Ellen G. White: The Later Elmshaven Years: 1905-1915 (vol. 6)

Finding Sources for the Quotations

The most demanding of the tasks connected with readying the book for resetting was the tracking down of all the quotations employed in the book—417 in all, drawn from seventy-five authors, ten periodicals, and three encyclopedias. It was while Ellen White was in Europe and had access to the library left by J. N. Andrews at the denomination's publishing house in Basel, Switzerland, that the manuscript for the 1888 edition was largely prepared. At Elmshaven, Clarence Crisler was now in charge of seeking out the sources and verifying the quotations. 6BIO 308.2

Crisler was soon off to the libraries of the University of California in Berkeley, the State library at Sacramento, another in San Francisco, and to the Stanford University library at Palo Alto. His investigations met with reasonably moderate success, but it was soon seen that they must reach out much farther. To accomplish this, ministers of experience and educators living near other important libraries in Chicago, New York, and Washington were drawn into the search, with requests to help in finding specific items. Then the search led to libraries in Europe—Great Britain, France, and Germany. 6BIO 308.3

What was at first thought of as being accomplished in two or three weeks stretched into four months. Crisler did not leave California; from the Elmshaven office he directed research, sometimes far afield but yielding significant and satisfying results. By mid-October they had located almost all the quotations. 6BIO 308.4

Ultimately it was seen that substitute quotations approved by Ellen White could be used for most of the few that seemed impossible to locate. A minimum of quoted materials was left in quotation marks but without references. 6BIO 308.5

One area that seemed the most difficult to handle was in finding the original source of several of the quotations used in connection with the chapter on “The Bible and the French Revolution.” The search led to Elder Uriah Smith's Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, and it soon was discovered that Ellen White had depended on sources Smith employed. Most were traced to their original location, but in the case of a few, Crisler and his associates failed at first to track them down. 6BIO 308.6

Meanwhile, the work proceeded at Elmshaven and at Pacific Press. The longer the delay, the more opportunity there seemed to be for imaginings and rumors in the field. In a letter to A. G. Daniells written on June 20, 1910, W. C. White reported: 6BIO 309.1

Shortly after we sent word to the Pacific Press to delay electrotyping making the printing plates, one of the workers in the type foundry visited the school [Pacific Union College], and soon questions and reports were as plentiful on the hillside and in the valley as quails in August. 6BIO 309.2

He commented: 6BIO 309.3

Questions and suppositions and remarks come to Mother from all quarters, and she will continue to be perplexed by them until the work is done.

This letter to the president of the General Conference was actually a progress report. Continued White: 6BIO 309.4

During the last two weeks, we have been busily engaged in studying those matters which demanded consideration in connection with the bringing out of the new edition of Great Controversy. When I presented to Mother questions as to what we should do regarding the quotations from historians and the references to these historians, she was prompt and clear in her opinion that we ought to give proper credit wherever we can. This has called for a good deal of searching of histories. 6BIO 309.5

Brethren Crisler and Robinson have taken much pains to look up the very best English authorities for the bulls and decrees and letters quoted and referred to, and they have been successful beyond my fondest hopes. 6BIO 309.6

And then White wrote of the involvements in the preparation of this new edition of the book: 6BIO 309.7

Further than this there will be very few changes made. In a few places where ambiguous or misleading terms have been used, Mother has authorized a changed reading, but she protests against any change in the argument or subject matter of the book, and indeed, we find, as we study into the matter, a clear and satisfactory defense for those passages to which our critics might take exception. 6BIO 310.1

There are few historical matters which we are still searching for. The most perplexing one is that regarding the three and a half days when the dead bodies of the two witnesses lay unburied, as referred to in Revelation 11:9-11. 6BIO 310.2

White then alluded to the question of the influence of General Conference leaders on the project. He wrote: 6BIO 310.3

A number of questions have arisen over here as to what we are doing and why. Some have asked if you and Brother Prescott have been criticizing Great Controversy, and have asked to have it changed so that it will agree with the new light on the “daily.” 6BIO 310.4

Our answer is, No; that you have neither of you expressed any wish of this sort; that the “daily” is not mentioned or referred to in Great Controversy, that it is wholly ignored in that book, as are many other points of prophetic interpretation which, as published in Elder Smith's Daniel and Revelation, are being criticized.... 6BIO 310.5

I have maintained that as far as I can discern, you and Brother Salisbury and Elder Wilcox are in hearty sympathy with us and are doing what you can to help us to find clear and substantial evidence for the positions taken in Great Controversy. 6BIO 310.6

As he wrote of the work and reports that were being circulated, some of which came to the attention of Ellen White, he declared: 6BIO 310.7

I shall be wonderfully glad when we get a little further along with the work, so that we can show her [E. G. White] the proof pages of the new edition with a good, clear red mark in every place where the wording has been changed in harmony with her general instruction regarding historical quotations. 6BIO 310.8

Aside from this, where we are working under a general order, we shall show her every change of wording that is proposed, and if it does not meet her approval, it will not be followed.—DF 83b. 6BIO 310.9