James White had a double interest in moving to Oakland in late April. For some time he had hoped to publish a weekly paper in conjunction with public evangelism. And as Ellen White wrote to Smith, he was already deeply involved.
We think now of starting a paper in Oakland in connection with the tent. My husband thinks a weekly paper could be published with no more expense than at Battle Creek.... It is indeed a great venture to start in at Oakland. This city is indeed a paradise of beauty. The wealthy of San Francisco have made their homes here, while they attend to their business in San Francisco.--Letter 25, 1874.
In a postscript she declared, "My husband is of good courage. When he sees the work moving he feels happy. Today he is over the Bay in San Francisco."--Ibid. "Father is getting real smart," she wrote to Willie on May 11. "He is cheerful and of good courage. The printers are at work upon the first number of Signs of the Times. We feel that it is in the order of God." And she added in words which furnish a clue to their thinking, "We wish you were here.... What would you think if we should send for you shortly?"--Letter 26, 1874.
The new journal was not to come from the press until June 4. In the meantime, most encouraging progress was being made with the tent meeting. In late May James White reported to the readers of the Review:
The providence of God ...has brought the California tent to this wealthy, proud city, which is the seat of the State university, theological, military, and many other schools. And while the transition [from limited to broad plans] was going on, we took the ground that the advertising, and seizing every opportunity to arrest the attention of the people, must be proportionate to the difficulties in the way, and the importance of the subjects to be presented.
The tent meeting was therefore noticed in three papers daily, large posters, small bills to be scattered, bulletin boards, and in large letters on canvas at the side of the tent. These efforts have secured a good attendance....
The prophets of God, and the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, talked and acted in a manner to give the impression that they, at least, thought that their work was of the greatest importance of any going on under the heavens.--The Review and Herald, June 2, 1874.
Earnest labors and good publicity brought good results. Within a few days one of the Oakland dailies reported:
The tent meeting at the corner of Broadway and Thirteenth streets continues to draw large audiences, and, by special request, the managers have decided to remain at least one more week.--In Ibid., June 2, 1874
In writing to Willie at about the same time, Ellen White reported:
The tent meeting in Oakland is a success. We had good attendance Sunday [May 10]. I speak to the people every Sunday afternoon. There is great interest in Oakland among a certain class. They are steady hearers. The interest is not sensational, not flashy, but calm, steadily on the increase.--Letter 26, 1874.
Two weeks later she wrote that her husband, in addition to getting out the first number of the Signs of the Times, was issuing a little paper almost daily. Titled The Tent Meeting, it advertised the lectures and contained a synopsis of the matter presented (Letter 28, 1874, and The Review and Herald, June 2, 1874). She reported that "we have out the best class of society, and as yet we have no opposition. The first ministers of the place came out to hear. The mayor has been several times and encourages us all he can."--Letter 28, 1874.
The Temperance Crusade and the Tent
Just at this time a keen interest was developing in Oakland to close the 135 saloons through the provisions of a recently passed local option law. The California tents (a second one was started in East Oakland) came into play in mass temperance meetings running a full week (Manuscript 4, 1874). Reported M. E. Cornell:
The women seemed to take the lead in the crusade, and for several weeks they labored under many discouragements. But finally the city mayor, several clergymen, one of the daily papers, and several of the leading citizens and businessmen came to the rescue. Having thoroughly organized, the executive committee planned for a series of mass meetings, which were held in our large and commodious tents. They worked night and day, until the whole city was roused to action. A strong healthy sentiment was created by the public speeches, and the printed documents which resulted in a glorious victory.--The Signs of the Times, June 11, 1874.
When the vote of May 30 was counted, it was found that there was a majority of 253 against license. Reported Cornell:
When the result was declared, the public rejoicing knew no bounds. Church bells were rung, bonfires lighted, and a rousing mass meeting at the tent did not break up until eleven o'clock at night.--Ibid.
The public press published words of appreciation for the cooperation of the tent workers. One newspaper carried the headline "Large and Enthusiastic Gatherings of the People at the Advent Elders' Tents on Broadway and in East Oakland" (The Review and Herald, June 25, 1874). The cooperation of the tent workers and the publicity that followed gave impetus to the evangelistic meetings, and, as James White put it, "taught the crowd the way to the tent" (Ibid., June 2, 1874).
Sabbath, May 23, Ellen White was jubilant. Morning and afternoon services had been held in the tent, and she reported to W. H. Littlejohn in Battle Creek:
I must write you the good news. This has been one of the best Sabbaths to us. There were about sixty people present, including a most interesting company of about twenty-five who were assembled to worship God upon the Sabbath, most of them for the first time. A few observed last Sabbath.--Letter 28, 1874.
A social meeting was held Sabbath afternoon. Ellen White wrote:
We had many testimonies from those who were keeping the Sabbath for the first time. Quite a number spoke who had never opened their lips in public before.--Ibid.
