What Ellen White has Meant to Me

Chapter 18—A Veritable Encyclopedia That I Can Trust

I grew up in a family where life was thoroughly enjoyed and where the writings of Ellen G. White were accepted as a guide to making it even more rewarding. As a result, confidence in these writings was as natural as the sunrise, as far back as I can remember, and this confidence has continued to grow steadily through the years. I see five distinct phases in this development. The first was my simple acceptance as a child, trusting what my father and mother trusted. WEWMM 137.1

The second, and perhaps most significant, phase came in my late teens and early twenties when I began seriously to seek the intellectual basis of the religion I had inherited. In thinking through such questions as the existence of God and the inspiration of the Bible, I discovered that the very criteria by which I had come to consider the Bible a reliable source of information about God and how He wants us to live were also the criteria by which Mrs. White’s writings are to be judged. I have found all she wrote to be in full agreement with Scripture, and based on Biblical teachings to such an extent that one cannot adequately interpret what she has written, or deal with the question of her inspiration, apart from a consideration of the Bible as well. Certainly there are problems in her writings, as there are in the Bible, but in my view none of these interfere with the reliability of either. WEWMM 137.2

Many factors affected my thinking during this time of reappraisal. One of the most important was the question, Does the counsel given really work? Am I happier, better off in body and mind, better able to think and to fulfill my various responsibilities when I follow the advice given in these writings than when I do not? The answer has always been a clear Yes. In fact, because all that she wrote makes such good sense, I have made it the basis of my own philosophy of life and religion. I have come to regard this instruction as the kindly counsel of a loving Father who, while leaving me free to do as I wish, hopes that I will choose that which is sensible and constructive, and informs me through these writings what all this includes. Of course, the better I understand this counsel the better I am able to apply it. The more I do, the more meaningful and significant life becomes. In this way I am ever acquiring greater evidence for increasing confidence in what has been written. WEWMM 138.1

This kindly counsel never comes in isolation but in the broader context of the God who gives it. What kind of person is He? Is He great enough to be God? Mrs. White’s picture of God is that of the Bible, but her description of Him provides helpful insights into the meaning of the Biblical statements. She says, “God desires from all His creatures the service of love—homage that springs from an intelligent appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced allegiance, and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render Him voluntary service.”—The Great Controversy, 493. This reasonable God “never asks us to believe, without giving sufficient evidence upon which to base our faith. His existence, His character, the truthfulness of His Word, are all established by testimony that appeals to our reason.”—Steps to Christ, 105. Her emphasis on reason extends to the way He would like us to govern our own lives, for we are told that “the kingly power of reason, sanctified by divine grace, is to bear sway in our lives.”—The Ministry of Healing, 130. WEWMM 138.2

The New Testament claims that this God is best revealed in Christ, so that he who has seen Christ has “seen the Father” also (John 14:9). One of the best summary descriptions of Christ I know is in the book Evangelism: WEWMM 138.3

“Christ carried out in His life His own divine teachings. His zeal never led Him to become passionate. He manifested consistency without obstinancy, benevolence without weakness, tenderness and sympathy without sentimentalism. He was highly social; yet He possessed a reserved dignity that did not encourage undue familiarity. His temperance never led to bigotry or austerity. He was not conformed to this world; yet He was not indifferent to the wants of the least among men. He was awake to the needs of all.”—Page 636. WEWMM 139.1

What a tremendous Person to admire and emulate. But can one really become like Him? How could this ever be accomplished? Mrs. White provides an excellent description of the process. She says, “By studying the character of Christ revealed in the Bible, by practicing His virtues, the believer will be changed into the same likeness of goodness and mercy.”—Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 249. Of course we often fail to attain this high goal. But here again we find a most helpful and encouraging statement: “When it is in the heart to obey God, when efforts are put forth to this end, Jesus accepts this disposition and effort as man’s best service, and He makes up for the deficiency with His own divine merit.”—Selected Messages 1:382. What good news—true gospel! Statements such as these have helped me understand what life is all about, how to order my priorities and direct my ambitions. WEWMM 139.2

The third phase in the growth of my confidence in the writings of Mrs. White came with graduation from college and entry into the ministry. Here I had opportunity to share some of the ideas that had become so valuable to me and see whether they would be equally useful to others. They were. I remember a young man recently out of the Navy who had taken a job in one of the local mills. He was a worldly fellow who smoked and drank heavily, played the field, and, as one might expect, had a troubled marriage. Then a Seventh-day Adventist doctor took an interest in the couple and showed them the good sense of Christianity. They liked what they learned and were eventually baptized. Later they told me that one of the books that meant the most through this experience was Steps to Christ. WEWMM 139.3

I recall a woman living in common-law marriage with a much older man she had met through a lonely heart’s correspondence club. Neither was especially religious, but in part through a Dorcas contact she learned of Seventh-day Adventists and began to attend a small old country church in my district complete with pump organ, potbellied stove, and gas lamps. Her interest increased and she began to read our literature. One afternoon she told me how much The Great Controversy meant to her. She had read the whole book from cover to cover in a surprisingly short time. WEWMM 139.4

