Ellen White on the Trinity Doctrine
Did Ellen White believe in the trinity? Not one of the Adventist pioneers believed in the trinity. Her husband James White denounced the trinity as “unscriptural”. Why did Ellen White never correct her husband if she was a trinitarian? All of the pioneers of the early Seventh-day Adventist church were non-trinitarian and strangely enough she never reproved them of their beliefs and none of them reproved her or said she was teaching error. This is strange indeed. What did Ellen believe regarding the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit? Her writings will be our witness.
“Like our Saviour, we are in this world to do service for God. We are here to become like God in character, and by a life of service to reveal Him to the world. In order to be co-workers with God, in order to become like Him and to reveal His character, we must know Him aright. We must know Him as He reveals Himself.
A knowledge of God is the foundation of all true education and of all true service. It is the only real safeguard against temptation. It is this alone that can make us like God in character.
This is the knowledge needed by all who are working for the uplifting of their fellow men. Transformation of character, purity of life, efficiency in service, adherence to correct principles, all depend upon a right knowledge of God. This knowledge is the essential preparation both for this life and for the life to come.
“The knowledge of the Holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10.
Through a knowledge of Him are given unto us “all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” 2 Peter 1:3.John 17:3.” [Ministry of Healing Page 409-410]
The basis and standard of our faith is to be the word of God [Rom 10:17]. It is recommended of course to study the word of God, and then test the prophets to see whether they speak according to that word [Isaiah 8:20]. Plenty of scripture is quoted in this study. “Despise not prophesying, prove all things, hold fast to that which is good” [1 Thess 5:19-21]
There are a few statements in Ms. Whites writings that seem to suggest she was trinitarian. She spoke regarding the subject of God and his personality saying:
“There are some, who upon accepting erroneous theories, strive to establish them by collecting from my writings statements of truth, which they use, separated from their proper connection and perverted by association with error.” .[—Letter 136, April 27, 1906, to Brethren Butler, Daniels, and Irwin.]
This statement was in reference to the book “The Living Temple” written by John Harvey Kellogg which contained Pantheistic teachings. The teaching of pantheism is that God was in everything and was everything; an impersonal being.
Why is the truth about the personality of God so important? Because “this is the first and great commandment that the Lord our God is one Lord”. [Mark 12:29] This is eternal life that we might know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent [John 17:3-5] And that Jesus Christ is the son of God; and this is the rock[statement] upon which the true church is built [Matt 16:13-18]. The foundation of our faith. The foundation of the church. The first and great commandment, eternal life to know him and his son. [John 17:3]
This is a subject which needs “study to shew thyself approved unto God” [2 Tim 2:15]. We need to be sure we are not teaching “the commandments and doctrines of men” [Col 2:22]. This doctrine is an important doctrine. It is the foundation of our faith.[Matthew 16:13-18]
We are told:
“In the future, deception of every kind is to arise, and we want solid ground for our feet. We want solid pillars for the building. Not one pin is to be removed from that which the Lord has established. The enemy will bring in false theories, such as the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which there will be a departing from the faith. Where shall we find safety unless it be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last fifty years?” (Ellen White, Review & Herald,May 25, 1905)
There are many pillars of our faith, there is also a solid platform of truth to rest our feet on. A rock on which to rest; a foundation. Please notice this was written in 1905. She said that the last 50 years [1855-1905] would be accounted as error. She also said that books of a new order would be written and that the pioneer’s books would be lightly regarded.
“Let Pioneers Identify Truth.—when the power of God testifies as to what is truth that truth is to stand forever as the truth. No after-suppositions, contrary to the light God has given are to be entertained. Men will arise with interpretations of Scripture which are to them truth, but which are not truth. The truth for this time, God has given us as a foundation for our faith. He Himself has taught us what is truth. One will arise, and still another, with new light which contradicts the light that God has given under the demonstration of His Holy Spirit.
