What Ellen White has Meant to Me

Chapter 29—Everything I Needed

Confidence in Ellen G. White has never been merely a point of doctrine with me. It may have been at the very beginning of my Christian way, since I did acknowledge that the gift of prophecy had been manifested in her life and writings before I had opportunity to experience it personally. I believed because my spiritual advisers told me, and I had full confidence in them. However, as I continued to study and search for truth, my confidence in the testimony of others gave way to that faith which is rooted in personal experience, the word put to test. Soon I came to realize that a true understanding of her writings—of the Bible—can be acquired only by putting their teachings into practice as they are learned. WEWMM 221.1

My first experience, although rather commonplace, made a deep impression on me, all the more vivid because I was only seventeen years of age, had just accepted the Advent message, and was in my first year at an Adventist college. As I had not been reared in an Adventist home, nor had I had any contact with our institutions; everything was new to me. Even the smallest details of the life and faith of a Seventh-day Adventist Christian impressed me deeply because of my newness in the church. WEWMM 221.2

During a class discussion on diet and health, our professor thought it an opportune time to review some of the basic principles of healthful living. I do not remember everything that was said that day, but I shall never forget the counsel regarding the drinking of water with meals. At that time I suffered distress and bloating following my meals, and I could not understand why. When the teacher mentioned that the drinking of water during the meal was harmful to digestion, I traced the relation from cause to effect and realized that this could be my difficulty. I decided to investigate further. WEWMM 221.3

I reread the counsel given by Ellen White: “Food should not be washed down.”—Counsels on Health, 119. “Many make a mistake in drinking cold water with their meals.... And the colder the water, the greater the injury to the stomach.... The more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest.”—Counsels on Diet and Foods, 420. WEWMM 222.1

I decided to put this counsel to test, to prove it as quickly as possible. I did not have to wait very long. The experiment supplied conclusive evidence. Not only was there a definite improvement in my well-being, but, even more important, my confidence in Ellen White was confirmed. As insignificant as it was, that experience provided me, a very young Seventh-day Adventist, with proof of the worth of her counsels, and the starting point for a personal conviction that has continued to grow through the years. Thanks also to this experience, the principles of health reform have never seemed restrictive nor coercive to me. I view them rather as divine revelation, pointing out dietary errors in order to correct all kinds of bad eating habits—with a healthier, happier life in view. WEWMM 222.2

My second experience proved to be decisive in my choice of service to God’s cause. It happened in 1941, the year that Messages to Young People was first published in the French language. Reading that book led to what I believe was a God-directed decision in my life. I had just completed the ministerial course at the French Adventist Seminary at Collonges, France, and the problem of knowing whether I should enter the work immediately or continue my studies at the university loomed up before me. The leaders of our work whom I consulted offered differing opinions, making it difficult for me to find the answer I needed, one that I could recognize as being a clear statement of God’s will. WEWMM 222.3

Fortunately God Himself revealed the solution to me. He led my eyes to the inspired passage found on page 176 of Messages to Young People, written for every young man in the situation in which I found myself: “It is right that you should feel that you must climb to the highest round of the educational ladder. Philosophy and history are important studies; but your sacrifice of time and money will avail nothing if you do not use your attainments for the honor of God and the good of humanity. Unless the knowledge of science is a stepping-stone to the attainment of the highest purposes, it is worthless.” WEWMM 223.1

I could not hope for a more definite answer; to me, it was God’s personal reply. And as such, it went infinitely beyond what I had dared to ask in my prayers. My immediate concern had been only to know whether I should start my university study program at that time. God’s answer, which I accepted to the letter, seemed also to indicate the courses I should pursue. As a result, I refused an offer to study medicine and devoted myself completely to the study of history and philosophy. More than that, I took to heart the advice contained in that divine message, and it has served as a constant reminder of the uselessness of study, whatever the subject may be, if that study is not dedicated to the service of God and the good of mankind. That counsel in Messages to Young People verily became my goal in life: to advance my education as high as possible and to employ all my knowledge to the honor of God and the good of humanity. WEWMM 223.2

Ellen G. White’s writings have always been a marvelous source of counsel for me: in my life as a student in quest of knowledge, as well as in my service as a teacher, a worker in foreign lands, or a leader in God’s church. I have learned through manifold experiences that there can be no failure for one who works in harmony with God’s direction as given through the Spirit of Prophecy writings. WEWMM 223.3

Some years later, when I considered writing a thesis leading to a doctorate, I promised myself that I would not undertake the work simply to acquire another degree. Instead, I would devote the time of my research to a subject worthy of my effort and interest and useful to the cause of God. I had no trouble finding such a subject. For several years the statement found on page 588 of The Great Controversy had attracted my attention: “Through two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome.” WEWMM 223.4

