Of the visions given to Ellen White, one of the ones most remembered by Seventh-day Adventists was that of June 6, 1863--the health reform vision. But this was but one of the significant events of the year. As the year opened, the Civil War--the war between the States of the United States, sparked by the issues of slavery--had reached a point of vital concern to Seventh-day Adventists. Testimony No. 9, with its lead article, "The Rebellion," came from the press in early January. In May the structure of church organization was completed in a one-day session at which the several State conferences were linked together into a General Conference. Moses Hull, one of the few ministers of the church, left its ranks to join the spiritualists. In the autumn James and Ellen White took their family to the East to get their children away from distracting war influences in Battle Creek, but before the year ended they had lost their eldest son in death. It was truly a momentous year. We will begin its story with the health reform vision.
Eyes Focus on the Tragic Inroads of a Dreaded Epidemic
The Review and Herald of January 6 carried on the lower right-hand corner on the next-to-the-last page a report that four Adventists in Catlin, New York, had died of the dread disease diphtheria. One was a housewife of 22, two were children 8 and 11, and one a youth of 20. Two were children in one family.
A month before, two of the four obituary notices listed diphtheria as the cause of death. The first, written by J. and A. M. Mears, of Lovett's Grove, Ohio, read:
That fatal scourge, diphtheria, is in our midst, and many are dying of it. Our little daughter, Elizabeth, died of it, October 31, after an illness of twenty days, aged 3 years, 11 months, and 24 days.
We feel the loss of our little one, but can say with Job, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." We feel to exclaim with the psalmist, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."--The Review and Herald, December 9, 1862.
Helplessly physicians and parents reached out for means of combating the disease. The Review of January 13, 1863, reprinted an item, taken from an Illinois paper, under the title "The Diphtheria Scourge in Western Illinois." A portion of it read:
The diphtheria has been raging throughout the country to an alarming extent, and seems, to a great extent, to baffle the skill of physicians. It is confined almost exclusively to children, and when once under headway, death is almost certain to be the result. It will pass through whole towns, missing scarcely a family, and in some instances whole families of children have been swept away by it.
The obituaries appearing in the Review gave evidence in support of this frightening note. It reported that in a neighboring town, Moline, a place known "for its healthiness," a hundred children had been swept away, leaving parents terrified.
For the medical world, and for almost everyone, these were days of great ignorance in health lines. Bacteria and viruses were unknown. When disease struck, the symptoms were treated with poisonous drugs, alcohol, and blisters and bleeding. Across from the page in the Review that carried the reprint from Illinois, an item was published that the editors felt might help some stricken families:
Cure for Diphtheria. A lady of Port Byron, Cayuga County, New York, cured six children (five of them her own) of diphtheria by the following remedy: "When the symptoms are first discovered, take Spanish flies, pound and mix with Venice turpentine, spread it on a piece of soft cloth, and bind it over the throat, which will raise a blister, and soon remove the disease from the throat."--Farmers' and Miners' Journal.
Just below this is a four-line item reading:
In the town of Pompey, Onondaga County, New York, there were two families containing eight interesting and apparently healthy children. Within two weeks seven of the eight were carried off by diphtheria.
Two of the Three White Children Stricken
There was anxiety in every home in Battle Creek. Would the dread disease strike and lay low some of the precious children?
And then it happened! In the first week of February two of James and Ellen White's three boys complained of severe sore throats and high fever, and they could hardly utter a word--undeniable, frightening symptoms. They had diphtheria.
Fortunately--in the providence of God, no doubt--there had come into their hands, probably through an "exchange" of papers at the Review office, either the Yates County Chronicle, of Penn Yan, New York, or some journal quoting from it, an extended article entitled "Diphtheria, Its Causes, Treatment and Cure." It was written by Dr. James C. Jackson, of Dansville, New York. How eagerly James and Ellen White read it. It made sense, and they immediately put its prescriptions into use, following every detail. The treatment called for was simple--employing only a washtub, towels, sheets, and blankets--but demanded diligent attention and earnest labor. In great detail Dr. Jackson pointed out the procedures that would bring relief and finally a cure. These were attained by the simple means we today call hydrotherapy--with proper baths, packs, rest, and fresh air, and above all, absence of anxiety.
