Ellen White Investigation

Ellen G. White: Prophet or Profit?

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With the possession of wealth, the ruling passion of a selfish nature is revealed.
Ellen G. White, Review and Herald May 16, 1882

Most Seventh-day Adventists [SDAs] have heard the carefully polished legend: Ellen G. White and James White began their ministry “penniless,” lived lives of heroic sacrifice, and died in humble poverty. SDAs are repeatedly told that Mrs. White refused worldly gain and devoted herself entirely to the cause of God.

But the historical record tells a very different story.

The Whites’ early financial struggles did not last long. As the SDA movement expanded, so did their personal wealth. Through book royalties, property holdings, gifts, salaries, and business schemes James and Ellen White accumulated a fortune that placed them far above the economic level of ordinary Adventist believers — the ones who financed the White empire through relentless appeals for sacrifice and self-denial.

This page will document evidence that Mrs. White lived not as an impoverished servant scraping by in obscurity, but as a religious celebrity who enjoyed the privileges, influence, and financial advantages reserved for the powerful and elite of her era. Adjusted into modern currency, her income amounted to millions of dollars. Even more troubling, the evidence shows that she repeatedly leveraged her prophetic authority to enrich herself while urging her followers to surrender more money, more property, and more of their livelihoods “for the cause.”

How Did Ellen White Amass Her Fortune?

SDAs recoil at modern prosperity preachers flying in private jets while exploiting believers. Yet the uncomfortable reality is that Ellen White pioneered a nineteenth-century version of the same religious business model: spiritual authority at the top, sacrificial giving at the bottom, and a steady river of money flowing upward toward the prophet and her inner circle.

Like many celebrity preachers who came after them, the Whites mastered the art of turning spiritual authority into personal wealth. While ordinary Adventists were pressured to “sacrifice for the cause,” sell property, deny themselves, avoid worldly pleasures, and empty their pockets for the advancing work, the Whites quietly developed multiple streams of income that made them extraordinarily wealthy for their era.

They devised a highly successful financial enterprise fueled by book royalties, church salaries, publishing arrangements, property rentals, speaking influence, merchandise sales, and the enormous financial leverage that came from being treated as God’s uniquely inspired mouthpiece.

Adjusted into modern currency, Ellen White was bringing in the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year — year after year — while preaching self-denial to believers who often struggled to survive. Her followers were taught that investing in “the cause” was storing up treasure in heaven. Meanwhile, the prophet herself was accumulating treasure on earth through one of the most lucrative religious publishing operations of the nineteenth century.

Book Royalties

The vast majority of the White's income came through royalties on her books. She made well over $100,000 in book royalties in her lifetime. In today's (year 2025) dollars, that is approximately 4 million dollars!1

Ellen White may have started out penniless in the 1840s, but that situation was soon reversed. By the late 1850s, she was making over $1,000 a year on royalties. Mrs. White earned $11,435 in the decade of 1856 to 1866. In terms of year 2025 dollars, that is $417,042, or over $40,000 per year. Yet these were still lean years compared to what she would make later on. In the 1890s and 1900s she was making $8,000 to $12,000 a year in book royalties. In year 2025 dollars, that amounts to $314,674 to $472,010 a year! That type of income easily places her among the top 1% of wage-earners in the world.2

James White

James White understood how to generate wealth from their writings. He authored a half dozen books while assisting Ellen with the production of her books. Although precise royalty records no longer exist, the Whites almost certainly earned thousands of additional dollars from James’s writings alone.

In one letter he wrote to his wife saying: "Our financial matters stand well, and there is wealth yet in our pens."3 That statement perfectly captures what the Whites had discovered: Ellen's prophetic authority could be transformed into a massive money-making machine.

In 1880, James bluntly admitted the financial value of their religious enterprise when he wrote to Ellen:

With the increased demand for our writings...there will be an income of several thousand dollars annually, besides the immense amount of good our writings will do.4

"Several thousand dollars annually." $3,000 a year in 1880 is a six-figure income in 2025 ($101,800/year). The average American worker in 1880 made $340 to $380 per year. Thus, James was projecting that their royalty income would be nearly ten times that of the average American worker. However, James underestimated their income potential.

