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Charges of Critics Are in Bold Face |
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| Acknowledgments | 5 | |
| Foreword, by J. L. McElhany | 13 | |
| From the Author to the Reader of This Book | 15 | |
| 1. Mrs. White and the Seventh-day Adventist Church | 21 | |
| Two Distinguishing Marks of Seventh-day Adventism—First, Arose in Response to Prophecy—Second, Prophetic Gift in Church—Mrs. White's Counsels Explain Church's Growth, Stability | ||
| 2. A Life Sketch of Mrs. White: Were Mrs. White's Visions Due to Nervous Disorders?—Part I | 26 | |
| Charge: Her Visions Due to Nervous Disorders—Two Primary Weaknesses in Charge—Her Birth, Early Life, Conversion—Her First Vision—Public Ministry Begins—Encounters With Fanatics—Setting of Visions—Dominating Life Motive—Letters Reveal Personality—Her Views on Child Training—Her Resourcefulness—Pioneering in Medical Work—Death of Husband—Overseas Travels—Closing Years—Death | ||
| 3. Mrs. White, and Bible Prophets, in Vision: Were Mrs. White's Visions Due to Nervous Disorders?—Part II | 51 | |
| Visions Described by James White, George I. Butler—Night Visions—How Should Prophets Act in Vision?—Bible Prophets in Vision—Critics in Strange Company | ||
| 4. Medical Facts Concerning Certain Nervous Maladies: Were Mrs. White's Visions Due to Nervous Disorders?—Part III | 62 | |
| Modern Medical View of Epilepsy, Hysteria—“Hysterical Personality”—Relation of Epilepsy to Hysteria—Schizophrenia—Whole Life Picture Important in Diagnosis | ||
| 5. Certain Nervous-Disorder Proofs Examined: Were Mrs. White's Visions Due to Nervous Disorders?—Part IV | 70 | |
| Why Public Visions Ceased—Medical Witnesses Against Mrs. White, Drs. Fairfield, Russell, Jackson, Kellogg—Canright Describes Her—New Self-Delusion Theory—The Tottering Edifice and the Wayfarer | ||
| 6. What Do Adventists Claim for Mrs. White's Writings? | 87 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White's Writings Are Considered Another Bible—Refuted by Adventist Leaders and Mrs. White | ||
| 7. The Astronomy Vision | 91 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Gave False Figures on Moons of Planets—Source Material on Astronomy Vision—Not Mrs. White but Bates Named Planets Seen—Critic Suppresses Part of Loughborough Account—-Not Necessary to Know All Truth in Order to Be True Prophet—Three Key Phrases in Critic's Statement Analyzed | ||
| 8. The Predictions of the 1856 Vision | 102 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Made False Claim in 1856 That Some Then Living Would Be Still Alive at Second Advent—Conditional Quality of Divine Predictions—Nineveh, Israelites, Eli, Hezekiah, David—Factors That Affect Promise of Advent—Mrs. White's Comments on Lord's Delay—Certainty of Prophecy Not Affected | ||
| 9. The Civil War Predictions | 112 | |
| Charge No. 1: Mrs. White “Revealed” Only What Everybody Knew About Civil War—No. 2: Her “Revelation” Simply Reflected Views of Lincoln's Opponents—No. 3: She Predicted Slavery Would Continue—No. 4: She Thought It “Impossible” to Have War Conducted Successfully—No. 5: She Predicted That United States “Divided” “Must Fall”—No. 6: She Falsely Predicted, “This Nation Will Yet Be Humbled Into the Dust”—No. 7: She Falsely Predicted England Would Declare War—No. 8: She Forbade Adventists Giving Any Aid to Government—No. 9: She Mistakenly Saw in Civil War Evidence of World's End Near—No. 10: She Mistakenly Forecast Famine and Pestilence | ||
| 10. The Tower of Babel | 131 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Placed Tower of Babel Before Flood—Internal Evidence Reveals She Knew Bible History—typographical Error Explains Mistake | ||
| 11. “No Antidote” for Strychnine | 133 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Mistakenly Said There Was “No Antidote” for Strychnine—Three Key Questions Indicate Her Words Misunderstood—Modern Medical Discoveries Do Not Overthrow Her Statement on Strychnine | ||
| 12. The Reform Dress | 136 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Advocated Outlandish Reform Dress, Then Abandoned It—Fashions of 1860 Described, Indicted—Mrs. White's Key Statements on Dress Reform—Visit to Dansville, 1864—Her Further Statements in 1865—Visit to Dansville That Year—J. H. Waggoner on Reform Dress—Mrs. White Answers Questions on Dress—She Restates Her Views in 1867—Those Dress Reform Patterns—She Keeps Reform in Proper Perspective—Her 1881 Statement on “Simplicity in Dress”—Why Reform Dress Discarded —Not to Be Revived—What Does Ridicule Prove?—Dress Reformers Ahead of Their Times | ||