Jackson reported that over a period of years, while employing these means in hundreds of cases involving young and old, not one patient had been lost. The methods he set forth were those that he, a physician with a good understanding of physiology, had reasoned out and put together. He stated: "Our success has been so great, while as yet our plan of treatment has been so simple, as really to introduce a decided change in the medical practice in the particular disease, in this locality. I do not know of a physician of any school in this town who has not practically abandoned the administration of cathartics in cases of diphtheria, and ...adopted in fact our method."--Ibid., February 17, 1863
He further reported:
Whereas great numbers of persons, four years ago, died of the disease in this town, and whose deaths caused a real panic among the people, the disease has become no more to be feared than any other morbid condition of the body common to our people. Owing to our residence here [he and associate physicians operated a water cure institution in Dansville, New York], and as the result of our teachings on the subject of health or to some silent influence affecting the views of the people of this town, there is much more care given to the conditions of living of children, especially in the cold season of the year, than formerly.--Ibid.
To James and Ellen White, who already highly valued "air, water, and light" as "God's great remedies" (Ibid., February 10, 1863), what Dr. Jackson wrote made more sense than either drugs or a poultice of Spanish flies compounded with turpentine. The symptoms had overtaken their children very rapidly, and the Whites lost little time in carrying out--scrupulously--the directions of Dr. Jackson. They had appointments to speak in Convis, Michigan, on Sabbath and Sunday, February 7 and 8. By following Jackson's method of treating diphtheria, which involved the better part of Friday night, on Sabbath morning they saw that they could safely leave the sick children in the hands of those who helped in the home. They drove the fifteen miles to Convis Sabbath morning and took services both morning and afternoon, meeting with new converts to the Adventist message.
Sabbath evening they returned to Battle Creek for another night of broken sleep as they treated and watched over the children. Sunday morning they were off again to Convis for morning and afternoon meetings, as promised (Ibid.).
While the White children were making a speedy recovery, Ellen White was called one evening to the home of Moses Hull and his wife. Their oldest child, 6 years old, had been suddenly and severely stricken. The parents themselves were in Monterey, holding evangelistic meetings. As reported by James White in the Review, "Mrs. White pursued the same course of treatment as with our own children, and the child appeared well the next morning."--Ibid., February 17, 1863
As significant as the events of that week were to James and Ellen White, the pressing needs of the cause, particularly as they related to the war and the state of the churches, and confusion in the field brought about by ill-advised moves in organizing churches, left little time for the experience to become more than a passing incident. They had simply employed home remedies in combating a passing illness. James White hastened into print the Jackson article, which had been so helpful to them in their hour of emergency, on the first page of the next issue of the Review, "out of a sense of duty" to the readers. He introduced its eight columns with a two-paragraph note recounting his and Ellen's experience. But no future reference is made to the article, and seemingly it made no lasting impact upon James and Ellen White.
It was a time of many issues and many pressures. But it was also a time of the dawning, on their part, of a concern in health matters. On the same Review page that reported the two trips to Convis while the children were being treated for diphtheria, James White inserted an editorial entitled "Pure Air." This article was motivated, most likely, by overheating and improper ventilation in schoolhouses and churches where they had meetings, and by reading Dr. Jackson's article, in which the importance of fresh air, properly employed, was strongly advocated. After vividly presenting the baleful effects of the hot and stuffy atmosphere that pervaded some places of worship and inhibited both the Spirit of God and the minister in accomplishing their missions, he quoted four lines from a five-stanza poem credited to "M. H. L.":
Throw open the window and fasten it there,
Fling the curtain aside, and the blind,
And give free entrance to heaven's pure air;
'Tis the life and the health of mankind.
He remarked how the farmers, who perhaps could not read, knew how to take care of their horses in winter, to preserve their health; yet some, in caring for meeting rooms, act like "idiots," creating health-imperiling conditions. He closed his editorial by referring to his and his wife's personal practice:
We usually sleep with two windows open at opposite sides of the room, summer and winter, and take a cold-water sponge bath in the morning; hence a healthy atmosphere, not destroyed by heat, is most congenial to our feelings. But few men have as strong lungs as we have, notwithstanding they were once broken down and weak.
But few women have the strength of lungs that Mrs. White has, though she has been given over by physicians to die with consumption.
Had we allowed ourselves to be smothered in close sleeping rooms, and given up to every pain and ache of the lungs, and throat, and head, and kept up a perpetual dosing with this and that medicine, we might now be silent in death, or dragging out a miserable existence, of no benefit to anyone. Air, water, and light are God's great remedies. If the people would learn to use these, doctors and their drugs would be in less demand.--Ibid., February 10, 1863
The Health Vision at Otsego, Michigan
The spring months were a time of demanding activities leading up to the General Conference session, an important meeting already mentioned.
