Most Seventh-day Adventists believe church co-founder Ellen G. White (1827–1915) was inspired by God as a prophet, today understood as a manifestation of the New Testament "gift of prophecy," as described in the official beliefs of the church.SDA Fundamental Beliefs Her works are officially considered to hold a secondary role to the Bible, but in practice there is wide variation among Adventists as to exactly how much authority should be attributed to her writings. With understanding she claimed was received in visions, White made administrative decisions and gave personal messages of encouragement or rebuke to church members. Seventh-day Adventists believe that only the Bible is sufficient for forming doctrines and beliefs, a position Ellen White supported by statements inclusive of, "the Bible, and the Bible alone, is our rule of faith".

Views

Supportive views: Infallible, inerrant or verbal dictation. Some Historic Adventists in the church argue that she is inerrant. Various contemporaries of Ellen White argued for the even stronger view of verbal inspiration. Confirming doctrinal developments. The mainstream and most common Adventist view is that White's writings had a "confirming" not "initiating" role in the doctrinal development of the church, following the group's conclusions based on Bible study.

Official position One of the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of the church is "18. The Gift of Prophecy: One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen. G. White. As the Lord's messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (; ; ; ; .)"

Fundamental Belief number one, "Holy Scriptures," states in part, "The Holy Scriptures are the infallible revelation of His will. They are… the authoritative reveler of doctrines…"

The Adventist baptismal vows do not mention Ellen White specifically yet the set of 13 vows include: "8. I accept the biblical teaching of spiritual gifts and believe that the gift of prophecy is one of the identifying marks of the remnant church."Adventist baptismal vows, as quoted in the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual.

The General Conference in session made supportive statements in 2010, 2005Resolution on the Spirit of Prophecy and 1995:A Statement of Confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy "Her writings continue to be a most positive influence in the life of the Church, providing for it comfort, guidance, instruction, correction, and theological stimulus. Their study will constantly lead the Church back to the Bible as the very foundation of faith and practice."

An earlier, unofficial list of 22 foundational beliefs first printed in 1931 served as a de facto standard placed less emphasis on White. "19. That God has placed in His church the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as enumerated in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. That these gifts operate in harmony with the divine principles of the Bible, and are given 'for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.' Eph. 4:12. That the gift of the Spirit of prophecy is one of the identifying marks of the remnant church. (1 Cor. 1:5–7; 1 Cor. 2:1–28 Rev. 12:17; Rev. 19:10; Amos 3:7; Hosea 12:10, 13.) They recognize that this gift was manifested in the life and ministry of Ellen G. White."1931 Seventh-Day Adventist Yearbook

Terminology Adventists think of her inspiration as a manifestation of the spiritual gift of prophecy described in the New Testament. In particular, the 18th fundamental belief, titled "The Gift of Prophecy," mentions Ellen White's ministry.

White recounts one situation where she said before a large congregation that she "did not claim to be a prophetess." HTML version (emphasis in original) This statement generated much discussion and has been misunderstood since, to which she replied, "Some have stumbled over the fact that I said I did not claim to be a prophet; and they have asked, Why is this? I have had no claims to make, only that I am instructed that I am the Lord's messenger... Early in my youth I was asked several times, Are you a prophet? I have ever responded, I am the Lord's messenger. I know that many have called me a prophet, but I have made no claim to this title."

"Why have I not claimed to be a prophet? — Because in these days many who boldly claim that they are prophets are a reproach to the cause of Christ; and because my work includes much more than the word 'prophet' signifies."

However she did not object to others calling her a prophet. Instead, she preferred the term "messenger" because her task involved many lines of work.Chapter 16: Ellen White's Self-awareness as a Messenger from Messenger of the Lord This is also the term used in Fundamental Belief #18.

The term "pen of inspiration" has been used as a colloquial phrase for White's writings, although the church's news body recommends against it for public usage.Adventist News Network Glossary, accessed September 2010

Spirit of prophecy The term "spirit of prophecy" is sometimes used by many Adventists to refer to Ellen White, her ministry, and her writings. (Adventists also accept it refers to the Holy Spirit). An article by the White Estate gives the two definitions of (a) the Holy Spirit, or (b) the essence or heart of prophecy.Biblical Basis for a Modern Prophet

The term appears just once in scripture, in , "...for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." However Gerhard Pfandl argues it was well known to the readers of John's day, via Aramaic translations of the Old Testament ("targums"). He defines, "For the early Christians the "spirit of prophecy" was a reference to the Holy Spirit, who imparts the prophetic gift to God's messengers." Comparing and , the parallel passages compare "your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus" with "your brethren the prophets"."Foundations for Ellen White's Prophetic Call " by Gerhard Pfandl. Adventist World September 2008

Ellen White's enlargement of Spiritual Gifts was titled Spirit of Prophecy (four volumes), which in turn became the Conflict of the Ages series (five volumes) (see also: The Great Controversy). However the title was chosen by the editors, not by White herself.

