It had been with some contentment and relaxation that Ellen White had looked forward to the winter of 1860 and into 1861. "I thought I understood my duty," she wrote later.
I pressed my dear babe to my heart and rejoiced that at least for one winter I should be released from any great responsibility, for it could not be my duty to travel in winter with my infant.--Testimonies for the Church, 1:246.
But with John Herbert snatched from them the outlook seemed gloomy. This sense came not alone because of the loss of the child, but because of the condition of the church. Satan was striving to the utmost to hurt the church, and if possible, destroy it. Nor was she alone in her feelings of despair. She wrote:
About this time, my husband, as he reviewed the past, began to lose confidence in almost everyone.... One Sabbath morning, as he was going to our place of worship, such an overpowering sense of injustice came over him that he turned aside and wept aloud, while the congregation waited for him.--Ibid., 1:247.
She explained:
Our happiness ever depends upon the state of the cause of God. When His people are in a prosperous condition, we feel free; but when they are backslidden and there is discord among them, nothing can make us joyful. Our whole interest and life have been interwoven with the rise and progress of the third angel's message. We are bound up in it, and when it does not prosper, we experience great suffering of mind.--Ibid., 1:246, 247.
She named the cause of their low state of feelings:
From the commencement of our labors we have been called to bear a plain, pointed testimony, to reprove wrongs and spare not. And all the way there have been those who have stood in opposition to our testimony, and have followed after to speak smooth things, daub with untempered mortar, and destroy the influence of our labors. The Lord would rein us up to bear reproof, and then individuals would step right in between us and the people to make our testimony of no effect. Many visions have been given to the effect that we must not shun to declare the counsel of the Lord, but must occupy a position to stir up the people of God, for they are asleep in their sins.--Ibid., 1:247.
A Soul-Stirring Vision
James and Ellen White were crushed, and hope died within them in the days following the funeral of John Herbert, Monday morning, December 17. A week went by. On Sunday night, December 23, as they retired, Ellen could not sleep. She suffered a severe pain in her heart and she fainted not once but several times. James hardly knew what to do, but he sent for trusted friends, George Amadon, J. P. Kellogg, and Cyrenius Smith. In response to their earnest prayers, relief came, and she was taken off in vision. Of this she wrote:
I was shown that we had a work to do, that we must still bear our testimony, straight and pointed. Individuals were presented before me who had shunned the pointed testimony. I saw the influence of their teachings upon God's people.--Ibid., 1:248.
She hastened to write out and get into print the messages based on this vision. In five weeks' time this notice appeared in the Review: "Testimony for the Church, No. 6, will be ready in a few days."--The Review and Herald, January 29, 1861. The little pamphlet opened with the words:
Dear Brethren and Sisters,
The Lord has again visited me in mercy, in a time of bereavement and great affliction. December 23, 1860, I was taken off in vision, and was shown the wrongs of individuals which have affected the cause, and I dare not withhold the testimony from the church to spare the feelings of individuals.--Testimonies for the Church, 1:210.
The writing for publication of what was revealed to her in this vision filled sixty-eight pages of the testimony pamphlet and is currently found in Testimonies for the Church, 1:210 to 252. The titles of the articles reveal well the nature of the messages, opening with "Slackness Reproved" and followed by "Duty to Children," "Systematic Benevolence," and then "Our Denominational Name." Among the ten articles that follow, one carries the significant title "Fanaticism in Wisconsin."
Ellen White Alters Her Practice
The reader will recall that in her distress over the manner in which some influential workers in the cause had kept a knowledge of testimonies of counsel and reproof they had received secret--and had often ignored them--Ellen White concluded that she must make some matters public that she wished might be handled differently. After expressing her perplexity as to the right course to follow and still fulfill her commission, she declared:
My course is now clear to wrong the church no longer. If reproofs are given I dare not commit them alone to the individuals to be buried up by them, but shall read what the Lord has seen fit to give me, to those of experience in the church, and if the case demands, bring it before the whole church.--Spiritual Gifts, 2:293, 294.
