101 Questions on the Sanctuary and on Ellen White

48. Belief in Ellen White Not a Test of Membership

Is it necessary to believe in Ellen White in order to be a Seventh-day Adventist? Ford states, “From Ellen G. White’s own pen carne counsel that belief in her specific role was not to be made a test of church membership or fellowship” (Ford, Page 605). QSEW 40.6

True, belief in Ellen White’s unique role as an inspired messenger is not a test of fellowship in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. One might gather from Ford’s statement, however, that a church member may manifest any attitude he wishes toward Ellen White and still be considered in good and regular standing. But this is not the case. Ford quotes a paragraph from Testimonies for the Church 1:327-328, and another from Page 329, in support of his position, but he skips an important paragraph in between. The omitted passage says, of those who oppose the visions, that “the church may know that they are not right” (Testimonies for the Church 1:328). QSEW 41.1