Ellen G. White on the Trinity

There are three key issues in understanding Ellen G. White's views on the Trinity doctrine, summarized as follows:

Topic	Early Adventist	Trinitarian
1. Desire of Ages	Son of God - begotten	God the Son - unbegotten
2. Personality	Father and Son are persons	Father, Son and Holy Spirit are spirits
3. Matthew 28:19	Non-orthodox view	Baptism in the threefold "name"

1. Desire of Ages. The Desire of Ages is championed by trinitarian SDAs as the pivotal book on their claim that EGW changed her theology regarding the begottenness of the Son and the personhood of the Spirit. They base this on two references in Desire of Ages found on pages 530.3 and 671.2. However, on closer examination, is can be easily determined that these claims are specious.
2. The Personality of God. The personality of God has to do with the question of God either being a person, or an essence or both. This became the primary issue during the "Kellogg Crisis" of 1903-1907. This crisis helps us understand how EGW and the Adventist pioneers understood God's personhood.
3. EGW on Matthew 28:19. Ellen G. White's understanding of the baptismal formula found in Matthew 28:19 does not follow the orthodox view. Rather, it more closely follows the belief that Matthew 28:19 is an interpolation. See Matthew 28:19 for details on why it is believed this verse is an interpolation. The importance of validating the authenticity of Matthew 28:19 is recognized when one understands that the Trinity doctrine is fundamentally based on it.

Beyond the above key issues are the concerns over her use of trinitarian terms discussed below and the evidence of falsifications in some of her writings discussed here: Ellen G. White Falsifications.

Trinitarian terms in EGW Writings

The following notes were compiled by use of the EGW Writings search engine filtered on only returning original material—i.e. EGW material which excludes repeats, compilations and later quotes referencing earlier material. The following also excludes page headings and the quoting of Christian songs.

Terms never or infrequently used

• "Trinity." Only used once in 13LtMs, Lt 43, 1898, par. 25. This is a private letter to an individual in Australia which references 1 John 2:15-17. It reads in part, "But beware of that which the old writers called the world’s trinity—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life." There is no mention of anything specific to the Trinity doctrine in this quote.
• "Trinitarian." Never used by EGW.
• "Eternal Three." Never used by EGW.
• "God the Son." Never used by EGW.
• "God the Spirit." Never used by EGW.
• "The threefold name." Only used twice in connection with baptism.
  • 6T 91.3
  • 15LtMs, Ms 27a, 1900, par. 8
• "Heavenly trio." Only used 3 times, all in connection with baptism. Discussed at length here: Three Living Personalities of the Heavenly Trio. This commentary shows that her original handwritten notes are at variance with the trinitarian wording by the editors.
  • BTS March 1, 1906, par. 2
  • 21LtMs, Ms 21, 1906, par. 11
  • SpTB07 63.2
• "three highest authorities." Only used 3 times. Two of the three are connected with baptism.
  • 17LtMs, Ms 87, 1902, par. 36
  • 22LtMs, Ms 129, 1907, par. 28. Not connected with baptism.
  • 20LtMs, Lt 367, 1905, par. 10

Terms of greater frequency

• "Father, Son and Holy Spirit." Only used 5 times by EGW where all except one are connected with baptism.
  • 7LtMs, Lt 97, 1892, par. 3. Not connected with baptism.
  • AUCR October 7, 1907, par. 9
  • 2SP 136.3
  • 22LtMs, Ms 141, 1907, par. 9
  • 4Red 20.3
• "Father, Son and Holy Ghost." Only used 6 times by EGW where most are connected with baptism.
  • EW 100.2
  • ExV54 18.2
  • BTS March 1, 1906, par. 2
  • 21LtMs, Ms 144, 1906, par. 25. Not connected with baptism.
  • 24LtMs, Lt 174, 1909, par. 3
  • 6MR 25.3.
• "dignitaries." Used 8 times in various forms.
  • "three dignitaries." Only used once, in 16LtMs, Manuscript 85, 1901, par. 4, in connection with baptism.
  • "heavenly dignitaries." Only used once in 16MR 204.4.
  • "highest dignitaries in the kingdom of heaven." Used twice.
    • 11LtMs, Ms 41a, 1896, par. 19
    • 11LtMs, Ms 41b, 1896, par. 14.
  • "dignitaries of heaven." Only used 4 times.
    • 16LtMs, Ms 92, 1901, par. 5:
    • 16LtMs, Ms 92, 1901, par. 26:
    • 21LtMs, Ms 35, 1906, par. 4:
    • RH December 11, 1883, par. 10:
• "Three great powers." Used over 15 times by EGW. Example: 8T 254.1
• "Three highest powers." Used 17 times generally in connection with baptism. For exampe in SpTB07 51.1 and PUR July 2, 1908, par. 4.
• "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." Used 38 times.
• "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Used 91 times.

Observations. Given the above research results, the following should be noted:

• Trinitarian terms never used. It is surprising that a number of popular trinitarian terms are never used, even when they were frequently used in her day and in ours. Not in her vocabulary are such terms as, "Trinity" (only one exception, unrelated to the Trinity doctrine), "trinitarian," "God the Son," "God the Spirit," and the "Eternal Three."
• Low frequency of threefold wording. There appears to be only a smattering of references utilizing threefold wording, such as "three dignitaries" (1 time), "threefold name" (2 times), "heavenly trio" (3 times), "three highest authorities" (3 times), "three great powers" (15 times), and "three highest powers" (17 times).
• Matthew 28:19 connection. Almost all her threefold name references are in connection with the baptismal formula of Matthew 28:19. However, her understanding of this baptismal formula does not follow the orthodox view as discussed here: EGW on Matthew 28:19.
• Frequent use of the phrase, "the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost (or Spirit)." This is covered below.

"The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (or Spirit)." This phrase is of special interest because of its frequency—38 times using "Ghost" and 91 times using "Spirit." In the majority of the cases, the phrase is used in relationship to baptism. However, there are notable exceptions to the rule. These exceptions generally follow a different pattern, where the threefold name is referring to divine powers, or attributes, or agencies, not Divine Persons per se. For example,

• 16LtMs, Lt 21, 1901, par. 42: Do not venture to think that if you do not overcome your sins in this life, you will be given another probation in which to secure the eternal reward. No, no, no! This present time is the only probation we shall have. And the three Powers, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have pledged themselves that if we walk in the light as Christ is in the light, we shall have fellowship with one another and be cleansed from all sin in the blood of Jesus. . . .
• ST June 19, 1901, par. 7: Those who unite with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who show by their lives that they are no longer following the course they followed before they united with these divine instrumentalities, will receive wisdom from above. They will not depend upon human wisdom. In order to deal righteously with the world, as members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King, Christians must feel their need of a power which comes only from the heavenly agencies that have pledged themselves to work in man's behalf.
• RH January 7, 1902, Art. A, par. 7: Christ came to this world and stood before men with the hoarded love of eternity. The whole ocean of divine love was flowing forth from its great center. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were working in behalf of man. Every power in the heavenly universe was put into activity to carry forward the plan of redemption. . . .
• ST May 10, 1910, par. 11: Those who proclaim the third angel's message, must put on the whole armor of God, that they may stand boldly at their post in the face of detraction and falsehood, fighting the good fight of faith. They are to resist the enemy with the word, “It is written.” They are to keep themselves where the three great powers of heaven—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—can be their efficiency. These powers work with the one who gives himself unreservedly to God. The strength of heaven is at the command of God's believing ones. The man who makes God his trust is barricaded by an impregnable wall.