She stated that she would keep such things secret no longer, for "God's people must know what the Lord has been pleased to reveal, that they be not deceived and led astray by a wrong spirit."--Ibid., 2:294. This is precisely what she did as she penned the articles for Testimony No. 6. Many of the messages had to do with the spirit and actions of close friends, those who had been and were working closely with her and her husband.
In dealing with the subject of organization and pointing out that matters of the church must not be left at loose ends, she declared:
I was shown the wrong stand taken by R. F. C. [Cottrell] in the Review in regard to organization, and the distracting influence he exerted. He did not sufficiently weigh the matter.--Testimony for the Church, 6:4, 5 (see also Testimonies for the Church, 1:211).
An article in the heart of the pamphlet opened:
I was shown that the Spirit of God has had less and less influence upon S. W. R. Rhodes, until he has no strength from God to overcome. Self and self-interest has been prominent with him for some length of time.... He has been exacting, which has encouraged a spirit of faultfinding in the church.--Ibid., 6:27 (see also Testimonies for the Church, 1:227).
In the article "Fanaticism in Wisconsin" we read:
God sent His servants to Brother and Sister Steward. They despised correction, and chose their own course. Brother S. was jealous and stubborn, and his future course must be with great humility.--Ibid., 6:31 (see also Testimonies for the Church, 1:229, 230).
The next article opened with the words:
I was shown the course of G. W. H. [Holt] and S. W. R. [Rhodes]. Although reproved, they have not corrected their wrongs. The people of God have been affected by their wrong course, especially in the State of New York.--Ibid., 6:36 (see also Testimonies for the Church, 1:233).
The article titled "The Cause in Ohio" began:
Since our visit to Ohio in the spring of 1858, G. W. H. [Holt] has done what he could to exert an influence against us; and where he thought he could affect individuals, he has done so by circulating reports to stir up wrong feelings. A message was given me in regard to him and his family when we visited Ohio in the spring of 1858. This testimony was given to him. But very few persons knew that I had a message for him. He rose in rebellion against it, and, like some others who have been reproved, took the position that persons had prejudiced my mind against his family, when the vision pointed out the same faults in his family which I had repeatedly seen for ten years. He said that he believed the visions, but I was influenced by others in writing them.--Ibid., 6:38, 39 (see also Testimonies for the Church, 1:234, 235).
Near the close of the pamphlet Ellen White included counsel regarding evangelistic work in new places:
I saw that when the messengers enter a new place, their labor is worse than lost unless they bear a plain, pointed testimony. They should keep up the distinction between the church of Jesus Christ, and formal, dead professors. There was a failure in P. [Parkville]. Brother J. N. A. [Andrews] was fearful of offending, fearful lest the peculiarities of our faith should appear, and the standard was lowered down to the people....
God's servants must bear a pointed testimony. It will cut the natural heart, and develop character. Brethren J. N. A. and J. N. L. [Loughborough] moved with a perfect restraint upon them while in P. Such preaching will never do the work that God designs to have accomplished.--Ibid., 6:59-61 (see also Testimonies for the Church, 1:248, 249).
The last testimony included two names, rather than initials:
I was pointed back to the meeting in Iowa City. Brother Cornell felt the burden of the cause. S. Everett had a spirit of opposition. His testimony was not in union with the work of God.--Ibid., 6:63 (see also Testimonies for the Church, 1:250).
In this sixty-four-page pamphlet, Testimony No. 6, in which initials and names were used, Ellen White met her objective. All believers could now have a clear view of the situation and could relate to it accordingly. Most of those who were brought to the front, clearly identified by the use of their initials, with a showing of their weaknesses and mistakes, came to see their true condition. Their acknowledgments and confessions during the next few months were published in the Review.
It was a bitter and severe experience for Ellen White and for the church, but one she felt she must endure in being true to her calling. When the time came ten years later for the republication of Testimony No. 6, Ellen White substituted blanks for the initials, thus allowing the messages to stand for their inherent and continued value, divested of personalities. She loved and respected her brethren. She would not hurt them if they could be spared.
General Counsel for the Church
The opening article, which as republished in volume 1 of the Testimonies, is titled "Slackness Reproved," covers a number of points, and reins the church up for overlooking sin in its midst. Among the perils threatening the church was the practice of members establishing their own standards, and in so doing entirely failing "to reach the gospel standard set up by our divine Lord" (Testimonies for the Church, 1:214).
