Ellen G. White and Her Critics

Certain Facts to Consider in Rejoinder

We now ask the reader to consider a few facts. In the vaults of the E. G. White Publications office are found approximately fifty thousand pages of manuscript material. This consists largely of copies of (1) letters that Mrs. White wrote to individuals, (2) letters to church leaders regarding church problems, and (3) manuscripts on general themes. The manuscripts of her large books are not included in this total, except as material from one of the three types of writings just described, was drawn upon. For example, the nine volumes of Testimonies for the Church reproduce hundreds upon hundreds of pages of these personal letters of warning, counsel, reproof, and encouragement. The fifty thousand total of manuscript pages represents largely her writings—minus most of her books and periodical articles—since 1885, when a methodical practice of filing copies of all material began to be followed. ^* EGWC 507.3

Let the reader go down through all these pages of reproduced letters in the Testimonies for the Church, for they are typical of the letters she wrote. He will find there pen pictures of individuals so sharply focused, so specifically detailed, as to enable him to form a clear mental picture of the people discussed. We read character delineations that call for an understanding of the working of the innermost heart. We find definite rebukes given, definite warnings, definite guidance. Hundreds of pages of letters are anything but vague and general. We cannot read at length without exclaiming, How did Mrs. White ever know all this about all these people? She writes as though she had watched their downsittings and their uprisings and as though she understood their thoughts afar off! EGWC 508.1