Whether or not my life is spared, my writings will constantly speak, and
their work will go forward as long as time shall last. My writings are
kept
on file in the office, and even though I should not live, these words that
have been given to me by the Lord will still have life and will speak to
the
people."1
On February 9, 1912, in her 85th year, Ellen White affixed her signature
to
her last will and testament.2
In essence, the will3 created the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc., a
self-perpetuating board of five members.4 Its four-point task included
disposition of her real property (such as personal goods and land),
preservation of her manuscript files, printing of future compilations
drawn
from her writings, and supervision of the translation and publication of
her
books into other languages.
In 1937-38, following the death of W. C. White, her literary properties
were
moved from her Elmshaven home at St. Helena, California, to vaults and
offices at the world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in
Wa****ngton, D.C. In the decades that followed, the Ellen G. White Board in
cooperation with the General Conference set up eleven research centers in
various world divisions of the church, plus branch offices at Andrews
University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and Loma Linda University, in
California.5 These centers contain copies of Mrs. White's letters and
manuscripts, historical material relating to the church, and significant
books and pamphlets not easily available elsewhere.
The Board has taken its responsibilities seriously. The original
five-member
Board worked together for nineteen years, "publi****ng ten posthumous
compilations from Mrs. White's manuscript files, prepared and published a
Comprehensive Index to her published books, sponsored a thorough indexing
of
the manuscripts, and, in counsel with the General Conference officers,
arranged for the perpetuation of the trustee****p and close collaboration
with top church leader****p."6
Ellen G. White Board of Trustees
[Top of Do***ent]
While the composition of the Board of Trustees (now numbering 15) has
changed from time to time,7 its mandate has remained clear: to make the
writings of Ellen White available throughout the world in the most
appropriate manner possible. Since 1934, when the Board made its first
change of member****p, it has authorized numerous compilations, including
devotional books and a CD-ROM collection (The Published Ellen G. White
Writings on Compact Disc) that "includes every known book, article, and
pamphlet written by Ellen White during her 70-year ministry, as well as
many
thousands of pages that have been put into print from manuscripts
unpublished at the time of her death in 1915." Also included on the disc
is
the six-volume Ellen G. White Biography, Ellen G. White in Europe, and the
King James Version of the Bible. A summary of the scope of Ellen White's
ministry and the development of her major publications is found in Ellen
G.
White and Her Writings, a small pamphlet that accompanies the disc.8 All
of
Ellen White's published works are also available on the Internet.
E. G. White Board Release Policies
[Top of Do***ent]
The various Ellen G. White-SDA research centers have clearly stated
procedures to help access desired materials. Equally im****tant is their
responsibility to protect the materials from damage or loss.
Because research center personnel is limited, researchers desiring access
to
unpublished do***ents are encouraged to first consult the approximately
75,000 pages of published materials by means of the four-volume
Comprehensive Index and the CD-ROM.
To avoid misplacement, research center personnel, not the researcher,
retrieve and return requested do***ents to the file. Whenever scanning of
specific years is necessary, an entire drawer or file of do***ents may be
requested without individual do***ents being removed.
Provision exists for the researcher who may find it impossible to visit a
center. Although centers do not maintain a "research by mail" program, the
Permanent Loan Policy makes possible the help needed for special
occasions.
The center will supply specific letters or manuscripts (identified by the
published reference), when requested, by mail. If the do***ent requested
has
not yet been published in its entirety, a photocopy may be loaned,
accompanied by a copy of the Permanent Loan Policy. For many reasons,
continual requests for unpublished do***ents should be carried out in
person
at a center.
Research in unpublished Ellen G. White letters and manuscripts is
permitted
with the understanding that the Ellen G. White Estate has been mandated by
Ellen White's will to maintain the publication rights for such do***ents.
Consequently, the use of unpublished writings, as well as copyrighted
materials in print, should conform to the provisions of the Copyright
Code.
With the passage of time, and increased research needs, the release policy
of the White Estate was changed from asking, "Why should it be published?"
to "Why not publish it?" This eventually led to the decision to make all
of
Ellen White's letters and manuscripts available on CD-ROM.
The Value of Compilations
[Top of Do***ent]
In her will, Ellen White authorized "the printing of compilations from my
manuscripts."
