While James and Ellen White were struggling in Oakland to start the Signs of the Times, the Review and Herald ran a five-part series of articles titled "Visions and Prophecy--Have They Been Manifested Among Seventh-day Adventists?" These were written by the president of the General Conference, George I. Butler, and set forth a well-thought-out and Scripture-supported line of presentation. [The entire series in facsimile form is found in The Witness of the Pioneers, currently available at the adventist book centers. Articles 4 and 5 of the series may be found as filler in the Ellen G. White present truth and review and herald articles, Vol. 1, pp. 120, 138, 156, 169, 186, 189, 211, and 212.] The first appeared in the issue of May 12, 1874, and opened:
Perhaps there is nothing in this age of the world that excites greater prejudice than the claim that visions and miraculous manifestations of God's Spirit are to be witnessed in our time.--The Review and Herald, May 12, 1874.
After devoting three articles to the Biblical backgrounds and accounts of manifestations of the prophetic gift, Butler in the fourth article introduced Ellen White and her work and demonstrated how she was one on whom the mantle of the gift of prophecy was laid. From firsthand knowledge he wrote of the visions, which he described, and then of her ministry, with which he was personally acquainted. Strong evidence of the integrity of the gift as seen in her experience included the fulfillment of predictions, the knowledge of secret things opened to her, and how her work stood the tests of the claims of the prophet as set forth in the Bible, especially the one Christ gave, "By their fruits ye shall know them." He discussed the relation of her writings to the Scriptures.
In his closing articles Butler observed:
We have tested them as a people for nearly a quarter of a century, and we find we prosper spiritually when we heed them, and suffer a great loss when we neglect them. We have found their guidance to be our safety. They never have led us into fanaticism in a single instance, but they have ever rebuked fanatical and unreasonable men. They everywhere direct us to the Scriptures as the great source of true instruction, and to the example of Jesus Christ as the true pattern. They never claim to be given to take the place of the Bible, but simply to be a manifestation of one of those spiritual gifts set in the church by its divine Lord; and as such, should have their proper weight.--Ibid., June 9, 1874
At no other time was such space given in the Review to this matter so vital to the church. Butler was 39 years of age; Ellen White was 46.
James White Declares His Relation to the Visions and the Testimonies
On January 1, 1873, when the Whites first set up housekeeping in California, at Santa Rosa, James had been led to write out his attitudes toward the visions and his relation to them. This statement was published in a sixteen-page pamphlet titled "A Solemn Appeal to the Ministry and the People." Having had time for self-appraisal and contemplation, he sensed that he himself had come short in what his relationship should have been to the visions and the testimonies. He wrote:
I find that my wrongs have grown out of not being suitably affected by what God has shown my wife, especially what she has been shown of my dangers and wrongs.--DF 716, "A Solemn Appeal to the Ministry and the People," p. 4.
After commenting on the seriousness of neglecting messages "directly from heaven in reproof, warning, and instruction," he stated his situation:
I have never doubted the visions of Mrs. White. If a trial or temptation had for a moment come over my mind, as I did not, and could not, understand all, I at once fell back upon the vast amount of clear evidence in their favor, and there rested until all was made clear. But this statement applies more particularly to the first ten years of my experience relative to the visions, when many things were shown of the future history of the cause which time alone could explain. For the past ten years the visions have especially pointed out present duty, and all has appeared plain.
I have clearly seen the position and importance of the testimonies in the work of the third message, and have prized them highly, and have designed ever to conform to their teachings. But I have not given them that reflection and attention I should. I have not read them over and over in order to keep their teachings fresh in my mind, as I should.
I have seen so much to do, and so many responsibilities have been put upon me by my brethren, that I have hurried along without giving the testimonies proper attention, and have excused myself on the ground of want of time. This I see has been wrong. I repent before God of this neglect.-- Ibid., 5, 6.
He continued to expand the point of his relationship to the visions in the setting of several specific points:
But that which has constituted the bitterness of my cup of repentance has been the consciousness that I have not always been suitably affected by reproofs of my wrongs, and warnings given to save me from future efforts, that I might be preserved to accomplish the greatest possible amount of good. As I look back over the past I see that God has been dealing very kindly with me, and would have led me in a way to have saved me from many bitter things in my life, if I had been suitably affected by His reproofs and warnings through the visions. The things which have borne particularly upon my mind are as follows:
1. From the time of my first acquaintance with the one whom God has chosen to speak through to His erring people up to the time of the last vision, I have been cautioned from time to time of my danger of speaking, while under the pressure of a sense of the wrongs of others, in an unguarded manner, and using words that would not have the best effect on those I reproved.