A climax was reached on Sunday afternoon, June 14, when fifteen hundred to two thousand people gathered at Lake Merritt in Oakland. From an embankment above the water and from boats on the lake, they witnessed the baptism of twenty-three candidates, the firstfruits of the Oakland tent meetings. D. M. Canright administered the rite, but at the beginning James White addressed the crowd for a few minutes on the law of God and baptism. Canright reported that "all listened with the greatest respect and manifest interest. Not the least disturbance occurred from beginning to end."--The Review and Herald, July 7, 1874.
The First Issue of the Signs of the Times
The idea of a weekly paper published on the Pacific Coast had been conceived by James White while he was in the Rocky Mountains in the summer of 1873. He had made the proposal in an article in the Review, and at the General Conference session in November. Now in Oakland, in connection with the evangelistic meetings, he moved ahead in starting the journal. He did so on his own responsibility, not waiting for formal committee authorization or promise of sound financial support. He worked through May in getting the first copy of Signs of the Times edited, set in type, and printed. It appeared on June 4, 1874. The eight-page sheet was large, the same size as the Review and Herald. The objectives of the editor were twofold. It was to be an evangelistic newspaper, and it was to be a means of communication among the Seventh-day Adventist churches west of the Great Plains.
The whole of the first page was given to a James White article on the state of the churches and the world. The four columns of page 2, and one on page 3, presented an article on the millennium. Page 3 contained a lengthy statement of the fundamental principles of Seventh-day Adventist belief. The editorial on page 4, titled "The Reasons Why," was self-explanatory. Then he included three columns on the question of leadership. An E. G. White item on Christian recreation followed, and the next three pages carried articles on a number of subjects. The issue closed with a full column advertising Seventh-day Adventist publications.
The "terms," characteristic of James White, read:
Two dollars a year to those who choose to pay a subscription price, and free to all others as far as the paper is sustained by the donations of the liberal friends of the cause.--The Signs of the Times, June 4, 1874.
He sent twenty-five copies to the Review and Herald Office, and Uriah Smith immediately handed them out to the office hands. White was delighted to learn that by the next morning "thirty-one subscribers were obtained right on our old battlefield, in hearing of the groaning of the press of the Review and Herald."--The Review and Herald, June 30, 1874.
The Struggle to Maintain the New Journal
As noted earlier, the first issue of Signs of the Times was edited and published by James White on his initiative alone. Now that the journal was under way, there were the questions as to how it would be managed and supported. And it was not the paper alone that James White envisioned. If the project was to succeed, and if the church in the West was to have inexpensive literature for its use, it must have a publishing house at its command.
Writing in Oakland on May 23, 1874, Ellen White mentioned broad developments to come in California. "There will be a printing office established here; also a health institute established here."--Letter 29, 1874. A little later she wrote:
In my last vision I was shown that we should have a part to act in California in extending and confirming the work already commenced. I was shown that missionary labor must be put forth in California, Australia, Oregon, and other territories far more extensively than our people have imagined, or ever contemplated and planned.--3Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 209.
The publishing enterprise must have both the moral and financial support of the constituency east of the Plains. How could the needed support be gained? James White could not leave the newly started journal unattended. Some years later Ellen White recounted the experience:
An Angel Points East Over the Rocky Mountains
How we wrestled! How we prayed with earnest desire for the Lord to open ways whereby we could advance the work in California, for we saw the ideas of the workers were narrow and restricted. The Lord heard our petitions and answered our prayers.
While [we were] bowed before God in prayer in an upper chamber, the blessing of the Lord came upon us in such a manner that duty was made plain. It was as if an audible voice said, "Go [east] to the churches and solicit money from those whom I have made stewards of means." Some bore testimony on that occasion that they saw an angel of God, clothed in brightness, pointing across the Rocky Mountains.--Manuscript 62, 1895.
In another account she identified one man who saw the angel:
We held a meeting in an upper room of a house in Oakland, while prayer was wont to be made. We knelt down to pray, and while we were praying, the Spirit of God like a tidal wave filled the room, and it seemed that an angel was pointing across the Rocky Mountains to churches in this [the eastern] part of America.
Brother [John I.] Tay, who is now sleeping in Jesus, rose from his knees, his face as white as death, and said, "I saw an angel pointing across the Rocky Mountains."--The General Conference Bulletin, 1901, 84.
I waited for my husband's consent, and when, after a most solemn, humble seeking of God, again His presence seemed so evidently in our midst, my husband wept aloud and said, "Ellen, you must go. I dare not withstand the Lord. You must go. But what shall I do without you?" We wept freely. I dared not wait, fearing in his feeble state of health he would relent.--Manuscript 62, 1895.
The decision made for Ellen to go east, the preparations for the trip across the continent were very hasty and brief:
All that there was cooked were a few gems. [See appendix B.] I put these in a paper box, the horses were harnessed, and I was on my way for the cars. My husband said, "If I had not given my consent, I would now say it is inconsistent. I cannot have you go. I cannot be left with these terrible responsibilities."
I had never traveled alone, but I took this long journey of eight days alone, and attended the camp meetings in the States alone until Willie White met me at Wisconsin and accompanied me.
On that journey I set forth our situation, and money was raised at every meeting. I told them that California would return their loan sometime in the future, for I had been shown that prosperity would attend the work done there, that there were many souls that would be added to the church, and we should see the salvation of God.--Ibid.
