Printed in the Review and Herald, July 25, 1935
The latter part of the year 1854 was a period of sickness and sorrow, anxiety and distress, for James White. The Sabbath and advent cause that he loved and to which he had given his life was advancing gloriously. New fields were being entered, new men were joining the ranks of the ministry, and the number of Sabbath-keepers was increasing rapidly. Why not rejoice?
Strange though it may appear, the very growth of the membership and the increasing number of preachers of the message, added to his burdens and cares.
Some of the new Sabbath-keepers were unwilling to adopt the standards of the pioneers regarding the non-use of tobacco and other stimulants. These were led to justify themselves by accusing the leading ministers of needless severity. And even among the ministers newly converted to the Sabbath truth were some who, after preaching awhile with earnestness and simplicity, and winning others to Sabbath observance, were led to adopt expositions of Scripture that were subversive of the advent faith.
Some of these disaffected ones were determined to become leaders in the cause, and they indulged in cruel criticism of those who were bearing the chief burdens of the work. They engaged in bitter warfare against the Review and its publishers. Thus they brought great sorrow to those who were endeavoring to maintain the purest standards of Christian living, and to uphold the fundamental truths into which they had been divinely guided.
There was no organization at that time to which James White and his associates could appeal for vindication and defense. Furthermore, aside from the Review, there was very little literature clearly defining what was present truth. Moreover, the task of visiting the increasing number of companies of Sabbath-keepers, to present fundamental truth and to correct errors, was becoming an impossible burden.
James and Ellen G. White and their associates saw clearly the great need for the preparation of books and tracts to establish and unify the believers in the great fundamental truths of the message. But times were hard. The gifts of the loyal supporters of the Review were inadequate for the accomplishment of a new and costly undertaking. Capital was needed at once for the bringing out of a score or more of tracts for wide circulation. What could be done?
In every important council, this great need was discussed and agreed to. Some pledges of money were made, but could sufficient means be raised among the believers to furnish the necessary financial support?
All eyes turned to James White for leadership in planning the distribution of the burden of authorship, and also for the raising of necessary funds with which to publish. He saw the growing need; his heart was filled with a desire to see done that which was needed; but he was a sick man--a very feeble man. What could he do?
He felt very keenly the sting of underhanded criticism that the adversary was using to break the confidence of brethren in Vermont and Massachusetts, for it meant the curtailing of the influence of the Review. He suffered under the blighting influence of the falsehoods being published and widely circulated by the leaders of the "Messenger party" in Michigan. He foresaw that other companies would be rallied to attack the work by the same agency that had striven to take his life while publishing the Advent Review in Auburn. What could he do?
The work in the publishing office was moving along hopefully. Uriah Smith was doing excellent work as resident editor. John Andrews was writing dynamic articles on the leading doctrines, which, after publication in the Review, were to be printed in book form. R. F. Cottrell, J. H. Waggoner, and others in the field were writing matter for books.
Progress was being made in bringing out tracts and books. Still there seemed to be no solution to the problem of finding a man able and willing to take the responsibility of raising money for the work of publication. Time and again Elder White requested that someone be provided to take from him the financial burdens he was carrying for the growing cause.
Stephen Belden was the only man that might be suggested. He was trustworthy and was acting efficiently as superintendent of the printing plant. He was also handling the funds received for the support of the paper. But he was not widely known and had not the influence needed to act in the field as a solicitor for donations.
Near the Breaking Point
One day toward the last of the year, James White came home from the publishing office weak and disheartened. His soul was inspired by the glorious results to be obtained through the production of suitable literature, but the obstacles seemed insurmountable and he was appalled.
At home he found his wife very busy caring for their three little boys,--Henry, seven years old; Edson, five; and Willie, about three months. But even her courageous faith could not drive away his despair. His mind dwelt upon the past and reverted to the many times when, through overwork, depriving himself of needed rest, and failure to provide for himself an ample and nourishing diet, he had transgressed the laws of health. He had repented of these transgressions and believed that the Lord was willing to forgive, but it now looked as if he must die because of his violation of physical law.
