Ellen G. White

Throughout history there have been two major understandings of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The first is the indwelling of the transcendent timeless God within the timeless soul of a body/soul, dualistic anthropology. The second is an all-inclusive view in which either everything is God, pantheism, or everything is within God, panentheism. Adventism has traditionally rejected both of these understandings. Adventism teaches a monistic anthropology, denying the indwelling of the soul and a panentheistic point of view. How then is Adventism able to define the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? In order to begin to answer this question it seems fitting to study the prophetic voice of the Adventist church and come to at least an initial interpretation of Ellen White's understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In this article an initial understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will be presented through a limited in-depth chronological study of four significant sources of the writings of Ellen White, rather than a surface study of her entire works. These are excerpts from Steps to Christ, " Growing Up Into Christ " (chapter 8), a letter written to Sister Wessels, Sr., referenced in Special Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, Series A No. 9 pg. 75-80, Desire of Ages, " Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled " (chapter 73), and Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 8 section 5. The results of this study show White's understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as an abiding in Christ through a devotional interpersonal relationship of faith demonstrated most clearly in transformation of character for the Christian believer.

This essay explores the spiritual journey of Ellen White, a Seventh-day Adventist Church pioneer. It concludes that the depth of the journey “illustrates the sincerity, integrity, sensitivity to social injustice and boldness to confront the barriers of set traditions that heroes of many faith traditions have encompassed. In this respect, both Ellen White and Mary MacKillop reveal a bond of commonality and this insight provides a lens through which Seventh-day Adventists can appreciate the heroes of the many faith traditions throughout the world.

This document is made available for those interested in Ellen G. White’s literary process. The document was compiled during the course of study of the Life of Christ Research Project, conducted from 1980 to 1988. The document was given to the publisher, Kevin L. Morgan, M.A., by Dr. Veltman’s secretary, E. Marcella Anderson King. Referencing has been updated and it has been marked for materials that coincide with the EGW biographies, the Fannie Bolton Story, and Exhibits Relating to the Writing of The Desire of Ages. Highlighting marks points that were of interest to the publisher.

Author: David A. Dean
Publisher: CBE International

Women played an important and often overlooked role in the de­velopment of the Adventist movement in the nineteenth century United States. As a reform movement that set aside established traditions and looked afresh at Scripture, early Adventism found and espoused biblical support for women in ministry. Eventually, debates about women preachers ensued, foreshadowing contem­porary arguments about gender. This article will summarize the development of Adventism and the role of women within the na­scent movement. It will then look at the lives and ministries of three of Adventism’s most influential women: Harriet Hastings, Ellen White, and Anna Smith. These women were contempo­raries, each active in ministry while married and each living into her eighties, but with notable differences.

(Updated July 23, 2019) Since the time of Dr. Fred Veltman's eight-year study, "The Life of Christ Research Project," questions have remained regarding Ellen White's denial of literary use. Dr. Veltman's voicing of these questions in the MINISTRY summary of the project left many readers with a misperception about Ellen White. Also, Ron Numbers' PROPHETESS OF HEALTH raised asserted that Adventists already had the main outlines of health reform before Ellen White's June 1863 health vision. This chapter, extracted from WHITE LIE SOAP addressed Numbers' assertion, demonstrating that it was Ellen White's vision that enlisted Adventists to take care of their health and showing that Ellen White's denials were specific answers to questions given her rather than blanket denials of literary adaptation.

En este estudio se analizarán elementos de los capítulos 7 y 14 del libro de Apocalipsis, lugar en donde Juan describe a los 144.000 y la gran multitud. El previo análisis se hará con la finalidad de presentar la relación que existe entre los 144.000 y la gran multitud, para responder a la interrogante sobre la simbología o literalidad del primer grupo. Además, se examinarán algunos textos de Elena de White para ver si la descripción de los detalles que ella narra coincide con las conclusiones presentadas en este análisis. Aunque este estudio considera ciertas características de la gran multitud, se centrará en los 144.000.

This article analyses the narrative of the great multitude in Revelation 7 and 14. This analysis aims to describe the relationship between the 144,000 and the great multitude. In answering the question about the symbolism or the literality of the 144,000, this group will be compared with some of Ellen White's texts. Although this study considers some characteristics of
the great multitude, it will focus on the 144,000.

