6. Ahead of Her Time?

“From what source has she (Ellen White) received the new and rich thoughts which are to be found in her writings …?  She could not have learned them from books, from the fact that they (other books) do not contain such thoughts.” — James White in Life Sketches, pages 328, 329, 1880  edition

Everyone wants good health, but how do you distinguish between what promotes and what hinders health? What guidelines and principles should you follow in your quest for good health?

Few people disagree that health sciences have experienced substantial revisions over the years. In some cases health professionals have promoted debilitating fads that hinder the quest for healthful living. As a result, society has not always benefited from what medical science has promoted. In this environment, Seventh-day Adventists, Mormons, and others are to be commended for living an average of 8 years longer than those who do not practice genuine principles of good health.

Where did Seventh-day Adventists originally receive their interest in health? If you believe their interest is primarily the result of Ellen White’s writings, you are largely correct. No Seventh-day Adventist can speak  about the “health message” without directly referencing Ellen White.

And this is where the difficulties begin. What Ellen White wrote about health has been selectively taught to members over the years. Her statements regarding genuine health principles have been widely disseminated. But her gross errors have been expunged in the attempt to cultivate the myth of her Divine inspiration.

If you are a Seventh-day Adventist you may believe God gave Ellen White exclusive health message through visions. It is also likely that you were taught those visions enabled Ellen White’s teaching on health to be without error and far ahead of her time. But as you evaluate the facts concerning Ellen White’s health message consider three popular claims made by Seventh-day Adventists:

1. Ellen White’s  health  message  was  given  exclusively  to her through divinely-inspired visions;
2. Ellen White did not copy her health message from the writings of other authors; and
3. Ellen White’s health messages were free from error and far ahead of the scientific knowledge of her time.

Notice how her husband, James White, reinforced those claims when he wrote in 1880:

“Mrs. White has written and spoken a hundred things, as truthful as they are beautiful and harmonious, which cannot be found in the writings of others, they are new to the most intelligent readers and hearers. And if they are not to be found in print, and are not brought out in sermons from the pulpit, where did Mrs. White find them? From what source has she received the new and rich thoughts which are to be found in her writings and oral addresses? She could not have learned them from books, from the fact that they do not contain such thoughts.” — Life Sketches, pages 328,329, 1880 edition.

If you believe that Ellen White could not have learned her “new” information from books because “they do not contain such thoughts,” spend a half hour checking out the facts with me. As I write this, I am looking at a small, 156-page book published in 1844, with a very long title: Water-Cure for Ladies: a Popular Work on the Health, Diet, and Regimen of Females and Children, and the Prevention and Cure of Diseases; With a Full Account of the Processes of Water-Cure; Illustrated With Various Cases. The author of this book on health is Mrs. M. L. Shew. The copy I possess was revised by Joel Shew, M.D., perhaps Mrs. Shew’s son or husband. Since my copy of her book states it is the third printing, it is evident this book was written and first published long before 1844. That indicates Mrs. Shew wrote at least twenty years before Ellen White received her first health vision in 1863 and began publishing her health materials in 1865.

This is your opportunity to compare Ellen White’s statements with what Mrs. Shew published on various health topics more than two decades earlier. These quotations from Mrs. Shew have not been published by any other modern researcher, and were not discovered until 1993. Remember, you will be looking at basic concepts and principles taught by health practitioners in this country prior to 1844, and comparing them with what Ellen White wrote at least twenty years later.

Let us look at just one health topic at a time. In each sample a statement from Mrs. Shew’s book will be quoted first (“MLS”), followed by quotations from Ellen White (“EGW”).   Each statement is clearly distinguished in the left-hand margin by the author’s initials and the date when it was written.

ALCOHOL

MLS–1844

• “It  (alcohol) is a deadly poison, and …  a prompt diffusible stimulant,  …  the  tissues  are always poisoned and their vitality destroyed in proportion to the amount of alcohol taken.” — Water Cure for Ladies, vi, vii, written in 1844.

EGW–1897

• “Why do they not advocate reform by planting their feet firmly on principle, determined  not  to  taste  alcoholic drink or to use tobacco? These are poisons, and their use is a violation of God’s Law.” — Temperance, p. 103, written in 1897.

