Chapter Seven—Visions on Healthful Living-Continued

So much for a general statement of Mrs. White’s relation to the subject of health. And even a general statement is impressive. We think it becomes more so as we focus on certain specific declarations that she made through the long years. Let us look at a few of these.WBEGW 46.1

She had hardly begun writing on the theme of health when she declared that one’s diet would be much better if it was free from “grease of all kinds” (Testimonies for the Church 2:45). That was in 1868. The years that followed saw her making similar statements. But did medical literature in the 1860’s or for many decades afterwards point a condemnatory finger at grease or greasy foods? No. Why should they? They had no scientific evidence to warrant their believing that grease or greasy foods might prove damaging to health. And did not grease give an added quality and tang to many foods? Indeed, it is only in the very recent past that the evidence has begun to pour in that fats, and very particularly animal fats, are at least in part the cause of certain heart and blood-vessel diseases, particularly coronary heart attack. Now when Mrs. White, in 1868, spoke against “grease” her readers would naturally understand that she was speaking against animal fats. This early statement was to be followed increasingly over the years with appeals to refrain, whenever possible, from all flesh foods.WBEGW 46.2

As was true of some of the Bible writers, she spoke out without having detailed knowledge herself of just why she thus spoke. God does not always see fit to reveal to His inspired writers all the reasons why He calls upon them to speak for or against something. Mrs. White did not live to see the day of the confirmation of what she wrote on fats, but we see it; and that confirmation ought to have some bearing on the conclusion we reach as to whether Mrs. White was inspired.WBEGW 47.1