Jesus Christus wird der "Sohn Gottes", oder der "Erstgeborene", oder der "Eingeborene" genannt. Außerdem wird Psalm 2,7 "Heute habe ich dich gezeugt" mit Christus in Verbindung gebracht. Heißt dies, dass Jesus Christus einen Anfang hatte? Die Antwort lautet: "Nein".

A nebulosa de Órion ocupa um lugar especial no coração Adventista. Desde 1848, quando Ellen White mencionou Órion no livro Primeiros Escritos, os Adventistas têm ansiosamente focado seus olhos, binóculos e telescópios para esse lugar no céu em busca de sinais e evidências da Segunda Vinda. A passagem em questão diz: "Nuvens negras e densas subiam e chocavam-se entre si. A atmosfera abriu-se e recuou; pudemos então olhar através do espaço aberto em Órion, donde vinha a voz de Deus. A santa cidade descerá por aquele espaço aberto" (Primeiros Escritos, 41). Abaixo, analisaremos alguns aspectos dessa citação. ...

Temperance has been a household term among the Seventh-day Adventists in the nineteenth century. This term carries with it a significant history and impact to the society. This paper argues that the rich nineteenth-century temperance context helps understand and appreciate the message and teaching of Ellen White on temperance. Moreover, the church needs to keep this legacy from this period alive and to pass on to our generation today. This paper will surely contribute to advance the health and wholeness of the people in Africa.

No geral, o livro de Daily é bem escrito e tem o apoio de mais de trezentas referências. No fundo, no entanto, ele oferece poucos insights originais sobre o perfil psicológico de Ellen G. White e, em minha opinião, falha em sua proposta de ser “honesto e justo” e deixar os leitores decidirem por si próprios. Daily tira todas as conclusões, levando seu mantra de “vigarista” às últimas implicações, tanto em detrimento do legado de Ellen G. White, quanto do seu próprio como historiador. Que o leitor tome cuidado para não tomar as conclusões de Daily pelo valor de face. O caso fraco de Daily contra Ellen White provavelmente resultará em defesas mais fortes dela.

LITERARY BEAUTY OF ELLEN G. WHITE'S WRITINGS has been a largely forgotten study of the literary elements in Ellen White’s Conflict of the Ages series that have helped to make the volumes impressive to readers for the past one hundred years. Originally published in 1953, it was the master's thesis of the author, Gladys King-Taylor.

The new 2018 edition is annotated to reflect recent research in literary studies of Ellen White's use of sources and Marian Davis's role as editor of her books.

This selection includes the first chapter with some additional exhibits. It was last updated 12/29/18.

The full printed or PDF edition of the book is available through Honor Him Publishers. sabbathrest777@gmail.com

Ellen White’s writings have often been appreciated for their beauty and insight in expressing spiritual truths and in touching the heart. Modern readers of her books might be surprised that one of her books, as first published, had a large amount of poetry. In the foreword to current editions of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, the publishers mention the poetry that was included in earlier editions of the book. (Updated 9/23/21)

Contains an interesting exposition on a poem Ellen White included with an article she wrote when her twin sister lost a six-week-old baby. It also has the poem on the back of Ellen White's second book.

Companion papers are found at https://www.academia.edu/43607284/Thoughts_From_the_Mount_of_Blessing_by_Ellen_G._White_poetry_edition_
https://www.academia.edu/43684888/Hymns_Loved_and_Sung_by_Ellen_White

This paper was originally published in Adventist Review, April 17, 2014 issue. It describes the views of Ellen G. White (1827-1915), one of the founders of Adventism, concerning prenatal influence of the parents upon the children. Ellen White was a century ahead of her time in claiming that parents emotional and spiritual condition affect spiritually and biologically the development of children's characters and attitudes before they are even born. This article is geared most to an Adventist audience, although an open non-Adventist can certainly be benefited by it as well.

The text of Ellen White’s devotional book on the Sermon on the Mount
including all the poems from the various editions with their attribution

A companion paper is at https://www.academia.edu/43607204/ANONYMOUS_NO_LONGER_POETRY_IN_ELLEN_WHITES_BOOKS

El objetivo de este estudio es analizar aquellas declaraciones en los escritos de Elena G. de White en los que ella sugeriría la existencia de esclavos en el tiempo del fin. Se propone primero examinar estos pasajes en virtud del contexto histórico-profético en que estos aparecen, determinando su realidad escatológica. Luego, se busca establecer si es posible reafirmar aquella visión a la luz del testimonio simbólico del libro de Apocalipsis, en particular aquellos pasajes en que se mencionan esclavos.

