Extrinsic Sources in Relating Visions

Occasionally Ellen White used either material she had been reading or interesting incidents in the recent past to add force to the message she sought to convey. Recent events obviously were on her mind even as they are on the minds of uninspired people. They are a part of the mental process and all use them to connect the known to the unknown. At times God could get the prophet’s attention and make His message most forceful in a vision by linking it to some recent event.MOL 174.5

An example of this event-linkage is the tragedy of a New Zealand undertow that swept three swimmers to their death and a heart-wrenching appeal she made to her son, Edson. ^{39Bio., vol. 4, pp. 94-97.} Another example took place in 1903 when the denomination was involved in the serious pantheism crisis. Not long before she was given a vision that would prove enormously helpful, she had read in the newspaper about a ship meeting an iceberg in a fog. In the vision, the iceberg analogy was instructive: “Well I knew the meaning of this representation. I had my orders. I had heard the words, like a living voice from our Captain, ‘Meet it!’ I knew what my duty was, and that there was not a moment to lose.... This is why you received the testimonies when you did.” ^{40Ibid., vol.5, p. 301.}MOL 174.6

Obviously the Lord, in giving His visions, might use knowledge and ideas that prophets had earlier discovered through reading or experience. ^{41Ronald Graybill, “The ‘I saw’ Parallels in Ellen White’s Writings,” Adventist Review, July 29, 1982, p. 4.} Otherwise, God would be making a fax machine out of the prophet’s mind.MOL 174.7

We should have no doubt regarding the inspiration of the Bible. It has survived intense scrutiny and skepticism for centuries. When we study how Biblical authors did their work, we find that they occasionally borrowed from other writers, without informing their readers about the practice. ^{42Ibid. See p. 378 for further discussion about inspired authors who “borrow” language from non-canonical writers.}MOL 174.8

Several examples can be cited to show that Ellen White also borrowed language from other authors when she related her visions. This practice is what we would expect when prophets use their own experience and frame of reference in describing what they have seen in visions or dreams.MOL 175.1