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What Ellen White has Meant to Me

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    Chapter 27—Special Impressions Regarding Ellen G. White and Her Work

    I grew up in the atmosphere of Ellen White’s work. My father, since he was a young man, was associated with Ellen G. White, his mother. He assisted her in her travels, in the handling of her writings, and in preparing them for publication. Denominational interests were always of chief importance. As a boy of 12, at a time when the White Estate office staff was very small and my father was away on trips, I would conduct groups of visitors through the office and vault at Elmshaven, our home near St. Helena, California. But it was not until I had finished school, had completed a year of work in one of our institutions, and was called back to Elmshaven to assist my aging father, that I really became acquainted with Ellen White in a way to assess her work. For more than forty years I have been connected with that work, much of the time carrying responsibility as an officer of the White Estate Board, first as assistant secretary and then as secretary of the Ellen G. White Estate.WEWMM 205.1

    I first observed, and then came to sense personally, that those who were the closest to Ellen White in her work—those who were on the inside, if there is an inside—had the greatest confidence in her call and her mission. Close contacts with her in her travels and in her office, combined with their intimate contacts with the documents—all contributed to an unimpaired confidence that she was indeed in a special way led and instructed by God.WEWMM 205.2

    If there had been anything deceptive about her work—if anything was put on—this could not be kept from her closest associates who worked with her year after year, some of them for more than twenty-five years. I do not mean to suggest that those intimately connected with her work never passed through experiences that may have raised, for a time, some questions. But the weight of evidence was overwhelming; any such questions arose because of a partial knowledge of the facts, or a misunderstanding of the intent of an action or teaching. Biblical scholars as well as students of Ellen White understand well the concept that the Lord does not remove all opportunities for question or doubt. (See The Great Controversy, 57Testimonies for the Church 5:675, 676.) It is significant that somehow God does not remove every hook upon which a doubt may be hung. But when the thoughtful observer backs away from the scene and takes in the overall perspective, the evidence is so overwhelming that any question soon sinks into insignificance. He may have to wait some time for a fully satisfying answer.WEWMM 206.1

    Perhaps some such questions may originate in a faulty concept of inspiration; that is, do we demand more of the prophet than we are justified in demanding? The careful student will deny that there are any more occasions for such questions with Ellen White’s writings than with Bible writers.WEWMM 206.2

    Another impression that deepened in my mind and heart as I worked through the years with the Ellen G. White materials, especially in assisting scholars in their research in specialized fields, was the observation that in each field in which Ellen White wrote, she wrote as a specialist, as an authority, especially in such fields as church administration, doctrine, physiology, hygiene, education, and counsel to gospel workers.WEWMM 206.3

    What she wrote in a specialty field could well represent a major portion of a life dedication of one specializing in that field. And yet, uniformly, the writing in each field is weighted with such insights, clear concepts, sound presentation, that the researcher, when he lays his work aside, says in his heart, “Indeed, Ellen White wrote as a specialist in this field.”WEWMM 206.4

    Perhaps the strongest evidence that has come to me in my work with the E. G. White books, periodical articles, and manuscript files over a period of more than four decades is the unity of teaching in these writings. There may be some progression in a broadening concept of the subject, but no conflicts. Through the years, as vision was added to vision, enlightening amplifications appear, but no backtracking or contradictions. We may take what Ellen White wrote in the 1840’s and place it, with no difficulty, alongside what she wrote fifty and sixty years later on the same subject. One complements the other. Statements seem to dovetail in forming a larger composite.WEWMM 206.5

    Ellen White touched on many subjects, writing incessantly, traveled in many parts of the world, spoke to audiences large and small, served as a mother in the home with the care of her husband and children and guests. She could not remember all that she had written. In fact, at times as individuals came to her with questions, she did not call to mind precisely the light that God had given her. At such times she would say, “My mind is now on another subject; you will have to turn to my writings to find what is there presented.” But as she wrote under the influence of God the product of her pen presented no conflicts.WEWMM 207.1

