Meetings at Vohwinkel
Conradi spoke Friday evening; Ellen White was to speak at ten o'clock Sabbath morning. That Friday night, the Lord revealed to her in an interesting way the situation of those who would be in her audience in the morning. Her diary carries the account that she wrote on Sabbath morning:3BIO 364.1
Last night [May 27] I dreamed that a small company were assembled together to have a religious meeting. There was One who came in and seated Himself in a dark corner where He would attract little observation. There was not a spirit of freedom. The Spirit of the Lord was bound. Some remarks were made by the elder of the church, and he seemed to be trying to hurt someone.3BIO 364.2
I saw a sadness upon the countenance of the Stranger. It became apparent that there was not the love of Jesus in the hearts of those who claimed to believe the truth, and there was, as the sure result, an absence of the Spirit of Christ and a great want both in thoughts and feelings of love for God and for one another. The assembling together had not been refreshing to anyone.3BIO 364.3
As the meeting was about to close, the Stranger arose and with a voice that was full of sorrow and of tears He told them that they had great want in their own souls, and in their own experience, of the love of Jesus which was present in large measure in every heart where Christ took up His abode. Every heart renewed by the Spirit of God would not only love God but love his brother, and if that brother made mistakes, if he erred, he must be dealt with after the gospel plan.—Manuscript 32, 1887.3BIO 364.4
For ten or fifteen minutes the Stranger addressed those assembled, pointing to Christ as their example in conduct and labor and urging upon them the spirit of love and unity. He continued:3BIO 365.1
“That which distinguishes the character and conduct of Christians from all others is the principle of holy, Christlike love, which works in the heart with its purifying influence. The true Christian will work the works of Christ in giving expression in deeds of love one to another. With this living, abiding, working principle in life and in character, no one can resemble the world.”—Ibid.3BIO 365.2
The Speaker continued giving counsel to all, but especially the elders of the church. He urged, “‘Never draw apart, but press together, binding heart to heart.’” Having finished His remarks, He sat down. The sun, which had been hidden, beamed forth, shining full on the person of the Stranger. Turning to one another, the people in the audience exclaimed, “‘It is Jesus; It is Jesus!’”—Ibid.3BIO 365.3
“What a revelation!” Ellen White declared. “All knew in a moment who had been speaking to them.” And she described what she had seen in the vision of the results:3BIO 365.4
Then ...confessions of sin ...were made and confessions to one another. There was weeping, for the hearts seemed to be broken, and then there was rejoicing and the room was filled with the mellow light of heaven. The musical voice of Jesus said, “Peace be with you.” And His peace was.—Ibid.3BIO 365.5
Little wonder that the theme of Ellen White's Sabbath morning discourse was “The prayer of Christ, that His disciples may be one as He was one with the Father.”3BIO 365.6
Ellen White learned from Conradi, her translator, that those in her audience had never engaged in a social meeting. They had met together for prayer, but not to bear testimony. “We thought it a favorable time,” she wrote, “to break them in, and our meeting was good, lasting three hours from its commencement.” She was urged to speak again in the evening, and this she did, carrying the work forward, making special efforts to bring about harmony.3BIO 365.7
She spoke again Sunday afternoon, Conradi having occupied the morning hour. She reported that there was “a healing of their difficulties” (Ibid.).3BIO 366.1
She was interested to learn that the Sabbathkeeping families were largely engaged in the textile industry, weaving various types of cloth. This was true also of the believers in nearby Gladbach, whom she visited on Monday. She spoke to them in a room in the Doerner home. The next day, with Jennie Ings and Conradi, she was on the way to Hamburg en route to Denmark. She was weary and weak, not having been able to eat for almost a week. She recognized that without the special help of the Lord she could not engage in such travel and ministry.3BIO 366.2