| 13. A Sketch of Early Adventist History: Mrs. White and the Shut Door—Part I | 161 | |
| Millerite Views on Prophecy—Revision of Views in 1844—Seventh Month Movement—Second Angel's Message—Events Immediately Following October 22, 1844—New Dates Set for Advent—Rise of Seventh-day Adventism—Hiram Edson's View of Sanctuary—Holders of Sanctuary and Sabbath Views Begin to Merge—Development of Sanctuary Doctrine—Shut Door—Vision Supports New Sanctuary Teaching—Central Point in Shut-Door View—James White and Joseph Bates on Shut Door in 1847—Sabbath Doctrine Takes Definite Form—Sabbath as a Seal—Sabbath and Sanctuary Tied Together—Three Key Doctrines Rounded Out—Doctrine of 144,000—Earliest Activities of Sabbathkeeping Group—False Premise Often Employed by Friend and Foe—Sense of Cohesion Developing in Sabbathkeeping Group—James White's 1868 Statement on 1844 Period—Seventh-day Adventist Church Fully Formed—Comment on Calvinists | ||
| 14. The Shut-Door Charge Examined: Mrs. White and the Shut Door—Part II | 202 | |
| Charge: For About Seven Years After Oct. 22, 1844, Mrs. White Had “Revelations” That Probation for World Had Ended—Charge Examined Under Twelve Heads—1. Her Frank Statement—What Bible Says on Close of Probation—2. Her First Vision—3. Her Vision of February 1845—4. Her letter to Eli Curtis—5. Her Endorsement of Crosier's Article—6. Her Use of Hosea 5:6, 7—7. Her Vision of March 24, 1849—8. The So-called Camden Vision—9. Her Description of Church Members in Early 1840's as “Children of Their Father, the Devil”—10. Her Prayer of Blessing on Present Truth—11. Her Language Like That of Her Associates—12. Absence of Evidence She Labored for Non-Adventists | ||
| 15. Mrs. White Taught Probation Still Lingers: Mrs. White and the Shut Door—Part III | 239 | |
| Statement in Her First Vision Regarding 144,000—Her Vision of January 5, 1849—Her Article in Present Truth, September, 1849—Dorchester Vision, November 1848—Four Arguments Against This Vision Examined | ||
| 16. Time Setting—The Seven-Year Theory | 253 | |
| Charge: Bates Induced Mrs. White and Her Husband to Believe Christ Would Come in 1851. When She Abandoned This View She Also Gave Up Shut-Door View—Bates's Time-setting Theory Stated—How Influential Was He?—Mrs. White's Statements Allegedly Supporting Bates—Her 1854 Statement Explains Phrase, “A Few Months”—James White and Time-setting Theory—How Widespread Was This Theory? | ||
| 17. Did Mrs. White Suppress Some of Her Writings? | 267 | |
| Charge: She Suppressed Certain Early Writings to Conceal Abandoned Beliefs—Charge Examined in Eight Parts—1. Alleged Inter-locking of “Shut-Door” and “Seven-Year” Theories—2. James and Ellen White's Relation to Seven-Year Theory—3. The “Suppression” of Two Publications—4. The Publication of Experience and Views—5. This Book Goes Out of Print—6. Publication of Early Writings—7. George I. Butler's Statement—Wording of the Preface—8. Those Deleted Passages—Honorable Revisions, Deletions, Additions—Earliest Cry of Suppression—Critics Reason to Opposite Conclusions | ||
| 18. The Image Beast and 666 | 286 | |
| Charge: In 1847 Mrs. White Gave an Interpretation to the “666” of Revelation 13 Which She Abandoned in 1851—Early Adventist Views on 666—James White Questions These Views—Analysis of Mrs. White's 1847 Statement—Possible Copyists' Errors | ||
| 19. Mrs. White's Attitude Toward Other Churches | 295 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Denounces All Churches and Particularly Because They Refused to Accept False Adventist Preaching in 1844—How Break With Churches Began in 1840's—Call to Come Out—Present Day Apostasy—Parallel to Jews at First Advent | ||
| 20. “Amalgamation of Man and Beast” | 306 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Teaches That Early Man Cohabited With Beasts and That Offspring Constitutes Certain Depraved Races of Men Today. She Later Suppressed This Teaching—Two Explanations of Her Words Offered—“Amalgamation” Defined—Key Phrase Examined—Results of Amalgamation—Parallel Passages Summarized—Three Important Conclusions—Mrs. White Versus Darwin—Greatest Objection Considered—Satan and Animal Kingdom—Suppression Charge Examined | ||
