Anonymous No Longer, Poetry in Ellen White's Writings

ANONYMOUS NO LONGER, POETRY IN ELLEN WHITE’S WRITINGS By Kevin L. Morgan, M.A. Ellen White’s writings have often been appreciated for their beauty and insight in expressing spiritual truths and in touching the heart. Yet, modern readers of her books might be surprised that one of her books, as first published, had a large amount of poetry. In the foreword to current editions of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, the publishers mention the poetry that was included in earlier editions of the book.1 In several former editions, in an endeavor to achieve a certain format, selections from verses of poetry were, with the consent of the author, inserted by the publishers in a number of places throughout the text. In this edition, only poetry selected and made a part of the text by the author herself is retained. This study examines the poetry in these earlier editions, identifying the previously unidentified authors with observations about the anonymity of many of the sources and suggestions about a rationale for the poems’ inclusion in early editions of the book or removal in later editions. Background on Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing was one of two books that were spun off from the materials that were gathered or freshly written by Ellen G. White for her “Life of Christ” project, which became The Desire of Ages. The other book was Christ’s Object Lessons. Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing emphasizes Jesus’ role as the great teacher with His masterful lessons given to the people on the mountainside in Matthew 5, 6, and 7.2 Ellen White wrote in the book’s introduction: “The Beatitudes are Christ’s greeting, not only to those who believe, but to the whole human family. He seems to have forgotten for a moment that He is in the world, not in heaven; and He uses the familiar salutation of the world of light. Blessings flow from His lips as the gushing forth of a long-sealed current of rich life.”3 Its chapters include “On the Mountainside,” “The Beatitudes,” “The Spirituality of the Law,” “The True Motive in Service,” “The Lord’s Prayer,” and “Not Judging, but Doing.” Though first published in 1895 (see illustration below), the book’s major release was delayed nearly two years over the issue of acceptable illustrations.4 When, in early 1896, a 208-page edition of the book with 19 illustrations was introduced in the January 28 Review and Herald, neither the author nor the editor were pleased with its illustrations.5 A later edition of 209-pages, with updated illustrations was announcemed in a November extra of the denomination’s periodical for canvassers, The Home Missionary (see illustration to the left) and again mentioned in a list of publications sold by canvassers in the February 1897 Home Missionary. However, its public rollout did not come until May of 1897 in The Signs of the Times and July 1897 in The Christian Educator.6 In Australia, an edition with a different cover and only 184 pages was also published in 1897 Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, copyrighted and advertised in the Bible Echo and Signs of the Times (see the 1895, sold October 27, 2011, on eBay 7 facsimile of the advertisement on the next page). 1 Poetry in the first edition of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing The first editions of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing were unique among Ellen White’s books in that they included poetry from other writers to emphasize points made by the author whenever there was a blank space after a section to fill.8 While poetry is not used as much today, in that age it was often added as an embellishment in writing, and it was a regular feature in publications such as the Review and Herald and Signs of the Times. Also, the four volumes of Sabbath Readings, which Adventists published, were a mix of poetry and prose. Letters from Eliza J. Burnham to Marian Davis mention their collaboration in the selection of poems for the book.9 In the first edition of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing (1896), the poems that were selected came from several attributed and unattributed poets, which included (in order of their first appearance, with boldfacing for poets whose poems were unique to this edition): Richard Chenevix Trench, James George Deck, Sir Edwin Arnold, Fannie Bolton (six poems, none attributed), Frances Ridley Havergal (attributed), Jean Ingelow (two poems, one attributed), George Klingle, Joaquin Miller Advertisement from the September 30, 1897 (attributed), John Greenleaf Whittier (twelve poems, five Bible Echo and Signs of the Times attributed), Margaret E. Sangster (attributed), Ella Wheeler Wilcox (attributed), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (three poems, all attributed), James Russell Lowell (two poems, neither attributed), Eli Corwin, Sir Philip Sidney, Anna Laetitia Waring, Johannes Scheffler, Anna Elizabeth Hamilton (misattributed as “Miss Mulock”), Susan Coolidge (pen name of Sarah Chauncey Woolsey), Fanny J. Crosby, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Bernard of Clairvaux (attributed), Robert Browning (2 poems, both attributed), Edward Roland Sill, Anna Temple, Helen Fiske Hunt Jackson (attributed), J. E. Landor, and Thomas Binney. Of the 50 poems in the 1896 text (21 unique and 28 used in later editions), only 17 were properly attributed. The minimal use of attribution for this material may say something about their inclusion for what they said and not for who wrote them. However, considering how poetry were copied and used in this era, there may be no grand purpose in the lack of attribution for certain poems. It may simply be that the poetry was obtained from a secondary source that no longer carried the name of the author. In the nineteenth century, it was not as easy a matter to track down original sources as it is today. Our modern interest in attribution would have been an impractical standard before the advent of the Internet. We do find that Daniel March, who was one of Ellen White’s favorite authors, marked several quotations in his books with quotation marks without ever listing the author’s name.10 From left to right, the 1896, 1897 (Australian), 1900, 1928, 1943, and 1956 editions of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing 2 Changes to the Poetry in the 1900 edition of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing We discover from their correspondence that both Marian Davis and Mrs. White were dissatisfied with the original illustrations in Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing.11 This apparently included all of the 1896 editions—with the two styles of illustrations (see examples on page 5). Marian wrote C. H. Jones, the president of Pacific Press in Oakland, California: “It is hard to keep up courage in book making when the books are murdered by the publishers, as ‘Mount of Blessing’ was by R. & H.”12 In 1899, three years after the book’s first publication, Jones contracted Charles Mente to make new engravings for Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing.13 At that time, Marian wrote Jones about making changes in the poetry of the new edition of the book.14 The changes were guided by the topic and the space that needed to be filled.15 Of the 50 poems in the 1896 edition, 29 remained (with different parts of the original poems used in some), and 28 were added, some from poets previously used.16 The poets used in the 1900 edition are as follows (in order of their first appearance, with boldfacing for poets whose poems were new for this edition): Robert Browning (two poems, one attributed), Thomas Moore, Sir Edwin Arnold, Frances Ridley Havergal (two poems, neither attributed), Charlotte Seaver, Sarah J. Williams, Jean Ingelow (two attributed, one unattributed), John Keble, Frederick Langbridge, George Klingle, John Greenleaf Whittier (12 poems, three attributed), Owen Meredith, Lizzy Berry, James R. Miller, Joaquin Miller, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (four poems, two attributed), James Russell Lowell (three poems, none attributed), Susan Coolidge, Eli Corwin, Anna Elizabeth Hamilton, Richard Chenevix Trench (three poems, one attributed), Benjamin Beddome, Anna Laetitia Waring, Fannie Bolton, Walter Chalmers Smith, Adelaide Anne Procter (attributed), Julia A. Fletcher, Fanny J. Crosby, Bernard of Clairvaux (attributed), Edward Roland Sill, Anna Temple, Helen Fiske Hunt Jackson (attributed), Frederick W. Faber, and J. E. Landor. The number of Fannie Bolton’s poems was cut down to one—a poem that remains in the text of the present edition (see MB 95.4). Fewer poems were attributed in the 1900 edition. Of the 58 poems in the 1900 text, only twelve were attributed, and three of these were among the 24 added poems. Also, three of the poems that were attributed in the 1896 edition lost their attribution in the 1900 edition, while one gained attribution. The poetry in the 1900 edition was carried over into the 1943 edition. Regarding pagination—the 1896 editions have either 205, 201, 209, or 184 pages (depending on which set of illustrations was used and whether there was text on the back of full-page illustrations and where it was published). The 1900 and 1943 editions have 218 pages (though with slight variation in paging because of different illustrations).17 With the reformatting of text because of change in page size, the 1928 edition has 159 pages.18 With changes in open spaces, only ten of the poems from the 1896 edition and ten of the poems added in the 1900 edition were retained. Six additional poems were added, and all are hymns. Of the 26 poems in the 1828 edition, only four have attribution, and three of these were newly added. Most of the poetry was removed in the 1956 edition, and none of the poems that remain (which are only from the 1896 edition) are attributed (see EXHIBIT 4). The paging of the 1956 edition became the standard paging for the book as listed in the Comprehensive Index to the Writings of Ellen G. White (1962). Following are four exhibits, listing the poems in the principal editions of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing. The phrase “willing to be made willing” is also included, though not a poem, for the purpose of identifying its original source. Regarding nomenclature, the year for the edition is combined with the standard abbreviation for Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing—"MB”—together with the page number following the underscore symbol (e.g. MB1896_102). Poems that are carried over into later editions are indicated by additional entries in the heading line (e.g. MB1896_102; MB1900_112; MB1928_85; MB1943_112; MB1956_73).19 Following the exhibits are three additional sections, “Poetry in Ellen White’s Other Books,” “Ellen White’s Own Use of Poetry in Her Writing,” and “Observations.” On the next pages are two of the illustrations in the early 1896 Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing that Ellen White described as looking like they had been “prepared for a comic almanac.”20 3 Even less acceptable were the illustrations of the “two houses” in the earlier and later 1896 editions of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, which Marian Davis specifically called out as objectionable.21 Reflecting on the lower quality of the illustrations, Mrs. White wrote: “I would much prefer to have no pictures than representations that are not representations, but disfigurements of the true. … Better pay double price, or treble, and have pictures, if pictures must be had that will not pervert facts.”22 4 Mrs. White did not like the substitute illustration in the later 1896 printings (one of 13) much better.23 5 The picture below is the improved illustration, by Charles Mente, on page 214 of the 1900 edition.24 The listings of poems to follow contain summaries of the sense of the poem in light of the prose that preceded it, giving the reader an idea of the poem’s relative value in the book. An annotated text of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing with all the poems of the various editions and their sources is available at https://www.academia.edu/43607284/Thoughts_From_the_Mount_of_Blessing_by_Ellen_G._White_poetry_ edition_ for further evaluation of the relevance of the poetry. 6 EXHIBIT 1. Poetry in Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing (1896) The listing below gives each poem, followed by its source and a summary of its meaning. Those in current editions of the book are marked MB1956.25 1. MB1896_19 “Lord, ofttimes I am aweary quite Of mine own self, my sin, my vanity: Yet be not Thou (or I am lost outright) Weary of me.”26 Source: Richard Chenevix Trench, “Lord, many times I am aweary quite,” Poems, New York: Redfield, 1856, p. 139, available at https://archive.org/details/goldenwordsforda00smit/page/94, accessed 5/12/2020. The poem is a prayer for God not to be weary of the weary sinner. It is tangential to Ellen White’s point about the weary coming to Christ. 2. MB1896_19 “Thou Holy One of God, The Father rests in thee; And in the savor of that blood That speaks to him for me, The curse is gone, through thee I’m blest, God rests in thee; in thee I rest.” Source: James George Deck, “Rest in Jesus,” Hymns and Sacred Poems. The poem, which is a hymn, is a prayer that completes the thought about the weary sinner finding rest through the blood of Christ, as mentioned by Ellen White. 3. MB1896_20; MB1900_22; MB1928_20; MB1943_22 “God’s love runneth faster than our feet, To meet us stealing back to him and peace, And kisses dumb our shame, nay and puts on The best robe, bidding angels bring it forth.” Source: Sir Edwin Arnold, The Light of the World, London: Longmans, Green, and Company, 1893, p. 120, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=CDcOAAAAMAAJ, accessed 5/12/2020. The poem reminds us that, as we “flee to Jesus,” He comes running to us. 4. MB1896_23 “If the chisel falls, ‘tis to make thy beauty clear; If the heat of the furnace tries thee with its enfolding, Rejoice in the fire, the Refiner counts thee dear; And yield to the wheel and the Potter’s delicate moulding. He would fashion thee with his flowers and polished golding, And make thee fit for the court, and the King’s beholding.” Source: Fannie Bolton, “The Trials’ Refining,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 3, 1888, p. 211, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH18880403-V65-14.pdf, accessed 5/13/20. The poem links to the refining, polishing, “hewing, squaring, and chiseling” through trials, or “God’s workmen.” 5. MB1896_25; MB1900_28; MB1943_2827 Then hush! O hush! for the Father knows what thou knowest not,-The need and the thorn and the shadow linked with the fairest lot; Knows the wisest exemption from many an unseen snare, Knows what will keep thee nearest, knows what thou couldst not bear. 7 Hush! O hush! for the Father, whose ways are true and just, Knoweth and careth and loveth, and waits for thy perfect trust; The cup he is slowly filling shall soon be full to the brim, And infinite compensation forever be found in him. —Frances Ridley Havergal [unattributed in 1900 and 1943]. Source: Frances Ridley Havergal, “Compensations,” Under the Surface, London: J. Nisbet and Company, 1876, p. 24, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=Tc0OAQAAIAAJ, accessed 5/14/20.28 This part of the poem emphasizes God’s purpose in tribulation. 6. MB1896_41; MB1900_45; MB1928_42; MB1943_45 Learn that to love is the one way to know, Or God or man; it is not love received That maketh man to know the inner life Of them that love him; only love bestowed Shall do it. —Jean Ingelow. Source: Jean Ingelow, “A Story of Gloom,” Book VII, The Complete Poems of Jean Ingelow, Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1872, p. 213, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Complete_Poems/n3o-AAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/14/20. The poem is about reflecting God’s image, while Ellen White describes seeing God face to face. 7. MB1896_43 “Out of the silence, in paths unknown, How many a flower blooms on alone! How many a life God hath set apart To influence men with a mightier act Than is known to earth,--an art that’s given To patient and lowly hearts from heaven. For farther than mortals ever know, The prayers of the humble and loving go.” Source: Fannie Bolton, “A Hidden Flower,” The Youth’s Instructor, July 24, 1889, p. 117, available at https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/YI/YI18890724-V37-30.pdf, accessed 7/10/20. The poem is about the influence for the good on others of the prayers of the humble. 8. MB1896_48 “The keynote of life’s harmony is sacrifice.” Source: George Klingle, “Sacrifice,” The Present Truth, May 20, 1886, p. 78, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/PT/PT18860520-V02-10.pdf, accessed 5/14/20. This statement summarizes the meaning of being persecuted and reviled. 9. MB1896_48 What though on peril’s front you stand? What though through lone and lonely ways, With dusty feet and horny hand, You toil unfriended all the days, And die at last with man’s dispraise? Would you have chosen ease, and so Have shunned the fight? God honored you With trust of weighty work. And O, The Captain of the heavens knew His trusted soldier would prove true. —Joaquin Miller. 8 Source: Joaquin Miller, “Pure Gold,” available at https://books.google.com/books?id=BN9LAQAAMAAJ, accessed 5/14/20. Interestingly, Joaquin Miller’s poem is prefaced by George Klingle’s single line in George Lambert, Around the Globe and Through Bible Lands, Elkhart, IN: Mennonite Publishing Company, 1896, p. 369, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=VYsjHGlncZwC&pg=PA369, accessed 5/29/20.29 The poem concerns the pure in heart seeing the Creator in the works of His hands and staying in communion with Him. 10. MB1896_54; MB1900_58; MB1943_58 “Where now with pain thou treadest, trod The whitest of the saints of God! To show thee where their feet were set, The Light which led them shineth yet. The footprints of the Life Divine, Which marked their path, remain in thine.” —John G. Whittier [unattributed in 1900 and 1943]. Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Chapel of the Hermits,” The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1873, p. 157, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/ The_Complete_Poetical_Works_of_John_Gree/dWsRAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/13/20.30 The poem reminds readers that they are travelling the path of pain that the saints have trod, as Ellen White epitomized in the singing of Paul and Silas in the “Philippian dungeon.” 11. MB1896_58 “O, love is power, ’tis bloom and grace, ’Tis a reviving essence; A flower will bud, a heart will sing, Beneath its sunny presence; And God is love, and love makes kings And priests of humble peasants. “O, love is power; it operates To make all things diviner; It is the beauty of our God; All graces are its minor; It pours like fire and dew through hearts. And is the soul’s refiner.” Source: Fannie Bolton, “The Power of Love,” The Youth’s Instructor, June 22, 1887, p. 117, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/YI/YI18870622-V35-25.pdf, accessed 5/14/20; also Good Health, September 1, 1889, p. 268, available at https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/adl-371962/good-health-kellog-september1-1889, accessed 7/17/20. The poem is a flowery reminder of the power of love, echoing the thought of the previous paragraph. 12. MB1896_76; MB1900_82; MB1943_83 “Like warp and woof, all destinies Are woven fast, Linked in sympathy, like the keys Of an organ vast. “Pluck one thread, and the web ye mar; Break but one Of a thousand keys, and the paining jar Through all will run.” Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “My Soul and I,” The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1873, p. 94, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/ 9 The_Complete_Poetical_Works_of_John_Gree/dWsRAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/13/20; The Youth’s Instructor, February 8, 1900, p. 48, available at https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/adl-360512/youths-instructor-february-8-1900, accessed 5/17/20. The poem is illustrative of the essential nature of every precept of God’s law. 13. MB1896_79, MB1900_62, MB1943_62 What asks our Father of his children, save Justice and mercy and humility, A reasonable service of good deeds, Pure living, tenderness to human needs, Reverence and trust, and prayer for light to see The Master’s footsteps in our daily ways? No knotted scourge or sacrificial knife, But the calm beauty of an ordered life, Whose very breathing is unworded praise,— A life that stands, as all true lives have stood, Fast rooted in the faith that God is good. —Whittier. Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “Requirement.” Moved after “Ye Are the Salt of the Earth” in 1900 and 1943. The poem is about faithfulness to God, which is the embodiment of being the salt of the earth and having “true lives”; in 1896 it is a commentary on righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. 14. MB1896_84 Comfort one another; For the way is growing dreary, The feet are often weary, And the heart is very sad. There is heavy burden-bearing, When it seems that none are caring, And we half forget that ever we were glad. Comfort one another, By the hope of Him who sought us In our peril—Him who bought us, Paying with his precious blood; By the faith that will not alter, Trusting strength that shall not falter, Leaning on the One divinely good. —Mrs. Margaret E. Sangster. Source: Margaret E. Sangster, “Comfort One Another,” The Canton Independent-Sentinel (Canton, Pennsylvania), May 13, 1881, p. 6, available at https://www.newspapers.com/image/297122215, accessed 5/14/20. The poem is an admonition to comfort others while the section is an admonition to reconcile with our brother. 