Supernatural Phenomena

During Mrs. E. G. White's

Visions

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Arm Couldn't Be Moved by a Burly Stone Mason
by John Loughborough

In October of this year [1862], Moses Hull, who was considered a good
debater, held a discussion in Paw Paw, Mich. with a noted Spiritualist
named Jamieson. At that time Hull partially fell under the influence of
satanic delusion. On Nov. 5, several persons assembled at my home to
talk with him. At the close of the interview, we had a prayer season, and
while in a kneeling posture, Mrs. White was taken off in vision. Some of
the things she saw at this time are recorded in Testimonies, vol. 1, page
426.

My next-door neighbor, Mr. Diagneau, had never before seen her in

vision, and so used many tests to satisfy himself that she did not breathe,
that she knew nothing of what transpired around her, and that she was
controlled by a superior power.

Mr. Diagneau was a strong man, a stone mason. While in vision Mrs.
White would clasp her hands together upon her chest, and he could not
by the utmost exertion raise one finger sufficiently to get his thumb and
finger between her finger and hand. Almost the next moment she would John Loughborough 1832-1924
unclasp her hands and gracefully move her arm and hand toward the
subject she seemed to be viewing.

While her arm was extended, Elder White said, "Brother Diagneau, that looks like an easy motion, and as
though you, a strong man, could easily bend her arm. You can try it if you wish." He then placed his knee in
the bend of her elbow, and taking hold of the extended hand with both his hands, pulled backward with all
his might without bending it in the least. He commented, "I would as soon try to bend an iron bar as that
arm." Before he had closed the sentence, her arm passed gracefully back to her chest, but with a force that
slid his feet on the floor while trying to resist. He at once admitted that there was superhuman strength
connected with the vision, for he well knew Mrs. White to be a woman of delicate health.

(Miracles in My Life, pages 58, 59.)

No Breathing for 30 minutes

by John Loughborough
In the meeting that day I first saw Elder and Mrs. White. They had been away from Rochester for about three
months, traveling by horse and carriage visiting scattered Sabbath-keepers in New England.

This Sabbath meeting was held at 124 Mt. Hope Avenue. The room for religious purposes, place of
residence, and printing office of the Review and Herald were all in the same building, and Oswald Stowell
was the pressman. At this time he had been suffering very severe attacks of pleurisy and had been given up
by the physicians to die. Stowell was in the adjoining room and at the close of the Sabbath service sent in a
request for prayer.

After I was introduced to the Whites, they invited me to go in with them for a season of prayer while the rest
of the company remained in silent prayer in the meeting room. We bowed by the bedside, and while prayer
was being offered, Elder White anointed Brother Stowell in the name of the Lord and he was instantly
healed. When we arose from prayer, he was sitting up striking his sides which before had been so painful. "I
am fully healed and shall be able to work tomorrow," he said. The same blessing that healed him fell in still
greater measure upon Sister White. As Elder White turned to look he said, "Ellen is in vision. She does not
breathe while in this condition. If any of you desire to satisfy yourselves of this fact, you are at liberty to
examine her."

She was kneeling beside the bed with her eyes open in a far-away look as if gazing intently at some object,
not in a vacant stare but in a pleasant, intelligent expression. Her countenance appeared fresh and florid.
Though she looked upward, her head would turn from side to side as she seemed to be viewing different
objects. It was evident from many tests applied that she was entirely oblivious to anything transpiring around

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her. Her hands would move gracefully from time to time. She remained in vision half an hour or more. While
in that condition she spoke words and sometimes distinct sentences; yet by the closest scrutiny, no breath
could be discerned in her body. When she came out of vision her first three breaths were like that of a
newborn child's first breath.

(Miracles in My Life, pages 20, 21.)

