Ellen White and The

Adventist Health Message

Chapter 5

The growth and development of the Adventist health message, its health training and health care institutions, is a remarkable story. Central to this story is the inspiration and guidance of Ellen G. White, a prophetess who preferred to be known as a "special messenger" of God. Her life and the evidences of her gift of prophecy are reviewed in this chapter. Her specific counsel and its modern substantiation by science is documented. Her writings on health are reviewed together with suggestions how best to use them.

Introduction

The prophetic gift was given to the early Adventist church in Ellen G. White, who, along with her husband, James White and Captain Joseph Bates, was a founder of the Adventist Church. Joel 2:28-32 led the early believers to expect the gift of prophecy; as did Paul's doctrine of "spiritual gifts" which clearly refer to prophecy as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4, I Corinthians 12, and Romans 12). Ellen White preferred to call herself "a messenger of the Lord" and always pointed to the Bible and the Bible only as the Christian's rule of faith and practice. She spoke of her counsels as "a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light" — the holy scriptures. Nonetheless, Adventists accept Ellen White and her counsel and writings as representing the prophetic gift as described in the Bible and promised to the church. As illustrated in her health writings, she was far ahead of the science of her day. To the extent she was influenced by those of her day, she must have had guidance from on high to know which ideas to borrow and which to reject out of the bewildering array of theories and health teachings current in the nineteenth century!

Ellen Gould Harmon, along with her twin sister Elizabeth, (not identical), was born November 26, 1827, in a farm home near Gorham, Maine, the youngest in a family of six girls and two boys. She grew up a cheerful, buoyant, active child until the age of nine when, on the way home from school in Portland, Maine, where she was in the third grade, she was injured by a stone thrown by a classmate which struck her on the nose. This severe injury broke her nose and apparently gave a cerebral concussion. For three weeks she lay in a coma and never recovered sufficiently to return to school. She was not only disfigured, but nervous and with a severe tremor which made it impossible to write. Her health was so poor that some thought she would not live through her teens and physicians offered little hope of recovery.

The parents of Ellen White, Robert and Eunice Harmon, together with their children, worshipped in the Pine Street Methodist church in Portland where Robert served as a deacon. In March, 1840, the family heard an itinerant speaker named William Miller lecture upon the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. Ellen White gave her heart to Jesus and was baptized by immersion on June 26, 1842 and received into the Methodist Church. Because the Harmon family identified themselves with the Millerite movement, the Methodist Church disfellowshipped them in September, 1843. With other Millerites, Ellen and her family were deeply affected by the great disappointment following October 22, 1844. They earnestly sought God for light and guidance. Two months later, on an unknown day in December, 1844, Ellen was kneeling in prayer with four other women when suddenly the Holy Spirit rested upon her and she was taken off in vision in a manner reminiscent of the holy prophets of Scripture. She was 17 years old, in poor health and weighed about eighty pounds.

When she related this vision of the travels of the Adventist people to the city of God (Early Writings, pp. 1319) to the Adventist group in Portland, they accepted it as light from God. Shortly after, in response to another vision, Ellen reluctantly accepted the responsibility placed on her and began traveling with friends and relatives to the scattered companies of Adventists to reveal to them what had been revealed to her in vision. In early 1845, while bearing her testimony in Orrington, Maine, she met a Millerite preacher six years her senior and an attachment developed that ripened into her marriage to James S. White on August 30, 1846.

Shortly after, they learned of the seventh-day Sabbath from Captain Bates; but Ellen thought he was stressing the day too much and he questioned the authenticity of her prophetic gift. They soon both changed their minds. The Whites became convinced of the seventh-day Sabbath entirely on the basis of arguments from Scripture. Almost a year later, in a vision, God showed her the binding claims of His law. In this, as in all other Adventist doctrines, Ellen's visions confirmed but did not initiate the distinctive beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists.

The first years of their service were years of severe poverty and distress as they sought to support themselves by work in the forest and hayfield and in railroad construction, while continuing to travel and preach. There was no church organization to support them until 1861. They began the publishing work in Rochester, New York, in the early 1850s and in 1855 moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, which became the first headquarters of Seventh-day Adventists.

