Understanding Ellen White

History of access to unpublished materials

For twenty-two years following Ellen White’s death, her unpublished letters and manuscripts continued to be preserved in the fireproof vault attached to the back of the office building behind her Elmshaven home. ³⁰ UEGW 217.3

Initially, the majority of the White trustees, as well as the officers of the General Conference, were opposed to the publication of any Ellen White materials not printed during her lifetime. ³¹ They felt that only Ellen White could properly publish, or make available for research, her unpublished materials. Both Clarence Crisler and W. C. White, the two trustees who had worked most closely with Ellen White during her lifetime, urged the judicious use of some previously unpublished materials in future compilations. The two men correctly pointed out that Ellen White’s will specifically authorized the “printing of compilations from [her] manuscripts,” ³² but they were overruled. ³³ It was not until Medical Ministry was published in 1932 that an official Ellen White compilation came out containing any previously unpublished Ellen White materials. ³⁴ UEGW 217.4

During the lifetime of the five original trustees, several significant things occurred. A number of Ellen White’s books were translated and published in languages other than English. Several new compilations in English came out. A simple letter identification code for each book was developed, making possible the first Index to the Writings of Ellen G. White, published in 1926. The loan from the General Conference was repaid by the 1930s. ³⁵ The trustees incorporated in 1933, ensuring the legal status of the White Estate. The office of the estate was transferred to the General Conference building in Takoma Park, Maryland, in 1938. UEGW 218.1

Throughout its history, the White Estate has sought a balance between those wishing access to everything Ellen White wrote and those who thought that the existence of the estate was pointless. As recently as the 1960s, the last General Conference officer retired who reportedly did not think the White Estate was even needed. ³⁶ The last General Conference department head who reportedly held a similar view retired in the early 1980s. Also, as recently as the late 1970s, two descendants of a former General Conference official threatened to sue the White Estate if it ever released any of the letters Ellen White wrote to their grandfather. ³⁷ In short, throughout its history, the White Estate has of necessity been careful in terms of how it has handled the inspired counsels housed in its vaults. The White Estate trustees and staff have tried to make available any additional counsel that added understanding to what Ellen White published during her lifetime, but not embarrass anyone named in that counsel or their family. With the passing of time, the White Estate is able to do things today that would have been imprudent, if not totally impossible, as recently as just a few years ago. UEGW 218.2

One such example is the 1987 reintegration of the former “Z-file” materials back into the main collection of Ellen White’s unpublished letters and manuscripts. ³⁸ Many years earlier, eighty-six highly personal letters and manuscripts were placed in two separate drawers. Initially, they were restricted to all except the White Estate trustees and senior office staff. Eventually provision was made for limited use of the documents by others under certain conditions. ³⁹ Although helpful instruction from this restricted collection was included in Ellen White compilations produced during the years the “Z-file” existed, it was always done in a manner that protected the identity of the person to whom the original counsel was addressed. The fact that virtually no one living had recollections of the people named in the “Z-file” documents allowed those materials to be reintegrated into the regular unpublished letters and manuscripts file. UEGW 218.3

The same proved true with the former Manuscript Release Policy. When originally instituted in the early 1930s, the Manuscript Release Policy required that everything requested for release must be read and approved by both the White Estate trustees as well as the members of the General Conference’s Spirit of Prophecy Committee. Initially, only specific quotations, generally consisting of just the requested sentences, were released. The questions asked by both groups were, “Why should we release this? Will it add anything new to what is already in circulation?” By the time the Manuscript Release program ended in 1991, ⁴⁰ in order to provide proper context, entire letters or manuscripts were released. ⁴¹ By then, the question asked by those granting permission for release was, “Is there any reason why this material should not be released?” In other words, the determinative question had changed from “Why should we?” to “Why shouldn’t we?” UEGW 219.1

By the time the Manuscript Release Policy ended, most researchers viewed it as restrictive and cumbersome. They did not realize that the release procedures outlined in the policy had been instituted originally to make materials accessible. UEGW 219.2

In 1991, the White Estate Board of Trustees voted to plan for the publication of all the unpublished Ellen White letters and manuscripts preserved in its vault. ⁴² Digitization and copyediting of the collection progressed through the 1990s. Eventually, between 2000 and 2002, the board took several actions to publish the earlier Ellen White materials as quickly as they could be annotated, including helpful background information regarding the people, places, and issues mentioned in the original letter or manuscript. ⁴³ The actual publication of annotated letters and manuscripts covers at least through the year 1863. The White Estate voted in 2013 to prepare all of the unpublished letters and manuscripts, and other resources, for electronic publication during 2015. ⁴⁴ UEGW 219.3