Ellen White’s opposition to fugitive slave laws, her support of the abolition of slavery, as well as her promotion of prohibition and temperance legislation is well known.  What is less explored is her underlying philosophy of law and rights, and how this philosophy guided her actions in relation to social reform movements.  This paper explores the thought of Ellen White in relation to her view of natural law and civil rights, and how it helped guide her social activism. 
This paper has three parts: the first will explore Ellen White’s engagement with biblical and Protestant concepts of natural law; the second will examine how her conception of natural and moral law shaped her thinking about natural individual and civil rights; third, it looks at several examples of how her activism drew on these underlying ideas and concepts and applied them to real world problems and injustices.  In conclusion, it draws lessons about how these insights can provide guidance for appropriate Christian social activism today.

Ce travail a pour objet l'étude et la critique des arguments bibliques représentatifs de la pensée d'Ellen White en ce qui concerne les notions d’hygiène de vie, et particulièrement d'abstinence alimentaire. Il s'agit d'un travail de mémoire en vue de l'obtention d'une licence en théologie.

Many people have a mistaken idea about what it means for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to call itself a Bible-based church while believing in the prophetic gift.

In this three-part series, we investigate Ellen White's view of Scripture and her role in the development of the Biblical doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Os centros urbanos e as grandes cidades têm se tornado uma preocupação e grande interesse da Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia (IASD) nos últimos anos devido ao rápido crescimento populacional nas áreas urbanas 1 e do tímido avanço da igreja nesses ambientes 2. Desde 2010 a Associação Geral tem incentivado a criação de centros de influência ao redor do mundo com o objetivo de avançar mais efetivamente e fazer mais discípulos nessas áreas desafiadoras. Entretanto, o interesse por esse tipo de trabalho não é recente, tendo em vista que mesmo nos tempos do Antigo Testamento Deus já demonstrava seu amor pelos habitantes das cidades, como pode ser visto no episódio de Jonas em Nínive e na inquietante pergunta do Senhor ao profeta: "Tiveste tu compaixão da aboboreira, na qual não trabalhaste, nem a fizeste crescer, que numa noite nasceu, e numa noite pereceu; e não hei de eu ter compaixão da grande cidade de Nínive, em que estão mais de cento e vinte mil homens?". 3 Ao longo de toda a narrativa bíblica podemos observar a atuação divina na busca pelo ser humano e Seu desejo de restaura-lo à Sua imagem e semelhança. Nas palavras de Wright, "o próprio texto bíblico é resultado da missão [de Deus] em ação." 4 Movimento adventista nas cidades O movimento adventista, baseado em Apocalipse 10, se enxergava como um movimento profético de alcance mundial que tinha uma mensagem específica antes do retorno de Jesus. Ellen White falava repetidas vezes a respeito da obra que devia ser feita nas cidades. Para ela, a pergunta em sua época não era se a igreja deveria fazer a obra nas cidades, mas como a obra seria feita. Essa aparente ambivalência vinha de dois conceitos: por um lado, as famílias deviam evitar a corrupção, maldade e os problemas de saúde próprios das cidades e viver em áreas rurais. Por outro lado, ela sentia o fardo de que a igreja havia negligenciado o trabalho do evangelho nas cidades. Corrigir essa negligência seria o ponto focal de seu ministério entre 1901 e 1910. 5 Mas desde que teve a compreensão de que a mensagem adventista deveria ser mundial, ela advertiu constantemente a igreja de que a obra fosse feita enquanto o tempo fosse propício e que era necessário pensar no mundo todo, como afirmou em 1 de Abril de 1874: Um Ser de dignidade e autoridade-presente a todas as nossas reuniões de comissões-escutava com o mais profundo interesse todas as palavras. Falou deliberadamente, e com perfeita segurança: "O mundo todo", disse, "é a grande 1 "Pela primeira vez na história, mais da metade da população global vive nas áreas urbanas. Espera-se que por volta de 2050, 70% do mundo viva nas cidades." https://am.adventistmission.org/360-its-time 2 Knight diz que "as massivas cidades do mundo são provavelmente os campos missionários mais intocáveis do adventismo." KNIGHT, George.