Steps in Church Organization Commended
Just three months had elapsed since the general conference was held in Battle Creek at which some steps had been taken to organize the publishing work in a formal manner. Two years had passed since the adoption of Systematic Benevolence. In the vision of December 23, 1860, right after John Herbert White's death, the Lord placed His seal of approval on the steps taken in these firm moves toward church order, organization, and the choice of a denominational name. On organization Ellen White wrote:
The people of God should move understandingly, and should be united in their efforts. They should be of the same mind, of the same judgment; then their efforts will not be scattered, but will tell forcibly in the upbuilding of the cause of present truth. Order must be observed, and there must be union in maintaining order, or Satan will take the advantage....
Matters pertaining to the church should not be left in an unsettled condition. Steps should be taken to secure church property for the cause of God, that the work may not be retarded in its progress, and that the means which persons wish to dedicate to God's cause may not slip into the enemy's ranks. I saw that God's people should act wisely, and leave nothing undone on their part to place the business of the church in a secure state.--Ibid., 1:210, 211.
Of those who took a strong negative position against formal organization and the "taking of a name," and considered it a virtue to leave the temporal matters of the church with the Lord, she gave: the following counsel:
It is only in cases of great emergency that the Lord interposes for us. We have a work to do, burdens and responsibilities to bear, and in thus doing we obtain an experience.--Ibid., 1:212.
Concerning financial support, she stated:
Some have not come up and united in the plan of systematic benevolence.... Rob not God by withholding from Him your tithes and offerings.... I saw that in the arrangement of systematic benevolence, hearts will be tested and proved. It is a constant living test.--Ibid., 1:220, 221.
As to the name Seventh-day Adventists:
I was shown in regard to the remnant people of God taking a name.... No name which we can take will be appropriate but that which accords with our profession and expresses our faith and marks us a peculiar people. The name Seventh-day Adventist is a standing rebuke to the Protestant world.... The name Seventh-day Adventist carries the true features of our faith in front, and will convict the inquiring mind.--Ibid., 1:223, 224.
The December 23 vision indicated God's approval of what was done concerning the fanaticism in Wisconsin:
I saw that the Lord especially directed my husband in going west last fall instead of going east as he at first decided. In Wisconsin there was a wrong to be corrected. The work of Satan was taking effect, and would destroy souls if not rebuked. The Lord saw fit to choose one who had had experience with fanaticism in the past, and had witnessed the working of Satan's power. Those who received this instrument of God's choosing were corrected, and souls were rescued from the snare which Satan had prepared for them.--Ibid., 1:228, 229.
The counsel and reproof were now before the church in a way demanding attention. It would take time for it to bear its full fruit.
Providentially Saved from Financial Loss
With the decision at the Battle Creek conference in late September, 1860, to organize the publishing work in a legal way, proper counsel was sought. The decision was made to form a company in which church members would invest, purchasing stock at $10 per share. Even before the corporation was formed, some funds began to come in. Battle Creek as yet had no bank, and the monies were deposited with two brokers in the town in the anticipation of building a new publishing house in the spring. The sums involved were substantial. In November, the night after James White had the presentiment of his sick child, he had an impressive dream. He wrote about it:
That night we dreamed that the brokers with whom we had deposited the money from the office were selling shopworn shoes in an inferior store. And as we saw them, we exclaimed, "They have come down!" These words awoke us, and for a moment we felt a little concerned for the Lord's money which was in their hands. But soon both the dream and the presentiment passed from our mind.--Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White (1880), 351.
On returning home in response to the telegram of the child's sickness, James White found the babe in Ellen's arms just as he seemed to see it in the presentiment that had passed from his mind. Four weeks later the funeral of the child was held in the morning. White wrote about the sequel:
In the afternoon we went to the Review office, and as we stepped over the threshold, the presentiment and the dream flashed before our mind. We immediately called those with whom we were associated in the publishing work, and related them the dream and the presentiment, and stated that God had shown us in a figure that the money in the hands of the brokers was not safe, and that we should immediately draw it, which we did, to purchase stone, brick, and lumber for the new building.--Ibid., 252.
