“I Shall Meet You in Heaven”

James and Ellen White planned to visit Adventist believers in the states of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York.

So, they left their three boys —Henry, Edson, and Willie— with the Howland family in Topsham, Maine. But while James and Ellen were traveling, James had a dream that not everything was well with their sons.

Returning to Topsham, the parents found that their oldest son, Henry, who was sixteen, had a severe cold. Four days after their arrival, the cold turned into pneumonia, and his condition grew worse. Realizing that he might not live much longer, Henry had some very touching conversations with his parents and two brothers.

As his mother attended him, he asked her, “Promise me, mother, that if I die, I may be taken to Battle Creek, and laid by the side of my little brother, John Herbert [who had died at three months of age], that we may come up together in the morning of the resurrection.”19 Two days before Henry died, he asked for his brothers to come to his side. To Edson, he said, “Eddie, I shall not be a brother to you anymore; never give up trying to do right; a death-bed is a poor place for repentance.” And to Willie, he added, “Willie, be a good boy, obey your parents, and meet me in heaven. Don’t mourn after I am dead.” Henry then called his father and said, “Father, you are losing your son. You will miss me, but don’t mourn. It is better for me. I shall escape being drafted [during the American Civil War], and shall not witness the seven last plagues. To die so happy is a privilege.” On December 8, 1863, the dying son told his mother, “Mother, I shall meet you in heaven in the morning of the resurrection, for I know you will be there.” Then he “beckoned to his brothers, parents, and friends, and gave them all a parting kiss, after which he pointed upward and whispered, ‘heaven is sweet.’” He died at 1:30 P.M.

Two days earlier, he had dictated a special message to the youth, in which he stated, “I would appeal to all my young friends, not to let the pleasures or accomplishments of the world eclipse the loveliness of the saviour... Spend the best of your days in serving the Lord. Farewell.” Let us all reflect on that message!