Soon after returning to Oakland, Ellen attended the camp meeting held at Sacramento where the delegates took action to establish an educational institution at Healdsburg, less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Bay cities of San Francisco and Oakland.
A school committee of seven was appointed four days later. W. C. White, as chairman, was authorized, among other responsibilities, to "select a building at some eligible point in the State [in northern California]." Less than a month later a well-built school building was found at Healdsburg. It had cost $10,000 but could be secured, with furniture, for $3,750.
Just at this point W. C. White had to leave for Battle Creek and the General Conference session. But he was back in time to attend a meeting of the school board in Healdsburg January 28 and 29, 1882. Five of the seven members, W. C. White, John Morrison, J. H. Waggoner, T. M. Chapman, and William Saunders, were present. Ellen was invited to meet with them. The minutes record:
At the first meeting, Mrs. E. G. White made appropriate remarks upon what should be the aims and ends of a denominational school, such as is purposed to be established in this State by Seventh-day Adventists, the gist of which was that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and that it was necessary to have a school of our own in order to take the children away from the evil influences found in nearly all the common schools and colleges of the day (Ibid., February 16, 1882).
To attain some of the objectives set forth by Ellen White called for some departures from the program at the Battle Creek school: (1) There must be regular classes in Bible study, not just chapel lectures; (2) there must be a school home, or dormitory; (3) there must be a program that would provide physical activity with study--in other words, an industrial program. These were basic in the planning for Healdsburg Academy. It would take time to implement some of the elements, particularly the providing of a school home.
Some of the problems that the college at Battle Creek was having should be avoided:
a. The college did not have dormitories.
b. Students boarded with families in the community or on their own.
c. This exacerbated problems of discipline. Hosts naturally were inclined to sympathize with and accredit the reports of the students.
d. Disagreements among the faculty, board, and community were common regarding the school policies and goals.
Appropriate actions were taken toward an early opening of the school. Professor Sidney Brownsberger, now recovered from illness, was invited to take charge, and his wife was asked to become one of the teachers. Without delay earnest Adventist families started moving to Healdsburg to take advantage of the academy. It was announced to open Tuesday, April 11 (Ibid., April 6, 1882). That first day 26 students were on hand to register--more than had been expected (Ibid., April 20, 1882). The whole school enterprise was carried forward on a wave of enthusiasm and goodwill among its constituents and also the community of Healdsburg.
On Monday, April 24, the annual meeting of the Pacific SDA Publishing Association was held in Oakland, bringing together a good representation from the churches. Time was found at that meeting to discuss the school project. At
2:30 in the afternoon, less than two weeks after the opening of the school, a large group assembled in the Oakland church to hear reports and review plans for the new enterprise. Professor Brownsberger reported on the phenomenal progress being made.
The first 20-week term closed in mid-June with an enrollment of 38 (Ibid., July 13, 1882). By this time an Adventist woman of some means had made a gift of $5,000, and work could begin on the school home, or "boardinghouse," as it was known. In the basement would be the kitchen, laundry, and bakery; on the first floor, classrooms and a working parlor. The second story would accommodate the young women, and the third would be a dormitory for the young men (Ibid., July 20, 1882; Ibid., October 26, 1882).
Ellen White Finds A Home Base
After traveling out from Oakland to visit among the churches in northern California through the early winter months, Ellen decided that she would make Healdsburg her California headquarters. She and James had built a home on a little farm on West Dry Creek Road, about three miles (five kilometers) from the village, and she still owned it. On February 7, 1882, she wrote to Willie, who was managing the Pacific Press in Oakland, "Now I am decided to go to my Healdsburg place."
On Thursday, February 23, her personal belongings and some furniture arrived from Oakland and were moved into the little home on the farm.
