What has been the Influence of Mrs. White’s Writings
Regarding the character and influence of the writings of Mrs. White, we extract a few paragraphs from an extended statement made by Elder Uriah Smith, many years editor of Review and Herald:BSRWEGW 5.1
“Their fruit is such as to show that the source from which they spring is the opposite of evil.
“1. They tend to the purest morality. They discountenance every vice, and exhort to the practice of every virtue. They point out the perils through which we are to pass to the kingdom. They reveal the devices of Satan. They warn us against his snares. They have nipped in the bud scheme after scheme of fanaticism which the enemy has tried to foist into our midst. They have exposed hidden iniquity, brought to light concealed wrongs, and laid bare the evil motives of the false-hearted. They have warded-off dangers from the cause of truth upon every hand. They have aroused and rearoused us to greater consecration to God, more zealous efforts for holiness of heart, and greater diligence in the cause and service of our Master.
“2. They lead us to Christ. Like the Bible, they set Him forth as the only hope and only Saviour of mankind. They portray before us in living characters His holy life and His godly example, and with irresistible appeals they urge us to follow in His steps.
“3. They lead us to the Bible. They set forth that book as the inspired and unalterable word of God. They exhort us to take that Word as the man of our counsel, and the rule of our faith and practice. And with a compelling power, they entreat us to study long and diligently its pages, and become familiar with its teaching, for it is to judge us in the last day.
“4. They have brought comfort and consolation to many hearts. They have strengthened the weak, encouraged the feeble, raised up the despondent. They have brought order out of confusion, made crooked places straight, and thrown light on what was dark and obscure.”—Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 469-470.
The more complete rehearsal of the statement made by Elder Smith, will be found in the last chapter of the book Life Sketches of Ellen G. White.BSRWEGW 5.2