| January 2026 Newsletter |
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“The words I employ in describing what I have seen are my own.”
—Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, October 8, 1867
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This year marks the 50th anniversary of Ronald Numbers’ 1976 bombshell,
Prophetess of Health. Its publication detonated a truth that Seventh-day Adventism has
never fully recovered from: Ellen White’s health teachings were not divinely revealed,
but lifted from the writings of others. That revelation ignited a firestorm inside
the sect—one that still smolders today.
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Prophetess of Health opened the floodgates. What followed was a decade of sustained
investigation into the paraphrasing prophet. In 1982, Walter Rea's The White Lie was released, and in 1984, his book
Pirates of Privilege delivered another blow.
In the chapter aptly titled “Who Profits from the Prophet?”, Rea documented
that 80–90% of The Great Controversy was copied from other authors. So much for the Big Lie that Ellen White was employing her own words!
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The response from corporate leadership was damage-control. They rushed to lawyers.
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They reframed the issue into something easier to defend:
Could Ellen White have been criminally charged with plagiarism?
When the lawyers said “probably not,” the case was declared closed.
Victory was claimed.
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But that was never the issue. Not even close.
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The real issues were...
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• They claimed she was the Spirit of Prophecy
• They claimed she received visions, light from heaven, conversations with angels
• They claimed her books were the written record of those revelations
• She claimed she used her own words (until that claim collapsed)
• Faithful SDAs—unaware of the borrowing—purchased her books in good faith
• The White empire and SDA corporate publishing houses profited handsomely
• The very Sunday-keepers she condemned were her source of inspiration
• There is no substantive content in her writings that did not originate elsewhere
• It was all smoke and mirrors
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Steve Daily said it plainly in Psychobiography, a book that is currently shaking the sect. He described Ellen White as “possibly the most successful con artist in history.”
That book should be required reading at every SDA university.
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To honor the legacy of Ronald Numbers, we are proud to release the
web edition of Prophetess of Health on our site—in
English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Before his passing,
Dr. Numbers told us plainly: Use my work. Like Walter Rea, he wanted the truth known,
whatever the cost.
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Friends, isn't it time to stop the abuse? We have only one weapon to fight the corporate power and greed:
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Truth.
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But oh! What a mighty weapon it is! The truth will prevail over darkness. Does that mean every SDA will accept it?
Of course not. Dr. Numbers once observed:
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“There’s no way they’re going to let her authority slip too much.
The capacity to believe what one wants to believe is infinite.”
—Ronald Numbers, quoted by John Dart,
The Washington Post, November 7, 1980
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The power of strong delusion is staggering. I still remember doctors and lawyers so deeply
deceived that they were willing to perish alongside Seventh-day Adventist prophet
David Koresh in Waco, 1993.
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No—the power structure has too much to lose to expose what Steve Daily rightly called
“the Big Lie.” (See his book White Estate Fraud).
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But we can still make a difference.
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Share the links.
Share the books.
Post the URLs wherever light can reach.
Keep the lamp burning.
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Because only light drives out darkness.
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—Brother Anderson
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"The words I employ in describing what I have seen are my own." —(EGW R&H Oct. 8, 1867)
It is the 50th anniversary of the release of Ronald Numbers' 1976 bombshell Prophetess of Health. The revelations of Ellen White's plagiarism of the health writings of others set off a firestorm of controversy in the SDA sect that continues to this day. This book kicked off a decade of deep research and scrutiny over the paraphrasing prophet. Against monumental pressure, SDA Pastor Walter Rea fought to get out the truth. In 1984, in his book Pirates of Privilege, in a chapter entitled "Who Profits from the Prophet," Rea claimed 80% to 90% of Great Controversy was copied from others.
SDA apologists swung into full damage-control mode. They hired lawyers to prove that Mrs. White could not have been criminally charged with plariarism. It was an attempt to spin the narrative into a direction they could win: She didn't break the law. So? Was that ever the issue? What was the real issue?
- They claimed she was the Spirit of Prophecy
- They claimed she was receiving visions, light from heaven, talking with angels
- They claimed she was putting these divine revelations in her books
- She claimed to be using her own words (until she was forced to back-pedal on that)
- Loyal SDAs, not knowing she was a plagiarist, rushed to buy her books
- The White empire and the SDA publishing houses profited from her plagiarism
- The issue: She plagiarized from authors within what she called Apostate Protestantism
- The issue: The very "Sunday keepers" she denounced were her source of inspiration
- The issue: There is no content of any significance in her writings that was not derived from others
- The issue: It was all smoke and mirrors!
I like the way Steve Daily put it the book that is shaking Seventh-day Adventsim, Psychobiography, where he described Ellen White as "possibly the most successful con artist in history." (This book should be required reading in every SDA University).
To honor the legacy of Ronald Numbers, we are proud to announce the release of the web version of his book on our website in four languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French). Before he passed, Dr. Numbers told us, use my writings. Like Walter Rea, he wanted people to know the truth.
Friends, that's what it's all about. It's not about ego. Or power. Or money. We are in this for the truth. I have always believed the truth will win. Does that mean every SDA will see the light? Of course not. Dr. Numbers said:
"There's no way they're going to let her authority slip too much. The capacity to believe what one wants to believe is infinite."
—Ronald Numbers quoted by John Dart, "Seventh-day Adventist Prophet White Is Called Plagiarist," The Washington Post, Nov. 7, 1980
The power of strong delusion is astonishing. I still remember the doctors and lawyers who were under such delusion that they were willing to be burned up with Seventh-day Adventist prophet David Koresh at Waco in 1992.
No, the power structure has too much to lose to expose what Steve Daily calls the "Big Lie". But together, we can still make a difference. Share our links. Share our books. Paste our URLs on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and wherever you can. Keep the light burning. Only the light will dispell the darkness. —Brother Anderson
