Reflecting Christ

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Years of Church Development, 1860-1868

The 1860s saw Ellen White and her husband in the forefront of the struggle to organize the Seventh-day Adventist Church into a stable institution. The decade was also crucial in that it encompassed the beginnings of Adventist health emphasis. Responding to Mrs. White's appeal, the church as a body began to see the importance of healthful living in the Christian life. In response to her “Christmas Vision” of 1865, our first health institution, the Western Health Reform Institute, was opened in 1866. The institute later grew into the Battle Creek Sanitarium. RC 9.1

1860, October 1Name Seventh-day Adventist chosen.
1861, October 8Michigan Conference organized.
1863, MayOrganization of General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
1863, June 6Health reform vision at Otsego, Michigan.
1863, December 8Death of eldest son, Henry Nichols, at Topsham, Maine.
1864, SummerPublication of Spiritual Gifts, volume 4, with thirty-page article on health.
1864, August-SeptemberVisit to James C. Jackson's medical institution, Our Home on the Hillside, Dansville, New York, en route to Boston, Massachusetts.
1865Publication of six pamphlets, Health: or How to Live.
1865, August 16James White stricken with paralysis.
1865, December 25Vision calling for a medical institution.
1865, DecemberMrs. White takes James White to northern Michigan as an aid to his recovery.
1866, September 5Opening of Western Health Reform Institute, forerunner of Battle Creek Sanitarium.
1867Purchased a farm at Greenville, Michigan, and built a home and engaged in farming and writing.