The council was nearing the time when it would turn its attention from reports of the past to plans for the future. W. C. White suggested that it might be well to give some time to such “practical questions as the brethren might wish information upon.” Answers would be given to the questions submitted, and there would be opportunity for discussion. Accordingly, a “Question Box” was set up. EGWE 69.8
The time had come when differences of opinion would be aired and discussed, and when Ellen White rose at 5:00 A.M. Friday to prepare for her devotional talk she said she “felt urged by the Spirit of God” to keep before the workers the necessity of being teachable. Her message, based on James 3:13-18, was another call for unity. EGWE 70.1
“None should feel that it is of no special importance whether they are in union with their brethren or not; for those who do not learn to live in harmony here will never be united in heaven.... EGWE 70.2
“Even though you think you are right, you are not to urge your individual ideas to the front, so that they will cause discord.... Let Christ appear. Do not cherish a spirit of independence which will lead you to feel that if your brethren do not agree with you they must be wrong. The opinions of your brethren are just as precious to them as yours are to you. Christ in you will unite you to Christ in them, and there will be a sweet spirit of union.”—Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 124-126. EGWE 70.3
Pioneers are always an independent breed of men. They have to make their own decisions and often they have to press forward with no one to guide and counsel them. Thus it was especially hard for many of the early workers in Europe to adjust to the fact that the church was emerging from the pioneer stage and was now developing into an organized entity with some strength. Now there was need for cooperation and coordination. So the Spirit of God guided in the giving of just the messages that were needed at that time. EGWE 70.4
Meanwhile, Ellen White had a much more mundane problem—a tooth that needed filling! Dr. Vincenzo Guerini, an affable Italian dentist and convert, was at the council from Naples. So Mrs. White visited him. She described the doctor as “a refined gentleman.... He is fully in the truth. A man of excellent spirit.”—Letter 23, 1885, p. 2. He was also a skillful practitioner. EGWE 70.5
Finally the first Sabbath of the session arrived to break the busy routine. D. T. Bourdeau spoke Sabbath morning at the worship service, with Sister White occupying the pulpit in the afternoon. Her address must have brought real help to the people: “The heavenly angels were in our midst,” she explained. “I was blessed in speaking, the people blessed in hearing.”—Ibid., p. 3. EGWE 71.1