EGW–1881

• “It is a most forceful warning against the use of such stimulants and narcotics as tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, and morphine.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 63, written in 1881.

EGW–1898

• “There is in the world a multitude of degraded human beings, who have, by yielding in their youth to the temptation to use tobacco and alcohol, poisoned the tissues of the human structure.” — Temperance, p. 36, written in1898.

Did you notice Ellen White generally echoed ideas about alcohol that Mrs. Shew had writtenand taught at least two decades earlier? When it comes to information about alcohol, Ellen White was not ahead of her time.

But what you may not know is that Ellen White herself was drinking fermented wine five years after she had received her health messages condemning alcoholic beverages, and she continued to drink wine to the end of her life (see James White’s comments in the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, September, 1868, and Arthur L. White in Ellen G. White, vol. 6, p. 53).

Yet, Ellen White stated that other people should not even taste alcoholic beverages because its use was a “violation of God’s law.” In this she contradicted Scripture. The Bible does not condemn the moderate use  of alcoholic beverages (Deuteronomy 14:22-26; Psalm 104:14, 15; 1 Timothy 5:23); but it does condemn excessive drinking and drunkenness (1 Corinthians 5:11; 6:9, 10; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Timothy 3:3, 8; Titus 1:7; 2:3). I am not encouraging you to drink alcoholic beverages. The Bible is plain that even though alcohol is permitted, it is neither beneficial nor constructive if it masters you (1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23).

The evidence is Ellen White did not have exclusive information about alcohol, was not ahead of her time, contradicted the Bible, and did not live up to the high standard she required of others.

DRUG MEDICINES

MLS–1844

• “Drug medicines cannot be depended upon. Not one of the whole number; and this is the true reason why they have been thus multiplied.  … Water-cure rightly administered is always entirely safe, and will do good. Not so with poisonous drugs. Even in small doses they sometimes produce fatal results. They always produce diseased action. Who does not know how frequently infants and children have been drugged to death. We are not now speaking of physicians. But physicians often do injury  with their drugs. Both the medicine and the food they recommend are often most pernicious.” — Water Cure for Ladies, pp. iv, v, written in 1844.

EGW–1865    

• “More deaths have been caused by drug-taking than from all other causes combined. If there was in the land one physician in the place of thousands, a vast amount of premature mortality would be prevented. Multitudes of physicians, and multitudes of drugs, have cursed the inhabitants of the earth, and have carried thousands and tens of thousands to untimely graves. … drugs never cure disease. … The endless variety of medicines in the market, the numerous advertisements of new drugs and mixtures, all of which, as they say, do wonderful cures, kill hundreds where they benefit one.” — Selected Messages, vol. 2, pages 450, 451, 454, written in 1865.

Again, Ellen White repeated what Mrs. Shew had written and taught twenty-one years earlier. Does this contradict James White’s claim that: “she could not have learned them from books?” And is it  true that “drugs never cure disease?” Ask any doctor how many patients he knows whose lives were saved through the use of drug medications.

SALT

MLS–1844

• “There is every reason to believe that it (salt) not only serves to predispose the body to every form of disease, but also seems to aggravate and perpetuate every species of disease when it is actually induced. … Our advice, then, to all, both old and young, is this — get rid of the habit as soon as possible: and if any must be used, let it be very finely pulverized, and always sprinkled over the food after it has been cooked. … A much smaller quantity will thus answer the object, viz., the taste; and always the less the better.” — Water Cure for Ladies, p. 53, written in 1844.

EGW–1870

• “We know that a free use of these things (salt, sugar, milk) is positively injurious to health, and in many cases we think that if they were not used at all, a much better state of health would be enjoyed.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 468, written in 1870.

EGW–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.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 340, written in 1883.

Mrs. Shew had clearly laid down health principles regarding salt at least twenty-six years before Ellen White wrote out her information. Is it possible that Ellen White’s facts might have come from a book she read, and not from a vision?

SPICES

MLS–1844

• “Of the other various stimulating condiments, such as mustard, pepper, ginger, cloves, allspice, vinegar, etc., and in short, all substances of the kind that merely stimulate without affording any appreciable amount of nutriment to the body, little need be said, other than that they are all more or less pernicious. … The mucous or inner coat of the stomach also presented at such times an unnatural appearance.” — Water Cure for Ladies, pp. 53, 54, written in 1844.

