Ellen G. White, who the Adventist Church believes was divinely inspired and corrects inaccurate interpretations of scripture, had quite a lot to say about children—including her own. Some of it is absolutely despicable. Here is a sampling of some of the worst:
- Parents getting children birthday presents instead of teaching them to fast leads to ungrateful children who would have been better off had they never been born.
Fasting has been shown to not be safe for children. - Writing to her own son, Willie White, she said that the Lord loves those little children who try to do right, and he has promised that they shall be in his kingdom. But wicked children God does not love. He will not take them to the beautiful City, for he only admits the good, obedient, and patient children there. One fretful, disobedient child, would spoil all the harmony of heaven. When you feel tempted to speak impatient and fretful, remember the Lord sees you, and will not love you if you do wrong. When you do right and overcome wrong feelings, the Lord smiles upon you.
- That she was shown by God that He hates unruly children who manifest passion, evil tempers, etc. He cannot save them in the time of trouble and they will be eternally lost. And negligent, unfaithful parents will have the blood of their children upon them and can’t expect to be saved in the day of God’s fierce anger. These children who might have been saved had the parents acted like they should have.
- Writing to her own son, Willie White, who was 5 at the time, she told him that he must not get angry, because the Lord cannot love you when you are naughty.
- That the children of parents who have not mastered temperance are unruly, vicious children that are a burden on those around them, corrupting the society in which they mingle.
- That some parents allow Satan to control their children by not restraining them, allowing them to be passionate, selfish, disobedient, and have wicked tempers. Should they die in that state, these children would not be taken to heaven and the parents’ course of action is determining the eternal future of their children.
- Children whose parents have not implemented the Adventist message of health reform are so weakened that they have but one half or one third of the brilliancy of intellect that they might have had had they been virtuous and pure.
- That the children of parents who haven’t implemented the message of health reform in the home are corrupt and Satan has gained control of them.
- That children are born to evil. Satan seems to have control of them. He takes possession of their young minds, and they are corrupted.
- That, in a local congregation she was writing to, she was shown by God family after family had children that were corrupt as hell itself.
- That if ungrateful children are fed and clothed and allowed to go uncorrected, they are emboldened to continue in their course of evil. Such children might just as well be with the wicked, whose iniquitous course they choose to follow, as to remain in Christian homes, to poison others. And every Christian must stand firm in condemnation of the evil, satanic actions of wayward children. That evil youth should not be treated as kind and obedient, but as disturbers of the peace and corrupters of their companions.
Is it any wonder that so many Adventist children walk away from Adventism, unfortunately associating it with Christianity, because of parents who took to heart the words of Ellen G. White, associating such statements as coming from God himself? What an evil and nasty woman.
