James and Ellen received a most hearty reception when they arrived in California on Wednesday evening, September 25, 1872. At the end of the rail line in Oakland they were met by brethren Conkrite and Stockton, who ushered them to the San Francisco Ferry and on to the Rowland home. Mrs. Rowland was a well-to-do Scottish woman on the verge of taking her stand for the Adventist message. It was midnight when they reached this home. Ellen White wrote, "We met and were introduced to twenty brethren and sisters who greeted us as cordially as we were ever greeted in our lives. These friends had waited at the house of Sister Rowland until twelve o'clock at night to receive us. We did not get to rest until a still later hour."--Letter 16, 1872. Declared Ellen White in a letter to Edson and Emma:
We rested on the first easy bed we had seen for months. We enjoyed it much. Sister Rowland has welcomed us to her house for one year if we will accept it. She has a good home, well furnished.--Ibid.
In the morning their hostess took them out onto the streets of San Francisco to see the gardens. It seemed to them as if it were midsummer.
Flowers of every type and hue grew in luxuriance and abundance everywhere. Fuchsias grow in open grounds, out of doors, summer and winter; roses of every variety were trailing above trees or latticework in a natural, homelike manner. Many flowers I could not name, having never seen them before.--Ibid.
James and Ellen White had their eyes on Santa Rosa and looked forward to meeting J. N. Loughborough and his wife, who resided there, and to attend the camp meeting. They made the thirty-seven-mile ferry trip across the bay and up the Petaluma River to the city of Petaluma, then a fifteen-mile train trip to Santa Rosa. This was a route they would often travel as they moved about in northern California. They were cordially received at the Loughborough home in Santa Rosa, and attended the Sabbath morning service in the house of worship. James spoke on the reasons of Adventist faith, and Ellen followed for another fifteen minutes. Then nearly all the congregation crowded onto the platform to shake hands with them (Letter 17, 1872). Arrangements had been made for them to stay in the Loughborough home. Ellen describes it and the family:
We are in Brother Loughborough's large house. It is very convenient; has large bedrooms and good chambers for a story-and-a-half house. We are heartily welcome here. Brother Loughborough says the house is ours. We may do what we please with it.
Their two children are, it appears to me, the best children, the most quiet and peaceable, I ever saw. The mother controls them in a quiet way, without noise, severity, or bluster.
The two [John and Mary, his second wife] seem very happy together. We think we shall enjoy our visit to California, but it is like July here now, and the change is so great from the mountain air that we hardly know what to do with ourselves.--Ibid.
In the market they found fruit of every variety, "fresh figs in abundance, apricots, grapes, pears, peaches, and tomatoes. Sweet potatoes are the same price as Irish. They say strawberries are in market, and green peas and string beans. Muskmelons are large as great pumpkins."--Ibid. Her conclusion was that they would enjoy the country very much.
The camp meeting was to be held in a grove at Windsor, a town ten miles south, situated between Santa Rosa and Petaluma. James and Ellen White, together with Lucinda Hall and Willie, were on the grounds for the opening meetings, Thursday, October 3. James wrote:
We are now writing in a tent upon the California campground, near Windsor, Sonoma County, fifth-day, October 3, at the close of the afternoon service. The location is good, and the weather is fine. It is as warm as August in Michigan, very much warmer than at any point since we crossed the plains the first of July.
Notwithstanding the brief notice of this meeting, there are, at this early stage of the meeting, thirty-three tents upon the ground, besides the large congregation tent, and the provision stand.
Three tents are marked, San Francisco; two, Green Valley; one, Sebastopol; four, Bloomfield; one, Mendocino County; three, Windsor; six, Healdsburg; nine, Santa Rosa; two, Petaluma; two, Woodland.... We spoke in the morning upon the subject of the waiting, watching time, in answer to the question, Where are we? ...Mrs. White spoke in the afternoon, and Elder Cornell spoke in the evening. More next week.--The Review and Herald, October 15, 1872.
