Chapter 14—Read It Like It Is

That deepening, troubled sensation that had been disturbing my study between eight and twelve every morning for some weeks was present as usual. Heretofore concentration on sermon preparation had made it possible to ignore the uneasiness, but on this day I pushed my chair back from the desk, looked unseeingly at the wall, and candidly asked myself, “What’s the problem?” The question required a review of the months that had passed since I had been appointed to this, my first, pastorate.WEWMM 113.1

No major church complications had arisen. The baptismal class was making progress. Goals were being reached. The Ingathering campaign had been short and successful. Lay leaders in the church were bearing their responsibilities. Fraternal harmony prevailed among the members. Could it be that the recurrence of disquietude during the hours of sermon preparation indicated something wrong with my preaching?WEWMM 113.2

My sermons usually consisted of scriptural exposition backed by at least twenty hours of preparation. They had not been diluted with excessive erudition, fractured by funny stories, or even encumbered with long quotations from ... The thought felt like a slap on a boil—I was ignoring the writings of Ellen White! Not for a moment was I opposing them, to be sure. I even quoted statements occasionally for emphasis. However, studying the “red books” for the spiritual values they might contribute didn’t seem important. After all, wasn’t I a Protestant?WEWMM 113.3

The options seemed obvious—either I would come to terms with Ellen White, or I must enter some other profession. No man can be an honorable Seventh-day Adventist minister and ignore the Spirit of Prophecy writings.WEWMM 114.1

Diagnosis: My father and grandfather, as Bible teachers and ministers, treated these volumes as an extension of the Bible. At home, morning and evening worships were as regular as breakfast and supper. From the first day in school to college graduation my formal education had been entirely in Seventh-day Adventist schools. Attendance at camp meeting was as certain as the coming of summer. I was well acquainted with the life of Ellen White, with the providences surrounding her work, with her physical condition during vision, with her involvement in institutional development, and with the early acceptance of her special ministry by the church. The result? Unconcern. Disinterest.WEWMM 114.2

Treatment: Should I talk the problem over with someone? This seemed of doubtful value, considering my background. Read more about Ellen White? This appeared to be an unpromising procedure. Compare her writings with the Bible? I knew there was no problem here. Abruptly a thought struck: never in all my life had I read from beginning to end a single one of her books! It might be worth a try.WEWMM 114.3

I reached over to my bookcase and took down the thinnest one I could find—Steps to Christ—and began to read. The portrayal of God’s love, man’s need, the way to become a new person in Christ and to grow in grace—all made a new impact on me. On page 114 I found support for the procedure I was following:WEWMM 114.4

“There is an evidence that is open to all—the most highly educated, and the most illiterate—the evidence of experience. God invites us to prove for ourselves the reality of His Word, the truth of His promises. He bids us ‘taste and see that the Lord is good.’ Instead of depending upon the word of another, we are to taste for ourselves.”WEWMM 114.5

During the following months, while reading Education and The Desire of Ages, a spiritual glow, a new quality of insight, accompanied by an expanding fascination with the messenger’s own spiritual experience and insights dawned on me. During the morning study hours that annoying restlessness was replaced by a growing optimism that perhaps I might yet become an Adventist minister.WEWMM 114.6

Soon I had the privilege of studying at the Theological Seminary, where I acquired my first experience at true research in Ellen G. White literature, under the inspiring tutelage of Prof. Lynn H. Wood. This fired an intensifying interest in the prophetic office and culminated in the writing of a Master’s thesis on the rise of Hebrew prophetism during the first century of the divided kingdom. Years later the value of Ellen White’s contribution to advanced theological research came into even bolder relief, during my studies at another seminary where she not only was ignored, but unknown.WEWMM 115.1

While engaged in further studies at one of the nation’s great universities, my research included investigations into her concepts of curriculum development within the context of nineteenth-century educational controversies, and the psychological patterns of her adolescent spiritual experiences as compared with the four stages of the mystic outlined by Theresa of Avalon. The class discussions and conferences with teachers that followed such projects were always interesting and sometimes exciting. One of the most eminent authorities on educational bibliography, while reviewing one of these papers before a graduate class, picked out a number of references to the need for balanced development of the student’s physical, mental, and moral powers. He then asked, “Class, what does this remind you of?” Immediately several answered John Dewey’s, “My Pedagogic Creed.” He turned to me and asked, “When was Dewey’s ‘Creed’ published?” I answered, “In the late eighteen nineties.” He continued, “I see that the White book you refer to was published in 1903. What does this suggest to you?” My reply—like his question—was not without a slight barb: “I presume you are suggesting that similarities between the two indicate borrowing by the later publication from the earlier. If this is valid you may have a problem, because the basic principles of the 1903 book, Education, were first published by Ellen White in 1872.” The professor paused, grinned and said, “Well, at least that is significant—yes, very significant.”WEWMM 115.2

Research for my doctoral dissertation (a delineation of Ellen G. White’s concepts of divine revelation in reference to those of Aquinas, Calvin, Schleiermacher, Strong, and Brunner) included all of the books, journal articles, and pamphlets authored by the Lord’s special messenger. The greatest marvel to me was to see the vast scope and breadth of her concepts. I’m convinced that people who speak of “contradictions” in her writings generally have minds that are either too narrow to comprehend more than one aspect of her viewpoint or too inflexible to recognize the propriety of different emphases in different contexts.WEWMM 116.1

In the winter of 1959, while attending a convention in New York City, the chairman of the New York University department in which my major studies had been concentrated invited me to bring several colleagues from Andrews University for a social evening in his home. It turned out to be a happening marked by grace and refinement, during the course of which the conversation moved to the topic of my dissertation. One of the Andrews teachers asked what some of my findings were. The NYU professor turned to me and said, “Well, Fred, do you want to answer that or shall I?” He proceeded to give an excellent summary of the treatise, and then he made this statement, “You Adventists have wasted a lot of effort and energy in being defensive. If Ellen White is representative of your theology, you have some very positive contributions to make to current religious practice and thinking.” This triggered a mental flash-back to that long ago morning during my first pastorate when I looked blankly at an unyielding wall and ventured onto the course that had brought me to this night, when such a judgment would be elicited from a noted Episcopalian educator, author, and clergyman.WEWMM 116.2

My confidence in Ellen White’s writings has grown out of an experience with her own works, not from the assertions or arguments of others. Hence, my conviction will not be shaken and the power of her literary labors will not be undermined by anyone’s polemics or disputations. If you were to say to me that in her prolific writing Ellen White was sometimes inconsistent and contradictory, or that she was unduly influenced by others and that her manuscripts were severely edited, I would reply, “You bore me. I know her writings as she wrote them, and their merit is not debatable with me. If you want to deny their worth, I will not try to impose my evaluation. If you wish to criticize, I will not argue.”WEWMM 116.3

But if you want to form a valid judgment, aspire to lofty goals, and are looking for fulfillment in life, or if you are in quest of God’s will for you, you will find that the Ellen G. White literature is eminently worth your attention. But please be fair to yourself and to the author. Don’t confine your reading to proof-text excerpts, “striking statements,” isolated counsels, or illuminating paragraphs, but read her books as she wrote them. Of course, the compilations are excellent for reference. However, for getting acquainted with the real Ellen White, for learning what she actually taught, for appreciating what the impact of her insights can mean for your understanding, and for nurturing an experience in life enrichment, few activities can match the force of reading the inspired and inspiring writings of Ellen G. White in the literary context and form in which they came from her pen.WEWMM 117.1

Takoma Park, Maryland
July 10, 1972