Heavenly Visions

THE WORK OF THE ELLEN G. WHITE ESTATE

THE gift of the Spirit of prophecy is the heritage of the remnant church. From the early days of the movement the counsel and instruction given through the writings of Mrs. E. G. White have guided this people, and they will continue to comfort and help the believers down to the close of the work of this message. Through the years in which Sister White carried on her work of writing, she also traveled extensively. During the earlier years of her work, her husband, Elder James White, was her companion in travel and labor. He assisted and advised her in the production and circulation of her writings. HEVI 121.1

After the death of her husband, Sister White called upon her son, Elder W.C. White, to be her special helper. He was especially fitted for the important work of assisting his mother. In bringing before the people the light which God had entrusted to her, he traveled with his mother and faithfully carried out the responsibility laid upon him in helping to extend the circulation of her writings. This work he continued to carry up until the time of his mother’s death, and for twenty-two years after she passed away. Doubtless many of our believers will wonder what provision has been made for carrying on this work, especially on account of the death of Elder W. C. White, which took place recently. It is the purpose of this article to make this clear to all those who desire to know, in order that they may be informed regarding the present state of the work, as well as the plan for its future continuation. HEVI 121.2

Several years before her death, Sister White created a board of trustees consisting of five men of her own choosing, to whom she left her writings in trust. In her last will and testament, in which she created this board of trustees, she charged them with the responsibility of continuing the circulation of her publications in the English language, and also of arranging for the translation and publication of her various works in other leading languages of the world. In choosing this board of trustees, Sister White selected men of long experience in the cause. They were: A. G. Daniells, W. C. White, F. M. Wilcox, C. H. Jones, and C. C. Crisler. After Sister White’s death, this board of trustees undertook the responsibilities assigned them. Elder W. C. White acted as the secretary of this board, and was also the custodian of the writings. The organization was known as the Ellen G. White Estate. Its work has been carried on in the office building at Elmshaven, near St. Helena, California. This was the office used by Sister White prior to her death. During the past twenty-two years, the trustees have actively promoted the circulation of Sister White’s writings in the English language. New and re-illustrated editions of some of her works have been authorized and published. These books have enjoyed a circulation comparable with that which they had prior to Mrs. White’s death. Seven new books have been compiled from her writings, and have been published during this time. These books have been drawn entirely from the writings of Sister White, in which she has given counsel and instruction on different phases of our denominational work. HEVI 121.3

Among these may be mentioned “Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers,” “Messages to Young People,” “The Fundamentals of Christian Education,” “Counsels on Health,” and some other volumes. The production of these books has made available to the denomination, matter which was largely not available in other forms. Through the years this matter has been published in periodical articles or in pamphlets, and consequently was out of print. By being assembled in this manner and published in these books, this valuable instruction has been brought together and again made available to all our workers and people. HEVI 121.4

In earlier years we had a small group of medical workers. To these much instruction was sent out in typewritten form. Today we have hundreds of these workers scattered throughout different countries. In an endeavor to make this instruction available to this larger group of workers, the trustees authorized the issuance of the book, “Medical Ministry,” the contents of which were drawn quite largely from the manuscript files. HEVI 121.5

Another volume that has been greatly appreciated by the field generally, is the “Index to the Writings of Mrs. E. G. White.” The preparation of this volume required a number of years’ labor. HEVI 121.6

Another line of work that has been of great importance is the production of foreign-language editions. As our work has spread into many lands, there has been an increasing demand for the translation and production of the writings of Mrs. White in other languages than the English. Some of these languages are spoken by many people. This has required that these books be printed in their entirety. In other languages, where the circulation is necessarily small, the books have been abridged and published in that form. Sister White recognized that it would be impossible to publish all her standard books in all the languages of the world. She did have a great burden, however, to have selections from her works produced in as many languages as possible. The work of making the selections and abridgments of her books for translation, has been done at the Elmshaven office, with the cooperation of leading workers in the principal language areas of the world. HEVI 121.7