Reading Ellen White: How to understand and apply her writings
George R. Knight
Outline by Leslie Samuel
Chapter 1 – Which is the Inspired Counsel?:
- In order to make sense of what we read, we need interpretive principles
o “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the
stones” Ps 137:9
o Matt 5:27 – 29 – Pluck out your right eye for having wayward thoughts
about someone of the opposite sex
- This book sets forth basic principles for interpreting Ellen White’s writings
Chapter 2 – The Purpose of Ellen White’s Writings
- Ellen white’s writings don’t take the place of the bible. They point to it!
o “A lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light”
o “Whenever people consistently spend more time with Ellen White’s
writings than they do with Scripture, they are in effect using her writings
to lead them away from the Bible”
- 6 Purposes of Ellen White’s Writings
o To Exalt the Bible and lead men and women to it.
o To clarify the great principles of the Bible for daily living so that people
will have no excuse for not following its dictates.
o To rebuke sin and to urge obedience to the Bible
o To apply Biblical principles in a modern setting
 Provides counsel for daily living
o Points to the only solution to the human sin problem  Jesus Christ our
Savior (i.e. Steps to Christ, The Desire of Ages)
o To prepare people for the final days of earth’s history (i.e. The Great
Controversy)
- No additional truth is brought out.
- “ Ellen White was acutely aware of her prophetic call and of her commission to
guide God’s people through her speaking and writing”.
Chapter 3 – The Relationship of Ellen White’s Writings to the Bible
- Ellen White did not want people making her the major authority in their lives.
o “Do not make prominent, and quote that which Sister White has written,
as authority to sustain your positions. To do this will not increase faith in
the testimonies. Bring your evidences, clear and plain, from the Word of
God. A ‘Thus saith the Lord’ is the strongest testimony you can possible
present to the people. Let none be educated to look to Sister White, but to
the might God, who gives instruction to Sister White” (3SM 29, 30).
o “Do not quote my words again as long as you live until you can obey the
Bible. When you make the Bible your food, your meat, and your drink,
when you make its principles the elements of your character, you will
know better how to receive counsel from God . . . Do not repeat what I
have said, saying, ‘Sister White said this,’ and ‘Sister White said that.’
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Find out what the Lord God of Israel says, and then do what He
commands”
God pours out the prophetic gift during the last days. Individuals should be tested
according to the bible
o Such gifts are subordinate to the Bible. If not, they are used wrongly. “the
gifts of the spirit should all have their proper places” – James White
However, she did not think that her inspiration was of a lesser quality than that of
the Bible writers.
o Her authority was derived from the Bible and could not be equal to it.
Our only safety is to read her within the context of the biblical framework
Ellen White rejected the approach of those who would use her as an infallible
commentator. Two Struggles:
o The law in Galatians as the ceremonial law.
o The identity of the daily of Daniel 8.
“If I point toward the ceiling with my finger and say ‘Look!’ I do not want you to
look at my finger. I want you to look with my finger – to look in the direction it is
pointing. Indeed, if you insist on looking at my finger, I will know that you didn’t
understand me” – Fritz Guy, Unpublished MS, Jan. 18, 1986.
“A lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light” (CM 125)