EGW–1870

• “Custom says that  if she (pregnant woman) wants flesh meats, pickles, spiced food, or mince pies, let her have them; appetite alone is to be consulted. This is a great mistake, and does much harm. The harm cannot be estimated. … The blood-making organs cannot convert spices, mince pies, pickles, and diseased flesh meats into good blood.” — Counsels on Dietand Foods, p. 220, written in 1870.

EGW–1890    

• “Spices at first irritate the tender coating of the stomach, but finally destroy the natural sensitiveness of this delicate membrane.”  — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 341, written in 1890.

There is no doubt that Mrs. Shew published her understanding of health principles regarding spices and highly seasoned food more than twenty-six years before Ellen White wrote. Isn’t it clear Ellen White was not ahead of her time in these matters?

TEA

MLS–1844

• “It (tea ) is one of the most destructive poisons in nature. … As to its use, in any way, if to any considerable extent, we will vouch for the pale faces and unstrung nerves which it will cause.”  — Water Cure for Ladies, pp. 59, 60, written in 1844.

EGW–1868

• “Tea is poisonous to the system. … Tea and coffee drinkers carry the marks upon their faces. The skin becomes sallow, and assumes a lifeless appearance. The glow of health is not seen upon the countenance.”  — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 421, written in 1868.

EGW–1902

• “All should bear clear testimony against tea and coffee, never using them. They are narcotic, injurious alike to the brain and to the other organs of the body.”  — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 402, written in 1902.

Obviously Ellen White was not the first to expound upon the detrimental nature of tea. Were her views on tobacco ahead of her time?

TOBACCO

MLS–1844

• “An increased quantity of tobacco is very often used by those who discontinue strong drink. Those who use alcoholic drinks generally are in the habit of stimulating by tobacco. … It sometimes apparently benefits the individual for the time, but the effect on the whole is injurious. … tobacco is a very powerful acrid narcotic poison. …Those who use it to any considerable extent are certain of experiencing a … weakness of nerves, and often a trembling, which is exceedingly troublesome and inconvenient. It is altogether in every form injurious.”  — Water Cure for Ladies, pp. 54-56, written in 1844.

EGW–1865

• “Tobacco is a slow, but sure and deadly poison, weakening the nervous system.”  — Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 422, written in 1865.

EGW–1875

• “The use of tobacco encourages the appetite for liquor.” — Testimonies, vol. 3, pp. 488, 489, written in 1875.

EGW–1881

• “It is a most forcible warning against the use of such stimulants and narcotics as tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, and morphine.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 63, written in 1881.

EGW–1887

• “Those  who  claim that  tobacco does not injure them, can be convinced of their mistake by depriving themselves of it for a few days; the trembling nerves, the giddy head, the irritability they feel, will prove to them that this sinful indulgence  has bound them in slavery.” — Temperance, pp. 60, 61, written in 1887.

EGW–1887

• “They have surely murdered themselves by this slow poison. … What will be their wakening in the resurrection morning?” — Ibid., p. 57.

EGW–1887

• “Men  professing godliness offer their bodies upon Satan’s altar, and burn the incense of tobacco to his Satanic majesty.” — Ibid., p. 63.

Again the facts clearly indicate that Ellen White only repeated what others had written and were teaching at least two decades before her. But notice once again she confused health principles with moral sin when she called tobacco a “sinful indulgence,” and suggested tobacco users worship Satan and thus are spiritually lost. You will see this confusion of basic concepts over and over again in Ellen White’s writings. These are examples of the errors that make her spiritually dangerous. Now consider what was taught about opium in the 1800s.

OPIUM

MLS–1844    

• “Most  unfortunately for the human race, this deadly drug (opium), also, is becoming more and more used. … Those who choose to note the after-effects can have little trouble in satisfying themselves of the pernicious effects of this drug. It should never be used, for there are means more effectual, and entirely safe, by which to reduce pain.”  —  Water Cure for Ladies, pp. 56, 57, written in 1844.

