Shut Door Statements not Included in Early Writings

By Brother Anderson

In 1882, the SDA Church published a book called Early Writings which purported to have the earliest writings of Ellen White. The reason it was published was to silence critics who had complained for many years that the earliest writings of Ellen White contained grave errors regarding the "shut door" doctrine. Shortly thereafter, the real early writings of Ellen White surfaced when one of Ellen White's critics, A.C. Long, published the tract below. It proves that material had been suppressed from her earliest writings.

Statement by Isaac Wellcome

Eld. White had published several of Ellen's visions on small sheets for general distribution; but as time passed on the theology of her later visions was materially different from former ones, and they were suppressed... these visions as published now are greatly in conflict with those which acquaintances and witnesses in New England were accustomed to hear from her lips, after recovering from her clairvoyant state, or to read on sheets as published at first, by Eld. White."¹

Continuing Deception

I bought my copy of Early Writings in the early 1990s—a full 110 years after SDA leaders learned from A.C. Long that critical material had been suppressed and deleted from the book. I thought I had purchased the very earliest writings of Ellen White. Even the preface of the book led me to believe that. Notice what it says:

"Footnotes giving dates and explanations, and an appendix giving two very interesting dreams, which were mentioned but not related to the original work, will add to the value of this edition. Aside from these, no changes from the original work have been made in the present edition, except the occasional employment of a new word, or a change in the construction of a sentence, to better express the idea, and no portion of the work has been omitted. No shadow of change has been made in any idea or sentiment of the original work, and the verbal changes have been made under the author's own eye, and with her full approval."²

What the authors of the preface failed to disclose is that by "original work" they meant James White's 1851 revision of Ellen White's earliest writings, named Christian Experience and Views. However, this is not the original writings of Ellen White. The originals were written between 1846 and 1851. They appear as articles in the Present Truth and Day Star magazines, and they contain embarrassing statements which were not included in Experience and Views. It is deceptive for the work named Early Writings to contain writings that are advertised as the "original" writings and the introduction states that "no changes from the original work have been made."