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Despite some Protestants’ openness to the possibility of direct communication with God and Millerites’ appreciation of biblical prophecy, White still faced challenges from fellow Sabbatarian Adventists, who believed her claim to receive messages directly from God defied scripture. Thus, she and her supporters endeavored to convince them to respect her visions by demonstrating that they were biblically sanctioned. Through a series of articles in R&H, they argued that a healthy church required prophecy, and that prophecy was integral to the theology of the end of days. Their theological defenses helped to ease broader acceptance of White’s visionary leadership, but were not sufficient on their own to achieve this goal.

Nevertheless, most of White’s supporters’ early arguments of visions only obliquely endorsed her specifically, instead defending prophecy in general terms. They were initially reticent to publicize her prophecies to a wider audience during the early years of the journal’s publication. In fact, they made no mention of her or her prophecies in the articles they published defending the continuation of spiritual gifts, and they only mentioned White’s prophecies for the first time in a special extra edition of R&H. In this supplemental publication, she presented an abbreviated version of some material that formed the basis for her autobiographical works. At the end of the paper, the editors explained why they had published a separate issue to convey her personal story and visions. They clarified that this extra issue was not intended “for so general circulation as the regular paper,” because “that strong prejudice exist[ed] in many minds against a portion of its contents.” They knew that some people would object to her visionary claims, but they believed that God would “teach his tried people at this most important period in the history of God’s people in the same manner as in past time.”27

White’s supporters argued that the Bible demonstrated that the gift of prophecy was ever intended to cease and was important to the spiritual health of the church. They relied upon several key passages in the New Testament about “spiritual gifts” to make their case. They looked, for instance, to Ephesians 4:11-12, in which Paul explained that Christ had given different gifts to various members of the church: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

27 _{Joseph Bates et al, eds, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 2, no. 1. extra (Paris, Maine,}

Additionally, they cited 1 Corinthians 12 in which Paul again presented the importance of a diversity of spiritual gifts for the strength of the church: “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

Ever in favor of his wife’s gifts, James White observed that many of those gifts, like teaching and preaching, were still practiced in Protestant churches, but these same people argued that prophecy and speaking in tongues were limited only to the apostles. They argued that it did not make sense to decide arbitrarily that only some gifts were intended to survive the Apostolic age: “…we have no scripture evidence that they were designed for a limited portion of the gospel age…” They asked, “If a portion of the gifts were to remain in the church, why not all of them remain?” Rather, they thought that the gifts were “designed to exist in the church as long as the saints in their mortal state needed the teaching of the Bible and the Holy Spirit.”28

White’s advocates contended that prophecy only appeared absent from the church because of internal failure. These “gifts of the spirit” had disappeared for a variety of reasons. For instance, the church often had often been ashamed of spiritual gifts: “Whenever the church has become Worldly, proud, destitute of the Spirit, and blind, they… have looked upon the operations of the Holy Spirit with suspicion.” It was this suspicion and lack of faith that caused them to call “the gracious work of the Spirit in the Midnight Cry in 1844, mesmerism and fanaticism.” In other words, some Christians

28 _{James White et al, eds, “The Gifts of the Gospel Church,” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol.}

I, No. 9 (Paris, Maine, 1851), 69. See also, “Gifts of the Gospel Church”, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. IV, no. 2 (Rochester, NY, 1853), 13ff. As far as I can tell the article in Volume IV, number 2 is identical to the one in Volume I, number 9.

wanted to appear rational to others around them, which caused them to ignore genuine spiritual guidance from the Holy Spirit. Additionally, they noted that people who had received spiritual gifts often did not know what to do with them. They either did not understand what they had, or they became very proud and abused their gifts, making them useless to the church: “We think it is a fact that many of the greatest fanatics in the land, have once shared largely in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but by not having good instruction, they have fallen through pride.”29 _{They observed that this made the gifts}

difficult to handle—even the apostle Paul was given a “thorn in his flesh” to keep him humble in the face of the many spiritual gifts that God had give him.30

Nevertheless, they contended that spiritual gifts were essential to the health of the church, because people did not follow the Bible perfectly. Visions and prophecies should be employed, as long as they were used properly with deference to scripture. Indeed, they argued that the Bible should have been a sufficient guide for the church, “If every

member of the church of Christ was holy, harmless, and separate from sinners, and searched the Holy Scriptures diligently and with much prayer for duty.” Unfortunately, most people did not do this, so spiritual gifts were necessary to keep the people of God on the right track.

