As the year 1900 opened, Ellen White was dividing her time and strength between the evangelistic interest at Maitland and her literary work. With this in mind on January 1, 1900, she wrote to Edson calling for her library to be sent to Australia:
I have sent for four or five large volumes of Barnes' notes on the Bible. I think they are in Battle Creek in my house now sold, somewhere with my books. I hope you will see that my property, if I have any, is cared for and not scattered as common property everywhere. I may never visit America again, and my best books should come to me when it is convenient.--Letter 189, 1900.
After sending the final chapter of The Desire of Ages to the publishers in early 1898, Marian Davis turned her attention to the book on the parables, since it had been decided to lift these out of the manuscript on the life of Christ. She thus had in hand a sizable collection of E. G. White materials she had been laying aside for use. But as the work moved into this area, Ellen White was stirred to write rather copiously on this phase of Christ's ministry. In the year 1898 she wrote thirty-two manuscripts, averaging nearly ten pages each, dealing with the various object lessons by which Jesus taught. To these she added another seventeen during 1899. In some cases she wrote two or three times on the same topic, as she did on the wedding garment and the ten virgins. The resulting 487 pages provided bountiful resources from which Marian Davis could draw as she pulled together the chapters for the new book.
W. C. White, on June 18, 1899, mentioned the book in a letter to the manager of the Pacific Press:
Much valuable work is being done on the manuscript for the parables. This work has often been interrupted, but is nearing completion. The book will be larger than we had first intended, and much more valuable.--13 WCW, p. 291.
And to his brother he wrote on September 24:
For some days I have been engaged in giving a last reading to Mother's work on the parables, and I am deeply impressed that it will be one of the most useful and most popular books she has ever brought out. It will make a book of four hundred pages, I think, and if well illustrated, I have thought it would be a great seller.--14 WCW, p. 121.
As the finishing touches were being put on this volume, which came to be known as Christ's Object Lessons, Ellen White was thinking of books yet to be brought out. On June 16 she wrote to Edson:
My health is good when I do not have to stand on my feet to speak so often; but I am getting old. What I have to do I wish to do quickly and solidly.
I wish now to take the Old Testament history from Solomon to the last chapter of Malachi, and the New Testament history from the ascension of Christ to Revelation.... My writing ability continues, but how long this will be I know not.--Letter 102b, 1899.
Christ Our Saviour
At about the same time she stated that "the book Christ Our Saviour is not yet completed."--Letter 243, 1899. Her son Edson, working in the Southern States among the blacks in the mid-1890s, saw a fruitful field for a book of modest size on the life of Christ in simple language. Being a good writer himself, he began to prepare the chapters, and then some of his mother's writings on the life of Christ came to his hands. Feeling it excelled his own work, he selected some of the materials, simplified the wording, and blended them with what he had written. In 1896 he published it as a popular book of 158 pages. The idea of blending his writing with that of his mother's was not acceptable to either Ellen White or the field. So as plans were laid for future printings, it was determined that it would all be from her pen, the wording simplified in her Sunnyside office by one of her staff. This work was accomplished, and in 1900 the 182-page book Christ Our Saviour was published. On the title page it carried the words: "By Ellen G. White (Adapted)." It has had a wide distribution in several languages, and now reaches the public under the title Story of Jesus.
Other book tasks to which attention was being given included a book on health intended for general distribution; in 1905 it emerged as The Ministry of Healing. Chapters from the 1890 book Christian Temperance formed the initial basis for this, supplemented by an abundance of other materials. Ellen White wrote several chapters particularly for the opening of this volume, presenting Christ and His ministry as the example in true medical missionary work (11a WCW, pp. 624, 625).
