The Ellen G. White Writings

The Holy Ghost Is the Author of the Messages

I am so sorry that notwithstanding the warnings that for years God has been giving you, you should act in the oppressive way that worldings act.... EGWW 63.3

The Holy Ghost is the author of the Scriptures and of the Spirit of Prophecy. These are not to be twisted and turned to mean what man may want them to mean.—Letter 92, 1900. EGWW 63.4

When Mrs. White Had No Light. Giving strength to the whole structure are statements made by Mrs. White concerning matters on which she was given no light. Here is a significant illustration she wrote to a minister seeking guidance in the course he should pursue: EGWW 63.5

I am not at liberty to write to our brethren concerning your future work.... I have received no instruction regarding the place where you should locate.... If the Lord gives me definite instruction concerning you, I will give it to you; but I cannot take upon myself responsibilities that the Lord does not give me to bear.—Letter 96, 1909 (quoted in Messenger to the Remnant, p. 116). EGWW 63.6

Here is another. She writes of an experience in Australia, when the General Conference president sought counsel: EGWW 63.7

He [Elder G. A. Irwin] has with him a little note-book in which he has noted down perplexing questions which he brings before me, and if I have any light upon these points, I write it out for the benefit of our people, not only in America, but in this country.—Letter 96, 1899 (quoted in Messenger to the Remnant, p. 117). EGWW 63.8

The suggestion is made at times that Ellen White may have been influenced by her contemporaries and predecessors. We may dismiss this idea with one quotation and reference to Chapter 3, “The Integrity of the Prophetic Message.” The matter is summed up in these words: EGWW 64.1

You think individuals have prejudiced my mind. If I am in this state, I am not fitted to be entrusted with the work of God.—Selected Messages 2:63. EGWW 64.2

Counsels in the Field of Science. To some there appears to be a strange gap or even contradiction between the message of the prophet and the discoveries and pronouncements of science. The result is that the laws of nature discovered in scientific study, which were designed by God, are thought to be in conflict with the declarations of the prophets who we grant spoke as they were “moved by the Holy Ghost.” It has even been suggested that the prophet was beyond his depth or his commission when he touched science. EGWW 64.3

In contesting such a philosophy Ellen White wrote: EGWW 64.4

Since the book of nature and the book of revelation bear the impress of the same master mind, they cannot but speak in harmony.—Education, 128. EGWW 64.5

Her concepts of the reliability of the Word of God in the field of science are revealed in such statements as these: EGWW 64.6

There should be a settled faith in the divinity of God’s holy word. The Bible is not to be tested by men’s ideas of science, but science is to be brought to the test of this unerring standard. When the Bible makes statements of facts in nature, science may be compared with the written word, and a correct understanding of both will always prove them to be in harmony. One does not contradict the other. All truth, whether in nature or revelation, agrees.—Signs of the Times, March 13, 1884. EGWW 64.7

I have been shown that without Bible history, geology can prove nothing.—Spiritual Gifts 3:93. EGWW 65.1

Moses wrote under the guidance of the Spirit of God, and a correct theory of geology will never claim discoveries that cannot be reconciled with his statements.—Signs of the Times, March 13, 1884. EGWW 65.2

A scrutiny of the Ellen G. White writings discloses that God revealed to her in vision many points in the field of science. There is no clue that would justify our placing these statements of fact and counsel in a category by themselves. Her attitude toward the dependability of the scientific statements in the Bible indicates that she drew no line of distinction. EGWW 65.3

True, a current interpretation of scientific data may be or may appear to be in conflict with the Spirit of Prophecy, but it is remarkable how many times men of science given a little time reverse themselves only to figuratively step over to the side of Ellen White and say, “You were right.” EGWW 65.4

Ellen White’s pronouncements and counsels usually had relevance to our work and experience. Many of the scientific counsels which she gave were in the area of physiology and nutrition. EGWW 65.5

Writings in the Field of History. Both the Bible writers and Ellen White wrote much in the field of history. What was the source of their information? Of early world history Ellen White informs us: EGWW 65.6

The preparation of the written word began in the time of Moses.... From Moses, the historian of creation and the law.—The Great Controversy, v. EGWW 65.7

Moses wrote under the guidance of the Spirit of God.—Signs of the Times, March 13, 1884. EGWW 65.8

The Bible is the most ancient and the most comprehensive history that men possess. It came fresh from the Fountain of eternal truth; and throughout the ages a divine hand has preserved its purity. It lights up the far-distant past, where human research seeks in vain to penetrate. In God’s word only do we behold the power that laid the foundations of the earth and that stretched out the heavens. EGWW 65.9

Here only do we find an authentic account of the origin of nations. Here only is given a history of our race unsullied by human pride or prejudice.—Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 52. EGWW 66.1

The Holy Spirit ... guided the pens of the sacred historians, that the record of the words and works of Christ might be given to the world.—Gospel Workers, 286. EGWW 66.2

And in her experience history past, present, and future passed before her in vision. Writing of certain revelations, she exclaimed: EGWW 66.3

Scenes of such thrilling, solemn interest passed before me as no language is adequate to describe. It was all a living reality to me.—Selected Messages 1:76. EGWW 66.4

In her introduction to The Great Controversy she relates: EGWW 66.5

As the Spirit of God has opened to my mind the great truths of His word, and the scenes of the past and the future, I have been bidden to make known to others that which has thus been revealed—to trace the history of the controversy in past ages, and especially so to present it as to shed a light on the fast-approaching struggle of the future.—The Great Controversy, xi. EGWW 66.6

This statement was written and published in 1888. Thirty years earlier she published a book, Spiritual Gifts, volume 1, which she titled, The Great Controversy Between Christ and His Angels and Satan and His Angels. In this little work of 219 pages, which spans the whole conflict story, she continually reminds the reader that what she is presenting she saw transpire in vision, by employing the expressions “I saw,” “I was shown,” and so forth. EGWW 66.7

In her preface to Spiritual Gifts, volume 3, published in 1864 and subtitled Important Facts of Faith in Connection With the History of Holy Men of Old, she indicates the source of this historical information: EGWW 66.8

I am comforted with the conviction that the Lord has made me His humble instrument in shedding some rays of precious light upon the past.... Since the great facts of faith, connected with the history of holy men of old, have been opened to me in vision ... EGWW 66.9

The presentations of this volume read like the descriptions of an eyewitness, and in a sense they were. EGWW 67.1