Pages 92, 93. (Italics supplied.)

She woke up and switched on the lamp by her bed. It was 1:00 A.M. Tuesday morning. She was relieved to discover that she was safe in her room at Loma Linda Sanitarium.

During the hours of Tuesday morning she seemed dazed (Letter 137, 1906). In the afternoon she and her helpers took the train for Los Angeles and went on to Glendale.

That night Ellen White was given another vision:

I was again instructed regarding the holiness and binding claims of the Ten Commandments, and the supremacy of God above all earthly rulers. It seemed as if I were before many people, and presenting scripture after scripture in support of the precepts spoken by the Lord from Sinai’s height.—The Review and Herald, July 5, 1906.

News of the San Francisco Earthquake

On Wednesday as she neared the Carr Street church to fill her speaking appointment, she heard the newsboys crying: “San Francisco destroyed by an earthquake!”

A paper was purchased, and she and those with her in the carriage quickly scanned the “first hastily printed news” (Testimonies for the Church 9:94).

As to the visions on Monday and Tuesday nights, she later commented, “It has taken me many days to write out a portion of that which was revealed those two nights at Loma Linda and Glendale. I have not finished yet.”—The Review and Herald, July 5, 1906. She expected yet to write several articles on the binding claims of God’s law and the blessings promised the obedient.

As Ellen White attended a portion of the annual session of the [81] Southern California Conference, she was particularly impressed with the report of its financial position. It had been so heavily in debt in 1905 that conference leaders despaired of becoming involved in sanitarium development. Now, a year after the purchase of Loma Linda, conference treasurers could report a material improvement of some $6,000 in the treasury Ibid., July 12, 1906).

At Paradise Valley Sanitarium, and the Trip Home

Ellen White had to hasten on to San Diego to the dedication of Paradise Valley Sanitarium, scheduled for Tuesday, April 24. She was to be one of the speakers (Ibid.). She was delighted that Dr. Anna Potts was present for the occasion. The doctor was a talented woman about Ellen White’s age, and an “excellent speaker.” She was now engaged in lecturing on health and temperance; she spoke in the evening following the dedication, telling the story of her efforts to establish and maintain the institution at Paradise Valley and expressing her great pleasure that the church was carrying on the type of work she had hoped to do (Ibid.).

Then it was back to northern California by way of Loma Linda. There, on Friday, April 27, she attended an important meeting called to consider the health food business in southern California, and the production of health foods at Loma Linda (Ibid.).

Feelings of dread swept over Ellen White as she contemplated the trip home. She knew she would view with her own eyes the destruction she had seen in vision. “I did not want to see the ruins of San Francisco,” she declared, “and dreaded to stop at Mountain View” (Ibid., July 19, 1906), where the beloved Pacific Press had suffered severe damage. As the train neared San Jose, just south of Mountain View, that Thursday morning, May 3, she could see everywhere the effects of the earthquake.

Changing cars at San Jose, they traveled the ten miles to Mountain View. Here they were met at the railroad station by C. H. Jones, manager of the Pacific Press, and W. T. Knox, president of the California-Nevada Conference, headquartered in Mountain View. The drive to the press took them through town, where they saw the new post office leveled to the ground and the largest stores totally destroyed. But “when we saw the fallen walls of the Pacific Press,” she reported, “we were sad at heart.” Yet there was one reason for [82] rejoicing: “No lives were lost.”—Manuscript 45, 1906.

The brethren persuaded Ellen White to spend the weekend in Mountain View, counseling regarding Pacific Press matters and speaking to the church on Sabbath morning. Meetings were held in the publishing house chapel, which was patched up sufficiently to allow a congregation to assemble.

In spite of the move of the press from Oakland to the more rural site, that Mountain View then was, the danger of commercialism still threatened, and the younger workers were imperiled by eroding social standards. While there, she was in vision “instructed, as God’s messenger, to appeal to the youth connected with our institutional work” (Ibid., July 19, 1906). The church’s young people needed to be surrounded with wholesome, uplifting influences. They were to be kept in the love of the truth. The standard set before them was to be high.

The Tour of Ravaged San Francisco

Monday the group set out for San Francisco. At Palo Alto they saw the wreckage of Stanford University. When they arrived at San Francisco they hired a horse-drawn cab to spend an hour and a half touring the ruined city. With Ellen White was her son W. C., and two women, May Walling and Carolyn Crisler, wife of Clarence Crisler, her chief secretary (31 WCW, p. 293).

As they rode together, a good many things were recounted. Exactly what was said we do not know, but various and sundry reports give us a composite picture of what took place:

The quake came at five-thirty-one Wednesday morning, April 18. The first casualty was the Point Arena Lighthouse, ninety miles to the north. The huge lenses and lantern exploded in a shower of glass. Earth waves two and three feet high were seen plunging south at an incredible rate. Giant redwoods were mowed down. Beaches were raised and lowered, and trains derailed. At one ranch, the earth opened directly beneath an unsuspecting cow. With a bellow of terror the animal plunged into the gaping hole, its cry cut short as the crevice clamped shut, leaving only a twitching tail visible (G. Thomas and M. Witts, The San Francisco Earthquake, pp. 66, 67).

The city was largely asleep as the wave of earth upheavals struck [83] San Francisco in a twenty-eight-second tremor just at dawn. [The description of the earthquake is fully supported by many documents in DF 76, “the San Francisco Earthquake.”] First there was a terrifying roar, and then stone and bricks began to fall like rain from taller buildings; chimneys toppled from almost every home. The streets heaved, and dropped in places as much as thirty feet. The second floor of some buildings became the first floor. Walls of brick fell into the streets, leaving rooms on every floor supported only by the inner wooden framework. Clocks fell from mantels, pictures from walls; wardrobes and dish cupboards fell on their faces; beds, tables, and chairs careened helplessly.

In seconds people were on the streets, many barefoot and in their night clothes. Telephone and electric lines, stretched and broken by toppling power poles, were tangled on the streets. Gas lines throughout the city were twisted and broken. A group of uniformed policemen starting out on duty was practically annihilated as collapsing masonry buildings pinned them to the ground. For a minute the earth heaved, slid, broke open, and convulsed. Screams of the injured, terrified, and dying pierced the air.

Consuming Fire that Followed the Earthquake

A flicker of flame was seen in early dawn and then a dozen such tongues of fire here and there. The flames were started by broken power lines and fractured gas lines. Civilians and firemen were soon at work, but to their dismay there was only a little water, and then no water, to quench the flames. Some of the city’s main water lines had been broken.

People had poured from the trembling and falling buildings, seeking safety in the streets. As soon as the first wave of earth’s heavings eased, they hurried back into their homes to dress and grab a few precious belongings; then they sought safer havens. Bicycles, wheelbarrows, baby buggies, and children’s wagons—all were put into service to take precious belongings to places thought to be safe. Men and women were seen dragging storage trunks, many with bundles of clothing, food, and bedding on top.

The fires, out of control, cut an ever-widening swath of destruction. People pressed into the city parks. Authorities began dynamiting buildings in an effort to halt the spreading flames. [84]

Some people broke into breweries and liquor stores, and in certain areas drinking orgies added to the confusion. Drunken parents, unmindful of the perils about them, forgot babies and children, and in many cases were separated from them. One group of uncared-for, terrified children, thinking Telegraph Hill to be a safe place, flocked there, only to be consumed as the racing flames veered and took the hill (The Signs of the Times, May 30, 1906).

Martial Law

The city was put under martial law, and military personnel were called in to assist. Soon every able-bodied man was engaged in the work of fighting the flames and removing the injured and dead from the rubble. Early curious visitors from down the peninsula were pressed into service.

Looting continued, especially in liquor and food stores. Police officers and soldiers were ordered to shoot on sight anyone involved in looting or in stripping jewelry from the dead. There was no hesitancy in carrying out the orders. Throughout Wednesday terror and confusion reigned. Telephones were dead, telegraph wires were down, rail lines were inoperative. Thousands sought refuge in the less-stricken cities and towns across the bay to the east; crowded ferries did a heroic work in moving people. From these towns news of the magnitude of the catastrophe began to reach the outside world.

Throughout the night the sky was bright with firelight, and those in the parks without bedding were comfortably warm from the heat of the inferno. Food was scarce and when available, in most cases very expensive. As the changing winds spread the fire in all directions, food stores commandeered by police and military were thrown open and were soon cleaned out; this eased somewhat the food emergency.

Destruction in the Central City

At the center of the city the earthquake took a heavy toll. Municipal and office buildings, as well as stores and hotels, were destroyed. Few buildings stood. Hundreds lost their lives in the [85] collapse of several hotels. [Strong efforts were made to minimize the reports of the number killed. The San Francisco newspapers kept the figure below 500, but this was seriously challenged by eyewitnesses, who put it at between 1,000 and 2,000 (See also Ibid., May 23, 1906)] Frame buildings constituted most of the residential part of the city, and while the earthquake toppled chimneys and moved houses on their foundations from a few inches to a few feet, the buildings stood.

Uncontrolled fires created greater overall damage than the earthquake. Block after block succumbed to the flames in the three days following the quake. Since no cooking fires were allowed in buildings not inspected for safety, most cooking in areas where homes stood was done with improvised stoves on the sidewalks or in the parks. Water was treasured as gold. The military pitched tents in the parks to help care for the homeless. Bread lines measured a mile long. In many cases families were separated; carriages carried signs and people wore placards stating, “I am looking for so and so.”

It was only two weeks later that Ellen White viewed the fifteen square miles of rubble and devastation and listened to tales of the bizarre happenings. How similar it was to the scenes of the night at Loma Linda!

Adventists and Adventist Properties

But what of Seventh-day Adventists and Adventist Church properties in San Francisco? While there were a few injuries, no lives were lost. The treatment rooms, sometimes referred to as the branch sanitarium, superintended by Dr. Lamb at 1436 Market Street, were housing some patients. When the earthquake struck, the brick walls fell away from the building, but the patients, uninjured, were soon placed in the custody of relatives. The vegetarian cafeteria at 755 Market Street and the health-food store at 1482 Market withstood the quake but in a few hours were swept by flames. The building on Howard Street that housed a number of denominational workers went up in flames. A number of Adventists lost their homes.

But the large church on Laguna Street, with its accompanying clinic, which James and Ellen White helped to build in the 1870s, was saved. Being a frame building, it suffered only minor earthquake damage, and in God’s providence the ravaging fire was [86] held in check two blocks from the church. Members were able to continue to use it and were glad to allow the Presbyterians to use it on Sundays.

The Earthquake Special of the Signs

What a unique opportunity this unprecedented catastrophe gave for telling the world the significance of such tragedies. The buildings of the Pacific Press were badly damaged (the loss was estimated at between $15,000 and $20,000), but managers, factory foremen, and editors quickly huddled to plan the issuance of a Signs of the Times “Earthquake Special” to be rushed through their undamaged presses. The journalism was good, illustrations outstanding, and the printing up to Pacific Press standards. Within a few days the first run of more than 150,000 copies was ready. From the initial planning, conferences across North America were apprised of the venture, and orders in the multiple thousands poured in.

The quality pictures and the prompt publication schedule put the special at the top of the publishing house’s priority lists. Contracts for current commercial work for San Francisco business firms were now invalid, and the big “perfecting press” was free to grind out 5,000 copies an hour of the popular special.

In some areas the newsboys, when they could get copies, hawked the Earthquake Special on the streets. In Oakland, twenty-five newsboys joined in this distribution. People often bought five, ten, twelve, or twenty-five copies to send to friends. The Literary Digest, published in New York, drew from it. Total sales reached nearly a million copies.

As banks in northern California were temporarily closed, the cash flow from the sale of the Earthquake Special into the Pacific Press was welcomed. Between press runs the illustrations were supplemented and in some cases upgraded. Of this project Ellen White declared:

We shall do all we possibly can to get the truth before the people now. The special number of the Signs of the Times is a medium through which much good will be accomplished.

And then with evangelistic fervor, she declared: [87]

If I were 25 years younger, I would certainly take up labor in the cities. But I must reach them with the pen.—Letter 164, 1906.

The Trip Home to Elmshaven

After touring the scene of tragedy, Ellen White and those traveling with her made their way home to St. Helena and Elmshaven. In that area damage was very light, consisting mainly of cracked and twisted brick chimneys. Both Ellen White and W. C. White each had one that called for repairs. But thirty miles to the west in the Sonoma Valley there was great destruction, particularly of masonry buildings in the Santa Rosa and Healdsburg areas. The Healdsburg College buildings, being of frame construction, suffered little. But the quarter-mile-long bridge over the Russian River, which must be crossed in traveling from St. Helena to Healdsburg, collapsed. At Maacama Creek, some five miles east of Healdsburg, about twenty acres of tall trees slid nearly half a mile, leaving a hole in the side of the mountain from fifty to a hundred feet deep.

Ellen White reported in the Review and Herald concerning her visit to San Francisco shortly after the earthquake, reminding the readers that by both pen and voice she had predicted disaster in San Francisco. She had warned people to seek homes away from the crime-filled cities known for their wickedness and defiance of God. Some, both Adventists and non-Adventists, had responded. Among the warnings she sounded (reprinted in The Review and Herald, July 5, 1906) were these:

September 1, 1902: Well-equipped tent meetings should be held in the large cities, such as San Francisco; for not long hence these cities will suffer under the judgments of God. San Francisco and Oakland are becoming as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Lord will visit them in wrath.

April 9, 1903: The divine statutes have been set aside. The time will soon come when God will vindicate His insulted authority.

April 20, 1903: The message of warning should be sounded in the large, wicked cities, such as San Francisco. San Francisco and Oakland are becoming as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Lord will visit them. Not far hence they will suffer under His judgments. [88]

June 20, 1903: The judgments of God are in our land. The Lord is soon to come. In fire and flood and earthquake, He is warning the inhabitants of this earth of His soon approach. O that the people may know the time of their visitation.

Did Ellen White predict the San Francisco earthquake? No, she warned that San Francisco and Oakland would suffer God’s judgments. Was the vision at Loma Linda on the night of April 16 a portrayal of what would happen to San Francisco? No city was named. But the scene and particularly the instruction given by the angel in connection with it prepared Ellen White to write forcefully as to the real significance of such disasters. Certainly it did fit the great earthquake of 1906. [89]

Chapter 7—Ellen White Comes to Her Own Defense

It was a painful experience to Ellen White to know that there were members of God’s family who were well acquainted with her and her work but who, on the basis of hearsay and flimsy evidence, had lost confidence in her prophetic mission. That they could so easily forget the many faith-confirming evidences of her call and work burdened her heart. It was not she who was being rejected, but the Holy Spirit.

Only rarely did she defend herself. This she left to others. But, as she said in a letter written January 3, 1906, with Dr. Kellogg in Battle Creek presenting “anything and everything possible to make of no effect the testimonies” the Lord had given her, she must “meet the situation” (Letter 14, 1906).

After a vision in which she saw physicians of her acquaintance in a meeting setting forth what they considered valid reasons for their waning confidence, she told W. C. White that everything must be “ready for action.” She felt she could, and must, meet many things she heard rehearsed in that meeting (Ibid.).

Repeatedly in the early months of 1906 she mentioned her intention of getting a clear statement of facts from those who were troubled about the testimonies. “If statements have been made that there are contradictions in the testimonies,” she wrote to Elder E. W. Farnsworth, temporary pastor of the Battle Creek church, “should I not be acquainted with the charges and accusations? Should I not know the reason of their sowing tares of unbelief?”—Letter 84, 1906.

When in March the A. T. Jones attack came, she helped to meet [90] it. On April 9 she sent out the letter she had written on March 30, addressed “To Those Who Are Perplexed Regarding the Testimonies Relating to the Medical Missionary Work“:

Recently in the visions of the night I stood in a large company of people. There were present Dr. Kellogg, Elders Jones, Tenney, and Taylor, Dr. Paulson, Elder Sadler, Judge Arthur, and many of their associates.

I was directed by the Lord to request them and any others who have perplexities and grievous things in their minds regarding the testimonies that I have borne, to specify what their objections and criticisms are. The Lord will help me to answer these objections, and to make plain that which seems to be intricate.—Letter 120, 1906.

She pointed out in this letter that if the thought was being entertained that “Sister White’s work can no longer be trusted,” she wanted to know why that decision had been reached. “It may be,” she conjectured, “that some matters that seem to you to be very objectionable can be explained.” Making her position clear, she stated, “I am now charged to request those who are in difficulty in regard to Sister White’s work to let their questions appear now.”

This letter was sent not only to those named but to about a dozen others. Then three days later she and part of her staff were off to the meetings in southern California for the dedication of the sanitariums at Loma Linda and Paradise Valley. This was the only trip, except those to Mountain View and the Bay Area, that she made in 1906. Returning to Elmshaven on May 7, she found that question-laden responses were beginning to come in.

Circumstances at Elmshaven

The weather in northern California she found to be comfortably warm. Mustard grew high in the orchards and vineyards. Poppies bloomed in profusion. The home had undergone a good spring cleaning, and the early garden was beginning to yield its treasures. It seems likely that fresh peas were on the table for Ellen White’s first noon meal at home. This was the foretaste of the good things garden and orchard would yield through spring and summer—loganberries, blackberries, cherries, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn, apples, [91] and then grapes and grape juice. So abundant was the yield that after feasting on fresh loganberries, canning for winter use, and making jelly, they sold $200 worth. Fifty dollars’ worth of peas were sold. By late summer the cellar was well stocked with all kinds of fruits (Letters 222 and 240, 1906).

W. C. White was at home after his long winter trip east to College View, Battle Creek, and Washington, followed by the month-long trip to southern California. In his absence his twin sons, Henry and Herbert, the first male grandchildren, had been baptized. They were nearly 10 years old. Ellen White had been consulted, and she heartily approved.

At the office there was a shortage of help because Dores Robinson had, in W. C.’s absence, gained leave so that he and his wife, Ella, might teach the church school at Chico, to the north, finishing out the school year. For them it was an interesting experience. A number of the students of that school year became earnest workers in the cause at home and overseas. But the work at Elmshaven suffered. School over, Dores and Ella were back, busy with the office program.

Questions Calling for Careful Answers

The questions about Ellen White’s work that came in from Battle Creek called for earnest attention, not only by Ellen White but by her staff. Some of the questions were serious; others were of a quibbling nature dealing with “supposed inconsistencies in the testimonies” (Letter 142, 1906).

Many of the questions had their foundation in faulty concepts of inspiration. The prophet was thought of as a mechanical agent, speaking or writing each word dictated by the Holy Spirit. This “verbal inspiration” concept at times led to the expectation of more from Ellen White than was justified—more than was demanded of the prophets and apostles of old.

Her defense of the testimonies and of herself actually dated back to January. “I have been very busy of late,” she wrote on January 19. “The Lord has sustained me in preparing matter to meet the unbelief and infidelity expressed regarding the testimonies He has given me to bear to His people. He has given me words to write.”—Letter 34, 1906. [92]

Response to Specific Questions

But now in the responses to her invitation for men to write out their problems, she and the staff were dealing with specific questions. What did she mean when she used such expressions as “I,” “we,” and “us”? Was not every word she wrote as inspired as the Ten Commandments? What did she mean when she declared in Battle Creek that she did not claim to be a prophetess? Why were there times that a message addressed to an individual was not sent? How could she, if she were a prophet, favor plans for the 1903 General Conference session to be held at Healdsburg and a little later favor plans for Oakland as the place for the session? What about the buildings in Chicago she saw in vision and condemned, when no such buildings had ever been erected?

Because of her illness, she felt unable to take up the specific questions immediately on her return from southern California. She asked for a little time to make a full recovery from the “effects of the influenza.” In the meantime, on May 26, she wrote a general statement touching on several basic points. This was published in the Review and Herald of July 26. It was titled “A Messenger,” and dealt with the question of claims to be “a prophetess” and the broad nature of her work. She also cited her experience in writing many books that the Lord by His Spirit had helped her to write. They “contain light from heaven,” she wrote, “and will bear the test of investigation.” Then on June 14, she wrote to Dr. David Paulson at Battle Creek, doubtless drawing on material that had been brought together by her helpers:

Dear Brother,

Your letter came to me while in southern California.... Now I must respond to the letters received from you ... and others. In your letter, you speak of your early training to have implicit faith in the Testimonies and say, “I was led to conclude and most firmly believe that every word that you ever spoke in public or private, that every letter you wrote under any and all circumstances, was as inspired as the Ten Commandments.”

My brother, you have studied my writings diligently [he had in 1897 compiled the book Healthful Living, made up of quotations from the Ellen G. White writings], and you have [93] never found that I have made any such claims. Neither will you find that the pioneers in our cause have made such claims.—Letter 206, 1906 (Selected Messages 1:24, 25).

Then, citing her introduction to The Great Controversy, from which she quoted, and drawing statements from the testimonies, she provided an answer to his main question and then followed this with admonition. (Her clarifying statements on this point appear in Ibid., 1:25-31.)

The next day she undertook to answer Dr. C. E. Stewart’s question:

I have received your letter, in which you inquire what is meant by the words “I,” “we,” “us,” and so on, in my testimonies.

In my work, I am connected with my helpers, and I am also connected and in close touch with my Instructor and other heavenly intelligences. Those who are called of God should be in touch with Him through the operation of His Holy Spirit, that they may be taught by Him.

Of mine own self I can do nothing. I feel that all credit must be given to a higher Power....

I cannot always say “I.” I am not accustomed to doing so. Without the special light and grace of Christ, I can do nothing. Furthermore, I am connected with my workers. During the night season I am often deeply impressed with representations passing before me, and usually, whatever the hour of the night may be, I arise at once, and write out the instruction that has been given me. This manuscript is placed in the hands of one of my copyists, who makes several copies on the typewriter. Then it is returned to me, and I carefully read it over to see if it is all correct. Matter written for publication is sometimes sent direct to one of our periodicals, and sometimes laid aside with other matter to be published later in book form or in some other way.

This is one reason why I often say “we.” My helpers and I are co-workers in sending out the light given me to be a blessing to the world.—Letter 170, 1906.

“Read the second chapter of First Corinthians,” she urged, “and notice carefully how Paul uses the words ‘I,’ ‘we,’ and ‘us.’” [94]

An Array of Questions from One Physician

A letter from one prominent physician contained the most complete list of questions yet brought forward by the Battle Creek medical workers. A few illustrated the kind of trivia that the questions sometimes dealt with. Among the points presented in this letter were:

1. Is everything from Ellen White’s pen a “testimony,” or are some just “letters”?

2. Is one to assume that the conditions described in the testimonies actually exist or are they just designed to forestall such conditions?

3. What was meant by Ellen White’s statement in the college library just before the 1901 General Conference that perhaps she had written too strongly to Dr. Kellogg?

4. What about the statement “I am not a prophet”?

5. Does W. C. White influence the testimonies?

6. What about “contracts”?

7. Can I have a statement about what you mean by God in nature?

8. Do you approve of sending personal testimonies, which the Lord has given to certain men, to other people also?

9. Referring to the Berrien Springs incident regarding the confrontation over pantheistic teachings, does Ellen White give directions as to when, how, in what order, and to whom her writings should be sent, or is it left for others to decide?

10. What about W. C. White’s influence? Here the doctor quotes J. Edson White’s alleged statements at the Berrien Springs meeting that if W. C. White did not quit tampering with the testimonies the Lord would have to take the prophetic gift from Ellen White. (Edson denied having said this. See J. E. White to EGW, July 24, 1907.)

11. Are the testimonies a test of fellowship?

12. What about the recall of the volume 7 galley proofs for revision?

13. Is it right for any Seventh-day Adventist to labor in the [Battle Creek] Sanitarium?

14. Does a late testimony abrogate all the previous ones on the same theme?

15. What about the K-4-1899 Ellen G. White letter to Kellogg [95] stating that medical missionary work is undenominational?

16. What about the reform dress? (See The Review and Herald, October 8, 1867.)

17. Were there eleven or twelve disciples at the Last Supper? [Probably supported by a mistake made by Edson White in his first issuance of the book Christ Our Saviour, an adaptation that was a mixture of E. G. White materials and his writings on the life of Christ.]

18. To what extent and in what ways are the testimonies edited after leaving your pen?

Ellen White answered some of these questions; a few she ignored. At times the Elmshaven staff prepared answers. Sometimes the answer was readily available; sometimes the question itself was more a statement than a question (30 WCW, p. 333).

Involvements in Answering Questions

A glimpse of the involvements in answering these questions is found in a W. C. White letter written on July 13, 1906, to Elders Daniells, Prescott, and Irwin:

This is Friday afternoon. We have had a busy week in copying out and sending away letters Mother has been writing. Today Dores [Robinson] has copied one of eleven or twelve pages to Elder A. T. Jones in which Mother refers to past experiences, and makes some interesting quotations from letters sent to him in former years. For several days Brother Crisler has been hunting up what has been written in past years regarding contracts and agreements [between the Battle Creek Sanitarium and students and employees]. I think he will be able to submit to Mother his collection of manuscripts early next week.— Ibid., 767.

Commenting on the questions she was receiving and answering, Ellen White wrote:

During the past few weeks I have not had much rest in spirit. Letters, full of questions, are continually crowding in upon us.... I have been sent some of the most frivolous questions in regard to the testimonies given me by the Lord.—Letter 180, 1906. [96]

But she did not dismiss all the questions as frivolous. Many she answered, writing kind, tolerant letters that dealt in a straightforward way with the problems presented.

Answer Regarding Chicago Buildings

She personally answered the questions concerning the vision given to her in Australia in which she was shown a large building in Chicago erected to serve the medical missionary interests. No such building existed, and the complaint was that Ellen White wrote a testimony of reproof for something that did not take place.

She had dealt with this on March 8, 1903, but took it up again in 1906 on March 10. The earlier statement was sparked by a visit to Elmshaven by Judge Jesse Arthur, for many years an attorney connected with the Battle Creek Sanitarium. After attending important meetings at the St. Helena Sanitarium in June, 1902, he and Mrs. Arthur spent some time with Ellen White and key members of the office staff.

The judge was in a cordial mood, having been deeply impressed with her presentations at the meetings, where, he declared, he had “heard the very things I needed to hear” (Manuscript 33, 1906). In the conversation, the matter of the vision of Chicago buildings was discussed. For several years there were features of this matter that perplexed Ellen White. Of the experience she wrote:

When I was in Australia, I was shown a large building in Chicago. This building was elaborately furnished. I was shown that it would be a mistake to invest means in a building such as this. Chicago is not the place in which to erect buildings. The Lord would not be honored by such an investment of His means.

She commented:

Someone said that the testimony that I bore in regard to this was not true—that no such building was erected in Chicago. But the testimony was true. The Lord showed me what men were planning to do. I knew that the testimony was true, but not until recently was the matter explained.—Letter 135, 1903.

She then told of how the visit of Jesse Arthur and his wife cleared up all questions. He told Ellen White that the testimony was [97] perfectly plain to him, “because he knew that preparations were being made to erect in Chicago a building corresponding to the one shown ... [to her] in vision” (Ibid.). She recognized that the vision was a warning given to prevent the carrying out of plans “not in harmony with God’s will.” It did. No buildings were erected in Chicago. But individuals critical of her work later used this as an illustration that the visions were not reliable.

Judge Arthur, after his return to Battle Creek, wrote on August 27, 1902, giving facts in the case. He told of how in late May or June, 1899, as leaders in Battle Creek sought recognition for the American Medical Missionary College, pressure was brought by the Association of American Medical Colleges for buildings in Chicago more suitable for medical education than the rented quarters in use.

In response to this, the decision was made to erect, at the cost of $100,000 or more, a suitable and rather elaborate building. Judge Arthur himself was made chairman of a building committee of three. The judge described what took place:

The committee met on [June 26, 1899] and immediately formulated plans for the purchase of a site and the erection of such a building. I was instructed as chairman of the committee to open negotiations ... and otherwise take steps to raise the necessary funds to purchase the site, and erect the building contemplated.—DF 481, Jesse Arthur to WCW, August 27, 1902.

Mr. William Loughborough, a brother to the well-known Elder J. N. Loughborough, drew up the plans, and then they waited for Dr. Kellogg to return from a trip to Europe. The doctor discouraged proceeding with the project, the reason for which Judge Arthur says he never knew.

It seems clear that Dr. Kellogg, having received Ellen White’s reproof for erecting large buildings in Chicago, turned away from the project. Of this Ellen White wrote to Dr. Kellogg on October 28, 1903:

In the visions of the night a view of a large building was presented to me. I thought that it had been erected, and wrote you immediately in regard to the matter. I learned afterward that the building which I saw had not been put up.

When you received my letter, you were perplexed, and you [98] said, “Someone has misinformed Sister White regarding our work.” But no mortal man had ever written to me or told me that this building had been put up. It was presented to me in vision.

If this view had not been given me, and if I had not written to you about the matter, an effort would have been made to erect such a building in Chicago, a place in which the Lord has said that we are not to put up large buildings. At the time when the vision was given, influences were working for the erection of such a building. The message was received in time to prevent the development of the plans and the carrying out of the project.—Letter 239, 1903.

The presentation of these facts satisfied most who were concerned and may for a time have done so for Dr. Kellogg. But the criticism that Ellen White wrote a message reproving Dr. Kellogg for something he did not do formed a convenient excuse for rejecting the testimonies. Dr. Kellogg in 1942 in his own home recounted the story to the author of this biography, presenting it as a basis for his impaired confidence in Ellen White and her work.

Whether Past or Future She Did Not Always Know

This experience points up an interesting facet of her work—that is, that she herself on several occasions did not know whether the vision given to guide and guard represented something that had taken place or was given as a warning to guard against a wrong course of action.

While in Australia Ellen White wrote a testimony to a minister, reproving him for a violation of the seventh commandment. When he received it, he felt much troubled, for he had not so transgressed. He went to W. C. White and declared that he was greatly perplexed, for he had received a testimony reproving him for something he had not done.

“I am very glad that you have come to me,” Elder White replied, and reminded him that while men draw fine distinctions between the past, present, and future, with God, all is present. He looks at the thoughts of the heart.

“I see the point,” the minister replied. “I accept ... [the] warning, and I will keep ... far away from the evil course referred [99] to.”—DF 105b, WCW, “W. C. White Statements Regarding Mrs. White and Her Work,” pp. 4, 5.

But within six months he was dismissed from the ministry for the very thing he had been reproved for, in advance, in the testimony.

The Chicago building episode brought to Ellen White’s mind two other experiences of seeing in vision buildings not yet erected. Of this she wrote in 1903:

I have been thinking of how, after we began sanitarium work in Battle Creek, sanitarium buildings all ready for occupation were shown to me in vision. The Lord instructed me as to the way in which the work in these buildings should be conducted in order for it to exert a saving influence on the patients.

All this seemed very real to me, but when I awoke I found that the work was yet to be done, that there were no buildings erected.

Another time I was shown a large building going up on the site on which the Battle Creek Sanitarium was afterward erected. The brethren were in great perplexity as to who should take charge of the work. I wept sorely. One of authority stood up among us, and said, “Not yet. You are not ready to invest means in that building, or to plan for its future management.”

At this time the foundation of the Sanitarium had been laid. But we needed to learn the lesson of waiting.—Letter 135, 1903.

But the climate when these visions were given was quite different from what it was in Battle Creek during the crisis over accepting the visions.

Now, in 1906, with so many in Battle Creek raising questions about the testimonies, the Chicago building question was projected. On March 20, Ellen White prepared her second and more direct answer, embodying the points she covered in her 1903 letter written soon after Judge Arthur’s visit (Manuscript 33, 1906).

Who Manipulated Her Writings?

The questions raised concerning the manipulation of her writings, and the influence of W. C. White on the testimonies, distressed Ellen White, particularly such charges as were traced to careless statements made by James Edson White. As referred to [100] earlier, the two sons of James and Ellen White were much unlike in personality and character. The younger, William C., was steady, calm, loyal to the testimonies, dependable, and endued with leadership qualifications.

The older, James Edson, while talented, creative, and a good author, was unsteady, a poor manager of finances, and, because his brother and church leaders could not and did not endorse all his ventures, very critical. The testimonies of his mother addressed to him from early years carried at times little weight; yet when fully consecrated to God he did a remarkable work, particularly among the neglected blacks in the South. [Note: See ron graybill, Mission to Black America, and A. W. Spalding, Origin and History of Seventh-day Adventists, Volume 2, chapter 18, “American Negro Evangelism.”]

Because he was the son of James and Ellen White, James Edson was able to borrow, mainly from Adventists, to support his various enterprises, many of which failed. Again and again his mother and his brother came to his personal financial aid as various enterprises he had been warned against collapsed.

As Ellen White found she could not endlessly support him in these ventures, his brother attempted to counsel him. He in turn took the position that W. C. was influencing his mother. Among his personal friends in and around Battle Creek were a number who were voicing Dr. Kellogg’s insinuations that Ellen White was being influenced by her son William and others. It was easy for James Edson to join in. He said some most unfortunate things that were quickly picked up and, coming from Ellen White’s son, were capitalized on.

Finally, painful as it was, Ellen White had to step in and set the record straight. To James Edson she wrote:

What kind of a move was it that you made in rushing to Battle Creek and saying to those there that W. C. White, your own brother, for whom you should have respect, manipulated my writings? This is just what they needed to use in their councils to confirm them in their position that the testimonies the Lord gives your mother are no longer reliable....

Must I have such an impression go out? It is false, and I am sorry that you stand as you do.... You have regarded your [101] brother in a strange, false light, and persist in doing this.

This has been the grief of my life. Your stubborn persistence forces me to speak now. I will not keep silent.... Your sentiments are the prevailing sentiments of a deceived mind.

As she brought the six-page, cutting reproof and censure to a close, she declared:

Your position is a grievous thing to your mother and wears upon the life of your brother.... I shall have to speak. I cannot and will not suffer reproach to come upon the cause of God, and my work that God has given me to do, by your saying he manipulates my writings. It is falsehood—but what a charge is this! Not one soul manipulates my writings.—Letter 391, 1906.

In another letter to Edson, written May 21, 1906, covering somewhat the same ground, she stated:

The position you have taken, the words you have said, are not a secret. Everywhere they are handled by those who would uproot confidence in the testimonies, and they have influence because you are WCW’s brother and the son of Ellen G. White.... W. C. White is true as steel to the cause of God, and no lie which is in circulation is of the truth.—Letter 143, 1906.

Earlier in the year she had written:

There are those who say, “Someone manipulates her writings.” I acknowledge the charge. It is One who is mighty in counsel, One who presents before me the condition of things in Battle Creek.—Letter 52, 1906.

As to W. C. White, she wrote later in the year to Elder G. I. Butler, president of the Southern Union Conference. She referred to her experience following upon the death of her husband, the nights of deep sorrow and then of her healing at Healdsburg, and she recounts the messages that came to her concerning her work and the work of W. C. White:

I was instructed that the Lord had mercifully raised me up because He had a special work for me to do, and I was assured that I should have the special protection and care of God. The [102] Lord had spared my life, and had saved me from that which was surely sapping my life forces.

The Mighty Healer said, “Live. I have put My Spirit upon your son, W. C. White, that he may be your counselor.

“I have given him the spirit of wisdom, and a discerning, perceptive mind. He will have wisdom and counsel, and if he walks in My way, and works out My will, he will be kept, and will be enabled to help you bring before My people the light I will give you for them.

“Let your light so shine before men that they may see and understand in a special manner that the Lord has given a message to meet the emergencies that will arise. As you speak the words I give you, angels of heaven will be with you, to make impressions on the minds of those who hear.

“I will be with your son, and will be his counselor. He will respect the truth that comes through you to the people. He will have wisdom to defend the truth; for I will take charge of his mind, and will give him sound judgment in the councils that he attends in connection with the work.

“The world in its wisdom knows not God. It does not behold the beauty and harmony of the special work that I have given you. Your son will be perplexed over many matters that are to come before My people, but he is to wait and watch and pray, and let the words of God come to the people, even though he cannot always immediately discern the purpose of God.

“If you watch and wait and pray, Providence and revelation will guide you through all the perplexities that you will meet, so that you will not fail nor become discouraged.”—Letter 348, 1906.

Care Required in Answering Questions and Charges

Through June and the early part of July, Ellen White devoted much of her time to answering the many questions. Scores of letters totaling hundreds of pages were written. Many of these carried warnings concerning the perils of cherishing doubts in the face of the strong evidences God had given of the integrity of the Spirit of Prophecy.

What care Ellen White had to exercise as she dealt with these [103] questions from the physicians in Battle Creek! She found that she must measure her words very precisely.

She wrote:

When I am meeting with evidences that these communications will be treated by some in accordance with the human judgment of those who shall receive them; when I realize that some are watching keenly for some words which have been traced by my pen and upon which they can place their human interpretations in order to sustain their positions and to justify a wrong course of action—when I think of these things, it is not very encouraging to continue writing....

The twistings and connivings and misrepresentations and misapplications of the Word are marvelous.... What one does not think of, another mind supplies.—Letter 172, 1906.

The time came when “the most frivolous questions” were being asked (Letter 180, 1906). She wrote:

I am to sow the good seed. When questions suggested by Satan arise, I will remove them if I can. But those who are picking at straws had better be educating mind and heart to take hold of the grand and soul-saving truths that God has given through the humble messenger, in the place of becoming channels through whom Satan can communicate doubt and questioning.—Letter 200, 1906.

Instruction began to come to her that she need not pick up and answer “all the sayings and doubts that are being put into many minds” (Manuscript 61, 1906). She and her staff, after providing answers to the principal questions, considered their work quite well finished in this line of defense.

It was now mid-July. Ellen White felt relieved as she turned her attention to other interests. Camp meeting would soon open in Oakland, and she would attend. [104]

Chapter 8—On the Evangelistic Trail

Just a little after dawn at Elmshaven one clear, bright Sunday morning in June, Ellen White, after writing for some three hours, left the house to take a short walk in the garden. “As I walked in our garden path,” she wrote, “I felt assured the Lord had heard my prayer.”—Manuscript 124, 1906. She had awakened at 2:30 A.M. after “a good night’s rest,” and had dressed and walked down the hall to her writing room. There, presenting her case before the Lord in prayer, she pleaded that He would give her clearness of mind and preserve her eyesight. The almost constant writing, among other things, dealing with the many questions from Battle Creek, had caused painful eyestrain. She had repeated the promise “Ask, and ye shall receive.”

“I believe, I believe Thy promises,” she had told the Lord, and great peace filled her soul. She noted that she was free from the distressed feelings that had pressed upon her.

Now, as she walked along the garden path, admiring the roses and early flowering plants, the words of her morning prayer, “I cast my helpless soul on Thee, and I will trust in Thy promises,” kept running through her mind. At the close of the day she could write in her diary:

I am so thankful that I am relieved of this last month’s affliction. I know in whom I have believed. I suffer no pain.... The Lord has heard my prayer and I will praise the Lord. All day Sunday was a day of rejoicing.— Ibid.

On Tuesday Ellen White made a thirty-five-mile trip to [105] Healdsburg to attend an important meeting. A covered carriage, drawn by a span of young gray mares, conveyed the party of four: Ellen G. White; May White and her husband, W. C.; and Dores Robinson. W. C. was pleased to see that his mother withstood well the journey over on Tuesday and back on Wednesday, and was “of excellent courage” (30 WCW, p. 654).

The next morning in her home she joined officers of the California Conference, together with W. C. White, C. C. Crisler, and J. N. Loughborough, in an extended study of conference affairs. With renewed health and strength she dedicated her time for the following month to her heavy correspondence. The Battle Creek issues figured in this.

The Oakland Camp Meeting (July 19-29)

Ellen White considered it her duty to attend the camp meeting in northern California in Oakland (The Review and Herald, October 4, 1906), and accepted the invitation to assist with the meetings. As was her custom, she took several members of her office staff with her, prepared to carry on her regular work as time permitted.

The trip to Oakland in 1906 was quite different from what it is today when in little more than an hour the sixty-five miles may be traversed over paved highways and a bay-spanning bridge. Iram James, the farm manager, drove the traveling party the three miles to the Southern Pacific Railway station in St. Helena to catch the 7:30 A.M. train. At about nine o’clock they reached the line’s end at Carquinez Strait. From here the passengers were shuttled by ferry to Crockett to catch an Oakland-bound train. The trip with all its connections took a little more than three hours.

A well-situated lot in Oakland on 41st Street, between Grove and Telegraph, was the site chosen for the camp meeting. It was easily accessible to travelers by steam train, electric train, and streetcars. It was in a residential area, so there was hope of a good attendance from non-Adventists. The 200 family tents, together with the big tent and other meeting tents, were in readiness as Ellen White and her party came onto the grounds early Thursday afternoon. She and her granddaughter Mabel settled in one tent, the others in a tent next to it. She was pleased that hers was conveniently close to the large meeting tent. [106]

Her first appointment was on Friday; she thought she would speak three or four times during that camp meeting (Ibid.). When the meetings were over ten days later, she had spoken seven times, with some of the meetings running more than an hour. But to her surprise, and to the surprise of those close to her, these meetings seemed to be no drain on her strength. Of this she wrote:

After speaking before that immense congregation, not one phase of weakness was upon me; this was the greatest wonder to me. I was as one refreshed from the beginning to the close of the meeting. This was a new phase in my experience.

All who heard me, say that it was a miracle that my strength was sustained from beginning to end. Praise the Lord that He has given me His Holy Spirit.—Letter 250, 1906.

In the days before public-address systems it was a real accomplishment to make a thousand people hear, but at the age of 78 she did this time after time. Reporting the experience in the October 4 Review and Herald, she made the simple statement “I was refreshed physically,” and then told of how she was able also” to do much writing every day.” The fact that many non-Adventists attended the evening evangelistic meetings thrilled her heart.

The Pacific Press Fire

Friday night a vision was given to her that she did not at first understand. But Sabbath morning just before going onto the platform—for she was to preach that day—word reached the campground that a fire at Pacific Press in Mountain View had destroyed the entire plant. The first flames were seen at about midnight. The cause of the fire, which apparently had started in the photo-engraving department, was never ascertained. The plans for the Sabbath-morning service in Oakland remained unchanged, but it was a solemn audience that listened to the messenger of the Lord that morning. When the announcement of the Pacific Press fire was made from the desk, many in the audience thought of the Review and Herald fire four years before. They remembered the warnings given and of how after the fire it was generally conceded among Adventists that the catastrophe was a judgment from God. Ellen White had stated this time after time. [107]

What would she say when she stood in the desk to address the waiting audience?

The stenographic report of the Sabbath-morning meeting makes no mention of the fire. She spoke on “Love Toward God and Man.” Basing her address on the story of the good Samaritan as recorded in Luke 10:25-37,she drove home the importance of compassion, tenderness, and love. “The Lord permits suffering and calamity to come upon men and women,” she declared, “to call us out of our selfishness, to awaken in us the attributes of His character.”—Manuscript 109, 1906 (The Review and Herald, September 13, 1906Ibid., September 20, 1906).

The Friday-Night Vision

Then, stopping short, she told the audience that many representations had passed before her the night before. Describing one scene, she told of being in a council meeting, with one after another finding fault with their brethren. There was great confusion. “The dress of the speakers was most undesirable,” she said. It “was a representation of character.” Christ Himself was present. Finally, after hearing one after another speak words of accusation, and when finally He could get the attention of those present, “He declared that the spirit of criticism, of judging one another, was a source of weakness in the church today.” Christ picked up a standard that He held high. In burning letters was God’s law, and He repeated the words “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” As she witnessed the scene, “the names of the faultfinders appeared before them,” and by each name “the faults of the erring one.” And the lesson: “All who love God supremely will love their neighbor as themselves.”— Ibid. Ellen White made no attempt to give more than a general application of the vision. Church leaders present breathed easier.

In conversation with some of the workers, she spoke of one interesting incident in the Friday-night vision. She saw many people rushing forward with criticism; some sought to lay the blame for the trouble and calamities on someone else. Then a large mirror was lifted up in which all saw themselves. Not only did they see their outward appearance, but the mirror reflected their inner [108] character, as well. As different ones saw in the mirror their own condition, they turned away in silence.

W. C. White reported:

All of the leading laborers have united in presenting to our people on the campground the thought that this calamity is to teach each one to search his heart and see wherein we have gone astray.—30 WCW, p. 834.

On Monday in the ministers’ meeting, Ellen White told how “the experiences of Job had been presented to her during the night season as a lesson to us for this time” (Ibid.).

In the absence of any direct testimony associating the calamity with grievous misdeeds of institutional managers, the stance set forth above became the prevailing concept.

The fire was indeed a major calamity. The Pacific Press, with a hundred employees, was the largest and best-equipped printing plant west of the Rocky Mountains. Except for a few typewriters, the records of accounts receivable, a portion of the Signs of the Times and Our Little Friend mailing lists, and some of the book plates, all was lost—a loss of between $200,000 and $300,000. Insurance provided $100,000, just enough to pay their debts (The Signs of the Times, August 8, 1906).

Ellen White’s personal loss in book plates that were destroyed was estimated at $5,000.

Continued Camp Meeting Ministry

From day to day Ellen White filled speaking appointments. One was in the young people’s tent. In spite of the fact that it was crowded with young men and young women, when some of the older folks on the grounds discerned that she was speaking there, they tried to crowd in. The Saviour seemed close to her and she spoke with freedom on the Christian experience to be gained from the ministration of the Holy Spirit.

The last Sabbath was the high day of the feast. Again Ellen White was the Sabbath-morning speaker. The tent was packed. Drawing lessons from the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, she set forth for forty-five minutes the privileges and responsibilities of the Christian life. She appealed to the church members to “rise to their opportunities” (The Review and Herald, October 4, 1906). [109]

Elder G. B. Thompson followed her address and appeal by a call for “the unconverted and the backslidden,” and all who had not made a full surrender, to come forward. There was a most gratifying response.

The next day there was a baptism. Sixty-five were added to the church. For Ellen White personally, it seemed that a new day had dawned. As the camp meeting neared its close, she declared:

I look upon this chapter in my experience in my seventy-eighth year as a miracle of Christ’s working. We shall have peace and thanksgiving for the lines of work that were carried forward at this camp meeting. My soul is thankful, and I praise God with all my heart.—Letter 306, 1906.

Some time later, in a letter to Edson, she referred to the camp meeting experience in 1876 at Groveland, Massachusetts, when she spoke on a Sunday to an estimated 20,000 people (The Signs of the Times, September 14, 1876 [MR, p. 114]): “The Lord was with us then,” she wrote, “but, Edson, I felt the power of God just as decidedly on the campground in Oakland, as I did in the earlier days of the message. The sweet peace of God was upon me, and I felt refreshed rather than wearied.”—Letter 288, 1906.

Plans for a Continuing Evangelistic Thrust

Considering the gratifying attendance of non-Adventists from the community at the night meetings, it seemed well to church leaders to leave the big tent standing and continue with evangelistic services. Sister White encouraged this. It was a plan successfully followed in Australia. A twofold thrust was planned: Workers would remain encamped on the ground; an evangelistic meeting would be held every night, and during the day there would be house-to-house visitation.

Elder Haskell and his wife, who had assisted at the camp meeting but who had been working in San Bernardino, would be requested to stay on to conduct a “Bible training school” for workers and laymen while this special effort was being made in Oakland (The Review and Herald, October 4, 1906). The Haskells had perfected this effective manner of work.

During the mornings they would both lead out in conducting [110] classes in the Bible and in methods of personal work. Bible instructors and literature evangelists would then fan out into the surrounding communities in the afternoons.

As Ellen White urged the Haskells to respond to the invitation, she declared, “There is to be no stone left unturned to lead souls to find the treasure, the hidden treasure of Bible truth.”—Letter 254, 1906.

The conference committee also invited a successful evangelist in southern California, Elder W. W. Simpson, to come a little later and assist in Oakland.

Ellen White to Participate

With renewed strength and fired with evangelistic zeal, Ellen White determined to participate in the action. When she could, she would go down weekends to encourage and assist. It would mean a serious break in her literary work, for each weekend trip would consume three full days, and sometimes four, but soul winning was her lifework. Earlier, in wrestling with Battle Creek problems, she wrote, “I do not think that my labors should be mainly for our own people, but for those who have not yet had the light of truth.”—Letter 195, 1904.

After two weeks at home, a time when the weather was very warm, she made her first weekend trip to Oakland, going down with Sara McEnterfer on Thursday, August 16. They stayed in the family tent she had occupied during the camp meeting. She spoke in the big tent Sabbath morning. Attendance was good as church members came in from Berkeley, Alameda, and San Francisco. She also spoke Sunday afternoon in the evangelistic meeting in the tent. She observed with satisfaction the work of the Haskells but could see that the time was ripe for Elder Simpson to come. She wrote to him, urging, “Now is the time ... to visit San Francisco and Oakland.... Nothing of an ordinary character,” she insisted, “will be effective in awakening this community. A powerful message must be borne.”—Letter 272, 1906.

She made nine weekend trips to the Bay Area in August, September, October, and November. She spoke in Oakland on seven weekends, first in the big tent and then in the Congregational church rented for Sabbath meetings, and twice in San Francisco. [111] Usually she spoke in the afternoons so as not to disturb the Sabbath-morning services in the local churches. The Oakland church had been sold, and plans were under way to build again; hence their use of the rented building.

Evangelist Simpson’s Effective Ministry

Elder Simpson came to Oakland as a new voice, and it was thought well to choose a new location for his meetings. A place was found for the large tent in the business part of the city, near the post office. Sister White took satisfaction in helping to fold the handbills announcing the meetings.

The weather was remarkably good, and Elder Simpson’s meetings were well attended. He had an audience of about 500 every evening. Of his methods Ellen White wrote:

Brother Simpson is an intelligent evangelist. He speaks with the simplicity of a child. Never does he bring any slur into his discourses. He preaches directly from the Word, letting the Word speak to all classes. His strong arguments are the words of the Old and the New Testaments. He does not seek for words that would merely impress the people with his learning, but he endeavors to let the Word of God speak to them directly in clear, distinct utterance. If any refuse to accept the message, they must reject the Word.—Letter 326, 1906 (Evangelism, 204).

Simpson dwelt especially on the prophecies of Daniel and of John in the book of Revelation. His unique methods gripped the audiences:

He has large representations of the beasts spoken of in these books. These beasts are made of papier-mache, and by an ingenious invention, they may be brought at the proper time before the congregation. Thus he holds the attention of the people, while he preaches the truth to them. Through this effort hundreds will be led to a better understanding of the Bible than they ever had before, and we trust that there will be many conversions.— Ibid.

His manner of work reminded Ellen White of the work done in 1842-1844. He used the Bible, and the Bible alone, to prove his [112] points, presenting a plain “Thus saith the Lord” (Letter 350, 1906 [Evangelism, 204]). As to his speaking, she wrote that “not one careless or unnecessary word escapes his lips. He speaks forcibly and solemnly.”

More Than One Right Way To Work

What church leaders soon learned was that two good, dedicated soul winners, with very different methods of work, found it difficult to recognize that there was more than one right way to accomplish a task. In this particular case, both men were uncomfortable working in the same city, as urgent as the need was for all kinds of talents to accomplish the Lord’s work (Mrs. S. N. Haskell to EGW, October 14-17, 1906). Many of the San Francisco believers had attended the camp meeting in July, and some had enrolled in the classes being taught by Elder and Mrs. Haskell in their Bible school. As they pressed for a similar work, arrangements were made for the Haskells to labor in San Francisco, across the bay from Oakland. Some weeks later they returned to San Bernardino.

Ellen White, enjoying the best health she had had in years (Letters 342 and 346, 1906), took great satisfaction in her weekend visits to the Bay Area cities. On a very few occasions she found it necessary to cancel appointments. It was so in late August.

Two Sabbaths in November she spoke in the San Francisco church. Then there was another trip to Oakland in mid-December. Elder Simpson, in closing his Oakland meetings, was to speak on the Spirit of Prophecy and have his final baptism. He wanted Ellen White to be there and address the new converts, so that they might become personally acquainted with her.

This she did, speaking Sabbath afternoon. She also witnessed the baptism on Sunday at the Piedmont Baths. Thirty-two were buried with their Lord (Letter 386, 1906). Others would soon follow.

Shortly thereafter Elder Simpson returned to the Southern California Conference, which had lent him for the work in Oakland.

Now the Haskells were badly needed again in Oakland. In writing to them Ellen White acknowledged making a mistake in judgment in consenting to their leaving the Bay Area. Note her words:

I am sorry that I gave my consent to your leaving. A mistake [113] has been made, and I feel that I am partially to blame. Precious golden opportunities have been lost that, had they been improved, might have advanced the work decidedly. You both would have been doing the very work that God has given you to do.

But we will not now mourn over the past. Let us move intelligently in the future.... The work in Oakland must not be cut short.—Letter 380, 1906.

The shortened workweeks because of the frequent visits to Oakland and San Francisco meant less time for her book work, but she was involved as always in the varied interests of the cause.

“All my life,” she wrote on July 17, “has been a life of discipline in the solemn, sacred work of being His messenger to give warnings that are to be given to the world.... Woe would be unto me if I should suffer my mind to be turned away one jot or tittle from the testing truth for this time.”—Manuscript 125, 1906.

Loma Linda Interests Again

The Los Angeles camp meeting opened Thursday, August 16. Ellen White deemed this an appropriate time to set the needs of a special educational work at Loma Linda before the officers and believers of the Southern California Conference. On Sunday, August 19, before returning to St. Helena from an Oakland weekend, she penned a most earnest appeal addressed to Elder G. W. Reaser, the conference president, and the executive committee of the conference. It opened:

Dear Brethren,

I am very anxious that Brethren Reaser and Burden, and their associates, shall see all things clearly.... Be very careful not to do anything that would restrict the work at Loma Linda. It is in the order of God that this property has been secured, and He has given instruction that a school should be connected with the Sanitarium.—Letter 274, 1906.

Then she specified the work that should be done in training young men and young women to be efficient medical missionary workers. “Means must be raised,” she wrote, and urged that no one should act a part in influencing the people not to give. It was a tremendous appeal that not only called for money but announced to [114] everyone a phase of the work that was to be developed at Loma Linda—a school.

How glad she was after the camp meeting to learn that there was a response in the amount of $12,500 to the call for funds for Loma Linda (Pacific Union Recorder, September 13, 1906). Somehow the conference had been especially blessed since taking steps in 1905 to purchase the property. In addition to the gift to Loma Linda, $5,000 of surplus tithe went to establish mission stations in Uganda and India; $4,594 in offerings was sent outside the conference for special enterprises; and $4,250 was given for the San Fernando school.

Her Correspondence

Ever calling for Ellen White’s attention was her correspondence. Many of the letters she answered quickly. Some letters that sought counsel from her she deferred in answering. To S. M. Cobb, president of the New Zealand Conference, she wrote on August 22, “I must prayerfully consider the contents [of your letter] before I can go into the matters of which you speak.”—Letter 270, 1906. Likewise to G. I. Butler, president of the Southern Union, she wrote on October 30, the day his letter came to her, “I shall not try to answer your letter now, for there are questions in it that require a thoughtful rereading.”—Letter 348, 1906.

But before she laid her pen down, she had written what turned out to be eight double-spaced pages in typewritten form. In this letter she dealt with some delicate matters. A copy was sent inadvertently to a literature evangelist with whom she corresponded. Often it was her custom to send copies of newsy, nonsensitive letters to acquaintances and friends, and one such was supposedly what she had sent. When she discovered that a confidential letter had been sent by mistake, she fired off a retrieval letter:

My Dear Brother,

I wish to say a few words to you. I placed the wrong copy of a special testimony in your hands. The one I supposed I had let you have, written to Elder Butler, was one that could be freely circulated anywhere. But special testimonies that deal in special subjects are not to be brought out before any and every party. [115]

I suppose this that is in your hands is my special personal property, and matter that mentions names should not go into your hands. Now please return that private copy to me and let it not be made public....

Enjoin on all who have read this matter or heard it read, that it is too sacred a matter to be treated as common property at this period of time. It may have to come, but it is not to be made known at present. Will you return these copies to me as soon as possible and do not read this matter to anyone? ...

I can write no more now. It is near the Sabbath, and I must close up this matter.... The personal letter to Elder Butler was not designed to be made public. Return it to me if you please and keep no copy of the same. I will expect this to be done.—Letter 353, 1906.

Rebuilding the Pacific Press

The loss of the Pacific Press on July 21 set in motion many lines of activity. For a time neighboring printing establishments printed Signs of the Times and Our Little Friend. The Review and Herald was asked to help meet the needs of the literature evangelists for large message-filled books. This was especially true of The Great Controversy. The loss of the stock of books in Mountain View led to the hastening of certain revisions, in that book, particularly in its format, chapter headings, illustrations, and the appendix. The new edition appeared in 1907. Some badly worn printing plates had to be repaired or replaced. There was no change in the text of the book.

Ellen White was drawn into the planning for the future of the publishing house. At a stockholders’ meeting she attended in Mountain View on September 10 and 11, the decision was reached to rebuild the plant in Mountain View on a much smaller scale, and to eliminate all commercial work. She spoke on both of the two days, making earnest appeals for dedication, loyalty, and consecration (Manuscript 71, 1906; Manuscript 73, 1906). At the close of her second talk, she endorsed fully the plans for rebuilding in a modest fashion.

A Second Granddaughter Marries

William C. White and his mother returned to Elmshaven in time for the wedding of her granddaughter Mabel to Wilfred Workman, [116] who was connected with Healdsburg College. Mabel was 19 and Wilfred 26. The ceremony was held Wednesday evening at 7:30, on the south lawn at Elmshaven. The Women’s Improvement Society of St. Helena had loaned fifty Japanese lanterns to light the lawn, and chairs and seats of different kinds provided space for the 150 friends who came. The Sanitarium orchestra and choir provided the music. While the party waited for the bride and groom, Willie told of the camp meeting in Boulder, and Dores told about the Pacific Press stockholders’ meeting—not very romantic, perhaps, but a recital of denominational history in the making and probably of interest to most of the guests. W. C. White performed the ceremony, and Ellen White offered prayer, just as she had at Ella’s wedding.

After the congratulations and more music, the guests walked around to the west side of the home—between the main house and the office—where, under the big live oak tree, a tent was standing in which the wedding gifts were displayed. Near the tent a little rockery was arranged with ferns concealing three large bowls of fruit punch from which the guests drew refreshments as from a mountain spring. Wedding cake was also served.

The bride and groom went to Healdsburg, Mabel to be assistant matron and Wilfred to work in the business office (32 WCW, pp. 143, 145, 159).

Ellen White Begins to Await Her “Summons”

In the months before her seventy-eighth birthday in late November, more frequently than in the past she referred to the possibility that her life might soon close. To her older sister, Mary Foss, she wrote:

My sister, you are older than I, and we are the only members of our family who are spared.... I am waiting my summons to give up my work, and rest in the grave.... I believe I shall meet you when our warfare is accomplished.—Letter 112, 1906.

She referred to this in a letter to Frank Belden, her sister Sarah’s son:

The Lord gives me strength continually to go straight forward. But my work is nearly completed. I am “only waiting till the shadows are a little longer grown.” But my books will [117] testify when my voice shall no longer be heard.

The truths committed to me, as the Lord’s messenger, stand immortalized, either to convict and to convert souls, or to condemn those who have departed from the faith and have given heed to seducing spirits.—Letter 350, 1906.

Before her birthday, November 26, she told her family she did not want to receive presents or have any demonstration in her honor. Her wishes were acceded to (Letter 370, 1906). Rather, she ordered sizable shipments of dried prunes from the bountiful crop to be sent to Oakwood College, the Madison school, and to F. E. Rogers, who was in charge of the mission in Vicksburg, Mississippi (32 WCW, p. 263).

Ten days later Ellen White wrote to a sister in the faith who was in straitened circumstances, expressing thankfulness for the “beautiful letter” that the sister had written her. In closing Ellen White asked some meaningful questions:

Have you all my books? Tell me those that you have, so that I can send you those you have not. And which of our papers are you taking? Do you get the Review and Herald, Signs of the Times, and The Youth’s Instructor? Let me hear from you soon after you receive this letter.

Be of good courage in the Lord, and be joyful in God.—Letter 392, 1906. [118]

Chapter 9—1907—At Home and in the Field

The year 1907 proved to be a fairly good year for Ellen White in the advancement of her literary work. There was some travel, but all within California. The work on the preparation of books was interspersed with speaking appointments, interviews, and correspondence, and with visions of the night sometimes given to meet crisis situations. It was the year of Ellen White’s shortest testimony.

New Year’s Day at Elmshaven dawned clear, bright, and warm after several days of rain. But long before darkness gave way to the sunrise, Ellen White was up and writing, aroused from her sleep by a vision regarding the sanitariums in southern California, and some of the problems developing in the newly opened work at Paradise Valley and Loma Linda.

Her cheery words of greeting, wishing members of her family a happy new year, made it clear that she was of good courage that Tuesday morning, and after breakfast she continued the writing out of the counsels and cautions imparted to her in the early-morning vision.

It was a normal workday in the office. W. C. White had devoted Monday to letter writing, trying to catch up after a trip east. He continued on New Year’s Day, and in a letter to his close friend, Arthur Daniells, he described what was going on (32 WCW, p. 619). Helen Graham was taking his dictation. Clarence Crisler, who had been gathering materials from Ellen White’s writings regarding the work in the Southern States in anticipation of an E.G. White book devoted to that topic, was now assembling her writings on Ezra for a [119] series of Review articles. The Sabbath school lessons for the first quarter of 1907 were on the book of Ezra, and it was hoped these articles would provide collateral reading.

The task was larger than anticipated, and while the preliminary material on Nehemiah was printed in the Review in March and April, it was not until January and February, 1908, that the five articles on Ezra were published. But the eighteen articles on this phase of Old Testament history were steps in the preparation of Prophets and Kings.

Dores Robinson was transcribing his notes taken on Sister White’s talks in Oakland. Later in the day, W. C. White discussed with him the proposal of assembling her materials on Melrose Sanitarium for publication in a pamphlet as one of the numbers of the Series B Special Testimonies. Problems were developing there, and church leaders felt if such a pamphlet were widely circulated, it would be helpful. The sixteen-page document eventually appeared as Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 13.

Two of the women secretaries, Maggie Hare and Minnie Hawkins, both from Australia, were collecting materials on Ellen White’s experiences in Europe and Australia.

Later in January the California Conference session would be held in San Jose, and it seemed desirable to present there Ellen White’s counsel on the tithe and its use. On that New Year’s Day, plans were laid for Dores Robinson to assemble the material, first to be read at the conference session, then published in a pamphlet and eventually in Testimonies, volume 9, a book then in preparation.

Ellen White did not attend the San Jose meeting but the material assembled, amplified by her document titled “Faithful Stewardship,” was read. Later this was published in a thirty-two-page pamphlet titled The Support of God’s Kingdom on Earth. Her article on “Faithful Stewardship” was brought into volume 9, filling pages 245-252.

Sara McEnterfer was searching the writings, published and unpublished, to find answers to questions submitted in correspondence from church members. This was a phase of work Ellen White could not give time and strength to, and was one of Sara’s continuing assignments. Helen Graham helped her when she could. [120]

Several members of the Wessels family of South Africa, including Mother Wessels, who had liberally helped the Avondale school with her means, were visiting northern California. They were entertained in the W. C. White home, and, of course, spent some time at Elmshaven (32 WCW, pp. 620-622).

Problems in Organizational Relationships

Here and there in the church at large, problems of unity and organization festered. E. E. Franke was leading a New Jersey church away from the denomination. In Washington, D.C., Elder L. C. Sheafe, one of the most talented black ministers, was, along with his church, bolting the denomination, largely over organizational problems. In Battle Creek, a contest over the ownership of the Tabernacle was nearing a climax (Ibid., 666).

W. C. White shared a letter with his mother written January 18 by Elder A. G. Daniells in Washington, D.C. It told of the Sheafe disaffection in Washington, and the steps his church was taking in pulling away from the denomination and striking out in the lines of congregational government. Sheafe was in close touch with Dr. J. H. Kellogg and Elder A. T. Jones, and had spent some time at Battle Creek Sanitarium. This visit lent support to Sheafe’s urge for independence. It gave support to the views on organization that were counter to those for which the church stood.

On February 4, Ellen White wrote to Daniells concerning the “present situation” and declared that at Battle Creek “a strong testimony should be borne ... all the time regarding proper organization,” and that “the movements of Elder A. T. Jones must be carefully watched.”—Letter 24, 1907.

The same day she wrote to Elder Sheafe:

Dear Brother,

I am writing to you in the early morning. In the night season I have had representations of your case, and have been conversing with some of the brethren in Washington, D.C., in regard to the work to be done in that city.

Elder Sheafe, Satan has been at work upon your mind, and for a long time you have been entertaining his suggestions.... You have lost your bearings concerning many things, and cherish some views that bear the same mark of spiritual disease that has led to the disaffection at Battle Creek. And the enemy is [121] working through you to spoil the flock of God. The Lord bids me to say to you, Stop right where you are.

She urged that he let no man unsettle his faith, and she admonished:

Do not, I beg of you, turn aside to strange doctrines. In the visions of the night I am charged by the Lord to warn you against this. I want you to be a happy man in this life, a representation of what a minister of Christ should be.—Letter 44, 1907.

Unfortunately, the warnings and appeals went unheeded. A few years later, Elder A. T. Jones, after his full apostasy, joined the breakaway church led by Elder Sheafe.

On that same day, February 4, 1907, as her mind turned to Battle Creek and the detrimental work being done by A. T. Jones, she urged that “we must make sure [i.e., secure] the control of the Tabernacle.” She warned that “Elder A. T. Jones will work in every possible way to get possession of this house, and if he can do so, he will present in it theories that should never be heard.”—Letter 38, 1907.

In the same communication she wrote that according to the light the Lord had given to her, “Elder A. T. Jones and Dr. Kellogg will make every effort possible to get possession of the Tabernacle,” and she admonished that “we must not allow that house to be used for the promulgation of error.”

The Tabernacle was built by the Seventh-day Adventist people. It is their property; and their loyal representatives should control it.— Ibid.

In this letter Ellen White called for unity as a hedge against the seductive work of the adversary.

“Alone, So Alone”

Ellen White recognized that her responsibility ended when she had done all in her skill and power to present God’s messages with love, concern and appeal. But when they were not received, her heart was heavy. She recognized that the hidden forces of evil were in the fray, and at times she felt very much alone. Early Friday [122] morning, March 1, she confided her feelings in general:

I am carrying a weight of great responsibility, and I scarcely venture to speak of the weight that oppresses my soul, for there is not one of those connected with me that can possibly understand the anguish of my heart. I feel that I am alone, alone as far as any soul’s being able to understand is concerned.

But why do I wish that they could? I have my Friend in Jesus, and He can help me and He alone. He has been to me a very present help in times of greatest necessity, and now I can only trust, and hang my helpless soul on Jesus Christ.

I am instructed that the less I have to draw upon human helpers engaged in the work in helping me, even in my own house, the better. It is wise not to trust in any mortal. I must move forward, not expecting they will understand. I must work alone, alone.

Then a heavenly being spoke to her:

“Who can stand by you in the hour of fierce conflict, when in combat with the powers of darkness, with Satan and his host of invisible allies? You will, as far as human help is concerned, remain alone. The Lord alone understands. In Him you may trust. Commit the keeping of your soul to Him who has given your special work to you.

“Your Mediator, your Comforter, will not leave you, although Satan will interpose his presence, his companionship. Be not afraid. I am your Redeemer who was tempted in all points like as you are tempted. I will impress your mind, and ever know I will not leave you nor forsake you.”

She then expressed her determination, regardless of what she was called upon to meet:

I have been nearly overcome with perplexities. I will trust in God. All the reason I desire to live is to bear my part in the work as the Lord’s messenger, faithfully discerning the evil because of the light given me, and also discerning the right. I have had very clear instruction, from which I am not to deviate one particle under any representation to, under any statement of, any human being—minister or physician. [123]

As she thus contemplated, the heavenly messenger spoke to her again:

“In every spiritual conflict you are not alone. By the eye of faith you are to see your Redeemer as your present help in every time of need. In your experience of the message given you to bear, the truth is written just as it is in the books of heaven.

“All false statements made will appear just as they are, for it is against Christ that they do this evil, working on the enemy’s side. They are poor, deceived souls, but they choose the darkness when they might have the light. They are those who are learning their lessons from the fallen apostate and they have eyes, but they will not acknowledge the evidence. They have ears to hear, but will report the very opposite of the truth which they hear, turning it to falsehood. There is not any dependence to be placed in the words they speak.”

Then, with assurance the charge came to her:

“Go and bear your testimony, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you, and ‘lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.’”—Manuscript 154, 1907.

The record of what took place at Elmshaven that early Friday morning provides an intimate picture of her relationship to her own experiences and lays the foundation for what happened the next Sunday night.

An Assuring Experience

Sunday afternoon, Elder Haskell had an interview with her regarding the work in Oakland and also concerning broadening the distribution of her books and other publications on present truth. The visit over, she was weary and retired early.

“I was suffering with rheumatism in my left side,” she reports, “and could get no rest because of the pain.”

I turned from side to side, trying to find ease from the suffering. There was a pain in my heart that portended no good for me. At last I fell asleep.

About half past nine [Sunday night, March 3], I attempted to [124] turn myself, and as I did so, I became aware that my body was entirely free from pain. As I turned from side to side, and moved my hands, I experienced an extraordinary freedom and lightness that I cannot describe. The room was filled with light, a most beautiful, soft, azure light, and I seemed to be in the arms of heavenly beings.

This peculiar light I have experienced in the past in times of special blessing, but this time it was more distinct, more impressive, and I felt such peace, peace so full and abundant no words can express it. I raised myself into a sitting posture, and I saw that I was surrounded by a bright cloud, white as snow, the edges of which were tinged with a deep pink. The softest, sweetest music was filling the air, and I recognized the music as the singing of the angels. Then a Voice spoke to me, saying: “Fear not; I am your Saviour. Holy angels are all about you.”

“Then this is heaven,” I said, “and now I can be at rest. I shall have no more messages to bear, no more misrepresentations to endure. Everything will be easy now, and I shall enjoy peace and rest. Oh, what inexpressible peace fills my soul! Is this indeed heaven? Am I one of God’s little children? and shall I always have this peace?”

