A time for reflection
There were a number of letters waiting for Ellen White when she returned to Basel on July 28, and she began at once to read them and write replies. This constant letter writing and manuscript preparation had always been a cause of weary lament to her husband, James White, who could never quite keep up with his indomitable wife. Her writing continued with even greater concentration after Elder White's death in 1881.
On Sunday morning, August 1, Elder Whitney came to share with her his concern for the work. They decided to conduct another series of early-morning meetings, "to arouse the workers.... to a deeper piety and a firmer faith" (Letter 105, 1886).
The Basel institution was much more than simply a publishing house. It was a school and a training center for workers. It would have been much cheaper, actually, to employ experienced non-Adventists to come in and do the printing. Pressmen, binders, and stereotypers could handle the work in all languages, and skillful translators, proofreaders, and business clerks could have been hired to handle individual languages. But what would their influence be? And what about the many Adventist young people who needed employment and experience? The leaders decided that even though it cost more, the long-term health of the work would be more vigorous if the publishing house provided training and employment for the church.
As the months passed, many young people were doing remarkably well with their trades, and also wanted to learn more about the Bible. Classes were established to study Bible history and doctrines and English grammar. These classes began at six-thirty in the morning, and now, on Tuesday, August 3, an extra feature was to be added: Mrs. White's spirited devotional talks every morning, bright and early, at five-thirty!
About two weeks into the meetings, Ellen White reported:
"I have been very earnestly at work here. We have been seeking to do everything in our power to educate the people here to understand what it means to be a Christian. We have been holding morning meetings the past week at half past five, lasting one hour. All who are connected with the office and all in the building attend these meetings. I talk to them about 30 minutes and then we have a social meeting. In the past two weeks I have spoken nine times; three times at length.
"I feel deeply that we must do everything in our power to educate the people to be Bible Christians. Not only must we show in our character the meekness and lowliness of Christ, but we must educate the people who profess present truth so that they will not be satisfied to merely have a nominal faith in the truth for this time but have that faith brought into their character as a sanctifying power."--Letter 7a, 1886.
In a letter to her son Edson she commented that "our meetings are doing good. I wish there could be something of this kind every morning in the Review and Herald office" (Letter 105, 1886). And in another letter she said, "When we know that Satan will make special attacks upon the ones who are employed in our institutions, then special efforts must be made to lift up a standard against him by elevating the characters of those who are engaged in the work."--Letter 106, 1886.
Mrs. White's Oral Presentations
In her frequent public addresses in Europe and in other places she was impelled to speak by the direct agency of the Holy Spirit. And sometimes she spoke in reproof. For example, she warned her listeners at the Third European Council in Basel of the peril in failing "to heed the admonitions of His Spirit" (Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 137).
Later in 1890 she wrote in a general statement:
"Before I stand on my feet I have no thought of speaking as plainly as I do. But the Spirit of God rests upon me with power, and I cannot but speak the words given me. I dare not withhold one word of the testimony.... I speak the words given me by a power higher than human power, and I cannot, if I would, recall one sentence.
"In the night season the Lord gives me instruction in symbols, and then explains their meaning. He gives me the word, and I dare not refuse to give it to the people. The love of Christ, and, I venture to add, the love of souls, constrains me, and I cannot hold my peace."--Ellen G. White Manuscript 22, 1890.
Again Ellen White wrote regarding divine guidance when she was called upon to address the people:
"I am never left alone when I stand before the people with a message. When before the people there seems to be presented before me the most precious things of the gospel and I participate in the gospel message and feed upon the Word as much as any of the hearers. The sermons do me good, for I have new representations every time I open my lips to speak to the people. I can never doubt my mission for I am a participant in the privileges and am nourished and vivified, knowing that I am called unto the grace of Christ. Every time I set forth the truth to the people, and call their attention to eternal life which Christ has made possible for us to obtain, I am as much benefited as they, with most gracious discoveries of the grace and love and the power of God in behalf of His people, in justification and reconciliation with God."--Manuscript 174, 1903.
A Pleasant Trip to the Rigi
Not alone was Ellen White interested in the spiritual health of the office workers in Basel, she was also happy to join them in wholesome recreation. Late in August she, her family, and a large group of office employees went on an all-day outing. Their destination was the Rigi, a group of mountains lying between Lakes Lucerne and Zug. The broad panoramic view from the top of these mountains is magnificent. After a sixty-mile train ride to Lucerne, they all took a steamer to Vitznau, where they boarded the sturdy little rack-and-pinion train for the ride up to the mountain.
"The Rigi is new, one of the most popular resorts of Switzerland," Ellen White remarked. The view of the lake's "greenish, blueish waters,--is ... a most beautiful sight" (Manuscript 33, 1886).
She was fascinated by the little train that took them up the mountain.
"The car consists of one carriage holding fifty-four persons not divided into compartments. It is more like a city railway car. The gauge is that of ordinary railways. Between the rails in the center run two others close together provided with teeth on which a cog wheel under the locomotive works. The train is propelled upward by steam power."--Ibid.
After twenty minutes of climbing, the train plunged into a tunnel, then burst into the light again to cross a deep ravine on a bridge supported by two iron pillars.
A little farther on they reached the station at Kaltbad. To their left was a large health resort. "This place looked interesting," she noted, "and I would have much liked to have spent some hours here."--Ibid.
Still farther up they reached Rigi-Staffel, where the rail line from the other side of the mountains joined the one on which they were traveling. Again she wished she could stay, but the train went on:
"We climb, climb higher and still higher until we become almost giddy and we have reached at last the summit. ... We had a nice chance to view the scenery. We looked down into canyons thousands of feet and where streams of water were running swiftly."--Ibid.
Descending again, the cheerful group of workers found seats under the trees while they waited for the steamer.
"The steamer glides up to the landing, and we step on board. It is crowded so that it seems next to impossible to urge our passage in the closely packed crowd. The scenery on this Lake Lucerne is very beautiful but we see a shower arising. The muttering thunder and the lightning flash warn us to take shelter.... We hasten down before the crowd gets in motion; and there out of the cabin windows we see a most beautiful sight--the large drops of rain falling upon the smooth surface of the lake look like glittering diamonds. I never witnessed such a scene as this before."--Ibid.
The rain was still pouring down when the steamer docked. Willie White tried to find a hack to take them to the railway station, but none was available. The schedule was close, and there was nothing to do but to hasten through the downpour to the station and catch the train for Basel.
The wet weather could not dampen their spirits, however, as Ellen White said:
"We were rather a wet, uncomfortable, sorry-looking set. Ella clapped her hands and in a joyous tone exclaimed, 'Now Sara, aren't you glad you went to the Rigi? Sara, aren't you glad you went to the Rigi?' We had a good laugh and tried to look at the matter in her light and drop out the dark colorings."--Ibid.
Now it was time to lay plans for another long trip. Once again Ellen White was to become involved in the thick of preaching and counseling responsibilities.