15. MB1896_86 Our thoughts are odors, and we cannot seal them So close with actions but they will creep out; And delicately fashioned souls will feel them, And know them sweet or vile, beyond a doubt. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Source: Ella Wheeler Wilcox, “Thought Odors,” The Boston Globe, August 5, 1889, from The Independent. The poem underscores the truth that what we are thinking will surely slip out and be made known. 10 16. MB1896_86 Thou judgest us; thy purity Doth all our lusts condemn; The love that draws us nearer thee Is hot with wrath to them. Our thoughts lie open to thy sight; And, naked to thy glance, Our secret sins are in the light Of thy pure countenance. —Whittier. Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “Our Master,” Littell’s Living Age, November 17, 1866, p. 448, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Living_Age/z-URAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/14/20. The poem reminds us that a pure God knows our impure thoughts and will judge us for them. 17. MB1896_89; MB1900_98; MB1943_98 No action, whether foul or fair, Is ever done, but it leaves somewhere A record, written by fingers ghostly As a blessing or a curse; and mostly In the greater weakness or greater strength Of the acts which follow it; till at length The wrongs of ages are redressed, And the justice of God made manifest. —Longfellow. Source: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Christus: A Mystery, The Golden Legend, Part II,” The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1841, 1893, p. 425, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Complete_Poetical_Works/UaifVZkQpHoC, accessed 5/14/20.31 The poem points out that no act is truly secret, for it influences future acts and will ultimately be judged. 18. MB1896_101 “No grief can touch us, but it touches Him; With closest pang it wounds the Heart divine. The pruner’s knife, that cuts the branching limb, Touches with living pain the Living Vine. “Closer than mother’s love for her babe sweet, Closer than lover’s love for one held dear, Closer than friend’s or brother’s, more complete Is Christ’s love for his lonely followers here.” Source: Fannie Bolton, “Christ Loves His Own,” The Present Truth, November 1, 1889, p. 371, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/PT/PT18891121-V05-24.pdf, accessed 5/13/20. The poem reminds us that Jesus empathizes with his children and beautifully harmonizes with Ellen White’s thought that whatever happens to us must first pass through Christ. 19. MB1896_102; MB1900_112; MB1928_85; MB1943_112; MB1956_73 “Who gives himself with his alms, feeds three,— Himself, his hungry neighbor, and Me.” Source: James Russell Lowell, “The Vision of Sir Launfal,” part second, The Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1884, p. 111, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Poetical_Works_of_Joames_Russell_Low/1-o9AQAAMAAJ, accessed 5/14/20. The poem is illustrative of the truth that doing unto others is doing unto Christ. 11 20. MB1896_107; MB1900_117; MB1928_89; MB1943_117; MB1956_77 “His glory is his children’s good; His joy, his tender fatherhood.” Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “Hymn”—for the opening of Plymouth Church, St. Paul, Minnesota—The Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, London: Ward, Lock, & Company, 1888, p. 160, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_poetical_works_of_John_Greenleaf_Whi/1GUCAAAAQAAJ, accessed 5/13/20, actually worded, “Thy glory is Thy children’s good, Thy joy Thy tender Fatherhood.” The poem is fitting description of God’s nature being to give. 21. MB1896_108; MB1900_118; MB1928_89; MB1943_118; MB1956_77 “In his borrowed goodness good” Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “Andrew Rykman’s Prayer,” The Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1869, p. 342, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Poetical_Works_of_J_G_W/3a5cAAAAcAAJ, accessed 5/13/20, actual wording is: “In Thy borrowed goodness good.” The poetic phrase reminds us that anything good in us comes from God. 22. MB1896_108; MB1900_118; MB1943_118 “As flows the river, calm and deep, In silence toward the sea, So floweth ever, and ceaseth never, The love of God to thee.” Source: Eli Corwin, “As Flows the River,” The International Lesson Hymnal, Chicago, Illinois: David C. Cook, 1878, no. 125, actual wording is: “The love of God to me.” The poem, which is a hymn, reflects the thought that life flows through us like a river. 23. MB1896_111 “There is no service like his that serves because he loves.” Source: Sir Philip Sidney, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia, London: Simon Waterson and R. Young, 1633, p. 183, accessible at https://books.google.com/books?id=RRVfAAAAcAAJ, accessed 5/13/20, originally, “but liking very well the yong [sic] Gentleman, such I tooke [sic] her to be, admitted this Daiphantus about me, who well shewed there is no service like his, that serves because he loves.” The poem reminds us that love is the greatest motivation for service. 24. MB1896_114(115)32; MB1900_124; MB1943_124; AFFECTION— Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was wasted; If it enrich not the heart of another, its waters, returning Back to their springs, like the rain, shall fill them full of refreshment; That which the fountain sends forth returns again to the fountain. Patience; accomplish thy labor; accomplish thy work of affection! Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient endurance is godlike. Therefore accomplish thy labor of love, till the heart is made godlike, Purified, strengthened, perfected, and rendered more worthy of heaven! —Longfellow. Source: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Part the Second,” Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie, London: David Bogue, 1864, p. 50, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Evangeline/F7URAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/14/20; in MB (1900), “Affection—” replaces “Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was wasted” in 1900, 1943. The poem is about the perfection of God’s work through us as we continue in patience. 12 25. MB1896_120(121); MB1900_132; MB1928_99; MB1943_132 “I ask thee for a thoughtful love, Through constant watching wise, To meet the glad with joyful smiles, And wipe the weeping eyes; A heart at leisure from itself, To soothe and sympathize.” Source: Anna Laetitia Waring, “My Times are in Thy Hand,” Hymns Supplementary to the Late Dr. Green, Boston: Swan, Brewer and Tileston, 1860, no. 677, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/ Hymns_Supplementary_to_the_Late_Dr_Green/498VAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/14/20. The poem, which is a hymn, is a prayer for self-forgetful empathizing motivation. 26. MB1896_126; MB1900_138; MB1943_138; MB1956_93 “Man turns from God, not God from him.” Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Over-heart,” The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1873, p. 238, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Complete_Poetical_Works_of_John_Gree/dWsRAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/13/20. The poetic phrase reminds us that it is our choice to leave God. 27. MB1896_126(127); MB1900_138; MB1928_105; MB1943_138 The sweet persuasion of His voice Respects thy sanctity of will. He giveth day: thou hast thy choice To walk in darkness still. A tenderer light than moon or sun, Than song of earth a sweeter hymn, May shine and sound forever on And thou be deaf and dim. Forever round the mercy seat The guiding lights of love shall burn; But what if, habit bound, thy feet Shall lack the will to turn? What if thine eyes refuse to see, Thine ear of heaven’s free welcome fail, And thou a willing captive be, Thyself thine own dark jail? To doubt the love that fain would break The fetters from thy self-bound limb, And dream that God can thee forsake As thou forsakest him! —Whittier. [unattributed in 1900, 1928, and 1943] Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Answer,” The Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, London: Henry Frowde, 1904, p. 481, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Poetical_Works_of_John_Greenleaf_Whi/ 3G01AAAAMAAJ, accessed 5/14/20; blue portion added and green portion removed in 1900; the blue portion remained in 1928 and 1943. The poem delineates poetically the freedom of choice granted the individual in rejecting light and the consequence of its rejection; it aligns with Ellen White’s previous thought. 13 28. MB1896_128(129) “Whate’er thou lovest, man, that too, become thou must; God, if thou lovest God; dust, if thou lovest dust.” Source: Johannes Scheffler (1624-1677), “The Cherubic Pilgrim,” Words of Faith, February 1884, p. 13, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Words_of_Faith/Ljohl0zWb3gC, accessed 5/14/20. The poem encapsulates the truth that we become what we love. 29. MB1896_129(130); MB1900_141; MB1928_107; MB1943_141; MB1956_95 “No sparrow falls without his care, No soul bows low but Jesus knows; For he is with us everywhere, And marks each bitter tear that flows. And he will never, never, never, Forsake the soul that trusts him ever.” Source: Fannie Bolton, “The Last Test,” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, October 17, 1893, p. 645, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH18931017-V70-41.pdf, accessed 5/13/20. The poem, which is the only poem of Fannie Bolton’s that remains in current editions of the book, is an expansion of Jesus’ statement in Matthew 10:29 and 30 regarding the Father’s care. 30. MB1896_132(133) The roses speak of the Rose of Sharon, The lilies of Christ of the vale; And every sweet flower unfolds his power, And his love that never can fail.” Source: Fannie Bolton, “In the Garden,” Pacific Health Journal and Temperance Advocate, August 1889, p. 232, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/PHJ/PHJ18890801-V04-08.pdf, accessed 5/13/20. The poem reminds readers that flowers are “an expression of God’s love.” 31. MB1896_136(137) The little worries that we meet each day May lie as stumbling-blocks across our way, Or we may make them stepping stones to be Of grace, O Christ, to thee. —Miss Mulock. Source: Anna Elizabeth Hamilton, “Worries,” He Giveth Songs: A Collection of Religious Lyrics, New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1885, p. 34, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/He_Giveth_Songs/xwQWAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/12/20. The poem reminds us that the things that concern us can be taken either as obstacles or as opportunities of grace. 32. MB1896_136(137) “Every day is a fresh beginning, Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain; And spite of old sorrow and older sinning, And puzzles forecasted, and possible pain, Take heart with the day, and begin again.” Source: Susan Coolidge (pen name for Sarah Chauncey Woolsey), “New Every Morning,” The Magazine of Poetry, April 1890, p. 231, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Magazine_of_Poetry/EdgKAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/13/20. The poem sets forth each new day as a new beginning, a point tangential to that of Ellen White, which is that God provides grace for each new day. 14 33. MB1896_143(144); MB1900_158; MB1943_158 The dear Lord’s best interpreters Are humble human souls; The gospel of a life like His Is more than books or scrolls. From scheme and creed the light goes out, The saintly fact survives; The blessed Master none can doubt Revealed in holy lives. —Whittier. Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Friend’s Burial,” The Writings of John Greenleaf Whittier, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1848, 1888, pp. 303, 304, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Writings_of_John_Greenleaf_Whittier/Fx1EAQAAMAAJ, accessed 5/14/20, originally, “The gospel of a life like hers.” The poem is about the gospel lived, which is very much in keeping with Ellen White’s previous thought. 34. MB1896_145(146); MB1900_160; MB1943_160 “Watch and pray, that when the Master cometh, If at morning, noon, or night, He may find a lamp in ev’ry window, Trimmed and burning, clear and bright.” Source: Fanny J. Crosby, “Watch and Pray,” Songs of Joy and Gladness, Boston: McDonald, Gill, and Company, 1886, p. 28, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Songs_of_Joy_and_Gladness/owIPAAAAIAAJ, accessed 5/13/20. The poem, which is a hymn, emphasizes preparedness for the Lord’s return, while Ellen White’s thought is devotion to Christ’s service. 35. MB1896_146(147) “Strong Son of God, immortal Love, Our wills are ours to make them thine.” Source: Alfred Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon & Company, 1862, pp. v, vi, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_Memoriam/zOANAAAAQAAJ, accessed 5/13/20. The poem is a commitment of the will to God’s Son, which links to the thought under study—“Thy will be done.” 36. MB1896_150(151); MB1900_165; MB1943_165 Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts! Thou fount of life! Thou light of men! From the best bliss that earth imparts, We turn unfilled to thee again. We taste thee, O thou living Bread, And long to feast upon thee still; We drink of thee, the Fountain-head, And thirst our souls from thee to fill! —Bernard of Clairvaux. Source: Bernard of Clairvaux, “Delight in Christ.” The poem is about drinking from the fountain of life, which is in keeping with Ellen White’s thought. 37. MB1896_158(159); MB1900_173; MB1943_173 Why comes temptation but for man to meet, And master, and make crouch beneath his feet? —Robert Browning. 15 Source: Robert Browning, “The Ring and the Book: Part 10, The Pope,” The Poetical Works of Robert Browning, vol. 2, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1896, p. 232, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Poetical_Works_of_Robert_Browning/Am1My_z4z3kC, accessed 5/14/20. The poem’s meaning is not readily accessible, but it is saying that temptations were meant to be overcome, though, unlike the thought of Ellen White, it does not tell readers by whom they can be overcome. 38. MB1896_161(162); MB1900_176; MB1943_176 “All is of God that is, and is to be; And God is good. Let this suffice us still, Resting in Christlike trust upon His will, Who moves to his great ends unthwarted by the ill.” Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Coming Life,” published in The Workers’ Bulletin, July 14, 1896, p. 1, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/WB/WB18960714-V08-01.pdf, accessed 5/13/20, originally, “resting in childlike trust upon his will.” The poem affirms that the will of a good God will not be thwarted by evil, just what Ellen White had said. 39. MB1896_164(165); MB1900_179; MB1943_179; MB1956_124 “These clumsy feet, still in the mire, Go crushing blossoms without end; These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust Among the heart-strings of a friend.” Source: Edwin Roland Sill, “The Fool’s Prayer,” The Friend, May 14, 1887, p. 332, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Friend/oUQrAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/13/20.33 40. MB1896_169(170); MB1900_185; MB1943_185 “Search thine own heart; what paineth thee In others, in thyself may be; All dust is frail, all flesh is weak; Be thou the true man thou dost seek.” Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Chapel of the Hermits.” The poem portrays the carelessness with which many act and who it wounds, while the thought of Ellen White has to do with passing judgment on others when we are guilty of some of the same things. 41. MB1896_169(170); MB1900_185; MB1943_185 “I am glad to think I am not bound to make the world go right, But only to discover and to do With cheerful heart the work that God appoints.” —Jean Ingelow. Source: Jean Ingelow, “The Monitions of the Unseen,” The Poetical Works of Jean Ingelow, 1874, p. 227, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=PpFEAQAAMAAJ, accessed 6/19/20 (not attributed until 1900). The poem reminds readers to take care of their own duty to God, a thought that parallels that of Ellen White two paragraphs earlier. 42. MB1896_170(171); MB1900_186; MB1943_186 “For whom the heart of man shuts out, Ofttimes the heart of God takes in, And fences them all round about With silence from the world’s loud din.” Source: James Russell Lowell, “The Forlorn”; originally, “with silence mid the world’s loud din.” The poem points out that some of the people who are rejected of men are God’s special people, which is the thought of the previous paragraph. 16 43. MB1896_175(177); MB1900_191; MB1928_142; MB1943_191 “In ignorance I thought, In silly fear, and foolishness and dread, God doth remember all the sins I wrought, And doth forget how needy is my lot. But lo, instead, When I his message read, I found it was my needs on which He thought. My sins that he, because of Christ, forgot.” Source: Anna Temple, “What God Forgets,” The Kneeling Camel and Other Poems, New York: Moffat, Yard & Company, 1920, p. 26, available at https://archive.org/details/kneelingcamel00temprich, accessed 5/27/20. The poem reflects on God’s remembering our need while forgetting our sins; Ellen White emphasized God’s many gifts and promises. 44. MB1896_180(183) THE STARVING ARMY. There is a great, great army, That besets us round with strife, A starving, numberless army, At all the gates of life— The poverty-stricken millions Who challenge our wine and bread, And impeach us all as traitors, Both the living and the dead. And whenever I sit at the banquet, Where the feast and song are high, Amid the mirth and the music I can hear that fearful cry. And hollow and haggard faces Look into the lighted hall, And wasted hands are extended To catch the crumbs that fall; For within there is light and plenty, And odors fill the air; But without there is cold and darkness, And hunger and despair. And there in the camp of famine, In wind and cold and rain, Christ, the great Lord of the army, Lies dead upon the plain! —Longfellow. Source: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Challenge,” The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Boston: Houghton and Mifflin Company, 1863, 1893, p. 296, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Complete_Poetical_Works_of_Henry_Wad/6qpEAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/14/20. The poem is about remembering Christ through the many in need, although the section is about the golden rule and what we do to others is as if we were doing it to Christ. 17 45. MB1896_185(188); MB1900_202; MB1943_202 “Not as I will!” the sound grows sweet Each time my lips the words repeat. “Not as I will!” the darkness feels More safe than light when this thought steals Like whispered voice to calm and bless All unrest and all loneliness. “Not as I will!” because the One Who loved us first and best has gone Before us on the road, and still For us must all his love fulfil “Not as I will.” —Mrs. Helen Fiske Jackson. Source: Helen Fiske Hunt Jackson, “Not As I Will,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 10, 1894, p. 444, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH18940710-V71-28.pdf, accessed 5/14/20; attributed under the author’s alternate name, “Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson,” in 1900 and 1943. The poem emphasizes doing “not as I will” but as Christ unselfishly did before us, while Ellen White describes His walking “beside” us. MB1896_187(190); MB1900_204 MB1943_204; MB1956_142 “willing to be made willing” Source: Frederick B. Meyer, originally, “I am willing to be made willing.” The phrase, which is retained into the current editions, reminds us that we don’t have the power to change ourselves, but we must yield ourselves to the one who does. 46. MB1896_190(194) “Unto the lost, the Highest His glory sendeth down,— Down to the very pathway, Down to our utmost loss; The ladder reaches to the throne, Beginning at the cross.” Source: “Hope,” The Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, August 15, 1893, p. 258, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/BEST/BEST18930815-V08-16.pdf, accessed 5/14/20. The poem describes Christ’s descent to us and his ladder that reaches from the cross to the throne, when Ellen White is not describing Jacob’s ladder but his night of wrestling with Christ. 47. MB1896_193(197); MB1900_210; MB1943_210 “Like lightning’s flash will that instant show— Things hidden long from both friend and foe; Just what we are will each neighbor know, When the King comes in. “Endless the sad separation then, Bitter the cry of deluded men, Awful the moment of anguish when Christ the King comes in.” Source: J. E. Landor, “When the King Comes In.” The poem, which is a hymn, portrays the revelation of character when Jesus comes, though Ellen White only speaks of obedience as the test of discipleship and not of judgment at Christ’s return. 18 48. MB1896_199(203); MB1900_216; MB1928_157; MB1943_216; MB1956_150 “That which shares the life of God With him surviveth all.” Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “Wordsworth.” The poem, which remains in current editions of the book, points out that only those partake of God’s life withstand all challenges; Ellen White points to Christ as the “true foundation” that “no tempest can overthrow.” 