II. Contextual Factors in Approaching her Writings
Over 100,000 pages of written material by the time of her death in 1915 is a very unusual accomplishment for a woman author.
9 Beginning with two letters published in the
Day-Star of 1846, the volume of writing increased steadily, reaching a crescendo in the years 1890-1915. Since the death of Ellen White many compilations
10 on different subjects have appeared, making use of her published and unpublished sources, the latter being mainly periodical articles, manuscripts, pamphlets and letters.
What motivated a woman with her limited educational background and with a
husband and four children, to devote so much of her time and efforts to
writing? There is no doubt that a sense of her prophetic mission to the
Advent Movement was the dominating factor. She was convinced that God had
revealed Himself to her through dreams and visions and that she was to make
known to others what had been revealed to her. This led her to write many
'testimonies' to individuals and church groups, some of the most representative
covering the period 1855-1909, appearing in nine volumes entitled
Testimonies
for the Church. These testimonies were of a practical, exhortatory and
instructional nature, often containing devotional and inspirational nuggets.
Ellen White's range of theological interest covered aspects of the plan of
salvation from the inception of sin in heaven to the final restoration of all
things. This theme of what she called 'the great controversy between Christ and
Satan' became the burden of much of her writing. These thoughts first found
expression in four volumes entitled
Spiritual Gifts appearing from
1858-1864. The messages in these volumes were refined and amplified in another
four volumes appearing under the title,
The Spirit of Prophecy during the
years 1870-1884. Further development took place and these books were replaced
with the five volumes of the Conflict of the Ages series, namely,
Patriarchs
and Prophets (1890);
Prophets and Kings (1917);
Desire of Ages
(1898);
Acts of the Apostles (1911) and
The Great Controversy
Between Christ and Satan (1888). The nature of these writings is not exegetical
but could be described as an expository, homiletical and descriptive survey of
the Scriptures set in a devotional and spiritual framework.
If one compares the style of the writing of Ellen White in her earlier works such
as
Early Writings and
Spiritual Gifts with such books as
The
Desire of Ages (1898),
The Ministry of Healing (1905) or
Acts of
the Apostles (1911), one discovers a development and growth in her style of
language and expression.
Building her own library,
11
she devoted time to the reading of books of a devotional and theological nature
on Biblical and historical themes. All of this contributed to the development of
her own writing style.
With the tremendous amount of writing, Ellen White felt it necessary to employ
literary assistants to aid in the checking, correcting, copying and compiling
of the material. The actual role of these literary assistants has been the subject
of controversy.
12
The secretaries would often have to gather existing written material by Ellen White
from periodical articles or manuscripts to form the basis of some new book.
13
It is now also clear that in the preparation of her articles and books material by other
authors found in various sources was carefully selected for incorporation in her writings.
This question of Ellen White's use of other sources has also elicited much discussion and
is at present receiving scholarly investigation by the leadership of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church.
14
In the volume of material covering periodical articles, manuscripts, pamphlets, letters
and books it is understandable that there is a certain amount of repetition of material.
This must be borne in mind in making any investigation of the subject. It is important to
find the context of a particular statement to see how the author intended it to be understood.
This is, of course, particularly vital when material in compilations put together after the
death of Ellen White is studied. The compiler might take a paragraph and use it to emphasize
a certain point when the original context of the paragraph might throw a different light on
the material.
Ellen White is also not a systematic theologian and her views on Christology must be gleaned
from her whole corpus of writings. Her magnum opus on Christology, The
Desire of Ages,
is, likewise, not a systematic theology, but a descriptive and devotional study on the life of Christ.
_____
9 Reference has already
been made to the fact that as a result of the accident
which Ellen White had at the age of nine her formal education was hampered.
After intermittent efforts, she made a brief last attempt at school at about the
age of 12, and again suffered failing health. Her later education came from
reading and from contacts with others. She must have been strongly motivated to
have spent so much of her life in writing. [back]
10 In harmony with the provisions of
Ellen White's will calling for the
publication of books compiled from her manuscripts, and her instruction that
various of her articles which had appeared in the journals of the church should
be reprinted, the Board of Trustees of the White Estate - which her will created
to care for her writings have issued many posthumous works. A few selected
titles are given: Counsels on Health (1923); Messages to Young People
(1930); Evangelism (1946); The Adventist Home (1952); Selected
Messages, Books 1 & 2 (1958). For a complete list up to 1961 see
Comprehensive Index to the Writings of Ellen G. White, Mountain View,
California: Pacific Press Publishing Association, Vol. 3, pp.3206-3210. Books
have continued to appear regularly right up to the present. For example: In
Heavenly Places (1967); Mind, Character and Personality, Book 1 &
2 (1977); This Day With God (1979); Selected Messages, Book 3
(1980). For the complete up-to-date listing write to the White Estate,
Washington, D.C. [back]
11 At the time of Ellen White's death
in 1915, a detailed inventory of her estate
was made. Two separate sections of the inventory dealt with books. One section
involved her private library in her "sitting room bookcase", the
other, her office library where her literary assistants worked. For further
study into the books owned by Ellen White an important document listing all her
books has just recently been prepared. It is: A Bibliography of Ellen G.
White's Private and Office Libraries, compiled by Warren H. Johns, Tim
Poirier, and Ron Graybill, Ellen G White Estate, May 1982. It consists of 47
pages of book listings. About five hundred and fifty of the titles listed were
books sold to Ellen White by Clarence C. Crisler on September 19, 1913. Crisler
had been working in Ellen White's office since July 1901. Important research is
now in progress to see which of Ellen White's books she used as source material
in her own writings. [back]
12 For a discussion of the role of
Ellen White's literary assistants see F. D.
Nichol, Ellen G. White and Her Critics, pp.468-86; Arthur L. White, The
Ellen G. White Writings, pp.99-101. [back]
13 Note the articles in The Review
and Herald from July 3, 1913 to
February 26, 1914 which formed the substance of Prophets and Kings
pp.87-300 which was published in 1916. [back]
14 This question of Ellen White's use
of sources will come up for more detailed
discussion in the evaluation. [back]
