During the winter of 1849–1850, James and Ellen White held meetings with Adventists in Oswego, New York.

A young man named Hiram Patch and his girlfriend were attending these meetings. They were soon to be married. Both had decided to lay the right foundation for their new home by becoming Christians and joining a church. But, which church should they join?

While trying to decide, they were persuaded to attend some revival meetings being conducted by the county treasurer in one of the large Sunday-keeping churches. He seemed to have a great burden for the unconverted, and he earnestly prayed for sinners.

Hiram Patch and his fiancée were uncertain whether to join this big church where this treasurer preached or the little company of Sabbathkeepers meeting in a home. He went to both churches for a while.

During one meeting of these Sabbathkeepers, while Hiram was present, Ellen White was given a vision. Her attention was directed to Hosea 5:7: “They have dealt treacherously against the Lord.” She was told that these words applied to the people who were conducting the revival meetings in the Sunday-keeping church.

After the vision she said to Hiram Patch, “Wait a month, and you will know for yourself the character of these persons. The Lord will reveal to you which church you should join.” Hiram replied, “I will wait.”

Within two weeks the county treasurer became acutely ill while conducting a meeting. He was taken home and put to bed. The county sheriff and a constable were appointed to take over the affairs of the treasurer’s office during his absence.

While checking the account books, they found a shortage of $1,000. They did not want to believe that this man, who seemed so sincere and earnest in preaching at these revival meetings, could be guilty of stealing. He might have paid it out in some business transaction or deposited it in the bank and forgotten to enter the details in the book, they reasoned. So, they decided to go visit him and give him a chance to explain.

But they agreed to be cautious; if he had actually taken the money, he would surely try to hide the truth, and hide the money. It was arranged that one man would hide out and watch the back door of the house while the other would enter the front. So, the constable hid himself in a shed near the back door while the sheriff knocked on the front door. Almost immediately the constable saw a woman come out the back door with a sack in her hand. He watched her go quickly to a snowbank, dig a hole, deposit the sack, and cover it.

The sheriff chatted for a moment with the sick man, then told him of the perplexity at the office, suggesting that probably he could explain what happened to the money. The treasurer became excited, raised his hand to heaven, and said, “I call God to witness that I know nothing about the money.”

Just then his wife entered the bedroom. “What’s the matter? Why are you so excited?” she asked.

“They think we have their money.”

The wife also raised her hand and said, “God is my witness that we do not have the money, nor do we know anything about it.” As she finished speaking, the constable entered with the sack of money. Holding it out before them, he said, “Madam, what is this? I saw you rush from the house and deposit this in the snowbank, and here it is, the missing sack of money, all $1,000 of it.”

It did not take long for news to get around town, and the revival suddenly collapsed. The prediction made in the vision had come true. Hiram and his fiancée saw the truth about the character of the leader of the Sunday- keeping revival and joined the Sabbathkeeping company.

That same winter the Whites held meetings also in Camden. Before going there, Ellen was shown the Adventists

in that place. Among them she saw a woman who professed to be very holy, but who was a hypocrite, deceiving the church.

This woman taught that it was possible for a person to reach a state of perfection that would place them above the law of God. She herself professed to have reached that perfect state.

During one of the Camden meetings Sister White was again shown this woman and was told that she was a pretender who was not living right. After the vision, Ellen related what she had seen. With dignity the woman rose and said, “God knows my heart, and if you could see it, you would know that it is pure, and clean.” The meeting closed.

Soon afterward the woman became so ill that she thought she was dying. In great agitation she cried, “I must see Sister White; I have a confession to make to her. I told her I was a good woman, that I was pure. It is not so. I am a wicked woman. The man I am living with is not my husband. I left a good husband in England, and one little child, and ran away with this man. We were never married. I have been professing to be a doctor, and have been selling medicine that I swore cost me one dollar a bottle, but it cost me only twelve cents a bottle.”

No one in the company had known this woman before she joined the believers. No one could have told Sister White what kind of person she was. But God knew. Many times He sent warnings of this kind to protect His people from such pretenders and to show how much He hates sin and hypocrisy.

But was it only great sins which were rebuked? Does God overlook what we call “little sins”? Would God, the Creator of the universe, notice so small an act as taking a hairnet?

Let us read of one more experience from Sister White.

At one time several young ladies connected with the Healdsburg College were living with her family. Some were students, and some were teachers. One day Ellen was dressing in her room and missed her hairnet. It was a beautiful one, nicely woven, which she wore whenever she went out. She looked around her room, then searched the house, but could not find it.

When the family came together, she asked, “Has anyone seen my hairnet? I’m sure it was on my dresser last night, but I cannot find it now.” There was no response.

Soon after this she happened to be passing by one of the girls’ rooms on her way to another room, when she heard a voice say, “Lift the lid of that trunk.” Because it was not her nature to look into other people’s personal possessions, she kept on walking.

Again the voice said, “Lift the lid of that trunk.” The command was so insistent that she went back and lifted the lid. There on the top lay the missing hairnet.

Ellen closed the trunk and made no mention of what she had seen, but once again she asked the girls about the net. She knew now who had taken it, but she wanted to give the offender a chance to confess. No one answered.

While sitting before the fireplace the next day, Ellen had a very brief vision. There flashed before her eyes the picture of a young girl holding the net over a kerosene lamp and burning it.

Sister White knew now that it was useless for her to wait any longer for the girl to confess; so she called the girl to her and told her about the voice she had heard, and about finding the net in the trunk, and about the brief vision of her burning the net.

The young girl started to cry and tell whole story. “I don’t know why I took it,” she said. “I don’t know why I didn’t return it when you first asked about it. But after so much was said, I was ashamed to admit that I was the guilty one.”

How did this girl react to this experience? Did she say, “It’s no use for me to try to be a Christian; everyone will call me a thief; nobody will have confidence in me”?

No, indeed! She confessed. She accepted God’s promised forgiveness. Her failure had shown her that she could not, of herself, do right. She needed the Saviour’s help. Right there she gave herself fully to Jesus and made Him her personal Saviour. D

“‘A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.’ Proverbs 19:5. Men may think to hide their evil deeds from human eyes, but they cannot deceive God. “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.’ Hebrews 4:13.” –Prophets and Kings, p. 252

Today, we do not have Sister White, who will be given a vision when someone is dishonest. However, we do have to remember that every dishonest deed done, every lie spoken, every negative work spoken, is recorded by the recording angel, and if we do not confess our sins, we will one day have to meet them in the judgement. Only with the help of Jesus can you keep doing what is right and if you make a mistake along the way, confess immediately and ask the Lord to help you do better next time.