During the years 1847 to 1860, four sons were born— only two of whom lived to adulthood. A familiar figure in Battle Creek, Ellen was short of stature (five feet two inches) and slight of build with a rather dark complexion, brown hair, and gray eyes. She was cheerful in disposition, unselfish, and outgoing. She was known as a careful housewife, a sensible buyer, a hospitable hostess, a forceful public speaker, and a thoughtful mother who became homesick for her family when she was away from them.

James White was suddenly taken ill on August 1, 1881 in Battle Creek and died in the Battle Creek Sanitarium on August 6 at the age of 60 years. Following her husband's death, Mrs. White spent two years in Europe (1885-87) and nine years in Australia and New Zealand (1891-1900). She helped establish and develop new medical, educational, and publishing enterprises. For the last 15 years of her life Ellen White lived on a modest estate near St. Helena, California, some sixty miles north of San Francisco. She named her estate "Elmshaven" and where she completed her last nine books, including The Ministry of Healing.

It was during her Elmshaven years that Ellen White oversaw the expansion of the church's healing ministry through the development of sanitariums in Paradise Valley, Glendale, and Loma Linda. At Loma Linda she also led in the establishment of the Adventist medical school which was first known as the College of Medical Evangelists and later became Loma Linda University, the largest Adventist educational institution. At Elmshaven she passed away on July 16, 1915, following an accident five months earlier in which she fell and fractured her left femur. Considering the poor health of her youth, it is remarkable how much she accomplished in her lifetime and that she was able to live to the ripe age of 87 years.

Prior to her marriage to James White, Ellen lived for eight months in the home of Otis Nichol near Boston while she bore her testimony in that area. Two men named Sargent and Robbins had not yet met Ellen but they dismissed her visions as a type of hypnosis. One day in 1845 they stopped by the Nichol home and were invited in to meet Ellen Harmon. This they refused and suggested they could meet in Boston at the home of another believer where the Millerites customarily worshipped. Nichols promised to bring Miss Harmon but Saturday night Ellen has a vision in which she was instructed that instead of going six miles north to Boston they must go seven miles south to Randolph. Nichols protested, but Ellen remained firm and stated that the angel had told her they would understand when they got to the home of a family named Thayer. Upon arrival, they discovered Sargent and Robbins already there; they had gone south in an effort to evade meeting Miss Harmon, whom they expected would go to Boston that day. Now there was no escape, and a confrontation did take place.

Shortly after 1:00 p.m. Ellen Harmon was taken into vision and remained in that condition until about 5:00 p.m. It was the longest of her nearly two thousand prophetic dreams and visions. Although she did not breathe during this period, Ellen was nevertheless supernaturally enabled to speak, which she did rather loudly. Sargent and Robbins, incredibly, tried to drown out her voice by singing and praying aloud, but their voices soon became hoarse and they lapsed into silence.

During this vision, Ellen hefted aloft on her left hand the Thayers' "heavy, large quarto family Bible." With the Bible high above her head, she turned the pages with her free hand and pointed to texts that exposed the fallacies of Sargent's and Robbins' doctrines. Nichols himself stood on a char to see whether she was quoting correctly the texts to which she allegedly pointed They were indeed the right texts! Sargent and Robbins subsequently confessed publicly their hypocrisy.

How did Ellen perform such amazing feats? Clearly she was helped by a superhuman power. During her lifetime she wrote more than 100,000 pages of handwritten manuscripts. Remembering that she had less than three years of elementary education, it is amazing that she is the fourth most translated author in the history of literature, its most translated woman writer, and the most translated American author of either sex. A medical confrontation occurred on January 12, 1861, when the Whites had journeyed 35 miles southwest of Battle Creek to Parkville where Ellen White was the featured speaker for the dedication of a new meeting house. Concluding her message, she sat down and was almost immediately taken off in vision. Present in the congregation was a certain Dr. Brown, a local spiritualist physician who used hypnotism as an aid to healing. He had previously boasted to local Adventists that Mrs. White's visions were nothing more than hypnotic trances. If she ever had one in his presence, he could bring her out of it in one minute. Someone now reminded him of his claim and asked him to make good on it. J.N. Loughborough, an eyewitness, gave this vivid account of the confrontation:

