During Women's History Month we want to remind you of the impact women have made on the development of the Seventh-Day Adventist church in seven short reflections.
The Seventh-Day Adventist Church was founded in the middle of the 19th century as a result of the great revival of the Millerite movement. The founders of the church included Ellen Gould Harmon and her husband James White. Ellen White had a great influence because of the prophetic gift through with God delivered messages to His people, using her as a messenger. Before her, two men had refused to serve in this capacity.
Ellen was born in 1827 into a Methodist family. They were impressed by the message of William Miller, who preached that Christ would come again in 1843 or 1844. Although the Harmon family were disfellowshipped by their local church because of their Advent faith, they probably continued to adhere to many Methodist views and habits of worship.
After the great disappointment, a small group of young women gathered to study the Bible and pray. That was appropriate for evangelical women of the time. Ellen received her first vision during such a women's prayer group. She was only seventeen.
These young women and others encouraged Ellen to take up the surprising and overpowering call of speaking of her personal religious experience in public, even to mixed audiences. She initially shied away from it, partly because of her young age, but also because she was timid and in poor health. At that time, it was still a risk for a woman to pray or speak in public, even in church circles. After she had overcome her initial reticence toward public speaking, Ellen wrote that all who are capable of doing so should participate in reaching the world. Ellen married James White, whose help was of great value as she traveled to speak to groups in New England.
When Ellen White was criticized for her public service, senior leaders often referred to the text in Joel 2. As early as July 30, 1861, Uriah Smith, the editor of the Review, referring to Joel 2, wrote that the sisters have a right to actively participate in public services. The topic of the public role of women was often taken up in the church at that time. In 1879, J.N. Andrews and James White wrote articles supporting women. G. C. Tenney also did so in an editorial in 1892, which was published again in 1894.
At the time of her death, Ellen White's literary work comprised about 100,000 pages: 24 books that are still in print today; two print-ready book manuscripts; around 5,000 articles in Adventist magazines; more than 200 brochures; about 35,000 machine-written pages in the form of documents and letters; 2,000 handwritten letters and diary entries resulting in a further 15,000 typewritten pages. Many readers love the book The Desire of Ages, but the book with the largest circulation is Steps to Christ, which has been translated into more than 165 languages and has a circulation of tens of millions. Throughout literary history, no writer's work has been translated more frequently than Ellen White's. Her writings cover a broad range of topics: religion, education, health, interpersonal relationships, parenting, evangelism, prophecy, publishing, nutrition, and management.
"Brothers and sisters, I commend this book to you." These were the words that Ellen White expressed as part of her closing remarks at the last General Conference session she attended. She was referring to the word of God. 65 years before, at the age of 17, she had accepted a call as a messenger of the Lord. She had made it her lifelong mission to uphold the word of God and lead people to Jesus.
There is much to tell about this woman and her influence but that would go beyond the scope of this book. A woman like all others, she had accepted God’s call and followed it her whole life. A woman of faith with a great mission, Ellen White was a down-to-earth woman with great common sense. She was a good and helpful neighbor, doing good wherever possible. Despite her weak health, she mastered an amazing workload through the power and grace of God. A loving mother and grandmother, she was loved and respected by all.
On July 26, 1915, Ellen White died at her home in Elmshaven, California. She was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek, Michigan.
This is an extract from the Book Tired of Waiting – Women in Church and Society by Hannele Ottschofski, available on amzn.to/3HSyP3e