Editions of Great Controversy--

THE WRITING OF THE BOOK

'THE GREAT CONTROVERSY'

 Vance Ferrell

  16 — PREPARATION OF THE 1911 EDITION

Let us now follow along during the making of the 1911 edition: In 1907, the most badly-worn 1888-edition printing plates were repaired, some illustrations were improved, and a subject index was added. In early January 1910, C.H. Jones, manager of Pacific Press, wrote to W.C. White that, since the plates were nearly worn out, it would be well to make any corrections to the book before the new plates were made.

W.C. White wrote back that, perhaps, some minor corrections might be necessary, but they ought to be able to be done rather quickly.

Miss Mary Steward, a proofreader on the E.G. White staff, carefully went through the book, checking for spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and related items. In late February, she completed her work, which was sent to Pacific Press. She then went there to proofread the reset type.

So far, so good; the corrections could be quickly made. But then Ellen White and some of her assistants began thinking of other factors that needed changing. Keep in mind that she always, consistently, considered Great Controversy to be her most important book:

"When I learned that Great Controversy must be reset, I determined that we would have everything closely examined, to see if the truths it contained were stated in the very best manner, to convince those not of our faith that the Lord had guided and sustained me in the writing of its pages."—Letter 56, 1911.

So W.C. White sent out letters of inquiry regarding other corrections that should be made.

"We took counsel with the men of the Publishing Department, with State canvassing agents, and with members of the publishing committees, not only in Washington, but in California, and I asked them to kindly call our attention to any passages that needed to be considered in connection with the resetting of the book."—W.C. White to 'Our General Missionary Agents, , July 24, 1911 (see also 3 Selected Messages, pp. 439—440).

Ellen and her staff began work on the changes. She, of course, did not carry out all this work, but she did check it all over. In a sense, the 1911 edition was not a revision, but rather a correction of the 1888. Miss Steward returned to Elmshaven to help Clarence C. Crisler in checking quotations used in the book.

(Elmshaven is where Ellen White lived upon her return from Australia in 1901. It is located in a valley just below the St. Helena Sanitarium in Napa Valley, California, and about 40 miles northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area.) Soon, another faithful helper, Dores Robinson, was helping with this project also. At the same time, Pacific Press had assigned artists the task of preparing several new full-page illustrations.

One group of suggestions was rejected. These came from W.W. Prescott, who had a number of peculiar theories, which he wanted inserted into Great Controversy. The present writer has found a number of incidents in which Prescott was not reliable, either in his thinking or his accusations. Some of our readers may recall that Prescott was the one who wrote doubting letters about Ellen White, which the Spectrum and Ford liberals like to quote. Prescott did not like her because she would not accept his peculiar ideas (such as a novel theory about the 1260 ­year prophecy).

All the corrections sent in were reviewed on May 23, 1910.

The main task was the revision of the historical quotations. This proved to be a monumental job! There were 417 quotations in the book, taken from 75 authors, 10 periodicals, and 3 encyclopedias. They had been collected and put into the 1888 edition while Ellen was in Switzerland, and she and her helpers had access to J.N. Andrew's extensive library in Basel. But, in 1910, many of those books could not be found, although Crisler searched the extensive holdings of four major libraries: the University of California Library at Berkeley, the Stanford University Library at Palo Alto, the California State Library at Sacramento, and the San Francisco Main Li­brary .

Calls were sent out for educators and pastors of experience who were living near Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C. to join in the search. Lists of specific items were sent to them. From there, the search spread to major libraries in London, Paris, and Germany. Not two or three weeks, as first expected, but four months were given to the task. From California, Crisler directed a wide-ranging search which ultimately netted many of the quotations.

Substitute quotations—approved by Ellen White in each instance—were then used for those not found. In a very few cases, quotations were left within quotation marks without references.

In regard to the chapter, The Bible and the French Reformation, Ellen had relied heavily for historical quotations on a lengthy study written by Uriah Smith on that topic. In that study he had quoted several historians, and she had used those same quotations. But there is nothing in any sense wrong with that. Researchers and writers regularly use quotations they find separately in books, and also clusters which they find quoted by other researchers. In the case of Ellen White, we are thankful that she did so. She still had many books to write as she worked on the third edition in the mid-1880s, and there was no need to lose needless time getting bogged down on orig­inal research work in history books. She did a lot of that as it was.