The Voice replied: “Your work is not yet done.”

Again I fell asleep, and when I awoke, I heard music, and I wanted to sing. Then someone passed my door, and I wondered if that person saw the light. [There is no record that those passing the door saw the light.] After a time the light passed away, but the peace remained.—Testimonies for the Church 9:65, 66.

After sleeping a little while again, she had another vision—this time about the book work, and the circulation of tracts and books (Ibid., 9:66, 67). Its main feature was to encourage more aggressive distribution of denominational literature.

Warnings to Safeguard the Battle Creek Tabernacle

At Battle Creek the crisis was looming over the ownership and control of the much-loved house of worship, the “Dime Tabernacle.” The structure, which could comfortably seat 2,400 people, and 3,200 when opened fully, was so known because of the method [125] employed by James White to raise money for its construction. Since it would serve the church generally, each church member throughout the field was asked to give a dime a month toward its construction cost.

The warning in the letter written February 4, 1907, referred to above, was not the first concerning the security of church-owned property in Battle Creek. On June 28, 1905, she had addressed herself to the subject:

I wish to sound a note of warning to our people nigh and afar off. An effort is being made by those at the head of the medical work in Battle Creek to get control of property over which, in the sight of the heavenly courts, they have no rightful control.—Manuscript 79, 1905.

A year later she wrote on July 27, 1906:

I have seen that the leaders in the medical work in Battle Creek will try to secure possession of the Tabernacle. Their scheming is so subtle that I greatly fear that this may be accomplished.—Letter 306, 1906.

Although at the time there was no evidence that this would or could take place, she told W. C. White that “it will require earnest effort to save the Tabernacle to the denomination.”—30 WCW, p. 996.

Then on October 30, 1906, she wrote of how she had directed letters to different ones in danger of being misled and again declared:

The disaffected ones will make every effort possible to secure the Tabernacle, and to gain other advantages by which to disseminate their wrong theories and carry forward their apostasy. But the Lord lives and reigns. I am writing out the cautions He gives me. I will not give up.... It may be that I shall have to visit Battle Creek.—Letter 348, 1906.

The warnings were noted by Elder Daniells and other leaders of the church, and steps were initiated to guard the control of the Tabernacle. In 1863, years before the procedures the denomination now employs to hold and protect church property were instituted, a [126] corporation had been formed to hold the ownership of the Battle Creek church. The articles called for trustees to be elected by the church at stated intervals. Under normal circumstances this would have been adequate. But things in Battle Creek were far from normal. The Battle Creek church operated without a pastor. The first elder, George Amadon, who for many years was connected with the Review and Herald, selected Sabbath-morning speakers from the many ministers in Battle Creek. In 1906 the young minister sent there to care for the needs of the youth made the selection of speakers.

As matters grew more critical, several ministers of long experience were sent in by the conference for a few weeks at a time to conduct special meetings.

Steps Taken as the Crisis Deepened

Now, as the crisis deepened and Ellen White was sending warnings concerning the security of the Tabernacle, church leaders, local and general, saw that the time had come to appoint a pastor. The man chosen was a much-trusted young minister, M. N. Campbell. He was 32 years of age and had just been ordained. Elder Daniells told him that the assignment would be no easy job. Daniells had just talked to the trustees of the Tabernacle about safeguarding it, and he told Campbell that the trustees had told him to go on about his business. When Daniells asked Campbell to take the job in Battle Creek, Campbell replied:

Elder Daniells, I’m ready to do anything in this world the General Conference asks me to do. If it’s Battle Creek, all right, I’ll go there.—DF 421c, M. N. Campbell, “Experiences With Ellen G. White,” p. 6.

Upon this expression of his willingness to go, the local conference appointed him as pastor of the Battle Creek church. He moved there in November, 1906. In view of his commission, he was soon on the track of the trustees of the corporation that held the Tabernacle.

His first discovery was that the charter had expired in 1892, fourteen years earlier, and the trustees had done nothing to renew it. He did his homework well, seeking legal advice and studying the [127] steps that had to be taken to keep the Tabernacle.

It was known that the men in control were very favorable to Dr. Kellogg and Elder Jones. The new pastor made friends with the trustees, meeting with them occasionally at the bank, where one was the cashier. He tried to gain their confidence.

One day in early January he asked, “Why don’t you men take steps to safeguard the Tabernacle and have it reincorporated?”— Ibid., 8, 9. They talked it over and decided to do just that. The date was set for the legal meeting.

But the agreement did not hold for long. When Campbell arrived home, the telephone rang. The trustees said that if they were to go through with it, A. T. Jones must have the right to take part in the legal meeting. Campbell’s reply was a decided No! Jones was not a member of the Battle Creek church, and he was not a man the church had confidence in. Other conditions were proposed that Campbell could not accept, and the trustees declared that the meeting they had agreed to would not be held. To this the young pastor responded, “I’m here to tell you, my brother, that that meeting will be held.”

But Campbell did not know how it could be done, and he pondered the matter. A day or two later the minutes of a board meeting of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in which the ownership of the Tabernacle was discussed fell into his hands. The minutes made it clear that the trustees were trying to play into the hands of men at the Sanitarium. While the informer intended that Campbell should only read the minutes, he had them copied while the one who brought them stood by impatiently.

The Legal Meetings

With minutes in hand showing the disloyalty of the trustees, Campbell confronted them with the choice of a legal meeting to care for the Tabernacle or having the minutes read to the church the next Sabbath.

They quickly agreed to the legal meeting, and it was understood that A. T. Jones would not be involved. They declared that if what the minister disclosed were to be made public, “we will have to move out of town.” Campbell promised secrecy on the point if they would agree not to “move a finger to interfere with the procedures [128] to be taken to safeguard the Tabernacle” (Ibid., 12).

But when the first legal meeting was held, every step possible was taken to delay or thwart what had to be done. In all, five critical legal sessions were held, each freighted with uncertainties. Both Campbell and Amadon reported on the last and most crucial one at which new articles of incorporation were to be voted and new trustees elected.

A little time before the meeting the pastor called a few of the leading brethren together for a season of prayer. “They were all good, faithful men,” Campbell reported, “but I don’t know that I ever saw a set of men more scared. Old Brother Amadon, one of the finest Christians that ever lived, moaned, ‘If only Sister White were here, if only Sister White were here.’”— Ibid., 14.

Campbell replied, “Well, brother, she isn’t. No use groaning over that. But we are here. We’ve got to handle this thing.”

All of them knew Sister White was in California, but Amadon continued, “Oh, if only Sister White were here.”

Ellen White’s Shortest Testimony Arrives

Ten minutes before the meeting was to open, a Western Union messenger came to the door and inquired: “Is Mr. Campbell here?”

Campbell said, “Yes,” and reached out for the telegram addressed to him. Opening it he found this message: “Philippians 1:27, 28. (Signed) Ellen G. White.”

It was a testimony, her shortest testimony ever. Opening their Bibles to the reference given, they read:

“Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; and in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.”

Elder Campbell reported:

That settled the question. That was a communication from Sister White that we needed right at that moment. God knew we were holding that meeting, and that we had a group of scared [129] men, and that we needed help from Him, and so He gave us the message that came straight to us in the nick of time. It sounded pretty good to us.— Ibid., 14, 15.

In spite of the fact that every conceivable step was taken by the opposition to block the work of reorganization, the meeting was conducted successfully and adjourned somewhat after 11:00 P.M. Elder Campbell read again at that meeting Ellen White’s counsel to safeguard the Tabernacle. It carried “great weight with the congregation” (G. W. Amadon to WCW, March 15, 1907).

The next morning George Amadon wrote to W. C. White at Elmshaven:

With much joy I hastily pen you a few lines. Many thanks for the telegram. How appropriate was the scripture. Well, the church held the adjourned meeting last evening. It was half-past eleven before we got home. There was a persistent and unreasonable opposition to every step taken.— Ibid.

Amadon reported that three fourths of the congregation voted for the articles and bylaws.

The Lord through His servant had sent warning messages. Faithful men heeding these messages had moved forward dramatically and with faith. The Battle Creek Tabernacle was saved for Seventh-day Adventists. [130]

Chapter 10—Continuing in a Varied Ministry

As time permitted, in mid-1907 Ellen White continued writing, particularly on Old Testament history (Prophets and Kings) (33WCW, p. 482). She was eager to push that work forward. Before March was over, one of her highly valued secretaries, Maggie Hare, left her seven-year employment at Elmshaven to go back to her home in New Zealand. (As W. C. and Ellen White hoped, she returned four years later with a husband and both served on the staff.) Negotiations were culminated for Paul Mason, working at Mountain View with E. R. Palmer of the General Conference Publishing Department, to join the staff as accountant. He took the place of Sarah Peck, who wanted to devote full time to educational work.

March also included a visit from Edson, who was working in the South. Another visitor was Edward Forga, of Arequipa, Peru, who had recently married Marguerite Lacey, May White’s youngest sister. Forga would soon be pioneering the translating of some of the E. G. White books into Spanish (Ibid.).

A Quick Trip to Southern California

Ever since the vision of New Year’s Day, Ellen White felt impelled to spend a little time in southern California, where her counsel was needed in the new medical institutions, but the trip, for various reasons, had been repeatedly postponed. By mid-April the time seemed propitious, so on Thursday, April 18, she was off with W. C.; Dr. and Mrs. D. H. Kress, en route from Australia to the new sanitarium in Washington, D.C.; Dr. H. F. Rand, medical [131] superintendent of the St. Helena Sanitarium; Dores Robinson; and Sara McEnterfer.

She visited the school at San Fernando, and then Loma Linda. At the newly developing College of Evangelists, forty students were enrolled; some were completing the first year of medical studies (The Review and Herald, August 1, 1907; Pacific Union Recorder, May 23, 1907). She went on south to the Paradise Valley Sanitarium for a week, where she addressed the board of directors and the patients. She counseled the matron, her longtime friend and fellow investor in the institution, regarding more liberal policies in dealing with the patients and a less dictatorial attitude toward other members of the Sanitarium staff. On Thursday, May 9, she and Dores Robinson were driven forty-five miles north to San Pasqual, where on Friday she spoke to the church school children and on Sabbath took the morning worship service in the church.

On Sunday she returned ten miles to Escondido, where she spoke Sunday afternoon in the attractive brick church. The meeting had been announced in the local paper, and on Sunday morning it was also announced in the pulpits of several Protestant churches. Half of her Sunday-afternoon audience were non-Adventists. Present also were three clergymen, one each from the Baptist, Christian, and Congregational churches. Of this meeting she reported:

I felt richly blessed of God as I stood before this congregation and presented the Christian duties as set forth in the first chapter of Second Peter. The working of God on our behalf according to the plan of multiplication, and our duty to work on the plan of addition, are here set forth....

We are to add the grace of temperance. There needs to be a great reformation on the subject of temperance.... The Christian will be temperate in all things—in eating, in drinking, in dress, and in every phase of life.—The Review and Herald, August 29, 1907.

Her trip north called for a few more days at Loma Linda. She spoke twice to the students and on Sabbath morning spoke under the shady pepper trees to a large audience made up of Sanitarium workers and guests, and members of the neighboring churches. She was pleased that the Sanitarium entertained the visitors with a [132] Sabbath lunch served on the lawn. That afternoon she went in to Los Angeles, where she spoke in the centrally located Carr Street church to a packed house.

She had promised to spend a few days at the Merced camp meeting, which would open on Thursday night, May 23, so she rested the few intervening days at Glendale Sanitarium before continuing her homeward journey.

On Sabbath and Sunday she spoke in the big tent at Merced, and once especially to the young people. An interesting feature of their camp meeting was that some of the Protestant ministers canceled their midweek meetings to give their members the opportunity to attend camp meeting. The ministers attended too.

Monday, May 27, Ellen White was on her way north again to Elmshaven. It had been a busy six weeks, and she was glad to be home.

The St. Helena Camp Meeting

Now her mind was on the camp meeting to be held at St. Helena, June 20-30. A good site was chosen, the large tent was pitched, and about it a hundred family tents, accommodating 500 campers.

Although her Elmshaven home was but three miles away, Ellen White wanted to camp on the grounds for the full meeting. She was nearing her eightieth birthday and had been attending camp meetings for forty years. She reported that the campground was “excellent, and the presentation of tents good” (Manuscript 155, 1907).

The large pavilion was well filled each afternoon and evening (Pacific Union Recorder, June 27, 1907). Evening meetings centered upon the second coming of Jesus; daytime meetings were “practical and heart searching” (Ibid., June 27, 1907). Ellen White spoke nearly every day, and on the first Sabbath morning closed her address on the Sabbath truth with an appeal to backsliders. Fifty responded. Thursday afternoon she spoke especially to the youth. The weather was good, and the camp meeting closed Sunday, June 30, with a baptism of twenty-four in the nearby Napa River.

The Summer Work

She was invited to attend the Los Angeles camp meeting in mid-August. Writing to the president of the Pacific Union [133] Conference she explained: “I would say that unless the Lord gives me clear evidence that it is my duty to attend the Los Angeles camp meeting, I shall not venture to leave my home.”

And then with a veiled reference as to one reason she felt this way—situations that would intensify during the next few months and reach their climax at the turn of the year—she wrote:

In the meetings I would be called upon to meet that which is not in harmony with the work of the Lord in these last days, and which is contrary to the light God has given me. These experiences always cause me great suffering of mind. Yet if the Lord reveals to me that it is my duty to attend this meeting, I am willing to go.—Letter 224, 1907.

What she referred to here was what she at times denominated as “kingly power” exercised by some called to executive positions in the work of God. Contending with both the stress of this growing peril and the many burdens as the Lord’s messenger, together with her physical infirmities, Ellen White remained close to her comfortable Elmshaven home through the rest of the summer months.

Concern for Her Home and Office Family

But during this time there was a matter that cast a heavy burden on her. She noted in her diary on August 1 that she was “full of sorrow for the people of God,” for they were having “a trifling experience in true righteousness and true service to God” (Manuscript 156, 1907). With a sorrowful and concerned pen she wrote, without pinpointing her message but setting down words that might well be pondered in many an office and worker family:

Not all connected with me are an honor spiritually. They are not in a position to do honor to my family. They are cheating themselves out of a true religious experience, trifling with eternal interests. They are not obtaining an experience that is of value to them in fitting their souls for the trials soon to come, and I am helpless to change the order of things.

It does not seem to be in some of them to closely examine their own hearts, whether they are obtaining a fitness for the trials that are coming upon every soul, whatever his position or [134] profession. The true religious experience they have not.

I am distressed, for it is supposed that those of my household will feel an individual responsibility to keep their own souls in the love of God and be in their position a blessing to others.— Ibid.

Occasionally she spoke of the personal blessing that the messages imparted through her for others brought to her own heart. Could it be that those who helped to get God’s messages before the people considered this just an ordinary task and were not themselves blessed? She feared so.

But the time for the camp meeting in Los Angeles was pressing in, and Ellen White felt she must apply herself to that, writing what she could to meet situations there. The Colorado camp meeting would follow in Denver a week or two later—a meeting that was faced with trepidation, for detrimental influences were at work again in that conference. She must write to warn and nurture the church there. Then in mid-August she was shown that Satan would make every effort to get control of Melrose Sanitarium in New England. Medical personnel there were somewhat under Dr. Kellogg’s influence. She must sound a warning.

Some phases of correspondence must wait. “I have been so fully occupied with urgent writing,” she told old friends, Elder and Mrs. Haskell, “that I have not found time to answer letters. We are looking over my writings, and preparing matter to be read at our camp meetings at Los Angeles and Denver.”—Letter 250, 1907. And a day or two later she wrote to Edson:

I have written a great deal in the past two weeks; my pen has been in my hand nearly all the hours of daylight. Two nights I was not able to sleep past twelve o’clock, for my mind was burdened with several matters.—Letter 258, 1907.

She was pleased when materials written earlier could serve. On Wednesday, August 21, she wrote:

I have a large amount of precious matter, written at Cooranbong and dated December 20, 1896, which is just what is needed at this time. I will have it copied today, and if it is possible, get it off [to Los Angeles] in the evening mail. [135]

I had lost all trace of these manuscripts, but this morning a pile of copies attracted my attention, which, on looking over, I found to my surprise to be just what I wanted.—Letter 262, 1907.

The Sacred and the Common

Writing in these lines of instruction and warning, she was firm and unmistakably clear. Her message was a decided one. In contrast, when her advice was sought by various individuals on all types of often mundane matters, she exercised great caution. To an old friend seeking advice on whether she should secure a home of her own, she wrote on October 17:

I would be very glad to advise you, but as I am not on the ground, I would not draw a bow at a venture. One thing I would advise: if you purchase, get a home built if you can, for the time of building and the money invested makes quite an outgo of means.—Letter 336, 1907.

Earlier in the year she pointed out the care she must make in answering questions.

I find myself frequently placed where I dare give neither assent nor dissent to propositions that are submitted to me, for there is danger that any words I may speak shall be reported as something that the Lord has given me.

It is not always safe for me to express my own judgment, for sometimes when someone wishes to carry out his own purpose, he will regard any favorable word I may speak as special light from the Lord. I shall be cautious in all my movements.—Letter 162, 1907.

Two years later she was to speak of the “sacred and the common” in her work (see Selected Messages 1:38, 39).

The Farm and the Home

While working at Elmshaven through the summer, she tried to rest her mind for an hour or two each day by riding out in the fresh air in her comfortable carriage. Under Iram James’s management the farm was prospering, and of his family she wrote to Edson in September: [136]

Brother and Sister James have an excellent family. The children are eleven in number, and as soon as they can walk, they are taught to be helpful about the home.—Letter 284, 1907.

She was pleased that in this family religious interests were always placed first. She felt she could not have a better helper than Iram James, adding, “I would not be willing to exchange my farmer for any other person that I know of.”

Ever in earnest about Adventists actively participating in missionary work in their communities, she was pleased to observe concerning James: “When he first came here, he devoted his Sabbaths to holding meetings with unbelievers; he was always welcomed, for he explains the Scriptures in a clear and acceptable way.”— Ibid.

When he came from Australia in 1901, the orchard was run-down, but he had built it up, pruning and grafting. Ellen White was particularly pleased with the new varieties of apples thus introduced. He excelled in animal husbandry, too. The two gray mares he bought in 1906 were now mothers of “two beautiful colts” (Ibid.).

With the Paul Mason family now at Elmshaven, Mrs. Mason was pressed into service as matron. “She is not robust,” Ellen White wrote, “but her husband helps her in the house in many ways.” And she noted, “No unpleasant word is spoken, and this is as it should be among those who are preparing to unite with the heavenly family in the City of God.”— Ibid.

As she thought of Mrs. Mason’s work in providing meals for the family, she felt their close proximity to the Sanitarium Health Food Factory would be helpful, for they could easily provide themselves “with all our health foods,” and she felt that “this makes the work in the cooking line light” (Letter 308, 1906).

The Misguided Would-Be Prophet

One particular matter was brought to her attention in October. A nurse at Boulder Sanitarium, a faithful and devoted young woman, felt impressed that the Lord had bestowed on her the gift of prophecy. It all began with a dream she had, followed by other “dreams” and “visions.” [137]

She declared that the Lord had given her positive evidence that she was called to take Sister White’s place; that she would receive a telegram stating that Sister White was dead and that before her death, Sister White would write her that she was to be laid away and that the Lord had revealed to Sister White that she was to assume the mantel of the Lord’s messenger (F. M. Wilcox to WCW, October 14, 1907).

There was some excitement among the Sanitarium personnel, and there was some speculation as to whether or not her claims were really true.

Among other points, she affirmed that “the Lord ... instructed her as to how she should comb her hair,” and “put her to the test as to whether she would give up different things for His sake, et cetera” (Ibid.).

Not knowing to what proportions this might grow, Elder Wilcox, the business manager, felt Ellen White should know of what they were meeting.

On October 23, she wrote:

Dear Brother Wilcox,

I received and read your recent letter. Regarding the sister who thinks that she has been chosen to fill the position that Sister White has occupied, I have this to say: She may be honest, but she is certainly deceived.—Letter 371, 1907.

“My Writings Will Continue To Speak”

In the next six pages, she discussed her mission and work and the work of those associated with her. She introduced a line of thought mentioned a number of times of late, that is, if she should fall at her post, her writings would speak (Letter 268, 1907; Manuscript 156, 1907).

Abundant light has been given to our people in these last days. Whether or not my life is spared, my writings will constantly speak, and their work will go forward as long as time shall last. My writings are on file in the office, and even though I should not live, these words that have been given to me by the Lord will still have life and will speak to the people.

But my strength is yet spared, and I hope to continue to do [138] much useful work. I may live until the coming of the Lord; but if I should not, I trust it may be said of me, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.”—Letter 371, 1907 (Selected Messages 1:55, 56).

She wrote of the work of W. C. White and mentioned that he had been “chosen by the Lord to take charge of the publication” of her writings, “if I should lay off the armor” (Ibid.).

The Birth of a Grandson and a Great-Grandson

Ellen White rejoiced when word came to her that there was a new member in the W. C. White household. May White, on Sabbath, October 5, gave birth to a son whom they chose to name Arthur. He would be the third grandchild who would carry the name White. Three months later Ella White-Robinson also gave birth to a son, who was given the name Virgil. Ellen White loved children, and took a certain amount of pride in these additions to the family. [139]

Chapter 11—Bearer of Messages of Encouragement and Reproof

Ellen White was a much-sought-after speaker not only for Sabbath-morning church worship services but also for special occasions marking church advance. As the time approached for the opening of the new hospital building at nearby St. Helena Sanitarium, she was asked to present the dedicatory address. She had been aware of its construction but had not seen the building, a four-story frame structure erected on land she had once owned adjacent to the Sanitarium. Only by a vision given to her twenty-four years earlier was the building site preserved for use when the hospital was needed. Here is the story:

The Building Site Preserved by a Vision

The first few years of the “Rural Health Retreat,” as the Sanitarium was first known, were difficult ones. William Pratt, who in 1878 had given the land for the institution, thought it would be helpful if a little Adventist community could be built up around it. He reasoned that by persuading some Adventist families in San Francisco and elsewhere to come and build their own homes, this could be accomplished. But perched as it was on the side of Howell Mountain, in close proximity to the bounteous Crystal Spring, there was not much room for homes.

He offered a half-acre of land to each Adventist who would come and build. Zack Thorp, a carpenter in San Francisco, accepted, and built a modest home on a beautiful site near the Retreat. So did Elder St. John. Then Pratt approached Ellen White, who was living near the college in Healdsburg. She told Pratt she wanted to think about [140] it. The next day she told him that she could not accept his generous offer but that she wanted to buy ten acres adjacent to the institution, embodying the land he proposed to give for building sites.

“Why, no, Sister White,” he replied, “that will spoil my plan.”

“That is exactly what I want to do,” she answered, and added, “The time will come when the institution will need this land.”

Reluctantly Pratt agreed, but he hated to see his plan upset. He sold Ellen White eight and one-half acres to the southeast of the Retreat. And she did build on this tract, a three-story residence not far from the main building. She called it “Eliel,” and promised that it would be available when needed for sanitarium work.

Healdsburg College, thirty-five miles to the north and west, was just commencing its work and getting well under way. Sister Mary Scott had given $5,000 to this project and she wished to make her home near the school. But W. C. White, chairman of the board, was not eager for her to live in Healdsburg, for his experience had taught him that there was grave danger of a donor’s feeling that he should have considerable say in the management of an institution that had been the recipient of large gifts. The anticipation of this good woman’s mothering the college did not appeal to him, so he thought of a scheme.

“Sister Scott,” he said one day, “why don’t you make your home at the Retreat? It is an excellent place; Mother owns a piece of land there and I am sure she will give you a site on which to build.”

This proposition appealed to her, and apparently the plan was working well. Some days later while at the Retreat, Sister Scott approached Elder White with the question: “Do you think your mother would sell me a bit of land here so I can build a home?”

Confident that his mother would gladly give her a building lot, he replied, “Most assuredly, Sister Scott. You select what you wish and then we will look it over.” Nothing was too good for this generous woman who had helped establish the new college.

The following day Elder White was informed that the selection had been made and it was suggested they bring Sister White so they might look over the site together. The trio walked to the southeast and halted on the hillside. Mrs. Scott spoke:

“If you will let me have a piece of land here, Sister White, I will build a home. Just look at that beautiful view.” [141]

Elder White was startled and Mrs. Scott disappointed when Sister White, looking over the valley and then back at the hillside, said, “No, I can’t let you have this piece, Sister Scott. I have been shown there will be other buildings here someday.”

Elder White, who was eager not to offend this good woman and who thought that there was plenty of room for all the buildings that would be needed, could hardly understand this. But the word was final, and Sister Scott built on another location, “Simonnetta,” overlooking the valley, to the north of and close to Sister White’s “Eliel.”

The incident was forgotten. Twenty-four years passed by. “Eliel” was needed for the growing sanitarium work. Ellen White made it available, and at this writing it is still in use.—As told to the author by WCW. The time came also when the Sanitarium needed the 8 1/2 acres Ellen White held, and she sold it to the institution.

Dedication of the Hospital

Now on October 20, 1907, a beautiful fall day, she and her son were at the dedication of the new hospital building. The service was well attended by Sanitarium workers, business and community people, and members from surrounding churches. Ellen White described the hospital structure:

It has four stories, but there is no staircase in the building, the different floors being reached [by covered ramps] from the outside. Each room is so arranged that a bed can be rolled from it through the open window onto a spacious veranda, without the patient in the bed being at all disturbed.—Letter 350, 1907.

The surgery unit was on the top floor.

Seating for the guests was provided on the wide porches and the hillside. The program was conducted from a stand near the building. The program included singing and band music, speeches, and the dedicatory prayer. Ellen White was allotted twenty minutes for the dedicatory address. Not accustomed to being restricted in time, she wondered how she could include what she felt she should say in the time allowed.

She held to the time, speaking slowly and distinctly on the topic “Why We Have Sanitariums.” [142]

Basing her remarks on texts in Revelation 22, and beginning with verses one and two with their “pure river of water of life” and the “tree of life,” she declared:

The great reason why we have sanitariums is that these institutions may be agencies in bringing men and women to a position where they may be numbered among those who shall someday eat of the leaves of the tree of life, which are for the healing of the nations....

Our sanitariums are established as institutions where patients and helpers may serve God. We desire to encourage as many as possible to act their part individually in living healthfully....

Our sanitariums are to be centers of education. Those who come to them are to be given an opportunity to learn how to overcome disease, and how to preserve the health. They may learn how to use the simple agencies that God has provided for their recovery, and become more intelligent in regard to the laws of life.—Manuscript 115, 1907.

As she closed her remarks, she stated that this was her first opportunity of seeing the new building and that she was “pleased with it, very much pleased with it.”

The Very Spot Shown in Vision

The people seemed pleased with her words. W. C. White followed with some remarks. After the dedicatory prayer, the building was open for inspection. In time he and Mr. Greenfield, St. Helena’s lumber merchant, with whom W. C. was well acquainted, found themselves on the hillside just back and to the west of the hospital. As they gazed to the southwest Greenfield spoke: “Mr. White, look at that view! What a site for a hospital! People could not help but get well here!”

Then it occurred to W. C. that they were standing on the very spot where, twenty-four years earlier, he had stood with Mrs. Scott and his mother. Sister Scott had asked for the very site where the hospital now stood and Ellen White had said: “No, I can’t let you have the piece, Sister Scott; I have been shown that there will be other buildings here someday.”—As told to the author by WCW. [143]

The hospital building on the brow of the hill, connected by a covered walk with other Sanitarium buildings, served for half a century. Then it gave way, following general reconstruction plans, to provide for hospital facilities in close conjunction with the main plant.

As the Sanitarium church outgrew the chapel that adjoined the original Sanitarium buildings, the uncluttered site just across the road from where the hospital had been—where Ellen White refused Mrs. Scott’s request for a spot for her home—became the location for a beautiful house of worship for the Lord. Overlooking Elmshaven, it was named the Elmshaven church.

The Difficult Task of Warning Church Leaders

One of the very difficult tasks given to the prophet of God was to bear Heaven’s messages of reproof and correction to the leaders of God’s people. It was so in times of old, and it was so in Ellen White’s day. Church leaders were called of God or appointed by Him to their positions of trust and duty. They were for the most part unselfish individuals, Bible Christians, God-loving, dedicated, and hard-working, and often times quite certain that they were performing their administrative duties well.

The occasion for a testimony of reproof was usually not to point out some gross sin, as was the message God charged Nathan to give David, but rather to call attention to defects in character, faulty concepts, or poor administrative policies. It was in the field of the latter that Ellen White was at times called upon to bear messages of correction to those with whom she worked and whom she held in esteem. This was particularly so in 1907, in its closing months.

The reading of many testimonies dealing with this period, published and unpublished, reveals the very fine line between wise and understanding administration and the assumption of dictatorial or kingly authority. The testimonies also reveal that this matter is to be understood by all persons carrying responsibilities, whether in an institution or a conference office, and particularly by presidents of all conferences, from the local to the general.

As noted in a preceding chapter, the year 1907 was not much more than an hour old when a vision was given to Ellen White at Elmshaven concerning situations in medical institutions in southern [144] California and particularly at Paradise Valley Sanitarium. The nature of the problem is revealed in the testimony written to the matron, a woman of pronounced convictions—yes, the very woman who had unselfishly matched funds with Ellen White to finance the purchase of the property. Here are a few sentences written to her:

I wish to say to you, my sister, Do not make perplexities for yourself by trying to make everyone see as you see, and follow the plans you have devised. I have told you that you do not view everything in a correct light. Your ideas are not always pleasing to others. Your strong traits of character lead you to seek to mold and fashion others according to your ideas.

I must speak plainly to you, my sister. Let others act upon their individual merit and intelligence. God expects them to do this under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To every man and woman God has given a work, and He would have every mind so well balanced that the work can be done after the divine similitude. You, my sister, must not seek to put your mold upon other minds. You must not feel that your mind and judgment is to be the criterion for other minds. The Lord has given to each capability and tact, and if we will be guided by His wisdom, the minds of the workers will blend, and the work be carried on harmoniously.

Your way is not the way that would be wisest to follow in every instance.—Letter 54, 1907.

It was not long until the president of the California Conference had to be reminded of these principles. Four Ellen G. White messages were read at the conference session held at San Jose in late January, one of which, “Individual Responsibility and Christian Unity,” consisted of twenty-one pages of counsel on relationships of conference administrators to their workers and church members. In this she pointed out that there was danger of the executive, “instead of acting as a wise counselor,” assuming” the prerogatives of an exacting ruler” (Special Testimonies, Series B 9:21; [Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 491]). This was published at the request of the California Conference with the other E. G. White messages read at the session. (The particular article appears in full in Ibid., 485-505.) [145]

Chapter 12—When the Test Comes

A situation of quite large proportions that was developing in the Southern California Conference gave Ellen White a great deal of concern.

The reader will recall that at the time the Loma Linda property became available in May, 1905, for $40,000, Ellen White urged Elder Burden to move forward in its acquisition. Considerable opposition developed because the Southern California Conference, with its 1,100 members who would be responsible for its purchase, was already heavily in debt. With a new secondary school, San Fernando Academy, just getting well started, and with Glendale Sanitarium just opening its doors, to make further heavy financial commitments seemed not only unreasonable but almost impossible to the conservative conference president, Elder George W. Reaser.

Reaser had been a convert of Elder G. I. Butler. In 1884 at the age of 25 he was employed by Pacific Press in Oakland, California. In the mid 1890s he was called to ministerial work in the California Conference. Then he gave two years of service to the work in South Africa.

In the spring of 1905, at the age of 46, he was elected president of the Southern California Conference. Speaking of his own characteristics and experiences, he at one time told of how his nature and education were against going into debt. As he took office, he was counseled by the union conference president that in the matter of debt he was to hold the line. This laid the foundation for his reluctant attitude toward the purchase of Loma Linda and for conflicts that ensued as necessary developments at the new [146] institution called for borrowing money.

Through his life he had been clear in his acceptance of Ellen White as Heaven’s appointed messenger, and this was intensified as he advanced in the ministry. He often mentioned in his preaching that he had never “known anyone to make a mistake by following the light of the Spirit of Prophecy” (G. W. Reaser to EGW, January 14, 1908).

When the developments at Loma Linda called for increasing the indebtedness there—when money was called for to build treatment rooms and start a school—it was hard for the conference president, who at the same time was chairman of the Loma Linda board, to give his wholehearted support, even though such developments had Ellen White’s firm backing. In his heart he began to reason that possibly her son, W. C. White, had influenced her to give her strong support to the Loma Linda enterprise.

Then, too, San Fernando Academy was the apple of his eye. The speedy reduction of the indebtedness on this institution became the focus of his endeavors in financial lines. He was greatly bothered that Elder Burden, a member of the Southern California Conference committee, seemed to take rather lightly the assumption of financial obligations for the Loma Linda institution. With this as a background, we come to the prime subject of this chapter.

The Receiving and the Acceptance of Personal Testimonies

To depict this phase of her work, we must, in the interests of clarity, use names. We do this not to disparage men but only to show the interplay of communication and the resulting heart-searching that led the conference president to triumphant victory. As he opens his soul to Ellen White in response to the pointed testimonies involving his very heart experience, we are led to witness the successful work of the Holy Spirit in the experience of one of God’s valued workmen.

The fact that Elder G. W. Reaser on several occasions acknowledged his mistakes, confessing his shortcomings in situations with which many were familiar, leads us to feel that in relating this experience no disservice is done to him or his family and that only good can result. [147]

In 1905, Ellen White spoke of Elder Reaser, newly elected president of the Southern California Conference, as “an excellent man” but one who had “not had experience in dealing with minds” (Letter 237, 1905).

In her message written August 19, 1906, during the Los Angeles camp meeting, addressed to Elders Reaser and Burden and the executive committee of the Southern California Conference, she not only made a strong appeal for money to open the school at Loma Linda but came to grips with the matter of relationships. Her letter opened:

Dear Brethren,

I am very anxious that Brethren Reaser and Burden, and their associates, shall see all things clearly. God has given every man a certain work to do, and He will give to each the wisdom necessary to perform his own appointed work.

To Brethren Reaser and Burden I would say, In all your counsels together, be careful to show kindness and courtesy toward each other. Guard against anything that has the semblance of a domineering spirit.

Then coming directly to her subject, she wrote:

Be very careful not to do anything that would restrict the work at Loma Linda. It is in the order of God that this property has been secured, and He has given instruction that a school should be connected with the Sanitarium....

The work at Loma Linda demands immediate consideration.... There are times when certain sanitariums will have to pass through a close, severe struggle for means in order to do a special work which the Lord has particularly designated should be done. In such emergencies, they are to be free to receive gifts and donations from our churches.

In closing this communication she wrote:

As the president and executive committee of the Southern California Conference unite with Brother Burden and his associates in planning for the thorough accomplishment of the sanitarium and school work at Loma Linda, they will find strength and blessing. Brother Burden is not to be bound about in his work.—Letter 274, 1906. [148]

Although the president went along with the message calling for the development of the educational work at Loma Linda, his soul was vexed, and he dragged his feet. Some of those who had pledged money for Loma Linda were, by his attitude and sometimes his remarks, influenced to withhold their support, and the work of Elder Burden was made difficult. For twelve months the conflict between Elder Burden and Elder Reaser and the conference committee simmered. By the time of camp meeting, in August, 1907, the difficulties were acute. The date for that convocation had been set for Thursday, August 15, to Monday, September 2.

Two weeks before the meeting, Ellen White wrote:

The conditions that have existed in southern California this past year are not such as God can approve. To those who have clear discernment it is not hard to see the results of placing men in positions where they are mind and judgment for their brethren.—Letter 246, 1907.

“I dare not venture to attend the meeting that will be held in Los Angeles,” she stated, “but I will send some manuscripts to be read at that meeting.”

It was unusual for a camp meeting to last for nineteen days, but that was the plan, with three Sabbaths and three Sundays in place of the usual two. The location selected, the west side of Vermont Avenue, two blocks south of Santa Barbara Avenue, was uncrowded. A thousand people were camping in 260 family tents on the grounds. Hundreds residing in the city came to the camp during the day.

Elder W. C. White came onto the grounds on Sunday morning, the 18th. He carried with him several documents written by his mother to be presented, some to the conference and some to the workers. Others were received from his mother through the mail. He let it be known that these were in his hands to be read at appropriate times. Opportunities came on Monday for him to read three of the more general messages. Tuesday was designated as Sanitarium Day, and Elder Burden led out in bringing to the people a number of messages from Ellen White regarding the medical work in southern California that had been sent to the conference committee. “After the meeting, scores expressed themselves as [149] greatly surprised to know that such remarkable things had been written, and said they were thankful to have the information which had thus been given.”—34 WCW, pp. 153, 154.

A good foundation was laid for what would follow during the next few days. The messages W. C. White carried dealt pointedly with the local situation and made it clear that because of the arbitrary power exercised by the conference president a change should be made in conference leadership. When asked to take the early-morning meeting on Wednesday, W. C. White felt it was time to begin bringing in the counsels on the unwise use of power of conference leaders. He read a manuscript written the Thursday before, titled “Jehovah Is Our King” (see Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 477-484). It opened:

God has revealed many things to me which He has bidden me give to His people by pen and voice. Through this message of the Holy Spirit, God’s people are given sacred instruction concerning their duty to God and to their fellow men.

A strange thing has come into our churches. Men who are placed in positions of responsibility that they might be wise helpers to their fellow workers have come to suppose that they were set as kings and rulers in the churches, to say to one brother, Do this; to another, Do that; and to another, Be sure to labor in such and such a way. There have been places where the workers have been told that if they did not follow the instruction of these men of responsibility, their pay from the conference would be withheld.

Then she pointed out:

It is right for the workers to counsel together as brethren; but that man who endeavors to lead his fellow workers to seek his individual counsel and advice regarding the details of their work, and to learn their duty from him, is in a dangerous position, and needs to learn what responsibilities are really comprehended in his office. God has appointed no man to be conscience for his fellow man, and it is not wise to lay so much responsibility upon an officer that he will feel that he is forced to become a dictator. [150]

She then referred to several experiences through the years where men were taught to look to men rather than God for wisdom, and declared:

Recently the same message has again been given me, more definite and decisive, because there has been a deeper offense to the Spirit of God.

Near the close of the testimony she stated:

This message is spoken to our churches in every place. In the false experience that has been coming in, a decided influence is at work to exalt human agencies, and to lead some to depend on human judgment, and to follow the control of human minds. This influence is diverting the mind from God, and God forbid that any such experience should deepen and grow in our ranks as Seventh-day Adventists. Our petitions are to reach higher than erring man—to God.—Manuscript 73, 1907.

At the nine-o’clock business meeting the nominating committee report was brought in, but on the suggestion of Elder W. C. White, who said that he had other messages from his mother that seemed to him to have a bearing on the choice of officers, the election was delayed, and he was asked to read them. One was titled “Workers in the Cause,” appropriate material selected from Testimonies, volume 5, pages 721-729. Another was headed “Individual Responsibility,” and a third one along the same line, “God’s Wisdom to Be Sought.” The reading brought the issues into the open.

The discussion turned to conference policy relating to institutions. W. C. White reports that the president claimed that “the conference had outlined a policy which had been persistently violated by Elder Burden in his pushing forward with improvements at Loma Linda.” Then, “in response to this, Elder Burden endeavored to show that the conference policy had not been violated in any such degree as represented and that the necessities of the case had forced him to do what had been done.”—34 WCW, p. 155.

It was an earnest and heated discussion in which Burden pointed out that part of the problem “had been created by the conference officers, by their diverting the attention of the people from [151] sanitarium work to the school work and by their spreading such reports regarding the sanitarium work as to discourage our people from paying their pledges.” It was a rather fierce contention, which clearly revealed both issues and attitudes of men.

Somewhere along the line, W. C. White handed to Elder Reaser and other leading men a twenty-two line testimony addressed to “The Laborers in Southern California.” In part it read:

I am deeply convicted on some points. I must speak in regard to the position that Elder Reaser is occupying. I know, from the light God has given me, that if this is allowed to continue, God will be greatly dishonored.

God calls His servants to seek light and understanding and spiritual strength from One who is infinite in wisdom; they are to put their dependence upon One who is able to help in every emergency.

The conditions that have existed in southern California this past year are not such as God can approve. To those who have clear discernment it is not hard to see the results of placing men in positions where they are mind and judgment for their brethren.

Those who accept such a work and authority show that they have not a true and wise understanding of the Scriptures. If these men were close students of the Word of God, they would see that by adopting such a course, they are leading men and women to depend on human wisdom instead of seeking it from God.—Letter 246, 1907.

W. C. White read message after message at the conference. “All were well received,” he wrote his mother, adding, “Some see the importance of the messages, and others cannot understand. But all are studying the matter prayerfully.”—34 WCW, p. 106.

The President Reelected

When the election was held, Elder Reaser was returned to office as president for the usual one-year term. W. C. White wrote his mother:

The people here are devoted and loyal. Many greatly admire their leaders, and if your testimony had not come, they would [152] have remained blind to their dangers. But they are now placed on their guard, and the leaders see that they must walk circumspectly. Day by day our leading men see more clearly the conditions existing here.— Ibid., 109.

He added, “It is difficult for Elder Reaser to see his peril, but I think that he begins to see men as trees walking.”

After his election was an accomplished fact, Ellen White endeavored to help him understand his situation and the need of a change in his attitudes. She wrote on August 29, 1907, a letter he received in September:

Dear Brother Reaser,

The Lord has revealed to me that in your work as president of the Southern California Conference, you are in danger of embracing too much responsibility. Some time ago the Lord showed me that if you were placed in office, you would attempt to rule in every branch of the work, but that this was not to be permitted, because you have not the judgment to deal with all lines of work, and because God has chosen especially qualified workers for certain lines of His work.

Because of a wrong comprehension of the duties of your office, the work in your field has become sadly confused in the past two years. You have accepted responsibilities that should not have been placed upon you. Because you were president of the conference, you considered yourself to be in a certain sense the manager of the work of the Loma Linda Sanitarium, and that it was your duty to see that matters there were conducted according to your ideas. I am bidden to say to you that you are not qualified to take the control of the sanitarium work.

Elder Burden has been given this work, and he has good helpers and advisers in the workers who are associated with him. The Lord appointed Elder Burden to the position he occupies, and he is to humbly bear his responsibilities in that position without interference. He is fully capable of doing the work that has been given him to do. The Lord has not told you to watch and criticize, and interfere with His work. He bids you, my brother, to stand out of the way.

In particularly earnest terms she pointed out: [153] It is a mistake for a conference to select as president one who considers that his office places unlimited power in his hands. The Lord has instructed me to tell you that you do not know when to use authority, and when to refrain from using it unwisely. You have much to learn before you can do the work of a conference president intelligently. You are to bear in mind that in the cause of God there is a Chief Director, whose power and wisdom is above that of human minds.

The pointed testimony closed with the admonition:

My brother, God lives and reigns. Let your brethren have the right of way to the footstool of Christ. Encourage them to carry their burdens to the Lord, and not to any human being. Never take the responsibility of becoming conscience for another.

As brethren you can counsel together, and pray together, and seek instruction from the Source of all wisdom; but you are not to seek to direct another regarding his duty. Let all work of this character be done away. God forbids that this spirit shall again come into His work while time shall last.—Letter 290, 1907.

In somewhat the same vein she penned lines on September 2, addressed to “The Workers in Southern California.” She reminded them that what she was writing was prompted by the visions God gave to her:

I have been instructed regarding the mistake that has been made in placing men in positions of large responsibility to meet emergencies which they think it necessary to be met.

Here are two paragraphs from the six-page testimony:

Man is not to be made amenable to his fellowman. I am bidden to write decidedly regarding this matter. The work of exalting men as rulers is a dangerous work, for it educates the workers to look to human agencies instead of looking to God, and this spoils their religious experience. Their minds are diverted from the only true Source of their strength.

I have been shown that the evangelistic labors of the gospel minister are not to be directed by a fellow minister. The workers for God should inquire of Him, the fountain of wisdom, in [154] regard to their labors. They are to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. God is able to move upon their minds, and to guide them with judgment. “The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.” God will work with those who will listen to His voice. The Word of God is to be the man of our counsel, and is to guide our experience.—Letter 342, 1907.

The Response to Earnest Testimonies

At first there was no response, and then finally a break came. On September 23, Elder Reaser wrote at length to Ellen White. The letter was written in his own hand and read:

Dear Sister White,

I have received several communications from you of late, but have not considered that you desired a reply from me in answer to all of them. However, I am impressed that it is due you that I give you, at least, one general answer to all of these kindly communications.

I find, by a careful reading, that they all contain excellent instruction and lay down splendid principles which are well worthy of application in my life and work. I find, however, some statements that I do not fully understand. I presume that this is not a strange thing.

The conference president then reviewed a number of points of history relating to his connection with the medical interests of the conference, and particularly Loma Linda. He reported that he had offered to resign his official connections with the sanitarium work, and intended to do so at the next large council meeting. He added that Elder Burden and others connected with the sanitarium work had urged him not to do so.

Then he made a significant and enlightening statement:

From my childhood up I have had almost a horror of heavy indebtedness, and I supposed that I was acting fully in harmony with the Spirit of Prophecy and from communications that I have personally received when I opposed, what seemed to me, the extreme debt policy at Loma Linda.

After discussing a number of points where there had been friction between him and Elder Burden, he stated: [155]

I will say in conclusion that if the Lord clearly leads in that direction, I am not only willing to resign from the medical work but from the conference work in southern California and go exactly where He leads.

Two weeks after penning this letter, Elder Reaser, on Sabbath afternoon, October 5, was in Ellen White’s living room at Elmshaven for an interview with her and her son, Elder W. C. White. Elder Burden was there, as well as Clarence Crisler, who made a stenographic report of the interview. Both Reaser and Burden had in mind two main questions they wanted resolved: (1) Did Ellen White write the messages of counsel to Elders Burden and Reaser and the conference committee on the basis of what W. C. White reported to her? and (2) In the light of recent testimonies, should Elder Reaser continue connections with the medical work in southern California?

The Old Question—Who Told Sister White?

Elder Burden observed that many of the brethren in southern California were taking the position—and the matter had spread through the conference—that what she had written to meet the situation in southern California was based on the representations made to her by W. C. White, “that a situation is laid before you by Brother White, and you, from your knowledge, write on that representation, and not because you have received light apart from that” (Manuscript 105, 1907).

To this Ellen White responded: “He will tell you himself that it is I that presents the situation to him.”— Ibid. (Italics supplied.)

She pointed out:

He does not seem to want to tell me anything about the southern California meeting. Scarcely anything has he told me—only some points that he knows would not trouble my mind....

I come to him with manuscripts, and tell him, “This must be copied, and sent out just as quickly as it can be.”

Now I have light, mostly in the night season, just as if the whole thing was transacting, and I viewing it, and as I am listening to the conversation, I am moved to get up and meet it.

This is the way it is; and then in the morning I tell him about [156] it. Often he doesn’t say a word—not a word; but after a while, when I have written and written, then he acknowledges that it is so. He is quite sure that it is so, because he was there; but he did not tell me.— Ibid.

At this point the interview turned to other phases, but as it was continued on Sunday morning, Ellen White addressed herself again to the matter of the source of her information. Because of its importance, we quote from the interview at length:

Sister White: There is one other point that I want Brother Reaser to keep in his mind; perhaps he does not understand it fully.

He has thought that Willie tells me. Now I am up in the morning, you know, before anyone else is up—at one o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock, and seldom ever after four—more often by three. Recently, for nights and nights and nights, I have seldom been able to sleep after two o’clock, but have been up writing.

I write out the presentations that the Lord has given me in the night season; and when, later on in the morning, Willie comes in to see me, I have already written many pages.

Often the manuscript has been placed in the hands of one of my copyists, and is being written out, before he knows that I have written anything, or what I have written. After it is typewritten, a copy is often placed in his hands.

It is not he that comes with things to me, but I give to him the light that I have received.

W. C. White: Sometimes, you know, you propose to read to me what you have written. Sometimes you tell me a little about it; but there is not more than one-twentieth part that I really know anything about before it is passed on by you into the hands of the copyist to be typewritten.

Sister White: Yes, I know that.

W. C. White: But the real point in the minds of the brethren is: Do I, after seeing how things are going in the field, come to you with my representations of how things look to me, and keep presenting them so as to stir you up to write out principles which are good, true principles, but principles which may not be [157] needed at that time, and which do not exactly apply at that time, but which you think apply at that time because of the representations I have made to you of the conditions in the field?

Sister White: I have not been able to get from Willie full particulars regarding perplexing matters; he is careful to tell me only of victories gained, or anything that will encourage me. When he attends meetings, he does not make it a point to tell me of the difficulties that he encounters in these meetings. Instead of going into particulars regarding the matters that perplex the brethren, he presents those things that he thinks will not disturb my mind. Sometimes letters come, giving me information that I should never gain from him, because he won’t tell me.—Manuscript 109, 1907.

Then she informed the men that it was Elder H. W. Cottrell, the president of the Pacific Union Conference, who had given her somewhat of a detailed report of the camp meeting in Los Angeles, for she had pressed him for his impressions of what had taken place, particularly in the light of the fact that she had sent testimonies to the meeting to be read.

The Other Question—Proper Relationships

But the main part of the interview on Sabbath afternoon and Sunday morning was devoted to the question of the relation of the conference president to the work in the light of the several testimonies concerning arbitrary authority and his attitude to the sanitarium work. On the more general phase of the question, Ellen White stated that as she had been looking through her diaries, she found a portrayal of “principles very similar to those outlined in the testimonies sent recently to brethren in southern California.”

The same dangers of centralizing the work, and of binding about and restricting the labors of our fellow workers, are brought to view. Southern California is not the only field where there is a tendency to restrict and bind about. In several other fields the same evil has to be met.—Manuscript 105, 1907.

On the question of the president continuing his connections with the sanitarium work, Elder Reaser stated, “I want to have an [158] understanding as to just what to do, and what not to do.”

He pointed out that practically the only thing that was between Brother Burden and him was the matter of going into debt at Loma Linda, and he stated:

My whole nature and education were against going into debt heavily, and that was what caused the whole issue down there.— Ibid.

Sister White then introduced the matter of her gift of Christ’s Object Lessons to bring relief to denominational schools, and The Ministry of Healing to help the sanitariums. The former had brought in more than $300,000. [It should be noted that although Ellen White abhorred debt, she recognized that at times it was necessary to borrow money to advance the work of the Church. She was opposed to institutions carrying heavy indebtedness.]

When pressed as to whether Reaser should continue his connections with the sanitarium work, Ellen White declared:

It is not that you are not to be connected with the work, but that you are not to be connected with it to discourage.... There is a kind of authority that you feel at liberty to use, that the Lord does not give you—a kind of domineering that is not in harmony with the Lord’s work and our relation one with another.— Ibid.

Two weeks after the interview and a week after the dedication of the hospital building at St. Helena Sanitarium, Ellen White, with several members of her staff, went to southern California to attend a convention of physicians, ministers, and leading workers. They arrived at Loma Linda on Monday, October 28. She spent two months in southern California dividing her time between the convention, the three sanitariums, speaking appointments, and giving counsel concerning the school in operation at Loma Linda. Her eightieth birthday passed with but little notice. Her heavy burden was the matter that had been of deep concern to her for the past few months, the administration of the Southern California Conference. On Sunday, November 3, while at Loma Linda, she wrote:

I have passed a wakeful night, for there have been presented [159] to me some things connected with the past, present, and future of the work in southern California.

I have now no hesitation in speaking plainly, and in calling things by their right names. For three nights in succession, the message has been given to me that Elder Reaser, as president of this conference, is out of his place. He should not occupy such a position in any of our conferences. He is leading some of his brethren to ignore the messages that the Lord is sending to His people. He has refused to accept the testimonies that have not harmonized with his own mind and judgment....

The president of the Southern California Conference needs the power to see himself as he is in the sight of God. He is as a man lost in the woods, blinded by a dangerous confidence in himself.—Manuscript 127, 1907.

First Resistance, Then a Heartfelt Response

How would a conference president respond to such a direct message? On Thursday, November 7, in his own hand, he wrote to the Lord’s messenger:

Dear Sister White,

Your communication of the third ... [of November] was laid on my desk by Brother Jones yesterday. I have given the same a very careful reading. My first temptation was to resist, even to taking a stand with our people in southern California that the charges were unjust, in view of the very heavy burdens that have been forced upon me in this conference. It seemed to me that the whole issue was over the financial policy for which I have stood.

However, after much meditation, heart searching, and prayer over the matter during the past night, I have decided that it is far better to be submissive than to resist. I do not as yet see the force of all that has been written to me personally, but doubtless as I walk in the light that I can see in it, additional light and truth will be revealed to me.

Then he made reference to a point that many who had received testimonies touching their own lives had noted, and of which they had spoken in deep appreciation:

The first favorable impression was made on my mind by the [160] very tender spirit breathed in the latter portion of the testimony. Evidently the Lord does not rend the heart asunder, and then leave it torn and bleeding, but rather binds up the wound. I trust that as I have more time for heart searching and earnest prayer, the result of all the reproof and instruction that has come to me will work repentance that needeth not to be repented of, and in the end will yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness.

I gratefully acknowledge the goodness of the Lord in all His dealings with me.

Wishing you every blessing, I am yours for being right in the sight of Heaven. G. W. Reaser.

But such battles are not won in a day. Under the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, further communications were addressed to the conference president, and there were further heartfelt responses. On Sunday, December 22, in a five-page handwritten letter, he opened his heart:

Dear Sister White,

The mail has just brought a letter containing three separate communications from you, and I hasten to reply, having first sought the Lord for special guidance. I have carefully read the instruction given and also the pages referred to in [Testimonies,] volume 6.

I am glad to say, Sister White, that these communications do not stir up my nature to resistance as I was stirred by the first personal communications which began to come to me from your pen at camp meeting time and thereafter. But instead, I feel very much softened and subdued.... I certainly desire to learn every lesson that the Lord has for me, and to put it into practice in my daily life and in my associations with fellow workers and in my relationship to the cause of God.

He reviewed his experience in resigning from the medical boards, except Loma Linda. He pointed out that there were now capable men who could carry responsibilities and that he was enjoying having time to study and pray as he had not done before. It was his plan to spend his time with the churches. He was reaching out for preparation of heart to do acceptable work for souls. He declared: [161]

Now, Sister White, I can give you positive assurance that I have no other thought than to humble my heart before God, to seek full forgiveness by repentance and confession of the many mistakes of my past life and to walk humbly and softly before the Lord hereafter, and to labor in love and perfect accord with my brethren. I am sure that there is grace sufficient for this, and I am determined to avail myself of it, and to accept in humility all reproof and instruction that the Lord has for me.

I have been connected with this message too long, Sister White, to now turn away by any reproof that may come. The thing for me to do instead of turning away is to conform myself to it. I cannot afford to be out of harmony with heaven nor to be blinded so that I will not see my sins and weaknesses.

I am thankful for the assurance that you give that the Lord will freely forgive and accept me.

Elder Reaser wrote again on December 31 to Ellen White:

Dear Sister White,

I awoke early this morning, and again turned to the testimonies which have come recently. I find, Sister White, a strong and still stronger desire in my heart to profit by every statement made in them. I am determined to make thorough work of repentance and confession to all individuals whom I have wronged.

Instead of being in any way a hindrance to Elder Burden, I am fully determined to hold up his hands, and do everything in my power to help him.

I desire also to fully cooperate with Elder W. C. White, and to give due consideration to all of his counsel. He has had a long and valuable experience in the work of the Lord.

I have so often preached conscientiously and confidently, upholding the Spirit of Prophecy, and I have so often used extracts to strengthen my sermons. I am determined to uphold it still, as the Lord permits me to have a part in His work.

Ellen White Rejoices in the Victory Gained

Having received the December 22 letter showing a genuine change in Elder Reaser’s experience, Ellen White on New Year’s Day picked up her pen and wrote: [162]

I was very thankful to read your letter, for it seemed to me that it sounded the right note. I believe, Brother Reaser, that you are coming to the place where the Lord would have you be. As you seek the Lord for light, He will be found of you.

But before the day was over, she received the second letter written on December 31. What gratitude welled up in her heart. The appeals of the Spirit of God had not been in vain. Changes were taking place. Adding to the letter, she wrote:

Later: It is New Year’s Evening. Sara has just come in with your last letter. As I read it, Elder Reaser, my heart was deeply moved, and I wept, and said, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”

My heart was filled with a great joy as I read of your effort to place yourself in right relation to God and His work. I have cause to rejoice in that while some are lapsing into apostasy, which almost breaks my heart, others are finding their way to the light.

Your letter means much, very much to me; it has lifted a tremendous burden from my heart. I believe that the terrible spell is now broken. I had fully accepted your first letter; but this last, I verily believe you were moved by the Spirit of God to write. Coming on the first day of this new year, it has made my heart glad. I cannot find words in which to express my gratitude to God.

Then she made an interesting statement, relating to Elder Reaser’s connection with the sanitarium boards, that is typical of counsel given when changes had been made in people’s lives:

Your statement that you feel that you should not be on any of the sanitarium boards I do not fully agree with. Your voice is to learn to give the right note of counsel and advice in unison with your brethren; and this you will be enabled to do if you continue to press to the light.

Brother Reaser, you can do a grand work for the Lord in southern California if you will work in His way. Be assured that we will stand with you as you seek to carry out the Lord’s plans in His way. When we receive the meekness of Christ, and labor in His lines, our influence as laborers together with God will tell decidedly for the truth. [163]

Elder Reaser Needed in God’s Cause

What assuring words she wrote as she continued her seven-page letter of gratitude and counsel:

Elder Reaser, we have not one worker to spare. We have felt pained at heart as we have seen you placing yourself where you were in danger of sowing strange seed. Oh, how I feared for the results, if you should refuse to accept the light God was sending you. But rest assured that if you will work in harmony with your brethren, we will draw in even cords. If God’s servants will walk humbly with Him, they will see of His glory.

She recognized that there was a battle ahead, but assured Reaser that as he sought to “correct those things for which the Lord has reproved” him, God’s grace would enable him to see things in their right light, and to be one to help “recover others who stand in the same dangerous position” in which he had stood.

“I believe,” she wrote, “that you will continue to come more and more into the light, and that you will not be separated from the work, but will learn to carry it as a converted man in Christ Jesus.”

As to the influence of this experience in the conference, she continued:

Nothing could give the conference surer confidence in you than the step you are now taking to place yourself in right relation to the work of God. Do not cease your efforts until you stand on vantage ground. And the position you take will help those who have been following a similar course.

If you can retain your position as a minister of God, and reveal His converting power and the grace of Christ in your life, you will teach others the right way.—Letter 4, 1908.

The exchange of correspondence continued over a period of six weeks, Elder Reaser expressing his gratitude for the messages the Lord had sent and his determination to follow the light, and Ellen White carefully keeping before him that the battle he had entered upon was one he must with the help of God pursue, and at the same time keeping before him the tender love of God and the help he must secure from Him.

Elder G. W. Reaser continued to carry on his work as the [164] president of the Southern California Conference as a man who now saw things in their true light. When his term expired, it was thought best to allow him to work in a new field. He responded to a call to Mexico, where, by the help of the Southern California Conference, mission work was being opened. At the 1907 camp meeting, he had reported three trips to Mexico (Pacific Union Recorder, September 19, 1907), so he was somewhat acquainted with and deeply interested in that field.

After two years in Mexico, Elder Reaser engaged in various ministerial activities in the Pacific Union Conference. As a member of the union committee, he participated in an interview with Ellen White at her home on December 4, 1913, and offered prayer and expressed appreciative remarks at the close of the interview (Manuscript 12, 1913). [165]

Chapter 13—Through the Year 1908

Much of the year 1908 Ellen White spent at her Elmshaven home engaged in her book work, involved in entertaining and interviews, concerned with the finding of a new location for Healdsburg College, and maintaining a heavy correspondence. At times she broke away to attend California camp meetings and to visit the three sanitariums in the south. Some involvements carried over many months, climaxing in 1909 or 1910.

At the Elmshaven home, as the new year dawned, the Metcalfe Hare family, just in from Australia, were being entertained. Brother Hare had been connected with the development of the Avondale school and later with the manufacturing of health foods.

In early February, she mentioned that “Brother Metcalfe Hare and Elder Haskell and his wife have for a few days been members of my family.”—Letter 50, 1908.

In late March she wrote of another visitor: “Brother Sutherland [of the Madison School] is with us, and will remain for some days.”—Letter 92, 1908.

The little cottage to the east, between the house and the barn, was the temporary residence of a longstanding friend who with her daughter-in-law and grandchildren had been given refuge. The husband and father of the family, a physician, had abandoned them. At Ellen White’s invitation they had come some months earlier. “There was no other place to which they could go,” she wrote, “and we made them as comfortable as we could. They remained with us over a year, and we supplied their needs.”Letter 146, 1908. [166]

Elder W. W. Prescott, in the Review and Herald of February 27, wrote of his appreciation of “the hospitality of her home” and of his pleasure in finding “Sister White enjoying a reasonable degree of health” as she continued her work. Prescott, whose home base was Washington, D.C., was in the West to attend the biennial session of the Pacific Union Conference, held in the chapel at St. Helena Sanitarium, January 17-25. J. N. Loughborough who had long labored on the West Coast, wrote in his report of this “powerful and harmonious meeting“:

Sister White was able to speak to us with great power on two occasions. In the first of these she set forth the importance of the work in the cities, and in the Southern field of the United States. In her second talk she set before us the aid of temperance in the carrying out of a true spirit of patience, godliness, and brotherly kindness.—The Review and Herald, February 27, 1908.

In his days at Elmshaven following the session, Prescott was one of several ministers who met at the Elmshaven office to discuss a question coming into prominence—the meaning of the “daily” brought to view in Daniel 8. As will be noted in a later chapter, this subject would come into more prominence over the next two or three years.

As the time approached for the regular session of the California Conference, January 31 to February 5, Ellen White had counseled that changes in leadership should be made, and suggested that Elder Haskell might well be called to serve as president. As the president in his report at the opening of the session suggested, “A change in the conference management must take place.” Haskell was elected (Pacific Union Recorder, February 20, 1908).

One of Haskell’s first moves toward bringing unity and spiritual uplift in this important conference with a membership of 4,350 (Ibid., February 13, 1908) was to call a Bible institute in Oakland for the first two full weeks of March. Ellen White was invited to participate and, although she was “not in as good health” as she could wish, she went down to Oakland the day before the institute opened (Letter 84, 1908). She spoke six times during the two-week meeting, including the Sabbath-morning sermon on March 14, in the newly constructed Oakland church. [167]

Often during the hours of the night, visions were given to Ellen White involving many subjects. One such was given to her on the night of January 15. Of this she wrote in her diary:

The past night I was speaking decidedly to a large number assembled in council meeting. I seemed to be in Washington. The meeting was one of special solemnity and interest. Every soul is to place himself individually in right relation to life and health and become a fruitbearing branch of the True Vine. I was bearing a very close, straight testimony. What a work is to be done! There will continue to be hindrances and the wheels of true reform will be blocked.—Manuscript 126, 1908.

But it was not until March 29 that she wrote to Elder Daniells appealing for “a true reformation” “among the believers in Washington in the matter of healthful living” (Letter 162, 1908). As this letter largely formed the basis of her address on “Faithfulness in Health Reform” at the 1909 General Conference session, the account will be left until the narrative reaches that point.

Healdsburg College

One time-consuming matter into which Ellen White was drawn and in which she would be involved over a period of nearly two years was the moving of Healdsburg College to a location more favorable to its welfare and success. The town had grown about the college. Enrollment in 1908 was down—in grades nine and upward it was 125. The faculty consisted of fourteen teachers (Pacific Union Recorder, February 13, 1908). Finances were in serious condition. At a meeting of the Pacific Educational Association held at the college on March 19, action was taken that because of adverse circumstances the college should be moved to a suitable location in the country. It was hoped that a property with buildings suited to school purposes could be found in the price range of from $15,000 to $25,000, and the plan was that no debts would be incurred (Ibid., April 2, 1908). Ellen White would soon be involved in the search for a suitable location.

Mid-April, with its warming spring weather, seemed to offer a good time to make a long-anticipated trip into Lake County, just to the north. There, fifty-two miles from Elmshaven, lived the Hurlbutts, who were involved in operating an orphanage with [168] money Mrs. Hurlbutt inherited from her mother, and she sought Sister White’s counsel. Ellen White felt she needed a break from the steady grind ever with her of preparing materials for print.

The way to the Hurlbutt home was over tortuous mountain roads. Sunday morning, April 19, at four-thirty, the party left Elmshaven with Ellen White and Willie riding in a comfortable one-seated buggy behind a large bay horse borrowed for the trip. The rest of the party—Sara McEnterfer, Iram James, and Professor E. A. Sutherland from the Madison school—traveled in a platform spring wagon drawn by the two young, gray workhorses. At five-thirty they passed through Calistoga, nine miles north, and were soon climbing Mount St. Helena on a “mountain road that was very steep and narrow.” “The air,” wrote Ellen White, “was bracing, and made fragrant by the budding pines and hemlocks and wildflowers.”—Letter 122, 1908.

At nine o’clock they stopped by a beautiful brook for breakfast. A tablecloth over a blanket on the ground served as the breakfast table. There was an hour’s rest, and then they pressed on through Middletown, stopping again at two o’clock to eat and rest. Then it was on north to Kelseyville and the Hurlbutt place, two miles beyond. They were glad to make the journey in one day, but were prepared to stop at a hotel if the trip seemed a little too much for Sister White (Letter 124, 1908).

Monday and Tuesday morning were spent with Mrs. Hurlbutt, seeing the orphanage and certain properties in which their hosts were interested. Tuesday afternoon they started back, spending the night at a hotel in Middletown.

Camp Meetings

Camp meeting season opened early in California, with the first of five meetings held May 1-10 in the central part of the State at Lodi. The attendance was not large, for the Adventist population in this farming area was somewhat limited. The 150 members of the Lodi church formed the nucleus for the meeting; about seventy-five people camped on the grounds. The Pacific Union Recorder, on its back page just before the meeting, carried an attendance-getting item under the heading “Special Camp Meeting Notice“: “Word just received from Elder Haskell is to the effect that Mrs. E. G. White [169] will be at the Lodi camp meeting during the entire time.”—April 30, 1908. She was, and she spoke six times.

Pioneer evangelist, missionary, and executive J. N. Loughborough was the first to order a tent for the camp meeting. He reported later that “in many respects this was one of the best camp meetings I ever attended in California.”—The Review and Herald, June 4, 1908. Ellen White was particularly pleased with the “good outside interest” (Letter 146, 1908).

To Elder A. J. Bordeau, who had worked in Europe, one event stood out as he made his report in the Review and Herald:

One touching incident at one of the meetings was the testimony borne by a Swiss brother, who testified to the uplifting influence and power of Sister White’s message to him many years ago in Switzerland, when he was a little bootblack. He had not seen her for many years, and with tears in his eyes, he witnessed to the truth of her message, imploring all the youth present to heed it, even as he had done when a boy. He is now a consecrated Christian, the father of a large family, and lives in this State.—July 16, 1908.

The Oakland camp meeting, with about 200 family tents on the ground, was held June 4-14. It was reported to have been “large and profitable” (The Review and Herald, June 18, 1908) with Ellen White speaking six times “with as great clearness and power as in early times” (Ibid., July 9, 1908).

Delegates from the churches took up the matter of moving the school at Healdsburg and gave full endorsement to steps being taken. Search for a suitable site was undertaken in earnest.

Two months later Ellen White attended the Los Angeles camp meeting from August 6 to 16, even though the long, hot summer had left her somewhat debilitated and wondering whether she should go.

Plans announced in June for this meeting listed Ellen White’s name first as one of “a strong corps of workers from abroad” (Pacific Union Recorder, June 18, 1908). Early in the week of the planned journey south she explained her feelings:

For some reasons I have dreaded this journey to Los Angeles. Yet I am glad the people there will have another opportunity of [170] hearing the message of warning. The end of time is rapidly drawing near.... Yet to many it is coming as a thief in the night. Again and again I ask myself the question, What shall I do, that I may fully act my part in giving this last note of warning?—Letter 234, 1908.

This was the largest of the 1908 camp meetings, with 321 family tents. Several times she spoke to large audiences in the big tent; at times there were 1,200 people (36 WCW, p. 333). Concerned that all should hear her well, she was relieved when “several who sat on the outskirts of the crowd” reported to her that they heard every word spoken (Letter 236, 1908). She was pleased that a number of women from the Women’s Christian Temperance Union attended some of the meetings. While speaking to the ministers, she urged that the evangelistic thrust of the camp meeting be continued for another week of evening meetings.

It is of interest to note that in one report of the camp meeting, in which ministerial help from northern California is listed, we find the words “Mrs. E. G. White and her company.” Her “company” consisted of Sara McEnterfer; W. C. White; Clarence Crisler and his wife, Caroline; Miss Hannaford, the new housekeeper; and Minnie Hawkins. Ellen White and several of her helpers stayed in a nearby cottage, which, she noted, had the convenience of a bathroom.

No matter where she was, she could not lay aside those tasks that came to her as the messenger of the Lord—not only sermons but interviews, manuscript preparation, and correspondence.

Following the camp meeting in Los Angeles, Ellen White visited the sanitariums at Glendale, Paradise Valley, and Loma Linda. On the Loma Linda farm she reported to Edson: “We saw large patches of melons, strawberries, asparagus, tomatoes, and corn.”—Letter 258, 1908. Ellen White was always interested in agricultural pursuits and intrigued by food production.

Back at home after the four-week trip to the south, she complained of how calls to minister in the field hindered her and her workers at Elmshaven from doing what they wanted to do. “I cannot do my writing if I keep traveling,” she wrote on September 11, and declared,” We are striving with all our powers to get out my books.”— Ibid. [171]

Among those in preparation were Prophets and Kings; Testimonies, volume 9; and something on her “early experiences” (Letter 264, 1908), which finally became a part of Life Sketches.

