Meanwhile, White was also ministering to the husband’s


broken heart. In her August 1888 letter to Walter, she explained that the best thing he could do was to leave Laura to her own decision. She told Walter to take rest in Jesus, to continue to work as a canvasser, and to not become self-centered from the hurt caused by the failed marriage (Letter 40, 1888).


Walter’s Second Marriage Seven years later, White wrote to Walter’s new mother-in-law, who was in a panic over her daughter’s choice of a husband. Walter Harper, who by this time was age 40 or 41, married 25-year-old Florence Ketring in 1895. White hoped to convince Florence’s mother that Walter had “a


right to the affection of a woman” (Letter 50, 1895). In her letter, she stated that if his potential wife understood Walter’s condition and he was not at fault for his past divorce, the man should be able to remarry. White encouraged Sister Ketring that this new marriage had the possibility of bringing both Florence and Walter closer to Christ. In White’s earlier letter to a Brother and Sister Knight, she


had described what became of many families during that time: while a husband tried to satisfy his sexual drive, the wife was overburdened with children and died young, or if she stayed alive, she was so exhausted by her overgrown family that she was not able to provide the necessary love and support to her children (Letter 6, 1888). According to White, this unusual situation of Walter’s


castration afforded Florence the joy of working for the Lord by either accompanying her husband in his ministry or else staying at home, “as if she was unmarried” (Letter 50, 1895). Walter’s inability to have children, said White, released Florence from what could have been a serious burden and allowed her to freely pursue ministry. While White wrote hopefully about the couple’s marriage, they


were clearly experiencing familial issues and financial tensions. In White’s letter to Sister Ketring, she optimistically described his issues with stewardship—and his failure to provide money for his new wife—as carefulness. Ellen White knew something of Walter’s financial situation;


in fact, she had asked him for donations for different Adventist projects, particularly the campaign to fund African-American pastors in the South, and he had gladly acceded to her requests. However, White also knew that Harper could impulsively


fluctuate between being lavish and severely meager with the money God had given him. Although she briefly mentioned this issue to Sister Ketring, the years aſterward proved Walter to be a harsh husband.


Letters to Walter By 1903, the Harper marital problems led White to write a harsh letter to Walter. Aſter reading it a second time, she then wrote him a soſter letter, which she sent (Letter 174, 1903). At the time, Walter had taken Florence far from her family.


While his new mother-in-law may have been rather too tightly bound to her daughter, White admonished Walter to consider


Stupidity convinced a woman to allow one church’s opinion of her spouse to control her view of him. Pride drove a man to become so controlling of his spouse that she could not do anything without his consent.


his wife’s duty to care for her mother. She also urged Walter to provide a good home for Florence, stressing that while Walter was an amazing colporteur for the Adventist movement, he had forgotten that his primary responsibility was to his wife. He had leſt her in unsafe areas, far from family, and without a space to call her own. As money matters and the animosity between family members


continued to create significant tension for the couple over the next four years, White finally concluded that Walter himself was the problem, treating his wife as “a child,” “a pupil,” and even “a


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