Ellen G. White: The Later Elmshaven Years: 1905-1915 (vol. 6)

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Her Counsel as She Crossed the Continent

Such was Ellen White's work as she crossed the continent, visiting institutions and camp meetings. At Nashua, New Hampshire, she had given this important counsel to the camp meeting congregation: 6BIO 216.5

We must not allow ourselves to be so overwhelmed with household cares that we shall find no time for visiting those about us. If a ray of light has come to you, find someone to whom you can impart it. There is a world to be warned, and we are to receive help and light and blessing from Jesus Christ, then carry this light to other souls. In this work you will not labor alone; angels of God will go before you. 6BIO 216.6

If you are repulsed by someone to whom you try to speak of the salvation of Christ, do not become discouraged. Do not say, “I will never speak to him again regarding religious subjects.” The angels of God may work upon his heart, and prepare him for that which you desire to impart to him. He who is our advocate in the heavenly courts has bidden us carry His gospel into every part of the earth, and He gives us the comforting assurance, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Shall one of us hold back from engaging in this service with Him?—Ibid., December 2, 1909. 6BIO 216.7

At Madison [Wisconsin] Sanitarium, speaking to the workers, she said: 6BIO 217.1

I cannot feel free to leave this Sanitarium without speaking to you of the necessity of earnestly seeking the Lord. This must be done by the workers in all of our institutions. A position in a sanitarium is a place of great responsibility. 6BIO 217.2

You are not to go on in carelessness and indifference, thinking that because this is the Lord's institution, therefore He will work it for you, regardless of your manner of life. Let each one seek for a daily, living experience in the service of God. 6BIO 217.3

Unless you have such an experience, patients that come here unconverted will ask why those professing to believe in the binding obligation of God's law do not walk in obedience to His commandments.... 6BIO 217.4

We should be careful that we connect with all our sanitariums those who will give a right mold to the work. Characters are to be formed here after the divine similitude.—Ibid., December 30, 1909. 6BIO 217.5

Sabbath morning at the Iowa camp meeting she spoke of the importance of committing to memory the promises of God: 6BIO 217.6

May God help us to understand that we must be laborers together with Him.... Let us put away the foolish reading matter, and study the Word of God. 6BIO 217.7

Let us commit its precious promises to memory, so that, when we are deprived of our Bibles, we may still be in possession of the Word of God.—Ibid., January 6, 1910. 6BIO 217.8

The last of her discourses on the three-month journey home was given in the Salt Lake City church in Utah, where she spoke on daily Christian experience and the training and education of the children. In closing she said: 6BIO 217.9

Since I left my home in California in April, I have visited many places, and have spoken to thousands of people. This is the last stop I expect to make before reaching my home again. I would leave these words with you: 6BIO 217.10

Carry forward the work in faith and humble dependence upon God. Let each believer have light in himself; then the blessing of God will rest upon you, and you will see the salvation of God in the advancement of His work in this field.—Ibid., January 20, 1910. 6BIO 218.1

This was the last sermon she was to preach on this trip, and for a time, as they were crossing the Sierra Nevadas, it seemed that it could well be her last sermon preached, ever. Early Thursday morning, while the train sped through snowsheds and tunnels and across the ledges near the mountaintops at high altitude, Sara McEnterfer, who was in the berth across from Ellen White, heard agonized groans. The window was open and the berth was filled with smoky air from the snowshed. Sara attempted to count Mrs. White's pulse, but could find only a little quiver. 6BIO 218.2

W. C. White, reporting the experience, wrote: 6BIO 218.3

This grew more and more faint. She [Sara] asked her several questions, but there was no answer. Her hearing and her speech had gone. Her limbs were cold, and she seemed powerless.—Ibid., January 20, 1909.

By the effective use of warm water that the porter brought, and with vigorous rubbing of her hands and arms and feet by Sara McEnterfer, Ellen White in the course of an hour began to grow stronger. Her pulse became discernible, and as the train reached a lower altitude on the west side of the Sierras, her heart action improved. But it was a close call, and a very anxious hour. 6BIO 218.4

With the aid of wheelchairs at the Oakland pier and at the Vallejo junction, she was able to continue her journey home, arriving at St. Helena at 7:00 P.M. Thursday, September 9 (Ibid.).Here she was strong enough to walk to her carriage and was soon home. How good it seemed after five months of travel and earnest work. 6BIO 218.5

But at home there was little time for rest. Early the next morning, although ill, she was on the way by carriage to visit the Angwin site selected for Pacific College. The following Monday she gave a report at the Oakland camp meeting of what she found at Angwin. 6BIO 218.6