As those in Battle Creek assembled for the conference Friday afternoon, May 23, 1856, Joseph Bates was chosen moderator. Preaching through the meeting was done by Bates, Hart, Waggoner, White, and John Byington. White reported that:
There were more Sabbathkeepers present Sabbath morning than could be seated in the "House of Prayer" and it became necessary to adjourn to the tent before the hour of preaching.--The Review and Herald, June 12, 1856.
Bates spoke that morning. As White continued the report he called attention to the last meeting of the conference held Tuesday morning in the "House of Prayer":
On Second-day, the twenty-sixth, meetings were held to transact business, which were spirited and harmonious. The meeting has left a cheering and most blessed influence on the minds of those who attended it, especially those who remained over Third-day and witnessed the manifest power of God in correcting and comforting His people."--Ibid.
Here again James White made reference in a veiled way to a vision given to Ellen White. More openly she wrote of it in Testimony No. 2, which was shortly to be sent out:
At the conference at Battle Creek, May 27, 1856, I was shown in vision some things that concern the church generally.--Testimonies for the Church, 1:127.
As published in the sixteen-page Testimony pamphlet, the subjects given are:
"The Two Ways," in which she wrote of the glory and majesty of God, and was shown a road "narrow and rugged" leading to eternal life; and another "broad and smooth" leading to eternal death.
"Conformity to the World," in which believers were shown to her much like the world in "dress, conversation, and actions," failing to "enter through the strait gate and narrow way."
In the heart of this article she declared:
I was shown the company present at the conference. Said the angel: "Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus." Solemn words were these, spoken by the angel.--Ibid., 1:131, 132.
"Wives of Ministers" dealt with the ways in which the wife of a minister might be a help to her husband, careful in the influence she exerted; an example in conversation, deportment, and dress; or how the husband's influence could be injured by complaining and murmuring when brought into strait places and the husband deterred in his work.
This vision is best remembered for the record Ellen White made of the solemn words of the angel indicating the shortness of time, as the angel declared that there were those at the conference who would live to see Jesus come. At this distance this portion of the vision must be understood in the conditional nature of God's promises, and the forbearance of God that man shall be saved. There are examples of such in the Word of God, one of which was the message God sent Jonah to give to Nineveh.
Of the delay in Christ's coming, Ellen White declared in 1868:
The long night of gloom is trying; but the morning is deferred in mercy, because if the Master should come, so many would be found unready.--Testimonies for the Church, 2:194.
Addressing the General Conference in session in 1903, she wearily declared:
I know that if the people of God had preserved a living connection with Him, if they had obeyed His Word, they would today be in the heavenly Canaan. [See F. D. Nichol's Ellen White and her critics, or a document, "the question of the 1856 vision," available from the White Estate or the Sda E.G. White research centers, for a more detailed presentation on this point.]--The General Conference Bulletin, 1903, 9.
Testimony No. 2 was soon in the field and being thoughtfully read with appreciation, as wrote Asenith Southworth, of Vermont:
I feel grateful for the Testimony for the Church No. 2. I found it meat in due season. God will have a pure church, a peculiar people, zealous of good works. He has placed the precious gifts in the church for the benefit of His people. Praise His holy name.--The Review and Herald, November 27, 1856.
There was a receptive mood for the counsel and instruction God gave through the visions. The church in Round Grove, Illinois, closed its letter to the general conference held in Battle Creek with these words:
We would humbly say that we are thankful that Israel's Keeper slumbereth not, but has manifested His care in these last days in all His ways of mercy that He has ever done to guide, instruct, and correct His people. O may we be not the people who shall be left without a vision, nor be unwilling or negligent to acknowledge them.
While we say we thank the Lord for His gifts to the church, we would pray for the continuation of them until we all come to a full stature of men and women in Christ, and be made perfect.--Ibid., May 29, 1856.
The Use of Tobacco
In 1856 there were a number of Sabbathkeeping Adventists still plagued with the use of tobacco in one form or another. An article in the Review in the issue of February 7, taken from the Vermont Chronicle, was a compilation of statements by physicians and clergymen, including Dr. Rush, Dr. Mussey, Dr. Harris, Dr. Stevenson, Dr. Alcott, and Dr. Warren, with words added from John Quincy Adams, Governor Sullivan, and the Reverend Mr. Fowler. Then on April 10, an article written by one of the corresponding editors, J. N. Andrews, drove the matter home in an article he titled "The Use of Tobacco a Sin Against God." But it was James White who in an indirect way indicted a good many of his fellow church members in a short editorial he titled "How This Looks!" This was inspired by the incoming mail:
"I want to stop my paper, for I am not able to pay. I like the paper, but am too poor to pay for it."
