The Pocket Ellen G. White Dictionary

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Laodicea — Luther, Martin

Laodicea

A term based upon the biblical *church in Asia Minor and referred to in Revelation. This church was in a lukewarm state. Beginning in 1856, Ellen G. White applied the message for the Laodicean church to God’s *remnant people.

lassitude

A state of weariness or lack of energy (3T 11; 4T 96; MH 292).

latter rain

The latter rain was the final refreshing moisture that crops in the Middle East needed to finish maturation. Similar to the *early rain, Ellen G. White pointed to the final work of the *Holy Spirit in preparing God’s *remnant people immediately before the *Second Advent. “The latter rain, ripening earth’s harvest, represents the spiritual grace that prepares the church for the coming of the Son of man” (TM 506). See also revival.

law of God

Ellen White understood the “law of God” first as the moral law contained in the Decalogue of Exodus 20: 3—17, and secondly as the natural laws as found in nature. Ellen G. White described the laws of God and the laws of *nature as

Lay, Horatio S (1828—1900)

Physician and founding di-rector of the *Health Reform Institute. Lay attended Western Reserve College in Hudson, Ohio, and earned a medical degree from the Detroit Medical College. He practiced medicine in Allegan, Michigan, and in 1856 accepted the *Sabbath. In 1862, after his wife Julia (1831—1893) suffered poor health, he brought her to *James C. Jackson’s water-cure establishment to receive treatment. He joined the staff of “Our Home on the Hillside” until 1866, when he returned to Allegan. He then founded the Health Reform Institute and started the first Adventist health periodical, the Health Reformer.

lazar house

A leper colony; known today as a quarantine area for those who suffer from Hansen’s disease. Ellen G. White described the whole world as a “vast lazar house” in need of the message of salvation (DA 823; cf. 4T 30).

lees

A term that refers to the dead yeast in wine that settles to the bottom during aging. Ellen G. White used the term to describe someone who is lazy: “reclining on their lees” (Zephaniah 1:12, KJV) (5T 203).

liberality

A term used to indicate generosity. Ellen G. White used the term, for example, to refer to the believers

lifestyle, Adventist

Adventist lifestyle is a term that describes how Adventists live their everyday lives—including their diet, dress, and even their recreational activities. “He who would serve Christ cannot follow the world’s opinions or meet the world’s standard” (MB 139). The Adventist lifestyle includes learning principles and then applying them. “When Christ abides in the heart, there will be purity and refinement of thought and manne ” (MB 25).

light:

A visual term and theological motif that appears throughout Ellen G. White’s writings. In her first vision, she describes Jesus Christ as the source of light to God’s people who are on a straight and narrow path. She contrasts this light with darkness. Those who took their eyes from Jesus fell off the path (LS 64, 65). Darkness is simply the absence of light. Progressive truth is light that illumines both heart and mind.

lineament(s)

A distinctive feature or characteristic (DA 804).

listlessness

Lack of inclination or impetus to exert oneself (PP 729).

Litch, Josiah (1809—1886)

Millerite revivalist and author. Originally a *Methodist Episcopal minister, he first read

living epistle(s)

A living epistle is when Christ is revealed in one’s daily life (4T 376). The example of a living epistle is therefore a powerful testimony of God’s power to change lives.

Loma Linda University

See College of Medical Evangelists.

Lord’s Supper (also Communion)

The sharing and par-taking of bread and wine that symbolizes the broken body and blood of Jesus Christ. During the 1840s, Ellen G. White cautioned against certain *fanatics, especially men who wished to wash the feet of women, but retained the practice of Communion within early Adventism. With time, she articulated an “Adventist understanding” of the rite that emphasized the death of Christ (the First Advent) and the affirmation of their belief in Chri ‘s soon return.

Loughborough, John Norton (1832—1924)

Minister, missionary, and administrator. He wrote the first denominational

love

Ellen G. White spoke repeatedly and consistently throughout her lifetime about God’s love, which is revealed through the outworking of the plan of salvation. During her lifetime, she contrasted it with the view that love is God’s chief attribute and she warned of downgrading it “to a weak sentimentalism, making little distinction between good and evil” (GC 558). “If the love of Jesus does not subdue the heart, there are no means by which we can be reached” (COL 237). See also lovesick sentimentalism.

lovesick sentimentalism

A phrase commonly used (in conjunction with educational schools) to describe infatuated boys and girls who are enamored with one another (2T 482). Typically, Ellen G. White admonished against such *attachments because of the inability of young people to make objective decisions and recognize the lifelong commitment that *marriage entails.

lung fever

A very ambiguous medical term, sometimes used to refer to pneumonia (HR Apr. 1, 1871).

Luther, Martin (1483—1546)

Ellen G. White described Martin Luther, in contrast with other famous leaders in world history, as an example of someone who, despite his humble birth, “stood bravely for truth and right” (4T 519). Ellen G. White wrote more about Luther than about any