She drew in her family of literary and home helpers, hoping soon to settle down to a serious program of writing. But this she found hard to do. She took pleasure in scouting around the country, buying grain and hay, chickens, a cow with its calf, and horses for transportation and to work the place. Here she spent four months happily working in her garden and building up her health. She wrote in a letter to her children:
My health is good. I have some trouble in sleeping all I want to. I exercise considerably, picking up wood, and if it were not for weak ankles, would exercise more. I put rubber bandages on my ankles and this helps them. I feel then I can walk anywhere (Letter 4, 1882).
In a letter written April 16, in which she mentioned some of the afflictions of those about her, she said, "I find, after all, your mother can endure about as much as the younger people" (Letter 9, 1882). Up to this point she had to force herself to spend time writing.
But as the home on West Dry Creek Road was several miles from the town of Healdsburg, and she wanted to be closer to the college, early in August she bought a two-story house on Powell Street, which bordered the town. It stood on a two-and-a-half-acre (one-hectare) tract of good land with an orchard of fruit trees of choice varieties. As the college's "boardinghouse" was still under construction, her house was at once fitted up to board the carpenters. She canned a heavy yield of plums and peaches for the college and the health retreat at St. Helena. W. C. White reported that "Mother engaged in this work with great interest, saying, in answer to our cautions, that it was a rest to her weary brain" (The Review and Herald, September 26, 1882). When she was on the West Coast, this was her home until she went to Australia in 1891.
A Miraculous Healing
In late August, while in Oakland, Ellen suffered a severe chill followed by fever. This serious illness lasted several weeks. As she began to recover, she was taken to the health retreat at St. Helena. But she did not improve. As the time for the California camp meeting to be held at Healdsburg drew near, she pleaded to be taken back to her Healdsburg home. She hoped to be strong enough to bear her testimony at the camp meeting and to work for the support of the new school. Resting on a mattress in the back of a carriage driven by her son Willie, and accompanied by Jenny Ings, she started out on the trip to Healdsburg.
The day grew very warm. As W. C. White later recounted the experience to members of his family, he told how his mother, in time, failed to answer his questions. At once he knew she had lapsed into unconsciousness. He urged the horses on, hoping to reach Healdsburg with his mother still alive. In her own home she rallied a bit. It was her hope and the hope of her family that in the environment of the camp meeting she might experience a renewal of life and strength. Camp meeting opened in early October in a grove about a half mile (one kilometer) from her home. Although very feeble and hardly able to leave her bed, she gave instruction at noon on the first Sabbath:
Prepare me a place in the large tent where I can hear the speaker. Possibly the sound of the speaker's voice will prove a blessing to me. I am hoping for something to bring new life (Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 262).
A sofa was arranged for her on the broad speaker's stand, and she was carried into the big tent and placed upon it. Those close by observed not only her weakness but also the deathly paleness of her face. Recalling the experience some years later, Ellen said that not only was the large tent full, but "it seemed as if nearly all Healdsburg was present" (Letter 82, 1906).
J. H. Waggoner, editor of the Signs of the Times, spoke that Sabbath afternoon "on the rise and early work of the message, and its progress and present state" (The Signs of the Times, October 26, 1882). When Waggoner had finished his address, Ellen turned to Willie and Mrs. Ings, who were at her side, and said, "Will you help me up, and assist me to stand on my feet while I say a few words?" They aided her to the desk. "For five minutes I stood there," she later recalled, "trying to speak, and thinking that it was the last speech I should ever make--my farewell message." With both hands she steadied herself at the pulpit.
All at once I felt a power come upon me, like a shock of electricity. It passed through my body and up to my head. The people said that they plainly saw the blood mounting to my lips, my ears, my cheeks, my forehead (Letter 82, 1906).
Every eye in the audience seemed fixed on her. Mr. Montrose, a businessman from the town, stood to his feet and exclaimed, "We are seeing a miracle performed before our eyes; Mrs. White is healed!" (WCW account). Her voice strengthened, her sentences came clear and full, and she bore a testimony such as the audience had never before heard. Waggoner filled out the story in his report in the Signs:
Her voice and appearance changed, and she spoke for some time with clearness and energy. She then invited those who wished to make a start in the service of God, and those who were far backslidden, to come forward, and a goodly number answered to the call (The Signs of the Times, October 26, 1882).
