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Understanding the Gift

Heavenly Visions 12

JOHN NORTON LOUGHBOROUGH

 

NOTES ON EARLY TIMES IN THIS ADVENT MOVEMENT

NO. 8.  COMING OF THE LIGHT ON THE SANCTUARY TRUTH

WHEREVER the veterans of the movement used to talk over the early times of our denomination, it was a joy to hear them tell how the coming of the teaching on the heavenly sanctuary and its cleansing brought a burst of light that made the whole 1844 experience as clear as noonday.

That was the key truth in explaining their past hopes and disappointments.  That had been a momentous time.  Not that there were exciting manifestations.  It was too serious for that.  They believed that at the end of the 2300 years, which they finally fixed as October 22, 1844, they would see their Saviour coming in power and glory.  Such a faith gave me no place for excitement.  It was a sobering conviction.

Years ago, in western New York, an elderly sister in the faith told me her memories of October 22, in her father's family.  She was then but a little girl.  But graven in her memory was the scene of that day that father and mother, while doing the necessary things in the home, spent the day in devotion and singing and waiting.  No work on the field was undertaken.

At last the day was ending - and the Saviour had not come.  The father was sitting in a chair by the door.  The little girl was playing on the lawn.  Just as the sun was sinking, its last rays lighted up a little cloud on the distant horizon.  The cloud shone like silver and burnished gold.  "Father rose to his feet," she told me, "with face lighted with joy.  `O, praise the Lord,' he cried, clapping his hands, `our Saviour is coming.'"

The preparations to meet eternity had all been made.  These believers were ready; their sins were confessed and their wrongs were made right.  This father did not have to attend to these things of getting ready when he saw that shining cloud.  He had before that heard the admonition,  "Be ye therefore ready."  It is a lesson for us today as the time of probation hastens by, someday to end "suddenly."

The disappointment of those waiting ones in 1844 was indeed bitter.  The cleansing of the sanctuary, which was to take place at the end of the prophetic period, meant to them the coming of Christ to earth to cleanse it from sinful things.  The earth was the sanctuary, they thought.  After 1844 they knew not what to think next.  Although the multitudes gave up, a firm body of disappointed second advent believers were waiting and praying for light that would explain the experience.

With the light on the heavenly sanctuary, the explanation came.  Hiram Edson, farmer preacher, leader of a group of early Adventists in western

"Our expectations were raised high, and thus we looked for our coming Lord until the clock tolled twelve at midnight.  The day had then passed, and our disappointment had become a certainty.  Our fondest hopes and expectations were blasted, and such a spirit of weeping came over us as I never experienced before.  It seemed that the loss of all earthly friends could have been no comparison.  We wept and wept, till the day dawned. . . .

"I mused in my heart, saying: `My advent experience has been the brightest of all my Christian experience.  Has the Bible proved a failure?  Is there no God in heaven, no golden city, no Paradise?  Is all this but a cunningly devised fable?  Is there no reality to our fondest hopes and expectations?'. . .

"I began to feel there might be light and help for us in our distress.  I said to some of the brethren: `Let us go to the barn.'  We entered the granary, shut the doors about us, and bowed before the Lord.  We prayed earnestly, for we felt our necessity.  We continued in earnest prayer until the witness of the Spirit was given that our prayers were accepted, and that light should be given - our disappointment explained, made clear and satisfactory.

"After breakfast I said to one of my brethren, `Let us go to see and encourage some of our brethren.'  We started, and while passing through a large field, I was stopped about midway in the field.   Heaven seemed open to my view, and I saw distinctly and clearly that instead of our High Priest coming out of the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to this earth on the tenth day of the seventh month, at the end of the 2300 days, He, for the first time, entered on that day into the second apartment of that sanctuary, and that he had a work to perform in the most holy place before coming to the earth; that He came to the marriage, or in other words, to the Ancient of days, to receive a kingdom, dominion, and glory; and that we must wait for His return from the wedding." - Review and Herald, June 23, 1921.

New York, was the brother who first caught the light that the sanctuary to be cleansed was the heavenly sanctuary.  He wrote out the experience some years later, and the story was preserved by his daughter, Mrs. O. V. Cross, of Florida.  In the REVIEW of June 23, 1921, a portion of his manuscript was reprinted.  Here is his testimony to the coming of the light.  Speaking first of the great disappointment, he wrote:

Hiram Edson studied this question.  Two close friends joined him. Evidently, one was a Doctor Hahn, a neighbor, the other, O. R. L. Crosier, a young preacher and teacher.  The Scripture study made it plain that the end of the 2300 years was to reach to the opening of the ministry of our High Priest in the most holy of the sanctuary in heaven, foreshadowed by the last phase of the Levitical service in the typical earthly sanctuary.  The service of the last day of the earthly sanctuary was called the cleansing of the sanctuary.  That was exactly what the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 described as beginning in 1844.  The whole matter was plain.  Christ had come to that service in the most holy above, as the time came in 1844.  Their mistake was explained.  The prophecy had been fulfilled.  They had looked to this earth instead of to the most holy place above.  There in heaven above, the judgment hour had come, the time of cleansing the sanctuary records, as described in Daniel 7:10,13.  This was light.  It must be published to the believers.

Hiram Edson and Doctor Hahn asked O. R. L. Crosier to continue studying it from the Levitical type and to write it out.  They agreed to publish it.  The matter was written up in 1845.  Early the next year they arranged for it to be printed in a Cincinnati second advent paper called the Day Star.  An  "Extra"  was devoted to it, dated February 7, 1846.  Apparently Hiram Edson had to do the promoting and most of the financing.  He told how he had to ask his wife for some of her wedding-gift silver to pay for this "Extra."  His daughter, Mrs. Cross, confirmed this.  H. M. Kelly, of Florida, who interviewed her and sent these extracts from Hiram Edson's manuscript, added:

"Mrs. Cross told me that her mother sold a set of silver spoons that had been given to her as a wedding present, to get money to have that first article on the sanctuary printed; and I have one of the spoons of that set in my possession now."

The first exposition of the sanctuary truth was sent to many second advent believers.  Joseph Bates saw it and accepted the light.  James White likewise accepted it.  Ellen G. Harmon (later Mrs. White) also received the teaching on the sanctuary in heaven, being shown that it was light for the remnant.  ("Word to the Little Flock," p.12.)  Those who were to lead out in this definite advent movement were being led step by step from light to greater light.  (In a preceding article we have seen Joseph Bates visiting Port Gibson, in western New York, bringing the Sabbath truth to Hiram Edson and others in that region.)

