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- Foreword
- About The Author
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- The Place Of The Vision In Confirming The Sanctuary Truth
- The Seventh-day Sabbath
- New Responsibilities
- Careers Changed
- Establishing The Pillars Of Faith
- The Volney Conference
- Bible Study Aided By Special Revelation
- Streams of Light (Story of the Publishing Work: Present Truth and the Review and Herald)
- The Eight-Page Present Truth
- Writing For The Press
- Beginning The Review and Herald
- Difficult Days in Paris
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- Establishing a Publishing Office in Rochester, New York
- The Publishing House Family
- The Tour East
- Publishing The Visions
- Ellen White's First Book
- Expanding By Tent Evangelism
- The Move To Battle Creek
- A Transition Evidencing The Maturity Of The Church
- The Review Office To Go To Battle Creek, Michigan
- A Power Press For The Review Office
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- The Battle Creek Conference
- The Autumn Trip East
- Guiding Toward Organization the Vital Need for Church Organization
- Initial Steps Toward Church Organization
- James White Joins In Calling For Gospel Order
- Need For Organization For Publishing Interests
- Adopting A Denominational Name
- Seventh-Day Adventists The Name Chosen
- Winning The Struggle For Church Organization
- Meeting Opposition
- Vision At Roosevelt, New York
- The Battle Creek Church Sets The Pace In Organizing
- The Formation Of The Michigan Conference
- Other States Organize
- Confessions Of Negative Attitudes
- The Call For A General Conference
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- The Battle Of Manassas
- Eyewitness Account
- The War And The Work Of The Church
- The Tide Begins To Turn
- Governor Blair's Reply
- A Call To Importune God To Stop The War
- The Devastating War Suddenly Ends
- The Clouds Of War And The White Family
- The Extended Eastern Tour In The Summer And Autumn Of 1863
- Diversified Activities In New England
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- The Otsego Vision
- General Counsels On Health
- First Visit To Dansville
- Active Teachers of Health Reform
- The Health Reformer
- Extremes Taught In The Health Reformer Bring Crisis
- Ellen White's Moderate Positions
- Lifesaving Therapy For The Health Reformer
- Practicing New Light
- Two of The Three White Children Stricken
- Henry: Death From Pneumonia
- Funeral Services In Topsham And Battle Creek
- Willie's Bout With Pneumonia
- Ellen White Tries The Meatless Diet
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- A Surprise Vacation In The Rocky Mountains
- Caravan to Hot Sulphur Springs
- Crossing The Continental Divide
- A Week at Hot Sulphur Springs
- Calls From California Cut Short The Vacation
- The Whites Discover California
- In San Francisco
- Tent Effort In San Francisco
- Organization Of The California Conference
- Interlude
- Back To Colorado
- At Home In Santa Rosa
- The First Issue Of The Signs Of The Times
- The Separation Ended
- James White Again In The Saddle
- Back In The East For Camp Meetings
- The Fourteenth Session Of The General Conference
- Looking Ahead
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- Ministry In The Bay Area
- Camp Meeting Versus Writing And Publishing
- Camp Meetings Again
- The Groveland Camp Meeting
- Pioneering In Texas
- At The McDearmon Home
- The Plano Camp Meeting
- Marian Davis Joins The White Forces
- The Home Situation
- Outreach In Missionary Endeavor
- Texas, A Needy Field Of Labor
- Trip By Caravan
- The Caravan Divides
- Still On The Caravan Trail
- On To Emporia
- The Kansas Camp Meeting
- The Health And Temperance Society
- Home Again In Battle Creek
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- Oh, To Know What To Do!