49. MB1896_200(204) “The sons of Ignorance and Night May dwell in the Eternal Light, Through the Eternal Love.” Source: Thomas Binney, “Eternal Light.” The poem extols the power of “Eternal Love” to transform children of darkness into dwellers of “Eternal Light,” while Ellen White emphasizes opening the heart to Christ now. 50. MB1896_201(205) The tower of Hate, . . . It dies into the sand from which it sprung: But thine, Love’s rock-built tower, shall fear no change God’s self laid stable earth’s foundation so, When all the morning stars together sang. —Robert Browning. Source: Robert Browning, “Helen’s Tower”; the text for the ellipses is: “is outgrown, far and strange; / A transitory shame of long ago.” The poem contrasts the tower of hate with “Love’s rock-built tower,” which was founded in Christ’s birth on earth; this accords with Ellen White’s use of the metaphor of the laying of the foundation stone in Zion. EXHIBIT 2. Poems added in Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing (1900) The listing below is each poem introduced in this edition, followed by its source and a summary of its meaning. 1. MB1900_16; MB1928_15; MB1943_21 “God, Thou art love; I build my faith on that.” Source: Robert Browning, “Paracelsus: Paracelsus Attains,” The Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning In Six Volumes, vol. 1, p. 103, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pauline_Paracelsus_Strafford_Sordello_Pi/htREAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/16/20; same poet, different poem from in the 1896 edition. The poem points to God’s love as the basis for faith. 2. MB1900_21; MB1943_21 “Humility, that low, sweet root, From which all heavenly virtues shoot!” Source: Thomas Moore, “The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore, with Notes,” 1872, p. 535. The poem summarizes what it means to be the “poor in spirit.” 3. MB1900_26; MB1928_23; MB1943_26 “The ills we see, The mysteries of sorrow deep and long, The dark enigmas of permitted wrong, Have all one key: 19 This strange, sad world is but our Father’s school; All chance and change His love shall overrule. What though today Thou canst not trace at all the hidden reason For His strange dealings through the trial season? Trust and obey; In after life and light all shall be plain and clear.” Source: Frances Ridley Havergal, “The Moonlight Sonata,” Under the Surface, London: J. Nisbet and Company, 1876, pp. 24–28, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Under_the_Surface/Tc0OAQAAIAAJ, accessed 5/16/20. The poem emphasizes how “suffering affliction or bereavement” can be used by God to lead us to Him. 4. MB1900_28; MB1928_25; MB1943_28 “When the day dawns,—that other long, long day, When night beyond our ken has passed, When home and rest are reached at last,— I think, perchance, that we shall say, The toil but makes more sweet the rest. And sorrow was not spent in vain, [alt. sent in vain] If patient strength be learned through pain; And we shall see His way was best.” Source: Charlotte Seaver, according to The Baptist Visitor, Topeka, Kansas, June 1, 1898, p. 3, available at https://www.newspapers.com/image/518537877, accessed 5/16/20; “When the Day Dawns,” Northwestern Christian Advocate, Chicago, Illinois, June 23, 1897, p. 23, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/ North_western_Christian_Advocate/TIYxAQAAMAAJ, accessed 5/16/20; alternate reading, “the other long, long day.” The poem emphasizes God’s comfort through tribulation. 5. MB1900_33; MB1943_33 “Quiet from God! how beautiful to keep This treasure the All-Merciful hath given; To feel when we awake, and when we sleep, Its incense round us, like a breath from heaven; To sojourn in the world, and yet apart; To dwell with God, and still with man to feel; To bear about forever in the heart The gladness which His Spirit doth reveal!” Source: Sarah J. Williams, “Quiet from God,” Sunshine in the Soul, Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1881, p. 54, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sunshine_in_the_Soul/gHQVAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/16/20; Sarah J. Williams, “Quiet from God,” Sursum Corda: Hymns for the Sick and Suffering, Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1877, p. 140, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sursum_Corda/WTYPAAAAIAAJ, accessed 5/16/20. The poem, which is a hymn, is about maintaining our peace rather than retaliating; it correlates with the paragraph before it that was added in the 1900 edition. 6. MB1900_45; MB1943_45 “There are, in this loud, stunning tide Of human care and crime, With whom the melodies abide Of the everlasting chime; Who carry music in their heart Through crowded streets and wrangling mart, 20 Plying their tasks with busier feet, Because their inmost souls the sacred strains repeat.” Source: John Keble, “St. Matthew,” The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sunday and Holydays Throughout the Year, Oxford: W. Baxter, 1827, p. 153, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_First_Edition_of_Keble_s_Christian_Y/KrsVAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/27/20; originally, “There are in this loud stunning tide / Of human care and crime, / With whom the melodies abide / Of th’ everlasting chime; / Who carry music in their heart / Through dusky lane and wrangling mart, / Plying their daily task with busier feet, / Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat.” Once disconnected from the author’s name, the phrase, “through crowded streets” was substituted by Robert Pearsall Smith in Holiness Through Faith, New York: Andon D. F. Randolph & Company, 1870, p. 152, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/ Holiness_Through_Faith_Light_on_the_Way/FUaqqF9tXmgC, accessed 5/27/20. The poem is about the calm in the soul when one knows God. 7. MB1900_47; MB1943_48 “A kindly word and a tender tone,— Only to God is their value known. They can lift from the dust the abject head; They turn a foe to a friend instead. The heart close bound with passion and pride, Will fling at their knock its portals wide; And the hate that blights, and the scorn that sears, Will melt in the fountain of childlike tears. Speak kindly, then, and some soul in pain May hear and waken to smile again.” Source: Frederick Langbridge, “A Word About Words,” The Sunday Magazine for Family Reading, London: Daldy, Isbister, & Company, 1877, p. 893, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sunday_Magazine/pl2xPE965TQC, accessed 5/27/20. The poem is about the value of being a peacemaker. 8. MB1900_58; MB1943_58 “The secret of life’s harmony is sacrifice.” Source: Adapted from George Klingle, “Sacrifice,” in Illustrated Christian Weekly; used in Signs of the Times, Dec. 10, 1885, available at https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/adl-424974, accessed 5/27/20; originally, “The keynote of life’s harmony is sacrifice.” The line summarizes the benefit that comes through sacrifice. 9. MB1900_58; MB1943_58 “No stream from its source Flows seaward, however hidden its course, But some land is gladdened. No star ever rose Or set without influence somewhere. No life Can be pure in its purpose and strong in its strife. But all life is made purer and nobler thereby.” Source: Owen Meredith, “Lucile,” available at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1852/1852-h/1852-h.htm, accessed 5/27/20; the original wording is: “No stream from its source / Flows seaward, how lonely soever its course, / But what some land is gladden'd. No star ever rose / And set, without influence somewhere. Who knows / What earth needs from earth's lowest creature? No life / Can be pure in its purpose and strong in its strife / And all life not be purer and stronger thereby.” The poem is an encouragement that there is a purpose in suffering. 21 10. MB1900_72; MB1943_72 “It is not the world-praised wonders that are best in our Father’s sight, Nor the wreaths of fading laurel, that garish fame’s dizzy height, But the pitying love and kindness the work of the warm caress, The beautiful hope and patience and self-forgetfulness. The trifle in secret given, the prayer in the quiet night, And the little unnoticed nothings are good in our Father’s sight.” Source: Lizzy Berry, “Trifles,” The Leeds Mercury (Leeds, West Yorkshire, England), Oct 4, 1879, p. 20, col. 3, available at https://www.newspapers.com/image/390698635, accessed 5/19/20; “Only a Word,” Onward, Sept. 3, 1897, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=7cApAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/17/20; Selected, “In God’s Sight,” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, October 16, 1899, p. 343, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/ BEST/BEST18991016-V14-42.pdf, accessed 5/17/20, which has: “It isn’t the world-praised nothings that are best.” The poem is about the little unnoticed nothings that God would have us to perform as the “light of the world.” 11. MB1900_72; MB1928_60; MB1943_72 “Of all the lights you carry in your face, Joy shines farthest out to sea.” Source: James R. Miller, “Getting the Joy of Christ,” Sunday School Times, March 18, 1893, p. 165, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sunday_School_Times/OHExAQAAMAAJ, accessed 5/19/20; adapted from Henry Ward Beecher, Life Thoughts Gathered from the Extemporaneous Discourses of Henry Ward Beecher, Boston: Phillips, Sampson and Company, 1858, p. 163, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/ Life_thoughts_gathered_from_the_extempor/0PEEAAAAQAAJ, accessed 5/19/20; originally, “Christians! It is your duty not only to be good, but to shine; and, of all the lights which you kindle on the face, joy will reach furthest out to sea, where troubled mariners are seeking the shore.” The poem is about the positive, far-reaching effect that the light on our faces can have. 12. MB1900_80; MB1943_81 “By all that He requires of thee, Know thou what God Himself must be.” Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “Revelation,” The Complete Writings of John Greenleaf Whittier, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1891, p. 343, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Complete_Writings_of_John_Greenleaf/6kgoAQAAMAAJ, accessed 5/19/20; “Believe and Trust,” The Signs of the Times, June 9, 1890, p. 337, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/ST/ST18900609-V16-22.pdf, accessed 5/19/20; originally, “By all that He requires of me / I know what God himself must be.” The poem points out that God is revealed through His moral standards. 13. MB1900_92; MB1943_92 “Is it worth while that we jostle a brother Bearing his load on the rough road of life? Is it worth while that we jeer at each other In blackness of heart? That we war to the knife? God pity us all in our pitiful strife. “Were it not well, in this brief little journey On over the isthmus, down into the tide, We give him a fish instead of a serpent, Ere folding the hands to be and abide Forever and aye in the dust by his side?” 22 Source: Joaquin Miller, “Is It Worth While?” Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly, December 27, 1873, available at http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/woodhull_and_claflins_weekly/woodhull_and_claflins_weekly_v7_n4_dec_27_ 1873.pdf, accessed 5/27/20; also quoted in “Down into the Dust,” The Health Reformer, January 1878, p. 12. The poem is about how one “brother” should treat another, avoiding strife. 14. MB1900_98; MB1928_76; MB1943_98 “It is the little rift within the lute That by and by will make the music mute, And ever widening, slowly silence all— The little rift within the lover’s lute, Or little pitted speck in garnered fruit, That, rotting inward, slowly molders all.” Source: Alfred Lord Tennyson, “Vivien’s Song.” The poem uses figures to say that little flaws bring big results. 15. MB1900_110; MB1928_84; MB1943_110 “Whatsoever things thou doest To the least of Mine and lowest, That thou doest unto Me.” Source: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Legend Beautiful,” Signs of the Times, October 21, 1880, p. 459; originally, “whatsoever thing thou doest” in The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1878, p. 287, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Longfellow_s_Poems/rZxbCu4MOh8C, accessed 5/27/20. The poem is tangential support for all things coming to us in life come through Christ. However, it is more about how we should treat others. 16. MB1900_112; MB1943_112 “For to share is the bliss of heaven, as it is the joy of earth; And the unshared bread lacks savor, and the wine unshared lacks zest; And the joy of the soul redeemed would be little, little worth If, content with its own security, it could forget the rest.” Source: Susan Coolidge, “A Thought,” Last Verses, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1906, p. 61, available in https://www.google.com/books/edition/Last_Verses/EJ0NAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/27/20. The poem is about the joy of sharing with those in need. 17. MB1900_118; MB1943_118 “Christ did not send, But came Himself to save; The ransom price He did not lend, But gave.” Source: Anna E. Hamilton, “The Ransom,” Ecce Agnus Dei, Emblems and Thoughts of Christ, London: James Nisbett and Company, 1872, p. 20, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ecce_Agnus_Dei_emblems_and_thoughts_of_C/wg4DAAAAQAAJ, accessed 5/27/20. The poem is a reminder about Christ’s role in coming to earth. 18. MB1900_121; MB1928_92; MB1943_121 “His, not mine, are the gifts, and only so far can I make them Mine as in giving I add my heart to whatever is given.” Source: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Theologian’s Tale,” Tales of a Wayside Inn, Boston Houghton Mifflin Company, 1863, 1872, 1873, 1891, 1900, 1901, p. 214. The poem is about what it means to “give in sincerity.” 23 19. MB1900_126; MB1928_97; MB1943_126 O dull of heart, inclosed doth lie In each ‘Come Lord’, a ‘Here am I’ Thy love, thy longings are not thine, Reflections of a love divine. Thy very prayer to thee was given Itself a messenger from heaven. Source: Richard Chenevix Trench, “Not Thine,” The Times (Shreveport, LA), October 10, 1914, p. 7, available at https://www.newspapers.com/image/208851268, accessed 5/18/20. The poem is about recognizing that God inspires our prayers. 20. MB1900_128; MB1943_128 “Say, what is prayer, when it is prayer indeed? The mighty utterances of a mighty need. The man is praying who doth press with might Out of darkness into God’s own light.” Source: Richard Chenevix Trench, “Prayer,” English Sacred Poetry of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Centuries, Robert Aris Wilmott, editor, London: George Routledge and Sons, 1877, p. 378, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/English_Sacred_Poetry_of_the_Sixteenth_S/E9Q2AQAAMAAJ, accessed 5/27/20. The poem identifies prayer as motivated by our need, which aligns with Ellen White’s thought about turning to God for help. 21. MB1900_130; MB1943_130 “Prayer is the breath of God in man, Returning whence it came.” Source: Benjamin Beddome, “Prayer is the breath of God in man.” The poem, which is a hymn, portrays prayer as return cycle of divine respiration. 22. MB1900_130; MB1943_130 “Let thy day be to thy night A letter of good tidings. Let thy praise Go up as birds go up, that, when they wake, Shake off the dew and soar. It is a comely fashion to be glad; Joy is the grace we say to God.” Source: Jean Ingelow, “Dominion,” The Poetical Works of Jean Ingelow, Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1875, p. 208, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=m28-AAAAYAAJ, accessed 6/11/20. The poem is itself “flowery words” about praise in prayer; it is very unlike the thought expressed by Ellen White. 23. MB1900_146; MB1928_110; MB1943_146 “God would not flood me with blessings, meaning me only to pine Amid all the bounties and beauties He pours upon me and mine. Therefore will I be grateful, and therefore will I rejoice! My heart is singing within me! Sing on, O heart and voice!” 24 Source: Walter Chalmers Smith, “Hilda Among the Broken Gods,” The Poetical Works of Walter Chalmers Smith, London: J. M. Dent & Company, 1992, p. 162, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=uSkL2zBQwZwC, accessed 5/16/20; Walter Smith, The Present Truth, June 25, 1903, p. 414, available at https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/adl-403322/present-truth-june-25-1903, accessed 5/17/20. The poem expresses that the thought that God’s blessings should rejoice and not complain, while the thought of Ellen White is about God’s blessings in nature leading us to gladden the lives of others as our characters are transformed. 24. MB1900_153; MB1943_153 Pray, though the gift you ask for May never comfort your fears, May never repay your pleading, Yet pray with hopeful tears. An answer—not that you long for But diviner—will come one day, Your eyes are too dim to see it, Yet strive and wait and pray. —Adelaide Proctor. Source: Adelaide Anne Procter, “Strive, Wait, Pray,” The Poetical Works of Adelaide A. Procter, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, p. 42, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/ The_Poetical_Works_of_Adelaide_A_Procter/Ry9DAQAAMAAJ, accessed 5/27/20. The poem encourages readers to pray even if they never receive what they are looking for because they may receive an answer that is wiser than they may know enough to seek; it is a good thought but not that which was expressed by Ellen White (cf. SC 93.2). 25. MB1900_169; MB1943_169 Not with hatred’s undertow Doth the love eternal flow; Still Thy heart, O Christ arisen, Yearns to reach the souls in prison! Through all depths of sin and loss Drops the plummet of Thy cross! Never yet abyss was found Deeper than that cross could sound. —Whittier. Source: John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Grave by the Lake,” The Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, London: Ward, Lock, & Company, 1880, p. 244, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/ The_poetical_works_of_John_Greenleaf_Whi/1GUCAAAAQAAJ, accessed 5/27/20. The poem is about the gospel lived, which is very much in keeping with Ellen White’s previous thought. 26. MB1900_179; MB1928_159; MB1943_179 “Think not harshly—much of sin Lurks each human heart within; In its closely covered cells Many a wayward passion dwells. By thy many hours misspent, By thy thoughts to folly lent, By the wrong thou didst not shun, By the good thou has not done,— With a heart of pity scan The weakness of thy brother man.” 25 Source: Julia A. Fletcher, “Speak Not Harshly,” Friends’ Review, November 4, 1848, p. 112, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Friends_Review/2sZLAAAAMAAJ, accessed 5/27/20; originally, “Speak not harshly—much of sin / Dwelleth every heart within; / In its closely covered cells / Many a wayward passion dwells. / By the many hours misspent, / By the gifts to errors lent, / By the wrong thou didst not shun, / By the good thou hast not done; / With a lenient spirit scan / The weakness of thy fellow man.” (Moved in 1928 to the end of the book.) The poem exhorts readers, in light of their own bad choices not to judge others too harshly, a thought that parallels that of Ellen White. 27. MB1900_196; MB1943_197 Dig channels for the streams of love, Where they may broadly run, And love has overflowing streams, To fill them every one. But if at any time thou fail Such channels to provide, The very fount of love itself Will soon be parched and dried; For thou must share if thou wouldst keep This good thing from above. Ceasing to share, we cease to have— Such is the law of love. —Trench. Source: Richard Chenevix Trench, “The Law of Love,” Sabbation; Honor Neale; and other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, 1838, p. 133, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sabbation_Honor_Neale_and_other_poems/MF8EAAAAQAAJ, accessed 5/27/20; originally, “Dig channels for the streams of Love, / Where they may broadly run; / And Love has overflowing streams / To fill them every one. / But if at any time thou cease / Such channels to provide, / The very founts of Love for thee / Will soon be parched and dried. / For we must share, if we would keep, / That good thing from above; / Ceasing to give, we cease to have— / This is the law of Love.” The poem declares that the great “law of love” is to be a “channel” of blessing to others, while the section is on the golden rule. 28. MB1900_207; MB1943_207 “God only is the creature’s home; Though rough and strait the road, Yet nothing else can satisfy The love that longs for God.” Source: Frederick W. Faber, the hymn, “God only is the creature’s home.” The poem says that God alone is our destination and that nothing but God can satisfy, while Ellen White describes the transformation of Jacob’s character after his wrestling with God. The listing of poems in the next exhibit is of the six poems in the 1928 edition that were not in previous editions. As in the previous two exhibits, each poem is followed by its source and a summary of its meaning. All six poems are hymns, which should have been easier to attribute to an author, but only three of the authors are listed in the book. The 1928 edition was sold with a plain cover or with an embossed cover (illustrated to the right). The version with the embossed cover also contained a color frontispiece and four other full-page colored illustrations, which did not change the paging of the book. The same cover was used for the 1944 edition, which had the same pagination. 