Sad to say, young Crosier walked in the light of the Sabbath truth but a very little time.  He later repudiated the sanctuary teaching that he had helped to establish.  Our pioneer brethren reprinted his exposition on the sanctuary several times in their early papers, but they never could reprint his complete document.  In it he had added to the sanctuary exposition some ideas on the age to come - a temporal millennium, with a glorious age on this earth at the second advent.  These things our brethren always omitted.  These teachings of the age to come were all abroad in those days.  The doctrine never fitted in with the definite advent message; and doubtless this leaven of error helped to lead the younger men away from the Sabbath and the sanctuary truths.  He soon turned to bitter opposition to our early movement.

But the Sabbath truth and sanctuary truths were spread abroad, as our pioneers began to publish, and the light brought joy to many who had given up the second advent hope.  To give one instance, Horace and Olive Patten, of Rochester, New York, who had lapsed into Spiritualism wrote to James White:

"O that we could tell you with what joy and gratitude we received the true light on the cleansing of the sanctuary!  No one could be clearer than we were that the days ended in 1844.  In our darkness we have secretly longed for something that would more fully explain the past mighty move, and the fulfillment of this scripture, `then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.'  Think then of our joy, after waiting near seven long years in ignorance, to learn that our great High Priest did exactly fulfill the types on the tenth day of the seventh month, and entered the most holy place, in the true sanctuary above." - Review and Herald, March 2, 1852.

A former preacher of the 1844 days, wrote from Wisconsin:

"I feel like a new man.  From 1844 until now I have felt destitute of a message.  And though I have occasionally made an effort to preach, yet it has been like `beating the air.'  I now long to be in the field, as I was before the tenth-day movement.  I see the sanctuary is being cleansed, and the last message is being given.  O who will prepare himself for battle!"  -Id., May 6, 1852.

And to this day, in remotest corners of the earth, the light of the sanctuary truth is gladdening hearts.  Away in the island of Bougainville, in the Solomon group, east of New Guinea, Brother Tutty found this truth shaping island lives.  He wrote of a visit to one remote outpost:

"While there I was handed two bags full of native food as tithe.  I asked Rongupitu, the teacher, `What have you been teaching them?  He replied, `The sanctuary,' and showed me his drawing on a board."

It is interesting to get this picture of the island teacher, only recently out of heathenism, using a board and chalk to make real to his hearers the blessed work of Jesus our high priest in the heavenly sanctuary.

In 1844 the Sabbath truth first came to the little group of Adventists in Washington, New Hampshire.

In 1844 the light on the sanctuary in heaven came first to a group of Adventist believers near Port Gibson, New York.

Now we see these key truths, in the days of 1846 and 1847, drawing together the men whom God had called to lead out in the first days of this advent movement. W. A. S.

Review and Herald, December 14, 1939.

 

NOTES ON EARLY TIMES IN THIS ADVENT MOVEMENT

NO. 9.  THE COMING OF A GUIDING GIFT - THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY

IT was in the vision on Patmos that the prophet John saw the coming of the judgment hour and the rise of a people keeping "the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."  Rev.14:6-12.

In 1844 the judgment hour opened in heaven above, as the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 had foretold.

In 1844 the people of the prophecy appeared, keeping the commandments of God.

This advent movement rose at the time scheduled by the sure word of the prophecy, in the year 1844.  And according to the prophecy in Revelation 12:17, this people keeping the commandments of God were to have the "testimony of Jesus," which, as the angel later explained to the prophet, "is the Spirit of prophecy."  Rev.19:10.

That gift was in preparation, in God's providence, in the days of 1844.

 REMARKABLE CONCURRENCE

Here is something unexplainable on the basis of human reasoning.  On the Isle of Patmos the prophet John was shown in vision the rise of a movement preaching,  "The hour of His judgment is come."  The prophet John was shown the kind of people who were preaching that message - a people keeping the commandments of God.  And he was shown that the Spirit of prophecy would be in their midst.  The centuries passed.  Nowhere on earth was such a work as that seen developing until the year 1844 came.  Then what? -

In 1844 this definite advent movement began to rise into sight.

In 1844 the people of the advent movement came, keeping the commandments of God.

In 1844 came the light on the sanctuary in heaven and the judgment hour, a doctrine that had been little known in the Christian church since the apostasy of the early centuries.  Light on it necessarily had to come in 1844, if the movement then to rise was to preach,  "The hour of His judgment is come."

In 1844 the human agent was called by whom the gift of the Spirit of prophecy was to be exercised in the building up and guiding of this movement.

A concurrence of fulfillments like that could never come by any human foresight and devising.  As the time of the movement came, the living God was bringing forth the factors essential to it.

Here was a movement which was to be led of God - a church of commandment-keeping people on the march, carrying to every nation and tongue the message of the judgment hour.  In ancient days God set His hand to lead the exodus movement from Egypt to Canaan.  He gave them His holy law, to make them a commandment-keeping people.  He put the gift of the Spirit of prophecy in their midst, as one agency for guiding the movement.

"By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved."  Hosea 12:13.

That was the first time He had set His hand to lead such an organized movement of people who were representing His commandments before the world.  Now, in 1844, He was launching another organized movement.  He had "set His hand again the second time," this time to gather "the remnant of His people" from all "the four corners of the earth."  Isa.11:11,12.  Isaiah's prophecy foretold a world-wide work.

And this "remnant," as the prophet John was shown on Patmos, was not only to "keep the commandments of God," as ancient Israel did in the exodus movement, but was to "have the testimony of Jesus."  Of this gift the angel said,  "The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy."  Rev.12:17; 19:10.

 SPIRIT OF PROPHECY APPEARS

As the time came in 1844, that gift of the Spirit of prophecy appeared.  From the earliest times "we have heard with our ears," "our fathers have told us," how, in 1844, the Spirit spoke in vision to a young woman of one of the early Adventist groups in New England, giving messages to be told to the people looking for the coming of Christ.  The name of the young woman was Ellen G. Harmon (she was later married to James White, who became our pioneer leader in this advent movement).  The frail, youthful agent begged the Lord to choose someone else.  She wrote of the first vision given her to tell to the people:

"After I came out of this vision I was exceedingly troubled.  My health was very poor, and I was but seventeen years old.  I knew that many had fallen through exaltation, and I knew that if I in any way became exalted, God would leave me, and I should surely be lost.  I went to the Lord in prayer, and begged Him to lay the burden on someone else.  It seemed to me that I could not bear it.  I lay upon my face a long time, and all the light I could get was,  `Make known to others what I have revealed to you.'" - "Early Writings," page 20.

