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- Foreword
- About The Author
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- The Place Of The Vision In Confirming The Sanctuary Truth
- The Seventh-day Sabbath
- New Responsibilities
- Careers Changed
- Establishing The Pillars Of Faith
- The Volney Conference
- Bible Study Aided By Special Revelation
- Streams of Light (Story of the Publishing Work: Present Truth and the Review and Herald)
- The Eight-Page Present Truth
- Writing For The Press
- Beginning The Review and Herald
- Difficult Days in Paris
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- Establishing a Publishing Office in Rochester, New York
- The Publishing House Family
- The Tour East
- Publishing The Visions
- Ellen White's First Book
- Expanding By Tent Evangelism
- The Move To Battle Creek
- A Transition Evidencing The Maturity Of The Church
- The Review Office To Go To Battle Creek, Michigan
- A Power Press For The Review Office
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- The Battle Creek Conference
- The Autumn Trip East
- Guiding Toward Organization the Vital Need for Church Organization
- Initial Steps Toward Church Organization
- James White Joins In Calling For Gospel Order
- Need For Organization For Publishing Interests
- Adopting A Denominational Name
- Seventh-Day Adventists The Name Chosen
- Winning The Struggle For Church Organization
- Meeting Opposition
- Vision At Roosevelt, New York
- The Battle Creek Church Sets The Pace In Organizing
- The Formation Of The Michigan Conference
- Other States Organize
- Confessions Of Negative Attitudes
- The Call For A General Conference
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- The Battle Of Manassas
- Eyewitness Account
- The War And The Work Of The Church
- The Tide Begins To Turn
- Governor Blair's Reply
- A Call To Importune God To Stop The War
- The Devastating War Suddenly Ends
- The Clouds Of War And The White Family
- The Extended Eastern Tour In The Summer And Autumn Of 1863
- Diversified Activities In New England
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- The Otsego Vision
- General Counsels On Health
- First Visit To Dansville
- Active Teachers of Health Reform
- The Health Reformer
- Extremes Taught In The Health Reformer Bring Crisis
- Ellen White's Moderate Positions
- Lifesaving Therapy For The Health Reformer
- Practicing New Light
- Two of The Three White Children Stricken
- Henry: Death From Pneumonia
- Funeral Services In Topsham And Battle Creek
- Willie's Bout With Pneumonia
- Ellen White Tries The Meatless Diet
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- A Surprise Vacation In The Rocky Mountains
- Caravan to Hot Sulphur Springs
- Crossing The Continental Divide
- A Week at Hot Sulphur Springs
- Calls From California Cut Short The Vacation
- The Whites Discover California
- In San Francisco
- Tent Effort In San Francisco
- Organization Of The California Conference
- Interlude
- Back To Colorado
- At Home In Santa Rosa
- The First Issue Of The Signs Of The Times
- The Separation Ended
- James White Again In The Saddle
- Back In The East For Camp Meetings
- The Fourteenth Session Of The General Conference
- Looking Ahead
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- Ministry In The Bay Area
- Camp Meeting Versus Writing And Publishing
- Camp Meetings Again
- The Groveland Camp Meeting
- Pioneering In Texas
- At The McDearmon Home
- The Plano Camp Meeting
- Marian Davis Joins The White Forces
- The Home Situation
- Outreach In Missionary Endeavor
- Texas, A Needy Field Of Labor
- Trip By Caravan
- The Caravan Divides
- Still On The Caravan Trail
- On To Emporia
- The Kansas Camp Meeting
- The Health And Temperance Society
- Home Again In Battle Creek
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- Oh, To Know What To Do!