26 EXHIBIT 3. Hymn poems added in Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing (1928) 1. MB1928_31 “My rest is in heaven, my rest is not here, Then why should I tremble when trials are near? Be hushed, my sad spirit, the worst that can come But shortens my journey, and hastens me home. It is not for me to be seeking my bliss, Nor building my hopes in a region like this; I look for a city that hands have not piled, I pant for a country by sin undefiled. —H. F. Lyte. Source: Henry Francis Lyte, “Rest in Heaven,” The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book for Use in Divine Worship, Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Publishing House, 1893, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Seventh_Day_Adventist_Hymn_and_Tune/shoy9t0knBsC, accessed 6/11/20; Henry Francis Lyte, “My Rest Is in Heaven,” The Christian Missionary: Incidents in the Life of the Rev. Dr. A. Judson, Missionary to Burmah, London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1852, p. 101; https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Christian_Missionary/TXFVmv-1ggsC, accessed 5/16/20. The poem, which is a hymn, speaks of rest in our heavenly home when the section is on the meek inheriting the earth. 2. MB1928_36 “As pants the wearied hart for cooling springs, That sinks exhausted in the summer’s chase, So pants my soul for Thee, great King of kings, So thirsts to reach Thy sacred dwelling place.” Source: Bishop Robert Lowth, Psalm 42, “As pants the wearied hart for cooling springs,” The Harp of Judah; or, Songs of Sion, vol. 1, London: J. G. & F. Rivington, p. 172, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_harp_of_Judah_or_Songs_of_Sion/swVMAAAAYAAJ, accessed 5/16/20. The poem, which is a hymn, is a paraphrase of Psalm 42:1 and the panting of the soul after God; it parallels the exposition of Ellen White on hungering and thirsting for righteousness. 3. MB1928_66 O that the Lord would guide my ways To keep His statutes still! O that my God would grant me grace To know and do His will! O send Thy Spirit down to write Thy law upon my heart, Nor let my tongue indulge deceit, Nor act the liar’s part. —Isaac Watts. Source: Isaac Watts, “O that the Lord would guide my ways.” The poem, which is a hymn, is the expression of the poet’s desire that God’s will and law be written on his heart, as described in Hebrews by Ellen White. 27 4. MB1928_74 “Blest are the pure in heart, For they our God shall see, And they shall walk with Me in white Through all eternity. “No more in thought they err, They’re free from every stain; They’ve washed their robes of character And spotless they remain.” Source: Frank E. Belden, “Blest are the pure in heart,” The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book for Use in Divine Worship, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=shoy9t0knBsC, accessed 5/27/20. The poem, which is a hymn, amplifies the text, “Blessed are the pure in heart” while the section is a specific condemnation of impure thoughts. 5. MB1928_113 “Not I, but Christ, be honored, loved, exalted; Not I, but Christ, be seen, be known, be heard; Not I, but Christ, in every look and action; Not I, but Christ, in every thought and word. “Not I, but Christ, to gently soothe in sorrow; Not I, but Christ, to wipe the falling tear; Not I, but Christ, to lift the weary burden; Not I, but Christ, to hush away all fear.” Source: Ada A. Whiddington, “Not I But Christ.” The poem, which is a hymn, is one of focus on glorifying Christ rather than self, a poignant link to Ellen White’s point about daily “wearing the yoke of Christ.” 6. MB1928_132 My God, is any hours so sweet, From blush of morn to evening star, As that which calls me to Thy feet, The hour of prayer? Lord, till I reach that blissful shore, No privilege so dear shall be As thus my inmost soul to pour In prayer to Thee. —Charlotte Elliott. Source: Charlotte Elliott, “My God! is any hour so sweet.” The poem, which is a hymn, is a general statement about the blessing of prayer; it summarizes the section on the Lord’s prayer. 28 EXHIBIT 4. “Poetry of anonymous authors” in Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing (1956)34 29 30 31 32 33 The Editors’ Choice of Poetry in Ellen White’s Other Books Supplement to Experience and Views of Ellen G. White (1854). Ellen White’s first book was published in 1851. It included some of Ellen White’s early experience and several of her first visions, many having been published in Adventist periodicals beginning in 1845.35 Three years later, James White published a supplement to the first book with the author’s explanations of certain points in the earlier material as well as additional visions, several of which were previously unpublished. On the back cover of the Supplement was a poem written by Annie R. Smith, who was then copy editor for The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald at Rochester, New York. The poem would be used as a hymn and published in seventh-day and first-day Adventist hymnals, the first of which, Hymns for Second Advent Believers Who Observe the Sabbath of the Lord (1852), contained just the words. James White later published the words with a music score in The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (1886). Both had appeared in The Advent Herald, May 7, 1853, as taken from the Advent Harp, under the title, “Restitution.”36 The opening line of the poem derives from Romans 8:22: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” The thought of the poem is the hope embraced by the Advent people that God has a more glorious existence to come for His children. It was a fitting way to bookend the message of God’s glory and guidance contained in the Supplement, where “glory” was the recurring theme of Ellen White’s visions. THE GROANING EARTH. THIS groaning earth is too dark and drear, For the saints’ eternal home; But the King from heaven will soon appear, We know that the moment is drawing near, When he in his glory shall come. The gates of pearl we soon shall see, And the music we soon shall hear, Joyous and bright our home shall be, And we’ll walk in the shadow of life’s fair tree, With our Saviour for ever near. We’ll gladly exchange a world like this, Where death triumphant reigns, For a beautiful home in that land of bliss, Where all is happiness, joy and peace, And nothing can enter that pains: There is no more sorrow and no more night; For the darkness shall flee away, The crucified Lamb is its glorious light, And the saints shall walk with him in white, In that happy, eternal day. O there the loved of earth will meet Whom death has sundered here, The Prophets and Patriarchs there will greet, And all shall worship at Jesus’ feet, No more separation to fear. Though trials and grief await us here, The conflict will shortly be o’er, This glorious hope our hearts doth cheer, We know that our Saviour will soon appear, And then we shall grieve no more. —Annie Rebekah Smith. 34 Patriarchs and Prophets (1890). The original edition of this book did not have poetry. The 1922 edition added it. Most of the poems are hymns, and most were attributed to their author. Those that did not have an author have been attributed where available. The page numbering is from the 1922 edition. 1. Page 37 (1922 edition) 3. THE HAND DIVINE The spacious firmament on high, With all the blue, ethereal sky, And spangled heavens, a shining frame, Th’ unwearied Sun, from day to day Does his Creator’s power display, And publishes to every land The work of an almighty hand. LOVE DIVINE O Love divine, what hast Thou done! The incarnate God hath died for me! The Father’s well-beloved Son Bore all my sins upon the tree! The Son of God for me hath died,— My Lord, my Love is crucified. Is crucified for me and you, To bring us rebels back to God; Believe, believe the record true, Ye are all bought with Jesus’ blood; Pardon for all flows from His side,— My Lord, my Love, is crucified. The let us sit beneath His cross, And gladly catch the healing stream; All things for Him account but loss, And give up all our hearts to Him! Of nothing think or speak beside,— My Lord, my Love, is crucified. —Charles Wesley. Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tail; And nightly, to the listening earth Repeats the story of her birth; While all the stars that round her born, And all the planets in their turn, Confirm the tidings as they roll, And spread the truth from pole to pole. What though in solemn silence, all Move round the dark terrestrial ball? What though no real voice or sound Amid their radiant orbes be found? In reason’s here they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, Forever singing as they shine, “The hand that made us is divine.” —Joseph Addison. 2. Page 67 (1922 edition) 4. Page 125 (1922 edition) FAITH Faith is the polar star That guides the Christian’s way, Directs his wanderings from afar To realms of endless day. Faith is the rain-bow’s form Hung on the brow of heaven. The glory of the passing storm, The pledge of mercy given. The faith that works by love, And purifies the heart, A foretaste of the joys above To mortals can impart. It guides us far from strife, Where’er our footsteps roam, And promises eternal life When we have reached our home. —Anon. [Adapted from “What Is Faith?” John Finley] Page 57 (1922 edition) “There is a place of sacred rest, Far, far beyond the skies, Where beauty smiles eternally, And pleasure never dies:— My Father’s house, my heavenly home, Where many mansions stand, Prepared, by hands divine, for all Who seek the better land.” [Christ in Song, #900 “Place of Sacred Rest”; “My Father’s House,” Robert Turnbull] 35 7. Original words: Faith is the polar star That Guides the Christian’s bark, Directs his wandering from afar, To reach the holy Ark; It points his course where’er he roam, And safely leads the pilgrim home. HARDEN NOT YOUR HEART There is a line by us unseen, That crosses every path— The hidden boundary between God’s patience and His wrath. How far may we go on in sin? How long will God forbear? Where does hope end? And where begin The confines of despair? An answer from the skies is sent: “Ye that from God depart, While it is called to—day, repent, And harden not your heart.” —F. Addison Alexander. [Joseph Addison Alexander] Faith is the rainbow’s form, Hung on the brow of heaven; The glory of the passing storm, The pledge of mercy given; It is the bright, triumphal arch, Through which the saints to glory march. 5. Page 151 (1922 edition) “Ah! why should doubts and fears arise, And sorrow fill my weeping eyes? Too slow, alas! the mind receives The comforts that the gospel gives. “O for a strong, a lasting faith To rest on what the Almighty saith! To heed the message of His Son, And call the joys of heaven my own.” [SDA Hymns and Tunes #663, Anon] 6. Page 271 (1922 edition) 8. Page 317 (1922 edition) THY COMMANDS O that the Lord would guide my ways To keep His statutes still! O that my God would grant me grace To know and do His will! O send Thy Spirit down to write Thy law upon my heart, Nor let my tongue indulge deceit, Nor act the liar’s part. Order my footsteps by Thy word, And make my heart sincere; Let sin have no dominion, Lord, But keep my conscience clear. Make me to walk in Thy commands, ‘Tis a delightful road; Nor let my head, nor heart, nor hands Offend against my God. —Isaac Watts. Page 201 (1922 edition) PREVAILING PRAYER Come, O Thou Traveler unknown, Whom still I hold, but cannot see; My company before is gone, And I am left alone with Thee; With Thee all night I mean to stay, And wrestle till the break of day. I need not tell Thee who I am; My sin and misery declare; Thyself hast called me by my name. Look on Thy hands, and read it there: But who, I ask Thee, who art Thou? Tell me Thy name, and tell me now. In vain Thou strugglest to get free; I never will unloose my hold; Art Thou the Man that died for me? The secret of Thy love unfold; Wrestling, I will not let Thee go, Till I Thy name, Thy nature know. —Charles Wesley. 9. Page 419 (1922 edition) THE ONE THING NEEDFUL Jesus, engrave it on my heart That Thou the one thing needful art; I could from all things parted be, But never, never, Lord, from Thee. Needful is Thy most precious blood, To reconcile my soul to God; Needful is Thy indulgent care, Needful Thy all-prevailing prayer. 36 Needful art Thou, my Guide, my Stay, Through all life’s dark and weary way; Nor will at last less needful be To bring me home to heaven and Thee. —Samuel Medley. Lift Him up in all His glory, ‘Tis the Son of God on high; Lift Him up, His love shall draw them, E’en the careless shall draw nigh; Let them hear again the story Of the cross, the death of shame; And from tongue to tongue repeat it; Mighty throngs shall bless His name. 10. Page 429 (1922 edition) ROCK OF AGES Rock of Ages, cleft for me! Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side that flowed, Be of sin the perfect cure; Save me, Lord, and make me pure. O then lift Him up in singing, Lift the Saviour up in prayer; He, the glorious Redeemer, All the sins of men did bear; Yes, the young shall bow before Him, And the old their voices raise; All the deaf shall hear hosannah; And the dumb shall shout His praise. Should my tears forever flow, Should my zeal no languor know, This, for sin, could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone. In my hand no price I bring; Simply to Thy Cross I cling. Lift Him up, the risen Saviour, High amid the waiting throng; Lift Him up, ‘tis He that speaketh, Now He bids you flee from wrong. —May E. Warren. When my pilgrimage I close, Victor o’er the last of foes, When I soar to worlds unknown, See Thee on Thy judgment throne,— Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee. —Augustus M. Toplady. 12. Page 491 (1922 edition) MOSES “This was the truest warrior That ever buckled sword, This the most gifted poet That ever breathed a word; And never earth’s philosopher Traced with his golden pen, On the deathless page, truths half so sage As he wrote down for men. 11. Page 441 (1922 edition) LIFT HIM UP Lift Him up, ‘tis He that bids you, Let the dying look and live; To all weary, thirsting sinners, Living waters will He give; And though once so meek and lowly, Yet the Prince of heaven was He; And the blind, who grope in darkness, Through the blood of Christ shall see. “and had he not high honor,— The hillside for a pall, To lie in state while angels wait With stars for tapers tall, And the dark rock-pines like tossing plumes Over his bier to wave, And God’s own hand, in that lonely land, To lay him in the grave?” Lift Him up, this precious Saviour, Let the multitude behold; They with willing hearts shall seek Him, He will draw them to His fold; They shall gather from the wayside, Hast’ning on with joyous feet, They shall bear the cross of Jesus, And shall find salvation sweet. 37 13. Page 597 (1922 edition) 14. Page 663 (1922 edition) “O LORD, Thy heavenly grace impart, And fix my frail, inconstant heart; Henceforth my chief desire shall be To dedicate myself to Thee. A PRAYER “Make duty plain, O Lord, Thy will we seek to know; O grant Thy Spirit with Thy word, To guide our steps below. Whate’er pursuits my time employ, One thought shall fill my soul with joy; That silent, secret thought shall be That all my thoughts are fixed on Thee. “May feeling hearts be ours, And tender conscience, too; Awaken all our slumbering powers Thy righteousness will to do. Thy glorious eye pervadeth space; Thy presence, Lord, fills every place; And wheresoe’er my lot may be, Still shall my spirit rest with Thee. “Help us Thy truth to love, And while we love, obey; Be Thou our counsel from above, Show us Thy will and way.” Renouncing every worldly thing, And safe beneath Thy spreading wing, My sweetest thoughts henceforth shall be, That all I want I find in Thee. —Jean F. Oberlin. [“Thy Grace Impart,” Jean-Frédéric Oberlin; Translator: Lucy Sarah Atkins Wilson] [SDA Hymn and Tune Book #765 “Make duty plain, O Lord,” Frank E. Belden] Steps to Christ (1892). Steps to Christ was first printed by the Fleming H. Revell Company in 1892. When a new first chapter was added in 1893, the new chapter included at its close, a verse from the hymn, “Zion Stands by Hills Surrounded,” by Thomas Kelly. It did not give the author’s name.37 “Every human tie may perish, Friend to friend unfaithful prove, Mothers cease their own to cherish, Heaven and earth at last remove; But no change Can attend Jehovah’s love.” The 1908 edition of Steps to Christ, which added 61 original small illustrations by William B. Davis, also had the verse from Kelly’s hymn, and the verse was carried over into the pocket edition of Steps to Christ.38 Ellen White may have been responsible for its original inclusion since she had used it in a letter she wrote to R. M. Kilgore on July 8, 1878, and also in Ms. 41, 1892, which was published in the Bible Training School of December 1902.39 The 1921 edition of Steps to Christ included seven additional poems.40 The first of these was inserted before chapter Left: An 1892 Steps to Christ; center: an ornate 1908 Steps to Christ; and 1. It is the hymn, “O could I speak the right: a 1921 Steps to Christ matchless worth,” by Samuel Medley.41 38 I’d sing the character He bears, And all the forms of love He wears, Exalted on His throne; In loftiest songs of sweetest praise, I would to everlasting days Make all His glories known. THE CHRIST O could I speak the matchless worth, O could I sound the glories forth, Which in my Saviour shine! I’d soar and touch the heavenly strings, And vie with Gabriel while he sings In notes almost divine. I’d sing the precious blood He spilt, My ransom from the dreadful guilt Of sin and wrath divine! I’d sing His glorious righteousness, In which all-perfect heavenly dress My soul shall ever shine. Well, the delightful day will come, When my dear Lord will take me home, And I shall see His face; Then, with my Saviour, Brother, Friend, A blest eternity I’ll spend, Triumphant in His grace. —Samuel Medley.42 The next poem, “My Life My All,” which is the hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts (shown below), is found in the 1921 edition of the book at the end of chapter 1.43 “MY LIFE, MY ALL” When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. See, from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down; Did e’er such love and sorrow meet? Or thorns compose so rich a crown? Since I, who was undone and lost, Have pardon through His name and word; Forbid it, then, that I should boast, Save in the cross of Christ, my Lord. Were the whole real of nature mine, That were a tribute far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my life, my soul, my all. —Isaac Watts.44 At the end of chapter 4, “Confession,” the 1921 edition has a stanza from the hymn, “The Fairest Face,” or “I Heard a Voice,” by Peter Stryker, although included anonymously, as shown below.45 “I felt His love, the strongest love That mortal ever felt; O, how it drew my soul above, And made my hard heart melt! My burden at His feet I laid, And knew the joy of heaven, As in my willing ear He said The blessed word, ‘Forgiven!’”46 At the end of chapter 7, “The Test of Discipleship,” the 1921 edition has a verse from the hymn, “One thing Needful” by Samuel Medley (1738-1799). It was included anonymously, as shown below.47 “Jesus, engrave it on my heart That Though the one thing needful art; I could from all things parted be, But never, never, Lord, from Thee.” 48 The 1921 edition has “Not in Vain,” or “O Thou through suffering perfect made,” a hymn, written by William Walsham How (1823-1897), after chapter 9, “The Work and the Life.” The author’s name is not given.49 39 “O loving Saviour, Thou canst cure The pains and woes Thou didst endure; For all who need, Physician great, Thy healing balm we supplicate. “O heal the bruised heart withing; O save our souls all sick with sin; Give life and health in bounteous store, That we may praise Thee evermore.” 