Uriah Smith, who was present, in his report in the Review and Herald published October 31 mentioned that after the miraculous healing "she was able to attend meetings ... as usual, and spoke six times with her ordinary strength of voice and clearness of thought." Referring to the experience, Ellen said, "It was as if one had been raised from the dead.... This sight the people in Healdsburg were to have as a witness for the truth" (Letter 82, 1906).
This event, which seemed to be a turning point in her physical condition, opened the way for a strong ministry. In reporting her two-month illness, she remarked that she had expected it would gradually pass. Instead, she was healed instantaneously.
She was glad to be in the large group that during the camp meeting went to see the new college. First was the visit to the new building--the boardinghouse under construction--and then the school building. A brief dedication service was held in the "audience room," which could not contain all the visitors. After Waggoner offered the dedicatory prayer, Ellen called for singing a verse of "Hold the Fort." The whole congregation sang heartily.
The Crisis At Battle Creek
Four months after the school at Healdsburg had opened, the college at Battle Creek closed. During the summer of 1882, while Ellen was immersed in writing and publication problems at Healdsburg, she was not unaware of the situation in Battle Creek.
As early as December of the previous year she had presented this warning before conference delegates and leading workers in the Review and Herald office, sanitarium, and college:
There is danger that our college will be turned away from its original design. God's purpose has been made known, that our people should have an opportunity to study the sciences and at the same time to learn the requirements of His word.... But for one or two years past there has been an effort to mold our school after other colleges....
I was shown that it is Satan's purpose to prevent the attainment of the very object for which the college was established. Hindered by his devices, its managers reason after the manner of the world and copy its plans and imitate its customs. But in thus doing, they will not meet the mind of the Spirit of God (Testimonies for the Church, 5:21-23).
A change of administration because of the illness of the president, Sidney
Brownsberger, had brought in a gradual change in policies. G. I. Butler reported in the Review:
The board of directors whom the stockholders placed in control found themselves powerless to hold in check these influences.... A majority of the faculty, sustained by a large portion of the church, threatened to resign in a body if certain measures taken by the board were not retracted. Mass meetings of the students were held to sustain their favorites in the faculty.... The board virtually had nothing to do with the management of the college for months during the past year....
The tide ran so high that those teachers who had done most in founding the college lost their influence, and were looked upon with dislike. Their lot was made very hard, and stories were circulated against some of them which were calculated to ruin their reputation as Christians, and even as moral men, and these have been circulated through the land (The Review and Herald, September 12, 1882).
Faced with these conditions and unable to see the possibility of operating "such a school as the Lord had shown we ought to have," "the board finally [during the summer recess] decided to close the college" with no definite plan to reopen Ibid. It was a sad day.
Particularly painful to Ellen was the stance taken by the Review editor, Uriah Smith, in connection with the deteriorating Battle Creek College situation. Since the spring of 1853 when Smith had joined the office force in Rochester, New York, he had been a pillar of strength in the development and growth of the church. Now when the Spirit of Prophecy was being challenged, his support was especially needed.
Smith's children, who were attending the school, sided with the liberal element. His own sympathies tended in the same direction. During this period an occasional interchange of letters took place between him and Ellen. In her testimonies relating to Battle Creek, the church, and the college, she had probed the matter and given counsel based on her insights into the conflict and the attitude of various individuals. One key to the problem came to light later by way of Smith's letter to her written August 10, 1882. He explained his hesitancy to accept her counsel regarding some of these matters by saying: "I had always supposed that a testimony was based on a vision, and I did not understand that you had any vision since the recent trouble in the college commenced." Based on this philosophy, Smith attributed reproof and counsel that she wrote concerning school matters to reports she had received or to her own opinions.
