The Pocket Ellen G. White Dictionary

T

Tay, John I — truth as it is in Jesus

Tay, John I (1832—1892)

Pioneer missionary to Tahiti, Pitcairn, and Fiji (1886—1892), where he died.

Ellen G. White referred to various adjectives in conjunction with the words temper and temperament to describe different personality types (4T 255). She defined someone with a “good temper” as someone who is “kindly, cheerful, buoyant, generous, pitiful [full of pity], courteous, compassionate” (3T 420, 421). In contrast, Ellen G. White described the “decided character” and “positive [overly opinionated] temperament” of Jezebel, who controlled her husband Ahab. She described Ahab as being someone who was “easily molded” (PK 115).

temperance

A temperate person is someone who lives a

tent meeting

A term that refers to *camp meetings or evangelistic meetings.

testimony (also testimonies)

A term most often used for a personal expression of how God has led in the life of the believer. In the context of Ellen G. White’s writings, the term is used to describe either an oral or a written admonition through the gift of prophetic *revelation and inspiration. The majority of Ellen G. White’s earliest “testimonies” appear to have been mostly oral, and very few of those mailed are extant, which led to the practice of making copies of letters (2T 16). Sometimes she followed up an oral testimony with a written one (2T 569). It appears that such warnings were conditional, both for individuals as well as collectively (2T 154). She considered it a duty to write, although at other times she was “bidden to wait” before either writing or giving the *reproof (2T 154). At other times, this meant sharing only a portion of what was revealed (2T 291). She would see people in the audience whom she had seen in vision (2T 67). On several occasions, she noted that she did not rebuke individuals by name because there were unbelievers present (2T 539). Now and then it would take several attempts before she could commit on paper through *inspiration

theater

A hall in the nineteenth century, generally for theatrical plays, but it was often a place filled with prostitution and other types of *vice, particularly on the upper levels of the theater building. While a variety of dramatic productions might be presented, Ellen G. White strongly warned that Adventists should avoid such an atmosphere.

time of probation

A term used by Ellen G. White to indicate the finite amount of time each person has to prepare for eternity until either the close of probation just prior to the *second coming of Christ or the death of the particular individual (4T 147).

tonic bath or treatments

Ellen G. White described the use of cold and hot water treatments, or baths, as being an “excellent tonic” for the body. “Warm baths open the pores and thus aid in the elimination of impurities. Both warm and neutral baths soothe the nerves and equalize the circulation” (MH 237).

tract society

A Christian organization dedicated to the publication and distribution of literature. Seventh-day Adventists developed organizations in the nineteenth century that became the forerunner to modern Adventist Book Centers and related bookstores.

translations, Bible

Ellen G. White primarily used the King James Version during her lifetime, but she also availed herself of other Bible translations as they became available. Some of her later books, such as Education (1903) and The Ministry of Healing (1905), cite the Revised Version (1885) and American Standard Version (1901), with their marginal readings, as well as other translations, including Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible (1902), the Leeser Bible (1853), and Noyes’s translation (1869).

trials

The term Ellen G. White used most often to describe conflict, such as “church trials” to describe conflicted churches or “heart trials” to describe the inner human struggle. Trials, she believed, were opportunities for personal and spiritual growth (4T 354). Church trials must be dealt with (3T 10, 107), but when unnecessary should be avoided (3T 107). At least three different types of church trials can be observed in early Adventism. The first concerned localized church trials that administered the advice of Matthew 18:15—17 to resolve individual sin. The second type related to the law because early Adventists were reticent to sue one another in court (following the counsel of 1 Corinthians 6:1—8). A third kind revolved around Laodicean trials, which is a reference to the apathetic, Laodicean spiritual state of the *church (Revelation 3:14—22). This latter group was quite unique in that every church member was investigated by an itinerant minister (or two) to ascertain the *spirituality of the congregation. Following the examination, the congregation decided who would stay and who would be disfellowshiped. Afterward, the church was often reorganized by adopting a new covenant or series of resolutions.

Trinity

See Godhead.

true religion

A term that Ellen G. White used more than four hundred times in her published writings to contrast Bible religion with false religions. “All true religion is found” in Scripture (CT 453). “In the story of the good Samaritan, Christ illustrates the nature of true religion” (DA 497).

truth

Ellen G. White spoke a great deal about truth in the ultimate sense of divine truth. She also referred to inspired words being “cutting truth” (DA 171). She noted diffe ent sources of spiritual truth, including God’s “works [nature], in His Word [Scripture], and by His providences” (COL 23). “Christ is the truth. His words are truth, and they have a deeper significance than appears on the surface. . . . Minds that are quickened by the Holy Spirit” “will discern the pre-cious gems of truth” (COL 110).

“truth as it is in Jesus”

A phrase that occurs 1,314 times in the writings of Ellen G. White. The earliest Christians witnessed about the “truth as it is in Jesus” (AA 42). All Christian theology must center upon the ultimate truth as found in the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.