communication between the prophet and God may be through one or more of the following--visions,
dreams, research, inspired study, for the purpose of instructing, warning, guiding, comforting, exhorting,
encouraging the people or initiating revivals, or just "telling something that God has spontaneously brought
to mind." 14 When White's audience and followers called her a "prophet," she told them she preferred to be
thought of as God's "messenger." In her days, not a few false "prophets" had brought shame and dishonor to
the cause of God because of their preaching and practice. In adition, she thought her ministry exceeded the
scope of that of a prophet. She viewed her role as a spokesperson for God in the ongoing work of a church
whose mission was to prepare people for the Second Coming of Christ. Besides writing prolifically and
traveling and lecturing often, Ellen White was significantly involved in the organizational development of
Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide as well as its global missions and educational work and founding
of schools and instituitions. She was personally involved in the establishment of the College of Medical
Evangelists at Loma Loma, California, now known as Loma Linda Health Sciences University, well known
for its pioneering work in infant heart transplant and proton accelerator for cancer treatment. As of 200l,
Loma Linda University Medical School has graduated 9,600 medical doctors and residents since its founding
in 1899. In addition, 3,000 dentists, thousands of nurses, and thousands more of paramedical professionals
have received their career training as a result of the vision and work of Ellen White--the vision "to make
man whole." And Loma Linda doctors and more recently its Surgical Heart Team have gone to many
countries to establish hundreds of hospitals and clinics, to train local doctors, to care for the sick, and to
perform operations for people who could never have access to or afford such procedures.
Conclusion: As discussed above, neither the official Seventh-day Adventist Church, nor its theologians
and administratiors in office, nor Ellen White herself, consider the writings of Ellen White as a substitute for
or superceding in authority and status accorded the holy Scriptures. There is little doubt that Ellen White was
specially used by God, for it is incredible that any woman with her physical limitations (childhood accident
and many illnesses), mental ailments (severe depressions), family conflicts, tragedies, and limited formal
education, could have accomplished so much in a lifetime and have had such enormous impact on the lives
of millions of people. Take her away, there probably would not be much of a Seventh-day Adventist Church
as it has evoved to what it is today--the largest world church next to the Catholic Church, with its global
mission and healing ministry.
Yet, Ellen White was human, prone to errors like all of us. Some elements in the SDA Church would like
to put her on the pedestal and almost worship her as God's annointed. They tend to revere every word in her
writings as the very words from Heaven, no less perhaps like some Calvinists who idolize John Calvin's
writings in his Institute of the Christian Religion. As we know, even the Bible itself can be the object of
idolatry for the bibliolatrists.
God is not pleased with any form of idolatry no matter how worthy the object may be. God is a God of
reason and balance. He requires that we honor His servants and heed their messages without relinquishing
our discretional judgment and critical assessment. Once we confess that the Bible is God's Word which if
properly internalized can lead us to eternal life, we would welcome any assistance from different sources to
help us understand the messages contained in His word. Ellen White's writings constitute such a source of
enormous aid and unusual insights in our understanding of God's will for our individual life. One is
reminded that in the Bible also there are things difficult to understand. One must always focus on the
essential rather than the peripheral, sort out the timely from the timeless, distinguish the regional versus the
universal, and acknowledge that God's truth for us is always couched in human words. God's messages to us
seldom, if ever, bypass the human mind where is found the reservoir of one's accumulated life experience
and learning. When they are sincerely studied and critically received, White's writings are like
supercommentaries of the Bible--a compass, a guide, a companion, an illuminator, a source of comfort, a
"lesser light leading us to the greater light." Take for example a few excerpts from her writings: