The Ellen G. White Letters and Manuscripts: Volume 1
The Preparation of Books and Articles From Original Manuscripts
Ellen White relied upon trusted editorial assistants, working under her direction, to take what she wrote out by hand and prepare it for publication. Her son W. C. White explained that they were “entrusted with the work of correcting grammatical errors, of eliminating unnecessary repetition, and of grouping paragraphs and sections in their best order.” Further, he wrote that her most experienced workers “are authorized to take a sentence, paragraph, or section, from one manuscript where the thought was clearly and fully expressed, and incorporate it with another manuscript, where the same thought was expressed but not so clearly.”4 1EGWLM 30.3
Similarly, Ellen White herself described how her editorial assistants made use of her letters and manuscripts in preparing chapters for new publications: “Marian [Davis] greedily grasps every letter I write to others in order to find sentences that she can use in the life of Christ [The Desire of Ages].5 1EGWLM 30.4
“She does her work in this way: She takes my articles which are published in the papers, and pastes them in blank books. She also has a copy of all the letters I write. In preparing a chapter for a book, Marian remembers that I have written something on that special point, which may make the matter more forcible. She begins to search for this, and if when she finds it, she sees that it will make the chapter more clear, she adds it. 1EGWLM 30.5
“The books are not Marian's productions, but my own, gathered from all my writings. Marian has a large field from which to draw, and her ability to arrange the matter is of great value to me. It saves my poring over a mass of matter, which I have no time to do.”6 1EGWLM 30.6
In such a process Ellen White's published works reflect the editorial modifications made by her secretaries working under her direction. While some might consider Ellen White's original unpublished drafts to be the most reliable indicators of her thought, the fact that she was engaged throughout the editorial process suggests that later published versions may, in fact, more accurately convey what she wished to express. 1EGWLM 31.1
One area in which the reader will notice significant differences between the published and unpublished works relates to private and personal communications. Ellen White recognized that sensitive counsel first given to specific individuals or groups often contained principles of value to a wider audience. Much of the material she published in Testimonies for the Church traces to personal “testimonies,” but with original names and places removed. Changed circumstances might also result in entire sentences or paragraphs added or omitted when reusing a particular letter or manuscript.7 1EGWLM 31.2
Occasionally one will find more than one copy of an Ellen White letter or manuscript in which there are textual differences. These are designated in this series as “variants.” In some instances Ellen White prepared a modified version for specific purposes, while others appear to have resulted from the multiple recopying of documents for which the originals are not extant. 1EGWLM 31.3