A few are still alive who passed through the experience gained in the establishment of this truth. God has graciously spared their lives to repeat and repeat till the close of their lives, the experience through which they passed even as did John the apostle till the very close of his life. And the standard-bearers, who have fallen in death, are to speak through the reprinting of their writings. I am instructed that thus their voices are to be heard. They are to bear their testimony as to what constitutes the truth for this time. Preach the Word,p. 5.” (Ellen White, 1905, Counsels to Writers and Editors, pages 31, 32)
Many today tell us that “Ellen White accepted the trinity doctrine late in her life”. That she brought the doctrine into the church privily. Is that how Ellen White rebuked error? Did she rebuke her husband and the rest of the pioneers by bringing the trinity teaching into the church privily? Anyone who has read her writings should know this is not the way of Ms. White. Let us see what Ellen White says about doctrines that are brought into the church privily.
“Modern spiritualism, resting upon the same foundation, is but a revival in a new form of the witchcraft and demon worship that God condemned and prohibited of old.… Peter, describing the dangers to which the church was to be exposed in the last days, says that as there were false prophets who led Israel into sin, so there will be false teachers, “who privily shallbring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them.… And many shall follow their pernicious ways.” 2 Peter 2:1, 2. Here the apostle has pointed out one of the marked characteristics of spiritualist teachers. They refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Son of God. Concerning such teachers the beloved John declares: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.” 1 John 2:22, 23. Spiritualism, by denying Christ, denies both the Father and the Son, and the Bible pronounces it the manifestation of antichrist.” (Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 686)
Spiritualism denies the “Father and Son” or “God and Christ.” Our pioneers identified the doctrine of the trinity as spiritualism. Her husband James White himself said “The way spiritualizers have disposed of or denied the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ is first using the old unscriptural Trinitarian creed.” (James White, January 24, 1846, The Day Star)
Where did the Trinity come from then if our pioneers didn’t believe in it and Ellen White didn’t accept it?
“Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God does not propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated with a humble mind and a teachable spirit, and all should decide from the weight of evidence.” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, page 255)
Let’s examine her writings and then decide from the weight of the evidence.
Q] Are there three beings in heaven that are to be exalted?
“Let the brightest example the world has yet seen be your example, rather than the greatest and most learned men of the age, who know not God, nor Jesus Christ whom he has sent. The Father and the Son alone are to be exalted.” (Ellen White, The Youth’s Instructor, July 7, 1898)
Note: That there are only 2 beings ALONE that are to be exalted. She uses a key word “Alone” in quoting here from [John 17:3-5]. Another significant note is the fact that it was written in 1898 which is three years after the release of the book “Desire of Ages”. Many believe that she was trinitarian by this time.
Q} Some say there were three persons in the work of creation because the Hebrew word for “God” which is “elohim” is a plural word. And many use Genesis 1:26 to say that the title “God” is referring to three people in this verse. Were there 3 people in the work of creation?
“After the earth was created, and the beasts upon it, the Father and Son carried out their purpose,… And now God said to His Son, “Let us make man in our image.” “(Ellen White, The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, pages 24, 25)
Note: The words spoken by Elohim were spoken by the Father to his Son. The Father and Son carried out their purpose. So the title “God” in this verse refers to the Father alone. And the Father is speaking to His Son.
And if the Holy spirit is a third being where was he in this matter? This is quite different than what is taught by many today. The title “God” is used to refer to the Father alone almost entirely throughout scripture, and there is not a single verse in the bible where the title is used to refer to three beings.
1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
God the Father of whom are all things created the worlds by our Lord and His Son Jesus Christ.
Q} Were there three people to lay the plan of salvation?
“The plan of redemption was arranged in the councils between the Father and the Son.” (Ellen White, Review & Herald, May 28, 1908 par. 12)
“Even the angels were not permitted to share the counsels between the Father and the Son when the plan of salvation was laid. “(Ellen White, Ministry of Healing, page 429)
“The plan of salvation devised by the Father and the Son will be a grand success.” (Ellen White, The Signs of the Times, June 17, 1903 par. 2)
“Before the fall of man, the Son of God had united with his Father in laying the plan of salvation.” (Ellen White, Review & Herald, September 13, 1906 par. 4)
“The great plan of redemption was laid before the foundation of the world. And Christ, our Substitute and Surety, did not stand alone in the wondrous undertaking of the ransom of man. In the plan to save a lost world, the counsel was between them both; the covenant of peace was between the Father and the Son.” (Ellen White, The Signs of the Times, December 23, 1897, par. 2)
Zec 6:13 …the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
Note: Both means 2, not 3. Why were the angels mentioned but not a third divine being?
