If the title of this chapter carries a battlefield overtone it is because the Seventh-day Adventist Church was suffering the buffeting of the adversary brought to view in Revelation 12:17:
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The 1860s marked relentless conflict; Satan exercised his wrath in a number of ways. He attacked the lives of some involved in the advancement of the cause. He attempted to overwhelm prime leaders through whispering campaigns in which false reports were widely circulated by adversaries of Seventh-day Adventists and, at times, by church members themselves. During much of 1866, while James White was incapacitated and kept almost entirely from the field, the enemy did not have that forceful leader to combat, but as James and Ellen again took to the field, Satan renewed his attacks with even greater intensity.
Churches without Pastors
At this time the Seventh-day Adventist Church was without pastors. The work was young, with 4,500 members; the needs of the 160 churches were cared for by local elders and deacons. The thirty-two ordained and nineteen licensed ministers were spread out over the seven conferences, carrying on the evangelistic thrust. The Review and Herald, with its weekly visits to the homes of those who subscribed, served an important pastoral role. This knowledge aids us in understanding the weakness and ease in backsliding of new and often inexperienced believers and officers that made up the churches, and the need of revival efforts put forth by James and Ellen White, J. N. Andrews, and a very few others. The successful camp meeting at Wright and the prospect of annual camp meetings in the several State conferences gave promise of building a stronger, cohesive, unified church. Wherever Ellen White ministered, it was seen that the Spirit of Prophecy messages calling for the turning from sin and development in experience and character brought stability and strength. The publishing of personal testimonies dealing with basic principles aided in this. Little wonder the great adversary pressed every means at his command to discourage and destroy, both from without and from within. At the beginning of this year, 1869, which was to mark somewhat of a turning point in the battle, it may be of interest to note the ages of some of the leading participants.
As the year dawned, James White was 47 and Ellen 41. Uriah Smith was 36, as were also George Amadon and J. N. Loughborough. J. H. Waggoner was older, 48, and Joseph Bates, now semiretired at Monterey, was 76.
Residing Again in Beloved Battle Creek
As James and Ellen took up residence again in Battle Creek, they felt much at home. Ellen later stated, "We were both happy and free in the Lord when we came home to Battle Creek."--Letter 3, 1869. But this contentment did not last long. Deep in the hearts of some in Battle Creek was a feeling of resentment, triggered by lingering memories of wild reports and rumors. Added to this were the steps, which were sometimes rather severe that James White had taken to pull the business interests of the Health Institute from the brink of financial disaster and to reverse the losses being sustained by the SDA Publishing Association. When because of his severe illness White could no longer head the association, J. M. Aldrich was called to the presidency. His name appeared on the masthead of the Review up to and including the issue of March 30, 1869, when without explanation it was dropped. In that issue Uriah Smith reported:
We have been having the past week a series of very important and solemn meetings. The plainest and most searching testimonies we ever heard have been borne by Brother and Sister White and Brother Andrews, giving us new views of the sacredness of the work, the straitness of the way, the proximity of the judgment, and the exceeding carefulness with which we must prepare for its unerring decisions.--The Review and Herald, March 30, 1869.
Through April and until the constituency meeting on May 20, George Amadon, the vice-president, was in charge. Significantly, in the same back page of the Review in which Smith reported the "very important and solemn meetings" in Battle Creek, James White inserted a note hinting an early return to Greenville. He wrote of the possible withdrawal of their Greenville farm and home from the market. He stated that "present indications strongly favor an immediate return to Montcalm County," in which case, "we should not wish to sell at present."--Ibid.
Something of the situation may be seen from Ellen's letter written on April 23 to Uriah Smith and George Amadon:
My husband labored in that [the Review] office earnestly, unselfishly, to set things in order according to the mind of the Spirit of God, which was a most striking contrast to the course pursued by Brother Aldrich, yet he [James White] was looked upon with suspicion, jealousy, and doubt.--Letter 3, 1869.
