As the year 1915 opened, Ellen White, now in her eighty-eighth year, was "comfortable, calm, [and] courageous" (CCC to WCW, January 1, 1915), and was taking an active part in book preparation. In fact, she seemed to be in better health generally than a few months before. But those close to her in the home could see indications that she was failing. She was, however, able to go unaided up and down the stairs, and moved freely from room to room. Often as she did so, she would be heard humming an old hymn, with words penned by William Hyde in 1845 after he had heard her give the account of her first vision of the new earth. It was one of the songs in the denomination's first hymnal issued in 1849. As first published, it was titled "The Better Land" (see MR, p. 127). It was especially the last part of the poem and hymn that she dwelt upon:
We'll be there, we'll be there in a little while,
We'll join the pure and the blest;
We'll have the palm, the robe, the crown,
And forever be at rest. [The full wording will be found in Testimonies for the Church 1:70, and in The Church Hymnal, No. 305.]
There had been a hastening of the work on Old Testament history, with the determination to bring it to completion while Ellen White could be involved. Now the task was well along, and Clarence Crisler went back to some of the chapters that in richness came short of most of the manuscript. With Ellen White's counsel and help he was rounding them out. This is why the manuscript, which earlier had been spoken of as almost completed, was still in preparation. Wrote Crisler on this New Year's Day:
As we find new material from the file and add to the chapters that have already been prepared and passed upon, and reread these amplified portions to her, she seems to enjoy going over them anew. This perfecting of the manuscript is slow work, but very interesting; and we are hopeful of the outcome.--CCC to WCW, January 1, 1915.
Four days later he wrote of his work on the chapters linking the Solomon story with that of Elijah because they were "not bright enough and hopeful enough" to suit Ellen White (CCC to WCW, January 4, 1915). So, following "her counsel in making them more nearly right," scriptures were introduced that she felt were needed (Ibid.). Crisler was pleased that this satisfied her, and he himself was glad they could now include matter they disliked to see left out of the more hastily prepared volume.
But the manuscript for the book on Old Testament history was not the only concern at Elmshaven as 1915 opened. Typesetting for Gospel Workers was in process at the Review and Herald, and there was the reading of proof and double-checking at Elmshaven as the work progressed. More meticulous care was taken with the Ellen G. White books than with other works. The abridging for overseas publication of some of the Spirit of Prophecy books was still in progress as several returned or furloughing missionaries pushed forward with that work.
Life Sketches of Ellen G. White
As the messenger of the Lord neared the close of her life, two tasks of a biographical nature emerged. Study was being given as to what would be said in the public press when Ellen White was at rest. W. L. Burgan, of the newly organized General Conference Press Bureau, was reaching out for materials that could be supplied the press to inform the general public about her life and work and possibly stall off some poor or even hostile journalism when the news broke. So from time to time the Elmshaven staff conferred by correspondence with Burgan in Washington and also with F. A. Coffin, who was working in a similar vein at closer range in southern California. This was done with the hope that it would not interfere with work on the books.
Plans for a permanent biographical work that could be published immediately after Ellen White's death were also being developed. Out-of-print materials on her life were available for use in the new book. In 1860 she had written quite a detailed account of her life, which was published under the title of "My Christian Experience, Views and Labors." This was issued as Spiritual Gifts, volume 2. In 1880 James White had taken this and with some editing had put it with the account of his life and labors and published the combined work as "Life Sketches" of James White and Ellen G. White. There was a reprint in 1888, but aside from this volume, now long out of print, there was no biography available.
Seventh-day Adventists had been kept in touch with Ellen G. White through articles appearing weekly in the Review and Signs and Youth's Instructor, which brought her close to the readers. The occasional accounts of her travels and labors that appeared in these journals, together with the introductory material in volume one of the Testimonies and some biographical accounts here and there in the nine Testimony volumes themselves, kept Seventh-day Adventists aware of her life and activities. But soon her active labors would cease, fresh articles would no longer appear in the journals, and it was felt a modest volume on her life was needed. So beginning in late 1914, consideration was given to the preparation of a manuscript that would at her death appear as Life Sketches of Ellen G. White. C. C. Crisler and D. E. Robinson, using what help W. C. White could give, undertook the work.
The 1880 Life Sketches volume formed the basis for the early part of the book. This material, supplemented by other biographical materials, traced the story to the time of James White's death in 1881. Then Clarence Crisler, filled in rather sketchily the story till her death, with the account in the third person.
