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Called By God
Current events provided evangelists with powerful illustrations as they preached on
religious intolerance and persecution predicted for earth’s end time. Two Seventh-day
Adventists in Maryland were imprisoned about this time for working in the cornfield on
Sunday. (From A. E. Place, “In Jail with My Brethren,” Indicator. December 14, 1898).
Lulu Wightman no doubt called attention, as did her fellow evangelists, to the Sunday
laws being enforced or considered around the nation.
During the conference session of 1898, the Wallace Company that had been established and nurtured by the Wightmans was recognized officially as a church with 14
members. During the business proceedings Lulu Wightman was again designated a
licensed minister.
At Silver Creek the work flourished under Lulu Wightman’s direction. Two men and
two women began observing the seventh-day Sabbath while others seriously considered
how they should respond to the new truths. (Lulu Wightman, “Silver Creek,” Indicator
November 16, 1898. See appendix A, 3.5.)
At this point several ministers of other denominations took on the combative mood
characteristic of the period. On Sunday evening one of the ministers preached against
the Sabbath at a combined meeting of the local churches in the community’s largest
sanctuary. Lulu Wightman attended the meeting. She was permitted to announce—also
in the mode of that era—that she would review the discourse the following evening.
The hall the Adventists secured was crowded before the meeting began, and many
were turned away. Once again the words of Bible truth as presented by Mrs. Wightman
made a deep impression on the listeners. Afterward it was possible for her to resume her
series, although she knew that preaching on “The State of the Dead” would draw further
vigorous opposition. In the midst of this theological give-and-take, people accepted the
Biblical teachings of the Adventists and changed their lifestyles accordingly. It was the
consensus that Adventist Biblical teachings had gained another decisive victory.
The Wightmans moved to Geneva, a city of 12,000 in which Seventh-day Adventists
had previously made little impact. They began making careful preparation for the anticipated effort by means of extensive newspaper and handbill advertising, John’s forte.
One of the wealthiest and most influential merchants in Geneva provided space in a large
store building in the heart of the city for two weeks free, and after that for a nominal rent.
Gas lights and steam heat in the auditorium made listeners comfortable. The seating
capacity was 90. The Wightmans were grateful to the businessman and to God, for they
found that the rent for other store buildings in the city ran from 75 to 100 dollars per
month. The Geneva Opera House manager provided an organ for the series.
Nightly meetings began March 17, 1899. Attendance was not large at first but gradually increased. The Wightmans found rooms on the ground floor of a centrally located
apartment house, a suitable place to receive interested people. Brother Erb, a canvasser,
helped with the visitation in the mornings and sold from four to eight dollars worth of
books daily in the afternoons. Lulu Wightman and her assistants were joyful to be
sowing the seeds of salvation, trusting God to bring an appropriate harvest.

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