First, begin your study with a prayer for guidance and
understanding. The Holy Spirit, who inspired the work of prophets across the
ages, is the only one who is in a position to unlock the meaning in their
writings.
Second, we need to approach our study with an open mind. Most of us
realize that no person is free of bias, no one is completely open-minded. We
also recognize that bias enters into every area of our lives. But that reality
doesn't mean that we need to let our biases control us.
A third healthy mind-set in the reading of Ellen White is that of faith
rather than doubt. As Mrs. White put it, "Many think it a virtue, a mark of
intelligence in them, to be unbelieving and to question and quibble. Those who
desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God does not propose to remove all
occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated
with a humble mind and a teachable spirit, and all should decide from the weight
of evidence" (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 255). "God
gives sufficient evidence for the candid mind to believe; but he who turns from
the weight of evidence because there are a few things which he cannot make plain
to his finite understanding will be left in the cold, chilling atmosphere of
unbelief and questioning doubts, and will make shipwreck of faith" (ibid.,
vol. 4, pp. 232, 233).
If individuals wait for all possibility of doubt to be removed, they will
never believe. That is as true of the Bible as it is of Ellen White's writings.
Our acceptance rests on faith rather than on absolute demonstration of
flawlessness. Ellen White appears to be correct when she writes that "those
who have most to say against the testimonies are generally those who have not
read them, just as those who boast of their disbelief of the Bible are those who
have little knowledge of its teachings" (Selected Messages, book 1,
pp. 45, 46).