This week’s resources explore Ellen Harmon’s [White] calling to serve as God’s “messenger.” At just 17 years old, accepting the prophetic gift was not without significant personal struggles. In Early Writings, she recounts her first vision, followed by another depicting the new earth. These visions, received in the wake of the Great Disappointment, were intended to encourage and uplift the disheartened Millerites.
Selected Messages, book 1, discusses the role of God’s prophets and the broader scope of Ellen White’s prophetic ministry. Interestingly, she preferred the title “God’s messenger” over “prophet.” Herbert Douglass, in Understanding Ellen White, provides further insight into how her visions occurred and how her messages were received. The final resource offers eyewitness accounts of the supernatural phenomena that accompanied her visions.
Thought for the Day
Christ disappointed the hope of worldly greatness. In the Sermon on the Mount He sought to undo the work that had been wrought by false education, and to give His hearers a right conception of His kingdom and of His own character.... The truths He taught are no less important to us than to the multitude that followed Him. We no less than they need to learn the foundation principles of the kingdom of God. Desire of Ages, p. 299