Prophetic Inspiration

I think I’ve missed out on a valuable part of being an Adventist—maybe my whole generation has—because Ellen White has always been a bit of a mystery to me.

I know our church believes she had the gift of prophecy and that her work is important to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, although she is sometimes mistakenly revered.

I also know she came under criticism in the 1970s when charges of plagiarism and the use of incorrect historical dates in her books came to light. This is criticism that, as a good little Seventh-day Adventist, I know how to answer.

Unfortunately, however, somewhere along the way I feel I missed the important lesson on why I should! Our parents’ generation was brought up understanding the work of Ellen White. Many of them have read The Great Controversy and The Desire of Ages and yet most of our generation has only ever heard of them.

We hear only the criticism and defending of Ellen White, and because of our lack of commitment to reading her books, we have missed what is most important.

The DVD documentary Prophetic Inspiration: The Holy Spirit at Work , unfortunately for our generation, does not give us these answers. This however is not its intention.

Prophetic Inspiration continues the church’s trend of taking the defensive but does so both openly and honestly, accepting Ellen White’s faults.

Ultimately asking the question “Genuine or fraud?” this documentary does not deny that inaccuracies, unoriginal thought, borrowed ideas and plagiarism occur within some of Ellen White’s writings. Rather, it looks at helping the viewer understand that these faults are not a roadblock to believing in Ellen White’s prophetic gift.

The documentary does this through the well researched use of the Bible as its model and main source of evidence. While Ellen White’s material is crucial, it is ultimately the documentary’s foundation in the Bible—which Ellen White herself consistently taught—that helps lead viewers to truthful conclusions.

The knowledge and opinion of the numerous experts who appear on the DVD, as they positively respond to the criticism of Ellen White, also gives the documentary authority and credibility when looking at areas such as: the biblical criteria for prophets, how inspiration works and the impact that changing culture makes.

While most young people will not fi nd it a riveting piece of entertainment, this documentary is defi nitely worth the two-hour running time if you have ever asked the question, “Genuine or fraud?” Prophetic Inspiration DVD is available through Adventist Book Centres.