*PROPHETIC GUIDANCE COURSE – LESSON 22*

*Mrs. White and Church Leaders Answer Questions*

*GUIDING TEXT:* The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the
night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come. – Isaiah 21:12.

This lesson is in the nature of a Question Box, and all the questions relate to
the Spirit of Prophecy. Our first question concerns Mrs. White’s role in dealing
with sin.

*Why Do the Testimonies Deal so Plainly With Sins of Believers?*

ANSWER: Reproof is needed to arouse the soul from its sinful stupor. Mrs.
White spoke plainly against sin, declaring that, a profession of godliness
without deep love and the power of a changed life “is mere talk, dry
formality, and heavy drudgery.” Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 163. Then she
continued:

Many of you may retain a notion of religion in the head, an outside religion,
when the heart is not cleansed. God looks at the heart; “all things are naked
and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Will He be
satisfied with anything but truth in the inward parts? Every truly converted
soul will carry the unmistakable marks that the carnal mind is subdued.

I speak plainly. I do not think this will discourage a true Christian; and I do
not want any of you to come up to the time of trouble without a well-
grounded hope in your Redeemer. Determine to know the worst of your case.
Ascertain if you have an inheritance on high. Deal truly with your own soul.
Remember that a church without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, will
Jesus present to his Father. – Ibid.
*Did Mrs. White Ever State That She Was Not a Prophetess?*

ANSWER: When speaking before a large audience in the Battle Creek

Tabernacle, on October 2, 1903, Ellen White stated, “I do not claim to be a
prophetess.” Some, thinking that she thereby disclaimed the prophetic gift,
found it difficult to harmonize this declaration with other of her own
statements and the understanding of the church about her work. She cleared
this point in a communication addressed to the elders of the Battle Creek
church, in which she said: “My commission embraces the work of a prophet,
but it does not end there.” Selected Messages, Book I, p. 36. And in an article
which she wrote for the Review and Herald she discussed this matter further:

Some have stumbled over the fact that I said I did not claim to be a prophet;
and they have asked, Why is this? I have had no claims to make, only that I
am instructed that I am the Lord’s messenger; that He called me in my youth
to be His messenger, to receive His word, and to give a clear and decided
message in the name of the Lord Jesus. Early in my youth I was asked
several times, Are you a prophet? I have ever responded, I am the Lord’s
messenger. I know that many have called me a prophet, but I have made no
claim to this title. . . .

Why have I not claimed to be a prophet? – Because in these days many who
boldly claim that they are prophets are a reproach to the cause of Christ: and
because my work includes much more than the word “prophet” signifies. –
Ibid., pp. 31, 32.

*Is There Any Truth in the Charge That the E. G. White Writings Have Been
Suppressed?*

ANSWER: In two ways this charge has been brought against Mrs. White and
the church.

1. First, the suggestion has been made that because some book was
allowed to go out of print, or a periodical article has not been
reprinted, the counsels given therein are being suppressed. The
superficiality of such reasoning is easily apparent. In some cases early
works have been replaced by later books which have presented the
 matters more fully. Many pamphlets and periodical articles dealt with
local situations of the time, and the need for the counsel they
contained no longer exists. Surely a decision not to keep all such
matter in print and urge its sale could not fairly be identified as
suppression.

2. Second, some have asserted that because in later printings of certain

visions or books, some portions of the original statements are left out,
the matter is thereby suppressed. Mrs. White answered any such
assertion in a single sentence penned in 1883:

So far from desiring to withhold anything that I have ever published, I would
feel great satisfaction in giving to the public every line of my writings that
has ever been printed. – Ibid., p. 60.

On the same point Uriah Smith declared in 1887:

It is an interesting point to inquire when this work [of suppression] was done,
and under what circumstances, and what method were adopted to
accomplish it. On the first day of May, 1853, we entered upon a connection
with the Review office, which, with the exception of two brief intervals, has
continued to the present time. During all these thirty-four years, therefore,
we speak from personal knowledge when we say that there has not been the
first suggestion, or the least indication of any desire or intention, to conceal
or modify or in the least degree change anything revealed through Sister
White in vision. – Review and Herald, July 19, 1887, p. 456.