Countdown to the Accident--A Diarylike Report
Correspondence from the office in January and February carried frequent references to Ellen White's state of health and welfare. We note here some of the communications written in almost diary form.
Monday, January 4,
Clarence Crisler to W. C. White:
Sister White is just about the same, day by day. Sabbath she seemed unusually blessed, and was brighter.... Sister White was with Minnie [Crisler] a part of the forenoon, and out riding with her until sundown, or nearly so in the P.M....
Sister White spends much time in her chair above, and in some easy chair below when with Miss Walling in the downstairs front room; but she is comfortable, and able to handle herself with comparative ease. It is wonderful how she keeps up.
Tuesday, January 5,
Clarence Crisler to James Edson White:
You will be pleased to learn that Sister White is keeping up fairly well, all things considered.... She can get about the house unaided and unattended, going freely from room to room and up and down stairs; but her steps are much slower and uncertain than in former years, and even than when you were last with us. She finds it possible to sit in easy chairs for hours at a stretch.
Often during the past few months she has spent a good portion of the time downstairs, sitting in the sitting room by the fireplace; and Miss Walling has endeavored to sit much with her, to keep her company.... There is really more home life for your mother than during the years when her activities led her to isolate herself in her office room most of the time....
She spends more time in bed now at night, of course, and her habits are more regular since she stopped getting up to write.... I have an idea that her regular rest at night is of real benefit healthwise, as are the treatments given her daily just before dinner.
Thursday, January 7,
Clarence Crisler to W. C. White:
I am sending you these few lines to tell you that your mother is about the same, healthwise. She spends part of her time reading the large-print volumes within easy reach, and seems content. Today we went over another long chapter of the Elijah story.
Tuesday, January 12,
Clarence Crisler to W. C. White:
Your mother is ... about as usual. She seems to be just about the same from day to day. I find her able to consider manuscripts daily, in harmony with the plan outlined in recent letters. She takes pleasure in this work, and gives us real help when we need her help.
She also spends some time in going over her standard books, and in reading large-type books close by her chair.... At times I find your mother going over the Signs and Review and other papers; but of late I have not found her reading the newspaper.
Sunday, January 17,
Clarence Crisler to W. C. White:
I went in to your mother's sitting room to have a visit with her. We read over some of the Amos and Hosea prophecies, and considered matter that will strengthen the chapter dealing with these.
Wednesday, January 27,
W. C. White to "Dear Friend" (February 15):
Wednesday morning, January 27, I returned home after an absence of sixteen weeks in the East and South. I found Mother cheerful and interested to hear about the work in the places I had visited. She appeared to be about as well as when I left home in the early part of October.
Wednesday, February 10 (two weeks later, the week of the accident)
D. E. Robinson to S. N. Haskell:
You will be glad to know that Sister White's general health is fairly good. She is still able to dress herself and to get around the house. She takes her meals with the family, and when the weather is good, goes out for a drive.
She takes an interest in the matter that is being prepared from her manuscripts for publication. She constantly expresses her gratitude to God for His care over her. The last three days I have eaten at her table. Her appetite seems to be good, and she thoroughly enjoys her food. Yet we who are associated with her can see that she is constantly growing weaker. Gradually she has been laying off the burdens that she has carried for so many years.... Just recently it has become quite difficult for her to write with a pen. Some days her memory seems to be better than others.
Friday, February 12,
W. C. White to "Dear Friend" (February 15):
Friday afternoon, February 12, as I was leaving the office for a quick trip to St. Helena, Mother came outdoors, and we spent ten minutes walking about in the bright sunshine and talking about the progress of the message in all the world.
Sabbath, February 13,
Ellen White breaks her hip; W. C. White telegraphs the word to relatives and friends:
Sabbath noon, Mother, entering her study, tripped and fell, causing an intracapsular fracture of the left femur.
The Accident and Its Aftermath
In his report of the accident, written Monday, February 15, sent to relatives and friends, and published in the Review and Herald, W. C. White described what happened:
Sabbath morning, Mother appeared to be as well as usual. About noon, as she was entering her study from the hallway, she tripped and fell. Her nurse, May Walling, who was in the hall about twenty feet away, hastened to her assistance, and endeavored to help her onto her feet. When Mother cried out with pain, May lifted her into a rocking chair, pulled the chair through the hall to Mother's bedroom and got her to bed. Then May telephoned to Dr. Klingerman at the Sanitarium, and at once applied fomentations to the hip, where the pain seemed to be the greatest.
