By late April, 1902, Ellen White was quite well recovered from her illness that overtook her in connection with the emergency trip to New York and Nashville. She was now able to throw herself more fully into the work of writing. Among the communications from her pen in April were testimonies to two leading men in the Sanitarium church not far from her home. These were testimonies of reproof for harsh dealing with each other and with their brethren.
One of her secretaries put the communications in the mail on Thursday, April 3. On Sabbath, April 5, a communion service was held. The two men who had received the testimonies rose in the quarterly meeting and made "good, hearty confessions" (19 WCW p. 73). The congregation witnessed the evidences of the work of the Holy Spirit on the hearts of these two leading church members, knowing they had received messages of reproof and rebuke. This brought a very tender spirit into the meeting and rejoicing in the hearts of all.
Pacific Press Matters
The Pacific Press constituency meeting, held on April 28 and 29, demonstrated again the influence of messages borne by Ellen White. The press was then located in Oakland. It was doing a great deal of commercial work, which was a growing source of concern and perplexity. While in the earlier years it had been necessary to accept commercial work to keep the equipment and the men needed for the production of literature for the church profitably employed, as the work of the church grew, the commercial work became less vital. At times it proved to be detrimental.
Elder A. T. Jones, president of the California Conference and member of the board, held a series of meetings with the workers of the Pacific Press. God blessed his earnest work. The feeling was growing that some changes in policies and general plans should be made at the publishing house. With this there developed a feeling that implicated the manager, C. H. Jones, as the scapegoat, that he was the man mostly responsible for the commercial work and for the problems that it brought. A tide of criticism enveloped the employees.
As the time neared for the constituency meeting, at which a board would be chosen and officers selected to manage the Pacific Press, C. H. Jones wrote a lengthy letter to Ellen White. First he urged her to attend the constituency meeting. He invited her and those who would be with her to stay at his home as guests during this meeting, as they had done in the past. And then he turned to some of the problems that would be discussed at this constituency meeting.
Should they attempt to dispose of the commercial work? He argued that it had been valuable in (a) educating and training workers; (b) filling in during dull times; and (c) providing substantial financial aid. But conditions were quite changed now and possibly they could part with this.
There was the threat of the labor unions, a threat that would recede if they were to withdraw from commercial printing. The capital investment amounted to $300,000, and they were paying interest on a debt of $200,000. About half the investment and half the time of the employees was devoted to the commercial work.
Then there was the question of whether, if the commercial work were discontinued and the overall program of the plant greatly reduced, it would be wise to sell the plant in Oakland and move to a retired area more conducive to the welfare of the employees, establishing a plant of moderate size dedicated entirely to denominational work.
On the closing page of his nine-page letter to Ellen White, Jones bluntly stated that he did not expect to accept any responsibility in connection with the Pacific Press for the coming year. The situation, he felt, was such that he should retire to other work, perhaps assisting his son, a physician in Santa Barbara. For thirty-one years he had been connected with denominational publishing work--eight with the Review and Herald and twenty-three with the Pacific Press. He declared:
My life has been put into this institution. I have had no separate interest, but my whole time and attention has been given to building up the Pacific Press.--C. H. Jones to EGW, April 16, 1902.
He recognized that he had made mistakes, and he expressed his feeling of regret as he contemplated severing his connection with the institution, even though he thought that this was the best move. He invited any counsel that Ellen White might have for him.
Clearly, Jones's intentions were serious and determined. Then God spoke. "The Lord," Ellen White declared, "gave me a most unexpected testimony to all, especially to C. H. Jones."--Letter 260, 1902.
On Wednesday, April 23, she wrote:
Dear Brother and Sister C. H. Jones,
I have words from the Lord for you.
Recently I read a very important letter from Brother Jones. That night I was instructed of the Lord by object lessons and explanations that made a deep impression on me. I do not now purpose relating all that was presented to me; but there are some things that I must relate.
We seemed to be assembled in council with a number interested in the working of the Pacific Press. Some things were said with regard to the past management of the institution. The statement was made that the results of this management were not altogether satisfactory. Papers were read. Many perplexing problems were introduced. There seemed to be so many questions to consider that little headway was made, and no light from God seemed to be shining in.
One of the questions under consideration was, "Should Brother C. H. Jones resign, who will occupy the position that he has occupied in the institution since he was a young man?"
One who has often been present in our councils now stepped forward, and looking with intense interest and sympathy upon Brother Jones, stepped to his side, and speaking to the brethren, said, "Should your brother leave the office now, he would wrong himself and do a wrong to others and to the work."-- Letter 65, 1902.
