A Prophet Among You

A Guide, Not an Innovator

It is not necessarily the function of a messenger of the Lord to open up new channels of theological thought, or to create new pathways for the Christian life. The messenger is to guide the people of God in safe pathways. This may involve the new application of an abiding principle, or the re-emphasis of a way that is already recognized and practiced. That was true of Bible prophets, as is evidenced by the frequent repetition of certain prophecies and the repeated messages calling the people to walk in “the old paths.” Jeremiah 6:16. It is also true of the work of Ellen White. She did not claim to be the first to introduce every application of the great principles of Bible truth and Christian living that is made prominent in her teachings for special application to Seventh-day Adventists. We have already noticed the kind of guidance that was given in the study that resulted in the system of doctrines held by the church today. Mention has been made also of the rise of Seventh-day Adventist medical and educational work. See pages 229, 230, 243, 245. APAY 385.3

Three years after Ellen White’s vision of 1863, which called the attention of Seventh-day Adventists to health reform, and eight months after she received instruction calling for Adventists to start a medical institution, J. H. Waggoner made this statement on health-reform principles: “We do not profess to be pioneers in the general principles of the health reform. The facts on which this movement is based have been elaborated, in a great measure, by reformers, physicians, and writers on physiology and hygiene, and so may be found scattered through the land. But we do claim that by the method of God’s choice it has been more clearly and powerfully unfolded, and is thereby producing an effect which we could not have looked for from any other means. APAY 386.1

“As mere physiological and hygienic truths, they might be studied by some at their leisure, and by others laid aside as of little consequence; but when placed on a level with the great truths of the third angel’s message by the sanction and authority of God’s Spirit, and so declared to be the means whereby a weak people may be made strong to overcome, and our diseased bodies cleansed and fitted for translation, then it comes to us as an essential part of present truth, to be received with the blessing of God, or rejected at our peril.” The Review and Herald, August 7, 1866. APAY 386.2

Many of the principles of healthful living pointed out by Ellen G. White for the benefit of Seventh-day Adventists were already being taught in a limited way by others, but had made no real impact on the advent believers or the world generally. Certainly they had not been stressed as a part of a person’s spiritual experience. But mingled with the teaching of truth by others, there were also errors and extremes that needed to be avoided. These were pointed out by Ellen White. Although there was an overlapping of some of her teachings with what was held by others, she was not dependent upon them for light on healthful living. If she had been, she would have adopted their errors as well as their truths. In an article in the The Review and Herald, October 8, 1867, Mrs. White wrote of some who said to her, “You speak very nearly the opinions taught in the Laws of Life, and other publications, by Drs. Trall, Jackson, and others. Have you read that paper and those works? My reply was that I had not, neither should I read them till I had fully written out my views, lest it should be said that I had received my light upon the subject of health from physicians, and not from the Lord.” Much that came to Ellen White by revelation was far in advance of the medical knowledge and practice of her day. Some of her statements have received the confirmation of medical research only within recent years, and others are just now beginning to be understood. APAY 387.1

Two important characteristics of the health writings of Mrs. White are: (1) They have stood the test of time in reference to medical and dietetic matters, through a period of radical changes in beliefs and practice in the medical profession as a whole; (2) they point out healthful living as a religious duty and a source of spiritual, as well as physical, blessing. APAY 387.2

What is true in reference to health teachings is also true with the principles of Christian education enunciated by Ellen White. Many of her writings dealt with principles and approaches that were already in use to some extent. But again we must note that these had made no outstanding impact upon Seventh-day Adventists, that the good was blended with the worthless, and that there was little or no stress upon right education as a Christian duty. In her writings, Mrs. White was not dependent on what she observed or heard as a basis for what she outlined as God’s plan of education. Everything she wrote did not lead the advent people along new paths, but the message did direct the church to safe paths. APAY 387.3