A Spirit Medium Flees Away

by John Loughborough
Another comparison [between the Bible's manifestation of the gift of
prophecy and what was seen in Ellen White's ministry] will be a feature
connected with the vision of Daniel, recorded in chapter 10 of his
prophecy. We read: "I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were
with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that
they fled to hide themselves." Verse 7. These men in company with
Daniel were Chaldeans, and worshipers of idols. When the power of God
came upon Daniel, they were as anxious to get away from it as was
Adam, after his transgression, to hide from God's presence.

A parallel circumstance occurred in Parkville, Michigan, January 12,

1861. It was the day of the dedication of the Parkville meeting-house,
and a large audience had assembled. Elder White and his wife, Elder J.
H. Waggoner, and the writer were present. At the close of the service,
Mrs. White gave an exhortation, and the blessing of God rested upon her
John Loughborough 1832-1924
in a remarkable degree. After sitting down, she was taken off in vision,
and remained seated.

There was present a Doctor Brown, a hale, strong man physically, who was a Spiritualist medium. As was
afterward learned, he had said that Mrs. White's visions were the same as spirit mediumship, and that if she
had one where he was, he could bring her out of it in one minute. Elder White gave an invitation for all who
desired to do so to come forward and by examination satisfy themselves as to her condition while in vision.
Some one said, "Doctor, go ahead, and do as you said you would." Elder White then asked: "Is there a doctor
in the house? We always like to have physicians examine Mrs. White in vision."

The doctor started quite bravely; but before he got half way to Mrs. White, he turned deathly pale and shook
like a leaf. He was urged to go on and make the examination. As soon as this was completed, he made his
way rapidly to the door, and seized hold of the knob to go out.

Those standing by prevented him, saying: "Go back, and do what you said you would do. Bring that woman
out of the vision." Elder White, seeing the doctor trying to get out of the door, said, "Will the doctor please
report to the audience?" He replied, "Her heart and pulse are regular, but there is not a particle of breath in
her body." Then, in great agitation, he again grasped the knob of the door. The people near him said, "Doctor,
what is it?" He replied, "God only knows; let me out of this house." And out he went. It was evident that the
spirit that influenced him as a medium was no more at rest in the presence of the power that controlled Mrs.
White in vision than were the demoniacs who inquired of the Saviour, "Art Thou come hither to torment us
before the time?" And like the Chaldeans mentioned above, he fled to "hide" himself.

(The Prophetic Gift in the Gospel Church, pages 52-54, some paragraph breaks added.)

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 Young Horse Tamed: Angelic Influence Illustrated
by John Loughborough, as told by Joseph Bates and James White

In the Bible we have numerous accounts of the power and influence of

angels. Ferocious animals have been tamed by their presence, as in the case
of the hungry lions when Daniel was thrown into their midst. Those lions
were calmed by the presence of an angel, and became as peaceable as
domestic animals.

By way of comparison, we cite an instance where the influence of the angel

who is ever present when Mrs. White is in vision, calmed the temper of an
unruly, vicious horse. In the fall of 1846 Elder and Mrs. White wished to go
from Topsham to Poland, Maine, a distance of about thirty miles. Elder White
obtained the use of a partly-broken colt, and a two-seated market-wagon,
which was constructed without a dashboard. There was a step across the front
Joseph Bates—1792-1872 of the wagon, and an iron step from the shafts. It was necessary that extreme
care be taken in driving the colt; for if the lines or anything touched his
flanks, he would instantly kick furiously; and he had to be held in continually
with a "taut rein" to keep him from running. The owner of this colt lived in Poland. As Elder White had been
used to managing unbroken colts, he thought he would have no serious trouble with this one. Had he known,
however, that during its frantic demonstrations it had previously killed two men, one by crushing him against
the rocks by the roadside, he might have been less confident.