Because of the delay, rumors began spreading that perhaps other people were rewriting Great Controversy, and changing its teachings. A typesetter from Pacific Press visited Pacific Union College one weekend and mentioned the delay. Immediately fears and speculation abounded. But the they, the ones helping in the revision, were Ellen's trusted fellow workers; associates God had shown her she could trust, believers whom she had personally selected to help her in the everyday details of her office work. If evil men had crept in among them, God would have shown it to her. He faithfully protected His Word. William C. White wrote this in June 1910:

"Shortly after we sent word to the Pacific Press to delay electrotyping [making the printing plates], one of the workers in the type foundry visited the school [Pacific Union College], and soon questions and reports were as plentiful on the hillside and in the valley as quails in August.

"Questions and suppositions and remarks come to Mother from all quarters, and she will continue to be perplexed by them until the work is done." —AL. White, The Later Elmshaven Years, p. 309.

A leading helper of Ellen White, from the mid-1890s onward, was her son, W.C. White. She did not accept him for that responsible position, even though he was her son, until Heaven gave its approval:

"While my husband lived, he acted as a helper and counselor in the sending out of the messages that were given to me. We traveled extensively. Sometimes light would be given to me in the night season, sometimes in the daytime before large congregations. The instruction I received in vision was faithfully written out by me, as I had time and strength for the work. Afterward we examined the matter together, my husband correcting grammatical errors and eliminating needless repetition. Then it was carefully copied for the persons addressed or for the printer.

"As the work grew, others assisted me in the preparation of matter for publication. After my husband's death, faithful helpers joined me, who labored untiringly in the work of copying the testimonies and preparing articles for publication.

"But the reports that are circulated, that any of my helpers are permitted to add matter or change the meaning of the messages I write out, are not true.

"While we were in Australia the Lord instructed me that W.C. White should be relieved from the many burdens his brethren would lay upon him, that he might be more free to assist me in the work the Lord has laid upon me. The promise had been given, 'I will put My Spirit upon him, and give him wisdom.'

"Since my return to America I have several times received instruction that the Lord has given me W.C. White to be my helper, and that in this work the Lord will give him of His Spirit."—1 Selected Messages, p. 50.

The above statement is dated July 8, 1906. Fifteen months later, she wrote the following clarifying statement, regarding her helpers, to another faithful friend:

"Dear Brother [F.M.] Wilcox:

"I received and read your recent letter. Regarding the sister who thinks that she has been chosen to fill the position that Sister White has occupied, I have this to say: She may be honest, but she is certainly deceived.

"About a year after the death of my husband, I was very feeble, and it was feared that I might live but a short time. At the Healdsburg camp meeting, I was taken into the tent where there was a large gathering of our people. I asked to be raised up from the lounge on which I was lying, and assisted to the speaker's platform, that I might say a few words of farewell to the people. As I tried to speak, the power of God came upon me, and thrilled me through and through. Many in the congregation observed that I was weak, and that my face and hands seemed bloodless; but as I began speaking they saw the color coming into my lips and face, and knew that a miracle was being wrought in my behalf. I stood before the people healed, and spoke with freedom.

"After this experience, light was given me that the Lord had raised me up to bear testimony for Him in many coun­tries, and that He would give me grace and strength for the work. It was also shown me that my son, W.C. White, should be my helper and counselor, and that the Lord would place on him the spirit of wisdom and of a sound mind. I was shown that the Lord would guide him, and that he would not be led away because he would recognize the leadings and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

"The assurance was given me: 'You are not alone in the work the Lord has chosen you to do. You will be taught of God how to bring the truth in its simplicity before the people. The God of truth will sustain you, and convincing proof will be given that He is leading you. God will give you of His Holy Spirit, and His grace and wisdom and keeping power will be with you. .

"The Lord will be your instructor. You will meet with deceptive influences; they will come in many forms, in pantheism and other forms of infidelity; but follow where I shall guide you, and you will be safe. I will put My Spirit upon your son, and will strengthen him to do his work. He has the grace of humility. The Lord has selected him to act an important part in His work. For this purpose was he born.

