Ellen G. White did make statements indicating that there is a great work to be done in Texas. One of the clearest and most direct references is found in her published letters and manuscripts. Here is the key reference:
“There is a great work to be done in Texas.”
— Letter 18a, 1897, par. 3
This letter was written while she was in Australia, addressed to church leaders, encouraging missionary outreach and gospel work in the southern states of the United States, particularly Texas, where the field was still largely neglected at the time.
In her writings and through the testimonies, Ellen White emphasized the need to carry the Three Angels’ Messages to all places, including the American South and Southwest, which were, in her time, underdeveloped in terms of Adventist outreach.
Victor T. Houteff, the founder of the Shepherd’s Rod movement, later echoed and expanded on this point, claiming that Texas would play a central role in the final gospel work and the spiritual revival and reformation among God’s people. This is why Mount Carmel Center, the headquarters of the Shepherd’s Rod movement, was established in Waco, Texas, in the 1930s.
Statement by EGW: "There is a great work to be done in Texas." (Letter 18a, 1897)
Context: Appeal for missionary and evangelistic work in under-reached regions of the United States.
Prophetic Relevance: Later used by reform and revival movements (e.g., Shepherd’s Rod) to support the idea that Texas would be a significant center for God's final work.
Yes, the Scriptures, the Spirit of Prophecy (SOP), and the Shepherd’s Rod message all affirm that there is indeed a blessing "in the midst of the land", particularly in a prophetic and spiritual sense. This phrase is found in the book of Isaiah, and its meaning is deepened when viewed through the lens of the Shepherd’s Rod message, which emphasizes the purification, sealing, and gathering of the remnant in the last days.
"But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof."
(Isaiah 6:13, KJV)
*“Nguni’t mag-iiwan pa rin ng ikasampung bahagi roon, at yao'y mababalik at masusupok: kung paanong ang ensina at ang encina, bagaman nangabuwal, ay may pinakapuno, gayon ang banal na binhi ang siyang magiging puno niyaon.”
(Isaias 6:13, Tagalog)
"...The holy seed shall be the stump in the land"
or
"...the holy offspring is the blessing in the midst of the land"
(Paraphrased concept in various translations)
While Ellen White does not use the exact phrase “blessing in the midst of the land,” she often refers to a purified, faithful remnant that remains after a time of judgment or shaking—a holy seed preserved by God.
"Not one in twenty whose names are registered upon the church books are prepared to close their earthly history... A crisis is right upon us."
— Christian Service, p. 41
"In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged... The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view."
— 5T 80.1
In this context, the remnant that survives the shaking and judgment is the blessing in the midst of the land—those who remain faithful and sealed.
Victor Houteff directly connects Isaiah 6:13 with the purified church (Judah) and emphasizes that the “holy seed” represents the faithful remnant that will be preserved in the land after the purification.
"This verse [Isaiah 6:13] contains the entire theme of the book of Isaiah. It shows the purging out of the sinners in the church and the preservation of the righteous—‘the holy seed’—who are to be left in the land and become the foundation of the new kingdom."
— Tract No. 4, p. 49
“...The blessing in the midst of the land is the righteous remnant, the purified church (144,000 firstfruits) who are left after the judgment of the living begins at the house of God (Ezekiel 9).”
— 1SR 52–55
Houteff taught that Mount Zion, or the purified church (Judah), would be restored in the land (spiritual or literal) and that the remnant—the holy seed—is God's blessing that remains after apostasy is removed.
Source
Phrase / Concept
Meaning
Isaiah 6:13
“Holy seed” / “Substance in the land”
Refers to the faithful remnant, preserved after judgment.
Spirit of Prophecy (EGW)
“Faithful servants,” “Purified people,” “Remnant”
A few faithful will remain and do God’s final work—a spiritual blessing in a shaken church.
Shepherd’s Rod (VTH)
“Holy seed” is the 144,000, purified and sealed
A blessing in the midst of the land who carry out the Loud Cry after the church is cleansed.
What's or Where's the center of the earth?
Here is a comprehensive draft explanation—biblically, historically, and prophetically—on why Jerusalem is considered the “navel (center) of the earth”, and how it connects to the final gathering of God's people, supported by the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy (EGW), and the Shepherd’s Rod (V.T. Houteff).
The Bible explicitly refers to Jerusalem (symbolically or geographically) as “the navel of the earth”:
“Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.”
— Ezekiel 5:5, KJV
“...which is in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.”
— Ezekiel 38:12, NASB
“...Jerusalem is the center of the earth.”
— Interpreted from Ezekiel 38:12 and ancient geography.
The Hebrew word “ṭabbur” (טַבּוּר) in Ezekiel 38:12 is translated as “navel”, implying the center of life and spiritual focus.
Ancient Jewish thought viewed Jerusalem as the “navel of the earth”, the point from which God created the world (Midrash Tanchuma, Kedoshim 10).
The Holy of Holies in the temple was considered the axis mundi—the spiritual center connecting heaven and earth.
The Dome of the Rock today covers what is believed to be the foundation stone (Even haShetiyah), viewed in Jewish tradition as the center of creation.
While Ellen White does not use the phrase “navel of the earth,” she gives prophetic and redemptive emphasis to Jerusalem as the central place in God's plan, particularly in prophecy and final events.
“Jerusalem is a representation of what the church will be if it refuses to walk in the light God has given... She has departed from God.”
— Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 67
“The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy... The same masterful mind that plotted against the faithful in ages past is still seeking to rid the earth of those who fear God.”
— Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 231
"The Lord has a people on the earth who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth... and they are to give the last warning message to a fallen world.”
— 7T 182
Though not geographically explicit, EGW shows that God has a place of gathering, purification, and final sealing for His remnant—a concept expanded more clearly in Shepherd's Rod teaching.
Victor T. Houteff, the founder of the Shepherd's Rod message, directly teaches that Jerusalem (or antitypical Judah) is the location where God’s purified church will be gathered in the last days before the Loud Cry.
“Judah, the antitypical headquarters of the church today, is to be made holy, and not until then will the gospel work be finished.”
— 1TG 22:30
“The kingdom of Judah in the promised land is to be re-established by the 144,000—the first fruits of the harvest.”
— 2TG 7:11
“As the type [literal Jerusalem] had a literal kingdom, so must the antitype [spiritual Jerusalem] have a literal kingdom here on earth before the second coming of Christ.”
— Tract No. 8, p. 71
“Where is the place? Inspiration answers: ‘in the midst of the land’ (Isa. 6:13)—Jerusalem.”
— 1SR 173
For V.T. Houteff, Jerusalem is not only the historical center but the prophesied site of the re-gathering of the purified church—a spiritual headquarters from which the 144,000 will proclaim the Loud Cry message.
Source
Support for Jerusalem as the Center
Bible (Ezekiel 5:5; 38:12)
Set in the midst (navel) of the earth
Jewish tradition
Center of creation and divine presence
EGW (SOP)
Spiritual capital of God's people, a symbol of purity or apostasy
Shepherd’s Rod (VTH)
Literal kingdom headquarters of the purified church (144,000) in the last days