On the back page of the Review of January 11, 1870, James White requested, "Will those who know of things in the general course of Mrs. White and myself, during the period of our public labors, worthy of exposure, or unworthy of Christians, and teachers of the people, be so kind as to make them known to the office immediately." A few weeks earlier, as already noted, a request of similar character had been placed in the Review by the specially appointed committee in Battle Creek, J. N. Andrews, G. H. Bell, and Uriah Smith. Their statement read, in part:
Justice to Elder White, and sacred regard for the truth and for right, demand that we speak in his defense against the unjust attacks of his enemies. We do not do this merely as an act of personal justice to Elder White, but mainly because what is said against him is used by our enemies as their best weapon with which to assail the cause of present truth.
We fully believe that God has called him to occupy a leading position in the work of the third angel's message. We also believe that God has given to Sister White what the New Testament calls the gift of prophecy. The importance of her position in this work is, therefore, very great. If our work is of God, and if the doctrines which we cherish are the truths of the third angel's message, then, surely, ours is a most important and responsible business. And those who stand in the forefront of the work have responsibilities upon them which cannot be estimated....
It becomes necessary at the present time to make a direct appeal to the readers of the Review relative to the course of Elder White in financial matters. It is due to him, and he asks it as an act of justice, that every person who knows any act of dishonesty, or overreaching, or fraud, or covetousness, or grasping of means in any unbecoming manner, should make a statement of the fact in writing, and send it to this office. We design to place before the public a full statement of the financial matters of Elder White, as the most fitting reply to the attacks which are now being made upon him.--Ibid., October 26, 1869
The appeal continued:
We ask ...that those who have been witnesses of, or sharers in, his acts of benevolence shall also give us statements of the facts touching this part of the subject. We request an immediate response from all concerned.--Ibid.
A Full Financial Disclosure Promised
To provide information to those with questions regarding some of the financial transactions in which James White had participated with church members, or in his business dealings generally, and to provide church members with an effective tool with which to meet criticism from the world, the committee declared:
We design to place before the public a full statement of the financial matters of Elder White.--Ibid.
It took considerable time to assemble the data called for. On April 26 the committee announced that the report was ready, in a pamphlet that might be secured from the Review office for 15 cents. The notice indicates the anticipated field of usefulness:
The Defense of Elder James White and Wife. This work which was promised some time since is now ready for circulation. It has been prepared with much labor and care, and will be found satisfactory as an answer to the many wicked slanders uttered against these servants of Christ. It should be circulated in those sections where the tongue of the false accuser has been busy. We commend the work to the friends of this cause, especially to those who have to meet the calumnies of wicked men.
Our laboring brethren have often complained that their way is hedged up by wicked reports, whereby they lose much time and labor, and souls are turned away from the truth to perish in error. In such places no work can be more important than this, and we expect the friends of the cause at large will cheerfully meet the expense of its publication.--Ibid., April 26, 1870
The first pages were given to a statement of James White's connection with the work of the church from its beginnings, and especially its publishing interests. It reviewed the transfer of business matters when an organization was formed that could take hold of them. The rate of his pay was given in detail, paralleling the Civil War years with their inflationary trend.
June 3, 1861, to April 24, 1863, $7 per week
April 24, 1863, to October 30, 1863, $8 per week
October 30, 1863, to April 14, 1865, $9 per week
April 14, 1865, to August 15, 1865, $10 per week
On the last-named day he was stricken with paralysis, and pay stopped (In Memoriam: A Sketch of the Last Sickness and Death of Elder James White, 9).
The report continued:
During all this time, Sister White received nothing for her services. She labored efficiently with her husband from place to place and with the church at Battle Creek, and did a great amount of important writing in the form of epistles to individuals and to churches throughout the entire field. No preacher among us labored more ardently and efficiently than Sister White.
In consequence of their house being a home for visiting brethren, she had to keep two hired girls--one in the kitchen, and one to do general housework and sewing; yet no provision was made for the expense of hired help in the family, and the extra wear and tear of clothing in traveling. And, to say nothing of these expenses, Brother White's limited wages met only in part his general expenses, and the expenses of so large a family.--Ibid., 9, 10.
