Living In The Light

Biographical Notes

Ellen G. White, 1827-1915

Ellen Gould (Harmon) White, cofounder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, writer, lecturer, and counselor, and one upon whom Seventh-day Adventists believe the gift of prophecy was bestowed, was born in Gorham, Maine, November 26, 1827, one of the eight children of Robert and Eunice Harmon. LL 4.1

During her more than seventy years of active service to the church, she found time to write voluminously. Her works consist of approximately 100,000 manuscript pages. This remarkable legacy to the church could alone have occupied Ellen White’s entire life, had she dedicated her time to little else but writing. LL 4.2

However, her service for the church embraces much more than writing. Her diaries tell of her public work, travels, personal labor, hospitality, contacts with neighbors, as well as of her being a mother and housewife. God blessed Ellen White abundantly in these activities. Her ambitions and concerns, her satisfactions and joys, her sorrows—her whole life—were for the advancement of the cause she loved. LL 4.3

Among her many accomplishments, Ellen G. White is one of the most translated authors in American history. For example, her little book Steps to Christ is available in nearly 200 languages, a testament to the blessing that continues to rest upon her ministry LL 4.4

After a full life dedicated to the service of God and others, Ellen White died on July 16, 1915, confidently trusting in Him whom she had believed. LL 4.5