Attempts to reverse the deteriorating situation led workers and laity to take sides. Contentions and rebellious feelings reached into the families of key personnel. Of one of these families Ellen White wrote, "I have seen no less than four evil angels controlling members of the family."--Ibid. She opened her heart:
We have labored and toiled and tugged. We have prayed and wept at home. We could not rest or sleep.... I wrote testimony after testimony at the expense of health, and I feared of life, hoping to arouse the consciences of the people at Battle Creek. We bore testimonies in meetings, and held private interviews out of meeting.... At length we saw that help must come from abroad if ever the frown of God would be removed from the church.--Ibid.
Finally she became very ill. In fact, the strain was too much for both of them, and on Thursday, April 15, they started by carriage for their Greenville home, spending the weekend en route at Wright. Tuesday, April 20, they again began keeping house in Greenville. James White wrote that they were:
quite comfortable with the few remaining things not removed to Battle Creek, and some borrowed at Brother Maynard's. This seems like home. Mrs. White is very much improved in health, and we enjoy the light labor among the strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and grapes.
Here the Lord has blessed us in our afflictions more than in any other place. Here we can accomplish more than in Battle Creek, especially in writing. When returning from a long, wearying tour, we could rest; but not in Battle Creek, until a great change takes place with the people.
We erred in complying with the request of the Battle Creek church to move our headquarters to that city. Things there were not ready for us. Great mistakes had been made in the management of matters pertaining to the interests of the cause there, in our absence, without our counsel, and, in some things, against our entreaties. When those who had made the mistakes should correct them, as far as possible, and when the church should get into a place to help us in our labors, then, and not till then, could it be our duty to settle in their midst.--The Review and Herald, April 27, 1869.
But the General Conference session was to open in Battle Creek on May 18, and they must soon be there. James sent word that they designed to spend the Sabbath, May 8, with the brethren in Battle Creek (Ibid., May 4, 1869). He noted that they were "enjoying farming life very much." The next week he reported:
We closed our farming the fifth, and the sixth and seventh journeyed on to meet our appointment at Battle Creek.--Ibid., May 11, 1869
The 1869 General Conference Session
The General Conference session of 1869 was a lackluster meeting, the business meetings running from Tuesday to Sabbath. James White had a devotional meeting each morning at five o'clock. Business was routine, with resolutions on dress reform, health reform, the California mission, the church's relation to the Seventh Day Baptists, et cetera. One forward-looking action, and probably the most important, pertained to camp meetings. It read:
Resolved, That this conference recommend to the State conferences to make preparations for, and hold, camp meetings, procuring the best assistance in their power, and leave it to Brother and Sister White to attend such of them as the providence of God may direct.--Ibid., May 25, 1869
In the light of conditions at Battle Creek, and the experience they had passed through, another resolution, related to spiritual gifts, was quite significant. It was most likely worded by outgoing President J. N. Andrews and read:
Resolved, That our faith and confidence in the gifts of the Spirit of God, so graciously vouchsafed to us in these last days, are not only unshaken by the attacks of the opposers of the truth, but greatly strengthened and increased by the warnings we have received in times of danger, the counsels and admonitions when we have erred, and the comfort in our afflictions; as well as by the purity of their teachings, and the respect and reverence they produce for the Word of God. And we earnestly recommend to all the scattered flock a more careful reading of, and more strict compliance with, the Testimonies for the Church.-- Ibid.
The nominating committee brought in the following recommendations for officers and General Conference Committee:
For President, James White; Secretary, U. Smith; Treasurer, E. S. Walker; Executive Committee, James White, J. N. Andrews, J. H. Waggoner.-- Ibid.
These were duly elected.
At the constituency meeting of the SDA Publishing Association, James White was elected to serve as president and George Amadon as vice-president. At the meeting of the Health Reform Institute, seven directors were chosen, with James White's name at the head of the list (Ibid.). The financial report that was given of the Health Institute failed to bring cheer to the hearts of the stockholders. As they met in the afternoon J. N. Andrews introduced the following significant resolution:
Resolved, that we consider it due to Brother and Sister White, and to our brethren abroad, that we make a statement of the following points:
1. That they have acted a noble and generous part toward the Health Institute, and that the errors committed in its management are not to be in any wise laid to their charge, Brother White being unable at that time from sickness to have any part in the business. Those, therefore, who attribute blame to them concerning it act unjustly and without any ground for such censure.
