96. Her Ideas Came From God

Both Walter Specht and Raymond Cottrell state that Ellen White got some “ideas” from Hanna. Didn’t she consistently affirm that God was the direct source of all her ideas?QSEW 104.3

Ellen White declared:QSEW 104.4

“In these letters which I write, in the testimonies I bear, I am presenting to you that which the Lord has presented to me. I do not write one article in the paper expressing merely my own ideas. They are what God has opened before me in vision—the precious rays of light shining from the throne. It is true concerning the articles in our papers and in the many volumes of my books.”—Selected Messages 1:29.QSEW 104.5

Ellen White used the word “idea” to mean basic spiritual or theological concepts. Specht and Cottrell have used the word with a less specific meaning in mind. In his study, “Ellen White’s Alleged Literary and Theological Indebtedness to Calvin Stowe,” David Neff gives examples of how Ellen White was indebted to Stowe for his language, but not for his ideas. Note the similarities and the differences between Stowe and Ellen White:QSEW 104.6