The relationship of Ellen White’s early visions as printed in her first book
(Experience and Views) in 1851, to their first appearance as articles in the
Day-Star in 1846, is the case usually cited in charges of suppression.
Introducing the visions in Experience and Views (p. 9), Ellen White stated:
Here I will give the view that was first published in 1846. In this view I saw
only a very few of the events of the future. More recent views have been
more full. I shall therefore leave out a portion and prevent repetition.

F. M. Wilcox, who was for many years editor of the Review and Herald, looked
at this matter considerately, and noted that helpful changes which Mrs.
White herself made cannot be equated with suppression:

While we freely and frankly admit that in the revisions of her books, Mrs.
White sometimes expressed her thoughts in different language and
sometimes added or omitted altogether phrases and sentences and even
paragraphs, yet we deny the charge of suppression, which carries with it the
implication of the purpose to deceive. . . . Mrs. White never claimed perfect
understanding of all that was given her of God, and was far from claiming
perfection or inerrancy of expression in communicating to others that which
was revealed to her. There were given to her visions and dreams and
revelations; there were brought before her mind pictures of conditions that
existed, of scenes in this earth and in heaven. In the fear of God she
conscientiously described these revelations, but was sometimes
misunderstood and even misinterpreted.

In later editions she endeavored in certain cases to improve these

descriptions, and in doing so made changes in some expressions and omitted
others. Every such change was made by her or by her personal
authorization. She is to be honored for this earnest effort on her part to
express in the best possible form the instruction which she had received. . . .
She declared. . . .that the words she employed in describing what she had
seen were her own. If, therefore in her expression of the truth of God, she felt
that words other than those she first used could better express the message
she had to give, surely it was not only her privilege but her duty to make
such changes as her judgment dictated. – The Testimony of Jesus, pp. 90, 91.
Italics supplied.

The Great Controversy Is a book in point. The edition we have today presents
an expanded form of the great controversy story as compared with the first
recital in the tiny 219-page Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, as it appeared in 1858. For
a review of the development of this book through the years, turn back and
reread Lesson 6.

*Have Changes Been Made in Mrs. Whites Books Since Her Death in 1915?*

ANSWER: This question is of great importance to the church. It has been

rumored that the content of Mrs. White’s books has been changed as new
printings are made. This rumor is without foundation. Mrs. White’s books are
not being changed, nor will they be changed. Why should the Spirit of
Prophecy books be changed? Or why would anyone wish to change them?

As explained in Lesson 19, Mrs. White made provision in her will, committing
her writings to a Board of Trustees who, after her death, were to be
responsible for their safekeeping and their continued publication. Before God
and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, this board has labored diligently to
keep the E. G. White messages before the church as they were given to us.

In her commission to the trustees, Mrs. White made provision for the
“improvement of the books.” This has been understood by all to mean only
mechanical improvements, such as typographical appearance and
illustrating, and has never been construed as authorization to alter the text
in any way.

When it is necessary to reset type for the reprinting of any E. G. White book,
if it is found that the old printing contained misspelled words or faulty
grammar, these are corrected, and punctuation, capitalization, etc., are
brought into keeping with present usage. But this cannot be construed to be
a change in her writings. Mrs. White herself once declared that there was no
salvation in misspelled words or faulty grammar.
To bring a number of the E. G. White books into the Christian Home Library
series and thus make them available at the lowest possible price, the type
has been reset, but no changes whatever are made in the text. This point is
carefully guarded. The paging remains unchanged except for an occasional
line or two on a page.

Now it is true that one may compare an early printing of a certain few E. G.
White books with later printings, and find a few changes. But these changes
were made by Mrs. White herself before 1915, the year of her death, to give
a clearer, more accurate expression of thought. This is particularly true of
The Great Controversy, of which there were several distinct editions – 1858,
1884, 1888, and 1911.

