Introduction—The Prophetic Gift and Ellen G. White
xxxiii
Elder and Mrs. White came back on the next Sabbath, when a
baptism was held, and the church at Bushnell was well established.
The Lord loved his people in Bushnell, as he does all those who
look to him. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous
therefore, and repent,”
Revelation 3:19
, must have come to the minds
of some present. When the people saw their own hearts as the Lord
saw them, they understood their true condition and longed for a change
in their lives. This is the true purpose of the many visions given to
Mrs. White.
Shortly after James White’s death in 1881, Mrs. White lived
close to Healdsburg College. Several young women stayed in her
home while they attended school. It was the custom at that time to
wear a simple net over the head so as to keep the hair neat and orderly
throughout the day. One day while passing through Mrs. White’s room,
one of the girls saw a well-made hairnet that she wanted. Thinking that
it would not be missed, she took it and put it in the top of her trunk. A
little later while dressing to go out, Mrs. White missed her net and had
to do without it. In the evening when the family were together Mrs.
White inquired about her missing net, but no one gave any indication
of knowing where it was.
A day or so later when Mrs. White was passing through the girl’s
room, a voice said, “Open that trunk.” Because the trunk was not hers,
she did not wish to do so. At the second command she recognized
the voice as that of the angel. When she lifted the lid, she saw why
the angel had spoken, for there was her net. When the family met
again Mrs. White again asked about the net, stating that it could not
disappear by itself. No one spoke up, so Mrs. White did not pursue
the matter.
A few days later while Mrs. White was resting from her writing,
she was given a very short vision. She saw the hand of a girl lower a
hairnet into a kerosene lamp. When the net touched the flame it was
gone in a flash of fire. That was the end of the vision.
[25]
When the family were next together, Mrs. White again pressed
the matter of the disappearance of the hairnet, but still there was no
confession, and no one seemed to know of its whereabouts. Then a
little later Mrs. White called this young woman aside, told her of the
voice and what she saw in the trunk, and then related the very short
vision in which she saw the hairnet burn over the lamp. With this