Understanding Ellen White

Reference collections

Some topical collections of Ellen White’s writings are more encyclopedic in nature (reference-type collections), which were not designed to be read from front to back. They are valuable because they contain Ellen White’s most important material on a specific topic and may thus be used as a reference work. The encyclopedic nature of these compilations has limitations because the quoted statements are removed from their literary and historical contexts, making it more difficult for the reader to understand the complete meaning and the original purpose of a specific statement. However, all compilations produced by the Ellen G. White Estate contain references to the original sources, which allow the reader to examine a specific statement in its original literary and historical context. ²⁷ Some of the topical collections during Ellen White’s lifetime were done by her or under her direction. ²⁸ However, some compilations were done by other individuals. ²⁹ For example, in 1897, the physician David Paulson compiled and published the book Healthful Living, but it was allowed to go out of print after the publication of Ellen G. White’s The Ministry of Healing in 1905, a masterpiece on issues of health and lifestyle that basically replaced the need for the former compilation. ³⁰ The majority of the encyclopedic-type compilations were done after 1915. ³¹ UEGW 123.1