Ellen White's educational perspective has contributed significantly to shaping the Adventist educational system and its philosophy of education. However, the assumptions underlying her educational perspective have not been studied in depth. The purpose of this research is to determine what are the anthropological assumptions contained in Ellen White's educational writings and in what way these assumptions condition her conception of education and her educational proposals. For this, her ideas on the subject are systematized, confronting them with those of other thinkers of educational philosophy. The first chapter reviews the existing literature on the subject and introduces the study. The second chapter briefly describes the historical-philosophical context in which Ellen White wrote about education, in order to capture the historical meaning of her proposals. The third chapter systematizes Ellen White's anthropological perspective, relating her conception of God to her conception of reality and of the human being. Importance is given to the normative framework of said reality (the legality or set of natural and moral laws) and the way in which it affects the human being. It also seeks to determine how the problem of sin affects the human beings and their ontological links. The fourth chapter correlates her anthropological perspective with her general conception of the educational phenomenon and with her educational proposals in three areas: teaching methodology, physical education and intellectual education (with emphasis on her criteria for the selection of readings). The fifth chapter summarizes the work and presents the conclusions. This research supports the thesis that for Ellen White, the human being is a relational being, ontologically linked to the spatio-temporal realm, to God as creator-sustainer of that realm and, to its implicit legality; this connection, in the full sense, is voluntary and has been damaged by sin. This perspective determines a conception of education as a restoration of this link with the environment and with God on the basis of divine revelation. This conception conditions all of Ellen White's educational proposals.
La perspectiva educacional de Elena de White ha contribuido significativamente a dar forma al sistema educacional adventista y a su filosofía de la educación. Sin embargo, no se han estudiado con profundidad los supuestos que subyacen a su perspectiva educacional. Esta investigación tiene como propósito determinar cuáles son los supuestos antropológicos contenidos en los escritos educacionales de Elena de White y de qué forma dichos supuestos condicionan su concepción de la educación y sus propuestas educacionales. Para ello se sistematizan sus ideas sobre el tema, confrontándolas con las de otros pensadores de la filosofía educacional. El primer capítulo revisa la literatura existente sobre el tema e introduce el estudio. El segundo capítulo describe brevemente el contexto histórico-filosófico en el cual Elena de White escribió sobre educación, a fin de captar el sentido histórico de sus propuestas. El tercer capítulo sistematiza la perspectiva antropológica de Elena de White, relacionando su concepción de Dios con su concepción de la realidad y del hombre. Se concede importancia al marco normativo de dicha realidad (la legalidad o conjunto de leyes naturales y morales) y a la forma en que el mismo afecta al hombre. También se busca determinar cómo el problema del pecado afecta al hombre y a sus vínculos ontológicos. El cuarto capítulo correlaciona su perspectiva antropológica con su concepción general del fenómeno educativo y con sus propuestas educacionales en tres áreas: la metodología de la enseñanza, la educación física y la educación intelectual (con énfasis en sus criterios para la selección de las lecturas). El quinto capítulo resume el trabajo y presenta las conclusiones. Esta investigación respalda la tesis de que para Elena de White, el hombre es un ser relacional, ontológicamente vinculado al ámbito espacio-temporal, a Dios como creador-sustentador de ese ámbito y a su legalidad implícita; esta vinculación, en sentido pleno, es voluntaria y ha sido deteriorada por el pecado. Esta perspectiva determina una concepción de la educación como restauración de esta vinculación con el entorno y con Dios sobre la base de la revelación divina. Esta concepción condiciona todas las propuestas educacionales de Elena de White.

Throughout history there have been two major understandings of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The first is the indwelling of the transcendent timeless God within the timeless soul of a body/soul, dualistic anthropology. The second is an allinclusive view in which either everything is God, pantheism, or everything is within God, panentheism. Adventism has traditionally rejected both of these understandings. Adventism teaches a monistic anthropology, denying the indwelling of the soul and a panentheistic point of view. How then is Adventism able to define the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? In order to begin to answer this question it seems fitting to study the prophetic voice of the Adventist church and come to at least an initial interpretation of Ellen White’s understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In this article an initial understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will be presented through a limited in-depth chronological study of four significant sources...