The Lord knowing the trials through which I was to pass, would prepare my mind to guard against the dangers to which I would be exposed. And had I been suitably impressed with His warnings, my usefulness would not have been marred from time to time by Satan's taking advantage of words that were not best selected.-- Ibid., 6.
James referred to the unique nature of what he was called upon to do as the husband of the messenger of the Lord:
Mine has been a peculiar work. It was my duty to stand by the side of Mrs. White in her work of delivering the reproofs of the Lord. Neither of us could swerve a hair's breadth from the plain facts in the case. And because I have sustained her in her reproving work and could not be warped from the truth, unsanctified and rebellious ones, made still more persistent by the power of the devil, have seized upon some of my strong, and not the best selected, expressions, and have raised the cry of "harshness," "unchristian spirit," and the like.-- Ibid., 6, 7.
He protested that he had "ever cherished a tender love and regard" for his brothers and sisters in the faith, but recognized that it would have been very helpful if he had more faithfully heeded the warnings and counsels in governing all his words.
2. I have been warned to trust in God, and let Him fight my battles and vindicate my cause, and not suffer my mind to dwell upon the course of those who had injured me. But in my "peculiar trials" I have lost sight of such blessed admonitions, and have dwelt upon the wrongs of others greatly to my injury. My courage, faith, and health have suffered on the account.-- Ibid., 8.
He had observed the baleful effect on others who had failed to heed the counsels given by God through His servant, and he hoped such would not be his fate. At the time he wrote this statement of confession he was temporarily removed from carrying responsibilities because of ill health. He made his third point:
3. During the past eighteen years, the Lord has from time to time given me cautions, through the visions of Mrs. White, to preserve my health and strength as far as possible for future labor; for we had an especial work to do, and it was the will of God that we should have a reserve of strength for important future labor. Had I heeded these warnings as I should, I would have been able to stand against the temptations to overwork pressed upon me by my brethren, and a love to labor while seeing so much to do. And now, as the consequence, just as the field is opening as never before, and there is so much very important work to be done, I have found myself for a few weeks past unable to do anything. And my cry has been, from December 20-26 [1872], and still is, that God will raise me up once more and put His word within me, that I may have a part in the closing triumphs of the last message.-- Ibid., 8, 9.
Forgiven and Accepted
Finally, as he pondered these matters he went to the barn, feeling that all he could do was to submit himself to God and "fall into the hands of Christ" and in agony plead his case with God. He declared:
It was then that I had a view of how terrible was the sin of those who profess to believe that God speaks to them through vision, yet from heedlessness receive no lasting impression when reproved, but go on as before, making no changes in those things wherein they are reproved. I felt that such a course was a fearful insult to the Holy Ghost, and that I was in a degree guilty of this sin.-- Ibid., 9.
White described the very meaningful and personal experience he had had, of forgiveness and acceptance with God:
I have been able to make the full surrender of all to God, and as I have confessed my sins to God and those with me, and united with them in prayer for pardon, and restoration to peace of mind, faith, hope, and physical strength and health, the Spirit of God has come upon us in a wonderful degree. At one time, while we were knelt in prayer [in the Loughborough home in Santa Rosa], and Mrs. White took my arm and bade me rise and go free, as I arose, the Holy Ghost came upon us in such a measure that we both fell to the floor.
I now feel sure that God has forgiven my sins, so far as I have seen them, and confessed them in the spirit of true repentance. My sins do not longer separate me from God. And as I have made a determined effort to draw nigh to God, He has come very nigh to me. That terrible weight of discouragement and gloom that has been upon me much of the time for the past two years is gone from me, and hope, courage, peace, and joy have taken its place.-- Ibid.
Our seasons of prayer in Brother Loughborough's family, but especially when Mrs. White and I pray by ourselves, are very precious. Sometimes the Holy Spirit fills the place, and we are made to feel the presence of God as we have not witnessed for a long time.... We see a great work to be done, and we believe that God will raise us up to bear some part in it.-- Ibid., 11, 12.
