Understanding Ellen White

Show involvement in contemporary issues

Even a cursory reading of her writings shows that Ellen White was engaged in the affairs and issues of her day. Ellen White was a strong supporter of the temperance movement²³ and very vocal on abolition. ²⁴ She supported with voice and pen the causes that were stirring up the nation and dividing communities in the nineteenth century, but she did not wholeheartedly endorse or support everything on these reform tickets. Although she herself broke the mold by preaching and talking in public and encouraged and affirmed women in their work for God, she did not endorse or put the weight of her influence behind the movement for women to gain the right to vote. ²⁵ UEGW 247.2

For Ellen White, the great controversy theme was so much more than a theory or a way of organizing her writings. This theme helped her to identify the areas in her society where she could choose sides and promote God’s agenda. Her understanding of humanity’s creation in the image of God and God’s deliberate gift of freedom of choice made her vocal in her support of slaves being free and having the freedom of conscience to choose their own temporal and eternal destiny. ²⁶ By the same token, she believed that alcohol addiction destroyed the person and deprived them of their freedom of choice. UEGW 247.3

Her writings show a timeless relevance in negotiating the potential maze of being involved in our communities and countries without letting causes force us to take on agendas that are not kingdom building. UEGW 247.4