That young woman accepted the call of God, and she rose from prayer to enter upon the speaking and the writing which continued among us for seventy years.  And still those writings speak in living messages of counsel and guidance, covering the pilgrimage of the advent people even to their journey's end in the city of God.

In the volumes and counsels from that agent, by pen and voice, the world, looking on, recognized a special gift that built up this advent movement.  When Mrs. White at last laid down her life, in ripe old age, the editor of the leading religious journal of America commented on the growth of our work in all the world, and wrote of Mrs. White's relation to it:

"In all this, Ellen White has been the inspiration and guide.  Here is a noble record, and she deserves great honor.  Did she really receive divine visions? . . .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 Independent, New York, Aug. 23, 1915.

In that first day of her call, as a youth, Ellen Harmon has sought as a supreme gift that, if she must bear messages from God in a special way, she might be kept from the spiritual self-exaltation that so often ruins men.  As this New York editor testified at the end, her life had shown no spiritual pride.  Through all the history of the work of the gift in this movement there was ever an effort to direct souls to Jesus and the Holy Scriptures, and to combat that natural tendency to make human flesh and the human agent the trust.

We have seen this gift year after year doing things that we knew Mrs. White never could have done of herself.  The Spirit of prophecy was established in this movement in the early days by "many infallible proofs," and still the writings speak to us with up-to-date counsels for these times that we are now passing through.

 ALL FEATURES OF NEW TRUTHS INVESTIGATED

We see in the early story how Providence worked to bring these special features together - the Sabbath, the sanctuary truth, and the Spirit of prophecy.  Let H. S. Gurney, the singing blacksmith and preaching helper of early times, tell how carefully some of the early seekers after light investigated every feature of truth before laying hold of it.  They were proving all things.  Of his experience at a time when he and Joseph Bates were studying and praying for light, H. S. Gurney told us many years later (in the REVIEW of January 3, 1888):

"Word came to us one day that a woman was to speak in the advent hall in New Bedford.  She was to relate a vision, etc.  I went to hear her.  The vision was the same as has since been published as Sister White's first vision.  [See "Early Writings," pages 14-20.]  I could see no reason to find fault with her appearance or what she said.  She appeared like a humble, conscientious Christian.  I learned her name and address, but was slow to advocate her course.  Fanaticism was appearing in some places, and I wished to prove all things, and hold fast that which was good. . . .I thought,  If this is something the remnant must meet, I must know where it came from.  I therefore went to Portland, Maine, and inquired for Mr. Harmon (the father of this young lady).  I found the family living in a humble cottage.  I introduced myself, and was made welcome after telling them I had come to make their acquaintance, especially the acquaintance of Sister Ellen Harmon.  I found them a humble, devoted, God-fearing family.  I visited a number of places where she was known, and all testified to her devoted, self-sacrificing character.  I spent a number of weeks with the family and in their vicinity, and became convinced that the fountain was good, and that God had called Sister Harmon to an important work.  I found a brother who was willing to pay one half the expense of printing her first vision.  We arranged with the printer, and I left for home."

Thus, by early 1846, the truth of the Spirit of prophecy was being accepted by one, at least, of those who were to help publish the Sabbath truth more widely.  Mr Gurney, it appears, shared the expense of bringing out the first "broadsheet" containing the first view given by the Spirit of prophecy, and he also helped to bring out the first Sabbath pamphlet issued by Joseph Bates.  It was not until November, 1846, that Joseph Bates was convinced of the genuineness of this prophetic gift.    In August of that year Miss Harmon had been married to James White, and in the autumn of 1846 they both began to keep the Sabbath.  In this year also the light on the sanctuary question had come to this pioneer group that was being drawn together to lead out in the proclamation of the full advent message of the prophecy.

By all these intertwinings of lives and interests and investigations and exchanges of Bible truth the early pioneers were being prepared for the public launching of this advent movement, the special features of which had begun to appear in that year of prophecy and destiny - 1844. W. A. S. Review and Herald, December 21, 1939.

 

NOTES ON EARLY TIMES IN THIS ADVENT  MOVEMENT

NO. 10.  INTERESTING SIDE LIGHTS

IT is more than interesting to note the providential intertwining of the streams of lights by which the full advent message was made plain to the pioneer believers.

Those in one place who were being led into light in their study of one special feature of truth, seemed at the same time to get fleeting glimpses of other truths that some other group was being led to understand and accept.

This providential leading evidently prepared the searchers for the mutual exchange of light and truth when they were brought in contact with one another.

In the early views by the Spirit of prophecy of the rise of the full message, given in "Early Writings," we see that those who should find the Sabbath truth would be directed to the doctrine of the heavenly sanctuary.  The close connection between these two main features was indicated from the earliest days of the advent movement.

 MINDS DIRECTED TO SANCTUARY TRUTH

In the section,  "The Third Angel's Message," there is this description, in the language of symbol and figure, of the rise of the work of the third angel of Revelation 14:

"As the ministration of Jesus closed in the holy place, and He passed into the holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, He sent another mighty angel with a third message to the world.  A parchment was placed in the angel's hand, and as he descended to the earth in power and majesty, he proclaimed a fearful warning, with the most terrible threatening ever borne to man.  This message was designed to put the children of God upon their guard, by showing them the hour of temptation and anguish that was before them.  Said the angel, `They will be brought into close combat with the beast and his image.  Their only hope of eternal life is to remain steadfast.  Although their lives are at stake, they must hold fast the truth.'  The third angel closes his message thus: `Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.'  As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. . . .

"It was represented to me that the remnant followed Jesus into the most holy place, and beheld the ark and the mercy seat, and were captivated with their glory." - Pages 254, 255.

Thus those who turned to the commandments of God as the hour of His judgment came, in 1844, were to be straightway directed to the heavenly sanctuary and the ark of God's testament.  The truths of the Sabbath and the sanctuary are inseparable in the advent movement of the prophecy.

While this pointing by the angel to the heavenly sanctuary, as he saw the people appear keeping the commandments of God, must apply to the whole body of believers, to our own day, it is interesting to note this very feature in the case of our first Seventh-day Adventist, who led the way in 1844.