"This word was given me in 1882, and since that time I have been assured that the grace of wisdom was given to him. More recently, in a time of perplexity, the Lord said: 'I have given you My servant, W.C. White, and I will give him judgment to be your helper. I will give him skill and understanding to manage wisely.'

"The Lord has given me other faithful helpers in my work. Many of my discourses have been reported, and have been put before the people in printed form. Through nearly the whole of my long experience I have endeavored, day by day, to write out that which was revealed to me in visions of the night. Many messages of counsel and reproof and encouragement have been sent out to individuals, and much of the instruction that I have received for the church has been published in periodicals and books, and circulated in many lands. .

"The work is constantly moving forward. We are making earnest efforts to place my writings before the people. We hope that several new books will go to press shortly. If I am incapacitated for labor, my faithful workers are prepared to carry forward the work.

"Abundant light has been given to our people in these last days. 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 Selected Messages, pp. 54­55.

Continuing on with that June 1910 progress report on the preparation of the 1911 edition, W.C. White said this: "During the last two weeks, we have been busily en­gaged in studying those matters which demanded consideration in connection with the bringing out of the new edition of Great Controversy. When I presented to Mother questions as to what we should do regarding the quotations from historians and the references to these historians, she was prompt and clear in her opinion that we ought to give proper credit wherever we can. This has called for a good deal of searching of histories.

"Brethren Crisler and Robinson have taken much pains to look up the very best English authorities for the bulls and decrees and letters quoted and referred to, and they have been successful beyond my fondest hopes.

"Further than this there will be very few changes made. In a few places where ambiguous or misleading terms have been used, Mother has authorized a changed read­ing, but she protests against any change in the argument or subject matter of the book, and indeed, we find, as we study into the matter, a clear and satisfactory defense for those passages to which our critics might take exception. "There are a few historical matters which we are still searching for. The most perplexing one is that regarding the three and a half days when the dead bodies of the two witnesses lay unburied, as referred to in Revelation 11:9­-11."—W.C. White, Letter, June 20, 1910.

There were those who feared that changes would be made in the teachings of the book, and that peculiar ideas, invented by W.W. Prescott and Uriah Smith, would be slipped into the book. In reply to this fear, W.C. White wrote this:

"A number of questions have arisen over here as to what we are doing and why. Some have asked if you and Brother Prescott have been criticizing Great Controversy, and have asked to have it changed so that it will agree with the new light on the 'daily.'

"Our answer is, No; that you have neither of you expressed any wish of this sort; that the 'daily' is not mentioned or referred to in Great Controversy, that it is wholly ignored in that book, as are many other points of prophetic interpretation which, as published in Elder Smith's Daniel and Revelation, are being criticized. .

"I have maintained that as far as I can discern, you and Brother Salisbury and Elder Wilcox are in hearty sympathy with us and are doing what you can to help us to find clear and substantial evidence for the positions taken in Great Controversy. "—W.C. White, Letter, June 20, 1910.

 Then there was that major problem of the D' Aubigne quotations. A.L. White provides us with the background of this problem, which we have already referred to:

.. A question arose, sparked by the checking of all quoted materials in the book. It was found that the most frequently quoted historian was D' Aubigne, whose History of the Reformation, written in French, had been published in five translations in England and the United States. Three of the translations were represented in the Great Controversy, but it was discovered that only one had the wholehearted approval of the author. The question now was 'Should all the matter quoted from this author be from just the one which had the author's approval?' To do so would call for a good many changes in the Great Controversy text, and in some cases, provide a less desirable wording. Work on the pages involved was held up until this matter could be settled by Ellen White herself. And this was delayed considerably because of some long absences of W.C. White from Elmshaven, a number of them in behalf of the new medical school."—AL. White, The Later Elmshaven Years, p.311.

"The next day, W.C. White was back home and hastened to place the D' Aubigne matter before his mother for a decision. Her decision was to use the translation approved by the author."—A.L. White, The Later Elmshaven Years, pp. 311—312.