"The doctor came forward, but before he had half completed his examination, he turned deathly pale, and shook like an aspen leaf. Elder White said, 'will the doctor report her condition?' He replied, 'She does not breathe,' and rapidly made his way to the door. Those at the door who knew of his boasting said, 'Go back, and do as you said you would do; bring that woman out of the vision.' In great agitation he grasped the knob of the door, but was not permitted to open it until inquiry was made by those near the door, 'Doctor, what is it?' He replied, 'God only knows; let me out of this house!' "

In both the "open visions" of the day and the prophetic dreams of the night she saw the same angel standing by her side. He served as a divine validation of the authenticity of her experience. Sometimes she saw events of happenings — past, present, or future. Sometimes she simply received information or instruction. At other times she was given parables. To communicate the message, Mrs. White, like the Bible prophets before her, had three options: 1) she could quote the divine messenger; 2) she might use the writings of another author (the Bible writers often resorted to this method) and she had more than 700 titles in her own library, or 3) she might phrase the message of God in words of her own composition.

The need for improved health was impressed on the White family by the death of their first child, Henry, in 1863 of pneumonia at the age of 16 years. Their fourth child, John, had lived only a few months, dying of erysipelas. James White suffered a stroke in 1865 which incapacitated him for three years. Until 1863, Adventists had given little thought to health matters, but in June, shortly after the organization of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in May, Mrs. White had a comprehensive vision which compassed the broad field of health and preventive medicine, touched the high points of the causes of disease and the care of the sick, and remedial agencies. The vision stressed the obligation of each person to give intelligent attention to health of body and mind. In her own words she describes the vision:

"I saw that it was duty for everyone to have a care for his health, but especially should we turn our attention to our health, and take time to devote to our health, that we may in a degree recover from the effects of overdoing and overtaxing of the mind. The work God requires of us will not shut us away from caring for our health The more perfect our health, the more perfect will be our labor." E.G. White Letter 47 1863.

Ellen White tells how she, a heavy meat eater, had quite a struggle with herself to make herself learn to eat graham bread, simple food, and a vegetable diet, but how, as a result of these changes, her health greatly improved.

V. Health Care Institutions

Mrs. White was an advocate of health care institutions. With her encouragement the Western Health Reform Institute was built and opened for business in September of 1866 in Battle Creek, Michigan. The great Battle Creek Sanitarium grew out of this early effort. Mrs. White was instrumental in the founding of many hospitals including Glendale, Paradise Valley, Loma Linda, and many others.

The hospitals described by Mrs. White were to offer both medical and surgical services. There was to be a strong emphasis on temperance, diet, exercise, and all aspects of healthful living. The spiritual concerns of patients were not to be overlooked. In fact, soul winning was to be a paramount concern.

Hospitals were to be operated in a financially sound manner. Men with skill in business were to be in charge of the finances of an institution. Originally, all employees including doctors were on salary. Wages were often less than in community institutions. It was suggested by Mrs. White that ordaining physicians would help keep them from leaving an institution to make large sums of money in private practice.

Doctors, nurses and other health professionals were to be trained to work in the denomination's institutions. Schools of nursing were established in most hospitals. A school of medicine was established at Battle Creek, but at the strong urging of Mrs. White was moved to Loma Linda in 1906. This was to remove the center of medical education from Battle Creek and its massive Sanitarium and the influence of John Harvey Kellogg.

Seventh-day Adventist health professionals are to be well trained and qualified. They are to be able to pass the most difficult examinations, yet they are also to be evangelists and skilled at communicating the love of God to their patients. The primary focus is to be on relationships and not distinctive doctrines.

It is necessary to care for the physical needs of the sick; however the sick are also to be reasoned with. Causes of illness are to be identified and the lifestyle modified so as to minimize the risk of future illness.

Healthful living is a matter of the judicious use of the resources God has provided for us to use in staying healthy. The most quoted passage in the Spirit of Prophecy in this regard is probably the following:

"Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in divine power,— these are the true remedies. Every person should have a knowledge of nature's remedial agencies and how to apply them-" The Ministry of Healing, p. 127.

Health education is not only to be the work of health professionals centered in hospitals and clinics, but it is also to be a part of the activities in the local church. Every church was to be a source of health information and healing for the community in which it was located. The local church was to be the "home base" for health evangelism.

Church members were to live healthfully and to be involved in educating their neighbors in the vicinity of the church.