By the first of July all the funds had been invested in building materials. A day or two later the two brokers went bankrupt and the citizens of Battle Creek lost $50,000. White picks up the story:
Many at Battle Creek knew that we had deposited with these men, and they supposed that we had lost as other had.... The question was frequently asked us, "How much did you lose by these men?" We had the pleasure of responding, "Not one dollar." "Well, you were lucky" was the frequent remark.
The providence of God had cared for this investment that had been solemnly dedicated to the cause. And as we often related the foregoing facts, we felt justified in making the statement that God sent His angel to warn us in season to secure the means which had been devoted to His work.--Ibid., 353.
The materials thus secured were held until a favorable time to build, and were used in constructing a two-story publishing house of brick.
The legal organization of the publishing association had to await the provisions that were made the next spring by the Michigan legislature.
A Western Tour
On the return from visits to Monterey, Wright, and Parkville early in 1861, James White, in his report in the Review, outlined general plans for the year.
We now design to remain at home but a few weeks, then make a few weeks' tour in Michigan, then visit the West as the brethren may open the way. Then in July leave for an eastern tour.--The Review and Herald, January 15, 1861.
Two weeks later he announced that he, with Ellen White, would be at the conference at Marion, Iowa, commencing on Friday, February 15, and were open for other appointments in the West for ten or twelve weeks. Duties in Battle Creek and bad weather led to a postponement of the Marion meeting till March 16 and 17. There the meetings were held in the courthouse with about two hundred Sabbathkeepers attending. One man walked eighty miles to be present, and felt well repaid (Letter 3, 1861). Although the Whites had expected to be filling appointments in the West till the first of June, they turned back to Battle Creek in early April. The weather was bad and the mud deep; they were disheartened and discouraged (Letter 5a, 1861).
Even close relatives had turned against them--her sister Sarah Belden, Sarah's husband, Stephen, and Ellen's own parents, Robert and Eunice Harmon. In a letter written to Lucinda Hall on April 5, Ellen White opened up her heart:
We expect fierce conflicts with the powers of darkness. We believe the shaking time has come. My cry is, Stay not Thy hand, O God. Let everything be shaken that can be. Let us know who is upon the sure foundation, who is on the Lord's side.
Never, never did I see my husband so discouraged as now. I have feared he would tear himself from the office and have nothing to do with the business matters there. The trials which occurred last summer have so shaken his confidence in his brethren, especially ministers, that I fear he will never recover from it. He calls to mind the disinterested part he has acted in this cause and then the abuse he has suffered, and his courage fails. Some think it strange that Brother White should feel thus discouraged. But there is a cause.--Ibid.
She referred to both S. W. Rhodes and G. W. Holt, who were out of the work, and her mind turned to the little testimony pamphlet:
We have studied and prayed and spent many hours of anxiety and sorrow to know just what was our duty in regard to these individuals whose names are mentioned in No. 6. We have spoken because the cause of God demanded it. The cause of God is a part of us. Our experience and lives are interwoven with this work. We have had no separate existence. It has been a part of our very being
The believers in present truth have seemed as near as our children. When the cause of God prospers we are happy, but when wrongs exist among the people of God we are unhappy, and nothing can make us glad. The earth, its treasures and joys, are nothing to us. Our interest is not here. Is it then strange that my husband, with his sensitive feelings, should suffer in mind?--Ibid.
She closed this letter, to one of her closest friends outside of the family, with an expression of determination:
My spirit is stirred within me. I will speak. I will not keep silence. I have girded the armor about me. I am prepared for battle. In the name of the Lord of hosts I will go forth and act any part which God may assign me in this work. The cause is the Lord's. Truth will triumph. God will not leave His children to perish. Pray for us, your unworthy friends, that God may lead us forth victorious.--Ibid.
