Ellen White and Mirror of the Soul BY RONALD D. GR AYBILL
Ellen White spent from August of 1885 until August of 1887 in Europe. In late May of 1887, she was in Vohwinkel, Germany, about 30 miles from Cologne. Tere she had a dream in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 28. In the dream, she was conversing with a group when a
stranger entered the room and took a seat in a dark corner so as not to be noticed. As conversation among the group continued, the stranger stood up and started speaking to them. In her diary, White recorded the speech as more than 1,200 words long. Among other things, the stranger said: “As many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Tey are united to Christ as the branches are united to the one living vine. Tey walk not aſter the flesh, but aſter the Spirit. Tese are living examples of Christianity in the world. Tey are called Christians because they are like Christ and because Christ is in them. Of a truth they are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Te help of the Spirit and the words of eternal life are their wisdom and their strength. And they are led into all truth because they are willing and obedient.” As the stranger’s speech concluded, a beam of sunlight lit his
figure, and “all knew in a moment” who had been speaking to them. Tey exclaimed, “It is Jesus; it is Jesus!” Te problem is that many of the words that White placed in
the mouth of Jesus were virtually copied from a small book, Mirror of the Soul: “As many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Being created anew in Christ, they walk not aſter the flesh, but aſter the spirit; and these are living examples of Christianity in the world. Tey are called Christians because they are like Christ, and because Christ is in them; of a truth they are the light of the world, and salt of the earth. Te help of the Spirit and the words of eternal life are their wisdom and strength, and by these they are led into all truth and all obedience.”
Mirror of the Soul Mrs. White had long been familiar with Mirror of the Soul. Te editor of the volume, Rev. David Holmes, identified the book’s author only as a “Christian Lady” who is designated elsewhere as “a popular writer in the Methodist Society.” White may have acquired her copy soon aſter its publication in 1852, because snippets from it appear in three of her letters between 1853 and 1859.
Mirror of the Soul is oſten wordy and repetitious. It reads like
someone’s personal diary entries, which contain many scattered thoughts from day to day. Te writing was finished during the author’s final years of sickness. She quotes extensively from the King James Version of the Bible and then oſten lapses into Elizabethan English as she records her reflections on spirituality. It was a miracle of sorts that White could find so much useful in it—but then, she lived in the same spiritual and thought world as the anonymous “Christian Lady” and was also a devoted reader of the King James Version.
WWW .A T OD A Y . OR G 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
