A Beautiful Dream

Download story information in Acrobat Reader (PDF)

When Ellen G. White was a little girl, her name was Ellen Harmon. She did not always know Jesus as her Savior, but through the preaching of William Miller, the sermons at a camp meeting, and the help of other godly people, she began to understand that Jesus loved her and had died to save her.  She gave her heart to Him, and she was baptized into the Methodist church.  She was beginning a new life that would be a life of service for her Savior.

Although Ellen became a member of the church and attended meetings regularly, including the prayer meeting, she had never prayed aloud in public.  Now it became impressed upon her mind that she should seek God in prayer by praying out loud in the small prayer meetings.  She was very timid and felt that she could not do this, but whenever she knelt alone to pray, this duty came to her mind.

Then one night she had a dream.  She dreamed that she was sitting, sadly thinking, with her face in her hands.  “If Jesus were here on earth,” she thought to herself, “I would go Him, throw myself at His feet, and tell Him all my sufferings.  He would not turn away from me; He would have mercy on me, and I would love and serve Him always.”

While she was thinking, the door opened, and a beautiful person came in.  He looked at her kindly and said, “Do you want to see Jesus?  He is here, and you can see Him if you desire.  Take everything you possess, and follow me.”

She gathered up her little possessions and joyfully followed her guide.  He led her to a steep, narrow stairway.  As they began to climb the stairs, he warned her to keep looking upward, so that she would not become dizzy and fall.  She saw others climbing the stairs who looked down and fell before they reached the top.

Finally Ellen and her guide reached the last step.  In front of them was a closed door.  Her guide told her to leave everything she was carrying.  She cheerfully laid her possessions down.

Then he opened the door and told her to go in.  In a moment she stood before Jesus.  As He looked at her, she knew that He was acquainted with her and with all her thoughts.

She tried to shield herself from His gaze, but He came near and laid His hand on her head.  “Fear not,” He said, as He smiled at her.  The sound of His sweet voice filled her heart with happiness.  She was overcome with joy and sank to the floor at His feet.

Ellen felt, in her dream, that she had reached the peace of heaven.  When she finally got up, the loving eyes of Jesus were on her, and His beautiful smile filled her heart with gladness.  She looked at Him with holy reverence and love.

Her guide opened the door and they went out.  He told her to pick up again the possessions she had left there.  Then he handed her a green cord tightly coiled.  He told her to place it next to her heart, and when she wanted to see Jesus to take the cord out and stretch it as far as she could.  “Do not let it remain coiled very long at a time,” the angel said, “or it will become knotted and hard to straighten.”

Ellen placed the cord next to her heart and joyfully began her journey back down the narrow stairs.  As she went she praised the Lord and told all the people she met where they could find Jesus.

When Ellen woke up she was happy.  This dream gave her hope that she could go to God in prayer whenever she desired.  To her, the green cord represented faith in God, and she understood how simple it was to trust in Him.  She was sure now, that Jesus loved her.

--Adapted from Ruth Wheeler, His Messenger, revised edition (Nampa, Id.: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2001), pp. 13-19.