As Miss Sarah Peck, a teacher who had worked in South Africa, was drawn into Ellen White's literary staff, she was assigned the task of assembling the counsels on education written largely in the 1890s as the new start in Christian education was made in Australia. Ellen White had written much along this line. Wrote W. C. White in late September:
During the past two years I think Mother has written more upon the principles of education, the importance of Bible study, and the importance of combining labor with study, and the value of agriculture as the ABC to all agricultural training, than in all the years before. I think she has written more largely upon it than any other branch of our work, and Sister Peck, who came from South Africa to assist her with her work, is preparing these writings for publication.--14 WCW, p. 145.
Miss Peck soon discovered that these writings divided themselves into two groups--those appropriate for Seventh-day Adventists, and for the world generally. The latter found their way into the volume eventually published under the title Education (1903). Then there were those more particularly for the church, which made up one of the sections of Testimonies, volume 6 (1900), and provided resources for Counsels to Parents and Teachers (1913).
Volume six of the Testimonies, then in preparation, would carry nearly one hundred pages on education.
Organization of the E. G. White Manuscript and Letter Files
As Miss Peck searched the E. G. White manuscripts and letters for materials on the subject of education, she clearly sensed the need of a better organization of these files. As noted in an early chapter, copies of the letters and manuscripts were taken to Australia in oilcloth bags, and they had served in the preparation of articles and books. Marian Davis was so well acquainted with these that she could quite readily find materials she needed. Not so with the new workers, including Miss Peck. Writing to P. T. Magan on May 23, 1899, W. C. White explained:
About four years ago the word came to her [Mother], "Gather up the fragments, let nothing be lost," and this has been repeated many times since. But not till Sister Peck came were we able to do more than keep copies of the newly written documents.
For some months Sister Peck has devoted a portion of her time to sorting, filing, reading, and indexing all of Mother's manuscripts within our reach, and Mother has been looking over her old diaries and manuscripts that were never copied on the typewriter. In these she finds many precious things that are being copied, filed, and indexed with the rest.-- Ibid., 189.
First, the typewritten copies of manuscripts and letters brought from America and those produced in Australia were sorted out by years. Then the general manuscripts were separated from the letters. Manuscripts were placed in chronological order and numbered serially. Letters were sorted out alphabetically and then numbered in sequence. These were punched at the top and filed in "Shannon" file drawers. This formed the basic E. G. White manuscript file as it stands today. From that time on, as the materials were copied they were given file numbers. This put the letters in chronological order. The record books started by Miss Peck, while valuable and still used occasionally, have been superseded by more comprehensive records that better serve the work of the White Estate. A subject index was made of the manuscripts and letters on four-by-six-inch cards, which serve today, and copies of which serve in the Berrien Springs, Michigan, branch office and the Ellen G. White SDA Research Centers.
These several lines of literary work, together with the relentless correspondence, absorbed the time and strength of the staff working at Sunnyside.
The Sydney Sanitarium
The one matter of primary concern to Ellen White through much of her last year in Australia was the choice of a site for, and the erection of, a representative sanitarium in Sydney, or close by. During the month of September, 1899, she slipped away from Cooranbong to look at three places thought to be favorable for such an institution, but priced beyond their reach. During the month of October, John Wessels, who had come from Africa, was asked to continue the search. Near the close of the month he found at Wahroonga, near Hornsby Junction, what seemed to him a very favorable proposition, seventy-five acres of land, with fifteen in orchard, and on the place a small cottage. A group consisting of W. D. Salisbury, A. G. Daniells, F. L. Sharpe, and Ellen White joined Wessels in looking over the place. Before the day was over, W. C. White and Sara McEnterfer met with them. All were favorably impressed. The property could be secured for £2,200, or about $11,000. With £900 raised at the union conference session, this seemed within reach, and on November 1, John Wessels closed the deal. The agreement called for a down payment of £100, then another payment of £200 in three months; the balance would be due within a year.
The next step was to find money for land and buildings, and Ellen White made this a prime point in her correspondence during the next few months. In the heat of early January, 1900, she and Sara McEnterfer decided to get away from Cooranbong for two or three weeks and spend the time on the "Sanitarium farm," living in the little cottage. It was crowded, for the caretaker family lived in two of the four rooms. They also found the building full of vermin, but Sara cleaned the place up, and the wide porches served as living and dining rooms. As for getting the needed rest, soon various workers, eager to see the new Sanitarium site, beat a pathway to the little cottage.
