Stories of My Grandmother

Chapter 24—“Where is the Other Man?”

January 4, 1875, was the date set for the dedication of the Battle Creek College, the first Seventh-day Adventist college in the world. And that was what some of the ministers were discussing as they tramped back and forth from meetings to their various lodging places. SMG 165.1

“Why should we spend money establishing a college?” they asked. “Don’t we need all the available money to support the ministers? Besides, the coming of the Lord is near; what time will there be to educate young men as ministers?” SMG 165.2

An epidemic of flu had been raging in the town. Ellen White had nursed her family through the illness and then had come down with it herself. She did not seem to be recovering, and the sanitarium doctors, afraid her case might turn into pneumonia, urged Elder White to bring her to the sanitarium for treatment. But he hesitated. A ministerial institute was to close that night, and he felt distressed that she was unable to take part in its closing meeting. He requested several of his associates to come to the house and pray for her recovery. SMG 165.3

My father, William Clarence, then a young man of twenty, carried grandma downstairs to the parlor. He placed her in a rocking chair and wrapped her in blankets. The brethren were there. Elder Waggoner prayed, then Elder Smith, and then grandpa. Next, grandma started to pray in a weak, hoarse voice. Then without even a pause, she gave that ringing shout, “Glory to God.” SMG 165.4

For a moment her hands remained folded. Her lips were closed as she looked intently upward, and she did not breathe. Soon an expression of anxiety clouded her face. She threw aside her blankets, and began pacing back and forth. Raising her hands, she spoke: “Dark! Dark! All dark! So dark!” After a moment of silence her face brightened, and she exclaimed, “A light! A little light! More light! Much light!” She sat down in the rocking chair, and after a few moments began to breathe again. She looked around at the group gathered for special prayer. SMG 166.1

Her husband knelt by her side and said, “Ellen, you have been in vision.” SMG 166.2

“Yes,” she answered, and her voice sounded far away. SMG 166.3

“Were you shown many things?” SMG 166.4

“Yes.” SMG 166.5

“Would you like to tell us about them now?” SMG 166.6

“Not now.” SMG 166.7

The company was dismissed, and she returned to her room. Her husband hastened to the Review office to meet those who were coming to attend the closing meeting of the institute and the college dedication. SMG 166.8

Later those who had witnessed the vision learned that she had seen the world shrouded in the mists and fog of error, superstition, false tradition, and worldliness. Then she saw little lights glimmering through the darkness. These grew brighter and brighter and were lifted higher and higher. Each one lighted other lights, which also burned brightly, until the whole world was lighted. SMG 166.9

In the early evening Elder White returned home and went to his wife’s room. She told him that all the flu symptoms were gone. He said, “Ellen, there’s to be an important meeting in the church this evening. Do you wish to attend?” SMG 166.10

“Certainly,” she answered. So she dressed for the meeting and walked with her husband through the snow to the church. God had answered the prayers for healing. At the service that evening, she gave a cheering message, and at a meeting the next day she told about the vision. SMG 167.1

The men who had questioned building a college were surprised to hear her say that plans must be made to educate many young men as home missionaries and many as foreign missionaries. Seventh-day Adventists had thought God’s work on earth was nearly finished. Three and a half months before this they had sent their first foreign missionary, John Nevins Andrews, to Europe. Now God’s messenger was telling them that a great work remained to be done in all the world, and that many workers must be trained. SMG 167.2

In the vision, she had seen in different parts of the world companies of people studying the Bible. They had found the promise of Christ’s return. She saw little groups here and there keeping the seventh-day Sabbath without knowing of any other Sabbathkeepers in the world. She said ministers should be sent to give further instruction to such groups before they became discouraged and gave up the faith. SMG 167.3

She had been shown that the time would soon come when Adventists would send ministers to many distant countries. She had seen printing presses running in many foreign lands, producing periodicals, tracts, and books. At this point Elder White interrupted her. SMG 167.4

“Ellen, can you tell us the names of those countries?” SMG 167.5

“No-o, I don’t know the names,” she answered. “The picture of the places and the printing presses is very clear, and if I should ever see them I would recognize them; but I didn’t hear the names of the places. Oh, yes, I remember, the angel said, ‘Australia.’” SMG 167.6

Elder S. N. Haskell was present at the meeting, and he said, “I intend to go to Australia.” Elder J. O. Corliss, who was there, also said he wanted to go to Australia. SMG 168.1

At this time we had one publishing house in Battle Creek, Michigan, and were planning to establish another in California. We had one hospital and one college. Not till ten years later were the first workers sent to Australia, and Elder Haskell and Elder Corliss were among them. SMG 168.2

Three months after these pioneer workers left for the continent “down under,” Grandma White, with my father and some of her other helpers, sailed for Switzerland. Mother and I were with them. I was three and a half years old. SMG 168.3

We arrived in Basel late one evening and were taken to an apartment in the recently built four-story publishing house. This building served as printing house, general offices, and living quarters for the mission staff. The next morning as Elder B. L. Whitney was showing our party around the establishment, grandma said, “This place looks natural to me.” SMG 168.4

As they entered the pressroom, she said, “I have seen these presses before. These are the very printing presses shown me ten years ago in the vision at Battle Creek.” The presses were stopped, and two young men who had been operating them were introduced to her. She shook hands with them. Then, turning to Elder Whitney, she asked, “Where is the other one?” SMG 168.5

Curious as to just how much Mrs. White knew about the affairs of the office, he inquired, “What other one?” “There’s an older man who works in this room, and I have a message for him,” she answered. SMG 168.6

“Brother Albert Deichy, the foreman, is in the city on business,” Elder Whitney replied. “You will see him here tomorrow.” When she saw him, she recognized him and delivered the message given her ten years earlier. SMG 169.1

A few months later she and my father visited Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. When they entered the new publishing house there, grandma remarked, “This place seems very familiar to me. This is one of the places shown me years ago, where publications were being issued in countries outside the United States.” SMG 169.2

Returning with Elder Matteson to his editorial room, she talked with him about the work of the office, just as if she had lived there for some time and knew all about its operations. SMG 169.3

Six years later, when for the first time she entered the pressroom of the publishing house in North Fitzroy, Australia, she talked with the workers about different parts of the building and their uses, showing that she was fully acquainted with the place. And she gave them the messages of counsel given her for them seventeen years before in the ten-minute vision in Battle Creek. SMG 169.4

But back to that evening in 1875. After the ministerial institute and the college dedication, the workers returned to their various conferences and told their church members about the vision of the presses in foreign lands. At that time Seventh-day Adventists received a new view of the great worldwide work before them. They took fresh courage and dedicated themselves anew to carrying the message of Jesus’ soon coming to all the world. SMG 169.5

During the ten years following the vision, three important institutions were established in California—the Pacific Press in Oakland, the Health Retreat (now the St. Helena Sanitarium) near St. Helena, and an academy in Healdsburg which was to grow into Pacific Union College. Another academy (now Atlantic Union College) was opened in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. Missions for training house-to-house Bible instructors were opened in many large cities. Churches multiplied, and the message took root in foreign lands. SMG 169.6

Today, sanitariums, printing houses, colleges, and evangelistic centers circle the globe. The vision of 1875 has been fulfilled a thousandfold. The message will soon have reached the most remote places of earth, and Jesus will come. SMG 170.1