Just before W.C. White found time to ask Ellen about her decision regarding the D'Aubigne quotations, Clarence Crisler wrote her this letter:

"The historical work connected with the resetting of Great Controversy is nearly finished. We are finding nearly all the quoted matter, and proper references are being given in the margins at the foot of the pages. The quotations are all being verified. When we learn from you what translation of D'Aubigne should be followed in the quotations taken from his History of the Reformation, we will act accordingly. .

"Great Controversy will bear the severest tests. When it was prepared years ago, thorough work was done. This is more and more evident, the more the book is examined."—W.C. White, Letter, Monday, August 1, 1910. Throughout the work of revision, the staff worked only within the limits set out by Ellen White. Periodically, that which they had accomplished was shown to her. Matters of major importance were taken to her for her decision before proceeding farther.

17 — TYPE OF CHANGES MADE IN THE 1911 EDITION

In a later major section of this study, we will discuss in much greater detail changes that were made in the text, quotations, and appendix of the 1888 edition—changes which transformed it into the 1911 edition. But, briefly, let us consider some of the types of changes which were made in the text.

One example would be the addition of alone on page 383 in the 1911 edition. Without it, the text could appear to say that the daughter churches of Babylon were corrupt, but that the mother—Rome—was not! The mother church, Rome, was Babylon (p. 382), and the mother has daughters (pp. 382, 383). The message of Revelation 14 cannot therefore apply to the mother church alone, but also to the daughter churches:

“The message of Revelation 14, announcing the fall of Babylon, must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the judgment, it must be given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to the Roman Church alone [alone added in the 1911 edition; not in the 1888], for that church has been in a fallen condition for many centuries."—Great Controversy, 1911 edition, p. 383.

"The criticism was brought to Mrs. White's attention, and in order to clarify the thought, she inserted the word alone, so that in the new edition it reads: 'It cannot refer to the Roman Church alone.' Not a word is altered in what precedes, with its application to the Roman Church. Not a word is altered in the pages that follow in which some of the Protestant churches are shown to answer to the picture."—Document file, 85e, D.E. Robinson's article—is It a Contradiction?

Another example of a word change is found on page 27. In A.D. 31, Christ predicted that judgments would fall on Jerusalem. In A.D. 66, they began to fall; and, in A.D. 70, the city fell. The Bible frequently uses numbers in a rounded sense, and Ellen had done the same on page 27. But, in the 1911 edition, the word nearly was added to made the sentence more technically exact. (In the following several quotations, we added the italics.)

"For nearly forty years after the doom of Jerusalem had been pronounced by Christ Himself, the Lord delayed His judgments upon the city and the nation." —Great Controversy, 1911, p. 27.

On page 52, the following phrase (shown in italics) was added to clarify the meaning:

" Satan, working through unconsecrated leaders of the church, tampered with the fourth commandment also. " ­Great Controversy, 1911, p. 52.

On page 53, many was added to a sentence to indicate that not all Christians in the early centuries were led into apostasy.

"But while many God-fearing Christians were gradually led to regard Sunday as possessing a degree of sacredness, they still held the true Sabbath as holy of the Lord and observed it in obedience to the fourth commandment."—Great Controversy, 1911, p. 53.

On page 329, the word well-known is substituted for recent. "A well-known writer speaks thus of the attitude of the papal hierarchy as regards freedom of conscience." Great Controversy, 1911, p. 329.

On page 287, statistics for the book output of the London-based British and Foreign Bible Society were written in a way that the paragraph would not later become outdated.

The 1888 edition:

"When the British Society was formed, the Bible had been printed and circulated in fifty tongues. It has since been translated into more than two hundred languages and dialects. By the efforts of Bible societies, since 1804, more than 187,000,000 copies of the Bible have been circulated."—Great Controversy, 1888, p. 287. .

The 1911 edition:

"In 1804 the British and Foreign Bible Society was organized. This was followed by similar organizations, with numerous branches, upon the continent of Europe. In 1816 the American Bible Society was founded. When the British Society was formed, the Bible had been printed and circulated in fifty tongues. It has since been translated into many hundreds of languages and dialects." (See Appendix.)—Great Controversy, 1911, p. 287.

