Chapter 2—Ellen White Specifies the “Common and the Sacred”

It is clear that in Ellen White’s writing and conversation there was the common as well as the sacred. She wrote specifically of this in 1909 as Elder E. S. Ballenger, former manager of the Paradise Valley Sanitarium, in an endeavor to find justification for turning from the E. G. White teachings and counsels, declared that he could not have confidence in her, for “in a letter written to one of the brethren in Southern California, the statement was made by me that the sanitarium contained 40 rooms, where there were really only 38” (Selected Messages 1:38). She explained:CUW 3.2

“The information given concerning the number of rooms in the Paradise Valley Sanitarium was given, not as a revelation from the Lord, but simply as a human opinion. There has never been revealed to me the exact number of rooms in any of our sanitariums; and the knowledge I have obtained of such things I have gained by inquiring of those who were supposed to know.

“In my words, when speaking upon these common subjects, there is nothing to lead minds to believe that I receive my knowledge in a vision from the Lord and am stating it as such....

“When the Holy Spirit reveals anything regarding the institutions connected with the Lord’s work, or concerning the work of God upon human hearts and minds, as He has revealed these things through me in the past, the message given is to be regarded as light given of God for those who need it. But for one to mix the sacred with the common is a great mistake. In a tendency to do this, we may see the working of the enemy to destroy souls....

“There are times when common things must be stated, common thoughts must occupy the mind, common letters must be written, and information given that has passed from one to another of the workers. Such words, such information, are not given under the special inspiration of the Spirit of God. Questions are asked at times that are not upon religious subjects at all, and these questions must be answered. We converse about houses and lands, trades to be made, and locations for our institutions, their advantages and disadvantages.”—Ms 107, 1909 (Selected Messages 1:38, 39).