(A statement made by W. C. White before the General Conference
Council, October 30, 1911)
Addressing the council, Elder W. C. White said:
"It is with pleasure that I present to you a statement regarding the latest
English edition of The Great Controversy.
"About two years ago we were told that the electrotype plates
for this book, in use at the Pacific Press, the Review and Herald, and the
International Tract Society (London), were so worn that the book must be reset
and new plates made. This work has been done at the Pacific Press. Four sets
of plates were made--one for each of our offices in Washington, Mountain View,
Nashville, and Watford.
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"In a letter sent to the managers of our publishing houses,
I wrote as follows, on July 24, 1911: [This same letter was addressed to "Our
General Missionary Agents."]
"`After taking counsel with ministers, canvassers, and other
friends of the book, we thought best to reset the text so that the new edition
would correspond as nearly as possible with the old. And although we could
not use exactly the same type, the matter runs nearly page for page. Every
chapter in the new edition begins and ends on the same pages as does the corresponding
chapter in the old edition.
"`The most noticeable change in the new edition is the improvement
in the illustrations. Each of the 42 chapters, together with the Preface,
Introduction, Contents, and list of illustrations, has a beautiful pictorial
heading; and ten new full-page illustrations have been introduced, to take
the place of those which were least attractive.
"`The 13 Appendix notes of the old edition, occupying 13
pages, have been replaced by 31 notes occupying 12 pages. These are nearly
all reference notes, intended to help the studious reader in finding historical
proofs of the statements made in the book.'
"`The Biographical Notes have been omitted, and the general
index has been enlarged from 12 to 22 pages, thus greatly facilitating the
finding of desired passages.
"`In the body of the book, the most noticeable improvement
is the introduction of historical references. In the old edition, over 700
biblical references were given, but in only a few instances were there any
historical references to the authorities quoted or referred to. In the new
edition the reader will find more than 400 references to 88 authors and authorities.
"`When we presented to Mother the request of some of our
canvassers, that there should be given in the new edition not only scripture
references, but also references to the historians quoted, she instructed us
to hunt up and insert the historical references. She also instructed us to
verify the quotations, and to correct any inaccuracies found; and where quotations
were made from passages that were rendered differently by different translators,
to use that translation which was found to be most correct and authentic.
"`The finding of the various passages quoted from historians
has been a laborious task, and the verification of the passages quoted has
led to some changes in the wording of the text. This is especially noticeable
in the quotations from the History of the Reformation, by J. Merle
D'Aubigne. It was found that there were six or more English translations,
American and British, which varied much in wording, although almost identical
in thought; and in the old edition of The Great Controversy
three of these had been used, according to the clearness and beauty of the
language. But we learned that only one of these many translations had the
approval of the author; that is the one used by the American Tract Society
in its later editions.
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Therefore, the quotations from D'Aubigne in this edition of The Great Controversy
have been made to conform in the main to this approved translation.
"`In a few instances, new quotations from historians, preachers,
and present-day writers, have been used in the place of the old, because they
are more forceful, or because we have been unable to find the old ones. In
each case where there has been such a change, Mother has given faithful attention
to the proposed substitution, and has approved of the change.
"`You will find that changes of this character have been
made on pages 273, 277, 306-308, 334, 335, 387, 547, 580, and 581.
"`There are still some score or more quotations in the book
whose authority we have so far been unable to trace. Fortunately, these relate
to matters regarding which there is not a probability of there being any serious
contention.
"`In spelling, punctuation, and capitalization, changes have
been made to bring this book into uniformity of style with the other volumes
of this series.
"`In eight or ten places, time references have been changed
because of the lapse of time since the book was first published.
"`In several places, forms of expression have been changed
to avoid giving unnecessary offense. An example of this will be found in the
change of the word "Romish" to "Roman" or "Roman Catholic." In two places
the phrase "divinity of Christ" is changed to "deity of Christ." And the words
"religious toleration" have been changed to "religious liberty."
"`The statements made on pages 285-287, regarding the action
of the Assembly in its blasphemous decrees against religion and the Bible,
have been so worded as to show that the Assembly set aside, and afterward
restored, not only the Bible, but also God and His worship.
"`In the new edition, the rise of the papacy in 538, and
its fall in 1798, are spoken of as its "supremacy" and "downfall," instead
of its "establishment" and "abolition," as in the old edition.
"`In each of these places the more accurate form of expression
has been duly considered and approved by the author of the book.
"`On pages 50, 563, 564, 580, 581, and in a few other places
where there were statements regarding the papacy which are strongly disputed
by Roman Catholics, and which are difficult to prove from accessible histories,
the wording in the new edition has been so changed that the statement falls
easily within the range of evidence that is readily obtainable.
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"`Regarding these and similar passages which might stir up
bitter and unprofitable controversies, Mother has often said, "What I have
written regarding the arrogance and the assumptions of the papacy, is true.
Much historical evidence regarding these matters has been designedly destroyed;
nevertheless, that the book may be of the greatest benefit to Catholics and
others, and that needless controversies may be avoided, it is better to have
all statements regarding the assumptions of the pope and the claims of the
papacy stated so moderately as to be easily and clearly proved from accepted
histories that are within the reach of our ministers and students."
"`If you hear reports that some of the work done on this
latest edition was done contrary to Mother's wish, or without her knowledge,
you can be sure that such reports are false, and unworthy of consideration.'"
Passages from the old and the new editions were read and compared
to illustrate the statement read from the speaker's letter of July 24. Then
Brother White said:
"Since the printing of this new edition, Mother has taken
great pleasure in looking over and rereading the book. Day after day, as I
visited her in the morning, she spoke of it, saying that she enjoyed reading
it again, and that she was glad that the work we have done to make this edition
as perfect as possible, was completed while she was living and could direct
in what was done.