Ellen's great concern as she learned of the trend at the college is revealed in this portion of a letter she sent to the church in Battle Creek:
Dear Brethren and Sisters in Battle Creek:
When I went to Colorado, I was so burdened for you, that, in my weakness, I wrote [in September 1881] many pages to be read at your camp meeting. Weak and trembling, I arose at three o'clock in the morning, to write to you. God was speaking through clay. But the document was entirely forgotten; the camp meeting passed, and it was not read until the General Conference. You might say that it was only a letter. Yes, it was a letter, but prompted by the Spirit of God, to bring before your minds things that had been shown me....
While visiting Healdsburg last winter, I was much in prayer and burdened with anxiety and grief. But the Lord swept back the darkness at one time while I was in prayer, and a great light filled the room. An angel of God was by my side, and I seemed to be in Battle Creek. I was in your councils; I heard words uttered, I saw and heard things that, if God willed, I wish could be forever blotted from my memory. My soul was so wounded, I knew not what to do or what to say. Some things I cannot mention. I was bidden to let no one know in regard to this, for much was yet to be developed.
I was told to gather up the light that had been given me, and let its rays shine forth to God's people. I have been doing this in articles in the papers (Testimony for the Battle Creek Church, 49).
During the year that followed the closing of the college the work of Ellen G. White was carefully scrutinized and consideration was given to inspiration-revelation as it related to her experience and writings. Much was published by dissidents to destroy confidence in the Testimonies. Then a trio of dissidents united in the production of an "Extra" of the Sabbath Advocate, in which were presented a number of criticisms of Ellen White. At first the criticism was ignored. Then its wide distribution, especially among Adventists, gave rise to questions demanding answers. The first answer came from the pen of Wolcott Littlejohn in the Review in May 1883.
The Beginning Of A Turnaround In Battle Creek
To aid in the crisis situation at Battle Creek, Littlejohn had been asked in January to take charge of "District No. 3." The Battle Creek church, with its 497 members (The Review and Herald, April 17, 1883), comprised the largest part of the district.
With a strong base of support in the majority of the church officers and members, Littlejohn began to get positive materials into the Review. The issue of May 8 carried the first of a series of three rather scholarly articles on "Seventh-day Adventists and the Testimony of Jesus Christ."
Ellen was aware, of course, of the warfare against her work and was particularly alert to the deplorable conditions existing in the Battle Creek church. Of these she wrote:
Many are in reality fighting his [Satan's] battles while they profess to serve under the banner of Christ. These traitors in the camp may not be suspected, but they are doing their work to create unbelief, discord, and strife. Such are the most dangerous of foes. While they insinuate themselves into our favor and gain our confidence and sympathy, they are busy suggesting doubts and creating suspicion. They work in the same manner as did Satan in heaven when he deceived the angels by his artful representations (Ibid., August 28, 1883).
As summer came and her book work was going well, she fixed her eyes on the dates for the Eastern camp meetings to start August 22 at Worcester, Massachusetts. Finally her communication to the president of the General Conference led him to feel he could count on her help. He notified the readers of the August 7 Review and Herald that "Sister E. G. White may be able to attend [the New England meeting], if her health is sufficient to endure the long journey from California."
With Sara McEnterfer as a traveling companion, Ellen White left California by train for Battle Creek. Arriving Friday, August 17, she went to the home of Edson and Emma for the night and then to the sanitarium. Almost immediately she was involved in meetings.
She did not sleep well Friday night, but on Sabbath morning she spoke in the tabernacle.
Sunday was a full day. In the morning she spoke to the workers in the Review and Herald office. In the afternoon at 4:00 she spoke to a crowd of about 400 in the public square. Her subject was temperance.
On Sunday evening she spoke to the patients at the sanitarium.
On Monday evening, August 20, she spoke to the employees of the Review and Herald.