EGW–1864

• “I was shown that the innocent, modest-looking white poppy yields a dangerous drug. Opium is a slow poison, when taken in small quantities. In large doses it produces lethargy and death.” — Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4, p. 138, written in 1864.

Up to this point you have examined seven general areas of diet and health. Even though Ellen White confirmed her claim to divine inspiration by using the words “I was shown,” in every example she was at least twenty years behind the knowledge of her time. Why would God show her in special visions what was already widely available to the general public, including Seventh-day Adventists, in many secular books, articles and health clinics?

Perhaps Ellen White was ahead of her time in the area of pure air and exercise. Let’s compare what she wrote in 1870 with what Mrs. Shew wrote 26 years earlier in 1844:

PURE AIR AND EXERCISE

MLS–1844    

• “Daily ablution (bathing), suitable  exercise, with always pure air to breathe both night and day, are indispensable.” — Water Cure for Ladies, p. ix, written in 1844.

EGW–1870

• “They have not given their bodies exercise nor their lungs food, which is pure, fresh air. … Many are suffering from disease because they refuse to receive into their rooms at night the pure night air.” —Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 525, 527, 1870.

Once again, Ellen White’s “visions” added nothing new to the medical teaching of her time.

REPLACE BUTTER WITH CREAM

MLS–1844    

• “All kinds of pastry and pies can be made not only more healthy, but palatable, by using good cream instead of butter or lard.” — Water Cure for Ladies, p.69, written in 1844.

EGW–1904    

• “I cannot see the need of butter, where there is abundance of fruit and of sterilized cream.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 352, written in 1904.

VEGETARIAN DIET

MLS–1844    

• “Any and every person, however long and much they may have used flesh meat, will be benefited by immediate substitution of cream or milk for flesh. And we also believe that an exclusive vegetable and fruit diet for adults as capable of such selection, that a still higher degree of health and enjoyment will attend its use.” — Water Cure for Ladies, p. 70, written in 1844.

EGW–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.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 354, written in 1890.

Remember, the issue is not whether Ellen White ever wrote anything that made sense, or that agreed with good health principles. The issue is: Are the Church’s claims true that God give her health principles that were far ahead of her time? The evidence is conclusive: God did not. As a matter of fact, when Ellen White’s “health messages” are carefully examined, they rule out any claim to divine inspiration, for she was a follower in the development of health principles, not a leader.

CHEESE

MLS–1844    

• “This  article (cheese), although so much esteemed by many, is, by writers generally reckoned to be very hard of digestion.  It varies very much as to quality. The ‘good old cheese’ put down in wine or brandy, so much esteemed by some, is quite bad enough to give a hyena, or anything else, a fit of dyspepsia.” — Water Cure for Ladies, p. 70, written in 1844.

EGW–1890    

• “The effect of cheese  is deleterious.”  — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 236, written in 1890.

Notice Mrs. Shew referred to the fact that other writers of her day recognized cheese is “very hard of digestion.” It is clear Ellen White was 46 years behind the well-known health teachers of her day.

MEAL TIME

MLS–1844    

• “The  times of eating,  whatever  may be our  food, should  be regular. The meals should never be nearer each other than six hours. … three times for adults is as much as is ever allowable, and indeed twice would generally be better for sedentary persons. The meal should never be taken in great haste, nor should we hurry to or from the meal to business or excitement of any kind.” — Water Cure for Ladies, p. 100, written in 1844.

EGW–1903    

• “I eat but  two meals a  day, and still follow the light given me thirty-five years ago.” —  Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 357, written in 1903.

EGW–1865  

• “They (children) should  be allowed only plain food, of that quality that would preserve to them the best condition of health, and that should be partaken of only at regular periods, not oftener than three times a day, and two meals would be better than  three.”  —  Counsels  on  Diet  and  Foods,  pp.  228-229, written in 1865.

EGW–1892    

• “At  mealtime  cast off  care and  taxing thought. Do not be hurried, but eat slowly and with cheerfulness. … And do not engage in brain labor immediately after a meal. …” — Counsels on Health, p. 565, written in 1892.