The official statement "A Statement of Confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy" applies the term to White. Also the segment of Adventist World which reprints an Ellen White article is titled "Spirit of Prophecy".

See also "The Spirit of Prophecy" by James WhiteJames White, "The Spirit of Prophecy " (DjVu) and "Spirit of Prophecy" in the Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia.

Sources and plagiarism charges

Ellen G. White's status as a modern-day prophet has often been criticized. A common criticism of Ellen White, widely popularized by Walter T. Rea, Ronald Numbers and others, is that she plagiarized material from other authors. A Roman Catholic lawyer, Vincent L. Ramik, undertook a study of Ellen G. White's writings during the early 1980s, and concluded that they were "conclusively unplagiaristic," although the report itself was called Memorandum of Law Literary Property Rights 1790–1915 and discussed "copyright infringement/piracy" according to the law of the land and time. When the plagiarism charge ignited a significant debate during the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Adventist General Conference commissioned a major study by Dr. Fred Veltman. The ensuing project became known as the "'Life of Christ' Research Project." Veltman examined fifteen, randomly selected chapters of The Desire of Ages for evidence of literary dependence and concluded, "On an average we may say that 31.4 percent of the DA text is dependent to some extent on literary sources." The results are available at the General Conference Archives.General Conference Archives of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Dr. Roger W. Coon,Ellen G. White as a Writer: Part III – The Issue of Literary Borrowing David J. Conklin,An Analysis of the Literary Dependency of Ellen White Dr. Denis Fortin,Ellen G. White as a Writer: Case Studies in the Issue of Literary BorrowingThe Ellen G. White Encyclopedia King and Morgan, among others, undertook the refutation of the accusations of plagiarism. At the conclusion of Ramik's report, he states:

"It is impossible to imagine that the intention of Ellen G. White, as reflected in her writings and the unquestionably prodigious efforts involved therein, was anything other than a sincerely motivated and unselfish effort to place the understandings of Biblical truths in a coherent form for all to see and comprehend. Most certainly, the nature and content of her writings had but one hope and intent, namely, the furthering of mankind's understanding of the word of God. Considering all factors necessary in reaching a just conclusion on this issue, it is submitted that the writings of Ellen G. White were conclusively unplagiaristic."

Richard W. Schwarz from the Department of History, Andrews University, argued that any similarity with other sources may have occurred due to supernatural inspiration of those other authors, simply being another way to reveal that information.The Staff of the Ellen G. White Estate A Critique of the Book Prophetess of Health, third edition (2008), pp. 9-10

Critics have especially targeted Ellen White's book The Great Controversy arguing in contains plagiarized material.See borrowing or plagiarism However, in her introduction she wrote...

Ramik cleared her of breaking the law of the land/time (copyright infringement/piracy), not of plagiarism in the academic sense.The Ramik Report Memorandum of Law Literary Property Rights 1790–1915 In 1911, more than 70 years before charges of plagiarism, White wrote in the introduction to The Great Controversy her reason for quoting, in some cases without giving due credit, certain historians whose "statements affords a ready and forcible presentation on the subject." Cf. The Great Controversy, p. xi.4 1911 edition.McArthur (2008: 48). Quote: "Rather, he was always at pains to emphasize that Mrs. White herself acknowledged indebtedness in the book's Introduction:" Due to the discussions on plagiarism, "at least the educated mainstream church" ("church" meaning SDA church) no longer accepts the claim of White's "verbal inspiration". Robert Olson, secretary of the Ellen G. White Estate, speaking for all SDA Church, does not deny the "accumulating evidence" that she copied some of her information.

As interesting as this legal opinion and discussion of the propriety of White's literary dependence may be, the real issue for Adventists is how does her now generally-recognized practice affect the perception and reality of her authority.

Miracles and tests

Supportive arguments which are used include claims of miraculous physical signs which were present, the accuracy of her health message, predictions, character of her life, and so on.sections "Ellen G. White's Visions" and "The 'Big Bible'". See Eyewitness Accounts. Spiritual Gifts vol.2: Chapter XII. - Meeting at Randolph.

J. N. Loughborough, who had seen White in vision fifty times since 1852, and her husband, James White, listed several physical characteristics that marked the visions: "In passing into vision, she gives three enrapturing shouts of "Glory!" which echo and re-echo, the second, and especially the third, fainter but more thrilling than the first, the voice resembling that of one quite a distance from you, and just going out of hearing."