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There are 2 messages in this issue.
Topics in today's digest:
1. Re: Elder Folkenberg's sermon
From: "Lungani Mfeka" <MfekaL@xxxxxx.xx.xxx
2. E.G White!
From: "Mashudu Ravhengani" <ravhenmj@xxxxx.xxxx
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 15:57:03 +0200
From: "Lungani Mfeka" <MfekaL@xxxxxx.xx.xxx
Subject: Re: Elder Folkenberg's sermon
Thank you Mashudu, I really appreciate your coming back to me with my
requests.
God bless,
Lungani
>>> "Mashudu Ravhengani" <Ravhenmj@umdnj.edu> 09/22/99 09:13PM >>>
From: "Mashudu Ravhengani" <Ravhenmj@umdnj.edu>
Lungani,
Here is Elder Folkenberg's sermon that I promised in our early
discussion
[from Elder Folkenberg's Web Site, http://www.folkenberg.net )
THE CHURCH AND ITS SEMINARY: PARTNERS IN MESSAGE AND
MISSION
Sermon delivered by R S Folkenberg on October
25, 1997
to the
Andrews University Seminary Faculty
during a retreat held in Kalamazoo,
Michigan.
I. Introduction
I have a great respect and appreciation for the contribution that the
Seminary is making in the formation of pastors, Bible
teachers and theologians who are serving the church around the world.
Your influence is significant and positive. I rejoice in
having such a well qualified group of women and men serving the church
in this institution.
It is also a pleasure for me today to share with you my vision of
ministerial and theological training in the church and the role of
the Seminary in that important task. I only hope to stimulate your
thinking in these areas.
It is useful for us occasionally to come together and examine the
foundation of what we are doing and the goals that we have set
for ourselves as an institution and as individuals. Here, I am not
interested in evaluation as much as in describing what I feel is
the constant need of the church from you.
It is no secret that some individuals in a number of our institutions
are being accused of sharing with the students ideas that
undermine some of our fundamental beliefs. This weighs heavily in my
heart and makes necessary for me to stop and remind
myself and others of the reason for the existence of our colleges and
universities.
Paul said to Timothy: "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to
you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who
lives in you" (2 Tim 1:14; NIV).
The teacher should leave no doubt as to his or her commitment to Christ
and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This cannot be
taken for granted-it must be publicly and personally stated.
We too have received this deposit of truth and the call to guard it
also is addressed to us. In this task we confront some
challenges. Today I would like to open my heart to you.
II. Guarding the Deposit: The Seminary and the Church
The Seminary and the church exist in a partnership of message and
mission. Those elements belong to the very core of the
relationship and justify the existence of both, the church and the
Seminary.
Both are guardians of the good deposit entrusted to us. Consequently,
mutual support is indispensable to the fulfillment of our
mission. The church should provide for the needs of the Seminary and
the Seminary must meet the needs of the church.
The Church looks to the Seminary faculty to provide and promote a
better understanding of theology from an Adventist
perspective and to form ministers, educators, administrators and
theologians who can contribute to the fulfillment of the mission
of the church.
Of course, the church is in partnership with all of our colleges and
universities around the world. But we fear that in some of our
institutions the partnership is less visible as these tend to become
more generic in their approach and perhaps even in some ways
secularized. In those cases the results inevitably limit support for
the Adventist message and mission, and creates a serious
disruption in the partnership.
There used to be in our institutions and classrooms a pastoral, even a
custodial concern for what we as a church stood for. We
were persuaded that we had something worth passing on to the next
generations and we took that responsibility very seriously.
It was precisely that mentality that justified the large investment
that the church was making in terms of financial and human
resources in the education of his members.
I would like to encourage the Seminary faculty to continue to resist
the temptation to abandon this fundamental commitment
to our heritage. Should we fail in this task, as our message is
undermined our identity becomes blurred. We will lose the reason
for our existence. Our students will be left in an ocean of ideas and
conflicting views without a spiritual foundation, without a
frame of reference, a cosmic perspective, by which to interpret and
evaluate what they are learning.
Any hint of skepticism with regard to our fundamental beliefs or
heritage is out of order. We can acknowledge flaws and faults
without putting down the past. I wish every teacher would project a
health pride in being a Seventh-day Adventist.