On September 23, writing to her granddaughter Mabel, she referred to her part in the work and the constant pressure upon her:

There are many manuscripts to look over, and some straight testimonies to be borne. All my time is fully occupied.... I should not be bound down to so much examination of manuscript. I am asked to read every part of the selections made. I realize that it is wonderful that the Lord blesses me with such clearness of mind, and I am grateful.—Letter 274, 1908.

Five days later she referred again to book preparation and the work of her assistants: “My workers are doing all in their power to forward the work on my books, and I am kept continually at work.”—Letter 280, 1908.

Physical discomfort, which just at this time she suffered, did not deter her, and she wrote:

All through the day I have important writings to examine. I find so much that ought to come before the people, and we are trying to prepare these writings as fast as possible. At times my eyes are severely taxed, but no one but myself can do this first work, to judge of their importance and to decide which should come before the people.—Letter 292, 1908.

The Ralph Mackin Visit

Much of Thursday, November 12, was spent in an interview with a Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Mackin, who felt they had had a special experience of being favored by the impartation of the Holy Spirit. They eagerly sought Ellen White’s confirmation of the genuineness of their experience. The interview was reported by Clarence Crisler (see Selected Messages 3:363-378). It takes on importance to the church today because of the Mackin claim to have the gift of tongues, the gift of prophecy, and of being able to cast out devils. In the discussion Mackin asserted that receiving the Spirit today will have “the same physiological effect” as it did on the disciples at Pentecost (Manuscript 115, 1908 [The Review and Herald, August 17, 1972]). “If we are in a delusion,” Mackin said, “we are honestly there. But if this is from the Spirit of God, we want [172] to follow it.”— Ibid. In a letter to Elder Haskell, president of the California Conference, Ellen White wrote some two weeks later, November 26, 1908:

Two weeks ago today, while I was writing, my son W. C. White came into my room and stated that there were two persons below who wished to speak with me. I went downstairs into our sitting room, and there met a man and his wife who claim to follow the Word of God and to believe the Testimonies. They have had an unusual experience during the past two or three years. They seemed to be honest-hearted people.

I listened while they related some of their experiences, and then I told them something of the work we had to do, in meeting and opposing fanaticism, soon after the passing of the time when we expected to see our Lord. During those trying days, some of our most precious believers were led into fanaticism. I said further that before the end, we would see strange manifestations by those who professed to be led by the Holy Spirit. There are those who will treat, as something of great importance, these peculiar manifestations which are not of God, but which are calculated to divert the minds of many away from the teachings of the Word.

In this stage of our history, we must be very careful to guard against everything that savors of fanaticism and disorder. We must guard against all peculiar exercises that would be likely to stir up the minds of unbelievers, and lead them to think that, as a people, we are led by impulse, and delight in noise and confusion accompanied by eccentricities of action.

In the last days the enemy of present truth will bring in manifestations that are not in harmony with the workings of the Spirit, but are calculated to lead astray those who stand ready to take up with something new and strange.

I told this brother and his wife that the experience through which I passed in my youth, shortly after the passing of the time in 1844, had led me to be very, very cautious about accepting anything similar to that which we then met and rebuked in the name of the Lord.

No greater harm could be done to the work of God at this time [173] than for us to allow a spirit of fanaticism to come into our churches, accompanied by strange workings which are incorrectly supposed to be operations of the Spirit of God.

As this brother and his wife outlined their experiences, which they claim have come to them as the result of receiving the Holy Ghost with apostolic power, it seemed to be a facsimile of that which we were called to meet and correct in our early experience.

Toward the close of our interview, Brother Mackin proposed that we unite in prayer, with the thought that possibly while in prayer his wife would be exercised as they had described to me, and that then I might be able to discern whether this was of the Lord or not. To this I could not consent, because I have been instructed that when one offers to exhibit these peculiar manifestations, this is a decided evidence that it is not the work of God.

We must not permit these experiences to lead us to feel discouraged. Such experiences will come to us from time to time. Let us give no place to strange exercisings, which really take the mind away from the deep movings of the Holy Spirit. God’s work is ever characterized by calmness and dignity. We cannot afford to sanction anything that would bring in confusion, and weaken our zeal in regard to the great work that God has given us to do in the world to prepare for the second coming of Christ.—Letter 338, 1908.

On the day of the interview Ellen White had sounded cautions, but refrained from giving positive word one way or the other. Late in the interview Mackin proposed that they would continually pray to the Lord, asking Him to give Ellen White light in regard to their experience. Leaving his address, he said, “If you have anything for us after this, we shall be glad to receive it.” (Manuscript 115, 1908 [The Review and Herald, August 17, 1972]).

The interview drew to a close at about noon. Ellen White shook hands with her callers and declared: “I want the Spirit of the Lord to be with you, and you, and me. We are to be just like God’s little children.”— Ibid. On leaving Elmshaven, the Mackins reported to friends and sympathizers that they had had an interview with Sister White and had something good to report. [174]

Then on December 11, a vision was given to Ellen White that clearly defined the Mackin experience. As promised, she communicated with them, stating:

Recently, in visions of the night, there were opened before me some matters that I must communicate to you. I have been shown that you are making some sad mistakes. In your study of the Scriptures and of the Testimonies, you have come to wrong conclusions. The Lord’s work would be greatly misunderstood if you should continue to labor as you have begun.... You are deceiving yourselves and deceiving others.

You have even supposed that power is given you to cast out devils. Through your influence over the human mind, men and women are led to believe that they are possessed of devils, and that the Lord has appointed you as His agents for casting out these evil spirits.

As she neared the close of her message to the Mackins, she declared:

My brother and sister, I have a message for you: You are starting on a false supposition. There is too much self woven into your exhibitions.... Satan will come into these exhibitions. It is high time you called a halt.... I do not want you to be found on a false track. You are certainly there now, and I beg of you, for your souls’ sake, to imperil no longer the cause of the truth for these last days.—Letter 358a, 1908.

Because the Mackins were visiting some of the churches in California, Ellen White addressed a message of warning to all church members to be on guard, and to give no encouragement to such demonstrations. This was published in the Pacific Union Recorder, December 31, 1908. The Mackins quickly dropped out of sight, but the counsels and warnings given in connection with this experience have served the church well.

Trying to Find Money for the Work

While the General Conference gave Ellen White a salary equivalent to that paid a General Conference executive—which by [175] the time of her death had risen to $22 per week—and for many years she was given $2.50 for each article furnished the Review, the Signs, or the Youth’s Instructor, and also received a modest royalty on the sale of her books, the expenses to her in book preparation, typesetting, illustrating, and platemaking far outstripped her current income.

Knowing well that her years were running out, she felt she must press on, and in due time after her death the income from the continuing sale of her books would provide funds to care for all obligations incurred because present expense exceeded the income. She reached out to some Seventh-day Adventists of means, inviting them to make an investment in the production of her books with money they would loan her at a reasonable rate of interest. A number of people responded to her appeal for help. In a letter to an old acquaintance, Marian Stowell Crawford, she on November 4 made an explanation:

My business is not running behind. There is a little gain every year. I have been instructed that it is best for me to own the plates of my books and this is why so much money is required in bringing out new publications. If the printing houses owned the plates of my books there might be times when some of them were slighted; but while I own the plates I can transfer the work from one house to another in case of necessity.

There is an understanding between me and the officers of the General Conference that when I die, my book work passes into the hands of trustees appointed by the General Conference so that the earnings from my books after paying all debts shall go to the production of new books in many foreign languages.—Letter 328, 1908. (Italics supplied.)

Before her death, she appointed the trustees. All debts at the time of her death were, in time, liquidated, with interest, as she had planned from incomes yielded by the sale of her property and book royalties. [176]

Chapter 14—Finding a Site for Pacific Union College

Like the school of the prophets in the day of Elisha, where the place where they dwelt became “too strait” for them, the school at Healdsburg by 1908 found itself needing room to breathe and grow. Under the adverse circumstances the attendance was dropping and financial losses were heavy. The school building was now closely surrounded by the town, and the “boarding house” three blocks up the street was being choked by nearby residential housing. When built, the boarding house, on a five-acre tract of land, was in the country, and it had been planned that as funds were available, more land surrounding it would be purchased. But money was scarce, so part of the original acreage was sold. Houses soon sprang up. M. E. Cady, one-time president of Healdsburg College, said that Ellen White was once heard to comment, “While men slept, the enemy sowed houses.”—DF 153a, M. E. Cady, Founder’s Day Address, 1947.

The college home, or boarding house, was a three-story building with kitchen and laundry in the basement, dining room, parlor, and president’s quarters on the first, or main, floor. Young women occupied the second floor and young men the third. The president and his wife served as preceptor and preceptress.

Ellen White, who with W. C. White had led out in founding the college in 1882, was deeply interested in its welfare. About the time the college opened she bought a home a few blocks distant and made Healdsburg her headquarters. Since returning from Australia, she often visited the school, spoke to the students and faculty, and watched with interest the welfare of the institution. With the [177] successful starting of the Avondale school in Australia in a country location, both Ellen White and conference constituency thought in terms of moving the college away from a crowded town to a place where the students would have “more opportunity to engage in agriculture, carpentering, and other lines of manual work” (Letter 141, 1904). At the California Conference session held in February, 1908, a comprehensive resolution was passed calling for the disposal of the school properties in Healdsburg and establishing “an industrial college” in the country that would provide work for students and “furnish at least the agricultural and dairy products necessary for the college home” (Pacific Union Recorder, February 27, 1908). The Educational Society, which carried legal control, took official action to this effect three weeks later on March 19.

It was hoped that a property could be located rather quickly so that it could open in the fall on the new site. Consequently conference officials and Ellen White and her staff were on the constant lookout for a suitable place, perhaps with a building on it that could be put to immediate use. At the well-attended Oakland camp meeting in early June, a special session of the California Conference was called. Here on June 9, after considerable discussion and a divided vote, plans to close Healdsburg College were approved and a committee of seven appointed to search for a new site. W. C. White, as well as conference officers, was on this committee. From time to time various sites were examined. In August, a property near Sonoma came to the attention of conference officers. This property, two or three miles north of the town of Sonoma, consisted of 2,900 acres of land, hills, mountains, valleys, and flatlands. On it was a spacious three-story, thirty-eight room mansion called “The Castle” (36 WCW, p. 725; S. N. Haskell to EGW, August 13, 1908). Since the property was less than a mile from a tiny Western Pacific Railway station called Buena Vista, that was the name used in designating it for inspections and negotiations. The estate had been developed by a millionaire, a Mr. Johnson, about twenty-five years earlier, but soon after he had built and furnished the house, and landscaped the grounds with ornamental and fruit trees, he died. His heir squandered his inherited fortune, and the property was sold at auction. Currently it was owned by a [178] Frenchman named Cailleaud (H. W. Cottrell to WCW, March 31, 1909), who felt he had too many land investments and wanted to sell this one. Hetty Haskell, wife of the conference president, described it as “a second Loma Linda, the finest thing we have seen anywhere” (Mrs. S. N. Haskell to EGW, August 13, 1908).

The Haskells reported that the house and grounds needed a little outside repair and paint, as the mansion had been neglected for some time, but inside it was in perfect condition. Some of its thirty-eight rooms were large enough to be divided, and that made the building even more adaptable to school use. All the bathroom fixtures were marble, and there was even a large bell at the back of the house, which, Mrs. Haskell observed, “would be just the thing for schoolwork.”

The grounds were well laid out and decorated with acres of flower gardens. The long entrance drive way was lined with trees, and the orchards boasted five kinds of plums and five varieties of peaches, and there were lemons, oranges, date palms, and chestnuts.

A stone winery on the place was currently being used as a cow shed for a large dairy (S. N. Haskell to EGW, August 13, 1908).

Ellen White Visits the Buena Vista Property

On Wednesday morning, September 2, the day after she had gone north following her five-week stay in southern California, Ellen White, with some members of the committee on school location, visited the Buena Vista property. Writing of the experience, she reported:

We found the Castle to contain three stories, with twelve spacious rooms on each floor, besides a basement, and a large cupola above the third story capable of being converted into good rooms.—Letter 322, 1908.

She went up to the second floor and inspected the rooms and reported that she “had little to say. I believed that here was a property that corresponded with representations given me.”— Ibid. (Italics supplied.)

Remembering the Loma Linda experience where she recognized [179] the buildings when she came onto the grounds, everyone quite naturally was eager to hear whether the Lord had given Ellen White direct light that this was the site to be purchased. Earlier she had written to Elder Haskell:

I have had three buildings presented before me which I have not seen with my natural eyes. Two of these were in the Southern field, and one in California.—Letter 240, 1908.

On leaving the grounds she felt impressed “that this was just such a location for our school as we had been looking for” (Letter 322, 1908). As to the suitability of the property, she noted that the tract of land was large, “away from the cities, where we could have an abundance of water and wood, and a healthful climate” (Ibid.). The well-furnished house with “every convenience” was also an important factor (Letter 324, 1908). But she failed to identify the building as one shown to her.

Back in Oakland that night, Ellen White was given instruction. Of this she wrote:

That night in my dreams I seemed to be making plans in regard to this property. One spoke to me and said, “How were you impressed with this location?” I replied, “Favorably; but I do not see how we can purchase; we have not the means. We might lessen the price by selling the stone winery.”

“You cannot do that,” our advisor said. “If you should do so, parties who do not regard the seventh day would be at work on the land on the Sabbath. Your only plan will be to purchase the entire property, and keep every part of it under your control. Not one foot of the land should be allowed to come under the control of those who would work it on the Sabbath day.”—Letter 322, 1908.

The next morning Elder W. H. Covell, a member of the California Conference staff, and a man much interested in the Buena Vista property, brought a map to Sister White showing the property and adjacent lands. He began pointing out pieces of property that might be sold to lessen the total cost of the investment. But Ellen White, thinking of the vision given her only hours before, informed him, “We must have the land under our full control.”— Ibid. [180]

At this point an interesting factor interjected itself. The committee members could easily see that Ellen White favored securing the property, but she did not have a “Thus saith the Lord” that this particular property should be secured. Further, she perceived that responsible committees made up of qualified men of experience must make the decision based on principles involved.

On Sunday morning, September 13, after a wakeful night, she wrote to Elder Haskell, who was now attending a camp meeting in Fresno, that she was afraid that she might be taking too great a responsibility in the matter. She declared:

I do not feel that I want the decision of this question to rest with me. I had only a hasty view of the place at Buena Vista, and while it corresponds to a place that had been shown me, I do not want you to feel that you must secure it on that account....

I shall leave this matter to be settled by the committee, and if they decide unfavorably regarding this place, I shall wait patiently until something further is offered where we can be supplied with water and woodlands. What we need is mountain advantages, where we can have an abundance of pure soft water that is not poisoned by the schemes of men.—Letter 256, 1908. (Italics supplied.)

The Basis for Final Decisions

This experience, and her communications about it, points up an interesting facet of her work. With a judgment enriched by the many visions God gave to her, she was influential in the making of important decisions, but never were the visions to take the place of study, initiative, faith, or hard work on the part of all concerned. The visions were not given to take the place of careful investigation and decision making. Nor were her opinions, in the absence of special light, to be taken as authoritative.

In the case of Loma Linda three years earlier, she recognized the buildings when she reached the grounds, and she was very positive that the church should buy that particular property. But even then she left the final decisions with the committees and constituencies. In principle the Buena Vista property had most of the qualifications she had repeatedly set forth as desirable for a college. But that this was the precise place that should be secured she was not prepared to [181] say, and could only declare that it “corresponds to a place that had been shown me” (Ibid.).

An Important Principle Illustrated

A few months later she made certain points clear as she wrote:

There are times when common things must be stated, common thoughts must occupy the mind, common letters must be written and information given that has passed from one to another of the workers. Such words, such information, are not given under the special inspiration of the Spirit of God. Questions are asked at times that are not upon religious subjects at all, and these questions must be answered. We converse about houses and lands, trades to be made, and locations for our institutions, their advantages and disadvantages.—Selected Messages 1:39.

In this connection she stated:

When the Holy Spirit reveals anything regarding the institutions connected with the Lord’s work, or concerning the work of God upon human hearts and minds, as He has revealed these things through me in the past, the message given is to be regarded as light given of God for those who need it. But for one to mix the sacred with the common is a great mistake.—Ibid., 1:38.

So it was with the Buena Vista property. The principles that should guide in the selection of a site for a college were made clear, and any one of several places might have fitted these guidelines. In the absence of special light, Ellen White had to judge the same as her brethren as to the suitability of the property being investigated.

Delay Added to Delay

Thus the matter lay for several months. Ellen White herself felt that the Buena Vista property should be secured. Instruction was given her in vision concerning certain contingencies; yet she seemed to approach the matter with caution and a little uncertainty. She encouraged her brethren, however, to move on sound lines in acquiring the property. [182]

At the camp meeting in Fresno in late September, a special session of the constituency was held to consider, among other things, the matter of the college. The advantages and disadvantages of various sites were reviewed, and it was decided to accept whatever site might be chosen as long as the committee followed its best judgment and would be counseled by the Spirit of Prophecy.

Almost immediately definite steps were taken to purchase the Buena Vista property. The agreement was that 2,900 acres would be purchased for $35,000 and the Healdsburg College properties. Only one thing remained—the owners must produce a proper abstract and clear title (36 WCW, p. 725).

But delay followed delay, and although Ellen White entertained some anxiety about securing the property, she wrote on December 12, “I have not one question or doubt in regard to the purchase of the Sonoma property.”—Letter 344, 1908. The next day, writing to an old friend, she said, “I am so thankful that we are to have this place for our school.”—Letter 356, 1908.

But as the year 1908 came to a close, matters were still in an unsettled condition. “We have been waiting for the abstract to be made out,” wrote Ellen White on December 29, “but there is a delay as important papers were destroyed at the time of the San Francisco earthquake.”—Letter 4, 1909.

This was the state of the matter when time came for the regular session of the California Conference, held February 3-10, 1909, in Oakland. At a meeting of the constituency on February 6, Ellen White spoke of the school matter, reporting that she had visited several sites, Buena Vista among them, the one with “most precious advantages.” There “was abundance of land for cultivation, and the water advantages were very valuable. All through the mountains there were little valleys where families might locate and have a few acres of land for garden or orchard.”—Manuscript 9, 1909.

She stated again that the property “corresponds to representations made to me as an ideal location for our school more perfectly than anything else I have seen.... I have wished that we might come quickly into possession of the property. But,” she added, “there was some advantage in delay, because we now have more time to raise the money to pay for the place.”— Ibid. (Italics supplied.)

In the meantime, feverish speculation in land surrounding the [183] Buena Vista property began to develop and became so acute that on April 6, the California Conference Association took an action, published in the Pacific Union Recorder, April 8, 1909:

That we hereby disapprove of the entire speculative course of all such of our brethren as are involved in such transactions, and that we recommend that all profits accruing from any deals heretofore made be turned over to the college treasury.

The knowledge that Ellen White favored securing the Buena Vista estate added fuel to the fire, and some sizable tracts of land were purchased by Adventists confident of gaining large and quick returns on their investment.

When the transcript for the property finally was available, it was found that there were twenty-two defects in the title, some serious. The owner, in spite of his earlier promises, refused to do anything about it. Ellen White, when her counsel was sought, declared: “Tell them to put us in possession of the place, or to hand us back our money.”—Manuscript 65, 1909.

While she was in the midst of the General Conference session in Washington in May, 1909, the deposit on the Buena Vista property was returned.

“Then we knew not just what to do,” she said, “although in the dreams of the night the assurance was given that we must not become discouraged; if we could not obtain the Buena Vista place, there would be a more advantageous place for our school.”—Letter 187, 1909.

The Angwin Property a Better Place

Elder Haskell, president of the California Conference, recalled:

When word came to us at Washington, D.C., that the trade could not be completed because of errors in the title and other reasons, the servant of the Lord said, “If this cannot be obtained, it is because the Lord has a better place for us.”—Pacific Union Recorder, September 2, 1909.

With the time for the opening of school nearing, and now with considerable funds in hand for the purchase of a school property, the locating committee began a new search. In July, Elder H. W. [184] Cottrell, president of the Pacific Union Conference and a member of the committee on school location, found what he considered the ideal place. S. N. Haskell wrote of it to Ellen White, who was on her protracted return journey from Washington, D.C., to California. It was Angwin’s resort hotel atop Howell Mountain, about four miles beyond St. Helena Sanitarium. The property seemed most promising. So sure were the brethren that this place met, more fully than any other they had seen or perhaps could ever find, the qualifications for a college site held before them by Ellen White, that negotiations to purchase for $60,000 were commenced at once. It was with restless difficulty that they awaited Ellen White’s return home in early September, to gain her full support in the steps taken.

After an absence of five months and four days, Ellen White reached her Elmshaven home on Thursday afternoon, September 9, ill and exhausted. The high altitude endured in crossing the Sierras, it seemed, almost cost her her life, and she was debilitated. Camp meeting was in progress in Fruitvale, a suburb of Oakland, and her presence was desired there. All were eager, first of all, for her to visit the Angwin school site without delay. She was too. So on Friday morning, although ill-prepared to do so, she insisted on driving the five miles past the Sanitarium and up the narrow, rocky road to the top of Howell Mountain to see the property everyone was excited about.

Ellen White Describes the New School Property

Ellen White described what she found at Angwin in letters to Edson and Mabel. Selections from both letters tell the full story:

The night we arrived at home we received a message asking us to go up the following day to see the property that had been purchased for the Pacific College. The brethren thought that this property possessed many advantages over that at Buena Vista, and as the owner of the Buena Vista place could not give us a clear title, it was thought advisable to purchase this. We left home early on the morning of September 10, driving in my easiest carriage. It was a five-mile climb to the top of the hill; then when about one mile from the property the country became more level.

Elder [C. W.] Irwin met us at the place and showed us [185] something of the grounds and buildings. As we drove along I marked the advantages over the Buena Vista property. True, there was not here the fine costly building that we found on the Sonoma property, but there were a number of buildings in good repair, and such as could be easily adapted to the needs of the school. The largest of the dwellings was a house of thirty-two rooms [the resort hotel], and in addition to this there were four cottages. All the rooms were well planned, and substantially but not extravagantly furnished. Everything about houses and grounds looked clean and wholesome.—Letter 110, 1909.

Many advantages came to us in the house furnishings. The beds were all supplied with two good mattresses, one hair mattress and one of cotton wool, feather pillows and woolen blankets, some of which are very good indeed. All the floors are covered, some of the rooms with carpets, but most with straw matting. The bed linen was all in good order.

There are sixteen hundred acres of land in the property, 105 of which is good arable land. There are twenty acres of orchard, bearing apples, pears, plums, prunes, peaches, figs, grapes, and English and black walnuts. There are thirty acres of alfalfa. We were much pleased with the fruit that we saw. At the time of our first visit there were many workers on the ground taking care of the prunes, some gathering the fruit and others preparing it for drying. Forty-five tons of prunes have been gathered from the orchard this year.—Letter 114, 1909.

The large corn barn was filled to the roof with the best of lucerne [alfalfa] hay harvested from the land. In the carriage house we saw eight buggies and wagons. There were twenty milk cows, thirteen horses, and six colts included in the trade....

We are thankful for the abundant supply of pure water flowing from numerous springs, and thrown into large tanks by three hydraulic rams; also for the good buildings, for the good farmland, and for the hundreds of acres of woodland, on which there are many thousands of feet of saw timber. We are thankful also for the machinery which is all in such good order, for the furniture, which though it is not fine, is good and substantial; for [186] the fruit that is canned and dried, and which will be much appreciated by teachers and students this first year of school....

We need have no fear of drinking impure water, for here it is supplied freely to us from the Lord’s treasure house [300,000 gallons a day]. I do not know how to be grateful enough for these many advantages, but feel like putting my whole trust in the Lord, and as long as my life is spared to glorify my Redeemer.—Letter 110, 1909.

Now I have tried to describe this place to you, though I have not seen it as fully as some others. I was a very sick woman on the day that I visited the property, and was not able to climb more than one flight of stairs in the main building. I did not dare to excite my heart by over exertion. But it was thought best that I should visit the place as soon as possible and pass my judgment on it as a site for our school. I am very pleased with the place; it has many advantages as a school location....

When we learned that we were not going to be able to secure the Sonoma property, an assurance was given me that a better place was provided for us, where we could have many advantages over our first selection. As I have looked over this property, I pronounce it to be superior in many respects. The school could not be located in a better spot....

In Prof. C. W. Irwin and wife we have excellent workers. Professor Irwin will be the principal of the school.— Ibid.

On the following Sunday, September 12, a phone call came from Oakland, where the camp meeting was being held. The discussion of the new college was slated to come up the next day. Could Ellen White come?

Indeed she could. She went down Monday morning and that afternoon spoke for twenty minutes on the advantages of the Angwin site. There was no legal action needed, since the purchasing committee—Elders Knox, Cottrell, and Haskell—had, at the Fresno camp meeting a year before, been given power to act. Ellen White’s address went far to confirm the faith of the people in the new project and ensure that their pledges would be paid off (Pacific Union Recorder, September 23, 1909; Manuscript 59, 1909).

When the right time came, how quickly things fitted together! [187] Everyone was anxious to find a good school site and get the work going. There was a conditioning period for nearly a year as principles were reviewed and sites inspected and money raised. Guidance came through the Spirit of Prophecy, but responsible men were not relieved of diligent study, tireless seeking, and the making of decisions.

The Angwin resort property was not on the market when the search for a new school site was entered upon. The repeated delays held everything in abeyance until the ideal property became available. Then, with money in hand, the fully equipped and stocked Angwin property was purchased with confidence, and within a very few weeks the school was ready for opening in late September. It was capable of caring for 150 students. Everything was on hand, just ready to put into use. All considered it providential. Of the experience Ellen White wrote, “Now this lesson given us at this time of our great necessity was one of the most remarkable adventures in our experience.”—Letter 187, 1909.

But there were some who did not see it that way. They were the few businessmen who in the hope of large returns from land speculation—in spite of counsel not to do so—had purchased large tracts of land of mediocre quality near the Buena Vista property.

Faculty and Staff

The faculty and staff for the new school were quickly assembled. Ellen White, at the General Conference in Washington, had urged that C. W. Irwin, for eight years the principal of the Avondale school in Australia, be released from his work there and kept on in the States to head the new college. Church leaders concurred in this, and Professor Irwin stayed by, ready to head the new school when a site was found and school could begin.

The editor of the Signs of the Times, Elder Oscar Tait, a man of broad experience, was prevailed upon to become Bible teacher. Others, seasoned and capable men and women, were drawn in. When school opened on Wednesday, September 29, fifty students were ready to begin classes. The dedication of the new college on that day, with services held in the dance hall, which could seat 200, was an impressive and joyous occasion. Ellen White was there and was one of the speakers. In her twenty-minute address she said: [188]

There is a time coming when God will let it be understood that His people are preferred before transgressors, and we need to stand in a position where it can be seen that our dependence is upon God. Then the Lord will open ways before us that we do not now discern—ways by which He will exalt and honor us. I believe we have seen this in the case of our school location.

She reviewed briefly the experience in attempts to secure the Buena Vista property, then continued:

During the time of waiting I did not feel discouraged. I felt that the Lord knew all about our perplexities and our needs. When I would kneel before Him in prayer, I would say, “Lord, You know all about it; You know we have done what we could to secure a school property; You know that our plans have been broken up. We have waited long; now, Lord, give us the place that we should have.” And when the word came that this place was found, I said, “The Lord has prepared the way for us.”

We are very grateful to the Lord of hosts for this possession, for we have here just what we hoped to have in the Buena Vista estate.... God wanted us here, and He has placed us here. I was sure of this as I came upon these grounds.... The Lord designed this place for us, and ... it has been the work of His providence that has brought it into our possession.—Manuscript 65, 1909.

And indeed all recognized that the Lord had done just that. [189]

Chapter 15—Attending the General Conference of 1909

From an early date Ellen White seemed to be rather certain that she would attend the 1909 General Conference session to be held in Washington, D.C. The time appointed was May 13 to June 6. This was very different from her experience in 1901, 1903, and 1905, when in each case she hesitated, sometimes for weeks, not knowing whether she should go. As early as September, 1908, she wrote, “I expect to attend the next General Conference in Washington.”—Letter 274, 1908. In November she was discussing the best route to take. “But,” she told Edson, “I dare not move in any action according to my own judgment.” She added, “We will watch unto prayer, and seek to know the will of the Lord. I will trust myself in His hands, and I know that He will work for me.”—Letter 334, 1908.

In late February, 1909, she wrote to Sister Gotzian that “I am expected to attend the coming conference in Washington.”—Letter 48, 1909. As the time approached she wrote Edson on March 30:

We have decided our family party—Sara McEnterfer, Minnie Hawkins, W.C.W., and your mother—will leave next Monday.... We must go to Los Angeles and direct from there to Paradise Valley, stay a couple of days and then visit Loma Linda, and then on to College View and then to Nashville. I think this is the route. Then to Washington.—Letter 183, 1909.

Instead of dread there was anticipation as the trip was planned. Earlier in the year she had spoken of “relief and success, and joy in many lines of the work” (Letter 16, 1909). “I do not dread the [190] journey,” she told Edson. “My health is quite good. I am thankful that my lame hip is little trouble to me now. I have much to be thankful for that at my age—in my eighty-second year—I can be up.”—Letter 183, 1909.

Perhaps one reason for her buoyancy was the turn things had taken in the California Conference, which included the entire State north of the Tehachapi Mountains. When Elder Haskell was called to the presidency of this conference in early February, 1908, there had been considerable bickering and some mismanagement. Even in this conference where she lived and had her membership, various attitudes were being taken concerning her work as the messenger of the Lord. W. C. White on June 22, 1908, in writing to the General Conference treasurer, I. H. Evans, reported:

In view of the fact that so much has been done to discredit the testimonies in this conference, Elder Haskell conducted a series of studies on the Spirit of Prophecy.—35 WCW, p. 865.

He referred to the Oakland camp meeting attended by Ellen White, where she spoke six times. Then at the conference session held in Oakland in early 1909, the resolutions passed were headed by the following action:

Whereas, the gift of prophecy has been a counselor to this people for more than half a century; and,

Whereas, Prosperity has attended the work of the third angel’s message in proportion as the counsels of the gift of prophecy have been heeded; therefore,

Resolved, That we hereby recognize the goodness of God in placing and maintaining this gift in the church, and advise our ministers and our brethren generally, to become personally acquainted with its teachings, and to give heed thereto, that they may profit thereby.—Pacific Union Recorder, February 18, 1909.

As planned, the party from Elmshaven left home Monday morning, April 5, and reached Mountain View in the early afternoon. After resting in Elder Cottrell’s home for a few hours, they continued to San Jose to catch the 5:10 P.M. train for Los Angeles, and then it was on to San Diego and Paradise Valley Sanitarium. [191]

Tuesday morning the party was again on its way, this time bound for College View, Nebraska, over the Salt Lake City and Omaha Railroad (37 WCW, p. 953). There she spoke twice Friday morning, first to the students and faculty of Union College and then a few minutes later to the children in the elementary school room nearby (Letter 88, 1909). The topic of the Sabbath-morning sermon in the College View church, where she addressed 2,000 people, was “Individual Cooperation” (Manuscript 31, 1909). Then again on Sunday she delivered her sixth sermon of the trip to those who gathered in the College View church. This was followed by an address to the college faculty on educational principles (Letter 84, 1909) and a tour of the school farm.

Tuesday morning, April 20, the group hastened on to Nashville, where she was entertained at Nashville Sanitarium for nearly a week, slipping out for a visit to the Hillcrest school and the Oakwood school. She also visited Rock City Sanitarium and other institutions operated to serve black people. She wrote warmly of the work being done by O. R. Staines and F. L. Bralliar at the Hillcrest school (MSS 25, 13, 17, 1909).

Though the Southern Publishing Association was nearby, she did not visit it, having been warned of God to avoid the institution, which just at that time was involved in some conflicts.

The working force, however, heard her speak on Sabbath, April 24, in the Nashville Memorial church. The next day she addressed the black people in their church on Winter Street.

She molded her message to meet the special interests of her audience, saying at one point:

I recall how especially one of your race was recognized by God in the time of the apostles, the record of which we find in the book of Acts. The Ethiopian mentioned there was a man of influence, and was doing a great work when he heard the message of the gospel.

She added:

I am glad that the message of Christ’s second advent has reached so many of the colored people. I want to say to you, the Lord is no respecter of persons. He makes no difference ... [192] because of the color of your skin. He understands all your circumstances. We have one Saviour for all mankind.—Manuscript 17, 1909.

Sunday afternoon she went out to the Madison school and addressed those attending a teachers’ institute in progress there (Letter 74, 1909; Manuscript 15, 1909). She appealed to the workers not to neglect any field of missionary endeavor, and spoke of their duty to work for the black people, recounting to them her experience in the black church and her visit to the Hillcrest school (Manuscript 15, 1909). She spent a few days at Madison, staying in their “new sanitarium” (Letter 74, 1909).

The journey to Huntsville, Alabama, to visit the school was exhausting. The train made frequent stops in the stifling heat, and she suffered pain in her troublesome left eye (Letter 74, 1909; 37 WCW, p. 959). But she talked to the students the next morning and visited the campus, the buildings, and the farm. That night she rode on the train to Asheville, North Carolina, and on Sabbath morning, May 1, took the service in the Haywood church.

On Sunday afternoon she addressed the congregation in the black church pastored by Elder M. C. Strachen, speaking on John 15. She tarried after the service to shake hands with the members. After dinner, she left on the 2:05 P.M. train for Washington, D.C. By the time she reached Washington, she had spoken fourteen times since leaving home.

In Washington she was entertained near the school grounds where the session was held, at the home of Elder G. A. Irwin, General Conference vice-president (37 WCW, p. 977). There she had two rooms—one for sleeping and the other in which to counsel with those who wished to see her. She quickly arranged for rooms in the nearby D. H. Kress home for Edson and Emma, and urged them to attend the conference at her expense, which they did.

The 1909 General Conference Session

As in 1905, this General Conference session was held in a large tent pitched on the grounds of Washington Missionary College. The opening meeting convened at 10:45 A.M. Thursday, May 13. There were 328 delegates present, a number that swelled a little as the [193] conference progressed. Words of greeting were spoken by George I. Butler, George Amadon, and other pioneer workers, and messages were read from some who could not attend. The afternoon meeting was given over to what was called “the European Division,” with Elder L. R. Conradi reporting.

On Thursday evening Elder A. G. Daniells gave his president’s address, reviewing the work of the past four years and presenting the accomplishments of the seven General Conference departments. He projected a bright outlook for the future. As he reviewed the accomplishments of the reorganization of the General Conference, he pointed out that while in 1901 the Executive Committee consisted of thirteen members, there were now forty. In 1901 there were two union conferences, and now there were twenty-one “located in nearly all parts of the world.” He observed that “to the committees in charge of these union conferences have been transferred countless details of administration which previously came to the General Conference Committee.” He closed his observations on these lines by stating:

Thus the reorganization that has been effected since the conference of 1901 has drawn into the administrative circle more than five hundred persons who were not there before, and the results show that this change has greatly increased the efficiency of the management of the work.—The General Conference Bulletin, 1909, 8.

The session itself was quite routine, with a great deal of the time given over to reports of the progress of the cause around the world. A portion of each day was devoted to individual meetings of the various departments and to the business of the quadrennial meeting.

Sabbath morning at eleven o’clock Ellen White addressed the session in the big tent. The Bulletin reported that it “was a day long to be remembered” as the “aged servant of God” stood in that large tent speaking to an audience of well over a thousand people. She seemed to “lay upon those assembled representatives of the third angel’s message the importance of rightly representing Christ to the world in our speech, in our character, in all our dealing with our fellow men, in order that we shall not be found fruitless in the great day of harvest” (p. 28). [194]

How did the voice of this little woman of 81 come through to the audience? Those who were there reported that they all heard her clearly and distinctly. One curious young minister, A. V. Olson, attending his first General Conference session, eager to find out for himself, sat near the front, where he heard her well. Then he went to the back of the tent, where he heard equally well. He went outside the tent and even there her voice came through in clear tones. She did not shout. She had no public-address system, but with a steady, low voice supported by her abdominal muscles, she spoke as she had been instructed by God (see Evangelism, 669). She made all hear, with no one straining to catch her words.

Ellen G. White Addresses

Ellen White spoke eleven times in the big tent, taking the Sabbath-morning services on three of the four Sabbaths of the session. On a number of occasions she spoke at the nine-fifteen Bible study hour. On two mornings late in the session, she read not one but two manuscripts each day. All of her addresses except the last one on the closing day of the session were reported in the Bulletin. The titles of her addresses allow us to picture her ministry through the little more than three weeks of the session:

Sabbath sermon | May 15 | Abiding in Christ | The General Conference Bulletin, 37-39
Monday morning | May 17 | A Call to Service | Ibid., 56-58
Wednesday morning | May 19 | The Work Before Us | Ibid., 105
Sabbath sermon | May 22 | A Risen Saviour | Ibid., 136, 137
Wednesday morning | May 26 | A Lesson in Health Reform | Ibid., 213-215
Thursday morning | May 27 | Let Us Publish Salvation | Ibid., 225-227
Sabbath sermon |  | May 29 Get Ready! | Ibid., 344-346
Sunday morning | May 30 | The Spirit of Independence | Ibid., 220, 221
|  | God’s Plan | Ibid., 236, 237
Monday morning | May 31 | Faithfulness in Health Reform | Ibid., 268-270
Tuesday morning | June 1 | A Plea for Medical Missionary Evangelists | Ibid., 291, 292
|  | The Loma Linda College of Evangelists | Ibid., 308, 309
Sunday afternoon | June 6 | Farewell Address—Partakers of the Divine Nature | Ibid., 378

[195]

Her second Sabbath sermon, “A Risen Saviour,” was unique in that she opened her Bible and read not just a verse or two as an introduction to her message but three long chapters from the book of Matthew and fifty verses of a fourth, interspersing her reading with an occasional comment. It is said that she read “in a most solemn and impressive manner.” At one point (not soon forgotten by her hearers) in her reading of how Pilate’s wife sent word of her warning dream, as recorded in Matthew 27:19, she stepped aside, and a male quartet from England came to the pulpit and sang “Dream of Pilate’s Wife.” She had earlier called Elder J. S. Washburn, the leader of the group, to sing this selection at the appropriate time in her sermon. In that visit she told him that it had been included in Hymns and Tunes at her request (see No. 1394) (Manuscript 29, 1909).

This demonstrated Ellen White’s skillful and effective use of music to enhance her presentations. In fact, she very often chose the hymns that were to be used in connection with her sermons.

After reading from the Scriptures about the closing ministry of Christ, she devoted ten minutes to solemn admonition to follow the example of Jesus and be ready to sacrifice that the gospel might reach the world, especially the large cities of the world. Then she appealed:

Let us come into right relation to God at this meeting. Let us humble ourselves before Him, and obey His commandments. If we do not feel that it is an honor to be partakers of the sufferings of Christ, if you feel no burden of soul for those who are ready to perish, if you are unwilling to sacrifice that you may save means for the work that is to be done, there will be no room for you in the kingdom of God. We need to be partakers with Christ of His sufferings and self-denial at every step. We need to have the Spirit of God resting upon us, leading us to constant self-sacrifice.— Ibid.

Soon she was speaking of the needs of the cities:

Behold our cities and their need of the gospel. The need for earnest labor among the multitudes in the cities has been kept before me for more than twenty years. Who is carrying a burden [196] for our large cities? ... What is being done in the Eastern cities where the Advent message was first proclaimed? ... The light has been given that the truth should go again to the Eastern States where we first began our work, and where we had our first experiences.— Ibid.

As noted, she read four of her addresses, a procedure on her part somewhat out of the ordinary. As she advanced in years there were times when, as she was to present a particular subject, she wished to be certain that it would be rounded out effectively. This was so with her address “Faithfulness in Health Reform,” given to the session on Monday morning, May 31.

Ellen White’s Closing Address

For three weeks and four days Ellen White met with her brethren from the whole world field. She had seen the church grow from fifty Sabbathkeeping Adventists in New England in 1846 to 83,000 at the close of 1908. Of these, 59,000 were in the United States and 24,000 in other parts of the world. Total tithe paid into the treasuries of the church in 1908 had grown to $1.1 million. There were nearly 800 ordained ministers, and 400 more held ministerial licenses (1908 Statistical Report, in The General Conference Bulletin, 1909, 260, 265). The reports brought by delegates from various parts of the world were detailed and thrilling. The day-to-day departmental meetings had been constructive and helpful. The resolutions adopted by the session drawn together in the last issue of the Bulletin filled five pages.

Ellen White used the opportunities given to her to speak in admonishing, encouraging, and instructing. Her prime theme was evangelistic outreach, with emphasis on both personal and city evangelism. Health reform and health interests were a close second. She had attended General Conference sessions from 1863 on, missing some while in Europe and Australia. She had been at the first general gathering of Sabbathkeeping Adventists in 1848, and at succeeding Sabbath Conferences had been with the brethren as they diligently studied the Word and formed the doctrinal structure of the church based on that Word.

While not all had been accomplished that she had hoped and labored for, it was a good and encouraging session.

The last meeting, Sunday afternoon at 3:00 P.M., was given to [197] her. “Partakers of the Divine Nature” was her theme. It came too late to be included in the Bulletin, but it was referred to in the last issue under the title “A Touching Farewell.”

As the aged speaker referred to her appreciation of the privileges of the General Conference session, and expressed her intense anxiety that the meeting might result in great good to all in attendance, the congregation responded with many hearty “amens.”—Ibid., 1909, 378.

“With trembling lips and a voice touched with deep emotion, she assured the ministers and other workers that God loves them, and Jesus delights to make intercession in their behalf.”— Ibid. Many were deeply moved. She closed her address stating:

Brethren, we shall separate for a little while, but let us not forget what we have heard at this meeting. Let us go forward in the strength of the Mighty One, considering the joy that is set before us of seeing His face in the kingdom of God and of going out no more forever. Let us remember that we are to be partakers of the divine nature, and that angels of God are right around us, that we need not be overcome by sin. Let us send our petitions to the throne of God in time of temptation, and in faith lay hold of His divine power.

I pray God that this may be the experience of each one of us, and that in the great day of God we all may be glorified together.—Manuscript 49, 1909.

Thus closed the last sermon Ellen White was to make at a General Conference session. She moved away from the desk and started to her seat, then turned and came back, picked up the Bible from which she had read, opened it, and held it out on extended hands that trembled with age. She admonished, “Brethren and Sisters, I commend unto you this Book” (reported by W. A. Spicer, then secretary of the General Conference, in The Spirit of Prophecy in the Advent Movement, p. 30).

Thus, in her last words to the leaders of the church officially assembled in conference, Ellen White elevated the Word of God—that Word that had been so precious to her and that she freely used and ever kept before the church and the world. [198]

Chapter 16—The General Conference Address on Health Reform

Among the papers carried by Ellen White to Washington to present to the General Conference session was one entitled “Faithfulness in Health Reform.” As mentioned in the preceding chapter, she presented this on Monday morning, May 31. The subject was one that had touched much of her life, and one for which she, because of its large importance and an abundance of instruction given to her, carried a heavy burden.

She kept the matter of health reform before the church and the world in numerous articles in the Review and Herald, The Health Reformer, The Youth’s Instructor, and in pamphlets and books. Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene was published in 1890, and the compilation of Healthful Living, assembled by Dr. David Paulson, came out in 1897 while she was in Australia. Then in 1905, The Ministry of Healing, with its well-balanced presentation designed to reach both the church and the world, was published.

Testimonies for the Church also carried instruction on health-related lines.

It was a matter Ellen White mentioned occasionally in her letters. On February 5, 1908, she wrote:

We endeavor to use good judgment in determining what combinations of food best agree with us. It is our duty to act wisely in regard to our habits of eating, to be temperate, and to learn to reason from cause to effect. If we will do our part, then the Lord will do His part in preserving our brain-nerve power.—Letter 50, 1908. [199]

She attributed strict temperance in eating as one reason for her ability to do so much work in speaking and writing (Ibid.). Addressing one influential minister on March 28, 1909, she declared, “True conversion to the message of present truth embraces conversion to the principles of health reform.”—Letter 62, 1909.

She was concerned that there was a growing laxness among Seventh-day Adventists in the matter of diet; there were those who, in spite of the light God had given, were still eating meat quite freely. Particularly was she concerned that church leaders in Washington were not taking the aggressive stand in this matter that it was their privilege to take.

Background for the Address on Health Reform

On March 29, 1908, she had penned a letter to Elder A. G. Daniells, president of the General Conference, relating to the experience of church members in Washington, D.C. After expressing her agreement with plans for the erection of a meetinghouse in Takoma Park, she pointed out the responsibility of the believers and workers in Washington to witness to the thousands of residents in that area who had not yet heard the third angel’s message. Workers were to “bring to mind the words of Christ, ‘Ye are the light of the world.’ ... ‘Ye are the salt of the earth.’”

Then under a subheading of “Backsliding in Health Reform,” she wrote:

I am instructed to bear a message to all our people on the subject of health reform, for many have backslidden from their former loyalty to health reform principles. The light God has given is being disregarded.

A true reformation needs to take place among the believers in Washington on the matter of healthful living. If the believers there will give themselves unreservedly to God, He will accept them. If they will adopt in the matter of eating and drinking the principles of temperance that the light of health reform has brought to us, they will be richly blessed.

Those who have received instruction regarding the evils of the use of flesh meats, tea and coffee, and rich and unhealthful food preparations, and who are determined to make a covenant [200] with God by sacrifice, will not continue to indulge their appetites for foods which they know to be unhealthful. God demands that the appetites be cleansed, and self-denial be practiced in regard to those things which are not good. This is a work that will have to be done before His people can stand before Him a perfected people.

The Lord has given clear light regarding the nature of the food that is to compose our diet; He has instructed us concerning the effect of unhealthful food upon the disposition and character. Shall we respond to the counsels and cautions given? Who among our brethren will sign a pledge to dispense with flesh meats, tea, and coffee, and all injurious foods, and become health reformers in the fullest sense of the term?

Near the close of the letter of appeal, she wrote:

I am sure if you will begin in Washington to do this work of reform—in the school, in the printing office, and among all our working forces—the Lord will help you to present a pledge that will help the people to return from their backsliding on the question of health reform. And as you seek to carry out the will of the Lord in this particular, He will give you clearer understanding of what health reform will do for you....

Because of the example set by influential men in the indulgence of appetite, the truth has not made the impression on hearts that it might have done. I appeal to you now to set an example in self-denial. Cut off every needless indulgence, that God may bless you with His approval and acceptance.—Letter 162, 1908.

Ellen White held the letter for a few weeks, then sent it in late May, 1908. Copies were sent at that time also to several members of the General Conference Committee. Dr. W. A. Ruble, secretary of the General Conference Medical Missionary Council and a member of the General Conference Committee, who was promoting health reform interests in the denomination, sought permission almost immediately from Mrs. White’s office to duplicate and circulate the letter. In response W. C. White replied:

The testimony sent to Elder Daniells, dated March 29, [201] regarding backsliding on health reform, contains some statements regarding local conditions in Washington which Mother desired that our brethren there should read and study, but which she does not think it would be well to give a wide circulation. That part of the testimony which is of general interest will soon be prepared for publication.—DF 509, WCW to W. A. Ruble, July 24, 1908.

Dr. Ruble’s request was dated June 18, but Elder White delayed in responding until he could communicate with Elder Daniells, to whom the E. G. White letter in question was addressed. Daniells was in the field attending camp meetings. He replied on July 17, 1908, pointing out the pressure under which he had been working. Regarding the letter he had received from Sister White, he wrote:

One feature of the message perplexed me. I felt that I must have a little time and quiet calm to consider what was written.... The point that perplexes me is the suggestion to circulate a temperance pledge which includes abstinence from flesh foods and “some other foods known to be injurious.” I feel that I need counsel regarding this before I shall know just how far to go in this direction.—DF 509, AGD to WCW, July 17, 1908.

In closing his letter to W. C. White, Daniells made an earnest request:

As I am hoping to see you soon I ask the privilege of talking with you about this question before taking steps to circulate a pledge. When we have done this and counseled with your mother, then I shall take the matter up just as she says the Lord directs that we should do. The health reform question is a great one and a perplexing one.— Ibid.

W. C. White reports that his mother gave hearty assent to this proposal. An interview between her, Elder Daniells, and W. C. White was held about two weeks later at her home, late in July or early in August, 1908. In a letter written in 1928, Elder Daniells recounted that experience:

As expressed in my letter of July 17, 1908, addressed to Elder W. C. White, I felt the need of further counsel with Sister White [202] before taking any action regarding the circulation of an Anti-Meat Pledge. The Lord says, “Come now, and let us reason together.” In my long association with Sister White, I had always found her ready to enter into the most careful and extended consideration of matters that perplexed me. I desired just such an interview with her concerning the Anti-Meat Pledge suggested in her letter of March 29, 1908.

This interview was granted me on my first visit to Sister White’s home after making the request for it in my letter of July 17. In that interview we talked over the food problems in various countries—Europe, Russia, South America, China, and various mission fields, as well as the situation in North America. We also talked at length about the circulation of an Anti-Meat Pledge—whether it should be for the Washington, D.C., church or all our churches through the world. We reviewed the uninstructed condition of the masses of our people regarding the broad principles of health reform and the harm that had at various times been done by extremists.

The conclusion reached by our study was that an extensive, well-balanced educational work should be carried on by physicians and ministers instead of entering precipitately upon an Anti-Meat Pledge campaign. There was a clear understanding arrived at, and Sister White thereafter treated me and the whole matter according to that understanding.—DF 509, AGD to WCW, April 11, 1928.

In his interview seeking her counsel, Elder Daniells reviewed with her and W. C. White some of the experiences of church workers in certain parts of the world in which it had been necessary to eat some meat to sustain life. Ellen White herself knew something of such, for at times, particularly in Europe in the mid-1880s, she could not carry out in an ideal way the vegetarian principles that are not difficult to follow in other parts of the world.

As her part in the educational work on health reform that she and Elder Daniells discussed, she moved into the preparation of the statement “Faithfulness in Health Reform,” to be read at the General Conference session.

The fact that Elder Daniells counseled with Sister White about [203] implementing what was suggested in the testimony has perplexed some. We would call attention to Ellen White’s own statement as written in a letter on July 8, 1906, which sets forth certain principles:

It requires much wisdom and sound judgment, quickened by the Spirit of God, to know the proper time and manner to present the instruction that has been given.... In the early days of this cause, if some of the leading brethren were present when messages from the Lord were given, we would consult with them as to the best manner of bringing the instruction before the people....

Faithfully I endeavor to write out that which is given me from time to time by the divine Counselor. Some portions of that which I write are sent out immediately to meet the present necessities of the work. Other portions are held until the development of circumstances makes it evident to me that the time has come for their use.—DF 107g, The Writing and Sending Out of the Testimonies to the Church, pp. 5, 6 (Selected Messages 1:51).

Should There Be an Anti-Meat Pledge?

In the case under discussion, the president of the General Conference, quite willing to act according to instruction from the messenger of the Lord, felt he must do so intelligently and with proper preparation. And in this vein he wrote at length:

Now it seems to me that we should do a lot of careful preparation in the way of teaching before we press the signing of a pledge. If we do not, it looks to me that we shall have a lot of unhappy divisions in churches and families. We have ministers and brethren who are not well balanced. Let these men get among our Scandinavian, German, and Russian brethren who have not been led along this road as far as some have been and try to force this pledge and we shall have trouble. A few years ago some of our good brethren in England pressed advanced views on health reform. This teaching was taken up by some extremists in Germany and pressed to the point that nearly wrecked a number of churches. Elder Conradi had to step in and counteract this work....

We have not given this important part of our message [health [204] reform] the attention we should of late. Some have backslidden on this point. We must reform. It would be terrible for our people to go back to the general use of flesh foods, tea, coffee, et cetera. My heart responds to this message, and I am ready to stand in the front ranks in making a strong effort to help our people to reach a higher standard.

But it is my conviction that we must begin with care to educate. Let doctors and ministers give good clear talks on the subject. Let tracts be prepared which will give the people facts regarding the dangers of flesh foods. Let us place the whole question on a high attractive platform. In my tent and church work in New Zealand, I had no trouble in persuading the people to become vegetarians when I took pains to give them good plain reasons which appealed to their reason.—DF 509, AGD to WCW, July 17, 1908.

W. C. White, in reviewing the question of an Anti-Meat Pledge in 1911, explained:

The officers of the General Conference, and especially those who have labored long in foreign countries, and who have engaged in controversies in various foreign lands over this and kindred questions, felt that the movement on the part of our people to pledge themselves to not eat flesh would cause unnecessary strife and unnecessary criticism of our people in mission fields. The officers of the General Conference advised that we should not make the pledge against flesh meats a general issue, and it was agreed that the matter should rest until we could give it deliberate consideration.—DF 509, WCW to F. M. Wilcox, October 12, 1911.

Ellen White’s Presentations at the 1909 General Conference Session

So Ellen White came before the General Conference session first with her address on May 26 on “A Lesson in Health Reform,” using the experience of Daniel and his companions as an example. She read the first chapter of Daniel and then commented:

This record contains much of importance on the subject of [205] health reform.... In this our day, the Lord would be pleased to have those who are preparing for the future, immortal life follow the example of Daniel and his companions in seeking to maintain strength of body and clearness of mind.—The General Conference Bulletin, 1909, 214.

The whole address is an appeal calling for renewed dedication to the health reform principles in their broad sense, but emphasis was placed on diet:

Let no one think he can do as he pleases in the matter of diet. But before all who sit at the table with you, let it appear that you follow principle in the matter of eating, as in all other matters, that the glory of God may be revealed. You cannot afford to do otherwise, for you have a character to form for the future, immortal life.— Ibid.

“Intelligence is a gift of God,” she declared, “one that He desires us to use to His glory. Students need not talk of their attainments in the so-called higher education if they have not learned to eat and drink to the glory of God, and to exercise brain, bone, and muscle in such a way as to prepare for the highest possible service.” And she urged that “a great work is to be done—a work that we have scarcely begun as yet.”— Ibid.

Then on Monday morning, May 31, she came before the session to read her prepared statement on “Faithfulness in Health Reform.” The script from which she read contained a major portion of her letter addressed to Elder Daniells on March 29, 1908, dealing with backsliding in health reform, much of it word for word, some parts paraphrased and adapted for the occasion. She did not, however, make reference to an anti-meat pledge, a message she originally intended particularly for workers at the headquarters in Washington. Ellen White read solemnly, and the hushed audience listened carefully to these words:

I am instructed to bear a message to all our people on the subject of health reform, for many have backslidden from their former loyalty to health reform principles.

God’s purpose for His children is that they shall grow up to the full stature of men and women in Christ. In order to do this, they must use aright every power of mind, soul, and body. They [206] cannot afford to waste any mental or physical strength.

The question of how to preserve the health is one of primary importance. When we study this question in the fear of God we shall learn that it is best, for both our physical health and our spiritual advancement, to observe simplicity in diet. Let us patiently study this question. We need knowledge and judgment in order to move wisely in this matter. Nature’s laws are not to be resisted, but obeyed.

Those who have received instruction regarding the evils of the use of flesh meats, tea and coffee, and rich and unhealthful food preparations, and who are determined to make a covenant with God by sacrifice, will not continue to indulge their appetite for food that they know to be unhealthful. God demands that the appetites be cleansed, and that self-denial be practiced in regard to those things which are not good. This is a work that will have to be done before His people can stand before Him a perfected people.—Ibid., 268. (See Testimonies for the Church 9:153-166, for the full text.)

As she continued to read she touched on the point of “believers who accept certain portions of the Testimonies as the message of God, while they reject those portions that condemn their favorite indulgences” (Ibid.). “God requires continual advancement from His people,” she urged.—The General Conference Bulletin, 269. After pointing out the unfavorable effects of using flesh foods, she made a very understanding and enlightening statement, recognizing varied conditions in different parts of the world:

We do not mark out any precise line to be followed in diet; but we do say that in countries where there are fruits, grains, and nuts in abundance, flesh meat is not the right food for God’s people.

And she declared:

We are not to make the use of flesh meat a test of fellowship, but we should consider the influence that professed believers who use flesh meats have over others....

Then, challenging:

Will any who are ministers of the gospel, proclaiming the [207] most solemn truth ever given to mortals, set an example in returning to the fleshpots of Egypt? Will those who are supported by the tithe from God’s storehouse permit themselves by self-indulgence to poison the life-giving current flowing through their veins? Will they disregard the light and warnings that God has given them?— Ibid.

She called for an educational program in which cooking schools would be held, and urged that house-to-house instruction be given. She cautioned against extremes in health reform and dealt with the question of the use of milk and eggs, and the result of abandoning their use prematurely. The appeal closed with the assurance of the blessings that God has in store for those who follow wholeheartedly the light He has given on health reform. The entire address was published a few months later in Testimonies, volume 9, as a permanent reminder and counsel to all Seventh-day Adventists and to those who would join the church.

Not a Test Question

Ellen White’s 1909 counsel that “we are not to make the matter of meat eating a test of fellowship” was reiterated on October 10, 1911, when she wrote, “I am not prepared to advise that we make the matter of meat eating a test question with our people.”—Manuscript 23, 1911. None, however, can overlook the importance of a vegetarian dietary program that has proved so beneficial to so many and from year to year gains support from the scientific community and in popularity. [208]

Chapter 17—The Long Trip Home

The General Conference of 1909 was over. It had been a good meeting. One delegate declared it to be “without doubt the most wonderful council since the days of the apostles” (Pacific Union Recorder, June 3, 1909). While Ellen White witnessed with joy the operation of the well-developed mechanism for carrying on the work of God in the earth, her overwhelming burden was the proper utilization of these tools for the finishing of the work. Sensing that secondary interests could easily interject themselves and sidetrack major objectives, it was with a heavy burden of heart that she met with the General Conference Committee and conference presidents on Friday morning, June 11, just before taking the train to start her homeward journey.

The needs of the cities of the land were on her heart, and she said:

When I think of the many cities yet unwarned, I cannot rest. It is distressing to think that they have been neglected so long. For many, many years the cities of America, including the cities in the South, have been set before our people as places needing special attention. A few have borne the burden of working in these cities; but, in comparison with the great needs and the many opportunities, but little has been done.

Where is your faith, my brethren? Where are the workmen?

In many of our large cities the first and second angels’ messages were proclaimed during the 1844 movement. To you, as God’s servants, has been entrusted the third angel’s message, [209] the binding-off message, that is to prepare a people for the coming of our King.—The Review and Herald, November 25, 1909.

She urged that “time is short.” The means coming into the treasury should be used wisely in supporting the workers. Nothing was to hinder the advance of the message. She said:

Night after night, I have lain awake, weeping and pleading with God, because of the seeming inability of some to discern opportunities for extending our efforts into the many unworked places—nearby places that might have been warned years ago, had we chosen to do a broad work, rather than to hover around a few centers.— Ibid.

She encouraged the spirit of self-sacrifice, and “of constant devotion to the needs of a lost world.”

For years the pioneers of our work struggled against poverty and manifold hardship in order to place the cause of present truth on vantage ground. With meager facilities, they labored untiringly; and the Lord blessed their humble efforts. The laborers of today may not have to endure all the hardships of those early days. The change of condition, however, should not lead to any slackening of effort.

And now, when the Lord bids us proclaim the message once more with power in the East; when He bids us enter the cities of the East, and of the South, and of the North, and of the West, shall we not respond as one man, and do His bidding?

Shall we not plan to send messengers all through these fields, and support them liberally? Shall not the ministers of God go into these crowded centers, and there lift up their voices in warning to multitudes? ... Oh, that we might see the needs of these great cities as God sees them!—Manuscript 53, 1909 (Ibid., November 25, 1909).

She told the gathering of church administrators that “as we advance, the means will come. But we must advance in faith, trusting in the Lord God of Israel.”— Ibid. It was a solemn appeal.

With the thoughts of the presentation burning in her heart she took the train for appointments in the cities of the Northeast, [210] visiting medical institutions, speaking in churches in the large cities, and attending camp meetings. The schedule called for stops in Philadelphia, New York, South Lancaster, and then Portland, Maine, a prime objective in plans for the journey home. It was not a hurried trip, and plans were formulated, more or less, as those who traveled with her took note of her endurance and strength. While conference presidents were in Washington attending the General Conference, appointments had been made tentatively for speaking engagements en route home. In some cases camp meeting dates had been shifted to make it possible for the people to hear her. For Ellen White, this was a sort of capsheaf of her lifelong journeyings, and she looked forward to it with anticipation.

As she traveled north, she approached New York City, and it is reported that during the last thirty miles she “viewed with lively interest the many cities located so closely to one another.” “Several she pointed out as places that had been presented to her as neglected communities, where work should be done as soon as possible.”—WCW, in Ibid., November 25, 1909.

A few days later she reported:

I have passed through city after city, and I have asked the question, “Who is laboring here? Who feels a burden to go from house to house, visiting and praying with the people, and carrying to them the precious publications containing the truths that mean eternal life to those who receive them?”—Ibid., December 2, 1909.

Somehow the cities must hear the joyous message of Christ’s soon return.

In Old Portland, Maine, Again

It was Friday, July 2, when the party of travelers—Ellen White, W. C. White, Sara McEnterfer, Helen Graham, and Dores Robinson—stepped off the train at Woodford’s Station in northwest Portland (Ibid., December 9, 1909). This was the city of her youth, and what memories it held. Because the church had rather small memberships in the Northeast, Ellen White had made but few trips to Portland; the last was to attend the Maine camp meeting in 1878, with her husband. Now, thirty years later, she looked forward to [211] visiting the environs of her girlhood, but most of all she longed to participate in evangelistic meetings there.

At the station to receive them was Clarence S. Bangs, a nephew she had never met. Bangs was the son of Ellen’s twin sister, Elizabeth, who had died a few years before. He operated a grocery business, seemingly quite a profitable one, and was known to Seventh-day Adventists in the vicinity. In fact, he had been instrumental in arranging for the use of Deering’s Oaks Park just north of the city for the camp meeting. Ellen White was to be a guest in the Bangs home through the ten or eleven days she would be there. “We had a hearty reception,” she wrote. “He and his wife were glad to meet us.” And she commented, “They are members of the Baptist church. They are well located and he is well situated.” Of the family, she added, “His wife appears to be an excellent woman. They have one child who is off at school in Gorham.”—Manuscript 113, 1909. She was pleased that she could be close to the campground.

During her stay in Portland she visited some of the places of special interest in connection with her early life. When but a child, she with her parents had moved about twelve miles from Gorham to the city. It was here that she attended school till, at the age of 9, she met with the accident that left her an invalid for many years. It was here that she heard the powerful preaching of William Miller, Joshua V. Himes, and others. “The first and second angels’ messages sounded all through Portland,” she wrote, “and the city was greatly moved. Many were converted to the truth of the Lord’s soon coming, and the glory of the Lord was revealed in a remarkable manner.” It was here, in Casco Bay, that she was baptized and was taken into the Methodist Church. Across the river in South Portland, in December, 1844, she had received her first vision, a vision of the Advent people traveling to the City of God. She declared, “In the city of Portland, the Lord ordained me as His messenger, and here my first labors were given to the cause of present truth.”—Letter 138, 1909.

In Portland she and James White were married by a justice of the peace in 1846, and here she and her husband had labored together in the early days of the message. But here was a large and important city of the East with only a handful of Seventh-day Adventists.

On Sabbath morning, July 3, Ellen White spoke in the big camp [212] meeting tent, giving lessons from the experience of Israel. In her sermon she declared:

Some think that God is not particular, and that, although He specifies in the commandment the seventh day as the Sabbath, yet because it is more convenient for them to observe another day, God will pass by their deviation from His command. Not one of us can afford thus to presume upon God’s forbearance.—The Review and Herald, December 9, 1909.

Early-morning Bible studies were conducted by Elder S. N. Haskell. Others assisted in carrying forward a strong camp meeting with an evangelistic thrust. The daily papers carried favorable reports of the meetings. The weather was good, and the attendance grew from day to day and night to night. Ellen White preached at five of the evening meetings (Ibid., August 5, 1909).

On several evenings Ellen White came early. As the people assembled she was seen walking slowly back and forth at the sides of the tent, eagerly watching the people of the community who were attending. Finally, one night she exclaimed to the other workers, “They are here! They are here! The prominent people I have seen in vision attending these meetings are here!” (as told to the author by WCW).

At one of the meetings she told of her own early experience in the city and of how the people of Portland had been stirred by the proclamation of the Advent message. At that time she declared:

There were powerful speakers, and there was a great deal of visiting from house to house. A deep earnestness characterized the labors of those who took part in this movement....Meetings were held in the homes of believers all through the city, and the Lord wrought with mighty power.

A work is to be carried forward here in Portland as the proclamation of the Lord’s coming was carried forward in 1843 and 1844.—Ibid., December 9, 1909.

During the camp meeting a field day was held in which church members spent a portion of the day in house-to-house visitation in the city. This greatly augmented the interest of the general public in the meetings. [213]

Ellen White was widely advertised as the speaker for Sunday afternoon. At the meeting the tent was crowded. Those camping on the grounds were requested to bring all available chairs from their tents, and still there were many who could not find seats. One who was present reported:

Mrs. White spoke with even more than her usual strength and power, and many hearts were melted by her earnest appeals.—D. E. Robinson, in Ibid., December 9, 1909.

Writing of it, she said that “the power of God came upon me, and gave me utterance, as it did during the recent General Conference held at Washington, D.C.”—Manuscript 25, 1910. She was impressed that it was “one of the most solemn meetings” that she had attended for years, as she presented a discourse “accompanied by the manifest power of the Holy Spirit” (Letter 174, 1909).

“I did not stand before them because I felt able,” she wrote later; “I stood there because of the opportunity to let them hear the message of mercy that is being given to the world.”—Manuscript 25, 1910.

For nearly an hour that Sunday afternoon she held the attention of the audience. At the close she made an appeal for a response:

I asked all who would pledge themselves to carry on a personal study of the Scriptures, to find out whether the truths presented before them that day were in accordance with the Word, to rise to their feet.

You can imagine my feelings as I saw nearly everyone in that large congregation standing on their feet, thus pledging themselves before God to search the Scriptures, to find out whether these things were so. The Spirit of God was present in that meeting.— Ibid.

Those connected with the courts, and others high in office, have come out to hear.— Ibid.

As a result of this camp meeting and of the efforts that followed, several have taken hold of the truth.—Letter 174, 1909.

While visiting Portland, she was pleased to see the foundations of a church building being erected by the believers as a place where they might worship, the first Seventh-day Adventist meetinghouse [214] in that important center (Manuscript 81, 1909). She rejoiced that it was only a few blocks from Deering’s Oaks Park, so dear to her, for it was there she had spent many pleasant hours as a girl (Letter 193, 1903). She was pleased that the park was close enough to the church that mothers with their restless children could slip over there if the occasion demanded.

For several months after her visit, as she had opportunity, she made appeals for financial help for the work in Portland. Even so, it was necessary for the congregation to worship for some time in the basement of the unfinished building. Later this basement accommodated the church school. Fittingly the edifice became known as the “White Memorial Church.”

Turning Westward

With the cherished visit in Portland over, Ellen White and her associates turned westward for the 3,000-mile journey home. It was to be stretched out to two full months, with days spent at Melrose Sanitarium in the vicinity of Boston, then Buffalo, New York, and westward to Battle Creek, Michigan, and nearby Three Rivers, where the Michigan camp meeting was held. This would be an important meeting, for it was a large conference and she had labored for many years in that State. She was on the grounds a day early to get a good rest before beginning her ministry.

During the meeting, she slipped away for one day to fill a speaking appointment in Battle Creek, her last visit there. The meeting was held on Thursday afternoon in the Tabernacle, and was well attended by church members, Sanitarium employees, and citizens from the city. She opened the service with prayer, after which she gave a simple but earnest discourse, based on the fifteenth chapter of John (The Review and Herald, December 23, 1909).

Monday morning they were again on their way west. The next stop was at Wabash Valley Sanitarium in Indiana. Of the visit to this institution she wrote:

We were intensely interested in this Sanitarium and its surroundings, for the Lord has presented before me in vision just such a scene. I could hardly believe that I had not seen the place before with my natural eyes. [215]

I am instructed to say that it is in the order of God that this property has been secured. It is to become an important center for missionary work in the surrounding cities.— Ibid.

As she commented on the rural location, she added that in locating sanitariums “sufficient land should be secured to raise fruit and vegetables,” and the outdoor work afforded the guests would “be a boon to the sick” (Ibid.).

She visited Hinsdale Sanitarium near Chicago, and then spent a few days at the Illinois camp meeting at Elgin. From there it was on to Madison (Wisconsin) Sanitarium, and camp meetings in Iowa, Kansas, and Colorado.

The Colorado Camp Meeting

The Colorado camp meeting was a memorable one. It was held near Boulder, on the beautiful and well-equipped Chautauqua grounds a mile or so from the city. A thousand church members from throughout the State stayed in the cottages and camped on the grounds. Ellen White was entertained at Boulder Sanitarium, and while there spoke to the workers of the institution. Three times she addressed the large assembly in the Chautauqua auditorium. (H. M. J. Richards, in Ibid., October 21, 1909). During the Sabbath-morning service there was a downpour of rain, about two inches. The auditorium had a metal roof, and the rain created a steady roar, which made it difficult for the audience to hear Ellen White’s sermon. The people left the back seats and crowded to the front, many of them standing close to the platform. Radio Evangelist H. M. S. Richards, who was there as a teen-ager, gave his testimony that Ellen White’s voice rang out above the storm.

After reading from the seventeenth chapter of John, and some from the first and second chapters of Acts, she said:

My brethren and sisters, we are not half awake. We do not half appreciate the precious time that is passing into eternity. We do not realize the value of the souls for whom Christ gave His precious life. We need to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness and work in harmony with Him, in harmony with His ministers, in harmony with all who truly believe the truth for this time.—Ibid., January 13, 1910. [216]

Before closing her sermon she declared, “Instruction was given me in the night season that I must bear a decided message to this people. You greatly need to experience a deeper heart work.” And she admonished the need for earnest prayer, the acceptance of God’s promises, and “to learn how to present the truths of the Word” to those around them “in all their binding force and in all their encouragement.”

