| The Rescue of S. W. Rhodes |
| S. W. Rhodes had labored diligently and effectively in the Advent Awakening in 1843 and 1844. He was a man of means, which he dedicated to spreading the message. When the time of the expected advent of Christ passed in 1844, Rhodes was humiliated. He withdrew from public contact and secluded himself in a forest in the heart of New York State, sustaining himself by hunting and fishing and raising a small garden. Hiram Edson knew where Rhodes was and twice journeyed by foot to the hideout and tried to persuade him to rejoin his brethren. Both attempts failed. { 1BIO 196.2 } |
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| On November 7, 1849, Edson started a third time in an attempt to rescue Rhodes. After walking fourteen miles, he felt impressed to turn back. With Rhodes uppermost in Edson’s mind, he attended the conference at Centerport, New York, on Sabbath and Sunday, November 17 and 18. There he met Brethren Ralph and Belden, who had come from Connecticut, and James and Ellen White, who had come from nearby Oswego. The meeting was a “refreshing season.” { 1BIO 197.1 } |
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| At the close of the conference, Edson told Ralph about Rhodes. He discovered that both he and Ralph were impressed that they should visit Rhodes together. That evening a half dozen joined in a season of prayer over the Rhodes case. Hiram Edson reported: { 1BIO 197.2 } |
| Brother Ralph asked the Lord, in secret, to pour out his Spirit upon us if it was His will that we should go after Brother Rhodes. { 1BIO 197.3 } |
| The Spirit was poured out, and it settled upon us, so that the place was awful, and glorious. While I was inquiring of the Lord if He had sent His servant so far to go with me to hunt up Brother Rhodes, at that moment Brother Ralph broke out in a new tongue, unknown to us all. Then came the interpretation—“Yes, to go with thee.”—The Present Truth, December, 1849. { 1BIO 197.4 } |
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The group knew that neither James nor Ellen White had much faith in the interest that was felt for Rhodes, and she cautioned Ralph “to be sure to get a clear duty from the Lord.” She told him that she thought Edson’s feelings for Rhodes were mere sympathy. Edson continues the story: { 1BIO 197.5 }
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| The next morning we had a season of prayer, and the Spirit was richly poured out, and the Lord gave Sister White the following vision, which was contrary to her former opinion and feeling relating to our going after Brother Rhodes, up to the time that the Spirit took her off in vision.— Ibid. { 1BIO 197.6 } |
| From the account of the vision as recorded in Present Truth we quote the heart of the message: { 1BIO 197.7 } |
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