18 — HISTORICAL RESEARCH FOR 1911 EDITION

Here are several additional examples of the thorough­ness with which Ellen White's assistants carried on their work:

On September 20, Crisler wrote to H. Camden Lacey, a well-known Adventist researcher at that time. (You may have seen his Bible study outlines.) Lacey was teaching at our college near London, and had been assigned the task of locating quotations in the libraries of that large city.

 "We have endeavored to have all quoted matter in the book carefully verified, and references to proper sources inserted at the foot of each page where the extracts occur, throughout the book. Of course, no revision of the text has been attempted; and the paging of the reset plates will remain practically the same as in the former subscription editions all chapters beginning and ending on the same pages as hitherto." —C. C. Crisler, Letter, September 20, 1910 (italics supplied).

As part of their work, Crisler, working with researchers in library centers in America and Europe, tried to find verification of E.G. White statements in Great Controversy regarding various historical details. This consumed much time, but was quite rewarding. They found that what she had written could withstand the critical examination of learned historians.

Crisler wrote this on January 1911: "In all this historical work, we are eager to have the manuscripts that may be submitted, given the most searching tests. We need never be afraid of historical truth. "We would do well to avoid accepting the conclusions of some of the more modern historians who are attempting to rewrite history so as to shape it up in harmony with their philosophical viewpoint. We find it necessary to exercise constant vigilance in this respect; and this leads us to set considerable store by the original sources, or fountainheads, of history.

"The more closely we examine the use of historical extracts in Great Controversy, and the historical extracts themselves, the more profoundly are we impressed with the fact that Sister White had special guidance in tracing the story from the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, down through the centuries until the end. No mortal man could have done the work that she has done in shaping up some of those chapters, including, we believe, the chapter on the French Revolution, which is a very remarkable chapter, in more ways than one.

"And the more we go into these matters, the more profound is our conviction that the Lord has helped not only Sister White in the presentation of truth, but that He has overruled in the work of other writers, to the praise of His name and the advancement of present truth. "—Document file, 84d, C.C. Crisler to Guy Dail, January 3, 1911.

A surprising amount of historical research was carried out for the express purpose of validating that Ellen White did, indeed, write good history, contrary to what her critics said.

1— The Pope and the Papacy: On page 50 of the 1888 edition, the following statement appeared:

"The pope has arrogated the very titles of Deity. He styles himself 'Lord God the Pope,' assumes infallibility, and demands that all men pay him homage."—Great Controversy, 1911, p. 50. (Italics supplied.)

First, the pope had been called "Lord God the Pope;" and, second, the pope himself had called himself that. The first could be verified historically, but could the second? "It was pointed out to Ellen White's staff that 'there is abundant proof to establish the fact that the attributes of the Deity have been ascribed to the pope, but the style of expression in Great Controversy makes it appear that the pope, himself, has taken these titles to himself and that he has also assumed infallibility.' "—S.N. Curtiss to C.H. Jones, February 14, 1911.

Although Giustianni, in his Papal Rome as It Is, verified the second point, yet many historians questioned the validity of that book (probably because it told too much). In December 1910, Crisler found a decretal by Pope Gregory IX, in which he called himself by that name. But a question still existed in some minds. Since a decision regarding a possible wording change in the text was involved, Ellen was asked to make a decision, since she was the only one who could do that.

"It will depend upon Mother's decision. We have some questions to submit to her as soon as she is feeling a little better, and willing to consider them.

"The question as to what the pope has arrogated to himself is a difficult one. The church has attributed to him all that is claimed in our books, and he has received it and acted upon it, but it is a little difficult to prove from histories within our reach that he has assumed the titles of the Deity and the right to change divine law, and Mother may decide that it is best for us to take a very conservative position in view of the controversies. . before us. "As soon as she decides this question (I hope she will consider it tomorrow), then we will report to you."—W.C. White, letter dated February 28, 1911.

She said to go ahead and make the change to the following:

"More than this, the pope has been given the very titles of Deity. He has been styled 'Lord God the Pope,' . . and has been declared infallible. He demands the homage of all men."—Great Controversy, 1911 edition, p. 50. (Italics supplied.)