White’s supporters cautioned, however, that believers should not look to spiritual gifts like dreams and prophecies to learn their “duty” to God, because he would only use spiritual gifts in extreme cases. They thought he would employ them when “a portion of

29 _{“The Gifts of the Gospel Church,” 69.} 30 _{2 Corinthians 12: 6-8}

the church err from the truths of the Bible, and become weak and sickly…” Then and only then might it seem “necessary for God to employ the gifts of the Spirit to correct, revive and heal the erring.”31 _{The gifts of the Holy Spirit were from God, but they were}

intended for special use only—when the church or individuals needed correction. Unlike Elias Hicks, who believed that communal revelation should form a part of regular worship, they thought that visions were not a sign of God’s pleasure, but an indication that they had gone astray. Nevertheless, prophecies would keep the church healthy by disciplining their sins—a strategy White later implemented regularly.

White’s supporters also argued in favor of spiritual gifts, because they signified that Christ would soon return. They especially referred to Acts 2 in which tongues of fire appeared on the heads of Jesus’ disciples on the day of Pentecost. The author of Acts noted that those events seemed to fulfill a prophecy in the book of Joel, who had written that “in the last days” God promised to “pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh.” As a sign of these final days, “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams...”32 _{The gifts certainly could not}

have been limited to the time of the apostles, Adventists argued, because they were supposed to be present during the end of days.

Additionally, with the rise in prophecies and dreams that seemed to be happening all around them, they claimed that the end of days was near. Throughout several issues of R&H, they cited at length a pamphlet written by Henry Jones in 1843—the year prior to

31 _{“The Gifts of the Gospel Church,” 70} 32 _{See Acts 2:16-18; Joel 2:28-29}

the Great Disappointment—called “Modern Phenomena of the Heavens.” In this article, he contended that a number of phenomena that had occurred in the past half century, indicated that “those prophecies of Christ’s return, and the signs of it, [were not] all mystical” and were still being fulfilled. He first pointed to evidence of “great signs in the heavens, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.” He claimed that “the Aurora Borealis has perfectly and literally fulfilled these predictions, with special regard to the “Wonders,” “fearful sights, and great signs” in the heavens, of “blood,” “fire,” and “pillars of smoke.”33 _{He acknowledged that some thought the aurora borealis was a naturally}

recurring phenomenon, but they had no proof, particularly because the Bible made no mention of such a natural event.He claimed that all known evidence suggested that it was a “modern” phenomenon, dating back only to the eighteenth century—ensuring Christ’s return was increasingly imminent. When all of these signs—astronomical and spiritual— occurred at the same time, the saints could be even more assured that the end of days had truly come.34

By citing Jones at length, the editors at R&H, who supported White, made it clear that that shared his views, and though they did not mention her by name, they implied

33 _{Henry Jones, “Modern Phenomena of the Heavens,” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. III,}

no. 12 (Rochester, New York, 1852), 94. To prove his point he provided “a description of the phenomenon, as it was witnessed in London, Sept. 3, 1839.” An article from the New York Commercial Adviser

highlighted a number of apparently telling phenomena associated with the aurora borealis, including falling stars, a “crimson” light, volumes of smoke, and “a continual succession of meteors.” Witnesses called it “alarming,” saying it appeared like “a terrific fire.” “From Late London Papers”, New York Commercial Advisor (October 22, 1839) in Ibid 94.

34 _{Jones’ article continued in a similar vein. He related several reports that in New England on May 19,}

1780, the sun had risen normally, but by ten A.M. it had become so dark that people could not see outside. He also argued that there had been even more recent signs in the stars—namely a shower of falling stars on November 13, 1833. As with the aurora borealis, he argued that these phenomena did not have a credible natural or scientific explanation. See Jones, “Modern Phenomena of the Heavens,” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. III, no. 13 (Rochester, New York, 1852).

that White’s existence as a visionary meant that they did not have to abandon their millennial hopes. They were certain that God would “fulfill his word and give visions in the last days” as he had always done for his followers throughout history. Nevertheless, they chose to publish her visions separately “for the benefit” of people who definitely believed in them. They were especially aware that her visions were unlikely to be accepted by newcomers to the faith without some explanation. Thus, articles like “The Gifts of the Gospel Church” and “Modern Phenomena of the Heavens” implicitly laid the groundwork for garnering faith in her gift of prophecy. To gain full recognition, White would have to take matters into her own hands.