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Adventist Heritage James White Script by Richard Wright Adventist Heritage James White Script By Richard Wright Publisher, organizer, administrator, and ultimate leader, James White is one of the co-founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He would establish branches of the denominational work that would be used as the model for church organization. James Springer White was born to John and Betsy White in Palmyra, Maine in 1821. His ancestors had come to America on the Mayflower. He was the fifth of nine children. At the age of 15, he joined a church, called the Christian Connection. Due to poor eyesight, James was unable to attend school. However, his eyesight eventually improved, and when he was 19, he studied intensely for 12 weeks and earned a certificate to teach. He spent the next two years as a teacher. After hearing William Miller preach in 1842, James White accepted the Advent message and devoted his full time to preaching the message of the soon return of Jesus Christ. During the next two years, at least 1000 people were led to Christ, as a result of his preaching. After the Great Disappointment in 1844, James began to study the Bible, preach, and generally encourage his fellow Adventists. During this time, he became acquainted with Ellen Harmon, who had already become identified as having the gift of prophecy. James and Ellen were married in August, 1846. However, they would not have their own home until 1852. Between 1848 and 1852, James and Ellen joined Joseph Bates and other Adventists in a series of Sabbath Conferences. It was during these conferences that these three people led-out in the development of the doctrines of the church. During this time, James and Ellen White grew as a family, eventually having four sons. Unfortunately, only two of these boys would survive as adults, Edson and William. In November, 1848, Ellen White had a vision, showing a small point of light that eventually circled the world. She urged her husband to begin a small publication. By the following July, James published the first issue of Present Truth. The title of the magazine was soon changed to The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald – what today is known as the Adventist Review. This would be a very small beginning to a major publishing enterprise. In 1852, White also began to publish the Youth’s Instructor. In November, 1855, The White family moved to Battle Creek, Michigan. James soon established the denomination’s first publishing company. By the time of his death, the Review and Herald Publishing Company would be the largest and most successful in the state. By the late 1850s, James White began to realize the need for formal church organization. For one thing, he was faced with the full financial responsibility of the publishing company. He began to promote church organization in his writings. Finally, by May, 1863, delegates from various states met in Battle Creek and voted to form the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The denomination was born. The delegates voted to ask White to be the first General Conference president. However, James wanted to avoid any hint of a conflict of interest, so he declined the offer. John Byington was elected as president. However, James White would later serve several terms as GC president. By this time, James White was overworked, stressed, and out of shape. His health began to deteriorate. In 1865, Ellen had a vision promoting health reform. James assisted her in publishing the book, Health, or How to Live. Within a few months, James suffered a severe stroke, which caused paralysis. The Whites moved temporarily to northern Michigan, where Ellen worked with her husband on a regimen of proper diet, exercise, and rest. James eventually recovered from the stroke. He once again assumed the leadership of the church. James realized a need for properly trained workers and leaders in the church. As a result of his urging, Battle Creek College was established in 1874. This was the beginning what would become the world’s largest Protestant educational system. James was well aware of the inadequate state of medicine at that time. He and Ellen therefore succeeded in getting the denomination to establish its first medical institution, the Western Health Reform Institute. They urged and assisted a young friend named John Harvey Kellogg in obtaining his medical degree. Kellogg would eventually return to Battle Creek and take over the Institute. He would then change its name to the Battle Creek Sanitarium. Beginning in 1872, James and Ellen began to devote time working in the western states, especially California. In 1874, James established the Pacific Press Publishing Association, and began to publish the Signs of the Times. The Pacific Press, under White’s leadership, would soon become the most successful publishing business in the western states. By 1880, the Whites were back in Battle Creek. James was now approaching the age of 60, and his health was once again beginning to deteriorate. By the summer of 1881, James was seriously ill, and he was taken to the Sanitarium, where he died on August 4. A funeral service was held in the Battle Creek Tabernacle on August 14, and James White was buried in the Oak Hill Cemetary. Former U.S. Congressman, George Willard, paid this fitting tribute to James White: “He had the rare power of social organization, and laid the foundation and marked the design, for the erection of a social and religious structure for others to develop and further complete.” .
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