50 NOT IN VAIN “O Thou through suff’ring perfect made, On whom the bitter cross was laid, In hours of sickness, grief, and pain No suff’rer turns to Thee in vain. “The halt, the maimed, the sick, the blind, Sought not in vain Thy tendance kind; Now in Thy poor Thyself we see, And minister through them to Thee. After chapter 10, “A Knowledge of God,” in the 1921 edition, is the hymn, “The Word of God,” or “Lamp of Our Feet,” written by Bernard Barton. It was included anonymously, as shown below.51 “Pillar of fire through watches dark, And radiant cloud by day; When waves would whelm our tossing bark, Our anchor and our stay; THE WORD OF GOD “Lamp of our feet, whereby we trace Our path when wont to stray; Stream from the fount of heavenly grace; Brook by the traveler’s way; “Word of the everlasting God; Will of His glorious Son,— Without Thee how could earth be trod, Or heaven itself be won?”52 “Bread of our souls, whereon we feed; True manna from on high; Our guide and chart, wherein we read Of realms beyond the sky; Chapter 11, “The Privilege of Prayer,” has at its end the hymn, “The Hour of Prayer” by Charlotte Elliott, though without credit.53 THE HOUR OF PRAYER “My God, is any hour so sweet, From blush of morn to evening star, As that which calls me to Thy feet,— The hour of prayer? “Then in my strength by Thee renewed; Then are my sins by Thee forgiven; Then dost Thou cheer my solitude With hopes of heaven. “Lord, till I reach that blissful shore, No privilege so dear shall be, As thus my inmost soul to pour In prayer to Thee.”54 “Blest is that tranquil hour of morn, And blest that solemn hour of eve, When, on the wings of prayer upborne, The world I leave. A hymn that was later added after chapter 12, “What to Do With Doubt,” was a favorite of Ellen White’s—“Rock of Ages.”55 Chapter 13 of the 1921 edition of Steps to Christ has a poem entitled, “The Star of Israel,” which is “O Thou in Whose Presence” in the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal. THE STAR OF ISRAEL “O THOU in whose presence my soul takes delight, On whom in affliction I call, My comfort by day and my song in the night, My hope, my salvation, my all! His voice, as the sound of the dulcimer sweet, Is heard through the shadows of death: The cedars of Lebanon bow at His feet, The air is perfumed with His breath. His lips, as a fountain of righteousness flow, To water the gardens of grace; From which their salvation the Gentiles shall know, And bask in the smiles of His face. Ye daughters of Zion, declare, have you seen The star that on Israel shone? Say if in your tents my Beloved has been, And where with His flock he has gone. 40 He looks, and ten thousand of angels rejoice, And myriads wait for His word; He speaks, and eternity, filled with His voice, Re-echoes the praise of the Lord. —Joseph Swain.56 Chapter 13, entitled “Rejoicing in the Lord,” is followed, in the pocket edition, by “The Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts and “I Need Thee Every Hour” by Annie S . Hawks. Thus, all the poems in the Steps to Christ have been hymns, increasing the poignancy of that book by giving the reader something to sing about after reading each chapter. They are quite meaningful. The Desire of Ages (1898). Although she may have wanted, at first, to use poems in The Desire of Ages, Marian wrote, in a proposal sheet regarding titles for the book: “Serious objections have been urged against the use of poetry in Sister White’s books. But it seems doubly objectionable on the title page.” She may have had poetry set aside for the book when she wrote C. H. Jones at Pacific Press: “The poetry seems inappropriate for a book of this character.”57 So, rather filling blank space with poetry at the end of chapters in The Desire of Ages, Marian used “cuts,” or engravings, which she called “tailpieces.” In the end, only a single poem was used in The Desire of Ages. After the dedication page, are the first, third, fourth, and fifth stanzas of the hymn, “Immortal Love, Forever Full,” by John Greenleaf Whittier.58 However, Mrs. White did use some poetic language borrowed from certain hymns in The Desire of Ages. On page 26, she used the phrase, “one dark blot,” from Charlotte Elliott’s hymn, “Just As I Am” (1834), which Ellen White had quoted more fully in Signs of the Times July 22, 1875. On page 317 of The Desire of Ages, Ellen White also quoted the words, “In my hand no price I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling,” an alternate form of the words, found in many hymnals, to the words of Augustus Montague Toplady’s hymn, “Rock of Ages” (1776).59 The usual form of the words, “Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling,” appears in Signs of Times, Dec. 12, 1892. Christ’s Object Lessons (1900). Again, Marian Davis included, with Mrs. White’s approval, a single poem in the first edition of Ellen White’s book on the parables (though not in later editions of the book) at the book’s close. The poem, “The Marriage Feast,” by Horatio Bonar, which is also a hymn, is attributed to its author.60 “Ascend, beloved to the joy; The festal day has come; To-night the Lamb doth feast his own, To-night He with His Bride sits down, To-night puts on the spousal crown, In the great upper room. “Ascend, Beloved, to the love; This is the day of days; To-night the bridal-song is sung, To-night ten thousand harps are strung, In sympathy with heart and tongue, Unto the Lamb’s high praise. “The festal lamps are lighting now In the great marriage-hall; By angel-hands the board is spread, By angel-hands the sacred bread Is on the golden table laid; The King His own doth call. “The gems are gleaming from the roof, Like stars in night’s round dome; The festal wreaths are hanging there, The festal fragrance fills the air, And flowers of heaven, divinely fair, Unfold their happy bloom. “Long, long deferred, now come at last, The Lamb’s glad wedding day; The guests are gathering to the feast, The seats in heavenly order placed, The royal throne above the rest;— How bright the new array! “Sorrow and sighing are no more, The weeping hours are past; To-night the waiting will be done, To-night the wedding robe put on, 41 The glory and the joy begun; The crown has come at last. “Without, within, is light, is light; Around, above, is love, is love; We enter, to go out no more, We raise the song unsung before, We doff the sackcloth that we wore; For all is joy above. “Ascend, Beloved, to the life; Our days of death are o’er; Mortality has done its worst, The fetters of the tomb are burst, The last has now become the first, For ever, evermore. “Ascend, beloved, to the feast; Make haste, thy day is come; Thrice blest are they, the Lamb doth call To share the heavenly festival, In the new Salem’s palace-hall, Our everlasting home!” —Bonar.61 Education (1903). In Ellen White’s book on education is a chapter entitled “Poetry and Song.” There, Mrs. White calls attention to various instances of poetry in Scripture.62 Using quotation marks without citing the author, she also highlights nonbiblical poetry, including a snatch of a thought from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, book 1, lines 3 and 4, on page 251 of Education: “This is why God has given so many examples showing the results of even one wrong act. From the sad story of that one sin which ‘brought death into the world and all our woe, with loss of Eden,’ to the record of him who for thirty pieces of silver sold the Lord of glory, Bible biography abounds in these examples, set up as beacons of warning at the byways leading from the path of life” (Education, p. 150). She also quoted Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “The Ladder of St. Augustine,” on page 296 of the book. “The heights by great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night.” By the pride deposed and the passion slain, And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet.” “All common things, each day’s events, That with the hour begin and end, Our pleasures and our discontents, Are rounds by which we may ascend.” “We rise by things that are under our feet; By what we have mastered of good and gain; The Ministry of Healing (1905). One might have thought that the experience with Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing would have cured Marian Davis of using poetry in Ellen White’s books. However, in Ministry of Healing, the book that Marian was preparing in 1904 before her untimely death, she included poetry in the manuscript. Most of these are hymns that are mostly attributed to their author. These remain in current editions of the book, even though titles and authors are not always connected with the poem. On page 65 is a snatch of a verse from Augustus Toplady’s hymn, “Rock of Ages”: “In my hand no price I bring; Simply to thy cross I cling.” The latter half of The Ministry of Healing includes several poems. It should be noted that these poems were included with Ellen White’s approval but not likely at her own selection. Page 254. The hymn, “We praise Thee, O God! for the Son of Thy love,” by W. P. Mackay (unattributed). We praise Thee, O God, for the Son of Thy love,— For Jesus who died and is now gone above. We praise Thee, O God, for Thy Spirit of light, Who has shown us our Saviour, and scattered our night. All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain, Who has borne all our sins, and has cleansed every stain. 42 All glory and praise to the God of all grace, Who has bought us, and sought us, and guided our ways. Revive us again; fill each heart with Thy love; May each soul be rekindled with fire from above. Chorus: Hallelujah! Thine the glory, Hallelujah! amen; Hallelujah! Thine the glory, Revive us again. Pages 258, 259. The hymn, “Marah and Elim,” by Horatio Bonar. Today ’tis Elim with its palms and wells, And happy shade for desert weariness; ’Twas Marah yesterday, all rock and sand, Unshaded solitude and dreariness. Yet the same desert holds them both, the same Hot breezes wander o’er the lonely ground; The same low stretch of valley shelters both, And the same mountains compass them around. So it is here with us on earth, and so I do remember it has ever been; The bitter and the sweet, the grief and joy, Lie near together, but a day between. Sometimes God turns our bitter into sweet, Sometimes He gives us pleasant watersprings; Sometimes He shades us with His pillar cloud, And sometimes to a blessed palm shade brings. What matters it? The time will not be long; Marah and Elim will alike be passed; Our desert wells and palms will soon be done, We reach the “City of our God” at last. O happy land! beyond these lonely hills, Where gush in joy the everlasting springs; O holy Paradise! above these heavens, Where we shall end our desert wanderings. —Horatius Bonar. Page 260. The hymn, “Blessed Assurance,” by Fanny J. Crosby. Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight. Angels descending bring from above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love. Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Saviour am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Saviour all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Saviour all the day long. —Fanny J. Crosby. Page 267. The hymn, “Naomi,” or “Oh, could I find, from day to day,” by Benjamin Cleveland. In joys the world can never give, Nor ever take away. Blest Jesus, come, and rule my heart, And make me wholly Thine, That I may nevermore depart, Nor grieve Thy love divine. O, could I find, from day to day, A nearness to my God, Then would my hours glide sweet away, While leaning on His word. Lord, I desire with Thee to live Anew from day to day, —Benjamin Cleveland. 43 Page 268. The hymn, “Olivet,” or “My Faith Looks Up to Thee,” by Ray Palmer. O may my love to Thee Pure, warm, and changeless be, A living fire. My faith looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary, Saviour divine; Now hear me while I pray, Take all my guilt away, O let me from this day Be wholly Thine. While life’s dark maze I tread, And griefs around me spread, Be Thou my Guide; Bid darkness turn to day, Wipe sorrow’s tears away, Nor let me ever stray From Thee aside. May Thy rich grace impart Strength to my fainting heart, My zeal inspire; As Thou hast died for me, —Ray Palmer. Page 362. “Better Than Gold,” by Alexander Smart (unattributed). However humble the home may be, Or tried with sorrows by heaven’s decree, The blessings that never were bought or sold, And center there, are better than gold. Better than gold is a peaceful home, Where all the fireside charities come; The shrine of love and the heaven of life, Hallowed by mother, or sister, or wife. —Anon. Page 496. “Epistle II,” Essay on Man, by Alexander Pope (unattributed).63 “Heaven forming each on other to depend, A master or a servant or a friend, Bids each on other for assistance call, Till one man’s weakness grows the strength of all.”64 Page 505. The hymn, “The Joy of the Lord,” or “The Ninety and Nine,” by Elizabeth C. Clephane (attributed and not included in current editions of the book). “The Joy of the Lord” There were ninety and nine that safely lay In the shelter of the fold; But one was out on the hills away, Far, far from the gates of gold: Away on the mountains wild and bare, Away from the tender Shepherd’s care. Far out on the desert He heard its cry, Fainting and helpless, and ready to die. “Lord, whence are these blood-drops all the way, That mark out the mountain’s track?” “They were shed for one who had gone astray Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.” “Lord, why are Thy hands so rent and torn?” “They were pierced to-night by many a thorn.” “Lord, Thou has there Thy ninety and nine; Are they not enough for Thee?” But the Shepherd made answer, “One of Mine Has wandered away from Me; And although the road be rough and steep, I go to the desert to find My sheep.” But all through the mountains, thunder-riven, And up from the rocky steep, There rose a cry to the gate of heaven, “Rejoice! I have found My sheep;” And the angels sang around the throne, “Rejoice! For the Lord brings back His own.” But none of the ransomed ever knew How deep were the waters crossed, Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through, Ere He found His sheep that was lost. —Elizabeth C. Clephane. 44 Page 507. The hymn, “Nicea,” or “Holy, Holy, Holy,” by Reginald Heber (attributed and not included in current editions of the book). Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!65 Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God over all, who rules eternity. Holy, holy, holy! Angels adore thee, Casting down their bright crowns around the glassy sea; Thousands, and ten thousands worship low before thee, Which wert and art and evermore shalt be. Holy, holy, holy! though darkness hide thee, Though the eye of man thy great glory may not see; Only thou art holy; there is none beside thee, Perfect in power, in love and purity. Life Sketches of Ellen G. White (1915). Last of all, the workers in Ellen White’s office (W. C. White and C. C. Crisler) who finished the brief biography of her life in 1915 after Ellen White’s death, mentioned the singing of “It is well with my soul” (LS 450.3). After this, in Elder G. B. Starr’s remarks at Mrs. White’s funeral, he quoted words from “Passed Away,” by Uriah Smith: “Passed away from earth forever, Free from all its cares and fears, She again will join us never, While we tread this vale of tears,” (LS 452.4) The completion of that verse of the poem is: For the turf is now her pillow, And she sleeps among the dead; While the cypress and the willow Wave above her lowly bed. There she slumbers, calmly slumbers, With the silent, peaceful dead.66 And then Starr quoted the final verse of that same poem: “But a glorious day is nearing, Earth’s long-wished-for jubilee, When creation’s King, appearing, Shall proclaim His people free; When, upborne on Love’s bright pinion, They shall shout from land and sea, ‘Death, where is thy dark dominion! Grave, where is thy victory!’” (LS 452.4) There are two more lines to that final verse: Then we’ll meet her, gladly meet her, When we’ll never parted be.67 45 They sang one of Ellen White’s “best loved” hymns—“We shall meet beyond the river” (LS 455.3; 479.1), and also “Sweet Be Thy Rest,” (LS 456.4) and “Asleep in Jesus!,” the first two lines of which Ellen White herself quoted in Lt. 326, 1906, October 22, to Brother and Sister S. T. Belden. “Asleep in Jesus! Blessed sleep, From which none ever wake to weep! A calm and undisturbed repose, Unbroken by the last of foes! “Asleep in Jesus! Soon to rise, When the last trump shall rend the skies! Then burst the fetters of the tomb, And wake in full, immortal bloom!” (LS 464) They also closed the book with a hymn, “We shall sleep, but not forever,” by Mary A. Kidder. Funerals are occasions at which we still use poetry and hymns. Here are the words to both hymns: “We may sleep, but not forever; There will be a glorious dawn; We shall meet to part, no, never, On the resurrection morn. From the deepest caves of ocean, From the desert and the plain, From the valley and the mountain, Countless throngs shall rise again.” (LS 480) Ellen White’s Own Choice of Poetry Past secretary of the Ellen G. White Estate and Ellen White’s grandson, Arthur L. White, responded to an inquiry about his grandmother’s use of poetry: “You ask if it was a practice of Sister White to read books of poetry. Sister White read quite widely, but more in general publications. As she traveled, she read the journals issued by other conservative religious groups, and in her general reading she was bound to come across some choice poetry here and there. We find in the original handwritten manuscript she draws from these poems usually giving the name of the author. Sometimes the poetry is actually a part of a familiar hymn which has come from our hymn books” (Arthur L. White, Letter to “Dear Brother,” Feb. 2, 1959).68 Ellen G. White’s diaries do include clippings of poetry, but she did use poetry at times.69 In 1852, Ellen White’s brother, with whom she had shared her early Christian experience, contracted cholera and died of the disease at 27 years of age. Ellen White included in her first autobiography a poem written for the occasion by Annie Smith. While pointing upward to the sky, “My treasure is laid up on high.” He sleeps in Jesus—peaceful rest— No mortal strife invades, his breast; No pain, or sin, or woe, or care, Can reach the silent slumberer there. He sleeps in Jesus—soon to rise, When the last trump shall rend the skies; Then burst the fetters of the tomb, To wake in full, immortal bloom. He lived, his Saviour to adore, And meekly all his sufferings bore. He loved, and all resigned to God; Nor murmured at his chastening rod. He sleeps in Jesus—cease thy grief; Let this afford thee sweet relief— That, freed from death's triumphant reign, In heaven will he live again. (2SG 164.1) “Does earth attract thee here?” they cried, The dying Christian thus replied: 46 Then, at the close of a brief article in the April 1858 Youth’s Instructor, which she says were “composed upon the death of the infant of my twin sister,” Ellen White included the words of a poem entitled, “Little Eva.” The tombstone for her twin sister Elizabeth’s baby “Eva” gives January 31, 1854 as the date that the little one died at six weeks of age. How very painful the loss must have been!70 It is possible that, in deference to her sister, Ellen White waited four years to publish in The Youth’s Instructor what she had written at the time of her sister’s loss, for she does not indicate that the baby had just died. It is true that names and dates are sometimes incorrectly written on a tombstone when the memorial has been commissioned by someone less aware of the facts, however, the specificity of the death date makes it less likely that the tombstone date is incorrect. Here is the article that Ellen White wrote: Ellen White with her twin sister Elizabeth Bangs, c. 1878 Bereavement The following lines were composed upon the death of the infant of my twin sister. Our fondest hopes are often blighted here. Our loved ones are torn from us by death. We close their eyes and habit them for the tomb, and lay them away from our sight. But hope bears our spirits up. We are not parted forever, but shall meet the loved ones who sleep in Jesus. They shall come again from the land of the enemy. The Life-giver is coming. Myriads of holy angels escort him on his way. He bursts the bands of death, breaks the fetters of the tomb, the precious captives come forth in health and immortal beauty. As the little infants come forth immortal from their dusty beds, they immediately wing their way to their mother’s arms. They meet again never more to part. But many of the little ones have no mother there. We listen in vain for the rapturous song of triumph from the mother. The angels receive the motherless infants and conduct them to the tree of life. Jesus places the golden ring of light, the crown upon their little heads. God grant that the dear mother of “Eva” may be there, that her Gravesite of Eva Adalaide Bangs (1853-1854) little wings may be folded upon the glad bosom of her mother. E. G. W. The original version of the poem “Little Eva,” was written by Mrs. Nancy A. W. Priest (later Wakefield).71 How Ellen White acquired the poem is not known. Mrs. White’s sister Elizabeth lived in Topsham, Maine, but the poet, who was 17 at the time of Eva’s death, was living with her parents in Worcester, Massachusetts.72 It is possible that Mrs. White inferred that the poem was written for her sister or that it was published somewhere in a newspaper. Significant lines in the poem have been changed in keeping with Adventist views of non-consciousness in death, as the comparison of the two below will show. The poem is not included in the Complete Published Writings of Ellen G. White—either in the CD-ROM or online edition. 