Ellen G. White in Europe 1885-1887

A Symbol of Sister White's Work

But Ellen White's work as the Lord's messenger was more serious and far more difficult than making garments out of cloth. Perhaps her mind went back to the year 1868 when she wrote about a dream in which the Lord repeated to her symbolically the character-building work she was doing in the church: EGWE 200.3

“A person brought to me a web of white cloth, and bade me cut it into garments for persons of all sizes and all descriptions of character and circumstances in life. I was told to cut them out and hang them up all ready to be made when called for.... I had been engaged in cutting garments for others for more than twenty years, and my labors had not been appreciated, neither did I see that my work had accomplished much good.”—Testimonies for the Church 2:10, 11. EGWE 201.1

Her “guide” admonished: EGWE 201.2

“‘Cut out the garments. That is your duty. The loss is not yours, but mine. God sees not as man sees. He lays out the work that He would have done, and you do not know which will prosper, this or that.’... EGWE 201.3

“Before me lay new, polished shears, which I commenced using. At once my feelings of weariness and discouragement left me; the shears seemed to cut with hardly an effort on my part, and I cut out garment after garment with comparative ease.”—Ibid., 2:11, 12. EGWE 201.4