The Pocket Ellen G. White Dictionary

E

economy — eye single to the glory of God

economy

The management, regulation, and government of a family and concerns of the household. It could aslo express the importance of saving money, time, or some other resource. Christians are stewards of these resources, so they should exercise great care in how they invest these resources. Such economy includes the value that parents should place on teaching children “the right use of money.” Children should be supplied with money, either by their parents or through their own earnings, so that they learn how to purchase their own necessities and to keep an account of their expenses. In this way, they can learn “true economy” and avoid niggardliness (Ed 239). See also niggardly.

Edson, Hiram (1806—1882)

Adventist minister who is best remembered for his studies with *O. R. L. Crosier and others about the *sanctuary *doctrine. In 1852, with the proceeds from the sale of his farm, he helped *James White to purchase the Adventists’ first printing press in Rochester, New York. He also trained the first abbatarian Adventist preachers.

education

Ellen G. White defined true education as “the harmonious development of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual powers” that “prepares the student for the joy of service in this world and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come” (Ed 13). “Ignorance will not increase the humility or spirituality of any professed follower of Christ,” she wrote in 1872, which was the same year that *Goodloe Harper Bell started his first school in Battle Creek, Michigan. “The truths of the divine word can be best appreciated by an intellectual Christian. Christ can be best glorified by those who serve Him intelligently. The great object of education is to enable us to use the powers that God has given us

effeminate

In the modern sense, effeminat is a reference to having feminine characteristics; in the nineteenth century, the term tended to be used in its secondary sense of excessive softness and indulgence. Ellen G. White used it to describe King Solomon’s *character, which after his fall, became “enervated and effeminat ” (PK 58).

effica

The ability to produce a desired or intended result. Ellen G. White stated that we are “cleansed by His effica ,” when describing the saving work of Jesus Christ (DA 646).

electricity

Ellen G. White made a number of references to the practical applications of electricity, which came about during her lifetime. In spiritual terms, she mentions Jesus’ humanity being “charged with a heavenly current” (DA 363) or discovering the “current of spiritual strength” (DA 676).

electric physician.

A term used to describe a healer who used *mesmerism and hypnosis (5T 198). See also animal magnetism.

Ellen G. White Estate Inc.

The Ellen G. *White Estate Inc. was set up at the request of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to honor Ellen G. White’s wishes for

Elmshaven

Ellen G. White’s home in California for the last fifteen years of her life (1900—1915). It is located in the Napa Valley, about sixty miles (ninety-seven kilometers) north of San Francisco. The property contained thirty-fi e acres (fourteen hectares) with various fruit orchards, a barn, and an adjacent office building.

Emancipation Proclamation

Also: papers. The executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln that freed all slaves on January 1, 1863. Ellen G. White referenced this historical event in connection with the *atonement of Jesus Christ who thereby “signed the emancipation papers of the [human] race” (MH 90).

enervate

A person who is deprived of force or strength; to weaken. “Intemperance of any kind,” wrote Ellen White, “will enervate a character originally firm, noble, and independent” (ST Aug, 1, 1878).

erelong

Before a long time had elapsed (PP 647).

erysipelas

A painful bacterial infection caused by streptococcal bacteria entering the skin through cuts or sores. James and Ellen G. White’s infant son *John Herbert White tragically died from this disease in 1860.

eschatology

From the Greek word for “last things” (eschata); the *doctrine of eschatology deals with final matters, such as the *second coming of Christ and the restoration of the *kingdom of God. Ellen G. White learned about the second coming of Christ when she heard *William Miller preach his

ethics

The moral principles based on the law of God that govern a Christian’s behavior. “The ethics inculcated by the gospel,” Ellen G. White wrote, “acknowledge no standard but the perfection of God’s mind, God’s will” (7T 276). She wrote extensively about human *character and behavior and viewed *good works and *sanctification as Spirit- enabled responses through *justification by faith that led to *holiness as revealed through Scripture. She upheld a high view of the *law of God that led to ethical imperatives from Scripture. A high regard for the Ten Commandments also meant a high regard for natural law, including *health reform. See also moral philosophy.

evangelicalism

Derived from the Greek word euangelion, meaning “good news,” the term evangelical became associated with the *Protestant Reformation to recover the gospel of Jesus Christ through *faith alone. As a specific movement within Protestantism, evangelicalism arose within the context of eighteenth-century revivalism in Britain and the American colonies. It had deep roots in Pietism and *Puritanism and was influenced heavily by *John Wesley, George Whitefield, and onathan Edwards.

evangelism

Ellen G. White believed that sharing one’s faith with others was a natural part of the Christian experience. “Real godliness is diffusi e and communicative” (3T 543). Christians have a responsibility, not to wait for souls to come to them, but to “seek them out where they are” (COL 229). A variety of approaches is necessary: “Not all can be reached in the same way,” she noted (COL 387). She personally felt, in her own experience, that it was her *duty to share her faith, both privately and publicly. She urged Christians to “taste the joy of winning souls” (COL 58). “The success of the gospel message does not depend upon learned speeches, eloquent testimonials, or deep arguments. It depends upon the simplicity of the message and its adaptation to the souls that are hungering for the bread of life” (COL 231). Thus, “studied” words “have but little influence ” The most effective way to reach hearts, she urged, is the “true, honest expression . . . spoken in natural simplicity” (COL 232).

execration

The act or object of cursing or exposing some-thing that is to be detested. Ellen G. White describes the apostle Paul, after he was accused of “instigating” the fi e that burned much of Rome, as the “object of universal execration” (AA 490).

exercise

A term used to refer to either health or religious exercises (such as reading the *Bible or *prayer). As a major component of *health reform, Ellen G. White tirelessly advocated for the benefits of exercise. “Action is a law of our being,” she wrote (MH 237). Inactivity causes disease, whereas exercise increases the circulation of the blood and contributes to health. Such exercise is especially important for “brain workers,” and in many instances, exercise is “better for the health than medicine” (MH 238, 240).

experimental religion

Also: knowledge. The practical application of truth. The terms were used by Ellen G. White to describe individuals who have a theoretical knowledge of the *truth but who also need to also apply it to their lives (3T 535; 5T 221). Individuals who do not allow the truth to become an “experimental” part of their everyday lives will not see heaven. Ellen G. White also used the term to describe the role of ministers who must first apply their Bible studies to their own lives before they can hope for their *preaching to be effective and they must relate intellectual truths in a practical way before they can hope to influence their audience

extremist

See fanatic.

eye single to the glory of God

A phrase used by Ellen G.White to emphasize that the sole purpose of the Christian’s F life is to bring glory to God. She used this phrase hundreds of times in her published writings as well as her *testimonies to remind people to keep a broader perspective about the ultimate purpose of the Christian life. One brief example is when she encouraged people to be thrifty in their use of time and money so that they can have “an eye single to the glory of God” (CS 292).