On the back page of the May 26 issue of the Review appeared a woodcut of the Michigan tent, followed by a notice that read:
Providence permitting, the Michigan tent will be pitched in Otsego, Allegan County, Michigan, May 28, to remain as long as the interest may demand. R. J. Lawrence
M. E. Cornell
When the notice was repeated the next week, it was followed by the statement:
Brother and Sister White intend to be at the tent meeting at Otsego, Michigan, Sabbath and first-day, June 6 and 7.--Ibid., June 2, 1863
Otsego is about thirty miles northwest of Battle Creek. To give support to Lawrence and Cornell in the evangelistic meeting, James and Ellen White started for the place by carriage on Friday morning, June 5, along with Mr. and Mrs. George Amadon and several other families. Willie White, at the time nearing his ninth birthday, later recalled that his father was weary from the burdens he was carrying, particularly as they related to organization. Now, with the General Conference organized, he was relaxed but still somewhat depressed. The Whites were entertained at the Aaron Hilliard home a few miles west of the town. The Amadons and others came in for worship as the Sabbath was opening.
Ellen White was asked to lead in prayer. She did so, pleading fervently with God. As she prayed for James, who was close by, she moved to his side, laid her hand on his shoulder, and poured out her heart. Then her voice changed, and she was heard to exclaim, "Glory to God!" Martha Amadon, daughter of John Byington, the newly elected president of the General Conference, described the scene:
Those present at the time this vision was given will never forget the heavenly influence that filled the room. The cloud passed from the mind of Elder White, and he was full of praise to God.
Many who have witnessed these things have often wished a description could be given of the servant of God when thus under the influence of the Holy Spirit--the illumination of the countenance, the graceful gestures of the hands, the dignity attending every movement, the musical intonations of the voice sounding as from a distance, and many, many other things which give an eyewitness confidence in their heavenly origin.... She was in vision about forty-five minutes."--DF 105, "The Otsego Vision of 1863."
Many matters were opened up to her in this vision, but it is noted particularly for what was shown to her in regard to health, the responsibility of all to live in harmony with principles that would prevent sickness and yield good health. This was shown to her in the practical setting of her husband's experience.
The vision was given at the setting of the sun, Friday evening; she wrote it out shortly after. In the White Estate files is the handwritten draft of the document, bearing a dateline of "Sabbath, June 6, 1863." [The sun having set friday evening, June 5, the new day had begun. In referring to the vision, June 6 is given as the date. In subsequently reporting various phases of what was revealed in the vision, both June 5 and June 6 are cited. See Testimonies for the Church, 1:390, 433, 449, 517; and The Review and Herald, October 8, 1867. See also the Comprehensive Index to the Writings of Ellen G. White, p. 2980, Colossians 1.] It opens:
I was shown some things in regard to my husband and myself. I saw that Satan was persevering in his efforts to destroy our usefulness. I saw that we neither understood the depth and keenness of the heart trials of the other. Each heart was peculiarly sensitive; therefore each should be especially careful not to cause the other one shade of sadness or trial. Trials without will come, but strong in each other's love, each deeply sympathizing with the other, united in the work of God, can stand nobly, faithfully together, and every trial will only work for good if well borne.--Manuscript 1, 1863.
In a somewhat panoramic portrayal, there passed before her a sketchy view of some of the events that led James to sadness and discouragement. She wrote:
We have had a laborious position, but God has had a care, His hand has sustained, and that is why we have not been distracted and the mind injured. We are not as bad off as my husband feared....
I saw that my husband's mind should not be crowded and overtaxed; his mind must have rest, and he must be left free to write and attend to matters which others cannot attend to....
I saw that now we should take special care of the health God has given us, for our work was not yet done. Our testimony must yet be borne and would have influence. I saw that I had spent too much time and strength in sewing and waiting upon and entertaining company. I saw that home cares should be thrown off. The preparing of garments is a snare; others can do that. God had not given me strength for such labor. We should preserve our strength to labor in His cause, and bear our testimony when it is needed.
The matter of their health was brought to view, involving many important points for them and for Seventh-day Adventists generally:
I saw that we should encourage a cheerful, hopeful, peaceful frame of mind, for our health depends upon our doing this. I saw that it was duty for everyone to have a care for his health, but especially should we turn our attention to our health, and take time to devote to our health, that we may in a degree recover from the effects of overdoing and overtaxing the mind. The work God requires of us will not shut us away from caring for our health. The more perfect our health, the more perfect will be our labor.
