At Rochester, New York, December 25, 1865," wrote Ellen White, "I was shown many things concerning the people of God in connection with His work for these last days."--Testimonies for the Church, 1:533. This comprehensive vision formed the basis of many of her activities through 1866, and of her writing through 1867.
Some of the things she did and said in 1866 were comprehended by her associates in Battle Creek, but some were greatly misunderstood. It was a very difficult year, and God in His infinite wisdom prefaced the instruction and counsel of that Christmas Day by granting her a visit, by vision, to the realms above, where "all was health, beauty, and glory." She heard the music of heaven, "melodious, perfect, and enchanting." Writing of it for the readers of the Review, she declared:
I was permitted to enjoy this scene awhile before my attention was called to this dark world.--The Review and Herald, February 27, 1866.
She had been caring for James White for more than four months, but neither she nor the others had witnessed the progress for which they had hoped and prayed. Why? And what did the future hold? The answers came in the vision: "I had an encouraging view of the case of my husband, the particulars of which will be presented hereafter."--Ibid.
These particulars she wrote out the day after the vision, but they were not published until October, 1867, when Testimony No. 13 came from the press. This is now found in Testimonies, volume 1, pages 612-620. What she wrote is understood in the context of developments of those nearly two years. Here are a few excerpts:
I was shown that God had suffered this affliction to come upon us to teach us much that we could not otherwise have learned in so short a time. It was His will that we should go to Dansville, for our experience could not have been thorough without it....
Their influence and teachings in regard to the service of God and a religious life are in direct opposition to the teachings of our Saviour and His disciples. By precept and example they lower the standard of piety....
I saw that, as far as disease and its treatment is concerned, "Our Home on the Hillside" is the best health institution in the United States. Yet the leaders there are but men, and their judgment is not always correct....
I saw that my husband and myself could not receive as much benefit there as could those of different experience and faith. Said the angel: "God has not designed that the mind of His servant, whom He has chosen for a special purpose, to do a special work, should be controlled by any living man, for that is His prerogative alone."
Angels of God kept us while we were at Dansville. They were round about us, sustaining us every hour. But the time came when we could not benefit nor be benefited, and then the cloud of light, which had rested with us there, moved away, and we could find rest only in leaving there and going among the brethren in Rochester, where the cloud of light rested.--Testimonies for the Church, 1:614-616.
She was then shown two reasons why God wanted them to leave Dansville: 1. In his weakness, James must step out by faith and go among his brethren, who could help him bear his afflictions. 2. "Had He [God] been pleased to manifest His power in restoring my husband, the physicians there would have taken the glory which should be given to God."--Ibid., 1:617.
The Promise of Full Restoration
In the vision the angel spoke:
"God will be glorified in the restoration of His servant to health. God has heard the prayers of His servants. His arms are beneath His afflicted servant. God has the case, and he must, although afflicted, dismiss his fears, his anxiety, his doubts and unbelief, and calmly trust in the great yet merciful God, who pities, loves, and cares for him.
He will have conflicts with the enemy, but should ever be comforted with the remembrance that a stronger than the enemy has charge of him, and he need not fear. By faith rely on the evidences which God has been pleased to give, and he will gloriously triumph in God."--Ibid., 1:617, 618.
Two important matters were called to her attention:
I saw that the Lord was giving us an experience which would be of the highest value to us in the future in connection with His work....
I saw that God was fitting up my husband to engage in the solemn, sacred work of reform which He designs shall progress among His people. It is important that instructions should be given by ministers in regard to living temperately. They should show the relation which eating, working, resting, and dressing sustain to health. All who believe the truth for these last days have something to do in this matter.--Ibid., 1:618.
But active faith was required of James. If he failed to do his part, there was little hope for full restoration. She wrote:
I was shown that in some respects my husband's case is similar to that of those waiting for the refreshing. If he should wait for the power of God to come upon his body, to feel that he was made whole before he made efforts in accordance with his faith, saying, When the Lord heals me I will believe and do this or that, he might continue to wait and would realize no change, for the fulfillment of God's promise is only realized by those who believe and then work in accordance with their faith.