Further, an ill-defined message reduces the prophetic urgency which is
the heart of our mission. This would inevitably lead the
church to question its heavy investment in an educational system which
was created to transmit that which was indispensable but
which is now considered optional.
I believe that you chose to do what you are doing because you
considered our message and mission to be existentially relevant
for you and your students. We must continue to recommend to them our
system of beliefs, our world view, as worthy of
consideration, analysis and personal commitment. A failure to recommend
to them what we stand for becomes tantamount to
recommending them a different set of beliefs.
Telling young people that the fundamental purpose of the study of
religion is to help them to understand others and to be tolerant
of other persons views and systems of beliefs is not good enough. In
fact, it seems to me, this approach only promotes
relativism, skepticism and agnosticism.
If the teaching of religion does not lead to the inculcation of
convictions and values based on our Adventist understanding of the
Scriptures, we are doing a disservice to our students and to their
parents who support us because they believe in Adventist
education.
Perhaps the question we must ask is: Is it possible for us to maintain
our approach to academics, characterized by our
commitment to and by our proclamation of a set of authoritative truths,
in a society controlled by an open-ended
approach to the study of religion?
Are we committed only to a scholarly pursuit of truth and knowledge
detached from a personal commitment to the truth as it is
found in Jesus and in the Scriptures? These options and many others
always will be available to us but they are not real options
for us and should be resisted.
Please, do not misunderstand me. I am not rejecting or discouraging the
search for truth and knowledge as an academic
enterprise. Neither am I advocating a process of indoctrination that
would render our young people mere reflectors of our own
ideas and teachings. On the contrary, I firmly believe their intellects
must be challenged to the utmost, that they should be
confronted with the full impact of different ideas and systems of
beliefs. But they should also be confronted with a logical and
persuasive exposition of our world view and the way it addresses the
difficult issues of humanity.
The Seminary teacher has a duty to expose students to difficult
questions and issues, such as those non-believers and skeptics
within the Church may raise. However, I believe that the teacher should
never leave students "dangling" where vital issues are
concerned. After exploring options, the teacher has a duty to share how
he or she personally handles the issue or question. For
students to go from a class with the impression that major beliefs are
up for grabs is irresponsible.
We should package that which we as a church stand for, in an
intellectually and experientially attractive format, making it
appealing to both the minds and hearts of our students, with an
unashamed goal of leading them to a personal commitment to
our Lord. Yes, the pursuit of knowledge is correct but we must allow
special revelation to set the proper and needed
parameters.
At times I find some Adventist students disoriented and uncommitted.
There is no reason or justification for this state of affairs.
It is time for us to go back to our roots and heritage, not to tear it
down but to build on it.
It is time to go back to the Scriptures and to the Protestant principle
of sola scriptura. It is there that we find an anchor that
could bring stability in the midst of conflicting ideas that threaten
to relativize everything.
III. Guarding the Deposit: My Vision of the Graduates
What we do in the classroom has a direct impact on the end product of
our educational system. Let me share with you what I
consider to be some indispensable elements in the formation of
ministers; elements that will contribute to the realization of our
call to guard the good deposit entrusted to us.
A. Our graduates should have a clear understanding of Christ's work of
salvation.
We find in the church different interpretations or emphases on the
salvific work of Christ reflecting in most cases a lack of
biblical, doctrinal and theological balance on the part of their
proponents.
A student who leaves this place to join the ministerial ranks of the
church must have a clear view of the work of Christ on behalf
of the human race. They should go out to proclaim the gospel with power
and this requires from them conviction and a solid
biblical understanding of it.
We must restore a proper balance between faith and works, grace and law
and avoid a one-sided emphasis on justification by
faith that condemns any call to obedience and to a Christian life style
as legalism.
B. Our graduates should have a clear understanding of all of our
fundamental beliefs.
We have a particular identity within the Christian world and it should
be preserved. Our graduates must understand and be able
to teach those fundamental beliefs using the Bible alone.
But this does not mean other theologians should occupy a place of honor
above that of the prophetic gift which was given to this
movement. No. Ellen White's writings should be respected and used. It
isn't good enough to have one class about her-students
should be encouraged and required to research her counsels, along with
reading of theologians, in all their classes.