- Two Weeks In England
- On To Basel, Switzerland
- Organization Of The Work In Europe
- A Mini-General Conference
- A Profitable Council
- A Visit To Scandinavia
- Visit To Denmark
- A Visit To Sweden
- Christiania, Norway
- Return Trip To Switzerland
- The Visit To Italy
- Marian Davis Joins the Force
- Ellen White's Second Missionary Journey
- Sweden
- Norway—Christiania
- Denmark
- England
- France
- At Valence, France
- Third Visit To Italy
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- Haskell Pioneers Work In Australia
- The General Conference Takes Action
- To Go Or Not To Go
- Arrival At Sydney
- Recognized The Printing Presses
- Fourth Annual Session Of The Australian Seventh-Day Adventist Conference
- The Business Session Of The Conference
- A. G. Daniells Elected President
- Ellen White Begins Work In Melbourne
- Ellen White Anointed
- The Bible School Established
- The Bible School Opens
- Growing Stronger
- The Secret Signs
- N. D. Faulkhead And The Convincing Testimony
- Ellen White Gives The Secret Signs
- Faulkhead Resigns From The Lodges
- Another Interview With Ellen White
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- Voyage To New Zealand
- Ellen White Meets The Hare Family
- First SDA Camp Meeting In The Southern Hemisphere
- The Winter In New Zealand
- A Mother's Anxiety
- Dental Problems
- Determined To Win New Zealand
- A New Approach In Gisborne
- The Wellington Camp Meeting
- Evangelistic Thrust In Australia
- A Union Conference Is Born
- Far-Reaching Influence Of The Brighton Camp Meeting
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- The Brettville Estate
- Ellen White Explores The School Site
- Report To The Foreign Mission Board
- Making A Beginning
- Work At Cooranbong Brought To A Standstill
- Avondale College: On Hold
- Norfolk Villa In Granville
- Running A Free Hotel
- The Ashfield Camp Meeting
- A Wedding In The Family
- Tasmania
- Starting A College From Scratch
- The Manual Training Department Succeeds
- A Start With Buildings For Avondale College
- The Sawmill Loft Put To Use
- Setting A Target Date For Avondale College To Open
- Ellen White Calls A Work Bee
- The Avondale School Opens
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- The Health Home
- The Successful Treatment Of A Very Critical Case
- A School For Nurses
- Firm Plans For Erecting A Sanitarium
- A Surprise Move
- Medical Missionary Work At Cooranbong
- The Health Food Work
- The Medical And Surgical Sanitarium, And The Use Of Meat
- Long-Distance Counselor
- Meeting Offshoot Teachings
- Good News From America
- The Anna Phillips Experience
- J. H. Kellogg And The Medical Missionary Work
- Meeting The Inroads Of Pantheism
- Correspondence With G. I. Butler
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- The Paradise Valley Property
- The New Well
- The Glendale Sanitarium
- Loma Linda, The Hill Beautiful
- “I'll Consult No One,” Said Ellen White
- The Search For Money
- Ellen White Inspects Loma Linda
- The First $5,000 Payment
- Faith Rewarded: Meeting The Payments
- Two More Payments
- Dedication Of Loma Linda Sanitarium
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- More Than A Prophet
- The Seeds Of Unbelief
- Questions Calling For Careful Answers
- Who Manipulated Her Writings?
- The San Francisco Earthquake
- News Of The San Francisco Earthquake
- The Tour Of Ravaged San Francisco
- Consuming Fire That Followed The Earthquake
- Martial Law
- Destruction In The Central City
- Adventists And Adventist Properties
- The Earthquake Special Of The SIGNS
- The Trip Home To Elmshaven
- Finding A Site For Pacific Union College
- The Buena Vista Property
- The Angwin Property A Better Place
- Ellen White Describes The New School Property
- Faculty And Staff
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- Considerations Initiated By Plans For A New Edition
- Finding Sources For The Quotations
- Progress Report To Elder Daniells
- E. G. White Settles The Question Of The D'Aubigné Quotations
- Clarence Crisler's Testimony
- A Review Of What Was Done To The Book
- E. G. White Reads And Approves Changes
- Time Running Out; Important Counsels
- Book Preparation
- Ellen White's Last Trips To Loma Linda
- On Hand for The 1911 Constituency Meeting
- The Visit of Bookmen
- The General Conference Session Of 1913
- “Courage In The Lord”
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- Frequent Visitors
- Review and Signs Articles
- Her Eighty-Seventh Birthday
- The Accident and Its Aftermath
- The Vision of March 3
- Waning Strength And Death
- Ellen White At Rest; Awaiting The Life-Giver
- Funeral Notice
- The Richmond Funeral
- The Battle Creek Funeral
- The Funeral Service
- The Public Press
- “My Writings Will Constantly Speak”
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1844—And Following
During the last few weeks leading up to April 21, 1844—the time first thought to be the end of the 2300-day prophecy—preparations for the glorious advent of Christ intensified. The rich and the poor, the high and the low, ministers and laymen, crowded into Portland's Beethoven Hall to hear the final exhortations to repent. Ellen White recalled the unity and peace among those of the sincere believers in her circle of friends and family:WV 19.3
How carefully and tremblingly did we approach the time of expectation. We sought, as a people, with solemn earnestness to purify our lives that we might be ready to meet the Saviour at His coming....WV 19.4
Worldly business was for the most part laid aside for a few weeks. We carefully scrutinized every thought and emotion of our hearts as if upon our deathbeds.... There was no making “ascension robes” for the great event; we felt the need of internal evidence that we were prepared to meet Christ....WV 19.5
But the time of expectation passed.... The disappointment of God's waiting people was great (Ibid., 180-184).WV 19.6