Sunday morning she spoke again. The conference president, H. M. J. Richards, father of the well-known Voice of Prophecy speaker, reported in the Review and Herald:

At the close of a most clear and inspiring sermon she kneeled down and prayed with the people, offering one of the most earnest prayers that we ever heard. The Spirit of the Lord came very near, and there was a general move of the whole congregation to consecrate themselves to the Lord to work for Him everywhere and all the time.—October 21, 1909.

Young Richards, as he later told of the experience, declared that Ellen White just talked with God. It was an experience he could not forget.

Her Counsel as She Crossed the Continent

Such was Ellen White’s work as she crossed the continent, visiting institutions and camp meetings. At Nashua, New Hampshire, she had given this important counsel to the camp meeting congregation:

We must not allow ourselves to be so overwhelmed with household cares that we shall find no time for visiting those about us. If a ray of light has come to you, find someone to whom you can impart it. There is a world to be warned, and we are to receive help and light and blessing from Jesus Christ, then carry this light to other souls. In this work you will not labor alone; angels of God will go before you.

If you are repulsed by someone to whom you try to speak of the salvation of Christ, do not become discouraged. Do not say, “I will never speak to him again regarding religious subjects.” The angels of God may work upon his heart, and prepare him for that which you desire to impart to him. He who is our advocate [217] in the heavenly courts has bidden us carry His gospel into every part of the earth, and He gives us the comforting assurance, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Shall one of us hold back from engaging in this service with Him?—Ibid., December 2, 1909.

At Madison [Wisconsin] Sanitarium, speaking to the workers, she said:

I cannot feel free to leave this Sanitarium without speaking to you of the necessity of earnestly seeking the Lord. This must be done by the workers in all of our institutions. A position in a sanitarium is a place of great responsibility.

You are not to go on in carelessness and indifference, thinking that because this is the Lord’s institution, therefore He will work it for you, regardless of your manner of life. Let each one seek for a daily, living experience in the service of God.

Unless you have such an experience, patients that come here unconverted will ask why those professing to believe in the binding obligation of God’s law do not walk in obedience to His commandments....

We should be careful that we connect with all our sanitariums those who will give a right mold to the work. Characters are to be formed here after the divine similitude.—Ibid., December 30, 1909.

Sabbath morning at the Iowa camp meeting she spoke of the importance of committing to memory the promises of God:

May God help us to understand that we must be laborers together with Him.... Let us put away the foolish reading matter, and study the Word of God.

Let us commit its precious promises to memory, so that, when we are deprived of our Bibles, we may still be in possession of the Word of God.—Ibid., January 6, 1910.

The last of her discourses on the three-month journey home was given in the Salt Lake City church in Utah, where she spoke on daily Christian experience and the training and education of the children. In closing she said:

Since I left my home in California in April, I have visited [218] many places, and have spoken to thousands of people. This is the last stop I expect to make before reaching my home again. I would leave these words with you:

Carry forward the work in faith and humble dependence upon God. Let each believer have light in himself; then the blessing of God will rest upon you, and you will see the salvation of God in the advancement of His work in this field.—Ibid., January 20, 1910.

This was the last sermon she was to preach on this trip, and for a time, as they were crossing the Sierra Nevadas, it seemed that it could well be her last sermon preached, ever. Early Thursday morning, while the train sped through snowsheds and tunnels and across the ledges near the mountaintops at high altitude, Sara McEnterfer, who was in the berth across from Ellen White, heard agonized groans. The window was open and the berth was filled with smoky air from the snowshed. Sara attempted to count Mrs. White’s pulse, but could find only a little quiver.

W. C. White, reporting the experience, wrote:

This grew more and more faint. She [Sara] asked her several questions, but there was no answer. Her hearing and her speech had gone. Her limbs were cold, and she seemed powerless.—Ibid., January 20, 1909.

By the effective use of warm water that the porter brought, and with vigorous rubbing of her hands and arms and feet by Sara McEnterfer, Ellen White in the course of an hour began to grow stronger. Her pulse became discernible, and as the train reached a lower altitude on the west side of the Sierras, her heart action improved. But it was a close call, and a very anxious hour.

With the aid of wheelchairs at the Oakland pier and at the Vallejo junction, she was able to continue her journey home, arriving at St. Helena at 7:00 P.M. Thursday, September 9 (Ibid.).Here she was strong enough to walk to her carriage and was soon home. How good it seemed after five months of travel and earnest work.

But at home there was little time for rest. Early the next morning, although ill, she was on the way by carriage to visit the Angwin site selected for Pacific College. The following Monday she gave a report at the Oakland camp meeting of what she found at Angwin. [219]

Chapter 18—America’s Cities—The Great Unworked Field

Ellen White had a continuing burden for the great cities of America, cities that had no presence, or only a limited one, of the Adventist witness. She had laid the matter before church leaders assembled in Washington on June 11, 1909, just a few days after the close of the General Conference session. It was a most earnest appeal that she hoped would lead to unprecedented action in evangelizing the cities. A few months later she wrote of the experience, “Some of you did not understand the message that I bore, and may never understand it.”—Letter 32, 1910. In fact she sensed this at the time she spoke the most earnest words of entreaty.

Then in September, 1909, Testimonies for the Church, volume 9, carried a section titled “The Work in the Cities,” with a strong appeal to ministers and laymen. “Behold the cities,” she urged, “and their need of the gospel.”—Page 97. She told of how the need of earnest laborers among the multitudes of the cities had been kept before her for more than twenty years (Ibid.). Portions of the section were taken from her sermons at the General Conference session; other parts were from “instructive, cheering, and inspiring testimonies.” Still others were “found in special testimonies, [and] in articles published in our periodicals.”—Page 89, footnote.

But even the appeal to church leaders, and the urgency of the matter as stressed in volume 9, failed to bring relief to Ellen White, and she continued to urge outstanding efforts to reach the masses in the cities. In early December she sent three communications to Elder Daniells, calling for more earnest action. He received them during [220] the Week of Prayer and called the workers in the Washington institutions together. They spent an afternoon studying how to implement the work called for. As the needs were surveyed, it was seen that more money for city evangelism had to be made available. The General Conference Committee voted to appropriate $11,000 more than they had the year before for the work in the metropolitan areas. Nearly half of this was to advance the work in New York City. Elder Daniells in his letter to Ellen White of January 2, 1910, wrote of the difficulty in securing qualified men for city evangelism and then declared, “I want to assure you, Sister White, that we will do all we know how to carry out the messages to work the cities.”

But somehow she was uneasy. In an address given January 28 at the Pacific Union Conference session held at Mountain View, Ellen White referred to a conversation with Elder I. H. Evans, treasurer of the General Conference, a few days before, in which she placed before him “the great necessity of our people giving much careful consideration to the work that must be done in the great cities” (Manuscript 25, 1910). She bemoaned the fact that in spite of the “needs of these cities” that “have been brought to the attention of our people over and over again,” there were very few who seemed “willing to move forward along the lines indicated by our heavenly Instructor.”

“Something has been done,” she acknowledged, but she urged, “God requires of His people a far greater work than anything that has been done in years past.”— Ibid. She stated:

There is not seen in the East the reformation that should be taking place in our churches. Our brethren are not carrying the burden they should in behalf of the unworked cities. They have not been making decided movements to send men into these cities.— Ibid.

Back in June, 1909, in her last meeting with the General Conference Committee, she had urged that Elder W. W. Prescott, editor of the Review, should go into the cities engaging in evangelism.

“God has a work for Brother Prescott to do,” she declared. “It is not wisdom for him to remain continuously in Washington. He has special ability for ministering the Word of God to the people.... He would be the recipient of much greater spiritual strength if he were [221] much of the time out in the field seeking to lead souls to the light of truth.”—Manuscript 41, 1909.

Then addressing him directly, she said, “Brother Prescott, your ministerial ability is needed in the work that God requires shall be done in our cities.”— Ibid.

Elder G. A. Irwin asked:

In all that you have said concerning the work of Elder Prescott, do you mean that he is to continue as editor of the paper, and also to go out and preach in the cities occasionally?—Manuscript 53, 1909.

Ellen White promptly answered:

No; no; he must give himself up to the work of the ministry. His strength should not be divided. He is to give himself to the evangelistic work, for the very talent that he would otherwise use in helping to carry on the work at this Washington center is needed where there is no talent at the present time.— Ibid.

Then she commented:

In studying this problem let us remember that the Lord sees not as man sees. He looks upon the terrible neglect of the cities....It is not at all in the order of God that these cities should be left unwarned, unworked. It is the result of man’s devising. There is a world to be saved.— Ibid.

The brethren were stunned by her earnestness, and it was hard for them to grasp the gravity of the neglect of the big cities. A few days later, she reported: “Some did not take willingly to the idea of losing Brother Prescott, but I spoke plainly to them.”—Letter 98, 1909.

She had witnessed Prescott’s powerful evangelistic preaching at the camp meetings in Australia. Of his work at the Melbourne camp meeting in 1895 she wrote:

The Word is presented in a most powerful manner. The Holy Spirit has been poured out upon Brother Prescott in great measure.... Brother Prescott has been bearing the burning words of truth such as I have heard from some in 1844. The [222] inspiration of the Spirit of God has been upon him.—Letter 25, 1895.

Now in mid-1909 she was calling for him to enter evangelistic work in the cities. Arrangements were made to release him from his position as editor of the Review and Herald, but he found it difficult to fill the new assignment. It was not easy to enter into city evangelism when he had never held an evangelistic effort per se. He much preferred a scholarly search for theological truth to active evangelism (Howard B. Weeks, Adventist Evangelism, p. 29). But in February, 1910, he began public meetings in New York City, and worked in a modest way. His experience typified that of many. Few of the ministers were prepared to undertake work in the cities, regardless of the dire need.

On January 3, 1910, Elder Daniells reported:

We are doing the very best we know how to carry out the instruction she [Ellen White] has sent us. Of course you know that we have limitations both as respects men and money. The question of working the cities in the East and South is a big one. We cannot do one half of what there is to be done, and what we would like to do along this line....

I have already written you that we have appropriated $11,000 above our regular appropriations to the work in these cities.... You must help us to get laborers, or we shall not be able to do but little more than we are now doing.—AGD to WCW, January 3, 1910.

But all this seemed so paltry to Ellen White, seeing as she did the tremendous challenge. How could she stir the leaders of the church? How could she awaken them?

In correspondence passing between her and the president of the General Conference, the needs of the cities and work in the cities were frequently mentioned. Regardless of reports of steps being taken, which always encouraged her, the Lord continued to keep before her the need of larger plans and more earnest work. Writing on February 11, 1910, W. C. White told Elder Daniells:

Mother’s burden for the cities continues. It is pressed upon her mind night after night that we are not doing what we ought.... This morning Mother said to me that while our brethren have [223] done a little here and there, they have not instituted that thoroughly organized work which must be carried forward if we shall give our cities a proper warning.

At the round of union conference sessions, Daniells had intended to emphasize the needs of the work in the cities, and efforts were put forth in that direction, but some time and strength were diverted to a consideration of the “daily” of Daniel 8, which seemed important and was an intriguing topic for discussion.

“What can we do?” Ellen White asked again and again. “What can we do to persuade our brethren to go into the cities and give the warning message now, right now!”—WCW to AGD, March 15, 1910. As she pondered the matter, she sometimes expressed the thought to her son that she should go east and personally engage in the work in Portland, hoping that this might arouse in some of the brethren a realization of the urgency of the hour (Ibid.).

Elder Daniells, endeavoring to do what he thought was the best he could, arranged for a five-day meeting on city evangelism to be held in New York City, July 7-11.

Shortly after laying these plans, he was on the Pacific Coast and went to Elmshaven to report this, which he felt sure would cheer Ellen White’s heart. She refused to see him! The messenger of the Lord refused to see the president of the General Conference, sending word to the effect that when the president of the General Conference was ready to carry out the work that needed to be done, then she would talk with him. Elder Daniells came to see that even the aggressive plans he had confidently laid fell far short of what was needed.

After boarding the train that would carry him back to Washington, Elder Daniells wrote a short letter to Ellen White. It was humble and contrite in tone:

I was sorry that I could not have talked with you while at St. Helena, concerning the work for our cities. I wanted to tell you that I shall take hold of this work with all my heart.... I have felt greatly concerned about this for several months, and now I feel that I must take hold of this work personally. Whatever money and laborers may be required in these places I will do my best to secure. And I am willing to spend months in personal efforts [224] with the workers, if necessary.... Will you pray the Lord to give us wisdom to know what to do to answer the call for the cities at this time?—AGD to EGW, May 26, 1910.

On June 15, not long after receiving this message from Elder Daniells, Ellen White addressed a most solemn testimony to him and to Prescott. It opened:

Dear Brethren,

I have a message for you. Those who serve the cause of God need to be men of prayer, men who will heed the instruction that the Lord is giving regarding the prosecution of His work.

I am deeply impressed as I realize that time is rapidly passing. Every worker should now be daily converted, and every power be employed in doing a work in our large cities that has been strangely neglected.

I entreat of you to delay not to open the fields that so greatly need attention, and that have scarcely been touched. This is your work. There is need of a reformation in the work that God has pointed out for you to do in opening new fields. There is much to be done in bringing before the world the light of Bible truth in its sacred simplicity, and you both need to be revived by the influence of the Holy Spirit of God.—Letter 58, 1910.

We would perhaps hesitate to open up these matters between the Lord and these two much-respected church leaders had not Elder Daniells himself on several occasions related this experience. In Australia in 1928, he said, “Sister White gave me counsel and reproof concerning many matters.”

She sent messages to me regarding the work in the cities in the Eastern States. I seemed unable to understand them fully. Consequently I did not do all that these messages indicated should be done.

Finally I received a message in which she said, “When the president of the General Conference is converted, he will know what to do with the messages God has sent him.”

I did not then have as much light on the matter of conversion as I now have. I thought I had been converted fifty years before, and so I had; but I have since learned that we need to be [225] reconverted now and then.... That message, telling me that I needed to be converted, cut me severely at the time, but I did not reject it. I began to pray for the conversion I needed to give me the understanding I seemed to lack.—DF 312, AGD, in (Australasian) Union Conference Record, August 13, 1928.

The June 15, 1910, testimony was a cutting message. Early in it Ellen White declared:

I am charged with a message to you both that you need to humble your hearts before God. Neither Elder Prescott nor Elder Daniells is prepared to direct the work of the General Conference, for in some things they have dishonored the Lord God of Israel. High, pure devotion to God is required of men placed in your position. Such a man was Daniel, who in his statesmanship maintained a clean and holy purpose. Such characters are needed now.

I am to tell you that neither of you is prepared to discern with clear eyesight that which is needed now.

And then she went back to the point where leading men failed to grasp what needed to be done:

Some things were clearly opened before me during the last meeting I attended in Washington, D.C. But those who ought to have been the first to recognize the movings of the Holy Spirit were not sufficiently impressed to receive the light and to act in harmony with it. The work in the cities has not yet been carried forward as it should be.

She added reluctantly:

Had the president of the General Conference been thoroughly aroused, he might have seen the situation. But he has not understood the message that God has given.

And she exclaimed:

I can no longer hold my peace.—Letter 58, 1910.

In all, she wrote eight pages of reproof, counsel, and appeals. She called for the choosing of seven men who, united with the [226] president, should “set in operation a work in the great cities for those who are perishing without the truth.”

About the time this testimony was sent, W. C. White, to whom Ellen White had opened up her heart, wrote to his close associate and dear friend Arthur Daniells. He told of conversations he had had with his mother in which she had made it clear that unless there came a change in Elder Daniells’ experience that would lead him to see the great needs of the work, perhaps he should step aside and let another carry the burdens. This was followed rather quickly by a report of an interview held at the Elmshaven office and attended by Ellen White. On this occasion she spoke freely of her disappointment over the failure of some of the brethren to discern the needs of the unwarned in large centers of population. She reiterated her surprise that men of discernment, men whom the Lord had greatly blessed in years past in evangelical work, had not seemed to understand fully her counsel to do an immediate and a strong work in the cities.

Elder Crisler referred Ellen White to the fact that Elder Daniells and his associates in the general work had spent much time in a study of problems connected with city work, and of how they had a longing desire to do that which was called for in the messages. He referred to Elder Daniells’ expressed desire to stand before unwarned audiences and preach the message as he did before becoming so burdened with administrative responsibilities. He brought before her the baffling problems that seemed almost impossible to solve, and the desire on Daniells’ part and the part of his brethren to do everything within their power to follow the leadings of Providence.

Responding to Elder Crisler, Sister White referred to the policies followed by her husband, James White, during the years that he stood as a leader in the general work. Crisler reported:

She asked, “What is the president of a General Conference for, if he is not to lead?” ... As her husband used to lead personally, and go forward in faith, he experienced new spiritual life and power. His own soul was watered, and the confidence of his brethren in him as a leader, under God, was greatly strengthened.—Report of an interview June 19, 1910 (WCW to AGD file). [227]

Then, according to Crisler’s report:

Sister White touched on the blessing that would come to the general work if Elder Daniells and some of his associates who are bearing large responsibilities could personally enter the cities and act as leaders in a mighty effort to get well under way the very work that God has been calling upon His people to do. She referred three or four times to the light that would come in, as regards methods of labor. With the advancement of the work would come a discovery of ways and means. That which is not plain at present would be revealed as the actual work progressed under the active, personal leadership of Elder Daniells and his associates. Confidence in the leaders would naturally follow, and a mighty work would be done.

As the General Conference brethren labored for souls in the great cities, their sympathies would be enlarged, and their minds would be so fully occupied with the work of thwarting the efforts of Satan to win the allegiance of the world, that they would lose sight of petty differences of opinion on doctrinal points.— Ibid.

Crisler in his report then noted that Sister White spoke of the “spiritual life and power, the increasing enthusiasm, and the quickened spiritual perceptions that would come as a result of personal evangelical work in the cities by those who have been chosen to act as leaders in the Lord’s work. Several times she emphasized the fact that great and constantly increasing light on methods of doing city work would come to the brethren in responsible positions, and to the people generally, as the result of personal, active leadership in a mighty effort to get this line of work under full headway.”— Ibid.

Elder Daniells held these communications until July 1, when most of the General Conference Committee members were in from the camp meetings, and then he laid it all before his brethren. “What does she mean,” he asked his associates, “when Sister White speaks of the time when the president of the General Conference is converted?” The entire group studied the messages together, and it was decided that the city work must have first attention. A committee of seventeen was appointed to oversee this work. [228] Actions were taken to release Elder Daniells from all appointments for a full year, canceling camp meeting appointments and a trip to Australia. The administrative responsibilities were delegated to two or three of the officers in Washington, allowing him to go to New York City to conduct an evangelistic effort personally.

In the days that followed, as he was busily engaged in this evangelistic thrust in New York City, Daniells pondered the full significance of the suggestion made by Sister White that if he failed to walk in the way God would have him go, it would be well if he laid aside his responsibilities as president of the General Conference.

On August 5, he wrote to W. C. White, with the understanding that his confidential communication, typed out by Mrs. Daniells, would be placed before Sister White. In this letter he pointed out that he was not certain just what course of action he should follow, but under the counsel and advice of his brethren, he had reached the conclusion that he should go forward in leading out in the work in the cities, and should not make an immediate decision as to the future of his administrative work. He then declared:

Now, Brother White, I am doing the very best I know how to follow the instruction in the testimonies and to be true to this cause. That is all I can say.... There is a world of work to be done in other lands which is very inviting to me, and all I ask is that I may be allowed to quietly arrange the changes that will be necessary when it is time for me to go.

On August 11, W. C. White, after reading this letter with his mother, wrote to Daniells:

This morning Mother read your letter of August 5.... It took her a long time to read it because she stopped every two or three paragraphs to make comments....

She thought you were taking just the right course, and that she believed the Lord would greatly bless you in giving yourself personally to the evangelistic work.

She said that in the night in her dreams she was talking to you and telling you that it was not best for you now to resign your place as president of the Conference, but that you were to use all your tact and experience and all the influence that your position [229] gives you in helping, strengthening, and building up the evangelistic work.

In a letter Ellen White wrote to Daniells on the same day, she said:

The position you have taken is in the order of the Lord, and now I would encourage you with the words, Go forward as you have begun, using your position of influence as president of the General Conference for the advancement of the work we are called upon to do.

Further, she wrote:

The light that I have from the Lord is that this same experience will be needed by others. You will now be able, not only to take up the work yourself, but also to exercise your influence as president of the General Conference to lead out in the very work that the Lord has appointed to be done.

After assuring Elder Daniells that “angels of God will be with you,” she admonished in closing, “Redeem the lost time of the past nine years by going ahead now with the work in our cities, and the Lord will bless and sustain you.”—Letter 68, 1910.

On August 17, Daniells wrote to W. C. White:

I think I may say to you that I have set my hand as firmly and determinedly to this city evangelistic work as I have ever taken hold of anything in my life. I have become very greatly interested in it. It appeals to every fiber of my body....

With the help of others, I ought to be able to set on foot a movement that will mean a great deal for the hastening of this work.

Six weeks later he wrote again, “You will see that I am taking hold of this line of work to win.”—AGD to WCW, September 27, 1910.

And Ellen White, with relief of soul, wrote:

I am much encouraged by the letters I have recently received, which show that there is a waking up amongst our brethren. Letters from Elder Daniells and others speak in regard to the work that must be done. They are surprised as they see the [230] interest shown in the truth by people of different nationalities. These people are calling for light. As they see the unworked cities, our brethren realize the greatness of the work to be done. Many who in the past ought to have been wide awake, giving heed to the messages sent, have been asleep. Our people are now to awake. If all will do their duty, we shall see the work of the Lord carried forward in earnest. May God help us is my prayer.—Letter 102, 1910.

With a clearer vision of what the Lord required, Daniells was able to launch a new day in Adventist city evangelism, which in the years to come yielded fruitful harvests. His final efforts in this line are found in the establishment of the Ministerial Association as a part of the General Conference structure.

When on February 9, 1912, Ellen White drew up her last will and testament, in which she provided for the management of her writings, she named Arthur G. Daniells as one of the five men of her choice who were to take care of these writings after her death. There could be no greater evidence of her confidence in his integrity, dedication, and ability. [231] [232] [233] [234] [235] [236] [237] [238] [239] [240] [241] [242] [243] [244] [245] [246]

Chapter 19—The Threat of Distracting Doctrinal Controversy

During the General Conference session in Washington in 1909, there surfaced signals of potential doctrinal controversy in which the “daily” of Daniel 8 largely figured. The Bulletin carries no reference to this, but it was in the back of the minds of not a few present at the session. Ellen White was fully aware of this and saw it as a threat to the long-overdue drive for city evangelism. Leading workers who expended their time and energies in doctrinal disputes could not throw themselves wholeheartedly into the evangelistic thrust. The story takes us back before the session, and then moves forward to some months after the session. This background aids in a better understanding of Ellen White’s repeated and almost desperate calls for work in the cities.

Soon after becoming leader of the church in 1901, Elder Daniells was brought into close association with W. W. Prescott, former president of Battle Creek College. As editor of the Review and Herald and vice-president of the General Conference during the period of 1901 to 1909, Prescott worked closely with Daniells. Early in their association, Prescott brought to Daniells’ attention what was termed the “new view” of the “daily” of Daniel 8. His own study and association with workers in Europe had led Prescott to question the presentation in the widely read Uriah Smith book Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, which came to be known as the “old view.” At the time, and in succeeding months Daniells counseled that “nothing be said, that the matter should not be agitated or discussed,” for fear that something wrong might be brought in, and “for fear that the question of heresy might be raised, and people get unsettled, and [247] controversy be set on foot” (DF 200, AGD, in interview at Elmshaven, January 26, 1908).

The question of the meaning of the daily was not a new one in Adventist history. William Miller had taught that it referred to paganism, but even before the Disappointment, that view was questioned. The classic 1843 chart produced by Fitch, and used by all the Advent preachers, omitted reference to the meaning of the daily.

In 1847 O. R. L. Crosier had expressed the view that the daily refers to the high-priestly ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. Uriah Smith in 1854 briefly expounded this position (The Review and Herald, March 28, 1854). But Smith, rising to prominence shortly afterward, in his Thoughts on the Book of Daniel (1873 ed.,p. 163), went back to the view of William Miller. Smith’s became the accepted position until the turn of the century, and thus was known as the “old view.” Prescott’s position was similar to Crosier’s, but nevertheless acquired the less-than-accurate designation as the “new view.”

Ellen White had made no mention of the daily in The Great Controversy, her volume dealing with prophecy. Her only use of the term is found in Early Writings, 74, 75, where she reports a vision given to her on September 23, 1850, and this in connection with the subject of time setting.

The Review and Herald, April 4, 1907, carried an article from the pen of pioneer worker J. N. Loughborough, entitled “The Thirteen Hundred and Thirty-five Days,” which, while not making reference to it as such, upheld the old view. As the months passed, Review editor W. W. Prescott found it difficult to refrain from introducing the new view of the daily, which to him carried great light. He was aware that while still in Australia, Ellen White had received a letter from L. R. Conradi, leader of the church’s work in Europe, stating that he could not harmonize his views on the question with Smith’s and that if she had any light on the subject, he would appreciate receiving it. If she had no light, he intended to publish his view—the new view. The fact that Ellen White did not reply to Conradi’s letter left the impression that she had no light on the point (DF 201a, WCW to J. E. White, June 1, 1910).

The matter simmered, Daniells unwilling to make it an issue since he had his hands more than full in the reorganization of the [248] work of the church and the struggle with Battle Creek problems. The matter was discussed now and again at General Conference Committee meetings, with both viewpoints being considered, but no conclusion was reached (DF 200).

As careful students took time to examine all the evidence, many were led to accept the new view—A. G. Daniells and W. C. White among them—and polarization began to develop. After the close of the Pacific Union Conference session at St. Helena in late January, 1908, some of the workers lingered on to spend a little time at Elmshaven studying the question. They met in the Elmshaven office—Daniells, Prescott, Loughborough, Haskell and his wife, W. C. White, C. C. Crisler, and D. E. Robinson (Ibid.).

The meeting, in place of bringing some solutions to the problem, served only to harden positions. On January 27, 1908, the day after the meeting, S. N. Haskell wrote to A. G. Daniells, stating that “since the interview yesterday morning I have less confidence in the position taken by Elder Prescott than before.”—DF 201.

Counsel Against Agitating the Subject

Before Prescott left for the East on February 6, Ellen White spoke to him about the problem, telling him not to publish anything at that time that would unsettle the minds of the people regarding positions held in the past. She promised to write him on the subject (35 WCW, p. 217).

She did not write at once, but on June 24, 1908, she wrote to Prescott of perils that at times threatened his ministry. Among other things she said:

You are not beyond the danger of making mistakes. You sometimes allow your mind to center upon a certain train of thought, and you are in danger of making a mountain out of a molehill.—Letter 224, 1908.

She spoke of a tendency on his part “to sway from clearly defined truth and give undue attention to some items which seem to require hours of argument to prove, when in reality they do not need to be handled at all.” She urged that when tempted to do this he should say, “We cannot afford to arouse arguments upon points that are not essential for the salvation of the soul.” “Keep to the [249] simplicity of the Word,” she urged.

A week later she wrote Prescott again in a letter opening with the words:

I am instructed to say to you, Let there be no questions agitated at this time in the Review that will tend to unsettle minds.... We have no time now to enter into unnecessary controversy, but we should earnestly consider the need of seeking the Lord for true conversion of heart and life. There should be determined efforts made to secure sanctification of soul and mind.

And then she counseled:

It will prove to be a great mistake if you agitate at this time the question regarding the “daily,” which has been occupying much of your attention of late. I have been shown that the result of your making this question a prominent issue would be that the minds of a large number will be directed to an unnecessary controversy, and that questioning and confusion will be developed in our ranks.... My brother, let us be slow to raise questions that will be a source of temptation to our people.

Then she referred to her own relation to the matter and the fact that God had given no special revelation on it, declaring:

I have had no special light on the point presented for discussion, and I do not see the need of this discussion. But I am instructed to tell you that this small matter, upon which you are concentrating your thought, will become a great mountain unless you determine to let it alone.

I have been instructed that the Lord has not placed upon you the burden you are now carrying regarding this matter, and that it is not profitable for you to spend so much time and attention in its consideration.... There have been different opinions regarding the “daily,” and there will continue to be. If the Lord has seen fit to let this matter rest for so many years without correcting the same, would it not be wisdom on your part to refrain from presenting your views concerning it?—Letter 226, 1908. (Italics supplied.)

This letter was not sent off immediately, and we are not [250] informed of what Ellen White may have instructed him orally, but no articles on the subject appeared in subsequent issues of the Review.

S. N. Haskell and the 1843 Chart

On August 28, 1908, almost two months after writing to Prescott, she wrote to Elder S. N. Haskell, a stalwart advocate of the old view. Because Ellen White in Early Writings had made reference to “the 1843 chart” in connection with a mention of the daily, Haskell had arranged for the publication of a facsimile copy of the chart and was circulating it. Her testimony to Haskell opened:

I have had cautions given me in regard to the necessity of our keeping a united front. This is a matter of importance to us at this time. As individuals we need to act with the greatest caution.

I wrote to Elder Prescott, telling him that he must be exceedingly careful not to introduce subjects in the Review that would seem to point out flaws in our past experience. I told him that this matter on which he believes a mistake has been made is not a vital question, and that, should it be given prominence now, our enemies would take advantage of it, and make a mountain out of a molehill.

She continued:

To you also I say that this subject should not be agitated at this time. Now, my brother, I feel that at this crisis in our experience that chart which you have had republished should not be circulated. You have made a mistake in this matter. Satan is determinedly at work to bring about issues that will create confusion. There are those who would be delighted to see our ministers at an issue on this question, and they would make much of it.—Letter 250, 1908.

While she was without special light from the Lord on the particular point in question, she did receive light on the matter of the controversy the discussion was causing, and she wrote, “I have been instructed that regarding what might be said on either side of this question, silence at this time is eloquence.” She pointed out that “Satan is watching for an opportunity to create division among our [251] leading ministers.” In this two-page letter she made a second reference to the chart Haskell had printed. Under the chart he had quoted words from Early Writings in regard to the view of the daily held by those who gave the “judgment hour cry” in the early 1840s. She wrote him, “It was a mistake to publish the chart until you could all get together and come to an agreement concerning the matter. You have not acted wisely in bringing to the front a subject that must create discussion, and the bringing out of various opinions.”

Then, significantly, in closing her letter, she declared:

Elder Haskell, I am unable to define clearly the points that are questioned. Let us not agitate a subject that will give the impression that as a people we hold varied opinions, and thus open the way for those to work who wish to leave the impression on minds that we are not led by God. It will also be a source of temptation to those who are not thoroughly converted, and will lead to the making of rash moves.— Ibid. (Italics supplied.)

How different was the situation brought to view here than in 1905 when Ellen White was called upon to meet decisively the views advocated by Elder A. F. Ballenger, which involved the work of Christ in man’s behalf in the heavenly sanctuary. On that she had not only the evidence of the confirming miracle-working power of the Spirit of God in the establishment of the doctrine but repeated visions, as well, pointing out the errors in the views of Dr. Kellogg and Elder Ballenger, which would, if accepted, do away with that fundamental truth.

The Issue of Inspiration

In the case of the daily, however, those who held the old view, with Haskell in the lead, maintained that to veer away from it would strike a mortal blow to confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy because of what they claimed was her endorsement of that view in the chapter “The Gathering Time,” published in her first little book in 1851 and republished in Early Writings, 74-76.

In this chapter, written in September, 1850, in the context of time setting and containing such expressions as “Time has not been a test since 1844, and it will never again be a test” and “The message of the third angel ... must not be hung on time,” she wrote: [252]

I have seen that the 1843 chart was directed by the hand of the Lord, and that it should not be altered; that the figures were as He wanted them; that His hand was over and hid a mistake in some of the figures, so that none could see it, until His hand was removed.

Then I saw in relation to the “daily” (Daniel 8:12) that the word “sacrifice” was supplied by man’s wisdom, and does not belong to the text, and that the Lord gave the correct view of it to those who gave the judgment hour cry. When union existed, before 1844, nearly all were united on the correct view of the “daily“: but in the confusion since 1844, other views have been embraced, and darkness and confusion have followed. Time has not been a test since 1844, and it will never again be a test.—Early Writings, 74, 75.

The advocates of the old view maintained that the wording of this statement placed Heaven’s endorsement on the view of the daily held by Miller and eventually repeated by Uriah Smith. The new-view advocates held that the statement must be taken in its context—the context of time setting. Ellen White’s repeated statements that “I have no light on the point” (Letter 226, 1908) and “I am unable to define clearly the points that are questioned” (Letter 250, 1908), and her inability to make a definite statement when the question was urged upon her, seemed to give support to their conclusion. They were confident also that the messages given through Ellen White would not conflict with the clearly established events of history.

While some who were involved in the discussion attempted to follow the counsel against agitating the matter of the “daily” as one of importance, and no articles on the subject appeared in the Review, Haskell did not remain silent. While he was willing to concede that the matter of the “daily” was one that should take a position of minor importance, and the question of the “daily” itself did not “amount to a hill of beans” (S. N. Haskell to WCW, December 6, 1909) and he had never preached on the subject, his concern was “to save the cause of God and those who believe the old views on the teachings of the Spirit of Prophecy” (S. N. Haskell to AGD, January 27, 1908). Writing to Elder Daniells on March 22, 1908, Haskell declared: [253]

It is the Early Writings that I would defend and as long as I believe they teach the view I take, and there are many others that believe the same, and if Sister White does not give any explanation in harmony with Prescott’s idea to defend the testimonies for the sake of others I shall defend them. Must I be made to believe the testimonies teach a certain thing, contrary to my own judgment and the reading of the writings, when Sister White herself does not so explain it?

Thus, with not a few the discussion took on a major significance—namely, the integrity of the testimonies and loyalty to the Spirit of Prophecy. The question of revelation-inspiration was pressed to the front. Quite a number of leaders became involved, but we may look to S. N. Haskell as representing certain views and Elders A. G. Daniells and W. C. White taking another position. All three had labored very closely with Ellen White and had unquestioned confidence in her call and work. The crux of the matter was an understanding of and interpretation of the Early Writings statement. Said Haskell:

If Sister White says that she does not mean what she said when she said what she did on the “daily,” then I will say no more.—S. N. Haskell to CCC, March 30, 1908.

Daniells just as pointedly made his understanding clear:

I want to tell you plainly that it is my deep conviction that those who hold the new view and who interpret the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy in harmony with that view, as Brother Prescott has done in his tract, are the truest friends of the gift of prophecy in our ranks. I believe that those who interpret that passage in Early Writings as supporting the “old view” are doing your mother a great wrong. They are arraying her against the plain text of the Scripture, and all the reliable history of the world.

As I look at it, your mother and her writings need to be protected from such short-sighted expositors. Every time I review this study I am profoundly thankful that the passage in Early Writings is so susceptible of interpretation which is in harmony with both Scripture and history.... [254]

If they [our brethren] will expound Daniel 8:9-14 by the Scriptures and history they will establish a harmony between the Bible, the testimonies, and history, and this will establish the confidence of many thousands of our people.—AGD to WCW, February 22, 1910.

Study of the Context Important

Concerning this whole matter, W. C. White, after spending a day or two studying it through carefully, on June 1, 1910, wrote to Edson, taking the position that the context of the statement must be considered.

It is evident that the vision of September 23, 1850, as published in Early Writings, 74-76, new edition, under the title “The Gathering Time,” was given to correct the prevalent error of time setting, and to check the fanatical doctrines being taught regarding the return of the Jews to Jerusalem.

The statement concerning the “daily” of Daniel 8:9-14,as published in Early Writings, appeared first in Present Truth, Vol. I, No. 11, dated Paris, Maine, November, 1850. During the same month and in the same place, there was published the first number of Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, which has continued as the church paper of Seventh-day Adventists ever since. In this first number appears an article by Elder Joseph Bates on “The Laodicean Church,” in which he writes at considerable length on the confused state of various bodies of Advent believers, in contrast with the unity that the commandment-keeping Adventists were endeavoring to maintain.

On the point of confusion of many bodies of Adventists, at that period in their history, over the question of prophetic “time,” he declares:

“For six successive years, viz: from the fall of 1844 to the spring and fall of 1850, the most of these leading members have been aiding and assisting each other in changing the chronology, i.e., the world’s history, to prove that they were on the true position. What have they gained? Answer, nothing but disappointment and confusion. This, too, in direct opposition to their standard work—Advent Shield. It has not proved to be their [255] shield, that is clear. Six times did we say, yes more. Some have moved the time for the termination of the 2300 days, from fall to spring, for six years in succession, and thus they have almost finished a circle (if seven years would make one), instead of gaining one inch the right way.”

One month later [December, 1850], in [Second Advent] Review and [Sabbath] Herald, Vol. I, No. 2, Elder James White wrote as follows:

“Our Present Position”

“There has never been a time since we first embraced the Advent faith, that our position looked so clear and satisfactory as at the present. Our pathway, like ‘the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,’ is brightening at every step we take. This was to be the portion of the ‘just,’ who in the waiting, watching time, should ‘live by faith.’

“The 2300 days.—This prophetic period has been, and still is, the main pillar of the Advent faith. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that we have a correct view of the commencement and termination of this period, in order to understand our present position.

“B.C. 457 was the year presented, and clearly proved by Brother Miller, as the true date for the commencement of the 2300 days. It was published to the world by every Second Advent paper in the land, by books, and by public lectures, as the true date. The proof was so very conclusive that those who examined the point with candor embraced it at once. Learned opponents did not, and could not, show that we were incorrect in dating the 2300 days from B.C. 457. With this clearly ascertained date for the commencement of the main pillar of the ‘original’ Advent faith, lecturers went forth united to give the judgment-hour cry. This was the date written upon the ‘chronological chart of the visions of Daniel and John, published by J. V. Himes, 14 Devonshire St.’

“It was the united testimony of Second Advent lecturers and papers, when standing on ‘the original faith,’ that the publication of the chart was a fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:2, 3. If the chart was a subject of prophecy (and those who deny it leave the original faith), then it follows that B.C. 457 was the year from [256] which to date the 2300 days. It was necessary that 1843 should be the first published time in order that ‘the vision’ should ‘tarry,’ or that there should be a tarrying time, in which the virgin band was to slumber and sleep on the great subject of time, just before they were to be aroused by the Midnight Cry.”—DF 201a, WCW to J. E. White, June 1, 1910.

W. C. White in his letter to Edson then pointed out that these facts must be kept in mind as one studies the statements in Early Writings in which the daily is mentioned.

At one point a little later in the discussions, Elder Daniells, accompanied by W. C. White and C. C. Crisler, eager to get from Ellen White herself just what the meaning was of her Early Writings statement, went to her and laid the matter before her. Daniells took with him Early Writings and the 1843 chart. He sat down close to Ellen White and plied her with questions. His report of this interview was confirmed by W. C. White:

I first read to Sister White the statement given above in Early Writings. Then I placed before her our prophetic chart used by our ministers in expounding the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. I called her attention to the picture of the sanctuary and also to the 2300-year period as they appeared on the chart.

I then asked if she could recall what was shown her regarding this subject.

As I recall her answer, she began by telling how some of the leaders who had been in the 1844 movement endeavored to find new dates for the termination of the 2300-year period. This endeavor was to fix new dates for the coming of the Lord. This was causing confusion among those who had been in the Advent Movement.

In this confusion the Lord revealed to her, she said, that the view that had been held and presented regarding the dates was correct, and that there must never be another time set, nor another time message.

I then asked her to tell what had been revealed to her about the rest of the “daily”—the Prince, the host, the taking away of the “daily,” and the casting down of the sanctuary.

She replied that these features were not placed before her in [257] vision as the time part was. She would not be led out to make an explanation of those points of the prophecy.

The interview made a deep impression upon my mind. Without hesitation she talked freely, clearly, and at length about the 2300-year period, but regarding the other part of the prophecy she was silent.

The only conclusion I could draw from her free explanation of the time and her silence as to the taking away of the “daily” and the casting down of the sanctuary was that the vision given her was regarding the time, and that she received no explanation as to the other parts of the prophecy.—DF 201b, AGD statement, September 25, 1931.

Since charts figure in this matter, Ellen White’s attitude in this interview is given strong support as the reckoning of the Cummings 1854 “prophetic chart” is studied. In this the Jewish altar of “daily sacrifice” in 446 B.C. is used as the starting point for a new 2300-year time span set to end in 1854. This chart, published at Concord, New Hampshire, in 1853, was typical of charts that commenced the 2300 days with what was said to be the taking away of the “daily sacrifice.” [The original of this chart, probably never seen by Daniells, is now in the advent source collection at andrews university.]

A Call to Halt the Controversy

Ellen White watched with growing anxiety and distress the time-consuming controversy between leading brethren on an unimportant point and one on which she repeatedly said she had received no light. On July 31, 1910, she could restrain herself no longer. She took her pen and wrote:

I have words to speak to my brethren east and west, north and south. I request that my writings shall not be used as the leading argument to settle questions over which there is now so much controversy. I entreat of Elders Haskell, Loughborough, Smith, and others of our leading brethren, that they make no reference to my writings to sustain their views of the “daily.”

It has been presented to me that this is not a subject of vital [258] importance. I am instructed that our brethren are making a mistake in magnifying the importance of the difference in the views that are held. I cannot consent that any of my writings shall be taken as settling this matter. The true meaning of the “daily” is not to be made a test question.

I now ask that my ministering brethren shall not make use of my writings in their arguments regarding this question; for I have had no instruction on the point under discussion, and I see no need for the controversy. Regarding this matter under present conditions, silence is eloquence.—Manuscript 11, 1910 (see also Selected Messages 1:164).

She pointed out that “the enemy of our work is pleased when a subject of minor importance is used to divert the minds of our brethren from the great questions that should be the burden of our message,” and she insisted that as this was not a test question, it should not be treated as such. Then in this connection, obviously speaking of Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, which she held in high esteem, she wrote:

In some of our important books that have been in print for years, and which have brought many to a knowledge of the truth, there may be found matters of minor importance that call for careful study and correction. Let such matters be considered by those regularly appointed to have the oversight of our publications. Let not these brethren, nor our canvassers, nor our ministers magnify these matters in such a way as to lessen the influence of these good soul-saving books.— Ibid. (see also Ibid., 1:165).

She pointed out that “should we take up the work of discrediting our literature, we would place weapons in the hands of those who have departed from the faith and confuse the minds of those who have newly embraced the message” and advised that “the less that is done unnecessarily to change our publications, the better it will be.”— Ibid. In closing the communication, she called everyone back to the earnest counsel that had been given to warn the cities.

A few days later, on August 3, 1910, she addressed a communication to the ministry of the church: [259]

To My Brethren in the Ministry,

Dear Fellow Workers,

I have words to speak to Brethren Butler, Loughborough, Haskell, Smith, Gilbert, Daniells, Prescott, and all who have been active in urging their views in regard to the meaning of the “daily” of Daniel 8. This is not to be made a test question, and the agitation that has resulted from its being treated as such has been very unfortunate. Confusion has resulted, and the minds of some of our brethren have been diverted from the thoughtful consideration that should have been given to the work that the Lord has directed should be done at this time in our cities. This has been pleasing to the great enemy of our work.

The light given me is that nothing should be done to increase the agitation upon this question. Let it not be brought into our discourses, and dwelt upon as a matter of great importance. We have a great work before us, and we have not an hour to lose from the essential work to be done. Let us confine our public efforts to the presentation of the important lines of truth on which we are united, and on which we have clear light.—Letter 62, 1910 (see also Selected Messages 1:167).

Then she referred to the last prayer of Christ calling for unity, brought to view in John 17, and commented, “There are many subjects upon which we can speak—sacred, testing truths, beautiful in their simplicity. On these you may dwell with intense earnestness. But,” she urged, “let not the ‘daily,’ or any other subject that will arouse controversy among brethren, be brought in at this time, for this will delay and hinder the work that the Lord would have the minds of our brethren centered upon just now.” And she pleaded, “Let us not agitate questions that will reveal a marked difference of opinion, but rather let us bring from the Word the sacred truths regarding the binding claims of the law of God.”— Ibid.

As to the discourses of Seventh-day Adventist ministers, her counsel continued:

Our ministers should seek to make the most favorable presentation of truth. So far as possible, let all speak the same things. Let the discourses be simple, and treating upon vital [260] subjects that can be easily understood.... We must blend together in the bonds of Christlike unity; then our labors will not be in vain. Draw in even cords, and let no contentions be brought in. Reveal the unifying power of truth, and this will make a powerful impression on human minds. In unity there is strength.— Ibid. (see also Selected Messages 1:167, 168).

She closed her appeal with the admonition that “while the present condition of difference of opinion ... exists, let it not be made prominent. Let all contention cease. At such a time silence is eloquence.”— Ibid. (see also Ibid., 1:168).

Futility of Controversy Over Minor Doctrinal Points

These clear-cut messages, in which proponents of both sides of the controversy over the daily were named and called upon to cease and desist, brought to a halt open discussions and freed a number of the leading men involved to give attention to more important lines of endeavor. There was forever made clear the futility of involvement in doctrinal controversy on points of minor importance, or points on which there is no clear light in the Spirit of Prophecy writings. Among other factors, the incident brought to the front points for consideration in the study of revelation and inspiration, opening the way for positive, fruitful approaches. It did not, as was feared by the adherents of the old view, destroy confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy itself.

At the same time it brought to view the lengths to which men who were brethren would go in attempts to accomplish their determined ends. One illustration of this was provided in the manner in which private personal testimonies were used. A linotype operator at the Review and Herald office, who had been reared in the Midwest in a community of “staunch old patriarchs” who had an undying love and zeal for the truth, was led to espouse the old view of the daily. He won the confidence of the custodian of the General Conference files containing in bound form testimonies sent to leading men, and gained access to materials that should have been held in confidence, testimonies to key individuals that at times dealt with matters between them and God. In the controversy, excerpts from these personal testimonies were used to discredit key men who held the new view. Daniells decried the access that was [261] given to private testimonies and believed that shockingly indiscreet use was made of some of them. Certain men, he declared, seemed to have their pockets full of personal testimonies (AGD to WCW, August 5, 1910).

As Elder Daniells traveled around the field, he was often called upon to deal with questions asked about Ellen White and the Spirit of Prophecy. This was true also in his correspondence. He found that taking into account the contextual considerations often solved what seemed to be difficult questions. When pressed as to why an ordained minister was managing a denominational sanitarium when Sister White had spoken against ministers performing largely administrative duties, he pointed out that the state of the man’s health was a factor. He urged that it would not do to take a single statement and stretch it beyond its purpose and meaning.

W. C. White repeatedly declared his position that statements in the Spirit of Prophecy must be taken in their proper context. On the question of the Early Writings statement in which the daily is mentioned, he considered it relevant that his mother had written much concerning the importance of the Advent Movement and of the 2300-year prophecy, while the nature of the daily itself was “wholly ignored” in all her writings except in one thirty-five-word sentence, found in the middle of the argument that “time has not been a test since 1844, and it will never again be a test.” To him the context of the statement found in Early Writings seemed to involve the entire article in which the statement was originally written, the entire scope of the Ellen White writings on the subject, and the historical background of the original writing (DF 201b, WCW to J. E. White, June 1, 1910).

But larger issues than the identity of the daily concerned W. C. White:

I have told some of our brethren that I thought there were two questions connected with this [daily] matter that were of more importance than the decision which shall be made as to which is most nearly correct, the old or the new view regarding the “daily.” The first is, How shall we deal with one another when there is difference of opinion? Second, How shall we deal with Mother’s writings in our effort to settle doctrinal questions?—WCW to AGD, March 13, 1910. [262]

Chapter 20—Writing, Publishing, and Speaking

Shortly after the long trip east that closed with her return to her Elmshaven home on September 9, 1909, Ellen White received from the Review and Herald Publishing Association the first copy of Testimonies for the Church, volume 9. From time to time over a four-year period some work had been done on its preparation.

On February 1, 1905, she had written to Dr. Kress, “Just now we are very busy. We are finishing up Ministry of Healing, which is now in the printers’ hands, and are making an effort to prepare matter for Testimony IX.”—Letter 73, 1905.

A few weeks later she wrote that she hoped the volume would soon be in circulation, and in the weeks that followed she was reading matter that was to go into “the next Testimony” (Letter 89, 1905). In October W. C. White expressed the hope that the book would come out in “three or four months” (29 WCW, p. 40). One of the secretaries, Maggie Hare, was collecting material for the opening section (Ibid., 402).

In March, 1906, W. C. White was looking forward to a meeting with Elders Daniells and Irwin regarding the contents of the Testimony volume (30 WCW, p. 22), and reported that “much of the copy has been prepared, but none of it has been sent to the printer” (Ibid., 98).

But as certain crisis matters pressed in, work on the Testimony volume was laid aside. Two years went by, and then in September and October, 1908, members of Ellen White’s staff were back at the Testimony volume again. She wrote, “We have faithful workers in our office staff, and all of them are appreciated.... Clarence Crisler [263] has a special work to do in the preparation of the Testimonies.”—Letter 310, 1908.

But it was not until the General Conference session in Washington in 1909, at which Ellen White delivered several messages she wanted the whole church to have and the needs of the great cities pressed hard upon her, that the time seemed ripe for closing up the work on the Testimony volume. Both Clarence Crisler and Minnie Hawkins had been with her during the session, and as plans had been laid for the Review and Herald to publish the book, Clarence and Minnie were left in Washington to see the book through the press. This kept them in Washington through June, July, and much of August—time spent by Ellen White in the long trip home. They kept in almost daily contact with her through W. C. White as he and his mother traveled north and then west. As Crisler turned over finished copy to the publishers, carbon copies and then galley proofs were hastened to the traveling Whites.

On August 4, W. C. White wrote to Crisler, “Mother has read and approves of all the proofs thus far received. You can push forward the closing up of the work as fast as you like.”

Crisler was able to send the last of the galley proofs to Ellen White on August 9. These were for the section titled “The Religious Liberty Work.”

At the Review and Herald top priority was given to publishing the volume, and with members of Ellen White’s staff close at hand to assist when needed, the work moved quickly through the plant. The book was in the field less than four months after the close of the General Conference session.

The Chapter on “Sunday Labor”

The short section on religious liberty interests contained a chapter on “Sunday Labor,” written August 17, 1902. In this Ellen White counseled that rather than to defy civil authorities where there were Sunday laws, Seventh-day Adventists could well use the day in various lines of missionary endeavors (see pp. 232, 233). This was to cause considerable discussion in the months to come.

There were those who asserted that the chapter actually represented a major switch in Ellen White’s teaching and that it advocated Sunday sacredness. A. T. Jones claimed this in an [264] antagonistic leaflet (AGD to WCW, July 4, 1910). Some suggested that a person other than Ellen White may have written the chapter, or perhaps it was material not intended for general reading. In midsummer of 1910, Ellen White wrote positively in dealing with the questions:

I wish to write words that shall remove from the minds of any of my brethren the impression that I did not, before their publication, read the pages in Testimony for the Church, volume 9, relating to Sunday labor.

I read this matter before it went to the printer, and have read it several times from the book, and I can see nothing in it to give anyone reason to say that Sundaykeeping is there taught. Neither does the counsel there given contradict the Bible nor former Testimonies.

I have given not one word to sustain Sundaykeeping. In my writings will be found the most positive statements concerning the Lord’s requirements to observe the holy Sabbath, because that on the seventh day Jehovah rested. He sanctified that day and set it apart, and gave it to man to be observed most sacredly.—Letter 94, 1910.

The president of the General Conference at about the same time made a clearcut statement in a letter to a young minister who was troubled about the question, and gave his understanding of the part played by Ellen White’s assistants in preparing matter for publication. Said Daniells:

1. Sister White certainly wrote volume 9 of the Testimonies. Volume 9 was prepared the same as other volumes.

2. The testimony to which you refer concerning Sunday laws was written to the leaders of the work in Australasia at a time when they very much needed counsel on the question involved. The same question had come up in Europe, and you are perhaps aware that our brethren in the Basel publishing house took a very firm, unrelenting stand on the question of running the publishing house on Sunday. They defied the authorities, and the authorities closed up the house, sold the furniture and facilities to pay the fines, and lodged Elder Holser in jail for forty [265] days.... [As we look] back upon that experience, it seems that our brethren took an extreme view of their duty, and that the work of God was hindered thereby.

We reached a time in Australia when we needed counsel on this same point, and the testimony above referred to came at the right time, and was followed in a reasonable way. Knowing that our people were needing the same counsel in many parts of the world, Sister White decided to publish that testimony in volume 9. The brethren in Australia did not go to extremes in either direction in this matter.

Then Daniells explained his understanding of how the work was done not only on volume 9 but also in the preparation of the other Testimony volumes:

3 .... Now I will tell you briefly how the work is done. Assisted by one or two literary workers who keep her files and are in close touch with her work, she makes a collection of the most important testimonies she has received, which she feels impressed should be published for the benefit of all the people. There are many which apply locally and are never published; but those which contain important principles which all the people ought to know, she selects to publish in the Testimonies. This plan was followed in preparing volume 9 the same as all other numbers.

The person selected to assist her in her literary work makes corrections and changes and adjustments in the language which will make the Testimonies read more smoothly and clearly, but every such correction or change is submitted to Sister White.

Every night when the secretary has completed his work, the copy with the corrections is placed where Sister White can find it early the next morning. She often rises between one and three o’clock in the morning and does her best work while it is quiet. During the early hours she goes carefully over such matter, to make certain that the thought has not in any way been changed. Thus every line that goes out over her signature goes with her approval.

Coming back to the immediate question, Daniells pointed out [266] that God gives advanced light according to the experience and need of the church:

I do not believe that the testimonies in volume 9 contradict any former testimonies with regard to Sunday labor or any other points. We should bear in mind that Christian experience is progressive, and that the Testimonies have taught advanced principles year by year as the work has progressed and as the people have been prepared to receive new light.

If you examine the first volumes of the Testimonies, you will find that only the ABCs of many principles and truths were at first presented. These have been developed from time to time since. One who is hunting for technicalities and trying to find a basis for doubts will have opportunity to find apparent discrepancies in the Testimonies. This might also be said of the Scriptures.

The Lord has seen fit to present the truth in such a way that those who are inclined to doubt can always find a peg on which to hang their doubts. It is my conviction, however, that there is beautiful harmony running through all the Testimonies from the first to the last, and that these harmonize with the Scriptures.—AGD to W. Duce, June 23, 1910.

Imparting Helpful Information

Daniells sent a copy of this five-page letter to W. C. White, thinking he would be interested in how he had dealt with the questions put to him. As soon as it was received at Elmshaven, W. C. and others read it carefully, and White replied:

Your letter to Elder Duce has been read by me, by Mother, and by Brother Crisler, and it seems to us that you have written to him a very kind and clear answer to his questions. We feel that you have answered him wisely and correctly, and we say Amen to what you have written.—WCW to AGD, July 10, 1910.

White asked Daniells for permission to duplicate his letter for use in answering some questions and queries that were coming from those who were not in harmony with the instruction given in volume 9. [267]

In point number 3 in the Daniells’ letter, he, as stated above, had dealt with the work of Mrs. White’s secretaries, and in his letter to White he said of this:

I am not sure that you will approve of the liberty I have taken in making such a full statement regarding the work done by your secretaries; but I am under the impression that there is a strong undercurrent at work on this point, and it seemed to me that it would be safest and best to state the matter just as it is. I wish you would give particular attention to what I have written under number 3, and give me any suggestion that will be helpful on this point in the future. In fact, I wish you would give me anything that you feel will help me in answering letters of this kind.—AGD to WCW, July 4, 1910.

In response to this request, W. C. White responded:

No doubt some persons will misunderstand your statement under number 3, and will question and criticize. I find it is almost impossible to make a statement regarding this matter that is not misunderstood, misrepresented, misstated, and oftentimes criticized and condemned. But it seems to me that you have stated the facts wisely and well, and I shall be glad to use your statement if you are willing.—WCW to AGD, July 10, 1910.

Thus, in a natural setting, attention was drawn to a point to which little study had been given.

There is no question but that the church had entered upon a period when some basic principles having to do with the productions of an inspired writer were carefully examined, as was done with an interpretation of Ellen White’s Early Writings statement on the “daily” of Daniel 8. Another, which we shall observe in the next few chapters, deals with what has been termed the 1911 revision of The Great Controversy. One thing is ever certain: Ellen G. White was intelligently responsible for all materials, published and unpublished, that appeared over her name.

In The Field Again

Ellen White recovered from the exhaustion of her prolonged Eastern journey rather quickly. She was soon giving long hours to [268] her writing and was testing her strength to see whether she could respond to requests for speaking appointments that were pressed upon her. She was mindful of her advancing age and waning strength and wanted to be certain she would be in the line of duty were she to venture forth. Opportunity came for such a test Sabbath morning, October 9, when she spoke with freedom at the St. Helena Sanitarium chapel. Now she was ready to respond to Elder Haskell’s invitation to address those who could attend the week-long Bible institute in San Jose, which she did.

The next Sabbath she spoke at the Sanitarium chapel again, and the last Sabbath in October she ministered to the St. Helena church.

Elder Haskell, in an attempt to revive the churches, had organized a ten-day Biblical institute for the San Joaquin Valley at Lodi, November 5 to 15. She accepted his invitation to help out, and attended the full session, speaking Sabbath, Sunday, Monday, and two or three of the remaining days. She went over to the Normal School twice to speak to the students (Pacific Union Recorder, October 14, 1909 and Ibid., November 25, 1909).

Ellen White was approaching another birthday, her eighty-second. She wrote of it:

On Friday, November 26, I shall be 82 years old. It is a surprise to many that at my age I am able to speak before large congregations of people. But it is the Lord who sustains me in this work. “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” He is indeed able to speak through the human agency.—Letter 144, 1909.

On her birthday, W. C. White wrote to old friends, George and Martha Amadon in Battle Creek, and told of what was going on at Elmshaven:

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. Today Mother is 82 years old. When I met her this morning and congratulated her on another birthday, she looked as well as five years ago, and from all appearance, has as good a prospect for five years of usefulness.

Mother is not working as hard as she did five years ago. She is trying to lay off care and worry and to reserve her strength that [269] she may occasionally attend general meetings and bear her testimony.

Instead of receiving presents today, Mother has taken occasion on her eighty-second birthday to give us instruction to see that all our intermediate schools are supplied with a good set of her books. During the summer we have been supplying the sanitariums with her books, and now we shall gladly take up the work of seeing that the intermediate schools are supplied....

Yesterday Mother told us that she did not want any demonstration of any sort on her birthday and that she did not want any presents of any sort from anybody. So we are working along today as usual.

The next Sabbath, November 27, Ellen White spoke at the Sanitarium chapel, and then on Sunday she slipped away from her writing for an hour or two to join Willie and a portion of his family in picking Japanese persimmons from the trees in his orchard just across the creek from her home. There together, side by side, were Ellen White, her son William and his wife, May, grandson Arthur and his sister Grace, and great-grandson Virgil with his mother, Ella (WCW to J. E. White, December 5, 1909).

Ellen White observed with a great deal of satisfaction that the Lord was sustaining her and blessing her in a marked manner in her public ministry. She felt that she was especially blessed in her work in Lodi, and when Elder Haskell asked her to assist with the Week of Prayer meetings in Mountain View and Oakland in mid-December, she assented, and ministered helpfully in the two churches.

Back home again, Ellen White took up her writing and book work. A letter addressed to Dr. Kress opens, “The Lord has strengthened me to attend important meetings in Mountain View. I know the Lord gave me words to give to the people.” With her heart still burdened for a stronger evangelistic thrust, she wrote: “Seed sowing must cover more territory.” “Sow the seeds of gospel truth in all places possible and there will be new and interesting fields open in a variety of places.”—Letter 182, 1909.

Writing to another worker in the East, late in December she declared, “I expect to visit Mountain View again in a few weeks, at the time of the union conference.”—Letter 174, 1909. It was a crucial meeting, and she was there. [270]

Chapter 21—Will Seventh-day Adventists Train Physicians?

The meeting that Ellen White looked forward to attending in Mountain View was the biennial session of the Pacific Union Conference, to be held in the church January 25-30, 1910. It was to be a momentous meeting for the Seventh-day Adventist Church and one of deep concern for Ellen White. On the agenda was the matter of a medical school at Loma Linda. Known to Mrs. White were not only the steps that were being taken in medical education at Loma Linda but also what God would have the school be as an agency in furthering the third angel’s message. As the time of the meeting approached, she, by observation and by revelation from God, was aware of situations that could greatly hinder the advance steps that should be taken. The attitude of the president of the Pacific Union Conference, at this time a key man in Loma Linda affairs, was negative.

On January 13, as she arose very early and took her pen to write, she addressed a letter to “Dear Brethren.” She opened it with an expression of her happiness in the Lord and noted freedom from aches or pains, and gave thanks to God. Broaching the primary theme of the six-page letter, she declared:

This is my prayer, “Remove from our ministers, our physicians, and the teachers in our schools everything that will gender the spirit of strife.” We are none of us to have the spirit of exaltation.

She then directed the reader to Christ’s example and referred to many precious lessons in Matthew, chapters four to seven. In the [271] heart of the communication she wrote of some “carrying responsibilities that they were not chosen of God to bear” and the confusion that resulted. Then she declared:

When I returned from Australia, I saw that men had assumed a strange authority over the church of God. Some seemed to consider that if any official responsibility was placed upon them, they were to treat others as some unwise school teachers treat their pupils in school. Human teachers having position, supposed to be helpers to the churches, magnified their official authority as rulers, and this spoiled them as teachers and shepherds of the flock. They acted too much as worldly officials act. Those who dared to differ with them were not encouraged in their work.

She continued, showing the deceptive nature of such attitudes:

It was a great surprise to me that the testimonies I bore, reproving this work of “lording it over God’s heritage,” had so little effect upon those exercising undue authority. They seemed to think they were carrying out wisely their official responsibilities. This evil in our work must not be permitted to bear sway again.

The past experience should be sufficient for every soul to know that position does not give the qualifications necessary to enable a man to rule his brethren. Ruling is not in the Lord’s order. We need to pray, and to watch unto prayer; we need to experience the deep movings of the Spirit of God, and to walk intelligently before the Lord.

It will take much close, hard watching on the part of the Conference officers to uproot the spirit of self-exaltation. This must be done before the true character of their work is understood, and it is clearly seen that human wisdom cannot take the place of wisdom from above.

Much more must be done to uproot fully the fibers of this erratic human power exercised as authority, as though it were the voice of God.—Letter 8, 1910.

This message was obviously written for the benefit of executives on all levels in the Pacific Union Conference, and even some in the [272] General Conference. The general approach was typical, in that Ellen White often dealt with delicate situations first in general than specific terms, hoping that men of discernment would understand the meaning and be guided thereby. Undoubtedly it reached a number of key men before the session opened on Tuesday morning, January 25.

The Union Session in Mountain View

In addition to the some fifty delegates in Mountain View for the opening meeting were both Ellen White and W. C. White; and from the General Conference, Elder G. A. Irwin, vice-president, and Elder I. H. Evans, former treasurer, under appointment to a new assignment in the Far East. The usual reports, beginning with that of the union president, were presented, and the various committees were appointed.

The nominating committee, working rather quickly, was ready with a report on Tuesday afternoon, but the secretary indicated that it failed to carry the signature of one nominating committee member, S. N. Haskell. Haskell was known to be a man of large experience and was the president of the largest local conference in the union—the California Conference. He also was in close communication with Ellen White. Even so, the delegates called for the report and proceeded to the election. The name of the man who had served as union president headed the list of names. Knowing that the report did not carry Haskell’s signature, there was some uneasiness, and someone proposed that the report be returned to the committee for further study. This was agreed upon. At this point the real issues, which had not been squarely faced earlier, came prominently to the front. In the nominating committee someone asked whether the incumbent “intended to stand as a stone wall to block the way of the Loma Linda College of Medical Evangelists” (WCW to AGD, January 28, 1910).

It was agreed that before proceeding further, consideration be given to the development of the work at Loma Linda in the light of the counsel received through the Spirit of Prophecy. All knew that the issue was whether the developing school should be a full-fledged medical school. All knew that if it was, the costs would be large and the involvement deep. [273]

A Medical School Early Envisioned by Ellen White

From the first, Ellen White had been enthusiastic for the securing of Loma Linda, and when she first drove onto the grounds, she recognized the buildings as the ones shown to her in vision two years before. She was instructed that it should be had for the work of the church. The property was purchased in the summer of 1905, ostensibly for a sanitarium.

A few weeks later she declared, “This place will become an important educational center.”—Letter 277, 1905.

On October 28 she wrote:

The Lord will open, yes, He is opening ways whereby your children can be given an education in medical missionary lines without endangering their souls.... In a short time we shall have facilities for giving the necessary requirements.—Manuscript 151, 1905.

November 1, 1905, she wrote to Elder John A. Burden:

A school will be established as soon as possible, and the Lord will open the way.—Letter 309, 1905.

A few weeks later, on December 10, she urged:

In regard to the school, I would say, Make it all you possibly can in the education of nurses and physicians.—Letter 325, 1905.

In reporting to the readers of the Review and Herald on the dedication of Loma Linda on April 15, 1906, she announced:

Loma Linda is to be not only a sanitarium, but an educational center.... A school is to be established here for the training of gospel medical missionary evangelists.—The Review and Herald, June 21, 1906.

Writing to S. N. Haskell on June 8, 1906, she referred to steps being taken in response to her urging:

Brother Howell is very desirous of knowing how to plan for the educational work with which he is connected, so that no mistakes may be made. I told him that the Lord will lead all who are willing to be led.—Letter 192, 1906.

On August 19, in a letter to Elders Reaser and Burden and the [274] executive committee of the Southern California Conference, she indicated her burden for the educational work that should be done there.

Be very careful not to do anything that would restrict the work at Loma Linda. It is in the order of God that this property has been secured, and He has given instruction that a school should be connected with the Sanitarium.—Letter 274, 1906.

A month later, September 20, the Loma Linda College of Evangelists was opened, yet without a clear sense of direction. Shortly thereafter Elder Burden and his associates at Loma Linda, being eager to establish the school on right lines, wrote to Mrs. White requesting any further light that would be of service to them.

In response, in October they received from Elmshaven a document comprised of extracts on the training of medical students. The compilation had been made by a member of the Elmshaven staff, presenting the light that had been given to Ellen White. This was studied very carefully by faculty and students.

On October 30, 1907, Ellen White was at Loma Linda and addressed students and faculty on the high standards that should characterize the educational features of the work. At the close of her presentation, Elder Burden addressed the question to her that was uppermost in his mind:

I want to ask a question. Is this school that you have spoken of simply to qualify nurses, or is it to embrace also the qualification of physicians?—Manuscript 151, 1907.

To this she replied:

Physicians are to receive their education here.— Ibid.

There was no question that on the basis of the visions given to her Ellen White had insights into the future of the work at Loma Linda that far exceeded concepts held by those about her, and the Lord was leading His people just as fast as they could grasp the potential of the work before them. At the General Conference session at Washington, on June 1, 1909, Ellen White addressed the delegates, reading from a manuscript entitled “The Loma Linda College of Evangelists.” In this she stressed: [275]

Loma Linda is to be not only a sanitarium, but an educational center. A school is to be established here for the training of gospel medical missionary evangelists. Much is involved in this work, and it is very essential that a right beginning be made....

In regard to the school I would say, Make it especially strong in the education of nurses and physicians. In medical missionary schools, many workers are to be qualified with the ability of physicians to labor as medical missionary evangelists. This training, the Lord has specified, is in harmony with the principles underlying true higher education.—The General Conference Bulletin, 1909, 308 (see also Testimonies for the Church 9:173, 174).

She spoke at length concerning the standards that should guide in the training of Seventh-day Adventists for medical missionary service, urging that “they are to be educated from the standpoint of conscience” and to follow right methods. In pointing out what was and what was not to be done, she seemed to imply that the church would be operating a medical school, for she declared:

We should not at this time seek to compete with worldly medical schools. Should we do this, our chances of success would be small. We are not now prepared to carry out successfully the work of establishing large medical institutions of learning.— Ibid. (see also Ibid., 9:175, 176).

And then she laid before the conference what at that time she saw as the objectives for the school:

At Loma Linda many can be educated to work as missionaries in the cause of health and temperance. Teachers are to be prepared for many lines of work. Schools are to be established in places where as yet no efforts have been made....

I feel a deep interest that careful study shall be given to the needs of our institution at Loma Linda, and that right moves shall be made.—Ibid., 9:309 (see also Ibid., 9:177).

Step by step the counsels given by Ellen White seemed to be leading to a medical school fully recognized for the training given to physicians. Measures were taken with the view in mind that at Loma Linda one or two years of medical studies would be given, [276] which might be accepted by a recognized medical college as part of a regular medical course (General Conference Committee Minutes, July 25, 1909 [see also DF 5, Medical Practice and the Educational Program at Loma Linda, p. 74]). It seemed that the next step would be the securing of a charter that would give such work acceptance. Elder Burden, on September 20, 1909, counseled with Ellen White at her home about this. He found that she was distressed with any plan that called for “having medical students take some work at Loma Linda” and then “get the finishing touches of their education from some worldly institution”. She exclaimed, “God forbid that such a plan should be followed,” and commented, “I must state that the light I have received is that we are to stand as a distinct, commandment-keeping people.”—Manuscript 72, 1909.

As the interview continued, Burden explained that they simply wanted to know whether they “were moving in right lines.” He declared, “If the Lord gives you light, well and good, we will be glad to receive it; and if not, then we will wait.”

In response Ellen White explained:

There are some who may not be able to see that here is a test as to whether we shall put our dependence on man, or depend upon God. Shall we by our course seem to acknowledge that there is a stronger power with unbelievers than there is with God’s own people? When we take hold upon God, and trust in Him, He will work in our behalf. But whatever the consequences may be, we are in regard to our faith to stand distinct and separate from the world.— Ibid.

She was asked, “Does that mean that we are not to have any more physicians, but that our people will work simply as nurses, or does it mean that we shall have a school of our own, where we can educate physicians?” She replied:

We shall have a school of our own. But we are not to be dependent upon the world. We must place our dependence upon a Power that is higher than all human power. If we honor God, He will honor us.— Ibid.