The question naturally arises, How could James White, a man with such limited salary income, handle such a situation? The answer followed in the pamphlet:
In this state of things, Brother White resorted to the sale of Bibles, concordances, Bible dictionaries, Bible atlases, and works of this kind, as a means of support. He sent these books out by mail and express to all parts of the country. He took them with him, east and west, and his sales were very large, so that the profits were probably more in a year than his entire wages. This enabled him to meet his large expenses, and give for benevolent and charitable purposes. In this he wronged himself. In connection with his other arduous labors, this extra effort was very taxing. But there was a wrong back of this. It was the neglect on the part of our people to pay Sister White for her valuable services.--Ibid., 10.
James White's Real Estate Transactions
The report spelled out the transactions relating to their homes in Battle Creek, with incomes accelerated by the financial surge accompanying the Civil War. After living some months in a rented house, by the aid of their friends they secured an acre and a half of land on which a modest home costing some $500 was built. With improvements and the increase in values he was able to sell it in 1863 for $1,500. He then secured a home nearer the publishing house, costing $1,300. Improvements and the development of an orchard and other features costing $1,200, and the rise in property value, brought this to a value of $4,500 when it was sold. He purchased a piece of land on which there was a house, a little way out of the city, investing $5,000 (Ibid., 12). It was stated:
A very large part of his entire property is thus seen to be made up of the rise of the real estate which he owned at different times during this period.--Ibid., 13.
The Sale of Writing Paper and Envelopes
Another source of supplementary income was also explained:
At the commencement of the war he purchased, upon his own responsibility, $1,200 worth of writing paper and envelopes, which in a short time doubled in value on his hands.--Ibid.
The matter was summed up:
These are the means by which Brother White has obtained property. As we have shown, his profits in honorably conducting a laudable business were $2,000; rise on stationery, $1,200; and rise of three different places in Battle Creek, $4,000; in all amounting to $7,200. But his property had never been regarded at any time worth more than $6,000, which during his severe and protracted sickness was much diminished.--Ibid.
In a general statement the committee declared:
The life of Brother White has been filled with acts of disinterested benevolence. Were it not that those who hate his close preaching and his faithful reproofs have so often represented him as a grasping, selfish man, it would be well to let these remain to the revelation of the great day, known only to Him who beholds every act, and to those who have been the sharers of these acts of mercy. But the circumstances of the case demand that we speak freely, though it is quite impossible to give more than a very small part of the many deeds of noble and unselfish devotion to the good of others.--Ibid., 53.
The Many Responses
The responses were prompt and numerous, and every one favorable. Joseph Bates, living in nearby Monterey, was the first to send in his testimony, dated November 1:
I have been acquainted with Brother and Sister White since the autumn of the year 1845, during which time I have traveled and been associated with them in holding religious meetings in many states of the Union, and met with them at about every General Conference during the last twenty years. Therefore I have had opportunity to fully understand his management of financial matters the most of the time since the publication of the Review.
It gives me pleasure to say that I have entire confidence in his honesty and uprightness. He is still, and ever has been, the man of my choice, called of God (as I firmly believe) to the place he has so long and faithfully filled.
I would further say that he has not only made the interest of the cause his own, but also the interest of those laboring to advance the cause. He has most generously donated from his own means to help sustain me in this work. As one instance, I will mention the fact that at one time he furnished me with a house for my family for fourteen months, for which he refused to receive rent.--Ibid., 58, 59.
Many other individuals and churches joined Joseph Bates. There was nothing but commendation; not one response was negative.