She and Sara did like the place--the broad veranda; the large front yard beautified with flowers, a feast to the eyes and fragrant to the senses; and the fruit, ripening fresh and palatable (Manuscript 89, 1900). The Record reported that she "returned home much benefited in health" (February 1, 1900).
Even before finding the site, Dr. Merrit Kellogg, a builder from his younger years and the physician-carpenter who in 1878 designed and built the health retreat near St. Helena, California, had drawn up plans for the Sanitarium building. He was somewhat restricted in size, for there were other places needing such institutions. When the question of building materials came up, wood was chosen in place of masonry--for comfort, roominess, and economy. Testimonies, volume 7, pages 83 and 84, present the counsel that grew out of the consideration of this point in Australia.
At the Geelong Camp Meeting in Victoria
Ellen White was urged to attend the camp meeting in Victoria, scheduled for March 8 to 18 in Geelong (UCR, March 1, 1900). Geelong is a beautiful, well-laid-out city about fifty miles southwest of Melbourne. A Mr. Watson, a church member, gave £25 to encourage the church leaders to have a camp meeting held there, and a tent 55 by 104 feet was pitched in the center of the city. As it was a conservative city, there was some question about attendance, especially when it was known that the local ministers warned their people not to go to the meetings. There were about two hundred church members on the grounds for the meetings, but attendance ranged from five hundred to 1,500. G. B. Starr reported that the Spirit of God stirred the place (Education, April 1, 1900). A. G. Daniells, E. W. Farnsworth, and Mrs. E. G. White were the principal speakers.
It was here that she met the reconverted Stephen McCullagh. Of this she wrote:
Elder McCullagh and family are here. He seems to be fully in the work and expressed himself at this early-morning meeting as being in full harmony with the testimonies coming from God to Sister White. The more he reads the Bible and the testimonies, the more deep and terribly solemn they appear to him. He talked intelligently.--Letter 198, 1900.
The Union Conference Record of April 1, 1900, reported one especially interesting feature of the camp meeting. Delegations from Melbourne on weekends included "the Echo office brass band, composed of sixteen of our own brethren, who had been practicing for some three months on the sacred music usually used in camp meeting. They did well, and added much to the effectiveness of the song service."
By popular vote of the audience, decision was made to continue the Geelong camp meeting for a second week. After this, follow-up meetings were moved to a good rented hall.
"I Am Needed in America"
It was in connection with the trip to Melbourne to attend the Geelong camp meeting that Ellen White was suddenly overwhelmed with the conviction that she must return to America.
On March 7 she wrote to W. C. White about the struggle with her conviction and of her desire to know God's will:
I slept not. I was in conflict all night, pro and con. Reasons would urge themselves as though a voice was speaking to me, and I bringing up objections--why it seemed to me I could not go to America. And thus I reasoned and prayed, unwilling to admit that I must go, or that it was my duty to go, but the decision was not made.
Last night I had it all over again, and I am more decided that it will be my duty, as soon as I can adjust matters, to go to America without delay.... I cannot say all now; but I am needed in America. My testimony is needed just now, and I really believe it is my duty to go.--Letter 196, 1900.
Two weeks later, in writing to Stephen Haskell, she told of her decision:
Well, what shall I tell you is on our minds? We are now planning to attend the next General Conference [session], taking the boat that sails in August. My mind has been wrought upon, and I shall come. If the Lord has not wrought upon my mind, then I do not know what spirit has taken hold of me. I wrestled three nights in prayer at different times. I could not consent to go, and finally I decided.
I cannot think of being gone longer than two years, leaving here the first of August. This is as soon as I can get ready to leave. Shall leave my home just as it is, and come back to it. That, at least, is my calculation [a calculation she ultimately changed]....