On this occasion there were four persons in the wagon, — Elder White
and his wife on the front seat, and Elder Bates and a Mr. Israel Damon on
the back seat. While Elder White was giving his utmost care to keep the
horse under control, Mrs. White was conversing about the truth, when
suddenly the power of God came down upon the company, and she was
taken off in vision while seated in the wagon. The moment she shouted,
"Glory!" as she went into vision, the colt stopped perfectly still, and
dropped his head, looking like a sleepy old horse. At the same time, Mrs.
White arose, and, with her eyes turned upward, stepped over the front of
the wagon, down onto the shafts, with her hand on the colt's haunches.
Elder Bates called out to Elder White, "The colt will kick that woman to
death." Elder White replied, "The Lord has the colt in charge now; I do
not wish to interfere." The colt stood as quietly as an old horse. By the
roadside was a bank about six feet high, and beyond, next the fence, was a
grassy place. Elder Bates said that the bank was steeper than the roof of a
house, and that they could not ascend it. Mrs. White, with her eyes still James Springer White 1821-1881
upward, not once looking down, went up the bank as readily as if she was
going up a flight of stairs. She walked back and forth on the grass-plot for
a few minutes, describing the beauties of the new earth. Then, with her eyes in the same posture, she came
down the bank, and walking up to the wagon, stepped upon the step of the shafts, again laying her hand on
the colt. She then stepped on the shafts, and into the wagon. The moment she sat down upon the seat, she
came out of the vision; and that instant the horse, without any indication from the driver, started up, ready to
go on his way, but completely tamed.

While Mrs. White was out of the wagon, Elder White thought he would test the horse, and see if he were
really tame. At first he just touched him with the whip; at other times the horse would have responded with a
kick, but he did not move. Elder White then struck him quite a blow, then harder, and still harder. The colt
paid no attention whatever to the blows, but seemed as harmless as the lions whose mouths the angel shut the
night Daniel spent in their den. "It was a solemn place," said Elder Bates, "and it was evident that the same
power that produced the vision, for the time being subdued the wild nature of the colt." They had no more
trouble with the colt in completing the journey. This I have stated as related to me by Elders Bates and
White. (The Prophetic Gift in the Gospel Church, pages pp. 54-56.)

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Did Not Breathe
"I Am Quite Certain That She Did Not Breathe"--M. G. Kellogg, M.D.

As to Mrs. White's condition while in vision a few statements from

eyewitnesses may be in place. The first is from M. G. Kellogg, M.D.,
who refers to the first vision given in Michigan, May 29, 1853, at a
meeting held in Tyrone, Livingston County. He says:

"Sister White was in vision about twenty minutes or half an hour. As

she went into vision every one present seemed to feel the power and
presence of God, and some of us did indeed feel the Spirit of God
resting upon us mightily. We were engaged in prayer and social
meeting Sabbath morning at about nine o'clock. Brother White, my
father, and Sister White had prayed, and I was praying at the time.
There had been no excitement, no demonstrations. We did plead
earnestly with God, however, that He would bless the meeting with
His presence, and that He would bless the work in Michigan. As Sister
White gave that triumphant shout of 'Glory! g-l-o-r-y! g-l-o-r-y!'
which you have heard her give so often as she goes into vision,
Brother White arose and informed the audience that his wife was in
vision. After stating the manner of her visions, and that she did not
breathe while in vision, he invited any one who wished to do so to
come forward and examine her. Dr. Drummond, a physician, who was
Dr. Merrit G. Kellogg
also a First-day Adventist preacher, who (before he saw her in vision) had
declared her visions to be of mesmeric origin, and that he could give her a
vision, stepped forward, and after a thorough examination, turned very pale, and remarked, 'She doesn't
breathe!'

"I am quite certain that she did not breathe at that time while in vision, nor in any of several others which she
has had when I was present. The coming out of the vision was as marked as her going into it. The first
indication we had that the vision was ended, was in her again beginning to breathe. She drew her first breath
deep, long, and full, in a manner showing that her lungs had been entirely empty of air. After drawing the
first breath, several minutes passed before she drew the second, which filled the the lungs precisely as did the
first; then a pause of two minutes, and a third inhalation, after which the breathing became natural." Signed,
"M. G. Kellogg, M.D., Battle Creek, Mich., Dec. 28, 1890."