Burden then asked, “Would the securing of a charter for a medical school, where our students might obtain a medical [277] education, militate against our dependence upon God?”

Ellen White replied:

No, I do not see that it would, if a charter were secured on the right terms. Only be sure that you do not exalt men above God. If you can gain force and influence that will make your work more effective without tying yourselves to worldly men, that would be right. But we are not to exalt the human above the divine.— Ibid.

As the steps were taken to secure a charter for medical education at Loma Linda, Ellen White on November 5, 1909, gave strong counsel:

Some questions have been asked me regarding our relation to the laws governing medical practitioners. We need to move understandingly, for the enemy would be pleased to hedge up our work so that our physicians would have only a limited influence. Some men do not act in the fear of God, and they may seek to bring us into trouble by placing on our necks yokes that we could not consent to bear. We cannot submit to regulations if the sacrifice of principles is involved, for this would imperil the soul’s salvation.

But whenever we can comply with the law of the land without putting ourselves in a false position, we should do so. Wise laws have been framed in order to safeguard the people against the imposition of unqualified physicians. These laws we should respect, for we are ourselves protected from presumptuous pretenders. Should we manifest opposition to these requirements, it would tend to restrict the influence of our medical missionaries.—Letter 140, 1909 (Medical Ministry, 84).

On December 9, 1909, with the full approval of the General Conference Committee, a charter was secured under the laws of the State of California authorizing the College of Medical Evangelists to grant degrees in the liberal sciences, dentistry, and medicine (see The Story of Our Health Message, 383).

Now, at the session of the Pacific Union Conference in late January, 1910, held at Mountain View, the future of medical education conducted by Seventh-day Adventists was in the balance. [278] The dramatic story of what took place is one of faith, divine guidance, and of expressed determination on the part of church leaders to follow the light God was giving to His people. The story was clearly laid out in the February 3 issue of the Pacific Union Recorder, with fifteen of its sixteen pages devoted to various speeches and actions.

The Delegates Take Hold of Medical School Issues

With the matter of the future of the school at Loma Linda now prominently in the forefront, and the plans committee wrestling with the involvements, the election of officers was held in abeyance:

The committee also took into account the responsibility, financial and otherwise, which would rest upon any organization that might attempt to organize and support a denominational medical college. The object to be gained was greatly to be desired, but the expense would be so large, and the difficulties so many, that they did not feel free to recommend the undertaking of such an enterprise, before satisfying themselves, first, that they correctly understood the instruction given in the communications received from Sister White.—Pacific Union Recorder, February 3, 1910.

Many of her statements relating to the point were reviewed, and there were differences of interpretation. Some held that the school she called for should be to train ministers in physiology and a knowledge of how to give treatments as a means of enhancing their ministry. Others held that the church was called upon to operate a school in which physicians would be trained. So at this point, on Tuesday, January 25, it was decided to make a specific inquiry of Sister White. Elders I. H. Evans, E. E. Andross, and H. W. Cottrell were authorized to place this before her in writing, hopeful of receiving a clear-cut answer in writing. Their letter opened:

Dear Sister White,

We have read the testimonies, as far as we have seen them, that you have given concerning Loma Linda, and the establishment of a medical school in connection with the work at that place. As far as we know, our people are anxious to carry out the light that the Lord has given; but there is a [279] difference of opinion between us in regard to what you mean when you use the term, “a medical school.”— Ibid.

Then the differences of interpretation were clearly outlined, probing especially the point as to whether the training along medical lines should “qualify the students who take the course, to pass State Board examinations and become registered, qualified physicians for public work.” The letter of inquiry addressed to the messenger of the Lord closed with this paragraph:

We are very anxious to preserve unity and harmony of action. In order to do this, we must have a clear understanding of what is to be done. Are we to understand, from what you have written concerning the establishment of a medical school at Loma Linda, that, according to the light you have received from the Lord, we are to establish a thoroughly equipped medical school, the graduates from which will be able to take State Board examinations and become registered, qualified physicians?— Ibid.

This was submitted to Ellen White on Wednesday at noon. Early Thursday morning, January 27, she penned her reply, and sometime Thursday it was placed in the hands of the committee. It was short and to the point and left no room for doubt as to what she meant or the course the church must follow:

The light given me is, We must provide that which is essential to qualify our youth who desire to be physicians, so that they may intelligently fit themselves to be able to stand the examinations required to prove their efficiency as physicians. They should be taught to treat understandingly the cases of those who are diseased, so that the door will be closed for any sensible physician to imagine that we are not giving in our school the instruction necessary for properly qualifying young men and young women to do the work of a physician. Continually the students who are graduated are to advance in knowledge, for practice makes perfect.

The medical school at Loma Linda is to be of the highest order, because those who are in that school have the privilege of maintaining a living connection with the wisest of all physicians, [280] from whom there is communicated knowledge of a superior order. And for the special preparation of those of our youth who have clear convictions of their duty to obtain a medical education that will enable them to pass the examinations required by law of all who practice as regularly qualified physicians, we are to supply whatever may be required, [In these words is found the justification for accrediting Seventh-day Adventist Educational Institutions, a point developed in Counsels to parents and teachers in the statement: “our larger union conference training schools ... Should be placed in the most favorable position for qualifying our youth to meet the entrance requirements specified by State laws regarding medical students.”—Page 479.] so that these youth need not be compelled to go to medical schools conducted by men not of our faith. Thus we shall close a door that the enemy will be pleased to have left open; and our young men and young women, whose spiritual interests the Lord desires us to safeguard, will not feel compelled to connect with unbelievers in order to obtain a thorough training along medical lines. (Signed) Ellen G. White.— Ibid.

This response, far-reaching in its implications, made it clear to the committee on plans and the nominating committee that the work of developing the educational interests at Loma Linda must be in the hands of men in full sympathy with steps that should be taken.

Earnest Labors in Meeting a Critical Situation

Ellen White’s address to the session on Thursday morning was an appeal for humility of heart. She used as her opening text, “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8).

She began her remarks with these words:

In these perilous times, when the forces of evil are marshaling their hosts to thwart, if possible, the efforts of God’s servants in the earth, it is vitally necessary for every laborer to walk humbly with God. Daily he is to maintain a close connection with heavenly agencies. Light has been coming to me that unless the workers lean heavily on the divine Source of their strength, many will be overcome by the power of the enemy. Satanic agencies will surround the soul of him who cherishes a [281] spirit of independence and self-exaltation, and will seek to destroy his influence for good.—Pacific Union Recorder, April 14, 1910.

She spoke of Christ as our example in the humble position He took as He represented His Father here on earth. Then coming to the point she was evidently trying to make clear, she stated with conviction:

God’s servants should be very careful that their influence is sacredly kept on the side of truth and righteousness.... God expects right-doing and humility of heart from everyone who claims to be a follower of the meek and lowly Jesus.

Those who are standing in responsible positions should understand clearly that they are not rulers over their fellow workers. Men in responsibility should be Christlike in deportment. They need to be leaders in every reformatory movement for the purification of the church. They are to reveal that angels of God are constantly round about them, and that they are laboring under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Carefully are they to avoid everything that savors of a spirit of selfishness and self-esteem, for in meekness and humility of heart they are to be ensamples to the flock.— Ibid.

“I desire that everyone who stands in an important position,” she continued, “shall learn of the great Teacher, who is our leader,” and she admonished that leaders “are to avoid ruling arbitrarily.” She expressed thankfulness “that such manifestations of arbitrary dealings one with another as have been seen in years past are not seen so often now.” She added:

Those who are placed in positions of responsibility are to feel that unless God shall help them, it will be impossible for them to carry the responsibilities placed upon them. It is so easy for man to become exalted; but God will guide the meek in judgment. He will cooperate with those who remain lowly of heart, and sit at the feet of Jesus.

Brethren and sisters, will we covenant with God at this meeting that we will not seek for the highest place, and make that the burden of our thoughts? ... Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility.— Ibid. [282]

On Thursday afternoon two members of the nominating committee interviewed Ellen White regarding the names that should be brought forward as the future officers of the Pacific Union Conference. She advised “a change in the presidency” (WCW to AGD, January 28, 1910). When this was reported to the delegates at the afternoon business session, it “created quite a sensation” (Ibid.).

That afternoon Ellen White wrote a six-page letter to the president that opened with these words:

I am instructed by the Lord to say to our brethren and to you, that it is not the will and mind of the Spirit of God that your brethren should place you in positions of large responsibility while you determinedly maintain your own ideas, for these ideas are not all correct, and the Lord will hold our people responsible for pursuing a wrong course. It would also be doing an injury to yourself, to sustain and uphold you in wrong decisions that have been made.

I am instructed by the Lord to advise our brethren to choose some other man to stand in your place as president of the Pacific Union Conference. This would make it less difficult than otherwise for you to put away some traits of character that are not Christlike.

In your present state of mind, it would not be a blessing for you to have to remain in positions of large responsibility, as this heavy burden would place you in situations where you would be strongly tempted to have your own way, and would make it increasingly difficult for you to overcome objectionable traits of character.—Letter 18, 1910.

She added, “I feel sorry to say to you, my brother, that you have grieved the Spirit of God, and we cannot at present feel clear to ask you to continue in the position you have filled in the union conference.” “In some respects, you have not been a wise counselor and leader” she said. In her counsel she pointed out that “the Lord has helped you many, many times in the past. He has richly blessed you in your labors,” and she assured him that Jesus stood ready to help him overcome “objectionable traits” and to fit him “for continued usefulness in His cause.”

She then spoke of the church’s institutions as agencies of divine [283] appointment, and stated that at times we should come into possession of favorable properties even though all the money for their purchase was not in hand. At such times, she said, “we are to learn to walk by faith when necessary.”

She closed her sympathetic but firm letter by reference to the main issue—Loma Linda:

It is the favorable situation of the property that makes Loma Linda an ideal place for the recovery of the sick, and for the warning of many who might otherwise never hear the truth for this time. It is God’s plan that Loma Linda shall be not only a sanitarium, but a special center for the training of gospel medical missionary evangelists.— Ibid.

The president received this testimony Thursday evening. Ellen White was to take the devotional hour again on Friday morning. She chose to read to the congregation this letter that she had written the day before to the president, whose term would close with the session. This she followed with remarks that filled eight manuscript pages. She told of how since coming to the union session she had “been writing out the things that” she was “required to write,” for, she explained, “the end desired could not be accomplished unless matters were brought before” the conference “plainly and decidedly.” She told of the distress of soul this had caused her, but she said, “When messages come to me for the people of God, I must not conceal them, but must write them out, and speak of them.”—Manuscript 25, 1910. [Note: see Appendix A for a letter from the president of the general conference to the union president reproved by Ellen White’s Testimony.]

An Encounter with Evil Angels

She spoke of her burden for the cities and her burden for Loma Linda and then recounted a very unusual experience through which she had passed. This is the story as she told it to the congregation that Friday morning, January 28:

One day [Wednesday, January 26], after appearing before the conference to read some matter to you, the burden that was upon my soul continued to press upon me after I returned to my [284] room. I was in distress of mind. That night I could not seem to lose myself in sleep. It seemed as if evil angels were right in the room where I was. And while I was suffering in mind, it seemed as if I was suffering great bodily pain. My right arm, which through the years has nearly always been preserved from disease and suffering, seemed powerless. I could not lift it. Then I had a most severe, excruciating pain in the ear; then the most terrible suffering in the jaw. It seemed as if I must scream. But I kept saying, “Lord, You know all about it.”

I was in perfect agony. It seemed that my brain and every part of my body was suffering. At times I would rise up, and think, “I will not lie here another moment.” Then I would think, “You will only arouse those who are in the house, and they cannot do anything for you.” And so I kept looking to the Lord, and saying, “Lord, You know all about this pain.” The suffering continued, at times in the jaw, then in the brain, and then in other members of the body, until nearly daylight. Just before the break of day I fell asleep for about an hour.

My arm is all right this morning. Legions of evil angels were in that room, and if I had not clung by faith to the Lord, I do not know what might have become of me. I would not call anyone. I said, “This must be between me and these evil spirits.”

I would find myself at times rising up in bed, crying to the Lord to give me relief. But no genuine relief came to me. A sense of relief from the presence of those evil angels came to me, but no relief from pain and suffering came to me, until I stood here upon this platform with a manuscript in my hand, and began to read what I had to read to you. As soon as I stood up here with that manuscript in my hand, every pain left me. My right side was just as strong as it had been before.

I shall never be able to give you a description of the satanic forces that were at work in that room. I shall never be able to tell it in a way that will enable you to comprehend it.— Ibid.

Then turning to the matter that was on her heart—concerning the incumbent union conference president—she said in pleading terms:

Brethren, God is in earnest with us. He does not desire [285] Brother ----- to take a position that will lead both him and many others to make wrong decisions. Some may think it cruel to speak thus plainly; but it would be very cruel to allow our brother to cherish his natural tendency to think that when he takes a position, he has to hold to this position without changing his view.

Over and over again, in the night season, One with arms outstretched has instructed me, “Tell My people to come into line. Tell My people to unite with Jesus Christ in doing a work that they have not yet done. God desires His people to take steps forward and upward.— Ibid.

In the light of these most earnest words a deep solemnity came over the delegates. Turning to the work before them in the few closing hours of the conference, a new nominating committee was appointed, for the original committee had lapsed.

Plans Develop for a Medical School

In the meantime the plans committee, which had initiated the letter of inquiry to Ellen White and now had her response in their hands, addressed itself to preparing a set of resolutions to bring to the session based on that correspondence. Their report was ready Friday afternoon for consideration by the delegates. Its opening paragraphs read:

We recommend, (1) That, in harmony with the above instruction, we favor the establishment and maintenance of a medical school at Loma Linda, Calif.

(2) In order that this medical school may meet the mind of the Lord in doing the work appointed for it by the Spirit of Prophecy, we invite the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the Lake, Northern, Central, Southwestern, and North Pacific Union Conferences and the Southern California Conference, to unite with the Pacific Union Conference in establishing and suitably equipping and maintaining this school.—Pacific Union Recorder, February 3, 1910.

Recommendation 3 had to do with the appointment of a board with wide representation. Provision 4 dealt with finance, providing that the school would be maintained by tuition and donations, and [286] that deficits would be made up by the organizations named in provision 2. The next item called for requests to be shared equally, with each of the organizations to raise $1,000 in behalf of the equipment and maintenance of the school for the calendar year 1910.

The last provision, 7, called for a committee of five to present the matter of establishing this medical school to the General Conference and the union conferences named (The Review and Herald, May 19, 1910).

At this point it was decided to defer action on the recommendations of the plans committee until “a meeting to be held the evening after the Sabbath, January 29.” Either on that Friday afternoon or two days later, on Sunday morning, the nominating committee brought in its report, presenting the name of Elder G. A. Irwin for president of the Pacific Union Conference. Irwin was a seasoned administrator; for four years he had been president of the General Conference [1897-1901], with subsequent experience as president of the Australasian Union Conference and then as General Conference vice-president. He was known to have unbounded confidence in the counsels of the messenger of the Lord. The vote for his election was unanimous. As treasurer and secretary, J. J. Ireland, a son-in-law of Elder J. N. Loughborough, would stand by his side.

The Night of the Decision

It was an eager but subdued group of workers and members that gathered that Saturday night in the Mountain View church. The outgoing president, who presided throughout the assembly, opened the meeting and then called Elder Irwin to the chair. Irwin reviewed the experience of the church in arranging in the 1890s for the education of physicians at the American Medical Missionary College in Chicago. He pointed out the church’s responsibility in providing medical education for its youth under favorable spiritual conditions. Elder Burden followed with a review of the developments at Loma Linda. The letter to Sister White and her response were read.

Burden was followed by Elder I. H. Evans. The latter, on his way from Washington to Mountain View, had spent a few hours in Chicago conferring with the officers of the American Medical Association. This is the body that is recognized in the United States [287] as establishing standards to be followed in medical education and practice. When Evans had presented the proposals he had in mind, the medical men in Chicago had laughed at the proposition, declaring that it was useless for Seventh-day Adventists, with their limited finances, personnel, and facilities, to consider starting a medical school. “Why,” they said, “the best you could do would be to start a ‘C’ grade school, and we are closing all ‘C’ grade schools.”

But Evans was a man of faith. He opened his remarks in the Mountain View Saturday-night meeting by saying:

I am deeply interested in what has been read to us tonight from the Spirit of Prophecy. The question before the meeting is one of great importance, and needs most careful consideration from every standpoint.

The establishment of a medical school has been under consideration for several years by some of our leading brethren. Not a few of our men have believed that we should have such a school. They have hesitated to establish a school, because of their lack of experience in operating such an enterprise, and because they did not know where to secure either the teachers or the money with which to carry forward the same.

When the statement from Sister White is read, I am sure that the majority of our brethren will feel as we feel tonight—that the Lord has spoken, and we will obey.

To some, this counsel from Sister White may come as a trial of their faith; to others, I am sure the words spoken will seem God-given and timely. Oftentimes, the light God has sent to His people has seemed to be foolishness to those who did not view things as Heaven views them.

Now if we always were wise-hearted, and saw everything as the Lord would have us view it, there would be no need of further light through the Spirit of Prophecy; but we are mortal, and our vision is limited, and we often see things in a perverted light. Because of our lack of clear perception, the Lord in mercy speaks to His people through the Spirit of Prophecy. He has had to do this in the past, and we may well hope that He may long continue speaking to us concerning our duty and the needs of His cause. [288]

And he continued, saying in part:

Since our brethren have been talking on this subject tonight, I have been thinking of the many times in the past when the Lord has spoken to this people, counseling them to do one thing or another, when many of the leading men at the time were not able to see any light in doing that which was suggested.

He then reviewed some of God’s guiding providences in establishing the church’s publishing work and church school work. He dwelt at some length with the work in Australia as an object lesson, commenting:

I cannot think of a single enterprise that has been started by the instruction of the Spirit of Prophecy, that has not worked out for the best good of the Lord’s work. Many times we have been told to move forward, when the Red Sea seemed before us, and the mountains on either side; but every time we have accepted the instruction and stepped cheerfully forward, the Lord has made plain a pathway in which we could walk, and we have found not only prosperity to the cause of God, but we have found our own hearts nurtured in the Lord.

Evans maintained that such experiences should strengthen faith, and he declared, “We have before us tonight a plain, straightforward statement from Sister White, in regard to the establishment of a medical school.” He laid the matter out in straight terms:

There is no guesswork about it; there is no equivocation; there is no false construction that need be put upon these words. The question is, Will we follow the counsel given? Do we intend to obey what the Lord has said to us in regard to the establishment and maintenance of a medical school?

Most earnest attention was paid as this representative from the General Conference pressed the matter:

Someone may say, “The time is most inopportune.” But the question is, When the Lord reveals to us His desire that we shall establish a medical school, and do it soon, is the time inopportune for doing such a work? [289]

I can conjure up many reasons why at this time we are ill-prepared to establish and operate a medical school. It is not hard for any man to say that we have not the money at hand. Any man need not be very wise to say, “We do not know where we shall get medical men trained and qualified to take up this work.”

But the question is, Will we establish this medical school, when the Lord has indicated so plainly our duty?

I believe, brethren, if we step forward in the fear of God, and make an effort to establish this school, the Lord will help us and make the way clear.

Elder Evans then discussed at length a number of features of the work, but stressed the importance of safeguarding the church’s youth from the subtle influences and erroneous teachings in the schools of the world. He observed:

I believe we shall see light, more and more, as we advance by faith, in accordance with the words of counsel that have come to us through the servant of the Lord.—Pacific Union Recorder, February 3, 1910.

W. C. White, in the last speech made, declared:

Brethren and friends, I believe that the Lord God of Israel is leader of this people, and I believe that it is He who is leading us to undertake this tremendous enterprise—an enterprise which will mean more to us in the matter of expense and sacrifice than we may estimate today; an enterprise which will mean many times more to us in results—in the saving of souls and in the fitting up of efficient missionaries—than we can possibly calculate today.

And while the world will continue to say to us, as it has said in the past, “Ye are not able to go up and possess this field of usefulness,” I believe that our people will unite in saying, “We are well able to go up and possess it, and do this great work.— Ibid.

The Vote To Advance

At this point the delegates were called upon to vote on the recommendations presented by the plans committee. This called for [290] the establishment of a full-fledged medical school at Loma Linda. The vote was unanimous.

Then the delegates proposed that the matter be submitted to the whole congregation for their action. Again the vote favoring the establishment of a medical school was unanimous. The die was cast. The church would have a medical school at Loma Linda.

Ellen White continued to watch with deep interest the developments at Loma Linda, and her counsel was sought often and followed. Yet the high point of decision-making, predicated on the counsels given to the church through the messenger of the Lord, was reached at the meeting in Mountain View. The whole experience was a heavy strain on Ellen White; of it she declared, “That severe taxation at Mountain View was a terrible ordeal to me.”—Letter 150, 1910. [291]

Chapter 22—At 82—A Very Busy Year

The year 1910 was a busy one for Ellen White. From the epochal union conference session in Mountain View, which closed on Sunday, January 30, she went immediately to Lodi to attend the annual session of the California Conference, which was to open on Tuesday morning. Just as the union session was a particularly important one, so was the meeting of the local conference. There was little question concerning the leadership of the field. Elder S.N. Haskell, although 76, was giving good steady guidance in conference affairs. In advance of the meeting he had expressed a desire to be relieved of responsibilities, but while Ellen White did not want to sway the election, she had indicated her approval of his continuing in office. She wrote:

Regarding Elder Haskell’s future work, I dare not take the responsibility of giving advice. With proper helpers, Elder Haskell and his wife, by the sustaining grace of God, may continue to do an important work in the position they have occupied. There is to be an increased force of working agencies in every part of the field.

If Elder Haskell feels that he is willing again to carry responsibility, I would advise that a wise-hearted minister be chosen to share his responsibilities. The experience and the knowledge gained in their past service has given to Brother and Sister Haskell an understanding of the work that will be a help to their fellow laborers and to the conference.—Letter 8, 1910.

There were 162 delegates at the conference, representing 5,039 [292] members in eighty-three churches. The conference session opened Tuesday morning, February 1, and extended to Sunday, February 6. Ellen White spoke each day at eleven o’clock, closing her work with the sermon on Sabbath morning. A good spirit pervaded the conference (Pacific Union Recorder, February 17, 1910). Some things were done that were entirely different from what the president had expected. Three very important moves were made:

1. The school in Lodi: The Western Normal Institute, which had been started independent of conference support, was heavily in debt and stood in dire need of strong leadership. Ellen White had observed this in an earlier visit to Lodi. In one of her addresses at the session she dealt somewhat with the school and its problems, including those in disciplinary lines. Careful groundwork had been done, and a proposal that the Lodi school become a “conference” school, with the church taking over the plant and a $27,000 debt, gained favorable support (Ibid.).

2. Action was taken to make the new school at Angwin, so far operated by the California Conference, a union conference institution to be known as Pacific Union College. The property was turned over to the Pacific Union, and a board of managers was chosen (Ibid., February 24, 1910).

3. It was decided to move the headquarters of the California Conference from Mountain View to Oakland, a move that became effective immediately (Ibid.).

With the session over, it was back to Elmshaven, where she devoted her time and strength to book work. Some of the members of her staff were just beginning to consider the involvements in what some have termed a “revision” of The Great Controversy. At the time of the union session, C. H. Jones, manager of the Pacific Press, had discussed with W. C. White the need of a new printing of the book and the matter of the much-worn printing plates. First considerations were in upgrading illustrations, appendix notes, et cetera. But the involvements were to increase as the year wore on.

A Visit To Pacific Union College

On Tuesday, March 8, although not feeling well, Ellen White went to Pacific Union College to join a group of about twenty-five workers and members who had been invited to come to the school [293] and become acquainted with developments there. The group had arrived the afternoon before and had looked over some of the more general features of the plant and listened to presentations made by the president, C. W. Irwin, and some of the teachers. They found that, in harmony with the counsel given through the Spirit of Prophecy down through the years, a strong industrial program was in operation, with students dividing their time between study and manual labor. Students were found with skills in engineering, blacksmithing, electrical work, the handling of horses, orchard care, the felling of heavy timber, poultry care, gardening, and cooking.

Ellen White spoke encouraging words to the inspecting group. She was pleased with the accomplishments at the college (WCW to AGD, March 13, 1910).

The Trip To Southern California

Loma Linda was much on the minds of Ellen White and W. C. White at this time. The decisions reached at Mountain View on January 29, which called for Loma Linda to be developed into a full-fledged medical school, were far-reaching and called for concurrence of the General Conference Committee and the several union conferences that would be assisting in the project. It was recognized that there must be the work of “selling” the plan to the organizations involved. To do this, a committee was named in the last clause of the action taken at Mountain View. It read:

That a committee consisting of the incoming president of the Pacific Union Conference, the president of the Southern California Conference, W. C. White, J. A. Burden, and I. H. Evans, be asked to present this entire question to the General Conference and the union conferences referred to, and to lead out in the establishment of this medical school.—The Review and Herald, May 19, 1910.

It was a large assignment for the committee of five, one that would take W. C. White into the field much of the time in 1910 and particularly before a meeting at Loma Linda, opening May 6, to chart the course of the school. It was this meeting Ellen White had her eyes upon as the next crucial step in getting the medical school under way. [294]

By this time she was laying aside heavy correspondence and devoting her time and strength to book work, and, except for nearby churches, speaking on important occasions only. While there are 222 letters from her pen on file for the year 1905, the file for 1910 contains only ninety-seven.

On Wednesday afternoon, March 23, she was on her way to Los Angeles, accompanied by Sara McEnterfer and Helen Graham. Thursday morning she counseled with the officers of the Southern California Conference in Los Angeles. In the afternoon, the president, Elder E. E. Andross, and John Wessels, business manager of the Glendale Sanitarium, drove her to the institution (WCW to May White, March 27, 1910). W. C. White joined her for the weekend. Sabbath she met with the members of the Carr Street church and spoke to an overflow crowd. Her topic was “The Vine and the Branches.” Writing of this meeting, she said:

The house was crowded to its utmost capacity. I wish a picture could have been drawn of the crowd. The crowded congregation was the most agreeable sight I have ever looked upon, and everything was in order.

Every receptacle for flowers was removed. Every seat that could be crowded in was occupied. There was not one crying voice of a child, and the pleasant, happy faces were a sight that brought joy to my heart and did my soul good. The sisters, as far as I could see, removed their hats, and what a pleasure it was to view their countenances. I had good freedom in speaking.—Letter 36, 1910.

She was to go back to Glendale to speak to the workers there the following morning. She wrote about leaving the Carr Street church:

When we were seated in the automobile, ready to return to Glendale, not a few colored sisters pressed about the conveyance to see and speak with me. They expressed their appreciation of the discourse. Cheerfulness and happiness was expressed in their countenances, and it was a scene of cheerful parting. I shall long remember that interesting meeting, and the stillness and peacefulness expressed in the countenances of both white and colored people.— Ibid. [295]

On Monday, March 28, Ellen White went to Loma Linda. The same day W. C. White took the train east to attend the Spring Meeting of the General Conference Committee to be held early in April, at Washington, D.C. At this meeting the Loma Linda medical school would be considered, and he had to be there. He would not be with his mother again until just before the crucial May 6 meeting.

When Ellen White reached Loma Linda, she found work going forward on a church building—a “meetinghouse,” as she would call it. She spent the week resting, for still she was not feeling well. On two occasions she went out for a drive with the carriage pulled by an “old steady horse” owned by the Sanitarium. One drive took her “up the hill where there is so much to please our senses in the beautiful variety of flowers and trees of rare selection and beauty.” She exclaimed, “It is simply indescribable.”—Letter 150, 1910.

As her age advanced, the speaking and travel drew more heavily on her physical resources. During this week of resting at Loma Linda she wrote of the “severe taxation at Mountain View” as “a terrible ordeal” to her, and also of speaking in Lodi in a room improperly ventilated. “All these things combined to cause me much suffering,” she wrote, but declared, “Still I shall not excuse myself from the future meeting in Loma Linda.” She went on to explain: “I feel no particular anxiety in regard to my future life. Let my life be hid with Christ in God, and it is then well with my soul.”— Ibid.

On Sabbath, April 2, she spoke to a large congregation assembled on the lawn of the institution, under the pepper trees. With her strength returning, it seemed that plans for her to visit other points in southern California before the important Loma Linda meeting could be carried out. The school at San Fernando was the first, where she spoke twice over the weekend. Late the next week she spoke in San Diego, on Sabbath morning, April 16. She was glad for another visit to Paradise Valley Sanitarium, in which she had a great interest, but she did not stay long. Monday the eighteenth found her back in Loma Linda, and she was glad to see that the meetinghouse was near completion. The workmen were pressing hard to have it ready for the meeting that would open on Friday, May 6 (Ibid.). [296]

The Los Angeles Meeting In Simpson Auditorium

Elder Andross, president of the Southern California Conference, had pressed Ellen White to speak a second time in Los Angeles, on this occasion in a public hall to the people who could not possibly crowd into a small meetinghouse—people who would count it a privilege to hear her. “I was then suffering—sick upon my bed in Loma Linda,” she wrote to W. C., “but I consented.”—Letter 151, 1910. She then told of how the Lord had healed her to fill the appointment. Commenting further on such situations, she said:

I have my sick and suffering times, but whenever a call is made I get right up. I saw the Lord knows; He will strengthen me for the work. I am not feeling well, but when any calls come like this one, I shall be on my feet ready to speak.— Ibid.

So, regardless of her feelings, in response to the urgent invitation she planned to fill the appointment. But as the week wore on and the time to go to Los Angeles neared, she felt it would be presumptuous to leave Loma Linda. Communication with the conference president led her to send word that if it was at all reasonable, she would come. Friday morning, April 22, she went to Los Angeles, stayed at Glendale Sanitarium Friday night, and was driven to the hall on Sabbath morning. When she arrived, the hall was filled, and 200 people stood outside. “I could not tell what to do,” she wrote later.— Ibid. It was proposed that a few blocks away was a larger hall—the Simpson Auditorium. Hasty arrangements were made for its use, and the crowd flocked to the new location. The large number of people standing on the street at the first hall, and then 1,500 people walking the few blocks to the larger hall, must have made quite an impression on the people of Los Angeles. Soon the main floor and gallery were filled.

“The Lord gave me voice and clearness of mind,” wrote Ellen White of the experience, “as I spoke from the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy with portions from the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters.” For more than an hour she addressed the attentive audience. “The Lord gave me the freedom of His Holy Spirit, and many in the audience were deeply affected,” she reported.—Letter 146, 1910.

She commented concerning the actions of the conference [297] president, “Elder Andross has done his part nobly.” She also thought of the man who with his automobile had taken her from one place to another. “I will send you a book,” she promised as they parted, “for you have waited upon us right attentively.” “Oh,” said he, “if you only knew what this occasion has been to me! It is the greatest blessing of my life.”—Letter 151, 1910.

Time For The Loma Linda Meeting Nears

The time of the important meeting at Loma Linda was nearing, and Ellen White felt she should preserve her strength that she might work efficiently then (Letter 38, 1910). On Tuesday night, April 26, she received a vision concerning which she wrote to Clarence Crisler at Elmshaven. She urged him to come to Loma Linda for the meeting:

The Lord is opening matters to me. All who are connected with our schools as teachers are to understand what it means to learn from the highest Source the requirements of God and then carry them out in sanctified, refined characters. We are not to follow the sentiments of the world and call this the higher education. God has been educating His people in the higher principles of education. Our principles are to be kept high and ennobling, sanctifying the receiver. The science of higher education means the grand work of sanctification.—Letter 159, 1910.

The vision seemed timely. In a few days church leaders would be charting the course of the medical school that had been voted for the training of Adventist youth as physicians.

The morning after the vision, she wrote to Elder Burden, in Loma Linda carrying the responsibility of the work:

During the night of April 26, many things were opened before me. I was shown that now in a special sense we as a people are to be guided by divine instruction. Those fitting themselves for medical missionary work should fear to place themselves under the direction of worldly doctors, to imbibe their sentiments and peculiar prejudices, and to learn to express their ideas and views. They are not to depend for their influence [298] upon worldly teachers. They should be “looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”

The Lord has instructed us that in our institutions of education, we should ever be striving for the perfection of character to be found in the life of Christ, and in His instruction to His disciples. Having received our commission from the highest authority, we are to educate, educate, educate in the simplicity of Christ. Our aim must be to reach the highest standard in every feature of our work.—Letter 61, 1910 (published in Medical Evangelist, Second Quarter, 1910).

The six-page communication stressed high standards, an independence from men of the world and “the spirit of the world.” To physicians and teachers was to come “a new understanding of the principles that must govern the medical work. An education is to be given that is altogether in harmony with the teachings of the Word of God.”

The instruction was balanced and cautious. Near its close she wrote:

A time will come when medical missionaries of other denominations will become jealous and envious of the influence exerted by Seventh-day Adventists who are working in these lines. They will feel that influence is being secured by our workers which they ought to have.

We should have, in various places, men of extraordinary ability, who have obtained their diplomas in medical schools of the best reputation, who can stand before the world as fully qualified and legally recognized physicians. Let God-fearing men be wisely chosen to go through the training essential in order to obtain such qualifications. They should be prudent men who will remain true to the principles of the message.

These should obtain the qualifications and the authority to conduct an educational work for our young men and our young women who desire to be trained for medical missionary work.

The communication closed with this counsel:

Now while the world is favorable toward the teaching of the health reform principles, moves should be made to secure for [299] our own physicians the privilege of imparting medical instruction to our young people who would otherwise be led to attend the worldly medical colleges. The time will come when it will be more difficult than it now is to arrange for the training of our young people in medical missionary lines.— Ibid.

This message was delivered just ten days before the leading men of the church would meet to outline the course that should be followed in the developments at Loma Linda.

In the meantime, the Spring Meeting of the General Conference Committee convened, and the far-reaching action of approval was taken on April 13. The minutes of that meeting read:

G. A. Irwin presented the instruction from Sister White regarding the establishment of a medical college at that place [Loma Linda], and the action of the Pacific Union Conference....

G. A. Irwin moved that we accept the action and invitation of the Pacific Union regarding the Loma Linda Medical College, and that we appoint two members of the board of the proposed institution.

W. C. White also spoke of the favorable conditions at Loma Linda for such a school.—General Conference Committee Minutes, April 13, 1910 (see also DF 5, Medical Practice and the Educational Program at Loma Linda, p. 93).

The whole matter was carefully considered, and before the day closed the approving action was taken:

Resolved, That the General Conference unite with the Pacific Union Conference in establishing a medical school at Loma Linda, California.

There was a financial provision for the new school in the amount of $1,000, and three men from the General Conference were appointed to serve as members of the board of control.

As the matter was presented to the respective unions in North America, either constituencies or administrative committees gave their approval, and each appointed a member to the board of control. [300]

The May 6 Meeting At Loma Linda

On Friday, May 6, 1910, the men from the various fields appointed to the task of opening a medical school at Loma Linda met there in the newly finished meetinghouse. The first item of business was to review the history of the work and the development of the medical school idea. This was done so “that the brethren from the East might have an intelligent understanding of the present status of the movement, and thus be prepared to consider the question from the standpoint of the light that had been received, which caused the brethren connected with the work at Loma Linda to pursue the course which they had” (G. A. Irwin, in Pacific Union Recorder, June 9, 1910). In reporting the meeting in the Review and Herald, Elder Irwin wrote:

The latest [Ellen G. White] communications in regard to this enterprise were so clear and explicit that all doubt as to their intent was removed from the minds of the members of the council; and hence, from the very beginning, the meeting was characterized by a spirit of earnestness and determination.—June 9, 1910.

Ellen White spoke only once during the council, and that was near the close. She was on the grounds, and her advice was sought from time to time. In the main, however, matters had been laid out so clearly that steps were taken on the basis of her accumulated statements, which were studied and restudied. Early in the meeting consideration was given to the organizational structure. Should the Sanitarium and the medical school be represented by separate corporations or only one? Here again, counsel already had been given. Irwin reports that concerning the corporation, “The testimonies clearly implied [they] should be one.”— Ibid. A resolution was passed “to consolidate the Sanitarium corporation and the college corporation into one, to be known as the College of Medical Evangelists” (Ibid.).

Here, too, in the matter of the selection of a name, Ellen White had had some insight. Some months before this meeting, while visiting Loma Linda, she had been pondering the matter of a name. It was not uncommon for her to wrestle with words, attempting to find a way to put them together effectively. One morning as she came to breakfast at Loma Linda, she declared triumphantly, “I’ve [301] got it! I’ve got it! Medical Missionary Evangelists.” This phrase of her coining, which she felt embodied the true objective of the institution, contributed to the choice of a name for the school, “The College of Medical Evangelists.”—As told to the author by W. C. White.

Through the week of the spring meeting at Loma Linda steps were taken carefully and firmly, and the medical school—that is, plans for it—became a reality. On Wednesday, the day before the council closed, Ellen White addressed the group. Following her address, accompanied by Sara McEnterfer and Helen Graham, she left for St. Helena and home. She was much worn, the weather was very hot, and she laid aside her burdens for the remainder of the month. During this time she enjoyed a visit from her friend Mrs. Nellie Druillard. [302]

Chapter 23—The 1911 Edition of The Great Controversy

A matter of importance to Ellen White and her staff reached back to early January, 1910. This was the development of a new edition of her book The Great Controversy. From the early summer of 1888, when the enlarged book with 678 pages of text was introduced, printing after printing had come from the presses of Pacific Press in the West and the Review and Herald in the East, and then in time from the presses of Southern Publishing Association in Nashville, Tennessee. The book, issued by the thousands, served the growing church and was a standby work, one sold widely by literature evangelists. Through the early years of the new century the printing plates gave increasing evidence of wear. In 1907, repairs were made to the most badly worn plates, some improvements in illustrations were made, a subject index was added, and the book was dressed up generally.

As C. H. Jones, manager of Pacific Press in early January, 1910, was preparing for the annual constituency meeting to be held later in the month, he took stock of the accomplishments in 1909, the work in hand, and some things to which attention needed to be given in 1910. On January 5 he wrote to his close friend and long associate in the work of the church, W. C. White, listing things he felt needed consideration. Among these, under the heading “Great Controversy, English,” he wrote:

It will be necessary to print another edition of this book on or before July, 1910. You are aware that the plates are worn out. New plates ought to be made before printing another edition. [303]

Plans were set in motion for a discussion of The Great Controversy matter when W. C. White would be in Mountain View attending the constituency meeting later in the month. But even before this meeting was held, word came from the Review and Herald that they, too, needed new plates for the book (C. H. Jones to WCW, January 12, 1910). Ellen White owned the printing plates for her books; whatever would be done with The Great Controversy would be done under her direction and at her expense. In these matters, W. C. White served as her business agent.

The procedures seemed routine and uncomplicated. Not waiting till he would be in Mountain View later in the month, White wrote to Jones on January 14 of what he thought would be a workable plan for the resetting of “Great Controversy, English“:

Arrange for the Southern Publishing Association to keep and continue to use the set of plates which they have and on which they have done considerable repairing.

Inform Curtiss [in Washington] that we will reset the book immediately, and send the Review and Herald a set of plates, and advise him if they run short of books to buy a few in sheets from the Southern Publishing Association.

Instruct Mary Steward to read carefully one of the last editions of the book and to mark anything that needs consideration in resetting.

Then instruct Pacific Press to reset at its earliest convenience, finishing up two sets of electrotype plates, one for Review and Herald and one for Pacific Press.

Hold the [linotype] slugs till we learn what can be done about providing a set of plates for the London office and a set of plates for the Southern Publishing Association. It seems to me that we ought to go forward with the work, but we do not wish to make unnecessary expense in finishing up sets of plates before they are needed.

From this it is clear that the work that eventually was done in what has come to be known as the 1911 “revision”—a term too strong for what actually took place—was not contemplated in the initial plans. In other words, no need was seen for changes in the book at the time that plans were initiated for resetting the type, nor [304] were any alterations in the E. G. White text contemplated, beyond technical corrections as might be suggested by Miss Mary Steward, a proofreader of long experience and now a member of Ellen White’s staff. Work on the book was undertaken in a routine fashion and according to plan. Miss Steward reviewed the book, checking spelling, capitalization, punctuation, et cetera. She finished her work on this in late February. By mid-March, Pacific Press had copy for resetting the first five chapters and a portion of the sixth. On March 22, Jones reported to White:

We have received corrected copy for about 100 pages of Great Controversy, and have already begun typesetting. We found the ten-point linotype matrices which we have been using on the Signs were so badly worn that they would hardly do for book work, so we sent for a new set of matrices, and they arrived last night.... This will give us a good, clear-cut face. We want this new edition to be just as near correct and just as good as possible.

Miss Steward is here, and I understand that she is to take the responsibility of reading the final page proofs, but she wants our proofreaders to read galley proofs, etc.

Jones, in his letter, discussed the number of sets of printing plates that would be wanted and expressed the hope he could have a visit with W. C. White before White had to leave to attend the Spring Meeting of the General Conference Committee in Washington, D.C.

It is evident that all concerned expected that the work called for would be pushed through in a matter of weeks.

In the meantime, as a corollary to the resetting of the type for The Great Controversy, thoughts began to develop both in the minds of Ellen White and the members of her staff regarding certain features of the new reset book. These related not only to the physical features of the book—type face, illustrations, et cetera—but also to the text itself. Ellen White wrote of this to F. M. Wilcox, chairman of the Review and Herald board:

When I learned that Great Controversy must be reset, I determined that we would have everything closely examined, to see if the truths it contained were stated in the very best manner, to convince those not of our faith that the Lord had guided and sustained me in the writing of its pages.—Letter 56, 1911. [305]

These and other considerations led W. C. White to reach out for helpful suggestions. He reported:

We took counsel with the men of the Publishing Department, with State canvassing agents, and with members of the publishing committees, not only in Washington, but in California, and I asked them to kindly call our attention to any passages that needed to be considered in connection with the resetting of the book.—WCW to “Our General Missionary Agents,” July 24, 1911 (see also Selected Messages 3:439, 440).

As suggestions began to come in, he called a halt in typesetting and the making of printing plates. At this point 120 pages had been sent to the type foundry for platemaking, and the type was set for 100 more pages.

Considerations Initiated by Plans for a New Edition

The Great Controversy was Ellen White’s most important book. She regarded it as a volume designed to win readers to an understanding and acceptance of the light of present truth.

This lifted the matter of a new edition somewhat above the mechanical production of a volume for literature evangelists to introduce to the people of the world, to the excellence of the text itself, depicting the great controversy story in an accurate and winning way.

So, relatively early in 1910, there loomed before Ellen White, her staff, and the publishers a perfecting of the text to reflect a precision of expression, and the employment of words acceptable to both Catholic and Protestant readers. The steps to accomplish this were grasped somewhat progressively. While Ellen White, with a full sense of this implication, carried the responsibility for many changes in the text, she delegated the details of the work to several members of her experienced and trusted office staff. But she held herself as the ultimate judge, and she would from time to time consider specific points and finally review the text of the manuscript.

It should be stated here that neither Ellen White nor her staff considered what was done as an actual “revision,” and all studiously avoided the use of the term, for it was entirely too broad in its connotation. [306]

Here were the involvements that developed as the work was entered upon:

1. First and foremost, giving the full reference in connection with each quotation drawn from histories, commentaries, and other theological works. While these stood in quotation marks, only a very few carried source references. Each item was to be verified to ensure its accuracy, and reference to the original source was to be given. This was a point that had been raised in preceding years from time to time, especially by those engaged in book distribution.

2. Rewording time references, such as “forty years ago,” “a century ago,” et cetera—putting the book in a position of correctness regardless of when it would be read.

3. In a few instances, selecting words more precise in their meaning than those first employed by the author, to set forth facts and truths more correctly and accurately.

4. Having the Catholic reader in mind, to employ words that in expressing truth would do so kindly and win rather than repel.

5. Presenting, in cases where facts might be challenged (especially in reviewing the history of the conflict in Reformation days), only that which could be supported by available reference works of ready access.

6. Including appendix notes, supportive of the text of the book.

It was agreed that upon early that the new book should be held as nearly as possible, page for page, to the 1888 printing so widely circulated. At the outset, work on the illustrations for the new book had been undertaken. This was a point of importance in a volume to be sold by colporteurs.

The typesetting that had begun was now being held in abeyance. W. C. White at first thought that the delay would be not much more than a week or two, allowing, as he said in his letter to Jones on May 17, 1910, for “careful study of suggestions ... recently received from brethren connected with the Review and Herald.” White continued:

You may be sure we will do all we can to minimize the changes, not only in the pages molded and in the pages set, but in the whole book. We feel, however, that now is the time to give faithful consideration to the suggestions that have been made to us. [307]

Miss Steward, on completing her work of correcting spelling, capitalization, punctuation, et cetera, joined Clarence Crisler in checking historical and other quotations employed in the book. With other tasks pressing on Miss Steward, Dores Robinson was soon also drawn in to work at Crisler’s side. The publisher and artists were at work on some new full-page illustrations, perfecting others, and making new engravings.

Other suggestions from publishing men and publication committees were now coming in. These fell within the guidelines noted above. W. C. White, while attending the Spring Meeting of the General Conference Committee in Washington, D.C., in mid-April, 1910, had conferred with W. W. Prescott, editor of The Protestant Magazine, published by the Review and Herald, urging him to respond to the invitation to send in suggestions aimed at meeting Ellen White’s expressed determination to have the book as perfect as possible. Considering his responsibilities, it was appropriate that word from him should be sought. On April 26, 1910, Prescott rendered his report in a thirty-nine-page double-spaced letter to W. C. White. His suggestions ranged all the way from a date given and a precision in wording and the correcting of minor historical inaccuracies to the proposal of changes that would reflect his privately held views on some points, such as the dating of the 1260 years of prophecy.

Each item sent in was reviewed on May 23 by a group consisting of W. C. White, C. C. Crisler, D. E. Robinson, A. G. Daniells, and Professor Homer Salisbury, a trusted scholar and president of Washington Missionary College who was traveling with Daniells. Most of the suggestions were obviously reasonable, and, in principle, approved. Others were rejected as being inappropriate or out of harmony with positions held by Ellen White. Each item, both in the initial review and in further careful probing, was given careful study. Of the Prescott suggestions, the larger number might be considered helpful but of minor significance. Some, if adopted, would have changed the teachings of the book. All such were rejected. His suggestions included some mentioned by others. In all, about one half of his suggestions were accepted, and about one half rejected. [DF 83D carries detailed documentation on the Prescott Suggestions.] [308]

The respective identities of the individuals who submitted suggestions in response to Ellen White’s request were soon lost sight of as the contribution of committees and individuals were blended into one overall group of points calling for study, first by the staff and eventually by Ellen White herself. Prescott’s name finds no place in the records, except his letter to W. C. White.

Finding Sources for the Quotations

The most demanding of the tasks connected with readying the book for resetting was the tracking down of all the quotations employed in the book—417 in all, drawn from seventy-five authors, ten periodicals, and three encyclopedias. It was while Ellen White was in Europe and had access to the library left by J. N. Andrews at the denomination’s publishing house in Basel, Switzerland, that the manuscript for the 1888 edition was largely prepared. At Elmshaven, Clarence Crisler was now in charge of seeking out the sources and verifying the quotations.

Crisler was soon off to the libraries of the University of California in Berkeley, the State library at Sacramento, another in San Francisco, and to the Stanford University library at Palo Alto. His investigations met with reasonably moderate success, but it was soon seen that they must reach out much farther. To accomplish this, ministers of experience and educators living near other important libraries in Chicago, New York, and Washington were drawn into the search, with requests to help in finding specific items. Then the search led to libraries in Europe—Great Britain, France, and Germany.

What was at first thought of as being accomplished in two or three weeks stretched into four months. Crisler did not leave California; from the Elmshaven office he directed research, sometimes far afield but yielding significant and satisfying results. By mid-October they had located almost all the quotations.

Ultimately it was seen that substitute quotations approved by Ellen White could be used for most of the few that seemed impossible to locate. A minimum of quoted materials was left in quotation marks but without references.

One area that seemed the most difficult to handle was in finding the original source of several of the quotations used in connection [309] with the chapter on “The Bible and the French Revolution.” The search led to Elder Uriah Smith’s Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, and it soon was discovered that Ellen White had depended on sources Smith employed. Most were traced to their original location, but in the case of a few, Crisler and his associates failed at first to track them down.

Meanwhile, the work proceeded at Elmshaven and at Pacific Press. The longer the delay, the more opportunity there seemed to be for imaginings and rumors in the field. In a letter to A. G. Daniells written on June 20, 1910, W. C. White reported:

Shortly after we sent word to the Pacific Press to delay electrotyping making the printing plates, one of the workers in the type foundry visited the school [Pacific Union College], and soon questions and reports were as plentiful on the hillside and in the valley as quails in August.

He commented:

Questions and suppositions and remarks come to Mother from all quarters, and she will continue to be perplexed by them until the work is done.

This letter to the president of the General Conference was actually a progress report. Continued White:

During the last two weeks, we have been busily engaged in studying those matters which demanded consideration in connection with the bringing out of the new edition of Great Controversy. When I presented to Mother questions as to what we should do regarding the quotations from historians and the references to these historians, she was prompt and clear in her opinion that we ought to give proper credit wherever we can. This has called for a good deal of searching of histories.

Brethren Crisler and Robinson have taken much pains to look up the very best English authorities for the bulls and decrees and letters quoted and referred to, and they have been successful beyond my fondest hopes.

And then White wrote of the involvements in the preparation of this new edition of the book: [310]

Further than this there will be very few changes made. In a few places where ambiguous or misleading terms have been used, Mother has authorized a changed reading, but she protests against any change in the argument or subject matter of the book, and indeed, we find, as we study into the matter, a clear and satisfactory defense for those passages to which our critics might take exception.

There are few historical matters which we are still searching for. The most perplexing one is that regarding the three and a half days when the dead bodies of the two witnesses lay unburied, as referred to in Revelation 11:9-11.

White then alluded to the question of the influence of General Conference leaders on the project. He wrote:

A number of questions have arisen over here as to what we are doing and why. Some have asked if you and Brother Prescott have been criticizing Great Controversy, and have asked to have it changed so that it will agree with the new light on the “daily.”

Our answer is, No; that you have neither of you expressed any wish of this sort; that the “daily” is not mentioned or referred to in Great Controversy, that it is wholly ignored in that book, as are many other points of prophetic interpretation which, as published in Elder Smith’s Daniel and Revelation, are being criticized....

I have maintained that as far as I can discern, you and Brother Salisbury and Elder Wilcox are in hearty sympathy with us and are doing what you can to help us to find clear and substantial evidence for the positions taken in Great Controversy.

As he wrote of the work and reports that were being circulated, some of which came to the attention of Ellen White, he declared:

I shall be wonderfully glad when we get a little further along with the work, so that we can show her [E. G. White] the proof pages of the new edition with a good, clear red mark in every place where the wording has been changed in harmony with her general instruction regarding historical quotations.

Aside from this, where we are working under a general order, we shall show her every change of wording that is [311] proposed, and if it does not meet her approval, it will not be followed.—DF 83b.

E. G. White Settles the Question of the D’Aubigne Quotations

Ten days after this report was made by W. C. White to A. G. Daniells, a question arose, sparked by the checking of all quoted materials in the book. It was found that the most frequently quoted historian was D’Aubigne, whose History of the Reformation, written in French, had been published in five translations in England and the United States. Three of the translations were represented in The Great Controversy, but it was discovered that only one had the wholehearted approval of the author. The question now was “Should all the matter quoted from this author be from just the one which had the author’s approval?” To do so would call for a good many changes in The Great Controversy text, and in some cases, provide a less desirable wording. Work on the pages involved was held up until this matter could be settled by Ellen White herself. And this was delayed considerably because of some long absences of W. C. White from Elmshaven, a number of them in behalf of the new medical school. No attempt would be made in the matter until W. C. White could be home and present the question to his mother. Crisler, on July 22, wrote to him at Loma Linda:

We are hoping that you will be sure to run up to St. Helena immediately after the close of the Loma Linda council, so that we may consider finally the D’Aubigne matters, et cetera.

In the meantime, Ellen White, possibly with some intimation of the question that had to be settled, made a clear-cut statement to Mary Steward that Mary carefully wrote out, dated, and signed on July 31. Here it is:

Whenever any of my workers find quotations in my writings, I want those quotations to be exactly like the book they are taken from. Sometimes they have thought they might change a few words to make it a little better; but it must not be done; it is not fair. When we quote a thing, we must put it just as it is.—DF 83b.

The next day, W. C. White was back home and hastened to place [312] the D’Aubigne matter before his mother for a decision. Her decision was to use the translation approved by the author. On August 2, he wrote to Clarence Crisler, who was working at Pacific Press:

I undertook yesterday morning to present to Mother in detail the changes called for in our effort to correct the quotations from D’Aubigne. Mother examined a few of these and approved of them, but then told me plainly that she wished us to go forward with the whole lot, without asking her to examine them one by one.

Three days later, Elder White wrote to the manager of Pacific Press, reporting on Ellen White’s decision and the work that followed in carrying it out:

I see that this week has slipped by without our putting the Luther chapters into the hands of the printers. I think these will come on all right next week.

Mother refuses to go over the D’Aubigne quotations item by item. She has examined enough to be satisfied that the work we are doing is right, and she has given full and unqualified instruction for us to go ahead.

The work in progress in Mountain View called for the close attention of Mary Steward and frequently for the presence of Clarence Crisler. While this was in progress, W. C. White continued to be away from the office, a great deal, serving the general interests of the church. Crisler knew that Ellen White, now 83 years old, might well be, under these circumstances, lonely and somewhat concerned. He made it a point to write to her from time to time from Mountain View. One such letter he typed out on Monday, August 1.

The historical work connected with the resetting of Great Controversy is nearly finished. We are finding nearly all the quoted matter, and proper references are being given in the margins at the foot of the pages. The quotations are all being verified. When we learn from you what translation of D’Aubigne should be followed in the quotations taken from his History of the Reformation, we will act accordingly....

Great Controversy will bear the severest tests. When it was prepared years ago, thorough work was done. This is more and [313] more evident, the more the book is examined.

It would have been better, of course, if the historical references had been given in the first editions; but this is a minor matter that can easily be adjusted at the present time, when new plates are being made. We are copying out historical extracts to file away with our various publishing houses who are publishing Great Controversy, so that if anyone should ever question statements that you have made in Great Controversy, our brethren at these publishing houses will have matter to place before others, demonstrating that the positions you have taken in Great Controversy and the historical statements you have made are in harmony with the best historical records.

Great Controversy has already had a great sale; and our bookmen who have much to do with pushing its sale into new fields feel as if the new edition, giving proper credits to the historical extracts that are quoted in the book, will be all the better and stronger, and will meet with the full approval of all concerned. They rejoice to learn that the historical statements you have made in the book are in harmony with the best histories, and can be fully vindicated.

On September 20, Crisler wrote to Prof. H. C. Lacey, a teacher at the Adventist College at Stanborough Park, near London, England, who was helping to track down elusive quotations:

We have endeavored to have all quoted matter in the book carefully verified, and references to proper sources inserted at the foot of each page where the extracts occur, throughout the book. Of course, no revision of the text has been attempted; and the paging of the reset plates will remain practically the same as in the former subscription editions, all chapters beginning and ending on the same pages as hitherto. (Italics supplied.)

“The Bible and the French Revolution”

On August 1, the very day Ellen White gave study to and settled the question of the D’Aubigne quotations, Clarence Crisler, working in Mountain View, wrote to W. C. White:

I wish very soon to look up items connected with the French [314] Revolution. This has been left, as you know, to the very last. Most of the other items have been cleared up.

On August 11, Crisler was rummaging through secondhand bookstores in San Francisco, looking for works that might help. He was pleased to find a single volume of the big set Historians’ History of the World—the volume covering the entire period of the French Revolution. He felt it was well worth the dollar he paid for it. A few days before, he was working at the Stanford University library, reading up on French history. Of this, he reported:

Examined a good many works. Some works haven’t a thing in them that is of any special value to us. There is one work, however, which will help a lot in establishing the soundness of the present philosophy of the French Revolutionary period, as outlined by Sister White, and that is Buckle’s History of Civilization in England.

Buckle is one of the greatest of the philosophic historians; and in his work he makes very plain the fact that prior to any attempt whatever to revolt against the social and political situation in France, there was a determined effort, on the part of the thinkers and, in fact, of most of the educated men of France, to break through the long-established tyranny of the church, which stifled all true reform, whether religious, social, or political. Buckle makes very clear the differences between true Christianity and the religion, so-called, revealed in the lives of the French clergy of that period.—CCC to WCW, August 11, 1910.

The twenty-four-page chapter in The Great Controversy on the Bible and the French Revolution was a very important one, in which many lessons were brought out showing the ultimate fruitage of rejection of God and His Word. Ellen White in this chapter introduced the prophecy in Revelation 11, concerning the “two witnesses” and the 1260-year time prophecy of the period that began A.D. 538 and ended in 1798. One scholar who in April was asked to read The Great Controversy carefully and point out places that might need strengthening if the book was to accomplish the most good, took exception to Ellen White’s interpretation of the two witnesses and the validity of the dates of the 1260-year period. This intensified the need for a careful study of this chapter. [315]

No occasion was found to turn away from the position taken on the 1260-day (or year) prophecy, but difficulty was experienced in endeavors to document specific actions of the French Assembly in 1793, edicts abolishing the Bible, and then three and a half years later restoring it to favor. Painstaking research failed to disclose such specific legislation, but edicts were found that did so in effect. Crisler found that one of the British lords, in a debate in Parliament as it opened in January, 1794, declared, after reading at length from French documents, that “The Old and New Testament were publicly burnt, as prohibited books.” “This,” Crisler commented in a letter to W. C. White on October 5, “is quite close to Sister White’s declaration, for which we want authentic historical evidence, that ‘it was in 1793 that the decree which prohibited the Bible passed the French Assembly.”’ Crisler continued:

You will note, upon examining Sister White’s statement carefully, that the act which passed the assembly “prohibited the Bible.” Even if we cannot find in the wording of an act these words or words very similar, we can find acts which prohibited the worship of God, or rather abolished the worship of God; and, as was plainly brought out in the British Parliament a few weeks after these excesses in France, the enactments against the Deity were followed by the burning of religious books, including the Bible.

In one French source, the original French of which we hope to find soon, it was announced that the Popular Society of the Section of the Museum had “executed justice upon all the books of superstition and falsehood; that breviaries, missals, legends, together with the Old and New Testaments, had expiated in the fire, the follies which they had occasioned among mankind.”

I wish you might have the privilege of reading the statement which the Rev. Dr. Croly makes concerning this period. It is in his work Croly on the Apocalypse.... Dr. Croly takes the position squarely that the enactments of the French Assembly abolishing all respect and worship of God, in fact abolished the Bible; and reasoning thus, he holds to the same exposition of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 that is given in Great Controversy.

His statements are very much to the point; and even if we [316] cannot find an express law against the Bible, or prohibiting the Bible, we can still go far toward defending the position taken in Great Controversy.

In January, 1911, Clarence Crisler reported that there were a few references in the French Revolution chapter that they had not yet found. Two days later he wrote of receiving a report from Brother Vuilleumier, a denominational worker in France, that gave “one good passage on the restoration of the Bible at the close of three and a half years,” which was highly prized (DF 84d, CCC to Guy Dail, January 3, 1911).

Crisler also wrote:

Elder Conradi has given, in his Die Offenbarung Jesu, more proof in connection with the prophecy of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 than has any other of our Biblical expositors.—Ibid.

Through January and most of February it was hoped that with research both in Europe and in America there would be found the exact edicts of the French Assembly on the abolition and reinstatement of the Bible. It was not forthcoming, and on February 26, Clarence Crisler wrote to W. A. Colcord:

In the search for the original sources of passages quoted in the chapter on “The Bible and the French Revolution,” we were led into a more extended inquiry than we had at first anticipated entering into.... We have not found every quotation given in the chapter, but many of them we have found, and verified.

Crisler then explained that “in order to keep a record of our findings,” the staff at Elmshaven had made many notes. Some of these were included in five manuscripts on the French Revolution chapter. Where definite verification could not be found for the crucial statements in The Great Controversy, the wording was modified. The statement as it appeared in the 1888 edition read:

It was in 1793 that the decree which prohibited the Bible passed the French Assembly. Three years and a half later a resolution rescinding the decree, and granting toleration to the Scriptures, was adopted by the same body.—Pages 286, 287.

The wording in the 1911 edition reads: [317] It was in 1793 that the decrees which abolished the Christian religion and set aside the Bible passed the French Assembly. Three years and a half later a resolution rescinding these decrees, thus granting toleration to the Scriptures, was adopted by the same body.—Page 287.

This brought the crucial statement well within the limits of what could be proved from reliable historical sources. There was actually little change in intent, but rather a more precise wording. Ellen White was anxious for this, that the book might serve unquestioned in the widest possible reading circles. On this point, Crisler, in a letter to Guy Dail in Europe, stated:

In all this historical work, we are eager to have the manuscripts that may be submitted, given the most searching tests. We need never be afraid of historical truth.

And then he made an observation, one based on his painstaking research over a period of half a year:

We would do well to avoid accepting the conclusions of some of the more modern historians who are attempting to rewrite history so as to shape it up in harmony with their philosophical viewpoint. We find it necessary to exercise constant vigilance in this respect; and this leads us to set considerable store by the original sources, or fountainheads, of history.

At this point Crisler offered his own testimony of what he saw of God’s guiding hand in the writing of The Great Controversy:

The more closely we examine the use of historical extracts in Controversy, and the historical extracts themselves, the more profoundly are we impressed with the fact that Sister White had special guidance in tracing the story from the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, down through the centuries until the end. No mortal man could have done the work that she has done in shaping up some of those chapters, including, we believe, the chapter on the French Revolution, which is a very remarkable chapter, in more ways than one.

And the more we go into these matters, the more profound is our conviction that the Lord has helped not only Sister White in [318] the presentation of truth, but that He has overruled in the work of other writers, to the praise of His name and the advancement of present truth.

Our brethren in years past have used many quotations, and, as a general rule, the Lord surely must have helped them to avoid making use of many extracts that would have led them astray. Of course there is still a great deal of room for improvement, even in a book like Elder U. Smith’s Daniel and Revelation. But not so much needs to be done, as might have had to be done, if the Lord had not given special help to these various writers.—DF 84d, CCC to Guy Dail, January 3, 1911.

One other point calling for careful study, which was mentioned in suggestions received in April, 1910, and surfaced again as final work was done on the book, was the statement found on page 50 of the 1888 edition:

The pope has arrogated the very titles of Deity. He styles himself “Lord God the Pope,” assumes infallibility, and demands that all men pay him homage. (Italics supplied.)

It was pointed out to Ellen White’s staff that “there is abundant proof to establish the fact that the attributes of the Deity have been ascribed to the pope, but the style of expression in Great Controversy makes it appear that the pope, himself, has taken these titles to himself and that he has also assumed infallibility.”—S. N. Curtiss to C. H. Jones, February 14, 1911. There was seemingly full support for the Great Controversy statement in Giustianni’s book Papal Rome as It Is. But this source was difficult to find and a bit uncertain as to reliability. Curtiss, manager of the Review and Herald, in his letter to Jones said: “It seems as though we ought to be very careful to eliminate every expression which cannot be backed up by authority. In this, I refer to historical statements, of course. I do not wish to be understood as bringing into question, in any way, the statements based on the authority of the Spirit of Prophecy.”—Ibid.

In December, 1910, Crisler wrote of his discovery on the point of the statement “Lord God the Pope.”

This is taken direct from a decretal by Pope Gregory the Ninth and I have copied it out in a large Jesuit library here on the [319] Coast.—CCC to Adolf Boettcher, December 2, 1910.

But now in late February, the question of authority for the declaration that the pope himself assumed the title having been called up again, it was felt that it could be settled only by Ellen White herself. If any change in wording were to be made, the page would have to be reset and new plates made. W. C. White writing to C. H. Jones in February 28, 1911, declared that:

It will depend upon Mother’s decision. We have some questions to submit to her as soon as she is feeling a little better, and willing to consider them.

The question as to what the pope has arrogated to himself is a difficult one. The church has attributed to him all that is claimed in our books, and he has received it and acted upon it, but it is a little difficult to prove from histories within our reach that he has assumed the titles of the Deity and the right to change divine law, and Mother may decide that it is best for us to take a very conservative position in view of the controversies before us.

As soon as she decides this question (I hope she will consider it tomorrow), then we will report to you.

The decision was in favor of wording the statement in such a way that it could be easily supported by documents available. The wording in the 1911 edition reads:

More than this, the pope has been given the very titles of Deity. He has been styled “Lord God the Pope,” ... and has been declared infallible. He demands the homage of all men.—Page 50. (Italics supplied.)

The decision was Ellen White’s. While there were days that she, now 83 years of age, found she had to rest her mind, yet she was well able to make important decisions. At one point, while the work on The Great Controversy was in progress, W. C. White wrote of her decision-making ability, an ability that was yet to serve for four more years. He had just returned from a trip to southern California; Elder J. A. Burden was with him, eager to seek counsel on some important Loma Linda matters. Note White’s words:

We found Mother quite well, and she entered heartily into a study of the questions which Brother Burden came to present. I [320] was glad indeed to see that she has become sufficiently rested so that she can deal with these important questions in a clear and decided manner.—WCW to C. H. Jones, December 24, 1910.

Another point, much like the one on the assumptions of the pope, related to a somewhat similar statement on page 261. In this case, some quoted material was deleted and the point was covered by words substituted by the author. Crisler explained:

We are simply discontinuing the use of these passages because it would be quite impossible to prove to the world that these passages have in them all the meaning we have hitherto taught that they convey. Even in the passage that we were considering on page 261 of Controversy ... [“’the pope can dispense above the law,”’ et cetera].... I am not at all sure that the author of Controversy erred in its use in former editions.

However, she herself recognizes the wisdom of making a substitution in this instance, and of avoiding the use of it in future, to prove the point under consideration. Sister White has based her decision on the effort that the Roman Catholic divines have made to show that this passage refers only to the ecclesiastical law, and has no reference whatever to the divine law; and also on the fact that in future our published utterances will be subjected to severe and unfriendly criticism. She feels very clear in continuing to use only such extracts as cannot be gain said by our enemies when we are brought into trying situations in future.

And then Crisler went on to explain the basis of other decisions on Ellen White’s part:

On the other hand, Sister White has not felt clear in adopting as the full authoritative teaching of the Roman Catholic Church some of the utterances of their apologists in lands where religious liberty prevails. For this reason, she has felt clear in holding to the wording she adopted years ago for her presentation of the doctrine of indulgences, and her various references to this doctrine also, in the main, her references to withholding the Bible from the common people.

I might refer to still other declarations in Controversy that have [321] not been changed in order to harmonize them with the published works of certain apologists of the Church of Rome.—CCC to W. A. Colcord, April 9, 1911.

E. G. White Reads and Approves Changes

From time to time as the work on The Great Controversy progressed, important matters were taken to Ellen White for decision, and the staff at Elmshaven worked under general instructions from her. Finally, when the type was set and proof sheets were available from the publishers, a set was marked showing clearly both the old reading and the new, and these were submitted to her for careful reading and approval. An envelope in the White Estate Document File No. 85e carries the notation: “Controversy Proofs Prepared for Mrs. E. G. White’s Inspection and Approval.” “All approved.”

At last the work was done, a work much more demanding than was anticipated when those involved began in January, 1910. By early July, 1911, the book was in the binderies of Pacific Press and the Review and Herald. On Monday, July 17, copies of the newly published Great Controversy—the 1911 edition—were received at Elmshaven. It was a joyous day. [322]

Chapter 24—Inspiration and the 1911 Edition of The Great Controversy

To make any changes at all in the text of a book written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, especially a book as widely circulated and studiously read as The Great Controversy, was recognized by Ellen White and the staff at Elmshaven as something that would raise questions in the minds of Seventh-day Adventists. There were many who, jealous for Ellen White and the Spirit of Prophecy, and not having thought the matter through, held, for all practical purposes, to a theory of verbal inspiration in the work of God’s prophets. An action disavowing this stance was taken by the General Conference in session in 1883. But by 1911 this was either unknown or forgotten by Adventists generally. Here is the wording:

We believe the light given by God to His servants is by the enlightenment of the mind, thus imparting the thoughts, and not (except in rare cases) the very words in which the ideas should be expressed.—The Review and Herald, November 27, 1883 (in MR, p. 65, and Selected Messages 3:96).

Ellen White’s clear-cut statements on the point in her introduction to The Great Controversy in 1888 should have given guidance to Seventh-day Adventists. There were also specific circumstances and incidents that should have educated the church to this end. But in spite of all this, many still looked upon inspiration as more or less a mechanical process.

This inaccurate view on inspiration laid the foundation for questions when the new edition of The Great Controversy came out. [323] In fact, while the work was in progress, and on receiving the finished book in July, 1911, Ellen White joined her son in explanations of what was done and why, even though there was no real reason for anyone to be disturbed by what had taken place. So few and minor in nature were the changes made that C. C. Crisler in discussing the matter wrote:

We do not wish to make prominent anything that would indicate this is a revised and improved edition; it is rather, a reset edition.

The paging has been preserved throughout the work; it is essentially the same, even if it is greatly improved in some respects, notably in the verification of quoted matter, and the insertion of new or improved illustrations and the betterment of the indexes.—C. C. Crisler to Manager, The Review and Herald, February 19, 1911.

And in the matter of dealing with questions about the work, W. C. White, on February 5, 1911, wrote to the manager of the Review and Herald:

Our work of research has been difficult and expensive beyond all calculation. We do not regret the time nor begrudge the money. We believe that our people everywhere will appreciate what has been done.

A few days ago I had a talk with Elder Haskell about this. At one time he was quite unreconciled to the work we were doing, supposing we were making unnecessary changes; but when we told him we were glad that when the moss-backs said to us, Let bad enough alone, we could say, It is not necessary. And when the modern critics said, You must make many changes to make this harmonize with modern historians, we could say, It is not necessary, because we find in the most trustworthy historians full corroboration of the positions taken in this book.

