Last Years—1909-15
In a manuscript prepared to be read at the General Conference of 1913, which Ellen White was unable to attend because of her frail health, she reviewed her activities of the preceding four years. “Following the General Conference of 1909, I spent several weeks attending camp meetings and other general gatherings, and visiting various institutions, in New England, the Central States, and the Middle West.APAY 249.3
“Upon returning to my home in California, I took up anew the work of preparing matter for the press. During the past four years I have written comparatively few letters. What strength I have had has been given mostly to the completion of important bookwork.APAY 252.1
“Occasionally I have attended meetings, and have visited institutions in California, but the greater portion of the time since the last General Conference has been spent in manuscript work at my country home, ‘Elmshaven,’ near Saint Helena.APAY 252.2
“I am thankful that the Lord is sparing my life to work a little longer on my books. O, that I had strength to do all that I see ought to be done! I pray that He may impart to me wisdom, that the truths our people so much need may be presented clearly and acceptably. I am encouraged to believe that God will enable me to do this.” The General Conference Bulletin, 1913, 164. Found also in Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 426, 427.APAY 252.3
Strength was given Ellen White to finish her writings on the life of Paul and the early church, The Acts of the Apostles (1911). Also completed were Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students Regarding Christian Education (1913), and Gospel Workers (1915). The last of the products of this period was Prophets and Kings (1916), published soon after the author’s death.APAY 252.4
Mrs. White remained active until the time of the accident that hastened her death. She was entering her study on Sabbath, February 13, 1915, when she fell and fractured her hip. She was eighty-seven years old, and there was little that could be done except to make her days as comfortable as possible. Her attitude of quiet confidence in God was the same during the last weeks of illness as that which had characterized her courageous life. Only a few weeks before her death, she said:APAY 252.5
“I am very weak. I am sure that this is my last sickness. I am not worried at the thought of dying. I feel comforted all the time, that the Lord is near me. I am not anxious. The preciousness of the Saviour has been so plain to me. He has been a friend. He has kept me in sickness and in health.APAY 253.1
“I do not worry about the work I have done. I have done the best I could. I do not think that I shall be lingering long. I do not expect much suffering. I am thankful that we have the comforts of life in time of sickness. Do not worry. I go only a little before the others.’” Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 444, 445.APAY 253.2
“For several days prior to her death, she had been unconscious much of the time, and toward the end she seemed to have lost the faculty of speech and that of hearing. The last words she spoke to her son were, ‘I know in whom I have believed.’” Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 449. Death came on July 16, 1915.APAY 253.3
A funeral service was held at “Elmshaven” on Sunday, July 18. On July 19, a service was held at Richmond, California, in connection with the Northern California camp meeting, where a thousand friends paid their respects to the messenger of God. On July 24 a service was held at the Battle Creek Tabernacle, after which Mrs. White was buried beside her husband in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek. A ministry of seventy years had ended, and Seventh-day Adventists everywhere, as well as a host of non-Adventist friends, mourned the passing of one whose whole life had been devoted to the advent cause, and whose ministry had been so fruitful in its upbuilding.APAY 253.4