Relationship to Published Works

Many of the documents in the manuscript file were edited and published by Ellen White and her literary assistants in denominational periodicals, pamphlets, or such books as the nine-volume Testimonies for the Church. Others deal with matters of personal or local application, with approximately one fourth of the letters being addressed to family members. As they typically contain no instruction for the church generally, they have largely remained unpublished in book form up to this time, except as cited in biographical or historical works.1EGWLM 30.1

Since Ellen White's death in 1915, more than 85 books have been published by her estate, drawing from her published and previously unpublished materials. Ellen White designated this responsibility to her estate in her last will and testament. In addition to topical compilations, 21 volumes of Manuscript Releases and two volumes of Sermons and Talks have been published, drawn entirely from the manuscript file. These volumes have made available thousands of pages from Ellen White's letters and manuscripts that supplement what she published in her lifetime. This present series, however, is the first effort to publish systematically all of Ellen White's correspondence and manuscripts in chronological order and with annotations.1EGWLM 30.2