Her statements about the conduct of the Roman Catholic Church were challenged by Catholic critics, but she maintained her position unchanged.

"On the other hand, Sister White has not felt clear in adopting as the full authoritative teaching of the Roman Catholic Church some of the utterances of their apologists in lands where religious liberty prevails. For this reason, she has felt clear in holding to the wording she adopted years ago for her presentation of the doctrine of indulgences, and her various references to this doctrine also, in the main, her references to withholding the Bible from the common people,

"I might refer to still other declarations in Great Con­troversy that have not been changed in order to harmonize them with the published works of certain apologists of the Church of Rome,"—C.C. Crisler to W.A. Colcord, April 9, 1911.

2— The edicts of the French Assembly: The 24-page chapter in Great Controversy on the French Revolution is a very important historical analysis. Ellen White's helpers sought to vindicate her statements made in that chapter. Here is an overview of the first of two of those research projects:

"I wish very soon to look up items connected with the French Revolution. This has been left, as you know, to the very last. Most of the other items have been cleared up."­C.C. Crisler, letter, August 1, 1910.

A basic message on pages 267 to 287 is that, in 1793 or a little before 1798, the French Assembly prohibited and publicly burned the Bible. This historical fact is tied to the 1260-year prophecy, as explained in Revelation 12. A number of French and British original sources and historical commentaries were found which vindicated that po­sition. They did, however, discover that the prohibition had been mentioned in several French public statements or decrees. So the wording in Great Controversy was pluralized:

The 1888 edition:

"It was in 1793 that the decree which prohibited the Bible passed the French Assembly. Three years and a half later a resolution rescinding the decree, and granting toleration to the Scriptures, was adopted by the same body."—Great Controversy, 1888 edition, pp. 286-287.

The 1911 edition:

"It was in 1793 that the decrees which abolished the Christian religion and set aside the Bible passed the French Assembly. Three years and a half later a resolu­tion rescinding these decrees, thus granting toleration to the Scriptures, was adopted by the same body."—Great Controversy, 1888 edition, p. 287.

Ellen White herself had been anxious that the book reflect correct historical scholarship without, of course, compromising any of its principles.

3— The French Bell: St. Bartholomew's massacre began with the tolling of a bell in the darkness of night. What bell was it? There were critics who complained that Ellen referred to the wrong bell in her description of the incident. In vision she heard the bell in the nighttime, and witnessed what followed. Then, when writing up the event, finding that the palace bell was mentioned in a history book, she wrote it up that way:

"The great bell of the palace, tolling at dead of night, was a signal for the slaughter [to begin]."—Great Controversy, 1888 edition, p. 272.

One of the complainants was W.W. Prescott, who was happy to report something wrong with Great Controversy: "All the histories dealing with the French Revolution which I have been able to consult state that it was the original plan to toll the bell of the palace as the signal, but owing to special circumstances, the signal was given by the ringing of the bell of the church of St. Germain." ­W. W. Prescott to W.C. White, April 26, 1910.

Upon investigating this, Ellen's assistants found that Prescott was incorrect in his assertion that historians almost unanimously favored his view. In reality, they differed among themselves on this point. Some preferred one bell, and some another; in fact, there were three possible bells which might have given the signal that night! Could it have been the palace bell, as stated in the 1888 edition? Yes, this was very possible. In regard to identifying it as the palace bell, they found much support for this from the historians. But, since it could have been the palace bell, the palace of justice bell, or the St. Germain Church bell—all within a block of one another—no one really could say for sure. For her part, Ellen was concerned that the focus be on her message, not on a dispute about bells! So she told her helpers to change the sentence to:

"A bell, tolling at dead of night, was a signal for the slaughter."—Great Controversy, 1911 edition, p. 272.

Why did Ellen not originally write these things more accurately? Perhaps she wrote it very accurately, some matters the history books can neither confirm nor deny. But, actually, she was not given dates and place names. When shown historical events. W.C. White wrote:

"Mother has never claimed to be an authority on history. The things which she has written out are descriptions of flashlight pictures and other representations given her regarding the actions of men, and the influence of these actions upon the work of God for the salvation of men, with views of past, present, and future history in its relation to this work.

