Consideration of World War I

Quite naturally, Seventh-day Adventists were affected by World War I and were eager to know whether Ellen White had any counsel as to how men called into military service should relate themselves to the problems they faced. Since Civil War days there had been no conflict that affected Seventh-day Adventist Church members. As mentioned in a preceding chapter, Clarence Crisler, while talking with Ellen White on October 20, 1914, soon after World War I broke out, mentioned the war and the problems some European Adventists were having because of draft laws. Brethren in Europe were reaching out for counsel and asking whether Sister White had any light. She gave no specific counsel on the matter, except that under such circumstances the Christians should not act presumptuously.6BIO 426.2

Again, on January 12, 1915, Crisler wrote of finding Ellen White “going over the Signs and Review and other papers“: he told of how she was getting what news that came to her concerning the war from these journals and from letters she received. He spoke again of her noncommittal attitude:6BIO 426.3

Up to the present time, I have been unable to gather from your mother much concerning the way the war appears to her mind, and what she thinks may come out of it. She does not seem to think much about it, in fact; her chief energies are taken up in current work, and in keeping pace with the advancing message and messengers.—CCC to WCW, January 12, 1915.6BIO 426.4

But the war question was to come up again in late spring some weeks after her accident. W. C. White wrote of this on May 26 in a letter to Elder Guy Dail, secretary of the European Division. He spoke to his mother of the war and of Seventh-day Adventist ministers referring to it in their sermons as one of the signs of the end. This sparked a question in her mind:6BIO 426.5

“Are our people affected by the war?” she asked. “Yes,” I said, “hundreds have been pressed into the Army. Some have been killed and others are in perilous places.... Some of our people in America and in Europe feel that those of our brethren who have been forced into the Army would have done wrong to submit to military service. They think it would have been better for them to have refused to bear arms, even if they knew that as a result of this refusal they would be made to stand up in line to be shot.”6BIO 427.1

“I do not think they ought to do that,” she replied. “I think they ought to stand to their duty as long as time lasts.”—WCW to Guy Dail, May 26, 1915.6BIO 427.2

In the light of the other references to the war when the subject was opened up in her presence, it is clear that she had no special light that would pinpoint how drafted Seventh-day Adventists should relate to the demands of military service. It seems that whatever she said was based on her general understanding of avoiding rash positions. The situation was much like that of the Civil War days when she counseled against presumptuous attitudes in dealing with matters in which Seventh-day Adventists were involved with the government.6BIO 427.3