"Mother has never claimed to be authority on history. The
things which she has written out are descriptions of flashlight pictures and
other representations given her regarding the actions of men, with views of
past, present, and future history in its revelation of this work. In connection
with the writing out of these views, she has made use of good and clear historical
statements to help make plain to the reader the things which she is endeavoring
to present. When I was a mere boy, I heard her read D'Aubigne's History
of the Reformation to my father. She read to him a large part, if not
the whole, of the five volumes. She has read other histories of the Reformation.
This has helped her to locate and describe many of the events and the movements
presented to her in vision. This is somewhat similar to the way in which the
study of the Bible helps her to locate and describe the many figurative representations
given to her regarding the development of the great controversy in our day
between truth and error.
"Mother has never laid claim to verbal inspiration (see Introduction
to The Great Controversy, pp. 11 and 12), and I do not find that my
father, or Elder Bates, Andrews, Smith or Waggoner put forth this claim. If
there were verbal inspiration in writing her manuscripts, why should there
be on her part the work of addition or adaptation? It is a fact that Mother
often takes one of her manuscripts and goes over it thoughtfully, making additions
that develop the thought still further."
"The first edition of this book was published in California
in 1884. When Spirit of Prophecy, Volume III, was printed, there was
some matter left over. A portion of
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this was printed in pamphlet form, and circulated; and it
was expected that Mother would proceed immediately to add to this matter and
bring out Volume IV. Before Father's death he had advertised the book Spirit
of Prophecy, Volume IV.
"When Mother brought out Volume IV, she and those who had
to do with its publication had in mind the fulfillment of Father's plan. We
also had in mind that it was written for the Adventist people of the United
States. Therefore, with much difficulty the matter was compressed so as to
bring this volume into about the same size as the other volumes of the series.
"Later on, when it was found that book could be sold to all
people, the publishers took the plates and printed an edition on larger paper.
Illustrations were inserted, and an experiment [was] made in selling it as
a subscription book at $1.50.
"In 1885 Mother and I were sent to Europe, and there the
question came up regarding its translation into German, French, Danish, and
Swedish. As Mother considered this proposition, she decided to make additions
to the matter.
"Mother's contact with European people had brought to her
mind scores of things that had been presented to her in vision during past
years, some of them two or three times, and other scenes many times. Her seeing
of historic places and her contact with the people refreshed her memory with
reference to these things, and so she desired to add much material to the
book. This was done, and the manuscripts were prepared for translation.
"After our return to America, a new edition was brought out
much enlarged. In this edition some of the matter used in the first English
edition was left out. The reason for these changes was found in the fact that
the new edition was intended for world-wide circulation.
"In her public ministry, Mother has shown an ability to select
from the storehouse of truth matter that is well adapted to the needs of the
congregation before her; and she has always thought that in the selection
of matter for publication in her books the best judgment should be shown in
selecting that which is best suited to the needs of those who will read the
book.
"Therefore, when the new edition of The Great Controversy
was brought out in 1888, there were left out about 20 pages of matter--four
or five pages in a place--which were very instructive to the Adventists of
America, but which were not appropriate for readers in other parts of the
world.
"Much of the research for historical statements used in the
new European and American editions of The
Great Controversy was done in Basel, where we had access to Elder
Andrews's large library, and where the translators had access to the university
libraries.
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"When we came to go over this matter for the purpose of giving
historical references, there were some quotations which we could not find.
In some cases there were found other statements making the same point, from
other historians. These were in books accessible in many public libraries.
When we brought to Mother's attention a quotation that we could not find,
and showed her that there was another quotation that we had found, which made
the same point, she said, `Use the one you can give reference to, so that
the reader of the book, if he wishes to go to the source and find it, can
do so.' In that way some historical data have been substituted.
"Now, with reference to the statement that the people at
Washington, or the General Conference Committee men, have been doing this
or that, right or wrong, in connection with this book, it is important that
you should have a clear statement of facts regarding the matter.
"Our brethren at Washington and at Mountain View have done
only that which we requested them to do. As stated in the beginning, we took
counsel with the men of the Publishing Department, with State canvassing agents,
and with members of the publishing committees, not only in Washington, but
in California, and I asked them to kindly call our attention to any passages
that needed to be considered in connection with the resetting of the book.
"When it was pointed out that some of the historical data
were questioned and challenged, we asked them to give us a written statement
that would help us in our research. They did as we requested and nothing more.
All decisions as to what should be changed, and what should be printed word-for-word
as in the old edition, were made in Mother's office, by persons in her employ
and working under her direction. Therefore, there is no occasion for anyone
to say a word against the General Conference Committee men or the literary
men at Washington, or against the book, because of anything done by the brethren
in Washington or elsewhere in connection with this work.
"We are very thankful to our brethren in Washington, and
to many others, for kind and faithful painstaking labors in looking up those
passages that were likely to be challenged by the Catholics and other critics.
We are also profoundly thankful to our brethren in England and on the Continent,
and also to brethren in Boston, New York, and Chicago, for helping to find
in the great libraries, and verify, those quotations that were difficult to
locate. They have done this work at our request, and to help us in what we
thought ought to be done. The uses made of the results of this research, are
seen in the historical references at the foot of the page and in the Appendix.
"The Appendix in the old book, as you remember, was partly
explanatory, partly argumentative, and partly apologetic; but such notes seemed
to us to be no longer necessary, and the 31 notes in the new edition are chiefly
references to historical statements showing the correctness of the statements
made in the book. We felt that
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it would be of value to the studious reader to have these definite references
to the statements of well-known historians."--W. C. White, July 24, 1911.