F. C. Castle

We give the following statement from an individual who witnessed a medical examination of Mrs. White
while in vision at Stowe, Vermont, in the summer of 1853. He says:

"A physician was present, and made such examination of her as his wisdom and learning dictated, to find the
cause of the manifestation. A lighted candle was held close to her eyes, which were wide open; not a muscle
of the eye moved. He then examined her in regard to her pulse, and also in regard to her breathing, and there
was no respiration. The result was that he was satisfied that it could not be accounted for on natural or
scientific principles." Signed, "F. C. Castle."

D. H. Lamson

The following testimonials relate to an examination made while Mrs. White was in vision in a meeting held
in the home of Elder James White, on Monroe Street, Rochester, N.Y., June 26, 1854:

"I was then seventeen years old. It seems to me I can almost hear, those thrilling shouts of 'G-l-o-r-y!' which
she uttered. Then she sank back to the floor, not falling, but sinking gently, and was supported in the arms of
an attendant. Two physicians came in, an old man and a young man. Brother White was anxious that they
should examine Sister White closely, which they did. A looking-glass was brought, and one of them held it
over her mouth while she talked; but very soon they gave this up, and said, 'She doesn't breathe'. Then they
closely examined her sides, as she spoke, to find some evidence of deep breathing, but they did not find it. As

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they closed this part of the examination, she arose to her feet, still in vision, holding a Bible high up, turning
from passage to passage, quoting correctly, although the eyes were looking upward and away from the book.

"She had a view of the seven last plagues. Then she saw the triumph of the saints, and her shouts of triumph I
can seem to hear even now. To these facts I freely testify." Signed, "Elder D. H. Lamson, Hillsdale, Mich.,
Feb. 8, 1893."

Mrs. Drusilla Lamson

Another testimonial is given respecting the same medical examination from Mrs. Drusilla Lamson, widow of
Elder Lamson's cousin, and matron of Clifton Springs, N.Y., Sanitarium. Speaking of the meeting of June 26,
1854, she says:

"I remember the meeting when the trial was made, namely, to test what Brother White had frequently said,
that Sister White did not breathe while in vision, but I cannot recall the name of the doctor who was
present. . . . It must have been Doctor Fleming, as he was the doctor called sometimes for counsel. He is,
however, now dead. I can say this much, that the test was made and no sign of breath was visible on the
looking-glass." Signed, "Drusilla Lamson, Clifton Springs, N.Y., March 9, 1893."

David Seeley

"This is to certify that I have read the above testimonials of David Lamson and Mrs. Drusilla Lamson,
concerning the physician's statement when examining Mrs. E. G. White while she was in vision, June 26,
1854. I was present at that meeting, and witnessed the examination. I agree with what is stated by Brother
and Sister Lamson, and would say further that it was Doctor Fleming and another younger physician who
made the examination. After Mrs. White rose to her feet, as they have stated, quoting the text of Scripture,
Doctor Fleming called for a lighted candle. He held this candle as near her lips as possible without burning,
and in direct line with her breath in case she breathed. There was not the slightest flicker of the blaze. The
doctor then said, with emphasis, 'That settles it forever, there is no breath in her body' ". Signed, "David
Seeley, Fayette, Iowa, Aug. 29, 1897."

Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Fowler

The following statements relate to an examination made while Mrs. White was in vision in Waldron's Hall,
Hillsdale, Mich., in the month of February, 1857. Doctor Lord, a physician of Hillsdale of fifty years'
practice, made a most careful examination, concerning which I present the following testimonials:

"We were present when (in February, 1857) Sister E. G. White had a vision in Waldron's Hall, Hillsdale. Dr.
Lord made an examination, and said, 'Her heart beats, but there is no breath. There is life, but no action of
the lungs; I cannot account for this condition.' " Signed, "A. F. Fowler, Mrs. A. F. Fowler, Hillsdale, Mich.,
Jan. 1, 1891."

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