WILLIAM G. JOHNSSON
hould anyone have unlimited access to Ellen White's private correspondence-about 5,000 letters that she did not expect would ever be published?
Ellen White, whom Seventh-day Adventists believe to have had the gift of prophecy, wrote much, producing about 100,000 pages. Some of her work went into classics such as The Desire of Ages, Steps to Christ, and The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan. But she also kept a diary and sent out personal letters to family members and others.
What to do with this private material has long engaged the thinking of the trustees of the Ellen G. White Estate, who have been charged, according to her will, with the care of her writings. They have pursued vigorously a policy of making her published works available to members worldwide in English and translation, and put all of them on CD-Rom for ready access. But, in view of Ellen White's expressed concerns when dealing with personal matters, they have limited use of the unpublished material, permitting access only at branch offices and research centers, and using selections in compilations.
Over the years the trustees have sought to honor Ellen White's instructions while being mindful of the good of the church. Because of her unique role and place among Seventh-day Adventists, everything she wrote carries interest; further, several generations have passed by, so concern for the feelings of those addressed in these private letters no longer holds as strong a sway. And given the climate of thinking today, any material that is kept from public view becomes a source of speculation and rumor. Thus the trustees decided that they would best serve Ellen White and the church by releasing all her unpublished material.
Because of the personal nature of many of the letters, they decided that annotations should be provided to give historical context and further explanation, and asked historian Roland Karlman, of Newbold College, to prepare samples.
Karlman recently presented a report to a meeting of the board of trustees and staff of the White Estate. Along with others present, I was intrigued and excited by what he shared. Karlman plans to identify the person addressed in each letter and to garner essential background information. This itself is a challenging task, since Ellen White often provided little identification. However, when such information comes to light one suddenly gets vivid insights into the life and times of the early Adventists.
For instance, on January 28, 1857, Ellen White wrote from Battle Creek, Michigan, to "Dear Brother and Sister Burwell," who had lost two daughters the previous year. She appealed to them to turn from their excessive materialism and set a godly example for their only remaining child, also a daughter.
By accessing census records and working through old issues of the Review, Karlman shows that the addressees were Anthony L. Burwell and his wife, Achsah. They migrated from Vermont to Michigan in 1856, the value of their property increasing dramatically from a respectable $3,000 in 1850 to $6,000 in 1860, then to $20,000 in 1870, with a further $11,500 in "personal estate." Karlman notes that already by 1855 Ellen White had published a general admonition to those who, like the Burwells, were moving to better economic opportunities in the West. "I saw that it should not be the object of those who leave the East for the West to get rich, but to win souls for the truth."
Karlman has been asked to devote full-time work to the project, which will take several years.
I applaud the course taken by the White Estate to make available every word from Ellen White's pen. Openness in every respect must characterize our movement.
The same meeting featured a joint consultation with a number of General Conference administrators in an effort to find ways that the White Estate and the General Conference can work more closely together to meet the needs of the church in the twenty-first century. Sketching the rapid growth of our church community worldwide (38-40 million by 2020), president Jan Paulsen issued a twofold challenge to the trustees and staff: develop plans to provide the Ellen White counsels to new members, and find ways to encourage members to read the writings.
While recognizing the role of the White Estate, he noted: "The writings are for the whole church. We all must be trustees of them."
Indeed. Let us treasure this gift, share it, and safeguard it.
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William G. Johnsson is the editor of the Adventist Review.
