Appointment of the trustees was for life, Ellen
White providing that "if a vacancy shall occur for any reason
among said trustees, or their successors, a majority of the
surviving or remaining trustees are hereby empowered and directed
to fill such vacancy by the appointment of some other fit person";
or if this provision were to fail, the General Conference Executive
Committee should appoint someone to fill such a vacancy. The
will dedicated the major portion of the existing and potential
royalty incomes from her books to the work of the trustees.
(For additional information, see Appendix B, "The Settlement
of Ellen G. White's Estate," in volume 6 of A. L. White's biography
of Ellen White, Ellen G. White: The Later Elmshaven Years.)
At the death of Ellen White, July 16, 1915,
this self-perpetuating board began to function. It soon sold
Ellen White's real estate, consisting mainly of Elmshaven, her
home property near St. Helena, California, then began the continued
care of her literary properties. Under the terms of the will,
such responsibilities fell into three areas: (1) possession
of the copyrights to her writings and the care and promotion
of her books in the English language; (2) preparation of manuscripts
for, and the promotion of the translation and publication of
her writings in other languages; and (3) custody of the files
of manuscripts and other files, and the selection of matter
from the Ellen G. White manuscript files for publication. The
board now carries a fourth responsibility, which has developed
naturally through the years--acquainting Seventh-day Adventists
and others with Mrs. White and her work.
Organization of the
Estate.
The Original Board:
When the board was organized in 1915, A. G. Daniells served
as president. The secretaryship, after being held for a short
time by C. C. Crisler, passed to W. C. White, the only member
of the board devoting full time to the work of the trustees.
He filled this office until his death in 1937. From 1915 to
1937 the work was carried on at Elmshaven in a rented office
building with a vault that was used to house the Ellen G. White
materials.
During the 19 years they worked together, the
original members, in addition to routine tasks, (1) published
10 posthumous compilations (for an annotated bibliography of
the Ellen G. White books, see White, Ellen G., Writings
of, and Appendix D in the Comprehensive Index to the Writings
of Ellen G. White); (2) produced an 865-page Comprehensive
Index to the Writings of Ellen G. White, published in 1926;
(3) carried forward the thorough indexing of the Ellen G. White
manuscript files; and (4) in counsel with the leading officers
of the General Conference in 1933 and 1934, laid the foundation
for continuing the trusteeship in perpetuity. The steps taken
to ensure the perpetuation of the trusteeship were: (a)
in 1933 the trustees, as the constituency, formed a corporation
under the laws of the state of California "to carry out and
perform the provisions of the charitable trust created by the
last will and testament of Ellen G. White deceased"; (b)
the General Conference agreed to provide adequate financial
support for the work of the trustees in the form of an annual
budget; the trustees, in turn, assigned to the General Conference
all royalty incomes produced by the Ellen G. White books; (c)
it was agreed to move the property and work of the trustees
at some appropriate future time to Washington, D.C., thus placing
it close to the world headquarters of the church.
Period of Transition:
When three of the original trustees died--one in 1935 and two
in 1936--the vacancies were filled in harmony with the provisions
of the will and the bylaws of the 1933 corporation. The full-time
secretary, W. C. White, died on Sept. 1, 1937. He was replaced
by his son, Arthur L. White, who for nine years had served as
his secretary and for four years as assistant secretary of the
White Estate. The work of the White Estate was moved to the
General Conference, Washington, D.C., in January, 1938.
Present Organization:
With the demands upon them increasing steadily with the
growth of the church and numerous constituencies to be represented,
in 1950 the trustees increased the board's membership from five
to seven, and in 1958 amended the bylaws of the corporation
to provide for a constituency and board of nine, seven to be
life members and two to be elected for a term corresponding
to that of General Conference elected personnel (originally
four years, but now five). In 1970 the board was increased to
11; in 1980, to 13; and, in 1985, to 15. The number of life
members is currently five. At quinquennial meetings the board
also elects the secretary and associate secretaries, as well
as officers of the corporation, as provided for in the bylaws.
Relationship to General
Conference. Through the years a close working relationship
has obtained between the White Estate trustees and the General
Conference. Most of the trustees are members of the General
Conference Executive Committee. Various matters, such as promoting
the overseas publication of the Ellen G. White material, appropriation
of funds to assist in the foreign language publication of Ellen
G. White books, and overall planning of Spirit of Prophecy promotion,
including preparation of materials for the annual Spirit of
Prophecy Sabbath, although intimately related to the work of
the White trustees, are beyond the sphere of their direct responsibility.