This health work in the local church was to be overtly evangelistic in nature. The gospel in scripture was to be the main focus of medical missionary work.

This work was also to be characterized by careful follow-up:

IX Gospel and Health Relationships

X. Scientific Substantiation of Ellen White Counsel

About nutrition subjects, she wrote by date as follows:

Fats:

  1869 --
    "Grains and fruits prepared free from grease, and in as natural condition as possible, should be the food for the tables of all who claim to be preparing for translation to heaven." Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 352.

  1890--
    "The grease cooked In the food renders it difficult of digestion." Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 354.

Salt:

  1883--
    "Food should be prepared in as simple a manner as possible, free from condiments and spices, and even from an undue amount of salt." Ibid., p. 340.

Sugar:

  1890--
    "the free use of sugar in any form tends to clog the system and is not infrequently a cause of disease." Counsels on Health, p. 154.

Meat,

  1864
    "Many die of disease caused wholly by meat-eating, yet the world does not seem to be the wiser." Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4, p. 147.

  1868 -
    "The liability to take disease is increased tenfold by meat eating." Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 64.

Bread

  1905
    "Fine-flour bread is lacking in nutritive elements to be found in bread made from the whole wheat." Ministry of Healing, p. 300.

The Ideal Diet:

  1890
    "Fruits, grains, and vegetables, prepared in a simple way, free from spice and grease of all Kinds, make, with milk or cream, the most healthful diet." Ibid., p. 314.

  1. Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

  2. Decrease consumption of refined and other ;processed sugars and foods high in such sugars.

  3. Decrease consumption of foods high in total fat, and partially replace saturated fats, whether obtained from animal or vegetable sources, with polyunsaturated fats.

  4. Decrease consumption of animal fat, and choose meats, poultry, and fish that will reduce saturated fat intake.

  5. Except for young children, substitute low-fat and nonfat milk for whole milk, and low-fat dairy products for high-fat dairy products.

  6. Decrease consumption of butterfat, eggs, and other high cholesterol sources

  7. Decrease consumption of salt and foods high in salt content.

  These have been subsequently adopted as dietary guidelines for Americans and endorsed by the Surgeon General. These have been summarized as follows:

  1. Eat a variety of foods.

  2. Maintain ideal weight.

  3. Avoid too much fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.

  4. Eat foods with adequate starch and fiber.

  5. Avoid too much sugar.

  6. Avoid too much sodium.

  7. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. -- Nutrition and Your Health, US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services, 1980.

We know now that this type of diet can reduce the risk of both heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and other metabolic diseases.

Xl. Ellen White's Writings and the Health Professional

In the Bible are found the words of life. We learn of God's grace and through faith experience personal salvation. The Bible is to be a daily source of inspiration and strength for the Christian. What about the writings of Ellen White? What is their role in the life of a health professional?

If you are going to buy just one health book by Mrs. White, make it The Ministry of Healing. This book contains the whole gospel and points to Scripture and the life of Jesus. It makes healthful living practical. It will help you in your personal health practices. It will help you with the patients under your care. It will teach you how to deal with the tempted. It will give you practical instruction as you come into contact with others. It will help you in administration. Chapter 8, "The Physician as an Educator," and Chapter 9, "Teaching and Healing," make an excellent manual for church health educators.

Once you have been helped by The Ministry of Healing, you will want to learn more from the inspired health literature of the Church. There is a gold mine of practical suggestions. The Church and its medical institution and personnel have not always followed the counsel given. Much that has been written still needs to be applied consistently in the work we do. God will bless us if we read and apply the messages given through His prophets and thus we will be doing our part to "prepare a people for the coming of the Lord."

Coon, Roger W.: A Gift of Light, Review & Herald Publishing 1983.

Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, Review & Herald Publishing 1966. "Spirit of Prophecy," "Visions," EIIen G. White."

Robinson, Dores E.: The Story of Our Health Message, Southern Publishing 1943.

White, Arthur L: Ellen White, 6 volumes, Review & Herald Publishing

1827-1862, The Early Years;

1862-1876, The Progressive Years

1876-1891, The Lonely Years

1891-1900, The Australian Years

1900-1905, The Early Elmshaven Years;

1905-1915, The Later Elmshaven Years