Chapter Seventeen—Looking Back Over the Record
And so we come to the end of this brief sketch of the life and work of a most remarkable religious leader, Ellen G. White. The very brevity has, of course, made it impossible for us to do justice to the subject. But enough, we trust, has been given to lead the reader to the firm conviction, if he has not already reached it, that Mrs. White was not simply one more fervent religious leader, but rather one possessed of the gift of the Spirit of prophecy. We believe this conviction will grow as he continues to read her writings, which have a distinctive quality that often impresses readers at the outset.
WBEGW 124.1
For illustration: Nearly seventy years ago, in a village in Australia lived a young couple. They had never heard of Mrs. White, or of Seventh-day Adventists, or of the Review and Herald, the official organ of this Adventist Church. One day they found by the roadside a mud-spattered copy of a paper. Reading matter was scarce, so they took the paper home and dried it out by the kitchen stove. It was a copy of the Review and Herald. In the quiet of their little cottage amid the eucalyptus trees, they turned the pages of this unknown journal from America. They read an article on tithing. They were impressed that whoever the publishers were, they must be most earnest, sacrificial people, because they believed in giving God one tenth of their income—a tithe—besides freewill offerings. Who could these people be! They further leafed the pages, read an article by a Mrs. E. G. White, and exclaimed: “Who is this Mrs. White? She writes as though she is inspired.”
WBEGW 124.2
A few days later a villager who sold fresh vegetables stopped at their door. “Do you know about a paper called the Review and Herald?” they asked. When he answered, “Yes,” they promptly inquired: “Do you know about a Mrs. E. G. White?” He did. “And who is she?” they asked. He hesitated, evidently fearing if he answered them directly he might prejudice them against Adventism. But his hesitancy only made them the more insistent. Finally, fixing his eyes on them, he answered with fervor: “She’s a prophet.”
WBEGW 125.1
Their interest only increased, for his words simply reinforced the conviction that had gripped them in the quiet of their humble cottage. Not long afterward they were baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Their faith in the church, and particularly in Mrs. White, only increased with the years. And that faith they passed on to their son, present editor of the Review and Herald and the writer of these lines.
WBEGW 125.2
This little drama enacted in faraway Australia has been many times duplicated in different lands as men and women have found that their strongest reason for believing in the prophetic status of Mrs. White is the internal evidence that her writings present.
WBEGW 125.3
Paralleling this weighty evidence is that provided by the fruitage of her long labors. The rule set down by our Lord is still good: “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). The fruitage of Mrs. White’s speaking and writing can be examined by all the world. We earlier discussed how she led out in every major project of the steadily growing Seventh-day Adventist Church, that indeed her counsel regularly took the church safely through various crises. It passes credulity to believe that a frail, almost uneducated woman could have been able through the long years to take the leading role she did in the life of the church, and give to the world numerous books of great spiritual depth, unless she had been uniquely illumined of Heaven.
WBEGW 125.4
This reminds us of a conversation we had some twenty years ago with an aged leader in the Advent Christian Church. This church is the one remaining segment of the First-day Adventists, coming down through the century from Millerism, that is of any size. The other segments have all virtually dwindled to the vanishing point. The Advent Christian Church was organized about the same time as the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and their membership, as their published statistics reveal, has remained almost exactly at the 30,000 point since the turn of the century.
WBEGW 126.1
Aided by this aged Advent Christian leader, we had been making a special study of William Miller’s writings that are found in the Advent Christian College at Aurora, Illinois, of which college he had formerly been president. He had been most gracious to us. We had days of sweet fellowship together, and at times I dined at his home. He knew of the amazing growth of Seventh-day Adventists, of the different branches of our work that spread over the earth. As we drove along at sunset one evening in his car, he said to me in substance:
WBEGW 126.2
“Your church leaders through the years have been wiser men than ours. They saw the need of a publishing work and started it, the need of medical work, of educational, and of a great mission program. They also saw the need of a close-knit organization. And so today you are strong and growing fast, while we are not.”
WBEGW 126.3
I replied: “No, my dear brother, I don’t think that is quite an accurate statement. Our leaders were not wiser than yours, nor more far-visioned. The record will show that they were ordinary flesh and blood, like your men, with great limitations of vision and faith. But we had in our midst a most singular woman. She marked out what we ought to do in the different branches of our work. She was specific, emphatic, insistent. We accepted her counsel and direction, for we believed she had visions from God. That is the reason we have this marvelous organization and why we’ve grown.”
WBEGW 126.4
A great silence descended, for the dear Advent Christian people have ever been critical of our doctrine that Mrs. White possessed the gift of the Spirit of prophecy. So we rode on in silence for a time. What his thoughts were, we know not. Finally he remarked, with a gesture toward a grove of trees: “Are not the trees beautiful at sunset?” I agreed. The silence was broken, and our fellowship continued—continued, we are glad to say, until his death.
WBEGW 127.1
We can think of no more impressive testimony to the singular qualities of Mrs. White than that so eloquently, though unwittingly, given by this dear man.
WBEGW 127.2
657
WBEGW
Why I Believe in Mrs. E. G. White
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McCay","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0030_eng_f_summary_by_dr_mccay_657_260.mp3#duration=164&size=1186150"},{"para_id":"657.272","title":"Chapter Nine\u2014Schools and Foreign Missions Begin","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0031_eng_f_chapter_nine_schools_and_foreign_missions_begin_657_272.mp3#duration=143&size=1059036"},{"para_id":"657.279","title":"Testimony of Dr. Stratemeyer","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0032_eng_f_testimony_of_dr_stratemeyer_657_279.mp3#duration=215&size=1492528"},{"para_id":"657.290","title":"Adventist Mission Program","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0033_eng_f_adventist_mission_program_657_290.mp3#duration=90&size=740167"},{"para_id":"657.296","title":"The Inspired Challenger","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0034_eng_f_the_inspired_challenger_657_296.mp3#duration=173&size=1238266"},{"para_id":"657.305","title":"Chapter Ten\u2014Reading the Thoughts of Men\u2019s 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Questions","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0068_eng_f_reasons_for_questions_657_565.mp3#duration=116&size=898419"},{"para_id":"657.571","title":"Chapter Fifteen\u2014The Price of Spiritual Leadership","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0069_eng_f_chapter_fifteen_the_price_of_spiritual_leadership_657_571.mp3#duration=85&size=710993"},{"para_id":"657.575","title":"Attacks on the Bible","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0070_eng_f_attacks_on_the_bible_657_575.mp3#duration=108&size=846584"},{"para_id":"657.579","title":"A Strange Claim","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0071_eng_f_a_strange_claim_657_579.mp3#duration=119&size=915027"},{"para_id":"657.584","title":"The Heaviest Price","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0072_eng_f_the_heaviest_price_657_584.mp3#duration=184&size=1303827"},{"para_id":"657.595","title":"Chapter Sixteen\u2014Two Typical Objections Considered","mp3":"\/mp3\/657\/0073_eng_f_chapter_sixteen_two_typical_objections_considered_657_595.mp3#duration=109&size=856067"},{"para_id":"657.601","title":"The Record Is 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