The Lord did raise him up, and he was again engaged in important positions in the cause of God. The insights into his own experience marked by the shortcomings he mentioned led him to think of his fellow ministers, some no less guilty of the neglect of the light God had given, and then of the church members generally. He was led to reach out beyond his own experience. In the closing pages of the little pamphlet, he gave full meaning to the title he had chosen, "A Solemn Appeal to the Ministry and the People." He hoped to warn others to take care as to how they related to the visions and the testimonies.
This recital provides helpful insights into some phases of James White's life and work. He confessed to his "love of labor while seeing so much to do" (Ibid., 8), but he easily forgot the effects on his body and mind of four paralytic strokes. How well this described his repeated experiences of zeal and overwork, followed by depression and suspicion of those about him. Soon after this confession he started publishing the Signs of the Times, with the attendant problems and pressures--and history repeated itself in discouragement, despondency, and gloom.
Ellen White, writing to W. H. Littlejohn in November, 1874, in reference to her husband's experience stated:
It is the crowding in of so many things, one upon another, that taxes the mind and brings on sleeplessness and indigestion, and then the way looks blue and discouraging.--Letter 61, 1874.
The Picture in the Summer of 1874
This was the experience of James White for a time in the summer of 1874. As burdens multiplied and problems pertaining to the new publication crowded in, discouragement and gloom overtook him, leading him to be suspicious and to lay blame on others for situations that either did not exist or that he had created. This emotional problem was perhaps at its worse when in early June, Ellen White, in response to the clear leading of the Lord, started out alone to attend camp meetings to raise money to relieve the pressing financial situation. At this moment James White, recognizing the divine leading, declared, "Ellen, you must go.... But what shall I do without you?"--Manuscript 62, 1895. He recognized clearly the reason for her venturing forth without him.
Prior to this there were slight hints of situations that may have caused friction. Ellen wrote to Willie on May 15:
Gladly would we attend the camp meetings east if we could feel that the Lord sends us. If it were duty I would go alone, but this is questionable. Father, I fear, would not do as well if I should leave him. We ought to labor unitedly together.... Our influence has been needed here at this particular time in Oakland.--Letter 27, 1874.
After the Signs was started and Ellen was visiting the camp meetings, she wrote to James from Wisconsin on June 21:
I have no doubts in regard to my duty. I have had a spirit of freedom. All are very attentive to my wants and seem to think it is a privilege to do all they can for us.... Dear husband, I believe that God is at work. It is a special and important time.... I never felt 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.
Then, referring directly to James himself, whom she now knew was depressed and discouraged, she wrote:
I hope that you will receive special help of God. Do not afflict your soul in looking at the things which are seen. Do not allow your mind to dwell upon unpleasant things. "Whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; ...think on these things" (Philippians 4:8).
We may be miserable or we may be at peace with God and be happy. We have no need to afflict and distress our souls over many things. In [our] doing this our usefulness is lessened one third. The enemy knows how to manage to dishearten and discourage by presenting before us sad pictures which we should not allow our eyes to rest upon, for it only makes us miserable and does no soul a particle of good. Every particle of selfishness must be separated from us and we must have the spirit of Christ. I mean to trust in God.
I feel sorry for you and feel deep sympathy for you in your affliction. I mean to help you what I can, but don't let the enemy make you think only of my deficiencies which are, you think, so apparent, for in trying to fix me over, you may destroy my usefulness, my freedom, and bring me into a position of restraint, or embarrassment, that will unfit me for the work of God.--Ibid.
James's communications to Ellen at this time are not on file, but Ellen's daily letters and cards to him suggest that James felt he should have more influence over her work as the messenger of God. Ellen ever guarded that point lest any person, no matter who he might be, should have influence over her messages. Well she understood the normal relationship that should exist between husbands and wives. This is reflected in a letter she wrote some years earlier to Mary Loughborough:
We women must remember that God has placed us subject to the husband. He is the head and our judgment and views and reasonings must agree with his if possible. If not, the preference in God's Word is given to the husband where it is not a matter of conscience. We must yield to the head.--Letter 5, 1861.
Ellen White was pleased to defer to her husband in the homelife, in social situations, in travel, and in recreation, and to tenderly care for him in periods of illness. But there could be no compromise in letting him influence her special work and the messages she bore at Heaven's bidding. In addition to the letter written to her husband on June 21, 1874, quoted above, we get a glimpse of the conflict of interest between her prophetic mission and her loyalty to her husband in three letters written between July 2 and 10, 1874. They demonstrate the attempts of the great adversary to hinder the cause of God. The conflict was not in their marriage, as is shown by frequent expressions of affection, but in keeping their special God-appointed interests separate.