    A copy editor at the Pacific Press, working on the three-volume Comprehensive Index to the Writings of Ellen G. White, commented to me one day while we were discussing certain phases of the work, “When we undertook to make a comprehensive index of all of Mrs. White’s published books, we took no small risk. For if there had been conflicts or differences in teaching at different times, these would have shown up in bold relief as entry was put beside entry in the Index. But the remarkable thing,” he said, “is this: We find no such conflicts.”WEWMM 207.2

    Consequently, after spending a lifetime with the work of Ellen G. White, I can say that to me the prime evidence that she was called to speak for God and that her work was guided by the Holy Spirit is the unity of teaching in all she wrote.WEWMM 207.3

    Another point that has impressed itself vividly on my mind and heart is that the principle of inspiration that emerges as we work with the E. G. White materials is sound and easily fathomed. It forms the basis for an answer to many questions that are raised about the way Ellen White did her work, and the teachings themselves. Over the years I have observed that a large part of what seems to be problems to individuals concerning the Spirit of Prophecy is the result of an artificial concept of inspiration, one that is unsound and indefensible.WEWMM 207.4

    We find the situation in Ellen White’s life and experience no different from that of the Bible prophets. Any position that establishes an inflexible rule concerning the manner in which God instructed His prophets lays the foundation for problems. We must take into account the way in which the light was given to Ellen White, and the way in which she set this light before the people. A simple understanding of how the process of inspiration operated in practical ways affords a sound basis for confidence, even in the face of certain problems.WEWMM 208.1

    Another observation I have made through the years is the very delicate and tender way in which Ellen White dealt with souls—souls trapped by the enemy, bewitched by false doctrine, intrigued into sin or led to partake of self-assertiveness or rebellion.WEWMM 208.2

    She spoke with tears in her eyes. She wrote with a pen dipped in love. She felt heart-rending remorse that one of God’s children should somehow be tripped up. Often, in order to carry its rightful impact, the message was couched in strong words of reproof and correction. But there was always a message of hope. To one young woman who had fallen deep into sin Ellen White, after portraying the villainy of her course and the inevitable destruction of character that would ensue, wrote, “I do not consider your case hopeless; if I did, my pen would not be tracing these lines.”—Testimonies for the Church 2:562.WEWMM 208.3

    She encouraged the young woman to look up to Jesus, to place her hand in His hand, to walk by His side, and to imitate His character. Victory, then, would be certain.WEWMM 208.4

    She wrote her messages with such feeling, such tenderness, such love, that the reader, blunted as his conscience may have been, could not help realizing that she was writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit, who draws all men to God.WEWMM 208.5

    Another observation is that Ellen White never used the gift to elevate herself. She sensed such a danger while yet in her teens, when the visions were first given to her. She prayed that the Lord would spare her from being elevated or proud, and the angel told her that her prayer was answered. This danger, if it threatened, would be curbed. She would be stricken with illness. Anyone familiar with her life story knows of the periods of suffering and illness that she endured—always trustful, always resigned. And she told Elder Loughborough that she suffered a “thorn in the flesh.” This thorn in the flesh was her heart, which gave her considerable discomfort at times.WEWMM 208.6

    She never allowed her gift to be a means of personal financial benefit. True, there were returns to her as an author for her literary work. But in this, taking the position that she was a steward of the Lord, she dedicated her financial resources to God’s work. She tells us that the Lord, observing that she and her husband could be entrusted with means, poured it in; they poured it out.WEWMM 209.1

    With more than human insight as to the opportunities of what might be accomplished in certain fields of labor if immediate action were taken, Ellen White not only invested liberally from personal funds, but borrowed to give. She counted on the assured income from her writings, which would eventually provide revenues to meet those obligations. Although she died with some of these obligations still outstanding, they were soon cared for as she had anticipated.WEWMM 209.2