I saw that he must believe God's Word, that His promises are for him to claim, and they will never, no, never, fail. He should walk out by faith, relying upon the evidences that God has been pleased to give, and work, as much as possible, to the point of becoming a well man. Said the angel: "God will sustain him. His faith must be made perfect by works, for faith alone is dead. It must be sustained by works. A living faith is always manifested by works."--Ibid., 1:619, 620.
She was warned what her husband's reaction would be and of some of the problems ahead, and in the following months she experienced that of which she was warned:
I saw that my husband would be inclined to shrink from making efforts in accordance with his faith. Fear and anxiety in regard to his own case have made him timid. He looks at appearances, at disagreeable feelings of the body. Said the angel: "Feeling is not faith. Faith is simply to take God at His word."
I saw that in the name and strength of God my husband must resist disease and, by the power of his will, rise above his poor feelings. He must assert his liberty, in the name and strength of Israel's God. He must cease thinking and talking about himself as much as possible. He should be cheerful and happy.--Ibid., 1:620.
Only in a full understanding of what Ellen White was shown in this vision of Christmas Day can there be a fair understanding of the course she pursued in the care of her husband through the year 1866 and into 1867.
All of this was written out in Rochester on December 26 and handed to James to read (Ibid., 1:613). In the strength of this he took courage to continue the journey home to Battle Creek as he was able. New Year's Day was set for the trip. Andrews proposed that he accompany them to Battle Creek, but Ellen replied that she wished them to go by themselves, trusting alone in God to sustain them. A number of their friends accompanied them to the railway station to see them off. Wrote Ellen White:
We felt that angels of God were all around us. We went comfortably and safely to the [Niagara] Falls, where we changed for a sleeping car.... I felt too much responsibility to sleep much. The words "Gentle angels round me glide, hopes of glory round me bide" were in my mind much of the time during the night. My husband arose in the morning feeling better than usual. He was cheerful and of good courage.--The Review and Herald, February 27, 1866.
At Battle Creek later in the day they were met by friends and escorted to their home, which had been comfortably prepared for them, and at five o'clock they sat down at their dining table, bountifully spread with good food that the women of the church had prepared. James rested well through the night and on the weekend engaged in the services at the church. Wrote Ellen:
Although feeble, he walked to the meetinghouse and spoke about three quarters of an hour. We also attended the communion season in the evening. The Lord strengthened him as he walked out upon his faith. We felt grateful to God that we were again in the midst of our dear people in Battle Creek. When my husband was first afflicted they felt that the stroke had fallen upon them. Our affliction they made their own. They stood faithfully by our side.--Ibid.
Every week a number of the believers met to engage in earnest prayer for his recovery. In her report of late February she stated:
My husband is improving. He is not troubled as much with nervousness, anxiety, and fears. He suffers but little pain, but we cannot see that he gains in flesh. His stomach is gaining in strength, and he takes care of food better. He is now venturing out in diet slowly--eats some fruit. His appetite is good, and he enjoys his food. The weather has not been favorable for him to ride or walk out much. We improve every pleasant day, and take him out to ride several miles in the country. He rode one day eight miles to Bro. Godsmark's, took dinner, and returned the same day.--Ibid.
In triumphant words Ellen White brought her report to a close:
I believe, without a doubt, in the perfect and entire restoration of my husband to health. The Lord is for us, praise His holy name!
Although Satan has tried to press us sore, yet help has been laid upon One that is mightier than he, and in the name of Jesus, our great deliverer, shall we come off conquerors.--Ibid.
The report solicited the prayers of the believers in behalf of James, and God's sustaining grace for herself.
In the lectures and other advice at Dansville, the physicians had dwelt much upon the importance of entire rest, both of body and mind, for those who had been prostrated by overwork. The theory was advanced that the minds of the patients should be occupied with recreation and amusements; little tolerance was given for the place of prayer in the recovery of health. In the months after returning to Battle Creek, James White found it hard to exchange this philosophy for what Ellen White, having received light in vision, held to be the correct methods.