The Three Sensitive Letters, July 2, 8, and 10
On the way from the Wisconsin camp meeting to Battle Creek, Ellen White stopped off at their Washington, Iowa, home for a few hours. From there she wrote to her husband, opening her heart. Washington, Iowa, July 2, 1874
My dear Husband,
We are now in our Washington home. It looks pleasant here, as it always does, and it surely is attractive. I should love to live here if it were the will of the Lord, but we are only pilgrims and strangers and I do not think we can have any certain home in this world....
Our field is the world. God has honored you with the precious and important work of starting the publication of truth upon the Atlantic Coast. Twenty-six years later He has honored you again with the trust of publication of the truth upon the Pacific Coast. Your way may not always seem clear to you, but God will lead you if you take on no extra anxiety. "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" were the words of our Saviour just before He left the world for heaven, to plead in our behalf before His heavenly Father.
We are justified to walk by sight as long as we can, but when we can no longer see the way clearly, then we need to put our hand in our heavenly Father's and let Him lead. There are emergencies in the life of all in which we can neither follow sight nor trust to memory or experience. All we can do is simply to trust and wait. We shall honor God to trust Him because He is our heavenly Father....
I have attended four camp meetings and have tried to do my utmost for the good of souls. I have had but little thought of self, but have worked in any spot I could to do good to others. I have not forgotten you upon the Pacific Coast. We have all prayed earnestly for you. We so long to see you elevated above the trials which have had such a depressing influence upon your life, to discourage and poison the happiness of your life. God has given you a good intellect--I might say a giant intellect. Satan does not mean that your life shall close in honor and victory. The cause of God cannot spare you without experiencing a great loss.--Letter 38, 1874.
Putting the Finger on the Basic Cause
Then, coming more directly to the basic cause of the problems, she wrote:
When you are free from dark and gloomy, discouraging feelings, no one can speak or write words that will sway so powerful an influence as yourself, and gladness, hope, and courage are put into all hearts. But when you feel depressed, and write and talk under the cloud, no shadow can be darker than the one you cast. In this matter Satan is striving for the mastery.
You blame others for your state of mind. Just as long as you do this, just so long will enough arise to keep you in this state of turmoil and darkness. The course which others pursue will not excuse you from trusting in God and hoping and believing in His power to hold you up.
You must not accuse me of causing the trials of your life, because in this you deceive your own soul. It is your brooding over troubles, magnifying them, and making them real which has caused the sadness of your life. Am I to blame for this?
I must be free from the censures you have felt free to express to me. But if I have to bear them, I shall try to do it without retaliation. I never mean to make you sad. Your life is very precious to me and to the cause of God. And it is not so much that I am afflicted with your distrust and suspicions of me that troubles me, but that you let it afflict you. It wears upon your health, and I am unable to remove the cause because it does not exist in reality.
I am trying to seek strength and grace from God to serve Him, irrespective of the circumstances. He has given me great light for His people, and I must be free to follow the leadings of the Spirit of God and go at His bidding, relying upon the light and sense of duty I feel, and leave you the same privilege. When we can work the best together we will do so. If God says it is for His glory we work apart occasionally, we will do that. But God is willing to show me my work and my duty, and I shall look to Him in faith and trust Him fully to lead me.
I do not have a feeling of resentment in my heart against you, but the Lord helping me, I will not allow anything to come between you and me. I will not be depressed; neither will I allow feelings of guilt and distress to destroy my usefulness when I know that I have tried to do my duty to the best of my knowledge in the fear of God. The help from God and special freedom in speaking to the people for the last four weeks have been a great strength to me, and while I cling firmly to God, He will cling to me.
Battle Creek,
July 3, 1874.
Dear Husband,
Arrived here this afternoon. Our brethren are expecting you and are greatly rejoiced at the prospect of your coming to Battle Creek....
I received no letter from you here. Brother Smith received a card from you saying you anticipated being at the eastern camp meetings. I shall be very glad to see you. May God give you clear light and much grace to know your duty and to do it.
In much love to each member of the family, especially to yourself.
Your Ellen.
Ibid.
