Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1 ESV).
On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation (1 Corinthians 14:3 ESV).
As Seventh-day Adventists, our first and highest authority is the Bible. Our second highest is Ellen G. White, who insisted that her work was inspired to help explain the Scriptures, never to replace them. The popularity of her work has waxed and waned somewhat since her death in 1915. For a time, the church elevated her writings to almost the level of holy Scripture, and there was an inevitable backlash, with scholars discovering what looked like plagiarism, or at least borrowing without proper references, and many church members lost their faith in her as a prophet. A more balanced view of her has evolved over the past few decades of an inspired woman who wrote in her own words, in the style of the time.
Church leaders were interested to see how members regard Mrs. White’s writings, how often they read them and apply them to their lives, and how often they hear sermons on the Spirit of Prophecy.
When the Global Church Member Survey (GCMS) in 2018 asked members how often they read the writings of Ellen White, 20.7% admitted that they never read her writings; 26.3% read them less than once a month; 17.3%, about once a week; 18.8%, more than once a week; and 16.9%, daily or more. In total, 53% (just over half of the members surveyed) read Ellen G. White at least once a month; 47% read her less than once a month, if at all.
How often do you read the writings of Ellen G. White?
In 2023, an extra category was added to the questionnaire: “Once or a few times a month.” Answers to the survey showed that 17.6% of members never read Ellen White (down from 20.7% in 2018); 14.4% read her less than once a month (considerably down from 26.3% in 2018); 18.5%, once or a few times a month; 14%, about once a week; 18.3%, more than once a week; and 17.2%, daily or more. The percentage of members who admitted to reading Mrs. White less than once a month or never, decreased to 32% (down from 47% in 2018), and those who read her once a week or more often decreased to 49.5%, slightly down from 2018.
How often do you read the Writings of Ellen White?
When asked in 2018 whether they agreed that they applied what they learn from Ellen White’s writings to their daily lives, 4.8% strongly disagreed, 6.9% disagreed, 20.7% were not sure, 47.5% agreed, and 20.1% strongly agreed. Only 11.7% disagreed to some extent with the statement, while 67.6% (about two-thirds) agreed. About one in five were unsure about it.
The results of the 2023 survey were similar, but with a slight shift toward agreement with the statement that they applied what they learned from Ellen White’s writings to their daily lives. This time, 4.3% strongly disagreed; 5.9% disagreed; 17.5% were not sure; 49.8% agreed; and 22.5% strongly agreed. In total, 10.2% of members disagreed to some extent, 17.5% were not sure (down from 20.7%), and 72.3% agreed (up from 67.6%).
I apply Ellen White’s writings to my daily life
When asked how often their pastor preaches on the Spirit of Prophecy in 2018, 20.5% of members answered very frequently; 41.1% frequently; 25.7% seldom; 5.2% never; and 7.5% said they did not know.
In 2023, 24.6% of members reported that their pastors preached very frequently on the Spirit of Prophecy (up from 20.5%); 44.8%, frequently (up from 41.1%); 24.9%, seldom (similar to 25.7%); 2.9%, never (down from 5.2%); and 2.8% said they did not know (down from 7.5%).
Frequency of preaching on topic of the Spirit of Prophecy
Overall, there was a significant increase in members reporting that their pastors were preaching on the Spirit of Prophecy.
The comparison of the 2018 and 2023 Global Church Member Survey results show slight increases in the frequency of members reading the writings of Ellen G. White, slightly higher increases in the extent to which they apply those writings to their own lives, and significant increases in the frequency they hear their pastors preaching on the Spirit of Prophecy.
Paul told the Corinthians, “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:28 ESV). We have been blessed enough to have a founder who spoke directly to God—shouldn’t we be listening to what she had to say?
You can access the full report here.
Created in collaboration with the Institute of Church Ministry.
Published by ASTR on 3/25/2025.