The Call for the 1866 Annual Meetings
Of the workers in the cause, James White was not the only one incapacitated. The great adversary seemed intent on bringing the work of the church to a standstill. The surge forward that had been anticipated at the close of the Civil War had not materialized. A number of the key figures in the working force of the denomination had through illness been kept from the field of labor. It was without optimism that church leaders on April 10 announced the appointments for the fourth session of the General Conference to convene May 16, the annual session of the Michigan State Conference on May 17, and the constituency meeting of the SDA Publishing Association on May 18. There would be services through Sabbath, May 19, to Monday, May 21. Uriah Smith, editor of the Review, added the following statement to the listing of dates:
The meetings appointed in this week's Review, to be held in Battle Creek, May 16-21, are not designed for large gatherings.... The circumstances of the Battle Creek church the present season are not favorable to the entertaining of a large gathering. It is therefore expected that the different meetings will be composed principally of delegates. Provision will be made for all who come in this capacity.--Ibid., April 10, 1866
The next week, the editorial page made the reasons plain. Under the title "God's Present Dealings With His People" the sad situation was probed:
Instead of a special rise in the message, the progress of the truth the past year has been no more than ordinary; and instead of an increase of laborers, many of the more efficient ones then in the field have been either entirely prostrated or afflicted in some way calculated to dishearten or cripple them. And as in times of prosperity it is proper to enumerate our blessings, so now in this time of adversity and humiliation let us enumerate our calamities.
Thirteen points, noting illnesses, deaths, and other misfortunes, were listed. It was declared:
All this has intervened since our last conference; and what is the meaning of it all? If God is by these things designing to teach us an important lesson, we should not be slow to learn it.--Ibid., April 17, 1866
Sensing the need of immediate help from God, the General Conference Committee appointed a four-day season of fasting and prayer, beginning Wednesday, May 9, and continuing to the close of the following Sabbath. Meetings were to be free from discussions, and characterized by humiliation, fasting, and prayer on the part of the church. Business was to be suspended; the members of each church would meet at one o'clock each weekday, and both morning and afternoon on Sabbath. The following counsel was given concerning the fast:
During these days of prayer we recommend on the part of all a very abstemious and simple diet, Daniel 10:3; while some may more or less abstain from food as their health may permit, or their feelings prompt.--Ibid.
The hours were to be spent in meditation, heart searching, and prayer. The General Conference Committee made a special plea, urging:
Let us cry to the Lord to revive His cause, remove His rebuke from off His people, restore His servants, and lead on the message to its destined victory.... We have reached a crisis in which it seems that the Lord alone can save us; and may we not stand still and see of His salvation. We believe He will be inquired of at our hand, and once more make bare His arm in behalf of His people.--Ibid.
The churches responded well. J. N. Loughborough reported of Battle Creek:
The praying seasons for the reviving of God's people, and the restoration of His servants, were especially refreshing, so much so that it seemed evident to all that the Lord by giving us freely of His Spirit said to us, "Yes, I accept you, and will work for you."
Brother White was in such feeble health that he could be with us but little in our meetings; yet he expressed confidence in the prayer of faith. The people of God here who have witnessed his trials and burdens in the past felt called upon to make his case a special subject of their prayers. The Lord is working for His servant. He has been greatly blessed in answer to prayer; and we trust the power of the enemy is broken.--The Review and Herald, May 15, 1866.
The last phrase in the Loughborough report reflected the generally held feeling that Satan had attempted to destroy James White. Ellen White was unshaken in this opinion, for she had been shown just that fact (Pacific Union Recorder, November 21, 1912).
The 1866 General Conference Session
Wednesday morning, May 16, the fourth session of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists opened. The president, James White, could not be there, and in his absence John Byington was asked to preside. Loughborough, stationed in Battle Creek as president of the Michigan Conference, reported that this was a conference at which one third more business was done than at any conference before it. He added:
In the transaction of this amount of business not a jarring note was heard. The meetinghouse enterprise [a new church building for Battle Creek] and the Health Institute [the proposal that Seventh-day Adventists establish and operate a medical institution], et cetera, in addition to the yearly labor attending conference, made plenty of care and thought for ministers and committees. But we felt indeed the approving smile of God upon us as we came to the conclusions since made public in relation to these various enterprises, and we believe firmly that God is still leading out His people.--The Review and Herald, July 10, 1866.
The minutes reported only business meetings. The nominating committee recommended officers for the General Conference: for president, James White; secretary, U. Smith; treasurer, I. D. Van Horn; plus an executive committee of White, Andrews, and Loughborough. The resolutions called for the construction of a house of worship of appropriate size in Battle Creek--the third to be built there. Andrews was asked to prepare an article "setting forth the teachings of the Scriptures on the subject of war." Of course, there was other business, particularly resolutions touching health and proper dress. The Battle Creek church had adopted an explicit statement on appropriate attire; the conference amended it somewhat and adopted it for recommendation to the churches.