A Second Candid Letter
In the next letter on file, begun five days later and finished on the sixth, Ellen White spoke of the blessings of God in her work at the camp meetings. She wrote under the dateline of Battle Creek, July 8, 1874:
I feel more and more every day that I have no time to lose. I must bear my testimony to others and work earnestly to get before others the light which God has given me. I do not feel that I am my own, but bought with a price. The claims God has upon me I feel deeply, and I mean to answer them as far as possible. I will not allow feelings of sadness and depression to destroy my usefulness.
I do not forget you. I feel deeply sorry that you have things in your mind just as they are in regard to me. I can say I know you view things in a perverted light. I have in the past felt so depressed and saddened with the thought that it might always be so, that life has seemed a burden. But I don't feel so now. Whatever you may feel and whatever thoughts you may have shall not swerve me from believing and trusting in God.
Things seem an unexplainable mystery--that you cannot find rest and peace unless you succeed in bringing me into positions I cannot see and cannot possibly submit to be placed in. I see no consistency or generosity in this, only a feeling prompted by selfishness in persistently dwelling upon things that tend to alienate our hearts rather than unite them.
I long for perfect union, but I cannot purchase it at the expense of my conscience; but if you feel that God is leading you in dwelling upon the things you have dwelt upon in your letters, I will try to feel all right toward you. Of course I cannot feel that thorough satisfaction and confidence that you are being led of the Lord. I can but feel that the enemy is making you miserable by keeping your mind upon matters that are of no profit, but only an injury.
I want you to be happy. Your health and life depend upon your being happy and cheerful. No matter what course others pursue, this need not have such all-controlling power over your mind. Just as long as you will let the wrongs or supposed wrongs of others depress and dishearten you, you will have enough of this business to attend to.--Letter 40, 1874.
This was a soul-stirring letter in which she attempted to direct her husband's attention to the real issues, the attempts of the great adversary to hinder the precious work in which they were both engaged. She continued:
Satan sees your weakness in this respect, and he will make every effort to attack you just where he has succeeded so often. He means to worry out your life upon these points. God wants you to live, and to keep your mind free, that He may make you a channel of light and communicate His light through you to others. Satan knows that you can be a great encouragement to the people of God.
Satan knows all he has to do is to work upon the minds of some who are not living in the light, and get your mind exercised in regard to them, and then his object is gained. I have been shown that very many pages have been written, dwelling upon the inconsistency of others and filled with your discouragements while Satan was exulting because your pen was not tracing lines that God could sanction and bless, and cause to react upon you in great and precious blessings, giving you sweet and precious peace which passeth knowledge.
God has given you a pen which should never be used to discourage and dishearten His people. Light, precious light, from His presence He will let beam upon you to be imparted to others, if you will only resist the temptations of the devil to write and talk out your feelings of trial, your temptations, and your discouragements. You might have written volumes upon subjects of present truth which would be immortalized by saving souls, while your time and pen have been employed in scattering clouds of darkness because you happened to feel dark. God could not and did not bless you in this work, and you were sinking yourself lower and lower while you were giving utterance to feelings and impressions which were the temptations of the enemy.
God wants you to live. I want you to live and I want that our last days shall be our very best days. My heart is sad many times, yes, every time I think of you. How can I be otherwise?--Ibid.
She could take no pleasure in recreation while James was so burdened and troubled in mind. She mentioned this point:
This morning at three o'clock, I called Brother and Sister Gaskill and Willie to go out about five miles to pick cherries. I remain alone till afternoon, when they will return. I have no desire to go on any pleasure excursion without you. I do not care to go anywhere only where duty seems to call; but I do not mean that Satan shall succeed in destroying my usefulness because I know that my husband has so erroneous a view of me.
I have work enough to do in writing and in visiting those who are sick and afflicted, who are in sorrow and distress. I have a testimony also to bear to God's people, and I shall go forward clinging to the hand of my dear Saviour, for He is exceedingly precious to me.
I shall not walk alone or in darkness. I have perfect confidence in God, for I have had my trust and faith greatly strengthened upon this journey. If we have to walk apart the rest of the way, do let us not seek to pull each other down. I do believe it is best for our labors to be disconnected and we each lean upon God for ourselves. I am writing some every day, doing all I can.
In much love, I remain,
Your Ellen.
Letter 40, 1874.
