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Ellen G. White — Messenger to the Remnant - Contents
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    A Point Carefully Guarded

    In the spring of 1858, soon after the vision of the great controversy between Christ and Satan was given to Mrs. White, she related it to the believers in Battle Creek on a Sabbath and a Sunday. As she spoke of the fall of Satan and the fall of man and the plan of salvation, it reminded J. N. Andrews of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and when he next had opportunity he asked Mrs. White whether she had ever read the book. She replied that she had not, and he said, “You will be interested in it.” So the next time he came to the home he brought a copy and placed it in her hands. She was in the midst of her writing on the controversy story. She took the book to the kitchen and placed it on a high shelf out of reach and out of sight, determined that if there was anything in it which was in any way similar to what had been shown to her in vision, she would not read it until she had finished her writing. She did not wish anything to obscure her clear view or to open the way for anyone to say that she received her inspiration from others. It was not until she had written her first views of the controversy that she read with interest not only Paradise Lost but also accounts of the scenes of the Reformation by various historians.EGWMR 16.1

    The comprehensive health reform vision was given to Ellen White in June, 1863. As she related the view, some spoke of the relationship of what she had been shown to the teachings of certain hygienists of the time. Here is her account as written shortly afterward:EGWMR 16.2

    “As I introduced the subject of health to friends, and spoke against drugs and flesh meats, and in favor of water, pure air, and proper diet, the reply was often made, ‘You speak very nearly the opinions taught in the Laws of Life and other publications, by Doctors Trall, Jackson, and others. Have you read that paper and those works?’ My reply was that I had not, neither should I read them till I had fully written out my views, lest it should be said that I had received my light upon the subject of health from physicians and not from the Lord.”—The Review and Herald, October 8, 1867.EGWMR 16.3

    In the same year Ellen White again asserted, “My views were written independent of books or the opinions of others.”—E. G. White Manuscript 27, 1867. Not until she had painstakingly written out that which had been revealed to her in great basic visions did she read the writings of others on these same subjects. Then she took delight in witnessing the harmony which existed between what had been revealed to her and what had been recorded by historians and scientists. Speaking of this in connection with the publication of her views on health, she said:EGWMR 16.4

    “After I had written my six articles for How to Live, I then searched the various works on hygiene, and was surprised to find them so nearly in harmony with what the Lord had revealed to me. And to show this harmony, and to set before my brethren and sisters the subject as brought out by able writers, I determined to publish How to Live, in which I largely extracted from the works referred to.”—The Review and Herald, October 8, 1867.EGWMR 16.5

    Interesting reference is also made to this point by James White in reporting an interview with a Seventh-day Adventist physician who had just completed his medical training. He writes: “Our visit has been most agreeable. The harmony between what the Lord has revealed relative to this subject [health], and science, has been a theme of most interesting conversation, and mutual profit.”—Id., April 28, 1868. Dealing in a detailed way with the story of the Reformation in The Great Controversy, she at times quoted from historians’ descriptions of scenes which harmonized with what had been presented to her in vision. She pointed out that this was done, not because she received her information from these sources, but because such sources either constituted a concise and accurate description, or showed the harmony between what had been revealed to her and the writings of scholarly men in their respective specialized fields.EGWMR 16.6

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