The thoughts Ellen White expressed here are so close to what Mrs. Shew wrote more than twenty years earlier that one can’t help believing they were copied. But if Ellen White was directly inspired by God, then why would these two author’s words and teachings be so similar? Why would God give Ellen a special vision when Mrs. Shew was already publishing the same health message at least twenty years earlier?Interestingly, this same question came up in 1867 when the Wisconsin and Illinois Conference Committees caught Ellen White copying Dr. Jackson and Dr. Trall (see page 112).

BREAD

MLS–1844    

• “Bread is said to be the staff of life. … Probably the best on the whole that can be made is that of unbolted wheaten meal. … Bread, of whatever kind, should not be eaten warm. All kinds of raised bread should be left until at least twenty-four hours old. … All kinds of unleavened bread are allowable as soon as cold.”—Water Cure for Ladies, pp. 71, 78, written in 1844.

EGW–1899    

• “Bread  is  the real staff of life, and therefore every cook should should excel in making it.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 315, written in 1899.

EGW–1905    

• “When hot, or new, raised bread of any  kind is difficult of digestion. It should never appear on the table. This rule does not, however, apply to unleavened bread.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, pp. 316, 317, written in 1905.

EGW–1868    

• “Fine-flour  bread  cannot impart to the system the nourishment that  you  will  find  in  the  unbolted-wheat bread.” —Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 320, written in1868.

Ellen White simply repeated what Mrs. Shew had written and taught far more than twenty years before.  Remember, Mrs. M. L. Shew never claimed to be divinelyinspired.  She was only teaching health principles that were known and accepted by the health reformersand good medical practitioners of her day.

On the other hand, Ellen White wrote exhaustively on practically every conceivable topic in her health messages, stating she received her information through Divine revelation. Look again at the claims she made in 1906 after sixty years of writing:

EGW–1906    

• “I have written many books, and they have been given a wide circulation. Of myself I could not have brought out the truth in these books, but the Lord has given me the help of his Holy Spirit. These books, giving the instruction that the Lord has given me during the past sixty years, contain light from heaven. … In these letters which I write, in the testimonies I bear, I am presenting to you that which the Lord has presented to me. I do not write one article in the paper, expressing merely my own ideas.  They are what God has opened before me in vision.” — Selected Messages, vol. 1, pp. 35, 27, written in 1906.

The evidence you have looked at in this chapter came from Ellen White’s own letters, books, testimonies, and articles — all of which she claimed came directly from God in vision. If her claims are true, then why did Mrs. M. L. Shew write the same information at least two decades earlier?  Would God really present in vision what was already published and well-understood by health practitioners at least twenty years earlier?

Did God tell Ellen White what to copy and what not to copy from others?

When faced with these questions, believers in Ellen White’s Divine inspiration sometimes answer, “Well, God told Ellen White what to copy from others that was true, and what to omit from their writings that was false. So we would expect to see much of what she wrote commonly available in the writings of other authors!” Let’s look a bit more closely at their answer.

Notice the Seventh-day Adventist defense began by admitting Ellen White copied others rather than receiving her information directly from God. In this they contradicted her claims! Now, if God did show Ellen White what truths to copy from others, and what errors to omit, there could be no errors in her health messages. And, since He’s honest, wouldn’t God remind her to credit her sources? But if we examine her writings and find no sources credited, and the presence of errors, we will logically conclude God makes mistakes, or God did not tell Ellen White what to copy. Either way the SDA defense has verified Ellen White lied when she claimed direct revelation and created a new set of difficulties for them.

Now, consider the evidence as you look at nine very serious errors Ellen White copied and incorporated in her health messages:

1. Masturbation causes various diseases.

Ellen White taught the myths of her day regarding masturbation, (“secret vice” as it was called in the 1800’s). Diseases and conditions Ellen White claimed are caused by masturbation include the following:

EGW

• Backache — Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 481.
• Brain impairment — Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 391.
• Brain paralysis — Testimonies,vol. 2, p. 409.
• Cancer — Child Guidance, p. 444.
• Death — Child Guidance, p. 444.
• Disease (every) — Child Guidance, p. 444.
• Kidney disease — Child Guidance,p. 444.
• Liver trouble — Child Guidance, p. 444.
• Lung trouble — Child Guidance, p. 444.
• Mind seriously injured — Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 392.
• Neuralgia — Child Guidance, p. 444.
• Numerous pains — Child Guidance, p. 444.
• Puny and dwarfed children — Testimonies,  vol. 2, p. 391.
• Sieve-like memory — Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 401, 469.
• Small eyes — Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 402.
• Spine trouble — Child Guidance, p. 444.