When the doctor came, he said that it was either a bad sprain or a fracture, and advised an X-ray examination at the Sanitarium. This examination showed an "intracapsular fracture of the left femur at the junction of the head and the neck." Mother bore very patiently all the painful experiences of being carried from her room to the Sanitarium and back again.
Sara McEnterfer, who was her traveling companion and secretary most of the time for thirty years, is with her; and so is May Walling, who was brought up in her home, and who has been her faithful nurse for about two years. Mrs. Hungerford, a trained nurse from the Sanitarium, is also with her.--The Review and Herald, March 11, 1915.
Sunday morning, Dr. Klingerman arranged to have a hospital bed sent down to the White home. This was set up in her spacious and cheery writing room, close to the bathroom with its conveniences. As W. C. White told the story to the readers of the Review, he continued:
Mother occupies her study, where for the last ten busy years she did most of her writing. Sometimes when half awake, she asks how long the journey will take, and when she will get home; and then, when fully awake, she says, "I am right here in my own room."
In our seasons of prayer, Mother unites with her usual fervor and clearness of thought, expressing complete confidence and entire resignation.
Since her accident she has told me that she feels that her work is done, her battles ended, and that she is willing to lie down and sleep till the resurrection morning, unless there is yet some special work the Lord has for her to do.-- Ibid.
And thus it was for the next five months till mid-July. Her son's frequent reports through the Review and Herald and in his letters indicate that she had good days and days not so good, but that she was spared from any great suffering.
Soon after the accident, W. C. White reported that "when we ask her if she is suffering pain, she will start to say Yes; then she stops, and says, 'It is not so painful as it might be, but I cannot say that it is comfortable.'"--WCW to AGD, March 1, 1915. And a few weeks later when asked what kind of day she had had, she replied, "A good day--in spots."--WCW to S. N. Haskell, April 30, 1915.
By early June there was a rapid decline in her physical condition. One of the three nurses mentioned earlier was constantly with her. Relatives, friends, and neighbors were frequent visitors. A wheelchair was secured, and on pleasant days she was taken out on the little porch directly over the main entrance to the home, facing south. This she much enjoyed. On most days she would sit in a chair for several hours, and at nights she usually slept well. As time went on, her appetite waned. On one occasion as Sara was coaxing her to eat, her response showed that she had not lost her sense of humor: "Well, Sara," she said, "I would not want to die before my time by overeating."--As told to A. L. White.
The Vision of March 3
On the morning of March 3, at about ten o'clock, Ellen White, on wakening, called her nurse, Mrs. Hungerford, to her side and began to tell of what took place in the night--her last vision. W.C. White was quickly called, and he wrote down the statement made rather slowly by Ellen White: "There are books," she said, "that are of vital importance that are not looked at by our young people. They are neglected because they are not so interesting to them as some lighter reading."--Ibid., April 15, 1915. She touched on a number of points and among them said:
In the night season I was selecting and laying aside books that are of no advantage to the young. We should select for them books that will encourage them to sincerity of life, and lead them to the opening of the Word.-- Ibid.
I do not expect to live long. My work is nearly done. Tell our young people that I want my words to encourage them in that manner of life that will be most attractive to the heavenly intelligences, and that their influence upon others may be most ennobling.-- Ibid.
She expressed her confidence in her brethren in the cause, a theme often repeated as she faced the sunset of life.
I do not think I shall have more Testimonies for our people. Our men of solid minds know what is good for the uplifting and upbuilding of the work. But with the love of God in their hearts, they need to go deeper and deeper into the study of the things of God.-- Ibid.
As she brought to the close this her last testimony for the church and especially its youth, she said:
I have no assurance that my life will last long, but I feel that I am accepted of the Lord. He knows how much I have suffered as I have witnessed the low standards of living adopted by so-called Christians. I have felt that it was imperative that the truth should be seen in my life, and that my testimony should go to the people. I want that you should do all you can to have my writings placed in the hands of the people in foreign lands.... I am impressed that it is my special duty to say these things.-- Ibid. (published in full in Fundamentals of Christian Education, 547-549, and in Messages to Young People, 287-289).
Consideration of World War I
Quite naturally, Seventh-day Adventists were affected by World War I and were eager to know whether Ellen White had any counsel as to how men called into military service should relate themselves to the problems they faced. Since Civil War days there had been no conflict that affected Seventh-day Adventist Church members. As mentioned in a preceding chapter, Clarence Crisler, while talking with Ellen White on October 20, 1914, soon after World War I broke out, mentioned the war and the problems some European Adventists were having because of draft laws. Brethren in Europe were reaching out for counsel and asking whether Sister White had any light. She gave no specific counsel on the matter, except that under such circumstances the Christians should not act presumptuously.
