The Desire of Ages & It's Sources

[Gregory Matthews]

In the late 1980's Dr. Fred Veltman completed a monumental study of the sources that Ellen White had used in writing The Desire of Ages.  In another thread, I have posted links to articles on this in Ministry magazine.  That material was posted by the General Conference on the Internet.  But, in reality, it was hard to access and not published in a format that was easy to study.  [NOTE:  I have a copy as posted on the Internet.]  The average person would probably give up on attempting to understand it.

Oak and Acorn has published a condensed version of the Veltman study that is available on Amazon for $12.95.  That title is: The Desire of Ages and Its Sources.  Warren Trenchard is the author of that book. 

In 1988 after almost 8 years of study, Fred Veltman issued his commissioned “Report of the Life of Christ Research Project” on 15 of the 87 chapters of The Desire of Ages to determine the amount and degree of literary dependence by Ellen White on 19th century sources. Consisting of almost 2,600 pages, with hundreds of pages of databases, tables, and appendices, it was overwhelming for all but serious scholars and dedicated non-specialist readers. No wonder it was buried in library special collections and a few archives. This book endeavors to make Veltman’s significant work available in an accessible, condensed, and focused form for all readers and to stimulate both a reexamination of his work and engagement in new lines of related research.