In the study of philosophy, is there a more classical subject than the immortality of the soul? The fact that Ellen White points it out as one of the two great errors leading to the final conflict seemed to indicate to me that I should try to expose, thoroughly and convincingly, that monstrous error, as much from the viewpoint of philosophy and pure logic as from the point of view of theology and Biblical exegesis. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that this should be the subject of my thesis. Supporting this conviction was the significant passage from The Story of Redemption: “Those who would stand in the time of peril must understand the testimony of the Scriptures concerning the nature of man and the state of the dead.”—Page 398. WEWMM 224.1

My professors did not readily accept my proposition. Had not everything already been said on that subject? Was not the immortality of the soul a fact no longer disputed? For some people, to put it in doubt would immediately be considered as a kind of sacrilege against the hallowed shrine of philosophical thought. Whatever the chances, it seemed the opportune moment for me to unmask this flattering illusion, this most cunning of lies, the one that man has never ceased believing since the very beginning of time. At the same time, I determined to bring out into the open a Bible truth, which, according to Ellen G. White, is one of the most important: “The subjects of the Sabbath, the nature of man, and the testimony of Jesus are the great and important truths to be understood; these will prove as an anchor to hold God’s people in these perilous times. But the mass of mankind despise the truths of God’s word and prefer fables.”—Testimony Treasures, vol. 1, p. 98. WEWMM 224.2

In undertaking to prepare a thesis on the nature and destiny of man, there was no question in my mind about going to the sources of our faith. Along with my research into philosophy and theology, this study afforded me an opportunity to dig deeply into all that Ellen G. White had written on the nature of man. As an educator, the following fundamental counsel had forced me to reflect on this subject: “In order to understand what is comprehended in the work of education, we need to consider both the nature of man and the purpose of God in creating him.”—Education, 14. WEWMM 224.3

What first struck me in my comparative study was the masterly way in which the subject is treated. To be sure, nowhere is it presented in a systematic way, but all through Ellen G. White’s writings one is aware of a conception of man that is diametrically opposed to the philosophical and theological thinking of her time. The outcome of a new understanding of the Bible, this discernment is expressed in a language and in terms that only those who specialize in this field of study can truly appreciate. WEWMM 225.1

Although the writings of Ellen G. White contain a veritable mine of scientific, theological, and even philosophical truths, until now only the first has challenged our study. An interesting investigation would be to compare revelations made in her writings with late findings in psychology and metaphysics. Such a study would show that she revealed an even greater understanding beyond the knowledge of her day and ours in these fields, because it is evident that scientific discoveries and the extraordinary progress that has been made in the field of medicine have not changed the fundamental ideas of our contemporaries on the nature and destiny of man. Their premises still retain mythical ideas, inherited from ancient philosophers, which traditional theological teaching has only popularized. WEWMM 225.2

In Adventist circles we are so accustomed to the Biblical conception of man that it is difficult for us to realize how new this idea is. We also risk not realizing that we owe this understanding to the revelations of God through Ellen White. It is inconceivable that in her day a woman of Ellen G. White’s culture could, by herself, have arrived at the conception of man that is in harmony with Bible truth and with scientific facts verified only by the most recent theological and medical research. As a specialist in this field I feel able to judge, and to me these facts all point to divine inspiration. Although I did not wait for this personal discovery to believe in the gift of the Spirit, this proof gave me an added confidence and supplied a fresh experimental basis for my faith in the divine inspiration of the writings of Ellen G. White. WEWMM 225.3

These are only a few of my experiences in relation to the writings of Ellen G. White. Of course, it would have been easy for me to enumerate multiple reasons for having unlimited confidence, but I have restricted my account to a few definite experiences. As a student I learned the counsels early in my experience. As a teacher I taught them for several years. As a believer I have had opportunity to test some of them in a very special way. Since nothing can replace personal experience, my testimony is based on what I know personally. WEWMM 226.1

These experiences have become living validations of the soundness of the counsels given by God’s messenger, in my life; she was everything I needed in my preparation for God’s service, in the forming of my way of thinking, in my philosophy, in my faith, and in the message that I preach. To me, these writings have always been special revelations given for a better understanding of God’s Word, divine messages directed to God’s last church, unique truths received from above for a people charged with a holy mission. But, above all, for me Ellen G. White’s books are God-inspired counsel, leading to a personal experience that grows more real and more profound with time, so that while I am preaching to others I myself might have the joy of sharing in their marvelous promises. WEWMM 226.2

Berne, Switzerland
June 1972