We should make an special effort here at the Seminary to make the study
of those beliefs a fascinating exploration into the
different facets of the person and work of Christ. It would be good to
work together deepening our comprehension of our
doctrines, finding new biblical insights that will make our beliefs
relevant for our churches without changing their fundamental
content and guarding the good deposit.
The area of our fundamental beliefs is probably the area where we find
more diversity of opinion among some of our
theologians. Some seem to believe that some of our doctrines,
particularly those that make us unique, are no longer
relevant or may even lack biblical support. These are the ones who
attempt to reinterpret those doctrines in radical ways or
who opt for not dealing with them at all in the classroom.
Ellen White's counsel to these was clear:
"Those who present matters to the students in an uncertain light
are not fitted for the work of teaching.
No man is qualified for this work unless he is daily learning to
speak the words of the Teacher sent from
God. . .
"There have been teachers in our schools who could pass well in a
worldly institution of learning, but
who were unfitted for the training of our youth because they were
ignorant of the truths of the gospel of
Christ. They were unable to bring the simplicity of Christ into
their labors. It should be the work of every
teacher to make prominent those truths that have called us out to
stand as a peculiar people before the
world, and which are able to keep us in harmony with heaven's
laws" (Counsels to Teachers, p 250).
Lack of conviction on the part of the teacher is very often contagious
and the graduates perpetuate it in their ministry. The
options are very simple and easy to understand: honesty, integrity, and
accountability to God and the constituents
we serve demands our loyalty or our resignation.
C. Our graduates should possess a clear understanding of the mission of
the church.
In order for our ministers to perform their task as shepherds of God's
people it is indispensable for them to be persuaded that
this church has a prophetic origin and function. We believe that it was
raised by God to restore biblical truth that for centuries
had been cast to the ground and to prepare the human race to meet the
Savior at his second coming.
A de-emphasis on the subject of prophetic interpretation will result in
a loss of our sense of mission and in a crisis of identity.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why there is a sense of
disorientation in some sectors of our church. We came into existence
as a result of the study of the books of Daniel and Revelation. Our
graduates should leave this place with a clear understanding
of the prophecies of those books and the prophetic role of the
Adventist church.
I know that at times it is not easy to achieve this goal for some
ministerial students come to you from institutions where a
different approach is used in the interpretation of those books.
I know of some college teachers who in their class on Daniel never go
beyond Daniel 6 and in the case of Revelation they spend
the whole course discussing backgrounds and analyzing only chapters
1-5.
You can easily imagine the damage done to those students and to their
commitment to the Adventist faith. I thank God because
here at the Seminary those teaching Daniel and Revelation still believe
in the historicist method of interpretation. Please, I beg of
you, continue to do all you can to make ensure that your students are
reestablished in our prophetic interpretation.
Without conviction our graduates will lack commitment. They ought to
understand as clearly as possible the cosmic conflict and
the function of God's remnant people at the close of the conflict. We
do have a message for the world and we must proclaim it
and invite others to join us.
The Seminary needs not only to impart knowledge but light a fire in
students' bones-a passion for souls, a spirit of dreaming and
daring for God, a burning desire to get involved in the global mission
of the church. We need graduates who are ready to go out
and put everything on the line for God.
D. Finally, and more important than anything else, our graduates should
be personally committed to Christ as
Savior and Lord.
I know that this is a personal matter and not something that you can
easily achieve in the classroom. Nevertheless, I would like
to insist that our graduates give evidence to indicate that they know
Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.
I urge you to provide opportunities for their spiritual commitment and
growth, not just in the classes dealing with spiritual
matters, but in any class as well as in the extra-curricular activities
of the Seminary program.
Theological training is important but more important is a surrendering
of the whole person to Jesus Christ. We need ministers
who know the Lord and who will be able to lead others to the cross. It
would be simply unforgivable if a seminary graduate had
never learned how to give a gospel presentation and how to lead someone
to Christ.
The graduates that I have described for you will be able to "guard the
deposit that was entrusted" to them. They will
possess the proper understanding and commitment needed to become
guardians of a deposit that should be shared with the
world.
IV. Guarding the Deposit: The Theological Task
I realize that my emphasis on guarding the truth could be misunderstood
as a call to preserve a tradition or even worse a creedal
statement.
