52. Don’t Quote Me Till You Obey the Bible

What did Ellen White mean by the following declaration? “I do not ask you to take my words. Lay Sister White to one side. Do not quote my words again as long as you live until you can obey the Bible. When you make the Bible your food, your meat and your drink, when you make its principles the elements of your character, you will know better how to receive counsel from God. I exalt the precious Word before you today. Do not repeat what I have said, saying, ‘Sister White said this,’ and ‘Sister White said that.’ Find out what the Lord God of Israel says, and then do what He commands (Quoted by Ford, Page 589).”QSEW 46.2

These words were spoken to the leaders of the Adventist Church and its institutions in a special meeting held in the Battle Creek College library the day before the opening of the 1901 General Conference. Many of Ellen White’s counsels during the previous decade had been almost wholly ignored. The sanitarium was moving away from any denominational emphasis, the publishing house had become largely a commercial enterprise, and a few key men were exercising undue control over the church through interlocking directorates. Ellen White was convinced that a complete reorganization was vital to the survival of the church. She addressed searing words to the church leadership: “How can the Lord bless those who manifest a spirit of ‘I don’t care,’ a spirit which leads them to walk contrary to the light which the Lord has given them?” (Selected Messages 3:33). Then comes the passage quoted by Ford.QSEW 46.3

What Ellen White had been saying, in effect, was this: Brethren, you have not just been setting Sister White aside, you have been ignoring the Bible. You are in no position to appreciate my words while you continue to ignore God’s Word. Put first things first. Start obeying God’s Word as you should. Then, and not until then, will you be in a position to understand and appreciate my counsels. (See Selected Messages 3:33, footnote.)QSEW 46.4