Although perplexed and disappointed, they did not renounce their faith. Ellen said:WV 19.7
We fully believed that God, in His wisdom, designed that His people should meet with a disappointment, which was well calculated to reveal hearts and develop the true characters of those who had professed to look for and rejoice in the coming of the Lord (Ibid., 186).WV 19.8
Their confidence seemed well founded, for even scholars who had no conviction about the near advent of Christ saw no flaw in the reckoning of the prophecy. Ardently the believers had proclaimed what they understood to be the message of the first angel of Revelation, “The hour of his judgment is come” (Revelation 14:7). The Bible contained numerous prophecies concerning the second advent of Christ, foremost of which was given by Jesus Himself: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2, 3).WV 19.9
Some of these promises seemed linked with the judgment. Basic was the prophecy of Daniel 8:14: “Unto two thousand three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” They thought this earth to be the sanctuary; it would be cleansed by fire at the second advent of Christ.WV 20.1
When April 21, 1844, passed and Jesus did not come, the believers checked and rechecked the basis of their reckoning.WV 20.2
Calculation of the time was so simple and plain that even the children could understand it. From the date of the decree of the king of Persia, found in Ezra 7, which was given in 457 before Christ, the 2300 years of Daniel 8:14 must terminate with 1843. Accordingly we looked to the end of this year for the coming of the Lord. We were sadly disappointed when the year entirely passed away and the Saviour had not come.WV 20.3
It was not at first perceived that if the decree did not go forth at the beginning of the year 457 B.C., the 2300 years would not be completed at the close of 1843. But it was ascertained that the decree was given near the close of the year 457 B.C.... Therefore the vision of time did not tarry, though it had seemed to do so (Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White (1880), 185, 186).WV 20.4
A careful study of types and antitypes led to the observation that the crucifixion of Christ took place on the very day in the yearly round of ceremonies given to Israel when the Passover lamb was slain. Would not the cleansing of the sanctuary typified in the Day of Atonement—falling on the tenth day of the seventh month—likewise take place on the very day in the year celebrated in the type? This, according to the true Mosaic reckoning of time, would be October 22.WV 20.5
Early in August 1844, at a camp meeting at Exeter, New Hampshire, this view was presented and accepted as the date for the fulfillment of the prophecy of the 2300 days. The parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 took on particular significance—the tarrying of the bridegroom, the waiting and slumbering of those who awaited the marriage, the cry at midnight, the shutting of the door, etc. The message that Christ was coming on October 22 came to be known as the “midnight cry.” “The ‘midnight cry,’” wrote Ellen White, “was heralded by thousands of believers” (The Great Controversy, 400).WV 20.6
Their hopes now centered in the coming of the Lord on October 22, 1844.WV 21.1
This was also the time for the message of the second angel, who, flying through the midst of heaven, cried, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city.” Many left the churches in obedience to the message of the second angel. Near its close the Midnight Cry was given: “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him”! (Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White (1880), 187).WV 21.2
This was “the happiest year of my life,” recalled Ellen. “My heart was full of glad expectation; but I felt great pity and anxiety for those who were in discouragement and had no hope in Jesus.”WV 21.3
Light was being given concerning this message in every part of the land, and the cry aroused thousands. It went from city to city, from village to village, and into the remote country regions. It reached the learned and talented, as well as the obscure and humble (ibid).WV 21.4
In spite of the evidences of a work sweeping across the land and drawing thousands into the fellowship of the Second Advent, and some 200 ministers from various churches united in spreading the message, *See C. M. Maxwell, Tell It to the World, pp. 19, 20. the Protestant churches as a whole spurned it and used every means at their command to prevent the belief in Christ's soon coming from spreading. No one dared to mention in a church service the hope of the soon coming of Jesus, but to those awaiting the event it was quite different. Ellen White described what it was like:WV 21.5
Every moment seemed precious and of the utmost importance to me. I felt that we were doing work for eternity, and that the careless and uninterested were in the greatest peril. My faith was unclouded, and I appropriated the precious promises of Jesus to myself....WV 21.6
With diligent searching of hearts and humble confession we came prayerfully up to the time of expectation. Every morning we felt that it was our first business to secure the evidence that our lives were right before God. We realized that if we were not advancing in holiness we were sure to retrograde. Our interest for each other increased; we prayed much with and for one another.WV 21.7
We assembled in the orchards and groves to commune with God and to offer up our petitions to Him, feeling more clearly His presence when surrounded by His natural works. The joys of salvation were more necessary to us than our food and drink. If clouds obscured our minds we dared not rest or sleep till they were swept away by the consciousness of our acceptance with the Lord (Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White (1880), 188, 189).WV 21.8