Uriah Smith, whose attitude toward her had been noticeably cool, had planned to attend the camp meetings in New England, but at the last minute he felt he must remain in Battle Creek and attend to some important writing.
Now, having sounded an earnest but kind warning that she hoped would help to stabilize those who might have been wavering, she pressed on to Massachusetts.
Though meeting a busy schedule of camp meetings in Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New York, Nebraska, Michigan, and Indiana, Ellen followed with interest what was happening in Battle Creek.
Battle Creek College Reopens
With a more accurate comprehension of the whole situation on the part of the Battle Creek church, and upon its members making a thorough confession and a pledge of loyalty to the Spirit of Prophecy and to church leadership, the board of trustees of Battle Creek College looked forward to the reopening of the college. Butler, chairman of the board as well as president of the General Conference, presented an extended statement on the situation in the Review of July 31, 1883, under the title "Our College at Battle Creek." The statement said, in part:
Let us consider some of the questions involved in the reopening of the college. It has remained closed for one year. Why? Because as conducted for some time previous to its closing it did not answer the purpose for which it was established. And further, because the state of feeling existing in the community surrounding it was such that those to whom its management was entrusted felt that there was no reasonable hope that a better state of things could then be obtained....
A very different spirit is manifest in the church at Battle Creek the present year from that which was seen last year....
Yet there are great difficulties to be met if we have such a school as will meet the mind of the Spirit of God. It will require men of sound judgment, deep piety, and those whose whole hearts are enlisted in the work of God, to mold and manage it, if it ever fully succeeds....
To bring about the true spirit in our college will require a great effort. To secure proper officers and teachers who will exert the right influences, and bring into the school the Spirit of Christ, and lead the minds of the pupils to the truth, is a difficult problem, and one which the board of trustees is now trying to solve. We hope for such success as will enable us soon to announce the time when our college will open.
It was recognized that the main purpose of the college was to train ministers, missionaries, colporteurs, Bible "readers" (instructors), and teachers for auxiliary schools. A new day had dawned for Battle Creek College.
The Ibid., August 14, 1883, carried the announcement that Battle Creek College would open Wednesday, September 5, for the coming college year.
Eighty students were present for the opening. W. H. Littlejohn, who had shown his loyalty to the church and to the Spirit of Prophecy counsels, had been chosen president. He served for two years.
Especially gratifying and heartening to Ellen White was the turnaround of Uriah Smith. Using his editorial report on the Michigan camp meeting to herald to the church the marked change that had come in his personal relationship to the Spirit of Prophecy, Smith stated:
The presence of Brethren Haskell and W. C. White from the Pacific Coast added to the interest of the meeting.... The benefit of the labors and attendance of Sister White at this meeting cannot be overestimated. Her exhortations moved the people to seek the Lord with earnestness and contrition of heart, as could have been done by no others....
Sister White has a work to do, and is trying faithfully to perform it, which no others can do. It is one which has a most intimate connection with the prosperity of the cause. For this she is especially qualified by the gift she has in exercise of "visions and revelations of the Lord." Through this she is able to perceive more vividly the dangers and duties pertaining to these closing moments of time, and thus more understandingly instruct and warn the little flock; and he who would try to destroy confidence in her work, or weaken her hands, is taking a course hostile to the best interests of this cause....
From the very beginning, now nearly forty years ago, the manifestation of the Spirit of Prophecy in the visions of Sister White has been connected with this work, and interwoven with every step of its progress. To suppose that during the brief time remaining it is to be separated from it would be to look for a singular providence indeed. A change in this respect is now no more possible than it is desirable.
Rather than stop now to question the wisdom of God's providence, in the constitution or history of this work, and spend time and strength in efforts to introduce fundamental changes, we think all would do better to accept it as a whole, give their attention to a careful examination of their own hearts in view of the soon-coming judgment, and be willing to receive instruction from whatever source, and by whatever means the Lord may see fit to send it (Ibid., October 9, 1883).