Wild Rumors Concerning Ellen White
The committee also looked into some of the reports instigated to defame Ellen White, such as her giving birth to two children before she was married. On this point, several who were acquainted with her since 1844 furnished an affidavit:
Whereas, evil-disposed persons have spread abroad the statement that Sister White was the mother of one or more children before she became a wife, this is to certify that we have been intimately acquainted with her since the fall of 1844; that is, from the seventeenth year of her age; and that we declare this statement a most wanton and malicious falsehood, having no foundation in truth, and having no excuse whatever for its existence. We have the utmost confidence in the integrity, virtue, and purity of character, of Sister E. G. White.
J. N. Andrews
A. S. Andrews
H. N. Smith
—Ibid., 144, 145.
Non-Adventist acquaintances in Portland, Maine, gave most positive statements regarding Ellen and her family. The pamphlet was circulated widely and did an effective work.
James and Ellen White in Battle Creek
The year 1870 opened with James and Ellen White living and working in Battle Creek. A number of factors united to make the situation for them much more comfortable than it had been for some months. J. N. Andrews was editing the Review. He had traveled and lived with James and Ellen for months at a time when he was serving as General Conference president. He had closely observed the fruitage of Ellen's work, her powerful influence in the churches. His testimony now in Battle Creek was positive. Through the columns of the Review, he and James were able to bring about a change in some basic understandings and attitudes. Before 1869 closed, substantial James White articles entitled "Our Faith and Hope, or Reasons Why We Believe as We Do" appeared weekly in the Review. The twenty-five first-page presentations ran well into 1870. Then on the editorial pages for January 25 and February 1 there were James White articles titled "The Spirit of Prophecy," presenting the Biblical basis for the expectation of the gift in the church.
The back page of the issue of February 8 carried an announcement of the Testimonies in permanent, hardbound form:
Testimonies 17 and 18.--For the convenience of our friends we have caused a quantity of these two numbers to be bound together in a neat, substantial volume of 399 pages. This presents much important matter in convenient and desirable form. We need only state to our friends that these works are to be obtained in this form, to insure an extensive demand for this bound volume. Price 80 cents postage paid.
Apparently the author of the note was not the only one who felt this way. The same Review page quoted from a letter by a layman, J. H. Rogers, giving his opinion that "Testimony No. 18 should be in the house of every believer in the message of present truth. It should be a book at hand for all who are desirous of overcoming this world and the evils therein." He added,
Dear brethren and sisters, there is reproof, correction, and instruction for all in this Testimony. I acknowledge many things apply to myself, to which I mean to try to take heed and overcome, for only the pure and holy will be able to enter the pearly gates.
J. N. Andrews on the Visions
The next week J. N. Andrews came in with an editorial, "Our Use of the Visions of Sister White." It opened:
It is quite generally understood that the Seventh-day Adventists are believers in the perpetuity of spiritual gifts. It is also understood that we regard the visions of Sister White as given by the Spirit of God. But the use which we make of the doctrine of spiritual gifts, and particularly the visions of Sister White, is very generally misunderstood.--The Review and Herald, February 15, 1870.
In twenty numbered propositions he set forth clear-cut positions on the work of the Holy Spirit. After referring to Paul's words in Ephesians 4:11-13, he declared:
14. The object of spiritual gifts is to maintain the living work of God in the church. They enable the Spirit of God to speak in the correction of wrongs, and in the exposure of iniquity. They are the means whereby God teaches His people when they are in danger of taking wrong steps. They are the means by which the Spirit of God sheds light upon church difficulties, when otherwise their adjustment would be impossible. They also constitute the means whereby God preserves His people from confusion by pointing out errors, by correcting false interpretations of the Scriptures, and causing light to shine out upon that which is in danger of being wrongly understood, and therefore of being the cause of evil and division to the people of God.
In short, their work is to unite the people of God in the same mind and in the same judgment upon the meaning of the Scriptures. Mere human judgment, with no direct instruction from Heaven, can never search out hidden iniquity, nor adjust dark and complicated church difficulties, nor prevent different and conflicting interpretations of the Scriptures. It would be sad indeed if God could not still converse with His people.--Ibid.
