Lt 5, 1859

September 6, 1859, Somerville, Massachusetts1EGWLM 695.1

Letter to
Henry Nichols White.1EGWLM 695.2

Portions of this letter are published in Ellen G. White, An Appeal to the Youth, pp. 44-47.

A letter to her son Henry, age 12.1EGWLM 695.3

My dear Son Henry:

I will write you a few lines although I have no news of importance to write.1EGWLM 695.4

We received your letter, and were very glad to hear from you.¹

No letters from Henry White to his parents have been preserved.

You must write oftener. Send us a letter at Topsham [Maine].2

Two weeks later, on September 20, Ellen White wrote from Topsham, Maine, “My Dear Children: We received your letters to-day” (An Appeal to the Youth, p. 47).

Think of everything you have left there and wish us to bring, and we will try to do so.3

From age 1 to 6 (1853) Henry had stayed with the family of Stockbridge Howland in Topsham, Maine. Now 12, he apparently was requesting his parents to bring back some things he had left in Topsham six years earlier.

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We hope you are well and happy. Be a good steady boy. If you only fear God and love Him, our happiness will be complete. You can be a noble boy. Love, truthfulness, and honesty—these are sacred treasures. Do not lay them aside for a moment. You may be tempted and often tried, but my dear boy, it is at such a time these lovely treasures shine, and are highly prized. Cling closely to these precious traits, whatever you may be called to suffer. Let truthfulness and honesty ever live in your heart. Never, through fear of punishment, sacrifice these noble traits. The Lord will help you, Henry, to do right. I believe it is your purpose to do right and to please your parents.⁴

Ellen White's letters to her young children include a strong element of moral instruction. Being separated from her children during several months of travel in any typical year was one of her greatest trials. Devoted mother that she was, she resorted, while traveling, to parenting her boys via correspondence.

See: Jerry Allen Moon, W. C. White and Ellen G. White, pp. 34-41.

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You may see little dishonest acts in other boys, but do not think for a moment of imitating them. Learn to despise such things. Do not condescend to mean talk or to mean acts. Shun the company of those who do evil, as you would a deadly poison, for they will corrupt everyone who associates with them. Ever have your young mind lifting up, elevated above the low, evil habits of those who have no fear of God before them. You can have correct thoughts, correct ways, and can form a good pure character.1EGWLM 695.7

Our dear children are our treasures, and oh, how anxious we are that they should meet the approbation of God. In His strength, you can reform, but never in your own strength. You can give the Lord your heart, and ask Him to forgive your sins, and if you move with sincerity He will accept you and make you white and clean in His own precious blood.1EGWLM 696.1

We, your parents, pray much for you that you may be a consistent, true Christian. We know that our Saviour is coming, and will take the good and holy, the honest and pure, to dwell with Him forever in a holy heaven, where all is beauty, harmony, joy, and glory. I want you to remember that Jesus suffered, groaned, and died for you that His blood might cleanse you from sin. But there is a work for you to do, to feel that you are a sinner, lost without the cleansing blood of your Redeemer. You must feel your undone condition without a Saviour. May the Lord clearly open to your young mind the plan of salvation, and lead you to give yourself unreservedly to Jesus as His, to serve Him continually. Come to Him, dear boy, love Him because He first loved you. Love Him for His lovely character, because He loved you well enough to die for you.1EGWLM 696.2

Henry, as soon as you were born, we prayed that you might be a Christian boy. We believe that you have felt some of the influence of the Spirit [of God] upon your heart; but we want its sweet influence to abide upon you, and the impressions lasting, your course steady, and you to daily receive grace to resist temptation.1EGWLM 696.3

I must close. Love and obey Jenny [Jane Fraser]. Do right because you love to. Preserve these letters I write to you, and read them often, and if you should be left without a mother's care, they will be a help to you.⁵

For a selection of letters written by Ellen White to her children during this 1859 itinerary, see Ellen G. White, An Appeal to the Youth, pp. 45-56, 65, 66; also Lts 9, 6, 10, 1859 (Sept. 6, 15, late Sept.).

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Much love to Father and Mother White [John and Betsey White].⁶

Ellen White's parents, Robert and Eunice Harmon, also lived in Battle Creek during these years, but appear to have been on an extended visit to their son in Iowa at this time (see Ms 8, 1859 [Nov. 16 entry]).

Here is a peppermint for Willie.7

Some have thought that Ellen White here shows favoritism by giving Willie a peppermint but not Henry. However, Willie was only 5 and Henry was 12, so a token of this kind may have been thought more appropriate for the younger boy than the older son.

See: Jerry Allen Moon, W. C. White and Ellen G. White, p. 37.

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From your affectionate mother.1EGWLM 696.6

Picture: Ellen White's letter to her son Henry, September 6, 1859 (Lt 5, 1859)1EGWLM 697

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Picture:1EGWLM 699

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