“Stomach Voice”

Ellen White’s speaking voice, her “stomach voice,” as Edwards described it, was a “deep contralto with a wonderful carrying power.... We could always hear her.... I am not sure whether it was her voice that carried or the power of the words she spoke.... Everyone could hear always ... whether it was 10,000 outdoors or a lonely heart in the privacy of her own room.” ^{11Ibid., 514.}MOL 125.8

In 1957-1959, Horace Shaw, longtime professor of speech at Emmanuel Missionary College (Andrews University), developed a list of 366 people who had heard Ellen White speak. He asked them to recall her platform manner, whether the event was public or private, what impressed them most, and what they remembered about her message. He also asked them to describe the influence of her speaking on the audience. ^{12Ibid., pp. 502-510, 606-644.}MOL 126.1

Since these “hearers” were interviewed late in life, obviously they observed Mrs. White in her later years. Typical phrases included, “at 82, bent with age,” “little and frail,” “structurally short.... rather stockily built but not over obese.”MOL 126.2

Of her physical features, her face seemed to be remembered the longest—“features round and full,” “sweetest smile broke out occasionally,” “noticed her nose, but soon forgot it—thinking she was really pretty, dignified,” and “face seemed to light up.”MOL 126.3