During her lifetime, hundreds of visions were given to Sister White. Some of them were very short, some of them were quite long. The longest vision lasted for nearly four hours. This vision was given to Sister White when she was just a young lady and before she was married to Elder James White. But we will speak of her as Sister White, even though she was not married.
In the very early days of our work, there were two men in Boston who claimed to be the leaders of the Adventists, and they said that their lives were very holy, and that they did not commit any sins. We would say today that these men were fanatics. They had quite a strong influence on the Adventists in the Boston area at that time.
They heard about the visions that had been given to Sister White and said that these visions had not been given by the Lord, but that they had been given by Satan. They said they would like to see Sister White and would like to hear her speak, but one thing was certain—she could not have a vision in their presence.
There lived just south of Boston, in Dorchester, a family named Brother and Sister Nichols. The Nichols had a good home located in the country and it became more or less the center of activity for the Adventists. Brother and Sister Nichols had invited Sister White and her sister to visit Boston and some of the surrounding communities, and to stay at their home while they did so. In response to this invitation, she and her sister, Sarah, traveled to Boston, probably by boat, and stayed with Brother and Sister Nichols.
Not long after they had come to the Nichols’ home, two men drove up in a carriage from Boston. Guess who they were! They were Mr. Sargent and Mr. Robbins, the two men who claimed to be the leaders of the Adventists, but who actually were teaching fanatical things. Brother Nichols met them outside and they told him that they had come to have a little visit, and that they would like to spend the night at his home. Brother Nichols said, “I am glad you have come. I am glad you have come just now, because Sister White and her sister Sarah are here in the house and I want you to become acquainted with them.”
For some reason or other, Mr. Sargent and Mr. Robbins didn’t get out of the carriage. As Brother Nichols urged them to come in and told them that he would take care of the horse, they replied that they had just thought of something that they must take care of in another village and they must be driving on. Brother Nichols said, “But you just told me that you planned to spend the night here with us. You have wanted to see Sister White. She and her sister are here now. Please come in!”
They said, “No, we must be going.”
Then Brother Nichols asked, “When will you see Sister White and hear her speak?”
“Come in to Boston next Sabbath,” they said. “We would like to have the privilege of hearing her.” So it was planned that all would go in to Boston for a meeting on Sabbath.
In the evening before the Sabbath, a vision was given to Sister White in which she was shown that they must not go to Boston the next day, but rather they must go to Randolph, in the opposite direction. She was shown that the Lord had a work for her to do there. After the vision, Sister White told Brother Nichols what the Lord had shown to her. This was very hard for him to understand, and he wondered what Mr. Sargent and Mr. Robbins would say when, after promising that they would come to Boston with Sister White, they had gone in the opposite direction down to Randolph. But as she insisted that they must go to Randolph, he hitched up the horse in the morning and they drove the thirteen miles south to Randolph.
The meeting of the Adventists was held at the Thayer home, and as they came to the home, Brother and Sister Nichols and Sister White and her sister opened the door and entered the room where the meeting was in progress. Who do you suppose was there in the room? Mr. Sargent and Mr. Robbins. Now Brother and Sister Nichols and Mrs. White and her sister understood why in vision they had been instructed to go to Randolph.
Mr. Sargent and Mr. Robbins didn’t want to see Sister White. They knew that their course of action was not right. They were actually doing wicked things, although they claimed to be very holy men and said they could not sin. They had told Brother Nichols to bring Sister White north to Boston for the meeting on Sabbath and then they had gone south to Randolph, so that they would not have to meet her. When Sister White came in, Mr. Robbins and Mr. Sargent looked at each other in surprise. One of them was speaking at the time. He became confused, and soon he said, “We will close the meeting a little bit early and let you come back after lunch and we will have a good time together.”
In the afternoon, the meeting was opened by a song and several people prayed. Then Sister White prayed. While she was praying, she paused, and the next words which the people heard from her lips were an exclamation of “Glory to God! Glory to God!” and she was in vision.
Mr. Sargent and Mr. Robbins were greatly distressed. They had told the people that Sister White could not have a vision in their presence. They had said that her experience was from Satan, and that they would not allow her to have a vision. But there was nothing they could do about it.
While Sister White was in vision, she spoke concerning the experience of Mr. Sargent and Mr. Robbins. They did not want the people to hear what she was saying, and so they said, “Let’s sing.” And the people sang very loud until they were weary. Then they said, “We will read the Bible.” And so in a loud voice, they read from the Bible, until they were worn out and their hands were shaking and they couldn’t read anymore. Some of their friends told them to stop doing what they were doing, but Mr. Robbins said, “You are bowed to an idol. You are worshiping a golden calf.”
Mr. Thayer, who was the owner of the house was not sure in his own heart that the vision was from Satan as Mr. Robbins said that it was, and he wanted to test it in some way. He had heard that visions which were given by satanic power would be stopped if a Bible were placed on the person who was in vision. And so he picked up the large family Bible from the table and started to hand it to Mr. Sargent and asked him if he would lay the Bible on Ellen Harmon to test the matter. “Oh no!” said Mr. Sargent. He would not have anything to do with it.
“All right,” Mr. Thayer said, “I will do it.” Then Mr. Thayer took the large Bible that was lying on the table and opened it. Sister White was reclining at this time, and he laid the Bible upon her. Immediately, as the Bible was placed upon her, she arose to her feet, picked up the Bible, and balanced it on one hand and held it as high as she could reach. With her eyes looking upward and away from the Bible, she declared, “This is the inspired testimony from God.” Then she began to turn the leaves of the Bible with her other hand. She placed her finger on a certain passage and quoted the words.
Brother Nichols and some of the others climbed up on chairs to see if she were quoting the texts correctly. They found that she was. Some of the texts which she read referred to the judgments of God against the wicked, and some of the texts related to the experience of these men.
For quite a period of time, Sister White turned the pages of the Bible and pointed to the texts and quoted them. Then as the vision came to a close, Sister White took a deep breath, filling her empty lungs. She paused about a minute, and then she breathed again, and soon she was breathing naturally. As she began to see what was going on about her, she observed that the candles were lighted. During the whole winter afternoon, she had been in vision. This was the longest vision which was given to her. It lasted for nearly four hours. During these four hours, she didn’t breathe once, although she spoke much of the time.
Now the people could see for themselves. They could see that God was guiding in the experience of Ellen White and they could see the true nature of Mr. Sargent and Mr. Robbins. Thus God, through the visions, helped His people to understand and to choose that which was right.
The vision can be found in the book Early Writings, beginning on page 13