- Two Weeks In England
- On To Basel, Switzerland
- Organization Of The Work In Europe
- A Mini-General Conference
- A Profitable Council
- A Visit To Scandinavia
- Visit To Denmark
- A Visit To Sweden
- Christiania, Norway
- Return Trip To Switzerland
- The Visit To Italy
- Marian Davis Joins the Force
- Ellen White's Second Missionary Journey
- Sweden
- Norway—Christiania
- Denmark
- England
- France
- At Valence, France
- Third Visit To Italy
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- Haskell Pioneers Work In Australia
- The General Conference Takes Action
- To Go Or Not To Go
- Arrival At Sydney
- Recognized The Printing Presses
- Fourth Annual Session Of The Australian Seventh-Day Adventist Conference
- The Business Session Of The Conference
- A. G. Daniells Elected President
- Ellen White Begins Work In Melbourne
- Ellen White Anointed
- The Bible School Established
- The Bible School Opens
- Growing Stronger
- The Secret Signs
- N. D. Faulkhead And The Convincing Testimony
- Ellen White Gives The Secret Signs
- Faulkhead Resigns From The Lodges
- Another Interview With Ellen White
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- Voyage To New Zealand
- Ellen White Meets The Hare Family
- First SDA Camp Meeting In The Southern Hemisphere
- The Winter In New Zealand
- A Mother's Anxiety
- Dental Problems
- Determined To Win New Zealand
- A New Approach In Gisborne
- The Wellington Camp Meeting
- Evangelistic Thrust In Australia
- A Union Conference Is Born
- Far-Reaching Influence Of The Brighton Camp Meeting
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- The Brettville Estate
- Ellen White Explores The School Site
- Report To The Foreign Mission Board
- Making A Beginning
- Work At Cooranbong Brought To A Standstill
- Avondale College: On Hold
- Norfolk Villa In Granville
- Running A Free Hotel
- The Ashfield Camp Meeting
- A Wedding In The Family
- Tasmania
- Starting A College From Scratch
- The Manual Training Department Succeeds
- A Start With Buildings For Avondale College
- The Sawmill Loft Put To Use
- Setting A Target Date For Avondale College To Open
- Ellen White Calls A Work Bee
- The Avondale School Opens
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- The Health Home
- The Successful Treatment Of A Very Critical Case
- A School For Nurses
- Firm Plans For Erecting A Sanitarium
- A Surprise Move
- Medical Missionary Work At Cooranbong
- The Health Food Work
- The Medical And Surgical Sanitarium, And The Use Of Meat
- Long-Distance Counselor
- Meeting Offshoot Teachings
- Good News From America
- The Anna Phillips Experience
- J. H. Kellogg And The Medical Missionary Work
- Meeting The Inroads Of Pantheism
- Correspondence With G. I. Butler
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- The Paradise Valley Property
- The New Well
- The Glendale Sanitarium
- Loma Linda, The Hill Beautiful
- “I'll Consult No One,” Said Ellen White
- The Search For Money
- Ellen White Inspects Loma Linda
- The First $5,000 Payment
- Faith Rewarded: Meeting The Payments
- Two More Payments
- Dedication Of Loma Linda Sanitarium
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- More Than A Prophet
- The Seeds Of Unbelief
- Questions Calling For Careful Answers
- Who Manipulated Her Writings?
- The San Francisco Earthquake
- News Of The San Francisco Earthquake
- The Tour Of Ravaged San Francisco
- Consuming Fire That Followed The Earthquake
- Martial Law
- Destruction In The Central City
- Adventists And Adventist Properties
- The Earthquake Special Of The SIGNS
- The Trip Home To Elmshaven
- Finding A Site For Pacific Union College
- The Buena Vista Property
- The Angwin Property A Better Place
- Ellen White Describes The New School Property
- Faculty And Staff
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- Considerations Initiated By Plans For A New Edition
- Finding Sources For The Quotations
- Progress Report To Elder Daniells
- E. G. White Settles The Question Of The D'Aubigné Quotations
- Clarence Crisler's Testimony
- A Review Of What Was Done To The Book
- E. G. White Reads And Approves Changes
- Time Running Out; Important Counsels
- Book Preparation
- Ellen White's Last Trips To Loma Linda
- On Hand for The 1911 Constituency Meeting
- The Visit of Bookmen
- The General Conference Session Of 1913
- “Courage In The Lord”
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- Frequent Visitors
- Review and Signs Articles
- Her Eighty-Seventh Birthday
- The Accident and Its Aftermath
- The Vision of March 3
- Waning Strength And Death
- Ellen White At Rest; Awaiting The Life-Giver
- Funeral Notice
- The Richmond Funeral
- The Battle Creek Funeral
- The Funeral Service
- The Public Press
- “My Writings Will Constantly Speak”
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Sources
In writing The Great Controversy Ellen White made use of the writings of others. She explained:WV 270.1
In some cases where a historian has so grouped together events as to afford, in brief, a comprehensive view of the subject, or has summarized details in a convenient manner, his words have been quoted; but in some instances no specific credit has been given, since the quotations are not given for the purpose of citing that writer as authority, but because his statement affords a ready and forcible presentation of the subject (Great Controversy, p. Xii).WV 270.2