On the contrary, they are entitled to the thanks of all our people for their efforts in sustaining the institute, and for counseling a course of sound wisdom in its management. Nothing therefore can well be more unjust and cruel than to hold them responsible for the errors of others.
2. We make the same statement respecting the Publishing Association. The errors committed in connection with the Publishing Department have not been caused by following their counsel, but by neglecting it. We consider it our duty to exonerate them from all blame, and to bear testimony to the fact that they are in these things worthy of the entire confidence and support of our people everywhere.
3. And finally, we express our hearty sympathy with them in their arduous labors, and we pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in their work, and to sustain them by our prayers, our moral support, and our means.--Ibid.
This comprehensive resolution was voted. A good deal of unfortunate history relating to the SDA Publishing Association and the Health Institute is suggested in its wording. There is no record of the reaction of either James or Ellen White to these resolutions. Events of the ensuing months made it clear that it is easier to put such matters on paper than to carry them out. At the annual meeting of the Publishing Association, Uriah Smith, who had been connected with the Review for sixteen years, was released from his editorial responsibilities, and he turned his attention to evangelism. J. N. Andrews, who had served for two years as president of the General Conference, was chosen to edit the Review. James and Ellen White returned to their Greenville home. For a few days in mid-June they joined Smith and W. H. Littlejohn in a tent meeting at Orange, Ionia County, in northern Michigan.
A Trying Time for Ellen White
Sunday afternoon, June 20, at the Orange meeting, Ellen addressed a tent filled with "those who listened with the utmost attention and apparent candor" (Ibid., June 29, 1869). Such an effort was particularly difficult at this time, for she was passing through menopause. She mentioned it in a letter to Edson:
I have told you a period I had entered in my life untried by me which would determine in a short period the chances of life or death with me. I have more indications of going down into the grave than of rallying. My vitality is at a low ebb. Your aunt Sarah died passing through this critical time.
My lungs are affected. Dr. Trall said I would probably go with consumption in this time. Dr. Jackson said I should probably fail in this time. Nature would be severely taxed, and the only question would be, were there vital forces remaining to sustain the change of nature.... How I shall come out I cannot tell. I suffer much pain.--Letter 6, 1869.
Camp Meetings Take Hold in Earnest
Now that most of the crops would soon be in, the seven State conferences laid plans for their camp meetings, in harmony with the action taken at the General Conference session. These would run from August 10 to October 19 in Ohio, Michigan, New England, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. In his report for the Review James White sets forth the atmosphere for the Ohio meeting, the first of the 1869 convocations:
I find myself seated on the minister's stand, in a beautiful grove, about one mile from the depot, in the flourishing village of Clyde, Ohio. Elder J. N. Andrews is this moment addressing a very attentive audience before us. Around the stand, and the congregation, are nine large, neat-looking tents, which are the temporary residences of our brethren and sisters who have come from different parts of the State up to this place of worship.
Our people in Ohio are not numerous, hence the tents are comparatively few, and congregations not large. But as I look out upon this beautiful and well-prepared ground, these splendid tents, and the congregation, I take pleasure in saying that our people in Ohio, in their first camp meeting, have made a noble strike.--The Review and Herald, August 24, 1869.
Gaining strength from day to day, Ellen White traveled with her husband through the full round of the next five camp meetings--two in the East: New England, at South Lancaster, and then New York State; then three in the West: Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. At each of these the Whites were given a hearty reception.
"A Delightful Kind of Labor"
The first regular camp meeting season among Seventh-day Adventists came to a close in mid-October. As James White concluded his reports he triumphantly declared:
And now, as we look back upon the camp meeting season, it is with pleasure that we recount the many precious interviews we have enjoyed with dear friends, the many kindnesses we have received at their hands, and the many seasons of freedom we have enjoyed in preaching the Word, and in social worship with the dear people of the Lord.