The question of health reform was still much to the front. The Review had carried a number of articles on the subject, some substantial members had reported favorably as a result of adopting its principles, and Ellen White had addressed the conference on the subject. The conference resolution on this read:
Whereas, The subject of health is now attracting much attention among us as a people, and we are now learning the great truth that the proper way to avoid disease, or to recover from it, is to adopt correct habits of life, therefore
Resolved, That this conference request our brother Dr. H. S. Lay, whom we deem fully competent so to do, to furnish through the Review a series of articles on the health reform.
Resolved, That we acknowledge the health reform as set forth in the testimony of Sister White, as part of the work of God incumbent on us at this time; and that we pledge ourselves to live in accordance with these principles, and that we will use our best endeavors to impress their importance on others.--Ibid., May 22, 1866
For a year the church had had before it an outline of the basic health principles, in the six How to Live pamphlets. Selections from various health works had been published in the Review, and in some very affirmative articles laymen had reported their personal experiences. One such article, titled "Influence of Diet," was written by Joseph Clarke, a rather prosperous and influential farmer. In this he stated:
In a late number of the Review, Brother E. Goodwin speaks of the importance of heeding the late testimony respecting our diet; he speaks as though this had much to do with gaining the victory. To all this we say, Amen.
For about two years self and family have tried the two meal per day system, [see appendix C.] during which time we have not used meats of any kind; neither have we used tea or coffee, nor any highly seasoned food, and but a very small quantity of fish; we have used grains, fruits, and vegetables. The results of the system are evenness of temper, clearness of mind, steadiness of nerve, increased mental power, and a better subjection of the physical to the moral power.
I feel as if I were entering upon a new life, with new strength of hope and faith. Indeed, without the experience, I could hardly have believed it possible that the quality of our food, and the intervals between our meals, had so great an influence for good or evil.--Ibid., March 27, 1866
It seems that this rather frequent contributor to the Review could hardly contain himself as he described his experience and that of his family. He wrote of how he had tested it on the farm and could do more work with less fatigue, and do it better. He continued:
It is now nearly two years since we began to practice upon this system, in all kinds of weather, at all work, in the long days of harvest and haying, and the short days of winter: whether at the plough or the hoe, the axe or the spade. I find I am not as hungry for my meals as formerly, when eating three meals a day and lunches besides; neither do I crave more at a meal, if as much; neither do I feel half as much inconvenience from faintness when hungry, as formerly.
At first I was so much pleased with the good effects of this system, that I feared it was enthusiasm in part, and that a reaction would follow; but sober reality, from two years' experience, has satisfied us that it is still better for us than our most enthusiastic dreams had pictured to our minds. Others in this vicinity have the same views of the matter, and will, I hope, bear testimony to the same.--Ibid.
He closed his lively statement by referring to the "work published at the Review office, entitled How to Live," and added, "You cannot afford to do without it; send for it immediately, and don't be offended with me for saying that tea and coffee, and hog's lard and tobacco, should never be the diet of a Christian."
It is obvious that the church was beginning to feel a rise in the tide toward the principles embodied in this new and encouraging way of life. But this was just a beginning.
The Report of John Matteson
John Matteson, who had come to Battle Creek for the first time to attend the annual meetings, called on James White. He reported:
When I saw him bowed down with disease and took his weak hand, I could not refrain from weeping. Like a mighty oak he had stood the storms of many winters, but a cruel tornado had broken the limbs, and even loosened the roots.--Ibid., May 29, 1866
From Matteson alone we get the picture of the next few days in Battle Creek:
On the following Sabbath [May 19], fasting and prayer was again appointed. Brother Bates led the meeting. The peace of God shone from his countenance. Ardent and united supplications went up to the throne of grace. We ceased not till Brother White came into our midst and testified that the Lord had untied his hands. Then joy and hopeful expectation shone from his eyes while he praised the Lord, and all united with him.... First-day afternoon he took part in and stayed during the services, and Second-day he shared in the ministerial deliberations.--Ibid.
