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answer came: “These are they which came out of great tribulation,
and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.”
When we began to present the light on the Sabbath question, we
had no clearly defined idea of the third angel’s message of
Revelation
14:9-12
. The burden of our testimony as we came before the people
was that the great second advent movement was of God, that the first
and second messages had gone forth, and that the third was to be given.
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We saw that the third message closed with the words: “Here is the
patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of
God, and the faith of Jesus.” And we as clearly saw as we now see that
these prophetic words suggested a Sabbath reform; but as to what the
worship of the beast mentioned in the message was, or what the image
and the mark of the beast were, we had no defined position.
God by His Holy Spirit let light shine forth upon His servants, and
the subject gradually opened to their minds. It required much study
and anxious care to search it out, link after link. By care, anxiety, and
incessant labor has the work moved on until the great truths of our
message, a clear, connected, perfect whole, have been given to the
world.
I have already spoken of my acquaintance with Elder Bates. I
found him to be a true Christian gentleman, courteous and kind. He
treated me as tenderly as though I were his own child. The first time
he heard me speak, he manifested deep interest. After I had ceased
speaking, he arose and said: “I am a doubting Thomas. I do not believe
in visions. But if I could believe that the testimony the sister has related
tonight was indeed the voice of God to us, I should be the happiest
man alive. My heart is deeply moved. I believe the speaker to be
sincere, but cannot explain in regard to her being shown the wonderful
things she has related to us.”
A few months after my marriage, I attended, with my husband, a
Conference at Topsham, Maine, at which Elder Bates was present. He
did not then fully believe that my visions were of God. That meeting
was a season of much interest. The Spirit of God rested upon me; I
was wrapped in a vision of God’s glory, and for the first time had a
view of other planets. After I came out of vision, I related what I had
seen. Elder B. then asked if I had studied astronomy. I told him I had
no recollection of ever looking into an astronomy. Said he: “This is of
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