by Robert Folkenberg
Originally appearing in From the G.C. President Jan 22, 1996 through April 22, 1996 under the title Off the Back Burner.
In Segment #3 we noted the pivotal commitment made by leaders in 1855 regarding the special authority of Mrs. White. "To say that they [Ellen White's messages] were of God, and yet we will not be tested by them, is to say that God's will is not a test or rule for Christians" (Review and Herald: Dec. 4, 1855). In making this report, they were most conscious of the Adventist emphasis on "The Bible and the Bible alone." Both James and Ellen White had frequently emphasized that the Bible must always be "in front." Yet those early Adventists recognized that this phrase, though correct, needed context and clarification. When used by the Messenger Party (1853), for example, this motto was misapplied.
In his editorial of January 13, 1863, entitled, "Do We Discard the Bible by Endorsing the Visions?" Uriah Smith developed 5 points: 1) "The Bible and the Bible alone" means that we accept all that the Bible teaches; 2) The Bible teaches that gifts will be given to the church, not only to comfort His people, but to lead them into truth; 3) The Bible teaches that the gifts will continue to the end of time; 4) The Bible will be the test of the gifts; 5) Mrs. White is like a harbor pilot steering an ocean liner into port. To reject her ministry is to reject the Bible which directs us to receive the Spirit of Prophecy in these last days. Then came his challenge: "Who now stands upon the Bible and the Bible alone?"
Next segment: How did Ellen White understand the expression, "The Bible and the Bible alone?"
How did Ellen White understand the Protestant principle: "The Bible and the Bible Alone"? She referred to this concept often and with precision, calling it the "vital principle of the Reformation."
Mrs. White wrote that Luther "firmly declared that Christians should receive no other doctrines than those which rest on the authority of the Sacred Scriptures. These words struck at the very foundation of papal supremacy. They contained the vital principle of the Reformation" (GC:126). Further: "The grand principle maintained by these Reformers . . . was the infallible authority of the Holy Scriptures as a rule of faith and practice. They denied the right of popes, councils, Fathers, and kings, to control the conscience in matters of religion" (GC:249; see also pp. 291, 596).
Then, showing her precision, Ellen White highlighted the error of the "Enthusiasts" the Zwickau "prophets": "They rejected the great principle which was the very foundation of the Reformation, that the word of God is the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice; and for that unerring guide they substituted the changeable, uncertain standard of their own feelings and impressions. By this act of setting aside the great detector of error and falsehood, the way was opened for Satan to control minds as best pleased himself" (GC:186).
For Ellen White, the Protestant principle stood in sharp contrast to papal dogmas, church councils, and church theologians. The issue was inspired authority versus human or church authority. Were the teachings rooted in the Bible or merely in church councils?
In Segment #6 we will look at how Ellen White understood her job description.
How did Ellen White understand her job description? She understood the description as a double assignment: "God has, in that Word, promised to give visions in the "last days"; not for a new rule of faith, but for the comfort of His people, and to correct those who err from Bible truth" (Early Writings, p. 78).
How did she fulfill these twin assignments?
"To comfort" For many thousands directly, and through her writings indirectly, Ellen White has been known the world over as the "grand encourager." Individuals, including her husband and children, learned to trust her counsel and her steady spirit, in both good and tough times. The record seems endless of those persons, young and old, who were led to Jesus through her witnessing, and those who were reclaimed for service. She was a much-sought-after public speaker, by both Adventist and non-Adventist groups on three continents. In the establishment of publishing houses, medical institutions, and educational centers, when her challenges seemed impossible to most, her words of comfort and cheer evoked hope and determination.
Without Mrs. White's steady, steely courage, and comforting encouragement, the Seventh-day Adventist Church would have looked much different, and very much less, than it does today if it even would have survived into the twentieth century.
In Segment #7, we will look at the second half of her job description - "to correct."
How did Ellen White fulfill the second half of her job description "to correct those who err from Bible truth" (EW 78)? In Segment #6, we noted that the first half of her assignment was "to comfort... His people." In fulfilling the second half of her assignment, we find the reason behind her remarkable consistency of spirit that encouraged, informed, and invigorated a once "scattered flock" to grasp its global assignment.
Ellen White further defined what she understood her role of "corrector" to be: "It has been given to me to correct specious error and to specify what is truth" (3SM 32). Her job as "corrector" functioned as a two-edged sword: one edge cut away the errors of the past, the other cut through the underbrush, pointing out the truth. Many through the years have become experts in pointing out errors, not many have followed Mrs. White in articulating the truth.
Mrs. White perceived the urgent necessity for gaining skills in detecting error: "Error [like a $3.00 bill] could not stand alone, and would soon become extinct, if it did not fasten itself like a parasite upon the tree of truth. Error draws its life from the truth of God. The traditions of men like floating germs attach themselves to the truth of God, and men regard them as a part of the truth... As traditions pass on from age to age, they acquire a power over the human mind. But age does not make error truth, neither does the burdensome weight cause the plant of truth to become a parasite" (EGW Comments, 5/SDABC:1094-1095).
Next we will note how some basic Christian truths had lain dormant from the first century.
Part of Ellen White's job description was to "correct specious error" and to "specify what is truth." (3SM:32). She noted that "great truths that have lain dormant and unseen since the days of pentecost are to shine from God's word in their native purity. To those who truly love God the Holy Spirit will reveal truths that have faded from the mind, and will also reveal truths that are entirely new" (RH:Aug. 17, 1897).
"As the end approaches, the testimonies of God's servants will become more decided and more powerful, flashing the light of truth upon the systems of error and oppression that have so long held the supremacy. The Lord has sent messages for this time to establish Christianity upon an eternal basis..." 3SM:407.
How is this work of specifying the truth to be done? "Gems of truth" are to be lifted from their "misplacement" with error and "placed in their proper setting," carefully "rescued from the rubbish of error" and "reset in the framework of the gospel." (RH:10/23/94).
Will this assignment be easy? "If we do our very best to present the truth in its stirring character, crossing the opinions and ideas of others, it will be misinterpreted, misapplied, and misstated..., There are few to whom you bring the truth who have not been drinking of the wine of Babylon. It is hard for them to comprehend the truth, therefore the necessity of teaching it as it is in Jesus" (RH:June 3, 1890).
Next we will look at examples of what Ellen White meant by error fastening itself "like a parasite upon the tree of truth."