Now we are glad that you are in America, and we shall expect to come to your help, and we meet in September or October. We do not want to come later in the cold period of the year.... Things have come to a pass in America when I know the Lord would have me to go to my own country, on my old stamping ground.--Letter 174, 1900.
Again, two weeks later, she confided in her diary on April 7, "I try to rest in my mind and thoughts, but I cannot. My mind is upon America.... I wish to go, and I wish to remain."--Manuscript 92, 1900.
The next day she wrote:
We are preparing our American mail. I have many things I desire to see accomplished before we shall leave for America. I am greatly burdened. I have been instructed decidedly that the work Dr. Kellogg has been doing in Chicago is not the charge and work God has called him to do. He has his certain work appointed him which others cannot do.--Ibid.
In mid-May a cable from George Irwin urged her to come to America on the August boat. She still hesitated, and declared:
I dread everything like confusion. I have stood on the battlefield at Battle Creek. I tremble at the thought of repeating the experience. We know they need help in America, but is it my duty to take this long journey? I cannot do this without further evidence.--Letter 70a, 1900.
As she wrote to Edson on July 1 about the proposed trip she remarked:
This is the best climate for me by far that I have ever been in, and I am so bound up with the work here it is very difficult for me to leave the work. I seem to be a part of the very work, and I tear myself away. I am not the least homesick. Nothing but duty would cause me to make the change. I am desirous to be just where the Lord would have me, and do the very work He has for me to do.--Letter 186, 1900.
In writing to longtime friends Elder and Mrs. Haskell, Ellen White discussed where she might locate on arriving back in the United States. She still owned a home in Healdsburg, a few blocks from Healdsburg College. She might locate there. "But," she wrote, "W. C. White objects. He thinks we should not be near any school.... We will know better what to do when we reach Oakland and have opportunity to look about."--Letter 121, 1900.
Settling in or near Battle Creek seemed to be quite out of the planning. "W. C. White has felt very strongly," she wrote, that "under no circumstances should we locate in Battle Creek or east of the Rocky Mountains. Our position must be near the Pacific Press."
We have planned to go into the country, in or near Fruitvale, so that we might have no connection with any duties or offices that would demand our attention. Here we hope to complete the bookmaking we now contemplate.--Ibid.
Final Arrangements
When Ellen White first let it be known that she must very soon leave Australia, one problem loomed large. That was the early disposition of her Sunnyside property and the W. C. White home across the road. It was he who spoke of how this was solved, as he made his remarks in a farewell service before they left:
Since our decision to sail in August, many favoring providences have been seen. Mother has sold her house and land, with furniture, farming implements, and livestock, to a family wishing to be near the school.
I have exchanged places with Brother Metcalf Hare, and then sold his place to the school. Many kind friends are helping us in numberless ways.--Australasian Union Conference Record, September 1, 1900.
Another point of concern was the securing on short notice of suitable travel accommodations. As W. C. White took up the arrangements with the Union Steamship Company in Sydney, he found that they could take passage on the Moana, leaving Wednesday, August 29. The bridal stateroom, with its comfortable bed and nearby bunk, was available for Ellen White and Sara McEnterfer. Good staterooms in the second-class section would comfortably accommodate the others.
Transferring Responsibilities
Ellen White and W. C. White had been active in so many lines of work and carried such numerous responsibilities that their rather sudden leaving seemed to pose somewhat of a problem.
It was decided that the union conference should meet a little early. A hasty call was sent out for a "union conference council," to which were invited, in addition to the members of the committee, "representatives of the different lines of work throughout the Australian field" (Ibid., August 1, 1900). This would be held at Cooranbong, August 16 to 27. E. W. Farnsworth had taken Daniells' place as union conference president.