Speaking at the General Conference, in San Francisco, in 1930, our veteran preacher, E. W. Farnsworth, one of the children of that first church of ours, told us of the experience of his father, William Farnsworth:

"My father was the first Seventh-day Adventist in the world. He was the one that began the observance of the Sabbath as an Adventist. . . . And in a little while nearly the whole church in Washington, New Hampshire, where I was born, had begun to observe the Sabbath.  The text of Scripture that attracted my father's attention first was that text in Revelation, that `there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament.'  [Rev.11:18,19.] Father said, `I wonder what is in that ark,' and in his thought he opened the ark, and there he saw the law of God, and there he saw the fourth commandment, `The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.'  And he said, `I think we had better keep the Sabbath;' and he began the observance of the Sabbath quite largely on the strength of the statement in that text." - General Conference Bulletin, 1930.

SABBATH AND SANCTUARY TRUTHS CLOSELY RELATED

Mrs. Rachel Preston was there, a former Seventh Day Baptist, urging the claims of God's holy Sabbath.  But it was the force of the impression by way of the heavenly sanctuary that drove home the conviction to William Farnsworth's heart that in this time of the near coming of Christ, the Lord was calling men to obey all His commandments.

The as yet undiscovered truth of the heavenly sanctuary and the judgment hour was apparently already shedding some rays of light in advance.  It is suggestive of the close relation that the Sabbath and the sanctuary truths were to bear to one another in the full advent message which was to be developed.

This experience of our first Seventh-day Adventist, in taking his stand for the commandments of God in 1844, is of special interest to us in view of the scene shown by the Spirit of prophecy as this message rose:

"The third angel closes his message thus: `Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.'  As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary."

And there is just where our first Adventist pioneer in Sabbathkeeping was led to look for help in making the decision.  The angel surely pointed him to the sanctuary.  How closely together these experiences are seen to come as the time came for the movement to be fully developed.

Note also that as those who accepted the Sabbath light in 1844 were being prepared by the Spirit to look toward the heavenly sanctuary, so also those who led out in the study of the sanctuary truth were being prepared to look toward the Sabbath.  We have already, in a preceding article, quoted the late P. Z. Kinne's statement regarding Hiram Edson, who was the first to see the light on the sanctuary and its cleansing.  Elder Kinne wrote:

"Brother Edson told me that soon after he received the light on the sanctuary he himself was impressed that the seventh day was the Sabbath, but without any conviction that it was important to keep it."

Doubtless that impression helped to place him in a receptive attitude, so that the moment he heard the evidence for the Sabbath presented, he sprang to his feet, saying: "Brother Bates, that is light and truth!  The seventh day is the Sabbath, and I am with you to keep it!"

The factors and agents were all being drawn together as the definite advent movement and message were taking shape.

Again, in the first vision given for the remnant church by the Spirit of prophecy, in 1844, the heavenly sanctuary was described, with the "glorious ark" within the veil, the ark that held the law of God engraved on the two tables of stone.  In this first vision, also, were shown the 144,000, who "were all sealed."  (See "Early Writings," article, "My First Vision," pp. 13-20.)

 DESCRIPTION OF SANCTUARY SERVICE

Thus the sealing work, or Sabbath reform, was brought to light, and the subject of the sanctuary was stressed, though as yet the agent of the gift did not understand the meaning of the terms, as she and other pioneers came to understand them all a little later.  In fact, what seems to me the finest description we have, outside of Scripture, of the change in Christ's priestly ministry from the holy place to the most holy, in 1844, is that given to Ellen Harmon only a few weeks after her first vision.  That was before Hiram Edson and O. R. L. Crosier had brought out the first exposition on the sanctuary.  Note a few words of Ellen Harmon's description:

"I saw the Father rise from the throne, and in a flaming chariot go into the holy of holies within the veil, and sit down.  Then Jesus rose up from the throne, and most of those who were bowed down arose with Him [the praying ones on earth, who by faith were represented as looking to Him]. . . . He left the throne and led them out a little way.  Then He raised His right arm, and we heard His lovely voice saying:  `Wait here; I am going to My Father to receive the kingdom; keep your garments spotless, and in a little while I will return from the wedding and receive you to Myself.'  Then a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels, came to where Jesus was.  He stepped into the chariot and was borne to the holiest, where the Father sat.  There I beheld Jesus, a great high priest, standing before the Father."

Read the whole picture in "Early Writings" (pp.54-56), entitled, "End of the 2300 Days."  It is an exact counterpart of Daniel's view of the same event, given in the days of Babylon:

"I beheld till the thrones were cast down ["placed"], and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. . . .  Thousands thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him:  the judgment was set, and the books were opened. . . .

"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him.  And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."  Dan.7:9-14.

That description of the vision was written by the prophet's pen in Babylon more than 2,300 years before this scene in the heavenly sanctuary began to take place in 1844.  From that writing in Babylon, I know of no place in all the record of history where any similar description of the actual scene was written, until a few days after 1844, when a young woman of seventeen, called to the prophetic gift, took up her pen and set down what she was shown in vision of the same wondrous event - beyond all power of human words fully to portray.

Daniel repeated, "I beheld,"  "I saw;" and the youthful prophet of our day repeated, "I saw," "I beheld,"  "I saw."  And the later description is the very counterpart of the ancient one.

Ellen Harmon could have understood little of the meaning of it at the time, for the full light as to the sanctuary question came to her the next year through the Crosier document, published in February, 1846, and sent out by Hiram Edson.  Then it was shown her that this sanctuary teaching was light for the remnant. The earth was not the sanctuary to be cleansed, as they had believed, but the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven had begun in 1844.

 MARVELOUS LEADINGS OF GOD

As the Sabbath light came to the Adventist believers in New Hampshire, in 1844, they were led to turn their thoughts toward the heavenly sanctuary.

As the light on the sanctuary and its cleansing came to believers in western New York in 1844, it turned the thoughts of their leader, Hiram Edson, toward the Sabbath truth.

