LXI

THE FUNERAL SERVICES AT BATTLE CREEK

On Sabbath day, July 24, 1915, Mrs. White was laid to rest by the side of her husband, the late Elder James White, in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek, Mich., there to await the summons of the Life-giver.

IN THE TABERNACLE

Many friends had come in from the cities and towns near by, to unite with the members of the Battle Creek church and with the citizens there in paying a tribute of respect and love to the memory of the one who had been called to rest. A considerable number, also, had come in from adjoining states, including the presidents and other executive officers of local conferences, of the Lake Union Conference, of the North American Division Conference, and of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

The setting for the funeral was fitting and impressive. The service was held in the great Tabernacle, to the building of which a whole people contributed nearly two score of years before, and in which Mrs. White had many times spoken the words of life. The floral tributes were such as to form a garden-like bower of beauty. The friends at the Battle Creek Sanitarium had sent a wealth of potted palms, ferns, lilies, and marguerites, almost covering the rostrum, and extending to left and right up the gallery stairs. Many floral pieces had been contributed, symbolical of the occasion and of the hope beyond. The church at Battle Creek presented a broken wheel, the Review and Herald Publishing Association a broken column, the General Conference and the North American Di

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vision Conference a cross and a crown, and the Pacific Press Publishing Association an open Bible, on the pages of which stood forth the Saviour's promise, 'Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me." For two hours preceding the service the body lay in state in front of the rostrum. Guards of honor 1 stood by, while thousands passed to look upon the aged and worn servant of Jesus, sleeping her last sleep. In that long procession of humanity were men and women bowed down with the weight of years, who in their prime had often sat under the ministry of her whose loss from the ranks of workers in the cause of God they now mourned.. Tears coursed down the cheeks of many a noble pioneer who for upwards of half a century had kept the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and who is still rejoicing in the hope of the final reward that awaits the faithful.

When the hour appointed for the service came, the Tabernacle, which seats nearly 3,500, was filled, with many standing; and it is estimated that 1,000 or more who could not enter turned away.

Among the members of Mrs. White's family present were both of her surviving sons - Elder James Edson White, of Marshall, Mich., and Elder W. C. White, of St. Helena, Cal.; Miss Sara McEnterfer, of St. Helena, Cal.; Mrs. Addie Walling MacPherson, a niece living in Suffern, N. Y.; Mrs. L. M. Hall, at one time a member of Mrs. White's household; and several others who in former years had been associated more or less closely with the deceased. Many hearts went out in deep

1 There were six guards of honor, two serving at a time, Elders C. S. Longacre, of Washington, D. C.; M. L. Andreasen, of Hutchinson, Minn.; W. A. Westworth, of Chicago, Ill.; E. A. Bristol, of Indianapolis, Ind.; L. H. Christian, of Chicago, Ill.; C. F. McVagh, of Grand Rapids, Mich.

sympathy for Mrs. Emma White, wife of Elder J. E. White, absent because of a rheumatic affliction which for the past two years has rendered her unable to leave home.

The service was impressive throughout. Singers," pallbearers, and ministers ascended to the rostrum, kneeling for a few moments in silent prayer. the choir sang :

"Asleep in Jesus! Blessed sleep,

From which none ever wake to weep!
A calm and undisturbed repose,
Unbroken by the last of foes!

"Asleep in Jesus! Soon to rise,

Then

When the last trump shall rend the skies!
Then burst the fetters of the tomb,
And wake in full, immortal bloom!''

SCRIPTURE READING

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"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, Elder F. M. Wilcox, of Washington, D. C. "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God

2 The singers were Mrs. H. M. Dunlap, Miss Florence Howell, Mrs. George R. Israel, Miss Nenna Dunlap, Prof. Frederick Griggs, Mr. M. H. Minier, Dr. M. A. Farnsworth, and Mr. Frank W. Hubbard.

3 The pallbearers were Elders I. H. Evans, president of the North American Division Conference; W. T. Knox, treasurer of the General Conference; G. B. Thompson, secretary of the North American Division Conference; Prof. Frederick Griggs, educational secretary of the General Conference; F. M. Wilcox, editor of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald; and G. E. Langdon, pastor of the Battle Creek Tabernacle church.

4 The ministers were Elders A. G. Daniells, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (in charge of the service); S. N. Haskell, of South Lancaster, Mass.; M. C. Wilcox, of Mountain View, Cal.; C. B. Stephenson, of Atlanta, Ga.; William Covert, of Aurora, Ill.; L. H. Christian, of Chicago, Ill. Elder George I. Butler, of Bowling Green, Fla., long a close associate of Elder and Mrs. James White in administrative affairs, had been invited by the General Conference to assist in the service, but was unable to be present.

Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." The passages read from the visions of John on the isle of Patmos were Rev. 21: 1-7; 22:1-5; and with these were linked the precious promises recorded in the thirty-fifth chapter of Isaiah's prophecy. "The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

THE PRAYER

Elder M. C. Wilcox, of Mountain View, Cal., petitioned the throne of grace:

"Gracious God, our heavenly Father, we are glad that there is no trial of earth so great but that Thou hast comfort and strength for Thy children. We are glad that we can come to Thee this morning and know that Thou art our Father; glad for the great love wherewith Thou dost love us even in our sinful, mortal condition, not because we are lovable, but because Thou art love.

"We thank Thee for the gift of Thine only-begotten Son; that He died in our behalf, and that in Him Thou canst take such unworthy mortals as we are, and fit them for the glorious inheritance of which we have been hearing.

"We thank Thee that Thy power is so great that Thou canst subdue and conquer all in us that is unlovely; that Thou canst take the poor, base alloys of our human nature, and make them the genuine gold of God.

"We thank Thee for all the precious promises and assurances of Thy word; for all its faithful warnings; for all its holy precepts; for the blessed hope of our Lord's coming which lies just before us, when He shall take this earth and change it by His own power for an everlasting home for all His children.

"We thank Thee, our Father, for what Thou hast done for us in this last great gospel movement. We thank Thee for the work Thou hast wrought through Thy handmaid, our sister, who lies before us this morning; for all the counsel and instruction Thou hast given by her; for all the work Thou hast wrought through her; for the institutions she has helped to establish; for the mighty message she has borne.

"And while our hearts are inexpressibly sad this morning, our Father, still we praise Thee for what Thou hast done in taking poor, feeble humanity and making such an instrument for the building up of Thy work.

"Come near to the hearts that are torn this morning. Pour into them the balm of Thy Spirit, of Thy healing goodness. Fill all the vacancies that are made by death, with Thine own precious presence. Help them that mourn, to look beyond this time to the glorious morning which lies just before us, when the Lord. Jesus Christ shall heal every wound that sin has made, shall comfort every heart that trusts in Him, and shall make all things eternally new.

"We pray that Thou wouldst help us to learn the lesson of the brevity of human life; of the necessity of giving ourselves to Thee; of the great encouragement Thou dost give us, in this life that has just closed, as to what Thou wilt do for those who lend themselves to Thy service.