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am a retired Adventist pastor and a great-grandson of James and Ellen White. My father was W.C. White’s youngest son. My dad, Francis, was not quite two when Ellen died in 1915, so obviously I never met my great-grandmother. But I did know personally family members who knew her—my grandmother and my aunts and uncles. These relatives were loving, caring Christian people, and they remembered her with warmth and affection. They frequently shared their recollections with me. Some people may think Ellen White’s primary role in the early Adventist Church was to tell people what do—frequently in negative terms. They may feel her primary work was to give correction, instruction, admonition, and criticism. I have heard it said, “Wind up the Ellen White doll, and what does she say? ’No, No, No, No.’” Her “testimonies” were very direct, and they can even seem harsh. Faithfully, though sometimes reluctantly, she administered these responsibilities. However, though these messages were a part of her
8 Pacific Union Recorder