I recall the comfort a man and his wife derived on the death of their only son by reading three or four passages by Mrs. White that I recommended to them. I remember the subduing influence that The Desire of Ages had on a rough, tough, uneducated mountain woman who lived with her old horse, chickens, and goats eleven miles from the nearest whisper of civilization, one old store. My memory is full of such experiences. Interestingly, none of these was a Seventh-day Adventist at the time they discovered the value of these books. These experiences strengthened my own confidence in the mission of Ellen White. WEWMM 140.1

During this same period these writings took on a new meaning for me personally as I attempted to develop my own understanding of the ministry and its responsibilities. What is the ministry, anyway? “To take people right where they are, whatever their position, whatever their condition, and help them in every way possible, this is gospel ministry.”—Medical Ministry, 238. Much of my time, however, was spent in administrative responsibilities rather than with people. The following statement meant a great deal: “Why are those who are set apart for the work of the ministry placed on committees and boards? ... The ministers have not been set apart to do this work.”—Gospel Workers, 425. How then was I to help people? What aspect of my work should hold priority? Here is one answer: “The highest work of the princes in Israel ... is to fulfill the responsibility resting upon them to fasten the Scriptures in the minds of the people.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, on 2 Kings 23:2, p. 1039. WEWMM 140.2

The next, or fourth, phase in the growth of my confidence in the writings of Mrs. White came while attending graduate school. Here the familiar questions about life and religion were raised in a whole new context and in a much broader perspective. I had excellent teachers, some of them very secular in their outlook. For some, religion and theology were merely a business. Others, however, were deeply committed to what they understood to be truth—conscientious men and worthy of all respect. Nearly all were knowledgeable and some were positively brilliant. How would the writings of Mrs. White compare? WEWMM 140.3

My field was Biblical studies with emphasis on the New Testament; therefore, I was especially interested in Mrs. White’s comments on the specific Biblical passages with which I worked. Many are the times that I surveyed everything written on a particular passage, to the best of my knowledge, in several different languages, and concluded that her treatment of the passages was in line with the best and most recent scholarship; although written long years ago, her comments revealed remarkable perception. In addition, her statements were often expressed in a way superior to that which I was able to find elsewhere. WEWMM 141.1

While attending a seminar on 1 Thessalonians conducted by a leading New Testament professor, a specific problem in chapter four was discussed. He asked the students for possible solutions and several were given following traditional lines, all of which he shredded unmercifully. Then with some fear and trembling I suggested what I felt was the right approach. He glowed with approval and wondered where I had obtained such an idea. My response was simply that I had given a paraphrase of something I had recently read on the passage in the writings of Mrs. White. WEWMM 141.2

The fifth and final phase in the growth of my confidence in the writings of Mrs. White has come during my current work as a college Bible teacher. Here I find the writings of continuing value in facing life each day. Recently a strong movement on campus urged students to leave school for immediate missionary work. Would Mrs. White have something helpful to say in this situation? I found much. For instance: “God requires the training of the mental faculties.... And He is displeased with those who are too careless or too indolent to become efficient, well-informed workers.... The Lord desires us to obtain all the education possible.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, 333. But, I was asked, is not the Holy Spirit all that one needs? The reply: “But God never sends His Spirit to sanction ignorance.”—Gospel Workers, 105, 106. Well, how about the uneducated man? Of course God uses him too, “but those who, with the same spirit of consecration, have had the benefit of a thorough education, can do a much more extensive work for Christ. They stand on vantage ground.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, 333. WEWMM 141.3

Sometimes those who make light of education try to replace it with emotion. This approach can be very satisfying momentarily; in fact—as I write—an emotional wave, religiously oriented, appears to be taking the world by storm. Mrs. White’s counsel seems right up to date: “Bible sanctification does not consist in strong emotion. Here is where many are led into error.”—The Sanctified Life, 10. Rather, “no effort should be made to rein the mind up to a certain intensity of emotion.”—The Sanctified Life, 90. “Pure religion has to do with the will.... The will is not the taste or the inclination, but it is the deciding power.”—Testimonies for the Church 5:513. Thus, “God’s children are not to be subject to feelings and emotions.”—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 518. WEWMM 142.1

Experience has given me confidence in a well-known boating manual that is a veritable encyclopedia on such things as equipment, anchoring, boat handling, seamanship, safety, navigation, flag etiquette, signaling, and general legal regulations. I have found that the closer I follow the counsel in this manual the safer I am and the more satisfaction I get from boating. Confidence has come through study and the application of the ideas suggested. WEWMM 142.2

The writings of Mrs. White are a veritable encyclopedia on life. After a great deal of study and experimentation with the ideas recommended, I can heartily recommend them to everyone who is seeking to obtain the most from life both now and hereafter with full confidence that they will be as beneficial to them as they have been to me. WEWMM 142.3

Walla Walla, Washington
June 1972