Let me inquire, "Do you use tea, coffee, and tobacco?"
"Yes, we have used these things a long time, and the habit has become strong; and I don't think it is a sin to use these daily comforts that taste so well."
But how do you get them? You are poor, too poor to pay $2 for fifty-two visits from the Review.
"Well, we think we must have tobacco, tea, and coffee, so we try to raise the money some way."
This is the condition of many professed children of our long-suffering God, in whom is the perfection of greatness and purity.-- Ibid., June 12, 1856
It took time to lead people to recognize the importance of following sound health principles.
A Profitable Trip into the Field
During 1856 James and Ellen White were able to get out into the relatively nearby communities for meetings on a few weekends. One such tour had a surprising ending. James White stated that "our late visit with the brethren at Hastings, Grand Rapids, and Bowne was refreshing and cheering to us, and we trust will result in some good to the brethren."-- Ibid., July 24, 1856. At Hastings, meetings were held in the courthouse. Ellen White wrote to Stockbridge Howland and his wife of what happened:
We started for our journey intending to remain four days at Hastings and then return home. But Sunday as we were going to the courthouse ... two brethren met us and said they had come for sixteen miles on foot to get us to go to Bowne, that some were anxious to be baptized and as they had only hear done [Brother Frisbie], they wanted a new gift.... We sent an appointment for that place, then went to Grand Rapids, and from Grand Rapids to Bowne.--Letter 1, 1856.
She wrote of a company of believers there, seventeen in number, two of them "strong in the faith." She told the story:
These brethren never heard but one man talk the truth, and they had read our publications, been convinced, and within three months seventeen Sabbathkeepers were raised up. They are substantial souls, some of them or all used tobacco. One brother had just bought two pounds; he read the piece in the Review, he laid aside his tobacco, and has tasted none since.
This ought to shame those who profess the third angel's message, and have professed it for years, yet need to be often exhorted about their tobacco. A number of these brethren have left off the use of tobacco.--Ibid.
On Sabbath four were baptized, and on Sunday two decided for the truth and others were convinced. For James and Ellen White it was a thrilling experience.
The Laodicean Message
The Sabbathkeeping Adventists had taken the position that the messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 pictured the experience of the Christian church down through the centuries. It was their conclusion that the message to the Laodicean church applied to those they now termed nominal Adventists, those who had not accepted the seventh-day Sabbath. In a short editorial in the Review of October 9, James White raised some thought provoking questions that he introduced by stating:
The inquiry is beginning to come up afresh, "Watchman, What of the night?" At present there is space for only a few questions, asked to call attention to the subject to which they relate. A full answer, we trust, will soon be given.--The Review and Herald, October 9, 1856.
Of the eleven questions he asked, it is the sixth that zeroed in on the Laodiceans.
6. Does not the state of the Laodiceans (lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot) fitly illustrate the condition of the body of those who profess the third angel's message?--Ibid.
The last question lays the matter open:
11. If this be our condition as a people, have we any real grounds to hope for the favor of God unless we heed the "counsel" of the True Witness? [Revelation 3:18-21 is quoted.]--Ibid.
It is clear that the truth of the matter was just dawning on the mind of James White. The next issue of the Review carried a seven-column presentation of the seven churches, under that title. In his opening remarks he declared:
We must agree with some modern expositors that these seven churches should be understood as representing seven conditions of the Christian church, in seven periods of time, covering the ground of the entire Christian age.--The Review and Herald, October 16, 1856.
He then took up the prophecy, dealing with each church separately. Coming to the seventh, the Laodicean, he declared:
How humbling to us as a people is the sad description of this church. And is not this dreadful description a most perfect picture of our present condition? It is; and it will be of no use to try to evade the force of this searching testimony to the Laodicean church. The Lord help us to receive it, and to profit by it.--Ibid.
After he devoted two columns to the Laodicean church, his closing remarks made a strong appeal:
Dear brethren, we must overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, or we shall have no part in the kingdom of God.... Lay hold of this work at once, and in faith claim the gracious promises to the repenting Laodiceans. Arise in the name of the Lord, and let your light shine to the glory of His blessed name.--Ibid.
The response from the field was electrifying. Wrote G. W. Holt from Ohio on October 20:
Yes, I do believe that we who are in the third message with the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus are the church this language is addressed to; and we cannot be too soon in applying for tried gold and white raiment, and eyesalve, that we may see.--Ibid., November 6, 1856
From the Northeast a new voice was heard on the subject, that of Stephen N. Haskell, of Princeton, Massachusetts. As a first-day Adventist he had begun to preach at the age of 20; now three years later he was in the third angel's message. A thorough Bible student, after having seen White's brief initial editorial introducing the question of the seven churches, he chose to write an extended piece for the Review:
The subject referred to has been one of deep interest to me for some months past.... I have for some time been led to believe that the message to the Laodiceans belongs to us; i.e., to those who believe in the third angel's message, from many reasons which I consider to be good. I will mention two.--Ibid.
This he does, devoting two columns to his conclusions. As he closed he declared:
A theory of the third angel's message never, no never, will save us, without the wedding garment, which is the righteousness of the saints. We must perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord.--Ibid.
As James White continued his editorials on the message to the Laodicean church the concepts the Sabbathkeeping Adventists were now reading in the Review were startling, but on thoughtful, prayerful consideration they were seen to be applicable. The letters to the editor showed quite general agreement and indicated that a revival was under way. That the stirring message was not the outgrowth of excitement was attested to by the first article in Testimony No. 3, published in April, 1857, titled "Be Zealous and Repent." It opens, "The Lord has shown me in vision some things concerning the church in its present lukewarm state, which I will relate to you."--Testimonies for the Church, 1:141. In this Ellen White presented what was shown to her of Satan's attacks on the church through earthly prosperity and possessions.
The Trip into Ohio and Iowa
The Review and Herald, November 6, 1856, the issue that carried the first responses to the Laodicean message, announced that "Brother and Sister White design spending several weeks in the West, and wish to be addressed at Round Grove, Whiteside County, Illinois." Elon Everts and Josiah Hart, acquaintances from New England, were residing there. Soon after the Whites arrived, a conference was appointed by these two residents at "the Hittleson schoolhouse on Sabbath and First-day, December 6 and 7."--Ibid., November 27, 1856
The invitation "Will all the Sabbath brethren in the State, as far as possible, attend?" was a broad one, and illustrates the extent to which the third angel's message had penetrated Illinois. It was a triumphant meeting; in his report, James White observed: "If the brethren in Illinois wake fully up to the work, we shall endeavor to join them with a tent next summer."--Ibid., January 1, 1857
This was a time when "the West" with its good farmland was opening up to settlers. This lured many families from their rocky New England farms to the promise of a more comfortable and easy life. The Everts and Harts, with whom the Whites had associated in Round Grove, were examples. Two other families with whom they were well acquainted--the Andrews and Stevens families of Paris, Maine--had moved to Waukon, Iowa, and the J. N. Loughborough family had joined them. This removed from the work two young and fruitful ministers. These and their close associates were dissatisfied with moving the Review office from Rochester to Battle Creek, and they did not join James White and others on the matter of the Laodicean message. While she was at Round Grove a vision was given to Ellen White on Tuesday, December 9. She wrote:
I was shown that the company of brethren at Waukon, Iowa, needed help; that Satan's snare must be broken, and these precious souls rescued. My mind could not be at ease until we had decided to visit them.--Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 160.
Ellen White was insistent. To reach Iowa, the Mississippi River had to be crossed, either by boat or on the ice, and it was now early winter. Observing Ellen White's convictions, Brethren Hart and Everts were impressed to take the Whites by sleigh. Ellen White picks up the story:
It was then good sleighing, and preparations were made to go with two horses and a sleigh; but as it rained for twenty-four hours, and the snow was fast disappearing, my husband thought the journey must be given up. Yet my mind could not rest; it was agitated concerning Waukon.
Brother Hart said to me, "Sister White, what about Waukon?" I said, "We shall go." "Yes," he replied, "if the Lord works a miracle."
Many times that night I was at the window watching the weather, and about daybreak there was a change, and it commenced snowing. The next evening, about five o'clock, we started on our way to Waukon--Brethren Everts and Hart, my husband, and myself. Arriving at Green Vale, Illinois, we held meetings with the brethren there.--Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White (1888), 330.
At Green Vale a severe snowstorm struck, delaying the journey nearly a week. On Monday, December 15, James White reported, "We hope to be able to break through, and pursue our journey ... in a few days."--The Review and Herald, January 1, 1857. In his next report he told of their continued journey as the roads opened, and how as they stopped at the hotels they held meetings introducing the third angel's message. But they had to turn down invitations to hold meetings in the villages. Their mission, he wrote, was "to visit brethren and sisters who had moved from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York, about thirty in number."--Ibid., January 15, 1857
Among these thirty, in addition to those named above, were the Butlers, Lindsays, Meads, and Lamsons. The young ministers in the group had found the work in the cause hard, the separation from family difficult, especially for the wife and mother, and there was no plan for regular financial support. It seemed that the enemy was stepping in to thwart the work of God just at a time when the outlook was most promising.
