Visions & Revisions

[Gregory Matthews]

Graybill, Ronald D. Visions & Revisions: A Textual History of Ellen G. White’s Writings. Oak & Acorn, 2019, 277 pages.

NOTE:  Oak & Acorn, is the official publishing agent of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 

Ronald Graybill, spent 13 years as an Associate Secretary of the Ellen G. White Estate. As part of his duties he assisted Arthur White in writing the 6-volume biography of his grandmother, Ellen White. In 1983, he was approved for a PhD. Degree in American Religious History from The Johns Hopkins University.

This book attempts to neither discount nor defend the position that Ellen White has held in the development of the SDA denomination. Rather, it addresses her role in the SDA Church from the standpoint of the historian. In that respect, it presents the evidence for a number of the claims that have been made both for and against her. Those issues have included:

* The establishment of the major role that her editorial assistants had in taking her hand written comments and editing them into polished prose. He points out that in all of this it can be concluded that EGW approved the final draft, and its major revisions. Chapter 1.

This editing of her work included the description of her dreams and visions. This also included her understanding of the Bible, and her use of the Apocrypha. Chapter 2,

* In chapter 3, he discusses how the final drafts of her work differed from what she had originally written. Again, he agrees that she approved the changes.

In Chapter 4, he addresses the issue as to how the SDA Church moved from thinking that God had dictated the written message to a belief that the thoughts were inspired, but not the words.

* Chapter 5 contains more discussion to the work of her editorial assistants.

* Chapter 6, addresses the fact that she extensively used the writings of other people, without giving them credit for her use of them. Included in this is a discussion of this issue of others doing the same.

* Chapter 7 begins a discussion of the various editions of The Great Controversy, and how they differed. It should be noted that she approved the changes that were made during her lifetime. Obviously she did not approve any changes made after her death, which have been made in some cases.

In chapter 8, he discusses the issue of her writings containing factual errors. He points our that EGW did not consider them to be without error. I appreciate that he points out that in many cases, EGW did not read the publications of other historical writers, whom she cited. Rather her source for them was Uriah Smith.

In chapter 9, he deals in greater detail with changes that have been made, including the current time, in the book The Great Controversy.

* Chapter 10, simply contains his conclusion as to the issues addressed.

 

NOTE: Another book of interest, by Dr. Graybill, about Ellen White is:

 Graybill, Ronald D. The Power of Prophecy: Ellen G. White and the Women r Religious Founders of the Nineteenth Century. Oak & Acorn, 1983, 214 pages.

 In short, this book compares the life and ministry of Ellen White to that of: Mary Baker Eddy, of the Christian Scientists, Catherine Booth of the Salvation Army, and Alma White of the Pillar of Fire denomination. This book is largely the 1983 dissertation.