101 Questions on the Sanctuary and on Ellen White

86. The Work of the Literary Assistants

How much freedom did Ellen White’s literary assistants have in editing or changing Ellen White’s manuscripts? QSEW 88.1

Ellen White did not always use perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, or sentence or paragraph construction in her writing. She freely acknowledged her lack of such technical skills. In 1873 she lamented, “I am not a scholar. I cannot prepare my own writings for the press ... I am not a grammarian” (Selected Messages 3:90). She felt the need of help from others in the preparation of her manuscripts for publication. W. C. White describes the boundaries that his mother set for her workers: QSEW 88.2

“Mother’s copyists are entrusted with the work of correcting grammatical errors, of eliminating unnecessary repetitions, and of grouping paragraphs and sections in their best order.... QSEW 88.3

“Mother’s workers of experience, such as Sisters Davis, Burnham, Bolton, Peck, and Hare, who are very familiar with her writings, are authorized to take a sentence, paragraph, or section from one manuscript and incorporate it with another manuscript where the same thought was expressed but not so clearly. But none of Mother’s workers are authorized to add to the manuscripts by introducing thoughts of their own.”—W. C. White to G. A. Irwin, May 7, 1900. (See question 94, “Ellen White Gives Final Approval.”) QSEW 88.4