Maybe it’s time to stop expecting Ellen White to be something she never claimed to be: infallible. She was human.
She got tired. She got cranky. She didn’t throw books, but she did throw some scorching letters that made a few pastors wish she had. And she definitely didn’t get every health reform idea from an angelic PowerPoint presentation.
Somehow, we’ve turned “the Spirit of Prophecy” into “the Spirit of Perfectionism.” We quote her like she wrote in stone instead of with ink and emotion. We build entire arguments off one sentence she scribbled in the 1800s—while ignoring that she literally changed her mind sometimes.
Ellen wasn’t God’s final word—she was one inspired, flawed, fierce, visionary woman doing her best to lead a stubborn church through a messy world. That’s actually what makes her story powerful.
So maybe the most Adventist thing we can do right now isn’t to defend every comma she wrote—but to follow her example of growing, questioning, and listening.
Her humanity doesn’t weaken her legacy—it makes it worth following.
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