The next week he reported that the camp meeting closed well; those who attended were well pleased and encouraged. Twice as many persons had camped on the ground as were expected. James added:
Elder Loughborough is an able manager. The order was excellent, and much admired, and complimented, by those who visited the ground.--Ibid., October 22, 1872
As to ministerial labor, James reported: "Elder Cornell preached twice, Elder Loughborough once, Mrs. White five times, but with difficulty in consequence of a severe cold, and we gave ten discourses, beside speaking to many points in social meetings." Exuberantly, he added:
Our company, Mrs. White, Willie, Sister Hall, and the writer have been glad every moment since we met a cordial reception at the end of our long journey to San Francisco, that we were in California. The camp meeting has not by any means changed our feelings upon the subject. And nothing but stern duty will ever call us from this country.
We like the people of California, and the country, and think it will be favorable to our health.... We now have strong hopes of recovering health, strength, and courage in the Lord, such as enjoyed two years since.--Ibid.
White hastened to inform the readers of the Review that his "general interest in the cause" was increasing, and he hoped soon to be able to complete a couple of books, Bible Adventism and Bible Hygiene.
After the camp meeting Loughborough and Cornell had to get the large tent back to Woodland, some fifty or sixty miles east of Santa Rosa as the crow would fly over the mountains, but more than twice that far by surface transportation. James and Ellen White were eager to spend some time in San Francisco, having merely passed through the city. So they all went to San Francisco together by train and by ferry on Thursday morning, October 10. On Friday Loughborough and Cornell took the tent by train to Woodland.
In San Francisco
The Whites were again cordially received in the home of Mrs. Rowland. Spending the afternoon there, Ellen had an opportunity to write a report to Edson and Emma of her impressions of the camp meeting and of California:
Our camp meeting was a success. We have not a doubt but that the Lord has directed our course to this coast, and we believe the cause of God will be advanced by our labors, which seem to be very necessary. Your father labored very hard during the meeting. He seemed to be full of matter and he could not restrain his labors. The people hung upon his words with intense interest.
I think I never saw a company together all so intelligent, so sincere, so unexceptional in every way, as the company we met upon the campground. Twenty homes have been offered us already and such urgent, hearty invitations that we desire to gratify them all.--Letter 18, 1872.
She wrote of a committee of five who had waited upon them at the camp meeting, urging them to make their headquarters in San Francisco; they also offered to hire a five-room house, furnish it, and turn it over to them for their home. Further, they would furnish all they needed to live on, and even provide domestic help.
Ellen reported: "We declined. We should not be prescribed in our liberty at all. We should go among the brethren just when we choose and stay one, two, or three weeks." A schoolteacher, one of three sisters in San Francisco, proposed:
"If Sister White could be divided into ten pieces and they could each have a little piece of her, they would feel greatly blessed." I remarked, Sisters, there is none too much of Sister White to keep her together, but I have wished I could be in several places at the same time. I see so great a work to be done.--Ibid.
"God has truly blessed your father," she wrote to the children in Michigan. "He had great freedom of speech and labored far beyond anything I expected. Brother Cornell had the ague [malaria] and could speak only twice. Brother Loughborough spoke only once. He had the care of the meeting on him. Besides the three discourses I have mentioned, your father and mother did all the preaching.... I have coughed very hard, yet when I have attempted to speak, have not coughed at all."--Ibid.
Continuing her report of the camp meeting, she wrote perceptively:
Brother Loughborough has done nobly in bearing the burdens he has had to bear and in keeping things together. God has worked with him and sustained him. Brother [M. G.] Kellogg has done what he could.... He has an excellent spirit. No one has a word of fault to find with him.
He is cautious, very timid, unselfish, conscientious, and devoted to the work, but becomes discouraged if the labors he puts forth do not seem to result in immediate good. He was ordained at the camp meeting and this will be a courage and strength to him. His wife is a thoroughly converted woman. She has upon her countenance an expression of contentment and peace.--Ibid.
Turning to the immediate surroundings, she observed, as a newcomer, that San Francisco in late September was like June and July in Michigan:
Flower gardens look very beautiful. Fuchsias are growing in open ground, trailed above trees and flowers in rich profusion. Roses are in bloom, of all varieties. There are the most beautiful evergreens I ever looked upon.
We have fruit here of every kind. Pears as large as a pint bowl, very delicious to the taste; figs in their natural state; large white and pink grapes--one is all you wish to put in your mouth at once. Our friends brought us clusters of grapes at camp meeting weighing from one to two pounds. At Woodland we shall have free access to grape and fig gardens. All we have to do is simply dry them, then box them, and we have figs such as we see in market and buy. No sugar is required in the drying. There are apples in abundance, sweet potatoes in great plenty. We do not eat much but fruit.--Ibid.