Throughout her 70-year ministry, her daily agenda and prodigious writing
schedule were phenomenal when compared to others, then and now (as we
studied in chapter 11). She rarely had the leisure to devote consecutive
weeks exclusively to writing a book from start to finish.9 For many years
she spent entire summers attending numerous camp meetings, speaking once
or
twice daily in almost continuous succession.10 Many years she would be
away
from home for months. She traveled through Europe three times in two
years,
speaking almost every day, constantly holding interviews and writing
personal testimonies.11
Throughout this ministry, she had little time to organize the various
subjects scattered throughout these messages, most of which were either
soon
out of print, of limited circulation, or had never been published. Thus,
it
seems natural that at the end of her life she would want her messages to
be
made available in an organized manner. The most efficient procedure would
be
to classify these materials by subject and to make them available in
systematic and balanced publications.
One of the chief benefits of a well-organized compilation (such as
Evangelism or Counsels on Diet and Foods) is that readers are able to get
a
broad and balanced picture of what Ellen White said on a given subject.
Everyone benefits when hitherto unpublished materials such as diaries,
manuscripts, and sermons are accessed and properly integrated in such a
compilation.
Nevertheless, questions always arise whenever anyone tries to "organize
and
systematize" the past. Why? Because no absolutely objective media
re****ter,
historian, or theologian exists. To the degree that "experts" pursue their
bias, no matter how intellectual their work may appear, to that extent
their
data may be suspect by someone. This potential weakness in any academic
effort is greatly increased when compilers string together selected
quotations to favor their personal views.
Danger of Compilations
[Top of Do***ent]
Many privately issued compilations of Ellen White materials have been made
through the years by individual compilers. Unfortunately, at times these
compilations became verbal grenades that were tossed back and forth
between
compilers who disagreed as to what "Ellen White said."
The Ellen G. White Board has taken seriously its mandate to publish
compilations that are accurate and helpful. Before work on a compilation
begins, the corpus of Ellen White's writings on a given topic is gathered
and examined. Every attempt is made to let the materials determine the
emphasis Ellen White would give to various aspects of the topic. No
authorized compilation is done by only one person working alone. The
compiler presents his or her work to a small committee that reviews it for
inherent integrity and faithfulness to Ellen White's intent. Then the
compiler incor****ates the committee's suggestions, and gives the
manuscript
to members of the Board for careful reading. Every effort is made to
insure
a complete and unbiased presentation of Mrs. White's mature teaching on
the
subject under consideration.
In using compilations, readers must always follow the simple rules of
interpretation as they would with any written do***ent.12 But with
compilations, added care should be taken not only to consider possible
compiler bias but also other facts: (1) words evolve over the years; (2)
time, place, and cir***stances directly affect the meaning of words and
applications of principles;13 and (3) events are often re****ted
differently
by two or more people observing the same event.
In 1901 Ellen White had to confront the problem of compilations. A man was
misusing the Bible by stringing together a series of texts to "prove" his
claim that God had chosen Mrs. White to assume the place of Moses in
modern
spiritual Israel, and that he was to be her Joshua. She wrote: "'Yes,' I
said, 'you have selected and put these scriptures together, but like many
who have arisen as you have, you are wresting the Scriptures, interpreting
them to mean thus and so, when I know they do not apply as you have
applied
them.
"'You, or any other deluded person, could arrange and have arranged
certain
scriptures of great force, and applied them according to your own ideas.
Any
man could misinterpret and misapply God's Word, denouncing people and
things, and then take the position that those who refused to receive his
message had rejected the message of God, and decided their destiny for
eternity'. . . .