Another Straightforward Letter
In a third letter, written Friday, July 10, the day after finishing the long letter quoted above, Ellen White again touched on their relationships:
Battle Creek, Michigan,
July 10, 1874.
Dear Husband,
It is one week ago today since I came to Battle Creek. I have not much that is interesting to write, for I have confined myself [because of the excessive heat] quite closely to my chamber....
If you could come east and let all the difficulties and perplexities of the past entirely alone, we might unite our efforts and great good might be done here and at the camp meetings. But I think if your mind is so constituted that it will dwell upon things that are unpleasant, it would be better for the cause and better for you to remain where you are. If your testimony could be borne upon the precious truth and the advancement of the cause and you could advise in regard to tracts and various matters in connection with the work, your efforts would be blessed of God. But if you are coming to discourage and weaken yourself and me by censure and suspicion and jealousy, I fear we should do great injury to the cause of God.
I long to see you and would be so glad to bury the past as I know God would have us, without making reference to it, and to take hold in faith and courage with you to do our duty and work to help the people of God; but I must be left free to follow the convictions of my own conscience. I will not blame or censure you, and I cannot have you take the life and soul out of me by your blaming and censuring me. May the Lord bless, heal, and lead you is my daily prayer. I must be free in God. He wants me to be free and not suffering under a load of depressing discouragements that unfit me for any position.--Letter 40a, 1874.
James White's Potential
Ellen White recognized that her husband was passing through a crisis in which Satan, if he could, would overwhelm him. In an effort to buoy him up, on Sabbath, July 11, she wrote of what could be ahead for them:
I would be glad to see you. I hear nothing from you except a few lines on postal cards. I try to send off a letter each day. I hope you receive them all....
I hope you are well. God wants you to live and be a blessing to His people. I want you to live, and my prayer is daily going up to God for you that you may be blessed with health and with courage. God will strengthen you to fill your place in the cause and work of God if you will commit yourself and all your cares to Him. God has given you great and precious light for His people and He designs that light shall shine forth to them....
You stand in high repute here among all of any consequence. Nothing would give them greater joy than to see you. They would be very glad to meet you at the camp meeting, and I wish you could be here to attend the eastern camp meetings....
With your experience and your knowledge and quick foresight you may be a very great help to the cause of God. I want you to live till the work closes up. I want you to be a polished instrument in the hands of God to accomplish much good and yourself see the dear Redeemer coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory....
I feel a great desire to see you and to mingle my prayers with yours. The Lord is good. Praise His holy name. I have felt great comfort and assurance in prayer this morning.... Let us pray each day in faith, not only for health, but to be imbued with the Spirit of God that we may do the work committed to our trust to His acceptance. This is what I live for. I have no other ambition. I feel my heart go out in great love and tenderness to you.--Letter 41, 1874.
In the closing paragraph she gave James every assurance of her love, devotion, and loyalty:
I have the highest estimate of your ability, and with the power of God to work with your efforts you can do a great and efficient work. God can mend the broken and worn machinery and make it of essential use to do His work still. Only believe, only be cheerful, only be of good courage. Let the disagreeables go. Turn from these things which cause sadness and which dishearten you. I will ever be true to you and I want you to have no suspicion or distrust of me that I would say or do the least thing to hurt you or lessen the confidence of your brethren in you. Never, never will I do this. I will sustain and help you all I can.
In love,
Your Ellen.
Ibid.
While James White had been critical of Ellen's attitudes, his love for her was deep, and he was solicitous of her comfort and welfare as she continued her ministry in the East. On July 5 he wrote to Willie, who was with his mother in Battle Creek:
I was very glad to learn that you were with your mother. Take the tenderest care of your dear mother. And if she wishes to attend the eastern camp meetings, please go with her. Get a tent that will suit you; get everything good in the shape of satchels, blankets, portable chair for Mother, and do not consent to her economical ideas, leading you to pinch along.--JW to WCW, July 5, 1874.
The James White Letters Take on a Positive Tone
The three letters quoted above in which Ellen White opened her distressed heart to James explained the only position she could take and endeavored to help him to be rational and understanding. The first, her penetrating, yet loving, letter written on July 2 from Washington, Iowa, and finished in Battle Creek on July 3, touched James's heart and helped him to see matters in their true light. Evidence of this is found in his letter to G. I. Butler, written from Oakland on July 13, which shows a marked change in his attitudes. Something significant had taken place. His word to Butler:
I want to counsel with you, Haskell, and others, and lay plans to extend the Reformer, and Signs, and talk over many other important things. The Spirit of God is moving upon me. Our brethren are not aware of how much the Lord is doing for us. Brother George, this begins to look like the coming of Christ pretty soon. My light has been the progress of the message....