A Review of What Was Done to the Book

With this having been said, and the new printing of The Great Controversy now on the market, it was important to take particular note of exactly what was done in preparing the copy for the resetting [324] of the type for the 1911 edition. W. C. White was in charge of the work at Elmshaven; he was the principal spokesman during the period of work on the book, and quite naturally was the one to make explanations that might be called for.

On July 24, 1911, a few days after receiving a copy of the new book, W. C. White wrote a letter addressed to “Publishing House Managers,” which he repeated the next day in a letter to “Our General Missionary Agents” (publishing department leaders). This he later included in a statement read to the General Conference Committee in its Autumn Council held in Washington, D.C. These W. C. White letters of explanation, quoted extensively in this chapter, carried Ellen White’s written approval. [An affidavit to this effect reads:

Yesterday and again this morning I have read the letter written by W. C. White to our general missionary agents, and his letter to the members of our publication committee, regarding the new edition of Great Controversy. And now I wish to say to you that what he has written regarding my wishes, and decisions, and instruction relative to this work is a true and correct statement. (Signed) Ellen G. White. St. Helena, California, July 27, 1911—Letter 57, 1911.]

Because of limitations in space only excerpts can be included in this chapter. The reader is urged to pursue them in full in appendix A of Selected Messages, book 3.

After mentioning that the new book runs page for page, and each chapter begins and ends on the same page, he introduced the principal features:

The most noticeable change in the new edition is the improvement in the illustrations. Each of the forty-two chapters, together with the preface, introduction, contents, and list of illustrations, has a beautiful pictorial heading; and ten new full-page illustrations have been introduced, to take the place of those which were least attractive.

The thirteen appendix notes of the old edition, occupying thirteen pages, have been replaced by thirty-one notes occupying twelve pages. These are nearly all reference notes, intended to help the studious reader in finding historical proofs of the statements made in the book.

The biographical notes have been omitted, and the general index has been enlarged from twelve to twenty-two pages, thus [325] greatly facilitating the finding of desired passages.

In the body of the book, the most noticeable improvement is the introduction of historical references. In the old edition, over 700 Biblical references were given, but in only a few instances were there any historical references to the authorities quoted or referred to. In the new edition the reader will find more than 400 references to eighty-eight authors and authorities.—WCW Letter, July 24, 1911 (see also Selected Messages 3:434).

Paraphrased and Quoted Materials in The Great Controversy

In this connection it should be stated that as Ellen White, in response to the biddings of the Spirit of God, had traced the history of the controversy down through the centuries, she had, as a matter of convenience, drawn quite heavily from historians, both in outline of the narrative and the use of words (see The Great Controversy, pp. xi, xii). At times she quoted, at times paraphrased, and at times depicted in her own words the events as she had witnessed them in vision. She and those associated with her did not consider this use of available materials as quoting in a manner that called for specific recognition.

The same was true in dealing with the Advent Movement and the development of lines of truth that emerged as the result of Bible study after the 1844 disappointment. She was with the pioneers in their Bible study and discussions, and when they reached an impasse, God often spoke through her to clarify and to confirm. The resulting consensus, whether put into written form by J. N. Andrews, Uriah Smith, or James White, was considered common property. In expressing these truths, one frequently drew from the other. It was in such cases, both in historical description and doctrinal presentation, that she followed the course she described in her Introduction to The Great Controversy, in the second-from-the-last paragraph.

While quotations in the 1888 edition, made directly from historians, were used without specific credits, they did stand in quotation marks. It was these that, in the 1911 edition, were traced down and properly credited. No attempt was made to find isolated [326] words or phrases in paraphrased materials or those quoted only in part. Her explanation in the foreword sufficed in this.

Statements Regarding the Papacy

Ellen White was eager that nothing should stand in the way of gaining favorable attention of the Roman Catholic readers of her books. Her son explained modifications in wording to avoid offending the Catholic reader.

In several places, forms of expression have been changed to avoid giving unnecessary offense. An example of this will be found in the change of the word “Romish” to “Roman” or “Roman Catholic.”—Ibid. (see also Ibid., 3:435).

On the matter of statements that might be disputed, he also wrote noting Ellen White’s assent:

On pages 50, 563, 564, 580, 581, and in a few other places where there were statements regarding the Papacy which are strongly disputed by Roman Catholics, and which are difficult to prove from accessible histories, the wording in the new edition has been so changed that the statement falls easily within the range of evidence that is readily obtainable.

Regarding these and similar passages, which might stir up bitter and unprofitable controversies, Mother has often said: “What I have written regarding the arrogance and the assumption of the Papacy is true. Much historical evidence regarding these matters has been designedly destroyed; nevertheless, that the book may be of the greatest benefit to Catholics and others, and that needless controversies may be avoided, it is better to have all statements regarding the assumptions of the pope and the claims of the Papacy stated so moderately as to be easily and clearly proved from accepted histories that are within the reach of our ministers and students.”—Ibid. (see also Ibid., 3:436).

One matter called to the attention of the Elmshaven staff for study in the W. W. Prescott letter was what seemed to some to be an apparent contradiction in the chapter “A Warning Rejected.” The word alone was added at the top of page 383. Here is the reason for the change: In the 1888 Great Controversy, Ellen White consistently [327] makes it crystal clear that the Roman Church is referred to in prophecy as “Babylon.” She does so on page 382, in the chapter just referred to, noting:

The woman, Babylon, of Revelation 17, is described as “arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones ... and upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots.” ... Babylon is further declared to be “that great city, which reineth over the kings of the earth.” The power that for so many centuries maintained despotic sway over the monarchs of Christendom, is Rome.

Next, she introduces the fallen Protestant churches, noting that Babylon is said to be “the mother of harlots.”

By her daughters must be symbolized churches that cling to her doctrines and traditions, and follow her example of sacrificing the truth and the approval of God, in order to form an unlawful alliance with the world.—Pages 382, 383.

Then pointing out the timing of the second angel’s message of Revelation 14 announcing the fall of Babylon, Ellen White takes the position that that message is aimed particularly at the “daughters,” “religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt,” and in a sense “cannot refer to the Romish Church.” But was the Roman Church exempt? Was it not Babylon? To remedy what seemed to some to be an inconsistency in wording, the sentence in question, without in any way changing the arguments put forth for the fallen state of both the “mother” and the “daughters,” the word alone was added, making the sentence in question read in the new edition:

The message of Revelation 14, announcing the fall of Babylon, must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the judgment, it must be given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to the Roman Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition for many centuries.—Page 383.

The addition of the word alone applies the term Babylon to both [328] the apostate Christian church of many centuries, and the fallen Protestant churches of the 1840s, and thus does not exempt the Roman Catholic Church from the classification given to it both in Scripture and in her writings.

Dores Robinson, who assisted in the work on The Great Controversy in 1911, explained what took place, showing Ellen White’s responsibility in this matter:

The criticism was brought to Mrs. White’s attention, and in order to clarify the thought, she inserted the word alone, so that in the new edition it reads: “It cannot refer to the Roman Church alone.” Not a word is altered in what precedes, with its application to the Roman Church. Not a word is altered in the pages that follow in which some of the Protestant churches are shown to answer to the picture.—DF 85e, D. E. Robinson, in “Is It a Contradiction?”

Changes Affecting the Sense

In some places the wording was tightened up, making it less sweeping and more accurate or exact; technically the changes could be said to alter the sense, even ever so little.

On page 27, the word nearly was added, making the sentence read:

For nearly forty years after the doom of Jerusalem had been pronounced by Christ Himself, the Lord delayed His judgments upon the city and the nation.

On page 52, an explanatory phrase was added:

Satan, working through unconsecrated leaders of the church, tampered with the fourth commandment also.

On page 53, the modifying word many made the statement more accurate. Not each and every Christian followed the majority. The modified sentence reads:

But while many God-fearing Christians were gradually led to regard Sunday as possessing a degree of sacredness, they still held the true Sabbath as holy of the Lord and observed it in obedience to the fourth commandment. [329]

On page 564, the modifier well-known is substituted for recent:

A well-known writer speaks thus of the attitude of the papal hierarchy as regards freedom of conscience.

Significant changes listed as affecting the sense are such as those relating to the order of the Jesuits on page 234. The clause, reading “cut off from every earthly tie and human interest,” was changed to read: “cut off from earthly ties and human interests.”

On the next page, the word often is added, softening the statement: “But under this blameless exterior the most criminal and deadly purposes were often concealed.”

Because of changing figures each year, the statement on page 287 regarding the accomplishments of the Bible societies was modified. In the 1888 book, it read:

When the British Society was formed, the Bible had been printed and circulated in fifty tongues. It has since been translated into more than two hundred languages and dialects. By the efforts of Bible societies, since 1804, more than 187,000,000 copies of the Bible have been circulated.

The 1911 book reads:

In 1804 the British and Foreign Bible Society was organized. This was followed by similar organizations, with numerous branches, upon the continent of Europe. In 1816 the American Bible Society was founded. When the British Society was formed, the Bible had been printed and circulated in fifty tongues. It has since been translated into many hundreds of languages and dialects. (See Appendix.)

The appendix note gives data on Bible circulation up to 1910. This could be changed in the future more easily than the text.

On pages 287 and 288 of the 1888 edition, after the formation of foreign mission societies are discussed, eight lines are devoted to mention of Carey and Judson as examples of a thrust in foreign mission work. For space reasons and because of some inexactness in wording, these were omitted in the text of the 1911 edition and an appendix note filling a full page took its place, reviewing the advance in foreign missions. [330]

On page 383, the 1888 Great Controversy carries the phrase “in a message which is yet future.” This was omitted in 1911, because there would come a time in history when it would be present and not future. The omission does no injustice to the text. In the 1888 edition the sentence read:

Furthermore, in the eighteenth chapter of the Revelation, in a message which is yet future, the people of God are called upon to come out of Babylon.

In the 1911 edition the sentence reads:

Furthermore, in the eighteenth chapter of the Revelation the people of God are called upon to come out of Babylon.

“The Great Bell of the Palace”

One of the points called to the attention of the staff at Elmshaven, and Ellen White, in connection with the study of The Great Controversy was regarding St. Bartholomew’s massacre and the bell that gave the signal. Page 272 states that it was “the great bell of the palace” tolling in the dead of night that was the signal for the slaughter. Among the criticisms and suggestions received, one reads thus:

All the histories dealing with the French Revolution which I have been able to consult state that it was the original plan to toll the bell of the palace as the signal, but owing to special circumstances, the signal was given by the ringing of the bell of the church of St. Germain.—W. W. Prescott to WCW, April 26, 1910.

An investigation by the staff at Elmshaven revealed that historians differed as to just which bell rang first. They found ample support for Ellen White’s statement. Most likely in vision she had heard the tolling of a bell. For the detail, she had depended upon the historians. When it was learned that they differed, and that one of three bells might have been involved—the bell of the palace, the bell of the palace of justice, and the bell of the church of St. Germain, all within the distance of a city block—Ellen White, having no desire to settle fine historical points, modified the wording to the simple [331] statement as it reads in the 1911 book: “A bell, tolling at dead of night, was a signal for the slaughter.”

Inspiration and Details of History

This leads us to an important point as The Great Controversy is studied, namely, just how much of detail was opened up to Ellen White in vision. In W. C. White’s 1911 statement, one she twice read and fully approved as “a true and correct statement,” he explained:

Mother has never claimed to be authority on history. The things which she has written out are descriptions of flashlight pictures and other representations given her regarding the actions of men, and the influence of these actions upon the work of God for the salvation of men, with views of past, present, and future history in its relation to this work.

In connection with the writing out of these views, she has made use of good and clear historical statements to help make plain to the reader the things which she is endeavoring to present. When I was a mere boy, I heard her read D’Aubigne’s History of the Reformation to my father. She read to him a large part, if not the whole, of the five volumes. She has read other histories of the Reformation.

This has helped her to locate and describe many of the events and the movements presented to her in vision. This is somewhat similar to the way in which the study of the Bible helps her to locate and describe the many figurative representations given to her regarding the development of the great controversy in our day between truth and error.—WCW Letter, July 24, 1911 (see also Selected Messages 3:437).

In writing in 1912 to the head of the publishing department of the Southwestern Union Conference, he explained:

Regarding Mother’s writings and their use as authority on points of history and chronology, Mother has never wished our brethren to treat them as authority regarding the details of history or historical dates.

The great truths revealed to Mother regarding the controversy between good and evil, light and darkness, have been [332] given to her in various ways, but chiefly as flashlight views of great events in the lives of individuals and in the experiences of churches, of bands of reformers, and of nations.

He explained further what took place in the process of writing the book:

When writing out the chapters for Great Controversy, she sometimes gave a partial description of an important historical event, and when her copyist who was preparing the manuscripts for the printer made inquiry regarding time and place, Mother would say that those things are recorded by conscientious historians. Let the dates used by those historians be inserted.

And he emphasized the point regarding historical sources by repeating:

When Controversy was written, Mother never thought that the readers would take it as authority on historical dates or use it to settle controversy regarding details of history, and she does not now feel that it should be used in that way. Mother regards with great respect the work of those faithful historians who devoted years of time to the study of God’s great plan as presented in the prophecy, and the outworking of that plan as recorded in history.—WCW to W. W. Eastman, November 4, 1912 (see also Ibid., 3:446, 447 appendix B,). (Italics supplied throughout.)

This understanding removes any fine points of a problem in handling historical quotations, et cetera, in the book. Furthermore, W. C. White, in the 1911 statement approved fully by his mother, addressed himself specifically to the matter of verbal inspiration in his mother’s writings. He pointed out:

Mother has never laid claim to verbal inspiration, and I do not find that my father, or Elder Bates, Andrews, Smith, or Waggoner, put forth this claim. If there were verbal inspiration in writing her manuscripts, why should there be on her part the work of addition or adaptation? It is a fact that Mother often takes one of her manuscripts, and goes over it thoughtfully, making additions that develop the thought still further.—WCW Letter, July 24, 1911 (see also Selected Messages 3:437). [333]

The Appendix Notes

Early in his July 24 letter, W. C. White, as noted earlier, explained:

The thirteen appendix notes of the old edition, occupying thirteen pages, have been replaced by thirty-one notes occupying twelve pages. These are nearly all reference notes, intended to help the studious reader in finding historical proofs of the statements made in the book.—Ibid. (see also Ibid., 3:434).

While the objective may have been primarily to give reference to authentic and helpful sources, some explanations were carried through into the new book. Correspondence during the period the book was being studied indicates an earnest desire that the reader should have at hand every easily available support for the important statements in the volume. W. C. White, in a letter written to Edward Forga on June 12, 1910, speaks of these as “notes to prove disputed points regarding the acts of the Papacy.”

Many of the earlier appendix notes had to do with the Papacy and the claims of the Roman Church, giving references to both Catholic and Protestant works. As to “The Bible and the French Revolution,” a rather crucial chapter in the book, more than two pages in the appendix are devoted to supporting documentation for the statements made there.

In addition to these notes, comprehensive documents supporting The Great Controversy presentation were prepared in the Elmshaven office, some supplied to the publishers, and of course, copies retained in the White Estate Document File. Clarence Crisler and his associates, who had gone to great pains in the work of verification of quoted materials, were eager that what was done by way of revision should serve in the future should questions be raised.

These appendix notes were prepared, some by C. C. Crisler, some by Elder M. C. Wilcox, editor of Signs of the Times, and some by certain scholars called upon to assist in the work. Ellen White wrote none of them, but most likely read them and approved. [In 1950, in connection with the resetting of the type for The Great Controversy, These appendix notes were again examined carefully, by two adventist scholars. In some cases, references to books outdated or hard to find were replaced by references to newer or more authoritative works.] [334]

Did Church Leaders and Scholars Interfere?

To allay any suspicion that General Conference leaders or editors, as A. G. Daniells, W. W. Prescott, or M. C. Wilcox, influenced the work done at Elmshaven, W. C. White declared:

Our brethren at Washington and at Mountain View have done only that which we requested them to do. As stated in the beginning, we took counsel with the men of the Publishing Department, with State canvassing agents, and with members of the publishing committees, not only in Washington, but in California, and I asked them to kindly call our attention to any passages that needed to be considered in connection with the resetting of the book.

When it was pointed out that some of the historical data were questioned and challenged, we asked them to give us a written statement that would help us in our research. They did as we requested and nothing more. All decisions as to what should be changed, and what should be printed word for word as in the old edition, were made in Mother’s office, by persons in her employ and working under her direction. Therefore, there is no occasion for anyone to say a word against the General Conference Committee men or the literary men at Washington, or against the book, because of anything done by the brethren in Washington or elsewhere in connection with this work.—Ibid. (see also Ibid., 3:439, 440). (Italics supplied.)

He also stated:

If you hear reports that some of the work done on this latest edition was done contrary to Mother’s wish or without her knowledge, you can be sure that such reports are false, and unworthy of consideration.—Ibid. (see also Ibid., 3:436).

The people working at Elmshaven—Ellen White and her staff—were grateful for the suggestions that at their request came to them. These, as they related to the handling of quotations, the including of wording that would not offend, and the bringing about of more precision in statement, were welcomed and helped to make the new edition of The Great Controversy a more attractive and useful book. The few suggestions that questioned prophetic dates, [335] prophetic applications, and doctrine were turned down. Ellen White was adamant on points of this character.

“In a few places where ambiguous or misleading terms have been used, Mother has authorized a changed reading,” wrote W. C. White, “but she protests against any change in the argument or subject matter of the book.”—DF 83b, WCW to AGD, June 20, 1910.

E. G. White Authority to Change Her Published Writings

W. C. White wrote of Ellen White’s authority in making changes:

A study of these changes may lead some to ask the question, “Has Sister White the authority and right to make changes in her published writings, either by addition, or by omission, or by any change whatever in the forms of expression, the manner of description, or the plan of the argument?” ...

It is generally admitted that in Sister White’s discourses, spoken to the people, she uses great freedom and wisdom in the selection of proofs and illustrations, to make plain and forcible her presentation of the truths revealed to her in vision. Also, that she selects such facts and arguments as are adapted to the audience to whom she is speaking. This is essential to the attainment of the best results from her discourses.

And she has always felt and taught that it was her duty to use the same wisdom in the selection of matter for her books that she does in the selection of matter for her discourses.—WCW Letter, July 25, 1911 (see also Selected Messages 3:441).

When the new book came out, she took great pleasure in looking over and rereading it. Said W. C. White, “She was glad that the work we have done to make this edition as perfect as possible was completed while she was living and could direct in what was done.”—Ibid., July 24, 1911 (see also Ibid., 3:437).

Ellen White’s Letter of Approval

After receiving and reading large portions of the new printing of The Great Controversy, and after reading W. C. White’s letters of explanation dated July 24 and 25, Ellen White wrote to Elder F.M. Wilcox, president of the Review and Herald board and editor of the [336] general church paper, the Review and Herald:

Sanitarium, California

July 25, 1911

Dear Brother Wilcox,

A few days ago, I received a copy of the new edition of the book Great Controversy, recently printed at Mountain View, and also a similar copy printed at Washington. The book pleases me. I have spent many hours looking through its pages, and I see that the publishing houses have done good work.

The book Great Controversy I appreciate above silver or gold, and I greatly desire that it shall come before the people. While writing the manuscript of Great Controversy, I was often conscious of the presence of the angels of God. And many times the scenes about which I was writing were presented to me anew in visions of the night, so that they were fresh and vivid in my mind.

Recently it was necessary for this book to be reset, because the electrotype plates were badly worn. It has cost me much to have this done, but I do not complain; for whatever the cost may be, I regard this new edition with great satisfaction.

Yesterday I read what W. C. White has recently written to canvassing agents and responsible men at our publishing houses regarding this latest edition of Great Controversy, and I think he has presented the matter correctly and well.

When I learned that Great Controversy must be reset, I determined that we would have everything closely examined, to see if the truths it contained were stated in the very best manner, to convince those not of our faith that the Lord had guided and sustained me in the writing of its pages.

As a result of the thorough examination by our most experienced workers, some changing in the wording has been proposed. These changes I have carefully examined, and approved. I am thankful that my life has been spared, and that I have strength and clearness of mind for this and other literary work.

(Signed)

Ellen G. White.

—Letter 56, 1911. [337]

And so The Great Controversy, the book Ellen White treasured “above silver or gold” and for which she wished a wider circulation “than for any others” she had written, (Colporteur Ministry, 127), was now launched on its renewed and ever-widening mission. With the knowledge of what was done in its preparation and of Ellen White’s close supervision in the work, the new printing was received with enthusiasm.

Some who had entertained concepts of verbal inspiration were perplexed, and there was just a little grumbling. Ellen White’s own statement on inspiration in her introduction to the 1888 book proved most helpful. Criticism soon faded. And the book Seventh-day Adventists knew God had inspired her to write, with its historical quotations, continued to serve in reminding them of their history, of God’s providence, and of great events yet to take place.

As the work of the church was broadening to take in many countries and many languages, steps were taken to translate the new book so that the peoples of many tongues might read. One of the first was the Spanish, undertaken almost immediately. As this work was entered upon, it was observed that no place had been given to the reformation in Spain. As counsel was taken with Ellen White, it was decided it would be well if in the Spanish printing, a supplementary chapter compiled by competent writers could be added. Thus, the Spanish Great Controversy carries forty-three chapters in place of the forty-two in other printings. Chapter thirteen in that book, titled “The Awakening in Spain,” is clearly designated as a work of “collaboration” and has a footnote stating:

This chapter was compiled by C. C. Crisler and H. H. Hall, and was inserted in this book with the approval of the author.—Page 252.

The chapter has been much appreciated, and no confusion has resulted. [338]

Chapter 25—1911—A Year of Concentrated Book Preparation

There is no extant word from Ellen White, or even her son William, that marked the beginning of the new year as 1911 dawned. Her eighty-third birthday on November 26—a few weeks before—makes a better milestone for marking the passing of another year. She was glad it came on Sabbath, for she wrote in her diary, “This gives me a most excellent opportunity to reflect upon the goodness and mercies of God to spare my life so many years to engage heartily in the work which He has given me to do.”—Manuscript 60, 1910. The fall weather had been pleasant, and on this Sabbath she wrote to Edson in words of gratitude:

I am more thankful than I can express for the uplifting of the Spirit of the Lord, and for the strength that He gives me. Recently I spoke at the Pacific Union College and in the Sanitarium chapel. On both occasions I had much freedom.

And then she quickly added:

But I dare not spend too much strength in public speaking, because I am trying to complete the manuscript for my unfinished book on Old Testament history. I have recently been able to do some important writing. May the Lord give me His grace, and enable me to understand the work He would have me carry forward in His name.—Letter 136, 1910.

On this, her birthday, no pessimism was evidenced as she viewed the church on its march toward a victorious reward. After [339] quoting Zechariah 2, beginning with the words “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord” (verse 10), and carrying through most of chapter 3, she commented:

Nothing in this world is so dear to God as His church. With jealous care He guards those who seek Him. Nothing so offends God as for the servants of Satan to strive to rob His people of their rights. The Lord has not forsaken His people. Satan points to the mistakes that they have made, and tries to make them believe that thus they have separated themselves from God. Evil angels seek in every way to discourage those who are striving for victory over sin. They hold up before them their past unworthiness, and represent their case as hopeless.

But we have an all-powerful Redeemer. Christ came from heaven in the guise of humanity to live the principles of righteousness in this world. He was endowed with power to minister to all who would accept Him as their Redeemer, to succor the repentant ones who were convinced of the sinfulness of sin.— Ibid.

Ellen White understood so well the issues and the bountiful provisions for salvation that there was no place in her mind for discouragement.

But she needed to get on with her writing, to fill out the books tracing the controversy between Christ and Satan—yet she needed one on Old Testament history and one on the early church and the apostles. Both were in preparation as December gave way to January. When, however, the staff at Elmshaven late in 1910 learned that the Sabbath school lessons for 1911 were to be on the early Christian church, the New Testament history took precedence. It was contemplated that materials in preparation, released week by week in Review and Herald articles, would serve as lesson helps.

But it was with somewhat divided attention that this new work was entered upon, for the final work on the new edition of The Great Controversy was still the first priority at Elmshaven and Pacific Press. The completion of this volume drew heavily on the time and talents of two members of the staff. [340]

The Acts of the Apostles

For many years E. G. White articles had been furnished regularly to the Review and Herald, as well as Signs of the Times and Youth’s Instructor. Selecting and assembling the E. G. White materials for these articles from sermons, general manuscripts, and other similar sources was the responsibility of Maggie Hare (now Mrs. Bree), an assistant of long experience in Ellen White’s work. With emphasis to be given to New Testament history, Maggie was instructed to make an exhaustive study of the E. G. White sources to provide articles to parallel the 1911 Sabbath school lessons. Then the plan was that Clarence Crisler, as soon as the work on The Great Controversy was completed, would assemble materials on the life of Paul. He would take the 1883 E. G. White book Sketches From the Life of Paul as the foundation of this work. This book had been long out of print; Ellen White had been looking forward to the time when she could expand its presentation. Now Crisler would draw from this as well as from other E. G. White sources of the past twenty-five or more years.

Because Maggie, hard at work on the experiences of the early Christian church, became ill, the work was delayed; the deadline for copy for the January 5 issue of the Review, the time when the new series was to begin, was missed (WCW to F. M. Wilcox, January 17, 1911). But four weeks later the Review and Herald carried two articles in time to parallel current Sabbath school lessons.

Ellen White was much involved in the task, going over the materials as they were assembled, doing some editing and writing to fill in gaps. All of this was done with an eye on the full manuscript for the forthcoming book to be known as The Acts of the Apostles. On February 15 she wrote:

I am thankful that I can remain at home for a time, where I can be close to my helpers.... I have been very fully employed in the preparation of matter for the “Life of Paul.” We are trying to bring out scriptural evidences of truth, and these, we believe, will be appreciated by our people.—Letter 4, 1911.

The work of article preparation and shaping up of chapters for the book manuscript proceeded well, as Ellen White devoted much of her writing ability to this task. April was consumed in a trip to [341] Loma Linda, but in May she was back working on Acts (WCW to J. H. Behrens, May 21, 1911). On June 6, she reported that since her long trip in 1909 she had “written but few letters,” and stated, “What strength I have is mostly given to the completion of my book on the work of the apostles.”—Letter 30, 1911.

On July 25, in writing to F. M. Wilcox, editor of the Review and Herald, she said:

While preparing the book on the Acts of the Apostles, the Lord has kept my mind in perfect peace. This book will soon be ready for publication. When this book is ready for publication, if the Lord sees fit to let me rest, I shall say Amen, and Amen.

If the Lord spares my life, I will continue to write, and to bear my testimony in the congregation of the people, as the Lord shall give me strength and guidance.—Letter 56, 1911.

Her Review articles continued to appear in step with the Sabbath school lessons, but in mid-August they began to take on the form of finished book chapters, which indeed they were. Up to this point, most of the material in the articles went into The Acts of the Apostles chapters with some editing, some deletions, and some rearrangement of words. Through the rest of the year the articles and the book ran word for word.

On August 4, Ellen White reported in a letter to Edson:

My workers are busy completing the work to be done on the new book, The Acts of the Apostles. This we expect to close up very shortly.... My workers are continually bringing in chapters for me to read; and I lay aside my other work to do this.... This morning I have already read several chapters on the life of Paul.—Letter 60, 1911.

Four weeks later she again mentioned the book, this time in a letter to Elder Haskell:

My work on the book The Acts of the Apostles is nearly completed.—Letter 64, 1911.

It was a joyous day and one filled with satisfaction when Ellen White could write as she did on October 6 to Elder and Mrs. Haskell:

My book The Acts of the Apostles has gone to the press. Soon it [342] will be printed and ready for circulation.

I feel more thankful than I can express for the interest my workers have taken in the preparation of this book, that its truths might be presented in the clear and simple language which the Lord has charged me never to depart from in any of my writings.—Letter 80, 1911.

The Acts of the Apostles was off the press and ready for sale in late November.

Depth of Ellen White Participation in Book Preparation

It was with satisfaction that Ellen White’s staff noted her ability to engage actively in the preparation of book manuscripts at this late period in her life. Shortly after The Acts of the Apostles came from the press, W. C. White wrote of this to Elder L. R. Conradi, who headed the work of the church in Europe:

We are truly thankful that we have been enabled to gather together the principal parts of what Mother has written regarding the life and labors of the apostles....

You may be interested to know how we labored together in the preparation of the manuscript for the printer, and what part Mother has been able to take in the work.

At the beginning Mother took a very lively interest in planning about the new book. She instructed us to search through her manuscripts and her published articles in the Review, Signs, and other periodicals, and to gather together what she had written on the work and teachings of the apostles. The preliminary work took about five months of reading and research; then followed the work of selecting those articles and portions of articles and manuscripts which most clearly represented what she desired to say to all the people, both Adventists and members of other churches....

The burden of this work fell upon Brother C. C. Crisler, Mrs. Maggie Hare-Bree, and Miss Minnie Hawkins.

Day by day manuscripts were submitted to Mother for reading. To these she gave her first attention early in the morning when she was rested and her mind was fresh and she marked the manuscripts freely, interlining and adding words, [343] phrases, and sentences to make the statements more clear and forceful, and these were passed back for a second copying.

As the work progressed, Mother would frequently give us instruction regarding points of importance and which she knew she had written and which she wished us to take special pains to search for in her writings. Sometimes this instruction was given to those who brought her the manuscripts in her room, and oftentimes after reading a few chapters or early in the forenoon after some important feature had been impressed upon her mind in night visions, she would come over to the office and talk the matter over with Brother Crisler.

One day when she was talking with him and me together, she said, “This book will be read by heathen in America and in other lands. Take pains to search out that which I have written regarding the work and teachings of St. Paul that will appeal to the heathen.”

At another time she said, “This book will be read by the Jews. Take pains to use what I have written that will appeal to the Jews, and also that will appeal to our people as encouragement to work for the Jews.”

And thus from time to time, she called our attention to the objects and aims that must be remembered in gathering from her writings that which would be most useful.—December 8, 1911.

Compared with Sketches from the Life of Paul

Clarence Crisler occasionally referred to the former book, Sketches From the Life of Paul, in selecting materials for The Acts of the Apostles. There had been some talk a few years earlier, particularly in and around Battle Creek, that Ellen White, in the preparation of her book, had plagiarized somewhat from The Life and Epistles of St. Paul. This was a book that had been jointly authored by British clergymen W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson and that several publishers in the United States had issued without copyright. While Ellen White had used some of the phraseology of the Conybeare and Howson book, particularly in historical description, there is no evidence that this was a matter of consideration in the work on the new book. W. C. White noted: [344]

If you compare those chapters relating to the work of Paul with the old book, Sketches From the Life of Paul, you will observe that less room has been given to detailed descriptions of places and journeyings and that more room has been given to his teaching and the lessons to be drawn therefrom.— Ibid.

Activities Other than Book Preparation

But perhaps we should get back to late winter and spring, for there were other things happening, some of them very important. First, a brief glimpse of things at Elmshaven. The year opened with mild weather, and on some days no fire was needed on the hearth. Mid-February brought frosty mornings; Ellen White wrote that “we can hardly keep warm, even with our fireplace packed with long, heavy chunks” (Letter 4, 1911), but one morning she was glad to report that “last night I slept more hours than usual” (Ibid.), and she thanked the Lord for restful sleep. March brought rains, night and day, but no heavy winds. The rains interfered with her daily carriage rides, to which she looked forward so much and on which she counted for relaxation (Letter 14, 1911).

Her heart was cheered when S. N. Haskell wrote from Madison, Tennessee, of the progress of the work at the school and little sanitarium located there. She responded:

I am much pleased to read your encouraging letter. You respond in words that vindicate all that I have expressed of the light given me concerning the location of a sanitarium in Madison.... This is very pleasant and acceptable to me.

Notwithstanding all the ideas that have been expressed, I have not had one doubt concerning the place the Lord directed for our school.... I thank the Lord that the light given me has proved the leadings of the Holy Spirit.—Letter 15, 1911.

In mid-March she commenced a course of treatments at St. Helena Sanitarium for suspected skin cancer. She explained:

For several weeks I took treatment with the X-ray for the black spot that was on my forehead. In all I took twenty-three treatments, and these succeeded in entirely removing the mark. For this I am very grateful.—Letter 30, 1911. [345]

Trip to Southern California

On Thursday, March 30, Ellen White broke away from the work at Elmshaven. Taking with her Helen Graham, one of the secretaries, and Sara McEnterfer, her traveling companion and nurse, she set out for Loma Linda, where important meetings of the board were to be held early in April.

In a lighthearted letter to her longtime acquaintance and friend Mrs. G. A. Irwin she reported on good meetings and good food:

We had a pleasant journey and safe arrival at Loma Linda. Yesterday [Sunday] and today there have been heavy clouds, and we have had no sunshine. We hope the sun will soon shine, for it seems lonesome without the sunshine.

On Sabbath I spoke in the afternoon, and the Lord strengthened me. I shall speak again, perhaps tomorrow. There is quite a nice company here, and decisions are being made concerning the work. I think the Lord will guide the people who have gathered here to make right decisions.

They have excellent food here, strictly hygienic.—Letter 24, 1911.

Buy Land, Loma Linda, Buy Land!

There were seventy-six acres of land in the 1905 purchase of the Loma Linda property, twenty-three in the hill site and the remaining fifty-three in a strip of fertile valley land extending three fifths of a mile toward the railway. The hill land was half occupied by buildings, lawns, drives, et cetera; the other half was orchard. Of the valley land, a portion provided a site for barns, stables, vegetable garden, and three acres of apricot trees. The balance was in alfalfa, and there was land suitable for grain. Pressed as they were for money to meet the $40,000 purchase price, some looked hopefully to the sale of the valley land as building sites. When Ellen White heard of this, she urged that no land be sold.

None was sold. Elder J. A. Burden and others associated with him on the grounds felt there was a need of acquiring even more land for the institution. Within a few months, thirty acres just east was offered for something less than $100 an acre, and it was secured.

Shortly after this, Ellen White asked to see this land and was [346] taken to the top of the Sanitarium building where she could view it. G. A. Irwin, board chairman, reported that she scanned it carefully for a time, and then remarked, “Well, we are thankful we have it.”—The Unwise Use of Money and the Spirit of Speculation, 2.

Then she turned and looked to the north, to the land in the front of the Sanitarium that stretched to the railroad and Colton Avenue beyond. She waved her hand and declared: “The angel said, ‘Get all of it.’” Somewhat startled, those with her reminded her of the financial difficulties experienced in securing what land they had, and she responded: “Well, we shall be thankful for what we have,” and turned and went to her room. The brethren pondered just what was included in the words of the angel, “Get all of it.”

The land north of the institution was in several tracts: one, of 150 acres, was held at $18,000; another, of fifty-five, was held for $20,000; another twenty-seven acres could be had for $2,250; and still another twenty acres just north of the railway was available for $750. But who had the foresight, and where would the money come from? Nothing was done, and three years went by. But in those three years some of the tracts were sold, and what was left had doubled in price.

When the decision to develop a medical school at Loma Linda was reached in 1910, the pattern of thinking began to change. In May, at the time of the organization meeting held at Loma Linda, at which Ellen White was present, steps were taken to secure land just in front of the institution. It was purchased for about $600 an acre.

On Hand for the 1911 Constituency Meeting

Now it was April, 1911, and Ellen White was at Loma Linda again. Her intense interest in the developments there led her for a year or two to go south to be present when the major board meetings were held in the spring and fall. Her counsel was much treasured by those who moved ahead, eager to see that the work was done in harmony with the mind of God, as revealed through His messenger.

The 1911 constituency meeting was held during the first week of April. The record reveals that among other things, study was given to the importance of securing more land adjacent to the institution. We may be sure Ellen White spoke in favor of it. A number looked over the Kelly tract of about eighty-five acres, available at $300 an [347] acre, but no action was taken to purchase it.

Immediately following the meetings of the constituency and the board, Ellen White went on south to spend a few days at Paradise Valley Sanitarium. But ten days later she was back at Loma Linda, saying that her work there was not finished. The matter of securing more land rested heavily on her heart, and she talked of it and took several trips by carriage to look things over again. Repeatedly she stated that she had been instructed that the denomination should secure the land adjoining the Sanitarium, and she urged that the brethren pray over the matter, so that they might have light to know what to do. She mentioned the troubles that would come if others were allowed to secure the land and sell it to unbelievers.

Her rather relentless pressing of the matter led Elder Burden to call a council meeting of available workers on Thursday, April 20, to consider what should be done in the light of the availability of the Kelly tract. Ellen White was the principal speaker. After a few opening remarks she came right to the point:

Today with Sister McEnterfer, and again with my son, I rode around the Loma Linda grounds, and took more particular notice of them than ever before; and I feel very thankful that we have such a place.... In our meetings during this council, we have been speaking of the higher education. What is the higher education? It is to understand Christ’s works and teachings, and to follow on to know the Lord. It is to know that His going forth is prepared as the morning.

Today, as I looked over the place more thoroughly than ever before ... I felt gratitude in my heart toward God, that through His providence we had been brought into possession of Loma Linda. I felt thankful also to see the improvements that have been made since we have had the place. And I thought how important it is that we make every move in accordance with the will of God.

As the Lord prospers us, we should manifest our gratitude by a willingness to advance. We should see the advantage of adding to that which we already have. I feel a burden regarding the danger of letting anybody come into the neighborhood to spoil the place. [348]

There is a piece of land across the railroad, lying next to a piece already purchased, which should be secured.... I am sure, from the representations that have been made to me, that this piece of land ought to come into our possession.

If you are wise, the next time I come here, you will have that land. I will try to help you all I can. Let us work intelligently.

Then she enumerated several reasons why the school should secure all the land possible near the institution, and set forth several reasons why they should have the Kelly tract:

You need the produce from it for your cattle to subsist upon; this piece is close at hand, and joins that which you already have.

Here we have our school, and here many important interests are centered. We must not permit elements to come in that will tend to hinder and retard the work.

It will be pleasing to the Lord if we keep our eyes wide open, and are fully awake, ready to take advantage of every circumstance that will place us in right relation to the work we have to do.

It would be a grievous error for us to allow to pass an opportunity to secure this property, for we might never again have such an opportunity.

She pledged $1,000 toward the purchase of the tract. Then she assured her audience that she was well pleased in what had been accomplished at Loma Linda. “When one sees the prosperity that has attended the work,” she said, “and the spirit of consecration that prevails, the conviction deepens that you are working in harmony with God.” In closing her remarks, she added:

I am highly gratified as I look upon the land we already have. This will be one of the greatest blessings to us in the future—one that we do not fully appreciate now, but which we shall appreciate by and by. I hope that you will get the other land that I have spoken of, and join it to that which you already have. It will pay you to do this.

As I have carried the burden of this place from the very beginning, I wanted to say this much to you. Now I leave the matter with you; and let us work in harmony.—Manuscript 9, 1911. [349]

The next day, Friday, she was off to Glendale and Los Angeles and points north. The evening after the Sabbath the workers at Loma Linda assembled again to consider the land matter further. It was clear that as an institution they could not go ahead and sign a contract to buy without board action, but in the light of Ellen White’s counsel they felt something must be done at once. So they banded themselves together in an agreement to purchase the Kelly tract. They would pay $1,000 down, with notes to pay $4,000 in thirty days and the balance of the $18,000 in two annual payments. The land was to be held, without speculation, until by board action it should be purchased by the institution.

This step highly pleased Ellen White. On arriving home, she, on April 30, wrote to Elder Burden:

My mind is settled in regard to the purchase of the land in front of the Loma Linda Sanitarium. We must have that piece of land. I will pledge myself to be depended upon for $1,000.... The piece of land we must have, for it will never do to have buildings crowded in there. Do not fail to carry through the purchase of it. Do your best, and I will do my best. The money from me you may depend upon. We shall be able to send it soon.—Letter 20, 1911.

To do her best meant to Ellen White that she must borrow the money and that she would labor to persuade others to join in providing funds for the purchase. She succeeded in this. Looking back five weeks later, she told the Burdens:

I was moved to speak as I did concerning the piece of land in front of the Loma Linda Sanitarium. I was urged by the Spirit of God to make the pledge of $1,000; and I did so hoping that others, who were better able to give than I, would follow my example.

I dared not leave the meeting without following the conviction I had; and now I feel that I have done my duty, showing my faith by my works.—Letter 34, 1911. [350]

Chapter 26—The Other Side of 1911

Writing and book preparation was Ellen White’s principal work in 1911, and it was undertaken with a sense of time running out. But as in other years, Ellen White’s 1911 ministry was somewhat mixed. From time to time, writing was laid aside for important interviews, occasional speaking in nearby churches, trips to Loma Linda, and in a camp meeting ministry.

Then more general phases of her work were marked by the issuance of two pamphlets, Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 17, published late in July, and Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 17a, issued near the close of the year. The first was a warning on “The Unwise Use of Money and the Spirit of Speculation.” The other was an encouragement to Seventh-day Adventists to step forward and aid in securing land at Loma Linda that would, in time, be needed by the institution. The story behind this comprised a portion of the preceding chapter.

Now here is the story behind the other pamphlet, a story involving an official of Mariposa County in California, Stonewall Jackson Harris. Mr. Harris was the county surveyor and a U.S. deputy mineral surveyor; he was also involved in a number of business enterprises, some of them highly speculative. He was a Seventh-day Adventist and was developing several investment ventures, designed to interest his fellow church members. These, he felt, promised large returns to the cause of God.

Early Monday morning, May 29, 1911, Mr. Harris called at the home of W. C. White and expressed a desire to see Ellen White, so that he might lay before her his plans of work and receive advice. [351] When he was told that Mrs. White did not willingly enter into such matters as he had to present, he returned to San Francisco. However, Mrs. Harris and a friend remained, and a little later in the morning, arrangements were made for her to have a brief interview with Ellen White. This was held in the living room at Elmshaven.

Present for this interview were Mrs. White, W. C. White, Mrs. Harris, her friend Miss Gossard, Sara McEnterfer, Mary Steward, and Helen Graham, who made a stenographic report of what was said.

A letter Mrs. Harris had written earlier in the day addressed to Ellen White setting forth the situation was read by way of introduction. It stated:

My husband is very anxious to advance the cause of present truth, and is devoting 60 percent of the proceeds of his business to this purpose. He wants the direction of the Lord in everything he does, and decides his business affairs and all matters pertaining to his daily life by casting lots. His method is to toss up a coin.

I feel that it will lead him into serious error if he continues this course, and have tried to lead him to see that it is not wise, that we cannot be sure that the Lord answers him in this way; but he feels that he is right.

He has made successful land deals, and has been able to turn thousands of dollars into the work. In these deals he has sometimes been guided by the method above mentioned. His business affairs are assuming larger proportions, and greater sums of money are being involved. If he continues to depend upon this method of guidance, I feel that his affairs may end disastrously at any time.

The advice of his friends has no influence with him, for he is sure that he is led by the Lord. I know that in the past when the course of individuals has been detrimental to the work of the Lord, He has given light.

This morning my husband acknowledged that if he should receive a testimony condemning the course he is pursuing, he would stop his present method. So I lay the matter before you, earnestly praying that the Lord may send us some word of counsel. [352]

To this Ellen White replied:

Here is a course of action that if it appears at all successful, will call in the talents of our people. The enemy of souls is very anxious to hinder the completion of the special work for this time by bringing in some erroneous transaction. He will bring it in under the garb of great liberality, and if those pursuing this course have apparent success for a time, others will follow. And the very truths that are testing our people for this time, and which, if clearly understood, would cut off such a course of action, lose their force.

Some will strike out into flattering speculative money-making schemes, and others will quickly catch the spirit of speculation. It is just what they want, and they will engage in lines of speculation that take the mind off from the sacred preparation that is essential for their souls in order for them to be prepared to meet the trials which will come in these last days.

W. C. White raised the question about deciding business and other matters by asking the Lord to answer Yes or No as a card was dropped to the floor. Ellen White’s mind turned to experiences in the early days following the 1844 disappointment, and she cited similar instances in which people sought divine directions. Later as she looked over the transcript of the report of the interview, she added a more specific answer:

It is a haphazard method, which God does not approve. To men who have suggested such tests, I have said, “No, no.” The sacred things which concern the cause of God must not be dealt with by such methods. God does not instruct us that we are to learn His will by any such way.

But W. C. White persisted:

Suppose it comes to a business transaction. I see a property that looks good to me. I ask the Lord to tell me whether to buy it or not. Then I adopt the manner of tossing up a piece of money, and if it comes one side up, I buy it; and if the other side comes up, I will not buy it.

To this, Ellen White replied: [353]

God has given me the message that no such thing is to come into the work of His cause. It would lower it into the dust. This is how it was presented to me. It would divert the mind from God and His power and His grace, to commonplace things.

To be doubly sure, W. C. White stated that Brother Harris always prayed before he tossed up his coin. Would not that make some difference?

“Not a whit of difference,” Ellen White replied. She cited several instances of supposed guidance in the early days. Following certain “signs,” some men were led to exchange wives, others to put their hands on hot stoves. In one case a dead child was left unburied, for a “sign” had been given that it would be raised from the dead.

When asked whether she wanted to send any word to Mr. Harris, she responded:

I should say, Now, my brother, I have seen just the very same thing as your moving a piece of silver and its falling so and so, and I have seen how it ended with those who accepted this as indicating the mind of God. It is the Bible plan for a group of people to pray together and study His Word together for light, rather than that an individual shall follow his fancies supported by such methods.

If the Lord is working for us, He does it in His own order. He does not step out of His order to adopt methods of such an earthly character....

I would say to Brother Harris, Let your movements be guarded. God does not place His approval on any such movement as this.... I shall never consent to anything of this kind coming in among our people. It must not be permitted.—Manuscript 3, 1911. (see also Sp. T, Series B, No. 17).

The historical record indicates that Harris found devious reasons for not heeding the counsel given in the interview. In a subsequent letter, written June 7, Ellen White declared:

I am instructed to say to you that God is not leading you in your large plans and speculations.... That which you suppose to be light from the Lord is a device of the enemy.—Letter 28, 1911. [354]

On June 22, 1911, Harris published full-page advertisements in the San Francisco Call and the San Francisco Evening Bulletin. This led the California Conference to publish a repudiation of any claims he had made that would tie the church to his financial ventures, from a railroad that would not run trains on the Sabbath, to the development of a town inhabited only by Sabbathkeepers, to most promising oil-well and gold-mine schemes (DF 258).

The experience provided the basis of a line of warning needed by Seventh-day Adventists. There were others in central California who were intrigued with large and attractive investment schemes in real estate and mining. Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 17, the pamphlet published to meet these financial threats, contained Ellen White’s counsel to Harris, the heart of which is found in Selected Messages 2:325 to 328. Stonewall Jackson Harris soon dropped from prominence.

Ellen G. White and Her Sons

Sometime during 1911 Ellen White made known certain matters that had been revealed to her years earlier but that she, on God’s instruction, had discreetly withheld from all, both family and church officials. This had to do with the interrelationship between the mother and her two sons, Edson and William. In this connection, the angel instructed her:

“This matter is not to be opened to your children, for both are to be proved. The time will come when you may have to speak all that I shall give you.”—Manuscript 56, 1911.

In the earlier years of her ministry, although not influenced by her husband, she had, in her writing and sermons, leaned upon him for encouragement, counsel, and support. She also sought his aid in preparing her writings for publication. Of this she wrote in 1906:

While my husband lived, he acted as a helper and counselor in the sending out of the messages that were given to me. We traveled extensively. Sometimes light would be given to me in the night season, sometimes in the daytime before large congregations. The instruction I received in vision was faithfully written out by me, as I had time and strength for the work. [355] Afterward we examined the matter together, my husband correcting grammatical errors and eliminating needless repetition. Then it was carefully copied for the persons addressed, or for the printer.—DF 107g, The Writing and Sending Out of the Testimonies to the Church, p. 4 (Ibid., 1:50).

After James White’s death in 1881, she had leaned more and more on her son William to assist her in her travels and to counsel her. In this, church leaders were pleased. Unselfishly and tirelessly he stood by her side with a good understanding of what was expected of him, not to influence or attempt to guide, but to assist. He was oblivious to frequent criticisms that came as the result of this working arrangement. But what gave Ellen White confidence was the word that came from the Lord to her regarding the trustworthiness of William and the manner in which he was guided by the Holy Spirit. He had proved himself, and as Ellen White neared the close of her work it was appropriate that she should disclose what she had held in her heart. In fact, she was instructed to do so.

In this disclosure both sons are brought to view. What is revealed can best be understood in the light of the events through the years, some of which have been brought to the fore in this biography. The document she has left us seems to be more of a “memorandum” than a testimony:

“I will appoint both your children that they shall strengthen your hands in sound judgment. But your youngest son shall carry the work with you....

“I will be his wisdom, I will be his judgment, and he shall work out in connection with his mother the important matter to come before the people....

“Both will be your helpers, in perfect agreement in conducting different lines in missionary work, standing firmly, unitedly, for great battles are to be fought.

“Your sons are of different temperaments. Your youngest will be your dependence, but the eldest shall be My minister to open the Word to very many people and to organize the work in various lines.

“Temptations will come to the eldest that preference in judgment shall be given to him above the youngest. But this [356] cannot be. Both are to be guided by the light given their mother, and stand in perfect harmony....

“Let no jealousy come in because of the position I have appointed the youngest. I have put My Spirit upon him, and if the eldest will respect the position given the youngest, both shall become strong to build up the work in different lines. The eldest must be standing as ready to be counseled by the youngest, for I have made him My counselor. There is to be no contention, no strife, no division, because I have given him from his birth special traits of character which the eldest has not.” ...

The Lord said, “I will prove them both, but both must stand distinct and separate from influences which will be brought to bear to break up the plans I have marked out. But the youngest is fitted for a work that will make him counselor, receiving the words from his mother. Both must carefully consider matters that I shall give....

“These things are not to be revealed to either until I shall instruct you, for both are to be proved. The time will come when you may have to speak all that I shall give you....

“There will be a determination on the part of Satan to disarrange and break up My plan. A constant, ever-increasing confidence in the Word of God, and in the light given My servant, will keep these two workers blended; but the younger must be counselor, when needed, to the elder....

“Now you are at this period to open this matter to your sons. The instruction given, if obeyed, will be able to place things on the right bearing. You as a mother have suffered much, but you have not failed nor been discouraged.

“The eldest son has been sorely tempted and if he had closed his ears and heart to unwise counselors, he would have stood a strong man. Now after he knows My purpose, the eldest must be transformed and the youngest must stand in the counsel of the Lord. He has borne his test wisely, and the Lord will help him to continue the work appointed.”—Manuscript 56a, 1911.

The instruction molded Ellen White’s attitude toward her sons and when revealed was an encouragement to W. C. White. It would continue to be so in the days that followed, some of them difficult [357] days. As questions were raised on inspiration, some of them sparked by the work done on the 1911 edition of The Great Controversy, W. C. White could stand in strength in his positions and attitudes molded by a closeness to his mother’s work and subject to the influence of the Spirit of God. The effect on Edson was less noticeable. He continued to the close of his life to make a contribution to the cause of God, the last of which was in the production of evangelistic visual materials.

Routine Work at Elmshaven

Ellen White’s work continued, usually beginning early in the day. Her correspondence had dwindled to a trickle. There were not many new issues, and most questions coming in to her and her staff could be answered by materials written earlier. In the midst of writing a letter to Elder and Mrs. Haskell, who were conducting evangelistic work in Portland, Maine, she interjected the words, “The bell is ringing, calling me to worship and breakfast; so I will stop.” She had just expressed her pleasure in receiving their encouraging reports, and had written:

I hope to visit Portland again. I would like to be there now, but it seems too great a risk to go just as the cold season is coming on.—Letter 74, 1911.

At Elmshaven there was a new development that especially interested a proud grandmother. Her twin grandsons, Herbert and Henry, now 15 years of age, were becoming interested in printing, perhaps not strange in view of the family history and tradition, for James White had started what had become two large publishing houses in the United States, and Edson had started a third.

From Nashville Edson sent the boys, as a present, a little printing press he no longer had use for. When it arrived in late 1910, it was in somewhat less than usable condition. But the anticipation of receiving the little press had set in motion dreams of a new venture that not even the poor condition of the equipment could dampen. In fact, some have said that the Whites had “printer’s ink instead of blood in their veins.” At any rate, hope could not be repressed, and the grandmother, who had a decade earlier given Willie seven acres of land as a homesite with the instruction that it was to be the [358] children’s schoolroom and playground, was now prepared to encourage the new line of developing interest in the new generation of Whites.

William, so heavily involved in the interests of the cause of God that he was seemingly only seldom at home with his family, was deprived the privilege of working closely with his boys in this new development. But the trusted Clarence Crisler, who had some printing experience, was drawn into the situation. In San Francisco he bought, at Ellen White’s expense, a little printing press and basic printing equipment. The secondhand Chandler and Price press, operated by foot power, was purchased for $125. Type, ink, and printing supplies cost another $500 or more.

In mid-October, as Crisler was working in Mountain View seeing The Acts of the Apostles through the press, Herbert joined him for a day. He received instruction from the foreman, watched the photoengraving process from start to finish, worked in the typeroom and the job pressroom, “rode” a Miehle press for two hours, and watched makeup on the rotary press. That evening was spent in one of the large newspaper offices in San Francisco watching a daily paper put together. That did it. From that time on, Herbert had an obsession to print. Henry, much interested, would join him in this very natural White family venture.

A portion of the fruit shed, just north of the big barn at Elmshaven, was partitioned off and the printing equipment moved in. Soon over the door were seen the words “Elmshaven Press.”

From the start, the job printing done by the Elmshaven Press was of high quality. It was an after-school activity, but the business grew, and before long the entire first floor of the fruit shed was occupied by the printing office. Ellen White was pleased with the development, which became the means of meeting school expenses for the boys and their sister Grace. When the twins were ready for college, they sold the business to nearby Pacific Union College with the understanding that they would manage the growing enterprise and teach printing. The College Press has since provided both employment and training to thousands of young people, some of whom would be distinguished by high editorial and executive positions.

College finished, both Herbert and Henry were called to mission [359] service in China, Herbert as superintendent of the Signs Publishing Company in Shanghai and Henry to school administration farther north.

Another Visit to Loma Linda

In November Ellen White was at Loma Linda for some important meetings relating to the development of the medical school. She and her helpers were given pleasant rooms on the third floor of the Sanitarium building, Sara McEnterfer and Minnie Hawkins occupying the room next to hers. Ellen White basked, as it were, in feelings of thankfulness to God for His guiding providences in securing and developing the property.

On November 19, while at Loma Linda, she received from Pacific Press the first copy of the newly published The Acts of the Apostles. It was a day of rejoicing. Later in the week she returned to her Elmshaven home.

Sunday, November 26, was Ellen White’s eighty-fourth birthday. She celebrated by sending copies of her latest book to nearly a hundred of her friends. They were accompanied by a little printed message, each copy of which she signed.

Neither her decreasing strength, nor what could be discouragements in the progress of the Lord’s work, nor the perversities of human hearts dampened Ellen White’s spirits, and she could write with a sincere heart near the close of the year 1911:

I am very thankful that the Lord has given me the privilege of being His messenger to communicate precious truth to others.—Letter 80, 1911. [360]

Chapter 27—Winding Down a Busy Life Program

The fact that Ellen White was growing old was no secret. Simple chronology made this evident. When the year 1912 dawned she was in her eighty-fifth year. The marvel to acquaintances, church leaders, and her family was her ability to continue to produce. In early January she wrote:

There will be one more book—that dealing with the Old Testament history from the time of David to the time of Christ [Prophets and Kings]. The material for this book has been written, and is on file, but is not yet put into shape. When this book is completed, I shall feel that my work is finished. Yet I can hold my pen as firmly today as I have done in years past.—Letter 4, 1912.

Book production pressed hard because of the awareness that her years were running out. She followed with keen interest the developments at the new medical college in Loma Linda—insisted, in fact, on being there for major administrative meetings in the spring and fall. She entertained the hope of traveling east once again to take part in evangelistic work in the city of Portland, Maine, and she was ready to accept speaking appointments at nearby churches. This was on condition that if, on the day of the appointment, she lacked the strength for the effort, either W. C. White or D. E. Robinson would take the pulpit.

“She is trying to grow old gracefully,” wrote her son, “and she is succeeding much better than I thought it possible.... She accepts the fact that she is growing old in a very sensible, philosophical way.”—WCW to AGD, August 26, 1912. But growing old she was, and [361] William wrote to Edson on February 18, saying:

Mother is gradually growing weaker. She cannot read as constantly as heretofore, and she writes but little.... Mother sometimes speaks of going to Portland this summer. But Sara and I are hoping that you will come to California in May or June and that this will present to Mother abundant reason for not planning to go east this summer.

This was written just three days after Ellen White had signed her “last will and testament,” a document that held considerable significance.

The Future Custody of Her Writings

It was quite natural, having come to her eighty-fifth year and to the final stage in her work, that she, her son William, and Elder A. G. Daniells, president of the General Conference, should be giving some consideration to the custody, on her death, of her writings, published and unpublished. The two men watched with keen interest whatever moves she should make in this direction, but it was a detached interest, for they felt that she herself must take the initiative and direct in steps taken. Both understood well that the Lord led her mind and she must be left untrammeled. Twenty years after her death, Elder Daniells wrote of this matter:

Several times during the later years of her life, Mrs. E. G. White expressed to me, and to others, concern regarding the future of her writings. She was anxious that her books already in print should continue to be widely circulated, also that a proper use should be made of the unpublished manuscripts that she would leave.

It was difficult at that time for me to understand this anxiety on her part. I tried to assure her of the deep interest our people had in her work, and of my conviction that when the time of which she made mention should come, the leaders would surely take such steps as were necessary to promote the circulation of her messages.

But such assurance did not satisfy her. She said that she had received cautions indicating that the leaders might become so [362] busy with administrative work that they could not give proper attention to the promotion of her particular writings.

And she feared that no one, except perhaps her son, Elder W. C. White, would adequately realize the need of bringing forth at the proper time such unprinted manuscripts as contained certain cautions and warnings the Lord had given her which would be needed in the closing years of our work. So for a number of years this burden rested upon her heart.—AGD statement, “Mrs. White’s Legacy to the Trustees,” March 11, 1935 (MR, p. 68).

This matter had not been left without some attention during her later years, but the steps she had taken thus far, which would leave the responsibility largely with her two sons, seemed inadequate, especially so in the light of the memorandum dealing with family relationships disclosed in 1911 and noted in the preceding chapter.

On January 31, 1912, W. C. White wrote to Elder Daniells about the matter, stating that he had spent the previous day in San Francisco conferring with Attorney Theodore Bell concerning a new draft of his mother’s will. He stated:

Whenever Mother has considered the matter of a new will during the last two years, she has said that she felt that the matter would clear up in her mind. In view of this confidence on Mother’s part, we have waited, without great anxiety, but I have repeatedly brought the matter to her attention, and have urged her to tell us wherein the draft prepared in 1909 was unsatisfactory.

From time to time she stated her wish regarding various points. These I noted down, and putting them together they were chiefly as follows:

A more liberal provision for Ella and Mabel, and Edson and me. [See Appendix B. “The Settlement of Ellen G. White’s Estate.”]

Permanent trustees, and a larger number of trustees who were intimately connected with her work.

Another provision Mother desired in the will was that the mission schools, white and colored, be remembered....

After shaping up roughly these ideas, we took the matter to [363] Theodore A. Bell, and told him exactly what was aimed at in the will. He gave the matter some study, and worked out a plan that seems to us to be very good.

Instead of ordering that the real estate be sold as soon as possible, it is provided that the trustees shall have time to dispose of it to the very best advantage. An appeal is made to the creditors, to give time for the properties in the trust to pay up the claims.

The trustees that Mother has chosen are: W. C. White, C. C. Crisler, Arthur G. Daniells, Charles H. Jones, and Frank [Francis] M. Wilcox.

Executors, W. C. White and C. H. Jones.

On receiving this information from W. C. White, Daniells responded:

Yesterday I received your letter written at Hanford, January 31, in which you give me some information regarding your mother’s will. I hope that when it is completed, it will be right. You know something of my solicitude regarding this, and why, so I need not add anything in this.—AGD to WCW, February 6, 1912.

At Work Through 1912

But Ellen White’s work was far from completed. A little later in the year, W. C. White reported, regarding his mother’s continuing interest in day-to-day work:

To those who are closely connected with Mother, it is very remarkable that in her age and feebleness she is able to give us such valuable counsel and direction regarding the book work. She does not mark the manuscripts very much, but here or there she puts in a word, a phrase, or a sentence to round out the thought or make it more emphatic, and every few days, when she is reading manuscript, she comes out to the office or calls Brother Crisler to her room and then she tells him the importance of searching for manuscripts making very clear and plain such and such features of the work.

White explained:

Oftentime when she calls attention to what she has written [364] upon a certain subject, it is difficult at first for us to appreciate the bearing that this has upon the manuscripts already gathered, but Brother Crisler is faithful in making notes, and sometimes after Mother has called attention several times to some lesson she has written upon and emphasized its importance, Crisler makes another search in her manuscripts for material along the lines she has been pressing upon his attention, and in so doing, he finds choice matter which in the light of Mother’s suggestions, he can use with the original manuscripts, making the subject much more complete.—WCW to AGD, August 26, 1912.

By mid-May, W. C. White could report:

We are making excellent progress with the work on Mother’s book.... We hope that the heaviest part of this work will be completed in July.—WCW to AGD, May 14, 1912.

But in August they were still at work on the manuscript. In fact, only seldom does an author or compiler reach the goal he sets for himself in literary production, but White expressed the hope that the book could be printed before the forthcoming General Conference session scheduled for the spring of 1913. But even in this they failed (WCW to AGD, August 15, 1912).

Correspondence and Interest in Correspondence

In a May 13 letter to Edson, W. C. White, in describing their mother’s waning strength, explained, “Instead of writing several letters a day as in the olden time, Mother writes only two or three a month nowadays.”

Mother’s health is quite changeable. Some days she reads a little too much, then does not sleep at night and the next day is very feeble. Perhaps the next night she will rest well and feel of good courage and ambitious the next day.

A few weeks later, Ellen White was writing to her close friends the Haskells:

I must write you a short letter today. I have begun several letters to you, but have not succeeded in finishing any. I hope you will not cease to write to me, even though I do not write [365] often. I am always interested in your work, and always glad to hear from you.

We are all very busy, doing our best to prepare the new book for publication. I want the light of truth to go to every place, that it may enlighten those who are now ignorant of the reasons for our faith.—Letter 28, 1912.

While direct correspondence between Ellen White and workers and laymen in the field had ground almost to a halt, she did not lose interest in what was happening in the denomination. Her son shared interesting correspondence with her. As through the previous years, church leaders communicated with her largely through W. C. White. In one letter to Elder Daniells, White tells of how his mother and others had read his recent letters “with deep interest” (WCW to AGD, January 19, 1912). A few weeks later he wrote to Daniells:

I have several very interesting letters from you which I have read with much interest, as has Mother, Elder Irwin, and others who are connected with our work.—WCW to AGD, February 29, 1912.

Of a ten-page letter written in early May, he noted: “I can assure you that Mother and I were very glad to read what you have written.”—WCW to AGD, May 14, 1912. Through the year 1912, Daniells wrote nineteen letters to W. C. White, and White wrote twenty-two to him; very often Ellen White was privy to this exchange of correspondence. Daniells opened his letter of December 31, 1912, with the words, “I was just squaring myself to write you another ‘book of Daniel’ when it was decided by our brethren here in Washington to call a special meeting of the General Conference Committee, to convene at Mountain View, January 19.” So, he said,“As I shall see you soon, and have an opportunity, I hope, to talk with you about many things which I wish to place before you, I shall write little more at this time.”

And we find evidence of Ellen White reading some of W. C. White’s outgoing letters. On October 31, 1912, he wrote in a careful way to S. N. Haskell, countering the verbal-inspiration theory Haskell was inclined to. At the lower left-hand corner of the last page, Ellen White wrote with her pen: “I approve of the remarks [366] made in this letter. Ellen G. White.”

A Quiet, Uninterrupted Visit with His Mother

On Sabbath, June 15, W. C. White found his mother rested. Instead of attending church, he spent much of the morning and part of the afternoon with her, telling of the progress of the work, particularly at Loma Linda. During this conversation, White wrote down some things she said. Some of these disclosed rare insights:

“The Loma Linda institution, if conducted according to the will of God, will become the most important in its work of all our institutions throughout the world.”

“Now is the time when we must do all that we can to see that every stone in the foundation of the Loma Linda enterprise is laid right.”—WCW to AGD, June 16, 1912.

In the Sabbath-afternoon visit they discussed her often-expressed intention to visit Portland, Maine, once more. William pointed out to her that the trip would probably cost $500 and the injury that would come to the literary work in progress at Elmshaven would be more serious than a loss of $2,000.

He also enumerated some of the enterprises that they had in mind to take hold of as soon as the manuscript for the Old Testament history was completed. It exceeded somewhat her conjecture expressed earlier of the possibility of getting out “one more book.”

He mentioned to her some of the books that were being called for—among them, a revision of Christian Education. This should not be confused with the book Education, published in 1903; rather, it was a 250-page volume drawn from E. G. White manuscripts and issued ten years earlier. Gospel Workers, published in 1892, was to be revised and enlarged. W. C. White then mentioned a “compilation of [the] Testimonies for translation into foreign languages, Experience and Views revised [Life Sketches of Ellen G. White], Story of the Health Reform Movement, Story of Labors in Europe, Story of Labors in Australia, Bible Sanctification revised, et cetera, et cetera” (Ibid.). It was quite an array of work looming before them.

Ellen White’s response surprised and greatly pleased her son. [367] She said that for a couple of weeks she had felt no burden to go to Portland in the coming summer. She declared:

“I am not able to make such a journey in my present state of health.... I feel that my time and strength must be devoted to my books. They will speak to large congregations over and over again after my voice is silent.

“Remaining here, I can attend nearby meetings, and if we consent to break our work for anything, it will be in time of necessity to help the work at Loma Linda.”— (Ibid.)

She had already made one trip south that year to attend three important gatherings in southern California held in close proximity: a union-wide ministerial institute, March 12 to 20; the session of the Pacific Union Conference, March 21 to 26; and the Loma Linda constituency meetings, March 27 to April 1. The latter had been followed by several days of board meetings.

The Spring Trip to Southern California

At ten o’clock Sunday morning, March 10, Ellen White and William, along with Sara McEnterfer and Helen Graham, had left Elmshaven, catching the Santa Fe “Angel” that evening from Oakland. They were met in San Bernardino a little before seven Monday morning and were taken by automobile to Loma Linda in time for breakfast.

W. C. White reports that as they were gliding along over the five miles of good road from San Bernardino to the Sanitarium he thought of his father and mother in 1846, 1847, and 1848, how they often traveled on canal boats because it was less expensive than the railway trains, if there was a choice; or drove with horse and carriage across the country, eating their cold lunches by the roadside. “How different it is now,” he pondered, “with our thousands of friends, and our sanitariums with all their conveniences to care for us wherever we go!”—WCW to Marion Crawford, May 7, 1912.

Ellen White spent the next few days at Loma Linda and later in the week went to Los Angeles for the closing days of the ministerial institute. The meetings on Sabbath were held in the Temple Auditorium, one of the largest in Los Angeles. Many of the members of surrounding churches came in for the services. Elder [368] Daniells spoke Sabbath morning, and Ellen White, Sabbath afternoon; she dwelt on the words of the Saviour to His disciples, that they should love one another (Pacific Union Recorder, March 21, 1912). She spoke again at the institute two days later.

After the ministerial meeting, the sixth session of the Pacific Union Conference was held in Los Angeles March 21 to 26. Ellen White spoke on Thursday, the opening day, and again on Sabbath. Elder E. E. Andross was called to the presidency of the union, and Elder G. A. Irwin, retiring, was made vice-president. Both were safe men as far as the medical school interests were concerned. On Tuesday, March 26, she returned to Loma Linda to be present for the constituency meeting, which opened the next morning.

She took quite an active part in both the constituency meeting and the meeting of the board that followed. Invited to address the constituency, she spoke Thursday morning, stressing unity in all features of the work of the church. Her remarks imply some threats to the work at Loma Linda. What she said was summed up in the minutes of the March 28 constituency meeting:

Mrs. E. G. White was present and spoke to the members of the constituency meeting for thirty minutes, emphasizing the fact that we are working for time and eternity. It is pleasing to see the spirit of unity that has characterized our councils. Unity is very important in order to accomplish the great work before us.... Be of one mind, of one heart, of one spirit. Come into unity. Don’t strive to get up some new thing. Work together. Plan wisely and intelligently. Harmonize, harmonize. Bring the mind into harmony with God. Don’t be driven from your position by somebody’s notions. Work together. The Lord is working for us.—Constituency Meeting Minutes, March 28, 1912 (see also DF 5, Medical Practice and the Educational Program at Loma Linda, p. 125).

The same day, she joined in an interview regarding the purchase of more land at Loma Linda.

At the opening of the constituency meeting, Elder G. A. Irwin, the president of the corporation, had set forth three factors he considered positively essential if the medical school was to succeed. One of these, the factor he considered the most essential, was [369] “steadfast adherence upon the part of the directors and medical faculty to the principles contained in the instruction upon which the institution was founded” (Ibid., 118).

Others involved in the work were of the same mind, which accounts for the place of importance given to Ellen White’s words of counsel.

In the development of the medical school the point had been reached where provision had to be made for the clinical years of physician training. At first it was hoped that these needs could largely be met with the construction of a modest hospital at Loma Linda. Now it was clear that with the relatively sparse population in the area, the hospital at Loma Linda would be inadequate; they had to look to a populated area.

As the Loma Linda board wrestled with the problem, they were well aware of Ellen White’s repeated advice that a sanitarium should not be located in Los Angeles. She was drawn in for counsel, and met with the board on the afternoon of April 4. W. C. White had discussed the matter of the clinical needs with his mother as they drove together that morning about the Loma Linda grounds. It now seemed overwhelmingly evident that the clinical work needed to be done largely in a center of population, and the question had narrowed down to a choice of going into Los Angeles for all of the clinical work or of doing part of the work at Loma Linda and part in Los Angeles.

