A Word Of Explanation

When Ellen White died in 1915, she left her manuscripts and letters in the custody of a small group of ministers and administrators in the Seventh-day Adventist Church whom she had appointed to serve as Trustees of her estate. As the years passed, these Trustees and their successors became increasingly aware of the potential usefulness to the church of this gold mine of unpublished materials. Procedures were developed whereby church entities, or even individuals, could request the “release” of specified excerpts from Ellen White's writings for use in books, articles, class lectures, or sermons. For details of the release process the reader is referred to the preface to Manuscript Releases, vol. 1..14MR i.1

As in the earlier volumes, materials currently available elsewhere in published form have not been included in the present volume. In a few cases materials under consideration and assigned a release number were not processed. And the number was not reassigned. Until 1983, only the excerpts requested for public use were “released.” Starting with Manuscript Release No. 970, the White Estate began “releasing” entire letters or manuscripts, so far as possible, even if only particular paragraphs were requested.14MR i.2

Copy for this volume has been sent to the publisher camera-ready, which means that any typographical mistakes or other inaccuracies which may appear are the responsibility of the White Estate, not the publisher.14MR i.3

We take pleasure in making these materials available in this form, and trust that the counsels, warnings, and principles put forth by the author will bring a blessing to every reader.14MR i.4

The Trustees of the.

Ellen G. White Estate.

Washington, D.C.