Messenger of the Lord

Common-Sense Interpreter of Truth

One of the soundest principles for getting a picture of Ellen White (as well as the intent of her writings) is to study the time, place, and circumstance that governed what she wrote. ¹⁴ MOL 95.4

In other words, Ellen White’s plea throughout her ministry was for common sense. For example, the constituency for the church school at St. Helena, California, in 1904, had a problem. Some strongly felt that no provision should be made for children under the age of ten. Why? Because Mrs. White had counseled some years earlier that “parents should be the only teachers of their children until they have reached eight or ten years of age.” ¹⁵ Others felt that some children would be better off in school than roaming the village while their parents either worked at the hospital or for other reasons were unable to supervise their children. MOL 95.5

The problem was not confined to St. Helena; church schools were being established throughout the world wherever Adventists planted churches. So the question everywhere was: What shall we do with Mrs. White’s counsel regarding when to start children in school? MOL 95.6

Ellen White was at that St. Helena school board meeting (it was held in her home at Elmshaven) and took the initiative in resolving the impasse. She reviewed her frequently emphasized counsel regarding parental responsibilities and firm discipline in the home. Then she indicated that she too had observed parental neglect, with certain children running loose (especially on the sanitarium grounds), “sharp-eyed, lynx-eyed, wandering about with nothing to do ... getting into mischief” not the best recommendation of Adventist decorum before the sanitarium guests! MOL 95.7

Under the circumstances, she said: “The very best thing that can be done is to have a school ... for those who [should] have the restraining influence upon them which a schoolteacher should exert.” MOL 95.8

Then she explained her earlier statements about holding children out of school until they are ten—a teaching that some were faithfully trying to implement. She spoke clearly: “I wanted to tell you that there was not a Sabbath keeping school when the light was given to me that the children should not attend school until they were old enough to be instructed. They should be taught at home to know what proper manners were when they went to school, and not be led astray. The wickedness carried on in the common schools is almost beyond conception. That is how it is.” MOL 95.9

She went further, expressing her concern about those who make an unreasonable application of her writings: “My mind has been greatly stirred in regard to the idea, ‘Why, Sister White has said so and so, ... and therefore we are going right up to it.’ God wants us all to have common sense, and He wants us to reason from common sense. Circumstances alter conditions. Circumstances change the relation of things.” ¹⁶ MOL 96.1

Along with key words that best describe the real Ellen White, we must include “common sense.” The principles she disclosed were clear, timely, and timeless. But applying them required sanctified common sense. MOL 96.2

Ellen White understood well the ellipse of truth. ¹⁷ She knew that theology without common sense and a corresponding life style could create prejudice against the gospel. Throughout her writings she emphasized that word and deed, doctrine and life, should never be separated. ¹⁸ MOL 96.3

Common sense is not to negate Bible counsel; sanctified common sense applies immutable truths to the human situation, taking all circumstances into account. Common sense does not lower God’s instructions regarding human thought and behavior; it lifts people up to them, within the capabilities and possibilities of time, place, and circumstance. Principles are timeless; applying them requires common sense. On one occasion when asked about certain Sabbath school practices, Ellen White answered: “Exactly; it is not the place for it. That is to be done; but it has its time and place.” ¹⁹ MOL 96.4

For example, she wrote extensively about health principles. She stated clearly certain health practices that were far in advance of the conventional thinking of her day. But these principles must be understood and applied through common sense. MOL 96.5

Regarding eating two meals a day, she wrote: “Some eat three meals a day, when two would be more conducive to physical and spiritual health.” ²⁰ But she also wrote: “The practice of eating but two meals a day is generally found a benefit to health; yet under some circumstances persons may require a third meal.” ²¹ MOL 96.6

Further revealing her common sense, she wrote in 1903: “I eat only two meals a day. But I do not think that the number of meals should be made a test. If there are those who are better in health when eating three meals, it is their privilege to have three.” ²² MOL 96.7