Did Ellen G. Whites 1895 Statement Call for Women’s Ordination?
Women in Ministry takes a statement by Ellen White out of its context and misuses it to argue for ordaining women as elders or pastors.[1] This is the actual statement: Women who are willing to consecrate some of their time to the service of the Lord should be appointed to visit the sick, look after the young, and minister to the necessities of the poor. They should be set apart to this work by prayer and laying on of hands. In some cases they will need to counsel with the church officers or the minister; but if they are devoted women, maintaining a vital connection with God, they will be a power for good in the church. [2] On the basis of this statement, one writer in Women in Ministry laments: “If only Ellen White’s 1895 landmark statement had come fourteen years sooner [in 1881]!” He apparently believes that this “landmark statement” would have encouraged the General Conference Committee brethren who were wondering about the question of “perfect propriety” in implementing the allege
