A Prophet Among You

The Life of the Prophet

Of only One is it written that He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15. The rest of us are characterized by the words of Paul: “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. The classification fits each individual whether prophet or not. The fact that we see today that there was sin in the lives of some of the Bible prophets after they had been called to the prophetic office in no wise invalidates the instruction God gave through them. God knew the kind of men He was dealing with and did the best He could with the material He had to work with. Today, what we remember about these men is not the sin that was in their life, but the truth of the gospel that God chose to reveal through them. Prophets needed the working of that gospel in their own hearts as did the people to whom they preached and wrote. APAY 425.1

Critics have tried to build a case against accepting the teachings of Ellen White by attempting to show that her life was not always in full harmony with her teachings. Most certainly we would not try to establish that after revelation from God began to come to this messenger she never made another mistake and always acted in complete accord with every detail of the instruction she passed on to the church. This would be placing her in a class apart from and above ancient prophets. On the other hand, the critic is unjustified in holding Ellen White to a standard to which neither he nor anyone else holds Bible prophets. What has been said is not for the purpose of preparing the way to say that the critics have been right in some of their charges against Mrs. White’s personal experience, but that that is something to be expected. The facts are that it is relatively easy to show that in the matters usually selected by the critics to build their case against Mrs. White’s character, her course of action was not contrary to the principles she taught. Perhaps meeting three charges will be sufficient to show the tenor of the criticisms and make it plain that the facts dispel the charges. APAY 425.2

Health reform. A frequently heard charge is that Ellen White did not live according to the health-reform principles she taught. One point that is emphasized is that she used flesh as food after giving instruction that the flesh diet should be abandoned. It is not necessary to review here what has been said on the subject of flesh diet; we are dealing only with Ellen White’s relation to the counsel. A good summary of the instruction will be found in Counsels on Diet and Foods, 373 ff. Mrs. White’s experience as a health reformer appears as an appendix to the book. See pages 481-494. APAY 426.1

In 1864 Ellen White wrote: “Since the Lord presented before me, in June, 1863, the subject of meat eating in relation to health, I have left the use of meat.... I have lived for nearly one year without meat.”Spiritual Gifts 4a:153. But, says the critic, it is known that Mrs. White ate meat after that time. He is right, but he is not producing evidence of something that had been hidden by Mrs. White. The eating of flesh was not her practice, but in 1890 she stated clearly: “When I could not obtain the food I needed, I have sometimes eaten a little meat; but I am becoming more and more afraid of it.”Counsels on Diet and Foods, 394. In 1895 she wrote: “Since the camp meeting at Brighton (January, 1894) I have absolutely banished meat from my table. It is an understanding that whether I am at home or abroad, nothing of this kind is to be used in my family, or come upon my table.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 488. APAY 426.2

But, the critic continues, we are informed, by those who knew, that she used flesh after that time. In a section in Testimonies, volume 9, dealing directly with this subject, Ellen White, in 1909, commented on this: “It is reported by some that I have not followed the principles of health reform as I have advocated them with my pen; but I can say that I have been a faithful health reformer. Those who have been members of my family know that this is true.” Page 159. In this instance one must make a choice—between the word of the critic and the word of the one who has borne such a multitude of messages of truth. Some have gone so far as to say that during the last days of Mrs. White’s life she called for and ate meat. While she makes no comment that late, the testimony of one who cared for her during her last illness will be of interest. Speaking of the time she spent as Ellen White’s nurse during the last months of her life, Mrs. Carrie Hungerford wrote: “In regard to her changing her ideas about health reform, she never did. Why should she, when the Lord had shown her about it? She never ate meat or fish, nor were they in her house. Even butter was not served on her table while I was there. APAY 426.3

“I was sent on duty by the [Saint Helena] Sanitarium the a.m. following Sister White’s accident, Feb., 1915, and was with her until she breathed her last, July 16. Friday night as the sun was setting, she passed to her rest.” Letter to Alonzo J. Wearner, Jan. 11, 1953. APAY 427.1

The facts do not support the critics’ charges. APAY 427.2

Debt. A charge that has been freely circulated is one to the effect that, although Mrs. White taught that the members of the church should shun debt as they would leprosy, she died heavily in debt and that the church had to meet these obligations. It is true that in her writings Ellen White frequently warned against debt. She spoke against personal and institutional debts arising from failure to manage so that income would meet expenses. It is also true that she died owing a considerable sum of money. Then did her practice differ widely from her teaching? The facts concerning why and how her debts were incurred and how they were liquidated present a picture very different from the critics’ representations. APAY 427.3

Mrs. White always lived economically. No indebtedness was incurred to supply her needs. But demands upon her for the work of the Lord were heavy, both for donations to worthy enterprises and for the publishing of her books. At times she found it necessary to borrow money to meet these demands. She did so knowing that there was an assured income from her book royalties to meet the resulting obligations. As she neared the end of her life there were a number of projects that she wished to see completed before her death. To accomplish these ends in the furtherance of the Lord’s work she mortgaged the assured future income from her books. APAY 427.4

In harmony with the provisions of her will (February, 1912), all obligations standing at the time of her death have been cleared from the income she designated for that purpose. No loss was sustained by any private individual or by the denomination. Since the obligations have been met, all royalties on the Ellen White books are paid into the treasury of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. When the facts are known there is no occasion for criticism. Additional information will be found in F. D. Nichol, op. cit., p. 523. APAY 428.1

Owning property. Did Ellen White hold large and valuable properties at the same time that she counseled the members of the church to dispose of all they had and give to the Lord? There are critics who maintain that this was the case. APAY 428.2

Perhaps we should note first that we have no record of Ellen White’s telling Seventh-day Adventists that the time had come for all to sell all their property, and give the money to the church. She did counsel against adding lands to lands, and property to property, for the sake of the accumulation of wealth. But she also taught that it was good for people to own their own homes, and lay a little money aside to care for themselves in case of emergency. See The Adventist Home, 372, 373, 395 ff. She indicated that the disposition of property was an individual matter, and that if the earnest Christian placed his property in the hands of the Lord, it would be made plain to him when he should sell it. See Testimonies for the Church 5:734. APAY 428.3

What about her own property holdings? At the time usually pointed out by the critics, Ellen White owned about two hundred acres of land. Of this seemingly large area, held for a few years by Mrs. White, one hundred and twenty acres were a wooded hillside, purchased for $550 so that the wood might be cut for fuel for herself and her workers. Some timber was sold to neighbors, and needy persons were given employment cutting wood. One hundred and twenty acres may sound like a good deal of land, but its value, $4.58 an acre, was small, except for the purpose for which it had been purchased. After the timber had been cut from the hillside, the land was traded for some lots in the town of Saint Helena, a few miles from Mrs. White’s Elmshaven home. Some of the lots were donated for the purpose of building a church school in Saint Helena. It also forms the site of our church there. The remaining land was not extensive and its valuation was not high. Possession of a home on a moderate-sized plot of farm and grazing land is not out of harmony with the principles set out in Mrs. White’s writings. See Nichol, op. cit., pp. 520 ff. APAY 429.1