Understanding Ellen White

5. Study all available information on a topic

It is crucial to make sure that we have read widely what Ellen White has presented on a topic and study those statements that may seem extreme in the light of those that might moderate or balance them. Arthur White pinpointed this important issue when he wrote: UEGW 72.2

Many have erred in interpreting the meaning of the testimonies by taking isolated statements or statements out of their context as a basis for belief. Some do this even though there are other passages, which, if carefully considered, would show the position taken on the basis of the isolated statement to be untenable. . . . UEGW 72.3

It is not difficult to find individual sentences or paragraphs in either the Bible or the Ellen G. White writings, which may be used to support ones own ideas rather than to set forth the thought of the author. ¹⁷ UEGW 72.4

This quotation reminds me of an experience I had as a young pastor in the San Francisco Bay area. I had made friends with a zealous and sincere group of Adventists who wanted to follow the Bible and the writings of Ellen White with all their hearts. If Ellen White said it, they did it. There was no discussing an issue once they had her words on the topic. They were going to be faithful to what they referred to as the “straight testimony.” The item that struck me about their church service was that they knelt for each and every prayer, including the invocation and benediction. UEGW 72.5

When I inquired as to the reason for the practice, the leader pointed out that Ellen White said that “the proper position always” for prayer is on our knees. “Both in public and private worship it is our duty to bow down upon our knees before God when we offer our petitions to Him. This act shows our dependence upon God” ¹⁸ UEGW 72.6

I assured my friend that I believed in reverence and kneeling in prayer, but I also told him that his interpretation of Ellen White’s passage seemed strained to me and out of harmony with the general tenor of both her writings and the Bible. UEGW 72.7

He flatly disagreed, since he had her words and that was enough. If she said “always” they would always kneel in prayer. There was no need to talk the matter over or to read more on the topic. After all, he had “the truth,” and all that remained was to put it into practice. And he did. I even remember kneeling for grace before meals at his home. UEGW 72.8

I wasn’t at all convinced that my friend had “the truth” on the topic, even though I was absolutely sure that he had a few “quotations” from Ellen White to substantiate his practice. But there is a difference between a handful of quotations and the truth. UEGW 73.1

How, you may be thinking, can I be so sure of my point? It’s not all that complicated. I merely kept on reading on the topic of the correct position in prayer. In this case I didn’t have to read very far. On the last page of the section on “The Attitude in Prayer” in the third volume of Selected Messages that my friend had quoted from, I read that “it is not always necessary to bow upon your knees in order to pray. Cultivate the habit of talking with the Saviour when you are alone, when you are walking, and when you are busy with your daily labor.” Beyond such quotations is the fact that Selected Messages provides several illustrations of Ellen White having people standing and sitting during prayer in public worship contexts. ¹⁹ UEGW 73.2

When I pointed out the balancing statements on kneeling for prayer and asked why he insisted on reading Ellen White only as meaning always when she also said “not always,” he quickly argued that the not-always statements were for the general public and not God’s special end-time people. UEGW 73.3

That conclusion, I thought to myself, can be substantiated from neither the Bible nor Ellen White. Yet he had a forceful quotation and neglected balancing data as he pushed ahead with his theory. UEGW 73.4

Along this line we find two approaches to Ellen G. White’s writings. One assembles all her pertinent material on the subject. The other selects from Ellen White only those sentences, paragraphs, or more extensive materials that can be employed to support a particular emphasis. The only faithful approach is the first. One important step in being true to Ellen White’s intent is to read widely in the available counsel on a topic. UEGW 73.5