"Letters come to me entreating an answer; I know that many men take the
testimonies the Lord has given, and apply them as they suppose they should
be applied, picking out a sentence here and there, taking it from its
proper
connection, and applying it according to their idea. Thus poor souls
become
bewildered, when could they read in order all that has been given, they
would see the true application, and would not become confused. Much that
pur****ts to be a message from Sister White, serves the purpose of
misrepresenting Sister White, making her testify in favor of things that
are
not in accordance with her mind or judgment. This makes her work very
trying."14
In 1906 Mrs. White recognized the continuing possibility that her writings
could be wrongly used: "Those who are not walking in the light of the
message, may gather up statements from my writings that happen to please
them, and that agree with their human judgment, and, by separating these
statements from their connection and placing them beside human reasonings,
make it appear that my writings uphold that which they condemn."15
Are compilations valuable? Without question. Are there dangers inherent in
compilations? Yes. And the warning always applies: If a quotation seems to
****tray an isolated viewpoint not represented in Ellen White's published
works, be alerted to the need to get more of that quotation's context.16
Theological principles, for example, are founded on more than incidental
paragraphs in a private letter. The principle of consistency must be
applied. The greater mass of evidence should interpret the isolated, or
infrequent, statement, not vice versa. Ellen White's advice is still
indispensable: If there is a question on any subject, read her published
books or let the weight of clear evidence, not the isolated statement,
indicate her meaning and teaching. Readers must use ordinary common sense,
enlightened by the Spirit, to discover the context and the principle
involved, and be grateful for the full-orbed sweep that a good compilation
provides.
Theological Principles Are Timeless
[Top of Do***ent]
New truths do not make old truths obsolete. "Perceptions" of truth,
however,
change as fresh information is discovered or when presuppositions may be
recognized as faulty. But two plus two will always equal four, and the
fact
that Christ was crucified and resurrected cannot be altered by "open and
free discussion."
Truth, indeed, has been like the unfolding of a flower or the growth of a
tree. Its organizing principle is embedded in its seed. Each stage of
development shows new structure. The branches of the tree and the petals
of
the bloom are a natural unfolding of the unifying purpose of the original
seed. Part of the flower's petals will not be daisy and part tulip. An oak
tree trunk will not branch out with Ponderosa Pine limbs. Elements of
truth
are recognized by their coherence; in other words, truth in its
development
does not contradict itself.
Ellen White, as we have discovered, has been a guide for her fellow
Adventists and those multiplied thousands who have found Christ through
her
writings. Her own 70-year experience reflected the reality of the constant
unfolding of truth. Perhaps clearer than her contem****aries, she expressed
this principle: "The truths of redemption are capable of constant
development and expansion. . . . In every age there is a new development
of
truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The old truths
are
all essential; new truth is not independent of the old, but an unfolding
of
it. It is only as the old truths are understood that we can comprehend the
new."17
Thus, looking back, Ellen White saw how the stakes of truth were driven
deeply into the Advent movement experience.18 She looked ahead to the
lengthening cords that were connected ever so securely to those stakes.
She
was a future-oriented leader, confident of the developing configuration of
truth: "We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget
the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history."19
Relevance
[Top of Do***ent]
When considering the Adventist message and mission, the relevance of Ellen
White for the present and future is as certain and as needed as the trunk
is
to the branch. For as long as the branch needs the trunk, so Adventists
will
continue to sense the security and strength found in her writings.20 In
1907
she wrote: "Whether or not my life is spared, my writings will constantly
speak, and their work will go forward as long as time shall last. My
writings are kept on file in the office, and even though I should not
live,
these words that have been given to me by the Lord will still have life
and
will speak to the people."21
Relevance is a word that sums up the human need for personal meaning. But
relevance often descends to mere desirability and convenience. Further,
the
appeal for relevance often supersedes the appeal for authority. If
relevance
is sought merely in a consensus of men and women who share common
feelings,
the lurking unease that longs for authority is unsatisfied.
Since Jesus is the Message-Giver and uses the best human messenger
available
for His purposes, the message is the im****tant issue, regardless of when
He
sends the message, whether in the fifteenth century B.C., the first
century
A.D., or the nineteenth century A.D. "The testimony of Jesus" is always
relevant.
During the spring and summer, throughout the Southland in the United
States
the sirens often blow and radio and TV stations go into special warning
broadcasts, alerting people of an approaching tornado. Wise people know
that
they must take special precautions, even ru****ng into their underground
shelters. They have learned to comply quickly. It does not matter if the
warning is heard on a battery-powered radio that cost $25, a $2,000
digital
TV, or from a wailing siren atop the fire station. The message is clear
and
only a fool would sit down and judge the fidelity of the message by
evaluating the fidelity of the instrument by which it is delivered.22
A tornado warning is always relevant, even as is a prophet's message,
especially the message of one who was sent to help prepare a people for a
much greater storm than a seasonal tornado.
God's revelations through His prophets meet the desire for both relevance
and authority. For those who accept the continuing messages of Ellen White
through her writings, this blend of relevance and authority has become a
living experience.
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