Catching herself, she declared,
"We shall not neglect the work of God to view the wonderful things of nature, but we shall make these things all secondary. Let them come along in the course of events. We must make the work of God our first and primary business. The salvation of souls is of the highest importance. Everything else is inferior to this."--Ibid.
Sabbath, October 12, James and Ellen White attended the morning worship service in San Francisco at eleven, and another in late afternoon, both speaking at each of the meetings. "We had good liberty," wrote Ellen White, "and the people seemed much encouraged."--Manuscript 5, 1872. At a meeting Sunday morning she preached from John 1. In the afternoon James spoke on the "reasons of our faith" and Ellen on "God in nature." Thus their work began in San Francisco.
Monday, October 14, was an interesting day to them, of which she wrote in her diary:
We visited Sister Moore, who lives with her daughter. Her daughter married the ex-governor of California. We were received very cordially by the daughter. We had a very interesting visit with Sister Moore. Before we left, Mr. Holden came home and we had an interesting interview with His Honor.--Ibid.
Making their home with Mrs. Rowland, they shopped some, did some writing, and from day to day visited the believers in the city--Diggins, Healey, and others. They had a glimpse into the situation of the Sabbathkeepers in San Francisco.
The Beginnings of the Work in California
It will be well to review the history of how the Adventist work began in California. At the General Conference session held in Battle Creek in May, 1868, in response to earnest pleas brought by M. G. Kellogg from the few Sabbathkeepers in California, J. N. Loughborough and D. T. Bourdeau were sent as missionaries to the West Coast. They began their work in Petaluma and from there worked northward. Soon they had established churches in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Bloomfield, and other places. Loughborough reported:
Shortly after our arrival in California we received a letter from Mrs. White, in which she related a vision given her in Battle Creek on Friday evening of June 12--a day that we had spent in Lancaster, New York, before starting for California. She had never been in California, and had no personal knowledge of the habits of the people. In fact, at that time she had never been west of the Missouri River. Any knowledge she possessed concerning things there was derived from what the Lord was pleased to reveal to her.
In the instruction in her letter, she delineated the liberal ways of the people of California, and what would be the effect of labor among them on a close, "pennywise" plan. In preaching to the people in California, they must be approached in something of the liberal spirit in which they work, and yet not in a spendthrift manner.--GSAM, p. 385.
Looking back years later, Loughborough testified:
As I witness the results of following the instruction given, I can say that our cause advanced more in three months than it would have done in one year had we not been helped "in the work of the ministry" by the instruction received through the gift of prophecy. Up to the spring of 1871, as the result of the efforts in Sonoma County, five churches of Sabbathkeepers had been raised up.-- Ibid., 386.
First Tent Meeting in San Francisco
In June, 1871, with M. E. Cornell to assist (Bourdeau had returned to the East), Loughborough pitched the tent in San Francisco on Market Street, and began evangelistic meetings. Later the meetings were transferred to a hall. More than fifty accepted the message and joined the church. As the meetings proceeded, Cornell, whose wife was still back in the East--grew careless in his conduct, especially in the manner and with whom he was seen. He had enemies in the city, who watched every move. Loughborough could see that it was necessary, as the apostle admonished, to shun every appearance of evil.
When approached on the matter, Cornell took a bold and defiant attitude, declaring that he had a right to do as he pleased. On January 23, Loughborough went back to Sonoma County for a few days to oversee the work, leaving the new church in San Francisco in the care of Cornell. By this time, enemies were beginning to make more of his conduct and his carelessness in the company he kept. He took the position that it was none of their business, and he would show them that "he had a mind of his own, and could walk the streets as he pleased, and with whom he pleased, without being subject to their remarks."-- Ibid., 387.
Returning to San Francisco, Loughborough reported:
I tried, by private labor, to show him that such a course of action would not answer, and that such an independent spirit would end in evil.
He had his friends, who strongly sympathized with him, some of whom began to take a position which would subject him to still greater censure. A large portion of the church saw the evil of his waywardness, and were ready to second the efforts I was making to save the cause from dishonor.-- Ibid.