She described how her instructor put His hand on Brother Jones's shoulder and addressed him:
"Take up the work anew, and"--turning to the others present--"learn of Jesus His meekness, His lowliness. Empty the mind of unkind criticism, and fill it with the determination to cherish the faith that works by love and purifies the soul....
In this institution a large number of hands are employed to do commercial work. God does not require the doing of this work. Light has been given you in regard to this matter. "How long halt ye between two opinions?" ... The time and talents of the workers should be devoted to the publication of the truth.-- Letter 65, 1902
Two days later Ellen White penned a message addressed to "My brethren in Positions of Responsibility in the Pacific Press." She came directly and bluntly to the point, opening the letter with:
The case of Brother C. H. Jones has been presented to me. Should he resign his position to take up some other line of work? If the Lord should say, "This is My will," it would be right for Brother Jones to do this.... When the Lord selects a man who in His sight is the proper man for this place, it will be right for Brother Jones to sever his connection with the Pacific Press. But at present the Lord does not accept his resignation.--Letter 67, 1902.
Ellen White spoke at the Sanitarium church on Sabbath, April 26, and then on Sunday made the journey to Oakland and to the C. H. Jones home, where she was to stay as a guest. The constituency meeting opened on Monday morning with a good representation present. On Monday afternoon Ellen White was the principal speaker. As the letter to C. H. Jones was read to the constituency, followed by the reading of the twenty-one-page testimony to the men in positions of responsibility in the Pacific Press, hearts were touched. In reporting the meeting, the Pacific Union Recorder states:
The Spirit of the Lord came into the meeting, and many hearts were melted to tears. Following her remarks, there was a spirited social meeting, in which many confessions were made, and the entire audience manifested their desire to reconsecrate themselves to the service of the Lord by a rising vote.-- Pacific Union Recorder, May 22, 1902.
What a contrast from the ordinary corporation constituency meeting! Among the actions that were taken were these:
"That we instruct the incoming board of directors to make a continuous effort to reduce commercial work and develop the publication of religious, educational, and health literature. Also, that we recommend that the incoming board of directors dispose of the plant as a whole, or in part, as Providence may open the way.
"We also recommend that, in case the plant is sold a smaller plant be established in some rural district convenient for our denominational work, for the training and education of missionaries."-- Pacific Union Recorder, May 22, 1902.
A board of seven was chosen, and C. H. Jones was whole-heartedly and unanimously returned to his position as manager--a position he was to hold for another thirty-one years. W. C. White, a deeply interested observer reporting the meeting wrote of the perplexing situation and then said:
But God, in His mercy, sent us a message just before the annual meeting, calling upon Brother Jones to stand bravely in his position, working for the necessary reforms and calling upon his associates to stand by him, sharing the burden. (19 WCW, p. 275)
Problems in the South
The work in the Southern States was very close to the heart of Ellen White, first because of the very great need and because the church had neglected the work for so long, and second because her own son was deeply involved in successfully opening up the work of the church among the blacks and in establishing schools and churches and finally the publishing house in Nashville. But there were elements that served as a fuse to what was to become an explosive situation.
Neither Edson White nor W. O. Palmer, who went with him into the South, was known for his financial acumen. With hearts dedicated to God, the Lord greatly blessed their labors in preaching and writing and teaching. A strong, growing work was established.
Edson's brother William was staid, cautious, careful, and carried the confidence of church leaders. In fact, through many years he served as a counselor to church leaders. It was not quite so with Edson. He was impulsive and sometimes unsuccessful in business ventures, launched with borrowed money. This gave rise to questions about the work he represented. Money to carry on was scarce.
The newly organized Southern Union Conference represented only a limited membership. With the newly organized publishing house using secondhand equipment that was badly worn, and in buildings that were heavily mortgaged, it was a tenuous situation. Under these circumstances, the Southern Union sent its president, George I. Butler, and the treasurer of the publishing house, W. O. Palmer, to California to interview Ellen White and gain counsel as to the course that should be pursued.
The two men arrived at Elmshaven on Friday noon, May 16. They were given a hearty welcome. Ellen White had worked very closely with Elder Butler down through the years. Will Palmer was a son of the Palmers who had helped in early days to establish the publishing work in Battle Creek.
When the brethren, early in the new week, spread before Sister White and the staff at the office at Elmshaven their problems and the reasons for their coming, they were delighted to find that during the past few months she had already written much on the work in the South that answered their questions. As they looked over these materials, they found that the Lord had instructed her to appeal to the churches throughout America to assist in establishing the work in the Southern States on a firm basis. The needs, which were great, were to be made known to church members throughout the land, and an opportunity was to be given to them to help. The brethren found in this counsel that which brought courage to their hearts, and after several interviews in which the work was reviewed and counsel given, they felt that their mission had been accomplished.
