Chapter 2—Ellen G. White and Her Writings
A Letter to Dr. Paulson
St. Helena, California,
June 14, 1906
Dear Brother,
Your letter came to me while in southern California. For some
weeks the consideration of matters connected with the development
of our sanitarium work there, and the writing out of the views given
me regarding the earthquake and its lessons, have taken my time and
strength.
But now I must respond to the letters received from you and others.
In your letter you speak of your early training to have implicit faith in
the testimonies and say, “I was led to conclude and most firmly believe
that every word that you ever spoke in public or private, that every
letter you wrote under any and all circumstances, was as inspired as
the Ten Commandments.”
My brother, you have studied my writings diligently, and you have
never found that I have made any such claims, neither will you find
that the pioneers in our cause ever made such claims.
In my introduction to The Great Controversy you have no doubt
read my statement regarding the Ten Commandments and the Bible,
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which should have helped you to a correct understanding of the matter
under consideration. Here is the statement:
“The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human
hands; and in the varied style of its different books it presents the
characteristics of the several writers. The truths revealed are all ‘given
by inspiration of God’ (
2 Timothy 3:16
); yet they are expressed in the
words of men. The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into
the minds and hearts of His servants. He has given dreams and visions,
symbols and figures; and those to whom the truth was thus revealed,
have themselves embodied the thought in human language.
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