The situation worsened rapidly. On Sabbath, January 27, 1872, the church gave some consideration to the matter. They decided that there would have to be an investigation and some decisive action taken to save the reputation of the church. The time was set for the next morning at nine o'clock. Loughborough reports on what took place:
On the morning of the twenty-eighth, as I started for the meeting, I met the fellow-laborer on the sidewalk, near my boarding place, weeping. Said he, "Brother Loughborough, I am not going to the meeting today."
"Not going to the meeting?" said I; "the meeting relates to your case."
"I know that," said he, "but I am all wrong. You are right in the position you have taken in reference to me. Here is a letter of confession I have written to the church; you take it and read it to them. It will be better for you, and better for those who might be inclined to sympathize with me, if I am not there."
"What has occasioned this great change in you since yesterday?" I inquired.
He replied, "I went to the post office last night, after the Sabbath, and received a letter from Sister White, from Battle Creek, Michigan. It is a testimony she has written out for me." Handing it to me, he said, "Read that, and you will see how the Lord sees my case."-- Ibid., 387, 388.
Here was Ellen White's message:
Battle Creek, Michigan, December 27, 1871. Dear Brother Cornell, You will see before this reaches you that the Lord has again visited His people by giving me a testimony. In this view I was shown that you were not standing in the clear light and you are in danger of bringing a reproach upon the cause of God by moving as you happen to feel. It is Satan's intent to destroy you....
I was shown that you now should be very circumspect in your deportment and in your words. You are watched by enemies. You have great weaknesses for a man that is as strong as you are to move the crowd.... If you are not cautious, you will bring a reproach upon the cause of God which could not soon be wiped away.--Letter 23, 1871.
Cornell requested Loughborough to say to the church that he had received a testimony from Sister White, reproving him for his conduct, and that he accepted it, as it was the truth. The church was saved from division. It was clear to all that there was divine timing in this unique experience. Loughborough did some checking, and wrote:
This was part of a view given to Mrs. White at Bordoville, Vermont, December 10, 1871. She began to write the part relating to this brother's case December 27, 1871, but for some reason the completion of the document was delayed until January 18, 1872, at which time it was finished and mailed from Battle Creek. It then required about nine days to get letters overland from Michigan to California....
At the time of the vision there was but a shadow of what was actually developed when the testimony arrived in San Francisco. It will be seen, from a comparison of dates, that the culmination of the case in San Francisco came after the written testimony left the former place. Our brethren in San Francisco saw at once that no person could have written to Battle Creek and communicated the intelligence to Mrs. White in time for her to write this letter, for the state of things did not then exist.--GSAM, pp. 388, 389.
Loughborough declared that he had not written a line to James or Ellen White about Cornell's growing carelessness. He was naturally curious as to the exact timing of the message. This is what his investigation uncovered:
At a very early hour on the morning of January 18, 1872, Mrs. White was awakened with the above testimony vividly impressed upon her mind. The impression was as distinct to her as though audibly spoken, "Write out immediately that testimony for California, and get it into the very next mail; it is needed." This being repeated the second time, she arose, hastily dressed, and completed the writing.
Just before breakfast she handed it to her son Willie, saying, "Take this letter to the post office, but don't put it into the drop. Hand it to the postmaster, and have him be sure to put it into the mailbag that goes out this morning."
He afterward said that he thought her instructions a little peculiar, but he asked no questions, and did as he was bidden, and "saw the letter go into the mailbag."-- Ibid., 389.
Had the testimony been sent when she started to write it out in December, 1871, matters in San Francisco were such that it would have had little application. Had it reached the city a day later than it did, the accusations and bitter feelings would have torn the church apart. It reached its destination just at the right time. Wrote Ellen some years after this, possibly having this case particularly in mind:
I have been aroused from my sleep with a vivid sense of subjects previously presented to my mind; and I have written, at midnight, letters that have gone across the continent and, arriving at a crisis, have saved great disaster to the cause of God. This has been my work for many years.--Testimonies for the Church, 5:671.
The experience related above took place in January, 1872. M. E. Cornell, in response to the testimony, took hold of himself and, with J. N. Loughborough, continued in evangelistic ministry through late winter, spring, and summer.
