Meeting the Crisis
On October 31, a general meeting opened in Washington, New Hampshire. Some there had held to the 1851 time, until it passed, and they were now in great darkness. They had ignored the Spirit of prophecy counsels and the plain warnings of James White, and were teaching many discordant views. We pick up the story from contemporary documents:EGWMR 45.2
“The burden of the meeting was church order, pointing out the errors of —— and —— and the importance of church action as to the course of some brethren. Ellen had a vision. Saw that the frown of God was on us as a people because the accursed thing was in the camp, that is, errors among us, and that the church must act; and the only way to do Brethren —— and —— good was to withdraw fellowship from them in their present position. All acted on the light given. All received the vision, and even to an individual, all raised the hand to withdraw fellowship from them.”—James White Letter, November 11, 1851. Record Book 1, pp. 162, 163. (Italics mine.)EGWMR 45.3
Thus, a company of believers, under the guidance of God through the Spirit of prophecy, pulled itself together sufficiently to expel by church action some of its own number. Following this experience, further steps in church order were taken. Elder White reports it to the readers of the Review thus: “A committee of seven was chosen (see Acts 6) to attend to the wants of the poor, and we have reason to believe that it will be a great pleasure for them to do so.”—Review and Herald, November 25, 1851, p. 52, col. 2.EGWMR 45.4
At the next general meeting, which began November 7, this new topic of conference consideration—church order—came prominently to the front: “Gospel order and perfect union among the brethren, especially those who preach the Word, were also dwelt upon, and all seemed to feel the importance of following our perfect guide, the Bible, on these subjects as well as all others.”—Ibid.EGWMR 45.5
That Elder James White was confident in the integrity of his course in leading out in the call for church organization, becomes clear to us when we discover that as early as December 24, 1850, the matter was forcefully presented to Ellen White in vision. We quote:EGWMR 45.6
“I saw how great and holy God was. Said the angel, ‘Walk carefully before Him, for He is high and lifted up, and the train of His glory fills the temple.’ I saw that everything in heaven was in perfect order. Said the angel, ‘Look ye, Christ is the head, move in order, move in order. Have a meaning to everything.’ Said the angel, ‘Behold ye and know how perfect, how beautiful, the order in heaven; follow it.’”—E. G. White Manuscript 11, 1850. (Dec. 25, 1850.)EGWMR 45.7
It took time to lead the believers generally to appreciate the needs and value of gospel order. Their past experience in the churches from which they had separated or had been expelled led most to be very cautious, and except in those places where the practical need was very evident, fear of inviting formality held others back. So it was not until a decade later that the more mature steps for church organization were effected.EGWMR 45.8