In preparation for a book that rebutted the thesis of Walter Rea's book, The White Lie, the author responded directly to materials sent him by Walter Rea regarding the evidence for his charging Ellen White with plagiary and his dismissal as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor for publishing his conclusions, in violation of his agreement with church officials, before thorough study of the use of sources in The Desire of Ages could be completed. The letter was sent with several supporting attachments.

Around 1904, Ellen G. White, co-founder and prophetic voice of the early Seventh-Day-Adventist church, pointed to a crisis commencing very soon within the church. This article briefly develops the historical circumstances and focuses on what she said about the main principles of this crisis.

In 1979, Walter F. Specht compared William Hanna's The Life of Christ (1871) with Ellen G. White's last chapters (46-87) of The Desire of Ages (1898) for literary dependency in the latter work.  I have edited and reformatted his original 83-page study, adding color-coding to correlate verbatim, paraphrase, and scriptural wording.

Dividing his paper into six parts, Specht addresses questions regarding Ellen White's independence as an author:

1. Did Ellen White copy Hanna?
2. Did Ellen White paraphrase Hanna?
3. Supposition or certainty?
4. Does Ellen White correct Hanna?
5. Is Ellen White in agreement with Hanna's biblical interpretations?
6. The central theological theme of the Desire of Ages

The work was superseded in part by the detailed work of Fred Veltman's 1988 Life of Christ Research Project, which dealt with additional authors, though covering fewer chapters.

From ongoing research, the editor summarizes Ellen White's use of Hanna this way:

"Hanna’s Life of Christ provided some background details and structure for the flow of many of the chapters in the book. Ellen White carried over scattered wording in the process of using his narratives to remind her of what she had seen in vision and to help include the essential points of the story. The recognizable parallels tend to be scattered words from the narrative rather than specific gems of thought." (Kevin L. Morgan, White Lie Soap, p. 76)

(See part 1 by Raymond Cottrell at https://www.academia.edu/34489554/The_Literary_Relationship_Between_The_Desire_of_Ages_by_Ellen_G._White_and_The_Life_of_Christ_by_William_Hanna_Sept._6_2017_originally_published_November_1_1979_)

This document, which has newly been updated, provides the latest research on the fascinating background behind Ellen White's first book, A SKETCH OF THE EXPERIENCES AND VIEWS OF ELLEN G. WHITE, which was published in 1851. Her first book tells her early history and describes her early visions, or “views.” In 1854, her husband James published a supplement to the first book, SUPPLEMENT TO THE CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE AND VIEWS OF ELLEN G. WHITE, which contained explanations about issues in the first book and more vision materials. Much of the content of the two books was drawn from earlier articles. This document marks the books for their various parts and the scriptures used in them. It has colorful illustrations and a table of all the visions mentioned in the 1851 and 1854 books, as well as an index.

Because the book EARLY WRITINGS contains an edited version of these two books, together with SPIRITUAL GIFTS, volume 1, which overlapped some of the earlier two books, there is a second table in this document that lists the duplication between EXPERIENCE AND VIEWS and SUPPLEMENT and SPIRITUAL GIFTS, volume 1.

The latest update (3/14/2022) includes marginal designations for the visions and James White's letters to THE DAY-STAR, which relate to early Adventist beliefs, indexing for the additional notes in the document, and enhanced photographs of Ellen White, her sister, Sarah, and Annie R. Smith, and William Ellis Foy's published visions, with notes.

The Holy Spirit worked in the revelation-inspiration process in the experience of biblical writers and in that of Ellen White. Her concept of the dynamic influence of the Holy Spirit in the inspiration process does not conflict with the notion of the prophet’s freedom of choice.

Questions have been raised about Ellen G. White’s originality and use of sources in The Great Controversy between Christ and Satan and in Sketches from the Life of Paul. These books were part of her literary exposition on the spiritual conflict underlying human history, which she expanded from 1854 and 1858 to 1888 and annotated in 1911.

This document contains answers to twelve of these with exhibits, new research, and careful documentation. It refutes exhibits posted against Ellen White.

Updated January 22, 2024.