In spite of her many claims regarding masturbation, there is no scientific or medical evidence to support them; even the White Estate admits her errors in these statements. Did God inspire her to copy these errors from others? No. Did God inspire Ellen White to teach and publish these errors in order to frighten Seventh-day Adventists into ceasing to masturbate? No. Any Bible-believing Christian is more likely to shun masturbation when presented with the simple truth of God’s Word than with the complex myths of Ellen White (see Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5:27, 28; 1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23; 2 Peter 2:18, 19; John 8:34-36; 1 Timothy 5:22; Philippians 4:6-8).

2. There is no antidote for strychnine poisoning.

Speaking of one of her visions Ellen White writes:

EGW    

• “A branch was presented before me bearing large flat seeds. Upon it was written, Nux vomica, strychnine. Beneath was written, No antidote. I was shown persons under the influence of this poison. It produced heat, and seemed to act particularly on the spinal column, but affected the whole system. When this is taken in the smallest quantities, it has its influence, which nothing can counteract. If taken immoderately, convulsions, paralysis, insanity, and death, are often the results.” — Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4, p. 138, written in 1864.

Medical science has routinely used sodium amytal and its derivatives to restore individuals suffering from strychnine poisoning.

3. Wigs overheat the brain.

EGW

• “Wigs overheat the brain and cause needless excitement to the system.” — The Health Reformer, October, 1871,  “Words to Christian Mothers.”

This grossly erroneous statement has been totally erased from all records except for its original appearance in The Health Reformer.  If that statement was really God’s truth, then why have Seventh-day Adventist leaders consistently neglected to inform their wig-wearing members of this danger? Can leaders withhold such information while proclaiming Ellen White’s divine inspiration, without being duplicitous?

4. Drinking coffee, tea and/or alcohol is a sin.

EGW   

• “The indulgence of … tea, coffee, tobacco, or liquor, is intemperance, and is at war with the laws of life and health. By using these forbidden articles a condition of things is created in the system which the Creator never designed. This indulgence in any of the members of the human family is sin.” — Evangelism, p. 266, written in 1899.

EGW

• “Tea and coffee drinking is a sin, an injurious indulgence, which, like other evils, injures the soul.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 425, written in 1896.

The drinking of coffee, tea, or alcohol is not listed in God’s Moral Law as a sin. The Bible does not tell us to repent of the “sin” of drinking coffee, tea, or alcohol. Jesus said:

BIBLE  

• “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ “ — Matthew 15:11.

In her health message Ellen White frequently confused health principles with God’s Moral Law. Health principles can lengthen or shorten our physical life and well being. But sin is disobedience to God’s revealed will. Ellen White was wrong when she stated that drinking coffee or tea is a sin. She also had difficulty with other health laws in the Bible. You see, Ellen White ate oysters years after she was aware that they are “unclean” according to the Bible’s health laws. Notice what she wrote to her daughter-in-law in 1882:

EGW     

• “Mary, if you can get me a box of herrings, fresh ones, please do so. The last ones that Willie got are bitter and old. … if you can get a few cans of good oysters, get them….”—Ellen White’s letter to her son Willie’s wife Mary, written in 1882 (original Letter 16, May 31, 1882 available from the White Estate).

Are you comfortable with a prophet who condemned others for things that she herself was doing? Why were these “sins” pointed out in the lives of others but not addressed in the life of Ellen White?

5. Do not drink water with meals.

EGW

• “Many make a mistake in drinking cold water with their meals. Taken with meals, water diminishes the flow of the salivary glands; and the colder the water, the greater the injury to the stomach. Ice water or ice lemonade, drunk with meals, will arrest digestion until the system has imparted sufficient warmth to the stomach to enable it to take up its work again. … No drink is needed with meals. … The more liquid that is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest; for the liquid must first be absorbed. … If anything is needed to quench thirst, pure water, drunk some little time before or after the meal, is all that nature requires.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 420, written in 1884.

