Ellen G. White and Her Critics

Chapter 3—Mrs. White, and Bible Prophets, in Vision
Were Mrs. White’s Visions due to Nervous Disorders?—Part II

A description of Mrs. White’s physical state in vision has been purposely withheld until that description could be placed in its proper setting, the setting of her whole life’s activity. Earlier two sentences were quoted from her own simple description of her first vision, December, 1844. Here is another account of the same incident: EGWC 51.1

“At this time I visited one of our Advent sisters, and in the morning we bowed around the family altar. It was not an exciting occasion, and there were but five of us present, all females. While praying the power of God came upon me as I never had felt it before, and I was wrapt up in a vision of God’s glory, ^* and seemed to be rising higher and higher from the earth.”—Experience and Views (1851), 5. (Early Writings of Mrs. White, 13.) EGWC 51.2

She then proceeds to relate what she saw in vision. She declared on more than one occasion that while in vision she was oblivious to earthly things. We would not therefore look to her for the kind of description we desire. It is an interesting fact that she has left scarcely any record of her physical condition in vision. EGWC 51.3