Q:  What if I believe the doctrines of the SDA Church but reject Ellen White as a prophet?

A:  It took Joe many years of study to set aside his belief in Ellen White because, although he had many problems with her writings, he agreed with the doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and wondered how a false prophet could establish so many correct doctrines. However, Joe finally decided that Ellen White must stand or fall based on the scriptural tests, not based on the doctrines of the SDA Church. 

One cannot hold to the 28 fundamental beliefs of the baptismal vows if one rejects Ellen White as a prophet because these statements of faith require one to believe in her.  In addition, most Adventists don’t realize how Ellen White’s philosophy permeates all Adventist thought and doctrine.  We didn’t realize it until we began reading Ellen White extensively. 

Finally, we just want to appeal to the tens of thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of Adventists who quietly reject Ellen White but continue sitting in the SDA pews: What do you have to give the lost? Can you bring them into Adventism?  You don’t fully believe in Adventism.  Witnessing is a spiritual imperative, so what do you have to give those who are dying without the gospel?  Does it matter to you?  We finally decided we could no longer support the SDA Church with the silent witness of our church affiliation—an apparent affirmation of someone we now believed to be a non-prophetess.

Q:  Must one reject Ellen White in order to be saved?

A:  We do not believe that a person must reject Ellen White in order to be saved.  In fact, we hope Ellen White herself is saved.  However, we must caution that if one knows Ellen White is a false prophet and fails to act on that knowledge, then their "faith without works" may be dead.

It is ironic that Adventists quote James so often regarding faith without works, intending to show that the law still applies to believers.  However, James isn’t dealing with the works of the law—he’s talking about following through on one’s faith.  For instance, the faith of Abraham and Rahab would not have been blessed if they had merely believed but had not taken any action on the basis of that belief (James 2:20-26).

Q:  What if I reject Ellen White as a prophet but still enjoy reading her devotionally?

A:  No man can serve two masters (the Bible and Ellen White).  Stick with devotional materials written by persons who believe in the divine inspiration of the Bible alone.

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