| dc.description.abstract | Even though Ellen G. White is not usually seen as a
theologian there is no doubt that she plays an important
role in the understanding of Adventism. Two issues
regarding her writings need to be addressed today. The
first relates to her understanding of the doctrine of the
church during the development of the Seventh-day Adventist
organization. The second attempts to find how and in what
sense her understanding of the church affected church
organization in Adventist history. This study approaches
the subject using a historical-descriptive methodology and
is divided in four major chapters.
The introduction reveals that no specific study
exists of the role Ellen G. White had during the early
years of the denomination in guiding the process of its
organization. Chapter 2 shows how immediately after the
disappointment of October 1844, Ellen G. White began to
introduce order among the troubled band of ex-Millerites.
Chapter 3 focuses on the challenges that the lack of
formal organization and fanaticism brought to Sabbathkeepers
in the early years of the movement. It shows how
Ellen G. White appealed to early Adventists to support
their leaders, to remain united in issues of doctrine, to
make wise use of their resources to preach the gospel, to
keep themselves as a holy people, and to carefully
scrutinize the qualifications of those willing to serve as
ministers of the gospel.
Chapter 4 assesses the role Ellen G. White played in
the circumstances that led early Adventists on the road of
formal organization. This chapter highlights her appeals
to the authority of the church. Chapter 5 describes and
analyzes the period of 1863 to 1888, in which Ellen G.
White’s appeals for church order were forcefully presented
to the leaders of the church as never before. She
advocated that (1) mission had to be the driving force of
any organizational attempt among Seventh-day Adventists,
(2) centralism in the activities of the church was not
according to divine order, (3) ministers are to submit
their individual independence and to support those whom God
has chosen to lead the church, (4) leaders of the church
are not called to rule or lord it over the church,
(5) faultfinding among church leaders weakens the church as
a whole, and (6) union on matters of doctrine is
indispensable for the church.
The present study concludes that the development of
organization in the Seventh-day Adventist Church is
pervaded by the influence of Ellen G. White. It shows that,
through her prophetic authority, she was able to advocate
ecclesiological principles that gave direction and a unique
missionary identity to the Seventh-day Adventist Church at
that time. Her role set the stage for some order-fostering
practices among Seventh-day Adventists which have remained
up to the present. | en_US |