Did Ellen White believe in the trinity? Not one of the Adventist pioneers believed in the trinity. Her husband James White denounced the trinity as “unscriptural”. Why did Ellen White never correct her husband if she was a trinitarian? All of the pioneers of the early Seventh-day Adventist church were non-trinitarian and strangely enough she never reproved them of their beliefs and none of them reproved her or said she was teaching error. This is strange indeed. What did Ellen believe regarding the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit? Her writings will be our witness.
“Like our Saviour, we are in this world to do service for God. We are here to become like God in character, and by a life of service to reveal Him to the world. In order to be co-workers with God, in order to become like Him and to reveal His character, we must know Him aright. We must know Him as He reveals Himself.
A knowledge of God is the foundation of all true education and of all true service. It is the only real safeguard against temptation. It is this alone that can make us like God in character.
This is the knowledge needed by all who are working for the uplifting of their fellow men. Transformation of character, purity of life, efficiency in service, adherence to correct principles, all depend upon a right knowledge of God. This knowledge is the essential preparation both for this life and for the life to come.
“The knowledge of the Holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10.
Through a knowledge of Him are given unto us “all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” 2 Peter 1:3.John 17:3.” [Ministry of Healing Page 409-410]
The basis and standard of our faith is to be the word of God [Rom 10:17]. It is recommended of course to study the word of God, and then test the prophets to see whether they speak according to that word [Isaiah 8:20]. Plenty of scripture is quoted in this study. “Despise not prophesying, prove all things, hold fast to that which is good” [1 Thess 5:19-21]
There are a few statements in Ms. Whites writings that seem to suggest she was trinitarian. She spoke regarding the subject of God and his personality saying:
“There are some, who upon accepting erroneous theories, strive to establish them by collecting from my writings statements of truth, which they use, separated from their proper connection and perverted by association with error.” .[—Letter 136, April 27, 1906, to Brethren Butler, Daniels, and Irwin.]
This statement was in reference to the book “The Living Temple” written by John Harvey Kellogg which contained Pantheistic teachings. The teaching of pantheism is that God was in everything and was everything; an impersonal being.
Why is the truth about the personality of God so important? Because “this is the first and great commandment that the Lord our God is one Lord”. [Mark 12:29] This is eternal life that we might know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent [John 17:3-5] And that Jesus Christ is the son of God; and this is the rock[statement] upon which the true church is built [Matt 16:13-18]. The foundation of our faith. The foundation of the church. The first and great commandment, eternal life to know him and his son. [John 17:3]
This is a subject which needs “study to shew thyself approved unto God” [2 Tim 2:15]. We need to be sure we are not teaching “the commandments and doctrines of men” [Col 2:22]. This doctrine is an important doctrine. It is the foundation of our faith.[Matthew 16:13-18]
We are told:
“In the future, deception of every kind is to arise, and we want solid ground for our feet. We want solid pillars for the building. Not one pin is to be removed from that which the Lord has established. The enemy will bring in false theories, such as the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which there will be a departing from the faith. Where shall we find safety unless it be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last fifty years?” (Ellen White, Review & Herald,May 25, 1905)
There are many pillars of our faith, there is also a solid platform of truth to rest our feet on. A rock on which to rest; a foundation. Please notice this was written in 1905. She said that the last 50 years [1855-1905] would be accounted as error. She also said that books of a new order would be written and that the pioneer’s books would be lightly regarded.
“Let Pioneers Identify Truth.—when the power of God testifies as to what is truth that truth is to stand forever as the truth. No after-suppositions, contrary to the light God has given are to be entertained. Men will arise with interpretations of Scripture which are to them truth, but which are not truth. The truth for this time, God has given us as a foundation for our faith. He Himself has taught us what is truth. One will arise, and still another, with new light which contradicts the light that God has given under the demonstration of His Holy Spirit.