As they neared the Mississippi River they made many inquiries about crossing. No one thought it could be done. The horses were breaking through the crusted snow at almost every step. The ice on the river was mostly composed of snow, and there was about a foot of water flowing over it. Ellen White recounted the breathtaking experience:
When we came to the river, Brother Hart arose in the sleigh and said, "Is it Iowa, or back to Illinois?" ...
We answered, "Go forward, trusting in Israel's God."
We ventured upon the ice, praying as we went, and were carried safely across. As we ascended the bank on the Iowa side of the river, we united in praising the Lord. A number of persons told us, after we had crossed, that no amount of money would have tempted them to venture upon the ice, and that several teams had broken through, the drivers barely escaping with their lives.--Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White (1888), 330, 331.
Dubuque was six miles from the crossing, and the travelers spent the Sabbath, December 20, there. In the evening Elon Everts hung up a chart and presented a short and appropriate message. Waukon was four days' sleighing away, and they pressed on. "I never witnessed such cold weather," exclaimed Ellen White. She wrote:
The brethren would watch each other to see if they were freezing; and we would often hear, "Brother, your face is freezing, you had better rub the frost out as soon as possible." "Your ear is freezing": or "Your nose is freezing."--Ibid., 331.
Ellen found little time to write, but on Wednesday as they neared Waukon, she got off a little note addressed "Dear Friends at Home."
Here we are fourteen miles this side of Waukon. We are all quite well. Have had rather tedious time getting thus far. Yesterday for miles there was no track. Our horses had to plow through snow, very deep, but on we came.
O such fare as we have had on this journey. Last Monday we could get no decent food and tasted not a morsel with the exception of a small apple from morn till night. We have most of the time kept very comfortable, but it is the bitterest cold weather we ever experienced....
Children, be thankful for your comfortable home. We often suffer with cold; and cannot keep warm sitting before the stove even. Their houses are so cold, and your mother suffers with cold in her head and teeth all the time. Wear two dresses all the time.... Last night we slept in an unfinished chamber where there was an opening for the stovepipe running through the top of the house--a large space, big enough for a couple of cats to jump out of.--Letter 4, 1856.
Of their reception in Waukon later that day she wrote:
We reached Waukon Wednesday night, and found nearly all the Sabbathkeepers sorry that we had come. Much prejudice existed against us, for much had been said concerning us calculated to injure our influence. We knew that the Lord had sent us, and that He would there take the work into His own hands.--Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White (1888), 331.
Years later Loughborough gave a vivid description of the meeting of the travelers with the believers in Waukon.
As Brother Hosea Mead and I were working on a store building in Waukon, a man looking up saw me, and inquired, "Do you know a carpenter around here by the name of Hosea Mead?"
I replied, "Yes, sir, he is up here working with me."
Brother Mead said, "That is Elon Everts' voice." Then he came and looked down, and Brother Everts said, "Come down; Brother and Sister White and Brother Hart are out here in the sleigh."
As I reached the sleigh, Sister White greeted me with the question "What doest thou here, Elijah?"
Astonished at such a question, I replied, "I am working with Brother Mead at carpenter work."
The second time she repeated, "What doest thou here, Elijah?"
Now I was so embarrassed at such a question, and the connecting of my case with Elijah, that I did not know what to say. It was evident that there was something back of all this which I should hear more about.
The third time she repeated the question, "What doest thou here, Elijah?"
I was brought by these bare questions to very seriously consider the case of Elijah, away from the direct work of the Lord, hid in a cave.... The salutation most thoroughly convinced me that there was going to come a change, and a "go-back" from the labor in which I was then engaged.--Pacific Union Recorder, August 4, 1910 (see also WCW, in The Review and Herald, January 23, 1936).
Sabbath and Sunday they discussed the Laodicean message. All accepted the new light. Monday they discussed the move to Battle Creek, explaining the involvements. This reestablished confidence. At one of the meetings Ellen White was taken off in vision, and in vision solemnly repeated the words "Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord." These words brought consolation and hope. Among those powerfully affected was Mary Loughborough, who in days past had been left at home alone while her husband was away preaching, and she was tempted to murmur. She confessed her bitterness of spirit in a powerful testimony and urged her husband to return to his ministry.
At another meeting John Andrews renewed his consecration to God and to service in the Lord's cause. The few days James and Ellen White spent in Waukon were not in vain, nor were they soon forgotten. White reported:
Should we undertake to give a full description of the triumphant meetings at Waukon, we should fall far short of doing justice to the subject. We close our remarks by adding that these meetings were the most powerful we had witnessed in years, and in many respects the most wonderful we ever witnessed.... We were ... many times paid for facing the prairie winds and storms on our long and tedious journey to northern Iowa.--Ibid., January 15, 1857