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- Ellen White Announces Her Positive Stand
- Kellogg Attempts to Hold the Line
- Strong Sentiments Against the Spirit of Prophecy
- The Question—Shall We Publish?
- Announced Plans for the “University” in Battle Creek
- First General Conference Medical Missionary Convention
- Mid-December Week of Prayer Meetings in Battle Creek
- Arrival of the Promised Testimonies
- A Marked Confidence-Confirming Experience
- Daniells Restates His Faith and Loyalty
- Dr. Kellogg Unmoved
- E. G. White Publishes Two Pamphlets
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- Confirming Evidence to the Lord's Messenger
- Meeting Direct Attacks
- To Southern California Again
- A Vision of Coming Destruction
- News of the San Francisco Earthquake
- At Paradise Valley Sanitarium, and the Trip Home
- 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
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- Circumstances at Elmshaven
- Questions Calling for Careful Answers
- Response to Specific Questions
- An Array of Questions from One Physician
- Involvements in Answering Questions
- Answer Regarding Chicago Buildings
- Whether Past or Future She Did Not Always Know
- Who Manipulated Her Writings?
- Care Required in Answering Questions and Charges
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- The Oakland Camp Meeting (July 19-29)
- The Pacific Press Fire
- The Friday-Night Vision
- Continued Camp Meeting Ministry
- Plans for a Continuing Evangelistic Thrust
- Ellen White to Participate
- Evangelist Simpson's Effective Ministry
- More Than One Right Way To Work
- Loma Linda Interests Again
- Her Correspondence
- Rebuilding the Pacific Press
- A Second Granddaughter Marries
- Ellen White Begins to Await Her “Summons”
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- The Receiving and the Acceptance of Personal Testimonies
- The President Reelected
- The Response to Earnest Testimonies
- The Old Question—Who Told Sister White?
- The Other Question—Proper Relationships
- First Resistance, Then a Heartfelt Response
- Ellen White Rejoices in the Victory Gained
- Elder Reaser Needed in God's Cause
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- Chapter 18—America's Cities—The Great Unworked Field
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- A Review of What Was Done to the Book
- Paraphrased and Quoted Materials in The Great Controversy
- Statements Regarding the Papacy
- Changes Affecting the Sense
- “The Great Bell of the Palace”
- Inspiration and Details of History
- The Appendix Notes
- Did Church Leaders and Scholars Interfere?
- E. G. White Authority to Change Her Published Writings
- Ellen White's Letter of Approval
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- The Future Custody of Her Writings
- At Work Through 1912
- Correspondence and Interest in Correspondence
- A Quiet, Uninterrupted Visit with His Mother
- The Spring Trip to Southern California
- The Vision Concerning Recreation
- Not an Isolated Situation
- Elmshaven in September
- Book Preparation
- Ellen White's Last Visit to Loma Linda
- Later Life Brought No Despondency
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- The Question of Another Prophet
- The Visit From James Edson White
- A Slight Stroke in Early Summer
- Ellen White Writes A Comforting Letter—Her Last
- Reading and Approving Chapters and Articles
- Her Eighty-Seventh Birthday
- Review and Signs Articles
- Advance! Advance! Advance!
- Simplicity of Faith and Confidence
- The Report to Elder Haskell
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Chapter 24—Inspiration and the 1911 Edition of The Great Controversy
To make any changes at all in the text of a book written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, especially a book as widely circulated and studiously read as The Great Controversy, was recognized by Ellen White and the staff at Elmshaven as something that would raise questions in the minds of Seventh-day Adventists. There were many who, jealous for Ellen White and the Spirit of Prophecy, and not having thought the matter through, held, for all practical purposes, to a theory of verbal inspiration in the work of God's prophets. An action disavowing this stance was taken by the General Conference in session in 1883. But by 1911 this was either unknown or forgotten by Adventists generally. Here is the wording:6BIO 322.1
We believe the light given by God to His servants is by the enlightenment of the mind, thus imparting the thoughts, and not (except in rare cases) the very words in which the ideas should be expressed.—The Review and Herald, November 27, 1883 (in MR, p. 65, and Selected Messages 3:96).6BIO 322.2
Ellen White's clear-cut statements on the point in her introduction to The Great Controversy in 1888 should have given guidance to Seventh-day Adventists. There were also specific circumstances and incidents that should have educated the church to this end. But in spite of all this, many still looked upon inspiration as more or less a mechanical process.6BIO 322.3
This inaccurate view on inspiration laid the foundation for questions when the new edition of The Great Controversy came out. In fact, while the work was in progress, and on receiving the finished book in July, 1911, Ellen White joined her son in explanations of what was done and why, even though there was no real reason for anyone to be disturbed by what had taken place. So few and minor in nature were the changes made that C. C. Crisler in discussing the matter wrote:6BIO 322.4
We do not wish to make prominent anything that would indicate this is a revised and improved edition; it is rather, a reset edition.6BIO 323.1
The paging has been preserved throughout the work; it is essentially the same, even if it is greatly improved in some respects, notably in the verification of quoted matter, and the insertion of new or improved illustrations and the betterment of the indexes.—C. C. Crisler to Manager, The Review and Herald, February 19, 1911.6BIO 323.2
And in the matter of dealing with questions about the work, W. C. White, on February 5, 1911, wrote to the manager of the Review and Herald:6BIO 323.3
Our work of research has been difficult and expensive beyond all calculation. We do not regret the time nor begrudge the money. We believe that our people everywhere will appreciate what has been done.6BIO 323.4
A few days ago I had a talk with Elder Haskell about this. At one time he was quite unreconciled to the work we were doing, supposing we were making unnecessary changes; but when we told him we were glad that when the moss-backs said to us, Let bad enough alone, we could say, It is not necessary. And when the modern critics said, You must make many changes to make this harmonize with modern historians, we could say, It is not necessary, because we find in the most trustworthy historians full corroboration of the positions taken in this book.6BIO 323.5