She also drew from denominational authors, such as Uriah Smith and J. N. Andrews, in presenting views on prophecy. She had been with the pioneers of the church as they earnestly studied the Bible, and conclusions had been arrived at jointly, hence at times one would be the writer to set them before the public, and at times another. Thus she acknowledged: “In narrating the experience and views of those carrying forward the work of reform in our own time, similar use has been made of their published works” (Ibid.).WV 270.3
No one can mistake that in initially writing the great controversy story Ellen White is describing what she had seen—in vision, but nevertheless a very real experience. And so it is through the entire Spiritual Gifts, volume, with such expressions as “I was shown” or “I saw” or the equivalent, averaging one a page.WV 270.4
The account passes from Creation very briefly down through the experiences of Old Testament history, touching those points prominent in the conflict between the forces of good and of evil. It deals in more detail with the life and ministry of Jesus and the experience of the apostles. At this point Ellen White goes beyond the Bible records and describes the apostasy, at times in symbolic representations. Then she moves into a brief chapter on the Reformation, describing what she saw of the ministry of Martin Luther and Melanchthon. This represented the conflict through postbiblical centuries, and bridged the story to the Advent movement. Twenty chapters fill the last half of the book, and trace the history, past and future, to the new earth. In this little volume there emerged for the first time the concept that links features in world history and church history as a part of the picture of the conflict of the ages.WV 270.5
Just where she may have begun her writing for the book is unknown. She mentions doing such writing two years before James White's death. In 1883 the May 31 issue of the Signs carried as its lead article the beginning of a series of 20 articles featuring Martin Luther as the central figure in the Protestant Reformation. In preparing this material for publication she was fulfilling the commission “to trace the history of the controversy in past ages,” selecting and grouping “events in the history of the church.” Much of this history had passed before her in vision, but not all the details, and not always in its precise sequence. In a statement presented to the Autumn Council of the General Conference Committee on October 30, 1911—a statement that had been carefully read by Ellen White and carried her written endorsement—W. C. White spoke of how she received light on Reformation history and the manner in which the writings of others were an aid to her in this work.WV 270.6
The things which she has written out, are descriptions of flashlight [flashbulb] pictures and other representations given her regarding the actions of men, and the influence of these actions upon the work of God for the salvation of men, with views of past, present, and future history in its relation to this work.WV 271.1
In connection with the writing out of these views, she has made use of good and clear historical statements to help make plain to the reader the things which she is endeavoring to present. When I was a mere boy, I heard her read D'Aubigné's History of the Reformation to my father. She read to him a large part, if not the whole, of the five volumes. She has read other histories of the Reformation. This has helped her to locate and describe many of the events and the movements presented to her in vision (Selected Messages 3:437).WV 271.2
At another time, in answering questions concerning his mother's literary work, W. C. White wrote:WV 271.3
During her two years’ residence in Basel, she visited many places where events of special importance occurred in the Reformation days. This refreshed her memory as to what she had been shown and this led to important enlargement in those portions of the book dealing with Reformation days (WCW to L. E. Froom, December 13, 1934 [see also Ibid., 3:465]).WV 271.4
As The Great Controversy was being prepared for wide distribution to the general public, some materials were deleted. W. C. White explained this:WV 271.5
In her public ministry, Mother has shown an ability to select, from the storehouse of truth, matter that is well adapted to the needs of the congregation before her; and she has always thought that, in the selection of matter for publication in her books, the best judgment should be shown in selecting that which is best suited to the needs of those who will read the book.WV 271.6
Therefore, when the new edition of Great Controversy was brought out in 1888, there were left out about twenty pages of matter—four or five pages in a place—which was very instructive to the Adventists of America, but which was not appropriate for readers in other parts of the world (WCW statement to the General Conference Autumn Council, October 30, 1911 [see also Ibid., 3:438, 439]).WV 271.7
One such deleted item was the first part of the chapter titled “The Snares of Satan,” pages 337 to 340. In this she presented a view given her of Satan holding a council meeting with his angels to determine the best manner in which to deceive and mislead God's people. This presentation may be found in Testimonies to Ministers, pages 472 to 475, and, of course, in the facsimile reprint of The Spirit of Prophecy, volume 4.WV 272.1