The Tide Begins to Turn
At the time Testimony No. 6 went into the field in late February and early March, there was considerable turmoil in the churches, caused by resistance to the steps being taken by James and Ellen White to bring about organization. The suspicions and feelings in parts of the field were reflected in the remarks made by a believer in one of the Eastern States to J. H. Waggoner, a corresponding editor of the Review:
This person asked me how the Review office was held, and by whom owned. I explained to him the circumstances. He appeared to be pleased to get the correct information, and said that a man in the State of New York told him that Elder White was a designing man; that he had induced the friends of the cause to contribute funds to establish the office, they supposing that it belonged to the church; but it now turned out that he owned it all.--The Review and Herald, March 19, 1861.
Feelings of suspicion, whispered by one to another, contributed largely to the discouragement of James and Ellen White. Testimony No. 6 shook the church into an awakening. As ministers and laymen examined their own hearts, an outpouring of confessions were sent for publication in the Review, appearing over a period of many months. The first was from corresponding editor R. F. Cottrell in New York State, published in the issue of March 12 and addressed "To the Brethren." It was he that had set the negative tone in the discussion over organization that swept through the church. It was he that Ellen White first personally addressed in Testimony No. 6.
Note Cottrell's penitent words:
I wish to counteract and remove, as far as possible, the injurious influence of my hasty communication on the subject of legal organization. I did not weigh the matter as I should. I ought to have considered that Brother White had seen the necessity of some measures being taken, and had pondered the subject well, before making the request he did concerning it.
Then I might have suggested a plan of organization avoiding the evil which I feared, instead of thus confidently and self-complacently recommending that nothing be done. I regret that I did not consider the matter carefully and prayerfully, before writing in a manner not calculated to keep the unity of the Spirit. I hope that none will stumble over this into perdition.
I ask forgiveness of all the dear people of God. I hope that God Himself will forgive me. And I also hope that the lesson that I have thus dearly learned may never be forgotten by me, while there is danger of my falling into a similar error. My determination is to renew my consecration to God and His cause, and strive to press onward till the victory is gained. Brethren, pray for me.--Ibid., March 12, 1861
The next confession appeared a week later. It was titled "Note From Brother Ingraham":
Brother Smith: I have received Testimony for the Church, No. 6, and have read it through. Its truths are most cutting and the reproofs given are timely. I prize the work much, especially that portion which has reference to myself. I shall heed the instruction given, and by the grace of God bear a plain testimony against evil in every form in the church. God is calling upon the ministry to make straight work in the proclamation of the truth. Let us arise at once and take hold of this great work.--Ibid., March 19, 1861
He wrote of his feeling that something had to be done toward legal organization, but when a practical plan was presented, calculated to bring the church into a right position, he "was afraid of it." Continuing his favorable argument, he asks: "How can a church numbering 144,000, or half that number, be managed in business matters without the strictest adherence to legal proceedings? We must be straight upon this point, or go to pieces." He asked the pardon of his brethren for not acting in a prompt manner in unison with them.
J. N. Loughborough, who had worked very closely with James and Ellen White but who in Testimony No. 6 was reproved for shallow work in evangelism, confessed:
Dear Brethren and Sisters,
I would hereby state that I have read Testimony for the Church No. 6, especially that portion which has reference to labors in Parkville, Michigan. The testimony covering the first introduction of the truth into that place in a smooth manner is true. I deeply mourn that I have ever been left to thus cripple my testimony, and bring leanness into my own soul. I trust I shall have strength from God in future to bear the straight testimony required by the third angel's message. In hope of overcoming. J. N. Loughborough.--Ibid., April 30, 1861
So it went from issue to issue through the weeks preceding the important conference to be held in Battle Creek, April 26 to 29. Those attending that meeting came with tender and united hearts. In a letter written May 4 to Lucinda Hall, Ellen White described what took place:
Our conference was interesting from the commencement to the close. I wish you could have been present. It was a stirring, deep-feeling meeting. Ministers and people sought to make thorough work, that they might be fitted up and prepared to engage in this work of God with all their energies. Wrongs were not passed over lightly. They were sought for, dug out, and the individuals were not released until they had made clean work.--Letter 26, 1861.
After giving a little more home news and expressing pleasure that Lucinda, a lover of the garden, was coming soon to see them, Ellen closed her letter, "Lucinda, if you come to see me, bring me some peonies if you have them. In much love."
It seemed that better days were ahead.