47 “LITTLE EVA” Lines composed on the death of little Eva Bangs ——— Part the damp curls from the forehead, In death as she silently lies; Press down the darkly-fringed eyelids, Over the beautiful eyes. Fold the white hands on her bosom, Place a white rose by her side— Just so our darling one blossomed, Just so our darling one died. “LITTLE EVA” [As written by Nancy Priest] ——— Part the damp curls from the forehead, For the spirit has flown to the skies; Press down the darkly fringed eyelids Over the beautiful eyes. Fold the white hands on her bosom, Place a white rose by her side: Just as our darling one blossomed, Just so our darling one died. Naught cares she now for our weeping, Tears like the rain-drops may fall, Calmly our “Eva” lies sleeping, Freest from sorrow of all! Forth come ye now to behold her, Take a last look while ye may, Then to the green, quiet churchyard Bear on the beautiful clay. Naught cares she now for our weeping, Tears like the raindrops may fall; Calmly our Eva lies sleeping; Happiest is she of all. Forth come ye now to behold her; Take a last look while you may; Then to the green, quiet churchyard, Bear on the beautiful clay. Lower ye lightly her coffin, Press the green turf on her breast, Then ’neath the boughs of the willow Leave we our “Eva” to rest. What though our home may seem dreary? What though the tears fill our eyes? Her tiny feet were earth-weary— Yet shall we meet in the skies. Lower ye lightly her coffin; Press the green turf on her breast; Then ’neath the boughs of the willow, Leave we our Eva to rest. What though our home may seem dreary? What though the tears fill our eyes? Her tiny feet were earth-weary: Now she has gone to the skies. Plant ye the locust tree o’er her. There let the violet wave, Everything transient and lovely, Grow o’er her tear watered grave: There let the first sunlight glimmer, There let the last sunbeam rest, And the pale silent moon shine upon it, Like a “smile from the land of the blest.” Plant ye the locust-tree o’er her; There let the violet wave, Every thing transient and lovely Grow o’er her tear-watered grave. There let the first sunlight glimmer; There let the last sunbeam rest, And the pale, silent moon shine upon it, Like a “smile from the land of the blest.” —The Youth’s Instructor, April 1, 1858, p. 29. —Over the River and Other Poems, pp. 147-149. Remembering that this was submitted to a periodical for young people, one might wonder, by today’s standards, about the appropriateness of the first verse of the poem for the target audience. Though we might attempt to shield children today from the realities of death, the death of small children in the mid19th century was a common occurrence, and other children were well aware of their untimely demise. Turning to another use of poetry, in 1868, Ellen White quoted poems that Hanna Moore had included in a letter to James White. There were two lines from “Worldliness,” written by Amelia Keeler. Notice the differences in the original wording in the poem (on the right). By our sorrows past, our hopes of bliss Beyond a fleeting world like this; Say not that the heart of man is seared— But not that its own is loved and feared.73 And bid us seek substantial bliss Beyond a fleeting world like this. (1T 673.2; T14 53.3) 48 She also quoted part of “The Covenant and Confidence of Faith” by Richard Baxter, turned into a hymn. Note the differences in the poem (see italics) before it became a hymn: “ ‘Lord, it belongs not to my care, Whether I die or live. If life be long, I will be glad That I may long obey; If short, yet why should I be sad? This world must pass away. Christ leads me through no darker rooms, Than He went through before. Whoe’er into His kingdom comes, Must enter by His door. “ ‘Come, Lord, when grace has made me meet Thy blessed face to see; For, if Thy work on earth be sweet, What must Thy glory be? I’ll gladly end my sad complaints, And weary, sinful days, To join with the triumphant saints That sing Jehovah’s praise. My knowledge of that state is small, My eye of faith is dim; But ‘tis enough that Christ knows all, And I shall be with Him.’ —Baxter.” (1T 673.3; T14 54.2, 3)74 Now it belongs not to my care, Whether I die or live: To love and serve Thee is my share: And this thy grace must give. If life be long, I will be glad, That I may long obey: If short; yet why should I be sad, That shall have the same pay. … Christ leads me through no darker Rooms Than he went through before: He that into God’s kingdom comes, Must enter by this door. Come Lord, when Grace hath made me meet, Thy blessed Face to see: For if thy work on Earth be sweet, What must thy Glory be? Then I shall end my sad complaints, And weary sinful daies [sic], And joyn [sic] with the triumphant Saints, That sing Jehovah’s praise. My Knowledge of that Life is small; The Eye of Faith is dim: But it’s enough that Christ knows all; And I shall be with him.75 In 1878, Ellen White sent some verses from a book to use in The Signs of the Times.76 In 1880, she quoted, to her son Willy, the words of Carlos Wilcox from his poem, “The Joy of Benevolence.”77 “Do something—do it soon—with all thy might; An angel’s wing would droop if long at rest, And God himself, inactive, were no longer blest.” (Lt. 36, 1878, June 28)78 In a letter to her husband in 1880, she quoted the first line of stanza one with the second, third, and fourth lines of stanza two of Charles Wesley’s hymn, “Jesus Lover of My Soul,” which was her favorite. The letter exists in her own handwriting, as we see from the facsimile of a portion of the letter to the right.79 “Let me to Thy bosom fly! Hangs my helpless soul on Thee; Leave, oh! leave me not alone, Still support and comfort me.” (Lt. 20, 1880, April 7) In 1881, she quoted a selection from “The Course of Time,” by Robert Pollock: “Most wondrous book! bright candle of the Lord! Star of eternity! the only light By which the bark of man can navigate The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss securely.” (RH Jan. 4, 1881, Art. A) 49 In 1882, she adapted a part of a version of “Festus,” by Philip James Bailey, as an illustration: We live in deeds, not years, in thought, not breath; In feelings, not in figures on the dial. We should count time by heart-throbs when they beat For man, for duty. He most lives Who thinks most, feels noblest, acts the best. (RH Jan. 3, 1882)80 The italicized words indicate that words from a version of the poem that were not in the original. There were also other minor differences in singular versus plural and definite versus indefinite nouns. We live in deeds, not years, in thoughts, not breaths; In feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives Who thinks most, feels noblest, acts the best.81 In February, she quoted the counsel of “an American poet” (it was from “Sunrise on the Hills,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow). Notice the differences (see italics) in the original poem on the right. “If thou art worn and hard beset With trials that thou wouldst forget. Go to the fields and hills; no tears Dim the sweet look that Nature wears.” “If thou art worn, and hard beset With sorrow that thou would’st forget; If thou would’st read a lesson that would keep Thy heart from fainting, and they soul from sleep Go to the woods and hills!—no tears Dim the sweet look that Nature wears.” 82 (ST Feb. 2, 1882, Art. B) She also adapted a poem that had been quoted in The Review and Herald, May 5, 1880, p. 87.83 See the italics in the originally quoted poem on the right. “What now you do you know not, But shall hereafter know, When the seed which you are sowing To a whitened field shall grow.” (The Review and Herald, May 5, 1880) “What now you do, you know not, But shall hereafter know, When the seeds your hands are sowing, To a ripened harvest grow.” (ST May 25, 1882, Art. A; ST Sept. 23, 1886) In the 1888 Great Controversy, she used the words of Whittier to describe the 1780 “Dark Day.” “ ’Twas on a May-day of the far old year Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring, Over the fresh earth, and the heaven of noon, A horror of great darkness. “Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp To hear the doom-blast of the trumpet shatter The black sky.” (GC88 308.2) In 1889, she shared with her readers a poem that she had cut from a newspaper, written by Mary D. James and entitled “Count the Mercies.”84 50 “Count the mercies! count the mercies! Number all the gifts of love; Keep a daily, faithful record Of the comforts from above. Look at all the lovely green spots In life’s weary desert way; Think how many cooling fountains Cheer our fainting hearts each day. Count the mercies! count the mercies! See them strewn along our way! “Count the mercies, though the trials Seem to number more each day, Count the trials, too, as mercies, Add them to the grand array. Trials are God’s richest blessings, Sent to prompt our upward flight As the eaglet’s nest—all broken, Makes them fly to loftier heights. “Count the mercies! count the mercies! That bring heaven within our sight. Let us number all our jewels, Let us estimate their worth; Let us thank the gracious Giver, Strewing blessings o’er the earth; Let our hearts o’erflow with gladness. Let us tell the wonders o’er, Till our multiplying treasures Seem a countless, boundless store; Then let praises, grateful praises, Be our language, evermore.” (RH April 16, 1889) Hymns. More often than quoting poetry, Ellen White quoted the words of a hymn. She loved hymns and called attention to the words of Paul to the Ephesians about the use of song: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1T 509.1). She also commented: “Often the singing of simple hymns by the congregation has a charm that is not possessed by the singing of a choir, however skilled it may be” (Letter 49, 1902). Hearing the description of one of her first visions, William H. Hyde wrote a hymn that Mrs. White would often sing or hum—“We have heard from the bright, the holy land” (1T 70.1-5)—especially the words, “We’ll be there, we’ll be there in a little while, We’ll join the pure and the blest; We’ll have the palm, the robe, the crown, and forever be at rest.”85 Snippets of the hymn are quoted in Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, p. 446. The hymn was published in the November 1850 Present Truth; several hymnals; Spiritual Gifts, volume 2, p. 56; Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 70; and Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White, p. 218. “We have heard from the bright, the holy land, We have heard, and our hearts are glad; For we were a lonely pilgrim band, And weary and worn and sad. They tell us the pilgrims have a dwelling thereNo longer are homeless ones; And we know that the goodly land is fair, Where life’s pure river runs. “We have heard of the palms, the robes, the crowns, And the silvery band in white; Of the city fair with pearly gates, All radiant with light. We have heard of the angels there, and saints, With their harps of gold, how they sing; Of the mount, with the fruitful tree of life, Of the leaves that healing bring. “They say green fields are waving there, That never a blight shall know; And the deserts wild are blooming fair, And the roses of Sharon grow. There are lovely birds in the bowers green— Their songs are blithe and sweet; And their warblings gushing ever new The angel’s harpings greet. “The King of that country, he is fair, He’s the joy and the light of the place; In his beauty we shall behold him there, And bask in his smiling face, We’ll be there, we’ll be there in a little while; We’ll join the pure and the blest; We’ll have the palm, the robe, the crown, And forever be at rest.” (LS80 218.2–219.2) 51 On December 21, 1851, Ellen White wrote a letter of encouragement quoting the words, “I long to be there; and the thought that is near, makes me almost impatient for Christ to appear” (Lt. 9, 1851). These words are from Charles Titus Catlin’s hymn, “I Long to Be There,” which was first published in the 1849 Millennial Harp.86 She quoted more of the same verse in the Review and Herald of June 10, 1852, as pictured to the right. In the same letter, she quoted words from the hymn “What Heavenly Music.” She wrote: “The language of my soul is, ‘Though dark are the waters, and rough is the wave, if Jesus permits the wild surges, I’ll brave. For that heavenly music hath ravished me so, I’ll join in the chorus, I’ll go, let me go.’ ”87 In 1852, Ellen White quoted the last stanza of “O When Shall I See Jesus,” written by John Leland. “Our eyes shall then, with rapture, The Saviour’s face behold, Our feet, no more diverted, Shall walk the streets of gold; Our ears shall hear with transport The hosts celestial sing, Our tongues shall chant the glory Of our Immortal King.” (RH June 10, 1852) The next year, she quoted from “Be patient, be patient, no longer despairing,” a hymn by Annie R. Smith. “Upward to God be the heart’s adoration, Where ever is flowing pure streams of salvation.” (RH Feb. 17, 1853) And she also quoted from “I’m a Traveller” by Hubert P. Main.88 “Brighter joys than earth can give, win me away, Pleasures that for ever live—I cannot stay.” (RH Feb. 17, 1853) In 1854, she quoted a snippet from Daniel T. Taylor’s hymn, “Beautiful Home”—“the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love.” (The phrase is sometimes worded, “the depth of a Saviour’s matchless love.”89) In 1861, she also used two lines from the hymn, “Armageddon.” “War lifts his helmet to his brow; O God, protect Thy people now.” (RH Aug. 27, 1861, Art. B; repeated in T07 24.1; 1T 270.2)90 In 1866, Ellen White mentioned words from the chorus of “A Saviour Ever Near” by William B. Bradbury that had been in her mind during the night, which varied by one word from the original (pictured below): “Gentle angels round me glide, Hopes of glory round me bide,” (RH Feb. 27, 1866) “Gentle angels near me glide, Hopes of glory round me ’bide, And there lingers by my side A Saviour ever near.” In 1868, she included a snippet from the hymn, “Resting By and By,” by Sydney Dyer.91 She wrote: “we’ll lay our heavy burdens down, there’s resting by and by” (Lt. 25, 1868). In 1874, she included another snippet from the same hymn in a testimony, “Go, labor in My vineyard; There’s resting by and by” (RH Dec. 15, 1874; 52 3T 408.3). Then, in 1875, she included in a letter just the phrase, “resting by and by” (Lt. 25, 1875). Later, in 1878, she used a version of the hymn that is different from the hymnals of the era. The words she quoted are: “We shall not always labor, We shall not always cry. The precious boon of eternal life There is resting by and by.” (Lt. 42a, 1878) The hymnals of the era have “The end is drawing near” instead of “The precious boon of eternal life,” which is a unique phrase that she used many times in her writings.92 That she sometimes used different wording in quoting a hymn may indicate a faulty recollection, a variation of the hymn since via oral tradition, or perhaps a different emphasis that she wished to give the words. In 1875, she described starting a meeting, “by singing the hymn: ‘Just as I am—without one plea, But that thy blood was shed for me, And that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come’ ” (ST July 22, 1875).93 In 1876, she included, in an article, words from “Psalm 51,” a hymn by Isaac Watts: “Here on my heart the burden lies, And past offenses pain my eyes?” (RH May 4, 1876) That same month, she also quoted from “Ho! Every One That Thirsts, Draw Nigh,” by Charles Wesley. The words in most hymnals are a bit different (see the version on the right). “Come to the living waters, come! Sinners, obey your Maker’s call; Return, ye weary wanderers, home, And find My grace is free for all.” “Come to the living waters come. Obey your Maker’s call, Return ye weary wanderers home, My grace is free for all.” (RH May 18, 1876) In 1881, she encourage praise to God, using the words of the Doxology.94 “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” (RH Jan. 4, 1881, Art. C) In 1882, she quoted from “I Thought That the Course of the Pilgrim to Heaven,” by Robert Grant.95 Notice the slight variations (mostly in spelling) as given on the right in various hymnals. “I thought that the course of the pilgrim to Heaven Would be bright as the summer, and glad as the morn; Thou show’dst me the path; it was dark and uneven, All rugged with rock, and all tangled with thorn. “I dreamt of celestial rewards and renown; I grasped at the triumph which blesses the brave; I asked for the palm branch, the robe, and the crown; I asked—and thou showd’st me a cross and a grave.” (ST Feb. 16, 1882) “I thought that the course of the pilgrim to Heaven Was bright as the summer, and glad as the morn; Thou showed’st me the path; it was dark and uneven. All rugged with rock, and all tangled with thorn. “I dreamed of celestial rewards and renown; I grasped at the triumph that blesses the brave; I asked for the palm-branch, the robe, and the crown; I asked,—and Thou showedst me a cross and a grave.” (as in various hymnals) A month later, she quoted from “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” by Isaac Watts: “Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a tribute far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my life, my soul, my all.” (ST March 16, 1882, Art. A) 53 That summer, she quoted words from the hymn, “Beware, O Soul, Beware!” by Joseph Alexander Addison, though exchanging “mercy” for “patience.”96 An article by D. F. Newton, in 1868, quoted the original wording.97 “There is a line, by us unseen, That crosses every path, The hidden boundary between God’s patience and his wrath.” (RH June 2, 1868, p. 382) “A hidden boundary between God’s mercy and his wrath.” (ST Aug. 24, 1882) Later that same year, she quoted from “The Lord Is Coming, Let This Be,” by Mary A. Seward: “The Lord is coming—let this be The herald note of jubilee.” (RH Nov. 29, 1881)98 In 1883, she quoted words from “Soldiers of Christ Arise,” by Charles Wesley: “Strong in the strength which God supplies Through his eternal Son.” (ST Jan. 4, 1883) That summer, she also quoted from “Dare to be a Daniel,” by Philip B. Bliss: “Dare to be a Daniel! Dare to stand alone! Dare to have a purpose firm! Dare to make it known!” (ST Aug. 23, 1883, Art. B)99 In a handwritten message, Ellen White wrote in 1884, included lines from a hymn by Anne Steele. "See in the Saviour's dying blood Life, health, and bliss, abundant flow, And in that sacrificial flood, A balm for all thy grief and woe." (Ms. 14, 1884; YI May 5, 1959, p. 11)100 In 1886, she quoted from “Help Us to Help Each Other,” by Charles Wesley. Think about the difference between bearing another’s “woes” vs. another’s “cross.” The wording of most hymnals is on the right. “Help us to help each other, Lord, Each other’s woes to bear.” (RH Feb. 2, 1886)101 “Help us to help each other, Lord, Each other’s cross to bear; Let all their friendly aid afford, And feel each other’s care.” Also in 1886, she quoted words from the hymn, “Wouldst thou an erring soul redeem?” “Wouldst thou an erring soul redeem, And lead a lost one back to God? Wouldst thou a guardian angel seem To one who long in guilt has trod? Go kindly to him, take his hand, With gentle words, within thine own, And by his side a brother stand, Till thou the demon sin dethrone. “Scorn not the guilty, then, but plead With him in kindest, gentlest mood, And back to the lost one thou mayest lead To God, humanity, and good. Thou art thyself but man, and thou Art weak, perchance to fall as he; Then mercy to the fallen show, That mercy may be shown to thee.” (RH Nov. 30, 1886)102 54 In 1887, she described a meeting in Basel, Switzerland, that took place on February 20: “The hymn ‘Hold the Fort’ was sung with hearty, round voices. My heart has been filled with praise and gratitude to God for the strength which He had imparted to me during these meetings” (Ms. 29, 1887). In 1888, she mentioned reading the poem the “Ninety and Nine” (Ms. 20, 1888, Nov. 25), which is also a hymn.103 In her diary entry for Tuesday, November 15, 1890, she quoted the short line, “The road may be rough, but it cannot be long,” from a hymn by Henry Francis Lyte.104 In an article in 1891, she quoted from “My Name is Written on His Hands,” by Charles Wesley.105 “Arise, my soul, arise, Shake off thy guilt fears; The bleeding Sacrifice In my behalf appears; Before the throne my Surety stands; My name is written on his hands.” (RH Aug. 25, 1891)106 In 1892, she quoted from “The Happy Convert.”107 (Compare full verse on the right.) “How grateful then ought I to prove, For the sweet tokens of his love, Which cheers my heart and makes me whole, And stamps his image on my soul. A debtor great, I surely be, To him whose pow’r hath saved me; A heaven of love he hath bestow'd, Which stays my mind on him my God; And what doth much increase the store. When I thank him he gives me more.”109 “What doth much increase the store, When I thank him, he gives me more.” (RH Oct. 11, 1892)108 In 1893, she quoted from “The Spirit Came in Childhood,” by Isaiah Baltzell, in an article for the youth: “O, I’m too young,’ the child cried, ‘My heart is closed today.’ Sadly the Spirit listened, Then turned, and went his way.” (YI March 2, 1893) “The Spirit came in childhood, And pleaded, ‘Let me in;’ But ah! the door was bolted By heedlessness and sin. In 1894, she quoted from “We Give Thee But Thine Own,” by William Walsham How.110 “Oh, hearts are bruised, dead, And homes are bare and cold, And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled, Are straying from the fold. “To comfort and to bless, To find a balm for woe, To tend the lone and fatherless Is angel’s work below. “The captives to release, To God the lost to bring, To teach the way of life and peace, It is a Christlike thing.” (Lt. 1a, 1894, Jan. 1) August of that same year, she quoted from “Rejoice, all Ye Believers,” by Laurentius Laurenti and Sarah Findlater. The original wording has slight differences (see italics). 