Any amount of wars, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, pestilences, et cetera, would not quicken my faith in the coming of Christ. The third message must do its work. Prophecy relative to the message and the action of the two-horned beast must be fulfilled. My eye has been there for years. And as things have moved heavily, I have felt sad. But, Brother George, God is beginning to do great things for us. And I have a little hope and faith that His blessed long arm will reach the pioneers in this cause that are almost wrecked, and touch them with His gracious finger, and restore them to His favors and to their positions in the work....
Oh, my soul, what emotions well up in thee as I trace these lines, and my hand shakes, and my sight is blinded with weeping. I must, I shall see the desire of my poor heart in the complete restoration of these. It is time to put away our folly, our baby whimsy, and come nigh the mighty God of Jacob. I have wonderful seasons of prayer nowadays.--JW to G. I. Butler, July 13, 1874.
His letters to Ellen had taken on a tone she could not overlook. On Monday, July 13, in her letter to James, she wrote of the change in the tone of his letters:
Dear Husband,
After my last six pages to you [written July 10] had gone to the office, I received your letters directed to myself and Willie and at the same time one from Edson--all good, cheering letters.--Letter 42, 1874.
Two days later she wrote again, telling of the temperance meeting held in the park and again expressing her hope that James might be at the Michigan camp meeting. In this she stated:
I received your good letter today, containing one to be handed to Brother Lindsay. I feel very thankful for your last, more cheerful letters. I pray earnestly that God will spare your life and give you strength to do the work He would have you do....
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.--Letter 43, 1874.
In her Friday, July 17, letter, she wrote:
We received your card last night in which you speak of having the General Conference united with the camp meeting. This may be done.... I think the appointment will go out in this next Review. So we shall look for and depend on your coming.... I rejoice to hear that you are in good health. Willie is well....
I have no special news to write you, except I greatly desire to see your face and look forward to the time with great pleasure.... Have good courage in the Lord. Let us be cheerful and happy. I peruse your Signs with great interest. It is good, good, good.
Your Ellen.
Letter 44, 1874.
As she wrote the next Thursday, July 23, she assured James, "All will be rejoiced to see you here, and none more than your Ellen.... We are now expecting that you may be on your way." She added:
Since writing the above, Harmon Lindsay has brought in a long communication, remailed from Brother Butler. It is good. You view matters, I believe, correctly. May God help you and strengthen you to take your position in this work and in the cause and unfalteringly press your way onward looking to God for help. He will help. I believe it without a doubt.--Letter 47, 1874.
James White Arrives in Battle Creek
The Michigan camp meeting, during which the General Conference session would be held, would open on Thursday, August 6, and the word was that James White would arrive a little after midnight on Tuesday, the fourth. Although usually retiring early, Ellen, of course remained up to greet him. She busied herself in writing to Edson and Emma, whom James had called to Oakland to help with the new paper. While she was writing, her eyes grew heavy and she dozed off. On hearing a familiar voice, she awakened with a start, to greet her beloved husband, James. He had very likely walked the few blocks from the station to their home.
How she rejoiced that at long last they could be together again and unite their lives and their labor. There had been tensions for a time. We have quoted quite fully her letters to him written through a nine-day period, that the reader might have the full story. Writing from California five months later, she declared:
We are of the best of courage. My husband will not let anything depress him. We have been harmoniously working with the armor on since we left Battle Creek for California.--Letter 16, 1875.
