What is the offical SDA view on Ellen White ?

[alexsonofmatthew]

I'm looking into the SDA Church and what to know the offical position of the Church on Ellen White and your own views also.

 

[OldStudent]

From the church manual:

"The Gift of Prophecy
[FONT=ITC Garamond Std Lt,ITC Garamond Std Lt][FONT=ITC Garamond Std Lt,ITC Garamond Std Lt]One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen. G. White. As the Lord’s messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. ( Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:14-21; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 12:17; 19:10.) "[/FONT]

[FONT=ITC Garamond Std Lt,ITC Garamond Std Lt]"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" Amos 3:7. At major points in Earth's history God has provided communication through selected persons. Noah, Moses, Jeremiah, John the baptist. The 2nd Coming is HUGE. Before the 2nd Coming it should be expected that God again select a designated spokesperson. In fact, personally I expect there to be a time when multiple persons will be designated by God in the special, direct roll of prophet communicator before He breaks through the heavens upon us.[/FONT]
[/FONT]

 

[JDMiowa]

The SDA Church will not receive any new light.

 

[OldStudent]

The SDA Church will not receive any new light.

Are there not some puzzles from Daniel and Revelation yet to be understood?
Have we come to the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17? See also Ephesians 4. Note the list of gifts includes prophets as part of coming to unity.
Is Satan done setting new traps and diversions for us to navigate?
Will we need guidance to get the work done?
Are you thinking that, If God does designate a prophet he won't address Silver Spring, MD?

I guess my head is reeling thinking of all that is going to happen in preparing for Jesus' return. I can't help but think Jesus is going to be very close to us and very talkative to get us there.

 

[JojotheBeloved]

I can't help but think Jesus is going to be very close to us and very talkative to get us there.

The official statement of the SDA Church has already been mentioned by OldStudent.

In reference to the quote from OldStudent: I agree that I think Jesus has been and will continue to be very talkative in His intentions and directions regarding His 2nd Coming. My personal opinion is that God will continue to use contemporary prophets, as well as past prophets in the form of sacred texts, and maybe even a few "donkeys" (reference to God using Balaam's donkey as a spokesperson for His will, but also to paralell to any common thing in our environment or culture God may use to get our attention) to tell us what He is up to. The Bible not only mentions the quote already posted that God reveals His will to His prophets, but also Jesus said in John 15:15, "I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father."
Also, Joel 2:28-29 describes the nearing return of Jesus like this,
"After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your elderly will have revelatory dreams;
your young men will see prophetic visions.
Even on male and female servants
I will pour out my Spirit in those days."

I believe that Ellen White was one of many prophets. I believe her writing is helpful, but that she always referred to the Bible as the greater authority and those who are true to her memory should prioritize the insight God gave her that way as well. I also believe, that she is not the only, nor the last, contemporary prophet. I believe that anyone who is being used by God to speak out and stand up for what is right, even though it goes against the established order, may be called a prophet. Prophets in the Bible are not prophets because they have some supernatural power, but because they have brought a powerful message from God.
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[Adventist Dissident]

she is a charlaten, she was used by her husband and sons to hold influence over the SDA people so that James White could control the group of SDA's.

 

[JojotheBeloved]

she is a charlaten, she was used by her husband and sons to hold influence over the SDA people so that James White could control the group of SDA's.

I strongly disagree. Say whatever you like about her views, writings, status as a prophet or not, but she was not used by anyone to hold influence over the SDA people. Having studied the history of her life and of the Millerite and Advent movements, it is clear to me that she worked as a team with other young people of her time and without that team the SDA Church wouldn't exist.

In fact, "Seventh-day Adventist" was not a recognized title at all until October of 1860 (16 years after Ellen Harmon - White's maiden name - experienced the Great Disappointment and had already begun interest and involvement with the Advent movement). By the way, the Advent movement did not begin as an organized whole. It began with a rediscovering, by lay people and ministers of various prodestant churches in the American Mid-West, of the potential historical importance of biblical prophecy - especially as was relevant to the ACTUAL (as opposed to metaphorical) promise that Jesus Christ would return to this Earth. After the Great Disappointment - when Jesus did not return on the expected date calculated by William Miller - in October 1844 the remaining group of people was very disorganized, even chaotic, and varied widely in opinions, doctrinal views, congregational loyalties, etc. Such a group would be uncontrolable by nature, as each individual came from a different background (was a part of a different community and/or church congregation) was encouraged to study and think for themselves, and to act on or express their beliefs through their own skills.

As to the claim that Ellen White herself was used by her husband and son - thus invalidating any influence her opinions and writings have had in the SDA Church as well as to individuals - is blatently false. Ellen White already had influence with individuals as part of the Advent movement before she was married to James White. Also, if James and their son had been trying to gain influence and popularity within the movement, it would have been a very poor decision to do so through manipulation of Ellen for the simple reason that women activists, ministers, and prophets have not typically been respected or kindly treated in their lifetimes. In the 1800s women were still commonly considered subserviant to men and so to have a woman as the church's founder, leader, and major influence doesn't make sense for that time. James could have been influencal without her. In fact, James was influencal without her. To have her as part of the leadership team was controversial and her bold opinions were typically faught against at first. She had to be bold, strong willed, and stronger in faith to have any influence, much less the overwhelming influence she has had for the past 150 years. Female reformers and ministers don't get remembered in history very often. This is part of why I believe God called her and the other people she worked with to remind people about Jesus and His promise to return.

