Understanding Ellen White

What she remembered from her visions and when

Ellen White was just as dependent upon God to remember what she was shown as she was to receive the vision. She wrote: UEGW 86.2

Some scenes presented before me years ago have not been retained in my memory, but when the instruction then given is needed, sometimes even when I am standing before the people the remembrance comes sharp and clear, like a flash of lightning, bringing to mind distinctly that particular instruction. At such times I cannot refrain from saying the things that flash into my mind, not because I have had a new vision, but because that which was presented to me perhaps years in the past has been recalled to my mind forcibly. ¹¹ UEGW 86.3

The story of her Salamanca vision illustrates this point. In November 1890, while in Salamanca, New York, Ellen White had a vision concerning many current church issues, but one in particular involved a committee meeting of publishing leaders in Battle Creek, Michigan. She was shown that our religious liberty publications should not hide the distinctive message and identity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The morning after her vision, she tried to tell her son Willie about the vision, but strangely that part about the committee meeting was gone from her mind. On several occasions during her trip she attempted to tell her son more of the vision but was unable to remember the details. UEGW 86.4

In March 1891, she was in Battle Creek for the General Conference Session. On Sabbath afternoon March 7, during her sermon, she again attempted to tell of her Salamanca vision but, like before, she could not remember the details. Ellen White went to bed weary that evening, not planning to attend the early Sunday morning meeting. But she was awakened early to write the details of the vision and was instructed to attend the workers meeting at 5:30 A.M. Upon arriving with a bundle of manuscripts in her arm, she was invited to speak. UEGW 86.5

She then proceeded to describe a meeting where a group of men were hoping to drop the name “Seventh-day Adventist” and “Sabbath” from the columns of the American Sentinel, an Adventist religious liberty periodical. Unknown to her, the meeting she described had occurred the night before. In fact, it had continued until the early morning hours at about the very time she was awakened to write her testimony for that morning. She did not realize that the meeting had just occurred, but instead thought it had happened some months before. A. T. Robinson remembered the look of perplexity on her face when people at the early morning meeting stood to confess their wrong course at the recently concluded committee meeting. Several other eyewitness accounts were given of Ellen White’s testimony at the Sunday morning meeting. The important point is that Ellen White had been shown the meeting some months before but only remembered it at the time it was needed. ¹² UEGW 86.6