Mrs. White made the equivalent of millions from a single book

Perhaps Ellen's greatest wealth-maker was Fannie Bolton's book Steps to Christ. White initially engaged with SDA publishing houses to print the book but they were unable to offer the royalties she demanded because they were enduring financial hardship and were following her own testimony to them: "Take only such work as will give a margin of profit."5

When she failed to negotiate a satisfactory royalty from SDA publishers, she took her business elsewhere. Fleming Revell, a non-SDA publisher, offered Mrs. White a rewarding deal: "5 percent royalty on the first 1,000, with 10 percent on all subsequent issues."6 Mrs. White was reluctant to accept a smaller royalty on the first batch, but Revell promised her higher sales and reminded her that Harriet Smith — female author of the popular book The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life — had accepted a 6.67% royalty on her book.7

Steps to Christ sold for 75 cents and over a period of four years (1892 - 1896), 100,000 copies were sold.8 Mrs. White was ecstatic with the royalties being generated and considered moving more of her books to Revell to increase her profits even further. She wrote in 1897:

Steps to Christ was given to Revell. I have received quite a sum of money... more than has come to me from some books; and I think more would come to me if he had more of my books to handle. ... I shall place more books in his hand...for I can receive better satisfaction than I have received from the Battle Creek publishing house.9

"Better satisfaction." In other words, higher profit. Stunningly, Mrs. White admits its all about the money. She did not care to support her own SDA publishing houses if she could pull in a higher royalty from a non-SDA publisher. Loyalty to the institutions her husband helped to establish was less important to her than her own profit. Profit motivated her to take her business to "worldly" (non-SDA) publishing houses.

10 percent royalties on 100,000 books selling at 75 cents is $7,500. In 2025 dollars, that is nearly $300,000, or about $75,000 per year for just a single book.

After SDA publishers acquired Steps to Christ back from Revell, the book became one of the sect’s greatest publishing successes. Exact sales records are no longer available, but if she continued to sell 25,000 copies a year — a very conservative estimate considering the growth of the sect — then she sold nearly half a million copies over the remainder of her life. Given her royalty arrangements, that amounts to $36,000 or $1.2 million in modern currency. For a nineteenth-century religious leader preaching self-denial and sacrifice, the financial rewards were staggering.

Minister's Salary

The Whites each received a salary from the SDA Church. Mrs. White received a salary similar to that paid to ministers. Granted this was not much compared to their book royalties, but both of their salaries were larger than was paid to most ministers in the denomination. In 1903, she reported receiving $50 per month, which in 2025 dollars is $1,822 per month.10

Rental Income

As the Whites built out their real estate empire, they rented out some of the properties that they were not occupying. While it is difficult to assess their rental income, there are a few examples in Ellen's letters.

Other Income

The Whites found a myriad of ways to increase their income:

It must be noted that Mrs. White lived in an era before the United States' government imposed the Personal Income Tax and the Social Security Tax. Therefore, the Whites were able to keep the vast majority of their income.

Ellen White's Assets

Unlike Jesus, the apostles, and many of the Biblical prophets who were often poor and desolate, Mrs. White lived a life reserved for the wealthiest of her day. While telling others to divest their lands, downsize their primary home, and sell their second homes, the Whites accumulated property.

Ellen White's Elmshaven Mansion

Posh Multi-Million-Dollar Estate

The last fifteen years of Mrs. White's life were spent at Elmshaven, her elegant two-story ranch home in the exclusive Napa Valley area near San Francisco in Northern California. While the estate was purchased for a bargain $5,000 ($191,500 in today's dollars), if the property were sold today, the beautifully furnished mansion and 74-acre estate would possibly be valued at up to ten million dollars.21 In addition to the mansion, the property included:

Real Estate Holdings

It's difficult to ascertain the extent of the White's real estate holdings because records are scant. However, the following can be pieced together from her correspondence:

Homes for Her Children

The White Real Estate Empire included her children. In 1880, Mrs. White wrote of having invested her "means" in "Edson’s place."41 Later, she gifted Willie with a home and land in Australia.42 When Willie returned with her to California, Ellen erected a "substantial structure" for him and his family. The home was so large that in addition to Willie's family, four other families occupied it (from whom Willie collected rent). Mrs. White mentioned that "several have raised questions about the propriety of erecting such an expensive building."43 No doubt they were bewildered that Ellen White's practices were so contrary to her earlier testimonies.