Will Palmer returned to Nashville. Elder Butler lingered a bit on the West Coast, speaking Sabbath morning in the Sanitarium church. This was followed by a meeting Sunday night in which he made an appeal for the work in the South and $500 was pledged. This gave Butler the courage to go to other churches--Healdsburg, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fresno. Eighteen hundred dollars was raised to assist the Southern Publishing Association.
W. C. White, shortly after the visit, wrote of the surprise and amazement that came to the visitors and to the Elmshaven office staff in that "they found that before their arrival, their questions had been anticipated, and that Mother had already written many things which they can now use to excellent advantage for the advancement of the work in the Southern field."-- Ibid., 371.
Things at Elmshaven
A description of the various activities at Elmshaven on Tuesday evening, May 20, was given by W. C. White:
Maggie [Hare] is writing for Sara. Mother is very weary today, and cannot write much for the Australian mail, so Sara is writing some letters by Mother's direction. Sister Peck has just left the office, and gone to her little cottage about fifty yards from Mother's house. Sister Davis is in her east room in this office building, hard at work preparing book manuscript. Brother Crisler and I are in the southwest chamber of the office, writing to you. At the house, about twenty yards south of the office, all is quiet. Mother has just gone to rest, after a hard day's work of writing to our people in the South. About an hour ago, Brother and Sister James, Mrs. Nelson (Mother's cook), Maggie, Brother Crisler, myself, and Elder George I. Butler were all picking cherries from a big tree close to the office.-- Ibid., 272, 273.
William White then turned to his own home situation and wrote concerning his two older daughters, who had to find some means of earning money during the summer. Money was very scarce and each had to do his part. So W. C. White said:
Ella and Mabel [20 and 16 years old, respectively] have been preparing for a journey of thirty miles southeast into a large fruit district, where they expect to find employment picking and packing fruit. Ella, with the help of Anna Rasmussen, has been mending an old tent in which the girls will lodge, while Mabel has been packing up provisions, and cooking. My wife has been preparing to take the boys and go with me and Elder Butler to Healdsburg tomorrow.-- Ibid., 273.
And on Thursday, W. C. White reported:
When I came over this morning, I found Mother picking strawberries, and although she is quite weary from the extra work of the last few days, she seems very cheerful.-- Ibid., 301.
Ellen White was very fond of strawberries. In 1867 and 1868, when their home was in Greenville, Michigan, and her husband, James, was recovering from his stroke of paralysis, they had grown many strawberries. She was pleased to find that the little patch at Elmshaven "bore wonderfully." The fruit was good. It was large, and she noted "some of the berries measuring three and a half inches around, and one four inches" (Letter 116, 1902).
It was camp meeting time, and while she would not attend many this year, she did feel that she should attend the California meeting, which was scheduled nearby at Petaluma, to be held June 5 to 15. On such occasions she did not drop her office work, but took her staff with her. The work would continue from day to day, slowed up somewhat of course by the camp meeting program, but not too seriously interrupted. Trunks were packed, typewriters were prepared for shipping, and the materials were sent over to Petaluma in advance. She felt the hand of the Lord had been with them in making arrangements for a home during the camp meeting.
On Thursday the party set out with horse and carriage from St. Helena for the fifty-mile drive. Fruit was hanging heavily on the trees in the orchards they passed. The vines gave good promise of a bountiful yield of grapes. Mustard was knee-deep in the orchards and vineyards that had not yet been plowed. Clusters of poppies bloomed along the road. They passed some eucalyptus trees in the Petaluma area, which reminded Ellen White of Australia.
She described the home they rented as "a large two-story house, in a quiet neighborhood, within about five minutes' walk of the campground." It was an eight-room house with a bathroom. It was equipped with a stable and a paddock for the horses, and the rent was $7 for the ten days. She remarked, "Never before in all my travels have I, when away from home, been so favorably situated either for working or for resting as I was in this house in Petaluma."-- Ibid.
The weather during the camp meeting was excellent. Mrs. White slept well. Each day she spent some time on the campground, and she spoke seven times. Each day she went for a short drive in the carriage. Each day she spent time with her writing. She and her staff were preparing for the annual meeting of the California Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association to be held at the St. Helena Sanitarium immediately on their return from Petaluma.
The Important Medical Meeting
She returned to St. Helena on Monday, June 16, taking most of the day for the trip by carriage. She was present when the medical missionary council opened at the Sanitarium Wednesday noon. During this opening meeting she informed the delegates that she would be pleased to talk with them for an hour each morning, and they quickly arranged for an early-morning session from six to eight each day.
