The Paraphrasing Prophet

Warren Johns, Ellen G. White Estate Official Statement

Ellen White's Claims

"Evidence for literary borrowing can be substantiated in virtually all nine volumes of the (1) Testimonies for the Church, in her (2) Review and Herald and Signs of the Times articles, and in (3) all of the books published during her lifetime. The only exception may be Early Writings. At this time I am not aware of any significant literary borrowing in that work, but it would not be surprising if it should come to light"1

"I have my work to do, to meet the misconceptions of those who suppose themselves able to say what is testimony from God and what is human production. . . . Those who have helped souls to feel at liberty to specify what is of God in the Testimonies and what are the uninspired words of Sister White, will find that they were helping the devil in his work of deception."2 "I am glad that you are having success in selling my books for thus you are giving to the world the light that God has given me. These books contain clear, straight, unalterable truth, and they should certainly be appreciated. The instruction they contain is not of human production."3

James's White's claim for Ellen White:

"In her published works there are many things set forth which cannot be found in the writings of others, that are new to the most intelligent readers and hearers. And if they are not found in print...from what source has she received the new and rich thoughts which are to be found in her writings... She could not have learned them from books, from the fact that they do not contain such thoughts... The Spirit of God has revealed to her..."⁴

"In this broader field of writing, from which there seemed to be no respite, she was impelled to bear testimony to what was revealed to her in scores and hundreds of visions through 70 years of her ministry. In writing these messages of instruction, counsel, encouragement, and correction, she sought no human source of information and was not influenced by those about her. In all her works, we see her moving under the bidding and guidance of the Spirit of God."⁵

"Ellen White was unusually well read in the light of the amount of formal eduction she received. The ground covered in her reading amounted to several hundred books perhaps covering several tens of thousands of pages...Ellen White incorporated a wealth of material from that which she read into what she wrote. Without saying how extensive it is, we can conclude at this time that she made an extensive use of sources in order to convey the unique truths and the pointed messages needed by God's Church..."⁶

"I have not been in the habit of reading any doctrinal articles in the paper, that my mind should not have any understanding of anyone's ideas and views, and that not a mold of any man's theories should have any connection with that which I write."⁷

Ellen White Borrowed for Volume 3 of Spiritual Gifts

Ellen White's description of how earthquakes were formed after the flood⁸, according to Warren Johns, was borrowed from other sources:

"In the 1915 inventory [of Ellen White's library of books] is listed an entry, 'Earthquakes, Bound collection of pamphlets on.' This particular collection, which has no author or date indicated, is the most likely source for Ellen White's statements on earthquakes and volcanic phenomena."⁹

"In presenting this, my third little volume, to the public, I am comforted with the conviction that the Lord has made me His humble servant in shedding some rays of precious light upon the past..."¹⁰

"Mrs. White borrowed not only the words and phrases used by these authors, but in some cases followed the outline of their expositions and drew from them facts, illustrations, thoughts, and concepts."¹¹

"These borrowings occured not only in the historical sections of The Great Controversy but also in its prophetic sections. They appear throughout the Conflict of the Ages and in the Testimonies for the Church as well as other Ellen White books. They occur in letters and specific testimonies to individuals. They appear in descriptions of the content of specific visions given to Mrs. White. It would be unwise at this point to assert that there is any particular book written by Mrs. White or any type of writing from her pen in which literary borrowing will not be found.

"In cases where we have Mrs. White's handwritten draft of something she borrowed, this handwritten draft is usually closer to the literary source than is the published version which followed. This difference should generally be attributed to the work of Ellen White's literary assistants in editing her material for publication--a work that she approved.

"Many of the beautifully expressed thoughts, that is, many of the literary gems found in Mrs. White’s writings were borrowed from other authors. This fact, together with the knowledge that her writings were polished by literary assistants, leads us to avoid the suggestion that the literary beauty of her writings is an evidence of her divine inspiration."¹²

"They [Adventist ministers] profess to be teachers of the word, but they sadly neglect to search the Scriptures for themselves. They are content to use the arguments which are prepared in pamphlets and books, and which others have labored earnestly to search out; but they are not willing to tax their minds to study them out for themselves. In order to make full proof of their ministry, those who open the word of God to others should search the Scriptures diligently. They should not be content to use other men's thoughts, but should dig for truth as for hid treasures. While it is perfectly right to gather ideas from other minds, they should not be satisfied to take those ideas and repeat them in a poll-parrot manner. Make these ideas your own, brethren; frame the arguments yourselves, from your own study and research. Do not borrow the productions of other men's brains and pens, and recite them as a lesson; but make the most of the talents, the brain power, that God has given you."¹³