Personal Staff

Throughout her ministry, Mrs. White employed a large number of people to assist her with everything ranging from childcare, to writing, to her own personal needs.

Office Staff

A large chunk of Mrs. White's income went to pay for her extensive staff, although some of them were paid by the SDA Church. From the 1870s onward, she had six to twelve people assisting her with her writings. W. C. White, an employee of the sect, headed up her editorial staff after 1881. He had his wife, Mary K. White, and Marian Davis assisting him, along with Joseph H. Waggoner, Sara McEnterfer, and Jenny Ings. Others assisted on a part-time basis. This group kept Ellen White's books, articles, and testimonies churning out — and the royalties flowing in. While Mrs. White was preparing her book on the life of Christ in the 1890s, she spent $3,000 on literary "workers" ($118,003 in 2025).44

Servants

Early in her prophetic career, Ellen often hired people to care for her children while she and James travelled around the country doing "the work." Their first son Henry was left with the Howlands for five years. Graciously, they volunteered their services for this lengthy period.45 Clarissa "Clara" Bonfoey lived with the Whites and assisted them with their children until her untimely death in 1856.46 Next came Jennie Frazier, who started in 1852 as the White's cook, but after the passing of Clarissa, she took more of an active role in raising the White's children. Willie wrote of his experience being raised by other women:

Jennie Frazier was my foster mother until I was five years old, then came Lucinda Hall and then after her, Adelia Patton. Well, I had lots of mothers and they were all good ones, but there was none of them that I loved as much as Lucinda.47

As Mrs. White's wealth grew, so did the number of servants in her employ. In 1870, she wrote of employing "Busha Dixson" a "mulatto" as her seamstress.48 Mrs. White seemed fond of child-labor. In 1879, she reported having "two twelve-year-old girls" assisting her.49 In 1886, Mrs. White had "a good girl to cook for us and do all housework."50 In Australia, her household staff grew further:

Our expenses have been unavoidably large. For hired girl, three dollars per week ... I pay May Walling four dollars per week. She has to stand as matron in the kitchen and give me treatment when I need it—a massage or rubbing once per day, general bath once per week. I hire a boy fifteen years old to take care of horse and cow and bring in coke and wood. Two dollars per week... Marian four dollars per week...51

By 1896, her staff in Australia had grown to ten people:52

  1. Sarah Belden (cook)
  2. Edith Ward, fourteen years old ("She washes the floors, cleans the vegetables, washes the dishes, etc.")
  3. Sister Lucas (seamstress)
  4. A thirteen-year-old boy
  5. Marian Davis (book author/editor)
  6. Eliza Burnham (book editor)
  7. Maggie Hare (stenographer)
  8. Sara McEnterfer (personal assistant)
  9. May Israel (bookkeeper)
  10. Brother Connell ("hired man")

In 1902 at Elmshaven, she itemized the cost of her staff:53

  1. W. C. White — "I pay him fifteen dollars a week."
  2. Marian Davis — "I pay her eight dollars a week."
  3. Miss Peck — "I pay her ten dollars a week."
  4. Maggie Hare — "paid by the General Conference."
  5. Clarence Crisler — "paid by the General Conference."
  6. Miss Graham — unknown.
  7. Mrs. Nelson (housekeeper/cook) — unknown.
  8. Sara McEnterfer (secretary/nurse) — unknown.

Mrs. White was paying $2,800 to $3,000 out-of-pocket for her staff in 1902. In 2025, dollars, that is $106,000 to $113,000 per year.54 Over the last two decades of her life, she easily spent the equivalent of two million dollars for her staff and servants.

Ellen White's servants

Mrs. White's staff only kept growing during the final years of her life. Mrs. White is pictured on the right surrounded by her household and office staff at her Elmshaven estate in 1913. Her large staff of 14 people included a personal nurse (Sara McEnterfer), a cook, a copyist, a seamstress, farm hands, several secretaries and various other office assistants and household personnel.

Indulged Like a Queen

In a report of an interview with Ellen's daughter-in-law May, she explained the treatments that she provided for Mrs. White:

May also reported that her new role included a nightly routine of unbraiding Ellen White’s hair as she sat on a small stool in front of her. Then she would “brush and comb it” for 20 minutes or so. ... Then she followed the dowager prophet and preacher upstairs to give her “a full massage” four evenings a week. A “sweat bath and salt glow” occupied the other two nights...