He thought, If I die at the age of thirty-three, the work will fall into the hands of younger men, faithful but of less experience, and what will become of Ellen and the boys? Then he groaned, wept, and moaned, "O Ellen, if I could only see you and these three little boys carried to Mount Hope and placed in the grave out of the reach of this wicked and cruel world, I then could lie down with submission to die and be buried by your side. But to think of my breaking in health and going to the grave, and leaving you and these children to battle with a cold and cruel world--it is more than I can bear." So for a little while he took a gloomy view of the future, overlooking the wondrous ways in which the Lord had many times in the past rescued and sustained him.
What would have been his feelings could he have looked eleven years into the future, and foreseen that in the same city of Rochester, when again in a condition of serious weakness and discouragement and while brethren were praying for him, God would give to his wife not only an assurance of his healing, but also a message that would set in action the great sanitarium work that we now see going forward among the Seventh-day Adventist people? He could not anticipate this, nor that fourteen years in the future he himself would become a leading factor in the establishment of annual camp meetings, where thousands would be instructed in the essential doctrines of the third angel's message, and trained for united service.
He could not picture to himself the activities in Battle Creek from 1876 to 1878, when he, as president of a publishing association, chairman of a college board, and president of the board of managers of a great sanitarium, would be hurrying from home to home, calling men to attend meetings in which would be considered paramount issues of the yet unnamed Seventh-day Adventist denomination.
His eyes were holden to the mighty issues of the future. He was engaged in a life-and-death struggle, in which it appeared to him that he would be the loser. He was facing the grave, and he mourned over what might become of the publishing work which he had started and of which he was the principal promoter, and of his wife and children.
Speaking of their experience at this time, Mrs. White wrote:
"The darkest clouds seemed to shut down over us. Wicked men, professing godliness, under the command of Satan were hurried on to forge falsehoods, and to bring the strength of their forces against us. If the cause of God had been ours alone, we might have trembled; but it was in the hands of Him who could say, No one is able to pluck it out of My hands. Jesus lives and reigns. We could say before the Lord, The cause is Thine, and Thou knowest that it has not been our own choice, but by Thy command we have acted the part we have in it. ...
"Those were days of sadness. I looked upon my three little boys, soon, as I feared, to be left fatherless, and thoughts like these forced themselves upon me: My husband dies a martyr to the cause of present truth; and who realizes what he has suffered, the burdens he has for years borne, the extreme care which has crushed his spirits and ruined his health, bringing him to an untimely grave, leaving his family destitute and dependent? Some who should have stood by him in this trying time, and with words of encouragement and sympathy, helped him to bear the burdens, were like Job's comforters, who were ready to accuse and press the weight upon him still heavier. I have often asked the question, Does God have no care for these things? Does He pass them by unnoticed?
"I was comforted to know that there is One who judgeth righteously, and that every sacrifice, every self-denial, and every pang of anguish endured for His sake, is faithfully chronicled in heaven, and will bring its reward. The day of the Lord will declare and bring to light things that are not yet made manifest."--"Life Sketches of James and Ellen G. White" pp. 312-314.
A Brighter Day Dawning
But the Lord had better things for James White. Soon a comforting message was sent to him. In vision, his wife was bidden to assure him that he should not sink in the grave. He was to live and continue to use his voice and pen to the praise of God and for the edification of His people. Yet he was warned to be very moderate in his labors, and was told that his faith would be severely tried, as he should be gradually restored to health. Of this message and of their subsequent experiences in prayer and faith, my mother wrote:
"I was shown that my husband must not labor in preaching, or with his hands; that a little over-exercise then would place him in a hopeless condition. At this he wept and groaned. Said he, 'Must I then become a church pauper?' Again I was shown that God designed to raise him up gradually; that we must exercise strong faith, for in every effort we-should be fiercely buffeted by Satan; that we must look away from outward appearance, and believe. Three times a day we went alone before God, and engaged in earnest prayer for the recovery of his health. This was the whole burden of our petitions, and frequently one of us would be prostrated by the power of God.
"The Lord graciously heard our earnest cries, and my husband began to recover. For many months our prayers ascended to heaven three times a day for health to do the will of God. These seasons of prayer were very precious. We were brought into a sacred nearness to God, and had sweet communion with Him."--Id., p. 314.