"Mother instructs me to say to you that you may be free to select from her writings short articles for the Life Boat. Or you may make extracts from these MSS and from similar writings, in your articles, in each case giving the proper credit."¹⁴

Plagiarized from Daniel March

I have now finished a line-by-line comparison, page-by-page, and chapter-by-chapter, of Ellen White's five books of the Conflict of the Ages series, as well as other material she was supposed to have written. Using the books and material that have been acknowledged and are available from her library, this study will show by using only one author (Daniel March) how extensive her paraphrasing was in all of her writings.

Daniel March, Night Scenes in the Bible, 1868	Ellen G. White Books
Pages 201-220	Selected Mesages, book 1, pp. 27-28
Page 363	Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, pp. 343-344
Page 313	Desire of Ages, p. 83
Pages 459-460	Acts of the Apostles, p. 146
Pages 193-198	Prophets and Kings, pp. 119-120
Pages 200-207	Prophets and Kings, pp. 121-128
Pages 208-216	Prophets and Kings, pp. 143-165
Pages 292-299	Prophets and Kings, pp. 523-531
Page 255	Messages to Young People, p. 103
Page 336	Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 44
Pages 25-42	Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 156-179
Pages 47-55	Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 147-155
Pages 85-102	Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 195-203
Pages 105-127	Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 281-290
Pages 127-144	Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 283-290
Pages 147-164	Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 675-682
Pages 165-186	Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 727-745
Pages 189-222	Prophets and Kings, pp. 143-176
Pages 225-244	Prophets and Kings, pp. 265-272
Pages 285-302	Prophets and Kings, pp. 522-538
Pages 343-360	Desire of Ages, pp. 377-382
Pages 363-374	Desire of Ages, pp. 447-454
Pages 377-394	Desire of Ages, pp. 673-694
Pages 397-410	Desire of Ages, pp. 685-697
Pages 413-430	Desire of Ages, pp. 795-808
Pages 433-448	Desire of Ages, pp. 809-817
Pages 451-466	Acts of the Apostles, pp. 146-148
Pages 469-488	Acts of the Apostles, pp. 214-217, 231
Pages 491-508	Acts of the Apostles, pp. 442-445

ONE EXAMPLE

Daniel March, Night Scenes in the Bible, pp. 201-202, 1868

Ellen White, Selected Messages Book 1, p. 28

We must not defer our obedience till every shadow of uncertainty and every possibility of mistake is removed. The doubt that demands perfect knowledge will never yield to faith, for faith rests upon probability, not demonstration. ... We must obey the voice of duty when there are many other voices crying against it, and it requires earnest heed to distinguish the one which speaks for God.

If you refuse to believe until every shadow of uncertainty and every possibility of doubt is removed, you will never believe. The doubt that demands perfect knowledge will never yield to faith. Faith rests upon evidence, not demonstration. The Lord requires us to obey the voice of duty, when there are other voices all around us urging us to pursue an opposite course. It requires earnest attention from us to distinguish the voice which speaks from God.

1. Warren Johns, Ellen G. White Estate, Ellen G. White, Literary Dependence, and Science, p. 2.

2. Ellen White, Selected Messages Book 3, p. 70.

3. Ellen White, letter 339, 1904. Editor's Note: This letter has not (as of September 10, 2005) been released to the public by the Ellen G. White Estate.

4. James White, Life Sketches, pp. 328-329, 1880 edition. Written one year prior to James White's death, but borrowed from Joseph Smith's apostle, John Taylor, who used nearly identical phrasing one year before, in 1879, to describe the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith's work.

5. Arthur White, "Inspiration and the EGW Writings", Review and Herald, 1978, p. 39.

6. Warren Johns, pp. 12,13.

7. Ellen White, letter 37, 1887.

8. Passage on earthquakes is found in Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, pp. 79-83.

9. Warren Johns, page not given.

10. Ellen White, Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, page v.

11. Dr. Ronald Graybill, "Ellen G. White's Work - An Update", taken from an edited and annotated transcript of a tape recording of presentations made in the morning worship services at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Nov. 15-19, 1981. Emphasis supplied.

12. Ibid.

13. Ellen White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 6, 1886.

14. Willie C. White, letter to Dr. David Paulson, Feb. 15, 1905.

15. Ellen G. White, Letter 60, 1878, p. 1.