May also recalled that after speaking publicly at a meeting at a church for an hour or so the diminutive preacher would get “wringing wet with perspiration” and... It was May’s task, therefore, to “take her to some room and give her a sponge bath” and take “fresh underwear for her because it was all wet through with perspiration.”55

Mrs. White received this treatment six days a week. This is reminiscent of royalty and the ultra-wealthy of the Gilded Age who had ladies-in-waiting or maids to brush their hair, bathe them, dress them, and massage them.

Others, including Minnie Hawkins and Sara McEnterfer, also gave Mrs. White salt scrubs.56

This was not the lifestyle of a persecuted, penniless prophet barely scraping by for “the cause.” It was the lifestyle of a religious celebrity surrounded by attendants, personal assistants, and caretakers catering to her daily desires. While ordinary SDAs sacrificed their savings, sold property, cooked their own meals, cleaned their own homes, bathed themselves, and could not afford luxuries (like salt scrubs and massages), the so-called prophet was living with a level of personal service more commonly associated with wealthy aristocrats.

Lavish Lifestyle

Dansville Health Spa

Not only did the Whites earn big money—they spent big! There is also no doubt they spent money lavishly on themselves. Following are a few examples:

Financing the SDA Work

One of the more puzzling statements made by Mrs. White is her frequent contention, "I am using in the work all the means I have."62 What about her personal entourage? Her real estate empire? All that can be easily explained. She was the prophet of the work. Therefore, any money spent on her was the same as spending on the work.

But what about the money spent on paying off Edson's massive loans or Willie's massive home? That too was all about the work. They were both the prophet's sons. Therefore, they were part of the work. So, when spending lavishly on herself or her family, she could confidently — and conveniently — declare that all her means were going into the work.

Mrs. White was generous to her own sect members. Her personal letters are filled with a variety of accounts of her assisting various individuals.

There is no denying the Whites gave liberally to their cause, the SDA sect. The Whites gave tithes and offerings to the SDA Church. By 1885, the Whites, by their own estimation, had contributed over $30,000 to the SDA cause over the prior four decades.63 That is well over a million dollars in current currency. Assuming they gave a liberal 20% of their income, then it can be calculated that in those four decades they earned at least $150,000, or in 2025 dollars, over 5.4 million dollars. And those were their leanest years! In later years, she personally helped to finance many educational and health institutions in both the United States and Australia. Mrs. White was certainly dedicated to the work of building up the institutions of her own sect, as a lasting monument to herself.

Manipulated Others to Buy Her Books

Mrs. White had an incredible advantage in selling her books. She could write a testimony promoting her books, and her loyal followers, thinking the testimony was inspired by God, would purchase her books and peddle them to others, thinking they were doing God's will.

Notice how she manipulated her followers to buy her works:

Cash bagThe larger books, Patriarchs and Prophets, Great Controversy, and Desire of Ages, should be sold everywhere. These books contain truth for this time,--truth that is to be proclaimed in all parts of the world. Nothing is to hinder their sale. Many more of our larger books might have been sold if church-members had been awake to the importance of the truths these books contain, and had realized their responsibility to circulate them. My brethren and sisters, will you not now make an effort to circulate these books? Work earnestly.64

Here Mrs. White turns the SDA people into her personal colporteur workforce to sell more of her books so that she can collect the royalties. She admonishes them, "work earnestly."

Mrs. White was gracious enough to offer the royalties of two of the books put together by her staff to pay for denominational debt relief. She encouraged parents to properly direct their children to sell the books:

Cash bagAnd in many instances, if promising youth were wisely encouraged and properly directed, they could be led to earn their own schooling by taking up the sale of Christ's Object Lessons or Ministry of Healing.65

She shamelessly promoted her books as the solution leading to greater spiritual health for the SDA people and their children:

