“I'd Like To Ask Sister White ...”

The Olden Days

The Harmon home in Gorham, Maine, was a happy, active place. Eunice and Robert, the parents, were kept busy providing for their six children. Then on a cold November 26, in 1827, the family circle widened to include twin daughters, Ellen and Elizabeth. Big sisters Carolyn, fifteen, and Harriet, thirteen, must have received the two with special joy—tiny, come-to-life dolls for them to mother. John, Mary, and Sarah probably took turns rocking the cradles of these small new sisters. Little Robert, hardly more than a baby, must have had a job keeping himself from feeling jealous of these two “intruders” who demanded so much of mother’s time and attention. LASW 7.1

The Harmons taught their children to love God. They faithfully attended the Methodist church. When they heard the stirring news of Jesus’ soon return, they accepted that message, though their new faith brought ridicule from some of the people of Portland, where they had moved when the twins were small. It even caused separation from their church. LASW 7.2

In Portland young Ellen was baptized. There she learned the joy of walking with Jesus, and it was there that God first spoke to her in vision. LASW 7.3