J. N. Loughborough
I will state some facts relative to the visions. The first time I saw Mrs.
E. G. White (formerly Miss Harmon) was in October, 1852. On that day I saw her
in a vision that lasted over one hour. Since that time I have had the privilege
of seeing her in vision about fifty times. I have been present when physicians
have examined her while in this state, and I esteem it a pleasure to bear
testimony to what I have seen and know. I trust a narration of the facts in the
case may not be carelessly cast aside for the random suppositions of those who
have never seen her in this condition.
In passing into vision she gives three enrapturing shouts of "Glory!"
which echo and re-echo, the second, and especially the third, fainter, but more
thrilling than the first, the voice resembling that of one quite a distance from
you, and just going out of hearing. For about four or five seconds she seems to
drop down like a person in a swoon, or one having lost his strength; she then
seems to be instantly filled with superhuman strength, sometimes rising at once
to her feet and walking about the room. There are frequent movements of the
hands and arms, pointing to the right or left as her head turns. All these
movements are made in a most graceful manner. In whatever position the hand or
arm may be placed, it is impossible for anyone to move it. Her eyes are always
open, but she does not wink; her head is raised, and she is looking upward, not
with a vacant stare, but with a pleasant expression, only differing from the
normal in that she appears to be looking intently at some distant object. She
does not breathe, yet her pulse beats regularly. Her countenance is pleasant,
and the color of her face as florid as in her natural state.
Her condition as to breathing, loss of strength, and being made strong as
the angel of God touches her, all agree perfectly with the description given by
the prophet Daniel of his own experience in vision when he says: "Therefore
I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in
me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no
strength." "For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my
lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is
there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the
appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, and said, O man greatly beloved,
fear not: peace be unto thee; be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken
unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my Lord speak; for thou hast
strengthened me.
M. G. Kellogg, M.D.
A description of a vision given in Michigan, May 29, 1853, at a meeting held
in Tyrone, Livingston County:
"Sister White was in vision about twenty minutes or half an hour. As
she went into vision every one present seemed to feel the power and presence of
God, and some of us did indeed feel the Spirit of God resting upon us mightily.
We were engaged in prayer and social meeting Sabbath morning at about nine
o'clock. Brother White, my father, and Sister White had prayed, and I was
praying at the time. There had been no excitement, no demonstrations. We did
plead earnestly with God, however, that He would bless the meeting with His
presence, and that He would bless the work in Michigan. As Sister White gave
that triumphant shout of 'Glory! g-l-o-r-y! g-l-o-r-y!' which you have heard her
give so often as she goes into vision, Brother White arose and informed the
audience that his wife was in vision. After stating the manner of her visions,
and that she did not breathe while in vision, he invited any one who wished to
do so to come forward and examine her. Dr. Drummond, a physician, who was also a
First-day Adventist preacher, who (before he saw her in vision) had declared her
visions to be of mesmeric origin, and that he could give her a vision, stepped
forward, and after a thorough examination, turned very pale, and remarked, 'She
doesn't breathe!'
"I am quite certain that she did not breathe at that time while in
vision, nor in any of several others which she has had when I was present. The
coming out of the vision was as marked as her going into it. The first
indication we had that the vision was ended, was in her again beginning to
breathe. She drew her first breath deep, long, and full, in a manner showing
that her lungs had been entirely empty of air. After drawing the first breath,
several minutes passed before she drew the second, which filled the lungs
precisely as did the first; then a pause of two minutes, and a third inhalation,
after which the breathing became natural." Signed, "M. G. Kellogg,
M.D., Battle Creek, Mich., Dec. 28, 1890."
F. C. Castle
The following statement is from an individual who witnessed a medical
examination of Mrs. White while in vision at Stowe, Vermont, in the summer of
1853. He says:
"A physician was present, and made such examination of her as his
wisdom and learning dictated, to find the cause of the manifestation. A lighted
candle was held close to her eyes, which were wide open; not a muscle of the eye
moved. He then examined her in regard to her pulse, and also in regard to her
breathing, and there was no respiration. The result was that he was satisfied
that it could not be accounted for on natural or scientific principles."
Signed, "F. C. Castle."
D. H. Lamson
The following description relates to an examination made while Mrs. White
was in vision, in a meeting held in the home of Elder James White, on Monroe
Street, Rochester, N.Y., June 26, 1854:
"I was then seventeen years old. It seems to me I can almost hear those
thrilling shouts of 'G-l-o-r-y!' which she uttered. Then she sank back to the
floor, not falling, but sinking gently, and was supported in the arms of an
attendant. Two physicans came in, an old man and a young man. Brother White was
anxious that they should examine Sister White closely, which they did. A
looking-glass was brought, and one of them held it over her mouth while she
talked; but very soon they gave this up, and said, 'She doesn't breathe.' Then
they closely examined her sides, as she spoke, to find some evidence of deep
breathing, but they did not find it. As they closed this part of the
examination, she arose to her feet, still in vision, holding a Bible high up,
turning from passage to passage, quoting correctly, although the eyes were
looking upward and away from the book.
"She had a view of the seven last plagues. Then she saw the triumph of
the saints, and her shouts of triumph I can seem to hear even now. To these
facts I freely testify." Signed, "Elder D. H. Lamson, Hillsdale,
Mich., Feb. 8, 1893."
Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Fowler
The following statement relates to an examination made while Mrs. White was
in vision in Waldron's Hall, Hillsdale, Mich., in the month of February, 1857.
"We were present when (in February, 1857) Sister E. G. White had a
vision in Waldron's Hall, Hillsdale. Dr. Lord made an examination, and said,
'Her heart beats, but there is no breath. There is life, but no action of the
lungs; I cannot account for this condition.'" Signed, "A. F. Fowler,
Mrs. A. F. Fowler, Hillsdale, Mich., Jan. 1, 1891."
D. T. Bourdeau
"June 28, 1857, I saw Sister Ellen G. White in vision for the first
time. I was an unbeliever in the visions; but one circumstance among others that
I might mention convinced me that her visions were of God. To satisfy my mind as
to whether she breathed or not, I first put my hand on her chest sufficiently
long to know that there was no more heaving of the lungs than there would have
been had she been a corpse. I then took my hand and placed it over her mouth,
pinching her nostrils between my thumb and forefinger, so that it was impossible
for her to exhale or inhale air, even if she had desired to do so. I held her
thus with my hand about ten minutes, long enough for her to suffocate under
ordinary circumstances; she was not in the least affected by this ordeal. Since
witnessing this wonderful phenomenon, I have not once been inclined to doubt the
divine origin of her visions." Signed, "D. T. Bourdeau, Battle Creek,
Mich., Feb. 4, 1891."--The Great Second Advent Movement, by J. N.
Loughborough, pp. 204-210.
James White Statement, 1868
"1. She is utterly unconscious of everything transpiring around her, as
has been proved by the most rigid tests, but views herself as removed from this
world, and in the presence of heavenly beings.
2. She does not breathe. During the entire period of her continuance in
vision, which has at different times ranged from fifteen minutes to three hours,
there is no breath, as has been repeatedly proved by pressing upon the chest,
and by closing the mouth and nostrils.
3. Immediately on entering vision, her muscles become rigid, and joints
fixed, so far as any external force can influence them. At the same time her
movements and gestures, which are frequent, are free and graceful, and cannot be
hindered nor controlled by the strongest person.
4. On coming out of vision, whether in the daytime or a well-lighted room at
night, all is total darkness. Her power to distinguish even the most brilliant
objects, held within a few inches of the eyes, returns but gradually.
George I. Butler, 1874
For nearly thirty years past these visions have been given with greater or
less frequency, and have been witnessed by many, oftentimes by unbelievers as
well as those believing them. They generally, but not always, occur in the midst
of earnest seasons of religious interest while the Spirit of God is specially
present, if those can tell who are in attendance. The time Mrs. White is in this
condition has varied from fifteen minutes to one hundred and eighty. During this
time the heart and pulse continue to beat, the eyes are always wide open, and
seem to be gazing at some far-distant object, and are never fixed on any person
or thing in the room. They are always directed upward. They exhibit a pleasant
expression. There is no ghastly look or any resemblance of fainting. The
brightest light may be suddenly brought near her eyes, or feints made as if to
thrust something into the eye, and there is never the slightest wink or change
of expression on that account; and it is sometimes hours and even days after she
comes out of this condition before she recovers her natural sight. She says it
seems to her that she comes back into a dark world, yet her eyesight is in
nowise injured by her visions.
"While she is in vision, her breathing entirely ceases. No breath ever
escapes her nostrils or lips when in this condition. This has been proved by
many witnesses, among them physicians of skill, and themselves unbelievers in
the visions, on some occasions being appointed by a public congregation for the
purpose. It has been proved many times by tightly holding the nostrils and mouth
with the hand, and by putting a looking glass before them so close that any
escape of the moisture of the breath would be detected. In this condition she
often speaks words and short sentences, yet not the slightest breath escapes.
When she goes into this condition, there is no appearance of swooning or
faintness, her face retains its natural color, and the blood circulates as
usual. Often she loses her strength temporarily and reclines or sits; but at
other times she stands up. She moves her arms gracefully, and often her face is
lighted up with radiance as though the glory of heaven rested upon her. She is
utterly unconscious of everything going on around her while she is in vision,
having no knowledge whatever of what is said and done in her presence. A person
may pinch her flesh, and do things which would cause great and sudden pain in
her ordinary condition, and she will not notice it by the slightest tremor.
"There are none of the disgusting grimaces or contortions which usually
attend spiritualist mediums, but calm, dignified, and impressive, her very
appearance strikes the beholder with reverence and solemnity. There is nothing
fanatical in her appearance. When she comes out of this condition she speaks and
writes from time to time what she has seen while in vision; and the supernatural
character of these visions is seen even more clearly in what she thus reveals
than in her appearance and condition while in vision, for many things have thus
been related which it was impossible for her to know in any other way.
"Peculiar circumstances in the lives of individuals, whom she never
before had seen in the flesh, and secrets hidden from the nearest acquaintances,
have been made known by her when she had no personal knowledge of the parties
other than by vision. Often has she been in an audience where she was wholly
unacquainted with the individuals composing it, when she would get up and point
out person after person whom she never had seen before, in the flesh, and tell
them what they had done, and reprove their sins. I might mention many other
items of like nature, but space forbids. These things can be proved by any
amount of testimony, and we confidently affirm that they are of such a character
that they could not be accomplished by deception."--Review and Herald,
June 9, 1874.