Cash bagThe volumes of “Spirit of Prophecy,” should be in every family. More than one-half of our people know little or nothing of the contents of these books, and they are losing much by their neglect. The Testimonies contain instruction which meets the case of all, both parents and children.66
Cash bagBy His Spirit the Lord has given the very instruction that is needed at this time. ... The Lord placed upon me the burden of bringing out these things, and in Volume Four I have presented them; I still feel a burden that the message shall go to the people. In that book are warnings to guard the people of God against the many errors that shall be promulgated as truth. Every family among our people should study it. ... A revival of faith and interest in the testimonies of the Spirit of God will lead to the obtaining of a healthful experience in the things of God.67
Cash bagThe volumes of Spirit of Prophecy, and also the Testimonies, should be introduced into every Sabbathkeeping family, and the brethren should know their value and be urged to read them. It was not the wisest plan to place these books at a low figure and have only one set in a church. They should be in the library of every family and read again and again. ... God has caused precious light to be brought out in publications, and these should be owned and read by every family. Parents, your children are in danger of going contrary to the light given of heaven, and you should both purchase and read the books, for they will be a blessing to you and yours. You should lend Spirit of Prophecy to your neighbors and prevail upon them to buy copies for themselves.68

This was the perfect religious business model. Mrs. White claimed divine authority, declared that God Himself wanted her books in every home, then mobilized an army of obedient followers to buy, distribute, promote, and pressure others to purchase them as well. To refuse was not merely to reject a product — it was to resist “inspired counsel.” The more the sect revered her prophetic authority, the more money flowed into her publishing empire. Modern televangelists would envy such a system.

Exorbitant Prices

Not only were the faithful followers exhorted to buy Ellen White's books for themselves and their neighbors, but they also had to pay outrageous prices for them. In 1890, the Norwich Town SDA Church complained about Ellen White's testimony for SDAs to buy more of her books:

This testimony appears very significant when we take into consideration the price for which these books are sold. Books as large, and bound equally as well, can be bought for fifty cents per volume. The Testimonies sell for $1.50 per volume. Now here are directions professing to come from a divine source that call upon all to buy these books. If these Testimonies contain the 'revealed will of God,' why not sell them at a 'live and let live' price? Do I need to say more? — selling Testimonies at $1.50 per volume which call for free contributions! Is this what the 'gift of prophecy' is for, to sell books at an exorbitant price? to 'move the brethren' to contribute freely?69

High prices meant greater royalties. The SDA sheep had no choice but to pay the exorbitant prices because failure to purchase the books could have been regarded as a denial of faith.

Raging over Royalties

After James White passed away, as her debt mounted, Ellen White found herself involved in battles over royalties and book priorities with increasing frequency.

The Bible Readings Battle

In the 1880s, Franklin E. Belden — Ellen White's nephew — was a superintendent at the Review and Herald Publishing Association office in Battle Creek. In 1883, he and other SDA leaders devised a plan to create a new evangelistic book called Bible Readings for the Home Circle. Those working on the project agreed to this principle: "No one was to get any royalty for his work on the book."70 This arrangement was perfect for both the Review and for SDA colporteurs. Not only did that leave more money for colporteurs, but the Review, which was struggling financially at the time, could make more profits. It seemed like a win-win situation.

In 1888, the book finally came out for publication. The Review leaders were happy. Colporteurs were also happy because they had a book without the name "Ellen White" on it. That name carried a lot of negative baggage. At this time, SDA critic D.M. Canright was making a lot of noise about Mrs. White's plagiarism. A Bible-based book would be a lot easier to hawk to an unsuspecting public than one written by a perceived false prophet!

During this time, Belden was losing faith in his aunt's "gift." After the 1888 General Conference session, Belden — along with many other leading SDAs — became suspicious that his aunt was under the influence of W.C. White. He no doubt realized that the primary focus of the Whites was maximizing their own royalties.

After 1888, Belden and others began promoting Bible Readings at the expense of Ellen White's books, such as the 1888 version of Great Controversy and her 1890 book Patriarchs and Prophets. Ellen White was keenly aware that this exclusion would result in a loss of royalties for her. She called their behavior "contrary to the light God has given me" and added that it was "certainly a device of Satan."71 Indeed, anything interrupting Mrs. White's royalties was surely a device of Satan!