More Specific Counsel on Health
As she continued in this first writing of the vision she blended what pertained more particularly to her and her husband and what was directed to others:
I saw that when we tax our strength, overlabor and weary ourselves much, then we take colds and at such times are in danger of diseases taking a dangerous form. We must not leave the care of ourselves for God to see to and to take care of that which He has left for us to watch and care for. It is not safe nor pleasing to God to violate the laws of health and then ask Him to take care of our health and keep us from disease when we are living directly contrary to our prayers.
I saw that it was a sacred duty to attend to our health, and arouse others to their duty, and yet not take the burden of their cases upon us. Yet we have a duty to speak, to come out against intemperance of every kind--intemperance in working, in eating, in drinking, and in drugging--and then point them to God's great medicine, water, pure soft water, for diseases, for health, for cleanliness, and for a luxury....
Then there was a call for an active ministry on the part of James and Ellen White along health lines:
I saw that we should not be silent upon the subject of health, but should wake up minds to the subject. I saw that our children should be instructed, and we should take time to teach them, and to study their dispositions; that we should be firm and decided, but gain their love. It does them no good to be censured and talked to in an ordering tone.
We should study what treatment would have the best influence on us, and then should pursue the same course with our children. They have our minds. They are sensitive, quick to feel. They do not mean to be wrong, but they have a great battle before them. They need the help of their parents, who have experience. None can help them as well as we. We should take special care to interest ourselves in all their pursuits. The time which belongs to our children, company has claimed. We should not rob our children of our society, but let them find their highest pleasure with us.--Ibid.
This vision opened up new responsibilities to James and Ellen White. They were to lead in guiding the denomination into new fields of investigation and application of basic health principles. They were to forge ahead as teachers in the area of health. The vision also called for practical applications in their own home and with their own children. Were all these things within the range of possibility? Could they measure up to the task?
Diversified Counsel in the June 6 Vision
This was only one phase of the vision given that Friday evening in the Hilliard home in Otsego. It touched their personal experience closely, and she wrote of that first.
There was counsel for the Monterey church and also another nearby church. Volume 1 of the Testimonies carries several articles based on the vision of June 6 (there probably were others, not specifically dated):
"The Minister's Wife," pages 449-454 "Dangers of the Young," pages 390-405 "The Work of God and Moses Hull," pages 433-437
But the vision of June 6, 1863, will be remembered as introducing the health message to the church. Wrote Ellen White:
It was at the house of A. Hilliard, at Otsego, Michigan, June 6, 1863, that the great subject of health reform was opened before me in vision.--The Review and Herald, October 8, 1867.
Relating to Others What She was Shown
What Ellen White had been shown in the vision at the Hilliard home was so different from concepts commonly held at the time that it was with hesitancy she faced the bidding in the vision to take the lead in guiding Seventh-day Adventists and others to a way of life in harmony with nature's laws. When she was in the home of Dr. H. S. Lay, he pressed her to tell him what she had been shown. Reluctantly she acceded, explaining that much of what was presented to her was so different from the ordinarily accepted views that she feared she could not relate it so that it could be understood. She protested that she was not familiar with medical language and hardly knew how to present it. In the conversation that followed, she set forth in simple language what she later reduced to writing in the extended chapter entitled "Health" now found in Spiritual Gifts,, Volume IV.
She was shown the contrast between what was so painfully visible in the human race today, on the one hand, and Adam and Eve in Eden; they were noble in stature, perfect in symmetry and beauty, sinless, and in perfect health. "I inquired," she stated, "the cause of this wonderful degeneracy, and was pointed back to Eden."--4SGg 120. It was the disobedience of our first parents, leading to intemperate desires and violation of the laws of health, that had led to degeneracy and disease. She began with eating habits; these included the use of meat--she referred to the risks incurred of contracting disease thereby, because of the increasing prevalence of disease among animals. She also detailed the harmful effects of overeating and of eating too frequently.
She mentioned the use of stimulants and narcotics, speaking particularly of alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee. She emphasized the importance of cleanliness of person and of the home and its premises, the importance of physical exercise and of the proper exercise of the will. She told of what she was shown concerning the value of water in the treatment of disease, and the value of pure air and sunshine. She spoke of how those who looked only to God to keep them from sickness, without doing what was in their power to maintain good health, would be disappointed, for God intended they should do their part. She emphasized that in order to preserve health, temperance in all things is necessary--in labor, in eating and drinking, and in the exercise of the privileges of the marriage relation. It was a broad vision. She wrote it out as she was able, first in the article entitled "Health" in Spiritual Gifts,, Volume IV, and shortly thereafter in the six How to Live pamphlets. She expanded the subject still more in later articles and books.