These are handled by the General Conference Committee through
a sub-committee known as the Spirit of Prophecy Committee. This
committee includes several of the White trustees. The duties
of this subcommittee and the working relationship between the
General Conference Committee and the White Estate are currently
set forth in a joint agreement adopted by the General Conference
Committee and the White Estate trustees on Oct. 10, 1957. There
is an interlocking and at times overlapping of responsibilities;
nevertheless, a smooth and efficient working relationship between
the two organizations is maintained.
The Work of the White Estate.
Routine Work. The paid staff members: (1) safeguard and
maintain the records in the custody of the trustees, and the
indexes thereto, in such a manner as to serve the church; (2)
handle the copyrights to the Ellen G. White works; (3) conduct
such research in these works and the related historical materials
as may be called for; (4) respond to questions that may be directed
to the White Estate in personal interviews and in a worldwide
correspondence; (5) assemble, when authorized by the trustees,
materials for compilations from Ellen G. White's writings; (6)
foster, in conjunction with the Spirit of Prophecy Committee,
the ever-widening publication of these writings in various languages
and at times make selections or abridgments as called for and
authorized; (7) fill assignments in church, institutional, and
field visitation as the needs and best interests of the advancing
work of the church require; (8) conduct tours of historical
sites of denominational interest, especially in the New England
states; and (9) prepare articles, correspondence lessons, and
text materials.
Productions of special value to the church
include the four-volume Comprehensive Index to the Writings
of Ellen G. White (1962, 1992); the six-volume facsimile
reprints of the Ellen G. White Present Truth and Review
and Herald articles; the four-volume Ellen G. White Signs
of the Times articles; the Ellen G. White Youth's Instructor
articles; the Periodical Resource Collection volumes; the six-volume
biography of Ellen G. White, by A. L. White; and The Published
Writings of Ellen G. White on Compact Disc (CD-ROM), a tool
of inestimable value to users of computers.
Ellen G. White Estate
Branch Offices and Research Centers. The White Estate
maintains three branch office research centers--at Andrews University,
Berrien Springs, Michigan, at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda,
California, and at Oakwood College, Huntsville, Alabama. These
offices contain duplicates of the Ellen G. White documents and
other historical materials housed in the main office at General
Conference headquarters. Beginning in 1974, the White Estate
also has set up Ellen G. White-SDA Research Centers on the campuses
of 14 Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities outside
North America, in the countries of Argentina, Australia, Brazil,
England, France, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria,
Philippines, Russia, and South Africa.
Use of Ellen G. WhiteManuscript
Materials. During the later years of her life, Ellen
G. White often drew upon her unique 50,000-page manuscript file
in the preparation of published works. The White trustees have
continued to draw upon this for the compilations made since
her death. These manuscripts constitute an invaluable basic
file of historical records and of counsel to the church. The
copyright of these manuscripts resides solely with the White
trustees.
While all of Ellen White's writings are available
for research, the unpublished letters, manuscripts, and other
materials in the Ellen G. White files do not constitute a public
archive. The sacred nature of the files generally and the confidential
nature of many of the communications in the files require that
they be cared for and used responsibly. Even manuscripts whose
primary value is historical in nature must not be used in a
solely secular manner. "Spiritual things are spiritually discerned"
(The Desire of Ages, p. 55; see also 1 Cor. 2:14). Because
of this, during the first few decades following Ellen White's
death, careful policies governing the use and release of unpublished
materials were set up, ultimately resulting in the publication
of 21 volumes known as Manuscript Releases. In recent
years the earlier restrictive policies have been adapted to
accommodate the needs of increased research.
Officers of the White
Estate Board. The two chief officers of the board are
the chair and the secretary. The secretary serves not only as
secretary of the board but as president of the organization,
and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the office
and staff. Beginning in 1915, when the terms of Ellen G. White's
will went into effect, the White Estate has had 10 chairs and
six secretaries.
Chairs: A. G. Daniells, 1915-1935; J.
E. Fulton, 1935-1936; J. L. Shaw, 1936-1937; F. M. Wilcox, 1938-1944;
M. E. Kern, 1944-1951; D. E. Rebok, 1952; A. V. Olson, 1952-1963;
F. D. Nichol 1963-1966; W. P. Bradley, 1966-1980; Kenneth H.
Wood, 1980- .
Secretaries: William C. White, 1915-1937;
Arthur L. White, 1937-1978; Robert W. Olson, 1978-1990; Paul
A. Gordon, 1990-1995; Juan Carlos Viera, 1995-2000; James R.
Nix, 2000- .
