Initial Writing on the Life of Christ

In 1858 as Ellen White first wrote the account of what had been revealed to her in the great controversy visions of 1848 and 1858, she devoted fifty-two small pages to the life of Christ. Sixteen of these gave a very brief review of His ministry, and thirty-six were devoted to the few days of the last scenes of His life. These pages were expanded in volumes two and three of the Spirit of Prophecy series in 1877 and 1878; 387 larger pages were given to His general ministry and 254 pages to the Passion Week and His closing ministry. With Patriarchs and Prophets and The Great Controversy in the field, it was planned that the work, in its preparation called “The Life of Christ,” would represent a further amplification, particularly of the account of the three years and more of the life and ministry of our Lord up to the Passion Week. It was to this that Ellen White and Marian Davis turned their attention in Australia.4BIO 376.2

It was early in 1873, while James and Ellen White were in California for the first time, that she began her writing on the life of Christ. Between this date and the spring of 1875, as her travels and other work allowed, she wrote somewhat intermittently. Portions were first published in the Review and Herald.4BIO 376.3

In 1876 she was again on the Pacific Coast, living in their new home in Oakland. James White, president of the General Conference, was detained in Battle Creek in administrative work. She had good literary help in her niece, Mary Clough, and she pushed ahead with her writing on the life of Christ.4BIO 377.1

The first drafts of her materials were in her own handwriting. Mary would edit the pages and put them into the form of a chapter, and then copy it. Of course, the finished work was also in handwritten form, for it was six or seven years later that typewriters came into use in Mrs. White's work. Every morning she would write diligently in her upstairs room. After the noonday meal she would go to Mary Clough's room, lie on a sofa, and listen as Mary read the material prepared from her first written draft. “The precious subjects open to my mind well,” she wrote in early April.—Letter 4, 1876.4BIO 377.2

Writing at this time to her close friend Lucinda Hall, she declared:4BIO 377.3

I have a special work at this time to write out the things which the Lord has shown me.... I have a work to do which has been a great burden to my soul. How great, no one but the Lord knows. Again, I want to have my mind calm and composed. I want to have time to meditate and pray while engaged in this work.... This is a great work, and I feel like crying to God every day for His Spirit to help me to do this work all right.—Letter 59, 1876.4BIO 377.4

Bible study, visions, prayer, meditation, discussion with her literary assistant, even “hard thinking,” all under the general superintendence of the Holy Spirit, were involved in the writing. “I feel great peace and calmness of mind,” she noted. “There seems to be nothing to confuse and distract my mind, and with so much hard thinking my mind could not be perplexed with anything without being overtaxed.”—Letter 13, 1876. “I cannot rush business. This work must be done carefully, slowly, and accurately. The subjects we have prepared are well gotten up. They please me.”—Letter 14, 1876.4BIO 377.5

As the two women worked together with dedicated purpose, they had at hand for reference several standard works by other authors, such as William Hanna's Life of Our Lord, Cunningham Geikie's Life and Words of Christ, and most likely some others. The finished product gives evidence, for instance, that they made some use of Hanna's book. While there are no paragraphs or, to our knowledge, even complete sentences taken from it, there are phrases here and there that can be easily identified, and in some cases the order in Ellen White's presentation follows Hanna rather closely. Hanna and Ellen White were both covering the same ground, leaning heavily on the gospel accounts. In Ellen White's writing there appear interesting details found in neither the Gospel writers or the writings of commentators, points in which she deals in sufficient detail to make it very evident that her basic source in writing was the visions given to her. In these visions she witnessed, sometimes in panoramic views and at other times in great detail, the events in the life of the Lord.4BIO 377.6