Exhibits of How Ellen White Used Her Sources
The following five exhibits of literary borrowing are some of the more familiar statements to readers of Ellen White and contain some of her most memorable literary gems. The statements move from loose paraphrase to a more verbatim form and are organized under the headings of prayer, providence, reflection on the life of Christ, men of integrity, and salvation. The sources Ellen White used are on the left and her modified form of the thought on the right.GOP 333.1
Prayer
| Edward Bickeresteth, A Treatise on Prayer (1834): |
Ellen White, Steps to Christ (1891): |
| “It is a key to open the storehouse of all God’s Treasury to us. . . . So by prayer we obtain all the blessings which we require” (12). |
“Prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse, where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence” (94, 95). *For reference and analysis, see King and Morgan, More Than Words, 127, 183. |
Providence
| E. W. Thayer, Sketches From the Life of Jesus, Historical and Doctrinal (1891): |
Ellen White, The Desire of Ages (1898): |
| “It was the fullness of time; the word was fully ripe for the event. The clock of destiny had struck the hour; God is in no haste about his special operations” (22). |
“But like the stars in the vast circuit of their appointed path, God’s purposes know no haste and no delay” (32). †For reference and analysis, see Morgan, White Lie Soap, 71, 169. |
Reflection on the Life of Christ
| Daniel March, Walks and Homes of Jesus (1866): |
Ellen White, The Desire of Ages (1898): |
| “Nevertheless, it will do us all good, frequently and solemnly to review the closing scenes in the Saviour’s earthly life. Amid all the material and worldly passions, by which we are beset and tempted, we shall learn many salutary lessons, by going back in memory, and spending a thoughtful hour, in the endeavor to strengthen our faith and quicken our love at the foot of the cross. What then are the lessons which the divine Passion, the infinite sacrifice, the true and redemptive Cross of Christ is fitted to teach?” (313, 314). |
“It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross” (83). ‡For reference and analysis, see ibid., 95, 96, 166. |
Men of Integrity
| “Driftings,” Buffalo Daily Courier, June 16, 1866: |
Ellen White, Education (1903): |
| “The great want of this age is men. Men who are not for sale. Men who are honest, sound from center to circumference, true to the heart’s core. Men who fear the Lord and covetousness. Men who will condemn wrong in friend or foe, in themselves as well as in others. Men who consciences are steady as the needle to the pole. Men who will stand for the right if the heavens totter and the earth reels” (2). |
“The greatest want of the world is the want of men— men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall” (57).§For reference and analysis, see ibid., 97, 98. |
Salvation
| Robert Boyd, The World’s Hope; or the Rock of Ages (1873): |
Ellen White, The Desire of Ages (1898): |
| “He was treated as we deserved in order that we might be treated as he deserved. He came to earth and took our sins, that we might take his righteousness and go to heaven. He was condemned for our sins, in which he had no share, that we might be justified by his righteousness, in which we had no share” (381, 382). |
“Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed’ ” (25). **For reference and analysis, see ibid., 103, 162. |
Although the original sources are clearly recognizable in Ellen White’s versions, she took the literary gem and made it her own, even in the latter two examples, where a more verbatim form of borrowing is shown. She changed words and added others, modified and reworked the thought, and ultimately improved, enhanced, and made more memorable the gem that had become her own. “The truth,” according to researchers E. Marcella Anderson King and Kevin Morgan,GOP 334.1
is that, whether Ellen White used Biblical descriptions, assimilated language, adapted gems of thought, or words and phrases absorbed from her use of sources as storyline guides, one thing is certain—her finished product is clearly her own, and she has done her readers a great service in identifying, improving, and making more memorable some of the most effective language available for telling the “story of Jesus’ love.” GOP 335.1