Again, on January 12, 1915, Crisler wrote of finding Ellen White "going over the Signs and Review and other papers": he told of how she was getting what news that came to her concerning the war from these journals and from letters she received. He spoke again of her noncommittal attitude:
Up to the present time, I have been unable to gather from your mother much concerning the way the war appears to her mind, and what she thinks may come out of it. She does not seem to think much about it, in fact; her chief energies are taken up in current work, and in keeping pace with the advancing message and messengers.--CCC to WCW, January 12, 1915.
But the war question was to come up again in late spring some weeks after her accident. W. C. White wrote of this on May 26 in a letter to Elder Guy Dail, secretary of the European Division. He spoke to his mother of the war and of Seventh-day Adventist ministers referring to it in their sermons as one of the signs of the end. This sparked a question in her mind:
"Are our people affected by the war?" she asked. "Yes," I said, "hundreds have been pressed into the Army. Some have been killed and others are in perilous places.... Some of our people in America and in Europe feel that those of our brethren who have been forced into the Army would have done wrong to submit to military service. They think it would have been better for them to have refused to bear arms, even if they knew that as a result of this refusal they would be made to stand up in line to be shot."
"I do not think they ought to do that," she replied. "I think they ought to stand to their duty as long as time lasts."--WCW to Guy Dail, May 26, 1915.
In the light of the other references to the war when the subject was opened up in her presence, it is clear that she had no special light that would pinpoint how drafted Seventh-day Adventists should relate to the demands of military service. It seems that whatever she said was based on her general understanding of avoiding rash positions. The situation was much like that of the Civil War days when she counseled against presumptuous attitudes in dealing with matters in which Seventh-day Adventists were involved with the government.
C. H. Jones Calls On Ellen White
Visits from prominent workers of long acquaintance were much appreciated by Ellen White. On May 4, C. H. Jones, manager of the Pacific Press, called to see her. Her bed was in the big bay window. When Brother Jones asked whether she knew him, she answered, "I know you, and I am very glad to see you." Jones spoke of his interest and sympathy for her and of the prayers offered for her by friends in Mountain View. In response she said:
"The Lord is our Helper. He is our Frontguard and our Rearward.
"I am so anxious that we shall be overcomers. And we can be, with the Lord's help. The Lord alone can be my helper. I want to do just that which will bring the victory.
"I hope we shall meet in the kingdom of heaven. We want the overcomer's reward. I want to be an overcomer, and mean to be.
"After all that He has done, shall it be that Christ has died for us in vain?"--WCW to "Dear Brother," May 6, 1915.
Then, as Brother Jones bade her goodbye, she said: "I hope to meet you in the kingdom of God."-- Ibid.
Positive Teaching On The Triumph Of The Church
On Friday morning, May 21, Mrs. Lida Scott, from the East, came to the Elmshaven office to make acquaintance with W. C. White and to ask some questions about the church, its organization, and its stability. She was a relatively new convert, a woman of considerable means, the daughter of Isaac Funk of the Funk and Wagnalls Publishing Company in New York. She had spent some time at the Madison Sanitarium and School in Tennessee, self-supporting institutions. Now church leaders were currying her interest in the College of Medical Evangelists, and particularly in providing facilities in Los Angeles for clinical training of physicians. Of the visit, W. C. White reported on May 23 to Elder E. E. Andross, president of the Pacific Union Conference and a member of the Loma Linda board:
During our conversation, I told her how Mother regarded the experience of the remnant church, and of her positive teaching that God would not permit this denomination to so fully apostatize that there would be the coming out of another church.
I gave her a brief sketch of the various eras in the experience of this church, when, as the result of the teachings and the work of ambitious men, it has swung far away from right principles, and then pointed out how God had provided means to correct the errors that had been brought in by these ambitious men, and bring the church back to loyalty.
I expressed my confidence that God would not leave us to the buffetings of the enemy, but that in every crisis He would provide agencies to correct errors, to awaken our people to a loyalty to those features of the work where there had been growing indifference.
Later, W. C. White reports that in visiting his mother on a rainy day near the close of her long illness, after he had talked with her for a little while, he told her that he had good news regarding the work at Loma Linda.
I then related that a good sister in the East [Mrs. Lida Scott] had offered to make a very liberal gift to the College of Medical Evangelists for the establishment of a students' home and hospital in Los Angeles.