A Relapse During the Ensuing Years
It would be satisfying to the biographer if he could report that during the ensuing years of James White's life there was no recurrence of depression accompanied by suspicions, ill-advised
statements, and accusations. We have noted his repeated paralytic strokes and their debilitating influence on his life, which, it seems, laid the foundation for erratic movements and fluctuating attitudes. In spite of the disheartening experiences marked by discouragement, distrust, and accusation that occasionally took place, his talents, dedication, and experience were such that God continued to use him mightily at a time when the church was in great need of his contributions. In 1876, there was a repetition of the experience of 1874. James and Ellen White were residing in their Oakland, California, home, close to the Pacific Press. She was diligently writing on the life of Christ; James was president of the General Conference and at the same time was much involved in the developing interests of the newly established publishing house. He was called east to attend a special session of the General Conference and oversee the proposed enlargement of the Health Institute. He wanted her to accompany him and to remain in the East to attend the coming camp meetings. Blessed with the good help of Mary Clough as a literary assistant, Ellen did not want to leave her writing, and he went on without her. Their letters (she wrote every day) indicated that there were some tensions, each certain they were in the line of duty, although acting somewhat independently. Her letter of April 20, 1876, reads in part:
You are happy and never so free. Thank the Lord for this.... I am happy and free and I thank the Lord for this. You are in the line of duty. God blesses you. I am in the line of my duty and God blesses me. It may never be as well as now for me to write.... Should I leave now to go east, I should go on your light, not on mine.--Letter 11, 1876.
The interchange of letters over the next few weeks indicate that there had been a growing tendency on the part of James to dominate Ellen's program, something that in earlier years he had studiously avoided. In a letter dated May 12, referring to what he had termed her independence, she wrote to him:
In regard to my independence, I have had no more than I should have in the matter under the circumstances. I do not receive your views or interpretation of my feelings on this matter. I understand myself much better than you understand me.--Letter 25, 1876.
She hoped to bring moderation into his growing dictatorial stance. In one letter James expressed himself in unrestrained terms:
I shall use the good old head God gave me until He reveals that I am wrong. Your head won't fit my shoulders. Keep it where it belongs, and I will try to honor God in using my own. I shall be glad to hear from you, but don't waste your precious time and strength in lecturing me on matters of mere opinions.--Letter 66, 1876.
During this tense period in which James was attempting to dominate Ellen's program, an effort that, considering her special work, was very distressing to her, she wrote three letters to Lucinda Hall. Making it clear that she could not submit to James's opinions of her duty, she reached out for human sympathy.
On May 16, she wrote to James:
It grieves me that I have said or written anything to grieve you. Forgive me and I will be cautious not to start any subject to annoy and distress you. We are living in a most solemn time and we cannot afford to have in our old age differences to separate our feelings. I may not view all things as you do, but I do not think it would be my place or duty to try to make you see as I see and feel as I feel. Wherein I have done this, I am sorry.
I want a humble heart, a meek and quiet spirit. Wherein my feelings have been permitted to arise in any instance, it was wrong. Jesus said, "Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
I wish that self should be hid in Jesus. I wish self to be crucified. I do not claim infallibility, or even perfection of Christian character. I am not free from mistakes and errors in my life. Had I followed my Saviour more closely, I should not have to mourn so much my unlikeness to His dear image.
Time is short, very short. Life is uncertain. We know not when our probation may close. If we walk humbly before God, He will let us end our labors with joy. No more shall a line be traced by me or expression made in my letter to distress you. Again, I say, forgive me, every word or act that has grieved you.--Letter 27, 1876.
In her letters she had indicated that she would remain in California and continue her writing on the life of Christ, unless the Lord indicated to her otherwise. Such an omen must have come to her, for ten days later she was at James White's side at the Kansas camp meeting, the first one of the season. They worked through the summer together, sharing the burden of fourteen camp meetings. The writing she had hoped to finish in California in the spring of 1876 was finished in Battle Creek in December. James, however, did not forget the injustice to Ellen, and in the late summer of 1877 it was much on his mind. She wrote of this to Willie:
His great trouble is battling with depression of spirits. He seems to feel that he has wronged me very much. He goes back to the letters he wrote me when he was in California, and you and I attended the camp meetings. He feels that he has committed a great sin that the Lord can hardly forgive.--Letter 13, 1877.
She added, "My work is to comfort him and to pray for him; to speak cheerful, loving words to him and soothe him." Regardless of James's somewhat fluctuating attitudes, Ellen moved forward with her work, uninfluenced by human associates.
Before the close of this review, one more point deserves notice. Four years later, on May 24, 1881, at a time when D. M. Canright was recovering from a period of discouragement and lapse in his ministry and faith, James White wrote him a letter in which he made some incautious remarks. Among these was his opinion that "Elders Butler and Haskell have had an influence over her that I hope to see broken. It has nearly ruined her." But his opinion held at that moment did not change the fact that Ellen White remained uninfluenced in her work as God's messenger.