Arthur White, Ellen G. White’s grandson and a former director of the Ellen G. White Estate, estimated that during her lifetime his grandmother received hundreds of visions and prophetic dreams. The visions lasted from a few minutes to several hours and at times were witnessed by large groups of people. On some occasions, even her skeptics had the chance to examine her during such public manifestations.
Like biblical prophets, Ellen G. White experienced supernatural phenomena while in vision. In 1868, James White gave a detailed description of Ellen White’s state during a vision. She was “utterly unconscious of everything transpiring around her”; she did not breathe; her muscles became “rigid” and her “joints fixed”; her movements and gestures were “free and graceful”; and her eyes were open. After coming out of vision she would temporarily lose sight, yet her eyesight was not impaired. No one could control when or how long she would be in vision, as the visions were usually unexpected by Ellen White herself. (See James White, Life Incidents, pp. 271–274.)
As in Bible times, the reaction of people to the messages varied. Some accepted God’s counsels; others rejected them. As Ellen G. White put it: “God has set me as a reprover of His people; and . . . as He has laid upon me the heavy burden, He will make those to whom this message is given responsible for the manner in which they treat it. . . . I have not chosen this unpleasant labor for myself. It is not a work which will bring to me the favor or praise of men. . . . In the name and strength of my Redeemer I shall do what I can. I shall warn and counsel and reprove and encourage as the Spirit of God dictates, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear. My duty is not to please myself, but to do the will of my heavenly Father, who has given me my work.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, pp. 231, 232.
Interestingly, many of those who rejected her prophetic messages did so based on their own unbelief or personal disagreements with Ellen G. White, rather than on theological grounds. Ellen G. White was very gracious to those who expressed skepticism about her prophetic gift. In fact, she made it clear that such people should be treated with “long patience and brotherly love . . . until they find their position and become established for or against.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 328.
Ellen G. White was convinced that the real proof of her prophetic gift was the messages that God gave to her. If people were honestly searching for the truth, she believed they would come to see that her gift was genuine and authentic. She trusted God to lead them on their quest to better understanding, yet she also wrote that God has given us sufficient evidence “to balance our faith on the side of truth.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 231.
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Supplemental EGW Notes
Conflict and Courage, “Jeremiah, God’s Mouthpiece,” August 19, p. 237.
Ye Shall Receive Power, “Jeremiah,” September 15, p. 267.\
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.