Ellen White spoke up cheerfully and promptly, and said that that was the better way—to do part of the work here, and part in Los Angeles. Both in the conversation with her son and now with the board, she supported the proposition that the students get part of their experience at Loma Linda and part of it in Los Angeles (Manuscript 14, 1912). As W. C. White reported this in the Review and Herald sometime later, he put it this way: “She advised that we do in Loma Linda just as much of the work as could be done acceptably there, and carry the remainder to Los Angeles.”—September 28, 1916.

After spending another week or two at Loma Linda, she returned to Elmshaven, where it was back to the book work with her reading manuscripts, writing, and occasionally filling speaking appointments. The first of these was at Pacific Union College, Sabbath, April 27; and then St. Helena the next Sabbath, at Napa on [370] May 11, and on the eighteenth she was at Santa Rosa.

The Vision Concerning Recreation

The records for 1912 mention only a few visions given during that year, but there was one of considerable significance on the night of July 4. In 1912, the Fourth of July fell on Thursday. The management of St. Helena Sanitarium was concerned about keeping their patients and helpers on the grounds happy, and planned a well-filled day of patriotic activity and recreation. In the morning there was band music and a flag-raising ceremony, and in the afternoon a baseball game, which, according to reports, was played in a good spirit.

But in the evening there were some events of a different nature. Among the activities, of which musical renditions were a part, was a contest between two boys with blackened faces who, balanced on rails, endeavored to knock each other off with pillows. Another feature was a contest called “Slinging the Monkey.” Each of three or four young men put his feet in a slip noose, the other end of which was tied to a ceiling beam. Walking on their hands they tried to see who could go the farthest before the rope swung them back. Then there was a pie-eating contest. Four fellows with their hands tied behind their backs ate custard and blackberry pies off the table (DF 249d, WCW to E. C. Kellogg, November 1, 1912).

The W. C. White children were at the party; the parents were not. Grace reported years later that her parents, Willie and May, were in bed by the time the children returned home. Ellen White at her Elmshaven home had retired much earlier.

When W. C. White stepped in to see his mother the next morning, he found her “perplexed and disheartened.” She told him that she had slept but little the night before, and various scenes had passed before her. She felt too weak to talk about it then, but later in the day dictated a letter addressed to “The Sanitarium Family at St. Helena.” On Sabbath morning, July 6, she asked for the pulpit at the Sanitarium church so that she might address the worshipers and read the letter written on Friday. As she stood in the pulpit in the chapel, with employees and guests before her, she began to speak:

I have felt an intense interest in regard to the directing of this sanitarium; and as we have considered the best course to pursue [371] to bring the light of truth before the patients, I have earnestly desired that they should understand what is truth for this time. And I have felt some anxiety in regard to the youth in this institution. The example set at this place should be such as to reveal the uplifting principles of the Word of God, that those who come here may be led to follow fully the light of truth.

In the night season some matters were brought very clearly before me. A message was given to me for you.... Some things have been presented to me showing that we needed to come into a more sacred nearness to God. In the night season I was taken through the institution, and I heard some things and saw some things that were not pleasing to God. I do not know that others noticed them. If they did not, they will have to know, because everything done in this institution must be done to the glory of Him who established it.—Manuscript 49, 1912.

Picking up the transcript of her letter addressed to the Sanitarium family Friday morning, she read:

Last night after I had retired to rest, a strange depression came over me, and for a long time I was unable to sleep.

Then I seemed to be talking with companies of our people.... I was saying to them, “You do not need to plan for unholy amusements. When your life is hid with Christ in God, you will find in Him all the enchantment that you need.” Words like these had been spoken to me.

As I passed from one group to another, I experienced disappointment after disappointment. There was revealed in each company a desire for foolish pleasure. Men and women, acting like children, seemed to have forgotten their responsibility to glorify God. I saw the foolish actions, and heard the foolish words that were spoken.

And I saw how the Spirit of God was grieved, and the Lord dishonored. While God and angels were working by every possible means for the upbuilding of the kingdom of heaven in earth in truth and righteousness, those who should have been standing as heaven’s representatives were taking a low level and dishonoring their Redeemer’s name.

I said to some, “You should bear in mind that as God’s [372] professed people you are called to reach a high standard. The Lord cannot be glorified by such a course as you are now pursuing. He bids us glorify Him in our body, and in our spirit, which are His.

“I do not know with what words to describe these scenes, or what character to give them; but I know that in participating in them you are lessening your influence for righteousness; you are displeasing the Lord; you are setting an example that none can safely follow.”—Letter 32, 1912.

The letter she was reading continued in this vein, stressing the responsibility of sanitarium employees for setting a high standard in example, and the raising of the question of what influence for good could those who participated in such happenings have as they should pray at the bedside of patients who witnessed what had taken place. She mentioned that she saw angels standing by, writing.

I looked to see what they had written. I read these words: “None of these things will give you spiritual strength, but will lessen your influence for righteousness.”— Ibid.

After reading the six-page letter, she commented at some length and reminded the personnel of the institution:

We are here to minister to the sick and afflicted, to relieve their sufferings, and if possible, to win them to Christ. It is your privilege to seek to benefit all who come upon this ground. Nothing should be done on these premises that will in any way counteract the influence of the Spirit of God which should constantly abide here.—Manuscript 49, 1912.

It was a solemn meeting. There was no resentment, but a humbling of heart. Commenting on the experience the following Wednesday, W. C. White wrote:

The tenderness with which Mother introduced the matter and which accompanied her presentation of that which she had written impressed those present very much. In the afternoon we had an excellent social meeting in which many bore testimony expressing sorrow for a part which they had taken in the Fourth [373] of July program, and many expressed gratitude to God that He had sent them a message of counsel and reproof. We are hoping that this will mark the turning point in the experience of our Sanitarium helpers.—WCW to E. E. Andross, July 10, 1912.

Not an Isolated Situation

Soon after this experience at the Sanitarium, W. C. White discovered that the question of recreation and sports was a live one in many places. Sarah Peck, now at Union College, wrote about the nonsensical “cheers” that had been developed to spur the athletic teams to “greater frenzy.” From Keene, Texas, Prof. C. B. Hughes, the principal, wrote that while things seemed to be under control at the time, during the past two years the broom shop manager had had a terrible time keeping his workers at their jobs. Football and baseball games seemed to have a stronger appeal, and the games were so vigorous that one boy had his arm broken and several others suffered injuries that kept them from their work (DF 249d, C. B. Hughes to WCW, August 26, 1912).

The Fourth of July incident and the testimony written the next morning and these various reports encouraged the staff at Elmshaven to publish another Special Testimony, which they titled “Recreation” (see Sp. T, Series B, No. 21). The type was set at the “Elmshaven Press,” and the printing was done at Mountain View. Its distribution and reading exerted a modifying influence in church ranks.

Only two or three weeks before this Fourth of July incident and the vision, Ellen White had sounded some cautions concerning the operation of swimming pools at Seventh-day Adventist institutions. This was in connection with W. C. White’s Sabbath-afternoon visit with his mother on June 15. The students at Loma Linda had urged the construction of a swimming pool, to be financed and controlled by an organization of the students. The board had voted to investigate the Spirit of Prophecy counsels before proceeding with the proposition. Now W. C. White, a member of the board, put the matter before his mother. She responded:

“The swimming pool may be an advantage healthwise, but all along as proposals have been made in various places to provide swimming pools, it has been presented to me that there [374] is great danger of the development of unfavorable and serious difficulties.

“In no case could I consent to a swimming pool being established which should be under the control of an organization of students. If there is to be a swimming pool, it should be fully under the control of the institution. Such an enterprise would need to be cared for by persons wisely chosen who will superintend the use of the place with Christian vigilance.”—WCW to AGD, June 16, 1912.

Elmshaven in September

On September 17, W. C. White gave an illuminating word picture of what was happening at Elmshaven as he wrote to Elder Edward Forga, who was working in Spain. Forga had married May White’s sister Marguerite, so by marriage there was a family connection.

“If you were here this morning,” White wrote. “you would see Mother and Sara just starting out for a drive.” Such trips took them past the orchards and vineyards and homes of farmers. On occasion, they would turn in and Ellen White would have a little visit with the housewife and children. If there was a known need, the visit might be accompanied with gifts of food or useful garments. The residents with whom she visited often were of Italian or French origin and were friendly. Years after her death, Ellen White was remembered by many in the valley as the little white-haired lady who always spoke so lovingly of Jesus.

In his letter to Forga, White continued:

Mother is gradually growing feeble, but keeps cheerful, and does not worry as I feared she would over the fact that she cannot write as much as in former days.

Miss Janie Workman, Wilfred Workman’s sister, is now Mother’s housekeeper. Miss Hawkins is a member of the family.... Mother has invited Crisler [whose wife had recently died] to board at her house. This will provide a man for the family. Crisler now works in a large room in the tank house, and will sleep in one room in the tank house, just over his office. The tank house is well built, and is four stories.

W. C. White also mentioned the office and its work: [375]

In the office Brother Mason, Dores Robinson, Miss Steward, and Miss Hawkins are pursuing their regular lines of work.... In the little cottage between Mother’s house and the barn, Mrs. Bree is working on the manuscript for the new edition of Christian Education [Counsels to Parents and Teachers], while her husband with the big farm team is hauling in a [freight] car of alfalfa hay which Brother James bought last week from near Woodland.

West of Mother’s house in the edge of the oat field, we now have a large shed near the furnace where the prunes are dipped. Near the dipping shed more than a half acre of ground is covered with trays on which pears and prunes are drying. This morning, Brother James and Ellis, Henry and Herbert and two others, are making trays and hauling in prunes from the orchard. Gracie and Arthur, with six members of the James family, are in the orchard picking up prunes. There is a full crop of prunes this year—probably forty tons of green prunes, which will make about sixteen tons after they are dried.

Book Preparation

But the main thrust through the late summer months and the fall months was in book preparation. In May, Ellen White had written:

Just now, what strength I have is given mostly to bringing out in book form what I have written in past years on the Old Testament history from the time of Solomon to the time of Christ. Last year The Acts of the Apostles was put in print, and is being widely circulated; and now we are making good progress with this Old Testament history. We are advancing as fast as possible.

I have faithful and conscientious helpers, who are gathering together what I have written for the Review, Signs, and Watchman, [Reference here is to several series of articles in each journal, each on a particular topic.] and in manuscripts and letters, and arranging it in chapters for the book. Sometimes I examine several chapters in a day, and at other times I can read but little because my eyes become weary and I am dizzy. The chapters that I have been reading recently are very precious.—Letter 20, 1912. [376]

At about this time W. C. White reported that she had read twenty-five or thirty chapters (WCW to AGD, May 14, 1912). The completed book had sixty chapters.

Ellen White’s Last Visit to Loma Linda

Before the work on the manuscript for Prophets and Kings was finished, the time had come again for important meetings at Loma Linda. So Ellen White, W. C. White, Sara McEnterfer, and Clarence Crisler made the trip south on Wednesday night, November 6. Friday morning Ellen White addressed the board and the faculty, urging “good cheer” and reminding them that:

God’s promises to us are so rich, so full, that we need never hesitate or doubt; we need never waver or backslide. In view of the encouragements that are found all through the Word of God, we have no right to be gloomy or despondent....

Many, many times I have been instructed by the Lord to speak words of courage to His people. We are to put our trust in God, and believe in Him, and act in accordance with His will. We must ever remain in a position where we can praise the Lord and magnify His name.—Manuscript 71, 1912.

Sabbath she spoke in the church, and at one noon hour she spoke to the students. She challenged the some sixty medical students, and another sixty in nurse’s training, to high attainments:

Opportunities are before you; if studious and upright, you may obtain an education of the highest value. Make the most of your privileges. Be not satisfied with ordinary attainments; seek to qualify yourselves to fill positions of trust in connection with the Lord’s work in the earth.

United with the God of wisdom and power, you may become intellectually strong, and increasingly capable as soul winners. You may become men and women of responsibility and influence, if, by the power of your will, coupled with divine strength, you earnestly engage in the work of securing a proper training.—Pacific Union Recorder, December 26, 1912.

Ellen White and Sara McEnterfer spent almost a full month at Loma Linda while W. C. White and Clarence Crisler attended to a [377] number of matters in southern California, including a visit to Paradise Valley Sanitarium. She passed her eighty-fifth birthday quietly at Loma Linda.

On the journey north she spoke in Los Angeles; she reported that at the close of the meeting, friends and some of her old acquaintances expressed pleasure “that I could still speak with such clearness.” “I was thankful that I had moved out in faith,” she remarked, “for the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and the grace of Christ sustained me.”—Letter 2, 1912. This was the last time her voice was to be heard in southern California—a triumphant climax.

Later Life Brought No Despondency

As the year 1912 opened, she wrote to Edson: “Be of good courage.... The Lord is rich in resources.” And she admonished, “Never write failure.”—Letter 40, 1912.

In December she wrote encouragingly to her longtime friend George W. Amadon, for many years factory superintendent of the Review and Herald.

We received your letter, and I have only encouraging words to write you in reply. I can sympathize with you in your feelings of doubt and perplexity, for there are times when Satan seeks to bring to me the same trouble of mind, and I have to guard myself, that the tempter may not gain the advantage....

Brother Amadon, rest in the promises of God. When your mind is clouded because of physical weakness, do not try to think. You know that Jesus loves you. He understands your weakness. You may do His will by simply resting in His arms.... I send these words to you in the hope that they may bring courage and faith to your heart. Christ is all-merciful; and He is your Redeemer. He has not forgotten you.—Letter 44, 1912.

In this letter to a fellow worker some five years younger than she, we see reflected Ellen White’s philosophy in her sunset years. There was no bitterness, no uncertainty, no despondency, only confident trust. She knew in whom she believed. [378]

Chapter 28—1913—Concerted Drive on Book Production

Back home at Elmshaven after the monthlong stay in southern California, Ellen White found living and working conditions more comfortable than they had been in former winters. A new steam central heating plant had been installed, with a large wood-burning furnace in the basement of the nearby tank house. While fireplaces would continue to enhance the attractiveness of the home, they would not be used exclusively to heat the large rooms with their high ceilings. And in the office, steam radiators also took the place of the messy little wood stoves.

New Year’s Day fell on Wednesday. It was sunny and beautiful. Ellen White was feeling quite well and took her usual morning ride with Sara. December had brought refreshing rains, breaking a long dry spell. The grass was now green. The oats, sown before the rain, were coming up, making the fields bright and green, and W. C. White, as he took up his correspondence, wrote that at his mother’s request he was wishing her friends “a Happy New Year.” The year opened with book preparation in earnest, Ellen White working closely with her trusted literary helpers. Work on the Old Testament history, pushed so hard in 1912, seems to have slowed down, awaiting Clarence Crisler’s attention. The preparation of the book on Christian education (Counsels to Parents and Teachers) was nearing completion and was receiving principal attention.

In mid-January, Sara McEnterfer’s older sister suffered a stroke, and she was released to care for her in Mountain View. Miss May Walling, Ellen White’s niece whom she had reared and educated, was called from Oakland, where she was nursing, to attend Sister [379] White. This work she faithfully performed till Ellen White’s death.

The Visit of Bookmen

On Thursday, January 23, the staff at Elmshaven, except for W. C. White, who was in the East, played host to a group of about forty men and women who arrived at the home at about 4:00 P.M. For several days the literature evangelists working in the five union conferences in the territory of Pacific Press had been in Mountain View, together with conference leaders and others, for a convention. Now colporteurs, some of their wives, church leaders, and some others were spending the day visiting Pacific Union College, St. Helena Sanitarium, and Elmshaven.

Advance notice had been given, and preparations were made to receive them. Appropriate exhibits showing books, documents, manuscripts, and letters that would be of interest to visitors were set up in the library room next to the manuscript vault.

As they crowded into Ellen White’s living room and dining room, she came down to receive them and to read her message of greeting. It opened:

I welcome you all to “Elmshaven,” the refuge that I found prepared for me on my return from Australia. In this quiet and comfortable home we have been able to prepare articles and books for publication. I hope you will enjoy your visit, and that you may come again. In your prosperity and welfare I am deeply interested.

She declared:

The time has come when a large work should be done by our canvassers. The world is asleep, and as watchmen they are to give the warning note, to awake the sleepers to a sense of their danger. The churches know not the time of their visitation. How can they best learn the truth? Through the efforts of the canvasser.

All who consecrate themselves to God to work as canvassers are assisting to give the last message of warning to the world. They are the Lord’s messengers, giving to multitudes in darkness and error the glad tidings of salvation.—Letter 3, 1913. [380]

After recounting some experiences in which Seventh-day Adventists were led to gain a broader grasp of the task before them, she urged her guests to pray for a deeper experience, and urged also that they go forth with hearts filled with the precious truths that God had given His people for this time.

After addressing them for about thirty minutes, she presented each with one of her books of their choice—The Desire of Ages, The Acts of the Apostles, or some other. The gift was made doubly memorable by a card in each book, bearing a printed message of good cheer and her signature.

A Year of Earnest Book Preparation

The few letters she wrote in 1913 and some of the many W. C. White letters indicate the place that book preparation took.

February 18:

Mother is quite well these days, but not at all strong. Our work in the office is progressing nicely. Minnie and Maggie are at work collecting material for Gospel Workers.—WCW to AGD, February 18, 1913.

March 31:

[Mother] keeps quite cheerful, rides out almost every pleasant day, reads all the manuscripts that we are preparing for the printer, gives us much valuable counsel about the work.—WCW to N. H. Druillard, March 31, 1913.

May 7:

I have a company of faithful workers, who are helping to prepare matter for the press. They are of good courage, and look on the bright side. We are doing our best to gather together the precious instruction that the people need.—Letter 9, 1913.

August 28:

The past few months I have not done much letter writing, for I have wished to keep my strength for the reading of important matter in my book work. I have with me an excellent company of workers, men and women who are as true as steel to principle, and whose entire interests are bound up with this work. My faith has increased as I have tried to do my best to complete my writings.—Letter 11, 1913.

December 4:

I am fairly well healthwise, not suffering much pain, but I realize that old age is reminding me that I am mortal. My book work is still taking my time, and I am trying to finish my [381] work with joy and not with grief. I have not lost my courage.—Letter 13, 1913.

December 31:

Some lines of our work are moving forward well. Sister Bree is making steady progress in the preparation of copy for Gospel Workers. Mother is reading this article by article, and enjoys it very much.—WCW to AGD, December 31, 1913.

The Manuscript for Counsels to Parents and Teachers

As the new year opened, the book they then called “Christian Education,” known today as Counsels to Parents and Teachers, was receiving first attention. In a letter written to Elder O. A. Olsen on January 2, W. C. White described in some detail the procedures in preparing the manuscript:

First of all, Professor Salisbury [secretary of the General Conference Department of Education] sat down with Mother’s secretaries and spent two or three hours in pointing out those articles in the old book [Christian Education, 1893] which he regarded as essential; also those articles in Special Testimonies on Education [1897] which he thought should be used in the new edition.

Then Sisters Minnie Hawkins, Maggie Bree, and Mary Steward gave the matter which he has designated very careful reading, and made notes as to its contents. Then they went to Mother’s files to see what new matter they could find and they made note of its contents.

Then we made a list of departments which we thought ought to be considered in the compilation and with these subjects before them, they made a thorough study of printed matter and manuscripts. As they collected matter, the departments developed from ten to fourteen.

When the manuscript had been pulled together in its preliminary form, it was submitted to several leading educators for critical reading. To them W. C. White wrote:

If you find anything in the manuscript to criticize, if you know of important material which should be added, or if you have any suggestions regarding arrangement, please send them [382] along, and we will give your suggestions consideration.—WCW to M. E. Kern, January 15, 1913.

The procedures in handling this manuscript were quite different from those followed in the preparation of Prophets and Kings. In the case of the Old Testament history there was a natural sequence that had to be followed. In the case of the book on education some judgment could be exercised in the selection of materials that would make the book most helpful, as well as the most helpful sequence in which these should appear. Dedicated educators, who by nature of their work had been led to give diligent study to the Spirit of Prophecy counsels that had a bearing on their work, would be in the best position to point out any important counsels that had been overlooked and to suggest the most effective arrangement of articles.

Ellen G. White Counsels on Courtship

When the work on the book was first outlined, no consideration was given to dealing with the question of courtship in denominational schools. There were differences in policies from college to college; some allowed students of mature age and of good standing to meet in the dormitory parlor by permission of the preceptress. Other college administrators thought no provision should be made for such association, and were certain that their position was in harmony with the testimonies and Ellen White’s oral teachings (DF 251, WCW to Elders G. A. Irwin and E. E. Andross, September 7, 1912).

In early September, 1912, W. C. White talked over this matter with his mother. He mentioned to her that administrators who were inclined to some leniency felt “that the strong and unqualified statements in the testimonies regarding this matter refer to and apply chiefly to the schools made up largely of young and immature students” (Ibid.).

Ellen White responded at length, pointing out that the young and the old cannot be treated alike and that “age and character must be taken into account.” She stated that men and women of sound experience and good standing have a right to expect some privileges not granted to the young and immature.

She mentioned also that if administrators are too stringent in this [383] matter, they shall make a serious mistake. If students feel that they are dealt with unjustly and without consideration, there is greater temptation to disregard the rules of the school and the advice of the teachers (Ibid.).

Pacific Union College, nearby, was one of the schools holding to the more conservative position. Its president, C. W. Irwin, had served in the Avondale school, where the school calendar quoted from an E. G. White letter stating:

We have labored hard to keep in check everything in the school like favoritism, attachments, and courting. We have told the students that we would not allow the first thread of this to be interwoven with their schoolwork. On this point we are as firm as a rock.—Letter 145, 1897.

This he had enforced as president of the Avondale school and was currently attempting to enforce as president of Pacific Union College. As W. C. White discussed with him the forthcoming book of counsels on education, Irwin pressed hard for the inclusion of something on courtship, rather expecting that it would be an elaboration of the counsel given to the Avondale school.

However, as noted earlier, the discussion W. C. White had with his mother did not support this, but indicated rather that Ellen White would make a definitive statement for general use. When the new chapter on “Deportment of Students” was prepared, W. C. White sent a copy to A. G. Daniells with a description of the procedure followed in its preparation.

You will observe that this chapter is made up of three parts: first, a broad statement on general principles of deportment. This was drawn from Testimonies for the Church, volume 4.

Following this is a statement regarding what may be permitted in our colleges in the association of men and women who, are mature in age and of good experience. This is followed by a restatement of the instruction Mother has always given in such schools as the Battle Creek College, the Avondale school, and elsewhere.—WCW to AGD, February 7, 1913.

The crucial paragraphs in the chapter allowing for association of mature students, were dictated by Ellen White. She then reviewed [384] them several times, commenting on each principle and expressing her approval of the wording.

When the chapter was submitted to Professor Irwin, he was surprised to find that it did not accord with the instruction given to the Avondale school. He wrote to W. C. White that the instruction was “something entirely new” and that he was “at a loss to know how to make it agree with matter which Sister White has written on other occasions.” He inquired whether some new light had been given to her on this point (DF 251, C. W. Irwin to WCW, February 12, 1913). What Irwin had not taken into account was the different circumstances under which the seemingly divergent counsels had been given.

When she had written in 1897 the larger number of the students were under 16 years of age. The Avondale school at that time was primarily an academy, not a college. The majority of students in the church’s colleges were older and more experienced and mature. Ellen White, in providing general counsel for denominational educators, took this into account and wrote accordingly.

Important Principles Enunciated

The whole experience was wholesome, for it drew out from W. C. White an explanation of principles that has been most valuable in dealing with the Ellen G. White counsels, in both primary and secondary ways. Of this he wrote to C. W. Irwin:

One of the most perplexing problems we have to deal with in preparing Mother’s writings for publication is in just such matters as this, where the conditions of a family, or a church, or an institution are presented to her, and warnings and instruction are given regarding these conditions. In such cases, Mother writes clearly and forcefully, and without qualification regarding the situation presented to her. And it is a great blessing to us to have this instruction for our study in dealing with similar conditions elsewhere.

But when we take what she has written, and publish it without any description, or particular reference to the conditions existing when and where the testimony was given, there is always the possibility of the instruction being used as applying [385] to places and conditions that are very different.

Very much perplexity has been brought into our work in this way, by the use of what Mother has written on the subject of diet, and on the use of drugs, and on other subjects that you will think of without my enumerating them; and when the time has come for instruction to be given to some individual, or family, or church, which presented the right course to be taken, under conditions which were different from those contemplated in former writings, the exception made, or the different course advised in view of the different conditions, has often come as a surprise to those who felt that the instruction they have been studying was of universal application.

In our book-making, as we have met this perplexity, Mother has given us very comprehensive and emphatic instruction as to how we shall deal with such matters. We are endeavoring to follow that instruction faithfully. It was in response to this instruction that several manuscripts were prepared that Mother read at the last General Conference, among which was the article entitled, “Faithfulness in Health Reform.”—DF 251, WCW to C. W. Irwin, February 18, 1913.

Another consideration pointed out by W. C. White was: “Often people read into a statement many things that were not contemplated when it was written. And this makes it important that everything that is to be printed shall be studied in its many bearings before it is sent to the printers.”— Ibid.

Neither Ellen White nor W. C. White considered the “perplexities” referred to as a deterrent to a multiple use of materials. In 1868 she was instructed to publish testimonies addressed to individuals and families, for the counsel given to one would be useful to another (Testimonies for the Church 5:658, 659), and the Lord did not give a vision for each individual situation. She made a provision in her will for the production of books from her manuscripts.

W. C. White told Irwin that from the outset, in developing the chapter on “Deportment of Students” it was thought that the statement written to the school at Cooranbong, if used, “ought not to stand alone, but that a more complete presentation of Mother’s views should be given than was found in that one manuscript” (DF [386] 251, WCW to C. W. Irwin, February 18, 1913). And he told of how, with the manuscript ready to go to the printer, and considering the far-reaching nature of the statement on courtship, he asked Ellen White to read the chapter again. He reported that “she began with ‘Courtship,’ and read to the end, commenting upon and approving point by point of the instruction.”—DF 251, WCW to J. E. White, January 25, 1913.

The chapter was included in the finished manuscript as it went to the printer, with the subtitle “Courtship” replaced by the less-pronounced “Association With Others.” The portion in question reads:

In all our dealings with students, age and character must be taken into account. We cannot treat the young and the old just alike. There are circumstances under which men and women of sound experience and good standing may be granted some privileges not given to the younger students. The age, the conditions, and the turn of mind must be taken into consideration. We must be wisely considerate in all our work. But we must not lessen our firmness and vigilance in dealing with students of all ages, nor our strictness in forbidding the unprofitable and unwise association of young and immature students.—CPT, p. 101.

Thus, Ellen White refused to allow a statement written to meet the needs of the Avondale school in its beginning days, with its enrollment of young students, to be used as a rule to guide in college administration. The book came from the press in mid-May, 1913. [387]

Chapter 29—Interludes in the Drive on Book Production

The thirty-eighth session of the General Conference was scheduled to be held in Washington from May 15 to June 8, 1913. As with the 1909 session held four years before, meetings would be in a large tent pitched on the grounds of Washington Missionary College in Takoma Park, Maryland. The expectation was that Ellen G. White, now 85 years of age, would not attempt to attend. In early May she made her final decision, writing to Edson on the seventh,” I shall not attend. I desire to save my strength for the work here that is essential to be done.”—Letter 9, 1913 W. C. White wrote that she was quite content with the decision (WCW to AGD, May 1, 1913). She did, however, prepare two messages to be read to the session, and sent them with her son.

At the first meeting of the session W. C. White conveyed to the delegates her oral message of greeting. Opportunity came for this as Elder Daniells, after a brief opening address, opened the way for those attending to express words of gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving.

I bring you greetings from Mother, and from her family, and from her helpers. Her last words to me with reference to the conference were:

“Tell our brethren to be of good cheer. Tell them to have faith in God and to expect great things, to undertake great things, and in His strength to go forward. Tell them not to fear or to look back. My prayers will be with them.

“Tell our brethren I feel perfectly clear that it is God’s will that I shall remain at home and reserve what strength I have to help in [388] the work of bringing my writings into book form, so that they can be published for the people.—The General Conference Bulletin, 1913, 5, 6.

In his statement to the conference, W. C. White reported on Ellen White’s health and welfare:

Mother is 85 years old. She feels the infirmities of age, but she is not suffering with sickness. She is comfortably well. Almost every pleasant day she rides out for an hour or two. Usually she devotes an hour or two to reading and writing, from day to day.

Very frequently, as I visit her in the morning, I find the Review in her hands, and she says, “What a wonderful paper! What an interesting report of our work!” And in connection with various reports in the Review, she often comments on the progress of the work in many lands.

Mother’s courage is good. She has no fear of the future. She expects to rest in the grave a little while before the Lord comes, but she has no dread. Her only anxiety is to use day by day what strength God gives her, in a way most acceptable to her Master.—Ibid., 6.

Ellen White’s Message to the Delegates

On Sabbath afternoon W. C. White was called upon to read Ellen White’s message of greeting to the delegates. It contained a challenge to face the work with hopefulness and courage and reminded them that their attitude during the conference would have a telling influence throughout the world field. She declared:

Often in the night season I am bidden to urge our brethren in responsible positions to make earnest effort to follow on to know the Lord more perfectly. When our workers realize as they should the importance of the times in which we live, there will be seen a determined purpose to be on the Lord’s side, and they will become in truth laborers together with God.—Ibid., 34.

She spoke of the disappointment that came to her when at the General Conference of 1909 “a work should have been done in the hearts of those in attendance that was not done,” and finally, of her rejoicing when “some of those in positions of trust” after prayer and study of the various messages given, “ventured to undertake by [389] faith the work called for—a work they could not fully understand; and as they went forward in the fear of God, they received rich blessing.”— Ibid. She was referring to evangelizing the cities. Continuing, she admonished:

When the Lord sets His hand to prepare the way before His ministers, it is their duty to follow where He directs. He will never forsake or leave in uncertainty those who follow His leadings with full purpose of heart— Ibid.

And she assured the delegates at the 1913 meeting:

“I rejoice therefore,” my brethren, “that I have confidence in you in all things” (2 Corinthians 7:16). And while I still feel the deepest anxiety over the attitude that some are taking toward important measures connected with the development of the cause of God in the earth, yet I have strong faith in the workers throughout the field, and believe that as they meet together and humble themselves before the Lord and consecrate themselves anew to His service, they will be enabled to do His will.— Ibid.

She wrote of being deeply impressed by recent scenes of a great revival, with Seventh-day Adventists responding to God’s call and “moving into line” (Ibid.).

The General Conference Bulletin reported the response to Ellen White’s message:

The reading of this letter brought forth many hearty “amens” from the brethren on the rostrum and throughout the congregation. Tears flowed freely as Sister White’s expressions of confidence in her brethren and in God’s leadership of His people were read.—The General Conference Bulletin, 32.

“Courage in the Lord”

The president of the General Conference, Elder A. G. Daniells, presented Ellen White’s second message to the delegates ten days later at the business session on Tuesday morning, May 27. It opened:

Recently in the night session, my mind was impressed by the Holy Spirit with the thought that if the Lord is coming as soon as [390] we believe He is, we ought to be even more active than we have been in years past.—Ibid., 164.

Then she reviewed God’s call for an outreach of the message with a fervor similar to that seen in the days of the advent movement in 1843 and 1844. She spoke of the needs of the cities and “places nigh and afar off,” and admonished, “Never draw back.” She urged that “we are to move forward in faith and hope, expecting large things from God” and warned, “Let no discouraging words be spoken, but only such words as will tend to strengthen and sustain your fellow workers.” Then she referred to her own participation in the work:

I long to be personally engaged in earnest work in the field, and I should most assuredly be engaged in more public labor did I not believe that at my age it is not wise to presume on one’s physical strength.

I have a work to do in communicating to the church and to the world the light that has been entrusted to me from time to time all through the years during which the third angel’s message has been proclaimed. My heart is filled with a most earnest desire to place the truth before all who can be reached. And I am still acting a part in preparing matter for publication....

I am more thankful than I can express for the uplifting of the Spirit of the Lord, for the comfort and grace that He continues to give me, and that He grants me strength and opportunity to impart courage and help to His people.— Ibid.

There was one part of her message to the session that touched a chord in the hearts of many of the delegates present, such as Elder J. N. Loughborough, who with Ellen White had attended the very first session of the General Conference held in Battle Creek in May, 1863, exactly fifty years before, and Elder G. I. Butler, an associate for many years. Here are her comforting and encouraging words:

I greatly desire that the old soldiers of the cross, those grown gray in the Master’s service, shall continue to bear their testimony right to the point, in order that those younger in the faith may understand that the messages which the Lord gave us in the past are very important at this stage of the earth’s history. [391] Our past experience has not lost one jot of its force.

Let all be careful not to discourage the pioneers, or cause them to feel that there is little they can do. Their influence may still be mightily exerted in the work of the Lord. The testimony of the aged ministers will ever be a help and a blessing to the church.

God will watch over His tried and faithful standard bearers, night and day, until the time comes for them to lay off their armor. Let them be assured that they are under the protecting care of Him who never slumbers or sleeps; that they are watched over by unwearied sentinels. Knowing this, and realizing that they are abiding in Christ, they may rest trustfully in the providences of God.— Ibid.

There was no word of pessimism in Ellen White’s farewell message to the leaders of the church in assembly. She continued:

When in the night season I am unable to sleep, I lift my heart in prayer to God, and He strengthens me and gives me the assurance that He is with His ministering servants in the home field and in distant lands. I am encouraged and blessed as I realize that the God of Israel is still guiding His people, and that He will continue to be with them, even to the end.— Ibid.

She spoke of the need of the “special guidance of the Holy Spirit,” of carrying forward the work with “increasing efficiency,” of a work that lies before the church that would “put to the stretch every power of the human being.” She called for “the exercise of strong faith” and declared that “with God’s help, His servants will finally triumph.”—Ibid., 165. (Both General Conference messages appear in full in Selected Messages 2:398-408.)

The Response

The message and appeal sparked an immediate response, first from the pioneer workers and then others. Elder George I. Butler summed it up well:

I fell greatly blessed and edified with this last communication we have received from God’s servant. It should encourage us all. It has the old-fashioned ring in it that is in all her earlier writings. [392] Some thought that as she grew old her writings would be less powerful, but it seems to me that her later writings are the best. God is with that dear woman. I feel thankful for this communication. I believe it ought to encourage us all in the work of God, and especially is it encouraging to some of us who are growing old. May the Lord bless us all and save us in His kingdom.— Ibid.

The Conference in session took action that:

The president and secretary of the General Conference be asked, in behalf of this body, to convey to Sister White an expression of appreciation of the counsels given in this message, and of assurance of our Christian love and regard.—The General Conference Bulletin, 166.

In a letter to his mother on June 7, W. C. White assured her that her messages were read and well received by the delegates at the conference. Eagerly the folk at Elmshaven awaited the arrival of the General Conference Bulletins which traced in detail the Conference proceedings.

Activities at Elmshaven

In mid-May, Paul Mason, Ellen White’s accountant, went to San Francisco to purchase from Studebaker Brothers a new carriage with rubber tires. It cost $125. (P. C. Mason to WCW, May 18, 1913). On Sunday, May 18, she took her first ride in it. Then a few days later, the first copy of the new book Counsels to Parents and Teachers came from the press.

On Sunday, June 15, accompanied by Helen Graham, she responded to an invitation to attend a school picnic held in the grove at the W. C. White home. Children, parents, teachers, and friends met at about two o’clock and stayed until seven. She was invited to speak to the group, and instead of talking for an anticipated twenty minutes, she took all of forty-five. Helen Graham took down her remarks:

“I have always had a special interest in the youth,” she opened. “I see before me today those whom I know God can use if they will put their dependence in Him.”—Manuscript 16, 1913. Continuing, she said:

Children, if you will be in earnest in serving God, you will be [393] a help to all with whom you associate. There is nothing to be ashamed of in being a Christian. It is an honor to follow the Saviour. And it is by obeying the instructions that He has given that you are to be prepared to meet Him when He comes. If you will ask God to help you to overcome what is un-Christlike in your dispositions, He will prepare you for entrance into heaven, where no sin can enter.— Ibid.

She urged the study of the Word of God, and she reminded them that the angels were beside them. She told of her girlhood experience and of her feeling of assurance that God would continue to sustain her, for she had a work yet to do. She closed her remarks with a short prayer. Her message seemed very appropriate for an afternoon of Christian recreation, and everyone was glad Sister White could be with them.

One evening after worship in the home, Elder A. W. Spalding, who was spending some time at Elmshaven preparing material for publication on the beginnings of the work of the church in the Southern States, offered to assist her up the stairs to her room, but she turned and said,

Oh, no thank you! I am quite able to go alone. Why, I am as spry as when I was a girl. As when I was a girl? Yes, indeed! More so. When I was a girl I was ill, and frail, and in pain, but now the Lord has strengthened me all these years, and I am better, far better than when I was a girl.—A. W. Spalding, Origin and History, vol. 3, p. 280.

About this time, Sara McEnterfer, who was back at Elmshaven for a brief visit, reported to W. C. White, who was still in the East:

Mother’s health has been more than we dared to hope for during your absence. She sings in the night and she sings in the day (even while in the bathtub taking her treatment). She seems to enjoy her food very much, and I believe it is doing her good. We get her out to ride twice nearly every day.—Sara McEnterfer to WCW, June 20, 1913.

The Dietary Program

It was shortly after this that Ellen White wrote to Edson, “My appetite is good, and I eat the most simple food. Lately I have been [394] enjoying the sweet corn; it is delicious.”—Letter 11, 1913.

As to the dietary program in the home, Sara McEnterfer and the cook usually consulted together in deciding on the menus, Sara knowing well what Ellen White would prefer and what she could and could not eat. At the time Ellen White wrote the above, Evelyn Grace White, 13, was a part-time helper to the cook, and she has provided quite detailed information on the meals served.

According to Grace, the large dining table was always nicely set for the meals, breakfast and dinner. There was no formal evening meal. At the center of the long table, which was covered with a white linen cloth, there was either a bouquet of flowers or a bowl of fruit. In addition to the regular setting of silverware, there were silver napkin rings at each place setting, holding the rolled-up linen serviettes. Each regular diner had his individual ring, which marked his place; visitors, who at the first meal were assigned a ring, would find their places without oral directions. Ellen White sat at the head of the table, with Sara McEnterfer at her right around the corner.

Breakfast would consist of some hot cereal, usually a whole-grain cereal—cracked wheat, millet, corn meal, oatmeal, and sometimes homemade hominy, or boiled wheat that had been cooked overnight in the “fireless cooker.” “Breakfast was one of the fruit meals,” Grace reports. “We had sometimes four kinds of fruit. We just used lots of fruit. Fresh, canned, dried.... We never put sugar on our cereal.”—DF 129e, “Dinner at Elmshaven,” an interview with Grace Jacques, June 8, 1978.

The cereal would be eaten with cream, and at times with dates, raisins, or banana added. Jersey and Guernsey cows on the farm furnished milk for the household and sometimes for the households of the working staff. At the White home the milk would be placed in rather shallow enameled pans, brought to a boil, and then put in a screened cooler in the cellar. By morning it was covered with a soft layer of rich cream, which was used on the table in the place of butter, and of course, for such dishes as cereals. Toast at the breakfast table would be eaten with cream. There might be a warm drink such as malted milk or caramel cereal (a cereal coffee, a forerunner of such products as Postum and other coffee substitutes). Casserole dishes were not seen on the breakfast table. Breakfast was usually served at seven-thirty, right after the “family” [395] had had morning worship.

Grace reports that for the dinner, served at one o’clock, there would usually be three hot dishes, including a protein dish. There was a large garden at Elmshaven, so usually there were some fresh vegetables, and in winter there was an abundance of dried corn and canned tomatoes. A baked dish of macaroni, with beaten corn and eggs, frequently appeared on the table. Cottage cheese was served, but not cured cheeses. Ellen White liked cooked greens every day, and these would vary according to season. From the fields came dandelion and mustard greens, and, of course, there were other more conventional leafy dishes.

The dish of greens was usually especially for Ellen White. One day as Sara McEnterfer passed the bowl of dandelion greens to Ellen White, she said, “Mother, here is your horse feed.” The latter looked over the table at the other dishes and quietly replied, “Well, I don’t know as my horse feed is any worse than your cow’s peas.”

As Grace described meals at Ellen White’s table, she declared, “The meals were delicious.” Mealtime was “a happy time” and “a big occasion of the day” (Ibid.).

Grace reported that good bread was made in the home, and perhaps two or three times a week whole-wheat “gems” would be served—a muffinlike product made without leaven, raised by the air beaten into the batter and baked in a very hot oven in cast-iron “gem irons.” Gems in the White household went back to the decade of the health reform vision.

Questioned about preserves or fruit butters in the White home, Grace replied:

We put up strawberry jam and blackberry jam and loganberry jam, but we ate it sparingly, I would say. Grandmother was not one to say, “No, you can’t have any of this.” But, “Eat it moderately.... Don’t eat too much, but enjoy a nice slice of bread and cream and strawberry jam. It’s delicious.”— Ibid.

Beverages were often on the table, but used in modest amounts—tomato juice, grape and other fruit juices, carrot juice, milk, and buttermilk. Besides the cows on the farm, there were chickens fenced in under the apple trees. These supplied the family with eggs that were used in cooking and occasionally served [396] soft-boiled on the table. For desserts, fruit was often used, and occasionally a little pumpkin or lemon pie, tapioca pudding, or bread pudding.

The Sanitarium Food Company was in the valley close by, and such foods as “nut loaf,” “protose,” peanut butter, crackers—both plain and with fruit—bread, and “granose” biscuits (a wheat-flake product) all found their way into the White home.

It can be said that the table represented no extremes, only the consistent counsels given down through the years, and everyone enjoyed eating at Sister White’s table. It has been rumored that Ellen White, during the last few years of her life reverted to the use of some meat. This is wholly untrue.

Mention has been made that only two meals were served in the White home. Those who ate at the table were engaged in literary work, and the program worked well. If a member of the household or a visitor desired a light evening meal, he was at liberty to go to the large, well-stocked pantry and fix whatever appealed to him. Such was not frowned upon by Ellen White, or other members of the family.

In the summer that Grace assisted in the kitchen and dining room of Ellen White’s home, her twin grandsons Henry and Herbert White, with the earnings of their little printing office, purchased a Model T Ford. It was a touring car, one year old. They were delighted with its performance and boasted that they could run 100 miles on a dollar’s worth of gasoline (May White to WCW, July 6 and 8, 1913).

The twins took their grandmother for a ride in their car in August. She wrote to Edson:

Willie and his family are well. His twin boys are busy workers. They have recently purchased an automobile, and yesterday I took my first ride in it. It is the easiest machine I have ever ridden in.—Letter 11, 1913.

While earlier in the year she spoke several times in nearby churches, a service in the St. Helena church on Sabbath, September 27, marked the close of her ministry in the pulpit. Two days later, her fourth grandson, Francis Edward, was born to William and May White. She was pleased. [397]

At the Elmshaven Office

As to book work in the office, the staff was concentrating on Gospel Workers. In addition, a new line of work with the E.G. White books was getting under way. As the church was stretching forth to new lands, the people working at Elmshaven and the General Conference Committee were giving study as to how to make such books as The Desire of Ages, Patriarchs and Prophets, and The Great Controversy available in a size that could be produced within the financial reach of peoples of different countries, especially the Orient. After the 1913 session, three men of mission experience were asked by the General Conference to go to Elmshaven for a few months to make selections from Ellen White’s writings that might be translated later into many languages (WCW to S. N. Haskell, October 7, 1913).

In early October, R. W. Munson, who had been in mission service in Indonesia, and J. S. James and L. J. Burgess, both missionaries to India, were at Elmshaven undertaking this new task. Burgess was soon looking through Patriarchs and Prophets, selecting materials that would make several pamphlets of forty to sixty pages each. As Ellen white considered the matter, she declared that it was much better for 10,000 people to have half a loaf than it was for only 1,000 to have a whole loaf (WCW, as told to A. L. White). Thus began the work of making abridgments of the E. G. White books for publications in lands where the work of the church was just beginning. Writing to A. G. Daniells on December 31, W. C. White reported the work well under way.

An Important Vision on December 3

Before the year ended, Ellen White received an important vision relating to the work of St. Helena Sanitarium and its physician-in-chief. The institution was enjoying a good patronage. The head physician was a skillful surgeon with a reputation that enhanced the standing of the sanitarium. This was much needed after some unfortunate circumstances that surrounded the work of his predecessor.

But the Sanitarium board was faced with a very real problem when the physician expressed his need for more money than he was receiving. [398]

At the time, all members of the medical staff were salaried employees of the institution. The physician-in-chief talked of an increase in salary and a percentage of the fees charged for his surgical operations. He wanted to remain in his position, but he was prepared to resign if the board could not make an adjustment in his favor. He was willing to give the Sanitarium time to consider the matter carefully. On Wednesday night, December 3, the board canvassed it thoroughly, but could reach no decision. The physician agreed to hold on for another month, giving the board ample time to find its way. The meeting closed a little after midnight.

Earlier in the day, as the union conference committee was meeting at the Sanitarium, W. C. White had invited committee board members to visit Elmshaven, just below the Sanitarium, to see what was going on in the office. He suggested that it would cheer his mother if they were to pay her a little visit. He reminded the men that she was growing old and it was uncertain how long she would live. The visit would have to be made early, for the men would be in a meeting of the conference committee all day, to be followed by another meeting of the Sanitarium board in the evening.

W. C. White had intended to alert his mother in ample time in the morning, but the Sanitarium board had not adjourned until very late the night before, and he overslept. He awoke at almost the time set for the visit of the men. In fact, they were most likely already on their way down the hill, about a fifteen-minute walk. He dressed hastily and hurried over to Elmshaven, found his mother upstairs in her writing room, and told her of the impending visit.

“I don’t want to see them” was her response.

She told him that she had had a strange experience in the night and that she was not feeling well. “I can’t see them,” she repeated.—WCW to AGD, December 19, 1913; WCW as told to A. L. White.

When she spoke of having a strange experience in the night, her son was more than ever eager that she should meet the men. He knew that at times when boards and committees were struggling with difficult problems, his mother was at the same time in vision going through the experience with them. Perhaps, he thought, she would have some light for them. So he said to her:

Mother, there are several of our conference presidents who [399] wish to speak to you, and I intended to bring them up to your room; but as you are not feeling well, if you will come down to the sitting room, I will invite them to come in and meet you there.—WCW to AGD, December 19, 1913.

He assured her that they would not take much of her time or strength. She acceded and went down to the living room. It was quite a sizable group that came together, shook hands with Ellen White, and found seats in the room. W. C. White thought they would engage in conversation, telling her a little about their work, but silence prevailed.

To break the ice, W. C. White began to tell his mother about the board meetings:

Today we must enter into consideration of sanitarium problems, particularly the question of the wages we should pay to physicians and surgeons. We have in our St. Helena Sanitarium a God-fearing physician who has won the confidence of all his associates—a man whom God has blessed greatly in his ministry to the sick. He wants to remain, and everybody wants him to remain; and he feels that it would be right for him to remain if his brethren could grant him a wage about twice as large as that paid to our average workers. He loves to give freely, and he wishes to have funds with which to live and to use for this purpose. We are much perplexed, and we would be glad to know if you have any light on this matter.—Manuscript 12, 1913; Selected Messages 2:202, 203).

With this introduction, Ellen White began to talk freely, and it was easily seen she had a definite message for the board members. Clarence Crisler took notes. Her response was so clear and provided such a decisive answer to the questions the Sanitarium had been wrestling with and the course they should follow that they were deeply impressed. There was “clearness and power with which she presented the matter” (WCW to AGD, December 19, 1913). Speaking to the point, she said:

If he is granted considerably more than other physicians, they will come to believe they are not treated right unless they have more also. We must move cautiously and understandingly, [400] and not allow wages to creep up so high that many will be tempted.... Unless you have some clear light from the Lord, it is not advisable to pay one man considerably more than another doing a similar work. For, if you do, the others will think it perfectly proper to expect similar high wages.

We must look at all things on all sides, and it is so of no use for us to think that we can offer a successful worker a high wage simply because he may demand it. We must, rather, consider what we can afford to do at the present time, when the fields are opening upon which we shall henceforth have to expend much more means than we have spent hitherto. These are matters that will test the faith of our people.—Manuscript 12, 1913; Ibid., 2:203).

With this as a beginning, the interview continued for an hour and more. Arguments were presented as to the special value to the institution of the head physician, and also the problems other institutions would face if a precedent were set along the lines proposed. In response, Ellen White made it clear that “we must work harmoniously.”

One brother says, “Such and such a brother has a certain wage, and I must have a wage to correspond.” And so the wages will climb, and keep climbing, higher and still higher. The fact is that the wages of some may have to be lower and still lower in order that we may meet the extensive requirements of the work that is before us in warning the world....

The Lord desires us to be consistent in everything. He desires us to follow the self-sacrificing example of Christ, and when we do that, His blessing rests upon us.....

Those who have the cause of God at heart must realize that they are not working for themselves or for the small wage they may be receiving, and that God can make the little they do receive go farther than they may think it can. He will give them satisfaction and blessing as they go forward in self-sacrificing labor. And He will bless every one of us as we labor in the meekness of Christ.— Ibid. (portions of the interview in Ibid., 2:179, 180; 202-206).

Elder G. W. Reaser offered a short prayer to close the interview. [401] As the men left, several spoke words of appreciation to Ellen White. Reaser’s were typical:

We are very thankful to have met you, Sister White, and to find you in...good health. And personally I am thankful for the good counsel you have given us this morning. You have surely spoken a word in season to us all.— Ibid.

Clarence Crisler went immediately to his typewriter and by early afternoon had the eighteen-page report of the interview ready for use. A copy was taken to the manager of the Sanitarium, and he in turn promptly passed it on to the physician concerned, Reporting to A. G. Daniells on December 19, W. C. White wrote:

When we met Thursday evening, it was soon settled that we need not longer discuss the question of percentage. Then the matter of wages was faithfully considered, and a little after midnight the board, by unanimous vote, requested Dr.-----to withdraw his resignation without expecting an increase of wages. The doctor discussed the situation lengthily and feelingly, and finally consented to withdraw his resignation.

The much-loved and well-respected physician stayed on, but because of the complexities of the overall problem, Elder E. E. Andross, president of the Pacific Union Conference, returned to Elmshaven a week later to review the matter with Sister White, especially in the light of the wages of institutional workers generally. To him the counsel given earlier was reinforced; that is, a worker in the cause is not in a position to set his own wage (Manuscript 14, 1913).

The experience seemed to give Ellen White a lift. She wrote a letter to her son Edson after the interview on Thursday morning, December 4:

My work is not yet done; no, no.... This morning I had an interview with several ministers who have been long in the work. The Lord gave me important instruction for them, and a message of encouragement. I thank Him that they appreciated the words spoken.—Letter 13, 1913. [402]

Chapter 30—1914—Ellen White’s Eighty-seventh Year

As Ellen White on New Year’s morning stepped over to the bay window in her writing room, she could see almost a sea of turbulent water inundating the little orchard between her home and Blackmon’s Canyon Creek, over against Glass Mountain (so named for its exposed obsidian deposits). The “big storm” with its downpour of rain brought a partial paralysis over the little valley. Iram James, her farmer, reported that a fallen tree over the creek a bit upstream had diverted the flow across the pasture, cutting a deep ditch that called for immediate repair (WCW to CCC, January 8, 1914).

The opening of the new year, the last full calendar year of Ellen White’s life, was marked with an added convenience for Elmshaven—electricity. Just the year before, a beginning had been made in the use of steam in heating, and during the year her grandsons had secured their automobile. Now the long-awaited convenience, electricity, had reached the Pratt Valley.

Early in her long life, Ellen White had used candles and whale-oil lamps to write by and to move about at night. A decade after her marriage came kerosene lamps and lanterns, and she would carry the kerosene lamp in the early hours of the morning as she entered her writing room at Elmshaven to begin her day’s work. Advantage had been taken of the development of efficient oil lamps, and several of the much-used rooms boasted of “angle lamps.” Two-or three-wick burners, with their glass shades projecting from a nickel-plated central oil reservoir, hung from the ceiling, gave a much-appreciated combined light. [403]

Now, as Ellen White and members of the family moved from room to room, just a turn of the switch unleashed a glow of light filling the whole room. How wonderful it was! The workers in the office were very appreciative, as their tasks often called for evening work.

There was another occasion for special happiness in the office family. During the holiday season Clarence Crisler and Minnie Hawkins were united in marriage and now would work more closely than ever as they labored to get the Spirit of Prophecy messages into the field for the benefit of the whole church. They were honeymooning in southern California when the storm and flood hit and did not seem to object to the extra week that was theirs because of adverse travel conditions in the Napa Valley.

Steady but sometimes seemingly slow progress was made in literary tasks—Old Testament history, Gospel Workers, and the incessant demand for E. G. White articles for the Review and Signs of the Times. W. C. was much away from home during the year, and while it slowed the work in the office and left considerable loneliness, it had its benefits in the frequent reports to him from his wife, May, and C. C. Crisler—reports of considerable significance to us who are interested in Ellen White’s state of both physical and mental health through her eighty-seventh year. To keep White posted, Crisler wrote to him every day or two, often from notes he had taken during his visits. It is mainly on these letters that this chapter is based, the running account often being in Crisler’s words, even though not always credited.

On March 18 the prune orchards were budding once again. Ellen White was in good health and good spirits and when the weather was favorable was still taking her regular daily carriage rides on the familiar roads and in the cherished lanes about Elmshaven. The next day Crisler reported to W. C. White of his conversations with Ellen White and of her outlook. As it was that day so it pervaded the last months of her life. Here is his statement:

Last night Sister White assured me that her faith in God and her confidence in the Advent Movement have been greatly strengthened of late by the excellent reports of success attending the labors of our ministers and workers. She declares that she [404] has never doubted the providential leadership of God in connection with our denominational history, but that her confidence does grow stronger as the evidences of divine leadership multiply.—CCC to WCW, March 19, 1914.

On April 1, Crisler wrote of Elmshaven as spring came:

Your mother has been able to read considerable since her eye was bad, and today she was able to have a good ride, the first in four days, one day being Sabbath, and the other days stormy. We have had an excellent rain—just what we have been needing. Now the gardens, the orchards, and the farm crops will have a good chance.—CCC to WCW, April 1, 1914.

The Question of Another Prophet

That same day several visitors called, Brethren B. G. Wilkinson, M. N. Campbell, and O. Montgomery. Ellen White spent some time with them. The men were very glad for the opportunity to talk with her (Ibid.).

When Elder Campbell asked her if she had any light as to whether she would live till Jesus returned, she replied that she had no light on the matter. When he expressed his concern as to the welfare of the cause in her absence, she quietly replied, “The Lord is perfectly able to take care of His cause.” He then asked whether in the event she was called to her rest, another would be raised up to take her place. Several of her books were lying on the writing table attached to her chair. Campbell reports that “she spread her hands over them, and said that in those books was outlined the information needed by our people for the rest of the journey.” She chose to go no further in comment regarding a possible successor.—DF 108, M. N. Campbell, “Report of an Interview With Sister White,” February 3, 1943.

On several occasions, by stating that she did not expect to live long, she opened the way for similar questions to be put to her by visiting brethren. Responding, she would step over to the book cabinet in her writing room, open the doors where her books and manuscripts could be seen, and declare,

“Here are my writings; when I am gone they will testify for me.”—WCW Letter, July 9, 1922 (MR, p. 93). [405]

The Visit From James Edson White

In mid-April, Edson, who now resided in Marshall, Michigan, came west for a monthlong visit. It was a happy occasion for both mother and son, who had been separated so much for twenty-five or more years. They had good visits together, and went over many things of mutual interest. It was observed that Ellen White did not always recall the details of early experiences or those of more recent years, but this was to be expected of one who had reached her age.

Of Edson’s visit, W. C. White reported to Elder Daniells that “Mother enjoyed his visit very much, and Edson seemed to be much encouraged and blessed while here. He returns east with a much brighter view of the work we are doing.”—WCW to AGD, May 18, 1914.

The workers at Elmshaven were well aware that many eyes were turned their way; people were watching with interest Ellen White’s experience in what all felt sure would be the closing months of her life. Her associates saw no occasion to withhold information regarding her declining state of health. Near the close of this, her last full year of life, W. C. White wrote to his brother Edson:

Regarding Mother’s health, there is nothing but what I tell freely in my letters, and speak of privately, and publicly.—WCW to J. E. White, December 15, 1914.

A Slight Stroke in Early Summer

As he reported on a slight stroke soon after Edson’s visit, W. C. White said:

There is no reason why we should conceal the facts from anyone. For years we have expected that Mother’s work would end in some form of paralysis, and the wonder is that it did not come long ago.— Ibid.

As to the stroke referred to, White wrote:

Shortly after your visit, she had trouble with her right hand for two weeks, and with her right foot for a week, and with her whole right side for a day or two. We called Dr. Klingerman, and he gave her a very faithful examination. He said she had had a very light stroke, and that its effect would be only temporary. [406] Then he told May Walling and Sara what to add to the regular treatment, and said he thought he need not call again.

After four or five days Mother was riding out every day as before, but it was nearly four weeks before she cared to read the Review or anything in the books and manuscripts with which she is surrounded. When we had manuscripts that needed her attention, we waited till she was feeling well, and of good courage.— Ibid.

But given a little time for recovery, Ellen White was able to give attention to the book work again. As chapters were brought to her, her son reported that “she read some, and asked us to read them to her. Sometimes I would read two or three pages, and then she would read one or two pages.... Sometimes I or Crisler do all the reading, and Mother comments on what we have read.”— Ibid.

Ellen White Writes A Comforting Letter—Her Last

On Sunday, June 14, Ellen White wrote a five-page letter to a woman who was troubled by anxiety. The optimistic and confident line of thought that filled her mind quite largely through the year was readily expressed in this message. It opens with the words:

My Dear Sister:

The Lord has given me a message for you, and not for you only, but also for other faithful souls who are troubled by doubts and fears regarding their acceptance by the Lord Jesus Christ. His word to you is, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” You desire to please the Lord, and you can do this by believing His promises. He is waiting to take you into a harbor of gracious experience, and He bids you, “Be still, and know that I am God.” You have had a time of unrest; but Jesus says to you, “Come unto me, ... and I will give you rest.” The joy of Christ in the soul is worth everything. “Then are they glad,” because they are privileged to rest in the arms of everlasting love.

Put away your distrust of our heavenly Father. Instead of talking of your doubts, break away from them in the strength of Jesus, and let light shine into your soul by letting your voice express confidence and trust in God. I know that the Lord is very [407] nigh to give you victory, and I say unto you, Be helped, be strengthened, be lifted out of and away from the dark dungeon of unbelief.

She wrote of God’s waiting to bestow the blessing of forgiveness, “the gifts of righteousness,” and of her privilege to “trust in the love of Jesus.” She asked a pertinent question:

Is Jesus true? Does He mean what He says? Answer decidedly, Yes, every word. Then if you have settled this, by faith claim every promise that He has made, and receive the blessing; for this acceptance by faith gives life to the soul.

As she endeavored to give courage and hope to the disheartened sister, she declared: “I rejoice in the bright prospects of the future, and so may you. Be cheerful, and praise the Lord for His lovingkindness.”

Ellen White closed the letter with these words:

Respond to the calls of God’s mercy, my sister, and say, “I will trust in the Lord and be comforted. I will praise the Lord; for His anger is turned away. I will rejoice in God, who gives me the victory.”—Letter 2, 1914.

The entire letter constitutes the closing chapter of Testimonies to Ministers, one of the first compilations published after Ellen White’s death.

Reading and Approving Chapters and Articles

Her principal contributions to literary work in this her eighty-seventh year was on her books as she read and approved chapters and at times added a bit here or there. Through June it seemed to those about Ellen White that she was somewhat less steady on her feet (CCC to WCW, June 26, 1914), and her endurance was waning. Though she did have lapses of memory and loss of orientation at times, her grasp of spiritual subjects never faltered (WCW to CCC, August 3, 1914).

The summer heat was trying to Ellen White, and on especially hot days she was persuaded to leave her writing room and work downstairs, where it was cooler (CCC to WCW, June 29, 1914). On [408] July 13, W. C. White reported to her longtime friend and associate in the work, S. N. Haskell:

Mother is getting along very well healthwise this summer. Sometimes she feels that her work is nearly done. A few days ago we had a very precious season of prayer together after she had told me how she felt that her work was nearly done, and that she was perfectly at rest, desiring to live or die, as might be best pleasing to God. She has no fears regarding the future, either for herself or for the church of God. She knows there are perilous times before us, but she realizes that we may have the keeping power of the Almighty.

As he called on his mother on Monday, August 3, she seemed quite strong and asked whether there was anything needing her attention. He told her of a manuscript Crisler had compiled on “The Value of Organization,” which they wished her to examine. They read it together, and she gave valuable counsel, sounding some cautions (WCW to CCC, August 3, 1914).

Then Ellen White’s health took a marked turn for the better, allowing for considerable manuscript work through the month of August; on some days she was able to go over two chapters for the book in preparation on Old Testament history (WCW to S. N. Haskell, September 3, 1914).

On October 4, W. C. White left home for an extended trip to the South and the East. Crisler wrote almost daily reports, giving a very detailed account of her activities and state of health. On Thursday evening, October 8, Crisler, who was working in his office in the tank house not far from the home, wrote:

I can hear Sister White praying as I write. She is holding evening worship with the girls. She seems of good cheer today.

During the day she had asked where Willie was, and when she was told that he had gone east to attend council meetings in Nashville and Washington, she did not seem to realize fully just where he was. Some things, remarked Crisler, were remarkably clear to her, and “other things are indistinct or forgotten” (CCC to WCW, October 8, 1914).

On the next Friday, October 16, Ellen White spent some time [409] looking over Elder Haskell’s new book, The Cross and Its Shadow, a book devoted to the sanctuary truth. He had mailed to her the very first copy from the press. She expressed her pleasure that he had been spared so long and was able to publish the book. She and Crisler prayed together afterward, and she prayed especially for the General Conference brethren and for the men at Madison. (CCC to WCW, October 16, 1914).

Crisler was in the home again on Monday evening, October 19, and found her sitting by the fireplace, enjoying its warmth. “She finds,” he remarked, “great comfort in this, morning and evenings, especially, I think toward evening.” And he noted that he thought that “her confidence in her brethren in their desire to do the right thing” was “one of the sweetest and most cheering features of Sister White’s closing days of labor” (CCC to WCW, October 20, 1914).

On that evening he went to talk with her about the world war and the difficulty some of the European Adventists were having because of draft laws. In reporting her reactions, he said:

I can gather but little from Sister White as to the attitude we should take, further than the counsel she has given more than once in this connection; namely, that God is not pleased to have His children act presumptuously when brought into strait places; and further, that when our brethren are brought into trial, they will be given wisdom from on high.— Ibid.

A week later, October 25, it was Dores Robinson who called to have a little visit with Sister White. The same day he reported to W. C. White her closing words in their visit:

“The Lord is good to me. He gives me strength. I am so thankful that I do not have a crushing burden to bear, and that it is my privilege to rise above discouragement. And if it is my privilege to rise, it is the privilege of every Christian. I have had a great deal to contend with, but I thank the Lord with heart and soul and voice. I will praise Him; He is my keeper and my conqueror.”

Two days later, on Tuesday, Crisler visited with Ellen White. He found her cheerful and very happy, and free from pain. Her hearty amens as he prayed for the leaders of the church impressed him [410] deeply and he commented in words worth cherishing:

As I have often expressed to you before, I regard this attitude of confidence in her brethren as one of the sweetest of Sister White’s old-age experiences. The many revelations of weaknesses and failures in years past have not caused her to become suspicious or censorious.—CCC to WCW, October 27, 1914.

The next day, Crisler found Ellen White had been reading The Great Controversy. She rejoiced over the “plain revelations” of truth set forth in the book. Her mind was remarkably clear, a blessing that caused her to rejoice (CCC to WCW, October 28, 1914). With the days growing shorter and with winter approaching, the steam heat was turned on, keeping the whole house comfortable, but mornings and evenings Ellen White still enjoyed sitting by the fireplace (CCC to WCW, October 30, 1914).

On Sunday, November 1, she listened to some letters from William, and then she and Crisler together went over eight pages of manuscript for the Old Testament history. Crisler was struggling with the task of finding adequate material to fill out the six remaining chapters. They talked about the manuscript and discussed some of Jeremiah’s prophecies. He hoped that the next evening she would be able to hear and approve another chapter (CCC to WCW, November 1, 1914).

On Thursday, November 5, as he reported to W. C. White he gave quite an extended description of the work on the book. He hoped soon to be able to present to her the second chapter on Jeremiah. That would leave only four to be completed—one more on Jeremiah, one on the Restoration, one on Malachi, and one on Messianic prophecy. He wrote:

The Jeremiah portion will not have the strength of the Isaiah portion, but I am hoping that it will be clear and instructive. It would be made very strong if we had more material and more help from Sister White; but, working as we are, with material from volume 4 of Testimonies for the Church as the basis for the story, we cannot rise to the heights attained in the Isaiah portion.—CCC to WCW, November 5, 1914.

Sabbath evening, November 7, the Crislers joined the family for [411] worship. He read a letter written by Elder Guy Dail, secretary of the European Division, in which he inquired about enforced military service. Reporting on this, Crisler wrote:

She takes no position, either way, as regards the enforced military service, but seems to understand fully ...; and she admits that the brethren are placed in a strait place.—CCC to WCW, November 7, 1914.

One evening in early November, W. C. White’s wife, May, called at Elmshaven, bringing with her 14-year-old Grace and baby Francis, who performed very well for his grandma, walking nearly across the room while she looked on approvingly.

A visit on November 10 from Elder E. E. Andross, president of the Pacific Union Conference, cheered her heart. She rejoiced especially as he brought an encouraging report of the recent Autumn Council held in Washington. She was so glad to hear his testimony concerning the harmony that prevailed among the brethren at the head of the work, and several times after the visit expressed her pleasure and satisfaction in the evidences of God’s leadership of His people. The thought of advance moves by the church brought courage and words of thanks to God (CCC to WCW, December 23, 1914).

And so it went from day to day. On Friday, November 20, Crisler found Ellen White “quite clear-minded” and was able to read to her a few pages of manuscript for the Old Testament book; then again on Sunday she was able to listen to a half-dozen pages (CCC to WCW, November 22, 1914).

In an endeavor to bring W. C. White up-to-date on his mother’s condition, Crisler talked with May Walling. He reported:

Miss Walling tells me that your mother spends a good deal of time, nights, in prayer, evidently mostly in her sleep. Sometimes she seems to be holding prayer meetings. The other night she preached for an hour, and as she was using her voice in full strength, Miss Walling at last thought to suggest that she had preached long enough, and that now she should rest and sleep, which she did.— Ibid.

But what amazed Crisler, and others close to her, was that: [412] When we touch spiritual topics, the mind seems to be lifted above confusion. When a scripture is partially quoted, she very often finishes it. I have tried this over and over again, especially when repeating the promises. And the Jeremiah and other Old Testament scriptures seem very familiar to her, and she catches them up and comments on them, and goes forward with the quotations, as of old. I regard this as a special providence in our favor just now.— Ibid.

Her Eighty-Seventh Birthday

On Thanksgiving Day, November 26, Ellen White reached her eighty-seventh birthday. She was not very strong, and Crisler could go over only three pages with her. She was the recipient of one birthday present, which some days before had come from Mrs. F. H. DeVinney, who was working with her husband in Japan. It was a warm knitted vest to be worn on cold days, known as a “hug-me-tight.” When Ellen White tried it on, she showed that she had not lost her sense of humor. She told Dores Robinson to thank Sister DeVinney for the gift, but to tell her “that there is a great deal more to Sister White than some people thought”—D. E. Robinson to WCW, November 3, 1914.

The week following her birthday, Ellen White’s mind seemed quite clear, and she and Crisler worked together on Old Testament history chapters from day to day. On Wednesday she became reminiscent, something now quite unusual. Crisler reported:

She tried to recall the name of some brother of long ago who expressed discouragement over the prospect of a very large work that would need to be done before the world had been warned; and she says another brother, one of large faith, turned to him, and his face went white, and with strong emotion, he said, “My brother, would you permit such a prospect to bring discouragement? Do you not know that God would have us press the battle to the gate? Do you know He would have us labor on, and on, and on, knowing that victory lies ahead?”—CCC to WCW, December 2, 1914.

And then Ellen White commented on her continual sense of the uplifting presence of the Spirit of God. [413]

She says she would not speak discouragingly, and yet she would not wish to convey the impression that no disappointments come to her. We are to expect the enemy to bring us disappointments, but these need never bring discouragement. When disappointed, we are to labor on until triumph comes; and this is working by faith.— Ibid.

It was a good week for book preparation, with Ellen White spending some time each day working with Crisler. She made frequent comments and some helpful suggestions (CCC to WCW, November 30 and December 2, 1914).

Review and Signs Articles

Of course, a part of the overall literary program at Elmshaven in which Ellen White participated was the furnishing of articles almost every week for publication in the Review and Herald and Signs of the Times. The staff was heartened by a letter written by W. C. White from Nashville, Tennessee, reporting that as his travels took him from place to place, “people speak to me regarding the present series of Review articles, and some have expressed great satisfaction because in these articles questions that were seriously troubling them have been clearly answered.”—WCW to CCC, December 1, 1914.

Forty E. G. White articles were published in the Review in 1914. First was a series on Old Testament history, being portions of the book manuscript in preparation, then twelve articles on “Early Counsels on Medical Work,” followed by eighteen on more general topics. White reported that the editor of the Review was calling for more on Old Testament history (Ibid.). Less work had been called for at Elmshaven in keeping the Signs supplied, for the fifty articles appearing in that journal during 1914 were materials selected from The Desire of Ages, The Acts of the Apostles, and The Ministry of Healing.

Advance! Advance! Advance!

