Mental Capabilities

Although not a formally educated woman, Ellen White utilized every opportunity to increase her bank of information and insights. We noted earlier the trauma of the scarred face (pp. 48, 62, 63) which, she said later, “was to affect my whole life.” ^{34Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 72.} She was never able again to attend school, yet her innate quest for knowledge led her to amass a personal and office library that, by the time of her death, totaled more than 800 volumes. ^{35See Libraries, a Bibliography of E. G. White’s Private and Office Libraries (at the time of her death in 1915). This document is available at any E. G. White-SDA Research Center.} When she lived in Battle Creek, she freely used the Review and Herald Publishing Company’s library.MOL 73.5

As a mother and wife, she and her husband read substantive books to each other and to their children, books such as D’Aubigne’s History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. ^{36Selected Messages 3:437.}MOL 73.6

She was an avid reader of religious journals. After Uriah Smith, long-time editor of the Review and Herald, had completed reading the periodicals that came to his office, he would pass them on to her to keep her current regarding religious and political developments. ^{37Selected Messages 3:463.}MOL 73.7

The sheer magnitude of her literary production, coupled with her hundreds of sermons that were transcribed, indicate remarkable mental powers. Though she was often under extreme time constraints, as well as unfavorable circumstances, she was still able to present in person or in manuscript form cogent and appealing messages.MOL 73.8