“The Great Controversy”

Soon after the publication of The Great Controversy in 1884, it was found to be a book suitable for sale to the public as well as to members of the church. Illustrations were provided and a subscription edition was soon ready for distribution. Within four years after its publication, ten editions of the book, totaling about 50,000 copies, were printed and sold.APAY 308.2

Mrs. White spent from the autumn of 1885 until late summer of 1887 in Europe, speaking, counseling with leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist work in numerous European countries, and writing. Her visits to many historic places formerly shown her in vision qualified her to write more vividly and fully of some of the things that had been presented to her. Scenes that had come before her two or three times in vision were brought to mind with renewed force when the historic spots were viewed. Plans were considered for the translation of The Great Controversy into principal European languages, and in connection with this project she made additions to the book to present the matter as fully and graphically as possible. This was published in 1888.APAY 308.3

Unlike the 1884 subscription edition, which was the standard edition with added illustrations, the 1888 edition was prepared with the idea in mind of circulation to the general public. Consequently a few pages of material appropriate for the church, but not suitable for general circulation, were omitted. An example may be seen in the chapter, “The Snares of Satan,” pages 518-530, in the 1911 edition. Portions of this chapter, delineating the work of Satan through many Protestant ministers, as it appeared in the earliest edition, were omitted from the 1888 edition in order to avoid giving unnecessary offense to those of other religions. Later the omitted portions were reprinted elsewhere for the information of Seventh-day Adventist workers, e.g., Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 472-475, “The Snares of Satan,” where this matter appears with the footnote: “From the fourth volume of Spirit of Prophecy, or The Great Controversy, 337-340, ch. 27, (1884).”APAY 309.1

Scores of thousands of copies of this new edition were sold, and by 1911 the printing plates were so badly worn that it was necessary to set the type for The Great Controversy again. Other important steps in the improvement of the book for general circulation were taken. New illustrations were supplied, references for historical quotations were inserted, and in a few instances historical citations were substituted for some in the earlier editions of the book, the authorship of which could not be determined. Not long after she received a copy of the new edition, Mrs. White wrote indicating her pleasure with it.APAY 309.2

“The book Great Controversy I appreciate above silver or gold, and I greatly desire that it shall come before the people. While writing the manuscript of Great Controversy, I was often conscious of the presence of the angels of God. And many times the scenes about which I was writing were presented to me anew in visions of the night, so that they were fresh and vivid in my mind.... I regard this new edition with great satisfaction.” Ellen G. White Letter 56, 1911.APAY 309.3

The Great Controversy as it is circulated today is the 1911 edition. It is still available in two types of editions—the illustrated and specially bound editions sold largely by colporteurs to the general public, and the smaller, unillustrated editions usually purchased by church members. Pagings vary somewhat in the illustrated editions, but the contents are the same in all.APAY 310.1