The Sacred and the Common

Was all the material in these letters inspired? Limited space precludes an exhaustive answer, but Ellen White, her staff, and our workers generally have drawn a line between “the sacred and the common.” This principle is not difficult to apply, especially when it is remembered that Ellen White tried to avoid giving the impression that personal ideas included in her writing were inspired counsel from the Lord. At one time she wrote: “There are times when common things must be stated, common thoughts must occupy the mind, common letters must be written and information given that has passed from one to another of the workers,” and “For one to mix the sacred with the common is a great mistake” (Selected Messages 2:38, 39).1MR 4.2