Vision of Dec. 23, 1860 - Wrongs by individuals
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| Just three months had elapsed since the general conference was held in Battle Creek at which some steps had been taken to organize the publishing work in a formal manner. Two years had passed since the adoption of Systematic Benevolence. In the vision of December 23, 1860, right after John Herbert White's death, the Lord placed His seal of approval on the steps taken in these firm moves toward church order, organization, and the choice of a denominational name. On organization Ellen White wrote: {1BIO 437.2} |
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| The people of God should move understandingly, and should be united in their efforts. They should be of the same mind, of the same judgment; then their efforts will not be scattered, but will tell forcibly in the upbuilding of the cause of present truth. Order must be observed, and there must be union in maintaining order, or Satan will take the advantage. . . . {1BIO 437.3} |
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| Matters pertaining to the church should not be left in an unsettled condition. Steps should be taken to secure church property for the cause of God, that the work may not be retarded in its progress, and that the means which persons wish to dedicate to God's cause may not slip into the enemy's ranks. I saw that God's people should act wisely, and leave nothing undone on their part to place the business of the church in a secure state.-- Ibid., pp. 210, 211. {1BIO 437.4} |
| In this book. just a few pages before we find |
| James and Ellen White were crushed, and hope died within them in the days following the funeral of John Herbert, Monday morning, December 17. A week went by. On Sunday night, December 23, as they retired, Ellen could not sleep. She suffered a severe pain in her heart and she fainted not once but several times. James hardly knew what to do, but he sent for trusted friends, George Amadon, J. P. Kellogg, and Cyrenius Smith. In response to their earnest prayers, relief came, and she was taken off in vision. Of this she wrote: {1BIO 433.2} |
| I was shown that we had a work to do, that we must still bear our testimony, straight and pointed. Individuals were presented before me who had shunned the pointed testimony. I saw the influence of their teachings upon God's people.--Ibid., p. 248. {1BIO 433.3} |
| She hastened to write out and get into print the messages based on this vision. In five weeks' time this notice appeared in the Review: "Testimony for the Church, No. 6, will be ready in a few days."-- RH, Jan. 29, 1861. The little pamphlet opened with the words: {1BIO 433.4} |
| Dear Brethren and Sisters: The Lord has again visited me in mercy, in a time of bereavement and great affliction. December 23, 1860, I was taken off in vision, and was shown the wrongs of individualswhich have affected the cause, and I dare not withhold the testimony from the church to spare the feelings of individuals. -- 1T, p. 210, par. 1 {1BIO 433.5} |
| The writing for publication of what was revealed to her in this vision filled sixty-eight pages of the testimony pamphlet and is currently found in Testimonies, volume 1, pages 210 to 252. The titles of the articles reveal well the nature of the messages, opening with "Slackness Reproved" and followed by "Duty to Children," "Systematic Benevolence," and then "Our Denominational Name." Among the ten articles that follow, one carries the significant title "Fanaticism in Wisconsin." {1BIO 434.1} |
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| this vision mentioned in other places |
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| The Lord has again visited me in mercy, in a time of bereavement and great affliction. December 23, 1860, I was taken off in vision, and was shown the wrongs of individuals which have affected the cause, and I dare not withhold the testimony from the church to spare the feelings of individuals. {4bSG 45.1} |
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