The issue of the Review and Herald published the next day, Tuesday, May 22, carried a cheering back page note from White himself, first reporting on some of his sufferings, including extreme nervousness since his paralytic stroke, and then the change he was currently experiencing:
For the past nine months we have not been able to obtain sleep without artificial heat in some form ...; and that for the last five months we have not had more than one hour's sleep out of the twenty-four, and that often disturbed by unhappy dreams.--Ibid., May 22, 1866
But he wrote near the close of his report:
For two nights past since the season of fasting and prayer, Sabbath, May 19, we have slept more than for the two weeks previous, and our feet were warm without the use of artificial heat, which has not been the case for the previous nine months.--Ibid.
He closed by saying, "By faith we claim the blessing of health, which faith we shall show by our works."
Ellen White Calls for a Revival of Health Reform
That Sabbath, which marked a turning point in James White's experience, Ellen White spoke twice in the Michigan tent, which had been pitched on the west side of North Washington Street, about a half block from the publishing house. At the morning worship service her topic was health reform, and her address was a challenge to the church. Most likely reading from what she had written, she referred to the vision given in Rochester on December 25, 1865:
I was shown that our Sabbathkeeping people have been negligent in acting upon the light which God has given in regard to the health reform, that there is yet a great work before us, and that as a people we have been too backward to follow in God's opening providence as He has chosen to lead us.
I was shown that the work of health reform has scarcely been entered upon yet. While some feel deeply and act out their faith in the work, others remain indifferent and have scarcely taken the first step in reform....
The health reform, I was shown, is a part of the third angel's message and is just as closely connected with it as are the arm and hand with the human body. I saw that we as a people must make an advance move in this great work. Ministers and people must act in concert. God's people are not prepared for the loud cry of the third angel. They have a work to do for themselves which they should not leave for God to do for them....
In order to be fitted for translation, the people of God must know themselves. They must understand in regard to their own physical frames that they may be able with the psalmist to exclaim: "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." They should ever have the appetite in subjection to the moral and intellectual organs. The body should be servant to the mind, and not the mind to the body.
I was shown that there is a much greater work before us than we as yet have any idea of, if we would ensure health by placing ourselves in the right relation to life.--Testimonies for the Church, 1:485-487 (published in 1867).
The Challenging Call for a Health Institution
As she continued her appeals in behalf of the health reform, she declared, "Men and women must be instructed, and ministers and people should feel that the burden of the work rests upon them to agitate the subject and urge it home upon others. I was shown that we should provide a home for the afflicted and those who wish to learn how to take care of their bodies that they may prevent sickness."--Ibid., 1:489. Doubtless some in the audience questioned in their hearts how this small people with little resources could ever start a medical institution. But before she closed her address, she declared:
Our people should have an institution of their own, under their own control, for the benefit of the diseased and suffering among us who wish to have health and strength that they may glorify God in their bodies and spirits, which are His. Such an institution, rightly conducted, would be the means of bringing our views before many whom it would be impossible for us to reach by the common course of advocating the truth. As unbelievers shall resort to an institution devoted to the successful treatment of disease and conducted by Sabbathkeeping physicians, they will be brought directly under the influence of the truth....
As the health of invalids improves under judicious treatment, and they begin to enjoy life they have confidence in those who have been instrumental in their restoration to health.... Some who go away restored or greatly benefited will be the means of introducing our faith in new places and raising the standard of truth where it would have been impossible to gain access had not prejudice been first removed from minds by a tarry among our people for the object of gaining health. [This counsel on health reform and the need of a health institution quoted above and in what followed was not written out in full until later. II is assumed that what she then wrote was the essence of her presentation at the conference session, said by J. N. Loughborough to have been read.]--Ibid., 1:492, 493.
The audience, including Loughborough, president of the Michigan Conference, was startled. As James White, the natural leader of the church, was ill, and others were incapacitated, Loughborough was the principal administrator in charge of affairs. He later reported:
When this testimony was read to our people, the question arose, "How can we, in our condition of limited means, obtain and control a health institution?" Brother James White was at that time in a critical condition of health, and could not take upon himself the management of the enterprise; so the matter seemed to fall upon the Michigan Conference committee, of which I was at that time president.
The committee, with a few of the leading members in Battle Creek, counseled and prayed over the matter, and said, "We will pledge to the enterprise, venturing out on what is said in the testimony, though it looks to us like a heavy load for us to hold up."--Pacific Union Recorder, January 2, 1913.
