Unique Objectives

The distinctiveness of these programs lies not in the fact of their worldwide influence but in their unique objectives. Adventist schools and medical facilities are distinctive because of the carefully chiseled principles outlined by Ellen White, not because religious people imitate secular programs.MOL 515.2

Further, Seventh-day Adventists today, because of principles set forth by God’s messenger, are known as a giving people, ^{9All contributions, 1995, worldwide, $1,332,781,946. (GC Yearbook, 1997, p. 4)} a longer-living, healthier people, ^{10See pp. 330-336.} and a mission-oriented people. ^{11In 1995 the church was working in 207 countries, using 717 languages. It was operating 5,533 schools (from primary to university level); 56 publishing houses, printing in 229 languages; and operating nearly 600 health-care facilities, from small clinics and dispensaries to large city hospitals.}MOL 515.3

• Ellen White’s consistent focus on Jesus as the center of both her spiritual life and her theological principles emphasizes how convincingly she cooperated with the “Spirit” of prophecy. ^{12See p. 3.} In hundreds of instances she emphasized the center of her own devotions and ministry: “The object of all ministry is to keep self out of sight, and to let Christ appear. The exaltation of Christ is the great truth that all who labor in word and doctrine are to reveal.” ^{13Selected Messages 1:156.} Her sermons uplifted Jesus as humanity’s Source of peace and power.MOL 515.4

Surprising as it may be for students of nineteenth-century religious movements, Ellen White left no monument to herself, no demand for adulation and the amenities that she surely deserved—characteristic of all Biblical prophets. Her life was driven by a sense of destiny wrapped up in her call to be God’s messenger. She focused on making God better understood as she relayed to others His messages. Presenting Biblical truths as they are “in Jesus” was a favorite task.MOL 515.5

One of the more practical tests of a prophet is found in the quality changes that the prophet’s messages make in the lives of adherents. In reviewing the chief findings of the 1980 research done by the Institute of Church Ministry at Andrews University, we note that Seventh-day Adventists “who regularly study the writings of Ellen White are also more likely to be stronger Christians in their personal spiritual life and in their witness to their communities than those church members who don’t.” ^{14See Ministry, October, 1982, p. 10.}MOL 515.6