    With the greatest care she employed the term prophet in connection with her work, because, “in these days, many who boldly claim that they are prophets are a reproach to the cause of Christ; and because my work includes much more than the word ‘prophet’ signifies.”—Selected Messages 1:32. In appropriate forthrightness and humility she declared, “I am instructed that I am the Lord’s messenger.... My Saviour declared me to be His messenger.”—Ibid.WEWMM 209.3

    One point wherein I never cease to marvel is the innate confidence Ellen White had in men and women with whom she was associated, though, to them, many times messages of the most severe reproof were given. It seems a natural proclivity of the human heart when knowledge of sin and wrong comes to ever remember that person in the light of his shortcomings. Not so Ellen White.WEWMM 209.4

    Her confidence in the basic sincerity of humanity never ceases to amaze me. Even though the experiences of some men and women, as they were opened up to her., revealed a vileness of heart, a waywardness that was unexplainable, a perversity of spirit, Ellen White had confidence in the basic sincerity of such individuals. She confidently believed that with the opening up to them of their hearts as God saw them, changes would be made, reformation would follow repentance, strength would follow weakness, and with a soul dedication, God would use them in His service.WEWMM 209.5

    Sometimes as I have read the personal testimonies sent to certain individuals I have wondered that Ellen White could ever again manifest confidence in those who had betrayed their trust. But she saw them repentant sinners, clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness, accepted by their Lord, possibly weakened in their experience by their waywardness yet children whom God could use.WEWMM 210.1

    My last observation is this: Sometimes a person approaching the time of retirement begins to experience a growing distrust of those who will be picking up the burdens and carrying them, a fearfulness that in the hands of others the cause of God will suffer greatly. Sometimes a bitterness develops toward administration. Not so Ellen White. As the years ripened her experience, she neared the close of her work in full confidence. She looked out over the expanding church with every belief that those entrusted with the work of God would lead it to victory. She saw the church as an organization “to increase in activity and to enlarge her bounds.” And she observed, “While there have been fierce contentions in the effort to maintain our distinctive character, yet we have as Bible Christians ever been on gaining ground.”—Selected Messages 2:396.WEWMM 210.2

    In her last message to the General Conference in session in 1913, she wrote of her understanding of the problems the cause would face. She appealed for a deep dedication of heart and life on the part of the workers, and expressed her confidence in these words: “When in the night season I am unable to sleep, I lift my heart in prayer to God, and He strengthens me and gives me the assurance that He is with His ministering servants in the home field and in distant lands. I am encouraged and blessed as I realize that the God of Israel is still guiding His people, and that He will continue to be with them, even to the end.”—Selected Messages 2:406.WEWMM 210.3

    Nor did this confidence at any time wane. Late the next year, only a few weeks before the fall in which she broke her hip, terminating her active work, C. C. Crisler, her chief secretary, in a letter to W. C. White, wrote:WEWMM 211.1

    “Even when exceedingly brain-weary, your mother seems to find great comfort in the promises of the Word, and often catches up a quotation and completes it when we begin quoting some familiar scripture.... I do not find her discouraged ... over the general outlook throughout the harvest field where her brethren are laboring. She seems to have strong faith in God’s power to overrule, and to bring to pass His eternal purpose through the efforts of those whom He has called to act a part in His great work. She rises above petty criticism, above even the past failures of those who have been reproved, and expresses the conviction, born, apparently, of an innate faith in the church of the living God, that her brethren will remain faithful to the cause they have espoused, and that the Lord will continue with them to the end, and grant them complete victory over every device of the enemy.WEWMM 211.2

    “Faith in God’s power to sustain her through the many weaknesses attendant on old age; faith in the precious promises of God’s word; faith in her brethren who bear the burden of the work; faith in the final triumph of the third angel’s message—this is the full faith your mother seems to enjoy every day and every hour. This is the faith that fills her heart with joy and peace, even when suffering great physical weakness, and unable to make progress in literary lines. A faith such as this would inspire any one who could witness it.”—Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 436, 437.WEWMM 211.3

    This is the Ellen G. White I see as from day to day I work intimately with the documents of the White Estate.WEWMM 211.4

    Takoma Park, Maryland
    January 1, 1973

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