And these pioneers in the Sabbath and the sanctuary truths accepted the Spirit of prophecy, as it was manifested before them in those early days.  Joseph Bates, after he had cautiously waited and watched and put the gift to the test, accepted it as a guiding help for which to be thankful.  Hiram Edson accepted it, as did most of that first company in Washington, New Hampshire.  It is pleasing to look at the story of those first years and see that all upon whom Providence had first laid the burden of leading out in making known the great main features of doctrinal truth, accepted all the light and held fast to it to the end of their lives.   It is good to know, too, that with them in her last year was Rachel Preston, so used of God to bring the Sabbath light into our first church.  She had moved to the State of New York, and so was separated from our pioneer brethren in those years when other truths were being laid hold of.  Vicious attacks against the Spirit of prophecy had reached her and brought her into some doubt and darkness.  But the reports of the revival that had come to the old church in Washington, New Hampshire, by the labors of James White, Mrs. White and J. N. Andrews, and the reading of a volume of the Spirit of prophecy just issued, brought light and peace to her in her last year (she died in 1868).  She  fell asleep in Jesus in the hope and comfort of the full advent message.                              W. A. S. Review and Herald, December 28, 1939

 RELATION OF THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY TO THE BIBLE

W. E. READ

THAT there is an intimate relationship between the Spirit of prophecy and the Bible is seen in the fact that so much of the Holy Scriptures came through the medium of this wonderful gift.  One has only to remember such expressions as "the word of the Lord came unto me" (Jer.1:4); "the Lord spake also unto me,. . saying" (Isa.8:5); "thus saith the Lord to me" (Jer.27:2), to be impressed with this fact.  The prophets of old were given visions and dreams, and on these occasions messages came to them from the Most High.  Hence we might think of the Scriptures, both the Old and the New Testament, as coming to us, to a large extent, at least, by means of the Spirit of prophecy.

In meditating on this question, however, several important facts come to mind:

1. The gift of the Spirit of prophecy in the early church.  We read in Ephesians 4 of the gifts which the Lord gave to His children in the early days of the Christian Era, that, besides apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, there were also prophets.  In the list as given in 1 Corinthians 12, we read that God set in the church "first apostles, secondarily prophets."  Then, in the book of Acts, we read of Agabus, the prophet.  Acts 11:27,28; 21:10.  We read of prophets also in the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1); of Judas and Silas "being prophets also themselves" (Acts 15:32}; and also of the daughters of Philip the evangelist, on whom the gift of the Spirit of prophecy was bestowed.  Acts 21:9.

2. The gift of the Spirit of prophecy with other gifts was to remain to the end.  This is evident from Ephesians 4.  The gifts were placed in the church for a particular purpose, and they were to remain "till we all come in the unity of the faith;" till we come "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."  This certainly means the close of probation when the work of God is done in human hearts.  Until that time the gift of prophecy is to remain in the church of God.

3. The gift of prophecy is to be seen in the remnant church.  When outlining the characteristics of the people of God in the last days, the apostle of old, while telling that they would keep the commandments of God, also mentions that they "have the testimony of Jesus."  Rev.12:17.  The same prophetic writer, in referring to the "testimony of Jesus" in Revelation 19:10, tells us that this testimony is "the Spirit of prophecy."

Again, when the angel speaks to John in vision, he says,  "I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus"  (Rev.19:10); but in Revelation 22:9 we read,  "I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the ---ets."  Hence, it is but natural to conclude a prophet is one who has the testimony of Jesus; and consequently we conclude that the Spirit of prophecy is to be seen in the ranks of God's people in the last days.

4. This gift is related in a special way to the Holy Scriptures.  In the minds of some there is the feeling that the writings of the Spirit of prophecy are an addition to the Bible.

It might be helpful in this connection to recall that throughout the centuries there have been many prophets who have ministered to the people of God.  The writings of some of these have been preserved and we have them in the Sacred Record.  For instance, we have Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others, but do we for one moment believe that we have the complete record of all that Isaiah wrote, or all the messages that Jeremiah ever gave, or all the counsels that Ezekiel bore to the people of God?  It must be evident to all that we have but a small portion of the many messages which they gave to God's children in their day.  Isaiah wrote something beyond what we have in the sixty-six books of his prophecy; this can be seen by referring to 2 Chronicles 26:22.

Another thing to note is that many prophets are mentioned in the Sacred Canon whose writings have not been preserved at all.  What about "the book of Nathan the prophet," or "the book of Gad the seer"?  1Chron.29:29.  What about "the prophecy of Ahijah," or "the visions of Iddo"?  2Chron.9:29.  What about the "book of Shemaiah the prophet" (2Chron.12:15), or "the book of Jehu"? 2 Chron.20:34.  These were certainly prophets of the Lord.  They gave messages to His people.  Their names have been recorded, yet their messages never found a place in Holy Writ.  Why is this?  Were their messages not from God?  Were their prophecies not from heaven?  Were they not His servants, messengers of Jehovah to His people, giving warnings and exhortations?  We all recognize, I feel sure, that they were just as truly prophets as were the others, just as divinely called to the prophetic office as were Daniel and Zephaniah and Habakkuk.

Seeing that God had prophets in ancient days, prophets who were divinely commissioned, whose words found no place in the Sacred canon, cannot God have prophets in these days?  Can He not have divinely appointed messengers today with the prophetic gift, whose writings form no part of the Sacred Scriptures?

How careful we need to be in these days lest we despise the word of the Lord through His servants the prophets!  The writings of the Spirit of prophecy are not given to add to the Holy Scriptures; they are given to elucidate, to amplify, and to make plain the divine word.  Just as the writings of the prophets amplified, clarified, and more fully explained the writings of preceding prophets, just as the New Testament sheds light and amplifies the truth of the Old Testament, so the Spirit of prophecy today sheds light upon the whole Bible, and brings counsel and light and divine messages for this time to the children of God.  It is well to note the following paragraphs from the Spirit of prophecy on this point:

"The Testimonies are not to belittle the word of God, but to exalt it, and attract minds to it, that the beautiful simplicity of truth may impress all."  "If you had made God's word your study, with a desire to reach the Bible standard and attain to Christian perfection, you would not have needed the Testimonies. . . .  Additional truth is not brought out; but God has through the Testimonies simplified the great truths already given."  "The written testimonies are not to give new light, but to impress vividly upon the heart the truth of inspiration already revealed." - "Testimonies," Vol. V, p. 665.

May we heed the counsel as given by King Jehoshaphat to the people of Israel: "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper."

W. E. Read Review and Herald, August 24, 1939.

 

A MESSAGE SENT BY ELDER DANIELLS (8:2; 16:3)

            THE following experience is related by A. G. Daniells, for many years (1901 - 1922) president of the General Conference.

"Sometimes she [Mrs. White] would receive messages for men, and instead of sending them direct, she would send them to persons of age and experience with instruction for them to read them to the persons concerned.  Some of them were very solemn, serious messages.