Whether you agree with her or not. Whether you like her or not. Whatever you believe or don't believe about that woman... please at least show a little respect for one of the few female leaders in Christian history worldwide to be recognized and remembered. Thank you.

 

[hownow]

Basically -- according to the SDA church that is -- officially Ellen White is the one and only "true prophet" raised up by God in these "end times", just like Joseph Smith was regarded by the Mormons. Both also produced a body of written works which their respective churches deemed to be as "valid and authoritative" as the canonical Bible.

Unfortunately she's dead, and the whole point of a prophet is to have a living mouthpiece. If all that was needed were "dead letters" we have plenty of those already in the 2000+ year old collection of canonical scriptures. EGW does not and cannot address our present era or its particular issues any more clearly than bronze-age sheep-herders can, as she died just shortly after the 20th century began -- practically back in horse and buggy days.

I don't have a problem with EGW. I don't have a problem with SDA adoration of her. What I have a problem with is that her having existed at all has now become a convenient excuse for SDAs to be the modern "jerusalem" who continues to stone the prophets and slaughter those sent unto them, as it were. Because EGW held that office, they seem to believe nobody else can ever fill those shoes or even be recognized as bearing the prophetic gift. This is primarily because fundamentally they don't comprehend the nature or purpose of the gift, but it is also due in no small part to a level of corporate embarrassment over the fact that their ancestors once bought so heavily into it, and the record bears that Ms. White frequently neither practiced what she preached with regard to things like jewelry and dietary habits and self-sacrificing frugality with money, nor were her thoughts either inspired OR original -- they were copied nearly verbatim from other books. Put that together with the awkward issue of her head injury causing temporal lobe epilepsy (which was not really understood back then) and her nearly-indistinguishable-from-occultic-trance ecstasies that are recorded all over the place in conjunction with her visions, and you have the recipe for fomenting both a self-defensively protective stance toward her as an individual who cannot be matched as well as plenty of reason for the standing guard to ensure nothing like her ever happens again in this church, and nobody like her ever gains enough ground to hold enough sway to challenge the old boys' club in the GC and local conferences.

 

[MORebelWoman]

women activists, ministers, and prophets have not typically been respected or kindly treated in their lifetimes. In the 1800s women were still commonly considered subserviant to men and so to have a woman as the church's founder, leader, and major influence doesn't make sense for that time.

Well, apparently the official SDA church still wants to keep women as subservient since men are considered the heads of any of their churches, ie..pastors and elders and the like. So, it seems they have not gotten away from the 1800s.

 

[MORebelWoman]

Basically -- according to the SDA church that is -- officially Ellen White is the one and only "true prophet" raised up by God in these "end times", just like Joseph Smith was regarded by the Mormons. Both also produced a body of written works which their respective churches deemed to be as "valid and authoritative" as the canonical Bible.

Unfortunately she's dead, and the whole point of a prophet is to have a living mouthpiece. If all that was needed were "dead letters" we have plenty of those already in the 2000+ year old collection of canonical scriptures. EGW does not and cannot address our present era or its particular issues any more clearly than bronze-age sheep-herders can, as she died just shortly after the 20th century began -- practically back in horse and buggy days.

I don't have a problem with EGW. I don't have a problem with SDA adoration of her. What I have a problem with is that her having existed at all has now become a convenient excuse for SDAs to be the modern "jerusalem" who continues to stone the prophets and slaughter those sent unto them, as it were. Because EGW held that office, they seem to believe nobody else can ever fill those shoes or even be recognized as bearing the prophetic gift. This is primarily because fundamentally they don't comprehend the nature or purpose of the gift, but it is also due in no small part to a level of corporate embarrassment over the fact that their ancestors once bought so heavily into it, and the record bears that Ms. White frequently neither practiced what she preached with regard to things like jewelry and dietary habits and self-sacrificing frugality with money, nor were her thoughts either inspired OR original -- they were copied nearly verbatim from other books. Put that together with the awkward issue of her head injury causing temporal lobe epilepsy (which was not really understood back then) and her nearly-indistinguishable-from-occultic-trance ecstasies that are recorded all over the place in conjunction with her visions, and you have the recipe for fomenting both a self-defensively protective stance toward her as an individual who cannot be matched as well as plenty of reason for the standing guard to ensure nothing like her ever happens again in this church, and nobody like her ever gains enough ground to hold enough sway to challenge the old boys' club in the GC and local conferences.

I basically agree with most of what you posted. One must also remember that, yes she did put forth the dietary message, she also at the same time, and for many more years thereafter, continued to eat her favorite food, oysters.