Mother's lips quivered, and for a moment she shook with emotion. Then she said: "I am glad you told me this. I have been in perplexity about Loma Linda, and this gives me courage and joy."
After a little further conversation, I knelt down by her side, and thanked the God of Israel for His manifold blessings, and prayed for a continuance of His mercies. Then Mother offered a very sweet prayer of about a dozen sentences, in which she expressed gratitude, confidence, love, and entire resignation.--WCW, in The Review and Herald, September 28, 1916.
The Visit Of A Former Co-Worker
On Sabbath afternoon, May 29, Elder G. B. Starr visited Sister White. They had labored together years before, particularly in Australia. She was in her reclining chair, in the bay window of her room, looking out upon the trees and hills about her place. Elder Starr remarked how glad he was to find her amid such pleasant surroundings.
The Review and Herald carried the report of this visit and tells of her gratitude for those pleasant surroundings, stating that they had much improved in the years since she had taken up residence there. In the conversation Ellen White said:
"Oh, how much we need more of the Holy Spirit! There is a great work to be done, and how are we ever to accomplish it?"
To this Elder Starr said: "God is raising up hundreds of strong young men and women through our schools and sanitariums, and is putting His Holy Spirit upon them, and qualifying them to do a great and blessed work; and many of them are devoted, sober, earnest, and successful."
She replied: "I am so glad to hear that! You could not have told me anything more encouraging. I wish that I might speak again to the people, and help carry the work; but they tell me I must not speak in public now."--Ibid., July 1, 1915.
As Elder Starr was preparing to leave, he said,
"We are praying daily that God will raise you up and strengthen you to bear another testimony to His people, if that is His will."
"Keep on praying," she answered.--Ibid.
On Sunday, June 27, Elder and Mrs. Starr called again on Ellen White, this time to say goodbye. She told them how pleased she was to have them visit her, and Starr commented on how bright and cheerful she seemed. She replied:
"I am glad that you find me thus. I have not had many mournful days."
"No," Brother Starr remarked, "not in all your life."
"No," she continued, "the Lord has arranged and led in all these things for me, and I am trusting in Him. He knows when it will all end."
"Yes," they replied, "it will soon end and we shall meet you in the kingdom of God, and we will 'talk it all over there together,' as you wrote us in one of your last letters."
"Oh, yes," she replied. "It seems almost too good to be true, but it is true!"--WCW to "Friends," June 27, 1915.
Waning Strength And Death
But Ellen White's strength was waning fast now. Some days she was not aware of those in the room. She was not eating, and her body was wasting away, although she was given a little albumen water--the white of egg in water--from time to time as she would take it. On the morning of Thursday, July 8, she aroused sufficiently to say: "I do not suffer much, thank the Lord." And then to Sara she added: "It will not be long now."--WCW to "Friend," July 14, 1915; WCW to G. I. Butler, July 26, 1915.
Friday morning, July 9, she rallied enough to talk a little to Sara and to her son. He prayed and told his mother that they would trust all in the hands of Jesus.
She responded, saying in a faint whisper, "I know in whom I have believed."--Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 449.
Treatments were discontinued. On Thursday, July 15, W. C. White reported that everything was being done for her that kind hearts and willing hands could do. But now she lingered in silence, quietly breathing her life away.
The next day, Friday, July 16, at about two o'clock the nurses saw that the end was very near and sent for W. C. White and his wife, May. They hastened to the home and her room. As her breathing slowed, others were notified and made their way one or two at a time to the second-floor room. C. C. Crisler and his wife, Minnie, soon joined the group. Then there were Ellen White's granddaughter Mabel White Workman; her farm manager, Iram James, and his wife; her accountant, A. H. Mason, and Mrs. Mason; Mrs. Mary Chinnock Thorp, of longtime acquaintance; her housekeeper, Tessie Woodbury. And of course there were the three nurses: Sara McEnterfer, who had been her faithful companion, nurse, and secretary for many years; May Walling; and Carrie Hungerford, who had waited on her night and day for 153 days since the accident.
In the morning Ellen White's respiration had been clocked at fifty per minute, but at three o'clock it was thirty-eight; at three-twenty it was eighteen, and a little later only ten. Then her breathing became slower and more irregular, until without a tremor the breathing stopped. It was three-forty. No one in the room stirred for several minutes, thinking she might take yet another breath. But she did not (WCW to David Lacey, July 20, 1915; WCW to G. I. Butler, July 26, 1915).
Describing the experience, W. C. White wrote:
It was like the burning out of a candle, so quiet.--WCW to David Lacey, July 20, 1915.