Her heart was burdened with many things--the control of the church's medical institutions; the worldly policies that were coming into the management of many church institutions; the legal restrictions that limited the use of the profits of the Battle Creek Sanitarium to use in the State of Michigan when there were dire needs in other parts of the world; and the health-food business. As she dealt with some of these topics, she read from manuscripts prepared especially for this convention. She stressed the distinctive nature of the denomination's medical work as she urged that "conformity to the world is causing many of our people to lose their bearings.... Worldly policy has been coming into the management of many of our institutions."--Manuscript 96, 1902.
At this four-day meeting long-range plans were laid that called
for the establishment of the Pacific Union Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association. This meant that there would be on the Pacific Coast a strong medical organization under denominational control. The medical interests in the West would not be a part of the Battle Creek-controlled International Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association. The constituency of the new association sensed the impact of what they were doing. They stated that: "In view of the importance of the steps about to be taken, careful study should be given to the questions involved, as not only affecting the interests of the entire Pacific Coast, but of the denominational work throughout the world."--Pacific Union Recorder, August 14, 1902.(Italics supplied.)
One feature of the long-range plans was that "medical missionary enterprises that may be started ... shall be upon the basis that the financial and managing responsibility shall rest upon a local constituency or board."-- Ibid. The way was being paved for very important decisions to be made by the General Conference Committee at a meeting to be held in November, and the General Conference session the following spring.
Ellen White was pleased that Judge Arthur attended the meetings (Manuscript 33, 1906). He was connected with the Battle Creek Sanitarium staff in legal lines.
The meetings closed Sunday noon; the next day found Judge Arthur and his wife at Elmshaven, guests of Ellen White. They stayed through the week. During this time she learned from him about the buildings in Chicago that she had seen in vision while in Australia, buildings for which plans had been drawn but which Dr. Kellogg had denied existed or were planned for (Manuscript 33, 1906).
Both Ellen White and Willie were sorry when the visit came to a close, and they realized that pressing literary tasks had deprived them of spending more time with the Arthurs.
Work Through The Summer
Much of the summer was devoted to her book work and to correspondence with many in the field. She watched with deep interest the turn Dr. Kellogg was taking in the light of the strong position of the denomination in relation to the ownership and control of church medical institutions. This led to an explanation concerning certain of the testimonies dealing with critical situations, copies of which carried the word "Amplified" stamped on them. Elder Prescott had asked what this meant. In her letter to him written July 10, 1902, she wrote:
In a letter to W. C. White, you speak of the amplifications in testimonies recently sent you. I suppose that the question you asked regarding this matter was not so much for your own sake as that you might have a statement with which to meet the questions of others.
I had a large amount of matter written regarding the dangers of some, and especially regarding the work of Dr. Kellogg. But I supposed that after the experience at the last General Conference, this matter would not be needed. Soon after the new year, many things were presented to me that I knew must sometime be brought before the managers of the Battle Creek Sanitarium. Because of the presentation of these matters, I felt that the time had come for some of the testimonies in my diaries to be written out. I made a selection, and had some of the matters copied.... I thought that it would not be best to present every particular now, because the temptation might come to take exception to the wording, and thus the testimony failed of achieving the object for which God sent it.-- Letter 99, 1902.
And then she explained:
On reading the matter that was prepared, I saw that I should have to say something more definite, and I made many additions with my pen. This was my last reading of the matter, and some copies had already been sent out. Therefore the word "amplified" was placed on the copies to which I made additions in my last reading.-- Ibid.
Interestingly she added:
And all is not yet spoken. As matters are presented to me, I dare not even now tell all the truth given. There are many things that I forbear tracing on paper. There are many things I feel I must leave unsaid until I can speak them before the whole congregation.-- Letter 99, 1902.
On a Sunday in mid-July, feeling the need for a change, she spent the day in an excursion to find cherries, accompanied by Sara McEnterfer and Iram James. Standing in the wagon, she picked eight quarts, largely for canning. She rejoiced in the progress in building her writing room over the kitchen and reported that she was "enjoying much better health" than she "ever enjoyed in the past" (Manuscript 138, 1902).
The fruit crop in northern California that summer was abundant, and Ellen White got some of her exercise picking peaches, plums, and apples.
From time to time during the summer she spoke Sabbath mornings in the Sanitarium chapel. The first Sabbath and Sunday in August she enjoyed attending a Sabbath school convention held four miles from her home in a secluded spot just off the main road to Calistoga. The Sanitarium, St. Helena, and Calistoga churches came together there for the services, and she spoke several times.