Tent Meetings in Woodland
Tent meetings were held in Woodland through August and September, with Cornell doing most of the preaching, although with somewhat less energy and dedication than such work called for. The lackluster meetings yielded some baptisms, however, and steps were initiated to erect a church building. The last weekend in September the meetings were brought to a close as the tent was needed for the camp meeting to open later in the week at Windsor. There James and Ellen White learned, with distress, of the poor showing in Woodland and felt impressed to take steps to save the situation. Five years later, as he visited the site of the Windsor camp meeting, James White recalled:
The tent had been to Woodland, and it was said that a very great interest had been raised, which was lost through bad management. We had heard by letter of this great interest and expected to see a large force from Woodland; but to our surprise, we found on the Windsor campground only six from Woodland. We were moved by the Spirit of God to urge that the tent should return. But all the preachers were discouraged about the place and opposed our proposition.
We had never been to Woodland, and knew nothing of the facts in the case. But the impression was upon us that we should speak in the tent at Woodland.
We made the matter a subject of prayer, and in answer the impression came with great power that we should go to Woodland with the tent. And as we related our impressions the preachers shook their heads. This led us to visit the same place again and pray over the matter. We came away the third time fully settled, and offered to bear all the risk of such a move. Then the tent went to Woodland and the result was as follows:
Both Mrs. White and the writer spoke to large audiences with freedom and power, the interest was fully restored, and in less than three months a church of nearly fifty was raised up, and a house of worship was built and paid for, which cost about $2,500.--The Signs of the Times, December 6, 1877.
The revived tent meetings, with James and Ellen White leading out, brought new life to the effort. Ellen White preached to nearly five hundred people November 15. There were meetings every night, and the days were filled in visiting interested persons, encouraging them to take their stand. "Their labors," wrote Loughborough," ...told well in the favor of the cause, of deep, practical godliness and truth" (The Review and Herald, December 3, 1872).
Willie accompanied his parents to Woodland, and with them was intrigued with the fruit of the land. That area is noted for its fruit. In her diary for October 21, 1872, after writing of her personal visits with people wrestling with decisions, Ellen stated:
We rode out five miles to Brother Grayson's. We found an excellent farm of four hundred acres. He has a large vineyard and large wheat fields. Willie has been gathering grapes and figs and drying them. We have quite a quantity drying. Brother and Sister Grayson say Willie has stolen their hearts. Willie thinks much of this kind family.--Manuscript 5, 1872.
They stayed that night at the Grayson home. After breakfast they walked out with Willie to see his grapes, and satisfied themselves that he had worked hard at fruit drying, the few days he had been there.
The next mention of their son was in connection with his accompanying M. G. Kellogg back to the East, to enroll in Dr. R. T. Trall's Medical School, in Florence Heights, New Jersey. Kellogg had taken his medical training there and was returning for a second course extending through a few months. While at Woodland James and Ellen White had arranged for both Willie and Edson to accompany him to gain medical training (Letter 20, 1872).
Thursday was their last day in Woodland, a day Ellen White spent in visiting people interested in the message, praying with them, and encouraging them to take their stand. In the evening she spoke, closing her work with an altar call. "Quite a large number came forward," she noted in her diary, "and we united in prayer for them."--Manuscript 5, 1872. The meeting lasted until half past ten. Friday morning, November 1, they were up at four, preparing to take an early train to San Francisco. They arrived in the city at noon. Loughborough and Cornell closed up the tent meeting the next Tuesday evening, and the tent was moved to San Francisco on Wednesday. Cornell was left in Woodland to pastor the flock and to lead out in the construction of a house of worship.
Tent Effort in San Francisco
Friday evening, November 8, James White opened the tent meetings to be held in that city. A good crowd attended. In early winter the weather in San Francisco is usually pleasantly warm. On November 17 they had to raise the tent wall to be comfortable. After eighteen meetings, Loughborough reported of the interest:
Brother White has preached six times, Sister White seven times, and I have spoken five times. Our congregations have been both large and deeply attentive. The preaching has been about an even mixture of close, searching, practical discourses, alternated with the theory of the truth, presented in a clear, concise, solemn, and pointed manner, spiced with exhortation, and close appeals to the consciences, with an endeavor to arouse the moral sensibilities of the people.
The preaching has told powerfully upon the people, and has swept away a vast amount of prejudice, and taken hold of many hearts. Brother White's discourse last Sunday evening, on the Sabbath in the New Testament, was especially of this character. God helped him. It told greatly upon the audience, and brought some to decide to obey the truth.--The Review and Herald, December 3, 1872.
