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    Part II—July 27, 1935

    Chapter 4—The Work of Mrs. White’s Literary Assistants

    The statement that in the preparation of her writings for publication, Mrs. White had the help of one or more efficient workers who assisted in gathering the material and in helping to prepare it, does not mean that the books or articles were in any part the product of their pens. They were not.HEWBW 18.1

    The matters revealed to Mrs. White while in vision were not usually a word-for-word narration of events with their lessons. They were generally in the nature of flashlight or great panoramic views of various scenes in the experience of men, sometimes in the past, sometimes in the future, together with the spoken instruction connected with these experiences. At times, the actions and conversations of men in groups, of churches, of conferences, and of multitudes were revealed to her, with a clear perception of their purposes, aims, and motives. Often verbal instruction was given regarding what was thus revealed.HEWBW 18.2

    When the time came to write out these revelations, Mrs. White would endeavor to trace in human language that which had been opened before her in these heavenly views. No supernatural force mechanically took control of her hand, and guided in the words which she wrote, and very rarely were the exact words which she should use dictated by the heavenly messenger by her side. Mrs. White speaks of her own choice of language in writing out her views as follows:HEWBW 18.3

    “Although I am as dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord in writing my views as I am in receiving them, yet the words I employ in describing what I have seen are my own, unless they be those spoken to me by an angel, which I always enclose in marks of quotation.”—The Review and Herald, October 8, 1867.

    It was ever a source of regret to Mrs. White that her school education had been very brief, and her knowledge of the technical rules of writing therefore limited. I clearly remember in the earlier years of her work in Battle Creek, when James White on coming home from the Review and Herald office, would be asked to listen to what Mother had written and to help her in preparing it for publication. Then, as she read to him what she had written, he would comment on the matter, rejoicing in the power of the message, and would point out weaknesses in composition and faulty grammar.HEWBW 19.1

    Regarding such experiences, she made a statement in 1906 as follows:HEWBW 19.2

    “While my husband lived, he acted as a helper and counselor in the sending out of the messages that were given to me. We traveled extensively. Sometimes light would be given to me in the night season, sometimes in the daytime before large congregations. The instruction I received in vision was faithfully written out by me, as I had time and strength for the work. Afterward we examined the matter together, my husband correcting grammatical errors, and eliminating needless repetition. Then it was carefully copied for the persons addressed, or for the printer.”—The Writing and Sending Out of the Testimonies to the Church, p. 4.

    As time went on the making of copies of numerous individual testimonies made it necessary to employ a copyist, and as Elder White could not give time to the correction of all her writings, the burden of making grammatical corrections was often laid upon the copyist. Many individuals were employed in the years that followed, as literary assistants who copied the testimonies, and prepared articles for the periodicals, and chapters for her books. Conscientious Christians only were chosen as literary assistants, and in their work they adhered strictly to the instruction which was given them regarding their part of the work.HEWBW 19.3

    It was well understood by the secretaries that only Mrs. White’s thoughts were to be used, and also her own words as far as grammatically consistent in expressing those thoughts. In no case was the copyist or editor allowed to introduce thoughts not found in Mrs. White’s manuscripts. In cases where paragraphs and sentences lost some of their power because of faulty arrangement, the secretaries were expected to make transpositions. They were also instructed to leave out that which was plainly unnecessary repetition. To these rearrangements and omissions, Mrs. White gave careful attention.HEWBW 19.4

    Regarding the handwritten manuscripts that came from her pen, her literary secretaries say that there was a marked difference in the matter of literary perfection. Usually the original manuscripts written when she was not burdened with travel and preaching or full of anxieties connected with the conditions of the church, were found to be beautiful, forceful and elegant in expression and with very few grammatical imperfections. But in some original manuscripts written when she was perplexed by many cares and burdens and especially when working very hurriedly, under the feeling that the manuscript must be completed quickly, there was much repetition and faulty grammatical construction. At such times she paid little attention to the rules of punctuation, capitalization and spelling. She expected that these matters would be corrected by the copyist.HEWBW 20.1

    At times some of the early testimonies were put into print without first receiving the careful work referred to in the above paragraph. This made necessary some changes in the wording when they were republished in 1863.HEWBW 20.2

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