God has wonderfully blessed His people in their efforts in this direction. We will praise Him.--Ibid., October 26, 1869
He suggested plans that might take them to the West Coast:
By the grace of God, we design to labor on in other departments of the work till another camp meeting season shall open in June, 1870, when we hope, in the strength of God, to resume this delightful kind of labor, continue it in the West and in the East, in Ohio and Michigan, and, if the Lord will, close with a camp meeting in California.--Ibid.
Europe Looms as an Important Field of Labor
In his reports of the camp meeting, James White several times mentioned James Ertzenberger, who was with them at some of these meetings. Ertzenberger was a young man who had come from Switzerland, arriving at Battle Creek on June 15. On arrival in the United States he knew no English, but he carried an envelope bearing the words "Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Michigan." This brought him to the place and people he was seeking.
Ertzenberger was one of a group of fifty European Sabbathkeepers, most of whom were in Switzerland. They were led to acknowledge the major Seventh-day Adventist doctrines by M. B. Czechowski. [See Ellen G. White: The early years, pp. 378, 379.] An impetuous man, he had urged Seventh-day Adventist leaders to send him to Europe with the message, but found that they were unprepared to do this. He appealed to the first-day Adventists, who agreed to send him, not comprehending his Sabbathkeeping convictions. J. N. Andrews traced the story in the Ibid., November 30, 1869:
About two years ago these brethren [Czechowski's converts] opened communication with us by letter. The last spring we invited Brother Albert Vuilleumier, elder of the church, to attend our General Conference, pledging ourselves to meet the expense. As he could not come, the Swiss brethren made choice of Brother James Ertzenberger to come in his stead. He arrived at Battle Creek June 15.
He was able to converse fluently in German and French, but wholly unable to speak English. We have become deeply interested in this dear brother. He has given the best evidence that he is a man of God.--Ibid., November 30, 1869
Ertzenberger studied English diligently and for some time resided in the White home in Greenville, where 15-year-old Willie was assigned the task of keeping him in conversation. He progressed well. Partly from the knowledge Ertzenberger brought and partly by correspondence, they learned that Czechowski had started a little office of publication in Switzerland. He did this almost entirely on borrowed money, repayment of which was due December 31, 1869. Foreclosure seemed inevitable. There seemed no hope of saving the property unless Seventh-day Adventists in America should come to its rescue. The building, on land near Lake Neuchatel, housed not only the printing office but a chapel and living quarters for the Czechowski family. At the time, Czechowski was laboring in Hungary.
When Andrews explained the situation, there was an immediate response. A pledge list was started in the Review of December 28. A keen interest was sparked in an overseas outreach that was to grow in the months and years to come.
When Czechowski was finally contacted, he rejected the help proposed. It was planned that Ertzenberger would remain in the United States long enough to master the English language and thus prepare himself to translate tracts and books into German and French. Wrote Andrews:
We regard the circumstances of this case as a wonderful call to us from the providence of God to send the present truth to Europe. We cannot refrain from acknowledging our backwardness in this work. But it is in our power to redeem the past, by discharging our duty for time to come.--Ibid.
Testimonies Published in 1869
Two Testimony pamphlets were published in 1869, No. 17 in mid-February with 192 pages, and No. 18 in mid-December, filling 208 pages. These, like the preceding two, consisted largely of personal testimonies: twenty out of twenty-three in No. 17 and thirteen out of eighteen in No. 18. Now that she was free to publish testimonies addressed to individuals, Ellen found it possible to extend her ministry throughout the land to all churches, setting before them important lines of general counsel. These messages first published in 1869 are found in Testimonies for the Church, 2:200-497.
The Continued Buffetings of Satan
The available records show that the year 1869, which should have been a time of notable advance, was one in which Satan multiplied his attacks. Criticism of James and Ellen White continued, even though from time to time both refuted slanderous reports and rumors, and in spite of Ellen White's continuing successful ministry in Seventh-day Adventist circles and before the public. God Himself also had provided evidences of the genuineness of Ellen White's call. He had raised her up again and again from weakness and sickness to strength, that she might present her messages, and He had given her a vision on June 12, 1868, in Battle Creek, accompanied by marked physical phenomena that eyewitnesses could test to their full satisfaction. Nevertheless, prejudice lingered. The messages of reproof and the memories of false and malicious reports continued to confront the Whites and hamper their influence. In addition, because of their position on the seventh-day Sabbath, there was the sustained and critical opposition of the religious world in general.