As White preached, Loughborough thought of how James White's preaching was getting better and better and "how needful that the minister of Christ have the Spirit of God, to go with the truth to hearts, and it is the mingling of the close, practical preaching with the theoretical, that keeps the truth warm in the soul of the minister, as well as keeping the material warm he wishes to work upon."--Ibid.
A week later, with changing weather, two stoves could not maintain comfort in the tent, so the meetings were closed on Monday night, November 25. On a number of nights attendance had been close to five hundred. Several had taken their stand, and others were investigating the truths presented (Ibid., December 24, 1872). Reported Loughborough:
The close, practical preaching of Brother and Sister White has left a very favorable impression on the minds of those who heard. The church has been greatly helped by the labors of the last few weeks.--Ibid.
The Winter in California
During the winter months of December, January, and February James and Ellen White were in California, somewhat uncertain as to what the future held. In December they divided their time between San Francisco and Santa Rosa. While in San Francisco, they were trying to find their way through some difficult situations. She wrote:
The word of the Lord has come to the people of San Francisco in messages of light and salvation. If they neglect to improve the present opportunity and wait for louder calls or greater light, the light which has been given may be withdrawn and the path be left in darkness. The light which shines today upon the people and upon the church, if not cherished, will have less force tomorrow. To have better opportunities and greater light in the future we must improve the blessings of the present with willing hearts.
Those who defer their obedience till every shadow of uncertainty and every possibility of mistake is removed will never believe and obey. A belief that demands perfect [full] knowledge will never yield. Faith and demonstration are two things. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith rests not upon probability.--Letter 22, 1872.
Then, referring to their own experience, she stated, "It has been our work to obey the voice of duty even when many voices may be raised in opposition against it. It requires discernment to distinguish the voice which speaks for God. The messengers of God must obey the divine voice which sends them with a disagreeable message, even at the peril of life and if there is not one to sustain them."--Ibid.
Moving about among the six California churches, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Woodland, and Bloomfield, James and Ellen White labored through January and February. They were entertained at various homes, and often did some writing for the Review and Health Reformer--with speaking appointments primarily on Sabbath and Sunday. They were particularly concerned for the San Francisco church, and spent three Sabbaths there. Reported Loughborough:
There is now a good state of things in San Francisco. Although it became necessary to withdraw from two or three disorderly ones there, double this number immediately united with the church. Still others are embracing the truth who will unite with them soon.
At the meeting last Sunday evening, the hall was completely filled with attentive listeners. The labors of Brother and Sister White have been a source of great profit to the San Francisco church.--The Review and Herald, February 4, 1873.
Organization of the California Conference
The California State meeting was held February 14-18, in Bloomfield, and of course the Whites were there. In his report for the Review, Loughborough stated:
Everything moved off with perfect harmony and good feeling, and it was the source of deepest gratitude to us all that we were favored in our deliberations and meetings with the presence of Brother and Sister White.
The preaching at this conference was solemn, searching, cheering, and impressive.... During the conference there were searching testimonies given, reproving wrongs existing in some present, which brought forth in the social meetings feeling confessions and vows to do better in the future.--Ibid., March 4, 1873
During this formal meeting, with delegates present from the six churches in California, the California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists was formed, with a membership of 238. J. N. Loughborough was elected as president; S. B. Bresee, also of Santa Rosa, secretary; and T. M. Chapman, of Petaluma, treasurer (Ibid., March 11, 1873).
Ellen White stayed on at the Judson home in Bloomfield to do some writing. In her letter to Edson and Emma, she reported that "everything has passed off well at this State conference. Things look more encouraging."--Letter 7, 1873.
Word had just been received that the General Conference session would be held in Battle Creek, opening on March 11. James, of course, would attend, but Ellen wanted to get on with her writing. She told her children:
I am anxious to get out important matter which God has shown me. I cannot feel free till I do this. If I remain behind, I can write and complete my book, I think, before summer.--Ibid.
The book was The Spirit of Prophecy, volume 2, on the life of Christ. The next issue of the Review that came to them carried this note at the close of the notice of the session:
A Special Request: We deem it of the utmost importance that Brother and Sister White attend this meeting; and we therefore invite and urge, in the strongest terms, their attendance at this session of the General Conference, if their health will permit them to do so.--The Review and Herald, February 11, 1873.
Ellen White would go east with her husband.