Loughborough then drew up a subscription paper. He went first to J. P. Kellogg, a storeowner and one of the most prosperous businessmen among the Adventists in Battle Creek, and father of J. H. and W. K. Kellogg. Loughborough said to him:
Brother Kellogg, you heard the testimony that Sister White read to us in the tent. A few of us have decided to make an investment for the purpose presented to us in that testimony, "sink or swim." We thought we would like to have your name at the head of the list, as you have more money than any of us.--Ibid.
Kellogg replied, "Let me take that paper." In a bold hand he wrote, "J. P. Kellogg, $500." "There it is," he said, "'sink or swim."' Others were quick to follow with pledges: Ellen G. White, $500; J. M. Aldrich, $250; James White, $100; J. N. Loughborough, $50; et cetera. The committee followed the counsel of competent lawyers, and the emerging institution developed as a business enterprise on a dividend-paying share basis. Each share sold for $25, with the promise of returns to the investor from the earnings. Before too long, however, on Ellen White's counsel, this was turned around. While the capital was built up on the basis of the purchase of shares, which provided voting rights, profits from the investment were plowed back into the enterprise.
The New Health Institute
Within days after the call for such an institution, the residence of Judge Graves was purchased. This comprised nine acres of land, three short blocks north of the publishing house. A two-story structure for treatment rooms was added. Tanks were installed on the roof of the treatment rooms to hold water pumped by windmill from a nearby well. Loughborough reports:
On the fifth of September, 1866, the institution was formally opened for patients and boarders, having Drs. Lay and Byington as physicians, two helpers, and one patient.... We had room for twelve patients. Ere a month passed, the rooms were filled with patients, and we had to increase our help, and provide more room.--Ibid.
Denominational leaders were venturing into a new field that offered unique opportunities but was fraught with many perils. Ellen White shortly placed before them this caution:
The health reform is a branch of the special work of God for the benefit of His people. I saw that in an institution established among us the greatest danger would be of its managers' departing from the spirit of present truth and from that simplicity which should ever characterize the disciples of Christ.
A warning was given me against lowering the standard of truth in any way in such an institution in order to help the feelings of unbelievers and thus secure their patronage. The great object of receiving unbelievers into the institution is to lead them to embrace the truth. If the standard be lowered, they will get the impression that the truth is of little importance, and they will go away in a state of mind harder of access than before.--Testimonies for the Church, 1:560.
The Health Reformer
At the General Conference session in mid-May, a resolution called for Dr. H. S. Lay to furnish a series of articles through the Review on the subject of health reform. In the days following the conference, plans were quickly amplified to embody the publication of a monthly health journal, which Dr. Lay would edit. The Review of June 5, 1866, carried this notice:
Prospectus of the Health Reformer: The first number of a monthly periodical, with the above title, sixteen pages, magazine form, with cover, will be issued at the Western Health Reform Institute, Battle Creek, Michigan, August 1, 1866.
The nature of this journal is sufficiently indicated by its name. It is designated to aid in the great work of reforming, as far as possible, the false habits of life so prevalent at the present day.
It will aim to teach faithfully and energetically those rules of health by obedience to which people may secure the largest immunity from sickness and premature death.
It will advocate the cure of diseases by the use of nature's own remedies, air, light, heat, exercise, food, sleep, recreation, et cetera.... Price $1.00 per volume of twelve numbers.--The Review and Herald, June 5, 1866.
In his editorial in the first number, published in August, Dr. Lay restated the aims and objects of the Health Reformer. He added that "its contributors will be persons of experience, and of high mental and moral attainments. Its selections will be of the choicest kind." This is demonstrated in the first issue, with articles from Dr. J. H. Ginley, M.D., Ellen G. White, J. N. Loughborough, D. T. Bourdeau, J. N. Andrews, R. F. Cottrell, J. H. Waggoner, et cetera.
Shortly after the launching of the journal, Ellen White wrote:
The Health Reformer is the medium through which rays of light are to shine upon the people. It should be the very best health journal in our country. It must be adapted to the wants of the common people, ready to answer all proper questions and fully explain the first principles of the laws of life and how to obey them and preserve health.--Testimonies for the Church, 1:552, 553.