I do not consider the Seminary to be a museum of truth. Adventists do
not believe in a fossilized corpse of truth that need to be
guarded and placed in a special artificial environment in order to
protect it from extinction.
Yes, we should all guard the truth but in the process we should realize
that the search for truth never ends. It is here that the
theological task, your work, becomes relevant for the church and the
world.
A. Guarding the truth implies there are dimensions of present truth
that need further development.
One of the tasks of the community of Adventist theologians should be to
deepen the biblical understanding of our doctrines and
teachings. I am sure there are aspects of our beliefs that we have not
yet uncovered but that through a careful reading of the
Bible could be brought to light.
We have done very well with the doctrine of the Sabbath and to some
extent with the doctrine of the second coming of Christ
but there are other areas that need further study. I would even say
that our doctrinal statements need to be fleshed out into
theological formulations that will make them more attractive in
theological circles, in the market of theological ideas.
We must witness to theologians outside the Adventist community and this
will require careful development of our theology. In
this task we must remember that we do have a non-negotiable set of
beliefs and we should not sacrifice them in order to feel
accepted by those with whom we disagree.
B. Guarding the truth implies that there is more truth available to us
in the Scriptures and that we must search for
it.
Truth cannot be circumscribed to a set of ideas, even though that
particular set of ideas contains truth relevant to us. The Bible
contains a wealth of material that we will never be able totally to
fathom.
I encourage you to delve deep into the Bible in search for new light
that will broaden our understanding of our message and
mission. We should never be satisfied with our knowledge of biblical
truth because the Lord has much more to share with us. In
this search we should keep in mind that new light does not contradict
the light already entrusted to us. You do work within a
particular religious community.
C. Guarding the truth implies making it relevant for the church and the
world.
The world and the church face difficult ethical, theological,
scientific and sociological issues and problems. Does the Bible and
our church have something to say about those issues? More important, Is
the message of salvation proclaimed in the Scriptures
still relevant at the end of this century?
There is much work for our theologians as they, through prayer and
Bible study, attempt to provide guidance to our leaders and
to the church in our modern and secular society. The Seminary is not a
museum of truth, because truth is still alive. It belongs to
the church in worship, to the home, to the market place, to the work
place, to every sphere of our lives, and it is the task of our
theologians to help make it relevant in any of those spheres.
The integrating factor in the preservation of the deposit of truth is
the Holy Spirit. He has guided us in the past to the discovery
of a meaningful body of beliefs and he is still willing to use
theologians and the community of believers to gain a better and
deeper understanding of the Scriptures. It is he who helps us to
preserve the deposit of truth intact in order that. . . "through
the church, the manifold wisdom of God . . . be made known to the
rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm" (Eph
3:10).
V. Conclusion
In closing. . . .
I would like to challenge you to renew your commitment to a scholarship
that will make a contribution to the fulfillment of the
mission of the church and to a better understanding of our message.
I would like to challenge you to do your utmost in avoiding giving the
impression through actions, teachings or methodology
that God's word is in some way less than reliable. Our students need a
solid foundation; they need direction, they need a vision,
they need conviction and these come from a solid knowledge of
Scriptures.
I would like to challenge you to place the Bible once more above any
human book or academic work. Let its light illumine
the mind of the students and fill their lives with meaning and
purpose.
I would like to challenge you to uplift the ministry and counsels of
Ellen White. While the Bible is the foundation, we neglect
this light from the Lord at our eternal peril.
I would like to challenge you to guard the good deposit entrusted to
us; to guard it by sharing it, by deepening our
understanding of it, by drawing out of its richness new light, and by
making it relevant for all of us.
I would like to challenge you to envision together with your students a
glorious future, a time when the glory of the Lord will
encircle the planet in an explosion of heavenly light through the
radiance of Christ's coming.
"He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus
be with God's people. Amen" (Rev 22:20, 21).
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 10:46:03 -0400
From: "Mashudu Ravhengani" <ravhenmj@xxxxx.xxxx
Subject: E.G White!
Friends,
Here is a message that I recieved from Pitso (an Adventist student at UCT)
#####################################################################
hi Jerry
Recently i came across a site on the internet which caught my
attention. The author makes some serious allegations as
well as some heavily researched points to discredit the SDA church and most
importantly Ellen White.I must admit that although some accusations are
outrightly senseless, some really makes one think. I paid attention to one
claim that the author makes in which he claims that Ellen White is not the
author of the famous book "STEPS TO CHRIST". Off course i made some
enquiries with relevant sources and i got a reply which i attached for those
who are interested.
