Ellen G. White — Messenger to the Remnant

Watched Choice of Words

Winning words were always sought for by Ellen White—words which would draw and convince and not repel, for she said: “Essential truths must be plainly told; but so far as possible they should be told in language that will win, rather than offend.”—Quoted by W. C. White in letter to members of the Publication Committee, July 25, 1911. At another time she wrote of the words used: EGWMR 110.9

“In my letter to you I felt deeply. I was very cautious that not a word I should say should wound, but that the facts should be related as simply as possible.”—Uncopied Letter 14, 1864. EGWMR 110.10

As a writer she labored to increase the stock of words from which she might draw. She ever sought language which measured with her subject and adequately conveyed the ideas she was treating. Early Writings, written in the fifties, presents a very forceful, but simple, vocabulary and sentence structure. In later books, as The Desire of Ages and Education, we discover a richer and broader choice of words and more complex sentences. In reading, in traveling, and in conversing with others, she bettered her ability to express the truths which were revealed to her. She was, of course, aided by the Spirit of God in her writing, but not in a mechanical way. “The words I employ in describing what I have seen,” she explained, “are my own unless they be those spoken to me by an angel, which I always enclose in marks of quotation.”—The Review and Herald, October 8, 1867. In vision her mind was enlightened, then it became her task to present the truths to others. EGWMR 110.11

She soon discovered that she must write very guardedly and explicitly. There were always some who would distort her meaning or misrepresent her teachings. Not long after the first copies of her first book, A Sketch of the Christian Experience and Views of Ellen G. White, were issued in 1851, she found it necessary to paste in a page of “Notes of Explanation,” which in expanded form are now found in Early Writings, 85 to 96. EGWMR 110.12

Mrs. White studied diligently to find a way of combining words in such a manner as to express the thought effectively and strikingly. One morning she came to breakfast at the newly opened Loma Linda Sanitarium, happy as a child with a new toy. “I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” she exclaimed, “Medical-Missionary-Evangelists!” She had been reaching out for a combination of words that would tersely and fully describe the qualifications of those who would there receive their medical training. This led eventually to naming the medical school The College of Medical Evangelists. EGWMR 111.1

Ellen White could also write in a lighter vein, and she sometimes did when communicating with members of her family or close friends. Thus, from Oakland, California, in a letter to her husband, who was in Battle Creek, Michigan, she quipped: EGWMR 111.2

“Dear Husband: EGWMR 111.3

“We received your few words last night on a postal card: EGWMR 111.4

“Battle Creek, April 11. No letters from you for two days. James White. EGWMR 111.5

“This lengthy letter was written by yourself. Thank you for we know you are living. EGWMR 111.6

“No letter from James White previous to this since April 6.... I have been anxiously waiting for something to answer.”—Letter 5, 1876. EGWMR 111.7