| 21. “Rome Alone”—An Alleged Contradiction | 323 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Reversed Herself Regarding Rome's Being Referred To in Revelation 14:8—What Is Meant by Babylon—Adventist Writers' Comments on Revelation 14:8—Apparent Contradiction Due to Change of Emphasis | ||
| 22. The Ignorant Slave—Slavery Until Second Advent | 334 | |
| Charge No. 1: Mrs. White Mistakenly Wrote in 1858 That Slaves Could Not Discern Between Right and Wrong, Hence Would Not Go to Heaven—Failed to Quote All She Says—Her View on Resurrection Not Anti-Scriptural—Charge No. 2: Mrs. White Mistakenly Expected Slavery Would Continue Until Second Advent—Prophetic Practice of Merging Present and Future Judgments—Actual Slavery Today Mrs. White Follows Prophetic Practice | ||
| 23. Did God Deceive the Advent Movement in 1843? | 342 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Taught That God Deceived Early Adventists by Hiding Mistake in Their 1843 Chart—Disciples on Road to Emmaus—Abraham and Offering of Isaac—Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart | ||
| 24. Did Mrs. White Break a Promise? | 345 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Promised Certain Workers She Would Clear Up Their Difficulties Regarding Testimonies, but Shortly Afterwards Broke Her Promise—Historical Facts Bearing on Incident—Her Words Misconstrued—Answers Given to Sincere Inquirers | ||
| 25. The Time to Begin the Sabbath | 350 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White, Led by Bates, Mistakenly Began Sabbath at Six p.m. Friday Till 1855, Then Changed to Sundown Hour Under Andrews' Teaching—Historical Setting—The 1855 Battle Creek Conference—Why Mrs. White Did Not Have Early Vision Correcting Error | ||
| 26. Did Mrs. White Contradict Herself Regarding Sabbath-keeping? | 356 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Said Sundaykeeping Was “The Mark of the Beast,” but When Adventists Were Jailed for Violating Sunday Laws She Really Reversed Herself by Instructing Them to “Give Sunday to the Lord” in “Missionary Work”—Her Statements in Early Writings Examined—Her Words Misconstrued—Four Points of Charge Refuted | ||
| 27. Mrs. White's Teachings on Healthful Living | 362 | |
| Charge No. 1: Mrs. White's Diet Teachings Make Kingdom of God Consist in Meat and Drink—Basis of Adventist Health Teaching—Critics Agree Mind and Body Interrelated—Mrs. White Avoids Extremes—Comment on Acts 15:28, 29—Charge No. 2: In Condemning Meat Mrs. White Condemns Christ—Fallacy of Charge Exposed—Charge No. 3: Mrs. White Calls Meat Eating “A Suggestion of Satan”—Context Reveals Her Words Misconstrued—Charge No. 4: Mrs. White Fulfilled Paul's Prediction in 1 Tim. 4:1, 3—True Interpretation of Paul's Statement—Charge No. 5: Contrary to Scripture Mrs. White Endorsed Pork, Then Later Condemned It—Analysis of Debated Passage Refutes Charge—Charge No. 6: Mrs. White First Condemned, Then Permitted, Use of Butter and Eggs—Parallel Passages Examined—Reasons for Variations When Applying Health Law—Dairy Products in 1860's—Comments on Use of Eggs—Discoveries Suggest Restraint in Passing Judgment—Mrs. White's Statements on Meat Eating Examined—Charge No. 8: Mrs. White Simply Borrowed From Others Her Health Teachings—Her Own Frank Statement Regarding Views of Others—Significant Fact She Endorsed Some Views of Reformers and Opposed Others—Dr. Kellogg's Remarkable Testimony—That Visit to Dansville—Mrs. White's Own Statement as to Real Source of Her Health Teachings—J. H. Waggoner's Testimony | ||
| 28. Mrs. White's Literary Borrowings: The Plagiarism Charge—Part I | 403 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White Copied Extensively From Other Authors Without Giving Credit or Using Quotation Marks While Pretending All She Wrote Was Revealed in Vision—What Constitutes Plagiarism?—Canright as a Borrower—The Legal Aspect of Plagiarism-Historical Background of The Great Controversy—Writers Quoted in That Volume—The 1888-Edition Preface—Total of Literary Borrowings in The Great Controversy—Historical Background of Sketches From the Life of Paul—Extent of Her Borrowings in This Work—Do Facts Justify Charge of Plagiarism? | ||
