A response to contemporary critics of Ellen G. White
October 22, 2025 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Theodore N. Levterov for Adventist Review
Ellen White’s prophetic gift has always generated theological debates and controversies. Given its supernatural nature, many have questioned the legitimacy of Ellen White’s prophetic revelations both within and outside the church. After all, how does one “prove” spiritual realities?
In recent years new critical publications have emerged, urging contemporary Seventh-day Adventists to concede that Ellen White’s prophetic claims are false and fabricated.[1] Some critiques have even labeled the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc., as a “fraud” organization.[2] These new works argue against Ellen White’s prophetic gift, offering humanistic explanations for her revelations.
While some critics grant that Ellen White may have genuinely believed that she received divine messages, they suggest she was simply deceived. Others view her writings as valuable devotionals but deny any prophetic authority. Admittedly, these recent critiques are not new but mostly repeat older arguments with minor variations. Some historical examples include the so-called Messenger Party in the 1850s,[3] B. F. Snook and W. H. Brinkerhoff in the mid-1860s,[4] and D. M. Canright in the 1880s.[5] Later and contemporary critics have largely echoed and reiterated Canright’s notions and arguments.
These historical examples demonstrate that Ellen White’s prophetic gift has been scrutinized since the beginning of her ministry. In response, Seventh-day Adventists have provided detailed biblical, theological, and contextual explanations.[6]
Ellen White herself addressed some criticisms related to her prophetic understanding during her lifetime, as seen in the introduction to her work The Great Controversy and her explanations in Selected Messages, book 3.[7] More recently, in 1983, the church published a document titled “The Inspiration and Authority of Ellen G. White Writings: A Statement of Present Understanding,” which included 10 affirmations and 10 denials regarding her writings, inspiration, and authority in relation to the Scriptures.[8] In 2015 the church hosted worldwide symposiums, resulting in the publication of The Gift of Prophecy in Scripture and History.[9] The White Estate’s website also features a section called Issues and Answers, addressing objections against Ellen White’s gift.[10] Nevertheless, as critics have continued to recycle their arguments, the church’s response has also involved reiterating previously presented arguments.
Evaluating Ellen White: A New Approach to Contemporary Critics
Faced with repetitive criticisms, one might wonder how the church should continue to affirm its position on Ellen White’s prophetic gift today. Repeating well-known answers may not suffice. Given the supernatural nature of Ellen White’s prophetic gift, why not encourage individuals to “experience” the prophetic gift for themselves?
We have spent a lot of time talking about Ellen White and much less time reading her writings. This direct engagement could provide a more profound understanding and appreciation of her ministry and prophetic authority.
A personal engagement with her writings reveals two central aspects of her ministry. First, Ellen White’s prophetic role was aimed primarily to direct individuals to Jesus and His saving grace. From her first vision, which urged the disappointed Millerites to keep their eyes “fixed on Jesus,” to her final words before her death, “I know in whom I have believed,” Ellen White’s ministry consistently centered on Jesus.
Second, she constantly upheld the authority of the Bible as the Word of God. She famously described her prophetic role as being a “lesser light” leading people to the “greater light”—the Scriptures.[11]
The key to evaluating Ellen White’s prophetic claims lies in experiencing her writings personally. If she is a true prophet, her writings will profoundly impact and transform readers.
The Evidence for Reading Ellen White
The evidence is undisputed. A study has confirmed that those who read Ellen White regularly have a deeper relationship with God, greater assurance of salvation, more active family worship, and a stronger zeal for witnessing compared to those who read her writings infrequently or not at all.[12] Numerous testimonies recount how individuals have come to faith and joined the church through reading her books.
