Messenger of the Lord

Unfounded Criticism Involving Ellen White Personally

The following charges have continued to be circulated even though they have been answered many times. Some of the earlier rumors were answered in The Defense of Elder James White and Wife, an 1870 pamphlet that was available at the publishing office. On the back page of the church paper, January 11, 1870, James had appealed: “Will those who know of things in the general course of Mrs. White and myself, during the period of our public labors, worthy of exposure, or unworthy of Christians and teachers of the people, be so kind as to make them known to the office immediately.” MOL 470.7

This notice was to help a committee composed of J. N. Andrews, G. H. Bell, and Uriah Smith complete their report regarding many harsh charges leveled against the Whites. What was the nature of those charges? That the Whites were dishonest, fraudulent, and covetous. The committee reviewed all the charges and showed them to be baseless. ¹⁴ MOL 470.8

Often her colleagues would write about how Ellen White’s presence would change the minds of those who had heard the “pure fabrications.” J. H. Waggoner, in 1869, wrote: “Many who had never seen her had heard the foolish falsehoods circulated against her, and came with the full effect of them on their minds; but when they heard the plain, practical truths of the Bible, the pure principles of Christianity presented in the earnest and powerful manner in which she was aided by the Lord to speak them there, all these feelings were swept away.” ¹⁵ But because most people even today hear only the charges, we will make a brief response to some of them. MOL 470.9