A few are still alive who passed through the experience gained in the establishment of this truth. God has graciously spared their lives to repeat and repeat till the close of their lives, the experience through which they passed even as did John the apostle till the very close of his life. And the standard-bearers, who have fallen in death, are to speak through the reprinting of their writings. I am instructed that thus their voices are to be heard. They are to bear their testimony as to what constitutes the truth for this time. Preach the Word,p. 5.” (Ellen White, 1905, Counsels to Writers and Editors, pages 31, 32)
Many today tell us that “Ellen White accepted the trinity doctrine late in her life”. That she brought the doctrine into the church privily. Is that how Ellen White rebuked error? Did she rebuke her husband and the rest of the pioneers by bringing the trinity teaching into the church privily? Anyone who has read her writings should know this is not the way of Ms. White. Let us see what Ellen White says about doctrines that are brought into the church privily.
“Modern spiritualism, resting upon the same foundation, is but a revival in a new form of the witchcraft and demon worship that God condemned and prohibited of old.… Peter, describing the dangers to which the church was to be exposed in the last days, says that as there were false prophets who led Israel into sin, so there will be false teachers, “who privily shallbring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them.… And many shall follow their pernicious ways.” 2 Peter 2:1, 2. Here the apostle has pointed out one of the marked characteristics of spiritualist teachers. They refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Son of God. Concerning such teachers the beloved John declares: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.” 1 John 2:22, 23. Spiritualism, by denying Christ, denies both the Father and the Son, and the Bible pronounces it the manifestation of antichrist.” (Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 686)
Spiritualism denies the “Father and Son” or “God and Christ.” Our pioneers identified the doctrine of the trinity as spiritualism. Her husband James White himself said “The way spiritualizers have disposed of or denied the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ is first using the old unscriptural Trinitarian creed.” (James White, January 24, 1846, The Day Star)
Where did the Trinity come from then if our pioneers didn’t believe in it and Ellen White didn’t accept it?
“Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God does not propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated with a humble mind and a teachable spirit, and all should decide from the weight of evidence.” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, page 255)
Let’s examine her writings and then decide from the weight of the evidence.
Q] Are there three beings in heaven that are to be exalted?
“Let the brightest example the world has yet seen be your example, rather than the greatest and most learned men of the age, who know not God, nor Jesus Christ whom he has sent. The Father and the Son alone are to be exalted.” (Ellen White, The Youth’s Instructor, July 7, 1898)
Note: That there are only 2 beings ALONE that are to be exalted. She uses a key word “Alone” in quoting here from [John 17:3-5]. Another significant note is the fact that it was written in 1898 which is three years after the release of the book “Desire of Ages”. Many believe that she was trinitarian by this time.
Q} Some say there were three persons in the work of creation because the Hebrew word for “God” which is “elohim” is a plural word. And many use Genesis 1:26 to say that the title “God” is referring to three people in this verse. Were there 3 people in the work of creation?
“After the earth was created, and the beasts upon it, the Father and Son carried out their purpose,… And now God said to His Son, “Let us make man in our image.” “(Ellen White, The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, pages 24, 25)
Note: The words spoken by Elohim were spoken by the Father to his Son. The Father and Son carried out their purpose. So the title “God” in this verse refers to the Father alone. And the Father is speaking to His Son.
And if the Holy spirit is a third being where was he in this matter? This is quite different than what is taught by many today. The title “God” is used to refer to the Father alone almost entirely throughout scripture, and there is not a single verse in the bible where the title is used to refer to three beings.
1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
God the Father of whom are all things created the worlds by our Lord and His Son Jesus Christ.
Q} Were there three people to lay the plan of salvation?
“The plan of redemption was arranged in the councils between the Father and the Son.” (Ellen White, Review & Herald, May 28, 1908 par. 12)
“Even the angels were not permitted to share the counsels between the Father and the Son when the plan of salvation was laid. “(Ellen White, Ministry of Healing, page 429)
“The plan of salvation devised by the Father and the Son will be a grand success.” (Ellen White, The Signs of the Times, June 17, 1903 par. 2)
“Before the fall of man, the Son of God had united with his Father in laying the plan of salvation.” (Ellen White, Review & Herald, September 13, 1906 par. 4)
“The great plan of redemption was laid before the foundation of the world. And Christ, our Substitute and Surety, did not stand alone in the wondrous undertaking of the ransom of man. In the plan to save a lost world, the counsel was between them both; the covenant of peace was between the Father and the Son.” (Ellen White, The Signs of the Times, December 23, 1897, par. 2)
Zec 6:13 …the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
Note: Both means 2, not 3. Why were the angels mentioned but not a third divine being?