In the 1888 edition, many copies of which are still being used, references
were made to the lapse of time. For instance, Ellen White wrote concerning
spiritualism-

But its utterances from the platform and the press have been before the
public for nearly forty years, and in these its real character stands revealed.
– Great Controversy, 1888 edition, p. 558. Italics supplied.

This statement, penned in 1887 and published in 1888, would carry the
reader back to 1848, the time of the first mysterious knockings in the Fox
home at Hydesville, N.Y. But if the statement were unchanged when the book
was reprinted in 1911, it would refer the reader to around 1871, a date which
had no significance in this case. To make the book convey the correct idea
and the intent of the author, not only in 1911 but through the years ahead
for which the book would serve, Mrs. White authorized a change of wording,
making it read: “But its utterances have been before the public for many
years," etc.

Concerning the changes made in the 1911 edition of Great Controversy, Ellen
White wrote on July 25, 1911:
Recently it was necessary for this book to be reset, because the electrotype
plates were badly worn. . . .

When I learned that “Great Controversy” must be reset, I determined that we

would have everything, closely examined, to see if the truths it contained
were stated in the very best manner, to convince those not of our faith that
the Lord had guided and sustained me in the writing of its pages.

As a result of the thorough examination by our most experienced workers,

some changing in the wording has been proposed. These changes I have
carefully examined, and approved. I am thankful that my life has been
spared, and that I have strength and clearness of mind for this and other
literary work. – E. C. White Letter 56, 1911.

When anyone asserts that the Ellen G. White messages are being changed,
ask for the proof. Check editions carefully. If there is still question, write for
information to Ellen G. White Estate, General Conference of S. D. A.

Washington 12, D. C.

*Did Mrs. White Say That There Would Be “Another Prophet”?*

ANSWER: Mrs. White was given no special light on this question. However,
she did say that her writings would speak and bear their witness till the close
of time:

Abundant light has been given to our people in these last days. Whether or
not my life is spared, my writings will constantly speak, and their work will go
forward as long as time shall last. – Selected Messages, Book I, p. 55.

Mrs. White’s books have not been outdated. Nor can they be outdated. They
apply with living force today. God has given light to guide us through to the
kingdom. Let the church follow the light of His Word, and treasure also the
counsels of His chosen messenger to His remnant people.
*Could Mrs. White’s Visions Be Accounted for as the Result of a Nervous
Disorder Brought on by the Accident in Her Childhood?*

ANSWER: No! But let us look at the supporting facts.

At the age of nine, Ellen Harmon was struck in the face by a flying stone, and
knocked unconscious. She undoubtedly suffered a brain concussion. She was
in a coma for three weeks. For a number of years her health was impaired;
but she gradually recovered a good measure of health, and lived to the ripe
age of eighty-seven.

One critic of Mrs. White’s work has suggested that her childhood injury
accounted for the physical phenomena which accompanied the visions, and
to the superficial observer this may seem plausible. In times past it was
commonly thought that an injury to the head, as in a fall, could cause
convulsions, epileptic fits, and hysteria.

One important question in any such consideration is, Do severe injuries to

the face or head result in such abnormal actions as the physical phenomena
which were commonly observed in connection with Mrs. White’s visions?

The opinion popularly entertained that injuries to the head are a frequent
cause of mental disease is distinctly an error. .. Not over one-half of one per
cent of admissions to hospitals for mental diseases are to be considered as
traumatic [injury] psychoses in the correct sense of the word. – Arthur Percy
Noyes and Edith M. Haydon, A Textbook of Psychiatry, p. 126; quoted in Ellen
G. White and Her Critics, p. 63.

Modern neurological studies which more clearly delimit the motor area of the
brain reveal that the chance that a head injury will result in convulsions, or
fits, depends on the relation of the injury to the motor center. The head
injury suffered by Mrs. White, when she was struck by a stone on the nose,
was remote from this motor area. – Footnote by F. D. Nichol, Ibid. Italics
supplied.