He pointed out that the gifts of the Spirit are primarily for the church; members do not test others by these gifts. But he stated clearly:
There is such a thing ...as men having in the providence of God an opportunity to become acquainted with the special work of the Spirit of God, so that they shall acknowledge that their light is clear, convincing, and satisfactory. To such persons, we consider the gifts of the Spirit are clearly a test.--Ibid.
The Searching Messages of Testimony No. 18
Solemn indeed were the messages set forth in Testimony No. 18. One chapter filled seventy-one pages and was reprinted in Testimonies for the Church, 2:439-489. It was titled "An Appeal to the Church," and was a stirring message. It discussed a number of matters relating to the spiritual condition of many. Then Ellen White introduced the case of Nathan Fuller, a minister in New York State who had become involved in a licentious course with some of the female members in his congregation. At a recent General Conference session Fuller had been a delegate from his conference (The Review and Herald, May 28, 1867). He was one of the four main speakers at the Wright camp meeting. But he had failed to keep himself clear of moral corruption. Ellen wrote:
Elder Fuller has been warned. The warnings given to others condemned him. The sins reproved in others reproved him and gave him sufficient light to see how God regarded crimes of such a character as he was committing, yet he would not turn from his evil course. He continued to pursue his fearful, impious work, corrupting the bodies and souls of his flock. Satan had strengthened the lustful passions which this man did not subdue, and engaged them in his cause to lead souls to death.
While he professed to keep the law of God, he was, in a most wanton manner, violating its plain precepts. He has given himself up to the gratification of sensual pleasure. He has sold himself to work wickedness. What will be the wages of such a man? The indignation and wrath of God will punish him for sin. The vengeance of God will be aroused against all those whose lustful passions have been concealed under a ministerial cloak.--Testimonies for the Church, 2:454.
In the setting of this outstanding case of moral corruption Ellen White sounded warnings against the indulgence of all lustful passions. Shortly after the publication of these counsels a volume of 272 pages, compiled and edited by James White and titled A Solemn Appeal Relative to Solitary Vice, and Abuses and Excesses of the Marriage Relation, came from the presses of the Review. Included in it was a reprint of Ellen White pamphlet Appeal to Mothers, published in 1864, and presentations from medical men (The Review and Herald, February 15, 1870).
Preparation for the 1870 General Conference Session
Omens of a turn in the tide in Battle Creek creep out here and there in the records, as indicated in the word from James White in early February. He was writing of the upturn in affairs at the Health Institute:
We trust, also, that the church in Battle Creek is really correcting its own wrongs, and renewing its covenant with God, so that it may be a blessing to the institute.--Ibid., February 8, 1870
Instead of the annual meetings being held in May, as they had been for several years, the General Conference Committee saw advantages of an earlier date, and the 1870 session was set for mid-March (Ibid., February 15, 1870). Anticipating meetings "of more than usual importance," believers were urged to make them a special subject of prayer, a request repeated in the Review of March 8, with the hope expressed that those attending would "come in the spirit of the work." The notice continued:
We trust our meetings this spring will mark a new era in the prosperity of the cause of present truth. We hope that all who shall attend will first prepare their hearts to seek God. And we earnestly request all who have an interest at the throne of grace to pray that God's blessing may be especially granted at this conference.--Ibid., March 8, 1870
At the heart of the work itself something was happening. The General Conference Committee set the pace by leading in a "special season of seeking God, and in putting away the sins and faults that have grieved the Spirit of God at Battle Creek." The result was reported the next week:
The Battle Creek church has taken hold in earnest to return fully to the Lord. We think there was never so good a prospect of raising the standard of piety as it should be in this place, as there is at the present time.... We have good reason to hope that these meetings will mark a new era in the experience of the Battle Creek church.--Ibid., March 15, 1870
Thus the foundation was laid for a harmonious and fruitful General Conference session and profitable annual meetings of the SDA Publishing Association and the Health Institute. The actions passed by the Conference session were mostly of a nature to get the cause of God back onto solid track, and there was a general feeling that better days lay ahead. Workers went forth from this meeting with James White serving as president, Uriah Smith as secretary, and G. H. Bell as treasurer. The General Conference Committee consisted of James White, J. N. Andrews, and J. H. Waggoner (Ibid., March 22, 1870).