I would really like to encourage fellow adventists to check this site out as
the author has been an adventist for the better part of his life but has
taken a decision to leave the church and keep the Sabbath alone because of
the "inconsistecies","lies" and the "false Prophet" that we uphold.
[pitso]
###################################################################
From: "Ellen G. White Estate" <egw@aubranch.egwestate.andrews.edu>
CC: 74617.2525@compuserve.com, cnewborn@oakwood.edu,
104474.1441@compuserve.com, egwhite@sophia.lib.hbc.ac.za
Subject: Re: your mail
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 17:13:55 -0400 (EDT)
On Tue, 7 Sep 1999, Pitso Tsibolane wrote:
> hi my name is Pitso Tsibolane from South Africa (Cape Town).
>
> As i was browsing the net i came some very disturbing news about
Ellen White (from www.ellenwhite.org).
>
> can u please just honestly comment on the fact that the book "STEPS TO
> CHRIST" could not have been written by the prophet herself but by
somebody
> else?
> How do you also account for the fact that the EG WHITE ESTATE does not
> possess the original manuscripts of the book itself?
>
> a very concerned believer
> ==================================
> Pitso Tsibolane
> Room 29 Kopano Residence
> University of Cape Town
> Rosebank
> 7700
>
> Tel: 021 689 4721
>
>
> ===================================
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Dear Pitso Tsibolane,
Thank you for contacting the Ellen G. White Estate. I see that you have
sent your message to several White Estate facilities, so I will do the same.
The accusation that Mrs. White did not write Steps to Christ comes to us
as hearsay. The claim arose in 1932 in a newsletter published by a
well-established critic of Mrs. White and the Seventh-day Adventist
church. By 1932, of course, neither Mrs. White nor Fannie Bolton was
still alive. D. E. Robinson, who had married one of Mrs. White's
granddaughters and who worked with the Ellen G. White Estate, responded
to the accusation in 1933. I did not have it in electronic form until
today--my secretary just finished copying it for me to send to you. I
trust you will find it helpful.
As for your second question, I do not find it surprising at all that the
Ellen G. White Estate does not have the manuscript for Steps to Christ.
The book was published in 1891. I suspect that work on it was completed
shortly before Mrs. White moved halfway around the world to Australia.
What does one keep, move, or store under such circumstances? Once a book
is in print, does the author keep all the working papers for it? In many
cases, No. My father was the author of a number of books, but I don't
think we have even one of his original manuscripts. In Mrs. White's case,
it is possible that the manuscript went to the press and never was
returned to her. She did not have a photocopy machine that would let her
run off a quick copy to have on file. In the absence of solid information
I am speculating, but perhaps my speculations will illustrate the fact
that the lack of the manuscript proves nothing about the authorship.
I hope this is helpful. Let me know if I can be of further service.
Thank you for writing, and God bless.
--------
William Fagal, Director
Ellen G. White Estate Branch Office
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, MI 49104-1400 USA
Phone: 616 471-3209
FAX: 616 471-6166
Website: www.WhiteEstate.org or www.egwestate.andrews.edu
E-mail: egw@aubranch.egwestate.andrews.edu
THE AUTHORSHIP OF "STEPS TO CHRIST"
by D. E. ROBINSON
[a paper published in 1933]
The well-known book, Steps to Christ, was published forty years
ago. The author, Mrs. E. G. White, has been dead for eighteen years.
One of her former secretaries, Miss Fannie Bolton, died in 1926. And
now, years after the death of these two women, we are asked to
believe that they held during their lifetime, and died without making
it right, a guilty secret, which has just come to light and must now
be made as public as possible.
In September 1932, there appeared in a little journal published
in Southern California--a journal which is devoted largely to an
effort to discredit the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist
church, and to cast contempt upon the lifework and teachings of Ellen
G. White-- a statement which has been taken up, without proof, and
has been printed in Europe, where it is receiving a wide circulation.
