“I'd Like To Ask Sister White ...”

When The Storm And Snow Came, Didn’t You Think It Was Time To Pack Up And Go?

Sunday, October 26, 1873.—It continues to snow and blow. This is a most terrible storm. A gentleman who was traveling called. He wanted to stay all night. He said he had not seen such a storm for twenty years. ²⁷ LASW 84.5

Golden City, Colorado, Wednesday, November 5.—We are at Golden City. We leave this morning. Our visit here has been very pleasant. Mr. Lasley takes us down in the wagon to Denver. ²⁸ LASW 84.6

Letters To Her Children

When away from home, Mrs. White wrote faithfully to her boys. “Dear Henry,” “Dear Edson,” “Dear Willie,” or, “My Dear Children,” the letters would begin. Eagerly the boys read the handwritten pages addressed to them, pages filled with interesting stories and words of encouragement. Henry treasured them during his short lifetime. And as long as their mother lived, Edson and Willie received and treasured her letters. LASW 85.1

Edson read those letters and became a worker for God. In 1894 he built a steamboat, named it the Morning Star, and sailed it up and down the Mississippi River and its tributaries, doing missionary work among the colored people. He and his wife, Emma, found many open doors for Christian service. Small books were eagerly purchased. Bible studies were held in the boat cabins. Churches were opened. Then came the call for schools, and about forty of these were started. Hundreds learned to read, and rejoiced that they could for themselves study the Word of God. Thirty years later, at the General Conference in Milwaukee, a group of Negro ministers gathered around Brother White, and with joyful greetings reminded him of the days when they first enjoyed the privilege of the schools established as the result of his leadership. LASW 85.2

Willie read those letters. He became a strong worker for God. When he was twenty-one he helped with the work of printing in California. He cheerfully took the forms and bundles of papers several blocks to and from another office on a wheelbarrow, and labored in other humble positions for less than one dollar a day. Suddenly, he was promoted from errand boy to act as president of the [Pacific Press] board, and also business agent. At the age of thirty, W. C. White was ordained to the ministry. To his mother, Ellen White, he gave strong support, and spent his life publishing her writings. LASW 85.3