Ellen G. White: The Early Years: 1827-1862 (vol. 1)

The Eight-Week Eastern Tour

James and Ellen White started on their eastern tour Tuesday, July 23. They spent Tuesday night with friends in Jackson, Michigan, and the next morning were on their way to Eagle Harbor, New York, where Moses Hull was leading out in tent meetings. A phrase in Hull's report of the meetings gives a hint of the erosion, in certain areas, of confidence in those leading the church. He wrote: “Sister White's testimonies were very pointed, and seemed to remove prejudice which existed against her and her visions.”—The Review and Herald, September 3, 1861. As resistance to organization deepened, and criticism of James White for his attempts to lead the church into organization proliferated, Ellen White and the visions came under attack, first covertly and then openly. Church order and spiritual gifts were closely linked together, as was seen as the eastern tour progressed. 1BIO 448.5