The charge, as it appeared in the Gathering Call for September 1932,
is as follows:
Just recently we received the best of evidence that Fannie
Bolton wrote Steps to Christ without any dictation or
assistance from Mrs. White whatever. It was her product
in toto, but was published as Mrs. White's production.
Such a statement, unless it can be unequivocally proved, is
libelous. It infers much more than literacy theft; for if this
charge is true, then Mrs. White was guilty of robbery for every penny
received in royalty for this book.
The principal facts regarding the early history of this wonder
ful book are presented by Elder W. C. White and Elder G. B. Starr.
We feel certain that those who know these men, will accept with
confidence their statements, based on personal knowledge of the
facts.
Furthermore, a careful study of the contents of the book Steps
to Christ will confirm conviction that it, like other books published
by Mrs. White during the last years of her life, was largely a
compilation from her voluminous writings of former days preserved in
letters and manuscripts and in periodical articles, including reports
of her discourses, and counsels for leaders in the church.
One day, recently, I spent a few hours scanning Mrs. White's
articles in the files of the Review and Herald for the years 1885,
1886, 1887, and 1890 and the Signs of the Times for 1888. I found,
as the result of this short research, the equivalent of twelve pages
of the source material for the book in question.
For the information of any who may desire to check these find
ings, I will give page references to Steps to Christ (illustrated
edition, 1908) and reference to the periodical articles where certain
portions were first printed.
Steps to Christ Periodical
Pages 9, 10 Review, October 27, 1885
" 29, 30, 31 " April 1, 1890
" 42-46 (an entire chapter) Signs, March 16, 1888
" 57 Review, September 21, 1886
" 85 " June 7, 1887
" 126-128 " February 3, 1885
Besides the material drawn from these periodical articles, the
chapter in Steps to Christ entitled "Confession" is a rearrangement
of subject matter in Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, pages 635-
641. This was published in 1882. Striking statements regarding the
will near the close of the chapter on "Consecration" are closely
paralleled in Volume 5, page 513.
It was in the autumn of 1887, that Miss Bolton was first em
ployed by Mrs. White. Most of the references noted above are earlier
than this date. This is sufficient to show the absurdity of the
claim that this popular book was written by Fannie Bolton.
Notice, further, this passage which is an amplification of a
statement written by Sister White before she ever saw Miss Bolton.
Many walking along the path of life, dwell upon their
mistakes and failures and disappointments, and their
hearts are filled with grief and discouragement. While I
was in Europe, a sister who had been doing this, and who
was in deep distress, wrote to me, asking for some word of
encouragement. The night after I had read her letter, I
dreamed that I was in a garden and one who seemed to be
the owner of the garden was conducting me through its
paths. I was gathering the flowers and enjoying their
fragrance, when this sister, who had been walking by my
side, called my attention to some unsightly briers that
were impeding her way. . . . "O, she mourned, "Is it not a
pity that this beautiful garden is spoiled with thorns?"
Then the guide said, "Let the thorns alone, for they will
only wound you. Gather the roses, the lilies, and the
pinks." Steps to Christ, p. 121.
Now we copy from a letter written to a sister in Europe, under
date of February 6, 1887.
We want to see you trusting fully in the precious Saviour.
He loves you, who gave His life for you, because He valued
your soul. I had a dream not long since. I was going
through a garden and you were by my side. You kept
saying, "Look at this unsightly shrub, this deformed tree,
that poor stunted rosebush. This makes me feel bad, for
they seem to represent my life and the relation I stand in
before God." I thought a stately form walked just before
us and he said, "Martha, gather the roses, and the lilies
and the pinks, and leave the thistles and unsightly
shrubs, and bruise not the soul that Christ has in His
choice keeping." I awoke. I slept again, and the same
dream was repeated. (Letter 35, 1887)
The author of Steps to Christ is clearly the one who had this
personal experience and who alone could relate it.
Fannie Bolton, prior to her connection with Mrs. White, had
written some articles for a Chicago newspaper. But her mind had not
produced literature of a deeply spiritual nature. Anyone who gives
Fannie Bolton the credit for writing Steps to Christ should be able
to produce something from her pen which is comparable to it.
On the other hand, Mrs. White had written thousands of pages of
spiritual instruction. She had spoken publicly in hundreds of
discourses, dwelling upon the subjects presented in Steps to Christ.