| 29. That Threatened Lawsuit: The Plagiarism Charge—Part II | 429 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White “Suppressed” Her Book on Paul to Escape “Threatened Prosecution” for Plagiarism by the Publishers of a Book on Paul From Which She Had Copied Extensively—Amadon's Article in Newspaper—Good Men and Bad Memories—The Anonymous Article That Prompted Amadon's Reply—The Anonymous 1907 Pamphlet—A Present-Day Critic Speaks—Kolvoord Story Analyzed—The Final “Proof” Examined—Historical Facts Presented —Letters Between Haskell and White—Denominational Promotion of Mrs. White's Book on Paul—Plans for a Revised Edition-Reason for Delay in Executing Plans—W. C. White's 1907 Letter Regarding Rumors—Which Publisher Threatened Suit?—Facts Regarding Copyright Law—A Publisher of Conybeare and Howson Book Testifies—The Threatened Lawsuit Quashed | ||
| 30. Literary Borrowings and Inspiration: The Plagiarism Charge—Part III | 459 | |
| Did Mrs. White's Borrowings Invalidate Her Claim to Inspiration?—Extreme Positions on Inspiration—Middle Position—Mrs. White Describes Prophet's Task—Human and Divine Related in Miracles—A Critic's Testimony—Comments on Preface to Sketches From the Life of Paul | ||
| 31. Did Mrs. White's Secretaries Write Her Books? | 468 | |
| Charge: At the Suggestions of Others Mrs. White Changed Her Writings. Her Secretaries Polished Her Manuscripts. One Secretary, Fannie Bolton, Wrote the Whole of Steps to Christ Which Carries Mrs. White's Name—Adventists and Verbal Inspiration—Why Mrs. White Read Her Manuscripts to Others—Literary Assistants Did Not Change Her Thoughts—Literary Quality of Her Earliest Writings—Newspaper Comments on Her Speaking—Literary Assistants Testify—Her Own Statement—The Sad Story of Fannie Bolton—Parallel Passages Expose Claim She Wrote Steps to Christ | ||
| 32. Was Mrs. White “Influenced to Write Testimonies”? | 487 | |
| Charge: Mrs. White's Allegedly Inspired Testimonies to Different People Based on Gossip or Counsel of Interested Parties—Three Key Passages From Her Writings Examined—Conclusions That Follow—The Case of the “Wrong” Testimony to E. P. Daniels—Daniels' Later Years—Mrs. White's Testimonies on Constructing First Sanitarium—True Meaning of Her Words “I Did Wrong”—Are Prophets Infallible?—Why Names Were Deleted From Published Testimonies—Mrs. White's Revealing of “Hidden Sins”—Did She Conduct a Gossip Department?—This Idea Proved Incredible—Dr. Kellogg Testifies for Mrs. White—Canright Testifies—What We Claim for Mrs. White | ||
| 33. Mrs. White's Financial Affairs | 516 | |
| Charge No. 1: Mrs. White and Her Husband Began Poor. They Commercialized Their Work, Soon Had Abundance, and Lived Lavishly—What Mrs. White Really Did With Her Money—Charge No. 2: In Her Later Years She Owned Much Fine Land Contrary to Her Testimonies About Cutting Down on Possessions—A Survey of Her Land Holdings—Charge No. 3: Mrs. White Died Heavily in Debt, Though She Had Counselled Others to “Stand Free From Debt”—Different Kinds of Debts—Analysis of Her Indebtedness—Charge No. 4: Mrs. White Copyrighted Her Works and Demanded Royalty, Which Bible Prophets Would Not Have Done—False Comparisons Make Charge Plausible—Charge No. 5: Mrs. White's Will Provided Certain Gifts to Her Children From Book Royalties Contrary to Her Counsel That God's Claims on Our Money Should Have “First Consideration”—What If She Had Forgotten Her Children? | ||
| 34. In Conclusion | 531 | |
| 537 | ||
| A. | Brief History of Elder Canright's Connection With This People—A Friend of Canright Reminisces | 537 |
| B. | Perpetuity of the Gifts | 543 |
| C. | A Remarkable Test | 558 |
| D. | A Word to the “Little Flock” | 560 |
| E. | That Typographical Change in J. N. Loughborough's Book | 585 |
| F. | Mrs. White's 1883 Statement Regarding Deletions | 586 |
| G. | Fanaticism and Sabbathkeeping Adventists | 597 |
| H. | From Shut Door to Open Door | 598 |
| I. | The Spurious Camden Vision, Dated June 29, 1851 | 615 |
| J. | Deleted Passages Examined | 619 |
| K. | Pictures in The Great Controversy | 643 |
| L. | The Writing and Sending Out of the Testimonies | 644 |
| M. | Mrs. White Discusses Inspiration | 651 |
| N. | W. C. White's Statement Regarding Sister White's Work | 656 |
| O. | Canright Condemns Himself | 663 |
| P. | To Those in Doubting Castle | 665 |
| Q. | Last Will and Testament of Mrs. Ellen G. White | 674 |
| Bibliography | 679 | |