Ellen G. White — Messenger to the Remnant

The Fruit of One Pamphlet

Literature filled an important place in Mrs. White’s personal missionary work. Sometimes, many years after it was forgotten, she learned of the fruits of giving away a pamphlet or a paper. So it was with a sixty-four-page pamphlet left at a little settler’s cabin in the wilderness of Michigan in the summer of 1853. It was Friday, and Elder and Mrs. White, with other workers, were hastening by carriage to Vergennes. The driver was well acquainted with the road, but for some reason the party lost their way. Finally there was only a trace of a road. Through the woods they traveled, “over logs and fallen trees.” There were no houses in sight; the day was hot; and Mrs. White was ill. Twice she fainted. They had no food, no water could be found, and all suffered from thirst. Some cows were seen, but all attempts of the strangers to get near enough to obtain a little milk from them failed. In her fainting condition she “thought of the traveler perishing in the desert.” “Cool streams of water,” she said, “seemed to lie directly before me; but as we passed on they proved to be only an illusion.” Elder White prayed that she might be sustained. The fifteen-mile journey should have been accomplished in a few hours, and they could not understand why they should be left to this wandering. EGWMR 119.14

Then they broke into a clearing, and found a log cabin. The weary travelers were invited in and given refreshments. As they lingered to rest a bit and learn the way, they were soon chatting with the woman who had befriended them. Mrs. White talked of the Sabbath, the Second Advent, of the state of the world and the church. Their hostess urged the strangers to stay and hold meetings in that community, but this could not be done because of appointments already made. As they left the cabin, Mrs. White gave the woman a copy of her first little book, A Sketch of the Christian Experience and Views of Ellen G. White, and copies of the Review and Instructor were also placed in her hands. EGWMR 120.1

Twenty-two years passed by. Often Mrs. White thought of the experience and wondered why they had lost their way that summer day, and were forced to drive forty miles to reach a point fifteen miles distant. She found the answer at the Michigan camp meeting in 1876. We turn to her account of this: EGWMR 120.2

“After the meeting closed, a sister took me heartily by the hand, expressing great joy at meeting Sister White again. She inquired if I remembered calling at a log house in the woods twenty-two years ago. She gave us refreshments, and I left with them a little book, Experience and Views. EGWMR 120.3

“She stated that she had lent that little book to her neighbors, as new families had settled around her, until there was very little left of it.... She said that when I called upon her I talked to her of Jesus and the beauties of heaven, and that the words were spoken with such fervor that she was charmed, and had never forgotten them. Since that time the Lord had sent ministers to preach the truth to them, and now there was quite a company observing the Sabbath.... EGWMR 120.4

“For twenty-two years our wanderings on this journey have seemed indeed mysterious to us, but here we met quite a company who are now believers in the truth, and who date their first experience from the influence of that little book. The sister who so kindly administered to our wants is now, with many of her neighbors, rejoicing in the light of present truth.”—Evangelism, 448, 449. EGWMR 120.5

Whether in America, Europe, or Australia, Mrs. White found the same needs for personal work. Sometimes she pressed for a decision. Soon after reaching Europe, she met a young man at a watch factory at Nimes, France. It was her own broken watch that brought the two together. As soon as she met him she recognized him and recalled his experience as it had been revealed to her in vision. In discouragement he had lost his hold on God and had strayed from the truth. He was also working on the Sabbath. One evening she had the young man meet her for an interview. This she describes in a letter: EGWMR 120.6

“I talked two hours with him and urged upon him the peril of his situation. I told him because his brethren had made a mistake that was no reason that he should grieve the heart of Christ, who had loved him so much that He had died to redeem him.... I told him I knew the history of his life... I then entreated him with tears to turn square about, to leave the service of Satan and of sin, for he had become a thorough backslider, and return like the prodigal to his Father’s house, his Father’s service. He was in good business learning his trade. If he kept the Sabbath he would lose his position. A few months more would finish his apprenticeship, and then he would have a good trade. But I urged an immediate decision. EGWMR 120.7

“We prayed with him most earnestly, and I told him that I dared not have him cross the threshold of the door until he would before God and angels and those present say, ‘I will from this day be a Christian.’ How my heart rejoiced when he said this.”—Evangelism, 450. EGWMR 120.8