"In connection with the writing out of these views, she has made use of good and clear historical statements to help make plain to the reader the things which she is endeavoring to present. When I was a mere boy, I heard her read D' Aubigne's History of the Reformation to my father. She read to him a large part, if not the whole, of the five volumes. She has read other histories of the Reformation. "This has helped her to locate and describe many of the events and the movements presented to her in vision. This is somewhat similar to the way in which the study of the Bible helps her to locate and describe the many figurative representations given to her regarding the development of the great controversy in our day between truth and error."—W.C. White, July 23, 1911 (see also 3 Selected Messages, p. 437.)

Fifteen months later, he wrote this:

"Regarding Mother's writings and their use as authority on points of history and chronology, Mother has never wished our brethren to treat them as authority regarding the details of history or historical dates.

"The great truths revealed to Mother regarding the controversy between good and evil, light and darkness, have been given to her in various ways, but chiefly as flashlight views of great events in the lives of individuals and in the experiences of churches, of bands of reformers, and of nations.

"When writing out the chapters for Great Controversy, she sometimes gave a partial description of an important historical event, and when her copyist who was preparing the manuscripts for the printer made inquiry regarding time and place, Mother would say that those things are recorded by conscientious historians. Let the dates used by those historians be inserted.

"When Great Controversy was written, Mother never thought that the readers would take it as authority on historical dates or use it to settle controversy regarding details of history, and she does not now feel that it should be used in that way. Mother regards with great respect the work of those faithful historians who devoted years Of time to the study of God's great plan as presented in the prophecy, and the outworking of that plan as recorded in history."—W.C. White to W. W. Eastman, November 4, 1912 (see also 3 Selected Messages, appendix B, pp. 446—447). [Italics ours.]

A key factor here is the nature of the Inspiration given to prophets. Many believe it was verbal inspiration, where­as it was actually thought inspiration.

Verbal inspiration is the theory that each word was personally selected by God, and it is totally accurate and unchangable. In contrast, thought inspiration teaches that  the Holy Spirit gives the thoughts to the prophet, and then guides the prophet's mind as he writes it out. The result will still be correct in concept, but the prophet himself will have to consider which of several ways the sentence should be structured, and which of several synonyms, etc., should be used.

Of course, if true verbal inspiration had been used, then only the original Hebrew and Greek of the Bible would be inspired.

"Mother has never laid claim to verbal inspiration, and I do not find that my father, or Elder Bates, Andrews, Smith, or Waggoner, put forth this claim. If there was verbal inspiration in writing her manuscripts, why should there be on her part the work of addition or adaptation? It is a fact that Mother often takes one of her manuscripts and goes over it thoughtfully, making additions that develop the thought still further."—W.C. White, Letter, July 24, 1911 (see also 3 Selected Messages, p. 437).

"In a few places where ambiguous or misleading terms have been used, Mother has authorized a changed reading, but she protests against any change in the argument or subject matter of the book."—Documentary File 83b, W.C. White, June 20, 1910.

"Your letter came to me while in southern California. For some weeks the consideration of matters connected with the development of our sanitarium work there, and the writing out of the views given me regarding the earthquake and its lessons, have taken my time and strength.

 "But now I must respond to the letters received from you and others. In your letter you speak of your early training to have implicit faith in the testimonies and say, 'I was led to conclude and most firmly believe that every word that you ever spoke in public or private, that every letter you wrote under any and all circumstances, was as inspired as the Ten Commandments.'

"My brother, you have studied my writings diligently, and you have never found that I have made any such claims, neither will you find that the pioneers in our cause ever made such claims.

"In my introduction to The Great Controversy you have no doubt read my statement regarding the Ten Commandments and the Bible, which should have helped you to a correct understanding of the matter under consideration. Here is the statement:

"The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human hands; and in the varied style of its different books it presents the characteristics of the several writers"—Letter dated June 14, 1906 (1 Selected Messages, pp. 24-25). [Several additional paragraphs from the Introduction of Great Controversy are then quoted. For the context, see 1 Selected Messages, p. 24 and onward.]