Ever alert to what is required of a Christian, Ellen White sensed the importance of a positive attitude. Crisler wrote of this to W. C. White the evening of December 2.

She says she does not wish to make any great noise about having courage continually, although she has; and she adds that [414] the very fact that members of the household are waked up at times hearing her repeating the promises of God and claiming them as her own is proof that she still has battles of her own to fight against Satan. The enemy is still in the land of the living, and we must needs plead the promises; but we may have strong faith in God’s power to deliver, and our hearts may be filled with courage.

The next day, as Crisler went over another chapter for the Old Testament history, Ellen White told him of a recent experience. Here is how he reported it:

Sister White says that during the night season she hears voices saying, “Advance! Advance! Advance! Press the battle to the gate!”—CCC to WCW, December 3, 1914.

Crisler commented, “She seems to apply this to the completion of the work of the Lord in all parts of the earth, also to the completion of important book work.... I believe the Lord would have us all take courage, and press forward steadily.”— Ibid.

A few days later he wrote of the words spoken by Sister White that kept ringing in his ears, “Advance, advance, advance!” This was also true of others who learned of the experience.—CCC to WCW, December 8, 1914.

On Monday, December 14, Crisler reported to W. C. White that Ellen White’s day-to-day condition remained about the same. He tried to visit her, he wrote, “as often as she is able to consider matters with zest,” which was, as a rule, sometimes once, sometimes twice, daily. He had skipped days, but he said such was exceptional. On this particular day and the day before, he went over the Daniel portion anew with Sister White. She seemed to enjoy rehearsing the Daniel story, the reading of which revived old memories on her part. The visit gave Crisler an opportunity to do additional work on the manuscript (CCC to WCW, December 14 and 17, 1914).

Mid-December seemed to mark an encouraging rallying point in Ellen White’s physical condition, and for several weeks she was able to give more attention than usual to the literary tasks. On one Sabbath afternoon, Crisler called to see her, and of the visit reported: [415]

We had a good visit, and by the time we were through, it was about the close of Sabbath, so we had worship. She united with us in the prayer service, and had freedom....

Your folks came in to see your mother just as we were closing worship.—CCC to WCW, December 20, 1914.

Crisler also reported on his Sunday visit to the Elmshaven home:

This afternoon, when I went into the sitting room to see your mother, I found her reading the Review. She was much interested in the various articles and reports; and afterward in the course of our conversation she said she believes that God is blessing our writers and others who write for our periodicals.

She feels also that the Lord will continue to work through these writers, if they do their part in taking a living interest in the advancement of the work, and labor earnestly to strengthen the faith of all in the Advent Movement. “The Lord will take a special interest,” she declared, “in those who do His work in such a way as to bring glory to His name.”— Ibid.

Simplicity of Faith and Confidence

Crisler could not refrain from mentioning again Ellen White’s optimism, confidence, and simplicity of faith:

It is in her hours of greatest physical weakness that your mother seems to rise to the highest spiritual heights; and yet in all this she simply does what any of us poor mortals can do—lays hold on the divine promises, and makes them her very own, and praises God for the comfort they yield. Thus her heart is filled to overflowing with joy, and she has perfect peace.

The simplicity of her faith has made a profound impression upon my own mind, and constitutes one of the strongest evidences that during the years of her service for her Master she has lived with a conscience void of offense toward God and man. When one keeps full faith with himself in his service for God, his efforts will bear the test of time, and will yield a rich fruitage.

Another thing that has impressed me much is the constancy of your mother’s courage and of her confidence in God. You will recall how Miss Marian Davis, with all her rich experience in the things of God, and her desire that we pray with and for her and [416] recount the providences connected with her work, was nevertheless at times inclined to despondency, though finally she rose above this, and died triumphant.

It was thus even with your father, as you well know. But not so with your mother. I do not find her discouraged over her own case, nor do I find her discouraged over the general outlook throughout the harvest field where her brethren are laboring. She seems to have strong faith in God’s power to overrule, and to bring to pass His eternal purpose through the efforts of those whom He has called to act a part in His great work.

She rises above petty criticism, above even the past failures of those who have been reproved, and expresses the conviction, born, apparently, of an innate faith in the church of the living God, that her brethren will remain faithful to the cause they have espoused, and that the Lord will continue with them to the end, and grant them complete victory over every device of the enemy.

Faith in God’s power to sustain her through the many weaknesses attendant on old age; faith in the precious promises of God’s Word; faith in her brethren who bear the burden of the work; faith in the final triumph of the third angel’s message—this is the full faith your mother seems to enjoy every day and every hour. This is the faith that fills her heart with joy and peace, even when suffering great physical weakness, and unable to make progress in literary lines. A faith such as this would inspire anyone who could witness it.—CCC to WCW, December 23, 1914.

The Report to Elder Haskell

Clarence Crisler had occasion to write to Elder S. N. Haskell on Thursday, December 24, and had something to say about the subject in which so many were interested, Ellen White’s state of health. “On some days,” he said, “she is stronger than on others; but she is not so strong now as when you were last with us. “Crisler told Haskell that she gives consideration to some questions connected with the advancement of the general work, and goes over with them the manuscripts being prepared from her writings for publication.

He observed that “she is more often brain-weary, and when weary, she is forgetful,” and “forgets details.” But she was in [417] possession of remarkably clear concepts of religious and spiritual matters. He wrote:

Her mind seems to keep unusually clear on scriptural subjects and especially on the precious promises of the Word; and so her meditations are sweet, and she has comfort and joy through the consolation the Bible affords every Christian.

“At other times,” Crisler went on to say, “she has much to say of former times, and becomes reminiscent concerning her associates of years gone by; and then she seems much as when you were with us.” Crisler went on:

There are many times, too, when her mind is fruitful on Bible themes; and we are endeavoring to take advantage of such times, and to present before her for her careful consideration that which must receive her personal attention prior to publication in book or article form. Were it not for the special interposition of God in her behalf, I doubt not but that she would find difficulty in keeping up this line of work; but with Heaven’s blessings we have found it possible to advance slowly yet surely. Every advance step taken in the finishing of manuscript work brings to her real delight; and she rejoices in the privilege of being permitted still to use her talents in binding about the edges, as she says, and in rounding out her work in proper form, that the “well done” may be spoken of her when she rests from her labors.

One of the last reports of the year yields a picture of Ellen White “comfortable as usual,” “sitting by the open fireplace” and visiting with household members of “those...who may come in to see her” (CCC to WCW, December 28, 1914). And on this day, Crisler and Ellen White read over another of the Nehemiah chapters. [418]

Chapter 31—The Last Mile

As the year 1915 opened, Ellen White, now in her eighty-eighth year, was “comfortable, calm, [and] courageous” (CCC to WCW, January 1, 1915), and was taking an active part in book preparation. In fact, she seemed to be in better health generally than a few months before. But those close to her in the home could see indications that she was failing. She was, however, able to go unaided up and down the stairs, and moved freely from room to room. Often as she did so, she would be heard humming an old hymn, with words penned by William Hyde in 1845 after he had heard her give the account of her first vision of the new earth. It was one of the songs in the denomination’s first hymnal issued in 1849. As first published, it was titled “The Better Land” (see MR, p. 127). It was especially the last part of the poem and hymn that she dwelt upon:

We’ll be there, we’ll be there in a little while,

We’ll join the pure and the blest;

We’ll have the palm, the robe, the crown,

And forever be at rest. [The full wording will be found in Testimonies for the Church 1:70, and in The Church Hymnal, No. 305.]

There had been a hastening of the work on Old Testament history, with the determination to bring it to completion while Ellen White could be involved. Now the task was well along, and Clarence Crisler went back to some of the chapters that in richness [419] came short of most of the manuscript. With Ellen White’s counsel and help he was rounding them out. This is why the manuscript, which earlier had been spoken of as almost completed, was still in preparation. Wrote Crisler on this New Year’s Day:

As we find new material from the file and add to the chapters that have already been prepared and passed upon, and reread these amplified portions to her, she seems to enjoy going over them anew. This perfecting of the manuscript is slow work, but very interesting; and we are hopeful of the outcome.—CCC to WCW, January 1, 1915.

Four days later he wrote of his work on the chapters linking the Solomon story with that of Elijah because they were “not bright enough and hopeful enough” to suit Ellen White (CCC to WCW, January 4, 1915). So, following “her counsel in making them more nearly right,” scriptures were introduced that she felt were needed (Ibid.). Crisler was pleased that this satisfied her, and he himself was glad they could now include matter they disliked to see left out of the more hastily prepared volume.

But the manuscript for the book on Old Testament history was not the only concern at Elmshaven as 1915 opened. Typesetting for Gospel Workers was in process at the Review and Herald, and there was the reading of proof and double-checking at Elmshaven as the work progressed. More meticulous care was taken with the Ellen G. White books than with other works. The abridging for overseas publication of some of the Spirit of Prophecy books was still in progress as several returned or furloughing missionaries pushed forward with that work.

Life Sketches of Ellen G. White

As the messenger of the Lord neared the close of her life, two tasks of a biographical nature emerged. Study was being given as to what would be said in the public press when Ellen White was at rest. W. L. Burgan, of the newly organized General Conference Press Bureau, was reaching out for materials that could be supplied the press to inform the general public about her life and work and possibly stall off some poor or even hostile journalism when the news broke. So from time to time the Elmshaven staff conferred [420] by correspondence with Burgan in Washington and also with F. A. Coffin, who was working in a similar vein at closer range in southern California. This was done with the hope that it would not interfere with work on the books.

Plans for a permanent biographical work that could be published immediately after Ellen White’s death were also being developed. Out-of-print materials on her life were available for use in the new book. In 1860 she had written quite a detailed account of her life, which was published under the title of “My Christian Experience, Views and Labors.” This was issued as Spiritual Gifts, volume 2. In 1880 James White had taken this and with some editing had put it with the account of his life and labors and published the combined work as “Life Sketches” of James White and Ellen G. White. There was a reprint in 1888, but aside from this volume, now long out of print, there was no biography available.

Seventh-day Adventists had been kept in touch with Ellen G. White through articles appearing weekly in the Review and Signs and Youth’s Instructor, which brought her close to the readers. The occasional accounts of her travels and labors that appeared in these journals, together with the introductory material in volume one of the Testimonies and some biographical accounts here and there in the nine Testimony volumes themselves, kept Seventh-day Adventists aware of her life and activities. But soon her active labors would cease, fresh articles would no longer appear in the journals, and it was felt a modest volume on her life was needed. So beginning in late 1914, consideration was given to the preparation of a manuscript that would at her death appear as Life Sketches of Ellen G. White. C. C. Crisler and D. E. Robinson, using what help W. C. White could give, undertook the work.

The 1880 Life Sketches volume formed the basis for the early part of the book. This material, supplemented by other biographical materials, traced the story to the time of James White’s death in 1881. Then Clarence Crisler, filled in rather sketchily the story till her death, with the account in the third person.

Countdown to the Accident—A Diarylike Report

Correspondence from the office in January and February carried frequent references to Ellen White’s state of health and welfare. We [421] note here some of the communications written in almost diary form.

Monday, January 4,

Clarence Crisler to W. C. White:

Sister White is just about the same, day by day. Sabbath she seemed unusually blessed, and was brighter.... Sister White was with Minnie [Crisler] a part of the forenoon, and out riding with her until sundown, or nearly so in the P.M....

Sister White spends much time in her chair above, and in some easy chair below when with Miss Walling in the downstairs front room; but she is comfortable, and able to handle herself with comparative ease. It is wonderful how she keeps up.

Tuesday, January 5,

Clarence Crisler to James Edson White:

You will be pleased to learn that Sister White is keeping up fairly well, all things considered.... She can get about the house unaided and unattended, going freely from room to room and up and down stairs; but her steps are much slower and uncertain than in former years, and even than when you were last with us. She finds it possible to sit in easy chairs for hours at a stretch.

Often during the past few months she has spent a good portion of the time downstairs, sitting in the sitting room by the fireplace; and Miss Walling has endeavored to sit much with her, to keep her company.... There is really more home life for your mother than during the years when her activities led her to isolate herself in her office room most of the time....

She spends more time in bed now at night, of course, and her habits are more regular since she stopped getting up to write.... I have an idea that her regular rest at night is of real benefit healthwise, as are the treatments given her daily just before dinner.

Thursday, January 7,

Clarence Crisler to W. C. White:

I am sending you these few lines to tell you that your mother is about the same, healthwise. She spends part of her time reading the large-print volumes within easy reach, and seems content. Today we went over another long chapter of the Elijah story. [422]

Tuesday, January 12,

Clarence Crisler to W. C. White:

Your mother is ... about as usual. She seems to be just about the same from day to day. I find her able to consider manuscripts daily, in harmony with the plan outlined in recent letters. She takes pleasure in this work, and gives us real help when we need her help.

She also spends some time in going over her standard books, and in reading large-type books close by her chair.... At times I find your mother going over the Signs and Review and other papers; but of late I have not found her reading the newspaper.

Sunday, January 17,

Clarence Crisler to W. C. White:

I went in to your mother’s sitting room to have a visit with her. We read over some of the Amos and Hosea prophecies, and considered matter that will strengthen the chapter dealing with these.

Wednesday, January 27,

W. C. White to “Dear Friend” (February 15):

Wednesday morning, January 27, I returned home after an absence of sixteen weeks in the East and South. I found Mother cheerful and interested to hear about the work in the places I had visited. She appeared to be about as well as when I left home in the early part of October.

Wednesday, February 10 (two weeks later, the week of the accident)

D. E. Robinson to S. N. Haskell:

You will be glad to know that Sister White’s general health is fairly good. She is still able to dress herself and to get around the house. She takes her meals with the family, and when the weather is good, goes out for a drive.

She takes an interest in the matter that is being prepared from her manuscripts for publication. She constantly expresses her gratitude to God for His care over her. The last three days I have eaten at her table. Her appetite seems to be good, and she thoroughly enjoys her food. Yet we who are associated with her can see that she is constantly growing weaker. Gradually she has [423] been laying off the burdens that she has carried for so many years.... Just recently it has become quite difficult for her to write with a pen. Some days her memory seems to be better than others.

Friday, February 12,

W. C. White to “Dear Friend” (February 15):

Friday afternoon, February 12, as I was leaving the office for a quick trip to St. Helena, Mother came outdoors, and we spent ten minutes walking about in the bright sunshine and talking about the progress of the message in all the world.

Sabbath, February 13,

Ellen White breaks her hip; W. C. White telegraphs the word to relatives and friends:

Sabbath noon, Mother, entering her study, tripped and fell, causing an intracapsular fracture of the left femur.

The Accident and Its Aftermath

In his report of the accident, written Monday, February 15, sent to relatives and friends, and published in the Review and Herald, W. C. White described what happened:

Sabbath morning, Mother appeared to be as well as usual. About noon, as she was entering her study from the hallway, she tripped and fell. Her nurse, May Walling, who was in the hall about twenty feet away, hastened to her assistance, and endeavored to help her onto her feet. When Mother cried out with pain, May lifted her into a rocking chair, pulled the chair through the hall to Mother’s bedroom and got her to bed. Then May telephoned to Dr. Klingerman at the Sanitarium, and at once applied fomentations to the hip, where the pain seemed to be the greatest.

When the doctor came, he said that it was either a bad sprain or a fracture, and advised an X-ray examination at the Sanitarium. This examination showed an “intracapsular fracture of the left femur at the junction of the head and the neck.” Mother bore very patiently all the painful experiences of being carried from her room to the Sanitarium and back again.

Sara McEnterfer, who was her traveling companion and [424] secretary most of the time for thirty years, is with her; and so is May Walling, who was brought up in her home, and who has been her faithful nurse for about two years. Mrs. Hungerford, a trained nurse from the Sanitarium, is also with her.—The Review and Herald, March 11, 1915.

Sunday morning, Dr. Klingerman arranged to have a hospital bed sent down to the White home. This was set up in her spacious and cheery writing room, close to the bathroom with its conveniences. As W. C. White told the story to the readers of the Review, he continued:

Mother occupies her study, where for the last ten busy years she did most of her writing. Sometimes when half awake, she asks how long the journey will take, and when she will get home; and then, when fully awake, she says, “I am right here in my own room.”

In our seasons of prayer, Mother unites with her usual fervor and clearness of thought, expressing complete confidence and entire resignation.

Since her accident she has told me that she feels that her work is done, her battles ended, and that she is willing to lie down and sleep till the resurrection morning, unless there is yet some special work the Lord has for her to do.— Ibid.

And thus it was for the next five months till mid-July. Her son’s frequent reports through the Review and Herald and in his letters indicate that she had good days and days not so good, but that she was spared from any great suffering.

Soon after the accident, W. C. White reported that “when we ask her if she is suffering pain, she will start to say Yes; then she stops, and says, ‘It is not so painful as it might be, but I cannot say that it is comfortable.’”—WCW to AGD, March 1, 1915. And a few weeks later when asked what kind of day she had had, she replied, “A good day—in spots.”—WCW to S. N. Haskell, April 30, 1915.

By early June there was a rapid decline in her physical condition. One of the three nurses mentioned earlier was constantly with her. Relatives, friends, and neighbors were frequent visitors. A wheelchair was secured, and on pleasant days she was taken out on the little porch directly over the main entrance to the home, facing [425] south. This she much enjoyed. On most days she would sit in a chair for several hours, and at nights she usually slept well. As time went on, her appetite waned. On one occasion as Sara was coaxing her to eat, her response showed that she had not lost her sense of humor: “Well, Sara,” she said, “I would not want to die before my time by overeating.”—As told to A. L. White.

The Vision of March 3

On the morning of March 3, at about ten o’clock, Ellen White, on wakening, called her nurse, Mrs. Hungerford, to her side and began to tell of what took place in the night—her last vision. W.C. White was quickly called, and he wrote down the statement made rather slowly by Ellen White: “There are books,” she said, “that are of vital importance that are not looked at by our young people. They are neglected because they are not so interesting to them as some lighter reading.”—Ibid., April 15, 1915. She touched on a number of points and among them said:

In the night season I was selecting and laying aside books that are of no advantage to the young. We should select for them books that will encourage them to sincerity of life, and lead them to the opening of the Word.— Ibid.

I do not expect to live long. My work is nearly done. Tell our young people that I want my words to encourage them in that manner of life that will be most attractive to the heavenly intelligences, and that their influence upon others may be most ennobling.— Ibid.

She expressed her confidence in her brethren in the cause, a theme often repeated as she faced the sunset of life.

I do not think I shall have more Testimonies for our people. Our men of solid minds know what is good for the uplifting and upbuilding of the work. But with the love of God in their hearts, they need to go deeper and deeper into the study of the things of God.— Ibid.

As she brought to the close this her last testimony for the church and especially its youth, she said: [426]

I have no assurance that my life will last long, but I feel that I am accepted of the Lord. He knows how much I have suffered as I have witnessed the low standards of living adopted by so-called Christians. I have felt that it was imperative that the truth should be seen in my life, and that my testimony should go to the people. I want that you should do all you can to have my writings placed in the hands of the people in foreign lands.... I am impressed that it is my special duty to say these things.— Ibid. (published in full in Fundamentals of Christian Education, 547-549, and in Messages to Young People, 287-289).

Consideration of World War I

Quite naturally, Seventh-day Adventists were affected by World War I and were eager to know whether Ellen White had any counsel as to how men called into military service should relate themselves to the problems they faced. Since Civil War days there had been no conflict that affected Seventh-day Adventist Church members. As mentioned in a preceding chapter, Clarence Crisler, while talking with Ellen White on October 20, 1914, soon after World War I broke out, mentioned the war and the problems some European Adventists were having because of draft laws. Brethren in Europe were reaching out for counsel and asking whether Sister White had any light. She gave no specific counsel on the matter, except that under such circumstances the Christians should not act presumptuously.

Again, on January 12, 1915, Crisler wrote of finding Ellen White “going over the Signs and Review and other papers“: he told of how she was getting what news that came to her concerning the war from these journals and from letters she received. He spoke again of her noncommittal attitude:

Up to the present time, I have been unable to gather from your mother much concerning the way the war appears to her mind, and what she thinks may come out of it. She does not seem to think much about it, in fact; her chief energies are taken up in current work, and in keeping pace with the advancing message and messengers.—CCC to WCW, January 12, 1915.

But the war question was to come up again in late spring some weeks after her accident. W. C. White wrote of this on May 26 in a [427] letter to Elder Guy Dail, secretary of the European Division. He spoke to his mother of the war and of Seventh-day Adventist ministers referring to it in their sermons as one of the signs of the end. This sparked a question in her mind:

“Are our people affected by the war?” she asked. “Yes,” I said, “hundreds have been pressed into the Army. Some have been killed and others are in perilous places.... Some of our people in America and in Europe feel that those of our brethren who have been forced into the Army would have done wrong to submit to military service. They think it would have been better for them to have refused to bear arms, even if they knew that as a result of this refusal they would be made to stand up in line to be shot.”

“I do not think they ought to do that,” she replied. “I think they ought to stand to their duty as long as time lasts.”—WCW to Guy Dail, May 26, 1915.

In the light of the other references to the war when the subject was opened up in her presence, it is clear that she had no special light that would pinpoint how drafted Seventh-day Adventists should relate to the demands of military service. It seems that whatever she said was based on her general understanding of avoiding rash positions. The situation was much like that of the Civil War days when she counseled against presumptuous attitudes in dealing with matters in which Seventh-day Adventists were involved with the government.

C. H. Jones Calls On Ellen White

Visits from prominent workers of long acquaintance were much appreciated by Ellen White. On May 4, C. H. Jones, manager of the Pacific Press, called to see her. Her bed was in the big bay window. When Brother Jones asked whether she knew him, she answered, “I know you, and I am very glad to see you.” Jones spoke of his interest and sympathy for her and of the prayers offered for her by friends in Mountain View. In response she said:

“The Lord is our Helper. He is our Frontguard and our Rearward. [428]

“I am so anxious that we shall be overcomers. And we can be, with the Lord’s help. The Lord alone can be my helper. I want to do just that which will bring the victory.

“I hope we shall meet in the kingdom of heaven. We want the overcomer’s reward. I want to be an overcomer, and mean to be.

“After all that He has done, shall it be that Christ has died for us in vain?”—WCW to “Dear Brother,” May 6, 1915.

Then, as Brother Jones bade her goodbye, she said: “I hope to meet you in the kingdom of God.”— Ibid.

Positive Teaching On The Triumph Of The Church

On Friday morning, May 21, Mrs. Lida Scott, from the East, came to the Elmshaven office to make acquaintance with W. C. White and to ask some questions about the church, its organization, and its stability. She was a relatively new convert, a woman of considerable means, the daughter of Isaac Funk of the Funk and Wagnalls Publishing Company in New York. She had spent some time at the Madison Sanitarium and School in Tennessee, self-supporting institutions. Now church leaders were currying her interest in the College of Medical Evangelists, and particularly in providing facilities in Los Angeles for clinical training of physicians. Of the visit, W. C. White reported on May 23 to Elder E. E. Andross, president of the Pacific Union Conference and a member of the Loma Linda board:

During our conversation, I told her how Mother regarded the experience of the remnant church, and of her positive teaching that God would not permit this denomination to so fully apostatize that there would be the coming out of another church.

I gave her a brief sketch of the various eras in the experience of this church, when, as the result of the teachings and the work of ambitious men, it has swung far away from right principles, and then pointed out how God had provided means to correct the errors that had been brought in by these ambitious men, and bring the church back to loyalty.

I expressed my confidence that God would not leave us to the buffetings of the enemy, but that in every crisis He would provide agencies to correct errors, to awaken our people to a [429] loyalty to those features of the work where there had been growing indifference.

Later, W. C. White reports that in visiting his mother on a rainy day near the close of her long illness, after he had talked with her for a little while, he told her that he had good news regarding the work at Loma Linda.

I then related that a good sister in the East [Mrs. Lida Scott] had offered to make a very liberal gift to the College of Medical Evangelists for the establishment of a students’ home and hospital in Los Angeles.

Mother’s lips quivered, and for a moment she shook with emotion. Then she said: “I am glad you told me this. I have been in perplexity about Loma Linda, and this gives me courage and joy.”

After a little further conversation, I knelt down by her side, and thanked the God of Israel for His manifold blessings, and prayed for a continuance of His mercies. Then Mother offered a very sweet prayer of about a dozen sentences, in which she expressed gratitude, confidence, love, and entire resignation.—WCW, in The Review and Herald, September 28, 1916.

The Visit Of A Former Co-Worker

On Sabbath afternoon, May 29, Elder G. B. Starr visited Sister White. They had labored together years before, particularly in Australia. She was in her reclining chair, in the bay window of her room, looking out upon the trees and hills about her place. Elder Starr remarked how glad he was to find her amid such pleasant surroundings.

The Review and Herald carried the report of this visit and tells of her gratitude for those pleasant surroundings, stating that they had much improved in the years since she had taken up residence there. In the conversation Ellen White said:

“Oh, how much we need more of the Holy Spirit! There is a great work to be done, and how are we ever to accomplish it?”

To this Elder Starr said: “God is raising up hundreds of strong young men and women through our schools and sanitariums, [430] and is putting His Holy Spirit upon them, and qualifying them to do a great and blessed work; and many of them are devoted, sober, earnest, and successful.”

She replied: “I am so glad to hear that! You could not have told me anything more encouraging. I wish that I might speak again to the people, and help carry the work; but they tell me I must not speak in public now.”—Ibid., July 1, 1915.

As Elder Starr was preparing to leave, he said,

“We are praying daily that God will raise you up and strengthen you to bear another testimony to His people, if that is His will.”

“Keep on praying,” she answered.—Ibid.

On Sunday, June 27, Elder and Mrs. Starr called again on Ellen White, this time to say goodbye. She told them how pleased she was to have them visit her, and Starr commented on how bright and cheerful she seemed. She replied:

“I am glad that you find me thus. I have not had many mournful days.”

“No,” Brother Starr remarked, “not in all your life.”

“No,” she continued, “the Lord has arranged and led in all these things for me, and I am trusting in Him. He knows when it will all end.”

“Yes,” they replied, “it will soon end and we shall meet you in the kingdom of God, and we will ‘talk it all over there together,’ as you wrote us in one of your last letters.”

“Oh, yes,” she replied. “It seems almost too good to be true, but it is true!”—WCW to “Friends,” June 27, 1915.

Waning Strength And Death

But Ellen White’s strength was waning fast now. Some days she was not aware of those in the room. She was not eating, and her body was wasting away, although she was given a little albumen water—the white of egg in water—from time to time as she would take it. On the morning of Thursday, July 8, she aroused sufficiently to say: “I do not suffer much, thank the Lord.” And then to Sara she added: “It will not be long now.”—WCW to “Friend,” July 14, 1915; [431] WCW to G. I. Butler, July 26, 1915.

Friday morning, July 9, she rallied enough to talk a little to Sara and to her son. He prayed and told his mother that they would trust all in the hands of Jesus.

She responded, saying in a faint whisper, “I know in whom I have believed.”—Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 449.

Treatments were discontinued. On Thursday, July 15, W. C. White reported that everything was being done for her that kind hearts and willing hands could do. But now she lingered in silence, quietly breathing her life away.

The next day, Friday, July 16, at about two o’clock the nurses saw that the end was very near and sent for W. C. White and his wife, May. They hastened to the home and her room. As her breathing slowed, others were notified and made their way one or two at a time to the second-floor room. C. C. Crisler and his wife, Minnie, soon joined the group. Then there were Ellen White’s granddaughter Mabel White Workman; her farm manager, Iram James, and his wife; her accountant, A. H. Mason, and Mrs. Mason; Mrs. Mary Chinnock Thorp, of longtime acquaintance; her housekeeper, Tessie Woodbury. And of course there were the three nurses: Sara McEnterfer, who had been her faithful companion, nurse, and secretary for many years; May Walling; and Carrie Hungerford, who had waited on her night and day for 153 days since the accident.

In the morning Ellen White’s respiration had been clocked at fifty per minute, but at three o’clock it was thirty-eight; at three-twenty it was eighteen, and a little later only ten. Then her breathing became slower and more irregular, until without a tremor the breathing stopped. It was three-forty. No one in the room stirred for several minutes, thinking she might take yet another breath. But she did not (WCW to David Lacey, July 20, 1915; WCW to G. I. Butler, July 26, 1915).

Describing the experience, W. C. White wrote:

It was like the burning out of a candle, so quiet.—WCW to David Lacey, July 20, 1915. [432]

Chapter 32—The Messenger of the Lord at Rest

Late Friday afternoon, July 16, 1915, the telegraph wires carried the word across the land that Ellen G. White, the messenger of the Lord, was at rest. Through telephone and telegraph the message reached many of the churches in time for Sabbath-morning announcement. To the public press the news called for the release of stories and pictures so that the world might know. News stories had been prepared in advance to be held until the release of word of her death.

At Elmshaven, carefully laid plans for funeral services were activated. One service was to be held on the lawn right there at her home, another in the San Francisco Bay area, and the third in Battle Creek, Michigan, where she would be laid to rest by the side of her husband. That Friday afternoon invitations to the Sunday funeral were quickly run off on the nearby “Elmshaven Press” operated by her grandsons, Henry and Herbert White, and these were mailed to 220 families in the valley (WCW to David Lacey, July 20, 1915). It read:

Funeral Notice

Yourself and family are respectfully invited to attend the funeral of Mrs. Ellen G. White on the lawn at her residence, “Elmshaven,” near the Sanitarium, St. Helena, California, Sunday afternoon, at five o’clock, July eighteenth, nineteen hundred fifteen.—DF 756.

Word also was sent out that she would lie in state in her home on [433] Sabbath and Sunday. Friends who called before Sunday noon were ushered to her writing room on the second floor, where they found her in a simple cloth-covered black coffin bearing a modest silver plate with the engraved words “At rest.” If they called Sunday afternoon, as most did, they paid their respects to her in the living room, where so often she had received her family and visitors.

Seating for about 300 people was provided on the lawn under the elm trees just in front of her house. Another hundred sat on the lawn or in nearby parked automobiles. The Sanitarium, the St. Helena church, and the college were largely represented. A few of the leading businessmen of St. Helena were present, and many friends came in from Napa, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Healdsburg. A canopy was provided for the officiating ministers.

The service was simple, informal, and ideal for the setting. Those participating were mostly ministers who had been long associated with Ellen White in the work of the church in America and overseas: J. N. Loughborough, George B. Starr, and E. W. Farnsworth. The pastor of the church of which she was a member, S. T. Hare, pronounced the benediction.

Elder Loughborough in his informal life sketch recounted his first acquaintance with Ellen White in 1852 and of his seeing her in vision within a few minutes of meeting her. He recounted other experiences down through the years. G. B. Starr made appropriate remarks. Elder E. W. Farnsworth, president of the California Conference, preached the funeral sermon on the Christian’s hope. He also set before the audience the plans for other funeral services:

After the service is over, the undertaker will take the remains to St. Helena tonight. Tomorrow morning on the early train Brother White and Sister McEnterfer, and perhaps others, will accompany the remains to Richmond, where we are holding a large camp meeting. The brethren and sisters there greatly desire the privilege to express their love and appreciation for Sister White, so they have requested that a service be held on the campground at Richmond.

That appealed to us as rather fitting, considering how much of Sister White’s life and labors have been spent in that environment.... [434]

And then tomorrow evening Brother White and Sister McEnterfer will take the train for Battle Creek, Michigan. It was Sister White’s request that she might be buried by the side of her husband who sleeps in Oak Hill Cemetery there; also her oldest son, Henry, who sleeps there, and the little baby; and Elder James White’s father and mother lie resting there. Sister White felt that she would like to be laid to rest in the family plot in that cemetery. So next Sabbath day, July 24, they will have a service at the Tabernacle in Battle Creek, and from there the burial will take place.—DF 757, E. W. Farnsworth funeral sermon, July 18, 1915.

W. C. White, reporting on the Elmshaven funeral, told of how at the close of the service none seemed in a hurry to go; many wished that it had continued longer because they were so interested in the words of the speaker, remarking on the chief thought presented by Elder Farnsworth that the Christian’s hope had taken away the sting of death (WCW to David Lacey, July 20, 1915). White continued as he wrote to his wife’s father:

At Richmond, a northern suburb of Oakland, the California Conference was holding its annual camp meeting. Here were assembled many of Mother’s old associates of the Oakland church, and many representatives of the churches that she had so often visited in her earlier California labors.

When they heard of Mother’s death, they requested that her body he brought to the camp meeting, and that there be a service there. They said, “If Sister White were alive and well, she would be right here at this meeting, telling us how to live the Christian life. Why not let her be brought here and someone tell us how she lived it?”

About a thousand people were present for the Monday-morning funeral service at the campground. Elder E. E. Andross, president of the Pacific Union Conference, was in charge of the service and was assisted by Elders A. O. Tait, Signs editor, and Elders Loughborough and Farnsworth. At three o’clock, W. C. White and Sara McEnterfer boarded the train, expecting to reach Battle Creek by Thursday evening. [435]

Arrival in Michigan

As they neared Battle Creek on Thursday, July 22, two men boarded the train at Kalamazoo to travel the last thirty miles with them. One was James Edson White, Ellen White’s older son; the other, George Israel, was an officer of the Battle Creek church who was in charge of the funeral arrangements. The church had sent him to meet the travelers and to inform them of the plans for Battle Creek. According to W. C. White, the funeral plans were “very complete and satisfactory” (WCW to “Dear Friend,” October 20, 1915). In Battle Creek, they were entertained at the Israel home, where every kindness was shown them.

The plans in general for the Battle Creek funeral had been laid a few weeks after Ellen White’s accident, for it was clear that at her age, this would be her last illness. It would have been natural that Elder A. G. Daniells, the president of the General Conference and a longtime friend of Ellen White, would take this service, but he was spending several months traveling in the Far East, and it was not expected that he would be returning to the United States until the fall. In the interests of proper preparedness, Elder S. N. Haskell was asked in April, to preach the sermon in Battle Creek and to be ready to do so on short notice.

But Elder Daniells had cut short his overseas trip, so he was back a few weeks before Ellen White’s death. Under the circumstances, he was asked to present the life sketch at the funeral service.

Announcement was made in the Michigan churches on Sabbath, July 17, that the funeral would be held in the Battle Creek Tabernacle at 11:00 A.M., on Sabbath, the twenty-fourth, and that there would be a viewing as Ellen White lay in state in the Tabernacle from eight to ten Sabbath morning. A number of nearby churches canceled their Sabbath services so their members could attend the funeral.

The Battle Creek Funeral

Sabbath morning, sometime before eight o’clock, the people began to gather in front of the Tabernacle. The Battle Creek Enquirer of July 25 described what took place when the doors opened:

During the two hours between eight and ten, there was a steady stream of humanity viewing the body. Men with gray [436] heads and stooped shoulders, many who knew Mrs. White during the early days of the Advent movement, were at the Tabernacle to pay their last respects. They stood before the casket and tears flowed down their cheeks, as they thought of her wonderful work for the denomination.—DF 758.

The Battle Creek Moon Journal estimated that 2,000 were in the slowly moving procession that passed the open casket, which was placed just in front of the pulpit. An honor guard of six ministers alternated in pairs every twenty minutes and stood, one at the head of the casket and one at the foot. Those so privileged were Elders C. S. Longacre, M. L. Andreasen, W. A. Westworth, E. A. Bristol, L. H. Christian, and C. F. McVagh.—DF 756.

Among those who passed the casket that Sabbath morning was Dudley M. Canright, accompanied by his Adventist brother, Jasper. Dudley had served for years as a Seventh-day Adventist minister but had apostatized and was busily engaged in writing a book against Ellen White. He knew her well; they had worked together in earlier years. He had stayed for days in the White home, but when he was reproved for a course of action that was not right, he turned against her and through the last twenty-eight years of her life had bitterly opposed her work. After passing the casket once, D. M. suggested to Jasper that they go down again, so they slipped into the line. As the two stood by the casket the second time, they paused. Dudley put his hand on the casket and with tears rolling down his cheeks declared, “There is a noble Christian woman gone.”—W. A. Spicer, The Spirit of Prophecy in the Advent Movement, p. 127.

The Battle Creek Evening News of July 24 described the setting:

The casket was one of simple black, covered with a wreath of white carnations and forget-me-nots. But back of the casket were a wealth of elaborate flower pieces and wreaths.—DF 758.

Describing the floral tributes in more detail is the pamphlet titled In Memoriam, which tells of the bank of “a rich profusion of palms, ferns, and flowers.”

One design of an open Bible, made of white and pink carnations, presented by the Pacific Press Publishing Association, [437] was especially noticeable. Across the open pages in purple flowers were the words, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me.”

A beautiful design representing a broken wheel was presented by the Battle Creek church. A cross of white roses hung in front of the pulpit. On a ribbon attached to this cross were the last words uttered by Sister White, “I know in whom I have believed.”

A floral piece representing a broken column, and other designs, were sent by the General and North American Division Conferences, the Review and Herald Publishing Association, other institutions, and by individuals.—DF 756, In Memoriam, p. 3.

The Tabernacle proved much too small for the crowd that assembled. Some 3,500 crowded into the building. In the audience were many patients from the Sanitarium, some in wheelchairs, and many of the older citizens of Battle Creek who knew Mrs. White personally (DF 758, Evening News, July 24, 1915). A thousand or more could not get into the Tabernacle and remained quietly on the lawn outside. Many of these would be able to accompany Ellen White to the cemetery.

The Funeral Services

As had been planned, Elder Daniells presented the “sketch“: it was more of a history that recounted Ellen White’s life and the contribution she had made to the church and the world. Elder Haskell presented a well-prepared funeral sermon on the surety of the hope of one who dies in Christ Jesus. Elder F. M. Wilcox, editor of the Review and Herald, read the Scripture lesson. His brother, M. C. Wilcox, longtime book editor at the Pacific Press, offered the prayer, thanking God for the light and blessing that had come through His servant.

As W. C. White sat there in the Tabernacle, he reminisced. Recounting his thoughts later, he wrote:

My mind went back thirty-four years, to the time of my father’s funeral. I remembered the great congregation gathered then, and the impressive discourse given by Elder Uriah Smith. [438]

I remembered well the fear felt by many that now Elder White was laid to rest, we could not expect Sister White to live very long. And in rapid review there passed before my mind an outline of her manifold labors since Father’s death, ... in Australia, then again in California, in Washington city, and at our camp meetings east and west. I thought also of the changes that have come to our work and workers during these thirty-four years. Many of the pioneers have been laid in the grave, and hundreds of younger laborers have joined the ranks.—WCW to “Dear Friend,” October 20, 1915.

The Service at the Grave

Following the Tabernacle service, the throng made its way across the city to Oak Hill Cemetery. It was no doubt Battle Creek’s largest funeral procession, with more than a hundred vehicles used to move the crowd. The July 25 Enquirer described it:

Thousands followed the hearse to the cemetery. For this purpose every carriage in the city was used, and there were a number of automobiles. And then besides this, there were nine streetcars. No fares were collected on these cars, as they were provided by the church.—DF 758.

The service at the cemetery was brief and impressive. A double quartet sang, Elder I. H. Evans read appropriate scriptures, Elder G. B. Thompson offered prayer, and then “the remains of our dear sister were tenderly and silently lowered into the grave to rest beside the body of her husband, Elder James White, who was buried in the same plot in 1881.”—DF 756, In Memoriam, p. 24.

Ellen White was at rest, not only close to her husband but not far from many close associates and friends. Nearby were J. P. and Ann Kellogg, early believers in Battle Creek and strong supporters of the church. They were the parents of Dr. John Harvey, and W. K., of cornflake fame. Beyond was the grave of David Hewett, to whom Joseph Bates was directed as “the most honest man in town” when he sought to make a beginning in teaching the Sabbath and Advent message in Battle Creek in 1852. Across the cemetery were the graves of Elder Uriah Smith and his family, and just a little to one side, the resting places of John Byington, first president of the [439] General Conference, and a host of others.

Word was received at Battle Creek that in some of the Adventist churches across the land, memorial services were held on Sabbath morning. The president of the North Pacific Conference sent a telegraphic message that such a service was held at Walla Walla.

Details of Ellen White’s last illness, her death, and the funeral services were reported to the great Adventist family through the Review and Herald and a special issue of Signs of the Times.

The Public Press

Newspaper notices and articles of various lengths appeared throughout the United States, from the Bay Area, where San Francisco and Oakland papers gave good space, to New York, where a respectable item was published in The New York Times. The careful work done well in advance of her death bore fruit, for the leading newspapers had materials, prepared largely at Elmshaven, in hand when they received telegraph notice of her death.

Ellen White’s hometown newspaper, the St. Helena Star, on its front page printed a large photograph and gave thirty-three column inches to tell the story of her life, work, and death. The San Francisco Chronicle and The Oakland Tribune each gave fifteen column inches, selecting materials from the sheets furnished from Elmshaven. The Mountain View Register-Leader was perhaps the most generous, with 147 column inches used to present the story, together with a two-column picture of Ellen White. The Detroit News-Tribune gave seven inches.

The Battle Creek papers gave full coverage to the story. The Battle Creek Evening News allotted forty-four inches and the Battle Creek Enquirer, 107 inches. The Moon Journal was also generous with its coverage. Of course the Battle Creek papers had not only the news of her life and work but also the story of the funeral, as well, all of interest to those who lived in the city where Ellen White had so long resided and worked in earlier years. These papers quoted from the life sketch given by Elder A. G. Daniells. One paper published extensive excerpts from S. N. Haskell’s funeral sermon. Taking note of some of the reports, we observe:

The St. Helena Star,

July 23, 1915: [440]

Leader Of Adventists Dead. Mrs. Ellen G. White Passes Away After Over Seventy Years of Christian Labor.

At 3:40 o’clock last Friday afternoon, at her home, “Elmshaven,” near St. Helena, Mrs. Ellen Gould White, leader and one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, passed from this life to that reward promised the followers of Jesus Christ.—DF 758.

Then follows a biographical account and a resume of denominational accomplishments: in membership, nearly 100,000; thirty-seven publishing houses; thirty-four sanitariums; seventy intermediate schools, academies, and colleges; and 510 elementary schools scattered all over the world. Mrs. White’s work as an author was mentioned, noting that some of her writings had been translated into thirty-six languages. The report concluded:

The prevailing sentiment of the speakers who addressed the congregations at St. Helena and at Richmond was that Mrs. White’s most enduring monument, aside from her godly life and conversation, was her published works, which tend to the purest morality, lead to Christ and to the Bible, and bring comfort and consolation to many a weary heart. “She hath done what she could,” and now, “being dead, she yet speaketh.”

The Mountain View Register-Leader, July 23, 1915:

Mrs. E. G. White, Eminent Seventh-day Adventist Dead. Interesting Sketch of the Life and Works of This Very Remarkable Woman.

Mrs. Ellen Gould White, prominent teacher, counselor, and writer among Seventh-day Adventists, passed away at her home at Elmshaven, St. Helena, on last Friday, July 16, at 3:40 p.m. She had been critically ill for some time, and the end came quietly.—DF 758.

This news story included references to the visions, and Loughborough’s statement at the Elmshaven funeral concerning her condition in vision as he witnessed it. It also included a report of an interview with W. C. White concerning the visions, and his account of the January 3, 1875, vision in which she was shown [441] printing presses in different parts of the world. This was quite natural inasmuch as Pacific Press, the denomination’s large West Coast plant, was in the town.

The report indicates that in honor of Ellen White, Pacific Press was closed the Monday morning after her death.

The New York Times,

July 17, 1915:

Seventh-day Founder Dies. Mrs. Ellen G. White, Adventist, Was Regarded as a Prophetess.

St. Helena, Cal.,

July 16.

Mrs. Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventists, died here today, aged 88. She was widely known among members of that denomination, and by many she was regarded as their prophetess.

She is survived by two sons, James Edson White of Marshall, Mich., and William C. White.

Then followed a brief life sketch of about 175 words. The story closed with a statement of her beliefs and work:

She believed in the ultimate annihilation of the wicked. She traveled extensively, and besides traveling all over this country, spent two years in Europe and nine in Australia, making converts. Mrs. White wrote forty books whose circulation is said to have been more than 1,500,000 copies, and her writings were translated into forty languages.—DF 756, “News Coverage of the Death of Ellen White.”

The Battle Creek Evening News, July 24, 1915:

Four Thousand At Funeral Services Of Mother White. Tabernacle Is Crowded This Morning by Her Followers and Friends. Many From Out Of Town. Churches in This Vicinity Come in a Body.—DF 758.

Then followed a report of the funeral services in the Tabernacle and burial at Oak Hill Cemetery. The paper gave good space to a review of Ellen White’s life, in which her contributions in medical and educational work were featured. This is quite understandable considering the proximity of the Battle Creek Sanitarium. The coverage continued: [442]

For the Good of the Race. Her writings present the most comprehensive views regarding temperance reform, the laws of life and health, and the use of rational, effective remedies for the treatment of sickness and disease. The adoption of these principles has placed the people with whom she worked in the front ranks with others who are advocating sane temperance reforms, and working for the physical improvement of mankind.

Nor is the social status of the human family lost sight of. Slavery, the caste system, unjust racial prejudices, the oppression of the poor, the neglect of the unfortunate, are set forth as un-Christian and a serious menace to the well-being of the human race.... The responsibilities of the church in both home and foreign mission service are given the greatest prominence in the writings of Mrs. White. Every member of the body is admonished to be a light in the world, a blessing to those with whom he may associate.

What About A Successor?

A reporter of the Battle Creek Enquirer cornered W. C. White to get from him word about a possible successor to Ellen White, and published the interview in the July 25 edition. “Has Mrs. White chosen anyone to be her successor?” White was asked. To this, he replied:

“No, she has never considered that that was a matter over which she had any control, and has never expressed herself with reference to any individual as a probable candidate for this work.”

“Did she know who her successor would be?” he was asked.

“That is a question that has been asked her many times,” continued Mr. White, “and she always has stated that it is a matter that has never been revealed to her, and that she had no knowledge and no information upon the subject to impart.”

“Does she know another person will be chosen to take up the work she lays down?”

“That is another question that has been asked her many times, and she always has said she did not know. At the same time she expressed full confidence that God would care for His [443] work, and that there was no need for her or others to be anxious about this matter.”

“Will the leading men of the denomination select a person to take up the work she has carried?” was the next question asked him.

“No. It is their belief that God will choose His messengers, and that it would be presumption for men to undertake to choose the persons through whom the spirit of prophecy is manifested.”—DF 758.

As the questioning continued, he was asked whether any others had made the claim of being Ellen White’s successor, and what tests would be applied to anyone who might make the claim. White pointed out that such a matter would be settled by the tests of Scripture.

The New York Independent

On August 23, 1915, there appeared in The New York Independent (a prestigious monthly journal published in New York) an editorial entitled: “An American Prophetess.”

It is the distinction of our days that the American Church has enjoyed the teachings of two prophetesses.... Our two later prophetesses, Mrs. Eddy, founder of the Christian Science Church, and Mrs. Ellen G. White, leader and teacher of the Seventh-day Adventists, lived and died in comfort and honor, surrounded by their admiring followers. Many of Mrs. Eddy’s disciples believed she would never die, and Mrs. White hoped to be one of those who would be taken up alive to meet the Lord in the air.

But the Lord delayed His coming, and she entered into rest, just as others do, at the age of eighty-eight, and her burial took place a few days ago at the Advent headquarters at Battle Creek, Michigan. Her husband, Elder White, shares with her the honor of founding the Seventh-day Advent Church, but she was its one prophetess.—DF 756, “News Coverage of the Death of Ellen G. White.”

Then followed a brief life sketch in which was mentioned the [444] revelations given to Ellen White that set the high standards of living followed by Adventists. The article closed with very interesting comments:

Of course, these teachings were based on the strictest doctrine of inspiration of the Scriptures. Seventh-day Adventism could be got in no other way. And the gift of prophecy was to be expected as promised to the “remnant church,” who had held fast to the truth. This faith gave great purity of life and incessant zeal. No body of Christians excels them in moral character and religious earnestness.

Their work began in 1853 in Battle Creek, and it has grown until now they have thirty-seven publishing houses throughout the world, with literature in eighty different languages, and an annual output of $2,000,000. They have now seventy colleges and academies, and about forty sanitariums; and in all this, Ellen G. White has been the inspiration and guide. Here is a noble record, and she deserves great honor.

Did she really receive divine visions, and was she really chosen by the Holy Spirit to be endued with the charisma of prophecy? Or was she the victim of an excited imagination? Why should we answer? One’s doctrine of the Bible may affect the conclusion. At any rate, she was absolutely honest in her belief in her revelations. Her life was worthy of them. She showed no spiritual pride and she sought no filthy lucre. She lived the life and did the work of a worthy prophetess, the most admirable of the American succession.

A Token of Respect And Honor

After the funeral had been held and the church leaders had returned to Washington, a gracious action was taken as they met in committee. Elder Daniells reported on this in a letter to W. C. White, written July 29, 1915, bringing a message that was both surprising and reassuring.

In our council yesterday the brethren very cheerfully voted the following proposal: That the General [and] North American Division Conferences, and the Review and Herald and Pacific Press publishing houses, share equally the entire expense of [445] your mother’s funeral bill. This is to include everything from the time of her death until you and Sara reach home. Yes, it includes a proper headstone at the grave.

I am glad to assure you that there was not a minute’s hesitation on the part of the brethren about this.

Did Ellen White Expect to Die?

From time to time the question was asked of W. C. White: “Did Sister White expect to die?” It was asked of him at the 1913 General Conference session. He replied:

The Lord has not told her how long she will live. He has not told her in a positive way that she is to die; but she expects to rest in the grave a little time before the Lord comes.

About fifteen years ago, in one of her night visions, she came out of a very dark place into the bright light, and Father was with her. When he saw her by his side, he exclaimed in great surprise, “What, have you been there too, Ellen?” She always understood that to mean that the Lord would let her rest in the grave a little while before the Lord comes. She has been trying to work with reference to that.

Oftentimes she has had messages to hasten her work—the work of preparing her books—because she had but a short time in which to work.—The General Conference Bulletin, 1913, 219.

“My Writings will Constantly Speak”

As W. C. White started westward after the Battle Creek funeral, his mind turned to the care and publication of his mother’s writings. It would be managed by the newly activated White Estate, under the direction of the five trustees of Ellen White’s appointment: A. G. Daniells, president of the General Conference; F. M. Wilcox, editor of the Review and Herald; C. H. Jones, manager of the Pacific Press; C. C. Crisler, for fourteen years the leading secretary; and himself, who had traveled and worked with his mother for thirty-four years.

Ellen White had written in 1907:

Abundant light has been given to our people in these last days. Whether or not my life is spared, my writings will constantly speak, and their work will go forward as long as time [446] shall last. My writings are kept on file in the office, and even though I should not live, these words that have been given to me by the Lord will still have life and will speak to the people.—Selected Messages 1:55.

On several occasions in her later years, she had discussed the circulation of her books with W. C. White. “My son,” she said, as he reports it:

“While I live, I want you to do all you can to hasten the publication of my writings in the English language, and after I die, I want you to labor for their translation and publication in foreign languages. There is precious truth and light in these writings which should go to the ends of the earth.”—WCW to “Dear Friend,” October 20, 1915.

She also had outlined tasks she hoped could be continued after her death. Among these were the preparation of the story of her work in Europe; also, in a similar way, the story of her work in Australia, with the messages regarding the location of the Avondale School. She was eager to have a book prepared on the rise of the health reform movement, together with instruction to physicians and managers (Ibid.). And there was the selecting from her writings of materials for publication overseas and the abridging of some of her larger books, which in their fullness could not be published in lands of small memberships and limited finances. All this was a challenge to the trustees and particularly to W. C. White.

Then there was the closing up of Ellen White’s financial affairs as her will was probated and her estate closed as required by law. To hasten various features of the Lord’s work and to bring out her own books as rapidly as possible, she had borrowed heavily, mostly from Seventh-day Adventists who were pleased to lend her money at modest interest rates. Books of account had been kept, for this work actually had become a business, with its investments in producing books and income in author’s returns from book publication.

According to the records kept in the office, her financial interests in book rights, printing plates, and manuscripts, together with her home property, et cetera, exceeded comfortably her indebtedness, but on her death, or soon thereafter, her creditors would expect the [447] return of their money. These business interests would call for careful attention. [See Appendix B for a statement on the closing up of the estate and the settlement with the creditors, as well as the beginning of the work of Ellen G. White Estate.]

Sunday morning, after his return from the East, W. C. White took the eight-minute walk from his home to the Elmshaven office and residence; there he knew he would have to face new conditions. Already the staff was separating. Sara McEnterfer was in Mountain View, where she obtained employment at the Pacific Press. Maggie Hare Bree and her husband were on their way back to New Zealand. Dores Robinson was in pastoral work to the north, in Willits. Mary Steward had responded to a call from the Review and Herald to serve as a proofreader; Minnie Hawkins Crisler was now at home caring for her stepdaughter and attending to her duties there. The accountant, A. H. Mason, was still at work and would be needed until the estate was settled.

Clarence Crisler was still in the office, closing up work on the Old Testament history. By this time it was known as “The Captivity and Restoration of Israel“: later it was published as “Prophets and Kings”. Two chapters were not quite finished. These were completed from materials in the manuscript files. Crisler’s future was yet uncertain, but he would not be continuing with the work at Elmshaven. In 1916 he answered a call to China as secretary of the China Division. W. C. White would be alone, and the nature of his work was at this point in uncertainty.

He stepped onto the porch of the Elmshaven home. It was unoccupied, and the doors locked. He unlocked the door and entered, as he had so often done. He describes his findings and sentiments:

Everything was in perfect order, but the life of the place had gone. Going upstairs to the big east room, where for fifteen years Mother had studied and prayed and planned and written, I found it vacant. The old couch and the tables and chairs and chests of drawers were in their usual places, and the big armchair with its swing board in front was where it used to be, between the big bay window and the fireplace; but the dear mother, whose presence had made this room the most precious place in [448] all the world to me, was not there. Then I recalled the many times I had returned from the Eastern States, and had hastened up to Mother’s room, sure of a hearty welcome, and an eager listener to my reports of meetings attended and of the progress of the work in which she was so deeply interested. But now there was no one in the writing chair to listen to my report.— Ibid.

It was the end of an era, the end of the “Elmshaven” years.

As he stepped over to the cabinets in the northwest corner and opened the doors to the shelves that held copies of the E. G. White books and copies of her manuscripts and letters, there must have come to his mind Ellen White’s words as she at times opened these doors and displayed her books and her papers:

“Here are my writings; when I am gone they will testify for me.”—WCW Letter, July 9, 1922 (MR, p. 93). [449]

Appendix A

A. G. Daniells’ March 15, 1910, Letter to the Former Pacific Union Conference President

I received my first report of the pacific union conference just as I was leaving keene, Texas, for Battle Creek to attend the Lake Union Conference. I meant to drop you a line at once, but the meeting at Battle Creek kept me so busy that I could not sit down and write you as I wanted to. Then came the Northern Union Meeting, and then the press of the work that had accumulated at my office during the winter while I was away attending union conference meetings.

Since returning to headquarters a week ago, I have had a good long talk with brother evans about the pacific union meeting. He has given me quite a full, and I judge fair, account of the conference. Of course I was very anxious to know how you were feeling with reference to what had taken place.

Now, brother -----, I must tell you that words cannot express how deeply I regret some of the experiences through which you have passed since going to the pacific coast. I hoped, and really expected, when you went to California that you would enter upon the most valuable experience of your life. I knew that you would have occasion to come into close association with brother and sister white [W. C. White and his mother, Ellen G. White], and knowing how very helpful my association with them in australia had been to me, I counted on your experience being the same as mine.

I went out to the australasian field a young man with very little experience in this cause except as a preacher. During my first four years in that mission field, I gave myself wholly to evangelistic work. Then brother and sister White came, and in a short time I was [450] Called to conference administrative work, and was closely associated with them. This was all new and untried to me. It seemed as though I could never get hold of administrative work. Many, many times I was overwhelmed with discouragement and decided in my own mind that I could never succeed in conference management, and that I surely would go back to the field work as a preacher.

But brother and sister White encouraged me to hold on and helped me to succeed. Sometimes the help given was in the form of sharp reproof from sister White. This was not pleasant to the natural heart, I can assure you. It cut deeply. I could not always understand all that was said, nor the way it was given. But I did not dare to reject the counsel, and as I studied and prayed, and yielded my heart in submission to God, light came to my mind and courage to my heart, and always new help for my tasks. Brother White and I often differed in our policies—sometimes sharply. But we never allowed bitterness to take root in our hearts. Many times we went to the woods together for prayer, and I know the Lord blessed us.

Thus I worked my way inch by inch into the sort of work I have been doing since you and I met in Jersey City in 1900. The Lord has been my helper, but he has surely used both brother and sister White to instruct, encourage, and help me. This, I trust, I shall ever appreciate as I should. I would not think of claiming that Brother white made no mistakes in the process. I thought at the time that he did, and still think so. But the help he rendered so far outweighed the unpleasantness that grew out of the mistakes, that I am more than willing to have had that unpleasantness in order to get the help that I needed.

Now, my dear brother, I had fondly hoped that your association with brother and sister White on the coast would be as helpful to you as mine with them in australia was to me. And I still hope that in some way the Lord will make it so.

This is a world of differences, misunderstandings, and complications. Trials and disappointments of various kinds come to Christians as well as sinners. Even preachers and conference officials cannot escape them altogether. And it is well they cannot. If they could, I am afraid they would forget how to sympathize with their fellow men in trials and temptations. And, not knowing how to feel for others, they would not know how to take hold and help [451] Them, and so they would become like job’s comforters of whom he said, “miserable comforters are ye all.” Even Jesus, the Son of God, was tempted in all points like as we are, that he might be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and so be to us a merciful high priest.

I have found it helpful to me, brother ------, to think along this line. And it has helped me to occasionally run over the experiences of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph in Canaan and Egypt. And Moses, too, and David. These men whom God surely called and led, and signally blessed and honored, passed through severe trials and temptations. In the hour of his greatest grief Jacob felt that the hand of even the almighty was against him, but he learned later that this was not so. Joseph’s experience, we know, was for the purpose of making him a humble, kind, sympathetic ruler in Egypt. And all of david’s hard, dreadful time with saul was to help him to be the right kind of a king.

Now, brother ------, you and I know that men today, especially ministers and men who are placed in positions of responsibility in the cause of God, need trials and personal experiences calculated to make them humble and submissive in God’s hands, and yet strong and helpful as leaders among God’s people.

I do not understand the details of the experience through which you are now passing; but whatever they may be, I sincerely hope that you will make all these things steppingstones to a higher and better experience. In my own personal experiences, I am trying to feel more concerned about the benefit I can get from the mistakes of both myself and others than to worry about the mistakes themselves. This is the only way I know how to make unpleasant, trying experiences, whatever may be their cause, beneficial.

Naturally, I am wondering what you are going to do. As soon as I heard that you had been relieved of the conference responsibilities you had been bearing, I said to brother thompson, who was with me, that if I were in that situation I would take advantage of the change and do evangelistic work for a time. There is nothing so calculated to cheer one’s heart and fill him with courage as to preach the Gospel to sinners. That is the most satisfying work to my heart I have ever done. I would be glad if I could take up that blessed work today and forever be free from the harassing perplexities of [452] administrative work. I reckon it would do every conference president good to occasionally drop out of office and spend a year raising up Churches.

I do not feel that I can at this distance be of very much service to you, but I would like very much to encourage you. When we worked together on this side of the continent I certainly enjoyed your company and appreciated your help. I always felt that I understood you—that you were open, and frank, and honest, that you said what you meant. As I recall the perplexing work we carried on together for several years, it gives me pleasure to think of the absolute sincerity and honesty of your reasoning and decisions. I want to assure you that I shall always appreciate this. Your course in this respect has been a help to me. And I believe that you are still the same sincere, honest man. But I have feared for some time that you were becoming too independent, and too harsh with those who differed with you. In our work we will all of us have to always guard ourselves lest we become so positive and unyielding that we shall exercise arbitrary authority in our administration. I know that I have to watch and pray on this point, and I guess most men do. Really our only safety is in humble submission.

Well, brother ------, I did not intend to say so much when I began. I hope you will not think I have been lecturing you. I have said to you what I would say to my dearest friend. Now, pick up courage. Do not surrender to temptation to blame anyone. Extract all the benefit you can from the experience through which you are passing. Take hold of the Lord’s work with new courage. Read the Bible and pray for a new enduement and A new inspiration, and press on with the work to which God has called you.

Please give my Christian love to sister ------, and accept the same for yourself. Let me hear from you. Until then I remain, your sincere brother,

(signed) A. G. Daniells. [453]

Appendix B

The Settlement of Ellen G. White’S Estate

In late 1912, W. C. White, in responding to questions asked by a minister laboring in the midwest, gave, in general terms, a summary of those factors that yielded the state of Ellen G. White’s financial affairs. He wrote:

When father died in 1881, he left property worth from $15,000 to $20,000. Some of it was real estate, some of it was invested in books. Some of the books sold well; others shrank in value.

During the next ten years following father’s death, mother wrote several books that have had a large sale. Some were translated into three or four european languages. As a result of mother’s earnest desire to get these books before the people, she shared with the publishers the initial expense by paying for the typesetting and the making of electrotype plates. The income from the sale of her books was not sufficient in many cases to cover these expenses. This work has gone forward until at present time mother has about $40,000 invested in book plates and copyrights, and she has borrowed and is paying interest on all the money thus invested.

Mother’s income from the sale of her books has been used from year to year:

(A) In the education of teachers, ministers, and medical missionaries;

(B) In the support of home and foreign missions;

(C) In the building of meetinghouses, intermediate schools, [454] And colleges, and in the establishment of sanitariums in various places;

(D) in the translating, typesetting, and illustrating of her books in many languages.

In these and in similar ways, mother has consumed her income in what she considered to be legitimate and effective ways of advancing the various branches of the work that Seventh-day Adventists are endeavoring to carry forward.

In addition to these book properties which I have mentioned, mother owns her home here, two and a half miles from St. Helena, in the Little Valley just below the St. Helena Sanitarium. Her home consists of farm and orchard lands of about thirty-five acres, a well-built, comfortable house of eight rooms, an office of nine rooms and a vault, and a farmer’s cottage of four rooms; also horse and cow stables, fruit shed, and tank house. This property, if estimated at full value, would probably be worth just about as much as what father left her when he died.

Another feature of expenditure which I did not mention above is what mother has given to her sons and her grandchildren. When father died without a will, my brother and I signed off all claims to the property so that everything went to mother, and from time to time mother has given to us that which she considered to be our portion. She has also helped my two oldest daughters $700 each to help them in securing modest homes. And recently she gave my twin boys, 16 years old, a strip of mountain land which they are clearing and improving and selling with the intention of depositing the proceeds in the college to help them in their schooling.

It is mother’s desire, and she has made provision to that effect in her will, that after her death, 75 percent of the income from her publications shall go to the publishing and educational and missionary enterprises of the seventh-day adventist denomination, and that 25 percent of the net income shall be divided among her heirs.—WCW to L. H. Christian, November 3, 1912.

The Ellen G. White Will

This is how things stood in 1912, the year Ellen White signed the [455] will, as referred to in chapter 27. But the financial matters did not work out that way. Two elements stand out in the Ellen G. White will: (1) the custody of the E. G. White writings after her death, and (2) the provisions dealing with financial arrangements. As to the features dealing with the care of her writings, most are familiar. The will states:

I hereby give, devise, and bequeath to William C. White, Clarence C. Crisler, Charles H. Jones, Arthur G. Daniells, and Frank M. Wilcox.... [Here in the will there appears A listing of her modest properties, consisting of the home and its appurtenances] all of my right, title, and interest in the copyrights and book plates in all languages of the following publications ... [Here follows a list of her then-current books, except Education]. Also, my general manuscript file and all indexes pertaining thereto; also, my office furniture and office library.

Together with all and singular, the tenements, hereditaments, and appurtenances thereto belonging, or in anywise appertaining, in trust nevertheless for the uses and purposes hereinafter contained.

To have and to hold, the said real and personal property unto said trustees, and their successors, upon the trust to enter into and upon and take possession of the said real estate and said personal property.... Administering, preserving, and protecting the said real property and handling said personal property, and publishing and selling said books and manuscripts and conducting the business thereof.

The will then leads into certain financial provisions. In further specifying the work of the trustees in their care and use of the writings, it states:

Then my said trustees shall use the overplus for the improvement of the books and manuscripts held in trust by them, and herein provided; for the securing and printing of new translations thereof; for the printing of compilations from my manuscripts.—DF 832. [The will is published in full in F.D. Nichol’s Ellen G. White and her critics, and copies may be had on request from the Ellen G. White Estate] [456]

The will also provided for the continuation of the board of trustees in perpetuity.

A minimum of literary property was left with W. C. White, primarily out-of-print books and Education, as a means of custody. These were in time transferred to the Ellen G. White estate, incorporated, putting all of the E. G. White literary properties under the control of the board of trustees.

As to the financial provisions, as noted by W. C. White in his 1912 letter, 75 percent of her estate was left to meet the outstanding obligations incurred, to advance the work of the Church and to the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, mainly for the work of the trustees who would carry the responsibility of the care and publication of her writings.

Twenty-five percent of her estate she willed to the family. Ten percent was assigned to William and his heirs. Ten percent was assigned to Edson, but as he was childless, provision was made that after his death this portion would be used in the missionary work of the Church, primarily among blacks. Five percent was dedicated to a fund to assist in the education of her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and other worthy persons. Thus the ultimate bequest to the family was 15 percent of the estate, leaving 85 percent for the work of the Church.

She willed her personal possessions and furniture to her two sons and made an outright bequest of $500 each to sara mcenterfer, clarence crisler, and her granddaughters, Ella Robinson and Mable Workman, daughters of W. C. White’s first wife.

Ellen White had clearly in mind that all members of the family had lived on a very restricted basis, financially. In recognition of their dedicated and self-sacrificing service to her work and to the cause of God, she desired to have them benefit somewhat from her estate. All this was arranged in her will, dated February 9, 1912, carefully drawn up by A competent attorney and duly executed.

But it did not work out that way!

The Settlement of Ellen White’s Estate

As noted in the text, Ellen White employed an experienced accountant who kept careful records of expenses and incomes and also the record of borrowed monies with which to aid the cause of [457] God and to carry forward her book work. According to these records at the time of her death, Ellen White’s properties, including home, farm, book plates, copyrights, and manuscripts were valued, in round figures, at $121,000; the liabilities were recorded at $88,000. When her will was probated in the usual way in the NAPA County Supreme Court, the judge, though riendly, did not agree with the advice of attorney bell that provision could be made for the creditors to await payment pending the earnings of the estate in book royalties. Rather he held that, in compliance with law and normal procedures, all claims against Ellen White’s estate must be met promptly and the estate closed up.

The judge appointed three men to appraise the property: J. H. Steves, a St. Helena hardware merchant; L. M. Bowen, manager of the St. Helena Sanitarium; and H. S. Davis, a St. Helena Businessman. It was not difficult for these men to look over the real estate, farm implements and stock, office equipment and supplies, and put down their value. The bulk of the estate, however, was in literary properties, book plates, and copyrights (the record of which was in the elmshaven vault), and the E. G. White manuscripts, which had been put on the books of account at the cost of production in labor and materials. All of these the appraisers were obligated to list at their estimated value at a sum that they would bring in an immediate sale. Mr. Steves told the author that when W. C. White opened the vault door and explained that it held the E. G. White manuscripts and the records of copyrights and book plates, the appraising committee was at a total loss to arrive at an evaluation, and so the men wrote down an arbitrary figure of $40,000. Merely a guess.

This $40,000 for literary properties, together with the $26,000 at which the home and other properties were listed, left the estate $21,000 short of its obligations. Ellen White was, for legal purposes, declared insolvent. The White trustees and the leaders of the general conference who were called in for counsel were confronted with an unexpected but very real problem. These were days when money was in short supply, $21,000 was a large sum, and the shortage was a baffling matter. From a financial standpoint there were no means with which to meet all the bequests of the will. It was considered a “Dry Trust.” [458]

It was finally agreed:

(1) That the general conference corporation would advance to the White Trustees, as an interest-bearing loan, sufficient funds to meet all outstanding obligations. The loan would be repaid by sale of property and from royalty incomes.

(2) That each of the two sons to whom 10 percent of the estate was bequeathed would, in exchange for a modest settlement, relinquish their claims on the estate. To J. E. White, this meant a cancellation of his obligations to the estate for the nearly $10,000 advanced by his mother to assist in his publishing ventures. To W. C. White, it meant a like amount.

(3) The four individuals to whom $500 each had been bequeathed would, when all debts were paid, receive the money from royalty incomes. This was in time accomplished.

(4) in view of Ellen White’s Estate being a “Dry Trust,” the provision in her will that would have made 5 percent available for educational purposes could not be carried out. The three trustees who were to administer the fund relinquished all claims upon it.

Thus, no heir of Ellen White benefits financially from the fact that she was an author.

With the money advanced by the general conference corporation at 4 percent interest, all financial obligations were promptly met and the estate of Ellen G. White properly closed. The home property was sold to help in providing funds. Because royalty rates were in 1918 reduced by 50 percent, and because the royalties paid were divided between supporting the work of the White Trustees and debt repayment, it took considerable time for the White Estate to buy its way out. In 1933, in agreements entered into between the five originally appointed trustees and the general conference corporation, the work of the Ellen G. White estate, incorporated, was put on a more stable financial basis. From that time it has been supported by an annual budget provided by the general conference of Seventh-day Adventists as a part of the work of the Church. In turn, the general conference corporation receives all royalty incomes from the distribution of the Ellen G. White books.

The support provided by the general conference is in three areas: first, assistance in translating and publishing the E. G. White books overseas, A point touched on in Ellen White’s will; second, in [459] providing a budget for the operation of the work of the White Estate; and third, in the establishment and operation of the several Seventh-day Adventist Ellen G. White research centers overseas.

These three features call for funds far in excess of royalty incomes from the sale of the E. G. White books. Thus, through the arrangement with the general conference, funds are made available for an outreach that serves the church well and would delight the heart of Ellen G. White.