What Ellen White has Meant to Me

Chapter 11—A Priceless Legacy

“What I’m looking for is a small suitcase that’s really tough. I want it for carrying books.” WEWMM 89.1

On the counter were two or three good-looking but rather flimsy bags that my father obviously considered unsatisfactory. Trying hard to please, the clerk in the luggage shop turned once more to the shelves behind him. Then, a triumphant twinkle in his eye, he reached for a plain brown case and deliberately slammed it noisily on the counter. WEWMM 89.2

“This is just what you need,” he said. WEWMM 89.3

Dad gave the little suitcase a skeptical glance. WEWMM 89.4

“I’ll show you just how tough it is.” WEWMM 89.5

In one fluid series of motions the clerk closed the lid, dropped it on the floor, and stepped with his whole weight on the flat side of the hollow case. WEWMM 89.6

It was an impressive demonstration. Dad bought the case. WEWMM 89.7

That was nearly fifty years ago. As a small boy, excited to be on a shopping trip with Dad, I observed the incident with great interest. And I watched through the years as Dad carried that tough little suitcase packed with books wherever he went. WEWMM 89.8

The books were his Bible and the writings of Ellen G. White. Looking inside them, I discovered that they were heavily underlined in various colors, with cross references to Scripture and other Spirit of Prophecy writings. WEWMM 89.9

Dad lived with those books. As a busy district pastor, he often traveled by train. Overnight visits in members’ homes were frequent. He could not bear to spend a day without studying those volumes. He quoted from them in his sermons. He read them in family worship. He ordered his life and ministry according to their teachings. WEWMM 90.1

Thus my confidence in the messages of Ellen White and the validity of her inspiration came to me intact as a heritage from my father. One day after I had become a minister, Dad put his finger on a passage in Testimonies for the Church 5:214: “Every one must now search the Bible for himself upon his knees before God, with the humble, teachable heart of a child, if he would know what the Lord requires of him.” Then, looking at me with a smile, Dad said simply, “I’ve read the entire Bible through on my knees—twice.” WEWMM 90.2

For many years, every letter he wrote to me contained at least one quotation from Ellen White. Until his death at eighty-six years of age, not once did his faith in these inspired messages falter. WEWMM 90.3

My present confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy, however, is not dependent on sentimental loyalty to my father’s memory. Passing years have built an unshakable structure of personal confidence on the solid foundation he bequeathed. Here are the factors that have influenced my faith: WEWMM 90.4

The visions. Beginning with the account of that first dramatic occasion, late in 1844, when the Holy Spirit came to Ellen Harmon as she and four other women prayed together in the Haynes home at Portland, Maine, is the entire record of her direct communications from God. The physical facts, especially while recognizing the background of the humble messenger, are impressive. The very improbability of her personal accomplishments apart from the direct intervention of God carries conviction. WEWMM 90.5

The gift of prophecy itself a remarkable fulfillment. Its timing and location, as well as the messages themselves, were a necessary feature in the rise of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Bible passages that call for the prophetic gift in the final phase of the church on earth give me complete assurance that the work of Mrs. White fulfills their requirements. WEWMM 90.6

Role in church development. Whether considered from the standpoint of history, doctrine, or organization, the growth of the church is inextricably entwined with the work of Ellen White. She did not plan the events, originate the doctrine, or dictate the organization. But her counsels, cautions, and admonitions gave both courage and conviction to church leaders. WEWMM 91.1

Specific predictions and fulfillment. The most convincing proof of prophecy is fulfillment. I have always been intrigued with the long list of persons, events, locations, and circumstances that Mrs. White outlined in unmistakable detail, long before she or anyone around her could have known of them. She always did this to aid the church, never for personal recognition or reward. WEWMM 91.2

The appropriateness and timeliness of her messages. Rebuke, entreaty, and encouragement for individuals; exhortation to the church, calls for reformation, and counsels on administrative problems—all of these were given exactly when needed. Human genius could not have accounted for this invariable timeliness. WEWMM 91.3

Consistency. It is impossible to read Ellen White’s writings, remembering the seventy years over which they were written, the rapidly changing circumstances in the world and in the church, and the amazing increase of knowledge since her death, without amazement at the continuing consistency and timelessness of her counsel. WEWMM 91.4