55 “The watchmen on the mountains Proclaim the Bridegroom near; Go meet him as he cometh With hallelujahs clear. “The marriage feast is waiting; The gates wide open stand; Up, up, ye heirs of glory, The Bridegroom is at hand.” (ST Aug. 6, 1894) “The watchers on the mountain Proclaim the Bridegroom near; Go meet Him as He cometh, With hallelujahs clear. “The marriage-feast is waiting, The gates wide open stand; Up, up, ye heirs of glory; The Bridegroom is at hand!”111 Describing a worship service in Oakland, California, she wrote: “My talk was followed by a social meeting; and before the meeting closed, I offered a prayer to God. Then my favorite hymn was sung, ‘Jesus Lover of My Soul’ ” (Lt. 324, 1906).112 The polished version of this report suggests that she had more than one favorite: “As we arose from prayer, the whole congregation united in singing one of my favorite hymns, ‘Jesus, Lover of my soul.’” (RH Dec. 13, 1906, emphasis added). The words of Augustus M. Toplady’s hymn, “If On a Quiet Sea,” spoke to her, as she wrote: “The beautiful sentiment of the hymn has often come to my mind both as a caution and a prophecy: ‘Soon shall our doubts and fears All yield to Thy control; Thy tender mercies shall illume The midnight of the soul’ ” (Lt. 234, 1906, July 9). Suffice it to say, Ellen White quoted hymns a great deal more than she did non-musical poetry. Other observations Returning to the poetry used in Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, the foreword to the current edition indicates that the poems in it were included “with the consent of the author.” In other words, though selected by her literary assistants, who thought poetry would add to the book’s value, Ellen White gave her consent. To have sought out the legal consent of the authors of the poems would have been unusual for that era, and, in most cases, the authors’ names had even been forgotten. Nonetheless, the book often gives credit for the larger poems of well-known poets like Whittier, Longfellow, and Browning, since notoriety insured that their names remained attached to their poems, as well as to several of the lesser known poets— especially in the 1896 edition— suggesting that whether the poet was credited or not credited depended on whether the author’s name was in the poem’s secondary source. In the case of the poem attributed to “Miss Mulock” rather than to the actual author, Anna Elizabeth Hamilton, we see that the secondary source, The Present Truth, was the source of the John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Robert Browning misattribution.113 56 As a side note, though Fannie Bolton worked for Mrs. White for a number of years, her poems were not credited to her, and, with the publication of the 1900 edition, only one of her poems remained in the text of the book (on page 95), where it remains unattributed in the text until the present. The poem is an expansion of Jesus’ statement about God’s awareness of every bird that falls and every hair on our heads that is lost. As part of the book and reflecting Jesus’ statement in Matthew 10:29, 30, it carries the weight of inspiration as much as does poetry in the biblical text. Identifying who wrote it adds nothing to its force. Recognition of Fannie’s talent had been a sore spot for her throughout her employment with Mrs. White. She had complained in 1893 and 1894 to acquaintances that she had not been recognized for her talents in preparing Ellen White’s writings. Yet, she knew why emphasis had not been given to those Fannie Bolton who helped prepare Ellen White’s writings for the press—either in her periodical articles or in her books—explaining that, had “editors and authors” been acknowledged, “the gift would have been degraded to a common authorship” (“The Fannie Bolton Story,” pp. 102, 106).” Ellen White had struggled to get Fannie not to change her words for Mrs. White’s, writing her: “Every time I can distinguish a word of yours, my pen crosses it out. I have so often told you that your words and ideas must not take the place of the words and ideas given me of God” (Lt. 7, 1894). Mrs. White discharged Fannie from her employment in 1894 but then hired her back for a short period of time, upon the advice of Elders G. B. Starr and O. A. Olsen. However, when Fannie’s backbiting returned, she was let go again. Mrs. White wrote Marian Davis: “If after this meeting Fannie shall come to Granville, you must not put one line of anything I have written into her hands, or read a line to her of the ‘Life of Christ.’ I would not have any (advice) from her. I am disconnected from Fannie because God requires it, and my own heart requires it. I am sorry for Fannie” (Lt. 102, 1895). Mrs. White was again willing to have Fannie work for her after this, but, being given an assignment of an article to prepare, Fannie returned it to Mrs. White, telling her that she could not do it.114 In April 1896, Fannie returned to the United States.115 Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing had already been published at the Review and Herald. Marian mentioned no reason for the removal of most of Fannie’s poems. So, what do poems or hymns add to the message of the book? The fact that poems could be added and removed in the 1900 and 1928 editions would tend to show that poetry was not essential to the message of the book but was, rather, merely a stylistic device to add emphasis. Some poems are somewhat tangential. Others emphasize points brought out by Ellen White—even though they may do so in a flowery way that can be somewhat distracting. Ultimately, the thoughts in Ellen White’s own simple prose easily stand alone, so most of the poetry could be removed from the book without any essential loss. (Facsimiles of the poems that remain are in Exhibit 4 of this study.) A recent book calls attention to prose of Ellen White’s that has a poetic element to it.116 The level of usage of poetry in editions since 1956 is more in keeping with Ellen White’s own usage of poetry, which was rare, and, even when she did use poems, they were more likely to be ones that had been turned into hymns. The use Merlin Bert (current director of the Ellen G. White Estate), Sarah and Kevin Burton (director of the Center for Adventist Research, of hymns in her writing had the added advantage of Andrews University), with other Adventists singing hymns at the being words familiar to readers that could aid in Allegan, Michigan, Seventh-day Adventist church fixing spiritual truth in the mind and reaching the heart as they were sung. 57 Endnotes 1 The 1896, 1900, 1928, and 1943 editions. Two of the 1896 editions (not the very earliest) are available online, a version with print on the back of fullpage pictures, at https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/adl%3A22252519, and a version with back of full-page pictures blank, at https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/adl%3A22252511. The second version has more pages. Arthur L. White responded to letters about the use of poetry in Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, seemingly unaware that poetry was in the original 1896 edition (unless there was a proto-edition that preceded any of the 1896 versions examined). He wrote: “In Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, published by the Pacific Press in editions from 1900 to 1943, a number of items appeared which seem to have been used as fillers, or seem to have been added at a later time, probably by someone other than Mrs. White. This led us to bring out what has become the standard edition, and the edition which will be referred to in the new Index. We have deleted the poetry, leaving in only those which appeared in the first printing and is clearly a part of the text of the author. I have a copy of the marked book on my desk indicating those items which the Trustees felt were not a part of the original manuscript and were therefore deleted” (letter to Dr. Charles E. Weniger, Potomac University, Oct. 13, 1959, available at http://drc.whiteestate.org/read.php?id=198380, accessed 7/7/20). 2 Ellen White sometimes referred to Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing as “the Sermon on the Mount” in her correspondence. For example, she wrote: “It is a mystery to me that the Sermon on the Mount has had to wait so long for the cuts. It has been ready for some time, but the cuts do not come. How long will this be delayed, and will we be obliged to wait in the same way for the cuts on the Life of Christ? We must know about this, because some plans must be made which will advance the work more speedily. If this cannot possibly be done at Battle Creek, please say so, and we will consider what course it is best to take to prevent this wonderful delay. Please give us some information about the Sermon on the Mount. When will the public have that book?” (Lt. 74, 1895, Nov. 21, to A. O. Tait). “We have now in the hands of the publishers at the Echo office the manuscript of a book on the sermon on the mount” (Lt. 39, 1895, Feb. 3). To W. C. White she wrote: “I was asking Marian in regard to the Sermon on the Mount. She says she cannot have it printed until the chapter you have to read is read and sent to her or the Echo office, I do not know which, but I wish you would read this chapter and send it. Return it at once. I cannot feel at rest that this book should be delayed for the want of this chapter in your hands. Marian says she will not have the book published until you read this chapter. Will you please attend to this without delay?” (Lt. 141, 1895, Feb. 18). 3 MB vii. The preface was first published in the 1900 edition. Ellen White wrote few introductions for her books. She had previously written prefaces for Spiritual Gifts, vols. 2, 3, and 4 (the last called “Remarks”), and for the 1888 Great Controversy. 4 Based on the date of the copyright in a copy of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing sold October 27, 2011 on eBay, one might think that the book was first published in 1895. However, the copyright date confuses the actual publishing of the book, which was available in January 1896, with the date when Ellen White obtained the book’s copyright, although Ellen White described the book as waiting for illustrations (“cuts”) at the Review and Herald office for two years. “I expected that the sale of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing would help me to help in advancing the work in Australia. But the way that the book was kept back in America, after being in the hands of the publishers for two years, and then coming out in a style that I could in no wise accept, has disappointed me greatly” (Ms. 80, 1897, July 4). “You speak of the book Mount of Blessings, the book I do not wish to give to any one. I have written to the ones who published it a very decided disapproval. It is a shame to get out such pictures upon such a beautiful subject, such elevated themes. If I get a book that I can approve, you shall have a copy, but I would not insult my friends with such illustrations as are in that book. So you will excuse my not sending you a book” (Lt. 167, 1896, June 1, to Bro. Haskell). “ ‘Mount of Blessing’ was kept out of the field for a long time on account of the illustrations” (Lt. 131, 1899, Sept., to Edson White). The copyright notice is unique for this book in that it is in the name of “Mrs. E. G. White,” while the later 1896 edition (with only minor differences to the cover design on the spine) bore the name of the “International Tract Society,” distributor for the Review and Herald Publishing Association. 5 The announcement may be counting the 205 pages of text plus a blank page and two pages of advertisements in the back. “The General Conference Association has now published a little volume from the pen of Mrs. E. G. White, entitled, ‘Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing.’ The book is similar in size to ‘Steps to Christ’ by the same author. The theme is the Sermon on the Mount. This fact, connected with the author’s name, is a sufficient suggestion to lead every one of our readers to desire to possess this book. There are six chapters: On the Mountain Side; The Beatitudes; The Spirituality of the Law; The True Motive in Service; The Lord’s Prayer; Not Judging but Doing. The book contains nineteen illustrations prepared especially for it. Those who have received help and comfort from ‘Steps to Christ,’ and from the author’s numerous writings, will scarcely need urging to obtain this new book of spiritual grace and nourishment. May be ordered of any publishing house or tract society. Price, seventh-five cents” (“Another Valuable Book,” RH Jan. 28, 1896, p. 64, available at https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH18960128-V73-04.pdf, accessed 6/7/20). “Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing,” RH Feb. 4, 1896, p. 64, available at https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH18960204-V73-05.pdf, accessed 6/7/20). The author of this paper has in his possession a copy of the book marked, “Miss Rosa Andre Battle Creek, Mich. Feb. 25th ’96” in the flyleaf. Even the next printing, with different illustrations, was not totally satisfactory to Mrs. White. “If you ask if I am pleased and satisfied I am compelled to answer, No, I am not” (Lt. 193, 1897, July 23). For Marian Davis’ view, see her letter to C. H. Jones, April 11, 1899, WCW-LB-10A:194. 6 ST May 13, 1897, p. 15, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/ST/ST18970513-V23-19.pdf, accessed 5/15/20 (the edition published at Pacific Press had 201 pages); The Christian Educator, July 7, 1897, p. 19 (the first number of this publication), available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/EDU/EDU18970701-V01-01.pdf, accessed 5/15/20. 7 The first advertisement in the Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Aug. 23, 1897, p. 271, describes the book as “JUST FROM THE PRESS.” The Australian edition was also advertised in the Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Aug. 30, 1897, p. 279; Sept. 6, 1897, p. 287; Oct. 4, 1897, p. 319; Oct. 25, 1897, p. 343; Nov. 15, 1897, p. 359; Dec. 13, 1897, p. 395; Feb. 14, 1898, p. 55; May 16, 1898, p. 159; May 23, 1898, p. 167; July 4, 1898, p. 215; July 11, 1898, p. 223; Jan. 2, 1899, p. 15; May 8, 1899, p. 159; June 18, 1900, p. 408; July 16, 1900, p. 472; Aug. 27, 1900, p. 568; Sept. 3, 1900, p. 583; Sept. 10, 1900, p. 599. A new edition of 218 pages was advertised as in the Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Nov. 12, p. 744, and described as “JUST FROM THE PRESS” in the Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Dec. 3, 1900, p. 791. 8 As Arthur L. White wrote in response to an inquiry about the poetry, “In some printings, poetry is used as a filler at the end of the chapters, and in some instances poems have been inserted facing the opening of chapters. This is the work of the publishers and not the work of the author.… Where poetry is used and tied in with the text, we have every reason to believe that Mrs. White herself made the selection of such bits of verse” (Letter to Dr. Charles E. Weniger, Potomac University, Oct. 13, 1959, available at http://drc.whiteestate.org/read.php?id=198380, accessed 7/7/20). 58 9 Eliza J. Burnham mentions poetry in several letters. “Will try to send you some poetry soon” (Eliza J. Burnham to Mary Ann Davis, Jan. 24, 1894, available at http://ellenwhite.org/content/correspondence/incoming/03052-opdf, accessed 5/15/20). “Yesterday I read parts of the MS. Will read it all as fast as I can do it reasonable justice. I think it is truly excellent, and I shall know better how to select poetry for reading it. In selecting I will take all that I think could possibly be useful, avoiding the commonplace. … I wish to thank you for that gem you sent me some months ago about Christ looking as anxiously for some token of answering love as a mother does for recognition by her infant [likely referring to MB 84.4, which was adapted in DA 191.1]” (Eliza J. Burnham to Mary Ann Davis, Nov. 19, 1894, available at http://ellenwhite.org/content/correspondence/incoming/03053-opdf, accessed 5/15/20). “Your note of yesterday with the MS. of the Beatitudes, just received. I shall not esteem it a task to comply with your request. I sent the other copy back this morning. … I did not give it a critical reading. I did not feel sure you wished me t o. But I glanced it over a little, so that I might have a better idea what poetry to select. I thought I might drop onto some place where I might offer a criticism or a suggestion; but I found only precious thoughts beautifully expressed. It would take a closer r eading to find any place to improve. When I get the Beatitudes off, I will look for poetry again if you wish; but you seem to have such a plenty of beautiful and appro priate selections, and I am afraid my taste and judgment are not equal to the task” (Eliza J. Burnham to Mary Ann Davis, Jan. 20, 1895, available at http://ellenwhite.org/content/correspondence/incoming/03358-opdf, accessed 5/15/20). “I send you No. 3 this morning, with the poetry. I have read it carefully, some parts three or four times, but I have found little to criticize. The poetry is all good, so good that it seemed hard to decide. I have indicated what seemed to me to be the first choice; but perhaps if I were to hear your reasons for another selection I should quite agree with you. Those pieces that you have selected for full pages are very good indeed; I hope you can use them” (Eliza J. Burnham to Mary Ann Davis, Feb. 14, 1895, available at http://ellenwhite.org/content/correspondence/incoming/03359-opdf, accessed 5/15/20). 10 For example, in Walks and Homes of Jesus (1866), p. 40, Daniel March quotes William Cowper, using quotation marks without naming the author. On page 334, he sets off words from Isaac Watts in quotation marks without naming the author. In Night Scenes in the Bible (1868), p. 33, he quotes Joseph A. Alexander, D. D. using quotation marks to show that he is quoting without naming him. On page 152, he quotes John Milton, using quotation marks without naming him. On page 162, he quotes Sarah F. Adams using quotation marks without naming her. On page 253, he quotes Samuel Taylor Coleridge without naming him. 11 Lt. 90, 1896, Jan. 24, to W. O. Palmer; Lt. 102a, 1896, March 9, A. O. Tait; Ms. 80, 1897, July 4. 12 Marian Davis to C. H. Jones, April 11, 1899, WCW-LB-10A:194. 13 Regarding the artist who did the engraving, see Marian Davis to C. H. Jones, July 19, 1899, WCW-LB-10:198b; ST Dec. 12, 1900, p. 14, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/ST/ST19001212-V26-50.pdf, accessed 5/17/20. 14 Letters to C. H. Jones, April 11, WCW-LB-10A:194; April 26, WCW-LB-10A:195; May 9, 1899, WCW-LB-10A:198b. 15 “In your letter to Brother White of March 21 you mentioned the new cuts for “Mount of Blessing,” but do not state if the book as a whole is to be reset. Some sections of course must be reset, and if this has not yet been done, we will ask that wherever it is not needed to fill the space, the poetry be omitted. That is, that no page be run over merely for the sake of saving the poetry” (Marian Davis to C. H. Jones, April 26, 1899, in WCW-LB-10A:195). “Enclosed are a few additional selections for “Mount of Blessing,” to be used if needed. Opposite some has been suggested the number of page where the thought seemed to fit. Perhaps there is some other place where they will fit equally well if needed. Some selections are unmarked” (Marian Davis to C. H. Jones, May 9, 1899, in WCW-LB-10A:195back). 16 Regarding space as one of the criteria for inclusion, Eliza J. Burnham wrote: “This little book will stand more poetry and embellishment. … I should think the poetry to be used would have to be decided partly by the space. You have some nice selections. I have commenced to look for poetry—will look further as soon as I can” (Eliza J. Burnham to Mary Ann Davis, Dec. 2, 1894, available at http://ellenwhite.org/content/correspondence/incoming/03054-opdf, accessed 5/15/20). 17 The edition with 184 pages was printed in Australia. There is even a small variation in the paging of the 1896 edition that has print on the reverse of full-paged illustrations. Because of changes in the illustrations, the paging from page 113 to the end of the book varies, and 205 pages are reduced to 201. 18 The 1944 edition is a reprint of the 1928 edition and has the same page formatting. 19 The color for each edition was chosen strategically to stand out within the book’s text and to help distinguish the page numbering when shortened by disconnection from the prefixes—MB1896, MB1900, MB1928, MB1943, and MB1956. The cover for the 1896 edition was green, so it seemed appropriate to start with green. Because the 1900 and 1943 editions as so similar, they are designated by two shades of blue. The 1928 edition, having such differences in paging and poetry needed a higher contrast color, so it is designated by dark yellow. To make the designation in the footnotes of the few poems that remain in the standardized 1956 edition stand out, that edition is designated by red. 20 “The dummy of ‘Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing,’ with the illustrations, I received. The illustrations I could not possibly accept under any consideration. Some of them look as if prepared for a comic almanac” (Lt. 90, 1896, Jan. 24, to Mr. W. O. Palmer). An example of a comic almanac can be found at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435054486022&view=1up&seq=8, accessed 7/13/20. 21 “The full page cut of Christ walking on the sea is nearly as cheap looking as the ‘two houses’ in ‘Thoughts’. You know how sharply even the second set of cuts in that book have been criticized” (Marian Davis to C. H. Jones, Nov. 21, 1897, in WCW-LB-10A:69). The engraving is found on page 199 in the early 1896 edition. In the flyleaf of a copy of this edition in the author’s library is penned “Feb. 25th ’96” as the date of either the book’s purchase or gifting. A later edition at Adventistdigitallibrary.org, which still bears the 1896 copyright but carries the handwritten date of “Dec. 20, ’01” on the inside cover, replaces the illustrations. 22 Lt. 81a, 1897, Dec. 20, Stanmore, Sydney, to Brother Jones. 23 “You ask me if I have seen the last edition of the book Mount of Blessing. I have, and am of the opinion that the most objectionable features have been removed. If you ask if I am pleased and satisfied I am compelled to answer, No, I am not; but I ask them not to be at any more expense” (Lt. 193, 1897, July 23). Six illustrations were removed (on pages 7, 45, 113, 175, 182, and 192), and two different ones were added. 24 The later “1896” edition had 15 pictures, while the 1900 edition had 27 pictures. Only four of the 15 original pictures in the earlier edition had direct substitutes—“The Vale of Shechem” (pages 7 and 7), “The Sea of Galilee” (pages 59 and 65), “The Narrow Way” or “The Christian Way” (pages 181 and 199), and “Founded on the Rock” or “Built Upon the Rock” (pages 194 and 214); the others were eliminated and were replaced by totally original pictures, usually in different locations in the book. 59 25 The paging varies from the earlier 1896 edition, which is indicated by numbers in parentheses. A facsimile of the 1896 edition of Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing used in this paper can be viewed at https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/adl%3A22252519. 