Thirty-four delegates along with Mrs. White were present for what proved to be an outstanding meeting. They represented 1,986 baptized believers throughout Australasia. Farnsworth reported:
That which seemed to impress all minds the most was the presence of the Holy Spirit. All came desiring harmony and peace, and under such circumstances nothing else could be expected. I have attended a large number of gatherings among our people, but I have never attended one before where such perfect union of feeling and judgment prevailed. There was free discussion on all points; but, when that was over, all saw eye to eye, and not one dissenting vote was cast on any proposition that was passed. I do not think that this can be said of any other meeting ever held by our people of equal length and importance.
With Ellen White about to leave them, her presence seemed especially precious. Wrote Farnsworth:
We all appreciated, as never before, the counsel of Sister White. All felt that if God ever sent light to any people, He certainly did to us. We praise Him for the light.
There was also the transfer of responsibilities in which W. C. White was involved. In his farewell remarks he commented on this:
From the day that my brethren on the union conference committee consented to begin to release me from responsibility, we have seen that the Lord had men in waiting, fitted to lift the burdens that I was laying down. Therefore we go with light hearts, feeling assured that the work will progress steadily, with increasing rapidity and power until the work is finished and the Master says, "Well done."--Australasian Union Conference Record, September 1, 1900.
Farewell Service
On Sunday afternoon, a few hours before the union conference council was to close, and three days before the Moana would sail, a farewell service was held in the Cooranbong church. The general community was invited to join the delegates. Several made appropriate remarks. As this was still a part of the union conference council, a resolution was introduced that read:
That in view of Brother and Sister White departing soon for America, after a stay of nine years in Australasia, we hereby express our appreciation of their active and earnest efforts to establish the work in this country, our thankfulness for the success which has attended their labors, and wish them the rich blessing of God, and a safe and pleasant voyage homeward.--Ibid., October 1, 1900.
Two autograph albums had been prepared, one for Ellen White and one for the W. C. White family. Both were beautifully bound, and each contained original drawings, photographs, and messages from churches and from individuals expressing appreciation, friendship, and love. As Elder Farnsworth presented these, he remarked "that they might find in these gifts a similarity to the ones taken to Egypt by the sons of Jacob, in that they were made up, figuratively speaking, of 'a little balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts, and almonds'" (Genesis 43:11).--Ibid.
Ellen White's response was eagerly awaited. She declared that she was changing work but was still under the same Leader:
Yesterday when I spoke to the congregation, all the time I felt
my heart welling up with gratitude to God. Now we have but little time, and I want to say that I do not go to America because I feel driven to go on account of the burdens I have been carrying here. I feel that God has assisted me in the work here. I leave all the churches and the brethren and sisters with the most pleasant feelings. It means very much to me to know that our hearts are united, that we are one in the body of Jesus Christ, one in faith, one in hope.... I expect you will press the battle to the gate. I expect you will each act your part and close up the ranks....
I have not a tear to shed. I am only changing my work under the same General, and I go to another part of the field where they are calling earnestly for our help.
I thank you for this token of your kind regard and remembrance. I shall esteem it highly. I shall bear in mind those I have met here, and our prayers will ascend that the blessing of the Holy Spirit shall be upon these believers who live in my heart, that they may advance from character to character, till in the heavenly courts, it shall be said, "Ye are complete in Him."--Ibid.
Getting Off to America
Ellen White had been successful in selling her home and little farm with its furnishing and equipment to the Minchin family, so there was little packing to do beyond her personal effects and the precious literary materials. These included the files of letters and manuscripts and the working materials for book production, and were taken in trunks as a part of the baggage. One article of furniture did go with them--Ellen White's writing chair with its swinging, green, felt-covered writing board.
A three-hour train trip carried them to Sydney. With Ellen White were four women assistants: Sara McEnterfer, Marian Davis, Sarah Peck, and Maggie Hare. The W. C. White family numbered seven: himself; his wife, May; his two older daughters by his first marriage, 18-year-old Ella and 13-year-old Mable; the twins, 4 years old; and baby Grace, nearly 3 months old.
At the wharf they bade goodbye to friends and fellow workers, and were off to America.