"I recall a message sent to me to read to one of our ministers.  It told this minister that he had been a Spiritualist medium, that he had been delivered from it, but that now evil spirits were seeking to re-enslave him; that they were tormenting him, and that he was on the verge of surrendering to that terrible delusion.  I had to take this message to him.  When I began reading it to him, he became very much excited.  After a little, I heard some sort of disturbance, and looking up, saw him with an open knife in his raised hand.  I asked, `What is the matter?'  He grated his teeth and glared at me like a mad man.  His wife and I appealed to him to put the knife down, but he was menacing us so wildly that I did not dare to go on reading.  I did not know whether he would thrust it into me or his wife or himself. I said,  `Let us kneel down and pray to God.  There is a God in Israel who can help us, and we must have His help.'

"We knelt down, and I may tell you that I was never in a more perplexing place.  I knew that demons were in the room and I knew that we must have the power of that same Christ who subdued demons and cast out devils while among men.  The first thing I said was, `O Lord, we come to Thee in the all-prevailing name of Jesus.'  At the mention of the name of Jesus, that man hurled his knife across the room with terrible violence.  At the mention of the all-powerful name of Jesus he broke into sobs, and the violence disappeared.  After his wife and I had prayed, he prayed most earnestly for God to deliver him from those tormenting devils.  When we arose, I finished reading the message, and then asked him to tell us what he knew about the truthfulness of this message.  I had not known anything of this before.  He said, Brother Daniells, every word of it is true.  For weeks I have been tormented by these evil spirits.  I have been thrown out of my bed, and I have been hammered on the floor by those demons; it has wrecked my nerves, and I was about to give up to them and become their obedient slave again.

Converted at the age of ten.  Arthur Daniells began his fruitful ministry at the age of twenty in 1878.  He was ordained two years later.  In 1886 he and Mrs. Daniells were sent as missionaries to New Zealand.  A few years later he assisted in organizing the Australasian Union Conference.  In ---- he was elected president of the General Conference, which office he filled until 1922.  He was chosen by Mrs. White as one of the trustees of her writings, which work he carried until his death,  serving many years as chairman of the board.  Under his administration the work of the church made rapid and solid expansion.

Now, friends, where did Sister White get the knowledge of that poor man's condition?  No one else knew anything of it, so far as I know.  And what was the knowledge given to her for?  It was to help save that poor man; it was not to hurt him.  It was a severe message, laying out the whole matter, and giving rebuke and counsel; but it was all for his good." - Address by A. G. Daniells, in Australasian Record, Aug. 23, 1928.

           

THE WORK OF THE Ellen White ESTATE

THE gift of the Spirit of prophecy is the heritage of the remnant church.  From the early days of the movement the counsel and instruction given through the writings of Mrs. E. G. White have guided this people, and they will continue to comfort and help the believers down to the close of the work of this message.  Through the years in which Sister White carried on her work of writing, she also traveled extensively.  During the earlier years of her work, her husband, Elder James White, was her companion in travel and labor.  He assisted and advised her in the production and circulation of her writings.

After the death of her husband, Sister White called upon her son, Elder W.C. White, to be her special helper.  He was especially fitted for the important work of assisting his mother.  In bringing before the people the light which God had entrusted to her, he traveled with his mother and faithfully carried out the responsibility laid upon him in helping to extend the circulation of her writings.  This work he continued to carry up until the time of his mother's death, and for twenty-two years after she passed away.  Doubtless many of our believers will wonder what provision has been made for carrying on this work, especially on account of the death of Elder W. C. White, which took place recently.  It is the purpose of this article to make this clear to all those who desire to know, in order that they may be informed regarding the present state of the work, as well as the plan for its future continuation.

Several years before her death, Sister White created a board of trustees consisting of five men of her own choosing, to whom she left her writings in trust.  In her last will and testament, in which she created this board of trustees, she charged them with the responsibility of continuing the circulation of her publications in the English language, and also of arranging for the translation and publication of her various works in other leading languages of the world.  In choosing this board of trustees, Sister White selected men of long experience in the cause.  They were: A. G. Daniells, W. C. White, F. M. Wilcox, C. H. Jones, and C. C. Crisler.  After Sister White's death, this board of trustees undertook the responsibilities assigned them.  Elder W. C. White acted as the secretary of this board, and was also the custodian of the writings.  The organization was known as the Ellen White Estate.  Its work has been carried on in the office building at Elmshaven, near St. Helena, California.  This was the office used by Sister White prior to her death.  During the past twenty-two years, the trustees have actively promoted the circulation of Sister White's writings in the English language.  New and re-illustrated editions of some of her works have been authorized and published.  These books have enjoyed a circulation comparable with that which they had prior to Mrs. White's death.  Seven new books have been compiled from her writings, and have been published during this time.  These books have been drawn entirely from the writings of Sister White, in which she has given counsel and instruction on different phases of our denominational work.

Among these may be mentioned "Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers,"  "Messages to Young People,"  "The Fundamentals of Christian Education,"  "Counsels on Health," and some other volumes.  The production of these books has made available to the denomination, matter which was largely not available in other forms.  Through the years this matter has been published in periodical articles or in pamphlets, and consequently was out of print.  By being assembled in this manner and published in these books, this valuable instruction has been brought together and again made available to all our workers and people.

In earlier years we had a small group of medical workers.  To these much instruction was sent out in typewritten form.  Today we have hundreds of these workers scattered throughout different countries. In an endeavor to make this instruction available to this larger group of workers, the trustees authorized the issuance of the book, "Medical Ministry," the contents of which were drawn quite largely from the manuscript files.

Another volume that has been greatly appreciated by the field generally, is the "Index to the Writings of Mrs. E. G. White."  The preparation of this volume required a number of years' labor.

Another line of work that has been of great importance is the production of foreign-language editions.  As our work has spread into many lands, there has been an increasing demand for the translation and production of the writings of Mrs. White in other languages than the English.  Some of these languages are spoken by many people.  This has required that these books be printed in their entirety.  In other languages, where the circulation is necessarily small, the books have been abridged and published in that form.  Sister White recognized that it would be impossible to publish all her standard books in all the languages of the world.  She did have a great burden, however, to have selections from her works produced in as many languages as possible.  The work of making the selections and abridgments of her books for translation, has been done at the Elmshaven office, with the cooperation of leading workers in the principal language areas of the world.

