Ellen G. White and Her Critics

What the Figures Reveal

What do the figures actually show concerning her financial state at the time of her death? Critics have examined the figures at the county court house in Napa, California, and have broadcast their interpretation of the figures. We think our readers are entitled to the facts. When Mrs. White died the court appointed appraisers to place a value upon her estate, preparatory to probating her will. Here is the summary of their findings as regards liabilities and assets: EGWC 525.3

Liabilities—Consisting almost wholly of notes owing to individuals	$87,958.57
Assets—Comprising property, bookplates, furniture, fixtures, etc.	66,756.74
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	$21,201.83

When court appraisers list assets they quite invariably are ultraconservative. When they list liabilities they are less likely to be so, for liabilities are generally in the form of notes payable or accounts payable, the exact amount of which can generally be determined. Thus the figure of $21,201.83 may be considered a maximum estimate for deficit, the critics to the contrary not-withstanding. ^* EGWC 525.4

But what the figures of the appraisers did not disclose were the potential assets, the royalties that Mrs. White’s estate would annually receive from her books—returns on the heavy investment that she had made in the production of those books. EGWC 526.1

Without lengthening our recital unduly, we may say that the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists advanced a sum sufficient to meet the full note indebtedness, and the White Estate, through its Board of Trustees, gave in return its interest-bearing note for the full amount. Then out of the royalties and the sale of property the note was steadily reduced, and finally paid in full with interest, so that there was no loss, either to the individuals from whom Mrs. White had borrowed or to the General Conference, that had assumed the liabilities. In the years subsequent to the liquidation of this note the royalty money has gone, not into some private individual’s pocket, but into the General Conference, which, in turn, disburses the funds for the maintenance of that feature of the work known as the Ellen G. White Publications, and for the general activities of the church. EGWC 526.2