Scientific corroboration of health principles. I have been fascinated to see that almost every feature of Ellen White’s health messages, often ignored or ridiculed by the scientists of her day, has now, more than half a century after her death, been corroborated scientifically. What few areas are yet to be vindicated in the scientific laboratory, such as the germ theory of cancer, are even now in process of validation. WEWMM 91.5

Impact on personal experience. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” It would be impossible to deny the change in people’s lives that has followed acceptance of the counsels and challenges in Ellen White’s writings. I feel their influence in my own life. WEWMM 91.6

Beauty of language. Recognizing that some might rightly ascribe this distinctive characteristic to writings that make no claim to divine inspiration, I have left it to the last. Yet there is a unique quality in Ellen White’s use of words. Her developing style is so unstudied, so much in contrast with her meager formal education. Her eloquence flashes like polished jewels in unexpected places. WEWMM 91.7

Only recently, in notes on the Sabbath school lesson, I came across this gem: “When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God.”—The Ministry of Healing, 58. Could this thought be expressed more eloquently? WEWMM 92.1

Through the years of my ministry many quotations from Ellen White have become my personal treasures. I will mention four, each of which has been a source of help for a particular phase of my work. WEWMM 92.2

Like every other Adventist worker, I have frequently found myself faced with important decisions to make, not always certain what God wanted me to do. When situations have seemed untenable, or when delay continued past what seemed the limit of patient endurance, this quotation has always been a solace: “Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, 327. Never has God failed to make good on this promise. Inevitably, when the periods of uncertainty passed I have recognized that God led me where He wanted me to be. WEWMM 92.3

Work with young people has been a frequent and fascinating part of my ministry. I have lost count of the colleges, schools of nursing, academies, and elementary schools where I have been asked to conduct Weeks of Prayer. One of my favorite quotations has often given a breath of courage to a disheartened youth: “Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness, and relies wholly on the merits of the Saviour. God would send every angel in heaven to the aid of such an one, rather than allow him to be overcome.”—Testimonies for the Church 7:17. WEWMM 92.4

While I was still a ministerial intern, I discovered that the world is full of people who have distressing personal problems. Many of these involve members of the family or other individuals. Emotional security as well as physical health is often affected. I found these troubled people turning to me, their young pastor, for help. Despite my training in theology and the fact that I had been brought up in a minister’s family, I had somehow failed to realize how much of my attention would be occupied with these problems. I resented it. I actually considered dropping out of the ministry because I didn’t want to become involved. WEWMM 92.5

Gradually, however, I recognized that giving comfort and wise counsel was one of a preacher’s greatest privileges. Through an unusual set of circumstances I had an opportunity to study and observe the operation of a professional counseling ministry. A deep sympathy developed for persons suffering from emotional distress. For several years my radio program featured “The Pastor’s Counsel Study,” and many hundreds of letters, mostly from non-Christians, gave me a broad spectrum of human woe. WEWMM 93.1

One brief quotation encouraged me in this ministry: “Sickness of the mind prevails everywhere. Nine-tenths of the diseases from which men suffer have their foundation here.”—Testimonies for the Church 5:444. The book The Ministry of Healing is filled with especially valuable counsel. Now I find great blessing and satisfaction in helping these troubled individuals. WEWMM 93.2

Finally, in my administrative duties, one familiar quotation has been the promise that gives me the greatest courage. “God is able and willing to bestow upon His servants all the strength they need, and to give them the wisdom that their varied necessities demand.”—Gospel Workers, 262, 263. WEWMM 93.3

Problems there have been—relentless, varied, solution-defying. They have been complicated by international confrontation, surges of national pride, baffling financial fluctuations, spiritual atrophy, leadership paralysis. Most difficult and most distressing have been the people problems. And always there has been the awesome challenge to the church of the Orient’s massed millions. WEWMM 93.4

“Who is sufficient for these things?” How comforting have been the words, “God is able and willing ... to give them the wisdom that their varied necessities demand.” WEWMM 93.5

By implanting in my mind an unforgettable impression of faith in the writings of Ellen White, my father left me a priceless legacy. His lifetime, and mine, have deepened and broadened that impression. WEWMM 94.1

I believe, and what a blessing belief has brought! WEWMM 94.2

Singapore
July 1, 1972