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    1888-1915 Affirmations

    W. C. White’s statement before the General Conference Council, October 30, 1911, reflects the respect Adventist leadership had for the authority of Ellen White. He presented to denominational leaders the guidelines used by Mrs. White and her associates in the 1911 revision of The Great Controversy. This revision provided one more occasion for all to note how the process of revelation and inspiration works. Improving language to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding or offense, updating historical references, replacing historical references with even “more forceful” ones—all was done with the participating approval of Ellen White. 24Selected Messages 3:433-440.MOL 431.1

    At the General Conference session, May 30, 1913, W. C. White again presented a significant contribution to the education of Adventists regarding his mother’s prophetic ministry. Topics were dealt with such as what Ellen White thought about a possible successor, his own role as his mother’s “helper and counselor,” more information about his mother’s editorial help through the years, examples of how his mother saw strangers in vision prior to giving much-needed counsel, background information on how The Desire of Ages was written, the reason for “rubber-stamp signatures,” and the alertness of his mother during her last years as she worked closely with her associates. 25The General Conference Bulletin, June 1, 1913.MOL 431.2

    Later, in that same session, he was asked to give further background on his mother’s ministry. The leaders had reached the time when they knew they would never again hear Ellen White’s voice. 26The last General Conference session she attended was in Washington, D.C., in 1909. Responding to some questions that may have been asked earlier, White spoke to the charge that his mother had been influenced by others (notably the president of the General Conference and the editor of the church paper), and not by the Holy Spirit, in some of her testimonies. He spoke decisively, using Mrs. White’s own comments, regarding whether all her articles were inspired and whether each of her words was divinely chosen.MOL 431.3

    It could be strongly argued that if denominational leaders in all areas, including schools and medical institutions, had listened closely to W. C. White in these public messages and read carefully his scores of letters on these subjects, later misunderstandings and crises regarding his mother’s prophetic ministry would not have arisen. No doubt many ministers and laypeople generally did not have many, if any, of Ellen White’s letters and manuscripts on how revelation and inspiration works. We have today an ample collection of her many comments on how she received and conveyed messages from the Lord. But her son, W. C. White, surely made the record clear on many occasions.MOL 431.4

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