Starting on such short notice, she could not secure a berth in the sleeping car, so she had to make the trip in the chair car. This made it necessary for her to change trains both in the day and in the night. The handling of the baggage, checking it here and there, was a new experience to her.
Success from the Start
The first stop was at the camp meeting being held in Newton, Iowa. Word had been sent ahead, and she was met at the station and taken to the campground. On Monday afternoon, the day before the meeting closed, she was given a good hearing. Pledges for the publishing work in the West already had been made, in response to George Butler's presentation of the needs of the situation in California. But in response to Ellen White's recital of the circumstances, and her appeal, the total pledged was increased from $2,000 to $3,050.
From one camp meeting to another she went, telling her story and appealing for support for the struggling but promising work in California. Those attending the camp meetings had been disappointed to learn that James and Ellen White would not be with them, but they were overjoyed when Ellen arrived on the grounds, and of course she was pressed in for full service in the speaking schedules. She thrived on it. Writing to James from the Wisconsin camp meeting, where Willie joined her as her traveling companion, she mentioned how she and her message were received:
There is no hard spirit to resist my testimony, and all manifest so much thankfulness that God had sent me to them. I never felt a greater necessity of God's working with our efforts. We have no time to rest, no time to yield to temptation. We must work while the day lasts.--Letter 34, 1874.
Back in Battle Creek
After attending four camp meetings in the Midwest, Ellen White went on to Battle Creek, arriving on July 3. She took the Sabbath morning service, July 4, and her report of the progress of the cause in California cheered the audience. The next issue of the Review promised that she would be attending the eastern camp meetings, beginning in August.
On Tuesday night she attended a temperance meeting in the Methodist church. When called upon to speak, she made a brief statement of the experience in Oakland and the manner in which the evangelistic tents in Oakland were employed in holding mass temperance meetings. Writing to James of the experience, she told of how twice there was great cheering (Letter 68, 1874). She learned that in Battle Creek the time for the temperance meetings had been changed from Friday evenings to Thursday to accommodate the Adventists, but that there was little response from the church members. Of this she wrote:
I think our people are in danger of being too narrow and not broad and generous and courteous as they must be if they would do good. I intend to speak on temperance soon. Some of the people in the city are quite urgent that I should.--Letter 68, 1874.
The next Tuesday, July 14, responding to an invitation of the temperance forces, she spoke in the park, for it was thought no church in the city would hold the crowd. Of this meeting, she reported on July 15 in a letter to her husband:
Our last night's effort was a success. Thank the Lord, to His name alone shall be the glory. A nice stand was fitted up, an organ placed on it, and the citizens' choir was from the city. They conducted this branch of the work; good singing. Mr. Hollowell opened the meeting by prayer. He made an excellent prayer. He prayed in a most fervent manner for the servant of the Lord who was to address them. I could say "Amen" to every word.
There was singing again. Mr. Peavey, chairman of the meeting, then arose and made some very appropriate remarks; stated that he was pleased to see the interest manifested in our part of the town and for the general turnout of the citizens of Battle Creek. He then spoke in regard to Mrs. White, that the appointment was given out without her knowledge or obtaining her consent....
I then arose and thanked the chairman for his courteous remarks in regard to our people and for his kind and generous apology for me. I told them I would do the best I could under the circumstances. I had been so hoarse I could not well speak and there had been a dryness in my throat and disposition to cough, but it was all gone in three minutes.
They say my voice was clear and rang out all over the park clear as a bell. Hattie Golden told her mother she heard me distinctly part of the time away up to their house. The wind took the words to her. There were from five hundred to a thousand out. I had to speak slowly but distinctly, and with some earnestness. Peavey was as pleased as he possibly could be. He told Brother Gaskill it was a complete success, more than met his most sanguine expectations.--Letter 43, 1874.
She mentioned that during her address she turned to Willie, who had accompanied her on the stand, and asked what time it was. "Nearly ten o'clock," he said. Two or three around him commented:
"What did you say that for? I wanted to hear her continue her remarks." She added:
I think that we shall have a good attendance of citizens from Battle Creek at the camp meeting. I hope you will be here. You could speak with great clearness and acceptance in regard to temperance.--Ibid.
As Ellen White brought this letter to her husband to a close she wrote, "I am glad you are feeling better. I so desire that you may have a clear and cheerful mind to do the will of God. A great work is before us that others cannot do. Our experience is of value to this cause."--Ibid. There was a hint in these words that James and Ellen White had been passing through some tense times. Other letters written in early July make more direct reference to such problems, not in their marriage but in their understanding of their individual responsibilities: James White, called of God to be an apostle, a church leader; and Ellen White, called of God to bear His message to the church--a prophet.
From almost the beginning of her ministry there had been a very close relationship between the two, and at the same time a clear understanding that each had a distinctive mission. In the case of Ellen White's work, no influence except that of God could be brought to bear on it. Indeed, to be the husband of God's prophet was no easy or ordinary responsibility. This was especially so when the husband was a forceful leader, devising, planning, and executing the functions imposed on him. As it was, neither took a subservient place.