26 The source has “Lord, many times I am aweary quite …” 27 For the alternate verses of the poem used in MB1900 and MB1943, see EXHIBIT 2, no. 5. 28 Authors prefaced by an emmdash (—) are those attributed in the 1896 edition. 29 Lambert attaches Miller’s name to his poem but not Klingle’s to his. This may point to Lambert’s book as the source for the poem. 30 Ellen White mentioned Whittier once by name in her published works; see GC88 308.1. 31 Ellen White mentions Longfellow by name once in her writings; see PH117 38.2. 32 Numbers in parenthesis are for the paging in the earlier 1896 edition, which differed from the later 1896 editions because of differences in illustrations. 33 Edwin Roland Sill’s poem, “The Fool’s Prayer,” was also earlier quoted in Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Jan. 30, 1883, p. 66, available at http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH18830130-V60-05.pdf, accessed 5/13/20. 34 The description “Poetry of anonymous authors” comes from the listing in the index to the 1956 edition. 35 The first publication of Ellen White’s vision was James White’s condensed description of it, without naming Ellen Harmon as the one who had received it, in Eli Curtis’s Day-Star of September 6, 1845, from a letter written August 10, 1845. He wrote: “There is one Sister in Maine who has had a clear vision of the Advent people traveling to the City of God. In her vision she heard the ‘Midnight Cry’—she saw a mighty host start at the point where the cry was made, (finished)—soon she saw many denying the light set behind them, (which was the midnight cry.) By this time they were in darkness, and began to stumble and fall off from the strait and narrow path, down into the dark world below to rise no more. She saw them continually falling till the voice of God was heard as recorded in Ezek. 12:25, which was a number of days before the ‘Sign of the Son of Man’ appeared—which was the great white cloud, Rev. 14:14. We think it may be 15 days—the prophetic hour of temptation, Rev. 3:10. “At the time when God spake, he poured on his children the Holy Ghost, some more than others, in proportion as they were free from the world—made free by the truth. At this point, the wicked made a rush on the saints, but they had so much faith that they could stretch out the arm of flesh in the name of God, and the wicked would frequently fall to the ground: At this point some of the saints were put to death. Fallen Adventists (the synagogue of Satan) came and worshipped at the feet of God’s true saints, (Rev. 3:9,) when they saw the power of God on his patient waiting ones—while their faces lit up by God’s glory, shone as did the face of Moses when he came down from the mount, Ex. 34:30. By this, God made them to know that he had loved the ‘fanciful,’ ‘fanatical,’ ‘disgraceful’ band, who could wash ‘one another's feet.’ ” 36 Available at https://web.archive.org/web/20111008204412/http://www.covenantforum.com/discus/messages/584/8308.html?1302681929, https://ia804504.us.archive.org/35/items/AdventHerald1853V11N14-26/AdventHerald_1853_v11_apr2-jun25_n14-26_620-632_105-208.pdf, https://ia800501.us.archive.org/27/items/hymnsofadvent00bark/hymnsofadvent00bark_bw.pdf; https://hymnary.org/hymn/SDAH1886/page/401; https://hymnary.org/text/the_groaning_earth_is_too_dark_and_drear, accessed 8/29/21. 37 “Zion stands by hills surrounded,” available at https://hymnary.org/text/zion_stands_by_hills_surrounded, accessed 6/4/20. 38 The 1908 edition of Steps to Christ, available at https://archive.org/details/stepstochrist00whit_0/page/18/mode/2up, accessed 10/16/20, has this verse on page 18. 39 The letter, identified as Lt. 39a, 1878, was edited and published in T28 103.3 and 4T 330.2. 40 The 1921 edition of Steps to Christ is available at https://archive.org/details/stepstochrist00whituoft/page/n7/mode/2up, accessed 10/16/20. William Fagal did not have access to the 1921 edition when he answered a query about the origin of the hymn in Steps to Christ but correctly recognized that they were not in the editions published during Ellen White’s lifetime. “You asked about the origin of those hymns’ inclusion in the book. I looked through our collection of Steps to Christs here. I found no evidence of hymns in any copy published during her lifetime (1892, 1898, 1908). Nor did I find the hymns in the standard hardback edition, PPPA 1958 [1956]. I found them only in the little pocketsize paperbacks, of which our earliest is the “Army and Navy Edition,” which I believe dates from World War II, though such an edition might actually go back as far as WWI (I’m not certain of that, though)” (William Fagal, March 11, 1899, subject “Hymns in ‘Steps to Christ,’ ” at http://drc.whiteestate.org). 41 This poem has been replaced by “Jesus Lover of My Soul” in the pocket edition of Steps to Christ. She quoted or referenced the hymn in several letters and manuscripts—Lt. 20, 1880, April 7; Lt. 5, 1888, Dec. 26; Ms. 20, 1892 and Ms. 34, 1892, diary entry for July 15; Ms. 80, 1893, Aug. 1; Ms. 95, 1906, Oct. 20; Lt. 324, 1906, Oct. 23; Ms. 119, 1909, June 29. She identified it as her favorite hymn. 42 Steps to Christ, 1921, p. 6. 43 “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” is listed as one of her favorites in 3BIO 378.4. It has been replaced in the pocket edition of Steps to Christ by “Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go,” which is followed by the verse from “Zion Stands by Hills Surrounded,” mentioned above. The pocket edition of Steps to Christ also has “Coronation” by Edward Perronet at the end of chapter 2, “The Sinner’s Need of Christ,” and “Immortal love, forever full” by John Greenleaf Whittier at the end of chapter 3, “Repentance.” 44 Steps to Christ, 1921, p. 17. 45 This poem has been replaced by the hymn, “I’ve Found a Friend,” by J. G. Small in the pocket edition of Steps to Christ. After chapter 5, “Consecration,” the pocket edition has “Abide with Me” by Henry F. Lyte. After chapter 6, “Faith and Acceptance,” the pocket edition has “Lead Kindly Light” by [Cardinal John Henry] Newman. 46 Steps to Christ, 1921, p. 43. 47 The pocket edition substitutes for this poem a verse from “O Thou in Whose Presence” by Joseph Swain (1761-1796) and the whole of “My Lord and I” by Mrs. L. Shorey. The pocket edition includes “Pilot Me” by Edward Hopper, after chapter 8, “Growing Up into Christ.” 48 Steps to Christ, 1921, p. 67. 49 The pocket edition replaces this hymn with the better-known hymn, “Nearer, My God, to Thee” by Sarah F. Adams. 50 Steps to Christ, 1921, p. 85. 51 The pocket edition replaces this hymn with the better-known hymn, “Friend In Jesus,” or “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” by Horatio Bonar. 52 Steps to Christ, 1921, p. 93. 53 In the pocket edition, that hymn has been replaced by another hymn, “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” by William W. Walford (1772-1850), included anonymously. 60 54 Steps to Christ, 1921, p. 105. After chapter 12, “What to Do With Doubt,” the pocket edition has “Under His Wings” by W. O. Cushing and “Rock of Ages” by Augustus M. Toplady, minus the stanza that has “Nothing in my hand I bring” (alt. “In my hand no price I bring”). Ellen White referenced the words of “Rock of Ages” in Lt. 56, 1876; Lt. 4a, 1880, Feb. 8; Lt. 59, 1880, June 8; Ms. 23, 1888, diary for Feb. 11; Lt. 5, 1888, Dec. 26; Ms. 96, 1897, Sept. 23; Lt. 66, 1898, Aug. 26; Lt. 79, 1903, May 7; Lt. 100, 1911, Nov. 21. 56 Steps to Christ, 1921, p. 126. 57 WCW-LB-10A:16; Letter to C. H. Jones, Nov. 9, 1896, WCW-LB-10A:13. 58 The words are found at https://hymnary.org/text/immortal_love_for_ever_full, accessed 5/15/20. 59 This same wording is quoted in MH 65 (to the present); Lt. 153, 1897; Lt. 33, 1895; Lt. 12a, 1893; YI Sept. 22, 1892; ST Aug. 22, 1892; ST Aug. 8, 1892; RH Aug. 25, 1891; RH July 14, 1891; RH Feb. 10, 1891; Ms. 40, 1891 (Diary, Jan. 3); Ms. 35, 1891; Ms. 36, 1890; Lt. 1d, 1890. 60 The poem was published in The Oriental Watchman, November 1, 1909, p. 11. 61 The words are found at https://hymnary.org/hymn/SoP1886/page/192, accessed 5/15/20. They also learned their lesson about the difficulties with so many “cuts” in The Desire of Ages. Christ’s Object Lessons had many fewer. 62 Job 38:4-27, R.V.; 38:31, 32; Song of Solomon 2:11-13, R.V.; Num. 23:7-23, R.V.; 24:4-6, R.V.; 24:16-19; Exod. 15:1, 2, 6-11, 18, 21, R.V.; Num. 21:17, 18, R.V.; Ps. 23:1-4; 63:1-7, R.V.; 42:11; 27:1; 3:4-6; 51:1-7; 46:1, 2; 46:4-7, R.V., margin; 48:14; 113:2, 3; 116:1-8; Isa. 26:1-4; 35:10, R.V.; and Jer. 31:12. 63 Alexander Pope, Pope’s Essay on Man, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1879, p. 31, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pope_s_Essay_on_man_ed_with_annotations/4lACAAAAQAAJ, accessed 6/2/20. 64 She quoted the same piece of the poem in PH100 29.1 (“Testimony for the Physicians and Helpers of the Sanitarium,” 1879); T30 48.1 (1881); 4T 555.1 (1881); and Ms. 59, 1897. 65 She quoted this line from Revelation 4:8 as the words of the angels in Broadside3 1847; WLF 20.1; ExV 18.1; 1SG 208.1; etc. 66 Mrs. Rebekah Smith, Poems: With a Sketch of the Life and Experience of Annie R. Smith, Manchester, NH: John B. Clarke, 1871, p. 135; see also The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book, Battle Creek, Michigan: Review and Herald Publ. Assoc., 1886, p. 325. 67 Smith, Poems, p. 136; see also The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book, p. 325. 68 Letter to “Dear Brother,” Feb. 2, 1959, available at http://drc.whiteestate.org/read.php?id=108836, accessed 7/7/20. 69 Ron Graybill to Kevin Morgan, June 12, 2020. 70 Ellen White would herself suffer the loss of an infant in the winter of 1860, just before the start of the American Civil War. 71 Nancy Amelia Woodbury Priest Wakefield, Over the River and Other Poems, Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1883, pp. 147–149, available at https://archive.org/details/overriverandothe00wakeiala, accessed 10/14/20. Mrs. Wakefield’s poems were published by her mother, Mrs. Francis D. (Sophia) Priest, thirteen years after her daughter’s death. Mrs. Wakefield’s most popular poem and the source of h er fame, “Over the River,” was published in the Springfield Republican in 1857 (see “Nancy Amelia Woodbury Priest Wakefield,” available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Amelia_Woodbury_Priest_Wakefield, accessed 10/14/20). 72 Information about the poet’s 1856 diary requested from the library at the University of New Hampshire at https://www.library.unh.edu/node/1224/done?sid=20972&token=d13d4fbd32af9cf327378ca244225a11 . 73 Amelia Keeler, Footprints, or Poems by Amelia, of Western New York, with a Short Account of Her Life, Birmingham: Daily Republican, 1860, p. 52, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Footprints_Or_Poems/_YYCAAAAYAAJ, accessed 7/6/20. 74 The hymn is included in several hymnals, one of which is A Selection of Spiritual Songs with Music for the Church and the Choir, selected by Charles E. Robinson, New York: The Century Co., 1881, p. 207, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Selection_of_Spiritual_Songs/L14JAQAAMAAJ, accessed 7/6/20. 75 Richard Baxter, Poetical Fragments: Heart-Imployment with God and It Self, The Concordant Discord of a Broken-healed Heart. Sorrowing-rejoycing, Fearing-hoping, Dying-living, pp. 61, 62, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Poetical_Fragments/E6M0AAAAMAAJ, accessed 7/6/20. To this poem, Baxter attached the note: “This Covenant my dear Wife in her former Sickness subscribed with a chearful [sic] will. Job 12.26.” 76 “I have copied these verses from a book. They may be appropriate for the Signs. Use them if you think best. I thought them good” (Lt. 29, 1878, June 19). 77 Carlos Wilcox, “The Joy of Benevolence,” Christian Missionary Civilization: Its Necessity, Progress and Blessing, London: John Snow, 1842, p. 32, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=omJHAAAAYAAJ, accessed 7/6/20. The poem is also called “A Call to Noble Effort” or “Antidote to Despondency.” 78 Also quoted in RH June 10, 1880; T32 64.2 (1885; 5T 308.2); and ST Sept. 22, 1887. She referenced the same hymn in Lt. 5, 1888, Dec. 26. 79 The facsimile for this letter is found in RH Nov. 1, 1928, p. 12. She used quotation marks. 80 A source for the original and the adapted forms of the poem is “Maltreating the Poets,” The Congregationalist (Boston, Massachusetts), Feb. 22, 1850, p. 1, col. 3, citing the “Christian Almanac for 1850,” available at https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/ v2%3A14F63B8C4B7A3904%40GB3NEWS-160A7AD0F32BCAE0%402396811-160A64148C10A750%400-160A64148C10A750%40?h, accessed 7/6/20. 81 Philip James Bailey, Festus: A Poem, Boston: Benjamin B. Mussey, 1845, pp. 80, 81, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Festus/S6w-AAAAIAAJ, accessed 7/6/20. 82 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sharpe’s London Magazine, April 18, 1846, p. 399, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=uUUFAAAAQAAJ, accessed 7/6/20. 83 Several educational journals carried the poem, one of which was The Maine Journal of Education, Aug. 1873, p. 286, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=0UAcAQAAIAAJ, accessed 7/13/20. 84 The Large-Type Christian Cabinet: Containing Narratives, Hymns and Gospel Gems, Edinburgh: James Taylor, 1882, pp. 113-115. 85 6BIO 418.1. 86 The hymn was first published among Sabbathkeeping Adventists in 1852 by James White in Hymns for Second Advent Believers. 87 The hymn was included in James White’s first hymnal, published in 1849, Hymns for God’s Peculiar People that Keep the Commandments of God, and the Faith of Jesus. 88 Also titled, “Pilgrimage” or “Yonder’s My Home.” 55 61 89 See, for example, the Lewistown Gazette, Feb. 2, 1860, p. 1, at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83032276/1860-02-02/ed-1/seq-1, accessed 9/21/21, and the Buchanan County Guardian, Jan. 12, 1860, p. 1, at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87058348/1860-0112/ed-1/seq-1, accessed 9/21/21. 90 The hymn was also included in James White’s first hymnal. 91 The hymn is found in Hymns and Spiritual Songs, published by James White in 1872. 92 4T 385.2 [1879]; PH043 3.1 [1879]; RH July 22, 1884; Lt. 8, 1886; Ms. 80, 1886; Ms. 13, 1888; Ms. 67, 1890; ST Dec. 1, 1890; ST July 9, 1894; Ms. 69a, 1896; RH March 31, 1896; Lt. 118, 1897; Ms. 190, 1903; LS 293.4 [1915]. 93 The same words were quoted in ST Aug. 22, 1892. 94 She quoted the Doxology again in describing a congregation standing to their feet and singing in response to a message she preached in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. “It seemed a fitting response. I never listened to words in sacred song that came forth with more earnestness and power. I know that many were fed with rich morsels from the treasury of God” (Ms. 39, 1892, diary Dec. 11). 95 She quoted the hymn the same way in ST Feb. 24, 1887 and in Ms. 83, 1903, Oct. 29. 96 The words to the hymn are found at http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/b/e/w/bewareos.htm, accessed 10/18/20. 97 Ellen White quoted the words accurately in PP 159.2: “the hidden boundary between God’s patience and His wrath.” See also, “Woe to Them when I depart from Them,” RH June 16, 1863, p. 22. 98 She used the same phrase again in Ms. 64, 1910, Feb. 2. 99 She quoted the same lines in Ms. 99, 1899, July 20; AUCR July 26, 1899, Art. A; Lt. 42, 1900; RH May 22, 1900. She refers to “Dare to Be a Daniel” in PH168 51.1 (“In Memoriam: A Sketch of the Last Sickness and Death of Elder James White,” 1881). She used the first two lines of this in Ms. 121, 1898; RH May 9, 1899, Art. A; Lt. 2, 1901, Dec. 29; GH Jan. 1, 1901, Art. A; YI July 16, 1903; YI Sept. 24, 1907; YI Jan. 25, 1910. 100 The autograph was given to Robert Taylor, Jr., by his non-Adventist neighbor, whose mother received it from Mrs. White. The quoted line is from Anne Steele, “Christ the Physician of Souls,” Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, London, 1817, p. 64, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=7ahYAAAAcAAJ, accessed 1/3/21. 101 See also Lt. 3, 1886 (“each others’ [sic]”); RH Feb. 2, 1886; Lt. 55, 1891, Sept. 29; Ms. 86, 1897, Aug. 25; Ms. 63, 1898, May 18; RH Jan. 31, 1899. She never uses “each other’s cross to bear.” 102 Edited and republished in T33 141.1, 2; 5T 613.1. 103 The same words are quoted in The Ministry of Healing, 1905, p. 505. 104 See John Julian, ed., A Dictionary of Hymnology, s.v. “Lyte, Henry Francis”; Thomas Dowell, Farewell to the Outward Bound, p. 15. 105 In the same article, she quoted the alternate for of Toplady’s hymn, “In my hand no price I bring; Simply to thy cross I cling.” 106 Quoted also in Lt. 9a, 1891, June 3; Lt. 33, 1895, July 24. 107 Found in Robert Foster, Hymns, Original and Selected, for the Use of Christians, 1828, hymn 251, fourth stanza, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=vAFMAAAAYAAJ, accessed 7/13/20. A variation of the lines is found in The Western Harp: A Collection of Social and Revival Hymns, 1867, hymn no. 103, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Western_Harp/FVWQZpjQX-QC, accessed 7/13/20, where the words are: “But what doth much increase my store, Whene’er I ask, he gives me more.” 108 Quoted also in Lt. 260, 1907, Aug. 29, to Brother and Sister J. A. Burden, and in Lt. 6, 1910, Jan. 15, to Edson and Emma White; in Ms. 116, 1902, Aug. 30, the words are altered to read: “What doth much increase the store? When I praise Him, He gives me more.” 109 Robert Foster, Hymns Original and Selected for the Use of Christians, Portsmouth, NH: Christian Herald, 1828, p. 264, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=vAFMAAAAYAAJ, accessed 10/18/20. 110 Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, pp. 608, 690. The hymn is based on 1 Chronicles 29:14, was written in 1858, and was first published in 1864 in Psalms and Hymns. 111 “Ermuntert euch, ihr Frommen” [Rejoice All Ye Believers], Hymns for the Use of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1865, hymn no. 119, https://books.google.com/books?id=bRGR5T-r5mMC, accessed 7/13/20. The hymn was also included in The Baptist Praise Book, 1872, hymn no. 405, available at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Baptist_Praise_Book/LHtBAQAAMAAJ, accessed 7/13/20. 112 William Fagal (“Favorite Hymn Question,” Nov. 25, 2002, at http://drc.whiteestate.org) listed several other hymns that Ellen White enjoyed: “There is Sunlight on the Hilltop” (The Church Hymnal, no. 612), “O Worship the King” [or, according to Ella May Robinson, “O Worship the Lord,” The Church Hymnal, no. 6], “Holy, Holy, Holy” (The Church Hymnal, no. 73), “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” (The Church Hymnal, no. 156), “Just As I Am” (The Church Hymnal, no. 222), “I Will Follow Thee, My Savior,” “Is My Name Written There?” (The Church Hymnal, no. 617), “I’m a Pilgrim” (The Church Hymnal, no. 666) “I Will Never, Never Leave Thee” (The Church Hymnal, no. 397), “We Speak of the Realms of the Blest” (The Church Hymnal, no. 199), and “There Are Angels Hov’ring Round” (Hymns and Tunes, no. 1188) “Lord, In the Morning” (The Church Hymnal, no. 39), and “Sweet Hour of Prayer” (The Church Hymnal, no. 316). “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” (Christ in Song, no. 172), “We Praise Thee, O God” (Christ in Song, no. 396), “When Faint and Weary Toiling,” “There’s a Land That is Fairer Than Day” (The Church Hymnal, no. 879), on the album “Beloved Hymns of Ellen White.” Ella May Robinson listed others in the song notes for the album : “Let Us Gather Up the Sunbeams” (Christ in Song, no. 568), “Crowded in Your Heart with Cares” (Christ in Song, no. 100), “One More Day's Work for Jesus” (The Church Hymnal, no. 622), “Hear the Glorious Proclamation” (Hymns and Tunes, no. 1157), “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” (The Church Hymnal, no. 401), “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say” (The Church Hymnal, no. 226), “When the Mists Have Rolled in Splendor” (Christ in Song, no. 893), “Rock of Ages Cleft for Me” (Christ in Song, no. 654), “We Have Heard from the Bright, the Holy, Land” (The Church Hymnal, no. 305). 113 The misattribution to “Miss Mulock” came from The Present Truth, Nov. 8, 1890, p. 713, available at https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/adl403187/present-truth-november-8-1900, accessed 6/12/20. 114 “I cared for her as I would for my own sister. Then after a time, I put copy in her hands, to evidence to her that I would do the work pointed out by the angel for me to do. She took the copy, and all she had to do was to read it to one of my copyists. But though she had all the time she wanted, she could not complete the article. She told me that she could not possibly do the work, and that she would never again have the privilege of having the precious matter in her hands. ‘I fear,’ she said, ‘that I am wholly unfitted for the work. I cannot even do this article. I have pursued such a course (speaking in reference to Caldwell) that I am humiliated in the dust. I cannot remain in this place, where my course is so well known. I must go to America’ ” (Lt. 61a, 1900, in “The Fannie Bolton Story,” p. 92). 115 Lt. 154, 1896, Aug. 2; see her letters to Ellen White in “The Fannie Bolton Story,” pp. 71, 72. By May 1897, Fannie was living in Battle Creek, Michigan (see “Diary of J. A. [Julia Ann] Corliss,” p. 6, available at https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/adl-22252759/diary-j-corliss-1897-1903, accessed 6/12/20). 116 See Ellen G. White, Vern Shafer, Poems from Heaven (2019). 62