A glimpse into the inner recesses of the life of Ellen G. White, revealing the glow of an ardent love for her Lord, lifting her out of the depression natural to those brought into such trials and anxieties, is afforded in a letter written to her dear friend, Mrs. S. Howland:
"I feel thankful that I can now have my children with me, under my own watch-care, and can better train them in the right way. For weeks I have felt a hungering and thirsting for salvation, and we have enjoyed almost uninterrupted communion with God. Why do we stay away from the Fountain, when we can come and drink? Why do we die for bread, when there is a storehouse full? It is rich and free. O my soul, feast upon it, and daily drink in heavenly joys. I will not hold my peace. The praise of God is in my heart, and upon my lips. We can rejoice in the fullness of our Saviour's love. We can feast upon His excellent glory. My soul testifies to this. My gloom has been dispersed by this precious light, and I can never forget it. Lord, help me to keep it in lively remembrance. Awake, all the energies of my soul! Awake, and adore thy Redeemer, for His wondrous love."--Id., p. 315.
Referring to the opposition they were meeting from their former brethren, she saw beyond the sting of personal calumny and abuse, and beheld the church strengthened and purified by the separation from it of unsanctified elements. Quoting again from this same letter to Sister Howland, we read:
"Our enemies may triumph. They may speak bitter words, and their tongue frame slander, deceit, and falsehood, yet will we not be moved. We know in whom we have believed. We have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. A reckoning day is coming, when all will be judged according to the deeds done in the body. It is true the world is dark. Opposition may wax strong. The trifler and scorner may grow bold in his iniquity. Yet for all this we will not be moved, but lean upon the arm of the Mighty One for strength. "God is sifting His people. He will have a clean and holy church. ... We all have reason to thank God that a way has been opened to save the church; for the wrath of God must have come upon us if these corrupt individuals had remained with us.
"Every honest one that may be deceived by these disaffected ones, will have the true light in regard to them, if every angel from heaven has to visit them, and enlighten their minds. We have nothing to fear in this matter. As we near the judgment, all will manifest their true character, and it will be made plain to what company they belong. The sieve is moving. Let us not say, Stay Thy hand, O God. The church must be purged, and will be. God reigns; let the people praise Him.
"I have not the most distant thought of sinking down. I mean to be right and do right. The judgment is to set and the books be opened, and we are to be judged according to our deeds. All the falsehoods that may be framed against me will not make me any worse, nor any better, unless they have a tendency to drive me nearer my Redeemer."--Id., pp. 315-317.
The end of the year saw the clouds lifted from the mind of my father. The courageous, optimistic messages from his wife doubtless were a great help in giving him a more cheerful outlook. The last issue of the Review for 1854 bears evidence of his renewed courage. Speaking of "the cause," he says:
"We are cheered with the accounts from different parts of the field of the prosperity of the cause. There never has been such strong union as seems to exist with the remnant at the present time, and there seems to be a general wakening up to the work of God."
Referring to those who had been strong and bitter in their opposition, he exhorted the brethren to be Christ-like in their dealings with these former associates in the faith. In speaking of such, he writes:
"Brethren should seek to 'speak the truth in love.'... For the future it might be better to make no reference to the malice of those who seek to injure us. The Review must be devoted to the truth, and breathe its sweet spirit."--Review and Herald, Dec. 26, 1854.
For a short time, "in consequence of ill health," James White announced his purpose to visit among the brethren, adding, "But little, however, can be expected of us at present in the line of public speaking."--Review and Herald, Dec. 19.
Sabbath, December 30, and the first few days of 1855, were spent in Pennsylvania. From his brief report of this visit the reader may judge as to how strictly he fulfilled his purpose of refraining from speaking. He says:
"Our visit with Brother Hall and the brethren in Pennsylvania was most agreeable, and we trust profitable. ... We spoke to them seven times within a little more than four days, and felt but little injury from the labor. In some respects our health is much improved. God is good; blessed be His holy name! Our trust is in Him. We expect to live to feel and see much of the salvation of God, and the glorious triumph of the truth. The Lord's blessing is with us in the office, and at the altar of family prayer."--Review and Herald, Jan. 23.
At this time, not only were the shadows of despair being lifted from my father's mind, but the God whom he served was working out plans for the broadening and strengthening of the work beyond anything that he had dared to hope. Even at the time when the future of the publishing enterprise looked so dark to my father, a group of consecrated men in Michigan were being prepared to shoulder the financial burdens that must be borne by men of means and ability.