Uriah Smith was brought back as editor of the Review and Herald. As to the church in Battle Creek, which had passed through many dark days, J. H. Waggoner reported in Ibid., April 26, 1870:
The church in Battle Creek is now in working order. Union prevails, and the Lord blesses their efforts. Sabbath the twenty-third [of April] Brother and Sister White both spoke with great force and power at the morning meeting.--Ibid., April 26, 1870
James and Ellen White Entrenched Anew in Battle Creek
Through the late spring and early summer James and Ellen White continued their labors in Battle Creek under pleasant circumstances. He carried the leadership of the church along with the management of the business affairs of the institutions and writing for the Review. She was occupied with her writing. From time to time her addresses, stenographically reported by Smith, appeared as articles in the Review. One of these was given in June, 1869, and published under the title "Practical Remarks" (Ibid., April 12, 1870).
On Sunday, May 22, Ellen and her husband took the day off to join employees of the publishing house and members of the Battle Creek church for a day of rest and recreation at nearby Goguac Lake. Smith reported that that day "the majority of Sabbathkeepers in Battle Creek found themselves on the shore of the beautiful lake," "each family furnished with a basket of hygienic provisions for dinner, and all in a state of body and mind to appreciate, and enjoy a day of Christian recreation."--Ibid., May 31, 1870
Two camp meeting tents were pitched for use in case of rain. The object of the day was to enjoy a day away from the usual scenes and occupations and participate in activities conducive to physical and spiritual refreshment. The grove was pleasant and the day lovely, and there was evidence of "cheerful associations," leaving many pleasant memories. During the morning there was discussion of health reform, recounting experiences and giving instruction. After the noon repast and songs of praise, Ellen White gave an address titled "Christian Recreation," which was published in the Review nine days later. It found its way into the Testimonies, available today in volume 2, pages 585-594. In her remarks she stated:
It is right that we should choose such places as this grove for seasons of relaxation and recreation. But while we are here, it is not to devote our attention to ourselves merely, and fritter away precious time, and engage in amusements which will encourage a disrelish for sacred things. We have not come here to indulge in jesting and joking, in the senseless laugh and foolish talking. We here behold the beauties of nature....As you behold these works of nature, let your mind be carried up higher to nature's God.--Ibid.
Camp Meeting Again
For the year 1870 four camp meetings were scheduled in the West in early summer, and ten in the Eastern States in the late summer and fall. The first would be at Marion, Iowa, opening June 9. James and Ellen White had, at the turn of the year, purchased a modest home in Washington, Iowa, as a hideout where they could get away to relax and pursue their writing. They would spend a week there on their way to the Iowa camp meeting.
The few days there brought a welcome change, of which Ellen wrote to her prospective daughter-in-law, Emma McDearmon, who was engaged to Edson.
We spent a very pleasant week in Washington. I wrote more in one week than I have written in six weeks at Battle Creek. We had no interruptions. Although I have not spent all the time in writing, I walked in the beautiful garden. Worked in the field weeding out strawberries until I became so lame I could not move without much pain.
Sunday we had two meetings in a meetinghouse in Washington. The people invited my husband to speak. We had a good congregation and good interest to hear. We had freedom in speaking to them.--Letter 9, 1870.
Ellen devoted the next day to her writing. As evening came on, she and James packed, preparing for the two-day trek by carriage to Marion, the first camp meeting of the season. Other carriages would join theirs as they traveled.
Camp Meeting Travel Vignettes
Much of the program in attending camp meetings one after another, although strenuous, became somewhat routine. In the 1870 season there were a few happenings of special interest that we will mention as vignettes, without concern for time and place.