The work that Mrs. White did, the life that she lived through seventy years of
service to the church are the supreme proof that she possessed a sane,
rational mind and that she was not the victim of any mental disease. It is
absurd to suggest that the blow which nine-year-old Ellen Harmon received
on the face was responsible for the inspired authorship which gave to the
church such remarkable books as Steps to Christ, The Desire of Ages, Christ’s
Object Lessons, and The Great Controversy – when she was a woman of 60
or 70 or more! Review Lesson 15, “Glimpses of a Noble Christian Life.”

*Should Faith in the Doctrine of Spiritual Gifts Be Made a Test of Discipleship

or Acceptance Into Church Membership?*

ANSWER: The doctrine of spiritual gifts is one of the “fundamental beliefs of

the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as set forth in the Twenty Eight
Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church
Manual and the Yearbook.

19. That Cod has placed in His church the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as
enumerated in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. That these gifts operate in
harmony with the divine principles of the Bible, and are given “for the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ.” Eph. 4:12. That the gift of the Spirit of prophecy is one of the
identifying marks of the remnant church. (1 Cor. 1:5-7; 1 Cor. 12:1-28; Rev.
12:17; Rev. 19:10; Amos 3:7; Hosea 12: 10, 13) They [Seventh-day
Adventists] recognize that this gift was manifested in the life and ministry of
Ellen C. White. – Church Manual, p. 34; 1960 Yearbook, p. 6.

It Is also listed as a point on which inquiry should be made in connection with

the baptismal vow:
8. Do you accept the doctrine of spiritual gifts, and do you believe that the
Spirit of prophecy is one of the identifying marks of the remnant church?
Church Manual, p. 57.

To receive as members of the church, individuals who do not accept all the
doctrines of the church would be inconsistent and unfair both to those who
might be thus accepted and to the church which would receive them.

While serving as editor of the Review and Herald, F. M. Wilcox wrote on this
point, summing up the denominational position as set forth from time to time
by leading ministers of the church and by Ellen G. White:

Inasmuch as the labors of Mrs. E. G. White have entered so largely into the
development of the second advent movement, candidates for church
membership should be made acquainted with the divine ministry to which
she was called, and the influence of her labors and writings through the
years. Opportunity should be afforded for them to read her published books.
When this instruction has been given candidates, but little question ever will
be raised as to faith in the doctrine of spiritual gifts being made a test of
church fellowship.

If, as the result of this investigation, the one contemplating church

membership arrives at settled convictions in opposition to this doctrine, he
naturally will not wish to unite his interests with a church that holds it as a
part of its religious faith. In any event he should be encouraged to wait u
until he has had time and opportunity for more mature study of the question.

If, on the other hand, while in full sympathy with his Adventist brethren
regarding their faith and objectives and their church policy and organization,
he still feels doubts over the doctrine of spiritual gifts and their exercise in
the church, but has no opposition to the fullest and freest exercise of faith in
these gifts on the part of his brethren, and to the free use of the instruction
which has come to the church from the gift of prophecy, he need not
necessarily be excluded from church membership. – Testimony of Jesus, p.
137.
Mrs. White declared the Spirit of Prophecy to be “the very means that God
has chosen to fit up a people to stand in the day of God.” – Selected
Messages , Book I, p. 45. “The path of the just is as the shining light, that
shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Proverbs 4:18.

Those who accept the Spirit of Prophecy as “the testimony of Jesus,” and
therefore the voice of the Lord to His people, place themselves in a position
where they cannot disregard the authority of the Ellen G. White writings. How
are you as a church member relating yourself to this gift? God grant that the
testimony and influence of every believer shall uphold this gift He has so
graciously given to us.

Suggestion: Secure a copy of F. M. Wilcox’s Testimony of Jesus, and read

especially pages 136-143.

Lesson 23 carries the title, “The Prophetic Searchlight on Future Events.” It

will deal with Ellen G. White predictions of events which are now in process of
fulfillment or soon to be fulfilled. Only two more lessons in this series.