Some Questions Considered

The question may be asked: “Can the descriptions of scenes and events copied from other writers, find a proper place in the inspired writings of a messenger of God?” We find that writers of the Bible used the language of other Bible writers without giving credit and the fact that in the writings of one who gives abundant evidence of being a chosen messenger of God, we find phrases copied from the other writers constitutes an answer in the affirmative.BSRWEGW 8.2

When in the early days inquiries came to Mrs. White regarding the passages in her books that she had copied from historians, they were presented as questions regarding the authenticity of the statements. The inquiry was: “Are these passages that which had been shown her in vision, or were they what she had learned by the reading of histories?”BSRWEGW 8.3

She dismissed these questions with few words, stating that what she had presented in her books was a delineation of that which had been presented to her in vision, and that her copying from historians was a matter of convenience, and not a matter of necessity.BSRWEGW 8.4

In later years when Mrs. White became aware that same of the readers of her books were perplexed over the question as to whether her copying from other writers was an infringement on somebody’s rights, the inquiry was raised, “Who has been injured?” No injustice or injury could be named. Nevertheless, she gave instruction that, lest anyone should be offended or led to stumble over the fact that passages from historians had been used without credit, in future editions of her book Great Controversy, a faithful effort should be made to search out those passages that had been copied from historians which had not been enclosed in quotation marks, and that quotation marks should be inserted wherever they could be used. This instruction was conscientiously followed.BSRWEGW 8.5