Neither Scripture nor science supports this, and yet many Seventh-day Adventist believers in EllenWhite will not drink liquids with their meals.

6. Meat-eaters won’t be translated to heaven.

EGW

• “Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation.” — Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 187, written in 1859.

EGW

• “Not an ounce of flesh meat should enter our stomachs.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 380, written in 1903.

EGW

• “Among those who are waiting for the coming of the Lord, meat eating will eventually be done away; flesh will cease to form a part of their diet.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, pp. 380, 381, written in 1890.

EGW

• “Those who have received instruction regarding the evils of the use of flesh foods, tea, and coffee, and rich and unhealthful food preparations, and who are determined to make a covenant with God by sacrifice, will not continue to indulge their appetite for food that they know to be unhealthful. God demands that the appetite be cleansed, and that self-denial be practiced in regard to those things which are not good. This is a work that will have to be done before his people can stand before him a perfected people.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 381, written in 1909.

BIBLE

• “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.” — Genesis 9:3-4.

As you read this it is very important for you to understand two things:

First, according to God’s Word, eating meat is not a sin. As a matter of fact, God provided Noah and his descendants with meat (Genesis 9:3-4). The Lord and two angels ate beef when they accepted Abraham’s hospitality (Genesis 18:1-8). The Temple priests, including the High Priest, regularly ate meat from animal sacrifices (Leviticus 6:25, 26). As a Jew Jesus regularly ate the Passover lamb, and after His resurrection Jesus ate broiled fish (Luke24:41-43).

Through the Apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit made it clear that the general principle Christians are to follow is to eat anything sold in the meat market without asking questions (1 Corinthians 10:25-30). Ellen White  contradicted the Bible when she claimed a meat diet would prevent God’s people from receiving the “latter rain” and thus being “fitted for translation” into heaven.

Second, Ellen White herself ate meat virtually her entire life. Several times she quit the practice and then took it up again. The historical evidence is that she continued to eat meat, including pork and seafood, at least occasionally, throughout her life.

Ellen White contradicted God’s Word when she linked meat eating to moral perfection and fitness for salvation. More than that, she is condemned by her own words for requiring a “higher standard” of her followers than she herself was willing to accept.

7. It is a sin to be sick.

EGW

• “It is a sin to be sick; for all sickness is the result of transgression.” — Counsels on Health, p. 37, written in 1866.

BIBLE

• “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. … In all this, Job did not sin.” — Job 2:7, 10.
• “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, …”— John 9:1-3.

Think about this: Ellen White stated she was sick a lot during her life. Does that mean she sinned a lot? No, for Christ did not agree with Ellen White that “all sickness is the result of (personal) transgression.” Once again we see Ellen White’s fondness for criticizing others while turning a blind eye to her own short comings.

8. Can your prayers rise to heaven if you place butter, eggs, and meat on your table?

EGW

• “You place upon your tables butter, eggs, and meat, and your children partake of them. They are fed with the very things that will excite their animal passions, and then you come to meeting and ask God to bless and save your children. How high do your prayers go?” — Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 366, (1870).

BIBLE  

• “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is  what makes him ‘unclean.’“ — Matthew 15:11.

Again, by confusing health principles with God’s Moral Law, Ellen White contradicted both the spirit and letter of God’s Word.

9. Small bonnets are contrary to both health reform and modesty, and are a mark of Satan’s control.

EGW

• “I was shown that the people of God should not imitate the fashions of the world. … I was pointed back to God’s ancient people, and was led to compare their apparel with the mode of dress in these last days. What a difference! What a change! Then the women were not so bold as now. When they went in public, they covered their faces with a veil! In these last days, fashions are shameful and immodest. They are noticed in prophecy. They were first brought in by a classover whom Satan has entire control, … The small bonnets, exposing the face and head, show a lack of modesty.” — Testimonies, vol. 1, pp 188-189, written in 1859.

Do you believe that it is God’s will for Christian women today to cover their face and head when they appear in public? Have you seen any photograph of Ellen White wearing any covering that hides her face and head? Do you know of a single Bible text saying people who promote small bonnets are under Satan’s control? Why did Ellen White specifically claim Divine inspiration by saying “I was shown …;” “I was pointed back to …;”  “they are noticed in prophecy”?  Was Ellen White Divinely-inspired when she made those statements?