 

THE MANUSCRIPT FILES

Reference has been made to the E. G. White manuscripts, and the publication of "Medical Ministry" largely from these manuscripts.  A word of explanation regarding this valuable file of writings will be of interest to all.  This file contains 45,000 pages of typewritten material, and is composed of articles, sermons, and letters written to individuals and committees and to the church at large, setting forth the messages of counsel and instruction which were entrusted to Sister White.  While living, she labored diligently to bring into print the principal lines of instruction that were of general interest and value to the Seventh-day Adventist people.  In this she was successful, as all acknowledge who scan the thousands of topics covered in her writings as listed in the Index to her books.

It is seldom in these days that occasions arise calling for counsel that has not already been covered by matter now in print.  Occasionally, however, as denominational activities broaden, it is advisable that instruction given in the earlier days should be drawn from this manuscript file, and published for more general circulation.  This file has been indexed, so that the custodians are able to make ready reference to any matter of importance it contains.  The care and custody of this file is of inestimable value, and is one of the important phases of the work of the trustees.  It is a fact worthy of emphasis, however that the principal lines of instruction contained in all those manuscripts are now well represented in the available and published works from Mrs. White's pen.  She manifested great forethought in arranging for such publication.

 

PRESENT WORK

During 1937, two lines of work, both of major importance, were being carried forward.  The first was the completion of the series of articles for the REVIEW AND HERALD, written by Elder W. C. White, presenting the story of the life and work of James and Ellen White.  The other was the gathering of material for the book, "Counsels on Diet and Foods," now on the press.  This latter work was completed some months ago, which left the work of completing the biographical sketches as the principal endeavor for the last six months of the year.  In the midst of this work, Elder W. C. White was suddenly called to lay down life's burdens and leave to others the finishing of these tasks.

Now that Elder White and three of his associate trustees (Brethren Daniells, Jones and Crisler) have passed to their rest, the question naturally arises,  What of the future?  In Sister White's will she made provision of the perpetuation of this board of trustees by authorizing the original group to fill vacancies as they should occur.  Consequently, this board has been maintained and has continued to function, and still functions.

Several years ago the board of trustees, realizing that advancing age would probably make it necessary for some of them soon to lay down their responsibilities, and facing the future needs of the work, entered into a contract with the General Conference Corporation whereby the properties of the Estate would be transferred to Washington.  In counsel with the General Conference officers, they worked out plans and policies whereby the future interests of the work of the White Estate would be safeguarded.  Sister White's plan for the perpetuation of this board has proved to be a most wise one indeed.  This board must continue to function, and to do the work outlined for it as originally planned by Sister White.  As we look back now upon the plans and policies outlined by the original board of trustees for carrying forward the work in the future, we recognize the special providence of God in the whole arrangement.

The death of Elder W. C. White, who for so many years was the principal custodian of the E. G. White writings, creates no serious crises in the work of the Ellen White Estate.  We all recognize, however, that the passing of Elder White does bring a great loss to our work, and particularly to the work of the White Estate.  His long years of experience in connection with this work fitted him in a very special way for the responsibilities which he carried.  There is no one living today with the same background of experience that was his.

As the way has been so clearly marked out, however, the present trustees of the White Estate are not at a loss to know what steps should be taken in their work.  They are proceeding to carry out the plans that were so carefully laid in the past.  Shortly after Elder White's death, the members of the trustees met and chose Brother Arthur White, son of W. C. White, who for eight years was his assistant in the work of the Estate, to fill the vacancy on the board of trustees created by Elder White's death, and also to act as its secretary.

At the same meeting the trustees recommended to the General Conference that in fulfilling the plans that had been laid for the future work of the Estate, immediately steps be taken for the removal of the files and the work of the White Estate from St. Helena to the General Conference head quarters.  It is planned that this transfer shall take place during January of 1938.  The work of the Estate to be carried on in the future in Washington will be under the direction of the following board of trustees:  F. M. Wilcox, J. L. McElhany, M. E. Kern, A. L. White and Steen Rasmussen.

The valuable files which have been housed for a number of years in the fireproof vaults at Elmshaven, St. Helena, California, will be safely stored in a vault in the General Conference office building.  It is planned to construct a vault for the permanent storage of these files in the building planned for the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary.  The work of the Estate will continue with only a few weeks' interruption because of changing the location of its place of work.

We are glad to give to all the readers of the REVIEW this explanation of the reasons for the removal of this work to Washington.

It will be a source of great satisfaction to all our believers to know that Sister White, years ago, made provision for the continuation of the work of preparing and circulating her writings, also to know that the trustees, in carrying out their part of the work under the terms of her will, had the forethought to provide for any emergency that might arise, and thus safeguard to the denomination as a whole the writings of the Spirit of prophecy.  They are a trust for the whole denomination.  It will be the purpose of this board of trustees to do all in their power to maintain the sacredness of the trust reposed in them in the custody of these writings.  J. L. McELHANY, President of the General Conference. Review and Herald September 16, 1957.

 

Mrs. E. G. White in Vision

by MARTHA D. AMADON

            WE have heard from the bright, the holy land:

            We have heard and our hearts are glad."

Mrs. E. G. White was a woman very gifted in prayer, her voice clear, her words distinct and ringing: and it was almost always during one of these earnest seasons of prayer that she was taken off in vision.  She also had important visions in public, usually an unexpected experience to those present.

Though many of her old friends and associates are passed away - Elders J. N. Loughborough, Uriah Smith, J. N. Andrews, S. N. Haskell, G. W. Amadon, and others, yet there are people living today in various parts of the world who have seen her in vision from time to time, and what is here stated will doubtless be familiar to them.

As one who has frequently observed her in vision, knowing the company of people usually present, all deeply observant, and believers in her exercises, I have often wondered why a more vivid description of the scenes which transpired has not been given.

In vision her eyes were open.  There was no breath, but there were graceful movements of the shoulders, arms, and hands, expressive of what she saw.  It was impossible for anyone else to move her hands or arms.  She often uttered words singly, and sometimes sentences which expressed to those about her the nature of the view she was having, either of heaven or of earth.

Her first words in vision was "Glory," sounding at first close by, and then dying away in the distance, seemingly far away.  This was sometimes repeated.  When beholding Jesus our Saviour, she would exclaim in musical tones, low and sweet, "Lovely, lovely, lovely," many times, always with the greatest affection.  Looking upon the cloud which enveloped the Father, as she afterward explained, her shoulders would draw back, her hands lift in awe, and her lips would close.

Sometimes she would cross her lips with her fingers, meaning that she was not at that time to reveal what she saw, but later a message would perhaps go across the continent to save some individual or church from disaster.  She said, "Words cannot express the beauties of heaven:" no more can they describe these scenes of which she was a part.  Her visions seemed to bring you nearer heaven; and you longed to be there.