Yet recent statistics indicate a troubling decline in the readership of Ellen White’s writings. The 2023 Annual Statistical Report[13] shows that only 35 percent of Adventists read her daily or weekly, with 18 percent reading monthly, and 17 percent never reading her at all. The Valuegenesis study highlights an even more alarming trend among Adventist youth, with only about 2 percent reading her “once a week or more.”[14]
These statistics, though concerning, should not surprise anyone given the spiritual warfare described in Revelation 12:17, which warns of Satan’s opposition to the prophetic gift in the end-times. It seems the ongoing attacks on Ellen White’s prophetic authority are no coincidence. The best way forward, therefore, may be to return to her writings. By personally encountering the prophetic gift, sincere individuals may be most convinced of its divine origin. Ellen White herself employed this experiential approach with skeptics during her lifetime, suggesting that experience is the key to overcoming skepticism. “Some are unacquainted with me and my labors, and they are very skeptical of anything bearing the name of visions,” she wrote in the context of the Iowa controversy in 1863. “This is all natural, and can be overcome only by experience.”[15]
In following Ellen White’s example, I propose that we adopt the same approach in the twenty-first century. It may seem simple, but a personal encounter with Ellen White is a powerful testimony that critics cannot easily dismiss. Ultimately, her messages lead us to Jesus and His Word, helping us to have a deeper encounter with God Himself.
[1] Examples include Eric Anderson, ed., Reclaiming the Prophet: An Honest Defense of Ellen White’s Gift (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 2025); Donald R. McAdams, ed., Ellen White and the Historians: A Neglected Problem and a Forgotten Answer (Westlake Village, Calif.: Oak & Acorn, 2022); Donald Edward Casebolt, Child of the Apocalypse: Ellen G. White (Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2021); Donald Edward Casebolt, Father Miller’s Daughter: Ellen Harmon White (Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2022); Brian S. Neumann, The White Elephant in the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Brighton, Colo.: Crux Creations Productions & Neu Creation Ministry, 2021);. Steve Daily, Ellen G. White: A Psychobiography (Conneaut Lake, Pa.: Page Publishing, Inc., 2020).
[2] Steve Daily, The White Estate Fraud (Littleton, Colo.: Illumify Media Global, 2023).
[3] There are only three known issues of their publication to exist today. They are dated October 2, November 2, and November 30, 1854.
[4] B. F. Snook and W. H. Brinkerhoff, The Visions of E. G. White, Not of God (Cedar Rapids, Ohio: Cedar Valley Times Book and Job Print, 1866), p. 3.
[5] See: Alberto R. Timm, “A History of Seventh-day Adventist Views on Biblical and Prophetic Inspiration (1844-2000),” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 10, no. 1/2 (1999): 486-542.
[6] Some examples are Uriah Smith, The Visions of Mrs. E. G. White: A Manifestation of Spiritual Gifts According to the Scriptures (Battle Creek, Mich.: Steam Press, 1868); William H. Branson, Reply to Canright: The Truth About Seventh-day Adventists (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1933); Francis D. Nichol, Ellen G. White and Her Critics (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1951); T. Housel Jemison, A Prophet Among You (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1955); Gerhard Pfandl, The Gift of Prophecy: The Role of Ellen White in God’s Remnant Church (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 2008); Jud Lake, Ellen White Under Fire: Identifying the Mistakes of Her Criticism (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 2010); Merlin Burt, ed., Understanding Ellen White (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 2015).
[7] See: Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, Calif. Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1911), pp. v-xii; Ellen G. White, Selected Messages (Washington, D. C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1958, 1980), book 3, pp. 28-78.
[8] “The Inspiration and Authority of Ellen G. White Writings: A Statement of Present Understanding,” Ministry, February 1983, p. 24.
[9] Alberto R. Timm and Dwain N. Esmond, eds., The Gift of Prophecy in Scripture and History (Silver Spring, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 2015).
[10] https://whiteestate.org/about/issues/ .
[11] Ellen G. White, in Review and Herald, Jan. 20, 1903; see also E. G. White, Selected Messages, book 3, p. 30.
[12] Roger L. Dudley and Des Cummings, Jr., “Who Reads Ellen White?” Ministry, October 1982, pp. 10-12.
[13] 2023 Annual Statistical Report, New Series ( Report of the Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists), vol. 5, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Statistics/ASR/ASR2023.pdf.
[14] V. Bailey Gillespie, ed., Valuegenesis: Ten Years Later. A Study of Two Generations (Riverside, Calif:: Hancock Center Publication, 2004), p. 114.
[15] Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 1, p. 382.