Text: “Okay, so I think I was told this story by my parents when I was a kid, maybe they told it in Sabbath school. There was this story of Ellen White when she was a teenager, and she held up her family Bible for 30 minutes while she was having a vision — I originally thought it was one or two hours, but it was just thirty minutes, I guess. And Bibles were much more substantial back then, you know. And she also quoted verses from it without looking. So it was held up to be some kind of supernatural act. I don’t know if I believe it or not, I don’t think it really matters — I think a lot of figures get sensationalized in religious traditions after they die.”
Context: Informant JB was raised in Montana in a Seventh-day Adventist household, a religious identity which she still identifies with today. Ellen White was an American author and co-founder of Seventh-day Adventism, and she lived from 1826 to 1915. Ellen White is known in the Adventist church as a “modern-day prophet,” and much of Adventist tradition and theology is based on the visions and messages that she allegedly received from God and published as books. She is also known for her health challenges, including chronic pain, weakness, and mental health struggles.
Analysis: In the Adventist church legends such as the one described above are popularly circulated throughout Adventist church communities, despite doubts as to their validity. Other written accounts specify that White picked up the eighteen-pound Bible while “in vision” and held it open with her left hand, arm raised at a right angle from her body. These stories serve to reinforce the authority of White’s writings in the church community by presenting her as a historical figure with supernatural powers. This story in particular also reflects the strong Protestant belief in having a personal relationship with God and reading the Bible for oneself — ‘if this young and frail teenage girl can literally uplift the Bible and receive a message from God, so should we!’ More broadly, the story also points to a cultural emphasis on print as a ‘sacred’ and essential medium of communication in the U.S.