A Prophet Among You

Closing Years of Active Ministry—1900-09

When she returned to the United States from Australia in late September, 1900, Ellen White was seventy-two years of age. She had been receiving messages from God for His people for about fifty-six years. Her ministry had been of great assistance in the development of a religious movement that would soon spread to all the world. She had spent eleven years in Europe and Australia, and now she was back in her homeland to continue her ministry. APAY 245.4

Though Mrs. White had no personal desire to leave Australia, she was repeatedly instructed that there was a work for her to do in America. Soon after her return to the United States, she purchased a home not far from the Saint Helena Sanitarium in Northern California. A little later she wrote: “I see as I never expected to see that the good hand of the Lord is with me. O it has been so wonderfully apparent in providing this beautiful home in this retired place. I was visited by the angel of the Lord on the boat, and instruction was given me, which I do not yet dare to speak. I will sometime give the whole history of my experience on the boat. It is so solemn, so sacred a matter that I do not feel like talking about it; but one thing I do know, of which I may speak, and that is that it was in the order of God that I came to America just at this time. It was against my wishes, for I wanted to remain in Australia. I loved the people and I loved my work. I have not lost my love for Australia, nor my interest in the workers there.” Ellen G. White Letter 158, 1900. She ever recognized that God’s hand had been in the purchase of “Elmshaven,” which formed a base from which she labored the last fifteen years of her life. APAY 246.1

As far as the plans for expansion and efficient operation of the work of Seventh-day Adventists are concerned, the General Conferences of 1863 and 1901 are the most far-reaching that have been held. The former was the beginning of general organization, and the latter marked a reorganization to cope with the problems of rapidly expanding missionary activities in many lands, the distribution of workers, and the methods to enlarge the financial resources. In each of these notable advance steps, Ellen White exerted a strong influence. APAY 246.2

The 1901 conference opened on April 2, with the usual preliminary activities: the president’s opening remarks, the seating of delegates, the acceptance of new conferences. Elder G. A. Irwin gave his presidential address, and then the chairman declared the conference formally opened. Immediately following his question: “What is your pleasure?” Mrs. White, who had not been present at a General Conference session for ten years, came forward and addressed the group. It was the Lord’s plan, she said, that there should be a radical reorganization of the church and its administration. No longer should full authority be left in the hands of a few men at headquarters. Responsibility and authority must be delegated to leaders in each field. Financial policies must be altered so that funds would not be hoarded in one field while there was insufficient money to carry on the work elsewhere. All phases of the work of the denomination—the Foreign Mission Board, the Sabbath School Association, the Religious Liberty Association—must work unitedly rather than operate as separate organizations. Particular stress was placed on the need for spiritual regeneration in the lives of leaders, and the weeding out of workers who had lost their spirit of consecration. APAY 247.1

The address was an expansion of the message given the previous day by Mrs. White to a smaller group of workers. When she finished, it was proposed that a large committee give study to the principles set forth and bring recommendations to the conference. Many of the regular items on the General Conference agenda were set aside in order that full attention could be given to the major issue. Out of the session came a plan by which organizational problems could be solved. The basic program is still in operation in the church organization. Again, a rebuke, a remedy, and a call for leadership to plan wisely for the future had been given by the Lord through His appointed messenger. APAY 248.1

Two years later, at the next General Conference, counsel and leadership were given concerning the transfer of the General Conference headquarters and the publishing house from Battle Creek. Recent fires had raised the question of rebuilding in the same place. Ellen White bore her testimony. “In reply to the question that has been asked in regard to settling somewhere else, I answer, Yes. Let the General Conference offices and the publishing work be moved from Battle Creek. I know not where the place will be, whether on the Atlantic Coast or elsewhere. But this I will say, Never lay a stone or a brick in Battle Creek to rebuild the Review Office there. God has a better place for it.” The General Conference Bulletin, 1903, 85. Continued guidance from God’s messenger resulted in the selection of Washington, D.C., as the denominational headquarters. APAY 248.2

This period was also one of growth in medical missionary lines. Sanitariums and then a medical school came into being in Southern California as the result of testimonies and counsel from Ellen White. The story of the beginnings of the Loma Linda College of Evangelists (ultimately to be known as the College of Medical Evangelists) is a thrilling recital of the providences of God, too lengthy to be told here, but which should be read in connection with this chapter. (See references at end of chapter.) APAY 248.3

In addition to the hundreds of letters written during these years, these seven books came from the press: Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7 (1902), Manual for Canvassers (1902), Education (1903), Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8 (1904), The Ministry of Healing (1905), and Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9 (1909). APAY 249.1

When the General Conference of 1909 convened, Ellen White had reached the age of eighty-one and was in feeble health. Nevertheless, from the time she left her home in California for the conference in Washington, D.C., until she returned home, she spoke seventy-two times in twenty-seven places from California to Maine, and from Alabama to Wisconsin. In her letters she wrote increasingly of eye trouble, weakness, heart trouble, and the need of special strength to carry on her duties. She recognized that her years were numbered, and she wanted to do the final work on the material she had written for publication. Around her were gathered an unusually large group of helpers to assist in readying articles and books for publication. At an age when most men and women have long since given up productive activities, Ellen White was hurrying to complete the task that had been entrusted to her. APAY 249.2