Years later, still boiling over her lost royalties, Mrs. White wrote in 1899:

No one can have been hurt financially more than I was hurt when "The Great Controversy" lay for nearly two years dead in the Office. Just work was not done in this matter. The book "Bible Readings" was crowded in before "Great Controversy," which was already printed, and which should have been placed in the canvasser's hands first, because it was first, and contained important matter which the people needed to have as soon as possible.72

Thus, Mrs. White continued to stew in a jealous furor for years over the fact that a royalty-free book had pushed her books into the background for several years. Bible Readings was much more successful than any of Ellen White's books peddled by SDA colporteurs. By 1945, Bible Readings had sold 1,547,639 copies in English.73

The disagreement over which book to promote created a strain in Belden's relationship with his aunt. He later quit the Review and eventually went to work for J.H. Kellogg. Belden rejected the prophetic calling of his aunt, believing her inspiration was coming from W.C. White. He was later expelled from the SDA sect in 1907. He never reconciled with his royalty-loving aunt or her sect.

The Great Controversy over Royalties

In 1882, SDA banker Archibald R. Henry was brought in to prevent the financial collapse of the Review and Herald Publishing Association in Battle Creek. In his efforts to save the Review, he reduced the amount of royalties paid to authors.74 At that time, they were being paid ten percent royalty on the retail price of the book, which was common for publishers in that era.

Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith, who was on the board of the Review, was favorable to Henry's idea of lowering royalties to keep the Review afloat. He voluntarily agreed to take only ten percent of the wholesale price rather than the retail price.75 When Mrs. White found out, she was livid. The brethren attempted to reason with Mrs. White, urging her to lower her royalties so the Review could be saved from financial ruin. They presented to her the generous and self-sacrificing example of Uriah Smith, who graciously agreed to lower royalties on his book so the work could go forward.76 Apparently flabbergasted and humiliated by Smith's example, she responded with a well-timed "vision" to turn the tables upon the publishers:

I have been shown that some men worked with Elder Smith, in an underhanded manner, in order to lead him to place the lowest possible royalties on his books. Elder Smith was deceived in the object of these men; he thought that they were really trying to advance the cause of God; and they obtained their desire. Then they came to me and to others, telling us that Brother Smith received only so much for his books, and urging that the canvassers would rather handle books that would sell rapidly.

But the night after this plea was made, the matter was opened before me. I saw that they had visited Brother Smith and obtained his consent to a low royalty in order that they might present this as that which I and others should do. This was obtaining terms of royalty by fraud. I was shown the spirit that prompted these men to action."77

According to the new arrangement, the publishing house agreed to pay her only $0.15 per book sold (in 2025 dollars, that is equivalent to $5.47 per book). Under previous arrangements with her book publishers, Mrs. White got all the profits from the first edition of a book. Profits from later editions (at least the 2nd) were split between the book salesmen and herself. As will be shown below, she viewed the paying of those selling the books, at least for the first edition, to be "unjust."

In the past, Mrs. White had been accustomed to getting some lucrative deals on the publishing of her books. According to the Nov. 6, 1866, Hope of Israel, "We are credibly informed that her books are all published free; so that she will have all the profit on their sale." However, by 1885, the situation had changed, and in the following letter Ellen White threatened to take her book publishing business elsewhere in the brethren didn't comply with her demands:

With reference to my book, I desire to say that I am not complaining because I think the office has been receiving too much for publishing it, but because I am not satisfied with the income it brings to me. Some plan should have been devised whereby more than fifteen cents royalty per copy would come to me. I do not remember that I was ever consulted regarding this matter. I thought that my brethren would guard my interests as sacredly as they would their own interests ...

Only the expense of publishing and selling my book, Vol. IV, should have been taken from the profits. The rest should have been saved for the author. No canvassers were needed for Vol. IV. It could have been sold without going to all this expense. I am not satisfied with the result. Those who have felt that they were doing me justice by awarding me fifteen cents for each copy sold have erred in judgment. ...

I will make no rash moves, but I cannot submit to the arrangements made. They are unjust. The money used in paying canvassers for selling the first edition was misspent, for I should have received the profits on that edition. I know where to use this means to the very best advantage, and yet I have nothing to use in any way. I economize in every way possible, and still do not have sufficient to meet running expenses.78

W.C. White was called in to help resolve the crisis over royalties. He addressed his mother's concerns by showing her evidence of the royalties of other SDA authors and telling her that "the income from your books is much larger than other authors get."79 Then, in the same letter, he pointed to the real cause of her financial woes: "buying out Edson so he could go east, the expense of the farm, the schooling of [nieces] Addie and May, the building at St. Helena, and the loan to [niece] Mary Clough."80 That's right, this was the same woman who said "I am using in the work all the means I have."62 Her real problem was her rabid over-spending and her indebtedness.