The Carriage Journey to Marion
We were awake at four. We were ...on our journey at five o'clock. We halted for breakfast, five double wagons well loaded, at seven. Out on the open prairie, James and self walked about one mile and half. We were willing to ride when the wagons came up. At noon we halted in a beautiful grove. We then overtook the teams from Pilot Grove. There were then thirteen wagons well filled with men and women and children. There were about one hundred in all.
At night we tarried in a grove. Tents were pitched and we then held a meeting in the large [family] tent. The neighbors flocked in. My husband spoke and I followed him. We had an interesting meeting, singing, talking, and praying. We retired to rest, but I was too weary to sleep, until about midnight.
We arose at half past three and were on our way at four. We found all had the tents down and packed. Ours was soon ready and again our caravan started. Order was observed by all. At half past six, we halted on the prairie and built a large fire, and all came together for a season of prayer. We then ate our humble fare and were soon on our way again.
At one o'clock we were on the campground and were faint and weary. We felt refreshed by eating a warm dinner. Our tent was pitched in the afternoon and we made our beds. Had a good straw bed to lie on and we slept sweetly.--Ibid.
The next vignette comes from a James White report of traveling on a riverboat up the Mississippi.
Riverboat Activities
We have, on our upward trip, met many, and very large, rafts of lumber drifting down the river. On them are erected board shanties in which the men cook and sleep. We observed, as we passed a large raft, in which there were probably forty men, one man swimming toward the steamer, while others were swinging their hats, and crying, "Papers!" These were immediately thrown overboard, and gathered up by the swimmer and taken to the raft. In a few moments these could be dried, ready to be read.
This gave Willie a new idea. He immediately went to my traveling bag for present-truth books and cord, and to the fireman for stone coal. Between two pamphlets he would tie a piece of coal, and as we passed within throwing distance, we would land the books quite on the rafts. They were eagerly seized by the sturdy lumbermen. God bless the truth thus distributed.--The Review and Herald, July 5, 1870.
The White family were not the only Seventh-day Adventists on the river going to camp meeting. This gave an opportunity for an unwitting outreach in song, reported by James White:
A Shipboard Song Service
As the sun sank behind the bluffs on the Iowa side, the air grew cooler, and the evening was delightful. Our company was seated together in front of the clerk's office, on the bow of the boat, when we struck up the good tune and hymn "Resting By and By." This we did for our own diversion and devotion, not expecting to attract attention. But as soon as we had finished two verses, and paused, hands were clapped and feet were tapped all around us, and as we looked around, our fellow passengers were all gathered forward standing just over our shoulders calling out, "Give us some more!" "Try that again!"
We made an apology for disturbing them with our poor singing.... But as they continued to call for more, we gave them two verses of the "Celestial Army," and begged to be excused.--Ibid.
James White wrote that somewhat fewer than a hundred passengers were on the riverboat. One young man approached him, addressed him as Elder White, and told him that he heard him preach at Johnstown, Wisconsin, in the fall of 1868. He must have mentioned this to other passengers, among them a man from Ohio, who was on his way to Minnesota to improve his health.
An Impromptu Evening Shipboard Meeting
The feeble gentleman from Ohio ...said to us, "It is rumored about this boat, Mr. White, that your wife is a public speaker, and every passenger will unite in a request for her to speak in the ladies' cabin, if she will consent."
After a moment's consultation as to the propriety of the thing, and the right subject, we returned an affirmative answer. Soon the seats were arranged, a short prayer offered, and Mrs. White seized upon the great idea that God--His wisdom, love, and even His love of the beautiful--could be seen through the beauties of nature. The subject was made more interesting by reference to the grand and beautiful scenery of the day's trip up the old Mississippi.
A more attentive audience we never saw. Nine in the evening came, and a dozen black-faced fellows were standing ready to prepare extra beds in the very room we were using as a chapel, so we closed, and sought rest for the night.--Ibid.
