Ellen G. White Estate
Have you ever wondered what became of the people whom Ellen White counseled? This new volume contains every known page of Ellen White’s personal letters and manuscripts from 1845 – 1859, arranged in chronological order. It includes letters, diaries, manuscripts, and transcriptions of what she said in visions. Fascinating annotations provide historical details and notes on personalities involved, and the outcome of Mrs. White’s letters and testimonies, whenever possible, and a section of brief biographies of many individuals mentioned. In the 15 years spanned by the papers in this volume, an unlettered and unmarried teenager from Maine became a 32-year-old mother of three, a published author, and the unlikely cofounder of what would become an international religious movement that was still, in 1859, without a name.
For millions of readers Ellen G. White is best known through her published works: works that include such spiritual classics as The Desire of Ages and Steps to Christ. But what is not as well known is that much of the writing in both of these beloved books — and many other books besides — originated in letters of heart-stirring fervor. Sentences that many of us have committed to memory because of their faith-inspiring insights were first penned in the context of personal letters providing hope, encouragement, and timely counsel.
Ellen White was more than an author. She was a wife, a mother, an evangelist, a much-sought-after counselor. She had relatives to care for, homes to keep in order, gardens to tend, and bills to pay. She experienced the miserable ailments common to the age before central heating, air-conditioning, and over-the-counter pain relievers. She traveled for days in cramped, tobacco-smoke-filled railroad cars, which was arguably better than traveling for weeks by horse-drawn carriage. And she knew the life-shattering pain of losing a spouse and two children to sickness and death.
Ellen White’s letters and manuscripts give us more than a window into the daily life of a remarkable 19th century female author and religious leader. We find in her unpublished writings insights and principles that continue to speak to our generation, even though the original historical setting must be considered.
This series marks the first effort to publish in chronological order all of Ellen White’s previously unpublished writings. Thousands of pages have been published in research papers, books, and compilations, but these have been topical selections. Nor have they previously appeared with historical annotations providing basic information about the persons addressed and issues raised.
All entries include where the document may be found in Manuscript Releases, various other publications and biographies, or whether it had never been published previously. Items published in church periodicals such as The Review and Herald or Youth’s Instructor are listed but the article is not here reprinted.
Hardbound, 986 p.