To deny Mrs. White's authorship of the book is so unreasonable that
its denial should be accompanied by the most convincing proof.
The work in which Miss Bolton was engaged while in Mrs. White's
employ was not that of book editor. She was employed principally for
copying on the typewriter the letters and testimonies which Mrs.
White sent to individuals. She also prepared for the printers
articles for the Review, the Signs, and the Instructor. This is the
united testimony of those who were connected with Mrs. White's work
when Fannie Bolton was employed by her. We have the following
testimony regarding the duties of Miss Bolton and Miss Davis, left on
record by Mrs. White herself:
She (Marian Davis) is my book-maker, Fannie never was my
book-maker. How are my books made? She does her work in
this way. She takes my articles which are published in
the papers and pastes them in blank books. She also has a
copy of all the letters I write. In preparing a chapter
for a book, Marian remembers that I have written something
on that special point which may make the matter more
forcible. She begins to search for this, and if, when she
finds it, she sees that it will make the chapter more
clear, she adds it.
The books are not Marian's productions, but my own,
gathered from all my writings. Marian has a large field
from which to draw, and her ability to arrange the matter
is of great value to me. It saves my poring over a mass
of matter, which I have no time to do.
So you understand that Marian is a most valuable help to
me in bringing out my books. Fannie had none of this work
to do. Marian has read chapters to her, and Fannie has
sometimes made suggestions as to the arrangement of the
matter.
This is the difference between the workers. As I have
stated, Fannie has been strictly forbidden to change my
words for her words. As spoken by the heavenly agencies,
the words are severe in their simplicity; and I try to put
the thoughts into such simple language that a child can
understand every word uttered. The words of someone else
would not rightly represent me. (Letter 61-a, 1900)
As if to forestall false reports which might later be made, we
have a clear and truthful statement from Miss Bolton's own pen
regarding the character and extent of the editorial work done by her
in preparing manuscript for the printer. Writing to a dear friend in
Melbourne, November 11, 1894, three years after the completion of the
work on Steps to Christ, she says,
Concerning the matter of which I have written to you
before, I will say that there is no reason why you or
anyone else should be thrown into perplexity. Sister
White is the prophet of the Lord for the remnant church,
and though the Lord has seen fit to choose one for this
work who is not proficient in grammar and rhetoric, and
this lack is supplied by others, yet she is responsible
for every thought, for every expression in her writing.
Every manuscript that is edited goes back to her for
examination, and this work committed to those who have
been called to labor in this branch, is not done without
prayer and consecration.
The "word of the Lord" comes to her, but if in passing
through the human channel, the human imperfection in
education leaves its impress, why should it be a
perplexity if God should lay upon another the trifling
duty of putting the subject of a sentence in harmony with
its verb, or the number or gender of a thing mentioned in
harmony with the fact that determines the number or
gender? There are many ways of expressing the same
thought. We may say "sit down," "take a chair," "the sun
shines," "it is a bright day," "the atmosphere is
illuminated," and not mar the thought in using different
words.
Now as far as changing Sister White's expressions are
concerned, I can say that just as far as it is consistent
with grammar and rhetoric, her expressions are left
intact.
Now I beg of you to study the wonderful truths that have
come to you through the "Spirit of Prophecy" and "make
them a part of yourselves." They lead not away from God
and purity, but toward heaven and perfection. There is no
violence done in truth in expressing it is various ways.
Even Jesus did not quote exactly the words of the prophet.
Pray over the matter and God will give peace about it.
At a later date she stated,
The editors in no wise change Sister White's expression if
it is grammatically correct and is an evident expression
of the evident thought. Sister White as human
instrumentality has a pronounced style of her own which is
preserved all through her books and articles, that stamps
the matter with her individuality. Many times her
manuscript does not need any editing, often but slight
editing, and again, a great deal of literary work; but
article or chapter, whatever has been done upon it, is
passed back into her hands by the editor, and the Spirit
of Prophecy then appropriates the matter and it becomes,
when approved, the chosen expression of the Spirit of God.
(from "A Confession concerning the Testimony of Jesus
Christ," addressed to "Dear Brethren in the Truth,"
written about the time of the General Conference of 1901.)
"Elmshaven" Office
St. Helena, California
August 24, 1
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