Today officials of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Ellen G. White Estate continue to give believers a much different view of her health messages than you have seen. Even through the pages of the Adventist Review readers are told:

“Where as most of her contemporaries mixed in a little truth with a large volume of error, she consistently presented only correct positions, and none of the contemporary nonsense.”  — “Were Ellen White’s Health Writings Unique?” by Roger Coon, Adventist Review, April 8, 1993, p. 17.

Do the facts you have examined demonstrate to you that Ellen White “consistently presented only correct positions, and none of the contemporary nonsense?” Of course not!  Roger Coon, then an associate secretary of the Ellen White Estate, concluded his article with a Biblical appeal every Seventh-day Adventists would do well to heed:

“Ellen White is not proven to be a Divinely inspired prophet because she wrote things in thenineteenth century that science did not get around to proving correct until the twentieth century. Noris Brigham Young, for that matter. The foremost test of an alleged prophet is whether the prophet’steachings harmonize with the Bible. ‘To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them’ (Isaiah 8:20).”

You have seen evidence that in her health messages, Ellen White did great damage to her followers by linking diet to salvation. Even a cursory examination of the nine volumes of Ellen White’s Testimonies for the Church surprises researchers at her continual meddling in the lives of Church members. Time and again she upbraided believers for not living the very “health messages” she herself scorned.

Not only was Ellen White’s “health message” seriously flawed by outlandish myths, but it also lagged many decades behind the good science and good medical doctors of her day. One cannot read Ellen White in the context of numerous other health reformers of the 1800s and logically conclude she received any health principles by direct revelation in visions from God. When we factor in her admission of copying from Dr. Jackson and Dr. Trall (see page 112), we must concede that it takes extraordinarily great naiveté to believe in her divine inspiration. SDAs are simply wrong in their claims regarding the divine origin and special uniqueness of Ellen White’s health message.

But worse, by linking her health messages to salvation she directly and repeatedly contradicted theBible. As Roger Coon reminded us, one of the tests of a false prophet is: “If they speak not according to this word (the Bible), it is because there is no light in them.”

The October 8, 1867 Review and Herald contains Ellen White’s reply to the Wisconsin and Illinois Conference Committees who wanted to know why her views published in How to Live, were so similar to the teachings of Drs. Jackson, Trall, and others. She wrote: “After I had written my six articles for How to Live, I then searched the various works on Hygiene and was surprised to find them so nearly in harmony with what the Lord had revealed to me. And to show this harmony, and to set before my brethren and sisters the subject as brought out by able writers, I determined to publish How to Live, in which I largely extracted (copied) from the works referred to.” Why would God reveal to her in vision what she admitted reading in the books of other writers? Why would she copy from the books of Drs. Jackson, Trall, and others to lend credibility to her articles if she actually had the highest authority for her own writing: God Himself? And why didn’t she give credit to those authors as the source of her material, if as she claimed, her copying was to “set before my brethren and sisters the subject as brought out by able writers?” How would her readers know who the “able writers”were when she didn’t even list their names?

White Washed. Copyright © 2011 by Sydney Cleveland. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2011. Revised and enlarged 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2011. All Scripture quotations—except where otherwise noted—are from Holy Bible, New International Version, © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. Life Assurance Ministries, Inc.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Sydney Cleveland

Sydney Cleveland was an Adventist Pastor for 11 years. During an extensive study of Ellen G. White’s writings, he discovered that she contradicted the Holy Bible, gave many false prophecies, was mean-spirited, and didn’t even follow her own teaching.

White Washed is a comprehensive look at Ellen White’s prophecies, practices and publications. Sydney Cleveland examines her claims of inspiration, her dreams and visions, the doctrines she endorsed, her personal practices which opposed her teachings, and the effects of her claims on the Seventh-day Adventist church. This book is a well-documented overview of the little-known reality about Ellen White and her long service to Adventism.

Latest posts by Sydney Cleveland (see all)

• White Washed - July 1, 2021
• 13. A Word to Aspiring Prophets - October 8, 2020
• Appendix B – SDA Jewelry and Dress - October 8, 2020