Writing at her Greenville home in September, after the camp meetings were over, often Ellen could look back. She stated:
The lies of sheer malice and enmity, the pure fabrications of iniquity uttered and circulated to defeat the proclamation of truth, were powerless to affect the minds of those who were really desirous to know what is truth. I did not doubt for a moment but the Lord had sent me that the honest souls who had been deceived might have an opportunity to see and hear for themselves what manner of spirit the woman possessed who had been presented to the public in such a false light in order to make the truth of God of none effect.--Letter 12, 1869.
In this setting she penned a striking statement of faith and evidence:
None are compelled to believe. God gives sufficient evidence that all may decide upon the weight of evidence, but He never has nor never will remove all chance [opportunity] for doubt, never will force faith. [See The Great Controversy, 527; Testimonies for the Church, 5:675, 676.]--Ibid.
Acquaintance With Ellen White Allayed Prejudice
In most cases such evidence was furnished simply by the ministry of Ellen White herself. J. H. Waggoner, who lingered for a few days following the New York camp meeting in Kirkville, New York, wrote of the influence of the meeting on the community, with its quietness, order, and freedom from fanatical excitement. As to Ellen White, he stated:
Many who had never seen her had heard the foolish falsehoods circulated against her, and came with the full effect of them on their minds; but when they heard the plain, practical truths of the Bible, the pure principles of Christianity presented in the earnest and powerful manner in which she was aided by the Lord to speak them there, all these feelings were swept away.--The Review and Herald, November 9, 1869.
G. I. Butler, in his report of the Iowa camp meeting, alluded to opposition and trial:
We were all strengthened by seeing the courage of the servants of the Lord who have labored so long and faithfully in this cause. If they can go forward with courage through the opposition and trial to which they have been so long exposed, feeling an increasing zeal and interest, certainly those of us who have not borne a tithe of their burdens ought not to be cast down.--Ibid.
In Defense of James and Ellen White
James White, as well as Ellen, was the object of attack and criticism. In October, 1869, a committee consisting of J. N. Andrews, G. H. Bell, and Uriah Smith was set up in Battle Creek to conduct a thorough investigation. Their assignment was either to justify the damaging criticism or put it to rest.
In announcing plans for the investigation and calling for a full response from the field, the committee recognized some significant points:
We have some sense of the importance of the position occupied in this work [that is, of the cause] by Brother and Sister White. But our enemies have, in some respects, a more perfect conception of it than we, as a people, have possessed.... By the word enemies, we mean those who have made it their chief business to attack the character and work of Brother and Sister White as the most effectual method of warring against this cause.--Ibid., October 26, 1869
As the investigation got under way James White commented:
The position and work of Mrs. White and myself, for more than twenty years, have exposed us to the jealousies of the jealous, the rage of the passionate, and the slanders of the slanderer. Having consciences void of offense toward God and toward men, we have kept at our work. But from our almost utter silence in the line of defense, accusers have grown impudent and bold, so that it has been thought best, for the good of the cause with which we hold so intimate connections, to meet their slanders with a plain statement of facts, which will probably appear in pamphlet form for very extensive circulation.--Ibid., January 11, 1870
James wrote further of the purpose of this investigation, declaring that he and Ellen had no personal feelings to be gratified, no lack of public confidence or friends, and that what was proposed was for the general good of the cause:
To put into the hands of our people a means of self-defense from miserable slanders repeated by those who are in sympathy with the dragon in his general warfare upon those who keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus Christ.--Ibid.
How did Ellen White relate to all of this? A back page note in the first issue of the Review in the new year under the title "Personal" declared:
The friends of Sister White will be happy to learn that her courage and cheerfulness were never greater than during the present winter. The bitter words and wicked slanders so freely used against her have been powerless to disturb her peace of mind.--Ibid., January 4, 1870