19 — THE FOURTH EDITION THE 1911 GREAT CONTROVERSY

Finally the work, which had begun in January 1910, was completed in early 1911. The printing was completed and the book was being bound by July. On July 17, 1911, copies of the completed book arrived in the Elmshaven mailbox. They were thankful the task was done, and that it had turned out so well.

"The paging has been preserved throughout the work; it is essentially the same, even if it is greatly improved in some respects, notably in the verification of quoted matter, and the insertion of new or improved illustrations and the betterment of the indexes." —C.C. Crisler to Manager, Review and Herald, February 19, 1911.

"Our work of research has been difficult and expensive beyond all calculation. We do not regret the time nor begrudge the money. We believe that our people everywhere will appreciate what has been done.

"A few days ago I had a talk with Elder Haskell about this. At one time he was quite unreconciled to the work we were doing, supposing we were making unnecessary changes; but when we told him we were glad that when the moss-backs said to us, Let bad enough alone, we could say, It is not necessary. And when the modern critics said, You must make many changes to make this harmonize with modern historians, we could say, It is not necessary, because we find in the most trustworthy historians full corroboration of the positions taken in this book."—AL. White, The Later Elmshaven Years, p. 323.

The 1911 Great Controversy had 10 new illustrations added, the 13 appendix notes were replaced by 31 notes, and the 12-page index was enlarged to 22 pages. Both the 1888 and 1911 editions had 700 Biblical references, but more than 400 historical references to 88 authors and authorities had been added to the 1911.

When the new book finally came off the press, Ellen White was very happy with it, and read and reread it. Much more information on changes between the two editions will be given in Parts Two and Three of this study. "When the new book came out, she took great pleasure in looking over and rereading it. Said W.C. White, 'She was glad that the work we have done to make this edition as perfect as possible was completed while she was living and could direct in what was done.' "—W.C. White Letter, July 24, 1911 (see also 3 Selected Messages, p. 437).

After receiving and reading large portions of the new printing, and after reading W.G. White's letters of expla­nation dated July 24 and 25 (quoted elsewhere in this present study), on July 25, 1911, Ellen White wrote a let­ter to Elder F.M. Wilcox, president of the Review board and editor of the Review and Herald, in which she ex­pressed satisfaction with the 1911 edition. Here is the complete letter:

"Dear Brother Wilcox:

"A few days ago, I received a copy of the new edition of the book Great Controversy, recently printed at Mountain View, and also a similar copy printed at Washington. The book pleases me. I have spent many hours looking through its pages, and I see that the publishing houses have done good work.

"The book, Great Controversy, I appreciate above silver or gold, and I greatly desire that it shall come before the people. While writing the manuscript of Great Controversy, I was often conscious of the presence of the an­gels of God. And many times the scenes about which I was writing were presented to me anew in visions of the night, so that they were fresh and vivid in my mind.

"Recently it was necessary for this book to be reset, because the electrotype plates were badly worn. It has cost me much to have this done, but I do not complain; for what­ever the cost may be, I regard this new edition with great satisfaction.

"Yesterday I read what W.C. White has recently written to canvassing agents and responsible men at our publishing houses regarding this latest edition of Great Controversy, and I think he has presented the matter correctly and well.

"When I learned that Great Controversy must be reset, I determined that we would have everything closely examined, to see if the truths it contained were stated in the very best manner, to convince those not of our faith that the Lord had guided and sustained me in the writing of its pages.

"As a result of the thorough examination by our most experienced workers, some changing in the wording has been proposed. These changes I have carefully examined and approved. I am thankful that my life has been spared, and that I have strength and clearness of mind for this and other literary work."—Letter 56, July 25, 1911.

Shortly after the 1911 edition was released, a Spanish translation was made under the direction of her faithful associates. A special chapter was added (between chapters 12 and 13), dealing with the Reformation in Spain. That chapter (entitled, EI Despertar de Espana) was not written by Ellen White, and this fact is noted in a footnote at its beginning:

"This chapter was compiled by C.C. Crisler and H.H. Hall, and was inserted in this book with the approval of the author."—Spanish Great Controversy, 1913 edition, footnote on page 252 at beginning of the inserted chapter 13.

CONTINUE                      TOP                INDEX