At times when James and Ellen White had planned some trip in their ministry, illness on her part seemed to make it entirely out of the question, but taking God's providence into account in their plans, they would start out by faith and God sustained them. On the day they were to attend one camp meeting, Ellen was very ill. She had been in bed for two days, but she thought she must at least attempt to go. She wrote of it to Willie:
"Make Way for a Sick Woman"
I was not dressed Wednesday and but a short time Thursday in the morning, until I dressed to start on the cars.... When we arrived at Jackson, it was State fair, and such a crowd I never saw before. They were determined to crowd upon the platform.
Your father rushed out with me on his arm. He put his shoulder against men and women, crying out, "Make way for a sick woman. Clear the track for a sick woman." He rushed through the crowd, took me to one side, and found me a seat. Adelia Van Horn was by my side. He went for Brother Palmer's team.--Letter 13, 1870.
Their travels took them into newly settled country where the roads were sometimes very difficult to negotiate. On one occasion in Missouri, this left them in a distressing but somewhat comical situation described in a letter to Edson and Willie:
Stranded in a Sea of Mud
I spoke five times in Hamilton. We started to visit an afflicted family who had lost a child 14 years old. Father preached the funeral sermon in the Methodist meetinghouse. We were provided a double wagon and horses by Brother McCollester.
We rode finely for two miles when we tried to cross a mud slough. When in the center of rods of mud, the horses were stuck (stalled is the Western phrase). The mud was up to the horses' bellies. They could go no farther. They were struggling until they lay flat in the mud.
We were puzzled to know what to do. Father walked out on the pole [tongue] of the wagon and separated them from each other [and the wagon] and then used the whip and they, after making a terrible effort, struggled to terra firma, leaving us in the wagon in a sea of mud.
Father decided to venture out on the pole and ran lightly over the stiffest part of the mud. The stiff mud bore him up. He tried to get a board for me to walk on over the mud. I had no rubbers. The board refused to come off the oak posts.
I decided to follow your father's example. I ran out on the pole and his hand met mine and I got safe on terra firma. We left the wagon [in the mud] and horses [tied to the fence] and walked back to Hamilton, two miles.--Letter 18, 1870.
We told the donor of the team where his horses were and with strong ropes he has gone to see if he can get them home.--Letter 17, 1870.
James and Ellen spent eight weeks attending six eastern camp meetings, first at Oneida, New York, followed by South Lancaster, Massachusetts; Bordeauville, Vermont; Skowhegan, Maine; Clyde, Ohio; and one close at hand in Charlotte, Michigan. Wearily James took his pen and wrote:
Our labors have been too great for us; and we decide that we should not hold more than two camp meetings a month, especially if we are to commence in May and continue into October.--The Review and Herald, October 4, 1870.
On to the Kansas Camp Meeting
Brave words of good intentions, but soon forgotten. After they had caught their breath at the Ohio meeting, they were ready to go on. Wrote White:
On the Ohio campground, the burden rolled upon us, and we have decided to hold camp meetings in Indiana and Kansas in the month of October. See appointments.
We make the sacrifice in our much worn condition to hold these meetings for the good of perishing souls. Who wish to share with us? Such are invited to assist with their prayers and their means.--Ibid., September 27, 1870
With renewed spirits they journeyed to Indiana and then Kansas, and entered wholeheartedly into the meetings. As the Kansas meeting, held near Fort Scott, seventy-five miles south of Kansas City, neared its close, James White, on Sunday, October 16, described the circumstances:
Here are ten family tents, several covered wagons in which families live, a provision stand, and the Iowa large tent, of inestimable value to us during the heavy storm. A coal stove has been set up in the big tent, which has added much to our comfort during the storm. In fact, nearly all the tents are furnished with stoves. As far as we can learn, our people have been quite comfortable, even in the midst of the storm. All are cheerful, and enjoy the meeting very much.--Ibid., November 8, 1870
He added, "Mrs. White has spoken on the health question in a manner to give entire satisfaction." Of this more will be said.
Instead of returning home to Battle Creek promptly as they had first planned, they felt sufficiently rejuvenated to hold a few meetings in Missouri. This swing to the south and west added five weeks to their 1870 camp meeting work. They reached home, Monday, November 7 (Ibid., November 15, 1870).