W.C. was right. She did have a lot on her plate. She started to realize that with W.C. siding with the Review, she was not going to be able to mow them down with a fake testimony as she had done in the past. However, she saw a golden opportunity when Fannie Bolton wrote an exceptional book called Steps to Christ. Mrs. White knew it would be a blockbuster. She took it to SDA publishing houses and tried to negotiate a lucrative deal with them but they refused to give in to her demands. So, in 1891, she took the book to a non-SDA publisher who was willing to give her the royalties she desired.

Over the subsequent years, while Mrs. White was in exiled in Australia, she wrote to Henry "a great many times" but he refused to change his mind on royalties.81 Because SDA General Conference President O.A. Olsen would not remove Henry, she cast dispersion upon him as well as Henry. For example, in 1896 she complained that Henry, "has no faith in my mission or testimony, and yet Brother Olsen has made him his right-hand man."82 She urgently desired for Henry to be removed from his position, but SDA administrators were pleased with the fact that Henry's austerity measures had turned the Review into a profitable business. Olsen continued to turn a deaf ear to her pleas and he incurred her wrath throughout his rocky eight-year tenure as president. For example, in 1896 she wrote that Satan had taken possession of A.R. Henry's mind and that Olsen, by associating with Henry, had "perverted his spiritual eyesight."83

Henry was finally removed from the Review in 1897, but he knew who was behind his expulsion. He filed a $50,000 lawsuit against the Review, "claiming that letters from Ellen White which Olsen had circulated about him were libelous and had heavily damaged his character in Battle Creek and among Adventists generally."84 During arbitration, it was revealed that Henry—selflessly desiring to save the Review from ruin—had taken far less than he was entitled to during his tenure at the Review. The arbitrators agreed to pay him $33,000, but the Review never paid him.85

Donated Some Royalties to the Work

Mrs. White made much more than other SDA authors, but she also had significant expenses. These expenses included not only her lavish lifestyle, but also financing her extended family, her farm, her staff, paying interest on her massive debt, and various SDA projects. These unbounded expenditures were likely the cause of her financial woes. To her credit, Mrs. White donated some of her royalties to her own sect:86

Interestingly, James White chose not to profit from some of his books, as Mrs. White states in a testimony below, but supposedly a vision convinced her to be more selfish with her own book profits:

Some years ago the matter of publication of books came up, and plans were laid, which I cannot now fully call to mind. A decision was made something like this, that no one individual was to be benefited by the publication of his own books. A proposition was then made to us, which my husband ... assented to, that the publishing association should have the benefit of his books. I was considering the matter and thought like this: I wish the testimonies to go to as many as possible; they are a message from God to this people, and I wish no personal benefit from this work. Thus we stated the matter. But shortly after, I was shown that this was not wisdom, to relinquish our right to control our own writings; for we would know better how to use the profits of these books than would those who had far less experience.87

Yes indeed, the Whites did know better how to use the profits of her books. They used them to build a financial empire for themselves while living the life of the rich and famous!

Conclusion

Some have tried to paint Ellen White as an impoverished, self-denying prophet. They point to her early ministry when the Whites barely made enough money to survive. They point to the fact that she died "in debt" (from her own uncontrolled spending). However, they fail to mention that in today's dollars, her books alone brought her an income well over three million dollars. This is not to mention the wealth and real estate amassed by James White. This is not to mention the income from her minister's salary, and the money from the other business enterprises the Whites engaged in.

The truth is that according to nineteenth-century living standards, the Whites were enormously wealthy. Yes, they gave liberally of their money to their family and SDA projects. But they also lived the life of the "rich and famous." Mrs. White visited exclusive spas and health resorts, wore fine clothing, dined on the best food, traveled the world in first class, received daily massages, and finally settled in a posh multi-million-dollar mansion with her staff, including a nurse, a cook, and a seamstress.

Seventh-day Adventism was highly profitable for Ellen White. But was it prophet or profit?

See also