There was never any excitement among those present during a vision; nothing caused fear.  It was a solemn, quiet scene, sometimes lasting an hour - a scene, during which, like prophets of old, she saw so much of the vastness of God's work for His people that it would be the principal subject of her writing for two or more years.  When the vision was ended, and she lost sight of the heavenly light, as it were, coming back to the earth once more, she would exclaim with a long-drawn sigh, as she took her first natural breath, "D-a-r-k."  She was then limp and strengthless, and had to be assisted to her chair, her position in vision being a recumbent one.

These impressive scenes encouraged and strengthened the faith of those present, not only in her work, but in the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.

The first time I ever saw her in vision was at my father's house in Potsdam, New York.  I was a girl of twenty, and there were only a few Sabbathkeepers then anywhere, no church as yet having been organized.  This was in the early fifties.  Brother John Andrews accompanied Elder and Mrs. White in our place, my father having made an appointment for Sister White to speak at the Wesleyan Methodist church in Morley, two miles distant.  Just as we were about to start for the meeting, a violent thunderstorm came up, lasting so long that we could not go.

But what I best remember of that evening, nearly seventy-five years ago, was the occasion of our family worship, when Sister White was taken in vision.

The subject of this vision was the Sabbath question, and in connection with it she saw that God had a great work for Brother Andrews to do.

As she came out of vision she reached for the hand of a young woman near her and, calling her by name, earnestly said,  "Will you keep the Sabbath?"  As the girl hesitated, Sister White repeated, "Will you keep the Sabbath?  Will you?"  She responded,  "I will," and she always did to the day of her death.  Sister White had had no acquaintance with this girl, a beautiful young woman about whom we had all been anxious, fearing that she would not take the right step concerning the Sabbath.  The earnestness of the Lord's servant won her over, and it seemed that the Lord must have presented this case in the vision and impressed Sister White with what to say.

Similarly these experiences have turned many other footsteps from the wrong path to the right.  From the very first a love for Sister White sprang up in my heart, and never has faded away.

Those were the days of turnpikes and plank roads; and the year before the Civil War, Brother and Sister White drove through from Rochester to Vermont, visiting little churches on the way.  Father had pitched a tent in his pasture and fenced it in. It would hold about fifty people; and he called in his friends and neighbors for a meeting with Brother and Sister White.

This was a wonderful occasion - Sister White was taken in vision.  After coming out she walked up and down in the tent, appearing in great perplexity, and repeating these words several times:  "This country is to be deluged with blood."  It was a startling prophecy to all present, for political men were saying that the prospect of war would soon be over.  But God knew otherwise, and her words proved true, for soon fathers and sons had to stand the draft and were sent to the battle front; and the time came when our whole country was in mourning for the loss of sons.

Another vision which has always been of the deepest interest to me was in Sister White's own room in Battle Creek.  She sometimes differed in judgment even with her associate workers, and at this time their opinion varied somewhat over a situation which had arisen, and the matter was so intense to her that she fainted under the pressure.  She was laid on the bed and Brother White, much alarmed, sent for Elder J. N. Loughborough and others to pray.  While prayer was being offered - we were all kneeling about her - Elder White exclaimed, "She's gone!"  He thought that she was dead.  But at that very instant he saw a gentle movement of her hand, and, showing great relief, he said, "She's in vision!"  By this vision the matter that was so difficult to understand was made clear, and God's instruction through her was accepted by His people.

It is not easy for one to describe the influence of the Holy Spirit upon an individual; but all of Sister White's experiences were appropriate and harmonious, and in no way apocryphal.  She was quick to discern between the right and the wrong.  Eternity only will reveal the influence she has had in saving souls.

In the old church in Battle Creek, before the tabernacle was first built, Sister White at one time arose to address the meeting concerning some who were too critical of one another because of differences of doctrine.  While speaking she walked back and forth on the platform, earnestly appealing to the people, and pressing the question as to whether they had  hold of the silken cord of love.  Suddenly the sound went through the audience as if she had dropped to the floor, but immediately it was apparent that she was wrapped in a vision of God's glory.  What she saw was short and to the point, and sealed the truth of what she had been saying against the criticism prevalent.  Her reproofs on such occasions might seem to have been severe, but she always ended with cheering encouragement to those who would obey the counsel of God.

A vision was given Sister White at Brother Aaron Hilliard's in Otsego.  This was in 1863.  Brother White had been laboring under heavy discouragements.  One Friday morning he invited some of his friends in Battle Creek to go with him to Otsego for a Sabbath meeting, for there was a tent effort at that place.

Friday evening we found ourselves all assembled at Brother Hilliard's for family worship, about a dozen being present.  A chapter was read and Sister White led in prayer, Brother White kneeling across the corner from her.  Her burden in prayer was for him, and as she prayed, while still on her knees, she moved over to his side, laid her hands on his shoulders, and prayed until she was taken in vision.  This lasted for about three quarters of an hour.  At this time she was given the light on the health reform.  Brother White also was greatly blessed and encouraged, and he was relieved of the burden of discouragement that he had been carrying.

Sister White loved the cause she served from her girlhood days.  She loved the schools and the Sabbath schools which prepared the young people for missionary work; she loved the sanitarium for their promotion of health; she loved the church memorials built in His name; she loved the printed page which ever tells of the cross of Christ.  The cross of Christ was her favorite theme.  Her constant association with the atmosphere of heaven and with God's Holy Word gave her a delineation of character far beyond human standards.  She talked with Jesus, and He entrusted her with His messages of truth and love.  The law of kindness was in her heart; she was thoughtful and considerate of those less fortunate than herself.  She loved the fields, the trees, the flowers; and nature in all its beautiful forms had a charm for her.

Those best acquainted with her work have the most confidence in it.  When she made her first visit to our old home in New York, she made a little appeal to our family.  At first my brothers and sisters manifested some prejudice, and assembled in a room by themselves.  As she ceased speaking I went to them and said,  "It makes no difference how anyone feels, I know that she is a woman of God."

I am now nearly ninety-two years old and am the only living member of the first organized Seventh-day Adventist church in Buck's Bridge, New York, about a mile from father Byington's farm.

St. Joseph, Mich. Nov. 24, 1925 - the sixty-fifth anniversary of her marriage to George Amadon.  She was nearly 103 years old when she died. Review and Herald, May 18, 1944.

 

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