The Call to a Specific Work
The Bible dwells much, even in detail, on the striking call which the Lord gave those who were assigned some outstanding work as leaders or messengers. The “heavenly vision” given to Paul is well known. Samuel received his divine call under circumstances that emphasized the work he was to do. David was anointed as king in the presence of his family and introduced to Israel by the defeat of Goliath, though his acceptance by the people as their ruler came after many years of hardship. The call of Moses in the wilderness to free Israel is told in full detail by Moses himself, including his unwillingness to respond because he felt himself unworthy. In the Bible there is always a certain connection between the manner of the heavenly call and the task to which one was ordained. In fact, the call set a divine seal on the work itself.FSG 35.1
That Mrs. White believed she had a distinct call from the Lord to be His prophetic messenger to His church in this generation is admitted even by those who have opposed her. Many faithful servants of the gospel have told of their call to the work they did, and if we would understand their labors we must study their call. We know, however, of no account of a call from God in modern religious literature as touching and convincing as that which came to Mrs. White. She dreaded the call and almost rose in rebellion against it. Being young, in uncertain health, and of a retiring and sensitive nature, she even feared that success in the work might wreck her own soul. It must be remembered that at that time the Adventists were a small and despised people, and visions were hated and ridiculed. Such a call was as far from being attractive as anything could possibly be. Not only could it bring neither gain nor glory; it meant the separation and hatred of her fellow believers, and even outright persecution. But she claimed and believed that she had revelations which compelled obedience, and therefore she yielded. In her early books Mrs. White has given us a vivid and truthful account of her experiences in receiving this call from God. We hope the reader will read it in full since we must confine ourselves to only a few short quotations.FSG 35.2
The call came to her in her “second vision,” early in 1845, and greatly troubled her mind. She was afraid to heed it, yet dared not refuse. Others had had such calls and failed. She writes:FSG 36.1
“One great fear that oppressed me was that if I obeyed the call of duty, and went out declaring myself to be one favored of the Most High with visions and revelations for the people, I might yield to sinful exaltation, and be lifted above the station that was right for me to occupy, bring upon myself the displeasure of God, and lose my own soul. I had before me several cases such as I have here described and my heart shrunk from the trying ordeal.FSG 36.2
“I now entreated that if I must go and relate what the Lord had shown me, I should be preserved from undue exaltation. Said the angel, ‘Your prayers are heard, and shall be answered. If this evil that you dread threatens you, the hand of God will be stretched out to save you; by affliction He will draw you to Himself, and preserve your humility. Deliver the message faithfully. Endure unto the end, and you shall eat the fruit of the tree of life and drink the water of life....FSG 36.3
“It was a great cross for me to relate to the erring what had been shown me concerning them. It caused me great distress to see others troubled or grieved. And when obliged to declare the messages, I would often soften them down, and make them appear as favorable for the individual as I could, and then would go by myself, and weep in agony of spirit. I looked upon those who had only their own souls to care for, and thought that if I were in their condition I would not murmur.”—Testimonies for the Church 5:655, 656.FSG 36.4
As Mrs. White continued to hesitate and to struggle against the call, and as she seemed unwilling to do faithfully the work of a messenger to which God had called her, the Lord gave her another vision. Of this she writes:FSG 37.1
“I did not realize the danger and sin of such a course, until in vision I was taken into the presence of Jesus. He looked upon me with a frown, and turned His face from me. It is not possible to describe the terror and agony I then felt. I fell upon my face before Him, but had no Power to utter a word. Oh, how I longed to be covered and hid from that dreadful frown! Then could I realize, in some degree, what the feelings of the lost will be when they cry, “Mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb!”FSG 37.2
“Presently an angel bade me rise, and the sight that met my eyes can hardly be described. Before me was a company whose hair and garments were torn, and whose countenances were the very picture of despair and horror. They came close to me, and rubbed their garments upon mine. As I looked at my garments, I saw that they were stained with blood. Again I fell like one dead, at the feet of my accompanying angel. I could not plead one excuse, and longed to be away from that holy place. The angel raised me to my feet, and said, ‘This is not your case now, but this scene has passed before you to let you know what your situation must be if you neglect to declare to others what the Lord has revealed to you.’ With this solemn warning before me, I went out to speak to the people the words of reproof and instruction given me of God.”—Testimonies for the Church 5:656, 657.FSG 37.3
Such was the specific call and the beginning of the work of Mrs. White. It was not a fleeting emotion or duty of a few months, but a life task. For seventy years she kept on with her labors—writing, preaching, warning, exhorting, calling sinners to Christ, and building up the church of God. It was a large and noble achievement that has but few parallels in human history. She outlived by several years all the other pioneers of the advent church. Though many at times tried to dissuade her, urging her to turn from her work, she held fast to her divine call and continued at her post faithful to the last. Today the blessed fruitage of her labors is seen and appreciated in all the earth.FSG 37.4